…And here's chapter 14. It was surprisingly very hard to write when I got towards the middle. Hopefully all this time paid off.
Enjoy!
Interlocking Insecurities…
The sun blaring in his face…
A dark, deep jolt of pain…
Energy that can barely be sustained, yet is forced to remain pent up…
And lastly…a very boring plain hat placed on his forehead.
This was a typical morning for Shen, the self-proclaimed impatient leader of the LL Phoenix group. His cover was very annoying but also necessary. Someone had to keep a look out. Any person could be a threat, a major inconvenience that might ruin his plans for the Avatar and the red dragon.
Reality was starting to slowly seep into Shen's personal life as he found more things to question, little actions that could easily start a rebellion in his own group. It had been a particularly bad day yesterday, a day that made Shen question whether he needed a group to overcome the Avatar at all.
He growled lightly as he went towards the window where his customers usually waited. Yesterday had been very bad indeed…
It was chaos. His men were running around like madmen, some even firebending in his direction.
Shen glared and shot a fistful of fire toward the middle of the pack.
The men stopped immediately as one blocked the wall of fire that headed in their direction.
Once the smoke cleared, Shen started clapping his hands. "Well done, you guys actually seem to be working for once. However, it seems your methods have gotten you carried away, eh? Is there any reason why I had to firebend to get your attention?"
The men rambled among themselves before one stood up and coughed loudly.
"We…the Princess is in a bad mood, sir. We can't get through to her."
Shen growled loudly. "COME ON PEOPLE! This is a fifteen year old girl we're talking about! Show some courage, men!"
Jack walked out from the base of the deck staring solemnly at his once best friend. "I think you need to see this…"
Shen glared before following Jack. Once they had entered the interior of the ship he could hear the faint sound of metal crashing and the temperature suggested that a lot of firebending had recently taken place.
They finally reached Azula's room, barely moving in time when a burst of hot blue fire shot through the doorway and in their direction.
Shen's mouth dropped in awe as he stared at the sight before him. In the middle of the small room was a little girl, her hair in messy tangles and her clothes ripped to shreds. She had been shrieking before they entered and from the scorch marks around her it appeared that she had tried to set the room on fire more than once. The girl's eyes were wild, barely containing the rage exerting from her body which rolled off like steam. Her body coiled upon seeing the men, looking as if she was about to strike. Her fingers looked especially long during this instant and Shen vaguely wondered whether or not she had ever cut them since her involvement in his mission.
She would attack them at any moment; he could see it in her eyes and her body language. Shen moved into a defensive pose while Jack backed away warily.
Before any blows could be exchanged, Azula screamed. The sound was piercing, worse than anything Shen had ever heard in his entire life. It reminded him of a wounded animal. The sound then cut off as if the girl had been choked. Then she collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving with anguished sobs.
This was not the princess Shen had rescued from prison.
Jack looked at Azula with a mixture of pity and caution while Shen simply glared, repulsed.
"Azula, silence yourself!"
The girl either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. The sobs continued, growing louder and louder. Shen growled. He wasn't going to deal with this.
With quick precision Shen walked up to Azula and hit her squarely in the back of the forehead. The girl hit the ground with a sickening crunch on the floor, her body arching back as the sobs cut off abruptly.
Jack gasped before running to Azula and placing his hand on her forehead. "What are you doing? Don't kill her!"
Shen shrugged. "I don't care about her personal problems. If she can't stabilize herself for our cause, she is useless to us."
Jack growled. "She's the fire lord's sister, man! Don't act impulsively about this. It will only end badly."
Shen simply walked away from Jack heading back towards the deck. Before opening the door, he turned back to make one last retort.
"That's the difference between you and me, Jack. You may be with me now, but you've never had the strength to actually push forward and do what needs to be done. You'll never survive that way. You're as good as your father…"
He then slammed the door, not bothering to see his right-hand man's reaction…
Shen clenched his fists. Oh how every memory haunted him…
His reminiscing was interrupted by a cough at his window. It was the women, the same one that had welcomed him the first day of the job. She was one of his most loyal customers still, despite his reputation of being rather brusque and rude with his clients.
It was nice having one stable thing in his messed up life. So he tried his best to compose his expression.
Shen smiled brightly at the women. "Hello, Maria. Nice to see you again."
Maria smiled back. "Yes, I always come here. Been doing it for five years and I won't break the habit now."
Shen smirked. Well, it least she was dedicated. "So what will you need today? A new sweater perhaps? I here black is in this season."
The women laughed. "How surprising. I should have worn my black scarf today."
