It might not be a good idea for me to start another multi-chapter fic, yet here I am. I don't actually know if this will be any good, but if I did know, I probably wouldn't tell you. There's a lot of things I don't know if I pulled off right, so this might be somewhat experimental.
Some of my favorite parts of the A:TLA fandom are Zutara, Toph, and Azula, so this may be a jolly-good time with me involving those three aspect. I hope you enjoy it.
Oh, and we're ignoring the comic continuations and The Legend of Korra for the purposes of this tale.
No rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender.
There are lots of magnificent things about Toph, Zuko thinks. None of them have anything to do with politics.
"Why don't we just make it illegal to burn people's face off?" Toph questions from her position on the floor. She just lies on the floor when it suits her. She claims it helps her think better.
"It is illegal to burn someone's face off," Zuko informs her, clasping his hands together.
The entire group, besides Suki, who busied herself with warrior things whenever the concept of political participation came up, crowded into his office of sorts. A table is scattered with papers for all sorts of boring things. Toph, Katara, and Sokka don't have any royal blood or esteemed position in the Fire Nation, but by association, they were pulled into the sometimes dangerous, but mostly dreary world of it.
"That settles it, then," Sokka comes to Toph's aid. He sits on the floor near her head. "Azula should be thrown in jail. She's burned plenty of people to crisps."
"True," Zuko agrees, "but with her mental stability being called into question, a swift sentencing might not be easy to attain."
"How does that make sense?" Katara frowns. She and Aang sit atop the table Zuko currently rests his elbows upon. "Just because she's psycho means she shouldn't face consequences?"
"Have you seen her since you defeated her?" Zuko directs at her. "She's not like she was."
"She's more dangerous," Katara decides. "She's a loose cannon."
"This isn't as simple as punishing a wrongdoer," Zuko tells her. "Azula, back when she was still Azula, did right in the eyes of my father, who had many supporters. Some might think she's innocent of all charges."
"Innocent?!" Sokka exclaims, his voice taking on a familiar squeak. "We know how many times she's tried to kill us."
"For what she thought would be my father's and this kingdom's gain," Zuko challenges.
"Why are you defending her, Zuko?" Katara asks. "You of all people know what she was capable of."
Zuko almost thinks he feels his abdomen seer with pain at the memory.
"Yeah, why defend her?" Toph asks, lazily flicking her wrist into the air. "And it's not just trying to kill you. Think of all the other people she's burned to crisps. Do you know what it's like to have your face burned off?"
Zuko gives her an unrealized pointed stare. The moment of silence following the statement has much the same effect meeting his gaze would have.
"Oh . . ." Toph recalls. She rises to a sitting position to defend herself. "Well, you guys can actually see his face when you look at him! You get a reminder!"
"You're quiet, Aang," Zuko points out, turning to his young friend. "What's your opinion on this?"
Four gazes, one of them less effective than the others, turn toward him. Aang creases his brow thoughtfully.
"As Avatar and firelord, and whatever you guys are," he adds hastily with a look to his less royal friends, "we should try and do what's best for the citizens of the fire nation."
"Well, what's best for the fire nation?" Sokka begs the question.
"Well," Katara says, "why don't we ask them?"
There's not all that much democracy in the fire nation. Could a democracy exist within a monarchy? One that was corrupt mere days ago, no less?
The group didn't have that answer, but they intend to find out. They decide to hold a vote for what to do with Azula. It seems fair enough. Aang, Toph, and Sokka are sent out to spread the word about to vote set to occur the next day. Sure, it's fast, but it's not like the fire nation is uneducated about Azula, her condition, or her deeds. They can have the night to formulate the opinions.
"You're not coming?" Aang asks Katara on his way out of the office.
"Go on without me," Katara encourages. "I want to talk to Zuko about a few things."
Aang nods, understanding. He pauses a moment longer, and Katara thinks he might be about to kiss her, but he opts not to, instead sliding out of the room and closing the door behind, a fleeting smile across his features.
When two people kiss each other, does that mean they're together? That's a question Katara can trouble herself with later.
She turns back to the desk Zuko lounges at. Maybe "lounge" is the wrong word. It implies some sort of relaxation. Zuko looks tense and nervous, his shoulders high and his brow creased.
