Chapter 5: Decisions


RAR: (/e Cheers Out Loud) The Blue Spirit episode soo rocked out loud… (/e Grins like an idiot) Seems like the writers of Avatar came into the same situation I got myself into.. how to get Aang and Zuko together without the Water Brats mucking things up. HA! WTG! Ok I'm going to write more now… much inspired… glad I left the details of Zuko's rescue of Aang semi-vague…Means I can use most of the Blue Spirit Stuff! (/e Grins sheepishly)

Sorry this took so long to get out… ended up scrapping what I was originally typing when I realized it wasn't working for me. I like this though, hope you all do too.

Legal thingamajig: I Don't own Avatar nor regrettably have had any hand in creating anything for it. Any crosses or similarities between the show and my story are ummm great minds thinking a like? HAH! I'm such a pompous dreamer! A most poor pompous dreamer I may add…



Apprehensively Zuko followed the Earth Captain out of the cell. 'the path leads around a large circler room on the right.. I've passed 12 small cell blocks like the one I was in on the left… oh so that room is the interrogation cell… this hall must go all the way around it…' It was an odd architectural layout Zuko observed as his martial training kicked in. He was memorizing the path, constructing the building in his mind. It was best just to take it easy for the moment, the Earth fools had become way to lax with him after the Avatar's outburst, which only worked to Zuko's advantage. With the right timing he knew he could escape, playing along only increased his odds for success. 'looks like only one path out… up four stairs… rooms to either side…. guards and their quarters… go ahead and stare at me like that, I don't give a damn what you asswipes think of me…'

Zuko had actually counted on the Earth Kingdom's laxness to him in their desire to please the Avatar in order to make the successful break. 'we didn't go up the apparent main entrance.. instead we're walking though the left guard lodging… apparent mess hall, don't tell me that you guys expect your mothers to come in here and clean away your dirty dishes…' He knew they would learn of the bet. He knew they wouldn't let him take the Avatar into the Fire Nation. ' Oh… so it's a secret passageway… doorway well hidden behind Earth armor… crap, it's too good, I'd never have found it without being shown. Figures Earth bending would be the only way to open it…it was a weak Earth maneuver however, a more powerful fire blast should work…'

Zuko knew the Avatar would pout. He had planned on it. He hadn't expected the Avatar to loose control like that. He had felt that power before. One could never forget that feeling of raw energy as all four of the elements were thrown together in one chaotic stream.

Zuko also hadn't foreseen the fact that he'd no longer desired to reclaim his honor from his father. Zuko's brow furled as he fought the nightmare that attempted to resurface and cloud his better judgments. His Uncle was always trying to drill it though his thick skull that his father wasn't the understanding type. And Zuko couldn't even begin to fathom how many times his Uncle would go on about something crazy, seemingly stupid, only to actually be right in the end. Zuko had had enough of being his father's dog. Last nights nightmare had been a rude awaking. 'crap.. what number was I on? 104? 114? …. Doesn't matter, there hasn't been a landing, door or window at all in this spiraling stairwell since they had entered though the secret Earth door… we must be between rooms… if this was along an outside wall there would have been window's, or at least small slits close to the ceiling, for light and fresh air…' If his father wasn't going to respect him why should Zuko return the reverence? No, it was time to live his own life, not his fathers…

Zuko's mind completely blanked out as he realized, he had no idea of what to do. 'at least there are no more accursed stairs… long hallway… 60… 80… 100 yards so far. Hard to believe that such a long route only takes a person from the cells to one other place in this vast city…' For so long he had been so obsessed with obtaining his father's respect and love that the realization of him not having anything else to do with his life stunned him.


The silence was grating on Wrens nerves. But he dared not to speak, this time he listened to his gut as it told him that small talk was a bad idea. The Prince would make his own decision and then they would respond accordingly. War was a dirty ugly thing, and it was the children who always suffered the most. Wren knew this from experience. But he never before thought on how terrible it must have been on the Prince of the Fire Nation. How does one grow up with a father hell bent on ruling the world, even if it meant destroying it in the process? Did his father even have enough human emotion in him to care and love a son?

He secretly hoped the Avatar's speculations would be true. Wren was curious to see how the Prince would behave in a home style setting away from any pressures or fighting.

Turning abruptly Wren took in the young Prince's emotionless face, though nothing could mask the anxiety locked deep within the golden orbs of his eyes. His appearance and demeanor was that of a young man who had seen to much of the world, not of a sixteen year old boy. Idly Wren wondered if the Prince even had a childhood, or was he completely robbed of its luxuries?


