25. A Night Out
"Dragon Warriors?" Uncle asked.
"Those are the exacts words Tuli used", Zuko shrugged, "Do they mean anything to you?"
Uncle stroked his beard, looking thoughtful: "No. Unfortunately I have never heard of such a thing."
The Prince looked down and sighed.
Zuko and Iroh were standing on the deck of the ship. The younger man was leaning against the railing and looking at the scenery passing by.
Now Zuko turned his gaze down at the water swirling in the ship's wake. It looked playful and innocent and sort of reminded him of a certain Air Nomad.
"...But", Uncle went on, "I do know someone who might know more."
Zuko looked up again, his eyes wide with surprise.
Could Uncle be talking about... Could he possible mean... the original firebenders?
"Do you mean we should", Zuko quickly glanced around to make sure no one but Uncle would hear his next words, "go look for dragons?"
The Prince was more excited by the thought than he had expected himself to be. Ever since Iroh had revealed to him a few weeks back that dragons weren't completely extinct, he had had conflicting opinions about it. A part of him feared that if he ever met real dragons, they would reject him.
However, meeting a dragon would be pretty awesome. Also, Tuli didn't have a problem with Zuko, so maybe that was an indication that living dragons wouldn't spit fire on him, either.
Uncle turned to Zuko, looking mildly surprised: "Uh, no, that's not what I meant."
Iroh began to explain: "Most of my knowledge on dragons is based on that meeting I had with two old firebending masters decades ago, as I already told you. And yes, Ran and Shaw might understand your situation better than anyone else. They might even be the only living beings holding the answers we're looking for. However, there are reasons why we shouldn't go look for them. At least not yet."
"First", Iroh sighed, "I gave an oath never to reveal the last dragons' whereabouts to anyone. However, taking in consideration your most unusual situation, I think even the Sun Warriors might be okay with me bending the rules on that one."
"A more pressing reason is the distance. The old dragons reside in the Fire Nation. So long as you are banished we can't just sail in. Also, they live virtually on the other side of the world. Even if we got past the blockade without difficulties, the trip there and back would take weeks, perhaps even months."
Zuko nodded. He understood what Uncle was getting at: "You're right. If we wish to keep both Zhao and the Air Nomad more or less within an arm's reach, we can't just sail to the opposite direction and disappear for months."
Uncle nodded.
They had already agreed that although Zuko was no longer actively trying to capture the Avatar, it would be foolish to presume that it was suddenly safe to let the Air Nomad run around doing whatever he wanted. The kid was still a potential threat to everyone's safety and, as such, his actions had to be monitored closely.
Also, Zhao was still after the boy.
Since the Admiral had become no less dangerous in the past few days and they still didn't know what his secret plan exactly was, it would've been foolish not to keep tabs on him as well.
So, for now, the plan was to keep heading north and to try in the meanwhile learn more of the Avatar's and Zhao's plans. Also, as Uncle had just brought up, now they finally had time to really look into the whole dragon thing.
"So, if you weren't talking about dragons, who then?" Zuko asked.
Iroh smiled innocently: "An old friend of mine happens to live in a Fire Nation colony not far from here. Stopping there would only slow us down a few hours and since the colony is north from our current location, going there would in no ways put us on a detour."
"An old friend", Zuko repeated thoughtfully, "Do I know him?"
Iroh laughed: "No. We go back a long time. Since before you were born, actually. I haven't seen her in years, but we correspond from time to time."
Her, Zuko thought numbly. The young man found himself shivering despite the fact that the afternoon sun was beating down on his back relentlessly.
I seriously hope she isn't some old... Gah, I can't even think that thought through.
"In fact" Iroh went on, oblivious to his nephew's discomfort, "I've already taken the liberty of informing her that I'm planning to stop by this evening."
"This evening?" Zuko was startled, "If we intend to get there that fast we have to give the crew our new heading as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about that. I already did", Iroh replied casually.
