Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.
The Six Rules:
Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.
Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.
Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.
Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.
Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.
Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.
Chapter 25:
Recovery and Bitter Work
Alec POV
This had to be the most awkward flight in history. Zuko was on edge, but at least he was cooperating. Sokka and Katara eyed him warily. Toph didn't react, probably because she was busy holding onto Appa for dear life. Eventually, the flight was over, and we were back at the river where we gave Appa a bath. Carrying down Iroh was difficult. I loved roast duck and sweets as much as the next guy, but Iroh needed to lay off.
I turned to Zuko. "I assume you two don't have sleeping bags?"
He nodded, still eyeing me warily. "Okay, you can sleep next to Appa for warmth. It's what Aang does." I suggested.
Zuko narrowed his eyes. "It won't…eat us, will it?"
If I didn't know the reason for his paranoia, I would've found it funny. "No, Appa only eats plants and hay." I assured him. "Look we just have a few ground rules. First, if you don't attack us, we won't attack you. Second, we didn't get any sleep last night, so if you wake us up tomorrow, we'll kick your ass."
He gave me a look. "Fine. I may not have my honor, but I won't break my word."
I nodded. I turned to Toph. "Toph, could you dig up our sleeping bags?"
Toph nodded and spread her arms, opening up the earth about a dozen feet in front of us. She stomped and pushed her hands up, bringing up our buried supplies. "Thanks." I said.
She nodded. "You're welcome." She yawned. "I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me up if you don't wanna get hurt."
I chuckled. "Wasn't planning on it."
Aang curled up on Appa's front leg. Katara, Sokka and I slept nearby. Toph made an earth tent. It wasn't even sunset, but we were too tired to care. We went to sleep anyway.
I woke up the next morning with a yawn. It was just past dawn. I was surprised I hadn't slept later. I guess going to bed early made up for the day without sleep. I got up and went over to our food. I started making some jook. I figured if Iroh woke up, we should probably fix something simple. I noticed that I wasn't the only one awake. Zuko was lying on his side, but his eyes were open, and he was eying me warily.
I chuckled. "I guess Sokka was right."
Zuko looked totally lost. "What?"
"I heard somewhere that firebenders rise with the sun." I explained. "Sokka said that might explain why I wake up at dawn all the time. Since you're awake too, I guess he was right."
Zuko frowned, then he shrugged. "Whatever."
One word answers, huh? Once the jook was done, I took a bowl over to him. "Eat." I said.
He looked at it suspiciously. "Poison?"
I rolled my eyes. I understood where his paranoia was coming from, but this was ridiculous. I took a pair of chopsticks and took a bite of the jook. I swallowed it. "Satisfied? Listen, we're not like your sister, we won't break our word. Besides, your uncle cares about you. He'd want you to take care of yourself."
Zuko didn't respond, but he picked up a pair of chopsticks and ate. At least that was progress. I sat down and ate. I had a lot to think about. Should I recruit Zuko and Iroh here and now? Would Zuko be that open to change? I looked at Zuko. He was quiet, edgy and afraid. It was too risky to try to recruit him now. But, maybe I could build some kind of rapport with him and Iroh to make it easier to recruit them later.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a rumbling sound. Toph's earth tent collapsed and the earthbender walked over to us. She sat by the fire. "Morning." She greeted. "How early is it?"
"Morning, Toph. It's just past dawn." I answered. I handed her a bowl of jook.
She started scarfing down. After a few bites, she turned to Zuko. "No hard feelings about the fight, right Zuzu?"
I suppressed a smirk. Looks like Toph had chosen her nickname. Zuko scowled. "Don't call me that."
Toph grinned. "Too late."
Zuko shook his head and groaned. Katara started to stir. She stretched her arms and got out of her sleeping bag. Instead of coming over to the fire, she went over to Iroh and started healing him again. Zuko kept his eye on her the entire time. After a few minutes, she came over and sat by the fire. "How is he?" Zuko asked/demanded.
Katara glared at him. "Try asking nicely." She shot back.
Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but he thought better of it. He swallowed his pride. "Please tell me, how is he?" He asked, much more politely. I could hear the concern in his voice this time.
Katara's gaze softened. "He's doing well. He might wake up today or tomorrow." She said gently. "I still need to do a few more healing sessions. That wound was deep." She looked down. "Azula really tried to kill him." She whispered.
Zuko looked down. "Thank you." He said under his breath.
Katara looked at Zuko like he was an entirely different person. She shook her head. "I need to go think." She stood up and walked a ways over to the river, out of earshot. I decided to give her some space. Seeing Zuko like this was probably really confusing for her. Sokka and Aang woke up and ate silently. After we finished eating, it was time to go.
We packed quickly. Zuko and I carried Iroh into Appa's saddle. It was starting to get cramped. Once we had everyone in the group that I wanted, we'd need a bigger saddle. Before we took off, Aang turned to us. "Where should we go?"
I looked down at the campsite. I noticed the tracks that the tank/train/whatever left. There were tracks from the west, which was the direction Azula followed us from, and tracks leading north, which was probably the direction they left in. "Anywhere but north." I said, pointing down at the tracks. "It looks like that's the way Azula went."
Toph pointed in a direction. "Head that way." Toph suggested. "When we were in that town, I felt a spot that would be perfect for a campsite in that direction. Not much grass, there's a river nearby and plenty of shelter from storms.
Zuko looked at her curious, and opened his mouth to say something, but he closed his mouth at the last second. Aang shrugged. "Anyone have objections?" Silence. "Okay. Appa, yip yip!"
We took off into the sky. Zuko looked at Toph curiously, like he didn't know what to make of her. He got distracted by a groaning sound from our patient. Iroh slowly sat up, and blinked the sleep from his eyes.
Zuko looked relieved to see him awake. "Uncle!"
Iroh turned to his nephew, but he moved to quickly and he winced. "What happened?" He questioned.
"Azula did this to you." Zuko answered. "It was a surprise attack."
"Somehow that's not so surprising." Iroh replied ruefully. He looked around and noticed the rest of us. "This is certainly interesting." He mused.
"Yeah," Zuko replied hesitantly, "They agreed to heal you, and then we can go our separate ways."
"I see." Iroh replied thoughtfully. "I am proud of you for accepting help, Zuko." He turned to each of us. "And thank you for helping us." He said gratefully.
I nodded when he met my gaze. The rest of the group didn't nod. Most of them were still wary of him. The flight proceeded mostly in silence. Until something happened. Toph got bored, pulled out her chain, and started metalbending. Zuko's eyes bugged out. He stood up. "Okay, that's it!" He exclaimed. He pointed his finger at Toph. The rest of us were on edge. "How?! How can you fight if you're blind?! How did you know about a campsite when you can't even see?! And how are you bending metal?!" Okay, so he wasn't attacking us, he was just curious about Toph. Katara and Sokka slowly relaxed, but kept an eye on him.
"Nephew." Iroh chided him in a low tone. "Don't be rude to our hosts."
