Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Prophesied ❯ All I Ask ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 2: All I Ask

Once out of sight and sound of the encampment, the man now revealed as the Fire God, Agni, broke into a run. As his long stride ate up the ground, golden scales replaced pale skin and opaque wings burst from his shoulders.

Agni burst from the forest in his true dragon form, glittering against the night sky like the god he was. Fire-benders in a nearby town spotted him and pointed, crying out to their peers.

“It's Agni! A sign! A sign that we will win the war!”

Agni snorted fire. The Fire Nation would win the war? Not if he had anything to do with it. No nation should rule another.

His iridescent wings beat against the night wing, fire glowing in his red eyes. He flew over the seas, and the waves rolled to greet him. Even they knew of his connection to their mistress.

Finally, the ship he sought appeared in his view. He quickly located the prince, who was having a conference with a few of his men. Changing back to human form, Agni managed to enter the room without anyone noticing him.

“What do you mean, we have no idea where the Avatar is?” the prince was saying, flames appearing at his fists. Only the retired general sipping tea behind him did not appear upset or frightened at the prince's display.

“Well, sir, he disappeared in the storm, and after these quakes perhaps we should dock and wait out any aftershocks.”

“I don't care about…”

“The quakes are nothing to worry about, and there will be no aftershocks, not tonight at least.”

Every head turned to look at the red-eyed man standing in the corner, grinning broadly. The prince, in particular, was glaring at him, which only made his grin grow wider.

“What are you doing on my ship? More importantly, how did you get here?”

The brilliantred eyes faded to a red-gold, and Agni continued to smile. He said the one thing that he knew would get the prince's attention.

“I come from the camp of the Avatar.”

The prince walked up to him and attempted to stare him down. It took every fiber of his being not to laugh, if only the boy knew who he was glaring at!

“You will take me to him.”

Agni glanced around.

“Perhaps we should speak in private, young prince.”

The prince nodded and the men began to file out, all but one, the retired general. But Agni was too caught up gazing into the boy's golden eyes to really care. He'd started to reach a hand up towards the boy's face when the general cleared his throat and the boy backed away without noticing the Fire God's hand.

“Whatever you have to say to my nephew, you can say in front of me.”

Agni sighed and let his hand drop back to his side. He recognized the Retired General and Prince Iroh. Many years before, he had planned for the man sipping tea before him to be Fire Lord, but things don't always go as planned.

“As you wish, Prince Iroh.”

Both the prince and the general stared at him. Zuko was in shock. He'd never heard anyone call his uncle `prince' and Iroh was actually thinking the same thing. Few had called him prince, even before his war days.

“Exactly who are you, may I ask? And would you like some tea?”

“No and no. Second of all, I will not take you to the Avatar, Prince Zuko. There is no longer any need for you to chase him.”

Iroh sat down and Zuko's jaw dropped.

“I have to capture the Avatar! That's the only way I can reclaim my honor!”

Agni's eyes flashed. “Your honor was never lost child! It is Ozai who is dishonorable! I…Agni has forsaken him!”

Flames erupted at the prince's fists. “How dare you speak so about…” Zuko got no further. His flaming fists were immediately extinguished and a red light was formed in the palm of the Fire God. Zuko yelped.

“What…what did you do?” Agni frowned.

“I took your bending power, but only for a moment.”

He tossed the light at Zuko, and the prince was relieved to feel his inner fire return. The prince took a deep breath, determined to speak civil to this man who wielded such power.

“Why do you say that about my father? The Fire Lords carry the blood of Agni, how can the Fire God forsake my father?”

Agni sighed, walked past the young prince, and sank into a chair.

“It wasn't Ozai in particular. Solzen started it, believing that one nation should rule the others. It was then that Agni's blood forsook the royal line.”

The prince sat down near the two older men. “But that doesn't make any sense.”

The Fire God looked up. “Haven't you ever heard the story of Agni and Shasa?”

The prince shook his head, but Iroh chuckled. “I have, one of my favorites. In the making of the world, Agni wanted more land, and the Water Goddess wanted more seas. They could not compromise, so Alem, the ruler of the gods, banished the two to an island by themselves. Before their time on the island was up, the two deities had fallen in love and conceived a son. That son became the first Fire Lord.”

The prince frowned. “But what does that have to do…”

“It has everything to do with it, my nephew. Because of his love for Shasa, the Water Goddess, Agni abandoned our people when they began to attack the other nations.”

Agni himself nodded. “In fact, young prince, you can blame Prince Iroh for your troubles. If he had taken the throne like I planned for him to, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing.”

Iroh looked at him. “I'll ask once again, who are you?”

Agni did not look away from the prince. “If the world has any hope of survival, the blood of Agni must be renewed in the royal line. Solzen's comet is coming. You are my last hope, Prince Zuko.”

Now Prince Zuko wasn't a simpleton, and he figured it out quite quickly.

“You need me to…conceive a child with a water-bender?”

Agni rolled his eyes. That wasn't half of it, but it would do…for now. “Not just any water-bender, young prince, it must be the daughter of Nen.”

Prince Zuko placed his arms on the table and folded them into a small oval, and then hid his face in them. His muffled reply could barely be heard.

“Well when you find her, let me know.”

Agni chuckled. “I will. Until next time, dear princes.” He stood to go.

Iroh stood with him, his eyes just beginning to show anger. “I will ask you one more time, who are you?”

Prince Zuko's head shot up. “Another thing for me as well, how can I be the last hope for Agni's blood if he forsook my family at Fire Lord Solzen? I don't carry his blood. What can I do?”

Agni was torn between the two questions. One he'd rather die than answer truthfully, the other he could live with.

He turned to Iroh. “I am Agni.”

The two fire-benders stared, mouths agape, before falling to their knees before him.

“Stand, princes, and go about your business. I will return.”

He slipped outside and returned to his dragon form and flew back to Shasa.

Shasa had also just told Katara what they expected of her, except she knew just who she would be `conceiving a child' with. She wasn't happy.

They were in the middle of a heated argument when Agni landed and changed back into his human form. Shasa greeted him with a word and a smile, but he merely nodded to her. The conversation with the boy had exhausted and he lay down near the two to sleep.

The two water-benders continued their argument and Agni's red-gold eyes fell on them as his thoughts turned mainly to Shasa and the boy, Prince Zuko.

They should never know, and he had no plans to tell them.

Agni slept.