Chapter 7: iroh vs earthbenders
A few days ago...
Iroh sleeps peacefully, no one disturbs his easygoing dreams. Even when they are refugees with Zuko and the whole Fire Nation is looking for them, there seems to be no obstacle to him, he is not as paranoid as his Nephew, who sleeps with one eye open, still waiting for 'company'. But nothing seems to worry Iroh. He doesn't even move when Zuko gets up of his futon in the middle of the night and walks through the door to check for suspicious sound; he is a heavy sleeper.
However, a little later a loud noise outside wakes him up. Still sleepy, he rubs his eyes and turns to the other side, yawning. The first thing he sees is that Zuko isn't here, his bed is empty. For a moment, he feels scared that his beloved Nephew decided to leave him again. The old man stands up quickly and lifts Zuko's blanket to make sure he is gone for real, and then he notices that there are no dao swords that had previously been leaning against the wall. It sets an alarm, a deep wrinkle appears on Iroh's forehead, and he goes silently to the front door. Is Zuko behaving paranoid again? What if he attacks innocent people?
Iroh sighs deeply and stops at the door, listening. There are sounds of clashing swords and then angry Zuko's voice. "What are you doing?!"
He hears someone else's voice answering, but doesn't understand the words because it's quieter than Zuko's. The sound of trampling follows after. Iroh realizes they are fighting, opens the door hastily and jumps outside, preparing for defence. There are about fifteen earthbenders, all of them turns to the former General, but only two of them raise their arms forward, with their feet firmly pressing the ground.
Iroh has to be vigilant, his eyes cross the horizon in search of Zuko, he knows he has to fight them, their sharp eyes reveal hate even in the greatest darkness. He knows that Zuko is in great danger, that there is no other way but to use fire bending if he wants to save him. Most importantly, he will have to betray his own willingness not to show that he is a Firebender.
Trampling wakes him up from his thoughts, and then follows a giant boulder rising into the air and flying directly at him at lightning speed. Iroh responds quickly and raises his hand forward. Suddenly, something invisible vibrates the air. A gust of wind flutters his hair, a ball of fire strikes the boulder and splits it into thousands of pieces, which scatter in all directions and fall hard on the ground like a storm of stones. Iroh remains unharmed, his face looks more serious than ever, he slowly lowers his hand, the air stops vibrating, his grey hair falls on his shoulders again.
"Uncle! Uncle!" He can hear Zuko's voice full of relief when he realizes he got help.
"Crush his hands!" One of the benders says in an agitated voice. "Hurry up!"
And Iroh finally sees Zuko in the midst of the earthbenders. He lies on the ground, helpless, two large boulders that are about to be thrown on him, hangs above his head. An indescribable instinct to protect him awakens inside Iroh. He plunges to the soldiers like a mighty man, a burst of fire flows from his mouth, and as he turns around, a spiral of fire surrounds his whole body like a fiery cocoon, wiping all opponents around him. However, they are not going to give up so quickly and rise almost immediately.
At that moment, a horrifying scream reaches the depths of Iroh's heart. It feels as if something squeezes his heart, hard. He had never heard such a scream before, it seems that his heart is about to split in half, he doesn't want anyone to hurt his beloved Nephew, never again after what his Father did to him. In part, he blames himself for Zuko having that scar, he let him go to the meeting room and did nothing but watch him humiliate himself against his Father and get half of his face burned. He still can't forget that scream, he doesn't want to make a mistake again, now he would do anything to go back to that day and have the power to change everything.
The old man can't see Zuko again, because the earthbenders surround him of all sides, he only sees the fire that his Nephew spreads into the air in defense. Somebody's screaming, probably got hit.
"Uncle, Uncle, please!" Zuko cries out with a strength that is still left in him.
Iroh throws the ball of fire at the earthbenders standing in front of him and wants to run forward, but suddenly a giant boulder hits him on the injured shoulder. The bandage immediately soaks from the blood. The solid pain, and a blow to the head knocks the man flat. Though he feels dizzy, he tries to get up, but a sword which is clearly formed from stone rises in front of his face and they all freeze in their poses.
And it starts to rain... The small droplets slowly fall on his face, gradually turning into large drops, washing away the blood that flows down and absorbs into the ground. Nobody moves and he hears anything in a rustle. His body is permeated by an even greater cold and fear. And darkness...
But no, Iroh can't give in to darkness, he can't lose consciousness right now. He must to get up. To help Zuko. Here and now. By risking his own life. He can't hear his voice. Does that mean Zuko's defeated? Injured or worse–killed? He is overwhelmed with even greater anger and frustration, but anger wins and gives him new strength to fight. Anger makes a man blind, but Iroh doesn't care anymore, he just wants to end it all, even if he has to kill. For Zuko, he is ready for everything.