He laughed along with her. "I'm sure you would have looked magnificent."
Ugh, how he hated using that voice. He had a hard time making it sound genuinely sweet.
The cheerful women, oblivious to his rising discomfort, continued to laugh playfully.
"Actually, I came to ask you about your opinion on a particular event. If I hear any more wild rumors about it I'm afraid I'll storm the palace myself."
Shen's eyes widened. So news of the attack was spreading around. "Hmmm, I guess I can assist you with that."
Maria smiled more brightly. "I've heard of an ambush at the imperial palace. I do hope it wasn't too terrible."
Shen smiled, though this time it had more of a sinister look. "Well, I've heard that the palace took a lot of damage. I'm afraid the attack was quite real. Luckily for us, Fire Lord Zuko survived."
Maria's face had taken on a more saddened shape, but she smiled nonetheless. "Yes, it is great that our leader has still survived. Don't know what this nation would do without him. It would be total anarchy."
Shen nodded, growing bored of the conversation. "You're quite right."
The women shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle. After all, the Avatar is on his side. We should all be fine."
Maria smiled and walked away from the shop. "I'll see you later. Don't forget to save some dresses for me."
Shen nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Once she was out of sight, Shen sighed with relief. He hated having to pretend to be so…innocent. He was the leader of the LL Phoenix and deserved to be feared. Maria was nice but quite naïve for his taste.
Shen was about to close up shot for the day when he noticed something. Across from the shop a young teen was walking towards him. The boy was very precise in his movements, sort of robotic. His hair was quite long for a kid his age, a very dark messy brown. He was wearing a red robe over some strange looking baggy yellow pants. What really stunned Shen were the eyes. How could they be such a bright yellow?
Shen nonetheless composed himself, squaring his shoulders into a more relaxed position. I really need to find a new cover before this drives me insane…
"May I help you?"
The boy just stared at him, his face blank. His eyes however blazed brightly. It was if the unseen emotion would burst from the boy's glare.
The unending stare unnerved Shen. He was beginning to wonder if the boy was mad. Shen stared back at the boy for a couple of seconds, and then he repeated his last question at a slower pace.
The boy continued to stare at him, his expression turning quickly into one of frustration. His fists were clenched and shook slightly. He moved his feet from side to side, as if he would soon go off running. In that instant the boy looked very awkward.
Shen sighed and was about to close his window before the boy spoke.
"Do you have a map?"
His voice was quite deep, making Shen guess again at his age. He had obviously asked a question, but it came out sounding like a statement. It was as if the boy was unsure whether such a thing existed.
The Phoenix leader in hiding shrugged. "Look kid, I have plenty of maps. You're going to have to be a little more specific."
The boy frowned, obviously not content with how the exchange was going. He cleared his throat, shifting his feet back and forth again.
"I…need the map of the Sun warrior village."
Shen stared at the boy incredulously. No one knew what really lay in the Sun warrior village. It was mainly just a bunch of ruins for most, except for a couple of old booby traps that the Avatar and fire lord had mentioned to the public. Shen failed to understand why the boy would want to go into that area at all. Of course, the Phoenix leader knew what was out there but he wasn't about to tell the boy that.
"I do have a map of the place, though I would advice that you don't go there. It's just a bunch of old architecture. Plus in order to get there you would have to take a fire nation air balloon. Too much work if you know what I mean…"
The boy was now openly glaring at Shen. For some reason the Phoenix leader could not comprehend, the statement had offended the young teen deeply. Shen sighed. Kids these days. They just get weirder and weirder…
"Fine. I'll get the map."
After looking through a couple of drawers, Shen found the map and held it out to the boy. He was surprised to see that the teen was still glaring at him.
The boy snatched the map roughly from the Phoenix leader's grip. Skimming through it quickly, the young teen stayed beside Shen's window. It was silent for a couple of minutes before the boy thrust it back at Shen, scowling.
"Where am I?"
Shen growled at the boy. His temper had reached the breaking point now. "Excuse me? Do I look like a map reader? Go waste someone else's time! I'm closing up shop."
The young teen growled back at the Phoenix healer before running off. Shen swore loudly as he noticed the boy had taken the map.
"HEY! You're supposed to pay for that!"
His yelling was in vain, for the boy had already disappeared. Shen gripped his head, pulling at newly grown hair before kicking his leg wildly at various boxes in front f him. The force of the kick caused him to lose his balance. He could barely control himself from tripping, holding on to the boxes for support. Swearing again, he quickly slammed the window shut.
