The World Will End In Fire

by Cucumber123

Zuko tries to stop his father from sending the new recruits to battle at Ba Sing Se. He fails, Lu Ten is dead, and as a consolation prize, Zuko is burned. When his father is forced to kill him, the mother he adored disappeared into the night instead to save his life. Now Zuko has more scars than meets the eye, so he runs, and buries his past behind a mask of blue and white.

1. Prologue

Prologue

Once, Zuko yearned for the praise of his father. He wished for his mother's happiness. He wanted his sister to look up to him, to stand by his side. He never imagined the shame that would fall upon him and destroy all his dreams. He felt guilt beyond what one could simply imagine. When the guilt became too much to bear, he thought that running would help leave the past behind, but it only dragged him down. So he took a new identity, one with no past other than a legend and a particularly bad play. No one else but himself knows the face behind the Blue Spirit, and he fears that if he was discovered, all anyone would see would be his scars. And all he can do about it is to blame himself.