Slight trigger warning for somewhat graphic, violent imagery. Zuko's fears and some of the effects of Fire Nation propaganda color his expectations. Zhao commits and thinks about war crimes. Some swearing.
Breaking the Ice
He was alone.
Pain throbbed through his body. The dark surrounded him while the flames that licked at his skin cast no light. He had no idea how long he'd been there. A few minutes or a thousand years. As a child, he'd been told that people who were wicked in life and rejected Agni's divine light ended up having their sins purged in eight fire pits and eight ice pits after death. They would go through torments for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years before they could return to the cycle of reincarnation.
This was it, then. He must have died when that arrow hit him. It would just be him and whatever torments the demon spirits chose to inflict on him until he'd paid off his bad karma.
No one wants you here, a voice cut through the agonizing silence. It was familiar, but he couldn't place it. And the words echoed things he'd heard before.
Maybe if you weren't such a Dum-Dum, Father would actually want you here.
Zuzu, Mom left because of you. You're already so pathetic that Father doesn't want you, but it seems Mom didn't want you, either.
Worthless boy! Get out of my sight!
You are no longer worthy of being my heir. Who could ever want such a disgrace for a prince. The only way I'd ever let you set foot in the Fire Nation again is if you capture the Avatar.
The faces swam above the flames, mocking and cruel as they spat out words sharper than knives.
It was his own fault for being so pathetic and weak. He wasn't good enough. That's why Father had to be so strict with him. It's why he had to train every single day. It's why he wasn't allowed to have friends while Azula got to play with Mai and Ty Lee. He hadn't earned the privilege of affection or companionship. Father wanted him to be stronger, but Zuko just kept proving himself weak. A disappointment. A disgrace.
Was it any wonder that no one wanted him?
A loud crash startled him awake.
"Whoops. We didn't need that, did we?" a childish voice said.
"I'm pretty sure that was a valuable antique, Aang," a girl replied.
"Can we please just finish this up?" a boy, older than the first, said in an irritated tone. "Let's just get what we need and go."
Zuko blinked his eyes open as awareness returned to him. His entire body hurt, especially his shoulder, and his mouth tasted like wood ash and dirt. There was a heavy smell of medicine in the air that reminded him horribly of waking up in the infirmary after…after…the Agni Kai.
He winced as his head began to throb. He moved to sit up and reached a hand to his face.
His exposed face. His mask was gone.
"Hey, he's awake!" a familiar voice broke through right as he was about to start panicking. Suddenly, Zuko's vision was filled with the smiling face of the one person in the world who could end his banishment. "How are you feeling?"
Zuko lunged.
Or, well, he tried to lunge and grab the Avatar who was just within his reach, only for searing pain to come blazing down his shoulder. He flopped onto his back, hissing steam and sparks from between his teeth as he choked down a curse. He was so close. The Avatar was right there.
"You okay?" the Avatar asked. "We patched you up as best we could."
We? Zuko's gaze darted to the two Water Tribe peasants who were standing behind the Avatar, glaring at Zuko in warning. The boy already had his club in hand and seemed to be just itching to bash Zuko's head in. The girl had her hands primed over her waterskin, clearly ready to try and slash him to bits with her mediocre waterbending.
"Why did you even bother saving me?" Zuko snarled, hoping to scare them off. They had the upper hand, now, but they might be intimidated into letting him live. "If you're going to use me as a hostage, you've made a big mistake."
"Hostage?" the Water Tribe boy said, now looking contemplative. "Why didn't we think of that? Maybe we could ransom him back to the folks on his ship. We do need more money for travel expenses."
"Sokka, that wasn't what we agreed to," said the Avatar.
"Well, we might as well get something out of having saved him."
"Saving someone's life is its own reward."
"Ugh, you never consider the big picture, Aang. Whatever, let's just get this over with."
The Water Tribe boy drew near with his weapon still poised. Zuko began to struggle and lit a small, weak fireball in his hand.
"Don't get any closer," he said, hoping he sounded menacing enough. "You shouldn't have bothered sparing my life earlier if you're just going to kill me now."
