Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Zutara Tribute ❯ Mythology ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. They belong to Bryke and Nickolodeon.

 

Mythology

 

The eternal yin and yang. They are opposites in every way, forever circling each other in an endless struggle for dominance. As much as they struggle, one can never destroy the other.

 

Blinded in their own rage the opposites continue to fight, not seeing what could be.

 

“You're a horrible person, you know that?”

 

Finding one reason, however small, they hold on tight to it and use it to justify their anger and hatred towards the other.

 

“You filthy peasant, you've found a master, haven't you?”

 

The avatar spirit reincarnates itself into the body of a human in order to reach an understanding. Wishing to truly understand what it means to be human the avatar spirit is reborn into a human after human. With each life, the spirit grows closer to achieving its goal.

 

Just as the avatar spirit began its cycle, the element spirits began their own. Wishing to learn how to love unconditionally and look past any faults and differences in their opposites the elements reincarnated themselves to try and obtain that knowledge and reach harmony.

 

“The Fire Nation took my mother away from me!”

 

During the hundred year war the cycle of the air spirit was stopped until air benders were born into the world once again while earth lived onwards. Fire and water on the other hand kept interacting and slowly began to show progress.

 

“I'm sorry. That's something we have in common.”

 

“I can't forgive him for what he did to my mother, but I am ready to forgive you.”

 

Still things were not perfect.

 

“I love you Aang.”

 

“I love you Mai.”

 

And the cycle continued into the next lives.

 

“You're a dirty cow! I bring you to my house, heal your wounds and you repay me by persecuting me for being a waterbender?!” A young woman in blue robes yelled.

 

A woman around the same age as the waterbender dressed in red robes stood in front of the Water Tribe girl. “I didn't ask for your help. Want to know why? Because I don't need help from a waterbender!”

 

“You're a horrible person! I can't wait until karma repays you for all you've done!

 

“I shouldn't have said that.”

 

“No you shouldn't have,” the Fire Nation girl teased with a smirk.

 

While some knowledge learned in each life is saved and added to what the spirits have learned, most is lost. Thus the process of learning is a slow one and the cycle continues to the modern era.

 

His family had named him after the brave fire prince of history. Every year he grew more like the prince in appearance. To this day with his looks and firebending friends and family joked around saying it was Zuko, back to save them from another war.

 

She was Katara. A waterbender born in Ba Sing Se, her parents named her after one of the water tribe heroes so she would always know where she came from. They hoped that one day Katara would take interest in her nation's history unlike her parents. The day she did look she discovered how much she looked like her namesake.

 

Teachers had called Katara and Zuko spirited when they interacted during class. It was a nice way of saying they argued and teased each other all the time. Unfortunately for them, their friends were friends. They had seen each other at lunch, outside of school, and teachers seemed to find it fun to partner them up for projects.

 

Now Katara was attending a medical university so she could be a doctor. With her healing abilities it was the most obvious career choice for her. Water Tribe healers were known to be the best for obvious reasons.

 

Zuko was taking online university courses while he started his music career. In the last year he'd become really popular.

 

The only reason she was his concert is because their friends had plotted and forced her to be there. Front row and back stage passes—she didn't want to know how they got their hands on those. Seeing Zuko sing what was in his soul on stage made Katara realize how much she'd missed him. A lot.

 

“All my songs are written with someone in mind. Surprisingly the person I always fought with is the one who's usually on my mind. My last song for the night is one of those songs,” Zuko said into the microphone at a piano he had set up.

 

Katara smiled. His mother had taught him to play the piano. Somewhere in between all their fighting Katara and Zuko shared a lot about each other, especially their mothers. If it wasn't for those two women, she and Zuko would never have gained any sort of friendship.

 

The tune Zuko was playing was gentle and warm. Didn't he say this song was written with me in mind? Shouldn't it sound a lot angrier? Katara thought.

