Zuko's Regression

Part Four

Zuko awoke slowly. He still felt warm and satisfied from the previous night. He rolled over, hoping to find Lei asleep beside him, but she was already gone. Instead, a simple scroll rested on her pillow.
Zuko sat up and rubbed his eyes. Lei was an early riser, but she had never felt the need to leave a note before.
Zuko took the scroll and unraveled it.
A lock of auburn hair fell away from the paper.

I have her. Ember island. Come alone or she dies.
—your beloved sister

Zuko charged out of the tent.
He looked around the campsite wildly. Everyone else was already awake. They went about business as usual. They had no idea.
Zuko could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He could feel the burn of anger in his chest.
"Woah." Katara came up short as she passed him. "Zuko, are you alright?"
"Azula took her," he croaked. His throat was raw with tears he hadn't shed.
"What?" Katara asked.
He latched onto Katara's shoulders.
"Lei is gone!" he shouted. All commotion in the campsite stopped. "Azula took her."
"Are you sure she didn't just go for a walk?" Toph asked with a yawn. "She might still be mad at you."
"Mad at me?" Zuko breathed in confusion while releasing Katara's shoulders.
"I mean, you guys had a fight last night right?" Toph asked while rubbing at her eyes. "You were rolling on the ground and wrestling. The vibrations kept me up. When it finally stopped I slept like a rock."
Zuko's face burned.
"That's not—"
"Uh, Toph." Sokka interrupted with a grimace. "I don't think they were wrestling."
Realization seemed to dawn as Toph's milky-white eyes widened.
"Eeeewwww! Gross!"
"Wait, I'm confused," Aang butt in. "What were they doing?"
"It doesn't matter!" Zuko screamed, his arms catching fire from a healthy mixture of embarrassment and rage. "Azula kidnapped her!"
Zuko tossed the scroll onto the ground where it rolled flat. A few strands of auburn hair that still stuck to the paper blew away in the breeze.
"Oh no," Katara said as she inspected the scroll.
"I have to go and get her," Zuko growled.
"No, Zuko. It's a trap," Katara protested gently.
"Obviously it's a trap!" Zuko snapped. "But what am I supposed to do? Let Azula torture her? Kill her!?"
"Zuko, Katara's right," Aang said placatingly. "If you go, you're giving her what she wants."
"And if I don't go, she'll kill Lei!" Zuko fired back.
"Let us come with you," Sokka said. "With all of us, we can take Azula and her minions."
"No," Zuko shook his head. "Azula will go through with her threat. The moment she finds out I'm not alone, Lei is dead."
"What does she want anyway?" Katara asked. "If she can sneak into our camp undetected and kidnap one of us, why didn't she just take you instead? It seems like that is her ultimate goal."
"I don't know," Zuko admitted. He clutched his head. "I never know what she's thinking. This might be some way for her to get revenge on Lei for beating her. Or maybe she knows it's the best way to hurt me. Or—" Zuko paused. A sick feeling twisted in his stomach.
"Or what?" Toph prompted.
"Or she wants me to submit willingly."
"What do you mean?" Aang asked.
"When Azula first attacked us, she said she wanted to bring me home. I would never go back with her willingly, but now that she has something I care about she probably thinks she can get me to do anything."
"So as long as she wants something from you, she'll keep Lei alive?" Sokka asked.
"Maybe," Zuko responded. "I'm not sure though. Azula never does anything straightforward. Lei could already be dead."
Katara placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"The fire nation will fall soon," Katara said. "If the only way to keep Lei alive is for you to submit to your sister, then maybe you should."
"Katara!" Sokka exclaimed. "How could you say that?"
"She's right," Aang said. "Once the eclipse comes, Zuko and I won't be able to use firebending anyway, so continuing teaching isn't necessary for awhile. And, if Zuko plays along with Azula until then, he can catch her by surprise and break himself and Lei out when the eclipse hits."
It wasn't the original plan, and the team would suffer greatly not having Zuko or Lei to help, but they would manage. Zuko felt something warm in his chest as each of them looked at him with a mixture of concern and confidence. He'd never had friends before.
"Fine," Sokka relented. "Let's help him pack his stuff."