I'll Follow You Home – A Zutara Story.
Meeoko
Summary : Sequel to 'Eventualities Are Inevitable'. After being captured by a group of Fire Nation radicals and uncovering a secret plot to destroy the Avatar Cycle, Zuko and Katara must work together to find a way to stop the Sila Vatra before Sozin's Comet arrives.
Spoilers : Puppet Master, Day Of Black Sun part 1 and 2, Western Air Temple, Fire Bending Masters and Boiling Rock part 1 and 2.
Author's Note : WARNING! Reading this fiction may cause you to snort out your soda or wake up your parents at 3am. Take great care around fizzy drinks and snoozing adults. Extreme caution is advised.
There, thought that I'd finally put on a warning label lol. Sorry again about that, ZutaraFan4. :P
I need you guys to give me a hand. I've just added a new poll onto my profile page to help me decide what to do with my newest story 'Save Me, A Zuko Story'. If you guys would be kind enough to vote, it may help me decided wether or not to start a new fic once IFYH is finished. For any anonymous reviewers out there – you should be able to vote too. It's on my profile page. Input is greatly appreciated.
Finally, I would like to thank my anonymous reviewers out there – you guys don't get nearly enough love. Hj, lw, turtleduck89, Kelsey, Bonnie and likemynameisn'talreadythere who has very kindly offered to make both EAI and IFYH into mangas! Hopefully, I'll still be hearing from you all after the fic is finished.
This chapter is a bit grizzly, so anybody here that is particularly squeemish might want to tread lightly.
Zuko desperately wanted to pick at his back. He could still feel chips of rock and dirt lodged into the grazes and cuts. The itching and dull pain was slowly driving him crazy! Sighing, he cursed the Dai Lee and his sister.
Needless to say, the Dai Lee had not been gentle with him after they had been captured. When they had both been rendered immobile, Zuko had expected Toph to come out of the Three Embers Inn, with guns blazing and help them. But she hadn't.
The last thing Zuko saw was the lightly filtering rays of the dawn creeping over the volcano wall before the Dai Lee all stamped on the ground in unison, sending them down into the darkness of an underground tunnel.
Zuko had suspected that it was the tunnel that led up to the palace, just as Toph had said. He had guessed right. For almost an hour, the Dai Lee had dragged him through the tunnel, his bare back scraping harshly against the ground in compelte silence. He had tried everything he could to try and escape. He thrashed and kicked and blew jets of fire from his mouth, but he finally gave up. They were in the Dai Lee's element with no way of knowing how to get back to the surface - there wasn't much that they could do.
Agni Kai, I'm an idiot! I let her down. She got captured because I wasn't fast enough. Because I was stupid. Because I wasn't paying enough attention. Because I left my damn swords at the Inn!
Throughout their 'trip' in the dark tunnel to the palace, Zuko had tried his hardest to catch Katara's eye. It was difficult, because she was ahead of him, still being carried by that loathsome Dai Lee agent and because it was so dark inside the tunnels. He needed to see what her eyes were saying. And he needed to send a message back using his own. One that he had been meaning to tell her for quite some time.
Zuko had desperately tried to speak to her, even though he knew she couldn't reply.
But all that got him was a back-hand to the face from the agent dragging him by his restraints. He had screamed his throat raw when they entered the palace dungeons through a secret entrance in the wall. The Dai Lee agent carrying Katara had veerd away on another path, taking her with him! Zuko thrashed and screamed out her name, trying hopelessly to struggle against the three Dai Lee agents that had to hold him down. He had to keep her safe.
Where did they take her? What if they hurt her? Because of me? Gods! This is just like the Sila Vatra prison all over again! But at least there, I could see her face and speak to her.
Though he knew it was futile, Zuko strained against the chains holding him in place, the sharp metal rubbing harshly against this wrists. He remembered the layout. It seemed to be the same restraints that Zhao had kept Aang in when Zuko had rescued him as The Blue Spirit. His arms were stretched out tautly, attached to the two pillars standing beside him. He had been forced to his knee's and his ankles put in chains that came up through the floor, which were tightened hard enough for him to lose circulation in his legs and feet.
He had expected Azula when he arrived. The daunting, maniacal look of the alpha that his sister always seemed to express whenever he was near. But she didn't come. Nobody did.