Zuko's face fell: "When?"
"This morning."
"Right", Zuko tried to wrap his head around what he'd just been told, "So, when you asked me today if I would like to know more about my connection to dragons, you were just asking out of courtesy. In reality you had already made all sorts of arrangements."
Uncle opened his mouth but no words came out.
Zuko went on: "I mean, you must have been planning this meeting for some time now if you had time towrite to her. I mean, it's good that the crew knows where we are going and that your friend knows to be expecting a visit, but when were you planning to let mein on this? Before or after we docked in?"
"Uh, well... You were pretty out of it for almost two days", Uncle finally managed.
Zuko rolled his eyes, but more out of amusement than irritation. After all, Uncle had obviously meant well.
Also, the Prince was rather curious to learn more of what was going on, so he was surprisingly okay with the fact that Iroh had made plans behind his back.
"Fine", Zuko said and smiled to let his uncle know he wasn't angry with him, "When and where are we going to meet this... friend of yours?"
"Actually" Uncle rubbed the back of his head and smiled apologetically, "I was going to go meet heralone. Privately."
Zuko's eyes widened as he tried hard not to imagine what that meant.
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that", Iroh hurriedly added as he saw his nephew's usually pale cheeks turn bright red, "We are old friends, but nothing more. The reason why I'm meeting her alone is that I know her through a club of sorts, and it is a members-only kind of meeting."
Zuko was relieved to hear that Uncle was just a member in a secret club. Truly relieved.
I wonder what kind of club it is? Well, if Uncle thought it important for me to know, he would've told me. He is entitled to his secrets.
"The meeting shouldn't take too long", Uncle went on with a wide smile on his face, "You won't even have time to miss me, I'm sure."
There was something playful about the look on Iroh's face, which immediately made Zuko cautious: "...Okay. Why?"
"Because I haven't told you the best part yet: tonight, the colony is hosting a Fire Festival."
And suddenly everything fell in place. The situation suddenly made perfect sense. Iroh's hurry to get to the colony tonight, the secrecy...
This stop wasn't about learning more about Dragon Warriors. Or, at least, it wasn't just about that.
Uncle wants me to... have fun.
And he was so afraid that I'd say 'no' or come up with some reason why tonight was no good that he arranged the whole thing behind my back.
Zuko would've been irritated by Iroh's nursing attitude if it weren't for the fact that just a few months ago it would've taken exactly this level of sneakiness to get Zuko to attend a Fire Festival.
Prince Zuko didn't used to have time for taking a night out, especially not in order to participate in some stupid peasant holiday.
Having fun. Another thing I planned to do once my honor was restored, but not a day sooner.
Uncle was looking at the young man expectantly, obviously curious to hear his response.
"A Fire Festival" Zuko said and shrugged, "Why not. Sounds like it could be fun."
ooo
"Look", Aang said and pointed at a poster on a bulletin board, "They are holding a Fire Festival in a near-by Fire Nation colony tonight. That sounds like fun. Wouldn't it be really cool to go there?"
"Are you kidding me?" Sokka asked, "Why would we want to walk into our enemy's lair voluntarily? If we go there, nothing good is gonna come out of it. Trust me."
"Funny", Katara put in, her tone sarcastic, "I thought Mister eager-to-learn-more-about-different-cultures wouldn't want to miss a change like this for anything."
Aang's face lit up: "Katara is right! Just a few days ago you told me that because I'm the Avatar I have to learn all sorts of stuff about the other elements, including culture. I may never get a better chance to see some contemporary, authentic Fire Nation culture."
"Plus, the poster says there will be firebending performances. If we go, I could study both culture and firebending from up close."
"I definitely didn't say anything about going to a Fire Nation colony being a good idea", Sokka stated.
"The way I remember it", Katara pointed out, rolling her eyes, "you were really keen on the whole 'let's study other cultures' plan."
ooo
Four days earlier
"We need a plan."