Anger grows over the pain. Iroh's both hands grab the blade of the stone sword and turn it to the side, the heat, radiating from his hands, breaks the blade in a second and shatters it into dust. The bender retreats in fright. The former General rises to his feet. His eyes full of hatred pierces anyone who prepares to attack him.
The feeling of danger lingers in the air. The two bravest earthbenders cast large boulders from both sides, but Iroh raises his hands and the fire shatters them in the same way as before. The man slowly walks forward, still with the fire in his hands, to the way where he last saw Zuko lying, his eyes keep turning back to the benders, who no longer know how to stop him and are forced to retreat.
The rain is so heavy that his clothes immediately soak. Iroh directs his eyes to where Zuko is supposed to be, but he is not there, only a huge puddle of blood left in the place where he lay, and his dao swords, as if symbolizing his defeat. Blood boils in Iroh's veins. He has to take revenge on the enemies for what they did. He wants to put them on the spot just thinking about it, but he obstains his desire.
He's not that man...
He's not a monster...
Not anymore...
He can't kill for his Nephew even if he feels like it. First he needs to find and save Zuko. He is still alive. He has to be.
The lightning pierces the sky and clearly illuminates everyone's faces. And at that moment, Iroh finally sees Zuko. He runs on a narrow footpath straight into the density of the woods, and without turning back, disappears into the darkness. What is he doing? Why does he run so far when he is so badly injured? What did the earthbenders done to him that frightened him so terribly? That he runs away, completely ignoring the pain and even leaving his Uncle all alone?
Iroh decides to leave everything behind to just help his scared poor baby, but he still needs to get rid of the benders, so, to distract their attention, he throws a barrage of fire at their side. It forms a giant firewall in front of them, and Iroh has some time to dissapear into the woods. It's much darker there than under an open sky, but he must to find Zuko. For a while, the old man runs deeper into the woods so that the benders can't find him quickly, his legs are constantly sinking into deep pits full of water, his shoes are soaking wet, branches smashing his sides, but it doesn't matter to him. Zuko is much more important.
He can't die...
He'll never leave him...
Never again...
Iroh runs and calls Zuko's name until he runs out of air and his shoulder starts to hurt terribly, then he stops to rest. Taking a deep breath, he looks around. In one place, where trees are thinned, the moon throws light on the ground. Iroh can see the trail of the blood there, that was most likely left by Zuko. He's planning to go there, but at the same moment he hears a rustle nearby.
Clouds slide over the moon...
Shadows slip by...
Something's approaching...
However, he fails to defend himself, receives a hit to his face and falls to the ground. Although it's difficult for him, Iroh pushes his opponent away and jumps deftly to the side, but it's too dark to see anything in the woods. He only feels a second hit that lands straight on him. With raised arms, he throws fire everyplace. Someone falls, injured. The black figure jumps on the former General and they both fall in the grass. The opponent presses his head with both hands, not allowing him to stand up. Iroh tries his best and eventually manages to break free. His head is throbbing, all muscles are tense.
When dizziness slips out of his sight, Iroh feels standing in front of the earthbenders again... and he is frightened by the silence they are trapped in. At that moment, he feels something behind his back and tries to turn around, but a sharp arrow pierces his shoulder. Iroh collapses on wet ground like a heavy bag of potatoes, with a hard thud.
"Got him." Somebody says. The old man tries to get up, but his body gets numb and he stops moving. His consciousness darkens.
Iroh wakes up in a few hours. But no, even if his consciousness is clear, his body remains motionless. He can't see anything, but hear some vague voices, soaring from somewhere very far away. The old man feels strong arms dragging him farther, but he is unable to resist, and his head arches terribly.
"We have complied your request, my Lord." A much clearer voice is heard right next to him. "Shot him with paralyzing poison."
"Take him to the dungeon. Where is Prince Zuko?"
"Forgive me, Sir, he escaped."
Iroh recognizes–Ozai is talking to the earthbenders. He tries to resist, but his hands don't rise.
"Never mind, without Iroh he couldn't escape far. Find him and tell him his Uncle's here, he will come here eventually, and then we will catch him. Don't worry, you'll get your reward."
The former General feels the earthbenders arms dragging him again. Then they stop. After a minute, Iroh finds himself on a cold stone floor, his hands locked with chains to the wall, and he still can't move. But he doesn't care about himself. He thinks of Zuko, begs him to be all right, for him to survive. He failed to protect him, though he did everything he could.
But sometimes it's just never enough...
To be continued...
