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Deleted Scene from Chapter 37

Hey guys, remember how I said I rewrote an entire section on the chapter? Here it is! The more I think about it, the more I hate it, but I figured I'd still share it with you guys. Some of my biggest problems with this chapter was how much time was being spent building up to killing Lord Nibui and how the conversation with Iroh was going. I was quickly realizing that the chapter was about to get unjustifiably huge. So, I rewrote it to what the chapter is now. Still, I hope you all enjoy this deleted scene. It's not proofread, so there's bound to be a ton of mistakes.

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Zuko was sitting cross-legged on his bedroom floor glaring down at the beetles swarming his mostly untouched meal. Despite having a clear idea of what his role should be, he wasn’t exactly sure where to start. He sighed then grumbled, “I’ve never been a spy before. Sure, I’ve spied on people, but that’s different. What should be my main focus? Gathering information? Sabotage? Creating chaos?” A nearby beetle was trying to pull a chunk of meat that was too heavy for it, and Zuko groaned, “I know! I can’t try to do all of it or I won’t make a noticeable impact. It’s just trying to decide what’s more important.” Zuko watched two smaller beetles fighting over the same piece of meat until a large beetle pushed them both away. He tilted his head in consideration and admitted, “I guess you guys do have a point. My curse does technically make me stronger than Ozai, but I don’t want to have another Ba Sing Se experience. There’s also the fact that Ozai still probably doesn’t trust me, so it will be next to impossible to get any sort of useful information from him, let alone trick him.” His eyes were drawn to a pair of beetles working together to pull some meat back to their den. Zuko hummed then reluctantly said, “I guess I could use Mai for information. I doubt she knows much, but I bet her father would be all too happy to talk about whatever Father is up to. Of course, there’s also the real threat he’d snitch on me the moment he suspects any treachery.” Two large beetles were now fighting and were oblivious to a smaller one stealing from them. Now Zuko smirked and agreed, “You’re right. Everyone underestimates me. They think I’m crazy, weak, and stupid. No one will suspect a thing if I lean into that a bit.”

Still not having a real plan but at least feeling more confident, Zuko strolled out of his room and headed in the general direction of the garden. The hushed whispers of multiple people gossiping made him pause. He slowly approached the voices until he got to a closed door. On the other side, he heard a woman hiss, “Have you seen him? There’s no way you can convince me that he’s actually older than Princess Azula! At sixteen he should be taller than her, it’s not like she’s unusually tall for her age.”

An older man responded, “Have you seen General Iroh? The man’s not exactly known for his imposing stature. It’s possible that Prince Zuko inherited his height from his grandmother or from someone on Princess Ursa’s side of the family.”

A different man cautiously whispered, “I heard that his growth was stunted. My cousin is friends with one of the tailor’s apprentices, and she told her that Prince Zuko blamed starvation and stress.”

Geez.

I’m not that short.

They act like I’m the size of a small child.

I’m about the same height as Azula.

Maybe slightly shorter, but not by much.

He scowled at the door and was about to move on until an idea hit him. A smirk stretched across his face, but he quickly smothered it and knocked on the door. The voices immediately went silent. After a few moments, the door cracked open just enough to reveal an old noble man. Zuko didn’t recognize him, but he guessed that he was either visiting or a member of the Royal Court. He widened his eyes and put on the most innocent expression he could muster as he exclaimed, “Oh! Sorry, wrong door. I was looking for Lord Nibui.”

There was a commotion from inside the room, and the door was wrenched from the nobleman’s hand. It swung open wider to reveal a middle-aged noblewoman who snapped, “Who in their right mind would willing entertain that old creatin?” She looked down and saw Zuko then stammered, “Prince Zuko! I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Zuko smiled brightly and said, “It’s okay.” He then tilted head curiously and asked, “What’s wrong with meeting Lord Nibui?”

