To Fire Lord Ozai, the feeling of fear was something that he knew had to be vanquished; it was a weakness that would prevent him from achieving his desires, because with fear, came relent, and with relent came an inability to act. The irony of his feeling was that it was because of his own son's relentlessness; his victory against Zhao, however meagre it was in comparison to the quest he had laid forward for him, proved something, that his daughter had most bluntly told him, his had lesson worked. He did not expect such tenacity out of his son, who he honestly believed would resign himself to his banishment, leaving the future of his nation to his sister, who he believed both of them knew to be the far more competent heir. He realised that in his lulling over the situation he had found himself in, with an heir was more than capable of dealing down his grievances, he had remained silent for far longer than he ought to have; the tapping of Azula's boot reminded him of that very fact.
"Yes..." he raised his eyes to face her own, "You are right. If the Avatar is out there, hiding, and your brother finds him, then it may be the case he will finally redeem himself." he concluded, although the uncertainty in his words did not escape his daughter's ears.
"He will." she restated her own certainty on the matter, before she smirked at him, "Are you pleased that Uncle hasn't ruined your son with his idiotic morals?"
He narrowed his glare at his daughter, considering that she was right in saying that his foolish brother's teachings had been ignored by Zuko, who he would have been advised against going to fight Zhao; Ozai also knew that his daughter, however young and naive she was, even despite her years of training, had her own games to play with her brother. He wouldn't disapprove of that behaviour if it weren't inadvertently subverting his own authority as their father, knowing that if his son and daughter didn't despise each other, they would grow to despise him, just as he had toward his own father.
"I... I believe that he has been set on the right path." Ozai clarified his own opinion, although he didn't express the full sense of unease he had about his son's growth as both a firebender and a person.
He knew that if they were strong enough, and had the will, they would grow to hate him just as he had to his own father; he could even say that Iroh must have grown to hate the old fool, eventually, as despite his own weakness, seemed to have a spine when it came to who he chose to dislike. His principles were and continued to be contradiction to that of their father, something that would make even a tea-loving moron like him despise their father, who had been more than forgiving of his failings. Ozai himself was not under any illusion that he was the best father, but he knew that everything he did was in line with his principles, the strong over the weak, and to never show compromise or weakness in the face of adversity. His son was a weakling, and the Fire Lord showed no compromise to punishing that weakness; now with Zuko finally showing his own strength, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. He had set it into motion, and now he had no idea how far his son would go to 'redeem' himself.
"So... what will become of Commander Zhao?" his daughter asked of him, Ozai sighing as he looked back down to the document in his hands, knowing that the reputation of a single officer didn't concern him at all.
"Zhao is a loyal servant of the Fire Nation. He will maintain his rank, because I believe he is capable of doing what is necessary to win this war." he stressed, remembering back to a very distinctive request the Commander had made a while prior about an invasion plan of the North Pole; as foolish and vacuous his plans were, the Fire Lord knew that the resolve required to even ask that of his monarch was something that he could hold a small bit of respect for.
Azula's eyes narrowed at him, almost hatefully, although he was unsure if the hatefulness was being directed at him or the Commander, "I understand. Your wisdom has never failed you father." she assured him, although he knew her words were sarcastic; he would not reprimand her, knowing that doing so would suggest he knew about her own rebellious tendencies.
As loyal as his daughter was to him and his principles, he knew that she was in that position out of a desire to fulfil greatness for herself, rather than out of any actual love for him; he didn't want her to love him, he rather wanted her to respect him and, if necessary, fear him. She did not want what was best for the Fire Nation, but rather what was best for herself; he knew that those two ideas coincided for him, as he was the Fire Lord, but Azula's concerns were more complex than his own, such as the dogged loyalty she held to her brother.
"Now, was there something else you wanted, daughter?" he asked of her, hoping to incite a response that would clear up her motivations a little further, knowing that certainty helped with understanding the girl before him, who seemed to lie to his face more often than not.
"No, father. I will take my leave." she dismissed herself, the Fire Lord raising a hand to gesture to the door.
"Close the door on the way out. I do not want to be disturbed again." he stressed, his daughter nodding with an understanding glare, "I have things to attend to."
"Of course, father. Have a good afternoon." she courteously farewelled him, closing the door and locking it behind her.
He knew for a fact that he needed to get back into reading the report in front of him; it was from War Minister Qin, detailing the production of a new model of tundra tanks that were being deployed on the front lines against the Earth Kingdom. He didn't personally cared as much for the matter, but he knew that now he needed to distract himself from the thoughts he had at hand; his weakness would need to be squashed, and if it required him to read through the most boring logistical reports he could find, then that is what he would do. Fire Lord Ozai would not find himself concerned about the threat that mere children could put against his might or authority as the ruler of his nation; he was indomitable, and was certain that he would remain so until his last breath.