"You okay?" Katara asks him kindly, shuffling back to his desk.
Zuko raises a hand over his head and undoes his topknot, letting his hair fall around his face. He doesn't like the topknot thing. It reminds him of his father, his mistakes, his sister… Then again, it is a sign of honor.
"Of course I'm fine," he says, and while he looks haggard, he means it genuinely. "I'm in no position to be bitter about life considering how close I came to losing mine. Thank you again, by the way."
Katara smiles, flushing a bit. She lifts her leg and repositions herself back onto the edge of his desk.
"So, Azula," Katara begins.
"Yeah," he sighs. "Azula."
"What's your sentence?" she asks.
Zuko leans back heavily in his chair. "You know I'm waiting for the vote of the people."
"I know," she nods. "I meant, what's your sentence?"
Zuko eyes her warily. She meets his gaze levelly, patiently waiting for his response. He doesn't provide.
"Zuko, please," she prods gently. "You can tell me."
Zuko purses her lips. He's hesitant. But he believes her.
"She's my sister," he tells her quietly. "A grade-A psycho, but also my sister."
"Does that affect your decision?" she coaxes.
"If it were Sokka, wouldn't it affect yours? No matter what he'd done?"
He's got her there.
"So you want her acquitted?" Katara gathers. "Freed?"
"No," Zuko shakes his head. "I want her healthy." He reconsiders that for a second. "Well, so long as she doesn't revert to her aggressive tendencies."
"Because you know a thing or two about aggressive tendencies?" she smirks.
Zuko chortles at this.
"Can I be honest with you?" Katara hesitates.
"Yeah, always," he shrugs it off as if this should be obvious to her.
She leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Azula's aggression didn't only spring from Ozai. If she were to walk free or have a ridiculously short sentence, what makes you think she won't be mad at you? At her situation? At me?"'
"You think she'd try to take vengeance on you?" Zuko raises an eyebrow at the notion. He hadn't thought of that. He doesn't like the concept one bit.
"I don't know what she's capable of," she admits. "She's volatile. A coiled spring. Chaos personified."
"And my sister," he adds.
"You weren't this fond of her a week ago."
"A week ago, she was more intent on killing me," he points out.
"What's her intent now?"
"That's the thing about thirsting for power and approval, I suppose," Zuko contemplates, tilting his head against the headrest of his chair. "Once you get it, where do you strive?"
"Maybe you could ask Mai," Katara suggests.
He lifts his head, confused. "Mai?"
"Yeah, sure," she nods. "She traveled with Azula for a while. She should know her really well. She probably has valuable input about what to do with her."
"You're right," Zuko nods. He doesn't know why consulting Mai didn't come to him sooner. "Thanks, Katara."
"Sure," she shrugs it off.
"Out of curiosity," Zuko begins, leaning forward onto his elbows, "what would be your sentence?"
"She did try to kill me, if you recall," she reminds him.
"Death sentence, then?"
"What? No! I didn't say that."
"Okay, listen up, people!" Toph shouts. With a swift upward motion of her palms, the earth below her tears and springs up, creating a convenient, rock podium for her to stand above the crowds on. Sokka squeals as the ground beneath him shifts, and he flails for a moment, gripping Toph by the arm.
"I said listen!" she bellows to the stragglers below when some of them continue walking. "You all know Azula, right?"
"If not, I have a short summary," Sokka offers once he composes himself, still clutching Toph's shoulder for support. It wouldn't have killed her to make this podium thing a bit bigger. "One, she's nuts. Two, she has tried to kill your dashing ruler and the also-dashing Avatar on multiple occasions. Three, she has no friends because she's scary and likes to light people on fire or shoot them with lightning. Sometimes both."
The gathering crowd below murmurs their recognition of Azula. Words like "crazy" and "corrupt" and "war crime" float through the growing audience. The girl's notorious, it would seem.
"Well, tomorrow at sundown, your dashing monarch has scheduled a vote in town square to help decide the punishment Azula could face. So . . . yeah," Sokka trails off charismatically. "Spread the word, I guess."
The crowd erupts into chatter.
Yeah, I'm not entirely confident in this. Feel free to leave you opinion.