Sokka turned to look at Katara and Aang. All children were sitting on Appa's saddle.
They had decided to keep flying so long as they still had daylight. It was probably an unnecessary precaution, but Sokka hadn't felt like taking his chances with sticking too close to the village by the volcano.
Not when they knew Prince Zuko was hiking somewhere in the vicinity, actively looking for the Avatar.
The kids had left the village hours ago and had been talking non-stop ever since. There had been much catching up to do.
Aang had told Sokka and Katara about his eventful evening.
Likewise, Sokka and Katara had had quite a tale to tell. They had told their friend of what they'd been through while on board the Fire Nation ship, especially what they had learned while listening in on their captors.
Now the sun had begun to set, which reminded Sokka that they still hadn't covered the most important topic.
"Seriously, though", the Water Tribe boy went on, "I know we sort of already talked about getting a plan after meeting the Militia, but at the time we only decided to get a plan some time in the future. I think that time is now. Or maybe, like, yesterday."
Sokka half expected Aang to go on the defensive again.
Last time they had had a talk about their hopes and plans for the future, Aang had taken it very personally, viewing it as a sign of distrust towards his decision not to cooperate with the Militia.
Now, however, Aang just nodded. He looked uncharacteristically serious: "I agree."
Katara, too, nodded.
"So, Aang", Sokka began, "The stuff that Iroh said about the Avatar having to spend years and years studying elements and culture. Was that, I don't know, news to you?"
"Well, no", Aang admitted, "When the monks told me I was the Avatar they said that I would spend four years studying each element. Only then could I become a fully realized Avatar."
"But Avatar Roku said it's okay if Aang finishes his training faster, so that isn't really a problem", Katara assured her companions.
"Right", Sokka agreed, "I remember that Avatar Roku gave Aang the go-ahead to speed things up a bit. I do. But still, and without at all trying to add any pressure, I gotta point out that Iroh wasn't totally wrong when he said that we've still got a long way to go."
Aang looked frustrated: "What can I do about that? I can't really get a whole lot better at waterbending before we reach the North Pole."
Sokka lifted his hands in a placating gesture: "I know, I know. But I wasn't talking about waterbending. According to Iroh, there is more to being the Avatar than just mastering all bendings. Didn't the monks say anything about that?"
"...No."
"You mean, like, they gave you absolutely no tips on stuff like how to fight spirits or how to be a good Avatar or anything like that?"
Aang shook his head.
"They must have thought there would be plenty of time to teach Aang everything he needed to know", Katara put in, "The Avatars before him only started learning the other elements when they were older. The monks didn't know Aang would have to learn them all while he's only twelve."
Sokka could see his sister's point.
"Yeah", Aang said and smiled at Katara, "Also, the situation really isn't as bad as you guys think because I already know a lot of stuff about different cultures."
"Really?" Sokka asked.
"Sure", Aang's smile widened, "I used to have friends from all four nations before the war."
Sokka gaped at the younger boy, unsure of what to say. Aang wasn't wrong, but he wasn't right either.
Just because Aang had known some people from other nations a hundred years ago didn't mean he understood or appreciated the other cultures of today.
In Sokka's experience, Aang was far from a culture-sensitive guy. The kid knew what people from different cultures were stereotypically supposed to be like, but he had a hard time getting it in his head that not all people were alike just because they came from the same nation.
Well, why change a good opinion just because it might not be based on anything? Sokka thought to himself and sighed.
Aang had strong opinions about other cultures, but that wasn't really a good thing.
"Look, Aang, I don't think that will be enough. Even if your knowledge on the other cultures is based on your personal experiences, it is seriously out of date. Plus, I kind of doubt that you ever understood the other cultures on the kind of level that an Avatar is expected to."
Aang looked surprised and sad. Sokka didn't want to be hard on the boy, but he also had no intentions of lying to him to protect his feelings: "I mean, it's a different thing to know someone from the Water Tribes than to be someone from the Water Tribes."
