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Chapter Text

The Land has been there from the beginning.

The Land has been home to all.

From the mighty cold blooded lords, the titan animals that roamed before a land from beyond had arrived and changed it all.

To the creatures that walked on two legs and wanted to use The land for their own gain.

They did not understand.

They were not the owners of The Land, how could they when they were so short of life? Not one of them could see the eons that The Land had seen.

Some came and began to build, but they were not capable of staying, others arrived and destroyed those that came before; others arrived when all the others had died before.

One arrived, one of those tiny creatures arrived one time, and instead of forcing The Land, trying to shackle it like many others, instead of trying to make others do what the tiny creature they asked for The Land’s favour, not to destroy, but together construct something brilliant, something that was full of bright feelings, so much light and rejoice. The Land allowed this creature to create tiny homes, just so other creatures could live too. This time The Land did not destroy them, did not curse them, did not direct, but The Land did help and nurture them.

They respected The Land, they did not take from The Land, but worked with it. The Land liked them so it settled down and watched these tiny creatures build, live and prance around like the tiny, ephemeral creatures they were. They were funny that way.

Soon, The Land watched these tiny creatures become more, their buildings growing, the fertile farms extending beyond the initial Land’s domain, allowing The Land to become bigger, stronger, a greater spirit. Soon, The Land could see them, others like The Land, like the ball of light beyond The Land’s reach, so far beyond that The Land could not understand how far the ball of light was from The Land. It moved and brought light, brough energy to the plants of The Land, and it made the tiny creatures want to go out and do what tiny creatures did.

The bright ball of light saluted The Land, the Land liked the Light, the Land also liked the little stone that always came after the Light, the little stone was funny, the Land liked them both.

Light had a name, Light had told The Land, but Agni was so weird of a name, so it was just Light; Light liked the name because it laughed at The Land, not maliciously like The Land had seen other tiny creatures do when they thought they were cunning, which they weren’t, but Light did it as if they found it flattering.

The one who accompanied him, the little stone that ran after Light all the time, the Land called it Bright Stone, it brought light too, but it wasn’t as strong as Light, but The Land liked the stone, it was so fast beyond the sky; Bright Stone also liked that name, the Land liked it more than what the little creature’s had named it, Tui did not fit. They were very close, it reminded the Land of when two tiny creatures were together and then created more tiny creatures; the Land tried to help those, it liked when those tiny creatures were happy together, it brought happiness to the Land. Sadly Bright Stone was not in the sky anymore, The Land could feel it, closer, but still far, somewhere The Land could not find Bright Stone, it felt so cold, unlike the farms and houses that the tiny creatures made with help of The Land

So it was that the Land, the Light and the Bright Stone continued their vigil, and with more tiny creatures joining and building and creating, The Land could see more spirits like Light and Bright Stone, like the Autumn Wind, like the Sisters of the Coast; the Land had found out that the Sisters of the Coast also saw The Land as one more sister, so the Land had to think about what that word meant, what all that ‘He’ and ‘She’ meant, so she listened to the tiny creatures and learned from them to know them, after all, they were… her tiny creatures?

Yes, The Land thought of the tiny creatures as ‘Hers’.

The Land had listened closely, had heard the tiny creatures and learned from them; she had learned that the tiny creatures were different among them, they did not look the same, there were He and She, there were even some tiny creatures that did not fit within those two categories, The Land liked them ll, they were all so different and interesting to hear, but The Land had liked ‘She’, The Land liked that word.

'She' was for the tiny creatures that took care of the smaller tiny creatures, it cared for them, it nurtured them, so the land had decided to be She, for she had cared for the tiny creatures too, she nurtured the tiny creatures for so long, and the tiny creatures loved The Land, so she began to continued to listen, continued to learn from the tiny creatures and she learned many things.

She learned that the tiny creatures called themselves Humans, she preferred tiny creatures, but they decided for themselves so The Land let them be; she also learned that her humans had given her a name, and she was so happy for that, they called her Ba Sing Se, which was a weird name, but it was the name her tiny creatures had given her, so she was proud to be Ba Sing Se.

But the most interesting was how all her tiny creatures decided to follow one tiny creature, one that looked out for them like The Land did, one that respected them and helped them when other tiny creatures came to take control of The Land, not that the land allowed them, these were her tiny creatures, the ones that gave her a name. So The Land, Ba Sing Se, decided to help the tiny creatures that everyone had respect for, they called this tiny creature King and Queen.

