Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Brave" by Sara Bareilles
Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence
Author's Note: Sorry about the late update! I was at an all-day, out-of-state college visit yesterday. You know, I love the idea of getting to learn full-time, but as much as I want to only take writing classes, I also don't want to burn myself out and lose the joy that comes from writing. I write because I love to do it, and I love to tell stories, and it calms me down to escape to another reality for a few hours. I'm afraid that if I study creative writing, it'll become a chore to me and I'll just become stressed when I have to write. Anyone feel like that sometimes or is it just me?
Chapter 6 - Facing The Enemy
Everybody's been there
Everybody's been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
But maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Zuko is just getting out of bed when Azula bursts through the door.
"Finally," she says, a hint of irritation in her voice. "We only have a few hours."
"A few hours? Until what?" Zuko rubs his bleary eyes.
"We have a banquet to celebrate the conquest of Omashu. Well, New Ozai now."
A banquet. Zuko remembers attending those when he was younger Dozens of strangers of noble blood coming and talking to him. They all seemed to know him. Endless plates of food so that he felt sick to his stomach by the time it was polite to quit eating. Conversations about trivial things and gossip that didn't interest him. Noble girls trying to flirt with him in an attempt to marry into the royal family.
"Do I have to go?"
His sister crosses her arms. "You're the crown prince. Of course you have to go."
He sighs. Azula walks over to his closet and starts going through his clothes.
"What are you doing?" he demands.
"Helping you," she responds, her voice muffled. She pulls out a fancy robe and holds it up to him, debating. "You've been gone for so long that your sense of fashion is skewed. I'm going to help make you not look like an idiot."
She shakes her head at the robe and throws it back in the closet. "Go to the baths. You still smell like salt water and fish."
He rolls his eyes at her but he still heads out of his room and into the new wing of the palace, where, among other things, a new bathhouse had been added.
He has to admit that the baths are really nice. As he slides into the warm, steaming water, he feels his muscles relax almost immediately. The aroma of lavender and jasmine eases his anxiety over the approaching banquet.
He uses his time to think of his sister. Why would she be helping him when only last night she borderline threatened him?
The only answer he can think of is that she does love him as her brother, but she'll still put herself and their father first.
He slips deeper into the water. He doesn't want to think for once. He's always thinking. Has been, since his banishment. For once he just wants to enjoy the luxuries he was born into. Azula does it all the time. Why does he struggle?
He closes his eyes. With the warm water swelling around him he can truly let go of everything. He can pretend like he isn't in constant conflict with himself, with his sister, with everyone around him. He can just enjoy being home.
It doesn't last long. He thoughts start drifting and he thinks of how hard he's worked to earn this, which leads to him thinking of his mission to capture the Avatar, which makes him think of Katara and how he betrayed her. There was no hard work involved in that; he didn't even give her a fighting chance. He manipulated her feelings.
And now she's in prison while he's relaxing in a fancy bath, complaining about going to a banquet and having to eat a lot of food and talk to people. Does she even get fed enough? Does she get to talk to anyone? He'd promised her that she'd be treated well, but he has no control over it.
His guilt claws at him and he jumps out of the bath. He can't do this. He can't live this life of luxury when he knows she's suffering.
Azula is laying out an outfit when he returns to his room. She turns around and inspects him critically.
"You know, the baths are supposed to relax you. You look more stressed than ever."
He ignores her and walks to his bed and checks the clothes she's laid out for him. They aren't half bad.
"You should ask Mai to be your date," Azula advises. "She's been in a surprisingly good mood since you've returned."
Zuko doesn't react. He just stares down until Azula sighs loudly.
"Your decision. I'm going to get myself ready. See you later."
She leaves. Zuko sits down on the edge of his bed. He needs to get control of himself. Azula is already starting to notice his moodiness. If his father notices…
He had no choice. He had to betray Katara. And now he has to live the consequences. It's his cross to bear. He's strong enough to hold it.
At least, that's what he keeps telling himself.
Zuko walks into the banquet hall, Mai at his side, her arm looped around his. Along the walls are elegantly set tables. On the stage, an orchestra plays classical music. In the main space, couples mill around, talking and dancing.
"Relax," Mai tells him. She smiles slightly. "You're super tense. It's just a dinner."
