Okay, I said I wasn’t going to have anything from Ice Flows Through, but this is AU for that AU. If Azula had called Zuko’s bluff while he was bloodbending, and captured him, his uncle, Lu Ten, Rinzee, and Ruili... Well. Mai would have a decision to make, wouldn’t she.
I’m actually kind of surprised that you didn’t ask me anything from this verse (http://attackfish.livejournal.com/53604.html?thread=295012#t295012). Oh, and you have three requests left. But no more promises of fics. Oh my God, I’ve written one for every single request so far, damn you.
His chest heaving with strain and cornered fear, Zuko could see in her face what she eagerly awaited for him back home, himself locked up, chained up, disfigured and blinded, unable to move against his bonds, trapped alone with his scornful fellow prisoners, shut away for all time. One of his hands sprang up between them, tensed, ready to throw her back away from him, to bend the blood inside her, ready to fail. He knew he would fail.
There was fear in the back of Azula’s eyes, cold and astonished fear. She started to run. The fire around her fists blazed higher as she ran for him. He shoved his arm forward, fingers tense, to grab her blood and bend it away, sick with his own fear, and closed his eyes.
Azula jerked back under her hands for just a second. She roared out her fury, and Zuko opened his eyes, so hopeful, so thankful that it was working, that he really could get them all out of it, for just a second before Azula wrenched her arms down. The blood spilled through his grasp.
Azula still had fire around her hands when she grabbed him. He screamed and screamed, and his fingers twitched and shook beneath the burn. She yanked him to his feet, but he stumbled, and her soldiers caught him. Her soldiers who he had only just bent to the ground. All around him, the soldiers were rounding up the rest of them, pinning them down. Ruili wailed, red faced, in the arms of a soldier, and her parents didn’t fight as the soldiers grabbed them too, leaving only Uncle free. He stood in the middle of the circle of soldiers, hands full of fire, eyes darting between the the soldiers and his family.
Azula bared her teeth. She grabbed her brother’s strange, white hair and held up two fingers. Blue fire swept over them as she held them in front of the unburned side of Zuko’s face. He shivered and shook as mucus and tears ran down his face, and he didn’t even seem to notice the flames. “Do you want me to blind him right now?” she asked. “Or maybe burn his head off?”
Iroh dropped his arms. Azula sneered.
~*~
Shadows writhed across the cell walls. Zuko’s eyes couldn’t pin them down and she couldn’t stop shivering. Azula pushed her foot under her brother’s chin and lifted it up. “Where did you dig him up?” she asked calmly.
“Nnnnggh,” Zuko groaned. His head lolled on her foot. She had him chained down to his knees. He couldn’t move, but it felt like he was turning over and over and over.
“Where has Uncle been hiding him for the last six years?”
Zuko shook his head convulsively. The words didn’t make sense. It was as if they weren’t connected to each other. They fell on his ears and rattled around his head, and he couldn’t sort them out again.
Face twisting in disgust, his sister lifted her foot up higher, until his back stretched taut against the chains. When she pulled it back, his head snapped down, back to his chest, and he curled up as much as he could.
“He’s going to lose that hand,” Mai remarked from the doorway.
Azula glanced back at her brother’s wrist, burned black, all the way around. “Doesn’t matter.”
~*~
The door opened. Zuko didn’t look up. Mai couldn’t tell if he didn’t notice, or if he was ignoring her. He didn’t move except to shiver. He was sobbing, but there weren’t any tears left inside him to spill. The bowl was cold in her hands, and when she set it down next to him, he still didn’t move. “I heard some waterbenders can heal,” she said without inflection.
He didn’t react. She pulled out the key and unlocked the restraints holding his arms to the wall, but he just fell over, onto his side, moaning softly.
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branchandroot
Mai, taking Azula’s plan down from the inside (AU of Ice Flows Through)
Date: 2010-10-15 04:51 am (UTC)I’m actually kind of surprised that you didn’t ask me anything from this verse (http://attackfish.livejournal.com/53604.html?thread=295012#t295012). Oh, and you have three requests left. But no more promises of fics. Oh my God, I’ve written one for every single request so far, damn you.
His chest heaving with strain and cornered fear, Zuko could see in her face what she eagerly awaited for him back home, himself locked up, chained up, disfigured and blinded, unable to move against his bonds, trapped alone with his scornful fellow prisoners, shut away for all time. One of his hands sprang up between them, tensed, ready to throw her back away from him, to bend the blood inside her, ready to fail. He knew he would fail.
There was fear in the back of Azula’s eyes, cold and astonished fear. She started to run. The fire around her fists blazed higher as she ran for him. He shoved his arm forward, fingers tense, to grab her blood and bend it away, sick with his own fear, and closed his eyes.
Azula jerked back under her hands for just a second. She roared out her fury, and Zuko opened his eyes, so hopeful, so thankful that it was working, that he really could get them all out of it, for just a second before Azula wrenched her arms down. The blood spilled through his grasp.
Azula still had fire around her hands when she grabbed him. He screamed and screamed, and his fingers twitched and shook beneath the burn. She yanked him to his feet, but he stumbled, and her soldiers caught him. Her soldiers who he had only just bent to the ground. All around him, the soldiers were rounding up the rest of them, pinning them down. Ruili wailed, red faced, in the arms of a soldier, and her parents didn’t fight as the soldiers grabbed them too, leaving only Uncle free. He stood in the middle of the circle of soldiers, hands full of fire, eyes darting between the the soldiers and his family.
Azula bared her teeth. She grabbed her brother’s strange, white hair and held up two fingers. Blue fire swept over them as she held them in front of the unburned side of Zuko’s face. He shivered and shook as mucus and tears ran down his face, and he didn’t even seem to notice the flames. “Do you want me to blind him right now?” she asked. “Or maybe burn his head off?”
Iroh dropped his arms. Azula sneered.
~*~
Shadows writhed across the cell walls. Zuko’s eyes couldn’t pin them down and she couldn’t stop shivering. Azula pushed her foot under her brother’s chin and lifted it up. “Where did you dig him up?” she asked calmly.
“Nnnnggh,” Zuko groaned. His head lolled on her foot. She had him chained down to his knees. He couldn’t move, but it felt like he was turning over and over and over.
“Where has Uncle been hiding him for the last six years?”
Zuko shook his head convulsively. The words didn’t make sense. It was as if they weren’t connected to each other. They fell on his ears and rattled around his head, and he couldn’t sort them out again.
Face twisting in disgust, his sister lifted her foot up higher, until his back stretched taut against the chains. When she pulled it back, his head snapped down, back to his chest, and he curled up as much as he could.
“He’s going to lose that hand,” Mai remarked from the doorway.
Azula glanced back at her brother’s wrist, burned black, all the way around. “Doesn’t matter.”
~*~
The door opened. Zuko didn’t look up. Mai couldn’t tell if he didn’t notice, or if he was ignoring her. He didn’t move except to shiver. He was sobbing, but there weren’t any tears left inside him to spill. The bowl was cold in her hands, and when she set it down next to him, he still didn’t move. “I heard some waterbenders can heal,” she said without inflection.
He didn’t react. She pulled out the key and unlocked the restraints holding his arms to the wall, but he just fell over, onto his side, moaning softly.