"We're not going to kill you," the waterbender girl said, obviously not happy about that fact.
"I see. You're going to chop off my limbs and leave me here for the wild animals, then?"
They all exchanged looks.
"Uh, no," said the Water Tribe boy.
Zuko felt a tremor of worry. What was worse than having his limbs cut off and being left for animals to feed on?
He'd known they wouldn't do something as simple as bashing him over the head. Water Tribe savages didn't do anything so easy and merciful as that if they didn't have to. He'd learned all about the Water Tribes in his lessons while growing up. They liked to torture their prisoners as long as they could. The experts said that Water Tribesmen would sometimes keep victims alive for days, weeks, sometimes even years, chopping off bits and pieces from them whenever the mood struck them. After they did so, they would roast the dismembered body parts and eat them in front of the very victims they took the parts from.
Every Fire Nation schoolchild knew those facts. Zuko was ashamed to admit he'd been terrified when his ship had sailed into the waters of the South Pole. He'd barely gotten any sleep during that time, worried that a raiding party of ravenous cannibals would board the ship and slaughter everyone in the night. With his luck, Zuko would've been the last one to die, forced to watch his uncle and crew be devoured right before his eyes.
Now, here he was. Caught by the Avatar and his two cannibal lackeys. Zuko wasn't aware that citizens of the Air Nation participated in cannibalism, too, but it would be just like one of them to find some hapless victim to feed their Water Tribe allies. The Air Nation had been willing to do anything for power, after all.
"Zuko? Zuuuukoooo?" the Avatar said, reaching out a hand towards him.
Too close. Too close! He was moving in for the kill.
"I won't let you eat me!" Zuko yelled, trying to shove himself away from the crazed brutes.
They all stared at him.
"I thought you said the ginseng soup would stop his weird ravings," the Water Tribe boy said to the Avatar.
"The herbalist said it would. I was just following her directions."
"Maybe it needs a little more time to take effect," said the waterbender.
Zuko straightened up, trying not to wince at the agony in his shoulder.
"Look, I don't know what sick game you're playing," he said. "But if you try to eat me, there will be consequences."
"Uhh, why would you think we want to eat you?" said the Water Tribe boy.
"Because that's what you do, isn't it? You Water Tribe savages capture people to dismember and eat for your dark, Moon-worshipping rituals."
They all just continued to stare at him as if he were crazy.
"Okay, he's definitely still high on the detoxing medicine," said the waterbender. "The best thing to do is get him to a physician, right away."
"Finally," said the Water Tribe boy. He turned to Zuko as the other two continued packing things onto the giant bison's saddle. "Now, will you stop acting like an idiot or do I have to knock you out?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Have it your way. To tell you the truth, I'm all for leaving you here for Zhao to find."
"Zhao? Zhao's coming here?"
"Yep. I overheard some of those archer goons of his saying they're going to be searching this place soon."
Ah, there it was. The surge of panic that left Zuko teetering on the edge of a total breakdown, once again.
"You…you're really not going to…?"
"What?" the Water Tribe boy said, eyes narrowed. "Hold on. You actually think we'd eat you? That's, like, one of the most unforgiveable of all taboos. It's the kind of thing you banish someone to the tundra for doing."
That was…unexpected.
Everyone knew Water Tribe people were cannibals. It was as much a fact as the Air Nation kidnapping and brainwashing children into their strange cult.
Zuko glanced over at the Avatar. A cheerful boy who was currently feeding a handful of berries to his lemur. That was supposed to be a soldier hardened by brutal training in the Air Nation army, not some wide-eyed child who plays with animals and saves the person trying to capture him.
None of it made any sense.
"Spread out!" a voice echoed up from below. "They have to be here, somewhere!"
"Aw, man," the Water Tribe boy groaned. "They're here already? The sun isn't even up, yet." He glared over at the other two. "See, this is exactly why I wanted to leave earlier."
"Don't worry," the Avatar said. "I'll distract them. You guys get airborne."
