Chapter 3
The Avatar Returns
Hello again, I am so glad everyone is enjoying this story, and I am enjoying writing it. I just can't seem to stop, not even in my dreams when I'm asleep or awake. It gives me so many ideas to use and I have written them down in each chapter so that I won't forget.
And I might use them as previews for the next chapters for the story wend I publish them.
It was between both a good and bad once they arrived at the village.
The ship did some damages when it reaches the land, or ice, causing it to create a huge crevice on the ice. Luckily no one fell in. And their iced hard snow that formed a small wall around the village, part of it collapse when the ship made contact. At least not all of it fall down.
Zuko did in fact NOT harm a single villager, he did grabbed an elderly woman roughly and shoved her back to the crowd sure, but at least no one was burned when Zuko aimed his firebending OVER their heads.
Although this one guy did seem to be the one who got wound the most, his dignity and pride not his body. Emotions, maybe.
First, he charges at Zuko with a weapon, but Zuko kicks it out of his hands and kick the guy away into the snow headfirst. It was a funny sight.
Second, he charges at Zuko again, who was annoyed. This time Zuko dodges the guy and flips him over his head and blast a flame at him. The guy rolls out of the way and throws a boomerang at Zuko, who barely avoid it. The guy wasn't winning but he was sure making Zuko angry.
And Finally, a little boy throws the guy a spear, "Show no fear!" the kid said bravely but cute. The guy catches it and charges Zuko once again, but Zuko breaks off the head piece, and a few others, wrist guards. Zuko grabs the spear and bonks the guy on the forehead with it three times, then breaks it in half and drops the pieces on the ground.
With the guy out of commission, mostly because he was on the ground in defeat and had no other weapons left. But they did forget about the boomerang which came back and slams Zuko in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off kilter. Furious with how none of this is going nowhere and that his patience were wearing thin, Zuko begins to spit fire out of his hands as he hovers menacingly over the buffoon.
But then this kid came skyrocketing out of nowhere with a staff in his hands on a… four flippered penguin?
He flies right under Zuko's legs sweeping right underneath him causing Zuko to fall in the most hilarious manner and his helmet lands right on his butt. Jake and Haley were struggling not to laugh so loud from the deck and to keep Fu Dog from making any joking comments so that they wouldn't have any attentions drawn towards them.
Even the children from the village where cheering and laughing for the kid, and how funny Zuko has fallen.
Once the kid stops sliding on the penguin, who pushes the kid off and waddles away, Jake, Haley, and Fu were able to see the kid more clearly. He's clothes resembles of a monk in orange, yellow, and light soft red. He has blue tattoos in forms that resembles an arrow on his head and on the back of his hands. There's probably more on his body than just those.
"Hey Katara. Hey Sokka." The kid greeted the older girl standing next to the buffoon, who dryly said, "Hi...Aang. Thanks for comin'."
'So the kid's name is Aang.' The time travelers thought, as they see Zuko getting back on his feet and assuming a firebending stance. Seeing that Aang surrounded by Zuko and his men, Jake really wanted to intervene, but he knows that he shouldn't mess with the timeline more than he, Haley and Fu had already has.
Just then, Aang blows the men on either side of him backwards with blasts of air. He blasts Zuko as well, but he holds his ground, shielding his face from the wind.
"Looking for me?" said Aang, Using his firebending Zuko melted the snow that was on him from the blast, he spoke incredulous at the boy standing before him, "You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?"
"Aang?" "No way." Even the villagers were surprised at this news, but that doesn't really explain what an Avatar is. Hopefully, Iroh may explain it to them. Meanwhile. Zuko and Aang maneuvering for position against each other in the middle of a village that has become an arena to them.
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" Zuko monologue while Aang said with a confusing look, "Well, you're just a teenager." Zuko swear he heard Jake laughing from the ship.
Fuel by anger, Zuko fires blast after blast at Aang who cries out in alarm. He is hard pressed, fear showing on his face. Aang dissipates each blast as it strikes by twirling his staff in front of him like a helicopter blade. The dissipation doesn't block the fire from reaching the villagers, though, and they cry out. Aang looks behind to see them and realizes he can't protect them like this.
Fu Dog and Haley were also worried for villagers, and Jake even more so than them. And from where he's standing, he'll say that Zuko look like he didn't even want his flames to reach them.
