Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfictions.
To all those who told me that the Kataang is very rushed, they are 100% right. I'm only doing it for the sake of my story. I believe Katara's and Aang's actions are thoroughly justified, but the fact that they fell in love so quickly is not. Sorry about that. :/
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Zuko stood on the deck, watching the calm waters void of ice for a change.
It had been several days since they left the village - and Aang's broken heart behind. Aang still proved a beacon of joy to the rest of the crew, but his heart wasn't into the music nights... or the Pai Sho games... or the intense training of firebending techniques by Iroh.
"Why are you making me learn the techniques of firebending before I start learning the others? Besides, wouldn't that make me stronger when I face you guys or the Firelord?" Aang had asked, and Zuko had wholeheartedly agreed with him. Had his Uncle lost his mind? They were still sailing for the Fire Nation! At least, Zuko wanted to think so. His crew was starting to waver, and the prince was beginning to fear a mutiny.
Iroh shook his head. "You will learn that the difference between each of the bending arts and their people are not as large as they seem. Besides, if you are to master the four elements, as you must do as the Avatar, you may as well learn it before facing the Firelord. Besides, I won't let you wield true fire; I am only giving you the foundations on which to build your firebending on. Furthermore, I have traveled the world, and I know the bending principles of all four nations; however, I am best at firebending, and I believe you will be able to learn about the other elements best with teachers who can wield the element they teach. Now, if you will listen to an old man's ramblings, firebending comes from the stomach..."
Zuko, although extremely annoyed with this further development in leniency towards the Avatar, was relieved that his uncle had not tried to make the Avatar wield fire. If he was bad before as a carefree airbender, he couldn't even begin to imagine how bad a raging inferno of an aroused Avatar would be.
Appa, besides eating up everything put in front of him - including some scrolls Zuko barely saved in time and a teapot that Iroh still hadn't stopped crying over - would need some time to fly and move around. Aang reluctantly stayed behind while his buddy flew in the sky - because Zuko did not trust that the Avatar wouldn't run away from his ship. He was, after all, still his prisoner.
But when Aang asked to go see his home, to say goodbye and pay his respects, Zuko decided to relent. It wouldn't take too long, and besides, maybe it would bolster the poor kid's spirit in some way. Not that the Avatar Spirit wasn't great as it was. His ticket home though the boy was, something tiny inside of him made him think about how good it would be to see an innocent soul be freed of all burden...
But something nagged at Zuko. Two things actually. The first thing was that, even though they had a flying bison, he knew that someone else was trailing them and was hiding on the ship. Things had turned out missing. A bit of water here, a ration of biscuits there. Not much to arouse the suspicion of most, but enough for Zuko to notice. Despite his shortcomings in almost every area - including intelligence - he was very organized so as to be prepared for anything. He always meticulously planned his supplies out well, so he knew exactly how much was needed, and how long it would last. Even with the bison binging on food, there shouldn't have been so much missing.
And the second thing -
Pain flared again inside his head. Once more he was plunged into the visions. One of them showing him with his scar, his father looking on proudly - ruling over everything and burning all of the world to the ground. The other showing an unblemished face - ruling over a world of harmony and peace.
These migraines and visions had been plaguing him since they left the Southern Water Tribe. Whereas before they struck once a day, now rarely an hour passed where he wouldn't experience his head splitting apart. Despite his unreasonably friendly attitude towards the young boy who still only referred to him as "Hotman," Zuko was still convinced that his destiny was to bring the Avatar in shackles to his father. But his conviction had slowly worn away, and now... he was confused.
Although he had never ventured far outside the palace - besides some impromptu visits to Mai - he had heard tales of the glory of war, tales of bravery, of courage, of valor. He envisioned gallant men displaying heroic acts and who were exalted upon their triumphant return home.
The reality was a cold, harsh cry away from this idyllic illusion in his mind. He saw, firsthand, the devastation and the destruction the Fire Nation brought to the places it attacked. Children and wives and mothers, without their fathers and husbands and sons. And those were only the losses on a personal scale. What about the destruction of the places those people lived? The theft of their livelihoods? The desolation of their lands? Of the plants and the animals? And furthermore, the hateful memories of the Fire Nation still remained. With the exception of Katara and Aang, both sides remained extremely suspicious of each other before finally settling into an uneasy truce until Zuko and his crew left. Everywhere he went, he was plagued with whispers and rumors about his past, about his scar, about his father...
