Kuzon the Traitor

"Kuzon! Kuzon, you need to wake up right now!"

Kuzon rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head. As far as he could determine through his squinted eyes, it was still very early in the morning. He was exhausted from running around Omashu all day yesterday, and all he wanted was to let his body wake up on its own good time.

"For the last time, Bumi, I'm not going to ride in the mail carts with you at sunrise! That is so not flameo. Go back to sleep."

Suddenly, he felt trembling beneath him before a huge rock burst through his bed and launched him onto the ground. Angrily, Kuzon straightened up and rounded on his friend, preparing to yell his head off about having his bed broken. However, the words died in his throat when he saw Bumi's face.

Kuzon's normally exuberant Earth Kingdom companion was gaunt and pale, and his eyes were rimmed crimson with salty tear tracks staining his cheeks. As though he had received a punch to the gut, Kuzon sensed that something was gravely wrong. He had never seen Bumi look so old in the five years they had been friends.

"Bumi? What is it? What's happened?"

Bumi looked away for a moment. When he met Kuzon's gaze again, his eyes were hazy and unfocused. His voice came out hollow and choked.

"A few days ago, the Fire Nation attacked all four Air Temples at the same time. My father just received word this morning. The Air Nomads had no warning and no time to prepare. We still don't know that much, but the message said that within the first day there were already hundreds of Air Nomads killed and a lot of them were children."

Kuzon's legs gave out from under him and he sank to the ground with his head in his hands, horrified and uncomprehending. His nation had attacked the Air Temples? Why? How could they do such a terrible thing? Kuzon had never been to an Air Temple because they were not open to most outsiders, but he had heard all about them from Aang. At this thought, Kuzon's blood froze and a high pitched cry tore out through his throat. He whipped his head up to meet Bumi's eyes again, panicked at the grief he saw in the other boy's expression.

"You don't think… What about… Aang?!"

Bumi bowed his head and his whole body started shaking.

"I asked my father. He said that it doesn't look good."

Kuzon felt the droplets dribble down his chin before he realized that he was crying. He, Bumi, and Aang had been friends for many years. Through his sadness, Kuzon recalled how they had all met.

As a nobleman's son, Kuzon had grown up traveling the world when his father attended diplomatic meetings. When he was seven years old, he had met Prince Bumi at a convention in Omashu, one of the regional capitals of the Earth Kingdom. Used to the rigid discipline of aristocratic Fire Nation culture, Kuzon had been shocked and quickly delighted by Bumi's carefree nature, endless enthusiasm, and penchant for mischief making and adventure. They hit it off so well that their parents began to arrange monthly visits alternating between Omashu and Capital City. Both sets of parents had agreed that forging friendships among the nobility at such a young age could only be beneficial to diplomatic ties between their countries later in life. Thus, Kuzon and Bumi had quickly developed a bond as close a brothers, writing letters back and forth all the time when they were apart.

About a year after that, Bumi and Kuzon were hiking up one of the mountains right outside Omashu when they saw a giant sky bison hurtling out of the sky towards them. Using his rudimentary earthbending skills, Bumi had quickly propelled both of them to safety just in the nick of time. As the dust around the crash site cleared, Bumi and Kuzon watched a young boy emerge from on top of the bison and jump lightly to the ground. He was bald and dressed in what both noble youths recognized as traditional Air Nomad apparel. The boy made his way around to the front of the large beast and began speaking softly to it, clearly checking for injuries.

Kuzon and Bumi had glanced at each other. Through silent mutual agreement, they determined that the strange boy was safe to approach. Both boys had then hurried over and called out.

"Hey there! Are you all right, kid?"

The strange boy turned around and, upon seeing them, lit up and zipped over at lightning speed. Now that he could see him up close, Kuzon realized that the new kid was just about his and Bumi's age. He had never seen an Air Nomad this young before. All of the Air Nomads he had ever encountered were old monks and nuns who went to the same conferences his father did.

The boy had extended a hand and grinned widely.

"Hi! My name is Aang! Nice to meet you."

Kuzon smiled back, infected by the contagious spirit of this newcomer.

"Flameo, hotman! I am Kuzon of the Fire Nation and the totally crazy one next to me is Bumi from the Earth Kingdom. We were just hiking up here when you crashed. Why are you here and where did you get such an amazing animal?"

"Oh, well… you see, I've only had this bison for a little while. If you're an Air Nomad, you get a bison companion when you're old enough to care for him or her. This one's name is Appa, and he's going to be my friend for life. I was trying to fly with him to the Northern Air Temple, but we got lost and Appa still isn't used to flying very far yet… so we crashed. Poor guy… I shouldn't have pushed him so far on our first big flight. It looks like I'll be stuck here for a little while until Appa feels better. Where am I?"

