Chapter 38
Zuko was awakened by several pairs of rough hands pulling him upright and then throwing him to the floor. Before his eyes even opened, he lashed out, summoning a ring of fire around him. He struggled to a standing position, still shooting fire. By the half-light of his flames, Zuko saw ten, maybe fifteen fighters crowding around him. One threw a punch, and he ducked, only to be hit in the back with what felt like the butt end of a spear. He fell to his knees. A dull pain bloomed across Zuko's jaw as another punch landed, and he found himself shoved to the ground, someone's knee on his back.
Thank the Sages Mai isn't here, thought Zuko as his assailants pressed his face to the ground. But then his fear spiked—what if they already had Mai? Or Kazuto? He struggled futilely as the unknown attackers dragged him back up to his knees, two men holding his arms behind his back. Zuko lifted his head defiantly. He was still the Firelord, and he wouldn't be subdued by some New Ozai rabble.
But the man standing in front of him wasn't a faceless rebel. A wave of nausea and terror swept over Zuko as he recognized the figure from his nightmares.
Ozai.
"It's good to see you again, son," smirked his father. "How long has it been? A year since you've come to visit me?" Somehow, despite three years in prison, Ozai was powerfully built, imposing, dominating the room by his mere presence. He wore his hair in a topknot, just as he had done as Firelord. His father loomed over him, like the day he had burned Zuko—
"Thankfully, Zuko, I have a son who is more loyal than you," continued Ozai. He stepped aside, revealing a familiar tall, dark-skinned soldier.
Zuko should have expected it. He should have seen it coming. But the moment he saw Akira standing beside Ozai, he felt like he had been shot through the heart with lightning all over again. Something deep inside him wrenched with his brother's betrayal. Zuko sagged slightly, held up only by the two men still gripping his arms. Why did this hurt so much more than when Azula tried to kill him? Zuko suddenly felt weary beyond belief. Mai had been right. She had been right all along. Family always betrays you.
Ozai spoke into the silence. "I'm surprised your wife isn't here, Zuko. Even I kept your mother in my bed for longer than this, and Sages knew Ursa didn't want to be there." Ozai smiled mockingly.
"Don't say her name," spat Zuko. "You don't have the right." Behind Ozai, Akira's face twitched slightly.
"As Firelord, I have the right to everything," Ozai said. "As I tried to teach you."
"Do you even hear him?" said Zuko, turning his attention to Akira. "Akira, you're not a monster. Why would you possibly want to follow him instead of me?"
"I told you, Zuko," said Akira, looking slightly pained. "Withdrawing from the war will end in disaster. When you hunt, you don't wound a boar and then let it go." His hand clenched around his spear. "You finish it."
Zuko shook his head, still maintaining eye contact with his brother. "I'm sorry I took so long to let you in," he said. "But stop this, now, and we can still—"
Ozai backhanded Zuko across the mouth, sending him reeling. For the second time in only a few short weeks, Zuko's mouth was filled with the iron taste of his own blood.
"Stop begging, Zuko," said Ozai scornfully. "Sages, it's a wonder you lasted this long as Firelord. You're clearly ill-suited for it."
"Appealing to Akira's better nature isn't begging," said Zuko thickly. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ozai seemed to grow angrier at the contradiction, and he grabbed Zuko's swollen face with one hand. "My treacherous son," he said.
"Always weak. But even with your soft heart, you left your own father to rot in the dark for three years. I guess you didn't have the courage to finish me off." Zuko tried to answer, but his father's hand clenched on his bruised jaw. Zuko let out a grunt of pain.
"You think this hurts?" laughed Ozai. He shook Zuko's face sharply, yellow eyes boring into his son. "You'll learn the true meaning of agony when I bring your wife here, and your son, and burn them in front of you. Maybe then you'll realize what an error you committed by defying me."
Kazuto. Zuko wrenched his face away. "What have you done to them?" he said angrily, desperately. If Ozai had them, they were better off dead, but then they might soon be dead…
"They'll be here soon," said Ozai. "It's funny, Zuko. You pretend to be so different from me, but look at you! You have a bastard son so early in your marriage, just like me." Ozai clapped Akira on the back, but Akira barely reacted.
"Perhaps, with the proper training, your son could turn out like my oldest," mused Ozai.
Rage flared in Zuko's chest. Kazuto would never be warped by Ozai. Zuko wouldn't allow it. He'd burn the whole world before he let that happen.
