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Emerald Dragon chapter 11
🕑 Added 2021-05-19 21:57:59 +0000 UTCChapter 11 -
"Those clouds look so soft." Katara said with a smile as the group rested on Appa as he flew high in the beautiful blue sky, flying alongside the fluffy looking white clouds. "It looks like you could just jump down and land on a big, soft cottony heap." She said with a dreamy sigh.
"Maybe you should try it." Sokka jokingly suggested, only to snap his head towards Harry after hearing an amused snort. "Did...did you just like one of my jokes?" He gasped loudly, he sounded as if he had just suddenly mastered all possible types of bending.
"Great, now you're hearing things, I don't like your jokes." Harry said with a roll of his eyes. 'He can never know!' He thought to himself.
"I'm pretty sure I heard some amusement coming from you." Katara grinned.
"Go and jump on a cloud." Harry told her, giving her a mild glare.
"I'll do it!" Aang grinned before picking up his staff and hopping off of Appa. Aang let out a cheer as he fell down towards a cloud, a few seconds later he glided back up with his staff and landed on Appa's saddle, covered in water. "Turns out, clouds are made of water." Aang noted as he looked at himself, he shook his head before he used airbending to dry himself. Harry and Sokka gave him unimpressed looks, Katara glanced at her brother, but her attention was quickly drawn to something over his shoulder.
"What is that?" She frowned as she pointed past Sokka. The rest of the group looked to where she was pointing, a small distance away there was a forest below them. But that was not what they were staring at, their gazes were pulled towards the large, dark patch of burned land standing out among the lush green of the forest.
"It's like a scar..." Sokka quietly said.
"Let's go take a closer look." Aang frowned before he began guiding Appa down.
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"This...is not good." Harry understated as the team now stood on the ground of the burnt section on the forest, the ground was a grey, barren patch while the trees had all been burnt to the ground. "There's no life here at all."
"Aang, are you okay?" Katara asked Aang who had stopped a short distance in front of them.
"Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted suddenly, pointing to a bunch of footprints. "Those evil savages make me sick!" He said in an angry voice. "They have no respect for..."
"I don't think this was Fire Nation." Harry cut Sokka off, frowning as he looked around.
"Of course you wouldn't," Sokka sighed, shaking his head before adopting what he believed to be a patient expression and voice. "I know that you don't like to believe that the Fire Nation did this, but you are a little biased there. And this forest is burnt, therefore it was clearly..."
"Do not patronize me!" Harry snapped, silencing Sokka. "You accuse me of being biased but you're the one who instantly shot to blaming the Fire Nation."
"You think it's not them?" Sokka asked with disbelief. "We've got footprints and a burnt forest!" He said, wildly gesturing to the land around them.
"Yeah? Well...unless the footprints have 'Fire Nation' written on them, we don't know for sure it was them. As for the forest being burnt, you don't need fire bending to create a fire. Besides, why is only part of the forest burnt? Why not more?" Harry asked. "I'm not saying that this was definitely not Fire Nation, but it might not be." Harry said before he looked at Aang who had descended down onto his knees. "Aang, are you alright?" He asked.
"Why would anybody do this?" Aang asked in a sad voice as he gestured around at the destroyed land. "Why? How could I let this happen?"
"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you." Katara responded.
"Yes, it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job." He said, shaking his head slightly.
"Well, that's why we're going to the North Pole, so you can learn." Katara replied, hoping to cheer him up.
"Yeah," Aang nodded, not sounding very cheered up. "A waterbending teacher. But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."
"The Avatar before you? He died over one hundred years ago; how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know." Aang admitted, softly stroking Momo as the lemur hopped into his lap. "I just don't know guys."
"Aang, let me tell you something very important." Harry said as he walked over and kneeled down in front of Aang, he gently placed a hand on Aang's shoulder so the boy would look at him. "You're the Avatar, you're not perfect."
"W...what?" Aang blinked.
