As soon as her fire changed color, Iroh knew something bad was going to happen. Only one person had fire like that, and that was the one and only, feared, Princess of the the Fire Nation, his niece, Azula. That tornado Izuki had conjured up had only ever been done by one person: an old friend of Iroh's. They'd been friends when they were younger, little boys, and then when his friend had grown he became an assassin for the Fire Lord Sozin. Iroh hadn't seen him for a long time. And Zuko? He had never mastered this move, even though he'd been trying for such a long, long time. He eventually gave up, but over here, something triggered him to complete the routine and finally accomplish his goal and build up the dangerous tornado of fire that could bring destruction, so very easily.
Destruction never happened here because both tornados had been ended before it could cause any deadly damage; because they had met their equal power, cancelling each other with an explosion. but the question really was, what changed the color of the girl's fire? He knew she was different, but this was way out of his comprehensional limits. How? Why? Who was she?
Right now he had more important things to attend to. Zuko and the girl had gotten the full hit of the blast and were lying unconscious on the metal floor. Iroh motioned the few conscious guards to help him pick them up.
Uncle Iroh went to the closest person, which was the girl, and picked her up in his arms. Two guards picked Zuko off the floor and rushed them inside, out of the rain and thunder.
The girl was warm; too warm. He felt her forehead and almost felt fire sizzling through her skin. He realized that the energy buildup had gone overload and finally exploded out of her, resulting in the fire color change and massive tornado. He took the girl to her room as fast as he could and gently lay her on the bed, ordering a guard to get some washcloths to put on her forehead to cool her down. Then he rushed to Zuko's room where he sat next to his nephew who was drenched from head to toe. His forehead was also burning but not as much as the girl's.
Iroh put a wet cloth on his nephew's head and looked closely at his face. He seemed disturbed, uneasy. His eyebrows were furrowed, forehead creased, face tight.
He knew exactly why.
The blue fire had reminded him of his sister, Azula. And let's just say that the blue fire hadn't been used in his favor.
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I woke up, sweat beaded on my forehead. Where was I?
Definitely not in the comfortable rooms of the Northern Water Tribe.
It took a while to remember I was in a Fire Nation ship with the banished Fire Nation Prince and his uncle. I tried to remember why I felt so cold and realized I was still soaked, and then the past events. I knew that fire tornado had been dangerous, but once I started the routine I couldn't stop. The tornado was the only way the energy could leave me, and if I kept it in too long it could reach my heart and eventually, it would explode inside me. Was Zuko alright?
I threw back the covers, feeling lightheaded. I found a pair of the same clothes lying on my bed and changed into them and brushed my hair down. Then suddenly, I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in," I called out.
The door opened, expecting to see Uncle Iroh. "Good mo—" I stopped short as I realized who it was. "Oh. Zuko."
"Yeah. Me," he nodded. "Look, I'm not here to argue with you or anything; I'm sick of that. You told me you'd tell me who you were after the fight, and I came to see if you'd stick to your word."
I set down the brush and walked to my bed, sitting criss cross on it.
"Okay, I'll tell you, as long as you repay me."
"What? Why?" Zuko said, his voice rising. "Why would I repa—"
"I just need to be taken to Ba Sing Se, Zuko."
"Oh.." He cleared his throat and leaned against the door, crossing his arms over his chest. "Begin."
"My parents were taken by the Fire Nation," I started, sensing it was alright to trust him. "My father was Fire Nation and my mother was Water Tribe. I was born in the Northern Water Tribe, and no one knew my father was from the Fire Nation."
Zuko rubbed his chin. "Really?"
I nodded. "My grandmother took care of me for the next twelve years, and I left because—" I stopped. He couldn't know that I was a double bender.
"What?"
"Because. . . because I wanted to get the price for turning in the Avatar." I lied, this time, easier than before.
"That's it?"
"Yeah."
"Then how did your fire change like that?" Zuko asked in his low, scratchy voice. "Are you related to Azula or have you trained with her by any chance?" Anger flashed in his eyes as he took her name.
"No!" I threw my hands up in surrender. "I mean, no," I lowered my voice. "Not that I know of."
"Zuko smashed his fist into the wall in disbelief. "Then how did you do that? If you haven't got any training from anywhere, where did you get all that power from? It's impossible to do something like that."
"Zuko you'll break your hand," I said, sternly. "I don't know. I'm telling the truth."
Suddenly, the door opened and Iroh walked in.
"Ah, it's good to see you awake, Izuki," Iroh said, smiling cheerfully. "Would you like to join me for a game of Pai Sho?"
"Sure!" I jumped up.
"Hold on," Zuko blocked my path with his arm, "I'm not done talking."
"Zuko, give the girl some freedom," Iroh shook his head.
"Uncle, how did her fire change?" Zuko asked.
"I don't know," Iroh seemed to go into deep thought, rubbing his chin. "It's very unusual, but not impossible. She has a lot of strength; just like your sister."
Zuko turned to me. "Bend fire. Now."
On command, I turned to the wall and kicked fire at it, and it came out in its usual reddish orange color.
"How did it—I don't—ugh!" Zuko exclaimed, near insanity.
"Zuko, remember how I taught you how to bend lightning?" Iroh asked, getting a nod from Zuko. "It trained you how to channel your energy, and that's how you finally redirected lightning. I want you," he poked Zuko in the chest, "to teach our dear fried here, to channel her energy."
Zuko scoffed. "Yeah right, like I'd do that—"
"It would give us answers," Iroh said calmly, smiling.
Zuko sighed and let his forehead hit the wall with a thud. "Fine. But I'm not going to teach you how to redirect lightning. No real lightning."
"That's great. Now If you'll excuse me, I have a game of Pai Sho to catch up to," I grinned, pulling Iroh out the door.
