Interlude Four
The 60th Annual Harmony Games
"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters.
Their silence is your answer."
-Mass Effect 3-
"Are you, are you coming to the tree / they strung up a man / they say who murdered three," sings fourteen-year-old Zuko as he strums his guitar. "Strange things did happen here / no stranger would it be / if we met at midnight in the hanging tree…"
The night is cold and dark and Zuko's fire barely warms the friends surrounding him. He is used to the chill that falls over the prairie at night, but they shiver.
"Are you, are you coming to the tree / where a dead man called out for his love to flee / strange things did happen here / no stranger would it be / if we met at midnight in the hanging tree…"
"I doubt that story is true," Mai says, interrupting. She always has been… not disliking the song, and so Zuko is startled.
The song always was important to his childhood. His father said he sang it to his mother and that was how they fell in love. His mother is still alive, somewhere in the Capitol. His father—a deceased peacekeeper, and former friend of Mai's dad—had been to the Capitol for two weeks when being honored for silencing a dangerous series of protests in District 9. He met a beautiful woman there and nine months after he returned to 9, she showed up with a baby in her arms.
And she returned to the Capitol, leaving Zuko with his father. Leaving Zuko to starve, which he tried not to think about. He probably would never meet her… but sometimes he wanted to find her.
"My dad said it was, and Ja showed me the tree," says Zuko, although he knows the story is probably merely a legend.
"Take us to the tree," begs Hulin, a rail-thin boy thirteen-year-old who sits directly across from the orphaned musician.
Zuko counts the people around him. Five. That is way too many to sneak under the fence.
"I'm scared," say four of them, and so Zuko is left with a modest three.
Mai, of course, does not leave. He doubts she is afraid of anything in this world. Hulin is a scaredy-cat but Zuko knows he wants to see the Hanging Tree. Kanona will stay with Mai until the end of the night; that is how she operates. The former is ten and the latter is twelve and neither could tip a scale at seventy pounds soaking wet.
Zuko leaps up, swings his guitar over his back and nods for the kids to follow him.
He is the only person desperate enough to find a way out of District 9. After his parents died and he escaped the prison called an orphanage, he needed to learn how to find food. First, he begged and scavenged for scraps around town. One night, when a man called him vermin and threatened to call peacekeepers, an older boy stumbled across Zuko and taught him to hunt.
District 9 is a prairie loaded with rodents, snakes and not much else. The woods outside of it are ample and provide the intrigue of ruins and a far larger menu.
It is there that the older guy, Ja, showed him the Hanging Tree.
He takes Mai, Kanona and Hulin on the walk with only his own fire to light their way. Mai holds a rock to defend himself; Hulin holds onto the little girls.
The sturdy red maple towers above the teenager and two preteens.
"That's the tree," says Zuko. He holds out a hand to Mai, since Hulin shies away the moment he sees Zuko looking at him. "Want to climb it?"
"I'm not really a climber," dryly replies Mai, but Zuko will not take no for an answer.
She lets him pull her towards the tree, dropping the rock by accident, but when she reaches back for it, he tugs on her arm. Mai turns away from it as Zuko tries to figure out how to climb with one hand.
Glancing down at the ground, Mai wriggles out of his grasp.
"You climb it." She glances at the shadows around her. "I need to find my rock."
[X]
The next day, Zuko wakes beside the dead fire. His guitar is tucked by his side and his bag of belongings beneath his head as a pillow. He has had nowhere to live since his parents died in a mining accident and refused to go to the community home.
So, he camps out by the fence, where no one bothers looking.
During the day, it is fine. He finds food somehow. He makes friends. During the night, it is nightmarish. He nearly dies of the cold. He finds a way to keep himself warm.
Zuko can take care of himself.
Unfortunately, even a runaway cannot avoid Reaping Day.
[X]
Kiri Bian draws the names of Zuko Agni and Hulin Cyan.
