Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you all for the continuing support and interest in this story. Special thanks go to Gilded Rose for the kind and elaborate review. It truly warmed my heart and filled my brain with inspiration and my hands with energy. I hope you're going to enjoy the rest of the story as well. In this chapter we will again split our view to follow our protagonist as well as his cousin. No Taiyo parts for now. I want us to find out what happened to him and his mom (and Jeong Jeong) as the story progresses and keep us all a bit guessing until Lu Ten himself will find out. For a change we'll start this time with Zuko.
Western Air Temple, 100 AC
Zuko screamed at no one in particular. This morning had left him utterly frustrated. Angrily he stared at his own hands. Why couldn't anything work for once? The curiously looking air nomad a few feet away from him didn't help either. He heard him say, "Maybe it's the altitude?"
"Yeah, maybe… ", he answered, but looked away from Aang. He didn't feel like he had the strength to admit to his new student that he had no idea why his firebending was suddenly almost nonexistent. They both agreed that they should take a break for now, maybe it would be better later.
With a tired sigh Zuko sat down at the edge of one of the giant pagodas' balconies. His mind wandered to his first few weeks of firebending training. After his cousin had deemed his breathing exercises good enough, he finally agreed to show him some real forms. The five-years-old child was overly excited. And overly disappointed when he tried to form a fire blast, but only a little trail of smoke came out of his fist.
He heard a chuckle from behind him. There stood Lu Ten, like himself clad in combat trousers. For a moment the child stared at his cousin's trained upper body and wondered if he would look the same once. Still chuckling Lu Ten shook his head slightly and came over to his cousin. He sat down a few feet away, legs crossed, and gestured for Zuko to come over. Still clenching his fists together, the boy walked over, still feeling utterly humiliated.
Wordlessly Lu Ten reached for the little one's fist. He took it in his hands and slowly and carefully unfolded Zuko's fingers. The boy's shocked gaze wandered from his hands to his cousin and back again. The teenager seemed totally focused on his hands. When he had opened it completely, he smiled and looked into the boy's eyes, "Baby Cousin, let loose. Why are you stiffening like that?", Zuko was surprised, he didn't even notice himself, but he was as stiff as a stick.
He began to shiver and looked down, two single tears escaping his eyes. As he looked up again, he looked straight into shocked amber eyes. Moments later he found himself in his cousin's warm embrace. Lu Ten stroke his head, "Hey, Zuko, what happened?"
Between sobs Zuko choked out, "I-I failed… again… I will never… be a firebender… I'm just a failure… like father always says…", for a while Lu Ten just stayed silent and held his little cousin firmly.
Then he pulled away from him and cupped the little one's face, looking deep into his amber eyes, "Shh, Zuko. That is not true. You are not a failure, no matter what someone else says, yes?", the child nodded, but was still crying and sobbing, so, he continued, "You'll see, soon, you'll be a firebender. You just tried something on your own and it didn't work out as planned, but that is quite normal. That's why I am here, to show you how."
The child stopped crying, but was still sobbing, "But, won't you punish me for my disobedience?"
Lu Ten raised an eyebrow, "You mean for your impatience? No, of course not.", and as he saw the surprised look on the child, he looked deep into his eyes again, "Zuko, Baby Cousin, I will never purposefully hurt you, never. Do you understand?", Zuko nodded, wiping the tears away from his eyes. This earned him a smile and a pat on his shoulder from his cousin, "Now, Baby Cousin, do you know, why I wanted you to open your fist?", Zuko shook his head, he had no idea, as an answer, Lu Ten held his hand up, palm upwards and a flame appeared on top of it. Zuko's eyes widened marveling, making his cousin chuckle. "Now, try it for yourself, student.", the boy needed a few seconds to process, then he hastily sat down, mirroring Lu Ten and opened his hand. He grimaced in effort, but no flame would appear on his palm. Just as he wanted to give in, he heard his cousin speak, "Zuko, don't try to force it. Just let the energy flow through you with your breath, like we did in the breathing exercises. As you know, firebending comes from the breath.", as if to strengthen his point Lu Ten breathed fire for a moment, before he continued, "Don't let anger and rage become your fuel, your feelings may influence your fire sometimes, but you must never let them take control of it. Let your fire be pure, energetic, lively. Now, try again.", and really, as the boy followed his cousin's advice, he took a deep breath and a small flame appeared on top of his palm. Wondering he stared at it. As he finally looked up, he saw his cousin smiling proudly at him.
