Avatar: The Parallels

Chapter 38: Just a Little Bit Biased

Red's POV:

I walked silently by Tikaani's side. Neither of us said a word. The Duke walked on my other side, holding my hand. Toph, Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Teo were ahead of us and Appa walked behind us. Our progress was dreadfully slow. I wish Jet was here.

"Red?" Tikaani spoke up, breaking into my thoughts. I looked at her. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I just miss Jet."

The Duke walked closer to me. "I miss Pipsqueak."

"I miss not having blisters on my feet." Sokka added, complaining.

"Sorry guys, but Appa gets tired carrying all these people. Not to mention the weight of the armor on top of that!" Aang pointed out, patting Appa. "It's not far."

Toph suddenly stopped when we reached a certain part of the cliff face. "Hey, we're here! I can feel it!"

"Uhh..." Katara looked around. "I think your feet need their eyes checked."

"No, she's right!" Aang exclaimed as he looked out over the misty canyon in front of us. "We are here!" Sokka looked around with a puzzled look on his face, then shrugged.

"Wow... It's amazing!" Toph exclaimed, much to everyone else's confusion.

If only Jet were here to see it...

Ryuu's POV:

The eclipse was yesterday. Where are they? I thought to myself as I examined the skies above the canyon. I was standing on one of the lower platforms with the giant female airbender statues. Suddenly, as I was examining the sky, I saw a rope swing down from above. I backed up, hiding in the shadows next to one of the statues. I watched as Zuko carefully slid down the rope, landing on the platform in front of me. He stood facing the canyon for a short while, then groaned.

"Hey, Zuko." I greeted. He turned around abruptly, shooting fire in my direction. My eyes widened and I rolled out of the way. "Quick reflexes, but next make sure you know who it is before shooting a fireball at someone." I grumbled, wiping the dirt off of my already dirty robes.

Zuko stared at me like I was a ghost. "What... You... You're alive?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. Wasn't expecting that as a response... "Of course I'm alive! What's that even supposed to mean, anyway? Why wouldn't I be alive?"

"Ozai told Azula about the secret letters you'd been sending to the Avatar and his friends. The day after he told her, you disappeared and no one's seen you since." Zuko explained, looking at me curiously. "I assumed she'd killed you."

"Oh, she definitely tried. But I got away, and paid a smuggler to bring me here so I could hide out for a while." I responded, looking at his rope. "Also, you know there are other ways in, right? There are some secret paths here and there that open tunnels to the top of the cliff face." I'd been spending the last couple weeks in the Western Air Temple, spending most of my time exploring and finding out as many of the palace's secrets as I could. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to join the Avatar." Zuko admitted.

I nodded. "Good, because here comes their bison now."

"What?" Zuko asked in shock, ducking behind one of the statues as Appa swept by. I frowned at him.

"You just said you wanted to join them." I pointed out, rolling my eyes.

"I can't just walk up to them and say something stupid like 'hey, I'm not evil anymore and I want to join you!'" Zuko protested. "We have to think things through."