Zuko remains cold and strong, as much as he can. He feels fear, but he has never shown it in his life. The District 9 mentor, Fujita Fan, sees the face of a Victor on an underfed tribute. He has been through the wringer and survived; that much she can tell. Maybe he has a chance, she thinks.
Minutes later, as he sits in the Justice Building without expecting a single visitor, Mai walks through the doors. She hands him a tied rope bracelet and presses it into his hand.
"Kanona has a crush on you," Mai dryly says, and Zuko starts to laugh. "I won't tell her you did that."
"No, I'm not—I'm not laughing because she has a crush on me or anything. You just are really… you…" Zuko blushes.
Mai reacts with instant sarcasm. "I didn't notice that I'm me. Wow, what a revelation."
Zuko clears his throat and nods at her. "Well, before I go, I want to say that I don't have a crush on Kanona really but she's great," he stammers, his heart racing. He is very glad there are no cameras.
"I'll tell her you professed your undying love," Mai replies, averting her eyes.
"I actually, really, do have a crush on someone, and she's…" Zuko notices that Mai is paying attention to him and wants to bail out on this conversation. "She's really great."
"Good for her." Mai would rather be anywhere but here.
"And I want you to know that I… care about you…" Zuko needs to stop now. He really knows he needs to stop now. "And that my… my stomach hurts."
Mai just shakes her head. "Wear the stupid bracelet."
She leaves, and he thinks she knows what he was trying to say.
[X]
On the train, Zuko's mentor Fujita Fan looks upon her tributes with sadness in her tawny eyes, as she does every year. She is a failed mentor in many ways, having won the Games twenty years ago and failing to produce a single victor. Then again, no one in 9 blames her; they just are not cut out for the Games.
"Do you two know each other?" she inquires, glancing between the two boys.
Hulin only frowns, leaving Zuko to explain.
Zuko says bluntly, "He's my best friend."
"You like Mai better," Hulin loudly protests, but Zuko shakes his head.
"I mean, I like you and her and Kanona too. But, uh…" Zuko rubs his neck, not noticing the falling expression of Fujita Fan. She knows that they will no longer be friends once they enter the Arena, and if they are, they will both die.
"Yeah. We're friends until the end," Hulin says with a grimace.
Zuko averts his eyes.
Thankfully, Fujita changes the course of conversation.
"We should talk about your strategies. Can either of you bend?"
Zuko raises his hand; Hulin does not.
[X]
As he watches, Zuko takes note of only one Reaping. It is District 1. He expects to be scared by careers, but, instead, he sees one girl of fourteen Reaped, and one of sixteen volunteering. The elder looks trained, but her eyes look pained. The first girl is clearly blinking back tears.
Why does no one volunteer for her?
Why do they not have careers lined up to take her place?
He finds out the answer when Varrick makes commentary. The girl's father is a victor, and the other girl is her cousin.
"They don't volunteer for legacy tributes. It's considered an act of disrespect," says Fujita.
Zuko just nods.
[X]
Zuko's stylist stares at him for an uncomfortable period of time. He waits, uncomfortable from the long and invasive prep session. He squirms in his seat as she screws up her face in thought.
"My idea isn't going to work. It would cover you too much," she at last says, tapping her chin with one spindly finger. Her eerily long nails are striped with bright pink and blue.
"Why won't it work?" Zuko asks, concealing his anxiety.
"Oh, has no one ever told you?" Her lips twitch at his befuddled face. "You are very handsome, just absolutely beautiful. My spirits, I don't think there's a girl alive who wouldn't bet on you once they see your face. And those eyes. Your hair could use a little work, but I want to keep it messy and on the longer side." She clears her throat. "When it comes to clothes, well, your muscles are possibly your best feature. You look buffer than a career tribute."
Zuko is stunned by the conversation about his looks, but his stylist is a gorgeous woman in her twenties, so he certainly will not complain about it. He asks, blushing, "So, what's the new plan?"
