33 Zuko

It took an hour for the group to reach the village. Upon arrival, Katara ran off with Aang to try something called 'penguin sledding.'

Xiao stayed back and played with Appa and the village children. "Xiao! Watch this!" A kid yelled, leaping off of Appa's back and landing in a pile of snow.

"Nice!" Xiao laughed.

"Ever since the men left the village, the children have been sad, their personalities becoming more reserved. I'm glad to see them having fun." The elderly woman from before came up beside Xiao and watched the children play.

Xiao smiled. He was glad he could help improve the mood of the village.

"Thank you." The woman said with a slight smile.

"It's nothing!" Xiao replied, waving his hand.

Suddenly, a loud whistling noise echoed throughout the whole village, and a bright light shone on the horizon.

'A Fire Nation distress signal?' Xiao thought as he gazed towards the flare.

Soon after, Katara and Aang arrived at the village. Xiao stood beside the elderly woman, Sokka on her other side, and stared at the pair.

"I'm sorry grandma! We just wanted to take a quick look at the ship! Nothing more! But then we set off a trap and-" Katara tried explaining, but the old woman raised her hand.

"Katara, what have you done?" She asked, her old voiced laced with horror. She had tried to keep a low profile to protect the village, but now Fire benders would undoubtedly come looking for answers.

"And you! Are you a fire nation spy? We're you signaling your buddies with that flare?" Sokka yelled.

"Sokka…" Katara's voice was but a whisper.

"Leave! And don't come back! You are hereby banished from our village!" Sokka yelled angrily.

Xiao glanced at the old woman and saw her nodding her head slightly, a grim expression on her face.

"If you're exiling Aang… then… then you're exiling me too!" Katara shouted, grabbing Aang's hand. This caused the prepubescent not to get flustered, which made Xiao smirk lightly.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted, his voice filled with confusion and anger.

"Katara, you should stay with your village." Aang said, to her.

"But… I promised you that I'd take you to the Northern Water Tribe!" Katara said.

At this, Xiao raised an eyebrow. 'That can't be the only reason.' He concluded.

Eventually Aang left and the village's upbeat mood lessened somewhat.

"Xiao, if the Fire Nation does attack can I count on your help?" Sokka asked, to which Xiao shrugged. "I don't see why not." He admitted. Sokka nodded and went away to prepare the village's defenses, although Xiao didn't have much faith that they would do anything against the Fire and iron of the Fire Nation.

Katara retreated to her home, depressed, and since Xiao didn't want to intrude he decided to sleep outside. The cold don't bother him and the snow was soft. Plus he liked to gaze up at the stars.

He closed his eyes and meditated as he payed there, and soon he felt a change.

Xiao opened his eyes and, like he had thought, he was in the Spirit World.

"Tom!" He shouted.

The spirit in the form of a boy popped up next to him and laid down in the air, circling Xiao.

"Sup." He said simply.

"Is that kid, Aang, the…" Xiao trailed off.

"The Avatar? Yes." Tom replied. Xiao nodded, looking thoughtful.

Although his. Best friend Zuko needed to capture the Avatar to return to the Fire Nation, after meeting Aang Xiao didn't feel that this was the right thing to do.

"Is that all?" Tom asked, looking bored. Xiao nodded and Tom disappeared.

Xiao sighed at this new dilemma. Does he help his friend return to a Nation that frankly, Xiao despises, or does he aid the Avatar in escaping from him?

He ignored it and decided to sleep on the Spirit World. Fu Tang sauntered over and laid down, giving Xiao a nice, soft place to sleep.

As soon as Xiao closed his eyes he fell into a dreamless slumber. It had been a long day after all.

When he woke up, Xiao was back in the human world, covered in a thin layer of snow as a few people looked down at him.

"Aren't you cold?" One of the children asked. For some reason he carried a small stick with a sharpened point and wore face paint.

"Not at all! The cold tends to not bother me." Xiao replied, smiling.

"Can I feel your hand?" A little girl asked. Xiao outstretched his hand and a few children laid there much tinier appendages on his palm.

"So warm!" One of them exclaimed in surprise. Xiao chuckled.

"Hey! Stop messing around! The Fire Nation could attack at any moment!" Sokka yelled from the center of the village.

When Xiao saw his m face paint he almost died of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Sokka yelled angrily.

"Your face paint makes you look like a walrus seal!" Xiao wheezed. Sokka's face took on a sour look.

"So? Walrus seals are cool!" He said defensively, causing Xiao to laugh even harder.

"Is Katara still…" Xiao trialed off, but Sokka picked up on what he was trying to say and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know why she's so hung up on that kid!" He said angrily. Xiao shrugged. "He was nice. And also the only other bender besides me that she ever met, so I guess it makes sense." He responded.

Sokka nodded. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you what element you-" before Sokka could finish he stopped and a serious expression spread across his face. Black snow had started to fall.

"Never mind. Men! Prepare for a fight!" He shouted.

Xiao watched as a ragtag group of little boys ran up with spears that looked more like toys than actually weapons. With Sokka leading them, they looked more like a circus group than warriors.

Xiao stood in the back casually. He knew if worst came to worst it would be easy for him to intervene.

A massive shadow slowly appeared through the fog. Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation and fear.

