Chapter 22

Zuko was more tired than he had ever been in his life. More tired than that one time he had chased the Aang for two days straight, or the time he had trained so hard Iroh finally had to literally force him to rest. Every part of him hurt, and dark spots dotted the arena. He was aware that that should concern him. Through his wavy vision, he could make out the black form of Shu approaching. In this light, it looked like his father was approaching him again, his father was here to burn him and banish him and reject him again…

"Zuko!" Shaking his head, Zuko looked for who had called his name. To his surprise Aang clapped anxiously next to Mai. "You can do it!" And next to Aang Mai held a child.

Kazuto.

The gong rang, but Zuko kept looking at his family. He couldn't leave Kazuto alone again. He was a father now. He had to protect them.

He had to protect them all.

A calm washed over him, dulling the pain of all his injuries. He remembered the dragons, how in fire they lived and moved and breathed. He could be the same.

Shu let out a torrent of flame, but Zuko parted it. He supposed he would have to fire Shu after this. Mercy was all well and good, but he couldn't have an Admiral who actively wanted to kill him. Zuko sent twin ribbons of flame towards Shu, but Shu batted them aside. They moved closer, Zuko feeling like he was swimming through a daze of fire. He could see the whites of Shu's eyes. All Zuko had to do was bring him down, get him to surrender. Zuko saw an opening, and darted forward to finish the fight.

Instead, Shu punched Zuko hard in the side where Higuchi had burned her handprint.

Flakes of blackened skin littered the sand, and Zuko dropped to his knees. Tears streamed down his face, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. All he wanted to do was curl up with the pain—

The woman at the top of the arena rose. She extended two fingers, aiming squarely for Shu's back. Honorable fighting had its uses, but she wouldn't let Zuko die. That was just stupid. One bolt and Shu would be piece of roasted meat. Without Zuko, what did she have? She readied herself.

Mai gasped as Zuko collapsed. "No!" she shrieked. She handed Kazuto to Aang and made to clear the arena barrier. Forget everything she had said earlier. He was about to die! But a pair of arms held her back. "Trust him!" said Akira. She spat and clawed at him, the bastard. He had known Zuko for a few weeks and acted like he cared, but he didn't know, he didn't know anything. "Zuko!" she screamed. Kazuto wailed.

Sokka was frozen. This wasn't how the story was supposed to go. They were all here, Team Firelord and Team Avatar, they couldn't be split apart like this. But before he could do anything, Zuko stood shakily.

Shu's mouth fell open slightly as Zuko stumbled to his feet. "How are you still standing?" demanded the Admiral.

"I guess the fates choose me," said Zuko, wiping the sweat off his forehand and smearing blood all over his face. As fast as Azula, he darted forward, fire daggers darting in and out, blades so thin they severed the tendons behind Shu's knees before he could move. Shu howled and fell on his face, clutching the backs of his legs.

"The Firelord has won five Agni Kai in a row!" shouted Minister Ilana into the silence. She sat in the second row, and her strong voice projected throughout the arena. "He held the lives of his opponents in his hands, but spared them! He is the Firelord!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Zuko lifted his head, taking in the sea of people. Their faces tangled together, but one was as clear and bright as the summer sun.

"Azula," he said. He could feel himself falling to the sand, but it was all right now, it was over, they were done playing and could go to sleep…

Sokka leaned against the wall in Zuko's library/antechamber, waiting anxiously for Katara to emerge. After Zuko had collapsed, Imperial Guards had carried him off the field, and Mai had insisted that Katara heal Zuko herself. But it had been an hour now, and they still had no word. An odd mix of people milled around—Iroh, Suki, Akira, Aang, General Mak, and himself. Zuko was strong, but he had lost a lot of blood. Iroh hugged Kazuto in a large armchair.

Another distant cheer echoed from the streets outside. "What is going on?" asked Sokka irritably. "Why is it so loud?"

"The people are celebrating," said General Mak.

"Why, because Zuko's dying?" said Suki bitterly.

"Quite the opposite!" said Mak. "They are throwing a festival to celebrate the Five Agni Kai of Firelord Zuko. It's already becoming legend."

"This is insane," said Aang passionately, flinging his arms wide. "What kind of culture values violence in their leaders? The elder monks were always chosen by how at peace they were, not how well they could fight!"

Everyone looked at Aang disbelievingly. "Aang, even in the Water Tribe Chieftains are chosen based on martial skill," said Sokka gently.

"This fight showed that Zuko is brave, and merciful," said Iroh. "It showed he is willing to do anything for his people, even risk his own life to prove his loyalty." His face darkened. "I only hope the price was not too high."

