I made chocolate mousse as dessert. It actually worked- I didn't burn the chocolate. It was just right. The whipped cream however, not so much- I believe I made sugar butter. Man, was that sweet….

Ahem, enough nonsense. I can't believe I have already 13! Reviews for the first chapter. That's a record.
You guys make my day, honestly. I was practically bouncing when I delivered mail –my job-
I believe I have answered everyone's questions, and replied to my wonderful reviewers, except for Lunar Calling. What I'm about to say is focused on your review . Everyone else can skip on to the next chap. *winks*

Lunar Calling: Thank you very much for your reply, and yes I'd really like it that you want to Beta this story. It's always nice to have some help or backup. I'm Dutch, so I'll always miss things you guys don't. : ) But it's all right- after all that's why there are Beta's! The only problem now is that I can only contact you through my story, or through a review. You might want to change that- it would make things easier. But if you have another way, just tell me!

So on the story goes…..

Chapter 2– Swords and Arrows

Aang watched the Prince in shock. He didn't know who he was? Surely that was a joke? Zuko had followed them all over the world! He was the Avatar who the Prince wanted to capture for spirit's sake! What was wrong with the guy?
Unless, his mind whispered to him, he really doesn't know who you are.
Aang frowned. Could that even be possible?
Aang glanced at the sleeping Prince.
Maybe Katara could explain it- she knew a lot about health. Back in the Tribe, she had always helped the healer. Or Sokka, who once told him a story his father had told him , while they were flying on Appa. According to Sokka, who told the story with a lot of Sokka-ish gestures, a Fire Nation soldier had lost his mind- well, memories- after he was hit by a boomerang.

Wait, what?

Slowly, realization dawned, and Aang found that he had a possible explanation.
Could that arrow that hit Zuko, cause his memory loss? Aang could remember the dull thud of metal against metal when the arrow collided with the mask.
He glanced again at the quiet form of his rescuer. There had began to form a large bruise on the left side of his head.

Did Zuko even know who he was?

Aang didn't know,and he found there was only one way to be sure of the ridiculous but possibly true idea. When Zuko awoke, he would see how the Prince reacted on his swords and mask- Aang had laid them down next to the sleeping Prince. One thing he already knew, was that Zuko knew his own name, but not his. But what could that mean? He didn't know, he really didn't.
If Zuko didn't know who he was, what was he supposed to do then? Leave him behind, or take the Prince with him?

Spirits, he was in so much trouble.

And he still didn't have those blasted frogs.

Aang rubbed his eyes. Perhaps a little nap would do him good- he hadn't gotten any sleep after their miraculous escape, out of fear for sneak attacks and for his former enemy.

Did he really just though 'former enemy'?

Does it look like Zuko is going to attack you? his mind told him, supporting the thought.
With a low groan he fell down on the root. It was far from comfortable, especially because he was used to Appa's soft tail, but for now, it would do.

He fell asleep seconds after he closed his eyes.

Zuko awoke for the second time this morning, but this time he felt a whole lot better. His head still throbbed, but is was significantly less than before.
After he rubbed his eyes and adjusted to the light, he slowly rose in a sitting position. He draped his arms around his knees and rested his head on them.
He heard soft snoring sounds and looked up.
Great. The strange boy was asleep. He noticed for the first time the tattooed blue arrows on the boys head and hands.

The Avatar….

It slipped through his mind like water through fingers.

He merely eyed the tattoos curiously.
Strange. He would have to ask the boy about those tattoos later.

Why was he here anyway? The forest wasn't something he was familiar with. He had absolutely no idea where he was. He hoped the boy did know. Before his mind could dwell off, he heard a soft "Hey" and turned.

Oh. Aang was awake. Good.

"Hey" he said back, feeling pretty lame.
From his eye corner he saw the boy scratch his head, yawning.
He fought back a yawn of his own, but failed.
Aang smirked.

"Have you been awake for long?"

Zuko shook his head. "No, a few minutes perhaps."

"Good. How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?"

Zuko eyes him warily. The boy seemed to be in some sort of haste as he jumped up with unnatural grace and landed too soft before him.

"Fine. Yes, it still hurts, but not as much as before."

"Guess a second nap helped then?" Aang said happily.

"Yeah." Zuko said.
"It did."

Then his sharp eyes spotted a blue mask, and a sheathed sword on the ground next to the root. A Dao, he realized. He reached out to grab the Dao. He unsheathed it and laid it on flat palms, admiring the craftsmanship. When he turned the blade, he realized it wasn't one Dao, but two- Double Dao's.

He looked up to see Aang staring at him with a strange look in the eyes.

