“Ah!” Zuko shot up in a cold sweat. Immediately, there were some warning signs. He wasn’t in his bed at the Fire Nation Palace. In place of that was the surface of a large grassland with lots of vegetation. He also noticed he had a scorching headache and his left leg was in serious pain. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there was a huge gash going up it from his calf to his mid thigh. Fortunately for him, it seemed to have pretty much stopped bleeding. It was definitely still going to need attention, but he figured a water bender may have started healing it.

Well that’s gonna leave a nice scar, he thought as he tried to push himself up. It took a great amount of effort, but he managed to get on his feet, allowing him to get a better view of his surroundings. The first thing he took notice of was a large structure in the distance. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly, but it was definitely a building of some kind. It was definitely not Fire Nation as it seemed to be covered in green, so he assumed it was Earth Kingdom. There might be people there that can help me out and tell me where I am. And if I’m lucky, they have a water bender with them.

With that thought, Zuko began to walk towards the structure. As soon as he he stepped with his left leg however, he immediately fell back down. Before he could hit the ground completely, he used his arms to catch himself and push him back up to his feet. Looks like I’m dragging this leg all the way there.

After about five minutes of limping, Zuko felt like he hadn't gotten any closer. He also felt like he had just run a marathon at full sprint the whole way, and was completely out of breath. He had obviously lost a lot of blood through that cut and it was affecting his movements. Holy hell, what happened? How did I get this cut? He tried for the life of him to recall what went down, but it was a total blank. It would be best if I sit down and rest. I need some time to collect my thoughts.

GRRR

Zuko immediately turned his head to look behind him. His eyes shot up at what he saw. No more than 15 feet behind him was a ridiculous looking creature of some kind. It had a tiger's front body and head, and a goat's hindquarters and head on its left shoulder. To top it all off, it had a snake for a tail. Zuko was completely confused by the creature, but one thing was very clear. It was hungry.

Acting on pure instinct, Zuko yelled as he shot a burst of fire right at the creature. The two heads ducked, but the snake tail didn’t see the blast coming and got hit square in the face. The tail let out a pained yell as the rest of the creature continued to advance, ignoring its fallen limb. Zuko tried to get up to run, but fell right back on his haunches as the tiger head was about to chomp down. Zuko rolled to the side of the creature and got up on one knee, that knee being the injured one as he use his right leg to keep himself up.

Zuko quickly fired two shots at the two heads. Both heads were able to duck under the blasts and continue charging. The snake tail had recovered from the previous blast and was now hit with one of the new blasts that Zuko sent its way. Can’t I hit anything vital!?! he thought as the tail fell limp yet again. This small hesitation was enough time to let the creature pounce onto the Firelord, but Zuko still had another trick up his sleeve. He opened his mouth wide and spit a flamethrower from his mouth, sending the creature flying a few feet into a nearby bush.

“What the hell is this thing!?!” Zuko yelled to nobody in particular. To his surprise, he got an answer.

“We’re a chimera, and we’re VERY HUNGRY!!!” shouted the feminine voice of the tiger head of the chimera, as it got back up and charged Zuko yet again.

The Firelord retreated back to his kneeling position. He grit his teeth and fired continuous shots at the chimera, but it was expecting this, and it dodged every one. As the chimera pounced again, Zuko used his good leg to get slightly airborne. He then let loose flamethrowers from his fists to propel himself back to gain some more distance. When he landed, he was on both feet, but was favoring his right side. The chimera went to rush him again. Zuko waited for the right moment, and when the chimera was close enough, he shot a flame burst right at its feet, causing an explosion to send both it and Zuko flying. The Firelord landed on his back hard, but the chimera ended up on its feet.

It once again charged at Zuko, who was struggling to get up. His leg was burning with pain at the overexertion of it. As the chimera got closer, Zuko threw a fireball at it, but it dodged and kept charging. It pounced at him for the third time in the fight. Zuko closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he waited for the end. An end that never came.

He heard the chimera shout in pain and it hit the ground with a loud thud. Zuko opened his eyes and looked to his left where he heard the chimera fall. The creature was struggling to get up. Its goat and tiger faces were contorted in pain and the snake tail still limp behind it.

Zuko proceeded to look to his right, and saw something that shocked him as much as the chimera. Five technicolored creatures that seemed to be a cross between a horse, bug, and human were completely covered in armor were curiously staring at him. They were all in mid air and had gossamer wings keeping them there. The one in the middle stood out, as it consisted of much darker colors than the four others with him.

“This definitely isn’t the Earth Kingdom,” Zuko thought aloud, dumbfounded at what he was seeing.

Ten Minutes Earlier

Thorax was sitting on his throne with an inquisitive look on his face. He was staring directly in his general’s eyes. “You’re sure this plan will work?”

“Those bastards won’t know what hit ‘em!” Pharynx said assuredly. “We’ll have our best stealth operatives on the job. While they get deeper into the city, we’ll send in the rest of our troops to keep him occupied so she won’t see it coming. They’ll have no choice but to flee the base since they won’t have any coordination.”

