Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Prophesied ❯ To Find a Way in Darkness ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: eleneagalad
Non Anime: Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Supernatural / Suspense | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.06.2008 | Pages: 15 | Words: 20.9K | Visits: 225 | Status: Completed

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. -George Carlin
“The greatness of his mind is such that he rather chooses to die than be taken alive; wherein the unicorn and the valiant-minded soldier are alike, which both contemn death, and rather than they will be compelled to undergo any base servitude or bondage they will lose their lives."

Chapter 20: To Find A Way In Darkness
As the sun began to set, the people of the Northern Water Tribe started to celebrate the retreating of the Fire Navy fleet, the last of which could still be seen on the fiery horizon. Aang and Katara ran to help them set up for the festivities of the night, and Sokka soon joined them. Zuko was nowhere to be found, but Katara wasn't really worried.
Of the time she'd spent with Zuko, she'd known him to be perfectly capable of taking care of himself as well as desiring to be alone for unknown and often extended periods of time. So when Aang inquired as to his whereabouts, she just shrugged. She missed Aang's happy grin that was much too out of place for the conversation.
A cry was raised up through the town and Aang grabbed her hand as they ran to see what the cause was. A strong tall woman with thick gray hair styled in the normal Water Tribe fashion and lines of experience around her eyes and mouth, but she didn't appear mean-spirited. Katara smiled, for she looked very familiar.
In fact, the woman stopped in front of Katara.
“You must be the girl my sister talked so much about.”
“Your sister?”
“Aunt Wu is my sister.”
Aang laughed. “Wow! That's so cool!”
Sokka frowned at the woman. “Are you going to make nonsense predictions as well?”
The woman smiled gently. “No, I only give advice. But when I do,” she pointed her finger in a reprimanding way at Sokka. “You better listen.”
Chief Arnook placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.
“Lady Umi is famous for her…er…cryptic messages.”
“Thank you for putting it so delicately.”
Arnook started to lead her away, but her eyes fell on Katara once more.
“Katara is it?”
“It is.”
“Katara, I will wish to speak with you later tonight.”
Katara nodded and Lady Umi swept away. In the roaring welcome she received, no one noticed the shadows flitting from house to house.

Zuko sat in the middle of the rock protruding from the cold tundra, his meditation pose mimicking that of Ziri hundreds of miles away in the Fire Nation palace. Ziri found it interesting that he was conversing with the very person people thought he was, and Zuko was simply interested in keeping him alive through this Agni Kai.
Don't you think it interesting that we both have identical scars?
Would you shut up and listen to me?
…sure.
Thank you. Now, when you get out there, I want you to stick to your story.
It's the truth.
Exactly. If they see that you don't know how to fire-bend then they'll know you aren't me. Maybe they'll let you go.
Maybe?
Or they'll sell you into slavery.
And which is better?
Let's see, my father would kill you and you can escape from slavery.
Right, slavery, so…what do I do if he still wants to fight?
Get on your knees and beg?
I thought that's what you did.
Hey, I lived didn't I?
“Prince Zuko, it is time.”
There was no respect in the servant's voice, but Ziri didn't care. Zuko would've attacked the poor boy, but Ziri was not Zuko. They both knew this.
He's going to attack me anyway isn't he?
Probably.
Zuko?
Yes?
Come for me.
I will.
And when you get me out of this, I'm going to beat you for every scratch he gives me.
Agreed.
They both fell silent as Ziri turned and followed the servant out to the Agni Kai arena, trying to ignore the pounding in his heart.

The small island that Rou had taken them to was called Awaseru, an ancient word meaning `to join together.' Once every hundred years, the beasts that were now long forgotten would gather to remember the times when the world had only been theirs.
The Gryphons especially felt a strong hatred towards the gods for interfering and had to be constantly reminded of their kinship to the immortal deities.
The Dragons and their relatives had long since allowed each individual of their race to choose their own fate, whether to be against the mortals or with them.
The Ki-Lin remained the only race unchanged by the emergence of the human race. Some even took human form to help this species doomed to die.
The sun began to set, and two beings could be seen at the edge of the cliffs overlooking the center clearing on Awaseru. One was clearly female, crouched low with one hand on the ground. The other was male and stood near her at an angle to the island, viewing the clearing over his shoulder with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Both had hair as black as the night sea, though his was long and spiked around his head, and hers was waist-length and loosely hung around her. Both had eyes as blue and clear as the summer sky, their gazes both fixed on the boy clad in white in the center of the clearing.
Her eyes narrowed and she spoke in neither the common nor the ancient language. The tongue she spoke in no mortal man could hear and maintain his sanity.
“I believe the Shiroi Ryuu has returned.”
He nodded.
“Perhaps he knows of the happenings in the human world, and of the birth of the Four.”
He said nothing.
“Perhaps he will want knowledge of what he has forgotten.”
He said nothing.
“That is no doubt why he has come to us.”
The sun fell below the horizon, and the two figures disappeared into the darkness.

