Avatar 03
Author Notes: Another self-inflicted critique is that I used too many pronouns in my last starting A.N. I apologize for tha----!! Ahhh! Did it again! *bashes head against wall* Ok, from now on, I'm going to use pronouns in Japanese! Yesh!! Atashi wa "I" ga eiji de kakumasen!! ……..Just kidding on the Japanese part.
On the main note, you guys will probably find this chapter a little more confusing than usual. If not, good for you. (grins and thumbs up)
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 8 - Reminisce
The Aang gang reached Ember Island as the sun was starting to set. They had to travel to a non-populated part of the island in order to not draw up any suspicion. Once they settled in a secluded area, Appa went right back to sleep. Momo decided to stick by Appa and sleep with him. Katara said she spotted something of interest in the island's forest, while they were up in the air, so she went to investigate it. The remaining group had to wait.
"We'realmostthere!Canyouguysfeeltheexcitement?IknowIcan!" Aang blurted all that out in one breath and was about to dash right off to where civilization was. Thankfully, Sokka had a firm grip on the boy's shoulder, which prevented Aang from even taking his first real step.
"Hold on! You shouldn't be acting all happy about this!!" Sokka looked like he was going to have a nervous break down due to a hyper airbender. "It's been over a hundred years since you've been here. How do you know everything's going to be the same?"
"Yeah, twinkletoes. This is Fire Nation territory we're talking here. Not paradise!" Toph crossed her arms as she walked up to where Sokka and Aang were standing. Aang could only grin.
"Because, it's like a third home to me."
"Third home?" Sokka looked at Aang with a blank stare.
"Yeah. I would sometimes come here to play with a friend whenever it's summer. We'd fool around all day by the beach. This place is amazing! I know you'll love it, Sokka."
"Me!?"
"Yeah, you know.. Girls?" At the mention of this, Sokka's eyes lit up.
"… Even if they're Fire Nation girls…. Ok! If Katara doesn't come back soon, let's go!"
"And I'll stop you two if you do go," Toph said smiling evilly at the thought of doing so. The two boys immediately fell silent.
"I'm back!" Katara announced as she tumbled out of the forest carrying something heavy looking. "It's good that there's an abandoned shack near here. I wouldn't have been able to find these laying around." She carefully dropped her findings onto the ground, which were old Fire Nation clothing.
"Oh! You found Old Man's shack! That's great, Katara!" Aang said as he bended down to pick up some clothing.
"Blegh! Couldn't you find something that didn't smell?" Toph held her nose tightly.
"Sorry, this is all I could find." Katara kneeled down to sort the clothing out. "I'll clean them but I'll need your help, Aang." She turned to look at the Avatar, who didn't respond. He seemed to be thinking of something. "Aang?"
"Ah! Sorry! Sure, I'll help!" Aang grabbed a handful of the clothing and began separating them. It was clear on his face that he was semi-reminiscing through his past. Katara glanced worriedly at the boy. This island can be full of nostalgia, but he shouldn't let his guard down.
"And what should I do?" Toph asked tilting her head a little.
"You can make two sets of tables right by the water." Katara answered as she neatly folded a dark red shirt.
"No problem. Finally! Something to do!" Toph cheered and went off on her way. Now, Sokka was the only one left with nothing to do.
"And what about me!?" he asked directly in his sister's face. "You have something planned for me, right? RIGHT!?"
"Before, no, but now that I think of it… We might be staying here longer than expected. Go fetch us some firewood." Katara watched her brother's face grow droopy at the mention of 'firewood'. She lightly chuckled. "Ha… If you want to prove your usefulness even more, go get us some food ol' great hunter brother of mine." Sokka's face changed into enthusiasm. He quickly hugged his sister before disappearing into the forest.
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SLAP!
Zuko felt his right cheek burn. He was facing a very angry Mai in the palace hallway. Ty Lee was on the side watching with nervous eyes and a cupped hand to her mouth.