And now... now he was trapped, in more ways than one - in his destiny, in his thoughts, in his actions... perhaps that was why his head hurt so much. Maybe this conflict of himself delved deep into the core of his being.
But before he could ponder things further, they had reached the rocky shore of the southern mountains. And at the tip of the tallest mountain, inaccessable to all but sky bison - and regrettably, Fire Nation wall crawlers - was the place Aang called home.
Zuko left only two orders for his men. "Try to catch whoever the stowaway is. If you can't, report to me everything that's been taken. And please for Agni's sake, DON'T drink and firebend at the same time. The last time it happened, we were stuck in a foreign port for three months until we finally got the engines working again. And from what I remember, everyone agreed it was the worst three months in their lives. And that included me taking into consideration the three months I was scarred and banished!"
Lieutenant Jee cracked a smile. "Will do, Zuko sir."
Zuko blinked. "On second thought, alcohol was one of the things that has completely disappeared since the South Pole, probably because of our little thief. Never mind!" and Jee's face broke out into a grin.
"At least we won't have to punish the sailors like last time."
And with that, Zuko and Aang boarded on a joyful Appa eager to take to the skies, and they set sail for the mountain tops sure to hide dark secrets behind its pristine clouds.
"So, Hotman, how goes life?" said Aang with a cheeky grin.
Zuko just smashed his head against the side of the sky bison's saddle. "I'm not even gonna say it, because you don't listen to me."
Aang scratched his head. "If I didn't listen to you, how would I be able to talk to you?"
Zuko's eyes widened, and this time it was his hands that did the self-inflicted damage. "I'm starting to worry that I'll regret ever thinking it was a good idea to go with you by myself."
Aang grinned. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to make sure you regret it."
Zuko steamed. "Why are you telling me to not worry about you driving me off the saddle if you're going to do it anyways?"
Aang shrugged. "Because I'm going to do it anyways, and worrying won't change that, Prince Hotman?"
Zuko decided that ignoring Aang until they got to the Air Temple would be the best course of action to take, and his red-hot anger emanated proved to be instrumental in creating a vapory cover for the flying bison to hide in.
"Here we are, home sweet home," said Aang with a somber look on his face.
They had finally broke through the cloud cover that was the last barrier between the ground and Aang's home. The Southern Air Temple basked in the Sun and in all of its glory, and Zuko, for all his acting apathy, couldn't stop his jaw from dropping in childish awe.
"This... this place is amazing!" Zuko said with a reluctant smile.
Aang smiled as well, though his was more subdued. "Yeah... it really is. The airbenders appreciated nature and art, and it reflected in their architecture as well. But nature wouldn't be fully appreciated without life filling it... it would look even more amazing if the bison were here... and the flying lemurs... and the monks themselves..."
A tear formed in Aang's eye, and Zuko impulsively put a comforting arm on the young boy's shoulder.
"I'm sorry about your loss. I truly am. But not all is lost. If we end this war, we can establish a peace that will allow the Air Nomads to thrive once more."
"But I'm the last airbender... so..." Aang said. "That means... I need a partner..."
Zuko was grim. "Still thinking about her, aren't you?" The turning of Aang's face away from him gave him all the answer he needed. "If it helps... I also left someone behind at home."
Aang perked up. "Is she pretty? Is she like you? Did you guys have a great time together?"
Zuko smiled at the sudden change in the Avatar's mood. "She's beautiful. She has a dismissive attitude against the world. She'd kill me without hesitation. I loved her. And we spent a lot of time together, including - unfortunately - with my sister."
Aang's eyebrows raised "I didn't know you had a sister."
"She was crazy," Zuko spilled everything to the boy next to him. "She was father's favorite, as I was mother's favorite. She was cold, calculating, cunning. She was a prodigy at firebending, at strategy, at everything. And unlike me, her favored parent didn't suddenly disappear to leave her to fend for herself." Why was he spilling out his soul to a stranger? His sworn enemy no less!
