Part II:
Summary: So sorry for the delay. I have been really busy with a couple jobs I have been working on weekends, as well as family stuff during the week. This was a pretty hard chapter for me to write. Sorry if it doesn't seem very good; I did my best. This is a cut down and altered version of the of Return to Omashu, with Zuko and Iroh replacing Sokka and Katara. Also, this is my first attempt at a fight scene; sorry if that isn't good either. Anyways, thanks for being patient and please review.
One and a half weeks after the fall of Omashu...
Iroh awoke to a low rumbling noise that shattered the peace of the early morning. Suddenly, the ground shook with a sheer violence he had never felt before; it lasted for all of about ten seconds. At this point, he was extremely puzzled. Earthquakes lasted longer than ten seconds. Wanting to get to the bottom of this treachery, Iroh immediatley brewed some tea. And left to find where the rumbling was coming from, of course. As he strolled through the surrounding forest with his cup of tea, Iroh noticed the noise and shaking getting stronger.
After about a minute, the dragon of the west reached a large clearing. Suddenly, three large pillars of earth rose from the ground. Startled, Iroh looked to his left to find a young, shirtless, avatar gesturing in a lifting motion. Now that he found the source, Iroh could relax, sit, and enjoy the show. He watched the avatar take a strong, squatted, stance and smash his foot to the ground, sending a large boulder up in front of him. Aang then punched the boulder, sending it hurdling towards the first earth pillar, which subsequently fell to bits. The boy repeated the technique two more times, smashing the remaining pillars. The boy now stood, panting heavily, as sweat ran down his body.
The boy heard the sounds of applause off to his right. Startled, he looked, finding a rather impressed firebender. Aang bowed in thanks to the man, who returned the gesture.
"Very impressive, Aang." Iroh stated proudly.
"Thank you. I have been practicing for when we find the others." Aang chuckled, "I don't know what Toph would do to me when she found out I haven't been practicing."
Iroh chuckled as well, "Well I'm glad your preparing for the future. She must be a bit stubborn and a great teacher."
"You don't know the half of it."
"While we're out here, and you're training, may I teach you something?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Iroh strolled over to where Aang was standing, and lifted his hand in front of himself, revealing a small flame, "Firebending. You do have to learn it eventually, so why not start now. You have mastered air and water, and have almost mastered earth by the looks of it."
"I don't know. I made a promise never to firebend again. Not after...what happened."
"May I ask what that was?"
"Last time I tried to fire bend, I wasn't patient and things got out of my control and I burned Katara." Aang cringed at the memory. "She healed herself though. And I promised her I would never firebend again."
"Ah, but you must realize that mastering firebending requires the utmost patience, and being the avatar, you will have to break your promise."
"Here, I know you're nervous, but please humor me and go through the basics."
Aang hesitated, then sighed, "Ok."
A smile spread across Iroh's face, "First, firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles."
Aang spent the next two hours training with Iroh. He caught on rather quickly and was soon able to manipulate and control fire around him. However, Aang soon realized that it was quite the workout. By the end of his training, Aang's stomach, chest, and legs hurt from training. Never the less, the boy was proud; he was able to now blast fire with a single punch. The look of astonishment and pride on his face when he did this gave Iroh a huge smile, "Congratulations, You are a firebender."
Aang looked down at his hands in disbelief, "I can't believe it!" He looked up at his new master with a smile, "Thank you. I never thought I would ever firebend again."
"You are welcome, Aang. But remember, this requires patience and you must use it. Also, you must train every day, at the least you must do hot squats, fire pushups and meditate. "
"Thank you. I understand."
At this moment Zuko finally showed up, a bit irritated, "What are you two doing?!"
Aang replied cheerfully, "Training!" Aang lit a flame in the palm of his right hand.
Zuko looked at his Uncle, furious, "You taught him firebending?!"
"Yes Prince Zuko, I taught him. If he is to find his friends and be the Avatar, he must have the power of the four elements behind him." Iroh replied calmly.
"Why?"
"Because we are his friends."
"I know but..." Zuko was cut off
"But what? Why can't we help him?"
Zuko was speechless. His uncle is right. They are his friends, but it just doesn't feel right. With four eyes gazing at him, he spoke, "Let's just get to Omashu before sunset."