They were important to the tiny creatures of Ba Sing Se, so The Land gave them her blessing, like Light had given his blessing to tiny creatures that lived far away from Ba Sing Se, but he loved them as The Land loved her tiny creatures, like Bright Stone loved her tiny creatures and the Autumn Wind loved its tiny creatures too.

But one day Light became sad, when another like Bright Stone appeared in the sky, it was smaller than Bright Stone, but even Ba Sing Se could feel the power of the stone, it made Light even brighter, stronger, the tiny creatures of Light also became brighter, but then darkness appeared, she couldn’t hear The Autumn Wind like before, its tiny creatures falling silent, never again dancing for The Autumn Wind.

Light was so sad, Ba Sing Se wanted to help Light, but it couldn’t be; Light said that his tiny creatures, his humans, had turned their back to him, not all of them, but those that guided his tiny creatures, Fire Lord they were called. Ba Sing Se did not like when Light was sad, it reminded Ba Sing Se when Bright Stone had left him alone in the sky to live in the cold.

Time went on, with more tiny creatures arrived to Ba Sing Se, but it was not the same now, things were changing and it made Ba Sing Se worried; so many tiny creatures were scared, hurt, but their fears did not disappear when they arrived, because the Kings and Queens did not help them and Ba Sing Se was sad.

The Kings and Queens were never the same, tiny creatures did not live long, so every time a new tiny creature became King it was something to pay attention to; they created houses too, but not like the ones made from stone and clay where tiny creatures lived, no, it was just how the tiny creatures called when the next King or Queen were sons or daughters of the previous tiny creature. Ba Sing Se liked to see how different or similar they were to the other King or Queen. Sometimes they were not of the same house so new houses were created.

Ba Sing Se remembered every house, she remembered every King and every Queen, she never forgot any of her tiny creatures; she remembered The House of Li, with their bright smiles and bright steps. She remembered the House of Pho and how they built temples to the land. She remembered the House of Tien and how much they cared for the farms of Ba Sing Se. But it was the House of Kuei that brought her sadness after so long.

It was with the House of Kuei that Ba Sing Se had found war once more, and She was impressed by the force that the tiny creatures of Light had; they encircled Ba Sing Se and battled against her tiny creatures. Over and over again Light had said that he didn’t want this and Ba Sing Se believed him, they were just lost tiny creatures, but she also had a duty to her tiny creatures, even if the House of Kuei did nothing to stop the war, did nothing to help her tiny creatures, did nothing to repel the enemy like other Kings and Queens had done before them, so Ba Sing Se rumbled against the invaders.

She never liked having to make tiny creatures stop, she hated to see their steps go quiet, never to move again, never allowed to create or work or build, so Ba Sing Se mourned alongside those that had fallen, no matter if they were her tiny creatures or those of Light. So Light and Ba Sing Se cried for those tiny creatures that had lost their lives, that had been ripped apart by her hands, both fire and earth had suffered and Ba Sing Se mourned them.

Ba Sing Se then felt sadness, she saw a tiny creature, the one that was guiding those that followed Light, she saw how he retrieved one of the fallen, and she heard his cries, his sadness and grief; she heard him scream ‘My Son’ and Ba Sing Se cried alongside this tiny creature, the one named Iroh by all, this Dragon of the West, and she cried after Iroh broke apart. Soon, the tiny creatures retreated and Light mourned for the death of his future Fire Lord.

Ba Sing Se wanted to apologize, but Light smiled to her, for he had other plans, another tiny creature which would help him cleanse the darkness that had enraptured the tiny creatures, he said there was one that Light had hopes for, and that he will guide, but the tiny creature’s journey will not be easy, and maybe one day Light will ask Ba Sing Se to care for that particular tiny creature.

Ba Sing Se did not mind, she loved the tiny creatures, but she was… how did the tiny creatures say? Disappointed? Yes, Ba Sing Se was so disappointed with the House of Kuei, because they did not help the other tiny creatures, they were weak, they were grey, they had no light, no power around them, they were lost, and soon a new King of the House of Kuei arrived when the last one simply stopped due to how weak it was, but this one was worse, there was no one to guide this tiny creature of the House of Kuei.

