Pre-Chapter A/N: Please do check out the first chapter of the novel I'm working on up on pa-treon- it's completely free to access.
What can I say except you're welcome? Here we go with the seventh chapter of 2025. Lovely to have you all here, and I hope you enjoy this one. If you do, feel free to head over to pa-treon and read the next two chapters- I update there on a daily basis so there's always something for you to read.
"You've been avoiding your grandfather," Maki said on walking into my office.
"I surely doubt that he spoke to you and told you that himself" I replied, not looking up from the reports I was reading through. Ba Sing Se remained a massive city and without a firelord to appoint a new administrator, I remained the one in charge here. The more time went past, the more certain I became that we were going to remain here for longer than anticipated, so the city needed to be in good shape to sustain the army, keep us fed, armed, and watered. The blacksmiths that called this place home were already being given an improved education so they could make weapons of the kind that the fire nation could use.
If it came to war, though, we would lose, and it would not even be close. The Fire nation military was the closest thing this world had to a massive military industrial complex, and the beating heart of that was on the Fire Nation mainland — in Zuko's control. All he had to do was raise new levies and attack when he was ready. It was easier said than done, but it was possible nonetheless.
"He did not need to. The fact that you sit here reading through reports rather than out there with him and his friends tells me all I need to know. And you missed the last meeting" She said.
"I informed the Fire Lord ahead of time, and Toji sat in my place." I replied.
"So you are avoiding him! I knew it".
"I never denied it." I shrugged.
"Now the only question is why? I know you love him. And you're not stupid enough not to know that the time he has left is very limited".
"You know what he did"
"And I know that was years ago" She shot back, taking a seat.
"Doesn't mean I've forgiven him. Time doesn't heal all wounds, Maki".
"You're not the type to hold a grudge. Pisses Toji off something fierce, but I think it's your best trait. So I do know that you've forgiven him so what's the hold up?"
"What if he hasn't forgiven me?" I asked, looking up from the reports. I had barely been able to make out a word after Maki walked in and began to distract me.
"There's no chance he hasn't. You're his precious grandson and heir. You should see the way he speaks about you to the other generals. He probably doesn't even remember whatever went wrong with you guys".
"I said some pretty disrespectful things, and while I might not be the type to hold a grudge, my Grandfather definitely is," I said in response.
"Well, there's only one way to find out"
"What do you mean?"
"He should be here any moment now," She said airily.
"Who?" She just smirked.
"Maki? Who should be here any moment now?" I asked, having a bad feeling build in my gut.
There was a knock at the door.
"I wonder who it could be," She said dramatically as she began approaching the door.
"Maki, don't you dare-" I hadn't even finished the sentence when she swung the door open.
"Please do come in, Lord Wu. Natsu just told me he's cleared his schedule for the rest of today so you both have the time to converse" She said, stepping around him and leaving the office while he shut the door behind himself. I couldn't get over how old he looked already.
"Please take a seat, Grandfather" I said, remembering my manners and standing from my seat to welcome him.
He marched with an efficiency and solidness that belied his age and appearance before planting himself on the seat like it was a throne. It was one of the things I most admired about him — he had a regality to his movements that few could manage to even simulate a fraction of.
"You have done well, my Grandson." He said, and I could hear the pride in his voice.
"Thank you, Grandfather" I said, unable to keep the crack out of my own.
"I knew you would rise in the military. I knew you would become a General at some point, but your progress is outstanding. Killer of Bumi, King of Omashu, Seizer of Ba Sing Se, slayer of the Dragon of the West. Songs will be made about you. Even if you were to retire to our lands today, you have achieved enough that the world will not forget us for centuries. And then that does not even consider your new promotion. Several Princes have been promoted to the rank of General at even younger ages, but you are the first person to ever hold the rank of High General with less than ten years experience in the military." There was so much pride there, as he listed each of my accomplishments.
There was something about the way he spoke now. Everything I'd done, I'd done at an almost breakneck pace. I never had the time to stop and smell the roses, or even to think about the effects of each accomplishment. Phrased like this, it was clear that I'd accomplished one of my most important goals- to carve my name in the history of this world- a long time ago.
"Thank you, Grandfather" I said again, while wondering where this was going.
"But of all your successes, the one that I am most proud of is the relationship you have built with our Fire Lord. Wu blood will sit on the throne of the Fire Nation, Natsu. Just think of that. My Great Grandsons will be Princes of the fire Nation, and my Great Granddaughters will be princesses. All within the same generation where Azulon spat on our family and my son's sacrifice. You have made me prouder than I could ever have imagined, Natsu."
"This only matters if we win" I pointed out.
