Chapter 6
Appa flew over some mountains as Aang paced around in his saddle, while the others watched. "Would you sit down?" Sokka said as he sat on Appa's head, reins in hand. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you anyway?"
"It's what Avatar Roku confirmed," Aang answered worriedly. "I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives"
"We'll let's see," Sokka started in a sarcastic and amused voice. "You pretty much mastered airbending and that only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by summer"
"I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole," Aang started pacing again. "What am I going to do?"
"Calm down, it's going to be okay," Katara pulled Aang down in front of her.
"She's right, Aang," Zuko sat next to him. "I don't know if you've figured it out, but I've already decided on becoming your firebending teacher."
"Really?" Aang smiled at the older boy
"Really," Zuko nodded at him. "But I can't teach you much yet. From what I've read, there is an order to the elements for the Avatar. For you it's air, water, earth, and fire. So, for now, you have to focused on waterbending"
"Oh," Aang deflated a little. "Okay"
"If you want," Katara got his attention again. "I can try to teach you some of the stuff I've learnt from those scrolls Zuko gave me, and some things I've learnt by myself"
"You'd do that?" Aang was smiling again.
"We'll need to find a good source of water first," Katara suggested as they looked over the saddle.
"Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in," Sokka grinned sarcastically. They flew for a bit longer before finding a waterfall and river. "Nice puddle," Sokka commented at the sight
Appa decided to dive into the river and float in it on his back, almost knocking Momo of his rock. "Yeah!" Aang exclaimed taking his shirt off. "Don't start without me, boy!" Running towards the water
"Remember the reason we're here," Katara reminded him, before he could reach the river
"Oh right," He put his clothes back on, walking back over to her. "Time to practice waterbending"
"Great," Sokka said sarcastically. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"You could help me set up camp," Zuko suggested as he carried the sleeping bags to their chosen camp area.
"Yeah, okay, sounds good," Sokka shrugged, walking over to where the saddle sat to help unload it.
After setting everything up, the two older boys went to gather up firewood. When they got back just in time to see Aang create a massive wave that accidentally washed over Appa, leaving the bison soaked, not that he seemed to mind.
"Thank Agni, we unload when we did," Zuko commented. He watched as Katara decided that was an enough practicing for the day. He picked up on her anger and guessed Aang must have gotten whatever she was teaching him quickly. It reminded him of his anger whenever his sister would get firebending stances before him. "We are starting to get low on supplies," He got their attention. "It might be a good idea to head into the nearest town and buy more"
"Sounds like a plan," Sokka nodded, picking up their bag that held the combined money they had gotten from Bumi and Iroh
They walked to the town that they had spotted on their way to the river. They found the market, which was near the port.
"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi and Iroh gave us." Sokka said, after counting the money. "Let's spend it wisely"
"Uh, make that two copper pieces, Sokka," Aang smiled guilty, pulling out a whistle that looked like a bison.
"I couldn't say no to this whistle!" He blew into it, but there was no sound. He stopped blowing when Momo squawked at him. He looked over in concern when he noticed Zuko rubbing his good ear
"It doesn't even work," Sokka said taking his fingers out of his ears. "Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk"
"No, it works," they turned to Zuko, who was still rubbing his ear. "It's a whistle for animals. The sound it makes is too high pitch for humans, but animals can definitely hear it." He could see the question in their eyes. "And don't forget I'm part dragon, so my hearing is really good, so of course I can pick up on the sound that whistle makes. That's also the reason Momo was making a fuss"
"Still," Katara said. "I think I'll hold the money from now on"
As they walked down the port, they heard a man talking in from of his boat. "Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are you inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!" He spotted the group. "Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're world-traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?" Before the other could respond, Zuko growled at the man, flashing sharpened fangs, which the man recognised. "Prince Zuko!"
"We're not interested," Zuko glared at him as he steered the others away. When they were far enough away, Zuko answered their unasked questions. "I don't think I've told you this, but one of the times I helped your father, was when we came across a group of pirates. That man back there, I recognised him as the only survivor, and looking at the ship back there, makes me think the ship we sunk was part of some sort of Pirate fleet"
"Pirates?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at him.
