A/N: hey y'all. If you're reading this right now, thanks for clicking the link!
SUMMARY: Five years after the war has ended, Ozai has been overthrown, and Zuko and Katara are Fire Lord and Lady with two children, Kaori and Griffith. In the dead of night, the banished ex-princess of the Fire Nation breaks into the Fire Palace in attempt to kill the royal family.
If you're wondering why this story is entitled Union for Ursa, then read the rest of the story to find out…
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Air Bender. All copyrights belong to Nickelodeon and blah, blah, blah…
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Silence in the dead of night is when you should watch for hidden daggers…
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It has been five years since the end of the war, and our story begins outside the window of the Fire Lord's office. He is up late again, looking over scrolls.
A figure dressed head to toe in black appears above the window.
In one swift movement, the figure opens the window, jumps inside, and is pinned to the ground by the Fire Lord himself.
He rips the black mask from his prisoner's face and he shows no surprise when he sees those oh so familiar golden-brown eyes.
"Azula," he spat.
She pushed hard, knocking her brother over onto his back. She took his moment of weakness to pounce.
He saw the glint of her dagger too soon and grabbed her wrist, twisting it behind her.
"I'm stronger now Azula, you can't beat me," he whispered tauntingly in her ear.
She broke from his hold and glared at him, only to have her strong expression fall when she saw his hands.
Surrounding the Fire Lord's hands was a mixture of white fire and red lighting. The rarest and deadliest types of fire bending known to the world.
"You can't stop me now Azula," Zuko said.
The ex-princess looked into her brother's eyes, expecting to see stone hard gold irises. Instead, she saw his irises red, his pupils white, and they burned with the intensity of a thousand suns.
"I know what you did all those years ago Azula, you can't hide it from me…" Zuko taunted, throwing a blast of the elements at his sister.
She dodged and ran out into the hallway, her brother on her heels.
"W-what do you mean?" Azula asked, trying to sound like she knew nothing. Her tone gave her away.
Zuko laughed a taunting, maniacal laugh as his sister stumbled backwards before him, his elements reflecting in the marble of the hallway.
"You found out that she was leaving; that she was running away. You told dad and he went after her for killing his father; for killing the Fire Lord! For telling him about her being a "traitor", he gave you the gift of blue fire!" Zuko said.
Silence…
He did a roundhouse kick of the elements, hitting Azula on the arm.
The mixture of the elements burned her upper left arm and she stared in horror as she saw the scar morph into the Fire Nation crest. The emblem turned a sickeningly dark shade of red, making her alabaster skin looked white as snow from the Poles.
"YOU KILLED MOM! YOU KILLED HER! YOU HELD HER AT YOUR FINGERTIPS AND TOOK HER SOUL! YOU TOOK THE ONLY PERSON THAT LOVED ME AWAY, JUST SO YOU COULD MAKE ME WEAK! SO YOU COULD MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL IN FRONT OF DAD! IN FRONT OF MY PEERS! IN FRONT OF MY NATION! WELL NOW I CAN TAKE IT FROM YOU LIKE YOU TOOK IT FROM MOM!" Zuko shouted, his voice burning with the elements that surrounded his hands.
"YOU THINK I DIDN'T CARE? YOU THINK I NEVER MISSED HER? SHE WAS MY MOM TOO ZUKO! SHE NEVER CARED THAT I WAS BETTER! SHE ONLY CARED ABOUT YOU! DO YOU THINK I WAS NEVER JEALOUS THAT SHE GAVE YOU ALL THE PRAISE AND ENCOURAGMENT WHILE ALL I GOT WAS DAD PUSHING ME HARDER AND HARDER TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE? I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS GOING TO KILL HER! I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS GOING TO DO THAT! IF I DID, I WOUDLNT' HAVE SAID ANYTHING! I WAS JEALOUS, ALRIGHT? I WANTED HER TO NOTICE ME TOO! BUT ALL SHE CARED ABOUT WAS YOU! SPENDING TIME WITH YOU, PRASING YOU ON DOING THE BEST YOU COULD, EVEN WHEN YOU DID WORSE THAN I DID! WELL GUESS WHAT ZUKO? I LOVED MOM, AND I'D DO ANYTHING TO HAVE HER BACK!"
Zuko's eyes returned to normal and the elements disappeared from his hands as he watched his little sister fall to the floor, her body racked with sobs, and tears streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls.
He walked over to cautiously and knelt down beside her.
"Really?" he asked.
She looked up at him and nodded.
Suddenly, Zuko put his arms around Azula and she leaned into his chest.
Soon, tears of his own mixed with hers, and their tears puddle on the grand marble floor of the hallway.
"I-I'm s-sorry…" Azula whispered, her voice so quiet that Zuko barely heard it.
"I know…" Zuko whispered back, "I know…"
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