"Water... Earth... Fire... Air..." Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."
Bitter Peace
There is a single tree on a grassy hill, Iroh runs up the hill with his son Lu Ten behind him, Lu Ten does a pretend Firebending motion with his hands. "I got you, dad!" He laugh, Iroh lets out a cry of pain as he falls to the ground, Lu ten falls on top of him and they both laugh.
Rain falls onto a stone object, an older Iroh with a look of pain on his face as he sits on the same hill in front of his son's grave with the tree leafless and the sky is a gloomy dark red colour. "My beloved Lu Ten, I will see you again," Iroh promises.
"Uncle!" Zuko yells out at him with a look of concern, as he looks down at him, in a deserted, broken-down shack still in the ghost town.
"You were unconscious. Azula did this to you." Rin tells him from the doorway with a stranger clad in black, who nods at the men before leaving. Iroh attempts to get up but winces in pain, a bandage covers the left side of his chest and shoulder. "My friend helped out, no need for thanks." She tells him pointing behind her where the stranger had once stood.
"It was a surprise attack," Zuko comments.changing the subject, as he was still cautious of the stranger who had healed his Uncle with Waterbending.
"Somehow, that's not so surprising." Iroh muses, and grunts in pain as he moves to lean up against the wall, Zuko picks up a steaming cup and hands it over to Iroh.
"I hope I made it the way you like it," Zuko tells him, Iroh looks at Rin to sees a grimace on her face, and he takes a sip from the cup, his eyes widen letting out a cry of disgust, but manages to mask it.
"Mmm, good." Iroh lies and takes another sip with a grunt. "That was very, uhh... bracing!"
"Liar," Rin whispers with a smile as Zuko hands him another cup and tosses it out of the window when his nephew isn't looking followed by Rin giggling to herself.
"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced Firebending if I want to stand a chance against her like Rin. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her." Zuko remarks.
"No, she's crazy, Rin will agree to that and she needs to go down," Iroh replies, Zuko nods at this and looks behind him to see Rin nodding too, a grunt from Iroh makes their heads snap to face him as he stands up. "It's time to resume your training. Rin get your gear ready." He requests, Rin nods to him again before making her exit. "What do you know about the stranger she brought here?" He asks his nephew.
"Not much, I know he's a Waterbender and older than us and she saved his life another one of her spies," Zuko explains.
"He was dying in battle a few years back, he needed medical attention, I got it for him. He vowed to serve me in this life and the next and I saw an opportunity and I took it. He studies medicine now and you needed help both Zuko and I are useless at that sort of thing now rest you will need it." Rin advises him as she makes herself known and she looks out the window as if feeling something change in the wind.
Zuko, Iroh, Rin sit inside the decrepit building with Zuko sitting in front of Iroh with Rin by his side and a pot of tea sitting on a small fire between them. "Lightning is a pure expression of Firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other Firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire." Iroh explains to his nephew and takes the tea kettle off of the fire, pouring it into another pot, he then begins to pour three cups. "It is precise and deadly, like Azula, even Rin at times." Zuko looks at Rin, he had never seen her Lightning bend yet but knew she was, in fact, deadly to others he had seen it first hand. "To perform the technique requires peace of mind." He hands one of the cups to Zuko and the other to Rin.
"I see. That's why we're drinking tea: To calm the mind." Zuko quotes.
"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes." Iroh corrects himself before looking at Rin who nods at him.
Outside the building, Zuko and Rin stand on the edge of a hill overlooking the valley with a walled, abandoned city at the bottom and Iroh sitting down behind them. "There is energy all around us. The energy is both Yin and Yang, positive energy and negative energy." Iroh holds up one finger on each hand t stand for the two forms of energy. "Only a select few Firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." He brings his hands together to illustrate his point. "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning, Rin will show you." He explains and holds his hand out, signalling for Zuko to step away from Rin. She begins to Lightning bend moving her right hand to her side and with two fingers extended begins to create lightning by rotating her arm in a circular motion around her body. She mimics the motion with her left arm, Zuko watches on impressed by the graceful way she moves then lunges forward with her right hand extended and shoots lightning into the distance.
"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko exclaims, feeling ready for this new technique after seeing a Master Firebender like Rin, Iroh rubs at his injured shoulder slightly.
