Chapter 241: Aftermath

Chapter 241: AftermathChapter 241: Aftermath

*Whoosh*

With an elegant twist of their bodies, both the dragons travel into their caves while a ball of golden flames continues to burn on the bridge where Zuko stood with a crimson egg in his hands and Nik sat on the edge of the bridge while looking at the rising sun.

The sun warriors below all remain collected and sit cross-legged on the ground, awaiting Zuko and Nik to step down. It's evident that they wish to talk. Say something, at least, after all that has happened tonight.

"So, that's it?" Zuko walks over to Nik and sits down with a dragon's egg on his lap.

"How are you feeling?" Nik questions instead of replying, "Feeling better?"

"Not only did I somehow get better at firebending but I even got a Dragon's Egg," Zuko contemplates, "The term better is an understatement. I feel I should—"

"Nah, you don't owe me anything. The Dragons don't like me. We both got to learn more about firebending because of you. And Ra compensated for everything so there is no reason to feel indebted."

Zuko grows silent and then issues an exhausted sigh, "At least, I can say with certainty that Ozai trying to mentally torture me and sacrifice me to some spirit for immortality... will not keep me awake in the night. Once you see a dragon's mouth charging flames and lightning up close, nothing really will haunt you in the night."

"Glad I could be of help," Nik chuckles and then sighs quietly once again.

"What is it?" Zuko questions.

"I feel weak," Nik replies honestly, "For everything I got today... only now do I feel that the risks were greater than I imagined." The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

"What do you mean?" Zuko frowns.

"I felt... I am in control," Nik sighs, "From meeting Ra and Raat to exploring the island and then even fighting the dragons. A part of me believed that everything is accounted for. Everything will be fine. But... the moment Ignit led me to victory, I realized that this wasn't about me at all. It was about Ra. The Dragon's pride. The Sun Warrior's method of living.

I... wasn't in control while I was led to believe I am," he closes his eyes and plops back with a low groan leaving his lips, "I guess, I thought my days of being a pawn had ended. And then you saw how easily Ra got whatever he wanted from me, right? I guess I was lucky. But the next time I may not be so lucky..."

"Then why did you take such risks in the first place?" Zuko looks at the egg and wonders if he would take these risks for a dragon egg and the answer is... no. "Just what did you get from the spirits for this form of danger?"

"Oh, it's useful alright," Nik chuckles with exhaustion clear in his tone, "But it's one of those days that not many things would satisfy me. Everything said and done... I just feel stale."

"That's rough, buddy," Zuko mutters and then extends his hands, "Here... take it. I can't just carry around an egg this big for no reason, right?"

Nik says nothing and touches it with his left hand and transports the egg to where he stored the Dragon Spring.

"Listen... we don't have to tell my mom that we fought dragons, do we?" Zuko questions. It's honestly interesting what the sun warriors would think should they find out the contents of their discussion as the duo waited for Ignit to complete her metamorphosis.

"Are you kidding me? Defeating dragons is one of the best stories I can tell her. Of course, I'm going to brag about it... hmm, maybe to Kya, too. I'm sure she is bored with how things are at the moment."

"Kya? Are you with someone named Kya?"

"Don't you remember Katara and Sokka's mom? And no, I'm not 'with' her. As I said, it's a good story to impress my mother-in-law with."

Zuko purses his lips and muses things silently. The judgment is simply escaping Zuko's being as Nik doesn't have to look at the youth directly to sense it.

"What now?" Nik scowls.

"Nothing... I'm just... a-are you going to marry them all?"

"If they will accept me," Nik replies without hesitation.

"I see. Though, I'm not calling you father or brother."

"I don't really care. You're older than me anyway."

"What? Really?" Zuko gasps.

"Yeah, I'm 20. You're what? 22?"

"Motherfu—"

"Hush now, we already know I'm THAT," Nik yawns and closes his eyes, simply too tired.