"Wait, what you mean 'only survivor'?" Katara asked, getting an uneasy feeling at the implication
"Well," Zuko thought on how to explain. "This may take some explaining, so let's finish shopping and head back to our campsite. I'll explain it there." The others nodded before following him to the market nearby
Once they were back at the campsite, had eaten dinner, and Zuko had transformed after sunset, they looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Zuko sighed, releasing a bit of smoke, before he started to talk, "About a year ago, we were helping your father and his crew with some refugees, when we came across a group of pirates…"
(Flashback)
Zuko groaned and rubbed his sore forehead as he and his crew rode their rhinos in front of Hakoda's crew and the group of refugees, leading them back to the port where their ships were docked. Over the last couple of hours, Zuko had been feeling off, a deep hunger nagging at the back of his mind.
"Nephew?" Zuko looked over at his uncle. Iroh narrowing his eyes in concern when he noticed Zuko's eyes had gained a slight reddish tint to them. "Are you alright? When was the last time you drunk blood?"
"Not for a few days," Zuko answered, thinking it over. "We've been so busy with refugees, that I think I may have skipped a few feedings. And I have been feeling off today. Do you think me not having blood for a while might be the reason?"
"It's possible," Iroh stroked his beard. "We'll sort something out when we get to the…"
They stopped short when they heard a terrified scream nearby. They headed towards the scream, as they got closer, they could hear more than one person. They came upon a group of what looked like pirates dragging a couple of women and children towards they ship sitting in the nearby river.
"Hey!" Zuko shouted, gaining the attention of the pirates and their victims. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Wouldn't you like to know ashmaker scum?" the captain sneered at him.
"Yes, he would," Hakoda walked up next to the prince, glaring at the captain
"Oh," the captain continued to sneer. "We also got some water rats"
"As I asked before," Zuko started growling, startling the pirates at the animalistic sound. "What do you think you're doing?"
"If you really must know," one of the men near the captain laughed. "We're taking these people to the black markets to sell to the highest bidder." He licked his lips as he eyed up some of the nearby women and children. "After we have some fun with some of the goods"
It took a moment for Zuko to realise what the man meant by fun, but once he figured they meant to rape these women and children before selling them on the black market, something in his mind snapped. The refugees behind him had already moved a good distance away, having been told by Iroh to move.
Everyone watched as Zuko's eyes changed, the whites turned black, his irises glowed blood red and the pupils became slitted like a catowl. His nails blackened and lengthened into claws. Red horns grew from his head as his dragon tail and wings appeared as well. His body grew to about the height between his human and dragon forms. A perfect mix of dragon and vampire.
The pirates started to back away as the beast before them moved towards them. They tried throwing the women and children in front of them as human shields, but Zuko simple walked around them, fully focused on the pirates.
Iroh and Hakoda managed to move the women and children to where the refugee stood, instructing them to shield the children's eyes and ears, having a rough idea of what was about to happen. And sure enough, Zuko started to rip and bite into the pirates, cutting off their screams, drinking the blood and life from them. One of the pirates had tried to get away but was caught by Hakoda before he could get very far.
After a few minutes, Zuko finally started to calm down. As the red bled from his eyes, returning them to gold, they widen as Zuko looked around in horror at what he had just done. He dropped to his knees, bloodied hands shaking as tears mixed with the blood on his face. His wings wrapped around him, hiding him from the onlookers.
He flinches when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and moved his wing a little, to see one of the mothers, smiling at him, much to his surprise. The refugees and now freed prisoners a few steps behind her, also smiling.
"The water tribe man said you are Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, is that right?" He silently nodded at her question. She stepped back bowed to him, the women, children, and refugees all following suit. "You have our eternal gratitude, my Prince"
"B-but," He stammered. "I just killed people. I'm a monster." He placed his head in his hands in defeat
"People who were going to harm innocent people," Iroh said as walked up to his nephew. "And you had enough control to tell the difference between friend and foe"
Before Zuko could reply, one of the children, a little girl, ran up to him and hugged him around his waist, much to his surprise. She then looked up into his face, unafraid, and said, "Thank you for saving me and mama, mister."