"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first." Rin instructs, Zuko breathes in and closes his eyes then begins to mimic the motions that Rin performed, except that he does not create traces of lightning. He shouts out and shoves his right hand forward, but it merely causes a fiery explosion that shoves him backwards into Rin who holds him steady and Iroh shakes his head slightly at this.
Zuko begins training in the abandoned village, with a smoking hill can be seen in the distance as Zuko keeps getting blown back by an explosion. He has a look of frustration on his face and clenches his fists in annoyance as Iroh looks on while leaning against the building with Rin sitting next to him in the background. "Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face! Like everything always does!" Zuko fumes, Iroh looks to Rin and she looks back at him then get up from her stop and walks over to Zuko as he stands back up.
"We were afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you." Rin remarks and he turns to her with a look of anger on his face.
"What turmoil?" Zuko bellows in frustration and rage but his face changes to one of confusion looking at her.
"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away," Rin advises him wanting what is best for the young Prince.
"But I don't feel any shame at all! I'm as proud as ever!" Zuko exclaims.
"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." Iroh replies wisely.
"Well... our lives have been nothing but humbling lately." Zuko mumbles as Iroh looks to the side.
"I have another idea. I will teach you a Firebending move that even Azula or Rin do not know because I made it up myself!" Iroh tells him and points his thumb toward himself and smirks slightly, the young Prince too smiles at this thought at he would best Azula in some way but think of Rin, she was powerful could he best her?
Iroh draws the symbols of each of the bending disciplines in the dirt with a stick as he explains with to Zuko who sits cross-legged, observing intently with Rin leaning over his shoulder watching the old man. "Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had a pretty good sense of humour!" He jokes smiling widely, but Zuko doesn't react and Rin covers her mouth to stop the giggling. "Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything." He finishes off his explanation of the four elements.
"What are you telling me these things?" Zuko asks his Uncle unsure of where this is going.
"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." Iroh draws lines separating the four symbols in the dirt. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole." He tells him.
"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." Rin remarks as she looks at the former General.
"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But, it can make you more powerful too." He pokes Zuko in the chest with his stick. "You see, the technique I am about to teach you both is one I learned by studying the Waterbenders." He tells them and the two teens look at each other intrigued by this.
Iroh, Zuko and Rin practice the Waterbending moves outside a small building in the abandoned town. "Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defence become their offence, turning their opponent's' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning." Iroh tells the two teens.
"You can teach us to redirect lightning?" Zuko asks excitedly and he nods in response.
"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." He points with his right arm at an angle into the air and points at it with his other hand. "You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder and down into your stomach." He moves his left hand from his arm to his shoulder, then to his stomach. "The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the Sea of Chi. only in my case, it is more like a vast ocean." He laughs but Zuko remains stoic as Rin slightly giggles making Zuko's lips twitch. "You direct it up again and out the other arm." He points off into the distance with his left arm. "The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart," He walks up to the teens and points his finger at Zuko's chest. "Or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow. Like this." He points to the left with both his arms and the teens mimic the motion, he then takes his right arm and points it in the other direction and the teens copy the move as well. Iroh, Rin and Zuko then move their left arms to the right and back again. "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own Chi flowing in, down, up, and out?" He asks them.
"I think so." Zuko answers.
"Yes," Rin answers, Zuko looks at her feeling happy she was getting but couldn't understand why he couldn't. He continues to mimic the motions Iroh showed them and he begins to move his arms in waving motions at his sides.
"Come on. You've got to feel the flow." Iroh tells the young Prince.
Later in the evening, Zuko, Rin and Iroh are still practising the motions when Iroh suddenly stops with Rin and both of them stand in front of Zuko. "Excellent! You've got it!" Iroh cheers and Zuko bows slightly, putting his hands together.
"Great! I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko cheers but this gets a questioning look from the two Firebending Masters.
"What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous." Rin exclaims worried about the man she loves.
"I thought that was the point;" He replies annoyed and looks at Iroh whose eyes twitch as Zuko continues. "You teaching me how to protect myself from it."
"But we're not going to shoot lightning at you!" Rin exclaims frantically and waves her arms around defensively and she turns away from Zuko then looks at him out of the corner of her eye.
"If you are lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all," Iroh tells them and Zuko gazes off at dark clouds in the distance.
"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning," Zuko tells them and Iroh closes his eyes trembling a bit and looks to Rin who watches as Zuko rides off into the distance on his ostrich horse.
