The Reveal

-Zuko's Point of View-

"What is it that you're going to tell me, uncle?" I asked Uncle Iroh who is sitting in front of me.

We are currently inside my room, sitting face to face in front of a small table on the floor. He said that he will tell me the whole truth, but he's been delaying things as if he's hesitating to do so.

After a few more moments of silence, he still hasn't said anything.

"I don't have all day. We need to find clues about the avatar's whereabouts," I broke the ice once more.

"Anika... was a very close friend of mine." Uncle suddenly said with his eyes looking down. "She was the brightest person I have ever known and also one of the kindest," he continued.

I just stared at him and fixed my sitting position, indicating that I was listening eagerly. So it is true, he and Master Anika were closer than I thought.

"It is true that she was not born into the royal family. She used to live in a small town on the outskirts of the fire nation." Uncle explained. "She lived a simple life with a simple family; her older sister, her younger brother, her parents, and her," he continued.

"They were a happy family living a peaceful life; until one day, Fire Lord Azulon found out about the skill of lightning generation. He wanted to learn the skill and have it passed on to the members of the royal family. But since it was only the descents of the Fintan tribe that can do so, he sought far and wide to look for the remnants of the ancient tribe," Uncle said.

"It was Master Anika's family isn't it?" I asked. "Yes." he timidly answered. "Unfortunately for Anika, she was the only bender in the family. Fire Lord Azulon saw great potential in her and wanted to take her into the palace. But her family refused," he continued.

"You know that your grandfather was a very persistent man, just like your father. That's why he never stopped pursuing Anika's family he didn't leave them alone." Uncle said.

"But Anika's family was very firm. They never agreed to terms with Azulon and they stood their ground; leaving him no choice but to leave them alone. However, weeks passed, and as if by some stroke of bad luck; the family got caught in a fire incident—their house burned down; along with everyone inside of it." Uncle kept the story going.

"Anika was fortunate to be outside of the house during those moments. But now, she was the only one left. Orphaned at a young age, Fire Lord Azulon took her into the palace as soon as he heard the news about the family's tragedy." Uncle continued.

"Anika was able to grow up well. The moment she lived in the royal palace, she and I easily became good friends. She had a hard time getting along with her father since they were of the same age and he teases her a lot; which Anika gets irritated easily with. But those were the glory days. Training hours were fun, and all three of us were filled with laughter, and oftentimes we'd play tricks on our teachers," Uncle said and then he paused.

"But things started to change when I got engaged to Tanwen, and Anika was declared a master bender. Both she and Ozai were 14 years old during that time, and your father felt deep jealousy towards Anika. She was also favored by your grandfather the most," he said.

"Suddenly there was a rift in our bond. We had lesser time for each other and we rarely meet up and have fun. Being declared a master bender, Fire Lord Azulon wanted to use her talents as a weapon for the war, while I being the prince in line for the throne was being prepared to lead the war. Anika and I would often still meet at the war room so we never really lost connection. But your father, Ozai, was left alone. Fire Lord Azulon didn't give him much attention and he wasn't given any role in this ongoing war for he was just—the second son".

I couldn't believe it. Father, who is strong, talented, and well-versed in war handling; was a neglected child.

Just like I was...

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-Maya's Point of View-

After a few hours of flying, we took a quick break on the edge of the canyon.

"There it is guys! The great divide," Aang said as he presented the marvelous rock wonder. "Wow, I could stare at it forever," Katara said in awe. "It's amazing to know that this is naturally made. It's mysterious and wonderful at the same time," I agreed with Katara.

"Okay, I've seen enough." Sokka uninterestingly said after he looked at it for a mere second. "How can you not be fascinated Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world!" Katara disagreed with him. "Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away," Sokka counterargued towards his sister.

He was fixing the rope on Appa's horns when he suddenly get disrupted by a random man who pushed him.

"Hey! If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!" the man said. "Ooh! Canyon guide; sounds informative." I said to the man who was approaching us.

"Believe me, he's more than a tour guide. He's an earth bender, and the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help. And he's taking my tribe across next!" the man angrily said to me while Sokka was behind him—mocking him.

"Calm down, we know you're next," Sokka said as he walked to my side.

"You wouldn't be calm if the fire nation destroyed your home and forced you to flee! My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se!" the man said filled with rage.

Geez, no wonder why he's in a rush.

"You're a refugee!" Katara exclaimed. "Huh—tell me something I don't know." the man scoffs at Katara. She looked at me; I looked at her, and then I shrugged my shoulders.

We suddenly heard footsteps closing in on us and just a few meters away we saw a group of people, dressed in brown animal fur, approaching.

"Is that your tribe?" Aang asked the man who was with us. "It most certainly is not! That's the Zhang tribe a bunch of low-life thieves. They've been the enemies of my tribe for a hundred years." the man answered.

Hmm... judging by the way he is dressed; he is definitely not one of them.

The guy whistled to the Zhangs and said, "Hey Zhangs! I'm saving a spot for my tribe so don't even think of stealing it!"

"Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tidying up their campsite?" a buff woman said as she approach the man.