"Yeah!" A slightly older boy exclaimed, coming to stand near the half dragon, looking up at him in awe. "And you look so awesome! I wish I could become half a dragon!" All the other children joined in, showing their gratefulness and adoration to the young prince, much to his shock
"See Zuko," Iroh smiled at him. "Yes, you killed them, but you are showing remorse, despite those men being pirates of the worst kind. True monsters never show remorse, so you are definitely not a monster"
Everyone, from the refugees to the water tribe men, sounded their agreement. Zuko couldn't hold back his tears, his whisper was quiet, but everyone heard it, "Thank you"
(End Flashback)
"…After that, we manage to take all of the women and children back to their hometowns and then took the refugees to Yu Dao. As for the remaining pirate, we decided to leave him. Seeing his fellow pirates being killed like that was punishment enough." Zuko finished his tale. "I guess a nearby ship found him. And after that, I made sure I never went more than three days without blood"
"I see," Katara looked down for a second, before jumping up and hugging the dragon. "Oh, Zuko. I agree with Iroh and everyone else. You're not a monster. You protected those people, even when you lost control a little."
"Yeah!" Aang and Sokka joined in on the hug.
"While I'm not very comfortable with the idea of killing others, I can kinda get why you did it," Aang admitted.
"Thank you," Zuko smiled down at them, soaking up the kindness and love of the hug
(Scene Break)
The next day saw them returning to the dock. The pirate ship was no longer there, but now there was a familiar fire nation ship docked in its place. Zuko shook his head when he saw some of the soldiers carrying random things up the ramp with Iroh overseeing it all.
"I see you've been on a shopping spree again, Uncle," Zuko commented, as he walked up to the old man, startling him
"Nephew!" Iroh smiled at Zuko, hugging him. "If you must know, I lost my lotus tile and decided to come to this port to see if they had a replacement. They didn't," Iroh looked down in disappointment, but lit up within seconds, waving towards the items being loaded onto the ship. "But like I always say, the only thing better than finding something you are looking for is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"
'Lost lotus tile, yeah right. More like he was checking in on his contacts.' Zuko rolled his eyes. "Have you looked up your sleeve," he suggested, knowing that excuse very well.
"Well, what do you know it was," Iroh smiled pulling said tile out of his sleeve. He then noticed the group were a bit down. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Zuko answered, giving him a sad smile. "Just last night, I told them about that one time with the pirates. They've accepted me despite what happened then"
"I see," Iroh smiled back. "I'm glad. Now, would you like to come aboard? It's music night tonight"
Zuko looked back at his friends, who nodded, before turning back to Iroh. "Sounds good Uncle." They boarded the ship and soon they were on their way. Their bonds stronger.
(Scene break)
The group had just watched as a group of kids led by some teenagers take out a small gathering of fire nation soldiers. They had accidentally stumble into the clearing after teasing Sokka about his instincts when he suggested walking for a bit after pointing out that Appa was obvious, being the only flying bison at the moment
They were in the middle of fighting the soldiers when the group of kids and teens jumped down from the trees, being led by a teen with scruffy hair and wielding hook swords.
Zuko became a little nervous when he noticed some glares and angry looks being sent his way, especially at his obvious fire nation-coloured clothes. Hopefully seeing him fight his own people will make them give him the benefit of the doubt. He patted Sokka's shoulder after seeing his dismay of the scruffy teen taking down his opponent
The scruffy teen introduced himself as Jet and then introduced his 'Freedom Fighters'. As he was about to march over to Zuko, probably to say a couple of insults and who knows what else, Zuko noticed the darkening sky.
"Shit," He turned to the rest of the gang. "It's almost sunset. I should be shifting soon"
"Shifting?" The Duke, the youngest of the fighters, asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "What do you mean by that? And are you fire nation?"
"Long story short," Zuko gave the boy a nervous smile. "Yes, I'm fire nation, I'm the Avatar's firebending teacher and I have a spirit curse on me"
"The Avatar?" Jet raised an eyebrow, turning to see Aang giving a small wave. "And you trust this ash maker scum?"
