Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Avatar: The Last Airbender or Sword Art Online.
Chapter 1 - From the Ashes
"No lightning today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?" taunted Zuko as he settled into his ready stance.
Picking herself up from her brother's latest counter, Azula was foaming at the mouth. "Oh, I'll show you lightning." The air around the dueling siblings cooled several degrees as the fire princess prepared her attack. Blue sparks began erupting from the ground as Azula drew the lightning within her and crafted it to take form.
Taking a deep breath, Zuko readied himself. This was the final strike. All he had to do was absorb the raw power of lightning into himself, channel its raging strength, and redirect it back at his sister. Simple; nothing to it.
Golden eyes from both siblings narrowed as each taunted the other to make a mistake. There, in the tense gaze amidst the maelstrom of raging lightning, Zuko saw his sister's eyes shift. It was moment later that his mind pieced together what was about to happen and his heart sank.
"NNNNNOOOOOOOO!" shouted Zuko as he took two steps to his left and jumped in front of his sister's attack, pulling the lightning within himself; however, with his feet in the air and not planted firmly on the ground, the lightning was free to ravage his body.
The fire prince landed on the courtyard in a crumpled heap, blue sparks crackling around his body as he continued to spasm uncontrollably. All his senses were screaming out in pain. Faintly, he thought he heard his partner call out his name in shock. He willed his body to stand, but it refused to obey him. He could barely make out Katara running from fire blasts that his sister was freely launching from the roof of the nearby walkway with reckless laughter and cruel taunts. But there was nothing he could do to continue the fight.
His vision swam as his body continued to clench and shutdown, the lightning having done its damage. He had failed. He had faced his sister in single combat. She may have fought underhandedly, but that was expected from her. It didn't change the fact that he had failed. Again.
Suddenly there was someone at his side. Zuko felt that cooling presence of healing water spread over his chest. He could feel its curative effects wash over his wounds, but he knew that it wasn't going to be enough. In that single blast, his heart had been hit directly. Even now, he could hear it beating irregularly. He didn't have long.
Fighting away his blurry vision, Zuko looked up at Katara's grieving face, her eyes struggling to hold back the tears. "It's okay," he somehow managed, his voice barely above a whisper. A faint smile graced his somber face. At least the southern waterbender managed to succeed where he had failed. "You won. You beat her."
"No!" yelled Katara defiantly. "If I can't save you, then we didn't win anything! You're going to pull through this! Azula can't win!"
Zuko felt the healing effects of the cleansing water redouble against his chest. His heart continued to beat fainter and fainter. His placed his hand on top of Katara's; the water she was working with falling to the ground as her bending was disrupted. The pained look in her eyes tore at his heart harder than any lightning strike ever could. "It's okay," he barely managed a second time as his vision finally faded and he fell silent.
At this Katara could no longer hold back the tears that now fell unreservedly down her face. Looking down at Zuko's tranquil expression, she leaned in and kissed him fiercely and freely as she willed him to stay alive. A few minutes later, several members of the Order of the White Lotus spilled into the courtyard to find a grieving waterbender weeping without restraint; her face buried on top of the fire prince's chest.
A town united with benders of all types. Fire, Water, Air, and Earth all living together in harmony. Avatar Aang standing watch ever steadfast over this symbol of peace and unity. A shadow slowly creeping towards this ray of light. Zuko awoke with a start.
"Where?" he started as he looked around. A small grove of bamboo encircled him as a light mist graced the dirt ground and slowly floated throughout the shoots. Both a sun and a moon were visible high in the sky and casting an odd sense of a twilight dawn.
A pebble struck the fire prince in the back of the head. "What the?" Turning, Zuko was struck again with another pebble, this time in the forehead. Before him was an old looking monkey sitting on a tree stump who appeared to be in the middle of meditating. "That hurt you jerk!"
"Then quit interrupting my meditation. You're the fourth thoughtless hooligan that's disturbed me in the last decade and the second in the last year," snapped back the monkey spirit with a slight growl.
