Agni has stood by as his children have used their gifts to burn the world, consumed with despair but reluctant to interfere. When the one who is meant to act as his intermediary in the mortal realm burns his own son in a shocking act of cruelty in front of a crowd who fail to step in, that is the final straw.
— Fanfic summary
The Great Spirit Agni, disgusted with Fire Lord Ozai's treatment of his own son, removes all firebending from across the world. No one in the Fire Nation, from the highest Fire Lord to the lowest soldier, has firebending any more.
Except for Zuko.
As the Fire Nation is in turmoil, Iroh takes Zuko first to the White Lotus, then to Kyoshi Island. They stay there for several years until the Avatar and his companions arrive. At Suki's urging, Zuko leaves with them under the alias Li. He must struggle with his own secrets while Aang and the others try to understand the mysteries they have been thrust into.
But the Fire Nation has not been idle, either...
An Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic by sinistercinnamon
. It can be found here. Not to be confused with The Last Firebender, another AtLA fanfic by a different author.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: In addition to the canon scarring that started the whole mess, Ozai then proceeds to blame everything on Zuko and put a bounty on his head. It gets worse when Azula brings him home. Ozai suddenly treats Zuko like the perfect son, and ignores Azula unless he is forced to acknowledge her.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Zuko joins the Kyoshi Warriors and is a trusted subordinate of Suki, so they are very close.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if the Avatar can still firebend; every possible instance where Aang firebends might have just been airbending on an existing flame, or was explicitly Zuko. Ultimately, firebending is restored before the question can be resolved.
- Arranged Marriage: A fact of life for high nobility, no matter their ethnicity. Azula and her friends are more baffled by the idea of Yue's fiancee being an Heir-In-Law than her engagement, and when Zuko overhears Ozai planning with a minister to marry him with Mai, the teen basically shrugs and decides he can live with it — until he hears the second part...
- Bad "Bad Acting": Mai's overblown attempt to play the lovesick girl begging to be allowed to see her long-lost love. Azula internally cringes and Zuko looks thoroughly freaked, but it nonetheless fools the Northern Water Tribe.
- Break the Haughty: Azula, who was always The Ace and a Smug Super, finds herself largely useless with non-firebending combat. She actually knocks herself out with one weapon, and the best she ever manages is "decent for a beginner" with swords. And then when she masterfully manipulates both the Northern Water Tribe and Zuko to bring Zuko back, Ozai immediately ignores her in favor of Zuko.
- Culture Clash: Yue and Azula discuss the Water Tribe princess' Arranged Marriage over tea, and Azula is left floored by Yue being expected to Stay in the Kitchen instead of ruling in her own right — partially because she's Azula, but the Fire Nation is shown to genuinely believe Gender Is No Object.
- Decoy Protagonist: The author jokes that Momo is the real protagonist.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Very, very downplayed with Ozai since he has no qualms abusing his children, murdering his father and treating anyone not him as dirt, but he ultimately finds himself unable to kill Ursa in order to tie loose ends after Azulon's demise and merely banishes her from the palace. For a man like him, it's startingly tender.
- God Is Displeased:
- Agni, the Great Spirit who is the patron of the Fire Nation, has been growing steadily more displeased over the Hundred Years War. In fact, the only reason he hasn't intervened is because Great Spirits don't perceive time in the same way as humans; waiting a few hundred years to see if they sort things out on their own seems like a good idea. That is, until the Fire Lord (who is supposed to be Agni's voice) brutally scars his own son in a ritual duel sacred to Agni while the crowd cheers, all to punish him for suggesting they not murder their own troops. Agni responds by instantly removing all firebending — except for Zuko's. Ozai blames Zuko for all of this, and Iroh barely manages to get him out of the Fire Nation before he is killed.
- Later, on a smaller scale, Tui manifests through Yue to judge Hama for her cruelty and punishes her by removing her waterbending.
- Kick the Dog: What finally opens Zuko's eyes regarding his father's true character is overhearing Ozai planning to marry his son with Mai in the hopes of firebending grandchildren, callously dismissing the minister's worries about Mai potentially suffering Death by Childbirth by claiming a bride can be replaced easily.
- The Last Straw: Agni was never pleased in the slightest with the War, but Ozai invoking Agni's name to burn Zuko in a duel sacred to Agni, while claiming Agni's authority in the war, was the point where the Great Spirit finally got fed up with the Fire Nation as a whole.
- The Magic Goes Away: All firebending instantly disappears after Agni finally decides that the Fire Nation's deeds have become too much to tolerate, with the sole exception of Zuko.
- Never My Fault: It is blatantly obvious that the impetus for the loss of firebending was Ozai burning Zuko. Ozai manages to spin this all into being Zuko's fault, somehow.
- Power Incontinence: Towards the end, when the characters return to the Fire Nation and pray to Agni for guidance and forgiveness, he returns firebending to everyone in the group — including Ursa, Ty Lee, and Mai, who had not been benders before. Since they have no practice in actually bending and Sozin's Comet is currently overhead and greatly strengthening firebending, they have a lot of trouble keeping their flames in check.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Zuko is very much Ozai's carbon copy, to the point that he unsettles Azula when she got to see him in proper Fire Nation attire, from the unscarred side.
- Underestimating Badassery: Azula exploits the Northern Water Tribe's sexism, aware they will never think three teenage girls might pose a threat to them. As she later proves to them, it's a big mistake.
- Unsettling Gender-Reveal: As Zuko poses as a Kyoshi warrior, make-up and concealing dress included, Sokka comments on "her" having a weird voice, prompting Zuko to confess he's actually a boy.
- Villainous Breakdown: At the end, Ozai's power quickly and definitively crumbles once Zuko returns and firebending is restored for everyone but him. Having been publicly humiliated and shorn of his title, power, bending and dignity, Ozai is reduced a ranting madman.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: When the White Lotus hear that Zuko is the only firebender left, they declare that they need to take him back to the Fire Nation and put him on the throne immediately. Iroh protests that Ozai has too many supporters for it to be that easy, and he doesn't want to subject an injured and traumatized child to that regardless. Iroh and Zuko escape, but Zuko repeatedly wonders if maybe everything would already be fixed if he had just done as they said.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: The Kyoshi Warriors induct Zuko among them, and it means he has to don the make-up, the gown and the fans. He's actually alright with the make-up, since it hides his scar.