The metal cut through armor- Fire Nation armor, and they brought down soldier after soldier. But it wasn't enough. For every soldier he took down, two new soldiers replaced their fallen comrade.
Even his win Dao couldn't handle so much enemies. Yet, their wielder refused to give up.
Then, a gust of wind blasted everyone away but him, and they went on….

"Are these yours?" Zuko asked.

Aang shook his head. For a moment, Zuko swore he saw a flicker of pity in those stormy grey eyes.
Why was beyond Zuko's comprehending.

"No. they lay next to you when you fell of that cliff. The mask too." He said quickly, reading Zuko's thoughts.

Zuko looked at the swords. The way they lay into his hands, the shining metal… It felt strange. He sheathed them again, and then picked up the blue mask.
It was unnerving how those dark pools gazed at him. The tusks and the feral grin the mask wore made it a frightening sight.

"This mask and those swords are mine?"

"Yeah."

Somehow, the swords and mask felt strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling. It was frustrating. Maybe… maybe he could practice with the Dao's later?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aang feigned his happiness. From the inside out he felt so nervous. This was such a weird situation. His former enemy was now just downright… normal. No burning fists, no withering glare. (except the burned eye- it seemed to be set in a perpetual glare)
It freaked him out, yet he was glad at the same time. But why was Zuko here alone? Where was everybody? Had he been trying to find them on his own? Had the left the old man and the ship?
Ugh. So many questions.

And he still had to get his frogs and get back to his friends.

At first he'd wanted to leave Zuko alone here.
On second thoughts, now he'd seen him act completely, well, normal, that might not be the best idea.
Leaving Zuko all alone with no memories while Zhao and his men were so close… He couldn't do that. He just couldn't. All live was sacred, echoed Gyatso's words in his mind, even that of a small fly.

So he'd decided he'd take Zuko with him as he would go hunt for frogs. On the way he would ask some questions.

He coughed. The scarred Prince looked up.

"Eh, Zuko,- man, using that name felt weird- I-have to get some frogs from the nearby swamp because they're important so let's go alright? He said quickly, hoping to confuse Zuko.

The teen raised one eyebrow that said "What?"

"Frogs? Why'd you need frogs?"

"I'll tell you later. Come on, let's go." Aang jumped from his place next to Zuko.

"What? Ho- wait- wha?"

Grabbing a spluttering Zuko by his shirt, he pulled the boy with him as he launched into the air and raced back to the swamp.

Zuko squeezed his eyes as he felt himself fly through the air. What was the stupid boy doing! Where were they going?"

Oh right. The swamp. To get some frogs. Why in the spirit's name Aang needed them in the first place eluded him, but it wasn't as if he could do anything. Not in this position.
Suddenly, they stopped, and Zuko felt himself fall on the ground. He landed ungracefully on his rear, and Aang laughed.
Zuko glared at the boy and crossed his arms.

"We're here. Now I just have to get some frogs "a still laughing Aang said.

"No."

Aang's smile faltered and he looked taken aback.

"What?"

Zuko to the hesitation to launch his questions.
"I first want to know what happened, why I am here, and why you need those-

A loud croak interrupted him.

-frogs" he finished. His glare didn't soften. He demanded answers. Right now.

"You don't know what happened? Aang said softly.
Zuko looked down.

"No. You tell me. "

You've been tracking me and my friends all over the world, then rescued me from Admiral Zhao because I'm the Avatar and then you were hit by an arrow and fell on the ground unconscious and lost your mind.

Right. As if he was going to say that.

Aang took a deep breath. He hated lying, and wasn't very good at it. Gyatso always said that that was a good trait to have, but now he wasn't very happy about it.

"I-I was traveling to the herbalist to ask for a medicine for my sick friends," he started truthfully.
"But when I left to search for those frogs, I heard a shout and saw you there up the mountain. You slipped or something, because you fell. I wasn't fast enough to save you, and I was afraid that you.. well… you know, but when I got to you, you were just unconscious." Aang finished. His heart beat so fast, he was almost afraid Zuko could hear it.

But Zuko stayed silent for a moment, and eyed him with a frown.

Aang felt himself sweating for his reaction. What if the boy suspected?

"Why would I be climbing rocks?"

Aang released the breath he'd been holding, and startled himself. Luckily Zuko didn't notice it. The Prince was obviously searching his mind for memories.

Which wouldn't be there, Aang thought.

"I don't know, Aang heard himself say, "It was near the herbalist's home. Maybe you were searching for plants or herbs? I only saw you fall."

"I feel strange. Why can't I recall what happened?" Zuko said angrily, more to himself, then to Aang, who eyed him nervously.

Zuko's glance immediately softened at the sight of the edgy boy.