Aang stops twirling his staff and said, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" Zuko didn't strike instead he straightens up and nods stiffly. He kept his vow. And now one came to harm.
The soldiers came to Aang's side and seized him and his staff, before leading him towards the ship. The girl, Katara, runs forward crying, "No, Aang! Don't do this!"
Her voice was loud, loud enough for those on the deck to hear. "Rose…" Jake says breathlessly, even Haley and Fu Dog were shocked as Jake. That Katara girl sounds so much like Jake's girlfriend Rose! "Man, what are the odds of her being Rose's ancestor?" said Fu Dog.
"Don't worry, Katara, it'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back." Aang says as the men pushed him forward roughly. "Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home." Zuko orders his men as they board the ship, and the bowsprit rises back up.
Jake and Haley heard what Zuko said about going home, it sounded like he was relieved and glad. There's a history somewhere and they will find the answers.
Time Skip
They left the village about an hour or so, during that time Aang saw the three time travelers. "Hi, I'm Aang!" Haley and Jake greeted him back, but with less enthusiasm "Hi." Jake only gave the kid a hand greeting "Hey." wave, "He seems so peppy for someone who's been captured." Fu Dog whispers silently enough for the Long kids to hear.
"Is that a dog?" Aang ask wanting to pet Fu Dog even though his hands are bound behind his back. That and he was being led to the foredeck of the ship by the soldiers.
Once there Jake, Haley, and Fu Dog were standing with Zuko, Iroh and a bunch of guards. Jake by Zuko's left and Iroh by the right with Haley and Fu Dog next to him.
"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks." Zuko said, Take the Avatar to the prison hold. And (shoving the staff in Iroh's direction) take this to my quarters." Zuko ordered his men and shoves the staff in Iroh's direction, as Iroh takes it to see Zuko leaving with Jake following him.
Once he was out of range Iroh immediately turns to the nearest guard and handed him the staff. "Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?" Iroh ask as he leaves with a giggling Haley beside him. And Fu Dog just rushes to the nearest heater, paws on metal without any protection is not good for a dog.
With Zuko and Jake
"We need to talk."
Jake and Zuko were in Zuko's bed chambers after the guard left the staff against the small desk table. "You recall about how we had to deal with the Huntsclan?" Jake started off, Zuko nodded his head, "Well, I was captured by them once. I was knocked out when they captured me, Luckily I was still in my dragon form, if I wasn't they would know who I really am. I was in a cage with four other magical creatures they've captured. Their plan was to have us for the Grand Equinox Hunt. Only we are the ones who are being hunted and they are the ones who'll kill us. With me being the grand prize."
'This is just horrible.' Zuko thought, 'Off course this would be something Azula would take great pleasure in. But me?' Zuko closes his eyes and tries to clear his mind, 'I don't want to ever think about that.'
"What I'm trying to say is, are you planning to kill the kid?" Jake asks with a serious stare in his eyes. Without missing a beat, Zuko says, "No. My mission was only to capture the Avatar in order for me to return home. It didn't mention of slaying the Avatar. When we are given an order we follow them and don't stray from it."
"Did it say to capture him dead or alive?" said Jake, that got Zuko to thinking for a bit before answering, "I'm sure my father wants the Avatar alive."
Just then, the two boys hears one of the guards yelling, "The Avatar has escaped!"
Zuko's looked mad, both at himself and the situation that just started, "Go find Haley, there's going to be a fight and I don't want either of you to get in the away." Zuko orders Jake, who replied, "This conversation is not over." And then left.
With Aang
It was easy to get away from the two guards with both hands tied behind the back, finding his staff… tricky.
Just when he turn the corner down on one the ship's hallway, Aang is face with three Fire Nation soldiers blocking his way, weapons drawn. "You haven't seen my staff around, have you?" Aang ask in hopes they'll be generous to tell him where it is, but no. They didn't.
With no answer and not wanting to fight them, Aang runs forward up and around them in a circular motion corkscrew on the walls and ceiling. "Thanks anyway!" Aang calls out to them while continuing his running, leaving the guards stunned.
Running down another hallway only to be blocked again, only this time it's just a single guard who blasts a fireball at him. Aang avoids it but lunching over it and the guard, with the horns on his helmet, Aang uses it to cut his bonds which cause the soldier to fall off balance and hits the ground.
