Aang breathed in the warm, sweet air as he soared through the hazy golden sky. He just felt so happy.
He looked to his right, and saw Sokka flying next to him on a glider. The boy gave him a wide grin, which Aang returned. Then, he looked to the left, and saw Katara rise through the clouds, sitting on Momo's giant head, and smiled at her as she waved back at him. Lastly, he looked up above him, and saw Iroh and Zuko riding on the back of a large, majestic red dragon, both looking happy as ever as they grinned and waved at him. The dragon twirled over and around them through the sky in a mesmerizing display, and Aang, Katara, and Sokka all laughed joyfully as they watched.
"We need you, Aang," Katara said.
Aang looked back to the Water Tribe girl and smiled again. "I need you, too."
Suddenly, he began to notice something out of the corner of his eye, and whipped his head forward, where watched the golden color of the sky begin to shift to a dark, stormy gray. The clouds ahead of him flashed with lightning, and the sound of thunder quickly followed.
"Be careful, you guys!" Aang said, yanking Appa's reins anxiously. However, when he looked around again, he seemed to be completely alone. "Guys?"
When he turned to face forward again, he gasped as he watched the form of Monk Gyatso, sitting in lotus pose, float down directly in front of him.
"Why did you disappear?" Gyatso asked sadly.
Aang immediately felt the sting of tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I didn't mean to," he replied softly.
He slowly raised his arm towards his mentor, but before he could touch him, the dragon that Zuko and Iroh had been flying on suddenly reappeared directly behind the old monk. It took a deep breath, and Gyatso was suddenly consumed in flames, burning to ashes that flew directly towards Aang, who squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his arm to block the ash. When he opened them again, the dragon was gone, and he was alone once more as Appa flew directly into the dark stormcloud, lighting flashing all around them.
"We need you, Aang," Gyatso's voice echoed in the darkness.
Aang was temporarily blinded by a large bolt of lightning, and he found himself screaming as he was pelted with a heavy torrent of rain. Suddenly, he and Appa were swallowed by a massive wave, and the two sank into the dark depths of the ocean.
As Aang drifted, he continued to hear the echoing voices of Gyatso and Katara.
"We need you, Aang. We need you."
With each new chant of the phrase, more voices joined in.
"We need you, Aang. We need you."
He could hear Zuko, Iroh, Sokka. He could hear Hakoda, Bato, and Kanna. He could hear all of the people he had encountered on his journeys so far.
The sound of the voices quickly became deafening as Aang continued to sink deeper. Another flash of lightning blinded him again, and suddenly a silhouette of a man surrounded by flames—the Fire Lord—flashed in his eyes.
Aang woke abruptly with a gasp, bolting upright and startling Momo, who had been sleeping on his chest. The lemur first leapt to Katara, then Sokka, then Zuko, and lastly Iroh. Each of his companions were startled awake by this, save for Iroh, who had been sleeping on his side and was still snoring deeply.
"What's going on?" Sokka asked drowsily, holding up his boomerang and dagger. "Did we get captured again?"
"It's nothing. I just had a bad dream," Aang replied, and turned to lay on his side, facing away from them. "Go back to sleep."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Sokka said with a yawn.
"Me either," Zuko grumbled, sounding irritated. The Fire Prince had been surprisingly grumpy the past couple of days, and despite Aang's attempts to get to the bottom of it, he had so far been unsuccessful.
"Are you all right, Aang?" Katara asked. He could hear the concern in her voice.
"...I'm okay."
"You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately. You want to tell me about it?"
Aang squeezed his eyes closed. If Katara knew… If any of them knew… What would they think of him?
"I think I just need some rest," he replied quietly.
"You guys want to hear about my dream?" Sokka interjected, sounding surprisingly peppy.
"No," Zuko immediately replied.
"That's okay. I didn't wanna talk about it anyway…" Sokka grumbled.
Aang breathed in the warm, salty air through his nose as he sat on Appa's head, looking up into the bright blue sky. "Look at those clear skies, buddy!" Aang said with a small smile as a flock of birds flew overhead. "Should be some smooth flying." While appreciating the beauty of the warm summer day helped calm him somewhat, it didn't assuage the guilt that was still gnawing at his stomach.
"Great. Another day of flying," Zuko mumbled sarcastically as he tossed his sleeping bag into the saddle.
Aang frowned slightly. He had been patient with the Fire Prince the past few days, but he was really not in the mood to deal with his grumpiness today, especially with the night he'd had.
"I'm sorry," Aang said, turning around. "Is there some other, more efficient way to travel that you think would be better?"
"What? Am I not allowed to express my opinion anymore?" Zuko retorted.
"I never said you weren't," Aang replied, frowning even more.
"Then what's your problem?"
"I'm not the one who has a problem!"
"Ahem," Iroh interrupted, clearing his throat as he climbed up and packed his own belongings into the saddle. "Boys, is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine uncle," Zuko replied irritably, plopping down at the back of the saddle and folding his arms while pointedly looking in the opposite direction of both Aang and Iroh.
Aang narrowed his eyes at the Fire Prince before turning to Iroh. "Yep. Everything's a-okay!" he replied with a forced smile.
Iroh's eyes narrowed, and he nodded slowly. "I see…" he replied, and gestured for Aang to follow him as he climbed down from the bison.
When they came to a stop several feet away, he leaned close. "You'll have to forgive my nephew for his behavior these past few days," he said quietly. "You know better than anyone that he is a… complicated young man who has experienced much hardship in his past."
"I know," Aang sighed, slumping his shoulders. "But I just wish he would talk to me. I thought he had gotten better about doing that."
"The path to healing is rarely linear," Iroh replied. "Just be patient with him."
Aang nodded. "I'll try."
Iroh smiled and patted Aang gently on the back. "Katara told me that you've been having more nightmares recently."