The heavy iron door to his prison had been shut and bolted, leaving him in the darkness to thrash and scream. He had let out all of the rage he possessed, cursing and screaming at nothing. Every single angry thought and feeling that coursed through his body seemed to fly out from inside him, echoing in the empty prison. He screamed out all the hatred he felt for his father. For his sister. For his countrymen. And for what had been done to Katara.
After an hour, Zuko stopped screaming. Nobody was coming.
She just wants to torture me. He thought furiously She wants to make me wait and prolong my suffering.
Alone and in the dark, Zuko tried to focus his thoughts. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, knowing full well that it wouldn't just be Azula that would come to see him. After all, his father would definately want to see him again, after he had shot him with his own lightning.
Zuko tried to meditate and comprehend his situation. He even tried counting turtleducks! But there was only one thing on his mind. One adamant, obsessive thought that wouldn't leave him no matter how hard he tried – Katara.
He thought just how ironic it was. Just hours ago, Zuko had told Katara that if anything happened to her and she got herself captured, the guilt would destroy him. And that was exactly what was happening.
They won't hurt her. They can't. They wouldn't. How could this happen? Zuko, you are such an idiot! Why weren't you looking out for Azula? You knew that she was looking for you! You can't just live in the capital city for three days and not expect to have any trouble! Stupid!
It took almost four hours before light filtered back into his cell. It blinded him as the door swung open on its hinges and a shadowy figure stepped into the room. Zuko squinted against the sudden rush of light and closed his eyes tightly together, turning his head away from the source.
"Hello brother."
His heart turned to ice upon hearing his sister's voice. He blinked against the light source as torches were lit around the room and the iron door shut and bolted. When his vision adjusted, Zuko forced himself to look up into the cruel, fierce amber eyes of his sister.
"Azula." he hissed hatefully.
The Fire Nation Princess smiled darkly. The same smile that sent his inner fire raging with loathing.
"Father is very displeased with you, Zuko. Very displeased indeed."
Zuko bit back the urge to spit on the ground. Instead, he forced himself to smile back at her.
Fight her at her own game.
"I think you're losing your touch, Azula." he mocked "We've been in the city for almost four days now without word of you. I can't say I'm not disappointed, I expected you to be faster."
Zuko could see the effect of his words flash over his sisters face for a fraction of a second, distorting her features horribly. But as quickly as it came, it went. Zuko knew just how much his sister hated to lose.
"It's funny that you should say that, Zuko." she replied in the icy lulling tone she used whenever she threatened people. "My agents tell me that you were rather easy to capture. They said that you went down as hard as a sack of coal. Didn't even throw one punch."
She tutted as if she were scolding a child, waving a finger in front of her face.
"I knew you were weak, Zuko, but to lose to my agents so easily...I think it is I who should be disappointed."
Zuko wanted desperately to throttle his sister. To tell her that she was wrong. He wasn't weak. But secretly, he knew. He knew just how easily the Dai Lee had taken them down. They had had the element of surprise on their side and Zuko just hadn't been fast enough. But he should have.
"What do you want, Azula?" he hissed through gritted teeth, looking down at the floor.
Bending down on her haunches, Azula's claw-like fingers grabbed at his chin and forced him to look up at her. Zuko snarled, feeling the vicious points of her fingernails digging into his skin.
"I want you to tell me where the Avatar and the rest of your pathetic friends are hiding, Zuzu. I want to know what you're planning. And I want you to tell me why it was reported that you and that Water Tribe girl were seen leaving the Black Column."
Zuko wanted to slap himself. That was why Azula had found them! The guard. The one who had spotted Katara's eyes as they were leaving the Sila Vatra's building! He remembered the mans dark threat as he had closed the iron door.
"May flame keep your soul alight in the darkest dungeon."
"I knew it was you." Zuko replied, avoiding hre questions. "I knew you were in league with them as soon as we discovered the tunnel leading up here!"
Azula dug her nails into his chin just a little deeper. He winced, feeling the points digging into his skin.
"Wrong as usual, my brother." she mocked. "I have no interest in the Sila Vatra. They're just not...big enough for me."
Zuko certainly didn't doubt it.
"Then who's using the tunnel?" he demanded "Who's working for them inside the palace?"