"Everyone will expect things from you, they have expectations and when you don't meet them, they're going to be disappointed." Harry told him in a soft voice. "And when so many people have so many expectations for you, you start to place expectations on yourself. Avatar or not, you do not have the ability to be everywhere at once, especially when you were frozen in ice for a hundred years. I'm telling you this because you need to know this, you need to remember what I am about to say. You're not perfect, maybe there was more you could have done, maybe there wasn't. Either way, we need to focus on moving forwards." Harry said before he stood up. "Take some time, but we need to start going soon." Harry said before he walked past Aang.
"That was nice of you." Katara whispered to Harry.
"Yeah, well...sometimes people need to be told that they don't need to be what others want them to be." Harry shrugged.
"You sound like you speak from experience." Sokka replied.
"That's because I do, I knew someone who really could have benefited from hearing that." Harry said in a saddened voice.
"Who?" Katara asked.
"Just an old friend of mine," Harry said, turning away from them. "one with a messed up childhood." Harry said before he walked several steps away from the group and began looking around, silently letting them know that he wasn't going to say more on that particular topic.
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"I want to know exactly what happened." Fire Lord Azulon said to the people in his throne room. The Fire Lord was perched up high on his elevated platform, surrounded by flames as always. Joining him in the room was Iroh, Ozai, Ursa, Zuko and Azula. Along with them was Harry, his parents and the captain of the ship that Harry and Azula had been on when they had been attacked.
"My lord," The ship's captain began. "we were taking a trip around the Fire Nation before heading off to Ember Island just as your son, Prince Ozai, had instructed us to do so." He said, gulping slightly.
"Get on with it." Fire Lord Azulon said in an impatient voice.
"Uh...yes, well...we were on course and everything was going well. Until our third day ashore, we...were attacked by waterbenders. They attacked and killed the rest of the crew, other than me." He admitted. "I had been asleep at the time after having assigned the other crewmembers to drive the ship. I...I was woken up by a scream, I opened my door and found a waterbender burnt outside of my door, I rushed out and found the rest of my men were dead, I believe that the that the Water Tribe savages had killed them. I immediately became concerned over the safety of Princess Azula, I rushed to where she was supposed to be and found that she was not in her room."
"And where were you?" Fire Lord Azulon asked Azula.
"I...I was...they broke into my room and grabbed me, they tied me up and carried me out." She said in a quiet voice, her eyes focused on the floor below her as the memories hit her with the force of a battering ram. She didn't notice the disapproving look her father was giving her due to what he saw as a sign of weakness, as far as he was concerned she had never looked so pathetic, she should suck it up and at the very least wait until she was out of sight before looking so weak. "They carried me out and were about to take me away when Harry saved me." She said, glancing towards Harry who was kneeling along with his parents and the ship captain, Harry and his parents were looking down to the floor, the captain was the only one looking up and that was only because he had been previously addressed.
"It was...amazing, my lord." The Captain breathed, looking awestruck. "I had saw it all through a window."
"You were hiding?" Prince Ozai sneered at him.
"No! No," The Captain said quickly, shaking his head. "I had saw them through the window and was about to go out and help them when the boy had arrived, I...I couldn't believe what I had saw."
"You won't see anything ever again if you don't hurry up and tell us what happened." Prince Ozai growled.
"Now, now brother, there's no need to threaten him," Prince Iroh admonished, giving Ozai a disapproving look. "we're more than capable of getting through a conversation without death threats." Iroh said before giving the captain a kind look. "Please, continue." He said. Ozai shook his head slightly, looking away from his brother, he still found it hard to believe that his brother - The 'Dragon of the West' - chose to be so soft when dealing with the commoners.
"Y...yes," The Captain nodded before he continued speaking. "I...I saw the boy pull off a feat of firebending I had never seen before." He said, everyone looked at Harry who hadn't moved at all, seeming as if he hadn't heard or noticed anything.
"And what was it?" Iroh asked in an interested voice.
"He...he threw his hands up in the air and green fire shot out..."
"We already know he can produce green fire." Prince Ozai cut him off, rolling his eyes as he did so.
"I know, but it wasn't the colour of the fire that was so impressive." The Captain replied, shaking his head slightly. "It was...it was far beyond any child, even a prodigy, far beyond even a great many of the Fire Nation's soldiers. The fire that shot out from his hands rose high up into the air, at least twenty feet, it...it took the form of a dragon."