When Katara returned to her room before the festival began, she found Lady Umi waiting for her.
“You are surprised.”
“I wasn't expecting you here so soon.”
Lady Umi stood and walked over to her, holding her fists out in front of her.
“I wanted to speak to you alone.”
Katara found her gaze drawn to Umi's fists, and the seer's left fist opened to reveal a carefully carved and polished piece of diamond.
“Beautiful isn't it?”
Katara nodded. The crystal was simple perfect.
“Diamonds are one of the world's rarest jewels. People fight against the elements and against each other to obtain them from the dark coal they are born in.”
Katara remembered Arnook's comment about her cryptic messages, and tried to think outside her words, trying to catch the hidden meaning. Umi continued.
“You have held a diamond in your arms child, and you know their value. You have fought to protect your diamond from others, but now you wonder if it's really what you have wanted.”
“W…what are you talking about?”
Umi opened her right fist, revealing a pearl and when the light caught the jewel its obsidian surface danced.
“This is the rarest thing you can cherish, but it's often overlooked. People would never fight for it, its beauty hidden by its dark surface, and its creation was only through great pain, and it causes great pain. But it's worth so much more than this diamond in my other hand.”
Katara looked up into the woman's gray eyes.
“You have held a black pearl as well, and you held it much tighter. You fought not to protect your pearl, but to save it from the abyss that other's wanted to banish it to. You cherish your black pearl much more than your diamond, because you can see the beauty of the pearl when the light hits it. You know it shouldn't be kept in the dark, and you brought it into the light. Your diamond doesn't need you anymore, but the pearl does. The pearl needs you because you saw it.”
A blast of fireworks came from outside and Umi jumped, but Katara's gaze remained fixed on the two jewels. Umi finally looked at her again and smiled.
“Pick one, and choose correctly my child.”
“Pick one? Which one?”
“The one your heart wants.”
Katara expected that she would hesitate, but looking between the diamond and the pearl, she'd found the pearl already in her hand. She looked from the pearl she held to the diamond in Umi's hand, and as she watched, the diamond withered away into dust.
“The diamond isn't real. The pearl is.”
“I chose correctly?”
“You chose the one your heart wants, and the heart is never wrong. Now go find your pearl.”
Katara ran out, the pearl clutched to her chest, her heart guiding her as she ran, not noticing that the cries of laughter had turned to screams of fear. She ran…right into the waiting arms of a Fire Nation soldier.
Her pearl fell and shattered.

Rou glanced up as the sun set, and the first unicorn stepped into the clearing, He heard Jun gasp, and he could not turn his eyes away from the creature. Fire formed its mane and tail, dancing with life as its golden red eyes centered on the night sky.
It walked into the clearing, tossing its head, ignoring the two humans and the shirshu completely until another unicorn stepped up. Azure tendrils of mist danced around her neck and the wind whipped through her mane and tail as she observed the fire unicorn and then stepped forward.
Jun could do nothing but watch as the two unicorns met in the middle of the clearing and touched their alicorns together. Fire met water, and she understood what Rou has said earlier. There was nothing gentle or kind about these creatures, fierce pride radiating from the two nearest her.
Now, as hundreds of them appeared, she saw that not all of them were white either. They ranged from the most radiant of chestnuts to the fieriest of golds, and she swore she even saw a lavender unicorn. They all acknowledged each other with a touch of alicorn to another. As the last ray of sun faded below the horizon, Jun did not notice, for the lights glowing from the alicorns of the Ki-Lin lit the clearing perfectly.
As the last ray of sun faded, the Ki-Lin turned to the two humans. One of the fire unicorns stepped forward, his teeth bared.
“Humans?” The two heard in their mind. “What are humans doing here?”
Another tossed his head. “They shouldn't be here!”
The fire unicorn glared at Rou, who glared back, and the fire of its mane and tail grew ferociously.
“Calm yourself Hiarashi.”
The voice they heard now rang through their minds and sent a shiver through the rest of them. Jun stared in the same direction as they did, though Rou did not turn from the Ki-Lin named Hiarashi.
Standing at the point where the glory of unicorns had parted were two unicorns, one completely black save for her startlingly blue eyes and she was slightly smaller than the one beside her. The one that had spoken was black as well, but his black mane and tail were dancing with an unnatural five-colored light.
The words of the unicorns around her did nothing to quell the fear alighting in Jun's heart. She was beyond everything she knew, trapped in a world she could not even imagine.
“It's him.”
“He spoke…”
“He's here…”
“I don't believe it.”
“Rou…”
He didn't respond, instead he turned and faced the unicorn they were all backing away from, except for the young female at his side.
“Hiarashi…”
The fire Ki-Lin standing behind Rou trembled at being addressed directly.
“Hiarashi, you are as reckless and unpredictable as your name. Have you so lost contact with your immortality that you cannot realize who he is?”
The black male walked forward soundlessly, a fierce and untouchable beauty surrounding him. The female walked soundlessly beside him. Jun saw that he was not only larger than the one beside him, but larger than them all, stronger apparently.
They stopped in front of Hiarashi and Rou, and the fire unicorn hung his head, alicorn nearly scraping the ground.
“Forgive me, Haku-sama, I spoke out of place.”
Hiarashi disappeared back into the crowd, and Haku turned his sapphire gaze on Rou.
“Haku…why is that name familiar to me?” Rou said under his breath.
“Shiroi Ryuu…”
Rou's head snapped up. “I came in lieu of an old law that…”
“You wish for the knowledge of your past, the knowledge that your humanity keeps from you.”
“…how?”
“I know you, Shiroi Ryuu, and have known you since the beginning of us both. I knew you when you decided to take your current form and I was the one who sealed your true form, your true memories.”
Jun didn't want to move, but she still stepped haltingly to his side.
“Rou?”
The female unicorn stopped her, and pushed her back a few feet. She froze, unable to move.
“Stay back Jun. Please, for me.”
She looked up to find Rou looking at her, sadness in his eyes, and a hint of the child she knew.
“Rou.”
He grinned. “I just want to learn. Haku won't hurt me.”
He turned back to the black unicorn. “Will you?”
“Dance with us.”
Rou nodded. Hiarashi let out a low growl mimicked by those around him.
“Should we really allow him among us Haku-sama? Remember what the other humans did to us?”
“I have not forgotten.”
Haku turned one eye on the fire Ki-Lin, and Hiarashi took a frightened step back, warned by the intensity in the azure eyes.
“This boy is not one of them.”
“Nii-san,”
Every eye turned to the young female who stood before Jun.
“Yes Kanna?” Haku inquired.
“What about this human?” she said, nudging Jun with her nose.
Jun began to tremble as Haku tilted his head and viewed her through one eye. Now she understood why Hiarashi had stepped back. There was a subtle and repressed anger in his eyes, the same anger that she'd seen in Rou's eyes before he killed all those men.
“Do you have a wish human?”
Jun didn't know what to say before a thousand things popped into her head, but even as the ideas formed she cast them aside.
“I…”
Haku was going to think she was foolish. The only person he'd looked at straight since entering was Rou anyway, and she was personally grateful he hadn't fully looked at her. She glanced away from the eye watching her, and saw the full moon was speared by his alicorn.
“I…I don't…I don't know what I wish.”
He turned his head to look at her fully and she flinched, fearing his chastisement now.
“Few do.”
Jun let out a long breath.
“You can let go now. I'm not going to hurt you.”
Jun gasped and looked down to see her hand clenching the handle of her whip. She stared at the weapon as if she'd never seen it before. Slowly, she pried her hand away from it and when she looked up she gasped. Haku stood directly in front of her.
He placed the tip of his alicorn just above the valley between her breasts and then looked at her as if asking permission. She heard Shirshu give a warning cry but she had no idea what the Ki-Lin was asking. She glanced at Rou, who nodded. She in turn met Haku's gaze and then nodded.
He gazed at her for a moment before quickly thrusting his head forward. The tip of his alicorn was much sharper than she thought and she gave a short cry as it pierced through her thick clothing and about an inch into her flesh. The pain was short and sharp and she fell to her knees when he stepped back, removing his alicorn from her chest.
She didn't notice when Haku did this to Rou as well, didn't notice that Rou didn't cry out or fall to his knees as she did, but slowly she felt a presence like a white light flowing through her veins, and lost conscious thought.