Zuko felt the panic coming back in a dizzying rush. He couldn't be found by Zhao. Not like this. He'd be tried for treason if it was known that he freed the Avatar. Zuko wouldn't even be able to bluff his way out of this by pretending he'd just arrived. The arrow jutting from his shoulder would give him away in an instant.
Not just a disappointment, but an outright traitor.
There would be no coming back from this. There was no defense and no excuse for what he'd done. Something of that magnitude could only be punished with execution.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Prince Jerkbender?" the Water Tribe boy said with no small amount of irritation. "Get on the bison, already."
Zhao was not having a good day.
In fact, it was shaping up to not even be a good week after the Avatar had slipped through his fingers. Things had been going so well, at first. He'd been promoted to admiral, as he so richly deserved, after finally having his potential recognized by Fire Lord Ozai. All it had really required was resolving some issues with the vermin that dared fight against the sovereignty of the Fire Nation.
It had just been him doing what any true Fire Nation patriot would do.
Lord Kin had given him a sterling recommendation to the Fire Lord in thanks for the substantial increase in the number of Earth Kingdom prisoners under his control. The man prided himself on being responsible for overseeing all prisoner of war camps, and he always enjoyed Zhao's little gifts of new fodder for work details and some of the special projects Lord Kin preferred to keep discreet. Things that respectability forbade either of them from bringing to public attention. The average citizen didn't need to know what had to be done to ensure the prosperity of the empire, after all.
But all of that had been jeopardized by the Avatar daring to escape his grasp.
He should have just enacted the protocol for dangerous prisoners sooner. So what if he had to deliver the boy to the capital burned beyond recognition? They might still have the Avatar if he'd followed his intuition and mutilated him so that bending would be too painful for him to accomplish successfully. Sure, it would be more impressive to do that in front of the Fire Lord according to the regulations, but now he didn't even have that opportunity.
"Any news so far?" he demanded of his chief scout.
"A light was spotted in the ruins, sir," the man said. "There is definitely someone here."
At least there was the potential for things to be put back on track. With any luck, it was the Avatar. If it wasn't the Avatar, then whomever was so unfortunate as to get in the way of the great Admiral Zhao would suffer the fate intended for the Avatar. Someone was going to burn, today, and Zhao was not feeling particularly choosey, at this point.
He would search every corner, demolish every building, and burn every tree until he found the Avatar. The boy could only hide for so long. He was probably cowering in some little nook, likely crying over his masked rescuer who was most likely dead. It was only a matter of time before he uncovered them…
"Yoohoo! Over here!"
Or, perhaps the Avatar would give himself away immediately, because the boy was clearly an idiot.
Sure enough, when Zhao turned around, he saw the Avatar standing on a ledge, smiling and waving like the brainless moron he was. An easy target. Perhaps Zhao's week was about to take a turn for the better.
"Get him!" Zhao roared at his troops.
The Yuyan sprang into action, arrows flying. Only for the Avatar to let out an airblast that knocked the projectiles away.
"Catch me if you can!" the infuriatingly cheerful monk called out before setting off running at an impossible speed.
Nope. Zhao's week had not improved in the slightest.
"He's going to be fine," Sokka said as Katara watched, clearly worried.
They were presently floating among the clouds, still hidden by the darkness of the early morning. Down below, they could see flashes of fire from what were undoubtedly attacks against Aang.
"I don't understand why you two aren't doing more to help him," came the voice of their very grumpy, very un-wished-for passenger. "What if Zhao captures him again? All that effort I went through to rescue the Avatar will have been for nothing."
"Hey, Prince of the Jerkbenders," said Sokka. "Do us all a favor and shut up."
"You'd better watch your mouth, Water Tribe peasant."
"Or, what? Not sure if you've noticed, but I can kind of knock you down with one finger, right now."
Zuko snarled and moved forward as if he intended to throttle Sokka. Sokka, for his part, gave him a flat, disinterested look and jabbed his finger into the prince's shoulder, just below where the arrow was still protruding. Zuko gave a yelp of pain and fell back into his seat.
"Stop fighting," said Katara. "He does have a point. Aang could be having trouble getting away from them. Maybe we should go down and help."
