Disclaimer: For the love of God and all that is holy…I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER!

Special Thanks: Here it is! Ready and waiting for new additions! Except this time I've decided to add yet another perk to reviewing my story. If you review, I will respond to you no matter what! It's about time I became personable! This is for people who have reviewed 1 or more of my chapters. Feel free to review, because maybe I'll give hints to the plot when I respond to you…

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My 'Bittersweet' Song

Thanks to each and every one of you! P.S. March 14th is when the second DVD of Avatar comes out…MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Truth Be Told

Zuko was being shaken rather roughly. He opened and rubbed his eyes to see Sokka staring at him.

"You better get up, Aang's coming. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to have him see you and Katara like this…" Zuko's eyes widened. Aaawww shit. Then it hit him. Sokka shook him awake. A look of horror spread across his face. He knew for a fact that Sokka had hated him since day 1, and now here he was with Katara on his chest. Sokka noticed his nervousness and started to chuckle.

"Don't worry about it. I don't hate you that much. Besides, you make my sister happy. That's all that really matters. To tell you the truth, I encouraged her." Zuko couldn't believe his ears. It seemed like Sokka had suddenly switched from hating him, to encouraging his own sister to love him. He was, needless to say utterly confused.

"Would you get up already? He's coming!" Zuko quickly, but gently moved Katara off of his personage. Sokka sat down next to her and put her head on his lap. Just in time too. Aang finally came up and sat down with them.

"Good morning Sokka!" He exclaimed happily. Both Sokka and Zuko nodded a "hello" in response so as not to disturb the now sleeping Katara. Aang turned and glared at Zuko.

"I wasn't talking to you." He rudely blurted out. Zuko was taken back in surprise. Aang was not one to behave in such a rude and conceited manner, but then again love makes you do crazy things. Zuko decided to ignore his remark and got up to find his uncle's whereabouts.

He found his uncle in his usual spot, right next to the spring. Iroh smiled as Zuko joined him in his favorite spot. Zuko's face became troubled.

"Uncle…when are we going to get off of this island?" Iroh didn't know what to say. The thought never entered his mind.

"Uh, I honestly don't know Prince Zuko. We could be here for a long time you know. This might be a great opportunity for you to train. We know there are dragons here. That will certainly be a benefit to your training." Zuko was worried.

"They may be beneficial, but the one we saw was the one I killed! They wouldn't help me."

"You never know Prince Zuko. You may need to earn their trust, but that can be done. We should try to find them while we have time."

"Don't worry about it, I'll look for them. I think it would be best if I went alone. If I don't find anything, I'll return to camp. If I do find something, don't expect me to return for some time."

"Understood Prince Zuko. Good luck." Zuko got up and returned to the spot where he slayed the dragon.

He finally approached the clearing. Where there was once a dead dragon, there was now a grave. The Fire Nation held dragons in high esteem. It was said that the first firebenders learned their techniques from the sun, and their dragon allies. Zuko bowed at the grave to show respect. Please. Send me a sign. Guide my footsteps with your spirit. I wish to learn from your relatives. If I do not, my people will be killed. Have mercy on me and my fellow neighbors of the Fire Nation. Suddenly a wind blew through the forest. Zuko felt the dragon spirit's presence guiding him. Thank you. Zuko followed the aura of the spirit for many long hours, well into the night.

When Katara woke up it was late afternoon. She felt somewhat feverish. She felt her forehead. Wow, I must be pretty sick if my forehead is this warm. She started to shiver.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" Katara looked up to see Sokka's worried expression looking back at her.

"I think I'm sick. I don't feel to good." Sokka started to smirk. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because it's from all the making out you did with Zuko, that's all. I just think it's funny."

"WHAT! SOKKA I HATE YOU! YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" Sokka threw his hands up in defense.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm sorry! I was just kidding! Don't kill me!" Katara started growling at Sokka. Then she crossed her arms and turned away from him with a "humph".

"C'mon Katara don't be like this. I was only kidding."

"Kidding about what?" Asked Aang.

"Oh hi Aang heh heh…didn't see you there." Sokka said nervously. Katara's expression was equally nervous.

"What are you two up to?" Aang knew something was up. "Well, have either of you seen Zuko? I need to speak with him."

"He'll be gone for a while." Iroh called out. He finally reached them and sat down. "He's off to do some solitary meditating. He'll be gone for quite some time. He feels awful about killing that poor dragon. He needs some time to himself to contemplate on it and ask its spirit for forgiveness." Iroh had a wise expression. It was as if he could see all. He crossed his arms in a solemn way, which further accentuated his wisdom.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that he can talk to spirits? Isn't that like impossible?"

"No Sokka, I'm afraid that it is not impossible. Spirits are around us all the time. You have to have a certain kind of training to communicate with them. Either that, or they reveal themselves to you." Iroh nodded his head as he spoke. All eyes were on him.

"It's true you know." Aang said. "I can talk to spirits too, but I didn't think that a person like Zuko could."

