What SHOULD have Happened in Avatar the Last Airbender: Sozin's Comet: Part 7 - The Truth



Through the hallways of the prison close to Palace City, Fire Lord Zuko marched over stone floors until he reached a metal door. Sliding the door open, he narrowed his eyes and marched into the prison cell where he saw his father sitting limp on the ground behind metal bars and atop a small cot.

Ozai glanced at his son and then turned away. "I should count myself lucky. The new Fire lord has graced me with his presence in my lowly prison cell."

Zuko continued to glare at his predecessor. "You should count yourself lucky that the Avatar spared your life." He watched the former Fire lord scoff. "Banishing me was the best thing you could have done for my life. It put me on the right path. Perhaps your time in here will do the same for you."

"Why are you really here?"

"Because you're going to tell me something." The new ruler of the Fire Nation leaned down towards his prisoner. "Where. Is. My mother?"

Ozai began to snicker. He then chuckled and soon began to laugh. "You foolish boy! You think I have any control over where she is? Besides, after what you've done to the person who tried everything to make your life better in every way, well, let's just say I'm a little more than upset with you right now!"

Zuko lifted his body up and crossed his arms. "'The one who tried everything to make my life better'?" He tsked. "Uncle's forgiven me."

The former Fire lord snarled and swung his body forward. "You dare to compare someone so manipulative and cold-hearted to the one who tried to raise you and prepare you for life?" He slowly relaxed and leaned back against the wall. "No. I suppose not. The wool's been pulled over your eyes so many times over you don't know what's real, do you?"

"Just because you and Azula have tricked me doesn't mean I haven't learned from my mistakes. Now, what did you mean when you said you couldn't control where mother is? You banished her. You must have some idea."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think she was banished? No, let me rephrase that: You honestly think she's still banished because of a decree? And who was talking about me and your sister? I was talking about Iroh."

"Yeah. He tried to raise me and prepare me for life. You're the cold-hearted piece of garbage who takes pride in how great of a manipulator he is."

"What? No. The first one was me!"

"Yeah, the first one you mentioned. The manipulator."

"No. The first one you mentioned. The one who tired to raise you. That was me."

Zuko froze for several moments. He then pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can't possibly think I'm stupid enough to believe that. You and Azula love to deceive and trick and conspire and manipulate and-."

"To enemies, yes! Not to you!"

"Yes to me! And I can name hundreds of times! Now, where's my mother!"

Ozai stared at his son. "Humor me."

"That's not an answer."

"No, but this will be. Have I been perfect? No. And there were times I did things to you that I hated to do out of necessity. But don't be fooled. You'll find, very soon, heavy is the head that wears the crown. And don't think balancing being a ruler and being a good father is close to a simple task. However, if you explain why you think I was a horrible parent and give me a chance to justify each action, I will tell you everything I can about Ursa.

"Do we have a deal?"

The Avatar's firebending teacher narrowed his eyes. "This is a trick."

"No trick. I'll even start by saying this, 'cause I can see it in your eyes. Right away, you aren't going to believe everything I say to you and I encourage that bit of stubbornness. I can feel that I'm about to sunder a lot of beliefs and ideas that are etched into your heart and mind. Those should not be easy to sway. However, if you look over the events in your life again while taking in my words, you will find that are many things I'm going to tell you that you cannot refute and as you look deeper and think about things more, you'll see that everything I'm telling you is the truth.

"Now, Zuko, do we have a deal?"

The Fire lord uncrossed his arms. "The instant I hear anything that sounds like a 'suggestion' of how to rule, I'm leaving."

"So is that a 'yes'?"

Zuko nodded. "Deal."

OZAI

The former Fire lord pushed himself up as high as he could against the wall of his cell. "First, I want to make sure we both know that I treated you very well when you were younger. Did I have to be sterner with you as you grew up? Yes. You were a prince and a member of the royal family in a wartime-era. But you certainly must remember and seen pictures of us on vacation on Ember Island? Of me putting my hand around your shoulder as we stared out over the ocean?"

The current ruler of the Fire Nation nodded. "I've never doubted that you were at one time a good father. But things have changed."

"Yes, as I've said, I've had to be stern. This is… wasa war-time era and I knew a young man like yourself would insist on fighting for the honor of his country. Your sister was much the same. I had to make sure you two were ready."

"There's making sure Azula and I were ready. And then there's what you did."

"You're trying to doubt me about this? Until my battle with the Avatar, I was one of, if not the, most powerful and dangerous fighters in the world. Even your uncle, with all his strength and skill, doubted his chances against. Trust me when I say that I know what it takes to be strong. Regardless of if you think I'm only good at firebending or think I have other skills, I know what can make you strong."

"You did a lot more than push me to do hot-squats and run laps!"

"Because death doesn't give you second chances or do-overs! Did you ever consider that I'd rather you have a rough childhood than only a childhood?"

I'd rather you have a rough childhood than only a childhood."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, I think I had something in my ear. 'Cause I could've sworn you called my childhood 'rough' instead of 'a torturous wasteland of pain.'"

Ozai sighed. "This is going to take more time than I thought. What else do you need me to explain?"

"Is that a joke? Because it is if you think I know where to start. The list is longer than an address book for Ba Sing Se."

"Try starting from the beginning. Start from the earliest thing you remember and well go from there."

"Ok, how about the fact that you said that Azula was born lucky and I was lucky to be born?"

"What about it? You're sister was born lucky, you weren't. It's no shock to anyone that, when you were younger, you weren't good by Fire Nation royal family standards. If that sounded insensitive to you, sorry. But I don't think making a rude comment to my son, intentionally or accidentally, makes me a terrible father. Besides, haven't you said that you don't need luck? That struggling and fighting has made you strong?"

The new Fire Lord narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "I was lying to myself to make me feel better on how my father insulted me."

The former ruler of the Fire Nation gave a light smile. "And yet, you're alive after enduring these hardships that you claim and several battles where you were out-numbered by soldiers at least 10 years older than you. That's no lie. Once again, I'd rather you have a rough childhood than only a childhood. If it were a peacetime-era, then motivating you in such a way would have been wholly unnecessary. But we were at war and I wanted to see you live. So, I'm sorry that you weren't blessed with the best of my genes. Next time I impregnate Ursa so she gives birth to you, I'll remember to tell my sperm to only let the best one fertilize the egg."

The scarred teen crossed his arms. "And why wasn't training me an option?"

"What are you talking about? Wait a minute. Zuko, what do you remember about your training when you were younger? Do you remember who taught you what techniques?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "Um…"

"Yeah. That's what I thought. If I were a selfish jerk-off like you think I am, I would've tried my hardest to turn my son into a strong fighter to make myself look good. If I were a good father in a wartime-era, I would've tried my hardest to turn my son into a strong fighter so he could survive. The only thing that'd stop me in either case is if you decided you didn't want to train anymore and found a way to get out of training. Whether it was with your mother's help or not, I don't remember. But that's the only thing that could've stopped me."

"Or until Azula came along and you decided I wasn't worth your time anymore."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why or when you got the notion that I gave her a significantly greater amount of time than I gave you for any reason other than she came to me to show off. But even if I was some heartless bastard who'd do that, wouldn't I pass you off to some, at least, semi-skilled tutor just on the off chance you got better? Surely, being in the royal family, I could arrange that."

"Unless you cared too little to do that."

"Or unless you just weren't interested in that either."

The current Fire Lord glanced to the side. "Whatever. I don't remember my training growing up, but you're right. I had to have some by default. Either way, passing me off to someone when I wasn't measuring up to Azula doesn't excuse the favoritism."

"What favoritism? Tell me when! Give me a specific example that says or even hints that I favored her so much more than you!"

"Easy. The day you asked grandfather for Iroh's birthright, nice job not being a horrible person with that. Anyway, you wanted Azula to show off what she knew and you wanted me to stay out of the way!"

The powerless bender stared at his son. "And what did I do that makes you think that? As I recall, among other things, I asked a question about Sozin's tactics at Han Tui to both of you. You began to reply, but didn't know the answer, so Azula answered. I didn't single either one of you out."

"Then how come you asked her to show of and not me?"

"Two reasons: First, you already admitted that Azula was far better than you at that age. I cared about you two the same, but I wasn't blind on who was a stronger bender. Second, those were moves Azula showed to me. You hadn't shown anything like that to me and I was putting on a show for your bastard of a grandfather, I wanted to make sure I knew what was going to happen. But, when you wanted to show 'what you learned,' not 'what you showed me,' I didn't stop you. I gave you the opportunity, didn't I?"

The firebender continued to glare at his father. "I'm curious what made my grandfather a bastard and not you."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, but I think you are. 'Cause I remember you frowning while you 'gave me the opportunity.'"

"What?"

"You heard me. I stood up, shouted that I wanted to demonstrate what I learned, and you frowned."

Ozai's arm struggled to rise towards his head, but stopped at his chin, which he scratched. "Zuko, you do remember what direction you were facing that whole time, right?"

"I was looking at grandfather, so?"

"And I was behind you that whole time. You never turned around."

"So?"

"So, your memory's playing tricks on you! I was behind you, you were always facing forward and there were no mirrors! You couldn't possibly have seen my facial expressions at the time!"

The scarred ruler blinked twice. "Wow… You're right." He then shook his head. "Ok, say I believe you. What was your facial expression?"

Ozai tsked. "You want me to remember the facial expression I was making at some random point six years ago? Um… I guess I was a nervous about things not going exactly as planned. But other than that, your guess'll be as good as mine. Either way, I still let you perform, didn't I?"

"Perhaps…" Zuko slowly rubbed his chin. "But that still doesn't justify trying to take Uncle's birthright as soon as he lost Lu Ten!"

The former Phoenix King sighed. "I can't believe you're supporting Iroh and not me."

"Your opinions of Uncle aren't part of the deal."

"Very well! Though a heartless move, I will admit, asking for Iroh's claim to the throne was as much a practical request for myself as for the entirety of the Fire Nation. It was better to not delay the inevitable and show a clear line of succession for the throne."