"Hey," Sokka got Jet's attention as he stood in front of Zuko, facing the scruffy teen. He did not appreciate this random guy judging someone he was starting to see a warrior brother just because of his nationality. "Did you not hear Zuko? That ash maker scum, as you out it, is our friend and is the Avatar's firebending teacher?"
"That's right," Aang stepped forward to stand next to Sokka in front of Zuko before bowing. "And I'm happy to make an Avatar promise that Zuko is good, despite his curse"
"What is his curse?" Pipsqueak asked as The Duke climbed up to sit on his shoulders. "What does it got to do with this shifting thing?"
"You'll see in a second," Zuko spoke up, as he could feel the sun setting. "And don't worry, no matter what, I'm in full control of myself."
The rest of the gang gave their agreements just as a shimmer started to cover Zuko. The Freedom Fighters stepped back when Zuko started grow, becoming double his size as his clothes seem to absorb into his skin and his hair lengthened, following his spine. They watched as he gained a tail, horns, scales and wings. Very soon, the fighters eyes grew wide at the beast that now stood in the fire nation teen's place.
During the transformation, Jet had been raising his swords, ready to slaughter this fire nation freak. Avatar's teacher or not, fire nation people were all scum in his eyes. He was prevented from moving to enact his plan when The Duke nudged Pipsqueak closer to the beast.
Zuko simply looked up with his now glowing golden eyes, as Momo came flying into the clearing, landing on top of Zuko's extra warm head. Smellerbee and Longshot watched as the Avatar's giant animal came up behind Zuko to rubbed against him rumbling in a playful manner
"Love you too, Appa," Zuko turned his head to smile at the bison, before looking at everyone around the clearing. "So, yeah, this is my cursed form," he gestured to his reptilian body. "During the day, I can transform whenever I wish, but at night, I have no choice."
"Wow," The Duke said, after nudging Pipsqueak to stand next to Zuko, reached his hand out to touch his scales. Zuko stood still so the boy could feel his scales and fur.
"We should set up camp somewhere," Sokka suggested.
"You can stay with us," Jet offered, putting a nice front. 'Having the Avatar and the cute waterbender would be useful,' he thought before glaring over at the fire nation freak. 'I'll just have to kill the bastard. I doubt anyone would miss him.' "There should be plenty of room"
"Sounds great," Katara smiled at him. After sorting out some blasting jelly, the Freedom Fighters led the group to a set of trees and were pulled up into the canopy where there was treehouses built with bridges and ziplines between them.
Zuko managed to follow them by flying up, but after hearing a slight creak in the wood when he landed, he gently fell forward on to all fours, disputing his weight. He looked over the edge, sending a gentle rumble, asking Appa if he was ok down there, which was answered by an affirmative rumble.
Soon, they were gathered with more kids and teens around them. They sat down for some dinner, with The Duke and a few of the other kids, cautiously sitting down near the laying form of Zuko, who was being used as a heated backrest by Sokka, Katara and Aang.
They all watched as Jet stood on the nearby table and started talking, "Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine." The freedom fighters cheered, while the Sokka, Katara and Aang looked back at Zuko in worried. Zuko motioned for them to keep listening, not showing an expression. "I got a special joy from the look one soldier's face, when The Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey." The Duke swelled in pride at that. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." He took a drink from his cup. "May they're right. Or maybe… they're dead wrong." The Freedom Fighters continued to cheer
Seeing his friends' worried looks directed at him, Zuko tried to reassure them, "Don't worry you guys," He whispered. "I'm used to it."
Reading between the lines, knowing he was trying to hide his hurt and the guilt of his nation, Katara, closest to his head, reached forward and scratched behind his ear. Zuko gave her a sad smile, before closing his eyes and leaning into her head, purring. He stopped as they looked up to see Jet walking towards them.
