Chapter 15: Family

A slight note before you read ahead! In this chapter (and possibly ones in the future), I am switching perspectives in the middle of the story for you guys to get a better understanding of what's going on. I will warn you with a "***" before the change. Thanks!

"Uncle…?"

Zuko's raspy voice called out instinctively. The large man turned his head and looked down at him. His gray beard covered the lower half of his usual happy face, which was now set into a deep scowl, and his light amber eyes suddenly seemed to bear the weight of the world.

"…Uncle!" Zuko cried again. He could feel his eyes start to water at the man before him. He was alive. His uncle was alive. He couldn't believe it. He was too dumbfounded to form words. Iroh let out another sigh as he lowered his sizzling hand. His eyes displayed worry as he put his hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"Zuko… are you okay?" Iroh's husky voice filled him with renewed wonder. It really was him. He couldn't even find the strength to speak; a thick ball of confusion clogged his throat. He simply nodded his head. Iroh firmly gripped his shoulder and looked down. "And this young lady?"

He felt his eyes widen. Katara. He lowered his gaze to his hands, seeing her fallen face before him. Fear and devastation gripped his heart again. "Katara—" he managed to choke out. "She was hit—for me—I—I… couldn't do anything—I—"

"Calm down, nephew," he firmly stated. "She'll be okay." Zuko shook his head in small, quick nods and glanced back at his uncle's face, unable to look at her. His lips trembled and his breathing started to come in pieces.

"You…" Azula finally spoke, breaking their reunion, her face clearly in disbelief. "Who are you?"

Iroh turned his attention to her, getting back on his feet and gave her a big smile. "I'm hurt, Princess Azula," he slowly addressed. Zuko frowned. How… did he know her name? Much less that she was a princess. From the distance Zuko could see her eye twitch at the call and a scowl form in the center of her face. Iroh let out a low chuckle. "Although… the last time I saw you, you were as big as my forearm," he pointed, lifting his arm again. "I guess I can't really expect you to remember me."

Azula took a step forward, a deep growl forming behind her throat. "Old man…" she warned. "You dig your grave, mocking me." Iroh lifted both hands in front of him and made a playful frown.

"I would never mock you…" he replied respectfully. "I am simply… amazed at your growth." His eyes turned serious again as Azula took another step forward. "Please allow this old man to take his nephew and his companions in peace." He quickly glanced to Zuko and whispered under his breath, "Get up, nephew."

Zuko was stunned. What was he talking about? How did his uncle know her? He had been living with his uncle all his life, so he should have remembered if they met someone as important as the one and only princess of the fire nation. What was going on? Zuko's head spun in a million directions until Iroh's request finally registered in his brain.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she responded venomously. Her arms began to swirl in front of her, as white energy concentrated near her fingertips. "I must take that girl."

Zuko's eyes widened as he inwardly shrunk back. With difficulty, he picked up Katara in his arms and stepped back. "Uncle, that attack is dangerous, you—"

"I'm aware..." he cut off Zuko with a hand. His seemed somber and regretful. "Step back, Zuko, protect your friend." He instinctively stepped a couple steps back and stared in horror as his uncle faced Azula's power.

"Are you sure you want to generate such concentrated lightning?" Iroh yelled out to her. She gave no response and continued to walk forward, hot energy blasting between her hands. "It might come right back at you…" He warned.

Lighting? Zuko frowned inwardly. He had never heard of such a thing. If heat was concentrated enough in one place, it sounded possible, yet ridiculous. He held his breath in anticipation.

Azula took a final step forward before shooting another stream of white lighting from her fingertips. Iroh stood, calm and collected, he took a deep breath before extending out his left hand. The lighting disappeared. For a slip second, Zuko watched his uncle move fluidly, tracing his arm, down to his abdomen and quickly stretching out his right hand in the direction of the ship. A large shock of lighting, even bigger than the first, blasted from his fingertips. The lighting crashed into the center of the vessel, causing it to blow and explode into flames.

All eyes turned towards the ship, and watched it combust and quickly be overtaken by flames, breaking and sinking into the waves. Zuko was amazed; he was completely lost for words. He had no idea his uncle was so powerful. Azula looked similarly taken aback.

