Hey guys!
Alright, so this is all the essential scenes for the rest of my story. It's a bit long, though I imagine you guys won't mind that. ;)
I'm sorry I had to end it like this. I just don't have time to really properly finish the story. Even once the semester is over, I have a conference and then a full-time internship abroad.
Thank you all for reading though! I hope this last update does it enough justice.
Enjoy the final installment.
It was the middle of the night, in an abandoned storage facility near the Republic City Port. Ozai was here to deal with a new buyer. They were to buy their new product for distribution. What the product did exactly, Zuko didn't know. Ozai just brought him along or the ride, most likely for another lesson in how to instill fear in new 'partners'.
Three men stood about ten meters away from the Agni Kais. They were from the Red Monsoons. Their boss and Ozai were going over the basic necessities of their potential partnership. As a token of good favor, Ozai had one of the Red Monsoons' most wanted: a formal Red Monsoon who sold them out to the police. He kneeled in the middle, tied and bound, his legs deeply burned for good measure.
The Red Monsoons expressed their appreciation and then commenced negotiations. By the way they were standing, it looked as though they were trying to intimidate Ozai. Zuko could see one of them fiddling with some water with their waterbending. In a morbid sort of way, Zuko found it amusing. If only they knew how impossible it was to intimidate Ozai.
There was a sound. It was a shuffle so faint it was barely noticeable, but it was enough to get Zuko to turn his head. He heard it near one of the exits. He starred in the general direction for a few moments and was about to look away, when he saw something move. Narrowing his eyes, he took a step toward the door.
The Red Monsoon boss stopped mid-sentence. "Is there a problem, young man?"
Ozai turned to his son. "Zuko?"
"I-I thought I saw something…" Zuko turned to his father. "I think someone's outside."
Ozai turned back to the Red Monsoons with a sharp glare. "Did you bring backup in case you felt a need to flee? Or feel a need to ambush me and my men?"
"I could ask you the same," the boss replied hotly. "Do you have dishonorable intentions, Phoenix King?"
There was a large clanging from the roof, drawing all of their attentions. This was soon followed by the clear sounds of running footsteps outside.
Ozai summoned a fire in his palm. "Looks like we have ourselves some unwanted guests."
Suddenly, all entrances were flown open and dozens of men ran in, brandishing weapons. Zuko instinctively jumped back, firebending at their weapons. One of them took a swing at his head with a harpoon. Zuko ducked and rolled to the side, and swung his leg out to knock the man down. Turning over, Zuko grabbed the harpoon and held the shaft to the man's throat. The man's eyes widened before shutting tightly as he seemed to accept his fate.
Zuko frowned. Something's wrong. He looked down at his hands. A harpoon…? Without lightening his grip, he looked up at the men who were fighting the Agni Kais and the Red Monsoons. They weren't wearing uniforms. Their clothing were unusual to Zuko. And they were all wielding unusual weapons. Harpoons, machetes… none of them were benders. Even though they outnumbered them, their lack of bending made them hopelessly outmatched. In fact, some of them were already starting to flee.
These men weren't cops. They were merchants.
The man below him brought his leg up and kicked Zuko off of him. Zuko brought the harpoon up in anticipation of an attack, but the man just rolled away and then ran out the door.
The attack had ended as quickly as it had begun. Virtually all of the men had either left or had been killed. All but one.
Two of Ozai's lackeys had grabbed a man and dragged him forward. Ozai wiped the dust of his clothing. He gave a small chuckle. "So you're the leader of this little gang."
The man was shoved into a kneeling position, and he looked up at Ozai through a bloodied brow. "What… makes you… so certain?" he asked between deep breathes.
Ozai smirked. "I recognize a leader when I see one. Even a foolhardy one." Ozai knelt in front of the him. "So tell me: Who are you? Why did you think it was wise to attack us with your little band of misfits?"
The man's gaze hardened, not the least bit cowed by Ozai. "I'm just a simple man trying to make a living," he said. "We happened to walk by and notice your little meeting. Not to mention the man you had brutalized."
Zuko had to admit, this man had some serious balls to face Ozai like this, even as some of his fellow men lay dead around him.
"And you thought you could save this man?" Ozai asked.
The man snarled. "I refuse to just standby and watch men like you torture a man."
Ozai chuckled. "I see." He stood back up and straightened his jacket, giving the man an amused look.
Zuko's stomach dropped as he recognized the gleam in his father's eye. "Father…"
Before he could utter another word, Ozai brought his arm back and thrust out a stream of fire into the man's face. The man let out an inhuman screech as his head became engulfed in flames. Even as the smell of burnt flesh quickly filled the room, Ozai didn't let up until the man's screaming stopped and he fell limp in his captors' arms.
