Akito B. Takahashi
Stories
4
Chapters
123
Words
235.7 K
Comments
0
Reading
19 h, 38 m
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The plan was simple in theory: fix the broken narrative of Prince Zuko. Alex stood before the bronze mirror, staring into the golden eyes of an eight-year-old boy. He then took a deep breath, watching the small chest rise and fall. "My name is Zuko..." Alex—no, Zuko—soon stepped away from the mirror. He needed to calibrate, knowing the lore better than the people living it. The Fire Nation, under the influence of Sozin and now Azulon, believed that firebending came from rage. They fueled their…
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29.1 K • Completed
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The days in the Fire Nation capital turned into a long, suffocating gray, despite the brilliance of the sun. For Zuko, the novelty of this world had begun to wear off, replaced by the grinding reality of a timeline that refused to speed up. The Siege of Ba Sing Se had passed its three-hundredth day. Reports came in daily—missives of stalemates, supply line issues, and General Iroh's patience. Zuko read them all with permission in the strategy room. He knew Lu Ten was still breathing and laughing…
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29.1 K • Completed
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Those were the same lines Zuko had said before killing Ozai. And he was very serious. So serious that the heat radiating from him distorted the air, making the world look like a mirage. Aang gripped his staff, ready to meet him. "Wait, Twinkle Toes," Toph barked, stepping in front of him. "I don't like the looks of this. His heartbeat... it's too calm. It's like he's sleeping. No one is that calm before a fight." "I have to do this, Toph," Aang said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He won't stop…
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29.1 K • Completed
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Some time later, the sky slowly began to bleed. It started as a bruise on the horizon that slowly widened into a burning orange. Sozin's Comet was thrumming against the atmosphere of the world. Zuko sat on a throne that had been moved to the center of the Great Plaza. He was perfectly still as his hands rested on the armrests. And his eyes were closed. To his right stood Azula in her armor. Her manic energy was barely suppressed. To his left sat Ursa. Behind them, Azulon and Iroh also sat with…
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29.1 K • Completed
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Aang rubbed his lower back, feeling confused. Yet Zuko just sat on the throne again, looking quite bored. "Why did you fix me?" Aang asked. "Tell me something, Aang: do you think that your journey here was a coincidence?" The boy's eyes were wide. "What do you mean?" "Think about it... You were freed from that iceberg because Katara shattered your prison with emotional swipes of her arm, correct?" The girl froze, having remembered that day vividly. "I know this since I visited the Southern…
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29.1 K • Completed
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The return to the Fire Nation was a triumph painted in crimson and gold. Dragon streamers danced in the wind, and the cheers of the capital citizens roared. Zuko stood at the prow of the royal flagship and watched the confetti rain down. To the people, he was a conqueror. And to his family, he was a true Fire lord that has superseded all before him. Inside the palace war room, the mood was less celebratory and more inquisitive. Azulon, frail in his wheelchair, was present alongside Ursa and the rest…
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29.1 K • Completed
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The night air over Ba Sing Se was cool. High above the agrarian rings, a black war balloon drifted silently through the clouds. Manning it was a solo rider wearing a stealth suit: Zuko. He stood in the wicker gondola, peering over the edge. "Interesting," he whispered. He adjusted the valves, venting hot air. The balloon then descended rapidly toward the Upper Ring and aimed for the palace gardens. He didn't fear being seen since Azula's most recent report had been clear: the Dai Li controlled…
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29.1 K • Completed
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Some time later. Reports piled up on Zuko's desk. They all detailed the winding path of the Avatar. To the casual observer, Aang's journey was a series of fortunate escapes and random encounters. To Zuko, however, it was a script being followed to the letter. Out of everything he read, this one piece of news hit the hardest: Admiral Zhao was dead. The Siege of the North had ended exactly as history demanded: with the moon spirit momentarily threatened, a giant fish monster destroying the fleet,…
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29.1 K • Completed
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"This is a waste of time, Zuko," he heard Azula approach. "I fail to understand why the Avatar would return here and now of all places." "You fail because you don't have the same spiritual connection as we do," Zuko lied, not looking away from the sea. "We...?" "As you know, Avatar Roku was the last Avatar before fire lord Sozin wiped out the air nomads. But what you didn't know was that Avatar Roku was also our maternal great-grandfather. Our grandfather sought Roku's bloodline to produce the…
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29.1 K • Completed
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The rest of the journey was spent training. On the open deck, Iroh guided Zuko through the motions. He taught him to separate the yin and yang energies to create the imbalance and then to guide it. Zuko was a quick learner. His emotional turmoil—the rage and angst that had defined his previous life—made things very easy. One evening, as they were still sailing, he stood at the bow. He breathed in, separating the energies in his core. When he felt a charge that made the hair on his arms stand…
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29.1 K • Completed
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