AVATAR: DESCENDANTS OF FIRE PART I
CHAPTER 1: THE LAST QUESTION
Only a week after that moment of truth within the territory of the Fire Nation did Zuko realize his full duties as the new Fire lord. Having been just coronated at the same place as his father, and his father's father, he made his way down to the end of the hall, smiling slightly, hearing the roar of the crowd and Aang's soft footsteps trotting just a few feet away.
"So…Fire Lord Zuko, huh?" Aang said, grinning ear to ear. "I hope you're proud of yourself Zuko. You deserve it."
"Thanks…Aang," Zuko said, catching his reflection every so often in the shiny walls. "I never thought this day would happen. I thought I would have met my demise when I fought my sister, but it looks like fate's been kind with me these last couple days."
"Yeah, me too," Aang replied. "Battling with your father went better than I thought. It was hard for me to figure out a way to disable his abuse of power."
"But you did it," Zuko said, opening the curtain that would lead to the balcony room that faced the crowds in the streets below. "And I think it's safe to say that he won't be able to harm anyone anymore. But I still think he deserved…a more severe punishment."
Aang could see Zuko's hand clench into a fist underneath his robes. He could tell Zuko wasn't truly happy with his actions. If he remembered correctly, after he told him he had decided to spare his father Zuko would only nod and look at the ground, as if something was bothering him.
Shifting near his side, Aang looked up at Zuko.
"Zuko…I know that he was a terrible man. And he did so many bad things in his life," Aang said sympathetically, playing with his beaded necklace. "But no one should intentionally take another person's life…whether for glory or for the safety of others. The best way for him to learn his lesson is to see what it would be like to be powerless…like so many of the people he's victimized."
Aang watched as the Fire Lord glanced out the Balcony with a pondering look. It was unusual seeing him like this. For once Aang didn't feel the fear he once did when he met with Zuko for the first time. In fact, Zuko seemed to be out of his shell…he had an aura of kingly rule, but the grace and pleasant atmosphere that surrounded him set him apart from his father and sister. Which reminded him…
"Zuko…what happened to Azula?"
He was expecting Zuko to look at him angrily, or even yell at him, for Aang would have done the same…after what she did, or attempted to do to Katara, Aang couldn't stand hearing her name or thinking about her. But he was curious as to her own punishment.
"She…she's locked up," Zuko said simply, not looking at Aang. "Next to my father."
"You mean you didn't-."
"You told me, Aang," he replied, looking at him with those amber-colored eyes. "No one should take another's life…and besides. She's crazy. She couldn't handle the idea of someone trying to bring her down, and when I beat her in that Agni Kai of sorts, I think her mind snapped like a twig…not that it already had from the beginning."
Aang let out a small laugh.
"Heh, I always knew you were a good person Zuko," Aang patted Zuko lightly in the arm. "Even when you don't always show it."
As they both watched the hype of the crowd below him Aang could see from the corner of his eye that Zuko was smiling.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN AANG, KATARA," Sokka said in a heightened voice, slamming the heavily polished table with his hand. "AIRBENDING SLICE! LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER! HE TOOK LOSER LORD DOWN WITH SOME CRAZY AVATAR STATE-NESS! BOOM!"
"Calm down, Sokka, we all saw it, Aang was terrific, weren't you, Twinkletoes," Toph said, smiling as she leaned against a carved chair in the Fire Nation Palace.
"Don't try tricking me Toph, I know you're blind," Sokka said. "HA! You couldn't see Aang being all awesome! We-."
Sokka silenced himself as Toph looked at him with a pale green glare. "Don't flatter me, genius."
"Hey, I saved your life too, don't you forget," Sokka said smugly, putting his arm around Suki, who was fully clothed in her Kyoshi Warrior costume. "You should be thankful."
"I am thankful, Sokka. If it weren't for your trusty space sword and your Boomerang I wouldn't be here. They're the best," Toph heaved herself from her chair and gave a simpering Sokka a big kiss on the cheek. "MUUUUUAAAAH!"
