Agni's disease

Chapter 5: Agni's chosen!

Fire nation royal palace/Throne room

Ozai was sitting on his heightened seat, the wall of fire that normally separated him from his advisers and generals, gone. Sitting next to him was his older brother Iroh who had come to speak with him about his son.

"I beg you brother, plea-" Iroh began but was interrupted by Ozai. "SILENCE! I am your fire lord and you will address me as such!" Ozai yelled. As fire lord Ozai was supposed to be a living god, a flawless being, a gift from the heavens to his people, but whenever he was in the presence of his older brother he'd always feel like he was just an imperfect, mortal being like everyone else. This was the reason he made sure his brother always called him by his proper title.

"My apologies, I implore you great fire lord. Allow your son to be moved to the fire temple to the south. So that the fire sages can take a look at him. There may be something they can do for him." Iroh asked as he bowed his head to the floor.

"What can those spiritual idiots do that my best physicians cannot?!" Ozai asked rhetorically. "The answer is no! My son will remain here in the palace where he's safe!" Ozai said determined.

"But brother…!" Iroh tried to push. Ozai was about to scold him for not calling him by his title again, but was interrupted by one of the guards supposed to stand watch outside the doors.

"My apologies fire lord Ozai, I know you asked not to be disturbed but I believe you would want to be informed about this as soon as possible." The guard said kneeling down at a distance.

"Out with it then! What could be so important?!" Ozai demanded. "It's your son, my lord!" the guard replied.

Fear and hope gripped the hearts of the two brothers.

'Don't tell me Zuko has passed?!' Iroh fearfully thought. '…perhaps he came through?' Iroh thought hopefully.

'If Zuko has recovered it could be the end of me!' Ozai thought. 'Maybe the boy died? Yes, that's probably it…!' Ozai calmed down a bit.

"…He has awoken, my lord." The guard said.

Iroh immediately jumped up and ran for the door startling the guard who had to move out of the way, falling on his ass doing so. His attention was drawn back to his lord a moment later as Ozai cleared his throat.

"Have princess Azula brought to me immediately! There are things I need to discuss with her before I go see my son." Ozai commanded.

"Yes my lord! Right away!" The guard said as he left the room, leaving Ozai to his plotting.

'This is bad, if the legends are true and the boy has been gifted with great powers then Azula's claim to the throne is in danger! I need to take actions immediately to ensure the future of the fire nation.' Ozai thought sinisterly.

Fire nation royal palace/5 minutes earlier

*grunting* "nnnnngh!" Zuko opened his eyes, irritated by the light. He tried to move his arm up to shield his eyes but found that his arm was extremely heavy and sore for some reason. "ih ohmwohne ehre?" (Is someone there?) he tried to speak but his throat was coarse and dry.

"ZUKO?!" Mai yelled out to him. He winced, as the volume of the voice hurt his ears.

"Someone! Hurry up and get a physician?!" Hibari called out. Immediately after Hiten ran outside of the room and relayed the orders to the guards outside. Zuko could hear the two men talking shortly outside of his room but he wasn't able to understand what they were saying.

Tears fell on his face, he tried to speak again but nothing came out except for dry crackling sounds. A single drop fell onto his tongue before Hibari buried herself into his chest. Mai's hands clasped around his left hand and started stroking his arm gently and lovingly.

Zuko tried to pry open his eyes when he heard Azula's voice, saying "Welcome back to the land of the living, Zuzu." She sounded amused and friendly, but he was easily able to pick up the hostile undertone.

"Waahh-ther." Zuko forced himself to cry out. "Waahh-ther." He repeated.

"What was that?" Hibari asked leaning closer, putting her ear to his lips so she could hear. "Waahh-ther? Waahh-ther? Waahh-ther… Water? Water!" she realized and she looked up to Mai who had already turned around and grabbed the silver jug of water on the nightstand next to the bed. She quickly poured the cold icy water into a silver chalice and carried it over to Zuko.

Hibari had helped Zuko to sit upright, now Mai arrived with the silver chalice and put it at his lips, as she raised the cup slightly he drank greedily, he quickly grabbed the chalice himself and threw his head back, pouring the cold liquid down his throat.

"More…" Zuko said as he moved the cup to Mai who nodded and took it over to the jug again for a refill. In her hurry she didn't realize that the silver had heated up slightly where Zuko had grabbed it. When she returned he drank down the second just as fast as the first.

"Better?" Hibari asked. Zuko nodded energetically as he swallowed a mouthful of icy water. "Another..." he said returning the cup to Mai.