He wanted to scream in frustration when Azula yawned, covering her mouth with her free hand as the other dug into his jaw.
"Don't know. Don't care." she replied simply "But I want my questions answered. We wouldn't want your little friend to suffer for the answers now, would you?"
Katara...
"Where is she?" Zuko snapped, staring at his his sister as if she were the source of every single one of the hardships he had faced in life. Which admittedly, she was responsible for at least half.
Finally releasing her piercing hold on his jaw, Azula stood up and sighed, rolling her eyes as if she were bored of him already.
"What does it matter?" she yawned, looking at her fingernails "It's not my problem to deal with the peasants after all. Last I heard, I think that father went to inspect her."
Zuko froze. He didn't like the words that Azula had used. Ozai was going to inspect Katara? He knew exactly what that meant.
His inner fire roared, sending his veins alight. The sweat on his body evaporated quickly, rising up into the air. Azula wrinkled her nose distastefully.
"What's wrong, Zuzu?" she taunted "Surely you're not worried about that measly little peasant girl? I'm surprised that father wished to see her at all. Somebody like her is barely fit to clean the palace floors-"
"Her name is Katara!" Zuko screamed angrily, lunging uselessly at his sister against his chains. "And if that monster lays one hand on her, I'll kill him where he stands!"
She isn't a thing! She's a person! The most beautiful, kind and amazing person I've ever known! And she has more right to sit on a throne than you ever will!
Azula cocked an immaculate eyebrow. Slowly, her lips began to turn upwards into a smile. Zuko's heart seemed to stop inside his chest. He had just made a big mistake.
"Oh, this is wonderful." Azula hissed cruelly between her lips. "My brother, Prince of The Fire Nation, is infatuated with a Water Tribe peasant!"
Zuko felt himself panic. His eyes widened and his pulse jumped around inside him as if it were on fire.
"Infatuated? With her?" he tried uselessly to lie "What makes you think that I would ever-"
"Oh, Zuzu." Azula cooed gleefully. "How far you have fallen! To think, you would sacrifice everything you had for one lowly Water Bender! Perhaps I should allow you one last comfort and arrange a wedding before father comes to visit you. At least that way you'll get about...twenty minutes with her before you're burnt to cinders."
Zuko grit his teeth and glared at his sister with every ounce of hatred inside his body.
"This doesn't concern you, Azula." he snarled "This has nothing to do with you."
But Azula simply ignored him, staring up at the ceiling as if he weren't there.
"She must have quite a lot of information inside that pretty little head of hers. I am sure that father would be very interested to hear about this..."
Zuko's face was so contorted with rage, he felt the pulse in his neck begin to throb. His eyebrow twitched in pure hatred of his sister and fear for Katara.
"Don't you tell that monster anything." His voice was barely a whisper as the rage shook through him.
Azula looked down her nose at him as she began to walk around him leisurely, her hands folded neatly behind her back. Her voice was calm and taunting when she replied, which only increased Zuko's fury.
"Now Zuko. It is very disrespectful to talk that way about father. I don't think that he'd be too pleased to hear you speak of him in such a way. Especially after shooting lightning at him!"
Zuko bowed his head and looked down at the floor. It felt like his muscles were on fire.
"He is not my father. Now I call another man by that name."
His voice was low and raspy. He tried not to give Azula the satisfaction of seeing him sigh sadly when he thought back to his Uncle. The last time he had seen the kindly old man that had loved him as his own, he was rotting in a cell.
And I betrayed him.
"Oh spare me, Zuko." Azula sighed "It seems that you only ever care for the weak. It's really quite endearing, no matter how pathetic it makes you look. First Ursa. Then Uncle. Then the Avatar and now this cowering little Water Tribe peasant!"
Zuko continued to stare at the floor, gritting his teeth. He had no answer for his sister. Azula never referred to their mother. And on occasion she did, it would always be by name. It was as if his mother had been erased from history. From their family. From Azula's memories. And slowly, from his own.
She was the only person to ever care about me in this family. And he banished her because she saved me. All these years...I thought she was dead...
Azula completed her full circle, coming back around to look at him. A small smirk played on her lips.