Makani stepped out into the rooms of Sei, the home of Alem, before he had disappeared after the Sealing of Eimin.
“Kaia? Shasa? Am I the only one in the Spirit World?”
“No.”
She turned around and saw Nen dressed in a black cloak, her face downcast. This was a far different goddess than the one she'd seen demand that they banish Agni to the Spirit World. When Nen raised her head, Makani saw tears streaming down her face.
“Nen, what's wrong?”
A broken sob escaped the Water Goddess.
“I'm sorry Makani…so sorry…”
Makani ran to the girl and shook her. “Nen, look at me!”
Nen sobbed and shook her head, her face falling. Makani followed her gaze and then saw the black chains binding the Water Goddess.
“Run Makani! RUN!”
Makani turned to do so but ran into the last person she expected who grabbed her wrists.
“Yes Makani,” Eimin hissed. “Run.”

Darkness flowed over the land, people said farewell to their neighbors and comrades, completely unaware of the true darkness that awaited them just outside their village.
Haru turned to view the horizon, unable to quench the bad feeling in his heart. His father, Tyro, stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Haru, what is it?”
Haru stared out for a moment more. “I'm not sure. You go on ahead, I'll meet you.”
Tyro nodded and headed back to their house, glancing once over his shoulder at his son as he walked away, knowing that nothing could hurt him while he remained in the village.
Haru turned slightly and saw the Water Tribe woman step up beside him.
“You are a brave soul staying out here tonight, alone.”
He smiled. “You should be inside resting.”
“I am restless tonight.”
Suddenly, Shasa looked up. She looked past the houses, past the trees, past the hills until her gaze met the silver-rimmed black eyes of the man who hunted her.
“Haru,”
He glanced at her, and saw the fear in her eyes.
“Haru, run!”
He stepped back in surprise as she ran forward, desperate to get to the stream where she could defend herself. Haru thought of her, and of the life within her, and did not hesitate to spring after her.

Shiroten viewed the village below him and felt the Water Goddess rushing towards him. He abandoned his cloak with a flourish as his gaze centered on the village behind the goddess.
“Ji-kan,”
The dragon growled lowly in his throat.
“These people need to disappear.”
The dragon roared and leapt into the sky, swooping down on the unsuspecting village, spouting shadow fire from its twin maws. Shiroten ran forward to meet the goddess.

Shasa grabbed at the water, forming a water whip as the servant of Eimin came bounding into the clearing. Water met shadow repeatedly as they dueled. Her efforts to keep herself away from close combat failed effortlessly as he surged past her defenses into her personal space.
The Water Goddess drew on what little she knew of the martial arts that she had learned from Agni, but still she could only block his advances and give ground. With a cry she shoved him back and he smirked.
“Even with your water, you are not strong.”
She drew the water to her and let it hover in front of her, ready for use.
“If you think I'm weak, then why do you hesitate to attack me?” she shouted challengingly.
He growled and flew forward, orbs of shadow forming in his open palms.
Shasa formed an ice wall to block the orbs he threw at her, but wasn't prepared for the shadows that came from the sides and bound her ankles and wrists. She felt several orbs hit her ice wall and it shattered, but she was unable to move.
“Who are you?” she screamed as the man appeared again in her vision.
“You know who I am, Shiroten.”
“And how someone so named could be so destructive I'll never know! But who are you to Eimin?”
Shiroten flinched and looked down, and Shasa gasped. Obviously she'd touched a soft spot for him and she wanted to take back her words, but his attention was diverted from her and her inquiry before she could stop his answer.
Shiroten spun around as a young earth-bender came barreling into the clearing and easily fell into a bending stance.
Shasa pulled against the shadows binding her as she saw Haru take a stance against Shiroten.
“Run Haru! You're not strong enough to fight him!”
“Let her go!”
Shiroten tilted his head. “You should listen to her boy.”
Haru glared. “My name is Haru, and you will not harm her.”
“Haru,” Shiroten took a stance.
“This battle is already over.”

Agni flew over the seas to the one he most cherished, to the one place he'd sworn he'd always return to, the island of Misu.
Landing on the beach where he and Shasa had left Zuko and Katara, he found that the wind and the sea had wiped all traces of them from the beach, but Agni wasn't worried. He continued further inland.
He found the clearing where Zuko and Katara had lived for a while, and smiled, proud that they had worked together. He followed their trails to the cliffs and scaled them with ease.
It wasn't until he found the barrier between his and Shasa's world that he became worried. It didn't take Agni long to figure out what had happened, but now he had no idea where they were. Spreading his wings, Agni headed for the Fire Nation, and for Prince Iroh.