"I see the warships are no different from twenty years ago," Iroh finally spoke, a small smile on his lips. "It can easily be taken down if you hit it in the right place."

Azula's eyes hardened, observing the two men. Zuko didn't think she could look any angrier. "You absorbed my lighting," she asked like a statement. "Further more, you amplified the attack by adding your own lighting to mine…" she trailed off again.

Iroh's eyes widened the slightest, a big grin breaking out on his face. "Wow!" he exclaimed, startling Zuko. "To get all that by just seeing it twice." He placed his hands over his stomach and released a deep laugh. "You're so much more capable than my nephew over here."

Zuko blinked. What?

"Uncle, w-what?" he stammered, his previous fear and anger forgotten, he abruptly got up. "Uncle!" he protested again taking long strides towards him. Iroh continued to laugh heartedly. Azula simply stared at the big man, looking unsure of how to proceed. Zuko scoffed with his jaw hanging down. His uncle had completely dissed him in front of everyone, in the middle of battle. He felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. Only his uncle could make such a ridiculous remark in a tense moment.

Or at least he hoped it was a joke.

"Your nephew…?" she slowly addressed, her eyes traveling towards Zuko. "I supposed this is the man who mentored you, Lee? Or should I say… Zuko?" He caught his breath, and stared right back at her. Silence dragged the atmosphere as the two young firebenders stared down at each other. One looking uncertain, the other ready to kill.

"P-Princess… the ship…" a soldier quietly stammered behind her. Sudden murmurs erupted through the line of soldiers, all looking nervous and shifty. They turned to look at the once grand battle instrument, now bent, broken, and completely submerged into the ocean.

If Azula cared about her ride back home sinking, she didn't show it. Her eyes glanced back to the large man in front of her who was responsible for the deed. Iroh took a slight step back and leaned towards Zuko, "Yeah, you still have a long way to go, my nephew." Zuko finally broke his eye staring battle with her and sighed.

Azula closed her eyes for a second. Her armor shifted quietly as her chest heaved with a deep breath. "Grab the girl," she sharply ordered the soldiers. "I will hold him back. Do not lose her." With her last word, she bolted forward with lighting speed, quickly closing the gap between them. Her hands blazed with blue fire as she took on a striking position.

"Zuko, go!" Iroh yelled, before turning to block Azula's attack just in time. Trusting in his uncle, he ran back towards Katara and threw her on his back. The soldiers came running in right behind their leader. He would have to trust that all the soldiers went after him and Sokka would be left unharmed. The brother was thankfully thrown back into the bushes, hidden from view. Zuko bolted from the shore and ran into the forest; he could tell it wasn't very thick from the amount of sunlight that poured in from the top.

He silently cursed. There would be nowhere to hide, and Zuko couldn't keep running forever. He sprinted deeper into the forest, thankful that the ground was relatively flat, when he spotted two large boulders against a tree. After gently setting Katara down, he apologized and quickly ripped a large strip of fabric from her top robe, careful not to rip too much. Zuko made sure she was completely hidden behind the rock, when he heard the soldiers approach.

He was out of breath and tired. But he needed to be away from Katara if his plan was going to work. After giving one last look to Katara, Zuko ran dashed across the forest again.

I promise, I'll come back and save you.

"He's running this way!" someone yelled out. Zuko quickened his pace. His lungs felt like they were drying out and every cell in his legs were screaming at him to slow down. Right when he felt like giving up, he finally spotted a tree with a low branch. He ran the final distance and threw himself onto the limb, the rough barks scabbing his hands and forearms. With difficulty, he pushed himself up and climbed higher onto the tree. Zuko lifted his arm and slid the blue cloth he ripped from Katara's shirt, into the smaller branches above. He made sure to have half of the fabric hanging out, clearly in view.

The soldiers were quickly approaching. His legs ultimately gave away on his way down, making Zuko tumble down the tree. He stretched out on the ground hearing the soldiers make their way towards him. His entire body shook with every ragged breath he released.

"He's here!"