Toph smirked and brushed it off. "It's fine." She started counting off on her fingers. "One, I can see using earthbending to feel the vibrations in the earth. Two, I knew because I can see for miles with my earthbending. Three, because I'm awesome."
Zuko dropped his hand. He still stared at Toph with wide eyes. Iroh nodded, clearly impressed. "You are quite an impressive bender, young lady."
Toph grinned. Sokka frowned at Zuko. "If you're gonna ask us questions, we're gonna ask you questions."
That wasn't good. Sokka was the least tactful person on the planet. If he pestered Zuko with a bunch of questions, Zuko might get angry. Well, angrier. I needed to nip this in the bud. "How about this, you two ask us a question and we'll answer, then one of us will ask you a question and then you answer. We keep going until one of us runs out of questions." I offered. I figured if our questions came one at a time, Zuko might be calmer and more willing to answer.
Iroh looked like he accepted the idea. "Whatever." Zuko grumbled. Well, a grumble was better than a yell. Before we could continue our conversation, Appa started to descend. We had arrived at our campsite.
Toph jumped off Appa as soon as we landed. She smiled. "Great, this is the place I was talking about." She turned to Aang. "We start earthbending tomorrow."
Aang cheered and jumped ten feet into the air. I smirked. He wouldn't be so happy once Toph put him through his paces. I looked around the area. It was a quarry surrounded by sheer cliffs, various terraces, and a few rocky arches. On the other side of the clearing where we stood was a river. Thankfully, the water was clean. Zuko helped Iroh down from Appa. The rest of us unpacked our things and set up camp. Toph pointed to a cave. "That might be a good place for you two." She told our guests. "If you wanna be alone, that is."
Iroh smiled. "Thank you, young lady. May we join you all for dinner later? I'm afraid we're short on supplies of our own."
Toph shrugged. "Sure, but I'm only one voice." She turned to the rest of us. "What do you guys think?"
Sokka shrugged. "Sure."
Aang nodded. "That's okay."
Katara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Fine."
I shrugged. "It would be pointless to heal you if we starved you to death."
Iroh chuckled. "True. We will see you later."
Iroh and Zuko went into their cave on the other side of the clearing. Sokka shook his head. "This is so weird. How did we even end up traveling with them?"
"That would be my fault." I admitted sheepishly.
The other four turned to me. Katara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Sokka gave me a questioning look. "Did he get hurt last time and you didn't stop it?"
"Kind of." I answered. "Last time, Katara and Toph were still arguing during the chase. When you got to the river where you bathed Appa, there was a huge argument and Toph quit the group."
Toph gave me a look. "I came back though, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, you were walking for a while and you met up with Iroh, and he gave you some advice, which convinced you to go back."
Toph tilted her head. "What advice?"
I rubbed the back of my head. "The same advice I gave you, just replace 'fish' with 'tea'."
She smirked. "So that's where you got those words from."
"Yeah." I confessed. "Anyway, after the fight in the town, Azula shot fire at Iroh, because Iroh was surprised you were with the Avatar and took his eyes off her. Zuko refused your help, and he left."
Aang put the pieces together. "But because he didn't meet Toph until now…"
"He shouldn't have been distracted." I finished.
Katara narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Then why did he get hit this time?"
"Because Azula mentioned that I redirected lightning at her." I admitted. "Iroh is the one who invented that technique, and he hasn't taught it to anyone else, yet. That distracted him."
"So that's why you insisted to Zuko that we help Iroh." Katara realized. "You felt guilty about Iroh getting hurt."
I looked down. "Yes."
Toph shook her head. "It's still hard for me to believe that she tried to kill her own uncle." She looked confused. "And the fact that I didn't feel it coming. Usually I can feel someone's heartbeat change when they're about to fight. Her heartbeat didn't change at all, from when we were talking to when we were fighting." Suddenly Toph smirked. "Except when I gave her a nickname."
Aang snickered. This I had to hear. "What nickname?"
Toph grinned. "Bitch Princess."
Aang, Sokka and I laughed out loud. Katara looked appalled. "Toph! Language!"
I calmed down after a few seconds. I turned to Toph. "I should have warned you about her." I said. "Azula is usually pretty calm unless something really makes her mad. I know from the story that she can lie to you and her heart rate won't change at all."
Toph's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" She asked.
"She once said 'I am a four hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings' and you couldn't tell she was lying from her heartbeat."
Toph let out a low whistle. "Damn."
Sokka suddenly got a worried look on his face. "If you used Iroh's technique, and Iroh knows, are you worried that you've blown your cover?"
I thought about it. "I don't think so. Iroh's polite, so if he asks and I refuse to answer, he won't pry."
Sokka took a breath. "I hope you're right."
That night, Iroh and Zuko joined us for dinner that Katara made. We sat around the fire together. After we passed around the bowls and bread, Sokka spoke up. "So," He said. "We ask a question, then you ask a question, right?" He prompted.
Zuko shrugged. Iroh nodded his consent. Sokka took that as a cue to continue. "Why was your sister trying to kill you? If both of you are after Aang, why wouldn't you work together?"
Zuko looked down. "Because Uncle helped you in the North Pole, we've been branded traitors of the Fire Nation. She's hunting us down too." Before anyone else could process that, he turned to Aang. "Where were you for a hundred years?"
Aang looked sad. "I was frozen in a block of ice. Katara, Sokka and Alec found me the day before you did."
Zuko nodded. "That explains why nobody found you and how you're still so young."
Toph spoke up with the next question. "Are you the Dragon of the West?" She asked Iroh.
Iroh nodded grimly. "I was, a long time ago."
Katara turned to Toph. "What's the Dragon of the West?"
"He's the Fire Nation general who laid siege to Ba Sing Se years ago." She explained. "He even managed to break through the Outer Wall. He's also Fire Lord Ozai's older brother."
Katara, Sokka and Aang looked at Iroh in shock. "It's their turn." I reminded them.
Iroh turned to me. "I saw your wanted poster. Would you tell me which of those charges are true and which are false?" He seemed genuinely curious.
I thought about it for a second before I answered. I started counting off on my fingers. "The treason charge is false, because I'm not a citizen of the Fire Nation. You know the murder charge is false. You saw that I only cut off Zhao's hand. The Ocean Spirit killed him. I did give Fire Nation military secrets to the Northern Water Tribe, which they passed on to the Earth Kingdom. The assault charge is true, because I cut off Colonel Mongke's hands with a fire dagger. And the blasphemy charge is true because…" I trailed off. It might not be wise to insult Ozai in front of Zuko right now.
Iroh wasn't letting me off the hook. "Because…" He prompted. I heard Aang and Sokka snickering. Katara pinched the bridge of her nose. Toph looked curious. We hadn't told her that part of the story yet.
I just decided to bite the bullet. "After I cut off Mongke's hands, I sent him away with a note I wrote for Azula." I said. I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "I was trying to make Azula angry. The postscript may or may not have said that Ozai has a dick smaller than a baby carrot."