Back at the air temple, Zuko let himself fall backwards, he had an idea why his fire was weaker. Lu Ten had already told him, right at the start, and he had ignored it for years. Angry at himself he grimaced. After he had been banished, he had been more and more consummated by anger and rage. So much that he would yell sometimes while bending. Unconsciously these feelings had become the source of his firebending. But how was he supposed to undo that? His cousin had warned him back then, but he wasn't there to help him fix it.
Caldera, 100 AC
Lu Ten sat inside the cage of his cell, silently meditating, facing the brimstone wall. He heard the door open; somebody came inside, carefully, almost sneaking. It was one of the guards. He heard that the man trembled slightly as he sat down the tray with his food and shoved it into the cage. Lu Ten smiled slightly. Ever since he was brought into his own cell, the guards seemed to be genuinely afraid of him, that was, all but one. A female guard called Ming was strangely nice to him. A few days ago, she had told him that this was because of his father. Apparently, they had shared a good relationship. Occasionally she would get him something like an extra bowl of rice, like she did for his father, but he had asked her to bring it to Hakoda instead. He knew, his friend had been severely burned and would've died if not for his daughter's healing abilities. He needed the extra energy more than him. His own injury was almost healed, just a short shot of pain when he moved his shoulder too much.
He could guess what sparked the fear in the other guards. His interrogation with the Fire Lord surely didn't go unnoticed. Someone would've stand guard, and probably heard everything. Things like the Fire Lord leaving with a burned sleeve traveled fast. He smiled slightly at the thought. Of course, he didn't know what Ozai would do next, but he felt like it almost didn't matter. He would be here, meditate, train, do everything to be ready if an opportunity to escape should turn up. The thought of his uncle filled him with great rage, but he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his gaze was calm, but cold and grim. You should be thankful that it is the Avatar's destiny to fight you, and not mine. I wouldn't show you any mercy, uncle, if it wasn't for this boy, he thought. He wasn't sure what he'd do if the Rough Rhinos really killed his family, but he was somehow sure that Aang wouldn't like it. He could almost picture the little monk's disappointed eyes.
His mood turned sad as he thought of the air nomad and the teenage group that surrounded him. He wished to be with them, to be able to help them out wherever he could, to help Aang complete his education, help him save the world. He hadn't even given him homework. Hopefully he would find another master. Maybe he could search for Jeong Jeong. Sure, it was a bit of a stretch, but not impossible. Or his father. They knew both of them, knew that they were not enemies. Both would make excellent teachers for the Avatar.
He wondered where his Baby Cousin was though. Ozai had said that he was not in Caldera, that he had proven a coward like always. Lu Ten knew, this was Ozai's way of reacting to disobedience. So, most likely Zuko had finally found the heart to tell his father no. And, since Ozai was so angry about it, the young prince had gotten away with it. Lu Ten smiled and pride welled up in his chest as he thought of what Ming had told him the other day. Rumors had it that Zuko confronted Ozai during the eclipse, but the Fire Lord managed to hold him up somehow until the sun was returning. Then he immediately fired lightning at his son, but Zuko redirected it. And as Ozai got up again, the prince had vanished. Father must've shown him the technique, Lu Ten thought. Remembering their first training sessions, he whispered, "I told you, you'd do great, Baby Cousin, wherever you are.". He deeply hoped that Zuko would find his own path now, whatever it might turn out to be.
Lu Ten tried to avoid it, but in the end his mind trailed towards his wife and son. He could only hope that something obstructed the Rough Rhinos, that maybe Jeong Jeong was there and fought them off, or some Earth Kingdom soldiers, just someone. He rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he whispered, "Taiyo, my son, I'll find you and your mom as soon as I can, I promise."
He heard the door open again behind him. He turned slightly and smiled at Ming, "Hello, Ming.", he greeted her in a happy, curious tone and asked, "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"
The woman bowed, "Prince Lu Ten, I came because I just found out that you're going to be transferred to the Boiling Rock."
