Author's Note: Hey everyone! As so often, thanks to all of you for the continuing support and interest in this story, I know, I keep repeating myself in this, but still. Reviews would be very much appreciated. But for now, on with the story!
Caldera, 100 AC
Zuko laid in his bed, for once fast asleep and without any nightmares. Suddenly his peace was interrupted though as he heard footsteps nearby. He got up to investigate who this untimely intruder was. Rushing through the hall, he only saw a cloaked figure on the other side. He hurried behind it, but it was gone before he could reach it.
Frustrated he sighed, but then noticed a small object lying on the floor, it was a scroll. Curiously he picked it up and began reading, 'You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. It will reveal your own destiny.'
Zuko raised an eyebrow, what would Fire Lord Sozin have to do with him? He was suddenly sure his uncle had sent this, however he had managed that from his cell. He sighed again, Zuko hadn't found the time to visit his daughter's grave again since his visit to Ember Island. This would now be delayed even further.
The next day he stood in front of the great portraits of his ancestors, staring at that of his great-grandfather, a grim-looking man with a comet flying above him. His sister approached him, "It's never too early for a sitting with the court painter, Zuko. Make sure he gets your good side.", she teased.
As she then began to walk away again, he reached out to her, "Wait, I need to ask you something. What do you remember about our great-grandfather's history?"
She stopped and sighed, "Oh, Zuko, it's so strange how your mind works. Fire Lord Sozin began the war of course. He spent his early years secretly preparing for it. He was as patient as he was clever. He famously waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin's Comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world. In the end, he died a very old and successful man."
"But how did he die?", Zuko asked almost too quickly.
Azula turned towards him, "Didn't you pay any attention in school, Zuko? He died peacefully, in his sleep. He was ancient.", she shrugged her shoulders and walked away, leaving a frustrated Zuko behind.
Later that night, he laid in his bed, reading the scroll over and over again, asking himself for the thousandth time what it meant. As the frustration became too much, he threw it away. It landed on the lantern on his nightstand. Annoyed that it didn't fly further he looked over and gasped as he saw that smaller characters slowly formed under the slight warmth of the lantern. Quickly, Zuko sat up and read them, 'The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragonbone Catacombs.', he stood up and grabbed his cloak.
Carefully he sneaked through the dark capital until he reached the old temples. Unheard and unseen Zuko followed a Fire Sage towards the secret entrance that led to the burial site of the former Fire Lords. He watched closely as the man bended fire into a structure in the ground that looked like a flower ornament. Moments later some of it disappeared, showing a hidden staircase.
Zuko waited until he was sure the man was out of sight and earshot, then he repeated the actions he had just witnessed. With a small flame in his palm, he went down into the catacombs. Bones of dragons were lined up on the walls, causing bizarre shadows to play around him. The air was heavy from age and dust.
Finally, he reached a door with an iron statue of his great-grandfather in front of it. It had a Fire Nation emblem in front of it. Zuko knew this mechanism. He placed his hand on the emblem and bended fire into the statue. For a moment the room was lit by the fire's red shine and then the door opened, revealing a small chamber. It was filled with various artifacts with a large dragon statue in the middle, under it a small altar. On that laid four scrolls, the final testimony of Fire Lord Sozin.
Zuko lit a small lantern and seated himself against the altar, beginning to read. He hadn't known that his great-grandfather had been a close friend to Avatar Roku, nor that the whole war was basically possible only because Roku showed mercy, maybe even leniency towards his friend. He could've killed him easily. But he didn't. He decided to punish him a little, give him a warning. But in the end, Roku died as the volcano on his island erupted, and Sozin, who had come to his friend's aid, turned away from him, betraying their friendship. He even started to look for the new, reborn Avatar, but never found him, not even when he wiped out the air nomads. And so, the last scroll ended.
Irritated, Zuko held up the scroll, "That can't be it! Where's the rest of it?", restlessly he searched the whole chamber, but found no more text.
The next night he rushed into his uncle's prison cell, furiously slamming the iron door behind him. Angrily he began, "You sent this, didn't you? I found the secret history, which by the way should be renamed history most people already know! The note said that I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end."
For the first time in months, Iroh now turned towards his nephew, "No, he wasn't.", he said simply.
"What are you talking about?", Zuko was now outright confused, did he really overlook something?
In a calm voice, Iroh began to explain, "You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku.", shocked, Zuko tumbled a few steps back.
"Why are you telling me this?", he asked, his voice suddenly dry.
