Zhao bellowed from the balcony of the Fire Nation
fortress. “Only one thing stood in our path to victory:
the Avatar. I am here to tell you that he is now my
prisoner!”
The soldiers chanted and clanged their weapons
together in response.
I removed a loose grate in the ground and
disappeared into the sewer pipes under the fortress.
When I unlocked
the cell door, I saw
the Avatar chained
between two stone
columns. Fire urns
burned atop each
one.
Aang
gasped.
“Who are you?”
He had no idea! I
couldn’t speak or the Avatar would recognize my voice,
but my disguise was perfect. I drew two broadswords
and swung them through the air. Moments later
Aang’s chains lay at his feet. He was free. This was
easier than I had imagined.
“Are you here to rescue me?” Aang asked.
I didn’t respond. I opened the door and signaled
for him to follow me. I couldn’t believe it—I was
telling the Avatar what to do!
We scampered unnoticed across the courtyard.
Then suddenly a bright light cut through the darkness
and fell upon our backs.
“There!” A voice cried out. We had been discovered!
I couldn’t let myself be captured. Zhao wouldn’t
understand, and neither would my father.
I drew my swords, then pointed to the open gate
on the other side of the courtyard. The Avatar and
I both charged toward the gate, but our escape was
blocked by dozens of spearmen.
“Stay close to me,” the Avatar said.
As he circled his hands, a vortex sucked the air
around him into
a
spiral.
Then
he thrust out his
arms, which caused
a blast of wind
to plow into the
soldiers,
blowing
them backward like
leaves in a storm.
I almost laughed.
I had rescued the
Avatar, and now he was rescuing me. If only he
knew! We rushed through the newly formed human
alley. But the gate had now closed, and the troops
surrounded us on all sides. We were trapped.
“Hold your fire!” Zhao called out. He pushed
through the soldiers and pointed at the Avatar. “He
must be captured alive!”
How could I escape with the Avatar? I had to think
fast. Using his body as my shield, and grasping my
swords firmly, I inched us toward the gate.
The Avatar was shocked and scared. I felt his body
tremble. The Firebenders parted as Zhao stepped
forward. He looked me right in the eye—and didn’t
recognize me!
“Open the gate,” Zhao ordered. “Now.”
The gates opened, and I quickly backed out of the
fortress, holding the Avatar as my hostage.
Outside the gate I retreated cautiously, still hiding
behind the Avatar. The outlying woods were only a
few feet away. We could make it.
I never saw the arrow. I never heard it zip through
the air. But I definitely felt it hit my maskwith a sharp
clang, and I fell to the ground.
”Prince Zuko?”
I awoke to the sound of my name. I was looking
straight up at the sky through a thick canopy of trees.
Dull pain ached through my body.
The Avatar sat a few feet from me, scuffed and
dirty. “Why did you disguise yourself as the Blue
Spirit to rescue me?”
I did not answer. I wasn’t trying to rescue him.
I was only taking him from Zhao in order to turn him
over to my father. I tried to rise, but I couldn’t. I hurt
too much.
“You know, a hundred years ago, before this war
started, I had plenty of friends in the Fire Nation,”
the Avatar said. “If we had known each other back
then, do you think we could have been friends too?”
I punched a fire blast at the Avatar, trying to get
the drop on him. I missed. And by the time I got
to my feet, he was long gone. I thought about his
question. Maybe we could have been friends once,
but it’s too late for that now.
I tracked the Avatar to the North Pole, to the Water
Tribe. No one can hide from the son of the Fire lord.
I was going to get the Avatar back. I had to.
Uncle Iroh helped me strap on the last piece of
my heavy, white uniform. It was bitter cold, and the
temperature was dropping fast.
“So tell me, Prince Zuko, what do you intend to
do once you have the Avatar?” Iroh asked.
“Take him home to my father, of course,” I said.
“I shall restore my honor and reclaim my rightful
place as the future ruler of the Fire Nation.”
I said good-bye one last time and slid into my
small boat. Chunks of ice bobbed gently on the
calm surface as I paddled through the icy waters that
surrounded the Water Tribe’s city.
A herd of seals barked and scooted across an icy
ledge and dove into the freezing water. I waited, but
they did not return. I knew they must be coming up
for air somewhere under the ice. But where? There
was only one way to find out.
I took several deep, sharp breaths. Slivers of fire
warmed my body. Clenching my teeth, I plunged
into the water, then followed the seals through an
opening in the ice. When I came to the surface, I was
in an underground cavern. I grabbed an icy shelf and
pulled myself out of the water.
I twisted my body and exhaled in a Firebending move
that instantly dried me. My body temperature was soon
back to normal.
Pushing past the barking seals, I came upon a waterfall
cascading from the ceiling, splashing crystal- clear water
into a deep pool. That was the way out! I stepped into
the waterfall, bracing against the icy water that pounded
my head and body.
My hands gripped one wet, frozen rock after another.
The ice was hard and
densely packed. The water
was numbing, but I wasn’t
going to stop. I melted a
hole in the frozen earth and
crawled through.
I was inside the city,
behind enemy lines. All I
had to
do now was find the
Avatar.
