I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of Nickelodeon. And the creation of Brian Konetzko and Michael DiMartino.
Enjoy!
Iroh was worried for two reasons.
One was the fact that Druk was seemingly still not satisfied. He had already potentially cleared out the forest's population of Hedgehog-Moles, and he still seemed hungry. But the amount that was true hunger and how much was pure gluttony was still up for debate.
There was also what Zuko had told him earlier. About the now complicated line of succession for the throne of Fire Lord. Once Ozai was removed, it would fall upon Iroh to assume control of the Fire Nation. But he would not last forever. While he was hardly past his prime, he knew that day would come soon.
And Zuko, the boy whom he had been certain was destined to lead the nation to a new age, could no longer take the throne. His merging with the spirit Vaatu meant that his destiny was now tied to the entire world, not just the Fire Nation.
It meant that now, whether he liked it or not, he was the only person who could take the dragon throne. Ozai was far too malicious and power-hungry to be a good ruler. He had burned the face of his own son. On purpose. He did not want to imagine what he would do to his own country.
And Azula was no more fit to rule. The grip her father had on her was too strong, her devotion too him was complete. Zuko might believe he could save her, but Iroh was not convinced. And if she posed a threat to either Zuko or the world, Iroh would not spare her retribution.
But Zuko had also bought up the major issue with his own ascension to the throne. His lack of an heir. Lu Ten had died during the siege of Ba Sing Se. His only son was gone. If Iroh died without someone to take his place, then the Fire Nation could fall into chaos.
His only option would be to wait for Zuko to have children. Their father might not be able to become Fire Lord, but one of them would be worthy.
But that was years down the line. Iroh had some time to figure out a better solution. Perhaps he could get in contact with the White Lotus, ask for some advice?
He was drawn from his thoughts when he heard a sound.
*Burp*
The little dragon had just finished eating his latest prey. He was now sniffing the ground, looking for something else to eat.
Iroh shook his head. "Perhaps we should have stayed at the palace. It would be much easier to feed you then."
Druk simply ignored Iroh and continued looking for food. His appetite would likely continue to grow as he did. A young dragon would need fuel for their fire. And food served as a good fuel. Iroh would know.
Hopefully, once Druk passed his juvenile stage, his appetite would settle.
Hopefully.
Zuko was beginning to feel stupid.
He had been practicing his stance for what felt like hours now. He stood barefoot on the ground for so long that he could feel pebbles in his toes. And it felt disgusting.
"Zuko! How goes your practice?"
"Uncle? How'd it go?"
"Heh heh."
That didn't sound good.
"We may have trouble feeding Druk from now on. As his body grows, so will his appetite."
Zuko groaned. Now atop of learning three more elements, stopping his father, ending a war, and figuring out what he was supposed to do with his life, he also had to figure out how to feed a dragon.
"When are we going to get a break Uncle?"
Iroh shrugged. "When all of this is over, I suppose. How is your stance?"
Now it was Zuko's turn to shrug. "I've been doing it the way Toph told me all day. I guess I'm doing alright."
"Guessing is not the safest or most effective way to train Zuko. Let me see."
Zuko retook his stance and allowed Iroh to examine him.
"You are doing well, nephew. Your stance is strong and solid. I think you will do well with Earthbending."
"Really? You do uncle?"
"Yes, it is an element that fist you well."
Zuko frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Earth is the element of perseverance. Much of its power comes from being unmoveable. And it is hard to find someone more stubborn than you, nephew."
Thinking on that, Zuko decided to refocus on his feet. Toph always had hers lose to the ground, and it might be part of why she was so good. He would have to ask her about that.
"Remember Zuko, earth, like fire, requires a strong will. But it also requires a connection with the element. Don't just feel the dirt. Feel the earth. Focus on its stability."
Zuko tried doing that. He closed his eyes and attempted to connect with the ground. He was used to meditating on energy and power. Now he had to focus on stability and perseverance.
He might have been able to do it if a certain flying lizard hadn't decided to land on his head. And the fact that he was now twice as large meant that he was now twice as heavy.
"Druk! Hey!"
Zuko facepalmed onto the ground, his hours of stance practice now gone to waste. Zuko lifted his head and spit out dirt that had gotten in his mouth.
"Thank you so much, you useless reptile."
Druk's response was to start tugging on Zuko's still short hair with his teeth.
"Druk! Come on!"
Zuko fought back against the small dragon. He managed to get him off and help the small winged lizard in his hands. Druk responded by puffing smoke in Zuko's face.