Lu Ten's eyes widened for a moment. There goes my escape attempt, not a bad move, uncle, he thought. He closed his eyes and asked calmly, "When?"
"This evening, so, you'll arrive tomorrow morning.", the guard said.
Lu Ten nodded, "Thank you, Ming, for everything you've done. You've been very kind to me, even more so since you didn't have to. Be assured, I will not forget what you did for me, and for my father."
Ming bowed again, "It was my nothing. But thank you, your Highness.", she said as she left the cell.
Western Air Temple. 100 AC
At the evening, the whole group had settled down around a campfire for dinner. Sighing, Zuko looked downwards, he raised his voice a bit, "Listen everybody. I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff."
Toph raised her hands in a defensive gesture, "Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff."
Zuko shook his head, "I'm talking about my firebending. It's gone.", everyone was silent for a moment, then a single laughter filled the room.
It was the waterbender, "I'm sorry, I'm just laughing at the irony. You know, how it would've been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago."
Zuko gritted his teeth, she really didn't know what she was talking about. But he forced himself to be calm and looked down at his hands, "Well, it's not lost. It's just… weaker for some reason."
Still laughing, Katara said, "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are.", earning her a sarcastic chuckle from Toph, "Ouch."
Zuko shook his head, "No, I think I know the reason. I think it's because I changed sides."
"That's ridiculous.", Katara interrupted him.
The banished prince glared at her, "I don't think so. You know, when I started to learn firebending, Lu Ten told me not to let my fire being fueled by rage or anger. And I did so, until I was banished. I think, I drifted off, unconsciously allowing rage to become the source of my bending. But the thing is, I don't know how I can undo that."
Sokka seemed to be thinking something, "So, all we need is to make you angry? Easy enough.", he got up and started to poke Zuko with his sword's hilt, laughing.
The Fire Nation Prince endured it for a few moments, before he suddenly turned to the Water Tribe boy and yelled at him, "Okay, cut it out!", causing the other boy to let his sword slip as he shrieked back. "I can't let myself go any further on this path. I need to find another way. There has to be one."
"If you need a different source for your bending, I would recommend the original source.", Toph threw in.
"So, he should jump into a volcano?", Sokka asked a little to excitedly for Zuko's taste.
"Look, I don't know what the original source of firebending is, for earthbending, the original benders were badgermoles.", she continued to explain, "One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me. So, we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world.", she ended, smiling.
Aang beamed, "That's amazing, Toph! I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime, buddy.", he said as he turned to Appa, who growled at him before the bison returned to eating hay.
"Well, this doesn't help me. The original firebenders were dragons, and they're extinct.", Zuko said in a somber tone.
Aang looked at him surprisingly, "What do you mean? Roku had a dragon and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."
Zuko yelled at him, "Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry.", the Avatar almost whispered.
The banished prince calmed himself down again. He was silent for a moment, clearly thinking about something, "I remember, before Lu Ten went to Ba Sing Se, I begged him to be allowed to accompany him. Of course, he denied, but he promised me to take me out to travel once he returned. In the meantime, I should research the history of firebending, because that would be the main theme of our travel. At first, I wasn't thrilled about it, but when I learned that he wouldn't come back, I felt obliged to do it. I actually planned to do the trip he wanted to do with me alone when I was old enough. Of course, all came a bit different, but I learned that the first people that were taught firebending by the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors. They died off thousands of years ago, but their civilization was not far from here. Maybe we could learn something from their ruins."
Aang smiled at him, "It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."
Sokka looked from Aang to Zuko, "So what? Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?", he asked gesturing strangely.
"More or less. Either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher.", Zuko admitted, and catching a glare from Aang he added, "Uhm, substitute teacher I mean."
The Avatar and the banished prince started their journey the next morning as early as they could. They didn't know where exactly these ruins were, so it was hard to estimate when they would be back. A few of the group were against the journey at all, because they still didn't trust Zuko, but Aang was determined to help him. Maybe this would also help him to a better understanding of firebending in the absence of his Sifu.
