Summary: AU. A collection of short fics about what could have happened if key, and little moments of the series had ended differently.
Chapter 1 ~ If Zuko Won the Agni Kai...
"Probably the toughest time in anyone's life is when they have to murder a loved one because they're the devil."~ Emo Philips
When Zuko was born, he saw two things—his mother's loving smile and his father's cruel eyes. The servants whispered about a deal made in hell as grew up, and by the time he was seven, his mother was gone and there was only the curel, cruel eyes of his father. But Zuko longed for the love of his mother's smile and so he told himself that his father's eyes were not cruel, but strong, and the man's temper was not malicious, but justice.
When he turns eight, he learns not to speak his mother's name. As Zuko spits the blood from his lip, he whispers, "Father's must look strong for the nation." He does not let himself remember that he murmured "mother" in the privacy of the Firelord's chambers and that no one was there to hear but them. Later that night, when Azula cries and calls for the woman she barely knew, he sneaks into her room and rocks her to sleep, telling her stories about the gentle-faced woman who'd once been their mother.
When he turns ten, he learns there is a price on love. As Zuko works late into the night on his birthday, he feels the burn on his arm throb as he forces himself through the firebending sequence again and again. "Father needs a strong son," he tells himself, and does not wonder at the cold smile that graced his father's face when the man casually shot fire into his son's arm. When he finally masters the sequence, he goes to find his father, only to find the man watching the eight-year old Azula executing the move flawlessly. There is a look in his father's eye that scares Zuko, and though jealousy does rise up in him it is fear that leads him to keep Azula away from his father as much as possible.
When he turns twelve, he learns that only fire-nation lives count. As Zuko stares into the face of the terrified earth-kingdom woman, he chokes out, "Father needs to protect his nation." This time, he is not quite able to block out the question of how a peasant woman was a threat as he watches his father shoot lightning into the woman's throat and she falls. His father laughs and tells him there need not be a reason to snuff out non-fire-nation lives, and Zuko runs from the room.
When he turns fourteen, he refuses to accept that only fire-nation nobility count, and gets challenged to an Agni Kai. "Father just needs to look in control," he tells himself, ignoring the warnings of his uncle and the cries of his sister. "He'll kill you," she screams, and throws herself at him, "You're the only one too stupid to see he won't do it." His uncle looks at him over his sister's tears and nods. "You will die, Zuko, if you do not flee. My brother has no intention of letting you live."
That night, he sneaks into his father's room and asks him, point blank, if he is cold-hearted enough to murder his own son. He'll never forget the laugh the man answered him with, and the sick realization that his uncle was right, his sister was right, and he'll never find his mother's love in his father's cruel, cruel eyes. "You will be without heir," he says icily, and his father's next words drive all thoughts of fleeing from his mind. "I always have Azula," the man chuckles, and Zuko runs away from the eyes that threaten to swallow him whole.
The next day they fight, and Zuko knows he is losing. His father toys with him, burning his left, than right arm, then his feet, then his torso. Zuko crumbles to the ground and faintly he thinks he hears his sister screaming. His father smiles as he brings down his arm to finish the blow, and at the last moment the man whispers, "Azula will be stronger than you ever were."
And then Zuko throws himself out of the way and shoots fire straight into the man's face. His side catches on fire and Agni–but his father, (cruel, not strong; malicious, not just) is nothing more than a black corpse and a disfigured skull. Azula runs to him, his uncle shouts for a healer, and Zuko smiles at his sister and whispers, "Couldn't let him get you too, 'Zula."
Two years later, Firelord Zuko reigns over a peaceful and prospering nation. With his sister in charge of the army and his uncle in charge of the court, he is free to pursue the legends that always fascinated him as a boy. It is soon, and with great shame, that he discovers the truth behind the "conquering of the Air Nomads," and he sets out to find the Avatar.
When Aang awakens, he is faced with a concerned water-tribe girl and a suspicious water-tribe boy who pokes his head with a stick. A week of recuperation and revealing of secrets, and the group decides to head for the Fire Nation, which has become the world's safest destination for benders who want to learn their craft and hone their skills.
Back at the Fire Nation capital, Firelord Zuko receives word via messenger hawk about sightings of a boy on a flying bison. By the time Aang, Katara, and Sokka reach the border of the Fire Nation, there are armed troops ready to escort them to the palace. Azula flirts with Sokka, Zuko kisses Katara's hand, and then both bow deeply to Aang.
And a new era of peace and stability is born.