Chapter 2

An Avatar: Airbender fanfic, with a touch of AU thrown in, along with unforeseen circumstances, and a more rebellious Zuko.

Summary: When Lu Ten went to Ba Sing Se with General Iroh, he came back to his homeland alive and healthy. His eminent return leads to unforeseen circumstances, and a decidedly different future.

Warnings: Zuko-Centric, contains violence, relatively AU, minor changes in the timeline.

Important Note: First of all, I am sorry for my long absence. I will make no excuses, but life has been busy and I haven't had the time to update as often as I would like to update (meaning, I haven't had the time to update at all).

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90 ASC, Month of the Moon (November), Monday, 04:30pm

Geming loved his sister, he really did. When Azula was born, the first thing he did was rush to his mother's side and look at the little baby swathed in voluminous blankets, sleeping peacefully. And now, five years later, his opinion still hadn't changed. She was his little sister, and even though she had her bad points, she also had her good ones.

Geming was only seven years old, true, but he had his own opinions on people. And his opinion on his father wasn't a very good one. He saw the way Prince Ozai would look at Uncle Iroh; speculating and plotting. He saw the way his father would look at the Fire Lord, Grandfather Azulon; with a shine in his eyes saying that he wanted the throne, that he would be the better ruler. But still, Prince Ozai was his father, and it was impossible for Geming to hate him completely. No matter how strongly Geming disapproved of his father's thoughts and plots and actions, he was still family, still someone he loved, however hard it might be to find that love inside himself.

"She just has that spark in her eye, something that my son does not possess." Geming heard his father say once, and accepted that explanation; that his father was not happy with him and that in his eyes he would never amount to anything, because he just didn't possess that something that his father said Azula possessed. Before that Geming didn't get along with his father, but he at least tried. He tried while training, he would go to his father's office to talk to him and ask if he needed company, or he would sit next to his father while he signed document after document in his opulent office, crowded by musty books and golden statues and the heavy scent of old paper and ink. But after Geming heard this, he knew that he had no chance to be accepted. So slowly his love diminished, with each cutting remark and with each sentence comparing him to Azula.

He still loved his father, but it was sometimes hard to keep reminding himself of that fact.

Still, it wasn't Azula's fault that their father preferred her to him, so he tried hard to spend time with her, and play with her, and ask how she was doing every single day, even though every time he saw his father a disapproving comment would be ready at the tip of his tongue, waiting to be unleashed even though he never planned to let it see the light of the day.

"Geming," his father's voice filtered in through his thoughts, sounding cold and strict.

"Father," Geming responded automatically, straightening in his seat as he focused his attention back on the plate in front of him. It was still mostly full, even though it had been fifteen minutes since it had been brought in.

"How are you faring in your lessons? I spoke with your teachers, and Master Piandao says you exhibit a natural talent for…dual dao swords." he ended the sentence slightly condescendingly, as though he believed that using metal weapons was beneath his station in life. And for his father it was true, Geming reflected. He was a master of martial arts and used them flawlessly along with his firebending, but his father was a strict follower of the belief that a true firebender used only his body to fight.

"Thank you, Father, but I believe I still have a long way to go," Geming said, sounding older than his age of seven. "I am doing well in all of my other studies; though Teacher Yuzah stated that some of my charcoal drawings need a bit more inspiration."

"I see. And you, Azula, my daughter?"

Azula brightened considerably, and proceeded to tell the Prince all about her week, saying how she had finally mastered that seventh firebending form, and how her teachers thought she was quickly moving on to the next level in controlling her fire punches. The Prince smiled slightly all throughout her response, and Geming was slightly worried by the considering look he noticed in his eyes.

94 ASC, Month of the Stars (December), Tuesday, 12:12pm

"Your Majesty, please, I do not think that my brother is a good choice. He has still not fully returned to his old self after Princess Ula's death, and by insisting on bringing his son to the battlefield, he takes the risk of being distracted." Prince Ozai said heatedly, kneeling on the floor of the audience chamber for the third time in a week. The nearer the invasion was the more desperate his father became, Geming noticed distantly from his place next to his sister. However, his Grandfather always had the same answer, and the audience always ended after a mere fifteen minutes with everyone in a bad mood. His father was running out of ideas if he was mentioning Aunt Ula, Geming reflected. Leading the invasion would cement Uncle Iroh's position as heir to the throne irrevocably, and his father would not even get the chance to protest because Uncle Iroh would have already proven himself by winning over Ba Sing Se. Geming desperately hoped that that would be the case at least, because no matter how talented his father was, you couldn't lead a country by only causing conflict and invading your neighbours.

"Ozai, I have already decided. Iroh shall depart in three days, and I do not think Lu Ten's presence will be a distraction. I would even say that it will be an advantage to us. Lu Ten is skilled, and is already an adult. He will be able to take care of himself, and I place my trust in Iroh's ability to control his temper."

Unlike you, hung in the air, unsaid, and Geming saw his father's eyes flash with barely – masked fury. Privately, Geming agreed with his grandfather wholeheartedly. Lu Ten often participated in Geming's lessons, and Geming often wondered at his cousin's talent. He was a skilled firebender, but his true power lay in his mind. Lu Ten wasn't only clever, he was frighteningly intelligent. Whenever they studied war tactics Lu Ten predicted his movements up to twenty steps ahead, and for him there wasn't only one choice, he invented numerous ways to do one thing. It left Geming simultaneously frightened and in awe, because no matter how hard he studied and no matter how good he was at controlling his firebending and at sparring, Geming would never have the same innate talent as Lu Ten. Thoughts like this would have left other people depressed, but for Geming they acted as a push forwards. He just had to try harder at the things he was good at. Cover your weaknesses with your strengths was a decidedly good way of thinking, he decided. It was a shame his father didn't agree with him, because for him it wasn't acceptable for there to be any weaknesses. It was also a shame his father didn't realise that even he had his own ones, and that Grandfather had just played on them to his advantage.

Number one – someone always has more authority than you…

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Short Explanation: These were also short snippets of Geming's childhood, and one of them took place a couple of days before the invasion of Ba Sing Se. In the next chapter I will write about the invasion itself, what happened, and Lu Ten will also have a bigger role and his own opinions and actions will be shown along with Geming's.

Please read and review!