"No." Sokka says, "You're not taking my little sister - or the Avatar - into the Fire Nation!"
"It's either I get my bending back or Aang finds a new fire bending teacher."
Katara isn't sure what to think. She trusts him but. No, he could have turned in Omashu, he didn't have to become a refugee. He's with them. She still has the map he gave her when she left the ship. She gets up and digs it out of a bag.
"What are you doing, sis?"
"Give me a moment." She finds and spreads it out in front of Zuko. "Where's the city?"
"Up here," He points at a small island off the northern tip of the Fire Nation, nowhere near the capitol. If she remembers anything from going over strategies with him and Uncle it's that there are parts of the Fire Nation where the military isn't as present. Ember Island and the northern section of the Fire Nation being two main ones.
Her eyes narrow, "If you direct us anywhere close to the capitol you're getting thrown off of Appa." He tenses but nods. Her face immediately softens, "Aang, does that sound good to you?"
The Avatar thinks for a moment before slowly nodding. "We'll do it. I'll take the map though."
"Okay then it's settled, we're going to the Fire Nation."
"No, it's not settled, I'm not okay with this!" Sokka says.
Katara rolls her eyes, "You don't really get a choice, sorry."
"Hmpf, I'm just the guy with the boomerang. No one pays attention to the guy with a boomerang."
"That's not it. You just," She struggles to find the right words, "Aang's the one that makes the final decision about stuff like this."
Sokka snorts. Aang only makes the decisions once Katara tell him what to think. Oh well, Fire Nation here they come. He'll make sure his baby sister is safe.
. . .
"You're not mad at me are you?" Katara scoots up to Zuko once everyone else is asleep.
He sighs, "No, not really. I understand why you said that."
"I do trust you. I really do but for them it's," she shrugs "it makes them feel better and it's just better safe than sorry."
"I know." At some point in the last few seconds her fingers twined themselves around his. "I won't do anything to hurt you though, I promise. Or the rest of the group," Zuko adds hurriedly. "Besides, it's good that you say stuff like that. Back in Omashu I almost -"
"I know," She squeezes his hand and he nods.
"You help me remember what I'm doing and why. I mean because you know, you tell me and stuff." He finishes lamely. Her threat earlier hadn't bothered him. In fact it'd made him more comfortable. He knows he's struggled to do the right thing, to figure out what the right thing even is but now he knows that there's someone who isn't going to be bothered by reminding him. "Katara?"
"Yes?"
"If this war ends then someday I'll be Fire Lord. Make sure I do the right thing then, don't let me become my father."
She shakes her head, "That will never happen, you're nothing like him."
He grabs the hand not holding his already and stares her down, "Promise me. If I start to turn into him, if I start down that road - end me."
Time stops. The air catches in her throat and she can't believe he's actually asking her that. "Don't ask me to do that."
"You said you'd throw me off of Appa earlier today. You know it's the safest choice. Please Katara, I need someone there with me to help me, to make sure I keep doing the right thing. I need to know that if I slip up someone will stop me. Please Katara." He needs her there with him.
The fight goes out of her with the pleading look in his gold eyes. "Okay," She mutters half heartedly.
"Thank you." He pulls her close. He hardly ever initiates contact like this, only one other time - on the ship before she left - comes to mind but it feels right. The way his arms mold to the shape of her back and his face buried in her hair, it just feels right.
It's been a long day. First they get attacked, then Zuko looses his fire, then the Fire Nation bit and having to threaten the guy who is arguably her best friend with death only to end up promising to kill him if he ever starts going crazy. It's too much, she's tired and upset, and annoyed, and now he's hugging her and he smells oh so nice like oranges and spices and smoke and it's just too much right now. She cries. She cries because she left home, because of Chang and Fong, because she had to fight so hard at the Northern Water Tribe to be an equal, because the people of Omashu aren't okay, because Zuko's crazy sister is after them, because because because, because she's tired - the bone deep weary that comes from not having a place to call home, of being on the road all the time. She just wants it all to be over, she wants the war to be won and to go home. That raises the question of where exactly home is though because she knows that no matter how much she wants to go back to the South Pole she'll never belong there again and so where is she supposed to go. This man feels like home, and she can't get that thought out of her head.
Zuko just continues to hold her, a little awkwardly now that she's crying but he holds her all the same, stroking her hair and not knowing what else to say other than a murmured 'there, there' occasionally.
. . .