"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself.", as his uncle said that Zuko sat down, his head dropped, facing the ground. "Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But there is a bright side.", Zuko's eyes shot up towards the elder man, "What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.", Iroh now reached in a secret stash he hid in his cell, beyond a loose brick, and pulled out a small package. As he unwrapped it, a headdress was revealed. He presented it to Zuko, "This is a royal artifact. It's supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince.", he handed it to Zuko, who gulped. Wordlessly he accepted it and went back to the palace.
To say he was unsure of what he should do would be an understatement. He couldn't sleep, his mind was racing, his hand playing with the headdress his uncle had given him. A picture of Ming appeared before his eyes, but when he reached out, it disappeared. He could hear the little spirit, "Doing the right thing is easy when you think about it.", that was easy to say for a child. He thought of the name he had chosen for her, and a small smile appeared on his face. Hopefully she would like it.
Suddenly he sat upright, he knew what he was going to do the next day. There was an all-day war meeting scheduled, and he was not invited. That would leave him with a lot of free time. Time enough to visit the graveyard again and finally give his daughter the peace she deserved. Content with at least the next step he would make he fell asleep.
The next day he packed everything he would need, everything he bought, everything he collected for the small grave. But just as he had stored everything safely in a bag and was about to reach for his cloak, someone knocked on the door. It was a servant. He bowed politely, saying, "Prince Zuko, everyone is waiting for you."
Surprised he stared at the man for a moment, then he asked, "What?"
Without looking up, the servant answered him, "The high admirals, the high generals, the war ministers, and the princess have all arrived. You're the only person missing."
Zuko blinked twice, still baffled, he asked again, "So, my dad wants me at the meeting?"
The servant nodded, "The Fire Lord said he would not start until you arrived, sir."
The scarred teen couldn't help but smile. Quickly he remembered to put his armor on and his hair in a topknot before he followed the servant to the war room.
A few hours later he stood alone in one of the hallways of the palace, deep in thought, staring at his father's larger than life portrait. A few weeks ago, this day would've been all he cared about. His father had not only accepted him, but seemed to value his opinion, value him at his right hand, quite literally. During the meeting, he had acted like people would expect him to, using the knowledge he had gathered during his travels to advise his father's plans. But he hadn't thought what his sister and said father would make out of that.
They planned to use the power of Sozin's comet, use it to destroy the Earth Kingdom. It was a monstrosity of a plan, and he shuddered thinking about it. It would bring unspeakable harm to a lot of people, and for no reason but that they lived where they did. It felt more than just wrong, he was appalled, which also contributed to his confusion. Previously, he had thought that in the end, his nation, his father, was right. That it was right what they did and how they did it, but over the course of the last year, that belief had crumbled. Now he felt like it was a tower, collapsing on top of him. And to make matters worse, there was no one to help him with this. No one he could turn to. He never had that kind of relationship with his father, his sister would have her own motives in every case, his uncle hated his guts and rightfully so, even the little spirit was angry and wouldn't talk to him.
He sighed and closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, determination filled them. Quickly he turned around and headed back to his room. Quickly, Zuko got rid of his armor and pulled his cloak on. Then he grabbed the bag that he had packed earlier that day.
The sun was already setting when he left the palace through the secret tunnels, and it was almost dark when he reached the graveyard. His feet found the way to the cherry tree almost automatically. There, he knelt before the small grave. He opened the small shrine and took the scroll with the number out. He burned the small scroll in his palm.
Zuko almost felt like he was in a trance, carefully he took a small scroll out of his bag, it had the same size as the one he had just burned. Holding it, he took a deep breath. Then he took out the other things he had brought, the flowers and the small box. He opened it, in there were the stuffed koala-sheep, the comb he had bought at the market, the shell he collected on Ember Island and the last drawing from Ming's old sketchbook, the one that showed them as a family. A tear ran down his cheeks as he whispered, "Hey there, little one. I know, you probably don't want to talk to me right now, you're angry with me and rightfully so. I should've been there for you and for your mom, but I wasn't. I should've protected you, but I didn't. All because of my stupid hunt for the Avatar. All because I so desperately wanted my father's approval. Now that I'm here, I realized that I was wrong. I wish I could change what happened, I really do. If I could, I would stay with Ming instead of travelling to the North Pole, I would've protected you two, with my own life if necessary. But I cannot change the past. I cannot change what happened. I cannot bring you nor your mother back, no matter how much I wish to. But maybe I can at least help you find your peace. I hope, you'll like the name and the toys."