There was only one dark tiny creature that guided him, but the only thing this tiny creature did was hide the King and play as if this tiny creature was king, but Ba Sing Se knew, there will never be a House of Long Feng; like so many, this tiny creature thought that they were cunning, but no matter what, they will never escape from Ba Sing Se; this tiny creature was like the many tiny creatures filled with darkness that she had seen. They always thought they could win, that they could rule, that they would live forever, but they all felt in one way or another.

She was ready to teach this tiny creature a lesson once she saw what Long Feng was doing to other tiny creatures, taking them somewhere deep and changing them; every tiny creature ended up changing after being taken to these caves, they stopped being unique tiny creatures and turned into the same one, Joo Dee.

Ba Sing Se did not like Joo Dee.

Light and Ba Sing Se had to keep their vigil, hoping that nothing bad would happen to the tiny creatures, when they both felt it, they both felt Bright Stone disappearing from the sky, her vessel on the cold had been hurt, another tiny creature that had hurt others, thankfully Bright Stone had joined with one of her tiny creatures and she had returned to Light.

Bright Stone had forgiven Light as they saw each other and embraced for the first time in so long; Ba Sing Se liked this new Bright Stone, she was nice, she was more like the tiny creatures this time.

Ba Sing Se had been happy for both Light and Bright Stone, but this was not good, things were not going well for the tiny creatures and she wanted to do something, but then she saw a tiny creature, one that she haven’t felt in years; one of the Sisters of the Coast had made her home a place to reach the Other Side, the place where the spirits of all the tiny creatures went after they left this side, and The Sister had told her that the tiny creature, Iroh, had changed in there, had become a better tiny creature.

Ba Sing Se welcomed the tiny creature this time, she was happy and she was sad, because this tiny creature still felt grief for losing his own tiny creature, Lu Ten, that was the name, Ba Sing Se would have loved to see Lu Ten and what he would have been able to build, if only they hadn’t tried to hurt her tiny creatures; but he was not alone, he had a new tiny creature with him, and Ba Sing Se felt it… she FELT the mark of Light in this tiny creature and she loved him from the very first moment he arrived at Ba Sing Se.

This tiny creature was full of pain, of sadness, of grief and rage; he was a bolt of lightning and a storm fire all bottled inside a tiny creature and Ba Sing Se loved him. Light loved him, and she even felt the touch of Bright Stone on him; so yes, she felt all those emotions, and while she would be scared for the tiny creature, Ba Sing Se knew what this tiny creature was capable of.

He was sad, but never wanted to make other tiny creatures sad, he never wanted to make others feel as bad as he felt; Ba Sing Se could see that this tiny creature, this Zuko, was lost, he did not know what he wanted, what he should do, so she did what she did to other tiny creatures, she guided both Iroh and Zuko to where they could heal, even if she knew it was still not enough; Ba Sing Se hated how the House of Kuei had let her tiny creatures suffer in this way.

She liked Zuko, she liked him way more than the tiny creature that was spirit too, in fact, she did not like that tiny creature.

The tiny creature that was spirit too had been given a name by others, it was Avatar, but Ba Sing See did not understand what this Avatar was supposed to do, it was supposedly a tiny creature that listened to the Spirits and then listened to the tiny creatures, but Ba Sing Se knew that was not needed, Ba Sing Se already listened to the tiny creatures, but the Avatar never listened to Ba Sing Se.

All the Avatars Ba Sing Se had met were always the same, they did not respect Ba Sing Se, they did not respect her tiny creatures, they always thought they knew better than others, they never listened to her so she saw no need for the Avatar, Light always laughed when Ba Sing Se said that.

This time was no different, the Avatar only did what he wanted, but it didn’t hear Ba Sing Se, it never listened to the voices of her tiny creatures, it only listened to itself, it never cared about anyone else, so Ba Sing Se did not like the Avatar; but she liked the tiny tiny creature that was with the Avatar, so tiny, so young, but she could still learn how to listen to Ba Sing Se, maybe she will be able to also help the tiny creatures of Ba Sing Se, specially the one called Zuko.

Oh, how she wished she could take Zuko’s pain and change it for happiness, but Ba Sing Se knew it would take time, or maybe just the right moment to help heal this tiny creature, but for now she spend time watching him, learning from it, helping him a little bit; for the first time in eons, Ba Sing Se slowed down, began to live at the same speed as the tiny creatures, finally letting the world centre and move slowly just like the tiny creatures saw the world.