"The Avatar is a powerful bender, but a child. Zuko has always been his sister's lesser, and now he has taken the throne after his father's death in suspicious circumstances while consorting with water tribe savages. We cannot lose." He said.
"And that is what scares me the most" I whispered to myself. The second one started to say things like that, you had to be worried about what was going to happen next.
"And how did the Fire Lord die again?" I asked. I knew Azula had gotten some answer out of them and had been spitting flames since then.
"One of his guards killed him"
"You know who it was" I accused. I could see it in his eyes, the way he fiddled with the cuff of his robes. My grandfather was many things, but a skilled liar had never been one of them.
"I do. But I do not think this is knowledge that you want to have" He said after a minute of silence.
"Who was it? I have to know".
"Your friend, Zhufu."
"Zhufu? Why the hell would she kill the FireLord?"
"Are you aware of the situation with her family?"
"That they are poor. I know" I said, not sure how this related to it, unless she had been paid off to kill him. But that wasn't possible, Zhufu had always been the softest of us all. It was why I hadn't minded her being posted to the imperial guard.
"What you don't know is what they sought to do about their situation" He began narrating the story that would change how I saw Ozai and much of the Fire Nation nobility.
"They knew they had a beautiful daughter, and that the Fire Lord's wife was dead. To put two and two together, an Uncle of hers, a contemptuous little man with more cunning than honour, approached the Head of the Guard with a portrait of hers. And so the plot was set to put her in the Fire lord's way and allow his baser desires come to the forefront. They hoped to gain benefits for their family from that. Maybe even a marriage. She would never have birthed the next Fire Lord, but being the Fire Lord's wife has benefits few can comprehend. The power was alluring, and their sense little." I gasped at the words. Even as it made sense. Zhufu's grades had not been the best. It hadn't made sense when she had been made a guard in the palace. The thought in my mind was that the eventual marriage to Prince Zuko would move forward, and she was being put in a place where it was certain that no harm would come to her. I'd underestimated her family, it turned out. Why the son when one can have the father?
"And this worked?" I asked. It sounded like a relatively simple plan in truth. The kind of thing that anyone competent would see through. And regardless of what I thought about him, Ozai was, at the very least, more competent than most.
"To some extent. Ozai knew of the plan, of course. He found it all very amusing, in truth, that anyone would dare be so brazen. And then he saw her. I am not privy to the exact details, but I know he had his way with her more than once. I assumed the entire situation consensual. She would not be the first woman to spread her legs for influence and power — your lessons covered this. It was only after she'd driven a spear through his heart that she came out with the truth that he had forced himself on her. And repeatedly." He said. I took a deep breath. Zhufu. Kind, delicate Zhufu had been raped over and over again by that monster. Ozai was lucky he was dead. He was so fucking lucky.
"And you did nothing? You noticed nothing?" I pressed. My grandfather was many things, and I would have counted being a man of honour among them, but I could not guarantee that he would not have turned the other eye if he found out. He would do anything for our family.
"I would not have allowed a noble lady to be dishonored in such a manner, fire Lord or not. Had it been a serving girl or merchant's daughter, then I would have done nothing. But Zhufu was one of us- our class. Any infringement on the rights of the noble class does not just concern one of us, but all of us. If the precedent is set that the Fire Lord can have his way with our daughters at his will and against theirs, then the consequences would be immense. Furthermore, I know how you felt about her. She was your friend, and I know what Wu blood can do in such situations. I would have stepped in if only to prevent you from challenging Ozai to an Agni Kai when you eventually found out." I stared him in the eyes, and he seemed to be honest. He seemed to be telling the truth, but that did not make me feel any better. Not at all.
Azula slammed into the office with a Fire Sage visible hurrying behind her.
"The whore is pregnant" She said.
"What?" What was she talking about this time.
"The whore that killed my Father. She is pregnant" She said.
"Pregnant?" I felt like the world was spinning all around me. I felt rage. I wanted to smash Azula into the floor and tell her I would rip out her tongue if she called Zhufu a whore in front of me again. But I took that thought and the rest of my rage and buried it far beneath everything else.
"Tell them what you told me" She told the fire sage, never understanding just how close she had come to death right here and now.
"The lady, Zhufu, she had taken in with child"
"Ozai's child?" Grandfather asked, voice shriller than I had ever heard from him.
"Most certainly. Those of us who were in the know about their copulations were entrusted in ensuring that no others touched her. The Fire Lord did not share" He said. I wanted to kill something. Anything.
"I want her dead," Azula screamed. I could see it right and then. My Grandfather gave me a warning look. I nodded at him. She could scream all she wanted, but she would be dead before she laid a hand on Zhufu. Whatever affection I held for her was nothing when it compared with the love I felt for Zhufu.
