Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Scar
Chapter 1: The Avatar State
"Oh no...no, no, no! He's not waking up! Where's the spirit water...?" Katara asked as she scrambled for her vial.
"Put it down, you already used it on me...I ruin everything..." Zuko lamented.
"This can't be happening...this has to be a dream! Aang can't be dead! He's going to come back. He has to!"
"Katara...you're just going to have to accept that he's done," Sokka said as he began to weep
"HE CAN'T BE DEAD! THE FIRE NATION CAN'T WIN!" Katara yelled.
"Twinkle Toes really ate it, didn't he?" Toph said.
"THIS ISN'T A JOKE, TOPH! HE'S NOT WAKING UP, BUT HE HAS TO! This is awful...what are we going to do without him?"
"Well…we honor his memory, we fight. That's what he would've wanted," Zuko said.
"And for what? We're still going to lose. Aang was the last beacon of hope. Now that he's gone, we'll just have to wait for another avatar to come around. We raise him or she, and he or she can fight the Fire Lord!" Toph exclaimed.
"...you don't get it, do you, Toph? He was in the Avatar State. Do you know what happens to Avatars who are killed while in that?"
"I'm not the expert on this, Sokka, you are. I'm just the earthbending instructor."
"No, I refuse to believe what I'm hearing. This. Can't. Be. Happening! Are you actually telling me that we're never going to have another?" Katara queried.
"...yes. Sorry, Katara... I think the Fire Nation just won the war."
"Stop talking like that, Sokka; the Fire Nation didn't win anything. They may have Ba Sing Se, but most of the world is still free," Zuko interjected.
"That scar is the reason we're in this predicament! If I'd just used my head—" Katara retorted.
"I know, I know, but there must be some place where we can get more of the water you need," Sokka said.
"There is...but it'll take us an entire season to get there! And we only have three months left..."
"Don't forget the invasion, too," Toph said.
"What invasion?" Zuko asked.
"...should we tell him?" Sokka asked the others.
"He came along with us, didn't he? No secrets; it's not like he can tell anyone, anyway," Toph said.
"Okay, Zuko, new member of Team...Sort of Avatar, the 'Invasion' is the surprise attack on the Fire Nation that will take place on a day we like to call the 'Day of Black Sun...'"
"A solar eclipse!"
"Precisely. On this date, the Earth Kingdom and...woah, no Earth Kingdom anymore. This complicates things..."
"Just continue. I can probably help."
"Well, anyway, maybe a ragtag team and our group will stage an invasion, attacking the Fire Lord when he is most vulnerable."
"This sounds like an awesome plan...who've you told?"
"That may add complications to our little problem...the Earth Kingdom knows."
"So the invasion is history, then. If people in the Earth Kingdom know, it's only a matter of time before Fire Nation forces catch wind of it too. They might already be aware."
"We…we've really lost. Don't you see now, Zuko? The war is over! Aang is dead, the Fire Nation knows what we've got planned—we might as well quit!"
"Sokka, you keep talking like that and I'm going to give you a scar that Katara won't be able to heal. Anyway, tell me where they've got this spirit water."
"Not like it matters but...North Pole."
"Great, we'll start heading there now."
"Why? Aang's dead. It won't matter when we reach that place. Do you know how long it'll take to prep him for the Fire Lord? It'll be like waiting a month for a firecracker to go off!" Katara lamented.
"...you're supposed to be the one that provides that motherly morale, Katara. And besides, this is our only shot. Maybe we can train Aang after we've revived him, see if he can do any damage. It's loads better than nothing. If we give up now, what was the point of fighting in the first place?" Toph replied.
"Whether you like it or not, Katara, we're going to the North Pole. Aang never would've wanted us to stop fighting," Sokka said as he directed Appa in the northern direction.
"What about your invasion plan?" Zuko asked.
"No dice. No point in a surprise attack if it isn't going to be a surprise. Sure, the Fire Nation may be weak for one day, but they'll have decades upon decades where they'll be stronger than a hundred suns if we don't get Aang, the Avatar, back in action," Sokka said melancholy.
"...I trust you, big brother. ...I suppose I don't have a choice either, none of us does."
"We'll get through this, I promise."
Katara was traumatized in every sense of the word. Not only had she watched her friend die right in front of her eyes, she had witnessed first-hand the destruction of the rebellion that they had led for more than half a year. Their victory-march was completely decimated, the remnants faltering to the ground in the forms of belligerent fire, some of which would be used to track down their now decrepit search party turned-caravan to the north. They had little time, and little to no pit-stops could afford to be made.
Even though the Avatar was dead, they were still international criminals. Azula wouldn't relent in her search for them: no loose ends. Zuko was adamant about how his sister would stop at nothing to find the remaining members of Aang's team. The way he put it, it seemed as if they were going to have to fight an entire army of firebenders empowered by Sozin's Comet on each day.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Zuko asked.
"Well, lucky for us, our new firebending instructor...we're pretty close to the North Pole. Bad news, though...Fire Nation troops are stationed all throughout the mountains, loading into Ba Sing Se—we can't go over the ocean to the northeast. Appa needs food too."
"Sokka, you do realize that if the Fire Nation sees us, as well as the direction we're heading in, they'll know that we're heading toward the North Pole, right? I'm certain the people there can't handle another invasion...especially since it would be their second in six months."
"Katara's right...we'll have to be sneaky. If my sister catches whiff of any of our movements, she's sure to follow. No loose ends."
"Perfect, we'll catch some disguises once we're out of the city limits and be on our way! The Fire Nation'll never know what hit 'em! Team Avatar's back in action!"