Zuko leaned against the brim of Appa's saddle, bored. His mind was wandering off. Maybe they should rather try to find his uncle, if this expedition wouldn't prove to have any merit. He would be a good teacher for Aang as well. But how could he face the old man? After everything he had done and said, and with Lu Ten being probably imprisoned, injured, maybe even dead. He tried to shoo that thought away quickly.
Aang turned towards him, "What's on your mind, Sifu Hotman?"
Zuko grumbled, "Stop calling me that."
Seemingly oblivious the monk said, "Well, we always called your cousin that. He liked it."
The banished prince raised an eyebrow, "I think, he rather gave up a fight he couldn't win.", afterwards they flew in an awkward silence for a while, until Zuko complained, "We've been riding for hours. I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster.", which caused the giant animal to growl.
Aang chuckled, "Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start our missions with a more up-beat attitude."
As an answer he only heard Zuko whisper, "I can't believe this."
Aang shrugged his shoulders, "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Look, even if we fail at this mission, we'll just have to find and free Lu Ten."
Zuko looked grimly at the other boy, "That's easier said than done. I don't even have an idea where to look for him, if he's alive and somewhat in a good condition, that is.", he saw that the young Avatar shuddered and closed his eyes for a long moment before turning his head away from him. The thought of his Sifu being dead was not something the boy wanted to face. Again, Zuko wondered how attached they must've been to each other.
As Appa landed near the ruins, both teenagers stared at the old buildings in awe. Making their way through the ancient city, Zuko's voice sounded deeply humbled, "Even though these buildings are ancient, there's something eerily familiar about them. I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are somehow descended from these."
"Okay. We've learned something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about firebending too. The past can be a great teacher.", Aang said, with determination in his voice. The next moment he used his airbending to evade a field of spikes that appeared because he tripped on a wire. Shocked and trying to regain his balance he turned to the banished prince, his voice slightly panicked, "Zuko, I think the past is trying to kill me."
Ignoring the air nomad for a moment, Zuko knelt down and examined the trap and the wire, "I can't believe it. This booby trap must be centuries old, and it still works."
Fearfully Aang interrupted him, "There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here."
Before answering Zuko took a couple of steps back, thus creating enough momentum to run on the wall for a few moments, crossing the spike field. After he landed, he brushed the dirt off his clothes, "Where's that up-beat attitude you were talking about?", he said, smiling at the Avatar, "Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting."
As they made their way through the ancient city, they came across various stone carvings. Most of them portrayed dragons, including one that showed a person between two of the winged animals. They clearly breathed fire at the Sun Warrior. "I thought the dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors.", Aang said curiously.
"Well, they had a funny way of showing it.", Zuko answered, already walking ahead. He looked down for a moment, stopped, then walked again.
Aang looked at him from behind, "Zuko, something happened to the dragons in the last hundred years. Something you're not telling me."
The banished prince closed his eyes for a long moment, before he opened them again and said, "My great-grandfather Sozin happened.", they began walking again, as Zuko began to tell the story, "He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They were the ultimate firebenders. And if you could conquer one, your firebending talents would become legendary and you'd earn the honorary title, Dragon. The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born, by my uncle. Lu Ten was with him, but he was still a child. I don't know if he had a part in the fight."
Aang looked surprised and somewhat terrified, "But I thought your uncle was… I don't know, good?"
"He had a complicated past. Family tradition, I guess. Maybe my cousin could tell you more about it, but I don't know. Let's just move on.", Zuko answered in a remorseful tone. They walked for a while in silence until they reached a small plaza with a big building at one end and a vertical column with a sun stone in it at the other.
Aang immediately tried to open the door with all his force, but it didn't move an inch, neither were there any form of lock or handle. "It's locked up!", the airbender called.
Zuko looked from the door to the column. He stepped aside and saw the light beam emitted by the stone, "Wait.", he looked at the ground and realized something, "It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet that sunstone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits at just the right angle. On the solstice."
"Monkeyfeathers! The solstice again? We can't wait here that long.", Aang whined.
The Fire Nation prince smiled slightly, "No, we can't. Bet we might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the sunstone.", he said, pulling out one of his swords. He laid it on the calendar, forming an angle with the light, aiming for the sunstone.
