Passing the Torch
Time seemed to slow to a crawl in the cell. The only thing that made life slightly easier was a slightly more preferential treatment that the warden gave to Ty Lee, Xiong, and Mai since Mai was his niece, of which was the fact that the three of them were able to be assigned to the same cell, though Xiong being the only guy of the three, along with Mai's uncle's nature meant that he was to be escorted out and kept under watch while either of the two were changing. Xiong didn't argue with the fact and offered no resistance when he was taken out of the cell. When it was him that were changing, Ty Lee and Mai were both still taken out of the cell, though they were able to walk around the level of the cell, though under supervision of a guard each. Knowing that any action to escape would cause harm to either her or her uncle kept Mai from trying anything and Ty Lee knew that she had less of a chance of escape than Mai and thus didn't act up either. Each day only seemed to meld into one giant amorphous and invisible mass, with no two days being easily discernible from the others.
One day while waiting for the end of the way, the three of them were waiting for the occasional update that was passed from the warden to Mai and Mai alone and simultaneously over to Ty Lee and Xiong. The knowledge was provided only to keep them on track on how the war was progressing. Xiong knew that Sozin's Comet was coming and given Ozai's nature, he was going to use the power that it provided to force an end to the war.
Xiong only hoped that between Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Hakoda as he only knew the five of them were able to form a plan to stop Ozai before the comet arrived.
While the waited the days away in the cell, Ty Lee and Xiong spent some time talking about the various things that had happened since they last saw each other as children.
"I'm still surprised that you decided to runaway from home, Ty Lee." Xiong didn't know about the type of life she had to deal with at home.
"I couldn't stand being one of a set. I am sure that if you saw all seven of us, that you wouldn't be able to tell me apart from the rest of them." Ty Lee answers dejected, though she did have a good point about it given the fact that there were barely any differences between her and the six of her sisters.
"I am not going to lie to you and say that I could easily differentiate between you and your sisters when we were still young." Xiong answers, which was an attempt to make her feel better, but it served only to make her feel worse. Xiong was away of this and brought his hand to Ty Lee's chin and lift it up so she was looking at him. "I want to spend this time to get to know you. This way, once I meet your sisters, I will be able to tell you apart." He consoles her which brought a smile and a light blush to Ty Lee's cheeks.
"You have been hit on by countless guys while with me and Azula. Why is Xiong the only person that you are honestly interested in?" Mai inquires, though it wasn't so much out of curiosity but as a means of maintaining her sanity in the empty and rather lifeless cell that was slowly driving her mad and the conversations that Xiong and Ty Lee had at times didn't help, in fact it might be driving her closer to madness.
"Xiong has barely seen me since we were kids and yet still said that he loves me. Those other guys just literally fell for me because of how I look, and it was nearly instantaneous." Ty Lee responds honestly. The memory of some of those guys creeped her out at times to the point that her spine shivered thinking about it. She honestly couldn't remember how long it had been between the last two times she had seen Xiong.
"Okay, why do you love Ty Lee, Xiong?" Mai inquires using the time to figure out why Zuko fell in love with her only to later break up with her and not even do it in person. The concept of someone loving her was actual strange, almost alien in nature given her stoic and almost constantly depressive mood.
"It was her personality. Even during the few interactions, we had as kids, I can tell that she has a cheerful personality. That no matter how dark the situations may appear, she always looked on the bright side. It was those memories of Ty Lee that helped me get through times at the Fire Nation Academy and through some of the tougher portions of my time in the Army." Xiong answers which brought a slight blush to Ty Lee's cheeks.
The answer was honestly sweet enough that it made Mai slightly sick as she heard it and such a reaction was visible. Xiong chuckled, rose his right eyebrow and shook his head playfully side to side. "Don't worry Mai, once the avatar wins the war and we are free from here, you won't have to worry about hearing our discussions if they make you ill." Xiong's answers was riddled with his playful tone.
"How are you so sure that they are going to win the war?" Mai answers, having no interaction with the group and knowing how Azula, Zhao, and Ozai all are, she was highly skeptical of the chances of the war turning out other than how the Fire Nation envisions it.
"Look at it this way Mai. If the fire nation wins the war, that means that Azula will become the next Fire Lord and will not let any of us out of this cell. This means that you will have to listen to me and Ty Lee talking and getting closer every day." Xiong responded, which drew a playful giggle out of Ty Lee. It wasn't that the acrobat liked tormenting her childhood friend. It was the fact that due to extensive experience that she knew both she and Mai had with Azula that they both knew that what he spoke would come true if the Fire Nation won. The fact that Mai was equally aware of the inevitability of what Xiong said if the Fire Nation won was evident on her face.