Aang thought for a moment about what he'd just heard, and said, "That's rough, buddy. But I know you will make a difference in the world for the better. I'm sure of it."
Zuko looked at Aang in surprise. "How can you be so sure about that if even I don't know for certain?"
Aang shrugged. "I can tell. By the way, when are you going to tell the others about the headaches."
The air suddenly turned colder. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," stuttered Zuko.
Aang narrowed his eyes. "Please. I'm young but not naive. Okay, still naive, but not foolish. Okay, still foolish but... you know what I'm talking about! But I've seen you a few times hunched over and holding your head like it's splitting apart. You need to do something, maybe talk to Iroh about it."
Zuko thought about it and nodded. "Man, these field trips are really enlightening. Maybe we should take them more." He saw Aang open his mouth but beat him to it. "Of course, they're also very annoying courtesy of one annoying Avatar."
Aang beamed. "You got that right. Now how about I teach you one of the games I used to play?"
"Oof!" Zuko said as he hit the snowy bank on the ground courtesy of Aang's wooden ball.
"Eight to Zero! I've still got my stuff!" Aang cheered as he settled on the ground. "It's more fun with airbenders, but playing it with you reminds me of the good times..." his mind wandered off dreamily. Then he realized something.
"Oh wait. Zuko, I gotta show you something. Well, it's two things. Follow me!"
They started running up the winding path towards the tallest spire of the temple. Zuko was so winded with the height and the physical exertion that he didn't notice Aang stopping until he crashed right into him and they both fell to the ground.
"Hey man," Zuko said. "What's up with -" and then he knew.
A helmet in the shape of a skull. The armor of the Fire Nation.
Aang laid there silently while Zuko dusted himself off. Then Aang quietly said, "All this time, I always had some doubts, some misgivings. Some hope. I guess it was pretty stupid of me to hope, right?" He laughed a bitter laugh.
Before Zuko knew it, he pulled Aang up, knelt, and put both his hands on Aang's shoulders. "This is a piece of wisdom my Uncle gave me: 'Do not ever give up hope. Hope is what lets us keep living. Hope is a powerful wave that can change the tide of any situation you are mired in. You must never give up hope.' Aang, I didn't give up the hope that I would find you. Now look where I am: at the Southern Air Temple in the company of the Avatar himself! Hope is a very funny thing. It is a frivolous thing, but it keeps us going when nothing else will." He blinked, having a sudden epiphany. Perhaps this also applied to himself?... he wined at yet another headache, and forgot what he was thinking about.
Aang nodded. "Like with Katara. And your girl."
"Mai. Her name is Mai. Now, what was the thing you were trying to show me?"
Aang grinned. "Thought you'd never ask. Let's go!"
They reached a statue of a wizened old man with a kind face and a devilish gleam in his mischievous eyes.
Aang bowed deferentially to the statue. "This is my old mentor. Monk Gyatso. He was the greatest airbender of his time, and taught me everything I knew. I hope his soul flies free among the clouds," he concluded with a sad smile which quickly changed to a sorrowful frown. "I wonder if there's a body left..." Clearly, Aang was reliving one of his memories - or perhaps many of them, and Zuko could see many emotions flit across the boy's face. So young, yet so tainted already with the cruelty of life. Then again, the same thing did apply to Zuko as well.
Zuko bowed to the statue, and then placed his hand on Aang's shoulder. "Come on. What's the other thing?"
Aang brightened. "Monk Gyatso said that there would be someone waiting for me in the air temple sanctuary. Apparently he's supposed to help me become a better Avatar."
"Aang, I don't know if that's going to happen. It's been over a century since your Gyatso said those words. The person in question could be long gone," Zuko said as they traveled through the winding hallways.
Aang shrugged. "You might want to swallow your words. Apparently I'm over one-hundred twelve years old, and yet here I am, standing before you as a regular twelve-year-old kid."
"If regular means 'Annoying,' I'd say you'd fill that role pretty well. But about your age - you're the Avatar. Strange things happen to you. At least it seems that way."
