Watch it Burn

Chapter 39

"After we finish this will you take your rightful place on the throne?" I asked Iroh as we sat in a circle eating breakfast. Zuko had finally reintroduced us earlier this morning. It was a very tearful meeting for all of us when Zuko told him about our relationship.

"No, someone new must take the throne," Iroh said while looking at Zuko, "An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor."

"It has to be Zuko," I said and felt the boy stiffen beside me. I glanced at him, seeing he was deep in thought. Iroh nodded at my words.

"Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes," Zuko said to him.

"Yes you have, you've struggled and suffered," Iroh explained to Zuko, "but you have always followed your path. You've restored your own honor, and only you can restore honor to the firenation."

"But that's only if we can defeat the firelord," Zuko said, "and if the avatar can't do that then Amara will have too,"

"If that is her decision then yes, it will have to be her," Iroh nodded, and I felt anxiety grow in the pit of my stomach at that. Could I really take Aang's spot and kill the firelord? I felt everyone's eyes on me and pushed myself up from where I sat, desperate to flee them.

"I need a moment," I mumbled to them and quickly walked away.

"Amara!" I heard Zuko call after me, but Iroh stopped him. He told him to let me have a moment. I started to run towards the forest, a cool sweat forming on me. I needed to talk to someone about this, someone who understood.

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I walked around for twenty minutes before I found a spot far away from camp. By the time I sat down, I was about to throw up. It was the avatar's job to take down the firelord, not mine. It was my job to keep the mortal and spirit world in balance, but this did affect the balance of the world, right? If Aang wasn't here there couldn't be anyone else to fight him.

"You're having a crisis, aren't you?" I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes to see Astra Kusse sitting there in front of me.

"Yeah I am," I said to her, not really wanting to deal with her antics, "Any advice?"

"Kill the son of a bitch," She said, looking down at her nails, "the avatar is a little kid, someone has to do the deed."

"But, it's not my job," I said, "that would be an act of violence."

"As if the other avatars haven't killed multiple people." She said, eyes flickering to me, "Don't you know what Avatar Kyoshi did when split from the mainland?"

"Yeah I know she could be brutal, but she was the avatar, I'm not," I protested.

"Well it's your choice," She sighed, sitting up, "But you're the only one strong enough to get it done."

She faded away, giving me a smirk before she left.

"But then again, I never really take your advice anyway," I said quietly to myself when she was gone.

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It took another ten minutes before I was able to contact another spirit.

"I sense a deep conflict in you," I heard someone say.

When I opened my eyes I was greeted with my mentor's girlfriend, Ragni.

"Ragni what am I supposed to do?" I asked her.

"When I was alive, there was much conflict in the world. Chin the conqueror wasn't the only greedy tyrant that existed," She explained, "The only person that had managed to bring peace was Kyoshi."