"I have to go after him," Rin announces suddenly and goes over to her bag bringing out a chain scythe.
"Where did you get that, my dear?" Iroh questions and looks at the weapon.
"My friend gave it to me, he heard I was missing a weapon and gave me a new one." She replies and twists the scythe pole and pulls it apart, as it grows longer the chain shortens and becomes a full-length scythe. "He had it specially made for me as we are still being hunted by Azula and others." She looks over at Iroh and to the dark clouds. "I have to keep him safe, if anything were to happen to him, I couldn't live on anymore." She whispers.
"Go, I will be waiting for you both." He tells her and she gets up with her weapon in hand and runs out in the same direction as Zuko.
On the mountain during a rainstorm, Zuko stands at the peak of the mountain staring up at the clouds above him. "You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it! And now I can give it back!" Zuko roars out defiantly to the heavens and lightning strikes in the distance, rain pours down his face as he glances up at the sky. "Come on! Strike me! You've never held back before!" He roars on and closes his eyes and a stream of tears begin to flow from his good eyes and raises his arms up then shouts before collapsing onto his hands and knees. Zuko looks down at the dirt when he feels two arms wrap around him.
"You're not alone anymore." He hears Rin whisper into his ear and squeezes him tightly to her as they move into a sitting position. "I won't leave you, I promise." She vows and continues to hold onto him tightly.
They finally make it off of the mountain dripping water as they make their way back to the abandoned town, Rin continues her hold on Zuko as they ride closer, she didn't want to let go of him.
They make it back to the town with Iroh waiting for them in the same building they were in before, the two teens walk in still sopping wet from the rainstorm on the mountain and walk towards the fire burning in the middle of the room. The teens don't let go of each other even as they finally fell asleep for the night, they never moved away from one another the whole night.
The morning came and the three FIrebenders make their way riding on their ostrich-horse through a small cleft in the valley but Iroh seems in discomfort. "Maybe we should make camp," Rin suggests from the front feeling his discomfort levels rising the longer they ride.
"No, please, don't stop for me!" Iroh yells out in a pained voice as he lets out several more pained groans. Rin pulls on the reigns of the ostrich-horse, stopping it in its tracks, they all dismount, Iroh groans taking a seat on a large flat rock. The ostrich-horse perks up, pricking its ears, clearly detecting something unusual, Zuko and Rin take a defensive posture. "What now?" He asks annoyed when the Rough Rhinos streak through the foliage around the Firebenders. Colonel Mongke's rhino stamps the ground forcefully, breaking the surface crust. He pulls back on the rhino's reigns and the two teens continue their defensive posture, Iroh brightens and places a hand on both Rin and Zuko's shoulder. "Colonel Mongke! What a pleasant surprise!" He cheers.
"If you're surprised we're here then Dragon of the West has lost a few steps." Colonel Mongke remarks with a stern look emphasizing his remark by making sparks with his braces and his men ready their weapons.
"You know these guys?" Zuko asks his Uncle surprised.
"Sure. Colonel Mongke and the Rough Riders are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapons specialist. They are also a very capable singing group. I'm sure you've heard of them Rin?" Iroh asks looking at the young former General who nods her head in response.
"We're not here to give a concert. We're here to apprehend fugitives!" Mongke exclaims.
"Would you like some tea first? I'd love some. How about you, Kachi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?" Iroh asks them trying to distract them.
"Enough stalling! Round 'em up!" Mongke orders his men, the dark-skinned, ponytailed fighter swings his ball and chain at Iroh, he kicks the ball away. The ball gets redirected, wrapping its chain around the foot of another warrior's rhino, Iroh dodges the fire blasts by tumbling along the ground.
"Wasn't he moaning a few seconds ago?" Rin asks Zuko who nods as they watch him fight.Iroh rises back up to swat the rump of the rhino that has been chained, the rhino runs off, yanking the dark-skinned warrior who had one end of the chain attached to his belt as well as its own rider, Iroh just waves as he watches them go.
The archer shoots a lit arrow at Zuko's back, he senses the arrow in time to turn and break the arrow apart as it approaches him. Zuko then lets a fire blast loose, which burns a hole in the archer's bow, a hand's width above the archer's hand, the blast passes through the bow and breaks the string.
