Avatar 03

Author Notes: Uh, sorry. Haha. ; I took a three month break from this. Already, we're half-way through Book 3 and I have seen the leaked episodes of 10 and 11. Of course, this is going to be taking a different turn from what I originally planned for this fic. It really does get a bit more complicated.

To Hank-o-holic (although this is late now): Thank you, but don't worry. Even at that time, I had my own list of spoilers from IMDB. (grins)

Disclaimer: All Avatar: The Last Airbender characters belong to Bryan and Mike, Nickelodeon, and (sighs) Viacom. All Rights Are Reserved.

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Episode 2 - Mysteries and Lies

Deep within a cave, an old man was trapped behind a bunch of rocks. Standing in front of him was a young boy looking down at the floor with a pensive expression on his face. His back was facing the trapped old man. Soon, the boy's head rose and he slowly turned around. The old man's eyes widened as he read the boy's expression well.

"Zuko…"

"Uncle, I've made a decision."

"You have? What is it?"

"That I should stop running away from everything. For all this time, hunting the Avatar, hiding out in Ba Sing Se, getting a new apartment… They were all a waste of time for me. I was forgetting something very important."

"Oh?"

"I was forgetting again, who I was," and with that said, Zuko instantly ran out of the cave leaving behind his dear uncle.

"…………That's great. Leave me here to keep the rocks company. That's no problem at all", Iroh said in an almost sarcastic tone as he began to huff and try to concentrate his body's chi into one focal point. He then clenched the rocks tightly enough so they began to feel very warm. So warm indeed that the rocks began to turn hot red. Within a few minutes, Iroh's fire bending heat melted the rocks into mini pools of molten lava. He quickly jumped away from the lava and sighed in relief that he was okay in one piece. He turned his head to look at the tunnel's entrance where his nephew ran through. He narrowed his eyes a little before dashing off towards the entrance.

"Zuko, what are you thinking?" he asked the question out loud, hoping he wasn't too late to stop whatever was going on at the other end of the tunnel.

His actions were set. His mind was clear. His sister believed him. Now all he had to do was set his plan into motion….

And then, he woke up with beads of sweat pouring down his face. Instantaneously, he began to panic with random thoughts that kept him up for the rest of the night.

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Four children, one Momo, and one Appa were all quietly floating through thick puffs of clouds. The sky was clear crystal blue which was completely the opposite of the condition in the world below them.

"Are we there yet? I'm tired! I'm bored! And….." complained Toph who was clutching onto Appa's saddle tightly, "I think I'm getting air sick!"

"You always have air sickness when riding on Appa," said Katara in a I-told-you-so tone of voice. "Try to pretend that you're not flying and you should be fine." She was sitting on the opposite side on the saddle facing the earthbender with one hand resting on her chin.

"How is that suppose to help me exactly?" Toph sent the older girl a slight annoyed glare even if she couldn't see. The two girls continued to have their little debate. Meanwhile, Sokka and Aang were going over several ideas as to how to hide Appa and what to do once they were in Fire Nation territory. Soon, they got down to business discussing the strategy of the invasion plan that they've been brainstorming for a few months now.

"We are still going with the plan of infiltrating the palace on the Day of Black Sun, right?" Aang asked turning slightly around from his position on Appa's head to face Sokka, who was sitting cross-legged in the saddle behind him.

"There's a problem though. There's only four of us…uh, I mean, six of us if you count Appa and Momo. If my Dad and his men were here with us, they would've helped but now, we're completely outnumbered."

"Even if Dad and his men were with us, we would've still been outnumbered," Katara spoke up cutting into her brother and Aang's discussion. "I think we should seek others for help before even going into Fire Nation territory."

"Which was what we originally planned if it wasn't for that Ba Sing Se take-over. I mean, let's face it. If we go to others for help, the Fire Nation would surely be bound on our tail as usual. Especially, when they let the Fire Lord know that the Avatar has escaped."

