Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone for the support and interest in this story so far, I hope I can live up to your expectations. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Reviews would also be very much appreciated.
Ketu Harbor, 100 AC
Takai, Zuko and Iroh stood in front of their damaged ship. The teen couldn't help but notice how small their ship looked in comparison to the others lined up next to it. Pitiful he overlooked the damaged front.
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail.", his twin demanded.
His uncle seemed rather disinterested, "You mean the Avatar?", Takai rolled his eyes, who else could he mean?
Zuko turned sharply to his uncle, making some wide arm gestures, "Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!", just as Takai wanted to say that that was probably not in his power, his senses told him that someone was coming, someone he didn't like the vibe off.
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?", they all turned around, shocked to see a man with large sideburns standing behind them.
"Captain Zhao.", Zuko greeted, with obvious dislike in his voice. Takai tensed. That guy had been present when… He remembered him standing next to his father, a smirk on his face as he watched as the child was tortured. His hands immediately turned into fists. A voice in his head told him, kill him, kill him now. But he just stood there, refusing to react too much.
Zhao smirked, "It's commander now. And General Iroh. Great hero of our nation.", he said, bowing slightly towards their uncle. Then his gaze turned to the only person left, "And what do we have here?", he walked over to Takai, who stared at him defiantly, "Shouldn't your ashes lie on the bottom of the ocean? And how did you get your limbs back? Are these prothesis?"
Zuko noticed Takai shivering next to him. He raised an eyebrow, confused about what the commander had said and even more so of the reaction of his brother. As an answer, Takai hissed at Zhao, "Give me an opportunity and I'll show you how real they are."
"As if you would have any chance in a fight. You aren't even allowed to participate in an Agni Kai.", the commander teased him more.
Sensing that his nephew was probably about to do something stupid, Iroh intervened, stepping between the two. "We were fortunate enough to find Takai a few weeks ago. He has proven to be of great help. We just stopped at this port to make repairs since our ship was damaged."
The commander eyed the ship suspiciously, "That's quite a bit of damage."
"Yes.", Zuko blurted out, "You wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Iroh stared at his nephew in surprise for a moment, then he began, "Yes, I will do that. It was incredible! Wasn't it, nephew?", addressing Takai.
The other teen stared at him for a second, blinking, then he took over, "Indeed, it was, Uncle. See, Commander, we were sailing along the ice of the South Pole when suddenly a huge storm appeared. We tried, but we couldn't evade it in the end. And even though we tried everything we could, we were thrown against one of the icebergs, thus damaging our little ship.", Zuko stared at his twin, obviously, the bubbly tone he sometimes had as a child somehow survived.
"Really?", Zhao raised an eyebrow, "You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?", there was that smirk again.
"Sorry, but we have to go.", Zuko said a little bit too quick. Takai smiled his nicest fake smile at the commander and turned to follow his brother, when suddenly a hand laid on both of their shoulders.
"Prince Zuko, Takai, show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honored to join you. Do you have ginseng tea? It's my favorite.", their uncle said, following the commander.
Zhao turned back towards them, "The Fire Lord's son and brother are welcome guests here. Non-benders though are not allowed.", thus excluding Takai.
Both teens shared similar expressions for once, going from shock to anger and resignation. Then they turned to each other, "If you are not allowed to go, I won't either.", Zuko said determinedly.
Takai looked at the ground for a moment, then he spoke much more calmly, "Don't be stupid, Zuko. Go and have tea, and please be careful, that man is like a double-headed rat-viper. I'll stay on the ship and help with the repairs.", and at his brother's surprised look he added, "While I was away, I acquired some skill with tools.", Zuko looked at the ground, before silently accepting. The twins shared a quick hug and went away in different directions.
To say that the engineer was surprised to somehow now had a skillful new assistant was an understatement. After quickly accessing their machines' problems, Takai first got rid of his armor and the shirt underneath. Then he climbed into the machine and began working on it. He thought to himself, that this was extremely low tech compared to what he was used to, but he wouldn't say a word about it to anyone, even though, in his head, he thought that with the right supplies he could transform this metal nutshell into a light-speed flying, laser-shooting war machine. Then he looked at the tools he was given and the fact that he was basically climbing in a steam machine and sighed.
