quick thing also that I keep forgetting to put up -
If you feel like sharing, I am sort ofgetting writer's block (not for this story but for a new one) and I need a newsubject matter. I tried to make a Teen Titans one but it failed miserably. Any good suggestions?
The air was very still. The lands of Fire Nation had always been cursed with heavy humidity, the result of hundreds of years fire bending. The ground was scorched and only few patches of land were usable for crops; the streams were few and scattered about the realm, the helmed warriors abusing all resources as battles continued across the earth. The haze of red war still hung ominously in a nonexistent wind, choking the sanity from it's soldiers with the hot stillness of a thousand summers.
And all of it, was about to change.
Aang looked out the window, still bound beside Sokka, the crimson clouds hovering above the ship with greedy smiles. The air bender could feel hatred hanging around them the same way smoke hung, clouded in the heavens above, blocking the forgiving light of the sun. he shuddered, knowing the air here would be poisoned, tainted with the horror and misery of a hundred year war. He could feel the ship rocking less and knew they were pulling into a port. Now there was no going back; they were in Fire Nation, and as the door to their cell opened the Avatar's eyes fell on the only person that could save them.
Zuko walked in closely followed by a servant holding a traveling case. He had convinced the guard at the door that Katara would be cleaning the cell before taking the Avatar to his father, and the man had raised no complaints. Now in the presence of her friends - whom she had visited regularly during the voyage - she removed her hat and cloak, placed the case on the ground, and bent down beside them, taking the clothe from their mouths.
Aang smiled and stood up as she undid the ropes at his wrist. For appearance purpose Katara had only been allowed to untie them for brief periods of time, and as the Avatar rubbed his wrists while Sokka muffled something and shot a 'what-about-me?' look at her.
Katara laughed quietly and knelt down beside Sokka, leaving Zuko and Aang face-to-face.
"So now what?" he whispered quietly. Zuko reached into his pocket and drew several pieces of paper from the folds of his uniform.
"These are the forms that all Fire Nation soldiers posses. All the other sailors are off the boat, and as soon as I dismiss the guard outside the door you will be free. In the case are three outfits and armor for all of you. These papers say you have been sent by my father to join a patrol party near the North Pole. As long as you have these, no one will stop you."
"So what're you going to do?" said Sokka as Katara finished untying him. Zuko's golden gaze fell on the water bender and she saw the quiet doubt stirring behind his fearless mask.
"I'm going to begin the end of this war. When you are done training at the North Pole, send this to me."
He handed Aang a scroll, bound with the Fire Nation seal and bearing his name in the wax. The Avatar took it as Sokka began to dress in his fire bender uniform and Katara, still seeing the uncertainty in Zuko's eyes, took a step towards him. His gaze fell away from her and back to Aang.
"If I do not reply in a week, avoid the Fire Nation and complete your training elsewhere. Your bison has followed the ship, as well as the lemur. Katara has sent them up the river and you can meet them there."
Sokka put on his helmet and, though the clothes were slightly big on him, he managed to pass as a decent-looking soldiers. Aang's outfit did not, predictably, fit as well, but after inflating the loose fabris with an air bending trick he was also able to pull off the look. Katara strapped her breast plate on but paused as Zuko went to dismiss the guard.
Nearing the door, Katara took his hand and he turned back, seeking her with his eyes. Her fingers tightened around his hand.
"Whenever you need me...I'll always be there," she whispered, and Zuko couldn't keep his eyes from watering at the quiet assurance of her care for him. Gently she rested a hand on his cheek and opened her mouth, trying to force the words from her throat.
I love you
He pulled the necklace from his breastplate and let it shimmer gently in the red light.
"I know, Katara..." he whispered. His eyes lost focus as he gazed at her, the unfathomable depths of icy blue that he adored, cherished above all else. "...I'm going to make everything alright for you. For us." heknew exactly what she need to hear, wanted so badly to say it.
I love you too.
Katara's eyes filled with tears as Aang, in the background, tried to get his helmet on for the third time without success. She leaned in and placed a short, gentle kiss on the Prince's lips.
He restrained a smile and squeezed her hand. As he turned to leave the room, his eyes flamed with the sudden confidence that only she could bring him.
Today, the Fire Lord would fall.
Zuko stood beside his Uncle, all seriousness, determined to hide every feeling from the eyes that gazed at him in amazement; slowly he began to ascend the stairs of the Fire Lord's palace and his strength began to fade. Focusing on an image of Katara he gave a quiet smile and raised his head into the air, placing his hands behind his back. He was adorned in the finest crimson linens, reserved only for the most important of guests. He didn't care much for ceremony, though; he knew the only reason he was welcomed with such high praise was for his supposed capture of the Avatar, and otherwise he would have been chased from the city with spears and flame.