Aang suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening briefly. "Yeah... I had one last night. But I'm okay now!"
Iroh looked sympathetically at him. "Aang, you know that if there's anything bothering you, you can talk to me about it, right?"
Aang nodded, looking down at his feet as he kicked in the sand. "I know."
Iroh was silent for a moment, likely to give him an opportunity to speak, but Aang found that he couldn't, at least not about what was truly bothering him. "We should probably be heading out soon," Aang said instead, and turned on his heel to head back towards Appa, jumping back onto his head to busy himself with securing the reins.
"So what's our next stop?" Sokka asked while securing the ropes on the tarp that covered everyone's belongings at the back of the saddle.
"Well, we should probably find a market, because we're out of food," Katara replied as she stepped onto Appa's tail and up to the saddle.
"Guys, wait," Sokka said anxiously. "This was in my dream. We shouldn't go to the market."
Aang, Katara, and Iroh eyed Sokka curiously, and even Zuko ceased his brooding momentarily to listen to what the Water Tribe boy had to say.
"What happened in your dream?" Katara asked.
"Food eats people!" Sokka exclaimed, eyes widening in terror.
Katara shook her head slowly, while Zuko rolled his eyes and went back to his brooding.
"Also, Momo could talk," Sokka added, glaring at the lemur, whose ears drooped. "You said some very unkind things."
"Wherever we decide to go next," Iroh said, climbing onto the saddle and pulling out his map. "I suggest we head there immediately. There is a storm coming. A big one."
Upon hearing Iroh say the word "storm", Aang immediately stiffened again as scenes from his nightmare flashed through his mind.
"You're out of your mind, uncle," Zuko said. "The weather's perfect. There's not a cloud in sight."
"There is a fishing town to the north that's not far from here," Iroh said, pointing to the location of the town on the map. "I say we find an inn to stay in until tomorrow morning."
"Seriously?" Zuko argued, sitting up. "We can't afford to spend the whole day sitting around! We've already wasted too much time at this point. We need to get to the North Pole as quickly as possible."
"Zuko, you were just complaining about having to fly all day," Aang chimed in. "Getting to the North Pole as quickly as possible requires flying all day."
"Well, yes. Obviously," Zuko replied somewhat awkwardly. "I'm allowed to complain about flying all day and want to get to our destination without unnecessary delays."
"Okay, okay," Aang said, raising his hands into the air, trying his hardest to take Iroh's advice and not allow Zuko's attitude to affect his own. "You're right, you do. But I don't think it would hurt to listen to Iroh."
"Fine. Do whatever you want," Zuko grumbled, slouching back into his corner of the saddle and looking off in the opposite direction of everyone again. "It's not like my opinion matters anyway."
Sokka and Katara exchanged an uneasy glance, while Iroh sighed and shook his head.
Aang gripped Appa's reins tightly in one hand, took another deep breath through his nose, and turned around.
Today was going to be an interesting day.
"Ahhh, it's good. It's perfect, I'm telling you!"
"I don't know if I like the sound of that swishing."
"Swishing means it's ripe! It's the ripe juices swishing around, eh?"
Zuko squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance as he listened to Katara's conversation with the merchant woman who owned the fruit stand she, Sokka, and Iroh were currently perusing.
"Hey."
Zuko opened his eyes to see Aang walking up to him, and he felt guilty that his first reaction was annoyance. He really didn't want to have to interact with anyone right now, not even Aang. He simply nodded to acknowledge the Avatar's presence, and felt even more guilty when he saw the boy frown.
"Zuko, have I done something wrong?" Aang asked, looking concerned. "Why won't you talk to me?"
"I told you, I'm fine," Zuko mumbled.
He wasn't, actually. Because today was the one year anniversary of his burning and banishment.
Honestly, he felt ridiculous for feeling so upset about it. He'd denounced his family and the Fire Nation months ago. He shouldn't be this bothered by what happened anymore.
Unfortunately, it didn't help that he had barely been able to get any sleep recently due to the frequent nightmares in which the shadowy form of his father towered over him in the Agni Kai arena.
Likely realizing that he wasn't likely to get anything more out of Zuko, Aang sighed and walked back over to Katara, who was still shaking the watermelon and holding it to her ear.
"I think it's true, Katara," the airbender said. "Swishing means it's ripe."
"Actually… I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Iroh said with a sheepish look as he placed the citrus fruit he had been admiring back on the fruit stand. "It seems that we are a bit low on money right now."
Katara stopped swishing the watermelon, and Aang cocked his head questioningly.
"How low?" Sokka asked.
Iroh fished in his pockets and removed two coins, both copper pieces. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to give us a discount?" he asked the shopkeeper with a toothy smile.
The shopkeeper scowled at the old man and snatched the basket of produce Sokka had been carrying out of his hands.
Zuko sighed and pinched his nose bridge as he pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning on and joined his now-dejected looking companions."Uncle, how did you not notice our money was running so low?" he asked in exasperation. "Now we can't eat, and we definitely can't stay at an inn."
"Well, I could have sworn we had more than two copper pieces…" Iroh murmured to himself, placing his hand on his chin and shaking his head.
"Out of food and out of money," Sokka sighed. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"You could get a job, smart guy," Katara suggested.
"We shouldn't go out there! Please, the fish can wait. There's going to be a terrible storm."
Zuko turned around to see an old woman and old man near the docks, seemingly caught in an argument.
"You're crazy," the old man replied grumpily with a scoff. "It's a nice day: no clouds, no winds, no nothing. So quit your nagging , woman."
"Maybe we should find some shelter?" Aang whispered nervously. "I know we can't afford an inn, but maybe there's a cave nearby?"
"Are you kidding? Shelter from what ?" Sokka replied. "No offense, Iroh…"
"No, Sokka's right," Zuko added. "We should just keep flying."
"But what about food? We still need money," Katara said, furrowing her brow in concern.
