Chapter 2

Whew. They're not kidding when they say great responsibility comes with great power…. maybe I'm just too used to seeing tyrants in my position…

Zuko pondered over his newly found title of Fire Lord as he walked to a meeting in his throne room with numerous advisors. It was a good thing he made a good first impression on the citizens of the four nations and enjoyed the short initial down time with his friends after the war ended, because within a few weeks he was now swamped with tasks.

Among other things, he had to withdraw Fire Nation troops all over the world, meet constantly for talks with the heads of the other nations, and instigate reforms within his own country to make its culture more tolerant, just, and peaceful. Not to mention he had quite a bitter opposition from certain groups of Fire Nation hardliners, such as disappointed generals and fanatical fire sages. Thankfully, however, his opponents composed an extremely tiny minority, and thus were not a serious threat, just more of a nuisance. Still, they were a big reminder that his job would not be a walk by the pond.

Additionally, Zuko had three much more personal goals he had to squeeze in. The first was to rebuild his relationship with Mai. They loved each other dearly, but in light of recent events, they had decided to try to spend more time with one another and truly get a better idea of who they really were. Afterwards, they could become much more serious in their relationship.

The second was to search for his mother, Lady Ursa. She had been missing for six years, and she was constantly, at the very least, in the back of Zuko's mind. When he had interrogated his father Ozai as to her whereabouts, the disgraced ex-Fire Lord had only given him very vague clues pointing to the Earth Kingdom. His scouts sent him regular reports, but so far they had had no measure of success whatsoever.

Finally, there was the question of Azula. Zuko had placed her in an asylum on an island not too far from his palace; he felt way too sorry and attached to his little sister to execute or imprison her. The facility was quite advanced, and the staff very experienced and compassionate, but Azula still had difficulty adjusting to a rapid change in her life; Zuko had decided to wait to see her at least a month after she settled in. For the first few weeks, the personnel observing Azula reported daily that she threw constant fits of anger and irritability, and occasionally seemed to yell at apparent hallucinations of some woman (Zuko guessed it was Ursa) and cried in her sleep. The good news, though, was that staff would not let her do anything drastic, like starve herself, attempt suicide, or try to hurt other people (the facility had highly trained guards, some of whom could firebend). Zuko liked that; these people were nice, and yet that didn't mean they were pushovers.

After close to a month had passed, Azula became much more quiet. She seemed to grudgingly resign herself to her place, but only enough to keep herself alive and somewhat healthy. She would not talk to her counselors unless they really pressed her, and even then she only spit out a few bitter complaints and curses. Zuko knew this was a really ugly sign.

I can't leave her there forever, he thought to himself. I have to find some way to find closure with her. Otherwise, she'll just continue to haunt me, just like-

Zuko stopped dead in his tracks.

Just like Mother…

Zuko shook his head. He would finally go to see his sister today, after this meeting. He stopped just outside the throne room, cleared his mind, and walked in.

He left the throne room feeling a bit better. The military withdrawal was proceeding nicely, and the other nations were eager to find ways to reconcile their people with his. Plus, his followers had encountered no serious sabotage yet, so that was another big weight temporarily lifted on his back. He only hoped the day would not drop too low after he visited his sister…

He made his way to the facility via a small ferry. The facility at least looked more like a hospital than a prison, and that image was reinforced as he greeted the head of the asylum, Dr. Cathka.

"Welcome, my Lord," the doctor said warmly with a bow. "I take it you are here to visit your sister?"

"Yes," replied Zuko. "It's about time I did, though I hope she won't become too… agitated by my presence."

Dr. Cathka's eyebrows raised above his glasses in concern. "Shall I send guards with you in case something happens?" he asked nervously.

"No, that won't be necessary," answered Zuko. His eyebrows narrowed to form a very serious expression. "I can handle her. Besides, this is something that is better accomplished between just the two of us."

"Very well. Let me show you to her room," said Dr. Cathka with a nod.

Dr. Cathka walked Zuko to one of the larger and more isolated inmate cells. He unlocked the door, nodded respectfully at the Fire Lord, and left to attend his other duties.

Zuko sighed, and opened the door.

It was then that he realized he was still in his Fire Lord attire, complete with his crown. A mistake he was about to regret.

Azula looked up from her sulking, crossed-arm position at the far end of table placed by the wall of her cell. She was dressed in a brown-orange robe and slippers, the standard clothing provided for the asylum's inmates. She looked relatively healthy, and definitely better than right after the Agni Kai, but she still seemed sleep-deprived and askew. Her hair was messily tied up in a bun, and dark circles had formed under her eyes. She glared at Zuko and barred her teeth.

"Azula," Zuko quipped tersely.

"You!" she snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you," replied the Fire Lord coldly.

"Get out of my sight!" yelled Azula. She jumped up, and started to rush at Zuko with a ball of blue fire in her hands. "If you don't leave right now, I'll-"

Zuko formed a ball of fire in his own hands and stood ready to strike. "You really want to do this Azula? The guards and I will be all over you in seconds," he warned.

"You'll have to do better than that, Zuzu!" sneered Azula. "I'm not afraid of that by a long shot!"

"You won't be so smug if I have you stripped of your firebending!" shot back Zuko with a piercing glare.

Azula stumbled back. "W-what? You're bluffing!" she sputtered.

"Am I?" asked Zuko threateningly. "How do you think the Avatar defeated Father without killing him?" His face steadily turned into a smirk. "Or did you not hear?"

Azula's expression turned to pure horror. "No, you wouldn't dare-"

"Oh, I would," growled Zuko. "If I catch you acting up or hear about you causing any trouble at all for the people here, I'll summon Aang here in seconds, and then in less than a minute you can kiss your fire abilities goodbye! Do I make myself clear?"

Azula froze in silence for a full minute. Then she snorted in annoyance. "Fine, Zuzu," she muttered.

"I'm sorry, I don't think that's a proper reply. Want to try that again?" asked Zuko snidely. He shot her another smirk.

Azula turned red with fury. "You make yourself clear, Fire Lord Zuko. I will not act up," she snarled.

"That's much better," said Zuko with a condescending smile. He turned to leave. "I'll be back later. Looking forward to talking to you!" he called laughingly over his shoulder. Azula growled furiously and loudly in response.

Well, that went better than I thought…

Zuko smiled to himself as he returned to the palace. His first time seeing Azula had been rather hostile, but that was to be expected, and it actually was a lot smoother than he had dreaded. He now had at least a somewhat better chance to get her to talk. Of course, she didn't realize he only had half a card up his sleeve: Aang would probably be strongly opposed to stripping someone as pathetic as Azula of her firebending, and her only remaining dignity, but she didn't need to know that.

All that was important was that Zuko was making progress.