"Where have you been? Azula told me all about your adventure last night," Mai demanded. Zuko looked away. "And furthermore, just what is with those stupid ugly flowers you gave me? You left me very confused!"
"Those were an apology gift! I thought you understood. Well, I'm in a complex situation right now. It's hard to explain. Especially, to you!" Zuko snapped as he turned back to face Mai. The air was full of tension, which was something he didn't want.
"Complex? Do you think I care?"
"No, I never expected you to care at all!" Zuko stormed through the hallway and into another one leaving the two girls alone. Mai stood dead still with her back facing where Zuko once stood. Ty Lee walked over to Mai and placed a hand gently onto her arm. She looked up sadly at her friend.
"It's ok. I'm here. We'll get through this together." Ty Lee cracked a small smile. Both girls stood like that for some time.
xxxxx
He didn't really mean to hurt her, but it all came out like that. His frustration. His feelings. Ever since he got back to the palace, everyone acted like he never left. Even his father, who he saw briefly. Azula played innocent in his presence making up an excuse that Zuko went on a full day-trip to see the kingdom. That left him an instant hint that Azula was planning something.
Exhausted, he walked quietly back to his room looking forward to a nice nap. His doppelganger was wrong. Completely… Zuko stopped in his tracks once he reached his bedroom door. The door was slightly opened meaning someone either checked to see if he was in or literally went into his room. If there was an intruder, was this person still in his room? He immediately reached for the surface of the door. A feeling of anticipation washed over his senses. He was about to give one small push on the door when the voice came booming into his head.
"What are you doing!? Didn't I tell you to go to the catacombs!?"
"Ah! Don't do that! I'm planning on going soon. I just want to see what's inside my room."
"Liar. I can tell you were going to sleep in your nice comfy bed. Well, rest assured, a trap has been placed there."
"And how do you know that?" Zuko realized his voice was a little loud so he quieted down into a whisper.
"Look up slowly but try not to make it obvious."
Zuko did as the voice instructed. Sure enough, he indirectly notice two Dai Li agents hanging out on his ceiling. The prince froze in place. His sister definitely had something up her sleeve.
He backed out slowly from his bedroom door and proceeded down the hallway. He carefully made his way through the palace trying not to run into any servants. Once Zuko made it outside, it was there that he was confronted by some of the palace guards watching the outside gate.
"Where are you going on this fine evening, your Highness?"
"A…ah, um… I was heading to the Central Royal Library. I need to look up something there," the prince responded with a half lie. He still wasn't as good as his uncle in the creativity department.
The guards exchanged looks and nods with each other. Without talking, they all looked back at Zuko. "You may go. Please do not stray far again." They bowed and opened the gate. The prince almost felt like he could jet right through but remained calm while going through it. It seems my doppelganger never went this way on his night excursions.
The trip to the Capital Temple didn't take him long. It was only a couple of blocks away from the palace. Since it was dinnertime, not many people were out and about to his relief. Zuko wasn't wearing a cloak but he wasn't wearing any formal clothing either. So, he didn't stick out much unless people took better looks at him.
Upon reaching the temple, Zuko took a cautionary way to get in. He definitely did not want to be seen by any Sage. Hallway corners became his best companions as he constantly hid his way through this confusing complex. He's only been in there twice as a child. Both visits were with his mother. His father would never dare step into the place. Not in a million years.
Later on, at his 12th hiding spot, Zuko felt someone tap three times on his shoulder. He turned around slowly to find a Fire Sage smiling up at him. Zuko blinked as if he was looking at an illusion. It was the same guy from a few months ago at the now destroyed Fire Temple. The one who helped the Aang get in contact with Avatar Roku. Zuko almost jumped away from the Sage due to him being seen.
"Shhh shh! Don't be alarmed, your Highness! You're fortunate that I saw you," whispered Shyu. He looked around cautiously before continuing his talk with Zuko. "So, what brings you to our temple?"