"No," said Sokka. "Aang told us to wait across the river so that we don't get caught in the crossfire. If we go down there, now, we could end up distracting him and actually get him in trouble." Sokka threw a suspicious glance at Zuko. "Besides, I wouldn't listen to any advice from Prince Jerkbender, there."
"Stop calling me that, you ignorant savage!" Zuko shouted.
"He probably wants us to mess things up so he can kidnap Aang while we're distracted. For all we know, he's planned this whole thing out with Zhao so he could hold us up at the ruins."
"That's not true! I'd never work with that assfaced, hog-monkey-fucking shithead!"
Katara cringed.
"Does your mother know you use that type of language?" she said.
Zuko froze and stared at her, as if the simple question had punched the air from his lungs. Sokka neither knew nor cared what the guy's deal was, his only interest was in keeping his sister and Aang safe. Whether he was secretly working with Zhao or not, Zuko was a serious potential threat to their group, even if they were only going to be keeping him for a short time.
A slight clinking sound caught his attention, and he looked down to see Momo toying with something in the small collection of things they'd decided to take with them from the pile of random junk the lemur had accumulated in the ruins. Sokka reached down to take it, earning an annoyed chirrup from Momo. What he saw was a pair of handcuffs. Not new or fancy, but they weren't rusted or broken, so they could serve as well as anything. After checking that Zuko hadn't noticed what he'd found, Sokka slipped the handcuffs up his sleeve.
Just in case.
Aang let out an exhausted breath.
He'd envisioned this being much easier. If it kept on going like this, he might not even have the energy to get back to the team. It would have been simpler for them all to just fly out straight away, but he wanted to make sure that Zhao didn't realize what direction they were headed. If they flew directly across the river, Zhao would follow and would most likely burn down any Earth Kingdom villages in that area.
He needed to give the others time to get to a safe place on the other side where they could meet up. After that, he would feint that he was going east so that Zhao would go tearing off in that direction while he would actually double back.
"Come out, Avatar! If you don't surrender, I'll start looking for your little Water Tribe friends."
Aang felt a sudden dread in his stomach.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they get back to you. One piece at a time."
The dread was replaced with anger and Aang couldn't hold himself back.
"Don't you touch them!" he shouted.
"There you are!"
Aang zipped out of the way as a wall of fire blazed past his hiding spot. That had been so stupid of him to give away his position like that. Sokka would probably tell him off for rising to Zhao's bait and listening to a bunch of empty threats. Zhao didn't even know where the others were, so there had been no point in Aang losing his temper.
He raced down another passageway, running along the walls and ceiling to avoid being grabbed by the soldiers. When he made it out into a courtyard, he had to dodge another volley of arrows from the Yuyan. As he did an elaborate somersault through the air, he winced as an arrow just managed to nick his ear. Ignoring the sting and the slight welling of blood that began to dribble from the small injury, Aang rushed towards the forest, leaping from treetop to treetop.
Unfortunately, Zhao had reached the end of what little patience he had.
Instead of waiting for the Yuyan to try and catch up to Aang, he started blasting off fireballs into the tree line. He intended to burn the entire forest down just to stop Aang from getting away.
"That can't be good," the Water Tribe boy said.
A rich, orange glow had illuminated the forests around the Taku ruins. The heat of the blaze even reached across the river to where they were waiting for the Avatar's return. If the boy managed to escape Zhao on his own, that is. Zuko had known from the start how stupid it was to leave the Avatar behind.
Well, if those two Water Tribe peasants weren't going to stop Zhao from recapturing the Avatar, then it was up to Zuko.
"Where are you going?" the waterbender said.
"Isn't it obvious? Your little friend is done for if no one goes back to get him."
"So, you're going to save him again?" said the Water Tribe boy. "With an arrow in your shoulder?"
In response, Zuko reached up and snapped the bulk of the arrow off, leaving behind maybe an inch more than what was still lodged in his body. He then fastened his mask back in place, as he'd insisted on keeping it when they left, and reached for his dual dao swords. He felt a twinge of gratitude towards the Avatar for bringing those along when they'd fled the stronghold, even though it would have been easier to leave them behind.
