Chapter 3
Day by day, Zuko began to sense more things through the earth. At night, he couldn't sleep because he was constantly attacked by his over-sensitive senses.
Only placing a pillow under his feet so his feet didn't touch anything helped.
He wondered if he would be able to sense lies like Toph.
Iroh had curtailed his training for now, allowing him to meditate longer.
Zuko followed Iroh's advice. He didn't say anything... he didn't move. He simply... waited.
The information came naturally.
He felt through the vibrations of the earth as a nearby woodpecker had just pecked a grub from a tree.
The vibrations informed him as an animal dislodged several stones, which tumbled down the slope, dragging with it more and more sand and rocks.
He felt the trunk of an old tree crack, a tree that might have been long-lived, but every life eventually came to an end.
A strong signal from the ground assured him that an old branch had fallen, destroying several smaller trees in the process.
Ground was full of signals.
For the past few weeks, he had been trying to force the earth to obey. It was the wrong approach.
Instead of forcing the boulder to do anything, he decided not only to listen... but to channel his power.
He closed his eyes and tapped his foot on the ground. He felt a wave of vibrations ripple through the boulder. He could see every crack and crevice in his mind's eye.
This wasn't firebending. Firebending was intense. In it you did not wait for a reaction, but you yourself were the source.
He tapped his foot again.
He felt as if the boulder were responding, but it wasn't a single voice. The earth, the sand, the pebbles, both small and large. They were all responding... reacting.
He stepped closer. He bent his knees low. He tried to remember Toph's lesson, how she had taught Aang.
Inhale... and exhale.
He struck the boulder... and felt the boulder begin to violently move away.
He opened his eyes. It wasn't the boulder rolling away, it was him. His feet were underground, grinding up his mother's garden like two bullock plows. His back hit a tree, but he didn't stop.
The sound of splintering wood sent the Wild Wild Pussycats running outside.
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Pixie-Bob looked at her son sliding rapidly across the ground. Finally, he stopped. She looked at the plowed earth leading from her son to the boulder... right through the center of her flowers.
"My flowers!"
Zuko turned his gaze toward his mother.
"Oops..."
He tried to move, but his feet were buried.
Ryuko slowly approached the ruined garden. She knelt before the crushed plants.
"Mom...? Mom, I'll explain everything..."
Ryuko slowly turned her head toward him. Her eyes were like two red lasers ready to fire.
The ground began to shake. Zuko felt his mother's voice as the source... he swallowed hard.
Ryuko stood up slowly... and began walking toward her only son.
"Will you explain? There's no need to explain here..."
Iroh slowly stood up and walked through the open door into the house. There was no reason to show himself to Ryuko now... Zuko was already lost, but he could survive. He shook his head in mock sorrow, wishing his grandson luck.
"Mom... I didn't mean to..."
"My TULIPS!!!!!!!!!!!"
The ground shifted and threw Zuko into the air, freeing his feet.
"DID YOU THINK SPARRING WITH IROH WAS DIFFICULT!? FROM NOW ON, YOU WILL FIGHT ME!"
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A few months later.
Zuko stood like a boulder. Pixie-Bob tried to unbalance him, but his control grew stronger with each passing week.
They trained far from home. Ryuko tried to bury Zuko underground, but her son aimed two stone disks at her.
She created a wall of earth, stopping the projectiles in time.
She tried to launch another attack, but felt the ground soften beneath her feet. She began to collapse.
She managed to gain control of the earth. She looked at her son. He stood on bent legs, eyes closed. She couldn't believe how powerful he had become.
At first, he was unable to do anything.
Then she noticed how he began to control her attacks, for now in self-defense.
And in the last two weeks, she hadn't defeated him once in a fight.
A wall rose from behind her, instantly expanding and changing shape. Zuko tried to trap her in a ring.
Ryuko launched herself high into the air, but was stopped by stone bars that formed just before her escape.
She fell to the ground. At first, she thought Zuko had simply inherited her quirk... but now she knew it was something else. Iroh seemed to be right.
Zuko walked to the wall and, with a gesture, created a gap through which he looked at Ryuko.
"So I managed to trap the cat in a cage..."
"You dare mock your own mother? I changed your diapers with these hands!"
"Yes, I know. I'm still traumatized."
Ryuko folded her arms across her chest.
"Trauma? I'm about to give you a trauma you'll never forget!"
