I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Return.
"And after three long years!" The Twins Li and Lo cheered, "Your Prince has returned! Zuko!" Zuko stood on the balcony and watched as his people chanted and praised his name. The hero of the Fire Nation. The traitor of the Earth Kingdom. Zuko waved down at the people below, attempting to hide the inner turmoil in his heart.
He was glad when the celebration ceremony ended. He walked down the stairs into the building were Mai waited.
"That was terrible." He muttered.
"You did fine." Mai monotoned.
"Yeah, Zuzu. What are you so uptight about? You were great. The perfect prince." Azula agreed.
Purrfect Purrince. Zuko thought for an instant before shaking his head. He had spent way too much time with a cretain golden haired cat kid.
"Ugh, I can still hear Adrien's puns." He complained, rubbing his forehead.
"Whos Adrien?" Ty Lee asked.
"That's Cat Noir's real name. He liked to mess with me."
"Adrien? That's a weird name. How the heck did you two know each other anyways?" Azula asked.
"He worked at this bakery in Ba Sing Se that had this partnership with the Tea Shop Iroh made us work at. He was stuck on crutches from this fight he had with his dad, so I was stuck bringing him tea pretty much everyday. Then, when he realised he was only a few months older than me, he started going to the Tea Shop himself just to get on my nerves."
"That guy is older than you?" Ty Lee asked, "He's cute."
"He's dating Marinette… er… Ladybug." Zuko replied quickly. Azula leaned forwards.
"Zuzu, how well did you know these Miraculous Spirit people?"
"I barely know Marinette. She threatened me the day we met and kinda glared at me from behind Adrien. Gabriel, that's Hawkmoth, made the passports tha got us into the city. He is a tailor and artist. He used to be insanely wealthy before his town, Paris, was destroyed. Gabriel came into Ba Sing Se with us and was our roommate. He was really creepy though. The guy was empathic and wasn't afraid to remind everyone of the fact. His son, Adrien, is the guy I knew the most. He was obsessed with cat puns and jokes. He knew I was Fire Nation… but… it was weird. He had no idea what a Firebender was until I told him. He didn't even know about the war or water benders or air benders. He was the most naive person I knew. Oblivious to everything outside the walls and more concerned with avoiding the Dai Li until he could be with his girlfriend. He was very protective though. This guy, Jet, found out I was Fire Nation and Adrien tried to persuade Jet otherwise despite the fact the other guy was armed and he was on crutches at the time." Zuko replied.
"He sounds cool." Ty Lee said dreamly, "What about the water tribe guy? How about him?"
"Ty Lee. I am fairly certain both Adrien and Sokka have girlfriends. Besides, they are the enemies." Zuko scoffed, "I'm not going to tell you all about them so I can set you up on a date."
"But you are a resource, Zuzu. We know next to nothing about these Miraculous people. Their powers are foreign. But you? You gained all of their trust at one point. Tell me about their powers." Zuko hesitated before speaking.
"Their powers are limited… at least, Cat's and Ladybug's are. Hawkmoth is more experienced so he isn't as limited. She has a special power called Lucky Charm. It summons an object that helps her win in any battle. It never fails her. She once used it to create bandages for uncle. She is supposed to be the symbol of good luck and creation. As a result, everything goes right for her. Every fight against her is bent so that she will have a better chance at winning. Of course, if someone wants to bend karma to insure victory, someone else has to take all of her bad luck. That's where he comes into play. He is bad luck and destruction. His special power is called cataclysm. It allows his to destroy any one thing he touches completely. He counteracts her good luck. Where good things happen to her, bad things will happen to him. He's the easiest to defeat, but not because he is less skilled. That's just how his powers are made to work. He protects her. By the time you've beaten him, it's too late and she's on you. The only way to really beat them is to separate them so they can't balance out their powers."
"So that's likely why her Lucky Charm didn't work when I attacked the Avatar." Azula said, interested.
"It probably did, but it didn't save the Avatar or help beat you. It only helped her retreat." Zuko explained, "Now, once they've used their powers, they have five minutes before they've used up their spirit magic and are forced into their human forms until they've recharged. They have little timers they've made to track how much spirit magic they have left. They beep and stuff, but that's about it. They aren't really important. The timers beep three times each minute. Once it's beeped fifteen times, their time is up. In a fight though, five minutes is more than enough to have a victory, so it isn't always practical to make them use their power."
"Where exactly did they get these powers?" Azula ased. Zuko bit his lip. He knew exactly how they got their powers. The problem was, he knew Azula would hurt Adrien if he told her the truth, hence why he'd gone ahead and played the Miraculous off as mere timers.