Now hands free, Aang runs and opens every door that would have his staff inside. Armor storage? Nope. Weapons storage? Nope. Beds? Nope. A little girl playing by herself as a make believe princess with an older boy playing as her servant? Looks fun, but nope. An old man snoring in his sleep with a snoring gray dog besides his bed? Oops.
"Sorry..." Aang whispers, just as he was close to shutting the door he heard a voice saying, "No worries." Before hearing more snoring. Aang blinked twice in confusion, but let it slide. He has a staff to find.
He then runs by another open door, stops, and turns back to it. And there it was, "My staff!" Aang runs in only to have the door slam shut by Zuko who was hiding from Aang's sight. "Looks like I underestimated you."
In a brief pause, Zuko begins lunching a couple of fire blasting at Aang, who barely dodges each one of them. Terrified, gasping, and panting to catch his breath, Aang rolls underneath Zuko to get behind him. By staying behind him, Zuko is unable to blast him with fire.
But it didn't last long as Aang's now faces Zuko, who dissipates each fireball with a small air ball he forms with his hands. Aang creates an air scooter and rides around the walls and ceiling of the room, all the time getting licked by the gouts of flame Zuko unleashes at him. Aang terminates the airball and grabs a tapestry off the wall and uses it to wrap Zuko up in it as he passes.
While Zuko struggles against the tapestry, Aang is able to grab his staff. Zuko breaks his bonds, and they once again square off against each other. After a few seconds of maneuvering, Aang airbends a mattress up off the floor and slams it right into Zuko. The mattress propels Zuko into the opposite wall. When Zuko falls down with mattress, Aang airbends the mattress up to the ceiling with Zuko still on it, and let gravity take them back down. When Zuko looks up in anger he realize that the Avatar has already fled.
Zuko Rushes after him all the way to the bridge's observation deck. And just when Aang was about to fly away, without thinking Zuko jumps after him in pursuit with a fierce cry of desperation and grabs hold of his foot.
With the extra weight puts Aang off balance on his flight, Both he and Zuko went down back on the foredeck, they get back up and square off yet again. Aang's look of trepidation is tempered as he turns over his left shoulder to see his sky bison Appa up in the sky gaining on Zuko's ship.
"What is that?" said Zuko, Jake and Haley were concern with all of the ruckus being made, runs out to the foredeck in time to hear Aang shouted "Appa!" and block a fire blast from Zuko with his staff.
Standing on the edge of the deck and his staff knocked out of his hands, Aang manage to dodge another round of fire blast before he was finally knocked overboard and falls into the water below.
It was only then Zuko realizes his huge mistake, and "What the Heck!?" the sound of Jake's voice made him cringe. Yeah, he completely screwed up. "I thought you wouldn't kill him!" Jake yelled madly at Zuko.
But before Zuko could say anything, a huge monstrous water tornado propelled upward with Aang in the center of it with his eyes and tattoos glowing in a pure blueish light. He was controlling the water into a swirling maelstrom.
Zuko, Jake, and Haley looks up at the swirling column of water in shock, dismay, fear, and amazement. Aang lands back on the deck, his eyes still aglow, and bends the water from the column around him in circle. and releases it causing it to expand outward in a shockwave that blasts Zuko, Jake, Haley, and some of his men back, but only Zuko falls overboard.
"No!" Jake shouts in dismay as he jumps overboard and says, "Wings of the dragon!" and flies straight down and saves Zuko from falling into the water.
"What- Jake?!" "If you die so will our family." Now it becomes clear to how extremely dangerous it is for them to be here. Their lives are on the line and he and he alone needs to be careful of his wellbeing. "I'm sorry." Zuko apologies, and Jake can tell that he really means it. "Just try not to do anything like that again." "Not sure if I can keep that promise with enemies closing in." Zuko replied.
Jake set Zuko by the ship's anchor chains and dismissed his wings, as the two starts to claim back up. Zuko grabs the Avatar's staff just as the boy with the weird ponytail from before, Sokka, grabs the other end.
What seems like karma, Sokka butts Zuko in the head with the staff three times. Causing him to lose his grip and falls back down, if it weren't for Jake grabbing his hand he would have surely fall to his death. "Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!"
Haley who got her head hit from the water blast, heard what Sokka said, gets up and rushes over to the edge to see her bother and ancestor hanging on for dear life. "Jake!"
