{the day of the black sun}
dearest aranya,
as i write this i prepare to leave the fire nation with zuko. i wish i could tell you this in person but it seems that it would only hurt and put you at risk, i'm trying to protect you from such a thing.
after all of our conversations, i do believe you understand why i am doing this. i have a hope that you can keep this letter to you quiet, but if you don't i understand why, your loyalty to your nation is essential to you.
one day i wish to return to the beauty that this nation is and be able to say i was able to rid the world of the thing that was killing it, the fire nation's dictator. i hope one day to have one of your hugs again without fearing for your life.
aranya, this goodbye is not forever, it is not an end; it means that i will miss you. we will meet again.
with love, your friend hana.
hana wiped the tears streaming down her face away. she was saying goodbye to the only other friend she had. she had trusted aranya heavily, even telling her things about zhao, the water tribe, and her own family.
hana quickly placed the scroll under her favorite blanket and walked out of her room. she quickly found zuko who had his scroll in-hand. they managed to get to mai's house without being noticed.
zuko placed his note on the bed for mai and apologized, guilt had been eating him up too. the two quickly left, wanting to not get caught. they quickly went back to the palace, they needed to gather their items if they wanted to survive this confrontation.
they went back to zuko's rather elegant room.
zuko talked to a picture of his mom as hana gathered her knives, "i know i made some bad choices. but today, i'm going to set things right."
hana grunted as she shoved her knives into place. she looked to see zuko staring at her. his face filled with worry and regret.
"i promise that we've got this, alright? we're going to set things straight, zuko," her voice was soft like a pillow. he could just sink into her and she'd absorb it all for him.
he picked his stuff up and looked at her, "thank you for waiting for me."
hana smiled, "i'd wait a million more years if i needed to."
the two teens quickly made their way to their escape route. they set all of their supplies there knowing they'll need it for what they're about to do.
hana sighed as she placed a sack of items in the hot-air balloon, "i'm so glad i'm getting out of here. i'm tired of being scared of every move i make. i breathe and i could get fucking killed."
zuko nodded. he got where she was coming from. he could see the fear that struck every time she left her room, even when she got him after the meeting she looked off. she joked to hide it but she was like glass, you could see through it but never said anything because if you did she'd break and cut you.
"i know where my father is, i can get us there," he said.
she put her hand on his shoulder, "we've gone over this a thousand times. you've got this. you're stronger than him, you're better than him." the sincerity could easily be heard through her strong voice. "you are not his anymore, he doesn't have control over you, you are free zuko. after this you are done being what he wants, you are you. you're not his bitch anymore."
a tiny smile had taken over, "thank you."
"we've got to go now, zuko," she said looking out to the invasion. it had been clear that the avatar had been behind it, they were using the black sun to their advantage. "your bending will be gone soon."
zuko nodded in agreement. it was clear if they wanted to confront the fire lord they had to do it fast.
they quickly left and went underground. hana followed him as he walked the halls in search of specific quarters. when he found the specific one he took a deep breath. he knew what could happen, he knew the consequences of what he was about to do.
"you got this," she murmured.
he took another and opened the doors. stood before him were elite trained guards and his father sitting and drinking tea.
ozai looked up from his tea, "prince zuko, what are you doing here?"
nothing was said, instead, his guards moved back and parted a way for zuko to look at ozai. hana stood back, this was his moment, this was him healing all the trauma inflicted upon him.
"why are you here?" ozai questioned.
zuko stepped forward, "i'm here to tell the truth."
"telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. this should be interesting," the fire lord waved his hand and his guards left through both sides of his chamber.
hana kept her mouth shut. she was surveying their situation. if they needed to, she could easily break them out.
"first of all, in ba sing se, it was azula who took down the avatar, not me," he explained.
ozai shifted, "why would she lie to me about that?"
"because the avatar is not dead. he survived."
it was clear the fire lord was not pleased, "what?"
"in fact, he's probably leading the invasion. he could be on us right now," zuko informed him.
"get out! get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you," he stood up and pointed to the door.
neither teen moved from their spots.