She saw how Zuko worked, learned, fought against other tiny creatures -she did not like the tiny creature named Jet, it was only full of hate and lies, mostly lies to himself-, protect other tiny creatures, he even met another tiny creature, the one called Jin; Ba Sing Se was happy, because for the first time Zuko had wanted to meet another tiny creature, maybe with some luck the two will join and make more tiny creatures, Ba Sing Se loved when they did that.

Ba Sing Se was so happy that she even helped Zuko at the end, she knew, after all, that Light’s gift was not seen well inside the city, so she obscured the flame, she made sure that they were alone, sadly Zuko did not join with Jin to make more tiny creatures, maybe some other time, but for now Zuko’s happiness, or the closest thing that he had felt like it in a long time was Ba Sing Se’s happiness too. She wanted to see him smile, to see him finally find peace and then… she had the chance.

Ba Sing Se finally found a use for the one they called Avatar, because in its own greed, in its own blindness, they have given Ba Sing Se the chance to finally help Zuko; she asked for help from one of the small wind spirits, some of the ones that had kept the breeze flowing even after The Autumn Wind had hidden itself from the other spirits, thankfully this small wind helped her move what Zuko needed.

And off Zuko went, taking a mask to help the city, to free it from the darkness, apathy and betrayal from the House of Kuei and Long Feng, so she helped him, making sure the Dai Li, those that one day had promised to take care of Ba Sing Se but that had betrayed her alongside Long Feng, could not find her tiny creature; maybe soon she will be able to pluck the Dai Li from the dark fog that had enraptured the Dai Li; the problem of having such a weak house was clear, it made it easy for others to see greed and evilness as strength.

At the end, Ba Sing Se had been worried, Zuko had been hurt so much before that he didn’t know right from wrong, he had been starved for so long that he had thought pain was love; thankfully the older tiny creature, Iroh, had arrived and finally Zuko had chosen the path that was maybe the hardest, but the one that will allow Ba Sing Se to finally do what she should have done so long ago. It was time for Ba Sing Se to choose her own King.

—--

Something wasn’t right, something was so very very not right.

Zuko felt the fever consume him as they arrived at their small house after he made the hardest choice he could remember making; he still didn’t know if he had done the right thing, freeing the sky bison like that, but he had made his uncle proud of him, right?

It was a dumb plan, because what would he have done with the bison anyways? Is not as if he would have been able to hide it in their ridiculously small apartment, nor he would have been able to use it to lure the Avatar, not with the Dai Li around, not without putting Uncle in danger. For the first time in so long Zuko didn’t know if what he was doing was correct.

He needed to capture the Avatar, how else would he be able to regain the love of his Father? How else would he be able to regain his honor? He wanted… needed to go back home… right? Please, he needed to know!

He only had the two dragons to tell him what to do, but they did not help, he was only more and more confused, he did not know what was right, or what was wrong, he did not know who he was. He was Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai, but what did that mean? He was also the son of Ursa of Byakko, but he did not know what it meant, what he wanted, what he believed in, what he was supposed to do!

Zuko hated to make Uncle sad and he was sure that he had been so close to make him sad, and he had seen his face, how proud he had been after freeing the bison and throwing away the mask; he haven’t seen someone proud of him in so long, and Zuko was happy and scared and so lost! Please, he needed to know if what he was doing was right!

And then, instead of the fever and overwhelming loneliness, he saw a light, he saw… he saw HER, there was no other way to describe the being that had appeared and that had vanquished the darkness in her presence, he could only remain in awe at the all encompassing… love? Was this love that he could feel? Is this what she was?

He could hear the blue dragon snarling, screaming at the presence, how dare she interrupt them, and he was ready to attack, but with just a single movement of her hand the blue dragon was no more, only a statue defending the altar, and like that, Zuko felt himself breathing once more, as if a weight that he had been caring for so long had been removed from his shoulders.

“Who… are you?” He asked still in awe, but the woman, a woman that made him remember his own mother so strongly that he wanted to cry, simply smiled and he was at peace, how was it possible?

“I am The Land,” she said and Zuko felt the power behind those words, felt how big and heavy that statement was, he could already see what it meant, “but the tiny creatures living here gave me a name, I am Ba Sing Se,” that name, that strength and love and peace and power was so big, so monumental that he found himself kneeling at her presence, a sight so great that he felt diminutive.