"Fine, just point me in the direction out of here and I'm gone," grumbled Zuko as he stood up. "I don't have time to bother with an irritable monkey. I just need to figure out where I am and how I can get back to my friends."
A gap in the bamboo grove opened up and a path disappeared into the mist. "That should take you somewhere," dismissed the monkey disinterestedly. "Follow that."
The fire prince eyed the path suspiciously. "And where exactly will this lead me?"
"Away from me. Now begone!" bellowed the monkey as a small cyclone developed from his screech and pushed Zuko through the opening as the bamboo grove closed behind him.
Enraged, Zuko attempted to summon up his firebending to torch the bamboo shoots and give that monkey spirit a piece of his mind. However, no flame or ember heeded his call. "Just great," mumbled Zuko as he tried a few more times to beckon his inner fire to him. "My bending is gone again. I wonder if there are any passing dragons nearby that can help me out." He finished that last bit with a small smile.
Looking down the path, Zuko couldn't see how far it went or what awaited him further in. "Doesn't look like I have much choice." He had only taken a few steps when the surroundings started to change around him and he quickly found himself on a beach with a bonfire glowing lively on the sands. Around the fire was a mix of individuals, some of which felt oddly familiar to Zuko.
There was a giant panda rocking back and forth gnawing on a piece of bamboo, a massive white wolf curled up in a ball with his tail flicking in rhythm with the crackle of the flames, and a wizened owl perched on top of an overturned log watching regally over the rest of the animal spirits. Looking harder, the fire prince noticed numerous human shapes between the animals as well, the most distinguished of which was a floating lady with a veiled wei mao style hat. Several small foxes were running among the gathered individuals, delivering scrolls and bits of food. Slowly approaching the gathering, Zuko was about to speak up when he suddenly felt a hand place itself on his shoulder.
"I would advise against interrupting them great grandson," warned the owner of the hand on Zuko's shoulder with a stern expression on his face. "They are preparing to meet with Lord Death."
Spinning to look at the individual, Zuko paused abruptly in shock. The man in front of him looked familiar, as if he had seen his face before. Suddenly the tapestries hanging in the Fire Palace's Grand Hall flashed in his mind. "Avatar Roku?!"
Chuckling slightly, the elderly Avatar placed his other hand on Zuko's other shoulder as the two stood face to face with one another. "Don't be so surprised Zuko. There are many more outrageous things than a grandfather seeing his great grandson. Now let me look at you. You're growing your hair out; it looks good. And you have your mother's eyes."
Shaking his head, Zuko broke away from his great grandfather's grip. "What's going on here?" he demanded as he pointed his finger at an amused looking Roku. "You're dead! You have been for a long time."
The smile on Roku's face didn't waver as he weathered Zuko's accusations. "I'm an Avatar," he said simply as if that explained everything.
"So is a scatterbrained friend of mine," countered the fire prince. "That doesn't explain anything."
Before Roku could elaborate further, a lightning strike flashed down in front of the bonfire followed quickly by a deafening thunderclap. A dark robed individual walked out of the light accompanied by a dazzling woman dressed in an elegant evening gown.
"Looks like the main event is finally starting," announced a blue masked creature as he walked up behind Avatar Roku. "Lord Death and Lady Luck have arrived."
All the spirits assembled on the beach bowed deeply in respect to the new arrivals. The messenger foxes quickly delivered trays full of delicacies and flasks of exotic wines to the head table that had been set up. Lord Death and Lady Luck took their seats at the front of the assembly as the other spirits settled themselves in.
Still confused, Zuko whispered again to Roku, "What is going on? Who are those people over there?" As he looked over to the blue masked persona, he added, "And are you…?"
"Yes," answered the mask gruffly. "The Blue Spirit, who you so freely exploited to fit your own needs." A dao broadsword was pressed against Zuko's neck as the Blue Spirit swept up behind the fire prince with a graceful fluidness to his motions. "Don't think I've forgotten or forgiven you for pretending to be me, you troublesome brat. One twist of my wrist and this whole assembly over there becomes pointless."