"My joints say there's going to be a storm!" the old lady continued to argue. "A bad one."
"Well, it's your joints against my brain," the old man argued back.
"Then I hope your brain can find someone else to haul that fish, 'cause I ain't comin'," the old woman replied with a huff.
"Then I'll find a new fish hauler and pay him double what you get! How do you like that?" the old man retorted.
Sokka's face suddenly lit up, and he turned to Zuko, who stared at him in confusion before being yanked over to the old couple. "I'll go!" he said cheerily. "And so will my buddy Lee, here."
"What?!" Zuko exclaimed.
"We need the money, and you clearly could use a distraction from… whatever's going on with you right now," Sokka muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
Zuko's brow furrowed for a moment. Maybe Sokka was right—a distraction would do him good, and they did need the money. "Fine. I'll go."
"You're both hired!" the old man immediately replied.
"Now wait just a minute," Iroh interjected with a frown.
"What?" Sokka said. "Katara said get a job… And he's paying double! "
"Double?" the old man replied, turning towards Sokka with a raised eyebrow. "Who told you that nonsense?"
"I don't have a problem with either of you getting a job," Iroh continued. "But you should at least stay here until the storm passes. It's too dangerous."
"You can't force us to stay here, uncle," Zuko shot back, trying to ignore the small voice in the back of his head that told him to listen to Iroh. "We need money now , and he's paying."
"I ain't payin' double," the fisherman interjected.
"Whatever," Zuko replied. "As long as you pay us."
Zuko looked back to Iroh, who sighed in defeat, and tried to ignore the feeling of guilt that was beginning to gnaw on his insides.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea, you guys…" Aang murmured anxiously as he watched Zuko and Sokka carry supplies onto the fisherman's boat. "Look at the sky."
A mass of storm clouds had indeed appeared on the once-clear horizon, and they were slowly inching in their direction.
"Aang, we said we were going to do this job," Sokka replied. "We can't back out just because of some bad weather."
"Zuko?" Aang murmured quietly, giving the Fire Prince a pleading look as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
Zuko flinched when Aang touched him, and his amber eyes shot up to meet Aang's own. For a moment, his stony exterior cracked, and he almost looked apologetic. However, he quickly regained his composure. "We're going," he replied, shrugging Aang's arm off to go pick up another crate.
"The boy with the tattoos has some sense. You should listen to him!" the old woman demanded.
"Boy with tattoos?" the fisherman repeated, turning to look at Aang. " Airbender tattoos. Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"
"That's right," Katara said proudly.
"Well, don't be so smiley about it!" the fisherman replied harshly, and both Aang and Katara's smiles disappeared. "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years," he continued, stepping closer and pointing his index finger into Aang's chest. "You turned your back on the world! "
"Don't yell at him!" Katara shot back, her features twisting in anger. "Aang would never turn his back on anyone! "
"Oh, he wouldn't, huh?" the old man replied sarcastically. "Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering."
As he began to process the fisherman's words, Aang felt the sting of tears begin to burn in his eyes.
He's right. That's exactly what I did, wasn't it? I abandoned everyone.
"That's quite enough of that, sir," Iroh interjected with a frown, stepping forward. "There's no need to make such baseless accusations."
"Exactly! Aang is the bravest person I know," Katara added confidently. "He's done nothing but help people and save lives since I met him."
Aang's heart began to pound in his chest, and he felt himself backing away, right hand gripping his staff tightly. His eyes anxiously darted to Zuko, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.
"It's not his fault he disappeared, right Aang?" Katara asked, turning to face him. She seemed to immediately notice his distress, and her brow furrowed concernedly. "Aang, what's wrong?"
I can't be here right now… I can't…
He flicked his glider open and took off into the air.
"Aang? Are you alright?"
Aang pulled his knees closer to his chest as he heard Iroh's voice echo from the entrance of the cave behind him, accompanied by the steady pitter-patter of rain that had begun to pour outside.
"I'm sorry for running away," Aang replied quietly without turning around.
"It's okay," he heard Katara reply. It seemed she and Iroh had both gone looking for him together. "That fisherman was way out of line."
"Actually, he wasn't," Aang said, turning to look back at them for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Katara replied.
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Aang," Iroh said again, crouching down next to him and putting a comforting hand on his upper back. "Does this have anything to do with your nightmares?"
Aang looked at Iroh for a moment before nodding slowly.
"Remember what I said this morning?" the old man asked. "It's never good to bottle things like this up. You can talk to me."
"And to me," Katara added. "Whatever it is, it won't make us like you any less."
Aang gave a weak chuckle in response. "You say that now…"
"Could it be any worse than what my nephew or I have done in the past?" Iroh asked.
Aang blinked a few times in surprise. He supposed Iroh was right, in a way.
"Well, it's kind of a long story," Aang replied.
"Let's try to get a little fire going," Katara said, jogging over to Appa and digging through their stack of belongings in the saddle for a moment before returning with some kindling and several small pieces of firewood. Aang helped her set up the fire pit, while Iroh used his firebending to ignite the kindling. When they had all gotten settled around the campfire, Momo having curled up in his lap while Appa slumbered behind them, Aang took a deep breath.
"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar," he began, warm memories of the Southern Air Temple flashing through his mind as he began to tell his story. "I was playing with some other kids just outside the South Wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the air scooter."
First you got to form the ball, then you got to get on quick, Aang had explained to the other Air Nomad children before demonstrating how to create and ride the air scooter himself.
Okay, here goes, his lanky friend Torma had said before creating a ball of air, then attempting and promptly failing to land on it.
Where'd you learn that trick, Aang? his small friend Kipu had asked, tugging on Aang's sleeve.
I made it up, Aang had replied with a grin.
Wow! Kipu had exclaimed, dancing around with his hands in the air.
