14. Earthbending

Some time later, the ship arrived in the city of Omashu.

Bumi greeted them with the manic energy of a man who had been waiting a century for a good punchline. He threw feasts that defied culinary logic. Such as rock candy that shattered teeth, hog-monkey stew that stared back, and games that involved more centrifugal force than Iroh’s stomach appreciated.

Zuko quite liked Bumi. Not because of his senile ways, but because this elder didn’t question him as much as to how he knew about the White Lotus.

While Iroh was busy navigating bureaucratic riddles to secure their guest quarters, Zuko eventually found himself alone with the mad genius king in the royal gardens.

“You look like you’re waiting for a punchline, young prince,” cackled the king. “Or maybe you’re just waiting to tell everyone the earth is flat?”

“I’m waiting for the Avatar,” Zuko quietly said.

Bumi froze, having not expected such a reply. His mismatched eyes narrowed as the madness receded to reveal some clarity. “You know him?”

“I know he’s coming back,” Zuko said, meeting the king’s gaze. “And I know you’ll still be here to see it. When that happens, the whole world will wake up.”

The revelation hit Bumi like a boulder. He stared at the boy to search for any signs of deception. Yet he found none. Instead, he saw a certainty that bordered on prophecy.

“You’re a strange one, prince Zuko,” murmured the king while scratching his beard. “You almost made me believe you were a badger-mole in a boy’s suit for a second. What’re ya gonna tell me next? That you can secretly earthbend too?”

“I wish,” he replied with a smile. “But in this world, no one can do that except the Avatar.”

Bumi grinned with a wide, toothy expression. “Well then, prince. Let’s make sure my city’s ready for when he or she arrives. I have to ask: what will you do when they show?”

“Keep our relationship a secret.”

“Huh?!”

✟

They left Omashu with Iroh rubbing his temples and muttering about “too much excitement for one lifetime.”

Their next destination was south, to the wealthy, stratified state of Gaoling.

“Gaoling?” Iroh asked as their cruiser set course. Knowing that there was a good bath spa there, he still asked, “What could possibly be in Gaoling?”

Zuko stood at the bow, watching the green terraced hills rise in the distance. “Money, uncle. And the foundations of something greater.”

“They say the love of money is the root of all evil.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Ah, so there is something that even my wise nephew doesn’t know!”

By the time they reached the city, Zuko led a small detachment of guards through the crowded streets.

He ignored the suspicious glares of the locals. Should any bounty hunter or mercenary even recognize him, it would be a foolish thing to attack.

They soon stopped at a nondescript building near the edge of the lower district. It was the Earth Rumble arena, as he knew. Xin Fu was counting coins when Zuko walked in.

The man was built like a granite slab, with a greed that matched his size. When he looked up, he sneered at the Fire Nation armors.

“We don’t serve ash-makers here,” he grunted, sweeping the coins into a pouch.

“I’m not here for service,” Zuko said, tossing a heavy bag onto the table. “I’m here to invest.”

Xin Fu opened the bag as gold pieces spilled out. His eyes widened at the amount.

Greed, as Zuko knew, was one of the best ways to get through to this man. Even if it was a firebender, Xin Fu would soon sell out his mother for a basket of coins.

“I’m listening,” Xin Fu said, his tone instantly cordial.

“Keep the Earth Rumble thriving,” Zuko instructed. “Attract the best fighters. Make it a spectacle. In exchange, I want updates on any unique talents that pass through.”

Xin Fu grinned, revealing a gold tooth. “You’ve got a deal, ugh… Who are you anyway?”

Zuko soon left the arena satisfied without giving his name. His main reason for coming here was to actually invest in Toph. By funding the arena, he was ensuring her playground remained open to his ears without her awareness.

But he wasn’t going to stop yet. Their next stop was the Beifong estate.

