In the morning, I woke up Aang and told him that he needed to get to work. He needed some more training. So he decided to do some Fire Punches. "More ferocious, Aang!" I called. "Imagine you're striking through your opponent's heart!"
He stopped Firebending and looked at me. "I'm trying, okay?" he growled. He turned back around and started punching again. "Let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!" I demanded. Aang made a noise. I'm not even sure what it was. It sounded like a squeak. He smiled at me pathetically. "That sounded pathetic! I said roar!" I demanded.
Aang roared that time, shooting a beam of fire from his hands and mouth. I nodded. That's better. "Who wants watermelon juice?" Katara asked from behind us.
"Ooh! Me!" Aang cheered, running over to her. I grabbed Aang. "Hey! Your lesson's not over yet!" I said.
"Come on, Zuko. Give him a break," Suki said. "He earned it." I let go. "Fine!" I growled. "If you want to sit around like snail sloths all day then go ahead! But my father won't stop. He won't wait!" I walked away. I storm off into my room. Aang isn't taking this seriously. He doesn't act like my father can easily defeat him. He doesn't act like the world is in danger. He doesn't act like he wants to stop Father from using the comet's power. Does Aang realize how important this is? Does he realize that if he can't stop Father, then the world will be destroyed?
Does he care if he can beat Father or not? The Fire Nation is growing anxious waiting for Sozin's Comet. The Fire Nation will be powerful, and almost, unstoppable. If he doesn't learn his Firebending, there is no way he can stop Father. Father will use the comet, up to it's fullest, and he won't stop until the world is under his control!
I walk back over to Aang. I need to tell him that his lessons are important. I-is he making sand sculptures?! This is no time to be relaxing! I punch a beam of Fire at Aang, who dodges. I chased Aang and he hid behind a sand Aapa. "What are you doing?" he asked, peeking from behind it.
"I'm teaching you a lesson!" I replied. If he isn't going to take this seriously, he's going to have to block my bending. I blast fire at the sand Aapa and Aang runs onto a building. I follow him and shoot fire at him. He just keeps dodging. "Get a grip! I'm going to blast you off this roof!" Aang cried.
"Go ahead and do it!" I returned. Aang jumped away from my blast and into the house. I destroy the roof and drop down below. He couldn't have gotten too far...
I destroy a flying dresser, which Aang probably threw at me. I saw a glimpse of him going down the hallway so I follow, enough to send a wave of fire down the hall. He uses his Airbending to stop the fire. "Enough!" Aang cried, blasting me out of the house.
"What's wrong with you?" Katara asked, above me. "You could've hurt Aang!"
"What's wrong with me?" I asked, sitting up. "What's wrong with you? How can you have beach parties when Sozin's Comet is three days away?" They didn't reply. Instead they looked at me. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"
"About Sozin's Comet..." Aang said, walking out of the house. "I was actually going to wait until after to fight the Fire Lord."
"After?" I asked. Is he mad? That's the worst time to fight Father! The world would be destroyed by then! "I'm not ready," Aang said. "I need more time to master Firebending." Which is why I'm trying to teach you!
"And your Earthbending could use some work too," Toph said.
"You all knew Aang was going to wait?" I asked. Did he tell everyone but me? "Honestly, if Aang fights him now, he's going to loose," Sokka said. He looked at Aang. "No offense."
"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to end the war. They pretty much won when they took Ba Sing Se," Katara said. "Things can't really get any worse."
"You're wrong," I said. I told them about Father's plan to end the Earth Kingdom for good. "I couldn't speak up. I wanted my Father to accept me but I lost my way doing so."
"I can't believe this," Katara said.
"i always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy but his plan is just...evil," Sokka said.
"What am I going to do?" Aang asked. I walked towards Aang. "Look, I know you're scared. I know you're not ready to defeat the Fire Lord, but if you don't defeat him now, there will be no world to save."
"Why didn't you tell me about you dad's crazy plan to end the world sooner?" Aang asked as he turned away.
"I didn't think I had to," I replied. "I thought you were going to fight him before the comet came."
"This is bad," Aang said. "This is really, really bad."
"You don't have to do this alone, Aang," Katara said.
"Yeah! If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we have a better shot at taking him down!" Toph exclaimed.
"All right!" Sokka cheered. "Air. Water. Earth. Fire." He grabbed a bunch of leaves, gives some to Suki and holds one up in the air. "Fan and sword!"
"Fighting the Fire Lord will be the hardest thing we've ever done, but," he looked at all of us, "it will be worth it." They walked to Aang and hugged him. "Yeah," Toph said.
"There you go!" Sokka said.
"Get over here, Zuko. Being part of the group means being part of group hugs," Katara said, holding out a hand. I stared at them. Do I have to? Katara smiled at me. I sighed. I slowly joined the group. Katara put her arm around me. "See? Isn't that better?"
The group was pushed over. When I looked to see who it was, I saw Aapa. Aw geez. The bison got involved too.
The group split. "Aang, I called before he walked away. "Meet me in the courtyard in two hours. I have to teach you something important."
"How important?" Aang checked.
"Very," I replied.
"Oh. I see."
Thankfully, Aang was in the courtyard when I asked him to be. Katara came with him. Does she like watching us Firebend? "There is one technique you need to know before fighting my father," I said to Aang . "How to redirect lightning." Aang smiled. He seems to be excited. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." I open my palm and point two fingers forward. Aang copied. I moved my arm along my first, extended arm, and switched arms. "You turn you opponent's energy against them."
"Its like Waterbending!" Aang said, pleased. Aang followed my movements. "Exactly. My uncle invented it studying Waterbenders," I explained.