I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Ferry.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to my greatest military disgrace… as a tourist!" Iroh said happily. Gabriel smiled faintly. He used to loving making jokes and puns with Emilie. Contrary to popular belief, he did have a sense of humor. Iroh made jokes an older and more sophisticated man such as himself would find humorous. This one included. Zuko, however, was more immune to jokes than Gabriel was.

"Look around! We aren't tourists. We're refugees. Ugh! I'm sick of rotten food, sleeping in the dirt… I'm tired of living like this." Zuko grumbled. Hey, he wasn't the only one. Gabriel used to be the richest man in Paris and now he was with two exiled princes and smuggling himself as a war refugee into a massive city were he'd be completely broke. Suddenly, Gabriel felt a presence close by.

A freedom fighter, a mere boy who had strayed from the noble path, relying on his friends to bring him to a city of secrets.

"Aren't we all?" A boy in missmatched battle clothes with wild black hair, a tan complexion, mischievous brown eyes, and a sly smile approached them. In his mouth was a strand of wheat that he chewed on, "My name is Jet, and these are my freedom fighters. Smellerbee and Longshot."

"Hey." Smellerbee said. She was a young woman dressed in men's clothes with war paint on her face. Her hair was cut short like a boy's too. If fact, he would've mistaken her for a young man. Longshot was a quiet teen much older than Smellerbee, but obviously younger than Jet. He wore a blue gi with a red, but torn cloak over it. He had on a huge conical hat and a stern face that seemed to speak louder than words. A bow and quiver of arrows were slung to his back. He simply nodded at the mention of his name.

"Hello." Zuko grunted.

"Here is the deal. I hear the captain is eating like a king, while us refugees have to feed off his scraps. Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Gabriel sat up in alarm. Where these kids suggesting what he thought they were suggesting?

"What sort of king is he eating like?" Iroh asked.

"The fat happy kind." Jet said, "You want to help us liberate some food?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. They wanted Zuko to steal for them. Zuko stared down at the bowl, glancing over at his uncle uncertainty before throwing it over the railing of the ferry.

"I'm in." Zuko grumbled. He hooked his sword sheath back onto his belt before making sure it was secure and throwing it on. He glanced once more at his uncle before following after the threesome. Gabriel noted that Iroh made no motion to stop his nephew from robbing the captain, so he assumed Zuko was ethier right in his choice, Iroh was really hungry, or Iroh seriously doubted Zuko would get caught and didn't want to scold his nephew on it.

"Now that my nephew is gone, is it okay if I meet your spirit friend?" Iroh asked carefully, glancing around the ferry to make sure no one was paying attention.

"Certainly, but is there are reason you don't want your nephew to know about Nooroo right now?" Gabriel asked.

"I'm sure you've sensed it. Zuko is coming to a very critical moment in his life were he doesn't truly fight for one side. All his childhood, he was taught that the Fire Nation was the good guy. Coming into the real world has been… difficult for him to process, to be honest. He knows that this war has only caused apin for both sides. He doesn't know what to do with that information quite yet. He could still end up on my brother's side. He has convinced himself that Ozai can somehow give him everything he's lost. He thinks he lost his honor that day he was burned. This is not true. Zuko doesn't grasp this concept though. Ozai has been horrible to him. In a way, Ozai was clever in making Zuko believe he owes his father a debt. It insures his loyalty. But I know, one day, Zuko will figure out the truth. It will take time. He might not even realise it on the day he finally captures Avatar Aang and brings him to Ozai. But he will figure out soon enough, that a father must love his son. And what Oazi did to him was wrong and Zuko's humility that day was the most honorable thing in all of Fire Nation history." Gabriel shifted uncomfortably.

"Iroh, you are a very wise man. I… I need advice." Iroh leaned back as Gabriel let Nooroo out. The Kwami was very excited to met Iroh, but even though Iroh was delighted to meet the Kwami, the old man didn't lose focus on Gabriel's request.

"I don't know everything, Gabriel, but I will offer my advice." Gabriel looked away in shame.

"My son is like me. A Miraculous wielder. He is the wielder of bad luck and destruction."

"Do you fear he has gone down the wrong path?" Iroh asked in concern. Gabriel shook his head.

