Capture The Avatar: Azulon's Plot

By Jet Set Yoyo

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor any of the characters. If I did, Zuko would've ended up with Katara not Mai.

Summary: When all of Fire Lord Azulon's efforts to locate the missing Avatar fail, he decides that the young Airbender must have died and been reborn. But with countless deaths of people from various nations, children included, he could no longer be certain that the Avatar would be a Waterbender. He ordered his troops across the nations, locating any child with exceptional bending skills for their age. Gathering them all up, he would locate the Avatar that way. With Ozai's suggestion of passing Iroh over as Fire Lord, Azulon orders his son Zuko not to be killed, but to join the thousands of children locked away in prison cells where he eventually meets the gang and few new faces along the way.

It all started with a suggestion, a harmless suggestion, from one of the Fire Lord's advisers. If they couldn't locate the Avatar by their current means, perhaps he or she had passed on and a new one had been reborn; simple enough. However, no one expected Fire Lord Azulon to take it to the lengths he did. Calling together all his troops, he spread them out to all four nations in search of bending children. A big risk. The children were to be tested on sight, those who showed any inkling of bending powers beyond their years were to be taken in and brought to a newly built prison for testing.

It was only days after when his youngest son Ozai knelt before him to ask him a very important favor. A request that would ultimately influence the outcome of the rest of the war.

"Prince Ozai, what is it you want," Azulon's voice echoed throughout the chambers.

"Father, you must have realized as I have that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended," Ozai spoke up, a small smile dancing upon his lips. Azulon listened, his hands folded together and his brow furrowed in thought. "After his son's death, my brother abandoned the siege at Ba Sing Se and who knows when he will return home. But I am here Father and my children are alive."

"Say what it is you want," Azulon growled, growing irritated with his son's stalling. He was a busy man, even visits from his children should be kept short and to the point. A nation didn't run itself.

"Father revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me," Ozai concluded, bowing deeply.

Fire Lord Azulon stood from his throne, anger radiated from his wrinkled face. A long, bony finger pointed outward at his son in accusation.

"You dare suggest I betray Iroh, my first born? Directly after the demise of his only son," flames rose up nearly to match those that surrounded the platform which held the throne. "I think Iroh has suffered enough but you, your punishment has scarcely begun!"

Ozai only looked up in horror towards his Father. He thought for sure this would be a grand opportunity to claim the throne. Iroh was an old fool, his only concerns were tea and other frivolous things such as Pai Sho. He would not grovel for his Father's forgiveness, that was a weakness and he could not show his Father that he was weak; he wasn't weak. It was incredulous that his Father had not seen it his way, Fire Lord Azulon was a great leader but Ozai feared he must've been losing his skill in his old age.

"Prince Ozai, your punishment will fit your crime. You will know the pain of losing a first born. I will have my men take your son Zuko, do not dishonor me nor your brother again! Get out!"

Azulon was in the last few years of his reign. At the beginning of his plan, only children which displayed bending powers beyond their years were collected from each of the remaining nations in a desperate search for the Avatar. However, in his older years Azulon was not the strong leader he used to be. His frailty from old age and long years of tyrannical domination over his country and around the world led to his psychological demise. His troops were wary of their leader though still followed him blindly, just not to the same degree. Talk circulated often of Azulon's mental state amongst soldiers; those weary of battle and longing to return home no longer felt proud to carry out his commands but did so only to keep their honor but that didn't mean they weren't half-assing the job. The Fire Lord, still cross with his youngest son Ozai for dishonoring him and his elder brother Iroh, decided rather than kill the Firebending child separating Zuko from his family would do the same. It was the next night when a small group of Fire Nation troops appeared at the doors of young Zuko's chambers.

Little Zuko knew nothing of the danger he was in, being only eight years old. On a dark night, he jolted from his bed to find Fire Nation soldiers in his room. Adrenaline coursed through the young boy's veins but not for the reason he thought. The Fire Nation wouldn't hurt a young prince, surely, or so he thought so the only reason they could possibly be here to pick him up instead of his parents would be that something bad had happened.

"Where's Mom," the young prince inquired while staring up at the men through bleary, sleep filled eyes.

"Don't worry about her Prince Zuko, come with us," the leader of the group spoke up, edging towards the boy cautiously. When the young prince did not lash out or resist, the man clad is his army uniform leaned forward to pick the boy up and carry him away. They were almost clear of the palace when his Mother Ursa met them at the gates.

"Where are you taking my son," she demanded, scared, yet a hint of venom laced her voice. It was wise not to get between a Mother and child, even the soldiers knew well to play it the right way. However, the tone in his Mother's voice caused Zuko to become fearful, unsure of what was going on. He fidgeted in the soldier's grasp, straining not to break down in tears.

"Mom!"

"Zuko, don't be frightened."

"Lady Ursa, there has been an attack. We fear Zuko was the target and are bringing him somewhere safe by the Fire Lord's wishes," one of the soldiers explained, stepping forward between the one holding Zuko and Lady Ursa. "We were told not to inform you or Prince Ozai in case the attacker makes it to the palace."