"I can't believe I am about to say this. I hope the avatar wins the war." The words were honest, though not for the best of reasons and were so alien that they almost felt forced out of Mai's mouth. The tone of her voice drew a laugh from both Xiong and Ty Lee. Though it wasn't a mutually beneficial laugh, it was good to try and make the best of the situation as they waited.
Each passing day where Ty Lee, Xiong, and/or Mai were talking were passed by Xiong simply staring at the ceiling, trying to venture a guess at how the group was doing and how the war was going or how much longer it was until Sozin's comet passed overhead. Ty Lee practiced her flexing and acrobatics, at times walking on her hands and passing a kiss to Xiong's kiss which would snap him out of his thoughts only to cause his cheeks to light up from blushing, resulting in a giggle from Ty Lee.
One day, as the three stopped having anything to really talk about, they simply laid against the walls of the cell, the door to the cell opened and on the other side was Mai's uncle. "You are all free to go." Were the only words that were stated by him.
"Wait, do you mean…...?" Xiong begun to inquire about what meant that the three of them would be able to walk about. Azula being Fire Lord was an unlikely reason for the three of them being freed given what happened when the three of them last saw her.
"Yes, the avatar has won the war and Zuko is the new Fire Lord. He has said for all the prisoners to be freed. Given you are friends of my niece as well as childhood friends of the new Fire Lord, I wanted the three of you to be the first to be out to meet up with your loved ones." Mai's uncle responds before stepping off to the side. Ty Lee, being the type of person that she was, along with the good news jumped to her feet and grabbed Xiong's left hand with her right hand before almost dragging him over to Mai. Ty Lee grabs Mai's right hand with her left hand and drags the two of them out of the cell before Xiong and Mai did their best to keep up with Ty Lee who was running to the gondola still holding their hands.
Since they were the first ones out, there wasn't anyone at the gondolas and they took the first one which set off for the other side of the boiling lake with just the three of them. After arriving at the other side, they began looking for a means to get to the fire nation capital as it is the only place that had people that meant anything to the three of them. As they came across the top of the hill on the other side of the prison, they notice a group of fire nation soldiers near a small fire nation blimp. One of them inform the three of them that they were sent by Fire Lord Zuko to take them exclusively to the Fire Nation Capital. Exuberant at Zuko's thoughtfulness and the treatment, the three walked aboard the blimp and waited in the dining room of the blimp as it took off, enjoying the meals.
As they ate the three of them talked about what they were going to do once they arrived at the capital. Hearing Ty Lee's idea about joining the Kyoshi Warriors surprised Xiong, given that she had told him how much she disliked being part of a set. "Are you sure about that Ty Lee? I figured you would do something that would make sure you kept sticking out from the people around you." Xiong didn't doubt Ty Lee, but he was honestly worried about what might possibly happen if she experienced the same feelings as when she was with her sisters before leaving to join the circus.
"It's not so much about the physical appearance that made me grow tired of being with my sisters, it was the fact that we also all acted the same. The Kyoshi Warriors are different. Each member is different though they all look practically the same. Besides, I am still going to be different from the rest, given my training as an acrobat and the fact that I will have you." Ty Lee answers with a mixture of jubilation, determination, and sheer playfulness to poke at Xiong's love for her, which drew the obvious blush to his cheeks.
"Did you ever figure out if you can ever forgive Zuko Mai?" With his concerns over Ty Lee at rest, he was also curious about Mai. They might not be dating, but both her and Zuko were childhood friends of his and it was his nature to see to their well-being.
"Yeah, though why is not something I am willing to or wanting to tell either of you." Mai answers solemnly as she didn't want to bring up anything that would bring her back to the break up that would probably still leave a sour taste in her mouth for a long time.
"What about you Xiong? What are your plans?" Ty Lee inquires curiously. Xiong had received the plans of hers and Mai's, but he hasn't yet said his own plans.
"I'll probably see to see what remains of my family's house and will probably pay my respects to my parents as well as an apology to the both of them for going against what they died for." Xiong couldn't help but remember the guilt that was still plaguing him for telling his parents that he was going to finish what they had started. In the end, he did help to finish what they started, but it was the exact opposite of what his parents fought for which only made the guilt weigh that much more on his conscious.
"How about we meetup with Zuko and the others after we do what we have planned, except for you Mai as your plan involves Zuko anyways?" Xiong wanted to try and congratulate the group, but also wanted to thank them for all the smaller effects of their efforts, feeling that it would mean more if the two of them were there with him.
"Yes, of course." Ty Lee jumped to her feet, almost slamming her hands down on the table in her excitement. She did have to go approach Suki about joining the Kyoshi Warriors and thus she could help to get the gathering set up through her to Sokka.