“That’s not a guarantee Pharynx. There’s reason to believe that there’d be more than one high ranking officer in that city. They’ve been holding it for two years. And what if the stealth squad gets caught?” Thorax asked his brother. “I agree that she needs to be eliminated, but maybe we should focus our efforts on taking the base back.”

“They won’t get caught Thor-“

“What if they do!?!” the Changeling King asserted. “We cannot afford another Griffonstone! The UGR is in serious trouble, and the President made it very clear that they need Aegis back if they want a chance at staying in this war!”

“They’re the best of the best Thorax. We can take her out, and take the city-“ Pharynx was cut off by something he saw behind Thorax’s throne. Confused by his brother’s sudden pause, he looked behind him as well. They saw several bursts of fire being shot, but couldn’t make out the shooter or the target.

“Take some guards and go check that out,” Thorax ordered. Pharynx nodded and yelled to the four guards standing a little ways away, preventing anyone from getting close to the private meeting between the King and the General. They all flew over Thorax’s throne and went towards the fire.

Zuko couldn’t believe his eyes. He rubbed them to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. When he confirmed that these creatures were indeed the ones he was seeing, he went to pinch himself, but remembered the searing pain in his leg and stopped. “I’m either crazy or dead because this is not real.”

“What are you on about?” the biggest one in the middle said. He was wearing armor, but his chitin that was visible to Zuko was a dark blue-green color. “I can assure you this is very much real. The name’s Pharynx, and you look like you could use some help.”

“Ya think?” Zuko said in annoyance as he pushed himself up. As he was doing this, one of the creatures moved to support his left side. “Thanks.” The creature nodded. “So what are you guys?”

“How do you mean?” Pharynx asked.

“What do you mean ‘how do I mean!?!’ You’re species!” Zuko yelled in frustration.

“Dude, chill out. That isn’t a question we hear very often. We’re called changelings,” Pharynx said annoyed at the outburst. “You’re gonna be fine so just relax.”

“How can I relax!?! I just got attacked by some mega hybrid thing, I’m talking to bug pony people, my leg is busted up and I don’t remember how the hell it got that way, and I woke up in the middle of a random field in the middle of who knows where!” Zuko panted after he was done with his rant.

“We’re gonna take you back to our hive now. My brother will try to explain everything to you because quite frankly, I don’t wanna deal with your bullshit,” Pharynx said. “You okay with flying?”

“I’ve flown before.” With that, the changelings took off. The changeling holding Zuko received some assistance from another one and they flew back easy at that point. It took about ten minutes since they were going slower for the two changelings that we’re carrying the Firelord back, but they safely landed in the throne room, directly in front of a very befuddled Thorax.

“What are you supposed to be?” The King asked. Zuko relished the opportunity.

“I’m a human,” he said smugly, glaring directly in Pharynx’s direction. The general simply ignored it. “Where am I exactly?”

“You’re in the Changeling Kingdom. This is our main hive, but smaller hives and cities have spread throughout the grasslands in my time as leader. We mostly call this the Capital Hive or just the Capital,” Thorax said. He studied Zuko closely. The first thing he noticed was a large scar on his left eye. The second thing was the huge gash in he left leg. He could do nothing about the scar, since that was an injury he’d sustained long ago, but the cut was a simple matter. “Come closer. I can heal your leg pretty easily.”

“How?” Zuko asked in confusion. “Are you a water bender?”

“A water what now?” Thorax asked, effectively answering Zuko’s question.

“Ok. Forget I said anything. What are you gonna do?” Zuko asked. Thorax didn’t say anything. Both his horns lit up with a light blue hue. That same color lit up around Zuko’s leg. He looked at his leg curiously ad he felt the pain slowly going away until it was eventually nonexistent. When he looked to his leg, he was surprised to see it was completely healed. There wasn’t even a scar that would let you know he’d been cut to begin with.

“Wow, I- thank you,” Zuko said as he put his fist and palm together and bowed. I don’t need to be an expert on the subject to know that that was magic, he thought as he tried to piece together the situation he was in.

“No problem at all. And just so you know, you don’t need to bow here,” Thorax said. Zuko shook his head.

“It’s how we show respect and gratitude in my culture,” Zuko explained, to which Thorax nodded in understanding.

“What’s you’re name?” Thorax asked, remembering he’d never asked.

“Zuko,” the Firelord responded. I don’t think saying I’m the Firelord is gonna mean anything to these guys. If they knew they’d have probably recognized me already. I’m starting to think I’m not away from just the Fire Nation.

“I’m Thorax. It’s a pleasure to meet you Zuko. So what was the light show out there about?” The Changeling King asked. Pharynx answered this time.

“The chimera attacked him,” the general explained, making Thorax facepalm.

“It’s just one incident after the other with this thing,” the king said with a sigh.

“That monster attacks you guys regularly?” Zuko asked. Pharynx nodded.

“We’ve developed ways to deal with it, but it just keeps coming back.”

“How long has it been an issue?” he pressed.

“A few months,” Pharynx answered. “It’s a persistent motherfucker.”