"Enough Blue," demanded Roku sternly. "If you do that, then Lord Death will not forgive you for wasting his precious time."
"Tsk," spat out the Blue Spirit as he lightly pressed down on his blade enough for a faint whisper of blood to tickle down Zuko's neck before he removed his sword. "Don't think this will be our last encounter boy." He slinked off into the shadows.
Wiping the blood off his neck, Zuko growled back to the retreating form, "Don't you dare think you'll catch me off guard next time." A haunting laugh echoing in the darkness was the only response he got.
"That's what you get for masquerading around as a vengeful spirit," chided Avatar Roku to his great grandson. Then with a smile, "Though I guess it's only natural for you to play with fire."
With an irritated scowl, Zuko turned back to his great grandfather. "And you! You still haven't told me anything!" He pointed back at the assembly. "What is that all about!?"
"Your future," answered Avatar Roku as he began walking towards the gathered spirits.
"What?" replied Zuko, stunned. He realized that his great grandfather had already taken a spot near a giant dragon that had curled itself up and was blowing smoke out from its mouth, listening to the going-ons of the assembly with disinterest. Not seeing a better location, he followed with a frown.
"Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, we can finally get down to the heart of the matter," announced a nondescript spirit wearing a fancy tailored dress robe. "Lord Death has called this meeting in order to discuss the fate of the firebender named Zuko. In life, he was the exiled prince of the Fire Nation for those of you who have not heard of him. Born eighty three years after the initial arrival of Sozin's Comet; first born child of Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa. Died 100 ASC at the hands of his younger sister Azula. Had he survived the encounter, he would have gone on to lead the Fire Nation to an age of prosperity and reconstruction during his sixty seven year reign."
"Had he survived?" parroted Zuko to himself.
"Lord Death was not supposed to have reaped this soul for at least another seventy nine years according to his records. However," pausing momentarily to glance over at Lady Luck who was nonchalantly playing with a piece of chocolate cake on her plate, the announcing spirit continued, "due to a pure twist of random chance, the fire prince found his life expectancy cut short."
Several murmurs broke out amongst the gathered spirits at this reveal. It was definitely unlike Lord Death to allow discrepancies in his work. The King of the Underworld prided himself on his ability to control the delicate balance between the living and the dead. Many of the spirits were too young to even remember Lord Death ever making a miscalculation like this and their confusion was easily apparent. On the other hand, the older spirits glanced at one another solemnly as they all remembered that the last time an error like this was made, the courses of action that followed were tantamount to torture for the unfortunate soul upon whom the infraction was initially made.
Clearing his voice loudly enough to stop everyone's whispers, the announcing spirit continued, "Interestingly enough, it seems that the Fire Nation will still be led to an age of peace and reconstruction under one Fire Lady Mai." Zuko's eyes widen at this announcement. "Imprisoned by Fire Princess Azula before the second coming of Sozin's comet, Lady Mai was released from captivity by her uncle during the confusion in the Fire Nation after Avatar Aang's victory over Fire Lord Ozai. After hearing about the fate of Fire Prince Zuko, Lady Mai quickly rallied support by revealing the atrocities of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Princess Azula and promising to bring around change to the Fire Nation. Motivated by her no-nonsense, straightforward attitude and her unwillingness to bend a knee to old hardliners still calling for Fire Lord Ozai's return to power, Lady Mai quickly found overwhelming favor in the Fire Nation youth and surprisingly from the current Avatar himself."
Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing. With his passing, the Fire Nation hadn't torn itself apart from internal squabbling amongst its generals, ambassadors, and minor lords fighting for power. What he hadn't counted on was Mai rallying his people to embrace the changing future. Thinking on the notion, it wasn't that he was surprised that she had the mental strength to lead the nation and command the people fairly, but that she had the motivation to do so. He had never known Mai to volunteer for anything on her own before.
