Hello again! Back with another chapter! This whole pandemic thing has just put me in writing mode - living in a one bedroom apartment during plague-times has left me with little to do but rewatch A:TLA and write about it.
This chapter is a little shorter than the last few and you'll notice that I mess with the timeline a bit (it will be so worth it later on, I promise). Let's just pretend for the sake of this story that Sokka's Master came first, ok? :)
I also totally skip a lot of Roku's story because I kind of hated the part where he tells Aang to be persistent and he'll get the girl. It's precisely the thing that I can't stand about Kataang - that he just keeps kissing when she is obviously not feeling it.
Thank you to my lovely reviewers who motivate me to continue this story, even when my ADHD brain goes and starts writing a new one (Yea, writing mode, I'm already planning for more Zutara fics).
I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading! Please do leave a review; I love thoughts and criticisms!
"You were friends with Fire Lord Sozin?"
"Back then he was just Prince Sozin… and he was my best friend." Roku smiled fondly at the memory. "But being the Avatar changed everything; I had to leave the Fire Nation to master the other elements. First, I went to the Southern Air Temple to learn airbending, where I met Gyatso."
"You knew Monk Gyatso?" Aang's eyes lit up, unbelieving. "That's amazing! I can't believe you were friends with Monk Gyatso just like I was!"
"Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes." Roku placed a hand on Aang's shoulder.
"I learned waterbending at the Northern Water Tribe, then earthbending; I met many friends along the way, just as you have, Aang."
Aang smiled and thought of Katara and Sokka and Toph.
"Eventually, I returned to the Fire Nation. I was no longer a boy, but a man and a fully realized Avatar. And my best friend was no longer Prince Sozin, but Fire Lord Sozin. Despite all the time apart and our diverging destinies, we remained as close as ever. When I married, Fire Lord Sozin was my best man. However, it was on the day of my wedding that I recognized something in my best friend; something that I had not noticed before. It seemed that the power of his position had started going to his head. This was the first time I learned of his intention to expand the reaches of the Fire Nation – under the guise of 'sharing our prosperity'. Of course, I shut him down; my duty as Avatar was to maintain the balance, as is yours now. But," He sighed, "That didn't deter Sozin."
Aang listened in stunned silence.
"Many years passed before I learned that Sozin had gone ahead with his plan, despite my warning. He had attacked the Earth Kingdom – creating the first Fire Nation colonies. When I saw him next, we fought. I spared his life for the sake of our past friendship, and warned him that I would not be so generous next time."
"Why didn't he listen?"
"Well, we didn't speak or see each other for 25 years after our battle. I was preoccupied with my family and trusted that he had taken my warning seriously. It was one of my biggest mistakes as the Avatar, to make such an assumption. When I saw Sozin again, it was the last time. The volcano on my island erupted in the night and Sozin showed up, he had come to help me save the people and the village. But when I had inhaled poison gas, something in him changed – he looked down at me and realized that without me in the way, his plans could finally come to fruition. He left me on the island to die."
"That's terrible, Roku. I-"
"Make sense of our past, Aang, and you will bring peace and restore balance in the world."
Then he was gone.
…
With Roku gone and the great comet returning, the timing was perfect to change the world. I knew the next Avatar would be born an Air Nomad, so I wiped out the Air Temples. But somehow, the new Avatar eluded me. I wasted the remainder of my life searching in vain. I know he's hiding out there, somewhere, the Fire Nation's greatest threat: the last airbender.
Zuko unrolled the rest of the scroll. Nothing.
"What? That can't be it." He turned it over to check the back, he looked among the other scrolls in the room. "Where's the rest of it?" Dropping the scroll on the floor, Zuko realized he was no closer to getting an answer than he had been before. He cursed and resolved to visit his Uncle again. What game was the old man playing, sending him on a wild turtleduck-chase for nothing?
Zuko slammed the door as he approached the cell that held Iroh. "Is this some kind of game, Uncle? I found the secret history," He scowled, the word slipping off his tongue like acid. "Which by the way, should be renamed the history that most people already know. You said I needed to find out about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end!"
Iroh leaned against the back wall of his cell, looking no less filthy and disheveled than he had at their last meeting. Not looking at his nephew he sighed, "No... he wasn't."
"What are you talking about?"