Aang smiled and piped up, "Good idea!"
Before Zuko could make some sort of demeaning comment, Aang had already walked past him, putting his shirt back on, and heading towards camp to pack up. Iroh simply smirked at his nephew, only to receive a grunt of frustration. Once they had reached camp, Zuko noticed Aang was already packed up, obviously excited to see his friends again, who he was certain were there. Aang awaited impatiently for his new friends to pack up. Once packed up, the group trekked out into the cool afternoon towards Omashu. Aang, leading, had a bit too much pep in his step, as Iroh fell behind; he didn't care, however, he was just glad to see the young Avatar happy. Zuko, on the other hand, was a bit nervous. Not about entering an Earth Kingdom city, but for seeing the Avatar's friends. He didn't know how they would react to Aang being friends with him, the man who hunted them down. Zuko gazed at the boy ahead of him. He may not think of the airbender as a friend yet, but the boy's personality was beginning to grow on him. Besides being sad early on, the boy confronted every situation with a smile, he had energy, he cared, and he didn't judge others right away, he was a remarkable boy. Zuko finally realized that he had been forgiven, so why can't he let go; he made a mental note to talk to the boy before they met up with his friends. Zuko was ripped from his reverie by a joyous voice.
"We're almost there!"
An exhausted Iroh heaved, "How much further?"
Aang continued to look at his friends as he neared the top of a ridge, "Well, welcome to Oma..." He turned to see smoke filling the air above the city and Fire Nation banners draped everywhere, "...shu." Aang gasped in shock. "No." He sighed. He felt an unfamiliar hand come to rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see a man with a scar on his left eye; he didn't expect this.
When the airbender turned to look at him, Zuko noticed the desperation and confusion in his face. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy, having something constantly torn away, "Aang, they aren't here." He said in a surprisingly soft tone. "We need to move on and find them somewhere else."
Aang looked back at the city with a now determined look, "No. I still have one friend left in the city."
"Who?" Zuko asked.
"Bumi."
Aang had now led Iroh and Zuko down to a secret passage way into the city, which so happened to be the sewer. The sun had now begun to set, causing the city to cast an ominous shadow. Zuko and Iroh questioned the method, but Aang no longer cared; he was tired of losing his friends and the one's he loved, and he would do anything to see them again. As they trudged through the muck, Aang used his airbending to push the sludge around with Iroh close behind as to not get splashed. Zuko, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He got the full brunt of the sewage as he gasped for air. Before they reached the man hole, Zuko dawned a cloak with a large hood and Aang dawned a hat, so no one could recognize them. Once they reached the surface, they snuck past some guards and hid in a abandoned cabbage cart.
"We need to stay out of sight." Zuko warned. "The Fire Nation often sets curfews in conquered cities."
"What? Hotmen can't stay up too late." Iroh and Zuko gave Aang a glare. "Sorry." Aang quickly amended. "We need to get to the palace, that's where the prisons are. But, they would put him where he couldn't earthbend, but I don't know where that would be."
"Ok. Let's just head for the palace for now, but we need to be quiet." Zuko agreed.
"Wait." Aang whispered, "Do you want to walk around with that pentapus on your hand."
"What?" Zuko looked at his hand, "Eww!" Zuko ripped the pentapus off, leaving dozens of red dots behind. Iroh chuckled then quickly ducked behind the cart, while Aang and Zuko were unaware of the approaching guard.
"What are you two doing out past curfew!?" The guard asked.
"Uh...my brother Kuzon here is sick with pentapox, as you can see by his hand, and he is a bit delusional." Aang smiled sheepishly.
"Pentapox?"
"Yeah, it's deadly if you don't treat it properly, and it's highly contagious." Aang nudged Zuko, giving him a sly smile. The guards eyes grew wide.
Zuko realized what Aang wanted him to do. He reached his arms ahead and walked towards the guard, moaning and groaning.
The guard shrieked, "Ahhh! Get away from me!" And he ran off.
Zuko and Aang looked at each other and broke out laughing at their prank. Iroh just shook his head at pure genius, an immaturity at the idea.
"That was good." Zuko exclaimed, still slightly chuckling.
"Yeah. But we better get moving." Aang replied. Zuko nodded.
