Warning: There is an f-bomb in this chapter. You have been warned.

Iroh folded the white tunic as he continued packing his belongings that he'd collected from the few weeks spent in Ba Sing Se into the chest. It was all that he needed to bring with him in the coming move to the Upper Ring.

The Upper Ring. It felt so surreal to Iroh. In a span of a few weeks, he had gone from being branded a traitor by his home nation and becoming a refugee of war, to being a tea server and then the official tea maker for a humble tea shop in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se.

Now, he was given the opportunity to have his own tea shop.

His. Own. Tea. Shop.

His.

"It's like a dream come through."

Indeed it was to the white-bearded man. Before he was approached by that businessman earlier at noon, Iroh had been content with being 'Mushi the best tea maker in Ba Sing Se'. He never dared dwelled on his dream of owning and running a tea shop of his own.

That was, of course, until Quon made him an offer that he couldn't refuse.

Pao had tried his hardest to protect his employees from getting poached. He physically stepped between 'Moshi' and Quon, then offered to promote his tea maker to 'senior assistant manager'. After hearing Quon's counteroffer of 'a new apartment in the Upper Ring' and 'complete creative freedom over the new tea shop', the middle-aged tea shop owner attempted to persuade 'Moshi' to stay with his final offer of 'senior executive assistant manager', though his tone conveyed that he wasn't exactly confident that 'Moshi' would stay.

Really, it was the notion of naming the tea shop that sold Iroh. By lunchtime, he and Zuko had resigned from being tea servers at Pao's Tea Shop. Percy also resigned, the jet black-haired man tagging along with the two people that he knew the longest in the city.

The sound of the door opening and closing had the white-bearded man turning his head to see Zuko entering the room, presumably to start packing.

"So I was thinking about names for my new tea shop, How about the 'Jasmine Dragon'?" he suggested, choosing to ignore Zuko's wandering eyes as if looking out for unwanted listeners. "It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it. Percy thinks it sounds 'cool', not that I fully understand how coldness is related."

Instead of giving an opinion on his uncle's suggestion, Zuko fished out the flyer from his tunic after being certain that Percy was not in the room and handed it to Iroh. His voice was firm as he spoke, "The Avatar is here in Ba Sing Se and he's lost his bison."

Iroh grabbed the paper, his amber eyes quickly scanning the contents on it. Sure enough, the drawing of a large sky bison was smack in the middle of it. But it was the words underneath that had his attention. Several of its characteristics were listed, along with one person in particular to contact.

Avatar Aang, Upper Ring, 96th District, Building 217

The former general bit back a sigh before it could escape his lips as he placed the paper on top of the box, his attention returning to his nephew who had made his way towards the window. "We have a chance for a new life here. If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

"Good things that are happening for you!" the former Prince countered instantaneously, whirling around to glare at the seated Iroh. "Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?"

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity," Iroh remained calm as he explained. "I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life and why."

"I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to you," the former general inside of Iroh spoke out, his tone leaving no room for argument. It wasn't the first time the uncle and nephew clashed over the latter's 'destiny'. Zuko for years had firmly stood his ground that his destiny was to capture the Avatar and return to his rightful place as Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and has spent as much time looking for the legendary figure, even tailing him for a brief few months. Iroh on the other hand no longer stood by that belief, as it was that way of thinking - that it was his destiny to capture Ba Sing Se - that cost him Lu Ten.

He wanted to spare Zuko the pain, and he has been trying for three long years now.

Zuko let out a huff and walked away from the window and towards his own chest to start packing, but the sound of the door opening once again caught both men's attention. They both turned around to see Percy poking his head into their room.

"I'm don - I'm not stepping in on anything, am I?"

Iroh's smile returned as quickly as he heard the question. "Don't worry, you didn't."

Percy let out a sigh of relief and walked in (against Zuko's muttered protest that he 'wasn't invited'), before his sea-green eyes landed on the paper that was still on the wooden box. Iroh noticed the expression on the man's face turning blank. "That's a sky bison."

"How do you know?" Zuko questioned, and Iroh snapped his head to glare at his nephew's suspicious tone. "Do you have it in your world too?"

"As a matter of fact, we don't. Our bison aren't that big. Nor do they fly." Either Percy didn't hear the sarcasm dripping from the teen's question, or he blatantly chose not to bother with it.

"Then how do you know that's a sky bison?" An accusatory finger was pointed at the flyer, the young firebender dropping all pretence of ignorance. Iroh didn't like the direction that his nephew was heading with this conversation - no, interrogation.

Zuko suspects Percy knows the Avatar.

