Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Aang was curled up on Appa’s tale, while Katara was wrapped in her sleeping bag a little too close to the fire. It was an unusually chilly night, but Sokka sat up watching the fire crackle as he relived past memories. Emotional wounds that he couldn’t seem to heal – standing on the edge of his village watching his father sail off to war. He had not been old enough to go to battle, only 13 years old, but for some reason he had gotten his hopes up anyway. The shattering disappointed when his father told him he had to stay behind and protect his sister was still fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday.

His father told him that someday he would understand, and that he would miss him, but it has been 3 years since that day and Sokka was no closer to understanding now then he was than.

After finding the Southern Tribe’s boat, and discovering it was part of his father’s fleet he couldn’t hold back the past memories anymore. They kept running through his mind and the pain and hurt her felt seemed to be bubbling up in his chest.

A cracking noise on the edge of the beach caught his attention and swiftly brought him back into the present world, the world that was at war with the fire nation. The world he needed to protect his sister and the only hope they had, Aang.

Sokka jumped up with boomerang in hang, “Who’s there?!”

Staring into the darkness a tall man with long dark brown hair in a tall woof tail was emerging from the rocky shoreline.

“Sokka?”

“Bato?!”

Katara sat up “Bato?!”

Sokka was confused but his confusion quickly faded into pure joy and excitement. So many years had passed since he’s laid eyes on Bato. His father’s best friend.

He looked just as confused to see them as they were to see him…

“Sokka, Katara it is so good to see you two. You’ve grown so much.”

“Hi I’m Aang!”

“Where’s dad?”

“Is he here?”

“No he and the other warriors should be in the Western Earth Kingdom by now.”

A cold wind swept through the beach sending a shiver through the group.

“This is no place for a reunion lets get inside.”

They all followed Bato back to the Abbey, where he was being taken care of by the sisters. He had suffered terrible burns on one side of his body but he seemed to be healing alright. They exchanged greetings and Sokka’s stomach began to grumble, Bato looked down at him and smiled.

“Let’s go back to where I am staying and get you all something to eat.”

Upon arriving at Bato’s temporary home, Katara’s eyes filled with joy as he pulled open the door revealing a room set up exactly as it would have been back in the Southern Water Tribe.

He lifted the lid to a pot that was boiling over the fire and both Katara and Sokka’s expressions became even more excited and joyful, if that was even possible.

“No way! Stewed sea prunes?!”

“Help yourself please.”

Sokka laughed, “Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things.”

They handed a bowl to Aang who sniffed it timidly before making a disgusted face and sticking out his tongue.

The three water tribe members began reminiscing on old times, the stories stayed light hearted and usually involved Bato and Hakoda getting into some kind of trouble by breaking some kind of rule.

“So do you guys have any fun stories from the last 3 years you have been out to sea?”

Bato chuckled, but his eyes flashed a hint of sadness.

Sokka reached out and put his hand on Bato’s uninjured shoulder, “I know its probably been pretty rough, being at war out at see fighting the fire nation and everyone not being able to return home to see family. I know everyone misses you terribly but we are all proud of what you are doing out there kicking fire nation butt. I’ve been keeping the village safe don’t worry, and training the young warriors.”

Sokka was trying to be sincere and light hearted but it only seemed to bring more sadness to Bato’s expression.

He let out a low breath and smiled at Sokka, “Sometimes the lines between good and evil are not as defined as we would hope.”

Aang perks up, that sounded like something he would say to Sokka when he would go on a rampage about evil fire nation scum. Aang was surprised to hear such wisdom coming from the mouth of a seasoned Water Tribe warrior.

“But to answer your question, we have had a few fun times, Anke getting his first tribal tattoo, Tulok was promoted to 3rd in command. Noa, the young man from the Northern sister tribe has really grown into a strong and intelligent man he has really opened up and it actually quiet funny. Remember Kuluk? He took almost a month to get his sea legs – he wouldn’t stop throwing up for weeks! I thought your dad was going to throw him overboard…”

All 3 of the kids laughed and Bato smirked.

“Oh and your dad practically adopting the Prince of the Fire nation….”

Sokka spit out his stew, Katara began choking her face turning bright red, and Aang broke out into a huge smile.

“I’d like to hear more about the last thing please.”

Aang was now really glad they found Bato.

He closed his eyes and began to tell the story from 3 years ago when they fished the Prince of the Fire Nation out of the ocean like he was a dead fish.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Chief Hakoda!! There is something in the water!!”

“Well yeah obviously we are in the ocean there are lots of stuff in the water!!”

“Shut up I was talking to the Chief not to you!!”

Hakoda peered over the edge of the ship to see a small boy holding onto what looked like ship wreckage, he had a full head of dark black hair which was covering his face. He didn’t seem to be conscious, possibly not even breathing. Springtime was not a good time to be floating in the middle of the ocean.

“Throw him a line!”

They threw out the rope but the small boy didn’t even move, he didn’t seem to hear the crew yelling at him, or that there were even people around. He just lay motionless his frozen hands gripping onto the wooden board.

Hakoda did the only thing a man who missed his children so dearly would do, he jumped into the freezing water to bring the boy aboard.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Wait, stop. Dad jumped into the freezing ocean to save who I am going to assuming is going to be revealed as Prince Zuko? Angry Pony tail jerk?”

Bato looked annoyed to have been interrupted and also confused about the nick name, he wasn’t aware that was one of the prince’s aliases but either way he was going to continue the story.

“Yes, now if you would let me finish.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Once the boy was aboard the ship and entire crew was now on the deck, the crew wasn’t large, only about 8 people for every boat and the fleet had about 8 ships total.

“Give us some room boys, I don’t even know if he is alive.”

Hakoda felt the boys neck and surprisingly he found a soft slow pulse. The boy was small, but had a strong muscular build, a head full of black hair that was pulled into a Phoenix tail that was close to being undone, most surprising was the white bandages that covered half of his face. He was so pale, he could have been dumped on an ice berg and would blend in.

“I think he has hypothermia, we need to get him below deck and into some furs to try and warm him up.”

None of the men moved, they were unsure what the Chief was saying – save this kids life? This stranger? This potential enemy? The spy? The person who clearly wore the colors of the enemy? They wouldn’t put it past the fire nation to send a boy to spy and disclose their location. But this could also be an earth kingdom boy as well, there was no clear way to tell until the boy woke up – that is, if he woke up.

“Alright men, I know this is war… but this is also a moment you will think about when you hold your children at night when you return home. They will ask you about the war and this moment will always replay in your mind, it will either be the moment that we became like the enemy and allowed a young boy to die, or the moment we showed this war what type of people the Southern Water are!”

Hakoda spoke with his Chief voice and stared into the eyes of each of his crew members, Bato stepped up and picked up the boy and began to walk toward the lower deck.

Anke stepped in front of Bato, blocking the entrance. He did most of the navigation onboard he had the most experience navigating ships. Matching Bato in height but almost doubled him in width he stood there arms crossed.

“Show me his eyes before you bring this potential threat bellow, where he could possibly bring this whole ship down with just a sneeze if he turns out to be a fire bender! I will not risk this entire crew.”

He approached Bato and reach out peeling back the boys uncovered eye lid, his eye reflected the sun the golden iris’s were as clear as day, there was no hiding that this was a fire nation child. The child’s eyes were foggy from the cold, but he stirred slightly under the men’s touch.

Bato turned to Hakoda not sure what he should do now. It was clear he was fire nation even the clothing he wore were fire nation colors, red and black, the colors hated around the world.

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, a signature move when he was unsure what to do.

“I cant in good conscious allow him to go below Chief, we have 8 people on this boat depending on us to make the right decisions! What do you think Tulok?”

Anke looked over at the 3rd in command, Tulok, he was newly promoted after being out to sea for 6 months proving himself to be a hard worker and a confident leader despite his young age.

“I don’t think we should make any decisions that involve murdering a child until he is at least lucid enough to explain himself. If we do not like the explanation then we can always make the decision then. We can always kill him, but we can not change our minds once it is done. I would hate for this to be a regret we can not take back.

Hakoda smiled, he loved Tulok.

Anke slowly moved out of Bato’s way as he brought the boy down, there wasn’t much room downstairs, there was the Chief’s room/study/war meeting area, there was a sleeping cabin where the bunk cots were and where the men kept their personal belongings, a kitchen/eating area, washroom (for both laundry and bathing – same bucket), and finally a small healing room, enough for 2 people to fit comfortably.

Bato thought it best to place the boy in Chief’s room, somewhere he could be safe and Hakoda would be able to keep an eye on him, for the crew’s protection and the boys.

“Back to work!”

He commanded as Hakoda entered the room looking down at the slightly shivering boy. He was alive but with how still he was they would need to move fast in order to get him body temperature up. Once he completely stopped shivering it would be too late to save him.

There were a couple ways to raise the body temperature of someone who had been exposed to the freezing elements for too long. The most effective way… for one of them to get into the bed with him cover themselves up with furs and do as much skin to skin contact as they could.

Bato smirked at Hakoda, grabbing the mans shoulder he turned to exit, “I will go get you some furs, and let the crew know you’ll be down here for a while.”

Hakoda rolled his eyes as he began to pull off his water tribe layers and once he was in just his pants.

The boys own clothing were dripping wet so he slowly removed the wet items but left the undergarments, even though he was trying to save the kids life he wasn’t comfortable being in the bed with a completely exposed fire nation boy.

He crawled into bed with the small Fire Nation boy and wrapped his hands around his small waist and pulled him close until their skin was pressed tight against one another. Trying to save his life.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“STOP. RIGHT. THERE…..”

Sokka’s face looked similar to Aang’s when he smelled the sea prune stew.

“Dad, my DAD snuggled shirtless with PRINCE ZUKO!?”

He gave a few dramatic dry heaving sounds before closing his eyes and putting his forehead in his hands.

Bato reached out and put his hand on Sokka’s shoulder the same way that he had to his dad in the story, but instead of there being a humorous smirk he had a serious look on his face.

“I know it sounds crazy Sokka, but its what your mother would have done. Kya would have never let that little boy die if she could have done something to save him.”

Katara touched the stone on her necklace knowing that the words Bato spoke were true.

Aang was still smiling enjoying every minute of the story, “So what happened next”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It took 2 days for the boy to really start shivering, he began to have intense dreams and would toss and turn violently but he would not wake up. The ship didn’t have a master healer on board they just had healing supplies, they had the most inventory in burn cream, obviously – the war was against fire-benders.

The boy would say some pretty crazy stuff, Hakoda became increasingly concerned, especially because he wouldn’t wake up and they had yet to remove the bandage that wrapped up the left side of his face.

“We have to change those bandages soon, there is blood starting to seep through the top layer which means it’s irritated and could be infected, we will have to clean it out with some kind of anti bacterial, I’m sure its not doing well from the ocean water.”

Noa was a healer who had trained in the North for a years, he had studied healing in secret because it was considered ‘women’s work’ but Noa wasn’t much of a fighter. He ended up leaving the North and coming South to help fight in the war as a healers apprentice, he wanted to do something besides hide behind a bunch of walls. Unfortunately the South was so small there were not healers like in the North, so Noa did what he could with the knowledge and resources he had.

He was the closest thing they had to a master healer on this ship, and the situation didn’t warrant them to pull aside a sister ship to find someone more experienced. If anything Hakoda wanted to keep this as quiet as he could until he knew more about their mystery guest.

“I can hold him down or you want while we remove the bandage, I mean it can’t be that bad he is so young, maybe we can do it quickly?”

Noa nodded and the Chief got onto the bed and took hold of the boys arms and pushed them against his sides, the boy began to get panicked.

“Father no, I am sorry, I am your loyal son, I am your loyal son.”

He kept repeating that and struggling under Hakoda’s grip, it made his stomach clench and he wanted to get this done as quickly as possible.

“Hurry up Noa, I don’t know how long I can handle doing this.”

Noa rushed over with fresh gauze and some anti bacterial liquid that had acquired at the last port. He quickly began unraveling the bandages and as they got closer to the bottom a horrible smell began to fill the room. Noa immediately turned his head and threw up, shaking he went back to pulling the rest of the gauze off.

Under all that wrapping was the worst burn Hakoda had ever seen, it was half of the boys face, his eye looked like it might have been destroyed and his ear was almost gone. It was definitely nfected, blood was running down his face and a yellow paste was starting to crust over his open wound. The worst part was the kid began to scream.

In all his years growing up, having friends who got hurt doing dumb stuff, raising his children, helping with the other tribe members children, being at war – he had never heard someone scream like that. The boy shook and trashed under Hakoda’s grip and screamed, literally bloody murder.

“GET BATO!!!!”

Noa stood up shaking and ran out the door, Bato came in a few minutes later and his usually tan complexion turned ghost white.

“Koda what the fuck-“

“Go to the healing room and get some burn cream and the strongest pain reducer we have!! I don’t know how long I will be able to hold onto him!! Hurry!”

Bato came back into the room with a thick wad of bandages, burn paste and a vile of opioids. The dark black liquid was usually only given to men who has injuries that couldn’t be fixed and it was supposed to help them be more comfortable before they passed to the other side.

Bato had never used it on someone this young, and definitely not someone with a burn this bad, and on his face of all places.

He began to drop a few drops into the young boys mouth which was pretty easy considering he was still screaming at the top of his lungs. Within a few minutes he started to quiet down and his little body went limp under Hakoda’s grip. He realized how tightly he was holding onto the boy and slowly removed his hands, looking down to make sure he hadn’t inflicted too much damage, he could almost make out two faded burn marks on each arm that resembled hands.

He shook his head looked back at Bato – not the time or place for that right now.

Bato had finished treating the wound and got it properly wrapped in fresh bandages. With a long exhale Bato sat on the floor back against the desk starting at the now sleeping burn victim. The kid had fallen into a drug induced sleep, he laid so still, the only movement being the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

Hakoda walked over to his desk and opened the bottom drawer pulling out his trusty whale skin canteen filled with Water Tribe firewater. Named long before the war with the Fire Nation. He took a long swig and handed it to Bato before sliding down into a seated position next to his best friend.

They both sat in silence for a while, before one of them even know what to say.

“Is this what war is? Pulling burned children out of the water? Is this what we have to look forward to? We have only been out to see for 8 months...”

He let his head fall into his hands and muttered under his breath, “Is this what I left my children for?”

Bato took another swig before handing the canteen back to his best friend and the Chief of his tribe.

“You are a good leader and a great father, I am sure you will do what’s best for the crew and the boy. As for now, we did all we can. We just have to keep him warm and try and control the infection. Or we wont have to worry about what to do because the spirits will decide for us.”

One last look at the boy Bato left the room, his friend still sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“So wait…. I am confused, I thought you said this was about Prince Zuko? Zuko is a teenager? 16 or something? I mean I know he has the scar but I don’t understand how would it still be a fresh wound? How long ago did this happen?” Sokka questioned.

Katara was silent staring into the fire, unable to break her gaze, obviously in deep thought.

Bato tapped his chin, “We were out to sea for 8 months when we pulled him out of the water, you said he is 16 now? Depending on if he is new 16 or old 16 he might have been 13? Maybe late 12? This story began 3 years ago. We had him with us for a little over… no maybe a little under a year? You father would know better than me.”

Aang looked sick, 12?! HE WAS 12!!!!! How would he handled a burn that bad right now? That would be so awful he couldn’t even imagine something so terrible.

“….Did he tell you how he got the burn?”

Katara spoke softly, still gazing into the fire.

Bato nodded, “Yes let me finish the tale and all will be revealed.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The fever tormented the young boy, he had horrible nightmares where he would scream multiple times a night. He would talk in his sleep constantly.

Hakoda was the one who was in charge of bring up his body temperature, mostly because no one else would get into bed with a fire rat as they referred to him.

Noa, Bato and Hakoda decided to keep the horrific burn a secret until they had more information, no need to add extra drama to a situation that was already so intense.

Hakoda was taking swings from the fire water multiple times a day just to handle the horrific things that would come out of the boys mouth.

“Stop father please, I will practice harder.”

“Mom…. Mom where are you?”

“Stop, please don’t…”

“I am your loyal son, I am your loyal son.”

“Please I meant you no disrespect…”

“Uncle help me, please.”

“No Azula stop.. stop”

He would toss and turn constantly sometimes Hakoda had to hold him so tight at night just to get him to settle down. He tried to whisper comforting things to the boy to get him to settle down, he just imagined he was talking to Sokka or Katara after they had a bad dream.

He was no stranger to nightmares, Katara suffered with them ever since her mother was murdered to save her life, Hakoda could still smell the burnt flesh.

Maybe that’s why the young boys burn was so intense to him, the last time he witnessed a burn this bad was when he had to bury his beautiful wife.

Someone who could kill a mother of young children was sick, but someone who could burn the face of a child was even sicker.

A week passed before the child opened his eyes.

“Uncle…?”

His voice was so small and raspy. Hakoda stood up from his desk and walked over to the bed, kneeling down besides it to get closer to the boy. He had so many furs on top of him he looked even smaller than he actually was.

“Hello son, how are you feeling? Do you know where you are?”

The body blinked and his breathing got faster, “Father? I – I didn’t mean to be weak, I will try harder next time, I meant no disrespect I am your loyal son….”

He closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

Hakoda stood up, went to his desk, grabbed the fire water, took a swing and decided to never called him son again.

Another week went by and thankfully Noa got his big boy healing pants on and after the initial shock of the intensity of the burn wore off he was able to take over the healing process for the boy. He was in charge of changing the bandages and making sure the boy got some kind of nutrients in him, mostly just whale bone broth but anything was better than nothing. The boy responded well to tea, so he drank a lot of tea.

Weeks passed and finally the worse of the infection seemed behind them. Hakoda decided to try and talk to the boy again once he was awake again – the boy has been on the boat for 3 weeks and barely been awake and never spoke a coherent word.

Hakoda walked into the room and the child was sitting up, still covered in furs and Noa was feeding him some broth out of the ladle. The boy scrunched up his face after he swallowed and looked at Noah, “This is disgusting.”