The sun shines bright in camp the next morning to find Zuko tangled in hair that escaped Katara's braid and his arm thrown over her. She however has one leg wedged between his knees and is snoring lightly into his armpit. They both slept deeply for once. Zuko wakes up first, as usual though this time he doesn't move immediately except to shake his head - getting her hair out of his nose. There have been other mornings like this, mornings when he'd wake up to find her nestled in his arms but it's always been different, more rushed. Right now they're headed to the Fire Nation, he may not be going home but they're at least going a direction no one expects and so he relaxes. He can't see much of her face, somehow she's perfectly comfortable sleeping with it shoved into the ground, her arm, and his armpit all at the same time. She mutters something in her sleep and rearranges herself, flopping over onto her side and snuggling up against him. He stretches slightly and wraps his arm around her again.
When did this happen? They used to hate each other, absolutely despise each other and now what, they're sleeping together? Isn't it kind of out of order anyway? Isn't there supposed to be kissing and handholding and admitting out loud that he likes her before he wakes up next to her? All of that would, of course, be if he were actually interested in her.
Which he isn't!
Which he totally is. He is and he didn't even realize it until Omashu or maybe yesterday or maybe it was back on his ship when he offered for her to live with him. He doesn't know when it happened and he doubts she'll ever feel the same. Besides, they have a war to win and after that she's going to go back to the South Pole. All he knows is that he doesn't want her to leave his arms and that with them getting closer to the Fire Nation he finds himself wanting to take her places, show her around and even perhaps show her off. He wants to take her to Ember Island and show her the Palace Gardens and show her the real beauty of his homeland. He wants her to stay with him. It's not love, Zuko tells himself emphatically. It's just hormones.
A grunt to his other side jerks him out of his thoughts and he turns, careful not to disrupt Katara though from the way she's sleeping he could probably play the Tsungi horn right now and it wouldn't bother her. Sokka grunts again before gathering more sleeping bag under his head and continuing snoring. Zuko looks back at the woman in his arms. Somehow he's sure this is all his Uncle's doing. If he hadn't been practically raised on the man's stories then he wouldn't think anything of the fact that he's a boy and Katara is in fact a girl. Yes, he can comfortably blame Uncle for this. He rolls his eyes and tucks his head back into her hair.
By the time Katara wakes up Zuko's making breakfast - or at least trying to. It isn't going very well. "Oh shit!" She mutters as the stench of burning something reaches her nose and she scrambles to her feet. "Zuko, hey, what's going on?"
"Ugh!" He grunts before scooping out blackened porridge and throwing it into the growing burnt lump beside him. "You make this look so easy!"
"I've been doing this since I was eight, trust me I've made my fair share of burnt food." She grabs the ladle out of his hands and begins to stir. "Okay. Next time just stick to burning wood, no leaves. The leaves make the temperature fluctuate which makes the food easier to burn. Now," She puts his hand on the spoon and wraps hers over his. "Stir slowly but don't stop."
. . .
When the tip of the first Fire Nation Island comes into view days later Zuko's heart nearly leaps out of his chest. With the exception of sneaking in to chase Aang during the Winter Solstice he hasn't been back in years. Sokka and Aang aren't too thrilled about it and even Katara is nervous. Zuko however is scared. What if it doesn't work, what if something terrible happens? What if somehow his father, no his father won't find them. He breathes deeply, trying to calm down. He's going home, maybe not all the way but he's at least back in the Fire Nation now. He sleeps well that night.
They get to the abandoned city midmorning of the next day. Appa lands with a solid thunk on the outskirts away from the crumbling stone walls. Zuko jumps down before anyone else and steps forward his eyes glued on the golden buildings that shine in the light. Something draws him closer and he can feel it. He needs to go in. He needs to get closer.
"Zuko!" Aang grabs his shoulder, slightly out of breath. He shakes his head, snapping out of it and realizing that somehow he's gotten closer. "Don't go in there by yourself. Let's get Appa situated and make camp and then we'll go." Zuko nods, turning back to the group.
They try to get camp set up but Zuko is terribly distracted. Even Aang turns to look at the strange city from time to time. After Zuko pauses gathering firewood to tilt his head and look back at the ruins for the fifth time Katara rolls her eyes exasperation. "Listen, Sokka and I have got this. Why don't you two go look around?"
"Huh?"
"Neither you or Aang are getting anything done. Go look for some fire bending stuff, we've got this."
Aang grins and Zuko almost smiles until he realizes there's a bouncing monk beside him. "You're not coming!"
