Chapter Text
Six years ago…
Age 10
A figure in black cloak walked in front of the Fire Lord Azulon, and kneeled down in front of him.
“You know why you’re here, correct?” Azulon asked the figure in black.
He nodded his head but didn’t speak.
“Yon Rha, come in.”
Another man, Yon Rha, came in dressed in armor, with his hair pulled up in topknot. The figure in black knew who he was, he was the leader of the Southern Raiders. He stood up and bowed to the leader, while Yon Rha didn’t do anything. The leader of the Southern Raiders looked over to the Fire Lord, asking, “This is the child?”
Fire Lord Azulon nodded his head. “The most heavily trained assassin of the Fire Nation. Take him with you to the Southern Water Tribe, have him kill the Last Waterbender, after you find out who it is.”
Yon Rha bit back a growl, and bit his bottom lip before replying, “Of course, Fire Lord Azulon.” He stood up all the way up, looking at the young assassin. “Come.” The Admiral spun on his heel, exiting the way he came into the room. The assassin followed him out of the room, his cloak moving around his feet as he walked.
Five years ago…
Age 11
The same figure in black, came walking in next to Yon Rha. His head was tilted down more than it was a year ago. But when he glanced up for a brief moment, you could see the dark eye bags under his eyes. While there was bruising on his neck, and his golden eyes seemed paler than they were before.
There were two people standing at the base of the Fire Lord’s throne. Both of them turned around to look at the two people who entered the room. Those two people were the son, and grandson of Fire Lord Azulon. General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, and his son, Lu Ten. Fire Lord Azulon was still on the throne, and he looked to Yon Rha, he then ordered, “Yon Rha, leave.”
Yon Rha bowed, leaving without the assassin, through the door he had entered through, like last time. Azulon watched him leave, then looked at his son saying, “Take this assassin with you when you head to Ba Sing Se. He is the best of the Fire Nation, he will follow any order you will give him.”
Lu Ten looked at the figure in black, and bent down trying to see the assassin’s face. He stood back up, after the assassin tilted his head down forwards, so Lu Ten couldn’t see his face. The twenty-one year old turned around, asking his grandfather, “Isn’t he a little… young to be some amazing assassin?”
“No.”
“Does he have a name,” Iroh asked, turning away from the assassin, looking up at his father.
The Fire Lord shrugged his shoulders, a movement that was barely noticeable behind the wall of flames surrounding him. He sighed, before responding, “Not one that I will disclose to you, since he most likely wouldn’t respond to it. But I know he will respond to the title of ‘Blue Spirit’.”
“Like the Legend of the Blue Spirit?” Lu Ten asked, looking up at his grandfather. “The Fire Nation Spirit of Assassins? Is that him?”
His grandfather scoffed, before replying, “No. The Blue Spirit is a spirit. But my son asked for a name, something you would actually like to call him besides ‘Boy’. He will respond to that.”
Both of them nodded their heads, and walked towards the Blue Spirit. Lu Ten walked past the Blue Spirit’s right side, while Iroh walked past his left. They brushed shoulders with the assassin. The assassin glanced up, looking at the wall of flames surrounding the Fire Lord. He then hesitated for a moment, before turning around, following General Iroh and his son.
He wasn’t one to pray---since he really didn’t know what it meant. But he was praying---hoping that being with General Iroh would be better than his time spent with Yon Rha.
Four years ago…
Age 12
The Blue Spirit walked outside of General Iroh’s tent, at the same time Lu Ten walked out of it. They collided with each other, with both of them falling down to the ground. The assassin’s hood fell down, revealing his head of messy black hair, and his golden eyes. Lu Ten looked at him, and he froze. This boy was a spitting image of Lennon---his former best friend before he betrayed the Fire Nation earlier this year, when he became a Bounty Hunter for the Earth Kingdom. His face looked really similar five years ago, when Zuko had vanished.
Lu Ten stood up first, and offered his hand to the younger boy. The assassin didn’t notice his hood was down, but he hesitated to take the older boy’s hand.
“It’s okay to accept help once in a while, Blue Spirit,” Lu Ten told him, and the Blue Spirit reached up, taking his hand.
When he got to his feet, he noticed his hood was down. The assassin reached up for his hood, but Lu Ten grabbed both of the younger boy’s arms, pulling him into his father’s tent.
Once the Blue Spirit was pulled inside of the tent, a moment after the General saw the assassin’s face, the assassin pulled his hood up. The General’s face went pale, as his quill slipped from his hand. He then asked, “Zuko?”
