AN: Okay sorry. So basically, I knew once September hit I would have approximately zero time to do this, so I was hoping to get this out before that… But I dropped the ball. Well anyway it's here now. This is a really fast paced chapter, so try to keep up. If you reviewed remember: you da real mvps.
Chapter Twelve: Blood or Water
News of the Avatar's death spread across the four nations like wild fire. It was the end of an era. The knowledge that the man who had brought peace to the world was gone, put everyone on edge.
Aang had died in his sleep, peacefully. It was typical of someone of his extended age to pass this way. At least that's what the Fire Sages told the ones who asked. It was normal and natural, they said. But that didn't stop the whispers. People said it was a sign that Katara and Zuko's marriage was a betrayal to the balance of the four nations.
The whole world went dark. Whether they wanted to mourn the death of the Avatar or forget it like last week's leftovers, it was an event so catastrophic that it could not be ignored. Black banners were hung from the towers of the Fire Nation palace. And no longer was everything around them red with Fire Nation pride, it was black.
The Air Nation called a state of emergency. It only took a few days for news to reach the Western Air Temple. The few nomads in the West, some of Aang's great grandchildren came for Aang and brought him to the South, so that he could receive a proper ceremony in the place he was born.
Each nation had its own ceremony, mourning the death of the Avatar, every town had it's own memorial which was constantly lit and glowing with candles brought by every type of person, old and young. And while the mourning continued, as time passed, a certain question became ever more present in the people's mind: who was the new Avatar?
"It's too early to begin searching for the new Avatar. For all we know, they haven't even been born yet." Katara rolled her eyes, she didn't understand how people didn't have the basic decency to at least wait a fortnight before they began talking about Aang's replacement, but then again, the 'people' she was referencing was Azula.
"I'm just saying, there will be a lot of pressure on the new mothers of the Water Tribe. Everyone will be waiting to see if their child is the new Avatar."
"It doesn't really matter, odds are, we won't know for years. The new Avatar isn't usually announced until their sixteenth birthday."
"Well maybe it's time we change that. Avatar Aang was only twelve if I remember." For someone so unamused by Aang, it was interesting that she knew details about his childhood. But Azula seemed to know everything, so it wasn't all that of a shock.
"Either way, that's years from now." Katara didn't really want to talk about some hypothetical Water Tribe Avatar, the shock from Aang's death was still ripe in her mind.
"It's still exciting, after all, it could be anyone. For all we know, you could be carrying the next Avatar." Katara scoffed.
"I'm not pregnant Azula." She rolled her eyes again.
"Not yet." Azula and Katara reached the throne room and Katara didn't have time to protest Azula's accusations. She wasn't pregnant, and she doubted she would be soon. Ever since they were woken up to news of Aang's death, she and Zuko had hardly touched eachother.
"Good luck." Katara told Azula, knowing she'd need it as she entered the Fire Lord's chambers, unannounced.
Azula was greeted with her grandfather's voice, sternly shouting, but not at her. "Your actions are intolerable." were all she heard, before the grand door slammed shut and her presence was noticed.
"Azula!" Her father and grandfather yelled in unison.
"I'm so sorry Grandfather, I did not mean to intrude, I will come back later." She turned to leave as fast as she could.
"No. You are never an intrusion my protege, please join us." Azula cautiously walked up to stand next to her father, and knelt next to him.
"Azula, over the years you have proven yourself to be incredibly competent and intelligent, your father and I seem to have come to a disagreement, perhaps you could lend your own opinion." She glanced up at her father, who she had never seen look this cowardly. She looked to her Grandfather, silently giving her acceptance.
"Imagine you were the Fire Lord, and you had discovered that a trusted member of your family had orchestrated the assassination of an important public figure, as well as a dear friend of yours? And while he claims that the assassination was done in your name, to aid you in your future goals, you had no knowledge of the plan until after it was already carried out? How would you respond to this person, if you were Fire Lord Azula?" Sparks went off inside Azula's mind as she looked between her father and the Fire Lord, putting the pieces together. She didn't doubt that her father had the motive or means to kill the Avatar, and on the night that the treaty with the Water Tribe, it wasn't a surprise that Aang's death was less than accidental. But she was surprised that this news was being so openly shared with her. Nonetheless, she kept her composure.