Still lost in his thought, Zuko almost didn't hear the nondescript announcing spirit as he carried on with his speech. "Fire Lord Ozai is locked away in prison, Fire Princess Azula has been institutionalized from her mental breakdown, and the Fire Nation is on back on track with its role in history." The spirit's eyes homed in on Zuko who countered with a scowl. "All without Fire Prince Zuko." Pausing once more for dramatic effect, the spirit motioned to Lord Death. "And this finally leads us back to Lord Death's dilemma. Even without Fire Prince Zuko, the world continues on track towards its predestined future. With this turn of events, Lord Death finds little reason to bother with attempting to correct this oversight." Avatar Roku stood quickly to protest, however the spirit wasn't yet finished. "Nevertheless, since Lord Death is a kind and caring Ruler of the Underworld, he wishes to hear if any of the Spirit World could provide him with a reason to grant Fire Prince Zuko with a second chance."
Once again before Avatar Roku could argue his case, he was beaten to the punch. "That troublesome brat is nothing more than an unruly disaster waiting to happen," came an authoritative female voice from the other side of the assembly. The owner was dressed in full ceremonial Kyoshi warrior armor.
"Ah, Avatar Kyoshi," greeted the announcing spirit. "Care to elaborate on that comment?"
Pointing at Zuko accusingly, the former earth-born Avatar pressed on, "This little upstart entered my home village with his crew of Fire Nation soldiers and proceeded to burn it to the ground during his search for Avatar Aang. His rash behavior caused the needless destruction of numerous homes, the senseless violence to multiple innocents, and the unlawful conduct of a tyrant. He's not worth the effort of a second chance."
The moon sparkled brightly in the sky as a spirit in the form of a giant fish materialized in the water. The ocean's tides swelled onto the beach but were held back from washing over the assembly of spirits by an unseen wall. "Greeting Lord La, unwavering sentinel of the ocean," acknowledged the announcing spirit.
"I agree with Avatar Kyoshi," bellowed out the loud voice of Lord La. "The actions of this Zuko indirectly led to the death of my beloved Tui. His seizure of Avatar Aang in the Northern Water Tribe's Spirit Oasis caused all the possible defenders located there to chase after him and allowed Zhao easy access to my beloved."
Turning to face Zuko, Lord La continued, "His lack of foresight caused an imbalance in natural order of the world. For that I see no reason to grant him a second chance at anything."
A whisper of dark smoke encircled near the bonfire as it condensed into the shape of the Blue Spirit. "He used my name to commit multiple acts of reckless violence and petty acts of thievery against those who barely had enough to sustain themselves," accused the Blue Spirit. Grinning, he continued, "Now I'm a vengeful guy, but even I can't stand the selfish and trivial purposes that this lowlife used my name to perpetrate."
Glancing at Lord Death out of the corner of his eye, the announcing spirit noticed a slight nod. "It appears that Lord Death has heard enough, it seems that…"
Erupting a torrent of fire breath into the sky, the elder dragon roared in discontent. Avatar Roku petted his dragon partner approvingly. "Thank you Fang. I couldn't have said that better myself." Narrowing his eyes at the announcer in distain, Roku took a few steps forward. "I can't help feel as though all the supporters of my great grandchild are being suppressed from being allowed a chance to speak."
"Oh by all means," granted the announcing spirit; then addressing the amassed assembly of spirits, "Are there any here who wish to speak on behalf Fire Prince Zuko before Lord Death expresses his decision?"
A couple of moments passed with no one stepping forward. Zuko could feel his old anger returning inside of him. He glanced at Roku who was just standing there calmly with a slight smile on his face. 'Even you don't have anything to say?' he irritably thought to himself. 'Fine, if no one wishes to fight for me, then I'll just do it myself.'
However, before the fire prince could open his mouth, a tiny voice whispered throughout the silence. "He saved me." Heads spun to find the owner of the meek voice. Looking down near the back end of the assembly, Zuko spied a small turtle crab walking forward with several smaller turtle crabs walking behind it. "As a child, he saved me from being eaten by an eagle hawk." The turtle crab began to glow as it transformed into a humanoid water spirit. "And ever since then, Fire Prince Zuko has always looked out for the weak, the helpless, and the feeble."
