Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon. This story is owned by me.

Chapter One:

"Better"

The crescent moon was high in the sky, the summer night air blew in a warm breeze from the south, and two prison guards were about to fall asleep standing up. Not from exhaustion, just from the boredom. It's not like it would matter if I did fall asleep, they both thought at the same time. This had to be the most redundant position in the army. Standing guard at the prison entrance, they were the last line of defense if the single prisoner attempted an escape, so he would never get to them. He was an old man. And it wasn't like anyone would attack the prison from the outside to attempt a breakout. There wasn't a soul left in the Fire Nation that sympathized with this man. Both men knew that it wouldn't matter if they went to sleep, but neither wanted to be the one to suggest it, so they just kept taking longer and longer blinks.

That is, until they spotted a hooded figure in a dark red robe walking across the courtyard towards the entrance.

They both piped up immediately. "There's someone coming!" the first guard hissed.

"I know, I saw him before you did," said the second.

"What? You were falling asleep a second ago. I'm the vigilant and attentive one here."

They got so caught up in who noticed the hooded figure that they failed to notice him again until he was a mere ten feet away from them. They suddenly grabbed their spears and held them out in a fighting stance.

"Hey, stop right there! This prisoner isn't allowed any visitors!"

"Yeah, and don't try any funny business, or I'll notice it before you can pull it off."

"Oh, like hell you-"

Their words got caught in their throat as the hooded figure raised his head ever so slightly so that they could see his eyes. His piercing, cold, amber eyes.

"I believe you have already demonstrated the competency of your observation skills, soldiers," the man said in a calm, cold, yet gritty voice, like somewhere between a growl and a purr.

The two guards almost dropped their spears in shock, "F-Firelord Oz-"

"By all means, keep speaking if you are done eating solid food. You never saw anyone. That is what you will tell your fellow guards, each other, even yourselves until your dying day."

They both managed no more than the smallest, quickest nods before the hooded shadow slunk past them and up the stairs of the tower.

He only had to give similar threats to two more guards before people wisely stopped protesting, probably assuming his correct identity, that he had a good enough reason to be here to satisfy the other guards, or that he had killed the earlier guards who protested. It appears they keep the slightly more intelligent ones closer to him, he thought to himself, that's at least one small thing they're doing right. He could still wipe the floor with all these imbeciles if they made just one mistake. That was a problem that was difficult to fix, however, since this prisoner could wipe the floor with any firebender in the Fire Nation. Except me, he reassured himself, I'm better than him. I've made damn sure of that. Besides, if he were still so good, he wouldn't be here. He's just a beaten old man.

He finally reached the heavy door which led to the prisoner's cell. He opened it without the final two guards even turning to look at him, and entered the dark cell. With a flick of his hand he lit the one torch in the room, surprised that the prisoner had not done so already. The old man was in a cage on the other side of the cell, about ten feet to a side. He was sitting on the floor, with his back to the bars and to the Firelord. It was strange, entering a room and not being immediately greeted with respect and fear. Perhaps he's still not convinced.

Ozai slunk silently across the stone floor, until his face was right up against the steel bars. The old man gave no reaction. Ozai stood there for a full minute before breaking the silence.

"Well, well, well, this certainly is a first. The great General Iroh is speechless. What, no bits of heavy-handed sage advice? No vague, confusing metaphors meant to make you appear wise? No endless ramblings on the merits of tea? I do hope Azula did not cut your tongue out. She can be ever so...over-enthusiastic in service to our nation."

The old man's response was more motionless silence. "Oh, don't give me the silent treatment, Big Brother," mocked Ozai, walking from one end of the room to the other in an attempt to glimpse the prisoner's face, "I know you're not asleep, unless you've miraculously cured that snoring of yours. Don't be a sore loser."

Then the Firelord stopped, with his brow furrowed and his fists clenched, "Of course, there's being a sore loser, and then there's trying to turn my own son against me, which is something else entirely." He wrapped his hands around the bars and they started to steam, "Yes, my dear brother, Azula told me about your final desperate ploy to get Zuko to join you in your doomed, deranged cause. You had a son of your own, brother. You wasted him. You let your child die during yor greatest defeat, so you attempt to take mine? That's a bit beneath the Dragon of the West, don't you think?"