At that moment, the group of boys had been interrupted by the council of Air Nomad elder monks.
Aang, come with us, Monk Gyatso had said. We need to speak with you.
The elder monks had then led Aang to their meeting room, where they told him that he was the current incarnation of the Avatar, the only person alive who had the ability to bend all four elements and whose responsibility was to maintain balance between the four nations.
How do you know it's me? Aang had asked, having initially found this revelation quite difficult to believe.
We have known you were the Avatar for some time, Monk Tashi had replied. Do you remember these?
Aang remembered the monk tossing a small rolled-up cloth mat that landed and unfurled in front of him, revealing four items that he recognized immediately.
Those were some of my favorite toys when I was little! Aang had exclaimed happily.
You chose them from among thousands of toys, Aang. The toys you picked were the four Avatar relics. These items belonged to Avatars past. Your own past lives.
I just chose them because they seemed fun, Aang had replied, picking up the propeller toy and pulling the string to send the propeller flying over Monk Tashi, whose wrinkled face had remained unphased and serious as ever.
You chose them because they were familiar, Tashi had said.
Normally we would have told you of your identity when you turned sixteen, Monk Gyatso had added. But there are troubling signs. Storm clouds are gathering.
I fear that war may be upon us, young Avatar, Monk Pasang, the leader of the Southern Air Temple monks, had said.
Gyatso's voice echoed in his mind once more, repeating that familiar phrase: We need you, Aang.
"Yes-siree, there's nothing tastier than freshly-caught fish," Sokka said as he and Zuko sat on the deck of the boat, currently untangling a large fishing net as they had been told to by the old fisherman, who had disappeared below deck several minutes prior and had yet to reemerge. "When we get back, let's see if the old man will let us take some of the catch as part of our employee discount."
"Uh huh," Zuko said absentmindedly as he focused on a large, stubborn knot that refused to come loose, only half listening to Sokka's rambling.
"Oh, that reminds me! I completely forgot about this story, but it's hilarious . Well, maybe it was more hilarious for me than it was for her. This one time, Katara and I were out fishing, and we–"
Zuko furrowed his brow as he continued to attempt to untangle the knot in the net, Sokka's voice fading into the background.
Don't think about it, he said to himself. Just don't think about it. Focus on your job. On untangling this net. That's the only thing that needs your attention right now.
"And so I told Katara that she should learn to show me some respect, which, now that I'm thinking about it, was probably kinda sexist of me to say, but I didn't exactly know better back then, so–"
Upon hearing Sokka say the word "respect", Ozai's voice suddenly echoed in Zuko's thoughts.
You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.
He suddenly felt himself being transported back in time, back to the Agni Kai arena as the silhouette of his father loomed over him once again.
Zuko felt himself begin to break out into a cold sweat, and proceeded to yank at the knot even harder, desperately trying to keep his thoughts away from that incident. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, the net remained knotted. Without warning, he abruptly grunted in rage, and the net erupted into flames in his hands.
"Woah!" Sokka exclaimed, jumping back. "What in the name of the moon spirit are you doing?!"
Zuko's eyes widened in shock, and he dropped the net, stamping the fire out before it could spread. "I–I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Sokka made a shushing motion over his mouth, then looked over at the door leading below deck. The two boys sat in silence for a few moments until they were sure the fisherman hadn't heard any of the commotion.
"Listen, buddy," Sokka said quietly with a sigh. "I didn't wanna say anything, but you've been off this whole day. Normally, I would just chalk it up to you being your usual grumpy self, but I've never seen you like this. And now, you're so angry you're burning up a fishing net."
Zuko blinked several times at the Water Tribe boy. He was right, of course. But there was no way he could tell Sokka the true reason as to why he was feeling and acting so horribly… Was there?
"I… You see… It's…" he attempted, looking at the floor of the deck as he struggled to figure out what to say.
He looked back up at Sokka, whose arms were folded as he looked at Zuko expectantly.
"Today's… today's the anniversary of the day I was banished," he finally spat out.
Sokka's eyebrows rose, and his arms dropped to his side as he nodded slowly in understanding. "Ohh."
"I just… I can't…"
"Hey, it's okay," Sokka said, holding his palms up to stop him. "You don't have to explain anything else to me. I get it."
Zuko let out a sigh of relief.
"But I really think you should talk about it with Aang," Sokka added. "I mean, you know he'll understand. He adores you. You're his best friend."
Zuko knew that Sokka didn't mean that Aang adored him in that way, but hearing him state this fact plainly still made his heart skip a beat. "I know. You're right. I've been horrible to everyone. I'm sorry."
Suddenly, the dark gray sky above them lit up with a crack of lightning and thunder, causing them both to jump. Soon, what started as a light spattering of raindrops quickly began to turn into a downpour. The two boys exchanged an anxious glance, indicating that they were likely both thinking the same thing.
Iroh may have been right about the storm.
"We should tell the fisherman to take the boat back to the harbor," Zuko said, and Sokka nodded. They immediately ran below deck, where they looked around for the fisherman. When Zuko's eyes adjusted to the dark, he finally spotted the old man, who was fast asleep in a hammock.
"He's been asleep this whole time?" Sokka exclaimed in a mix of shock and frustration.
"Of course he has," Zuko grumbled with a sigh before walking over to the snoring man's hammock. "Hey!" he said loudly, startling the old man, who sputtered as he woke up. "Your wife was right. There's a storm. We need to get back to the town before it gets worse."
The old man blinked groggily, then frowned. "What are you boys yammering about? A little rain isn't gonna hurt any–"
As soon as the fisherman had finished his sentence, another loud crack of thunder sounded from outside, shaking the entire vessel, and the boat began to lurch somewhat violently, knocking Sokka over and dumping the fisherman out of his hammock.
"Okay, okay," the old man said as he pushed himself to his feet, looking slightly frazzled now. "Come on, boys. Let's get this ship turned around."
