The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 1: Air, Chapter 2: The World Has Changed

(Originally posted January 22, 2022 on AO3)

Aang patted Appa's muzzle to soothe his anxious murmuring, waiting patiently for the Fire Nation boy - Zuko, he'd said his name was - to return. He remembered the confusion and hostility he had seen in Zuko's eyes, and the severe burn mark over his left eye. Did he lose an Agni Kai? Aang wondered, cringing as he remembered Kuzon telling him about the violent Fire Nation practice. It's rare to see burns of that degree unless it was done on purpose.

Appa grunted, interrupting his thoughts. "I know, buddy. We had a long and dangerous flight last night. I'm sorry I put you through that," he said. "Maybe I should try and go back to the temple... It was pretty reckless to run away like that. Monk Gyatso must be worried. But we'll just hitch a ride with Zuko for a bit, and then once you're rested we'll be back in no time."

At that moment, he spotted a figure in red clumsily climbing over the wall of ice. Zuko had returned. Aang bounded quickly towards him with a gust of wind.

Zuko appeared startled by the sudden movement. "Sorry," Aang apologized, rubbing the back of his head with a crooked grin. "I forgot you all haven't seen many airbenders before. I'll refrain from doing stuff like that in front of your crew."

Zuko simply nodded, not meeting his eye. "Let's head to the ship."

******

Aang sat on Appa's head as the bison pushed his way through the ice. "Who knew you were as good at swimming as you are at flying, buddy?" Aang said with a smile. He watched Zuko, who was hopping on the ice clumps towards his ship in front of them. Aang had offered to let him ride in Appa's saddle, but Zuko had adamantly refused.

As they approached the ship, Aang's brow furrowed in confusion. He had never seen a Fire Nation ship quite like this. Granted, he had not really paid attention to the nuances of Fire Nation ships due to always traveling to the Fire Islands on a sky bison.

The ship was made completely of metal, and the hull, which was heavily damaged, had been lowered onto the ice. It would be a tight fit, but he would be able to get Appa onto the deck. He hopped off onto the large platform of ice that the ship's hull was resting on, and Appa pulled himself onto the platform as well.

As they finally boarded the ship, Aang noticed something was off. There were two rows of what looked to be Fire Nation soldiers on either side of them. However, unlike the Fire Nation uniforms Aang had seen before, these looked... scarier. Each had a full suit of armor on and pointed helmets, their faces obscured by a cover that was reminiscent of a skull.

"Hey... Zuko? What's going on, why are there soldiers on your ship?" He asked as he heard the hull of the ship lock back into place.

Zuko didn't answer. Aang turned to him and saw that he had backed away, hands up as if he were ready to fight. Aang looked around, fear settling in as he noticed each of the soldiers doing the same. What is going on? He wondered as he slowly backed towards Appa. I don't know what we've gotten into, buddy, but I hope to the Spirits that you can fly again.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers shot a blast of flames at him. Aang evaded the blast by airbending himself onto Appa's saddle, grabbing his staff from the saddle. "Yip yip!" he said frantically. Appa grunted, but did not move.

"Zuko, you said you were just giving me a ride! What's going on?" he demanded, standing on top of Appa's head, staff pointed defensively. He thought he saw a flicker of guilt flash in Zuko's amber eyes before they hardened again.

Aang had no idea what to do. He couldn't - and wouldn't - fight, only disarm and evade. As Appa backed towards the hull of the ship, Aang jumped back down and slammed his staff forward, creating a huge gust of wind that blew all of the soldiers over, including Zuko, who quickly got back up and began running towards Aang, fire emanating out of the backs of his closed fists.