The group of soldiers filed in from the maze of trees and surrounded him. Some had their spears pointed at him. Zuko forced his body to get up, calming his breathing to try and make it look like he wasn't as tired as he felt. He counted quickly in his head, resulting in well over forty soldiers. For a moment no one spoke. They seemed to look around with the absence of Katara. The faces Zuko could still see, he recognized. They frowned, looking more confused than angry. Zuko was the first to speak.

"Sorry guys," his horse voice echoed through the forest. He cleared his throat and gave them an apologetic smile. "It wasn't my intention to deceive you… it just kind of turned out like this."

The soldiers in the front paused, obviously affected by his words. "Lieutenant Lee…" someone whispered in the back. Zuko shook his head. It was his honest feelings. Even though he had only been their leader for a little over a day, he felt a brotherly bond with them.

"I don't want to fight you guys… but I know you have an order to carry out," he took a breath and stared into the eyes of the men before him. He made an obvious glance towards the tree above him and quickly looked back down, hoping someone caught his movement. A man in the front followed Zuko's line of vision and spotted the blue cloth hanging from the tree.

"She's up there…" he quietly called. All the soldiers looked towards the tree and spotted the piece of blue cloth that was hanging out. Zuko smiled inwardly. It had worked. He took a step back and put on his best face of distress.

"I'm can't let you guys take her," his resolve strengthening. "You're going to have to fight me to get up this tree."

"***"

Iroh was beyond surprised. Before his thoughts could stray away again, he quickly pulled his large body back just enough to dodge an on-coming blast of blue fire.

"I didn't expect you to be this talented," he admitted, narrowly dodging another wave of heat from her hand. Azula narrowed her eyes, studying him with confusion and frustration, yet her face stayed solid and mildly expressionless. He felt his heart ache with guilt and sorrow. Just what had his power-hungry brother put his poor niece through? If he ever met her again, he wanted to see her as a cheerful young lady with the same warmth as her mother. But this was reality, Azula stood in front of him; a pitiful child who grew up unable to express her feelings, and held the weight of her father's demands. Damn Ozai, he could mentally corrupt his own child for his desires. Iroh tightened his fist and scowled.

"Why did you take Zuko?" he calmly asked, stepping out of her attack range. Azula also took a step back, catching her breath and wiping the side of her face with her hand.

"You misunderstand, old man," she replied to his surprise. "He came on his own accord." Iroh frowned inwardly, trying to hide his desperate confusion. That didn't make any sense based on what happened. She could be lying to him, but what would she gain from doing that? He gave her a small smile, pushing his thoughts back into his head.

"Sheesh, I'm not even that old. I'm only a few years older than your father…" he trailed off his playful tone and scratched his bearded chin. "Or was it a few decades? Whew, time sure flies." Again, Azula stopped and stared at him with an unreadable expression, but probably thinking something along the lines of who-the-hell-does-this-man-think-he-is?

"You dare speak so casually about my father," she warned, her voice turning icy. She pulled back her hands and began the motion to generate lighting. "Unforgivable." She quietly murmured.

Iroh was still amazed with her abilities. He had been looking out for information and gossip on the fire nation. Every time Azula came into topic, the same words were mentioned; a prodigy, genius strategist, the daughter of fire. Iroh was proud, yet ashamed at the same time. There was no exaggeration in describing her; she was truly a mastermind in all aspects, excelling far beyond Zuko's abilities. In fact, he hadn't even mentioned the possibility of lighting generation to Zuko, it was no wonder he was locked with fear. He had hesitated too long, trying to hide Zuko from the world, and he knew he owed his nephew an explanation.

He sighed inwardly, watching Azula's perfect form, condensing powerful energy with her movements. In the last second, he effortlessly took two steps to the side, calling effortlessly a wall of fire to his right, as the lighting burst past him.

"Your father…" Iroh gently spoke, is my brother, he wanted to tell her. He knew he would regret saying anything to her, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth.

"Fight back!" Azula suddenly yelled. His eyes widened as he looked back at her, the frustration she wasn't able to contain any longer emerging on her face. "You can't save your nephew while fighting me with no killing intent."

Iroh closed his eyes and slightly frowned. She was right. As a warrior, he knew better than anyone else that it felt degrading to be fought indifferently on the battlefield.