She moved forward to attack, but stone pillars rose from the ground, trapping her in place.
Ryuko tried to take control, but it was futile. Her son was simply too powerful.
"Okay, Zuko. You win. We can go home."
Zuko just nodded... turned around and started walking towards the manor.
"Hey! Won't you help your own mother? I raised you on my own chest!"
Zuko turned his head to look his mother in the eye.
"There's one last serving of ice cream left in the fridge... and I'm sure you'll get out of this trap in a few minutes... and that will give me a head start in the race.
"Zuko! Free Mommy now!"
Zuko chuckled to himself.
"Okay, Mom, but why should I free you?
"Because I'm your mother, and in the future, I'll get revenge in such a way that you'll regret ever messing with Pixie-Bob. You wouldn't want your future girlfriend to see all the photos in the family album...right?"
"Blackmail, huh?"
Ryuko narrowed her eyes.
"It's not blackmail, it's a promise. Release me, and certain photos... well... will remain for family viewing only."
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Age: 12.
Fire and earth. Under Iroh's guidance, Zuko became a powerful bender. Great power can breed a great ego in the wielder of such power.
This was not the case with Zuko.
Tiger trained him in hand-to-hand combat. Without his powers, Zuko was practically hopeless.
He dueled Iroh using only firebending. He knew full well that the old general wasn't using his full power, but with each passing month, their duels were becoming increasingly distant from home.
After training, Iroh instructed Zuko in the ancient art of tea-making...
Zuko cherished these moments when he could peacefully admire nature in its purest form. Information reached him from underground, informing him that the forest was alive. He felt a pair of foxes widening their den. He felt the power of the river as it flowed along its winding path below, towards the city. He also felt Mandalay's approaching footsteps. Her heart was beating fast. She was... agitated.
Iroh lifted his cup of tea.
"Ah, Shino. How nice of you to join us."
"Iroh..... I have bad news."
"Oh, Shino. There is just news. There is no good or bad."
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The alarms blared, and the flashing red lights only irritated her.
She grabbed one of the guards and burned his face with blue fire. Fools had thought they could keep her here forever.
She hadn't wasted a single day of those twelve years. The prisoners knew her and feared her. Her power couldn't be simply suppressed.
Some fool dressed like a clown lunged at her, screaming. A moment later, he fell to the ground, dead, pierced by a bolt of lightning. His body sizzled with electricity.
She walked like a queen, her head held high, a maniacal smile on her face.
She killed Zuko, but was seriously injured during their fight. That's why they had captured her.
But that wasn't the end. She would find her traitorous uncle and kill him. She would find the whore Zuko had fallen in love with and burn her alive. She would kill anyone who stood in her way.
She was curious if the whore had given birth, or if after losing Zuko she had also lost a child. If the child lived, she would have to determine whether it was worthy of being a member of the royal family... or simply be disposed of.
But first... she would go underground and build her kingdom.
This world would yet tremble before Fire Lord Azula.
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Mandalay looked at Zuko, and a moment later at Iroh.
"Perhaps... we should talk privately."
Iroh replied calmly.
"There's no need. Just tell me what happened, child."
"She...she escaped from Tartarus."
Iroh choked on his tea. Zuko patted him on the back.
"That's... cough cough.... that's really bad news..."
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Zuko didn't ask questions he knew he wouldn't get answers to. Mandalay hadn't given the name of the woman who had escaped Tartarus. Apparently, she didn't want him to know.
He was sure Iroh would tell him what had happened if necessary. In the meantime, he had no choice but to continue developing his skills.
He'd been living in this world for a few years now and noticed a few differences. The Wild Wild Pussycats are older than in the anime. U.A. also has different rules. It accepts students who have reached the age of 16, not 15 as in the anime.
Of course, Iroh being here meant that the worlds of Avatar and MHA must have intermingled somehow...
On the other hand... that theory doesn't make sense. On TV, he would have seen many more pro heroes who used bending instead of quirks.
In that case, Iroh was an exception, just like Zuko.
He looked at his cup of tea. What if... he tried... this...
He started moving his hands back and forth... the tea in the cup began to react.
"This... this is easier than I thought."
He said to himself. He lifted the liquid above the cup and maneuvered it in the air.
His delight was short-lived when he made a wrong move and the tea landed directly on his face.
Yes... he still had four years before he entered U.A. He had time to master waterbending.
End of Chapter 3