Burning Chapter 6: Old Friends, New Enemies

The early hours of the morning fell on a quiet ocean as a Fire Nation cruiser cut through the water.

At such an early hour, the ship would normally be staffed by a skeleton crew that’s main job was to ensure nothing went wrong with the engine and they didn’t crash into anything during the night while the day crew got their rest.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have such a luxury.

Having lost the chance to even make an attempt on the Avatar, Zuko was angry. No, he didn’t just lose, he’d been completely outclassed and forced to retreat after losing another Agni Kai... One in which he’d left without a mark which only infuriated him more.

If he’d left with a new scar, then at least he would have known that the battle was hard fought and that they were on relatively even terms, but instead he’d been treated like a child throwing a temper tantrum of all things.

Burning someone was easy, on the other hand, beating someone without leaving a single mark was something that only an elite or master Firebender was capable of doing. The thought of being handled so easily infuriated Zuko.

He was still far too weak.

“Do we really need to be out here so early?” Iroh asked tiredly. “It’s rare for the sea to be so gentle. Another hour or two in a warm bed would do us both a world of good.”

“You saw how easily that traitor beat me,” Zuko said, glaring off into the distance. “I need to be ready for the next time we meet.”

Iroh idly stroked his beard. “I thought that it was a draw due to outside interference... Sorry about that by the way.”

“It wasn’t a draw!” Zuko roared, causing the nearby lanterns to flare. “He won... The only reason why he called it a draw was to mock me.”

“Really? He didn’t seem that petty to me,” Iroh hummed. “But even so, it’s no great loss. Oftentimes, one can learn more from failure than they can from success. You just need to look at it from a different angle.”

“I don’t have time for that,” Zuko snapped, his temper flaring once more. “What I need is to learn the advanced Firebending sets as soon as possible. Before the Avatar is able to flee even further.”

The longer the Avatar was able to evade them, the stronger he’d become...  He already had a Waterbender and Firebender helping him. Now all that remained was Earth.

There was another problem too. Honō obviously knew Azula... He’d have to if he knew that annoying nickname. He was just like her too... He had her prodigious talents when it came to Firebending and even a few of her mannerisms.

He claimed that he wasn’t working for her, but could that really be possible?

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to move on to a more advanced set,” Iroh mused. “There is, however, one technique that I think we should start you off on first... One of my own creation that should, in theory, allow you to redirect lightning. I’ve never had the chance to try it out myself... Whether that’s lucky or not, I’ll let you decide.”

“What about generating my own lightning?” Zuko muttered.

“We can work on that too, but that could be a little harder. Not only is it an extremely advanced Firebending technique, but it also requires the correct mindset,” Iroh explained. “I think it will be better if you learn how to redirect it first. Lightning doesn’t play around. When it strikes, something dies.”

Zuko sighed. “Fine. Then we can get started right now.”

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a little while longer,” Iroh hummed.

“We’re not going back to bed!”

“I’ve long since given up on that,” Iroh waved him off. “It seems our problem lies in another direction,” He said, gesturing towards something floating towards them.

Clenching his fists tightly, Zuko’s anger flared once more. He’d already dealt with Zhao a few days ago. What more could he want now... Unless he was doing it to stall him.

The longer they remained out here, the more the Avatar slipped from his grasp. He was likely receiving advanced instructions at this very moment. Zuko couldn’t afford to delay any longer.

...Burning...

Yawning, I slowly made my way down the hallway alongside Sokka and Katara as a trio of guards marched behind us. It was the day of the trials and things were playing out as I’d expected. Bumi’s soldiers collected us before Aang had a chance to wake up, being extra quiet when they escorted us from our room.

“Do we really have to do this so early?” I muttered, rubbing my eyes. Being underground, it was hard to tell what time it was, but I was pretty sure the sun wasn’t even up yet. “Couldn’t we have waited until a little later?”

“Quiet,” The soldier behind me ordered.

Glancing back at the soldier, I sighed and kept moving forward. “If you say so.” Coming to a stop in front of a large stone wall, all that was left was to wait for Bumi’s dramatic reveal.

