Wandering Firebender

Sixty Two: Catching Up

Elio couldn't help but find a funny kind of irony in the position he was in. He almost felt like he was in someone else's body right now.

Elio was given a nice inner guest room within the Fire Lord's palace to stay in. He was given good food and new clothes to wear: robes nicer than anything he'd ever seen his father wear. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and Elio couldn't believe that it was all for him.

Elio stood in front of his mirror, fixing his collar and his sleeves. He brushed his hair back the way he liked it, taking a moment to feel his white streak of hair before brushing it back into place. Then he smiled and nodded in approval.

"This is it." He said to himself.

Then there was a knock on his door, making him flinch.

"Elio? Fire Lord Zuko wishes to speak with you!" A guard called through the door.

"Okay! I'm already ready," Elio said. He went to the door and opened it up. "Where is he?"

"In the inner courtyard. I will take you to him." The guard said before turning around and making his way down the hall. Elio quietly followed behind him.

Elio was brought to the inner courtyard, which turned out to be outside. Walkways covered by beautifully crafted metal canopies were paved all around an exposed large, flat arena in the center. He was led to Zuko, who was strolling down one of these walkways with the arena to his left.

"My lord. I've brought Elio here as you asked." The guard said, bowing respectfully before taking his leave. Elio nodded to Zuko.

"Hello there. Would you like me to address you as 'lord' also?" Elio asked politely.

"Only when it's formal – that's the tradition anyways. When we're relaxed, just my name is fine." Zuko answered. Elio nodded.

"Okay...feels a little weird but if you insist." He replied with a chuckle. Zuko nodded, smiling a little bit and gesturing for Elio to walk with him.

"It's nice out today. Clear and bright." Zuko commented as they started walking.

"Yes it is." Elio agreed, keeping in step next to him.

"My uncle had this way of always knowing what the weather was going to be like. Somehow, it felt like he could always connect the weather with things we were dealing with at the time. I used to think he was just looking too deeply at clouds...now I think it was all part of his spiritual connection." Zuko said.

"Your uncle...he helped me out a lot during the day of the eclipse. Without him, I would've never made it to the North Pole." Elio brought up.

"You met him? Oh that's right! You two escaped together that day, didn't you? I didn't realize it at the time, but now it makes sense." Zuko recalled.

"Yeah. He's...incredibly wise. He taught me a lot, and it ended up saving my life." Elio said.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." Zuko said with a fond smile.

"How is he?" Elio asked.

"He's doing well. He's gone back to Ba Sing Se to reopen his tea shop." Zuko said.

"I remember the tea shop! What was it called again...?" Elio asked, trying to remember.

"The Jasmine Dragon." Zuko answered.

"Right! Man, I'm not even that big on tea, but the tea there was unlike any I've ever had." Elio recalled.

"Tea is one thing my uncle knows best...I know I'll be writing to him often for advice." Zuko said seriously. Elio nodded in understanding.

"If I may, I can't help but notice that you seem very...concerned that you might take a wrong step. With so much pressure falling on you, I can understand why though." Elio stated his observations.

"Everything I do from here on forward will influence the future. I can't take that for granted. I have to weigh out every decision very carefully." Zuko said.

"Agreed...just don't let it stop you. I-I'm sure your uncle can phrase it better than me, heheh, but I think he would say something like...don't let your fear of making the wrong decision cause you to not make any decision at all. Does that make sense?" Elio said, stumbling through his advice.

"I get it. Sounds like my uncle had a big influence on you too." Zuko noticed.

"When I was in prison, he was the only person I could really talk to for about a month. Whenever my family would come and share their grievances with me, he would reassure me of my choices. I really needed that." Elio said with a sigh.

"That must've been hard. Your father was a general at my father's war table, wasn't he?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah...facing him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. When I fought him at the North Pole, he told me to kill him...but I couldn't do it. I can't kill anyone. Not again. I'm still haunted by it..." Elio trailed off.

"I've read the reports. You're talking about your friend, right?" Zuko asked. Elio swallowed and nodded.

"If I hadn't done it, the Fire Nation would have overtaken Full Moon Bay...but not a day goes by where I don't wish that I could take it back," Elio said. He looked at Zuko. "Whatever you ask me to do, don't ask me to kill again." He requested.

"I won't. That's not our way anymore. Or it won't be." Zuko reassured him.

Elio nodded wordlessly. There was some silence between them before Zuko spoke up again.

"I'm working to get everything prepared for your first assignment. Right now I'm focused on making sure your airship has a good crew. What are your thoughts on that soldier who brought you in? Delun?" Zuko asked.

"I...knew him in school. We weren't close or anything, but I guess he did convince me to come here. He seems like a good guy – very understanding. Are you thinking of adding him to roster?" Elio asked.

"If you think he would fit." Zuko said.