Blushing slightly Sokka broke a sweat as Toph giggled evilishly. "Meh. Don't worry Suki. I'm not ganging up on your boyfriend. Just...making sure he's not unfaithful."
Sokka grimaced at Toph but knew all to well her feelings for him. As Toph sat back down the door adjacent to the table opened wide.
"Hey, there's our Avatar now!" Suki said as Aang entered the room. "Hey Aang."
Aang looked at the four of them gathered around the table, but his eye caught Katara, who was looking back at him with a little smile.
"Hey Suki. Guys, I think something's up with Zuko."
Katara and Sokka looked at Aang with worry.
"Oh great," Katara said dissapointedly. "Is he up to some trouble again?"
"I don't know. You see, he looked pretty happy during his coronation, but…when I asked him about his sister, he got all…well…"
"REALLY REALLY happy?" Toph said nonchalantly.
"Umm…more like…melancholy."
BANG. Toph fell backwards on her seat and Sokka helped her up.
"What the heck is Zuko thinking?" she said, brushing the dust off. "After what Miss Crazy-Pants did to him he should be firebending fireworks that he's alive! Don't tell me he's thinking about relea-
"No, I don't think he'd do that, especially after what happened in the Agni Kai," Katara said grimly. "Azula's not in her right mind, and I don't think Zuko would give her a second chance…maybe it's because she's his sister. I mean, the Universe forbid, but if I ever went crazy, I'd think Sokka would feel sorry for me."
"Yeah, maybe just a little," Sokka said bluntly. Katara whacked him in the arm. "HEY, why is everyone hitting me these days? I just broke my leg and you're already inflicting me with your pain?" he stared at Katara with watery eyes. Toph snorted.
"As I was saying, I think Zuko has some unfinished business with his family. I don't know what it is exactly, but he better find the solution to it," Aang looked down at his own feet. "Zuko's been in enough pain and anguish for the last three years of his life, and I don't want to see him suffering."
"Spoken like a true Avatar," Sokka said, limping over to him and patting his back. "By the way, when is "Plan Rebirth" gonna happen?"
"Well, I wouldn't really call it that, but I think I'll be ready to rebuild the Four Nations when Zuko is," Aang said. "But I have no idea when that will be."
"Maybe Zuko's just exhausted. I mean, the guy got shot by lightning, he saw his sister kick the sanity bucket and his dad's locked up," Toph said. "Just leave him alone and he'll get better."
"Hey. Aang."
Aang spun around on the spot and found the Fire Lord walking towards him with a half-donned smile. Toph flew from her chair and ran over to him and gave him a big hug at the arm. Zuko blushed.
"Umm…what are you doing?"
"Just giving the new Fire Lord the welcome he deserves."
"By giving my arm a hug?" Zuko said, raising his eyebrow.
"Would you rather I kick your butt?" Toph said, still smiling. Everyone but Zuko laughed.
"Aang, I'm planning on going somewhere. Would you mind watching the Royal Palace while I'm away?"
"Why, where you going?" Aang said worriedly.
"Yeah, your first day as Fire Lord, and you're ditching us already?" Sokka asked.
"I need to go visit someone important. He's not too far away, and I'll be back soon. Promise."
Zuko waved goodbye to the group but Aang kept walking with him outside the room.
"Aang, please go keep watch," Zuko said to him softly. "Just leave me alone for now."
"As the Avatar and your friend, I need to know where you're going. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Aang, I'm not a child. I run a country now, and sometimes I have to learn how to take care of things without you. Please go."
"Fine…" Aang turned around, breathing heavily. Why wouldn't Zuko tell him? Was it something that could end up hurting everyone around him?
The ground was rocky and stiff as Zuko stepped through the pathway in his new attire. Not minding the dust that would corrode his Fire Lord dress he made his way to a huge concrete prison cell that once held his Uncle Iroh. Bowing at the fellow guards he went up a set of spiral steps and made an echoing sound through the discreet building but all that responded was silence. He then found himself on the top floor where there was but one jail cell, small enough to hold one man, and he entered with a clang.
