The city of Ba Sing Se was as grand as it ever had been, and as he walked down the streets his mind drifted back to the time that he had been staying here with his uncle, helping to run a tea shop. The path that he was walking now was a very familiar one, the same one he had walked each day back then to arrive at the shop. Life had been simple then, and he had enjoyed it greatly.
But with those thoughts were also the ones that came after. Of Azula coming, taking the city. Of the fight in the caverns, what some could see as the heart of the city itself... and of him betraying his uncle, all so that he could get back into the good graces of his father. It was what he had lusted after and dreamed of... but as he learned, when you finally got your wish, it was rarely what you really wanted.
The ironic coldness in the hearts of those that led the nation, of the generals and his father, in his sister... it had been too much for him. He wanted to belong to his nation, to be looked up at and respected by his people, but he hadn't been willing to sacrifice the world to do it. So he turned his back on his father, challenged him, and then left to join the Avatar.
He was most grateful, however, when he was able to at last apologize to his uncle, and he had been welcomed back with open arms. His uncle had forgiven everything that he had done, the pain and betrayal, the imprisonment, all he had to do was apologize. And so he had... and here they were now. He was Firelord, working to fix the world, and his uncle had gotten his wish of a relaxing life tending his teashop.
It was his trip down memory lane that had almost been his undoing. His guards had been told to hold back, only following from a fair distance, with another few sent ahead to inform Uncle of his arrival. It was just the briefest glimmer of light that caught his attention, and he instinctively leaned back. Passing before his face was a quick silver blur of a thrown dagger. Immediately he twisted around, throwing out his fist in the direction that it had come from. Pausing just for a minute to verify a target, he released a ball of fire towards the would be assassin.
The person was quick on their feet, however, and they flicked their body over the licking flames, form curving with its momentum as they released a pair of sharp daggers towards him. As their weight came down they caught themselves on the palm of their left hand and spun off of it, lining themselves up with the Firelord. Shifting their falling momentum and utilizing the muscles in their arm, chest and shoulders they sprang from the stand and launched themselves at Zuko.
He dealt with the deadly weapons by dropping into a slightly crouched stance, allowing them to pass a few inches over his head. His response was quick, using the momentum from springing from the crouch to carry him around in a spin, bringing his leg up and lashing out with a spinning kick. Energy licked around his body into the limb and as the momentum was fully carried forwards released a burst of flame.
The small, licking inferno would have decided things, had the assassin not been quicker. Grabbing Zuko's leg as it snapped out, the nimble assailants hands caught onto it, using it as a leverage point to shift themselves out of the way of the flames. Their airborne moment carried them forwards, and Zuko saw their arm lash out towards his neck.
His leg dropped as he used it to shift his weight and bring up his own arm, managing to deflect the limb just barely off its course. As the Assassin flew by, Zuko felt a stinging sensation in the side of his face, quickly followed by the warm flow of blood. But, his quick action had saved his life, as it had been aimed towards his throat.
He twisted to attack once more, but found himself chocking and covering his eyes as a sudden blast of smoke filled the air, cutting off his vision and assaulting his senses. He stumbled forwards and out of it as he rubbed at his blurry eyes, darting his sight around through teared vision. Even as he readied an attack, however, he realized that the assassin was gone, disappeared into the shadows of one of the side streets that branched off from the main road.
He dropped to one knee coughing and chocking before after a moment he had caught his breath. As his eyes started to clear up, he could see two of his guards rushing towards them, clear concern written crossed their face. Though they had been following orders, the Fire Lord had almost been killed under their watch.
"!" The lead man called. A captain, and the senior soldier of the two. "Are you hurt sir?" While the captain tended to the FireLord, the other soldier, a Sergent, quickly signaled for a few more of the elite guard that were coming around to split up, each of them taking a separate ally. The attack had lasted less than thirty seconds, but its end result had almost been devastating.
"Fine, soldier." He snapped, anger clear in his voice. "If you find the assailant, I want them brought to me immediately! Do I make myself clear?" The question, however, had been rhetorical, and Zuko marched off from the main towards his uncles teashop. He had wasted enough time, and some tea would do him some good at this point.