"You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather." He was reaching into his sleeve for something. "Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku."
Zuko felt like the floor had just been snatched from under him. Suddenly, his legs could no longer hold his weight and he crumpled to the ground. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself."
He looked down at his hands, as if they held the answer. He was related to Roku? How had he not known this?
"Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature; your legacy."
"Evil and good…" Zuko repeated to his hands, thinking back to what he had said on Ember Island. He was confused. The feeling like he was constantly being pulled in opposite directions returned, tugging on something inside of him. The painful, frustrating battle over his morality commenced, even stronger than before. He had seen the evil that the war brought upon the Earth Kingdom; he couldn't ignore it, despite all his efforts to focus on his destiny. But what even was his destiny? He had been so certain before, so sure that his destiny was to capture the Avatar and return to the Fire Nation; to become the next Fire Lord. He still wanted it, and he still wanted his honor restored… but he also wanted so much more now.
His mind drifted back to his time in the Earth Kingdom. He remembered the satisfactory feeling he had gotten when he helped someone; when he had done something good without hesitation, it just seemed natural. He wasn't even thinking about destiny or honor; he hadn't thought at all… he had just done what he felt was right. Then he saw Katara's smile. The image had been seared into in his mind. It was the first time someone had looked at him that way since… well, his mother. It was a look of understanding and acceptance; empathy. He wanted to see that smile again, more than anything. He wanted to follow her example.
"Uncle… I…" He struggled to find the words. Thoughts of Katara rushed through his mind; how angry she had been at herself in the Catacombs – not for herself, though, but for the people she had let down. He remembered farther back to when he had tied her to a tree and bribed her with the last piece of her mother that she had – even at great personal cost, she refused to give up the Avatar. She refused to give up on hope, on her people… on everyone. Even him.
"Prince Zuko. There is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now… by you."
Then, it was as if something tore inside of him. The battle that had raged on for so long came to an end. He met his uncle's gaze. His petulant scowl turned into a look of fierce determination as he listened to Iroh.
"Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all this strife, is the power to restore balance to the world." He pulled something out of his sleeve and rose.
Zuko rose with him and stepped towards the iron bars.
"This," Iroh held out his hand to him, "is a royal artifact."
He took the bundle from his uncle's hand and gingerly removed the cloth. His eyes widened when he recognized it as a headpiece, light reflecting off the golden flame on each side.
"Uncle…"
"It's supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince."
…
"Well, this is it," Sokka announced to the group, waving at the mouth of the cave around him. "This is how we will be living until the invasion begins; hiding in cave after cave after… cave after… cave." His shoulders slumped at the thought.
"Sokka, we don't need to become cave-people." Katara half-laughed.
"We're in enemy territory, Katara! We can't risk not being cave-people."
Katara looked down at her attire, the torn, dirty tatters of her blue Water Tribe tunic, which seemed to be losing fabric by the day.
"I think what we need is some new clothes…"
Aang was quick to agree, "Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."
"Plus," Toph added, "They have real food out there. Does anyone really want to sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" To illustrate her point, she slammed her fist into the wall behind her, sending little white insects with long hind legs bounding out of the darkness.
Momo slid across the ground to catch one before it got away. The lemur crouched and greedily crunched into the insect, before turning around and looking at Sokka, the long white legs dangling from his mouth.
Sokka watched in dismay and sighed at the lemur, "Looks like we got out-voted, sport. Let's get some new clothes."
Katara was relieved. She loved her comfortable blue tunic and took great pride in her Water Tribe attire, but she could admit she had been looking quite bedraggled as of late. Their clothes were being dirtied and torn at a rate her washing and sewing could not keep up with. And, admittedly, she was interested to see what the Fire Nation was like. All she knew of the Fire Nation were the soldiers and some members of the Royal Family… she wondered how the rest of the nation lived; what their culture was like, how they felt about the war and the other kingdoms.
They snuck up on the small buildings with as much silence as they could muster. The three stone structures were positioned side-by-side on a gray rocky plain and before them, a dozen or so clotheslines were draped with red garments. Katara thanked the spirits for their luck; it looked like they had come across a washhouse. This would be much less risky than having to break into someone's home. And certainly much less personal.
"I don't know about this…" Aang muttered, "These clothes belong to somebody."