There, crunched into a miserable corner of the small room, was his father. The once great Fire Lord Ozai, the first and last Phoenix King, the former leader of doom and the descendant from a line of darkness and evil.
Dressed in sweaty rags, his hair soaked over his face, and pathetically powerless, he looked at his son with the same amber colored eyes that once held the rage of the Fire Nation. Zuko walked towards him, his shadow blocking the light from the torch near the doorway.
"I should count myself lucky. The new Fire Lord has graced me with his presence in my lonely prison cell."
Zuko tried to remain calm. "You should count yourself lucky that the Avatar spared your life." Ozai let out a smirk. Zuko saw he was deteriorating inside and out, and decided not to press the matter.
"Banishing me was the best thing you could have done for my life. It put me on the right path. Perhaps your time in here can do the same thing for you."
"Hmmp," Ozai squinted at him. "Why are you really here?"
"Because you're going to tell me something," Zuko said, clenching his teeth. He bent down so that he was eye level with his father, and the heat of the moment caught up with him as he let out the question he was burning to ask for the last three years. "Where…is…my mother?"
Ozai let out a bawling laugh, something that sounded disturbingly like a half-cry, half-amused trumpet that hadn't been cleaned in a while. Zuko did not move from his stance, and gripped the bars of his father's jail cell.
"WHERE?!"
"Why should I tell you? If you threaten me to my death, I shall take it with a smile," Ozai said miserably. "I'd rather be dead right now."
"If you don't tell me," Zuko said, lowering his voice to a near whisper, "It'll just be one more thing you have failed to do…keep a family together, and that's worse than anything in the world…even worse than death. You'll always be the most pathetic father in the world to me."
"Oh really?" Ozai mumbled, looking up at the sky in deep thought. "Then perhaps if I decide to accept the fact that I haven't been so kind to you for the last sixteen years of your miserable life, maybe you'd like to use this time… to listen to what I have to say before you decide to never speak to me again."
Zuko's eyes reached the size of dinnerplates. This was the moment he was waiting for. "AND DON'T LIE."
I should have brought Toph along, Zuko thought. But this is something personal.
"Hmm…well, this story is rather short, so you won't fall asleep…" Ozai said jokingly, but his son didn't sway. "When I banished your beloved mother for killing Fire Lord Azulon I gave her orders to never set foot inside the Fire Nation. But when she was well on her way, I sent a very good friend of mine just to ensure that she'll have a…nice trip."
Zuko felt something rise in his chest and his vision immeadiately blurred up. Before he knew it, he had opened the cell door and had rammed his father against the cement wall, a monstrous flame emitted from his free hand.
"WHAT DID HE DO TO HER? WHO IS THIS MAN? TELL ME THE TRUTH!"
Zuko heard the sound of guards behind him but all eyes were on his terrified father.
"I already told you. You might know this Assassin as the man you sent to the Avatar…don't pretend I don't know what secretly goes on in the Fire Nation...I had my doubts at first but when you confirmed it to me that the Avatar was alive I knew that he was the same person...and I won't deny it...she may have been my wife...but she was the only person who could protect you."
Zuko let out a breath of fire that licked his fathers face. The same man he had once set on Aang…on his own mother…
"Ahh! Let go of me!"
"I'll let go of you when I feel like it, old man," Zuko snapped, his voice harsh and low.
"If I still had my fire power you'd have a mirror image of the left side of your face my good son," Ozai said angrily, refusing to silence himself. "Your mother's probably dead, so go back to your palace and cry."
The fire in Zuko's hand grew larger with every difficult breath he took. He took one more step and was nose-to-nose with his father and he when he spoke, his voice was low and full of rage.
"I am so sorry…"
Zuko opened his flaming hand and edged it closer and closer to his fathers face.
"…that I have to resort to this."
END OF CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER II: MAI
Mai woke that morning with a feeling of sudden amazement. Wow. I'm out of prison aren't I? I guess I don't have to wake up to Ty Lee's over-enthusiastic morning greetings…and my boyfriend is the Fire Lord...