This time Mai did notice the increase in temperature on the cups surface as she burned her hands and dropped it on the floor. Most didn't seem to notice and merely thought she had dropped it in her haste to get Zuko another drink. Azula however did, she could clearly see the silver of the cup changing color as he grabbed it. indicating that it was heating up.

Mai pulled her hands into her long sleeves and picked up the cup, like that she walked over to the jug and filled the cup for a third time. This time, one of the ice cubes floating in the water made it into the cup.

Mai brought the cup over where Zuko took the cup from her, this time more calmly as he'd already satisfied most of his thirst. But as he once more tried to down his drink in one go the ice cube made it into his mouth, almost getting stuck in his throat. His eyes opened from the slight scare and he shot forward, coughing and sputtering while holding his hand in front of his mouth.

When the fit was over Zuko held the ice cube in his hand. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't notice it was in there!" Mai said, her expression and tone surprisingly matching what she said! Looking and sounding worried.

"It's okay." Zuko said, holding the ice cube in his hand, which had already started to melt. That's when everyone watched wide eyed as they witnessed Zuko's skin seemingly eroding away underneath the ice cube. Instead of bleeding or exposing muscle tissue, the area effected revealed what appeared to be liquid fire! As the last of the melted ice evaporated the skin repaired itself in a manner similar to how lava cooled down, forming a crust.

"Incredible…" Hibari said as she kept gazing, where the wound used to be, in wonder.

Moments later the physician walked in with his assistant who was carrying a wooden box containing all of the man's tools and medicines. "Please. I'd like everyone to leave the room so I can properly treat the patient!" The doctor said.

Everyone left the room, leaving the physician and his assistant to examine Zuko.

Fire nation royal palace/outside Zuko's private chambers

The group of teenagers stood in the hallways, confused and dumbstruck at what they'd just witnessed. "Was that real? What I just saw in there, I mean. Did he really have…?" Hiten asked looking at the group.

"Yes brother. I do believe so." Hibari said. "I can't believe it. I always thought that was just a legend, something the sages made up to increase the strength of our faith in lord Agni. But… do you think it's true? Do you think he really has been given powers by Agni himself?" Mai asked.

"I don't know…" Hibari replied.

"Well… one thing is for certain!" Azula said calmly. "Whatever happened… Zuko isn't human. Not anymore." She said, thinking him to be a monstrosity.

The others just nodded, they however believed him to be something more than human instead of less than.

"What's going on?!" Iroh's voice suddenly called out to them from the end of the hallway as he came stumbling, covered in sweat and his face burning red from the over exertion. He came to a stop by the group and doubled over, breathing heavily and leaning against the wall. "I heard Zuko has finally come to! Is it true?" Iroh asked.

"Yes, we were visiting when he suddenly started moving and woke up. He seems to be doing fine." Hiten answered. "Oh thank the spirits!" Iroh said as he looked up to the ceiling. "Can I go see him?" Iroh asked.

"No uncle. You can't. The physician is with him at the moment and doesn't want anybody around." Azula replied. "Oh!" Iroh said "Then I guess I'll wait right here for them to finish." He said as he dropped to the ground.

"Do whatever you want! I'm leaving, I have better things to do!" Azula said, from her wheelchair. "Come Hiten! We're going!" she stated. "Of course my lady." Hiten said as he stepped behind her and started pushing the wheelchair away from the group.

"Where do you want to go princess?" Hiten asked. "I don't know! Just keep moving around the palace for a while, I need time to think!" Azula said agitated. "As you wish, my love." Hiten said.

Hearing him call her his love, calmed her down a bit. Making her realize that the person she loved most was standing right behind her. Her brother's recovery had left her in a foul mood, but Hiten had reminded her that they were now all alone. Just him and her, together.

"Head for the gardens! I need some fresh air." She said suddenly. "To the gardens it is then. Whatever you desire it will be yours!" Hiten said in his most loving sounding voice. Oh how she loved that tone of his. It made him sound like he worshipped every inch of her like a goddess. "Whether it be diamonds or the most expensive delicacies only available in the earth kingdom, I shall not rest until you have whatever your heart desires!" Hiten continued.

Azula felt a satisfying shiver going up her spine.

'Oh I love the way he says that. Whatever I desire… well, if that's the case… the moment we get to the gardens my greatest desire will be your lips upon mine and my hands upon your…' she thought, but was cut off from her fantasies as a guard showed up and kneeled down in front of her, blocking their way.