"Stupid kid…"
oooOOooOOOOoo
Zuko quickly ran to the side, preventing a collision with an old chariot being drawn by a horse.
"Get out of the way, ya lunatic!"
The young fire lord sucked in a breath to prevent himself from firing back a comment. If only that man knew who he was dealing with. He would have taken ten minutes just apologizing while bowing down, his head touching the ground as the young fire lord stood before him. But Zuko wasn't going to make him do that. After all, he was trying to not attract attention to himself.
Unfortunately, this was easier said than done.
Zuko was currently wearing a disguise; a plain red shirt and baggy tan pants along with dark brown shoes. This all went along with a very interesting mask Sokka had created for him. It wasn't the best, but it least it kept him from being recognized.
Zuko had already split up with Sokka and Suki long ago and was already done searching through the lower half of the town. So far, there was no sign of Aang…or rather the red dragon in Aang's body. The young fire lord could only hope that no one noticed the young Avatar running around in the streets.
Most of the citizens didn't know what Aang looked like. Many had seen him back during Zuko's coronation along with paintings of the Avatar in air nomad attire. But besides that, there was no other media or art work that showcased the young teen who kept the four nations in balance.
Aang rarely ever came out in public. Zuko had done this awhile ago on purpose as a way to prevent unnecessary stress for the young Avatar. Apparently, that plan had also proven to be unsuccessful as a flood of various memories hit Zuko like a rock. Don't worry Aang, I'll fix this. I can it least promise you that much…
Before the young fire lord could get to discouraged, he noticed a small red figure running toward him at a fast speed. He didn't have a chance to block before the boy crashed into him.
A wave of heat hit Zuko, spreading all over his body where ever the boy's body pressed against him. It was like being next to an open oven.
Grimacing, Zuko held out his hand towards the boy. "Sorry about that…"
The breath in the young fire lord's throat hitched as he recognized the young teen in front of him. Swallowing slowly, Zuko helped raise Aang, or the dragon, up off the ground.
Snarling, the young airbender pushed the firebender's hand away as he shifted his body back into a running position. He was about to take off when Zuko stepped abruptly in front of him.
"Wait, you dropped something…"
Making sure his movements were slow, Zuko carefully placed a crumbled up map back into Aang's hands. The young teen stared at it with an expression ranging between frustration and anguish.
Zuko sighed before taking his mask off, causing Aang to flinch.
"Hey, we've been looking for you."
Aang glared at Zuko menacingly, a guttural sound forming in the back of his throat.
Zuko raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I'm not going to fight you or force you to come back with us. But that is my friend's body you're using. I just want to make sure he's safe despite being locked away in your mind…"
Aang shifted, moving uneasily from toe to toe. His eyes narrowed as he assessed Zuko, uncertain of the firebender's claims. "I…I don't trust you."
The young fire lord nodded. "And I don't expect you to. But we need to learn to work together if you ever want to be free again. Whenever you use Aang's body, we need you to stay with us. We have to keep you and the Avatar safe."
Aang stared straight ahead past Zuko, his yellow eyes turning solid. His mouth was trembling and his hands were shaking.
Zuko sighed and placed his hands on the young airbender's shoulder. The young teen flinched automatically from the touch, but didn't push the firebender's hand away.
"Relax. No one is going to hurt you."
Aang repressed the urge to growl at Zuko, his body tensing. "Let…go of me…"
"I just want to help. Please, let me do something. Anything."
The young airbender glared at Zuko. "Let. Me. Go."
The young fire lord quickly let his hands dangle at his sides. "Sorry."
Aang continued to glare at Zuko before holding up the map unwillingly in the firebender's direction.
Zuko glanced at it, quickly recognizing the markings showing where the Sun warrior village was located.
Another sigh went through the young fire lord's body. "You want me to take you there?"
Aang nodded curtly, his body tensing as he studied Zuko's expression.
The firebender squared his shoulders before crossing his arms. He cleared his throat deeply before speaking.
"Alright, I'll take you. But can you promise me something first?"
Aang's expression immediately turned sour. With what seemed like a lot of effort, the young airbender nodded.
"After I take you there and clear things up with the villagers, will you come back with me to the palace? We can't separate you from Aang if you don't cooperate."
Aang closed his eyes tightly before nodding, his jaw set. "I'll…come back with you."
Zuko smiled before touching the young airbender's shoulder lightly. "That's all I ask for."
Sighing heavily, Aang followed Zuko closely as the firebender placed his mask back on.
oooOOooOOOOOo
"Face it, we're lost."
