Thanks to CACrest and GreyNoise for proofreading!
Chapter 36: Under the Island Part 2
"Oooh, look at that. And that. Hey, have we seen that rock before? Echo-echo-echoooo," said Aang, all too excited to be in a creepy, dripping cave system. Zuko meanwhile was right behind the other, stomping down the path, the equivalent of a grouchy torch.
"How can you be excited about this?" grumbled Zuko, almost pouting at this point. "We've been down here all night! We might never find our way out! We might starve, Aang."
"Pfff," said Aang as he floated over to a stalagmite that seemed to have some type of semi-luminescent slime on it. "We can eat cave slime. Completely organic. See."
Zuko could barely open his mouth to argue before Aang was licking the slimy rock. The air-bender promptly started coughing only to choke it down and state, "Mmm, satisfying."
Giving the other a look that screamed I-don't-believe-you, Zuko huffed, "I am not eating cave slime, Aang."
Frowning at this, resisting the urge to lick his sleeve in order to get rid of the slime's aftertaste, Aang glanced around for another solution. He quickly noticed some glowing mushrooms nearby. He walked over and plucked a few while stating, "Or we can have mushrooms. They are vegetarian-friendly."
Zuko's eyes got wide as he put a hand out, "No, Aang. Wait-"
Squish.
The prince tried not to cringe as he watched the air-bender scarf down one or two of the glowing fungi. He didn't know much about mushrooms, but it was glowing so that couldn't be good.
"Hey, these aren't half bad," said the air-bender as he chewed, stuffing another into his mouth. "You want one?"
Waving his hands in front of himself as he took a step back, Zuko said, "No, I'm good. I am so good right now. Not hungry at all. Really, I'm not."
Though good was definitely not what Zuko was a few minutes later. He was anything but good. He was three seconds for stone-melting rage. He didn't know if it was the slime or the mushroom, but Aang was bouncing off the walls … literally. He was riding his air-scooter around and around and around Zuko. Talking about tasting the color purple, friendly mushrooms, how Momo's tail was actually a mustache disguise, and how much he was glad they were on an adventure. Oh, and did you see that water drip? Did you? Did you? Did you? No. No, he didn't. It was a cave. The walls were dripping everywhere!
Then the singing started.
Oh, what an Agni forsaken song it was.
"Badgermole, badgermole, badgermole. Mushroom, mushroom, mushroom," sang Aang as he went around and around the other like a mosquitofly that needed to be smacked.
Zuko, one eye twitching, knew infuriated madness would soon be upon him if he didn't do something. He all but growled at the other, "Aang, please stop. Now."
Aang just went into another chorus, adding to the confined madness.
"Badgermole, badgermole, badgermole. Mushroom, mushroom, mushroom …. SNAKE!" suddenly cried Aang as he stopped, air-scooter disappearing while Zuko nearly smacked into the youth's back.
"W-what, kind of snake?" asked Zuko, ready to step in front of the other boy and deal with any menaces. He was so hungry at this point that he'd definitely eat some charred water-snake. Okay, honestly, it didn't even matter what kind of snake. He would eat it. Sometimes supplies were low on the steamer, but he could never recall going so long without a regular meal. Surviving on the run and in the wilderness so far wasn't panning out well for him. Snake sounded almost perfect right now.
"Oh, wait, it's just Momo's tail," said Aang as he seemed to jitter on the spot.
Zuko could have almost cried. Stomach growling angrily up at him, the prince sighed. In a begrudged manner he walked forward, the flame in hand flickering sickly. Not only was he going to die in the dark and underground. He was going to die hungry.
Zuko's stomach loudly agreed.
Aang, who had seemed to calm down just a little bit, plucked another glowing mushroom as they walked by, pushing it toward' s Zuko's face, "Hungry?"
Tilting his head up and away from the offending fungus, Zuko growled, "No, I'm fine."
His stomach loudly admitted otherwise. It was a ghastly noise, gastral even.
Jumping slightly in surprise, Aang quickly stopped the fire-bender by wrapping his arms around the taller boy's waist, placing his ear against Zuko's gut.
The prince sighed, stalling for a full three seconds before he growled, "Aang get off before I push you off."
Tilting his big gray eyes up at the other, pupils so large they were almost creepy in the darkness, Aang pouted, "But it's trying to tell us something. Shhhh."
Frowning down at the air-bender, Zuko resisted the urge to smack his forehead at the stupidity of the situation. He also briefly wondered if it would be easier to just stand there and wait it out or to just start the air-bender on fire. After his stomach started whining though and Aang started talking back to it, Zuko had had enough. He roughly pushed the younger boy off before stomping away. The longer they dilly-dallied, the hungrier they were going to get. What he wouldn't give for some questionable nuts or some shifty supplies they stole from pirates.