Then he closed the small box and unrolled the scroll, hanging it into the small shrine. Then he spoke a little bit louder and in a ritualistic manner, "Hereby I accept thee as my daughter, Ai, princess of the Fire Nation.", he bowed before the headstone, his head touching the ground, before he started to bury the small box in the middle of the grave, placing the white flower on top of it.
Rain began to pour down on him, but he didn't care. With a small smile he watched his work. Now she had an identity, a name. Now she could cross over from the realm of lost souls and head into her next life if it was time. He sat there for a while before he headed back to the palace, completely drenched by then, but content with himself for once.
On his way back he realized what he needed to do. Staying would be false, the right thing to do was to go. Go and help the Avatar save the world from his father and his nation. A plan formed in his head. In two days the Day of the Black Sun would occur, an eclipse, ruling out all firebending for a few minutes. Then he would face his father. Tell him why he would leave, confront him with everything. He would take his swords with him, so the older man would have to listen. And then he would join the Avatar and his group. It would probably be a little tricky at first, but after all, the boy still needed a firebending teacher. He also added freeing his uncle from the prison to his plan.
Thinking about it, he was glad he still had one day to prepare everything. Supplies, a balloon to travel. With a slight smile on his lips, he turned backwards, looking one last time towards the graveyard where he could make out the silhouette of the cherry tree in the distance. Don't worry, Ai, he thought, I will set things right.
When he reached his room, he fell fast asleep. He himself was surprised of how positive he felt. Somehow, Zuko was sure he had found the right path. He knew what he had to do, and he knew it was the right thing.
Caldera, Fire Nation, Prison Tower, 100 AC
Ming laid in her cell, as usual, facing the brick wall. But unlike most days, her face was covered in tear stains, and she occasionally began crying from time to time.
Suddenly a familiar blue light appeared next to her. "Hi Mommy!", the little spirit exclaimed happily. Apparently, her daughter was in a very good mood today.
Smiling at the child spirit, she rose from her laying position. "Hello, little one. You seem to be very happy today."
"I am! Today is a great day! I have to admit, you were right all the time, Mommy.", she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms in the air ecstatically.
Surprised, Ming raised an eyebrow, "Oh? About what exactly?"
"About Dad of course. You said, he's a good person, and that he loves me very much. You didn't stop believing in him, even when I didn't, and you were right!", the blueish child said with a proud expression on her face.
Ming chuckled, "What did he do?", she asked in an amused tone.
"He finally gave me a name! Isn't that great?", she puffed her little chest out as she then proclaimed, "I am Ai, princess of the Fire Nation.", then she continued in a more normal voice, "He even got a few toys for me, a stuffed koala-sheep, a pretty comb for my hair, a shell where I can hear the sea and a drawing that you made of us as a family, well, not really us, but of what you had thought of by the time would be you two as a family."
Tears rolled down Ming's cheeks as she smiled widely at the little spirit and she pulled the child into a tight hug, "I'm glad you finally know who you are, I really am. Ai, my little girl. Do you know what that name means?"
Ai shook her head, so Ming answered, "Ai means love. Do you like your name?"
The little spirit laughed in delight, "Yes, now even more.", then suddenly she looked to the ground guiltily, "I guess I shouldn't have plagued him with all these nightmares lately.", and as she saw her mother's changed expression, the raised eyebrow and the suddenly very serious look she added, "And I guess, I shouldn't have called him a moron, nor should I have kicked him. I guess, I should apologize."
Ming nodded, somewhat between strict and determined, "Yes, you should.", then she looked at the ground sadly. Her voice shifted as she added, "When you do, could you tell him goodbye from me? And, and that I'll always love him?", she began crying again.
This shocked Ai. The little spirit looked at her mother with wide eyes, "But Mommy, why?"
"Don't worry, Ai, we'll be together again soon.", Ming said, tears still streaming down her cheeks, "My captor was here earlier today. She has ordered my execution first thing after the next sunrise. I… Apparently, no one has objected."
Ai knew who she meant, anger flared up inside her, but then she remembered something, "But I watched Dad the last few days, he didn't sign onto anything regarding you, neither was he informed. I'm sure he would've objected. Earlier he said that he would've protected us with his own life if necessary, and I believe him."
This seemed to set her mother at ease somewhat. Ming nodded slowly, "It doesn't really matter anymore, does it? Will you do as I said, Ai?"
Ghostly tears ran down the little spirit's cheeks, "No!", she blurted out, "I'm sorry, mommy, but I will not do as you said. I'll find a solution.", and with that she was suddenly gone.