"Well," Azula looked at her father, who seemed desperate for her to take his side. "Murder is a crime punishable by death, and if I were Fire Lord it would be my duty to make sure that the law was carried out justly." She saw her grandfather twitch a smile from behind the wall of fire that separated them.
"Of course, if I believed that this injustice had taken place as a military act, meant to further my reign and control, perhaps I would grant this person pardon. If this person could convince me that they were not acting against my wishes, which of course, would be treason, then maybe I would punish them less harshly." Azula remembered that her fate was tied to her father's, if he was disowned, or worse, disheaded, she would lose the privileged life of a princess that she had enjoyed the past sixteen years of her life.
"Perhaps, if my friend was old and dying, and his death would give me control over a powerful entity, I would not act so harshly at hastening his death. In fact, I might see it as a kindness, to end his suffering, rather than let him wither away slowly and painfully as so many of us do." The Fire Lord was silent, Azula worried maybe she had said too much. As much as she loved impressing her father, she loved impressing her grandfather more.
"Of course, even if you were to offer your forgiveness, as Fire Lord, you would still want to ensure that your position is respected and make sure that this person learned their place. Perhaps sending them on an extended diplomatic mission in the Earth Kingdom or having them do charity work in the rural parts of our country. Something to teach them discipline and remind them of who their ruler is. Of course, this is all hypothetically speaking. Isn't it?"
"Of course, your father and I were just discussing what should be done if this was ever to happen. We are all fortunate that it has not happened." Fire Lord Azulon didn't expect Azula to believe his lie, nor did she. But there was power in words said out loud. The Fire Lord turned to Ozai, dismissing him from his chambers, fully intending to deal with Ozai later, but using his negligence to send a message of his disappointment.
"Now, what was it that you came here for Azula?" Azula had all but forgotten her original purpose, her heart was glowing from the new information she had learned, it had been the most exciting thing that had ever happened in this palace, in her opinion.
"Right, now that we have solidified our bond with the Water Tribes, I had a proposition for you. One that will benefit the Fire Nation greatly."
The sword swung through the air, slicing through the stuffed dummy. Zuko turned to look back at Katara, he hadn't quite heard her the first time.
"My sister wants to do what?" He hacked away at the last of the dummys.
"She wants to set up some sort of exchange program I guess. Apparently she talked to Chief Arnook while he was here and he seemed open to the idea." Zuko began working through his techniques, which were much less effective now that he was out of targets.
"And you think that's a good idea?"
"I don't know, I can't say the idea of a bunch of firebenders walking around the North makes me happy, but I think our nations would all benefit from some globalization." Zuko would admit, it wasn't a terrible idea, but the fact that is was Azula's idea made him suspicious. His sister was one of the most self centered people he knew, not to mention she firmly believed that the Fire Nation was far superior to all other nations. Why she would take such an interest in this was beyond him.
"I think she's doing it for our healers." Katara added. Zuko could see how Azula would want to get her hands on such an asset, but it still didn't seem like quite enough, Azula wasn't exactly overly invested in the Fire Nation's medical care. Katara hopped off the ground where she had been watching Zuko practice, and came to face him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, when she began to pull water out of the large crates.
"You need more targets." She began to form the water into tall, human sized logs of ice. Zuko began to attack one, but when he went to strike, katara pulled the ice dummy out of the way, causing Zuko to stumble forward.
"Real targets move." She giggled when she was met with his glare. Zuko reset himself, and lunged again, this time, expecting the move, and reconfiguring for it, he swiftly sliced through it with his left blade.
"She was talking about the next Avatar. Maybe she wants firebenders to be there when he, or she, is found, not like it would matter, they would have to learn waterbending first." Zuko thought about that, the next Avatar. How convenient it was that now that the Fire Nation had a stake in the next nation in the Avatar cycle, that the current Avatar would drop dead. It was almost too good for the FIre Nation.
Katara sent another dummy at Zuko, but as he went to slice at it, the ice melted into water, turning to a puddle before he could hit. Katara giggled at his frustration.