Aang, sitting up as if nothing had happened, was quickly back on his feet.
"Here," said Aang as he zoomed in front of the other a few moments later, arms full of blue and other questionable mushrooms. "The beast in your belly wanted these. And cabbage. It really wanted cabbage. It even demanded you marry the daughter of a cabbage merchant. I don't know where we are going to find a cabbage merchant and his daughter, but these might appease the thing in your belly for now."
Zuko, caught between brooding and too-tired-to-care, tried to reason with the air-bender, "Aang, I am not going to eat-mmmffm!"
The fire-bender immediately reeled back as Aang stuffed something in his mouth. He was then spitting it out a second later as he started licking his sleeve. Oh, it was soo … so ugh, he almost puked thinking of the texture alone. How mushrooms somehow conspired to be both mushy and clammy, like a dead man's skin left too long in the sun, he would never know. And the flavor … the best description would be: purple.
Licking his sleeve shamelessly as he tried to get rid of the taste, Zuko turned to the younger bender, the flame in his hand flaring for a moment as he barked, "What was that?!"
Not even a bit put out by the obvious danger, Aang merely popped another one in the other boy's open mouth as he was talking.
Zuko nearly choked as he swallowed it.
Luckily, it wasn't a blue one.
Unluckily, Aang might have poisoned him.
He spent the next ten minutes trying to throw up, Aang awkwardly patting the older boy's back while telling him the belly beast was extremely displeased with him and that he should start looking for a bride soon.
Zuko made it a point to burn every mushroom he saw after that point before Aang could even dare pick another.
The peace did not last though for then there was the question. Oh, that horrible spirit-forbidden phrase. At first, it was just once. Just one time. Harmless on its own, but then it was two times, then four, and now it was every five minutes like clockwork…
"So … are we there yet?"
Zuko wiped his mouth, hating the taste of bile. He burned another mushroom he saw in spite before he growled, "How would I know? We're lost, remember?"
Aang, sticking Momo in his shirt while using his tail as a mustache, merely shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know? Avatar powers."
The prince's eye twitched, the flame in his hand crackling for a moment as he tried to smother some of his rage. He managed to contain himself though and thus merely growled like a platypus-bear. "That's not even funny, Aang."
Smiling stupidly, Aang hopped after the other, still mentally detached. "Oooh, don't be such a pouty face. It could be worse."
Stalling, shoulders taut, Zuko turned around and all but barked at the shorter boy, smoke curling out of the top of his twitching lip, "I don't have a pouty face! And how can it be worse? We are trapped in a cave system with seemingly no way out! Even if we do get out, it still puts us days behind Uncle. And did you forget the pirates? Because I sure didn't. They probably know we took the map as well."
Aang, only catching about half of that rant, merely shrugged as Momo's ears popped out of his shirt, "Well, there could always be more booby traps?"
Eye still twitching, Zuko decided the air-head was no use to him in his mushroom and slime-induced haze and was about to stomp ahead, but stalled. That part of the floor seemed almost too smooth, suspiciously so. Yes, the whole place was a maze of ancient stonework intermeshed with natural caves, but this one stone looked particularly out of place. It was even slightly raised up.
Deciding to ignore the entire thing altogether, Zuko took a step to the left. There, one possible trap ignored. Now, probably dozens more to go.
Yet, before he could even take a step forward, he heard a familiar click.
"E-eahhhhhh!"
And down he went.
Aang, slightly behind the older bender, watched as Zuko fell through what looked like trapped floor-slide. He stood there for a moment in nearly complete darkness (except for the glowing slime and mushrooms) as if completely stumped as to where the older bender had gone. Then, as if thinking it was some kind of game, Aang cried out, "Hey, wait for me! That looks fun! Weeee!"
The air-bender then jumped in just before the trapped floor snapped shut, Momo still in his shirt.
…
Aang squealed the whole way down, the dirt slide shifting and tilting to and fro. It was dark, cramped, and far too steep, one never knowing which way they were going to suddenly turn. Finally, after about two loop-de-loops, the slide finally opened, revealing a vast cavern with waterfalls all around it. Aang, even in his mushroom-induced haze, had to gape. The cavern was huge. They had to be under the small mountain on the island or even the ocean itself. It was breathtaking. Water was pooling into a large lake below like a never filling spring, the water itself seemingly glowing a soft blue from the crystals bellow the water and at the water's edge. Even in his slowly clearing mind, Aang could make out the beautiful dragon sculptures all over the cavern walls. It was as if a mass of dragons had come here and settled amongst the walls in matching sets, turning to stone to remain in those poses forever.