"You'll never be Firelord again, Ozai," said Zuko. "Even if you kill me now, even if you kill my family, the Avatar will defeat you within days. It's hopeless! Let me go, and I may spare your life." Thinking of his friends gave Zuko courage, and he stared down his father.
"That may be true," admitted Ozai. He took a torch from an insurgent and approached Zuko. "But I'll get my revenge first." Ozai's face flickered in and out of shadow, and Zuko was reminded bizarrely of his own wedding fire. He remembered drinking the wine, letting go his hatred and his fear. He thought of Iroh holding him tightly.
"I'm sorry for you, Father," said Zuko, his anger melting away. He didn't know where the words came from, but they gushed out of him.
"I'm sorry that fear is the only way you know. I wish things could have been different for you."
Ozai paused, looking confused.
"I don't hate you, Father. You deserve to be in prison forever for the things you've done. But I don't hate you." Zuko gazed into his father's face, into those eyes that had once in the distant past looked at him with love.
"You sound like my brother," snarled Ozai. He brought the fire close to the unscarred side of Zuko's face. "But his weakness lost him a throne, as well."
Zuko steeled himself for the pain and met Akira's eyes. Zuko would make his brother see exactly what his betrayal had cost.
I'm sorry, Mai.
Mai burst out of the secret passage into the nursery, her heart beating wildly, and yet somehow frozen. If Zuko was gone, Kazuto was all she had left. Mai never prayed at the temple, not like Zuko sometimes did, but she found herself begging, promising anything. If only Kazuto is alive, just let him be alive, I will do anything…
She crossed the playroom and threw open the door. A shadowy figure was stooped over Kazuto's bed, and she drew a knife. But then the candlelight hit the man's face, and she recognized him.
"Sokka," she half-sobbed in relief.
"Mai!" Sokka rose and grabbed Mai roughly into a hug. He let her go quickly. "The noise woke me up. I saw them enter Zuko's room, so I came here—"
"Is Kazuto alright?" Mai said, kneeling down to check. The boy was somehow still asleep, face relaxed and peaceful, black hair falling softly over his forehead. He clutched at a blanket with his small hands. For the first time that night, Mai allowed herself to feel, and she swept Kazuto up in her arms. He was so warm. Squeezing her eyes shut against her son's shoulder, she counted slowly to five.
"We need to save Zuko, if he's still alive," said Mai, straightening. Kazuto stirred in her arms, but she kept her gaze on Sokka.
"Mai, going in there alone would be suicide," said Sokka. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Suki and the Imperial Guards will be on their way. But for now, we have to get you and Kazuto to safety." He swallowed. "If Zuko is…gone, then Kazuto may be the next Firelord. And you'll be needed as regent."
"What?" said Mai wildly. "I don't want to rule! What are you saying?" How could Sokka give up on Zuko so easily?
"Better you than Ozai or Azula," said Sokka darkly. "But whatever happens, we need to go, now! Who knows how many rebels are in the palace." Mai shook her head. They couldn't just leave.
"Think of Kazuto," pleaded Sokka. "We're no use here. We should go, and get help."
Mai felt like she was cracking in two. Sokka was right, they had to save Kazuto. But fleeing felt like admitting her husband was dead. For a moment, she imagined never feeling his warmth against her at night, never seeing his self-satisfied smile, never hearing his voice in her ear…
"Okay, let's go," said Mai harshly. Best to rip off a bandage quickly.
"We'll be back," reassured Sokka. "We'll get help, and we'll come back."
"I know," said Mai.
By the time Suki arrived at General Mak's quarters, he was already awake, barking orders to several Kyoshi Warriors.
"Go to the barracks! Rouse every Imperial Guard there; tell them the palace is under attack! And send a messenger hawk to the nearest infantry unit outside the Capital; write that we need reinforcements!"
Mak turned to Suki grimly. "A small party of fifteen was let into the palace. They must have had help from the inside."
"They're in the Firelord's room," said Suki. "We need to take everyone here and save Zuko, now!"
"Agreed," said Mak. "You lead the force to recapture the Firelord. I'll coordinate palace defense from here, to prepare for Gui's army."
He gestured to a map of the city. "If you spotted them at the harbour fifteen minutes ago, the army should arrive in about an hour, assuming they're walking."
"What defences do we have in place before they reach here?" asked Suki.
"Not enough to face 3,000 soldiers," replied Mak darkly. A group of Imperial Guards rushed into the room. "Go!" said Mak to Suki. She nodded, and gestured to the soldiers.
"Follow me!" she yelled. "For the Firelord!" They echoed her call, and they set off at a jog. But deep down, Suki knew she was probably too late.