Ch. 6

Ruminations and Decisions

After personally seeing to it that the Avatar was locked away in a cell deep in the bowels of his ship, that Lt. Jee had instructed the Captain to set course for the Fire Nation, and that he was in the sanctity and privacy of his own room, Zuko finally got the chance to let his guard down. He slumped onto his bed with an exasperated sigh.

As Zuko laid back, putting one arm behind his head, the other hand's thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose, he sank into the comfort of the mattress and let it engulf him.

So many thoughts were swirling through his mind, he wished that he could just dump them overboard into the ocean and let them flow away from him, so he could be left in peace.

Some of his more prominent thoughts consisted of two things, two people, actually.

The first of which was his father.

Zuko was finally, after three long years of banishment, after three continuous years of living on a ship away from his country, after three never-ending years of constant pursuit, finally heading home.

He should be feeling overwhelmingly relieved and happy at this moment, yet Zuko could not bring himself to it. Instead of relief, he felt apprehensive.

He had grown accustomed to life on his ship, with his crew – especially his entrusted Lt. Jee and his easy-going but wise Uncle – and he was unsure of what lay before him in the Fire Nation. He did not know what to expect, after all, three years is a long time.

He didn't even know if he was making the right choice anymore. At the beginning, all Zuko wanted was to return home to regain his honor and the love of his father. But as the months and years passed, Zuko began to accept his past, and his future. He learned through his exile that he no longer yearned for his father's uncomforting presence. He no longer craved to stand by his side and receive his stolid praise. He had begun to see that his father was more of a monster than a man; a monster who desired nothing more than to rule the world.

For so long, the one thing that Zuko had wanted was to be just like his father. Zuko had looked up to Ozai, idolized him. But Zuko's perceptions had changed. He no longer saw Ozai as a great ruler, but instead, a power-hungry, tyrannical murderer.

But the ironic thing was, even though Zuko now wanted to be nothing like Ozai, over time he had grown to be more and more like him, but also completely different at the same time. He – like Ozai – was determined, driven, and ruthless. He had a great fire within him, threatening to escape the confines of his soul and devour anything that stood in his path.

But Zuko also held extremely different traits that stood him apart for Ozai. Ozai did whatever it took to get what he wanted, even if it meant mass destruction and death. Zuko didn't believe in bringing harm to innocence, and he would do all that he could to ensure that as many lives were spared as possible in battle. Zuko was extremely loyal to his men, although – like Ozai – he never expressed his feelings.

Zuko knew that his view of Ozai had changed, and he kept telling himself that he was nothing like Ozai. But Zuko knew that with each passing day of his exile, he was slowly becoming more and more like Ozai. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't hide from himself. He was becoming desperate to end his punishment, and it was pushing him to the extreme. This was what scared Zuko the most.

This was where the second prominent thought danced through his head.

Katara.

Zuko had become so desperate to capture the Avatar and return home, that he had consciously brought harm to the girl. And as much as he hated to admit it, Katara wasn't just any girl. There was something about her that left him unnerved. She was willful and passionate and strong. Like Zuko, she had been through much sorrow in her young life, but instead of letting the sorrow and darkness devour her, she pushed it back and let light shine through. Katara had faith and hope, something that had slowly been slipping away from Zuko until now.

In his short time with the girl, she had been rubbing off on him. She had a bigger affect on Zuko than he had anticipated. Without either of them realizing it, Katara had shown Zuko something in himself that he had not known existed, and she had opened his eyes to another viewpoint on the war, the viewpoint of innocence.

He had known that his father's war was the cause of much suffering, but he was blinded by his own concern with the task at hand to give it much thought.

Now, lying in bed on his ship, Zuko's mind raced with new ideas. He began to question himself and his motives. Could he really hand an innocent child into the murderous hands of his father? But the Avatar was not an innocent child, was he? He was the Fire Nation's biggest threat, yes, but still, he was only a boy.

And what would become of the world once the Avatar was in the firm grasp of the Fire Nation? With Sozen's Comet drawing ever nearer, it was only a matter of time before the Fire Nation reached unfathomable power, engulfing the other nations in it's suffocating fire of suffering.

Zuko had been well educated in his youth. He had learned of the harmony and balance in which the nations lived in the past. He had learned of the importance of such a balance; although, had his father found out what the private tutor had been teaching Zuko, the scholar would have lost his life.