"How…" Iroh tried to swallow the knots of guilt forming in his throat. It was time; he couldn't run away any longer. It had to be said. It was time for him to fight back. "How… can I attack my one and only niece with an intent to kill?" He knew she wouldn't believe his words, but letting it out into the air after seventeen years of hiding it, it felt unusual.

Azula stood motionless. He had murmured the revelation quietly, but looking at the response she gave him—or no response—he knew she had heard him. After a moment a silence, Azula smirked. It was the first time he had seen some kind of smile on her face.

"You've grown senile," She breathed, her eyes casting down—with an expression almost like disappointment. Iroh felt something stab at his heart, he had expected it, yet he had still hoped for some kind of recognition. "You've said enough." With her final words, Azula shot forward towards him with renewed speed, attacking with deadly accuracy.

Iroh struggled to fight the first time in many decades. She had quickly realized long-distance attacks won't work, and moved closer, forcing him to move more quickly than before. He had grown a bit out of shape, and his large body didn't support his urgent need for speedy hand-to-hand combat. He remained clam, adjusting his breathing every time he barely avoided another one of Azula's fatal attacks. It wasn't already difficult enough with her blue fire; he noticed it felt heavier and stronger than usual, combusting easily if he made the wrong move. If he received a solid blow from her, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up after.

Before Iroh could detect it, the ground suddenly shook under their feet, throwing them off balance. The earth under Azula's feet burst from the ground, sending her flying back from where he was standing.

Earth bending.

Shocked, he turned to the trees to see the one responsible for the attack.

"***"

Zuko always knew he wasn't a strategist, but damn, he thought he at least had some kind of planning skills—apparently not. He stood by the tree, panting, drenched in his own sweat. He never knew standing took so much effort from his body. With every muscle he moved, his body screamed out to him in pain. The ice shards that had pierced his body from Katara's bending, were quickly melting from his body heat, consequently making him bleed out.

His head was spinning and he could barely concentrate on anything. He had taken down soldier after soldier wondering when it was going to end. The number never seemed to die down. Another soldier ran towards him with a quick battle cry. Zuko called fire to him palms, and punched ball of flame towards the approaching man. He noticed his fire was slowly getting smaller. The soldier raised his arms, blocking the fire from engulfing him. Damn those arm guards. It seemed they were fire-resistant, always obstructing his attacks.

Zuko tried to side step the spear attack, but his body felt slow and sluggish, causing the edge of the spear to cut into the side of his waist. He felt a scream of pain at his lips.

Is this my limit? Is this how far I can go? What about saving Katara? She's still waiting for me, waiting in greater pain because I was incapable of protecting myself. Zuko felt his anger rise. Didn't I promise to protect her… to return and save her?

Zuko grasped the side of his waist where the spear cut through, to try and stop the bleeding. He steeled his eyes and looked up at the soldier who was preparing for another attack. Before he could make his move, a sudden blast of air flew in his direction, knocking back the soldiers in the front. It wasn't any random blast of air. It had form and weight, as if the air had compressed and moved on it's own. He froze, watching the soldiers knock into each other from the surprise attack. He heard a voice shout a distance behind him.

"No fair, twinkle toes! You know air activity isn't my forte!"

A/N: Surprise? Sorry I always end up giving you guys cliff hangers. I'm now officially on summer break, which means more writing time! (: I was able to update within a week this time, but if you haven't noticed, this chapter is shorter than the last one. Something's gotta be sacrificed.
On the bright side... look who I brought into my story! :D *excited squeal* Originally, I wasn't planning on having either of them incorporated because I didn't know how. And if I'm going to be honest, I still don't know how. (Haha whoops). But I'll find a way to weave them in, I even have a backstory for them already. heh.

Anyways! I'm going to need some major feedback for this chapter. How was the mid-perspective change? (Like it? Don't like it? Awkward? Easy to follow or confusing?) How was Iroh's character? (Not portrayed well? Seems like him?) I had slight difficulty writing his dialogue and trying to add in sassy remarks. And how is Azula? (I never got much feedback on her change of personality.) Review and share me your thoughts! You guys keep me writing.

See you soon!