His stylist eagerly answers, "I am going to paint you with shimmering gold. It represents electricity well enough, doesn't it?"
"Sure," he says, rubbing his neck.
[X]
When Zuko arrives, Hulin is in a jumpsuit with flashing orbs of light. Zuko imagines it is what was planned for him as well. It always is the same. Flashing lights, a black dress for a girl, a black imitation of an electric plant worker's jumpsuit for boys.
Zuko lacks the shirt, replaced with golden glitter. The pants of the jumpsuit hang loose on him and a single dark strap holds them up over his broad shoulder. She chopped his hair but it is tousled and not tied up like a respectable boy from 9.
He steps onto the chariot.
They scream his name.
[X]
All the talk is about Zuko Agni and how beautiful he is. No one says anything about his life; no one knows anything about it. His odds from the chariots alone are head and shoulders above anyone else from District 9, solely because his name is on the lips of everyone who is anyone.
On his first day of training, everyone watches him, studying a threat. The tributes from 2 and 4 look the most dangerous, and they have already formed an alliance. The two girls in that pack steal a glance or two, but do not act like the other tributes.
District 1 does not train with them; the two cousins run right to Zuko. He remembers them more than any other tribute, and they remember him. They also happen to be gorgeous.
"I would love to be your training buddy," says the Earth tribute.
The Fire tribute ones just smiles at him as they drag him to target practice.
Neither can bend, but Arati—the Earth tribute—is skilled with knives and Ame—the Fire tribute—is very talented with a spear. He shows his bending, although he holds back enough to save some surprises. They fawn over him and compliment every burst of fire, no matter how weak.
The two girls are cousins, but they do not show much pain over having to kill each other.
When he goes back to his suite that evening, he turns on the television to hear a famous female talk show host who sometimes co-stars with Varrick going on about Zuko-mania. Never has Zuko even thought about the idea that he could be attractive.
But apparently, he is just what the Capitol desires.
He turns to his mentor and says, "The girls from District 1 want to have an alliance with me. I wonder if they're tricking me or something."
Fujita laughs. "You're so naïve. You already have a list of sponsors; being your ally is desirable. Not to mention it seems a lot of people find you irresistible. I'm not surprised by that offer, and you should take it."
"I will," says Zuko.
The Capitol is weird.
[X]
Zuko goes into the judgment and performs a few bending moves, but they pay him little mind; the gamemakers are underwhelmed by him and tired from watching every single other tribute before him.
When he arrives at the suite, he collapses on the sofa, defeated. He never knew about his magical looks, but he does know that they cannot take him further than a few fans. His bending is good, but not devastatingly impressive, and he did not steal a second of their attention.
"They didn't even look at me," he sadly remarks, and Fujita pats his shoulder.
Hulin receives a three.
Zuko receives a seven.
"Why?" he demands, gilded eyes wide.
"Because you'll get sponsors. You either are brawny, cunning or charismatic. Your looks give you enough of the last one," says Fujita.
"That doesn't mean I'll survive."
Fujita says nothing.
[X]
On the interview night, Zuko wears his tie loose and a few buttons of his shirt undone as his stylist insists, but is fully dressed. Not like Ame; her dress is translucent. He watches her more than the other tributes, but they all seem to offer one thing or another.
He is not good with words, even though Fujita and Kiri coached him.
Varrick calls him up and announces Zuko's name. He sits down, blinded by the lights. Once his eyes adjust, he takes a slow breath and focuses on the audience. Zuko flashes an awkward smile and, for some reason, they love it.
"What's your favorite thing about the Capitol?" Varrick asks.
"The people, of course," says Zuko, hoping he sounds convincing. Fujita told him to say it.
"Well, the people love you too." Varrick gives a lopsided grin. "What do you offer the Games this year?"
"I can't give away my strategy. I want to surprise you all." Zuko winks. His other eye twitches slightly; he has never done this before, but Kiri said it would be an excellent move. She was right.