"A dragon?" Fire Lord Azulon asked, a touch of disbelief could be heard in his voice.
"I swear it, my lord!" The Captain quickly nodded. "It was a dragon made of emerald coloured fire, I even heard it roar! The flaming dragon charged at the water savages, they tried to defeat it with their water, the dragon was about as bothered by it as a real dragon would be. It...it ate them, when the fire died down there was nothing left but burnt corpses! He freed Princess Azula from her bonds and I quickly made my way out to assist them, luckily another Fire Nation ship arrived a few hours later, they helped us get back."
"Hmm." Fire Lord Azulon turned to Harry. "Boy," He said, Harry looked up, knowing that he was the one that was being spoken to. "show me these flames that the captain speaks of." He ordered.
"No," Harry shook his head. "that's not a good idea."
"Harry!" Harry's father hissed. "Obey the Fire Lord, show them this fire that the captain speaks of!"
"Quiet!" Fire Lord Azulon barked at Harry's father before he turned his attention back to Harry. "Why are you refusing to show us this special fire? Perhaps it does not exist, perhaps the captain is lying, is that what you're trying to say?"
"No," Harry replied. "but it isn't like normal fire, it's hard to control. I...last time I had a few targets that I could direct it at, it was saving Princess Azula and self-defence, I don't think it's wise if I do it again. So unless you want me to aim it at someone here then you're not really going to want to see it."
"Perhaps the boy can try it against me." Iroh suggested in a calm voice as he stepped forwards and was now standing in-between Harry and Fire Lord Azulon.
"You won't be able to stop it." Harry told him, sounding very sure.
"The boy sounds very confident." Fire Lord Azulon smirked. "Prince Ozai, you and your brother are the two strongest firebenders in our glorious nation, the two of you will together fight against the boy's attack." Ozai looked as if he felt this was all beneath him but nodded and walked over to Iroh and stopped next to him, the two brothers turned to Harry and faced him. "The two strongest firebenders in our nation, have at them, boy." Fire Lord Azulon said, whatever the boy's attack was he was positive that it wouldn't be able to get past his sons.
"Do as the Fire Lord commands." Harry's mother whispered to him.
Harry quietly growled before he stood up and took a few steps forward, he closed his eyes and began taking several deep breaths. He allowed his anger from the years of suffering in his previous life to build up within him.
"Hurry up boy." Ozai said impatiently. "Or can you just not do it?" He said mockingly. Harry's eyes opened, his emerald eyes flared, he was tempted to thank Ozai for helping him with the anger part, but he decided he'd rather just scare the shit out of him.
Harry let out a roar before he thrust his hands up into the air, there was a big whoosh of air as Harry's green flames shot upwards. The fiendfyre stopped at around twenty feet, it shifted into the form of a dragon, roaring as it did so. Every pair of eyes in the room found themselves locked onto the flaming dragon, they watched as it suddenly charged towards Ozai and Iroh. The two wide-eyed brothers quickly stepped back and fired their own fire blasts at the flames, they had managed to barley slow down the fire but not stop it completely. The fire continued to charge towards them, the brothers took another step back and this time unleashed an even stronger fire attack, neither of them holding back this time.
They had both silently breathed sighs of relief when they saw that this time their attacks had wielded some actual results and had greatly pushed back the fiendfyre, their own flames knocking it down greatly. Their relief was unfortunately short lived as the fiendfyre quickly grew back to its full size and charged towards them again. They had taken another step back and exchanged worried glances, before readying to try themselves for a third try when suddenly the flames stopped. The flaming dragon screeched before it suddenly was pulled back, the flames shrunk down before eventually disappearing entirely. Everyone stared at Harry with wide, unbelieving eyes.
"So...was that good enough?" Harry asked in a casual voice after taking a deep breath.