It was the first words he spoke which haven’t been pleas for help during his night terrors.

“Its good to see you finally awake.”

His voice must have startled the boy because he flinched and looked up at Hakoda who was walking into the room.

“Do you mind giving us a second Noa? I’d like to have a word with our guest.”

Noa nodded and gathered his supplies exiting the room quickly.

The boy looked over at Hakoda, his golden eye burning like fire, the left side of his face was still tightly wrapped in bandages. They stared at each other for a few breaths before the child’s expression turned into a frown and he began to glare at the Chief.

“What did you do to me?” He asked accusingly.

Hakoda stood over him, not giving him any sort of reaction.

“I will be the one asking questions child, and you will be the one listening and answering them, are we clear?”

The boy’s face grew angry, and he wiggled out of the furs a little more sitting up straighter, still weak from the sickness and lack of nutrients. He said something the Chief was definitely not expecting to hear.

“I am Prince Zuko, son of Ursa and Ozai and heir to the Dragon Throne, you WILL show me respect or I will make you.” His eyes narrowed.

It was hard to hide this level of shock, Hakoda was trying to stay calm but he had a hard time even comprehending what was happening right now.

“If you are Prince Zuko, son of Ozai, what were you doing floating in the middle of the Western waters outside of the Earth Kingdom?”

Zuko seemed taken back, as if he didn’t know he was found in the Western Waters of the Earth Kingdom. His facial expressions changed and he looked more confused and scared now than angry and confident.

“I don’t know.”

“What happened to your face?”

Zuko reached up and touched the bandages.

“I don’t know.”

“Where is the rest of your fleet?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you traveling with the Fire Lord?”

“No.”

“What type of attack are you planning?”

“No attack.”

“Yes, there is always an attack being planned, if you lie to me I will be forced to take necessary action against you to get the information that will save my fleet.”

Zuko shifted, he went from confused and scared to just scared, he looked down at the bed he was in and the slowly looked around the room. It seemed like it was finally sinking in he was not in his element, in fact he was in the opposite of his element.

“I don’t have an attack planned, I am looking for the Avatar.”

Hakoda laughed, “You have got to be kidding me, that’s the worst lie I have ever heard.”

“IM NOT LYING!!”

“The Avatar has been gone for over 100 years, why would a child be out looking for a myth?”

“I am NOT a child, and I have to find the avatar to restore my honor!”

Hakoda wondered if the child was still in a drugged delusional state.

“I will come back tomorrow, we can talk more then. Get some rest and be ready to answer my questions HONESTLY tomorrow. Do you understand?”

Zuko glared up at him, sinking lower in the furs and rolling over on his side, not breaking his gaze with the Chief.

“I am telling you the stupid truth you savage…” He mumbled as he tucked the furs over his head so only the tip of his Phoenix tale was sticking out.

That interaction did not go as Hakoda had hoped it would have gone, pinching the bridge of his nose he walked out of the room shutting the door behind him. Calling over Anke, he needed a favor, “The kid is awake and I just want to make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy, will you get an eye out to make sure he doesn’t leave this room. I need to get my answers from him tomorrow.”

Anke smiled and nodded, he could definitely make sure the fire rat didn’t leave that room.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka started laughing, “Even as a child Zuko was yelling about honor! The guys consistent ill give him that.”

Aang looked over at Bato, as he pet Momo in his lap, “What I don’t understand is I just came out of the ice a couple of month ago, you said this story is a few years old. Why would he be so young, out there in the world, looking for me? No one even knew I was alive?”

Bato shrugged, “I promise the story will reveal the answers to your questions, if I am ever able to finish it!” He shot a look at Sokka.

“Just like your father, always having to butt in and add commentary, you are your fathers son.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day came and Hakoda went into his room after doing a morning run through of the ship and noticed the furs had been moved into a pile and the Prince was gone.

He walked out the door and looked at Anke who was standing in the hallway, “What?”

“Where is the boy?”

“He is in the room?”

“No… No he is not.”

Anke walked into the room following Hakoda and looked though the bed and all the furs, under the desk and in every corner.

“Chief he has to be in here, there isn’t a porthole for him to get though, I have been at the door all day he couldn’t possibly have gotten out unless he is a spirit child and is walking through the damn walls!”

Pinching his nose Hakoda walked into his room, “Listen Prince Zuko if you are in here I need you to come out of hiding so that you and I can talk. If you continue to disrespect me and my crew by avoiding answering important questions then I will see you as a threat and you will be eliminated. You have until I count to 3…. 1…. 2….”

Zuko popped up from under the desk, “I looked under the desk?”

“You did, but I was pressed up against the bottom and you didn’t look under and then up. Don’t feel bad I am great at hiding.”

He walked over to the bed, he walked like someone from noble birth, back straight head forward arms at his sides. He sat down lotus style and put his hands together in his lap. His one eye finally looked over at the Chief.

“So what do you want from me?”

“I just have a few questions, will you be honest with me?”

“Would you trust that I am being honest even if I am being honesty and its not what you wanted me to say?”

Hakoda was taken back, but continued.

“I am not sure I can trust you to be honest but we will see. First question, why are you out in the middle of Earth Kingdom waters alone?”

“I am not alone, I am with my uncle and a small crew aboard the Wani. Well I right now I am alone but that’s not how I started out.”

“Alright, how many ships are in your fleet?”

“I don’t have a fleet, I have one ship, and a crew… and my uncle.”

“Is your uncle the Dragon of the West?”

“At one point in his life, yes.”

“What is the Dragon of the West and the Fire Prince doing in Earth Kingdom waters?”

“Looking for the Avatar.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“THAT IS THE TRUTH!”

Zuko glared at Hakoda, his fist tightening in his lap, he took a few deep breaths and then relaxed his face.

“Why are you looking for the… Avatar?”

“To restore my honor?”

“Why do you need to restore your honor?”

“So I can go back home and make my father proud.”

“Your father is Fire Lord Ozai?”

“Yes.”

“Why isn’t he proud of you?”

“…..”

“Prince Zuko why isn’t your father proud of you?”

“I disrespected him in a war meeting and was a coward when I was faced with my consequences, I brought shame onto him and my family.”

He looked down at his hands. His voice was quieter now, Hakoda liked it better when he was yelling.

I meant you no disrespect I am your loyal son, please father…

The words he had mutter constantly the past couple of weeks while he was thrashing in his sleep. Another pinch of the bridge of his nose was in order.

“Who is the captain of your boat?”

“I am.”

“How old are you?”

“13”

“Dose the fire nation usually send 13 year olds to war?”

“Not usually.”

“Why are you out here captaining a ship at 13?”

“Looking for the Avatar.”

“So you can go home…?”

“Yes”

“How long have you been out here looking for the Avatar?”

“A few weeks I think, I have been in recovery so I am not entirely sure.”

“How did you get that burn on your face? Were you in a battle?”

“….”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“….No.”

“Why not?”

“Its my mark of shame.”

“….”

“….”

“You’re a child.”

“NO IM NOT!!”

“Did your father burn you?”

“….”

“Alright that is enough for today, I will be back tomorrow to check on you and ask your more questions. Do not hide under the desk again. Noa will be in later with your dinner and to reapply cream to the burn. Goodnight Prince Zuko.”

“….Goodnight sir.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A silence fell across the room.

“…..No.”

“It was a training accident, fire benders have training accidents all the time.”

Aang put his head in his palms looking at the ground shaking his head. “That’s horrible.”

Katara had tears in her eyes, even if she hated Zuko, especially after he used her mother’s necklace to track them and tied her to a tree, she wouldn’t wish that kind of evil on anyone. She couldn’t help but get emotional thinking about a father burning his son, his 13 year old son.

“So was it true? Did the Fire Lord really burn Zuko?”

Bato nodded, “Ill continue…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day came and when Hakoda entered the room once again Prince Zuko was no where to be found, again. He even looked under the desk and then up. Anke swore he couldn’t leave the room so he had to be inside.

“Prince Zuko, I am back again and you are hiding from me, do I have to count or are you going to come out willingly?”

A fur that was tacked to the wall shifted and the young prince slid out from behind it and landed on the floor without making a sound.

“How in the world did you hide behind that?”

“I told you I was good at hiding.”

“Well if you are done hiding I would like to as you some more questions.”

Hakoda gestured to the bed and once again Zuko sat lotus style and Hakoda decided to sit this time maybe it would make the child more comfortable and he would be more honest. He sat on the floor facing the bed in front of Zuko.

“What are you doing in Earth Kingdom waters?”

“Ohhhhhh Agni NOT THIS AGAIN!! I ALREADY TOLD YOU…. LOOKING. FOR. THE. AVATAR!”

He threw his hands up and let himself fall backwards, typical dramatics for a 13 year old boy. It made Hakoda wonder if Sokka was dramatic like this as well, he missed his son so much and he would be about this Prince’s age.

“You don’t have to be so dramatic child.”

Zuko perked up, glaring at Hakoda, “I am not a child.”

“You are a child and you are acting like a child right now so if you want to be treated like a man then answer my questions like a man.”

“If you want me to act like a man then lets go outside this room you have me locked in and we can fight like men and I will show you how much NOT A CHILD I AM.”

Hakoda jumped up from the floor as Zuko’s hands light up with fire and his teeth bared ready to fight. He was a child all right, a child of fire, burnt or not he could still do a considerable amount of damage, especially to a wooden ship.

“So you’re a fire bender?”

“Obviously.”

“A rude fire bender.”

“You started it by being rude to me first, I was being nice and answering your questions and you keep asking me the same thing and telling me I am lying just because I am out here in the stupid world looking for the stupid avatar and now I am on your stupid boat with a bunch of stupid savages!!”

Hakoda had enough with the questions today.

“If you burn anything in my room I will leave you on the deck of the ship and my crew and Tui can decide what your fate will be. Trust me, if my crew of ‘savages’ doesn’t kill you the ocean spirit will.”

He left without looking back, but he could only imagine the fear he had just put in the young benders eyes.

Noa came up to him on deck a few hours later, the sun was getting ready to set and Hakoda was leaning over the railing looking into the horizon.

“Excuse me Chief?”

Hakoda motioned for him to come join him at the railing, “What can I do for you Noa?”

“Sir, I know we are interrogating the young fire-bender –“

Hakoda covered Noa’s mouth, “Hush, I would rather keep that information between us until I finish gathering information, if the crew finds out we have a fire bending Prince of the Fire nation locked up in my cabin in our wooden ship I doubt it will go over well. Now what did you want to ask me?”

Noa was young, he was one of the youngest crewmen in the entire fleet, around 18. He was from the North where their ancient customs were extremely strict and important to their tribe. He was learning to loosen up now that he was around the Southern Tribe but it was taking him a while. He didn’t have anyone close to his age to talk to so he mostly stayed to himself. He was a respectable young man though and he always did what the Chief asked without question.

“I would never undermine your authority Chief Hakoda, but I was wondering what your end goal would be with the young fire bender? He is just a child, and I know we are trying to extract information I just…. I think we would get better results if we switched up our approach.”

Hakoda raised an eyebrow, “Alright, what would your suggest?”

“Well… he might be more willing to share information if he wasn’t being questioned like a prisoner. Maybe if we had casual conversation with him and allowed him to speak more freely with us he would share the information we are looking for without us having to interrogate him. I have seen fire benders who have been interrogated up North, they were tortured and still never gave any information. I know he is a child and those were men but Fire Nation loyalty is as big as our tribe community, I highly doubt this kid is going to betray his county and his father just because you ask him the same question over and over. Especially if he has been hurt before, he might be too scared to say anything.

“I also have a younger brother back home, he was around Zuko’s age when I left, and he had so much energy it was hard to get him to sit still and focus on anything. I think keeping Zuko in your cabin is just asking for trouble, you don’t want him to burn down the ship but you are confining him to a small area and its like tying a poler-dog pup to a post and telling it to stay, its not going to end well.

“I can tell the young fire bender has been hurt by his people but is still fiercely loyal and look how much damage they have done to him, imagine how loyal he would be to people that actually took care of him and showed him some kind of respect and kindness. He is young, he can still be taught, and imprinted on. By the great spirits of Tui and La, we found him in that ocean, and he survived so many elements that were working against him, hypothermia, fever, infection, malnutrition... I feel like this is something bigger here then just us and him, and I would like to assist and making sure that we respect the spirits wishes. I am sorry if I over step my boundaries but I wouldn’t be able to ever look my little bother in the eye again if I didn’t speak up.”

Hakoda looked at Noa for a while before he put his hand out for a traditional Water Tribe handshake, “You are a very wise young man and I will take your guidance, but I will need your help. I am an old dog, I need new tricks – between myself and Bato with your help maybe we can figure out what to do with our young guest. Have you gone down to check on him since this morning?”

“No sir I have not, I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Alright well why don’t you go and see if he is hungry and the 3 of us can sit together in the dining hall and eat dinner what do you think?”

“I think you a very wise Chief Hakoda and I can see why your mean follow your lead so passionately. I will fetch our guest and meet you there, thank you.”

Noa walked off and Hakoda looked back over the horizon, the sun was almost gone now and he couldn’t stop thinking of his children back home. “Tui and La keep them safe, this is such a dark and dangerous world we live in.”

He sat there for a few more minutes until the sun had completely set over the horizon, he figured it was time to go eat dinner and start having ‘casual conversation’ with the heir to the Dragon Throne.

“IM NOT LEAVING THIS ROOM!!”

“But Zuko we want to invite you to have dinner with myself and Chief H-“

“NO WAY! YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO TRY AND KILL ME!!”

There was a crashing sound and Bato was standing at the doorway with a crooked smile.

“Hey Chief, our esteemed guest doesn’t want to leave your cabin.”

Another pinch of the nose.

Zuko was standing on his desk hands light with fire glaring down at Noa, he still didn’t have a shirt on but thankfully Noa had brought him some pants that were too big and only staying on by the rope he had tied around his waist.

“Listen Prince Zuko if you want to be respected like a man and want luxury like a Prince then you must come down from the desk and join us for dinner we would like to talk with you. No interrogations, we just want to talk and possibly lay out some ground rules for while you are staying with us. Can you please join us for dinner?”

Hakoda put out his hand and the Prince flinched, but he did jump down from the desk and put his flames out following the men to the mess hall.

It was small, there was enough room for 10 people at most, and the kitchen was cramped and not equipped to even make meals for so many people but it did the job just fine. Most of the crew had already ate dinner and the night shift was working and the day shift men were in the barracks playing cards.

Zuko seemed nervous, and Hakoda noticed just how small the prince was, at his 13 years he was probably considered average height, but next to the Water Tribe men he looks so small, thin and pale. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he had his arms crossed over his chest trying to shield himself from the cold, his teeth were chattering.

“Noa do you have any extra clothing we could get for Zuko, you’re the smallest member of the crew and maybe we can find a coat he can borrow until we figure something else out?”

Noa nodded and left to go fill the Chiefs request, leaving just Hakoda and Bato with Zuko. They all sat down and Bato got up to go fill their plates, Zuko just stared at Hakoda, with the one eye.

“So…. Prince Zuko…. How are you doing?”

The young boy scrunched up his face, “I am doing ok…. How are you doing Chief Hakoda…?”

He sounded skeptical which was warranted considering how awkward Hakoda was being.

If I was sitting here with Sokka what would I talk to him about?

“I am doing better that we got you out of that room, what were you studying before you left for your Avatar hunt?”

Zuko looked REALLY confused now, no one – even his family, asked him about his studies, not since mother left.

“Why does it matter?”

He started doing that angry glaring things again.

“I am just curious on what they teach young men in fire bending school.”

“Well it isn’t a school, I mean there are schools for fire bending but I have a personal master that teaches me. If you are referring to fire bending, but if you are referring to just studies in general I have a private tutor and we were learning about the trade routes between the Fire Nation capital and the Earth Kingdom colonies and the different outposts they have to re supply. It wasn’t that interesting.”

Hakoda tried really hard to keep from grinning ear to ear, that type of information could be extremely useful to the Earth Kingdom in stopping the Fire Nation supplies to the troops which would stop them from advancing too quickly.

“So you have a personal fire bending master?”

“Yes.”

“He comes to the palace to teach you?”

“Yes”

Bato came back with the food, Zuko looks really excited but he didn’t smile, he took small bites and chewed slowly.

“What do you think of our good old Southern Water Tribe food?”

He didn’t say anything but nodded yes, which was enough information for him.

Hakoda was sitting next to Zuko and Bato was in front, while the boy was eating he looked down at the boy sitting next to him and looked at his skin, remembering what he thought he saw one of the first nights. Bato was distracting Zuko by asking him about palace food and his favorite dishes, and Zuko was chatting away – something about fire roasted potatoes, dumplings and fire flakes.

He saw small scars, which would be normal for a young man who practiced in combat often, but he did notice some concerning marks. He could see the faded burn marks on both arms and they were defiently hand prints. He had two diagonal burn marks going from the top of his shoulder blade to the middle of his back. He thinks he saw another hand burn mark on the boys rib cage on the other side but he couldn’t tell because of where he was sitting. It was hard to burn a fire bender, so it was odd to see burns like that on someone so young, someone who apparently had not been to war yet.

Noa came back with a blue tribesman shirt and a fuzzy parka, Zuko got up from the table and gave him a traditional Fire Nation bow and thanked him for the clothing. He put on the shirt and even though it was way to big he just tightened the sash as tight as he could. He practically jumped into the parka, and with a deep breath a bit of smoke and flame came from his mouth and into his hands.

Bato and Hakoda jumped up startling Zuko and causing his fights to engulf in flame and he shifted into a fighting stance.

“What?! What happened?! What’d I do!?”

He looked back and forth to both men frantically and panicked.

“Its alright Zuko, why don’t you sit down and I’d like to go over some ground rules while you are here with us.”

Zuko let out the flames and slowly sat back down watching both of the men wearily.

“So first things first Prince Zuko, this is a wooden ship, you can not throw around fire or we will all die –“

“I didn’t throw any fire.”