The noblewoman glanced up and down the hallway before motioning for Zuko to enter the room. A young nobleman was sitting at a small dining table and doing his best to act casual. Zuko almost wanted to snort in amusement, but he managed to maintain his composure. The old noble man carefully stated, “Lord Nibui is…an interesting character. He only recently officially joined the Royal Court after his father suddenly passed away. Yet, the man acts like he’s been here his whole life.”

Annoyed, the noblewoman snapped, “Forgive my language, Your Highness. But that creatin is hardly worthy being called a noble.” The old noble hissed an objection, but the woman continued, “He is an illegitimate child, born from a servant girl while his father was married to another woman. The poor woman was devastated and died from heartbreak when she heard the news. His father barely waited for his dead wife’s pyre to burn out before marrying the servant girl. For as long as I’ve known Lord Nibui, he’s always been a spoiled, entitled, nightmare. He feels especially entitled to attention from women.”

The young nobleman finally spoke up, “I’ve heard horrid rumors about what happens at his manor.”

Zuko felt a sudden pull to learn more, that there was a tragedy happening that he had to solve. He asked, “What do you mean? Is him asking about a girl bad?”

The three nobles shared looks of uncertainty. The old nobleman slowly spoke, “If at all possible, I suggest you get that girl as far from the palace as possible until Lord Nibui loses interest.”

After giving a loud scoff, the noblewoman snapped, “That creatin doesn’t lose interest. He just focuses elsewhere until the girl comes back. Remember Lord Yuhan’s daughter? She was sent back to the family estate for years, but Lord Nibui still went after her when she returned.”

A bit reluctantly, the young nobleman stated, “There are members of the Royal Court that want to oust him, but the votes aren’t there. It’s not that people necessarily like him, it’s just that he’s unmarried and other noble family’s want access to his wealth and power.”

Ah.

I guess that explains why he’s still around.

Nothing matters more to a group of nobles than obtaining more wealth and power.

An uneasy feeling was growing in the pit of Zuko’s stomach, and he asked, “What does he do to girl’s he’s interested in?”

The nobles fell silent again, but this time it stretched on longer. Finally, the noblewoman answered, “Nothing good, Your Highness. Nothing an honorable man would ever do.”

Vague but terrifying.

Well, if he wants to be vague and terrifying to Azula, then I think it’s my job as her older brother to save her then rub it in her face.

It’s the honorable thing to do.

Zuko smiled brightly then managed to leave after promising not to tell anyone about their conversation and not to meet with Lord Nibui. His smile quickly shifted into a stormy expression as he marched to the library. He stuck to the shadows as he weaved between bookshelves until he found what he was looking for. Official Royal documents weren’t really his area of interest, and they were a slog to get through, but he eventually found what he was looking for. All members of The Royal Court had apartments in the Caldera. The highest ranked members had an apartment in the palace. All Zuko had to do was figure out where Lord Nibui’s family apartment was. Judging by where the apartment was located, Lord Nibui’s family was somewhere in the middle when it came to noble wealth and power. He wasn’t the wealthiest or most influential, but he was far from poor and dismissible. Most notably, his apartment was near the Ash District.

The Ash District was notorious for being the place to get illegal goods and services without worrying about the authorities. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find even a town guard. Part of the reason The Ash District is allowed to continue to operate is how discrete the various business owners are. You’d be more likely to find a living dragon than find a snitch in The Ash District. Zuko mused, “You know, maybe starting my role focusing on Ozai is taking on more than I’m ready for. Maybe I need a…practice target. Since it seems Lord Nibui isn’t well liked, I think he’s the perfect candidate.” With the same level of ease, Zuko was able to exit the library and begin his quest.

Knowing his address isn’t enough.

I need to know his schedule.

Who is allies are.

And more importantly, what is he afraid of.

If I’m going to be a spy, then I’m going to make sure I thoroughly destroy my target.

No one threatens my sister.