The palace of the Fire Lord was magnificent, yet deadly. The great black towers, built from the finest, darkest stone below the earth, stretched hauntingly into a sky of scattered ashes and blinding smoke. The windows were all tinged red and orange from the fires below them, lit in giant stone basins and set for offerings to the fire spirits. The steps were just as dark, but well-paved and smooth as the iron armor on the bodies of each silent soldier. Torches lit the way, burning various colors every few steps to create a dramatic, multicolored entrance for the Fire Lord's guests. But the effect was not as impressive when the light glittered in the ruby eyes of a thousand stone gargoyles, all towering over the edges of entrances and window frames, leering with hungry faces at the flesh that stalked below them. Their bodies were aflame to represent the deadly spirit of a fire bender whenever they are aroused to battle. Their eyes were blazing the same way the Prince's eyes had roared in fury, their bodies twisted with the same wrath Zuko had once held. The portrayal, he decided, was much too realistic.
He entered the main hall and followed Iroh down the crimson carpet, past rows of guards who saluted him as he walked past. Firelight flickered off the young Prince's face, his mind decided before Iroh even opened the door to the courtyard.
The Fire Lord sat on his majestic thrown, his shoulders bent with his own greed, glaring down at the Prince with a sickening smile. The place was as large as a football field, without a single flower to decorate its scarred, burnt landscape. The trees were black and scarred and twisted in strange ways; the bushes were bear and bore no fruit for the fearsome Lord. His mighty seat was raised above al others, and the elders sat in rows on either side, never daring to speak unless the Lord indicated such. He noticed several empty seats and remembered the names of fire benders he had displaced for 'treason'. Zuko flinched inwardly at the nauseating way his coward of a father accepted him - now that he was doing what he was told.
"My son," he said slowly. The elders around him stood in their respected chairs and began their applause, fearful to do anything otherwise. Iroh smiled and backed away, expecting his nephew to fall before the lord's feet in a respectful bow. When he did no, his father studied his face more carefully; but Zuko's face held no emotion.
"You have made me very proud, my son," he went on, and Zuko ran his tongue over his teeth to stop from snarling. "Now, you can return to your rightful place as honored Prince! This is a great day for the Fire Nation, with the Avatar in hand and the Prince rightfully returned."
The elders applauded more but Zuko said nothing. His eyes were set on the Fire Lord and he began to walk towards him, keeping his mind focused on Katara.
"I am not here for formalities or praise, father," he hissed. Something in the way he said this made the elders pause in their clapping again and cast a worried look at each other. But the Fire Lord continued, his voice now strengthening with a hint of anger.
"Of course, my son," he said slower, letting each word drip from his lips with only a hint of threat. "You are here to present the Avatar. You've captured him, haven't you?"
The elders stirred at this question, awaiting the answer from the quiet Prince. Zuko stepped towards his father, resisting the urge to light his hands aflame.
"Yes, father. I have."
The company relaxed at this but Iroh, sensing the danger ahead, began to follow his nephew. The greedy eyes of the Lord bore into the young Prince.
"Bring him forth, then!"
Zuko stopped before his throne and glared him straight in the eyes. They mirrored his own; gold, intense, determined. But in his he saw greed, anger, selfishness. In Zuko's eyes was justice, was hope.
"I let him go."
The Fire Lord stared at him, refusing to believe what he had just heard. Zuko turned calmly and retraced his way down half the courtyard before hearing his father's voice again.
"If you do not have the Avatar, why do you disgrace me with your presence?"
Zuko turned and fixed his gaze on the Fire Lord. His father was standing now, his fists clenched and raging with flame, the elders sitting by him, terrified. But the eyes of that monster Zuko could see the reflection of what he used to be: the uncaring, the unfeeling, the selfish. As the flames rode up his father's arms and the courtyard began to light, Zuko turned and fully faced him.
He ripped the pointless, expensive silk shirt off and it fell to the ground like a tattered rag. Bare-chested, he secured the pony tail behind his head as the company watched in awe. Iroh gave a faint sigh and backed away, knowing what was about to take place and registering that he could not interfere.
As the anger in his father's body grew, roaring around his shaking fists, Zuko withdrew Katara's necklace and watched it shimmer briefly in the light, before he tied it securely around his upper right arm.
He did not fear his father with her precious gift so close to him; nor did he fear the whole nation, for that matter. Falling back into stance, his eyes met the Fire Lord's, his father's, the man who had caused the grief of an innocent world.
"I came to finish this war."