Author's Note: Well, I hope you guys have been waiting for an update! If you've forgotten, please remind yourself the reasoning for ratings, as this does come into play quite a bit in this chapter. I'm not going to fully announce what, but be aware. Also, thanks so much to my two reviewers. I love reading reviews - even if it's just a little note letting me know you enjoyed it so far. Please review - it makes it longer, faster! Thanks and enjoy Chapter Two!

Chapter Two

The days and nights had begun to blur together, becoming one endless hell. Once a day, the guard pushing the rickety cart would begin down the corridor and mutely open his cell, unshackle a bruised wrist, and slide a bowl of spongy contents across the welded metal. Zuko finally stopped fighting the privileged meal, and began eating them without a word. He just kept his eyes on the mush, unable to look at his uncle in the cell across from him. With the passing time, he'd grown weaker, skeletal. Zuko knew it was only a matter of time – and he knew that his uncle knew that as well.

After each meal, Azula and the same two faceless guards took him from his cell to the dark room overlooking the arena. Eventually, he stopped resisting and watched, closing eyes against the sight, and just waited for it to end. Aang, Sokka, Katara, Suki - they, too, forgot resistance. He stopped hearing his name screamed in pleading voices that echoed in the corridor around his prison cell. Instead, they just cried out with the crack of her blazing whips and red-hot needles that pricked their bodies. She varied her methods to "keep it interesting," as she put it.

And eventually, they, too, became too weak to resist, to scream, to fight.

He didn't hear Azula's snide remark as the guards removed the other cuff on his hand and lifted him to weary feet. Without giving Azula the pleasure of a pleading look, Zuko stared at his bare feet as they thudded against the cold metal. Following the usual path, they reached the isolated room. Azula paused, unlocking the four bolts before pushing the door open with the familiar screech. Not even bothering to shackle him, the guards pushed him into the room. He didn't sit up at first, just letting the frigid floor sting against the scrape on his cheek.

"Today, we'll start with the Avatar," Azula smirked. "And you'll want to sit up, Zuko. I'm planning to try something a little new this time. I'm sure it'll be to die for." He didn't want to sit, but the two guards took her hint, and sat him up in the splintered wooden chair. She turned sharply on her heel, the two guards following quickly behind her. The heavy door screeched shut and faint footsteps echoed for only a moment. He looked though the glass pane and, as Azula had said, Aang was already chained at the center of the room. Exhaling slowly, he watched Azula approach the Avatar.

"Well, I hope you're feeling up to playing guinea pig today," she smirked, circling her prisoner. "I'm going to try a little…experiment. I hope you'll enjoy it." She laughed at her own sarcastic humor as the blue fire whip swung from her hand. It lashed outwards, cutting open scabbed wounds. He flinched and grunted at the strike, but didn't open his eyes. "And that's why I've chosen you for this experiment, Avatar," Azula said, letting the whip fall against his back again. "I've noticed you are a little more stubborn than your pathetic friends. If I can break you, what hope will they have?" It lashed out again, followed rapidly by another stroke.

A smirk curled upon her lips as her eye stared beyond the glass and into Zuko's eyes. Suddenly, the bright blue flames sputtered, the embers fleeting to sparks. Static flared as it reared back, and Zuko's eyes widened. He jumped from the chair, slamming against the pane. Fists beat furiously, and the whip sliced downward. The sparks leapt from the tip, stinging scarred flesh. It grazed the skin, shooting past him just close enough to wound without it entering his body. Zuko could see the uncertainty leaving her expression, growing braver and closer with each cut, and each successful lash slashing closer than the one before.

Zuko felt tears sting his eyes as Aang let out a strained cry of agony. He slid to his knees, fists balled against the pane. 'I have to help him!' Zuko thought, pressing his forehead to the cool glass. Glinting citrine stared at him, his own irises reflecting in the window. He stared into them, him mind swirling with the sight before him. "I…I can't," he whispered aloud. A sharp yell reverberated through the room, to the ceiling, in his mind. The cracking slurred against his thoughts, the high-pitched hum of the lightning ringing in his ears.

Passed his own eyes, he saw vivid green gazing wearily into his own. Blood and tears mixed on pale cheeks as they slid towards his chin. He winced, flinching as a blow sliced his chest, the core inching ever closer to colliding with trembling flesh. But quietly a slight smile crossed thin lips and his eyes softened strangely.

'How can you forgive me, Aang?' Zuko thought, the expression cutting him as deep as the whip that lashed tender flesh. "I don't deserve it," he whispered. 'I'm just…sitting here watching. I can't help. I can't save you… I can just…watch.' The glowing whip cut through the air again, landing once more against his chest. The expression faded as Aang's body convulsed. Teeth clenched as his body quaked against the chains. He fell limp for a moment, eyes opening weakly.

The bolt lashed closer, spilling blood against metal. A scream pierced the air, and tears streaked Zuko's cheeks. Azula laughed as the lightning slashed his chest, his arms, legs, and back. With each slash, the whip had drawn closer, now cutting through flesh. Aang convulsed with each blow, his body racked with pain. Finally, the core hit, the weapon slicing to the bone. Zuko yelled, the sound echoing dully in his isolated room. He slid down the window as Aang collapsed against the restraints, eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar. She struck the motionless body a last time, it barely shaking with the sudden blast of energy. Suddenly, the whip withdrew almost as quickly as it had formed.