"Do I need to remind you of what we're fighting for?!"
Azula cringed at her brother's shouting voice, although she agreed completely with him; remembering the fact that the Fire Lord, her father, was going to burn down the Earth Kingdom with Sozin's Comet ought to be a very good motivation for Aang to continue his training. The Avatar himself was panting after he had just completed another set, where he had shown both ferocity and skill, although her brother seemed to think it wasn't good enough; she did, again, agree with him, but she didn't believe it would be the best way to teach Aang by demeaning him for not being as strong as he wanted him to be. She did, however, remember that the comet was only three days away, and pushed that weak thought out of her mind; her father would have to die, and funnily enough, Aang would have to follow the Fire Lord's own principles to win. He needed to push himself to his absolute limit to beat the most powerful firebender alive, bar perhaps herself and her uncle, although she was unsure if either of them could actually beat Ozai in a one-on-one fight.
"Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!" Zuko demanded once again, the Avatar complying by sending rather meagre fire streams out of his mouth and fists, much to her brother's frustration, "That sounded pathetic! I said roar!"
He roared again, this time louder, with his streams of fire bursting out of his fists and mouth rather impressively; Azula clapped at his show of power, her brother nodding along approvingly as well.
"That was quite impressive." she admitted, before she was cut off by Katara, who had just entered the courtyard.
"Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?" she asked those present with two watermelons in hand.
Aang's face brightened up upon hearing the offer, "Ooh, ooh! Me, me, me!" he beamed, Zuko grabbing him by the cuff of his robes, stopping him from getting any closer to the watermelons.
"Hey! Your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" he held up him up, stopping the Avatar, despite his efforts, from getting away.
"Come on, Zuko. You can take just a little break." his girlfriend suggested, making him groan with annoyance.
"You do all realise we've only got three days left. Aang needs to master firebending before then!" he voiced his frustrations with a shout, making the group cringe back.
"Zuko's right." Azula stressed with a raised finger, "You all know what's coming."
"I don't mean to be a bummer, but they're right." Sokka admitted, "Aang, you need to focus on training above all else... how about we make a simulated fight against the Fire Lord?"
"A simulated fight?" Zuko raised a brow at him, "You don't mean one of us... oh." he turned to face his sister, "Looks like you can do something other than smugly looking at me drilling Aang." he chided her, the Princess raising her hands defensively.
"I'm helping. I was planning to do just that anyway. I'm the closest comparison to our father there is."
"Smart minds think alike." Sokka grinned, making her roll her eyes.
"Don't give yourself too much credit." she chided the Water Tribe teen, before she turned to face Aang, "Now, you know what we need to do. Let's go somewhere else to try this out, seeing that... we might make too much of a mess."
"Ooh! Does this mean I finally get to fight Azula?" Toph piqued her head up with interest, the princess looking at her with a smug face, raising her chin up.
"Indeed. Although, you'll all be fighting together. If need be, Zuko and I can both pretend to be our father, if only to give you a better taste of his strength."
"That's a little over the top, don't you think?" Katara asked of her, to which she shook her head.
"Never underestimate your opponents." she stressed, making Sokka rise up, scratching at his chin intently like he was some kind of wisened philosopher.
"We'd probably win a lot more with that philosophy." he considered, before whistling, "Now, everyone, let's go find a place to fight each other. This'll be fun... just no lightning." he suggested, the two royal siblings looking at each other.
"That would make it more realistic, wouldn't it?" Zuko suggested, making Aang's eyes widen.
"You're not being serious, are you?" he asked them, the two siblings shaking their heads.
"We are. You really should learn the technique I used against my father." she raised a finger, making him tense up; he had seen the result of that move, but he probably didn't understand that she wasn't prepared to use it in that very moment, and thus failed in redirecting the lightning correctly, as Zuko had told her to.
"Didn't you nearly die the last time you tried that?" the Avatar questioned her, as if to suggest her move was worse than doing nothing.
"Would you rather the Fire Lord kill you, or 'nearly die'?" she refuted his logic, to which he sighed, seeing that his argument was essentially pointless, considering that whatever measure he might take would make him less likely to be killed by their father.
"Fair enough. How exactly does it work?"
The Princess looked to her brother, "Did we need to do a demonstration?" she asked him, genuinely concerned that the Avatar was asking them to do just that.