"I think so," Elio nodded. "He reached out to me. Seems only right that I do something for him in return."

"Good," Zuko nodded in approval. "I also sent a message out to the Northern Water Tribe. Although, considering everything I've heard about the siege, I don't think it will be received well. I thought that including your name in the letter might help." He explained.

"I hope so. Having Cindra on my team would be invaluable." Elio said with a nod.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything. Firebenders and waterbenders make for a surprisingly good team. When they're not fighting each other, that is." Zuko said in a way that felt like a dry joke, but it was hard to tell.

"Yeah. You've seen waterbenders in action?" Elio asked curiously.

"You know Katara?" Zuko asked.

"Katara...wow, I haven't heard that name in a long time. I met her once. She travels with the Avatar, right?" Elio asked. Zuko nodded.

"Yeah, she's a friend. She saved my life very recently, in fact," Zuko said, putting a hand on his abdomen. "So I know firsthand how good it is to have one on your team."

"Wow...how are they? Aang and the others?" Elio asked curiously.

"They're good. Getting some much needed rest after saving the world. Would you like to see them?" Zuko offered.

"See them? T-They're here?!" Elio asked in surprise.

"Yeah. They stayed for the celebration here at the palace, and now they're taking a 'mini-vacation' before getting back to helping me get things back on the right track." Zuko answered.

"I see...I mean, if they wouldn't mind, I'd love to see them again." Elio said.

"I'll invite them to lunch. I didn't realize that you'd met them before." Zuko brought up.

"Yeah...Aang saved my life once. It was like a year ago." Elio said, thinking back to that day. He really owed Aang so much for his actions on that day. Had that not happened, he definitely wouldn't be here now.

"Really? Well then...you'll get another chance to thank him." Zuko said...

Elio met up with Fire Lord Zuko again later at a dining hall to have lunch. He was honestly very nervous to see the Avatar again. It'd only been a year, but it felt like several lifetimes ago, considering everything that had happened.

What would he even say?

The doors swung open, "Alright! The wait is over! We're here and boy are we hungry!" A girl announced her entrance as she threw open the doors to the dining hall and stepped inside. Aang walked in just behind her.

"Hi, Zuko! We're here! Sorry, Katara and Suki can't make it for lunch today." Aang apologized.

"Yeah, they already left to do some girly girly stuff. They tried to drag me down with 'em too." Toph said, folding her arms.

"Well I'm glad you two could make it. Where's Sokka?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, he was swearing up and down last night that his leg was all better after one of Katara's special healing treatments." Toph said in an exaggerated tone.

"He's resting right now. I told him it'd probably be better that way." Aang said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Typical idiot Sokka stuff." Toph commented.

"I see. Well anyways, we have a special guest with us today. I believe you already know Elio?" Zuko asked, gesturing to Elio. Elio stood up and waved nervously.

"H-Hey, Aang...um, Mr. Avatar, sir. You look...a lot more official now." Elio said, noticing Aang's fancy new airbender robes.

"Thanks. You too...wait, I know you." Aang realized, pointing at Elio.

"Yes...you saved my life last year. I don't know if you remember, those earthbenders were going to crush my hands with those-"

"Right, yeah! You're the firebender that bought us supplies! You were with Katara! Wow! It's nice to see you!" Aang said with a smile.

"Y-Yeah!" Elio nodded.

"I recognize your voice! Don't tell me...is that you, hotfoot?" Toph asked. Elio tilted his head strangely, but then he quickly recognized Toph; her clothes made him quickly recall their one encounter.

"I know you! You're the little blind girl!" Elio realized.

"Hey, watch who you're calling 'little'!" Toph threatened, pointing at him.

"You know him already, Toph?" Aang asked in surprise.

"Yeah, we met once. That was before you guys showed up," Toph answered, gesturing to Aang. "He's nice. Little bit of a softy if I remember correctly." She summarized.

"Well then, I guess we can skip the introductions. Have a seat. You all have a lot to catch up on." Zuko invited everyone to sit. Elio and Zuko sat on one side of the table while Aang and Toph sat on the other side.

"We do?" Toph asked.

"We do," Aang nodded. "I heard about what you did at the North Pole. I couldn't believe it. But thank you." He said sincerely.

"Happy to help." Elio replied simply with a smile and a quick nod of his head.

"What? What am I missing here? What happened?" Toph asked.

"My father launched a second attack on the North Pole while you were fighting in the Earth Kingdom. Elio took it upon himself to go there and warn them. He fought with them – helped them win." Zuko explained.

"Oh yeah? That's big stuff, hotfoot! Nice work." She said approvingly, grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

"Thanks. It was a hard battle. Fighting against my father was...definitely the hardest part. I only wish I could have saved more lives. But I'm glad I did everything I could." Elio said.

"We can't thank you enough," Aang said. "We didn't even know that was going on. Even if we did, we wouldn't have been able to do anything about it." He admitted.