As the three made their way towards the palace, Iroh noticed some tea leaves in a market stall, which he sneakily took while placing a silver piece on the counter. When they started making their way up the multi-leveled city when they noticed a group of people walking below. They quickly crouched down to remain hidden until a familiar voice struck Zuko's ears.
A dry, monotone voice, barely audible, came from below, "There really is no fathoming the depths of my hatred for this place."
"Mai?" Whispered Zuko.
"Who?" Aang asked.
"His girlfriend." Iroh replied to Aang with a smirk.
A slight grumble escaped the prince's mouth, but he couldn't help but question, What is she doing here? But before he could think further, Zuko heard a rumbling noise come from above. His eyes grew wide as he noticed a large boulder sliding down one of the many chutes that moves through the city. The boulder was going to hit Mai and her family. He got up and ran as fast as he could towards the slide ahead. Zuko jumped and kicked a large blast of fire, timing it just right, causing the boulder to be destroyed and knocked out of the way. However, no one below noticed the firebending.
A guard shouted, "The resistance. After them!"
Aang quickly caught up and grabbed Zuko with Iroh close behind. Before they knew it, the three of them were underground, surrounded by Omashu soldiers. Aang gave them a cheesy smile, "Hi there."
"Hello, Avatar."
"Where are we?" Asked Zuko.
"In the secret tunnels under the city. Bumi told me about them when we were kids." Aang paused. "Where is he, by the way?"
"He is in captivity, where, we don't know." The commander sighed, "When the Fire Nation arrived, he just gave up without a fight."
"What! Why?" Aang exclaimed.
"We don't know."
"I have to find him."
"First, however, we need to get the civilians out of the city. But how?"
"You need to as well. Instead of fighting losing battle, escape and fight another day. As for the how, we pretend we are all sick, so the guards will panic and let us go." Exclaimed Iroh.
"What would that be?"
Aang lifted up a pentapus in front of the commander, "Pentapox." Aang replied with a grin. He then placed the pentapus on his face and pealed it off, revealing dozens of red dots. He, along with all of the soldiers and civilians, did this to all of the exposed skin of their bodies. Satisfied with their work, Aang explained to them how to act; He told them to walk as though they were dead, whilst moaning. Once everyone was brought up to the surface, everybody began their sickly march towards the main gate, panicking the guards as the sun continued to set behind them.
"Ahh it's Pentapox! It must have spread!" The guard from the night before exclaimed.
"What?" Asked the gate-keeper.
"Pentapox: It is highly contagious and deadly. Open the gate if you value your life!" The guard screamed in a panic. The gate-keeper replied by opening the gate, allowing a steady stream of 'infected' people out of the city.
Once out of the city, the citizens and soldiers set up camp underneath a nearby mountain. As night fell and families huddled around fires, Aang, Zuko and Iroh began to form a plan of how to find Bumi.
Aang spoke, "We re-enter the city through the sewage pipes and..." He was interupted by the leader of the resistence.
"Avatar Aang, we have bad news."
"Did we leave someone behind?"
"Uh no. We have an extra." The commander revealed a baby boy. "And we received this." The commander gave Aang a letter.
Aang read the letter aloud, "We know you, the resistance, have had the audacity to kidnap my newly born son. I will release your precious King Bumi to you if you return my Tom Tom. Meet my representatives at the base of the Ozai statue tomorrow at noon."
"Sounds like we don't need to sneak in again." Zuko chuckled.
After a restful night's sleep and after the civilians and resistance left for Ba Sing Se, Aang, Zuko and Iroh walked back into the city and to the base of the Ozai statue. Iroh could faintly believe his brother would do this, then again, Ozai has always been egotistical. They waited with the baby in Aang's arms as they heard the lift on the opposite side of the platform. They also heard a snorting laughter from above as Bumi was lowered in a metal coffin. Aang turned his attention to the opposite side of the earthen platform, where he saw three girls standing and now walking towards them.
"Don't bother, Zuzu, I know it's you. And Uncle, what a pleasant surprise." Azula mocked. "And who might your little friend be?" She now glared at Aang.
"I'm Kuzon." Aang stated rather plainly, receiving curious looks from Zuko and Iroh.
"That was rhetorical. And I know who you are, Avatar." She looked to Mai. "Mai, take care of your boyfriend for me. The Avatar's mine." A look of shock was instantly spread across the three's faces at Azula's knowledge of Aang being the Avatar.
