DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor have any rights to, the content, charachters, or story of Avater: the Last Airbender. The story depicted herein is a re-imagining of the story, and has no ties to the owners, writers and creators of the show.
"Uncle," Zuko said, pulling away from their embrace. "I don't understand. What are you doing with the Avatar?"
There was so much more he wanted to ask. Why is he here? How did they find us? What did I miss?
Instead of his uncle, the Avatar answered back.
"Saving you, that's what." The boy sounded petulant and upset, like his honor was being called into question. Zuko watched as the boy's eyes went back and forth between him and the waterbender. He might be dense, but he could tell from the protective look that the boy cared for the waterbender. What was her name? Kat? Kay?
Zuko glared, annoyed at the boy's attitude. But before Zuko could respond, his uncle laid a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Zuko," the older man began. "It's time we talked."
Zuko looked over at him, about to ask why, but Iroh had turned to the other two.
"Go help your other friends," he said, giving a short bow to the Avatar. "We'll catch up with you."
To Zuko's surprise, the Aang bowed back. He then raced back into the tunnel he came from. The girl paused, and looked over at the two men standing across from her. She seemed hesitant to go. And, after the talk they had just had, Zuko was hesitant to let her leave. The balance she had provided, the words she had said, had provided a stability and sanity to his usually unmanageable anger and anguish.
"Katara!" the boy's voice echoed back towards them. The girl - Katara - jumped, then raced after him.
Silence fell once again in the cave, as Zuko looked over at his uncle. Iroh had always been older than he seemed, older than his father, and the fine Earth Kingdom clothes made him look even older. Zuko knew, however, that the calm and collected exterior hid a powerful bender, who had led armies and learned the ways of the high court. Although he had always respected Uncle's abilities and titles, he had rarely taken the time to respect him for his views.
Zuko looked away, his head still ringing with Katara's words, and his confusion over their circumstances. He had so many things that he wanted to ask, so many things to talk about. But he was still so confused about what it all meant, about what he actually wanted.
Zuko knew that now wasn't the best time. He didn't even know what to say. The words caught on his tongue, like fire flakes itching to be swallowed, but knowing that they would bring pain if they did.
"Why, Uncle?" Zuko finally asked, hoping that his uncle knew what he was asking. He did.
"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko." His uncle stepped towards him, resting a kind hand on his shoulder. Although it was comforting and familiar, Zuko found himself remembering the small, cool hand that had been there before. "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny."
Zuko looked over at his uncle as he continued. "It is time for you to choose. It is time for you to choose good."
Zuko started at his uncle's words. He had never been so forward before, had only suggested that he take the time to see both sides of every conflict. But he had never pushed him to give up his birthright, his home, his country. But Zuko also knew that his uncle hadn't agreed with his choices, and had only followed him around the globe to take care of him.
Before Zuko could respond, another loud rumbling echoed around them. The luminescent crystals that had lined the cave walls burst from the ground. The crystals continued to grow in size as they approached them, until they finally surged at their feet. Zuko stumbled, unharmed, but saw that the crystals had grown large, taller than him, and had trapped Uncle in like a cage.
"I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle," a high, audacious voice sounded across the cavern.
Zuko turned to see Azula walking towards them. She had two Dai Li on either side of her, and as she came towards them the agents hung back. She walked as she had that afternoon, like she already owned the ground beneath their feet. But then again, she had always acted like that. Only she could mimic Father's pretentious, commanding attitude.
"But Zuko, Prince Zuko," she continued, her voice softening,"You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"
He stepped forward aggressively, refusing to coware before her like she was an age-old game between them; power plays and plots ran through their blood, and had come to a head between the two of them when they were children.
"Release him immediately!" Zuko said.
"It's not too late for you, Zuko." Azula continued on, as if she hadn't heard him say anything. "You can still redeem yourself."
"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you!" Uncle called out behind him.
"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?" Azula glared over Zuko's shoulder at the older man, then turned her gaze towards him. Her voice softened into the silky sweetness he always hated.
"I need you, Zuko," she said, a small smile on her face. "I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together."
Zuko looked down as she continued. "At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. You will have everything you want."
Zuko couldn't help it; he wanted that. He wanted life to return to the way it had been before the Agni Kai, before he had been banished. Being Prince Zuko, heir to the Fire Nation throne, had always been his birthright. He had tried so hard over the years to get back to it, to get back home. And what Azula was offering was everything he had dreamed of.
He could see it now; walking down the gangplank, dressed in his royal garb, the crowds cheering at his return. His father, sitting high on his throne, gracing him with a smile as he recounted the heroic way he had captured the Avatar and taken down the Earth Kingdom. His throne, restored. His honor, restored.
"Zuko," Uncle began, drawing Zuko out of his daydream like you draw poison from a wound. "I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is you truly want."
Zuko turned back to his uncle, still locked in his glowing cage, and saw the compassion and sincerity in his face. Compassion he had never seen on Azula's. On his father's.
Another scenario came unbidden to his mind: the families of the Earth Kingdom, people he had seen on his journey. The way everyone spoke of the war as if it were a curse. The destitution of the Lower Ring. The people who cowered in fear when they saw him firebend.