She scratched her long ebony hair and whipped it off her face, and she laid eyes on Zuko, who had fallen asleep at her side, clutching her hand.
"Well, looks like sleepyhead's still exhausted," she said, flicking the hair off the side of Zuko's scar. "Wake up."
Zuko stirred, but did not remove his hand from hers, and let out an almost hilarious yawn. Mai stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" Zuko muttered as he rubbed his eyes. "Something happen?"
"Yeah. You're putting off your duties as Fire Lord. It's almost nine."
"YOU'RE KIDDING!" Zuko flung himself off her bed and almost took Mai with him.
"Slow down!" Mai yelled, slipping sideways on the red silk sheets. "You're gonna kill me."
"Sorry. What time did I fall asleep?" Zuko said, staring out the window into the bright golden light. "Wow, it's bright."
"Midnight. You hadn't come home from your little walk outside until after sunset. And go take a shower."
OH right, Zuko thought. I had talked with the old man for hours. And I got pretty much everything I needed to know.
"By the way," Mai said behind him. "Have you talked to Azula lately?"
"Azu-who?" Zuko muttered absent-mindedly.
"Don't play coy with me," Mai snapped moodily. "Your sister. The monster who drowned herself in a lifetime of obsessive perfectionism. The troll. Remember her?"
Zuko looked at her, and her eyes met his, and they both giggled.
"Good choice of words Mai," Zuko replied, and slipped on his robes on top of his bandaged torso. "Ow."
"See what she did to you?" Mai said with a pained voice, helping him tie the sash on. "Now you have a scar on your chest."
"Not just there," Zuko said, touching his facial scar that had marred his left eye. "I'm in pain everywhere. Getting half-hit by lightning is just as bad as getting the whole thing. She's still as crazy as ever."
"Perhaps…I could…kiss it better?" Mai said, stroking his robes with a skinny finger. Zuko laughed.
"Lots of places to kiss, gonna take a while for me to heal," Zuko said, inching closer and closer to Mai's face.
"I'll just start with the one that's in front of me," Mai said, and with an intensely red blush she gave Zuko a long, passionate kiss, one that creeped up her spine and made her arms and legs tingle with excitement, and Zuko pulled her into a tight hug.
"Ewwww."
Zuko and Mai detached from their liplock as the shadow emerged of none other than Toph entered the room, swinging a cane made of rock candy and leaning against the door.
"Umm…I thought she was blind," Mai whispered to Zuko.
"I can hear you, ya know," Toph said loudly. "And I could tell the two of you were smoochin' it out 'cuz there were only two people in this room, and it was sure quiet."
Zuko blushed even harder than Mai. "Mai, this is Toph, she-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Mai muttered, looking at Toph with a bored look. "She's the little Earth Bender girl."
"Who you calling "little"?" Toph said, biting off a piece of the cane. "I may be a mere half of your size but I can bury you under 10 feet of rock and make it look like an accident."
"Hey, girls, please stop fighting," Zuko ordered sternly. "I've had enough hostility, and I hope you two can understand that we're all on the same side."
Zuko released himself from Mai's hold and left the door with a stride that was reminiscient of a Fire Nation soldier, leaving her and Toph standing across the room.
"Get out of my room," Mai said kindly, moving forward to help Toph to the door.
"I'm not that blind, ninja cakes, I'll usher myself out, thank you very much," Toph said brashly, blowing her hair out of her face and stomping away.
"What a…never mind," Mai shook her head.
That morning was a breakfast of sheer delight. Zuko had invited Aang, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Katara and Mai to join him for a firecake breakfast that was cooked and baked by the best Flame Chef in town: Yang Lin.
Zuko had decided, to the surprise of his soldiers and royal guards, to dress in a casual suit and let his hair down. As the servants were placing chairs and lighting candles, Zuko motioned them to stop.
"Umm…you guys can take a break. I'll do the arrangement myself."