"When you enter the Arena, what would you say the most important thing to you is?"
Zuko was not tutored for this question, but he knows the answer. It has been in his mind since the moment Kiri drew his name from that bowl.
"I want to win honorably," he vehemently says. "I grew up an orphan much that I owned. I had an older friend who helped me figure the world out, and he told me about one thing that I owned no matter how much money I had and should never lose. He said it was honor."
"And nothing brings a greater honor than winning the Games. Thank you, Zuko."
The Arena is cold.
Zuko feels it the moment he adjusts to his surroundings. The countdown serves as only background noise as he surveys his surroundings. It looks like home. He sees ruins and trees and the plain that the Sanctuary Square rests in the middle of.
Survival skills will be vital. Zuko glances over at Ame and Arati. They look back at him.
He takes a deep breath as the gun fires and the battle begins. Zuko runs to his allies and grabs their arms. As careers, they were headed to the Sanctuary Square, but Zuko has no intentions of getting killed… or losing his allies.
They run into the woods and Zuko breathes a soft sigh.
Zuko Agni is in his element.
[X]
The alliance of three beautiful teenagers finds a stream within the first thirty minutes of the Games. Ame constructs a water purifier from only her surroundings; she clearly has been preparing for her whole life. They have no food, but that is nothing to worry about at the moment.
The lack of weapons, however, angers Zuko's allies.
Ame complains, "I guess I'm supposed to use this rock as a weapon then."
Arati mockingly adds, "I found a stick. Maybe that's better."
Zuko rolls his eyes when they are gazing at each other and giggling. He sits in their hiding place and watches the sun set. Five cannons fire, the deaths from the bloodbath.
The weakest tributes are all dead, except Hulin. Zuko feels a wave of relief that his best friend is alive, even though it will make the Games harder for him.
"We can go back to the Sanctuary Square later, but I think 2 and 4 might have claimed it already," says Zuko. "They aren't in our alliance and I don't think we should work with them."'
"Good point," Ame states.
Moments after nightfall, the cold Arena becomes frigid. The gamemakers crank down the temperature to a point that would kill anyone without a survival plan. Ame and Arati shiver and Zuko says, "I'm a firebender. I can heat you two up. Not in a—that kind of way. Just because I can control my body temperature and I've slept outside in a really cold wild for years."
Ame does not hesitate, and tugs Arati along with her.
They cuddle against Zuko.
Only Arati sleeps.
So Zuko whispers, "Ame, how are you two cousins?"
She smiles at him and he would not know that she was laughing if she did not shake with the silent giggles. "Um, my dad is her mom's brother. How else?"
Zuko blushes, even in the bitter cold. "I guess I just was wondering about her dad or something."
"Yeah, she lives with us because he's so messed up. He's on drugs and her mom is a real bad enabler with her own issues. She's basically my sister or something. Kinda more like my kid though, because I take care of her that way." Ame shrugs.
Zuko says, hoping to be sensitive, "I can't imagine going into the Harmony Games with my child."
"That's how it feels, but we both know the risks. We both went to the Academy and have dreamed of the honor for our entire lives. You obviously understand that."
"When I say honor, I don't mean it that way. I mean upholding values and doing honorable things. The crown doesn't matter as much to me as staying alive. I'm not ready to die yet."
"How weird," says Ame. "You don't care at all about being a victor?"
"I care about being a survivor."
Three cannons fire that first night; they are not survivors.
[X]
In the morning, silver packages fall from the sky. Arati reaches up and catches one, while the other settles on Ame's lap.
Ame picks up a spear; Arati unwraps knives.
They smile at Zuko. He does not know why until Ame hands him a small white card.
For the allies of Zuko Agni.
[X]
The trio lingers too long in their tiny valley. The gamemakers have no desire to let them bore the world; looks are not enough if they do not fight.
Zuko jumps to his feet when the stream erupts with cold water. Arati sinks; Ame reaches for the edge of the valley. When Zuko dives down for Arati, Ame futilely scrapes her fingers against the metal walls that rise from the dirt.