"Sure, why not? Might be nice to have some people that are actually enjoyable." Mai's words weren't meant to say that Ty Lee and possibly Xiong were not enjoyable company, but it was going to be an enjoyable change from having to listen and follow Azula.
With the plans made and the idea to get together afterwards established, the three waited for several minutes as the blimp continued its flight toward the Fire Nation capital. Once the blimp landed at the dock on the far side of the island from the port, the three of them shook their heads in near unison before heading off toward their initial destinations.
Ty Lee practically ran through the streets in search for Suki. After which she requested to join the Kyoshi Warriors. Despite the bad blood that formed when Ty Lee, along with Mai and Azula defeated her and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki had let go of that given that fact that it was only because of both Mai and Ty Lee that Sokka, Zuko, Hakoda, Chit Sang, and her were all able to escape from the Boiling Rock. In the end, Suki accepted Ty Lee's request, to which Ty Lee ran up and hugged Suki. Afterwards, Ty Lee explained the fact about the get together that Mai, Xiong, and her had planned and asked for Suki to pass the word to Sokka so that it can get arranged. Suki agreed to assist in the orchestration and let Ty Lee know where to get changed into her new Kyoshi Warrior outfit, or at the least the outfit that belonged to an actual member of the Kyoshi Warriors.
Mai, on the other hand, practically stomped through the capital on her way to the Fire Lord's domain in search of Zuko. While not to the point of incapacitating the guards, she was in no mood to be stopped while searching for him. Upon finding Zuko, who was initially slightly scared of her due to the extent of her anger which was rarely seen giving her normally stoic and apathetic face. Mai asked if the two of them can get back together, which was accepted. Mai would simply hug Zuko and let him know that they would talk about it more after the festivities following the end of the war, especially for such a peaceful end with neither the destruction of the Fire Nation, nor of the destruction of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.
Xiong, separately walked almost sluggishly as he began to think of what he would say to his parents when he arrived at their graves, even while his first destination was the location of his parents' house which he had heard had been destroyed in an attempt to either get rid of him or drive him out of his hiding place out of fury of the destruction. Upon arriving at the ruins, he would only see the remnants of the wood and cloth that was used to make it, a lot of the cloth having been turned into cinders and a lot of the wood either burned to nothing or turned black due to the smoke. Sighing softly to himself, he knew that he would have a long way to go in order to rebuild his life, but at the least, he felt that he wouldn't have a remorseful conscious of the decisions he had made. He had listened to what Iroh had said and just like Iroh stated later during their talk, fate did reward him for his openness.
Turning his attention to the direction of his parents' graves, he would receive occasional praise and congratulatory remarks regarding his part to the peaceful end of the war. Honestly, he felt that he deserved none of the praise or remarks. Most of what he did was anything but peaceful and he did little to contribute that he felt was worthy of the words that were directed toward him.
Once he entered the graveyard, he would simply walk through the field to the stone that served as a marker for his parents. He got to about eight feet in front of the marker before sitting on his legs in the grass. "Sorry for not fulfilling what I had promised. I will understand if you despise me for my actions, but I just did what I felt was right. I will return with your favorite flowers tomorrow. I know how long it's been since I was able to bring them." He spoke softly to the grave, doing his best to clear his conscious of his actions before standing up and walking away. While a lot of people might have been affected by the war, he was going to do what he can to undo as much of the damage as he possibly can.
With their main intentions complete it was now time for the planned get together with Aang and the others. Arriving at the dock first was the Kyoshi Warriors with Ty Lee among the mix with Suki and Sokka. Following close was Aang, Katara, and Toph. Mai, Zuko, Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Bumi, and Pakku were the last ones to arrive before Xiong. Xiong took a detour to find one of his men, who were immediately overjoyed to see him still in good health. The two of them chatted for a while about the events following their parting paths before Xiong requested that the man inform the others that he was here and wanted to see them again after so long. The gesture was playfully jabbed at by the soldier before a messenger hawk went on its way, quickly growing in number as since the men were stationed under Zhao who was forced to let Ozai face Aang, set his sights on Zuko for what he had done in the North Pole. Since Zuko went to the Fire Nation Capital to engage Azula in Agni Kai, Zhao was in the capital as well, but was dealt with by Katara to keep them from interrupting or giving Azula the upper hand.
Xiong waved over to the group, who waved back in an unorganized but heartfelt mess. "Sorry about the delay. Just wanted to let my guys know that I am back." Xiong apologized and partially wanted to let the guys meet the group and vice versa.
"Despite being in the Fire Nation, you're a big softie." Toph proclaims a mixture of tauntingly and teasingly toward Xiong which just responded with a shrug of his shoulders. He didn't really know Toph that well and only personal jabs would draw a reaction out of him.
"Man, I can see you're no fun." Toph responds dejected, being able to tell that her proclamation didn't draw as much of a response as she had hoped for.
