Zuko lay back against Omashu's stone walls, relaxing after a long and tiring meeting. Although the Peace Conference was no longer physically taxing as it had been when Bumi was in charge, they were still mentally draining for the young Fire Lord, along with all other participants. It still amazed Zuko that platitudes and old sayings had more effect on the older delegates than reasoning and forethought. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd recited Sozen's favorite old saying, and the source of his dream: "Stagnant waters breed only decay."
After several days, however, the Peace Accords were tentatively completed. It would take some time to set them in motion, and there was still the concern of what Ozai might be up to, but it looked like a lasting peace would at long last come to pass, and all the peoples of the world could work together towards a brighter future. Zuko desperately hoped that when it was over, he'd have a chance for a vacation. He was exhausted.
Unfortunately, more things that needed doing seemed to pile up from all over. On the off chance Ozai did intend some form of militaristic action against the world, it was decided that Aang needed to learn Firebending so as to have a chance against him when the time came. Unfortunately, the only two Firebenders that Aang had any sort of connection to for studies were Iroh and Zuko...and Iroh had insisted that teaching was the final stage of Zuko's education as a Firebender. As such, it was up to the young Fire Lord to teach the Avatar. It had...not been going well.
While Aang was eager to learn, he seemed to fear his fire far more than was healthy, to the point he couldn't even bring it out. Despite all of Zuko's patience and encouragement, it had been five days since the teachings had started, and he still hadn't managed to even conjure smoke. Zuko tried to pass on the lessons Iroh had taught him about fire being something to be respected but not feared, but Zuko didn't fully understand the lessons himself.
As Aang approached nervously, Zuko decided to try a different tact. "I think perhaps we should try a different approach," Zuko stated as he pushed himself up. "During my lessons under Iroh, he spoke of...a pilgrimage I might make when I felt I was ready, to fully understand and embrace the true meaning of Firebending. I think it's time I do so...and it should be a good way to help you get past your hurdles, as well."
"A field trip?" Aang asked eagerly. "Cool! Where are we going?"
"The ruins of the Sun Warriors, the first Firebenders," Zuko explained. "You'll need to call Appa for this trip."
Aang glanced nervously towards the Conference Chamber. "Are you sure we won't be missed?" he asked ruefully, plainly as eager as Zuko for a break from the tedium.
"I made a deal with my Uncle," Zuko explained. "He'll fill in for us today...if we take Cadence with us."
"What's the problem there?" Aang asked, surprised. "That sounds like a-"
"And she's in charge of the expedition."
Aang's face fell. "Oh..."
To say that the pair felt a bit overloaded by the time they reached the ancient 'Ruins' of the Sun Warriors - similar in design structure to the Temple of the Fire Sages - was an understatement. Cadence apparently believed in being prepared for everything, which meant having something with you to deal with every possible situation. Each pack of gear weighed more than the person carrying it, making it very difficult to move...although Cadence seemed to enjoy nudging them playfully onward.
Finally, Zuko had enough and dropped his pack back onto Appa's saddle. "Enough of this!" he grumbled. "We're three of the most powerful Benders in the world right now. I seriously doubt anything's going to come up that the three of us can't handle with our own abilities...and failing that, Cadence pouting! Put your pack down, Aang."
Unsure what else to do, Aang obeyed.
Cadence, for her part, smiled widely. "And here I thought I'd have to start poking you with a stick to get you to remember your authority," she teased. "Lead the way." With that said, she settled on Zuko's shoulder.
Zuko simply stared at her, plainly irritated, which only made her and Aang giggle. Harrumphing to himself, Zuko quickly led the way into the 'ruins'.
Reaching the top of the pyramid-like structure, the group took the time to peruse the murals, depicting dragons surrounding the first Firebenders with flames. "Doesn't look like a very pleasant teaching method," Zuko muttered.
"Look again," Cadence countered, pointing to the face of the human in the mural. "That's not an expression of pain or fear."
Aang took a close look. "It almost seems...awed..."
Continuing further, they found a Celestial Calendar as the lock on the massive doors, a Sunstone designed to only trigger the door to open on the Solstice. Cadence watched as Aang complained about the frustration of it, and Zuko used his swords to reflect the sunlight, triggering the lock with thought and patience.
