Aang, Katara, Suki and Sokka were on their way to Yu Dao to talk to Zuko about his previous decision. They were all confused as to why Zuko changed his mind and backed down from his support in the Harmony Restoration Movement. Not to mention, Aang was kind of angry. He and Zuko have been working on this project for over a year and all of a sudden, Zuko decides to back away. It made him kind of sad but it made him frustrated.
After much wisdom from Katara and his previous lifetimes, he decided to listen to what Zuko has to say before making any moves. He surely has a good reason to explain his decision, right? It's Zuko. The guy is scared to turn into his father so why would he repeat the mistakes his ancestors made?
Appa groaned snapping Aang out of his innermost thoughts. He looked down and he saw that Yu Dao was nowhere in sight.
Where are we?
Moments of silence passed except for Sokka snoring in the background. What's up with Appa? He thought. Katara spoke breaking the confusing silence, "I think I know why Appa wants us to stop... Toph's metal bending academy is right up ahead. Maybe he thinks we should stop and pick her up really quickly."
Appa groaned once more in confirmation. Aang pondered this thought over for a few moments before clearing his throat and speaking, "You're right. We need all the help we can get just in case things get out of control. I guess the more the merrier." Aang proceeded to steer Appa's reigns landing right at the mountain Toph's academy was at.
The landing of the air bison disturbed Sokka in his dream waking him up from his slumber, "W-what?" He rubbed his eyes trying to focus on their destination, the bright light certainly not helping, "T-this isn't Y-Yu Dao?" Suki pat him on the shoulder.
Toph's booming voice yelled through the air, "HARD AS A ROCK, DUNDER HEADS! HARD AS A ROCK!"
Everyone just stared as they heard grunts from the poor children moving rocks around trying to bend the most stubborn sub element known to man.
"COME ON! EVEN NON-BENDERS COULD FIGHT BETTER THAN THAT! …THE DARK ONE! WHAT DID I SAY AB- hey... is that who I think it is?" Toph said as she felt around for very familiar heartbeats and footsteps.
The gaang walked inside the school and Toph immediately spotted them, "Twinkle Toes! Long time no see!" She went up to Aang punching him hard in the arm making Aang wince and rub his arm.
Sokka cleared his throat, "Umm, we're here too, ya' know."
Toph snickered, "Yeah yeah, what's up Snoozles? Still the oaf you always been, I 'see.' Hey, Sugar Queen. Hi, Fan Girl," Everyone rolled their eyes at Toph and her love for nicknames. "So, what brings ya'll here to my school? Surely not the metal bending lessons."
Nobody answered for a while until Katara spoke up, as usual, "Well, we know you have missed quite a few meetings but apparently, Zuko stopped supporting the Harmony Restoration Movement. We were just headed to Yu Dao and well we th-"
"You want me to come join you all to see what all the fuss is about? Sure, I'll go." Toph interrupted.
"Really? But what about your students?" Suki implied wanting to make sure she would reason well.
"I'll take care of them," Toph turned to face her class whom were still doing their absolute best to bend metal, "HEY! IMMA BE CREATING SOME WORLD PEACE IN YU DAO SO UNTIL I AM BACK, THE DARK ONE IS IN CHARGE. KEEP DOING THE PRACTICES AND YOU ALL BETTER BE BENDING SOME PROCESSED EARTH ONCE I COME BACK... OKAY BYE!" Her class stood still for a few seconds before grunting and continuing to throw metal pieces at each other in hopes of making even the smallest dent. Toph immediately dashed out the front door leaving everyone in shock at her obvious major authority.
Aang whispered, "Wow. She is definitely good at bossing people around." Soon everyone followed after her and went on their way to Yu Dao.
After spotting their destination in the distance, the air bison grunted signaling Team Avatar's arrival. A few seconds after Appa made contact with the Earth, everyone hopped out of the saddle and walked up to the front gates of the colony but not before guiding Appa into a secure nearby location, along with Momo.
Crowds of people of the Earth Kingdom bundled outside of the gates, yelling and holding up protest signs in hope of the Fire Nation citizens leaving to go back to their homeland.