Aang and Sokka burst out laughing. Katara groaned. Toph rolled around on the ground with tears in her eyes. I could swear a saw a flash of amusement cross Iroh's face. Zuko gave me a glare. "That's a grave insult against the Fire Lord." He growled.
I looked him in the eye. "He deserves worse than an insult." I casually rubbed the left side of my face. "And deep down, I think you know that."
Zuko's glare intensified, but he didn't say anything. Sokka spoke the next question. "How did you get the scar?"
Fuck. Iroh made a cutting motion at his throat, trying to signal Sokka to stop. Zuko gave Sokka a harsh glare. Before I could say anything, Toph turned to Zuko. "You have a scar?"
Everyone stopped and blinked. Thinking back, we hadn't mentioned Zuko's scar. When we told the story, Sokka just called him 'the angry prince who chased us all over the world.'. I guess seismic sense wasn't detailed enough to see burn scars. "Yeah." Zuko finally responded awkwardly.
Toph perked up. "Cool! Can I see?!"
Zuko looked puzzled. "How?"
Toph held out her hands. Zuko shook his head. "Fine." He groaned. "On one condition."
Toph tilted her head to the side. "What?"
"Stop calling me Zuzu." Zuko replied. "The only person who calls me that is Azula, and we don't…have the best relationship." He finished.
Toph frowned in thought. "How do you feel about Sparky?"
Zuko frowned. "I hate it."
Toph grinned. "Sparky it is." She stood up and walked over to him. "Now, lemme see. Where is it?"
"It's on my face." Zuko said quietly. Toph held out her hands and felt around his face. Her smile turned into a frown when she realized the size and severity of Zuko's scar. "What happened to you?" She whispered. "Some kind of accident?"
Zuko turned away. Sokka chuckled. "I bet it was funny."
Iroh started making the cutting motions again. "Sokka." I said warningly.
My brother ignored me. "Did you fall into a burning building?"
"Sokka!" I raised my voice.
"Did you fall asleep and accidentally set your pillow on fire?" Sokka inquired with a smirk.
Okay, enough was enough. I stood up. "SOKKA!" I yelled. The campfire shot up several feet and everyone but the firebenders recoiled. I finally had my brother's attention. "Don't. Go. There." I growled.
Sokka held his hands up. "Okay, take it easy."
I sat down and turned back to Zuko. "You don't have to answer that." I assured him. He stood up and walked away. I stood up looked around the campfire. "I'm going after him."
Iroh looked at me. "Are you certain that is wise?"
I shrugged. "I'll probably be fine. Sokka made him mad, not me."
Sokka frowned. I stood up and followed after the angsty prince.
I found Zuko sitting in the cave he and Iroh were sharing, doing what he did best: brooding. I walked over to him. "Sorry about my brother." I apologized. "He's not the most tactful person in the world, and he doesn't know."
Zuko looked up at me. "I'm surprised you haven't told them." He stated.
I shook my head. "It's not a pleasant story to tell. Besides, it's not like they need another reason to hate your father."
Zuko glared at me. "He was well within his rights to teach me a lesson." He growled. I suspected he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me.
I returned the glare. "No, he wasn't." I said sharply. "It was cruel, and it was wrong. Let me tell you something, Zuko. When you stood up and tried to defend those soldiers, you were the most honorable person in that room."
Zuko's eyes widened in surprise. I kept talking. "You were the only person to speak for those recruits. Not your father, not the generals, not even your uncle. You had more honor than all of them."
Zuko looked gobsmacked and…touched, almost. Maybe I was getting through to the stubborn prince. I stood up. "Come on. I don't know about you, but I'm still hungry."
Zuko waited for a few seconds, but he eventually stood up and followed me back to the group.
Zuko and I sat down back at our seats. Sokka looked the prince in the eye. "Zuko, I'm sorry." He apologized awkwardly. "I shouldn't pry about that if it's upsetting for you." Zuko nodded, accepting his apology.
I gave Katara a knowing look. "How much did you scold him?"
Katara rolled her eyes. Sokka pouted. "Hey!"
Everyone else laughed. Even Zuko gave a small smile. Once the laughter died down, I looked around the group. "Should we keep going with the questions?" I inquired. "We won't make Zuko answer that one, so does anyone have another question?"
Katara looked thoughtful. "General Iroh…"
Iroh interrupted with a hand. "Please, Iroh is fine." He said with a smile.
Katara nodded. "Iroh, if you're the Fire Lord's older brother, why aren't you the Fire Lord?"
Iroh looked down. "When my father, Azulon passed, he wrote in his final testament that he wished for Ozai to become Fire Lord, not me."
"That's what you think." I thought to myself.
Iroh looked me in the eye. "Who taught you firebending? You have made much progress since we last saw each other at the North Pole."
I smiled. "I met Jeong Jeong the Deserter several months ago. He taught me breathing exercises and flame control. We couldn't stay long, so he gave me a set of firebending scrolls. I've been working on them with Aang and Katara. Aang's correcting my moves, Katara's putting out fires or healing me if I screw up." I chuckled. "It's funny, I've had three firebending teachers, but only one was a firebender."
Aang and Katara smiled at me, thankful for the acknowledgement. Aang looked at Zuko. "When you got into the Northern Water Tribe to capture me, how were you going to escape if you succeeded?"
I suppressed a smirk. Zuko looked embarrassed. "I…didn't think that far ahead." He admitted.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "You jumped dick-first into enemy territory without a plan?"
Zuko looked down. "Yeah."
Katara groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I really hate that you taught her how to swear, Alec."
I smirked without shame. Iroh turned to me. "I only have one more question. Azula said you redirected lightning at her. How do you know that technique?"
I was afraid of that question. I took a deep breath. "I'd rather not answer that." I said calmly. "We didn't make Zuko answer the question about his scar. Please don't make me answer that. If you have another question, we could answer that instead."
Zuko looked puzzled. Iroh's face held a curious expression, but he nodded. "Very well. You have shown us a great kindness, so I will respect your wishes. I can't think of anything else I'd rather ask."
Zuko looked thoughtful. "Actually, I have a question." He said. He turned to Katara. "How much longer until my Uncle is healed?"
"I think he should be fully healed the day after tomorrow." Katara replied. "I just need to do one more healing session tomorrow morning, then he should be ready to travel the next day."
Zuko nodded, but then he swallowed. "I have a…request." He said hesitantly. "Would it be alright if I…trained tomorrow?"
Everyone turned to face him. Sokka gave him a flat look. "What? So you can get stronger when you try to capture Aang again?"
Zuko shook his head. "It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again." He said. "I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her." He turned to Iroh. "Uncle, I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."
Iroh's expression turned grim. "No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down." Everyone around the campfire nodded, except for me. I didn't blame them for their opinion, even though I disagreed with it. When they saw Azula, they saw a cold, terrifying, ruthless firebender. When I saw her, I remembered the final shot of her from the show: A broken, crying, disheveled girl who never had a chance to be normal.