The Fire Lord stared at Harry, unable to believe that so much power was in one so young and likely would not have done so if he hadn't just seen the evidence for himself. He didn't know what this new brand of firebending was, but he knew that he wanted it. If it was controllable and teachable then he wanted it to be taught to his family, their power would increase immensely if they were capable of such a technique. If it was not teachable then he wanted to know that it would not be used against them, thankfully the boy's parents seemed to be loyal to the throne and therefore his own family, so they would help keep the boy in line. There was always the possibility that they would want to use him to help gain control of the Fire Nation, but he doubted they would come to that, they didn't seem smart or ambitious enough for that. He wanted that power for the throne, as far as he was concerned there was a simple solution, the boy saved his granddaughter, she would eventually need to get married, a simple marriage would do.
Ozai was thinking on a similar wavelength as his father, he couldn't help but be impressed with the raw power he had just seen, and the boy hadn't even reached puberty yet. He could only imagine how strong the boy would be once he had grown up. Ozai knew that the boy had to be dealt with before he became a problem, it was possible for the boy to be killed but that was a waste of a good firebender. He knew he could control the boy through his parents, and if his children became friends with him then that was another way to ensure the boy would not turn on him.
Iroh couldn't help but be amazed, it was hard to believe that so much power could come from one young boy. His mind worked overtime, wondering what he could do, wondering if there was anything he should do. He knew that his brother and father were currently making plans in their mind on how to use the boy, he didn't really like that. He, just like his brother and father, could see how beneficial it would be to have the boy fight for them. But he also recognised that the boy didn't seem particularly pleased to have to show off his new ability, Harry claimed that he had only used it for self-defence and to save a life, did the boy even like fighting? Iroh realised that he was probably affected by the fact that he had a son of his own, but it didn't change the fact that he didn't like the idea of using such a young boy or deciding what future he would have while he was so young.
Azula joined her brother and mother in looking at Harry as if he wasn't human, Azula had seen his special firebending before but it felt like an entirely different experience watching it without worrying about being killed by waterbenders. She couldn't help but remember how simple life was before she had met Harry, before meeting Harry she had mentally sorted her father, uncle and grandfather as the three strongest people in the world, but Harry had shaken up that belief. Now...now she didn't know what to think.
Maybe she could get Harry to teach her how to use that same fire, maybe he could help her be a better firebender! His flames were so powerful and beautiful, if she managed to perfect her blue flames then together they could be a multi-coloured fire duo!
'But he probably doesn't want to hang out with a girl like you.' A taunting voice in her head whispered, Azula was tempted to growl but held back, knowing it would look weird if she suddenly started growling.
'No, I will make him want to hang out with me!' She thought determinedly.
Azula vowed to do her best to get Harry's attention, to make him want to spend time with her. Azula remembered her father telling her repeatedly that power was the most important thing in the world, which in her mind meant that Harry was more important than her father since Harry had nearly overpowered him despite being so young, in fact if Harry didn't stop the flames then her father might have ended up like those waterbenders.
If power what was important then that meant Harry was important.
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A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. Now, I'm not uploading for this story as fast as I originally intended to do so, but that is mainly because I now spend four out of seven days working twelve hour shifts at the factory I work in. Because unless you guys all want to give me at least a hundred every month (plz do by the way, it'd be greatly appreciated, lol) I have to work.
And with this story i have to rewatch episodes to help me along. So I am sorry I can't go faster but I am going the best I can, thanks for understanding. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reading and donating, feel free to leave a review.
Comments
Q
Harry will be able to use lightning, he just hasn't had a reason to use it so far.
Q
Thanks :)
Wonderful chapter, I am loving the character development, and seeing Azula still having the roots of her insanity, but latching on to someone other than her father, giving her the chance to be something other than what she was in canon is nice. I can't wait to see how she continues to diverge from her canon self. I don't remember if you addressed it, do you plan on having Harry capable of lightning bending as well, or will that be something Azula has that Harry doesn't, that 'balances' their power with each other in her mind, something to make them equals such that she cares for him rather than worships him?
Christian Jeffress
Thank you very much for all the hard work you put into the story, greatly appreciate it, also, I absolutely love how her father’s own lessons are working against him now, really looking forward to see how the relationship has developed. Once again, thank you very much for all the hard work.
