Author's Notes: Wow...I seriously can't thank ya'll enough for your positive words. Warm and fuzzies abound :D I tried to include a few more characters in this chapter and included a silly dream sequence that I thought about on a whim. I found it fun to write, if not a bit unnecessary to the story.
Next chapter: I dunno...?...I'm trying to get as much out this week that I can, since I have family coming in. And after that, it's home for the holidays...making writing over the next couple weeks quite difficult. So I reiterate..."I dunno".
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"They went back to Ba Sing Se."
Katara's voice is gentle when she tells Aang about his other friends' whereabouts, but that doesn't make the news any easier to hear.
"What!?" the young boy screeches. If he'd been healthier, his attachment to the elements would have sparked some sort of miniature typhoon, tidal wave, or earthquake. As it was, Katara could only measure her friend's fear by his huge, expressive eyes.
"Ssssh...relax, Aang!" She pushes him back onto his floor mat and pillows, "You're only going to hurt yourself."
"B-but..." he coughs as his lungs strain, "W-why?"
Good question. Katara still debated her brother's logic. He'd seemed so adamant, but they'd all been a bit emotional after...the accident.
"They went to free Iroh. They wanted to bring you your firebending sifu."
Aang finishes his coughing fit, and then frowns at her words, "It's not worth the risk. You shouldn't have let them go."
Katara turns away, ashamed. She knows she didn't let Toph and her brother go, but this knowledge doesn't negate the feeling that she should've been able to change their minds...kept their family together.
Guru Pathik speaks up from across the room.
"Aang," his voice is firm, almost harsh, "It was not Katara's choice that they leave. Your blame is misplaced."
The young airbender notes his friend's sorrowful expression then. This was very difficult for her.
His mood becomes contrite, "You're right, Guru Pathik...this is my fault. They went back to help me. I'm sorry, Katara."
The guru shakes his head sadly and kneels next to his young pupil, "Again you misplace blame. This is neither you nor any of your friend's faults, young Avatar. You give yourself much credit to think you have control of Destiny."
Aang ponders the guru's words. He can swear he hear Monk Gyatso through them. They ring true...he suddenly feels the need to cleanse this feeling of guilt.
"Perhaps we can work to open my water chakra again?" he asks.
Katara looks up at the curious new word, her worries temporarily forgotten.
Guru Patik smiles at the two youngsters, "Very good. Why don't we all meditate?"
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A metal box... the midday sun...eighty cubic feet...one small window...
Three miserable teenagers.
In hindsight, I really should have anticipated this. As it is, my friends and I have to make the most of the sweltering Earth Kingdom afternoon in our poorly ventilated enclosure.
The three of us sit in separate corners.
Suki waves her fan lazily in front of her face. She had been hesitant to use it as an actual cooling instrument at first. I guess it might have been considered disrespectful, being such a sacred weapon of the Kyoshi warriors. Twenty degrees later, she opts to utilize the minimal relief it provides.
Toph has her own tactic. She pokes hole after hole into the metal floor, as though it were just paper. She pokes one more, making the current hole-count fifty four, and then lays, stomach first, over the porous pattern, taking in the little bit of draft it provides.
I'm hot as hell...but that's not the only thing on my mind. Discarded tunics and leggings lay haphazardly around us: my companions and I wear only our underclothes.
Escaping the heat had taken priority over modesty a couple hours ago.
I'm just trying my damnedest to avert my eyes.
I shouldn't be embarrassed. There was an understanding that we'd be mature about the whole situation...a 'silent pact', if you will...
...which means I could ogle Suki if I wanted, without fear of retribution. I could attribute it to the fact that there really is little else to look at...
There's a wall...there's another wall...the floor...a sock on the floor...Toph's dirty foot...another wall...Suki...the ceiling...tiny window...Suki...
...And yet, the gentlemanly side of my brain –in a rare appearance- tells me I shouldn't stare. I don't think I could muster the courage anyway. The thought alone sends a rush of blood to my brain...
You choose which brain I'm referring to...
Ugh...I'm sorry; that was inappropriate. There's just so much going on in my head right now.
Here I am, mostly naked. I can see enough of Suki to imagine her naked. We're about to enter what in all probability is a very dangerous mission. I'm hot and thirsty and despite suffering from a lack of sleep, I can't get a second of oblivion in the butt-numbing position I've been stuck in the last four hours.
So I just sit here, bare back leaning against the wall's surface, slick from sweat, trying in vain to clear my mind and rest.
An irritated sigh, "Yo Chicken Legs, are we there yet?"
"Wha— ?"
It takes a second for her words to register. Chicken legs?
I look down at my bare limbs. Immediately, I scramble to cover myself, "Does a silent pact mean nothing to you?!"
Suki's tired expression lights up...one airy giggle escapes her throat...and then another...
Both girls erupt in laughter. I stop scrambling and stare, confused.
People find their own ways to cope in trying times. Yeah, I'm the butt of the joke, but my friends' spirits are up. I let out a chuckle or two at my own expense. The laughter dies down after a few minutes.
Silence reigns again. I lean my head back and close my eyes, my shoulders temporarily lighter.
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This new feeling was hard to describe.