"Really?"
Zuko, in turn, breathed his on smoke at Druk.
The two would continue, breathing so much smoke at each other that they would end up coughing. In Zuko's case, the coughing was mixed with laughing.
Iroh smiled at the sight.
Hours later, the sun was beginning to set. Which meant that Toph would be arriving at any moment.
Zuko stood outside the cave. His back was rigid, and his gaze was focused on where Toph might show up.
"You seem a little tense nephew. I would think you would be more excited."
"Excited? Why would I be excited, uncle?"
"You are going to learn to use another element. Very few people have ever had the opportunity to do so."
"They were all Avatars. And they were told ahead of time. Me? I just had all of this dropped on me because of a mistake I made."
"Ah, but what if that mistake wasn't a mistake nephew?"
Zuko groaned. "Uncle, could you not give me a headache? Please? I don't need to be confused before I start learning earthbending."
Iroh chuckled. "Very well Zuko. I will remain in the background and just watch. But I am available to step in if you need help."
"I won't." Zuko turned his attention back outside, waiting for his teacher to show up.
Suddenly, a large hole erupted from the ground.
"Sup losers?"
She was here.
Zuko performed a respectful bow and hand greeting.
"Do you have a lesson ready for today, Sifu Toph?'
Toph grinned. "Sifu, huh? I like the sound of that."
Zuko gulped. That might have been a mistake.
"Alright, listen up Sparky! Today we are covering the basics."
Zuko nodded. That sounded reasonable.
"First lesson."
Toph stomped the ground and levitated a rock. She used her palm to shoot it at Zuko.
"Woah!" Zuko dodged the rock, which went past him and almost hit Iroh. It missed him and landed on the ground near Druk. The dragon responded by growling and breathing fire on it.
"What was that for?"
"Testing your reflexes. Gotta say, your reaction time is good. Keep it up."
"Keep it up?"
"Yup."
Toph moved her hands, and several more rocks were pulled out of the ground.
Oh no.
"Ok. Your reflexes are good. Now we can move on."
Zuko's eye twitched. He had spent ten minutes dodging rocks that Toph had been shooting at him like projectiles. He was able to dodge most of them. But he still had bruises on his arms and chest from the ones that did hit the mark.
"Moving on? To what?"
"Catch."
A boulder suddenly materialized, and Zuko had to catch it with his back.
"What is this?"
"Strength training. If you want to earth to respect you, you gotta prove that you can handle it. Now keep your knees high Sparky!"
Fuming and grunting, Zuko carried the massive rock. It hurt. It actually felt like his back might break. But he would not let go.
"I said keep them high Sparky!"
Sall rock columns shot up, forcing Zuko to put his feet higher.
"Come on Sparky! You said you wanted to learn! Do better!"
She challenged him. The girl was testing him.
Zuko took in a deep breath and forced his knees to go as high as they could.
He might not be able to feel his legs tomorrow.
"Next lesson. I call it rock dough."
"Rock dough?"
"Yup. The point is to soften it. Like this."
Toph created a circular stone table. She then started punching into it. The earth actually broke down as she did it, turning into dirt that she could stick her hands into.
"Now you try," Toph said, pulling out dirty hands.
Reluctantly, Zuko decided to obey.
He lifted his hand, aimed it at the rock, and threw it.
*CRACK*
He could feel it when his fingers bent.
"OW! UGH!"
"Ok, maybe I put you to do that one too soon."
Zuko glared at Toph.
"Sorry."
"Ok. This one shouldn't involve you hurting anything."
"Shouldn't?"
"Yeah. It'll be easy. All you have to do is not get scared, and stand your ground."
"What?"
"Get into your stance."
Zuko did so.
Toph then opened a hole in the ground and jumped in. The ground closed up around the hole.
Stand your ground and don't get scared.
Knowing what Toph wanted him to do, Zuko stayed in his stance and waited. He'd show her. She wouldn't get to him.
"Rock Collide!"
Toph suddenly appeared next to Zuko, jumping directly out of the earth.
But Zuko didn't move. He made it a point to not even flinch.
Toph smirked.
"Nice."
"You have any weapons?"
"I have swords. Why?"
"You might need them for this one."
Iroh butted in. "I have them right here nephew."
"Thanks, uncle."
"Alright. We're also going to need a blindfold for this lesson."
Zuko frowned. "A blindfold?"
"Yeah. Something to block your eyes. You need to learn to see without them."