Then he felt her hands, soft like silk, but strong and calloused as the hand of a farmer, of a worker, a dichotomy of those that lived, that worked, that found a home inside her walls; those same hands took hold of his face with so much care, gently making him stand once more, before placing his head on her lap.

“No bowing, never from you, after all, I have chosen you.”

“I… do not understand, I… I am not from the Earth Kingdom… I am just a traitor.”

“You live inside the city you tiny creatures build with me, you respect the land, you want to protect those that live here, and you are no traitor, you did not betray your land, nor Light.”

“Light? What?”

“Oh right, you little ones call him Agni, and you are so special to him,” what was she saying, how could he be special to Agni? When he was always screwing everything, he, the exiled prince, the one that could never measure up to prodigies like his sister, he who had failed at everything, “no, bad Zuko, never think you are not special,” the woman, Ba Sing Se herself, lightly poked him in the forehead making those thoughts fly away, only a sense of peace remained, it made it easy to pay attention to her.

“But why me? What is going on?”

“Your uncle would be able to explain it better, after all, the words of tiny creatures are sometimes hard, they change so much, but for what I understand, you are at a crossroad, to understand who you are, what you want, but that’s silly, you are Zuko and you are my very special tiny one,” she said as if it was so easy to understand, which in some way it was, but really? Why would he be special to a spirit “I don’t need a reason to love you, for what I understand after watching you tiny creatures for so long, no parent need a reason to love their child, they just do, if they cannot love their children then they do not deserve to be parents at all,” but that… that made no sense, no sense whatsoever, because if she was right then… no, he had to believe that his Father loved him, he had to love him, he just needed to follow his orders and his father will love him again… right?

Ba Sing Se knew that sometimes, the tiny creatures needed time to understand something, to truly see the truth, they just needed a little push from time to time, but it still hurt to see them suffer, and even more now, seeing Zuko cry at having to confront the truth broke her heart; in some cases it was needed to let all that pain go before one of the tiny creatures could heal.

“So what am I to do now? I have been chasing a dream for so long, even after all the times other people told me it was impossible to find the avatar, but I did, I found him… but I’ll never be able to capture him, right?” It hurt to say it, and even more to see the reaction from Ba Sing Se who moved her hand side to side slowly.

“No you won’t, the Avatar cannot be caught by you, it has been declared by the Spirits, he still has his role to play; I am sorry Zuko, but that road is one without end.”

“Then it was all for nothing, there’s nothing for me, I can’t go back home.”

“Oh, my dear little one! You still have so much to live, so much to do, that road may be impossible for you to walk on, but I refuse to let you be without hope, I have great things prepared for you my little one, now, go, your uncle is waiting for you, but never forget that I love you, and that I am always here for you my little Fire King,” wait, what? Zuko still had many questions before he was finally allowed to leave the dream, being finally pushed into the real world, where a worried Iroh hugged him.

It was clear that the older man had been worried about Zuko, that he hadn’t left his side after he had become sick; a strong fever had hit after liberating the bison; his uncle had explained to Zuko what it meant, about being at a crossroad, basically repeating what Ba Sing Se had told him before, which meant that it was possible that it had not been just a dream.

In the next couple of days Zuko had found more evidence that maybe, just maybe, everything had really happened and that Ba Sing Se itself had chosen him, for what? He wasn’t quite sure, but she had definitely left him a gift, one that had been very useful.

Zuko had recognized the waterbender, the one that travelled with the avatar, not with his eyes, but he had felt her approaching the Jasmine Dragon, he wasn’t sure how, but there was something on her steps, on her presence itself; Zuko was sure that it had something to do with the spirit of Ba Sing Se guiding him, telling him of danger, because how else would he have been able to recognize the presence of the girl among all the others in the Upper District? But he followed his new instincts, guiding him into the rooftop, hidden from sight until the waterbender had left.

Zuko knew that he had just evaded a dangerous arrow just now; just when he had finally decided to never chase after the avatar, the world was conspiring against him, being unable to avoid close encounters with them, it was just ridiculous, but at least it seemed that he had a great presence on his side this time, at least is not as if his luck would get any worse, right?