Caldera, Royal Palace, 100 AC
In his dream, Zuko sat on the edge of the garden pond where he used to sit with his mother when he was a child. Nostalgia and grief washed over him; it had been this exact spot where he had met Ming for the first time. Suddenly his eyes were covered by two small hands.
A child had reached up and held its hands over his eyes from behind, he hadn't seen that coming. Then there was a giggle, one that he would recognize anywhere. "Ai?", he asked, smiling widely as he did so. Chuckling he let himself fall backwards and rolled around, shaking her off in the process. That caused the child that now laid on the grass next to him to laugh uncontrollably.
Between giggles she said, "Hi Dad!" Zuko smiled at this, it was the first time he heard her calling him that. Now, in this dream he could not just see her, but see her in color, like she was a real child. He especially noticed that she had black eyes, like her mother. He also noted that her hair was done differently than before. A part of it was held back by the small comb he had buried in her grave.
"Do you like your name, little one?", he asked.
Ai nodded excitingly, "Yes, I learned that it means love. I like it. Thus, I've came to say thank you. And for the nice presents too. I love them very much.", she got up and hugged him tightly, a happy smile on her cute little face.
Running a hand over her black locks, Zuko said, "It was the least I could do. But I'm glad you like them."
The little girl chuckled, but then she broke away from the hug and looked at the ground, "I've also came to say that I'm sorry."
That surprised Zuko, "What for, Ai? As far as I know there's nothing to forgive."
Ai looked at him somehow uncertain, "There is. Haven't you had a lot of nightmares lately?"
"That was your doing?", he asked perplexedly.
The little girl nodded, "At least partly, it's a little bit hard to say what would've been there anyway and what was only because I messed with it. And I'm sorry for calling you a moron, and for kicking you. I shouldn't have done that. But I was so angry at you.", tears appeared in the corner of her eyes.
This time Zuko pulled her into a hug, stroking away the tears, "It's alright, Ai. Don't cry. Where do you think you've got that temper from?", that made her giggle again.
"So, you're not angry at me?", she asked, still uncertain.
"No, of course not.", he said, cupping her face and putting a light kiss on her forehead. "I'm happy that you're here."
All of sudden the expression of the little spirit changed, "I almost forgot! I don't have that much time. So, listen carefully, this is important.", Zuko almost laughed at the childish serious behavior. She continued once she was sure he was paying attention. "I will show you a door now, it has a number. You have to remember that number. Then when you wake up it will still be deep in the night. You must take out your cloak and find that door. Look what is behind it, then I guess you'll know what to do. Got it?", he nodded, "Promise me that you won't just go back to sleep, Dad.", she demanded.
Zuko raised his right hand, "I promise. I'll go and look for that door. But I have a question, before you go."
She nodded shortly, visibly under time pressure. "You have your name now, you know who you are and you can now proceed, so, will this be our last meeting?"
Ai laughed at him, "No, I guess not. I'm staying close as long as I can.", he nodded, reassured that he would see her again. Then everything around him began to shift and Ai disappeared. Everything turned dark and grey, after a while he could make out a door. It was an iron door, and he knew where these were located. Apparently, his daughter wanted him to go to the prison tower again. He looked closer, the number was different than the one from his uncle's cell. This one seemed to be on another floor level, if he wasn't mistaken, it should be somewhere where the cells for private prisoners were located. He closed his eyes, trying to remember the number, it was 2, for the second floor, then 3126.
As he opened his eyes again, he was awake, laying in his bed. He did just as his daughter had made him promise to do, dressing himself and putting on his cloak. Always mumbling "23126", so he wouldn't forget it.
That someone was approaching the prison tower in that early hour, let alone the crown prince, scared his spirit out of the guard. Almost shivering he led Zuko towards the cell he wanted to visit. The prince felt nervous himself, even without the guard shivering next to him. He had no idea why Ai wanted him here and quickly. When they reached the door, he barked at the guard, "What are you waiting for? Open it!"
The guard fidgeted nervously with the key, "But sir, these are private prisoners. You'll anger someone when you mess with them. This particular one belongs to the family of Governor Ukano. The prisoner is set to be executed at sunrise anyway, so why bother?"
That made Zuko realize why Ai had been so urgent about this. Whoever was behind that door didn't have much time to lose. He took a step towards the guard and shot him a glare, "I said open this door! Why are you so disrespectful?"