"See without eyes? Is that what you do?"
"Wow, Sparky. Just because I'm blind, you just assume I need to use earthbending to get around? You really think I'm that helpless?"
"What? No! No! I was just... What I want ted to say was..."
Toph snorted. "Oh, relax Sparky. I'm just messing with you. But to answer your question, yes, that is how I look around. I use earthbending to sense everything that's on the ground. It's what gives me an awareness of my surroundings."
Zuko frowned at being made fun of, but he did nod at Toph's explanation. It made sense, using bending to overcome a disability.
"Anyway, I have a blindfold right here." Toph pulled a rag from her back. Zuko had a concern.
"Why do you have that?"
"Reasons. Now put it on. You'll need it for this test."
Toph tossed the rag at Zuko, who reluctantly put it on. His vision was immediately blackened.
"The key is not to focus on your eyes. Mine don't work, so it's easy for me. For you, you need to learn to trust your ears. And your nose occasionally."
"Ok. So how do I test that?"
"I'm going to lift some columns from the ground. Your job is to hit them with your swords. Without peeking."
Hit the rocks without seeing them. That didn't sound too hard.
"Ready Sparky?"
Zuko unsheathed his swords and held a tight grip.
"I'm ready."
Zuko heard the fist column rise. But it sounded like it was far, so he ignored it.
That column fell, and Zuko waited for the next one. It came out behind him.
Moving quickly, Zuko tried to slice it. But it disappeared back into the heart quickly.
"Good job knowing where it is Sparky. But you need to move faster."
"Faster. Right." Zuko tightened his grip on his swords and waited for the next rock to rise. This time, it was right next to him.
Swinging both his swords, Zuko sliced the rock into three pieces.
He couldn't see it, but Toph was nodding.
"What now?"
Toph didn't answer him. She just drew a line in the dirt.
"Now, you have to try and push me back."
Before Zuko could ask what she meant, Toph pulled her arms up. Two large rock walls popped up, trapping Zuko with Toph.
"What's the big idea?"
"It's to keep you from chickening out and running away."
"Running away from what? I'm not afraid of you."
In response, Toph summoned some rocks to herself. She covered her entire body in rocks until it looked like she was wearing stone armor. The only thing that was uncovered was her mouth.
"How about now?"
Zuko almost gulped, but he stood his ground.
"Let's see if you can get me past this line."
Without warning, Toph barreled her armored body directly at Zuko. The firebender barely had time to react before Toph was upon him. Moving quickly, Zuko held both his hands in front of himself. He started pushing back against Toph.
"Come on Sparky. You'll have to do better than that."
Toph added more rock to her shell and started pushing back against Zuko with even more force. And because his hands were still sore, Zuko was having a hard time fighting back.
"No! I can't lose here. Not a little girl! I'm not dealing with another Azula!"
With renowned vigor, Zuko pushed Toph back.
Grunting and sweating, Zuko pushed Toph past the line.
Toph smiled.
"I gotta be honest. I actually didn't expect it to go this well."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I thought you were going some angry little twerp who'd get mad at everything I did. I would have enjoyed laughing at you."
"'Little twerp?' You do know I'm older than you, right?"
"Ah aha ah. Is that any way to speak to your master young man? Don't start with any back sass."
Watching from the background, Iroh chuckled. Zuko just frowned at the whole thing.
"Whatever. So what's the next lesson?"
"Nothing. I'm done with you now."
The entire campsite suddenly went quiet.
"Excuse me?" Zuko's teeth were almost grinding, and his tone indicated his frustration.
Toph just scratched her ear. "I came here with a lesson plan, and now it's over. We're done."
"Done? All you did was throw rocks at me, make me carry a boulder, punch some rocks..."
"Hey, you punched the rocks yourself. You were supposed to soften them. Not my fault you couldn't."
Zuko was now fuming.
"Well, what about blindfolding me and making me slice rocks? Or how about having to push you past a line? How is that supposed to help me with earthbending?"
"Figure it out yourself. I'm going home. You can find another teacher."
Zuko's eyes (and his anger) snapped open.
"What do you mean 'find another teacher'? You're the best one I know. Why would I settle for less?"
"Flattery isn't going to make me stay Sparky. I promised to stay so long as you entertained me. Now I'm getting bored."
"Bored?! Is torturing me a whole night not enough for you?"
A snort. "You thought that was torture? You really wouldn't have survived the rest of what I had planned."