Azula and Jet reached their destination by nightfall, and both of their tempers needed only a spark to light them. Jet tried not to make a sound as his back cringed again, wrapping his arms around himself to bar against the chilling night wind.
Azula was still in her armor but the tightly wrapped make-shift tourniquet of Jet's caused another twinge in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and ignored the rebel walking beside her.
“So, Azula, you got a boyfriend now?”
Jet let out a low growl and Azula smiled at her two best friends.
“Oh girls, I could do so much better than this. I was just following his advice until I remember I'd already been to Omashu, excuse me, New Ozai.”
Mei and Ty Lee smiled and Jet gave an inward groan.
“These are the reinforcements you were talking about?”
Azula nodded and Mei sighed in his direction.
“Don't underestimate us boy.”
Jet rolled his eyes and looked to Azula. “Either we go inside or you give me my shirt back.”
Neither one of them would mention that she would probably bleed to death without his shirt so Azula led the way into one of the main buildings.
After about an hour, Jet's back was bandaged again and the doctor was tending to Azula's wounds. The doctor smiled as he finished with the princess' shoulder.
“It was good of him to tie this off. Otherwise you would've lost too much blood and would've been incapacitated for days Your Highness.”
Azula gritted her teeth, unwilling to accept that she was endowed to the boy once again. She walked out of the healer's hut and found her friends a little ways away. Jet was not with them.
“Where's Jet?”
“Who?” Ty Lee stated while Mei just looked at her.
“The boy.”
Ty Lee laughed. “Oh him, he's cute.”
“And bothersome.” Mei added before pointing to a building. “He's in there.”
Azula hesitated only slightly before heading in to find Jet. Why should she be afraid of speaking with him? But for some reason, she felt a sense of foreboding coming from the building. Pushing back the screen, she stepped in.
“Jet?”
There was no reply, but she saw him, standing by the window a few yards away.
“So, you've been to Omashu before.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you follow my advice?”
She said nothing.
“They'll go to Tasha.”
“Tasha? Why Tasha when they could go to Ba Sing Sei?”
“Because Ba Sing Sei is under constant attack from the Fire Nation; Aang…the Avatar…wouldn't risk it.”
“And how do we know that Tasha hasn't been invaded?”
“We know that because we're in the middle of a Fire Nation encampment and we can find out. Also…”
That's when Azula noticed the look in his eyes.
“Also what?”
“Also, that's where I was born.”

On the battlements of the Earth Kingdom city Yamaoku, two shadows took their place in silence. One set of golden eyes and one set of golden-green eyes peered through blood-red face paint to their target easily.
Thought their true names were unknown to all but each other and two others, the green-eyed was known as Kumo or `spider' and the golden-eyed one was known as Hebi, or `serpent.'
They were the YuuYan Satsugai Ka, the YuuYan Assassination Division.
They exchanged no words as they prepared to carry out their mission as the General Fong took his place on the dais to address his soldiers.
The older of the two raised his pointer finger from where it held the bow, sending a silent signal to Kumo. Instead of doing the same, which would give the cue to carry out their mission, Kumo raised his pinky finger, implying that they should wait.
Hebi lowered his pointer, acquiescing command to Kumo. In this case, age did not dictate skills or experience. In this case, the better of the two was the younger, Kumo.
General Fong began to speak. After several more minutes of waiting, Hebi couldn't wait anymore. Risking revealing their position, he spoke.
“Kumo, do you have a clear shot?”
If he didn't, there was no use in doing this at all.
Kumo didn't respond immediately, but thought back to a time when someone else had asked him that same exact question.

“Do you have a clear shot?”
In response, he closed one eye, the world around him fading to single out that one masked warrior that would come to be known as the Blue Spirit.
“Knock out the thief. I'll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar.”
He let his arrow fly to hit the mask of the Blue Spirit, knocking him unconscious. Then he watched as the Avatar and the Blue Spirit performed another miraculous escape. He definitely fought to keep a straight face as Commander Zhao, Colonel Shainu, and his sensei, Master Yagara, watched a frog leap over the walls, incredulous looks on their faces.
Then he decided to add insult to injury by walking away without permission from Commander Zhao. The man looked like a monkey anyway.

“Yes, Hebi, I have a clear shot. Take your position.”
Hebi drew his arrow again, taking careful aim at their target.

“I'll pay you 200 gold pieces to teach General Fong a lesson, like he taught my father!”
“Make it 300 and we'll do it brat.”
“Done!”

Cheers erupted as Fong finished his speech and raised his hands in appreciation of the applause.
Kumo smirked as he acknowledged Hebi's signal of readiness with his own. Hebi's arrow flew.
Here's exactly what we think of your speech.
The arrow flew down through the crowds and hit the edge of the general's bowl of miso and sent it flying into the general's face and down his front. Kumo stifled his laughter long enough to send his arrow flying into the outraged general's backside.
And they were 300 gold pieces richer, Kumo thought as he and Hebi flew from the battlements to disappear into the woods while Fong tried to hide his beet red face and injured backside at the same time. Once they were a safe distance from the fortress, Kumo fell to his knees, let the mask of intense concentration fall, and burst into much suppressed laughter.
Soon, Hebi was laughing with him, two YuuYan archers laughing insanely with each other over the fate of the poor general.

Aang fought desperately, blocking fireballs and sending them back over the walls, trying to give the women and children time to get to safety. Katara was nowhere to be found and Zuko was still off being whatever.
Sokka gripped his boomerang and tried to fend off a group of several fire-benders by himself. Suddenly, Katara fell into view a ways away, two Fire Nation soldiers frozen in the direction she was running from. He was shocked to see her fall to her knees, desperately trying to pick up the pieces of something.
He tried to run to her, but he was cut off by a new group of fire-benders.
Umi blocked a blow from hitting the Water Tribe girl and tried to drag her to her feet from picking up the shattered pieces of the pearl.
“It's just glass girl, don't kill yourself for it!”
She found herself blown back by a water whip.
“I have to save my pearl!”
Suddenly Katara froze; her mind in overdrive and her body miles behind it.
Pearl…I have to save my pearl…
And she ran, rushing through the snow, shedding her heavy parka as she ran, adrenaline warming her body.
“Katara!” Aang cried as she ran into his view.
Katara skidded to a stop as she heard her name being called. Pearl?
She turned and met the gaze of the young Avatar as he called her name again.
No, diamond…diamond doesn't need me anymore…diamond is strong.
Aang grabbed Katara's shoulders and shook her, trying to wipe away the determined glaze in her eyes that saw past him.
“Katara!”
“Stay here diamond.”
Then she tore away from him and ran.
“Katara!” He cried desperately until she disappeared or until he had to fight off more soldiers. He didn't quite know which, and wondered why she had called him diamond.
Pearl, my pearl needs me, I have to save my pearl!
And she ran.

