They stood on a ridge to the south of Ba Sing Se overlooking the coastal
cliffs; this was the west rim of the large bay which lay between the Earth
Kingdom capitol and the inhospitable mountainous islands that comprised the
third settlement of the once-great Air Nomads, home to the Eastern Air
Temple.

The Avatar's next destination, albeit by a rather circuitous route; they had
chosen to travel by land along the coastal rim once they had put sufficient
distance between themselves and Ba Sing Se, preferring to save the strength
of the flying bison for the treacherous journey into the Air Temple itself,
and electing to take wing from the point along the Earth Kingdom coastline
nearest the eastern Air territory to make the going easier on the giant
creature, still not fully recovered from his ordeals in and around the Earth
Kingdom capitol.

The Avatar and his party knew they had pursuers; at no point since their
journey began had they NOT been pursued by one or more parties.

The pursuers on the ridge line, however, were merely observers...for the
moment.

"You want to join him, don't you? To help the Avatar."

Two men, one in his twilight years, the other much younger, but with burdens
of a man far older resting on his shoulders, watched as the last living
Airbender, the blind Earthbender, the Waterbending prodigy, and the boy with
the boomerang fought a heated battle against two lanky, powerful
Earthbenders.

"They do not seem to need our help with those two," the older man spoke
ponderously, rolling the seeds from a stray grassweed between his fingers.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," the younger said, irritation
bubbling just beneath the surface of his tone.

"If a straightforward man such as yourself does not speak the full intent
behind his words, Prince Zuko, then a less straightforward man such as
myself will not often give a straightforward answer."

Zuko narrowed his good eye at his uncle. "You don't often give a
straightforward answer regardless."

"This is true."

Below, a near miss by the two Earthbenders almost trapped the Avatar inside
a dome of dirt; the others redoubled their efforts to repel their attackers.
Things had not been easy for the Avatar's party since the departure from Ba
Sing Se. They had been pursued at first by the Dai Li, who chased them
halfway to the coast before finally giving up. Then, they'd barely had half
an evening to rest from *that* battle before Azula and her party had
appeared out of nowhere. After ridding themselves of the three Fire Nation
girls with an ingenious combination of Airbending and Waterbending to create
a miniature waterspout which threw their opponents far into the sea, the
Avatar's party had slept uneasily, in shifts, through the night, keeping a
grim vigil for any further surprises.

Unnoticed by them, another vigil had been kept high above, on the ridgeline.

At dawn, the Earthbenders had come. The ragtag group of children had clearly
not recovered fully from their marathon battles, and thus were having quite
a difficult go of ridding themselves of the two persistant nuisances.

"I think you've been planning to join the Avatar for some time now, Uncle,"
Zuko said as they watched the fight. "I think you've been planning it since
before the North Pole incident."

Iroh shrugged his shoulders, exhaling; his breath caused the grassweed in
his hands to smolder slightly. "I am an old man, nephew. Far too old to
consider joining such a quest, even if I believed myself capable of openly
opposing my brother."

"But you DO oppose him. And you're on the Avatar's side, in spirit."

The elder Firebender peered intently at his nephew, whose gaze did not
flinch or waver in the slightest. At length, he closed his eyes and nodded
almost imperceptibly. "This war is wrong, Prince Zuko. Surely, our time as
refugees--as hunted men--has taught you that. What has this war brought to
the world but needless death and destruction? And for what? In what way is
the Fire Nation so superior to the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, or the
Air Nomads that they all deserve to lose their lands and their lives for one
man's ambition?" He tossed the smouldering weed down the side of the cliff.
"That is the problem with fire, Prince Zuko. Air and water bring life. Earth
supports life. All fire can do is destroy life."

Below, the Avatar performed a powerful Earthbending counterattack which
smashed the boulders being hurled at him into fist-sized rocks; using his
staff to whip up a tornado, he ensnared the airborne debris and the two
Earthbenders in the funnel. Iroh and Zuko watched as, after a few moments,
the Airbender dispelled the tornado, leaving two battered, unconscious men
lying on the beach. After a brief huddle, the group quickly scrambled onto
the back of the flying bison, which took to the sky, gliding gracefully out
over the open waters.