Several days later, as Zuko stood on top of one of the Upper District tallest towers, looking in the direction of the castle, knowing that there was no turning back, because he felt three very distinctive presences inside the castle, three girls that represented another time, a simpler time.

He had been trying to avoid destiny, to run from it, hide from it, but it seemed that destiny was as stubborn as him.

So with no hesitation, Zuko jumped down, ready to face his new destiny face to face.

‘Go ahead my little Fire King,’ said the voice in his head, a voice that was so proud of him, a voice that loved him with no strings attached ‘go ahead without fear, because I will be there at all times’.

Chapter Text

The first thing he remembers is the face of his Uncle as he places one foot in front and he takes a stance he has never used before in his life, Zuko simply ignores it for the moment before returning to the day prior, the day when he woke up from a nightmare tuned into a dream, or maybe it was just whatever herbal tea Uncle Iroh had concocted, like when he was still following after the Avatar and Uncle almost killed himself with a pot of tea, back when everything was so much simpler in his life.

Back then it was simply, wake up, exercise, plot a route to either find the Avatar or capture the Avatar, then tend to the ship and do whatever it was needed to guide the ship, it was monotonous until they either found bad weather, pirates, enemies or crazy stuff; now that Zuko thought about it, the life at sea was anything but boring, in a way he… missed it? Guess he had a purpose back then, and maybe the people on his ship had been all troublemakers back home, punished to follow an exiled and honourless prince, but it had been home.

At the time, he hated every moment, but now, after suffering and traveling and knowing more, he could see that the life at the Wani had been almost paradise in comparison with life at land. maybe he had been born to be a sailor, better than the intrigues, loneliness and sadness that was life at the palace after… after she left. Life at sea was simple, do what you have to do to keep things together, nobody cares who you are, nobody cares what you did before, it was only you, the sea and everything you could do to keep the vessel in one piece.

If only he had understood, maybe he would have simply kept on going… maybe another life.

Placing his hands in a position that just a couple of days ago would have been completely strange to him, Zuko began to go through a new form, something that had appeared on his mind, it was high kicks, fast strikes, faster than he himself had been able to do a week ago. He then changed again, from the strong strikes into flowing movements, his hand mimicking the gracefulness of a crane, how was he able to move like this?

It was this exercise what made it clear on his head that, whatever had happened in that dream, maybe it wasn’t just a fever induced apparition, well, that and the complete knowledge of the place he was; what were the best places to disappear from sight, what streets were the most secure, how to use the rooftops to avoid problems, it all had come to him so easily from one day to another and it was in a way maddening, to not know what hand was guiding him.

There was an explanation, but Zuko wasn’t sure if he was ready to accept it, because to say that the dream had been true, that he had… seen Her, that She had appeared to him in the moment he most needed guidance meant that… that everything that he had done for the last few years… no, what he had done for most of his life had been in vain, that it was useless.

To admit that Ba Sing Se had appeared in front of him was to admit that his whole mission was always doomed to fail, either because the spirits had a hand on the whole affair and always screwed things up to him -Zuko could certainly remember times the Avatar escaped where there was absolutely no way a person could do it- or, and this was even worse… because his father had sent him on a wild goose-boar chase; Zuko certainly didn’t know which felt worse, considering his luck, it was a combination of both.

Keeping his leg up in the air after doing a kick, Zuko tried to remember exactly what had happened that morning after waking up; at first he could remember how his uncle had reacted, how much relief was on his face as the older man embraced him, telling him how he had spend a long time sick, how his decision to let the bison free had made him fall into a slumber and fever, one that had started a change in him. most of the explanation was lost to Zuko, after all, he had never been one to study the spirit realm, it wasn’t his job to think about that, that was the job of the fire Sages and priests, not the son of the other prince of the Fire Nation, one that was out of the run for the throne and therefore didn’t need that kind of teachings.

Then, he was the direct heir to the throne after the madness of one night, and then he had more important things to think about, just like how he was going to survive his dear sister’s… attentions, what with her all but being groomed by their father to be the child that he would be most pleased with; so really, with that and then his subsequent exile, he never really thought that much about spirits, but then he was send into the open world with only a ship, filled with riff raff of the empire and his uncle, who seemed way too knowledgeable about spirits.

Zuko then couldn’t even get one week without tripping into a spirit or something like that, even worse once he found the Avatar, the memory of the giant water monster grabbing Zhao as this one was plunged into the abyss kept him awake for a long time.