Zuko was running. He'd seen the smoke above the city and was flying back to help the people. After what he'd said that day, he really didn't know why, but he was going the same. Katara was there. At the same time, he was trying to instruct Ziri in basic Agni Kai etiquette.
Kneel.
Ziri nodded and took the traditional Agni Kai position, unable to stop from trembling, a wild feeling taking hold within him, the same feeling that had grabbed him when his father had appeared after escaping prison. It was blind panic and fear.
Stop, don't let it overpower you.
Ziri nodded again, unaware of the looks he was getting, nodding to himself. One of the servants standingat his side stepped forward.
“Good luck Prince Zuko.”
The sparked a single flame of anger and immediately Ziri began to nurse it, the flame of anger biting away at the panic and fear.
“I'm not Prince Zuko.”
“Then you'll need the luck.”
Ziri watched as the servant stepped back and made himself take offense, feeding fuel to the flames of his anger, wallowing in it and drawing it to him.
The gong sounded and he stood at Zuko's instruction, keeping his hands at his side, completely ignorant of the ways. Ozai stood at the other end of the field, prepared for a fight. He stepped into the arena and so did Ozai.
“You're doing well this time Zuko.”
Ziri smirked. “I'm not Prince Zuko.”
The power of anger was flowing through him, keeping him alive and steady. With lightning fast reflexes, no doubt from Zuko's side of the enigma, he dodged a fireball and then several, always a step ahead.
Zuko ran through the snow, feeling his body swerve to the side, diving and dodging and he let it, adding momentum and trying to help his twin out as best he could. They were both in danger now.

Katara drew on the water around her, surrounded by Fire Nation troops, driven by one purpose. She saw one of them step out above the rest and this one motioned for the others to fall back. They did so, and formed ranks behind her.
“Well, it seems Master Pakku is no longer here, so I guess we'll have to deal with you, since you seem to be the strongest bender here, next to the Avatar of course.”
“Get out of my way.”
A chuckle ran through the soldiers, and the colonel attacked. She blocked most of his fire attacks but somehow he got close enough and hit her chi points. The water would no longer rise to her. With a backhanded slap, the colonel knocked her back several feet and she fell to the ground.
“Where's the savagery that passes for bending now?”

Zuko spun and stood stock still. Katara.
Ziri stopped after dodging another series of fireballs and Ozai stood catching his breath.
Who's Katara?
I have to help her!
All right, what should I do?
Fight!
Fight? But I thought…
Ziri stopped, having just realized something. Really, in his heart, he wanted to fight the Fire Lord. The Fire Lord was responsible for San's death, for Midori's (for he had accepted that she was probably dead by now), and the entire war. All those people dying.
The flame of anger turned into a bonfire.
He was going to fight the Fire Lord.

Samir and Mamoru were walking through the woods when a scream alerted them to another's presence. They raced the birds through to a clearing where they perceived the last thing either one of them wanted to see.
“Makani!” Samir shouted, seeing her true form, a crane, clutched in Eimin's claw.
The body of the beast before them was not complete, half covered in tattered scales and the other half merely a skeleton, blood and half-formed muscles hanging limply from the impossibly animated beast. Sick yellow poison dripped from the fangs of the beast below one red eye and one eyeless socket.
The God of Death was in his true form.
The birds ran screaming as the two gods released them and stood before the monstrosity.
“Release her Eimin.” Mamoru commanded calmly since Samir looked like he was going to rip the throat of the beast out with his bare teeth for touching his wife.
Eimin laughed cruelly.
“Let go of her!” Samir screamed.
The consonants of his words were slurred, no doubt by the new mouth he used.
“As you wish.”
Makani crashed to the ground and crumpled up in her human form beneath the vast creature that was Eimin.
“Since you, Samir, are the one I want.”
Samir growled once and took his true form of an eagle. Mamoru beside him took the shape of a wolf.
Samir leapt into the sky and flew forward to meet the downward lunge of the monster's jaws; barely able to draw the creature's attention away from what Mamoru was doing. But they didn't have a simple-minded beast on their hands, quite the contrary. Eimin was a demon in his human form, but in his true form he was ten thousand times more cunning, more vicious, and more deadly.
Samir escaped the first encounter with nothing more than a scraped wing. Blood flowed from the wound and Eimin leered up at him as he flew just out of his reach. Perhaps he hadn't noticed yet what was going on beneath him or perhaps he just didn't care. He had said that Samir was the one he wanted.
“Samir!”
He heard Makani scream for him but he was completely focused on dodging Eimin's next attack. Eimin picked up the fallen crane just as Mamoru reached her.
“Not that easy my fine friends.”
Mamoru gave a fearsome growl and Samir cried out his warning but the monstrous being before them didn't care. He was forcing them to their true forms, the only forms in which they couldn't be killed, but why?
The gaze of the Earth God and of the Air God met and they nodded, willing to sacrifice it all just to save Makani. Such was the love the Samir had for her, though he'd never had the strength or resolve to tell her so. Mamoru leapt for the arm that held Makani just as Samir dove within reach of the beast's fangs.
Eimin lunged for the falling eagle and as he drew close enough to see the triumph in Samir's eyes; his mind was blinded by sudden and excruciating pain. He looked down and saw Mamoru's wolf form bound to the edge of the clearing with his left arm in its mouth, Makani pushing her way out of the lifeless claws.
But this was no time to mourn for his lost arm as Eimin swung his deadly head around again and caught Samir in his poisonous fangs.
Makani screamed when she saw it and Mamoru watched in horror as the true form of Eimin swung the eagle back and forth rapidly like a dog with its prey then released him to let Samir fly and crash into the sheer wall of a cliff. Sliding down, he fell from dizzying heights into the trees below.
Makani transformed and tried to fly to Samir when Eimin caught her in his claws once more.
“Better to catch you again now than later. It does not matter much.”
Mamoru turned. “Makani!” he yipped.
“Go!” She shouted. “Go to Samir!”
Eimin stretched his bony wings. “Yes, go to him, though there is not much you can do for him now. He is mine.”
Mamoru decided not to contemplate all the meanings of that statement and ran off into the woods to find Samir. But what he found was less than encouraging.
The great eagle of the Wind had been turned to stone.