"No. I'll- I mean, we'll just show you how the technique works." he explained, his self-correction making Azula tilt her chin up with a sense of achievement; she had been the one to redirect their father's lightning, after all, "It involves the flow of energy through your chi paths, essentially. If you let the energy of your body flow, a lightning bolt, if you ever have to face one, will follow it." he explained, making a motion from his left hand down to his gut before using his right hand to motion back out of his body, "You can send the lightning back at them... uh, so you use their energy against them."
"So... it's just like waterbending." he concluded, following Zuko's imitation of the form.
"Exactly. My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders." the Prince explained the origin of the form, making the young Avatar raise a brow at him.
"So, have you ever redirected lightning before?" he asked him, making Azula step forward.
"He has not... at least I hope not." she admitted, looking to her brother, who shook his head.
"I haven't, but I'm pretty sure Azula can fill you in with the more practical details." he admitted, gesturing to her; Aang's eyes brightened at her, looking like he wanted to drill into her mind at find out the secrets that they held- she unsure if she was being paranoid or not, but his intense staring made her feel uncomfortable pretty quickly.
"So, what did feel like?"
"Well... I didn't do it correctly." she admitted off the bat, "I'm assuming it is meant to be a whole lot less painful; I felt like I was getting burnt from the inside out- there's no other way to describe it, really." she acknowledged, before smirking, "But the power, the power I held in that instance, it was... it was amazing." her eyes widened, realising that she really hadn't considered it that much, having passed out right after the lightning left her body.
"You nearly killed the Fire Lord with it, didn't you?" Aang asked her with an uneasy look, Suki raising a hand.
"I saw that all unfold, and let me just say, yes, she nearly did. If you want to fry the Fire Lord, that's going to be the easiest way to go about it." she offered her own opinion, which seemed quite reasonable, seeing that she had been with Azula the entire time and had seen the consequences of the redirection.
"So... are we going to try and see if you're ready?" Sokka stepped in, making the Avatar raise a brow.
"Ready to fight your 'fake Fire Lord'?" he questioned, the Water Tribe teen placing a hand on his shoulder and Zuko's before gesturing to Azula.
"This is not fake Fire Lord. If it weren't for our good spirit, the Blue Spirit and professional tea-maker, Prince Zuko, she'd still be Crown Princess. That's one step away from Fire Lord."
"All too true, Sokka." she smirked at him, appreciating the recognition when it came her way, before her eyes turned to Aang, the seriousness shining through the unrelenting glare she gave him.
"I will show you what it means to fight for your life."
"Come on! Do you think you can defeat the almighty Melon Lord!"
Zuko wanted to break down laughing at his sister's hilarious acting, but he was more concerned by the relent that Aang was showing; they had all had to fight against his sister, who was far scarier than he remembered her to be. He realised that she might have been holding back a lot when it came to their sparring, as she was able to hold off both Katara and Toph simultaneously, something he doubted he'd be able to do. Sokka and Suki actually fared a little better than the two benders, probably because she was the kind of opponent they were used to, using their tactical skills against her; Zuko himself hadn't really done much, other than throw some pot-shots to distract Azula while Aang came around to sneak attack her- although she wasn't surprised by the attack, she was rather preoccupied with Toph trying to crush her with her earthbending. The rest of the group was waiting for him to attack, forcing Zuko to respond.
"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" he gestured to the imitation of the Fire Lord that he had refused to hit.
Azula threw a fireball his way, hoping to prod him into action, but he simply pushed her away with earthbending, leaving him standing there beside the imitation with an uneasy face.
"I can't." he mumbled, Sokka approaching him with a concerned face.
"What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now."
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right." he tried to justify his inaction, "I didn't feel like myself."
The Water Tribe boy pulled out his jian sword, slicing through the Melon Lord's head, "There, that's how it's done."
"I can't believe this." Azula sighed with annoyance, "You had the chance, and you squandered it."
"I couldn't... you don't understand." he told her, almost dismissively, as he turned away, walking off, the Princess shaking her head.
"Actually, no." she clarified, pulling herself back up to her feet, dusting off the dirt he had thrown onto her with his earthbending, "I'm the only one who can understand, because I had to face him in a life or death situation, and unlike you, I actually once respected my father. I could even say that I loved him, like any child should." she told him, her eyes darting to her brother, who felt uneasy upon hearing what she was saying; it was his truth just the same, because for the longest time, he had tried to make his father love him, and justify all the misdeeds he did to him as lessons, as fair and fatherly, when they were just sick and wrong.
