End of the Beginning

Chapter 10

"Thank you for bringing him to me, Kya," Iroh said, returning behind the counter to brew more tea,"He really should have come earlier on his own. Sometimes he forgets that he always has a place here. He may be Fire Lord now, but he is still a stubborn boy,"

"That's for sure," I sighed.

"I feel like I've been asleep for a week," Zuko said.

"Nope, just four days," Aang smiled.

Zuko hummed in response as he drank more tea.

"The Earth King's agreed to talk. When you're ready, we'll meet him in Yu Dao. A small group of the city's residents are gonna join us, too. Whatever happens though, Yu Dao can't stay a Fire Nation colony," Aang informed.

"It can't go back to being an Earth Kingdom city either," Zuko replied.

"It'll become something new," I said with a small smile.

"But what?" Zuko asked.

"That's why we need to meet,"

We all fell silent, not knowing what to say next until Zuko spoke, "On the way to Yu Dao I had a dream. You and I faced off against each other on a mountaintop, wind and rain and lightning raged all around us. Behind me was Ozai, and behind you-"

"Roku. And below us the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation armies battled each other. I think I had the same dream!" Aang continued

"In yours, did you end me?" Zuko asked as I watched the two get intense in the conversation. I couldn't bring myself to say anything as they talked.

"Yes,," He answered.

"You know what I felt, just as you did that?" Zuko asked, glancing at me apologetically,"Right before I woke up?"

"Zuko I-"

"Relief," Zuko breathed out,"I was wrong to ask you for that promise, Aang. I've struggled for so long to do what's right--to even know what's right. Then when the war ended, I thought the struggle had finally ended, too. I thought I'd won for good. A visit to Ozai in prison changed that. I realized the struggle was actually just beginning. I didn't think I could handle it, when Kaito refused to end me I should've stopped there. Instead I went to the only other person who I knew I could convince to do it. But asking you to end me if I went bad, that was like asking you to figure out right and wrong for me. I didn't just want you as my safety net. I wanted you as my escape hatch," Zuko looked back up to Aang,"I can't put that on you. I understand now. The struggle isn't something a Fire Lord can escape. I'm sorry, Aang,"

I looked down, I was still hurt and slowly starting to also feel just a tiny bit angry. The urge to slap him like Kaito had asked me made me realize she said it for my sake. I wasn't only annoyed at Zuko for keeping things from me but was also still angry at Ozai for making the situation worse for Zuko. He made Zuko doubt himself, to believe he needed to use force when it wasn't necessary. However, I wanted to move on from it, from all of it.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Zuko," Aang said, now taking his turn to look at the silence emitting from my quiet self,"Deep down, you've always known what's right. I mean, you were right about Yu Dao,"

"Yeah I guess I was," Zuko replied.

"When you fell into the chasm," I said, calmly breaking my silence. Zuko looked at me with pained eyes,"Did you feel relief then too?"

"No, as soon as my foot slipped, I knew somehow that Aang wouldn't let me die," Zuko replied.

"Be grateful," I muttered in annoyance.

Realizing now I almost killed you myself.

"Because I'm a flawed Avatar," Aang said.

"Don't get me wrong!" Zuko defended,"I'm grateful that you-"