"Yeah I am! I'm the Avatar. Plus, I want to know what happened to the dragons and I've never heard of these Sun Warriors before."
"No, this is something for me to do. Alone."
Aang digs his heels in, "Hey, I'm supposed to learn fire bending anyway. I might as well learn from close to the source."
"You don't even want to learn how to fire bend!" Zuko snaps.
"Hmpf," Aang flounces away and Zuko's left to follow with a sigh.
"I'll see you later."
Katara smiles. "Yeah. Be safe."
Sokka rolls his eyes, "Yeah don't fall into a dusty hole or something. You have no idea how dangerous dust bunnies can be." He looks over at his sister who has that weird half smile on her face and rolls his eyes yet again. The problem with them is that they don't even know how pathetic they are. He may have threatened Zuko before but that was just the brother in him talking. The guy's actually alright now that he's not – well, being Fire Nation.
Without the other two, setting up camp is over surprisingly fast, leaving time for some much needed practice. There isn't much of a beach, foliage extends almost to the shore but the sun still glints off the waves. Katara strips down to her underclothes and dives in. Sokka isn't far behind though he floats close to shore while she bends the waves around herself farther out.
The city is dead but Zuko swears someone is watching. Movement draws his eyes but it's only a small lizard darting into a crack. They walk through abandoned streets, and Zuko shivers - the feeling of being watched growing. He just brushes it off. "There's something familiar about these buildings," he states, running a hand over crumbling rocks. "I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are descended from them."
Aang just shrugs, "So what, we learn about architecture? Hopefully we'll learn something about fire bending too. The past can be a great teacher." Aang trips, his foot catching on an almost invisible wire. The ground in front of them sinks, the stones groaning and cracking from disuse but still they sink to reveal sharp metal spikes glinting evilly. Aang blows out hard, air pushing him up and he flips over the death trap. "What the! You said this city was abandoned!"
"It is!"
"Well then I think the past is trying to kill me!" Aang shudders.
"That's amazing. This booby trap is thousands of years old and yet somehow it's still working," Zuko examines it in wonder.
Aang shifts uncomfortably. "Uh Zuko, chances are people have been here between a few thousand years ago and now."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, who reset the trap then?"
Color drains from Zuko's face, "Let's be on our guard. Keep an eye out for anything weird."
"Oh, you mean weird like a thousand-year-old booby trap working kind of weird."
"Yeah, exactly but people don't lay traps unless they have something worth protecting and I'm willing to bet it'll help us with bending." With that Zuko vaults over the spikes, kicking off a nearby wall mid jump to propel himself fully over. They proceed deeper into the city without incident or at least without setting off any of the three more traps they find. The hair on the back of Zuko's neck prickles but still he sees no one. A pyramid rises from the center of the ruins.
Aang looks from the top of the building to Zuko and back again. "Sorry but I think you're too heavy for me air bend us both up there. My scooter will only hold so much."
Zuko rolls his eyes. "I wasn't expecting you to. Come on, we're walking." He grabs the younger boy by the front of the robes and half drags him up the first few stairs.
"Fine, fine I'm walking."
The sun is sinking in the sky when they finally reach the summit. A wall towers over them, the deep engravings shining in the late light.
"Wow," Aang mutters and Zuko can only nod in agreement. Two long dragons swirl towards the center where they meet with talons hooked and flames pouring out of their mouths towards a man with outstretched arms that block the fire. The boys stare in awe, taking in the details.
Eventually Zuko breaks out of the reverie. "I'm not sure what this tells us about the original source of fire bending. The dragon and the man all look angry to me."
"I thought dragons were supposed to be friends with the Sun Warriors."
"Well, they had a funny way of showing it." Zuko scowls.
"Something happened in the past hundred years, something you're not telling me. What happened to the dragons?"
Zuko's scowl deepens. "My great-grandfather Sozin happened. He's the one that started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They were the ultimate fire benders and if you could conquer one your fire bending skills would become legendary and you'd earn the title 'Dragon'." He begins to walk to the edge of the wall. "The last great dragon was killed before I was born, by my uncle." A bridge extends out from the summit. Two stone dragons guard the beginning but one's head has been destroyed. The coincidence isn't lost on either of them.
"I thought your uncle was a good guy. He seemed so nice when we've met him and Katara only ever had good things to say about him."
Zuko shrugs. "He had a complicated past, family tradition I guess. Let's keep moving." Zuko almost asks what else she's said, what perhaps, she said about him but bites his tongue. It's taken a long time for the Avatar to warm up to him this much and he doesn't plan on ruining it with a question like that. They cross the bridge to be greeted by yet another stone dragon guarding a door, a vivid crimson gem it it's mouth.