"Glad that you're so upbeat, Sokka, we'll need it...between you and me, you're going to have to be the center of morale for now. Katara looks...defeated," Zuko inferred.
"I know...we'll all have to console her for a little while, until we can get Aang back. That reminds me, we need to find some way of hiding his body. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what'll happen if anyone gets a hold of it."
"Sokka...thanks for so readily accepting me onto the team. I won't let you down!"
"I know you won't...things are too important for that to happen now. This is why we can't keep secrets from each other. Do you understand?"
"Definitely!"
Azula was ecstatic, she'd never felt this accomplished before. She had done the impossible. She had killed the Avatar. Whether or not she knew about the Avatar State's inherent weakness was irrelevant. The Avatar would be a passing moment in war history to the Fire Nation, a footnote before the country's eventual conquest of the entire planet. Soon, she would be Fire Lord, instituting a number of policies and laws to keep the citizens of her new world in chains, unable to free themselves from the seemingly righteous tyranny of the now superpowered Fire Nation.
Her country would make great strides in technology, the arts and sciences, and a plethora of other fields. She would show the entire world that being a citizen of the Fire Nation made one better than the rest in its own right. She would exemplify the strength and veracity of the newly crowned empress of the world, succeeding her dangerous and methodical father.
"Congratulations on your victory, Princess," a member of the Dai Li complimented.
"Victories are claimed over conflicts that require effort. This took bad security measures and an easily swayed underground agency. I want to return to the Fire Nation as soon as I possibly can. Father will have new orders that I wish to carry out to capture the ultimate victory."
"Yes, your highness. What about the survivors?"
"That reminds me. Bring me Iroh."
"Your hubris will be your downfall, my niece. I shudder at even deeming you a member of my family..."
"You always had faith in little Zuzu...but, then again, you are a traitor to your own people. So I'll make this simple: tell me where they're heading, or be brainwashed and tortured."
"If you think that I'm going to betray my own friends, like you, you're incredibly mistaken. The free world will stop the Fire Nation, you in particular, and the country will pay for what it has done."
"You don't even consider your own nation a part of you anymore, do you?"
"It was not my country from the moment those firebenders ascended to that first Air Temple."
"Bring in more agents for me, Kim, the re-education must come under way..."
A large apparatus was brought into the stone prison cell. Azula stepped out of the room, and let the Dai Li agents set to work on affixing the machine to Iroh's body. Once the device was hooked to Azula's uncle, the agents gradually began turning it on, utilizing the levels of hypnosis to aid in the eventual control of the ostentatious firebender.
"The Fire Nation is the greatest country on Earth. It would be a crime not to serve them."
Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. And so on. Azula sat and watched, growing impatient at her uncle's tenacity. He was trained to defy the practices of hypnosis, meaning that even greater methods were needed to crack the decorated former general.
"Princess, we're going to need to be a little more vehement in our re-education. Should we move on to torture?"
"Do what you must. I need the information he has."
"Before we continue, do you know any of your uncle's worst fears? If hallucinogens are needed, we can certainly oblige."
"He fears...he fears the world's capitulation from freedom. Hallucinogens will be needed. Retrieve them. If you need anything else, try waterboarding."
"Yes, your majesty."
The drugs were fetched. They were hastily fed to the poor man, who struggled to protect the small amount of sanity he had managed to retain. He would not be able to hold out for much longer, and who could blame him? He knew that he was not far from revealing the plans of the now damaged posse that Aang had managed to gather. He hoped that they were far away from Ba Sing Se, far removed from the Earth Kingdom itself.
"All of the images you are currently viewing can be dispelled if you simply tell me where they are and what they plan to do. Continue to resist, and we're going to drown you," Azula threatened.
"Never...betray...family!"
"I am your family. I'll grant you amnesty if you comply."
"I'll...never...make...a...deal...with...the...devil!"
"The Fire Nation will rule whether or not you divulge the information you harbor. You simply facilitate the process. Just tell me—it'll make the matter much easier for me. How about this? I'll protect your nephew."
"Zuko...would die...before handing...anything over to you!"
"Uncle...did you ever know your beloved family member? Did you see his eyes? I did...right before he attacked me. In that instant, I knew exactly what he was feeling: ambivalence, indecisiveness, fear. He knew that if he helped the Avatar, not only would he be branded as a much more dangerous criminal than he was already seen as; he would be killed on sight. He knew that, and yet he still made his decision. Do you understand why I am telling you this?"
"Unfortunately...I don't."
"Pity, and you're supposed to be one of the smartest men my country has to offer...he has a chance to come back to the Fire Nation because we both know he wants to. He doesn't want the life of a nomad; he wants to be a prince, he wants his honor, he wants to have that lavish lifestyle...he wanted to capture the Avatar."
"Is it...not evident...to you...that he has changed?"
"People, especially Zuko, don't change within a matter of months. He took a total 180. I don't expect him to sustain that. Soon, I will capture him, or maybe he'll come to me. One of the two; I know my big brother much better than you ever did. It's a shame I can't kill you. My father won't allow me to. He wants you to be made an example of back in the Capital. However...if you do indeed escape...he's granted me full authority to end your miserable existence. Please entertain me and vie for that freedom after you've divulged the information you have; it will satisfy my blood lust until I get my hands on that little group the Avatar formed..."
Azula left Iroh to be waterboarded. The next day, a caravan of earthbenders and firebenders set out for the Fire Nation capital. Many restraints were put on the decrepit old man to ensure that no escaping would be attempted. In about half a month's time, he would be back in his old country, one he no longer saw as his home. He knew what was coming: the entire destruction of the world. It was only three months away. He would do everything in his power to make sure that this would never come to pass. In reality, the capital was just what he needed.