Katara rolled her eyes; Aang was always so noble. How else did he expect them to find clothes? They couldn't exactly wander into town in this state, unkempt and muddy, dressed in the colors of the other three nations; they would be begging to draw attention to themselves. They also had limited funds and, while she was very thrifty, she doubted they would be able to feed themselves for the next couple weeks if they had to spend half of their money on clothing.
Ignoring the Avatar's ethical dilemma, she scanned the area for people and, when she saw it was clear, jumped out from behind the rock, singing, "I call the silk robe!" She ran to the first clothesline and pulled down a dark red skirt, pants, and the top that was strung up beside them.
"I guess if it is essential to our survival…" Aang reasoned with himself out loud, then followed her example. Before long, they were all dressed in shades of red and black.
Aang tied a headband over the arrow tattoo on his forehead and turned around. "Ta-da! Normal kid."
"Hmm…" Toph grumbled, eyeing a pair of shoes in her hands. "I should probably wear shoes, but then I won't be able to see as well…" Having made a decision, she pulled the shoes on and kicked out the sole, which characteristically smacked Sokka in the face. "Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender."
Katara laughed at Sokka as she undid her hair, realizing that her braid and hair loopies would have to go. She released her wavy brown locks and pulled half of her hair up into a top knot.
"How does it look?" She asked the group, pointing at her head.
Aang gave her a thumbs up and Toph shrugged, stating the obvious, "I can't see, Sugar Queen."
"Katara, mom's necklace." Sokka motioned.
She sighed, "Oh… Yeah, I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it?" Reaching around the back of her neck to undo the clasp, she removed the necklace and rubbed her thumb across the carved ridges of the pendant, before tucking it into her bindings.
…
Miku straightened, eyeing the pile of supplies she had set out in the middle of the floor, and wondered how she was going to carry all of this to the Southern Air Temple. Realistically, she knew this was a long-shot; she had no idea where the Avatar was. Not only that, but she had never set a foot off her island, at least, not outside of the Spirit World. She had no tracking abilities; her wilderness skills weren't entirely lacking, but left much to be desired; and, she had a lot to carry.
Stuffing her candles and herb jars into a canvas sack, she thought about her journey. First, she would need to go down to the village and get herself a boat; surely one of the fishermen would be willing to let her use theirs. Perhaps Ahn-Shu? He had said he owed her a favor from earlier in the year when she cured his wife, Akua, and their child, Li-Shai, of Wolfbat Fever. She made a mental note to stop by their house on the way down to the harbor.
She tied some blank talismans together and placed them neatly into her bag, before stuffing her ceremonial robes in on top of them. Sitting back, she thought maybe she was packing too much. She pulled out the robes and figured it would be best to leave them, lest they get ruined in her travels. Ancient ceremonial robes were not so easy to replace.
Slinging her skin-drum and canvas sack over her shoulder, she grabbed the bundle of dried plums, pickled fish, treenuts, and cabbage buns that she had prepared that morning and briskly walked out the door. She made it two steps from the threshold when she realized she forgot Yangchen's glider in the corner and cursed her memory.
…
Zuko sat in his room, staring up at the red tapestry that hung over his bed, bearing the insignia of the Fire Nation. Could he really do it? Could he betray his country, even if it was the right thing to do? He tried not to get too sentimental; if he thought about it too much, the little voice in the back of his mind would start whispering about honor again. He would be reminded of his father, banishing him from home. Scowling, he decided that this time it would be different. He wouldn't be banished; he was going to confront his father and leave of his own volition. This was his choice to make, not Ozai's.
A tap on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Prince Zuko?"
"Enter." He said gruffly, as a servant opened the door. Bowing respectfully, the man entered the room.
"I have delivered the information, per your request, Your Highness."
"And the response?"
"The bounty hunter, June, is in your service, Prince Zuko."
"Good. And the piece of fabric will suffice?"
"Yes, Prince Zuko. She will send word soon."
"You are not to mention this to anyone."
"I know, Prince Zuko. You have my word; on my honor."
Zuko just nodded at the man and waited until he heard his footsteps echoing down the hall to get up.
It was time to start planning. If he was going to go through with this, he needed all the information he could get. He would have to be very careful and deliberate. He would have to start thinking more like Azula.
