A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed! I'm sorry this is a bit late, I'm working a Lot right now, and I promise I won't demand reviews anymore, I'm not going to have much time to write, but I will try to update asap.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.
Chapter 7
Zuko frowned at her as he followed her down the path, but stopped abruptly as the four came into view. There were three girls, all three of them were haggard and thin, and two of them leaned on their companions as they hiked the steep path slowly. The fourth figure was an older man with gray hair. He was lean in the waist, but broad shouldered and his arms were muscular.
The man stopped and stared before breaking into a grin as Toph jumped down to him and wrapped him in a hug. He was familiar to Zuko as well, but he couldn't place him until he grinned down at the earthbender.
"Uncle? Uncle!" Zuko called as he jumped down and rushed to his uncle. Iroh looked at him in shock as Zuko quickly took Toph's place.
Iroh extracted himself from Zuko's embrace and held the prince at arms' length. They looked each other in the eyes for a minute and Zuko saw tears forming in Iroh's eyes as he felt tears falling down his own cheeks, but he didn't care. Iroh hugged Zuko tightly again as they laughed and cried at finding each other.
"I hate to break you two up…" Toph said from next to them. Zuko tried to straighten his expression and stepped back, wiping the tears from his face as he looked towards the earthbender who now supported the girl who had been leaning on Iroh.
Toph grinned up at him, and he felt himself grinning along with her. The girls looked at Zuko cautiously. He didn't recognize them, but they clearly knew him.
"Toph, what's he doing here?" the girl leaning on Toph asked the earthbender.
Zuko studied her. She was near his height, with cropped brown hair. She had green eyes and a beautiful heart shaped face, though her skin was pale and her cheeks drawn in.
"He just joined us. So you guys know him too? I guess you're popular, Sunshine."
"No, I'm not," Zuko said, shaking his head as he turned to study the other girls. They were familiar, but he couldn't place them. "How do I know…?"
"Suki!" Sokka shouted from above them. Zuko looked up and saw Sokka, Aang and Haru running down the path. Sokka rushed right up to the girl Toph supported and wrapped her in a hug before drawing back as she groaned slightly.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Where does it hurt? Are you ok? How did you get out?"
Suki let out a hoarse laugh. "No, everywhere, yes, Iroh. Now shut up, and come here." She grabbed Sokka's shirt and pulled him in to plant a kiss on his lips. Sokka blushed as they separated and quickly stepped in to support her, leaving Toph free.
Zuko noticed Toph turn her head away, frowning slightly as she stepped away from the two. Iroh had noticed it too, and the two firebenders exchanged a glance before Aang and Haru joined them.
"Iroh," Aang said as he bowed before the retired general, before rising and grinning. "It's good to see you again."
"It is good to see you as well, young Avatar. Come, the girls need rest and sustenance, and we can regale each other with our tales."
Aang nodded and bowed again to Iroh before he motioned to Haru. They started earthbending, and Toph joined in until everyone was on a large slab of earth that traveled smoothly up the path. The boys helped the girls into the fire pit room while Zuko, Iroh and Toph followed behind.
When they entered, Katara was already attending Suki with glowing water on her hands while Haru, and The Duke hurried to fill soup into bowls for the new additions. Zuko sat down across from the girls and out of the way of the hurrying boys. Toph and Iroh sat next to him, but Toph seemed downcast. Zuko was about to ask her what was the matter when Aang started talking to Iroh.
"So what happened? Last I knew, you were in Ba Sing Sae. Zuko said you were imprisoned for helping me, but that you had escaped during the eclipse before he could free you."
Iroh shot a glance at Zuko before answering the Avatar. "I did escape during the eclipse. And when I escaped, I had to blast my way out. One of my shots was redirected and hit the wall of these ladies cells. They are strong warriors and helped disable several guards on our way out. I saw your bison flying eastward above us as we left, and knew you probably would be heading here."
Aang looked shocked and uneasy, but Iroh understood, and answered with a friendly smile.
"They will not come here soon, but they will eventually. I know you only have two months until the comet arrives, and wanted to get the girls here and meet with you before I set off myself."
"What? You're not staying?" Zuko asked, shock written on his face.
Iroh smiled kindly at his nephew. "No, nephew. I can not. I must contact the White Lotus Society, and send word to get ready for the final invasion.
"White Lotus Society? Final Invasion?" Aang asked. "I know I have to defeat Fire Lord Ozai, but another invasion?"
