Boiling Point
Twisting Fire

Try as he may, Ozai's minion couldn't pry the secret from Lu Ten's mouth.

There was no getting around the fact Ozai would be the first family member to greet Lu Ten when he arrived home, a rather unpleasant thought given the fact he held major doubts regarding whether or not he'd ever see anyone else in the family again. Ozai was also known as a sadist, although this was simply whispered about whereas with Azula people were more vocal, particularly since Ozai acted like that was something that should be nourished in a child.

Every day he awoke with the sun and went down with the sun, carefully feeling the passage of time, yet purposefully not counting the days as they passed by. Such a thing felt fruitless given the fact there was at this point no foreseeable future escape for Lu Ten, let alone the fact he couldn't simply walk up to the random strange and say, "Hey, I'm the dead Fire Nation Prince."

Except, Ozai didn't come to greet him right away when the ship carrying him back to the homeland arrived. Instead, Lu Ten found himself alone in a cell, but the man left a couple of his lackeys in charge, having grown bored with attempting to get a rise out of Lu Ten. He couldn't help but notice that these men were Fire Nation mercenaries rather than soldiers, but at some point, they were replaced with actual soldiers who were possibly loyal to Ozai.

That was hard to believe given how loyal Fire Nation soldiers were to their Fire Lord and by extension the crown prince of the Fire Nation, which made him wonder if Ozai simply managed to find a couple of soldiers who weren't overly bright to do his bidding, which in itself wasn't very bright given the fact the not so bright soldiers were more likely to leak information. Having a supposedly dead prince hidden away was certainly a secret Ozi wouldn't want to get out.

What made his blood run cold was hearing was one of the soldiers saying, "Fire Lord Ozai approaches."

"Are you kidding me?" Lu Ten's eyes narrowed, wondering how mad Ozai must be to demand soldiers call him that title, unless – Ozai appeared, looking as smug as ever. Lu Ten's eyes narrowed. "You killed grandfather and father, didn't you?"

"Everyone knows Ursa killed the previous Fire Lord," Ozai stated, motioning for the soldiers to leave him alone. When they were gone, his attention turned back to Lu Ten. "Oh. Wait. You've been locked in here without any news of the outside, haven't you, my dear nephew."

"Anyone with a brain knows…" Lu Ten almost didn't refer to her by her proper title. "…Princess Ursa wouldn't. Actually, that's a really odd thing to say about someone who should now hold the title of Fire Lady."

"Not if she's been banished."

"You really want me to believe that she killed the Fire Lord?" Lu Ten continued glaring at Ozai.

"Wouldn't she if he threatened one of her children?"

"Now why would he do that?"

He didn't think Ozai could become even smugger. "Because I told him I should be Fire Lord instead of Iroh because your father now has no heir, so he told me I had to sacrifice Zuko."

"You want me to honestly believe that Fire Lord Azulon would be so careless as to deplete his bloodline even more than it is already?"

The smirk fell from Ozai's face, but the coldness in the eyes remained. "I certainly can't pull one over you, can I? He wanted me to give Zuko to Iroh so that Iroh would still have an heir. Not that I care for the boy, given his lack of Fire Bending ability…" Except, the reason Zuko's Fire Bending suffered was that Ozai focused on Azula. "But to treat me like that, denying me what's rightfully mine." He then stopped. "You're not responding to what I say."

"Do you really want me to?"

"What happened to that snarky wit that you like to annoy everyone with, dear nephew."

"That said, I do admit I'm a bit confused. There is no way that the throne would pass to you if my father is alive."

"Yes, Iroh is still alive, but there is no way a man so stricken with grief would function as Fire Lord, is there?"

"Nobody is questioning this, what with Fire Lord Azulon dying as he did?"

"It was his dying order, wasn't it."

"You killed your own father."

"As I said, Ursa did."

"You and I both know Princess Ursa wouldn't have, but your plan to gain the throne by faking my death backfired, didn't it? You didn't expect Fire Lord Azulon to see right through you."

"He always gave Iroh everything, simply because he was the oldest. Well, he's paid for that and lost everything, just like you lost everything, but unlike him I want you to know just how much you've lost, my dear nephew."

"Cut the formalities Ozai. You and I both know you disdain my existence because it got in the way of you becoming Fire Lord, but you and I both know you're a coward and illegitimate Fire Lord."

It was then that Ozai's temper showed, fire forming on his hand which he, in turn, brought towards Lu Ten's face as he knew Lu Ten's hands were tied in a manner to prevent him from Fire Bending, but the chains at his feet also prevented him from doing anything. Fire though danced across Lu Ten's tongue and out, forcing Ozai back at such a speed the fake Fire Lord fell to the ground. "You forgot, didn't you, who my father is."

Iroh was called The Dragon of the West for good reason, his Fire Breathing putting fear into many individuals. Ozai backed away, his cold eyes focused on Lu Ten. "Keep in mind I don't have to keep you alive anymore, that it is only done for my own personal pleasure."

Ozai left at that moment, yet Lu Ten's actions left the man shaken up. Of course, he was likewise shaken up, the news of his grandfather's death hit hard, particularly knowing any chance of asking the man for forgiveness was now gone. He also realized that he might have spent too much time worrying about Azulon acting as Ozai now did, for Azulon was not like his second oldest.