"Suki, I know what I'm doing. There is power in improvising."
Sokka and Suki were currently in one of the town's squares. Both dressed as civilians, they didn't stand out much since there was a fairly large amount of people walking around.
"Sokka, it's been an hour. We've been going around in circles for the last twenty minutes. Maybe we should head back towards the palace…"
Sokka smirked as he held a large map in front of him. "Relax. I'm great with maps. Sure, it's taking awhile for me to recognize some of the landmarks, but that's a given. I've got it this time. We'll reach the rendezvous point in like…"
Sokka glanced around him, then quickly placed his face back on the map. "…in about ten minutes if we follow this path."
The particular "path" Sokka was pointing to was an extremely dirty alley. The corridors stretched in long narrow paths and were covered with bits of trash at every turning point. The walls along the sides were moldy and if one looked one would see the various rats running along the narrow path.
Suki stared at her husband, her expression looking as if she was about to squash a cockroach. Sokka smiled at her crookedly.
Suki sighed. "Really?"
The warrior scowled. "Well excuse me? I'm just the one with the MAP! Come on, it will be over before you know it…"
With a low moan, Suki slowly made her way along the path while Sokka sped through, two steps ahead. Apparently, the filthy obstacles didn't seem to bother him.
At the halfway point, Sokka had taken to skipping and was humming a catchy tune when he spotted a dark figure ahead of him. Squinting, he started walking faster nearly bumping into a trash can in his clumsiness. Suki grumbled to herself as she changed her pace to match her husband's.
Once they had reached the end of the corridor and entered back into the market, Sokka stopped abruptly causing Suki to fall behind him in a heap.
"Ow, Sokka!"
The warrior ignored her as he walked into the middle of the street, glaring as he quickly moved his head back and forth. Suki sighed, pushing herself up and walked over to Sokka. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she kissed his neck softly.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, sorry…it's just…did you see that guy?"
Suki eyes widened. "Hmn?"
Sokka stared stubbornly into the distance. "I…it looked like the guy who had knocked me out back at the palace."
Suki shrugged. "I'm sure it was just your imagination."
The warrior frowned. "I guess. I did hit my head pretty hard…"
Suki smiled lightly. "Don't worry about it, okay?"
Sokka shrugged while rubbing his ear. "Whatever you say…"
Before the couple could continue their search, Zuko made his way into the middle of the street, proudly towing Aang with him. Sokka smiled as he saw the firebender still wearing the mask. Suki just shook her head slowly.
"Hey guys, I found him."
Sokka nodded, still smiling. "I can see that. So, are we heading back now?"
Zuko nodded. "You guys are. Aang and I…I mean, the dragon and I have some important business to take care of."
Sokka placed his hand underneath his chin. "Hmmm, you know I think he needs a name change…"
Zuko furrowed his brow. "What?"
The warrior shrugged. "Well think about it. We shouldn't be calling him...I mean her…Aang. It would just be too confusing. So…"
Sokka raised his finger into the air dramatically, and then he brought it back down towards the young airbender.
"We shall call you…THE RED INFERNO!"
Suki grimaced as she held her hands up to protect her ears. Aang looked livid while Zuko grunted.
"Not going to happen, Sokka."
Suki giggled softly as Sokka fumed. "What are you talking about? T.R.I. is good."
Zuko shook his head. "It needs to be something more creative than that. Something that won't make us groan in agony every time we say it."
"Eona…"
Everyone stared at Aang, or rather the red dragon.
"Is…that your name?" Zuko asked softly.
Eona looked at the ground. "Original name…"
Zuko nodded. "Okay, Eona it is then."
Sokka smiled. "Kind of weird when you think about it."
An elbow in the ribs from Suki caused Sokka to clear his throat. "…Oh, but it is a great name. A great name indeed…"
Zuko smiled. "You couldn't help yourself, could you?"
Suki laughed. "He can't."
Sokka growled. "Hey! I was making a compliment!"
Zuko smirked before turning over towards Eona. "Thanks for telling us."
The dragon nodded, though it came out looking more like a bobble in Aang's body.
Zuko stretched his shoulders as he turned back towards Sokka and Suki. "Alright. So you guys head back toward the palace. We have things to catch up on."
Sokka frowned. "Like what?"
Zuko took in a deep breath, his eyes lit with new determination. "I'm going to the Sun Warrior village. It's long overdue, but I have to start somewhere. I have to clear my name…"
The firebender looked down at Eona. "…and I have a promise to keep."
Sokka nodded. "Well good luck with that. Hopefully they won't tear you to shreds."