“That’s not my name,” the Tween responded. He moved backwards slightly, bumping into Lu Ten. “I don’t have a name.” The assassin tried to move around Lu Ten, to leave the tent, at the same time Iroh ordered, “Stay.”
The Blue Spirit turned around, looking at the General with slightly wide golden eyes. Lu Ten then grabbed his shoulders, pulling him in front of his body. The older boy led the assassin in front of his father’s makeshift desk.
Both of them got down onto their knees, as Iroh ordered, “Zuko, bring your hood down.”
He shook his head almost immediately, and replied, “I have strict orders from my Trainer to keep my hood up, and my mask on at all times if I am on a mission. Especially if I was serving under you, General.”
“They aren’t here,” Iroh reassured the Blue Spirit. The General didn’t know that much about who had trained the assassin. But he has heard rumours that the person who trained the assassin that sat in front of him. That person was one of the worst people in the Fire Nation, worse than any of the warmongers that kept this war running---like Iroh, and his father. He set a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder.
Both of them locked eyes, and the assassin bit his lip, before his shaking hands went up to his hood. He slowly pulled down his hood, and looked back up at Iroh.
The General smiled at him saying, “When you're alone with either myself or Lu Ten, disregard those orders please.”
The assassin nodded his head, before replying, “Understood, General.”
“Can you Firebend?” Lu Ten asked, glancing at the younger boy. He knew Zuko’s father could firebend, but his older brothers---Lennon and Kyro couldn’t firebend, neither of them.
“No,” the Blue Spirit responded, shaking his head side-to-side. He pulled his hood over his head again, before standing up. Glancing at the General, he asked, “May I leave.”
“In a moment, Zuko.” The Blue Spirit looked confused at what he was just addressed as. Lu Ten tilted his head backwards, looking at Zuko, and said, “I’ll be calling you Zuko in private as well. So you better get used to it.”
“So will I,” Iroh added, as he picked up the quill again. He looked up at Zuko, waving his pen. “You are dismissed, Zuko.”
Zuko put his left hand in a fist, setting his right hand against his fist. He bowed, and the other two in the tent did it too, to the best they could while sitting down. The assassin stood back up to his full height, he turned around and left the tent. He was confused, beforehand, when he had bowed to his higher-ups, they never bowed back.
What was different with these two?
Three years ago…
Age 13
He wasn’t supposed to be here. The Blue Spirit, the assassin, the person who lost their name, and had been introduced to it, Zuko. After spending two years with General Iroh and Lu Ten, a year with them knowing his face, and calling him by his name, Zuko. Lu Ten had died in a battle in Ba Sing Se. General Iroh gave up on the entire thing, bringing home all of his troops, as well as Zuko back to the Fire Nation, along with his son’s body in a casket.
Zuko caused funerals, grieving, and mourning. He wasn't supposed to be feeling these feelings. He wasn’t supposed to be here either, it was a private event for the Royal Family. Zuko was supposed to be in his room in the barracks, not hiding in the alcoves of the rooftop, watching the funeral of the late Lu Ten.
The General was one of the two people crying, the other being Ozai’s wife, Ursa. His father, Fire Lord Azulon, the General’s brother, Ozai, and his daughter, Princess Azula, all had straight faces, all of them probably thinking, ‘General Iroh, the Great Dragon of the West, is showing emotions he’s letting down the Fire Nation.’
Once it was over, and the Fire Sages lit fire to the late-Lu Ten’s casket, he left, going back to his quarters. The Blue Spirit---Zuko, he was never left out of action for very long, a day or so at most. His services were only given out to the two highest ranking officers of the Fire Nation Military or the Navy. Generals or Colonels in the Military. Or in the Navy, Admiral or Commanders in the Navy.
He’d probably be sent back out to the sea with the Navy, even though his services were more useful on land.
Zuko had been lounging in his room for an hour or so, before he heard knocking at his door. He slid off the rock-hard bed, flipping his hood up as he walked over to the door, opening it. Another rule his Trainer gave him was to not speak unless spoken too---another rule that had become void around the two of them. It became difficult to distance himself from Iroh, which was another rule he broke. Which was not to make meaningful relationships with any of his Commanding Officers, so it’d be easier to move on and take orders from someone new.
Iroh was on the other side of the door, and Zuko stepped to the side, with the General stepping into the room. The tear streaks were present on Iroh’s face.