Once Zuko has Arati in his arm, he taps on Ame and begins to swim.
The two girls rush with him as they follow the current. It sweeps them to a bank they climb on, but they find the career pack, soaking wet but alive, recovering from their unexpected swim.
Arati raises her knives and Ame her spear. Zuko coughs and readies his hands for a fight.
The girl from 2 fights first. She takes down Arati in seconds, dodging a single knife and hitting her in the shoulder with a fireball. Zuko lunges to block any other moves but tendrils rise from the stream and pull him to the ground; it is the boy from the same district. The tributes from 4 run, abandoning their allies.
Zuko does not know why until he hears a shrill scream and the bang of a cannon.
The girl from 2 lies dead before him, killed by a Ame's spear.
When the boy turns to look, his grip on the water weakens and Zuko breaks free. He tackles the boy and pins him to the ground. As they wrestle and Ame checks on Arati, the temperature begins to drop again. Even Zuko shivers from his sopping wet clothes.
The boy lies down, hypothermia staying his hand.
Zuko raises a hand to strike but steps back.
"Zuko!" screams Ame.
"I'm not killing him while he's freezing on the ground. It's not honorable."
Ame gives her opinion on the matter by shoving her ally aside and plunging the spear into the shivering boy's chest.
Bang.
She turns to Zuko. "Help me with Arati."
He gazes at the two bodies, eyes open, glassy and vacant.
The girl from 2 is so tiny and frail. She must be about thirteen, and Zuko does not see it until she is dead.
Ame makes a snarling sound and Zuko hastily picks up Arati to carry her into the forest.
[X]
Zuko dries the clothes of the girls and helps keep them warm—especially Arati—in the frigid temperature. No cannons sound despite the shift in climate, which gives Zuko the indication that only the strongest remain.
As he worries about that, a silver package containing medicine falls from the sky into Zuko's hands. A second parachute contains water bottles and iodine tablets. He picks up another note that tells him, From a secret admirer.
He gives the jar to Ame and she applies it to her cousin's wound. It instantly heals, but Arati is still faint and dizzy.
Ame embraces her cousin and leans back against Zuko.
"We need to kill the tributes from 4. Then we can go our separate ways," whispers the tribute from District 1. Zuko feels uneasy about it.
He inquires against his better judgment, "What about the two from 3 and the one from 5 and Hulin?"
"They're not a threat," Ame bluntly replies. "We can take them easily if the others or the Arena don't kill them first."
"I trust you," says Zuko, although he is not sure if he means it.
He lies there with her and it must be an attractive enough portrait for the audience, because another trap does not spring until morning.
Ame shakes Zuko awake. It is the first time he has slept since he got into the Arena, but even Arati is on her feet. She grabs Zuko by the hand and starts to run, taking Arati with her.
"The fog," she gasps out as Zuko looks at her, bewildered, "the fog burnt my hand."
Zuko turns and sees it approaching. In its wake, it leaves frozen foliage.
"Frostbite," he whispers, taking a moment to look down at Ame's hand. Definitely frostbite.
The fog engulfs all as they arrive at a fork in the beaten down path. He sees the tributes from 3 running from the same natural disaster.
Zuko just grabs his allies and keeps running. Arati shoves one from 3 that grabs at her and he screams, falling into the fog before the cannon sounds. Then Arati screams, trying to shake off the vengeful other.
He pries Arati free, pushing on Ame to keep her running. In one kick, he slams the tribute into the fog, leaving him to meet the same fate as his district partner. Bang.
Zuko picks up Arati and they run until they reach the plains.
The fog recedes into the forest and they stand almost alone.
The plain is deserted aside from the tributes from 4, who sit around the Sanctuary Square with a stockpile of food, survival supplies and weapons.
Arati raises her hand to throw a knife, but Zuko stops her.
