[2 years ago]
"We should've heard something by now. Why don't we know anything yet?"
It had only been a few minutes since my Agni Kai with Azula, and after another healing session, Katara and I were sitting on a staircase in front of the palace, waiting for news about Aang and Sokka.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Zuko."
Katara was far more nervous than I was, pacing back and forth. I understood her, but acting like that wasn't helping—especially with the headache pounding in my skull. "Calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down?" She turned to me, furious. "It's been minutes since the comet passed and we still haven't heard a thing!"
I sighed and looked down, focusing on the bandage she'd wrapped around the spot where Azula's lightning had struck me. "I'm nervous too, but this won't help anything."
Katara stopped pacing, her shoulders slumping as she let out a long breath. "… I know," she murmured, sitting beside me on the steps. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I get why you're like this." My gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the sky still held the reddish glow of the passing comet. A lone bird cut across the sky, and for a moment, I lost myself in its path. "Have you thought about what you'll do… when this is all over?"
Katara turned her head, surprised by the sudden shift in topic. "I don't know," she said thoughtfully, her eyes moving to the horizon. "There's still so much to fix. But… I think I want to help rebuild the Southern Water Tribe."
I lowered my gaze, a sting of guilt hitting me. My nation had done so much to destroy hers. "That's a good plan," I murmured, more to myself than to her.
"What about you, huh?" She nudged my shoulder with her elbow, trying to lighten the mood. "Zuko, the great Fire Lord. How are you going to handle that?"
"I'll figure it out." I lifted my eyes back to the horizon. The "bird" I'd been watching was closer now, and something about it felt… off. The wings were too wide, the flight too direct. "Katara," I called, standing up quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through me. "That's not a bird. It's a messenger hawk!"
She jumped to her feet, her eyes wide with a mix of hope and fear. "What? Are you sure?"
The hawk soared through the sky, descending toward us. I extended my arm, and it landed on my forearm, its talons gripping firmly against my skin. A metal tube glinted on its leg, sealed with the Fire Nation's crest. My stomach twisted. This wasn't from Sokka. Or Aang.
"Let me see!" Before I could react, Katara snatched the tube with a quick motion, her fingers trembling as she opened it. She unrolled the scroll, her eyes scanning the words. For a moment, she stood frozen, her face pale. Then, the color drained from her cheeks, and the scroll slipped from her hands, falling to the steps.
"Katara?" I bent down and picked up the scroll from the ground, already feeling the ground beneath my feet start to disappear.
Azula,
The plan to burn the Earth Kingdom has failed. But make no mistake: victory is ours. The Avatar is dead. I killed him with my own hands. The world now belongs to the Fire Nation. I shall return to the palace immediately.
— Phoenix King Ozai
The air seemed to vanish from my lungs. The Avatar is dead. The words echoed in my head, each syllable a blow against everything I believed in. Aang… dead? No. It couldn't be. He was balance, hope, the boy I had placed all my faith in. He couldn't be… gone.
"No…" Katara's voice, fragile as glass, pulled me out of my trance. She had fallen to her knees, hands tangled in her hair. Tears streamed down her face, accompanied by low sobs. "No, no, no! He can't be dead! Aang… he…"
"Katara…" I tried to reach for her, but my hand stopped mid-air. I wanted to say something, anything, but my throat was closed, choked by a pain I didn't even know how to name. I looked at the crumpled scroll in my hand, the Fire Nation seal gleaming like an accusation. My father. My father had done this. And I…
"It's a lie, Zuko. It has to be. Aang wouldn't… Aang wouldn't die like that. He wouldn't…" She looked up at me, and the desperation in her eyes was a dagger in my chest. "Tell me it's a lie, Zuko. Please, tell me it's a lie."
"I…" My voice broke, and I swallowed hard, looking away. "We need to get out of here."
"What?" Katara stood up quickly, planting herself in front of me, her blue eyes blazing with a mix of fear, desperation, anger, and pain. "No! We're not going anywhere! We'll stay here until he comes back, got it? Hic! We… we'll wait for Aang!" She clutched my robe tightly, her fingers trembling. "He'll come back, Zuko. He has to come back."