“Are you okay?” Zuko asked, before stepping back, and scolding himself, “Of course he’s not okay, his son just died---”
The General stepped forwards and pulled the assassin into a bear hug. Zuko froze up at this physical contact like that, since he rarely got it.
“I’m trying to convince my father to let you travel with me, even though I’m retiring from the military.”
They broke the hug, as both of them stepped away from each other. Zuko crossed his arms, before saying, “He’s not going to appoint me as a bodyguard, not while I’m much more useful in other positions.”
Iroh looked down at the ground, before stepping back forwards. He brought Zuko back into a hug, and the assassin hesitatingly returned the hug. Iroh looked down at the young boy, before whispering, “Now another son is going to be torn away from me because of this war.”
“What did you say?” Zuko asked, looking up at the General.
“Nothing,” Iroh replied, breaking the hug. He moved towards the door, and glanced back at Zuko. The General gripped the door frame, saying, “Sorry for interrupting your down time, Zuko.” He left, shutting the door behind him, leaving Zuko in the quietness of his room.
Two years ago…
Age 14
Zuko slowly followed Commander Zhao through the forest at the base of the Northern Air Temple. They were the only two people from the Fire Nation there. He would definitely be able to defend the Command by himself, but he was still on edge. The Blue Spirit was still confused by what the Commander meant by that the person who they were meeting was no threat to them. Everyone was a threat to the Fire Nation, and this was the second time Zhao had brought him on a ‘field trip’.
The only other time he had done this was a week ago, when they met with a former Earth Kingdom chemist, who was now working for the Fire Nation. He gave Zhao something, but hadn’t used it for anything, so Zuko had no idea what his Commander was given.
They walked into a clearing where someone Zuko recognized was. It was the Mechanist, another man who had switched over to the side of the Fire Nation, so he and everyone else who was living at the Northern Air Temple could live safely.
“Ah, I didn’t think you’d show up alone. But Qin and the Fire Nation pose quite a threat to your home and everyone living there, don’t we?” Zhao asked, strolling into the clearing.
The Mechanist jumped, literally, before landing on the ground. He then adjusted his monocle, the man then cleared his throat, before he managed to get out, “Commander Zhao, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He did the Fire Nation bow, then straightened back up. “Uh, I have what you requested right here.” The man then pulled a bag tied with rope out of his coat. He walked forwards, dropping the bag in Commander Zhao’s hand. For some reason when Zhao looked away from the Mechanist, and Zuko. The older man looked at him with sympathy in his eyes.
“And these will do what I asked?”
He nodded quickly, saying, “Yes. They will amplify sounds to the person who they are embedded in. And if someone tries to remove them from the person who they are embedded in, that said person will go deaf.”
“Good, good,” Zhao said, with his voice filled with malic. He then glanced back at Zuko, he then turned around fully, looking directly at the assassin under his command. “Come. We are leaving now. Thank you, for helping the Fire Nation with another weapon.”
“Weapon?”
“Enhancement of a weapon.”
“What type of weapon?” The Mechanist asked, panicked. He then started rambling, “Because I didn’t design it for an actual weapon.”
“You don’t need to know,” Zhao told the Mechanist. Then ordered at Zuko again, “Come.” He then walked out of the clearing, and Zuko moved quickly, to keep up with him.
One year ago…
Age 15
“You failed?” Zhao said, with the calm-fury Zuko had come accustomed to in the past years working under the Commander.
He nodded his head, Zuko’s defiance streak had become more obvious in the past couple of months. He wasn’t afraid of the Commander, not one in a million.
“Take off your mask.”
Zuko quickly pulled down his hood, and untied the mask from his head. He set the mask face up on the ground in front of him. The mask mimicked the face of the Blue Spirit, the Spirit of Assassins from the Fire Nation. The place where he had gotten his codename from. Iroh had taught him about spirits, putting the most emphasis on the Blue Spirit. At that point, the only thing Zuko had believed was important, was the War, and his job. But Iroh and Lu Ten opened that up to multiple other things he ended up finding important.
“Do you know what I do to my soldiers when they fail me, correct?”
“You don’t do anything to your soldiers, unless they disrespect you. If they don’t, you just reassign them, if they do, you challenge them to an Agni Kai. Then they lose---because they are two afraid to face you---which I find to be utter dog shit, because there are very few reasons to be afraid of you. But I am a different story, because as long as I am functional, they don’t care what you do to me. Considering your ‘enhancements’,” Zuko finished, with a snappy tone in his voice. He quoted ‘enhancements’ doing finger quotes. The assassin was glaring up at his commanding officer.