"that's another thing. i'm not taking orders from you anymore" he stood up to ozai.
ozai was seething with anger, "you will obey me or this defiant breath will be your last!" ozai began to walk towards zuko.
hana was about to move towards them but had to hold herself back. zuko was gonna be okay, she didn't have to worry.
zuko pulled out his signature swords, "think again! i am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen."
ozai stepped back, he realized zuko had the upper-hand, he didn't have his bending. he sat back down in his place.
"for so long, all i wanted was you to love me, to accept me. i thought it was my honor that i wanted but really, i was just trying to please you. you, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn," he pointed his at his father. "my father, who challenged me; a 13-year-old boy to an agni kai. how can you possibly justify a duel with a child?" his voice was strong, never hesitating. he would reign hell upon his father what he did.
"it was to teach you respect!" he responded.
"it was cruel and it was wrong!" zuko shot back.
ozai shook his head, "then you have learned nothing."
"no, i've learned everything! and i've had to learn it on my own!" he moved his swords to a more open position, "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. "
ozai laughed menacingly, "your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he? and her," he looked towards hana, "you let that pesky earth bender corrupt you."
zuko closed his eyes thinking about his reply, "yes, they have."
hana laughed, "a little bit of corruption can't hurt anyone."
a smile formed on the two teen's faces while a disapproving frown formed upon ozai's.
"after i leave here today, i'm going to free uncle iroh from his prison and i'm going to beg for his forgiveness. he is the one who has been a real father to me," zuko told details of their plans.
hana didn't particularly care, it hadn't mattered to her, with zuko, iroh, and herself they could easily get out of there.
a sarcastic chuckle came from the fire lord, "that's just beautiful. maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."
"but i've come to an even more important decision," he paused. "i'm going to join the avatar. and i'm going to help him defeat you."
a sly grin plastered his face, "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?"
"because i know my own destiny," zuko told him. "taking you down is the avatar's destiny." he put his sword back, "goodbye."
as zuko turned around so did hana. they were gonna leave and they weren't going to be back unless they were dead or the avatar defeated ozai.
"coward!" his father called him.
"pay no mind to him, zuko," hana whispered.
ozai stood, "you think you're brave enough to face me but you'll only do it during an 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?"
hana's faced dropped, they turned around to see a venomous smile on his face.
"what happened that night?" he was angry. ozai was using his mother to manipulate him and they all knew it, but he needed to know. it was his mother for the world's sake.
"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 had 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," he informed zuko.
hana took a breath, "you sick son of a bitch," she spat.
he ignored hana's words that dripped with fury, "your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. she knew the consequences and accepted them. for her treason, she was banished."
tears slipped out from his eyes, "so she's alive."
"perhaps," he shrugged. "now i realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. your penalty will be far steeper."
hana could feel it, the eclipse was over, he had his bending back.
ozai stepped forward and swung his arms out, creating energy like azula once had. he whipped it towards zuko.
hana shouted for him to move but he didn't, he absorbed the energy and pointed it back at ozai. the blast knocked ozai into the wall, they had to run and they had to do it now.
zuko ran towards her and grabbed her. he pulled her all the way out. they ran as fast as they could to the prison tower, they needed to get iroh.
they ran through the tower and passed a guard who was knocked out. they didn't bother to help him, he'd only get in their way.
they opened the door to his cell and the iron was completely destroyed. the warden was on the floor next to it nearly unconscious.
"uncle!" zuko shouted. zuko looked to the warden on the floor and grabbed him by his collar, "where is my uncle?"
he didn't immediately respond.
"where is iroh!" hana shouted, scaring the warden.
truth be told, hana didn't like to be mean or angry, she tried to bury it within herself not wanting to give in to it. it scared her, she thought she'd become someone she'd hate, but now, she's already been someone she loved, she hated, she didn't care for. it didn't matter.
the warden was in shock, "he's gone. he busted himself out. i... i've never seen anything like it! he was like a one-man army!"
zuko set him back down and they left, there no reason to stay, iroh was gone.
now it was back to their roots, figuring out where the avatar would head to next.
lexi speaks;
BESTIE VIBES ONLY BESTIE VIBES ONLY BESTIE VIBES ONLY
anywho, i got my braces off. my teeth feel really weird, like as if they arent real. idk.
i have to get a retainer😩