After the war

Once more unto the Fire Nation

"Get out here and protect your Firelord, you green shits!" Captain Shen bellowed at the soldiers as he and Zuko ignited their hands.

"Sokka! Get Ra below decks and make sure he stays there, make one of the crew guard him, he must not come up here at any time unless given my express command, I'm not risking him getting hurt!" Zuko ran to his boyfriend and gave his companion a kiss on the head, a scratch under the chin, and a promise that they would be together again soon. The Firelord's heart ached as he watched his companion handed over to a cowering recruit, but he knew it was for his own good.

The Firelord turned back to face the monster.

"Stand your ground Captain, no matter what that monster throws at us, we'll throw it back ten times harder!" Zuko tried his best to hype up and motivate the seasoned captain, and hopefully by extension, his crew.

"Don't you worry about me Your Majesty; you just focus on not being hit by the fucker!" The Captain growled with his eyes trained on the monster.

Zuko produced his lightning whips and tried desperately to think of a way to motivate his crew. What did soldiers value above their lives?

The monster couldn't seem to decide who to go for first, Zuko, Shen or Sokka. When the monster's tail made contact with him and whipped him back into the railings of the ship, the Firelord knew he would take the fact that a bolt of fear shot through him to the grave. He gripped the metal and pulled himself to his feet.

"I am so done with being hit in the dam face!" Zuko screamed as fire swirled around his wrists, mixing with the lightning whips.

He was so enraged and focused on staying alive he couldn't feel the throbbing in his head where the tip of the monster's tail had hit him.

Sokka watched as Zuko stood, and before he could yell at the crew to protect their Firelord, he had to roll away from the monster's tail before the same thing happened to him.

Zuko took a deep breath and centred himself as best he could. He put both of his feet together, and threw his arms out either side of his body. He drew all of his energy to his outstretched fingertips and felt the power crackling and surging. A small, content smile spread across his face.

Nope, lightning bending would never stop feeling exhilarating or exciting.

Zuko created two batons again and swiped at the parts of the monster's body that was wrapping around the ship. The creature was constricting its body around the boat and rearing its ugly head to strike at the ship's inhabitants. The Firelord saw his boyfriend stabbing down into the monster's body in an effort to wound it and pin it to the ship.

The Firelord quickly tired of swiping at the monster and he rolled out onto the middle of the deck and stared the monster down. He had one leg straight out behind him, and one knee up against his chest. In his right hand he formed a sphere of fire and hovered it straight above him. He summoned some lightning to the fingertips of his left hand.

Zuko moved the ball of fire to the monster's face and he shot it with the lightning in his left hand. The fireball exploded against the monster's face. The firebender jumped up and pounded the air with his fists in sheer euphoria.

The Firelord had no clue how the idea had struck him, or when for that matter, all he knew was the monster was clouded in smoke, and most likely stunned or dead.

Oh, how wrong he was.

The explosion had only served to enrage the monster further. Zuko had to think of how to motivate his crew, he, Sokka and Shen couldn't take the creature down alone.

Zuko had another idea, he prayed and hoped to every deity and spirit he could think of that this worked.

"Whoever brings me that monster's head will receive a reward of the highest honour!" Zuko yelled heroically, as he thrust his left lightning whip towards the monster. He knew he had found what the soldiers valued over their lives when the crew ran forward in a surge of firebending and yelling.