Avatar The Last Airbender Fanfiction
Book 1: Ashes
Chapter 1: The story of the soldier
The burning
"You will learn respect," A looming voice said as a thirteen-year-old boy look up and saw a hand close up on the left side of his face "And suffering shall be your teacher," The looming voice said as the next thing that the thirteen-year-old saw was flames
He passed out and the looming voice took a moment to address the crowd "People of the fire nation, we are in dire of manpower, many of our great squadrons are lacking the power we need to conquer everything, that's why my son will join the military, to prove himself and to show the mighty power of the fire nation," The looming voice stated as the crowd started clapping except one man
This man was General Iroh, the dragon of the west and his eyes hadn't left the down figure that was prince Zuko, he started praying to the lord Agni for the safety of his nephew as he knew that the ways of the army could be dangerous for a thirteen-year-old boy
Iroh could only think of his fallen son and grimaced thinking of a way to help his nephew, he knew talking to his brother was out of the question, so he needed a plan b, so his political mind started to think of a bunch of plans and then his mind focused on what the fire lord was saying
"He will receive training for a year and then he will join squad 66," The fire lord said and Iroh grabbed his beard in deep thought as a plan started to form in his mind, he would need to make a few calls
The scar
The thirteen-year-old prince Zuko woke up with a massive pain on the left side of his face as a doctor checked his face and started applying some form of balsam on the left side of his face
"Please don't move prince Zuko," The doctor said as the other people in the room try to maintain Zuko steady
"It hurts," Zuko whined as he tried to grab the left side of his face, but the doctors stopped him as they started bandaging the left side of his face
Zuko heard his door open, and he tried to look at the person that enter his room, but his pain prevented him from turning
"How is he?" A voice he recognized as his uncle Iroh asked the doctor and the doc sighed and faced the general
"He's stable," The doctor said before continue speaking "He will need to apply balsam on his left side for the next three weeks two times a day, once before sleeping and once every morning," The doctor explained, and Iroh nodded
"Okay, then leave us please, I want to have a few words with my nephew," Iroh said and the doctors left the room
The dragon of the west walked to the edge of the bed and grabbed the arm of Zuko in sympathy
"How are you feeling?" Iroh asked Zuko and the prince twisted in pain and try to look at his uncle, his good eye filled with tears of pain
"Everything hurts, why did my father show up? It was supposed to be the general," Zuko said pain filled in his voice
"Your father said that because you made a show of disrespect in his war room, you disrespect him," Iroh explained but clearly not believing those words
"It's not fair," Zuko whined as he started crying Iroh looked at him in sympathy, and then he decided to lie in hopes of bringing some kind of hope to Zuko
"There's a way to earn that respect of your father back," Iroh said and Zuko looked at him with hopeful eyes
"How?" Zuko asked with hopefulness in his voice as Iroh grabbed his beard
"Your father has decided to assign you to the army, as a soldier, you just need to prove yourself in the army and impress your father," Iroh said hating himself for the lies he was saying but he need a way to lift Zuko spirits and allow him to survive
"I can do that, I'll be the best soldier he has ever seen," Zuko promised, and Iroh smiled at the words of conviction
"That's good to hear, I will not be able to join you, but I will keep an eye on you here," Iroh said as he tighten his grip on the hand of Zuko
"It's okay, I'll be fine," Zuko said and Iroh nodded with a look of pain on his face
Iroh wasn't seeing Zuko on the bed, he was seeing his own son, and knew if he didn't move quickly, the same fate that had fallen his own son would fall on Zuko, so he stood up and say his goodbye to Zuko and exited the room
He walks the halls of the fire palace and then leaned on a wall as he felt a presence on his right "General Iroh," the presence said and Iroh without looking at him spoke out
"Master Jeong Jeong, thank you for coming in so short notice," Iroh said while grabbing the edge of his beard "I'm guessing you saw what happened," Iroh said
"Yes, I saw, who could do that to his own child?" Jeong Jeong asked rhetorically, and he only got a sigh as a response from Iroh
"We need to move, we can let Prince Zuko die that easily," Iroh said and then gained a hard look on his face "I want you to train him," Iroh said and Jeong Jeong's eyes winded
"But what about the plan?" Jeong Jeong asked in shock
"We will have to postpone that, I need you here and not wandering off in search of the avatar, train him, the best you can under a year, so he may survive," Iroh said and the other master nodded
"Then I will train him, but fair warning, I will push him to his limits," Jeong Jeong said, and Iroh nodded
"That's all I ask," The dragon of the west said
The training
"Stand still," A military doctor said as he checked the wounds on the face of the prince
"How does it look?" Zuko asked as he felt the scar on his face
"As well as it could be," The military doctor said bluntly and Zuko frowned at that words "Good news, you won't have to wear the bandages anymore, but keep putting the balsam on every night," The doctor said and Zuko nodded but didn't say anything
"Well then, I'll leave you to continue your training," The doctor said as he left the area Zuko lay there with his thoughts
It's been a while since he had joined the military and today was his fourteen birthday he looked at his hand as he tighten them into a fist
He was wasting time training, he wanted to join the squadron as fast as he could so he could prove himself to his father
