the avatar, and that one good firebender, lee

fire, part one

after the fall of ba sing se, the jasmine dragon cleared out of the docks at high speed. the few days following that, keeping a watchful eye at sea, consisted of a brooding zuko and an out-of-business teahouse with no customers aboard. oftentimes the crew found zuko sitting on the upper deck, watching the waves pass the ship by and recede behind them with a solemn gaze.

"i don't understand," feng complains, climbing onto the upper deck with two cups of pudding in hand--haku's home recipe. zuko takes the cup, silently. "you helped the avatar, started firebending again, beat your sis up, so what's the problem?"

"aang almost died," zuko states. or rather, he actually did. he doesn't bother to disprove feng's two points--he barely firebended and azula, though failing, suffered no beating from him. "and it's my fault because i hesitated, because...i considered hurting him, for a moment."

"i thought that whole capturing-the-avatar thing was over," feng says, scooping a spoonful of pudding.

"i--i don't know, it was just, i was looking down at aang, and it reminded me of the dream i had," zuko recalls, pausing to try the pudding. sweet . "where i was sozin and i was...hurting avatar roku. i don't know if it's like how roku said, like either of them taking over me for their own reasons, or maybe it was just all me, being selfish again."

"hey," the engineer nudges him in the shoulder. "don't think like that. if you keep beating your old self up, who's gonna beat up your sis? and your dad?"

zuko scoffs, bumping him back. "nice advice." looking up, he spots through the misty grey clouds, a dark figure cutting through the waters. "oh no."

they jump off the upper deck, meeting jee and iroh at the bridge. "something's wrong."

iroh nods, and, looking out, zuko notices more figures advancing in on them from the horizon, arriving fast. gravely, he looks back at zuko. "it's azula."

-------

the dai li board the jasmine dragon, dragging the crew down to their knees with their earthbending gloves. azula steps on the ship, offering no smile, no smirk, no mocking laughs. she cuts through the restrained crew members, sparing no look or snicker, and heads right for the three men outside the bridge. she stops in front of them, fixated on iroh and zuko.

zuko begins. "let them go."

"you're in no place to make demands," azula sneers. looking back at a dai li agent, they nod, forcing zuko and iroh to their feet. looking between prince and general, she reaches with a clawed hand, having the dai li drag iroh before her. blue fire blazing, cold and biting, she holds her fingertips to iroh's neck, the old man resentful. "but i am."

"what do you want?" the prince asks, albeit too eagerly. she doesn't listen. "whatever you want. just let them go."

"good, you're cooperating," she nods, breaking into a smile. then, with her free hand, she offers, "come home. with me."

iroh shakes his head, zuko glares, but recalling the last time azula struck iroh, he nods, just as desperate. "is that all?" her smile widens, humming a small uh-uh . "fine. but if i go, i go alone."

"again, you're in no position to make demands," azula reminds, smiling wicked at zuko's grimace. she hands iroh to the dai li and, nodding once more to an agent, the earthbending grip loosens. "i hope you remember that." azula cuts her way across the deck once more, this time iroh and zuko on her tail. halfway through, she turns to the crew with a pitiful smile. "oh, how rude of me, stealing your two employees right under your noses." she steps back onto her own ship, retreating to the bridge. "i'll leave you two to say your goodbyes."