It was then, their slide twirling down the central column so they could see the entire cave from a 360 degrees, that Aang noted the most fantastic thing about the cave. There, in the middle of this glowing expanse, was a small circular island. It seemed to have been built there, an altar covered in intricate carvings and red gems. It glittered like a beacon to treasure hunters, especially the centerpiece which was a golden orb.
Aang almost fell on his face when he finally got to the end of the slide, unable to look away from the island and all the majesty that surrounded it. Momo, who was not happy with the rough landing, screeched at the air-bender and hopped away, going off to probably explore the cavern.
Zuko, standing closer to the water's edge, couldn't look away either. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly open. He never expected anything like this to be here. So untouched. Well, the mural sure made a lot more sense now. It was about this golden orb.
It had to be the size of Zuko's head, if not a little larger. He didn't want to even imagine how heavy it was if it was completely made out of gold.
"Wow," said Aang, smiling like a fool. "Want to go touch it?"
Zuko blanched, wondering if the other boy was crazy. They just fell through a trapped door. Of course, that thing was trapped! They would be better off not touching it at all or even looking at it too much … though at least they were no longer wandering through endless passageways. All this water hopefully meant there had to be a way out.
"It's obviously trapped," grumbled Zuko as he started to look around at the rest of the large cavern. "Will you fly up there and see where the water is coming in. I will swim to the bottom of the lake and see if there is a way out there."
Zuko, not waiting a moment more, started to strip his parka. The color didn't bother him as much as it once did. Honestly, for now, he knew there were worse things to be dressed as. Such as pirates. His upper lip twitched at just the thought. They had called him a half-breed. It had hurt more than he would ever admit because it felt true. His mother had abandoned him and his father sent him away in shame.
But at least one person in this whole world wanted him.
At least one person.
Smiling sadly at the thought of his uncle, Zuko was about to pull off his boots and dive into the water, when a voice echoed over his thoughts and the roar of moving water in the background.
"Lee, I at least have to touch it. Sooo … beat you to the golden egg!" laughed Aang as he pointed to the golden sphere on the island, smiling like an idiot as he hopped onto the first stepping stone across the lake.
Zuko nearly fell into the water in surprise. Hadn't the air-head just heard what he said?
"Aang! Don't. You. Dare!" finally managed to bark the stupefied Avatar.
Aang had already hopped onto the second stone sticking out of the water and leading to the little island. Almost drunkenly he balancing on one foot as he grinned at the fire-bender. Then, as if daring Zuko, he hopped onto the next stone, grinning like a madman. Zuko was to his feet in an instant, a glare in his eyes as he stood there ready to tackle Aang into the water if the younger bender even dared to take another step. The stepping stones could be trapped for all he knew.
"Aang, come back NOW," commanded Zuko as he pointed down at the platform he was on. "Don't make me come and get you."
The air-bender laughed and then he started skipping down the stepping stone path. Zuko growled and took after the air-bender, jumping as if to tackle the mushroom-eater. Aang just bound out of the way like a red-elk, laughing and hopping about like a fool. Zuko merely lunged again, but Aang merely did a backward flip and landed two stepping stones forward, the wind ruffling both of their clothes.
Aang then balanced there on one foot, smiling almost mockingly.
Zuko stood still as well, glaring. If it was anyone else, he would have thrown a fireball by now.
Gritting his teeth, Zuko decided to try something different since lunging nor fire-bending were going to work here. It was just once and no one but a half-drugged Aang was around anyway. Quickly trying to mimic one of the katas he had seen Aang and Yugato do while trying to collect that free feeling, Zuko lashed out with an air-bending kata.
It was messy, sloppy, and didn't hold an ounce of grace. Zuko almost fell into the water from the backflow alone, but Aang was hit by the rough breeze regardless; a squeal escaping the air-bender as he started to fall, waving his arms madly.
Deciding not to waste an opportunity, Zuko rushed the flailing bender, ready to tackle the younger bender into the water only to have Aang yelp in surprise and twist up into the air at the last minute.
Zuko himself actually slipped, his feet falling into the water as his upper half clung to the stone column desperately trying not to fall any farther into the water.
Aang merely twirled with his air-bending, one foot gracefully placing him down onto the decorative island before the altar and its gold sphere. Turning away from the enraged fire-bender, Aang stared at what was before him. The altar had obviously been meant to house several golden orbs upon its copper and stone form and given that they were all empty except for the top tier, the gold orb was that much more inviting. It was as if it was forbidden to touch it, raised upward from people's hands.
As a monk, Aang wasn't a very greedy person. Curiosity, though … it would always be his downfall. This orb honestly didn't look like it was mere metal. He was sure it was something more. And so, with a confident hand, Aang stepped upward on the bottom tiers and reached forward to touch it … only to stop when he heard a dripping noise behind him.