"Heartless doesn't begin to describe it. And what part of kicking your brother when he was down is a practical move for the entire Fire Nation?"

"The part where he has no more children, if he was going to remarry after his wife died, he would have already, and that since he's more than a few decades older than me, I would eventually get the throne anyway."

The now-powerless bender shrugged his shoulders. "Your Uncle flirts with a lot with women, but I can't think of a time he showed signs of committing to anyone since his wife died. Thus, with Lu Ten gone, the person who'd take the throne after him would be me. Me who has children and a wife and would make the people of our nation sleep a little easier knowing the line of succession was solid. More solid than it would have been if Iroh sat on the throne and waited to pass away before it went to his brother and then his nephew or niece.

"Face it, Zuko. The throne was going to go to me at some point. And with Iroh being an emotional wreck and slipping into, what seemed like, crazy talk about visiting the Spirit World, it really would be best for the Fire Nation if I became next in line for the throne."

The new Fire lord let out a light chuckle and shook his head as he gave a small smile. "I gotta hand it to you. You came up with quite a bit of excuses-."

"Justifications."

"Fine. Justifications… for several of the things you've done. Now how about giving me a 'justification' on why you were willing to kill me and were ok with killing grandfather?"

Ozai's eyes widened. He then stared at his son and furrowed his brow. "Why was I ok with killing your grandfather? Do you remember what I told you during the eclipse? The part where my father ordered me to kill you?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

With all his might, Ozai struck his own forehead. "Let me give you a little piece of advice from one father to what I hope will be another one day. Whether I'm a heartless bastard and just want to keep my line strong or as a father who'd like to see grandchildren. Here's my advice: If anyone and I mean anyone seriously demands that you kill your own children, I hope you have no qualms about seeing the throat of that bastard slashed to pieces! Honestly, even if he was mad at me for wanting Iroh's birthright, he still demanded that I kill you!

"Which is why your grandfather is a bastard and why I didn't lose much sleep over his death! He wanted me to kill my own son!"

The firebender scoffed. "Except for the fact that you agreed to kill me! I believe that's what you told me during the eclipse and then your wife did horrible things just to keep me alive!"

Ozai lowered his head. "I still hate thinking about what you did during the eclipse."

"Save it! Just try to justify it!"

"Well, which do you want? What your mother did, why I told you that during the eclipse, or why I said I agreed?"

"Start with what happened when grandfather ordered you to kill me."

The ex-Phoenix King let out a small sigh. "Of course I had considered the possibility that your grandfather would refuse my request, even becoming furious with me for it. I was not, however, expecting him to say that I should kill you."

Zuko kept his arms crossed. "So what did you do?"

"I told him I would, but only because I was caught off-guard. I knew I desperately needed to think of a way out of the situation and if I refused, that bastard of an old man would've gotten someone else to do it. And I can prove this was why. Some time after I left the throne room, your mother confronted me about what she heard from your sister and I explained everything. She then came up with a plan that would kill Azulon without suspicion of murder and would put me on the throne. The specifics about it are so mind boggling, I couldn't keep them straight and still can't sort them out."

The scarred ruler swung his arms out. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" He then lowered his hands to his side. "Now I know you're lying. There's no possible way that's true. Mother came up with that plan to protect me, not you."

"No, Zuko, like it or not, it was for both of us and to get rid of your bastard grandfather. I'm telling you the truth."

"Prove it. Prove all of it!"

"The proof will come when I explain what happened to Ursa."

"No! Prove it now or I'm leaving!"

The powerless bender looked into his son's eyes and then nodded. "Very well... Only because I want you to know I've been a good father, I will tell you. Have you ever wondered why your mother hasn't returned to the Fire Nation in six years?"

"Duh! She was banished."

Ozai let out a crude chuckle. "There you go again, thinking that a decree could stop her."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"With all the times you went over this story, in your head or heard bits of it from others, did it never occur to you that in the span of about 8 hours, your dear mother hypothesized, organized, executed, and followed through with a plan that assassinated the leader of an extremely powerful country, usurped the birthright of that leader's first born, gave the birthright to his ambitious second son, and no one was the wiser about it? If you haven't, let me tell you that people can't just wake up one day and do this. Ursa has a level of cunning that cannot be defined.

"Keep in mind, this plot that one would think would take years, delicate preparations, clandestine organization, perfect timing, the misplaced trust of the ruler and careful control over the fallout, was something she did in 8 hours, with whatever she could find, by herself with only some aid from me, at the drop of a hat, with no time to lose, when Azulon would've been wary around her after what he ordered me to do to you, and she wasn't present for the aftermath. Your dear mother is a genius of geniuses and even that doesn't begin to describe her."

The former ruler narrowed his eyes at his son. "There is nothing that could stop someone like that short of death and even then she might have had a plan for something. I could have her in a metal box at the bottom of the ocean. But by virtue of the fact that air, food, and water have to be accessible to her, she'd find a way out. And with the damning claims she could bring up against me, I'd be at her mercy.

"Now, Zuko, let me ask you again, why didn't she come back after all this time if I'm such a horrible father? Why would she risk leaving you with me if I was so nonchalant about killing you? Surely she knows some of the things I've done. You told me about how some random old man in that Earth Kingdom town you saved from those bully soldiers knew that I had burned and banished you! Are you actually going to assume that some random geezer in some no-name town somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, who has nothing to gain from knowing about our family, keeps better tabs on what goes on in the Fire Nation than your mother could?"

The new Fire lord felt his body trembling as he shook his head. "You could've kept guards around her. Lots of them. You could've told them to never say a single word to her or around her. And threatened her that if she ever returned or gave you any reason to suspect she would, you'd kill me and Azula."

"That certainly would have delayed someone who, in 8 hours, was capable of assassinating a Fire lord, putting his ambitious second-son on the throne, disappearing before everything's done, and have no one be the wiser; all at the drop of a hat. But, after 6 years, that's not going to be enough. You can't pretend that someone that cunning wouldn't have found a way."

"You could have given her to someone to brainwash her like the Dai Lee did."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Who have you heard of, besides the Dai Lee, who know how to brainwash people? And before you even ask if the Dai Lee have her, think about the kind of power and influence Long Feng would've had over me if he controlled my wife. Whether because she's my wife and I care about her or because she knew what I had done to Azulon. And don't think that he wouldn't make sure that some random woman he hypnotized wasn't who he thought she was."

"Then you killed her!" Zuko's eyes widened. He then lunged forward and clutched the bars of his father's cell as he breathed fire. "YOU MONSTER! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"

"Settle down! I didn't kill her!"

The new Fire lord glared at his father as he tightened his grip on the cell bars.

"You want proof, don't you?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed further.

"I don't suppose you'd wait and let me get to it when the time came?"

The scarred teen continued breath out fumes.

"Thought not. Remember what I said to you during the eclipse when you were about to leave? When I asked you if you wanted to know what happened to your mother? That she was banished?"

"Yes."

"Now consider two options. One: I'm being honest. Two: I'm this heartless bastard you think I am. If I'm telling the truth, then I'm telling the truth and Ursa is alive. If I'm a horrible monster, why did I tell you she's banished? I clearly wanted you to stay and try to kill me. Wouldn't 'I had your mother killed' be more enraging than 'I had your mother banished'?"

Smoke stopped coming out of Zuko's nose and mouth, but his eyes stayed narrowed. "You could've not thought about it. After all, you'd probably practiced saying she was banished for so long, that's how it came out."

"Two problems with that theory: First of all, who would I practice it on? Second, even if I mentally rehearsed that on the off chance I would need it, after I said that she was banished, you began to tear up and you whimpered 'so she's alive.' Given what you said and the way you said it, how stupid would I have to be to not say something like 'She was alive until I killed her' even if she was still alive? It certainly would have made you want to stay and attack me, wouldn't it? At least more than telling you she's banished and then saying 'perhaps.'"

The hands of the new Fire lord slipped from the prison bars as his eyes turned down. "But… But… Aha! You might have avoided saying that she's dead because you didn't want the imperial firebenders, who you dismissed but were still in ear shot, finding out what you did!"

The former ruler of the Fire Nation raised an eyebrow. "So you think that I was ok with letting them know I was going to kill my son back when he was eleven years old. That I was fine with them knowing I was a co-conspirator in Azulon's death. That Iroh was the rightful heir to the throne. But them knowing I had killed my wife was too risky?"

"Or because you were worried they'd let it slip to Azula! She might not be as powerful as you, but she's dangerous! And you could have known that she cared a lot about mom even if she tried to hide it! You knew that on the off chance I told her that you killed our mother, she'd be able to detect that I wasn't lying and get revenge!"

"If that were true and I was a heartless bastard, why not kill her or at least keep her from attacking you?"

"Azula's too valuable to kill and if you kept her away from me, then when I did tell her about mom, it'd be all the more reason to believe me!"

"You're also assuming that your sister, if she cared, never tried to find out what really happened. At least if Ursa was alive or not."

The firebender narrowed his eyes. "Or she didn't want to because she wanted to hide her feelings even to herself!"

"Zuko, I don't know where you got this perception of your sister, but let me put an end to this right now. If I was a heartless bastard and I was worried you, first of all would survive my lightning attack, which I have a feeling I'll need to explain, or one of my guards would tip off Azula about what happened to Ursa, why not just kill the guards? There's no way I could have known you knew how to redirect lightning or I wouldn't have used it. I could then order all the guards in and quickly kill them with lightning and then give your sister any reason I wanted for killing them. I could just say 'I didn't want them to live anymore.' Surely, she'd believe that you went traitor, for one reason or another, and if that mask you claim she had was on so tight, she wouldn't ask about Ursa.

"Also, you must realize all of our arguments about your sister are based on the assumption that I considered any of it in the tiny microseconds between when you teared-up and said, 'So she's still alive' and when I said, 'Perhaps.'"

