InsaneJournal

Vengeance...
Who: Zuko and Toph
When: Mid morning
What: Arriving
Where: Forest
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete


In a dingy shack, Zuko of the Fire Nation fitfully slept, sweat beading across his brow as he twitched slightly in his sleep but remained slightly still. In his mind, surreal images seemed to take shape and form as if guided by an unseen hand, his eyes moving rapindly beneath his eyelids. He could see a light in the darkness, slowly spinning around, endlessly rotating... a never ending circle. Why was that circle so important to him? Why couldn't he look away from it? The more it spun, the more it seemed to encompass everything about him, fill him with it's gentle rotation, the slow cycle in and out as it moved into darkness, and then back into light, the way that the sun, the source of all Fire Bender energy seemed to move in and out...

A soft chuckle came from behind him, and as Zuko turned around suddenly everything looked familiar. He was on his ship, out in the ocean. As he turned around, he saw a light house in the distance which must have been the cause of the odd flickering light he'd seen. Turning back around, his golden eyes rest upon his uncle, the source of the chuckling, who'd just started to unfold his unholy powers at the game of Pai Sho. Normally this sort of thing annoyed him, but for some reason, Zuko found himself now surpressing a soft smile, for there was something about this that felt warm, and dear... as if something here had been lost and remembering it was the only way to get it back again.

At the helm, the captain seemed calm and cool, and while he was trailing the Avatar still, for once he didn't feel the anger inside of him that seemed so very familiar to him. It was in times like these he had a soft glimpse of the peace that his uncle seemed to always have about him like an aura. He walked up behind his Uncle, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Uncle, I...."

But as soon as he began to speak there was a sudden horrible sound from beneath the boat, the sound of metal screetching against something immoveable, and the floor beneath their feet rocked violently, nearly tossing Zuko to his knees, and sending several of the crew members toppling. Zuko was at the side of the boat in an instant, but a part of him already knew what he would see. There were few things that could suddenly stop a Fire Navy boat in it's tracks like that, and fewer still that would come on so suddenly and not be noticed by the captain. There was little surprise in Zuko's eyes when he saw the white crystals of ice that had hardened around the hull. Water benders.

Gritting his teeth his good eye narrowed as a wave come up over the ship, tossing some cargo on board. It didn't make sense though, what could the water benders possibly be tossing on board his vessel? And for what purpose? He wasn't even in water bender territory now, he was persuing the Avatar, trying to hunt him down so that he could regain his honor. But as another wave came and more barrels piled on board he realize that they weren't ordinary barrels. Leaking from one of them was.... blasting jelly.

"Abandon ship! Get everyone off the boat now!" Zuko roared, turning towards the captain who was already starting to bark orders, seeing the surprise in his uncle's eyes as Zuko took charge, but there was no time. Zuko himself started to run, but stopped as he heard a low groaning from the windows of the boat, and saw something bright zip past the window, like a shooting star. It couldn't be... and yet, as he approached the window he saw to his own horror that it was... Zuko's eyes widened as he saw the Avatar on his red glider fly past the window again, staring into the bridge with cold eyes as something fell from his fingertips... a torch.

There was so much jelly and spark powder on the boat, if that torch hit... there would be no time to escape... no time to do anything. Growling Zuko reached out with his hand, in an attempt to call the fire to him, to bend it away from the torch, but it was too far, and his skills were not strong enough. Slowly, hypnotically it fell towards the deck, but before it hit Zuko felt the firm grasp of his uncles chubby fingers grabbing him and spinning him away from the window and into his Uncle's arms...

And then the world became pain and fire the likes of which he'd not felt since his first Agni Kai.

On the bed, Zuko's eyes finally shot open, but as he tried to shoot up in response, his body screamed at him violently, feeling as if every muscle in his body weighed a thousand pounds. Zuko groaned, his lips dry as he tried to reach for water, he saw a woman standing over him with the creepiest smile he thought he'd ever seen in his lifetime. Even Azula's grin couldn't compare to what this lady apparently wore as a normal smile every day of her life, and that fact almost distracted Zuko from his dream for a second... almost.

"Where-" he began, but his hostess cut him off.

"Hello. I'm Ju Dee. Your body is still recovering Prince Zuko... I'll make sure that your father is notified of your coming out of your coma..." each word she said as if they wouldn't cause a stab of fear and anxiety to flow up his spine. A coma? What had happened? Where was he? Where was Uncle Iroh? Why did his body feel like a train had hit it? And why did his hands look so... different, then he remembered them? They were bigger, stronger, more weathered and muscled than he'd remembered them being when he was younger...

