A/N: Yeah, I promised I'd continue this fic, so here it is! My writing style may seem a little weird and not consistent with the previous chapters, cause I still need to get used to writing Avatar again :D
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Chapter 12: The Hard Trek to the Top(LOL this is actually Chapter 11, but I just want to be consistent with FFN's chapter numbering XD)
"Hey Zuko, how long do you think we've been walking?" Aang asked, his voice tired and soft. Said Firebender turned around to look at the exhausted airbender.
They had been traveling for quite a long time, and Aang was having trouble keeping up with the Fire Prince since they had left for the start of the trial. There had been no apparent trail leading them to the top of the mountain, and Zuko's dual blades came in handy when they started hacking plants out of their way to try and reach the top. The Firebender, who obviously had more experience with his swords, had been moving at a brisk pace in the front of the Avatar for the entire trek.
"I think it's been around five hours, maybe longer," Zuko replied while blindly hacking at plants in his way, "…why do you ask?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because we've been traveling for hours with seemingly no progress?" The young monk cried out in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Don't worry, if we keep going up, we'll eventually reach the top, right?" The scarred prince said quietly, doubt in his voice. "It's not like you to give up this easily, Aang." He added.
"Who said anything about giving up?" Aang shouted, trying to put a big grin on his face to erase any signs of fatigue. His attempts were failing though; Zuko tried to hide his amusement at the airbender as he tried to maintain his smile, which was slowly fading.
"Fine." The Avatar said swiftly, "I'll admit that I am a bit tired," He said while sticking his arms across his chest defiantly. As he watched Aang, Zuko was faintly reminded of his younger self, arrogant and defiant, and he managed to smirk.
"Even a blind platypus bear could see that you clearly need to rest, we'll set up camp here," he said while stopping at a small clearing in the midst of all the plants. A small cliff stuck out from the end of the clearing, and Zuko could almost see the top of the mountain. He reasoned that they could reach the top soon, possibly by the end of the next day, maybe even quicker. He turned his head quickly, his dark bangs swishing across his rugged face as he turned to face Aang again. The airbender was fast asleep, his hands and legs sprawled on the dirt, as if he had fallen asleep the moment he had hit the ground. Zuko grinned, the Avatar was clearly was lying when he said that he wasn't tired. The firebender's thoughts quickly turned from the airbender in front of him to a certain waterbender. How was Katara doing? He wondered if she was worried about them, then remembered how much she had hated him. Of course she would only care about the well being of Aang, her precious Avatar, and not him.
His thoughts once again drifted to the time that they had spent in Ba Sing Se, the time when she had squeezed in awkwardly against him when they were stuck in the goo, and even when she had lightly touched his arm when they had camped out when searching for the Sun Warriors. The prince's thoughts stopped abruptly, as his face started to heat up. Why was he thinking so much about Katara, the waterbender who would much rather him being dead then with the Gaang? Slowly, Zuko willed the blush to go down. Katara hated him, and she would never forgive him for what he had done to her, and he didn't blame her. He was a banished prince, and had hurt the Aang and his friends in many ways. The teen's thoughts continued until he slowly succumbed to sleep.
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The Sun Warriors weren't too bad of a people, giving Katara some food and water after the two boys had started the trial. Although they kept her under constant surveillance as if she was a prisoner, the waterbender was allowed enough freedom to walk around and survey the area. As Katara munched on the slightly crunchy pastry that was given to her, she wondered how Aang and Zuko were doing on the trial. She didn't care less for what would happen to Zuko. Even thinking about the fire prince brought caused her anger to boil, and the waterbender quickly diverted her thoughts to Aang. The Avatar could surely handle the trial, couldn't he? For a second, she almost wondered if they would make it out of the trial alive. Surely the Sun Warriors' test couldn't be that hard.
"But be warned, no one has ever passed this trial. And no one has survived." The Sun Warrior Chief's words echoed through her head once again. No! Katara said to herself, she would believe in Aang. She knew he could pass the test; he was the Avatar for crying out loud. And Zuko….as much as the waterbender hated him, he was the Fire Prince, although a banished one, and he could probably take care of himself well enough, having been an outcast for so long. Casting out all her pessimistic thoughts, the waterbender pondered faintly on the two bender's return.
"Aang…Zuko, please make it out ….alive…."
When Zuko woke up, he noticed that the sky had turned a lighter shade of blue, and that the sun had just barely peeked over the mountains. Well, Firebenders do rise with the sun… he thought to himself. After contemplating their next route to the top of the mountain, Zuko quickly walked over to the still sleeping Aang. The young Avatar looked so peaceful, although he would be the one to decide the fate of the world in only a month or so. Aang would be the one to stop Ozai, who was his father, the one who had given him his cursed scar to take with him for the rest of his life. And Azula, who had always been the one that was the better of the two siblings, and the one that had caused him to embarrass himself in front of his parents and the other people in his palace. Zuko's face twisted into a scowl. Why did Azula have to always be better than him? Why did Ozai have to give him his scar? Why could he have any honor?