The scarred ruler pointed at his father. "But you could have considered Azula's reaction every time you rehearsed the story!"

Ozai sighed. "Then I would have been practicing lying to your sister that your mother was banished, which has an almost perfectly identical risk of you or the guards passing on to her. And if I was being so careful about the lie, I'd have to worry about her asking me if it was true that Ursa was banished and not killed. Either way, you're saying that I'd be gambling on my ability to lie past your sister."

"Not so, Azula would dig deeper if she had reason to think mother was dead."

"Then I would have to lie to her about whatever she might find. Any way you look at the scenario where I'd fear your sister's retaliation, I've apparently been practicing a lie for six years that I am confident I can put past her but not the same lie if she thinks her mother's dead. All this despite the fact that the phrase 'I don't know where she is' is not only a perfectly acceptable answer when asked about someone who's banished, it is also a phrase that is easily practiced. Much easier than the story I told you whether the story is a lie or not.

"So, my son, which is it? Am I afraid of your sister, but confident I can lie to her? Am I afraid of your sister, confident I can lie to her, but not confident in my ability to say one or two more sentences that are lies to her? Or is your mother alive?"

Zuko became lightheaded as he gripped the top of his skull and took a few steps away from the prison cells.

"Do you believe me now? Your mother is alive and with a brain like hers, she could've come back at some point in these six years if she really wanted. And I wouldn't have gone after her after you ran off to join the Avatar! If I hadn't been afraid of her all this time, it would've served no purpose! Even if I was a heartless bastard and tried to kill her anyway, she'd be ready!"

The powerless bender then relaxed himself. "Of course, that does leave the possibility that she just stopped caring about you and your sister. Although you'd have to wonder how that had happen, since you believe that she gave up her life of luxury for you. Plus, depending on how much she stopped caring about you two, that'd throw out your I-threatened-her-with-your-and-your-sister's-lives theory. So you'd have to wonder why she didn't come back to the Fire Nation for selfish reasons."

The Avatar's fire bending teacher dropped his back against one of the walls in the cell. "So she really is alive."

"For as far as I know. But with the level of cunning she possesses, I doubt anyone or anything could kill her."

The scarred teen sighed. "On the day of black sun, why did-."

"Hold on. We're already off track and I don't want you bouncing around your life's story. You certainly must have other questions for me following your bastard of a grandfather's death."

The new Fire lord nodded. "What about when I woke up the day after you killed grandfather and asked you where mom was? Why didn't you say anything? You just stood in front of the pond and acted like a statue."

"Don't you realize what kind of emotional state I was in? In less than half a day, I found out what a horrible person my father was, my wife killed my father and now was gone as part of her plan, and I had to keep up a perfect act in front of the entire Fire Nation without her here. Sure, I have self-control, but even I have my limits. The Avatar can tell you that I was looking like I was terrified when I thought he was going to kill me."

"I always thought it was that you didn't care and were basking in the moment of your triumph."

"What can I say? Things in our family aren't always what they seem."

Zuko slowly looked at the ground. He then raised his head and stared at his father as he pointed at his own face. "Explain this, then! Explain the agni kai! During the eclipse, you said it was to teach me respect."

"And it was. It was to teach you respect and how it worked."

"I win respect by hurting others?"

Ozai shook his head. "No! It…!" He sighed. "Let me start a little before your outburst in the war room. As we established and since we aren't lying to each other, Azula was a more talented firebender and better tactician than you and it would be pretty easy for anyone remotely involved with the royal family to know that. However, you were the oldest, so you were going to inherit the throne from me.

"True, I could have decreed that Azula would inherit the throne, but either way I wanted you to be seen as a leader and a capable member of the family by even our worst critics. If I'm a good father, then I wanted it for your own good. If I was a heartless bastard, I would've wanted it so I could have another useful pawn or that the people would see me as strong. Either way, the problem was that you really had nothing to boast about. Yes, you had your sense of honor, but you never really did anything with it. Many people could've just written your honor off as fancy words from a spoiled prince.

"But then, the incident in the war room happened and it was though Agni himself answered my prayers. There you were: A child sneaking his way into a world of the most decorated generals of the Fire Nation, but when the lives of common soldiers were endangered by one of those top generals, you didn't hesitate to stand up and shout out in their defense!"

The powerless bender tilted his head back and wore a light smile. "It was exactly what I needed. I could make a spectacle out of it and make you a hero of the people! It was so perfect. Your sister could create all the ingenious plans she wanted and become as deadly a firebender and soldier as she could, it would get her far, very far. But you, being the hero of the people of our nation and being able to rally them to your call, it would take you farther than she could ever dream. Anyone can tell you that.

"The Avatar needed an army for the invasion. Azula needed an army for the take over of Ba Sing Se. You will need people to follow you if you are to keep the Fire Nation prosperous. Fighting skills alone only take you so far."

The new Fire lord raised an eyebrow. "So why punish me for showing I cared?"

"Why have an agni kai? Like I said, I would've had to make a spectacle out of it and I would've had to do it right. A rumor about what you did from my secret war room wouldn't have carried the same weight of proof as me battling you in front of an esteemed audience. And before you ask, I wasn't expecting you to win or even come close. Just fight me, show that you were willing to take blows for what you believed in and then let the rumor mill spin."

"But why did you fight me? Why not have me fight the general I barked at?"

"Because the general looked like he was older than dirt. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who hears about the agni kai. Now, which tale sounds more impressive: To defend the little people of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko stood up to a top-ranked general and battled his father, the mighty Fire lord, or: To defend the little people of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko stood up to and battled a top-ranked general, and the general is some old man who looks like your grandpa?"

The ex-Pheonix King stared at his son. "See why I did that? No one would be impressed by you battling the general and it'd probably work against you; beating up and arguing with an old man who is weaker than you is not something that people often look fondly on."

Zuko pushed himself away from the wall and slowly crossed his arms. "All that is believable, but you're avoiding the main point of my question. I want to hear you justify my scar and my banishment. And I want to hear some proof too, because it's easier for me to think that you thought I was weak and wanted me gone."

Ozai tsked. "'Wanted you gone'? You were an arrogant, not very talented kid with an over-eagerness to prove your worth and an inferiority complex from your little sister. If anyone really wanted you gone, it'd be simple to fake an accident. Even Ty Lee could be drunk on cactus juice and she still could've tricked you into falling on your own sword."

The scarred ruler of the Fire Nation snarled.

The ex-Phoenix King, however, slid his head down and shook it. "But, that doesn't answer your question about proof. This does: During the agni kai, when you dropped to your knees and showed you wouldn't fight, I tried to encourage you without revealing the plan. Remember how I said, 'You will fight for your honor'? I specifically emphasized 'honor' to goad you into attacking. I then tried directly ordering you to fight."

"How is any of that proof?"

"Because, if I just wanted to beat you up, why would I have wanted you on your feet? Am I a heartless, child-abusing bastard who gets a thrill off hurting those weaker than him, but only if they're standing because I won't hit them when they're down? As for the banishment, if I just wanted you gone, why allow you a ship and crew? Why make sure you had funds to pay for food and the garbage Iroh always bought? Why not just kick you out of the country?"

Zuko shook let out a small growl. "That all sounds well and good, and I will admit there's a measure of evidence in that. But now I want you to justify why you burned my face and banished me at all."

"Panic, really. I'm not that good at thinking on my feet when something happens that I didn't expect. That's why I panicked when the Avatar achieved that power boost. That's why I didn't do the best thing I could during the eclipse."

"I'm not hearing a justification."

"The only thing I can say is that it was the best thing I could do in a bad scenario I hadn't predicted. There was the possibility that you wouldn't fight at all, but I didn't expect you too look so scared and nearly cry in front of everyone."

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO KILL ME!"

Ozai tensed. "Looking back after the fact, I saw that. But at the time, I thought you had enough courage. And I did think that when I said you had to duel in an angi kai for what you did in my war room, you understood that you were going to fight me. So I hope that justifies why I was surprised at your response."

Zuko slowly relaxed his body. "Just tell me why you pushed a fist full of fire into my face."

The powerless bender narrowed his eyes. "I may have hurt you, Zuko, but I didn't just 'push a fist full of fire into your face.' I was very careful to make sure I didn't do anything other than aesthetic and superficial damage. Surely, when you looked at your left eye in the mirror, you noticed that you could see out of your left eye. Didn't you ever wonder why the worst of the burning was so close to your eyeball, but your eye itself is undamaged? At least, I've never heard you say your left eye was impaired!"

The firebender's eyes widened as he raised his hand to the left side of his face. "I never noticed that before."

"I guessed as much. I honestly don't know all the factors of human anatomy in our world, but you were screaming in pain when I burned you and our skin is resistant to fire. I doubt that your thin eyelid could protect your eye that much if I had been so reckless and powerful at the same time."

"But then why? If you cared so much about me, why burn me?"

"Because I couldn't leave things with you cowering in front of a hundred people. You'd never be able to live it down. You be disgraced. Who would respect you after that? And you've seen what happens to weak rulers. Long Feng's conspiracy against the Earth king is a prime example of when rulers don't have the respect of their people. It may not always be that extreme, but the principle is there. I had to do something that would change the people's image of you. I had to do something to get them to respect you.

"By having you endure banishment, come back with a thick battle scar, and return with the Avatar captured, people would see you as transformed. Their image of you being a scared child would have already faded and immediately they'd see you as a man who endured struggles, earned scars, and captured the most dangerous enemy to our country."

The scarred ruler narrowed his eyes as he raised an eyebrow. "But why have me capture the Avatar? You had no idea if an avatar still existed! How is that anything other than a way to have me out of your way forever?"

The ex-Phoenix King shook his head. "Was it a way to have you gone forever or a last desperate attempt to make you into a hero of the people? I already proved to you that your loving mother knew everything that I was doing and could come back at nearly any time she wanted. Do you think she'd be ok with me kicking you out forever? Or do you think she'd understand that it was the only option I had to make you into a national hero? Also, two things to note for the record: When everyone thought you had killed the Avatar, it worked. And, I knew hunting for the Avatar wasn't that dangerous of a task."