"Princess Azula! Your father, fire lord Ozai wants you to meet him in the throne room immediately!" The guard said, relaying her father's wishes.

In that moment for the first time in her life, even if just for a second… she absolutely hated and despised her father. 'Bastard! Does he have to see me right now?! Right when Hiten and I were about to… to… to what? Make out? Make love?! Did I want to make love to Hiten?!' her thoughts started out hateful but were now increasingly panicky.

Fire nation/fire temple/fire sages

Bonyo Roko was one of several fire sage apprentices, studying at the fire temple in the hopes of being 1 amongst 5 of the next generation of fire sages. His chances weren't the best however as his bending was below average and his physique was severely lacking. His only strength was his vast knowledge concerning ancient history, important traditions and valued customs, some of which have been long forgotten by most.

Yes, when it came to his studies of the ancient texts and sacred scrolls none of the others could match him. Every day and night he would sit in the library studying diligently, dedicating as much to memory as possible. Today however, he could not spend his time with his nose in between his regular mountain of scrolls and papers. Because today he was on communication duty.

It sounds better than it actually is, trust me! Communication duty entailed sitting in the highest tower, waiting until someone brought him a letter and a destination, which he would then tie to the messenger-hawk trained to head for that specific location. He also had to make sure that incoming messages were delivered to the right person.

Fire sage apprentices weren't allowed to have any contact with the outside world except for the occasional letter from family members. The last letter Bonyo Roko had received from his family talked about his younger sister having found a husband several years ago and was now 5 months pregnant. How he wished he could congratulate her, but his training would still take another decade at the very least. By the time he'd see his family again his two younger brothers, who were twins, would be fully grown men. Each one probably with a wife of their own while he was stuck here.

Anyway, Bonyo Roko didn't like communication duty. It would always fill him with hope that another letter from his family would arrive only to leave his hopes shattered at the end of the day.

Bonyo Roko pulled himself together as he took notice of the sound of a hawk's cry and the flapping of its wings. And indeed, a second later a messenger-hawk flew in through the top window. Bonyo Roko stood up from the creaky, old, wooden chair and to his surprise noticed that the hawk hadn't moved into one of the cages but instead had landed on the wooden stand in the center of the room. This stand was only for the hawks that had been given a priority message and was reserved only for the sages.

Bonyo quickly stepped to the left, grabbed a treat for the hawk and moved on to retrieve the message. The hawk happily shredded his treat to pieces as Bonyo pulled a rolled up piece of paper out of the container on its back. The paper was tied with a black ribbon, furthermore the paper was sealed with red wax carrying the stamp of the fire sages.

Bonyo's eyes opened wide as he realized that in fact, he couldn't even begin to understand just how important the contents of this message was. Staring at it for several moments in excitement before pulling himself together and hurrying off down the winding stairs.

Bonyo ran and ran and ran. Hallway after hallway, stairs after stairs, forcing people to jump out of his path, both his senior and junior apprentices would have to make way for him. Those who knew him immediately realized something was going on as they had never seen him run that fast before in their entire life.

Bonyo finally made it to the ground floor and pushed against the heavy golden door behind which the fire sages held their most important discussions. At first his intrusion into their spiritual sanctum was met with looks of anger and insult. But those were quickly replaced with shock as Bonyo kept running through the large room, ignoring their shouts and insults completely before he fell on his knees in front of the five grand fire sages.

Completely exhausted, he took a moment to catch his breath before swallowing and addressing the five elders before him. "Forgive my rude intrusion, elders! But a message arrived for you only moments ago of the highest priority!" Bonyo explained as he pulled the rolled up piece of paper from his robes and presented it flat upon both of his palms. "Not only was it sealed with a black ribbon but on top of that was sealed with a crimson red wax, stamped with your personal seal!" Bonyo further explained showing the unbroken wax seal and ribbon.

One of the sages that had jumped up earlier at his intrusion quickly stepped forward taking the sealed letter and walked back, handing it to the oldest and wisest fire sage, sitting in the center. The sage was handed a letter opener and cut the ribbon and the wax. Unrolling the letter, he squinted his eyes as he read the message. His usually calm exterior, now bore an expression of surprise. "Thank you, young Roko." The sage said. "You may take your leave now!" he finished.

Taking the hint that he wasn't privileged to the knowledge he bowed deeply stepping backwards several feet before turning around and raising his head.

