MfWAT: We Are Strangers to Each Other
Memories from Western Air Temple
Chapter Title: We Are Strangers to Each Other
Characters: Zuko, Ozai
Arc: Comet Arc
Setting: after Red And Blue, before You Are Dead to Me
Rating: T
Warnings: things get violent here again
Summary: Their history is one of violence, and so shall their future be.
He was coming. Zuko recognized the burst of flames Ozai used to propel himself away from the falling airship. It was the same technique Zuko had seen Azula use. He knew how it worked, so he knew that the angle of the movement was never random, it was always intended. Zuko knew Ozai had spotted him from simply the fact that the man was headed straight at him.
Taking a deep breath, Zuko steadied his stance. He had told Katara that he could keep Ozai talking; this hadn’t been exactly accurate. Zuko knew he would try to postpone any actual fighting but he also knew that Ozai was more likely to simply attack him with minimum words exchanged, especially if the Fire Lord were to realize that Zuko was stalling.
The beach Katara had left for was mostly out of sight in the forest of tall stone pillars. There were many landing points to choose from and Ozai finally dropped on top of a narrow pillar several meters away. Firebending was best done at a distance. Apparently Ozai was about to face him like a master bender. Perhaps the man realized that he must have beaten Azula to still be standing.
“I must confess I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Ozai drawled smugly. “For the first time in your life you’ve exceeded my expectations.”
Zuko couldn’t hold back a scoff. “I don’t care about your expectations anymore, Ozai.” Zuko glared at the man. “I know you don’t care but I’ll tell you this anyway; Azula is still alive. I didn’t kill her.”
“Hmm, pity.” Ozai’s tone didn’t change in the slightest. “If you had I’d have thought there was hope for you yet.” The man stayed silent for a moment before continuing: “And where is the Avatar? I thought for sure we had a battle to decide the fate of the world scheduled.” Ozai’s lips curled into a sneer. “Or did he run away again? He’s apparently good at that.”
“I think you’ll grow to regret your hurry to face him, Ozai,” Zuko snarled. “But if you choose to cause trouble before that point, I will put you down.”
Danger lurked in Ozai’s golden eyes as he looked Zuko over, most likely trying to determine how big of a threat the boy was. “You’re really willing to fight me? Even when your precious Avatar seems to have abandoned you?”
For his entire life Zuko had been forced to listen to taunts from various sources and it wasn’t long ago that they’d still had an effect on him. But now he was at peace and he spoke calmly: “I’d fight you if it meant my precious Avatar didn’t have to.”
Finally Ozai’s smirk faltered as genuine anger snuck into the man’s expression. “I’ll strike you and your insolence down.”
Ozai was itching for a fight; Zuko had noticed this soon after the man’s arrival. He took one unnoticeable steadying breath and spoke: “Try it.”
The attack came even before Zuko was completely done speaking, and Zuko barely avoided the barrage of fire that was launched at him by dropping down the side of the stone pillar. Zuko clung to the rough wall with his left hand and bended his knees against the pillar. He used the support to launch himself to the nearest other pillar when Ozai used his firebending to reach the pillar Zuko had been standing on top of previously. The Fire Lord would keep following to get a better angle at the teen.
Firebending duels, when fought between masters of the art, were fought at a distance. Powerful bending could injure the benders themselves if they weren’t careful. Room to work while keeping your opponent in your sights: that was the basis of fighting fire with fire. That was also the strategy Ozai seemed to be using.
Zuko had scaled more challenging obstacles than these pillars and kicked off from his current perch to a lower pillar, the previous rock he’d been standing on now serving to hide him from Ozai’s view.
The Fire Lord was coming after him, and Zuko sprinted off as soon as he heard the roar of the bending Ozai used to cover the distance between the pillars. A jump, a leap and a roll later Zuko had tucked himself into a crack between two pillars, completely hidden from view. He knew exactly where Ozai was moving despite the fact that he had limited visibility from his hiding place, the sound and light of the bended fire were dead giveaways.
The glow of flames was drawing closer and the slight roar of fire was also growing in volume. Zuko knew that his own movements were practically soundless to Ozai while the man kept using firebending to move around the pillars. The teen waited until Ozai was only a couple of metres away before abandoning his hiding place and leaping at his opponent.
He angled his attack at Ozai’s back, using the combined force of his jump and body weight to slam the man against the surface of the pillar Ozai had been hovering next to. The older bender released a pained sound as the flames he was using to keep himself afloat faded away. It was a clear sign that the man had not been expecting a physical attack like this. In an actual Agni Kai it would have been an illegal move but here, in a life and death situation that had nothing to do with protocol and everything to do with winning, whatever it took, Zuko would use every trick and technique he knew.
There was an increase in heat when Ozai worked his bending to keep himself afloat. Zuko wrapped his right arm around the man’s neck while he used his left hand to push Ozai’s face into the stone, trying to keep him off balance and unable to retaliate.
Ozai had never put much value on martial arts himself, but he had insisted on his children learning it simply for the sake of discipline. Despite the advantage he knew he had in skill, Zuko was aware that he could only hope he’d managed to injure the man with his attack. He couldn’t stick close to a firebender who could change the touch of his hand to that of an iron freshly out of a furnace with the flick of a wrist.
Zuko knew he had to recover the distance between the two of them as quickly as possible. He pushed his foot into the small of Ozai’s back while bending his knees for a new pounce, which turned out the right choice when Ozai grunted in pain at being used as a spring board while Zuko leaped over to another pillar and swung himself behind it before starting to slide to ground level. A moment later he heard Ozai follow.
It would be hard to win like this; Zuko knew that but he still couldn’t bring himself to use lethal force against his own father. So far he didn’t think he’d managed to cause Ozai more than some uncomfortable bruises and to anger the man. The latter assumption became clear when a roar of anger preceded another burst of fire shot in his direction, which Zuko avoided by ducking into the thicket of stone pillars. Zuko couldn’t risk attempting to disperse the attack; the presence of the Comet increased the power of generating fire, doing the opposite to any attempts to control or subside it.
Aang still wasn’t there, but Zuko was doing his best not to think about that. He didn’t want to think about how, if he didn’t know Aang any better, he should be worried if Aang was even planning on coming. No, Zuko knew Aang better than that, but that contained its own pitfall.
What was keeping Aang? Aang blamed himself for every battle that took place in his absence so much that the Avatar felt like he had to take responsibility for everything himself. So what could possibly keep Aang for being here right now? No, Zuko really didn’t want to think about those things, because the worry could make him freeze up.
Zuko rushed out to the open to throw a wave of fire at his opponent, only for Ozai to avoid the attack by propelling himself into the air. A blast of fire was shot in Zuko’s direction, one the youth overpowered with an attack of his own. His fists flew, sending one fireball after another at Ozai, who was circling him with the aided speed of his firebending.
Suddenly Ozai changed course and headed straight for Zuko. Zuko retaliated by summoning an intense heat to his fisted hands, one that took a shape similar to a pair of daggers. Zuko swung out with a fist, trying to discourage the Fire Lord from coming closer.
Ozai allowed the attack to land, the concentrated flame leaving behind a red burn mark that instantly started to blister, all for the sake of getting a hold of Zuko’s left wrist.
The pain that flared on Zuko’s skin was intense, but not excruciating. It was only after Zuko had sunk down to his knees that the youth realized that the pain was meant to distract him so that Ozai could force him into the ground. Zuko summoned a flame to his free hand and lashed out at the man before him, but Ozai knocked the weak offence aside.
There was a kick to Zuko’s chest and the teen was sprawled on the ground when Ozai’s grip on his left wrist was released. Then the man kept a firm foot on the centre of Zuko’s chest while he reached out to grasp Zuko’s right arm.
“You really like to move around a lot,” Ozai commented and Zuko forced his eyes open against the pain that was still pulsing in his wrist and chest. Ozai’s lips twisted into a smirk that was closer to a snarl than a smile. “I’ll have to find a way to keep you still.” Then Ozai removed his foot from Zuko’s chest, only to slam it down on the arm he was holding in his grip.
He couldn’t help it, Zuko screamed. He was certain he heard bones crack from the brutal attack and barely acknowledged it when Ozai released his arm to let it fall uselessly to the ground. Everything was starting to fade to black and Zuko wondered if he was going to faint and for the briefest of moments welcomed it as a peace from the agony.
Of course it didn’t last. The thick fog that had taken over Zuko’s mind was vaporised in a single instant when the world exploded into vibrant colors of blood red and pure white pain and all the variations in between. And the centre of that pain was Zuko’s left ankle, one Zuko didn’t dare to look at even as his vision was startlingly clear and bright.
A sound that might have been a sob erupted from Zuko’s scream-hoarse throat, but Zuko could do little more than lie on the ground in a broken heap, completely at Ozai’s mercy.