Aang still looked sad, but he nodded: "Okay. I guess I'll just have to try to learn as much as I can about each nation's culture while on my way to my bending masters."
Sokka gave Aang thumbs up: "Exactly."
"Look", Katara pitched in, "As much as learning culture is fun and all, I don't completely agree with Sokka on this."
Sokka eyed his sister, but Katara wasn't trying to pick a fight.
"I'm not saying that you're wrong", she said, "I just think that learning bending and maybe a thing or two about how to deal with spirits should be Aang's first priority, and since time is something we don't have abundant, he should just focus on bending practices."
"To be a good Avatar, Aang needs to learn a lot. However, Aang doesn't have to be a great Avatar by the end of the next summer. He does, however, have to be powerful enough to defeat the Fire Lord by then."
"But I want to be a great Avatar!" Aang protested.
"And I'm sure you will be", Katara smiled at the boy, "The best. My point is that you don't have to be thatyet."
"Yeah", Sokka allowed, rubbing his chin, "You have a point there. Still, whatever we do, I think we loose nothing by starting to plan a little further ahead than just what we're going to do at the North Pole or even how we're going to end this war."
"Even if we focus on bending studies for now, it can't hurt to keep our eyes and ears open for the other stuff as well. That way you'll be that much closer to a fully realized Avatar by the time we destroy the Fire Lord."
"But", Aang looked down at his shoes, "I don't actually want to hurt anyone."
Both Water Tribe kids looked clueless.
"Uh, and what's that to do with anything?" Sokka inquired.
Aang gulped: "It's just... I'm not sure if I can defeat the Fire Lord. Not if defeating him would mean I would have to... destroy him. I'm a pacifist. I respect all life."
"Not this one", Katara's tone was dark and serious, "If anyone is getting what's coming for him, it's the Fire Lord. He's the one behind this whole war. He's brought nothing but misery and pain to everyone for over a hundred years."
"I can't believe I'm saying this", Sokka put in, "But I sort of doubt that the current Fire Lord had any more to do with starting the hundred-year war than I did."
Katara rolled her eyes: "Don't get cute on me. You know what I meant. And even if the current Fire Lord didn't start the war, he sure hasn't ended it, either. And then there's that thing he did to his own son."
For a while, all three kids sat in silence. The team's earlier enthusiasm and adventurous spirit was fading away fast.
"That thing that happened to Zuko" Aang suddenly spoke, "It's just awful."
The Air Nomad looked like he had just realized the world wasn't always a fair place. Katara wrapped her arm around Aang's shoulder comfortingly, but she didn't say anything.
Sokka couldn't think of anything comforting to say, either. No words would make what had happened to Prince Zuko anything other than awful.
Sure, the Prince was their enemy.
And still... Sokka couldn't help but to sympathize the angry jerk.
Being told to fight your father, which of course you won't do. When you refuse, you get your face burned by your own father. And then you're told it's all your fault and you can never return home...
Sokka shivered.
His father, Hakoda, would never have done anything like that to him. Not ever. Not in a million years.
But... if I messed up real bad and were banished and could only win back father's love by doing a stupid task, I would.
In a heartbeat.
"The Fire Lord is evil and ruthless", Katara suddenly broke the silence, "He has to be defeated. No matter what it takes."
Aang gulped: "But.. are you sure that what that Iroh guy told you was the truth. I mean, you said you didn't trusthim. Maybe he just lied..."
Katara and Sokka exchanged a look.
Although they had initially more or less agreed that Iroh was a liar, neither was convinced of that now. Actually, after giving it a lot of thought, Sokka was rather convinced of the opposite. Most of the stuff Iroh had said was probably the truth. At least form a Fire Nation point of view.
Sokka shook his head: "I don't think Iroh lied. I mean, everyone knows you can't trust a firebender, but what reason would Iroh have had to lie about this... thing? Heck, why would anyone from the Fire Nation go around creating bad publicity for the Fire Lord?"
