Me: Here's the next chapter. The one ya'll have been waiting for.
Zuko: All my loyal fans…
Me: Someone wanna deflate his big head?
Sokka: I'll do it. (Shuts the door) There ya go. (Sulks)
Katara: Good grief.
Aang: You said it.
Zuko: NOOOOOOO!
Toph: Shut up already! (cracks him upside the head with her fist)
Zuko: X.x
Me: Thank you.
Toph: No prob.
Me: Enjoy! I had fun writing this chapter!
DISCLAIMER: If I have to say it, you guys are dumber than I thought…j/k
"Come with you? I think not!" Zuko laughed, lowering himself into a fighting stance.
"Very well, " Said the tinier man, ignoring the thorn in his finger and also lowering himself into a fighting stance.
"The Boulder doesn't to crush you but if you don't come easily, The Boulder will crush you." He emphasized 'will'.
"He said no." Came Iroh's voice as he stepped beside his nephew. "There's nothing you can do to change his mind either. Trust me, I've tried."
"Fools!" He cackled, "You will be annihilated!"
He launched a large rock at Zuko, who dodged it easily and deftly produced a large fireball and sent it towards The Boulder. He brought up a large slab of rock to defend against the flames then lowered it and fired three rocks of different sizes at Zuko. He dodged them all easily by jumping and ducking but the last one he could not jump, and it was too low to duck. It caught him in the lower chest and sent him flying backwards onto the ground. He skidded to stop on his back and rolled to avoid the relentless attacks of his oppressor.
Breath seemed to be caught in his chest and it hurt to breathe. His ribs were definitely broken and adding to the pain of his throbbing, scraped back. He hid behind a tree, clutching his chest and trying to catch the breath that was so desperately needed, yet was so painful to get. He could hear the maniacal cackles of the man as he searched for him.
Iroh dodged the smaller man's attacks with ease, until the man made a fatal mistake. He held a large clump of earth and rock over his head, ready to throw it. Iroh was faster and let a fireball escape his fingertips, hitting the man and rendering him unconscious as the earth fell around him. Iroh smiled to himself at the simplicity of defeating the so-called 'master'. He glanced around for Zuko and didn't see him, worry enveloped his mind and he looked around frantically.
Zuko's vision was blurry from the tears of pain that filled his eyes. He squeezed them out then stepped out from behind the tree and crept up on the man, then fired unrelentingly, at him. The Boulder spun around and backhanded Zuko in the ribs causing him to yelp in pain as he lurched forward to his knees. The Boulder smiled evilly and held a large rock over Zuko, who spun around and knocked The Boulder's feet out from underneath him, landing him on his back. Zuko struggled to his feet and with one arm wrapped around his waist; he used the other to discharge a large ball of fire right into the man's stomach. The Boulder retched when he was hit then glared at Zuko with unimaginable ferociousness. A bead of sweat made it's way down Zuko's forehead, not from the heat but from the pain in his ribs. Iroh caught up to his side and they both stood there side-by-side facing the nearly defeated man.
Nervously, Zuko glanced at Iroh and in that second another large rock from the Boulder caught him in the chest and sent him flying backwards into a tree. Iroh knew better than to even look and could hear the loud thud that reverberated through the forest when his pugnacious nephew hit the tree. Zuko slid down to a heap at the bottom and moaned, then he touched the back of his head and dazedly looked at his blood-covered fingertips.
"I'll kill you." He choked and feebly raised his hand up. Small flames escaped his fingertips then his head fell down into his chest and blood ran down his forehead and onto his face. Iroh stole a quick glance backwards and as anger spread through his body, he calmly contained it and transferred it into lightning. The lightning hit The Boulder in the leg, causing him to scream in pain, clutching his scorched and bleeding leg. Iroh watched the man writhe in pain with a blank expression on his face. Then he remembered Zuko.
Horrified, he tried to wake his lifeless nephew but all his efforts were futile, Zuko was unresponsive. He cradled his nephew's head in his lap and sobbed over the unconscious body. Ripping his shirt, he wrapped it around Zuko's wounds to try and stem the bleeding. He heard footsteps and saw his ostrich-horse coming closer. Iroh managed to set Zuko on the animal and climb up himself. Ba Sing Se was a few miles away and he needed to get there as soon as possible. He kicked the ostrich-horse and with a glance back at The Boulder and his partner, he rode off.
The journey through Snake Pass was easier than he expected and they made it through in about twenty minutes, keeping the ostrich-horse running, full tilt while Iroh struggled to keep Zuko from falling off. Finally, he could see the gates of Ba Sing Se and with a sigh of relief; he let out all his worry. A smile flickered behind his stony face but died before it could surface. The men at the gates were bickering about the Avatar when Iroh rode up.