The Avatar sat cross-legged in the grass of the Water
Tribe’s oasis. This was the center of all spiritual energy for
the Water Tribe. It was a large clearing under the surface
of the North Pole, filled with flowers; thick, green grass;
lush forests; and warm air. Canals crisscrossed the oasis,
providing it with necessary water.
The Avatar’s tattoos glowed. He was in the Avatar
state and had crossed into the spirit world. Katara was
by his side, looking as if she would protect him.
I stepped out from the shadows. “Well, aren’t you a
big girl now?” I said.
Katara spun around to face me. “Prince Zuko?”
“Yes. Hand over the Avatar, and I won’t hurt you.”
I moved toward him, but
she thrust her arms at
me. The ice buckled, and
I fell to the ground.
“I see you’ve learned
a new trick,” I said. “But
I didn’t come this far to lose
to you.” She couldn’t take
me. I had more experience,
and I had fire.
I unleashed a flurry of
kicks and punches. Katara
backed away but repeatedly
blocked my blows with ice beams. I soon realized I was
surrounded by them.
I shattered the beams with swift fire kicks. “You’ve
found a master, haven’t you?”
She was good, but I was not going to let her beat me.
I charged at her with my fire daggers. But she created a
thick layer of ice around my face so I couldn’t see!
All of a sudden a sharp piece of ice knocked me across
the oasis. I fell into the canal. Then, with a determined
wave of her arms, she froze the canal, hoping to hold
me in place. No chance. I broke free, but she produced
a water cannon. The blast tossed me farther down the
canal!
She was good, but I couldn’t let her win. As I lay on
my back, I looked up to the sky. Night was over—the
sun was rising.
I took a deep breath and felt the power of the sunlight
surge through my body. With a strong Firebending blast,
I made Katara fly backward into a wall, and she fell to
the ground.
“You rise with the moon,” I said. “I rise with the sun.”
I had won. The Avatar was finally mine.
Yes, I finally had the Avatar in my possession. But the
blizzard outside was preventing me from taking him to
my father.
The driving snow and icy winds that night forced
me to seek shelter in a cave. The Avatar was still in his
meditative state. His eyes were closed, but his tattoos
glowed, pulsing slowly and regularly. I don’t know where
his spirit was, and I didn’t care. I had the Avatar’s body.
That was all I needed to show my father. That was all I
needed to regain my honor.
A bright light burst into the cave and enveloped the
Avatar. His spirit had returned. His eyes flickered awake.
“Welcome back,” I said sarcastically.
“Good to be back,” the Avatar replied.
He tried to get up, but immediately fell on his face.
I had tied him from head to toe. I could not risk him
using his Airbending abilities against me.
My joy was short-lived, though. Soon his flying bison
landed outside the cave, bringing Katara with him. They
must have tracked the Avatar’s spirit!
“Here for a rematch?” I asked.
“It’s a full moon, Zuko. It’s not going to be much
of a match.”
She was right. I had forgotten about the moon. The
Water Tribe draws tremendous power from the night,
and a full moon makes them even stronger.
The girl unleashed a furious Waterbending move,
one I had not seen before. I hurried to block it, but it
was too much for me. Frozen in place, I slid backward
and crashed against the side of the cave. I had lost the
Avatar . . . again!
But there would be other battles to fight, other
chances to catch the Avatar and restore my honor. My
quest was definitely far from over.
The eldest son of Fire Lord
Ozai, Prince Zuko is the rightful
heir to the Fire lord’s throne. But
the passionate Firebender was
banished from the Fire Nation
when he spoke out against his
father and the war.
The only way Prince Zuko
can return home and restore
his birthright and honor is to
find the Avatar and present
him to his father.
Accompanying him is
his uncle Iroh, Fire Lord
Ozai’s older brother.
Zuko possesses great
Firebending skills. He’s
very persistent and never
gives up. Unfortunately
he’s also arrogant and
impatient, weaknesses
that can hurt his
quest to capture the
Avatar.
PRINCE ZUKO
General Iroh is Lord Ozai’s older brother and
Prince Zuko’s uncle. Before he retired, his army
led a siege on Ba Sing Se, the great Earth Kingdom
capital for six hundred days. After losing countless
men in the siege, and with no end to the battle in
sight, General Iroh ordered his men to retreat, an act
deemed cowardly by Fire Lord Ozai.
Iroh is responsible for perfecting Zuko’s
Firebending skills. He is protective of Prince Zuko
and tries to get him to learn self-control and make
more careful decisions.
UNCLE IROH
IT TOOK A HUNDRED YEARS OF
WAITING,
but the new Avatar has arrived . . . in the body of a
twelve-year-old boy. Though the Air Nomads have
ceased to exist, their spirit lives within Aang, the Avatar
and the last Airbender. The Water Tribes have defeated
the Fire lord for now, but he will doubtlessly return.
The Earth Kingdom is also under constant threat.
As I conclude and seal this scroll, the Fire Nation
is regrouping, and Aang is on his way to mastering the
other elements. He must defeat the Fire Lord before
Sozin’s comet returns to give Ozai its unlimited power.
This is all I know so far. Please do not show
this scroll to anyone whose trustworthiness you
doubt. The fate of the world is in your hands!
deon, The Lost Scrolls: Fire (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
The Lost Scrolls: Fire (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Page 4