Death by Lightning (OC x Zuko) book 3

Chapter 6

Zuko's POV:

She had a nightmare last night; you'd have to be an idiot not to notice. I didn't hear her scream or cry, but the next morning I saw her overly messy bed hair from tossing and turning along with the bags under her eyes being worse than usual. She walked around with a distant look in her eyes; a confused one that seemed so far away as she tried to figure out something in her head.  In her arms was a stack of decent sized twigs she was gathering for the fire, but she just paced around the flames as if they weren't even there.
I cleared my throat to get her attention.
Her gaze broke from nothingness to stare at me in bewilderment before realizing what she was doing. As if nothing had happened she dropped the sticks and sat on the ground next to the flames.
"Are you okay?" I asked. It was a stupid question.
"I'm okay." She nodded, but didn't take her eyes from the fire. Another question came to mind, one that had been bothering me since I found her in the cell.
"How did you get in that cell? Why were you all bruised and cut?" I only meant to ask the first but the second followed so easily, I needed it answered.
"What do you care?" She grumbled.
"Because at one point we were going to get married." I mumbled.
"Low blow there Zuzu. That was before I realized what an ass you could really be. You turned your back on the world and me."
"Just answer the question." I felt anger rise in me a bit, but I pushed it back down. She sighed heavily and looked me dead in the eyes.
"After you and your sister killed Aang, me and the others went into hiding on a Fire Nation ship. I stayed in my room and never left for three weeks while Aang was in a coma; I couldn't leave him because I failed to protect him. Then Sokka finally got me to come out and we went into town. There I was kidnapped by a bounty hunter. He took me away to a prison where I was tortured for a week or two because they wanted to make sure Aang was dead. Then they transferred me to your prison where your lovely bitch sister was going to kill me." She smiled when she finished. Not a real one but something more sarcastic and sad before rolling her eyes and looking back to the flames. "Too bad I'm going to kill her first."
"What?" I asked, slightly alarmed. The Maddy I had known wouldn't kill somebody, threaten them sure but never go through with it. I still cared a little bit about if Azula was alive or not, and I couldn't see Madelyn hurting her.
"I am going to kill Azula. She killed someone important to me so I will return the favor."
"But the Avatar is alive." I reasoned.
"He wasn't though. He died along with part of me and Katara brought him back. I wasn't even there for him when he woke up." She paused as she thought of something that was clearly bothering her. "And if he dies, there won't be another Avatar." Madelyn hugged her knees to her chest protectively.
"What do you mean 'there won't be another Avatar'? Of course there will be, it's part of the cycle."
"Not until both halves are put back together, only then can Rava find a new host." What was she talking about?! "Just forget it. I'm gonna tell Aang today."
"Are we finally leaving?" I groaned, ready to get on with the day but not ready to move quite yet.
"Yes. Get up." I was suddenly splashed with a wave of freezing cold water.
"Hey!" I shouted angrily, standing and glaring at the giggling girl by the fire.
"Oh, did I mention I can sort of waterbend now." She continued to giggle. "I picked it up this morning when I went to get water. Just decided to try for the hell of it and voila! I can throw water at you whenever I want now." She smirked.
"Great." I hit my forehead with my palm in annoyance.
"Come on. Grab your stuff. We're going to the base of the mountain, I know the way." I grabbed the already packed bag at my feet and followed her.

Madelyn's POV:

I really wanted to leave that backstabbing lying ass back and camp, but Roku had come again last night and told me that I couldn't. It was the will of the spirits that he be Aang's teacher. Why in the world it had to be him? I would never know. Sure he was the only one who was willing and present, but it couldn't have been anyone else?!
Roku had said something else last night. He showed me a vision of what happened when Aang and I were born. He showed me a spirit named Rava fading into two parts and entering both my body and Aangs, combining with our souls. Roku said something about how because the spirit was divided, she couldn't move on from us. Not until she was whole again. Not until both me and Aang were dead and she was reunited with herself.
Worse than that, she was split in half the wrong way. Not evenly down the middle but rather into top and bottom halves, giving Aang the bottom and me the top. The top of Rava, the top of the spirit of good and balance, the top of yang, and within the top was a hole from which darkness grew. Rava and whatever her evil counterpart was named each had a part of the other within themselves. It kept balance. It kept peace.
Not anymore.