More Memories from Western Air Temple
Chapter Title: We Are Strangers to Each Other
Characters: Zuko, Ozai
Arc: Comet Arc
Setting: after Red And Blue, before You Are Dead to Me
Rating: T
Warnings: things get violent here again
Summary: Their history is one of violence, and so shall their future be.
He was coming. Zuko recognized the burst of flames Ozai used to propel himself away from the falling airship. It was the same technique Zuko had seen Azula use. He knew how it worked, so he knew that the angle of the movement was never random, it was always intended. Zuko knew Ozai had spotted him from simply the fact that the man was headed straight at him.
Taking a deep breath, Zuko steadied his stance. He had told Katara that he could keep Ozai talking; this hadn’t been exactly accurate. Zuko knew he would try to postpone any actual fighting but he also knew that Ozai was more likely to simply attack him with minimum words exchanged, especially if the Fire Lord were to realize that Zuko was stalling.
The beach Katara had left for was mostly out of sight in the forest of tall stone pillars. There were many landing points to choose from and Ozai finally dropped on top of a narrow pillar several meters away. Firebending was best done at a distance. Apparently Ozai was about to face him like a master bender. Perhaps the man realized that he must have beaten Azula to still be standing.
“I must confess I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Ozai drawled smugly. “For the first time in your life you’ve exceeded my expectations.”
Zuko couldn’t hold back a scoff. “I don’t care about your expectations anymore, Ozai.” Zuko glared at the man. “I know you don’t care but I’ll tell you this anyway; Azula is still alive. I didn’t kill her.”
“Hmm, pity.” Ozai’s tone didn’t change in the slightest. “If you had I’d have thought there was hope for you yet.” The man stayed silent for a moment before continuing: “And where is the Avatar? I thought for sure we had a battle to decide the fate of the world scheduled.” Ozai’s lips curled into a sneer. “Or did he run away again? He’s apparently good at that.”
“I think you’ll grow to regret your hurry to face him, Ozai,” Zuko snarled. “But if you choose to cause trouble before that point, I will put you down.”
Danger lurked in Ozai’s golden eyes as he looked Zuko over, most likely trying to determine how big of a threat the boy was. “You’re really willing to fight me? Even when your precious Avatar seems to have abandoned you?”
For his entire life Zuko had been forced to listen to taunts from various sources and it wasn’t long ago that they’d still had an effect on him. But now he was at peace and he spoke calmly: “I’d fight you if it meant my precious Avatar didn’t have to.”
Finally Ozai’s smirk faltered as genuine anger snuck into the man’s expression. “I’ll strike you and your insolence down.”
Ozai was itching for a fight; Zuko had noticed this soon after the man’s arrival. He took one unnoticeable steadying breath and spoke: “Try it.”
The attack came even before Zuko was completely done speaking, and Zuko barely avoided the barrage of fire that was launched at him by dropping down the side of the stone pillar. Zuko clung to the rough wall with his left hand and bended his knees against the pillar. He used the support to launch himself to the nearest other pillar when Ozai used his firebending to reach the pillar Zuko had been standing on top of previously. The Fire Lord would keep following to get a better angle at the teen.
Firebending duels, when fought between masters of the art, were fought at a distance. Powerful bending could injure the benders themselves if they weren’t careful. Room to work while keeping your opponent in your sights: that was the basis of fighting fire with fire. That was also the strategy Ozai seemed to be using.
Zuko had scaled more challenging obstacles than these pillars and kicked off from his current perch to a lower pillar, the previous rock he’d been standing on now serving to hide him from Ozai’s view.
The Fire Lord was coming after him, and Zuko sprinted off as soon as he heard the roar of the bending Ozai used to cover the distance between the pillars. A jump, a leap and a roll later Zuko had tucked himself into a crack between two pillars, completely hidden from view. He knew exactly where Ozai was moving despite the fact that he had limited visibility from his hiding place, the sound and light of the bended fire were dead giveaways.
The glow of flames was drawing closer and the slight roar of fire was also growing in volume. Zuko knew that his own movements were practically soundless to Ozai while the man kept using firebending to move around the pillars. The teen waited until Ozai was only a couple of metres away before abandoning his hiding place and leaping at his opponent.
He angled his attack at Ozai’s back, using the combined force of his jump and body weight to slam the man against the surface of the pillar Ozai had been hovering next to. The older bender released a pained sound as the flames he was using to keep himself afloat faded away. It was a clear sign that the man had not been expecting a physical attack like this. In an actual Agni Kai it would have been an illegal move but here, in a life and death situation that had nothing to do with protocol and everything to do with winning, whatever it took, Zuko would use every trick and technique he knew.