"You know, I think that father has taken quite a liking to your little pet." Her eyes bored into his, in a silent threat. "Who knows? Perhaps we may find a use for that peasant yet."
No. No. Not that...
A chunk of ice seemed to replace Zuko's heart. For a moment, everything froze. There was no need to read into Azula's words. He knew perfectly well what she was implying and it froze him down to the core. His eyes flew wide as he lunged at his sister from his prison, wishing with all of his might that she would fall.
"No! Leave her out of this!" Zuko screamed desperately. "This doesn't involve her! This is between you and me, Azula! You'll have to kill me before I let him touch her! You spineless coward!"
Azula swung at him, quicker than a bolt of her lightning and struck him in the face. Her piercing nails drove into Zuko's face, scratching deep into his scar. He hissed painfully, biting against the sudden burst of pain.
I swear Azula! I swear on Agni that you're going to fall! I only hope I'm going to be the one to do it!
Zuko breathed in haggardly, tightly closing his eyes until the initial sting began to die down. His scar throbbed doubly, not only from where Azula had stuck him, but because of the storm he was certain was approaching. A small trickle of blood fell from one of the cuts on his face and dribbled slowly down his neck.
Azula looked at her nails calmly. Three of them were tipped with his blood and she looked at them with some sort of sick satisfaction. Zuko hated her for it.
"How distasteful." she mused, wiping away the blood from her nails with a delicate finger and looking at it. "The blood of a traitor."
His limbs shook with rage, rattling the chains that bound him.
"Who is the real traitor here, Azula?" Zuko mumbled angrily. "Because it's not me."
He thought that she might strike him again and braced himself for the impact. But when nothing happened, Zuko looked back up at his sister. Her expression was blank, but she looked down at him with an air of confidence and ruthlessness.
I'll make you pay Azula. You hurt her and I swear, I'll make you pay.
Azula bent down over him, raising her hand. Zuko flinched when her fingers wiped over the good side of his face.
"Have your dirty blood back." she scoffed.
Without another word, the Fire Princess snapped her fingers and stepped out of the heavy iron door, held open by a Dai Lee agent, closing it behind her and leaving Zuko in the darkness.
(Takes placed two or three hours before above paragraph)
Katara shivered. Not from cold, but from fear. It gripped at her heart and stuck in her lungs. She could still see the image clearly in her mind. She could still hear Zuko screaming after her, calling her name, under an arsenal of blows from the Dai Lee agents restraining him.
It had almost broken her heart in two as she lost sight of him around a corner and was thrown into her own personal hell.
It's like the Sila Vatra all over again.
But at least when they had been imprisoned by the Sila Vatra, they had been close to each other. Katara tugged at the chains binding her arms uselessly. She had been sitting on the cold stone floor for almost an hour, with her arms growing stiff behind her back. She had surprised herself when she didn't cry or scream in her cell. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Not anymore.
Katara missed Zuko like a physical pain in her chest. She worried about him, desperately trying not to remember the battered and bruised Prince that had saved her from the Sila Vatra all those weeks ago. She only wished that she had been able to speak to him. Even if it was to say goodbye, Katara would have just been happy to see his fface again and hear his voice. She had a desperate need to kiss him and tell him the thought that she had been clinging to for so long. But without Zuko, Katara could do no more than pass the time and await whatever was to come.
So, she had waited, silently for something to happen. She had analysed everything that had happened and everything that had gone wrong. How could she not have heard the Dai Lee? Why had she been so stupid? If she hadn't brought Zuko outside into the open, then it might not have happened. They might have been able to fight them off if they had stayed together in the room, with their weapons and Toph.
"Toph...what happened to you?" she wondered aloud.
Katara had been almost certain that she had caught the flash of her blind eyes at the window before they were taken underground by the Dai Lee. Surely Toph would have felt them coming? Heard them calling for her? Felt the earth moving them underground? But the only eventuality that Katara could come to was that Toph had either been captured too or gone to find the others and get help.
When the door to her cell had swung open, Katara had tried her best to keep herself calm. She readied herself for a barrage of insults, questioning, or a beating, but her whole body seemed to freeze over when someone completely unexpected stepped into the room.
Oh Gods. Not him.
Katara had never seen the Fire Lord face to face before. Even during the invasion, he had escaped them and she hadn't been able to catch a single glimpse of him. But now that he was here, she wished that she would never have to look upon the face again.