"I didn't know real targets melted too." Katara shrugged.
"They do when they're made of ice." Zuko's frown faded and was replaced with a large smile, the kind of dopey grin Katara had maybe seen one other time.
"What?" Katara asked, worried that there might be something wrong with his face.
"You're bending again." he said, still smiling. "It's the first time I've seen you do it since…" He didn't have to finish his sentence, and he didn't think she wanted him to.
"It's been hard without him, I didn't know where to start. I just can't believe that he's really gone."
"I know, it's hard to believe, but he was almost a hundred and twenty years old Katara."
"I know, it's just, he seemed so healthy, and people have been known to live much longer. The last time I saw him he seemed so alive. I just don't know how I could've missed the signs." Katara was right, but the more Zuko thought about how right she was, the worse he felt about Aang's death. Usually, people got sick before they died, but Aang was not sick.
"It's not your fault Katara." as far as he knew, it wasn't anyone's fault.
"I know, I just can't help feeling guilty, maybe if I had known, I could have healed him." When Katara thought about how happy she had been that night, she couldn't help but feel guilty that her dear friend and mentor had been breathing his last breath.
"Maybe, maybe not, you couldn't have known." Katara shrugged, she supposed Zuko was right, but that didn't make her feel any better.
The two went back to fighting. Katara decided to play fair this time, but instead of using dummies, she created two long ice spears from her arms, using them to mimic Zuko's own weapon. It didn't take long for her to learn that despite having the bending advantage, Zuko's skill and practice with the weapons gave him the clear upper hand.
Azula paced through the palace, feeling incredibly pleased with herself. For one, her proposal to her grandfather had gone swimmingly, and he had agreed to make the necessary steps to developing her exchange program. But much more importantly she had learned a valuable piece of information, the options for what she would do with said information were limitless. The simplest choice, she could keep the secret. This would demonstrate her trustworthiness to her father and grandfather, a reputation that might help her in the future. Or, she could find some way to exploit her new found information. There must be more people involved, and the threat of exposure would be a great incentive for getting people to follow her command. But, there were so few things that she wanted that her father wouldn't give her anyway, and he wasn't one to respond well to threats. After seeing how her father felt about her brother she didn't feel like falling out of favor with him. She supposed, for the time being, she would keep the information locked away, until she found the right moment where it was useful, and then she would strike.
She made her way to the courtyard where she found Katara and her brother, who was practicing with those pitiful metal swords. It was sad, really, to see someone so bad at bending that they had to turn to metal toys. And poor Katara, it was a shame that she had to lose her master, just when she was beginning to learn how to make a splash. Azula certainly couldn't care less about the loss of their Avatar, but Katara had taken quite a liking to him, she must be all torn up inside. If only she knew the truth, Azula could imagine the chaos that would arise if Katara found out how Aang really died. A spark lit in Azula's heart. Her entire life she had felt herself standing on the wrong side of a great gorge, so close to the power she deserved. But as the second born of the Fire Lord's second son, there were too many lives that stood in the way of her and the crown. But as she imagined the events unfolding, she saw all her obstacles fall to the side.
"Come on Katara, I know you're only a waterbender but surely even you can beat my brother and his pathetic slabs of scrap metal." Azula commented as she watched Zuko slice through one of Katara's ice spears, shattering it to pieces.
"It's not about the weapon Azula, it's about the wielder. In the right hands, even a piece of paper can be a great weapon."
"That's nice Zuzu, didn't Uncle tell you that." Zuko scowled, he had in fact heard that from his Uncle, but that didn't necessarily make it any less true.
"Can I help you with something Azula? We were kind of in the middle of something" Azula was so tempted, she could feel the words on the tip of her tongue. She could imagine the chaos that would ensue once the secret was out. But chaos meant no control. It meant she would lose control.
And Azula couldn't have that.
"Not really, I just came to tell Katara that the meeting went swimmingly. Fire Lord Azulon loved my idea, and expects to have the program up and running within the year."
"Azula that's fantastic!" Katara could admit she was excited at the idea of having more of her people around. And she was glad that despite Azula's clear bias towards firebending, she was recognizing the strength in other bending. That or she was plotting to conquer the Water Tribes. Katara couldn't be truly sure which it was.