He started putting his armor on and he strapped his dual swords on his back as he grabbed his helmet
He put it on while he exited his tent and headed to the main area of the camp, he saw various recruits glance at him in disdain
He had managed to gain a reputation for being a little off put and always demanding the best from the recruits, of course, he always shouted at them but that's how always being taught so he didn't see anything wrong with that
"Attention!" A corporal shouted as the recruits line up and look at the corporal as he and master Jeong Jeong entered the area
"Recruits, we're beginning with your morning routines, so get down and show me some push-ups!" The corporal said as the recruits started doing some push-ups
"How is he coming along?" Jeong Jeong asked looking at the young prince as he excel at the push-ups
"He is the best soldier we could ask for, but he has no teamwork skills," The corporal said as Jeong Jeong grabbed his chin in deep thought
"How can we rectify that?" Jeong Jeong asked in curiosity as he stared intently at the prince
"Recruits, get into your stances!" The corporal shouted and then glanced back at the master "I suppose we could put him through the ring and show him the way," The corporal said as the master glanced at the prince doing fire-bending stances
"Do it," Jeong Jeong said, and the corporal nodded
"Okay you pieces of shit, move to ring now, quickly!" The corporal shouted as the recruits started marching quickly to another area of the training camp
The recruits alongside Jeong Jeong and the corporal arrived at the ring, the ring was a military obstacle course
"Okay recruits line up," The corporal said standing in front of the recruits "Your job is simple, run through the obstacle in the least amount of time possible," The corporal said, and the recruits went to the starting line
"One more thing, if someone of you falls or trips," The corporal said and brought the attention of the recruits to him "You will start the part of the course all over again, and you cannot commence the next part of the course," The corporal said
The corporal signaled the beginning of the race and Zuko excelled at it he did the jumping tires as quickly as he could, but he had to restart several times because people had started tripping
They got to the second part of the course which was an oiled wall and again Zuko had done it quickly but some of the recruits had fallen again so they had to do it several times before every recruit got it right
They got to the third part and the sun had started falling, the third part was the toughest, they had to walk across a line while dogging some incoming boulders and like the other parts it took a while because several recruits had fallen, and everyone had to do it again
It was nightfall when they finished the third part, and everyone was tired and dirty from the course
"Can someone tell me why did you all take so long?" The corporal asked rhetorically but everyone was too tired to answer
"You took too long because some of you fell over and over again, and it was the fault of everyone here," The corporal said and the recruits looked at him in confusion
"The leaders, Zuko, Jin, and Fey who were ahead, you kept pushing forward without a care, and those who fell back, kept pushing forward not learning from the others before you," The corporal said and stood in front of the recruits
"The difference between life and death out there on the battlefield is your team, so learn from them and make sure you have their backs, otherwise you will fighting alone out there," The corporal said and then his eyes landed on Zuko
"Recruit Zuko, follow me," The corporal said as the prince nodded at him "The rest of you go to your tents and get some rest," The corporal said as he started to walk away from the area followed closely by Zuko
They got into the tent of the corporal and Zuko saw Master Jeon Jeon waiting there "Please take a seat recruit," The corporal said and Zuko sat crossed-legged on the floor
"Why am I here sir?" Zuko asked in curiosity and the corporal ignored the lack of respect, the recruit was tired, and the corporal had something important to tell Zuko
"We got some news for you recruit," The corporal said as he took a seat in front of Zuko, and Jeon Jeon took a seat in the corner of the tent
"What kind of news sir?" Zuko asked in curiosity
"You are being assigned to a squad, effective immediately," The corporal said and Zuko perked up at that statement "In one week you will join squad 66," The corporal said
"In the meantime, I will give you a crash course of fire bending to help you prepare for the trials to come," Master Jeon Jeon said and Zuko nodded still thinking of what the corporal had said
He had heard about that squad before, it was said to be the perfect infiltration squad and he frowned wanting to be at front of the action
"I see you recognize that squad, your father specifically wanted you placed there," The corporal said and Zuko nodded
"You can leave now recruit, take some rest and be ready for tomorrow morning," Jeon Jeon said Zuko nodded and head out of the tent
"I hope he's ready for the trials to come," Jeon Jeon said watching the retreating form of Zuko
"Me too old friend, especially because of his squad," The corporal said "There is a name on the streets for that squad," He said piquing the interest of Jeon Jeon
"What name?" The old master asked in curiosity
"They called them the suicide squad," the corporal answer
The suicide squad
Zuko arrived at the city on the borders of the earth kingdom and the first thing he saw was the surrounding tents of the fire nation and the several war machines that characterize the Fire Nation
Zuko took a breath in and walked to the main tent of the camp area under the watchful eyes of the several soldiers surrounding the area
"Who's that?" A female soldier who was on top of a mole beast called Shirisu asked another soldier by her right