No doubt it was Fire Lord Ozai. He was dressed in royal garb and wore a golden crown atop his head that splayed out like iron fire. His face held no compassion. No kindness. No mercy. She only saw a lifetime of cruelty and malice on the Fire Lord's face.
Why is he here? Why would he want to see me and not Zuko?
Katara tried to keep her composure. She glared at the Fire Lord spitefully as the iron doors closed behind him and he turned to face her. There was a sickening smile on his face that completely terrified her.
"So, this is the Avatars Water Bender." Ozai said smoothly. His very voice made Katara want to hit him.
"I'm not the Avatar's Water Bender!" Katara replied fiercely. She was sick and tired of being 'the Avatars Water Bender'! She was Katara, Master Water Bender of the Southern Water Tribe – she was her own person! "I am my own person and I belong to no one!"
To her horror, Ozai seemed to react positively to her outburst. The smallest, coldest smile possible crept over his harsh face and he looked down at her on the cold floor.
"What's your name?" he asked bluntly.
Katara chose not to answer. She looked down at the floor and scowled, feeling slightly taken aback and confused. But there was no way she was going to have a friendly conversation with the monster that had killed her mother!
She saw him bend down to her level out of the corner of her eye. Katara swallowed a dry lump in her throat when she realised that he seemed to have moved a little closer.
Spirits, no. Don't leave me in here with him. He's not a man – he's a monster!
Ozai's large fingers grasped her chin, making her jump. His grip was tight and his skin was almost scalding. Pressing into her skin, Ozai forced Katara to look up at him. She thought bitterly that the Fire Lord probably intended to be gentle. But he wasn't gentle. If he had ever been gentle, he would have put a stop to the war years ago!
Katara's confidence waned when she looked up at the Fire Lord. His face was stern and he was frowning. For a moment, she could see the old and angry Zuko in his features. It scared her a little, thinking back to what he had screamed in his sleep.
"I'm not him! I'll never be him! Reflections can lie!"
"When I ask you a question, you shall answer me, peasant."
Ozai's voice was harsh and commanding, though he spoke quietly. Katara shivered underneath his touch, hating herself for giving him the satisfaction. His fingers almost seemed to burn her skin.
"K-Katara." she managed, moving her eyes away from his spiteful face.
The Fire Lord smiled deviously and took his fingers away from her chin as he stood up to his full height, towering over her like a maniacal animal. Katara wanted to rub away the hot sensation on her chin, where his fingers had been. His touch was like pure poison to her and it made her feel low and sick. But the chains binding her kept her at bay. She looked away from the beast towering over her, despite the overwhelming fear tugging at her heart.
"Stand up." he commanded, looking down at her with evil, piercing eyes.
Although Katara was petrified of Fire Lord Ozai, she was even more petrified of what he would do if she didn't do as he said. Awkwardly, and without the use of her hands, Katara forced herself to stand up on unsteady legs, shaking under the Fire Lord's gaze.
Don't let him see you shaking. Just be strong. Like Zuko. Be strong like Zuko.
Katara willed the small amount of courage inside her to speak up. If she was going to die by the Fire Lord's hand, then she at least wanted the answers she had been seeking since she and Zuko had been first been captured.
"Why...why are you here?" she asked. It was meant to sound like a demand. "Where's Zuko? Why are you here instead of with him?"
Ozai scowled at the mention of his sons name. It made him look even more terrifying.
"That traitor is where he belongs – rotting in a cell. I shall see him in good time, after he has suffered and waited. I shall yet teach him respect."
Katra felt her mouth fall open and anger clouded her vision.
"How dare you talk of respect!" she spat "You – who have destroyed the lives of thousands of people! You're a monster! Zuko isn't a traitor! He's risked his life to help stop the war and save his country! A country that doesn't deserve him And he still respects them even after you..."
Katara expected Ozai to hit her. To burn her to cinders. Anything. But when she continued to glare at him, his face remained impassive. It was as if he didn't even care!
"...after you burnt him."
Katara jumped when Ozai began to laugh. It was hollow and joyless and it echoed in her ears soon after it had stopped. Her mouth hung open, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Is he insane?
