WiP Wednesday: Aangsty Soulmate AU
wafflehouse_agnikai commented on Once Upon a Dream with a deliciously aangsty idea that I had to do something with. It doesn't fit into that continuity at all (in fact, I nixed the dreamsharing part of the AU entirely), but here's a bit I started that was supposed to be about Aang post-Invasion of the North thinking he killed his soulmate. And that will still happen.... but my muse decided to start with Zuko's POV of everything first. Enjoy!
(tumblr formatting sucks ass, so sorry in advance)
It started at the South Pole. In the long scheme of things, the moment was hardly that notable – but in the short term, it changed everything.
Because as Zuko stood before the Southern Water Tribe village and faced the Avatar, a young boy with arrow tattoos stared back at him, eyes widening in a way that said Zuko was not the only one feeling this odd burning in his chest.
“No,” Zuko said, even as the Avatar started to grin.
“You’re my soulmate!” the boy said far too cheerfully.
“What!?”
“I am not!” Zuko insisted, attacking to show the truth of it.
The Avatar wielded off his attack and then agreed to go with him. For a moment, Zuko really thought he’d get to go home…
But of course things never went his way.
Watching the beast flying away with the Avatar and two other children on its back, Zuko felt a hollow clanging below his breastbone. He refused to acknowledge what that might mean.
––
It didn’t change anything. Except that when Zuko’s damaged ship floated into the Fire Nation dock, only to be greeted by a newly-promoted Commander Zhao, his crew whispered not just about the Avatar that he had found – but about what the Avatar had said.
Zhao laughed long and hard at that and Zuko scowled, fury twisting through him. It wasn’t true, but even if it was, Zhao’s reaction would make Zuko wish it wasn’t.
“Soulmates with the Fire Nation’s greatest enemy,” Zhao drawled. “What misfortune you have, Prince Zuko.”
“Fuck off,” Zuko snarled.
Zhao just laughed. “I’m sure your father will be pleased by this information,” he taunted, and Zuko tried to pretend it didn’t get under his skin.
It was a lie. He wasn’t anyone’s soulmate! How could he be?
Why would the spirits be so cruel as to tie another soul to his when he was nothing but a perpetual disappointment?
Zuko threw his everything into trying to capture the Avatar, who was absolutely not his soulmate. Capturing the Avatar was the only way he could ever go home – so he would.
Nothing else mattered.
––
He tried to remind himself of that when he heard the whispers that Zhao had commandeered the Yuyan Archers and they’d managed to capture the Avatar.
The way his stomach twisted and his chest ached were purely because Zhao was trying to steal his way home. Zuko had to believe that.
Even so, he couldn’t let Zhao get away with that. He needed the Avatar to be free… so he would free them.
It didn’t mean anything.
Neither did the way the Avatar saved him after he got knocked out by a Yuyan arrow.
“Why can’t we be friends?” the Avatar asked softly. “You’re my soulmate.”
“No, I’m not!” Zuko snapped without thinking, shooting fire at the boy.
Aang dodged easily, but the look on his face was sad as he darted away.
Zuko groaned, rubbing his bruised head.
––
Ultimately, it would’ve been fine if not for Zhao spotting his swords.
“Well, well,” Zhao’s expression was gleeful. “Skilled with broadswords are you, Prince Zuko?”
“No,” Zuko said, a little too fast. “They’re decorative. Antiques.”
Zhao snorted, slashing one sword through the air.
“What do you want, Zhao?” Zuko demanded, trying to change the subject.
Zhao’s grin told him that the new subject was not going to be better than the old one.
“I’m taking your crew,” Zhao announced with relish. “And,” he pulled out a scroll, snapping his wrist to unfurl it and hold it before Zuko.
Zuko couldn’t quite read it – but he could he his Father’s personal seal stamped onto the scroll, and suddenly his heart was in his throat.
“The Fire Lord has authorized the arrest of the Avatar’s soulmate,” Zhao said smugly. Then he snapped and footsoldiers came pouring into Zuko’s room to surround him.
Uncle tried to protest, but there wasn’t much that could be done against the Fire Lord’s personally endorsed orders. Zuko debated fighting for a long minute – but ultimately, there were too many of them for him to be able to get away without lethal force and he just… couldn’t. Not his people. Not even if they were following Zhao’s orders.
They didn’t have a choice. Just like he never had. The Fire Lord’s orders must be followed – whether they were to find a legend or to arrest the former Crown Prince.
So Zuko was hauled off in chains to the brig of Zhao’s flagship, which was apparently heading towards the North Pole to invade the stronghold that was sheltering the Avatar. Zuko seethed silently, trying to figure out what to do.
But ultimately, he couldn’t do anything.
––
It was fucking cold in the brig, and the guards got antsy over him using his breath of fire, even though he didn’t do anything except warm himself up. They, at least, were wearing cold weather gear. But Zuko had been arrested in his casual meditation robes and he certainly hadn’t been given any coats or anything and it was fucking cold.
He could tell when the invasion must’ve started, because the ship stopped moving, and there were loud sounds from above, though he couldn’t make out the details.
The guards shifted nervously and Zuko breathed another burst of warmth, shivering slightly.
While he was sure the actual invasion was hectic, nothing particularly notable happened in the brig – at least, not until Zuko’s head suddenly went a little woozy. The guards also seemed discombobulated – and then someone above them screamed something about the Moon being dead, and Zuko had no idea what to think.
But it didn’t matter, because moments later, there was suddenly a great deal of activity as some force somehow sliced through the hull of the ship, right between Zuko and the guards.
He had just long enough to groan, “oh, fuck,” before the part of the ship he was on started tipping backwards. Acting more on instinct than logic, he sprinted to the edge of the broken ship – and jumped across the widening gap.
Miraculously, he landed in a roll on the other side of the ship, which appeared much more stable. The guards were frantic, panicking, but Zuko managed to shout loud enough to order everyone onto an evacuation boat before the whole ship collapsed on them.
The world was a rush of noise and lights and explosions and Zuko didn’t have the wherewithal to take it in – so he focused on what was happening directly around him, ordering the bodies he could see in the water hauled aboard.
Polar waters killed fast, and there were some that were beyond saving – but Zuko refused to give up and he was burning through his chi fast using the breath of fire and trying to spread the heat he could produce as far as possible. Shivering soldiers huddled around him, some whimpering in pain, other crying or shaking with fear.
“Look!” someone shouted, and Zuko instinctively listened. “The Moon is back!”
“Thank Agni!” another cried, and they were echoed by everyone, even as the waves around their boat surged and pushed them away from the Northern Water Tribe.
Zuko’s eye wasn’t caught by the Moon, though he too felt relief. No, his eye was caught by the giant water fish monster – which had a small glowing person in its center.
There was only one possible person that could be, and Zuko didn’t know how Aang had gotten so powerful, but he cursed the Avatar for it.
Hundreds of men had been killed here in this battle. Dozens of ships were destroyed beyond repair, and there were some other evacuation boats amongst the fleet – but far too few for what had been lost.
Zuko buried his rage and fear and hurt under the need to focus on the moment. The fleet’s commander was gone, probably dead. Someone had to take charge, and Zuko didn’t really have the authority to do so, but no one else was doing it, so…
The captains of each ship surely knew that no one could force them to follow his orders – and yet, they followed them anyway. Zuko took charge of the invasion fleet’s retreat and even though he’d been banished and even arrested, as far as he could tell, every single soldier did what he told them to.
He didn’t know why, but it made things easier.
––
Captain Tazawa was the highest ranking member of the invasion fleet left, and honestly, he was relieved when the child prince took charge. He had no idea what had happened with the Moon or the horrifying creature that had lashed out at the fleet. It had looked like a giant koi fish made of water, and he’d heard more than a few people whispering about the Ocean Spirit taking revenge for their wife.
Because for a moment there, the Moon had been dead, they all knew it. He couldn’t explain how he knew it, but he did. Somehow, she had been restored and no one knew how, but that was nothing new. No one knew anything about what had happened. As far as they’d known, this was a standard invasion, a completely normal assignment. They had no idea how the Moon and the Ocean had ended up in play.