It tightened his chest and throat. It burned his eyes, refusing him the moisture that would alleviate the pain. It caused him to dream of days not so long past: of his Uncle's easy smiles...the ones that exuded nothing but joy over the new life they led together...
The joy was so pervasive that it had begun to rub off on the Fire Nation prince; he'd begun to experience some of these strange, simple pleasures. He could feel himself changing, and despite the horrors that had forged him, he'd believed he could complete the transformation.
Azula's abrupt reappearance had changed all that.
At the exact moment he saw her deceptively sweet face, heard her silky, manipulative voice, Zuko knew he wasn't meant to be happy like his dear Uncle.
The old man had been right in a way. Zuko did have a role to play in everyone's destiny: in the fate of the world. Just not in the way he had thought.
Joining forces with the Avatar was beyond Zuko's ability. His Uncle had been foolish to think otherwise. The Avatar was just a boy, and a selfish one at that. His disappearance started the war, twisted his father into a war mongering, hateful being...all before Zuko was even born.
The Avatar had been the bane of Zuko's existence for far too long, the primary focus of his rage. For his Uncle to think he could just set history aside, act like nothing had happened, and actually work with him...
No...he worked alone from here on out. He was tired of outside forces determining his path.
He would play into his sister's act: earn back her trust. And a couple months from now, regardless of whether the Avatar survives his own battle –and frankly he didn't care either way-, Zuko would be in a position to change the course of this war.
He wasn't concerned about honor anymore.
His only regret was Uncle.
Technically, he hadn't betrayed him. Zuko had insisted on his safety, arguing that the Fire Lord reserved judgment for traitors. Azula had grudgingly complied, and his Uncle had spent the last week imprisoned instead. It was harsh, but temporary. Azula would wish to return to Ozai in the coming months, to protect him during the so-called 'Darkest Day' that the Earth King had so conveniently informed her of.
The prince would go with her. Azula would demand that Uncle come also, to face his long awaited judgment. It would be easier for Uncle to escape in the transition; Zuko would make sure of that.
But still, the indescribable feeling intensified whenever he neared the palace prisons...
So Zuko determined to avoid them altogether.
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I'm lying on a beach. The sun beats down on my skin, causing me to sweat. It's so warm. I look to my left. Suki lies beside me, clad only in her underclothes. I look to my right. Ty Lee holds herself in a perfect back handstand.
I smile, content.
I prop myself on my elbows, taking in the scenery. A body of water, bluer than any I can ever remember, breaks upon the shore. In the distance, I see giant dorsal fins speeding over the water's surface. Aang's back is to me from where he rides the elephant koi; he bears no scar. Katara and Toph swim not too far away.
Vaguely I wonder when Toph learned to swim.
I'm so hot. Suki's suddenly cooling me with her fan. Ty Lee has one as well. They whisper sweetly in my ears and smile. I close my eyes. Am I in heaven?
I open my eyes. I cling to the fin of an elephant koi, my inexperienced hands struggling to keep their grip. Aang's ride pulls up beside my own. He grins innocently at my predicament.
"You don't know what you're doing."
His words strike a nerve. I open my mouth to argue but my lips can't move.
Katara's hair flaps wetly from where she rides beside him.
"I told him not to try."
The koi makes a sharp turn and I'm sent flying. I anticipate the cool release of the crystal blue liquid. It never comes.
I land in a heap in the sand. The water's gone, replaced with desert. Elephant koi jump in and out of the grains, their fins cutting through the dunes as though they were waves. My friends are gone. I'm all alone.
A shadow flies over, blocking the sun. At first I see Appa...
And then it's not Appa. It's dark and feathery...and ominous. It shrilly screeches as it spirals down...closer and closer and...I duck to avoid being hit by the horrific serpent-like form of Wan Shi Tong.
The monstrous owl terrifies me. Its beady black eyes stare at my form in accusation. The spirit speaks through its deadly beak.
"What knowledge can you offer?"
I can't answer him. My mouth refuses to budge.
"Impertinent fool! Have you nothing to offer?"
He looks beyond my shoulder. I slowly turn to follow his gaze.
Azula stands, hand extended, fingers pointed. The air around me crackles and snaps. My eyes widen. My breathing stops...
Aang falls.
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I wake with a gasp. It takes a few seconds to recall where I am.
Across from me, Suki pulls her green tunic over her head. The light that makes its way through our small window paints a reddish hue over her face. The sun must be setting.
Did I sleep all the way to Ba Sing Se?
Suki must notice my confusion, "We passed the outer wall an hour ago. You looked so comfortable that I didn't want to wake you."
I pop a few kinks in my back, "C-comfortable...right."
She smiles good-naturedly, "Well, ya know."
Toph, also dressed, sits cross legged, chin in her hands, "Note. She didn't want to wake you. I, on the other hand, was bored out of my mind."
"Well, thanks for the restraint."
"How much longer do you think we have?" Suki asks.
Toph pokes one more of her indiscrete holes in the front wall, giving me a clear view of what lay ahead. Squinting an eye, I peer through. In the distance, beyond the ostrich horses that pull us, I see a familiar wall.
"Not long at all..."