"It's just a little touch," whined Aang, already knowing Lee was right behind him.
"No. No one will be touching it," grumbled Zuko, even more irritated than earlier because he was half wet.
"Just a small feel," said Aang, wanting to at least have a respectable ending to his personal pirate tale.
"No, you won't," barked Zuko as he lunged forward to pull Aang off the tiers.
Aang, not ready to be yanked off the tiers, overcompensated and flailed a hand outward smacking it right into the golden egg.
Zuko, Aang now in a headlock, watched with a terrified expression as the orb titled back and forth, seemingly lighter than it originally appeared. Not wanting it to break, he quickly reached out a spare hand and barely caught the round object before it could hit the floor. Only once he was sure it wasn't going to fall out of his hand, did the prince turn to glare at the air-bender in his grasp.
"Why'd you touch it?' said Aang from his headlock before Zuko could even chide the other. "I thought you said it was booby-trapped and that no one should touch it."
Blush forming on his cheeks, embarrassment crawling up every nerve, Zuko choked, "You knocked it off. Of course, I had to touch it."
Aang, trying to squirm free, merely repeated himself, "But you still touched it."
"You almost broke it! Of course, I had to touch it," Zuko all but growled, wanting to take said egg and beat the other with it.
"Why would I break it?" added Aang, squirming even more.
"Because you ate that mushroom!" barked Zuko, a vein starting to throb in his forehead.
"What does breaking golden eggs have to do with mushrooms? Were you going to make an omelet?" said Aang, squirming even more and nearly succeeding.
Zuko nearly groaned. When was the mushroom going to wear off? Normal Aang was trying enough, but this?
Opening his mouth, caring little if the answer sounded logical or not, Zuko's words were cut off by a sudden gong-like noise. It echoed over the entire cavern, like a metallic cry of rage. The banished prince's hopes quickly sank.
Of course, the egg was trapped. Why wouldn't it be? What now? Was the cavern going to fill with water, sand, manta-sharks? All three?
Instead, the whole place started to shake. Zuko had to let go of Aang to just hold onto the golden egg. It was then that the prince noticed that the golden egg was seemingly more than a decorative egg. It was actually warm and wasn't heavy like metal at all. It was dense in a different way … like there was a wet mixture inside it.
It wasn't a real egg, was it?
Not that the Avatar got to dwell on it, the shaking increasing. Finally, when Zuko was sure they were going to have to start dodging stalactites from the top of the cavern, something suddenly rose up from the waters before the small island. It rose and rose until it towered over the two benders, a standing stream of moving water. It was only then that Zuko noticed that a skull was at the very top of the water tower, grinning threateningly down at the two of them.
Great. This was spirit business. Just want they needed.
Then, before Zuko could even gather himself, other bones started to rise up from the water. The bones were obviously too big to be that of humans. In fact, they seemed to be building around said skull like a grizzly jigsaw. Looking at the quickly growing bone pile and the carvings all around, Zuko had to look down again at the egg in his hands. He knew what these large bones belonged to: dragons.
The glistening at the bottom of the lake wasn't caused by crystals at all, was it? It was light reflecting off of dragon scales, wasn't it?
This place … this place was a graveyard and they had disturbed it.
Swallowing, knowing already what had to be done, Zuko straightened his back and faced the forming titan before him. He carefully handed the egg off to Aang as he did so. It seemed like he had run across something only an Avatar could fix … yet, he had no idea where to begin or even if he wanted to.
The prince decided to rely on a lesson he had learned from his mother: it is best to be polite when you are the one at fault.
Bowing his head when the last of the bones were set into place, a collection of bone and dribbling water before him like a great dragon, Zuko called out, his throat so dry he was almost afraid to speak, "Please forgive us great dragon spirit. We did not mean to disturb you. We were lost and merely happened upon this place. We did not wish to disturb anything here. Please, we will leave everything as it was, just direct us on a way out."
Standing there, head still bowed, Zuko almost thought he was going to have to repeat himself when finally a great growl filled the cavern.
Looking up at the bone titan, Zuko was about to bow his head again and repeat his apology. He didn't even get to open his mouth again when a voice echoed over the expanse. It wasn't what Zuko expected and that scared him more than anything. It was the kind of voice that belong to a dying man. Each word wet and gasping.
"I … can … never … leave … and … neither … will … you."
Before Zuko could even blink, the bone dragon was suddenly rushing forward, jaw gaping and open. Zuko dodged out of the way with a sweeping roll, falling partially into the water given how small the island was. The young man grunted as he gripped the side of the stone island, trying not to fall in and pull himself up as quickly as possible. Yet, he need not have worried, because, as the dragon flew around ready to make another sweep, it flew right over him and towards its second target: Aang.
