Happy Easter!
I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.
Chapter Sixty-Two: The War Meeting.
"Welcome, Prince Zuko. We waited for you." Zuko sat down. The entire day he'd been fretting over the upcoming meeting. He hadn't been invited and was terrified he wouldn't be welcomed, so he stayed at Mai's instead. Life was already complicated, after learning his ties with the avatar and attending to meetings with his sister and father, he had decided the war meeting wasn't worth the extra effort. It still had bothered him the entire day though. Then, when a guard came and informed him that he had been invited to the meeting, Zuko was ecstatic and had made his way to the war meeting even though he was terribly late. Ozai welcomed Zuko with open arms and motioned for him to sit at his right hand as a prince should. Ozai's eyes followed his son with a small amount of pride and a subtle warning in his glare. Zuko understood the look, considering what had happened the last time he'd been at an important war meeting, but Zuko was older now. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
"General Shinu. Report." Ozai ordered. The general in question stood, bowing his head at Ozai before beginning his report.
"Ba Sing Se is still under our control. However, Earth Bender rebellions have prevented us from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom. There thankfully has been no sign of the Miraculous Holders. We believe they went into hiding after the walls fell and are not responsible for the rebellions. Though we do believe they are going to be leading the upcoming invasion." Ozai frowned.
"And what is your recommendation?"
"Our army is spread too thin, but once the invasion is defeated and the Miraculous holders are dealt with, we believe we should transfer more domestic forces into the Earth Kingdom." Shinu said. Zuko winced when they mentioned dealing with the Miraculous holders, though he agreed they were probably helping Aang stage the invasion if the assassin he'd hired hadn't already killed Aang by that point. Ozai pondered the General's words before fixing his gaze onto Zuko.
"Prince Zuko?" Zuko jerked his head towards his father, fear rising in his throat. He was going to have to say something, "You've been among the Earth Kingdom commoners. Do you think that adding more troops will stop these rebellions?" Zuko froze. He bit his lip and lowered his gaze. He had a lot to consider. He knew sending more troops could resulting in many deaths and wounded men and woman on both sides. The Earth Kingdom was stubborn and wouldn't give up easy. The Fire Nation, he knew, was equally as stubborn. Sending more troops would really do nothing. The war would go on regardless if they redirected the armies or not. Either way, people would die. Zuko wasn't sure if he was ready to make that call. He settled for a neutral answer, hoping his father could use it to make the wisest and most beneficial choice for both sides.
"The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong. They can endure, as long as they have hope." Zuko explained. Ozai leaned back, considering.
"Yes, yes, you're right. We need to destroy their hope." Zuko's eyes widened. That seemed a bit unethical and malicious. Surely there were simpler solutions than mentally wounding an entire nation for the sake of a war.
"Well, that's not exactly what I…" Zuko started to object. Sadly, Azua interrupted his objection.
"I think you should take their precious hope and the rest of their land and burn it all to the ground." Zuko stared at his sister in horror. What the heck was wrong with her? They couldn't do that! They'd destroy the world! That solution would kill billions of people. It would be a repeat of the mass genocide that occured in the Air Nomad temples a hundred years prior. That had been a dark time in history, and everyone knew that. Now Azula suggested to repeat it like the lives at stake where no big deal? Zuko had friends in the Earth Kingdom! The bakers, Pao, and Adrien. He couldn't just stand by watch them die for the sake of prosperity. It made no sense. Where was the prosperity amongst the nations if all of them but the Fire Nation had been killed off? And there were colonies in the Earth Kingdom too! Proud Fire Nation men and women who served their country without question. What would happen to them?
"Yes… yes, you're right Azula." Ozai agreed, much to Zuko's dismay. Ozai stood and walked to the table displaying the maps of the Earth Kingdom, "Sozin's comet is almost upon us and on that day it will endow us with the strength and power of a hundred Suns. No bender will stand a chance against us." The generals all stared at Ozai and Azula, just as baffled as Zuko.
"What are you suggesting, sir?" Shinu asked.
"When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin used it to wipe out the Air Nomads. Now, I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom permanently." Zuko's expression slackened. No. There was no way his father would go through with this. This was genocide! This was pure evil! What had happened to prosperity? To making the world a better place? Wasn't that what they had been fighting to create for so long? Did that even matter anymore? Or was it now only about winning, regardless of the toll it took? If that was the case then this plan was selfish and wrong and he couldn't believe none of the generals stood up and explained to Ozai respectfully why the plan wouldn't work towards their real goal.