"Adrien told me a story." Zuko began, "A long time ago, his village, Paris, was founded by several non-benders. There wasn't a single bender there. The village grew into a city and it remained that way. Then, there were seven spirits called Kwamis who realised they were all non benders and decided to make these people protectors of the land and keep the people safe should benders ever try to attack the village. So, every five decades at this thing called the Ceremony of Miracles, these spirits come from the spirit world and grant seven different people with a fraction of their powers. No one is aloud to know who the Miraculous are unless they feel it necessary to expose themselves. Hence the masks and magical glamour. Adrien was bless by the spirit Plagg the Cat Kwami, Marinette by Tikki the Ladybug Kwami, and Gabriel by Nooroo the Moth Kwami. Adrien's mother was blessed by Duusu of the Peacock Kwami. There was also some girl called Rena Rouge by the Fox Kwami, Carapace by a Turtle Kwami, and Queen Bee by the Bee Kwami. Then, one day… Adrien's mother, Emilie, died due to her responsibilities. Adrien's father freaked out and began to unleash his powers on all of Paris. The Miraculous wielders did all in their power to stop him, but… the city was destroyed by the people born to protect it. Gabriel, Marinette, and Adrien were the only survivors. They all fled their separate ways. Adrien was pretty hurt from the fight and went to Ba Sing Se to find refuge. Marinette went for the Avatar for advice. Gabriel went to Misty Palms to get away from his mistakes. Somehow all three wound up in the city."
"Wow. That is tragic." Mai remarked.
"It probably was, which explains a lot about them and how protective they can get. They are afraid of messing up again." Zuko summed up.
"What about Gabriel's powers? He is empathic, but is that really all he can do? Hear feelings?" Azula pushed.
"No, I haven't really seen his powers as much, but I know a few things about them. He has the power to create allies to fight in battle alongside his comrades. He uses these butterfly things. He calls them Guāng Papillon, they others call them Akumas. They create a telepathic connection between him and a person. Then, said person is granted special gifts that help the Miraculous in certain situation. I've only seen him do it once, and it didn't end well for him because the Dai Li killed the guy he locked himself too. His son said he did it all the time in Paris before it was destroyed. Apparently, Marinette and Adrien wound up fighting Gabriel's champions on a daily basis. They are both experienced in battling people with wide ranges of talents." Zuko explained, "Could we move on from this topic? I really rather not discuss the Miraculous holders."
"Fine." Azula said with a sigh, "But you will need to fill out a full report on them later. Until then, how about you enjoy the city. It's been a while since you've been home, right Zuzu?" Zuko glanced over at Mai, who remained as impassive as ever.
Admittedly, being back home was amazing. It would have been better if Zuko didn't feel sick to his stomach. Everything about the situation he was in felt very wrong. Zuko had reminded himself a million times that this was his choice. It was the right choice. Even so, he felt awful. It didn't exactly help that he hadn't even seen his father, the man he' feared and loved for so long with undying loyalty despite his banishment. Zuko sighed.
"Fine. I'll be in the courtyard if anyone needs me." He left the women to talk amongst themselves. He took off most of his formal attire and replaced them with the more simple robes fora prince which was still much nicer than what he had to wear in the Earth Kingdom. He then went and got some bread from the kitchen and made his way to the courtyard. He got there, and his heart did somersaults.
The courtyard had been one of his favorite places to play and train as a boy. He and his mother would feed turtle ducks bread while Azula and the girls played by the fountain. It was a warm, safe place. A place where the sun would never stop shining and a Firebender could feel free from his burdens. Now, as Zuko stood at the edge of the courtyard with bread in his hands, he didn't feel warm at all. He felt sad. The courtyard simply wasn't the same without mother. Nothing was quite the same anymore. Everything was grey and the world was a mess. Zuko was a grown man now, and he no longer had the innocence of the boy who fed turtle ducks with his mother in the warm courtyard.
He sat down on the bench next to the turtle duck pound and started to tear pieces of bread and throw them into the pound for the turtle ducks to eat. There was so much beauty in a courtyard that it made Zuko sad to know the rest of the world was too torn by war to enjoy such a simple thing. But he was trying to fix that. He and his father could win the war and all would be prosperous, just as they had taught Zuko as a little boy. His choice at Ba Sing Se would not be in vain. He promised himself he would make the world better, just as Fire Lord Sozin had promised long ago and every Fire Lord after him. So why did he feel like he'd only made things worse? Like he'd destroyed something inside him that he would never get back?
A shadow fell upon the turtle duck pound, scaring away the little creatures, much to Zuko's annoyance. He didn't even have to look to see who it was behind him.
"You've seemed so downcast lately, has Mai gotten to you already?" Azula joked from behind him, "Though actually, Mai has been in a good mood lately." Zuko sighed, staring intently at the pound as his sister settled down next to him.