Just a dinner. More like an opportunity for Fire Nation nobles who have been talking trash about him while he's been banished to suddenly start sucking up. No one thought he'd find the Avatar. From the day he was sent away, they all started praising Azula. Now that he's crown prince again, they're all going to try to make up.
The truth is, he's not like his father. He's not like Azula. He doesn't care what they said about him. Well, he does, but not to the point where he's going to hold a grudge. They don't need to suck up to him. He doesn't care about power. As long as they know he has his honor back and respect him from now on, he's willing to look past whatever they may have said.
The last thing he wants tonight is to be reminded of his banishment. He wants to forget every aspect of the past few years. He wants to forget about his suffering and his anger. He wants to forget about Iroh leaving him. He wants to forget about Katara. He wants to forget what he did to her. He wants to forget how he feels about her.
"If anyone looks like they want to talk to us, put on your scary face," he tells her. "I'm not in the mood for conversation tonight."
"You're cute. My scary face isn't that good. Not when the crown prince has finally returned."
She's right. There's no getting out of this. He's just going to have to put on a placid expression and humor everyone.
Even as he's thinking that a couple approaches them. Zuko vaguely recognizes the man as a high ranking officer. There's something else familiar about him, too, but he can't seem to place it.
Beside him, Mai tightens her grip on him. She glances up at him with a worried look. That's when Zuko realizes that the officer is the very same one he spoke up against those years ago. It's because of him that Zuko was dishonored.
No. Not because of him. Zuko is just passing the blame. It's his fault. He was the one who begged to get into the war meeting. Iroh warned him that he was not to speak out, and he still did. He can only blame himself.
"General Chaun." Zuko bows slightly. "And Lady Bai. It's good to see you."
The general smiles awkwardly, and Zuko realizes that Chaun is worried that he blames him. Zuko briefly thinks that he could use that against him before throwing the thought away. That's something Azula would do. Not him.
"It is nice to have you back in the Fire Nation," General Chaun says, bowing deeply. "I trust your journey was beneficial."
His "journey". So that's what they're calling it. Dumbing down his struggle and making it sound like a quaint adventure, an extended vacation. Zuko should have expected this. He knows that his father watered down the punishment when he spoke about it.
No one will ever know the extent of Zuko's pain because his father is constantly trying to diminish it. Zuko won't fall into that trap. He knows what he endured. He knows the strength he's gained.
"I learned a lot. I've grown stronger." Zuko lifts his chin just a bit, not a threat but a warning: he doesn't blame the general, but he hasn't forgotten. And when he's Fire Lord, he won't tolerate the same things his father has allowed.
For a moment there is silence, and in the quiet, a thick tension. Lady Bai attempts to smooth it over.
"And how are you adjusting to being back in the palace? I see you've already reconnected with old friends." She smiles warmly at Mai. Mai stares back emotionlessly.
"There is no place like home."
But even as he says it, he isn't thinking of the palace as his home. At least, not this palace. Not the palace with a fancy new bathhouse. He's thinking of the palace of his childhood, the one that seemed massive to his small self. He's thinking of the palace that was filled with his mother's laughter, of playing war with Lu-Ten, of receiving gifts from abroad from Iroh.
The palace is cold now. There is no laughter. There is no playing. There are no gifts from abroad. There are only threats and manipulation and struggling to act a certain way.
There is another period of awkward silence. General Chaun finally bows. "We'll leave you two alone. I'm sure you have other people to talk to."
Lady Bai smiles. "Have a great evening."
As they walk away, Mai sighs loudly. "That was awful. I can't believe he had the nerve to come up and talk to you after what he did."
Zuko watches the man. Strong shoulders, chest puffed out, chin up - he doesn't feel any guilt. If anyone should have lost their honor that day, it should have been him. He's the one Zuko challenged to an Agni Kai. He's the one who didn't show up. He subjected a child to a horrible fate. Chaun knows all this and can still be proud.
Zuko doesn't feel any anger towards him. How can you blame a monster for being a monster?
"It wasn't his fault I was banished. It was mine. And my father's."
"I wouldn't say that so loud if I were you. It doesn't matter whose fault it was. Your father's rule is law and you have to live within it or be punished."
"It's not fair."
She rolls her eyes. "Really, Zuko? You know that life isn't fair. We have to live with it. Just be glad you're back here."