Zuko's mind made up, he raised himself from his bed and exited his room, heading for the dungeons below.

He knew what he had to do.

Katara absentmindedly lifted her right hand up to the superficial slice on her throat, feeling the still wet and sticky ribbon of her own bright red blood. Her fingers moved slightly lower until they found and wrapped around her mother's pendant, leaving pinkish fingerprints on the cool blue stone.

The sharp chill of the morning air caressed Katara's skin. All was still except for the breathing of the Water Tribe girl and the beating of her heart.

As she stood there, she suddenly felt goosebumps rise on her skin and she turned very cold. The wind picked up and lapped her untied chestnut hair around her face. A current of air danced around her and the wind began to whisper.

"Katara, please. I know this is hard, but please. Do not come after me. If I had one wish in the world, it would be for you to understand. You must not follow. I need you to understand this, Katara." The whisper pleaded with her, and all she could do was barely nod. After another moment, the restless air died down and all was still again.

She quickly turned her face in the other direction, causing several pooling tears to free themselves from her lids as she spun.

She found herself face to face with her brother, only feet away. She could read the hurt in his eyes just as easily as he could read Katara's tears.

Sokka knew his sister to be a strong and independent girl, but he also knew when she needed his reassurance. He took a step forward and pulled her into a tight hug. She buried her face into his shoulder and silently wept.

"Katara, don't worry. We'll go after him. We will bring him back."

"No," Katara stated with more force than Sokka knew she had at that moment. "No. We cannot follow him. We must respect his wish and try to understand," Katara said, with her head still resting on Sokka's shoulder, not lifting it to look into her brother's eyes.

Sokka merely nodded in assent and squeezed his sister ever tighter.

As Zuko approached the doors leading to the dungeon, he abruptly stopped for a moment, before quickly stepping forward again. No second thoughts, he couldn't afford to change his mind. The world couldn't afford for him to change his mind.

"I need to speak with the Avatar," Zuko commanded the guards in a regal but hardened tone. The two men standing before him did not question their Prince. They wordlessly stepped aside.

Zuko pushed open the heavy steel doors and entered the dark quarters. He walked a few meters before he stood before the cell that held the Avatar. The boy's hands were bound and he was sitting on the small cot with his head turned down, eyes cast to the floor.

Aang didn't look up when the door to the dungeons opened, nor when he heard the distinctive clank of metal-booted footsteps approaching, nor when the noise stopped and there was complete and utter silence, save for the creaking of the swaying ship through the mighty waves.

But his head jerked up when he heard the all too familiar voice of the Fire Prince.

"Avatar. I apologize for these unpleasant conditions. Had I been here personally, and not at your campsite, they would have been prepared more comfortably."

This certainly caught Aang's attention. He could not discern if Zuko was toying with him or being sincere. Aang suspected the former.

Hearing that the Avatar made no effort to give a reply, Zuko decided that candidness was the best road to take.

"Alright, Avatar. I am not here to play games. I am going to be frank with you. With each passing day, the Fire Nation grows stronger and more deadly. I have seen the devastating effects of this Great War, and the way it devours the lives of everyone who is caught in its path. My views have changed, and I have come to realize how wrong my country has been, how wrong my father has been. It is now clear to me that the balance must be restored and the nations must live once again in harmony. You are the Avatar. You are the one who can make this possible," Zuko knelt down on his right knee. "The world needs you, Avatar. I would be honored if you would join me in the fight to defeat Fire Lord Ozai and restore peace to our world."

Aang was dumbfounded. He could not comprehend the magnitude of Zuko's declaration. He understood what he had heard, but he could not believe it. The man who had been chasing him for nearly a year was now bowing down to him, asking for his help.

This was not what Aang had been expecting. He had been expecting Zuko to march down here with his smug and condescending air, mock him for finally becoming prisoner to the Fire Nation, and then be thrown deep into the dungeons beneath the Fire Palace to rot away into nothingness.

But instead, here was Zuko, kneeling before him, asking to join forces.

"Zuko…"

Zuko raised his head and looked straight into the large, gray eyes of the young Avatar. He could see hesitation and confusion in those eyes, but also something else. He saw hope.