Rava was split in two and her control over the evil inside her was being lost within me. Aang had received the portion of the spirit that was all good and all light meanwhile the darkness in my half was taking control. It was taking the control that I couldn't keep a grasp of.
I was turning evil.
I let out a sudden yelp of pain as I hopped up and down on one foot.
"What the hell!" I shouted, looking menacingly at the rock I had just stubbed my toe on. I had been too concentrated on my thoughts to notice it right in front of me.
Zuko stopped a few yards from me and looked at the rock hard and then at me as I stood on one foot. His face portrayed no emotion as he looked at me with those damned amber eyes.
"Watch out for that." He said plainly before continuing on. Excuse me? What the hell was his problem?
I grumbled some not so very nice words as I walked ahead of him. When we reached the mountain we both looked up the cliff in awe.
"Not as big as I remember." I shrugged and started going up the stairs.
"Do we really have to take the stairs? Can't you just, I don't know, earthbend is up?" Zuko complained.
"I wouldn't want to hurt the mountain. This place is sacred not just to me but to the world. This is my home and I will not damage it." That was a bit more emotional than intended but it was the truth. This was my home all those years ago. I was raised here, I lived here. I almost died here.
"Whatever." He grumbled and started climbing the stairs behind me.
We climbed for what felt like forever. I take it back, it was bigger than I remember. But I had a glider back then and stairs were unnecessary for me. We were about halfway up before I finally got tired of it.
"Ugh, screw it. I hate stairs." I turned to face the Fire Nation prince.
"Are you gonna earthbend us up?" He asked smugly. Bastard. This meant payback.
"Better." I smirked. "Come here."
He closed the three step distance between us and was standing on the same very small stair as me. He was close, which unfortunately was what I needed. I took a step forward and he took one back and he was on the edge of the mountain.
"Are you ready your highness?"
"What are you doing?" He asked in confusion.
"Getting you to the top of the mountain of course." And then I pushed. And he fell. And he screamed a bit. Quickly, I twirled the wind beneath me to form a funnel around him and threw him up the cliff face, still screaming a bit, and landed him on the rim where the temples were. I giggled a bit and did the same to myself.
I gave a cry of excitement as I fell from the stair and flung myself into the air. It had been too long since I had last done this. I landed softly on my feet when I came to the rim of the temple.
Zuko was a mess next to me with his head between his knees.
"Don't ever do that again." He sounded sick.
"No promises." I patted his head and ruffled his long hair a bit. He looked good in long hair- not that it mattered. I hated him.
"Who's there?" I heard a familiar voice call out. I looked to see a suspiciously placed wall in the middle of the court yard. "I asked who's there!" The voice of Sokka called again.
"Wait. Shut up. I know their heartbeats." Toph whisper shouted.
"We can't trust them." Sokka argued.
"Dear god. You guys really don't remember your favorite interdimensional dead girl?" I said in mock disappointment. I saw a ponytail and a forehand peak over the wall. The eyes of that forehead widened and the wall came down to reveal all four of my best friends.
"Maddy!" Katara shouted as she ran at me and gave me a hug. Sokka followed and picked me up some as he hugged me. It hurt in the places where I was burned, but I didn't care.
"Welcome back to the Gaang mini Aang." He noogied the top of my head. "See what I did there. It rhymed." He grinned cheesily.
"At least I know you haven't changed." I rolled my eyes. Toph punched my arm where there thankfully was no burn and smiled.
"Welcome back Princess."
"Since when am I princess?!" I faked offense.
"Since I said you were." She shrugged.
"Why were you hiding behind a rock?" I asked.
"We saw a someone flying at us and screaming, we didn't know what or who it was. It was Toph's idea so we didn't get hit." Sokka punched Toph lightly and the earthbender blushed slightly. I then looked behind them and saw my favorite bald monk.
"Aang." I said quietly. He suddenly ran at me with wind trailing behind him and hugged me tight for a second before letting go quickly.
"You're okay. You're alive. You are alive. How can you be alive?! It's been so long and-" I covered his mouth with my hand.
"Dude. Calm your face. I'll explain everything. Starting with that." I pointed my thumb behind me at Zuko, who had stood up.
Everyone's moods suddenly changed from happy to defensive.
"What is he doing here?!"
"How did he find us!?"
"Did he kidnap you again?!"
All these were shouted at the same time with a lot of other questions I couldn't hear.