A loud creaking noise of rusted metal hinges turning could be heard as a ramp fell from the front of the ship. Sokka charged forward, but when he realized the ramp would hit him he dove to the side.

The snow wall surrounding the village was smashed down upon contact with the falling metal ramp.

Finally, it hit the ground with a thud and everyone watched as soldiers dressed in the typical scull mask and red armor of the Fire nationNation descended, forming a half circle around the rest of the village.

Finally, a familiar face descended from the steps. It was Zuko. 'He grew.' Xiao thought, smirking and slowly walking forward.

"No! Don't!" One of the little boys grabbed his hand but Xiao looked down and smiled reassuringly. "It's fine." He said simply, gently pulling his hand away.

"Zuko!" He shouted amiably, a huge smile splitting his face in two.

The soldiers around them tensed and their hands lowered to their weapons. Iroh hadn't told them that they had originally come here to meet up with Xiao so their reactions were anticipated.

As Ciao approached the exiled prince a guard jumped out, separating the two.

"Stand down." Zuko ordered. The soldier glanced back, but eventually stepped back into the formation.

Zuko took a step forward. The tense atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Xiao was still smiling and he outstretched his hand. A few of the villagers behind him flinched.

But then, something no one expected happened. Zuko smiled as well and grabbed Xiao's hand, pulling him in to a short hug. "Xiao! It's good to see you! You grew! I'm glad we can finally see eye to eye! I thought I'd have to look down to meet your eyes forever!" He said, his voice happy.

Xiao chuckled and punched Zuko's shoulder. "Whatever. I can still beat your ass." He said.

at this Zuko coughed awkwardly. "We'll see about that later. For now, I want to ask you something." Zuko's tone became serious as he spoke.

"Oh? What is it?" Xiao asked, feigning curiosity.

"Have you seen an old man wearing robes similar to that of the air nomads?" Zuko asked.

Xiao tailored his head. "Can't say I have. I've stayed at the village for around two days now and haven't seen anyone that fits your description." He replied.

'He knows.' He thought, inwardly sighing.

"They must be hiding him from you… smart." Zuko muttered.

"Xiao? What's going on? Why are you chatting like old buds with that Fire Nation soldier?" Sokka's voice sounded from behind Zuko.

Xiao shifted his attention to the South's 'greatest warrior.'

"Because he is an old friend and rival of mine." Ciao replied simply.

Gasps sounded from all around.

The villagers were simply surprised that the kind-hearted young man that had been staying in their village was friends with the Fire Nation, while the soldiers that came with Zuko were surprised that this guy was a good friend of the normally cold Zuko.

"Bring him out! Now!" Zuko shouted at the villagers. The women and children cowered in fear.

"Zuko…" Xiao tried to intervene but his friend stepped forward and roughly pulled the village elder from the crowd. "Where is he? Where is the Avatar? He should be around this age? Master of all four elements?" He yelled, angrily shaking the old woman.

'What happened to you…' Xiao thought sadly as he saw his friend's actions. He remembered when they were kids, how they'd laugh, play, and train together day and night. Zuko could hardly hurt a fly. He was a kind and loving person. But now…

"We don't have anyone that meets that description in our village. I'm sorry." The woman said.

Zuko curses and threw her away. She was caught by a few woman and they started checking if she was alright.

'Could it be…' Katara, who had been listening in on what was going on outside, suddenly thought of Aang at the mention of the Avatar.

"Stop!" Aang shouted, sliding in on a otter-penguin with his stick held horizontally.

He fought Zuko off guard and tripped him by sliding between his legs.

Zuko let out a shout of surprise and collapsed into the snow. When he got up and saw Aang, he scoffed.

"A child? I was expecting the Avatar to be some old expert, but it turns out he's nothing more than a snot-nosed kid?! What a joke!" He exclaimed as he looked at Aang.

Another round of gasps ensued.

Aang was the Avatar! The person fated to stop the Fire Lord!

Xiao grimaced.

"Zuko, I'm heading to the shop." He said. Zuko looked back and nodded. "Let's talk later." He said with a slight smile. Xiao nodded and headed into the ship.

"You're just going to leave us?!" Shouted someone in the crowd.

Xiao turned back. "I've known Zuko since we were kids. If the Avatar surrenders without a fight, no one will be harmed." He stated, turning around and entering the shop.

Aang looked at Zuko. "Is this true?" He asked.

Zuko nodded.

"Okay then!" Aang said, walking up to a soldier and handing him his staff. Another soldier came over and grabbed his wrists, effectively binding him.

"Aang!" Katara screamed, running out of the crowd.

"Don't worry Katara, I'll be fine." Aang said somberly as he was lead up the ramp after Zuko.

The ship slowly pulled away from the village.

"Men! Set sail for the Fire Nation! We're going home!" Zuko shouted. The men cheered loudly.

——————

Long chapter.

Your welcome.

For the remainder of the week I may only post 2 chapters. Was sick last week and have a lot of work to catch up on.

For the record, Xiao has not yet left the Fire Nation, he just openly hates it.

He is also having an internal struggle: help his friend Zuko, who has changed drastically, or help Aang, this hurting Zuko?

Hope you like the chapter.

Now allow me to make like a tree…

And leaf! (Leave, get it?)