He watches all the nobles interacting and he's never felt more out of place. "I'm not sure I'm glad that I'm back," he admits.
"Whatever. Suit yourself. I'll take Fire Nation banquets over dusty Earth Kingdom cities any day."
Mai detaches herself and goes over to speak with Ty Lee, who's juggling three plates while a crowd of shocked nobles watch in a mix of horror and fascination. Zuko watches them and realizes that he's being over dramatic. She's right. Life isn't fair, but he's fought against it. He clawed his way up and accomplished his mission. He earned this life back. He's just not used to it. That's why he's struggling with being back. He'll readjust and he'll be happy again.
Or so he hopes.
Katara is in a strange state where she's half-asleep, half-awake. She can feel the cold of the metal floor through her clothes and she can see the faint fire flickering behind her closed eyelids, but they seem distant, almost as if it's happening to someone else.
She's dreaming about something, but whenever she's conscious enough to think, she can't remember what she dreamt about. She just knows that dreams are better than reality right now.
She's abruptly awakened fully for the first time in a day (? Two days? Without sight of the sun, she has no way to keep track of how long she's been here) by the sound of a not so distant door opening and footsteps on a set of stairs.
She hears the guards saying something. She rubs her eyes and sits up straight. She hopes they're not here to feed her again. She'd rather starve than suffer the humiliating experience of getting food.
A guard appears and opens the cell door. He motions her for her to stand up and come out. She warily follows, wondering what this is. A rescue attempt? She doubts it. Some kind of torture? More likely, but she has no idea why they would need to. She has no information that they don't already have.
The guard escorts her along the hallway and up the steps. She exits through the door. He leads her through another hallway, past other prisoners who look at her with a mix of pity, jealousy, and apathy. They exit the prison and he takes her to a field within sight of the building.
A lone man stands up tall, his back facing her. She winces at the sunlight and closes her eyes as the guard takes her closer. Her eyes slowly adjust and she can see that the man has long black hair perfectly combed and styled. A golden flame pin sticks out. She recognizes it.
The man is wearing rich robes. She knows who it is even before he turns, but she still is thrown off by his face.
She's looking into Zuko's face: Zuko's golden eyes, his nose, his sharp jawline, and his dark brows. But it's not Zuko, because the skin is unblemished. Not a single scar to mar his pale complexion. And it's not Zuko, because these eyes are cold. They are metal without feeling, without heart.
And when he smiles, it's with the cruel smile of Azula.
"My grandfather searched for you. My father searched for you. I searched for you. Three generations of looking, and my son is the one to finally discover you." Fire Lord Ozai shakes his head. "What irony."
Katara stares coldly at him. "I don't see any irony. I see three men who failed and one who succeeded."
His smile grows wider. "Not a hint of fear. I was worried, when I heard that the Avatar was a little girl, that you'd be soft, pitiful. I might even feel bad about imprisoning you, then. But you're every bit the legendary figure that the stories tell about."
"You'd never feel bad about imprisoning me."
He ignores her comment and continues his speech. "But if you're such a great warrior, then how was my son able to defeat you? Even my daughter, who is a firebending prodigy, recruited backup."
"Perhaps he's more like you than you realize," she says tightly. The anger returns - anger at the answer to the question: that Zuko manipulated her. And angry at the implication Ozai makes: that Zuko is weak.
Ozai watches her carefully. "Perhaps," he agrees. "Or maybe you're not as strong as everything seems to think."
He waves at the guard. The guard undoes her shackles. She immediately begins to massage her wrists, never taking her eyes off the Fire Lord.
"I'm not afraid of you," Ozai says. "I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself. Right now."
He shrugs off his long robe and takes a firebending stance across from her. She stares at him, unable to believe what she's seeing and hearing.
The Fire Lord wants to fight her? Now? Why? Does he really look down at his son so much that he can't wrap his mind around how Zuko captured her? Does he really want to prove how weak she is? Will it make him feel stronger?
She has the feeling it's for the same reason he fought Zuko in the Agni Kai three years ago.
She crosses her arms. She's not going to give him the satisfaction. She doesn't owe him anything. She knows her value. She knows her strength. She doesn't need some powered up dictator to validate her.
"I'm not interested," she says.