Aang looked back at her, his eyes widening, realising what he had just made her say, "So you're saying... that despite him being your father, you were willing to kill him."
"I didn't know what would happen when I entered that room, but I knew that there was going to be two possible outcomes- one where my brother was Fire Lord, and one where he was not." she admitted, "When I got hit with that lightning, for a moment, I actually thought I was going to die. Do you know that feeling?"
"N-not really... I mean Z-" he began, the Princess shaking her head, preempting what she guessed he was going to say.
"Zuko was never going to kill you, because just like you, he sticks to his principles." she stressed, "But sometimes they've got to bend, and for you, that's so you can save the world."
"Exactly!" Sokka piped up, walking up to his friend, "You've got to understand Aang. No one likes killing people... not even the angry Princess who nearly killed us, multiple times." he gestured to Azula before looking at him with a serious expression, "Come on, please. You have to know that you can't let those rules hold you back from doing what is right."
"How can it be right to kill someone?!" he asked him, almost accusingly, Zuko clenching his fists, having had enough of his attitude; he didn't understand what was at stake, not if he was willing to compromise on sparing the Fire Lord, who would be more than willing to annihilate him.
"Aang! Do you know how many people will die if you don't win? Do you? Are you going to disregard their deaths just because you won't be directly responsible? It's the potential of killing one man to stop him from causing the deaths of thousands... millions of people." he told him, his tone rising higher, stressing the importance of what he was saying; Zuko hadn't suffered from the war himself, but he had seen what had happened, and he didn't want anyone else to suffer the same things that people like Sokka, Katara, Teo, Haru... and even Jet had, "I've had to kill people, people who mightn't have even deserved it. But I did it to protect those who I love. Do you really love your principles more than all the innocents who will die because of them?"
"Zuko!" he heard Katara's voice gasp, Aang turning his heels, not saying a word, "Why did you say that?" she asked him, actually shocked that he had been so angry toward him; the Prince knew that moment of anger was one of the worst he had experienced in months, but he certainly had good reason to feel that way.
"Because it's the truth. Those people... Aang's stupid rules, his morals. They'll all die if he sticks by them. They don't deserve that. It isn't fair." he declared, turning his heels himself, walking in the opposite direction of the Avatar.
"Brother, wait." Azula reached out grasp his arm, Zuko continuing onward; he didn't want to lash out at her either, knowing that with their constant butting of heads, it was more than likely.
His strides were quickly taking him away from the rocky precipice they had gathered at, although he quickly made out the sound of footsteps behind him; it didn't take a genius to figure out that they belonged to his girlfriend, who was rather surprised and shocked by what he had just said.
"Zuko, wait up." she told him, the Prince forcing himself to stop, knowing that he couldn't be angry with her, because he made the same decision she would have; she wouldn't stand for the suffering of innocents, no matter what, and that was one of the many reasons why he loved her so dearly, "I know you're angry, and... I really agree with you."
"I guessed that." he made a small grimace, trying to smile, but knowing he couldn't; there was no time to be happy, not with the truth he had just faced- that the world's only hope, the Avatar, was unwilling to do the one thing he'd have to do to assure that they would all be saved.
She quickly pulled him into a hug, "I'm sorry that you're so angry." she told him, kissing him on the side of the head, reassuring him of her care, even if she had no need to.
"You don't need to say that. This isn't your fault." he assured her, Suki's grimace surprising him more than anything.
"I mean... it kind of is." he admitted, the Prince looking at her with a bewildered face.
"I don't understand... you're not responsible Aang's whole-" he began to try and think out her words, only to be cut off.
"Not Aang... your father. If I hadn't come into the bunker, thinking that the eclipse was about to end and we needed to escape, Azula would have remained focused... and she would have done it."
His eyes widened, realising what she was saying, what she was claiming responsibility for, "You couldn't have known."
"I could have kept my cool. But I didn't. I was stupid, and your sister nearly died because of it, and worse, your father got to continue sitting on that stupid throne of flames for a little longer while we try to persuade the Avatar, who just had to be a pacifist, to go and fight him to the death." she explained, her tone growing more uneasy and nervous with each passing second, Zuko holding her by the arms, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry. You're not responsible. We can fix this, and we can win, together."
"That's exactly what I was going to say, brother." Azula's voice piped up, making the pair turn to face her, the Prince narrowing his eyes at her.
"What do you mean, Zula?" he asked her, the Princess pointing at the two of them.
"You, me, Suki. We can kill our father." she clarified her idea, the Prince scoffing at her suggestion.
"We can't kill him."