"And how exactly are we supposed to achieve this from all the way here in Ba Sing Se?" I drawled. What a silly little girl.
"We invade them. We smash our way into the Capitol and take the palace. We drag little Zuzu out of there kicking and screaming." She said with a spiteful smile on her face.
XXXXXX- THE WATERBENDING MASTER
She had expected a good day. The weather was cooler than it had been since she took up residence here. The man who had taken and killed her mother had been summoned to the Palace, and the date of Zuko's meeting was drawing nearer.
That was why, when the White Haired Fire Bending Master had revealed himself at the Palace Gates, she had felt her heart drop into her stomach. Good days came with bad news. She had learned this early.
"He's dead, Fire Lord Zuko. I saw it with my own eyes" They were far from the only ones in the throne room, but Zuko only had eyes for the former Fire Nation traitor.
"What do you mean he is dead?" Zuko sounded confused.
"They fought with fire and lightning, more avatars of Agni's wrath than men at some point, but it happened that General Iroh was no longer able to keep up. The Dragon of the West was slain in battle against Natsu Wu in the center of the Earth King's palace." There was no shortage of gasps. Natsu Wu- the bloody general — had a mythical status to these people. The kind of thing that she would not have believed if she did not see it herself, but she had. They were the resistance, water benders, earthbenders, and non-benders who only shared their enmity of the Fire Nation in common, but they all knew who Natsu Wu was. Slayer of Bumi, Seizer of Ba Sing Se. Warlord. Conqueror. Murderer. There were a dozen words that one could use to refer to the man, and they all stuck.
"Then why are you here?" Zuko raged.
"It was all I could do to escape. We fought him together, but even as two, he still had us beaten. Aang intervened, and even he could barely last more than a few seconds against him. I might have taught Natsu Wu when he was younger, but what he has become is far beyond even my wildest imaginations".
"There were five of you. Five fighting masters. You said the five of you could take a city on your lonesome and now four of you are dead, unable to kill a single man? My Uncle is dead" The fire before the throne erupted with a snap. The heat in the throne room became unbearable.
"Out. All of you. Get out" Zuko roared.
"He needs to die" They had coalesced in the office after Zuko had gotten the chance to vent his anger. Now instead of white-hot rage, his anger had become a cooler, more insidious thing. Aang looked visibly uncomfortable at the mention of death, but he remained silent. She thanked Kyoshi for that fact.
"And how will that happen?" Bato asked.
"Not from us doing nothing for sure. We need to make sure he is taken care off before Sozin's Comet" Zuko said now.
"Why before then, specifically? Won't all of you get stronger by then? Cancel each other out?" She probed.
Jeong-Jeong chuckled at that.
"Agni does not bless all her children equally. And Sozin's Comet is much the same. The average fire bender might only see a 50% boost in power, but the strong ones, the prodigies like Natsu and the Princess Azula? They can get twice as strong under the comet. We have a chance now, if a slim one. By then, they will be unstoppable." The white haired man explained to her before turning to Zuko.
"The question still remains how. I fought him. I saw him and your Uncle fight. They weren't at a level I could even comprehend. No offense, but he'd tear you apart in seconds" He said, not even showing any deference to the man who was ostensibly his Lord.
"I know that. Agni, damn it, I know that. I know that no matter how hard I train, there is no chance of me beating someone who could fight both you and Uncle at the same time. But just because I can't be the one to get it doesn't mean my revenge will be unattainable" He said, turning a meaningful gaze in Aang's direction.
"No." Aang said immediately.
"You're the Avatar" Zuko said.
"The Avatar, not a hired killer"
"It's your duty to end the war and bring balance to the world, is it not? There's no way the war ends if we don't get Him out of Ba Sing Se, and he won't be leaving willingly, I assure you".
"I will not kill Zuko. Not for you. Not for anyone."
"Then don't" Sokka cut in.
"Just capture him and hand him over. We'll handle what comes next" He said, and she found herself agreeing with the sentiment.
"Wait. Not to risk offending the Avatar, but I must ask: what happens if Aang isn't strong enough" Jeong-Jeong asked.
"He can control the Avatar state now. It's impossible to beat the Avatar in the Avatar State" Katara found herself stating.
"No one, not even me, is invincible" Aang pointed out.
"There's no need to be humble. You're the next best thing," She said in reply, feeling the plan come into place.
A/N: Slow and steady. As always, the next two chapters are up on pa-treon. If you just want to read complete chapters and not my work in real-time, then feel free to purchase this story as a collection on my pa-treon page so you get to read each chapter after I finish it and not neecessarily the daily updates available with a regular pa-treon membership- nice way to support this story and me while you're at it. Enjoy!