Coughing softly to get my attention, Katara glanced at the guards and made a poking motion with her fingers.

Returning her gaze, I shook my head. While Chi blocking would be a great way to disable the guards if this were a serious situation, there was one slight problem.

Bumi’s castle, if you could even call it that, was absolutely massive. The main hall that was at the top of one of the mountain peaks was the tip of the iceberg.

A large portion of it existed within the mountain with various tunnels branching out to different parts of Omashu, their entrances sealed by several meters of stone.

Escape was all but impossible without an Earthbender to open the various chambers and even then, that wasn’t a guarantee. It was better to go along with what Bumi had planned... It wasn’t like he was actually trying to kill us.

...Burning...

Watching as Aang narrowly avoided being impaled on a bunch of stalagmites, I wondered if I was wrong about Bumi not trying to kill us. This seemed a little... Excessive. One little slip was all it would take to end up with a hole in your torso.

“That’s right, keep trying to climb it, I’m sure you’ll get it right eventually,” Bumi taunted, looking far too amused.

Then again, Bumi was one of the most powerful Earthbenders in the world. If Aang was actually in danger, he’d probably retract the spikes… I hoped. It was really hard to get a read on the guy.

“You’re looking a little concerned... For a Firebender that is,” Bumi commented, glancing back at me from his spot on the railings. “Strange that watching the greatest enemy of your nation can bring out such emotions, wouldn’t you say?”

Despite doing my best to appear neutral, Bumi had seen right through me. Sighing, I took the spot on the rail next to him.

“I wouldn’t say that. The greatest enemy to my nation is the Fire Nation itself,” I murmured. “If anything, Aang is the greatest ally that they’ll never know.”

He didn’t want to kill or harm anyone, all he wanted to do was help... Regardless of nation or bending style. He was a genuinely good person who was making the best out of a bad situation.

“Hah, now isn’t that interesting,” Bumi laughed. “I never expected to hear that coming from a Firebender. You’ve surprised me. Tell me, just how was it that you came across Aang?”

“I met him on Kyoshi Island after deserting the Fire Nation’s Navy,” I answered truthfully. “It was a long journey... There were a few close calls with some Earth Kingdom ships.” I shot a quick glance back at Sokka and Katara. “And a few close calls with the Water Tribe.”

“Say what now?” Sokka asked, immediately appearing at my side. “You encountered the Water Tribe. What happened? Was anyone hurt? Have you ever met a man named Hakoda?”

“Sorry, my ship was never attacked,” I said, disappointing the siblings. “I can tell you that they were never caught. Their boats were just too quick and manoeuvrable while the Fire Nations ships weren’t as quick to turn and their propellers were often disabled by some form of mine.”

With so much time on the sea, there really wasn’t much else to do than gossip... At least when you weren’t busy manning the ship.

“The Stink ‘n Sink,” Sokka announced proudly. “Do you know where they are now?”

“Not exactly, sorry. They’re pretty illusive,” I apologized. “They’re usually seen around the Earth Kingdom's eastern coast and Whaletail Island... I could mark down all the places they’ve been on a map if you want... So we can keep a lookout when travelling over those spots.”

“That would be great,” Katara hummed while Sokka nodded his appreciation. “Thank you.”

“No worries.”

Their excitement was understandable. This was the first bit of news they’d heard about their dad since he’d left to join the war. Of course they’d jump to hear more about him... Although, Katara did seem a little more reserved than her brother.

I had a vague idea of where they’d be a few weeks to a month from now, but nothing exact, unfortunately.

“It seems that I’ve sparked some interest there,” Bumi commented. “Odd, since you’re the Firebender here.”

“One of us has to be grounded,” I joked. “By the way, you asked me if I knew anything about a Fire Nation ship that went missing... What exactly did you hear about it?”

Tugging at his beard, Bumi smirked. “Interesting that you yourself haven’t heard about it... It was quite the fiasco. An entire Fire Nation cruiser just disappears, leaving its crew stranded on an Island save for one who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The captain at the time claimed it was the work of spirits and has since taken a harder stance against them.”

