Author's Note: This is the BEST QUOTE EVAR. Ahem. Sorry. Moving on. Hopefully you'll get the double meaning of the chapter title.
What Meets the Eye
"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing Spirit-being, you should at least put some effort into it." –Wan Shi Tong
Chapter 11: Black and White
"Oh, wow." Ty Lee exclaimed, hand over her mouth. To everyone else, Wan Shi Tong was only static black and white. But to Ty Lee, he was a mercurial conglomerate of colors.
Everyone was relieved to be inside out of the oppressive heat of the Si Wong. However, quite a few of them had shivered when they finally got into the library. It wasn't so much that the temperature was very low. But the combination of the eerie green lights and the receding darkness all around was enough to send your skin crawling.
"Are you the Spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked the giant ebony barn owl.
"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten-thousand things. And you are obviously humans, which by the way are no longer permitted in my study."
"What do you have against humans?" Aang piped up.
Wan Shi Tong leaned down towards him. "Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified? Countless others before you have come here, seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies."
Iroh folded his arms inside his sleeves. "Then you believe everything is relative, Wan Shi Tong? You do not believe there is any absolute right for us to strive for?"
The owl's white face turned to him. "Iroh Spiritwalker." The sarcasm in his voice rustled like a wolf-bat's wings. "What an honor it is to have you at my library. And what a prime example of relative truth." A taloned foot stepped forward. "Was it not just six years ago that you laid brutal siege to Ba Sing Se?"
Iroh's face grew solemn. "And the Spirits showed me the error of my ways. I am in service to the Avatar now. You question his authority? You question his motives?"
"The Avatar is as human as anyone else."
"So you think we should do nothing?" Iroh demanded quietly. "You think that it is right to simply let Ozai-"
"I know," The owl's feathers stood on end, "that unless you are here for the sake of curiosity, and not advantage, I do not want you here."
"Then you still deny-"
"Let me give you another example of relative truth." Wan Shi Tong boomed at the retired general, cutting him off violently. He moved swiftly to Zuko and bent down, deep jet-black almond eyes boring into him. "Your uncle is still quite a capable combatant, prince. He felled Zhao's men at the North Pole with ease that befits a much younger man, fended off an entire squadron of your sister's. He has begun conditioning himself again to train the Avatar. But tell me, where was all his strength in the months that you struggled to capture the boy, after he emerged from his slumber? His allegiance was always to the Lotus. He never meant you to return home. He has betrayed you. And you have not forgiven him. Have you?"
Zuko's eyelids grew heavy . . . . His uncle had never fought the Avatar with him, for so long he had labored, and his uncle had never truly wanted him to succeed . . . the weeks of pouring over maps, the sleepless nights he had spent, were all pointless to the general . . . he had always meant for the Avatar to stay free . . . Everything that had gone through his mind right after the waterbender had healed his uncle and he had implored him to abandon his father's mission, abruptly came rushing back to the surface- As the Spirit talked the words swelled and morphed into a torrent of his own resentment that flooded him once more-
It wiped everything out, overloading his senses, suffocating him-
"You have not forgiven him, have you?" The answer pressed in on him- the bitter word formed in a snarl at his mouth- No.
But before he could get it out . . . something rose up that had beaten back the same force before . . .
. . . "If you care about him anywhere near as much as he cares about you, you'll let the damn waterbender heal him." . . .
. . . "I don't believe you. You're looking for the approval of a man that has been condemned by the softest of the softies, and you're ignoring the man who has really earned the title father." . . .
Her voice echoed through his head . . . as the memory of her conviction filled him, he was sure again, he knew, he did not want to hate his uncle, he did not, he did not, he did NOT-
He struggled against the anger, he fought it, but it fought back, incensed that he could resist-
Suddenly the great owl was blown backwards, toppling a bookshelf and sending white pages and black feathers flying. A tall wiry man in deep red robes had appeared, a knobby hand extended towards him. He was wreathed in yellow fire and his eyes glowed blue-white. "NEVER DID I THINK A SPIRIT COULD BE SO PETTY- TO LASH OUT LIKE A CHILD WHEN HE IS FACED WITH BEING WRONG." The outrage in his unearthly voice reverberated throughout the library.
The aged bender floated towards the owl, robes billowing and pages from rent books whipping and spinning around him, catching fire. "The Spirits appointed me to keep balance in this world, Wan Shi Tong. And I do not take my duties lightly. YOU WILL ACCUSE- ME- OF- CORRUPTION- NO- LONGER."
The owl stirred, getting slowly to his feet. "I a-ask your forgiveness, Avatar." He lowered his head deferently. "Please accept my humble apology."
The man's eyes returned to normal and the flames subsided as he slowly lowered to the floor. "And you will not torment my kin." He turned and walked as if he were solid, and came to stand in front of Zuko. The prince was strangely reassured as he looked up at him, even though he had never seen the man before. The rest of the anger subsided, draining out of him as he met his gaze.
"Zuko," Iroh explained, "This is your great-grandfather, Avatar Roku."
Katara and Sokka gasped.
Roku laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I do not blame your uncle for not telling you about me sooner, grandson. You see, he has seen the same conflict in you that he saw in himself. Loyalty to the Fire Nation, and loyalty to the world. He did not want to force this on you. He wanted you to choose this path for yourself. And you have. You wonder why you have formed a friendship so quickly with someone you thought to be your enemy. It is because we are bound together. Please, do not hold it against Iroh. He has only your best interests at heart."
Zuko nodded once. "He always has."
Roku beamed at him with pride and embraced his great-grandson.
The past Avatar then went to Iroh. "Thank you, Spiritwalker, for taking such good care of him." The Dragon of the West bowed deeply.
Roku's form wavered and shifted like fog. Aang reappeared, unusually aware for coming out of an Avatar episode, smiling softly.
Zuko rushed to Iroh and threw his arms around him. "Uncle, I'm sorry." Now, as if a tide had shifted, the other side of his memories washed over him, the days of snubbing his uncle, the countless times he had yelled at him, had taken him for granted . . .
Iroh man returned the hug, tracing soothing circles on his back. "It's all right, nephew."
Ty Lee was cowering behind Sokka with her hands on his shoulders, still reeling from the intense and sudden change from negative to positive energy. She had her eyes tightly closed, thoroughly disoriented from the powerful Spirits' heated exchanges. "D-does this sort of thing h-happen often?"
"To us?" Sokka qualified. "Yep."
