Book One: Water 水善

Chapter Six

Lai wasn't even halfway to one of the more central ships by the time the Fire Nation began to close in on the harbor. Lee could still see the small, yet definable ice boat making it's way through the fleet of black ships.

He couldn't focus on that though, especially when he helped put one of the ships into ice. The ship was frozen within large, rigid poles of ice with smoke billowing profusely out of it's smokestacks due to overexertion of the engine. One well aimed ice shard could literally blow the ship into bite sized pieces. He hitched a ride back on Appa when Aang passed by, and ended up helping the kid take out some of the other ships. It was nearly nightfall by the time they got back. Katara and Yue met them. Even with their chatting, Lee couldn't help but ignore it and embrace the numb. He hadn't been separated from Lai for this long ever. Not even to sleep.

He followed them without question, only breaking off when they got to the palace. It was as if he was being pulled towards The Spirit Oasis, like Tu and La were calling out to him. The soft hum of the water around him led him to where he needed to go, and by the time he reached the small door Lee wanted nothing more than to escape into the serene setting, even if for just a little while. He pushed it open and entered the oasis, making sure to shed his outer robe before making his way towards the center. It took some extra time before he fell into meditative trance, but once he did his mind was a peace.

Only for a little while, though.

After what seemed like hours sitting there, images of the red sun began to flash into his mind, along with a white woman floating in the night sky. It flashed to fire, a lot of fire, with trees and animals turning into ash as large cones of fire chased them over the land. His heartbeat began to race as the animals continued to run, only to be taken out by the fiery death coming towards them. And then, it stopped.

All was well. A baby cried. A baby with pale green eyes.

Lee fell back from his stance as the door opened. Blinking a couple times to come to, the teen stood and turned around to meet the people who walked in. Aang, followed by Katara and Yue, made their way into the oasis. He gave them a sheepish grin as a blush spread over his darker cheeks.

"Oh, hey guys."

"Lee? What are you doing here?" Yue sounded very confused. According to what she had told Lai, no outsiders were allowed to see The Spirit Oasis at all. Yet here was Lee, awkward waterbender who looked so much like the Fire Nation standing in the middle of a scared Water Tribe place. His almost orange eyes sent Yue a pleading look.

"Pakku showed me this place years ago. Whenever I need somewhere to think I just kind of come here. It helps me sort through my-uhh..." Lee scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Your...?"

"Puberty thoughts..? Yeah...pubery thoughts?"

Aang laugh was full of myrrh as he hopped around Lee to the middle of the oasis. He smiled and looked around.

"I can feel something! It's so...tranquil."

Lee understood what he meant. He too felt at peace here, like he could finally just relax and let the spirits guide his mind. He watched as Aang's eyes followed the fish, only to have them, and his arrows, turn completely white. He gasped, watching as the young boy slipped into the avatar state. The glow illuminated the grass underneath him and cast slight shadows over Lee's face. He smiled, happy that the Avatar could finally find some guidance.

"He's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

He smiled at Katara's enthusiasm, and shot her a small smile from where he stood.

"Well, look who's a big girl now."

Katara and Lee both looked off to the voice. An almost pitiful 'no' slipped from her lips as she turned her eyes to face the drenched and scarred teen. A long, phoenix tail stood atop his head, making his scar look angrier than it had to be. Lee tensed, slipping into one of his forms quickly. Katara did the same as he neared. As he studied the teen through narrowed eyes, Lee couldn't help but think something about him was familiar.

"Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you."

The teen quickly began firebending at Katara, to which she promptly blocked with slashes of water. After a couple well aimed fire slashes, Katara shot a long stream of water at the scarred teen, making him fall onto the group in a soaking heap. Lee smirked and relaxed. Katara had this covered.

"I see you learned some new tricks, but I didn't come this far to lose to you." He shot another long burst of fire at her to punctuate his sentence, which she blocked without issue.

Lee could tell Katara was angry when she all but encased the teen in a frozen sphere. A smirk formed on her face, a triumphant victory against her foe once again. Just like in training. Only, instead of giving up, the teen just gave her back the same look.

Muffled, yet still audible, "You little peasant. You found a master, didn't you?"

The sphere began to glow, and before he knew it, shards of ice were flying around him. One knocked Katara down, her back hitting the grass. The teen began to strike again, a fireball coming towards her. Before it could even reach her, Lee slipped into the fight and blocked it with his own stream of water. The two came closer than ever, slashing and dodging at each attack. Lee felt himself slip back into his 'fight's with Lee, the fire barely hitting his shoulders as he danced around the firebender. Only, instead of dancing with him, the teen struggled to keep up. He was stepping on Lee's toes, much like Zuko had as a child. In fact, now that he thought of it as fire neared his head, he looked exactly like Zuko.

The teen aimed one precise slice of fire against Lee's face wrap which, up until now he didn't realize he still had on to keep warm. The face wrap fell to reveal his entire face, making the firebender stop momentarily.

"Lee?"

"Zuko. Dude. You suck."

Zuko growled before aiming one more fireball at his head, only to be knocked over by water. Katara, now on her feet, nodded at Lee, and together they bent him up with the oasis water towards the nearest wall. Encased in ice, Zuko wasn't much of an issue.

Katara glanced over at Lee. "So, you know him?"

"Yeah. He was a friend a long time ago, but I'm not sure what to think anymore." Lee sighed as he glanced over at the rising sun. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth was over him with a sigh. With his eyes closed, Lee's ear picked up the heavy breathing from behind him.

In a split second, Zuko was hurling a fireball towards Katara without her knowledge. Lee acted quickly, pushing the younger girl out of the way as a puff of dark smoke blurred their vision. Once cleared, the pair could see Zuko standing with Aang's collar clutched in his arms.

"You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun."