Death of a Fire Lord

Sozin was preparing to leave, going back to the Black Cliffs after winning the 93rd annual Agni Kai Tournament, when a servant told him Fire Lord Fire Lord Azulon wanted to see him. Sozin went to the throne room immediately as fast as he could, wondering why Fire Lord Azulon wanted to talk to him.

"You wanted to see me, my lord?" Sozin asked when he got into the throne room, bowing.

"Yes Sozin, I do, you may rise" Fire Lord Azulon said. Sozin stood up and stayed standing where he was.

"As you know, Sozin, I am not a young man anymore. Soon it will be my time to leave this world and join onward. I have been thinking for a long time about my successor" Fire Lord Fire Lord Azulon said.

"That is true, he isn't young" Sozin thought.

"I am certain General Iroh would make a great Fire Lord" Sozin said.

"Iroh abandoned his 600 day siege of Ba Sing Se" Fire Lord Azulon argued.

"Okay, he has a point" Sozin thought.

"What about Prince Ozai? He seems like a worthy successor" Sozin suggested.

"No. he doesn't even care about his own family, how should I think he will care about our great country?" Fire Lord Azulon asked.

"What is he getting at here" Sozin thought to himself.

"Well sir, they are your two options. You will be replaced by either Iroh or Ozai" Sozin said.

"Unless, unless you would be my successor, Sozin" Fire Lord Azulon suggested.

"Was this his plan all along?" Sozin thought.

"What are you saying, sir?" Sozin asked, flabbergasted.

"I am saying I want you to be my successor. I know you are young, but that also means you will be able to rule for many years" Fire Lord Azulon told Sozin.

"I am not old enough yet, but he does have a point" Sozin admitted to himself.

"Why would you want me to rule over your sons?" Sozin asked.

"My sons are weak. Only you are fit to be my successor" Fire Lord Azulon said.

"I don't understand this at all" Sozin thought.

"But, how would that work?" Sozin asked.

"You would simply need to kill Iroh, Ozai, and Azula. Lu Ten is dead and Ozai is going to kill Zuko tomorrow. Please, think about it" Fire Lord Azulon said, letting Sozin leave. Sozin did leave but he went right to see Princess Ursa. Sozin went to their door and knocked. Like usual, a servant came out quickly, and Sozin did his best to conceal his worry.

"Good evening Sozin, how may I help you?" the servant asked.

"I need to speak with Princess Ursa please" Sozin said. The servant moved out of the way and Sozin went right to see Ursa.

"Sozin, what are you doing here?" Ursa asked him.

"I need to talk to you, it is very important" Sozin said. Ursa sent all the servants away and sent Zuko and Azula to their rooms before walking outside to talk.

"What is going on Sozin?" Ursa asked.

"Let's make this quick, but I need to be detailed as well, oh this is such a drag" Sozin thought.

"Fire Lord Fire Lord Azulon wants me to be his successor, and I know the only way that could happen is if I kill Prince Iroh and Prince Ozai. I don't want to kill them" Sozin said.

"Fire Lord Azulon also gave Ozai the order to kill Zuko, but I know how to stop Fire Lord Azulon. But I need your help" Ursa said.

"That was shockingly easy, but this is my chance to rid the world of Fire Lord Azulon and his evil ways forever" Sozin thought.

"I'm in" Sozin said and Ursa explained her plan to him.

Later that night, Sozin entered the Throne Room to face Fire Lord Fire Lord Azulon.

"Ah, Sozin, have you made your decision?" Fire Lord Azulon asked, taking a sip out of his tea.

"Now, I need to stall him so Princess Ursa can get into position" Sozin thought, and looked up at the aging Fire Lord.

"Before I make my decision, I would like to know why you want me to be your replacement as Fire Lord instead of one of your sons" Sozin said, as Fire Lord Azulon took another sip of tea.

"Very well, I believe you deserve to know. Ever since I met you, I saw pure, raw power in you, and I wanted to exploit it. I am an old man and I believe you are the only person who can win the war" Fire Lord Azulon said, finishing his tea.

"Good, he has finished his tea; Princess Ursa should be in position by now" Sozin thought.

"I will keep that in mind, goodbye Fire Lord" Sozin said.

"What are you" Fire Lord Azulon spat, spitting out blood.

"What did you do?" Fire Lord Azulon asked, angrily.

"Actually, that was me. I added poison to your tea" Ursa replied, entering the Throne Room.

"Die" Fire Lord Azulon said intimidatingly and shot the flames at Ursa. Ursa did not scream as she saw Sozin jump in front of her to stop the flames.

"Become my successor, Sozin. You are the only person who can end the war" Fire Lord Azulon said before he fell back on his bed, dead. Sozin wiped the blood off of Fire Lord Azulon and put his hood up. He followed Ursa, who had already put her hood back on, back to her part of the palace.

Once they got back to Ursa's home they went in and sat down. Ozai was already waiting for them.

"What have you two been doing?" Ozai spat.

"How did I know he was going to be here waiting for us?" Sozin thought.

"Prince Ozai, Fire Lord Fire Lord Azulon is dead" Sozin said.

"What did you two do?" Ozai asked.

"In order to save Zuko, I placed a poison in Fire Lord Azulon's tea. Now you can take the throne, Ozai" Ursa said.

"What did you have to do with it?" Ozai asked Sozin.

"Well, he gets right to business. That is good" Sozin thought.

"I distracted Fire Lord Azulon while he drank the tea with the poison in it" Sozin said.

"He also saved my life when Fire Lord Azulon shot a fire blast at me" Ursa said.

"Now to put the finishing touches on the fate of the Fire Nation" Sozin thought.

"So now, you are free to become Fire Lord" Sozin said, knowing Iroh wouldn't do anything about it.

"You know what will become of both of you now" Ozai said.

"Please, don't do anything to him. He only took part in this because Azulon wanted him to kill you and Iroh so Sozin could become Fire Lord. Please do not banish him" Ursa begged.

"He wants to banish me, I will only be banished over my dead body" Sozin thought angrily.

"Please sir, I am leaving the palace in the morning. The only thing I can ask of you is to allow me to come back to the palace when I am older" Sozin suggested.

"Very well, but I can not do anything about you, Ursa. You are a murderer, and I have no choice" Ozai said sadly.

"I will leave tomorrow morning also" Ursa said, and watched as Ozai walked to his quarters.

"Thank you, Sozin. Where will you go?" Ursa asked.

"I will continue my Firebending training. Where will you go?" Sozin asked.

"I am going to go to Ba Sing Se. it is where most refugees go" Ursa said. Sozin nodded and bowed to Ursa before leaving the palace.

As Sozin's boat left the palace despite the moon being high in the sky, the young Firebender couldn't help but miss Princess Ursa.

"She is the closest thing I had to a mother, and now she is gone" Sozin thought sadly, but he shook the thought quickly as his boat fled into the darkness.