Mongke lets lose fire blast after fire blast at Iroh, but he doesn't see them in time, Rin jumps into the path deflecting each of them. Zuko runs up and jumps on the back of Mongke's rhino behind him, a brief duel ensues, with Mongke quickly being kicked off the rhino by Zuko.
Iroh runs up to the ostrich horse, jumping up on the saddle, he rides by Rin who hops onto the back as they make their way to Zuko. Zuko jumps from Mongke's rhino into the middle of the saddle as Iroh gallops by, with Rin wrapping her arms around his waist.
The armoured warrior, riding in pursuit, throwing a grenade at the fleeing ostrich horse, the grenade explodes ahead of the ostrich horse, but they are able to ride through the explosion. "It's nice to see old friends." Iroh muses looking back at the two teens.
"Too bad you don't have any friends that don't want to attack you." Zuko comments.
"Hmm... old friends that don't want to attack me..." Iroh muses to himself.
"They weren't old friends." Rin snaps hiding her face in Zuko's back.
"Tired or hungry?" Zuko asks her, she looks up at him.
"Hungry." She answers and he looks in his bag for any food.
"Sorry, we'll stop and get some food soon, I promise." He tells her but she just hugs him closer to herself.
"I just need you I promise." She whispers.
At the ice spring from the oasis, various people stand around it. "Yeah, a little barefoot blind girl and her friends passed through here a few days ago." A man tells two men.
"Did they give you any indication where they were headed?" Master Yu asks the man.
"Maybe you could give me a little incentive?" The man bribes.
"You suggesting I break your fingers?" Xin Fu asks the man as if clueless to the bribe the man really wanted.
"They went in the desert! Too bad there's almost no chance they survived." The man answers.
"That's okay since she's wanted dead or alive." Xin Fu replies.
"No, she's not! I'm certain her father wants her alive." Master Yu argues.
"Hey, look... Fire Nation wanted posters!" Xin Fu changes the subject, to several wanted posters on a bulletin board, the middle poster has an illustration of Zuko and Iroh and the one next to it is of Rin and Shai.
"So-" Master Yu begins to say.
"So, look who's here." Xin Fu tells him and turns his head to look at Zuko, Iroh and Rin as they walk towards a different building.
Zuko, Iroh and Rin sit at a table inside the at the ice springs seeming to be waiting. "No one here is going to help us. These people just look like filthy wanderers." Zuko argues.
"So do we." Iroh points over to an old, bald man sitting at a Pai Sho table. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I've found our friend." He tells the two teens.
"You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?" Rin asks him a little confused as to why he would want to come here.
"I don't think this is a gamble." Iroh replies and they get up from their seats and walk over to the Pai Sho table. Xin Fu and Master Yu sit on a bench watching the three fugitives make their way over to the table.
"Let's take them now!" Xin Fu exclaims wanting to grab them.
"This place is full of desperate characters. If they find out we're collecting a bounty, we might have to fight them all just to keep our prize. Patience." Master Yu tells his companion and the three Firebenders approach the Pai Sho table.
"May I have this game?" Iroh asks the man.
" The guest has the first move." The Pai Sho Player remarks and Iroh places the Lotus tile in the middle of the board. "I see you favour the White Lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways.".
"Those who do can always find a friend." Iroh comments.
"Then let us play." The Pai Sho Player states and places another tile on the board, Iroh quickly places another title as well. Zuko and Rin sit down watching intently as the two men place title after tile on the board at a rapid pace. When they are done, the tiles form the shape of a Lotus, with the Lotus title in the centre of the board. "Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."
"What are those old gasbags talking about?" Zuko asks Rin, but she just shrugs her shoulders as she was just as confused.
"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game," Iroh tells the younger ones and rolls a title over his knuckles and clutches it.
"I'm not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping! It's over! You three fugitives are coming with me!" Xin Fu shouts gaining too much attention.
"I knew it! You three are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!" The Pai Sho Player yells out.
"I thought you said he would help!" Rin yells at Iroh as she didn't want to fight as she was too tired and hungry.
"He is. Just watch." Iroh tells her calmly.
"You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?" The Pai Sho Player asks Xin Fu.
"Gold?" A man at the bar asks more intrigued by this mentioned word and all the men in the bar look up and several of them pull out knives approaching the ground around the Pai Sho table.