A dark grin spread over Ozai's lips. Katara backed into the cell wall as far away from him as she could. Her confidence seemed to be slowly vanishing from her and draining away. Ozai should never smile. Ozai should never be allowed to smile!
"So, there is fight in you yet." he said, the sickly laughter dying on his lips.
In a single stride, Ozai had backed Katara into a corner. She shivered and pressed her back into the cold stone walls. The Fire Lord towered above her by over a foot and the look in his eyes made her want to crawl away to die, right then and there.
He left barely any room between them, the heat that radiated from him making her feel dizzy. It wasn't the tender and soft heat that Zuko had. It was sickening and wrong and intense.
Placing a large palm on the wall beside her head, Ozai leant down over her, relishing in her terror.
"I will soon put a stop to that, my young Water Bender."
Katara could hear her chains scraping against the wall of her cell as she tried to sink into the very stone. Her lower lip trembled as she tried to squirm away from the Fire Lord's gaze. But no matter where she looked, the same evil amber eyes seemed to follow her. It frightened her that he had spoken as if he owned her.
No. I'm not yours. Not yours. Never yours!
"G-Get away from me!" she shrieked, unable to control her fear any longer. "Leave me alone! Please!"
But Ozai didn't budge. He looked down at her greedily, smiling like a mad man.
He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles, leaving an intense, scalding heat behind them. Katara trembled and looked away, hating his touch. Shutting her eyes tightly against the terrifying image of the Fire Lord, Katara let a single, desperate tear fall down her cheek. It fell onto Ozai's skin and she heard it sizzle, immediately evaporating into the air.
Not like this. Please. Please. Not like this...
"Zuko..." she whispered, her voice cracking. She was desperate for him to hear her plea. Desperate to feel him hold her and keep her safe. Desperate for him to save her from the monster that he had once called father.
I can't die without telling you that I love you!
Ozai's hand froze on her face. Katara shut out the light from her eyes, thinking he would hurt her for speaking his son's name. She tried to block it out. She thought of the same image in her mind, coming back to her and giving her hope. The memory of Zuko smiling as he kissed her in the trees. When he laughed with her and held her as she cried behind a raging waterfall.
Katara braced herself for pain, shrinking into herself. But when the scalding pressure of the Fire Lord's skin left her face, Katara opened her eyes to see Ozai walking back towards the cell door. The tears fell freely down her cheeks, unable to be held back any longer.
Before he stepped out into the corridor, the Fire Lord looked back at her. She froze under his gaze, feeling herself growing smaller.
"I shall see you again, Katara. Make no mistake about it."
As the iron door closed behind him and left her in the darkness, Katara's resolve completely melted away and she fell to the floor, sobbing hard into the cold stone wall. She hated how he had said her name.
Zuko sat in a vast and beautiful green field. It stretched for miles upon miles, with small yellow flowers springing from the ground. In front of him sat an enormous white dragon, drinking tea from a cup large enough to be a house. It's scales were glistening and Zuko could see right through the dragon's body. He saw each and every part inside the translucent dragon. The large heart beat softly inside the dragons lengthy ribcage and Zuko listened to it pumping. He watched the tea fall down through its throat and into its stomach as the great beast lapped up every last drop.
Suddenly, the dragon began to cough and splutter, arching its great head skywards.
Zuko could see that the tea inside its body was turning an acid green. The dragon thrashed its head about, gasping for air and coughing. Slowly, the green tea began to eat its way out of the dragon, dissolving its insides and leaking out through the skin.
Zuko opened his mouth to shout and warn the dragon, but nothing came out. No matter how hard he tried, his voice just wouldn't come to him.
Screeching and blowing small puffs of smoke from its mouth, the white dragon was quickly consumed by the green tea melting its way through the skin and organs. With one last bellowing scream, the dragons head fell into the gigantic tea cup and shattered it into a million pieces.
The green tea leaked out through the dragon's skin and spilled out onto the green grass. Zuko watched slowly as the entire field withered and the yellow flowers grew black.
The scratching of metal woke him. Bracing himself for the intrusion of light, Zuko waited until the door to his cell had closed behind whoever was entering before he opened his eyes. He expected to see his sister standing over him once again. But it wasn't Azula.