With a satisfied sigh, Ozai turned and started to walk away. Zuko stared at the man's corpse, unable to tear his eyes away. The man's head was an unrecognizable clump of blackened charcoal. "Y-you killed him," Zuko uttered in disbelief. He had never seen his father kill a man directly, especially not an outsider.
Ozai spared his son a brief glance. "Of course."
"I mean, the flu's been going around," Aang said. "Maybe Sokka and Katara both got sick."
Zuko looked up at the Mizuth house as they approached it. While Aang's guess was perfectly acceptable and logical, something in his gut told Zuko that this was something else.
They knocked on the door and waited several minutes with no answer.
"... Maybe they went out…?" Aang suggested.
"Both of their cars are in the driveway," Zuko said.
Then, the clank of a lock turning was heard and the door slowly opened to reveal Sokka and Katara's grandmother. She looked so much older than usual. She looked withered and tired, her eyes bloodshot.
"Is everything okay?" Aang asked, alarmed by her image.
She slowly shook her head. "No, young man. Everything is not alright." She turned inside and gave a heavy sigh. "You should come in. My grandson and granddaughter could use a couple friendly faces."
They walked in, feeling very much like the intruders. In the living room, Sokka and Katara sat side-by-side. Katara was weeping softly, clutching something to her chest. With an arm around his sister, Sokka was simply staring into space.
"What happened…?" Zuko asked.
Sokka's eyes focused and he looked at the firebender. "We got news this morning…" he rasped out. "Our father… he's dead."
"Dead?" Katara said. She looked up, her face red, her brow furrowed in anger. "Dad was murdered. He had just gotten home from sea and some bastard just murdered him."
"Katara!" her grandmother said.
"No!" Katara stood, the object she had been holding to her chest, a picture frame, still clutched tightly in one of her hands. "I refuse to just sit here and wallow! As though there's nothing we can do! We can! We can go out there and try to find the bastard that burned him alive!"
"Katara, that's enough!"
Despite the Mizuth's yelling at each other, all noise seemed to fade away to Zuko, leaving behind only a loud roaring in his ears. His body seemed to double in weight, and breathing became difficult. His mind, without consciously acknowledging it, was starting to put the pieces together.
As Katara flailed her arms, the picture in the frame she held became visible to all. An average observer would be able to infer that it was a picture of her father without even having to look at it. But despite himself, Zuko found his eyes glued on the picture of a man kneeling beside two children.
The man from last night.
The man his father had killed.
"If you don't watch your tongue..." Ozai warned, "... then I will be within my right to cut it straight out of your bastard mouth! Am I making myself clear?"
Aang could feel Zuko tightening his grip on his shoulders, probably a silent warning to heed their father's words. And while Aang knew it was foolish to ever go against their father, he couldn't stand it anymore. He was tired of hiding, tired of playing submissive, tired of this life.
"You're a murderer," he declared.
Ozai slowly turned around, with more restraint than Aang expected, to face them.
"He didn't mean it, Father," Zuko said quickly. "He was just-"
He promptly stopped speaking when Ozai turned to stare at him. There was a heavy silence pressing on the brothers as their father slowly shifted his gaze back and forth between them. Finally he stopped and stared only at Zuko, his expression slowly twisting into one of disgust.
"There is no hope for you."
Ozai thrust his fist out and Aang flinched and closed his eyes, bracing for the familiar impact of his father's hands.
But it didn't come.
Instead, he felt a flash of heat, his brother's grip on him tightening as they fell backwards…
And Zuko let out an unholy scream.
Sokka wasn't really listening. He caught the occasionally word or two, but none of it was really processing.
Except for closed casket. It was going to have to be. Their father was basically unrecognizable.
Shaking his head with a slight shiver, Sokka stood and slowly walked out. No one stopped him.
Something buzzed against his leg, but he paid it no heed as he went into his room, shut the door and fell onto his bed. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want this to be happening. He didn't even want to think. He just wanted to sink into nothingness and never come back out.
Of course, he knew that wasn't possible. Sitting up, he looked around his room, searching for something to distract him from his life. From the horrible news the police had delivered that morning. But the thought of watching tv or playing video games made him want to vomit.
There was another buzz against his leg. Sokka looked down and realized it was his phone. The last thing he wanted to do was to be talking to friends now.
But it was something, right? He didn't have to respond. But reading the texts would give him something to do.
He pulled his cellphone out and looked at the screen. Two messages from Aang.
Sokka frowned. Zuko and Aang were at their house earlier today. It's not like they don't know what's going on. Then Sokka's frown deepened. Come to think of it, he didn't actually remember them leaving.
He unlocked his phone and tapped on the new messages. He stared at the messages blankly for a moment, the letters seemingly an unreadable mesh. But as he stared at it longer, they started to fall together into coherent messages.
We need help. Sent 3:10.
No hospitals. No cops. Sent 3:16.
