Percy Jackson: Defender of Dreams

Avatar: The Last Airbender - 5

Leo was working on the boat when we returned, and he hopped to his feet once he saw us. Wiping a layer of soot and seat from his forehead, he gave the three of us a grin that made Zuko and Iroh nervous.

"How's progress?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's going well. Can't fly yet, but she's definitely—"

"What?" Zuko interrupted. "What are you doing to my ship? If you're insane enough to mean what you just said, our deal is off. I'd rather deal with Zhao than let you endanger my entire crew."

"He's joking," I laughed, shooting Leo a meaningful look. He rolled his eyes. "He meant fly as in a metaphor for moving really fast, you know."

Zuko tapped his foot indecisively for a moment. "You have an Agni Kai to prepare for," I reminded him. I added under my breath, "Although I wish I was the one fighting him."

The young prince glanced up at the sun, grimacing as he realized time was indeed flowing very quickly. "I know," he grumbled, stalking into his room to meditate and prepare.

After he was gone, Leo turned to me. He looked offended. "It was not metaphorical and you know it," he protested. "Flying boat. It's what we're going for, even though we don't really have Celestial Bronze... I'll figure it out."

"I really don't know if that's a good idea," I said, thinking back to all of the stories I'd heard. "Didn't you almost blow up our entire camp one time? And you had Festus then, too. We can't have another boat like the Argo II without Festus."

Leo scowled. "I said I'd figure it out, alright?" he said. "Besides, I'm not going to test it with everyone on board. If it explodes, I'll be the only one on board and I'll probably survive."

"Leo," I warned, raising an eyebrow. "No."

"Fine," he said, turning back to his work. I could tell he had no intention of actually listening to me, but there wasn't really anything I could do about that.

There was still an hour or two before Zuko's Agni Kai, and I figured I should talk to Zuko. I could already tell what kind of person Zhao was, and I wanted to make sure Zuko was ready to ignore what he said.

I made my way through the metal boat, shaking my head. This thing was way too heavy for my tastes; apparently it worked, but nothing would beat the elegant, light structure of a wooden sailboat for me. I found Zuko's room and knocked, not wanting something to go wrong with his meditation if I barged in, and also, you know, respecting his privacy.

The door opened to Zuko glaring at me. "What do you want?" he asked shortly.

"I wanted to talk to you about the fight," I said easily. "Zhao sucks, and I figured he'd go for some dirty tricks even in a battle for honor, so I just wanted to warn you."

"There's not much you can get away with in an Agni Kai," Zuko said, shaking his head. "Even Zhao won't go that far."

"Maybe. What he will do, though, is say that your daddy doesn't love you with a bunch of fancy words. Just make sure you're ready to hear it and ignore him, no matter if he disrespects you, Iroh, or the Firelord. He'll try to get in your head."

Zuko stiffened. He looked like he might snap at me, but eventually he just nodded. "I'll be ready. His words mean nothing to me, anyway."

I gave him a shallow bow, and he closed the door. Well, there wasn't much else I could do but train. Water bending training wasn't really an option, since that would draw a lot of negative attention to Zuko, so... I went and found some swords and made my way to the deck. 

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