"Hey, you're not leaving," the Water Tribe boy persisted. "If you rip open that wound, you could bleed out."
"I have no choice," Zuko said. "I can't let Zhao or anyone else capture the Avatar."
"It has to be you who does that, right?" the waterbender said, scowling at him. "That's the only reason you helped him, isn't it?"
"As I said, I don't have a choice. I'm going. Don't try to stop me."
The two of them moved in front of him and he prepared to raise his swords, but they didn't attack.
"We'll call it a truce, for now," the Water Tribe boy said. "The important thing is to keep Aang out of Zhao's hands."
"But if you hurt him or try to take him away, yourself," the waterbender added. "That truce ends, and I'll send you to the bottom of the river."
"Fine," Zuko said. "Let's get going."
"Wait," said the Water Tribe boy.
"What now?!"
"This won't work if we just go charging in. That's at least a whole division out there and there are only three of us."
"Well, what else can we do? It's not like we have a whole army we can call in to chase them off."
The peasant's eyes widened and he smiled so broadly it looked like his head might split in half.
"Actually, that's exactly what we can do."
The waterbender looked just as puzzled as Zuko felt at her brother's strange statement. The Water Tribe boy's smile turned sly and vaguely reminded Zuko of the expression Azula got whenever she found just the right weak spot in her opponent that she could exploit.
"Zuko, how afraid of the Water Tribes would you say the average Fire Nation soldier is?"
"The Fire Nation doesn't fear anyone," Zuko said with a defensive huff. The boy just gave him an unimpressed look. He had to admit, much to his shame, that he had rather made a spectacle of himself when he thought the two Water Tribe siblings were planning to eat him. Honestly, he still wasn't entirely convinced that they weren't thinking of slicing out his tendons for a midnight snack.
"We're not scared," he insisted, more hesitantly. "It's just…the whole thing about Water Tribesmen being cannibals has made us a bit…cautious."
"Let me throw you a hypothetical, then," said the Water Tribe boy. "How do you imagine Zhao's troops will react if the Water Tribe army and their spooky spirit warrior suddenly decided to launch a surprise attack?"
"Nowhere left to run, Avatar," Zhao sneered as he closed in.
Aang's eyes searched for an escape. Everywhere he looked, there were Fire Nation soldiers. If he tried to fly straight up on his glider, the Yuyan would shoot him down in seconds. At least the others had gotten away. With luck, they would be able to find a way to rescue him from Pohuai again. Zuko seemed to know the ins and outs of the place. Or they could free him when Zhao tried to transport him to the Fire Nation. Or maybe…
A blast of fire hit the ground in front of him and he instinctively shot back. Zhao was grinning nastily and had flames surrounding his fists.
"I was far too merciful when I had you caught last time," he said. "Now, I'm going to make sure that it'll be a waste of time for any would-be rescuers to save you."
Aang furrowed his brow slightly at what Zhao meant, only for the distraction to result in a couple of goons grabbing him and pinning his arms behind his back. Zhao drew closer and the heat of the fires hovering above his palms thawed through Aang's lack of comprehension.
"The Fire Lord will be disappointed he didn't get to witness the defeat of such an important enemy, in person. But I believe he will overlook it, this time."
Aang could only stare, transfixed and stricken with terror as the fires got closer. And closer. Sweat streamed down his face at the intensity of the heat. Aang took in a frantic breath, prepared to air-blast the threat away. Zhao noticed and nodded to one of the soldiers, who gave Aang a sharp punch to the stomach that knocked the breath out and disrupted the energy behind it, causing the air to sputter out of Aang's lips in nothing more than a weak, painful gasp.
"Don't bother trying that again," said Zhao. "It's time you realized there is no place left for people like you. The world belongs to the power of fire."
He held up his hands, palms blazing with flames, and readied himself to strike.
That was when the air was shaken by a tremendous roar. Loud stomping was heard, followed by inhuman growls. Aang recognized the sounds, instantly, but held himself back from calling out for Appa. The shrill scream of a tribal war-horn sounded and a high, ululating cry sent tremors through the Fire Nation troops surrounding him.