Aang jumps forward in excitement, deflating once he realizes that the door is in fact locked and no amount of pulling or shoving is going to change that. "It's locked."
"Wait, that stone, it's a sun stone. I'm willing to bet - " He turns around and nods at a pillar with yet another stone set into it that he hadn't noticed before. "Yeah it'll open the door if the sun shines on it in just the right way. I'm willing to bet it's a celestial calendar and it'll open on the solstice."
Aang groans, "No, not the solstice again! We don't have time for that."
"Well let's see if we can speed up time." He looks at the setting sun, the last rays reaching the stone in the pillar causing a weak spot of light near them. No, he doesn't have his swords, they were left on his ship when it exploded. For the first time he genuinely notices and misses them. He swears, "Do you have anything reflective on you? We have to work fast."
"Uh," Aang pats his pockets. "I don't think so."
"Shit, that means we'll have to go back and get Sokka's-"
"Wait!" Aang pulls a razor out of the pouch on his belt.
"Why do you have a razor?"
"Sokka was yelling for me to finish up the other day and so I just stuck in in there instead of with everything else and I just kind of maybe forgot about it but I guess that's not that bad of a - "
"Okay, just give it to me." Aang hands it over and Zuko manages to catch the fading light spot with it, shining it up at the main sun stone. It glows faintly before the light's too weak to even be noticeable. The doors don't move. Zuko starts to swear again and Aang plops onto the ground in defeat, picking the razor back up and tucking it into the pouch again. "Well," Zuko snarls at the air, "Today's been a huge waste of time."
He turns to leave but a creaking stops him. The doors, they're opening! It's slow and loud but they do in fact open. Aang grins widely and even Zuko cracks a smile before heading inside. Two large statues greet them, this time men instead of the dragons that have been so present in the ruins. The room inside is lined with the statures just like the men at the front. Each statue mirrors the one on the other side of the room going through different motions.
"So what, it's just statues?"
Aang leans over to peer at a plaque in front of the ones near the door. "It says this is something called the Dancing Dragon." He steps back to get a better view and for the hell of it mimics that statue's pose drawing a leg up. A plate sinks under his foot. "Zuko!"
The prince turns, "What?"
"Get over here, dance with me."
Zuko raises his eyebrows, "No."
"I'm serious. Just do it."
He rolls his eyes and grumbles about going to stand in front of the other matching statue. "This had better teach us some kind of amazing fire bending." They copy the statues, going into crane before shifting their weight and stretching out into the next pose. Zuko's eyebrow raises at the plates sinking below his feet and they go through the other stances. Zuko doesn't feel any different as he stretches his arms out and turns on the ball of his foot but maybe it'll be at the end, maybe there's something - anything - he can learn here to help him out. They complete the 'dance', their fists meeting. They step off the plates and a deep grinding echoes through the chamber. In between them a pedestal rises with a large golden, scaled, egg-shaped gem atop it. Zuko steps forward and picks it up reverently without even thinking.
Aang yelps. "What do you think you're doing?"
Zuko's head jerks up. "What?"
"You just picked it up! How many booby traps have we come across and you just pick up the thing!"
"Shut it, nothing's happening." He caresses it. "It's so warm, it feels almost alive."
Aang shifts nervously. "Just put it back. We shouldn't touch anything."
"Fine." Zuko rolls his eyes and sets the gem back down onto the pedestal or at least he tries to. A burst of green slime erupts from the stone, Zuko jumps back put not it time. The goo gets him and slams him against a previously unnoticed grate above them on the ceiling, the egg still in a hand, now stuck to him.
"Blech!" He hacks, spitting the gunk out of his mouth. "It's some kind of glue!"
"Okay, uh I'll get you down!" Aang jumps to the top of a statue the glue still gushing. He bends a massive blast of air at Zuko, flipping the prince from his back being against the grate to his front being against it but definitely not freeing him. "Crap," Aang mutters, looking around but the mess has already covered the exit. There's no way out. He leaps towards the grate, his hands and feet sticking on impact.
"Why did you do that!"
"There's no other way to get out," Aang snaps.
"This isn't a way out either."
"Well at least this way we can breathe!" They can feel the goo against their backs pressing them closer to the metal bars. "Zuko, what if it goes over, what if we die like this! I don't want to die yet!"