“Yes you just had fir-“

“No I held fire, I haven’t thrown any fire… I need to be clear on the rules or I can’t follow them.”
Bato smirked and looked over at Hakoda, “He has a point.”

“Don’t start with me Bato… Okay, no fire. At all, not even the breath thing you just did.”

“THAT’S NOT FAIR!!! How am I not supposed to bend!? It will eat me alive and I will burn from the inside out, I cant just not bend. Out if the question.”

He crossed him arms over his chest and glared at Hakoda. Bato’s smirk got larger, “Out of the question Koda…”

“Enough Bato, Alright, supervised bending on the deck with either myself or Bato present. Do you understand?”

Zuko nodded.

“Second rule, you cant hide from the crew, if you go somewhere you need to tell someone where you are going and about how long you will be gone. Deal?”

Zuko nodded again, “yes sir.”

“Third, if you want to eat and have things to wear your will work, whatever task we give you I do not want to hear you complain, not even once. You will do it and if you need help you will ask. Ok?”

“Yes sir.”

“Last rule, until I think of more, you have to be respectful to the crew, if you start getting mouthy with them there wont be anything I can do to stop them from hurting you, understand?”

Zuko slumped a little bit and nodded yes.

“Tired?”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright Noa will take you back to the cabin and you can get some rest.”

“Can I bathe soon?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.”

The boys left and Hakoda put his head on the table and groaned a long and heavy groan.

“The kids got burns all over his body, not just on his face… I don’t know what to do. He seems like a good kid.”

He left his head sitting on the table, Bato snorted, “Yeah I would say fire benders are about as good as a dolphin piranha… all fun and games until it eats you.”

Hakoda picked up his head and glared at his best friend, “Can you not say that tonight at the meeting, I will already have enough to deal with without your little proverbs. They aren’t helpful.”

The fire bender went to bed and the crew had their meeting on the deck that night under the stars, it was a long meeting… He told them everything, every truth he had been concealing. He wasn’t good at secrets and his men deserved to know the truth.

The crew seemed to trust his judgement and they all agreed at the next port they would drop the prince off and he would be someone else’s problem. Until then they would see what information they could gather from him.

When asked if he would be contacting the Fire Lord regarding his son Hakoda responded with,

Absolutely not.

Meeting augured.

Zuko was a hard worker, he never complained (unless it was something disgusting) and he never gave up. It was no surprise the Prince didn’t want to get his hands dirty, he was a prince after all. If he was given a task he would work at it until he met whatever standard the crew expected him to be at.

It started with swabbing the deck, then knots and rope, after that he learned how to organize the cargo hold, once he learned a task he was extremely effective and fast. Maybe that’s why the Fire Nation was winning the war, they created effective children who followed orders and worked hard.

Zuko was out every morning at sunrise, he would meditate on the deck with a lantern, he would do this until the morning crew would come out and start their daily chores. At first no one liked looking at the little fire rat as they called him, but he stayed out of everyone’s way so they ignored him for the most part.

One morning Hakoda came out to the deck and noticed Zuko wasn’t there, he checked all the usual spots where the little fire bender would be working but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. He couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as he searched the ship – he was a father after all and Zuko was really starting to grow on him. He started to panic thinking maybe he fell overboard again, it would be the first time – considering the situation they were in.

He finally stopped at the infirmary, he could hear talking behind the door, without opening it he listened in.

“Zuko I cant keep wrapping these bandages over your face, you have to let it breathe, you’re going to cause it to get infected again and this time it could kill you. I am all out of antibacterial fluid if you get this infected you might as well jump overboard.”

“I don’t want everyone to stare at me, they will ask me what happened and I don’t want to tell people!”

“Well what did happen?”

“Its non of your business!! Just wrap it up!”

“As your medical advisor I can’t in good conscious let you wrap it anymore.”

“Well give me the stuff I will do it!”

“Zuko no – ow let me go! Are you trying to bite me?! OH MY GOSH YOU BIT ME!!!!”

Hakoda opened the door to see Zuko draped across Noa’s back reaching for his hand that was holding the gauze pads just out of reach, and yes, it did look like Zuko was trying to bite his hand.

“What is going on in here? Zuko I have been looking everywhere for you! One of the rules was you had to let someone know where you would be!”

He didn’t mean to use his Chief voice, he also didn’t mean to raise his voice so high, he has been worried and his emotions came off a little too strong. But either way Zuko freaked out.

He jumped away from Noa so fast Hakoda thought maybe he wasn’t even on his back when he walked in. Zuko began to shake and his skin began to become increasing pale. His eyes were locked on Hakoda as he backed up pressing himself against the back wall so hard that his shaking body started to knock stuff off the above him.

“I.. I… I- I’m sorry…. I didn’t mean… I – I…”

He couldn’t even speak, his breathing began to become irregular and Hakoda noticed the lantern in the room was flickering like a wild fire.

Hakoda took a step forward and Zuko fell to his knees with his arms crossed about his head, in a position that looked entirely too defenseless.

Hakoda got on the floor with Zuko on his knees and put his palms up the way he did when he was trying to gain a polar-dog’s trust.

“I am so sorry Zuko, I didn’t mean to startle you, I was just worried about you and I thought something bad happened to you… I would never hurt you, please calm down.”

He finally got Zuko to look at him in the eyes, and he noticed that his face wasn’t wrapped in the bandages anymore. The burn was completely healed, it probably had been healed for some time now. Hakoda couldn’t help but look at the twisted red flesh that covered half of this child’s face.

He smiled for a second looking at Zuko in his eyes, “It looked like you were able to save your eye Zuko, that’s great news, can you see out of it ok?”

Zuko seemed to be distracted from his panic attack when he was reminded he didn’t lose his eye, “Yeah… Yeah I can see, not as well but I can see…. I can hear too… which I am surprised…. I guess that’s good news right?”

Hakoda smiled and shook his head yes, “Here let me help you up.”

Zuko looked weary but he took Hakoda’s hand and lifted to his feet.

“I think Noa is right and we need to leave that un covered so it can breath, you are going to have to take the wraps off eventually so now is as good a time as any.”

Zuko looked down and nodded, Noa has moved out of the already cramped room and was standing in the hallway to give the Chief space with the young Prince. They both left the infirmary and Hakoda put his hand lightly on Zuko’s back, he felt the boy tense slightly and then slowly relaxed.

“Have you been outside today?”

“Yeah, earlier at sunrise, but not since.”

“Would you like to walk the deck with me, I’m sure the crew is curious where you have been.”

Zuko got tense again, but Hakoda rubbed him back softly in a small circle trying to comfort him the way he did when Katara was upset. “I will be right here to help you, ok?”

Zuko looked up at him, the scar really did cover almost half of his face, but his gold eyes were what drew his attention, and when he gave a small smile for the first time you almost didn’t even see the scar. He nodded and the two went onto the deck together and embrace the crew’s reaction together.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka looked down at the fire, all the thoughts from the beach were swirling in his mind…. He had been too young to go to war with his dad, he needed to stay back and protect his sister, he was supposed to just be okay with not seeing his dad for last 3 years.

Now to find out he had Zuko with him on the boat, Zuko… who was the same age as Sokka, Zuko who was able to earn his dads trust and from where this story seemed to be heading… maybe his dads love.

Zuko… his sworn enemy… sitting with his dad, talking to his dad, sharing heart felt moments with his dad… While Sokka, Sokka was in the village with his sister protecting the tribe. Alone.

It wasn’t fair.

He had to get some air, he stood up and without a work he left the room.

“Sokka wai-“
Katara stopped Bato, “Give him some space it’s a lot to take in. Sokka was really upset when dad left and I’m sure its hard to hear about dad sharing his time and affection with…. Well with Zuko.”

Bato looked at Katara, “So you two have a history with Zuko? It’s weird how the spirits work, out of everyone in the world, its you and Sokka with the Avatar. Of all the people in the world who would be hunting the Avatar its Zuko who keeps showing up everywhere you are. Destiny is a funny thing.”

Aang looked up, “Zuko says that, that its his destiny to capture me…”

Bato shrugged, “… and do what with you? Capture you and do what? Bring you to the Fire Lord? Turn you over to Fire Nation soldiers? Does he even know? I bet he hasn’t even thought it through, Zuko is a head strong boy, well I guess he is closer to being a man now but still he is young and full of hate and anger. I bet if you sat down with him and walked him through his actions he wouldn’t know what to do – I truly don’t think he would give you to the Fire Lord, not with him knowing what kind of man the Fire Lord is.”

Aang thought back to that moment when Zuko broke him out of Pohuai Stronghold and how he asked Zuko of they could be friends, and how he responded with fire…. He didn’t think Zuko was evil, he was a confused teenager who has been hurt by so many people that he hides behind his anger and strength to not feel his true emotions.

But Aang wasn’t going to share anything about that, this was Bato’s story and it in the past, he has already experienced who Zuko is now. Anything they hear is just a factor contributing to who he is today.

Everyone was quiet when Sokka came back into the room, he sat down and brought his knee up to his chest and let out a long breath. “Alright I am ready to hear the rest of the story now.”

So Bato continued.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

The reaction from the crew wasn’t what the young fire bender was expecting. Some of the men stopped and stared at him for a second, but most of them couldn’t have cared less about a burn scar. Burns were common casualty of war, most burn fatalities were caused by infections, if you couldn’t get an infection under control it would kill you.

One of the crewmen stopped next to Zuko and got on his knees in front of the boy. He pulled up his under sleeve revealing a huge burn scar covering his right arm, it covered his wrist trailing up to the middle of his bicep.

“I got this burn scar from my first one on one fight with a fire bender. I was foolish and put my arm up to defend my face…”

Zuko reached out and touched the man’s twisted skin, the color and texture mirrored the burn on Zuko’s face.

“I should have done that, it looks like it hurt.”

The man nodded, “My father used to say that pain makes a man strong.”

Zuko looked him in the eyes, his golden eyes burning like the fire in his body.

“My father said the same thing.”

The man stood, pulling his sleeve back down, “Well I am going to have to find a different saying now.”

He smiled at Zuko and gave the Chief a Water Tribe handshake and went back to work.

Hakoda still had his hand resting on Zuko’s back and he could feel the kid’s breathing as they walked through the deck, stopping at the railing, he began to gaze into the sea. He brought his hand away and put both arms against the railing looking into the horizon.

Zuko did the same, neither of them said anything for a while. Hakoda liked that the young Prince didn’t speak much, it was the opposite of his son Sokka. He was a chatter box, and full of curious questions and always trying to get people to laugh – even at his own expense. Hakoda sighed, he really missed his kids.

“We will be at port in 2 days, we are going to drop you off there and you should be able to find some fire nation soldiers to help you. They will help you get back to your ship, or the palace, wherever you choose to go.”

Zuko stayed silent.

“It’s the only safe option for both you and the crew, we can’t keep you with us as we attack Fire Nation ships, and I doubt you want to be here for that. If we get caught with you then my entire fleet could be wiped out for imprisoning the Fire Nation Prince. I’m sure Fire Lord Ozai would love to make an example out of us to show the other nations not to mess with the royal family. Do you understand why we have to leave you there?”

He didn’t respond right away, his golden eyes focused on the open ocean, Hakoda couldn’t tell if he was in deep thought or just ignoring him. Finally he spoke, so quiet he almost couldn’t be heard over the crashing of the waves against the ship.

“I understand sir.” He backed off of the rail and gave a small bow, “I am going to meditate if I am allowed, I would like to do it in my ro- your cabin please.”

Hakoda nodded and Zuko left.

He needed some of the firewater right about now.

The Chief was sleeping on the floor of his own cabin, pilling furs and pillows together he made a small somewhat comfortable bed for him to sleep on. He let Zuko sleep in his bed, the kid was still recovering and Hakoda liked to think even if he was back to full strength he would have let him sleep in the bed anyway.

It was late when Hakoda came back to his room, he and Bato had long discussions over tea about what routes to take after they left port. They needed to attack a fire nation ship soon, so the entire fleet’s leadership would need to strategize when they docked. They were able to use some of the information that Zuko had unknowing shared with them about Fire Navy routes.

Chief Hakoda as the Tribe leader was the top commander of the entire fleet so they would usually meet on his ship. With the Fire Prince being left in port he would have his room back and they would be able to have their meeting. Once they came up with a strategy they would send word to the Earth Kingdom fleet and come up with a neutral point of meeting.

They decided not to say anything about the little guest they have been housing the last 2 months. It would be complicated to share this information in a way that didn’t raise suspicions. He didn’t want to be accused of being an ‘ash-maker sympathizer’. He also didn’t want to share where he left Zuko just in case the Earth Kingdom wanted to apprehend him and use him against the Fire Lord, he wouldn’t admit this was his biggest fear.

He wasn’t Zuko’s father but he had grown to care about the little Prince and wanted him to be safe, and being safe was being far away from the enemy. Unfortunately they came from different sides of the war, and if push came to shove he would stand beside his Tribe and the rest of the world, no matter his feelings for the fire bender.

Hakoda laid on his bed and shut his eyes, if only for a moment before he head screaming – assuming it was Zuko having his nightly night terror he quickly realized the sound wasn’t come out of the little Prince.

Zuko was awake though, he had jumped onto the bed and both fists were engulfed in flame, “What the hell?!” He had a hint of sleepy in his voice and his hair wasn’t in the normal phoenix tail, he had horrible bed head.

“PIRATES!!!!!”

Hakoda jumped out of bed and grabbed his spear, pirates were one of the worst parts of being out to sea. They always struck at night and they could inflict a lot of damage very quickly.

“Zuko stay here!!!”

Hakoda yelled as he ran out of the room and onto the deck. He was immediately in battle, the pirates had boarded the ship already and his entire crew was joining the fight on deck. There were more pirates then Water Tribe men, they were horrifically outnumbered. Anke was using two swords to try and fight off two different pirates on each side of him, Hakoda could see he was struggling.

Hakoda struck the spear into the throat of his opponent and the man made the sort of sound that would haunt your dreams. The sound of a man drowning on his own blood, it would be a quick death but a traumatizing one. Luckily this was not Hakoda’s first kill and it would not be his last.

Thrusting his spear back he dislodged it from the pirates throat and the man’s grey eyes became cloudy as he slumped forward spilling fresh blood onto the deck. Hakoda immediately ran to Anke to offer him assistance. He hear someone scream, someone small… someone raspy… someone like Zuko.

Hakoda twisted his head around to see a pirate standing over Noa. Noa’s hands were over his face, blood covered his arms and Hakoda could tell from where he was standing that the young man was shaking uncontrollably. The pirate drew his blade back to deliver the killing blow, even if Hakoda sprinted forward he would never have reached them in time.

But Zuko could, and Zuko was there in a flash. A literal flash, both his hands were blazing and the fire in his eyes glowed against the darkness of the night. He thrust two fire balls at the pirates exposed stomach. The pirate let out a scream and fell back. Zuko was on him in a second, burning his hands into his throat. The sound the pirate made was so much worse then the one Hakoda had just killed. It was the sound of a man burning followed by choking on his own blood.

Zuko’s hands were covered in blood but he didn’t seem to notice, he stood in front of Noa defending him from another attack. This pirate came at Zuko fast, swinging his sword in front, trying to slice the boys chest open. Zuko deflected it pretty easy even without any armor, he scraped his foot against the deck creating a row of flames directed at the attackers feet. The pirate let out a scream and jumped back loosing his footing slightly but didn’t fall. Zuko was so fast he flipped forward and spun around on the floor creating a whirlwind of flames knocking the pirate all the way over.

He was instantly at his throat again, burning into his neck and allowing the man to choke on his own blood until he stopped moving and laid still.

Zuko’s flames grew bigger as he watched for anyone else daring to come at Noa, who at this point was standing back against the railing shaking like a leaf.

There was a pirate who was standing by and he watched Zuko attack his crew killing them within seconds. The man cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed into the air , “FIRE BENDER!!!!!!!”

It was if a retreat signal had been sounded, the pirates stopped fighting and began to move back to their ship, even though they clearly out numbered the Water Tribe men. They had attached rope between the ships and were crawling across to their boat. Zuko smirked and threw flames at the both ends of the ropes and they began to burn, fraying and dropping into the dark and unforgiving ocean. Anyone who was still in between boats fell to their death.

He looked up at the enemy ships sails and threw a couple of fire blasts and them and watched as they burst into flame. It would only be a matter of time before the mast caught on fire and would collapse. The pirates were screaming and shouting orders trying to get buckets of water onto the flames so their ship wouldn’t be consumed.

The Pirate captain stood on his deck staring over at Hakoda, his eyes full of rage and anger. He had a nasty looking green lizard-parrot perched on his shoulder. Hakoda smiled and gave him a not so friendly salute and turned back to his crew.

He yelled at Anke, “lets get our boat out of here! All men at their stations, we are pulling out!!” Anke nodded and gave Zuko a quick glance before heading to the helm. Zuko’s flames slowly stopped burning and he seemed to relax a little, he walked over to Noa, “are you ok?”

Noa shook his head yes, his body still trembling, he didn’t even look at Zuko. The Water Tribe man couldn’t take his eyes off the bodies on the floor staring into nothing. Zuko ran his hands through his hair, an obvious nervous habit.

“Well what were you thinking!? Why weren’t you defending yourself!? You can’t come to war if you can’t fight?! Those pirates were going to KILL YOU!!”

Hakoda heard Zuko yelling and saw that Noa was going to burst into tears or throw up, possibly both. He walked over to the fire bender and put his hand gently on his shoulder, “Zuko, why don’t we let Noa go below and get cleaned up? He will be needed in the healing room. Can you check on the rest of crew and make sure they’re all ok Noa?”

The man still couldn’t form words his blue eyes shaking in fear but he nodded yes and made his way blew deck, stumbling a bit as he tried to gain a more secure footing.