Zuko saw that the Avatar was downcast. He clearly did not want to lead another invasion after the last one had failed. Zuko laid a hand on the boys' shoulder and smiled encouragingly at him. Aang sent him a look of gratitude before concentrating once more on the retired general.
Iroh chuckled. "The White Lotus Society is very old and transcends all cultures, nations, and ages. My fellow masters have long wanted this war ended, but without you, young Avatar, we had no hope. Now we have a chance to end it. I must go and contact my fellow masters and send word. Have you decided on another day to invade yet?"
"No," Sokka said from Suki's side. "Not yet." He sent a small frown at Aang before turning back to Suki.
"Hmm," Iroh said as he held a hand to his chin in a classic thinking position. "Then we should decide on a day of meeting at least. Many more will aid us this time, if only to create a diversion while you confront my brother."
"Ok, but when?" Aang asked, still looking worried.
"Perhaps a week or two before the comet arrives. My brother will be on edge from the wait, though he will not show it, and it will give us time to prepare. But I do not know of a location. I have traveled extensively, but the fire nation has extended their territories greatly in the past year."
"We can use the island we used last time!" Sokka stated excitedly as he picked up a map and went to sit next to Iroh. "Here, it's uninhabited and close to the capitol with a large harbor."
Iroh studied the map and the island Sokka showed him, but frowned as he looked at the water tribe boy.
"I'm afraid not, young man. Since you used it for your starting point during the eclipse, the army will have tracked you back to the island and will be watching it."
Sokka frowned, and looked dejected. Iroh gave him a friendly smile as Haru came up to them. The earthbender studied the map and pointed to another island just to the north of the fire nation.
"Here. The island is called Duran. One of the men imprisoned with my father was from here. It was once inhabited by the earth kingdom and then the fire nation until its volcano erupted three years ago. The volcano is still active though."
"An excellent spot, young man. And the navy will probably stay clear of it. I have heard of this island and also that the volcano has calmed greatly since then. In six weeks, we should meet there. Others may be there already when you arrive. You will be able to know if they are true followers of the lotus if they invite you to a game or show you a white lotus tile when asked if they are members."
"A white lotus tile? Like this?" Sokka asked as he drew out a small black pouch from his belt and then a lotus tile from that. He handed it to Iroh when the old general held his hand out.
"Yes! Where did you acquire this, young man? Who gave you this wondrous gift?"
Sokka blushed as Iroh handed him back the tile and he placed it back in its rightful place. "Master Piandao. He taught me the sword, and gave me the tile when I left."
Iroh nodded in understanding. Zuko merely studied the two and the exchange between them as they talked. He remembered when they had been in the desert and had been saved by the flower shop owner who was another lotus master, but he still had not realized the significance of the lotus even then. It had saved them and offered a new path, but he had still figured it was a group of old men that loved a game. Now he was re-evaluating that, along with everything else.
He saw Katara out of the corner of his eye as she approached and handed Iroh a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. Iroh smiled at her as he accepted them. Katara smiled back at the general and returned to the other girls, again ignoring Zuko entirely.
"Ah, wonderful tea, my dear, thank you," he said after he had sipped the tea. "Perhaps, young Avatar, you can tell me what has happened since Ba Sing Sae. I have unable to get much news since my arrest."
Aang smiled and started with how Katara had saved him with the spirit water and then started making their way into the heart of the fire nation. Zuko noticed Sokka retreat to sit next to Suki again and they leaned into each other as couples did. Toph frowned next to him and got up, mumbling an apology as she stalked out to the clearing.
Zuko glanced at his uncle, and they locked gazes before Zuko nodded. He knew Iroh was worried about the girl, as he was, but could not go comfort her. So Zuko got up, apologizing and walked off after Toph. He found her on the edge of one of the temples, with her feet dangling over the edge. He was hesitant to approach her until she spoke out.
"I know you're there, so you might as well come all the way."
Zuko walked over and sat next to her, letting his legs drape over the edge. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" she growled, turning her face away from him.
"Liar," he teased, smiling.
"Ha! How would you know?! You can't earthbend!"
Toph was getting angrier and Zuko knew he didn't want her temper on him. "It's all over your face. You're hurt, and something's bothering you. What is it?"
Toph's face fell from angry to sad as she stared out into the empty space before them. "Have you ever liked someone who never saw you as more than a friend?"
Zuko thought for a minute. He thought he knew what and who she was talking about. "Yeah, once."
Toph turned her head and she seemed to study him with her milky gaze again. "What happened?"
Zuko sighed. "She was a lady, three years older than me, and every time I was around her, I couldn't say a single word. Before I could muster the courage to talk to her, I was banished. When I returned this year, I found out she's already married."