As soon as he finished that thought, he rounded the corner and nearly ran directly into Azula. His eyes lit up and he happily exclaimed, “Azula! Just the person I needed. I have some questions and I know you have all the answers and…oh hi Mai.”

Just over Azula’s shoulder, Zuko finally noticed Mai lurking. She was glaring at Azula as she addressed Zuko, “Hi Zuko, how are you?”

Zuko shrugged noncommittally and answered, “Okay, I guess.” He turned his attention back to Azula and asked, “Can we talk privately?”

Azula narrowed her eyes at Zuko then smoothed her expression into something neutral as she said, “Actually, yes. There’s something I need to talk to you about as well.” The look in her eyes had a pit of dread forming inside of him.

Something tells me that I agreed to a fate worse than death.

Mai’s glare shifted from Azula to Zuko then back to Azula as she cooly stated, “I’ll go find Ty Lee. I’m sure she needs my help with something.”

Azula beckoned Zuko to follow her, and he had a sinking feeling that he was marching to the gallows. She opened a door to one of the many small sitting rooms and entered. Zuko barely got a chance to be nostalgic as Azula closed the door and coolly asked, “When exact did you have this run-in with cannibals?”

Zuko froze and weighed his options. He knew that if he tried to lie that Azula would either press him further until she got the answer she wanted, or it could potentially discredit anything he says which could cause him problems in the future. Not wanting to lose complete control of the conversation, Zuko answered, “Fourteen. How did your conversation with Uncle go?”

Like Zuko, Azula froze. She immediately snapped, “Who told you that? Honestly, why is loyalty so hard to come by.”

With a smirk, Zuko smugly replied, “You did. Just now. And I saw you sneaking out of the Palace toward The Dragon’s Keep. Unless you have some special prisoner there, Uncle’s the only person you’d visit.”

Azula glowered at him for a moment then seethed, “Fine. I did go visit our dear Uncle, and I knew he had the answers.” She sent him a suspicious look as she drawled, “I’m a bit surprised you haven’t tried to visit him. Afterall, you are disgustingly sentimental.” In a faux-casual voice, she continued, “I’m guessing you want to know what we talked about. Unfortunately, our dear uncle wasn’t interested in being talkative.”

That’s strange.

Uncle loves talking almost as much as he loves tea and Pai Sho.

Zuko frowned and was about to question her further until Azula continued, “So how did you wind up in the clutches of cannibals? And, more importantly, how did you escape?”

A part of Zuko was tempted to bang his head against the nearest wall. Internally, he cursed Azula’s tenacity as he stiffly answered, “I was searching a remote area for clues about the Avatar by myself. It was dark and they caught me off guard.” He hesitated slightly and tried to maintain his even tone as he continued, “I was able to escape because they underestimated me.”

Azula scowled then huffed in annoyance. She drawled, “How descriptive. For someone who claims to love theater, your answers lack the level of drama I’d expect from you.”

Now Zuko scowled and snapped back, “Maybe I don’t want to talk about it. For someone who claims to hate Uncle, you sure risked a lot to secretly visit him. What are you planning?”

The sibling glared at each other in silence for a long moment before Azula haughtily declared, “Don’t worry about I’m up to, Zuko. Maybe you should be more worried about yourself.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Azula’s glare sharpened and she snapped, “Out of all the members of The Royal Court, why would you agree to meet Lady Hen and Lord Nibui? Lady Hen is telling anyone who will listen how you disrespected her and is gathering votes to get you removed from the line of succession. It also doesn’t help that you willingly met with Lord Nibui. Your reputation was already in tatters when you returned, but now you’re setting it on fire and stomping on the ashes.”

Zuko was about to snap a retort until he heard Azula mention Lord Nibui. He pushed his frustration to the side and faux curiously asked, “What wrong with meeting with Lord Nibui? What do you know about him?” Zuko wasn’t really expecting any new information, but he was curious about what all Azula knew.

Does she know that he’s interested in her?