"As far as we know, all Fire Nation citizens respect their leader. Even the Fire Sages were more loyal to the Fire Lord than the Avatar. It would be weird if thebrother of the Fire Lord talked trash about him for noreason, right?"
"It isn't possible that Iroh was somehow mistaken, either. He is Zuko's uncle and he was there when it happened. Also, we don't know much about the Fire Lord but we have met Prince Zuko, and Iroh's story would kinda explain a lot about why the angry jerk is so... angry."
"I don't get it", Aang said, looking confused, "If Zuko's father was so awful to him, why is Zuko trying to please him by capturing me?"
"Because the Fire Lord is his father", Sokka said, but as he saw that Aang still looked confused, he added, "I mean, wouldn't anyone do just about anything for their father?"
"No", Katara responded, "They wouldn't. Not if their father was evil."
"Yeah, like I said, it doesn't make any sense", Aang chimed in.
Sokka wasn't sure why his companions were having such difficult time grasping the obvious. The fire Lord was Zuko's father.
Sokka would've done almost anything to please his father and to prove that he was a good warrior. He wouldn't have tried to capture Aang, of course, but almost anything else.
Sokka took a breath to give himself time to organize his thoughts: "Well, it's not like Zuko has just onereason to want to capture you. From what Iroh said, at least I was left with the impression that Zuko is nowadays primarily into capturing you because he thinks you are dangerous."
Aang looked openly surprised: "Dangerous? Me? But I'm twelve. I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Of course you don't", Katara smiled at Aang reassuringly.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure not even Zuko thinks you want to hurt anyone", Sokka clarified, "But, like I said, Zuko has heard of what happened with Jet and the dam and now he thinks you are, how to best put it, a loose canon?"
"But he's wrong", Katara added, "He doesn't know you like we do."
Sokka sighed.
But what if he isn't?
Still, Katara was sort of right.
Knowing that the Fire Nation sort of maybe has a kind of valid reason to fear and hate the Avatar changes nothing, Sokka felt the need to remind himself.
Even if Aang is a bit careless sometimes, so what? Everyone makes mistakes. At least Aang isn't out to actively hurt innocent people like the Fire Nation is.
Aang was the good guy. Zuko was the bad guy. That was just how things were.
ooo
The present
"Fine, I was the one who spoke highly of studying cultures. But I still think that going to the Fire Festival is a really bad idea", Sokka tried to convince the others.
"Oh, look", Aang had rounded the bulletin board, "This poster has my picture in it."
"Aang, that is a wanted poster", Sokka said solemnly, "Which is another reason why we shouldn't go. We are going to get into a lot of trouble if anyone recognizes us."
"Then we better make sure they don't", Katara smiled, "We'll go in disguised."
"Yeah", Sokka rolled his eyes, "And we've never gotten into a lot of trouble while disguised."
Aang put down his wanted poster, but then he picked up another: "Look! There's a wanted poster for the Blue Spirit as well!"
"See, I told you he was real", Aang exclaimed happily and nearly hugged the poster, "And this also means that he got away, because they wouldn't be putting up wanted posters for him if he'd been caught."
Katara sighed and put her hand on Aang's shoulder: "Aang, when we talked about your mystery savior earlier we weren't trying to say that we didn't believe heexisted. I mean, I'm happy to hear that your friend is okay, I really am, but I just don't want you to get your hopes up too soon, that's all."
"What do you mean?" Aang looked at her wide-eyed. Katara looked to her brother for support.
"The thing is", Sokka explained, "You told us that this Blue Spirit guy is actually an airbender but, from what you described, I'm not so sure."
"You have to admit that it is possible that you just miss your people so much that you sort of made-believed that this guy was an airbender even when he wasn't."
Aang's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms: "I didn't make-believe that he airbended!"