These weren't the stories he had heard growing up. He had always been told that the Fire Nation was spreading wealth and power with the world. That the soldiers they sent were going to provide food and shelter to the poor countries that couldn't help their own people. That the only fighting was from bureaucrats who forced their people to fight for them so they could keep their power.
Zuko also remembered the small village in the South Pole, where there were only huts made of ice. Where small children looked at him in fear and hid behind their terrified mothers. And he knew that the reason they weren't as large or fortified as the North Pole was because of the Fire Nation raids.
You always have a chance.
Katara had said these words to him, knowing the things that he had done, the people he had hurt. She had talked to him like he was a person, and had acknowledged the difficulties he had faced. She looked past the horrible, monstrous acts he had committed in the name of his country - in the name of honor - and had reminded him that he still had a chance at redemption.
"You are free to choose," Azula said, and then gestured to the Dai li agents behind her. They moved in unison, and earth bent back up the ramp they had come from. Azula walked past him, not sparing him a glance, and sauntered into the tunnel that the Avatar had made.
Zuko stared at the ground, a war waging with him. The two sides of him - Fire Nation Prince, and independent fighter - were clashing, raging, throwing his mind into chaos.
Capturing the Avatar, and arriving home with honor.
Jin, smiling, ruffling his hair before their date.
Throwing of the destitution he had lived in, and embracing his country and his birthright.
Are you wanting peace, or change?
Becoming Fire Lord after his father, to rule in strength and ferocity.
Song lifting her pant leg to show the burn that rivaled the one on his face.
Ending the war, with the Fire Nation rising to rule the world.
It depends on whether you care about the person you've hurt.
Settling back into the palace, away from the bloodshed and destruction of the war.
Earth Kingdom soldiers stealing food and supplies from townsfolk that don't have anything more to give.
Respect and authority given like air wherever he went. Deference granted in every conversation.
You always have a chance.
In some distant part of his mind, the sliver that connected him to the present, he heard the rumbles and crackle from down the Avatar's tunnel. Zuko knew that Azula had gone after the Avatar and Katara. He knew she expected him to come to her aid, to fight by her side. He also knew that he didn't know if he wanted to.
A particularly loud boom echoed around him. Without thought, without choice, and without warning, Zuko sprang into action, calling, "I'll be right back!" to Uncle.
His uncles "Choose good!" echoed along the corridor as Zuko raced to confront his enemy.
The tunnel was dark and cold, with sporadic crystals dotting the walls being the only light to guide Zuko. His footsteps pounded against the rough stone, his breathing heavy.
Zuko turned a corner in the tunnel and finally saw what he was waiting for. The glowing green of the crystals gave him an excellent view of the massive cavern he was walking into.
The walls, easily as tall as those around the palace, were carved out of ancient stone. Sections were added on every side, creating stairways and balconies that looped together and connected. Small doorways and passages had been crafted at random points along each terrace, giving Zuko the impression that this had once acted as a central hub of some sort.
Huge pillars stood erect in the center of the cavern, with a man-made river flowing in between them. Although he couldn't tell where the river ended, it was hard to miss the centerpiece of this enormous room; a towering, thundering waterfall fell the full height of the cavern, landing in a large pool that fed the winding river.
The light green glow gave the entire room a more ethereal feeling, like Zuko had walked back into the first age of the Earth Kingdom. He could imagine courtesans and emperors, surrounded by their servants and advisors, staging speeches and performances here. The tunnel system beneath the Caldera had been used as such for Fire Lords past, but that maze of tunnels and secret rooms were no match for the grandeur of this underground sanctuary.
Zuko was brought back to the present when one of the magnificent pillars crumbled in on itself. A lithe body, wrapped in Earth Kingdom green, jumped off the pillar just in time, and landed steadily on the ground.
Azula, looking just slightly winded, faced off against the Avatar and Katara. Judging by the minor destruction around the room, as well as the sounds Zuko had heard in his small cave, they had been fighting for some time already. The boy's Air nomad clothing was singed around the collar, and Katara's hair was beginning to fall from her braid. But, as always, Azula looked like she had just finished a short exercise, and was now ready to begin the real battle.
Zuko made a split second decision; he shot fire into the center of their triangle, hoping to grab their attention and stop the stare down, if even for a short while. He ended up on Aula's right, with the Avatar to his left, and Katara facing him.
He stood ready to engage them, but made eye contact with them all. Azula, who looked ready to fight him or join him. She always looked like that. The Avatar, Aang, looked stonily on at him, also ready to engage him if necessary. Lastly, Katara, who's eyes held his the longest. Although she was ready to fight, she hadn't turned towards him like the other two had; instead, she had left her sights on Azula.
The blue eyes he had seen a thousand times before, all over the world, held his directly, without fear. Every bit of their conversation in their cave came back to him, as the two pieces of himself once again clashed.
Are you wanting peace, or change?
You are free to choose how to live your life.
I'm free to choose my own destiny.
You always have a chance.
With the weight of every decision he had ever made upon him, Zuko moved. He felt like his very soul, his core, his essence, was tearing in two as he brought his hand forward and struck.