There in the dim light, stood the overbearing and hard shadow of the man he hated most in the world.
"The traitor Prince." Ozai's voiced boomed. "How I have long waited to see you again."
"Ozai." Zuko spat, looking up at his father in the dim light.
The Fire Lord's face was stern and cold as he looked down on him. But a small and reptilian smile appeared when he looked at the newly opened scratch marks on the surface of Zuko's scar.
"I see that Azula had given you another scar to add to your collection." he smirked. "How touching."
Zuko scowled, feeling the dried blood on the other side of his face crumbling, where his sister had smeared it. He looked down at the floor, his shaggy hair dangling down and brushing against his new wounds and making him wince.
"I won't tell you anything." he mumbled "If you're going to kill me, then just do it."
He was no longer afraid of his father. Not anymore. But if it was his destiny to die for the world, then so be it.
"I didn't expect you to." his father said tensely, as if dealing with an irritable child "You have always been a disappointment."
The Fire Lord tilted his chin up at Zuko, looking down at him victoriously.
"At this moment we are questioning the people that you have been staying with. Many of them have been most helpful."
Zuko's stomach clenched. Had Toph been captured too? Would Fumio give them away and lead them to Master Piando and the others? Or was he too a member of the White Lotus Society, bound by honour and respect to keep its secret? It was unlikely, but Zuko hoped desperately that the man had enough common sense not to tell his father's men anything. He felt a tug on his heart as he thought of Toph. He hoped to Agni that his small friend was unharmed. She was like a sister to him.
"Azula has told me of your...attachments to the Water Bender."
Zuko's head shot up from the floor to glare at his father. He had been waiting apprehensively for any sign that Ozai knew how he felt for Katara. And now his worst fears had been confirmed.
The muscles in Zuko's shoulders throbbed with the sudden movement, having been suspended in the same position for so long. But he ignored it. His voice was dangerous as he looked up at the Fire Lord.
"Don't bring her into this."
Ozai stood directly in front of him, looking down at him mockingly as if he were a sacrifice to the spirits. He hid his hands inside the sleeves of his robe, much like his Uncle used to. He leered down at Zuko, a horrible satisfactory smile that chilled his bones.
"She is quite beautiful. There is no doubt as to why you feel so...interested in her. But why she should ever return your love is quite laughable. Why would such a delicate creature choose to love you? You are burnt and disgraced. Small and weak."
Ozai's words hit Zuko like physical blows, but he did his best to conceal it from his father. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He knew that he was just trying to hurt him. But his father's cruel words only reflected his own thoughts. He wondered if Katara could ever love someone like him. Was she repulsed by his scar? Did she really think he was just...burnt and weak?
They're just words. Just words.
"Perhaps I shall keep her for myself." Ozai smiled darkly. "One as innocent as her deserves a man, instead of a foolish boy."
Zuko saw red and lashed out at his father. It was all Ozai needed.
"Don't you touch her!" Zuko screamed, pulling against his chains until they squealed in protest "Your filthy skin isn't fit for rats! If you lay a hand on her, I will kill you myself! Don't you ever threaten her honour like that! You don't deserve someone like her! You don't deserve human contact!"
The large and scalding hand of his father grabbed his neck. Ozai snarled down at him as he slowly began to cut off Zuko's oxygen supply. His skin scorched underneath the Fire Lord's vice-like grip as he gasped for air and at the same time, tried as hard as he could to break free and attack. Pain seemed to simply wash over him. It was as if Zuko had blocked it all out, overwhelmed instead by his rage and hatred. The smell of burning skin tainted the air.
"Finally," Ozai hissed like a snake, barely an inch from him face "I am able do what I should have done all those years ago."
Zuko's vision blurred at the edges. He couldn't breathe. He didn't feel the pain. Didn't feel his skin blistering under Ozai's hands. Didn't smell the burning in the air.
But he willed himself to keep Ozai's gaze as he struggled underneath his grip. Even if it would mean his last breath, Zuko wanted his father to feel every single ounce of hatred he felt for him. He wanted him to see how much his only son wanted him dead.
I'm sorry, Katara...