Green eyes rolled in exaggeration, and Percy crossed both his arms in front of his chest. "People around were talking about it. I couldn't help but listen when we were on our way back here."

"So you've never seen one?"

"Funny story," Percy chuckled half-heartedly, "I have, actually."

"What?!" Zuko shot up so fast Iroh thought his nephew was going to jump and crash into the ceiling. The exiled-Prince's amber eyes which were once narrowed at their resident demigod rounded comically, even his scarred eye had opened slightly. "Where?" Iroh would have laughed at the sight on any other day, but seeing his nephew being pulled back into his Avatar-hunting obsession pained his heart.

"In my dreams. Like twice, I think."

Zuko's glare immediately returned, but instead of a look of suspicion, his face conveyed the anger and annoyance he was feeling. And Iroh was certain the young firebender was feeling very, very annoyed and angry at their black-haired companion. "So you've never actually seen it?"

"No, not really," the demigod commented off-handedly, before narrowing his eyes at the teen. "Why are you so interested anyway?"

Iroh noticed how Zuko's shoulders tightened immediately, his nephew's face scrunching into annoyance as he let out a huff. "I'm not," the former Prince lied, albeit tensely.

"Right," the way Percy drawled his response gave the impression that he did not buy into Zuko's words. Green eyes turned to meet older amber, a lopsided grin that clearly didnt reach the corner of his eyes plastered on the demigod's face.

"Most of the stuff is in the living room," he said as he started walking towards the door, ready to leave. "Just let me know when y'all are ready to move."

oOo

The figure kept his movement light, making little to no noise as he swiftly put on the black tunic. The other figure in the room, a stout, old man had fallen asleep in the makeshift bed.

Assured that he had not awakened the sleeping man, the figure put on a blue mask and approached the door, the floor not making a single creaking sound as he tiptoed and slid the door open. Keeping himself to the shadows and away from the light shone by the moon, he moved towards the table that was surrounded by a few wooden chests meant to be brought to the Upper Ring in a few days.

The figure was about to close the distance and reached out towards the sheathed item on top one of the chests when his whole body froze, eyes catching the silhouette of a human sitting near the table. He was certain that whoever was at the table was not his uncle, and the tall and lean shape along with the outline of wild hair could only indicate that it was the other occupant.

"Last time I checked, robbers sneak into other people's houses," Percy Jackson's unmistakable voice was as loud as a stage whisper as two green orbs landed their sights on the figure in black. The demigod's eyes seemed to glow brighter in the darkness of the night. "Not from the door of the room they live in."

The black-clad figure remained silent, unwilling to speak with the risk of exposing his identity. A heavy silence loomed over the two individuals for about five seconds when it was broken by Percy speaking again.

"Smart move, not speaking," came the weird compliment before a snort rang across the living room. "Though I'm sure you'd make a bad impression of Batman. You may brood like him, but only Conroy can do the proper Batman voice. So how about you drop that freaky blue mask and be a man and show your face, eh, Zuko?"

Realizing his identity was exposed and having no proper reason to continue hiding his face, Zuko let out a sigh and removed the mask of the Blue Spirit that he donned.

"How did you know?"

Being caught irked Zuko. He had planned to sneak out of the apartment with the cover of the dark under the guise of the Blue Spirit.

"Lucky guess," the demigod shrugged with one shoulder in a nonchalant manner at the question, unaware that the young firebender's blood was boiling at being called out on a lucky first guess. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought of just sitting here for a while."

Zuko was tempted to slap a palm on his forehead. He couldn't believe that in his eagerness to leave, he had forgotten to account for that. Both Iroh and Zuko had found the demigod asleep in the living room instead of his own room, and sometime in the second week staying together the former general theorized that it was probably because the man struggled to sleep. That theory was confirmed when they both caught Percy brewing and drinking over-burnt tea (that is still a mystery to Zuko) in the oddest hour past midnight, and the man chalked it up as 'couldn't sleep' and 'probably away from home for so long'. The Prince-in-Exile was (very politely) ordered back to sleep by Iroh afterwards.

Zuko noticed a silent understanding that passed between his uncle and Percy since that night, but he couldn't grasp it, nor did he try to find out what.

He decided not to comment on the fact that the man was not drinking tea this time, instead allowing silence to take over the room.

"Imma guess again," Percy broke the silence again, an unrecognizable tone laced between his words while he continued in a stage whisper as he leant forward. "You're sneaking out, or were planning to, when Iroh and I are asleep."

How?