"I'd like to ask you the same thing! You're free from prison? What are you doing here? Aren't you on the Avatar's side?" Zuko whispered back.
"I know it's a risk just to be here, but, I want to make sure Roku's legacy is preserved well. This is the only temple left. I can't just walk away from something that I worked on for years. I was given a secret royal pardon from someone special. Hence, why I'm not behind bars. The Fire Temple Sages forgave me, awhile back, for doing something that I felt was the right thing to do."
"And…," Zuko whispered slowly, "do you still think you did the right thing?" His whisper nearly got caught in his throat.
Shyu smiled with a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. "Of course. No regrets. I did what my heart told me to do. I wasn't afraid of repercussions. This world needs to have a balance, and so far, your father is influencing the balance to become one sided."
Zuko let his unkempt hair hide his eyes. Deep down inside, he knew all along that his father wasn't a good person. That his father took territory that didn't belong to him. What was he expecting from the Fire Lord? What did he want? Was it forgiveness for speaking out of turn?
"Again," Shyu interrupted Zuko's train of thoughts, "why are you here, your Highness? Is there something you need to know regarding the Avatar?"
"A-actually, I don't really know. I was told to look up something about my family's past," as soon as Zuko said that, Shyu walked past him and into the vast open corridor.
"Come, your Highness! I suppose it's time for you to know everything. Your uncle was right. You are not your father or sister. You are you. Hurry! Follow me!"
"What?" Zuko mouthed silently as he watched the Sage walk further into the corridor. This guy knew Uncle?
He clearly did not see a connection that Shyu made earlier.
xxxxx
The Fire Sage led Zuko to a large room with an unusual symbol painted on the floor. (The symbol was shaped like a plant.) They walked onto the center of the symbol. Zuko felt a little lost as to what they were going to do, but got his question answered once the Fire Sage aimed some fire at two circles located at opposite ends of the room. The symbol shook before going down pass the floor. Once the lift stopped, its passengers got off and traverse a long dark corridor without saying anything. On both sides of the corridor, there were shelves filled with skeletons. Many of them consisted of dead soldiers and Sages. Shyu had a ball of fire lighting their way through the dreadful place. They soon ended up in a large study room filled with ancient reading material from top to bottom. A medium size fireplace sat near a desk and served as the room's only light source.
Zuko was amazed. He never seen such a place like it before. Shyu waltzed over to one specific drawer and pulled out a long parchment. This parchment appeared to be extremely old. He carried it over to where Zuko was standing.
"Read this please," Shyu insisted. "These are the writings of your great grandfather himself." Zuko's eyes widened. His great-grandfather? The young prince carefully grabbed a hold of the parchment and carried it over to the desk. He sat down and began reading it immediately. "When you're done reading, please feel free to read anything else you find here. I'll be tending to something down on the other side of the catacombs, but will be back shortly." Shyu's voice seemed to dissipate along with the rest of the room. Zuko was starting to be engrossed in Sozin's writing, as if, he was there in the past witnessing it firsthand.
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When Zuko was done with the parchment, he carefully rolled it and put it back to its original location. Everything started to look different to him now. The floor. The walls. The stacks of books and paper in the room. Even the fireplace. He placed one hand on his scar and closed his eyes. Even his scar feels different. Then, the sudden thought hit him. He needed to know more. This parchment, alone, wasn't enough. What more could he learn from the real history that his great-grandfather twisted?
"Well, what do you think?" the doppelganger's voice popped in as if he was right next to Zuko the entire time.
"What do I think? I……I just can't believe all of this happened! It's depressing."
"Truth hurts all the time. Once you know it, you can never go back."
"But, what do I do? I mean, what should I do? Everyone in the kingdom is living under a false history! People around the world are suffering because of our history and my father. Ragh!!"
"Calm down. You've been doing a lot as of late actually."
"Huh?"
