Set after the end of the show. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE PROMISE PT. 1! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Parts of dialogue have been borrowed from Sozin's Comet Pt. 4 and The Promise Pt.1. I wanted to do something a little special for the 25th chapter and what better than playing with our first new dose of cannon in quite some time.

Note on Broken and Branded: I decided to simply put in some placeholders for now so I don't lose my reviews on part one while my beta is still working on the rest. This will allow me to simply upload parts 2 & 3 in their proper places when I am ready while allowing me to continue this series in the mean time. Sorry if this causes any confusion and thanks for understanding.

Balance of Power

Power. It was what he missed the most. More than a soft bed, more than rich food, more than the sun that used to fuel his body. A fire no longer burned inside him. Ozai was hollow in his defeat.

The one who held power now stood before him. Firelord Zuko graced his fallen predecessor with his presence. Ozai feigned interest in his regal usurper. He was in no mood to hear gloating or worse the suggestion of contemplative redemption Zuko voiced that neither truly believed in the thinly veiled undercurrent of hatred between them.

"Why are you really here?" Ozai asked, wanting to return to his solitude. Boring as it was, the silence was his only respite now from his humiliation.

Unlike Ozai, the light in Zuko had not gone out. Rather, it blazed in the new Firelord's eyes as he asked his question.

"Where. Is. My mother?"

And with those four words Ozai realized he still had power. Just an ember in the cooling coals of what had once been Ozai's to command. But he had something the Firelord needed. Information. Suddenly, he was useful to his new overlord. In a flash, Ozai saw a new path before him, one born of cunning brilliance or desperation. It was impossible to tell. He became talkative, suggesting he and his son should have tea together of all things.

"Perhaps even the subject of your mother will come up."

This time, the new Firelord was not interested in any dangling carrots that might give Ozai small entertainment by drawing out his answers to Zuko's question. With a quick motion, Zuko rose to leave. Ozai wasn't done. He offered his services to the crown. He humbled himself with the most seductive of words. He offered his experience as a former ruler, claiming a kinship beyond that of their shared blood in knowing Zuko's burden of leadership.

"Son."

It was the relationship Zuko had once longed for. But Ozai was talking to his son's already turned back. Full of fury, the new Firelord slammed the cell door in Ozai's face.

Ozai wondered if he had miscalculated as he watched Zuko stalk away. He had gambled with his last straw to grasp, igniting sparks of ideas. He hoped one might catch fire in a corner of his son's mind. Zuko still needed answers. He still needed Ozai. Zuko would come back. Right?

Yes. Zuko would come back to him. Ozai had plenty of time to wait.

A year later, Zuko returned.

The new Firelord arrived not in crown and robed splendor, as he had the last time, but under the cloaked cover of darkness. When the stranger pulled back his hood, tea set in hand, Ozai knew this to be the clandestine meeting he'd awaited. In the little light that existed, Ozai could see the haggardness of his son's face despite being half hidden by Zuko's unbound hair. The stress and lack of sleep, like Ozai had predicted, was catching up to him at last. He could see the bed clothes Zuko wore when he took off his cloak.

Ozai didn't say a word. He waited for Zuko to prepare the tea and speak his mind. Despite it being his own suggestion, sharing tea with his son like this was both as unbelievable as it was strangely relaxing, Ozai mused as he took the offered cup and saucer. Ozai was not much for tea but he had to admit this was well-brewed. Perhaps his traitorous brother had done something right in sharing his idiotic obsession with his son. The blend was spicy and sweet, most welcome and flavorful after his usual prison fare of weak slop. Despite the "kindness" Zuko showed his father in making sure he was "decently cared for," it would never be up to the standards of what Ozai's was accustomed to before.

"Father, I need your advice," Zuko finally said and bowed his head.

Since his imprisonment, Ozai had slowly come to appreciate the darkness surrounding him. With his connection to the light forever severed, thanks to the Avatar, the darkness was his new home. He was learning to understand the advantage of living in the shadows and see the potential of this new father/son bonding time.

Advisor. Ozai swished the word around his consciousness like a mouthful of tea.

Perhaps Zuko was still his to mold and influence. Perhaps his son wasn't lost to him completely. Perhaps the former Phoenix King could become the power behind the throne. Perhaps…it was too soon to tell. His son was in a restless state of mind, always a precarious thing, but potentially fortuitous if he played this right. Ozai paused from sipping his tea and did something he hadn't done since the day of the comet. He smiled.

Notes: Yes, I couldn't resist reading the spoilers and I can't wait for the January release! I hope it will shed a little more light on Zuko's disturbing "dabbling with the dark side." And while I know thing will turn out all right in the end, does Zuko really have to be the villain again? Sigh. I hope these's something in those missing pages in his visit to Yu Dao that explains his change in attitude by the time Aang and Co. show up, since few things in Avatar are totally black and white. Anyway, one of the most fascinating threads of The Promise for me right now was the relationship between Zuko and Ozai (which I've been wanting to do a chapter on lately) and how, even after all that has happened, Ozai continues to manipulate and Zuko struggles to be free of his father's shadow.