Fire Lord
Zuko and Mai stood side by side facing the roaring crowd. They were chanting something, but Zuko did not care to listen. He was lost in his thoughts of Firelord Ozai. He had left the Fire Nation, for reasons no one knew. He had left Zuko and Azula in charge. Zuko gazed at his sister, who was basking in the attention, the sun reflecting off of her red and gold armor, her hair falling perfectly to her shoulders. She smiled at her brother and leaned over.
"What's wrong, Zuzu? You seem distracted." Azula smirked as Zuko reddened.
"Nothing." Zuko lied, turning his amber eyes away. He was worried that his father would find out about his failure--the burning feeling of guilt was overwhelming. What would Ozai do to him once he found out about the Avatar? Zuko ran a hand over his face and allowed Mai to pull him off the pedestal. The cheers faded away as Mai and Zuko boarded the palankey.
"Firelord Zuko...sounds good." Mai muttered as they were whisked away. She leaned against her boyfriend as he put an arm around her. Zuko opened his mouth in reply but was cut short as the palankey suddenly stopped and was unceremoniously dropped to the ground.
"What's going on?" Zuko demanded as he threw the curtain open. His subordinates lay on the ground, all of them knocked out cold. Cautiously, he stepped out, and motioned for Mai to stay inside. His eyes flicked nervously around, looking for who--or what--attacked his men.
"Ah, the prince has arrived." A cold voice emanated from the forest. Zuko narrowed his eyes and felt Mai push one of her many knives into his hand. The prince took a step foreward, and stopped. In front of him stood three tall men, all of them in the fire red robes of the Fire Nation officials.
"What do you want?" Zuko asked, readying the knife. Why were these men here? They were loyal to Ozai--loyal to him, the prince. What was going on? One by one, the men drew short swords from their sheaths. Zuko gathered up his energy and made a fist with his left hand.
"We are Ozai's servants." One of them said with a smirk. Zuko's eyes widened. Ozai wanted him dead? A new rage boiled inside of him and he released a jet of fire at the three of them. They nimbly stepped aside and in unison, the assasins lept at Zuko
END OF PART ONE
Lightning Bender
The three assassins leapt at Zuko, taking off their robes to reveal their black attire. Their movements were fast and hard to follow, but Zuko was parrying the strikes with the knife Mai had given him. The robes the prince had been forced to wear were getting in his way and his hair had come loose from the tight bun he had had. One of the assassins knocked the knife out of his hand, and he resorted to Fire bending. He clenched both of his fists and let the fire stream out of them.
“Leave us alone!” Mai burst out of the palanquin and let loose a volley of arrows from her outstretched arm. The arrows found their target and one of the assassins fell. Zuko ran forward and grabbed the man’s sword, feeling more confident. No one could beat him in the art of swords. He turned to the leader and glared at him, Zuko’s amber eyes staring deep into the deep brown of the assassin. But the assassin's eyes flickered over to the red scar that ruined the prince's visage. The man leered at the dark haired young man.
“Why are you trying to kill me?” Zuko asked, his face set in his usual scowl.
The assassin laughed, which was no more than an ugly barking sound. “I swore not to tell, your Highness." His voice was mocking as he said the last words.
“TELL ME!” Zuko roared. He swung the sword at the man and let flames erupt from its edge. The man dodged and an ugly sneer came on his face, reminiscent of Azula’s.
“I will tell you one thing. My name is Shefu.” Shefu hissed scathingly. He dropped his sword, spread his feet, and raised a hand pointing his index and middle finger at Zuko. “You should best remember it, my prince.” His body suddenly was surrounded by a blue aura. Zuko’s eyes widened as a jet of blue lightning came rushing at him.
The scarred prince felt the pain immediately. It coursed through him like a strong current, straying quickly to his heart where it will surely kill him. But his uncle’s voice came to him clearly.
“Do not let it go to your heart...” Iroh’s voice echoed in his ears. Zuko directed the flow of chakra to his stomach, where it burned agonizingly. Taking a breath, he then felt it shoot out his other arm. Behind him, the palanquin burst into flames. Zuko’s breath came in short gasps as he sank to the ground. Before his world went black, he saw Mai fall to the ground, blood spurting from her wounded shoulder.
Zuko woke up and found he couldn’t move. His limbs were bound and his mouth was covered by a dirty, foul tasting cloth. In the semidarkness he could make out the unmoving silhouette of Mai, her shoulder still bleeding profusely. Zuko groaned and tried to make out where they were. It looked like another palanquin but with black curtains. Etched into the floor was a symbol the prince had never seen before. It was a picture of a dragon swallowing its own tail. The young man moaned again, as painful sparks of chakra flickered down his arms. His robes were badly singed and hung off of his body, which was unbelievably sore.
Who was Shefu anyway? What was the strange symbol? And how could Shefu bend lightning? In his mind he saw Shefu, his scarred face and heavy set body in the lightning bending position. Then he saw the lightning streaking at him. An unbelievable thought entered his mind. Now, after being hit with it, will he be finally able to bend lightning?
END OF PART 2
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