Zuko's hands and nose were now steaming. Was all of this a joke to her?
He was expected to learn four elements when he barely knew one, stop his father, end a hundred-year war, bring peace of all things to the world, and she was wasting his time making fun of him?!
"You know what, you listen here you little blind urchin!"
"Zuko! I don't think..."
"Stay out of this Uncle!"
Zuko charged straight to Toph.
"I have spent all of this night listening to you. I let you throw rocks at me, attack me, belittle me! No more! If you don't know how to teach me, then stop wasting everyone's time! If you can, then stop joking around and teach!"
The entire camp was silent. No one said a word or made a sound. Druk, who had sensed hostility, had rn to hide behind Iroh. The old master merely watched in anticipation to see what would happen.
Toph's bangs were covering her face, making it impossible to know what she was thinking. Her body was completely still, not a muscle moving.
As for Zuko, he was taking short ragged breaths. His anger was still there, but he was calming down.
Toph's hand twitched.
Zuko prepared himself for a fight. If Toph made a move against him, he could firebend his way around her. He wasn't defenseless.
But Top didn't perform a bending move.
She held a thumbs up."
"Nice one Sparky. A little more heated than I was expecting, but I can tell now. You got the stuff."
Zuko's face did a double-take. From fuming rage to exasperated confusion is a single second.
"Wh-What?"
"This was your second-to-last test. I needed to see if you knew how to stand your ground. That's an important part of Earthbending after all."
"Stand my ground? Wait, everything you did was to test? None of what we did mattered?"
"No, all of that was important. But it wouldn't mean squat if you didn't know how to stand up for yourself. And luckily for you, you do know."
In the background, Iroh sighed. He had been having his own doubts about young Toph, but he was happy to see that he was wrong. It would seem that the girl was not only skilled, but she was an effective teacher. Even if a bit unorthodox.
"What would you have done if I hadn't passed your test?"
"I would have actually have gone home. If you weren't worth my time, I wouldn't even stick around. Luckily for you, you're not half bad."
Zuko rubbed his face in his hands. This girl was starting to sound like Vaatu. And he was not a fan of that fact.
They should move on before he loses even more of his will to live.
"What do we do now then?" Zuko asked.
"Now we go to your final test. Follow me."
"Gotta say Sparky, you actually managed to impress me today."
"That a fact?" Zuko deadpanned. He was feeling extremely tired. Toph had not gone easy on him.
"Yup, and as a reward, I'm gonna let you do some real Earthbending now."
Zuko perked up at that. Toph stomped her foot, and a rock column rose from the ground.
"I've shown you the stance, and I explained the attitude. Now I want you to move this rock."
Move the rock.
Something so simple. And if Zuko pushed himself to do, he would. He knew he would.
But this would be a point from which he could not return.
If he moved this rock, it would prove without a doubt that he's an Earthbender. And if he was an Earthbender, then he would be able to bend water and air as well. He would no longer be just a firebender or a prince of the Fire Nation.
He would be an Avatar. Whatever that meant. He wouldn't be able to come back from this.
But in true Zuko fashion, he didn't hesitate before making a move.
He stomped his foot to the ground, solidified his stance, and pushed with his fist.
He could feel what was happening. He could feel the rock as it split from the ground beneath. He could feel it as it flew in the air, obeying the commands of a bender.
The rock shot backward and broke as it landed back in the ground.
"You did it! You're actually an Earthbender!"
Zuko couldn't help but grin at the sight. He had spent all day working, dealing with Toph's... teachings. He had something to show for all of it.
He could earthbend. He had a second element.
And that meant now he was closer to achieving his destiny. Whatever it may be.
Zuko is now an Earthbender. I think Toph will enjoy torturing, I mean training him further.
Also, I should probably warn you guys that the next chapter will take a bit more time to come out. I know you guys probably used to the weekly updates, and so am I, but I need some more time to figure out something important. Specifically, the problem with Aang.
I am still in debate about whether to have him merge with Raava to become the world's Order Avatar. I feel like it could open up a lot of potential storylines, but I want to be sure of the decision before making it. If I do decide to do, it will be seen in the coming chapters.
Speaking of the coming chapters, they will mostly be filler stories. I need to focus on Zuko becoming more adept at Earthbending, and having a few adventures in the Earth Kingdom. That should be fun. The main plot will kick back up when he needs to learn waterbending. I have a place in mind for that.
Anyway, please leave reviews, let me know your thoughts, and I will see you all next time.
Bye!