Tanya hated it when an unexpected variable showed up.
It was impossible to completely control every aspect of the battlefield. One could spend a decade writing contingency plans, yet still be caught off guard by something as simple as an outbreak of the common cold.
Her time at officer's school had taught her the importance of being able to adapt your plan when something unexpected occurred, and Tanya prided herself at being rather good at that, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
Iroh was one such variable, and one she had a particular distaste for. The fat old man had been given the best start in life imaginable in this world: born the prince and heir to the Fire Nation. He'd been dropped into the pinnacle of luxury without having to lift a finger.
But what had he done with his opportunities? First he'd slain the last of the dragons, dooming a unique and likely majestic species to extinction purely for bragging rights. Then he laid siege to Ba Sing Se, only to give up on the eve of victory when his son was killed in battle.
How did he think that had looked to his soldiers? Thousands of troops had given their lives during that seige, yet all their sacrifice was wasted at the last moment as soon as royal blood was spilled. And to top it all off, after returning home and having his time to grieve, Iroh had never taken another job.
He'd become a tea-drinking freeloader mooching off the royal palace's income, rather than using his position as the new Firelord's brother to assist with political duties.
In summary he was a prideful, lazy elitist, and as far as Tanya was concerned the Fire Nation was damn lucky Firelord Azulon had seen sense at the last minute and named Ozai heir to the throne.
It had been obvious to her that Iroh was a bad influence on Zuko from the get go. Doubtlessly he thought that if he could weasel his way into his nephew's heart, he'd be in a position to influence him if Ozai revoked Zuko's banishment and renamed him heir to the throne. That was why she'd insisted on ditching the old coot back in the Earth Kingdom.
Yet despite her efforts he'd somehow stowed away on her fleet, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who must have helped him.
"Zuko!" Tanya hissed, rounding on the scarred prince. "What is he doing here?! We had a deal! I was explicitly clear that Iroh was to remain behind."
"A deal you never had any intention of honouring." Iroh countered, taking a few steps forward so that he, Tanya and The Avatar formed a perfect triangle around Zuko.
Tanya scoffed. "Are you calling me a liar? I hope you have some evidence to back up that accusation. I'm the one in control of this situation, so what reason would I have to lie?"
"The same reason you murdered Admiral Zhao and framed The Avatar for it." Iroh replied calmly. "Because you are afraid."
…What?
What what what? Afraid? Her? Of a bald child who could conjure a light breeze? Absurd! Utterly absurd! She was a veteran of a world war! She'd charged fearlessly into volleys of cannonfire! Duelled maniacs in the skies above blazing cities! She hadn't been afraid of anyone since…
Since the girl who levelled fortresses with a single shot. Since the girl who rose unharmed from the rubble again and again like a damn zombie. Since the girl who Being X forged into a living weapon for the sole purpose of hunting her down.
"Wait, you're the one murdered Zhao?!" The Avatar interjected, horror and confusion warring across his face. "But why? He was on your side!"
Tanya ignored him. Iroh was playing mind games, but the truth was he had no power here. There was only one person she needed to convince.
"Zuko, don't tell me you're buying any of this rubbish." She began, fixing her eyes back on the banished prince. He looked unsure, but his hold on the spirits hadn't wavered. As long as she kept Zuko on her side she had the hostages, and that meant that she won.
"I told you I would help you capture The Avatar, and here he is bound in chains in front of us. How have I not honoured my word to the letter?" Her logic was faultless. How could Zuko possibly doubt her when the evidence was right in front of him?
"That's true…" Zuko, damn his indecisiveness, seemed mostly convinced, but still looked to Iroh to refute her. Damn it! The old bastard had done a good job of training his nephew to turn to him for advice.
"Because this is more than just a trap." Iroh replied gravely. The lines of his face hardened into a scowl. "Tanya doesn't not mean to just capture The Avatar. She plans to execute him."
...
Execute!
Zuko couldn't believe it. There must have been a mistake! Sure, Tanya could be very intense at times, but even she'd draw the line at killing a captured ten year old boy in cold blood, Avatar or not.
But then again, she stabbed Zhao in the back.
No, no he couldn't think like that! The orders from his father were to capture The Avatar, so that he might be securely incarcerated until the war was over and the Fire Nation's dominion over the world was assured. Killing him would see him reincarnated somewhere in the Water Tribes to grow into a threat all over again.
Tanya had always been one to follow orders and take the logical course of action. Executing The Avatar was exactly the kind of short sightedness she hated.
"E- Execute!" The Avatar stammered, drawing Zuko's eyes to the young nomad. He looked genuinely terrified; his round, youthful face petrified in a fear no ten year old should have to experience.
To his own surprise, Zuko felt pity for him. He was just a child, forced to fill a role he'd never chosen. How could there ever be any honour in killing him?
"I imagine that it was the fire sages who told you the secret?" Uncle continued, his eyes fixed on Tanya.
"Though they have strayed from their path now, once they were entrusted with finding, protecting and training the Avatars born within the Fire Nation. Such organisations have existed in every nation across history, because when an Avatar is young they struggle to control their Avatar State.
And if The Avatar is killed when in that state…" He shook his head sadly. "It is believed that they will never be reincarnated again. The Avatar Cycle will cease to be."