So what did he know about spirits? That they liked to mess with people’s lives way too much, at least in the experience that he had, but he was sure that was mostly due to him following after the avatar and all the madness that seemed to follow the airbender. He needed to think back, about what people from his nation used to say about spirits; how you had to be careful what you said, about always getting surprises whenever you asked a favor to the spirits.

Zuko lowered his leg without any extra effort, it had been too easy to regain his balance and speed, probably what a good diet and time to exercise could do; he had lost so much muscle and weight between the North Pole and wandering aimlessly on the Earth Kingdom, many days of hunger and thirst, it had opened his eyes to many things, some of the he hadn’t been ready to consider, things that at the moment seemed almost treasonous against his heritage, his destiny as the true heir of the Dragon Throne, but was it really treason?

The young man didn’t have an answer then, he didn’t have it now, maybe that’s why he was in this whole debacle; having too many voices pulling in so many directions, not knowing, or not wanting to think beyond his mission, because if he stopped for one second then his father would be right about him, that he was without honor… but what if… what if what She said was true?

In the dream everything had been different, first there was the heat, the pressure, everything that had been… pushed into him? Maybe his own doubts and confusion? Things weren’t probably that simple, dreams rarely were, but he could feel the pressure the two dragons exerted on him, trying to make them choose either one or the other, as if they were complete absolutes about how he wanted to live his life, about who he wanted to be, about what others wanted of him. All the people in his life wanted something different out of him, an idea that they pushed into his hands, until the burden became too much, until all those voices pulled just too strong.

Uncle was maybe right, it was a spiritual journey, but one where he had been completely alone, without any guidance or knowledge of what was going on, and he was so tempted, so absolutely tempted to keep on going, to choose the path his father had put him on, to show him he was worth of his love, but then… that was the problem right? That’s what she had said, that love was not something one had to gain, that it was freely given, but if that was true then… then everything he had fought for was for… nothing.

“Ah, I see you are up to keep your training nephew,” the voice of the one that had been at his side all this time took Zuko out of his ruminations, it was a jovial sound on his voice, but it was still tinged with worry, like every time Zuko had been in danger or after a rather spectacular failure of capturing the avatar.

“Uncle Mushi,” Zuko still had to think first, to use the false name, it was so much easier to call the older man Uncle, to forget all about social strata, military prowess, history, etiquette and just call each other Uncle and Nephew, it was maddening some times, but in this case it was… soothing “I just, wanted to stretch a bit”.

“I see, nice to see you still practicing the art even with everything that has happened, but I must say, I do not recognize that form, I don’t think I have seen such moves before,” and there it was, the way his eyes changed from worried uncle to curious, and even a bit worried too.

“They… they were forms that had been taught here in Ba Sing Se, King Li Shiang the Second, it was there, on what it is the Inner Circle of Ba Sing Se, the temple is still there, but once upon a time it was used as a monastery, the forms were invented there, after decades of practice and usage, now the temple is still there, but nobody trains there anymore,” Zuko had a forlorn look on his eyes, as if he was not looking at Ba Sing Se now, but what it used to be, a place that didn’t exist anymore, but its story will go on.

“That you have continued your history studies brings joy to this old man,” Iroh simply held Zuko by the arm, making him once more focus on the present day, it was also a sign of Iroh being more cautious about what he could say on the open, after all, while they could use the rooftop of the apartment block for simple things, one never knew who could be listening, not with the constant presence of the Dai Li and other unsavory people, so Zuko understood and was guided back into their simple apartment, but for Zuko, who had spent so much of this time lately either sleeping under the stars or in cramped rooms of ships, this was not bad, almost a luxury really.

The teapot and cups in the table was always present in their modest table, but with time, Zuko had began to see something about the preparation of tea, it was not only a time to relax, but also it helped his Uncle to gather his thoughts, he knew that the older man would have questions regarding what he had said just a few moments ago.

“I… something happened while I was in the fever Uncle, I saw… images, dreams,” he started, not knowing how to explain what was going on, but as he tried to explain himself his uncle gave him a cup of fragrant tea.