"Where is-"

"Please... Prince Zuko... sleep..."

As she suggested it, Zuko realized he did still feel tired, and nodded lightly as his golden eyes began to roll back into his head, but in the distance he could hear soft words, though the sense of them seemed to fade in and out of his ability to hear, like rolling waves on the tide, so that he only caught half of the conversation, but as tired as he was, he disregarded all of it in the haze of near sleep that he was in.

"...you sure thi-....-ill work?"

"Do n-... oubt me, I have been doing this... of thing for more years than you can imagine... But are you sure we cannot take more time.... solidify the conditioning?"

"... is no more time! Even Zuko.... only gone on his journies for so long... -lace officials will notice him gone sooner or later..."

"And you're sure... will get us all that we want?"

"Once we convince... that Iroh is dead, an- ... the Avata's hand... onvinced that the Avatar must die... ... assasination will send the world... chaos and... the next great war... -rom the ashes, we can build... new Phoenix nation.... -rth and Fire, together..."

"I hop-... are right.... your sake, Ozai..."

"Fire Lord Ozai.... Feng... just stick.... the plan..."

The words seemed to drown out there and were lost in a sea of darkness that seemed to swallow Zuko up completely. There were no grand dreams this time, nothing to disturb him, just sweet exhausted rest that drown out everything else, an oblivion so close to death that Zuko almost felt like a new person when he awoke. Almost.

But no amount of sleep could prepare him for the sight which his golden eyes beheld as he woke, his father, Ozai, leaned over his bedside. His father's face looked lean, looking like he'd not eaten in some time, the muscles that once had adorned his healthy face seemed now stretched lightly over his bones, the way a survivor looked after weathering a terrible ordeal. For a moment Zuko doubted that it was his father, but the gleam in the older man's eyes betrayed who the man was instantly. The cold fire was still there, as if rage that had been tempered down to pure hate over decades glowed in them. It almost cause Zuko to shiver, until he realized the warmth of the man's hand was on his shoulder, gripping it lightly.

"My son... you're finally awake..." Ozai said softly, and the corners of his mouth turned in a light smile.

Zuko just stared up at the man, feeling slightly as if he had been transported into some bizarre alternate dimension where this sort of thing would make a hint of sense. But in reality it didn't... his father was a cruel man... the man who had scarred him, who had stripped him of his honor and his title... and yet, there was a feeling inside of him now that he could face this man. That he could stand up to his father, that there wasn't a reason to be afraid any more. But that was crazy, and he knew it, Ozai could eviscerate him in an instant... what the hell was wrong with him? What was he thinking? His golden eyes looked away and didn't meet the man's gaze, trying to sort out all of the odd feelings he had which didn't seem to make sense here...

"Zuko... you have no idea how... troubled I was that you'd been hurt... We got some of the water bending prisoners to help heal you in exchange for... leniancy... but I was scared for your safety. After the Avatar nearly killed you once... I had no idea if he would try to finish the job if he'd found out that you'd lived. I regret sending you away on that journey in the first place, Zuko... you've been in a coma for years..."

The voice was his, but the tone was much kinder than he'd ever known his father to be. Had his near death actually inspired some form of love in the man? Zuko knew that the person his father was had not given a rip about Zuko's well being... but his father had never actually wanted to see him killed, as far as he'd known. Just banished... and even that was supposedly to teach him a lesson. Perhaps the years had changed him... even so, seeing him like this, was all so strange... but all of his thoughts vaporized as his father uttered his last few words. "Years? What?" He tried to sit up but his body refused to listen to him, it felt like it was lead. Groaning, Zuko gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit.

"Your body is weak, Zuko." Ozai said flatly. "If you stress yourself now, you might do permanent damage... you need to rest." As usual for his father, it was not a request. Zuko began to calm down, knowing that this was far more the father that he remembered than the endearing one he'd seemed to be a moment ago.

"Wait... Uncle... where is he?" Zuko said, his golden eyes looking around. Uncle Iroh would not have left his side like this, no matter how long he'd been unconscious for. Not unless there was a great need. But as he looked around the cabin all he saw was the woman who'd tended to him earlier and his father. There wasn't even a hot cup of tea that would have betrayed his uncle was nearby. Zuko frowned slowly, and looked towards Ozai, waiting for something, some glimmer of hope, but all he got in return was his father looking away from him.