"A new recruit perhaps," the other soldier said as he scratched his brown hair in confusion as they saw the scarred teen enter the main tent
"Hold it there, state your business," A man inside the tent said and Zuko stopped at the entrance
"Calm down Lt Feng, this is the new recruit we were talking about," Another man said and Zuko turned to look at him
He was a middle age with dark hair and a well-built physic and with a charismatic smile he address the Lt a middle-aged man with brown hair and a scar running alongside the left side of his face
"Recruit Zuko reporting to service sir!" Zuko said standing tall at the entrance of the tent
"At ease soldier, let us introduce ourselves," The other man said "I'm captain of this squad, Captain Jeng, pleasure to meet you," The captain said and Zuko nodded
"The pleasure is all mine sir," Zuko said and the captain looked at the lieutenant
"Lt Feng, go and pick up soldier Lee," The captain said and Lt Feng exited the tent in search of Cheng
"Please take a seat prince Zuko," The captain said Zuko took a seat on the floor and the captain sat in front of him
"I'm no prince sir, I'm just a soldier," Zuko said
"You're still my prince, no one can take that away from you," The captain said and Zuko looked down at the floor silently disagreeing with the captain
"Anyhow, only Lt Feng knows you're status, the rest of the squad doesn't know about your status," Captain Jeng said
"Can I ask why sir?" Zuko asked
"We wanted to give you privacy, you can reveal you're status to them if you want," The captain said "Ah soldier Lee, good to see you," The captain said standing up and Zuko turned to look at the entrance
At the entrance stood a man close to 20 years of age with short brown hair, he was wearing a light fire nation armor and he had a bandana strapped on his forehead
"You asked for me, sir?" The soldier asked and glanced shortly at Zuko
"This is our new recruit Zuko, Zuko this is soldier Lee, one of my best at hand," The captain said placing a hand on Lee's shoulder "Soldier, please take Zuko here and show him the ropes, take him to meet the others and tell him what we do here," The captain said
"Roger that sir," Lee said and Zuko stood up and followed closely behind Lee "Well you already know my name, and I already know yours so we can skip the pleasantries," Lee said and Zuko nodded
"Let me introduce you to the squad first," Lee said guiding Zuko to where the squad was
Zuko first notice the enormous Shirisu laying on the floor and couldn't keep his eyes from the beast until someone got up close to him
"Hey, you there, quit staring at Nyla," A girl with black hair said putting herself in front of Zuko making him stumble back
"June, forgive him, Nyla is quite the catch for newcomers," Another man said, Zuko looked at where the voice had come from, and he saw a blond-haired man sitting at a table eating some noodles
"Zuko, these are June and her pet Nyla," Lee said pointing at the black-haired woman and her pet "And this one over here is Cheng-Su," Lee said and the blond waved at Zuko
"These two are our search and destruction team," Lee said, "Guys this is Zuko, our newest recruit," Lee said
"Nice to meet you Zuko," Cheng-Su said and June looked at Lee for a moment
"So, what team will he be in?" June asked and Zuko looked at Lee in curiosity
"That's for the captain to decide, but if I have to guess," Lee said glancing at Zuko "He will be under my wing," Lee said and the others winced at that "Come on, you need to meet our blacksmith," Lee told to Zuko and the scarred teen said his goodbyes to the pair
"Under Lee's wing huh?" Cheng-Su asked sarcastically and June chuckled darkly
"May his god help him, because our world won't," June said watching the retreating forms of Zuko and Lee
"Here we are," Lee said as Zuko heard a clanking sound inside the tent, both males entered the tent
"Yo, Seong," Lee said entering the tent "Come and meet our new recruit," Lee said as a huge muscular man with dark haired looked at them, he had some glasses on to cover from the flashes of the fire
He removed them from his face as he dusted himself off and nodded at Zuko
"Zuko this is Seong, he doesn't speak, but he's the best blacksmith you'll ever find," Lee said with a smirk on his face
"Pleasure to meet you," Zuko said bowing his head and Seong bowed also
"I heard from the captain that you are proficient with dual broadswords am I right?" Lee asked him
"Yes, how did you know that?" Zuko asked and Lee looked at him
"The captain gets to decide who, among the recruits that are left, to take under the team, that means looking at their files," Lee said and Zuko nodded in understanding
"Seong here has something for you," Lee said and Seong went to the back of the tent to grab a case
He gave it to Zuko, and the dark-haired teen opened it up, and he saw inside of it two dual broadswords laying closely together that they appeared to be just one sword
"I don't know what to say," Zuko said taking the swords and strapping them on his back
"They aren't a present, they're a tool to help you survive," Lee said and nodded at Seong "Thank you for your work Seong," Lee said, "Walk with me Zuko," Lee said and both males exited the tent
"So, that's everyone on the squad," Lee said as they walked into the center of the camp
"Why they are so few?" Zuko couldn't help but blurt out that question making Lee chuckle
"Because no one wants to be here, Zuko," Lee said as he took a seat around the campfire
"What do you mean?" Zuko said taking a seat in front of Lee
"Aren't you wondering why my name doesn't sound too Fire Nation?" Lee said and Zuko nodded his head
"I'm mixed blood, my mother is from the earth kingdom, I was born in a colony," Lee said and Zuko looked at him in confusion
"Then why are you here?" Zuko asked in curiosity as Lee took out a case of cigarettes and lit one up with the flame of the fire in front of him
