Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow, got a lot of reviews on that last chapter (well, for me anyways) so thanks everyone who reviewed! Sorry this chapter took a while... my cousins came to visit and we had two birthday parties so things were pretty hectic to say the least.
Disclaimer: Aang, Katara, Sokka, etc. belong to Nickelodeon, all other stuff belongs to me. We've been over this.
Chapter 3: Frozen in Time
The girl's heart raced as she made her way back to the temple, running as fast as her small legs would take her, trying not to look back. She scrambled up the large stone slabs that made up the stairway to the cavernous foyer and ran inside.
Gyatso turned around just in time to have the five year old jump up into his arms. It had been a little less than a year since Calira had died giving birth to a son, but the loss of his dear friend, followed swiftly by the death of her husband, had aged him considerably. He looked down in surprise, his expression immediately softening in recognition.
"Why, what's wrong little one?" He asked softly, stroking her dark brown hair.
"I didn't mean to, Monk Gyatso, I promise! It was an accident! I'll never do it again!" The girl bawled, burying her small head in the monk's chest.
"Now now, it can't be all that terrible." Gyatso said with a warm smile. "I'm sure it can be worked out. What is it you have done?"
The girl wiped a tear off her face with the back of her hand. "I... I moved the water."
The monk froze. "What did you say?"
"The water... I moved the water in the reflecting pool." The girl hung her head. "I didn't mean to, I promise I won't do it anymore."
"No, what you've done is not a bad thing. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't move the water anymore."
The girl looked up in surprise at the monk's response. "Really?"
Gyatso nodded. "You have done a very special thing, young one."
"Special?" The girl asked, brightening up. "I did something special?"
"Yes." Gyatso said, putting the child down on the floor and taking her hand in his. "Now, why don't you move the water again for me. I think I'd like to see this."
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The three friends ate their dinner in silence, no one wanting to bring up what they knew was on each of their minds.
"Aang? I know you're not used to this kind of food, but it's really very good. I think you'd like it." Katara ventured, making an effort to break the silence.
Aang looked down at his untouched plate, then pushed it away. "I'm not very hungry, Sokka can have it if he wants."
"Gladly!" Sokka exclaimed, but was instantly given a warning look from Katara and backed down. He folded his arms over his chest glumly. "I mean, uh... we'll just have to save that for when you're hungry."
Katara gently put her hand on top of Aang's. "I know it's been hard for you Aang. I was hoping your sister would be here just as much as you were."
"It's not just that." Aang said, looking down at the table. "I feel like I deserted her. I deserted everyone."
"There was nothing you could have done. If your sister was still here, I think she'd be very proud of you." Katara said, the corners of her mouth curving into a small smile.
Aang looked up at Katara. "Really?"
The waterbender nodded in response.
Aang smiled and rubbed his hands together, looking over at his plate. "All right! Time to try some water tribe food!"
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"There it is!" Iroh exclaimed, pointing to the outer wall of the North Pole. "Aren't you glad you came up on deck?"
Zuko ignored his uncle's comment and turned to the crewmen. "We drop anchor. My uncle and I will be using the longboat from here."
The crew responded promptly, immediately dropping the anchor into the icy Northern waters.
"Nothing like a good long rowing." Iroh grumbled sarcastically as he stretched out his arms.
"We'd better get started if we want to make it by dark." Zuko said impatiently.
Iroh slowly walked over to the longboat and gingerly lowered himself in beside his nephew. "Let's get started then."
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Zuko gave one last mighty pull, and with a low grunt was finally able to pull the boat out of the water and onto the snowy shore. He grimaced as he was instantly hit with an icy spray of water, courtesy of the large waves pounding on the protruding rocks and ice. He shivered and quickly walked over to where his uncle sat, a small inviting-looking fire flickering in front of him. Zuko sat down beside Iroh and immediately began blowing hot steam out of his nostrils and into his hands for warmth.
"There's nothing like the northern sky at night." Iroh commented, admiring the bright dusting of stars.
"What difference does it make where you see the stars?" Zuko answered, still concentrating on warming his hands.
Iroh sighed. "I hope one day you will know, Zuko."
Zuko gave him a strange look. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Iroh didn't respond. He looked back up at the stars. "You know, there is more to life than the Avatar."
"Capturing or not capturing the avatar controls my fate." Zuko answered flatly.
Iroh laid a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Zuko, you control your own fate."
Zuko sat in silence while his uncle stood up and began walking back and forth, his eyes roaming over the large sheets of ice rising up from the ground.
"What are you doing, uncle?" Zuko asked, standing up and begrudgingly walking beside him.
"Oh, nothing of much importance." Iroh replied. He turned to look at Zuko, a playful twinkle in his eye. "I heard a water tribe legend once, when I was very young. About a warrior, frozen in time outside the outer wall." He winked at his nephew. "I guess I've always wanted to see if it was true."
"You know it can't be true, uncle." Zuko said, trying to sound condescending, though the corners of his mouth threatened to curl into a smile.