"And now that there will be a new Avatar there couldn't be a better time for change." Zuko perked up at the comment, reminding him of a story his uncle had told him, about his great grandfather using the time in between Avatar's to build the Fire Nation's military and expand without having anyone to keep them in check. He couldn't help but think Azula might have similar intentions.
"I don't think we should be taking advantage of Avatar Aang's death." Zuko spat.
"That's how success works Zuko, you take advantage of the situations around you, even if they're terrible. Besides, it's not like it's anyone's fault he died. At least as far as we know."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. I'm just saying, we don't really know how he died, none of us were there. Anyway, just wanted to spread the good news. I'll let you two get back to playing." Azula was gone as quick as she had intruded. She had left a small seed behind, one she suspected her brother and Katara would both be two dull minded to notice, but it was still fun.
Zuko couldn't sleep that night. As his wife snored next to him he couldn't help but obsess over the Avatar's death. Everything about it felt wrong. Katara had been convinced of his good health, and from what Zuko saw himself, the Avatar was as spritely as a young man. And for him to pass on the same day that the treaty with the Water Tribes had been officiated, it was such a coincidence. And then there was what Azula said. Azula never said things for fun. Everything she said had an agenda, every word was purposeful. She wouldn't simply "ponder aloud" not unless she knew something he didn't. She wouldn't suggest that Aang's death had been anything other than a sad facet of aging. Unless she knew it wasn't. Unless she knew for sure that Aang's death was somehow on purpose….
Zuko shot out of bed, not bothering to wake Katara up. He made his way to his sister's quarters. He didn't know what time it was, and he didn't care. Azula could wake up. But when he got to her door and lifted his fist to pound on it, the door opened before he even made contact.
"You have heavy feet." Azula answered to Zuko's face of surprise.
"What do you want Zuko?" Azula was impressed, she thought that if he did ever figure it out, it would take him weeks at the very least. Of course, he hadn't exactly proven that he knew anything.
"What killed Avatar Aang?" Azula shrugged.
"How should I know, he was old as dust, old geezer was probably so weak that a common cold could have taken him out."
"Let me rephrase, who killed him." Zuko made a point of invading Azula's personal space, as if he could intimidate her with his height and glaring eyes.
"Zuko, don't tell me you woke me up in the middle of the night to interrogate me about some conspiracy theory." Azula rolled her eyes. It was pertinent, that if Zuko did figure it out, she was not to blame, she couldn't be attached to whatever damage he was going to cause.
"Don't lie Azula. I know he didn't just die of old age." Azula shrugged again.
"Even if he didn't, why does it matter? He was old and probably going to die soon anyway."
"He was the Avatar."
"And our great grandfather Sozin was the Fire Lord. That didn't stop the Avatar from killing him." That isn't the point Zuko thought. Azula was playing, she wasn't denying that Aang was killed, she was barely pretending that she didn't know about it. She was just dragging him around.
"Who killed him Azula?"
"Assuming someone did kill the Avatar. Why on earth would I know who killed him. There were hundreds of people in the palace that night. It could have been anyone."
"But it wasn't anyone. It was just one person, and I need to know who." He grabbed her shoulder. Azula froze, she didn't appreciate being manhandled.
"Why is it important?" Zuko's anger flared.
"Was it Grandfather." Azula laughed, calmly pulling his hand off her.
"Do you really think the Fire Lord is stupid enough to kill the Avatar? Besides, Azulon is old and weak. He doesn't care anymore. He'll probably be next."
"But it could have been Grandfather? After all, you said it could be anyone."
"It's not him, trust me." Maybe that was too much, after all, if she knew who it wasn't, that was one step closer to knowing who it was. Not that she expected Zuko to believe her little lie anyway. She hadn't exactly made it hard to guess that she knew.
"So the Fire Nation isn't responsible?"
"I didn't say that. I just said it wasn't Grandfather." Zuko's eyes narrowed. He thought about how apathetic Azula was to the who situation.
"Azula, did you-" Zuko's eyes narrowed, but Azula scoffed.