"….No, actually, that's not a bad idea. We should go back and….," Aang agreed to Katara's suggestion which made Sokka slap his forehead.

"We've already gone this far! Can't turn back now. If we do so, we'll lose time to even get into their territory!"

"We still have time, so yes, we can," Katara ignored her brother's expression as she crawled past him towards the airbender. "Aang, turn Appa around! We need to go back to the Earth Kingdom!" No response. Aang was no longer looking at her and Sokka anymore. Katara stared at Aang dumbfounded. "Aang?" She reached out to grab his shoulder. Sokka looked past Aang and Katara only to stare in shock.

" Uh, Katara? You might want to look up."

"What?" Katara's eyes widened as they saw a group of three dark red colored air ships coming their way.

"What's going on?" Toph asked as she was the only one sitting at the far end of Appa's saddle.

"There seems to be something heading straight for us! Funny thing is, a lot of those air ships look familiar to me," Aang said with his eyes glowering for a moment.

"Are you sure? I never saw any of those before in my life," Sokka blinked trying to get a better look at the air ship fleet. Suddenly, realization began to hit him before he could even speak. "Wait, aren't those kind of things developed by Teo's dad, the Mechanist? But that can't be…."

"I think we better hide. Those definitely must be from the Fire Nation so we should be close," Katara said as she eyed some nearby clouds.

"It's too late. They spotted us already," Aang said without taking his eyes off of the in-coming ship. "If we try to out-run them, who knows what might happen next. They'll follow us right into where they want us to be. I suggest we be ready for them." He stood up with his staff. The others were a bit more slow in reacting to Aang's decision.

"So, we get to fight again, already!? Whoo! Bring it on!" Toph said excitedly as she quickly stood up.

"But aren't you powerless since you're not on the ground?" Katara asked giving the younger girl a quick glance.

"Uh, yeah! That's right. I….," Toph quickly sat back down in the saddle looking disappointed, "….forgot. Thanks Katara for that pleasant reminder." She ended her sentence in a quieter but bitter sarcasm.

Everyone else were now standing as they held their breath in anticipation for the air ships to get closer. The strange part about this is that none of the ships were shooting any fire at them. As another brief interval of time passed, the ships were now easier to be seen with their Fire Nation emblems. They apparently weren't air ships at all, but air balloons. The same exact ones used in the Northern Air Temple.

Soon, the balloons were a few feet from Appa when they suddenly veered to the left. This left the Aang gang speechless as the balloons began to drift downward until the passengers in the balloons were eye level to level with them. Everything wasn't what they were expecting. Just like the Aang gang, who were wearing cloaks, so were the passengers in the red air balloons. Except, the passengers all had their faces covered by dark blue hoods so it was hard to even decipher what their features looked like. Some of them were taller than others. Others seemed to be around the Aang gang's height.

"Uh, hello?" Aang approached one of the slow drifting balloons which were now across from Appa's head. "Um, may I ask if you are with the Fire Nation?" Sokka stared suspiciously at each of the balloons. Katara had on a similar expression while Toph could only pay attention with her ears.

The air balloon passengers, however, only seemed to acknowledge the Aang gang's presence but they were silent. It felt more like a staring contest. Soon, the third and final air balloon was passing by in front of Aang. One of its passengers stood at the edge of the balloon and looked up towards Aang.

"Avatar," addressed a calm but loud voice. Apparently, this passenger was male. "We bring you many blessings and wishes of good will to you and your friends. We will always be by your side even if you can't see us. You and the last hope that will guide the Fire Nation out of its turmoil."

"Wait, who are you!?" Aang began to follow the balloon since it was drifting now right past Appa's stomach.

"We are the shadows in the light. Secrets of the whispers. Ancients of dreams," the passenger replied. He then threw something towards Aang, which the boy caught easily in his two out-stretched hands. "Keep that, Avatar, for you will need it someday. We bid you farewell for now. May our paths cross after hope awakens."