She quickly tries to reach for her brother while hearing shouts of, "Katara!", the sounds of water and ice freezing, grunts form the soldiers, "Hurry up, Sokka!" from the girl that sounds like Rose, while the sounds of ice being chipped away with Sokka saying, "I'm just a guy with a boomerang; I didn't ask for all this flying and magic." And later he cried, "Yip yip! Yip yip!"
Iroh and Fu Dog came out onto the deck after their nap, were puzzled to see a big animal flying up to the sky when Haley cries, "Uncle Iroh! Fu Dog! Help us!"
The two rushes over to Haley's side and help get Jake and Zuko back on the ship. "Shoot them down!" Zuko ordered as he and Iroh got into unison and launch a massive bolt of fire at Appa. But Aang created a gale of airbending by using his staff as a baseball bat and hurls it into an ice cliff nearby.
The fireball explodes, releasing a huge amount of ice from the cliff wall which falls into the narrow channel that Zuko's ship is navigating.
Surprise of the outcome the two teenagers and one little kid let out gasps of horror as the bow of the ship and indeed the entire channel is blocked up under an avalanche of ice. They swear they can hear Aang, Katara and Sokka laughing as they fly away.
"Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little kid." Iroh said reassuringly, but Zuko turns to say, "That kid, Uncle, just did this."
Zuko gesture to the prow buried in ice before continuing, "I won't underestimate him again. Dig this ship out and follow them!" he ordered his men who three of them were frozen and the others are using controlled firebending to thaw out their compatriots frozen by Katara. "As soon as you're done with that."
"Don't worry, we got this." Said Haley as she and Jake gets in front of Zuko and use their dragon powers of fire breathing to melt some ice and snow off the prow in a matter of seconds. With the Funnel and deck melted away, all was left to do was to dig the bow out and they'll be out at sea again.
But the look of disappointment on Jake and Haley's faces tells them that things aren't over between them.
Late at Night
Jake continues where he had left off, "We all made it out alive, but… my friend, she was a member of the Huntsclan and is the only person I truly love." Zuko was taken back at Jake's confession, he was in love with his enemy!
"She was conflicted to finding out that I was the dragon she's supposed to slay, but instead of killing me she freed me." Said Jake, "It's such a tragic and romantic love story." Haley interrupted, causing Jake to glare at her.
"But why?" Zuko questioned, Fu Dog answers for him, "Because they deeply care about each other so much, they keep their relationship a secret from all of the members of the huntsclan so that neither one gets hurt. But the Huntsman did found out eventually and came up with a plan to get rid of all of the magical creatures for good. He'd blackmailed Rose into doing it if it meant killing her real family to which he had stolen her from since birth."
"But that didn't happen, did it?" Zuko ask with a sense of hope in his voice, "No, Rose double crossed him and instead of the magical creatures vanquished, it was the entire huntsclan." Jake answered.
"How?" Zuko ask, "13 Aztec Skulls. When set in the mouths of 12 gargoyles with the main one in hand of the user, that person can have any wish they want, and it can't be undone. A-than'-you." Said Fu Dog, "Just when Rose was about to disappear I made a wish, for her to never be taken by the huntsclan and that she can have a normal life. It worked, but she didn't remembers me." Said Jake.
"But she did get her memories back when we were in Hong Kong." Haley says smiling at her brother, who gave her a small one in return, "And the two of you can't stop sending messages to each other." Haley then made some kissy faces just to annoy her brother.
This was a lot to prosses, but Zuko was glad that Jake was able to be with the one he loves. Zuko can't help but to feel proud and a little jealous for Jake.
"What you did today was both stupid and reckless, kid senior." Said Fu Dog, "Kid senior?" Zuko thought out loud, "Hope you learn a lesson in this. Ne Huh?" Oh Zuko did learn his lesson, both from his fight with the Avatar and how his actions could have serious consequences.
"I will." Zuko respond. The Longs were stratify with Zuko's answer.
Just then the door opens and Iroh steps into his nephew's bed quarters, "Dinner is ready, everyone."
Well, it's been a long day, some food and rest is what everyone needs to start another day.
Chapter 3 is done, and my fingers are burning.
It might take me a while to work on the next chapter, but nothing but a little research and re-watching cartoons can't help.
PREVIEW: Jake, Haley, and Fu Dog learns a bit more about the Fire Nation and Zhao wagers to have Jake to be part of his crew.
That's all for now, bye.