"Yes! But they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot!" he answered. "I didn't know the canyon guide took reservations?" the buff woman said sarcastically. The Gan Jin man scoffs and replied, "Of course, you didn't! That's the ignorant side expected of a messy Zhang. So unorganized and ill-prepared for the journey."

The rest of the Zhang suddenly had outbursts of hate; yelling mean things towards the lone Gan Jin.

All four of us looked at each other; questioning what was going on at the moment. I suddenly felt like all four of us are irrelevant right now. Maybe we should just keep on flying and let them be?

All the fuss between the Gan Jin and the rest of the Zhangs was put to a stop when we all felt the ground shaking and the huge rocks behind us trembling. From behind those rocks, an old earth bender appeared.

Huh—seems like the canyon guide has arrived.

"Sorry about the wait youngsters. Who's ready to cross this here's canyon?" the canyon guide asked. "Uh... One of them, I think?" I answered to the old guy.

The Gan Jin man hurriedly approached the canyon guide and exclaimed, "I was here first! My party's on their way!"

"I can't guide people who aren't here?" the canyon guide replied. I heard the buff woman snicker and then he led his people towards the canyon's entrance. "Guess you guys will have to take the trip tomorrow." she mockingly said to the Gan Jin man.

As the rest of the Zhang were all fleeing, the Gan Jin man suddenly stopped them and shouted, "Wait! Here they come!" and he pointed towards a group of people dressed in white and gold robes, who were walking like dignified men and women; all their chins up.

No wonder why it took them so long to come; they were walking slowly.

As soon as they approached all of us, the Zhang woman—who I think is the matriarch of their tribe, poured out her rage towards the old canyon guide. "You're not seriously gonna cave in to these spoiled Gan Jins?! I mean, we're refugees too! And we've got sick people who need shelter." she shouted.

"I- uh... well..." the canyon guide was too stunned to speak. Poor guy, all he wanted was to do his job properly.

"We've got old people who are weary from traveling!" the Gan Jin man countered while he was standing beside the patriarch of their tribe. "Sick people get priority over old people!" the Zhang matriarch argued.

"Maybe, you Zhangs, won't have so many sick people if you weren't such slobs." the Gan Jin patriarch suddenly said. "If you Gan Jin's weren't so clean, maybe you wouldn't live to be so old!" the Zhang matriarch shouted back.

The bickering and calling of names continued on and on and on— and to be honest... it was actually kind of a petty word fight.

"Well, Aang? Ready to put your peace-making skills to the test?" Katara suddenly said. "I don't know... These people have been feuding for a hundred years..." Aang answered unsurely.

Katara went in the middle of the two arguing leaders and then she yelled, "Everyone listen up!" She suddenly pointed at Aang and continued, "This is the Avatar, and if you give him a chance, I'm sure he can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy."

Everyone looked at Aang as he tried to come up with a solution for all of them. "Ugh... You could share the earth bender and travel together?" Aang suggested.

"Absolutely not! We'd rather be taken by the fire nation than travel with those stinking thieves!" the Gan Jin patriarch repelled. "We wouldn't travel with you pompous fools anyway!" the Zhang matriarch counter repelled. And once again, the bickering started and it was a bit louder this time around.

"ALL RIGHT HERE'S THE DEAL! YOU'RE ALL GOING DOWN TOGETHER AND APPA HERE WILL FLY YOUR SICK AND ELDERLY ACROSS! DOES THAT SEEM FAIR?!" Aang suddenly raged upon the two rivaling tribes.

Woah, the kid is mad. But wait, that would mean Appa would be separated from us! And we'll have to walk down this canyon too?!

Not that I don't want to— it's just that, my ankle still hurts from this morning's encounter with the freedom fighters...

Everyone settled down and they all agreed with Aang's idea. Whew, talk about being the Avatar; this guy's got talent! He's a natural at peace-making.

One by one all four of us helped the sick and elderly of both tribes climb aboard on Appa's back.

"Aang, this feuding tribe stuff is serious business. Are you sure it's a good idea to get involved in this?" Sokka suddenly asked as soon as we got all the elderly and sick people aboard.

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure... But when have I ever been?" Aang answered as cheerfully as he can. "He's the avatar Sokka, making peace between people is his job." Katara slipped into the conversation.

"His job is gonna make us cross this whole thing on foot isn't it?" Sokka unenthusiastically said. "Don't worry Sokka, this walking trip might turn out to be fun anyway," I said trying to cheer him up.

"Okay! Now comes the bad news! No food allowed in the canyon. It attracts dangerous predators." the canyon guide suddenly said.

"Oh-kay... maybe it might turn out to be a bit challenging..." I immediately withdrew my first statement.

Everyone from the two tribes outbursts in rage towards the canyon guide's announcement. They were all yelling and arguing with the old man trying to resist his spoken rule.

"Aww... you babies can go about a day without food. Would you rather be hungry? or DEAD?" the canyon guide teased everyone and then he earthbent a platform that raised him a few meters from everyone else.

