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The descision to keep Ozai alive was controversial, to say the least.
People from every nation were clamoring for his blood. The war had taken way too many lives and a lot of people wanted justice, wanted to spit on Ozai's grave and didnt want to wait until he died of old age to do so.
And because of the people's rightful demand of blood, just a couple of days after Zuko's coronation, there was a meeting held to see what to do with Ozai: If they should spare his life or have a lovely public execution.
In this meeting there were the leaders of the nations, important generals, some advisors and, of course, the avatar.
"I understand that people want to see his head on a spike, but we shouldn't kill Ozai." Zuko explained calmly. This caused an uproar on the table and, as Aang tried desperately to calm them down so they could talk like civilized people, general Fong's scoff rose above the noise.
"Child, we understand that this man is your father and this must be hard for you, but you cant let some stupid affection cloud your judgment. People deserve justice and Ozai deserves to die ." He declared.
Zuko's face hardened, Aang glared at the general and Hakoda looked murderous.
"Zuko may be young, but he is a brilliant man, a hero and ,more importantly, the Fire Lord, so it would be nice if you treated him with the respect he deserves." The chief said through gritted teeth.
"Please, everyone knows he is here because it wouldn't be proper to have this meeting without the Fire Lord, not because his opinion on this matters." The general said with a roll of his eyes.
"How dare you-" Hakoda started, but Zuko interrupted him.
"Its alright, Chief Hakoda, General Fong's concerns, if unfounded, are to be expected." He started, "However, General Fong, I am curious, do you happen to know how I got my scar?" He asked, his voice polite.
"I don't see how your little scar is relevant to our current discusion." Fong scoffed. Several people gasped and Zuko looked at him with a sharp smile.
"I take it you don't know, then. I got it when I was 13 on an Agni Kai." He explained coldly. The general paled slightly.
"I did not mean to disrespect you, I am sorry you suffered such an injury at such a young age, but I still dont see how that is relevant." He said.
"My father was the one that challenged me to the duel, because I apparently had disrespected him." Zuko explained simply. Several people around the room winced simpathetically. Aang and Hakoda looked a mix of horrified and outraged.The general's eyes opened wide and he blanched.
"I refused to fight my father. I begged him for mercy. He gently took my face in his hand, said that suffering would be my teacher and proceeded to burn half of my face off until I passed out from the pain." He continued, voice unwavering and still looking at the general in the eye, who looked sick.
He wasnt the only one. The earth king Kuei was silently crying in horror, Hakoda seemed like he couldn’t choose between throwing up or crying so he did neither and stood still with his eyes shining with untold fury and disgust. Aang looked murderous, he was gripping the table so hard that his knuckles were white and everyone could hear the wind's furious howls outside.
"After that he banished me and told me that I would only be able to return home if I captured the avatar, who at that point everyone thought was dead and no more than a myth." Zuko finished.
Aang's eyes flickered with light for a second before he regained control.
"I..."The general didnt know what to say
"And the worst is not that he did it, the worst is that I am the lucky one. I got away. Living in exile allowed me to think, to learn, to heal and to grow. I am the lucky one because I had my uncle to take care of me and I had friends, meanwhile my sister ,who stayed, who was alone, was driven to insanity." He continued, his voice cold but with fire in his eyes.
"So dont dare to assume for even a second that affection is clouding my judgment, because that is not the case. I want him to live not because Im being merciful or because I care about this man that was anything but a father to me despite the fact that I am his son, no, I want him to live because death is not a good enough punishment. Ozai is a monster and he doesn't deserve the kindness of a quick death, he deserves to spend the rest of his miserable life rotting away, powerless and disgraced in the darkest dungeon we can find." He finished, his voice shaking with barely contained fury and pain.
At the end of the meeting, when they decided to put Ozai's fate to vote, the descision to let Ozai rot was unanimous.