“Stop!”
Both men turned to face the goddess Shasa, Shiroten's eyes narrowed and Haru's wide with fear. Shasa felt tears spring to her eyes as she looked into his confused green eyes.
“My lady?”
Shiroten turned completely from Haru to face her.
“Yes, goddess Shasa, what do you have to say?”
Haru's eyes widened even more as her identity was revealed to him. Tears fell freely down her face as she met Shiroten's cold gaze.
“If…if I go with you, will you leave Haru, these people, and this village alone?”
He viewed her a moment before nodding once. She sighed.
“Then I'll go.”
Shiroten gave a short whistle that resounded over the village and soon Ji-Kan had joined them once more. He released the shadows binding her and without hesitation she walked to stand beside him and then to climb into the saddle on Ji-Kan's back.
The twin-headed dragon hissed at having her on his back but when Shiroten mounted behind her, it quieted. Shasa shivered once, feeling that she had sealed her fate.
Haru ran forward, his body already beginning to call the earth.
“Don't sacrifice yourself! The people need you goddess!”
Shasa flinched and instinctively clutched at the arm Shiroten had wrapped around her waist, causing him to look at her, confusion in his eyes.
“Go,” she said to him, and Ji-Kan flew.
Shiroten tried to ignore the goddess' ragged sobs.

Jun snapped from her waking dream with several things on her mind. A few were the simple throbbing pain in her chest, that Rou was now using her stomach as a pillow and sleep-talking in his own language, hugging her like a teddy bear, that the unicorns were gone, and that there was who appeared to be a 20 year-old man watching her.
She sat up partially so as not to wake Rou and looked at this man, and he looked back at her. He was sitting against a tree, cross-legged, wearing a fish net shirt and tight black pants under a long black cloak and was barefoot. His hair was black, long, and spiked and his eyes were impossibly blue, a black crystal embedded in his forehead.
That's when she knew who he was.
“Haku-sama,” she started but he held up a hand to stop her.
“I was waiting for you to wake. Kanna and I will be leaving soon, but I leave you with a new task. You are the guardian of the Shiroi Ryuu, the boy that now sleeps beside you. This task was appointed you at birth. Guard him well wherever he may go...Asiera.”
He then rose and left her speechless as he disappeared into the woods.

Ziri barely dodged a fire blast from the Fire Lord but Ozai had anticipated his movement and the black mark on the wall was mere inches from where Ziri actually was. Ziri smirked at the mark and then back at Ozai.
“Are you trying to miss me or is your aim really that bad?”
There was complete silence in the arena as everyone watched Ozai for his reaction, a vein pulsing in the Fire Lord's forehead before he threw a succession of fire blasts at Ziri, one which did catch Ziri on the shoulder but he gave no sign of pain, pausing in a crouch a few feet away from the angry Fire Lord.
“At this rate, maybe I should be Fire Lord.”
“Are you saying that you, a traitor and liar, would make a better Fire Lord than I, Prince Zuko?”
Ziri sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, that's not what I'm saying at all.”
There was an audible sigh of relief around the stadium.
Ziri grinned. “What I'm saying is that a Fire Nation peasant adopted into the Water Tribe with no political or weaponry knowledge would make a better Fire Lord than you!”
“Fight me you disrespectful brat!”
“I told you, I don't know how to fire-bend!”
Ozai motioned to the soldier behind Ziri, who walked up and handed the boy a two-headed spear, which he looked at with a brief moment of confusion and then resolve. Ozai reached into the waist of his pants and pulled out the Qiäng, the Spear of One Thousand Flames. The kanji on it that declared that it belonged to the Son of Agni he ignored.
The points of the spear burst from the scepter and he widened his stance, preparing to attack.
Ziri was no longer paying attention to the Fire Lord or feeling the smooth metal spear in his hands. His eyes were only for the Qiäng, for he had the strange feeling that he had seen it somewhere before, and he knew without a doubt in his heart that it did not belong to the man now holding it.

Zuko ran towards the Northern Water Tribe, already feeling the fire-benders that had stormed the city. He saw Katara at the feet of a colonel who was smirking and felt a harsh presence burst into existence from far within him.

Trembling, Ziri felt a presence rise up within him, far beyond that he had ever felt before.
Zuko was forced to his knees as he felt Ziri struggling to remain upright, and he watched as small red lines formed on his wrists as if they were trying to form kanji but couldn't quite make it. There was also a burning on his forehead and back.
Ziri watched silver lines draw themselves on his wrists and felt the same burning on his forehead and back, felt the presence grow stronger.
A single proverb that Uncle Iroh had said once came to Zuko as the lines flowed through his blood to form a blood-red gleam around his eyes.
“You will only find your true strength when you fight for something you love.”
He flew forward.

“That does not belong to you.”
Ziri was staring at the ground and Ozai could not see his face, but he could see the boy tighten his grip on the spear.
This is not Zuko. This is not my son.
Ziri raised his head, and Ozai gritted his teeth, observing the change that had come over the boy. Silver lines ran around the boy's wrists and a partial kanji had appeared in the middle of his forehead. A silver glow had encircled the boy's eyes as well.
“It belongs to the Son of Agni.”
How the hell does he know?
“I am Agni incarnate; I may use it if I wish.”
Ozai could see the four colors of the elements in the lines that had once appeared silver. The lines were now actually infiltrating his eyes, giving him an incredibly feral look.
“Then use it.”
Ziri lunged forward, the spear at his side. Ozai could barely block the attacks that came in a flurry from every side.