Inside the chamber, Cadence watched as Aang and Zuko came to an understanding of 'The Dancing Dragon', an ancient Firebending form represented by statues surrounding the interior chamber. When doing so caused a pedestal with a glowing crystalline egg to rise out of the ground, the whole group had the sense to not touch it.
Having no real idea what else to do, the trio searched around for further clues. "So...what now?" Zuko asked finally. "Iroh implied we'd learn something here...but I can't figure out what to do next."
"You could stay right there and not move," an authoritative voice ordered from the entrance, causing the group to spin to face it.
First! I wonder if the egg from the show is going to play a significant part in this story and how the Dragons will react to Candence?
You know I just realized something about Bumi. He is the pinkie pie of avatar. If those two characters meet someday we are all doom. DOOM I TELL YOU DOOMMMMMM!!!
Musical reference GO!
6973742 You fool! Why would you unleash that idea upon the world?
6973750
Because I have a problem with keeping ideas to myself that's why.
Eh...I didn't really see the need for the 'remember that you are a king' lesson.
Ozai.
6973742 Wow you just now realized this?
6973806
its been quite awhile since I last watched avatar so yes I just now realized this and by while I mean years.
I have a big feeling what brought Cadence to the avatar universe is similar to phenomenon that triggered the events of my little dashie.
I wonder if the history behind the first firebenders will be different here.
6973764 Pretty sure she was doing it mostly for fun.
6973895 Why would it? Cadance has only been around for a short while and has largely affect only the events of the show. She can't change history.
Here's where the fun starts. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Guess their field trip is going to be filled with... Sunny disposition.
Look on the bright side, they're gonna meet the Sun Warriors.
At least Zuko doesn't need to... Reflect much on his actions before this.
The trap was egging them on... But good thing they didn't get stuck there.
Is it wrong that the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this chapter was Celestia?
... Odd. That didn't seem to be something that was present in the sho-
{Tatsurou: It wasn't denied by the show/this is character exploration because of such and such episode/AU }
SON OF A BI- oh well, I'm sort of curious how his Katar guilt just seemed to disappear, too.
No... nonono... No no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO N-
Whoa, characters from this story are ACTUALLY agreeing with me for once. Neat. Apologies to anyone who likes this Cadence OC, but I just... don't.
6973798 That makes total sense!
6974026
The whole reason Aang had such trouble learning Firebending after studying under Jong Jong was because he was afraid of accidentally hurting someone he cared about again. And unlike in the show, he has no moment of recognition with Zuko discovering the same issue.
6974036 That's what I meant, silly. You're exploring something about a character I'd like to see in the show (reasons 1-2), and I applaud you for that... if only that Cadence OC wasn't running around... oh well.
6974047
To be fair this is Cadence's story, so of everyone she kinda has a right to be everywhere.
6974060 *sigh* I know. It's just, out of everything that this story has to offer, from the fleshing out of 2-dimensional characters to the standardization of vaguely 3-dimensional characters, Cadence is, ironically, the weakest part of the story for me.
6974072
I have to admit there...that's because I had barely anything to work with originally from the series when it came to her. I thought working with a more or less blank slate character like her would be easy, but nothing I try to write for her really sticks.
6974095 Heh, now I can just imagine you, sitting at a table, wondering what to do.
Wow, Tatsurou, I never realized how much stress you could get over thinking up a simple interpretation for a character. If only those SRDinC's learned to give you a bre-
{SRDinC: You do realize you're talking about yourself, right?}
Oh... yeah... sorry, Tatsurou, I'll try to go easier on you next time.
6974169
Actually, please don't go easier on me.
Each of these stories is a learning experience for me, and constructive criticism like what you give me is one of the things that helps me grow the most as a writer.
There are two commenters whose comments I look forward to reading the most. The first is ShadowLDrago, because he reacts to everything from the chapter, which tells me where I've done the job I set out to do. The second is you, because you find the places where I've flubbed and draw attention to them so I can learn to do better.
If you do want to reduce the stress, try ending your initial comment on each chapter - after whatever nitpicks you throw in - with something from the chapter you really liked. I know you must like something about the story, since you keep reading...
6974206 Oh, sweet. OK then, I'll try my best.
Hmm... sounds familiar, somehow....
2.bp.blogspot.com/-xm_zvGHQy2g/VkesdeS1LUI/AAAAAAAAA7s/70NzbpHxHL4/s640/vlcsnap-00131.png
Yeah, might want to plan for those who aren't part Earth Pony, Cadence.