"Yee-ah!" cried Aang as he pulled the golden egg close. "Why's it after me?!"
Aang then bound back to the original platform, skipping stones as he awkwardly held the egg over his head while trying to look behind himself. He immediately regretted it as he watched a maw full of far-too-many-teeth drawing ever closer to him. He barely had time to jump a few extra feet up into the air before the dragon lunged for him, the air-bender watching bone-scales fly by right below him. He then cringed as he came down running on the dragon's back. Said dragon did not find that amusing and made a roundabout, trying to snap the offending air-bender off of its back. Aang barely had enough time to scream and jumped far enough to the left to avoid getting swallowed.
Zuko, meanwhile, was hopping across the rock path, trying to hurry while not slipping in. He finally stalled when he had sure footing, soggy boots feeling heavy and precarious as he did a fire bending kata … just as it lunged for Aang. The flaming ball flew with deadly accuracy, slamming into the side of the bone beast's side. The beast shook and rattled as if it would fall apart in one hit, the corpse rearing its great bonehead back with a haunting squeal.
"Put down the egg, Aang! It's probably after the egg!" cried Zuko as he nearly fell off a wet stepping stone as he tried to hurry to the original landing. It seemed the bloody dragon had gotten all the stepping stones wet on its last fly over and his boots weren't helping. He didn't have time to fall in. Aang needed help!
"What did you say?!" yelled Aang as he jumped to a nearby cave wall, sliding down the side only to run across the water a moment later, throwing up waves and making a wide arc.
Jumping to the next stone, Zuko nearly slipped again. He needed to get to the main landing. He needed some steady ground to attack and aim.
Stalling, cupping his mouth to make himself louder, Zuko yelled again, "Aang, put down the egg! It obviously wants the egg!"
Unfortunately, Aang did not hear him. The air-bender was currently on the other side of the cavern at this time, running across the water like fowl trying to take flight. He was making his way back through with grim determination and quickly zoomed past Zuko a second later, nearly knocking the fire-bender into the water with his after breeze alone.
The air-bender at least had the decency to yell an apology as he went past. "Sorry! Ihaveanideajustaminute!"
Zuko waved his arms slightly as the other bender passed, trying to keep his balance. Yet, after regaining his balance, a rattling noise reminded the prince what was right behind Aang. Zuko barely had enough time to look to his side and see an opening jaw coming his way. He sighed … and promptly jumped in the water. The dragon flew overhead without a second glance at the rippling water, jaw still open for an orange and yellow snack.
The first thing Zuko noted as he went under was that the water was deep, much deeper than it looked from above. Opening his eyes as air bubbles raced away from him, Zuko couldn't help but note the stepping stones now looked more like stepping pillars underwater. Some had obviously been trapped once upon a time, but had long since been rusted by time and salt water or now laid at the bottom of the deep pool like fallen logs.
It was also there, at the bottom of the pool, that Zuko truly saw the dragon bones. He could even see more gold and silvery colors at the bottom. They were likely cracked eggs like the one Aang was carrying. Well, that explained why the pedestal looked like it had been made to hold at least a dozen of those things. It had. And now there was only one.
And with that thought, the banished prince started to kick to the surface. He needed to get that egg back to the pedestal. Hopefully, that would calm this spirit.
Hopefully.
Breaking to the surface, Zuko nearly went back under in surprise as he caught sight of what Aang had been doing the few seconds he was underwater.
The air-bender was currently running up the center support beam of the cavern. He was running circles upward, and the bone dragon was following after. Then, finally at the very top of the column, the little fool went yeeha and jumped towards the ceiling of the cavern. He hit the stone ceiling feet first, propelling himself downward and between one of the loose coils of the dragon's body. The bone beast gladly followed, slithering between itself. It was willing to do anything to capture the egg and its egg thief.
Even tie itself in knots.
Zuko could only watch with wide eyes as Aang ran down to the original dock, almost posing there with the egg as the beast opened its jaw behind him as if to swallow the boy whole … only yanked a few yards from Aang's form. It seemed the boy's plan was successful, but he at least at the decency to cringe away from the snapping jaws of impending death as he all but crawled to Zuko.
"Tied himself in knots, didn't he?" Joked the air-bender as he offered a hand up to the other boy. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," grumbled Zuko as he swam to the landing Aang was on, entirely sick of stepping stones and this island in general. "Let's just put the egg back and get out of this place before it gets loose."
Yet, just as Zuko swam up to the rising, head bobbing, a horrific sight greeted him. The dragon's bones were shifting through each other, silently undoing any knot that may have been. It was now behind Aang, dwarfing him like a water-snake to a cricket-mouse.