"C'mon, don't gimme that look!" Zuko didn't even realize his face was twisted incredulously when Percy waved him off. "I snuck out a few times during my Camp days. So I get the gist of what you might be planning."

"So, you should know to let me be on my way then," amber eyes narrowed at sea-green. The young firebender was now hoping that if the man in front of him had 'snuck out' in the past he wouldn't pose much of an obstacle for the teen to sneak out on his own.

All that hope was thrown out the window when he watched Percy shake his head slowly with a resolute "No".

"What?!" Zuko tried to keep himself from yelling. The last thing he needed was Iroh waking up to learn that his nephew was back to his old 'Blue Spirit' ways.

"You're going after that sky bison," Percy stated in an as-a-matter-factly tone, clearly unfazed by the teen's outburst.

"How did you know?" Zuko spat out venomously. "Another lucky guess?"

"I heard part of your small disagreement with Iroh," even in the dark, Zuko could see a black eyebrow was raised challengingly at him, as if daring him to deny that that conversation never happened. Zuko took notice that Percy had somehow stood in front of him, blocking his way to his dual broadswords. Noticing that the statement was not refuted, Percy continued. "You plan to use the sky bison to get to the Avatar."

"So?"

"I can't let you do that."

"I have to do this," Zuko insisted.

"I am not letting you hurt Aang," Percy spoke with such finality he sounded more like a general issuing orders to his soldiers than an adult warning a rebellious teen.

The words rang in Zuko's ears for a brief moment before they settled in, and his eyes (including his scarred one) widened as he stuttered for a second before clenching his jaw in anger when one word settled in.

Aang.

"So you do know the Avatar," Zuko's fists were clenched tightly and his voice was so low he thought he was growling, but it didn't matter to him. The only fact that mattered was that Percy knew the Avatar.

"I do," came the easy reply. "Met him on the way here. He's in the Upper Ri –"

"And you never said a word about it?!" Zuko snapped, neighbours being asleep be damned. This man who was living with him and his uncle had knowledge of the Avatar's whereabouts, yet said nothing of it.

"It was nothing," Percy brushed it off. "Yeah, sure, we stopped a Fire Nation attack together –"

"You did what?!" The teen couldn't believe it. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he suddenly recalled it was the middle of the night and that his uncle was asleep, he tried to school his temper. He still felt anger simmering within him, but it wasn't boiling over, though it was threatening to. He opened his eyes slowly to glare at Percy.

"Take. Me. To. Them." He demanded, punctuating every word with gritted teeth and laboured breaths. Despite being over a head shorter, he felt they were both standing eye to eye as he challenged the man in front of him.

Sea-green eyes narrowed defiantly, and Zuko knew the answer before he heard it.

"No."

A huff was let out of his chest as the young firebender straightened himself. "Fine. I'll find them myself."

He only took a step forward when he felt a strong grip on his arm, halting him in his tracks. Zuko's amber eyes darted down towards the grip and up to meet Percy's green, which glowed and somehow reminded him of stormy seas threatening to unleash a tidal wave in its fury.

"You're not going down that path, Zuko," the demigod spoke, ignoring the teen struggling to wrangle himself free of the grip. "I know a guy. You're just like the old him. Angry. Bitter. You think the world is against you. Sure you both have good hearts, but you think by doing something crazy everything's gonna change! That's only gonna hurt you."

"It's not crazy when the Avatar is right here in Ba Sing Se!" Zuko countered hotly. "And everything will change! I can get my honour back! How does that hurt me?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it's my destiny to catch him for my father!" Zuko felt surprised at the lack of conviction he usually held when he spoke of his destiny. It's probably because Percy's green eyes look like they're drilling holes into his soul.

Zuko felt the grip on his arm loosened, but immediately two strong hands grabbed the collar of his tunic and the demigod pulled him closer to his face, their height difference was suddenly very profound as the young firebender found his feet dangling mid-air. It was only then Zuko realized that Percy had lifted him up just by grabbing his black tunic.

"And who said it was your destiny? Huh?! Did the Fates tell you that?!" Percy demanded. "Was there a prophecy that says 'thou shall catch the Avatar and get thy honour back and become Prince'?! Or 'the Prince that was Lost, shall catch the Avatar against all odds'?"

"No!" Zuko managed to get out, though the 'prophecies' that Percy had spat out confused him. "My father said –"

"Is your father the Oracle? Can he tell the future?!"

"What does that even mean?" Zuko was thrown off by the questions as he knew pretty well that his father is no soothsayer. He gritted his teeth to pull himself back to the present. "Of course not! You won't understand!"