"Because every firstborn of the fire nation has to serve a least 10 years in the army," Lee said and Zuko's eyes winded at that statement
"Everyone has a similar story, in the end, no one wanted us in their squads, so here we are," Lee said taking a puff from his cigarette
Zuko looked at his hands and made a fist in bitterness and then looked at the fire in front of him
The target
"Why are you staring at that mask?" Lee asked Zuko as the scarred teen looked at a blue demon mask on the shelf of a vendor
"It's the blue spirit," Zuko said grabbing the mask "My mother used to love taking us to these silly plays about these spirits," Zuko said, and Lee looked at the mask
"Buy it, that will be your cover," Lee said as he walked ahead in the pathway and Zuko was left with the vendor
Zuko asked the vendor how much was it and paid for the mask and walked to catch up with Lee mask in hand
Lee was seating in a noddle shop eating some ramen and Zuko sat next to him "So our target, General Sing, he lives in the main building of the city," Lee said slurping on some noodles
"What's our mission?" Zuko asked
"Infiltrate his home, gather as much information as we can and terminate him," Lee said and Zuko froze at that statement
"Terminate him?" Zuko said and Lee nodded
"We are assassins Zuko, that's our job, and you will be doing the killing," Lee said
Zuko froze but swallowed his nervousness and vowed to do a good job to make the fire nation proud and ultimately his father proud
Lee finished his bowl of noodles and paid the cook for the food as he left the stall followed closely by Zuko
They got in front of the main building and walk around it into some bushes where two bags of clothes were laying around Lee grabbed one and tossed it to Zuko
"Change into that outfit, we'll need it to blend in," Lee said as he started changing into the outfit
Zuko looked at the bag and took out the clothes and started changing too
Both males changed into a black ninja outfit and waited for nightfall to come, Zuko kept staring at his mask while they waited
"It's time," Lee said as Zuko noticed that nighttime had arrived and nodded, Lee climbed up the walls of the main building and Zuko followed closely
"Let's split up, General Sing is located in that room there," Lee said pointing at a nearby window "Do you're job and meet me in the bushes once you're done, good luck," Lee said as he ran through the roof into another room
Zuko swallowed hard and put the mask on and ran to the window of the room, Zuko saw inside the room and saw the general sleeping on his bed
He entered the room and walked quietly to the bed and saw the general sleeping on it, he drew his sword and put one on the throat of the general, and sliced it
The general woke up abruptly and gargle in his own blood, he looked to his right and saw a figure standing on his right
The last thing the general saw was a blue demon spirit staring at his soul
Zuko was frozen staring at the figure of the dead general until he snap out of it and head out the same way he came in
Zuko arrived at the bushes first and took off his mask as he caught his breath, he looked at his hands and noticed that they couldn't stop shaking and tried to calm down
"Is it done?" Lee asked and Zuko not trusting his voice just nodded "Okay then, let's get out of here," Lee said as they grabbed the bags and ran from the place toward their camp
"Report soldiers," Lee and Zuko had arrived at the camp and quickly went towards the captain's tent to report about the mission
Zuko ignored the debriefing, he was still numb from what he just did and let Lee take charge of the debriefing
"Are you alright?" Zuko heard a feminine voice ask him that and shock him awake
He was sitting around the campfire with the rest of the squad "I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about," Zuko said
"So, your mission sucked, didn't it?" Cheng-Su said with a bottle of alcohol in his hand
Zuko didn't respond to that question, instead, he looked at his hands and started talking "It's just that, it was too easy and too quick," Zuko said
"Yeah, no one tells you that, but taking someone's life, is pretty easy," June said while taking a sip of her own drink
"But he was just defenseless, there was no honor in my actions," Zuko said
"Honor?" Lee asked from behind Zuko and chuckle bitterly "Listen well Zuko, you are right there's no honor in the things that we do," Lee said as he took a seat next to Zuko
"But the thing is in war, there is no honor, only people who die and people who win," Lee said and Zuko looked at the fire in front of him
"Then why are we doing this in the first place?" Zuko asked and Lee shrugged his shoulders
"Ask the fire lord, he's the one continuing this war," Lee said and the others looked at him in worried
"Dude that's treason," June said, and Lee looked at her unworried
"Whatever, it is what it is," Lee said and then offered Zuko a cigarette the scarred teen thought about it for a second before taking the cigarette and lighting it up with a snap of his fingers
He took a drag and then started coughing immediately draining laughter from everybody in the area
Zuko looked at everyone and couldn't help but smile at the laughter of everyone and then his eyes fell on the fire once more
The tragedy
Zuko, now seventeen years old and with short black hair, was standing on the outskirts of the camp of the squad, smoking a cigarette and looking at a package in his hands
"So, what did Captain Feng want?" Zuko heard someone ask and turned to see Lee standing next to him
"They're promoting me," Zuko said and Lee winded at that
"To Lt?" Lee asked and Zuko nodded "Wow, it only took you three years, that's amazing," Lee said taking out a cigarette of his own and lighting it up
"It should've gone to you," Zuko said taking a drag out of his cigarette
"Maybe, but they'll never make a mixed-blood someone important," Lee said, "An I don't want to be, I got half a year remaining and then I'm done," Lee said making Zuko chuckle