The explanation didn't suit Ursa but if it was Fire Lord Azulon's orders, she could not question it and live to tell the tale. Reluctantly she moved aside staring after the soldiers although her eyes never left her son staring back at her in confusion and fear. When he was gone from her sight, she broke down into tears and ran back for Ozai. Maybe this was all just a misunderstanding. Ozai would fix it, he would bring their little boy home immediately.

When Zuko's gaze could no longer see his Mother he began to fight the grasp of the soldier; kicking, punching and spurting short bursts of fire to the best of his ability to get free. He wanted his Mother and he wanted her now. If anyone could keep him safe from this attacker, it would be his parents. However, the strength of a mere eight-year-old could not match that of a trained Firebender well into his thirties and thus Zuko was stuck watching the Fire Nation disappear before his eyes as they boarded a vessel and set out to sea. He was deposited soon after into a small holding cell with nothing but a bare bed and a toilet. The raven haired prince was much too distraught now to do anything but quiver in the bed, hugging his knees to his chest; he even refused the food brought to him.

The relatively short voyage, only a day and a half, lasted a lifetime for the raven-haired boy. He sat dully in his cell, staring blankly at the wall. He wanted his Mother, his home, his bed. Heck, he'd even take his sister Azula right now. Nothing about this place was familiar and he was feeling incredibly homesick. Had he been years older, fully trained, and paying attention he would have noticed that the rocking of the ship had died down and the dull roar of the engine ceased. Instead he was discontent just staring at the wall and willing himself not to cry. He wasn't a baby and he wouldn't give anyone a reason to say so. Azula would just make fun of him later for it anyway. This would all be cleared up soon and he'd be home with his Mother, Father, and Sister. Mother said not to be frightened anyway so he definitely couldn't cry.

Footsteps clanged against the metal floor, growing closer to his tiny room. When the soldier appeared in front of the door and began to unlock it, Zuko couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the tiny glimmer of hope that everything would be OK. The rough handling the man displayed shattered that hope instantly and he rubbed away a single stray tear before anyone would notice.

This time instead of thrashing about in a fruitless effort to escape, the amber-eyed child took in his surroundings. They had left the ship and entered a strange building he had never seen before, on an island he also had never seen before. This certainly wasn't Ember Island and he probably wasn't going to his family's vacation home. Tall menacing metal structures made up the entirety of the place and once inside he couldn't help but gawk at the sheer number of cells inside; this place was a prison.

"Why am I going to prison," he tried to ask with courage, instead it came out as a tiny, uncertain squeak. His transporter didn't grace his question with an answer, nor did he even bother to look at the confused child. Zuko was bewildered completely by this man's nonchalant manner towards a child of royal blood, not that he used it much to his advantage. Unlike Azula who seemed to flaunt that fact every moment she could.

Before he could ask again, they stopped in front of a cell on the third floor and the door was unlocked and opened. He was tossed in like garbage before he could even register what was happening. The door slammed shut in his face as he scrambled to his feet, pounding on it long after the guard had left.

"Wait! Please! I want to go home, this is a mistake," he shouted continuously until his voice grew hoarse and he could scream no more. It was then that he realized he wasn't alone in the cell. A figure shifted on the floor in the dark corner. Zuko turned around, plastering himself to the door and hoping what little light shone in from the tiny window slot would help him find whoever was in here. "Who's there?"

"Screaming isn't going to make them let you go. We're stuck here. We're stuck and we're never getting out," came a rather nonchalant voice from the darkness.

"You're lying! I'm Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, they can't keep me here. My parents will hear about this and come get me. This is a mistake," he ranted, though his voice trailed off as disbelief and uncertainty wormed its way into his thoughts. "This is a mistake, isn't it?"

The figure, moving into the light to reveal himself as a chestnut-haired boy about the same age as the Prince himself, shook his head. Though the light leaking into the room was dim, Zuko caught the gesture and fought to control the tears threatening to fall. His Mother would save him, she always did.

"I wish it was...," the boy returned, averting his gaze sadly. He'd been in here for a month and a half now. He wanted to go home as badly as anyone else here but crying and screaming about it only made the guards angry; you didn't like the guards when they got angry. He rubbed the scar on his right arm absentmindedly at the thought. "Zuko right? I'm Zaiden."

"Oh...hi."

"You're weird. C'mon, sit down. If the guards see you by the door they'll be mad. It's safer to just hide over here. Usually they just leave me alone if I stay here," Zaiden explained, motioning for the young prince to come closer. Slowly and reluctantly Zuko came to the other side of the room but didn't sit by the other boy, instead he stubbornly plopped himself down in the opposite corner and hugged his knees to his chest. Zaiden shrugged and went back to his own corner though Zuko never bothered to look at him.

Just a plot bunny I wanted out there. Those of you waiting on Where'd You Get This Kid! Don't shoot me, I'm working on some research for another chapter. Reviews would be nice; I'm not entirely sure whether or not this will be continued. I'm always up for good constructive criticism as well.

In case anyone is curious, Zaiden is pronounced Zaye-den like Jayden or Hayden. He's my first character that I've had and developed for over thirteen years now. While he's my most developed character, he still has a ways to go. Other characters of mine will make appearances, but since they're less developed they won't be staying around as long.