…
Katara inhaled through her nose, basking in the scent of smoked meats and spices. She had missed being able to freely walk around in public; to see a new village every day. The weeks they spent on the Fire Nation ship had made her a little stir-crazy and she was happy to finally put it behind her.
"I used to come here all the time to visit my friend, Kuzon." Aang was telling Toph and Sokka.
The market was bustling with people, all dressed in different shades of red. There were street vendors selling jewelry, scrolls, rugs, tea sets, hair ornaments, clothing, skewered meat, and sweetbuns. The Fire Nation, despite all the red, reminded her very much of the marketplaces in the Earth Kingdom. People were chatting happily with one another, someone was haggling with one of the street vendors, and children were weaving through the alleyways chasing each other. Music was pouring out of an open door to a tea house. Katara took a moment to appreciate all that was being offered to her senses.
"Flameo!" She heard from behind her and giggled as Aang strode through the village, confidently greeting citizens with "Hello, hotman!"
Sokka wasn't far behind. "Smoked sea slug!" He exclaimed, "Is anyone else hungry?"
They filed into the restaurant and ordered some food. Aang was having a long conversation with the cook about vegetarian options.
Having gathered her smoked sea slug and rice, Katara motioned to Sokka that she was going to find somewhere to sit on the patio upstairs.
There was an unoccupied table in the corner that she made her way to. People were chatting all around and, through the chatter, she heard a familiar name. She turned to the suspected source and found a table with two girls, talking over a pot of tea.
"-don't know where he went. Honestly, I couldn't care less."
"Mai, you can stop pretending you don't care now. It's just me!"
"I really don't though. If Zuko thinks that he can just use me like that, he's even worse than I thought."
There it was again. They were talking about Zuko? Suddenly, she recognized the two girls from when they were in the Earth Kingdom. It was the giddy acrobatic chi-blocker and the moody knife thrower. Katara turned, hoping they didn't notice her, but continued eavesdropping.
"And you didn't say anything to Princess Azula?"
"No. I know you practically worship her, Ty Lee, but I don't. Whatever he was doing, it was something he didn't want her to know about. Let's keep it that way."
"What do you think it was?"
"I don't know. He came back in the morning dressed in black and all… flustered. Whatever. I'd rather just forget about it. Let's get going, this village is lame."
Katara saw Sokka and Toph coming up the stairs with Aang trailing closely behind. She caught Sokka's gaze and motioned with her eyes at the two girls. She saw the recognition on Sokka's face as he turned and said, "Ah, actually let's sit downstairs,"
"But Kata-" Aang started from behind him.
"Kuzon." Sokka interrupted, half-turned and subtly motioned to the Avatar, "I think I saw somewhere to sit downstairs."
They went back down the stairs as Katara kept her face in her rice bowl while the two girls passed her table. What had they been saying about Zuko? That he was doing something suspicious? Something he didn't want Azula to know about? With so little context, she didn't know how this information would be of any use to her. Maybe they were talking about something that had happened back in Ba Sing Se. Regardless, that had been a close call.
Katara waited until Mai and Ty Lee were gone before going to find Sokka, Toph, and Aang. They were sitting in a corner booth in the back. She slipped in next to Toph.
"That was a close one…" Sokka mumbled.
"I had no idea what was going on," complained Toph, stomping her foot for emphasis. "I hate wooden floors."
"Maybe we should just go back to the campsite," Aang sighed. "Katara?"
"Yeah, let's finish eating and head back."
When they were out on the street again, all four of them acted like they were being followed. Katara looked down every alleyway, expecting Ty Lee to cartwheel out and jab at her.
"Ok, new plan," Sokka said, "We're going to go into this shop and calming down. You guys are freaking me out."
"What?" Aang asked.
"You look suspicious… and it's making me feel suspicious."
"Sokka's right," Katara stepped in, "I think we just need to calm down. It was a close call, but I'm pretty sure neither of them saw us."
They stepped into the shop and Katara immediately glared over at Sokka.
"Oh, I see how it is." She grumbled as he skipped over to inspect a pair of nunchucks, "You just wanted to come in here to look at weapons, didn't you?"
Sokka, who was spinning the nunchucks around his waist and shoulders, only shrugged at her, but the movement threw him off and the rogue end of the nunchucks smacked him in the head, knocking him over into a spear display. Katara couldn't help but laugh; Her brother could be a pain sometimes, but he could always brighten the mood.