"Katara…" I swallowed the knot in my throat and gently held her wrists, feeling the tremble in her hands. "We need to get to Appa. We need to find the others."
"NO!" she screamed, yanking herself free. "I'm not going! I'm not leaving him!" And then, as if the weight of everything had finally hit her, Katara collapsed against my chest, the sobs coming in desperate waves, each louder than the last. "Haa… haa… Aang… please…"
For a moment, I just stood there, not knowing what to do. Then, slowly, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. "I know... I know." She kept crying, her face buried in my chest.
"Come on, Katara." I started up the steps, practically carrying her with me, my arm around her back to support her. The palace was empty, thanks to Azula having expelled nearly all the staff and guards.
We crossed a few deserted hallways until we reached the courtyard where Appa was. He didn't greet us with his usual grunt or a flick of his tail. Instead, his head lay flat on the ground, his large, wet eyes shining in the light. A low groan escaped him, a sound so full of mourning it made my chest tighten. He knew. Somehow, Appa could feel that Aang was gone.
"Appa…" Katara murmured, her voice trembling as she approached him. She dropped to her knees beside the bison, burying her face in his fur. "You feel it too, don't you?"
"…Come on, Katara."
I helped her to her feet, carefully guiding her onto Appa's back. She climbed up, moving as if in a trance, her eyes fixed on some distant point. Then, I knelt beside the bison, looking into his eyes. Thick tears rolled down his muzzle, staining the floor. "I'm sorry, buddy," I murmured, voice thick with emotion. "I know he was everything to you. But… we need your help. We have to get out of here. Please."
Appa let out another low groan, but then, with an effort that looked like it cost him everything, he lifted his head. His rough tongue brushed my cheek in a soft lick, almost as if to say he understood, that he was with us, even in the pain. I touched his fur, feeling its familiar warmth, and nodded. "Thank you."
"Katara, I'll be right back!" I shouted, turning toward the palace. She didn't answer, but I knew she'd heard me.
I ran back inside, ignoring the burning in my muscles and the pain pulsing with every step. The hallway felt longer now, shadows on the walls dancing like ghosts. 'It's all falling apart.'
First, I passed by the armory. I grabbed two dao swords, the familiar weight of the sheaths on my back giving me a fragile sense of purpose. Then I rushed down the dark stairs that led to the palace cells. The air grew cold and damp, the smell of mold and rusted metal clinging to every breath. My footsteps echoed, the only sound besides the pounding of my heart.
I reached the cell corridor, the torches flickering on the walls. I stopped in front of the cell where the Fire Sages had taken Azula, by my command. She was there, curled up in a corner, head down, tangled hair falling over her face. Her hands and feet were chained to the wall, the metal lightly clinking with each movement. "Azula,"
She didn't react, remaining still.
"Azula!" My tone rose, echoing through the silence. This time, she slowly lifted her head. This wasn't the flawless Azula, the iron princess of the Fire Nation. Her bangs were poorly cut, her cheeks stained with trails of dried tears, her lipstick smudged in red blotches, and her eyes—red and swollen.
"Zuko?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper, almost unrecognizable. "Did you come to gloat about your victory?"
"No," I replied, keeping my eyes on her. "I came to tell you that our father killed the Avatar."
Her eyes widened. "What…?"
"Ozai won." I threw the crumpled scroll onto the cell floor.
Azula looked at the scroll, then back at me, as if trying to decipher a trap. For a moment, she stayed silent. Then a laugh escaped her—low at first, but growing into a wild, hysterical cackle. "Ha… haha… hahahaha! I knew it! He did it! The great Phoenix King!" She threw her head back. "You're finished, Zuzu. He's coming, and you and that peasant girl are going to burn!"
I didn't answer. Instead, I pulled the key from my pocket and opened the cell door with a metallic click. The sound made her pause, her laughter dying in her throat. She stared at me, confused, as I stepped in and stopped a few paces from her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head.
"What do you think will happen when he arrives, Azula? You lost. To me."
"I didn't lose!" she shouted, the chains clinking as she tried to stand, her face twisted in fury. "I'm the perfect daughter! I—"
"You're chained," I interrupted, pointing to the cuffs on her wrists and ankles. "You failed, Azula. You lost the Agni Kai. You lost control of the palace. And what do you think Ozai will do? Welcome you with open arms?" I shook my head. "You know how he is. Failure isn't an option for him. And you… you've failed too many times."