"And we can support that claim!" came a proud voice of a Fire Nation sergeant as he materialized in front of Zuko with several ghostly forms of other backwater village-born Fire Nation soldiers behind him. The sergeant spoke again, this time directly to Zuko, "We were among the soldiers that Ozai sacrificed to distract a battalion of veteran Earth Kingdom benders. My men and I heard about how you were the only one on the Fire Council to argue on our behalf and how you were banished for it." All of the gathered troops dropped sharply to kneel before Zuko in respect. "We may not have met in life sir, but all of us gathered here would be honored to follow you anywhere."
Lord Death slammed the wooden hilt of his scythe onto the sand and the ghostly Fire Nation soldiers began to dissipate; the sergeant standing once more to render a full salute before, he too, vanished. Zuko remained staring at the empty plot of beach sand where the soldiers had briefly been occupying in shock. He felt the traces of a tear falling from his unburned right eye as he slowly wiped it away and returned a sharp salute to the already evaporated form of the Fire Nation sergeant. "I should have done more for you all," he whispered more to himself than anyone else.
An elegant woman floated to the center of the assembly near the bonfire, an opaque veil of mist surrounding her. "There are also those in the four nations whose entire worlds have been turned upside down from the loss of Fire Prince Zuko. Most importantly, from the Southern…"
"Painted Lady, if you are referring to the Dragon of the West, then that change has already been noted and investigated," interrupted the announcing spirit dismissively. "It is an unfortunate side effect; however, his time and contributions to the overall balance of the world have passed. Instead of living out the rest of his days in peace, he will spend them in mourning. It is regrettable, but hardly worth consideration into this matter."
"Shut up!" shouted Zuko in a rage, no longer able to hold his anger in check. Lady Luck looked up from playing with her desert, her eyes perking up in interest as a wide smile began to spread across her face. Lord Death shifted in his seat as well as he turned his hooded head towards the infuriated young firebender. "How dare you disregard my uncle like that! He has suffered and bled for the Fire Nation and the rest of the world! You can berate me all you want! I can take it!" Zuko started to storm towards the center of the assembly as Avatar Roku followed quietly behind him. "But you will not speak poorly of my uncle!"
His face turning angry as well, the announcing spirit started, "Now you listen here, you little…"
"I said, Shut up!" yelled back Zuko again to silence the spirit. Approaching the Painted Lady, he caged his temper back within himself. Bowing, he addressed her, "Honorable Spirit, please. Tell me how my uncle is doing." The Painted Lady seemed unsure of herself for a moment. "Please," pleaded Zuko a second time.
Sighing, the elegant spirit shook her head, "You will not like what I have to say." She looked once more into the imploring eyes of Zuko.
"I need to know," he countered.
She remained silent for another couple of moments as Zuko waited, visibly fighting his impatience to start yelling again. "He is heartbroken," the Painted Lady said at last. "He took the loss of his favorite nephew very hard; almost to the point of Lord Death making an appearance for him as well." Zuko's fists tightened sharply as his whole body tensed up.
Roku placed his hand on his great grandson's shoulder once again. "Calm down grandson. She is merely recounting what has already come to pass. There is nothing you can do right now." Zuko shrugged off the helping hand.
"Having lost both his own son and the nephew who he treated like his second son, Iroh would have lost himself in grief had it not been for one resilient little earthbender. She checks on him in his tea shop in Ba Sing Se everyday and keeps him company with jokes and funny stories. She views him as the loving grandfather she never had and seeing him in such a despairing state has left her troubled as well."
'Thank you Toph,' thought Zuko silently to himself. 'Uncle has endured so much in his life. My failure shouldn't be his burden as well. Please take care of him until I return.'
"Death!" demanded Zuko loudly as he spun around to face the King of the Underworld directly. "Your mouthpiece said something about had I survived the fight with my sister, then I would have gone on to become Fire Lord and would have brought peace and prosperity to my country. Then why am I dead?! It sounds like this shouldn't have happened!" With an outstretched hand, Zuko motioned to the assembly of gathered spirits. "There's no way that every person who dies gets their very own gathering of spirits to judge them on their life choices. You made a mistake and are trying to justify your blunder in front of an audience! I demand that you restore me to the world of the living immediately!"