"Aang! Look out!" cried Zuko as he splashed and tried to point out the thing behind the air-bender, but, as Aang started to turn around to see the gaping jaws that were greeting him, they snapped shut. There was then a sickening silence as Zuko watch the dragon tilt its head and swallow Aang whole.
"Aaanngg!" cried the banished prince, his heart skipping a beat.
No. No. No! Not Aang! He was a good kid. He was nice and there was this feeling of familiarity all around him that Zuko rarely felt in anyone. Only Uncle … and his mother … Lu Ten.
"Why aren't you helping me?" whispered Zuko to that part of himself, his head bobbing in the water. The prince didn't even get to feel the whispers rise and greet him in reply, because now the large skull was peering down over the landing at him, ready to do away with the other intruder.
Not knowing what else to do, rage starting to overcome his shock, Zuko gathered his breath and awkwardly tried to do a kata while in the water. It was a messy fireball, but it was big and full of his growing wrath. The dragon didn't even get to rear back its head in surprise as the fireball slammed into the right side of its face. The explosion thrust the great dragon back while knocking loose the lower jaw bone. Zuko, right below the thing, quickly realized his error as the large chunk of bone came straight for him. He tried to dive under and out swim the falling jaw, but it merely slammed into his back, suddenly propelling him deeper into the water with its weight.
Panicked air bubbles escaping him, Zuko tried to turn around and push away from the jaw that was forcing him downwards into the deep waters. He almost succeeded, but the ground came too quickly, and Zuko found himself trapped on the bottom of the lake bed surround in bones and scales and the most perfect white sand.
More air bubbles escaping him, Zuko tried to shimmy loose. He had to get out. And why? Why was it always water? How many times did he nearly have to drown?!
Finally, when Zuko was actually starting to panic, there came the ringing of a bell from the back if his mind instead of a voice. It immediately felt old and for some reason, sad, like this past life's name had been long forgotten. Regardless, he understood her unspoken words well enough.
Now, breathe.
The next thing Zuko knew he was rising out of the water, gasping for air, reaching out for the first thing he could grab. His hand hit something hard and he latched onto it, pulling himself up and out of the water. Gasping, Zuko quickly realized he was on the decorative island … and that his hands were blue.
His eyes went wide, he quickly turned around ready to rush back to his body. He was going to drown down there! Why had they thrown him into the between realm right now?! Yet, as he turned around, the cavern revealed what was dwelling just out of sight in the half-realm, what lingered between the living and the spirit realm. The cavern now full of whispering, smoking dragons that flew around and around the underground cavern belching ghostly black smoke. He could barely see half of the stepping stones the miasma was so thick.
Taking a breath, he decided to trust the past life that had decided to help him. He didn't know how to enter his body again regardless. Yugato hadn't had time to teach him.
Swallowing, hands becoming fists as rage and fear fought within him, Zuko took another breath and turned around. Part of him just knew what to do, the soft ringing of a bell in his ear.
…
Meanwhile, in the human realm, another bender was equally distressed though his lines of thought were more 'oh spirits, I'm alive, I'm alive' and 'oh this is sooo gross.' It also supported his vegetarian lifestyle. One didn't quite look at meat the same when they were swallowed whole.
Aang grunted in the small enclosure, feeling his body slide down the bone trachea a little farther. He was doing his best to use his legs to keep him still in the bone dragon's throat and to keep his air bubble twirling around and around. This creature was half made of water after all and the moment he let his air bubble drop he was sure he would either be swallowed or drown. He really didn't want to risk going any deeper into the beast either, because a part of him knew that he would be taken, body and all, to the spirit realm. He didn't know how he knew that, but he trusted his gut.
Grunting as he tried to keep from being crushed, Aang pushed the egg against his chest. Part of him wanted to drop it, to let it be, but a different part of him knew that if he dropped it, he was going to be crushed instead of drowned.
"Come on, Lee," whined the air-bender to himself as something akin to drool dripped down on his shoulders, his mind almost completely clear from his mushroom haze after burning so much energy. "Please, please help me! I promise I won't eat anymore glowing mushrooms."
Yet, just when he started losing his air-bubble, water slowly dripping all around him, there was suddenly a jarring. It was like the whole dragon had been smacked to the side. Aang, in surprise, lost the last of his air-bubble, water filling in all around him. Aang quickly threw a hand over his mouth, trying to keep what air he had left. In doing this he lost his grip though and started to slide downward. In surprise, he opened his mouth, losing his last breath of air and nearly the egg as well.
Aang, true fear settling in his bones, found himself repeating a mantra over and over again in his head: I will not drown again. I will not drown again. I will not drown again!
He didn't know why those words were in his head. Part of him didn't care. He just wanted out. He knew he had a fate. He had a purpose!
