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6 Years Ago - Azula
Their father sits before them, his hands clasped together as Azula and her older brother bow before him. The basement they're in feels cold, even though all of the lights are on, as well as twin torches next to her father's 'throne'. In reality, it was merely a large chair but Azula knew better than to comment on it. He says nothing, no tell that he knows what's about to happen, but Azula sees her brother clench his jaw nevertheless. They have to act soon, or it will all be for naught.
"Rise my children," Ozai speaks and the siblings do so, "today we will figure out who my rightful heir will be. You both have been by my side since your grandfather lost control of our triad all those years ago. But I was able to gain control once more, no thanks to your traitorous mother."
Azula says nothing but she sees her brother squeeze his tattooed left hand. She knows that even if they manage to leave with their lives today, the physical marks from their father will remain forever, specifically the tattoos he forced upon them when they were younger. Their tattoos mirror each other's, two sides of the same blade. Both of their backs are covered in the ink, and Azula's right arm is covered while Zuko had his left arm tattooed. Ironically, Azula was left-handed and Zuko was right-handed, but what did Ozai care? It was all about power, all about a symbol. His left and right hand servants he calls them, but Azula serves no one, not anymore.
"Father, this is my birthright," Zuko states, exactly according to plan, "I have been devoted to you and our cause since the beginning. I am your humble servant. I deserve it more."
Ozai laughs cruelly and stands from the chair. Zuko glances over at her, fear in his eyes. Slowly, Ozai walks toward them and Azula feels her body freeze. She knows she should do something, knows that she should run or fight. Hell, she's killed many people before, but standing in front of her father she still feels like she's a child. Ozai's right hand alights.
"Do you think I don't know what you two have been planning?" Ozai smirks, "I expected this from your brother, but not you Azula. I was hoping it wouldn't have to be this way, but I suppose pain will be your teacher."
Pain will be your teacher, he always said before they would get the living daylights beat out of them or they were punished in other ways that Azula tries not to dwell on now.
"Father, calm down," Azula tries, "it was merely a test of wit from Zhao, we-"
"Silence, child," Ozai commands and both of the fire siblings are frozen as he glares at them, "now, I will have to make an example of you."
Immediately, Ozai summons a stream of fire that Azula barely dodges and she's forced back. She's halfway across the room when she realizes what is about to happen.
"You have to fight back Zuko," Azula screams as she sprints over.
But it's too late. She watches in horror as her older brother is frozen, his eyes wide, as their father brings his right hand onto his face and holds it there. The air fills with the smell of burnt flesh and Azula gags as Zuko screams- a horrible, wounded sound that reminds her of an animal- before he collapses onto the ground. Ozai looms over him, a grim smile on his face.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Ozai says with a sigh, but his gaze is still locked on her brother.
Azula refuses to look at her brother right now, knows that if she looks she'll vomit and her father will kill her. Instead, she takes a deep breath and ignores the tears falling from her eyes as she concentrates and separates the poles within her body. Then, she concentrates on her rage and screams as she aims two fingers at her father. Her father turns, confusion etched on his face, as the lightning strikes him in the chest and he falls to the floor beside her brother. His body twitches with electricity and before he can get up (one can never be too sure) Azula jumps on him and wraps her hands around his meaty throat. Ozai's eyes are wide open and he gasps as Azula squeezes and heats her hands up. His skin burns underneath her hands and soon his eyes stare at the ceiling unstaring. Azula stares down at her dead father before she cannot control her stomach anymore and gets up to retch into a trashcan. Her father is dead, but Zuko still lives. The left side of his face is completely melted like candlewax and his hair has been burnt off too.
Gently, Azula lifts him to his feet and puts his arm around her, "I'll get you out of here."
"Azula, Azula, why can't I see?" Zuko cries, "I can't see, I can't see."
"Shh, Zuzu it'll be okay," Azula smiles as reassuringly as she can possibly muster, "Father is dead. We'll get you help and everything will be okay. And then we can come back and control the Triad as co-leaders. We can stop the trafficking."
As Azula talks, she leads them out of the basement and up the few steps to the front door. Before she can open it, Zuko weakly hits her on the shoulder.
"Azula, Azula you should know-" Zuko starts.
"Rest, brother, we can talk when your face has been attended to," Azula smiles again in what she hopes will be comforting, a rare occurrence for her, as she opens the front door.
Instantly, spotlights blind her and Azula holds her free hand up to her face. There's a buzz of sirens and people talking but she can't hear any of them as policemen rush them. One roughly pulls her from her brother and she knows she's screaming, but she can't hear it. They roughhouse her and shove metal cuffs around her hands. She tries to bend out of her hands but cannot and then sees how nicely they talk to her brother. Azula watches as they coax him over to an ambulance, no cuffs or restraints on him.
And it all clicks. Her brother betrayed her.
