A/N: Hi, people! I got the five reviews I wanted (does the happy dance)! Wow, five reviews in seven days… that sucks.
Last Time: Sokka and Aang meet up, but Sokka won't tell the Avatar what's got him so unhappy. Katara and Zuko have another encounter with the girl, but this time, the girl speaks to them more. The girl's father call's her "Lily" and teaches her how to fight. She is a six-year old firebender.
o0oOo0o
And when the teen saw a blue blur in front of him, he barely had enough time to stop. Zuko tried desperately to stop, digging his heals into the ground. His efforts failed. He fell on top of the blue blur, both of them tumbling into the ground with a thump. The blue blur cried out. Whether it had been in pain or surprise, the ex-prince didn't know, but he thought he recognized the voice. He saw why when he looked down at the person beneath him. It was the waterbender. Seas of copper and cerulean clashed, both pairs wide in shock. And to think their bodies were so close… "Zuko!" she said in surprise. The young man in question narrowed his eyes as he climbed off of the girl.
"What?"
Katara frowned. He was still irritable. She eyed him. He had changed otherwise, though. His clothes were brown- Earth Nation – and his hair had grown in. It was short and spiked. The waterbender had to admit, she liked the change in the hairstyle. "Nothing." the girl said, blushing. "I was just surprised to see you is all." Why isn't he attacking me? She wondered. Silence fell over them like a blanket. The girl grew even more suspicious. "Why aren't you attacking me?" she wondered aloud.
"Because I have nothing to gain from it." Zuko replied, looking at the ground.
"What? I thought you wanted Aang."
"I don't anymore. Even the Avatar can't bring me back my honor." His tone was bitter but the waterbender hinted a small sliver of sorrow. She recalled the night of the pirates when the fire prince had captured her. …to restore my honor… Katara couldn't help but wonder why Zuko had needed Aang in the first place. "What are you doing here?" Their eyes met again.
"I'm looking for my brother and Aang."
Zuko nodded. "I'm looking for my uncle." There was silence for a moment and the ex-prince seemed to be thinking something over. "As long as we're both searching for someone, we might as well search together." The words sounded so strange, but to be saying them was even stranger. Katara's eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was he up to? The firebender rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to try anything. I give you my word." He raised his hand. The girl gave a feeble nod.
"Which way do you want to go?" she asked after another silence. It was so strange to be actually talking to the fire prince… Zuko looked back down the path he'd come, looking for Lily. She wasn't there. Where'd she disappeared to? Did he imagine the whole thing? "What?" Katara asked, noticing the boy was looking for someone.
"Nothing." Zuko dismissed it with a shake of his head.
o0oOo0o
"AAAAHHHH!" Sokka's scream broke the sound barrier. Aang clawed at the ground, trying to break free. He grunted, grabbing hold of a nearby tree trunk. His friend was being dragged away, leaving claw marks in the dirt. The bender closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He released the tree.
When the plant finally let them go, Sokka and Aang stood in battle-ready stances. Their eyes widened with what they saw. There was a giant plant creature towering over them and its long arms dangled into the muddy water below. "DEMON PLANTS FROM HADES!" Sokka screamed. Somehow, it was louder than it had been before. The warrior turned to run, only to be dragged back by a vine from the plant creature. It swung an arm toward Aang, who dodged it. "AANG! HELP!" The Avatar's eyes narrowed and he unleashed a gust of wind, slicing the vines. They lengthened again.
The Avatar threw several more gusts of wind, but the vines he cut seemed to grow back. He kept fighting. He summoned as much water from the swamp as he could, hurling it at the monster. It was blasted backward, but stood up again anyway. Aang waterbended streams of water to cut the vines. He kept blasting it, cutting it, and pushing it while his captured friend screamed. With another aimed cut at the monster, Sokka fell into the water with a splash. The warrior came up sputtering, wielding his machete.
The pair kept fighting, knowing that they couldn't keep this up for long. Aang was tiring fast. There was no telling how much longer he could bend. His waves grew smaller and eventually he had to use more than one gust of wind or more than one stream to cut off a vine. Sokka kept getting bogged down in the mud beneath the water. He was struck by several vines, flying back and leaving the Avatar to fight alone until the water tribe boy managed to pull himself up. After ten minutes of fighting the mysterious creature, Aang caught a glimpse of something inside the vines. Something gray…
With renewed strength, the multi-bender pummeled the monster with enormous waves. Sokka stopped to watch. Aang whipped out more razor waves than he could count, all aiming for the center. With each blow, the boy caught a glimpse of what he'd seen before. Each time he seemed to see a little more. His eyes widened. It was a person. With a final cry and a monstrous wave, the vine-creature was knocked backward.