A strange expression slid over Azula's face – one of uncertainty, as she signaled a guard over. Zuko held his breath as they surrounded him, releasing the binds and letting him fall to the metal. Azula said something to them as she turned her back to the glass pane. Zuko watched the guards anxiously as one shook his head.

'…No…' he thought to himself. "No!" he yelled, bolting for the door. Bruised fists banged against cold steel. The clanging echoed through the isolated room desperately, breath catching in his throat. He gripped the handle, knuckles white against pale flesh as he prepared to yank. With little effort, the door screeched open. He bolted, heading down staircase and through the door beneath the room he had come from.

In one swift motion, Zuko knocked the two unsuspecting guards aside, and Azula stepped back from the body. Blood puddled around his feet as he stepped over to Aang. He fell to his knees, the thud echoing dully in the open room.

"No…" he said. Cuts and scars marbled porcelain skin, stained with vermillion splashes that contrasted morbidly against the skin. The gashes had blistered, red oozing from the wounds and down his skin like wet paint that mingled among sky-blue tattoos. "No!" he yelled, fists landing hard against the metal. It rang out, echoing against steel and reverberating through the room.

"This is your fault, Zuko," Azula said softly from behind him.

"My…my fault?" he repeated, salty tears biting at the corners of his eyes.

"Yes, Zuko," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe if you had taught him firebending sooner, he wouldn't have even wound up in here. Even so, you didn't save him."

"I couldn't…" Zuko answered, a tear slipping from his closed eyes. "I-I wanted to, but…I was trapped – I had nothing…"

"No, you weren't, Zuko," Azula replied, squatting so that she was almost level with her brother. "The door was unlocked. You could have easily opened it and prevented this from happening."

"No…" he said, eyes wide. "I…I didn't know – I thought…it was locked…"

"No, Zuko," she said, standing. She turned away from her trembling brother to hide the sneer that formed against her blood spattered face. "I purposely left it unlocked…just to see if you'd be smart enough to save your friend. It's been unlocked for days now." She said harshly, the words laced with venom as they pierced his mind. Zuko's eyes widened as she spoke. "You couldn't stop me, you couldn't save your friend, and you won't be able to save Iroh. You've not only failed them, Zuko." His eyes met hers, the bright knowing gaze mesmerizing and intimidating. "You've betrayed them." Zuko turned away.

"No…" he said, watching the blood trickle from the seared flesh. "I-I didn't…I didn't mean…I tried to…"

"You might not have meant for this to happen, Zuko, but you let it happen."

"I…I've…I've failed," he said, falling back into a sitting position. Shaking, he looked at his hands, rough and bloodstained. "I'm such an idiot!" he screamed. "It's my fault! My fault…" The tears fell in steady streams as he choked and hiccupped. His head fell into his hands, the cooled blood sticky against his cheeks. She gave a gesture and the two guards lifted him away from the floor. Hands fell to his side, and he let them guide him away. Absently he allowed them to take him to his cell and place the cold shackles loosely on his wrists. They slammed the door as they exited. He knew her eye stared at him, and he turned from the torchlight of the corridor. He couldn't stand to meet that gaze again. Her footsteps resonated against the metal walls before fading away. Zuko sobbed, unable to force back the tears and hiccups.

"Zuko?" Iroh said weakly. "What's…happened?"

"I-it's all my fault, Uncle!" Zuko yelled. "The Avatar…Aang's dead…and…and it's my fault. My fault!" His face fell to his hands and he sobbed, shaking uncontrollably. "I could have saved him! But I just…I watched. I sat there and watched him die, Uncle!"

"Zuko, you must not blame yourself," Iroh said hoarsely. "You were not the one that killed him."

"But I just sat there, Uncle!" he replied. "The door was unlocked – I could have stopped her! But…I chose to watch…just…watch. I…I failed, Uncle, I've betrayed them! Azula is right – I couldn't stop her, I couldn't save Aang, I can't save the others – I can't even save you!"

"That's enough, Zuko!" Iroh interrupted loudly.

"Stop pretending, Uncle," Zuko yelled. "You always tell me not to run from my problems – not to blame others! You were right, Uncle. You always have been…I'm…I'm sorry…"

"Zuko…" Iroh said softly.

"I'm sorry, Uncle…" His head hung low, dulled amber watching the tears drip to the metal with a weak tap.

The days passed a little slower, and Azula didn't visit for a few of them. Across from him, Iroh's breathing had become short, wheezy, and strained. They had slowed, hesitating for moments, skipping beats, and Zuko knew it was coming. His heart wrenched, wishing he could trade his life for the fate Iroh was assigned. He closed his eyes, flinching at every weak cough and gasp for air.

Soon, the pained breaths stopped altogether, his unrecognizable uncle slouching awkwardly against the chains.

It was the guard that brought lunch that realized the stiff body. He immediately notified the Fire Lord, and Azula came to watch them remove the body. Zuko watched with damp eyes as they removed his uncle's body on a gurney-like cart, his frail frame draped in a stained white cloth. They didn't exchange words; Azula watched the cart roll across the metal gracefully and Zuko closed his eyes as the sound faded down the corridor. When he opened his eyes, Azula still stood before him. She looked at him wordless still, and shook her head with disappointment.

'I know…' Zuko thought; she didn't need to say a word. He knew. She walked out after them, the heel clicks resonating through the silent metal prison.