"I don't know if it's a good idea for you to be firebending around us." Katara pointed out.
Zuko lowered his head respectfully. "I will keep my agreement. I won't attack any of you."
I had an idea. "I think we should put it up to a vote." I turned to our earthbender. "Toph?"
Toph shrugged. "I'm okay with it. I could tell he was telling the truth."
Sokka looked at Zuko warily. "Too risky. I vote no."
Katara shook her head. "Aang is going to start earthbending tomorrow. We don't want to have to worry about your firebending while he's learning a new element. My vote is no."
I looked at him. "I think you're smart enough to know that if you attack any of us, you'll have four elements crashing down on your head before you can even say 'Oops'. I vote yes."
Aang was left as the tiebreaker. Zuko gave him a hopeful look. Aang took a deep breath. "I'm willing to give you a chance." Three to two in Zuko's favor.
Zuko bowed appreciatively. "Thank you." He stood up. "Uncle, we can start our training tomorrow morning."
Zuko left. Iroh finished his bowl quickly and stood up with a little difficulty. He bowed to my sister. "Thank you for the lovely meal."
Katara returned the bow. "I'll be by tomorrow morning for your final healing session."
Iroh smiled. "Thank you for your kindness." He left to join his nephew in their cave.
The rest of us sat in silence for a few seconds. Toph spoke first. "If I couldn't feel that the old man was telling the truth, I wouldn't believe he was the Dragon of the West." She remarked. "My tutors always talked about him like he was some kind of nightmare, but he's so calm and…peaceful."
"He's a different man than he used to be." I said. "A lot has changed for him in the past five years."
"I've never seen Zuko like that." Aang added. "He seemed like he was on edge, but he was mostly calm. Every time we fought, he's always been really angry."
"We're lucky that he fights angry." Toph said.
All of us turned to her with puzzled expressions. Even I wasn't certain what she meant. "What are you talking about?" I prompted.
"I could feel his form and technique. He's good." She explained. "He's almost as good as his sister. But, because he's so angry, he's not fighting nearly as well as he should be. He yells all the time, giving away his attacks." She frowned. "His sister is calm. Too calm. It's like she doesn't have feelings, or…" She trailed off.
"Or she's burying them." I finished. Toph nodded.
Katara looked pensive. "It's strange," She said thoughtfully, "Most of the firebenders we've fought against seemed pretty angry. But Zuko seemed angrier than most of them."
Toph nodded. "I'm not surprised. Knowing what I know, I'd be angry if I were him."
That was strange. I hadn't told her anything about Zuko that I hadn't told the others. "What do you mean, knowing what you know?" I prompted.
Toph took a deep breath. "There's something you should know about my parents." Toph began. "My dad was born a nobleman, but the family's wealth dried up by the time his parents died."
Aang looked puzzled. "Then how are they so rich?" He wondered.
"My dad's a lousy father, but he's a good businessman." Toph replied. "He knows how to strike good bargains with other people." She hesitated. "People from all over the world."
I put the pieces together. "So, some of the people he made deals with were Fire Nation." I said.
She nodded. "Yeah."
Sokka and Katara looked shocked. "How could he?" Katara whispered.
I shrugged. "To be fair, maybe he was trying to protect himself and his family." I said. "If the Fire Nation wins, and he has business dealings with them, he and his family would probably be treated better than the average Earth Kingdom citizen."
Toph frowned. "I've had about enough of my dad trying to protect me." She growled. She shook her head. "Anyway, I remember overhearing conversations my dad was having with Fire Nation merchants and nobles. They talked about Zuko a lot."
Sokka looked interested. "What did they say?"
Toph looked a little sad. "They said that he was banished because he was weak, and they treated his hunt for the Avatar like it was a funny joke." She said.
I nodded. "Yeah, Azula even cracked a joke about it when we first met her."
Katara gave me a look. "A joke that you laughed at." She pointed out.
I held my hands up. "I was laughing at her impression of Zuko." I clarified. "I mean, if I had a gold piece for every time Zuko mentioned his honor, I wouldn't have needed to bet on those Earth Rumble matches."
"Anyway, when Aang woke up, suddenly the jokes stopped." Toph continued. "People began to believe that Zuko might actually have a chance to succeed. That he might have a chance to go home." She shook her head. "No wonder he's so angry. I'm impressed he was calm enough to have a conversation with us."
Sokka looked thoughtful. "You know, speaking of conversations," He turned to me, "What did you talk to Mai and Ty Lee about?"
Aang looked confused. "What talk? When did this happen?"
"It was when we split up." I explained. "Mai and Ty Lee caught up with us, but instead of fighting, they said they wanted to talk to me. I was curious, so I spoke to them while Sokka, Katara, Momo and Appa took a quick nap."
Aang nodded. "Well," Katara prompted, "What did they want to talk about?"
"Ty Lee asked me why I'm fighting against the Fire Nation." I said. "I told her about what happened to the Air Nomads, among other things. I'm pretty sure she believed me."
Sokka nodded. "What about Mai?"
"Mai asked about Zuko's scar." I replied. "She didn't know he even had one. I told her the short version of how he got it."
Sokka frowned. "So, you told some stuff to the enemy that you haven't told us? Why? If you told them, why did you stop me from asking Zuko about it?"
I shook my head sadly. "It's the worst thing that ever happened to Zuko." I said quietly. "And the way you were asking was terrible. It would be like if someone asked you and Katara what happened to Kya, and then when you didn't answer, they jokingly asked if she fell into a fireplace."
Sokka's eyes widened. A few tears formed in Katara's eyes. "Was it really that bad?" Katara whispered.
I nodded seriously. "The only reason that I told Mai and Ty Lee is because that story makes the Fire Nation look terrible. After I answered both their questions, I could tell that they were losing faith in the Fire Nation." I swallowed. "And, kind of as an impulse decision, I offered to let them join us if they wanted to defect."
Eyebrows shot up around the campfire. "What did they say?" Toph asked, her voice full of curiosity.
"They said no, but I think they're considering it." I said. I looked around the group apologetically. "I'm sorry I made that offer without asking you guys first."
Toph narrowed her sightless eyes. "I just had a thought about this whole soulmate thing." She said.
I turned my attention to the earthbender. "What about it?"
Toph looked hesitant for a second. "I don't wanna sound like an ass," She said. Was Toph of all people trying to be diplomatic? "But have you considered that the Love Spirit might be taking the choice of falling in love away from you two?"
My eyes widened. Truthfully, that thought had never occurred to me. "What brought this up?" I asked.
Toph shook her head. "The way that you described how the Love Spirit talked about you and her, like it was your destiny to be together, like you were supposed to be together…it almost sounds like the way my parents talked about how I was supposed to be a perfectly-behaved little girl."
I was stunned. I had been assuming too much. How did I know Ty Lee would fall in love with me? How did I know I would fall in love with her? Katara looked down, clearly conflicted. Sokka looked lost. Aang had a thoughtful look on his face. Toph held her hands up. "I'm not saying that it is, but that's what it sounds like."