"I didn't kill the Avatar, if that's what you were going to ask. Personally, if I was going to pull of something like that, I would have waited for my father's permission. Azulon was so angry." She dropped the final hint.
Zuko was reminded of the one person who was crueler than Azula. Someone who was bloodthirsty for power. He had been so stupid. All those months ago, when Katara had been so terrified of Ozai that she wanted to leave, he should have let her. She was right to be scared of him. It was clear that even if Azulon disagreed, he would not stand in the way of his son's decisions. And now that Zuko knew, neither of them were safe her. Katara may never have been safe.
He didn't bother saying anything else to Azula, he didn't care about her, he ran back to his room as fast as he could without causing suspicion. Zuko stormed into the room, heading straight for the closet. He began to grab random items and throwing them in a pile in the middle of the floor.
"Zuko what are you doing?" Katara sat up from the bed, still not quite awake yet.
"We have to leave. Now?"
"Leave? What are you talking about?" He opened the chest and pulled out two bags, beginning to stuff them with various objects around the room.
"We have to get away, before they know we know. And we have to warn the Water Tribes." Katara jumped up and grabbed Zuko's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks.
"Zuko! What is going on." Zuko's eyes wavered and he grabbed Katara's arms.
"He killed him."
"Who? Who killed who?" Katara pleaded him for an answer.
"My father. He killed the Avatar." Katara's eyes widened and she staggered back onto the bed, her arms wrapping around herself as Zuko's words echoed in her head. Zuko leaned down and grabbed Katara's hands.
"Katara, we have to leave." She breathed slowly, trying to take in the new information. He was right. She had been right about Ozai.
"Where are we going?" She asked, jumping out of bed. She could be mad later, she could cry later, she could be scared later. Right now, she needed to get off this godforsaken island.
"First, to the Air Temples, they deserve to know what happened to Aang." Katara knew he was right, that was the most important thing.
"And then to your people, the treaty is over. I'm renouncing my allegiance to the Fire Nation." Katara's eyes widened.
"Zuko! That's crazy, you can't stop being Fire Nation, you'd be a traitor, you'd lose your title."
"I don't care." Katara could see the anger in his eyes. She could feel it too, the white hot rage inside her. But Zuko, Zuko looked like he wanted to kill someone. For everyone's sake, they needed to leave as soon as they could. She could argue with him later.
"How do you plan to get us out of the Fire Nation?"
"Your ship. The one my mother gave you."
"Zuko, I don't know how to captain a ship, do you?" It wasn't exactly the most conspicuous thing either, if they were trying to be stealthy.
"No, that's why you need to go find my Uncle, he will help us with the crew."
"Iroh? Why would he help us?" To go against his own brother? That wasn't something one did lightly.
"Aang was his master too. Trust me he will help us. I need you to go get him and meet me at the docks." Zuko handed the bags to her.
"Where are are you going?"
"I'm going to the kitchen, seeing what supplies I can scrounge up for us, your ship should be stocked, but we don't know how much we have." Katara didn't believe him, not entirely. But Zuko wasn't stupid, he wouldn't do anything dangerous, she hoped.
"I'll meet you at the docks in two hours." That wasn't a lot of time. Katara worried that she wouldn't be able to convince Ozai.
"Don't do anything stupid Zuko."
"I won't."
"But Katara, getting you to safety is the most important thing, so if I'm not there in two hours. Leave." She was about to protest, but he blocked any protests she had by kissing her, and then he was running out before she had time to interrogate him more.
Zuko really didn't mean to be here. He'd meant to listen to Katara. He had a plan, a direction for where he was going, but his feet had carried him somewhere else instead. As he stood in front of the doors to his parent's bedroom he felt a wave of terror roll over him. This was the person he was supposed to be running from. He turned to walk away but was startled by a large figure standing behind him, his father.
"Zuko, what are you doing here at this deadly hour of the night?" Don't say anything. Zuko thought, make an excuse, go back to Katara, while you still can. But he didn't. Instead the rage that had made him a scared boy before, redirected itself into a white, hot fury that he couldn't contain.
"You killed the Avatar." Zuko barked, Ozai sighed.