Zhao moved forwards swiftly, grabbing Zuko’s chin in his hand. He forced the teenager to look him in the eye. The two pairs of golden eyes met each other, as Zhao stated, “You still have that boldness the General allowed in you.” He then pressed his right hand over Zuko’s left eye, letting fire consume his hand.
Present Day
Age 16
Zuko groaned as he rolled over in his bed on the ship Zhao had locked him on a year ago, after he failed a mission. His commander believed that solitary confinement, as he called it, would get the insubordination Iroh allowed in him to disappear.
When you're Zuko, you don’t listen to orders. He very easily snuck out of the ship at night, and screwed around in the Fire Nation colony village that was nearby. Zuko stole things from the richer people, and gave them to the poorer people of the village. The soldiers on the ship were supposed to be investigating it, but none of them really cared.
The assassin had gained morals over the years, as he became his own person. With that journey starting after he relearned his name from Iroh and Lu Ten and continuing with his years in exile unknown to Fire Lord Ozai.
Fire Lord Azulon had been assassinated by an assassin that had never been identified---at least that’s what Zuko knew. The public thought he had passed away peacefully in his sleep. Zuko believed whoever had assassinated Azulon had teamed up with Ozai, otherwise the youngest son probably wouldn’t have gotten the throne.
He wished that Iroh had become the Fire Lord. Iroh would have hopefully ended the war, and would rescue Zuko from this hell. But unfortunately, it had been passed over to another Warmonger in the Royal Family.
Zuko was just looking straight up at the plain silver ceiling in his room. Until there was knocking at his door. He rolled off his bed, grabbing his cloak off of the hook above his head, bringing and clipping the cloak over his shoulders in one swift movement. A skill he had picked up over the years, he pulled the hood over his head, as he moved to the door. The teenager pulled the door open, looking directly ahead at the soldier whose head was completely covered by the helmet he was wearing.
The soldier's fist was raised like he was going to knock the door again, and Zuko asked quietly, “Yes?”
He didn’t react immediately, probably too confused by Zuko speaking---most of the soldiers didn’t think he could speak. But the soldier coughed, bringing one of his fisted hands in front of his face, before saying, “Admiral Zhao requests your presence at the Pohuai Stronghold. He wants you to leave immediately.”
Zuko nodded, he stepped back, and slammed the door in the soldier’s face. He heard the soldier storm away, the assassin moved around his room, going after the weapons he was allowed to have stashed there. He strapped his broadswords onto his back, pulling the belt-strap over his chest. Then the arm sheath that had smaller daggers in them, then he pulled on his boots. His boots had hunting knives strapped inside of his boots. Zuko tied his Blue Spirit mask around his head
The assassin then moved over to the window, slid it open, and jumped out of it. He landed on the pier without a noise. Zuko then ran throughout the Fire Navy Pier, heading to the Pohuai Stronghold.
***
Zuko got to the Stronghold quickly, and avoided the guards, more or less sneaking into the location. Nobody noticed the assassin as he entered the location, he was only noticed by the newly-appointed Admiral Zhao. Only when he presented himself to the Navy Leader, in the location he had chosen as his office.
He dropped into a kneeling position in front of Zhao. Zuko couldn’t directly look up at Zhao without making the Admiral think something was wrong. But he could see the pleased smile on his face. The Admiral got up and moved to stand in front of Zuko.
“The Avatar is somewhere in the surrounding area. I want you to track him down, capture him, and bring him back here alive . I feel the need to specify that, since you have quite the high kill count.” The Admiral then moved to sit back down behind his desk. He went back to writing, and added, “Your assignment starts now.”
Zuko wanted to make a snarky response so much, but he’d prefer for Zhao to believe that he was his little pet assassin. So, hopefully soon enough, he could sneak off, and start his life over again. One without the Fire Nation involved, one that would hopefully be safer for him. One where he could make friends, find love, and find his family.
One where he could live his own life, not one the Fire Nation forced upon him.
One where he could track down the two brothers he remembers Lu Ten talking about.
The Blue Spirit was coming back, only in name. But he lost that cold, heartless, and detached personality he was forced to develop. He definitely wasn't coming back as the ruthless assassin he was before. Zuko was going to add another chapter to the Legend of the Blue Spirit, hopefully going to be able to change that legend from one of an assassin. To one of a protector, a giver.
It would take some time but that was what Zuko wanted to do.
Zuko would have to thank General Iroh for this, whenever he would see the retired General again.