"We just want you to be ready for the possibility that there are no more airbenders. And even if there are, they might not be anything like the Air Nomads you knew", Katara smiled a sad smile at the boy.
Ever since Aang had four days ago announced that he'd met another airbender, Sokka and Katara had agreed that they needed to have a serious conversation about the topic with the monk. After all, the last time Aang had been convinced that not all airbenders were gone, it had all ended with the Air Nomad finding his mentor's dead body and nearly blowing them all of the face of a mountain.
They didn't want to have to go through the Southern Air Temple all over again.
Sokka was really happy that Katara was taking the lead on the conversation. Aang had to hear this stuff, but Katara could break the news to him more gently.
"Fine", Aang sighed, "I'll be prepared for the worst. But I still believe that the Blue Spirit is an airbender, and even if he isn't, there could be other airbenders somewhere out there."
Katara nodded hesitantly: "There could be."
But it's not very likely, Sokka thought to himself, Before we found Aang, no one had seen an Air Nomad for almost a hundred years.
"Sokka", Aang turned to the Water Tribe boy, "You said we should have a plan. I think that a part of that plan should be that we try to find out if there are any airbenders still left."
"That sounds... reasonable", Sokka said and smiled at the boy, "If they have been hiding a hundred years, finding them won't be easy, but we can of course try."
Katara brushed Aang's back one more time. Then she changed the topic: "Well, we better get going. We don't want to be late for the Festival, do we?"
ooo
Zuko had been at the Fire Festival for over an hour now, and he still wasn't sure if he was having fun or not.
"A fire flake, sir?" Seaman Oki asked and handed over a bag of flakes.
"Uh, sure", Zuko took a few flakes. He didn't particularly like fire flakes (they were a bit too mild for his taste), but it felt polite to accept the man's offer nonetheless.
I'm hanging out with my crew.
Whether that was adding to the fun or taking from it, Zuko wasn't quite sure.
On one hand, the Prince was grateful for the company. Zuko didn't have much experience on hanging out, so having other people along really helped him to get a better idea of what people usually did on this sort of occasions.
Also, he was rather fond of his crew in general, and didn't hang out with them nearly as often as he probably should have.
So they weren't bad company. Everything was just so...awkward.
While Zuko had been ill Uncle had told the crew that Zuko was a dragon. Well, kind of a dragon.
The Prince had been very touched to hear that they hadn't abandoned him or thought worse of him for it, and that the crew had even sworn to keep his secret for as long as possible.
The only con was that now that everyone knew, they kept giving him these looks.
Not exactly bad looks, but not good either. It was like they were expecting him to burst into flames and turn into a fiery beast at any given moment.
Of course they were all going to great lengths to act casually around him (Zuko suspected Uncle had told them to do that) but they weren't very good at it.
Since they had come to the colony to catch up with some old friends and attend a party, it would've been really weird not to hand out as many shore leaves as possible.
Consequently, almost the entire crew was out making a night of it. Not all of them were hanging out with Zuko, of course, but quite a few anyway. The Prince suspected his uncle had asked them to do that, as well.
They were all wearing civilian clothes. Although soldiers were allowed to wear their armors even off-duty, most preferred not to. They were here to have a good time, not to maintain order. Tonight that was somebody else's job.
So far they'd been mainly just walking around and getting to know what kind of attractions this particular Festival had to offer. Zuko wasn't exceptionally impressed by anything he'd seen yet, but he tried to keep an open mind.
There had been a few sort of interesting firebending shows, but to someone who'd seen as much real firebending in his life as Zuko had, they didn't offer much excitement or a sense of danger.
Zuko wasn't sure if the Festival was living up to his expectations or not, because he hadn't really had any. Well, except maybe one.
Most people around them were wearing masks of varying sorts. No one in his company had asked the Prince whether he wanted to buy a mask or not. They probably feared that implying that Zuko should cover his face was insensitive.