And soon, the balloons were barely out of sight but not out of mind.

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"So, what do you want to do today, Zuko?" asked a bored Mai as the two of them were sitting in front of the turtleduck pond. They've been boyfriend-girlfriend for almost a month now, but so far, nothing really felt real to Zuko. Even though, he believes he likes Mai and he knows she likes him back. Somehow, something inside his heart tells him otherwise. The boy has been lost in thought for the entire day now. Ever since he had that dream of what happened back in Ba Sing Se, he wasn't quite sure where the ending of it came from.

For one thing, he had no plan in mind because he was given another chance here at home. Another thing is that the Avatar has been captured. There's no need for him to repeat his banished mission. Everything should be fine for the Fire Nation's sake. Yet, he couldn't understand why the anxiety was building up inside his own mind and heart.

"Zuko? Are you listening to me?" Mai's voice finally broke through his thoughts.

"Ah! Sorry, Mai. I was just thinking," Zuko gave her an apologetic look. "So, you were asking…?"

"Well, I was just wondering what do you have in mind. Now that we have more time to ourselves."

"Oh, right. Um….," Zuko couldn't think of anything to say to her. He began to rub the back of his head when suddenly, an idea dawned upon him that could free him from her attention. "Could you excuse me for a moment? I just remembered something that I had to do." He stood up and gently bent over to give Mai a peck on the cheek. Soon, Zuko was trotting off towards one of the palace doors. Mai watched his figure fade from view. She sighed and leaned back a bit with her two hands supporting her posture.

"Aww, look Azula! Mai's waiting for her beloved prince to show up. Isn't that sweet?" a familiar playful voice spoke in earshot range.

"Yes, that is sweet. Very sweet indeed," said a second voice whose voice sounded a bit vile at the end of her second sentence.

"What are you two doing here?" Mai asked looking up at her two friends who were now standing behind her. Azula crossed her arms and gave Mai an innocent look.

"Aw, I'm hurt. What's wrong with checking up on our best friend and to see how her beautiful relationship is doing?"

"Cut the sarcasm, Azula. You came here to say something so say it now," Mai said with a slight hint of annoyance in her tone of voice. Ty Lee sat herself down beside Mai and began to do a few stretches trying to touch her toes. Azula sighed and let her arms slide to her side.

"Fine, I'll tell you just so you won't be amazed when the news gets out. We have received word by a messenger hawk that the Avatar has escaped. Most likely, he will be headed here so he can face my father during the Day of Black Sun. Of course, he won't be alone but I believe we can beat him anyways."

"So, why are you telling this to me?" Mai asked but still uninterested.

"Because my father doesn't know. Neither does my brother but he will know, eventually. By the time he does though, it will be too late for him to do anything. For now, I want you to keep all of this from Zuko. I prefer that he stays in the dark.".

"What do you have in mind for him, exactly?"

"You'll see. It's a huge surprise that's worth dying for."

"That sounds like fun!" Ty Lee whimsically cried out. "I love surprises."

"I will make it very enjoyable…. but don't worry Mai. Your beloved boyfriend won't be severely injured enough that you can't hug him," Azula said with a sneer. Mai waved one of her hands at Azula as if to shoo her off.

"Do whatever you want. He was getting rather distracted lately, anyways."

"Distracted, hm? I want you to find out what is bothering Zuzu. This might prove to be a useful advantage for me," Azula said before turning around towards one of the doorways. As soon as she got to the edge of the doorway, she quickly turned to look at the girl all dressed in pink attire who was still sitting next to Mai. "Ty Lee, come along! Zuko might come back any minute now. We do not want to spoil their quality time together now, shall we?"

"But I wanted to stay….. Alright! See ya, Mai!" Ty Lee shouted with a small wave before following Azula through her chosen doorway. Mai let out one long sigh. She finally can get the peace and quiet that she always wanted. Question was, when was Zuko returning?