Katara saw the attack but could barely do anything about it, barely able to move at all as she was brought screaming back to reality.
Aang was screaming and trying to claw his way through the soldiers to reach her but he'd never make it in time.
The flames flew from the colonel's fists as Katara, but they never reached their goal. Halfway there, the fire blast stopped and dissipated.
Zuko planted a foot on either side of her hips, standing with his eyes solely fixed on the colonel. The makings of a blizzard were appearing, the wind tearing through his hair which now fell just below his ears and caused the black outfit he wore to tear loose of its bindings and whip around him.
Katara would never have imagined it before but Umi's message was clear before her.
Aang, the exuberant young Avatar that the world sought, not only the Fire Nation, but everyone wanted his protection, his strength.
Zuko, the banished Fire Prince the not even his own father wanted, and no one wanted to see past the surface to the good heart within.
Diamond.
Pearl.
Is it possible…I don't…I can't…no…love…Zuko?
Zuko stood silently viewing the colonel as they all fell into bending stances. Aang stood, unable to move, unable to absorb the fact that Zuko was able to protect Katara when he couldn't. Zuko frowned, his mind lost in contemplation.
“You will only find your true strength when you fight for something you love.”
Is it possible…I don't…I can't…no…love…Katara?
The colonel grinned. Zuko was reminded of every military official that had tried to make him believe he was inferior to them all.
Every time we lie awake
Chuckling, the colonel took a stance.
“This is the part where you say `touch her and you die.'”
After every hit we take
There was no emotion in Zuko's face or voice when he spoke.
“No.”
“Oh, so you don't care if I touch her?”
Zuko extended each arm out over the earth, hands hooked into claws, palms downward, and anger in his very stance.
“You already touched her, now you die.”
Every feeling that I get
He turned his palms to face the sky, and the earth began to tremble. Trembling turned to rumbling, and then cracks appeared in a circle just in front of the fire-benders, cutting them off from Zuko and Katara.
But I haven't missed you yet
Suddenly, molten rock shot up from the cracks and Katara screamed, expecting the searing liquid to fall down on them all at any moment, but Zuko had it all well in his grasp. The rock that had burst in to the sky fell back at a controlled pace and began to spin in an perpetual ring around the fire-benders, drawing ever in and forcing them closer to the crack in the earth before them.
The fire-benders only had two choices: be burned alive by the lava or leap into the crevice in front of them.

Every roommate kept awake
Ozai blocked another blow from Ziri, but the boy's eyes weren't on the spears, but locked on Ozai's golden eyes, a low growl emanating from his throat.
By every sigh and scream we make
Ziri stared at the bastard, for the first time in his life wishing the fire would come, truly begging for it. He hated his fire, hated it furiously, but he loved the fierce pride and fearlessness it brought with it.
All the feelings that I get
He spun the spear, sending Ozai back a few feet. Ozai came back at him, their blows numerous in the few moments before they pushed away again.
But I still don't miss you yet

He hated her, hated her for her vulnerability, hated her for her element, hated her for her power, hated her because she was right, and hated her because she made him see. He simply hated everything about her. But then again…
Only when I stop to think about it…
The fire-benders around them fell, some into the crevice and some taken by the lava, and Zuko spurred the molten rock onwards, forming searing arrows that flew through the city, spearing the raiders easily and somehow bypassing the Water Tribe warriors.
I…hate…
Ziri sent the spear flying back at Ozai, trying his best to disarm the bastard, and feeling the heat of his fire slowly beginning to burn within him.
Everything about you
Katara tried to push herself up as she heard Aang scream for her but Zuko wouldn't allow her up. Later, she would swear she heard him whisper.
Why do I love you?
She hated him. She hated him for his strength, for his element, for his attitude, hated him because he was right, because he made her see. She simply hated everything about him.
I…hate…
After a moment she managed to push him back and away.
“I can fight too Zuko.”
“I know.”
Everything about you.
“I hate everything about you.” It was out before she could say anything and he looked at her for a moment.
“I hate you too.”
The rest was unspoken and neither one heard it.
Why do I love you?
Ozai and Ziri locked blades again, staring into each other's eyes with intense hatred. The soldiers were starting to realize that this was no longer an Agni Kai, but an attempt on the Fire Lord's life. Suddenly, an audible gasp ran through the crowds watching.
Ziri's spear had caught on fire.
Every time we lie awake
With one swift movement, Ozai disarmed Ziri but Ziri didn't back away from the Qiäng now pointed at his chest.
After every hit we take
Ozai drew back and then thrust the Qiäng forward for a killing blow but it never connected. Ziri bent and performed a perfect back flip to escape the fatal attack. As he flipped, Ziri's heel connected with Ozai's outstretched wrist, sending the Qiäng flying from his hand. Ozai delivered a strong fire-blast to Ziri's back as he flipped and sent the boy flying to the other side of the arena.
Every feeling that I get
Those watching kept their cries of poor sportsmanship quiet due to their Fire Lord being the perpetrator, and they feared his wrath, but silently, they began to pull for their prince.
Ziri fell to the ground and rolled a couple times, landing on his stomach, ignoring the wild pain in his back from the where the blast had hit him. The Qiäng clattered to the floor a few inches away from his outstretched hand.
But I haven't missed you yet
Ozai walked over calmly, feeling his anger justified, to retrieve the Qiäng from where it lay. But his anger resurfaced when Ziri reached out and wrapped his hand around the center of the Qiäng, the points of the spear retracting upon his touch.
Only when I stop to think about it
Somehow Ziri knew what to do; somehow it felt right when he wrapped his hand around the cool gold metal of the Qiäng. He didn't even feel afraid when he felt the metal heat up and fuel his inner fire, bringing the fire up from within him to every part of his body.
Ozai reached down to pick up the Qiäng, watching the boy out of the corner of his eye. The boy's eyes were half-lidded and filled with pain, no doubt from the blow he'd received, but his fist was wrapped around the spear. Ozai smirked. The boy wasn't even worth fighting now.
His hand closed over the Qiäng.
It happened fast, almost too fast for Ozai to comprehend. One moment he'd been picking up the Qiäng, the next he'd felt the heat within it burst and send him flying across the arena.
I…hate…
Landing, Ozai sat up fast, staring back at Ziri. The boy had shoved himself to his feet, the Qiäng now fully drawn once more but now the once cold metal of the spear was blazing with white fire. The pure flames licked around Ziri's forearm as he held the Qiäng, but he was not burned.
Everything about you…
Something new was in Ziri's eyes as he stared at Ozai, but even now Ziri knew that the Qiäng did not belong to him. How he could use it he wasn't sure, but it seemed as if the Qiäng was letting him borrow its powers for a bit. It wasn't his, but it wasn't Ozai's, and Ziri was the favored of the two.
Why do I love you?
Ziri loved this power now flowing through him, even though he knew he was only the medium for the Qiäng's hatred. The white fire now blazed within him, scorching his blood with its heat.
As Ozai sprang to his feet, Ziri spun completely, whipping the Qiäng out, sending two white blades of fire that the Fire Lord barely dodged. They burst into the wall behind, leaving long scores in the previously perfect metal.
Ozai stared behind him and then at the incarnation before him, and knew that he was seeing the spirit of the Qiäng itself. He had to get the Qiäng away from that boy; that was the only thing in his mind now.
Ziri brought his arm up and back, hefting the spear easily and preparing the throw it.
Ozai saw the movement and decided to let the Qiäng lodge in his right shoulder so that he would get it away from that brat. He was not afraid of the pain nor the fire, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened.
Ziri threw the Qiäng with perfect precision, aiming for Ozai's heart. Ozai shifted as if to dodge but hesitated just long enough so the spear would hit his shoulder. But instead of lodging like he had planned, the long and ornately carved Qiäng blew through his shoulder, through bone and gristle, to embed itself three inches deep into the metal wall behind the.
Ozai fell to his knees, pain blinding through him and he glared at the boy, from whom both the white fire and the silver lines had faded. Now it seemed that Ziri was just going to collapse where he stood. Where the silver lines faded black lines were left, marring the once clear skin.