"That's either a lack of determination or fear that I fear, and neither is acceptable. You just said what you said, and you're not willing to face him?"
"I, for one, don't want to die. I know that if he had the guts to do it, Aang would win."
"But he won't, if he doesn't have to." she raised a finger, "Suki, you have to back me up here. We still have time. Sozin's Comet is only three days away."
"She has a point, Zuko. If we call on our friends, get the Kyoshi Warriors and their airship, maybe we could muster up the chance to take down your father."
"So, what, we just go busting in?" he asked the pair, the Princess smirking at him.
"Not exactly." she admitted, "Any kind of action we take needs to be covert, otherwise he'll just send the army in to deal with us."
"So, an assassination?" he asked in clarification, his sister shaking her head.
"You see, brother, being the heirs to the throne affords us a certain level of legality when it comes to this kind of thing."
"Oh, you mean an Agni Kai." he mumbled with realisation, to which she nodded with a smirk.
"The lightning trick only has to work once." she assured him, "If I can depose him in an Agni Kai, the Fire Nation military will be obliged to follow my command."
"But wouldn't that make you Fire Lord?" he questioned the Princess, who raised her hands up, reassuringly.
"Yes, but I can just abdicate in favour of you." she told him, before eyeing them both, "So does that settle it. Are we going to at the very least try to win?"
Suki furrowed a brow, before she turned to face Azula, "So, before or during the comet?"
"Before. I can't risk facing comet-enhanced firebending at the hands of my father. I have doubts already, and I'm sure that he'd win if it were during the comet." she admitted, "if we can't defeat him before the comet, we'll just have to hope that Aang intervenes and wins for us, if he can stomach it. Or Toph- I'm pretty sure she could suffocate him underground."
"Toph's really scary, when you think about it." the Kyoshi Warrior admitted, "Well... are we going to try and persuade Aang? There might be a chance he'll still do it."
"A chance." Azula raised a finger to stress, "I don't try and save the world on the assumption of chances. I want certainty."
"We have to try." Zuko admitted, turning to face his sister with fearful eyes, "I don't want you to die, Zula." he told her the blunt truth of his feelings, his girlfriend looking toward him with a grimace, realising that that was a real potential if they had to face the Fire Lord alone; the look of utter determination on his sister's face seemed to show that she believed his suggestion to be impossible, despite the odds they faced.
"I won't... I won't fail again."
"I have a surprise for everyone!"
Suki raised her head from eating her meal, looking to Katara, who was holding a scroll up; she would have been a little more interested in it's contents if it weren't for the growing sense of dread she was feeling in her gut. Less than three days, that was all they had until the comet returned and the Fire Lord was nigh unstoppable to anyone but the Avatar himself; she didn't want Azula to face Ozai alone, not after what had happened to her the last time.
"I knew it!" Toph piped up, "You did have a secret thing with Haru!"
Everyone, including the Kyoshi Warrior, gave the little earthbender a well founded look of confusion, although they all quickly returned to eating; her meal was decent, and she wanted to eat a fair bit before she, Zuko and Azula decided what to do, which seemed to be an imminent decision. The Fire Nation wasn't that large, at least in comparison to the massive Earth Kingdom, but they would need time to prepare to return to the capital, where the Fire Lord would be preparing for his own devastating attack on the Earth Kingdom.
"Uh, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" the Water Tribe girl piped up, unravelling the scroll in her hand, revealing a painting a happy baby playing on the beach, who looked suspiciously like her boyfriend, "Look at baby Zuko. Isn't he cute?" she asked the group, making everyone laugh, except for Zuko and Azula, who looked at each other with grimace, "Oh, lighten up. I'm just teasing." she prodded the Prince, his sister clearing her throat.
"You've made a mistake. That's not Zuko, that's our father."
Suki's eyes widened, looking at the scroll for a moment, realising that the happy little baby she was seeing was the man who was going to burn down the Earth Kingdom, who had nearly killed his own daughter and maimed his son.
"He... he looks so innocent." she mumbled, her boyfriend snarling with disdain.
"Well that innocent little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers." he declared rather dramatically, though his words were true to the core; his father was horrible, and no matter what he was once like, he couldn't be redeemed.
"But he's still a human being." Aang spoke for the first time that entire meal, earning the attention of the group.
"Oh, here we go again." Azula sighed with annoyance; Suki agreed with the sentiment, guessing well enough where their conversation would go.
"I agree with you." he stood up, looking to the Prince, "Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's got to be a another way."
Her boyfriend cocked a brow with scepticism, "Like what?"