"So you were upset that you were the Avatar?" Katara asked in confusion. "Why wouldn't you be excited about it?"
"Well, I didn't know how to feel about it," Aang replied. "All I knew was that after I found out, everything began changing…"
Another memory manifested in his mind. He remembered walking out to the courtyard the following day and initially feeling ecstatic to see that all of his friends had learned how to do the air scooter.
Hey, not bad! You guys have been practicing! he remembered praising.
Not only that! Kipu had replied joyfully. We made up a game you can play with the air scooters!
Great! Aang had excitedly replied, but as soon as he had formed his own air scooter, the other boys had immediately hopped off of theirs. What's going on?
Now that you're the Avatar, it's kind of an unfair advantage for whichever team you're on, Torma had replied awkwardly.
But I'm still the same! Aang had protested. Nothing's changed! So… what? I can't play?
That's the only fair way, Torma had said.
Oh, okay, Aang had replied sullenly.
Sorry, Aang, he'd heard Kipu say apologetically as he left the South Wall.
When he had returned to his room, he remembered his spirits being lifted when he saw Monk Gyatso sitting at the table by the window, a Pai Sho board already set up in front of him. However, Aang had found himself unable to truly focus on the game.
Very interesting move, young one, Gyatso had commented after Aang had moved a piece.
What do you mean? Aang had asked before a mysterious gust of air had flipped the back of his shirt over his head, covering his eyes. Hey! he'd exclaimed when he had realized what his mentor was doing, and the two laughed heartily.
You're playing games with him? the harsh voice of Monk Tashi had interrupted. The Avatar should be training!
Aang has already trained enough for today, Gyatso had countered.
Time is short, Tashi had said to Gyatso before turning to Aang. Come with me. I must test you on some high level techniques.
No, Gyatso had replied firmly. As long as I'm his guardian, I will decide when he trains... and when he gets his butt kicked at Pai Sho.
Hmph, Tashi had grunted with a frown before leaving the room.
Aang's mind returned to the present, where he saw that Katara was smiling.
"Monk Gyatso sounds like he was a really fun person to have as a guardian," she said.
"Indeed," Iroh agreed. "I would have very much liked to have met him, if I could."
Aang smiled slightly in return. "Yeah. He was the best." His smile faded, however, as he began to recall what happened next. "But just when I was feeling better, something worse happened."
The memory of the conversation between Tashi, Pasang, and Gyatso began to play in his mind, sounding almost as clear as the day he had heard it.
Aang needs to have freedom and fun, he recalled Gyatso arguing. He needs to grow up as a normal boy.
You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny, Tashi had countered.
Gyatso, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment, Pasang had added.
It was at this point that Aang had remembered his heart sinking. Pasang had been a serious man, but Aang had always thought of him as being at least somewhat reasonable.
All I want is what is best for him, Gyatso had pleaded.
But what we need is what's best for the world . You and Aang must be separated! Pasang had declared. The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training.
"That's awful, Aang," Katara said, looking shocked, while Iroh simply looked saddened. "I don't know what to say."
"How could they do that to me?" Aang said, standing up abruptly as he felt a strong wave of anger begin to rise within him. He turned away from the fire and clenched his fists at his side. "They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved! " he shouted, and for a moment, he lost himself in the anger.
"Woah, hot cinders!"
Katara's exclamation immediately shocked Aang out of his angry state, and he turned around to see the flames of the campfire diminishing as Iroh made a movement with his hands. Had he accidentally caused them to grow larger?
"I'm sorry I got so mad," Aang apologized as he walked back over to sit next to the fire.
"No need to apologize," Iroh replied. "You're not the first firebender to fuel flames out of anger."
"And you have the right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that," Katara added.
"Well, that's not exactly what happened…" Aang replied, pulling his knees to his chest again. "I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do, so…"
There was a tense moment of silence.
"You ran away," Katara said softly.
"I never saw Gyatso again," Aang replied, and he squeezed his eyes shut as memories of that night flashed in his mind. "We got caught in a storm, and we went down… Next thing I knew, I was nearly a hundred years in the future, and the world was at war with the Fire Nation. And then I found out that Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me and I wasn't there to help."
Katara shook her head. "You don't know what would have–"
"The world needed me and I wasn't there to help!" Aang interrupted angrily. "The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world!"
"You're being too hard on yourself," Katara countered. "Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed, you would have been killed along with all the other airbenders."
"You don't know that," Aang argued.
"No, we don't," Iroh said. "But you can't change what happened in the past, Aang. You are here now , and you have already helped so many people."
"Iroh's right," Katara said with a nod. "Not only that, but you give people hope ."
Aang stared at both of them wide-eyed for a moment. I give people hope?
He looked at the ground for a moment as he continued to consider Katara's statement. Then, a small smile slowly appeared on his face. "I guess… Maybe you're right. Maybe I should focus on what I can do now instead of what I didn't do back then."
Iroh nodded. "This is something I have to remind Prince Zuko of often. He struggles to do the same."
Aang nodded, and his brow furrowed as he thought about the Fire Prince. "Are you sure there isn't anything specific that's been bothering him recently?" he asked.
Iroh pursed his lips into a thin line as he stroked his beard. "Well… he wouldn't want me to tell you everything. He probably doesn't want me to tell you anything . But…" Iroh took a deep breath and sighed. "Exactly one year ago today was the day he was banished."
Aang's eyes widened again. Of course. No wonder he's so upset.
He knew how much Zuko had been affected mentally and emotionally by his banishment. The Fire Prince had made that fact abundantly clear almost immediately after they had first met. While he had come a long way since then, Aang couldn't just expect him to never be affected by his trauma ever again.
"That must be a pretty painful memory for him," Katara said quietly.
"It very much is," Iroh replied solemnly. "Which is why I won't recount the details for him. I will let him do that himself, if he ever decides to."