"But there would've been other ways to strengthen me. You said it yourself that I was definitely going to fight in the war."

"True, but with you constantly in the Fire Nation, constantly being around the story of how you caved when confronted with someone who was against you, especially when 'you just had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart,' you would have no chance of anyone respecting you for probably ten years at least. Remember: this was you showing that you really wouldn't stand up for the little people of the Fire Nation if someone powerful threatened you. Even if the story of the agni kai vanished from people's memories, the attitude towards you would've lingered. You needed to disappear from their thoughts and come back looking different and achieving greatness. And remember, that is exactly what happened when everyone thought you killed the Avatar. No one spoke of your agni kai. They only hailed you as a hero."

Zuko tightened his hands into fists. "But, even if all that is true and the agni kai was a propaganda stunt that got botched…" He stared right into his father's eyes. "… why didn't you tell me it was that? Why didn't you let me know what you were going to do and why you were doing it?"

"You were too honorable for your own good, that's why."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Zuko, I don't know if you're aware, but you were not the best actor in the world. You were straight forward and didn't have much control of your emotions. If I did tell you back then, there was a good chance you either wouldn't have gone through with it because it'd be lying to your people or you'd be guaranteed to botch it because it'd be obvious you were acting. That agni kai was too important to risk you messing up because you wanted to be honest."

"And yet, look how it turned out."

"Everything's clearer in hindsight. Sorry I can't see the future."

"So, the agni kai was a publicity stunt that got screwed up, the burning and banishment was to get people to forget about me cowering when someone challenged my ideals, and hunting the Avatar was just a last desperate attempt to make me a hero?"

"Exactly. And, as I said, it was to teach you respect. How it worked and how to earn it. You aren't respected just because you're a prince. You saw it when you tried to enter the war room that day and the guards wouldn't let you pass. From what I heard, you saw it on your ship when your crew didn't respect you until you saved the helmsman. You needed to know how to actually earn respect and there's no easy way to do it. I wasn't lying when I said your refusal to fight was showing a weakness that would shame you. And I said 'you.' Not the family. Not the throne. Not the nation. Just you."

"Though why banish me from the whole country? Why not just the Palace City? If for no other reason than that the Avatar could've been somewhere in the Fire Nation?"

"I needed you out of the people's minds so that they'd completely forget about how you acted when someone powerful challenged what you did for those soldiers."

"That almost works, but there's one problem with it."

"And that is?"

"You didn't know the Avatar was an inexperienced child. Even if you thought I had a chance of finding someone who no one else could, for all you knew, he or she would be a century-old master of all the elements."

"Actually, like I said, I knew hunting for the Avatar wouldn't be too dangerous and I had very good reasons to assume he or she would not be a master of all the elements nor even very good at airbending."

The scarred teen blinked twice. "You… you did?"

"Yes. Don't you remember what you told me happened on the day you found the Avatar in the South Pole? Iroh told you that your great-grandfather, grandfather and father all searched had searched for the Avatar and failed. That's why I thought that sending you to hunt for him wouldn't be that risky. I had already done it and so had two other people."

"Ok, so you knew about how dangerous the actual hunt for the Avatar may or may not have been. What does that prove? I mean, I'll admit that it proves the banishment wasn't as dangerous as I would've thought, but that doesn't prove how you'd know I'd be ok if I found him."

"Son, put two and two together. What do you think I, your bastard grandfather, and great-grandfather looked for or asked about while searching? Among everything else, it's almost a guarantee that we would have searched for: Anyone bending more than one element. Anyone approaching a teacher as a novice in an element and then excelling at it within a week or so. Anyone displaying extraordinary skill with an element. And if anyone had done anything that looked like airbending. Obviously, no search ever led us to the Avatar."

"I still don't get it."

"You need me to spell it out for you? Fine. Since no one had seen the Avatar, there was no evidence that he or she was building an army to fight against the Fire Nation. Since there was no evidence of the Avatar practicing the other elements, there was reason to believe he or she would only know how to bend air, or at most they'd only be semi-capable with the other elements. And with no signs of anyone airbending, it stood to reason that he or she would be out of practice using air in an actual battle.

"Combine all that with the assumption that the Avatar was 100 years old when I banished you and you could see why I had no real worries about you fighting him."

The firebender shook his head. "But how could you believe that? People from the other nations wouldn't have told you if they knew the Avatar was back."

"Well, sure. But there's more than one way to find information other than asking. We could listen to people in taverns, in market places, around training grounds and trade routes,… Suffice to say, I had enough reason to think he or she wouldn't be a threat."

"While that all makes sense, you're still leaving open the fact that my banishment could still be a permanent way to get rid of me."

"No. I explained how it was a last-ditch effort to make you a hero of the people."

"But then why revoke my honor?"

"I never revoked your honor. I said that by capturing the Avatar, you'd be able to return home with honor."

"That may have be a small justification, but it isn't enough. You knew how honest and honorable I was. You should've seen the possibility that if I never found the Avatar, I wouldn't lie, say I found him, and then come home."

The former ruler of the Fire Nation slowly exhaled. "It was a risk, yes. But, as I said, I had no choice. To leave you crying in the agni kai arena would've ruined you, maybe for life. I had to hope that, either you'd wise up, claim that the corpse of some old man or woman that you found was the Avatar or find the actual avatar, who I had every reason to believe was a skill-less coward if he or she was still alive."

Ozai looked up at his son. "Was it the best decision ever? No. Was it the only one I could've done that put you in a relatively safe position while your reputation recovered? Yes. If it had been for cruel reasons, would your mother have comeback and killed me with a level of cunning that can usurp the throne of a nation in 8 hours and have everyone think nothing special of it? Yes."

"I still hate that you did it."

"I'm not asking you to like it, believe me. I'm asking you to understand that I tried to help you and it actually was the best and safest way I could."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you try to stop me when the Aang finally showed up? You promoted Zhao when he was trying to get the Avatar before I did! I know it was you! I saw the black-ribboned letter!"

"Oh you did, did you? Did you also see the other reports I received about him and from him? Did you see the options I had to assign the rank of admiral? Did you see how much he told me about his hunt for the Avatar?"

"Well… no… but-."

"Then don't worry about Zhao. You have to imagine that I don't make choices about who to promote to a top rank just because of one thing that they have done or are trying to do. Also, every time he had the Avatar, the boy slipped through his fingers. Do you really think I would promote him for failure? Even if he was trying to capture the Avatar, so was just about every other ranking officer in the Fire Nation military. If he wasn't competing against you, it'd just be someone else. Either way, he'd done other things that you hadn't heard of and I can't start listing. Though I'm sure documents of them exist somewhere."

The scarred Fire lord let out a huff. "Fine. Then let's focus on someone else you used to stop me from returning. Someone you specifically charged with going after Aang."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Azula! Did you honestly forget that you sent her after Aang? And speaking of her, she did take over Ba Sing Se in 8 hours while being no closer to the Earth king than mother was to Azulon!"

"Azula conquered Ba Sing Se and publicly declared that the Fire Nation controlled the city. Yes, when all you want to do is conquer, it can be done in 8 hours with a large enough force at your back, good planning, which includes being present after the takeover, and the misplaced trust of the ruler. What your dear mother did, almost completely alone, with no time to spare, was kept in secret. while your bastard grandfather had every reason not to trust her, and transferred the power Iroh was supposed to receive to me and no one has been the wiser for six years. Comparing what Azula did to what Ursa did is like saying a campfire is just as suited for warmth as the sun."

Zuko began to grumble. "Fine. It wasn't the same. But that doesn't change the fact that you sent Azula after Aang."

"Actually, I never sent her after the Avatar. I did, however, allow her too in the midst of going after Iroh and you."

The firebender glared at his father. "Ah-ha! So you did want to lock me up and throw away the key!"

"What? No. No. Let's back up again. First of all, before the Avatar's defense of the North Pole where he destroyed an enormous amount of our fleet, everything offensively that kid and his friends had done equated to nothing that a random squad of Earth Kingdom soldiers couldn't have done. They liberated one prison. Defeated one scouting party in the woods where those Freedom Fighters were stationed. And they organized a resistance at the Northern Air Temple. Everything else was him getting away from you, Zhao, or someone else."

"Then why did the North Pole change everything?"

"I'm getting to that. Remember why I had you banished and sent out to find the Avatar?"

"You said you wanted me to show the people of the Fire Nation I was strong, worthy of their respect, and to make them forget how I caved when you 'wanted to stop me' from protecting those soldiers."

"Yes. And so far, there wasn't any reason to call you back to the Fire Nation because the damage the boy had done was so small. But I had to after how he tore apart the navy. You'd showed me that you weren't up to that task either and I had to find some other way."

"How was the destruction of the navy my fault? If 100 warships couldn't put a dent in him in the avatar state, how could I have done any better?"

"Because you had him! You were more than just right there at the battle. I heard the stories! You had the Avatar bound and tied up! And that wasn't the only reason. I couldn't justify holding back against that child anymore. It was the task that I assigned to you and despite your efforts, the Avatar was still free and destroyed countless ships and even more lives! I had to bring you back and it was in the Fire Nation's best interests to have Azula take over the hunt when she wanted to!

"You failed, Zuko! That's why I told Azula to bring you back to the Fire Nation and to capture your uncle. You weren't going to be thrown in prison, just him."

"I'm still not following. Did you or did you not send Azula, after calling me a failure, to capture me and Uncle."

"Those are two different questions. Did I call you a failure? Yes. I was a little more than upset that a plan I had been banking on for three years fell through and I thought that a 16 year-old who brags about how strong he's become could handle me not sugarcoating what happened! Sorry. But, I don't think 'failure' was that harsh, considering that the news of it happened on the same day I found out that my brother was a traitor who actively went against Zhao when he had the Moon Spirit captive and the Northern Water Tribe powerless. You can say whatever you want to defend Iroh, it doesn't change what he did."