Most would assume that the ship was stolen... Either by pirates or by some local militia... Hell, he could have even blamed it on the Water Tribe who were well known for attacking ships in the area, but Zhao specifically chose spirits. Why... I had a few ideas, all of which looped back to the moon spirit.

There was, however, one positive thing that came from this. In all likelihood, Zhao thought I was dead.

“One Firebender goes missing and now, a month later, one appears on my doorstep along with the Avatar,” Bumi noted. “I have to wonder what happened to that ship and the lone soldier on board.”

“I imagine that he made it to his destination,” I hummed, playing along. “As for the ship, it’d probably be found at the bottom of the ocean just off the Coast of Kyoshi Island... Ships like that aren’t really designed to be operated by a single person... Sailing it through a storm didn’t help either.”

Blinking, Bumi threw his head back in a snort of mad laughter. “In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever heard something quite like that. You do well to represent your element.”

Looking back towards Aang, my reflexes kicked in and I ducked as a stalagmite stabbed into the ceiling just above Bumi, dangling his key right over his head.

“There, I did your stupid task!” Aang called out. “I want my friends back now!”

Well, I guess we were going to be moving onto Bumi’s next test.

...Burning...

Stepping across a boarding ramp, Zhao idly examined Zuko’s ship, grunted his distaste.

“Back in my neck of the woods again. I should be so grateful,” Zhao said sarcastically. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this time?”

Clenching his fists, Zuko was set to give his own retort, stopping only when Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

“I believe that is a question we should ask you,” Iroh commented. “After all, you were the one to signal us over. We have simply been minding our own business up until now.”

“Yes, well, when a Fire Nation ship sails through my waters at such a speed so early in the morning, it makes me wonder what they’re up to,” Zhao replied. “You should be grateful. Under most circumstances an unsanctioned arrival would have been grounds for immediate destruction. It’s only because I recognised your ship that I thought to stop you.”

In other words, if they hadn’t stopped, Zhao would have opened fire on them.

“Oh, that is pretty thoughtful of you,” Iroh nodded. “I doubt the Fire lord would have been happy with you if Zuko and I had both perished from such a misunderstanding. Though I am no longer an active member in the army, I do still retain my rank. Killing a general would have been nothing but detrimental to your career.”

“Of course, that’s why I sought to stop you beforehand,” Zhao replied. “I believe that we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. We’re both on the same side here. The Avatar is one of the last great threats to the Fire Nation and I would like to assist in his capture.”

It didn’t slip past Zuko that Zhao was talking solely to Iroh, going so far as to ignore his very presence.

“Thanks, but we can handle this on our own.”

“The offer wasn’t for you,” Zhao snapped. “It was for you,” He said, turning back towards Iroh. “You were a legend during your time. The great General Iroh who laid siege to Ba Sing Se for over six hundred days... Breaching the outer wall no less. With your help, there’s nothing that would stand in our way.”

“You flatter me. Unfortunately those days are long behind me,” Iroh replied. “I appreciate your offer, but my place is here... On this ship, guiding my nephew.”

Sighing, Zhao turned to leave. “I can’t say that I’m not disappointed. I’ll take my leave.” Shooting a glance towards Zuko, he smirked. “Try and be a little more cautious when sailing through these waters. We wouldn’t want to cause any more accidents.”

Growling under his breath, Zuko opted to remain silent and simply glared at the commander.

“One last thing before you leave,” Iroh called out. “I recall that you once lost an entire ship along with one crewmate. What was his name... If you wouldn’t mind humouring me.”

Pausing for a moment, Zhao glanced at one of his soldiers before turning towards Iroh. “I believe his name was Honō… Last surviving son of his parents… Well, not anymore. His death wasn’t too large of a loss, he had zero talent to speak of. Why do you ask?”

Zuko’s eyes widened.

“Oh, just idle curiosity,” Iroh commented. “I had intended to ask you about it last time we met, but with the way things ended, I thought another time would be better. It is rare for the spirits to get involved in such a way.”

