Honor, Love, and Dragons (Zuko x OC)

Day of the Black Sun: Part 2

The Loser Lord

~~~

"Zuko, you don't have to do this," Ivana said, placing a hand on his shoulder as they stared at the door outside the Firelord's bunker.

"I have to do this. I have to face him," Zuko said. Ivana nodded, placing her hand at her side. She let Zuko open the door.

"Prince Zuko? What are you doing here? Why is General Tu Sung's granddaughter here?" Ozai asked, setting down his tea. Ivana felt her skin crawl. The way he looked at her gave her the feeling he remembered exactly what he had done to her as a child.

"I'm here to tell the truth," Zuko said, standing firm.

"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting," Ozai said, waving his guards away. Ivana wanted to escape the room, but this was something she had to do too. She had to get over her fear of the man who burned her as a ten-year-old girl.

"First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me," Zuko said.

"Why would she lie to me about that?" Ozai asked, genuinely confused.

"Because the Avatar's not dead. He survived," Zuko said.

"What?" Ozai said, completely shocked by the news. Ivana looked him in the eye, even if his gaze wasn't on her, she felt empowered by her ability.

"In fact, he's probably leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now," Zuko stated.

Ivana thought she saw fear flicker in his eyes before Oai stood and pointed at the door, clearly angered by Zuko's words. "Get out! Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!" Ivana let out a small growl, one only audible to Zuko.

"That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore," Zuko said, confidently. Ivana felt a flutter in her chest. He's finally being true to himself.

"You will obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last!" Ozai demanded, struggling as he lost control of his son. Ivana couldn't help but grin, knowing he was essentially helpless against Zuko. "You think this is funny? I'll have your head!" he yelled at her.

Zuko unsheathed his swords. "Think again. We are going to speak our minds, and you are going to listen," he said, completely determined. Ozai sat down, angered that he couldn't do anything. "For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who burned my best friend, a ten-year-old."

"She heard something she shouldn't have. And she'll continue to stay quiet about it if she knows what's good for her," Ozai sneered.

"I heard nothing! I was just a child trying to find my best friend in a dark unfamilar place. You had no right to hurt me!"

"Does it really matter? You are nothing but the granddaughter of an old, tired general who is on his death bed. When he is gone, you will have nothing!"

"I'll have what means the most to me and that is your son's friendship. You are nothing but a sorry excuse for a human being! You haven't even done anything in your seven-year reign. Your daughter is the accomplished one. You are nothing be a loser lord," Ivana spat. She caught a small smile from Zuko out of the corner of her eye.

"Zuko. why have you brought your playmate to insult me!?" Ozai raged, turning back to his son. Ivana smiled. He knows it's true.

"Because you are my father who banished me just for talking out of turn." He pointed a sword at him. "My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?"

"It was to teach you respect!"

"It was cruel! And it was wrong."

"Then you have learned nothing!"

"No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness." Ivana's chest swelled with emotion. She couldn't wait to do some good to rectify the sins of her nation.

"Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"Yes. He has," Zuko said with a grin. Ozai looked liked he'd murder both of them on the spot.

"After I leave here today, I'm gonna free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm gonna beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me." Ivana amiled thinking about seeing Iroh again.

Ozai laughed. "Oh, that's just beautiful. And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure." Ivana wanted to punch his smug face.

"But I've come to an even more important decision. I'm going to join the Avatar and I'm going to help him defeat you."

"Really? Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless. You've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?" Ozai said smugly.

"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." He put his swords away. "Goodbye."

Ozai stood. "Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

Zuko stopped and turned back to Ozai, who smiled, knowing he hit a nerve.

"What happened that night?"

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it. Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared. Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

"So she's alive?" Ivana's heart leapt at the idea. Ursa had been a second mother to her. Seeing her again would be amazing to say the least.

"Perhaps. Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper." Ozai closed his eyes. Ivana could feel it too: the eclipse was ending.

Ozai snapped open his eyes and generated a bolt of lightning, firing it at Zuko. He managed to redirect it, despite sliding back a few feet. He shot it back right at his father's feet, sending Ozai flying back into the wall behind him. Ivana pulled Zuko out of the room as soon as the lightning left Zuko's body. They disappeared.