Zuko watched until he was out of sight and he noticed Hakoda still had his hand on his shoulder, he looked at the Chief’s hand and then up at his face. “I know you told me to stay bel-“

Before he could finished Hakoda put his other hand on the opposite shoulder and got on one knee in front of the fire bender, he looked him in the golden eyes, his own blue eyes fierce and strong. The ship had began to move quickly though the ocean, trying to put as much distance between them and the pirate’s ship.

“You saved my crew’s life tonight, without you we would have lost lives, and possibly the entire ship and everyone aboard. Pirates are notorious for slaughtering the crew, stripping the ship, and burning down the rest. You stepped up without having to be asked and you showed me exceptional fire bending skills and used them to save lives rather then destroy. You were very honorable tonight.”

Zuko flinched at the word honorable, he shook off Hakoda’s grip and frowned, “I didn’t want to see anyone hurt, you people have been nice to me and it was a gesture of good faith and humanity, it had nothing to do with honor. Am I dismissed?”

He crossed his arms across his chest, the blood still coating each hand from where he has burned those men to death.

Hakoda nodded, “Yes Prince Zuko, I will see you in the morning. Don’t forget to wash up before going to bed.”

He gave a small bow and left the deck, he didn’t even glance at the bodies he had just created. Hakoda wondered if this was his first time killing or if it was something he was used to.

Bato’s voice startled Hakoda, “Well that was a very successful use of a fire bender, wouldn’t you say? Its nice having one of those on our side rather than shooting those fire blasts at our sails. He made an entire crew of pirates retreat in just a couple of minutes and the kid wasn’t even out of breath. Makes a guy wish every crew could have a handy fire bender at their disposal.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, letting the sound of the wind hitting the sails and the crashing waves below drowned out his thoughts.

“We can’t keep him” he replied, “yes he is talented, yes he is a good kid, yes I like him, yes he saved Noa and the crew, but no he is not safe here for so many reasons. Even if he did stay here, once the Fire Lord found out – which Bato – he WILL find out, we are all dead. The kid too, what’s stopping them from calling him a traitor and executing him? Nothing, the Fire Lord has already marked him and left him to die out here alone chasing a… a… myth! He wont hesitate to burn the rest of that boy to the ground if he finds him on a Water Tribe ship fighting along side ‘the enemy.’ Tonight, he saved Noa, he saved him from being slaughtered by pirates. Tomorrow, tomorrow he could be fighting along side his nation to help win the war. We will be at port tomorrow afternoon if we keep the course and we have to leave him there.”

Hakoda had to walk, he couldn’t stand still anymore. He had to walk and breathe and keep telling himself that he was doing the right thing. He left Bato standing in the dark, with only the light from the moon giving clarity.

Hakoda walked for a while before his legs and arms began to feel heavy, he knew he needed sleep, but he also knew he was avoiding going back to his cabin. The cabin where the little fire bender was sleeping, probably having a nightmare from the injustice’s he has suffered, or maybe tonight it will be because he killed those pirates. The little fire bender that saved his crew and showed the Chief nothing but respect….

His head was going to explode.

He gave it another hour and decided it was time to go to bed, or he would be useless tomorrow. He tried to be as quiet as possible when he walked into the cabin. He slipped into the furs on the ground and tried to warm his cold skin.

“Am I a bad person?”

He heard the soft raspy voice above him on the bed, he couldn’t see Zuko, it was pitch black in the room but he knew his voice.

“Why would you ask me that Zuko?”

He was quiet and then said in an even more hushed tone, “I killed those men.”

Hakoda closed his eyes, it made no difference in what he saw when his eyes were open, there was darkness everywhere. He wanted to be sure how to respond – closing his eyes helped him think.

“Do you think it was wrong of you to kill those men?”

“… No, they were going to hurt Noa, and he is my…. Friend… or whatever, and I couldn’t let them do that to him. He was on the ground – he had no weapon he was defenseless and scared and that Pirate was going to just kill him like it was nothing. It wasn’t right, so I killed them instead.”

Hakoda turned on his side, still unable to see in the dark, he wasn’t sure what to say. This was a conversation he thought he would have to have when Sokka joined the war, he didn’t think he would ever truly be prepared to talk to a young man about his first kill, much less a child.

“Was this the first time you have killed someone?”

“….. no.”

“Oh.”

“…So I am a bad person…. I’m like what they say about my father…?”

Hakoda caught his breath, his eyes began to sting and he had a feeling in his throat he hasn’t felt since he walked in on Kya’s smoldering body after hearing Katara’s scream. He was going to cry, he hasn’t shed tears in years, even after leaving his children behind in the village. He knew it was to keep them safe and that he was going to come back from them soon.

A single tear fell down his face as he rolled back onto his back and stared up into the darkness, pretending he was back home laying in the ice watching the Southern lights dance in the sky while the stars twinkled.

“You are nothing like your father Zuko, would you do what your father has done? Would you burn your child?”

“……”

“You need to be honest with yourself Zuko, you need to look inside and know the difference in what your father does and his intentions and what you have done and your intentions. Tonight I saw good intentions, I saw a young.. man… step up to save someone who couldn’t defend themselves. I saw him fight for the people he cared about, now I don’t know the other situations you have been faced with and why you chose to take their lives. But if you know deep down it was for the right reason then that is reason enough. It is never wrong to stand up for someone who can’t defend themselves. I will say it again even though I know you don’t want to hear it, you are a very honorable person Prince Zuko.”

Silence filled the room for an uncomfortable amount of time, and Hakoda heard a small sniffle, but nothing else. Finally he closed his eyes to go to sleep assuming Zuko had done the same.

Before he drifted into his slumber he could have swore he heard a soft, raspy voice, “thank you Chief Hakoda…”

——————————

Bato sat back, taking a second to relive that night in his own mind, outside of the tale he was weaving together for Hakoda’s children and the Avatar.

The only noise in the room was the crackling of the fire and the bubbling pot of stewed sea prunes.

“So Zuko saved my dad’s life?”

Sokka finally broke the silence after it was obvious Bato was taking a break from the story, he had begun to fill a bowl with some of the stew and offered some over to Sokka. He could never say no to food, so he took it willingly. Bato dished himself some and began to eat, after he finished he looked over at Sokka and smiled.

“Zuko saved everyone on board that night, he earned my respect the second he burnt that ship’s sails and crippled them from being able to follow us or hurt another ship that might have been close by. He showed exceptional bravery and intelligence.”

Katara snorted, “I don’t know if I would refer to Zuko as intelligent, he does some pretty stupid stuff when he gets around Aang.”

Aang looked up, his mind always going back to the way Zuko had risked everything to get him out of the stronghold. He was cunning, intelligent and extremely brave, but he also made really bad choices as well. He decided to keep him mouth shut, he didn’t feel like it was the right time to tell them that story.

“So Bato, what happened next?”

———————————-

The morning came and for the first time since the Prince was feeling well enough to leave the bed, he was not outside meditating at sun rise. Hakoda didn’t even think to check the bed when he got up this morning, assuming the fire bender was already on deck like he was every morning. The morning crew had disposed of the bodies and the blood stains had been wiped clean. It looked like every other morning but without the little Prince sitting lotus style at the bow of the ship.

Hakoda wanted to go check the cabin and make sure he was alright but he knew today was the day they were going to part ways. He needed to do what he had to do to separate the attachment he had formed for the Fire Nation Prince.

Hakoda, Bato and Tulok discussed the plans for after they dropped Zuko off at port. No one made a comment or said anything about the plan to dismiss the Fire Prince, but there was a slight tension in the air when it was brought up.

“So after we find somewhere for Zuko to stay, we will need to find the rest of our fleet and gather the captains. Together we need to discuss the route we plan on taking to meet up with the Western Earth Kingdom fleet. All together we can flank and dismantle, I am going to assume, 2-3 Fire Nation ships before we need to break away and separate for a while. I was thinking of taking this route here,” Tulok pointed to the red line he had drawn on the map using the information Zuko had unknowingly shared, “I know they have a neutral port here, we can use to sell some of the goods we gather from the Fire Nation ships and re supply. It would make sense to stay in port for 3 days at most and then head through this route to avoid a Fire Nation blockade. What do you think Chief?”

Both men looked at Hakoda, he looked up at them and realized he didn’t hear anything after, find somewhere safe for Zuko to stay… Did that even exist?

“Yes Tulok that sounds like a good plan, thanks for putting so much thought into this, I know it will be successful.”

Before any of the men could speak again they heard Anke’s voice clear as day from the helm, “PORT AHEAD!”

It didn’t take long for the ship to reach port and tie down safely. It was a neutral port so both Fire Nation and other nation vessels were welcome. The town would usually trade with and service anyone, from any nation, so it was always a good idea to stop at a neutral port. Especially if they needed to buy something that only the Fire Nation supplied.

“Chief…” Noa was approaching him, “Zuko hasn’t left the cabin all day, I think it would be best for you to talk to him.”

Hakoda gave him a nod and they exchanged Water Tribe handshakes, Noa exited the boat to head into town to buy medical supplies and Hakoda headed towards his cabin.

“Prince Zuko…?”

He opened the door slowly to see the boy sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in the Fire Nation clothing he was wearing when they fished him out of the sea. He looked up at Hakoda, and he could see the sadness and fear in his eyes, “Hello Chief, I am ready to go.”

He slid off the bed and walked over to the door, walking past Hakoda and headed out into the hall. Hakoda followed behind, they walked in silence until both of their feet hit solid ground. The town was small, but large enough that Zuko would be able to find things to eat and stay in an Inn until a Fire Nation ship docked. Any ship would help their Prince, so all he had to do was wait for one to come in.

He and Zuko walked in silence, Zuko stared at the ground while they walked into the village. Hakoda spotted an Inn and he walked inside, followed by Zuko.

It was small, but clean, there was a few small tables in the waiting area, and 2 old men playing Pai Sho in the corner. They didn’t even look up when the two strangers entered.

“Good afternoon, are you looking for a room to rent?”

“Yes, I was wondering how often Fire Nation ships dock here?”

The women scrunched her face and looked down at Zuko, he was still staring at the ground.

“….Well…. usually 3 times a week on average, sometimes more sometimes less, I need to know why you would ask that? Aren’t you out fighting the war?”

Her eyes looked back down at Zuko and she lingered on his scar before looking back at Hakoda’s obviously Water Tribe blue eyes.

“I just need to know the information to keep this young man safe and make sure he gets back to his crew, when was the last time a Fire Nation ship was docked here?”

“Yesterday, they left this morning.”

“How much would it be to pay for 3 nights at your lovely Inn?”

“6 copper pieces.”

Hakoda reached into his coat and pulled out a small leather pouch and pulled out 8 copper pieces and handed it to the women, “2 extra pieces for your digression.”

She nodded and gave him the key, “This is for room 4, its round back.”

Hakoda took the key and smiled walking out the door and around the building to where the stretch of rooms were. There were only 6 rooms and they were all side by side. But the Inn was clean and cheap, hopefully it would keep Zuko safe until a Fire Nation ship came to port.

He unlocked the door and inside there was a small bed, a table and stool, a bathing area with a small tub and a spout for water.

“Its not a bad room, what do you think Prince Zuko?”

Zuko snorted, “Its…. Cozy? Not like my room in the palace that’s for sure, or even the Wani.”

Hakoda got down on a knee and looked Zuko in the eyes, “It will be okay, you are safe here this port is neutral so there won’t be any Fire Nation hostility. I am going to leave you some copper pieces to buy yourself food and maybe some new clothing so you don’t look so… Fire Nation. I have to go meet up with the rest of the crew and leave you to fend for yourself, like men do. Ok?”

Zuko looked up at him and nodded, “Thank you Chief Hakoda you have been very kind to me.” He gave him a deep Fire Nation bow.

Hakoda held out his arm, “I know you have seen us do it so many times, it’s a Water Tribe custom but I think you deserve it.” Zuko nodded and grabbed the Chief’s arm right at the elbow, they shook and Hakoda turned to leave, shutting the door behind him.

He met up with Bato in the village who was buying supplies for the ship along with Tulok.

“You ok Chief?”

Hakoda nodded, “yeah it just makes me miss my kids, he wasn’t mine to keep so this is for the best.”

Bato smirked and grabbed his best friends shoulders from behind, “Eyyyy look at it this way! Maybe when he is Fire Lord and they want to burn down our village you can say, ‘Hey Zuko remember that time we were roommates?! Please don’t kill my family!’ It’ll work I can feel it”

He knew Bato was trying to be funny and make him feel better but it wasn’t working, “Yes, Bato, I want to think of the death of my real children while my home is destroyed because we lost the war in your fucked up scenario, thank you so much. But we should try and stop by the Southern village soon just to check in. It would be nice for everyone to see their families.”

Tulok smiled, “I will see what I can come up with, its pretty out of the way but I will do my best.”

That night the men ate and drank in port and told tales of their time back home, they laughed and stumbled out of the tavern together, Hakoda was in a much better mood.

The next day the crew was almost done preparing the ship to depart, they would be heading out in the early morning so everyone needed to be on the ship tonight so no one was left behind.

Once the sun high in the sky, the ship was prepared and the crew were wondering around town buying and selling goods and just enjoying the solid ground. Some of them had taken up lady companions to rid themselves of male loneliness.

Bato and Hakoda found themselves back in the tavern, sipping fire whiskey and waiting for their hot meal.

“I should go say goodbye, check and make sure he is alright.”

Bato signed, “No Koda, you are such a softy, you said bye. If you go back and you’ll have to rip off those bandages all over again and re apply them when you leave, it’ll hurt your heart more then it hurts right now. It will be harder for you and for him. Best to just leave in the morning and not look back.”

“I guess you’re right.”

They sat in silence and Hakoda picked up on the conversation a group of men were having two tables over.

“Yeah he threw flames at me, but I was too fast for the guy… Miyuki told me some guy brought in him in to wait for his crew or something. He won’t be meeting up with any crew now, I beat that guy up so bad I don’t think he will ever hurt anyone again. Fucking ash-makers, the guy had a nasty looking scar though, I wish I could kill them all... But ill take just the one…”

Before the man could finish his sentence both Bato and Hakoda were standing, Hakoda grabbed the man by the collar of his tunic pulling him out of his seat and slamming him into the wall. All of the people sitting at his table stood suddenly, drawing their weapons, Bato held out his whale tooth knife waiting for one of them to make a move.

Everyone stood back while Hakoda shook with rage holding the man next to his face, “What did you say about a BOY with a scar?!”

The man he held was Earth Kingdom, he wore green and had big green eyes and sandy hair, he was young – probably 18, around the same age as Noa. But he was much smaller then the Water Tribe men.

“I- I – I was serving my nation, I saw Fire Nation and I attacked, its what we ar- are supp-pp-posed to do during war! He fought.. he fough-t back, he threw fire at me!!”

Hakoda tightened his grip, “Did you kill him? Where is he!?”

The boy was shaking now, “I- I – I think I cut him… I don’t know, it was me and my buddies I don’t kn-know who did what… we – we have lost people in this war! Those ash-makers have destroyed families!”

Bato stood by watching the men who had been sitting at the table but they didn’t step in, the situation stayed tense.

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“I…I left him out back… edge of the village, behind the old fruit stand… by the river.”

Hakoda dropped him, with one last glare he looked at Bato and both men broke into a sprint headed towards the spot the man described.

They arrived at the edge of town and began to search frantically in the tall grass, “KODA!” Hakoda’s heart stopped, there was blood stained dirt but no sign of Zuko, it looked like the blood was dragged across the ground, they followed it until they got to the edge of the river.

The color drained out of Hakoda’s face, “ZUKO!!!!!!”

The boy was holding his side as blood seeped through his fingers, the good side of his face was covered in bruises and his lip was split wide open. He wasn’t standing, slumped on the ground, it looked like he dragged himself to the river to try and wash out his wound but ran out of energy.

Hakoda and Bato dropped by his side, cradling Zuko’s face in his lap he tried to get the boys attention, “Zuko, Prince Zuko, are you alive? Please Zuko don’t die, I am so sorry I shouldn’t have left you, I should have gone to check on you earlier. Please Zuko you have to open your eyes.”

Bato was pulling the boys tunic apart trying to see what kind of damage had been afflicted. He was bruising all over his body, it looked like he was kicked so many times in his chest and stomach. He might have broken ribs it was hard to tell with all the swelling. The blood was clearly coming from a deep gash on this side, it was pretty fresh and the blood was dark so Bato knew it was deep. He began digging in his travel bag and pulled out the little bit of healing supplies her carried with him.
“We have to get him to a healer, he is losing blood and he will die if we don’t stop the bleeding. Did he wake up yet?”

Hakoda looked at Bato shaking his head no, he couldn’t find words.

Bato wrapped the cut with the bit of bandages they had and Hakoda scooped up the boy and they made they’re way back to town as quickly as possible without causing more injury to Zuko.

There was a healer in town and when the men burst through the door with a Fire Nation boy the healer put his hands up and refused. “No way, I don’t heal Fire Nation, you have to take him somewhere else! Get him out of my building now!”

“He is a fucking child!! You will let a CHILD bleed to death!?”

Hakoda was furious, what was wrong with this town?! What types of people live here!? Stabbing and beating a child and then refusing to heal him!? If he was a fire bender he would burn this place to the ground.

Bato pulled on his shoulder, “Come Koda, we will bring him to Noa, he can help.”

Hakoda glared his rage filled eyes at the healer the whole way out of the building, he didn’t turn and face the front until he was well out the door.

They finally made it back to their ship and Noa was looking over the railing smiling, his smile faded fast when he saw how frantic Bato and Chief were and carrying something towards the boat.

“What’s going on Ch- TUI AND LA IS THAT ZUKO!? WHAT HAPPENED?!”

Noa moved quick, running to the infirmary to get supplies ready for when they brought the boy to him. The boy who saved his life the other night, the boy who bit him, the boy who shared his sea prunes with him. His little Prince friend.

Hakoda whipped through the door and set Zuko down as gently as possible on the infirmary table. Blood was covering the front of the Chiefs tunic, Noa began cleaning the wound with the new supply of anti bacterial liquid he just bought.

“What happened? I thought this was a neutral port? He is just a kid?!”