"Remember, you helped a lot of people in the outer city over their troubles. They've been meaning to thank you whole-heartedly but you keep disappearing on them."
Suddenly, Zuko's head started to ring. He clutched his head and bended over on the chair. Images and voices started to appear before him. They consisted of people that he buried at the back of his mind. Following those images are images of his uncle and mother. All of these swirled around him. Teasing him. Coaxing him to embrace them with open arms. Without knowing it, Zuko stood up and actually had his arms wide open. As soon as he grabbed the air in front of him, a new image appeared. Faint broken voices echoing abound.
"….wha…..na..me?
"It -------"
"Ni….ame!"
"No, a…..it's….."
"I s..ee. Bu…your….."
"Eh…ye…ah. Haha.. I gu…did."
"You're…..ky…"
Zuko collapsed with a thud onto the floor. He weakly mumbled something before completely blacking out.
xxxxx
"Your Highness! Are you alright!?" Shyu's concerned voice made Zuko slowly open his eyes. The Prince found himself lying on his side on the cool floor. He stayed that way for a few more seconds until he decided to sit up.
"Yes. I'm fine. I must've fallen asleep," Zuko said ending with a huge yawn.
"That's good, but on the floor?"
"Uh, yes! On the floor. Sorry to make you worry." Zuko light-heartedly grinned stunning Shyu like a knife. Grinning and the hot headed prince didn't seem to match. The grin didn't last long though as he flashed it for only a few seconds. Shyu didn't feel convinced by that quick grin.
"Are you sure you're feeling ok?"
"I'm good! Really!" Zuko got to his feet in order to show that he was healthy. "You know, I somehow feel relaxed now. Before, I bottled up so many feelings inside of me that I couldn't think clearly."
"That's called a peace of mind, your Highness," Shyu smiled softly. He was starting to like this prince's new attitude. His face does appear to be calmer now.
"You know what? I AM sorry! I was rude to you, earlier. Let's start over. Your name is…?"
"Shyu."
"Shyu. Then, please call me by my name, 'Zuko'. You don't have to call me by any formality. I….don't deserve it to be honest." He looked down at the floor.
"But, you---I mean, Zuko. To me, you're truly the kingdom's Prince. I'm sure you can guide its people to a better life more so than your father. I'm sorry, but that's my honest opinion."
"I was banished from the nation. Spent two years chasing after the Avatar. Harassed someone to teach me how to fight. Burned down a village. Threatened an old woman. Kidnap a child. Stole things from Earth Kingdom people. Betrayed my uncle. I've done some pretty cruel things," the young boy shook his head in disgust. "It's not going to be easy for me to make it all up. I will need help, or, should that be the other way around?"
"When you're one in a million individuals willing to stand up to what they believe in, it's essential to keep yourself focus on that goal. Lose that focus, you'll never overcome your problems. Also, having good relationships with others strengthen you spiritually and emotionally. United , the strength of many becomes one allowing you to have the power to change the world." The Fire Sage's words touched Zuko in many ways. They were uplifting his own spirit. The old him might've easily glossed over those words, but now, he was paying extreme attention. And why was that? The answer was simple. They reflected what his uncle has been trying to tell him all along. He thought he listened in Ba Sing Se. He thought….
"Thank you. I feel indebted for you to show me this," Zuko made a swift bow towards Shyu. Perhaps, his very first bow towards anyone in his life. Shyu was taken back a little by this, but then, responded by bowing as well.
"No. Thank you for reminding me that there is still hope in this kingdom." Shyu stood up straight to deliver the last few important words that he wanted to say. "What I showed you was only a taste of it. The real truth can be found through him." He turned his head to the left to look at a big wall scroll painting of Avatar Roku. Zuko knew right away who he really meant but didn't say anything.
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Nighttime blanketed Ember Island like a fast moving wave. The Aang gang managed to do with what they can since most of their provisions were back on their secret island. Sokka was able to nab some fish. The old Fire Nation clothing was washed and properly dried. Each member tried on the outfits seeing which one fitted them best.
