I do not own anything that would get me sued.


Part 1: Ozai's Request

"You waste all your time playing with knives," Azula sneered from a chair in the family courtroom as she watched her brother brandish his pearl-handed knife. "You're not even good."

"Put an apple on your head and we'll find out how good I am!" Zuko snapped back, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He knew she was right. He had never learned how to properly use knives as weapons on their own with Master Piandao and for the last three days since learning of Lu Ten's death, he had spent all of his free time fingering the weapon and attempting to practice with it. Zuko had always loved the gift. Something about it, especially the phrasing inscribed into the blade, always reminded him of his cousin. Lu Ten had always encouraged him and, for that matter, so had Uncle. It seemed to comfort him in place of his relatives.

But he had never actually taken the knife out to practice with. The most he had ever done with it prior to the last three days was unsheathe it in the safety of his quarters and finger it before falling asleep. Now that Lu Ten was gone, Zuko had felt a strange need to bring the knife out, to carry it with him wherever he went. Something within him feared that it would disappear just like his cousin had.

"By the way, Uncle is coming home," Azula smiled, jumping down from her perch. Zuko backed away a little, wary of the dangerous edge to her amused expression.

Zuko eyed her and slowly said, "Does that mean…we won the war?"

"No. It means Uncle is a quitter and a loser."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko spat. He glared at Azula's back as she meandered further into the room. "Uncle's not a quitter."

"Oh yes he is," Azula retorted in derision. She swung an arm around one of the large pillars holding up the building. "He found out his son died and he just fell apart. A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground." She let go of the pillar and crossed her arms with a smirk. "A real general wouldn't lose the battle and come home crying."

"How do you know what he should do?" Azula had no right to be saying things like this. She wasn't out there fighting barbarian earthbenders and leading a whole army of men. She wasn't the one who had lost her child. She didn't know what it was like. She hadn't even batted an eyelash when Mother had announced Lu Ten's death. Zuko's anger slipped into nonexistence as the now-familiar grief bubbled up to take its place and the distant memory of his cousin's smile made his chest ache. "He's probably only sad his only kid is gone." Zuko almost choked on his words and looked down to the floor tiles. "Forever."

She turned to him with a smirk. "That is why you are weak, Zuzu. I bet you would have done what Uncle did, am I right? But I wouldn't have. I would have stayed and fought."

Because you're heartless. Zuko had to clench his fists to keep from lashing out. It would have no difference if he attacked her or not. But it would be in his best interest not to. She had grown too far ahead now and she would literally have him lying on his back in a matter of moments. But he wanted to – so badly. How could she so emotionless like this? A member of her own family had just died and she almost sounded gleeful. Zuko hurt everywhere still. He had just been tired and listless all the time and he had begun to have nightmares of Lu Ten dying slowly under a dark, stone prison.

His tutors had all given up on his by now. They arrived as their duty dictated but Zuko could tell they had adopted a careless approach. Zuko knew he should have been ashamed by his lack of effort but the world had begun to seem bleak and sometimes he wondered whether it would all even be worth it. Nowadays, the only thing he took pleasure in were his moments alone with his mother and time spent practicing with his knife.

"Zuko, Azula," his mother suddenly called form the doorway. "Dress in your best clothes. Hurry now! Your father has asked for an audience with Firelord Azulon."

"Firelord Azulon," Azula scoffed carelessly. "Can't we just call his Grandfather? He's not exactly the powerful Firelord he used to be. Somebody will probably end up taking his place soon."

Zuko shot her an incredulous look. That had almost sounded like treason!

"Young Lady! Not. Another. Word," Mother snapped.

Azula only rolled her eyes and ran out the door. Zuko nervously glanced up at his mother and quickly followed his sister's path out just as he heard his mother murmur, "What is wrong with that child?"

Zuko caught up to his sister a few feet down the hall and glanced at her. She normally wasn't so blatantly petulant around Mother like that. Azula was always subtle, always careful to wreak her damage silently. So why did it seem as if she always lost a little bit of that control around Mother like that?

"What…do you think the audience is for?"

Azula shot him a contemptuous glare and turned away. "If you don't know by now then you really are a dum-dum."