Bumi had answered excitedly. "Wow Aang, you've got guts. I like you! You're lucky... you just crashed in Omashu, the most rockin' city in the whole Earth Kingdom. Why don't you come back home with us? My family's servants can tend to your bison, and I can take you on a tour of the sewers that you'll never forget!"

Aang had nodded eagerly and accepted Bumi's offer. As the three boys walked back down the mountain with Appa, their epic adventures as a dynamic trio began.

Once Appa became a more experienced flyer, Aang frequently visited both Kuzon's and Bumi's homes. He also picked them up and took them all over the place, just as excited as Bumi by the prospect of adventure and a little troublemaking. Kuzon, by virtue of his cultural upbringing, was considerably more uptight than his two free wielding friends, but generally enjoyed their crazy schemes. Aang was by far the most fascinating friend Kuzon had ever had. For one thing, he could use airbending to fly with his glider, which was just too flamin' for words. For another thing, everything from Aang's refusal to eat meat to his instinctive sensitivity and lack of aggression was just so radically different from Kuzon's home culture that through exposure to Aang, he became more open to trying new things. Meanwhile, Aang soon picked up on Kuzon's Fire Nation street slang, using it liberally in his own speech when they were together. He also loved dancing, and could soon perform all of the popular Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation styles.

It was also really fun for all three friends to practice their bending together. While Kuzon was an average firebender and Bumi was a good earthbender for their ages, Aang was truly a prodigy. He had special tutors and trained very hard when he wasn't traveling the world, and the results were astounding. A few months after his eleventh birthday, Aang came to visit Kuzon in Capital City. Kuzon had been stunned to see the freshly healing blue tattoo on Aang's forehead. Aang had removed his shirt and shown Kuzon the full extent of his new arrows. According to Aang, they signified that he was now considered a master airbender. Kuzon hadn't been able to believe it. He, a noble youth in a good training school, was still practicing firebending basics. How on earth could his eleven year old friend have already mastered his element?

After receiving his tattoos, Aang stopped traveling as much. Bumi and Kuzon often wrote him, asking him to come and see them, but Aang always replied that he was busy with his studies and meditation. He still saw them now and again, but his demeanor had changed. He was quieter and less inclined to break the rules, much to Bumi's dismay. One blustery autumn day, he had picked both noble youth up on Appa and took them surfing on the backs of elephant koi. For a few wonderful hours, it was as though nothing had changed. Kuzon, Bumi, and Aang were just three twelve year old boys having fun together and living life to the fullest. Little did any of them know that that was the last time they would ever be all together.

Kuzon and Bumi hadn't seen Aang in over two months. Bumi invited both of his friends to come hang out in Omashu for a few days, but Aang had never responded to the message. Hence, it had just been Kuzon and Bumi again, like old days. Kuzon always liked playing with Bumi, but throughout his visit, Kuzon knew that both of them were missing Aang. He was the glue that made their group complete. And now… he was gone.

Without saying anything else, Bumi broke Kuzon out of his memories by kneeling down and wrapping his arms around Kuzon, hugging him so tightly it hurt. Neither of them could stop sobbing as tremors and gulps passed from one boy to the other. Kuzon's mind was spinning. His brain didn't want to accept the truth that his aching heart knew. Aang, one of his best friends in the entire world, was almost certainly dead.

Suddenly, Bumi pulled away. His eyebrows narrowed and his lips quivered in a thin line. Kuzon had never seen him so angry before.

"You're from the Fire Nation, Kuzon. Your people killed Aang. They killed all of them. Did you know?"

Scared, Kuzon staggered backwards, instinctively moving away from the waves of pure rage that emanated from Bumi.

"Did I know what?"

Bumi launched himself forward, grabbing Kuzon and pressing him up against the wall of the bedroom.

"Did you know they were planning this? Your father is a noble, Kuzon. He's close to the Fire Lord's inner circle, right? He must've known. And that means you probably knew too. How could you, Kuzon? He was our friend, and you let them kill him!"

Kuzon screamed and tried to firebend out of Bumi's grip, but Bumi quickly bent a slab of earth upward to trap him in place.

"What? Of course I didn't know! How can you think that?! You have to believe me, Bumi. I didn't know! And don't you dare say that about my father! He would never… he would never go along with this. Look, I don't know how this happened, but you have to know, I had nothing to do with it. I never want to hurt anybody. Ever."