The servants looked at him with faces of surprise and delight, and bowed as they left. Zuko had decided to make breakfast as simple as possible, without any crazy decorations or prolonged food delivery. He just wanted some time with his friends.
"So what are you doing here so early?" he asked Toph, who had taken it to her own pleasure to lean against a chair and put her feet on the table.
"Felt like walking around," Toph said. "This place is about 10 times bigger than the Earth Kingdom's palace."
"Thanks," Zuko said. "It was built by fire and flame by my forefathers…but they also say that they put their enemies' bodies underneath to prevent their souls from escaping from their bodies…only now do I realize that such a beautiful monument could be hiding such corrupt power underneath."
"Wow," Toph said, tossing the placed grapes in her mouth, spitting out the seeds into a glass bowl. "Looks like you have quite the reputation to fix."
"Yeah," Zuko said darkly. "It will take time. But with Aang, I will be able to speed up the recovery of our nations."
The sound of loud footsteps reached Zuko's ears and his manservant Gan entered the Dining Hall with a scroll and cleared his voice.
"Fire Lord Zuko, may I present to you, his most honorable, Avata-"
"Aang!" Zuko said, running down the vast hall, passing his dumbfounded helper with a smile. Standing at the doorway, clothed in his new mustard yellow robes, was Aang, holding what looked like a-
"Umm…Aang, is that a…what is that?" Zuko said, looking at the odd staff Aang was clenching.
"A new glider, designed by moi, of course," Sokka said behind him, wearing a new blue samurai-style robe with a wave pattern on the sleeves. "Perfect gliding motion, 10 foot wingspan, distributes your weight evenly to prevent quick exhaust-"
"In other words, Aang's staff rules all," Toph said, walking to Aang and giving him a quick punch in the arm. Sokka looked at her prudely.
"Sir, your meal is served," Yang Lin said, placing the last of the grape juice on the table.
"Whoa! FOOOD!!" Sokka screamed, and his voice echoed through the hall. He scrambled towards the forest of food that lay before him: Layers upon layers of cinnamon bread, sweet cakes, pepper tarts, and firefingers. Aang gave his staff to a nearby guard and bowed to his friend with a glowing pride.
"I decided to have a special breakfast for you guys," Zuko said, grinning as the group dove right into the mountain of delicious food. "Since I'm the Fire Lord now, I can order whatever I want, and I haven't tasted this kind of food since I was little."
"ALL HAIL FIRE LORD ZUKO," Sokka yelled proudly, shaking a muffin-full fist in the air. "For he is awesome and has good taste in breakfast."
"Ha, I thought you like meat more than junk food," Katara said, nibbling at a Sugarbun. "Zuko, don't you think we should eat real food? I mean, I know this is really nice and everything, but we'll get sick from eating all of this. And look at Sokka," she motioned towards her brother, who was stuffing his face. "He's gonna throw up, I'm sure of it."
"Mo I mo," Sokka said, mustering all the effort to swallow. "My smomach cu ake amyming."
"Oh really?" Katara said. "You can't even hold down the mild version of Fire Flakes; this is Fire Nation food, Sokka. It might just be too exotic for you."
Aang laughed. "Don't worry about him Katara. Sokka has an iron stomach. I remember that one time-"
"HUWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"EWWWW!"
"It's all over the floor! And my feet!"
"SOKKA, YOU IDIOT!"
For the food that once held itself in Sokka's "iron stomach" had now displayed itself with a bang all over the freshly polished tiles of the dining hall. Bits of the half-masticated cinnamon bun had attacked Toph's bare feet, and she let out a yell and grasped for the tablecloth.
"Told you," Katara said dully.
"Not a problem, I'll clean it," Zuko said, taking out a table napkin and some scented oils. The guards behind him look rather surprised that their new Fire Lord would attempt, let alone volunteer for such a menial task.
"Hey Sokka, where's Suki?"
"Gone with the Kyoshi Warriors and that Ty Lee girl for a tour around Kyoshi Island," Sokka said, wiping his mouth and helping Zuko with the food. "According to Suki, she's a real help in combat, blocking technique, flexible, and actually cheers everyone up."
