Flames lick at Zuko's bones and they burn just beneath his skin, begging to be let loose. And there is the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh in his nose as thick smoke rolls into his mind smother his thoughts.
There's a girl crying off to the side, and she's been burnt, and he thinks he knows her. He can't be burnt like her.
No, not again. not again, not again.
He thinks he hears laughter from the stage wings and all he can hear is his father cackling in his ears, louder, and louder, and louder. And there's laughter from the crowd, and they're laughing at him. And they want you to burn, says the smoke.
The girl is still crying, and he thinks there is someone there with her, but all he knows is the oppressive warmth around him and within. And he knows the fire can't come to him, that it's controlled, and he's safe, and he won't be burnt, no, not again.
But the smoke in his mind sounds like Azula, and it lies to his eyes, and tells him that there is no true control of the flames unless it comes from he himself. The laughter is there again, and the smoke that sounds like Azula wants them all to pay. Make them pay. Pay for making fun of him. Pay for the torment. Pay for wanting him to burn. And the flames want them to burn, And Zuko is scared.
His father's laughter rings out from the stage wings, so Zuko reaches out to the flames before him and he sets the wing on fire.
The flames lick at his bones, and they feel like they'll crack from the heat. And the fire blazes violently under his skin, and it wants
Out, out, out.
And he can't be burnt again. He won't be burnt again. Fire already took his face, so he won't let it take anymore. So he lets the fire loose, And the crying stops, But the screams have only started.
Fire burns around him, but he knows the flames won't come to him because now they listen to him and he will not be burnt again. Someone is yelling, and he thinks it's his name.
Zuko,
Zuko,
Zuko!
But he can't and he won't stop burning it down now. The flames want to burn, And Azula wants them to pay, And he doesn't want to be burnt again.
He hears the world around him pop and crack, and he is grateful that it is the auditorium that is burning and cracking and popping and not his bones. And the voice is back, and it begs for him to stop, begs for him to go, begs for him to run. He thinks it's a friend.
"Zuko, please, we have to get out of here!" Sokka screams over the roar of the flames.
The smoke dissipates and the flames quiet down. He holds a hand out to him, and Zuko thinks he should take it.
He is cool and soothing, and he feels like water crashing over his senses. And the world is clear again, and it is very, very much on fire.
He glances around, and he wonders. He wonders if he knows. The look in his eye tells him that he knows. But still, he holds out his hand. But Zuko can't take it, for fear that he'll burn him. Just likes he's done the school. Zuko shakes his head, because he can't.
He can't, He can't, He can't.
This is his fault. The auditorium is on fire. The school is on fire. The world is on fire. He deserves to burn too. But he can't. He can't be burnt. But he can't go with Sokka. If he does, Sokka will burn. So he does the only thing he can,
He runs.