Toph gasped as the heavy crowd made her 'sight' become a bit blurry, "What a mess... let's go find Sparky."
They tried getting the guards to open up the gates but apparently, the town was in "lock down requested by the Fire Lord." Sokka pondered this over for a moment and gave light to a new plan.
After reviewing Sokka's plan, everyone agreed that this would be the best course of action to take. Aang grabbed Katara and held her waist and she tightened her arms around his shoulders. Aang swung his glider, opening it, and taking off.
They flew over the walls and the gates making a perfect landing on the other side. Moments later, a big rumble came from underneath them and Toph, Sokka, and Suki appeared from an earth-bended tunnel coming from the ground. They nodded and proceeded into their quest to find Zuko.
Soon enough, Fire Nation guards surrounded them hearing all the commotion inside the town, "Stop right there in the name of the Fire Lord. This place is on lockdown and we order you to leave now."
Aang stepped up and pointed to his arrow, "I'm the Avatar. Take me to the Fire Lord."
"Our apologies, Avatar, but this place has been put on strict orders. We must ask you to leave or else there will be consequences." The soldier in the front warned.
Katara glared straight into his soul, "We'll take our chances."
And a fight ensued.
Aang sent powerful air blasts at the men trying not to hurt them, only focusing on getting past. Katara sent water whips trying to move them aside while Toph blocked any attacks with walls made of earth. Sokka and Suki had their weapons ready just in case they were needed.
Again, they were just trying to get past. They weren't trying to begin another war.
"Sorry."
"Sorry, we just need to get through."
"So sorry."
The guardsmen laid on the floor piled on top of each other like dead bodies, the only difference being that they were still very much alive. Team Avatar excused themselves and ran towards the main building where the Fire Lord was surely waiting. One more guard got up about to send a deadly flame towards Aang. Katara noticed this and felt as if she had enough, "Thats it!" She sent multiple water whips at the man, "Stop. Trying. To. Stop. Us. And DON'T EVEN THINK about killing my boyfriend." Katara was about to send her last strike until an all too familiar man grabbed both her arms.
"Katara, stop." Zuko groaned.
"Z-Zuko... stop... you're beginning to hurt me." Katara said trying to get out of his grip but Zuko continued anyhow.
Aang stepped in, feeling like exploding, "Zuko! She said stop. I advise you to listen to her." His tattoos and eyes flickered white for just a second but the message came across.
Fear washed over Zuko's face for a small moment before letting go of his best friend, "Very well. I think you all came to talk to me about my previous decision. Follow me." He sighed.
The gaang walked inside the main building of the colony. Mayor Morishita joined them as was the Fire Lord's request. They made it to the meeting room.
It was gorgeous. A big rectangular table with seats made of marble. Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation imports decorated the room making it look colorful. The best thing of all was the big open window looking out towards the center of the town.
Zuko sighed as they all got into their seats, "I am obviously not good at explaining myself so please, ask away."
Aang had the question clear in his mind, as so did everyone else, "Why did you back away from the Harmony Restoration Movement, Zuko? After all the hard work we have put into the treaty... why?"
"Because I don't want to be like my father." He replied with complete determination.
Everyone's jaws flew open. If he was avoiding turning into his evil genocidal father, then why back away from peace?
Toph spoke up, "Elaborate before I slam you against a very hard wall, my dear friend."
Mayor Morishita looked mortified at hearing such a blunt response coming from a young and blind girl. Zuko looked like he was about to explain but he closed his mouth at the last second, "It's better if I show you all. Let's go for a walk around town. Mayor, please collect your family. It is important for my friends here to see the situation from our point of view." The mayor nodded in agreement and left. Everyone else looked really confused as to where this was going.
Everyone finally got up and followed Zuko outside into the town. The evening air felt cool and nice against their skins. Too bad they couldn't exactly enjoy it.
As they walked through the town, they saw various local shop owners locking up for the night. People from the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation working together in the town to earn a decent living. Local businesses made up of the two cultures seemed to be everywhere. Families of different colors and origins. All living in a town of harmony. As if it were completely normal.