“Have you tried killing it?” Zuko asked bluntly.

“Of course we have. It just doesn’t seem to stay down,” the general said.

“Well maybe find a way now!” another voice entirely yelled. All their heads shot towards the voice, noticing it to be a predominately black changeling, but with the feathered wings a pegasus would have. His eyes were like the rest of the bugs however, and were a silver color. The changeling was flying in next to the throne but Zuko had no idea where he could’ve possibly come from.

“Why?” Thorax asked the new arrival.

“Because it’s headed this way!”

”WHAT!?!?!” the other three yelled at the same time. Thorax peeked over the back of his throne while Zuko and Pharynx ran up next to it. Sure enough, the chimera was running full sprint towards the hive. Zuko immediately, and quite literally, leaped into to action, jumping off the ledge to intercept the chimera. He heard none of the protests from behind him as he used his fire to propel himself towards the freaky super hybrid. Once he was right up in front of it, he lit his foot ablaze and kicked the chimera right in its goat head’s chin. This sent the creature flying back a few feet.

“When will you quit this!?!” Zuko yelled at the creature. “What have these people ever done to you!?!”

“A girls gotta eat,” the tiger head said maliciously, as it prepared to charge again. Zuko didn’t let this happen though, as he ran towards the chimera first.

Back on the top of the hive, the three changelings stood there stunned at what Zuko had just done.

“He is a very talented fire mage,” Thorax commented. Pharynx just dumbly nodded but the third changeling shook his head.

“That isn’t magic.”

“What the hell do you mean, Ross?” Pharynx asked, snapping out of his stupor. “What else could it be?”

“It’s called fire bending,” Ross explained. “For one thing, it doesn’t use mana. It uses the sun and other celestial objects, like comets, as the main source of power, and Zuko can manifest that power by using chi.”

“How do you know this? We just met this guy?” Pharynx questioned.

“I know a lot of things. Like that he’s a human,” Ross said nonchalantly. Both Pharynx and Thorax blinked repeatedly at this comment, since he was not there when Zuko told them that, but they didn’t pay it any more mind as they had more pressing matters.

“I’m gonna go help him,” Pharynx declared as he flew down to the action.

Meanwhile at the fight, Zuko shot multiple fireballs at the chimera, hitting it with far more than he was earlier. “Not so tough now that I’m upright, huh?” he taunted as he fired more shots.

Zuko rushed the chimera once he had it backed up a bit, but before he could reach the monster, a purple beam of magic shot the chimera, stunning it further. Zuko to the opportunity to strike. He cupped both of his hands together and fired a powerful vortex of fire directly at the chimera. The fire swirled with multiple colors and was far hotter than anything else Zuko had shot at the chimera today. After about ten seconds of this, Zuko let up the blast and surveyed the results. It was burnt to a crisp. Pharynx stared in awe of what the Firelord had just done, but quickly shook it off.

“There is no way that thing is getting up again,” the changeling general said as he landed next to Zuko. “That was some ridiculous firepower man.”

“Yeah. It really was. Thanks for the assist. I’ve been working on that for years but it's pretty difficult to do and very draining,” Zuko said with a tired sigh, slightly surprised at what he was just able to unleash.

“Let’s get back to the hive.” With that, Pharynx grabbed Zuko and sped towards the hive. Once they got back, Ross and Thorax stared at the Firelord wide eyed.

“That was unbelievable Zuko!” Thorax said, walking up towards the human, his hand outstretched. Zuko returned the gesture and shook hands with the king. “I can’t thank you enough, although that might’ve been a bit overkill.”

“Well what’s done is done. Can’t dwell on it now,” Zuko said, letting go of the king’s hand. “I'm gonna cut right to the chase. I have a ton of questions.”

“Ask away,” Thorax said.

“Where am I exactly? And I mean everything you can give me. This location, the country, even the planet.”

“Well this is the Capital Hive of the Changeling Kingdom as I said earlier. Our whole country consists of what we call the Grasslands. It used to be a barren wasteland, but ever since we stopped consuming love, it’s become a beauti-“

“Wait a second. Consume love? You ate emotions?” Zuko asked, his mind barely processing the information.

“Yes,” Ross butted in. “Since you don’t know that, I’m guessing when I tell you the planet is called Equus, you’ll come to the conclusion that your home isn’t gonna be anywhere you look.” Zuko nodded dumbfounded and sat against a nearby wall to collect himself.

“How the hell did I get here? What happened to force me off of my home planet?”

“I don’t know the answer to that, but what I can tell you is that you’re definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Ross said. This only got confused looks from Thorax and Zuko, but a certain general was just annoyed.

“Why are you still here!?!” Pharynx yelled.

“Because this man can help us with our situation,” Ross explained.

“What situation?” Zuko asked.

“Damn it Ross,” Thorax said annoyed. “We’re not dragging him into this.”

“Dragging me into what? What’s going on?”

“Ugh... I’ll explain,” Thorax said, sitting in his throne. “Get comfortable because this is a very long story.”

Author's Note

https://youtu.be/SQtlPPZ6FFE