Zuko stared down at the broken fire-benders' bodies, his world breaking apart. A single tear threatened to fall until he wiped it away before it passed his lashes.

The Fire Lord said nothing as the guards arrested Ziri. They didn't care that it had started as an Agni Kai, but he had attempted to take the Fire Lord's life. Not even the Fire Lord himself got a say in that.
Ziri's fate was as good as sealed.

Zuko stared at nothing, the power having long since faded from him. The Fire Nation raiders had all been killed, not leaving any chance for a repeat attack. He barely registered that all of this had been done by his own hand.
437
That's how many fire-benders he'd killed since leaving Misu. Four hundred and thirty seven. He was not even fit to be Fire Prince now. Not fit to carry the royal blood. Katara was right beside him, Sokka was nearby and so was the Avatar, but for some reason, Zuko had never felt more alone.
They watched the sun rise and he wondered how Ziri was doing, since they'd closed the link around midnight. For a while he stared up at the fading stars. He didn't hear Aang, Katara, and Sokka begin saying their good-byes to the Northern Water Tribe. They were leaving for Tasha within minutes.
But right now, all he could think of was a song his mother had sang to him less than a week before she died.
Child of the wilderness
Born into emptiness
Learn to be lonely
Learn to find a way in darkness
Who will be there for you?
Comfort and care for you?
Learn to be lonely
Learn to be your one companion
Never dreamed out in the world
There are arms to hold you
You've always known
Your heart was on its own
So laugh in your loneliness
Child of the wilderness
Learn to be lonely
Learn how to love life that is lived alone
Learn to be lonely
Life can be lived
Life can be loved alone
She had never been more right and right now, he missed her more than ever.
“Zuko?”
He turned his head slightly so he could see Katara as she sat down beside him.
“Are you going to come with us?”
Then Hakoda and Sokka joined them. Zuko looked enviously at Sokka who had his father's arm around him.
“If you want to stay Prince Zuko, my men and I will be going back to the war within the month and we would appreciate your military expertise.”
Zuko looked down. In his heart, he really didn't want to go with either of them. When he saw them, he felt even more distant, more alone, because no matter what they lost, they had each other, and they always would. But somehow, someway, in the future, he would lose them as he had lost everything else.
“I'll go.”
Katara and Sokka smiled.
“That's great since I already packed all of your things. Yagoda even got you a crimson sleeping bag!”
Zuko smiled at this, but the smile never reached his eyes or his heart. He knew why he had decided to go. Yes, one day he would lose these three, but he would make the most of the time he had.
Life can be lived Life can be loved alone
It was true, but that didn't mean he wanted to. He looked back at the Northern Water Tribe almost wistfully and as Sokka and Katara had already climbed into the saddle of the giant bison and were waving him aboard, Zuko couldn't help but pause. Hakoda laid a hand on the former prince's shoulder.
The last morning star streaked across the sky, falling to earth in its endless light.
“A shooting star! Make a wish Prince Zuko.” Hakoda said softly.
Even more softly, Zuko made his wish so that only Hakoda could hear.
“I wish I had a father like you.”
Hakoda stared at him, mouth slightly parted in surprise, and then he smiled, just before embracing the prince.
Zuko tensed in shock, feeling the warrior's arms tighten around him. In his current fragile state of mind, that simple show of affection broke the prince's defenses.
In Hakoda's arms, Zuko's body sagged and he burst into ragged sobs, burying his face in the blue fur coat that Hakoda wore like a small child. They stayed like this for a few minutes and while they stood there, around them was complete silence.
Finally, Zuko stepped back and away and Hakoda let him go as the prince wiped his eyes, trying to salvage some of his shattered pride. Another warrior brought a small wrapped package and handed it to Zuko.
“A small thank-you from the Northern Water Tribe, for all you've done for us.”
Zuko nodded, truly grateful but incapable of speech. He turned and climbed into the saddle, not bothering to wave to the Northern Water Tribe as Appa soared into the sky.
He'd said the last good-bye he'd ever say.