A/N: So this was supposed to be part of my other series, The Firelord and the Princess: Brother and Sister, but then I changed my mind and decided to make this into a oneshot instead. Some might find this a little disturbing, or it could just be me. *shrugs*
Zuko looked around him. He was in a red metal room about the size of his bedroom. It was completely bare save for a little box. His curiosity getting the better of him, he opened the box, only to find a framed picture. He used his sleeve to wipe off the dust that covered it like gray blanket. He found himself staring at a little boy and his sister, who were both grinning with sparkling eyes that were looking slightly to the right. They were sitting under a tree. The sky behind them was a warm azure, with fluffy marshmallows floating in it. Both were dressed in the royal family clothes, a dark red tunic and pants with a gold-trimmed over-collar. He traced the two children with his finger. It was happier then.
Suddenly, he noticed something. Looking closer, he saw that the little girl was pinching her brother as subtly as she could, and his grin barely masked his pain. He sighed, staring at the picture, a different impression on it now.
Then, he thought he saw something move. Zuko realized that the girl's eyes were slowly turning towards him, and her grin was growing bigger and bigger until it covered the whole picture. He dropped it with a thud and fell on his backside, moving further away from the picture.
He saw a hand reach out from the picture, and then another, and before he knew it the little girl was standing beside the picture and looking at him. "Zuzu, I'm coming to get you…"She laughed, a cute tinkle that slowly grew into a disturbing chortle.
Her face started dripping, her flesh melting off her bones into a puddle on the floor and revealing parts of her skull.
Drip, drip, drip…
Soon, the puddle grew and it flowed slowly towards him. Zuko stood up, looking for an escape. A door! Scrambling for it, he pulled at the knob, but it would not open. He grabbed the knob and used all the strength he could to try to open it. The door rattled, but that was all it did.
Drip, drip, drip…
Zuko felt a warm liquid rise from under him. The liquid flesh slowly rose to his ankles. The sickening smell of raw meat and blood wafted through the air. He banged at the door now, desperate to get out of this bad dream. "Help! Somebody help me!" He yelled.
"You can't run from me…"The girl drawled, a grin plastered on her face. Her flesh trickled down her face in slow motion, collecting at her chin and dropping into the ever-growing puddle.
Drip, drip, drip…
She stood on top of the mass of melted flesh, as if an invincible raft was supporting her. Zuko found himself stuck in the liquid. It was so thick he couldn't move. Blood and chunks of muscles swirled in it. He had to use all his willpower to stop himself from retching. And yet the little girl continued dripping.
Drip, drip, drip…
There was nothing he could do but wait for the liquid to rise above his head. He looked at the little girl again. Her exposed arteries and veins clung to her naked skull and her eyelids were melting off, concealing her eyes as it allowed gravity to pull them away from her bones.
Drip, drip, drip…
He willed himself to wake up. This must be a dream, this must be a dream, he told himself. Still he found himself stuck in a pool of molten flesh.
The girl grinned, the remainder of her cheek muscles allowing her to. "You can't hide from me…"
Slowly, slowly, the liquid flesh rose up to his mouth and nose. His eyes widened and he held his breath, but after a while he found himself gasping for air and instead allowing a mouthful of liquid to enter his throat. It got stuck at his airway. It was too thick to swallow even further and he couldn't spit it out with the liquid already just below his eyes. The little girl continued to stare at him, her eyeballs and teeth exposed.
Drip, drip, drip…
Zuko's eyes blurred from lack of oxygen and the last thing he saw before the melted flesh engulfed him was the little girl, a bare skull sitting on top of her still un-melted body. Her laugh echoed in the room…
"I always win…"
A/N: So what do you think? The 'drip, drip, drip...' phrases were inspired by a story I read called 'drip, drip, drip'.That short story reaally disturbed me. Anyway, when I imagined Azula's flesh melting off her bones and flowing on the floor I imagined viscous lava, the really thick type. So, ya...