The door to Zuko's chamber swung open, and seven pairs of eyes stared at Katara. "He'll be fine," she said reassuringly. "He's covered in bandages, and he'll have a lot more scars, but he'll survive. He's actually awake right now."

"Can we see him?" asked Aang eagerly. Katara looked disapproving. "I'm not sure that's—"

"Come in!" yelled Zuko from the other room. Sokka laughed, and pushed through the door. "Overruled, little sis," he said jokingly to Katara as he passed. She rolled her eyes.

Mai was sitting in a chair by Zuko's bedside, looking concerned and grumpy at the same time. "Hey, guys!" said Zuko as all eight of his friends filed in. He smiled, one edge of his mouth bruised. He wore the loose night robe that Sokka had seen him in just the night before when they had tea, but Sokka could still see white bandages wrapping his chest and arms. "I feel like I'm at a party! When was the last time all of you were in a room together?" Zuko looked bizarrely happy.

"Did you give him cactus juice or something?" said Sokka to Katara quietly. She nodded. Well then. This would be an interesting visit.

"Daddy!" yelled Kazuto, nearly leaping out of Iroh's arms. Iroh carried him over and placed him carefully on the bed next to Zuko. Kaz crawled over and patted Zuko's split and bruised lip with one chubby hand. "Owie," Kaz said.

"Yeah, Kaz, I got hurt," said Zuko. He tried to lift an arm to ruffle Kazuto's hair, but it flopped back to the bed.

Sokka received a sharp jab to the ribs. "Ouch! What—" Katara was glaring at him. "Zuko has a son?" she whispered fiercely. "What in the name of all the spirits has been going on?"

"I'll tell you later," said Sokka quietly. "Just chill, it's not what you think." Aang was just staring at Kaz, mouth open slightly. Sokka couldn't help but laugh a little. Aang looked like someone had just slapped him across the face unexpectedly. But, to his credit, Aang did not say a word.

Another cheer became audible from the streets. Sokka could now hear them chant a name: "Zu-ko, Zu-ko, Zu-ko!"

"Wow," said Zuko. "If I knew I could fix my popularity problems by beating a few people up, I would have done it long ago."

"Don't get cocky," snapped Mai. "You haven't fixed anything yet."

"This tactic would only work for a man!" complained Suki. "The people hate you because you ended a war and fathered an illegitimate son, but all is forgiven when you knock together some skulls?" She smiled to show she didn't mean it.

"A bastard son?" hissed Katara to Sokka. He merely shrugged and made pacifying motions with his hands. Now was not the time to go over all of this again. Katara crossed her arms and scowled. Aang looked unperturbed, however. Right. Sokka had forgotten that the Air Nomads didn't really have marriage. He wondered if Katara was okay with that.

"Not to be a downer, but you still have a lot of problems to deal with," said Akira. "Unrest among the soldiers, negotiations with the Earth King over the colonies…" Zuko glared at him.

"Akira, I'm literally bedridden after fighting for my life. I'm going to take a few minutes to celebrate being alive." Zuko's eyes suddenly went misty. "While I was in the arena, I realized how much all of you mean to me—" He looked like he was about to cry. His eyes glazed slightly. "I see all of you," he said mournfully. "But where's the Dragon Queen? I miss her!"

"Okay, visiting time is over, get out!" said Mai. She ushered them out, looking ferocious. "Zuko needs to rest, everyone out."

"Me too?" said Kazuto from where he lay cuddled against Zuko's side. "Not you, Kaz," Mai amended, her scowl melting when she looked at the boy. "Just all the noisy people." Ah Mai. Sokka was glad that he had gotten to know her better. She reminded him of the mother moose-lion that had once almost killed him for disturbing her cub. Except Mai was scarier. Iroh stayed in the room without asking.

Once the door was shut, Akira and General Mak wandered off to talk, and Aang and Katara rounded on Sokka.

"It's good to see you, Sokka!" said Aang. "Sorry I didn't get to say that earlier. We missed you!" Aang wrapped Sokka in a warm hug, and Momo scampered over to sit on Sokka's head.

"Yes, yes," said Katara impatiently. "What is this about Zuko's son?"

Sokka sighed. "Let's get some tea," he said. "It's a long story."

Hello friends! I want to thank you all for your continued readership and support, it's really fun to read reviews! This story has been in my head for years, and it's quite thrilling to share it with fans. A big thank you to my brothers, who probably aren't reading this here, but who helped me come up with the character who became Akira. Hope you all continue to enjoy!