"Even though this town started off with bad intentions, the intentions being using the nearby mines for coal, iron, metals, and resources like that... this place has really thrived. It feels somehow... different. You can walk down these streets and not get judged by anyone for being from a different culture or nation than them. You can feel the peace here just by feeling the breeze." Zuko said as they made a stop at a specific house. Mayor Morishita and his family came out of the front door.
The family was dressed in both green and red. Their eyes were different colors too. Gold and emerald. Two beautiful colors looking even more beautiful together. As Team Avatar continued to look at the family, Zuko turned back to his friends and continued, "As you can tell, this lovely married couple come from different nations but they have created a gorgeous daughter. I hope you can all realize why I decided what I decided... nations aren't meant to be separate... they are meant to be thriving together. My ancestors thought that the Fire Nation was the most successful nation in the world, but I think quite differently. All nations are different but they don't define us."
Everyone stood there in silence trying to take in what Zuko had said. It felt unusual to feel such meaningful words to come out of his mouth. They had expected a totally different answer. Actually... they hadn't known what to expect at all. Katara wiped a tear away and began to speak in a soft voice, "That makes perfect sense now." She looked back at her friends, specifically at Aang, "Look guys... isn't this what you all want? Peace? Well, there will never be peace nor balance if we keep thinking bad things about other cultures should keep us all apart. People should be able to live with others from other nations however and whenever they want. Who are we to judge? I mean look at me and Aang. We're from different cultures and nations and we're almost complete opposites. That doesn't mean we don't love each other. And that most certainly doesn't mean we shouldn't love each other."
The rest of the evening went by with plenty of tears, plenty of realizations, and plenty of meaningful speeches. Zuko had been right about his decision. Who would have thought?
It was finally nighttime and everyone was most likely in bed. Except for Katara. She was in her and Aang's guest room pondering over a thought. She was looking out the bedroom window into the garden outside thinking about her innermost feelings.
Aang had been moving a bit in his sleep and when he stretched out to feel for Katara, all he felt was a cold empty space. This made him wake up in realization of Katara not being there. His eyes settled on the beautiful figure leaning on the window in the moonlight and his heart finally relaxed knowing that his beloved was safe. He sat up and walked over to Katara, who was still looking out the window in a comfortable silence.
"Katara... what's wrong?"
Katara snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at the airbender and smiled, "Nothing is wrong. Just thinking about some things."
"About today?"
"Mostly about... us." Katara responded with a blush.
Aang looked over at her skeptically, "Anything you might like to share?"
"Aang... when I was looking at that family today, it made me feel somethings. I had a small visual in my head. Instead of that being Mayor Morishita's family, it was... our future family." Katara stopped talking, listening for any reply. When she heard none, she continued, "Their family was such a mix that it reminded me of us... how much we are a mix. And frankly, us being together is more unusual than Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation people being together. Anyways, I saw our future family Aang... and I really want that to be a reality. But if you all decide to go ahead with the Harmony Restoration Movement, what would that mean for us?"
Aang looked back at Katara, straight in her sapphire eyes and he immediately felt bad. Her sad smile said it all. Katara was trying to convince him to back away from the plan he had worked on for so long. And everything she said made sense. What would that mean for them?
"To be honest with you, sweetie, I don't know. However, I know for sure what I want. I want you, Katara. More than anything... and if my idea of harmony is going to get in the way of that, then I don't want it. I'm being selfish but I am also feeling selfless. People should really learn to live together. An old friend of mine told me that the idea of separate nations is just an illusion. That even metal is just a part of earth, as our esteemed Toph Beifong demonstrated." Aang replied.
Katara smiled brightly, "Exactly." She then closed the space between them and kissed Aang passionately. There was no way that anything would get in the way of these two. Opposite people from opposite nations doesn't mean anything to them. Because they don't see Katara of the Southern Water Tribe and Avatar Aang of the Southern Air Temple. They just see Aang and Katara.
Just two people deeply in love.
Author's Note:
This took longer than expected. And I am deeply sorry about that. Life happened and I got side tracked. This chapter was mostly a bit of drama and fluff. The next chapter will talk more about what they will do next and how a war feels dangerously close to happening. Just in case you guys never read the comics, this story kind of fills in for it but with my own little twist.