#brave soldier boy doesnt come marching home
An anonymous someone asked on my other account: “Could you give us more of the AU where Iroh and Zuko find Lu Ten brainwashed at Lake Laogai?”
Continued from: [Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link],[Link], and [Link].
1. Meanwhile, back in the Fire Nation, or at least on a specific ship headed to the Fire Nation, with the Fire Nation prince and princess onboard, a certain Dragon of the West whiles away the hours, in a dark, and dank, brig. His nephew sided with Azula, and he has to grieve about that, to deal with the swirl of misery and disappointment, and even that sense of failure, but more than that, he is afraid. He is so deeply afraid of what Zuko might tell his sister and father about Lu Ten. And even if he doesn’t, where is Lu Ten? Is he on his own? He’s far from ready for that. What if he gets hurt? What if he is found? For so long, Iroh believed his son was dead. Now he knows he is alive, and in danger.
2. Zuko has told Azula absolutely nothing about Lu Ten. And no, he has no intention of examining why. For all he desperately wants to believe Azula, to go home and be his father’s son again, deep down, he’s afraid. He knows what his family is capable of, even if he can’t admit it to himself. When he starts to visit his uncle, when he tries to talk to him, but Itoh won’t answer him, this is one of the things he tells him, soft, almost whispering it, so no one else can hear.
3. Zuko doesn’t talk about the brainwashing. He doesn’t want anybody to know. But Azula already does know. The Dai Li told her about brainwashing her brother, and this is information she plans to make use of. Azula is delighted with the Dai Li. After they have done their job securing Ba Sing Se for her, she packs a contingent of them onto a ship and sends them to the Fire Nation palace. They arrive not long after Azula and Zuko do. Every so often, Zuko catches sight of one, his green robes flapping, and can’t breathe.
4. But of course, Azula would never tell Mai and Ty Lee about such things, and neither would Zuko.
5. And on another ship, sailing for the Fire Nation, Lu Ten remembers everything. He remembers being Lu Ten, at least. The fog of his captivity in Ba Sing Se is another thing entirely. And he knows he is among enemies of the Fire Nation. So he concludes the only reasonable thing: he is a captive. And captives have a duty to escape.