6973742 Somehow, the trifecta of Bumi, Pinkie Pie and Deadpool fills me with dread.
6974255
And that's how Discord was made!
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6974206 But you know, this has been bugging me for a while, now.
So earlier, you did a thing where you gave Wong Shi Tong a sporting chance at learning how to be a decent person. As I read it, there were a couple things I didn't get. For one, what exactly IS "timeless time"? The only thing I got for that was this,
saccashandcarry.com/assets/images/10406.jpg
and something tells me that WST isn't the smoking type. Could just be me, though.
And then the thing that actually matters about it. So you said some words about how Wong Shi Tong learned to be a decent person by going through an event based on something you read about... but I don't really get the sentiment, as I've often said before. He looks over a blossom, trying to see what kind of secret it holds, and in the process grows an overarching fondness for it... but the process itself doesn't make much sense to me. Like, if all he's doing is analyzing it to such a degree, wouldn't the only thing that would result from that be a long list of facts about the blossom? My only guess is that, through so much blood, sweat, and tears put into learning about what the blossom meant, WTS just got attatched to it out of pure stubbornness. Like if a student had to write a paper on something he doesn't really care about, but does so anyway, gets invested into it, devotes countless hours to its outset, gets a D for his efforts, and becomes rightly pissed at such a backwards notion... this may or may not be fueled by personal experience. The point is, is it that, rather than growing to care the blossom, he instead fell into it (I'm paraphrasing from The Mightiest Disciple, there)? It's been bugging me for a while, is all.
6973906 you never know with Tatsurou. His ponies tend to either be in need of learning, or in need of making others learn in rather embarrassing ways. Usually the second one.
6974342
In regard to how Wan Shi Tong got attached, that's dead on. As for timeless time...think of it as living through the same day over and over again into infinity, but different things happen each time you go through it. (...presumably like Groundhog Day, though I've never seen it.)
I'm struggling to decide what I want to go with. Here Come The Sun, or Walking on Sunshine.
I pity you, I truly do.
To be fair, considering what happened last time with Aang and Firebending, he's understandably terrified of using it. Fire is possibly the most overtly dangerous of all the Elements.
I swear you're psychic. Because I was going to mention that.
Yeah.
OK, no. Cadence, I'm all for being prepared, really, I am. Heck, Scar's Be Prepared is one of my favorite songs but, you're overdoing it. You're three of the most powerful benders in the world, one of you is a Fire Lord, the other's the Avatar and Cadence, you're the only other being capable of bending all 4 elements.
You little-!
Good. Common sense is more valuable than any bending skill.
And here we go.
6974260
Oh god. That makes perfect sense. WHY DOES THAT MAKE PERFECT SENSE!? Seriously, it's DISCORD, the epitome of nonsense! WHY does you explanation make so much sense?
How big is Cadance here, anyway?
6975278
About 1 1/2 the size of Momo.
I've seen Arias OuO
Hehehehehee~ Awesome chapter welldone dude, well done! :D
Why do I feel like it is the guy Iroh told them to forget about? The old man with the robes and the arrow tattoos.
6973728 remember in the show the egg was a trap that cause the chamber to fill with greeenish goo
6974373 I've read a number of time loop fics, some like Groundhog Day, and some a little different... And by bring this up you've now got me wondering whether someone could possible pull off a good ATLA Groundhog Loop fic! Nooooooooooooo! ("...I mean Yeeeeeeeeeeees!" )
6975323 Oh wow, wee lil Cady. I was imagining her much bigger.
6973728 Dragons: Oh, isn't she adorable! *nuzzles Cadence*
Very nice chapter, especially Cadence being in charge of Zuko and Aang, it's not a good idea to leave those two unsupervised.
6978503
Yes, but Bumi and Pakku were left behind, yet as Zuko and Aang we're racing each other, in the lead, you still say three racers.
6978512
Because Pakku was still ahead of Bumi.
6978513
As an example:
Are you suggesting that Pakku was there with Zuko and Aang?
6978516
Pakku couldn't go through the loops, but there was nothing in the rules against jumping tracks.
6978527
There should probably be something saying that he's still there then. As it is, I thought he'd fallen behind.
6976279 And your point is? Besides as the author of this bit of fanfic I'd say Tatsurou can have the trap egg be a real egg if that's the way the story being written is going to play out!
Thank you for working "The Firebending Masters" episode in here.