"Oh." Toph turned her gaze back out and her shoulders sagged.
"You should tell him. Either that or move on."
"Tell who?"
"Don't lie to yourself Toph. Tell Sokka."
The earthbender continued to stare out into the valley. Zuko waited a few minutes, and then got up.
"Do you want to go back now?"
"No, not yet." Zuko nodded at the small earthbender and started to walk away.
"Thanks Zuko," he heard in a whisper behind him.
He turned and smiled at the girl. "You're welcome. Anytime, Toph."
Toph flashed a quick smile back at him before continuing to gaze outwards. Zuko went back and stood just outside of the fire pit room. Aang was telling of how they had met the sword master, and how Sokka had studied under him. He didn't want to intrude and break the concentration of the others, so he stayed outside. He noticed Appa looking at him from the fountain and went to him.
The bison greeted him with a low bellow and offered his ear for scratching. Smiling, Zuko obliged. He scratched the bison until he received a lick, then sat against his side, resting as he thought about what needed to be done in the next six weeks. As much as he tried to concentrate on forming lessons for Aang, his thoughts kept returning to Toph.
He closed his eyes as he lay against Appa and only opened them when a shadow came over him. He was surprised to see Toph standing in front of him with a wry smile on her face.
"Yes?"
"C'mon, I wanna show you something." She headed off without another word to an area of the temple he hadn't been before. He looked around, shrugged and got up to follow her.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he followed her down a long flight of stairs.
She just smiled back at him. "You'll see."
Zuko sighed and followed her as she led him lower and lower, knowing he wouldn't be able to pry the information out of her even if he tied her up and threatened her. She turned a corner, and Zuko followed, but stopped short as he came upon the sight of a large pool.
A small waterfall fell into the far side of the pool from a temple at least a hundred feet above them, hitting the cliff face in several points before finally landing in the pool. The pool was about twenty feet in diameter, and a small creek overflowed from it and moved off to fall somewhere else. The area was lined by sheer rock, and looked as if man had not touched it at all. A hole above the waterfall let in sunlight and Zuko could tell the pool was about ten feet deep in the middle.
"So, you like it?" Toph asked him with her usual smirk on her face.
"Yeah," he relied as he walked slowly down the last couple stairs. He turned to her and frowned. "Why'd you bring me here?"
"I want another lesson, and since everyone's listening to Twinkle toes right now, this might be the best opportunity. Now that Snoozles has a timeline to work off of, he'll be horrible."
Zuko smiled along with her. Sokka was unique to say the least, and from what he had seen, a neat freak.
"Ok, let's get in."
He turned his back to her and took of his shirt. Still not looking, he walked into the pool. The water was chilled, but not freezing, so he went in knee deep while he waited for Toph. A touch on his arm let him know she was ready. He turned to her to lead her in and saw that she was frowning.
"What's wrong now?"
"The waters' a bit cold."
"Don't worry about it, you'll get used to it," he chuckled. He took her hands in his and led her just beyond waist deep.
"Now you need to learn to move yourself around. First; kicking. Your legs are your main source of power. I want you to lay on your stomach with your head above water and kick with your legs."
He saw her frown more. "And I'll be holding your arms, guiding you. We won't go any deeper than we are now until you're ready. Ready?"
"Yeah," she replied as she started to lean forward. Zuko stepped back, leading her arms around the pool as she let her feet rise above the ground and started kicking he water.
He smiled as he started to walk around the edge of the pool. She started to smile as well as they made progress. When they had made three laps, Zuko stopped and Toph stood up as she felt his arms go slack. She grinned up at him.
"Thanks. Um…can I float some more? I kinda liked that."
"Yeah, it sounds like a good idea," he said, grinning back at her. He stepped up to support her back as she started floating, and then sat back into the water, relaxing. He wondered why he felt so comfortable around her. Aang was the only other one who had accepted him so easily, but he was only around for training. The other boys minus Haru were slowly warming up to him, but still held their distance.
And Haru was cold to him only because of Katara. She didn't like him here at all. He glanced at Toph and saw her slowly experimenting with her hands, moving them slowly and grinning as she started to move through the water. He knew Toph understood him the best, probably because of her lie detector thing, but he just felt most at ease with her.
She started to drift deeper, so he went next to her and lightly touched her shoulder. "You're getting deeper," he told her. "Do you want me to guide you back?"
"Can I touch if I stand up now?"
"Yeah."