Zuko paused in his mental reconstruction of the path as Wren turned to face him. The Earth Nation Captain had finally gotten around to introducing himself after returning excessively late from lunch. He was much more tolerable, Zuko decided, when he wasn't the first thing he had to deal with upon waking from painful unconsciousness.

'It's not the end of the hall yet we've stopped. Nothing different here, wall still smooth. No blemishes or markings. Unlit torch on the left hand side… passed several of those… shit…' Zuko cursed as he watched the Captain Earth bend the wall, creating a doorway out into a semi elaborate hall. 'how many torches were unlit? At least a half a dozen… they were the markers for the exits out of the passageway…' Zuko cursed himself for not having figured out the signals before. 'well now I know…' Ok, the Earth fools were slowly re-earning his respect for their intelligence. 'No window's here either, how far from the outer wall am I?

'Ok, so it'll be the third door on the left…' Zuko waited patiently as Wren opened the door and motioned for him to go first.

As Zuko sauntered into the room he immediately took in his surroundings. The Avatar was sitting in the only window in the small oval room and another figure he had yet to meet stood in the center of the room. 'He doesn't look like much of a threat, definitely a paper pusher. And, I'm real close… The window was easily big enough for both him and the Avatar to fit through at the same time… looks like it leads to a courtyard though, not much help in an escape…' With his strategic warrior ninja mind coming to a temporary dead end, it turned off long enough for him to actually look at the Avatar.

Aang sat curled up on the ledge brooding out the window. Zuko wasn't sure if he had ever witnessed such utter defeat in another living person before. Aang looked as if he had given up on the world, which was bad for the world considering the Avatar was probably the only being who stood a chance in defeating his father. 'No wonder the Earth fools were being so lenient, they must be desperate to get the Avatar out of this slump.'

Slightly nodding his head in a hello the middle aged paper pusher acknowledge the Prince's arrival as he gestured for him to sit in a simple but elegant wooden chair next to a small end table crafted for the chair. Stubbornness kicked in as Zuko merely crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

'Right… this was going to go nowhere…' The said paper pusher was actually the King of Ba Sing Se. He had hoped for a short civil conversation with the Prince, but since he was being uncooperative best to just trust the Avatar and leave the Prince up to him. Just let the Avatar go right ahead with his plan. As he walked past the willful Fire Prince, he couldn't resist the temptation and placed a hand upon his shoulder. Whispering into the Prince's good ear, the King spoke. "The world would be indebted to you if you would cheer up the Avatar."

Zuko was furious. Who was this paper pushing idiot to think he could touch him in such a friendly manor. A slight snarl escaped his lips as he gave the paper pushing pansy a death glare. Growling Zuko responded, "What the fuck do I know about cheeriness?"

Quietly the King left then, a new sense of pity for the young Fire Prince developing.

Heatedly Zuko watched him leave. 'He didn't shut the door… Great, so they're all going to hover outside in the hall and eavesdrop… swell.'

Aang could feel the Prince's fiery glare boring into his back, but he never turned around. He wanted Zuko to start the talk, Aang felt he'd have better luck being on the defense rather than offence during the argument he knew was coming.

Several minutes passed, and Zuko felt his anger slipping further as he realized the Avatar was purposefully ignoring him… No One ignored the Prince of the Fire Nation… Zuko literally stormed across the room, the trail of black smoke lingered in the air several seconds before rising to dissipate into the ceiling. Turning abruptly in front of the Avatar, a few flames escaped as Zuko snorted in his face. "You lost Avatar."

Cringing Aang sweat dropped. Ok, he anticipated Zuko being in a foul mood… but… flames were coming out his nose. Actually, it was kinda funny looking and Aang would have busted out laughing. That was, if Zuko didn't look like he was about to kill something.

"Yeah, I know." The defeat in Aang's voice tugged at something inside Zuko and he was able to calm down enough to realize that he had let his anger get control over him.

The Earth fool had assigned him the task of cheering Aang up. Moron, how was he supposed to do that? Focusing on his breathing, Zuko forced his anger to go away. Crossing his arms he leaned against the windowsill staring up at the rounded ceiling. 'Hope they got a good cleaning staff…' The ceiling was black from where the smoke was forced to linger before it finally dissipated on its own. Well, might as well give the Avatar the good news… though it wasn't information he wanted the eavesdroppers out in the hall to overhear. "I've decided to call off the bet." Zuko deliberately kept his gaze locked on the ceiling as he heard the Avatar crash into the floor.