Noa didn’t look up while he spoke, instead he began threading a needle to stitch the wound together.

“Fucking young local guys think they are helping fight the war by jumping Fire Nation kids, they justified it because he threw fire at them. No one seemed to disagree either, we can’t leave him alone like that. They might have killed him!”

Hakoda’s fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were turning white, he wouldn’t take his eyes off Zuko’s pale face. His scar was so red next to the rest of his skin, he looked so young laying there, his hair was thrown everywhere and coated in blood. Probably from Zuko’s nervous habit of running his hands through his hair.

He couldn’t believe that Zuko would have been attacked like that and then left alone to die, he couldn’t imagine how scared the kid must have been all alone trying to figure out what to do. No one was there to help him, he had no supplies, even if he some how made it into town no one would have helped him. He would have bled to death in the streets like trash and no one would have done anything.

Noa worked on Zuko stitching him up for most of the afternoon and into the night, he confirmed the boy had at least 3 cracked ribs most likely from being kicked while he was down based on the bruising. His face was a disaster, between the scar and the bruising with the split lip it was hard to even recognize him. Noa spread a thing layer of paste over the kid’s body to help with the swelling and the healing of the bruises, luckily none of his arms or legs were broken and the bones in his face seemed in tact.

So now they needed to wait, and hopefully Zuko would wake up.

The Chief wanted to make sure the boy was comfortable so he carried him back to the cabin they had been sharing and laid him in bed. The bed he only got to spend one night in, but it felt right putting the little fire bender there to recover, rather than keeping him in the cold infirmary.

He sat on the floor back against his desk staring at the slight rise and fall of Zuko’s chest, just like he did the first night they changed his bandages, he could still remember that awful screaming.

“Tui and La please, give this child a break, I know he comes from an evil family but he is just a boy, why does he have continue to suffer? He shouldn’t be blamed for the sins of his father”

Hakoda put his head in his hands and tried to ask the spirits for help, trying to drown out the guilt he felt in his chest for living the kid alone at that Inn. He knew it felt wrong but he did it anyway because he was scared, he was scared of what would happen if they were caught with the Fire Prince. He neglected Zuko’s safety to save his own skin, was it wrong? No, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel the guilt.

————————————-

Katara stood up this time, “I need some air.”

She left the room and Aang got up to follow her, “I am going to go make sure she is alright.”

Aang walked outside to see that Katara had already made it across the pavilion and was walking towards the forest in a hurry. He could tell by her body language she was angry, but he wasn’t sure why. Either way he was going to follow her to make sure she was alright, that’s what friends do for each other.

“Katara!” He yelled, “wait up!”

She stopped and looked back, tears filling her eyes she walked over to the outer wall of the Abbey and slid down. She pressed the back of her head against the cold stone wall, closing her eyes she tried to rid herself of the tears before they started to fall down her face.

Aang sat down besides her, he didn’t say anything at first, letting the rustle of the tree do the speaking. The wind was really picking up and the temperature was dropping fast, he couldn’t help but shiver.

Aang broke the silence.

“… sure is cold out here.”

Katara brought her knees to her chest and set her arms on top of them, she set her head down and looked over at Aang, “Do you think there will ever be peace? Even if we end the war?”

Aang wasn’t sure how to respond, of course there would be peace… why would she say something like that?

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Because Aang this story Bato is telling us… just now… the way the village was going to let Zuko die, he was your age! What if that happened to you and someone wouldn’t help you because you were an air bender? What if even after the fighting stops the damage between the nations is too deep to heal? What if people will always hate the Fire Nation and they will always be outcasts? Can we really fix everything? Or are we just kidding ourselves?”

She put her face down, hiding the tears that had finally escaped her eyes. Aang put his arm around her shoulder and leaned in softly so she could put her face in his shoulder sash.

“I think in order for the Fire Nation to be forgiven they will need to prove to the world they are worth being forgave, they will need a leader who will do what’s best for their people, but also the rest of the world. I don’t claim to have all the answers but we will do everything we can to repair the damage that has been done. I won’t rest until everyone in the world is at peace, so no one has to be hurt the way Zuko was just because he was Fire Nation.”

Katara nodded softly, “I know you will Aang, you are amazing.”

She looked up and smiled at him, her cheeks pink, he looked away as his cheeks also began to flush.

“Lets get back inside, its getting cold out here and I don’t want you to get sick – or I willl have to go get you more frozen frogs, and I know you don’t want to go through that again. I know I don’t.”

She made a disgusted face and they both got up and walked back to the room together, it was so warm inside and Sokka and Bato were laughing together.

“Oh man guys, wait to you hear about –“

“SHHHH Sokka, don’t spoil it. Come sit down I would like to continue the story.”

———————————

A little over a week passed before Zuko opened his eyes. He was disoriented and so hungry it felt like his inner fire was burning a whole inside of him. He sat up slowly and cried out in pain, reaching down to his side he felt the bandages across his rib cage and stomach. He was so confused until he remembered…. The fight, the men attacking him, the fire, the crawling, the darkness…

Now where was he?

Oh yeah, he knew this room – Chief Hakoda – the man who didn’t want him around. Why was he back here?

No one was in the room, he wondered if Anke was posted outside of door again. Peeking his head out the hallway it was empty, he slowly made his way down the hallway, passing the mess hall – empty, the barracks – empty. Was everyone on deck?

The sun hit his face like cool glass of water on a hot day, he could help but stand there and soak in as much as he could. He did that for a while before looking around the deck – empty. He did notice there were 5-6 Water Tribe ships around them. Everyone seemed to be anchored down in a circle. Weird.

“Zuko!”

He turned and saw Noa walking up to the deck, “What are you doing out of bed are you crazy?! Get back in bed!!”

Zuko frowned, “but I need the sun, I have to stay out here a little longer to re gain strength.”

Noa shrugged, “You weird fire benders, so stay out here in the sun, but please lay down while you’re out here okay?” He sat down and pat the floor next to him.

Zuko went to sit down slowly and Noa stood again to help him, trying to keep him from popping his stitches. Zuko finally laid down and let out a sigh of relief.

“Where is everyone?”

“They are having a Tribe meeting with the elders, usually they do it on our ship but you’re here so we had to lie and have the meeting on Varrick’s ship instead.”

“What was the lie?”

Noa smiled and laughed, “Bato told everyone that Chief Hakoda had one too many at the tavern in town and got sick in his room. Throwing up everywhere, and because there isn’t a porthole it was taking a while to air out! He told everyone is smelled like rotten tiger-seal meat. Isn’t that great?!”

“Yeah I guess, but instead there is a banished Fire Prince who they tried to dump off at the last port but the Prince was so weak and cowardly he got attacked and almost died so they had to take him back…”

Zuko closed his eyes laying on his back covering his body in the sunlight.

Noa frowned and rolled onto his side, “Banished?”
Zuko’s eyes opened suddenly, “Oh yeah did I not mention that?”

Noa shook his head slowly.

“No I think I would have remembered that little detail…”

“Oh well, add it to my list of failures, there are so many they’ll be telling fables about me for years. The cowardly, weak, banished, dishonorable Fire Nation Prince who died on a Water Tribe ship when everyone couldn’t figure out what to do with him so they had to eventually kill him. Sounds like a story they’ll write a play about. They’ll call it, ‘Coward Prince’, a walk through the life of a failure! For just one copper piece you and your friends can watch a play about the worst Fire Nation Prince in history! Sozin’s bloodline skipped this guy!”

Noa didn’t say anything, he just looked at Zuko.

“My mother would have taken us to go see that play, she would have told my sister and I that it was good to experience everything life has to offer, and watching a play about a coward builds character. Pay attention we might learn something, you never know! I would have watched it and thought, ‘wow this play reminds me of my own life!’ And Azula would tell me it was because I was a coward prince and failure and then light me on fire while my dad critiqued her bending, that is if wasn’t already perfect.

“He’d say, ‘Nice job favorite child Azula – you prodigy, but remember next time to shoot your brother full of lightning before you burn his body, its more cruel that way.’ She would smile and laugh, ‘of course father you are so wise, maybe you can show me how?! Lets burn Zuko to death together yay!!”

Zuko covered his face with his hands after doing a very creepy little girls voice, and he began to groan.

Noa wasn’t sure if he should laugh, or if he should be concerned, he wasn’t even sure if Zuko was joking or if his father really did tell his sister to shoot him full of lightning before lighting him on fire

“Is that how your go your scar?”

Zuko took his hands away from his face and scowled.

“No you idiot, if I was shot full of lightning I wouldn’t have scarred, I’d be dead.”

“Well did your sister and father burn you together?”

“No, my sister wouldn’t burn my face in public.”

“So your dad burnt your face… in public?”

“Can we talk about something else?!”

“Ok, ok, well I am here to talk to about anything just so you know… I know you have really bad nightmares and sometimes the best way to get rid of them is to talk about what happened, and I am here for you if you need me Zuko.”

“…Thanks…”

They sat in silence for a while.

“Do you have siblings Noa?”

“Oh wow, you want to ask me about my life? But I was collecting information from you for this play I’m writing, ‘Coward Prince’ the one man show!”

Zuko reached over and punched his arm.

“Ow, now the new title is ‘Coward Prince who is a jerk’… but yes I have a little brother. He is in the Northern Water Tribe with the rest of my family.”

“I didn’t know you were from up north, is it different from the south?”

“Oh yeah, it is so different, up North they have so many rules and regulations, its very gender specific. Men have certain things they are allowed to do and women the same. Men go out and fight and women are trained to heal, I am not a fighter I am more of a healer type. It was forbidden for men to learn how to heal because it’s a women job, so I learned in secret from a female friend, she was a water bender though and I’m not so its hard for me to learn from her exactly. She gave me the book I use now with all the different remedies and details about the human body. I miss her and my brother but I knew I couldn’t stay in that… that… prison, hiding behind our walls while people die. So I left to come help and hopefully learn to heal from a master.”

“Well that was stupid of you.”

“What the fuck Zuko? You don’t know anything…”

“All I am saying is it is stupid for you to claim you aren’t a fighter and then go and join a war, it doesn’t make any sense. I know I don’t think things through but that is the most not thought out plan I have ever heard! My uncle would be clenching his chest just hearing this stupid story. You have to learn to fight or you will die.”

“Well teach me.”

“Ok, as soon I am healed a little more I will teach you how to fight. You can still learn to heal, I think I’d be lost without your healing ability but I can teach you to fight.”

“Oh am I allowed to keep healing? Thank you so much your highness for granting me with your permission.”

“You’re welcome you savage peasant.”

Noa reach over and punched Zuko’s shoulder this time.

“You cant hit your Prince!”

“You aren’t my Prince.”

“Not yet. – OW! Don’t hit me again or ill split these stitches wide open kicking your ass!”

For the first time since the Prince joined the Souther Water Tribe ship he laughed, and Noa decided he liked happy Zuko.

The men started arriving back at the ship here and there as the sun began to set. Some of them had been drinking with their friends on the other boats, everyone seemed happy. Zuko sat on the deck watching everyone roll in, a few of the men sneered at him seeing that he was back. He just glared back at them and didn’t say anything. Anke came back and looked over at Zuko smiling, “Good to see you back kid.”

Zuko was pretty surprised that Anke acknowledged him, he was not very happy when he had first arrived so the turn around made Zuko feel all warm inside. Maybe it was because he had been drinking but Zuko didn’t care, a compliment was a compliment.

Finally Chief Hakoda, Bato and Tulok came back aboard, they didn’t seem to have been drinking, they were discussing amongst themselves. Zuko wasn’t sure why, but he got really nervous all of a sudden.

Hakoda looked over and saw him and he broke out into the biggest smile, “ZUKO! You’re awake!”

He broke away from the other two men and walked towards the kid, he extended his hand to help the fire bender up.

“I have been so worried I wasn’t sure you would ever wake up, how do you feel?”

“Like I got the shit beat out of me, and possibly stabbed, but other than that I feel good.”

Hakoda frowned, “well I guess that’s good news, lets head to our cabin and talk.”

Zuko was happy that he said, ‘our cabin’ but became really nervous when Hakoda said they needed to talk. He was afraid of what the Chief was going to say, was he strong enough now that he was awake to be dropped off at the next port? Were they going to transfer him to another ship? Maybe just dump him overboard?

His heart began to pound and as they passed the lanterns on the wall they began to flicker wildly, Hakoda seemed to noticed and turned to the boy.

“Don’t worry Zuko you are safe now I just want to talk to you about a few things, no one is going to hurt you ever again, do you understand?”

Zuko nodded, but his words didn’t ease the nervousness he felt.

They entered the cabin and he motioned for Zuko to take a seat. So he did.

Hakoda sat in his usual spot on the floor, his back against the desk.

“So obviously… dropping you off at the neutral port did not go so well. I am sorry I didn’t realize that people had such a deep hatred for the Fire Nation that they would attack a child – and don’t say you aren’t a child, because you are Zuko. You are a 13 year old boy. So I need to say I am sorry to you, I should not have left you there alone, its my fault you were attacked…”

“No Chief Hakoda, its not your fault, its my fault for being born. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was lucky to be born and because of that I have to suffer the consequences.”

Hakoda looked at Zuko in the eyes, his golden eyes which showed him how honestly he mean those words and how he truly believed he deserved that.

“Why would you say that about yourself Prince Zuko?”

“I didn’t say that, my father did, he said Azula was born lucky and I was lucky to be born, I am a disappointment to my bloodline and I have been cursed by Agni until I fulfill my destiny to capture the Avatar and restore my honor. It is why bad things always happen to me, I know it.”

Hakoda let out a long exhale, he couldn’t even begin to tackle that… this kid made him want to drink, he knew that much.

“Prince Zuko… I cant even begin to understand what your life has been like but you’re wrong, your father is wrong, he is an evil man and he doesn’t deserve your loyalty.”

“Don’t speak about my father like that Chief Hakoda… I am giving you a warning.”

Hakoda furrowed his brow, did this kid just threaten him?

“Or what? You will burn me?”

“I don’t have to burn you to teach you not to disrespect my father. There are other ways without fire.”

Zuko was glaring at him now, his golden eyes flickering like fire.

“…. Zuko, your father is a monster, he is destroying the world, tearing apart families and has abused his loyal and honorable son. He is a sick man and needs to be destroyed.”

Hakoda didn’t break eye contact as he spoke those words with as much authority as a Chief could have, not backing down from the Prince’s intimidation tactic.

Zuko stood up his fist clenched but not on fire, his eyes looked angry and ready to fight, but for some reason he was holding back.

“What will you do Prince Zuko? Will you attack me? Will you tell me I am wrong? Will you kill me in light of your father? I know even in your weakened state you could kill me, and you could burn this whole ship down with everyone inside! Will you do it?! Will you be the monster your father wants you to be?! Will you burn your own children in front of your closest friends and family?!”

Zuko froze, his eyes got wide, “What do you mean…?”

“I know Prince Zuko! I know what your father did, I needed to know so I asked, and I figured you would never tell me so I asked around and I heard what the Fire Lord did to you! He challenged you to a duel and held you down burning your face while everyone in the stadium watched!! They served snacks and sold tickets to watch him mutilate his only son!! Do you think that is ok?!”

Hakoda was yelling now, Zuko closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears shaking his head back and forth.

“SHUT UP, You don’t know ANYTHING! JUST SHUT UP!”

Hakoda stood up, “Explain it to me Zuko, tell me what happened from YOUR perspective so I can try and understand, because right now I cant see it. Its so sick and its so wrong and I cant see what you will say that will make this situation seem justified! But I will give you a chance. Speak.”

Zuko’s eyes had a mixture of anger, fear, hate, sadness and confusion, he didn’t speak for a while. He brought down his arms and sat on the bed, slowly placing his head in his hands and running his fingers through his hair. Hakoda took this time to sit down next to the boy on the bed this time, and against his better judgement he placed a hand on the fire benders shoulder, and gave him a small squeeze. His other hand gently touched the two beads he had in his hair, one for Katara and the other for Sokka.

“Zuko I know its hard, and I am sorry for this, I am sorry I spoke to you like that but I need to know. I have two children at home, and I need to know why you would love someone who has hurt you so much. I want to give you the opportunity to help me understand you. I was so scared when I heard that man in the tavern bragging about how he had attacked you, I was filled with so much rage for that man and all I wanted to do was find you and make sure you were ok. I couldn’t imagine laying my hand on you, or my own children for that matter, with the intent to injure them. I shouldn’t have asked around about it but now that I have heard the story I need you to clarify.”

Zuko didn’t say anything, his hands stopped running through his hair, he let out a long exhale and looked at Hakoda, “fine.”

He told him everything, he told him about his mother going missing when he was a child, and the next day his grandfather was dead and his father being crowned Fire Lord. About his Uncle leaving the palace for a while on a spirit journey and how he was too much of a coward to ask hm to stay.

He told him how he wasn’t allowed to speak about his mother, and didn’t know if she was alive or dead. How all of her possessions had be removed from the palace and he only had a theater mask and a portrait left, everything else was gone. He has no friends, he wasn’t allowed to have any contact with anyone except the servants and Azula.

He told him about his sister, and how she was encouraged to hurt him and practice her bending against him even with her advanced skill level. How they used to be close but were so disconnected now that he didn’t even know if there was a relationship left worth trying to save.

He talked about his father trying to instill anger in him through suffering to help build his fire bending, and when it didn’t work how angry he used to get and would lash out at him. How one time Zuko tried to run and hide and his father threw fire whips at him, hitting him twice in the back – and he wouldn’t allow him to go to the infirmary to heal.

He told Hakoda about his Uncle and how he left after Lu Ten died, and how alone he felt without him. He talked about how he didn’t hear from his Uncle for 2 years even though he wrote him and begged him to come home.

Then he shared about Uncle returning, and how much better life got after that, he spoke about the tea, the proverbs, the stupid Pai Sho lessons, and mostly he talked about the security and protection he felt just having his Uncle around.

Then he started telling him about how badly he wanted to go into the war meeting, and how he begged Uncle for days and was finally allowed to go, but he had to promise to be quiet. Well he broke that promise.