 

“Turn Around
Turn Around and fix your eye in my direction
So there is a connection
I can't speak
I can't make a sound to somehow capture your attention
I'm staring at perfection
Take a look at me so you can see
How beautiful you are”

 

Beautiful? Perfection? This didn't make sense. Zuko's never thought I was beautiful.

 

How can you be so sure? A voice in Katara's head whispered. You've loved him for a long time now. You've tried to deny it but why do that when Zuko obviously feels the same way you do?

”You call me a stranger
You say I'm a danger
But all these thoughts are leaving you tonight
I'm broke and abandoned
You are an angel
Making all my dreams come true tonight”

 

So what if I love Zuko? You happy conscience? I love Zuko! Katara yelled the last part in her mind. I have for a very long time now. I've denied it to protect myself. After all, there was never a chance he would love me back.

 

This was wrong. Her conscience was wrong. Her rising hope was wrong. Zuko couldn't be and wasn't talking about her. There must have been some other girl he fought with. It wasn't just Katara he fought with; he got on a lot of poeple's nerves.

 

`Zuko always plays some sort of love song at his concerts. It's almost as if he's hoping the person he's singing about will hear what he's saying', Katara remembered one of their friends telling her.

 

At the beginning of the second verse Zuko found her face in the audience. He was shocked. Katara was the last person he expected to come see him perform. Zuko wasn't able to figure out how she felt about what he was singing because there were too many emotions playing across her face. With new reason for singing this song, Zuko poured all his love into the words coming out of his mouth.

”I'm confident
But I can't pretend I wasn't terrified to meet you
I knew you could see right through me
I saw my life flash right before my very eyes
And I knew just what we'd turn into
I was hoping that you could see
Take a look at me so you can see”

 

When Katara saw him look at her it became too much. Tears pooled over. She knew what she had to do. Decision made, Katara turned and left the stage area.

 

When Zuko saw her turn and leave he knew it was over. He'd just made a fool of himself and things would never be the same between the two of them again.

 

“You call me a stranger
You say I'm a danger
But all these thoughts are leaving you tonight
I'm broke and abandoned
You are an angel
Making all my dreams come true tonight.

“You are an angel
Making all my dreams come true tonight”

 

He wanted to hit something. It took all the self control he had to keep himself from slamming the piano keys. He could hit something later; right now he had to finish the song.

 

Everything they'd had before would be ruined. The little happiness in his miserable life would be ruined. She had been able to comfort him when no one else could. She could bring a smile to his face just by walking into the same room he was in.

 

“Take a look at me so you can see
How beautiful you are”

 

How come things never went his way in life? His mother died. His father disowned him. It was a miracle he hadn't messed up his aunt and uncle's lives.

 

“Your beauty seems so far away
I'd have to write a thousand songs to make you comprehend how beautiful you are”

 

Zuko saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. Probably the stage crew, he brushed it off.

 

“I know that I can't make you stay
But I would give my final breathe to make you understand how beautiful you are
Understand how beautiful you are”

 

The audience started whispering loudly. Zuko couldn't make out the words but he saw them glancing towards the curtains on the opposite side of the stage of him. He looked over. Immediately he stopped playing and stood up.

 

“Katara.”

 

“Zuko.” As soon as the word left her mouth, Katara ran and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too, Zuko,” she sobbed into his chest.

 

Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on top of hers. “You don't know much I've wanted to hear you say that.”

 

The sounds of the audience's applause fell on deaf ears. The pair was too wrapped up in each other to hear.

 

Lessons spanned over a hundred years were taken by the elements. These incarnations made it easier for those who are to come to find happiness and a companion in the other.

 

* * *

 

A/N: Writing all these themes in two days didn't work as well as I'd thought. Coming up with a good, not overused idea for this theme was hard. Inspiration hit me this morning, took it long enough.

 

The song in this theme is Stranger by Secondhand Serenade. They have so many songs that remind me of Zutara. Your opinions on mythology are welcomed.

 

-Kelso