"Try me!" green eyes glowed unnaturally in the dark. "All my life I've been told I have a hero's fate! That I'll die a tragic death! But I'm still kicking ass and taking names at those who try to kill me!"

"You're different, you don't –"

"Don't what? Understand?" Percy spat, not allowing Zuko a chance to retort. "My father's the frigging God of the Sea, basically making him King and me the so-called 'half-Prince' of that realm. You don't see me going around talking about being Prince or a Demigod!"

"You never wanted –"

"Never wanted what?! That part of life?!" Zuko found himself shoved backwards as Percy continued cutting him off in his roll. "I made sure I made due of whatever the Fates threw at me, and lived my life to the fullest. When I was sixteen, everyone said I was prophesized to make a decision or watch my world burn, and be killed by a cursed blade no matter the result. Do I look like a fucking ghost to you?!"

"N-No," the teenager stammered as he tried to steady his two feet. "But –"

"Di Immortales, get it to your thick skull," Percy raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, the strange curse rolling out of the demigod's tongue easily. He looked and sounded frustrated. "Fate's a tricky thing. Just because you think that you are destined for something does not mean exactly what you think it means!"

"What does that even mean?!"

"It means that you are capable of writing your own destiny!"

"That's not how destiny works!"

"No?! Fine," Percy whirled around, confusing Zuko for a moment. When the towering man turned back, Zuko's sheathed swords were in his hand. Percy's eyes was void of emotion, and Zuko was very sure that the night was not supposed to be this cold. "The Fates say you'll need to kill me or you can't catch the Avatar and get back to the Royal Family," his voice was just like his eyes, no hint of emotion betraying him as he threw the blades to Zuko, who grabbed them with a face full of bewilderment at the turn of events. "Finish the job, then."

Zuko snapped his eyes to meet Percy's, searching for any sign that he had heard wrong. "What?!"

"You heard me," Percy's voice was so scarily calm that Zuko felt chills running down his spine. "I'm just standing in your way back to being Crown Prince. Let's get on with it. Kill me."

Amber eyes widened in shock. "What are you –" As annoying as the man was, Zuko had never considered killing Percy. Heck, he couldn't even remember the last time he ever ended anyone's life.

His question was ignored as Percy shrugged. "Stab me. Behead me. Chop me into pieces. Mince me. Heck, you can even firebend to roast me. I don't care."

"Are you out of your –" Zuko tried to reason with the son of Poseidon, but found himself interrupted once again when Percy curled his lips into a crooked smile that looked nothing like his usual troublemaker smile.

It was a twisted, crooked leer, and for once Zuko realized he preferred the times he and Iroh stressed over Percy's smug look. "What? Too scared? Is the boy who lost to daddy still inside?"

The words boiled Zuko's blood as his once-wide eyes narrowed immediately, his own mouth curling into a snarl. "What did you say?"

"Are you doubting yourself?" Percy was ignoring him on purpose, Zuko could tell. It made the young firebender angrier. "Feeling slightly insecure from daddy not giving you attention? Cause boy, I know how that feels."

"Shut up." Zuko growled, his voice lower than ever thought possible. He wanted Percy to stop taunting him into a fight, but a small part of his mind was pulling at him to shut the demigod with his bare hands. Luring him to give in to the rage.

"Or maybe you felt you deserved to lose your so-called honour, and have no right to get it back."

"Shut up!"

"Maybe that's why you failed to catch the Avatar all these years. Cause you're just a failure."

"I said shut up!" The edges of Zuko's vision was coated in red, and he unsheathed his swords.

"Make me."

Hearing that taunt, Zuko charged at Percy and lifted both his swords in the air in a blind fit of rage. When he brought the swords down, a dim sparkle of gold flashed at the top corner of his eyes as Percy lifted his leaf-shaped sword to block the attack.

"I said I don't care how you kill me," Percy's smirk was wild, but calculating. "I didn't say I was gonna make it easy."

A firm kick sent Zuko backwards, but it only made him more determined to launch a series of slashes as he found himself battling the towering demigod.

As they continued their deadly dance, Zuko realized just how proficient Percy was with his blade. Despite fighting with only one sword, Percy wielded it like it was an extension of his arm. Every attack was successfully parried, all while standing still. Percy's arm span was another advantage, forcing Zuko to step back on several occasions when he tried (and failed) to get inside the reach of his sword.

He thought he heard Percy muttering something along the lines of "stop trying to hit me and hit me", which only made the blood in his veins boiled even more. A wild attempt to slash Percy's head off was blocked easily, and within the blink of an eye Zuko felt his grip loosened. His sword clattered to the wooden ground.