He, slowly, told about his reaction to the horrific plan to slaughter new recruits, and how enraged he had been to hear the generals talk about those people… Their people, their loyal Fire Nation soldiers and how they were going to be sacrificed for a small military advancement.

He told him about the Agni Kai and how he had accepted, even though the legal age was 16, he was confident… He knew he could win.

Then he stopped talking, his body began to shake, and he pressed his eyes into the palms of his hands.

He explained turning around and seeing his father, and how much fear he felt seeing the man that he knew could easily kill him standing on the other side of the stadium. He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t run so he begged, and pleaded to not fight, and when he thought his father was going to understand… When he reached out to touched his cheek where the tears were falling onto the floor, he cupped his face and burned him. How some people cheered, some gasped, and how some didn’t say anything at all. But no one person did anything to stop it.

He told Hakoda how he laid in the arena screaming and how is father just walked away, his Uncle came down after his father left the stadium and made everyone leave.

How his Uncle stayed by his side while he lay in the infirmary for the first few hours, confused and drugged, everyone was unsure if he would even live.

He slowed down again… explaining he was only there for a few hours before his Uncle was handed the banishment papers and that he needed to be out of the palace and on the Wani before sunrise or he would face the consequences – which was execution.

His Uncle took care of everything for him, he wasn’t even lucid for the first few days of his banishment, once he came to and understood what happened. As soon as he was strong enough to walk he went out to the deck during the storm and begged to be struck, and to just end it all, and that’s when the wave washed him overboard and a few days later he was scooped out of the water and here he was.

Hakoda has sat quietly for the entire story, his fist clenched so tight that he was sure there was blood pooling in his palm. Zuko finally looked over at him with the corner of his eye, the not scarred one, and Hakoda could see the glossiness, and the pain, all the pain and sadness. He couldn’t take it anymore and he reached out to the boy and pulled him into his strong fatherly arms and pulled him close.

“I am so sorry Zuko, I am so.. so… I am just so…”

He buried his face into Zuko’s hair and allowed the boy to finally breakdown, he cried into the Chief’s shoulder for as long as he needed to. Hakoda didn’t loosen his grip not even for a second, he held Zuko closer than anyone has ever held him before and told him it was going to be ok.

He let the little Fire Prince breakdown in his arms, for as long as he needed.

————————————-

“I’m going to be sick.”

Sokka stood up, walking out of the room and into the freezing windy outdoors, into the darkness just to escape the thick heat of emotion that was filling the small Water Tribe themed room.

The freezing wind felt good against his skin, he was getting so hot in there, probably because of the intense rage he was feeling – he really wasn’t sure. His mind felt blank, his chest heavy and no amount of funny angry ponytail jerk jokes were going to change the information that was just laid out in his lap.

How would he ever be able to fight Zuko again? This is the same Zuko that tied his sister to a tree, that chased them around the world, that’s broke his favorite spear. He didn’t know if he could ever look at him the same.

Inside the room Katara and Aang were quiet until Katara looked up “How did you even hear all that? It sounds like such an intimate moment between my dad and Zuko?”

“Well I was headed to the mess hall to get something to eat and I heard Koda yelling, and then I heard Zuko yelling back, I ran to the door as fast as possible because I was afraid for your dad’s life. I figured this was the moment that I had feared since the day we brought that fire bender on board, I was afraid he was going to kill your dad. When I got to the door it was quiet so I cracked it open just a hair to see if I could see or hear anything. That’s when Zuko began to tell your dad… well everything… once Zuko started to cry and Hakoda began to comfort him I shut the door and left. The story spoiled my appetite though, I went right to bed after that.”

Katara looked over at Aang, he was bright red, he had the look in his eye she remembered right when he found Monk Gyatso. His face was twisted into a scowl, his hands clenched he stood up out of no where and walked out the door. She heard his glider swing open and knew he was gone.

Katara and Bato were left alone together, the fire was dying down and Bato just stared at the tiny flickering flames. “Every time I see fire now I think of Zuko. Its been 2 years since I have seen him, but I always ask about him everywhere we stop.”

Katara looked over at Bato, “does the story get better? Does he find any kind of happiness while he is on the ship with you?”

Bato sighed, “I want to say yes, he had happy moments, but all together his life has not been a fair one, but I think your dad and him share a special bond that was meant to come out of all this. I think it will play a big part in the future, especially if we can end the war and get Zuko on the throne.”

Katara frowned, “that’s the worse idea I have ever heard, that would be the same thing as just leaving Ozai there.”

Bato chuckled, “Katara you are young, you’re fierce, determined and so caring, just like Kya. But there are things in life you can only learn from age, and I promise that if you stay true to who you are one day you will understand things you didn’t even know were there. For now, protect your brother, and keep the Avatar safe and prepare him to fight the Fire Lord. Master your bending, and let the old folks figure out how to bring balance to the world. I promise, we will only do what’s best for all four nations.”

He smiled at Katara and she stood up and walked over to him and sat down pulling him into a hug, “Thank you Bato, that makes me feel so much better.”

Sokka came back in, “Hey I want a hug!!” Bato motioned for him to come in, “come on in Sokka, just be careful that’s my bad side.”

Aang walked in not a moment after, “Whaaaatt… group hug and I was going to miss it!?” Without an invitation Aang swooped in and joined the snuggle.

After a few minutes of hugging everyone went back to their spots and Sokka cleared his throat.

“So I am going to assume there is more to this terrible story?”

Bato smiled.

“Of course, let me continue.”

———————————

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

After Hakoda and Zuko’s heart to heart there was a different air between them. Hakoda was much more attentive and fatherly to his young friend and Zuko seemed to accept the attention Hakoda was giving him without too much resistance.

It took over a month before Zuko’s injuries completely healed, during that time the Southern Fleet reached their destination within the Earth Kingdom Waters. They connected with General Fong’s naval fleet and prepared to stop at the next Earth Kingdom port.

It was not a neutral port, so no Fire Nation ships dared to dock. It would be safe for the Water Tribe men and Earth Kingdom soldiers to meet without the risk of Fire Nation soldiers hearing their plans. Hakoda knew that he had to be extra cautious around the Earth Kingdom crew, they were not as tender hearted as Hakoda and his men. If they found out he had the Fire Nation Prince in his cabin they would not take kindly to the news. They would most likely apprehend the boy for their own political gains.

He would not allow that to happen.

The Fire Prince was a hard worker, especially for being royalty, he did his chores every morning and he had began to teach Noa hand to hand combat. Noa was a slow learner, mostly because of how timid he was around Zuko.

“You have to hit me! You can’t begin to win a fight if you don’t even strike your opponent!”

Noa looked nervous, his stance was better, but his arms had a slight tremble to them. His long brown hair was pulled back into a wolf tail and he had one braid that hung loose with a blue bead – for his brother. It wasn’t a big custom to wear beads for your loved ones up north, but it was an important custom in the south. Everyone wore beads to show respect to their loved ones and believed that if they blessed the beads to the Spirits they would keep their loved ones safe.

“I can’t hit you – you were stabbed just a couple of weeks ago!”

Zuko rolled his eyes and opened his tunic, the bruises were gone and the slash mark had turned into just another scar. It wasn’t as big as some of his other scars and it had faded into a soft pink that would eventually become white with time. It wasn’t a burn, and had been a pretty clean cut so it wouldn’t scar too horribly. The poor kid had enough terrible burn scars, he didn’t need anymore.

“See, its fine, now unless you want one of these you need to learn how to fight like a man! Now widen your stance, all good combat comes from your stance, if an opponent can knock you down then you are at a disadvantage. You need to knock him down before he can knock you down, so widen!”

Noa spread his legs apart, right before Zuko kicked a few sparks his way. Noa yelled and fell back.

“What they hell Zuko!?”

“SEE! It wasn’t even fire, it was just heat and you’re already on your butt. You have to concentrate on your stance, I cant even begin to teach you how to move if you cant even stand right!”

“You’re a terrible master…” Noa mumbled.

“Oh I’m sorry, do you need a break so you can go cry it out? Child.”

“I am not going to have a 13 year old call me a child! You’re a child!”

“Oh real mature comeback! ‘No you’re a child’ BABY!”

Noa widened his stance and narrowed his eyes, Zuko was pleasantly surprised to see the Water Tribe man showing some kind of emotion besides happy and scared. He in return shifted into his fighting stance and began trying to knock him over again.

They did this for hours, some of the crew sat on the sidelines watching the fire bender knocking Noa down over and over again.

“Ok enough! I am done, this is stupid! This isn’t even fighting! Its getting beat up by an angry jerk!”

Noa threw his hands up and stormed off, Zuko shifted back into a standing position and smirked, “See you tomorrow pupil! Get some rest! Don’t cry to hard!”

Anke smirked, “Its my turn.”

Zuko looked at him with a surprised expression, but he brought his hands together and gave him a small traditional Fire Nation bow and shifted into fighting stance.

“Ok old man, lets do it.”

Anke smirked and he widened his stance, it only took Zuko 5 minutes to knock the larger Water Tribe man onto his butt. Zuko walked over to him and held out his hand to help him up.

“You have a good stance, but you are heavy so against a more agile opponent you will struggle. If we were having an arm wrestling match you’d win, but unfortunately we are in a fight and when you fall you fall hard. You have to figure out how to swift your weight better, here let me show you.”

Zuko and Anke practiced for hours, the rest of the crew wanted to train with Zuko too. Calling dibs after they saw improvement in Anke’s fighting after a few times of watching him get knocked on his butt.

Hakoda came onto the deck as the sun was beginning to set and noticed his crew was all huddled around in the corner of the deck. Curious he walked over to the group and put his hand on Tulok’s shoulder peering over and seeing Zuko and Bato sparring.

Bato was much more agile then Anke but was much slower than Zuko, and within a minute of watching he was thrown on his butt. Zuko reach out his arm and Bato accepted allowing the fire bender to pull him to his feet.

“You’re getting better Bato, but you are still over thinking it, you have to make quick decisions and stick with it or your opponent will feel your hesitation and take you down. In the Fire Nation we are trained to assess your enemy and figure out their weakness within a couple of seconds and use the information to take them down.”

Bato crossed his arms, “Oh yeah? So what did you assess was my weakness?”

Zuko smirked, “Your right ankle, maybe a childhood injury? It makes you slower and more hesitant on your right side, which causes you to over think your attack and thus… you’re too slow.”

Zuko crossed his arms to mimic Bato and waited for the Water Tribe man to say something.

“Hakoda and I went penguin sledding as kids and we were probably a little too old to be messing around like that and I was thrown from my penguin and tumbled down the icy hill. I tried to find my footing but landed wrong and snapped my ankle, we were entering the winter months so healing took longer and it was really painful. I don’t think I ever let go of that pain so I know I take it easy on my right side. I’m impressed you noticed that so quickly.”

Zuko nodded, “It’s how we are trained in the Fire Nation, you can’t show weakness or you will be eliminated, so you have to over come that.”

Bato nodded, shifting back into a fighting stance. He looked over Zuko to see if he could figure out his weak spot and use his own advice against him. His eyes landed on the left side of his face, his scar – it would be a low blow but it would be what he would do in a battle so he was going to try it anyway.

Zuko shifted into stance and waited for Bato to attack, he didn’t go for his face right away, instead he hit him on the right side where he knew the fire bender had been slashed and his ribs were still tender.

Zuko was able to block most of the hit but he could hear him grunt a little from the pain, Bato smirked, now he was thinking like a Fire Nation soldier. He brought his leg up and aimed for Zuko’s face, he wasn’t hesitant but he did have a sting of guilt. Before his leg could even lift high enough to make contact Zuko dropped to the ground and spun on his hands, kicking his legs out and knocking Bato’s only footing out from under him. He hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked out of his lungs, he struggled to catch his breath.

His vision became a little fuzzy but after a few seconds it stabilized, looking up he saw Zuko standing over him hand out, Bato gladly accepted.

“Nice try.”

Bato grunted and stood to his feet, “I am surprised you knew what I was going to do.”

Zuko shrugged, “I would have done it, so why wouldn’t any of my attackers? Now that I have this weakness displayed on my face for the world to see they will always try to take advantage of it. But for me its just an opportunity to lead them to a trap, they will expect me to be timid and weak on my left side but instead I will train to make it my strongest side so they will be caught off guard.”

He tapped his head, “you have to think smarter than your opponent. If you can anticipate their next move you will be prepared. My Uncle taught me that.”

The sun had completely set now and some of the men began groaning knowing the night shift was starting, they all dispersed and went to their stations. The day crew made their way below deck to get some food. Zuko stayed back and leaned against the railing looking at the moon and stars.

Hakoda walked over to him and put his hand on the young boys back, “You showed some pretty amazing fighting skills back there.”

Zuko shrugged, “I guess.”

Hakoda brought his hand down and put both hands on the railing looking down into the waves crashing against the side of the boat. It was a relatively still night, not a lot of wind and the water was pretty calm.

“Zuko we will be in port tomorrow, I wanted to ask you to stay on the ship where it would be safe. There will be a lot of men coming on and off the ship as we do repairs and re supply, and I have business I have to attend to in town so I will not be on the boat much. I know you need to come out to deck to meditate and be under the sun but if you can always make sure your parka hood is pulled up so the other men don’t see your eye color and skin tone… I know it’s a lot to ask but I worry about what would happen if the Earth Kingdom found you here. It would not end well for either of us.”

Zuko nodded, “Yes Chief, I can respect that. I will stay on the boat and out of sight.”

Hakoda smiled glancing down at the boy standing next to him, every time he looked at Zuko his heart filled with pain. Some because he knew the boys past now, but also because he missed his own son so much, he wished Sokka was here with them. He wondered if Sokka and Zuko would get along and if they would spar together and joke together and laugh together. Well he knew Sokka would laugh, and if anyone could get Zuko to lighten up it would be Sokka.

“Do you want to go get something to eat?”

“Sure.”

——————————

“Damn Bato, you’re a true warrior, you were going to kick Zuko on his scarred side. That’s what I am talking about! Water Tribe men are badass!”

Sokka threw his fist into the air, he had a huge grin on his face.

Katara and Aang looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“Yes Sokka I was, but it didn’t work because the Fire Nation also trains their warriors to be aggressive and he expected it. It made me realize that day that the enemy was well trained and ruthless. A 13 year old boy knew his injury was going to be exploited and had been training himself to make it his advantage. That’s a strong tactic, I knew then that I couldn’t underestimate the Fire Nation. I am warning you children as well, you can not assume the enemy will not take that low blow, or use a moment of weakness to their advantage. You have to be ready and stay alert.”

He looked at Aang while he spoke, and Aang knew he was directing the comments at him. These were his Chief’s children, his best friend. If anything happened to them it would destroy their father, and Aang knew it was his fault they were out here in the war in the first place.

He nodded at Bato and as if an unspoken agreement was made and they understood each other.

“So did anyone ever knock Zuko down a peg?!”

“Yeah actually… your dad.”

Sokka grinned ear to ear.

———————————-

They made port early in the afternoon and Zuko followed Hakoda’s orders and stayed on the ship, confined to the cabin.

The Southern Water Tribe men were excited to be at port again, they exited quickly, laughing and cheering together. Hakoda watched his men wonder into town and Anke came behind him on his way to exiting the ship.

“It’ll be ok Chief, we wont let anything happen to the little fire rat. Just try relax.”

Hakoda gave him a small smile and they shook hands, Water Tribe style, and Anke walked down the ramp and onto the dock as he headed into town.

Hakoda waited for Bato and Tulok as they ventured to the meet up spot to discuss the plans for the Fire Nation navy attacks. It would take strategic planning and based on the information they gathered from Zuko he felt confident they could attack quickly and effectively so they wouldn’t need to spend too much time with the Earth Kingdom fleet.

He liked the Earth Kingdom men, but their leadership was less to be desired. General Fong wouldn’t be joining them but his next in command was a real hot head, and treated the Water Tribe men like lesser people. Hakoda usually ignored his comments and entitlement just long enough to complete their mission and part ways.

“This is quiet some intel you and your men were able to gather, I am actually impressed. I have to know, where did you get this information?”

Hakoda had to refrain from rolling his eyes, “my men and I spoke to a lot of different people at a neutral port where Fire Nation would frequently dock. They gave us this information.”

Captain Ming looked at him questionably but didn’t press much further. Hakoda hated Captain Ming.

Today was the last day they would be docked and the group of leaders just finished their final plans. Everyone was gathering their scrolls and saying their goodbyes and preparing to leave the Tavern they had been strategizing in, when Captain Ming turned to him.

“You know Chief Hakoda, I heard a crazy rumor at the last port I was in… I over heard some pirates telling the story of a Water Tribe ship that had a fire bender on board. Apparently the ash-maker was fighting along side the Water Tribe men. Isn’t that a crazy story?”

Hakoda felt his face get cold, but years of being a Chief had trained him how to conceal his emotions with a neutral facial expression, “Craziest story I have ever heard.”

Captain Ming smiled and the two men walked side by side towards the dock. It was then that Hakoda saw 8 groups of Earth Kingdom soldiers standing by each of the Water Tribe ships, the crews were not being allowed back on board. Hakoda began to get nervous, but still concealing his emotions he turned to Ming his brow furrowed.

“What is the meaning of this Captain Ming? Why are my men not being allowed to enter their ships?! This is a daring move sir, very disrespectful and harmful to our alliance.”

Captain Ming chuckled, “What is harmful for our alliance would be finding out you got this intel from an ash-maker and were hiding him aboard one of these ships. That would be treasonous and I am sure Commander Fong would be very displeased to know you and your tribe are willing to side with Fire Nation scum rather than your allies.” He turned to his men, “Search each ship, over turn everything and come back once you find something!”

“YES SIR!”

Each group had four soldiers and in unison they entered each ship at the same time, this must have been the plan before they had even tied down the first ship. Hakoda caught Noa’s eyes, and he could see the nervousness in his face. Hakoda looked over at Bato and Tulok and both men stayed neutral in their expression and didn’t look over at the Chief.

