Percy Jackson and The Fire Prince

Chapter 3: Zuko's Choice

In this dream, Percy could actually move for once. He was in a dank, underground cell with water dripping down from the ceiling into little puddles on the floor. 

In the center of the room, Appa stood with metal shackles around his legs and was desperately trying to break free. The bison froze when he saw him, hackles raised like a cat and teeth bared. Percy held up his hands in the universal sign for peace and walked forward slowly.

Appa growled at him and suddenly huffed out a stream of pressurized air from his mouth. Percy paused and turned his head away, holding his ground, surprised as always when he actually felt the air push back against him despite this being a dream.

When it stopped, Appa was staring at Percy with surprise and the demigod took the last few steps forward to reach the bison. Appa struggled a little but calmed down when Percy reached out and touched his nose without hurting him. 

Appa relaxed and made a sound like he was purring in the back of his throat. Dream-Percy's touch reminded him of all the happy things he had ever experienced. Percy didn't know which god or goddess was helping him, but he smiled as Appa finally relaxed and settled down despite the metal chains. 

The dream gradually faded away and left him with a warm feeling in his chest as he drifted back into the waking world. 

---

Each night since his first dream, he had seen visions of what was happening to the bison, and really felt sorry for the animal. He hoped Aang would get there soon; he thought he gave the boy a pretty good hint after all. 

Eventually, Percy felt like he wanted to go looking for Appa, but he also wanted to help Zuko and Uncle Iroh stay hidden. The old man seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, and Zuko even had a little crush to work on. He knew that their small bout of happiness wouldn't last, and he didn't want to end it any sooner than he had to. 

When the time came that Uncle Iroh (a.k.a. Mushi) was offered his own tea shop, the old man was ecstatic. Zuko, on the other hand, was less pleased. 

"Did you hear that? This man is offering us our own tea shop!" Uncle Iroh exclaimed. Percy grinned and Zuko scowled as he delivered the news. 

"I'll try to contain my excitement," the fire-bender growled, stalking out the door and barely managing to stop himself from slamming it.

Uncle Iroh and Percy shared a look before Percy followed him out. Zuko had been doing relatively well since coming to the city. He had seemed almost happy to see Uncle Iroh living his dream; but now, he was back to his moody and self-focused behavior. What changed?

Outside, Percy found his friend standing on the roof of a building with a poster in his hands. 

"Hey!" he called, waving at Zuko from below. "What's going on up there?" he asked, stepping back as Zuko jumped down from the roof like a cat.

"The Avatar is in the city," he announced, almost smirking as an old light appeared in his eyes. Percy frowned, holding up the poster and feeling his stomach sink.

"And you're going after him?" he asked, unable to look Zuko in the face. He had known this moment was coming sooner or later . . . so why did it feel so horrible?

Zuko turned and walked away, and Percy could only watch. 

---

That night, Zuko snuck out of their apartment wearing an odd blue mask. Percy sat up and went after him. He had no idea what to expect, and he knew that Zuko could probably face anything on his own, but he wanted to be there for him when everything went wrong. Zuko was . . .