As the meaning of the words began to pierce his mind, a memory from just a few weeks ago floated up to his consciousness.
"I want you to know that you can call me any time. I don't care if it's in the middle of the night. If you need my help, or just need to talk, call me."
After a beat of silence, Aang said, "Thank you. I won't… probably ever. But thank you anyway."
Having felt numb virtually all day, the sudden ice Sokka felt in his blood was a shock to say the least. What could have happened that was so bad that Aang was contacting him like this?
He looked at his bedroom door, imagining Katara and Gran Gran downstairs, consoling each other while making proper arrangements.
They didn't need him. He was useless here. He doubted they even noticed he had gone.
Aang needed him. And if there was one thing that his father taught him, it was to never abandon someone in need.
"What do you mean, you can't take them to the hospital?" Katara asked.
"I even mention any sort of outside help, and Aang loses it," Sokka explained. "Yeah, they need a hospital, but I'm not going to force them if Aang is going to practically pass out at the thought of it."
"Sokka… their injuries are beyond me! Aang looks like he's been put through a grinder and Zuko…"
Sokka bit his lip. It was pretty horrific. When he found them, Zuko was unconscious and Aang was sobbing, curled into Zuko's chest. Aang's right eye was swollen shut and his lip split. His back was a mass of bloody welts and burns. Upon closer inspection, Sokka noticed steam rising from Zuko's face and nearly vomited at the sight. Half of his face had been practically burned off.
"I'm not saying you have to heal them completely," Sokka said. "Just do enough to help with the pain and stave off infection. Once I can get Aang to calm down a bit, then I can talk to him about getting real help. But right now… I think it's best for Aang to stay in a familiar, stable environment."
"You think this is a stable environment? Our father is dead!"
Sokka ignored the stab of pain at the reminder. "We need to think beyond ourselves right now, Katara." He placed his hands on her shoulders, holding back tears at feel her tremble. "Dad is gone. And… n-nothing we can do can bring him back."
Katara gave him a nasty look through her tears.
"You know I'm right…" He pointed to the downstairs guest room, where Zuko and Aang were currently. "But them? We can help them. Right here, right now. They need our help. Are you going to ignore that?"
He knew he had said the magic words when some of the anger lifted from his sister's face and her eyes softened.
"Do as much as you can," Sokka encouraged. "We can't ask any more of you than that."
Katara closed her eyes and took a deep shaky breath before opening them again and wiping her tears away. "Okay."
Katara just stared at the man standing at the door. Of all people she expected, this was the last. "Master Pakku?"
The old waterbender gave a deep bow and said, "May I come in?"
Katara bit her lip. Their household was in all kinds of disarray, and the last thing they needed was for her teacher to come into the mix. "Why are you here?"
"Let him in, Katara." Gran Gran walked up behind her, giving Master Pakku a serious look. "This had better be important, Pakku."
"I'm afraid it is." He stepped inside and removed his shoes. "I am so sorry for your loss, Kana."
Katara frowned. Why on earth were Master Pakku and Gran Gran on first name basis?
Kana gave an acknowledging bow. "I suppose this means the Agni Kais were involved."
Katara spun towards her grandmother. "What? What do the Agni Kais have to do with this?"
Pakku sighed. "Yes. But I'm afraid it's more complicated than just that." He looked at Katara. "I know the Kayobi boys are here."
Katara's eyes widened. "What? How? Wh-what are you even doing here?" She turned to her grandmother. "And how do you know him!?"
Kana put a hand on her granddaughter's back. "Let's sit down. Pakku has a lot of explaining to do. To both of us."
Katara sighed, head in her hands. "Let me get this straight: You work for a group of people trying to take down the Agni Kais, called the White Lotus. You say that the head of the Agni Kais…. is Zuko and Aang's father." She took a deep breath, sitting up to look at Pakku. "You were told to keep on eye on him. Which is how you knew they were here."
Pakku nodded. "Yes."
Her eyes burning with fresh tears of anger, she said, "You knew that… their father... killed… my father. And you still did nothing."
"No," Pakku insisted. "I wasn't aware that Ozai's late night departure and your father's death were related until I read about it in the paper. I know enough about Ozai's MO and the places he frequents for his work to make the right conclusions."
Tears were falling, but Katara refused to acknowledge them. "But you've been watching him… you've been watching Zuko and Aang... you knew the hell they were living in… and you did nothing."
Pakku lowered his head. "Yes," he said quietly.
She shook her head in disbelief. "Why?"
Pakku sighed. "Ozai has powerful friends, and taking him down was going to take patience and nuance. If I had made a move, Ozai probably would have taken his sons and disappeared."
"That's no excuse," Katara said. "You didn't even try."
"I haven't," Pakku said. "But there was one man who did. He was the head of our organization. He was in the best position out of all of us to help those boys. But he failed. He has disappeared for his efforts and nothing has changed."