Aang ended up wearing a red shirt with white shorts. A crimson red bandana is wrapped tightly on his head covering the blue arrow. Sokka took out the short sleeves on his orange shirt. His shorts are red with darker tints at the end. Katara has on a one piece dark red color summer dress. There were flower patterns sown on it. Toph, with the help of Katara, managed to find a sleeveless shirt and ripped shorts that fit her style very much. They all seemed ready to go into the Island's village area, but Katara decided to hold them back for the night. This left Aang and Sokka disappointed.
Everyone was gathered around a small campfire that Sokka and Aang created out of frustration of not being able to go.
"Loosen up you two. Let's have some fun before going to sleep," Katara tried to cheer up the depressed portion of the group. She was pleased that the left over clothing could serve as their beds. Toph, of course, was satisfied enough to sleeping on the ground.
"Fun, huh? How about a little mud fight? We're near perfect conditions for one!" the earthbender turned her body towards the ocean. Everyone else gave her weird looks, which she couldn't see.
"Toph, isn't it late for that? I was thinking of maybe a ghost story."
"Ghosts!?" Sokka sat up from his lying down position. He was thinking of Yue when he was staring up at the star-filled sky. "Does it have to be ghosts?"
"Geeze, Mr. Scaredy-cat. Did you want them to be about us?" Toph, this time, was the one lying down on the ground. "We've been doing that for the last past campfires! Don't you think we should do something different?"
"Different? Yeahh, different. Different is a good reason. Yes! Oh wait! I got a good one!" Sokka childishly yelled out. "Aang, you mentioned earlier about this friend of yours." At this, Aang almost felt like holding his breath before nodding in excitement.
"Yeah! My friend from the Fire Nation! I guess I never told you guys this, before, did I?" His question garnered consecutive head shakings. "A long time ago, Gyatso and some other monks took me on my first Fire Nation tour. It was here where I first met him."
"So, the kid lived on this island?" Sokka asked raising his eyebrows. Aang shook his head slowly.
"I don't really know. I saw him a few times at the royal capital too. Anyways, how we met was kind of cool."
xxxxxflashbackxxxxx
Nine-years old Aang was standing still listening carefully to the ocean's waves. This was the first time he ever been to a beach. The sand felt soft and warm. The sunshine was abundant. Very different from the air temples that he grew up with. He spun around around before letting his body fall onto the sand. He then proceeded to make a sand angel.
"Hey, bald kid! Just what are you doing?" asked a random Fire Nation boy, who stopped on the beach's boardwalk to watch him. Without getting up, Aang replied in a joyful tone of voice.
"Having fun! Do you want to join me?"
"Pfft! Why would I want to do THAT with you?? Have fun by yourself!" the boy walked away laughing hard. Aang shrugged and continued on with making his sand angel. His fun was shortly interrupted by a new set of voices that were on the beach. A bunch of older children were surrounding a younger boy. The boy was no taller than Aang's height and had straight dark hair. He was hunched over with one arm twisted around his back held by a kid with fuzzy hair.
"Owwa! Stop it!"
"Aww, am I gripping you too hard? Promise to stop interfering with our work and maybe, we'll let you go!"
"So what? I'm not afraid of you guys! You keep picking on kids smaller than you. That's not right at all! One day, I bet someone stronger than you will teach you a lesson!"
"Am I suppose to expect someone like that to come out right away as soon as you said that? Get real! This isn't a fairytale!"
"Hey!" Aang walked up to the group in a casual way. "What's going on?" The older boys stopped their jeering and turned their heads to look at the airbender.
"It's another small fry. This one looks weird though. He has no hair and what's with that arrow on his head? His clothing looks bizarre. Is he a foreigner?" one of the older boys expressed puzzlement upon Aang's appearance.
"Dude, I think he's an airbender. I've seen some pictures of what they look like and I think that's one," said a second boy as he scratched his back.