Azula blinked in mild surprise at the sudden change, but she shifted back into glaring at him in annoyance as she groused, “I suppose I can forgive you for not recognizing who he is. He became an official member of The Royal Court a few months after you were banished. Before that, he would occasionally come to the palace with his father.”

“So why should I avoid him? Shouldn’t I be trying to gain as many allies as possible in the Court?”

Some of Azula’s frustration faded into annoyance as she explained exasperatedly, “You need the right allies. Lord Nibui and his minions are hardly the sort of people you want to associate with. At least not publicly. If you are hoping to get your hands on some…questionable items, then he can be a good tool to get them. However, his abhorrent behavior has made him, and those that associate with him, social pariahs.”

Now deeply confused, Zuko asked, “If his behavior is so horrible and well known, why hasn’t he been expelled from The Royal Court? Does Father like him that much?”

Azula scoffed and rolled her eyes then continued to explain as if Zuko was being particularly slow, “Because Zuko, Lord Nibui has almost total control over the black market in the Caldera and Ember Island. Despite how distasteful his behavior is, many nobles are willing to look overlook it in exchange for illegal items. All of the deals he’s made are done behind closed doors, but it’s almost a guarantee that everyone on The Royal Court has some sort of deal with him.” Her expression shifted to disgust as she snapped, “Of course Father hates the man. Mostly because it’s a nightmare to even attempt to have a normal conversation with him. Father almost always rejects any meeting requests from him.”

“Does Father have a deal with Lord Nibui?”

All the annoyance disappeared from Azula’s face as she contemplated his question. She frowned then answered, “I don’t see why he would. There isn’t much the Fire Lord doesn’t have access to or can’t have. He has multiple active contracts with high-profile assassins, the best alcohol money can buy, and all the expensive materials he could ever want.”

Something in Zuko’s brain latched on to what she said and pointed out, “But there are things that he can’t have.”

A bit reluctantly, she admitted, “Well yes, but he isn’t interested in any of these things anyways so I still doubt Father would make a deal with Lord Nibui.” Zuko was about to press her for more information when Azula ordered, “Just stay away from him. It can’t be that hard for you to do.” Without another word, Azula marched out of the room, leaving Zuko to sulk.

Well, I guess that wasn’t a complete disaster.

I did learn more about Lord Nibui.

I bet if I dig enough, I can find a disgruntled customer or two.

For the next couple of days, Zuko tried to discreetly dig up whatever he could about Lord Nibui. He was almost surprised how willing members of The Royal Court were to sell each other out. Some of the things they were purchasing from Lord Nibui were relatively benign, in Zuko’s opinion. Mostly illegal alcohol, drugs, exotic animals, and stolen artifacts. Not great but not something that was terribly surprising. Then there were a few individuals who were accused of having purchased people for reasons Zuko really didn’t want to explore.

I have enough mental trauma.

Besides, taking out Lord Nibui should hopefully solve some of this.

Or at least make it slightly more difficult for them.

It was almost disgustingly easy to figure out Lord Nibui’s daily routine. It was like the man was scared of any sort of deviation. Every day he did the same exact things in the same exact order. The only real deviation was the people he met with. Lord Nibui also had an extremely expensive taste for just about everything. Especially if those things could be found in the palace. While Zuko hadn’t had to chance to sneak out to see Lord Nibui’s apartment, there were plenty of nobles who were more than happy to describe all the expensive works of art, gold leafed furniture, and precious stones that suspiciously mirrored the palace. Even with all this information, Zuko felt like he didn’t know enough. He paced his room and ranted, “How can I terrorize this creep without knowing what he’s scared of? I guess he’s afraid of being poor, but I don’t have the time or means to undermine his hold on the black market.” He looked down at his beetles and saw a couple of them fighting over a chunk of meat. The would-be thief managed to rip off a small piece and began to run off, and the other beetle abandoned its piece to pursue the thief. Zuko hummed then mused, “I suppose I don’t need to get rid of all of his wealth. Even losing a small chunk of it could be enough to cause the man to spiral. I’m willing to bet he’s just barely living within his means if he’s decorating his apartment to resemble the palace.” Even with a vague idea of how to hurt the lord, Zuko wasn’t sure how to start.