"I don't know. Maybe we can make some big pots of glue, and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so that he can't bend anymore." he came up with an ad hoc plan, which honestly to Suki sounded a lot stupider than most of the numerous stupid plans she had heard from her fellow Kyoshi Warriors over the years.
"Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures, and all those happy memories will make him good again." Zuko added with a clearly sarcastic voice, making Sokka snicker, the humour of the situation not passing without his attention.
"Do you really think that would work?" Aang piped up with an excited voice, the Prince looking at him with genuine anger.
"No!" he shouted, the Avatar beginning to pace back and forth, as if that would help him get out of the dilemma he was in; it certainly wouldn't, but she guessed that he could walk his stress off- a far more tiring alternative to meditation.
"This goes against everything I learned from the monks." Aang tried to argue, "I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like."
"Sure you can." Sokka rose up, raising a hand to gesture to him, "You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you."
"This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in." he grit his teeth at the Water Tribe boy with pent up anger, looking like he was going to have a screaming fit at all of them.
"That wasn't a joke." Azula added, before she stood up, "And you don't understand the position I'm in."
"Uh... what would that be?" the Water Tribe boy stood up between them, his curiosity allowing the Princess to answer his question with a serious and cold voice.
"Because if Aang doesn't, then I'll be forced to murder my own father." she told him, before turning to face the Avatar, "Do you want me to do that?"
"You think that makes it any better?! There has to be another way!" he shouted at her in return, his anger just as strong as her own.
"We're just trying to help." Katara stood up, turning to face her friend, who looked away from her.
"Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" he shouted at them, before turning around, walking away into the distance, not bothering to say anything else.
"Aang, don't walk away from this." she pleaded, the Prince standing up to face his sister.
"I guess this settles it, then." he admitted, Suki looking up to him with a grimace; she didn't want to have to see them face Ozai, but from what it sounded like, it was the only reasonable outcome where they would win.
"What's going on here?" Katara turned to them, the Prince sighing before he looked her way with an uneasy face.
"We're going to find my father... and we're going to kill him ourselves." he told her with a pained, but serious voice, "We're the only ones who can take the throne and get away with it, so we're going to do just that."
"Y-you can't be serious." Toph murmured, standing up, her voice growing to fearful shout, "Sparky! Your dad might kill you!"
"I know that." the Prince tilted his chin up, trying not to look at his girlfriend, whose eyes were looking up at him widely, almost wanting cry; he was so noble, he was so determined to save the innocent, that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for it, "But that's the price I am willing to pay. Aang can't stand to break his morals and I can't stand by and wait for him to change his mind."
"But... we have to do this together." Katara told them, "How can we win otherwise?" she asked them, the Princess stepping forward.
"By striking fast, and without mercy. I don't take this lightly, but I knew that this was always a possibility, even before I joined you." she assured her, as if to make it sound better just because she had always known that killing her father was on the table.
"That doesn't make it sound any better, you know." Sokka simply commented, making her eyes narrow at him.
"Shut up, savage. You know exactly what you did. Don't even act like you regretted it."
"I don't, but that doesn't mean that I was always ready to whack-a-pow any big bad Fire Nation man in the head because I didn't like him." he argued, the reference to the line he had given the Sokka actor in the Ember Island players not escaping Suki's notice; she wanted to laugh, but the serious nature of the conversation forced her to remain quiet.
"You don't need to do this." Katara tried to argue, the Prince turning around.
"No, that's the thing... we do. We don't have a choice anymore."
"There's always a choice." she tried to argue, as if her words would dissuade them.
"That's how Aang justifies his own cowardice." Azula declared, "Being decisive is what we need, and that is what we've decided." she simply told them before turning around, "We're leaving tomorrow morning. You can come with us if you want to help."
"And how exactly are you going to get anywhere?" Sokka raised a brow at them skeptically.
"Majority rules. If the majority want to go defeat the Fire Lord right away, we take Appa, and we do it." Zuko told them, Suki standing up beside him.
"I'm with Zuko. So who else is?" she asked, the Water Tribe boy looking to his sister and Toph.
"I think we should wait for Aang to figure himself out. He'll come around." he told the other two, who nodded with agreement.
"You can't be sure of that." Azula grit her teeth before walking away, back toward the house.
"As much as I want to whack the Fire Lord myself, I think we can't just run into this blindly... no pun intended." Toph told them, making Sokka snicker slightly at her unintentional blind joke, although the punch to his shoulder shut him up pretty quickly.