I shook my head. "I'm not mad at you for bringing that up, Toph. Actually, I'm thankful. I need to think about that." I said.
Toph cracked her neck. "Enough of this doom and gloom." She turned to Aang. "You're starting earthbending tomorrow." That perked Aang right up. I almost chuckled. That poor kid had no idea what he was in for.
We cleaned up after dinner. Katara approached me. "Could you wake me up when you wake up?" She asked. "I want to do Iroh's healing session early." I nodded.
We got in our sleeping bags. A thought occurred to me. We'd lost a day of earthbending practice because of taking care of Iroh. Could I accelerate things and help Aang get over his mental block faster? How?
Wait…
I grinned to myself. That could work. That could work quite nicely.
Then I thought about Toph's words. She might be onto something. I needed to figure this out, but I was confused. Who could I talk to about this?
I nearly facepalmed. Of course! I could talk to him about this, I just needed to be careful how I phrased it.
I let sleep take me from the night into a new day.
I woke up at dawn. Everyone was still asleep. I got out of my sleeping bag and tiptoed over to Katara. I gently nudged her awake. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up. "Thanks for waking me up." She whispered.
I nodded. "I think I should come with you." I said in a low voice. "Zuko might be jumpy first thing in the morning."
She nodded. "Sure."
We quietly made our way over to Zuko and Iroh's cave. I saw that the exiled royals were already awake. Zuko nodded in acknowledgment of our presence. Iroh was sitting in front of a small fire, brewing tea in a stone pot.
I raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get the tea set?"
Iroh chuckled. "Would you believe I had it on me this whole time?"
I smirked. "Knowing your reputation, I would."
Katara walked over to Iroh, all buisness. She opened up her pouch and bent some water over what was left of Iroh's wound. Her hands and the wound glowed for a few seconds. When she pulled her hands away, the wound was gone.
She smiled at him. "You should be able to travel tomorrow. I would stay seated for at least an hour to make sure the healing works fully."
Iroh smiled and gave a polite nod. "Thank you, young lady."
Zuko stood up. "That's good. It would be bad if Azula caught us traveling with the person I'm supposed to cap…ture…" He trailed off when he saw Katara give him a dirty look. He pointed to the cave entrance. "I'm going to get Uncle some food." He left the cave in a hurry.
Katara stood up as well. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't get any ideas." She turned to leave. "Alec, are you coming?"
I shook my head. "You go ahead, I want to talk to Iroh about something."
She shrugged. "Okay."
Katara left the cave. Iroh chuckled. "I always thought it was ironic that Ozai sent Zuko after the Avatar, given his lineage."
I chuckled too. "Yeah, it is pretty ironic."
Iroh raised an eyebrow. "So, you are aware of that, as well." He mused.
I paled. Fuck. This guy was good at making me let my guard down. Iroh stroked his beard. "It's quite interesting how you know something that nobody outside of the royal family knows."
I had to salvage this. I took a deep breath. "I know a lot of things." I admitted. "I'll make you a deal: If you don't ask questions now, I'll tell you how I know the things I know when we meet again."
Iroh looked amused. "I noticed that you said 'when', not 'if'." I groaned. Me and my big mouth. Fortunately for me, Iroh smiled. "That is acceptable." That was a relief. "Now, what do you wish to discuss?"
"You're familiar with the Spirit World?" I asked.
Iroh nodded. "Yes, I went there looking for answers many years ago."
I swallowed. "Have you heard of Lady Ài?"
Iroh smiled as if remembering something fondly. "Yes. I met her and found her to be quite lovely and charming."
I nodded. "Yeah, I thought so, too. I met her a few months ago." I took a deep breath. "She told me that she wanted me to find my soulmate, and based on what she told me about her, and a few other hints I received from other places, I've figured out who she is."
Iroh smiled. "You are quite fortunate, young man. Most have to find their soulmate on their own." He looked closer at me. "But something is troubling you, isn't it?"
I looked down. "Yeah, one of my friends is wondering if Lady Ài is taking the choice of falling in love away from us. I can't help but wonder if she's right."
Iroh nodded slowly. "I see." He looked me in the eye. "Have you ever heard the expression, 'you can lead an ostrich horse to water, but you can't make him drink.'?" He asked.
I frowned. "I've heard something similar, but what does that have to do with this?"
Iroh smiled. "Even if Lady Ài told you who your soulmate was, it would be up to both of you to fall in love with each other." He explained. I guess that made sense. "Tell me, your soulmate, have you met her?"
I nodded. "Yeah, two times before I knew she was my soulmate, and then one time since then."
Iroh looked at me curiously. "How do you feel about her? Forget everything Lady Ài told you. Just tell me how you feel."
I thought back to every time I ever met Ty Lee. "Well, she's kind, she's sweet, she has an amazing laugh, and she's the most beautiful person I've ever met." I answered with a small smile. "I would love a chance to get to know her better. I hope that she'll give me that chance."
Iroh smiled kindly. "It sounds like you like her already." He pointed out.
I smiled. "I suppose I do." I frowned. "But, what should I tell her about this? Should I keep this a secret from her?"
Iroh shook his head. "That would not be wise." He replied. "I would tell her when you get the opportunity."
I stood up and gave Iroh the standard Fire Nation bow. "Thank you, Iroh. I promise I'll give you answers the next time we meet."
He returned the bow. "I look forward to hearing them."
I left the cave to return to my friends. I almost bumped into Zuko on the way out. He was carrying breakfast for himself and his uncle.
When I returned to our camp, I found Katara stirring a pot of rice by the fire. Aang, Sokka, and Toph were still asleep. I joined my sister.
Suddenly, Aang awoke from his slumber and jumped ten feet into the air. "Today's the day!" He shouted happily. He landed right in front of Sokka's sleeping bag. "Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending!" He looked around, observing the canyon. "And this place, it's perfect!" He turned to the sleeping bag. "Don't you think?" No response. "Sokka?"
Sokka turned his head towards Aang and glared at him with tired eyes. "Oh, you're still sleeping, huh?" Aang realized guiltily. Sokka grumbled and turned away, pulling the sleeping bag over his head. "Sorry." Aang whispered.
We heard a rumbling coming from Toph's earth tent. The tent burst open, sending the rock slabs in every direction. Toph stood in the middle, her fist raised in the air. "Gooooooood morning, earthbending student!" She announced. She walked over to the fire and grabbed a bowl of rice.
Aang bowed to Toph. "Good morning, Sifu Toph." He greeted politely.
Katara looked slightly put out by this. "Hey, you never call me Sifu Katara."
Aang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, if you think I should?"
Sokka sat up, still tired and grumpy. Toph smirked. "Sorry Snoozles, we'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can." She said the last part of that sentence in a whisper. Then, Toph slammed her heel into the ground, launching a screaming Sokka ten feet into the air. Sokka came back down and landed flat on his back. He immediately jumped up, still in his sleeping bag so that only his head was visible. He ranted at both Aang and Toph with incoherent grumbling noises before hopping away.