Jet managed to put on his best friendly smile. "So, Katara, I was wondering if you and Aang could help with our struggle"
"Unfortunately," Sokka spoke up. "We have to leave tonight"
"Sokka, you're kidding me!" Jet tried to keep them there. "I needed you, and your friend Zuko was it? For an important mission tomorrow"
Zuko and Sokka looked at each other, already suspicious about this, before looking back at Jet. "What mission?" Sokka asked, already knowing that the other two would beg them to stay
(Scene break)
The next morning saw Sokka and Zuko joining Jet and some of his fighters. Jet started communicating with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee through bird calls. During a moment of quiet, Sokka jammed his jawbone knife into the nearby trunk of the tree they were in.
"What are you doing?" Jet asked
"Shh…" Sokka shushed him and then explained. "It amplifies vibrations"
"That's a handy trick," Zuko commented, sitting next to Sokka.
Sokka put his ear to the knife's handle, listening. "Nothing yet," he whispered to the other boys. "Wait! Yes, someone's approaching"
"How many?" Jet asked
"I think there's just two," Sokka answered, neither noticing Zuko's nose twitching at a familiar scent
"Good work, Sokka," Jet said after signalling to others with more birdcalls. "Ready your weapon"
Sokka takes his knife out of the tree and turns to look down at the forest floor, spotting an old man in red and a young girl in green. "Wait, false alarm…" he whispered. "It's just an old man and little girl"
But Jet ignored Sokka and leapt down to the ground in front of the travellers, much to Sokka's horror. Zuko's eyes widened when he recognised the little girl.
"What are you doing in our woods, you leeches?"
"Please sir, I'm just a traveller," the old man said
Jet didn't listen, knocking the old man's cane out of his hand. With help from Pipsqueak, they managed to knocked the man to the ground and Pipsqueak pinned him down with his foot. Neither paying attention as Sokka and Zuko came down to the tree, or the glare coming from the, now obviously blind, girl in greens nearby as she moved into a stance.
"Do you like destroying towns?" Jet asked threateningly, towering over the shaking old man. "Do you like destroying families? Do you?"
"Oh… Please let me go…" the old man pleaded. "Have mercy…"
"Does the Fire Nation let people go?" Jet growled at the man. "Does the Fire Nation have mercy?"
Jet was about to kick the old man, when suddenly a column of earth slammed into him and Pipsqueak, releasing the old man. Everyone looked over at the girl, who was glaring at Jet whilst in an earthbending stance.
"Hey!" She yelled at him. "I don't know who you are, but I suggest you stop right there before I kick your ass!"
"Listen little girl," Jet sneered at her, not noticing the uneasy looks his fighters were giving each other when they notice the girl's unseeing eyes. "I don't know what he's told you, but he's Fire Nation, so he's an animal, and I can do whatever I want with him. If you help him, I'll cut you down"
"Um, Jet," Smellerbee stepped forward. "She's Earth Kingdom and an Earthbender. You said to only attack Fire Nation"
"Then she's a traitor," Jet countered
"Wait a minute," the girl got their attention again, as she tilted her head towards Zuko and Sokka, with a big grin on her face. "I recognise that fluttering heartbeat anywhere. Sparky!"
"Hello Dusty," Zuko laughed, walked pass the glaring Jet and bewildered Sokka and Freedom Fighters. He stopped in front of the girl, bending down just as his arms were filled with a small body. "It's good to see you again"
"It's been too long," the girl stepped back before punching Zuko's arm. "You should of wrote to me sooner"
"Sorry about that," Zuko rubbed the back of his head. "It's been a bit busy lately"
"Yeah," the girl nodded as she walked over to the old man, helping up. "You said as much in your letter. The Avatar's firebending teacher, huh? Nice"
"Um Zuko?" Sokka asked, slowly walking up to the duo. "You know this girl?"
"Yeah, I do," Zuko turned to Sokka and the others, gesturing towards the blind girl. "May I present Toph Beifong, world's greatest earthbender, first ever metalbender, and the amazing Blind Bandit"
"THE Blind Bandit?" Smellerbee asked, eyes widened in awe. "The blind earthbender that is known to take down both fire nation and earth kingdom criminals twice her size"
"That's me," Toph smirked, crossing her arms over her chest
"Wait," Sneers spoke up. "Beifong? As in the noble Beifong family of Gaoling? House of the Flying Boar?"