"We're not going to die! We'll be fine!" As if a switch had been flipped, the glue stops, barely oozing out past the bars. Both of them breathe a sigh of relief. "Katara's out there, she'll figure something out."
"Yeah, if the booby traps don't get her and Sokka first."
Zuko's heart drops. "I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Whatever. You just had to pick up the big glowing stone didn't you?"
Zuko can still feel the warmth pressed firmly against one hand. It still feels alive.
"So, what now?"
"I don't know. I guess we wait."
. . .
"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Katara keeps looking at the city while she eats.
Sokka leans back, enjoying his unusually large portions since the others aren't there, and shrugs. "Hey, who knows how long finding jerk bending secrets will take. I say, just let them be."
"I'm surprised. I would've thought you'd be freaking out that Zuko might have taken Aang."
"Taken him where? Appa's here with us." Sokka gestures at the sky bison who roars in response. He hates to admit it but he's pretty damn sure Zuko isn't going anywhere, not with the looks he's been giving Katara.
"Good point." Katara downs more of her soup. "So what do you think's taking them so long?"
"Don't know, don't care. I'm just going to take this time to relax, get some good sleep, not deal with waking up early." He stretches out. "You know, this is nice. It's just like the old days."
Katara looks over at her brother and somehow can't quite match him now with the him that lived in the South Pole. "No it's not, but it is nice."
"What do you mean it's not?"
"Well for starters there's no five flavored soup and Gran-Gran isn't here."
"Ah, yeah that makes a difference. I think Gran-Gran would be happy with what we've done though," Sokka smiles.
Katara nods in agreement. "Hey, you remember when you first took me penguin sledding?"
Sokka snorts, "You were so bad. They practically ate you!"
"Well that's only because you didn't tell me I wasn't supposed to actually smell like a fish, I thought I was."
"I know," Sokka cackles, "That's what made it so great." The conversation falls back into easy comfortable stories and bickering and long-since worn out arguments and Katara smiles. Now it does feel like the old days. They stay up late into the night with stories and laughs.
. . .
They've been stuck there for hours and ran out of things to talk about within the first thirty minutes. There are of course the questions that eat at Aang still, it's been months but he still wants to know more about what happened to Katara, why Zuko really decided to join their side but those aren't things he wants to talk about even if the dance at the edge of his tongue each time Zuko says her name. No, Aang won't ask, he doesn't really want to know.
Zuko can't think of anything to say and so stays quiet. He's never spent this much one on one time with the Avatar and really it makes him more than a little uncomfortable. This is the boy he tried to capture, the boy he was taught would be best being kept prisoner until long after the Fire Nation ruled the world, the boy who doesn't think things through and apparently wants to ride elephant koi and once rode the unagi. The kid could actually be alright, if annoying.
Footsteps bounce off the stone nearby and both of the boys' hearts start racing. "Katara! Sokka! We're over here!" They can't move their heads to look though.
The footsteps stop and above them looms neither of the Water Tribe siblings. Instead a terrifying man, an actual Sun Warrior judging from his clothes, looks down on them. "Who's down there?"
"Uh, no one, we're nobody," Aang squeaks. "If you could just help us get free that'd be great and we'll be on our way."
"Ha," The man snorts, "No you won't. You're coming with us Nobody." He motions and three other people come up behind him carrying large buckets. He nods and they unceremoniously dump the buckets onto the boys. They splutter and spit, trying to blink the liquid out of their eyes but soon find they can actually shake their heads and even - ah yes, they can move their hands to wipe it away. They both breathe deeply, ecstatic to be able to do that again. The liquid eats away at the glue quickly but after two feet or so it slows down and eventually stops. What had previously been unbearably sticky now is slightly bouncy to the touch. Aang pokes it and Zuko eyes it suspiciously.
"Well, are you going to stand there admiring our tar all day or are you going to get out?" A woman pries off the grate and they climb out. The gem is immediately snatched from Zuko with a huff from one of the men. "Good, now come with us." Aang and Zuko look at each other before shrugging and following, each one pausing frequently to shake out kinks and rub sore muscles.
It takes a little under an hour to reach their village, town really. The architecture is similar to the main city's but simpler, less showy. A few people bustle about or stop to look at the new arrivals but many more can be seen waving candles out, ready for bed. They march into the square, a bonfire burning in the center and the man who first approached them, the man many are calling Chief, turns to look at them. "For trying to take our Sun Stone, you must be severely punished," He booms.
For the first time Zuko speaks up, "We didn't come here to steal your Sun Stone. We came here to find the ancient source of fire bending."