Aang and Toph joined us for breakfast. Aang ate quickly, shoveling food into his mouth in a manner that was eerily similar to Sokka.
Katara turned to me. "What did you talk to Iroh about?" She asked.
"What Toph said last night." I replied casually.
Toph looked interested. "What did he say?"
I smiled. "You can lead an ostrich horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
Everyone looked completely lost. "Huh?" Aang got out through a mouthful of rice.
"It means that Lady Ài basically set things in motion so that Ty Lee and I would meet, but where we go from there is up to us." I explained.
Katara nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."
Toph shrugged. "I guess. I was just worried the Love Spirit took away your free will or something. It doesn't sound like it, though." She drained the rest of her bowl in a massive gulp. She set it down and stood up. "Take off your shoes, Twinkle Toes. It's time to get to work."
Aang jumped over to Toph. "So what move are you going to teach me first?" He stretched out his right arm, his fist clenched, and brought it down like a hammer. "Rock-alanche?" He brought his left clenched fist to his right elbow, while his right arm was bent upward, the fist also clenched. He trembled with the motion. "The Trembler?" He got an excited look on his face. "Oh, maybe I could learn to make a whirlpool out of land!" He stretched his arms above his head and started spinning around.
Toph put her hand on his chest. "Let's start with… move a rock." She made a pushing motion with her hands.
Aang clapped excitedly. "Sounds good! Sounds good!"
Toph and Aang set up in front of two boulders. Katara and I sat off to the side, observing. Sokka was sitting up on the other side, still wrapped in his sleeping bag. "The key to earthbending is your stance." Toph explained, getting into a horse stance. "You've got to be steady and strong." Aang took a stance, but his was much less steady. "Rock is a stubborn element." Toph continued. "If you're going to move it," She pushed Aang, breaking his weak stance, "You've got to be like a rock yourself."
Aang rubbed the spot where she pushed him. "Like a rock. Got it."
"Good." Toph replied. She shifted her stance so that her left side was facing the rock. "Now, the actual motion of this one is pretty simple." She extended her left hand and slammed her left foot down at the same time, launching the boulder into the canyon wall. She broke her stance and turned to Aang. "Okay, you ready to give it a try?"
Aang took the same stance Toph did. "I'm ready." He repeated Toph's motions, but his rock wasn't thrown forward. Instead, Aang was thrown back, where he collided into Appa. Katara winced. I cringed. That couldn't have felt good.
Sokka laughed on the other side of the canyon. "Rock beats airbender!"
Katara and I stood up and walked over to Toph while Aang picked himself up. "I don't understand what went wrong." Katara said to Toph. "He did it exactly the way you did."
Aang walked up to us. "Maybe there's another way." He speculated. He took an airbending stance and started approaching the rock. "What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?"
Before he could try it, Toph grabbed him by the collar, halting his advance. "No!" She said sharply. "That's the problem." Aang stopped and turned to face his teacher. "You've got to stop thinking like an airbender." She said, rapping her knuckles on Aang's bald head. "There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickety-trick that's gonna move that rock!" She emphasized that last part with a shove. "You've got to face it head on. And when I say head on, I mean like this!" She jumped up and headbutted the boulder, smashing it to pieces.
"Woah!" Aang shouted and recoiled. He looked down, somewhat dismayed at having to think an entirely different way. Toph walked off. Katara and I ran after her. "I've been training Aang for a while now." Katara offered. "He really responds well to a positive teaching experience. Lots of encouragement and praise." She put her hands together gently. "Kind words. If he's doing something wrong," She put her hand in the 'Okay' symbol, "Maybe a gentle nudge in the right direction."
"Thanks Katara." Toph replied. "A gentle nudge. I'll try that."
I knew Toph's definition of gentle nudge wouldn't be pretty. "Actually, I have an idea." I said, turning to Toph. "Can I talk to Aang alone for a few minutes? I promise I won't take long."
Toph shrugged. "Whatever. Go ahead."
I made my way over to Aang, who was sitting sullenly on the ground. "Hey." I greeted.
"Hey." He said back without enthusiasm.
I sat down next to him. "What's bothering you?" I asked gently.
Aang sighed. "It's just, I could waterbend the first time I ever tried, but I'm not feeling this element."
I nodded. "I'm not surprised. You have to be stubborn to earthbend. You're one of the least stubborn, most accommodating people I know."
Aang shook his head. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
Time to put my plan into action. "You just need something to be stubborn about." I replied. "Tell me, how do you feel about Katara?"
Aang's eyes widened and he blushed. "Um…I…"
I wasn't about to let him off the hook. "Spit it out." I insisted.
He looked around to make sure nobody else was within earshot. "I…think…" He whispered. He swallowed. "I think I love her."
I gave him a look. "You think, or you know?"
He looked me in the eye. "I know." He said firmly.
I nodded. "Good. Now, how do you plan on telling her how you feel?"
His face went from firm to puzzled. "I…haven't thought about that." He admitted.
I shook my head. "What a pity." I said with only a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "If you never tell her how you feel, she might be swept off her feet by some other dashing young man."
His eyes widened in fear. "No…" He whispered.
I had him. "And she'll never know how you feel." I said with mock sadness.
He stood up. "No!" He exclaimed sharply.
I stood up and looked him in the eye. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?" I taunted. "How can you tell her how you feel if you aren't even assertive enough to move a fucking rock?"
He glared at me. "I'll move that boulder, then I'll tell her how I feel."
Oh shit, that might not be the best idea. "You might want to hold off on telling her." I said, all traces of mockery gone from my voice.
Aang gave me a confused look. "Why?"
"Think about neutral jing, listening and waiting before striking." I reminded him. "Ask yourself, is now the right time to tell her?"
He thought for a few seconds. "No, it's not." He realized. "But when will the right time be?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, but I think you'll know it when it comes." I answered.
Aang nodded. "I have a boulder to move."
Aang walked over to Toph and Katara, determination covering his face. "I'm ready to try again."
Toph raised an eyebrow at his new attitude, but she pulled up a new boulder for him to move. Aang stood in front of it and took his stance. Katara held her hands together hopefully. I maintained a neutral expression, but my heart was beating a mile a minute. I hoped this would work.
Aang thrust his arm out. The rock went flying, and hit the canyon wall…and kept going. When the dust settled, there was a new cave in the canyon in the shape of Aang's boulder. Aang, Katara and I stared at it wide-eyed. Even Toph looked impressed. I threw a fireball down the cave to see how deep it was. Holy fuck! It must have been fifty feet deep!
Toph grinned. "You did it! You're an earthbender!" She congratulated him.
Katara smiled brightly. "Great work, Aang!"
Toph's grin turned sinister as she cracked her knuckles. "Your real training starts now." She pointed to an arch in the distance. "Head over there. I'll be right with you. I need to talk to Hand Slicer first."