"What of it?" Toph glared at him, daring him to speak about it more as Zuko and her waved the older man off after making sure he was ok.
"Enough!" Jet shouted, before calming down as much as he could as he glared at everyone.
"Let's just head back." He turned to Zuko and Toph. "I suppose you're bringing her with you?"
"Yes, I am," Zuko responded, following as everyone started heading towards the hideout. Along the way, Zuko formally introduced Toph to Sokka. When they got to where the ropes were, Toph jumped on Zuko's back, who didn't even bat an eye. Knowing what she was asking, Zuko summoned his wings and tail and flew up into the canopy hideout.
"Hey Zuko!" Aang called, as Zuko landed and Toph jumped off. "Who's this?" he asked as Katara came up behind him, also interested.
"This is Toph, she's an old friend of mine," Zuko smiled at him as he introduced her. "And possibly your future earthbending teacher"
"What?!" Aang exclaimed in shock.
"We'll explain later," Zuko said as Sokka, and Jet walked up to them. "But, for now, start getting your stuff ready, we're heading out soon." Sokka nodded in agreement as Zuko led Toph to where their stuff was, explaining how they travelled by Appa.
After sorting out Zuko's stuff and something else, they walked back to where the others were, when they heard an argument about the old man. "All set to go," Zuko said as he entered the room they were in.
"We're not going, we're staying to help" Katara said, having made up her mind on something. "Especially after that horrible man brainwashed your friend and tried to assassinate Jet."
"Well, I've already done my bit to help," Toph said with a smile.
"Really?" Aang asked. "How?"
"By burying those barrels of blasting jelly deep in the group," Toph answered, picking at her ear. "One of the proper ways to dispose of that dangerous stuff"
"You what?!" Jet shouted, making everyone jump in shock and surprise, and he started stalking towards Toph. "You bitch! That blasting jelly was for destroying that dam, after these two naive idiots…" He jabbed a finger at Aang and Katara, whose eyes widened in hurt. "…had filled it up." He raised his hand up to strike Toph, when suddenly, he was frozen to a nearby tree by Katara
"You were going to use us!" Katara cried, tears slowly dripping down her face. Her friends managing to hold off the Freedom Fighters. "You were going to use us to kill innocent people!"
"I was going to stop the fire nation for good," Jet tried to explain. "So, they can't burn down homes ever again"
"So, you were going to do the same thing they did," Zuko spoke up. "Only with water instead of fire. Doesn't help that Toph just told me that there are only five people who are fire nation in that town. Everyone else is earth kingdom." The Freedom Fighters started at that, they did not know that
"So, we were going to drown innocent people," The Duke looked down, hugging Pipsqueak's arm, horrified at the implications.
"No!" Jet started struggling, gaining a crazed look in his eyes that scared his fighters. "Those fire nation people obviously brainwash those poor people, it was the only way to cleanse the town of the filth, those monsters."
"No Jet," Sokka stood in front of his friends. "You became the true monster when you stopped protecting innocent people, and began to only see fire nation, no matter the circumstances or consequences"
"I don't want to be a monster," Sneers said sadly.
"You're not," Zuko smiled at him. "You just need to remember that actions have consequences, no matter how good those actions are"
Jet tried talking again, but his mouth was covered with hardened mud, thanks to Toph. She revealed to everyone that she was going take him to the nearby earth kingdom prison. The fighters were surprised to hear that it wasn't just the fire nation after Jet, but the earth kingdom as well.
After speaking with the rest of the freedom fighters, many decided to move to a new home. Zuko suggested Yu Dao, where they would be welcomed with open arms, as long as they behaved. After giving them directions and securing their equipment and Jet, who was now wrapped in chains, to Appa's saddle, they waved goodbye.
It didn't take long for them to dropped Jet off at the prison, who thankfully had helped Zuko and Water Tribe men a few times. The guards were very happy to see Jet caught. He had been causing a long of headaches, mainly disrupting some of their bases, thinking they were fire nation bases in disguise. Soon the gang was on their way with a pocket full of money from Jet's surprising large bounty.