AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 43

When they arrived at the island, floating above it, Zuko noticed plenty of a particular plant. It was round, with triangular leaves that spiraled out from the center. "I think that's what knocked us out," he said, pointing. "I wonder if those plants made a gas that made us pass out."

Aang looked at Zuko and he blinked, himself moving a bit lower with Appa as he watched. "I think so," he said, looking back at the Fire Lord. "I don't think they're normal plants though," he admitted. He returned to Zuko's level. "I think they were specially grown, or modified, or something," he said with a shrug. "I've never seen such a plant before," he added.

Zuko frowned. "Either way, we should get back and let the others know. Let's fly to the far side first and see if there's anything else." He gave Eld a little nudge and the dragon rushed forward.

Aang looked at Zuko and nodded. "If this island had this plant,..." he started, glancing ahead where the other two small islands were located, "then that means the other two have it as well." He sighed as the two flew together.

Zuko frowned. "True..." he mumbled. On the other side of the island, there was nothing but a heap of rocks, like the one that had made up the wall in front of them before they had passed out. He frowned.

There was a moment of silence. "So... Katara and I are a thing now," Aang said as he slowly turned his attention towards the Fire Lord.

He glanced at Aang, not really very surprised. "About time," he responded, smiling as he led Eld to the next island. "Tell me what happened?"

"Nothing much really, it just happened. Finally, I guess," he said with a chuckle. "Looks like the garden Athlea designed for the Palace had a romantic vibe to it," he said, somewhat jokingly. "We finally agreed to be together, like, officially. Other than that, nothing else," he said with a shrug, his gaze forward now.

Sure enough, there were more plants on the other islands. Zuko was observing as he listened. "Neat," he said, smiling. "In the garden, huh?" He shook his head, grinning. "Good shit."

"What about you and Athlea, did you-...did you talk about what happened last night?" the Avatar asked.

His friend's face grew sober. "Yeah, we worked it out," was all he said.

Rolling his eyes, that airbender said, "That's good. It seemed... intense, between you two." He shrugged, an eyebrow raised. Zuko shrugged a shoulder. Aang leaned forward, observing the second island himself. "The same plants..." He crossed his arms.

Zuko nodded. "I noticed that too. It's gonna make it difficult to do anything here. If we can identify the plants, we might be able to find a mask or something to protect us."

He leaned, and Eld turned. "Come on. I think it's time to go home," he said, his tone a little brighter.

"Okay, Lord Zuko," Aang responded as they turned around, starting to fly back to the palace.

When they arrived, Zuko headed for his office, waving for Aang to follow. He sat down at a computer, typed in keywords for the plants, hit 'images', and scrolled.

"Don't one of us have a chemist or something?" Aang asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe we could grab masks and collect a sample."

Zuko suddenly pointed at a picture. "That's it." He clicked on the picture and it brought up a website. "It's literally called a gas plant," he groaned, facepalming.

Aang's left eye twitched. "We're stupid." He blinked and shook his head.

Zuko leaned back into his chair, breathing slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, I've felt smarter than I do now. Let's go fly to the lab and ask around."

Aang shook his head. "Yeah..."

The Avatar tilted his head slightly. "A lab?" he mumbled. He spoke up. "You guys have a lab? You've invented... a lot of stuff around here." Chuckling, he added, "In a good way, of course!"

He raised an eyebrow at Aang, then shrugged. "We mostly use it for medicines, but that's also where Aang, Katara, and Sokka share their new technology from Republic City, though we haven't come up with much so far."

"We should take a look, then."

Zuko smiled and stood, leading Aang back to Eld and Appa, who were tacked and waiting near the stables.

"Is this really how you use your relaxation day?" Aang asked with a chuckle as he got on Appa. "I bet Katara and Athlea are having more fun."

Zuko scoffed. "Our kingdom is bigger than your city, remember, and now our lives are on the line. And, yeah, this is about as relaxing as it gets around here. I wouldn't say they're having fun. They're probably working just as much as us."

***

A/N more bro talk, and they're finally getting somewhere with these plants o.o