Life
"What . . . just happened?" Sokka asked in general as Iroh stared at the spot Zuko had been in seconds ago. Iroh's face was full of pain and sorrow as he turned back to face the two water siblings and the Avatar.
"Hellfire has taken Prince Zuko."
"I . . . I don't understand. Zuko said that Hellfire loved him like a mother. She raised him, why would she kill his mother? It doesn't make sense."
"Hellfire is an evil demon born from the very fires of hell. She is insane and has no feelings." Iroh shook his head warily.
"But . . . Zuko said that no one knew what Hellfire was." Katara was confused and her face and eyes showed it. This caused Iroh to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"You talked to Prince Zuko about Hellfire?"
"Wait!" Sokka interrupted before anything more could be said or done. "Who is Hellfire? Why was Katara with Zuko? Why did Yumi turn into that other woman? What is going on!" The WaterTribe boy asked frantically, trying to clarify what was happening. Iroh sighed and nodded to himself as he made his decision.
"I will tell you. After all, we are all in danger now that Hellfire has Prince Zuko."
"So, it was Hellfire after all." A new voice came from behind the group. All eyes turned to King Bumi as he entered the clearing. The earthbenders bowed and the Fire Nation soldiers looked to Iroh to see what would happen. Iroh noticed their eyes turning to him and sighed once more before looking at Bumi.
"You knew that it was Hellfire?" Iroh asked the other old man, earning him a nod.
"Wait! Who is Hellfire!" Sokka yelled, angry that he was left out of the loop. Katara turned to her brother to answer him.
"From what Zuko told me, Hellfire was his teacher when he was younger. Yet no one knew what she was or where she came from. All that he knew was that she treated him like a son and that's all he cared about. But she was chased away one day, he never knew why."
Iroh nodded and began to fill in the blanks.
"My brother Ozai believed that Hellfire is a demon that came to destroy the Fire Nation. And for once, I am inclined to agree with him." Iroh shook his head as he remembered. "The Lady Fumiko, Zuko's mother, died mysteriously when she was spending the day with Zuko and Hellfire. No one knows how it happened. But we did not think that she was assassinated by Hellfire because Hellfire was thought to be her most trusted friend. We found out only later that it was Hellfire."
"How?" Sokka asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"There was a mark, right over Fumiko's heart. A burn mark. We did not know what it meant until we found someone else Hellfire had killed who bore the same mark. Hellfire can extinguish a firebender's inter fire." Iroh frowned as he looked at Katara. "We never told Prince Zuko this because it would be too damaging to him. To find that the woman he considered to be his mother, a woman he thought of as a guardian angel, was nothing more than a manipulative old hearted demon? Too damaging for a boy so young. Instead, my nephew was ordered to forget everything about her. At first it seemed like that would not happen, but eventually, to please his father and me, he did. Yet lately, he must have remembered her. I have no other way to explain the major advancements he has made recently." Iroh shook his head in sorrow.
"But that still doesn't explain why we are in danger." Katara persisted.
"And that doesn't explain what my sister was doing with Zuko!" Sokka yelled, angry still. The young waterbender looked over at her brother, sad.
"I was with Zuko because you two left me behind." She whispered. "You said you didn't want me." Sokka's eyes softened and he hugged his little sister.
"I would never say that." He whispered softly in her ear as he tightened his hug.
"That was probably Hellfire's doing." Iroh interjected. The two siblings looked over at the old man. "She has the power to hypnotize with her eyes. Her power of hypnotism works better on men than women. More than likely that is why she chased away Katara." Katara gasped and looked over at Sokka.
"That's probably why you trusted her, Sokka! She hypnotized you when you first saw her!"
"But . . . . . I would get mad at her and fight with her." Sokka muttered, confused. Iroh thought for a moment, trying to find an explanation.
". . . . well, we know very little about her powers to start with. However, I think her main purpose was not to change it so much that your personality caused suspicion, rather, only change it enough for her to get close to the Avatar." Aang looked around, confused himself.
"But why would she want to get close to me."
"To get to Prince Zuko through you." Iroh supplied.
"How do I know that's what really happened?" Zuko asked, causing Hellfire to sigh as she stepped back.
"Prince Zuko . . . . you can believe me or not. That choice is up to you. No one can make it for you." She watched him absorb her words and waited a moment before she continued. "The paths before you are clouded and dangerous. But they are your paths. No one else's. No one should make you choose one you do not want. It is a decision that only you can make." Zuko stared up into her black eyes, his emotions hidden.
". . . . . what are you asking of me, Hellfire?" She reached out and held the side of his face with her hand, a faint smile on her face.