Ozai took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. "However, I didn't send for you to be locked up, only Iroh."

"But the captain of Azula's ship called both of us prisoners. And Azula herself told me that you wouldn't want me back home except to lock me up so I couldn't embarrass you."

"First off, that captain was incompetent and more than one instance will prove that if you talk to people. Second, Azula was just trying to get into your head after you started attacking her. True, she did say that. But all I said was that you were a failure and I already went over that. Third, even if Azula meant 'locked up' as in 'keeping you in the palace and never letting you go out in public' that still isn't literal imprisonment. If that happened, you would then have to wait ten years or something to get any kind of respect from people.

"Face it, Zuko. You weren't going to be put in prison. You didn't commit treason, Iroh did."

"Then how come I saw my face on wanted posters everywhere I went?"

"Because, from that point on, you were harboring someone you knew was a declared traitor. From what I heard about the day Azula came to bring you and Uncle back to the Fire Nation, she only said Iroh was considered a traitor. After you helped him, you were seen just as much a criminal as he was."

"How could you do that to your own son and brother!"

"I can't change the laws for family, Zuko! Let me ask you something, if the Earth king had a brother or son who betrayed that country or helped a declared traitor, should he change the law? Should he give special exclusions because they're family? Pick the leader of a country! Any country at all! Now say that their child, who's old enough to be considered an adult, committed treason. Should that son or daughter be exempt from punishment?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "Ok, fine. You made your point about the law, but I don't think those other leaders would be so apathetic about declaring their children or siblings traitors."

"I had my suspicions about Iroh for some time, it actually came as no surprise. Either way, I am more practical than emotional. As I told you, heavy is the head that wears the crown, even more so during a war. Does it make me a perfect father? No. Does it make me a horrible, heartless bastard though? No."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Sorry that the laws of the land apply to you as much as the next person. But that also meant that the terms for exoneration and pardoning an individual for their crimes apply to you as well. That's why, when my plan finally worked and you returned home, not a word needed to be said about the fact that you harbored your Uncle. As far as everyone knew, you eventually aided in his capture and you, unlike him, never did any harm to Fire Nation soldiers except when you were attacked. Like when the Rough Rhino gang attacked you. Or the imperial firebenders that escorted Azula when she went to retrieve you.

"And both of those instances could be seen as cases of self-defense. You also didn't harm them anymore than you had to in order to escape."

The ex-Phoenix King let out a huff. "And didn't I treat you well when you returned to the Fire Nation? Was I in any way a bad father when you came back home?"

Zuko shook his head. "No. I suppose you were a pretty good father too me when I came home. Up until you tried to kill me with lightning! That's something Mother wouldn't have been able to know about!"

"So Azula might have been able to find out that your mother was dead from the slightest whisper of the guards, but if Ursa was alive, she wouldn't know who caused dual lightning burns on your corpse? Don't answer that. Just let me, once again, start from the beginning of what happened during the day of black sun:

"You remember how you came into my bunker as soon as the eclipse started and I dismissed the imperial firebenders so you could say what you wanted, right?"

"I remember."

"Do you remember what the first things you told me were?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow as he nodded. "I told you that Azula struck down Aang and that he was still alive and on his way to your bunker." He crossed his arms. "You then threatened me and told me to get out of your sight if I knew what was good for me."

Ozai groaned. "You never considered things from my point of view, did you?"

"Threatening my child? No, I didn't."

"Or how about your child didn't come in and say, 'Hey, Father, you know that vase you really liked that broke and sis and I told you the maid did it? Well, it was actually me and sis playing catch indoors.' Instead, you came in and said, 'Hey, Father, you know that supremely powerful being that's destined to defeat you and for all you know "defeat" means "kill"? You also remember how sis and I told you and the entire country that he's dead and neither you nor anyone who fights for our country has anything to worry about? Well, turns out he's not dead, we knew this the whole time, and he's on his way here at the moment you don't have firebending.'"

The ex-Phoenix King glared at his son. "I became more than a little on-edge. So sorry I wanted you out of the room so I didn't do anything I would regret. Now, keep that in mind that I ordered you out of the room. If I were some heartless bastard who only cared about his own interests, why wouldn't I punish you right then and there? I could've called the guards back in? Clearly, you were shaming me after I built up your victory. What would I have to lose from ordering your immediate imprisonment?"

The scarred teen glanced to the side. "Well,… you could've done other things."

"Like what?"

Zuko stared back at his father. "Like not say I had to obey you or it would be my last defiant breath."

"As I just said, my patience was nearly gone, I wasn't thinking too clearly, I just found out my children were lying for months about the person that everyone thought was destined to kill me. My authoritative side that I use so often kicked in. I give you my sincerest apologies that I didn't have total and complete control over my anger at that moment. Now, am I also going to hear you commenting on how I let you speak your mind when you drew your swords on me instead of calling in the guards?"

"That was…! I mean… I thought you were going to attack me! I drew my swords to keep you away!"

"You drew weapons on me and I didn't call in the guards."

"You wanted me to stay so you could kill me yourself!"

Ozai let out a long exhale and stared at his son. "Really? I suddenly went from an uncontrolled outburst where I only wanted you out of my sight to instantly planning to take satisfaction in killing you? And I waited all 8 minutes for it instead of calling in the guards and having them hold you down? That sounds like a stretch."

"It's what happened, though. Wasn't it? And I still think you could've hidden the lightning attack from mom."

"You're jumping to conclusions again. The reason I shot lightning at you was completely different."

"Really?" Zuko crossed his arms. "Now this should be interesting."

The powerless bender narrowed his eyes. "Since we've already gone over the purpose of the agni kai and banishment, I'll just say that I want you to think about my words again. That it was to teach you respect and that you really did learn nothing if you were only looking at the surface for the reason I put you in that arena and didn't look deeper for the purpose."

"And what about when you laughed at me when I said that the Fire Nation created an era of fear and we needed to replace it with an era of peace and kindness?"

"I was laughing at the sudden shift of mood. After I laughed, I said, 'Your Uncle's gotten to you, hasn't he?' One minute, you're dead serious, but still confused, the next minute, you're being drastically ironic."

"How was I confused or being ironic?"

"Because you didn't understand the purpose of the agni kai, the banishment, or what the Fire Nation was really doing. Then you talk the way Iroh would have wanted you to. No, let me rephrase that: you were talking the way Iroh would have manipulated you to."

The firebender grabbed the cell bars with one hand. "Uncle showed me what was really going on! He didn't manipulate me at all!"

"Oh really? Which would you like? For me to explain his manipulation or why I shot lightning at you? Like I've said, I don't want to keep jumping back and forth."

Zuko squeezed his hand around the metal bar. "Why did you shoot lightning at me?"

"Getting back on track: You were boasting about how you're going to free your uncle and then you discarded everything I tried to do for you by saying that Iroh was your 'real father.' I had to laugh at the irony in that too and joke how the only thing he really could do for you is teach you tea and how to fail. Still, you declared yourself a traitor to the Fire Nation. Announcing that you're going to free another traitor and then help the enemy of our nation is a clear statement of treason and, as we already established, you are not exempt from the law of the land."

The scarred ruler held his grip on the metal. "I've only heard of traitors being imprisoned or banished. Shot full of lightning's a new one I must've missed in the past three years."

"But a loophole wasn't new. The loophole I tried to give you was still there… Unless, of course, you think being Fire lord gives you no influence over the laws and actions of the nation."

Zuko relaxed his grip. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about what I said next and think in someone else's shoes for once! Namely, like a father who just heard his son was going to commit treason! Think like a father who failed his son once in an agni kai and would be desperate not to fail him again, no matter how practical or emotional the father was! Also, think like a father whose son is too honorable for his own good and would never just kill a person if they pleaded for him to, but might, just might kill if the person taunted the boy! Think like a father who's struggling to stay in control of his emotions after hearing all the things his son said to him at such a dangerous time!"

Ozai lunged forward as best he could. "And think like a father who went with the first and only thing he could think of that would give his son a way out! Now, tell me what you have, Zuko! TELL ME!"

The Fire lord felt his arm tremble as it slid away from the metal bar. His whole body began to shake as his eyes widened. "You… you really did want me to kill you."

"Yes…" The powerless bender slid back and sat up against the wall. "The only way you could ensure your uncle was freed, side with the Avatar, and not be legally considered a traitor is if the law allowed you to do it. I didn't have it in me to give up everything that everyone in my nation had worked for, but you did. You had to change the law and the only way you could do that is if you became Fire lord. Using your swords would do the job. With the Avatar on his way and the invasion force running around the city, a sword slash anywhere on my body could be blamed on anyone. With me dead, you'd immediately be crowned."

"But… but why? Why not just banish or imprison me?"

"Because, like I said, you didn't just lie to me, you lied to the whole country when you knew, for a fact, that the Avatar was still alive. Then, instead of saying that you were going to correct the mistake and resume hunting that boy, you declared yourself a traitor and decided to go help him."

The powerless bender glared at his son. "Tell me one more thing: If you were a random, ordinary citizen of the Fire Nation and your prince did all that, how would it make you feel? What do you think that ordinary citizen would want?"

"They… they'd feel betrayed. Betrayed in so many ways. So many, that they'd want my head on a platter. They would have thought I used them and played them like puppets for my own glory and then when it turned bad, I ran."

Ozai relaxed his gaze. "Let's just say, that's one possibility. But, if you were the Fire lord, you'd have a chance of making it out alive. You're father had just been killed, the Avatar had surprised everyone by being alive, you had no choice but to surrender. Would you have been shamed? Yes. Would people be angry at you for telling them the Avatar was dead? Yes. But you would have done the right thing for your nation at that moment by surrendering when our plan for the eclipse failed and for that you'd still be alive."