Slowly one by one the different soldier groups exited the ships, the last to emerge was the group of soldiers that had boarded his ship. They had something in their hands and Hakoda’s heart began to race.

What do I do? Do I attack? Do I let them take Zuko? Why does this keep happening to him?!

Before Hakoda could say or do anything he noticed that the men had Zuko’s ripped and bloody tunic in their hand. Obviously Fire Nation with the red and black stitching and silky material. He kicked himself for not throwing that overboard the second they had removed Zuko from the infirmary.

The soldiers approached their Captain, “Sir, this is the only thing we found that would belong to the Fire Nation. It seems to be destroyed and covered in blood.”

The soldier handed the tunic to the Captain who held it a little ways away and looked it over, “This is small for a Fire Nation soldier is it not? Why would it be on your ship Chief Hakoda?”

Hakoda took a deep breath to push his nerves as far down as he possibly could, “It came from an attack we did many months ago, I am not sure why it was not disposed of, maybe my men were going to use it for cleaning rags sir. As for the size, I am not sure, the Fire Nation is a nation of cruelty maybe they are sending children into battle now. That is the only conclusion I can come up with. If we are done here I would like to get my men onto their boats and begin setting the course as soon as possible.”

Capitan Ming looks unconvinced but without more evidence he nodded, “Dismissed.”

The Water Tribe men quickly bordered their ship and left as soon as possible, Chief Hakoda’s boat lead the way followed by the rest of his fleet. He watched over the railing until the dock was far from view, he finally let out a long and emotional groan.

“I told you I was good at hiding.”

He turned to see Zuko standing behind him, arms cross, the oversized parka he was always wearing was hanging loosely over his body with the fuzzy hood up, and he has a smirk across his lips.

Hakoda reached out and pulled the fire bender into a hug, not caring that some of his crew would see the emotional moment.

“I swear kid, you are going to give me grey hairs, my own children wont recognize me when I return. I am happy you were able to hide so quickly and stay out of sight, you saved yourself and the crew. Thank you.”

Zuko nodded.

“As soon as I heard their heavy metal boots I knew that something was wrong, so I hid, I heard them talking though – they plan on attacking Fire Nation ships. Are you planning on helping them?”

He pulled away from the Chief and the Prince’s smirk had formed into a full on scowl, his arms crossed even tighter across his chest.

Hakoda knew that this conversation was going to have to happen eventually, but he did not intend to have it here on the deck in the presence of the rest of the crew.

“Let’s head to the cabin and discuss, shall we?”

Zuko avoided his touch and made his way below deck and plopped himself onto the bed lotus style while Chief Hakoda took his usual spot on the floor against the desk. He felt it was better to give the boy some room for this conversation.

“Prince Zuko, I know you are aware of the war that is going on between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world?”

He nodded, “Obviously.”

“So you know that during a war there is fighting that happens between the Fire Nation and the members of the other nations right?”

“Stop talking to me like I am a savage peasant who doesn’t understand war! I was raised learning about war, preparing for war, fighting to train to win the war! I do not appreciate you speaking to me like I am an idiot. I might know more about the war then you and your men.”

“Fine then Prince Zuko, let me be honest with you, man to man. My men and I are fighting on the opposite side of this war than your family. I do not want to get in another argument about your father so lets avoid that, I know you are aware how I feel about him.

“But I need you to understand if you are going to be on our ship then you will have to accept that this ship is an enemy ship to your Fire Nation people. Our job in this ship is to eliminate the enemy – the Fire Nation enemy. Over the next month we will be attacking Fire Nation ships at night and if you have a problem with that then unfortunately we will need to turn around and bring you back to that hostile port we just left. I care about you Prince Zuko but I can not allow you to stand in the way of our mission, which is to destroy the enemy and win the war.”

Zuko didn’t say anything his golden eyes burning into Hakoda’s sharp blue ones, they stared at each other until finally Zuko spoke.

“I don’t want to be involved, I wont help you fight my people, if you get into a situation where you need my assistance against the Fire Nation I will not help you.”

Hakoda realized in that moment that this was not his son, this child was not Water Tribe, he was not one of his crew, he was Fire Nation to the core and nothing Hakoda could say or do would change that.

“I understand, you can have full access to the ship and continue to spar with my men during the day but at night I need you to stay confined to the cabin. Is that understood?”

Zuko nodded and Hakoda stood up, “I’m glad we could come to an agreement Prince Zuko.”

He left the cabin and turned to find Bato, he needed his best friend right now.

—————————————-

“So wait, after everything my dad has done for Zuko he just disrespects him and pretty much says, ‘fuck you I’m not helping you.’?! What an entitled little… hog muffin shit for brains!”

Sokka was clearly annoyed.

“Well Sokka for someone who was raised to believe the Fire Nation is the greatest nation in the world and the war’s purpose is to enlighten the other nations to their greatness. I believe Zuko truly believes that the war is justified and that the other nations were just being resistant to change. Instead of what it is which is a power hungry reach for control, using cruelty and violence to make the other nations bend to their will. Lead by an evil man who would destroy his family before he would allow someone with weakness onto the throne.”

Aang agreed, “When I was growing up my friend Kuzon was from the Fire Nation and he wasn’t cruel or hateful, his family was really nice and they never raised a hand in violence. I would stay with them sometimes on Ember Island and we would swim and make sand castles and play with the other neighbor kids, everyone was really nice. I would have never guessed they were planning a war, especially planning to destroy the air benders… I guess what I am trying to say is I don’t believe the Fire Nation people are evil. I just think they are confused and after 100 years of war they don’t know anything better. Once we remove the Fire Lord from power we can heal the Fire Nation and bring balance back to the world. Its not fair to think that everyone supports the war, but with what I am learning about the Fire Lord they might all be too scared of him to do anything to stop it. But that’s why I am here, I will master all four elements and win the war so we can begin the healing process.”

Aang looked over at Katara and smiled, “I’d like that…” She said softly her cheeks turning pink.

Bato cleared his throat, “Anyway…. As I was saying…”

———————————-

The day of the first attack Zuko was on edge, he was rougher with the crew during sparring and snapped at Noa during their training.

“WILL YOU JUST TRY AND KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND!?”

“I am trying Zuko…”

“We haven’t even moved into anything difficult yet!!! I am just trying to teach you to stand!! It shouldn’t be this hard!!!”

“Well I told you I wasn’t a good fighter and you are supposed to be HELPING me not YELLING at me. You’re in a terrible mood today maybe we should just wait until tomorrow when you aren’t such a JERK!!!”

Noa threw up his hands and went to walk away. Zuko’s barred his teeth and clenched his fist, his fists lit with fire and he screamed throwing the flames into the ocean. Steam still coming off his shoulders he stormed below deck and threw the cabin door shut.

Bato and Anke exchanged glances, “teenagers I guess.”

“Yeah, fire bending… teenagers, with anger issues, on our boat… made of wood.”

“Good thing I trust the Chief or I would say this is going to most likely end with our ship on fire.”

“I mean that is still a possibility.”

Anke chuckled, and went back to gathering rope and Bato thought it would be best to tell Hakoda about the Noa and Zuko interaction.

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, “I know Bato I think the young Prince is just on edge because he knows we are going to attack a Fire Nation ship tonight.”

“I guess you are probably right… you know I trust you right? You are my Chief and my best friend, but I want to be sure you are thinking through this whole… ‘keeping the Prince of the Fire Nation’ on our ship especially with the whole, ‘hiding the Prince from everyone so no one knows he is here’ thing we have going on. I just don’t know what the end goal of all this will be, are you going to bring him home to Katara and Sokka? Here guys, I know the Fire Nation took your mother but here is an angry abused Fire Nation Prince, make sure you walk him everyday and feed him in the mornings! He might bite you and possibly burn you but it should be ok!”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose even harder, “I know Bato, I just don’t know what to do – I was hoping it would just come to me one day and it would be the perfect solution. We were supposed to get rid of him a while ago and definitely before we attacked any Fire Nation ships. I think I need to talk to Zuko and see if there is anyone he can contact that will take him. I just cant send him back to his father Bato… look what the man did to his son as a child… what do you think he will do once he becomes a man? I can not do that to him I just can’t.”

Bato placed his hand on his best friends shoulder and pulled him into a strong man hug, “It’ll be ok, we will come up with a plan that will keep the Fire Prince safe and keep our men from being burned to ash.”

Hakoda pulled away from the hug frowning at Bato.

“You always know what to say don’t you friend.”

“I pride myself on being a realistic poet. Now go talk to your fire son and I will take over here.”

Hakoda gave the wheel to Bato and made his way to his cabin, for some reason he had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Opening the door he saw Zuko laying on the bed face down in one of his pillows, Hakoda could smell smoke, looking at the floor he saw the second pillow burnt to a crisp smoldering on the floor.

“I put out the fire, I’m sorry, it happened so fast.”

Zuko’s unscarred side was glancing up at him from the pillow, his eyes reflecting a bit of fear.

“Its fine… I just.. I liked that pillow but I will live. Do we need to talk?”

Zuko groaned and put his face back in the pillow muttering into it, not making any sense and completely muffled.

“Do you want me to leave you alone in here for the rest of the night? We can talk tomorrow.”

Zuko nodded, not looking up from the pillow shoved in his face. His phoenix tale bouncing, always so messy, he should teach him to do a wolf tail it would be easier and probably stay a little neater.

That would be for another day. Tonight they would strike the Fire Nation ship and he needed to stay focused. He didn’t have time for moody Fire Nation boys and their anger, he seemed calm enough and the Chief had more important things to do.

The night came quick and the demolition crew was loaded up with their barrels of blasting jelly preparing to depart to the enemy ship. They got as close as they could in the cover of darkness but the 3 men would take a smaller boat to the edge of the ship and rub the blast jelly onto the side right above the water so when it blew the hull would fill with water quickly. The other Captains would have their crew do the same and once they were at a safe distance they would set off the explosives and the ship would begin to sink, some of the more skilled warriors would board the enemy ship and remove the crew. After that they would strip the ship as it sank and everyone would break away disappearing into the night as the ship sank.

They referred to their fleet as the Sea Wolves, he knew that name was circulating in the Fire Nation and Hakoda liked how it sounded so he was using it too. It made him proud to know they were making a big enough difference that they had a name.

The night was long and cold but the plan went off without a hitch and as soon as it began it was already over. Hakoda shared a drink with his crew and they cheered and shared stories until it was time to lay down. Hakoda knew it would be awkward going to his cabin tonight but even a brooding Fire Nation teen couldn’t bring down his mood, it was a success and no one was hurt – he couldn’t ask for anything better.

He knew Zuko was awake when he came in, because the lantern he carried didn’t sync up to his breathing.

He didn’t say anything and Hakoda got into his bed, well his floor bed, and blew out the lantern, waiting for sleep to take him.

“Did you kill them?”

“Yes Prince Zuko.”

“Ok.”

“Goodnight.”

“….”

The morning came too quickly, Hakoda blinked and rubbed his eyes, looking over her saw the Prince was not in his bed and was probably already on deck meditating.

Sure enough he was there, his candle in front sitting lotus style breathing. Hakoda decided to just leave it alone and let Zuko sort through his feelings alone, he had to figure out how to be ok with this over the next month or so.

The next two attacks also went off without any issues, they only had one more ship they were going to take down before they would all part ways for a while. They stayed pretty spread out while they traveled, unable to sea each other on deck, but close enough that if there was assistance needed it wouldn’t take an entire day to reach another ship.

The night came before the attack and Zuko was quiet and in his room like always. Hakoda wanted to say something reassuring to the boy. Maybe tell him this was the last one for a while, or not to worry their deaths were quick… But nothing seemed right so he just left it alone.

The blasting went off without a hitch, as the demolition crew was rowing back he heard one of his crewman scream, “WE ARE BEING FLANKED!!!!”

Hakoda looked over the side of his ship to see another Fire Nation ship cutting through the water as full speed towards them. It was an ambush and it was happening fast. He grabbed his spear and started commanding his crew on what they needed to do to prepare for the attack. They would be boarded, and it would be a fight. Luckily it wasn’t a huge ship so there would be no fire bombs, but there would be fire benders.

Oh no Zuko…

Before he could even react to that thought Hakoda heard the sound of metal crashing into wood, the ship had been boarded.

The fight had begun and his crew needed him, he was their Chief and he would fight side by side with his men. He ran towards the bow and was met with fire, the benders were ruthless, setting fire to the ship while they attacked his crew.

Anke was on the ground holding his side, the smell of burnt flesh was beginning to fill the air. Bato was up against the railing using his whale tooth sword to fight two non bending Fire Nation soldiers. The rest of his crew were fighting for their lives around him. They were not as out matched as they had been with the pirates but they Fire Nation troops were more skilled with hand to hand combat, and their benders were ruthless.

Hakoda took on one of the benders that was throwing the most fire, he used his spear to thrust it into the man’s shoulder. He screamed out of pain and grabbed the pole burning it beneath his grasp. He left the metal part in his shoulder and turned to the Chief with the fire eyes he had become accustomed to. The man’s eyes weren’t as gold as Zuko’s but he had the same fire.

The bender ran towards Hakoda as the Chief drew his sword, the man began throwing fire as Hakoda used the blade to cut through the attacks. The bender stayed far enough away the the tip of the sword wouldn’t cut him down, Hakoda used this to try and break the bender’s stance. He knew Zuko made a big point when training then men to not get knocked down, that it was a disadvantage. Hakoda needed to use this info to knock the man down, he saw the bender wasn’t as in control over the element and threw it wildly and without total purpose except try to hit Hakoda.

When he went to throw his next flame Hakoda dropped to the ground and rolled forward, using his sword to cut the man’s legs as he felt the fire ball flew right over his head, singeing the tip of his wolf tail. The bender wasn’t expecting that and he fell screaming in pain. Blood started oozing from this ankles where Hakoda had sliced them, all the way to the bone. He lifted the sword and thrust down into the man’s chest, the benders concentration was broken by the attack to his legs enough to forget to protect his core. It ultimately was the death of him.

He didn’t have time to dwell he turned back to his crew and he saw all of his men on their knees Fire Nation soldiers standing over them. Bato was covered in blood and breathing heavily, he was looking at his Chief with fear in his eyes.

“Put down the sword or we will burn your crew alive right in front of you. If you put down the weapon maybe we will let them live.”

The man removed his helmet and, his eyes were almost black and the flames around the burning ship reflected in his eyes. He looked evil, and Hakoda knew he would kill his men where they kneeled, even though it was not considered an honorable way to kill.

Hakoda had no choice, he lowered his weapon on the ground and almost immediately a Fire Nation soldier kicked the back of his knee and he fell to the floor. The man grabbed his wolf tail and hoisted him to his knees. The Fire Nation Officer looked down at him with a smile on his face, “Now we are going to search your ship to make sure we have everyone out here on deck and then we will all have a nice little chat how does that sound?”

Hakoda responded by spitting in the man’s face.

——————————————

“OH YEAH DAD!!!”

“SHHHHHHHHH….”

“Sorry Bato continue,…”

——————————————-

The Fire Nation man standing above Hakoda wiped the spit from his cheek and took his fist and punched the Chief across the face so hard he fell to his side. The man who had hoisted him up the first time grabbed his wolf tail again and pulled him back to his knees.

The Fire nation men started to go below deck and Hakoda could feel the panic beginning to rise in his chest.

Would he hide from Fire Nation soldiers? If they find him will they kill my men? Is he even still down there?

Hakoda looked around at his burning ship and kneeling crew and realized that Zuko was not on deck, he saw the fear and terror in his men’s eyes. If they found Prince Zuko and killed his men because of it he would have to die too, the guilt would be unbearable. He always knew this was a possibility but he had been too stupid to face facts and realized this was such a stupid idea from the beginning.

“Officer Lee!! Look!!”

Hakoda’s heart stopped.

There were two Fire Nation soldiers coming on deck with Prince Zuko in tow, one of them had his hand wrapped around the boy’s arm and was dragging him along while the other walked behind them. Zuko was wearing his fire nation pants with a water tribe tunic, and his black hair was wrapped in a phoenix tail – he looked like one of them, just in blue.

“This kid says he is the Prince of the Fire Nation, I am not sure what to make of it.”

Officer Lee looked down at the boy, he scowled up at the man and his eyes rested on the scar on the left side of his face. He lingered for a moment remembering the story of the Agni Kai and the burnt and banished Prince, who was still their Prince even burnt and banished.

“Prince Zuko, excuse my language, but what the fuck are you doing on a Water Tribe ship attacking the Fire Nation navy?”

Zuko ripped his arm away from the soldier who was dragging him and both of them dropped a knee to show their respects to the young Prince.

“I fell overboard from my ship during a storm and these men were caring for me and giving me safe passage to a neutral port. I am in their debt.”

The Officer raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting over to Hakoda who they had on his knees fire bender holding flames ready to strike him down.

“That doesn’t explain why you were allowing them to attack a Fire Nation ship?”

The boy crossed him arms, “I was sleeping. How was I supposed to know what these savages were doing while I was sleeping.”

The Officer nodded, and looked at both of his men who had taken a knee for the young Prince.

“Alright you two get the Prince to our ship and make sure he is taken care of, I will deal with the rest of this and meet you back on board.” He turned his attention to the Water Tribe leader.

Zuko took a step toward the Fire Nation ship and stopped, “What are you going to do with them?”

“We will execute the leader and his second and third in command then interrogate the rest of the crew before disposing of them. It is the law, these men attacked a Fire Nation ship, they will not be allowed to live.”

Zuko frowned, “No I command you to let them live, they saved my life.”

“I am sorry your highness you do not have the authority to change the law, only the Fire Lord can pardon these men and change the laws. Unfortunately we are not equipped to take prisoners, but you don’t need to worry I will make the deaths quick because of the kindness they showed you.”

“No.”

“What was that Prince Zuko?”

“No, you will not kill these men.”