If he was honest, there were more problems than just what the avalanche had caused. Did Zuko ever before stop to make repairs? Or clean? The crew looked baffled at him when he requested water and a sponge. "You need to keep these things clean if you want them to work properly. Just look at me,", his naked upper body was almost completely black from the ashes in the tubes he had been working in, "It looks like that all over in there. No wonder you're slow as a snail-tortoise. But you're lucky today, I'll do most of the work once you bring me the supplies I need."
They complied without discussion, so he soon found himself cleaning the machines from the inside out. Where he couldn't clean, because the tubes were too tiny, he'd run a mix of chemicals through them to clean them out. He had asked the cook about the components and was happy that they had those in stock. Then he began fixing the machines while the crew fixed the outer hull.
A while later, Takai was just hanging upside down from some tubes, fixing the last one, Zuko and Iroh came back. As his brother approached, Takai asked, "Hey Sparky! How was your tea?"
Zuko stared at his brother's form, basically hanging from some tubes right under the ceiling of the room, a few tools next to him, working on whatever, his whole body smeared with some dirty black substance. "What are you doing?", he asked in disbelief of the scene, "And how do you even look?"
Takai laughed wholeheartedly, "I told you; I'm helping repair this nutshell. Actually, I'm almost done. After everything we've done today, it should run way smoother, maybe even a little bit faster. Tell me, Zuko, did you ever before stop to make repairs, or clean for that matter?", as his brother just stared and blinked, Takai laughed again, fastening the last screw, he then got down from his elevated position. "Could you be a doll and hand me that towel, please?", Zuko just stood and stared, so Takai took the towel himself, trying to clean himself of the black smear. Looking at the towel in his hands, he said more to himself, "Guess I'll take a bath."
Meanwhile, Zuko found his voice again, "So, the ship is repaired?"
"Yes, we can set sail whenever you want, Sparky.", Takai answered nonchalantly.
"We can't.", Zuko shook his head.
Takai raised an eyebrow at that, "Huh? I thought you wanted to go as soon as possible. You know, staying close to the target and stuff."
Zuko closed his eyes, "No, we can't go. I challenged Zhao to an Agni Kai at sunset."
Now it was his twin's time to stare and blink, in disbelief, Takai stammered, "You did what?", then he raised his voice, "And you criticize me for doing my exercises? That can and probably will kill you! Zuko, this guy…", he gestured helplessly for a moment, struggling for words, "That guy watched in delight as I was tortured and presumably killed, a child! Did you think for a moment what kind of monster you'll face?!", he had come closer to his brother, the teens' noses almost touching.
"It was bad enough how he insulted you, it was worse how he insulted me, but I took that. But I can't let him get in the way of my mission. He wanted to keep us here until he's far ahead on the Avatar's trail. I can't let that happen.", Zuko shot back at his twin.
Takai sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a step back. He moved his hands in a half-circle motion, "Okay. Okay, that's an argument I can understand. Still, I think there would've been other methods, but alright. I know this is about honor too, so I guess, I'm not allowed to help you?", Zuko shook his head, "Alright, but no matter what you say, if he hurts you, or tries to, outside of this, I'll beat the living crap out of him.", his eyes narrowed as he said this and Zuko suddenly was slightly afraid of his brother. Takai then smiled and turned around sharply, towards his room, "I'll take my bath now, you know where to find me if you want to talk. See you later, Sparky!"
Takai needed over an hour to get the disgusting mix of burnt coal, oil and whatever else was in these tubes off of his skin. As he was sure that no one was watching, he grew two additional arms to help him out, black as the symbiont was, but even with this help it needed time for the smear to be removed. He couldn't help but feel tense. Takai didn't know a lot about firebending in general and he had no idea if with this challenge, his brother might've bitten off more than he could chew. He hoped not.