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The Fire Nation's only prince opened his eyes to find himself lying face flat on the carpeted hallway floor. He soon pushed himself up slowly on his stomach to get a better look at his surrounding area. He was at the end of the hallway, which he recognized leads out towards the turtleduck pond. "How did I get here?"

"Your highness! Are you alright?" a nearby guard came rushing to aid the prince. "I was walking by on my shift and it's a good thing that I just noticed that you were here." The guard let Zuko grab a hold of his hand and helped the prince right onto his feet.

"Was there any report of intruders in the palace?" Zuko asked as he began to brush off some dust off of his clothing.

"No, sire. Not that I can recall of! You must've just simply fainted. I suspect that you haven't been having a nutritious meal. Should I go notify the kitchen to prepare something for you?"

"No! That is not necessary. I'm fine. I feel fine!"

"If that is how you feel. I shall leave you now," the guard bowed and walked back to resume his shift. Zuko started to walk towards the turtleduck pond before he recalled that he was about to do something. Now, what was it exactly?

Oh, that's right.

His uncle…….

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"What is it Aang? What did that man give you?" Katara walked over towards the young airbender's side. She noticed that he kept staring and turning over the thing in his hand. Sokka still didn't let go of his suspicious gaze which was also transfixed of the object in Aang's hand.

"It's…," Aang said as he showed the object towards his friends, "…a pai sho piece."

"What? Let me see!" Sokka exclaimed snatching the tile out of Aang's hand. He gazed at it intently. "It has a flower symbol on it. What good will this do though!? Do we use it as a decoy excuse to trick the Fire Nation soldiers into playing a game of pai sho with us!?"

"I think there's a hidden meaning in it. There's got to be a reason why that man gave us this. It has a picture of the White Lotus which usually represents purity and enlightenment. I don't get it though. That guy said something strange."

"Strange?" Katara tried her best to recall the man's message. Aang gave her and Sokka his puzzled expression as he responded.

"He mentioned something about me and the last hope."

"What's confusing about that? Aren't you the last hope?" Sokka's shifted his attention from the tile to Aang.

"Yeah, but…he said it twice and in a way that sounded like it was another person. I mean! I'm not the only one who is the last hope," as Aang spoke, he was pretty sure that he was confusing his own self.

"Maybe, he means everyone who joins in to help us to defeat the Fire Lord?" Sokka suggested on the whim.

"Question, who's everyone?" Toph's voice brought everyone more down to their senses as they all realized that they left Toph out of the loop.

"Sorry, Toph. You were too quiet so I guess we kinda forgot about you. Hehe…," Aang apologized in a nervous tone and rubbed the back of his head as he said it.

"Excuse me for being the only one suffering back here," Toph answered back in her bitter tone of voice. She then cringed her body over her legs as if she was going to hurl.

"I think we should discuss the tile later and focus on finding a safe place to rest. Toph looks worse than she usually does when riding on Appa," Katara said as she walked over to Toph's side and placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Good idea. It's not too late to turn around and recruit help anyways," Aang nodded with one hand open. Sokka was about to give him back the tile piece when out of nowhere, Momo jumped onto Sokka's head and nabbed the piece out of his own hand.

"Hey, wait! Give that back!" Sokka began chasing Momo around Appa's saddle as Aang and Katara resumed their sitting positions. Laughter aroused among the Aang gang as there was still plenty of excitement to go around before they come across their next unknown destination.

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Before Zuko left for the prison tower, he had to put on his long brown hooded cloak. He did not want anyone, that he knew personally, to catch him fraternizing with his uncle. Especially, Azula. He didn't even want to imagine what she would've done if she spotted him going towards the tower at all costs.

Zuko slipped quietly through the palace hallways making sure no guard was to see him in this state. He then made it through a back palace door which had a pathway that led towards the main royal prison. As he approached the tower, a watch guard positioned at the second level balcony of the prison spotted the cloaked prince.