"Well I'm sure you'll be able to 'see' I am more fun than you think I am." The tone in Xiong's voice made up for the air quotes he portrayed while saying the word see as he had managed to catch a glimpse of Toph's white pupils, telling him that she was blind.
"FINALLY! Hopefully you can remember I am blind." Toph proclaimed happily, throwing her hands into the air, though she honestly didn't expect for him to remember that she is blind.
"Xiong, Ty Lee is in her Kyoshi Warrior outfit, complete with face paint. She told me that you want to be able to tell her apart from her sisters. Here is a test. Let's see if you can tell her apart from the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors." Suki states challenging Xiong to identify the girl he loves from the Kyoshi Warriors that he had fought against during his time working for the Fire Nation.
Xiong took up on the challenge as the Kyoshi Warriors got in a line while everyone else present laughed at the display, but it meant a lot to Xiong as his claim to tell Ty Lee apart from his sisters was his word and it was a word he was planning to keep.
Xiong walked along the line of the Kyoshi Warriors. Each of the Kyoshi Warriors did their best to impersonate a face Ty Lee would make while Ty Lee stood looking the same as she usually did. Despite their best attempts, once Xiong had examined all the Kyoshi Warriors, he turned around at the end of the line and walked back, turning to face Ty Lee and playfully poking her forehead. "This isn't even a good test. While the Kyoshi Warriors may wear the same things as Ty Lee and may be able to mimic her expressions, subtle differences are still there." Xiong states before Ty Lee jumps out from the line and wraps her arms around him playfully.
Several minutes would pass as the group began discussing the plans that they have in mind now that the war was over, when a voice called over in their direction. "COMMANDER!" A voice would call out, drawing Xiong's attention, only to see all that men that served under him during the assault on Kyoshi Island. All the men quickly smother him and Ty Lee in a giant hug as the men were all overjoyed to see him again. The word that was passed among the men was met with cheers of joy and relief as they haven't heard from him since he defected from the Fire Nation following the failure to take Kyoshi Island.
"I am glad to see all of you guys are doing alright considering what I put you through." Xiong answers looking around at all the men.
"Did you tell Ty Lee how you felt?" Chang inquires which was responded with a mildly embarrassed nod of Xiong's head as Ty Lee smiles and nods her head a slight bit afterwards.
"We were wondering why at stressful times you would go from a frown to a smile." Li responded honestly surprised and somewhat disturbed by the described display that was shown at times, though that same display had resulted in past victories during trying and risky times.
"If I kept looking at the down side, I would've resigned to the most probable fate." Xiong was honestly too embarrassed to say that it was the memory of Ty Lee that helped him to change his mind set.
"You better treat her right then commander…...I mean Xiong." Chang would probably never find it feeling right saying his commander's name but would have to learn to get used to saying it. Xiong's initial embarrassment from being called out on making sure that he treats Ty Lee right was replaced with moderate amusement hearing Chang struggle bringing himself to say Xiong's name as he nodded his head.
"Please take care of Xiong for us." The men now turned their attention and questions over to Ty Lee. The men had complete trust in Xiong given their experiences in him while he was working his way up his ranks beside and above them. He wasn't the type of person to go back on his word, unless he was given enough reason to. Ty Lee smiles brightly and nods her head.
"Aang, Katara, Sokka, Admiral Jeong Jeong, General Iroh, and Zuko. I wanted to thank you all for ending the war the way it should've ended as well as all the small things, like helping me to get with Ty Lee. " Xiong's words were heartfelt and honest, Iroh just couldn't help but bring himself to laugh at the fact someone was still calling him General since he had left the Fire Nation Army for who knows how long.
"We should be thanking you as well Xiong. It was hard to imagine that there were any good firebenders in the world until we met you, then Jeong Jeong, then Iroh, and finally Zuko." Katara responds warmly, more than happy to return the gesture. If it wasn't for Xiong, they might not have found Jeong Jeong, or might have been captured on not just one but two occasions by Zhao.
"I tried to live by Jeong Jeong's teachings. It is hard to see the rare few that use firebending the way it should be when among a massive group who use it recklessly. Hopefully I lived up to your desire." Xiong turned his attention to Jeong Jeong.
Jeong Jeong looked back at him before sighing. "Seeing someone like you use firebending, makes it feel like less of a burning curse. Still a curse but less of one. You still have a way to go in my opinion, but you are far better than most of those that I taught." Xiong simply took the words for the sentimental value given their source rather than base value.
"With the war out of the way, how about we all visit some of the locations the Fire Nation has to offer, without the worry of capture? Starting tomorrow as I am sure all of us are tired." Xiong responds which was instantly agreed upon by everyone except for Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee given that they are partially worried that one such location is Ember Island.