"Of course, but you can't keep an old man from looking, can you?" Iroh answered good-naturedly. Abruptly, he stopped walking and began examining a wall of ice.
"Strange..." He muttered to himself, as he ran his hand along a smooth ripple in the icy wall.
"What is it?" Zuko asked, walking over to see what it was he was looking at.
"And it's not just here..." Iroh continued to himself, running his hand along the ripple to find considerably more ripples in the ice.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" Zuko asked, exasperated.
"This whole wall..." Iroh said, still to himself. He turned to his nephew. "Zuko, look at this!"
"Look at what? It's ice." Zuko remarked, not finding his uncle's antics amusing in the slightest.
"Yes, but look at the difference between this wall of ice..." Iroh pointed to the ice he was standing in front of. "...and the other ones." He finished, pointing to another wall of ice.
"Ripples in the ice. What difference does it make?" Zuko asked, becoming agitated.
"The difference it makes, is this ice was made by the forces of nature..." He turned back to face the rippled ice. "...and this one, was made by a waterbender."
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"Why would a waterbender make a wall of ice out here?" Zuko asked, still sceptical of his uncle's explanation. "Practice?"
"No, I don't think so." Iroh said, studying the ice. "See how it curves inward? It is encasing something. Like a protective shell."
"But what would it be protecting?" The young firebender prodded.
"That, I don't know. Perhaps long lost treasures of the water tribe." Iroh said, his eyes twinkling playfully.
"It could be anything." Zuko commented, running his hand along the ice.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Iroh said promptly, his hands bursting into flames. "Are you up for a little treasure hunt?"
Zuko found himself smiling at his uncle's enthusiasm in spite of himself. "If you insist, uncle."
"Then let's get to it!" Iroh grinned, placing his flaming hands onto the surface of the ice.
The prince rubbed his frigid hands together before igniting them and putting them on the ice a short distance from his uncle. Soon steam was rising from the rapidly melting wall of frozen water. After labouring on this task for what seemed to be hours, Zuko became considerably less excited about this idea of his uncle's. He could feel each minute ticking by pushing him into deeper agitation.
"Surely we must be getting close by now." Zuko grumbled, feeling the melted water trickle down his arms and soak his already damp sleeves.
"I believe so." Iroh answered, shaking water droplets off his hands. "But perhaps we should take a rest."
Zuko nodded and took his hands off the ice. He turned to join his uncle, but found himself turning back to look at his work. He had indeed made a great deal of progress, melting out quite a large quantity of ice from the frozen wall. Steam still hung in the air. Zuko cleared the air with his hand, then took a closer look at the cavity he had made. When he was finally able to get a good look at the ice, his eyes grew wide and he stepped back with a start.
"Zuko, what is it?" Iroh asked with concern, jumping up and hurrying over to his nephew.
"There's... someone in there!" Zuko stuttered, for a moment unable to form the right words.
"What?" Iroh's bushy eyebrows knit into a frown. "Show me."
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"Easy does it now..." Iroh said, gently running his heated hands along the ice. "We're getting close now, we don't want to burn him."
"I can't believe the story is true. If this warrior is over a century old... perhaps he'll know more about the Avatar!"
"You have a one-track mind Zuko." Iroh mumbled, shaking his head.
A deep rumble split the air, followed by a sharp crack.
"Here it comes! Step back!" Iroh shouted to his nephew over the continuous cracking of ice.
Zuko watched as the ice encasing the silhouette of the figure began to splinter, sending shards of ice flying in all directions. Three large cracks made their way out from the center, making jagged paths in the ice.
"You'd better be ready to catch him when he falls out of the ice. A bump on the head isn't the most pleasant way to wake up." Iroh commented.
Zuko nodded, shielding his face from the ice shards with his hands. He squinted at the large cracks. They had gotten wide enough that he thought he could make out the colored cloth of the figure's clothing behind the sheet of ice. Finally, with a final crack, the ice collapsed. The figure fell limply out of their icy prison, plummeting headfirst toward the ground. Acting quickly, Zuko jumped forward, catching them before they hit the ground. He was immediately surprised. The man was much lighter and had a much slimmer build than he had expected. Even his attire was a surprise. His clothes were hardly that of a warrior, and could barely even be considered to be that of a man. Zuko turned the figure's head toward him to look at the man's face. He almost cried out in surprise to find that the face he was looking at was not a man, but a young woman. She shifted slightly, a low moan escaping her lips. With some difficulty, her eyes opened and she groggily looked up at the firebender.
"Thank you." She whispered, before falling back into unconsciousness.
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Aang sat up rigidly from what had been, mere seconds before, a peaceful sleep and began gasping for air.
"What is it Aang?" Katara asked, woken up by her friend's unusual behavior.
"I don't know... something's happened." Aang replied breathlessly.
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Ah yes, the thickening of my plot begins! Wow, lots of Zuko and Iroh in this chapter... Anyways, I hope you liked it, it's about a page or so longer that the last chapter (I'm trying to lengthen my chapters up a bit... I'm terrible with posting lots of short chapters) And remember, reviews make my fingers type! Luv you guys: )