Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I know this took forever, but if it makes people feel better and hate me less, I came up with and ending!
halfatheory357- heh, yeah. Zuko might've acted a bit OOC. Sorry…
spontaneousxhumanxcombustion- I know. But I'm greedy and like pointing stuff out myself (for those people who can't see it) and I tried to put more jokes into this chapter.
CHAPTER 15- Chikara
Tsuyosa grinned slightly as she "awoke". Truthfully, she hadn't slept in hours, and had been listening to Zuko and Aang talk like teenage girls. Home, school, training; the two had covered it all. Of course, when they got to tests…
Scarface didn't seem mad, at least.
"'bout time you got up." Said teen scoffed. The dragon merely grinned and promised herself to hit him after this was over. Sitting up, she gave warm "good morning" to Aang, who smiled back.
"Socky, Waterbender! Time to get up!" Zuko said, kicking the water tribesman. With a bit of a moan, the two woke up.
"Don't call me that, scarface!" Sokka hissed, stifling a yawn. "And don't kick us or w-we'll throw you overboard…" he almost fell back asleep before Katara smacked him over the head, jolting him awake.
"And I have a name, Zuko." She said, glaring a bit. Zuko merely shrugged.
"Yeah well I stink at names. Why do you think I call him Avatar?" he answered calmly, gesturing to Aang.
"Good point." A sudden grumbling disrupted the silence and Sokka grabbed his stomach.
"When are we gonna land, Aang? I'm starving…"
"We should hit shore in a few minutes. After that, it's less then a mile to Ba-Sen-Se!"
"You and your crew are either very persistent or very stupid, Iroh." Admiral Zhao grinned wickedly and the old mans glare. "I should think it obvious that if Prince Zuko was to come, he would've all ready done so."
"My nephew does not underestimate me and has no reason to, Zhao." The general said coldly. "You do know that the Dragons save their wrath for traitors."
"If you don't know about the traitors location, perhaps you know of his partner?"
"I already told you I don't know who this girl is." He lied. Tsuyosa was going to keep his nephew safe. Zuko was a terrible at lying to him and the old man knew right off the bat who the dragon was. She only showed up in every history book.
A sudden blast of fire blazed past his ear and burned a bit of flesh, but he didn't flinch. Zhao was getting annoyed.
"General Iroh, we both know you're lying. That girl could help the Fire Nation greatly and concealing her identity would make you more of a traitor then you are now!" he hissed.
"That girl is helping the Fire Nation and if I told you where she was I would become a traitor. You are the betrayer, Zhao. Not me, or my nephew or anyone on my crew." Another blast, this one hurting enough for Iroh to hiss a bit.
"You are a dead man, General. I'll make sure of that." The two glared at each other before the Admiral left, slamming the cell door behind him.
"Here we are! Ba-Sen-Se!" Aang declared. The four stared in awe at the walls surrounding the city. From the distance they could see guards patrolling the perimeter, as well as a few catapults onto of the wall.
"Great. So how are Tsuyosa and I supposed to get in?" Zuko stated flatly, and the dragon pulled self-consciously at her armor.
"I can just conjure my old cloths back. I guess I could make you some too." Tsuyosa suggested. "Or you can borrow Sockys…" the prince glared.
"NO!" the two yelled in unison.
"All righty, then! You guys wait here for a second!" She grinned, dragging the now unsure prince back into the woods.
A few minutes passed and the three friends thought one of the firebenders had killed the other before two forms appeared.
"Woah."
Tsuyosa was now back in her original goddess cloths: light white tank top, two thick pieces of cloths overlapping her chest, and a simple pair of tan pants. She looked like she was happy to be out of the armor.
Zuko, however, was a different story. He looked a bit uncomfortable, especially when Katara had to stifle a gasp.
The sleeveless shirt and loose pants were black, and he had a gold bracelet with four small charms. Tsuyosa had to explain the last part.
"I figured that the scar was a bit to noticeable, so I got rid of it. But I can't get rid of it permit, so I have to re-do it tomorrow. Otherwise, I just wanted to see what he looked like with hair, such a pity, what your dad did…" the dragon sighed. Zuko glared, blushing just barely.
"Let's just get going!" he snapped, walking past the others; who were still stunned.
"Um, right! C'mon, Sokka!" Katara said, dragging her brother along. The group continued to follow the angered prince in silence before Aang broke it.
"So…That's what you looked like before-"
"Yes." The firebender answered before the boy could finish.
"You know, you make it really easy to mess with you." Tsuyosa pointed out.
"Shut up."
As the group reached the main entrance, they found this was going to be harder then they thought. Posters of known firebenders plastered the outside wall; Zhao and Iroh had very big bounties on their heads.
"I take it a firebender won't be welcomed…" Zuko said softly.
The guards eyed them wearily as they approached, and one immediately raised a large bolder above them.
"State your business!" the man demanded. The water children laughed nerviously, and Zuko shook some of his hair (which he found impossible to tie up) in front of his face, covering his eyes.