"We wouldn't be running in blind." Suki declared, gesturing to the Prince beside her, "Zuko and Azula combined have more knowledge on the Fire Lord, the Fire Nation military and all the things we need to prepare for than any two people alive. The only thing to complement this would be Iroh offering a hand... but he's gone off to liberate Ba Sing Se." she admitted, making the prince sigh.
"If only he was here. Maybe his proverbs could persuade Aang better than I can." he sighed with frustration, before looking to the others, "I'm going to bed, but we're not joking. We're going to face the Fire Lord, no matter what."
The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors grasped her boyfriend's hand, "Come on... let's go." she told him, the pair of them walking away, Suki momentarily waving to the others, "Good night, everyone."
They all waved back with uneasy faces, obviously still lulling over what was to come; they all had sides to choose, and even if everyone but Aang was in agreement that the Fire Lord had to be destroyed, some of them were under the presumption that only the Avatar could beat him. Zuko refuted that the only person who could truly face up against his father was Iroh, but as he was not there, the best substitute was his younger, far more eager sister, who despite her confidence, probably was as disturbed by the idea of killing her father as the Prince was.
As they walked back into the house, she turned to face him, knowing that she had to say something, after all that had happened, "Zuko, are you okay?"
"I'm never okay." he admitted with a grimace, "And that's what I hope to end. My father is the one thing that looms over us all, and I just hope that once he's gone, we can finally move on." he admitted, placing her hands over her own, "Together."
"That's what I want too." she made a warm smile, before kissing him on the cheek, "You're in a pretty angry mood. I prefer the angsty, shy Zuko."
"You'll get him back soon enough." he chuckled, before she grasped his hand, pulling him along toward their bedroom.
"Let's get some rest, and then we can face down destiny with less baggy eyes." she suggested to him with a smirk, making him sigh before nodding in acceptance, knowing that she was right; Suki didn't try to be correct, she was just naturally aware of the things she needed to do to feel happy- a decent amount of sleep was one of them.
"That's some good advice if I've ever heard any."
Tying up his bag, Zuko looked to his girlfriend with an uneasy face; they were ready to leave the house, and once they had gotten Azula on side, they would go on their final journey to the Fire Nation palace, where they would have to face their father. Everyone knew what was at stake, it just happened that they were the ones willing to act upon their knowledge.
"Is that everything?" Suki asked him, gesturing to his bag, which he lifted up onto his shoulder; glancing about their room, he nodded, sure that he didn't need much else but some rations, water, his sleeping roll and the clothes on his back.
"Yep, now, let's find my sister. I'm sure she and Aang are probably at it again." he admitted, the Kyoshi warrior cringing before nodding.
"Yeah... we should probably stop that from happening." she took note of that potential; nobody wanted to have those to break into an actual fight, as it would only do more harm than good.
As they turned to leave the bedroom, the door suddenly opened before them, making them both jump back with fear; he realised immediately that they weren't being attacked, as Sokka was standing before them, looking rather dazed himself, although the concern in his eyes highlighted the importance of his appearance.
"You can't leave!" he pleaded to them, Zuko raising a brow with confusion; of all the group, he seemed to be the most for beside his sister for killing their father, probably because he was the one of the group who had the least qualms when it came to facing down the Fire Nation, for better or for worse.
He raised a brow at the Water Tribe boy, who was preventing him and Suki from leaving the house; he didn't want to have to fight him, but he knew that if it came to that it, would.
"And why is that?" Azula grabbed him by the shoulder, as if she had appeared out of nowhere; he reeled back in shock before glancing at all three of them.
"You can't leave because Aang disappeared." he told them, Zuko raising a brow with confusion.
"Disappeared?" he asked him, the Water Tribe teen nodding intently, before gesturing for them to follow.
"Yeah, Toph pointed it out, and we were looking around, and we found tracks, just walking right into the water, and that was it. He's just... gone."
"So he went out for a midnight swim, and never came back?" Suki asked him with a furrowed brow, Sokka shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't know." he admitted honestly, before turning to face them all with a serious glare, "I need your help- we all need your help. We've got to find him."
"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Azula questioned him, pointing a shoulder of his chest, "As you probably know, we're on a bit of tight schedule. If Aang has really disappeared, then shouldn't we just accept it for what it is- he doesn't want to fight, because he's a coward."
"Well, he left his glider and Appa, so he couldn't have got that far. Even if he's a waterbender, he can't be that good of swimmer." he explained what he knew, "So he couldn't have just run away. Aang's not that stupid." Sokka came to his own conclusion.