Gritting his teeth as black clouded the corner of his vision, Zuko said his last goodbyes. He expected he was going to die. He only wished that he could have seen a world without Ozai first. He could feel himself slipping away into the darkness. He regretted so many things. He regretted not telling Katara what he should have told her long ago. Feeling himself begin to slip away, Zuko sent the words to Katara that he had been wanting to tell her for so long.
I'm sorry, Katara. I love you.
An almighty crash sounded through the halls, shaking the very foundations to its core. Several tiles fell from the roof and the sound of running soldiers could be heard. Ozai lost his balance as the earth shook and released his scorching hold on Zuko's neck as he steadied himself. Zuko gasped, breathing in gulps of precious air, ignoring the incredible, blistering pain it sent down his throat.
The Fire Lord clenched his fists, looking utterly furious. Steam began to slowly rise from his body and a wave of heat radiated from his skin. The door to the cell flew open and a dirty looking soldier looked in, panting breathlessly. His eyes went wide as he looked at Zuko and the stench of burning hit him in the face, but he said nothing of it.
"My Lord – the north-eastern wall, it has been blown apart! We are under attack, my lord! We don't know how they've done it! We think it's the Avatar!"
Ozai's face looked more like a beast than a man as he turned around to face Zuko, who was spluttering for air and hunched over in his chains.
"We shall continue this later." Ozai snarled "Stay here and burn whilst I destroy your pathetic friends one by one!"
Without looking back, the Fire Lord strode hurriedly out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Zuko coughed into the darkness, slowly regaining his vision and relishing the gift of air. He winced in pain as he swallowed. Without anger or fear to cloud his senses, the pain slowly began to overcome him. His blistered throat sent wave after wave of nauseating pain at him, consuming him wholly.
He could hear crashing and screaming. Every so often, the building would shake, dislodging a few more tiles from the roof. He could smell smoke, but Zuko wasn't sure if that was because of the attack or because of him. He desperately tried to keep his eyes open, silently praying for Ozai to fall. He didn't want to fade away into death without knowing.
Someone take him down. He prayed. Before I die, somebody take him down. Don't let him do this to anyone else. Don't let him do this to Katara!
Zuko could see flickers of movement in the darkness of the room, but he ignored them. He knew that nothing was there. No white dragon. No blood mist. No mirrors. All just more lies and tricks of the mind.
Suddenly, the door burst open, flooding the room once again with light. Zuko's eyes searched for the figure standing in the doorway, his mind slowly clouding over.
"Zuko..." a gentle voice came from the door. It sounded hurt. "Oh Zuko, what has he done to you?"
Ah, you again...
Zuko dared not laugh, fearing the pain. He tried feebly to smile at the irony. It was happening all over again! It was strange how his mind worked whenever he was distressed or near the brink of death.
Unable to laugh, Zuko managed to croak some words to the figure standing in the doorway instead, wincing against the pain. His vision became blurry. He wondered briefly if he was going mad.
"Imaginary Uncle. I-I thought I might...see you again."
His Uncle Iroh stepped into the room with tears in his eyes and knelt beside him, placing a tender hand on Zuko's shoulder. His voice cracked as he spoke and he smiled sadly down at his newphew.
"No my boy, not imaginary. Not this time."
Author's Note : Gah! Shock freakin' horror! Uncle's back! Any of you who have read EAI will understand exactly what's meant by 'Imaginary Iroh'.
I realise that I'm going to get a lot of bashing from you all (especially rezmutt lol) for constantly leaving you with cliffhangers. But I'm afraid that you're going to have to wait for the next chapter. As usual, you're not going to be getting any spoilers out of me. :P
This chapter involves something that I haven't done since the first chapter of EAI - a double perspective. But this way, you get the full emotions and feelings of both parties.
I know it's a bit of a hurried chapter and you don't really get much sense of time, but really, Katara and Zuko were supposed to be there less than a day. I just wanted to convey the urgency and panic through the writing.
Ah, Azula and Ozai...one horrible pair. Sorry Thawn716, I know just how much you like Azula, but unfortunately, she just happens to be the bad guy.
Oh, and just to clarify if you didn't already notice – Ozai was going to make Katara his concubine (a.k.a prostitute). Very bad man! If he tried that with me, I'd castrate him then and there with a rusty spoon! Sorry if that's a little too dark for some people, but hey, it happens (the concubine thing, not the rusty spoon castrations).