"Yeah, true. They probably would've been wiped out," Toph agreed. "So you came just in the nick of time! Thanks for handling your daddy issues."

"Toph..." Aang groaned and facepalmed.

Any response Elio had immediately got stuck in his throat once he'd gotten caught off-guard by Toph's bizarre choice of words.

"What?" Toph raised her hands up, as if she didn't know what she did wrong.

"That aside, I think the important thing is that the world is safe now because of what you all did." Zuko said.

"Hey, give yourself credit too, Zuko. We couldn't have done it without you." Aang said. Zuko smiled gently and acknowledged Aang's compliment with a little nod.

"Hey, so I gotta ask...fighting Fire Lord Ozai. What was that like?" Elio asked Aang.

"Terrifying," Aang responded quickly. "Honestly, I didn't feel like I was ready. It took everything I had. I'm just glad it was enough." He said, breathing a sigh of relief. Elio nodded in understanding.

"I can't even imagine. When I was younger, I had the chance to meet the Fire Lord, but I backed out of it because of how intimidating his persona was." He admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.

"That was probably a good call. That's who my father was – is." Zuko corrected himself.

"Eh, I still think I could've taken him." Toph said confidently.

"Haha! But your situation was different, Elio. I mean, you went up against your own father. How are you doing?" Aang asked, showing genuine concern for him.

"Uh...it is what it is, you know?" Elio answered with a shrug, "I still need to...process everything. But I'm good, I'm okay, I'm...I'm where I should be." He said with a little smile and nod, doing his best to sound reassuring.

"If you need some time to collect yourself before your first assignment, I can hold off." Zuko offered.

"No, please. I need to be useful. The rest will come in time." Elio insisted.

"You know what? I take back what I said about you being a softy, Elio. I like you." Toph pointed at him.

"Ha, thanks, Toph." Elio chuckled and shook his head.

"Since we're on the subject of family, what about your sister? What ended up...happening there?" Aang asked, directing the conversation to Zuko.

"She still needs help. She's been sick for a long time. So I've checked her in to a mental institution." He revealed.

"You think that'll work?" Toph asked.

"No," Zuko shook his head. "But I've been wrong before. And I do think it'll help...I want to do right by everybody, even if she did almost kill me."

"Azula..." Elio's eyebrows furrowed. This was a new piece of information to take in. He hadn't seen her since he was in prison. Now she was in a mental institution?

"What happened?" Elio asked Zuko.

"My father made her Fire Lord when he was getting ready to, you know, burn down the world. But she couldn't handle the pressure. She lost her edge, so I challenged her for the throne. She tried to kill Katara during our fight and I got hit with a bolt of lightning. But we still managed to take her down." Zuko summarized.

"From what I heard, she's lost it. Like really lost it." Toph commented, pointing a finger at her head and twirling it in a circle to indicate that Azula had gone crazy.

"Oh wow..." Elio said in surprise. That didn't sound anything like the Azula he knew. He could only wonder what had changed since he'd last seen her.

"I hope that things work out with her. And with you, Elio." Aang said sincerely.

"Thank you, Avatar Aang." Elio said appreciatively.

"Please, I'm just Aang." He replied with a smile.

"Alright, Aang." Elio nodded and smiled in return.

Once lunch came to an end, everyone got up from the table. After a few handshakes and quick goodbyes, they started to leave the room. As Elio stepped out of the room, Aang stopped him.

"Hey, Elio. One more thing?"

"Hmm? Yes, Aang?" Elio asked, his body stiffening a little bit.

"Have you been in contact with any spirits lately? You have a..." Aang gestured to the left side of his head. Elio realized that Aang was talking about his new white hair.

"Oh! Yes. I almost died during the fight at the North Pole, so they took me to the...that...oasis place." Elio said, struggling to find the right word.

"I know it. And then the moon spirit healed you?" He guessed.

"Right. My injury was here on the left side of my head, so I guess that's where the hair came from."

"Wow. Well, it looks good!" Aang complimented him with a smile.

"Thanks. It was nice to see you again, Aang...thank you for all that you've done. Not just for me, but for the world. I've gotten another second chance now because of you," Elio said thankfully. "I thought often about what you said to me when you saved me." He added.

"Huh? Oh yeah of course! Good! I'm glad my words of wisdom could help!" Aang said with a smile.

"...you don't remember what you said, did you?" Elio raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh...quick reminder, please?"

"Don't let how people treat you make you lose sight of who you are. Don't lose hope that you can bring good into the world." Elio paraphrased Aang's words back to him.

"Right. I'm glad you kept that in mind...I had to do that too. It was hard, especially in the beginning, trying to live up to everyone's expectations of me." Aang admitted.

"I can only imagine. And me...well, even I wasn't sure if I could do anything. Because I was from the Fire Nation, I was automatically judged as just another guy trying to help burn the world down."

