EDIT: My author's comments got cut off, so I had to reload it. Whoops. Without further ado, enjoy!
ZUTARA WEEK 2010.
DAY V PROMPT: HARMONY
(Takes place post-series)
Former Admiral Jeong Jeong of the Fire Navy was more than slightly confused. Here he was, a year after the war had ended, and Fire Lord Zuko had pulled him from his retirement and told him that they were going on a trip. So now he was sitting on the saddle of the Avatar's bison which the young airbender had leant to the Fire Lord and his girlfriend, the Lady Katara, as they headed towards their destination. Fire Lord Zuko had been outraged when he had found out that Jeong Jeong had refused to firebend, and demanded to know the reason why.
After the White Lotus Rebellion at Ba Sing Se had ended, Jeong Jeong had wandered the streets in a haze of smoke, stunned at the death and destruction that firebending, his firebending had caused. On that day, he had sworn never to firebend again.
The first few months had been hard. Buying his first set of spark rocks even worst, for people gossiped all around them. They had thought that they were being quiet, but his senses, keen after years of hiding, could hear every word.
Why is he buying those? He's a firebender...
I've heard that he's gone soft in the head in his old age...
Abandoning his heritage like that... he's' a disgrace to the Fire Nation...
Those comments hurt the worst. Calling him a disgrace because he didn't want to get torn any further apart? He remembered what he had told the young Avatar nearly two years previously, when the young airbender had come to learn firebending from him.
It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity... and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart.
But he had managed to ignore these rumours until finally, two days ago, his grandson had come to his estate on the Rim of the Capitol to see if they had been telling the truth. 'So much like his mother, that way.' Only recently had Zuko discovered that Jeong Jeong was Ursa's father, and he was determined to create a good relationship to one of the only members of his blood family that wasn't insane.
This led him to be on the back of this giant, flying beast as they flew through the air. He sat on one side of the saddle as the Fire Lord sat on the other, with Lady Katara resting her head on his lap while the Avatar flew the bison from on top of its head.
"We're here!" The Avatar yelled, half turning his head so the passengers could hear him over the wind. Jeong Jeong caught the briefest hint of pain in his eyes as the Avatar looked over and saw Katara in Zuko's embrace. Looking to where the Avatar indicated, he was fairly unsurprised to see an island rising from the horizon. A fairly large island, as far as the volcanic islands of the Fire Nation went. It appeared to be uninhabited, judging by the lushness of the forest on it. As they continued over past the trees, however, he caught a glimpse of something that did not belong.
"Is that... a pyramid?"
With a smirk in his direction, Zuko merely looked at him. "Haven't you ever heard the legends of the Sun Warriors, Grandfather?"
- - - oOo - - -
It had been noticeably easier getting past the traps this time, Zuko mused. 'I mean, this time we know that they Sun Warriors are still alive, and we know where their camp is, so we can just fly straight there.' Trying hard to keep the smirk from his face, he noticed exactly when Jeong Jeong saw the Sun Warrior Tribe waving them down.
- - - oOo - - -
'This... this was awe-inspiring.' Jeong Jeong tried to keep the wonder from his face as he held a part of the First Flame in his hands. After learning the Dancing Dragon form (Katara had teased Zuko about it mercilessly as Aang had alternated between smiling and sadness upon seeing how happy she was with Zuko), the Sun Warriors had brought them to the First Forge. Here, cradled in his hands, was a true piece of his heritage. He was beginning to understand Zuko's cryptic message about fire not only being the harbinger of death. He could feel it, almost a thrumming heartbeat, emanating from the small flame. As they finally arrived to the plaza, Jeong saw the steep staircase flanked by two monolithic stone towers.
As they climbed it, maintain the flame that the Sun Warriors hadn't taken from them, the Warriors spread it in a hoop and began their rhythmic chanting and drumming. Jeong Jeong could feel the beat echoing under their feet as they arrived at the top of the staircase. Seeing Zuko nervously dancing from foot to foot, he quirked an eyebrow at his grandson. "What are you nervous about, grandson? You've already met the masters, and they've judged you worthy."
With a tight-lipped smile Zuko looked back at his grandfather. "It's more the... nature of the Masters themselves that's putting me on edge."
Jeong Jeong opened his mouth to ask him what he meant when a roar suddenly reverberated through the air. A hint of fire from deep inside one of the towers which he had just realised had tunnels bored into their sides and was that a-
Fast as he could blink, a massive scaled red form flew by him. He was half turned by the force of the wind, and, to his shock, turned back again as a blue form flew past him. Shaking his head to restore his balance, he was shocked to see a pair of dragons encircling them, one red like the flame held in his hands, the other blue like the sky. 'Not unlike two young people that I know...'
"Zuko, these are..." Jeong Jeong trailed off, the awe evident in his voice. 'They're all supposed to be gone. Iroh killed the last one... didn't he?'
"The Masters" Zuko finished for him, voice reverent. "Now, honoured Grandfather, do you recall the form?" With a nod, they took their places near the edge of the dais and began to run through the kata that made up the form. Sparing a glance for his nephew, he was shocked to see the red dragon keeping time with his grandson as he moved around the dais. Glancing to his other side, he was more than a little shocked to see the blue dragon accompanying him. Reaching the end of the katas, he and Zuko reached the final kata leaned towards each other, dispelling the flames in between their fists, held a mere hand span apart. With a final twirl above them, the dragons settled down on either side of the dais, gripping the staircase, and blew white hot flames at them.
Jeong Jeong nearly flinched, but he heard Zuko muttering "Stay", so he merely braced himself. When the flames instead turned into a spiralling tower around them, he realised that they weren't only white flames. There was every color of the rainbow inside them. Feeling a new found feeling of peace inside of him, he heard once again that heat beat that he had felt from the First Flame, magnified a dozen times over.
"Fire... is life, isn't it? Fire burns, but in doing so, plants the seeds for new life."
Jeong Jeong was completely caught by surprise when Zuko turned him and caught him in a tight embrace. "Yes it is, grandfather, yes it is." It was only then that Jeong Jeong saw the single teardrop making its way down Zuko's face from his unscarred eye. J
Jeong Jeong was still in shock as they descended from the dais and Zuko ran into Katara's arms. As she gushed about how amazing the dragons were, Jeong Jeong couldn't help but be struck by the two benders. 'Just like the dragons. One red and one blue. One male, one female. One destroys while the other creates. Both in perfect harmony, both now and forever.'
- - - oOo - - -
Because we never did get resolution on Jeong Jeong's fear/hatred of firebending, and because Jeong Jeong is one of my favourite underused characters on Avatar. Oh, and no, Jeong Jeong is NOT Roku's son. Because that would just be TOO weird. He married Roku and Ta Min's daughter. It also makes Iroh Jeong Jeong's SON-in-law. Trippy, ain't it?
I realise there isn't much Zutara in this, but I've wanted to do a Jeong Jeong fic for a while.
FREAKY. I just realised that this thing has every prompt up until now in it. Family (Jeong Jeong being related to Zuko), Change (Jeong Jeong's opinion of firebending), Pain (Aang seeing the awesomeness that is Zutara), Date (this could kinda be considered a pseudo-date for Katara and Zuko) and, finally, Harmony.