Just then all the cracking and the shaking finally seemed to stall, an icy chill suddenly coming from the water around him. Before Aang could even shutter from the cold, though there was a splitting noise, like old wood being snapped. And finally, there was light. The water around the air-bender quickly cascaded out of a widening hole, Aang finding himself falling with it.
Holding the egg close, closing his eyes for the impacted into likely water, Aang fell out of the bone dragon, snapped bones tugging at his loose clothing as he fell. The air-bender couldn't help but shout slightly as he slammed into something hard like stone, the air so very cold around his soaking wet form.
Aang immediately sat up, egg in his lap as he grabbed his arms, rubbing them to try and warm himself. He quickly looked up to see where the dragon was, only to cringe away. The bone dragon was right above him, bottom jaw missing and frozen solid. He quickly looked around to see where he was and how he had gotten out.
He almost didn't recognize the cavern.
It was covered in ice. It had obviously been a battleground. Jagged sheets of ice everywhere in the now frozen lake, pointed up in the air like spiky towers. He would have gaped at that alone, but what really caught his attention was the person before him. The person that had saved him.
It was a past life of Lee from the look of her and her blue glow.
And she was beautiful.
She was merely standing there at the forefront of the altar island, looking up at the dragon she had just done battle with. A warm dress hugged her form, the whole thing trailing all the way to the floor like flowing water. Her hair was long as well, falling down the entirety of her back and held together with large bone beads. A fur cape also covered her shoulders flowing all around her, easily marking her as one of the Avatar's past Water Tribe incarnations.
Aang, curiosity getting the better of him, picked the egg up and stood, looking her and her ghostly form over. He immediately felt safe around her like he had spoken to her before. It was almost as if they had been friends in a previous life.
"Hi, I'm Aang. What's your name?"
The young woman looked down from the frozen dragon and at Aang, smiling sadly. She bowed her waist slightly as if in greeting, the small bells hanging from her ears ringing as if in answer. It was as if she was so old that she no longer had a voice and the bell was the only way she could answer.
Aang was not perturbed though. He merely smiled as if she had spoken, adding, "Wow, Lee has some really pretty past lives."
At this, the past life raised up her draping long fur-lined sleeve and covered her smile, the bells ringing on her ears as if she was laughing at his comment.
Smiling at her humor, Aang asked, "Should we run or something? Or is Lee stuck in the spirit realm again?"
The past life pulled down her sleeve and gave a knowing smile, the woman tilting her partially painted face up to the dragon, the action saying everything that needed to be said.
"He's speaking with the dragon you say?"
The woman's bell merely rang once and for a time Aang stood there in complete silence, waiting.
…
Zuko stood on the altar island before the bone dragon. It was as horrible in the half-realm as in the living realm, but something was different and odd about the bone dragon. It was covered in chains. Every bone seemed to have a spectral chain clamped to it as if the bone beast was merely a puppet, a toy to be played with. Zuko, realizing this, tilted his head up and over to the dragon, looking for the puppeteer.
And there he found it.
It was the spirit of a man. A simple human soul latched onto this world.
Well, he supposed, that explained why the first thing to rise from the water was a human skull. It seemed that they weren't dealing with a dragon at all.
Looking this soul up and down, he watched as the chains loosened and tightened all over the man's form. At first glance, he seemed to be Fire Nation, but his face was painted, feathers hanging from his hair. In fact, he looked like he belonged to these ruins. A Sun Warrior perhaps, like from the oldest Fire Temple scriptures. If so, he was likely an old soul left to rot.
Zuko, anger bubbling in his stomach, wanted to bark out demands. He wanted to start this spirit on fire and watch it wither in this other realm, but he already knew from experience that he had no such abilities in the spirit realm. He had no fire here. All he had were his words.
Swallowing, Zuko ground out, "Who are you? Human souls are not meant to linger in this plane."
There was a moment of silence. It seemed to drag on forever. Zuko wanted to bark out his question again, impatience reigning over him, but the spirit finally replied in a choking voice, water spewing from its mouth after every word, "I … can … never … leave."
The voice echoed in an inhuman way and something akin to the word demon bounced around in Zuko's head before he asked, "What do you mean you can never leave?"
"I … was …. a … traitor. I … am … the … cursed."
Looking at the man more carefully, he did finally note that there was a red glow on the bands that kept his many chains in place. The characters were old, ancient, yet a whisper in the back of his mind clearly defined it. Traitor was carved into the bands.
Knowing that the only way out of this place, back to his body and saving Aang was to solve this conundrum, Zuko asked, "It says, traitor. Explain."
The thick metal band around the spirit's neck rattled as he turned his head, the sound of cracking bones filling the expanse. It was as if it hadn't moved its neck in eons. Its arm was no better as the spirit struggled to raise it, the bone dragon's head trying to move where he pointed. He pointed along the radius of the cavern, seemingly at all the dragon shadows.