"Uh... Maybe we shouldn't." Master Yu says hesitantly then two men jump in front of Xin Fu, the Earthbender spins around and delivers a reverse roundhouse kick, bending a rock from the ground which knocks the two men away. Master Yu enters his stance and bends the Earth underneath one of the assailants, causing him to sink into the ground up to his neck.
Xin Fu handles a group of Sandbenders, he has one lifted in the air with one hand and holds back another Sandbender with the other hand. Xin Fu kicks any other Sandbender that comes near him, he twists his waist throwing the two Sandbenders he's holding, one flies and smashes into the wall behind the bartender.
Zuko, Iroh, Rin and the Pai Sho Player run out of the building while the fight continues on as Xin Fu and Master Yu go into their stances. The two Earthbenders have knocked out nearly everyone in the bar, but have let their bounty escape. Xin Fu growls in anger and punches both of his fists downwards, causing a pillar of rock to shoot out from under one of the downed Sandbenders, he yells as he flies through the window and hits a palm tree outside.
Zuko, Rin and Iroh make it to a small village near the edge of the desert with the Pai Sho Player and enter one of the buildings. The Pai Sho Player makes sure that no one is watching before shutting the door behind him.
Inside the building, it becomes apparent that they have entered a flower shop. "It is an honour to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets." The Pai Sho Player gushes at Iroh but the teens just look confused.
"Now that you plated Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is this club going to offer some real help?" Zuko asks them rudely, which earns a slap on the arm from Rin.
"You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts." Iroh apologises for his nephew and the Pai Sho Player knocks on a door in the back, a small window in the middle slides open and a man peeks through.
"Who knocks at the guarded gate?" The Doorman asks them.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Iroh answers, the door opens, Iroh and the Pai Sho Player enter the room but Zuko and Rin attempt to follow them, but the door is shut in their faces. The window on the door slides open because of Iroh as he looks out at the two teens. "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here." He tells the two, Zuko frowns and crosses his arms, Rin kisses him on the cheek calming him down somewhat. He leans over to a nearby plant and sniffs at it, he sees a rose and takes one putting it in Rin's hair before sharing a loving kiss.
Sometime later still inside the flower shop, Zuko and Rin have fallen asleep while waiting for Iroh's business to be done. The back door opens and Iroh steps out, causing Zuko to wake up and go into a defensive stance while Rin groggily gets to her feet. "What's going on? Is the club meeting over?" Rin asks the old man.
"Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba-Sing-Se." Iroh tells the two teen, Zuko seems surprised but Rin looks worried.
"Ba-Sing-Se? Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?" Rin asks the old man not wanting to go.
"The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice three more." The Pai Sho Player reasons.
"We can hide in plain sight there. And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn't break through the city." Iroh says but Rin still isn't too sure about this idea, the door opens and a man steps inside the flower shop.
"I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the streets looking for them." The White Lotus Member announces to the ground as Xin Fu and Master Yu stand outside from behind the small window in the door. Xin Fu holds up two wanted posters to a man walking past them.
"You seen these guys?" Xin Fu asks as the three fugitives look through the window and turn to each other and give questioning looks.
Outside the flower shop, the three fugitives are staying in, out of the door steps a man pulls a small wooden wagon with three large flower pots on it. After he leaves, Xin Fu and Master Yu approach the door, Xin Fu bursts the door open. This causes a flower pot hanging overhead to fall and shatter onto the ground, Xin Fu holds up the wanted posters to the florist tending the plants. "Hey you, where are these men and woman? I got a tip that they're in your shop." Xin Fu demands.
"As you can see, no one is here but us." The Florist replies calmly.
"We know all about your secret back room." Master Yu states. "Kick it down." He orders Xin Fu.
"Hey! That room is for flowers only!" The Florist exclaims as Xin Fu runs at the door and slams his foot into it, knocking down the whole door frame and the stone around it. Xin Fu and Master Yu discover the room to be empty, save for a circle of mats and a Pai Sho Lotus tile in the middle, Master Yu picks it up.
"Some unlucky soul has an incomplete Pai Sho set." Master Yu comments, Xin Fu growls in anger and knicks the title out of his hand.
"Let's go back to finding the girl!" He roars.
The man with the wooden wagon pulls the three large pits over some sand dunes just outside the village, from under the flowers in the three pots are Zuko, Rin and Iroh, they poke their heads out and take a brief look around before sinking back into their hiding spots.