"You know, this is definitely not what I was expecting when I joined the army," Zuko said
"And what were you expecting?" Lee asked with a raised eyebrow
"Don't know, but it wasn't this, to be honest," Zuko said getting a chuckle at a response from Lee
"You have to admit it, you don't regret it one bit," Lee said "Remember when we had to help squad 95 with their mission?" Lee asked rhetorically
"Yeah, a total fiasco that was, can't still believe we pull that off," Zuko said chuckling alongside Lee "At least Captain Jeng got promoted," Zuko said
"Yeah, he deserved it, after putting up with our shit for too long," Lee said making Zuko chuckle
Then out of a sudden, an explosion from the blacksmith tent draw the attention of both males who quickly sprung into action
"I'll go check on Seong, you rally the others," Zuko said
"Roger that, meet us on the campfire," Lee said and they went their separate ways
Zuko got to the burning tent and saw Seong coughing outside but didn't look hurt "Seong, are you alright?" Zuko asked and the mute nodded
Zuko went to help Seong walk to the campfire when he heard a rustling from behind him
Zuko dodge down alongside Seong an incoming knife and quickly turned back and stood up again and saw a figure wearing black and wielding a katana
The dark-haired teen got into fire bending stance and quickly sent two fireballs at the figure making him go right, a thing Zuko wanted as he drew his swords from his back and swing forward
The figure parry the swing and got into a stalemate, but Zuko had learned to fight to survive, so he leaned back making the figure fall forward Zuko rapidly swing at the figure's neck killing him instantly
"May Agni rest your soul," Zuko whispered as he shed his swords and went to Seong who was standing up
"Come on let's go to the others," Zuko said helping Seong walk
They got to the campfire, and they saw the rest of the squad fighting several figures dressed in black, but oddly enough Zuko didn't spot the captain
Zuko quickly put down Seong and went into battle mode and jumped throwing several firebombs at the attackers, he hit two in the back, and they fell to the floor unconscious
Lee and the others thanks to the opening Zuko provided, could fend off their attackers, Nyla, the pet of June, paralyzed several attackers and June finished them off
Cheng-Su was throwing some knives at the attackers and once they were distracted Lee finished them off with his Katana
They battle for a while until Squad 66 came on top with all the attackers being killed and the squad took a moment to rest
"What the fuck was that?" June asked and the others looked at her not knowing what had happened
"This doesn't make sense, our camp is pretty secure," Zuko mumbled and started thinking of why the hell they were attacked until he felt someone push him away
"Zuko, look out!" Lee said pushing Zuko away and then receiving a stab to the gut
The rest of the squad looked shocked at the scene and Zuko looked at the attacker in anger ready to fire a fire stream at whoever had done that but stopped and his face gain a look of shock once he saw who the attacker was
"Fucking mercenaries, can't do anything right," Captain Feng said taking out the sword and making Lee fall to the ground
"Captain, what the hell are you doing?" Cheng-Su asked as they saw the maniacal look on the captain's face
"I'm getting reed of all you, unwanted trash," Captain Feng said "I'm doing the fire nation a favor," Captain Feng said
"What do you mean?" Zuko asked in confusion as he glanced at his dying friend and then shared a look with June, who nodded
"Shut up," Captain Feng said "I couldn't take it anymore, you all are unwanted, the worse of the worse, a stain in the glory of the fire nation," Captain Feng said and then looked directly at Zuko "And when I heard they were making you Lt, you, the disgrace of the Fire Lord, I had enough," Captain Feng said
"What do you mean disgrace?" Zuko said unknowingly facing his worse fears and not wanting to believe what the captain was saying but deep down he knew, he had fears and ever since he joined this squad, he had a feeling that his father was trying to get him killed
"Oh, don't act as if you don't know," Captain Feng said, "You wear the mark of disgrace on your face, your father sent you here to die, and I'm going to grant him his wish," Feng said maniacally and Zuko froze as many thoughts invaded his head
"You'll be branded as a traitor for this," Cheng-Su said and the captain laughed
"Traitor?" Captain Feng asked sarcastically "I'm going to kill mixed bloods and an unwanted child, I'll become a fucking hero." Feng said and got ready to charge but then he felt a lick on his leg and fell forward paralyzed by Nyla,
Zuko, numb at what the captain had said walked forward and kept staring into the captain's eyes, "You're wrong, my father doesn't want me dead," Zuko said and the captain started laughing
"You're really a disappointment, you can't even face reality," Feng said "What sort of father sends his son to the worst squad of the fire nation?" Feng asked rhetorically and Zuko's hand started twitching "What sort of father only gives his son a year to prepare when the mandatory preparation time is two years?" Feng said with a sarcastic smirk on his face
"What sort of father burns his son? Unless they are a disgrace to the fire nation," Feng said and Zuko had enough with a shout, he send a fire stream at the captain burning him and ignoring the sounds of screaming from the captain
The rest of the squad looked at him in shock and silence followed Zuko's action as everyone stared at the burned body of Feng
The silence was broken by the sounds of agony coming from Lee and everyone looked at their fallen comrade
"Lee," Zuko expressed running at him and trying quickly to stop the bleeding
The fallen teen started coughing blood and looked at Zuko "So it's true, you're the fire prince, I should've guessed it," Lee said while coughing