Suddenly, a flash of water shot through the trees, blasting into several soldiers. This was followed by dagger-like shards of ice pelting towards them.
"It's the Water Tribes," one of the soldiers shouted. "How did they get here?!"
"Stand your ground," Zhao shouted. "The Fire Nation doesn't run from a few savages."
"Admiral Zhao!" a voice boomed from the shadows of a currently unburnt part of the forest. A voice that sounded strangely familiar. "This is Warrior Aguta of the Water Tribe. We have you surrounded. Release the Avatar, now, or your troops will become blood sacrifices to our spirit warrior."
Aang was one hundred percent certain that was Sokka affecting a deep voice. What he didn't understand was why he was going on about blood sacrifices and spirit warriors. Still, it seemed to have an effect on the Fire Nation troops, who were beginning to look nervous.
That was when the fog began to creep in. Thick and white, it edged nearer, devouring all it touched within its murky depths.
"It's a trick!" Zhao snarled at his soldiers, but even he didn't seem totally sure.
"This is your last warning," Sokka called out. "Leave, now, or be consumed!"
There was a slashing sound and Aang recognized the mask that loomed from the mists, his swords glittering in the faint light from the misty dawn. Behind him, tendrils of water waved like the arms of a giant squid-shark.
"It's a demon!" someone shrieked. "Run for your lives!"
That was enough to break the resolve of the entire division. It was one thing to face off against an army of human enemies, but spirits and monsters were a different matter altogether. The firebenders, Yuyan archers, and the non-bender spearmen bolted, scattering in every direction except towards where the Blue Spirit stood. Even the ones who had been restraining Aang, people who were willing to assist in burning a child, dropped him out of sheer terror and ran for their lives. The only one who remained was a fuming Admiral Zhao.
"Come back, you cowards!"
He was still the only one left when the mists cleared to reveal that the Water Tribe army was made up of only three people.
Zhao's inner fire was a raging inferno.
It had, indeed, been nothing more than a trick. He would definitely punish those worthless cretins when he returned to Pohuai Stronghold. As humiliating as it was, even he had entertained the idea, however briefly, that this was a real attack by spirits and cannibals.
In the end, though, it was just a bunch of children playing make-believe games.
No matter. He would burn them all, as he would one day burn the Water Tribes and the pathetic spirits that shielded them. Fire Lord Ozai was right. In his last public speech, he made it clear to all loyal Fire Nationals that it was their duty to purge the world of those who did not deserve to live. The Air Nomads had been the first. The Earth Kingdom would fall eventually. The Southern Water Tribe had been torn to pieces by Fire Lord Azulon. And, soon, Zhao would annihilate the Northern Water Tribe. His desire to wipe them from the face of the planet coursed through his veins as much as blood did.
For now, he would have to make do with these miserable runts.
"You're outnumbered, Zhao," said the Avatar. "Just walk away."
Walk away? What sort of nonsense was that? He would never walk away. Not when the fire burned hot inside of him, thirsting for something else to destroy. There was only one way he could respond.
Flames shot out in all directions as he threw fire-blast after fire-blast at anything that moved. The Avatar ducked and ran like the spineless recreant he was. The Water Tribe savages made to advance on him, one with a club and one with waterbending, but he forced them back. Only the Blue Spirit got close.
Hate pulsed through him at the sight of that mask. The taunting, frozen visage of a beast from legend that had come to destroy all of Zhao's best-laid plans.
It was the Blue Spirit who had freed the Avatar. Zhao had gotten so close to victory only to have it snatched away by someone who didn't dare show their true face. The meddling wretch needed to pay for what they'd done.
Each punch and kick Zhao threw was punctuated with as hot a fire as he could produce. He wanted the Blue Spirit reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes. Even injured, the masked fiend dodged and slashed with an impressive amount of skill, demonstrating moves that must have been developed over years of training. None of Zhao's hits landed on his target, which only caused his anger to spike even further.
Then, at last, he sent a wave of fire forth that no one could evade.