Zuko looked up into the sky bitterly. "Let's hope…"
oooOOOooOoo
Katara leaned against the side of the wall breathing heavily. Her clothes were dark and coated with dust at the ends near her shoes. Her hair was tangled, falling out of the tight bun she made it into earlier. Her eyes were red and blood shot while her fingers twitched from overuse. She was still tightly clutching a broomstick, having swept up nearly the entire first floor of the palace.
Sighing, the young waterbender sank down until she was sitting on the ground, her head tilted against her knees. The broomstick had fallen to the ground, making a loud noise against the floor beside her.
She had spent most of the afternoon cleaning. Many of the house servants had tried to stop her, but she had pushed them away. The only break she had was a quick healing session with some of the guards before going back to her obsessive cleaning.
Besides the sweeping, the dishes had been washed, the dining room table furnished and shined, the hardware floors mopped, and her room was made up. Katara had also taken the liberty of cleaning Aang's room, which had taken most of her time. The most frustrating part had been the soot which was hard to get up.
In all the young waterbending master had worked nonstop for three miserable hours. It didn't really help her feel any better, but it had been a nice distraction.
Sighing, Katara let her head drift to the side, too tired to get up. Before she could fall asleep she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
Katara opened her eyes slowly seeing Agnis staring down compassionately at her. "You shouldn't work yourself so hard."
She shrugged off the comment. "I could say the same for you…"
Agnis smiled. "True, but as you can see I have had my rest. You should get some too."
Katara's mumbled her next words. "Bout to…"
Agnis laughed softly. "I see. I just thought I should give you a chance to see him before you do."
Her eyes widening, Katara sat up in a straight position. "Come again?"
Agnis chuckled. "I think I have enough energy to communicate with Aang from inside the dragon's mind. If you keep your hand connected with my skin, you should be able to see him too. Unfortunately, you won't be able to speak with him but that's better than nothing. Am I right?"
Katara nodded, her eyes shining with new joy. "Yes. If I could just see him it would be less painful. Just for a little bit…"
Agnis nodded. "Alright then, hold my hand."
The young waterbender placed her hand upon the spirit healer's as he closed his eyes sitting back into the lotus position.
After a few minutes of silence had passed, Katara felt the force of something sucking her feet. Pretty soon her whole body felt like it was passing through a vacuum.
Grimacing, Katara held on harder as the force sent her into a spin. The whirling continued until a bright white light flashed in front of the waterbender, causing her to shield her eyes.
Immediately, her body shot forward sending her landing into what appeared like hard asphalt. Groaning, Katara looked up into what appeared to be a large white room. There was one window on the far right side and a large grey door lay open behind her. In front of her sitting in a rather large bed was Aang. He looked very calm, as if he had been in the place for quite awhile.
Katara was about to run over towards him when she stopped at the sight of her skin. It was completely translucent, so much so that she found it hard to distinguish the outline of her own hand. The olive color of her arm was the only thing showing, making Katara feel like a brown glowing candle. She watched anxiously as Agnis materialized next to Aang on the right side of the bed.
The young airbender jumped with a shout as the Spirit Healer laughed.
"Aw, darn! I told you to stop that!"
Agnis couldn't stop chuckling. "It really isn't my intention. I guess to you it must seem like I'm doing it on purpose."
Aang groaned loudly while Agnis laughed in the background. With a large sigh, the airbender settled into his bed staring at the spirit healer dully.
"So what took you so long?"
Agnis placed his hand on Aang's forehead. "Relax, I'll tell you. But first let's catch up on what you've been doing. I'm sure you might have seen more memories of the dragon.
Aang frowned. "There's a lot. I'm not sure if I can summarize it into words…"
Agnis sat next to Aang on the bed as Katara sat back into a sitting position from afar.
Agnis smiled as he looked out the window. "We have time…"
oooOOOOooOOoo
Zuko sighed as he looked over his surroundings. The wind was ruffling his hair softly as the air balloon carried him and his companion higher into the sky. All around them were various mountain ranges and peaks colored in specks of grey, white, and green against a glossy fog that covered up their depths. The sun was shining lightly, the rays playfully messing with the symmetries of the mountain ranges bellow. It was quite beautiful and Zuko was sure Aang would have gushed over seeing something like this.
But Aang wasn't here with him right now.
The firebender cleared his throat and turned back over toward Aang…no, he had to get used to calling her Eona now…
Zuko sighed as he tried to think of something to say. He frowned as his mind went blank. Man, I hate small talk…
Huffing loudly, Zuko muttered the only comment he could think of. "Cool clouds…"
Eona just stared at him to the point where he looked away.