All of the fight drained out of Bumi and he removed the stone slab, sending Kuzon crumpling to the ground. Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and the King of Omashu walked in, escorted by six guards. His face was solemn, and he looked as though he had not gotten a wink of sleep. He tiredly surveyed the broken bed and the uneven floor by the two shaken boys with distaste.

"What is all of this commotion? Prince Bumi, you'll have to clean this mess up yourself later. Right now, I have come to collect Master Kuzon. Guards, if you please."

The grim faced guards quickly moved inside the room and hauled Kuzon up off of the floor, grabbing him roughly under the armpits.

Wiping his face off with his arm, Bumi reached out.

"Hey! Where are you taking him?"

The King surveyed the shaking Fire Nation boy with thinly veiled disgust.

"This boy is no longer your friend, my son. His father and all of the nobles of the Fire Nation have betrayed us. We've been receiving intelligence for years about the existence of Fire Nation controlled colonies on remote Earth Kingdom lands, but Fire Nation diplomats like his father assured us that these settlements were nothing more than developmental aid to improve poor Earth Kingdom towns and foster international cooperation and cultural exchange. They lied, Prince Bumi. The Fire Nation has conquered some of our lands. Now, these warmongers have revealed their true colors, and the Air Nomads are paying the ultimate price."

Addressing Kuzon, the King's tone became downright hostile.

"As for you, Fire Nation scum, you are no longer welcome on Earth Kingdom lands. I recognize that you are just a child and given the current political situation, I do not want to provoke an attack on my city in your name. Therefore, instead of imprisoning you as I have done to other Fire Nation citizens in Omashu, I am having you deported immediately. But be warned, if I ever see you anywhere near Omashu again, you will be thrown in jail immediately. The Kingdom of Omashu has no tolerance for traitors and enemies of our state. Guards, take him away."

Kuzon could not respond; everything was happening too fast. As the guards roughly escorted him from the room, he turned his head to catch one more glimpse of Bumi. His friend was staring at him in shock and sorrow. Then, Bumi's face hardened with hatred, and he turned away as the door slammed shut behind the guards.

The final look on Bumi's face haunted Kuzon for the rest of his life. He never saw his best friend again.

As the years passed, Kuzon's life became consumed by guilt, grief, and misery. For a few months after being deported, Kuzon held on to a small flame of hope that perhaps Aang was still alive. However, he soon learned that the attacks on the Air Temples managed to completely wipe out the entire population of Air Nomads within a matter of weeks. Finally, he had to accept that Aang was dead. Kuzon was sickened by what his own nation had done and he could not understand how or why it had happened. The Fire Nation had erased an entire culture from the face of the earth. Yet none of his family and friends shared his horror. They believed in Fire Lord Sozin's view for expanding the Fire Nation to share its greatness with the world.

Kuzon never fell for the wartime propaganda. Unlike his peers, he had made friends with people from other cultures before the war. Bumi and Aang had humanized their nations in his mind. Whenever he heard reports of enemy casualties, all he could see was their faces. From Bumi, he had learned to be joyful and level headed. From Aang, he had learned to respect the harmony of life and that violence was not the right way to solve conflicts. Kuzon no longer felt at home within ambitious, serious, aggressive Fire Nation society. As a young man, he increasingly isolated himself from others, preferring to spend long hours alone meditating and fire breathing. Kuzon felt helpless and knew that if he criticized the war, he would be arrested for treason. He stopped eating meat or fish in homage to his fallen friend; in fact, the sight of cooked animal flesh only made him picture Aang's lifeless body, covered in burns.

Eventually, Kuzon found the courage to ask his father if he had known about the planned destruction of the Air Temples. When his father nonchalantly confirmed that he had, Kuzon left home and found a small apartment in a lower class village. He was disgusted by his father's actions, and cut off all contact with him. He still wrote to his mother, but he never told anyone from his family or circle of friends where he was. He started working in a tea shop, and settled into a quiet lifestyle. He dated a few local girls, but never married or fathered children. The burden of his past and his secret revulsion for his own nation prevented him from forming close relationships with anyone.

Eventually, like most able bodied Fire Nation men, Kuzon was drafted into the military. The Fire Nation was advancing its aggression across the Earth Kingdom and beginning raids on the Water Tribes. They needed as much man power as they could get. Kuzon did not want to fight at all, but his skill as a firebender trained in a noble academy made him a highly desirable candidate. He had no choice. He became a naval officer, making regular patrols and trying his best to avoid active conflict.