"I just need a little something to reinvigorate my battling, that's all." He smiled at her as she helped him up. "Ooh! Daggers!"
Katara decided, either way, he was right; they needed to relax. A pair of gloves caught her eye and she gave in to the temptation to try them on. While she examined her hands in the red leather gloves, a clanking sound approached her from behind.
"What do you think?"
Katara turned and nearly choked; Aang was donning a full set of heavy armor and it was a little absurd. The breastplate was a shiny steel with six-pack abs, one shoulder guard was just… a skull, and the helmet resembled a dragon with two large horns. She giggled, "Can you even move in that?"
"I think so," He looked down, "Pretty slick, huh? All I need is a wind-sword."
"What's a- " but she cut herself off as Aang started to fall backwards. She grabbed for the chain that hung loosely from the shoulder of the gaudy armor, but missed, and he hit the ground with a metallic crash.
"…I'll just stick to what I got." Aang replied from the floor.
"This! This is it, Katara!" Sokka called from the other side of the shop. He was examining a sheathed sword that was mounted to the wall, with a brass dragon for a hilt.
"You have a good eye," The shopkeeper approached. "That's an original from Piandao, the greatest sword master and sword maker in Fire Nation history. He lives in the big castle up the road from here."
Sokka paused, then turned to the others, a toothy, open-mouthed smile plastered on his face.
"You want to go ask him to train you, don't you?" Katara said; she could always read his mind whenever he made that face.
"I think it's a good idea!" Aang interjected, "We've all had masters to help us get better."
"I learned from badgermoles," Toph added.
"I wouldn't be nearly as good as I am without Master Pakku," Katara thought out loud, "Yeah, Sokka, go for it! Aang needs to work on water and earthbending anyways. Go find your master."
Sokka looked at each one of them with a tear in his eye. "Have I ever told you guys that you're the best?"
Toph waved him off, "Tell me something else I already know."
…
The ocean was rough and the waves rocked her boat back and forth, every once in a while sloshing over to splash at her feet. She cursed. Perhaps she should have listened to Ahn-Shu; he was the one with all the experience, after all. Miku was a good listener, she always had been, and she did consider Ahn-Shu's advice to wait until the following day, truly. But something inside of her told her she had to go and it had to be now.
She knew part of it was fear; she had never actually left the island and a little whipser in her subconscious begged her not to go. The world is dangerous, it said, the island is safe. Miku had ignored it. Something about the recent events, all the things that had happened in the last couple weeks, had pulled at her; a persistent voice that she couldn't stifle. She had to do something. She had a part to play in all this, though, she did not know what just yet. The vision she had, her great great-grandmother's words, the dream; it was as if something was calling to her. Maybe it was the Spirit World?
If she had let some choppy seas stop her, even for just a day, she might lose her nerve and she couldn't allow that to happen. Whatever it was, destiny, purpose, fate; it had reached out and called to her in so many ways, it could not be ignored.
She looked up to and saw the looming black clouds quickly approaching. As if in response to her pondering, lightning flashed across the sky. Biting her lip, she kept rowing. Don't think about the storm or the calluses on your hands, she told herself, this is something you need to do. What else could all those signs mean? She was connected to the Spirit World, she met the Avatar, she'd had those dreams. A large wave sloshed over the boat, soaking her from head to toe. She shivered.
Then, the thought crossed her mind as she looked over her shoulder: maybe it all meant nothing. Maybe she was just a lonely, stupid little girl with no family who wanted something more from life than the safety of her island and shrine. Maybe she had misread every sign due to that inherent bias. And now, she had forsaken her ancestors and her people for some childish delusion.
Then the impending wave hit, flipping the boat.
OC in trouble, oh no! I hope you guys don't hate her. Should I just kill her off right now? Haha jk that would be too George R.R. Martin of me and, let's be honest, I'll never be that good.
I am super super excited for the upcoming chapters through because one of the motivations I had in writing this was to make Blue-Painted-Spirit-Lady a thing. It wasn't the only motivation, but... I mean, come on. The disguises? Such characterization parallels cannot be ignored.
Thanks for reading! Hope everyone out there is staying healthy! Please review!