The dragon shrugged, twisting her fingers slowly. "Clouds…"
"Yep." Zuko popped the 'p'.
Silence lasted for about five minutes causing Zuko to sigh again. He was about to take a nap when he heard the dragon speak again.
"It's…so strange…"
Zuko turned his head. "Hnn?"
"I mean…being like this…"
Zuko shrugged. "I guess that's natural. It must be pretty overbearing to go from being an animal to a human in a day. Can't really imagine it…"
Eona frowned as she took in a deep breath. "I…can hear his thoughts…"
Zuko's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Whose thoughts?"
The dragon continued to frown. "I…don't know…"
Zuko stared at Eona. "Don't worry, okay. We'll handle it when the time comes…"
Silence hung in the air as their balloon started moving faster. As the wind blew harder, the young fire lord stood up to shoot more fire into the middle device of the balloon which helped to sustain their elevation.
Once that was done, Zuko looked out to see if they were close to their destination. He could barely see anything as the fog swirled around, distorting the natural landscapes around them.
Sighing, Zuko continued to stare as his mind started spinning. "Um…so how are you feeling right now?"
As he turned Zuko jumped as he saw the dragon's expression. Aang's eyes were wide open, his bright yellow eyes really standing out against the dark reds and browns of his outfit. His body was poised in what Zuko took to be an attack position.
Before he could really panic, Eona raced over to the side of the balloon nearly knocking Zuko into the air. She had Aang's body positioned over the edge, her breath coming out of in large deep wisps. A wide smile broke out on Aang's face.
"We're here."
Grumbling, Zuko dusted his pants off. "I think we still have a couple more minutes before we reach the village. Don't get too excited…"
A big wisp of air hit the firebender in the face, sending him into a somersault until he hit the other side of the basket. Huffing, Zuko sat up in time to see the outline of Aang's body falling through the air.
"What the-HEY!"
Zuko glared at where Eona had just been. Shaking his head, Zuko took in a deep breath. He raised his hands up and brought them down slowly as he exhaled softly. Then with a grunt, he leaped out of the balloon and into the air, shooting a strong burst of fire out of his hands and feet.
The force propelled him towards the ground at an alarming rate, but Zuko used firebending to control his direction as he whizzed through the air and fog.
He eventually went through the haze unknowingly smashing into the roof of a temple. It was crusted and molded-over, suggesting a large amount of time had passed since the building had been made. Bits of the building fell with him as Zuko hit the ground with a large thud.
The impact of his landing caused the wind to be knocked out of him. Zuko could also hear a large crack resonate somewhere in his lower right leg. Coughing loudly, the firebender rose himself slowly into a sitting position glaring ominously at the old temple in front of him.
"Well…that was a dumb move…"
Sighing again, Zuko took in his surroundings. Well, it least we found the village…
He could see now that he was outside the exact same temple that had the statues showing Aang and him the dragon dance. The building's design resembled a staircase. The angle and height made Zuko wonder if the temple had once been bigger.
Before he could contemplate further, a force hit him in the side. Growling, Zuko turned towards the force where Eona was nudging him.
"Alright, alright. I'm getting up…"
Eona shook her head. "No…I sense someone…"
Zuko's eyes narrowed. He quickly rose up pushing Eona behind him. "Stay close to me."
As the words left his mouth a group of warriors emerged from the shadows. They were marked with white and black paints unlike the reds and golds Zuko remembered from their last visit. The people were pointing large staffs towards Zuko as they circled him warily. One of them with large white earrings stepped forward.
"State your business young travelers."
Zuko sucked in another deep breath before raising his hands up in surrender. "I'm here to see the chief. My name is Zuko."
At the sound of his name, the warriors pushed their staffs closer towards him, nearly piercing Zuko through the gut. They stopped inches before reaching his body, their bodies tensing. Zuko took in another deep breath as the silence continued. The firebender could also feel Eona stiffening behind him as the atmosphere remained thick.
After a couple more minutes of silence, the same warrior from before spoke. "Bind him and the other one. Prepare them for the chief."
Zuko sighed as the warriors closed in on him.
oooOOOOOoOOo
The talking continued as Katara found herself drifting back and forth, in and out of consciousness. It seemed like hours since Agnis had brought her with him into the back of Aang's mind. The waterbender was trying her best to stay awake but it was getting harder by the minute. She could even feel a force tugging on her shoulders and knees as if begging her body to return to the real world.