"I haven't seen Dad yet. I haven't seen him in three years since I was banished." Zuko grumbled, expressing one of his greatest fears aloud for the first time since Ba Sing Se.
"So what?" Azula asked.
"So, I didn't capture the Avatar." Zuko explained.
"Who cares? The Avatar is dead. Unless…" She leaned in, "You think he somehow miraculously survived?" Miraculously. Yes. A wonderful choice of words. Zuko knew she hadn't meant the Miraculous holders when phrasing the sentence, but he found his thoughts drifting to Ladybug, whos Lucky Charm should have worked better, even without Cat Noir. The way she gasped and tried to stop Aang… Marinette knew exactly what was going to occur. There was no way she could've been warned about Aang's impending death by her Lucky Charm if the Charm hadn't offered a solution to Marinette's problem. Zuko was certain he knew what the Charm had told her to do to solve the problem that was Aang's sudden death. Spirit water. The Charm must've wanted her to retreat and use the spirit water Katara had to revive Aang. Miraculously survive indeed. Aang was still alive. He knew that with absolute certainty. Azula had messed up. He knew it. But he also knew he couldn't tell anyone what he knew without being thrown out of the Fire Nation yet again. Instead, he shook his head.
"No. There's no possible way he could've survived." Zuko muttered.
"Well then, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." Azula replied, standing up and leaving him to his turtle ducks.
He stayed there, hoping for something to get better and for the confusion and turmoil to simple fix itself, but it didn't. Nothing was that simple anymore. Eventually, nighttime started to come and a guard came outside to get him. Apparently, his father had requested his presence. Zuko changed into his ceremonial clothes immediately and went to the Firelord's chamber. He got to his father's doors before hiestating, putting his hand on his scar as he recalled what had happened last time he had entered his father's chamber. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"This time will be different. I'm strong now. I am worthy of his love now. He should love me now. He will love me now." He told himself. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, entering the chamber with a little more confidence and bowing down before his father. For many moments, they said nothing. Then, Ozai spoke.
"You have been away for awhile. I see the weight of your travels have changed you. You have redeemed yourself." Ozai said, sanding and walking towards Zuko. Zuko inhaled sharply. Redeem? How had Zuko redeemed anything? He didn't feel redeemed at all, though he knew he had changed as his father suggested, "Welcome home." Zuko nodded to his father, acknowledging his father's welcome and love for the first time since Zuko was very small and Azula was still too little to firebend. He could sense his father's pride from miles away. It felt good. Addicting. Zuko relished and drank up all he could of his father's approval, wondering if this was what Azula felt all the time and if this was why she was always so powerful. Ozai circled Zuko, who slowly overcame the shock of feeling his father's warm approval.
"I am proud of you." Oazi said, voicing the feeling Zuko was still processing, "I am proud because your sister conquered Ba Sing Se. I am proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous uncle and the Miraculous, you did the right thing and captured the traitor and drove off the Miraculous. And, I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishment. You slayed the Avatar." Zuko froze, his eyebrows arched in surprise. Suddenly the pride of his father felt false and undeserved. The image of the young Avatar dying from Azula's deadly bolt filled his head. The terrible picture of a child perishing for the greater good of his people. Zuko knew that wasn't a task he could've completed. Oazi didn't. Even if he could've, it wouldn't have mattered because the Avatar was still alive anyways. If Ozai truly believed Zuko killed Aang, then if the Avatar exposed himself to Ozai, Zuko wouldn't just be thrown out of the Fire Nation, he knew that Ozai would kill him for a failure that wasn't even his own. Azula had set him up. She knew something had been off about the entire situation the whole time. She was still after the throne. His throne.
"What did you hear?" Zuko asked carefully.
"Azula told me everything. She said she was amazed and impressed with your power and ferocity at the moment of truth." Ozai explain. Zuko looked away. He felt even sicker than before he came in. The Avatar was likely leading the upcoming invasion against the Fire Nation that Azula had warned everyone about. When that day came, Zuko would likely die the moment Ozai learned the truth. Zuko knew what he had to do to insure he survived. Now, it was no longer capture the Avatar to insure his return home. It was kill the Avatar to insure he lived to truly call the place his home. Zuko had to kill a twelve year old kid. He hated the very thought of it. He had barely turned thirteen when he was scarred, and he'd been terrified that day. He could hardly imagine what Aang would feel, but… it had to be done. Zuko knew it. He lowered his gaze and his face became impassive and unreadable.
"Thank you father." Zuko monotoned, shoving away the anger and hate and confusion and blame he had already begun to lock up inside.
"You've done well, Zuko." Ozai said, placing his hand on Zuko' shoulder making the prince flinch, "I've never been prouder."
Happy New Year!