Her expression shifted. The anger gave way to something I rarely saw: uncertainty. Her lips trembled, and for a moment, she looked small—like the girl who used to chase our father's approval, always desperate to prove her worth. "You don't know what you're saying."
"Phoenix King." I said the title with contempt, stepping closer and crouching to meet her eyes. "That's what he calls himself now, Azula. That's why he gave you the crown. The title of Fire Lord? It means nothing. It's an empty shell, a façade to keep you on a leash. Ozai betrayed you, can't you see? He took what you always wanted—power, control, respect—and left you with scraps."
She stared at me, her chest rising and falling fast, as if every breath was a battle against the words I had just thrown in her face. Her eyes burned with a mix of anger, fear, and something deeper—betrayal. Not because of me, but because of him. The man she had served, obeyed, feared, and loved in her own twisted way. "You're lying. He... he promised me. He said I would be—"
"He told you what you needed to hear." I paused, letting the words hang in the air. "That's what he does, Azula. He uses people. He uses you. He uses me. He uses anyone who can serve his plans."
For a moment, silence fell, broken only by the clinking of chains as she moved her hands, as if trying to free herself from something greater than metal.
"This is the last time..." I reached for the chain on her right arm and opened it. "My last act as your brother. I'm giving you the chance to choose your own future. But if we meet again on opposite sides..." I hesitated before placing the key to the other chains in her hand. "Goodbye, sister."
I stood up and walked out of the cell, never looking back.
***
[Back to the present]
Pain. That was the only word that could describe what I felt when I opened my eyes. Every fiber of my body screamed, as if Azula's lightning was still burning through me, tearing flesh, muscle, and soul. My chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, each one a struggle against the weight crushing my lungs. 'I survived.'
The world swayed beneath me, a rhythmic motion that made the pain throb in waves. I blinked, trying to clear my blurred vision, and realized I was lying in a wooden cart, the floor covered in coarse straw that scratched my exposed skin. The creaking of the wheels and the slow plodding of an ostrich-horse cut through the air, accompanied by the scent of damp earth and distant smoke.
"He's awake!" A child's voice broke the silence, full of surprise. I turned my head—every movement agony—and saw a pair of wide eyes staring at me. It was a girl, maybe eight years old, with messy braids and an expression that mixed curiosity and fear. "Mom! Dad! The man woke up!"
"Shh, Nina, don't scare him," came a gentle, tired voice. A woman appeared beside the girl, her hair tied in a loose bun, her face lined with worry. She leaned over me, her eyes scanning my condition with a blend of pity and caution. "You're awake... that's a miracle, in the state we found you. Don't move too much, okay? Your burns are severe."
"Where..." My voice came out as a croak, my throat dry and raw. I coughed, and the pain in my chest made me grit my teeth. "Where am I?"
"In a cart, heading north," replied a man from the driver's seat, without turning his head. His voice was deep, weathered by life, but not unfriendly. "We found you in the ruins of that village."
'...Azula!' The memory of her made my eyes fly open, adrenaline briefly numbing the pain. "Was I... alone?"
The woman hesitated, exchanging a glance with her husband before answering. "There was no one else around. We looked for other survivors, but found only ashes."
I nodded—or tried to—the motion sending another wave of pain through me. I didn't know if I felt relief or guilt at the thought that Azula might still be out there. "Thank you... for helping me."
The man at the reins grunted. "Don't thank us yet. With those burns, if we don't find a healer soon, you won't last long."
"Teo!" the woman exclaimed, swatting his shoulder lightly, her tone somewhere between reproach and exhaustion. "He doesn't need to hear that right now."
"It's the truth, Lila," he replied, though there was a softness in his voice, as if their bickering was more habit than conflict. "The boy needs to know what he's facing."
I stopped hearing them. My vision began to blur, the edges of the world melting into dark smudges. The sounds became distant, like they were coming from underwater.
"Mama, he's closing his eyes again!" The girl's voice echoed faintly, worried, but I was already slipping, the weight of pain and exhaustion pulling me into darkness.
***
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, images or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.