"State your business and-whoa." He said when he finally looked at Iroh. Iroh decided he must look quite terrifying, riding a blood-smeared ostrich-horse, with an unconscious, bleeding teenager. Iroh was sure he had blood all over himself too but wasn't concerned about it.
"Let me through before he dies." Iroh said, surprised at the shakiness in his voice. The men gaped then opened the gates and let them through. The people on the streets stopped and gasped when they saw Iroh riding through, they moved out of the way quickly and watched him as he trotted the animal through the crowd of people on the street. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an inn and headed for it. The name was The Rolling Rock. He tethered the ostrich-horse outside and walked inside, carrying Zuko, bridal style.
The woman at the counter jumped up, horrified at the bloody sight before her and rushed Iroh up to a room on the second floor. Room 106. She opened the door and pulled the sheets back on the bed so Iroh could lay Zuko down. Then Iroh fished two gold pieces out of his pocket.
"This is all I have." He handed her the money. She shook her head and pushed it away.
"No, you keep it. I'll let you stay for free until your…son?"
"Nephew." He corrected.
"Your nephew gets better. That's a nasty cut. How'd it happen?" She questioned, peering at the bloody piece of cloth.
"It's a long story." Iroh replied.
"I'll get you some hot water to clean that gash." She offered.
"That would be nice." Iroh said absently, he looked over the still body of his nephew.
The lady quietly slipped out then was back with a towel draped over one arm and a large bowl of steaming water in a couple of minutes. She set the towel down by the bed and unwrapped the makeshift bandage from Zuko's head and started to clean the wound. Iroh watched then grabbed a pair of scissors and cut Zuko's shirt off him, revealing a bare, horribly bruised chest.
"Poor child!' The lady exclaimed. "You finish cleaning the wound and I'll get some fresh bandages." Iroh nodded and started to gently clean the dried blood away from the deep, four-inch gash on his head. His hair was matted with dried blood and Iroh did his best to get it all off. He dropped the towel back into the bowl of now red water and let silent tears slip down his face.
The lady came back in with three large rolls of bandages. With the first roll, she wrapped Zuko's head. Then with the second she wrapped his chest, and almost his entire waist. Iroh watched quietly, while the tears didn't stop flowing.
"He needs to go to a hospital." She told him.
Iroh shook his head. "I can't do that." He wept.
"Why not?" She asked exasperatedly.
"If you promise not to turn me in."
"What? Of course not!"
"We are both wanted by the Fire Nation. If I took him to the hospital, someone would surely see us and turn us in."
The woman frowned. "I see, well, the best we can do is keep his wound clean and change his bandages regularly." She set the third roll of bandages on the nightstand beside the bed and walked to the door. "Oh, and I assumed that was your ostrich-horse outside so I had one of the younger boys take him to the stable to be cleaned and fed."
"But I can't pay for it." Iroh protested.
The woman held up a hand to silence him. "Don't worry about it. You are going through hard times."
"You are too kind, but I can't accept this." Iroh said.
"Can you cook well?"
"What? Yes." He confirmed.
"If you work in the kitchens and cook for my guests, I'll let you stay. Does that make you feel better?"
Iroh beamed and walked over to the lady. "Thank you." He kissed her hand. "You are so very kind miss…"
"Call me Genia." She blushed.
"I am Uncle Iroh. Just call me Iroh, Genia."
"Okay, Iroh. I will be up in two hours to fetch you to cook. So you may want to get a shower and wash the blood off your face. I'll send some of the boys up with fresh clothes. You have your own shower in this room so take as long as you wish." She picked up the bowl and towel and headed out the door. Iroh sat on his bed and nervously looked at Zuko. He pulled a blanket up over him and then headed to the shower. A knock on the door of the room announced the arrival of the boys with his belongings. He dressed quickly and opened the door. A small tawny haired boy with bright green eyes was holding both saddlebags under his arms. Iroh took the bags and thanked the kid then watched him scamper down the hall and out of sight. He shut the door and started rifling through his things.
Me: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it. You should be proud of me. I wrote that with a huge bruise on my arm from paintball.
Sokka: What's paintball?
Me: (pulls out paintball gun) This. (shoots him in the arm) Hurts don't it?
Sokka: OUCH! I always knew you were insane!
Katara, Aang & Toph: O.o (eye twitch)
Me: (maniacal laugh) I'm not insane! I'm just sane in an insane world.
Aang: Uh-huh….riiiight..
Me: You want some of this too?
Aang: GAH! No (hides behind Katara)
Me: Review my friends! I'll love you forever! And I'll reply too! Cause I'm nice like that.
Zuko: My fans……(still half unconscious)
Me: (shoots him) Shut up already!