"Hey!" I shouted to shut them up. "He's here to help."
"Maddy... How can you trust him! He betrayed us, he betrayed you!" Katara shouted.
"I don't want to trust him, believe me I don't, but we have to. We need him."
"We could take him prisoner." Sokka suggested. "Use the Fire Lord's own son against him."
"That won't work." Zuko interjected.
"Sure it will. Just tie you up so you can't bend and voila,"
"He's right, it won't work." I rubbed my forehead in irritation. "He betrayed the Fire Lord to come and help us."
"He could have just lied to you to get you to trust him. To bring him here so he can get his Fire Nation claws on Aang." Katara made claws with her hands as she spoke.
"No. He told the truth." I said certainly, remembering what Roku had shown me.
"How can you know?"
"I just do." I shrugged. "He can teach Aang firebending better than I can, and he's available. I know you're not happy about it and neither am I, but he is our only hope." All I could do was hope they would listen.
Katara glared daggers at Zuko. "Is this true?"
"Do you see anyone else standing in line to train the Avatar to defeat my father?" Zuko gestured to the empty space behind him. "I'm here to help take him out to save the world, to end the war. I want to stop him from hurting anyone else."
"He's not lying." Toph said as she concentrated on his heartbeat.
"I just want to help." Zuko sighed. Everyone looked at one another in search for answers. Eventually, they all landed on me.
"What with the looks?" I asked.
"Well, you've known him the longest." Sokka started.
"And he hurt you the most," Katara continued. "I mean, what he did to Aang hurt us all but he also broke you. If you say you trust him then we will let him stay." She then glared at Zuko who was looking at me with a form of concern. "But I'll keep my eye on you." She said venomously. And they all looked to me once more.
They were right about him hurting me but did they forget he HELPED ALMOST KILL AANG?! I couldn't make this decision, could I?
"He...can stay." I said uncertainly. "The spirits said we needed him so, I guess we need him." I then turned to Zuko. "You will teach Aang Fire Bending and you will travel with us but lets get one thing clear; if anything like what happened in Ba Sing Se is even a possibility of reoccuring, I will kill you." I said menacingly.
Wait, kill him? I didn't want to kill him.
I fell back a step and gripped my temples as they started to pierce in pain. "Shit, shit, shit." I mumbled.
You do want to kill him. a voice said in my head. He betrayed you, he hurt you. That was most certainly not my voice. That was too deep, too synnical. It was also a big clue because it was a man's voice.
"No." I said aloud. "Go  away." I said through clenched teeth.
Never.  the voice whispered, and the headache was gone.
I opened my throbbing eyes and saw five faces looking at me intently. "Are you alright?" Katara asked.
"Ya, " I said nonchalantly, "Fine." I stood up straight and looked around.
"Your heart was beating really fast Maddy, too fast...." Toph said.
'Hey, I'm fine. Just a headache." Toph got a sour and confused face as I said this. I wasn't lying exactly, but it wasn't the full truth, and she could tell. Katara turned sharply to Zuko.
"Let me look at your head." Katara took my hand and led me to the fountain. She told me to sit on the edge of the fountain and I didn't object. She needed to know I was okay so they would stop asking questions. She lifted some water and pressed it to my temples, making it glow slightly. "Something's wrong with you...." She sounded confused. "You're out of balance and stressed out." She then moved closer and looked me right in the eyes. "Your eyes are really red and... have they always been that dark?" I squinted at her in confusion and looked down into the water beneath me. My once chocolatey eyes were now almost black.
"Ya." I smiled."Just about." She looked uncertain but nodded slowly. "Now," I said cheerfully. "I need a change of clothes."
"I have an extra outfit you could borrow, but it would be a bit small-"
"No need. I know exactly where to get some." I grabbed her hand and Aangs and pulled them along as I ran up the stairs, the others following behind.
"Maddy, do you even know where you're going?" Sokka asked.
"Of course." I then let go of them and came to a sudden halt in front of a small brown door.
"Where are we? We haven't been up here before." Sokka said quietly.
"My home." I pushed the door open to reveal a dusty, dark room with a bed and a small table. The bed was still perfectly made. though the covers were moth eaten. Dust particles danced before us as light came through the now open doorway. "It's untouched." I sighed happily. i moved to the corner where a long staff sat, forgotten long ago. I picked it up and twirled it about skillfully as I had learned when I was young.