The mansion was a sprawling compound of manicured gardens and high walls. They were greeted with the stiff formality reserved for foreign royalty. When Lao and Poppy Beifong heard that it was prince Zuko in their midst, they bowed low out of politeness.

After the pleasantries and tea that tasted like pure anxiety, Zuko made his request. “I wish to visit your private caves beneath the mountain.”

Lao Beifong blinked. “The badger-mole caves? They’re quite dangerous, prince Zuko. And dark. May we ask why you would wish to go there?”

“Scientific curiosity,” Zuko lied. “I’m also willing to compensate you generously for the trouble.”

Lao tried to refuse the money, citing hospitality, but Zuko insisted.

By nightfall, he was walking alone into the depths of the earth. The caves were quiet, save for the scratching of claws on stone. He soon found a spot and waited until blind and oversized creatures moved through the rock like it was water.

They were the badger-moles.

Zuko watched them intently to try and understand how they felt the vibrations. This was known as the seismic sense that Toph used to see the world. If he could learn that, he would virtually be unstoppable.

Two days passed in the dark.

Zuko emerged from the caves, blinking in the sunlight. He was utterly frustrated because he had learned nothing.

Seismic sense was an earthbending skill. It required a connection to the element that he simply didn’t possess. While yes, characters like Aang managed to learn it. All those characters were something Zuko simply wasn’t: an earthbender.

After this failure, he considered visiting Toph directly. She was young, barely six or seven in this timeline. But revealing her existence to her parents now would only lead to them locking her away tighter.

No, he had done enough. He had already placed his ears in her arena. So the rest was up to time.

✟

They soon left Gaoling as the ship turned south once more. Where they were headed now was toward the Southern Water Tribe.

The crew grumbled after wrapping themselves in furs. “Why here?” they muttered. “There’s nothing but ice and peasants.”

Iroh stood shivering beside Zuko on the deck. “Nephew, we are approaching Wolf Cove. Last I heard, there are no skilled waterbenders there.”

“I know,” Zuko said. “We aren’t staying.”

The ship eventually drifted near a massive iceberg field. When he recognized this area, he ordered a halt. The captain looked confused but obeyed.

Without a word, he then launched himself into the air by using jets of fire from his feet to propel himself upward. Where he landed was on top of a colossal glacier, far above the ship.

He walked to the center of the ice shelf and could already feel it. The chi here was overwhelming, like a dormant vortex of spiritual energy.

That meant Aang had to be right below him.

Zuko knelt and placed a hand on the cold surface. He could melt it. He could free the Avatar right now, years ahead of schedule. He could wake the boy and tell him everything about the war, about the comet, and about the genocide.

But he stopped.

If he woke Aang now, the boy would be a child in a world of people that wanted him dead. The narrative relied on Sokka and Katara finding him so that they could forge the bonds of Team Avatar.

If Zuko interfered now, he risked breaking the very foundation of the Avatar’s journey.

“Sleep well, Aang,” Zuko whispered to the ice. “Your alarm is set.”

He then stood up and thrust his fist downward to mark the ice.

Swoosh.

A controlled blast of white fire scorched a White Lotus symbol into the surface of the glacier.

In case his involvements here created a butterfly effect, he would at least know which glacier to return to should Aang not be rescued by Katara.

After doing all this, he jetted back down to the ship. His next order left the crew bewildered. “Turn us around… We’re going home.”

Iroh looked at him in surprise. “Home? Surely there are other lands to see, like the Air Temples or the great deserts, prince Zuko.”

“We’ve seen enough for now,” he said, walking toward the cabin. “Besides, there’s only one last bender I need to learn from.”

“Who might that be?”

He stopped and turned to give the old man a genuine smile. “You, uncle…”

Iroh blinked. “Me? While I am flattered, I fear that there is not much I can teach you.”

“I still need to learn how to produce lightning… And you’re the only one who can teach me that.”

Iroh beamed as his chest puffed out with pride. He was by all means willing to teach the most interesting boy in the world.