"Don't talk, save your strength," Zuko said applying pressure on the wound
"I don't want to be a dick, but the captain was right," Lee said, "We are all unwanted, so we have to make our own path," Lee said coughing some more blood
"If your old man doesn't want you, fuck him," Lee said, "I suggest you flip him off, and live, live the life you deserve away from your father's shadow, promise me that," Lee pleaded and Zuko just nodded still trying to save Lee but getting nowhere
Lee continued coughing until the light from his eyes fade away, Zuko cursed mentally and closed his eyes of Lee and stood up
"What the hell should we do now?" Zuko heard June ask that question making him turn around
Zuko looked at his hands covered in Lee's blood and then tighten them into a fist "We disappear," Zuko said quietly but everyone heard him
"Disappear?" Cheng-Su asked and Zuko nodded
"We are unwanted, that's our reality, so fuck this, I'm not ready to die," Zuko said, and the others nodded feeling the same way
"Burn it all. Squad 66 died at the hands of some mercenaries, that will be the report, and we will disappear, to find our place in this forsaken world," Zuko said and everyone nodded and went to set fire to the rest of the tents
Zuko went to the floor where he had dropped his package and grab it and strapped it to his waist as he went to help the others set fire to the tents
The sun warriors
Turns out that trying to find your place in the world it's a little bit more difficult than one might think of
Especially for Zuko, who lives in a world where most people hate him, especially if he looks like a soldier from the fire nation
The last year had taught Zuko that, after the fiasco, on his squad, he had traveled for the past year through the Earth Kingdom under the hateful eyes of everyone there
And Zuko couldn't blame them, their cities had been attacked again and again by the fire nation in the mission to enlighten the other countries about the magnitude of the Fire Nation
They say that when you hit a certain age you start questioning some things, well for Zuko that was an understatement, he questioned everything
Why was the war still going on? Why did it start in the first place? Who was benefiting from the war? All these questions that lead to treacherous thoughts plague Zuko's mind and he still hadn't found an answer
He just knew that it was wrong, after experiencing both sides of the war, he knew that this war was pointless, but he didn't dare to act on his thoughts, the last time he did, he got a flame to the face
So, he just wander around until another problem arouse, food and money, he needed both to survive and once he started his journey he was lacking in both departments
So, he found a job, a job that suited his battle capabilities, he became a mercenary, and started doing jobs like infiltrating fortresses and gathering information
Same things he had done while being on the squad, but now he was getting paid, so he couldn't complain
And that's exactly why he was currently in the middle of the ocean sailing into an unknown island
You see, two days ago, Zuko was approached by a mysterious old man with a map in his hands
The old man had a map of an island forgotten by the world, and according to the man, dragons lived on that island until they were all hunted and killed
So Zuko's mission is to go to the island and see what treasure was left behind and to bring everything of value back to the man
So, there he was, in the middle of the ocean, reading the package he had received that fateful day
Turns out it was a set of instructions from his uncle, about how to manipulate and redirect lighting
His uncle said that he was ashamed he couldn't teach him those moves personally but he put all his knowledge into the package, and when Zuko saw what was inside it became his personal treasure
Zuko was practicing the circular maneuvers of lighting creation and he could feel a spark on his fingertips but as always it disappeared when he finished the movements
He let out a growl of frustration, he was making slow progress and that frustrated him but his attention diverted elsewhere when he saw land ahead of him
He quickly grabbed his things and put them in a safe chest and started directing his boat to the island
He arrived at the island and exited the boat and start walking on the island until he found some ruins that he recognized
"What were the sun warriors doing here?" Zuko thought putting a hand across the ruins and then he noticed a booby trap on the floor and threw a stick activating the trap
Zuko ran to the side of the wall avoiding the trap and landing on the other side, he started walking making sure to check his surroundings until he arrived at a huge front door with a gem on top of it
He looked at the floor and noticed a solar calendar on it and a pillar in front of him to redirect the solar light toward the gem on top
"So, I have to wait for a certain day to enter huh?" Zuko thought and then he drew one of his swords "Fuck that," he thought as he redirect the sunlight with his sword and pointed it directly at the gem
And then the massive door started to open slowly and Zuko entered through the doors
There he found enormous statues in several poses rounded up in a circle and a sun symbol at the center of the circle
Zuko looked closely at one of the statues and saw the name of the poses "The dancing dragon huh?" Zuko thought and then noticed something on the floor, like a button
He stepped on that button but nothing happened and then he looked at the statue in front of him, "Can't believe I'm about to do this" Zuko whispered and quickly adopted the same position the statue had, and he felt the button go down
He looked at the rest of the statues and started mimicking the rest of the poses, he felt several buttons pushing down and he continued mimicking the poses until he finished the full circle and ended up in the first position he started