It’s so much easier to swing swords at someone or lurk in shadows.

Subtly is not my strong suit.

It was near the middle of the night, but Zuko wasn’t surprised to see a familiar cloaked figure sneaking out of the palace. Azula had been going to see Iroh almost every night but always refused to talk about it. Part of Zuko was frustrated that he couldn’t eavesdrop on their conversations, but he was mostly curious about his uncle. It had been over a month since he last saw him, which is the longest they’ve gone without seeing each other in over three years.

If Uncle’s willing to give Azula advice, then he might be willing to help me with my new career as a spy.

Zuko threw on a cloak and snuck out of the palace. He almost wanted to laugh at how easy it was to get out. There weren’t many places to hide near The Dragon’s Keep. It was surrounded by gray stone without a single bush or tree for several yards. The tower itself was carved into the volcano that made the Caldera with only one way in and out. The entrance had two short guard posts that controlled the gate. Despite it being night, the gate was still lowered.

Why?

I’m not going to tell people how to run their prison but keeping the gate lowered is just asking for an escape attempt.

Or basically inviting two royal children to break in.

Zuko knelt behind a rocky outcrop and waited. Sure enough, a few minutes later Azula exited the prison. She did her best to stick to the shadows as she left, but Zuko pretty easily tracked her movements. He waited until she crested over the volcano’s edge before making his way to the prison’s entrance. If any of the guards saw him, they didn’t say anything.

I wonder if they think I’m Azula coming back for whatever reason.

There wasn’t really anything interesting about the inside of the prison. Aside from the occasional portrait of Ozai, there wasn’t any decorations. The entrance had a few doors on the left that were labeled as offices, various storage areas, and a prisoner processing room. On the right, there was a metal door that led to the cells. It was already cracked open.

How convenient and thoughtful.

That, or this is a fascinating level of laziness.

Zuko silently huffed and quietly slipped through the door. The gradual incline up the spiraling prison almost gave the illusion that he was walking in circles. It didn’t help that the torches on the walls were evenly spaced out, there weren’t any obvious landmarks that told you where you were, and all the wooden cell doors looked the same.

At least not having signs kind of makes sense here.

It disorients the prisoner, and it’s just one long hall.

While everything did look exactly the same, Zuko had a good idea of where his uncle’s cell was. Firebenders were imprisoned near the top of the tower for safety reasons. The prison was built using almost exclusively stone; but some places still had to use wood, and a few rooms had plaster coatings. At least on the top floors, firebending prisoners can’t do too much damage. Also, being a direct member of the royal family would earn Iroh a cell at the very top of the tower. The cells up there were specifically designed to withstand the powerful flames of even the most powerful firebenders. Not even Ozai would be able to burn his way out.

The hall was still surprisingly empty of guards, so it didn’t take Zuko very long to reach what had to be Iroh’s cell. There weren’t any other doors nearby, and the fire-based torches were replaced with orange-glowing crystals that were dimmer. Zuko reached out to open the wooden door and noted the fresh sheen of fire-resistant resin. He hesitated briefly then forced the thick door open. On the other side of the cell, there was a small metal cage in the center. It didn’t touch any of the stone walls, and the only light came from the small peephole in the wooden door. There was just enough room in the cage for a small bedroll, a stool, a bucket, and just enough flooring to pace on. Sitting on the floor, facing away from the door, was his uncle. From what Zuko could see, Iroh was wearing prison rags and mats had started forming in his hair. Silently, Zuko approached the cell and sat on the floor. A part of him had hoped that Iroh would start trying to lecture him, question why Zuko made the choices that he did; but he remained silent. Zuko opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to figure out what to say.

