Akito B. Takahashi
Stories
5
Chapters
123
Words
235.8 K
Comments
0
Reading
19 h, 38 m
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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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"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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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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The journey was deceptively calm. Zuko stood at the bow to prepare for his training. Suddenly, the world lurched. A boom resonated through the ship and threw both him and the crewmen off balance. Then the alarm klaxons began to wail immediately. "We're being attacked!" a lookout screamed from the crow's nest. "They're on the port side!" Zuko strode to the railing. When he extended a hand, a scared soldier slapped a telescope into his palm. Through the lens, he saw them: three Wolf Cove cutters…
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Some time later, the ship arrived in the city of Omashu. Bumi greeted them with the manic energy of a man who had been waiting a century for a good punchline. He threw feasts that defied culinary logic. Such as rock candy that shattered teeth, hog-monkey stew that stared back, and games that involved more centrifugal force than Iroh's stomach appreciated. Zuko quite liked Bumi. Not because of his senile ways, but because this elder didn't question him as much as to how he knew about the White…
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Once Pakku heard that Zuko was indeed a bright child, he accepted the boy with open arms. The days in the Northern Water Tribe were therefore spent in peace. Zuko quite liked the glistening streets of Agna Qel'a. Many of the citizens, although a tad weary of his presence, had a natural flow in their steps. Thankfully for them, he was not here to conquer. He spent hours watching the waterbenders practice their redirection forms. Why Pakku even allowed this was because a Grand Lotus was accompanying…
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When the ship arrived at the Northern Fire Islands, Zuko felt an even stronger humidity. It was a stark contrast to the sterile, ash-choked air of the capital. And for General Iroh, it was a walk through a memory he had sworn to keep buried. The ship soon docked, allowing only Zuko and Iroh to walk down. Iroh watched his nephew trek through the ferns and avoid the traps as if they were second nature to him. Seeing this made Iroh want to understand Zuko more. Or rather, he wanted to fill the void Lu…
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Fear. For the first time in decades, Azulon felt a flicker of genuine fear. But alongside it, a triumphant pride. This, he believed, was the bloodline of Roku, the power he had craved to produce in his family. "You have killed your father," Azulon said. His voice almost trembled. "And you have redeemed Lu Ten. You, my grandson, possess a fire unlike any I have ever seen." The fire lord then stood up as the flames behind him rose to match his stature. "Tell me, what would you like? I shall do everything…
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The silence in the throne room couldn't be more apparent. The gathered courtiers, the guards, and even the family stood frozen. Ozai's face had fractured into disbelief. He looked from his son to his father, waiting for the fire lord to laugh or to order the boy executed for treason. But Azulon did not laugh; he leaned forward as his eyes glittered with interest. "My most beloved grandson," he rasped, "are you telling me that you wish to take revenge for me by facing your own father?" "I'll do…
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The rains came to the capital on the six-hundredth day of the siege, washing away the ash but doing little to scrub the gloom from the red shingles of the palace. A courier had arrived at dawn, dripping wet, and carrying a scroll sealed with the personal insignia of General Iroh. It was a short message: Lu Ten had died. Zuko stood on the balcony of his chambers, watching the water cascade off the dragon-shaped gargoyles. He felt hollow. The gears of history had just ground forward, crushing a young…
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29.1 K • Completed
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