"Technically he can't." Iroh stated. "He can only communicate with dragon spirits." Iroh started to smile at an unseen image. Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"What's so amusing?" Katara asked inquisitively.

"Well, to be honest, there is something that Zuko and I are keeping from you all." They all stared blankly at him, not knowing what to say. "Zuko was born with a great gift. And what's even better is that his father has no idea!" He started to laugh so hard that his whole stomach started to shake.

"Um, explain maybe?" Sokka said.

Iroh coughed and started to tell them his wonderful secret. "Well, all of you know how the Avatar is re-incarnated right?" They all nodded. "Well, Zuko isn't a re-incarnation, but he has special abilities that were passed down to him through many generations. Each nation has a patron animal that was said to have helped your ancestors learn their bending abilities along with other things. The patron animal of the Air Nomads is the flying bison. For the Water Tribes it's the great wolf beasts. For the Earth Kingdom, it is the great tigers. However, the Fire Nation's is the mighty dragon. In each of the four nations, an animal lord or lordess is born. This person can communicate, tame, and learn techniques from their nation's patron animal. It is a rare and special ability that only few have. It was prophesized that one of my brother's children would be one of these great lords. The sages spoke to my brother and they said that it was Princess Zula, but they were wrong. It is actually Zuko! My brother thought that Zuko was weaker than Zula when in actuality he is the greater of the two. He has untapped power that my brother will regret provoking. Mind you he is not and never will be as powerful as the Avatar, but he certainly won't be something to sneer at." He lightly chuckled to himself, picturing his brother's surprise.

"Holy shit…" was all that Sokka could say. Katara sat with her mouth gapping, and Aang had a stern look on his face.

"Solitary meditation? Yeah right. He's going to train with the dragons of this island, isn't he?" Iroh choked a bit at the boy's intelligence, but answered honestly with a "yes".

"Are you sure it's him?" Sokka said, still in bewilderment.

"Truth be told." Iroh laughed. "I knew he had the gift the moment I laid eyes on him. It's still amazing to me how the sages could've gotten it wrong."

Aang looked like he was deep in thought. He wanted to like Zuko so badly, and he did, but he knew that something was happening between him and Katara. Aang had always loved Katara, because she was one of the only people who believed so strongly in his abilities. He wanted to think that she only thought that way about him, but maybe she was like that with everyone, even Zuko. Aang sighed and decided that he needed to meditate.

Zuko hated climbing mountains. He often wondered why dragons seemed to love living on mountaintops, but then he realized that they were hard to climb. This was probably a defensive maneuver on their part. Smart bastards…

Finally after a few hours of climbing and resting periodically, he reached a large cave. He turned toward the sunset and took in a deep and calming breath. Thank you spirit, may I always serve your kind. He bowed as a sign of respect to the spirit and turned toward the cave. Heat was emulating from it. My kind of place…

"Dragon lords! I am Prince Zuko! I have come to ask you for training!" he shouted. Suddenly a great burst of heat came from inside the cave as a large and spectacular Chinese dragon came forth. Its golden eyes looked down upon Prince Zuko, and devoured his every feature. From his scar to his similar eyes. From his fit physique to his royal presence. The dragon's glistening, deep red scales shown with anticipation. He knew who this boy was and was eager to speak with him. The dragon spoke to Zuko in a series of hisses, growls, and strange sounds. Zuko knew well that this was the language of dragons, and he responded in the same tongue.

"I found this place through the guidance of one of your kinsmen. His spirit guided me here. I killed him in defense earlier, and I will never forgive myself for it. I ask for your forgiveness, even though my sorrow is not tribute enough."

The dragon remained silent, but nodded its head as a sign of forgiveness. "Come with me." The dragon said. "While you train with us, you will not be Zuko, you shall be given a dragon name. From this day on, your name shall be Ona Tatsu." The great horned dragon coiled around Zuko who showed no fear towards the great beast. "Do you not approve?" The mighty dragon inquired.

"On the contrary." Zuko stated. "It is a fitting name, and I accept it humbly." Without saying another word, the two became immersed into the giant cave where Zuko would meet the great dragon's tribe.

That night Aang laid awake while the others slumbered. He wanted to find out if Zuko and Katara really were together. He wanted to know how long it would be until they left the island. He wanted to know how Zuko and his Uncle got onto the island. Princess Zula kidnapped Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and when her ship exploded they were flung onto the island. That meant that Zuko and Iroh had to have been on the ship. But why were they there? Isn't he banished? Isn't it too risky to be on his sister's ship? What were they doing? Aang's mind was clouded with questions and he doubted he would get any sleep that night. How long has he known about being an animal lord? How long is he going to be training? What will he learn? Finally the questions became too much for his 12-year old brain to handle, and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

There you go! I am terribly sorry about the delay. A lot of stuff was going on while I was trying to write this chapter. The next chapter will be here much quicker I promise! I also promise to keep up my deal with responding to all of your reviews! AND GIVING HINTS! OOOOHHHH BOY! Until next time lovies!