Zuko then lunged forward, clutching the bars with both hands as he stared at his father. However, as his eyes lay glued to the former Fire lord, tears began to blur his vision. "Then why? If you were so desperate to keep me alive, you'd throw your own life away, why shoot me with lightning? You couldn't possibly have known I knew how to redirect it! You said so yourself!"

The former ruler closed his eyes. "When I saw that you weren't going to attack me, I desperately wanted to stop you. I saw how determined you were and that nothing that I could think of could get you to stay at my side. I was panicking. The emotional turmoil you sent me through was staggering. Revealing the Avatar was alive, declaring yourself a traitor,… The only thing I could do was try to goad you harder into attacking me. That's why I lied.

"Zuko, you asked why, during the eclipse, I told you that I actually was going to kill you when Azulon ordered it. Well, it was because I wanted you to attack me. When calling you a coward and questioning your courage failed, I thought it was the death of you. But, when I threw out the question of what happened to Ursa, I remember that I smiled because it looked like it would work and you would be saved."

The new Fire lord slowly pushed himself away from the cell bars. "But, you didn't look concerned. You didn't look worried at all. You looked like you were waiting for something."

"It was all I could do to keep myself under control as much as I could. Like I said, I felt that you wouldn't kill a person who desperately pleaded for it. But if I could taunt you enough; saying I was going to follow Azulon's sick orders, saying I made your dear mother pay for your safety with banishment, one of the steepest penalties in our culture; then I could have gotten you to strike me down."

"Hold on! What about what you said right after that? That you realized that banishment is far too lenient for traitors?"

"I meant exactly that. While I spoke about the night Ursa vanished, I saw the anger on your face. You were furious with me. But, when you began to cry without making a move against me, I knew you weren't going to attack. That's when I told you why I was about to do what I was going to do. Because I didn't believe that the people of the Fire Nation would be-."

"…would be satisfied with me being banished…" The firebender let go of the cell bars and walked to the other end of the room. "For the deception they felt from their prince, there was a good chance they'd want a far steeper penalty."

"Precisely."

"But why didn't you charge me? Hope that if you came straight at me, I'd attack in self-defense?"

"I told you, I was panicking. It was all I could do to keep a straight face. I didn't have the nerve to charge at you and keep up the appearance of a threat. It was all I could do for that one moment. That single instant where I could give you a quick, painless, and honorable death.

"I thought that, one way or another, I'd have the official final say in your fate, but the people would demand blood and I'd have no real choice. I felt certain that the Fire Nation would achieve a full victory over the rebellions and I didn't want to linger over the thought of having to sign a decree or put down a stamp or tie a ribbon or whatever would give your executioner their order. I didn't want you being held in a prison cell, counting down the days to your death. I didn't want any of that to happen so I did the best, worst thing for both of us. I mustered everything I had and pushed everything out of my mind for that one clear, crisp moment where I could give you a glorious death at the hands of my greatest attack. Honor was always the most important thing to you, it was the only thing left that I could do."

Zuko could feel his body becoming cold as he clutched his head, burying his hands in his palms. However, his head suddenly perked up and he turned around. "You didn't have to worry about me being executed. If you could've just delayed the date somehow, claim that you were waiting for a special moment, that woud have given Mother enough time to know what was going on and take action. She could've broken me out."

Ozai nodded. "That's why I hate what I did more than I should. If I weren't panicking, if I had thought clearly, I would have realized that and let you walk out. You were stronger and more skilled than I thought you'd become. Even though there was a risk you'd be killed while our forces searched for the Avatar, I could have given an order or offered a vast reward for you to be brought in alive under the guise of wanting you to answer for your crimes. However, it was a split-second decision and my only solace is that you survived my attack."

Zuko folded his hands behind his back. "I don't think so."

"What? Haven't I justified everything I've done to you? Haven't I proven that Ursa was ok with all of it? Surely, in six years, someone with her intelligence could've done something against me. Especially if she heard I scarred and banished you for a selfish reason. Unless you think that your dear mother stopped caring that much about you and decided not to risk a hair of whatever new life she found, you have to admit she was ok with it."

"No, I don't. Because there's one last possibility when it comes to my mother."

"You think she remarried and didn't have the heart to risk her new family?"

"No. She could've gotten them to lay low or she could have faked a questionable death that she could return from later with a plausible excuse."

The powerless bender raised an eyebrow. "Then what else could it be? If I were a heartless bastard and I injured her critically or killed her, I would have told you that during the eclipse to try to draw you into staying so I could kill you. After all, even if I had rehearsed the story I told you, seeing you tear up over the possibility that she was alive would instantly make me think to tell you the truth about how much I hurt her or lie about it."

"But there's still the possibility that you just didn't think about what mom would do. You said it yourself that you were in a panic."

"Then how do you explain the fact that Ursa has not returned despite definitely being able to know everything I've done?"

"Because the intelligence you spoke of!"

Ozai's face contorted as his eyebrow went higher. "Care to elaborate?"

"Certainly. If Mother was as smart, insightful, and cunning as you claim, then at least as soon as you began to drastically change from the loving father who took his family to Ember Island and into a cold-hearted bastard who wanted nothing but personal gain and power, she would have begun planning for the possibility you'd hurt me or Azula in order to gain power. She'd realize how physically strong you were and that the best way to control you would be to offer that power you wanted. In other words: That plan to put you on the throne didn't suddenly spring into her head, get planned, executed, and followed through with in just 8 hours; it was something that took her years and years of hard thinking that was driven by the love for her children. She was always prepared to use that plan."

The ex-Phoenix King shifted his eyes towards the ceiling as he let out a 'Hmmm…' A moment later, his gaze turned back towards his son. "That certainly is an interesting theory, Zuko. However, you're still falling short."

"And how so?"

"First of all, if she'd been planning for so long, clearly the plan she used wasn't the only one she would have had. Even with all the insight in the world, she couldn't have predicted the exact time and place that she'd need to execute one of her plans."

Zuko continued to stare at his father. "I never thought so for a moment. After all, leaving me and Azula with you wouldn't have been among her top choices. The plan she used was most likely the only one out of the many she had that she could make work in such a short time and without any clear warning that the need was coming."

The former ruler of the Fire Nation nodded. "Second, since, according to your theory, the plan she chose didn't involve killing me, which also could have stopped me, it wasn't the best plan she could have come up with in the years and years she was planning. After all, killing is obviously not something she's incapable of."

"Agreed. So how's my theory falling short?"

"Isn't it obvious? If right was between a few weeks and a few months after her banishment, your theory would hold. Since she couldn't possibly plan on the exact location she would have been banished to, she would need time to gather resources and weigh her options on what she could do if I ever displayed any signs of hostility towards you or your sister. However, it's been six years. And in the past three, she would have been 'driven by her love and need to protect her children' into making more plans that she could use."

"But if you put too many guards around her and kept her locked up, she wouldn't be as capable as someone who could make that plan in just 8 hours. Also, you could've had her constantly moved from one place to another."

"You're overestimating the guards I'd have to watch her. We aren't the spirits. Our jailers are mortal. Look at the ones we had stationed at the Boiling Rock. Look at the only two that were watching your Uncle. Are they decent prison guards? Yes. Would they be capable of controlling someone like your dear mother? No. Not for such a long time no matter which description of her is correct.

"And constantly moving her would take even more effort. With her always on the move, she'd always have a chance to call out for help from a random passer-by. No matter how much security we have around her, the variables of terrain and wild animals would also work too much to her advantage."

The firebender raised a lone finger. "Then there's one last possibility. If those variables can work in her favor, they could work against her too. She may have tried to come back by using whatever level of cunning she had. However, the plan failed due to a random event she couldn't have accounted for or a well-placed guard tower spotting her on a fluke. Either way, she failed."

"If that were so, then, again, why didn't I tell you that during the eclipse? Face it, Zuko, if I'm right about me, then everything I'm saying is the truth. If your heartless bastard-theory about me is right, then I would have told you about the worst things I did to your dear mother while trying to stall you so I could kill you. Even if some random event happened to her and I, for some reason, never knew about it, why didn't I say anything in the bunker when you began to cry?

"Do you see, Zuko? If I knew she was dead, why didn't I say so? If I didn't know she was dead, I either would have lied or I would still be under the fear of her return."

The new Fire lord rubbed his chin. "Unless mother had died recently. Too recently for you to have practiced a suitable lie if Azula should question you. If mom would need several years to put down plans instead of 8 hours or less, that moment could have been the time she picked to return after hearing about me being burned and banished. After all, finally hearing the story of what happened to me, planning how to sneak into the entire Fire Nation, and how to deal with you would all take a lot of time and might have relied on a bit of luck."

Zuko once more shifted his hands behind his back. "And if mother had been killed recently when her plan failed, maybe while Azula and I were both in the Earth Kingdom, you'd have enough time to cover up what happened, but not enough time to practice lying about it."

"Four problems with that, Zuko. First, I'm still running the risk of you or the guards letting that slip to Azula. Second, that still says I had your best interests in mind for everything else I've done for you leading up to shooting lightning at you because I wouldn't know of her impending return and would have been fearful of it. Third, if I was so worried about Azula, why not have the guards run out and hold you down until the eclipse ended? Was I so afraid of a battle against your sister that I wouldn't risk saying that your mother had died but not so afraid that my hubris could stop me from ensuring you died in the bunker if it meant asking for help and avoided mentioning my wife's fate at all? Fourth, I still could have killed all the guards."

"Well, maybe you were planning ahead. You saw I was going to stay long enough for the eclipse to pass so you held onto the fact that you hurt her or killed her in case you were dethroned and imprissoned."

The ex-Phoenix King simply stared at his son. "So your new theory is: In a desperate attempt to keep you in the bunker until the eclipse ended, I came up with this plan that thought 100 steps ahead, but didn't incorporate that level of cunning into my fight with the Avatar and used lightning against him? lightning that I should have known he'd know how to redirect since you redirected it and were going to teach him firebending? Also that I didn't think to use lightning when he was hiding himself in that rock ball? Or to use lightning when he was in the avatar state and I thought I was at the end of my rope? Is that what your new theory is?"