Captain Tazawa… suspected he could guess. He’d once spotted Admiral Zhao cackling gleefully about the spirits being mortal and while he hadn’t lended any credence to it at the time, now he was starting to think that maybe Zhao had done something incredibly stupid.
And the rest of the fleet were the ones to pay the price. Typical.
But while that price had been steep – it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, and that was entirely due to the Prince. Despite the incredibleness of what had happened to them – the Ocean had attacked them! – Prince Zuko focused only on the practical. He helped keep the people they fished out of the water alive with heat and even when enough time had passed that there were none left alive, he still continued to order their retrieval.
The ships were doubled up with at least two crewmen to a cabin, but Prince Zuko had managed to find somewhere for everyone to stay and he had the captains in the fleet doing a headcount, comparing the drowned soldiers’ dog tags to the crew rosters. There were a lot of people still missing, people who hadn’t been recovered – but on the whole, more people were alive than not and all of them were whispering about their prince, who had saved people’s lives with his dragon’s fire, who had helped everyone, not even paying attention to their rank.
It wasn’t the first time Prince Zuko had stood in defense of his people, Captain Tazawa remembered. He’d been there that day almost three years ago when the Fire Lord had punished his son for defending his people. Or so the rumors said. Captain Tazawa had always doubted them, wanting to believe there was another reason for the Agni Kai – but now…
Fire Lord Ozai had declared his son a coward for refusing to fight, but it was very obvious through the course of their retreat that Prince Zuko was anything but cowardly. If anything, he could stand to be more cautious. But while the rest of them had panicked, he had stepped up to take charge – and Captain Tazawa respected that.
That was part of why he approached the Prince now.
“Sir,” Captain Tazawa began.
“Ah, Captain,” Prince Zuko rubbed his face, clearly exhausted – and just as clearly not intending to stop working until he dropped. “Um. Do you need your bridge back?”
“No, sir,” Captain Tazawa said. Then he took a breath and said bluntly, “you need to sleep. Sir.”
Prince Zuko stared at him uncomprehendingly. “What?”
“It’s been three days, sir. You’ve done everything you can. You need rest.”
The prince continued to blink at him.
“You arranged for beds for everyone else,” Captain Tazawa said, “but you haven’t slept yourself. Sir.”
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Mimli Lizaxi (Meem-lee Lee-zack-see)
You are an alien who doesn’t quite understand all of what earth has to offer. You and your minty self decide to take the best course of action and learn about the world around you—through science! With the power of two worlds (literally) in your hands, you go a little...crazy with the power at your fingertips, and strive to become the world’s first alien mad scientist.
Traits: Genius, Materialistic, Ambitious, Erratic, Mischievous
Aspiration: Chief of Mischief
After so much time spent working her way up, Mimli has finally been assigned to a mission to research another planet! The problem? She's being sent to Earth out of all places!! How medieval. She was so eager to dive into Certa's cutting-edge technology and advanced civilization.
Not only that but Mimli's stuck with a partner she can't stand. What a headache... she's always been about work, not making friends. At least the two agree that they should take this mission seriously in hopes of big promotions. Maybe she'll also have fun with the humans in her own mischievous ways, but the Empress and the Sixam Council don't have to know about that.
Goals under the cut:
Traits: Genius, Ambitious, Materialistic
Aspiration: Chief of Mischief
Career: Scientist
Species: Alien
Skills, Career, and Aspiration
Master scientist career
Complete Chief of Mischief aspiration
Master mischief and logic skills
Personal Life
Marry human spouse
Have at least one enemy (optional: who has a voodoo doll attached for...purposes)
Use the Electroflux Wormhole Generator to visit your home planet of Sixam
Number of children this generation doesn’t matter, but heir needs to be human
Optional
Complete the elements collection — you have to know all about the elements on this planet!
Live in StrangerVille & solve the StrangerVille mystery with your spouse. Why does the flora around here seem so familiar?
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