Aang stared up dumbfounded at the Prince who just continued to gaze at the ceiling. It was too good to be true! This was exactly the end result Aang was aiming for with his conversation with Zuko. It was way easier than he anticipated… Peeling his face from the green tiles, Aang sat up never taking his eyes off Zuko. Blinking with those wide bright eyes he couldn't help but blurt it out, "But… what about regaining your honor with your father?"

Zuko snorted again, and Aang was slightly saddened that no flames came out this time. "I've come to the realization that there is no point in asking for honor from a man who has none of his own."

Jaws dropped. The Earth Kingdom soldiers and king stood dumbfounded out in the hall, was the Prince serious? The King and Wren locked gazes… it was possible the Fire Prince was just acting. Saying what he needed to in order to get the Avatar out of the city. Cautiously they turned their eyes to the strategically set up mirror. The Prince's face was completely unreadable.

A goofy look spread across Aang's features however. Happiness was overflowing inside him. The whole situation turned out better than his best imagined scenarios! "So we get to be friends then!" Aang cheered jumping around the room.

Zuko didn't even attempt to hid the shock this time. Was the Avatar serious? He looked at Aang with an incredulous look. After all the chasing, all the fights and all the suffering he had caused the Avatar and his friends… he was willing to forget it all and call his old enemy a friend? Aang had paused in his bouncing around to fix Zuko with his best innocent puppy dog look. Zuko found himself speechless. "uh."

"PLEEASSSSEEEEE"

"…" Zuko couldn't snap out of his current daze of confusion. "… Why?"

"Well… Because! If we don't have to fight anymore then we should be friends." Aang's exuberant cheerfulness was astounding, and Zuko found himself sucked into Aang's simple childlike philosophy. Why not, what could it hurt? Everyone else had friends… And Zuko was attempting to start new anyway…

"uh.. ok…. sure." You would have thought Zuko just gave Aang a pony, a fully loaded candy shop and world peace from the reaction the Avatar displayed. Unsure of what to do, Zuko just sat on the window's ledge only half listening to the overly bubbly Avatar. The smoke stain on the ceiling was almost nothing compared to the havoc the Air bender was stirring up in his excitement. Zuko desperately needed to think, what was he going to do now that he wasn't turning the Avatar in to his father… wait a minute…

"WHAT?" Zuko snapped out of his self musings as choice words Aang was spouting off registered in his mind. 'Shit.' Zuko quickly cursed at himself for having become so careless. The troupe from the hall had arranged themselves in the small room and were cautiously staring at him. Zuko's eyes flew wide in shock as the Avatar's gigantic grin engulfed his vision.

"This is going to be sooo much fun! I haven't heard of anything cool to ride around here, but I'm sure we can find something to do that'll be just as fun!" Balancing on a ball of air gave Aang the extra height he needed to stare Zuko in the eye. Aang was going to be elated for months, if not years, from the experience of making a new friend out of an old enemy.

Zuko was still trying to grasp the nonsense Aang was spouting off earlier in his excitement. What was it that the Avatar had said? Zuko was supposed to live with WHO? Zuko leaned to the right to scowl at the Earth fools. It was becoming more and more apparent that they all had this planned. Rubbing at an emerging migraine, Zuko silently pleased with himself. 'Don't lose control. Don't lose control. For once in your life keep your anger in check…'

END - Chapter 5: Decisions


Thanks to my small loyal following, if it wasn't for you guys, this story would stay in my head instead of making it to the web.

Tsuyosa: yes, you spelled fantastic right ;)

SaphireStars: ha, twas ok.. I knew what you meant the first time ;) Iroh is coming! I promise. check out my bio for the outlines and short one sentance summeries of each chap I have planned... I hope this story will be over in 12 chapters -.-;;;

Kissing off into the air: ugh, summer school bits ass. I didn't mind my summer class too much though, come on… it was driver's ed! Though the classroom portion sucked I ended up being able to drive around in a car. well worth it.

Jadawulf: heh, see I have a plan. All things shall work out in the end ;)

Hikari Yume: yeah, I haven't forgotten about Katara and Sokka… I know what they're doing. What evils are befalling them. I've decided to keep this fict centered around Zuko… it's long enough as it is, I don't feel like torturing myself with juggling multiple story lines at the same time. So, you readers will find out what's been happening to the water teens and even Zhao when Zuko finds out. Gomen!

Everto Angelus: NOOOO! You can't slaughter Zhao yet! I still have plans for him. (/e grins wickedly)

C&C always welcomed! And as always, long constructive/complementing reviews help me write sooner rather than latter…

Thanks for reading!

Ja Ne!