What are you afraid of?
I fear nothing. I fear not the cry of battle, not the sword, not the flame, nothing. I fear nothing.
What are you afraid of?
I told you; I fear nothing.
Then why can't you capture the Avatar?
It's impossible. He slips through my fingers. It won't happen again.
Why can't you capture the Avatar?
It's not my fault.
Why can't you?
It's not my fault!
Are you afraid of the Avatar?
Do I fear a child? No, why would I fear a child?
Perhaps he is too powerful…
I fear nothing.
You fear your father
With good reason
And you hate him for it…
I do not hate my father. Why should I hate the man who took care of me? Who clothed me? Who fed me? Who granted me the honor of being in his presence?
You hate him…
I would never hate my father.
You hate your father…
Shut up…
You hate him
Does it make a difference?
You are constantly unhappy.
I am unhappy because I have been stuck on the same boat for the past two years. I can't manage to capture the Avatar. The little devil is impossible to catch. The gods must have something against me…
You let him escape…
Never! That would be the stupidest thing to do! Are you calling me an idiot?
You don't want to go home
Stop telling me things about myself. You don't know me.
Yes, I do
No, you don't. You are just my doubts. Everyone has doubts. I can banish you just as easily as…
As Ozai did you…
Stop it.
You don't want to go home because you hate him. You don't want to be around him. For the past two years, you have been secretly happy to be away. You hated your life there.
I loved my life. I was happy.
Were you?
Of course.
You cried too much to be truly happy.
I was a child.
Children do not cry as often as you did.
It doesn't matter….
You hate your father. And you hate him because you fear him. You fear that no matter what you do, he will never love you. Just like your mother, and your sister, and your uncle, and your once-friends…you constantly fear rejection. You fear that people will never like you. You are afraid of those around you and so you shut them out.
I do not.
Yes, you do. You stiffen at Uncle's embrace. You dare not touch him. You bark orders at your men, the same men you have spent two years with. You have never made friends along the way. You have your "priorities". Those are fearful excuses. You fear rejection…
Perhaps
You fear that you are not good enough. You fear that people will stop wanting you. You like people to depend on you. You like to feel needed. You like to be the center of attention. You're nothing but a child.
And now I'm insulting myself…
This is not insulting. This is being truthful. You are afraid. You fear constantly, and so it drives you to succeed. You think that when the Avatar is captured and you return home, everything will be fine. It will still be the same riddle. You will fear your father's rejection. You will fear your sister's coldness; you will fear Iroh forgetting you. You will fear loneliness.
I fear nothing.
You're a liar.
You lie.
And why would I lie to myself?
You're nothing but a doubt. A disgustingly childish doubt. Go away; I don't need you bringing me down.
Go away? And where will I go to? The furthest recesses of your mind? I'm already there. You don't dwell on me. You forget me. You try to discard me. I will not leave, Zuko.
Go away…
Make me.
Go away!
You can't. You are always afraid. You fear everything.
I fear nothing.
Everything
Nothing
You're a coward.
You are a liar.
A coward and a liar is what you are.
I don't like this conversation.
You don't like yourself.
I like myself fine.
You're a liar.
I…
Have run out of excuses…
Hate…
You won't say it…
Nothing.
You coward.