"So what? You know?"

She sniffed, looking down at him despite her shorter height, and gave Zuko a look that screamed "obviously". He fell silent after that and for the first time in a long time, they fell into an almost tolerable lull devoid of scathing remarks and arguments.

Just as they reached her bedroom door, Zuko hesitated the slightest bit, debating on whether he should ask what was wrong. Because there was something wrong. He knew it. People watched the people they loved, but they watched the people who meant harm all the more. Something about Azula had always sat strangely with Zuko and he had found himself unconsciously documenting her every move, her every facial expression to catch the slightest notion that she might suddenly leap and devour him whole. With that much attention, Zuko knew Azula almost better than anybody else did.

Zuko stifled his hesitation and continued walking a few more steps to his own quarters. She would never answer him anyway. She would probably just scoff at him and call him weak again. He was about to close his door behind him when the softest of voices murmured from the adjacent doorway.

"I heard Mom. And I don't care what she says. There's nothing wrong with me."

~0~

Zuko nervously resisted his habit of tugging on his clothes as he sat in the Fire Nation's very own throne room. He himself had been in the room a grand total of two times before in his entire life despite the fact that his grandfather was the Firelord. He didn't remember either time. The first had been when his parents had presented his newborn self. The second had been when Azula had been presented and he had only been two.

The relative darkness of the room sent shivers down his spine. They were the Fire Nation for Agni's sake. Why did they make the throne room so devoid of light like this? True, it added to overall dramatic effect of the flames wreathing the throne but was that really necessary?

Zuko couldn't quite make out his grandfather's face. He had never seen it enough to actually memorize the contours like he had his immediate family. To Zuko, his grandfather was more a stranger than anything else. The only conversation he could remember between himself and the Firelord had been during his sixth birthday when the man had simply handed him a large wrapped gift and murmured, "Happy Birthday."

It hadn't even been a proper conversation, but Zuko could still recall the gravelly texture and the strange sense of warmth in his grandfather's tone that day. Zuko smiled the slightest bit at the memory. He still treasured the gift the Firelord had given him by hand and they were currently neatly hung on his bedroom wall. The dual Dao swords had been a surprise and they had proved to be his favorite weapon when training with Master Piandao.

"And how was it that your great-grandfather, Sozin, win the Battle of Han Tui?" Father asked, already on his fifth question in a seemingly random questionnaire.

Zuko felt the brushings of recognition in his mind and he stammered, "Great-grandfather Sozin…won the battle…because…"

"Because even though his army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages. The enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses burned to a crisp in minutes," Azula rattled off with a self-satisfied smirk.

Zuko didn't even have time for a glare before his father said, "Correct, Azula. Now why don't you show your grandfather the new firebending technique you demonstrated to me?"

Azula stood up with all the confidence of a prodigy and took up a stance. She immediately launched into a series of large blasts and quickly maneuvered her footwork to add to the impressive display. She grew ever faster and she ended neatly with a single, powerful kick before flipping back into her beginning stance.

So all of that time cartwheeling with Ty Lee hadn't been for simple fun. Of course, the perfect princess had been learning some advantages. She did nothing without a purpose.

"She is a true prodigy, just like her grandfather for whom she's named," Father said with the pride in his voice Zuko had longed every day for.

Azula settled back down beside Zuko and smugly murmured, "You'll never catch up."

Zuko knew that it was bait. He knew it. She always said things like that to rile him up. But he just couldn't seem to stop himself from saying, "I'd like to demonstrate what I've learned."

He tried to ignore his father's noticeable frown of disapproval as he settled into his own beginning stance. He had been working hard the last year and despite his recent slack in work, he had finally been able to create something resembling Azula's own routine. He was nowhere near as clean cut as she was yet, but he tried to ignore that fact as he began the exercise.

But his father's frown stayed in his mind and soon, he found himself stumbling and desperately tried to fix his mistake by ending it with a kick like his sisters only to land on his back with not a single, final blast of flame to redeem himself.

Like always.

His mother's arms were immediately around him and he struggled to push her off. It was bad enough that he had completely shamed himself in front of Azula, father, and the Firelord. He didn't want them seeing his mother baby him now.

