Chapter 12: IT IS MY DESTINY

--- Ozai POV (when he and Iroh went into Fire lord chambers)---

"Fire Lord, we have arrived," I said while walking ahead of Iroh.

"Hmm, Sit down my sons." said father.

"Iroh, you have left the siege of Ba Sing Se...and my grandson Lu ten has passed away. I find the passing of time ever more unbearable when a father outlives their sons. Tell me Iroh, how did Lu ten die?" asked my father.

This brother of mine is choked on fathers words before finally replying. "H-he was in a covert regiment of 6 men. Doing a covert mission of infiltration into enemy lines. Hoping to discover the enemy's rotation cycles, food supply location, number of ready reinforcements, whatever information that could be useful to the success of the siege. I sent him out before we even started the siege. To not arouse suspicion of someone approaching the gates after the siege began."

'Not a bad plan. Even though my brother is insufferable and too kind for his own good, he is very smart. To think of such a plan, and implement it at the correct time…'

Iroh continued, "The infiltration was successful. He would send me a letter every 50 days to make sure no one found out about him. He was able to get into a family that lived near the gates. Became one of them. The other men were in different areas, gathering information in groups of two. All the information I got gave some results. We broke through a weak point of the outer wall with heavy trebuchets. With a hole in the outer wall, we were able to delve deeper into the Agrarian zone..."

Tears start to go down Iroh's face.

"However, during the breach of the outer wall, Lu Ten had been mortally wounded. And when word reached me, h-he was already gone. I'm told he fought by our side, giving away his spy status and the enemy focused more attacks on him because of it."

'So that's how he passed. Such a weakling, to die in such an insignificant way.'

"I see," said my father.

There is a moment of silence in the throne room. Eventually, my father speaks up again,

"I had a grave made for him. His coffin was already taken from the ship and he was buried next to your wife...It's been hard on you Iroh, I as Fire lord now decree General Iroh is retired. You are now in charge of teaching and watching over Ozai's son, Sasuke."

"!!" I was shocked at this revelation.

"!!" Iroh was surprised as well.

'Why does he have to watch over my kid? I was planning on getting him some 'training' to stop his disobedience, I need a proper puppet of an heir to man the throne for me when I rule over all the nations!'

"You are dismissed, Iroh," Azulan said with a small smile.

Why do you ALWAYS do this father! Letting him go like this when he RETREATED FROM THE ENEMY! YOU DIDN'T EVEN ASK HIM ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE DEATH OF LU TEN! IS THE DEATH OF A SON GOOD ENOUGH REASON TO ABANDON YOUR MISSION. YOUR NATION'S LONG-DESIRED AMBITION?! NO!!

"Thank you, Fire lord Azulan" Iroh said in a deep bow.

He soon left the throne room but I stayed.

"Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with such formalities? Just tell me what you want," said Azulan.

"Father, you must have realized as I have that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his son's death, my brother abandoned the siege of Ba Sing Se. And who knows what he plans to do now that he is here with nothing but to babysit my son. Yet I am here Father, and my children are alive."

"Say what it is you want" Azulan cuts me off.

"Father, revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me"

"!!" Azulan stands up visibly mad, with the flames around the throne room fluctuating.

"You dare suggest I betray Iroh? MY FIRSTBORN!? Directly after the demise of his only beloved son? I think Iroh has suffered enough. But you? Your punishment has SCARCELY BEGUN!"

The flames erupt with these words.

"You don't understand the meaning of loss. The hollowness it leaves is almost unbearable. Something you must now go through. As Iroh has lost a child, I'll give you a hard choice. You must deliver me one of your own children! The death of one of your kids will be your punishment for not understanding the depth of what you have asked of me today!"

"!!"

"F-Father this choice-"

"NO, I WILL NOT RENOUNCE IT! I GIVE YOU ONE WEEK TO DECIDE OR BOTH WILL BE GONE AND YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH NO BLOODLINE EITHER!"

"!!" What kind of unreasonableness is this?!

"Prince Ozai, your ambition is still too great. I, as your father, have failed to teach you. But I haven't left this world yet, so allow me to remedy this. Now that you must make such a choice, I hope you FINALLY learn some empathy and humility. If you are wondering why you must do this, I will explain it the same way I explained early graduation to your son 3 years ago...

BECAUSE I SAID SO! NOW LEAVE MY THRONE ROOM!"

I quickly stood up and bowed to Azulan. Leaving the throne room and a simple gait. Once outside the gates, I walk to the palace with a beaming smile.

'I have to choose between my kids who to kill? HAHAHAHAH What an easy decision! Father, this teaches me nothing! Only a justified excuse to remove a nuisance I don't need. Though both of them are talented, Sasuke shows great prowess but also great disobedience. I'm sure one day, he might even kill me if I let him grow too strong! I was thinking about getting him hypnotized and/or beaten into submission to make him a proper puppet… but Azula on the other hand might actually make a great puppet heir. She has almost mastered the basic fire forms I hear, and though she is 6 and it took her 3 years longer than Sasuke did, that's still better than the average age of 18.'

'Hehehe Once I get rid of nuisance number one, you are nuisance number 2, father. And once you are gone, I WILL BECOME THE FIRELORD! IT IS MY DESTINY!'

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(A/N: ANNNND we have OZAI! His character, in my mind, should be very ambitious, cold, and disassociating with his family. Just FYI...I want him to be dislikable. Hope you like a peek into the life of this MOTHerF* Cough * You get the idea.

Oh and Remember, I want Azulan's character to be a semi king Bumi crazy/semi-Iroh wise type. So I hope this is also reflected in this chapter.

Enjoy! (づ￣ ³￣)づ