"We don't stand a chance right now. We're tired, dehydrated and don't have any weapons. They'll kill us unless we lure them back into the woods."
"How?" Ame asks.
"You two go into the woods opposite the fog and take cover behind trees. Hopefully that trap is over. I'll let them chase me and you two take them down."
The girls nod and scurry to the forest. Zuko strides forward and lights both of his hands with bright orange fire.
When they see him, the tributes from 4 jump down from their seats atop the Sanctuary Square and seize weapons. They have bending, swords and bows. Zuko might be screwed, but he throws a few balls of fire at them before running towards Ame and Arati.
The remaining careers race after him and he barely outruns them.
Arati and Ame emerge from the trees as soon as the tributes from 4 hit the shade of the forest. Zuko stands in the middle as a spear pierces the boy's neck and knives slash the girl.
Zuko burns her, and she rolls over on her side. He raises his hand to strike if she stands, but she does not.
"Just do it," spits the girl, blood trickling from her lips. "Don't be a coward."
"Stand up and fight me. I won't kill you while you're hurt," orders Zuko, stepping back and broadening his stance.
The girl from 4 shakes her head with a twisted smirk and pushes herself to her feet. She lunges at Zuko and he takes her down with a surge of fire. Bang.
Zuko turns to Ame and Arati and sees their eyes bulging.
It takes him a moment to see what they do and hear what they hear.
Mutts. An army of wolf-like creatures.
Zuko grabs Ame and throws her over his shoulder. He shouts, "Grab Arati!" and swiftly checks to make sure Ame has her in hand. The three of them run away from the stampede of mutts.
They see the tributes from 7 on their way. A cannon fires, so Zuko knows one has met death, but he is clueless about the other. It seems that the Gamemakers have not culled enough tributes because the mutts maintain their pursuit.
Another cannon fires and he hears Ame scream. Zuko cannot think about it until they swing around a corner and an explosion detonates the mutts the Gamemakers unleashed. He cannot see anything but dust and darkness at first and cannot hear anything but the ringing in his ears.
Then he looks up and sees that just Ame lies by his side. She looks up and says something to him with tears rolling into her mouth.
He does not have to be able to hear her to know whose cannon fired second.
[X]
Deep in the forest and two of the final four, Zuko and Ame say nothing until the faces flash in the sky and Arati is one of them.
"What happened?" he asks quietly.
Ame turns to him and takes in a shuddering breath. Tears stream from her eyes and he wishes he knew how to make them go away. "I let go of her. You kept running. I tried to stop you and turn around for her but you just kept running!"
"It was loud," snarls Zuko, his face now bright red, "and chaotic. I saved your life! I didn't have to!"
Ame purses her lips and turns away. He exhales smoke as he watches the lights fade and hears the anthem play.
"I could've saved me and Arati both," she whispers, then she stands up and turns to face him. It is the dead of the night and the temperature is about to drop significantly. "But in this Arena, you're a really good ally, and there are seven really dangerous other people here."
It was the mutts. He could not hear over them or think about anything but escaping. He would not kill Arati, even if Ame believes he did.
"I wouldn't have let her die when she's my ally, and not that way even if she wasn't. I swear. I'm playing these Games with honor and I wouldn't…"
Ame gives him a wounded look that makes him stop talking. She does curl around him when it gets cold enough, but she says nothing.
Her first words are just as Zuko is beginning to fall asleep.
"One thousand and sixteen," she whispers.
"What?"
"One thousand and sixteen children have died in the Games, and at least three more will. One of the dead was my cousin, my sister, my child…"
"I don't see your point."
Ame licks her lips and is mute for a few moments.
"You keep saying you'll play with honor, like that absolves you of any guilt. You talk about being honorable as if it makes you any better or worse than anybody else who's ever been Reaped. Stand in this Arena, in the graveyard of one thousand and sixteen dead children and ask the ghosts if honor matters." Pause. "Their silence is your answer."