"Help! Oh, please help!"
Aang snapped his head up to see the fisherman's wife standing at the entrance of the cave, waving her arms.
Katara immediately got up and jogged over to the old woman, taking her gently by the arm. "It's okay. You're safe."
"But my husband isn't!"
"What do you mean?" Katara asked anxiously, looking back at Iroh, who stood up abruptly as well, an equally anxious expression appearing on his face.
"They haven't returned!" the old woman replied. "They should have been back by now! And this storm is becoming a typhoon! They're caught out at sea!"
"I'm going to find them!" Aang declared, standing up as well.
"We're going with you," Iroh said, and Katara nodded.
"I'm staying here!" the old woman humphed, plopping herself down next to the fire.
"We'll be back soon, I promise," Aang told the old woman.
Zuko squinted as the heavy rain from the storm battered his face. He used his free hand to brush the wet strands of his bangs out of his eyes, while the other held onto the ropes connected to the mainsail.
Unfortunately, all of the other sails had been ripped or damaged in some way as the storm had worsened; the little wooden ship was nowhere near as strong as a metal Fire Navy one, and Zuko knew that it was not likely to last much longer in these extreme weather conditions.
"I'm too young to die!" Sokka wailed next to him.
"I'm not, but I still don't wanna!" the fisherman yelled in reply.
Could this truly be the end? After everything he had been through, was he about to die at sea, working as a fisherman , because he had been too stubborn to listen to his uncle?
His uncle, who he might not ever see again.
He couldn't help but also think about the last interaction he'd had with Aang, and he began to feel sick to his stomach. It hadn't even been a conversation— he'd simply brushed the Avatar off. He could have just told him what was going on. He should have. Sokka was right—Aang would have understood.
And now, he might never get to see Aang again.
His spiraling thoughts were interrupted when a deafening crack of lightning flashed above them, and he looked up in horror to see the lightning had struck the main mast. With a loud creaking noise, the heavy wooden pole began to topple directly towards them, and Zuko had no time to do anything but squeeze his eyes shut and hold his forearms above him to protect himself.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of several consecutive whooshing noises, and there was another loud crack. Zuko opened his eyes and gasped in astonishment when he saw that the mast had been split in half, the two pieces landing with a thud on either side of him. Thankfully, it seemed Sokka and the fisherman had avoided being crushed as well; they were currently clinging onto one another for dear life.
There was only one person who could have split the mast with such force. He whipped around again, and through the torrent of rain, he saw Aang standing at the bow of the ship.
Zuko laughed in relief, suddenly feeling ten times lighter as his energy and resolve began to strengthen. He immediately ran to Aang and squeezed him into a tight hug, which the Avatar returned.
"Miss me that much, hotman?" Aang joked.
Zuko immediately felt his cheeks and ears begin to grow warm, but before he could reply, the airbender stepped away from him and picked up a long piece of rope from the deck. "Stay here," he said. "I'll be right back."
He then dashed over to Sokka and the fisherman, where he quickly wrapped the rope around their waist several times.
"Hang onto the rope!" Aang instructed as he secured a knot before zooming down the deck back towards the bow, where Zuko was still standing. Sokka and the fisherman did as they were told, and were suddenly yanked into the air with a gust of airbending as Aang yanked the rope, landing into Appa's saddle above.
Suddenly, before he even knew what was happening, Zuko felt himself being scooped up into Aang's arms. With another powerful gust of airbending from beneath the Avatar's feet, they were shot into the air. They both landed in the middle of the saddle, where Iroh and Katara helped steady them, and Aang quickly set Zuko down before hopping onto Appa's head and taking the bison's reins in his hands.
Blinking several times and feeling his cheeks burning again as he struggled to process what had just happened, Zuko shook his head violently and turned to Iroh. "Uncle! I–"
His words were interrupted by a tight hug.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Zuko continued, hugging his uncle back. "I should have listened to you about the storm. I was an idiot."
"Your apology is accepted," Iroh replied as he pulled back, and Zuko saw that while his uncle was smiling, there were tears in his eyes.
Suddenly, Iroh's smile disappeared, and his eyes widened in terror as his gaze moved to something behind them. Zuko turned to look as well, and gasped when he saw the shadow of an extremely large wave looming directly over them.
Before he had time to even scream, the wave completely enveloped them, plunging them into darkness.
Zuko immediately began to whip his head around wildly in an attempt to orient himself and find the surface, but he could only see when the lightning flashed overhead, illuminating his companions, all of which were holding onto the saddle for dear life.
All, at least, except for Aang, who was sinking further into the depths of the ocean, his hand outstretched towards the reins.
Thinking quickly, Zuko let go of his own grip on the saddle and launched himself forward, grabbing hold of the reins in his right hand while stretching his left out towards Aang. When their eyes met, the Avatar thrusted his arm forward, grabbing hold of Zuko's outstretched hand.
Almost as soon as their hands touched, a blinding white glow began to emanate from Aang's eyes and tattoos, and Zuko pulled him back onto Appa's head, letting go of the reins and grabbing hold of the saddle once again. He began to feel himself slipping into the realm of unconsciousness, and willed himself to try and hold his breath for just a little bit longer.
Suddenly, he was snapped back to consciousness as Appa burst out of the ocean, and he, Iroh, Katara, Sokka, and the fisherman all fell back into the saddle, each taking gulping breaths of air. The weather around them had strangely become much calmer, and Zuko looked up in amazement to see that they had somehow managed to resurface directly beneath the eye of the storm.
He turned around to see that while the glow of Aang's tattoos was fading, instead of losing consciousness or succumbing to fatigue, the Avatar appeared to remain completely composed as he whipped Appa's reins, steering the beast up through the eye and out of the storm.