“Yes, well... If that is all,” Zhao muttered. “I think I’ll take my leave. Some of us still have our duties after all,” He shot a quick glance towards Zuko.

Making his way off their ship, Zhao’s soldiers followed after him, removing the boarding ramp. It wasn’t long before they set sail, moving off into the distance only to be lit up as a massive fireball shot off into the sky.

“Take evasive action!“ Zuko ordered, turning towards his men. “We can’t let that hit us!”

He couldn’t afford to be delayed any longer.

“I don’t believe that will be necessary, it’s not aimed at us,” Iroh hummed, watching as the fireball exploded, illuminating Zhao’s ship. “It would seem that Zhao just got news that one of his former soldiers isn’t quite as dead as he once thought and has come to the conclusion that Honō may in fact be responsible for his lost ship.”

“Then he would have even more reason to go after the Avatar,” Zuko realized. “All he needs to do is alert the army that there’s a deserter and he’ll be able to hunt him and the Avatar as he pleases.”

Iroh shook his head. “Zhao doesn’t strike me as a person who will happily share credit... The loss of his ship was a blow to his career in the military. He has only managed to save face by blaming the spirits. If it comes out that it was not the spirits, but one of his own men responsible for the loss of his ship, he may very well be facing a demotion. He’ll want to handle this quietly.”

Part of Zuko really wanted to use this opportunity to ruin Zhao’s reputation, but a larger part realized that if he chose to do that, he’d also end up hurting his chances of capturing the Avatar.

...Burning...

“So did you just have these chambers waiting to be used by someone?” I asked, stepping onto another balcony. “Or did you have them set up last night?”

“A little bit of both. These chambers have always existed under Omashu, but some of them have been recently modified,” Bumi admitted. Looking over the four of us, he grinned. “Don’t give me that look. If you were king for as long as I’ve been, you’d also find interesting ways to entertain yourselves.”

Well, I couldn’t fault him there. If I’d been an Earthbender, I’d probably spend my days building interesting things and setting up traps... Come to think of it, I’d probably have done the same thing as a Waterbender... Only, I’d be using ice.

“Now, onto the final test.”

Feeling the Jennamite creep a little further up my arm, I stealthily chipped a portion of it off and popped it into my mouth.

On one hand, I was able to avoid being completely covered in it like Sokka and Katara, but on the other, with the amount of rock candy I’d been eating, my stomach was beginning to ache.

Oh well, Bumi’s tests would soon be over and he’d remove the rings... That being said, I might need to ask him if I could keep a few for myself. Being able to grow my own rock candy could come in handy, especially if we needed funds.

“You’ll have a little help with this one.”

Say what now?

Given almost no time to react, the ground briefly rumbled underneath me, before I found myself flung towards the arena alongside Aang. Twisting my body midair, I used a few sustained blasts of fire in an attempt to slow my descent, before hitting the ground.

Landing in front of us, the ground cratered under Bumi’s feet. “Weren’t paying attention, were we?”

Not really, no... But in my defence, I wasn’t expecting to be dragged into this. Aang was supposed to face Bumi alone.

“I thought you were only testing Aang,” I replied, standing up.

“Plans change,” Bumi shrugged. “I’m curious to see what the two of you can do together.”

Yeah, that was going to be tough when this was the first time we were teaming up... Although, from another point of view, this might be the perfect opportunity for us to work on that... Far away from actual combat and against an Earthbending master who I doubt I’d be able to harm on my own.

“By the way, you might need this.” Bumi signalled one of his guards to throw Aang his staff.

Waiting for Aang to catch it, he immediately stomped the ground, sending several boulders sailing towards us.

Taking a quick breath, I took a more solid stance and threw my fist forward, sending a blast of fire that shattered the boulders he sent my way, struggling as I was pretty much forced to use one hand. If I could just get this Jennamite off, I’d have a much easier time.

Wait... I might just be able to do that.

Taking a few steps back, I took a much deeper breath this time and braced myself. Watching as one of his boulders neared me, I waited for just the right moment before striking.