"Maddy..." Katara started, but let the question fall from her lips as she couldn't finish it. I opened my staff and two beautiful wings shot out with balance tails on the bottom. My glider was okay. I put it next to the door where everyone stood and walked over to the closet. I grabbed the handle and tugged at it, but it didn't budge.
"Great." i muttered. I gripped the handle with both hands and tugged. This time it moved a few inches, just enough for me to fit my hands in the crack and pull the door all the way open. Dust shot out and attacked my lungs, throwing me into a coughing fit. I pulled out the folded garment on top.
"There is no way in hell this is gonna fit." I spoke my thoughts aloud. To my defence, it was made for a twelve year old. I tossed it back in the closet and grabbed the one beneath it. There were three robes in the 12 year old size and two for when I got a bit older. I grabbed the first larger one which was a collage of yellows and oranges that somehow came together.
"Maddy." Katara broke their silence, "How do you know this is here? Not even Aang knew."
"He didn't grow up here, I did."
"How could you-"
"Look, girls gotta change clothes. Go back downstairs and I'll explain when I'm dressed, okay?" They all nodded acutely and left me alone. I took off the scratchy prison uniform and pulled on the silky layers of cloth that I wore over a century ago. Each of the outfits were handmade by monks from the web of some kind of worm in the forest. It was created without harming nature or and creature, so it was ethical by my old beliefs.
Because of our beliefs, we also didn't have mirrors. Why? I would never know. I treaded softly down the steps to where I knew my friends, and whatever Zuko was to me, were waiting for me.
"Okay." I got their attention. "Im gonna tell you stuff and you're gonna listen as best you can. I will answer questions at the end of the story. Any questions?" Sokka started to say something but I cut him off. "I said not until after." He slumped down a bit and paid attention.
"Right then. To start, I'm old. Like, really old. I'm older than Aang."
"You don't know that. I could be older." He argued.
"Honey, you are in the body of a fourteen year old, I'm turning sixteen pretty soon. The spirits did that though, so I would be closer to Zuko's age. Anyway-"
"Why Zuko's age?" Katara interrupted.
"That is really not important." I lied. "As I was saying though, I lived here over a hundred years ago because I was an Air Nomad, like Aang. The difference is that he was trapped in an ice cube while I was dead. I was burned to death in the Southern Air Temple because I was looking for my brother after this temple was destroyed. Then the Fire Nation soldiers attacked and I was dead along with everyone else. Gyatso and I were the last to fall." I caught my breath.
"You died in the Southern Air Temple. You.. died... near Gyatso. Aang, do you know what that means?" Katara asked the bald monk.
"She was the body next to him. When I went into the Avatar state she was the one who put me there. I didn't even know why until now." Aang said in thought.
"You saw my body?" I asked, a bit freaked out. "Ew, Now, stop interrupting. I died, I went to the spirit world, and I lived there for almost a hundred years. Then the spirits sent me back to some other dimension where I could sort of grow up in peace. Then I came here and I've been helping you since. They brought me back for one purpose and one purpose only; to protect my brother no matter the cost." I took a step forward and looked at Aang specifically. "I'm sorry I failed you."
"Wait a minute!" Sokka all but screamed. "You- you and he... You're his.... What?!" I laughed quietly at his reaction.
"You're his sister?" Katara asked.
"Oh no. It's worse than that." I wrapped my arm around Aang's neck and smiled widely. "I'm his twin." And Sokka fell down. "The avatar spirit separated and joined both of us. We are both Avatars."
Did it count as I lie if I didn't tell them everything? I'm sure it didn't.
"Well Twinkle-Toes," Toph slapped Aang on the back, "good to have another one of you to mess with." Aang grinned even though a bit of pain was evident on his face.
"Wait," the voice of Zuko came from behind me. I turned and looked at his irritated face. "You lied to me." He said in a voice that was way too calm, like he was forcing something down.
"Call it just-desserts babe."
"So you two aren't...." He motioned between us insinuating the 'dating' lie.
"Don't be gross. Aang's my baby brother."
"I could have been born first!" Aang argued playfully.
"You wish baldy." I rolled my eyes. I looked back to Zuko and saw a confused look on his face. Part of him seemed... Relieved maybe? I ignored it though. I clapped my hands together a bit loudly.
"Now, who wants a tour?" I smiled