The sage waited for the doors to close behind the young man, before addressing his colleagues. "Our spy in the royal palace has already notified us that prince Zuko had apparently fallen ill with Agni's disease. Also known to us as "Agni's gift" and "Agni's curse", depending on whether the inflicted survives. He now notifies us that the prince has awakened from his fiery slumber." The sage explained the contents of the letter. "He asks for further instructions." He finished.

Most of the other sages stroked their beards in thought as they let out a contemplating hum. The room descended into silence as the sages thought carefully about their next course of action.

"Has the prince's fire-bending abilities increased since he recovered?" one of the sages asked.

"From what I can tell, there haven't been any signs suggesting he's become more powerful or our spy hasn't had the chance to get close enough to make certain." Another sage replied who was reading the letter closely.

"Then his first priority should be to confirm whether or not there is any truth to the legends!" a third sage said standing up from his seat. "We cannot take any action, before we are absolutely certain that prince Zuko is indeed Agni's chosen!"

"I agree. We can't just jump in reckless and ignorant of the situation. But we can't take too long to make a move either. We should make preparations so that the moment we get confirmation we can immediately start spreading the word to the people." A fourth sage said.

"Yes we should be prepared… and I think I know just how we are going to do this." The oldest of the five sages said, a mischievous grin appearing on his face that the others had only seen on the man when they played pai-sho with him, just before they lost.

Fire nation royal palace/Throne room

Ozai was losing his patience as he waited for his daughter to arrive. After five minutes, Ozai was still sitting on his cushion. The only difference was his sitting posture, instead of sitting on his knees Ozai had moved into a cross-legged position. Another two minutes later he started shaking his leg in frustration. Eventually his patience started running out and before he knew it he found himself standing up, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Ozai was contemplating on whether he would call upon one of the guards standing outside. Before he could make his decision the doors opened revealing Hiten pushing his daughter in her wheelchair.

Azula immediately recognized the symptoms, the slight twitch underneath his left eye… a couple of hairs slightly out of place and the fact that he was standing sideways from them, implicating that he'd been pacing back and forth. Her conclusion: father was agitated!

"I'm sorry if we're late father. Hiten was kind enough to walk me through the palace. So your messenger might not have found us right away." Azula explained hoping to improve her father's mood slightly.

"That's alright Azula, I haven't been waiting very long." Ozai replied. 'That's a lie.' Azula thought.

Hiten stepped out from behind the wheelchair and bowed slightly, saying "Well then, my lord… " he said as he bowed to Ozai, "…my lady…" he bowed to Azula before turning towards Fire-lord Ozai again.

"…I'll be waiting outside if you need me." Hiten finished, but before he could turn around Ozai stopped him. "No! It's good that you are here Hiten. I need you to hear this as well."

"What is this about father?" Azula asked.

Ozai looked into his daughter's eyes as he prayed for her safety. "You and Hiten will be going to ember island for a couple of weeks, perhaps several months! You are not allowed to take anything with you that might indicate your status as a member of the royal family! You won't be staying at our usual vacation home either!" Ozai dictated.

"What…? Why?! …What is this all about father? …I don't understand!" Azula asked.

"Hiten, your father has told me about your training. I hope I'm correct when saying that you've been trained and prepared for emergencies like these?" Ozai asked.

"…I believe I am, my lord. But I must ask, just to make sure…" Hiten started. "…are you asking me to take your daughter and disappear from the public eye?" Hiten asked.

"Yes, that is exactly what I want you to do!" Ozai spoke quietly almost whispering. "Is there somebody after the princess's life?" Hiten continued to get more intel about his mission. "Should I watch out for potential assassins?"

"It's unlikely… but not impossible." Ozai answered with a slight frown on his brow as he thought 'better be safe than sorry.'

"Wait!" Azula said, but she was ignored.

"In the case that our identities are discovered… how far am I allowed to go to make sure that we aren't revealed?"

"Hold on!" Azula tried again.

"I don't care what you do! Just make sure you aren't exposed!"

"Wait a second!" Azula shouted stopping any further questioning. "Father! What is this about? Why are you sending me away? ANSWER ME! ...please." Azula begged, tears streaming down her face.

Ozai took a deep breath and sighed. "Azula… my daughter… my legacy… now that your brother has recovered I need to make sure that your claim to the throne is secured. You are still injured and you can't fight in your condition. If Zuko chooses to challenge you now he would win and regain his spot as heir and future fire-lord. I can't allow this to happen, so I'm sending you and Hiten away in secret so that you can recover from your injuries, far away from here." Ozai explained.

"What does it matter? So what if Zuko beats me?! I'll beat him once I'm fully recovered and then I'll be heir once more!" Azula argued.