Ozai glares at her. "I think you will be."
"What are you going to do? Threaten the people I love? Because they're all dead. Are you going to torture me? Go ahead. I'm already wasting away in your cell." She shakes her head. "You have nothing on me, Ozai. You don't control me."
She's expecting him to blow up, to scar her face the way he did Zuko's. Instead he regains a normal stance and regards her with what she thinks is grudging respect.
"Very well." He motions to the guard. "Take her back."
Every cell in Katara's body wants to lash out and attack now, while her hands are still freed and they aren't expecting it. But she knows she won't last more than a minute against Ozai. He's too powerful. One day she'll be strong enough to face him. Today is not that day.
So, although it kills her, she has to let herself be shackled up and dragged back into the prisons, Ozai's malicious smile burned into her mind.
She spends the next few hours wondering about the purpose of Ozai's trip. Why challenge her to a fight and then back away after a few strong words? She knows she didn't intimidate him. If anything, she just amused him. Why even visit her in the first place?
The only thing she can think of is that it was a power move. To show her that she could attempt to fight her way out, but he'd always win. If she had fought him, she would have lost. But by refusing to fight him, she gave up herself.
So it was to try and manipulate her. He's trying to break her, make her doubt herself and her strength. But she's not so easily broken. She may have lost the battle, but she isn't going to lose the war. She's the Avatar. Her destiny is to save the world. Nothing is going to get in the way of that. She just has to be patient and wait for the right moment.
And suddenly, she understands Zuko's predicament. He stood against his father in the very same way she did. He knew he had no hope of winning, and he knew his father wouldn't hesitate to end him. He chose to live. The cost was high, but he knew he had to fulfill his destiny. And nothing was going to get in his way.
The realization angers her. She's not like Zuko. She has nothing in common with him. She'd never betray the people closest to her. She'd never manipulate others.
Deep down, she knows she's just lying to herself. There are things she wouldn't do that he would do - that he has done - but that doesn't mean she isn't like him in a million other ways. She just doesn't want to admit the truth because she's angry at him.
When she realizes her anger, she realizes even more how similar she is to him. How much more like him she's becoming every single day. That leads to more anger.
An unending cycle.
The morning sunlight filters down through the bars of the cell. When Sokka awakes, he sees that Suki is already up and pacing the cell.
"We need to make a plan," she says without preamble.
"How about a good morning?" Sokka groans. His stomach rumbles and he clutches at it. Being imprisoned is one thing. Being imprisoned without food? Now that's just cruel.
"There are two guards at all times," she continues. "As far as I can calculate, we're deep in the city. Cement walls, iron bars." She tugs at the bars. "This cell is made for war prisoners."
Sokka takes note of the situation. She's right; there's no way they can break out of the cell.
"Maybe we can trick a guard into opening the door," he says. "Then we rush out, lock him in. That might give us a few minutes head start."
Suki nods. "I can pretend to be injured. Then I can hop up and smash his head into the wall."
A bit violent, but okay. Sokka won't question her methods. "I think we should wait until they feed us first, at least."
She rolls her eyes. "When we reach our boat we'll have plenty of supplies. You can last an hour."
"I can, but I shouldn't have to," he mumbles.
Half an hour later, they hatch their plan. Suki lies on the floor and moans, and Sokka bangs at the bars to get the guards' attention.
"Please help! Something is happening to my friend!"
The guards rush over. They look in, then shake their heads. "She's fine," one of them says.
Suki begins to convulsive. Her eyes roll back into her skull. The guards exchange worried looks.
"Okay," one says. "But you stand against the wall with your hands behind your back."
Sokka does as instructed. The guards open the door and enter. When one kneels down to take a closer look at Suki, she jumps up and slams her knee into his face. Then she delivers a strong kick to the other one. Sokka rushes out of the cell and she follows. They slam the door closed behind them and secure the latch.
One of the guards regains his feet and when he realizes what has happened, he starts yelling. Sokka and Suki take off, running as fast as they can.
"That was pretty good acting," Sokka says when they're hiding behind a house a few minutes later.
She grins. "Thanks! I'm just surprised I was able to pull it off."
"We're not safe yet," Sokka warns. A squadron of Fire Nation soldiers jog past on the main street.