"NOW, WE'RE HEADING DOWN IN 10 MINUTES! ALL FOOD BETTER BE IN YOUR GUT OR IN THE GARBAGE!" he shouted.

Suddenly everyone began grabbing their snacks and some packed lunches; and started eating them. They were feasting themselves trying their best not to throw away good food.

"We're walking, and there's no food??? Aang, there's still time to change your mind, it's not yet too late to turn back now. We can just leave them here and fly away you know?" Sokka suggested. Katara stuffed bread in his mouth and pushed him away from Aang. "You need to feed your mouth more so that it won't speak nonsense," she said. Sokka pulled out the bread from his mouth and continued to plead with Aang.

"Think about Appa, Aang. He will feel lonely doing this alone." Sokka said, and once again Katara stuffed a bread inside his mouth.

"No—" Aang suddenly answered Sokka, and then he looked at me. "Appa's not gonna be alone." He continued while walking closer to me.

"Maya, I need you to be with Appa and fly these people across the canyon. You are still badly hurt from this morning. I suggest you take the trip as well and make sure to keep the peace between the two tribes up there." he said.

"But, how about you guys?" I asked. "We'll be fine. We have a canyon guide with us." Katara answered. "Hey... how come she gets to ride and have food?" Sokka argued, and for the third time, Katara stuffed bread inside his mouth.

I laughed a little at the two siblings who were bickering at each other on the side.

I looked back at Aang and he gave me the most comforting smile. I nodded my head and then he helped me climb up on top of Appa's head by carrying me in his arms and airbending his way up.

He looked at the two tribes who were on the saddle and said, "Appa and Maya are gonna take good care of you until you guys get there to the other side." He looked at me and placed a hand on my shoulders. "Travel safe." he briefly said and then he jumped down.

"Sorry Appa, you'll have to do this without me," he said while caressing the bison's forehead. "See you on the other side buddy." he continued after hugging Appa.

"Yip-yip!" I shouted and then I went soaring through the sky. And just like that, I've been separated from them. This is the first time that I'm gonna have to travel alone. I hope things will go smoothly between these two rival tribes from here on out.

"Keep your distance away from us Zhangs." I suddenly heard an old lady say. "You stay in your spot!" an old man argued. Right... Just a few minutes in the air and they are already in a fight. What did I even expect?

I stood up and hurriedly took our stuff and placed them in the middle of the saddle. "That should draw the line. Now I want you all to behave, you got it?" I asked all of them. They all nodded their heads in reply.

I suddenly noticed my mother's chest in the middle of the pile. I hurriedly took it before anyone from these refugees could realize that this is a fire nation's chest. Ironic how they are running away from the fire nation, but here I am— escorting them.

I quietly went back on top of Appa's head and sat down with the chest in between my legs.

It has been a while since I last read the first letter, and there are still four more to read... Hmm... What if I read one right now?

I looked back at the Zhangs and Gan Jins who were all busy minding their businesses and keeping the other as far away as possible from the other. Geez, they really do have a tribe problem.

Anyway!

Now's my chance, while no one is looking! This is perfect timing for me to be able to read more of what Mother has written!

So with that said, I took the second letter out and started reading from it.

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-Zuko's Point of View-

"And then what happened?" I asked Uncle; pleading to continue with the story.

"Your father spent most of his time inside the palace halls doing nothing and only observing from afar while Anika and I prepared for the war. It was during our 5th raid that Anika started changing. The cold-hearted woman whose heart and passion for the dignity of fire nation started fading." Uncle answered.

"At first, she was very enthusiastic with these raids and conquers—both she and me. But then after a few raids, she suddenly begged Fire Lord Azulon to not place her in the headlines and let her stay within palace walls and teach the soldiers firebending instead. It took months before Fire Lord Azulon finally agreed, but once he did, Anika never left the palace walls ever again." Uncle continued.

"She spent most of her time teaching the rookie soldiers advanced firebending, and also because of her decision, Ozai was able to find a companion in her presence. They spar most of the time and Anika tried her best to improve Ozai's lighting bending. That became of her life— a true bonafide princess of the fire nation." he said and then he paused for a while.

"If she was loved and favored by grandfather, father, and the entire nation; why did she leave?" I asked.

"That is what I also would like to know. At that time, I wanted to know the reason why she left. Why can't she just stay? Your mother and I pleaded for her to stay." Uncle said sadly.

"My mother?" I asked. "Yes, your mother and I were the ones who helped her escape," Uncle answered. "She asked for our help and we did what we could. But we also tried our best to make her stay... If only she had stayed... then she never would've...." Uncle said as he continued to pour out the grief from inside him. I've never seen him this sad since cousin Lu Ten died.

"You wanted her to stay because you love her, don't you? You are Maya's father..." I slowly said trying to make sense of where this messed up story was leaning towards.

"No. You got it wrong. I wanted her to stay because I knew it was a risk to travel, let alone, carry a yet-to-be-born child with you. But in her entire life, there was only one man Anika ever truly loved." Uncle answered.

"It is not me who she loved dearly... It's your father, Zuko..."

"Ozai is Maya's father," he said.