"It doesn't work that way I'm afraid. Can you be certain that your brother won't simply kill you in your first agni-kai? And even if you do survive, who says you'll be able to beat him again? If the legends are true your brother's bending capabilities will have increased to the point where you won't be able to stand a chance! Not now, and not ever again!" Ozai retorted.

Azula wanted to argue further, but knew that her father was right.

"Are there any conditions other than the princess's recovery that have to be met before we are allowed to return?" Hiten asked.

"Yes… you aren't allowed to return unless one of the following happen to pass." Ozai began as he listed of the requirements.

"The only times you may return to the main-land are when under Zuko's rule the fire nation is on the verge of failing, the people are revolting, or when Zuko dies. If Zuko dies then Azula will be able to take the throne without problems. However, if Zuko becomes fire-lord there is a possibility that he doesn't have what it takes to lead the nation. If that is the case then the nobles will most likely rebel and you will need to take advantage of this to lead the rebellion and dethrone your brother!" Ozai began to explain, turning towards his daughter at the end.

"Lastly, Zuko may become fire-lord one day, but knowing him he would want Azula to return to the palace so he can keep an eye on her. His bleeding heart will urge him to protect what little family he has. If that is the case than you should probably return and bide your time…" Ozai finished his explanation.

"Understood my lord!" Hiten said as he saluted. "What about you, Azula? Do you understand how important your departure is?" Ozai asked. Azula remained silent as she looked down at the floor. Slowly her hands tightened into fists.

"If we are to rule this world then it is impervious that you survive to carry on Sozin's legacy after I'm gone!" Ozai said, pushing her to fully understand and accept.

"I understand… but… I can't stand the thought that I'm running away… and from Zuko no less! He's a complete failure at everything he does!" Azula said, grinding her teeth together.

"You're inability to turn away from a fight or a challenge has always been your one weakness. Even when you had nothing to gain and everything to lose… *sigh*" Ozai said with his eyes closed, opening them after sighing. "… It's the one thing you inherited from your mother." Ozai said to himself but loud enough for Azula to hear.

Ozai walked down towards his daughter, kneeling down so he stood eyelevel with her as she sat in her wheelchair. Ozai looked her in the eyes as he took her left hand in his right and placed his left hand against her cheek. "Azula…" he said. "… I never said it out loud, but… I am proud of you… you've always made me proud and I know you will continue to do so. You are my legacy, my future… and the future of this nation!" Ozai finished, speaking to her in a tone she'd never heard him use before. A warm and kind tone that almost resembled love. "Father…!" Azula stammered out as she resisted bursting out into tears.

"Now go…! You must make the necessary preparations for your departure!" Ozai said as he let go of her.

"Hiten, remain here for a moment! There is something else I wish to discuss with you in private!" Ozai said before Hiten could leave.

Azula gave a worried look towards Hiten as she turned her wheelchair. "It's okay Azula. You go ahead, I'll be there shortly." Hiten assured her.

Azula pushed herself towards the door and called for the guards standing outside to open up. As the palace guard closed the door behind her, she couldn't help but wonder what her father wanted to discuss with Hiten that he didn't want her to know about? It didn't matter! Right now all that mattered was her mission! She might not like it but she would succeed. And so she made her way to her room.

Back in the throne room Hiten turned to Ozai after the doors had closed and kneeled down.

"What is it that you need of me?" Hiten asked.

"Answer me something, if you will?!" Ozai asked, his tone being laid back.

"Of course, anything."

"Azula…My daughter… Do you love her?"

…

"Yes. I do! With all my heart!"

"Good! Then you'll need this." Ozai said as he threw a little black box to the young man.

"What is it?" Hiten asked as he opened the box revealing the last thing he would expect.

"It's for Azula… it was her mother's engagement ring! I assume you know what to do with it?" Ozai explained, turning his back towards him.

"Yes… my lord… I'll take care of her from now on. She'll be safe with me." Hiten replied before standing up and making for the door.

With his hand resting on the gold decorated handle he turned his head slightly, looking at Ozai's back and added a single word to his sentence, barely heard. "…father!" And with that Hiten left the room, leaving Ozai as its only occupant.

End chapter 5: Agni's chosen!

This chapter has been rewritten on Friday 30/06/2017!

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I also learned that pols are the worst idea ever! No longer shall I allow my readers to have an effect on the story! From now on my word is law! My will be done! As I imagine it, so it shall be written!

I am Geroar ALMIGHTY!