Aang eagerly ran over to the arch. Katara followed after him. Toph turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "How'd you do it?"
I shrugged. "I just gave him a reason to be stubborn." I answered coyly.
Toph smirked knowingly. "Sugar Queen?"
I returned the smirk. "Sugar Queen."
Toph and I made our way over to Aang and Katara. Toph stood and nodded at her student. "Good job earlier, Twinkle Toes." She praised. "You were able to move a rock, but we need to work on your stance."
Aang looked at her questioningly. "I thought my stance was good? I was able to move the rock." He pointed out.
Toph shook her head. "You were able to move a rock while you weren't fighting. For earthbending, your stance has to be strong and solid at all times. You need to be able to keep a steady stance even if Bitch Princess is throwing fire and…"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A gigantic bolt of lightning appeared on the cliffs above us and shot into the air, and the unmistakeable crashing of thunder interrupted Toph's explanation. Aang and Katara took airbending and waterbending stances. Toph seemed surprised, but didn't move. I had taken a stance when the lightning flashed, but I slowly dropped out of it when I realized what it was.
"That's weird." Toph mused. "It's not raining, and I can't see, but it feels like the sun is out."
"That wasn't natural lightning." I stated. "That's Iroh doing a demonstration for Zuko."
Toph let out a low whistle. "I knew the Dragon of the West was strong, but that's…" She trailed off.
Katara gave me a worried look. "He's teaching Zuko lightning?" She whispered.
I held a hand up in a placating gesture. "Relax, there's no way Zuko can master lightning today."
Aang looked curious. "Why?"
I held up a finger, going into 'professor mode'. "Lightning isn't fueled by emotion the way other firebending is. You need to be calm and have peace of mind to make lightning." I explained.
Katara didn't get it. "So?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
Toph snickered. "Come on, Sugar Queen. Sparky's a walking, talking ball of issues." She pointed out. "There's no way he can do it today." That seemed to put the others at ease. "Anyway, as I was saying…"
BOOOOM!
This time, the noise wasn't from a lightning bolt, but from an explosion up on the cliffs. "Seriously?!" Toph exclaimed, exasperated.
"That was Zuko trying and failing." I reported.
Toph looked increasingly frustrated. She turned to Aang. "Okay, we need to make your stance strong enough that you won't break or flinch in combat." She said.
Aang nodded. "Okay." He said enthusiastically. "How do we do that?"
Toph gave an evil grin.
"KEEP YOUR KNEES HIGH, TWINKLE TOES!" Toph shouted.
Toph was making Aang carry heavy boulders on his back. It must have been at least three times Aang's weight. I knew his back would be feeling that in the morning. In addition to the back-cracking weight he had on his shoulders, Toph was bending up pillars of earth under his feet, trying to throw him off-balance. Eventually, Aang lost his balance and tipped over. Luckily, he fell over on his side, so the rock didn't crush him. Katara and I were sitting a short distance away, observing. Sokka was off doing his own thing.
Toph huffed, clearly annoyed. "Twinkle Toes, I'm literally pushing your feet into the fuckingground! I'm bending slowly, for fuck's sake! You should feel it coming a mile away!"
Aang groaned in what I think was meant to be an apology, but I wasn't sure.
Katara looked upset at this. "I told her he works best with positive reinforcement." She grumbled.
I turned to her. "How exactly do you know that?" I asked.
She huffed. "Because I learned a lot faster under Master Pakku than Aang did." She answered. "Master Pakku would scold you if you did something wrong, and only give you minor praise if you did something right. When Aang got scolded, it brought down his mood and he didn't learn as fast."
That made sense. I nodded. "That's partly why I didn't let him learn under Jeong Jeong." I added.
Katara shook her head. "I don't understand why they would scold him so harshly." She said. "Aang's a great student to have. He's so nice to spend time with."
I wasn't about to let that go unnoticed. "Spend time with?" I repeated.
Katara blushed when she realized the implications of her words. "Yes…the relationship we have…I mean the teacher-student relationship of course." She stammered.
"Of course." I said, not buying any of it.
Toph moved on to her next task. She rubbed her hands together, then dug through solid rock rapidly with her fingers. Aang rubbed his hands together and repeated her movements. His weren't as good. Toph cut through the rock like a hot knife through butter. Aang was more like a rusty knife through clay.
"Not bad." Toph praised. "Next, we'll work some more on your senses."
Aang looked afraid. "Not the boulder again!" He complained.
Toph shook her head. "Nah, that didn't work, so we'll try something else."
Aang looked relieved.
Toph had Aang stand in a horse stance, while she dug her way under ground. At random intervals, she would pop up and yell at Aang. Invariably, Aang would lose his balance due to the jump scare. After several failures, Toph decided that a different approach was necessary.
She approached Aang. "I think I know what the problem is." She said. "You're using your eyes too much. Do you have something you could cover your eyes with?"
Aang took off his belt sash. "Yeah."
"Good." She replied. "Blindfold yourself and wait here. I need to get something."
Toph ended up stealing Sokka's club, much to his chagrin. She handed it to the blindfolded Aang. "I'm going to make some rocks pop out of the ground. Feel the vibrations in the earth and break the rocks with the club."
At first, Aang swung the club wildly at the columns Toph earthbended at him. After a minute he realized that wasn't working, so he took a deep breath and waited. He broke the next column that popped up. And the one after. And the next. He got the next twenty columns in a row. Toph nodded, satisfied with his progress.
All this time, it was just the four of us. After Sokka stomped off when Toph took his club, I couldn't help but feel I was forgetting something…
Zuko POV
I'd left Uncle back on the cliff. How was I supposed to redirect lightning if I couldn't even try the technique? And how in the world did Alec know the technique if Uncle invented it himself?! That didn't matter right now. I figured the best place to find some lightning was the top of the nearby mountain. I made my way towards it.
As I was walking, I heard a noise. It sounded like a voice. "It's pretty much my whole identity." The voice said. "Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy. But I'm willing to be Sokka, the veggies and straight talk fellow. Deal?"
It was the nonbender. Who was he talking to? I walked towards the voice. I rounded a corner near a cliff and I saw him. He was stuck in the ground, up to his neck. His hands were above the edge, but unable to move. He noticed me. "Zuko! I never thought I'd be glad to see you! Have you got any meat?!"
I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?" I asked.
Sokka looked embarrassed. "I was hunting, and I fell into a crack in the ground. I'm stuck." He swallowed. "Could you help me out?"
I guess it would be rude to leave him there, especially since his friends would kick me out if I did. I walked over to him and grabbed his hands, trying to pull him out. He didn't move and he groaned in pain. "Aggh! Stop! Stop! You're going to pull my fingers off and I don't think the rest of me is coming!" He yelled.
I stopped pulling. "What were you hunting up here, anyway?" I wondered out loud.
Just on cue, a baby saber-tooth moose lion stepped out of a nearby bush and walked over to us, wagging its stubby tail. "I was hunting that." He admitted. "This is my friend, Foo Foo Cuddlypoops. Foo Foo Cuddlypoops, Zuko."