"I am only asking you to make your own choices. Do what you want, nothing anyone else wants. You are your own person." He still stared at her blankly. Hellfire fought back a sigh. She expected him to be reluctant, but this was nearly too much. Ozai had corrupted him almost beyond repair. But she would fix him. "You still are lost?" He nodded. "Then perhaps we shall decide things slowly." She prepared herself for a fight and spoke her next words carefully. "Will you stop your father from destroying the world or will you bring him the Avatar?"
"That's treason!" Zuko shouted at her, shocked. He knocked her hand away from his face. "I would never betray my nation!" Her eyes hardened.
"Betrayal?" She whispered harshly. Hellfire began to shout. "I am not asking you to betray your nation! I am asking you to save it! This war is killing it! The honor the great Fire Nation once held is gone! The people of your nation are dying every day at an alarming rate! Boys do not know their fathers and the second they are old enough, they are shipped off to fight! Mothers weep for their sons! Wives wail in agony as their husbands are buried. Little girls are taught nothing but that they should have strong sons! Ozai is not a worthy king! He is a tyrant! The last of the honor in your family left with you when he scarred and banished you!" Zuko had taken a step back in surprise at her outburst. He had never seen his teacher become so emotional in all the years she taught him as he had seen today. Zuko began to speak, quietly, almost as if he was trying to convince himself.
"There is still honor in my family. My sister-"
"Is influenced too greatly by your father. He has sent her to capture the Avatar." Zuko's eyes widened in shock when those words left Hellfire's mouth.
"B-but that is my duty!" Hellfire stepped forward and pulled Zuko into a hug. The boy stiffened, not used to such actions.
"He gave you a fool's errand. He never thought the Avatar would come back. Please, stop following him so blindly and open your eyes." She left go of him and stepped back to look at Zuko in the eyes. "Wake up and chose the path you want to take, not the path anyone else wants you to take." Zuko narrowed his eyes.
"How would you know what I really want! What if this is the path I want? You don't know! You've been gone for so long!" He yelled as he backed away from her. He was angry. Angry at her, at the world . . . . at his father. "You say you want me to take the right path! How should I know what it is! I can't see the future!" Hellfire calmly sat down on the floor of the cave and patted the spot next to her.
"Then we will break it down, step by step, so that you will find the right path." Reluctantly, Zuko sat down beside his old teacher.
"But why are we in danger?" Aang asked the old firebender, earning a sigh.
"Hellfire is a very dangerous demon. Yet she would not harm Prince Zuko because she needs him. She can easily manipulate him and once Zuko's back on the throne, she can control the whole Fire Nation." Iroh looked up at the sun. "A phoenix is a bird that is much like the sun. it rises and falls like the sun. Just like the old sun does at the end of the day, it dies. And it rises again, from the ashes, brand new and young once more, just like the sun." Iroh turned his gaze back to Aang. "Hellfire believes that the Fire Lord is just like the phoenix, if not a incarnation of a phoenix."
"I . . . don't understand." Aang muttered, barely loud enough for anyone to really hear. Yet, the old Dragon of the West heard him.
"She believes that when the Fire Lord grows too old, like the sun, a new Fire Lord must rise up out of the ashes and take the throne."
"You talk in proverbs and stories that I don't understand. Please, explain." Aang nearly shouted the first part but calmed himself. Iroh sighed again and tried to explain it simply.
"The phoenix is very powerful. It is said to be born of the flames of Agni. This is also believed of the Fire Lords. When Zuko gains the throne, it is believed that he will gain the fire of Agni. Should Hellfire be manipulating him, she believes she can extract the flame of Agni and become immortal with it. She's already very hard to kill as it is."
"That girl . . . . she likes you." Hellfire commented as Zuko thought silently. He looked up, startled, with red staining his cheeks.
". . . . I know." Hellfire shot him a sly look.
"Do you like her, my prince?"
"Can we talk about something else?" Hellfire raised an eyebrow.
"You were my student, but I thought you could talk to me about anything." She watched Zuko shoot her a glare.
"You are worse at guilty tripping me than Uncle." This comment earned him a smirk.
"So, do you like her?" Zuko nodded in answer to Hellfire's question. "Does she know this?" Another nod. "You two haven't . . . done anything, right?"
"Hellfire!" Zuko was beat red. "I have more honor than that!"
"So you still believe you have honor?"
"Hellfire," Zuko looked down at his hands as he spoke. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Very well." She muttered as she looked at the ground. "But know this." He looked over at her while she raised her eyes to the ceiling. "No one can take your honor away. You can only give it up." Her eyes turned to him. "I should know this Prince Zuko. I've been around for a very long time." Silence hung heavy in the air for several minutes as Zuko thought over everything.
". . . . I think I've made my decision."