"They're going to close the gate, lock down the city. We need to get out of here before they do or else we're trapped." Suki motions for him to follow and they continue sneaking along the backside of houses, heading for the city wall.
As the gate appears in sight, Sokka can see that she was right. Even as they watch the gate is slowly being shut.
"Do we make a break for it?" he asks.
"We have to."
"That won't be necessary."
They both turn around to see a group of Southern Raiders standing behind them, weapons pointed straight at them. Sokka gulps. He glances over at Suki and they slowly raise their hands in the air.
"Now, why would a couple kids be causing so much trouble here?" one of the soldiers muses. "Unless you're Earth Kingdom spies."
"We're not spies!" Sokka claims. "We're just...travelers in a hurry."
"Good story. I'll let you tell it to the boss."
The men surround them. They're escorted through the city back to the center, where a huge, expensive house is. A couple of guards at the door move out of the way to allow their passage.
They're dropped off in a fancy dining hall. A richly dressed man eats alone at the head of the table. When he sees them, he dabs at his mouth with a napkin and motions for them to have a seat.
"My men think that you two are spies," he says without looking up from his food. "They say you were asking about Fire Nation prisons."
He looks up at them and makes eye contact with each of them. When he looks at Sokka, he gets a funny look in his eyes.
"I don't believe that is true," he finally says. Then he motions to a servant standing silently against the wall. "Bring our guests plates and food. I think we are going to have an interesting conversation."
Sokka gives Suki a strange look. What is this man up? She has an equally puzzled expression on her face.
Sokka shrugs and gives up trying to guess. They'll learn soon enough. And, in the meantime, they'll have good food to fill their stomachs.
When their food arrives, the man continues speaking.
"I am Commander Ju-Long. Might I ask your names?"
They give them their names. He watches them carefully.
"Young Sokka," he says. "You come from the Water Tribe, no?"
Sokka freezes, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. He sets them down slowly. "How did you know?"
"Blue eyes are exceedingly rare outside of the Water Tribe, especially ones as bright as yours." Ju-Long pops a strawberry in his mouth. "You have a relative, do you not? A girl about your age, looks a lot like you. Long hair, same height. A sister, I'm guessing."
Sokka's chopsticks clatter on the table. "You saw Katara? She was here?"
Ju-Long smiles lightly in amusement. "I never heard her name, but yes. I saw her a few weeks ago. She was travelling with a group of Fire Nation men."
A few weeks ago? Sokka kicks himself. He should have been looking for her sooner! Why did he just settle down and assumed she died? Maybe he could have saved her from being captured.
"As their prisoner, you mean," Suki corrects.
Ju-Long looks surprised. "Oh, no. She was escorting the crown prince as his bodyguard."
What? Sokka's brain can't compute what he's hearing. Katara was protecting the prince of the Fire Nation? Why? Doesn't she know that the Fire Nation killed their parents? Destroyed their village? Why would she work with them?
The only thing he can think of is that she must have been threatened. She chose to survive, to work for them instead of being killed by them. So how did she end up captured?
"I see this is surprising information to you. How long has it been since you saw her last?"
"A while," Sokka admits. He decides to trust Ju-Long. "We received a letter saying she was in the Fire Nation. I decided to rescue her."
Ju-Long smiles. "As any good brother would do. But I doubt she needs rescuing. She seemed to fit in well with her travelling companions." He stands. "You can finish your food in peace. I can tell that you aren't spies. When you're done, you are free to leave."
He exits the room. Sokka stares at his plate. He's still hungry, yes, but now he's also curious.
"Why would she be travelling with the prince of the Fire Nation this far south?" Suki asks quietly. "Why wouldn't he be safe in his homeland?"
"I don't know," Sokka admits. "But I think something happened between here and wherever they were travelling to, and she became a prisoner."
He knows his sister well. He knows how much she loved their village and her family. Maybe she agreed to be the prince's bodyguard so that she could get close to him. Maybe she was so angry about their parents' deaths that she tried to kill him.
It just doesn't sit right with Sokka. He knows his sister's temper. He knows she has moments where she's utterly terrifying. But she wouldn't try to kill someone. She would never go that far.
Unless he doesn't really know her at all.
That thought scares him.
"We need to continue with the mission. We need to find and rescue her."
Suki nods. "I'm right with you."
"But first, let's eat."