"I failed," he mumbled, ignoring etiquette.

"No, Zuko, I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko," his mother soothed. "Somebody who keeps fighting even though it's hard."

Was it so bad that he actually loved to hear these words of comfort? They kept his hurt at bay and her soothing presence was like a balm against burns.

"Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp? Just tell me what you want. Everyone else – go," the Firelord commanded with a tinge of irritation.

Mother pulled Zuko up with her and strode forward with the intention of leading her children out of the throne room. Azula followed closely at Zuko's heels and just as they were about to exit, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind the long, ruby curtains that adorned the back wall.

"What are you –"

"Shh," Azula brusquely motioned with a swift jab of her finger and Zuko's protests died on his tongue. It wasn't like he was listening to her. He was just as curious as she. If they had a chance to listen in on Father's conversation, they should seize it.

"Father," the second Prince began, "I grieve for my brother's loss and I pray for my nephew's spirit, but you must have realized, just as I, that, with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his son's death, my brother abandoned the Siege of 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," the Fire Lord snapped.

What was Father trying to say? Why was Father speaking about Uncle and Lu Ten? Zuko wrinkled his brow and watched as the Fire Lord's expression remained impassive. He could only see his father's back but he could see the slight tension, the anticipation that seemed to tighten his back shoulders. Zuko didn't spend that much time with his father, but even he could see that. Whatever his father was trying to do, it was big because his father never portrayed any weakness, any flaw. His father was perfect. Just like Azula.

What was Zuko's father trying to do?

The Fire Nation's second Prince drew himself up and stood before the Fire Lord. "Father, revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation…use me."

There was a moment of deadly silence. Zuko almost choked at his father's request and he could hear his sister's elated intake of breath. A part of his mind wondered if Azula had known this would happen, but the majority of his mind was stunned. "Use me"? Was Father actually trying to...take the throne? Away from Uncle? Hadn't they always told him that Uncle was the Crown Prince, the future leader of the world's greatest nation? Why was Father doing this? Why?

The Fire Lord's flames grew higher and he leaned forward in his throne with an almost incredulous expression on his face. Fury, shock, and complete disgust were etched in the old man's face.

"You dare suggest I betray Iroh? My firstborn? Directly after the demise of his only, beloved son?" Zuko could see a sort of grim determination, a sort of resignation in his grandfather's brow now. The flames, although high, were now brighter than ever and they seemed to enhance the Fire Lord's features. An overwhelmingly furious power emanated from the Fire Nation's leader and Zuko had to curl in his hands into the curtain to keep himself from fleeing. This was dangerous. This was something Zuko didn't want to see. Something about that set, thin line of his grandfather's mouth made him shiver in foreboding and dread curled in his stomach.

"Your brother has suffered enough," Zuko's grandfather snarled, "But you? You punishment as scarcely begun!"

Zuko's control snapped then. The wave of oppressive and pure power seemed to lash itself throughout the room like a shockwave and Zuko flinched away from it. Everything told him to run from this, run from it all. He wasn't afraid of the power nor was he afraid of his grandfather's ire, but something about all of this was just so wrong. Like the world had tilted on edge and only Zuko could sense that everything was going to fall off the edge. Nothing good could come of this. Nothing.

He detangled himself from the curtains and desperately hurled himself out of the room. He couldn't stay. That sense of wrongness wouldn't go away and the only way he could think to escape it was to run. He didn't miss his sister's condescending smirk on his way out. She was most likely thinking him weak for fearing a mere display of power and anger but Zuko could have cared less. For the first time in a long time, she was the stupid one. She couldn't sense it, could she? The wrongness? Was nothing telling her to get away? Was that feral expression of hunger on her face actually excitement? What, in Agni's name, could she possibly be excited about? Everything was wrong. Everything wasn't working like it should have. Lu Ten was dead. Uncle was away and heartbroken. Father was betraying his brother and asking for the throne. Grandfather was a mere breath away from incinerating his second son on the spot. What was there to be excited about?