"No. He follows the path of a welder correctly. His power is used to destroy evil and protect good. That isn't the problem… My wife… Emilie, left our family many years back. It was my fault. She was to become the Peafowl wielder. But I didn't know her Miraculous was broken. When I found out, I realised it hurt her to even us it, but still she used it to help people. I tried to stop her. I vowed that I would fix the Miraculous, somehow, and save her… but she didn't listen. She said that I wasn't a man of action. I was to afraid to use my own Miraculous to help people because I saw what hers had done to her. Then one day… she…" Gabriel shook his head. Iroh placed his hand on Gabriel's shoulder kindly.

"...I… I knew that day that I could have done something. If I had used mine instead, she wouldn't have ever had to use hers. So, I began to research the jewels, and I discovered a way to save her and restore the Miraculous… but for a price. All one had to do was capture the Miraculous of Creation and Good Luck and the Miraculous of Destruction and Bad Luck. If one combined their powers, one would be granted a single wish. I was planning to wish that I took her place. The problem was, the two miraculouses had been inactive for centuries. The only way to draw them out was for the Guardian of the Miraculouses to choose two new heroes to wield them, but he wouldn't do that unless there was a threat. So, I became that threat. It started small. I would attack every few weeks and draw the heroes out. I would try and trick them and lure them into giving the jewels up. Sadly, one battle after another passed. Each and every time, they won, and because I was using my Miracolous for ill purposes, I slowly began to lose myself and succumb to madness. Finally, one day I snapped. I separated the heroes and went after the weider of destruction myself. I fought him, defeated him and was seconds away from winning it all… but I had underestimated the boy… and he sent me to Yung using his secret power. Then, I began to wrestle with myself until eventually I knew I had to reform and stop misusing my Miraculous, but by the time I realised this, I also figured out that the wielder of destruction was Adrien, and unknowingly, I had tried to kill my own son… Now I am terrified to face him. He will hate me, for I have not been a good father to him either as Hawkmoth or Gabriel. Once I get to the city, I plan on watching over him, but I don't know if I am ready to face the person I hurt the most. I am torn." Iroh stroked his beard.

"When I lost my wife, it was both a day of sorrow and a day of joy. While my wife was gone, I now had a son. While my son was there, my wife was gone. I mourned my lover for a long time, before I knew I had to go to my son and raise him as she would have wanted. So I raised him. I taught him of the White Lotus and prepared him for his fate as my heir. He and I were very close. He believed I would one day end the war, and he would proudly declare to all the Nations that he was Iroh's son. Then the fateful day came were he too was taken from me. He, along with my chance to end the war that claimed him. My father was gone. My sister-and-law too. In that time, the Fire Nation rejoiced on my brother's new era, but I mourned losing everything. I was irrational and sad.

'In that time, I did things I am not proud of. I made mistakes that live up to the Fire Nation's tainted name. Then I realised I was being foolish. My son would not have wanted me to lose myself over him. So I asked him for forgiveness for my irrational actions. I'm sure he has forgiven me, but being dead, he can't really reply. The thing I learned from that is that grief does terrible things to a person. People who are in pain or wounded are the most irrational and make poor choices because they believe it will be the key to making the pain go away." Iroh shook his head.

"But it never does leave. No matter what you do. It is always there. People who continue to deny the fact that it will always hurt will only hurt those around them in attempts to rid of the pain. You describe the loss of your wife as a point of pain in your life, and when you saw that there was a chance you could save her, you began to pursue it relentlessly. That's why you lost yourself. You became so obsessed with making that pain go away, that you forgot that what you did could hurt others around you too. That is why acceptance is key. You have to accept she is gone and move on. Remember her, for the pain can never leave, but don't let her be your excuse for destroying yourself or those around you. She wouldn't like that. Once you've accepted she is gone, then you must ask for forgiveness from those you hurt while you mourned."

"But what if Adrien never can forgive me?" Gabriel asked.

"If he is your son, then I do not doubt he will forgive you. You said that he uses his Miraculous for good? Then he must be a good person. He may be upset, at first, and need time to process it all. He may need time. But I know he will forgive you, eventually." Iroh said.

"Do you really believe that?"

"I believe men and women hold too many grudges. There is so much hate in the world these days. Which is why I believe the ability to forgive is so crucial. No matter what someone has done, it is important you must forgive them for their actions against you. I do not mean in any way that you shouldn't be cautious, but I do think grudges are pointless and of poor character. Do you think your son is of poor character?"