Finally they reached the door. It was simple and majestic at the same time. Standing next to it made Zuko seem so small, so insignificant - a far cry from the sheltered, if not happy or even comfortable, life within the palace walls. The door was wooden, with an insignia looking like a cross between a tsungi horn and the Air Nation symbol, with three spirals signifying the wind arranged in a triangle.
"Stand back." Zuko barely registered what Aang had said, then he hopped backwards while watching the Avatar. "Only a master airbender can open these doors," said Aang as he got into stance. He bent two steady and powerful streams of air at the two tsungi horn openings, and, one-by-one, the wind symbols turned to let the air stream through the entire insignia, and slowly, ever so slowly, the doors shuddered and inched forward to reveal a room of -
Statues. Cold, stone statues of people. Of Air Nomads.
No. Not just Air Nomads. As Aang looked around, he saw that there were people of every nationality: Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Air Nomad, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom... his eyes widened as he saw the pattern in the spiraling shape of the still statues.
"Zuko... I think... that these are following a pattern. Earth, Fire, Air, Water... and it goes on and on..."
Zuko's eyes widened in comprehension. "These people... aren't just people. They're the previous Avatars! They're your past lives! Aang, I think I know what your mentor meant. There's no need for someone to stay here forever, because the help you're getting - it's from the Avatar Spirit!"
Aang wandered the wide expanse. "I dunno. How would that help me? I don't even remember anything beyond the time I first went to the bathroom on my own -"
"Too much information," grumbled Zuko. Aang ignored him.
"- so I don't see how communing with the dead will help me, especially when no one's done it before."
Zuko shrugged. "Beats me. But you're the Avatar. You'll come up with something."
The airbender snapped. "What is it with people associating being the Avatar with always having a solution? It's like, 'okay kid, you're the Avatar. You gotta stop the world from getting destroyed in two days. But no pressure. You'll come up with something,'" he said in a mocking impersonation of an old man. "But at heart, I'm just a twelve year old kid! How can people expect me to do this?" he cried.
BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE IT BEFORE. AND YOU WILL DO IT AGAIN, AVATAR AANG. A strange voice resonated through the room.
Aang turned around to find the source of the voice, but all he saw was an expanse of sculpted people and Zuko. "Did - did you hear that?" Aang asked in a curious voice.
Zuko looked at Aang. "Are you alright, Avatar? And to put things into perspective, this is coming from the person who gets headaches every hour." They finally reached the end of the line. "This... this is -"
"Avatar Roku." Zuko looked at in in shock, obviously caught off guard. "I don't know why I know his name, but I think it seems... right. Like I know him somehow. Maybe I'm connecting with my past lives, Zuko!" Silence pounded through the room as no response came from the Fire Nation Prince. Banished Fire Nation Prince. "Zuko?" he turned and saw his captor - no, his friend - lying on the ground in a fetal position, arms cradling his head. "Zuko!"
And then he saw it. A looming shadow coming towards them. They'd been caught by the Fire Nation. A banished prince and a frozen Avatar. This wouldn't end well.
Zuko woke up to find himself dragged behind a statue of a male earthbender. He tried to speak, tried to protest, but all that came out was a croak. "Wha?-"
Aang put a finger to his lips, and then mouthed, "Someone's coming." Zuko quickly came to his senses, and he was on alert.
A shadow loomed in front of them: dark, scary, forboding. Each of the boys quickly readied their weapons; Aang with his staff, Zuko with his breathing for firebending. They grew tenser and tenser as the shadow got closer and closer. The suspense of waiting for the danger was slowly eating them up on the insides, and they itched to break out in a fight or even just give themselves up.
Zuko glanced at Aang, and held up three fingers. Aang stared blankly, then his eyes lit up - though not with excitement but rather with fear - and nodded in understanding. Zuko closed his fist then held out one finger. One.
The figure moved in closer. Two.
The figure was almost upon them. Zuko couldn't take it anymore. With an angry shout of "Three!" he leapt out from his hiding spot and prepared to attack the -
"Stop!" shouted Aang.
Zuko stopped, his fist almost touching the large ears of the cute animal holding onto a bitten moon peach.
Aang and Zuko looked at each other excitedly. "A- a flying lemur!" Aang shouted. The boy grinned childishly at the stunned Prince at this further lesson that not all was lost forever.
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