A soft snore interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to face the sleeping airbender, who was the one who had made the sound. Slowly, Zuko took Aang's shoulders and shook him back and forth to try to forcefully get him to wake up. The Avatar's eyelids suddenly fluttered open, and he groggily sat up from his sleeping position.
"Wha-? K-Katara? Is that you?" Aang rubbed his eyelids, "Are we under attack? Is Zuko trying to capture me again-?"
"No, I'm not." Zuko frowned at the airbender's sudden statement. He cringed at the mention of his chasing of the Avatar, the past still being one of his greatest regrets.
"Oh, wait; it is you Zuko, but-," Aang said, finally rubbing away the sleep from his eyes, "What time is it anyways?"
"It's about dawn." The firebender replied curtly, pushing his dark bangs out of his face. The airbender stood up with a start and started to walk away from the clearing, leaving Zuko behind, which was a rare sight.
"Come on Zuko, we need to get to the top of the mountain quick! Katara is waiting for us, and I bet she's really worried about our safety." Aang smiled as he mentioned the young waterbender.
"He still has a crush on her, doesn't he," Zuko thought to himself. The Avatar was probably in love with his waterbending teacher, her being one of the first people that had been with him as he went on his travels around the world.
"Okay then, let's go. If we continue at the pace we're at now, we should be able to reach the top of the mountain and finish this darned trial by noon, at least." The firebender said, walking briskly until he was in front of the airbender once again. "Also, we might need to stop to get some food along the way. We haven't even gotten any dinner last night or breakfast yet." He added.
"Oh yeah!" Aang cried, his eyes widening at the thought of food, "I totally forgot about eating! I was too busy concentrating on finishing this trial!" As if on cue, the airbender's stomach growled, and much to his embarrassment, Zuko's stomach did the same. Both benders held their stomachs simultaneously and they both managed to smirk. Soon, Aang was rocking with laughter and Zuko managed to keep his cool, but was already failing to keep his cool demeanor. The firebender finally let out a small chuckle escape from his mouth, and it soon erupted into loud laughter. Aang soon stopped laughing and smiled at the banished prince. Zuko, who had noticed the airbender stop laughing, suddenly stopped himself and looked sheepishly at the ground, trying to avoid the Avatar's gaze.
"It sure is good letting go of all your worries by laughing, isn't it?" Aang said, while looking at Zuko. The firebender looked up hesitantly, a small smirk on his face.
"Yeah, it is. I haven't laughed like this in ages," the prince admitted. It was true. He was always too busy sulking, or scowling at how the world seemed to hate him. It had felt good when he let go of his cool appearance and laughed, for once. Zuko felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off his back, and smiled at the young Avatar.
"Well then," he said, grinning, "Let's go get us some food."
It didn't take long for Zuko to spot his prey. They had been walking for quite a while, hacking away at plants to get a shorter way to the top of the mountain, when the firebender had stopped abruptly, seeing a sudden rustle of a bush. Aang, noticing the prince stop, stopped as well, and was quietly observing the scene. Zuko had one of his swords raised carefully so that it was directly over the bush, and in one swift movement, plunged his weapon down. The airbender almost thought the firebender had missed, until the teen pulled out his sword from the bush. At once, Aang gasped in shock. On the end of his sword, Zuko had caught a small bear of sorts, and it was dead, most likely killed at once by the firebender's sword. The peace loving Avatar almost gagged at the sight. Blood from the bear was still dripping of the tip of the firebender's blade. Zuko noticed Aang's negative reaction and frowned.
"What's wrong?" he said, taking the bear off the top of his sword, and cleaning the blood off with his shirt, "I just caught us breakfast."
"I'm a vegetarian," the answer was obvious. Airbenders were monks; of course they wouldn't eat meat, especially someone like Aang who hated violence and bloodshed.
"I guess I'll have to find you something else to eat," Zuko said almost instantly. The firebender scouted the area, looking for some sort of edible plant or berries. His Uncle had once told him something about edible plants before, why hadn't he paid more attention? He felt almost sick at the stomach as he thought about his uncle, the one he betrayed selfishly at Ba Sing Se just to regain his "honor."
"I hope you're proud of me uncle. I joined the Avatar and I'll find you one day and beg for your forgiveness too." Zuko thought silently. As he continued to scan the area, one plant stood out to him. He took a branch of it and gave it to the Avatar. Aang eyed it suspiciously, wondering if it could be eaten or possibly if it was poisonous.
"Don't worry, it's edible, I clearly remember my Uncle telling me about this plant," the scarred teen said. The airbender took the plant and cautiously took a bite of it, munching on the leaves. Soon, he had finished the plant, and was happily rubbing his stomach. Zuko had started a fire by rubbing sticks together at a quick pace, creating enough friction and sparks to light a fire. He couldn't remember the last time he had done this, he was a firebender! They never had to learn this type of thing; it was once again his uncle who had told him how to survive without his firebending. He took the dead bear corpse and hung it on a stick above the fire. When the firebender was sure that the animal was suitable for eating, he took greedy bites out of the meat.