"Seriously? What's an airbender doing all the way here in the Fire Nation?"
"I'm here on vacation!" grinned Aang, "Do you guys want to play with me?" It only took a second for the older boys to react with a roar of laughter.
"Is he kidding us? Can't he tell that we're picking on this other kid!? What a joke!"
"Yeah, sure little man. We'll play with you just like what we're doing with this other boy. You can join him if you want."
"Really?" Aang pumped his fists with happiness. "Ok, then." He formed a ball of air under his feet and kicked it towards the older boys. "Catch this!" The ball of air made a direct hit with two of the boys sending them to the ground.
"H-hey wait little man! When we said play, we didn't mean by---AGH!" the boy, from earlier, felt his jaw get in contact with a full blast of air. He was sent flying into the sand and stayed there for a long time. The rest of the older children, who were still standing, stared at Aang nervously. Soon, they all ran from the area in different directions crying for help. The fuzzy hair kid was the last to go letting his victim off by shoving him into the sand.
"Ohf!" yelled the younger boy as he hit the sand chest first. Tiny drops of tears were dripping from his eyes. Once he was laying on the sand, he carefully scooted backwards in order to get into a sitting up position. It was then that he remembered the airbender so he looked up at the boy who saved him.
"Are you ok?" Aang held one hand towards him. "Those guys were really scary, huh?"
"Th-thank you," the boy grabbed Aang's hand and took his time to get back onto his feet.
"Wait-a-minute!" Toph's voice crashed into Aang's story. "How is that possible!? You knocked some kids down with your silly balls of air? That's so cheap!"
"But, they were only a few years older than me at that time. They didn't weigh too much so I guess, it was easy to knock them down," Aang said as he gave an awkward glance at Toph. The earthbender made a humph sound and slammed her hands onto the ground. Her earth tent shot up quickly hiding her from everyone.
"I've heard enough! Good night!" were Toph's last words for the evening. Katara sighed as she laid down on her bed made of jackets.
"I think we should all go to sleep. We got a shopping excursion tomorrow."
"But, I'm not done!" Aang protested lightly.
"Another time. Maybe tomorrooooow," the waterbender yawned slurring her final word, "Look at Sokka. He's already sleeping like a wompossum." True enough, Sokka was face down on a bunch of shorts not moving except for his back.
"Alright. I give in. Good night, Katara," Aang glumly said as he laid down. He turned to his side to peer into the forest's darkness. Almost as if he was waiting for it to swallow him in.
"Good night, Aang." The sound of Katara shifting on her custom made bed could be heard.
Once, the area was totally silent except for the crackling of the fire, Aang shifted on his shirt bed to look up at the sky with a sad smile. "Good night, Kuzon."
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In a dim lit room with no windows, five men were hunched over a tiny table. Each of them baring news from all corners of the four nations. Their voice levels were kept to a minimum as they did not want to arouse any outside attention. Suddenly, the door could be heard knocking and everyone hushed at an instant. One of the men walked over to the door and slid open a narrow slot located in the middle of the door. On the other side was a stranger wearing a long black coat. His features, from head to toe, were completely hidden leaving no skin to be seen anywhere. When he recited the password, his voice was muffled clearly indicating that something was covering his mouth.
The door opened to let the stranger in. He strolled inside at a brisk pace. Once the door was closed, the figure lifted the black hood off of his head. His appearance received a wide range of gasps in the room. Some of the room's members approached the newcomer cautiously, as they weren't quite sure of what they were seeing. Then, they took one step back as the stranger spoke.
"Please do not be alarmed. I've come to make my presence known. I'm on your side even in the shadows."
"Aren't you….?" spoke up the person nearest to the newcomer.
"Yes, but I will not be alone. I've come to offer my assistance. In exchange, I need you to tell me two things."
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To Be Continued….
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A.N: Done with finals! Yes!! *collapses*