"She's also really loud and annoying," Mai said behind Zuko in a surprisingly bright voice, though the sarcasm reigned supreme. She was leaning against a pillar, holding a shuriken between her index and forefinger. "But if it weren't for her, I'd have been burned into a crisp by your evil little sister back at the Boiling Rock."
She entered behind the smaller door leading to the dance hall and sat next to Zuko. There was a rather awkward pause between the six of them, and it was only Toph who took the liberty of breaking the ice.
"Ahem, Mai, would you pass the pancakes?" she said sardonically.
"Why don't you get them yourself?" Mai spoke back in a subtle voice.
"Can't you see I'm blind? At least be a good girl and do something nice for me."
Toph smirked as Mai unenthusiastically nudged the platter to the middle of the table.
"Don't mess with me you twelve-year-old little chunk of rock."
"Mai!" Zuko looked at her with shock as he got up from cleaning the mess. He threw the pieces of vomit into a napkin and it burst into flames. "Can you at least be nice to my friends?"
"Well, they're not my friends, so it doesn't matter to me either way."
"She's right Zuko," Toph said, picking at her teeth with a fork metalbended from a piece of tin. "Mai doesn't have any more friends, so it doesn't matter either way."
"Toph, be more respectful," Aang said sternly, absent-mindedly stabbing his Tofu cake. "Mai is the Fire Lord's girlfriend, and we should appreciate her presence."
"First of all, do any of you guys realize what you behave like? A bunch of high class snobs," Toph snapped angrily, setting her foot on the table. "Just because you saved the world Aang, and Zuko's the Fire Lord, and Miss Ninja Star is his girlfriend, doesn't mean I'm going to treat everyone I know differently…you're just like my parents."
She said the last line in the quietest of voices and motioned to leave when Sokka grabbed her hand.
"Toph, please stay."
"And why should I stay for you? You have Suki, and she's awesome, you don't need me around."
"Toph, please!" This time Aang got up, his eyebrows furrowed, and motioned to walk past Sokka, who had the biggest look of shock. "This is not the time to get angry. And why are you acting so jealous?"
"It doesn't matter," Toph said quietly. "My work is done. I completed my job in helping Aang fight Loser Lord by training him in the Art of Earthbending, and now I'm going to do what I feel like doing. See y'all later. Bye Twinkletoes."
"Toph, you can't just leave, what's the matter with you?" Katara said angrily.
"Nothing...Bye."
And with that Toph made her way past the high columns and into the outside of the palace. The remainder of the group sat in silence and Aang twiddled his thumbs.
"This…is awkward."
"Someone should talk to her," Zuko said, putting his chopsticks down. "Aang?"
"Why is it always going to be me?" Aang said stubbornly. "Why can't it be you, Zuko? Toph's good friends with you."
"I can help you resolve issues between Toph and Mai," Zuko said, putting his elbows on the table idly. "But there's something different about Toph…she's not her usual…well…Toph. You know her better than I do, so I might as well handle Mai."
"I'll be right back then," Aang said with a hint of worry in his voice, though he was not quick to judge. For a small girl Toph had a big way of showing herself, wether it be her air of command when talking to people or her stubbornness and ability to express her raw opinion. Mai, on the other hand…Toph barely knew Mai, only as Zuko's girlfriend…
She can't be jealous…Aang said, smiling slightly. Knowing Toph, she's always had a small crush on Sokka…but then again, Sokka has Sukki, and it's made her a little irritated, even though she refuses to show it…I guess Love does hurt sometimes…
"I'm gonna go check up on Mai," Zuko said.
"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Sokka said mushingly across the table. "You know Zuko, when I first met you, I never thought you'd be capable of loving someone…but I guess you really are human."
Zuko replied with a raised eyebrow but couldn't resist laughing. "You know Sokka, you really are a funny guy."
He excused himself from the table and walked out to the Balcony room, leaving Sokka, Sukki and Katara with the feast before them.
END OF CHAPTER II