"Gosh, you remind me of Sokka," Aang said with a chuckle.
"Do I?" Zuko said with a mouth full of meat.
"Yeah, this reminds me of the old days; we would camp out like this and hope that we wouldn't get attacked randomly or something." The airbender replied happily, staring off into the distance.
"Attacked by me," the firebender added in his mind. "Well, after we eat our late breakfast, we should leave this place soon so we can get to the top. "
"Sure, the quicker we get out of this place, the better. This place gives me the creeps. It's so silent, and it's almost like there's no one else out here," Aang said softly.
A loud roar filled the air, and Zuko's eyes widened. Loud crashes and bangs filled the air. Something was heading toward their temporary campsite and it was big.
"We need to get out of here, and fast!" he cried, rushing into the trees, opposite to the sound of the crashing trees. The airbender followed, his gray eyes filled with fear.
"The chief did warn us about dangerous animals…"
Aang felt as if they had been running forever. At least they were running in the general direction of the top of the mountain, he thought. Zuko had once again taken the lead and was trying to get a path to the mountain peak while at the same time trying to lose the big animal that was chasing them. Aang's curiosity took over him and he looked back at the animal, despite Zuko's warnings that looking back would waste precious time. The animal that was chasing them was a platypus bear, although it looked a bit different. It was a lot bigger, and its eyes were red with anger. The airbender couldn't think of a reason why the bear was attacking them, until he thought back to the bear Zuko had eaten. Unless this bear was the one that Zuko had ate's mother? No wonder it was so furious!
"Zuko! Zuko! I know why the platypus bear's chasing us! It's cause you ate its kid!" he yelled to the running firebender.
"I figured as much. But what do you want me to do? Apologize to it and get killed? No way!" the prince said angrily, running faster by the second up the mountain.
"I got an idea!" Aang shouted, the gears in his head whirring.
"What?" Zuko yelled loudly.
"Just go in separate directions! I think it'll confuse him!" the airbender replied, taking off in a different direction to Zuko's. The platypus stopped for a second, confused on which person to follow. It was long enough for both boys to get farther from the rampaging animal, but not enough to lose it. The bear soon decided to chase Zuko, and Aang stopped.
"Hey you!" he bellowed to the platypus bear, waving his hands to try to get the animal's attention. The bear turned around and cocked its head angrily at Aang. The airbender grinned nervously. At least he was getting Zuko some time to get away. The firebender mouthed a silent word of thanks as he ran off into the distance. Aang turned his attention back to the bear once he was sure Zuko was safe.
"I know who killed your kid!" the airbender yelled loudly, stressing the words your kid. The platypus bear perked up at those words and glared suspiciously at the Avatar, who was waving his arms around and making hand motions.
"He's over there!" Aang pointed off to the bottom of the mountain, hoping the platypus would fall for the obvious distraction. It was just as he hoped. The bear's eyes followed the Avatar's hand and ran off in the direction of the finger. After a few minutes of silence, Aang let out a breath of relief. Now all he had to do was get back to Zuko, who was probably somewhere far away.
"Zuko, where are you?" he yelled to the top of the mountain, hoping that the firebender would hear. He continued to call until he heard the prince reply.
"I'm just up here!" He heard Zuko yell not too far away. From the way the words were shouted at him, Aang could estimate that the teen wasn't too far away, but above him. The airbender ran to where the sound of the firebender's voice came from and ended up finding the firebender in a few minutes.
"Did you get the animal to stop chasing us?" Zuko asked quizzically, curious about what had happened.
"Yeah, I fooled it into thinking that you were at the bottom of the mountain," Aang answered with a sly grin on his face. "You shouldn't go around eating platypus bear babies anymore." He added playfully.
"Well, thanks for that," the prince said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"No problem! You are my friend, after all!" Aang said happily. "Friends help each other when they are in trouble, right Zuko?"
"Yeah…" was the answer the airbender got.
"Friends, huh?" the firebender thought. "I never thought I'd become friends with the Avatar."
After another short hour of traveling, Zuko finally stopped walking. Aang rushed ahead, even though the firebender had stopped, and almost fell off a cliff; without Zuko grabbing the end of his shirt, he might have.
"Woah, where are we?" the airbender asked, in awe. They were on some sort of big platform, and there was an altar in the middle of the platform they were standing on. On either side of the platform were steep cliffs that would surely end a person's life if they were to fall off.
"We're finally here. The top of the mountain," Zuko answered.
A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's the second longest (I think?) so far in this fanfic! I managed to scrape this together in the last two days, and I hope you guys review and read! :D Hopefully, I'll update soon. For now, R&R!
Reviews are what brought me to write this story again! :3