Then the Firelord asked the question that had brought him here, the question that had been nagging at the back of his mind since the day the damned old man had come back into his life, "Why? What I don't understand is why. You could have returned with my children as a war hero, completely redeemed for your failure at Ba Sing Se. But instead, this supposedly strategic general thought it wise to plot against me. You couldn't have honestly believed that I am capable of being defeated now, brother. The throne is mine, old man, it's been mine for years. And even if it wasn't, why in the sun's name would you ally yourself with children? The sword enemies of the Fire Nation and the most incompetent Earth King we've ever faced, instead of your own soldiers, some of whom might actually have been stupid and treacherous enough to support you if you tried to take the throne from me." Ozai's face twisted into a sadistic smile, "But no more, dear brother. Your fruitless act of treachery was enough to make you the most hated man in the Fire Nation, but not enough to redeem you in the eyes of the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribes, and the Avatar is dead. You have no friends anywhere, great general. Strange, for a man known for being such a people person, you're surprisingly good at making the whole world hate you."

The stubborn old man continued to not move a muscle or say a word. The Firelord, usually so cool and dignified, threw his arms back and slammed his fists against the bars. The loud clang echoed down the halls and staircase of the prison tower, causing all the guards to jump.

"SAY SOMETHING!" Ozai roared at the hunched, sad relic of a man. He still gave no response. Ozai finally turned with a wave of his cloak. "This was a waste of my time," the Firelord declared, "'Why' is a stupid question. I learned that a long time ago. You did it because you're a crazy, bitter old man, nothing more complex than that."

He walked to the door to leave, but stopped with his hand on the handle. He turned around the face the prisoner. "You know, the common rabble are talking. Endless rumors and speculation about what really happened in Ba Sing Se. Some say that Azula struck the Avatar down with lightning. Other say that Zuko burned him to death. Others still say that I went to Ba Sing Se myself, turned into a dragon, and swallowed the Earth King whole, while you beat against me with a stick. All of these are missing the real point here, aren't they? Azula and Zuko were merely my tools in this, extensions of myself. I took Ba Sing Se, "he said, almost as much to himself as to the prisoner, "I succeeded where you failed, simply because I am better than you. I am a better fighter, a better commander, a better ruler, a better father. That is why I am now the ruler of all the known world, while you are the ruler of a cage."

With that, the Firelord opened and then slammed the iron plated door and swiftly slunk back down the stairs and out into the warm night air. One of the guards was about to boast to the Firelord that he had seen him first, but the other slapped a hand over his mouth.

Back in his cell, the only part of the old prisoner that moved was a tear running down his cheek.

Iroh was out in the palace gardens practicing his firebending forms. The prince was already considered a prodigy, and his mother kept telling him that he shouldn't obsess so much and learn to just play like other 12-year-olds, but none of that mattered to him. It doesn't matter how good you are, he thought, I can always get better. He would need to be better if he was going to fulfill his dream. No, not his dream, his family's dream. His country's dream. Sozin started the spread of the Fire Nation's greatness to the entire world decades ago, and they had been battering on the Earth Kingdom and chipping away at the Water Tribes ever since, but Iroh was going to be the one to finish it. He was going to be the one to knock down the wall of Ba Sing Se, and go down in history as the greatest Firelord who ever lived.

But to do that, he had to keep practicing. The sun had long since set and his old sifu had retired, but the moon was full, and that was enough light for him. His father always said that the moon was their greatest enemy, that it was the sun's nemesis and what gave the waterbenders their power. But it was hard for Iroh to hate it when it allowed him this.

He turned around with a spinning kick and almost knocked over the servant that had come up behind him. "Prince Iroh!" the frightened servant declared, "You should report to your mother's room immediately. The baby's coming."

Iroh's face froze. NO, he thought. If he had heard this news 6 hours ago, he would have been delighted, but it was considered a bad omen when a baby was born after sundown. It means that the child's firebending would be weak, or, even worse, they wouldn't be a bender at all. It was bad enough that the baby was being born in the winter. Now to be honest, Iroh didn't really believe in the superstition, but that hardly mattered. What was important was that his father believed it.

The young prince dashed past the messenger and ran through the long, echoing halls of the palace. As he neared his mother's room, he heard it: the loud cries of a wailing baby. He turn through the doorway into the room, and there it was. His mother was lying propped up in her bed, exhausted and sweaty, with a newborn baby wrapped in her arms. She smiled when she saw him enter, "Would you like to hold your baby brother, Iroh?"