"Zuko," Azula screeches as the officers pull her away from the house, "I'm going to burn you alive."
But her brother doesn't look back as she's pushed into the back of a car and driven away. Not once, does he even turn. And Azula feels her heart harden because she thought it was them against the world, but she realizes she's always been alone. She can only depend on herself.
She's alone.
6 Years Ago - Zuko
It's been over a month since his father's death, but Zuko still has the hideous bandage over his face. He can't stomach looking at what happened, a permanent reminder of that night. Guilt gnaws at his stomach of what he did to his family, but he had no choice. The Agni Triad was made anyway, if Zuko hadn't accepted the plea deal he would have gone to prison with his sister. His sister, nausea rises in his throat as he thinks of her, his fourteen-year-old sister in jail with murderers and rapists twice the size of her.
"You did the right thing," Mai, his girlfriend of a year, says as if she can sense his eternal conflict.
Zuko sighs and looks up from the floor to look at her, "But she's my sister."
"Well, she killed your father. I think she can handle herself, she would've done the same thing to you," Mai shrugs.
She's always been apathetic to his sister, but Zuko knows it's just because she doesn't understand. Azula had always been antisocial and her cruelty was infamous, but underneath it all was just a teenage girl. Azula had been the one trying to instill a sense of self-presevation in him, but maybe he took it too far.
"She's a kid," Zuko mumbles.
Mai cups his unscarred cheek, "So are you."
Zuko swallows and nods before he turns away from her and back to the floor. He's so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't even hear the door to his room open and his uncle come in until Mai shakes him. He looks up, at the obvious concern in Mai's eye and the worry in Uncle Iroh's and knows something is wrong.
"What happened?" Zuko says.
"She's gone," Iroh tells him, "the guards went to her cell today and she was gone. No escape tunnel or anything, it's like she vanished."
Zuko's blood goes cold, knowing his sister is out and knowing she'll want nothing more than revenge.
"Oh shit," is all he can say.
Oh shit.
Present - Zuko
Zuko had always thought it was weird that his sister never resurfaced. It took him years to get over the nightmares, of what his father had done to him and what his sister was going to do. Luckily with his uncle's help, the nightmares became more infrequent until he barely got them. Healing was a slow process, but progress was progress. His face was permanently damaged and he could no longer see in his left eye. Still, he could have it worse. He was even offered a position as a police officer, but he wanted nothing to do with that life anymore. It brought too many memories, especially of that night.
Presently, he tends his uncle's tea shop and makes decent money. It's a slow but honest living and he doesn't have to deal with anything more intense than an angry customer. The calm is nice for him. Until his friend Sokka sprints into the tea shop one day and drags them both into the back room. Sokka, a police officer, is very out of breath and heaves as Zuko stares him down.
"What the hell?" Zuko says, "I have customers, man."
"Listen, she's back," Sokka gets out through gasps and hands him a picture.
The picture is grainy and taken from above, but on it a dark-haired girl stands in an alley with a ball of bright blue fire in one hand. Her hair is up in a top knot and there's no missing a golden hairpin in her hair, the Agni family heirloom. Zuko feels his heart stop in his chest as he stares at the picture. Intricate tattoos wrap around her right arm.
"Her face isn't in it, she can't bend blue fire," Zuko throws out a mess of excuses.
"I think we both know it's her," Sokka frowns, "I just have a gut feeling."
Zuko gulps and stares at the picture, only to be distracted by the metal in place of her left calf. He squints and realizes that from the knee down, it's all metal.
"She lost her leg..." Zuko wants to hurl, because even if she's a menace it's still his sister and he can't image what happened to make her lose an entire limb.
"I know," Sokka bites his lip, "but the tattoos and the pin? She’s back and the Chief thinks she has something to do with all of the recent triad activity in the city."
"But how would she already have control of the triad? And why now? Where did she go?" Zuko rambles.
Sokka places his hand on his shoulder, "I don't know buddy, but we'll keep you safe, I promise."
"I'm not worried about me," Zuko shakes his head, "I'm worried about them."
Sokka tilts his head, "Who?"
"Mai, Ty Lee, and anyone who stands in her path," Zuko says, "they're detectives now. There's no way Azula doesn't know that."
He says her name and it feels foreign to him, like she's a ghost. In reality, his little sister had come back from the dead and Zuko didn't know what to do.
"Keep an eye on them," Zuko tells Sokka, "please. I don't know what she's capable of now."
"Sounds like it's time to catch us a triad," Sokka grins, "are you in?"
Zuko freezes again and he feels torn between any remaining loyalty to his family and to do the morally right thing. He should help the city, he should help the police, but he shakes his head.
"No, this is all you guys," Zuko shakes his head and slips out of Sokka's grasp, "my fight is over while yours has just begun."
And with that, Zuko exits the backroom and leaves Sokka to stare after him.