Silence loomed instantly over the crowd. The exiled prince had just called out Lord Death on his error. A mere mortal had just commanded the Grim Reaper. Even the older spirits in the assembly were speechless as nothing like this had ever been witnessed before. Avatar Roku was at a loss for words as he looked at his great grandson with a pained expression on his face. Zuko remained steadfast, defiant eyes burning with fire, as he continued to glare at Lord Death.
With his dark hood covering his features, it was impossible to get a read on Death's face. The Reaper stood slowly and wordlessly as he pulled his scythe from the sand. He didn't make a move forward from his seat. Instead, he just stood there measuring up Zuko from behind his hooded robe.
Without warning a feminine laugh broke the silence followed quickly with a light touch of applause. "This is just too good!" laughed Lady Luck from her seat next to Lord Death. "Ever since you were just a boy, you have been such an entertaining plaything."
Zuko's anger wasted no time switching targets. "What are you talking about?!"
With a smirk on her flawless face, Lady Luck blew a kiss at the fire prince. "I'm talking about you love. Your misfortune has always been my favorite source of comedy." Suddenly changing her facial expressions from being amused to feinting grief, she pouted in Lord Death's direction. "Deathy here hardly ever lets me have any fun. He always says that people should forge their own luck." She stuck out her tongue at the Eternal Reaper.
The rage flowing through Zuko right now could seen pouring out of the fire prince in spades. "Are you…" he struggled to form a sentence. "Are you telling me that my life! My struggles! My death! All of it! It was all just some sort of cruel joke to you?!"
The mischievous grin on Lady Luck's visage was all the proof that Zuko needed. With a cry of anguish, the fire prince charged straight towards the Mistress of Fortune. With a snap of her fingers however, the sand beneath Zuko's feet turned to smooth glass. Losing his footing, the fire prince tumbled head over heels before colliding with a sand dune. The laughter from Lady Luck echoed even louder across the beach.
"This is rich!" she taunted. "It never gets old! I control your luck at my whim. Do you honestly think that charging at me like a dumb ox-bull is going to do anything?" Then with a contemplative expression, "Actually…please try that again. I just thought of an even better way to throw you across the beach."
Before Zuko could reattempt his reckless charge, Avatar Roku stood before the enraged fire prince. "Enough!" He bowed deeply in respect to both Lord Death and Lady Luck. "Please forgive my great grandson's foolishness."
"Ever the moderator Roku," chided Lady Luck. Then she gave Zuko a wink. "I could never hate my little princey-wincy. He's just too entertaining." Lady Luck felt Lord Death step up behind her. She waved him off with her hand. "Fine, fine, I'll relent for now."
Zuko attempted to bypass the elder Avatar; however, he quickly found his legs swept out from underneath him and forced onto his knees in a low bow. He struggled to stand again, but to no avail as his arms were pinned behind his back. "Ask for forgiveness now," ordered Roku in a harsh whisper into the ear of his great grandson.
"What?!" snapped back Zuko as he continued to struggle. "There's absolutely no reason for me to do that! You heard that scheming witch! She got me killed to satisfy her own twisted amusement!"
"I understand that," chided Roku. "I meant apologize to Lord Death. You just insulted him in a manner similar as to when you spoke out against one of your father's generals in his war room."
That stopped Zuko cold. Ceasing his struggles, he took a calming breathe. The beach was silent for another couple of moments before, "Forgive me for my insolence, Lord Death," said Zuko through clenched teeth. "I meant you no disrespect."
The silence over the beach continued even after the apology as several of the gathered spirits shifted nervously. Avatar Roku released his grandson; however, Zuko remained bowed in the sand, unmoving.
Lord Death beckoned to his announcing spirit from earlier, who quickly approached his master's side. After listening to his master for a few moments, the spirit appeared to give Lord Death a swift double-take before bowing and returning to his podium.