He knew that he had a strong protective instinct, especially of family members. Well, not all, but of his brothers, in which he included not just Zuko but also Peter and Miles. The younger spider-man would sometimes joke that he literally had his big brother behind him when faced with criminals. Hopefully the boy was alright. Not being able to receive a call if necessary, stressed him. He hadn't wanted to risk a cell phone being discovered with him in a world as low tech as this, but now, he wished for nothing but a communication device of any sort.
Knowing that he would need to overcome this instinct later in the day, he dressed in a new shirt and a black tunic, which was usually worn under the armor of the Fire Nation soldiers, and sat down in his room, meditating, focusing.
When he did this back at home, the others often thought he would then have a long talk with the symbiont within him, but that wasn't the case. He knew that other symbionts had talked to their hosts, but he was different. He was no host. A few years ago, the alien and he had made a pact. They were in a dangerous situation, both of them, and neither would survive on his own. So, they agreed to become one. One being that would keep the human side of himself, the body, the brain, the feelings, but also allow the symbiont to be a part of him. They were merged to not just two beings in one body, but only one. Not just a human, but also, not an alien in total. Later, as the scientists had found out that he, as the only one of the test subjects, had become what he had, they tried to separate them again. But it wouldn't work. The experiments had hurt, but they hadn't succeeded. They only found out that his DNA had significantly changed. Him and the symbiont had really become one. So, they didn't talk, never. They were one, so, each thought was as much of him as of the symbiont. He had heard of the symbiont called "Venom", he heard that, when occupying his host, he had said, "We are Venom.", Takai would never say such a thing. He didn't speak of himself in plural, he was just himself, Takai, firstborn of Fire Lord Ozai and Ursa, disgraced non-bender, half-human, half-symbiont, spider-man.
As the evening approached, he got up from his meditation and dressed in his armor. Zuko hadn't come to talk, he hadn't reckoned with it. His brother was not exactly the type that would do so. He smiled, if this would be Miles, the younger teen would probably now hang down from the ceiling, talking at lightning speed. Zuko on the other hand just wanted to be alone now. In that point, we are very similar, he thought.
Then someone knocked on his door. With the friendliest smile he could manage, he opened it. His uncle had come to get him. Wordlessly, they nodded at each other. It was time.
As they stepped into the arena, his brother and the commander already knelt on opposite sites of it, both clad similarly in dark trousers and a small cape over their shoulders. Iroh and Takai walked quickly over to Zuko. Their uncle spoke first, "Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons."
Confidently, but almost silent, Zuko answered, "I refuse to let him win.", then Takai knelt down in front of his brother.
He smiled at his twin and pulled him in a quick hug, "That's the spirit, Sparky. Now go and kick his ass.", both brothers shared a determined, small grin, before the older one stood up and stepped back.
As both contestants raised and their capes flew to the ground, Takai could hear Zhao whisper, "This will be over quickly.", anger flared up inside him, but he forced himself to stay calm. So, his figure just tensed slightly, standing upright, arms crossed behind his back. Watching Zhao with contempt as the older man began to attack his brother.
As the fight got more and more intense, Takai watched closely. As Iroh turned towards his non-bending nephew, he saw that Takai was studying both fighters' every move. He turned back thinking that Takai was probably thinking about how he could fight against a firebender the most efficient way and slightly smiled to himself.
And yes, that was partly what Takai did, but he also watched for something else. The smaller things, the little cues to when the commander would attack, when retreat, what would trigger him, provoke him to do something uncontrolled.
He flinched as he saw the commander smirk. His brother had attacked heavily, but without much merit and was by now panting as he stared at his opponent. Next to him, his uncle was rooting for his twin, one fist in the air, calling out to him, "Basics, Zuko! Break his root!", he turned shortly towards the old man, smiling.
Unfortunately, his brother was thrown on his back by the next attack. And the next. Fear gripped Takai's heart as Zuko now laid on his back, wincing in pain from the fall, and the commander proceeding towards him, ready to deliver the final blow. Takai just knew that was what was about to happen. He saw it in Zhao's movement, in his expression, he would kill his brother, and without any remorse. Takai wanted to interfere, but just as he took a step forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. He turned back and shot his uncle an angry glare. But the old man just shook his head.