"Who goes there? State your business!" the watch guard barked. Zuko lightly lifted his hood up so he could show the guard his face. "!!….Prince Zuko! You know you are strictly forbidden of setting one foot in the prison tower."

"I am aware of that, but this is an emergency. My sister…gave me a secret request for me concerning the traitor," Zuko said in a grave voice as he glared hard at the guard. It was hard enough that he had to come up with a plausible sounding lie in such a short amount of time. He understands that he's not a good liar like his sister, but hopefully, this one was more of an improvement. The prince pursed his lips as he waited in anticipation for the guard to answer. He would've exploded and dash for the tower door if it wasn't for one of Iroh's past advices echoing in his head.

After a brief moment of silence, the guard nodded his head. "You may proceed."

"Thank you," Zuko said without looking up. He walked quickly towards the door and down a flight of stairs. Several guards stood in his way, but upon explaining that he had special clearance, the guards let him go. Soon, he reached a huge iron door which he had to use all the strength inside of him to pull it open. As soon as he was inside, he found himself in a long hallway lined with prison cells on both sides.

"Uncle," he whispered into the darkness. "Uncle, it's me." Zuko's voice became louder with each step he made in the hallway. He peered into every single cell trying to see if he spot a familiar outline. Eventually, his eyes set upon an old man dressed in a dirty rag cloak. The man was sitting cross-legged with his back facing the cell door. Zuko quickly put his face up-close to the bars. His two hands gripped the bar so tight, it looked as if he could probably try to melt the bars as well.

"Uncle! Why!? Why did you do it!? You could've been a hero with me! You chose to side with the Avatar instead. You rather choose imprisonment than freedom! Is that it!?" Zuko squinted at the dark silhouette as if he had a special ability that could allow him to see through Iroh. He heaved in a heavy breath waiting in anticipation for a response. A reason. That's all he asked for. Minutes passed, and all he got was a few grunts from his uncle. The two of them were mostly in silence. It was so quiet that trickles of water could be heard dripping from one part of the cell hallway.

Zuko soon had enough of the eerie quietness so he began to speak more.

"I----I am going mad right now because even though, we're back home… Even though, everything I always wanted is happening at this moment…. Every day. Every waking moment, I know at the back of my mind that I'm not happy about something! That something doesn't feel right and I hate feeling this way!" Zuko paused mid-sentence of his small rant. He didn't know why he suddenly said all this stuff but somehow, he felt better saying this in front of Iroh than anyone else in the palace. "I came down here to ask for your advice. I'm confused as to what to do, Uncle. Please show me a way out of this." His eyes looked longingly at the Dragon-of-the-West who did not move a single budge at all.

Another small period of silence blanketed them before the Fire Nation prince erupted.

"Fine! Stay mute and rot in that cell of yours, stupid old man! I'm leaving!!" Zuko shouted as he quickly turned to face the cell's main door. He only took three steps before he felt a pang at the back of his head. Zuko's eyes widened as he saw his world turning black and the hallway's floor coming very close to his face. The last sounds he could hear was his uncle's voice shouting his name….

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The Aang gang easily found land as soon as they penetrated through the clouds. It was a rather huge island, but it looked to be deserted except for tall trees protruding from its land mass. As soon as Appa's six legs landed on the island, Toph was the first person to jump out of the saddle and onto the island's soft sand. "Laaaaaaaaaaaand!" she cheerfully shouted and fell backwards onto it. Her arms and legs moved up, down, left, and right, as if she was trying to make an angel.

"Looks like Toph made a hundred percent recovery," Katara optimistically said as she watched the young earthbender roll in the sand like crazy.

"But I didn't," whimpered a pained Sokka whose face was covered with scratches. His eyes wandered slowly towards Momo, who was now perched on Aang's shoulder and was still holding onto the Pai Sho tile. Aang looked at Sokka with an apologetic face.

"Sorry about that, Sokka. Looks like Momo needs to be trained better."