Iroh was unsure if he did. The baby was still wailing, and Iroh was afraid that he would make it worse, or drop the thing, but refusing just seemed wrong somehow. This is just something big brothers do, isn't it?He carefully took the bundle of wraps into his arms and looked into the baby's eyes. Even though the boy was a newborn, his amber eyes seemed to pierce into Iroh's soul. Father's eyes, Iroh thought, Good. He'll like that. Those eyes eventually found Iroh's, and the child stopped screaming. Iroh was shocked and a bit frightened, What did I do now? Did I break him? His worry must have shown on his face, because his mother put a reassuring hand on his shoulder from behind him.

"Oh look," she said with tears in her eyes, "he likes you already."

But her smile quickly faded when the figure appeared in the doorway. It was a tall, spiny figure, with the flowing layers and many sharp points of the elegant robes covering a skinny body. Firelord Azulon had long hair past his shoulders, and a pointed beard, already gray, that reached the center of his chest. The same piercing amber eyes found Iroh.

"It's a boy!" his mother said quickly, almost in defense, "and he's healthy."

"Yes, I heard him. Perhaps he will grow up strong after all, despite the...disadvantage you've given him," he said to his wife, who had the audacity to give birth during the night. He strode into the room and held open one hand to Iroh, "Let me see my son, Prince Iroh."

"Yes, Father," Iroh nodded, and carefully handed his new brother to the Firelord. Azulon held the babe with one arm. The baby's entire body almost fit in his hand. He unwrapped his new son and inspected him, his eyes traveling up and down the baby's body. Then, apparently satisfied, he nodded. "He'll do," he said, wrapping the baby up again.

"Come in!" Azulon called to someone waiting outside the door. An extremely old fire sage hobbled into the room, practically tripping over his long beard.

Iroh's mother gave an exasperated sigh, "My lord, couldn't this wait-"

"The blessing rite will happen now," Azulon stated with no room for discussion, as the fire sage lit the brazier, "Iroh, please wait outside while your mother and I light your brother's inner fire."

Iroh was fine with that, the ceremony was long and boring, he'd heard. He exited back into the hall and closed the door behind him.

"Well, it seems like I finally know what it takes to get you out of those gardens," joked a raspy voice from behind him, "If it takes a new baby to get you to take a break, I'm afraid your mother has her work cut out for her."

Iroh turned and saw his old sifu smiling proudly at him. Iroh put his palms together and bowed, "Sifu Kuzon. I'm proud to say that the baby is-"

"Healthy, yes, I know. I saw him already but I thought it was best to give your family space."

Sifu Kuzon was what most men would consider old, but he looked middle-aged. He was also a noted member of Fire Nation nobility and one of the most renowned firebenders in the world. When Azulon first summoned him to be his son's sifu, Kuzon had initially refused. Sooner or later, however, the Firelord always got what he wanted.

His soft brown eyes drooped in sadness. "Your brother is small," he told Iroh, "I'm afraid it is likely he will always be small."

"Hey, don't write him off like that," protested Iroh in his baby brother's defense, "Isn't it you who's always telling me that firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles? You heard the lungs on him, he'll be great. Just you wait, I wouldn't be surprised if he got even better than me."

Kuzon responded with a skeptically raised eyebrow, "Oh, you wouldn't?"

"Well," Iroh shrugged and smirked, "maybe as good as me." He and Kuzon shared a laugh.

"Now," Iroh's sifu ordered, with a long bony finger pointed at him, "It's time for you to rest. If you still refuse to sleep, then at least go to the library and study. A strong fire is useless with a weak mind. The Fire Nation cannot be ruled by a fool. If I catch you in those gardens again, I'll roast you crispy."

Iroh bowed in parting, "I promise, sifu." Kuzon turned and walked down the hall towards his quarters.

Kuzon was right, after all. Conquering the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes would not take brute force, but sharpness and cunning. Iroh turned one last time toward the closed door, hearing nothing but the muffled chants of the fire sage through it.

"Good luck, Baby Brother," the young prince whispered, and walked away.

Hello all, this is an idea that has been banging around in my head for months now. I think not having Iroh and Ozai share a single scene together was a huge missed opportunity and I'm honestly shocked there's not more stores that center on them.

I've already got a more comedic story going, so I probably won't focus to much on this, I just wanted to get this idea out there to see if people even thought it was worth pursuing.

That said, the entire reason I published this first chapter is to get feedback, so reviews are appreciated. Tell me if you'd like to see more.