"I'm not sure. I don't really think I know my son anymore." Gabriel admitted, "But he has to be a good person if the guardian personally chose him as the wielder of destruction."

"Then if he is a good person, he will forgive you, yes." Iroh replied. Gabriel sighed leaning back against the railings.

"You are a wise man, Iroh. I hope you are right." Then he glanced around worriedly, "So when exactly will Zuko and those freedom fighters come back from… ah… commandeering food?"

"I'm not sure. I doubt they'll be long. My nephew is one of the finest warriors in this world. You should see him at the dual blade. I am impressed every time at his skills. Though his father did wish he would improve on firebending while banished. He is a very talented firebender. A master at sixteen. Unfortunately, he is constantly competing against his sister. Learning through competitive nature is good, but Azula takes it too far. Her fire is dangerous and could slip into chaos at any second. Zuko wants to have his sister's level of control and skill, but I fear that Azula herself will oneday see her brother is superior because he is less likely to burn himself. Of course, it didn't help that he knows exactly what it feels like to get burned. When we first began, he was desperate to find the Avatar and practiced daily on swords, but he refused to use fire. It scared him, I think. A few weeks later, he got over it and demanded to learn better bending in order to prevent himself from suffering such an injury again. Though, I doubt I can keep him from inflicting mental wounds on himself. A war like this… it can hurt a man in many ways."

"I can't believe Ozai did that to a boy, his own son, no less. I guess I'm no better, because I tried to kill my own son before all of this. Still, it seems… cruel and wrong. What you said about Ozai manipulating his loyalties by making him think he owes his father? That is wrong. I hope I was never that bad towards Adrien, but something tells me I might have been."

"My brother is a very aggressive man. One who wants what he wants and will stop at nothing, not even his own son to get it."

"That is me in a summary." Gabriel said, hanging his head.

"It isn't bad to be passionate about something. You could want for your son to be safe and protect him, just try not to get carried away." Iroh advised.

"Hmm."

"Excuse me Master Gabriel, but I believe Zuko and the freedom fighters are coming. Would you like me to hide?" Nooroo suddenly said. Gabriel had forgotten the Kwami was there, listening to their conversation. Nooroo was a pretty quiet Kwami and was insanely shy, hence why he had been constantly been peeking out from behind Gabriel at Iroh after he introduced himself.

"Yes, Nooroo, I would advise that." The Kwami nodded, vanishing into his bag.

"Strange little creature, that one. I think I like him. He's a bit on the shy side though." Iroh noted.

"Yes, Nooroo is a shy Kwami. I'm told the other ones are a little more energetic… except Plagg… my son's Kwami. Apparently, he would prefer napping all day over talking to people." Gabriel shrugged. The freedom fighters began to walk down the ferry, delivering food to many of the refugees that needed it. Zuko brought his own container of food and set it in front of food.

"Here, uncle, and I got you some of that tea you like if you want it." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Zuko had volunteered to get food because he wanted to get some for his uncle? Perhaps the prince wasn't as arrogant as Gabriel thought. Iroh cheered and immediately dug in. Zuko handed him an bowl of rice and meat, far better than the stew from earlier.

"Thank you Zuko." Gabriel said.

"It's Lee here." Zuko corrected before he nodded slightly at Gabriel's approval. The freedom fighters finished handing out food before setting down to eat themselves with Zuko, Iroh, and Gabriel. The discussed many things, including the fact that smellerbee was a girl in boy's clothes because it kept her safe in the war. Then, Jet, who'd been silent all night, spoke up.

"From what I've heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can't wait to set my eyes on that great wall." He said eagerly.

"It is a magnificent sight." Iroh said in thought.

"You've been there?" Jet asked in awe.

"Once, when I was a different man." Iroh said in thought. Jet shook his head.

"I've done some things in my past I'm not proud of. But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se. For a new beginning. A second chance." Jet said. Iroh smiled, looking over at Gabriel with a knowing look before looking at his own nephew. Gabriel knew exactly what the old man was thinking. He didn't have to be an empath to know that.

"That's very noble of you." Iroh said kindly to Jet, "I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances." Gabriel smiled faintly. He couldn't wait to see his son, even if it was from afar. After, this was his second chance.