"You... should get your rest... you still need it." Ozai said softly, motioning to the woman so that they both left him in peace, after Zuko willingly slid down and pretended to snuggle into the pillow, his eyes closing slowly. Only after he heard their footsteps go away, did he push himself up, forcing his body to move. It felt weird... different. It had been years since he chased the avatar. He was taller now, and his lanky body felt slightly more filled out, though moving proved to be slightly difficult, he knew he could master it.

Pulling himself to the door, he listened, and then slipped out of it, to see exactly where he was. The shack outside looked like it was about to collapse... and behind it he could see a big body of water... this looked like the earth kingdom, if he had to guess... none of it made sense though... unless... unless he'd been kept here to hide his location from the Avatar.... but it didn't explain where his Uncle was.

And then his golden eyes set upon a mound of rocks towards the side of the cabin. He didn't care that he stumbled and nearly fell, even as his hand scraped against the ground he forced himself up, stumbling in a half run until he came up to the rock pile, and there he sank to his knees. It was unassuming, without a name on it, but atop it were the scorched remains of his uncle's favorite tea cup. All that was carved into the headstone was the symbol of a lotus... his Uncle's favorie Pai Sho tile... the one thing he would have wanted to mark his grave if he'd been buried far from home.

"No... it's not possible..." Zuko croaked, his words already starting to crack as he felt something warm and wet slide across one cheek, then the other. He crawled forward, his hands pressing to the rocks as if he might dig out his uncle from the grave, as if it were some sick joke that he could disprove, but the weakness that had filled him now seemed overpowering, and he sank down, laying his heads against the uneven rocks there, tears streaming down his face as he shut his eyes closed tight.

Soft footsteps betrayed his father's prescence next to him. "He died an honorable death, Zuko." His father whispered softly. It was so like him, not offering any condolence, just saying that his Uncle had died in a fashion that was acceptable to the family. Ozai didn't even press a hand upon his shoulder this time, as if afraid that whatever weakness might have caused Zuko to cry was infectious.

"NO! He died because... I wasn't strong enough... because I couldn't... capture the Avatar..." Zuko's eyes opened, and inside of him all he felt was cold horrible rage starting to creep up, self loathing filling him until it choked him more than the tears. Growling he forced himself to his feet, his body swaying before he forced it to stand. "I'll kill him for this..."

"It will not be easy, Zuko, the Avatar defeated me in battle, without you. Your sister Azula was driven mad... our nation is in shambles, and many people think you're dead... if you reveal yourself to them, then they will know you're alive, and the Avatar will come after you with his companions..."

"Then I'll hunt them down! One by one if I have to..." It made sense... to take back from the Avatar what was stolen from him... and the closest thing to family was the pair of water benders that traveled with him. Yes, if he took them down first, then the Avatar's strength would crumble, and faulter. "And once I do, then I'll come for him..." Zuko swore, his body still trembling with fury over what had happened. He saw his father only nod softly, unwilling, or perhaps unable to stop him now. It didn't matter any more, none of it mattered to him, all that filled him now was a sense of vengeance, a desire to beak the bald little freak down until he begged for the release of death.

"I will have my revenge..." Zuko promised.

Days later, Zuko left before anyone else was awake. He owed no allegience to his father any longer. The man had banished him as a traitor, and as far as he knew, that was still in effect, but he didn't care. Zuko also knew that he wasn't a bender of the same calibre as his father, and that this mission was likely suicide. He would have to go into the heart of water or air territory to find the Avatar, and destroy him... but even if he had to trail the Avatar to the ends of the earth, he would, and he wouldn't fail the way he had last time, he couldn't. There was far more at stake here than his honor, or even his throne. He'd not realized until he had stared at Iroh's grave what it was that had been important to him...

And now it was gone forever.

At sunset he set up camp, his muscles screaming in agony from the practice. The atrophy was gone now, for all intents and purposes, but he still needed practice, and his fire bending felt rustry, as if he'd not channeled his rage for years to cause the flame to burn from his limbs. Finally though, fatigue hit him hard enough that he passed out against his sleeping roll, not bothering to even unroll it, the rocky ground not uncomfortable enough to keep him conscious. His sleep was fitful, and at one point he had the strangest dream that he was being pulled somewhere.

When he woke, the sun was already high in the sky, and the ground beneath him felt far softer, the tufts of grass feeling way more comfortable than the rocky ground he'd slept on previously. The trees looked different too... but his stuff was still with him. None of that mattered much though, as he heard footsteps approaching, his golden eyes narrowing slowly.

"Who's there? Stay back!" He growled and started to wave his hand to bring forth a burst of flame... but thought better of it. No one knew who he was, and if he was really in Earth Kingdom Territory, then fire bending would be grounds to be captured.