A smaller man - the same one that snatched the stone back earlier - scoffs and steps forwards. "You men are obviously thieves, here to steal the Sun Warrior's treasure."
"I don't care about your stupid treasure," Zuko retorts, "I want my damn bending back."
"Listen, I don't like to play this card but," Aang swallows, sincerely hoping that they won't turn him and Zuko over to Ozai, "I'm the Avatar." Zuko shoots Aang a glare.
The thin man looks to Zuko, "Well then, who are you?"
Zuko sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose before answering. Every single time they're asked this and it's always by people who he'd be best off not lying to, always. "I'm Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, or at least I used to be." A hiss runs through the small crowd watching. "I know my people have distorted the ways of fire bending to be fueled by anger and pain but I want to learn the true way, the original way. When we came here, "He looks around, "I never imagined there would be a thriving society of Sun Warriors. Please, teach us." In an act entirely uncharacteristically Zuko, he bows his head, "Please." Aang hurriedly bows his head too.
The chief raises an eyebrow and seems to consider it for a moment. The other man sneers slightly. Finally, after an excruciatingly long silence, the chief speaks. "If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn it from the Old Masters, Ran and Shao."
"Sweet!" Aang crows, "There are two of them! When do we get to meet them?"
"When you present yourselves to them they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls, your ancestry," He looks pointedly at Zuko who looks away. "If they deem you worthy then they'll teach you. If they don't you'll be destroyed on the spot." Aang gulps and Zuko clenches his jaw. "You'll meet them tomorrow. Tonight you'll stay here and rest." With that, the crowd disperses though a few women give Zuko sidelong glances. A guard shows them to a small house with steaming food already on the table. They dig in and finally the exhaustion sets it. Even Zuko, with his worry about ancestry, is out in minutes.
. . .
It's weird to wake up to a practically empty camp. Momo is asleep with Sokka and Appa is snoring near her. Katara smiles softly to herself, just this once, she's not going to worry about breakfast yet. There's a tiny bit of food from last night and she can catch some fish later - or have Sokka do it - but first she's going to indulge in some water bending practice. They are on an island after all, it'd be a waste not to.
. . .
Zuko and Aang stand side by side equal in their fear though Zuko shows it considerably less even if his insides are jelly. Aang shifts anxiously from foot to foot. The Sun Warrior Chief stands in front of them in the same square as last night, the bonfire in the center still burns brightly. "If you're going to see the masters you'll each need a piece of the eternal flame." He motions to the bonfire. "This fire was the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons and we have kept it going for the thousands of years since then. You will each take a part of the flame to the masters to show your commitment to the sacred art of fire bending."
Aang gulps, "Uh, sir I'm not exactly a fire bender yet. I actually haven't tried at all. Couldn't my friend here carry it for me?"
The Chief raises an eyebrow. "No." He motions to the eternal flame and a tendril comes to him, glowing happily in his hands. "Now, this ritual illustrates the philosophy of the Sun Warriors. You must maintain a constant heat. If you make it too small it will go out, too large and you will loose control." The man splits the flame, handing some to Zuko who takes it reverently and offers the other half to Aang who steps back. "Aren't you going to take some of the fire?"
"I, I just can't," he stammers. "I thought I could but, well - "
"You come into our city and expect to meet the great masters and yet you refuse to take part in a sacred rite!"
"It's not you, it's just - " Aang looks at Zuko and his face falls. "How am I supposed to learn fire bending when it's been the cause of so much hate and destruction? I don't want to turn into a person like that."
"A person like me," Zuko hisses.
"No, you ended up okay but before - "
"I thought you'd gotten over that!"
"How am I supposed to get over that! Your people destroyed mine, there's nothing left, I'm the last air bender. Period. There's no one left and I was willing to try and forgive them because maybe in a hundred years they'd changed but then you kidnap Katara and I realized your people hadn't changed at all! I don't want fire bending if it means I turn into someone like that! I don't want to be a monster!"
"How dare you!" The fire in Zuko's hands had been wavering but at that it jumps. "My people have done a lot of bad things but it's not because of fire bending. If you don't want to learn then you shouldn't have even come here, you should have let me come alone!" He turns angrily to the surprised chief. "What do I have to do?"
"You have to take your flame up there, the cave of the masters is on that mountain." He points to the top of a nearby mountain and Zuko sets off without another word. The chief turns to Aang. "Do you think that we're monsters too?"
"What! No!"