Zuko watched them until they were less than a speck against the hazy morning
sky. "What you're saying is...you think *I* should join the Avatar."

Iroh shifted his ponderous bulk. "I'm not saying anything, Prince Zuko. It
sounds to me like *you're* the one who's been thinking about it. I'd be just
as happy if you settled down on Kyoshi Island with one of those pretty
warrior girls and had a family and stayed out of the rest of the world's
business for the rest of your life."

Zuko snorted. "*I* wouldn't."

"What, you don't like warrior girls?"

"I don't like doing *nothing*!" Zuko snapped, eyes flashing. "We wasted
weeks in Ba Sing Se doing *nothing*, and what did it get us? NOTHING! Now
we're just following the Avatar and watching him and his friends fight for
their lives, and what are WE doing about it? NOTHING! I'm sick and tired of
doing NOTHING!"

The older man was quiet for a long moment. "There are times, nephew, when
all a man *can* do is nothing," he said softly. He took a deep breath, then
continued, just as softly, "But there are also times when a man has to make
a decision." He gazed out toward the ocean for a full minute. "And I have
decided...it is time for me to teach you every last thing I know about
Firebending."

Zuko blinked. "Uncle...?"

"What you do with what I teach you...that is entirely up to you." He gave
the exiled prince a look filled with seriousness and grave importance. "If
you choose to do nothing, then that is your choice. If you choose to
continue on as you have been for the last two years, that is also your
choice--a foolish choice, but yours to make if you so desire.

"If you choose to help the Avatar defeat your father and save the world,
then you will need to pass on everything I teach you to him, and you will
need to do it well."

Zuko stared uncomprehendingly at his uncle. "Me...teach the Avatar
Firebending? Even...even if I were to choose to join him--and I'm not saying
I will!--wouldn't it be better if you--"

"If you join the Avatar, I will not be coming with you," Iroh said. "As I
said, I am far too old for such heroics, and besides..." He smiled impishly.
"I do not believe the Avatar's bison could fly nearly so swiftly if it had
to carry my weight around." Becoming serious again, he continued, "The
choice is yours, Prince Zuko. You do not need to make it now, but you will
need to make it before our paths cross the Avatar's again. Now, why don't we
get down off this mountain? All this fog is murder on my old bones."

As the two Firebenders hiked back down the mountains and inland into the
Earth Kingdom, Zuko mulled over his uncle's words.

He had, indeed, seen the suffering his people had inflicted on the rest of
the world. The more of it he'd seen, the less he'd been able to harden his
heart to it. Since becoming a refugee himself, he'd found all the rage and
hatred he'd spent the last two years cultivating eating away at his
self-control, at his very soul. And ever since Lake Laogai, he'd felt...

...nothing. An emptiness inside him, where there was once a flame.

He had no illusions about surviving if he turned against his father. What
the Fire Lord had done to his face was nothing compared to what he'd do to
him if...

But then, even THAT was nothing compared to what he'd done to the thousands
of innocent victims of the war. A century-old war, one-third of which his
own father was responsible for...

If the Avatar defeated his father, and he somehow survived the battle, what
then? Would his people expect him to take the throne? Would they listen to
him? Would they be willing to put an end to the war? Would they execute him,
and raise someone evil, someone like Zhao or Azula, to power, and continue
on with the war as though nothing had happened? Would anything really change
in the world if the Avatar won?

...would anything change inside himself if he was by the Avatar's side when
he won?

By the next time the flying bison had crossed the sky above him, he still
had not answered any of those questions.

But he had made a choice.

And he had regained his flame.


"Avatar: The Last Airbender" and all associated names and trademarks are the
property of Viacom International, Inc., and are used here without
permission, for fair-use, non-profit purposes.

================================
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com



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