“Those visions are something common in that situation, I myself suffered through them a long time ago, I was lost and didn’t know who I was anymore… I had lost everything that I had cared for, so I felt into a terrible fever while I was lost in a swamp, certainly not the best place, but something we cannot choose where we are going to fall sick, well, certainly it wouldn’t be the first time I fall sick while in the wild, but later on I was in good company,” incredible that his own uncle could joke about something like that, it had made Zuko panic seeing him fall sick after experimenting with teas, never a dull moment with him.

“I know, you explained that to me when I woke up, but… it wasn’t only dreams… I… saw something, there was a presence,” Zuko certainly didn’t know how to explain that the spirit of the city they were residing in had suddenly appeared in front of him and called him my little Fire King.

“Yes, that the spirits had been involved was something that could happen, a surprise maybe, but after the last few years I gotta say that the Spirit World has been more active than ever; sadly the spirits already know of you and me, we have been involved in many such events since meeting the Avatar.”

-

It was a good talk, with uncle explaining about how such events could change a man’s life, that maybe he had gained something from it that will help him in the future, he had finished by saying how proud he was of Zuko, just before getting ready for their work and then, it wasn’t brought back, even though Zuko knew that uncle was curious about how he had known such facts about the city; the truth was that even he was surprised.

Well, there was no other way to deny what had just happened, he was way too deep into this trouble to be able to fake or keep saying that it was not true, just his luck, but at least he didn’t have to listen to more obnoxious clients since apparently, due to him being sick he had been allowed half a day free, what a lucky man he was, at least uncle had given him some pocket money so he could just walk away from that place and maybe put some things back together on his head.

It was in that walk that, as he reached a market, he decided to just lose himself, just be another face in the masses, always being careful of those that could try to hurt him or rob him, it may sound weird, but for Zuko, he always worked better when his life was in danger.

As he walked he noticed something, a stand with clothes in it, they seemed to be new, maybe not the most glamorous, but many outfits being sold seemed to be at least of good craftsmanship and amongst them, there was an outfit that made him remember the dream, it was a button white shirt and black pants, like those that he had seen people on the Earth Kingdom use, at least those that weren’t using rags.

It made something in his memory come back, it was the image of the old temple, of the students and the masters teaching, living together and learning about the world, about protecting what was important, about becoming better and being a part of the city.

It was those colors, white, gold and black, the dress of Ba Sing Se, with wide sleeves hiding her hands, of wide skirts making her seem as if she was floating; she did not wear the usual green and brown, colors that had become synonyms with the Earth Kingdom, maybe because she was not part of it? She was simply Ba Sing Se, so it was something in him that made him buy them, and what do you know, they were a perfect fit, as if they had been made specifically for him.

Later on, the weaver that had created the set felt content, the idea of creating that outfit had come to her in a dream, she had stayed up late at night, something in her made her want to finish it quickly, she wasn’t sure why, but she felt… at peace, content, as if she had done her job.

By the time Zuko had finished buying the set he knew it was time to go back to the shop, but to his surprise, there was no uncle; the owner of the tea shop had almost gotten to his knees, begging Zuko to convince his Uncle to once more work for him instead of opening his own shop in the inner ring; Zuko simply rolled his eyes, knowing full well it would be impossible to deter his uncle from owning the store of his dreams.

-

It was here, in the inner circle of the city that everything was happening; he had access to everywhere he wanted to walk, what with the power of now living in such prestigious place, but Zuko didn’t care about that, what he did care was the buzzing in his head, a message loud and clear.

The palace, that was his target, the place where he needed to be, where his destiny awaited for him, but this time… this time he wasn’t alone, he wasn’t floundering around, following the words of a madman, he had a mission, and he was going to see it to the end, a reassuring feeling inside of him, almost like a hand pushing him forwards into the unknown, but right now he didn’t care, for he felt finally full of life and purpose.

As he got closer to the gates of the palace he was stopped by a pair of guards, crossing their spears to stop him from entering, but Zuko simply grabbed the spears and with a yank, he made the two guards’ heads knock against each other, knocking them immediately; he certainly didn’t have much time to waste with them, after all, what was he supposed to say to them? That Ba Sing Se herself was commanding him and he needed to be inside the palace? Better to say sorry than to ask for permission and all that.

As several other guards tried to intervene, Zuko simply knocked one out with a swift kick to the head, another was put down with a quick combination, striking the man in the chest and the head in quick succession, then doing a backwards punch to another; one after another the guards felt, but he just kept walking.

There was a family reunion in the making, he couldn’t be late for such an important occasion.