What?! They Avatar could be permanently killed?! And Tanya planned to do just that? Zuko looked back to Tanya, waiting for her to point out the holes in Uncle's theory with her usual factual tone. It worried him when she didn't move a muscle. "Tanya?" He whispered.
Suddenly, Tanya began to laugh.
No, laughter wasn't the right word for it. Laughter was a happy, cheerful sound that raised the spirits of those who heard it. This did the opposite. Every note of Tanya's cackle stummed jarringly against his nerves like an out-of-tune harp. It was almost painful, and had a maniacal edge to it that cast a pall of dread across the area.
And with the laugh came the smile. That horrible, predatory smile that never failed to make him feel like a rabbit trapped before a wolf.
"Fine. I suppose there's not much point in pretending anymore." Tanya didn't sound frustrated at having been caught. Quite the opposite in fact. Maybe it was just the laughter lacing her tone, but she sounded almost pleased about it. "He's right. I killed Zhao. And after tonight, I will be the one who killed The Avatar forever."
"Tanya…" Zuko couldn't find the words. She really meant it? Despite all her oddities, he'd never genuinely thought Tanya capable of such remorseless violence.
"You don't get it Zuko!" Tanya snapped, her expression shifting into a rictus of fury at the drop of a hat. "You know what your problem is? You lack resolve! That's the real reason why you fail time and time again to capture The Avatar! All you care about is your own damn sense of honour!
But we are at war Zuko, and sometimes the needs of our nation require us to sully our hands with lesser evils to serve the good of a cause greater than ourselves! As long as an Avatar exists, there will always be a symbol for those who resist the Fire Nation to rally behind!" She drew herself to her full height.
"To be a Firelord means to prioritise the good of the nation above all else, even your own personal sense of right and wrong. Maintaining order requires necessary evils.
You must be prepared to make difficult decisions for the greater good: whether they be getting rid of incompetent commanders, assassinating a politically dangerous child, or ever sacrificing a company of new recruits to ensure a wider victory."
Zuko felt his own inner flame of anger spark to life. "No. You're wrong!" He declared firmly, the fire bringing him strength and resolve, and with it a clarity of mind he relished.
"This isn't the right way to face our nation's problems! It may seem like the easy solution in the short term, but if we build a new world using dishonour, then what we create will be stained with it forever! All we'll have will be a world full of traitors and murderers!"
Tanya looked at him with strangely pleading eyes. "You're an idealist Zuko, I can respect that, but you're too young to understand when to put your honour aside to do what must be done." She gestured wildly to The Avatar. "Take it from someone who's experienced fighting chosen ones before.
If you lock him up in the Boiling Rock and throw away the key, some hairbrained idiot with a daring plan and a miraculous lucky streak will somehow set him free!
Trap him in a cage where he couldn't possibly access the elements, and he'll discover some hidden new way to bend something you could never have predicted! Assume he was killed by a fall nobody else could have survived, and you can bet your ass that somehow he'll manage to.
Give him the slightest opportunity, and the universe itself will bend over backwards to see him succeed against impossible odds. Because whatever spirits chose him to be their agent will pull in the very threads of destiny itself to protect their investment!"
She looked back to The Avatar, a mad gleam in her eyes. "The only way they'll ever stay down for good is if you do it yourself, in person, leaving absolutely zero chance that they could ever survive. Mark my words Zuko, this may well be the only chance the Fire Nation will ever get to be rid of The Avatar for good.
Don't let Iroh convince you otherwise. I'll still let you take the credit: you'll return home as the hero who not only defeated The Avatar, but ensured that he'd never threaten the Fire Nation ever again!"
"No victory is worth sacrificing your morality for." Uncle interjected.
"Just hold your nerve for a minute longer, and everything that is rightfully yours will be restored!" Tanya countered.
"Your sense of honour is one of your greatest strengths, Prince Zuko." Uncle replied. "Trust in your heart."
The choices loomed before him like two great doorways: one tempting him with sweet whispers of regaining everything he had lost, the other promising that he could keep the last thing he had left: his heart. Oh, but how appealing the sweet whisper's were! After all his struggle and backbreaking work, hadn't he earned his reward? He was just one step away!
"I've spent years pursuing The Avatar. Years of searching, of fighting to survive..." He began slowly.
Tanya's eyes widened in victory, while The Avatar's fell in defeat. Only Uncle continued watching impassively, listening without judgement for him to finish making his choice. Zuko looked up at the weeping, wounded moon, and raised the bags containing the captive spirits.
"…I can keep trying a little longer.
Panic flashed across Tanya's face as she realised what was happening, and she leapt forwards, but it was already too late. Zuko threw the bags. They sailed in an ungraceful arc, landing with a splash in the nearest waterway.
Tanya made to pursue it, but another wall of fire sprung up to block her path as Uncle intervened. As the water fully enveloped the bags the drawstrings loosened, allowing the captive spirits within them to struggle free.
The black and white koi circled one another in happy reunion, before turning in unison and swimming down deep into the depth of the ocean.
High up above in the sky, the moon began to twinkle with faint silvery lights. They spread quickly across the reddened surface, healing the bloody hue, until a few seconds later the moon was back to its previous silvery glow.
And all at once, every waterbender felt their powers come flooding back into them.
...
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