"Whoever you are, I know you're there. Come out." the Avatar commanded, standing his ground. The vines shriveled and a man crawled out from the center of the mass. He was short and round with a leaf for a hat. His eyes were wide and friendly and his smile stretched from ear to ear.
"Hello." Okay, this man was way too cheerful to be the one attacking them all this time.
o0oOo0o
"So…" Katara trailed off. She didn't know what to say to the fire prince. She just followed behind him, taking long steps to keep up. She hurried to fall into step with him. "Why were you after Aang in the first place?"
"I told you already. To regain my honor." The girl seemed oblivious to his threatening tone. Either that, he realized, or she just didn't care. She pressed on.
"How can you lose your honor?"
Suddenly, Zuko stopped. The waterbender turned toward him with a puzzled look on her face. The ex-prince's fists clenched. "I was challenged to a fire duel by my father, alright? I refused to fight him so he banished me! The only way I could return was if I brought home the Avatar! And my father is the reason I have this scar! Does that answer your question?" he yelled, fire edging his fists. His own father had burned him? Didn't his father have any feelings? He had rejected his own son! Katara swallowed and there were tears in her eyes. The firebender didn't care he'd scared her so badly; she could cry all she wanted. But he didn't expect what happened next.
The girl's arms flew about his neck in a hug. She stood on tip-toes to do it and he was pulled down a bit. Zuko just stood there, awestruck. What the hell was this girl doing? He felt something wet and warm on his neck. Tears? "What the hell are you doing?" the firebender demanded.
"Crying for you." she whispered back. "I'm sorry. All the time you were chasing us, I thought you were just some jerk with no feelings but that…" Katara's voice squeaked. "I've been burned before. I can understand a little bit." Zuko's eyes widened. What? She'd been burned? And a horrible thought struck him. What if he was the one that had burned her? They had been in a lot of fights… Wait, why did he care?
Because she was comforting him, that's why.
"I'm sorry." Katara said again, about to pull away. And Zuko surprised her. He put his arm on her back and hugged her back, pulling her close. Too close. But neither cared. There was just something about this…
"Thank you." Zuko said, letting go quickly. They stared at each other for a moment before the firebender turned and hurried on. Katara stayed a few paces behind. She wouldn't let him know, but she saw a suspicious drop fall from the ground, leaving the spot dark for only a second. Maybe she didn't need to cry for him now.
o0oOo0o
"What the hell! Why are you here?" Sokka said, pulling out his boomerang. Iroh looked up at the water tribe boy with a questioning look.
"My nephew Zuko and I were passing through." Iroh replied, sipping a cup of tea.
"WHAT?" Sokka yelled. "That guy is here?" A pause. "You're his uncle?" Iroh gave a nod as the swamp man sat next to the old firebender.
The swamp man ushered the two boys to sit. They obeyed but Sokka eyed Iroh suspiciously. Aang seemed as carefree as ever. The man went on to explain how people shouldn't attack plants because they're living. This earned Sokka an 'I-told-you-so' look from the Avatar. Then the man told the boys about how you could see people in the swamp. "I'M NOT CRAZY!" both boys shouted at once. They exchanged questioning glances before the man continued. The visions were supposed to be of someone they loved.
"But I don't get it. There was a girl in my vision, but we never met." Aang piped up.
"Time is but an illusion." the man said.
"So I'm going to meet her later?" The Avatar received a nod.
"Do you know where my sister is?" Sokka suddenly cut in.
"Or my nephew?" Iroh added.
The man smiled knowingly. "They still need time in the swamp." There was a serene silence during which they could hear the birds chirping and the sunlight splayed across the leaves of the trees, casting shadows. Then Sokka ruined it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"
o0oOo0o
A/N: Hi! I hope you liked the chappie! There's only going to be two or three more. And remember, I won't update until I get at least five reviews. And don't be lazy and say someone else is going to do it—do it yourself!
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