"Whatever," grunted Sokka as he stomped off towards the water. Katara bended some healing water out of her pouch and quickly chased after her brother.

"Sokka, wait!"

Aang watched them for a brief moment before sighing and looked up at Momo who only titled its head in response.

Night time fell quickly on the Aang gang. They managed to set up camp and a fire. Each member took turns in getting food and other supplies that they could find. Their discussions went towards different topics as usual. Some of them tried to brainstorm of what to do about the Day of Black Sun. Others wondered exactly of how they were going to survive going through the Fire Nation. Aang seemed to be the only one, who was feeling a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. The last time he was in the Fire Nation was over a hundred years ago. He already passed the stage of disbelief that the Fire Nation was no longer the peaceful nation that he once remembered.

"So, what do you think, Aang?" Sokka's voice intervened into his wandering thoughts.

"Huh? Think of what?" Aang asked indicating that he wasn't paying attention at all.

"Of my current invasion plan."

"We have a new invasion plan!?" Aang asked again but this time, sounding bewildered.

"Alright. Let me explain again. We back track to the closest places that we've been to and seek help from them. Then, we build up a resistance army, take over a few Fire Nation ships, and we'll be sailing through Fire Nation waters like it was nothing. Aang, you'll be the one to go on ahead of us since the Fire Nation can't easily catch you as long as you have that glider of yours."

"Wait, me go on ahead!? But…"

"Isn't your destiny to face one on one with the Fire Lord? Thought, you were ready to go all out at the Fire Nation alone, yesterday"

"Yeah but…"

"Then I don't see what the problem is," Sokka raised one eyebrow at Aang as he grabbed his bag and took out a rolled up piece of parchment. He unrolled and flattened it out before him. Apparently, it was the map of the four nations. "I think we're on this island." He pointed one finger at a tiny wiggly shape of land mass that was located in-between both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. "I recognized it right away from when we were up in the air. Did a double check with Appa earlier before it got dark just to make sure. We're actually closer to the middle part of this ocean area so that gives us the time we need to re-visit several places."

"So what do you think, Aang? I know it sounds simple but it's the only resolution we came up with. Also, the only one where Sokka is actually thinking for once," Katara said as she gave her brother a smug look. Sokka crossed his arms with a humph. Toph started to laugh immediately.

"It's great! We know Sokka actually has a brain! Hahahah!"

Soon, the group got quiet. It took several minutes before Aang responded to Katara's question, but in a solemn voice that got louder as he spoke. "But what if this plan doesn't go well. What if the Fire Lord is stronger than me? I didn't master fire and I still don't want to! Can three elements be enough to face him? Aren't I the Avatar?"

"Aang," Katara leaned over so her head was besides Aang's, "I believe you can do it. It's worth a shot. Knowing three elements is better than just one alone." Aang blushed a bit from feeling Katara so close to him. He then bowed his head, which showed that he's thinking it out.

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In a disclosed secret location somewhere far far away, the group of Fire Nation balloons were slowly drifting onto a flat surface of land. Someone was down there waiting for them. That person was also shrouded in a cloak and was holding up a torch. As soon as everyone was out of their balloons, they headed quickly up a hill. They moved silently without stopping. Eventually, they arrived at a small cottage that had very dim lighting inside. One of the cloaked people stepped up among the members and knocked on the door.

A few shuffling sounds and whispers could be heard from within the door. Suddenly, a small sliding peep hole in the middle of the door opened to reveal a pair of green emerald eyes. The man behind the door peered cautiously at the hooded person on the other side.

"Who knocks at the guarded gate, fellow traveler?"

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries," the cloaked person answered with a hidden smile. The real meeting has only begun.

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To Be Continued….

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A.N.: So, an uncertain Aang, a confused complicated Zuko, and OWL members. Oh my… :D What have I done? Next episode is going to take something from one of my non-Avatar fics and bring it to the next level. ………..Poor Zuko….. It's fun to torture him.