"Ok," she said as she dropped her feet to stand up. A look of shock came over her face as she sank to her neck before her feet hit bottom. Zuko laughed lightly at the look on her face, and promptly received a splash in the face from a smiling Toph.
"Thanks." She started walking out, then turned and frowned at Zuko. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah."
"Liar," she teased as she walked to her outer shirt and wrapped it around her. "What's wrong?"
Zuko sighed as he got out and went to put his own shirt on. He sat down on the first step and stared at the small waterfall. "I guess I can't hide anything from you, huh?"
"Nope," she smirked as she sat down next to him. "The whole, World's Greatest Earthbender and Human Lie Detector thing stops that from happening."
He smiled at her. "I was just thinking about everyone here. Katara hates me, and I don't blame her. Just you and Aang are the only ones who have really accepted me."
Toph leaned back to rest against the step behind them with her elbows on it. "Sugar Queen will come around eventually. We've had our spats, and sometimes we still do. Don't worry about it so much, or I will have to beat you up. C'mon, they're done. I know you need to drill Twinkle toes more, and Iroh's looking for you."
She got up and started walking up the stairs. He stared after her, puzzled. "How do you…?"
She just smirked down at him. "World's Greatest Earthbender, remember? Now c'mon."
He smiled back at her and started hurrying up the stairs after her. When they reached the top, Iroh was there, looking around. He smiled and stopped once he spotted the two ascending the last stairs.
"Ah, just who I was looking for. Nephew, Avatar Aang has told me what you told him, and about his lessons. You are doing a remarkable job. I need to teach you several more things before I go."
Zuko nodded and followed his uncle as Iroh turned to head back to the clearing. Toph walked alongside him and then went to the spot where she had sat with The Duke that morning. Aang was already there and sat down next to her as Iroh turned once more to face Zuko.
"You are ready for lightning," Iroh told his nephew. "Do you remember what I taught you?"
Zuko nodded. Iroh gestured for him to begin as he stepped back. Zuko took a deep breath and turned to face away from the temple. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, releasing all his emotion as he relaxed. He opened his eyes and started moving his arms, one at a time in a circular motion in front of him. He then drew his arms in and pointed outwards with his right hand, two fingers pointing out.
He could feel the energy moving within him as he moved, and the blue static energy followed his fingers, but he didn't break his concentration until a blue blot of lightning shot out some thirty feet from his pointing fingers. Iroh and Aang started applauding him, and he turned to them, smiling. Toph was also grinning at him.
"Well done, Nephew," Iroh said as he walked back up to Zuko and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I am proud of you."
"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko replied, unable and unwilling to keep the joy of being praised out of his voice.
"Now, I have a lesson for you and the Avatar both. Avatar Aang, will you join us?"
Aang quickly got up and hurried over to them, beaming. Iroh motioned for them to form a triangle, facing each other, and Zuko smiled, knowing what was about to happen.
"This is a game of sorts, and also a training technique," Iroh said calmly. "I will create a fireball and we will pass it around to each other. At any time, I may call for the direction or speed to be changed, or for it to stop. If it stops on you, you are to hold it and breathe with it. I then may want you to change the size of the flame. Understood?"
Zuko and Aang both nodded, and Iroh created a fireball over his palm, only as large as a grapefruit. He passed it to Zuko who then tossed it to Aang. Aang quickly passed it on to Iroh and they continued. Several times, Iroh called for the direction to change before he called for it to go faster. The game continued, and the fireball landed mostly with Aang when Iroh called for it to be stopped.
The last time, the retired general called for the fireball to be made the size of a watermelon before it was passed again. Zuko easily took the fast flying fireball and sent it quickly to Aang who almost didn't catch it before he sent it to Iroh. Iroh stopped the fireball and let it go.
He smiled his fatherly smile at Aang and Zuko. "That was good. But I believe the others are waiting for us."
Iroh nodded in the direction of the fire pit room and Zuko turned and saw Sokka, Suki, and Teo watching them. Katara came out, frowning at them, but on seeing them finished, wiped the frown off her face and quickly turned back inside.
Iroh chuckled and started heading in as the observers did. Aang walked over to Zuko before he could follow his uncle.
"Are you ok? I was kinda worried when you took off after Toph, and then disappeared."
"Yeah," Zuko replied. "I was worried about her, and then she wanted another swimming lesson."
"Oh," Aang said, bowing his head. "Is she ok?"
"Yeah, she's strong. C'mon, knowing my uncle's appetite and seeing Sokka's, we'd better hurry or we won't get anything."
Aang smiled up at Zuko and they hurried in to get some food before it disappeared.