It’s not time for the reveal.

Zuko blurted out, “I guess I’m only more important than the Avatar to you when I make the choices that you want.” Iroh flinched but didn’t respond. Zuko huffed then snapped, “Are we doing the silent treatment again? I guess your motivation is different this time, but still. I’m not dead yet, but maybe the Avatar will fix that soon.” A stronger flinch but still no response. An old anger welled up inside Zuko as he went on, “I know Azula’s been visiting you. I don’t really understand why or what she hopes to gain. Maybe she wants answers, or maybe she wants to hurl everything wrong with me in your face like you somehow failed me.” That got a response, though still not a verbal one. Iroh’s shoulders hunched forward as he bowed his head. It was probably the closest Zuko was going to get to confirmation. He huffed in annoyance.

Are we seriously doing this again?

I thought we were past this.

I hate repeating storylines.

As much as Zuko wanted to point out how wrong his uncle was, he bit his tongue. The halls may appear empty, but he knew that there were bound to be people listening. Unless he wanted his career as a spy to end prematurely, he had to choose his words carefully. Still seething, Zuko snapped, “Whatever. If you want to feel guilty over that, go ahead. I’m not going to rehash an old argument.” He paused to see how his uncle would react, but the man was still bowed in grief. Zuko internally rolled his eyes then asked, “What do you know about Lord Nibui?” Iroh stiffened but remained silent. Zuko groaned in annoyance then ranted, “He wants to help me become Fire Lord, but I have a feeling that I’m not going to like how he plans on doing that. I told him I’d give him an answer by the end of the week. Unless you want me to be permanently tied to this man, you’ll tell me everything I need to know.”

Iroh remained silent long enough that Zuko was about ready to throw his hands up in exasperation and storm off. A bit too evenly, Iroh hoarsely stated, “Lord Nibui is an ambitious man. His desire for power and influence is on par with Ozai. However, unlike Ozai, Lord Nibui does not care about his public image.

#ao3 writer #writing update #atla zuko #a little bit of death #atla #zukka #deleted scene

Chapter 36 deleted scenes

I figured I'd share a couple of scenes that were originally going to go differently. Admittedly, I don't have the actual text anymore, but I can tell you how they was supposed to go.

The meeting with Lady Hen is nothing like I originally planned. Remember how Azula said that there were some older women who wanted to marry Zuko? Yeah, Lady Hen was going to be one of them. She was going to spend the majority of their meeting flirting with him, and Zuko would alternate between being confused and creeped out. Azula was going to "conveniently" drop in to save him. I decided the Lord Nibui was creepy enough and changed her into a snotty noble.

Also, the meeting with the Fire Sage was also originally planned differently. He was going to act as a scribe that would ask Zuko about what all he did while he was banished and a fugitive. Zuko was going to spend most of the conversation alternating between dodging questions, giving half-answers, and trying to come up with believable lies. I felt like the chapter was getting a little long without anything really happening, and it was already pretty dialogue heavy. I do like what I changed the conversation to, and I may revisit the possibility of a scribe asking Zuko questions.

Lastly, the answer Zuko gave to Mai. Originally, Zuko told her the worst thing that ever happened to him was hope. He listed off some situations where he had hope only for things to go wrong. Ozai declared that hope for was children and those who lack the power to change their situation. Naturally, Mai's father loudly agreed with him. I didn't know where to take the conversation after that, and I felt like it might be just a little too angsty. Especially considering that Zuko was trying not to ruin the dinner. I also considered how Azula would probably respond to this, so I decided to rewrite it. Honestly, this was the scene I struggled with the most. I wanted Zuko to be slightly honest without being too angsty or making his answer too unbelievable. I'm not entirely sure I love how I decided to write this scene, but it did give Zuko the excuse he needed to leave the dining room and run into Ty Lee.

#ao3 writer #atla zuko #a little bit of death #atla #zukka #deleted scene

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