Mai gave a simple reply, "Gladly." And instantly launched four throwing knives directly at Zuko, who quickly dodged them. Azula quickly punched a stream of blue fire directly at Aang, who whirled his staff and took a step back to dissipate the flames. Which left Ty Lee to fight Iroh, an extremely agile gymnast against a fat old man. Ty Lee somersaulted forward towards her opponent, who shot multiple fire bolts as she approach; her agility was great enough to evade the counter-attack. Meanwhile, Aang has been avoiding all of Azula's attacks by using his airbending to perform massive flips and bounds, causing Azula to get extremely frustrated.
"Very good, Avatar, but let's see if you can dodge this." She began to move her fingers around her body, forming lightning. Aang's eyes widened in shock as she finished her movements aiming the lightning at him. He screamed in terror, but felt...nothing. Aang opened his eyes to find Iroh receiving the lightning in one hand, and doing a series of movements that looked like waterbeding, sending the lightning out his left hand into the sky. At this moment Ty Lee came out of nowhere and attempted to chi-block Iroh, but saw no noticable results.
"Ha, you can't chi-block me there. There's no muscle." Iroh chuckled.
Azula had re-engaged Aang, forcing him to back up into Zuko. The two were now back-to-back, facing their respective foes. Suddenly, the two had a instant connection. They knew what to do. Zuko used a spin kick to create a circle of fire while Aang jumped just above. When Zuko had finished his move he jumped into the air, Aang landed and did the same move only, he used his airbending to fuel the flames into a massive wall, knocking Ty Lee and Mai off the raised, earthen platform. Azula dissipated the flames with her firebending and saw the Avatar jump into the air and latch on to the earth king's metal coffin. Aang used his firebending to melt the chain, causing the coffin to fall into one of the city's many slides.
Aang began to ride on top of the coffin, "We're gonna get you out of here, Bumi."
"Aang wait, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
Bumi's thoughts were interrupted, "Aang, behind you." Aang turned to see the fire nation princess riding down the slide in a earth sled, blasting blue fire at him. He quickly deflected it using his limited firebending skills. At that moment, Bumi lifted his chin, causing an earth pillar to rise up in the slide. Azula's sled smashed into the pillar, destroying her sled and bringing her pursuit to an end.
Once at the bottom, Aang jumped off of the coffin, leaving Bumi to earthbend himself upright. Aang looked at him quizzically as Bumi snorted in laughter.
"That was fun."
"Bumi, how can you still earthbend in that?"
"They don't call me the greatest earthbener for no reason."
"I have a friend who may disagree with you." Aang murmered under his breath. Bumi looked confused, but he knew who he was talking about, so Aang changed the subject, "Nevermind, we need to get you out of here."
"Aang, I can't leave. This is my city and it needs me. When the time is right, I will free it."
"But what about Katara, Sokka and Toph? I need you to help me find them."
"They have already been here..." Bumi was quickly cut off.
"Then why'd you let them leave?!" Aang yelled in frustration.
"Aang." Bumi sighed, "They were here when the Fire Nation attacked. I sent them to Ba Sing Se so they would be safe. There, you will find them."
Aang still looked a bit sad, but he understood. He bowed in respect for his friend, "Thank you, Bumi."
"Now go get your friends." And with that, Bumi earthbended himself back up the slide, laughing and snorting to the top. Aang couldn't help but smile when he saw Zuko and Iroh run up to him.
"We need to get out of here." Zuko heaved.
The three exited the city through the sewer system. Once a safe distance from the city, they set up camp. Night was falling. Aang lit a fire while Iroh began to brew some tea. Zuko sat cross-legged on the ground contemplating something.
"Hey, Aang." Zuko asked.
"Yes?"
"What do you want to call that move we did back in Omashu?"
"Oh...I don't know, especially since we kind of did it out of instict."
"Ok. I was just trying to think of one." Zuko paused, "Where will we go now?"
Aang looked out into the surrounding forest, "Ba Sing Se."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for reading. Again, sorry if this isn't that great. This was my first time doing a fight scene. Also, it was really hard to re-write an existing episode and cut it down so I wouldn't go too long. Anywho, please review it is a great help.