"Did your sister tell you that Zuko? You know how Azula can be with her stories, always so inventive."
"Azula didn't have to tell me." Ozai laughed.
"So what are you going to do? Accuse me of murder? You'd be arrested for treason. Zuko, even if this delusion of yours were true, there's nothing you could do about it."
"Yes there is, I'm leaving. Katara and I are ending the treaty, and then we're going to tell the whole world what you've done. You can run from me, but you can't run from the Air Nation. Soon the whole world will know what you've done, and you will have to take responsibility for what you have done." Ozai's eyes hardened.
"Maybe I'll just kill you too, that way there's no loose ends." Zuko's eyes widened. He shouldn't've been surprised that his father, who had barely ever treated him like a human being, would threaten to kill him. But he still couldn't believe that Ozai would kill his own son.
"It doesn't matter, Katara is already gone, you won't be able to find her. She will tell everyone. Kill me if you want, but you can't escape this." And maybe it was out of rage, or maybe it was that Ozai really did want to kill him, but a flame rose up and blasted at Zuko.
Zuko caught the flame with his own bending, throwing it back at his father. The battle raged on, and while Zuko fought, Ozai was better, he was stronger, and he was winning.
"I am done with your disrespect to this family, your disrespect to me, you are done, my dear son." Ozai grabbed Zuko by the collar, and the blinding white of Ozai's flame obstructed Zuko's vision, so hot that he couldn't even feel the pain, or hear the searing of his own flesh, and before long, all that was left was black nothingness.
Ozai dropped his limp child to the floor. Glad to be done with the pest.
"General Iroh!" Katara knocked on the door again. Louder this time. She didn't want to alert anyone to her presence, but apparently Iroh was a heavy sleeper. Katara reached out to knock again, but before the door made contact the door cracked open.
"General Iroh? I need your help." Katara tried to hastily explain what happened, and that she and Zuko had to leave. As she finished, the general stared at her silently, and Katara wondered if telling him was a mistake. He had always been the kindest of the royal family, and he was Aang's friend, a real friend. But it took a lot to betray your family, his own brother. It would be easy for him to capture her and bring her to the Fire Lord without a second thought. But Zuko trusted him, and she trusted Zuko.
"I had my suspicions. My nephew is right, it is not safe for you or him here. Where is he?"
"He's getting supplies, he said to meet him at my ship. But we need a crew, he said you could help us with that."
"There are many people in the palace whose loyalties lie with me, it would be better if I had more time, but I will do what I can. Go to the ship Katara. Do not talk to anyone else besides me and Zuko. I will gather a crew and meet you, hurry, we don't have much time."
Katara followed Iroh's orders, making her way to the docks as quickly and discreetly as she could. When she came to the guarded gates she used her bending to knock out the guards, it was the first time she had ever used her bending to hurt someone.
The ship was magnificent. Black lined with gold, coming to a sharp point at the front of the ship, it was beautiful, and deadly. It represented the power and strength of the Fire Nation, everything they had to get away from. It wasn't long before Iroh arrived, a group of six men following him. She didn't know if that would be enough people, but she didn't have time to question it.
Once the ship was ready to move, all they had to do was wait for Zuko. Hours drifted by and there was still no sign of him. Where is he? Katara wondered, he had been the one in a hurried panic. And yet he was nowhere in sight. He had made it clear that if he wasn't here on time to leave without him. She couldn't help but think that he had gone and done something stupid.
"Katara if we do not leave before sunrise we will be caught. We are running out of time." Iroh told her. Not that she needed to be told, she was well aware of what would happen if they didn't escape. She remembered what Zuko told her, to leave without him. She just needed to give him more time. But when they saw soldiers approaching the docks, it was clear that they were out of time.
"It is your call Katara."
"Is the captain ready?" Katara felt her heart break as Iroh nodded yes. She wanted to cry, to run back to the palace and find him. But she didn't, she hardened her eyes. "Okay, then let's go." Within moments she felt the water around them shift, and the boat began to drift away from the dock, and into the sea. Away from Zuko.
AN: Well, there it is, the end of part one. Hopefully that will hold people over for a while, I'll do my best to keep this updated, but we might not be seeing anything until December.