It needed a moment to work, just as they began to lose hope, the door started to open slowly. Aang nudged Zuko with his elbow happily as they walked through the door, "You know, Zuko, I don't care what everyone else says about you, you're pretty smart.", he gasped as they saw the giant statues that filled the room. They were looking very seriously, if not grimly, down at them.
"Relax. They're just statues.", the banished prince said, placing a comforting hand on the air nomad's shoulder.
They realized that the statues were forming two half circles. Aang found an inscription, "It says, this is something called the Dancing Dragon."
Zuko walked around the room, looking up at the statues, "I wonder if that's what Lu Ten meant with the history of firebending…"
Meanwhile, Aang was mimicking the first statue on one side, and suddenly felled his foot sink into the ground a little. He looked down, apparently, he had pressed a button in the floor. He examined it for a moment, before he ran up to the firebender and pulled on his arm excitedly, "Zuko, get over here! I want you to dance with me!"
Perplexed the banished prince pulled his arm back, "What?"
The Avatar shot him a glare, "Just do it. Let's follow the steps of the statues.", and as they did, more buttons were pressed, "Don't you see? These aren't dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson. I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior firebending form."
Annoyed, Zuko commented, "This better teach us some really good firebending.", but he continued to follow the statues as well. A few moments after they finished, the floor in the middle opened and revealed a column with a golden, egg-shaped stone on it.
"Hurray!", Aang exclaimed, raising his arms in triumph, "Wait, what exactly is that?"
Zuko ran up to the stone, examining it, "It's some kind of mystical gemstone."
"Well, don't touch it!", Aang said as the banished prince reached for the stone.
"Why not?", Zuko asked.
"Remember what happened out there with those spikes? I'm just very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals.", the young Avatar tried to argument.
Zuko ignored him and picked the stone up. He eyed it curiously, "It feels almost alive.", he tried to set the stone back, but was hit by a wave of slime, pushing him right to the grates at the ceiling. He didn't know if he should be thankful or not that it stuck him there.
"Oh no, it's another trap!", Aang exclaimed, while trying to avoid the slime, jumping from statue to statue.
Zuko struggled to break free, "Ugh, I can't pull free. It's like some kind of glue.", Aang tried to help, sending an airblast towards him, but it only had the effect of turning him into the other direction, so he faced the sky. Suddenly the young Avatar was next to him, and the glue-like slime pushed them against the iron grate. It only stopped once it almost painfully pushed them through the grate.
"I can't move! Zuko, do something!", Aang demanded, his voice high-pitched in panic.
"Me? I can't move either!", Zuko argued back.
"It stopped somehow.", the Avatar said, slowly calming down again.
"At least we have air. Maybe if we stay calm, we can figure out a way out of this.", the banished prince said, sounding more hopeful than he felt.
On a prison transport ship, Fire Nation Waters, 100 AC
Lu Ten looked at the rising sun, as the wind blew around him. He didn't know why, but this caused hope to well up in his chest. Although he was at the very moment chained to the ship he was on and being transported to a high security prison with a perfect score concerning prison breaks, he felt more alive than at any day in his small cell in Caldera.
He closed his eyes for a long moment and inwardly renewed the promise he had made to his son; I will find you and your mom as soon as I can. Since there was not much interesting going on with the ship, he drifted into the reds and blues of the sunrise behind them.
All of sudden a picture appeared in front of his inner eye. It was a memory he'd always remember. The red and blue dragons circling around him and his father. He had been nine years old, a little more than two years before Zuko was born. His uncle hadn't even been married by that time. Lu Ten had been excited, it had been their first trip together, the first of many.
And there they stood on the top of a stone bridge, both astonished in fear and fascination at the same time. He could still hear his father whisper. "When they attack, I want you to throw yourself at the ground and make a flame shield. I'll distract them. If you hear me scream, run as fast as you can. Do you understand?", but his younger self never answered.