"Oh, you're alive! " the old fisherman's wife exclaimed in relief as she ran up to her husband when they had returned to the cave, hugging him close. "You owe this boy an apology!" she demanded, pointing to Aang.
"He doesn't have to apologize," Aang said as he walked up to the couple.
"What if, instead of an apology, I give him a free fish and we call it even?" the fisherman said.
"Actually, I don't eat meat," Aang replied apologetically.
"Fish ain't meat!" the fisherman said, raising an eyebrow, as if this was a common fact.
"Seriously, you're still going to pay us, right?" Sokka asked, walking up to the fisherman with his palm outstretched expectantly, and Zuko followed him. The old man simply reached into his bag and placed one fish each in both of their hands, to the boys' dismay.
"We need to be paid in money , not fish!" Zuko exclaimed irritably. "We need it to buy food!"
"Well, you've got yourself a free meal right there," the fisherman replied, gesturing to his "payment".
"But we needed money for more than just one meal's worth of food," Sokka said in exasperation.
"Ahem," Iroh said, stepping forward with a sheepish look on his face. "Speaking of money… it seems I may have made a slight error when I said that we were running low on funds."
Zuko's shoulders slumped and he smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead with a groan. "Uncle…"
"It seems I had misplaced some of our coins in my travel bag when packing our belongings this morning," Iroh replied, confirming Zuko's suspicions and causing him to sigh in exasperation.
"Katara, I think you and Iroh were right before," he heard Aang say, and looked over at him curiously. "I'm done dwelling on the past."
"Really?" Katara replied, looking surprised.
"I can't make guesses about what would have turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most out of it."
Iroh smiled proudly at the Avatar. "Glad to hear that, Aang."
"I don't think you're gonna have those nightmares anymore," Katara said with a smile of her own.
Zuko raised an eyebrow slightly as he listened to this conversation. It seemed Aang had discussed something significant with both Katara and his uncle while he'd been gone.
"And if you weren't here now, well, I guess I wouldn't be either," the old fisherman said, patting Aang firmly on the back. "Thank you for saving my life, Avatar."
Aang smiled and nodded in response, and the old couple left the cave, continuing to bicker as they walked.
"Katara, can you come help me with this?" Sokka called out from where he sat crouched next to the small campfire. He was currently struggling to stab one of the fish onto a stick. "I'm starving, and I wanna cook it while it's fresh!"
Katara rolled her eyes. "You'd think he'd know how to cook a fish by now," she muttered lightheartedly as she made her way to the campfire.
Zuko smiled as Aang chuckled to himself while watching the Water Tribe siblings bicker. Suddenly, he realized that now was probably as good of a time as any to have a much-needed talk with the Avatar.
He looked over to Iroh, who seemed to be thinking the same. The old man nodded knowingly and held out his palm, which Zuko stared at in confusion for a moment until Iroh looked down pointedly at the fish that was still in his hands. Zuko quickly handed over his fish, and Iroh joined Katara and Sokka by the fire, leaving Zuko and Aang alone next to the cave entrance.
"Do… you, uh, wanna go outside with me?" Zuko asked somewhat awkwardly, pointing towards the outside of the cave with his thumb. "Looks like the rain's stopped."
Aang smiled. "Sure."
The two boys exited the cave, jumping out of the way for a moment to avoid getting soaked again when Appa decided to shake himself violently, before at last coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean. The skies were still gray, but they were much lighter, and the sea was calm. Aang set his staff on the ground and sat down on the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the edge, while Zuko followed suit, sitting down next to him.
"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately," Zuko murmured as he stared down at the calm waves below. "I've been horrible to you, and to everyone else."
Aang put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Zuko," Aang replied. "I know you've had a lot on your mind."
"Did… uncle say anything to you?" Zuko asked.
"Well... He said that one year ago today was the day you were banished," Aang replied. "But he didn't say anything else. He said that you should be the one to tell that story, not him."
Zuko's brow furrowed, surprised but grateful for his uncle's courteousness, and he took a deep breath before replying. "It's true." He lifted his hand to his scar and touched it gently with his fingertips. "It was also the same day I got this."
Aang's eyes widened. "That's… I'm so sorry, Zuko. That must have been horrible."
Zuko simply nodded in reply. "It was… I–" He bit his lip and folded his arms. "I want to tell you what happened, but this isn't something I've ever talked to anyone about, not even uncle… mainly because he already knows. He was there."
Aang's brow furrowed. "I… know that accidents can happen if you're not careful with firebending training," he replied quietly. "My friend Kuzon told me his older sister got a pretty bad scar on her leg when she was at the Royal Fire Academy."
Zuko shook his head. "Unfortunately, it wasn't an accident..."
Once again, he was transported back to the Fire Nation Royal Palace as the memories of that day returned in full force. However, instead of fighting them like he usually did, he decided to let them play out. He just needed to remind himself that he was not actually there anymore—he was safe, and he was simply telling his best friend a story.
Let me in! Zuko remembered ordering the palace guard that blocked his way to the war chamber.
Prince Zuko, what's wrong? a concerned Iroh had asked.
I want to go into the war chamber, Zuko had replied, pointing to the guards. But the guard won't let me pass!
You're not missing anything, trust me, Iroh had replied, leading him off to the side. These meetings are dreadfully boring.
If I'm going to rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can? Zuko had said eagerly. He remembered how desperately he had wanted to make his father proud.
Very well, Iroh had sighed. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know?
Thank you, uncle, Zuko had replied with a deep bow before entering the war room with his uncle.
The meeting had begun with old General Bujing explaining his strategy for an upcoming attack on an Earth Kingdom military base to the north of Ba Sing Se.
The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here, the old general had said as he moved the pieces on the map with his stick. A dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors. So I am recommending the forty-first division.
But the forty-first is entirely new recruits, another old general whose name Zuko did not recall had interjected. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?