At first, nothing happened and then the floor started to tremble, and a pillar appear in the middle of the room on top of the pillar was a huge golden egg that catch the eye of Zuko
He walked towards the egg and put his hand on it expecting something to happen, but nothing did, so he grabbed it out and quickly some green glue shot from the pilar and send him straight to the roof facing upwards
"Fuck," Zuko cursed as he felt trapped and tried to move but couldn't move and let out a breath of frustration
The day went on and he still was trapped until the day turn to night and that's when he heard some steps getting closer to him
"Who goes there?" Zuko heard someone ask him and then he saw a man dressed in regal clothes and red markings on his body appear on his peripheral
"Hi, I'm a little stuck," Zuko tried humor and then the man whistled and some other people came towards them and help take Zuko out
Later, now a free Zuko was sitting in front of a huge group of people still covered in the glue that some animals were licking off
"So let me get this straight, prince Zuko," The man from earlier said "You were sent here to check some ruins and see what treasures you can find?" The man asked
"Yeah, pretty much," Zuko said nonchalantly as he could now stand up
"I thank you for your honesty, but that still doesn't get you out of trouble," The man said and Zuko nodded
"My destiny is in your hands now, so I figure at least I should be honest about it," Zuko said shrugging his shoulders and the man nodded
"You will face trial, masters Rha and Shaw will be the judges of your trial, please follow me," The leader of the sun warriors said as he started to walk in a certain direction
Zuko followed the man closely and they arrived at a massive fire that seem to have a life of its own
"You will take a piece of the eternal fire and then you will face the masters," The man said and Zuko took a ball of fire from the eternal and controlled it with his right hand
"You will travel across the forest to there," The man said pointing at a nearby mountain "There at the peak of the mountain you will face trial, and you better get there with the flame intact," The leader said as Zuko focused on the fire in his hand
Zuko travel through the forest for a while until he arrived at the bottom of the mountain and found some stairs leading to the top
He climbed up the stairs and once he got to the top he saw the leader of the sun warriors and the rest of them waiting for him on the top
"How the fuck did you get here before me?" Zuko couldn't help but ask and the leader laughed
"We used a short cut obviously," The leader said like it wasn't a big deal and Zuko's eyebrow twitch in anger
The leader grabbed a tiny fit of the flame from Zuko's hand and pass it along to the others who started creating a circle with it
"You'll have a tough one after all your ancestors are the reason, the dragons are extinct, so I wish you good luck," The leader said and Zuko looked at the massive stairs leading to a bridge
Zuko swallow his saliva in nervousness and started walking towards the stairs as the rest of the sun warriors started beating some drums Zuko climb the stairs up
Zuko arrived at the bridge and stood in the middle facing the two caves, he kneel in the middle of the bridge
Then out of the two caves two massive dragons, one red and one blue came out of the holes making Zuko's eyes winded in surprise
"Holy fuck," Zuko said out loud as he stared at the eyes of the blue dragon and felt the breathing of the red dragon behind him
He did the only thing he could think of, he bowed his head and put the flame in front of him, the dragons seeing this started moving around him in a circular motion
Zuko noticing this stood up, and was mesmerized by the movements, his mind went back to the statues, and he figured out what the hell and started doing the dance of the dragons alongside the dragons, the flame he had danced around his body as he did the maneuvers from the statues
He finished the flame he had faded away and then faced the blue dragon face to face, he could feel the dragon judge him
Then the dragon breath a flame around Zuko and they grew up to the sky, and Zuko looked at the changing colors of the flames and couldn't help but be amazed
"I understand now," Zuko said, understanding the real meaning of fire bending
The flames disappeared and Zuko faced the blue dragon as the red dragon went back to its cave
The blue dragon kept staring at Zuko, and the dark-haired teen felt like he needed to stay on the bridge for a little longer, so he did
The blue dragon went back to its cave and Zuko waited, a few minutes passed, and the blue dragon came back, with a glowing blue dragon egg in his mouth
Zuko put his hands forward and the dragon dropped the egg on his hands carefully, Zuko felt the heartbeat of the egg, and his eyes winded
He then faced the blue dragon again and bowed his head promising that he would take great care of the egg
The dragon nodded its head and went back to its cave and Zuko started to walk down the stairs
"So, the masters deem you worthy to receive their gift," The leader said once Zuko arrived at the bottom of the stairs
"Yeah, I guess they did," Zuko said looking at the egg "But I don't understand, they say that my uncle Iroh was the last to kill a dragon," Zuko said and the leader chuckled
"Your uncle found this place and like you, he face the masters, and he was deemed worthy to will their flames," The leader said with a small smile and then looked at the dragon egg "But you are something else, it seems its time that dragons came back to the world, I look forward about hearing of what you and your companion do in the future," The leader said putting a hand forward to shake Zuko's hand
Zuko grasped the leader's hand and then out far in the sea a beacon of blue light appeared
"What the hell is that?" Zuko asked as the beacon of light faded away from existence
"It means there's a brighter future ahead, can't wait to see it," The leader said with a smile on his face