In that moment, Zuko evaded Zhao's blow and swirled his legs around, causing his opponent to fall over. Relieve washed over Takai as his brother landed on his own feet again with a confident smile. His attacks now started to drive the commander backwards uncontrollably, and Takai's smile widened. Takai spoke softly to his uncle, "You knew he had it in him, didn't you?"
Iroh smiled, curiously eyeing his nephew next to him, "Of course, I trained him."
"I'm sorry I almost acted rashly, I'm inexperienced concerning firebending. Thanks for holding me back.", the teen added.
"I guess, you found some study material today?", Iroh inquired.
Takai only nodded, smiling at his brother, who now stood above the commander, ready to deliver the final blow himself. "Do it!", Zhao yelled at him. Takai nodded, thinking, yeah, do it. Then he corrected himself, his brother wouldn't. He just knew that. Zuko would not kill his opponent. And really, Zuko shot a blast in the direction of Zhao's head, but missed on purpose, leaving a spot next to the commander black and smoking.
"That's it? Your father raised a coward.", Zhao threw at him.
Anger was coloring Zuko's voice as he spoke, "Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back.", then he turned towards his smiling brother and uncle. However, as Zuko walked past him, Takai's smile faded and the tense expression was back as he watched the commander walk away in the other direction.
And then there it was, the small thing. The little cue that told him that the commander had come to an uncontrolled and angry decision. That he would attack any second. Zhao turned around suddenly and aimed a flaming kick at Zuko.
Before anyone could react, Takai had intervened. He had grabbed the commander's foot and held it high in the air, redirecting the flames at the sky and overstretching the man's muscles. Zhao looked at him, suddenly with a fearful expression. He couldn't get himself free, that teenager had an iron grip on him.
Zuko stared at the scene. For a long moment, Takai just held the commander's foot high, then he quickly pulled on it, causing Zhao to tumble towards him. He now grabbed the knee while landing a kick into the commander's stomach. Then he raised his leg against the one he was holding up and Zuko could hear a sickening loud crack as Takai broke Zhao's thigh bone. The teen then sent the commander stumbling and collapsing on the ground. Zuko caught his brother's gaze and shuddered. He had never seen Takai glare at someone with such hatred, such cruelty.
Takai straightened himself, brushing off imaginary dirt from his hands and turned away from the now whimpering and screaming commander. With a determined, "Come.", he grabbed his twin's shoulder, turning him away from the scene. He however, stopped and looked back at the man on the ground, "So, this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my brother is more honorable than you."
Iroh didn't turn around, but added, "Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious."
Later, on their ship, Zuko approached Takai, who was leaning against the railing, deep in thought, apparently. "Takai, what you did earlier…"
He trailed off, Takai didn't turn to him, but answered, "I told you, that if he'd try to hurt you outside of the duel I would intervene. And that's what I did."
Zuko raised his eyebrow, "But wasn't that a little much?"
"You mean, overstretching his muscles, probably breaking one or the other rip and breaking his thigh was a little over the top? Probably, but I personally don't think so. He wanted to kill my twin brother. He's lucky that I stopped there.", after a brief, silent moment, he added, "Also, he won't come into our way soon this way. He'll need a few weeks to recuperate somewhat, and even then I'll bet he'll limp."
Zuko nodded, he understood some of what his brother meant, then a thought appeared in his mind, "You didn't do that to the Water Tribe peasant, even though you could. He tried to kill you, why didn't you at least break any of his bones?"
"Sokka had a legitimate reason to attack me. And he didn't cause me, nor you, any damage. Also, he's just a teenager. He tried to protect his tribe and I respect that. But Zhao, Zhao is nothing but a thug, enjoying it when children are tortured and murdered, and even more thrilled to do it himself. I don't feel any sympathy for him.", a long silence followed, both teens now leaning on the railing, looking out onto the blue waves. Then Takai added, "Besides, I think, he's wrong.", Zuko stared at him, as his brother continued, "Our father didn't raise a coward. I think, our mother raised a fighter."