Zuko, after seeing Nik, yawn, feels sleepiness settling into himself as he, too, lies down next to Nik and closes his eyes. Despite everything, as the sun's first rays graze him, Zuko holds a smile unconsciously and drifts into sleep, unhindered by his demons, guilt, and loneliness. He simply cannot feel these crippling emotions after such a grand adventure. As Nik said, it's a good story to have.

And Zuko has always been simple. He gets a dragon. He remains satisfied.

---

*Slck*

"Hmm... stop it..." Nik groans quietly and turns to his side. The rock-hard surface of the earthen bridge fails to bring any form of discomfort to his exhausted body. It's not just physical exhaustion but a mental one, too.

*Slck*

"No need to confess your guilt," Nik comments, "It won't really ease any of it."

"I—" Before the Chieftain could reply, Ignit takes a step forward with gold gleaming in her eyes. Finally patting her head, Nik smiles, "We should be on our way. I'm no judge in this situation but I will prefer Ignit's wishes and she... doesn't want to hear a word."

The Chieftain nods and sighs slightly while Ignit begins to walk ahead. Nik and Zuko take her lead and leave after giving the Chieftain a short bow.

No matter what, the Chieftain has treated them with respect and enough patience. Metaphorically spitting in their faces would not do anyone good.

As they exit the confines of the valley, Ignit comes to a stop and looks at the strange flower blooming over a rock.

"Don't you look back," The Flower of Fertility sways, "Have a fulfilling life. It's nice to finally know you, Ignit."

Despite the sadness growing in her eyes, Ignit nods and takes a step forward while the Flower now only communicates with Nik.

"Take care of her. I am not sure if you will live here or leave... but let her be by your side."

Nik just smiles and bows to the flower, too, alongside Zuko before taking leave.

But...

Once they reach the beach, the duo looks at Ignit, "Are you sure you want to be on the boat? My friends are amazing and they would love to meet you."

He tries to persuade Ignit but she refuses with a stubborn glare and sways the tip of her tail as she presses her large head into his torso... like a dog.

"Woah, you could stab someone with those goat horns girl," Nik rubs Ignit's head and looks at Zuko, "We need a bigger boat."

"Great, if only I could assume the obvious," Zuko rolls his eyes.

"You know what," Nik scoffs, "You're just as much of a bitch as Azula. It's just that when she is around, she tried to get all the focus. How the hell Ursa gave birth to the two of you is out of my mind."

"I'm nothing like Azula!" Zuko snaps.

"Oh, sure, you're not a chick. But rest, eh."

*Shlck*

Flicking her long tongue across Nik's face in the middle that left him a sloppy mess, Ignit moved away from his embrace and closed in on the waves hitting the beast before blowing fire on the waves happily.

"We still need a bigger boat and the middle part of my face feels sticky..." Nik mutters and when Zuko is about to speak, the former scoffs, "Don't fucking say it... come on, we'll build something quick. Let me send a message to Ursa and others so that they can get the villagers on the work, too."

"Don't say anything about fighting the dragons," Zuko speaks quickly.

"Of course," Nik smiles, "I'll say we defeated the dragons, robbed their egg, and created a mutated dragon. Has a nice ring to it."

***

Alternate Title: The Dog Dragon; Master Obvious!; And She Crashes!; I Believe I can Fly!; The Dragon Beaters!

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As stated, the beginning of the fanfic is updated to my liking. I admit the first 8 chapters went through minimal changes because I didn't get on a laptop till then. But other chapters should note some improvement in grammar.

Major Changes Include—

1) Renaming Reiko (Mitsuko's Eldest Daughter) to Souko.

2) Alternate Titles

3) Again, supposedly better grammar (Could still have some mistakes, but I did my best.)

4) I redid the smut slightly.

5) I think Nik comes off slightly better than previous iterations, something I will improve in further updates since most complaints stem from the early part of the avatar arc. But I won't sacrifice all the development I had for Nik for the sake of making others happy, I'll just make the development slightly linear.

There is a good chance that there will be some more drastic change in the avatar arc edit, nothing that will affect the plot progression but the pace itself. This notice will be removed and added to the next chapter's footnote tomorrow, so this won't be deleted, no worries.