Chapter 12: Second Thoughts
"Why is this ship moving so slowly?" Zuko asked Lieutenant Jee.
"It's that beast we have strapped down on the deck sir." Jee explained. "With it on board we're too heavy to move at maximum speed. If we got rid of it we could easily travel twice as fast as we are now."
"NO! If we let it loose it will just come back with the Avatar's allies and free him. And we can't kill it because Uncle wants it studied back at the capital." Zuko said. Plus the beast proves I have the real Avatar and not an impostor he thought. "Just dump what dead weight we can afford to lose and do whatever you can to increase our speed" he ordered the lieutenant.
Zuko then turned towards the front of the ship and looked at the Avatar's bison. The beast was still out cold from Kal El's attack the previous day. After Kal El carried it onto the ship Zuko had the beast strapped down with every available chain on the ship. Even if the beast did wake up it wasn't going to fly away.
Aside from the ship's speed problem, this was a good day for Zuko. The Avatar was in the brig and unable to bend. His companions were also captured and kept separated from the Avatar. The sky bison was neutralized for the moment. The only thing unaccounted for was the Avatar's pet lemur, which had mysteriously vanished when Kal El ambushed the Avatar.
Kal El was sitting in Iroh's room, thinking about the previous day. That was way too easy, even the Avatar State was barely a challenge. Throughout his life he had been taught that the Avatar was the ultimate threat to the Fire Nation, determined to tear it apart and destroy all that it had accomplished. The Avatar state was supposed to be a force of nature itself, and he had swatted it aside like a fly. Something isn't right here he thought before getting up and walking out of the room.
Wanting some answers Kal El walked to the brig. The guards let him pass without question, knowing what could happen if they objected. Entering the Avatar's cell, Kal El woke him up.
"Didn't Zuko already interrogate me today?" Aang joked.
"That's not why I'm here" Kal El said. "Why do you fight the Fire Nation?" he asked.
"Well you're trying to take over the world" he answered. "If that happens the balance of the world will be broken for good."
"The balance of the world, what would it take to restore it?" Kal El asked.
"I'm told I have to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, before Sozin's Comet arrives" he said. "Beyond that, I have no idea."
"If you could succeed by only defeating the Fire Lord, would you stop there?" Kal El asked.
"If that brings peace, yes I would stop there." Aang said.
With that, Kal El left Aang's cell and returned to Iroh's room. Inside he found Iroh tinkering with one of his instruments. "Father, can I talk with you for a moment?" he asked.
"Sure son, you can always talk with me" he replied.
"If the Avatar had succeeded in defeating the Fire Lord, what would have happened?" he asked.
"Well if my brother did fall the crown would pass to the person that's next in line, which is currently Azula. She would probably pick up where her father left off and continue the war" he speculated.
"And if she were defeated as well?" Kal El asked.
"Then there would be no available heirs, thanks to Zuko's banishment and myself being removed from the succession. Some of the nobles would ignore that and try to place either myself or Zuko on the throne. Others would try to take the throne for themselves. Such a conflict would throw the Fire Nation into a civil war which could devastate the entire world" Iroh explained.
"Is there a way out of that situation, a way to prevent a civil war? Kal El asked.
"There is one possible solution, but I don't like it" Iroh said. "You would have to become Fire Lord my son."
"Me? But I'm not even noble born, as your adopted son I have no claim to the throne." Kal El said.
"That is not the point Kal El" Iroh said. "You have the power to simply take the throne and no one would be able to stop you. If anyone would try to dispute your claim you could easily defeat them in an Agni Kai. If any noble were to raise an army and revolt you could stop them singlehandedly. But I would keep this option as a last resort."
"I'll keep that in mind" Kal El said. "Good night father."