Zuko flew down the halls, heedless of the startled expressions of the nobles and scholars that he passed. Pure terror had etched itself into his heart and he only ceased his escape once he slammed his bedroom door behind him. He desperately plunged his hand underneath his pillow and brought out his knife. He gripped it so hard his knuckles turned white and he feverishly unsheathed it to stare at the inscription for the thousandth time.

For once, it didn't calm him down. That terror, that wrongness, was still there.

~0~

Azula watched in silent awe as the Firelord, her grandfather, displayed his fury and power through the wall of flame shrouding his throne. A hint of a smirk touched her lips as Zuko trembled and ran away like the coward he was and a sense of fascination rooted her to the spot.

"Your punishment, Ozai, shall fit your crime. You too must know the pain of losing your firstborn son…by sacrificing your own."

Azula felt a thrill shoot through her stomach. Zuko, gone? And leaving her, her father's heir? It was exactly what she wanted. Exactly. The only thing Zuko was good for was taking up space. Maybe he sometimes smiled kindly at her and offered her the occasional extra bun from his dinner or the occasional question of whether she was "alright" or not, but those strange lapses of, dare she say it, consideration were mere flukes. She knew it. She knew Zuko was jealous of her brilliance. Everybody was. Who wouldn't be? Azula was beautiful, smart, and powerful. She knew she was a road to greatness. Everybody should be jealous. Zuko only tripped up everything he came by and stole Mother away with every pathetic little emotional spat he spouted almost daily like a baby. Mother and Zuko feared Azula's perfection. Only Father could truly appreciate her. With Zuko out of the way, she could finally take her rightful place beside Father.

But Firelord Azulon must have seen something in his second son's eyes, an inhuman spark of satisfaction for he continued, "I can see that you desire power, Ozai. You hunger for it and you shall pay for such greed. Iroh is your brother. How could you wish such destruction upon your kin? You shall not have as you desire."

"Father," Ozai said in an effort to mend his mistake. "I only had the fate of our nation in mind. If you allowed me to take the throne –"

"Silence!" the Fire Lord bellowed with a sweep of an arm. "Listen well, Prince Ozai. The only way I would even consider your request is if you did as I spoke of. Sacrifice your son and only then will I consider you in the same light as your brother."

Azula held her breath. What was Father going to say? A part of her actually hoped that he wouldn't agree because if Father agreed to this now, what would stop him from sacrificing her if he needed to in the future? But a much larger part of her rejected that. Father loved her. He praised her. He didn't praise Zuko. He would never sacrifice his prodigal daughter. She was sure.

Father's long, black hair shrouded his face and a heavy silence descended upon the throne room for the longest, most agonizing moments of Azula's life. Was Father actually hesitating? Was Father going to give up this chance for a dum-dum? He couldn't! Father had always spoken softly to her of his aspirations after her lessons with him. He had always told her how much of a better world he could create if he were heir to the throne. He always told her how much he desired the throne, how he was going to change the world so that the Fire Nation would stand, indisputably, at the top.

Finally, the second Prince opened his mouth and gravely said, "If sacrificing Zuko is what it will take, than I am willing to even do that in order to prove to you, Father, that I am worthy."

A terrifying glee sent a manic grin across Azula's face. Zuko was going to be gone! She would be the heir of the family, an only child! With him out of the way, she could have both her parents' attention! And it would only be a matter of time before grandfather dropped dead and her father took the throne that would rightfully be his after Zuko was gone and once he came to power –

"I am disappointed," the Fire Lord whispered in a tone almost sad. "I truly am disappointed, Ozai. I expected more from you."

Azula was just as surprised as her father.

"Father, what are you saying? I said I would be willing to – "

"And I heard you," the Fire Lord interrupted, his voice grim. "I heard you and was disappointed. You would be willing to sacrifice your only son for power. I am no fool, Ozai. I know my time is coming despite my good health. I know when I see one of my own too far gone to save. As fierce as our people are, as strongly as the flame of determination and strength runs through our veins, we must always remember to never fall prey to our insistent desire for power. And that is exactly what you have done. I cannot have my heir a person hungry for power. Our nation would never prosper with a leader that was driven by power."