The guard backed down, quite literally, and without another word turned towards the door and opened it. The silvery moonlight was the only source of light in the room. It illuminated the cage in the cell and the laying body in it. It was a woman, turned towards the wall, so he couldn't see her face. She was thin, even with the dirty brown prisoner garb she looked fragile. Her pale skin seemed to reflect and glow in the moonlight and her curly hair laid spread out around her head like a dark halo.
Zuko took a step back, staring at the figure in front of him. It couldn't be, it just could not. "Ming?", it was nothing more than a whisper, unsure and questioning, as if that word was forbidden to say out loud.
The figure stirred. Slowly, she erected herself up, still not facing him, but he was suddenly sure it was her. There was no doubt in his mind, so, he turned towards the guard angrily, "Why is she here?", he hissed at the poor guy, "Why wasn't I informed of this? Governor Ukano's status is not high enough to imprison her to begin with."
Ming slowly woke up, blinking a few times. It was still an early hour, the sun was not even beginning to raise, yet someone woke her up. Suddenly a thought rang through her head, maybe the executioner was already here to take her out. In fear, she covered her face with her hands, grimacing. But then she heard the voice, his voice. How he demanded answers from the guard on why she was where she was. Shocked she turned around and saw that her mind was not playing tricks with her. There in the door stood her husband, angrily grilling that guard. He had changed, visibly. The first thing she noticed was that he actually had hair besides a ponytail, that was gone. He looked taller, more grown up, also a little bit thinner than she remembered. Slowly she rose to her feet. She didn't allow herself to be all too hopeful just now, it could still be that he just wanted to say goodbye. Maybe he wanted to tell her his reject personally, before she would leave this world.
Zuko had not noticed that she had stood up, he was still busy with the guard. "You know what you'll do right now? You will open that cage at once, then you will go down to the registry and write that someone of higher status had ordered her release, no names, understood?", the guard nodded, "Good, if you put my name on it, I'd have to come back and deal with you. Now open that cage and leave us alone. We'll be gone before sunrise."
The guard quickly and with shivering hands did as he was told. Ming already stood in her cell. It really was her. Zuko would recognize that face anywhere. Her black eyes looked at him, unsure and hopeful at the same time. He noticed that she had changed, her hair was now reaching a little bit past her shoulders, the fringe almost covered her eyebrows. Her figure had changed as well, her hips were a bit wider, as well as her chest, but the rest seemed worryingly thin. He immediately shot the guard, who was by now hurrying out of the cell an angry glare, presuming that they let her starve at least somewhat.
To his surprise, she didn't step out of the cage as soon as the door was open. She rather took a step back towards the wall, and did he see fear in her eyes? Hesitantly he took a step towards her, whispering, "Ming, you're alive. You're actually alive.", it sounded like he couldn't believe what he saw, a single tear ran down his unscarred cheek.
Something clicked in her head, he had thought her dead? That would explain why he hadn't come here until now. She wondered if a certain little spirit had something to do with that.
He stretched his hand towards her, "Come, I'll get you out of here.", and as she hesitated, he added, "Please, Qing Qing, just grab my hand. I will protect you; I promise."
As she spoke her voice sounded frail, shaking with emotion and low, almost a whisper, "You don't reject me?"
Shocked, he stared into her eyes, stammering, "No, of course not. Why would I reject you?", on a whim he suddenly stepped into the cage and hugged her, afraid, she would disappear again if he let go. "Why would I ever reject you, Qing Qing?", he murmured into her hair.
Ming let out a long sob, slinging her arms around his shoulders, crying into his cloak. "Because of Ai, because I couldn't protect our daughter."
Zuko pulled her even closer, running a hand up and down her back, "Shh, Ming, it's not your fault. I should've been there to protect you both, and I wasn't. All because of that stupid hunt for the Avatar. How can you possibly forgive me?"
"But I haven't told you, you didn't know. I don't see what I should forgive.", she pulled away to look into his eyes again. She put her hands on both sides of his head, finally smiling at him.
He could've stayed like that for an eternity, but he remembered, they didn't have that time. So, he pulled away and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him, out of the cage, "Come, we need to be gone soon."
To his surprise, she stopped him, pulling her hand from his. As he looked at her questioningly, she smiled apologetically, "There's something I need to take with me.", swiftly she went back into the cage and reached beyond her cushion. Ming pulled an object out, it was wrapped in a white piece of silk and seemingly very important to her. At his raised eyebrow she said, "I'll show you later.", then she took his hand again and he led her out of the prison.