"Well we're fire benders too, what makes us different?"
Aang shrugs, "I don't know, you just are. You're not evil."
"And neither is your friend nor fire bending. Come here."
Aang steps forward, his head hung low. He knows he over reacted, he knows that, he just panicked. "Yes sir?"
"Hold out your hand." The man sets the fire gently into the avatar's outstretched hands.
Aang shudders and tries to withdraw his arms but pauses. He looks up to the flame hovering over his palm and slowly begins to cradle it. "It's like a little heartbeat," he whispers and the chief smiles.
"Remember Avatar Aang, fire was life long before it was destruction."
Aang looks up, tears at the edges of his wide grey eyes, "Okay."
"Now, go catch up with Prince Zuko."
Said prince is considerably faster than Aang but eventually he catches up. "What do you want?" Zuko snaps, "Decided you want to join the bad guys now of something?"
"Listen Zuko, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said back there."
"Hmpf."
"Really, I'm sorry. I was just - will you turn around and actually look at me so I can talk to you better?"
Zuko pauses midstep, debating whether or not to look at the boy. He turns slowly, a sneer painted on his face. "What?"
"I'm sorry for what I said. It still bothers me sometimes what happened. It always bothers me that I'm the last, that I ran away instead of helping the rest of the nomads and when you took Katara I turned and ran then too. I've blamed the Fire Nation for all the bad stuff in my life and whenever I would think about the war or about facing the Fire Lord or any of it I just thought of you, you were the one I associated with the entire Fire Nation and I hated you for it."
"I know."
"Yes, but I still need to apologize for it. I let my personal feelings get in the way of my learning and I'm sorry, also for hating you without understanding the reasons behind your actions." He bows, a small flame flickering in his hands. "Sifu Zuko please accept me as your student."
Zuko almost smile as he nods. "Fine, whatever."
They continue their walk up the mountains in momentary silence until Aang starts to talk. "So, now that you're my teacher are we supposed to act like a few months ago never happened or what?"
Zuko shrugs. "I don't know that there's anything to say about it."
"Well I don't want to keep not saying anything. I want to know some stuff, honest answers."
"Okay," Zuko winces internally. He knew that sooner or later once the Avatar had finally decided to accept him he'd have to answer questions.
"We never really talked about it. I just hated you and didn't want to hear what you had to say but now I'm ready to listen. What happened on that ship? And why did you change sides?"
Zuko sighs and shakes his head but launches into the story anyway. He outlines the initial capture, gives only the barest of details about what Chang did, tells Aang about her healing and how eventually she sat in on his lessons and they would spar. He tells the boy that the night the Blue Spirit rescued him Katara left. He doesn't tell him that he cried after that. He tells him about the Western Air Temple though doesn't go into detail about the skeletons just that they were there and his ship's decision to fight against the war. By the time it's over they're almost to the top of the mountain and Aang knows the bare bones of the entire adventure though he doesn't know just how many nights were spent staying up late drinking and talking or how happy he was to see her there in the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole or even the absolute sense of anguish at the temple.
Aang's pretty quiet, just listening. After he's sure Zuko's not going to say anything else he states, "Thank you. I didn't know and it bothered me. I understand why you kidnapped her I'm just glad you tried to protect her once she was there. I'm actually glad you decided to join us. You did the right thing." He pauses and the next words out of his mouth sound much older than his fourteen years. "You really care about her don't you?"
"If she hadn't come along I never would have joined you guys, I never would have learned the truth."
"But it's more than that isn't it? I'm not blind." He exhales slowly then continues, "You know, she used to call out for you in her sleep."
Zuko doesn't say anything to that. Before Aang can say anything else they stumble onto a plateau with a long staircase leading to an archway towering over them. The Chief stands in the center, surrounded by other Sun Warriors. "Welcome to the Bridge of Masters!"
"How did you get here before us?"
He smiles, "You had to take the long way. Now, facing the judgment of the fire bending masters will be very dangerous for you." He looks at Zuko, "Your ancestors are directly responsible for the destruction of dragons." Zuko looks away. "And you," he turns to Aang now, "disappeared, allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world. The decline of the dragons is your burden too." Aang hangs his head. The chief clamps his hands and begins to bend, the other warriors fall into position and begin to bend, circling the plateau. The two halves mirror each other, the same as in the chamber that got them into this mess in the first place.
Aang looks to Zuko and they nod at each other. They can do this. Their flames still burn in their palms and they climb the stairs. "What if they judge us and attack us?" Aang mutters.