Despite the obstacles, Katara kept her eyes open and stayed alert as Aang and Agnis talked.
As for them, Agnis stared at Aang solemnly as he listened to the horrors the young airbender recounted.
"I see, so she showed you the inner workings of her chi?"
Aang gasped. "What do you mean?"
Agnis stepped over towards the window in the room. "When a spirit shows you their past, they are engulfing your whole body with energy. Energy from a spirit can be very dangerous, Aang. Only such people like you and me can withstand that much power."
Aang's facial expression looked similar to one who had just missed a joke. "Okay…"
Agnis turned to look back at the puzzled airbender. "I know it may seem painful now, but the dragon gave you those visions for a reason."
"But why does it have to torture me? I don't need to see visions to understand how much the dragons were mistreated."
"Understand? Well of course you understand. You do realize why the dragon decided to show you and not Zuko, don't you?"
Aang's eyes widened as his breath hitched. "What?"
Agnis went over to Aang and placed his hands on the young Avatar's shoulders.
"She chose you because you are the only one who has fully experienced what the dragon is feeling right at this moment. You both have a strong connection and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll be free."
Aang sat back into the bed, his hands gripping his head. "Man…sometimes it's just too much…"
Agnis smiled sympathetically, his face turning weary. "I think I know the feeling…"
As he spoke, his body flickered appearing in front of Aang like the wisps of a candle. The young airbender gasped as the bed turned into water while the nearby window shattered.
Katara rose from her sitting position as the walls started to crumble around her. She started running towards Agnis as pieces of the ceiling nearly fell on top of her frail body.
As the room started tearing apart, Aang looked down at his body. He was horrified to see his legs disappearing, turning into small white puffs of dust and smoke. As the dust started coming out of his waist, Aang looked up to see Agnis pressing his hand hard against his forehead.
"I'm sorry. Looks like I overstayed my welcome. Don't worry. I'll get you out of this soon…"
Before he could make a response, the room split open into two sections sending everyone drifting into the air. As Aang's body dissolved into dust, he noticed the faint outline of a dark haired figure running towards him.
Unconsciously, Aang raised his hand towards the figure before dissolving completely in the air.
Katara felt herself being plunged back into a hole, her body shrouded in darkness. Her body went through many twists and turns before jumping back into itself sending Katara slamming into her regular body back on the floor.
Katara took in a shaky breath as she slowly rose up to her feet followed by a very weary looking spirit healer.
Coughing, Agnis leaned against the wall barely able to keep himself in a standing position. The waterbender offered her hand but Agnis waved her off insisting that she need not worry. Katara frowned lightly before turning away just in time to see a servant approaching her.
"Ah, miss. I don't mean to disturb you but there is someone at the palace gate…"
Katara nodded. "It's okay. Who is it?"
The servant shifted from foot to foot. "Well…let's just say that the fire lord has forbidden this person entrance into the palace."
Katara frowned again. "That doesn't sound good."
The waterbender turned back towards Agnis. "I'm going to go check this out. Will you be alright?"
The spirit healer nodded. "I'll be fine, got a little carried away there... Go ahead and go."
"Alright."
Katara nodded again towards the servant before racing down the hallway towards the castle gates. She was breathing heavily by the time she had reached the main door, but luckily she had enough strength to push the door open.
Barely opening it, Katara squeezed herself through the doorway and walked over slowly to the gate.
Clasping her hands on the gate, Katara looked through the bars to see someone standing outside with a black cloak on.
Katara sighed before speaking. "Hello?"
The figure shook uncontrollably before taking a step back. "Huh, didn't see you there. You look awful."
Katara's eyes narrowed as she tried to make out the figure. "Excuse me?"
The figure chuckled darkly before lifting the hood, revealing a set of long, black hair rolled up into two pigtails. "It's been awhile. Almost didn't recognize you."
Katara's eyes widened as her breath hitched. "…Mai?"
oooOOOOoOOOooo
The sky was getting darker as the sun nearly went under the horizon. Zuko stared at the sunset wistfully trying to get into a more comfortable position, despite the sticky substance holding him to the ground.
Eona was also stuck beside him. She had entered an unresponsive state since they had reached the long staircase that used to house the two masters of fire. Zuko wondered whether the area was giving off bad vibes for the dragon, but he was too focused on speaking to the new sun chief to ask.
Right when he was about to fall asleep, various warriors started entering the area along with the new chief, all dressed in black and white attire.
I wonder if they're dressing that way to mourn, Zuko thought as he struggled against his binds.