He had been way too enthralled with the giant beasts flying around them. They felt so majestic and noble, he himself felt small and deeply humbled, reduced to staring at them with his mouth open. Then suddenly he felt understanding, but not of his father's words, but what the animals expected of them. Quickly he turned towards his father and pulled on his sleeve, "Dad! I think I know what they want! They want us to dance with them.", and as his father stared at him, he added, "The Dancing Dragons! The firebending form the statues showed us! Come on, Dad!".
Iroh blinked a few times, but then he did as his son had demanded. As they finished the form the dragons landed on either side of the bridge, staring at them. Fear gripped the boy's heart, what if his theory had been wrong? He screamed as the flames shot towards him. His father turned around and hugged him tightly in a last attempt to protect his son and they clenched to each other awaiting the blow. A blow that never came.
After a few moments Lu Ten looked up and saw the colorful flames around them. As he freed himself from his father's embrace Iroh too, looked up, both standing next to each other, a similar expression on their faces, their eyes wide and their mouths somewhere between hanging agape and grinning in pure joy. The boy took his father's hand. Iroh looked down at his son and smiled proudly, ruffling his short hair, "Sometimes you children are wiser than we adults give you credit for.", he complimented the boy. Lu Ten laughed and leaned into his father's touch.
Then the flames went out and they faced the dragons again. Lu Ten felt his father still tense up, but he, being only nine years old had an idea. He let go of his father's hand and walked slowly towards the red dragon. He extended one of his small hands to the giant animal as he got closer, his father watching in astonished anxiety. He stopped a few inches before his hand would touch the dragon's nostrils. The beast's breath was warm and somehow comforting.
Suddenly the dragon came closer and leaned into the child's hand. A wide smile appeared on the boy's face, the dragon moved a little bit to the side and nudged his shoulder, sniffing him, before a splinted tongue appeared for a second and licked him from head to toe. Lu Ten shrieked back a little, he wasn't used to being covered in the saliva of giant animals. Then he laughed, high-pitched and childishly. The dragon circled him, obviously interested, watching him closely. The giant beast licked him again, this time from the other side, so he was now completely drenched in dragon saliva, but very happy. So, he petted the animal again, this time more self-assured. He heard the beast growl, but it sounded not aggressive, but rather as if he liked that. All of sudden both dragons leaped up into the air, circled around them for a last time and disappeared into their caves again.
He remembered how his father ran up to him, worry plastered over his face as he inspected if his son had any injury, but Lu Ten just laughed in delight. Together they went back down the stairs. They had to promise the chief, that they wouldn't tell anybody of any of this, but his father had an even better idea. They would make up a lie, a lie that Iroh had found and slain the last dragon. So, no one would continue to search for them.
On the ship home they detailed it out. As Lu Ten noted, "Well, I do have a tunic drenched in true dragon saliva. So, we do have evidence. Let's say, I played the bait, and just as the beast had me in his jaws, you came and heroically saved me like a father should, slaying the dragon.", he supported his tale with elaborate gestures, but his father just smiled at the enthusiasm and ruffled the prince's hair, "Your grandfather will love the story, little dragon.".
As the memory slowly faded, Lu Ten thought, that maybe the dragon had just been curious, because he hadn't seen a lot of children before. Maybe he just got lucky. And indeed, his grandfather had loved the story. He had never seen him so proud before, proud of his son for completing a task, even he had never managed to and proud of his grandson for being so brave at such a young age. Lu Ten shook his head, that that lie had worked so well amazed him.
He was shaken out of his thoughts as the ship came to a halt. Guards came and escorted him onto the volcano and into a gondola together with several other prisoners. He complied without hesitation. It would make no sense to cause a fuss here. Even if he should be able to win the fight, he would still be on an isolated island. No, his escape would need to wait for a better moment, whenever this might be.
As they were escorted out of the gondola they were commanded to stand in a straight line and the warden examined them one by one. Lu Ten was the last in the line. As the warden, a man with tanned skin and long, brown hair, got to him, both glared into each other's eyes intensively. Immediately he knew that the warden was one of Ozai's cronies, or at least aspired to be one. So, he tried to look as intimidating and defiant as he could.
A sly smile appeared on the other man's face, "Ah, Prince Lu Ten. So much pride, so defiant. I've heard stories about you, but let me tell you, your title will help you nothing here. And getting rid of defiance is one of our easiest tasks. Let me tell you, whatever stories you heard about this place, they are all true, and sometimes the truth is even worse.", then he turned to the guards, "You there, take him to a cooler immediately."