"Whatever, that doesn't change the fact Sozin's Comet arrives in two days." Zuko recentred the conversation to the most important thing, that being taking down his father.
"You're right, Zuko, that's why we need to find him." he Water Tribe boy argued, making him sigh, turning to face his girlfriend.
"What do you think we should do?" he asked, hoping to seek her guidance and opinion on the matter, as she was part of their Fire-Lord-hunting trio.
"Aang's out there. We just need to find him... but there is a schedule. If we can't find him today, then we're going to face the Fire Lord alone, that's just the fact of the matter."
"Not alone." Sokka piped up, "We're all going to face him together. We're Team Avatar, not 'the Rebel Royals'." he rebuked the presupposition that the three of them would have to face Ozai alone.
"That's a catchy name." Azula scratched her chin, narrowing her eyes at him, "Stupid, but catchy, nonetheless." before her attention was reoriented to the more important matter at hand, "Let's find Aang, and then we'll go take down our father, once and for all."
Sokka then led the three of them out of the beach house to Katara and Toph, who were standing outside waiting for them; his sister looked at him with relief, realising that the three of them were still there.
"You persuaded them to stay... thank the spirits." she sighed, before looking up at them, "So... how do you propose we find him?"
"Who?" Zuko raised a brow, the eyes of the group darting to Azula.
"Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?" she tapped her cheeks, before her eyes widened, "Oh, yeah. I have found you all numerous times. It wasn't that hard."
"Really?" Sokka raised a brow at her, to which she made a smug grin, pointing to Appa.
"For one, that massive ball of hair is both easy to spot and sheds hair regularly, and for another, you are all serious trouble magnets; I follow the trouble, I find you." she simply explained her method behind finding them.
"And how exactly are we going to find him when he's just disappeared out of thin air?" Toph asked her, the Princess scratching her chin.
"I have no idea, but the thing is, why would he leave without his glider? He can't exactly get anywhere fast without it." she gestured to the object that he would need to travel with.
"So what, we scour the water with Appa?" Sokka questioned, Azula gesturing around them.
"We're on a big island, so he could still be here. You'd never know until you looked a little deeper." she suggested, the group looking amongst themselves, Katara stepping forward.
"So that settles it. He's got to be somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him."
"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph declared, walking over and grasping him by the arm, making him blush; the erest of the group looking at her with concern, before she clarified her intentions, "What? Everyone else went ona life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn."
"I'm pretty sure we clarified that was going to involve your parents, and be completed after we beat the Fire Lord." he admitted, making her pout.
"Urgh... whatever, but still, I'm going with you anyway." she stood her ground, making the Prince roll his eyes as he began to walk off.
"I'm not that much fun to be around." he admitted, knowing for a fact he wasn't the most sociable person, especially in comparison to the stout earthebending girl.
"Nah, I'm staying for Azula... she's cool, you know." she grinned, making the Princess slap Toph on the shoulder.
"See, the respect I deserve." the Princess wistfully remarked, making the Prince roll his eyes, before turning to face Suki.
"Come on, let's go, let those two 'master benders' have their fun together." he suggested, the Kyoshi Warrior following after him, her eyes momentarily darting back to look at the others before she turned to face him.
"I feel like this isn't going to eventuate to much." she admitted, Zuko sighing before he looked to her with determination.
"If he really has disappeared, then I think they'll follow us, so we can take down the Fire Lord together." he concluded, knowing that without Aang, Azula was their best shot to defeat his father.
"And what if we really need Aang to defeat him?" she dared to question him, the Prince placing a palm over his face, cringing at the idea.
"Well then, perhaps the spirits really do want us all to suffer. Destiny's just kicking us at this point."
She raised a brow at him with surprise, before making a wistful smirk, "You really sound like a more angsty version of your uncle sometimes."
"That is both a compliment and an insult at the same time." he admitted with surprised face, before it turned to one of appreciation, "But if I can be half as wise as him, then maybe I'll be a good Fire Lord."
"You'll be a massive improvement to what we have right now." she observed the seemingly obvious, "I'm sure you'll do a great job."
"We've just got to get there first." he conceded, before his eyes darted upward, as the pair began to approach the beach-side settlement, where there were a number of shops and smaller vacation homes, "Let's just hope here's actually here. I don't know what'll actually happen otherwise"
"I think she can do it, Zuko." she reaffirmed her certainty, "As long as we don't get in her way, that is." she conceded, making the Prince chuckle, realising that an overly determined and focused Azula was once his greatest fear, but now his greatest asset.
"She may have to. Let's just hope the Avatar hasn't pulled the same trick he did a hundred years ago."