He didn't process the technique, however, instead choosing to slice with his other sword. Percy grabbed his wrist effortlessly and twisted it, effectively disarming Zuko.

Zuko just starteding to comprehend the situation when he was swept off his feet and he crashed onto the ground.

Percy towered over the fallen Prince-in-Exile, whose face was twisted in anger. "Maybe that's why mommy disappeared. She couldn't stand to see you like this."

The red edges in Zuko's vision crept inwards and covered his view entirely. Iroh must have spoken to Percy of Zuko's mother's disappearance at some point. No one talks about mom like that. NO ONE! With a frustrated yell, he landed a kick right in front of Percy. A ball of fire left his foot, and the attack threw Percy backwards and onto the ground with a loud grunt.

The impact from landing on the ground knocked the wind out of Percy's lungs. As he tried to regain his bearings, he felt something sharp prickling the skin of his neck. Opening his eyes, the demigod found Zuko on top of him, effectively pinning him onto the floor with his weight. The tip of the broadsword was just touching his neck, but Percy doubted that any blood had been drawn. Yet.

Zuko's ragged breathing clashed with Percy's even.

"You're wrong. About. Everything," Zuko seethed.

"Then, go ahead. Prove it." Percy's tone was steady, as if the threat of a cut on his neck was just an everyday occurrence.

"Don't you dare think I won't!" Zuko pushed the blade deeper, drawing blood but it's not fatal.

"Oh, I know you will." Percy deadpanned. "Finish it, then. Prove that you're your father's son."

The challenge got to Zuko, who drew his sword back and lifted it up.

Remember this, Zuko.

The blade shone slightly as it captured the moonlight in its flat side, Zuko's mother's final words to him suddenly ringing at the back of his mind.

No matter how things may seem to change...

Calm sea-green eyes locked onto burning amber.

... Never forget who you are.

Zuko let out a yell, and brought the blade down with fury.

THUD!

Percy turned his head to his left to see the sword lodged into the floor, its flat side glistening slight from the moon light. He felt a heavy weight being lifted off his body, and when his ears registered the sound of feet shuffling on wood he darted his eyes back to catch a glimpse of Zuko's hunched figure moving backwards before the teen crashed knees first onto the ground.

Quiet sobbing filled the living room, only to be interrupted by the sound of a door being slid open followed by a tired yawn. Iroh stepped out of his room, looking very tired as he rubbed an eye with one hand.

"What's going o –" the question was not completed the moment his sights landed onto a slumped and crying Zuko, snapping Iroh awake as the old man rushed over towards his nephew. "Oh, Prince Zuko," he whispered softly as he knelt next to the teen.

When Iroh saw tears falling down silently, he raised his head and scanned the area. The only signs that a fight had happened were the swords scattered on the ground and Percy who was rubbing his abdomen. The table and chests were miraculously undamaged. He turned his attention towards the demigod, who picked up the dual swords and sheathed them before placing them back onto a chest.

Noticing Iroh's eyes on him, Percy let out a tired sigh. "I'll explain in the morning," he said and walked towards the pair. He placed a hand on Iroh's shoulder. "Right now, I'll leave you two to yourselves. Take care of him."

He walked into his room without another word, leaving Iroh to hold his sobbing nephew in his arms in the night.

Andddd that wraps up chapter 14.

This chapter is shorter and is slightly heavier on the 'chat' side. We see Percy taking over Iroh's role in confronting Zuko about 'destiny' and 'Appa'. I wanted to stay true to the whole 'Zuko is talked out of hurting Appa' so there was more talking than usual. The 'fight' between Zuko and Percy was added in because it felt more like a Percy thing to do. I'm really sorry if the fight scene was once again under-par (sword fights are one of my weakness I'll be honest, and I didn't dare repeat too much from the previous chapters. I PROMISE I will work to improve on writing sword fight scenes for future chapters).

Also, Percy would choose to protect Aang if he could. Not because 'the Avatar is destined to protect the world', but its because he treats the kid as a friend, the same way he treats Zuko and Iroh. Also, as mentioned, Zuko reminds him of someone, who made some not so good decisions and underwent a lot of pain before being happy.

Right, we begin to see how Percy affects the ATLA timeline. It isn't much right as of right now, but it'll start snowballing soon (Just not to the point we go completely out of canon. That's a tricky snowball that we don't need, do we?).

Quick heads up: for this fic, there is a slight change made to the episode "Lake Laogai". It's mostly focused on the timeframe aspect. how the change was applied will be revealed in the next (few) chapter(s).

I'll see you when I see you

- LaidEffect.