I gave him a flat look. "You were hunting a baby saber-tooth moose lion?"
He looked surprised. "That's what that is? I didn't know."
I facepalmed. "You idiot!" I shouted. "You can't hunt a baby animal! That's just wrong!"
He gave me a look. "Why do you care?"
I wasn't about to tell him about the way Azula fed turtle-ducks. I changed the subject. "I'm going to get the earthbender." I said. "She'll get you out of here."
He rolled his eyes. "How do I know you won't just leave me to die?"
I glared at him. "Because I'm not like that."
I ran off back towards the camp as fast as I could. If the baby was there, the mother must be close.
Alec POV
Aang was making significant progress. He managed to complete an exercise where Toph coated herself in rock and made him push her back over a line. During all this time, I was trying to remember what I'd forgotten about. Something to do with Sokka?
While Toph was making Aang do kettlebell swings with a rock, Zuko suddenly ran up to us. "Toph!" He yelled, slightly out of breath. How far had he run?
Toph raised an eyebrow. "What is it Sparky?"
Zuko pointed is thumb over his shoulder. "It's Sokka, he's stuck in the ground and I can't get him out. He needs help."
That's what I'd forgotten! Little Timmy got stuck down the well!
Aang dropped down from the pillars he was standing on. "Where is he?"
Katara stepped forward and glared at Zuko. "Wait. This is a trap, isn't it?!" She accused.
Before Zuko could respond, Toph shook her head. "It's not a trap, I can feel his heart rate, he's not lying." She slammed her foot into the ground and concentrated. "He's right, Sokka's stuck. I'll go get him."
Toph earth-skated up the cliffs and towards the foot of the mountain. I turned to Zuko. "Thanks for telling us, but how did you find him?"
Zuko looked slightly embarrassed. "I was heading up to the mountain. I wanted to see if there was lightning there so I could redirect it. I want to practice redirecting lightning."
I gave him a flat look. "I just practiced the moves every morning before firebending practice. I'd never redirected lightning before I fought Azula, and I'm still here." I pointed out. "Besides, if you just stand up during a thunderstorm, you'll have no advance warning of a lightning strike."
A rumbling interrupted the conversation before it could continue. We all turned to the source of the noise. Toph returned to us, dragging a disheveled-looking Sokka by the collar. "Found him." She reported.
Katara ran over and hugged Sokka. "Are you okay?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm just really hungry."
Katara laughed and turned to Zuko. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you." She said sincerely.
Zuko gave an awkward nod in response.
The rest of the day proceeded without anything major happening. Dinner was awkward, but less awkward than last night. The following morning, we went to say our farewells to Zuko and Iroh. I noticed that they hadn't packed anything.
"Well." Aang said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess this is it."
"I guess so." Zuko replied, just as awkwardly.
I got an idea. "Do you not have any food or supplies?"
Iroh shook his head. "The only thing I had with me was the tea set."
"And our ostrich horse probably ran away after we left it in that town." Zuko added.
I got an idea. I climbed aboard Appa and opened the money chest. I pulled out one hundred gold pieces and put them in a bag. I came back to the group and handed the bag to Zuko. "Consider it payment for helping our brother." I said.
Zuko looked unsure. "I can't accept this." He tried to push the bag away.
I pushed it more firmly into his hand. "Take it." I insisted. "My honor won't allow me to let you go hungry."
At the mention of honor, Zuko accepted the bag with a quiet "Thank you."
Toph stepped forward. She stomped on the ground, hard. She pointed to her left. "The nearest inhabited village is about a half-day walk that way." She reported.
Iroh bowed. "Thank you, young lady."
Toph smirked. "You're welcome, Old Man."
Sokka reached out and extended his hand toward Zuko. "Thanks." He said quietly.
Zuko grabbed his hand in the most awkward handshake in history. "You're welcome."
Katara gave Zuko a respectful nod. She was still wary of him.
Zuko and Iroh gave one last bow, before they walked off in the direction Toph indicated. Once they were out of sight, the rest of us relaxed. I knew Zuko was still a long way from turning, but maybe, just maybe, the seeds of his transformation had been planted.
Zuko POV
A million thoughts ran through my mind as Uncle and I walked towards the village. The Avatar and his friends. They had treated us with respect and courtesy. They'd even given us food and money. And yet, I was conflicted. I needed to capture the Avatar to restore my honor. For the past three years, the Avatar was my goal, but now that I knew him and his friends better as people, I felt uncertain.
"Uncle." I said. "What would happen to the Avatar and his friends if they were captured?"
Uncle gave me a curious look. "Why do you ask? You've never asked this question in the three years you've been hunting him." He observed.
I gave him a look. "Just answer the question, please." I needed to know.
Uncle looked down. "Most likely, Alec would be executed as a traitor." I nodded. That made sense. "Sokka would be either executed or remain a prisoner of war for the rest of his life." Again, that made sense. Uncle looked down, and seemed, ashamed almost. "Katara would be put in the purpose-built prisons we made for waterbenders." I suppressed a shudder. I'd learned about those prisons. Keeping a bender chained so they couldn't bend seemed cruel, but the teachers always said it was necessary to prevent savages from killing us. But, having met the Avatar and his friends, they didn't seem like savages. Uncle continued. "Normally, Toph would be put on one of the prison rigs in the ocean that the Fire Nation constructed to hold earthbenders, but since she can bend metal, they would execute her instead."
I turned to Uncle. "But, she's even younger than Azula!" I gasped.
Uncle looked me in the eye. "So were many of the Air Nomads." He said simply. Strangely, his voice wasn't a tone of grim necessity, instead he sounded…guilty and sad.
I swallowed. "And the Avatar?"
Uncle shook his head. "Zuko, I don't think you want to know."
I persisted. "Uncle, please."
Uncle nodded. "There were plans drawn up for a prison designed specifically for the Avatar." He said. "It was a small cell, not even big enough to stand up or lie down in, and made entirely of metal to prevent earthbending. The Avatar was to have his hands and feet removed so he couldn't bend. Dry, cold air would be pumped in to prevent waterbending or firebending. Food would be dropped in from the roof and the Avatar would have to eat off the floor." He finished grimly.
I felt like I was going to be sick. Was that what would happen if Azula or I caught him? I wanted my honor back desperately, but could I be honorable if I did something like that? I'd already lost my honor, but could I do this to someone who treated me with kindness? I already felt bad enough about stealing the ostrich horse from Song and her mother. Doing this to the Avatar and his friends would be even worse. It would be extremely dishonorable. But did I even have any honor left to lose?
Something Alec said to me rang through my head. "When you stood up and tried to defend those soldiers, you were the most honorable person in that room."
Maybe I still had a shred of honor. And that shred wouldn't allow me to put those people through that horror. I couldn't live with the guilt if I did that to them, even if I got to go home. I made my decision. I wasn't going to join their side.
But I wouldn't hunt them anymore.
AN: Next time: The Library