The job
"Sorry is this the Beifong home?" Zuko asked a guard standing in front of a massive gate
"Yes sir, what business do you want with the Beifong family?" The guard asked and Zuko took out a flyer from his backpack where the dragon egg was
"I received a message from the Beifong patriarch about body guar work," Zuko said showing the guard the message
Normally Zuko wouldn't take this sort of job but with the egg doing his normal job, because of his travels, he didn't have a place to stay, so he had to take the egg everywhere he go, which could put in danger the egg
So, when a job arrived offering him a place to stay and all he had to do is guard someone, he jumped at that, and here he was standing in front of the Beifong state
"You are Lee, right?" The guard asked and Zuko nodded, he had taken his friend's name to blend in the Earth Kingdom "Come on, the boss has been expecting you, follow me please," The guard said
And Zuko did, he followed the guard closely into the main building and into the main hall where three people were waiting for him
"Mister Lee, you have finally arrived," The man who Zuko figured that it was the Beifong patriarch greeted him first "I hope you didn't have trouble finding our home," The patriarch said and Zuko shook his head
"No sir, you have a lovely home that's difficult to miss," Zuko said making the man laugh
"So, you're probably wondering what sort of job you will be doing," The man said and Zuko nodded "Toph come here," The man said and Zuko noticed a girl walking forward "This is my daughter Toph, she is blind and need a lot of care," The man said
And just for a fraction of a second Zuko noticed a frown on the face of the girl when her father told Zuko she needed a lot of care
"Pleasure to meet you," Zuko said bowing in the formal Earth Kingdom greeting and the girl did the same
"As you can guess, she will be the one you're meant to protect," The patriarch said and Zuko nodded
"So, when do I start?" Zuko asked
"You'll start tomorrow in the first hour of the morning, you will shadow Toph wherever she goes," The patriarch said, "The guards will show you where you'll stay," The man said signaling a guard that step forward
Zuko said goodbye to the family and followed the guard to a small building next to the main building
"This is the guest's house, here are the keys, only you will be able to enter here, please make yourself at home," The guard said as he left Zuko in the room
Zuko scanned the roof and found a perfect spot to put the egg, a pilar next to the bed, Zuko took out the egg from his backpack and put it on top of the pillar, he put his hand on the egg and he send some heat towards it carefully, he could feel the appreciation coming from the egg and he nodded for doing a good job
Zuko exited the house and lock it up as he decided to get familiar with the layout of the state and started walking through the edges of the Beifong family home
Nightfall came and that's when he saw something interesting, the girl from earlier Toph, was standing next to the wall of the home in a battle outfit then the girl made an earth pillar and climb up the wall
"The fuck?" Zuko thought and decided to follow the girl having his curious peaked
He followed her into an arena and then somehow, he lost her, so he decided to grab a nearby flyer and read it out loud
"Earth Rumble 34?" Zuko said out loud and nearby townsfolk heard him
"You're new to town?" He asked Zuko and the dark-haired teen nodded "You got to see it, dude, it's the best earth-bending tournament ever, I hope the blind bandit wins again," the townsfolk said entering the arena
"The blind bandit?" Zuko thought and entered the arena "Surely not," he whispered as he found a seat at the top of the arena
"This is unfucking believable," Zuko said under his breath as he saw Toph battling another man in an earth-bending contest
The match was short and swift as Toph practically walked over her opponent and threw him out off the stage "This is fucking hilarious," Zuko thought the girl he was seeing wasn't fragile and definitely she didn't need a lot of care, but some people need to wear masks Zuko figured
The tournament ended with Toph winning over everyone quite easily and Zuko decided he had watched enough and returned to the Beifong's home
There he waited smoking a cigarette for Toph in the same spot she had left and surely enough, she appeared out from a tunnel
"So, you figure out my secret huh?" Toph said without looking at him
"Yeah, I did, blind bandit," Zuko said, and he took a puff out of his cigar
"If you tell my parents I will tell them you aren't who you say you are," Toph said facing him but not quite thanks to her blindness
"What do you mean?" Zuko asked
"I know your name isn't Lee, I can't tell when someone is lying," Toph said and drew a chuckle from Zuko
"Name's Zuko, pleasure to meet you," he said bowing in the fire nation way "And don't worry I wasn't planning on telling your parents," Zuko said "In fact, I have a proposition for you," he said with a smirk on his face
"Oh really, what is it sparky?" Toph said having realized that Zuko was a fire bender thanks to her senses
"We'll split the profits, and I'll help you escape, I'll make sure your dad doesn't find out," Zuko said
"Sounds good, I guess that having a bodyguard that's on my side for once won't be so bad after all," Toph said and put her hand forward "It's a deal sparky," She said and Zuko shake her hand
And then both of them had a feeling of doom that made them turn up and look at the sky
"What's happening?" Toph asked not being able to see and what Zuko was seeing had left him out of words
"The moon," Zuko said taking a pause "It's red," he said and both of them gulp as a sense of foreboding washed all over them
End of chapter 1
So. What do you think?
This is going to be a retelling of Avatar the last Airbender starting from when they meet toph
I hope you'll like it and I'll see you guys in the next chapter
Adios