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Zuko sat by the fire. Feeling the cool breeze hit the side of his face. The side where there is no scar. He completely blocked out any noise that was around him. Of course, he felt the presence of his companions. He knew for a fact that they weren't used to him yet. It had been a week since he joined the gaang and agreed to teach Aang fire ending. He wasn't sure what to do with all the tension he was feeling around him. But right now, He couldn't care less.
He continued to sit there. Just quietly getting used to the scenery before he felt a tap on his shoulder. His peace was now interrupted by the water tribe boy, Sokka. "Hey jerkbender!" He exclaimed loudly, causing Zuko to shrink away from him a little and fix him a glare. Sokka ignored the irritated stare and continued his statement. "Do you have any stories to tell?" Stories?
Zuko looked confused. He looked around the campfire. Aang was smiling at him. He was relaxed. Katara stared at him. She was on guard but somewhat relaxed. And Toph was..well..Toph. Zuko sighed as he replied. "I don't have any Stories." Sokka squawked, appalled. "WHAT!? Come on man! You have got to have at least one story!" He shouted. Zuko stared at him. He had never told a story before. He was only told of them. Zuko looked at Aang as the young boy began his statement. "Do you know any stories of the fire nation?" He asked. Curious. Katara rolled her eyes as Sokka groaned in annoyance. Toph snorted. Zuko thought about it for a moment before shaking his head lightly.
"Not that I know of." Zuko was telling the truth. There was no stories that he had heard of about the fire nation. Katara scoffed. "I doubt that. The fire nation probably has tons of stories. Probably the most horrible ones. Your the prince right? You should know about your own people." She snapped. Zuko flinched. She must have struck a nerve. He shifted his gaze towards the fire, not even noticing the slight glare that Sokka pointed at her. Zuko sighed. "I don't really like talking about the Fire nation. The only thing I know is that the people there are not as bad as you think." He said. Sokka looked at him weird.
"Didn't you say once that the Fire Nation was a terrible place?" "It is." He replied. "But I didn't mean the people in it." Zuko sat there with his eyes closed. He was exhausted. His bones ached. His eyes watered. His mind was a mess. "Sooo, what about your scar?" "Toph!" Aang had shouted in horror. Zuko stilled. This was supposed to be a quiet evening. Now, he wasn't sure if it was going to be quiet for a while. He cleared his throat. "What about it?" He asked. "How did you get it?" Toph replied bluntly. Aang stared at Toph in shock. Sokka was uncomfortable and Katara didn't look at any of them. Zuko sighed. He knew for a fact that this night was not gonna be peaceful. He looked at Toph. "You really want to know?" He said. Toph crossed her arms and smiled in triumph. "Yes." Zuko sighed. "Alright."
Everyone sat up straight. Sokka and Aang shifted closer as Toph and Katara stayed where they were. Zuko cleared his throat as he straighted up. "It all Started when I was 13." He started as his mind drifted him back into the memory of that day.
("I was standing outside of my father's war chamber.")
13 year old, Zuko, was standing and arguing with the guards. "Please! I want to go in!" He pleaded with the guards. But they wouldn't budge. He sighed and turned around to see his uncle. He pouted at him and pointed at the guards. Iroh chuckled.."Patience my nephew. Rushing won't get you no where." He ruffled the boys hair causing Zuko to giggle.
("I wanted to go inside of the war chambers to be a part of the meeting they were having in there. They had all the famous generals there and I wanted to be included.")
Zuko pouted. "The guards won't let me inside of the war chamber." He said. Iroh looked at the guards then looked at Zuko. He patted the boys shoulder and looked at the guards again. Zuko watched as he compromised with the guards and they both were let in.
("When I got there, I was amazed by all the generals and people that were in the meeting.")
Zuko sat there as he watched his father speak to everyone in the room. Suddenly, one of the generals suggested something, that made Zuko speak out. "You can't do that! Our soldiers serve our nation! Sacrificing them is wrong!" He shouted.
("I had spoken out of turn. And my father grew angry at me. But I was right. Sacrificing people, especially people who serve us without question. Was wrong.")
Zuko stood in the arena. Waiting for his opponent. He was terrified. He didn't know what was gonna happen. Let alone who was going to come back alive. Being challenged to an agni Kai was about life or death. It was up to you wether or not you would keep fighting or give in.
(" I was challenged to an agni Kai. If I'm being honest, I was scared. So very scared." "Wait, what is an agni Kai?" "An agni Kai is an traditional firebending duel created by the very first Firelord. It's a challenge of life or death." "Oh.")
The doors of the opponent opened wide as Zuko got himself ready. What he saw had shooken him to his core. His opponent was...
("My Father.." "WHAT!?" "No way.." "Yes..it was my father..")
Zuko got on his knees. He begged as he cried. Tears falling down his face as his father over shadowed him.
("I begged, pleaded, I was on my knees! I begged for mercy! But it wasn't enough to satisfy him..and the last words he said to me was..")
"Fear will be your teaching"
"Ahhhhhhhhh"
Zuko had tears falling down his face. He trembled as sobs burst out of his mouth and filled the once silenced air. Zuko felt hands on his back and arms around him. He looked up to see Sokka. Sokka looked at him with sadness in his eyes and hugged him tighter. "It's ok. Let it out" He said. Zuko started to sob harder. "He banished me! He t-told me that if I brought the avatar back, I-I could go home!" He wailed. He tried so hard to find the avatar and to go back to the life he once knew. He was blinded by false hope that he didn't even realize that home wasn't even home anymore until now. He never felt safe in that place. He never had a shoulder to cry on. And now, he actually had one.
Aang kept his hand on Zukos back as he fought to keep tears in his eyes. He finally understood why Zuko had chased him for so long. He was a broken boy who just wanted to feel safe and loved. A broken boy who just wanted to go home. A broken boy who was turned away and shattered by the world.
Aang felt his blood boil. Now he had an even bigger reason on taking down the Firelord. He knew for a fact that he can't kill him, but he will for sure take him down.
Toph felt her cheeks turn red in anger. She was gonna bury him six feet under. And hopefully suffocate him.
Katara felt tears run down her face. She felt guilty. She had given Zuko such a hard time. She was so angry at him. Just the thought of fire nation made her think about her mother. And how she was taken away from her. She knew for a fact that it wasn't his fault. Aside from her guilt, she felt anger. She wanted to drown the Firelord with the ocean. She wanted him to suffer. Just as he made Zuko suffer.
Sokka had never felt this much anger ever. He felt like he was going to explode. Erupt like a volcano. He wanted to stab someone. More importantantly the firelord. What kind of fucking father was the Firelord. No wonder Zuko did what he did. Zuko was broken. By a man he once called father. Never in Sokka's life had he experienced a father that would purposely hurt their own child. His father never would have hurt him. And this made Sokka even more angry. Sokka held onto the now sleeping boy. He was going to protect Zuko. They all were. No matter what.
"I'm gonna pound that fucker when I see him" Toph said. Katara nodded. Sokka glared at the fire. "Yeah, he is going down." Aang stood up. Eyes flickering in rage. "Zuko is ours now. He is never going back to that place. The firelord is going down. And if I have to, I will have him killed before he ever gets to Zuko."
Aang Looked back at the group, eyes white as they glowed with Rage and Anger. A thousand voices spoke with him.
"And that's a promise"