"The Gods have come to find the Earth Dragon." Tsuyosa said, unflinching. They could tell immediately he didn't believe her, and Aang stepped in.
"I'm the Avatar, and she is telling the truth." He stated. No matter how many times he said it, though, it still sounded stupid.
"And why should I believe you." Aang thought for a moment before pulling out three marbles. Placing them in his palm, he easily levitated them, causing them to spin rapidly. The guard gaped.
"Eurin! Quickly! Alert King De at once! The Avatar has arrived, along with one of the great spirits!" Looking a bit panicked, the guard Eurin ran into the city.
"I am very sorry, Avatar. Please, welcome to Ba-Sen-Se." the guard said with a bow. Aang and Tsuyosa bowed back and walked inside. Zuko were just about to follow the others when the man stopped him, pointing a very treating spear at his throat.
"Um, 'scuse me, I'm with them." He said, pointing to Aang. The guard glared.
"Firebenders are not welcome here. Leave now before I get serious."
"Wait! He is with us! He's going to help me!" Aang protested. The guard looked confused.
"I have been told to stop any firebenders from entering. I am sorry, but he will have to leave."
"But I'm Not A Firebender!" Zuko spat out.
Now everyone was confused.
"So what are you? A waterbender? Only Fire Nation has black hair and golden eyes!"
"Half-Breed!" the full-blood prince said, wincing as the spear tip dug into his skin. The mans eyes widened, as well as the others.
"T-That's right! My mother's Earth Kingdom, and our village was attacked and I think you can fill in the blank! The Avatar passed by us and offered to take me with them so I could get revenge." There was a tense silence as the older man considered the out-right lie.
Slowly, he lowered his spear and made way for Zuko to pass.
"I am very sorry. Please enter." Quickly, the firebender ran past him.
"That was the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard." Tsuyosa said flatly once the walls were securely sealed behind them.
"Perhaps. But it got me inside." Zuko grinned with a small sigh of relief.
"So what do we call you now, oh poor half-blood peasant." Sokka laughed. The prince glared.
"How about we just find Chikara and-" before Aang could finish, what had to be twenty soldiers surrounded them. On-lookers gaped as one of them walked towards the group.
Judging by his uniform, Zuko guessed he was a general, and the man looked almost as old as his uncle. For a moment he wondered if they had fought, but it passed quickly.
"Avatar, we are welcomed to have you here." He said with a bow. Turning to Tsuyosa, it took him a second before he bowed to her, too.
"Our King is very excited to meet you, if you would grant him a visit." He said.
"We're in a bit of a hurry." Zuko cut in. The last thing he needed was to meet the rival king of his nation. The general glared at him.
"I had no idea there was a Firebender besides Lady Tsuyosa traveling with you."
"Half-breed." The dragon corrected. The old man looked surprised. Slowly, he walked over to Zuko, looking the young man right in the eyes.
"I always thought half-breeds took their mothers traits." The group gave a silent gulp. Zuko had forgotten that.
"And you would be right! Normally that is true, but also…" he looked around for a way out. Shit. "Is it normal for a boy who disappeared one hundred years ago to appear? The Gods work in strange ways and I took after my father."
"I would think so, Prince Zuko."
Double shit.
Grabbing the teens arm, the man lifted him off the ground. It took all his strength not to burn the bastard, but he was trying not to get killed.
"The banished prince of the Fire Nation. I can only wonder what you are doing here." A sudden blast of air hit the general, sending him stumbling forward and dropping Zuko.
Aang stood there, looking upset.
"Zuko is here to help me! He's here to teach me firebending!" The boy declared. The general looked at the Avatar, doubting.
"This boy is the son of the Fire Lord. He is no better then Fire Lord Sozen!"
"What is wrong with you?" Tsuyosa shouted. Everyone stopped.
"Zuko is nothing like his father! Do you idiots even know why he was banished?" sparks were shooting out around her, and they were forced to step back.
"Drago-"
"You just can't except that he can firebend! That's the only reason you hate him!"
"Shu-"
"I should kill you for your ignorance! I swear I would but you're lucky that-"
"That this land is under my jurisdiction." They turned at the voice.
There, standing calmly next to two unconscious soldiers, was a young man no older then Sokka. He had long, messy brown hair with a few beads stranded through it. Wearing traditional Earth Kingdom clothing, the only thing that set him apart was the amulet one his forehead, and his empty green eyes.
The signs of the Gods.
Tusyosa's anger suddenly disappeared, and she smiled. The poor boy didn't have any time to spare before he was caught in a huge hug.
"Chikara!"
De- means virtue.
Okay, here's my excuse. I have this strange fetish of turning Zuko back to what he used to look like, and somehow making him a half-breed. This was my solution: Have Tsuyosa turn him back so he can get into Ba-Sen-Se, and have him lie about his origin.
Please don't kill me!