I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.
Chapter Sixty-Six: Méprisé.
Zuko took a breath as he stood outside the doorway Ozai was surely behind. The eclipse would be starting soon, and his father would be unable to Fire Bend. Zuko would finally have the upper hand. He wouldn't get burned this time for speaking the truth to the stubborn Fire Lord. His swords were in their sheath. His satchel was packed and ready to leave. All that was left was to wait. Zuko took a steady breath as he felt the fire inside him suddenly extinguish. The eclipse was beginning. All fire benders would be unable to use their gifts for a full eight minutes.
"I'm ready to face you." He muttered before sliding the door open. Inside, guards lined either side of the hall dress in their elite red uniforms. In the center of the hall sitting on a grand pedestal with tea in hand was his father. Fire Lord Ozai. his father looked up from his tea and looked confused at Zuko.
"Prince Zuko, what are you doing here?" Ozai asked. Zuko straightened his posture. It was now or never.
"I'm here to tell the truth." Zuko said. Ozai raised an eyebrow, looking his son over with interest.
"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting." His father waved his hands, motioning for the guards to leave so Ozai and Zuko could talk privately. The guards obeyed immediately. Soon it was just Zuko and his father. No guards were left or fire bending was retained to hide behind. It was just them. Zuko closed his eyes for a moment before looking at his expecting father.
"First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me." Ozai seemed perplexed by the statement and leaned forwards, setting down his tea.
"Why would she lie to be about that?" Ozai questioned.
"Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived." Zuko replied. Ozai jerked his head up in alarm.
"What!?" He hissed.
"In fact, he's probably the one leading this invasion. He could be on us right now." Ozai rose to his feet and pointed furiously at Zuko.
"Get out! Get out right now if you know what is good for you!" Ozai growled. Zuko's determination only grew with those words.
"That's another thing." Zuko said, standing even taller, "I'm not taking orders from you anymore." Ozai was not happened with that statement.
"You will obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last!" Ozai snarled. He took a step towards Zuko. Zuko moved quickly, drawing his swords out of their sheaths and holding them threateningly.
"Think again." Zuko replied, "I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen." Ozai looked absolutely baffled by Zuko's newfound courage, but a new interest was in the Fire Lord's eyes. Zuko knew the man would hear him through. Ozai sat down again, the anger mostly dissipating, though it remained ever present in the man's eyes. Ozai nodded for the prince to continue.
"For so long," Zuko began, looking hard at his father, "All I wanted was for you to love me. To accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was trying to please you, my father who banished me just for talking out of turn." Zuko pointed his sword accusingly at Ozai, "My father who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?"
"It was to teach you respect." Ozai snapped.
"It was cruel, and it was wrong!" Zuko replied.
"Then you have learned nothing."
"No!" Zuko yelled, "I've learned everything! And I had to do it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness." Ozai leaned back, chuckling a bit at Zuko's revelation.
"Your Uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?" Ozai asked. Zuko thought about Iroh, the man he'd betrayed. The man who was like a real father to Zuko. The man who, despite all Zuko had done, had called Zuko his heir. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at his father with a gentle expression.
"Yes, he has." Ozai's mocking smile melted into a disapproving frown. Zuko shook his head.
"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He is the one who has been a real father to me. Then, together, we will find Cat Noir, who has been a better brother to me than Azula has been a sister. " Zuko explained. Ozai rolled his eyes.
"That's just beautiful. Maybe they can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure." Zuko scowled at that remark.
"But I've come to an even more important decision." Zuko paused before stating the thing he'd come to tell Ozai in the first place, "I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you." Ozai grinned wickedly.
"Really? Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless, you've got your swords, why don't you just do it now?" Ozai questioned. Zuko scowled.
"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." Zuko replied, remembering his uncle's lectures about how it was Aang's job to bring balance to the universe. Zuko sheathed his sword and turned to leave, "Goodbye." Ozai stood.
"Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during an eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the Sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your Mother?" Ozai asked. Zuko froze where he was. Zuko knew it was a trap. He knew Ozai was just trying to waste Zuko's time so that the eclipse would end and Ozai would have the upper hand… but Ozai was the only person who really knew the truth. I was the only way he would learn…
Zuko turned to face his father again, but as he did Zuko saw it. A soft violet butterfly that flew towards Zuko. Ozai noticed the strange and unusually placed creature too. Zuko recognized it and drew his blades. The butterfly landed on one and it turned pristine white. Ozai's confident expression slackened as the Fire Lord realised exactly what the butterfly was. A semi-transparent butterfly mask appeared in front of Zuko's face.
"Hello, Gabriel." Zuko deadpanned.
"Hello, Méprisé. I am Hawkmoth. You've had a change of heart and now know who the true villains are. Your transformation has been long and hard, almost as difficult as mine was, but I see you are now ready to embrace the destiny this universe has chosen for you. It used to be that I could only transform those with negative emotions, but now, I come to you as a changed man who can only transform those with a righteous heart. You, Méprisé, are amongst the most righteous men in all of the Fire Nation and have proven yourself worthy to become the Avatar's Master. Do you accept this?" Zuko stared at his anticipating father.
"With all my heart." Zuko replied. Zuko stumbled back as white spread across him like water bleeding onto a page. When it finished, Zuko stood before his father, fully transformed into Méprisé, which means Scorned. His robes were white now with a golden dragon design embroidered all across his clothes. They outfit was accented by Fire Nation red. Cross his bare arms, flame insignia trace up and down like burn marks. He had on red, finger-less gloves that gripped his now transformed blades. The blades now had decorative golden dragons dancing around their handles. Over his head, Zuko had on a read hood that was held to the white robes by a Fire Nation brooch. On his face, Zuko had a porcelain mask that was cracked where his scarred eye was. Over the scar was another Fire Nation insignia, hiding the scar completely from view. His golden brown eyes were now completely gold and bore a strange resemblance to the eyes of a dragon.
"Amazing…" Ozai breathed, in awe at the transformation he had just witnessed, "Azula was right, the power of the Miraculous holders is quite extraordinary. Full of so many possibilities."
"Too bad you'll never claim that power for yourself." Zuko grunted, "You will never touch the Miraculous Holders. You will not lay your eyes on Avatar Aang until the day he comes to end your reign. The throne will be restored to Crown Prince Iroh, and you and your villainous daughter will answer for all the suffering you have caused. The war will end this summer, or the world will fall to the hands of a coward." Ozai growled at this.
"You are a fool."
"And you are going to answer my questions." Zuko growled, "What happened to my mother?" Ozai looked taken aback, obviously surprised that Zuko was still focused on the topic, regardless of Hawkmoth's interference. He sat back, obviously content with answering.
"Ozai, what happened to my mother on that night so long ago?" Ozai signed, gaining a distant look in his eyes.
"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it. Your Mother had found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared." Ozai began. Zuko shuttered, releasing more and more as the man spoke how terrible of a father Ozai had been. How had Zuko not seen it sooner?
"Your Mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."
"She's… Alive?" Zuko stammered.
"Don't get distracted by your family affairs, Méprisé." Gabriel warned at the back of Zuko's mind.
"Perhaps. Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper."
It was at that moment Zuko felt the power of fire return to him, only this time, it felt different. Almost like something else was making it not only stronger, but far easier to control. At the same time, he saw his father rise to his feet, electricity cackling at his fingertips. Zuko knew exactly what his father intended to do. Ozai was going to kill Zuko then and there with a simple bolt of lighting. Zuko, however, was ready. Thanks to all of Iroh's training, Zuko knew exactly what to do. The prince fell into a certain stance and as his father's electricity stuck him, Zuko caught it with the tips of his fingers and drew it into him like a lighting rod. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once as Zuko shifted his stance and redirected the energy he'd captured back towards his startled father. It slammed into the platform Ozai was on without any trouble. The Fire Lord moved instantly out of the way. Zuko took his father's distraction as his cue to run. Gabriel had, after all, transformed Zuko for a reason.
Team Avatar was in trouble and Adrien was only moments away from certain destruction. He needed to save them, or there would be no world left to save at all.
"Hawkmoth, lead me to the Avatar." He ordered.