Forged In Fire || ATLA

Complex

The Avatar and the Fire Lord

"I need him like water, he thinks that I'm alright. I'm not feeling human, I think he's a good guy." - Katie Gregson-MacLeod

🌊⛰️🔥🌪

"A single smile changed everything."

Five simple words written in Fire Lord Sozin's perfect scrawl. They rocked Zuko to his core. He knew where the story was going. He knew how it ended. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the rest.

He considered putting the parchment down or torching it right then and there. Either way, Zuko could walk away from his Great-Grandfather's history and live the rest of his life in ignorant bliss if he just stopped reading.

But ignorance and bliss had never really seemed to be in Zuko's cards, so he continued on the uncomfortable journey despite the violent ache rising in his chest.

In the spirit world, Aelita watched as a sixteen-year-old Sozin slipped a message to a servant while the new Avatar and Akira attempted to soothe their first meeting jitters.

"I should have known then and there that Sozin would grow to be an ambitious man," Tulan remarked somewhere between fondness and regret. "He convinced his father, Fire Lord Kazan, to have me as their honored guest during my time in the Imperial City. My Avatar and I were to be given two weeks to acquaint ourselves before we set off into the world together, and the Prince hoped that by acting as my host, he would alleviate some of the pressure from Roku. It was a clever cover."

The world shifted. Aang and Aelita stood next to their past lives on opposite sides of an open field outside the city's watchful eyes. Prince Sozin took up one end, calf-length pants cinched around his waist, beads of sweat dripping down his bare chest. Tulan and Roku panted heavily on the other. Both were a barefoot display of lean muscle in sleeveless training tops in the colors of their nations. Patches of burnt grass littered the field and rough stone lay scattered in unnatural piles.

Sozin grinned. He pivoted on one heel and kicked high, a trail of fire following the arch. It fanned out with speed in Roku's direction. The young Avatar slapped his hands together, creating a wedge to split the flames while his best friend pressed forward to close the distance between them. The Prince dropped low and swept wide once more, a new wave of ember now aimed at Roku's lower half. A wall of stone ripped down the middle of the field before the attack could make its mark. Sozin looked over the rock to find the Akira grinning at him in a 'don't-forget-about-me' manner. Tulan surged towards the wall on rolling earth. She slammed closed fist after fist against the hard rock, punching out boulders the size of a turtle duck's shell. They shot out with wicked speed and deadly precision.

Sozin's face was a wash of pleasure and admiration for the new challenge. The Prince ducked and bobbed around the flying stone, almost losing track of his friend in the process. He brushed away Roku's fire just before it made contact with his skin and caught the Avatar's fist in his hand. He pushed the other boy back, both of them skittering away from one another. He looked down as the ground beneath his feet trembled. Sozin dove out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed between two tall flat pillars of earth that jutted up and clapped together. The Prince then met Roku head-on in a flurry of fire.

"Is this the best you and your partner can do, oh mighty Avatar?"

"Please," Roku panted from behind a grin. "Wouldn't your Father be so disappointed to hear you've struggled so much against a little girl?"

The Prince cursed loudly but remained smiling. Aelita wasn't sure what she hated more - seeing just how good Sozin had been even before his prime, or thinking of how very much she was reminded of herself and Zuko as she listened to the Avatar and the Prince taunt and banter with one another as they traded nearly even blows.