No one except a firebender.
The Blue Spirt must have reacted instinctively. Until then, whoever it was had used only non-bending skills. But, faced with no alternative, the Blue Spirit sliced through the flames in a way only a firebender could.
That made everything infinitely worse.
Not just a spy or a mercenary or a rebel. An outright traitor. No wonder the Blue Spirit hid behind a mask. A firebender actually dared to fight against the Fire Nation and aid the Avatar. It brought to mind a vivid memory of another person, an esteemed true and loyal hero and great master whom even Zhao had once foolishly admired, who had also turned his back on his nation. Had shown unforgiveable contempt for the greatest nation in history. Had spat upon everything that Zhao considered worth living for.
Zhao had long known it was his destiny to destroy the Northern Water Tribe and eradicate the stain on the world that was waterbending. Now, he knew there was even more to his destiny. The death of the Blue Spirit had to be brought about by his hands.
His attacks became, if possible, even more vicious. He didn't care about the Avatar or the Water Tribe peasants, in that moment. Nothing was more important than bringing down a traitor.
All he could see was red.
He pummeled his opponent with as much force as he could. Wearing down his resolve. Putting strain on his injury. The searing intensity of the morning light kept his fires burning nearly white hot. Still, the traitor wouldn't go down. Finally, he landed a blazing punch right against his shoulder where part of the arrow shaft was still wedged. The Blue Spirit let out a pained sound and fell to the ground. As he did so, the edge of his mask came slightly loose.
A hint of reddened skin. A burn scar.
Thunk.
An ache throbbed through the back of his skull.
The light of day went out.
Author's Note: Sorry I didn't get this chapter done sooner. I had some slight writer's block and a bunch of things I needed to get done. I hope to post new chapters pretty regularly (I have most of the series outlined, with some leeway for additional chapters if I get new ideas to add into the mix), but don't expect them every other day. Just to make this clear, this series is going to be canon-adjacent (meaning that I'm not going to create a whole, new series plot; I really just want to add more to the existing story, change how some things happen, delve into worldbuilding, explore characters and their thoughts, and, of course, have a Zutara romance).
The hell realm place that Zuko describes in his nightmares is based on Naraka, the Buddhist "hell." It differs from the Christian concept of Hell in that a person's stay is temporary, only lasting until their karma has balanced out and they are ready for reincarnation. Granted, those stays can last exceptionally long periods of time and be filled with unbearable torture, but they will come to an end once the soul is purged.
Before anyone asks, yes. The whole "Fire Nation propaganda says Water Tribe people are cannibals" thing is a reference to "The Worst Prisoner" series by emletish. That fanfic trilogy is a major influence for this fic, as are the "Undying Fire" series by Boogum and "Promises to Keep" by Kimberly T. The concept intrigued me as it seemed like exactly the kind of lie the Fire Nation might create about the Water Tribes.
Also, yeah, I imagine Zuko has developed a bit of a sailor's mouth after nearly three years at sea. He tries not to be crude, as it's unprincely to use such language, but it will slip out. I'm going to try and be sparing with the curse words, though, as it's actually something that breaks immersion for me if it's done too much, especially in something like Avatar.
Today's chapter is brought to you by the Chinese drama "Be My Cat." When a young pet shop owner, Su Xiao He, receives a strange stone along with a letter warning her that her brother has gone missing, she sets off in search of him. On her way, she tries to help a young general who was fatally wounded, causing the spirit trapped in the stone to take over his body at his last breath. Mo Xiu Ran, the prince of the cat star, is now bonded to Xiao He and he is determined to break said bond and go home; in the meantime, he has to play the role of the human he has replaced and find the other magical animal stones. Lots of silly antics ensue as Xiu Ran tries to get Xiao He to fall in love with him as part of his plan to get free from the bond. Things are further complicated by the fact that Xiu Ran will occasionally turn back into a cat.
A short, sweet little series with the male lead playing a cat in human form. If you're a cat person, like me, you will find this absolutely adorable. The male lead was clearly having the time of his life playing a vain, silly cat prince.