As the new chief walked towards him, Zuko recognized him as the right hand man of the former chief. His expression was cold and hard, devoid of any devotion. His body was stiff and solemn, carrying of the air of someone who was used to bad news.
Zuko sighed. This is not going to be pretty…
More warriors approached the area, setting fires in a circular pattern around the ground leading to the staircase. Everyone was eerily quiet, barely making a noise except for their firebending and soft footsteps.
The silence was driving Zuko insane. He had to say something, anything.
"No matter what others may tell you, I always keep my word. I didn't sell you guys out!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Zuko wordlessly. The firebender stared back at them desperately while beating himself mentally in the head.
And Uncle said I didn't think things through…
The new sun warrior chief stepped even closer to Zuko, giving him a nasty smile. "You modern firebenders are all the same, out to destroy everything your little greedy fingers touch."
Zuko swallowed, his eyes darkening. "Look, it wasn't me. And I'm certain that my Uncle didn't say a word about it either. We do care for your people and the legacy of the dragons. We respect this place and its inhabitants. I don't know how the information leaked out but it wasn't of our doing."
The chief stared at him dully. "Why should we trust you? You could be distracting us, covering your tracks long enough so that our last dragon can be captured and killed."
Zuko glared. "I've come before you today not as a firebender, but as a man who wants to prove his innocence. My clothes are dirty and torn. I sprained my leg. And my balloon is crashed somewhere leaving us stranded. Yet, here I stand today, or rather…"
Zuko glanced at his body which was still glued to the ground. "Well, I'm here. My body and my word is my proof. And I won't back out on that."
The chief smirked. "Let's say, hypothetically, that I believe you. What about your friend over there, the Avatar. Should I just believe him too? Do you have any facts supporting his innocence?"
Zuko's eyes widened. Darn! How did I not see this coming!
The firebender gulped as he turned over towards the dragon, who was still staring off into space.
"My friend…he's not the one to blame. I can't…I mean, he can't really…"
Zuko struggled to express Aang's conditions with the right words, but the thought was caught in his throat refusing to come out of his mouth.
The new chief smiled again. "We know nothing about the Avatar's intentions or what his purpose was for coming here. Therefore, we will assume that he is guilty. Guards, take him to the place of judgment!"
Zuko swore and struggled against his bindings as the warriors swarmed around Eona, lifting her up into the ground and headed up towards the stairs.
Zuko glared at the warriors. "NO! You don't know what you're doing! Don't hurt him!"
The new chief just shook his head at the young firelord as the warriors reached the top of the staircase imbedded into the cliff between the two mountains. The beach was down below them, the last of the sun's rays hitting the grains of sand making it glitter like rhinestones.
At the sight of the beach, Eona could feel words rushing into her mind from long before…
We must protect your species!
You are the only one who can show us the full meaning of fire now...
GO!
Long live the Phoenix King!
Eona clutched her ears and screamed. The screams echoed off the walls of the mountains, the force sending some men falling off the staircase while some clutched their ears as they collapsed onto the ground.
Zuko's eyes widened as all the fire surrounding them went up into the air, forming a whirlwind that went towards Eona and swept through her body. The flames went up into the air forming into yellows, blues, purples, blacks, and a lot of reds. The heat of the fire sent more warriors down the stairs while others saw blisters forming along their backs and sides.
The flames continued to roar loudly until they disappeared completely, replacing Aang's body with the large towering form of the red dragon growling menacingly.
Zuko shook his head unbelievingly as the new chief gawked in astonishment.
Well, they wanted their dragon. And she came through…
The warriors bowed and trembled as the dragon roared loudly into the sky…
Ahhhh, the ending of another long chapter. I'll try to make the next one a little shorter if I can. Hope you all enjoyed reading this story so far. See you next time!
And have a great thanksgiving! :D
Chapter 15 preview
Zuko's eyes widened. His jaw was stiff and aching as he clenched his fists audibly.
It was amazing how his reactions could change so suddenly, how everything could be warped out of its original perspective. All because of the women standing in front of him.
Mai smiled, though her eyes were extremely cold. "Hello, Zuko."
{}
Aang gasped as he felt something shoot out of his lower back.
Sokka turned towards the gaping young teen. "Hey, what's wrong with you? You look a little green."
The airbender looked up, his eyes wide and frightened. "I think…something just came out of my back."
Sokka looked behind him. "Whoa, I'd say that was an understatement…"
Aang took in a deep breath and took a peak. There was a large, scaly tail waving back and forth behind him.
Aang groaned audibly. "Oh that's just great…"
Last Edit: July 1 2012