Zuko stood up and took a few step closer towards the bars separating himself from the Avatar. "Avatar, please. You must understand that I have realized the follies of my past. I know that I have done wrong, but you must believe me when I say that I come to you today, asking to fight beside you, and return what my father and the Fire Lords before him have stolen."

Zuko was standing right before Aang, with only mere inches and a few metal bars separating them.

Inside, Zuko's heart was pounding harder than the merciless waves of a tsunami against his ship. Would the Avatar trust him? Could the Avatar trust him, after all that he has done, all that he stood for?

Zuko's piercing golden eyes bore into Aang, penetrating his barriers and digging into the depths of his soul. Although Zuko spoke with much fire, Aang could see in those golden eyes honesty and remorse. He could see that Zuko was tired: tired of the life he was living and tired of the war. He could see – behind the hardened mask – goodness in Zuko's eyes.

"Zuko, you understand that this will be a difficult journey. We must learn to trust each other, and learn to work together. We must be willing to give our lives in order to do what is right for the world. I may only be thirteen, but I know my duty and what I must do. If your loyalties lie with the balance, then I will be honored to fight with you, side by side, and once again bring peace. The fate of the world now rests on our shoulders."

Inside, Aang's heart was racing faster than the winds of a hurricane. Was he really making the right decision? Could he trust Zuko with his life, with the fate of the world? But something told Aang that Zuko was sincere in his words and his proclamation of loyalty. He knew that Zuko would not betray him.

Zuko raised his hand to a small black slab of steel on the side of the cell. His hand heated it to a glowing red, then the cell gate slid open. Zuko stepped in and wrapped his hand around a similar looking bar that connected the chains around each of the Avatar's wrists. The metal glowed red again, but Aang felt that it did not grow hot. It simply clicked and fell to his feet with a loud clank.

"Follow me. I will show you to your room,"

They left the dungeons, and once they stepped into the daylight on deck, Aang could feel one hundred eyes instantly on him. All noise ceased as everyone on deck watched as their Prince strode side by side with the Avatar across the floor and into the inside of the ship. Zuko said nothing as they marched. They entered a hallway, went down a flight of stairs, came to another hallway, and stopped in front of a door. Zuko lifted his hand to the fire lock, which allowed them admittance into the room.

It was a simple room, with simple furnishings, but it was still a thousand times better than a dungeon cell. Actually, to Aang, the room was quite nice. It had a comfortable looking bed, an armoire, and a small table with several candles of various shapes and sizes upon it. There was a door to the right leading to a private washroom.

Aang noticed that there was no large Fire Nation insignia hanging on the walls, as he had seen in Zuko's room so many months ago.

Zuko turned and exited the room, leaving the boy Avatar with his thoughts.


Well, I am truly sorry for such a long wait between last chapter and this chapter. My guilt was beginning to engulf me in an ever-deepening whirlpool. But, I managed to finally break free and update.

This chapter was incredibly difficult for me to write. It was a huge transition from everyone hanging out by the campfire, to Aang as Zuko's prisoner, to Aang and Zuko on the same side.

Also, I admit that there wasn't much action in this chapter. It was mainly a portal into the minds of the characters and their thoughts of the events that had been unfolding.

But anyway…

Ok, so less than a week until Book Two! I am so psyched! I saw a commercial for it for the first time today, and I was blown away. Although everyone hates Zula and she is supposed to be evil, I think she seems awesome! I cannot wait for next Friday, I am bursting at my seams!

Also, does anyone have any news on when the Teen Titans movie Trouble in Tokyo comes out? I am praying that it will do the show justice. I hope that they make it worthy of the Titans.

Quote of the Week

"My honor. My throne. My country. I'm about to lose them all." Zuko, The Blue Spirit

And for a less serious one…

"You are such a clore-bag." Raven, Forces of Nature, Teen Tians

FanVid of the Week

http://media. This is a vid about Zuko that I watched over and over again, for hours on end, because it portrays Zuko's life perfectly. Music by Simple Plan, Video by mellomuse.

Stories That You Should Be Reading

Titans –

Don't Sing Little Birdie, by Val-Creative. This is a RobRae story, that has brought me hours of laughter, love and tears. Beautifully written and very tragic. The sequel to Darker Edges.

Avatar –

Push and Pull, by Melodiee. This Zutara story is so moving, you will be blown away by the author's grace.

Thanks!

Read and Review Please!