Zuko shook his head. "No. Because that's not my entire theory. There's one last problem with all your theories about how mother and about how you'd react to everything based on what she would do."

"And that problem is…?"

"They're all based on people acting in the most perfectly logical way at any given moment. But in truth, people screw up. Laziness, random events, forgetfulness, or just errors in judgment. They all cause people to not act in the best manner possible and in your theories, it's like those things don't exist."

"Zuko, Ursa hasn't been gone for just one or two moments. She's been gone for-."

"Six years! Yes, I know. But that doesn't change the fact something could have happened to her that no one saw coming. An illness. A thief who tried to mug her and killed her by accident. Or she tried to sneak back into the Fire Nation, but a lucky guard spotted her and attacked without her knowing."

"We've been over this. Why didn't I say she was killed because of the banishment when you were trying to leave during the eclipse? That surely would have made you stay."

"But maybe you goofed. Maybe the thought of mentioning her death to me slipped your mind. Maybe at any point since she's been gone; the agni kai, the eclipse, any moment; you forgot about the consequences of what she'd do and were just able to spin the truth so she would buy it. I want you to give me more proof. I want to hear proof only about you. Forget mother. I want you to explain how actions you have or haven't done prove that you aren't a heartless, manipulative, power-hungry bastard."

"What about the way I treated you after you returned from your banishment? I complimented you, praised you, welcomed you home, I even delayed the most important war meeting of my life until you arrived."

"You were using me as a tool. I was the hero of the nation so you wanted me to think highly of you to make yourself look good."

"That doesn't say why I would hold off the war meeting. Or why, in the war meeting, I deferred to you for your input on General Shinu's plan. You were a national hero. I would be perfectly justified holding you to higher standards and not waiting for you to start the war meeting."

"Well… Ok. But then that could prove that you aren't willing to love someone unless they show that they can help you."

"So your new theory is: I'm a manipulative bastard, who is capable of love, but only for those who are useful to me?"

"Yes."

"Then I would definitely work to keep your mother safe, wouldn't I? She certainly showed me that she was useful and staying in contact with someone that cunning, whether it took her years to come up with that plan or less than a few hours, would certainly be beneficial. And it's a long enough time span to be more than an illogical moment or two."

"But it's also suggesting that the only reason you ever were nice to me at all was because it was something she asked for. Not because you wanted to."

"But either way, I'm nice to you."

"Well… yes…"

"And would she be ok with me burning half of your face just for the sake of being cruel, but draw the line at making you blind? Was that why I didn't go too far with it?"

"Well… She would have… You maybe could've justified it to her the same way you justified it to me."

"But I would need her to fall for it if that were true and she's too cunning one way or the other. Now, let me ask you something. You keep claiming that I might be manipulative and lying, right?"

"Yes!"

"Other than me lying to try to get you to kill me, and if I'm a heartless bastard, that was me telling the truth, can you name one time I lied to or manipulated you or your sister?"

The new Fire lord scoffed. "Of course I can! There was the time that you…" He gritted his teeth. "Well, when you…"

"I'm not asking you for the worst or the dirtiest. In all your memories of me and everything in your life, give me: Just. One. Time."

Zuko's eyes widened as he let his arm fall to the side of his body. He then lowered himself to the ground and sat on the stone floor. "No. I can't actually think of a time that you did. Unless telling me you were going to kill me was a lie. But then, that makes you a good father. If you were a heartless bastard, I can't think of one time when you lied to me or tried to manipulate me." He let out a small sigh. "You actually did justify and explain everything you've ever done to me."

"I prefer the term 'done for you' rather than 'done to you.'"

The scarred ruler weakly nodded. "Still, why did you make those threats and insults to Aang when you were fighting him?"

"What? You mean 'he and his people were weak' and 'the universe delivers the avatar to me in an act of providence'?"

"Yeah?"

"Those were just taunts I made to an enemy to get inside his head."

"He was just a child."

"I thought he was there to kill me and he isn't exactly a push-over."

The new Fire lord sat up straight. "Tell me one more thing."

"I thought you only wanted to know about your mother?"

"And I let you explain everything. From me to you, can I ask you one more thing?"

The ex-Phoenix King let out a small huff. "Sure. I'm not going anywhere."

"Why did you want to use Sozin's Comet to massacre the people of the Earth Kingdom? Surely, genocide was-."

"Hold on a minute!" Ozai glared at his son with widened eyes. "Who said I was going to commit genocide?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Um… You did. In the war room before the eclipse. Remember the whole 'Sozin used the comet to wipe out the Air Nomads, I'll use it to wipe out the Earth Kingdom, permanently'?"

"I never said I was going to wipe out the Earth Kingdom! I said I was going to end the Earth Kingdom. 'End' as in, bring it to its conclusion, not 'end' as in, destroy everyone associated with it. Why would I even do something like that? We still had troops in Ba Sing Se and they certainly weren't killing all the residence. I didn't hear of any piles of burnt skeletons."

"But you made a huge boast about how you were going to rain fire down and putting an end to the rebellions."

"Yes. But think about how long the comet lasted. Maybe 12 hours went by before it left the atmosphere. Now, don't you think I would have known that? With the precision that we had in planning for its arrival, don't you think we knew how long it would have lasted? We couldn't possibly have had the time to blanket the entire Earth Kingdom at the speed we were going. No matter which coast we started from, we never would have made it to Ba Sing Se before the comet left the atmosphere.

The scarred ruler stared at his father. "Then what was the point of using the comet on the Earth Kingdom at all?"

"It was a scare tactic. We were going to torch a huge chunk of the Earth Kingdom, go to Ba Sing Se, make a grand show of firebending from our near-untouchable airships long after the comet passed, and terrify the people of the Earth Kingdom into submitting to us. Think about what their reaction would've been. Ba Sing Se, the last stronghold against us had fallen. Now, the sky turns blood red. It's the return of the comet that they feared. Some time passes and the horizon returns to normal. They think it's over. But, suddenly, flying warships soar over the sky. Then all of them together make a huge show of firebending in the air. Would it be as strong as it would with the comet still there? No. But with myself and a legion of elite firebenders, it would be hard for them to tell.

"In the weeks to come, the rumors and stories about what happened would spread throughout the kingdom. And mixed in with them would be reports of how we put miles of the coast ablaze. Then, with our airships looming over the Earth Kingdom, any rebellions would lose all of their hope. And that is what I was trying to do: destroy their hope."

Zuko's eyes widened. "But it sounded so much like you wanted to commit genocide."

"Genocide? We don't do that anymore, Zuko. And why would you think that? I specifically said, 'a new world will be born, a world in which all lands are Fire Nation.' I didn't say, 'a new world will be born, a world in which the only peoples are Fire Nation.'"

"What about Azula? I heard from some of the soldiers that when you were planning to leave for the Earth Kingdom, she complained that it was 'her idea to burn everything to the ground.'"

"And where, in that sentence, do you hear anyone talking about killing people?"

"Well, I thought it was pretty obvious that when she said 'everything,' that people were going to die too."

"Obviously you were mistaken. The Earth Kingdom has coastal towns and cities. I'm sure you saw a few of them when you were banished. I know you saw one because you told me about the time you teamed up with pirates to hunt down a waterbending scroll and the Avatar. So, if the place we're trying to burn and kill everything in has cities and villages close to the sea, why did we pick a spot that had nothing? And I'm not exaggerating. After the forest on the shore, there was a long, long stretch of just stone pillars.

"We have maps of the Earth Kingdom, Zuko. There was a really big one in my war room! So, if we could time the comet's arrival, even to within a day, why couldn't we get our airships closer to inhabited areas if we wanted to kill everyone in the Earth Kingdom? Especially with how little time we had?"

"Well, you could've always miss-guessed. You could've thought that the comet would've spent more time in the atmosphere than it did."

Ozai's face contorted. "You actually think that, with the comet coming around every 100 years, we wouldn't know how long it'd last? And even if that were the case, why would we waste so much time and energy starting with a place that was pretty much a barren landscape already? If you have any other explanation than mine, I'd love to hear it. But nothing, nothing makes sense about why we started from that spot other than that we just wanted to create a scare tactic."

"Then why, when I talked to some people who were on your airship, did they say you had a pretty sadistic look on your face when you were torching the trees."

"My father was a bastard, my brother's a scumbag, I hadn't actually seen my wife in years, my children had both lied to me about the Avatar, and my son specifically was a traitor. There was a lot I needed to vent out of my system and the catharsis helped."

The former ruler of the Fire Nation let out a huff. "Now, let me ask you something again. You said that people don't always make the most perfect, logical choice. Sometimes they make mistakes. Correct?"

Zuko nodded. "Yes. I did."

"Don't you think the opposite can be true? That there are a lot of times when people do the most logical thing, but without thinking down to the last detail. Also, consider how, when you were presented with many of my explanations, you had to dig deep and stretch everything as thin as possible to find the slightest excuse to say it's not a good explanation."

"You were the one who was trying to prove everything to me! I'm not allowed to look for flaws in your story?"

"That wasn't the question, Zuko. If you're going to be a ruler, you need to know that most people don't think every tiny detail all the way through. You need to use that and consider that when you hear people explain themselves. As for your question, yes, you are allowed to look for the tiniest of details. And were there any that proved me wrong?"

The new Fire lord slowly stood up. "No… No, everything fits." He grasped his head. "It's so hard for me to believe."

"I'm not surprised. Like I said, for so long, you've had the wool pulled over your eyes."

"Yeah… It's strange, though."

"What is?"

"That Azula could turn out to be such a horrible human being when you weren't that bad of a person. I guess she must have seen what I saw."

"Hold on! Why do you think your sister is a bad person?"

AZULA

Zuko scoffed. "Are you kidding me?"