Zuko stares at the artificial stars.
He does not sleep that night.
[X]
In the morning, he pretends to be asleep as Ame stands up. She raises one of Arati's knives above him and he reaches up, seizing her by the wrist and flipping her onto her back. The winds knocked out of her, she gasps.
"We'll meet again," Zuko says before running from her.
She does not follow him.
[X]
After Zuko runs out of energy, he sinks behind a thick tree.
At dusk cannon fires; it is the work of Ame, he knows.
He sees in the sky that it was the tribute from 8. So, only he Hulin and Ame remain. This is the first time two tributes from District 9 have made it to the final three. In fact, it is the only second time that one has reached this point.
He stands and begins to walk. The finales love to be near the Sanctuary Square. The gamemakers usually force the tributes to make it there, and he will not risk dying from one of the traps.
As Zuko walks, he thinks about how he is one of the final three. At first, he is overjoyed and relieved. Then, he thinks about the one thousand and seventeen kids who have died in the Harmony Games. He does not know the math of how many of them made it to the final three, but he knows it would be a depressing figure.
Zuko reaches the Sanctuary Square and catches Ame and Hulin in combat. Hulin runs and dodges and is faster than her, but the slashes from her spear may prove deadly.
A sneak attack from behind is dishonorable, but he raises his hands.
The one thousand and seventeen ghosts are still silent.
He hits Ame from behind and she screams from the burn, alive but knocked to the ground. Hulin looks up at Zuko. They lock eyes. Hulin gazes imploringly, asking Zuko to sacrifice himself. But before Zuko could consider such a thing, Hulin hits the ground and a cannon fires.
Ame stabbed him through the spine with a sword from the Sanctuary Square.
"See, now you don't have to worry about anyone in your District thinking you're not an honorable man. It would be so shameful to kill your own District partner…" Ame says, shaking with those silent giggles again. He thinks she may have lost her mind.
Zuko takes a few steps back. Ame takes a few steps forward.
"One thousand and eighteen," Zuko says, meeting her gaze. She clutches her abdomen, in agonizing pain from the burn.
Ame glares at him. "One thousand and nineteen."
She reaches down in a flash; Zuko lights his hands as fast as possible.
He dodges a spear, but ignites the grass when he falls. The dried plain burns fiercer than it should; this is engineered by the gamemakers. He stands from the fire as it rapidly approaches Ame. She screams and begins to climb the Sanctuary Square. The flames follow her.
Zuko runs, blocking as much fire as he can. When he reaches the center of the plain, Ame kicks him down.
He howls from the pain against his face. He could not block all of himself at one time.
Zuko rolls over, gasping, panicked. He has never felt pain as horrific as this. He will die, he will hear his cannon; no one could feel this agonized and live.
The fire recedes.
Despite his blurred vision, he sees a silver package fall. Ame still stands on higher ground, but without a weapon left. She jumps down and races him to it, staggering on her feet as he crawls and cries, the tears stinging his already pained wound.
Zuko gets there first. He tears it open and grabs the pearly knife with his shaking hands.
As Ame lunges at him, he pierces it through her neck. She gasps and sputters and stumbles.
Bang.
Zuko lies down and his world fades into darkness.
[X]
When Zuko wakes, he is halfway through reparative procedures. The nurse looks at him and holds up a hand to stop the doctor. Zuko sits up, fighting restraints and sedatives to make a demand that a victor should have granted.
"Is something wrong?" the nurse sweetly inquires, adjusting her hair when she sees him.
"I want to keep the scarring on my face," Zuko rasps.
"Oh, but you're such a handsome boy," she protests, grimacing at the remaining disfigurements she and the surgeons are bidden to repair.
Zuko growls as fiercely as he can, "I said I want to keep the scar."
They obey him, although everyone calls him crazy for marring his beauty.
The thing is, Zuko keeps the scar for exactly that reason.
He wants to tarnish the face that sparked mania in the Capitol.