General Bujing had smiled in response to this statement, something that had immediately unsettled Zuko. I don't , he replied. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat?
When Zuko had heard this, he remembered immediately feeling disgusted. How could the general suggest sacrificing members of their own nation? His anger had been so powerful that he had completely forgotten what Iroh had told him earlier.
You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Zuko had demanded, standing up abruptly. Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?
"You were right to call him out!" Aang interjected, looking horrified. "I know the Fire Nation is horrible , but to think they'd sacrifice their own soldiers like that…"
"I know," Zuko replied. "But it wasn't my place to speak out. Father was furious with me. He said the challenge against the general was an act of complete disrespect, and that there was only one way to resolve the issue."
Aang's eyes widened again. "An Agni Kai?" he asked quietly.
Zuko nodded.
"Between you and a general with decades more experience than you?"
"That's what I thought at first, too. I even told the general to his face that I wasn't afraid of him. I thought that my youth would be my advantage." He chuckled to himself weakly, and felt his body begin to shake slightly as he tried to mentally prepare himself to talk about what happened next.
"Zuko, you don't have to keep going," Aang said concernedly.
Zuko shook his head and took a deep breath. "No. I can do this. It's in the past, I'm not in danger anymore. I'm here, with you. And I want to tell you."
He looked Aang directly in the eyes while he said this, and the Avatar studied his face anxiously for a moment before nodding for him to continue.
"So, like I said. I genuinely thought that I was going to be facing the old general. My father hates weakness more than anything else, and I wanted to make him proud. But when I turned to face my opponent, it wasn't the general I saw."
He began to shake again, and he felt Aang squeeze his left hand.
"Zuko…"
"I'd spoken out against the general's plan, but in doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord who I'd disrespected. I had to duel my own father."
Memories of the Agni Kai arena suddenly flashed in his head again, as vivid as they always were.
Please, Father, Zuko had begged, kowtowing on his hands and knees. I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!
You will fight for your honor, Ozai had demanded.
I meant you no disrespect, Zuko had continued, begging, hot tears burning in his eyes. I am your loyal son.
Rise and fight, Prince Zuko! Ozai had ordered.
I won't fight you, Zuko had replied, touching his forehead to the ground in the deepest kowtow he could manage.
You will learn respect, Ozai had snapped, continuing to advance on him, and it was at this point that Zuko remembered realizing that his father was not going to back down. And suffering will be your teacher.
Zuko winced in pain as he recalled the memory of the burn, and as he opened his eyes and returned to the present, he felt tears running down his face.
He looked down at his lap, where Aang's hand was still holding tightly onto his own, and took a deep breath. He was safe. He was okay. And strangely, he felt a bit lighter.
He sniffed and wiped his eyes on his right sleeve, chuckling slightly again. "So… yeah. That's what happened. Sorry, I didn't mean to get this worked up–"
Suddenly, Aang was hugging him tightly, causing Zuko to stiffen momentarily before hugging the Avatar back.
"I'm so sorry," Aang murmured, his voice sounding hoarse. "I'm so, so sorry, Zuko. You should never have had to go through anything like that."
Zuko was silent for a moment. "Well… if I hadn't, I probably never would have met you," he replied. "Or Sokka, or Katara."
Aang pulled back from the hug and gave Zuko an unamused look.
"I'm being serious," Zuko said. "If I hadn't spoken out of turn and my father hadn't burned and banished me, I would probably still be sitting in Hari Bulkan right now believing that the war was justified, and you'd still be frozen in an iceberg!"
Aang shook his head and sighed. "I guess so… But you still shouldn't have had to go through something that painful."
"I'm not the only one who's had to go through something painful," Zuko said, realizing that he hadn't even talked to Aang about what happened with the fisherman earlier that morning. "Are you doing okay? You took off earlier today at the docks, and uncle mentioned something about you having nightmares again. I was too wrapped up in my own stuff, I didn't realize…"
"I'm okay now," Aang replied, turning to Zuko with a small smile. "I've just been having nightmares about the storm again."
"Oh," Zuko replied, raising his eyebrows. "It's been a long time since you've had those."
"Yeah. I've just been feeling guilty lately."
"What for?"
"For running away," Aang said quietly. "After the monks told me I was the Avatar, I overheard them saying they were gonna separate me from Monk Gyatso and make me leave the Southern Air Temple, so I ran. Then, I got caught in a storm, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms."
Zuko's eyes widened slightly. "You shouldn't feel guilty about that," he said. "You couldn't have known what would happen."
"I know. That's basically what Katara and Iroh said. They helped remind me that I should focus on where I am and what I can do right now rather than on what I should or could have done in the past."
"That does sound like what uncle is always telling me," Zuko replied. "I think it's good advice, to not get too wrapped up in the past."
Aang nodded in agreement. "Besides. I guess it's kinda like what you said: if I hadn't run away and gotten frozen in the iceberg, I never would have met you, or Iroh, or Katara and Sokka. And I wouldn't have been here to help people now." He smiled to himself as he looked out at the horizon, where the orange and red colors of the sunset were now reflecting off the water as the storm clouds began to disperse.
Zuko smiled as well as he gazed at the airbender. Thank the spirits he had survived today, to be able to experience this moment with him.
"Guys?" Katara called out from behind them, and they both turned around. "Sokka and Iroh burnt the fish, so we're going to head into town to get some dinner."
"Hey, I thought that if Iroh used his firebending to give the campfire a bit of juice, they would cook faster!" Sokka said defensively as he and Iroh approached from behind Katara.
"I'll admit that I'm not very knowledgeable about cooking," Iroh said sheepishly.
Aang immediately broke out into a fit of laughter, while Zuko sighed as they both pushed themselves to their feet and made their way over to their companions.
"That works for me," Aang said with a grin. "I couldn't have eaten the fish anyway."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sokka said. "Let's go see if that lady's fruit stand is still open!"