The Unpredictable Fire Queen [Fire Lord Zuko x Reader]{ATLA}

... and the frustration

"Ugh! I can't believe her!" Zuko growled. "You would think that she has common sense as a mother, but then she pulls this crap!"

The sad victims of Zuko's complaints were none other than the reunited Avatar gang themselves. Although each and every one of them had their own important duties, they all dropped everything to help out their friend, Fire Lord Zuko. It was also a global threat to have both the Fire Queen and Princess missing, but helping a friend was their main priority.

They worried about you and Izumi... but let's face it, you were no pansy and more than capable of taking care of yourself. Apparently, Zuko didn't see that. His paranoia— his downright fear of losing everything he loved blinded him. He thought that you were in trouble, hence the never-ending complaints of how much you were an idiot to mask his concerns.

"There are two trails here," Toph mentioned as she felt the ground with her feet. "The most recent one goes right, while the other goes left."

"My wife can't even track down the culprit?!" Zuko groaned.

"But I can sense a large commotion not far from us," Toph added. "The ground is really getting burned up."

Zuko tried to continue his facade, but his shoulders slumped. He was sure that was you, fighting whoever it was the stole his daughter. Maybe you could defeat them, but there was a question that plagued his mind. 'Did he truly deserve to be happy?'

A firm hand rested on his shoulder and he glanced to the side. Aang wore a sympathetic smile, "Don't worry. We have the team together. There's no way you aren't getting your family back."

[_____]

"YOU CALL THAT AN ATTACK?!" you yelled to the sky, specifically the kidnapper who was propelled by their flames.

"Mom, don't taunt them," Izumi said from the distance as she stood by the tree.

You didn't pay attention and chucked a few fireballs at the kidnapper. They deflected with a wall of blue flames, flames you knew exactly who they belonged to.

"Why are you hiding your face, Azula? I know it was you!" you exclaimed.

She didn't reply; instead, she returned the favor and began hurling flame blades at you. You dodged with no problem, but you were beginning to tire after dodging the first hundred. How did she become this powerful to create a constant stream of them?!

"You already knocked the other guy out!" Izumi cried out, "Let's just go."

"She won't let us leave. She dragged me out here for a reason," you explained between pants. "And she's not getting away with what she's done."

You heard Azula's trademark laugh behind her mask. "You've gotten weaker, [Name]. I only accepted you into our family because you were stronger than Zuzu, but I see that's not the case anymore."

"AZULA!" you screamed as you hurled yourself up at her. You tried to forget the exhaustion on your body after searching for your daughter. You hadn't had a good meal or sleep well in the past two days. Though seeing your daughter alive and well was the biggest relief and revitalized you, the fight was taking a toll on you.

You had become weak. You relied so much on fortitude and raw strength all your life. Now, you were heavily reliant on your status as Fire Queen. You were rusty, a dull blade with no power. You were accommodated to your palace lifestyle and had forgotten of your old one.

"Maybe I should hurt my cute little niece, see if you finally get that spark back."

There wasn't time to think. You knew she would hurt Izumi for the fun of it. Your body turned and you propelled yourself towards Izumi with your flames. "I-IZUMI!"

You punched the air, throwing out a fireball to deflect her flame blades. However, your stance in front of your daughter wasn't solid enough to protect you from them all. A few slipped through the cracks and made contact with your back as you shielded your daughter from them.

You hadn't felt this much pain in a while but remained stoic. Your daughter, however, realized the extent of your injuries and panicked. Terrified, she screamed and it echoed through the abandoned forest, reaching the ears of Team Avatar.