Coughing to clear his voice, the announcing spirit addressed the entire assembly of spirits. "Lord Death has made his decision! After taking into account all the given testimonies and in light of recent evidence," the announcing spirit gave a quick glance to Lady Luck, who merely brushed him off with a wave from the back of her hand, "Fire Prince Zuko will be given a chance to regain his life."
The spirit allowed the assembly a moment to absorb his declaration. Almost immediately a protest was heard. "What?!" demanded the Blue Spirit. "Didn't you just see how much of a loose cannon this troublesome brat is?!"
"Lord Death has made his decision, lesser spirit," the announcing spirit spat out. "You would do well to respect the wishes of the King of the Underworld."
Drawing a sword, the Blue Spirit pointed it at the announcer. "Lesser spirit? I dare you to call me that one more time. You'll be dead before you finish you filthy mouthpiece."
A wave of pressure flowed across the beach as Lord Death slammed his scythe into the sand. "Tsk," cursed the Blue Spirit as he sheathed his blade. With a simple smoke bomb, he was gone.
Wasting no time, the announcing spirit continued as if nothing had just interrupted him. "Fire Prince Zuko will not be able to immediately return to life of course. However, as per an old tradition dating back to the creation of the world itself, Lord Death may grant a person he deems worthy the opportunity to gamble their soul for the chance at a second life. Lord Death has deemed Fire Prince Zuko worthy of such an opportunity."
"A gamble?" questioned Zuko as he stood once more. "What kind of gamble?"
"It's a game of chance," replied the announcing spirit, "Soon to start in another world. There will be many others in attendance as well; however, they will still be living, fighting for the chance to remain that way. Lord Death wishes to observe your resolve. If you survive the game, you will be granted a second chance at life. If you die in the game, then your soul will be forfeit. Do you accept the terms?"
A written contract appeared out of nowhere on a small round table in front of Zuko. A small spirit fox quickly ran up to the fire prince, holding a quill in its mouth. Zuko looked down at the small spirit beast, who stared back at him with curious eyes. His hand slowly reached out to take the quill.
"Stop!" ordered Avatar Roku harshly. "If you lose your soul, then you will dissolve into nothingness! You will cease be; here in the spirit realm, the underworld, anywhere. This game…it's not worth the price. Do not sign the contact Zuko. I'm begging you! Think about those who care for you!" Before Roku could continue his protests; however, he was stunned to see his great grandson looking back at him over his shoulder with a soft smile on his face.
"I am," was the only reply that Zuko gave his great grandfather as the faces of his mother, his uncle, and a certain water bender flashed through his mind. He took the quill from the spirit fox with conviction as the little beast remained at his side. With a flick of wrist his name appeared on the contract, glowing in fire.
"I accept your challenge Death!" declared Zuko proudly as he stared the Eternal Reaper down. "I will survive and I will return! Life has always thrown everything it could at me. Why should Death be any different? At least now I know why." Lady Luck blew another kiss at him as Zuko turned his attention towards her. "I will forge my own luck. You will have no hold on me anymore."
Lady Luck merely laughed in return as Lord Death slammed his scythe down onto the sand one final time and Zuko disappeared.
The Painted Lady approached Roku as the assembly of spirits began to disperse. "He's strong. He has a good chance of making through this challenge."
Not turning around to face her, Avatar Roku remained staring at the spot where his great grandson last stood. "I know," he whispered quietly after a while. Withdrawing a picture of a once happy Fire Nation royal family from his robes, he added, "Still, I just let my great grandson gamble his very existence. Ursa is going to kill me when she finds out. And Iroh will be crushed when he finally makes the journey to the other side only to find that his favorite nephew no longer exists. I should have stopped him."
The Painted Lady shook her head. "You couldn't have stopped him Roku. In fact, there's probably only one person who might have stood a chance at that and she's not here. We can only pray for his success."
A faint smile swept across his face as Avatar Roku turned to face the Painted Lady. "You know, the Blue Spirit and Avatar Kyoshi were right about one thing. My great grandson really is a troublesome brat."