Truth be told, Zuko wouldn't have been insulted. Not at all. Buying a mask was something he'd wanted to do ever since he'd left his old mask at Pohuai Stronghold.
However, that purchase was something Zuko didn't want to do in front of his crew.
It wasn't even a matter of whether he trusted them or not. It was a matter of liability. Zuko would be damned before he'd make his crew his unwitting partners in crime.
"So", Sergeant Jiri put in, "I think we've pretty much seen the best shows by now, so how about we move inside."
"Inside?" Zuko wasn't quite following, "Where?"
"Uh", the man looked rather awkward, "You know, to get some... beverages."
"Oh", Zuko felt like slapping himself on the face.
There was absolutely no drinking of anything stronger than Uncle's tea on board Zuko's ship. Tonight they were on a leave, though, so of course they were all going out drinking. Which would probably be pretty awkward with Zuko, their 16-year-old boss, there.
Zuko's face spread into a genuine smile. The timing of this was perfect.
"Oh, yeah, sure", Zuko said, "You go right ahead."
"Aren't you coming with us, sir?"
"In a minute. I just saw an interesting", Zuko looked around himself, trying desperately to come up with a plausible excuse, "Puppet show. Earlier."
Zuko felt like slapping himself for not coming up with a better reason. Hand puppet shows were for 5-year-olds. Now his entire crew would definitely think he was too young to drink.
"Okay", Sergeant Cho said, his casual smile exceptionally convincing, "We'll meet up later then. You sure you'll be fine on your own, though?"
"Yeah, I think after all I've been through I'll be just fine in this..." but this time Zuko caught on the mood around him a bit faster, "Oh. You meant that as a joke."
At seeing Zuko's expression, Cho burst into laugh, but the rest of the crew looked rather serious.
They are afraid to have a laugh at my expense, Zuko realized.
The Prince smiled widely, trying to signal that it was okay. He could laugh at himself, and so could his crew. He was okay with it. Really.
"See you later", Cho said while wiping a tear from his eye.
Zuko smiled and waved at his crew for one final time as they parted ways.
Hopefully they think that I'm not really going to see a puppet show but was just trying to get out of a situation that would've been awkward for all of us, Zuko thought as he made his way towards a cart selling masks.
It took Zuko a while to find what he was looking for. He had to go through three different carts and dozens of masks before he found the right one.
The Blue Spirit had never been hugely popular, perhaps because it looked so scary. Oddly enough, Zuko had immediately fell in love with that particular character after he'd decided his sneaking outfit required a mask and started to look for one. It had already been two years from that day.
These days, with wanted posters all around, sporting this particular mask had its risks as well. For most people, the possibility of getting arrested didn't add to the mask's appeal.
As Zuko looked at the blue opera mask in his hand, he wasn't sure whether he should buy it or not.
I'm not a criminal. Why should I hide my face? I'm not ashamed of the things I do.
When Zuko put the mask on and took on the identity of the Blue Spirit, he felt more free of his duties as a Prince. However, now that he'd decided not to carry out his mission anyway, a means to escape from himself felt a bit redundant.
He was free, with or without the mask.
"You gonna buy that or what?" A bored looking man behind the cart asked dubiously.
"...Yes."
Zuko paid for the mask and then quickly hid it in under his cloak.
Having a mask might have been about getting away, but it wasn't just about that. It was a practical thing to have when hiding in shadows, and Zuko's ninja master had told him to always dress for the occasion.
Also, the Blue Spirit had a reputation. That could come in handy one day.
The Avatar thinks he's an airbender, Zuko suddenly remembered.
That could end badly. But... it could also be useful. If the Avatar was about to do something stupid and needed to be talked out of it, he'd be likelier to listen to 'his countryman' than the Prince of Fire Nation any day.
Now that Zuko had successfully carried out his secret assignment, he wasn't quite sure what to do next.