Because of his noble heritage, Kuzon was soon recruited to serve as a soldier on Fire Lord Sozin's ship. It had become apparent over the years through extensive raids on the Water Tribes that a new avatar had not been born. Thus, the Fire Nation concluded that the airbending Avatar, a mere child at the time of the Air Nomad genocide, must have somehow survived. Thus, the Fire Lord himself personally set out to search the world, attempting to find the greatest remaining threat to the Fire Nation's global dominance; The Last Airbender.

Kuzon spent nearly two years serving aboard Fire Lord Sozin's ship, sailing all over the world and finding absolutely no sign of the Avatar anywhere. The Fire Lord's frustration was palpable, and as he grew more agitated, Kuzon's rage began to boil over. This was the man who had actually ordered the attack on the Air Temples. This was the man who had started this long, costly war against the other nations. This was the man who had hundreds of thousands of Air Nomads' blood upon his hands. All of the emotions Kuzon had kept locked inside since he was a terrified twelve year old boy being dragged from Prince Bumi's side rose to the surface and made his head swim. Consumed by his anguish and finally having a target on which to unleash his fury, Kuzon began to plot the Fire Lord's untimely demise.

One blistering cold winter day, Sozin's ship was gliding through a field of treacherous icebergs near the Southern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation had just conducted yet another Southern raid with no more luck than before. Dejected, Sozin had decided to return to the Fire Nation and meet with his advisors to form a new strategy to capture the Avatar.

The hostile sailing conditions meant that the entire crew on board was occupied with steering carefully through the maze of icebergs and frequent blizzards battering the ship along the way. Meanwhile, the Fire Lord stood out on the deck of the ship, dressed in warm crimson wool. His gaze was on the horizon and his hands remained clasped behind his back.

Upon taking note of these circumstances, Kuzon realized he would never have a better chance. He quietly approached the Fire Lord, moving with a soldier's posture so as not to tip his hand. When he arrived within a few feet of his goal, he bowed respectfully and addressed the man with reverence.

"My Lord."

The Fire Lord whipped around, clearly disgruntled at being disturbed.

"Yes, private? What is it?"

Kuzon stood at attention and saluted. Then, he slowly lowered his hand into his pocket.

"You killed them all."

Sozin blinked in confusion. "What? What are you talking about, soldier?"

Kuzon stared him down and let his rage explode across his features. His voice was low and dangerous, each syllable punching out.

"The Air Nomads. You killed them all."

His hand whipped back out revealing a knife. Sozin didn't have time to react for Kuzon was on him like a wild animal.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED THEM ALL! YOU KILLED AANG! YOU KILLED THEM ALL! YOU KILLED AANG!"

Kuzon stabbed again and again, scratching and clawing and kicking every inch of Sozin he could reach. There was nothing left in his mind but an overwhelming need to make this man suffer as much as he had throughout his miserable life.

Unfortunately for Kuzon, he hadn't counted on Sozin wearing metal war armor below his wool vestments. His goal had been to severely injure Sozin as fast as possible so that he could not retaliate. However, within seconds, Sozin sent him careening backwards with a blast of fire as other soldiers came running and restrained Kuzon at once.

With the help of his guards, Sozin slowly got to his feet. Other than some bruises and a gash across his cheek, he survived Kuzon's assault unharmed. The Fire Lord summoned his royal scribe to his side and turned to address Kuzon, still thrashing madly in his captors' arms.

"Li, record this so that this traitor's family may know the ultimate dishonor of what he has done. Now, state your name."

Kuzon glared back defiantly. "My name is Hanjian Kuzon."

Sozin's eyes narrowed in disgust. "A Hanjian? You disgrace the noble name you wear. Let the record state the following: As punishment for the ultimate treason, attempted assassination of the Fire Lord, I, Fire Lord Sozin, do hereby sentence you to immediate death by means of drowning. Let these cursed freezing waters swallow this traitor alive. So let it be written. So let it be done."

As Fire Lord Sozin and the company of soldiers watched, the guards holding Kuzon dragged him to the edge of the ship. A single solitary tear slid down Kuzon's face. The guards then tied his hands and feet and attached a heavy metal weight to his waist. As he raised his head to look to the sky one last time, Kuzon gulped the fresh air and cried out to the wind.

"Forgive me, Aang"

His body plummeted into icy darkness. Bound and unable to swim, Kuzon peacefully sank to the bottom of the sea, embracing death like an old friend. The last thing he saw before the ocean closed his eyes forever was a brightly glowing light and the shadow of a small boy and a sky bison.

A/N: Kuzon's family name, Hanjian, means "traitor to China" in Mandarin Chinese.