Zuko swallowed, understanding dawning on him. "You were the one to kill the dragons and break the eggs? Weren't you?"
The spirit nodded, a rattling breath escaping it as it seemingly coughed up water from nowhere. This fire-bender had obviously been drowned and never properly put to rest. Zuko wouldn't have been surprised if the man had been caught after his betrayal, chained and weight down, and then thrown into this very lake.
It would explain why his bones were here.
"What do you mean by cursed?" said Zuko, feeling almost a sense of pity for the departed soul. "Is that why you attacked us?"
The spirit choked a bit more. Its chains shuttering slightly as he tried to point to the whispering dragons around them again, "They … have … cursed … me … for … my … betrayal... I … can … never … leave … until … the … dragons … return … to … the … island."
Zuko eyed one of the misty, smoke dragons as it flew behind the incarcerated spirit, black and white scales shimmering for a moment before it crashed into the mist of another dragon and disappeared. He doubted he could take on a normal dragon for that matter a dozen or more of them. How this man had killed all of them, Zuko didn't want to know. It was obviously done without a trace of honor.
There was no honor for egg-smashers.
Looking back at the spirit, wanting to leave it there to suffer, a soft warmth in the back of his mind whispered it wasn't his place to judge, only to release the dead. Their judgment came in the spirit realm when it came time to be reborn. If they got to be reborn at all.
Looking at the pedestal where the egg had once been, a thought occurred to him. Quickly, Zuko asked, "Have you killed the air-bender? Has he destroyed the egg?"
The spirit gasped for a moment as if it was exceptionally hard to capture a breath, though they both knew a spirit had no need for breathing. Then it answered simply, "Not … yet … I … cannot… He … has … the … egg. I … cannot … crush … the … last … one. The … last … dragon."
Swallowing, hating to make a promise to save a dragon when killing one was far more likely to offer him any honor, Zuko bowed his head slightly and made a vow, "I, the Avatar, will set you free earthly spirit. I will take the egg and I will get it to hatch. I will then return with the dragon to this place to break your curse. On my honor, I swear this."
Not that Zuko felt he had much honor these days.
"Now, please release us."
The trapped spirit was still for a moment until it slowly nodded its head, its voice softer and seemingly tired now, "Take … the ... egg … and … hatch ... it... I … hold … you ... by … your … honor, Avatar. "
And with that, Zuko felt like he was falling backward. Back into his body and finally to the floor.
There was a thud, the prince immediately groaning as he reached up and cupped the back of his head. He wasn't even given a moment to moan about the forming lump on his head when Aang was suddenly standing over him, big gray eyes filling with questions that Zuko knew were going to give him a headache.
Well, a larger headache.
At least he hadn't nearly passed out this time.
"Are you alright, Lee?" finally asked Aang as he put the egg down a little ways away from Zuko's head. Despite himself, Zuko found himself looking at it … and then the frozen bone dragon above them. It still had its half jaw open as if ready to bite down. Not that Zuko was afraid of it anymore. It just felt burdensome now. How was he supposed to be a prince, the Avatar and hatch out a dragon? Oh, and survive Aang. That was a big one recently.
He sighed, plopping down completely. He had no will to move or anything really.
"Aang ..." said Zuko, closing his eyes.
"Yeah?" said Aang, still standing above him.
"Remind me never to follow a pirate map ever again."
Aang laughed and swayed on the balls of his feet, chirping all too truthfully, "Sure thing … but I can't make any promises."
Despite himself, Zuko grinned slightly at that, adding, "And Aang."
"Yeah."
"I'm going to sleep right here for the night," added the prince, not even caring that it was cold. "I'm not going to move an inch. This entire thing was exhausting."
Aang merely chuckled, unable to disagree though there was a waver in his voice, "But … could you start a fire at least. It's kind of cold now, and I don't think we're supposed to get this egg cold."
At that, Zuko actually laughed, the sound echoing over the cavern's expanse. He had just realized something. How did one hatch a dragon egg anyway?
"Oh, and Lee?" said Aang, grinning mischievously.
"What Aang?" said Zuko, contemplating how much energy it would take to sit up.
"I just thought you would like to know … You have some very pretty past lives."
Zuko groaned and covered his face. Would this horrible trip ever end?
XXX
Paw07: I really love this chapter. It has a Goonies/Treasure Island feel to it. It also makes a slight homage to Sokka and his cactus scene. Also, anyone gets the badger song internet joke? And the Skyrim ingredients? I have no shame for abusing those. As for the past life. I do have a doodle of her on Deviantart later.
(Revisions November 2016)