"From our airships."Ozai continued, "We will rain fire over their lands. A fire that will destroy everything. And out of the ashes, a new world will be born. A World in which all lands are Fire Nation and I am the supreme ruler!" Ozai raised his fist in the air. The generals cheered. Cheered! They cheered like cowards at the terrible, villainous idea. It was that moment Zuko recalled a line from the play Adrien had loved so much before Zuko left. The Final Chronicles of the Dragons it had been called.
Woe to me, for I have seen the dragons fall. Once I beheld them on a pedestal, but now they are as men. Where has the blessing of spirit's gone? Why has it come to the end of such great beasts? That they would quarrel and destroy the world in fire out of selfish ambition? Behold the sons of fire! The sons of destruction! Who have only themselves to blame for their ultimate end. If only I could end this war, but what can one human do against such great beasts?
Zuko shrank in his seat, reciting the lines from the play in his mind over and over as he considered speaking out against the terrible plan. He felt like Lee from the play, small and unimportant. All Zuko would gain from speaking out then was another scar before sharing the fate of all the Nations. What could he do against him? Zuko's own father? A man who had always hated him until he learned Zuko had killed a twelve year old kid. Even though it wasn't true, Zuko started to really see how messed up his father was and understand why he had been so mad, confused, and sick because of the choice he'd made in Ba Sing Se. His father really was the worse of two evils. Aang had been right. Adrien had been right. Iroh had been right. He had ignored and betrayed them because he was too stubborn, too convinced that a man like Ozai was truly capable of loving anyone, and too blinded by his longing for the life he once had to even consider everything they had been trying to tell him. He had been a fool and an absolute coward. He barely listened to the rest of the meeting as they plotted out the best way to commit the genocide. The idea of it merely sickened Zuko more and more as he listened. Finally, after what felt like centuries, the meeting let out. Zuko stumbled out of the War Room pale and disgusted. Mai waited for him patiently outside.
"So, how did it go?" She asked. He looked at her. His eyes unfocused and his heart longing to leave that terrible household. Only, seeing her face was enough to make his heart melt. He loved Mai. He wanted to tell her everything. Steal her away and hide her from his father and sister so that nothing his family did could ever hurt her. But he knew she would hate that. Mai took care of herself. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't bring her into his family's madness or turn her into a traitor. It wasn't right. So, he kept a straight face and told as vague of the truth as he could.
"When I got to the meeting, everyone welcomed me. My father had saved me a seat. He wanted me next to him. I was at his right hand." Zuko said hollowly.
"Zuko that's great! You must be happy?" She asked, holding onto him dearly. He smiled at her touch before frowning. No. It wasn't great. He wasn't happy. Nothing was okay anymore. He glanced up at the picture of Ozai. The portrait's eyes boring into his own. He swallowed hard before replying.
"During the meeting, I was the purrfect purrince." Mai glared at him for the pun he'd made, not realising he'd done it on purpose. For Adrien. For everyone he'd hurt in his foolishness, "The son my father wanted. But I wasn't me." Mai squeezed his hand.
"Zuko, are you alright?" She asked, losing her monotone ever so slightly. He clung to her hand for a few lingering moments, relishing in her eyes for one last time, somehow knowing it would be a long time before he'd get to truly see them again, then he pulled away.
"I've just got a lot on my mind. The invasion is coming and we all need to be ready. I likely won't see you much during these next few days." He began to walk off before turning to look back at her one last time, "I love you, you know that?" She stared at him incredulously. He didn't even give her time to respond. He left her there, puzzled, before going to his quarters and starting to pack. A plan started to form in his head. The invasion would be key. Ozai wouldn't be able to firebend at him and he would be crippled, so Zuko could escape. The Avatar would be forced to retreat when they discovered the Fire Nation's plan and Zuko would follow him, as he'd done for so long now. Only this time, he wasn't seeking to capture or kill the boy, but rather he sought to teach the boy how to fire bend. It was all Zuko could do to stop the madness that was his father. To make up for the terrible things he'd done. He would make Aang learn from him. Beg him to take his advice and teachings. He would do anything to stop the genocide and the destruction of the world. Anything to make up for his mistakes. He would do anything to stop it all, and end the war that had only begun out of one man's foolish pride.
Zuko was going to betray his father.