There was an increase in heat when Ozai worked his bending to keep himself afloat. Zuko wrapped his right arm around the man’s neck while he used his left hand to push Ozai’s face into the stone, trying to keep him off balance and unable to retaliate.
Ozai had never put much value on martial arts himself, but he had insisted on his children learning it simply for the sake of discipline. Despite the advantage he knew he had in skill, Zuko was aware that he could only hope he’d managed to injure the man with his attack. He couldn’t stick close to a firebender who could change the touch of his hand to that of an iron freshly out of a furnace with the flick of a wrist.
Zuko knew he had to recover the distance between the two of them as quickly as possible. He pushed his foot into the small of Ozai’s back while bending his knees for a new pounce, which turned out the right choice when Ozai grunted in pain at being used as a spring board while Zuko leaped over to another pillar and swung himself behind it before starting to slide to ground level. A moment later he heard Ozai follow.
It would be hard to win like this; Zuko knew that but he still couldn’t bring himself to use lethal force against his own father. So far he didn’t think he’d managed to cause Ozai more than some uncomfortable bruises and to anger the man. The latter assumption became clear when a roar of anger preceded another burst of fire shot in his direction, which Zuko avoided by ducking into the thicket of stone pillars. Zuko couldn’t risk attempting to disperse the attack; the presence of the Comet increased the power of generating fire, doing the opposite to any attempts to control or subside it.
Aang still wasn’t there, but Zuko was doing his best not to think about that. He didn’t want to think about how, if he didn’t know Aang any better, he should be worried if Aang was even planning on coming. No, Zuko knew Aang better than that, but that contained its own pitfall.
What was keeping Aang? Aang blamed himself for every battle that took place in his absence so much that the Avatar felt like he had to take responsibility for everything himself. So what could possibly keep Aang for being here right now? No, Zuko really didn’t want to think about those things, because the worry could make him freeze up.
Zuko rushed out to the open to throw a wave of fire at his opponent, only for Ozai to avoid the attack by propelling himself into the air. A blast of fire was shot in Zuko’s direction, one the youth overpowered with an attack of his own. His fists flew, sending one fireball after another at Ozai, who was circling him with the aided speed of his firebending.
Suddenly Ozai changed course and headed straight for Zuko. Zuko retaliated by summoning an intense heat to his fisted hands, one that took a shape similar to a pair of daggers. Zuko swung out with a fist, trying to discourage the Fire Lord from coming closer.
Ozai allowed the attack to land, the concentrated flame leaving behind a red burn mark that instantly started to blister, all for the sake of getting a hold of Zuko’s left wrist.
The pain that flared on Zuko’s skin was intense, but not excruciating. It was only after Zuko had sunk down to his knees that the youth realized that the pain was meant to distract him so that Ozai could force him into the ground. Zuko summoned a flame to his free hand and lashed out at the man before him, but Ozai knocked the weak offence aside.
There was a kick to Zuko’s chest and the teen was sprawled on the ground when Ozai’s grip on his left wrist was released. Then the man kept a firm foot on the centre of Zuko’s chest while he reached out to grasp Zuko’s right arm.
“You really like to move around a lot,” Ozai commented and Zuko forced his eyes open against the pain that was still pulsing in his wrist and chest. Ozai’s lips twisted into a smirk that was closer to a snarl than a smile. “I’ll have to find a way to keep you still.” Then Ozai removed his foot from Zuko’s chest, only to slam it down on the arm he was holding in his grip.
He couldn’t help it, Zuko screamed. He was certain he heard bones crack from the brutal attack and barely acknowledged it when Ozai released his arm to let it fall uselessly to the ground. Everything was starting to fade to black and Zuko wondered if he was going to faint and for the briefest of moments welcomed it as a peace from the agony.
Of course it didn’t last. The thick fog that had taken over Zuko’s mind was vaporised in a single instant when the world exploded into vibrant colors of blood red and pure white pain and all the variations in between. And the centre of that pain was Zuko’s left ankle, one Zuko didn’t dare to look at even as his vision was startlingly clear and bright.
A sound that might have been a sob erupted from Zuko’s scream-hoarse throat, but Zuko could do little more than lie on the ground in a broken heap, completely at Ozai’s mercy.
More Memories from Western Air Temple