Ozai shook his head. "She's a hardworking person. She's well-rounded in her many skills. She's never shown any signs of disloyalty to her nation. She's never attacked anyone who's fought beside her, at least not before they turned on her. Sure she has an intimidating personality, but that isn't a crime. Also, when you're leading a nation in a time of war, that kind of personality helps."

"You're forgetting that she manipulates people and uses deception to win against her enemies."

"So because she uses her words and her brain before resorting to physical violence… that makes her a bad person?"

The scarred ruler gritted his teeth. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"You mean like the truth?"

The firebender steeled himself. "I mean like a way that would throw me off. If she only used it against her enemies, that'd be one thing. But she manipulates and deceives everyone."

"Is that so? Now it's my turn to ask you to prove it."

"Easy. First of all, when we were younger, mother would have to-."

"Wait a minute!"

"Wait for what?"

"You started saying, 'mother would.'"

"And…?"

"And if Ursa was doing anything, that would put your sister at the age of 9 at the most."

"Yeah. Scary to think that she was such a sadist at such a young age, isn't it."

"No. It's scary to think that you're still holding a grudge over what she did at such a young age."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Why shouldn't I? Look what she became!"

"Regardless of whatever she became, she was a nine year-old child. Who blames someone for anything they did at that age? No one's expected to know anything about maturity and acting right when they're that young. Ignoring that she was a princess and a prodigy firebender, she was still only nine years old and couldn't have known any better. You've seen how lenient people are with children no matter how much they misbehave and that's why! Honestly, if you're going to blame someone, other than a nine year-old, for anything they did when they were 9 years old, you are the horrible person!"

The eyes of the scarred ruler relaxed slightly. "Alright, how about a few years later when she watched me get my face burned in the agni kai? Even if she somehow read your mind and knew what your snap decisions were, why did she smile when I was being put through so much pain?"

The powerless bender stared at his son. "What are you talking about? Who told you that she smiled when that happened?"

"Uncle did."

"First of all, you shouldn't believe everything Iroh tells you. Second, I vaguely remember that your uncle was standing behind Azula in the stands. Behind Azula. There actually is no way he could have seen the expression on her face. He was wrong and he lied to you."

"Hold on! How do you know he lied? He could've honestly thought she smiled and if she didn't smile, what was she doing?"

"How should I know what Azula's facial expression was when I was concentrating on not burning out your eye? And Iroh's smart enough that he should have and would have known when his memory was playing tricks on him; after years of thinking about it, not just an illogical moment."

"Even if you are right, what about the day she tried to bring me and Uncle home after the North Pole? I heard that she briefed the imperial firebenders on what to do when they found us and needed to attack us. She also threatened their lives if they hesitated."

"She has an authoritative personality and she was preparing for a likely conflict. She didn't want her soldiers freezing up in the middle of the battle and just letting themselves be harmed by you and Iroh."

"And when she threatened to throw the captain overboard just for not being able to do some near-impossible navigation?"

"She can read people's body language very easily! Just like she did with that one guard at the Boiling Rock who was accused of helping a prisoner escape. She paid attention to the pitch in his voice and posture and realized that he was capable of taking the ship into harbor, but was merely taking the safer route instead of employing his skills to their full potential. And they did make it in safe and sound, didn't they?"

Zuko let out a huff. "Yes, they did. But how about when she deceived me and Uncle to get us onto her ship?"

"She was using her brains and her words before physical violence and Iroh was declared a traitor at that point."

"But I wasn't. You said so. And either way, that shows she was willing to use deception on family."

"Or that being a member of the royal family does not excuse your uncle for his crimes. He's just as accountable as any other traitor so Azula shouldn't have gone easy on him. Especially considering how strong and clever he is."

"So I was just collateral damage?"

"She's more practical than emotional. She may have figured that Iroh was too dangerous to take lightly so she opted to live with the fact that she lied to you to use you as bait for your Uncle rather than let a traitor to the Fire Nation go free. Remember, Iroh's act of treachery-."

"Saved the balance of the world!"

"…Was for his own gain and it cost the navy dearly! In ships and soldiers! One way or another, there's no reason you should be allowed to get away with treachery on that scale, even if you are a prince and a retired general."

"And yet, Azula seemed so calm when she boasted that she was lying to me."

"You were clearly going to attack her. She wanted to get into your head and unnerve you."

The scarred ruler crossed his arms. "Was trying to kill me with lightning also part of her unnerving strategy?"

"No. That was after you threw an imperial firebender into the water and started to attack her. Keep in mind, you were using your firebending on her already with, from what I heard, clearly lethal intent. And didn't she use her nails first to scratch you? Didn't that look like a warning blow that she let you recover from before you kept attacking her? What was she supposed to do after that, let you try again and again to kill her until you got lucky?"

Zuko's eyes widened as his arms dropped to his sides. "I… I never thought of that."

Ozai huffed. "Of course you didn't. You had this engraved notion from your uncle, who lied about a lot of things, that your sister is cruel to everyone and you never tried to look at any other point of view."

The firebender's eyes returned to normal. "Well there wasn't any lying from him when Ty Lee told me how Azula recruited her. Ty Lee was her friend and manipulation and scare tactics have no justification for being used against her!"

"You call what she did an actual scare tactic: Lighting the safety net on fire? Zuko, you were there at the Boiling Rock. You saw the balance Ty Lee had when she ran on the gondola cable. Ran on the cable. Not crawl. Not walk slowly. Ty Lee ran on it."

The ex-Phoenix King tsked. "Back in the circus, Azula could've taken the wire Ty Lee was balancing on, cut it into pieces, shot each piece with lightning, had the ashes buried in 7 different parts of the world-,"

"I get it. I get it. But that still doesn't justify trying to scare Ty Lee into helping her."

"So she had to draft her friend. She needed help bringing in her uncle, who could very well be more powerful and clever than her, and her brother, a weaker-than-her but still strong firebender. You're right. She isn't a completely pure-hearted person. However, didn't she treat Ty Lee very well after she drafted her? Didn't she treat her as a friend and allow her to join the two of you when you went to visit Ember Island? Your sister does still have a few flaws and illogical kinks to work out. But, surely you aren't worried about the way she recruited Mai."

"No. Mai told me how much she wanted to leave Omashu. But she was willing to let Mai's brother, Tom-Tom, be kept by Earth Kingdom rebels. Being more practical than emotional is one thing; being completely heartless is another."

"There's also being able to read people."

"How does that matter?"

"Zuko, you're a bad actor. The Avatar, however, might as well be carrying a large sign over his head that says exactly what he's thinking at any given moment."

"Well, yeah, that sounds like Aang. But what does that have to do with what Azula did?"

The powerless bender groaned. "Pretend, for a moment, that your sister is good at reading people. From what I was told, the Avatar looked meek and frail when she first saw him. He and his friends also looked eager to give up Tom-Tom because they didn't seem comfortable kidnapping a baby. A baby that they, in no way, appeared to have the stomach for hurting or even mistreating.

"Your sister didn't bring soldiers to ambush whoever was carrying Tom-Tom. She didn't open fire on the Avatar and his friends with Tom-Tom in the way. She allowed King Bumi to be lowered to the ground until she got a good read on all of them and, though she didn't know who he was at the moment, she could tell that the Avatar would never let any harm come to Mai's brother. Your sister could easily follow him and his friends back to wherever the Earth Kingdom citizens were hiding and then rescue Tom-Tom when the moment was right. Thus, saving her friend's brother without hindering the Fire Nation by releasing a powerful earthbending king."

The scarred ruler rubbed his chin. "It does make sense… Can you prove it?"

"I just did. If she had no interest at all in rescuing Tom-Tom, why not have soldiers ready to ambush whoever came to the hostage exchange and just roll the dice with his safety? If the soldiers in the city were too loyal to Mai's father and wouldn't do anything like that, why not shoot the Avatar as soon as she saw him, even in the disguise? She did attack, yes. But when she did, the Avatar was away from Tom-Tom and she used so much control that even the wooden platform she was on didn't catch fire. It's obvious she knew that Tom-Tom wouldn't be harmed. Why did she wait for King Bumi to be lowered before saying anything?"

Ozai watched his son cease rubbing his chin and clutch hand into a fist. "Are you convinced now? She's a good person and a good sister."

"No! She isn't! When she was hunting Aang, which would've kept me from coming home, I followed her into an abandoned town. While we were there, she, Aang, and I had a standoff. She could've fired on Aang, but instead she fired at me before I fired on her."

"Once again: First of all, the Avatar was an enemy of our nation. She was helping the war effort by catching him. Second, you were an established traitor at that point. She owed you nothing. Third, from what she told me, you showed up and declared that you were going to fight her. Fourth, again from what she told me, the Avatar was exhausted and sleep-deprived. You were the more dangerous threat to her."

"But I'm her brother!"

"And she's your sister! That fact didn't stop you when you attacked her first back on the day she tried to bring you and Iroh back to the Fire Nation."

"Well at least I wouldn't have smiled as I shot Uncle in the chest like she did."

"Iroh. Was. A traitor. And he was helping you, the Avatar, and the Avatar's friends take her down. Is she supposed to be ok with her uncle attacking her and not fight back?"

"He hadn't attacked her."

"Was Azula wrong when she told me that you and he were in fighting stances and standing side-by-side with the Avatar and his friends?"

"I was…! She…!" Zuko let out a long breath. "Is someone using self-defense when they are being attacked or when they only think they're going to be attacked? Because, back on the day Azula tried to take me and Uncle home, I had good reason to think that I was going to be attacked!"

"Yes, Zuko, you did. And it was justification for your actions. Don't you think that weighed into people's minds when you returned to the Fire Nation? Now, did you and Iroh surround Azula along with the Avatar and his friends?"

The Fire lord slowly lowered his head. "Yes. She was cornered and surrounded and Uncle and I were poised to attack."

"And I'm sure she told you about what happened when she tried to drill her way into Ba Sing Se, when she tried to capture the Avatar