"I remember. Looks like we both came out better than we started, huh?" Aang said with a chuckle.

"I think so. I hope so...I'll let you know when I find out," Elio said with a chuckle, offering another handshake to him. "If you ever need anything, let me know. I'd be honored to help you any way I can."

"I'll keep that in mind. And you're welcome. Take care of yourself." Aang smiled, shaking Elio's hand patting him on the arm before walking off.

"Yeah, you too." Elio replied quietly. He took in a deep breath and went the other way. He ended up going for a long walk around the palace before he returned to his room...

Once afternoon became evening, Elio received a knock on his door.

"Elio? Are you in there, sir?" A guard asked.

"Huh? Yeah! Is everything alright?" Elio asked, turning his head towards the door.

"You have a visitor. Shall I let her in?"

"Her...? Yeah, that's fine." He agreed. He stood up and watched as the door open and his visitor came in.

His eyes widened in surprise. He froze for a few seconds, unable to say anything. So she greeted him first.

"Hi, Elio...I'm glad you're okay." She said gently, closing the door behind her. She managed a pained smile. Elio swallowed and nodded.

"Hi, Ty Lee...what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I heard that you were here. I couldn't believe it, so I asked around...I heard all about how you went to the North Pole and stopped the invasion. That must've been terrifying...but you came back okay. You don't look hurt." She said, looking him over.

"Yeah. I'm doing good...what about you? I heard about Azula." He brought up.

"Yeah, she...we split up. Things got complicated, so Mai and I ended up on her bad side. She threw us in prison. That's where I met some Kyoshi Warriors, and I'm one of them now." Ty Lee explained, keeping her hands behind her back.

"A Kyoshi Warrior? Wow...sounds like you've been through a lot too."

"Yeah...I thought about you a lot. Especially when I was in prison. I...understood what you were going through better. Turns out you were right, and I was dumb." Ty Lee chuckled sadly, looking down. Elio swallowed and looked down too.

"I'm sorry...for the things that I said back then. I was angry and just trying to upset you. It was totally out of line." Elio apologized.

"Maybe not totally...but it's okay, Elio. I've already forgiven you." She said.

"You have?"

"Yeah. Despite everything, I do still care about you, you know." Ty Lee said. The two of them looked in each other's eyes.

"I do too." Elio said, sensing her sincerity. He walked up to her and offered her a hug. He wanted to say more, but he wasn't sure what else to say. Ty Lee hugged him and rubbed his back before letting him go.

"You changed your hair." She noticed.

"Oh, haha, it's, um...spirit world stuff." Elio said awkwardly, brushing his hair back.

"I like it. Makes you look older."

"Does it?"

"Yeah. Not in a bad way though." She said with a smile.

"Oh thanks, heheh...so a Kyoshi Warrior, huh?" Elio asked.

"Yeah. I really bonded with the girls in prison. I gave them a few chi-blocking lessons, and they invited me to join. It's been amazing." She said with a smile.

"That's great! I'm happy for you. The Kyoshi Warriors are awesome." Elio said with a chuckle.

"They really are!" She giggled, "The girls were great, but not all of them could pick up on chi-blocking as fast as you did." She joked.

"Oh yeah? I actually really need to thank you for that...the chi-blocking thing saved my life so many times throughout my travels. I honestly would've died like a dozen times without it." Elio admitted. Ty Lee smiled.

"Really? I'm really happy to hear that! I'm glad that I could help." She said sincerely, smiling at him. Elio nodded and blushed a little.

"Y-Yeah...so I guess I'll be seeing you around, huh?" He asked.

"For now. I'm still helping out the girls. I think Suki said that we still have a few things to do." Ty Lee said.

"Suki! She's here too?!"

"Yeah! You know her?"

"I do! I still need to see her. And Katara too." Elio said.

"Well, I'll let them know you're looking for them." Ty Lee said with a smile. Then she suddenly hugged Elio again. Elio hugged her back.

"Thanks, Ty Lee. We'll talk soon, okay?"

"Okay," She let him go and nodded. "You know...um," She blushed. "I still have that stuffed badgermole you got me." She admitted bashfully.

"Stuffed badgermole...?" Elio's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember.

"Yeah, you don't remember? You won it for me at that Fire Festival." She reminded him. Elio's eyes widened immediately once he remembered what she was talking about.

"Oh yeah! Oh wow! That was so long ago!" He exclaimed. Ty Lee giggled.

"You dork. Goodnight, Elio." She said with a smile as she backed towards the door.

"Goodnight, Ty Lee." Elio smiled. He followed her to the door and opened it for her, waiting for her to go before closing the door.

"What an unexpected surprise." Elio thought to himself.

Elio sat down at his chair, thinking about Ty Lee and every conversation he'd ever had with her. In the end, he was just glad things between them were better...