No, no, no, no, no. This was wrong. This wasn't right. Just a minute ago, Azula could actually taste her father's victory. Now it was slipping between the cracks and disappearing altogether. What in Agni's name was the Fire Lord prattling on about? What was wrong with a ruler driven by power? Father had always told her that power was the only thing you could trust, the only thing that was good about the world. Everything else was a lie to hurt and shove you down. Power was everything.

"You will, indeed, still lose your son," Grandfather continued. "But you shall not lose him to something so crude as sacrifice. Our royal line is already so thin, so precarious. No, Zuko shall no longer be your son, but Iroh's. My firstborn has experienced his loss and he deserves his own heir." Azula could actually taste the horror coming off Father in waves. She herself felt like gagging. "From this day forward, Zuko shall be second in line for the throne and raised to be the next Crown Prince."

No! Azula had to clench her fists and take meditating breaths to calm her temper. This couldn't be happening. Zuko, as the next Crown Prince? She wouldn't let that happen. She couldn't. Zuko didn't deserve such a place. Zuko didn't deserve anything. He was a good-for-nothing bastard, lucky to be born.

Azula scrambled backwards and out the throne room, unable to watch her father bow before the Fire Lord in concession. She was actually running away, fear striking at her heart like fear had struck her brother's a few minutes before. If Zuko became the next Crown Prince, what would she be? She wouldn't be a Prince's son then. She would just be part of another branch of the royal family, another one of those nobodies who populated the palace. She couldn't let that happen. She wasn't born for something so lowly. She was born into power and she would have it, no matter the cost.

Azula forced herself to slow down and think. What could she do? She knew Father would already be acting, fixing the problem. But she wanted to help. She wanted to make sure that the Fire Lord's command wouldn't come to fruition.

A smirk formed on her face. Oh, yes. She could make sure. She could make sure in such a way that nobody else could.

Mother had always been fiercely protective of Zuko. It wouldn't take much to lie, to twist this into a situation that would work in Father's favor.

And Azula had always been good at lying.


So yup, there was the first deviation from the canon :) I bet a lot of you guessed what I was going to do already.

And I know that a lot of this was taken from the canon (the scenes I mean). The wording is practically the exact same thing and it was actually an effort on my part to keep it as exact as possible. (Once again, I don't own the thing so let's not call the lawyers.) I thought that these scenes were pretty crucial and I only changed/added what I had to. From here on out, it's going to be pretty AU. Obviously.

I also tried to paint some humanity into Azula in this chapter. The previous chapters were pretty black and white in terms of Azula's cruel streak, but I really wanted to keep her a round character. For all of her confidence, we all know that she has this whole "Mother hates me and it hurts but I ignore it and act cool" thing. She has her own internal issues and I wanted that out there. She's an ass but, like most asses, she has some deep issues.

Oh, and for all of you hoping for pairings...I guess I'm going to have to apologize to you ahead of time. I just don't like writing pairings. Number one because the way I write pairings turn out cheesy as hell but also because most of the time it tends to just get in the way of the plot. Unless, of course, that's the plot itself. But it isn't in my case. I plan to focus on Zuko's struggles, his story in this AU. I might add a pairing if it comes to fit, but I will never capitalize on it and will mention it in passing at most.

Also, if I ever do a pairing, it will never be Zutara or Maiko. Sorry. It just wouldn't make sense. As cute and sweet as some scenes make those pairings seem in canon, I just don't see how, realistically, they would work out. Zuko chased Katara all over the world with the intention of taking away the Avatar and handing him over to his crazed dad. That, and he burned a village or two along the way. So no, too much bad blood there and it would just take WAY too long to even develop a suitable situation for the pairing. Plus, in my story, Zuko won't know Katara as well as he did in canon. And Mai? Okay, maybe they shared a CHILDHOOD crush. But, in canon, Zuko's been at sea for THREE YEARS. Three years of bitterness, difficulties, and experiencing the outside world. He wouldn't be the same and such a time gap wouldn't keep their bond THAT tightly knit. In my story, they just wouldn't work out for different reasons that I won't voice now.

But yay, now with the whole scene set up, I can finally get to the JUICY stuff :D

Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys keep me going :)