The shop itself was only a few blocks from the site of the attack, and Zuko arived quickly to find his concerned looking uncle starting to head in the direction of the incident. He stopped as he saw Zuko approach, however, and nodded towards his nephew.
"Are you alright, Zuko?" His voice was full of the compassion that his uncle almost always showed, though the usual touch of humor that it was usually accompanied with was missing. His uncle looked rather grave indeed.
"I'm fine, uncle. Thank you for your concern." Zuko bowed slightly to his Uncle, showing him the respect that the older man deserved from him. As he did so, however, he started to feel slightly woozy and his vision began to fog. He tried to recover but lost his balance, falling forwards.
"Zuko!" His uncle cried, quickly stepping the few feat to catch his nephew before he hit the ground. "Can you hear me Nephew?" The concern was increasing, and Zuko could feel his uncles weight as he shifted, looking around for something.
"Po...oison." Zuko managed to choke out, reaching towards his cheek. His eyes closed and he could feel his body growing weaker. But he also felt himself picked up and held close to something warm. The feeling spread through him and gave him some reassurance even as he felt himself slip into the dark void of unconsciousness.
…..............................................................................................................
The next thing Zuko was made aware of was a bright light stinging his eyes as he tried to open them, and he suddenly bolted up looking around, not knowing where he was. A familiar hand quickly rested on his shoulder reassuringly, and he allowed himself to lay back down against the bed he felt himself in, eyes settling on his uncle at his side.
"That was a close call, Zuko." His uncles grave voice carried to him. "Not very much of the poison got into your system. For that we are lucky." His uncles eyes showed a very clear fear, and Zuko knew how close his life had come to being lost.
"Who...who was it?" He managed to stammer out, finding that his body was still quite weak. He knew that he had been lucky to make it to his uncle. Had the older man not quickly reacted, he may not have got the help that he needed.
"We do not know my Nephew." He paused and looked to the side, as though he was judging if he should say more. Zuko could tell from the look that it was something disturbing him, and something that he was worried wouldn't be right to tell him while he was weak. After a moment the reservation passed, however, and his uncle spoke. "However... we do know that it was not an isolated attack."
Zuko's eyes widened with fear and concern as his thoughts immediately shifted to Mai. "Mai...is she alright uncle? Tell me..." He coughed, a racking pain shooting through him, cutting off his concerned questions.
"Yes Zuko." He felt his uncles strong arms settle on him. "Try and rest your energy my nephew. You were almost killed, and we would be wise not to finish the assassins job." Zuko nodded and became quite, allowing his uncle to continue. "Your wife is safe. However, this was an attack on your family, Zuko."
Zuko's eyes looked at him confused. If it wasn't an attack on his wife, how had it been an attack on his family. It took a moment for his mind to process it, as beyond his uncle and wife, he had managed to rid himself of any thoughts of the rest of his family. Realization settled into his eyes.
"Your sister and father were also attacked on that day." His eyes lowered in some deep regret and pain, and Zuko thought he might have seen a few tears as his uncle turned away. "While I did not get along with your Father, he was my brother, and it pains me greatly that he has been killed."
Zuko felt a little deadened by the news. While he cared nothing for his father at this point, to learn that any member of the royal family had been killed brought to him a deep sense of discomfort. Who would organize a strike on the direct bloodline of Sozin? "...And Azula?" He managed, after a few moments of careful thought.
"Your sister still lives, Zuko. Your wife was visiting with some of the generals that were imprisoned for supporting your father even after his fall when the assassin attempted to strike. She heard the commotion when the guards were attacked and managed to strike down the attacker." General Iroh's voice actually showed some relief. For whatever reason, he seemed to harbor some care for his niece.
"I...see." Zuko said, trying to smile slightly in relief, while the emotions that were actually turning in him were something close to dread. "Did the assassin make it to Azula's cell?" He asked finally, hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with that when he returned home.
"I do not know, Zuko. They did not fully inform me of what had happened." His uncles eyebrows raised with slight curiosity. "Why do you want to know, my nephew?"
Zuko's eyes closed as he started to feel himself fall back to sleep, his body failing to hold onto what little energy that it had at the moment. "No reason, uncle. I just wanted to know if she had been hurt at all." He hoped the answer was sufficient as he fell asleep.