Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
Chapter 1 - Fragments
Fire Lord Zuko sat silently at his desk, fingering the prickly remains of a badly shaved beard. Like his father, his capacity for growing facial air was limited to eyebrows--or 'eyebrow', in his case--and the very tip of his chin. The latter area was stubbornly trying to sprout forth a forest to match the generous beard of
"…every other Fire Lord to sit on the throne EVER."
Golden eyes fell onto Avatar Aang, who had been leading Zuko's train of thought for the past hour with a rant meant to distract both men from why the Avatar was really visiting. If it were just to spend some time with a close friend, then the two men would be outside with the Turtle Ducks. If it were something of political importance, the Airbender would have gotten to the point by now.
Which meant two things. Firstly, that whatever was on the Avatar's mind was important. Secondly, he really wished it wasn't.
Finally tiring of talking about stuffy Fire Lord facial air tradition, Zuko raised a hand, palm facing his friend, to stop the chattering. The last time Aang had talked this much about absolutely nothing was when Toph became the captain of the Royal Guard for Fire Nation, and her parents tried to sue Zuko with child endangerment and kidnapping.
Not a fun experience, but it had worried Aang more than anyone else.
"What's going on, Aang?" Zuko asked, lowering his raised hand and lacing it with the fingers of the other and placing both on his desk.
The Avatar's own hands clenched and unclenched in his lap. "It's…"
Zuko had never been particularly patient. He hadn't needed to be as a child, because he was the prince of the strongest nation in the world. He got what he wanted, when he wanted it. As a teen, he was too angry at the world to give a damn about the virtue of patience.
Only years of dealing with rambling council members had gotten him this far.
A minute or so of silence passed between the two men before a nearby candle started to flicker under the press of Zuko's growing annoyance. Aang correctly took this as a sign to get to the point.
"The Water Tribes need to start preparing for the next Avatar."
"…What…?"
If it is possible for a Fire Nation noble to become paler than they already are, Zuko did then. Aang, unable to sit and fidget under the shocked and worried gaze of his friend, stood and began pacing around the room. When he didn't explain further, Zuko stood as well, though remained behind his desk.
"Aang, what do you mean? Are you sick? How could you be sick?! You're the healthiest person I know!" The volume of the Fire Lord's voice rose through out the string of questions until, by the end, he was shouting. Aang was too used to Zuko's temper to do anything more than stop and look at the other man.
Ever since the fall of Ozai ten years ago, they and their friends had worked to rebuild the war torn world. It felt like the most damnable betrayal to leave before the job was even halfway done.
"After I took Ozai's bending away, I…I realized that, if I could turn a bender into just a normal person, I…I could do the same in reverse."
Zuko didn't know if he should be horrified and go on a tirade about how the goal was to restore balance to the world, not fuck it up all over again, or just sit there and listen to what sounded like his best friend's last confession.
The Avatar turned away as he said "I am the avatar, but at my CORE, I am an Airbender. I gave pieces of that part of me to people who wanted to become Airbenders."
The Fire Lord's mouth was dry from hanging open so long. "Did it-"
Aang cut him off with a jerky nod. Zuko paused before asking the most important question.
"You gave away pieces…of your…soul?"
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN
The severity of how much Aang has messed up the balance of the world will become evident in the next chapter.
When we actually get to the real story and not just setting it up! 8D EXCITEMENT.
And thank you, Metella, for being my very first reviewer/commenter. =3