"Well, we're the Fire Prince and the Avatar, I think we can handle whatever they throw at us." Drumming begins below them as the two reach the top of the bridge, each facing the massive caves at the end of each side of the archway. The ground begins to shake.
"Those who wish to meet the masters Ran and Shao will now present their fire!" The chieftain roars. Both boys nervously extend their arms, flames dancing. Rocks begin to slide and the earth trembles violently.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know!"
A roar emanates from within a cave and with a blast of hot air that extinguishes the bits of eternal flame the most magnificent creature Zuko has ever seen erupts out of the cave. Aang's eyes go wide as he sees the counterpart fly out of the cave in front of him. The two beasts - one red, one blue - writhe in mid air before rushing each other, spinning around the two boys and looping in and out of each others' coils.
"Dragons," Zuko mutters.
"Yeah, still think we can take them?"
"Hush, I never said that."
The dragons continue to fly around them. Aang's eyes light up in understanding. "Zuko, I think we're supposed to do the Dancing Dragon with them."
"What about this makes you think they want us to dance?"
"Do you have any better ideas?"
"Well, no not really."
"Then what's it going to hurt, come on."
"Fine." They raise their arms. The dragons pause, looking at the benders and for a moment Zuko swears he can see a grin as he goes into the second form. He lunges forward and with a roar the red dragon flies beside him. Aang punches out and the blue dragon follows his moves, dipping down as Aang goes does. When Zuko jumps the red dragon darts up. They follow each other in perfect rhythm and for a moment Zuko thinks he understands fire bending. The dance ends and the dragons hover beside the arch, eyes locked with the bender they've each chosen. They're so close that individual hairs can be seen. Zuko holds his breath and Aang gets close to hyperventilating.
They rear back and roar, fire pouring from their mouths and Zuko tries to block. It's pointless though. The fire doesn't engulf them instead it swirls around them, creating a pillar of multicolor flames with them at the center.
Aang gasps, "It's beautiful! There's so many colors!"
"I understand now," Zuko murmurs in awe.
The fire dies down and they are once again face to face with the dragons. This time though most of the fear is gone. The beasts stand on the stone bridge now and the red one's tail thumps heavily against the rocks. Zuko reaches out and the dragon easily puts his head under the boy's hand. "Thank you. You taught me so much." He scratches the dragon's nose before turning to see Aang being permitted to touch the blue dragon. They bow to the masters who then fly off before descending the stairs, each feeling significantly lighter than they had at the beginning.
. . .
"What's that!" Katara drops the water she'd been bending and Sokka even drops his boomerang. A pillar of fire is rising from a nearby mountain, rather close to them.
"That can't be good." Sokka grabs his weapon and immediately begins putting his boots back on.
Katara quickly gets dressed and refills her water skin when they pause, eyes wide. "Oh. Those can't be real."
"I didn't think they even existed." Dragons fly overhead, twirling around each other, their massive wings blocking out the midday sun. A blue one dives down into the water, returning a moment later with a shark in it's jowls that's quickly split between the two. The red dragon barks, it almost sounds like laughter before he turns his head and looks directly at the Water Tribe siblings. Sokka reaches over his shoulder and Katara reaches for her pouch but neither of them move even as the red dragon flies over to them and lands gracefully. The blue dragon follows. Appa roars at them and Momo chitters but the blue dragon simply slithers over and smells them. After a moment each party seems satisfied.
"I don't think they're here to hurt us, Sokka."
"Yeah," he moves his hand down, "I don't think so either. They're amazing." Katara can only nod. The red one thumps his tail and motions to his mate before he turns and walks into the water, disappearing under the surf. The other dragon curls up near Appa who groans, walks a few feet away and begins to graze again. "Do you think we can touch it?"
Katara shrugs, "How should I know?"
"I don't know." They sit down next to the fire ring awkwardly, unsure of what to do in the presence of dragons until the red one resurfaces with a splash and drops and punctured baby whale in front of them and another in front of his mate. He nudges it towards her. A deep purr that shakes the ground emits from her as she rubs her head affectionately against him. He slithers around and puts his head near the siblings, angling it close to Sokka.
"Uh hi there giant fire breathing snake." Sokka reaches out and pats the dragon. The dragon looks at Katara who shrugs and joins in on loving on the amazing creature. The boys return later and are shocked to say the least to find a whale cut up and cooking, lots of it in a makeshift smoke house, and more than that to see the blue dragon asleep and the red dragon playing with Sokka and Katara.