Truth be told, going to look for the mask hadn't been the Prince's only reason for wanting to get away. Zuko wasn't too keen on the idea of spending the rest of the evening in a pub with his crew.
Maybe I should just head back for the ship. This has certainly been enough fun for one evening, right?
"... I'm the Fire Lord, and ain't no one gonna stop me."
Zuko had to turn to look. He nearly laughed when he realized that what he was looking at was a puppet show. A small hand puppet roughly the likeness of a Fire Lord had just entered the stage.
Zuko smiled. It was kind of ironic that he was ending up watching a puppet show after all, but what the hell. The rest of the audience consisted of small children, so Zuko was a tad too embarrassed to sit down with them. Instead he hovered in the background.
Man, I used to love watching these things when I was small. Unlike everything the Ember Island Players performed, puppet shows always had exciting twists and character development.
Zuko crossed his arms and leaned on a wooden pillar.
He hadn't been to a puppet show in ages. The Prince had a feeling he hadn't seen this particular play before, although it was impossible to be sure after having seen so little of it.
The Fire Lord, which usually represented a general idea of a Fire Lord rather than any particular person holding the throne, was one of the most frequently featured characters. He was in virtually every play.
When Zuko had been six years old, he'd been very proud of the fact that his grandfather was so popular a character. It was one of the reasons why he'd liked hand puppet shows so much. He had hoped that one day people would tell tales of Prince Zuko's great deeds.
I was such a naive kid, Zuko sighed.
But hey, who doesn't have a soft spot for hand puppets, right?
The play moved on as a second character entered the stage. It was an Earth Kingdom soldier in a traditional green uniform. The man was apparently a bender since the puppet was holding a boulder in its hand.
The Fire Lord was looking the other way, so he didn't notice the earthbender approaching menacingly.
"What's out."
"He's behind you."
Several kids had began to talk simultaneously, so caught up in the play that they were actually shouting warnings at a puppet.
Zuko was amused by this. He would've assured the kids that these plays didn't generally end with the death of the Fire Lord, but he didn't want to spoil the ending.
On the last minute, the Fire Lord turned around and firebent the other puppet off the stage.
The kids cheered, but Zuko didn't. He felt numb more than anything.
What sort of lesson was that supposed to teach? That if you are more powerful than others it's okay to use violence as a means of solving your problems?
Granted, the other guy was from an enemy nation, but that can't be the lesson, right? That it's okay to use violence on people from other nations?
Yeah, yeah, we are at war, but this is a kiddie show, for crying out loud!
Is this really the kind of world view we want to teach to our children? That because the Fire Lord is a powerful bender he is always right and gets to burn whoever opposes him even the slightest?
Zuko realized his fists were starting to heat up and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
It's just a stupid play, the Prince reminded himself.
The play wasn't very different from the ones Zuko had seen as a child, but somehow he couldn't stomach it.
The plot hadn't changed, but Zuko had.
And it isn't just a play. It's a play for children. Fire Nation kids grow up watching these plays.
No wonder no one ever questions whether the war is necessary. Or if the Fire Lord can be wrong.
Another puppet show had already begun but Zuko had seen enough plays for one night. The Prince turned around and walked away.
Zuko noticed that a crowd had gathered in front of a large stage. On it a firebender was trying to save a masked girl tied to a chair from a dragon made of fire.
He was supposedly trying to tame the dragon, but it was constantly on the verge of getting away from his leash and charging at the helpless woman.
Zuko stopped to look. The plot of the performance wasn't very original and it didn't portray an accurate picture of what the original firebenders were like, but it had dragons in it.
Anything that had dragons in it couldn't be all bad.
The show was about to reach its finale where the firebender undoubtedly saved the girl at the last minute, but then something very strange happened.
Another performer appeared out of nowhere and destroyed the fire dragon with... airbending?
No - way.
Zuko could no longer fight the urge to slap himself on the face.
()()()
A/N:
Thank you for everyone for reviewing! The feedback really encourages me to update fast.