Aang couldn't say anything about him being the Avatar and all. He was afraid that might trigger a memory- and not a positive one. As selfish as it sounded, perhaps it was better if that particular memory didn't come back.
But maybe he could ask about the Avatar in general. ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Sooo, do you know the Avatar?"

Zuko turned to look at Aang before answering.

"Of course. The Avatar bends the four elements, and the last one was Avatar Roku. But he disappeared a hundred years ago. Why do you ask?"

The Avatar looked at him strangely.

"No no, I meant do you know him, like, knowing him in person?"

Zuko looked sharply at him, disbelief clear in his eyes.

"What? Of course not! I just told you he vanished a hundred years ago! Do I look a hundred years to you?"

Aang looked sheepishly for a moment and scratched the back of his neck. Again, Zuko noticed.

"Well…"

The Prince snorted.

"If you're not a hundred years old, then how old are you?"

Zuko opened his mouth to reply.

"I'm…"

Zuko closed his mouth abruptly.
This was ridiculous. He knew how old he was.
Then why don't you say it?
He tried again.

"I- I'm" he stuttered and stopped halfway.

Oh no.
He really didn't know.
His breath hitched.
Why didn't he know?

'Hey, calm down! Are you okay?" a worried voice intercepted his thoughts.
He quickly looked to see Aang staring at him with concern in the large grey eyes.
Before he could stop himself he grabbed the boy's arm in panic.

"I don't know" was the whispered reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aang reeled in surprise as Zuko suddenly grabbed his arm so tightly it almost hurt.
He wanted to pull away, but when he saw the golden eyes full of alarm and fear, he found that he couldn't.
Then he heard a soft "I don't know". Aang shut his eyes. The feared Fire Nation Prince who had chased them all over the world had truly lost his past. It saddened him, but somehow it was also a relief. Though he'd never admit it, the Firebender scared him a bit with his intense and determined eyes.
He had to say something.

"Well… you really hit your head hard. Like, really hard. You fell from pretty high. Maybe.. maybe it'll come back to you later." He said weakly.

"Yeah.. maybe it will" was the murmured reply.
But when Aang looked into the downcast eyes the doubt was still there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He didn't understand. What was wrong with him? Did he really fall from a small mountain as Aang had told him?
What if… he'd lost more than those memories? What if-

A splash interrupted his thoughts.

When he looked up he saw Aang bowed over the water grabbing for frogs. Right, why did he need them again? For his friends, he'd said? Wait-friends? What friends? Where were they? Where they going to them?

"Yes, these frogs are for them, and they're sheltered in one of the ruins." Said Aang without looking.

Oops. He'd voiced his thoughts out loud. Oh well. He had his answers now.
Aang didn't seem to need any help, so Zuko looked around.
What he saw made his heart beat rise drastically.

Arrows. They were all over the place, stuck in the water, in the trees... Why hadn't he noticed them before? He carefully walked to one of them. It had happened recently, he could tell. He quickly searched for Aang.

"Aang? We have to get out of here. Did you see the arrows? I don't like this."

This time, the boy did turn around.

"It's alright Zuko. They're probably arrows from hunters or something."

He was lying. Zuko knew it. Those arrows where crafted by experts. Not something for ordinary peasants.
But he didn't say so.

"I have all the frogs I need. Come on, let's go to my friends." Aang said while he pushed the last frog in his shirt.

Zuko nodded.

"Yeah. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aang had made his decision. Zuko would come with him. The Prince hadn't proven to be dangerous- in fact, he didn't seem dangerous at all. He was grumpy, and careful, but hey, who wouldn't be after they'd lost their mind?
He stuffed the last frozen frog in his shirt, ready to go.

Zuko was ready, when suddenly a thought crossed his mind.
Last time he traveled with Aang, they practically flew.

"How did you do that?" he blurted.

Aang looked confused.

"How did I do what?"

"You're unnaturally fast! When we traveled to this place, you-you flew!"

Aang scratched his arrow.

"Yeah, well… you see, I'm an Airbender, sort of."

Zuko looked dumbfounded. But those died a hundred years ago, during Sozin's Comet! How was this possible?
So he said the one thing that didn't make sense.

"You can fly?"

Aang gave him a broad smile.

"Sure do, but only with my staff. What we did before is nothing compared to what I can with my staff. Flying is amazing. I'm sure you'd like it too! Just wait until you meet Appa!"

Zuko scrunched his nose.

"Wait, who's AppaAAAAAAAAAH!"

For the second time that day, Zuko found himself terrified and exhilarated at the same time while he was dragged by Aang to their destination: the ancient ruins.

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That was it for this time- next week same day new chap!
And if you liked it…. Review! You'll get chocolate mousse leftovers! :P