Katara shook her head again, unable to forgive the man in front of her for his negligence. "Why are you even here?"
Pakku gave a strained smile. "Because I think Ozai has made a fatal mistake. One he might not be able to recover from." He looked past her towards the guest room. "May I speak to those boys?"
"Absolutely not," Kana said. "Neither of them are in any physical or mental position to be pulled into your little game."
"It's not a game," Pakku snapped. "We are trying to save lives. If we can take down Ozai, the Agni Kais will be in disarray as they look for a new leader. They might even split into separate factions, accelerating our ability to deal with these low lives for good."
"I don't care," Kana replied coldly. "My priority is their well-being, and I'm not going to let some bitter old man push them into something they're not ready to handle."
"Why don't you let them decide whether or not they're capable of handling it?"
Aang shook his head. "No. No, I can't…"
Sokka sighed. "Aang… you and Zuko have already agreed to testify against your father. Do you plan on talking about what… what he did to you when Zuko was in the hospital?"
Aang closed his eyes and barely nodded his head. "Yes… if it means he'll be more likely to go away forever."
"Then you should tell Zuko before you tell the lawyer, don't you think?"
Aang shook his head again, more vehemently. "He can't know. I don't want him to know."
"Aang… he's not going to think less of you."
"It's not that… It's just... Zuko's been through so much. The last thing he needs is to deal with more of my problems."
Unable to contain himself, Sokka wrapped his arms around the airbender. "He would want to know, Aang. No, he won't be pleased to hear about it, but he wouldn't want you keeping this to yourself. He cares too damn much about you."
Aang leaned into the hug, desperately needing the physical support. While he knew testifying would likely mean they would never have to see Ozai again, a part of him just wanted to curl up in a dark hole and never come back out.
It was going to be a hard few months.
"Thank you," Aang said into Sokka's shirt.
Sokka gave a half-smile. "No problem."
Any moment now.
Pakku would walk through that door and announce the jury's decision.
In any normal circumstances, it would be a shoo-in. Between the overwhelming evidence collected over the years, along with photos of both Zuko and Aang's bodies that clearly catalogued their life-long abuse, in addition to their long, painful testimonies…
But Ozai had a lot of power. Zuko knew that many of Ozai's connections had dried up after they heard about Ozai raping Aang. Apparently, sexually assaulting your own child was deemed unacceptable by even some of the most hardened criminals. Even so, Ozai could still have a few powerful friends in his pocket.
Zuko dug his fingernails into his leg. Even weeks after Aang finally told him, the thought of Ozai violating his little brother like that still made his blood boil. He swore that if Ozai didn't get the verdict he deserved, he would kill the bastard himself.
He raised his hand to his face, feeling the unnaturally smooth skin that now occupied a third of his face. A feature that would mark him for the rest of his life. It was strange. He wasn't nearly as upset about it as much as he thought he should. He would most likely be subjected to unwanted staring and speculation. Finding a woman who could look past the scar (let alone his emotional issues), would be tremendously difficult, if not impossible.
And yet… he couldn't help but think that if he did not have this scar, if Ozai had not lost control that day and inflicted such a prominent injury… it would have been near impossible to even get Ozai to trial. Now, there was the very real possibility that he would be locked away for ever.
The door opened, causing everyone's heads to snap up. A grim-faced Pakku walked through. He closed the door behind him and let out a deep sigh.
Zuko's stomach clenched. No…
There was cheering. Aang was pretty sure there was a lot of it, but he was having trouble hearing it over the roaring in his ears.
He was staring blankly at Pakku, who had a small mischievous grin on his face. That soon disappeared as Kana whacked him over the head.
Zuko had his arms wrapped around him, holding him as tightly as possible. They were both trembling from the news. Though honestly, Aang barely noticed that either.
His entire mind was occupied by a single thought. A single, unbelievable thought.
We're free.
And that's the end! I hope you all enjoyed it! I don't plan on completely bowing out of writing. While I'm busy, I'm still going to keep writing Avatar fanfiction. However, now I'm going to completely finish a story before posting it.
I'm actually already working on a new story. Premise: TLA/LoK crossover. Aang and Katara had 4 children. Bumi, Kya, Tenzin... and their eldest child, Hakoda, who is an airbender. Hakoda marries Zuko's eldest daughter, Honora, and they have a child, name undecided. However, when that child is seven (a couple months after Aang's death), tragedy strikes. Hakoda is assassinated, the child almost killed as well. Honora becomes consumed with grief and vengeance. Zuko is left to care for his grandaughter.
My story would be about the child, who is an adult, and her relationship with her grandfather, Zuko and the new Avatar, Korra. Let me know if you guys are interested. If there isn't really any interest, I'll pursue a different plot.