Smashing my fist into the boulder, the weaker Jennamite shattered under the weight of the blow, freeing my hand. Not stopping there, I leaned into the blow, unleashing a white hot jet of fire that shattered the boulder, sending shards of it off into the surrounding area.

“Hmm, not bad... You managed to free yourself from my Jennamite... Although I’ve noticed that you’ve been chipping away at it for quite some time,” Bumi hummed. “Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot more than that if you want to take me down.”

“Oh, I know,” I replied, shaking the shards of rock and Jennamite off my fist. “I’m just getting warmed up. Aang, you go high and I’ll go low. He’ll have a much harder time dealing with us if we’re in separate places.”

“You got it,” Aang said, launching himself high into the air with his staff.

Smirking, Bumi pulled his arm back before throwing another boulder into the ceiling.

Feeling the ground rumble behind me, I launched myself to the side, spinning as a much larger boulder brushed my arm as it passed by.

Using two fingers to unleash a focused stream of fire, Bumi stomped the ground, forcing me to abandon my attack as several stalagmites burst from the ground around me.

Rolling to the side as one came especially close, I whipped my hand down, slicing through his attack, giving myself some room to breathe while he focused on Aang.

Looking for anything that even resembled an opening, I found none. Instead, it looked like I was going to have to create my own opening.

Abandoning precision, I settled for raw power. Taking several deep breaths, I threw my hand forward, unleashing a wave of fire that flooded the chamber, engulfing the raised stalagmites.

Letting up a second later, I took off in a sprint, rushing towards Bumi’s location, only to find him missing.

“Huh, where’d he go?” Aang asked, landing next to me.

Feeling a hand grab my ankle, I was suddenly pulled into the ground as Bumi rose out of it, smirking the entire time.

“Did someone light a fire... Was it getting too cold in here for you?” Bumi asked mockingly.

Stepping past me, he threw his fist forward, causing a large boulder to go sailing over my head towards Aang.

Trying to pull myself free, I quickly gave up. The ground, while not entirely made of stone, was still fairly solid and all but impossible to shift. I was, however, able to make a small pocket of air with my hands.

Clenching my fists shut, I breathed slowly, generating a massive amount of heat in my hands. Several more breaths and I could feel the heat rising up my arms. Opening my hands, I released the built up energy, forcing the small pockets of air to rapidly expand, breaking the ground around them.

Feeling the wind begin to pick up, I pulled myself free and turned to find both Aang in the process of forming a tornado while Bumi had ripped a large chunk of the balcony free from the wall.

I could easily just stand back and let things play out, but part of me really wanted to embrace Bumi’s lesson on thinking outside of the box.

Breaking off into a sprint, I fought against the wind as I circled around him. Stopping a short distance behind him, I used a jet of flame to launch myself forward. Ducking under the levitating balcony, I crashed into Bumi’s unsuspecting form, sending us both tumbling into the tornado Aang had formed.

Hearing Bumi’s mad laughter as we were both flung around, we were both sent flying across the arena into a newly formed pit of sand that cushioned our fall.

Staring up at the ceiling, I could almost hear my heart pounding in my chest as I breathed heavily. A few moments passed before Bumi began to laugh once more, only this time it was accompanied by my own.

“Now that was crazy, even for me,” Bumi chuckled. “Keep thinking like that and you’ll be a Firebender like none other... And you, young Avatar,” He said, looking up at Aang who pointed his staff at him. “You fight with much fire in your heart... Although, the two of you could use a little work when it comes to fighting together.”

“Um, thanks... I guess,” Aang replied. “Can you free my friends now?”

“In a moment. First you must answer one final question. What... Is my name?”

So he’d finally asked his question. After waking up to a world that’d been at war for nearly a hundred years. Aang finding out that one of his friends was still alive and well was just what he needed.

“You know, if you’d asked me that earlier I probably wouldn’t know, but I’d recognize that laugh anywhere,” Aang beamed, getting a snort of laughter from his oldest friend. “Bumi, you’re a mad genius.”

“It’s good to see you Aang,” Bumi smiled softly. “You haven’t changed a bit... Literally.”