Sun Warrior Ruins, 100 AC
Aang and Zuko looked at each other as the ground began to shake. Worriedly they looked at each other, then at the cave again. Two amber eyes glowed from inside the cave, scaring the boys to the core. They instinctively took a few steps back when two dragons, one red and one blue, shot out of the caves and began to fly circles around the bridge. Amazed Zuko whispered, "These are the masters."
Aang whispered in his ear, "Still think we can take them?"
Hastily Zuko replied through gritted teeth, "Shh, I never said that."
The monk looked at the flying beasts curiously until it finally dawned upon him, he turned to his companion and whispered, "Zuko, I think we're supposed to do the Dragon Dance with them."
"What?", the other teen turned around, "What about this situation makes you think they want us to dance?"
Aang shrugged his shoulders briefly, "Well, I think they want us to do something. Let's just try it."
"Fine.", the Fire Nation Prince sighed unwillingly.
They went through the whole form, carefully not to miss anything, and once they had finished the two dragons hovered over the bridge, staring at them again. Unsure of what to do or say, Zuko just stared back at the blue dragon with his mouth open, while Aang trembled under the gaze of the red dragon. Before they could do anything, the dragons landed on the bridge and breathed fire at them. In an attempt to protect themselves, both boys covered their faces with their arms and screamed in panic. But as they felt no skin burning first Aang, then Zuko looked up and saw a sea of colorful flames encircling them. Aang whispered, "Wow"
The banished prince stared up at the flames, speaking to no one in particular, "I understand."
As the flames slowly faded, the dragons circled around them one last time before returning into their caves. Astonished, the boys stood on top of the bridge, realizing what had just happened before starting their descent. At the ground, the Sun Warrior Chief awaited them. "The masters judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of firebending.", he said, smiling at them.
"I can't believe there are still living dragons. My uncle Iroh said, he faced the last dragon and killed it, my cousin Lu Ten was even with him.", Zuko wondered.
"So, they lied.", the young Avatar answered his companion.
Suddenly they heard the chief chuckling, "Actually, it was not a total lie. Iroh and his son were the last outsiders to face the masters. They deemed them worthy and passed the secret onto them as well."
"They must've lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them.", Zuko smiled, he had doubted both of his relatives over this story, but now that he knew it was a lie with a good reason behind it, it made him proud to be part of their family. Suddenly he missed them terribly.
"I just wonder why Lu Ten didn't tell me earlier… ", Aang said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
The chief laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Back then we asked both of them to tell nobody of us or the masters. Though, I'm certain, he saw the potential in both of you and would've told you if he thought the time was right. Maybe he also didn't want to endanger you before you could fulfill your destiny as well, young Avatar.", Aang smiled thankfully at the Chief, "I would ask the same of you two as we asked of them years ago, please, don't tell anyone about us or the masters.", to which both boys happily agreed.
The Boiling Rock, 100 AC
Lu Ten sat in the bright sunlight in the courtyard of the high security prison. The trip to the cooler had been less than pleasant. He had to restrain himself from breathing fire to heat himself up.
As he sat there, he could feel the suspicious looks of the other inmates. They tried not to, but their heads would turn in his direction every once in a while. No one dared to make eye contact though, let alone come and speak to him. He didn't know if he should be delighted about this or not.
Then suddenly a big shadow was thrown on him. Slowly he turned his head around to look at whoever had the heart to act this way. It was a tall man, very athletically built, but not with the brightest expression on his face and very short hair. "Hey, you there, fresh blood,", the man spoke to him, "The others and I are wondering what you might've done so they threw you straight into the cooler."
Lu Ten turned his head slightly away from the man, but his half-frozen lips formed a smile, "Still the bravest of them all, eh?"
The man seemed surprised, even shocked, then his face turned angry, "What's that supposed to mean, fresh blood? You don't know me at all!"
Slowly Lu Ten stood up, almost tiredly he said, "Of course I know you, and you know me. Am I right, Captain Chit Sang?"