“Prince Zuko, I must be hearing things, you wouldn’t be saying traitorous things now would you? Was the banishment too much for you already? Have you become a Water Tribe sympathizer?”

“I will not reward their kindness to me with death, you need to stand down.”

At this point Zuko’s fists lit on fire and he was glaring at the officer, he was so small next to the full grown Fire Nation man. The two soldiers behind him tensed, not sure what was going to happen next. One of them put his hand on the hilt of his sword, wrong move.

Zuko dropped to the floor and spun, flames licking the feet of the three men that stood around him. Shocked and confused the two behind him fell to the floor but Zuko’s attention was focused on the bender who had Hakoda on his knees. Zuko sprang forward and tackled the fire bender who was holding the flame at Hakoda’s throat. Both benders tumbled to the ground and Zuko reached out and grabbed the man’s throat and began to burn… the screaming started.

Hakoda took this moment to jump up and grab his sword, he ran towards Officer Lee who appeared to be a non bender, the man reached for his sword and Hakoda met his blade. The two leaders began to fight, the sound of their swords hitting each other as they did the dance.

Zuko turned his attention to the men holding the crew on their knees, his eyes burning with rage and hate. Bato saw one of the men began to shake in fear at the Fire Nation Prince came at them, Bato took the advantage and head butt the man in the stomach knocking him to his knees. Standing now, Bato grabbed the man’s sword and cut him down. The rest of the crew rose to their feet to continue the fight.

Bato looked for Zuko in the chaos and saw him running to all the fires and putting them out, smart little kid.

Bato then turned his attention to Hakoda, who had the Officer on his knees, his sword was thrown off to the side. Hakoda looked down at the Fire Nation Officer, he glared back at Hakoda, there was no fear in his eyes, he seemed to accept his fate.

“Traitorous Prince, no wonder his father burned and disowned him, he should have burnt him alive instead of letting him off so easy. You better keep him safe and hidden now, you know what the Fire Nation does to traitors? I doubt the Fire Lord will let him off that easy.”

He had a crooked smile while he spoke and looked at Hakoda in the eyes as he spoke lingering on every cruel word. He laughed as Hakoda looked over at Bato and got the nod of approval before the Chief cut him down spilling blood on the deck once more.

The two soldiers who had pulled Zuko out from below deck had retreated back to their ship and pulled back the ramps, probably afraid they would be boarded next and began to retreat. The steel ship puffing out heavy smoke as it passed them in a hurry.

The fires were finally out, the boat had burned, it needed major repairs but it was still floating, and for some reason again… they suffered no loss of life. Hakoda wiped down his sword and looked at Bato who made a head nod to the side of the deck where Zuko was on his knees holding his hair shaking.

Hakoda ran forward and pulled the boy against him, “Its okay Zuko, shhhhhh I am here….”

He was so small and shaking so bad, Hakoda picked him up and looked at his crew, each person gave him an approving nod and he carried the boy below deck so he could grieve alone.

—————————————-

Bato paused the story and rubbed his eyes from horrific memory, he looked at the children as each of them were lost in through staring into the fire.

“Do any of you want some tea?”

Without a word they nodded.

Bato began to prepare the tea and finally Sokka broke the silence.

“So Zuko turned on his own men to save my dad….”

Bato nodded not saying a word as he prepared the tea.

“This is such a fucked up story….”

Bato nodded again but this time he responded, “I guess you can look at it like that. But this is war and like I said earlier sometimes the line between good and evil is blurry. Zuko knew that letting those men kill your dad was wrong, and when he tried to peacefully tell them to stand down and they refused he did what any warrior would do for the people he loves, he fought for them. He spilled Fire Nation blood to save your dad and the entire crew’s life. Not only did he do that, but he went and put out the fires that posed a threat of our survival as well. If he didn’t already have it, he eared the entire crew’s respect that night.”

The tea was done boiling and he began to pour a cup for each kid, they held it for a while, allowing the warmth to comfort them.

Aang spoke this time, “I have a confession…”

Katara and Sokka looked over at Aang, he was sitting by the fire, knees pulled up to his chest holding his cup of tea.

“When you guys were sic-“

“AND YOU MADE US SUCK ON FROGS!? Yes I remember, go on…”

Katara glared at Sokka before returning her attention to Aang.

“Yes when you had to suck on frogs… Well I kind of sort of…. Got captured my Zhao….”

“WHAT!?” Katara and Sokka screamed at the same time.

Aang noticed that Bato reacted weird when he said Zhao’s name but he just dismissed it and continued the story.”

“Well I was captured and… Zuko broke me out, he was dressed as the Blue Spirit and he came in with dual broadswords and broke me out. He risked his life to save me…”

“He probably did that so he could get his own Fire Nation clutches on you instead of letting Zhao have all the credit.”

Aang nodded, “You’re probably right, but he didn’t have to do that for me. He also could have chased me when we were in the forest but he didn’t, he let me go.”

Katara perked up, “Haven’t we seen Blue Spirit wanted posters up in some of the villages we passed?”

“Possibly… so you’re saying that’s Zuko? Zuko, angry, fire breathing Zuko, is a secret vigilante running around in a mask and freeing the Avatar?”

“Well I think the poster said for crimes against the fire nation, so maybe he does more than just free the Avatar? I’m not sure…”

Sokka stood up throwing his hands in the air,

“OH I KNOW! Next time we see him we’ll just say, ‘woah there Zuko, stop throwing fire at me for a second I have a few questions for you about the Blue Spirit?’ I bet he will stop, have his Uncle make us some tea, and answer all our questions. Oh and wait, I know… Then he will hold hands with Aang and they will skip to the Fire Lord and hug him into submission!! THE WAR IS OVER! Zuko and Aang are hero’s!!! We all become best friends get matching outfits move to the South Pole and live with dad together as one big happy family.”

Aang smiled, “I know you’re joking but I like that plan.”

Katara smiled and sneered at her bother, “You’re so good at plans Sokka!”

He rolled his eyes and sat back down, sipping on his tea.

“Do you want me to finish the story?”

———————————-

Hakoda held Zuko for hours after the attack, he sobbed and shook uncontrollably for the first hour and then got quiet and just sniffled and trembled. Finally he pulled away from Hakoda and crawled over to his bed and without a word he pulled the furs over his head and went to sleep.

Hakoda watched him for a while just to make sure he was ok before he got up and joined the rest of his crew on deck.

The ship was a wreck, the bodies had already been thrown overboard and a few crew members were cleaning up the blood. Bato waved the Chief over where he and Tulok were standing, “how is Zuko?”

Both men seemed generally concerned, the kid did after all save their lives.

“I am not sure honestly, he didn’t say anything, he just crawled into bed and went to sleep – its like his mind just shut down.”

Tulok sighed, “He probably can not comprehend what happened, it’s one thing to kill pirates, it’s a completely different situation to kill soldiers from your own nation, especially an Officer. Which brings me to my next concern, what are we going to do now? We need repairs… but those two men got off our boat and are definitely going to share the story of what happened here tonight.

“So we are in a tough position, and we have to make some tough calls. If those men get word to the Fire Lord that we have his son on our ship the entire Fire Nation will be after us and in time they will catch us, and they will kill us. Zuko wont be able to do anything to help save us then, if they don’t kill him in the process.

“Another thing, we don’t know how to go from here, we are not prepared to handle how the Commander of this Fire Nation fleet will handle the death of one of his Officers. I believe we are in Commander Zhao’s waters, he is not a merciful man, and he is close to the Fire Lord. We are in a very tight spot. We have to decide our next course of action and we need to decide now.

“Anke has us sailing blind, he is just trying to put as much distance between us and the enemy as possible, he will stop in an hour and figure out our position so we can try to connect with one of our sister ships. If you want my opinion… I say you send a messenger eagle to Captain Ming and tell him what happened here tonight and get his guidance. The Earth Kingdom has dealt more with Fire Nation prisoners and the logistics behind negotiations, I wouldn’t know where to begin. We have to make it known we no longer have the Prince, or risk the entire fleet.”

There was a sick feeling bubbling in the pit of Hakoda’s stomach, he knew this day would come. He knew he would have to eventually chose between the safety of his crew and the young Fire Prince. He wished the decision didn’t have to be made right after the boy turned on his own people and saved his crew’s lives. His tribe needed him now, they needed him to make the right call and his alliances will always be with his people.

“Send a message to Captain Ming and inform him I would like to speak with him regarding our Fire Nation prisoner…”

Bato nodded and left to go fulfill his Chief’s request.

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, “I hope I am doing the right thing Tulok, every option feels wrong.”

Tulok came and stood by his Chief, setting his hand on the man’s shoulder, “Chief, the second we fished that boy out of the ocean I knew things were going to get complicated. The second the boy started training the men, fighting pirates, hugging you… I knew things were complicated. Tonight, well tonight I saw this situation get so much more complicated, I don’t think things could get more complicated at this point. I do not claim to have all the answers Chief, but I am a spirit filled man and I will ask Tui and La for their blessing and guidance, that’s all I can do for you. I do not envy your position but I will support you no matter what.”

He removed his hand and went to go get an update from Anke, so they could prepare to change course when they got word from Captain Ming.

Bato returned to Hakoda’s side, “You should get some rest Chief, I sent word out and I will come get you when we have a response.”

Hakoda took his best friend’s advice and made his way back to the cabin where his little fire bender was sound asleep, the lantern in the room synced to his breathing. Hakoda wasn’t sure how long he laid there, if he ever went to sleep, or if he just laid awake but Bato opened the door softly to get the Chiefs attention soon after.

Hakoda got up and quietly made his way to the mess hall where Bato had 2 plates filled with stewed sea prunes waiting, “Oh it must be bad news if you made my favorite food…” Hakoda whispered.

Bato pulled out a scroll, but instead of the green Earth Kingdom insignia it was red, like fire, it was a scroll from the Fire Nation.

He opened it reading every word slowly….

~~~~~~

To whom it may concern,

Commander Zhao requests the surrender of the Zuko Prince of the Fire Nation,

If you savages hope to live long enough to see tomorrow’s sunset you will stop all movement and

surrender the Prince by mid day tomorrow or the Fire Nation will board your ship and burn it the bottom

of the ocean. This is not a request, we will make contact tomorrow early morning. If you surrender the

Prince without resistance we will allow you to live.

~~~~~~

Hakoda closed his eyes, he read informal the letter over and over, until the sun was rising, pouring light into the mess hall.

He could barely even touch the sea prunes but he ate a couple just to humor Bato, he stood slowly handing the letter back to his best friend.

“I will go talk to Prince Zuko and let him know what’s happening. I wish we wouldn’t have sent that message to Captain Ming now…”

Bato smiled, “Well I didn’t send it… yet, I wanted you to rest first my friend and make sure that you had a clear enough mind to make the right call. As my Chief I know I didn’t follow orders but as your friend I needed to make sure you didn’t make a decision out would regret later.”

Hakoda smiled back at Bato, “Thank you friend, now tear up that message and I will go let Zuko know he will be leaving with Commander Zhao.”

The light from the sun rising was spilling through the port holes, it was usually one of Hakoda’s time of day but today it felt like the dawn was playing a cruel game with his emotions. He only had a couple of hours before he was to hand Zuko over to Commander Zhao.

He found Zuko sitting on deck at the bow, meditating like he did every morning, his hair was a mess and he was still wearing the blood soaked clothing from last night. Hakoda approached him and sat down next to his fire bending friend. They both sat in silence until Zuko opened his eyes and looked over at the Chief, he still said nothing.

“I received word from a Commander Zhao last night, he somehow knew how to get in contact with our ship and requested you be released to him, or in his exact words, ‘will burn this ship to the bottom of the ocean.’ I wanted to talk with you about it-“

“Ill go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Zhao is the worst person ever, I am being serious when I say that, but after last night I realized I can not continue to hide on this ship with you and your tribe. It was never my place to be here and you have already done so much for me I can’t sit by and allow anyone to get hurt because I wanted to hide here and pretend my life didn’t suck. I have to find my Uncle and resume my search for the Avatar so I can lift my banishment. I will say, I did enjoy playing Water Tribe with you savages.”

He gave Hakoda a small smile, obviously trying to make the Chief and himself feel better about everything.

“How long have I even been on this ship with you peasants?”

“A few months under a year..”

“Wow, Uncle must be worried, well it will be ok, I will reunite with my Uncle and when I find the Avatar I will return home and everything will go back to normal…”

Zuko’s words sounded confident but his tone was quiet and nervous.

Hakoda reached over and pulled the boy into one more hug putting his face in his messy hair, “I will miss you Prince Zuko, you will always be with me in spirit, I will pray everyday you stay safe and the world treats you with the type of kindness you deserve. I hope one day we cross roads again under better circumstances. Please be safe, and always remember you are an honorable young man…”

Zuko reached out and hugged Hakoda back, burying his face in the man’s shoulder, he hugged him back so tight for the first and last time.

“Thank you for everything you did for me Chief, you are a good man, and your kids are lucky to have you as their dad.”

They held the moment for as long as they could before Anke’s voice rang out breaking their silence.

“Fire Nation ship!!”

Hakoda stood and Zuko stood with him, Hakoda grabbed Zuko’s hand and opened the boys fist placing 3 blue beads inside his palm. He looked at the boy and then touched each bead, “Noa, Bato, and me. Keep them safe, maybe one day you can wear them proud.” He put his hand on the boys back and pushed him towards the direction of the stairs below deck.

“You need to change your clothing and be ready to leave, say goodbye to Noa and the rest of the crew and I will intercept Zhao.”

Zuko nodded and took off down below and Hakoda stood there like a proud father as the extremely large Fire Nation ship appeared in front. It lingered in the waters next to them for a while before dropping a ramp and 6 men in full armor appeared at the top and slowly made their way down.

The man in front wasn’t very tall and had strong side burns and a top knot tied with a gold ribbon. He seemed to carry a permanent scowl and had dead eyes, he smirked when he saw Chief Hakoda standing there, alone.

“You must be the Captain of this.. raft.. Did you receive my letter alright? I wasn’t sure if the messenger hawk could find something this…small.”

Chief Hakoda furrowed his brow, “Yes I received your message which is why you were allowed to board my ship without incident, are you here in peace or are you looking for a fight?”

Commander Zhao laughed, “Fight? You mean elimination, I could split your boat in two pieces if I hit it hard enough, not to mention burn this piece of shit to the bottom of the ocean without even stepping off my deck. Now I will ask only one time, where is Prince Zuko?”

Bato had walked up to stand next to his Chief and Anke stood a little ways back arms crossed, there was tension between the two groups but no one was attempting to engage physically, at least not yet.

Before Hakoda could answer Zuko popped up from below deck, still wearing blue, but at least there was not Fire Nation blood stains on this tunic, and his Fire Nation pants, his hair had been re done in a traditional phoenix tail and he looked more Fire Nation then Water Tribe.

“Greetings Commander Zhao, you look… the same, maybe fatter I’m not sure.”

Zhao smirked eyes lingering on Zuko’s scar, “and you look…. Different. I haven’t seen you since the Agni Kai, they banished you rather quickly did they not? You didn’t even have time to apply a bandage before they kicked you out of the Fire Nation. Now I hear you are a full blown traitor. I am sure your father will handle this information well, we all know how much he loves you.”

Zuko’s didn’t break eye contact with Zhao but Chief Hakoda felt something tight in his chest, it took every ounce of discipline not to reach over and punch this man in the face for speaking to Zuko that way.

“I am not a traitor, and my father does love me”

“We will see what your father has to say about it, I have two witnesses that say you attacked Fire Nation soldiers to save these…. Savages. But you said it yourself, your father loves you, I am sure he will hear your side of the story. I mean he only burnt half your face off the last time you spoke to him I’m sure this will go over just as smoothly. Now lets go before we catch some disease from being around these filthy savages too long.”

The five men that had followed Zhao down the ramp surrounded Zuko, he glanced over at Hakoda his gold eyes filled with fear and panic. Hakoda reached for the handle of his sword and Zuko looked down at the ground and shook his head no, he took a step forward with the soldiers and didn’t look back. He was followed up the ramp and Hakoda watched until the boy was out of his sight completely. He turned to Zhao and crossed his arms.

“Aren’t you going to follow them?”

Zhao smiled, “Don’t worry I am confident the Fire Lord will show him mercy this time, the penalty for being a traitor is death, I’m sure he will end the boys life quickly and not prolong the suffering like he did before he banished the brat. Enjoy losing the war, I will be sure to share the coordinates of your fleet with all my available ships. I am a man of my word and I will not destroy you today but you should think of leaving my waters if you and your crew want to live long enough to hug your families again. Goodbye savages.”

He turned and walked up the ramp and out of sight, Hakoda felt the anger boiling inside of him. As soon as the ramp lifted and the boat began to sail away he tired to take a step but his legs were so weak he fell so his knees and began to scream.

Bato got down next to him and hugged his best friend, Hakoda felt the tears stinging the back of his eyes, the lump in his throat, that damn lump was so hard and heavy. His chest ached like the day he sailed away from his children. He couldn’t hold back the grief and it just came pouring out. He cried into his best friends shoulder like a baby, and he wasn’t ashamed. None of his crew thought any less of him for it and they allowed the Chief to grieve with Bato by his side.

He finished and picked himself off the deck and walked below, he began writing to the fleet urging them to leave the Western Earth Kingdom waters and sent them the name of an island they were going to set up a base camp and re group. He also sent a letter to Captain Ming and let him know his plans to re group with his fleet and that he would be in contact when he was ready to meet up with him back in the open ocean.

They didn’t say a word about Zuko, the ship’s crew never spoke his name again. They all pretended like the boy had never stepped into their lives, it was better that way. Before heading to the island to set up camp their ship desperately needed repaired. Not being able to stomach anything Fire Nation Hakoda made sure they sailed past the neutral port and headed right to an Earth Kingdom controlled dock, they needed to have the repairs completed quickly so they could get to safety. Hakoda figured Zhao wouldn’t bluff about taking out his entire fleet, he seemed like the kind of man that would enjoy something like that… and he just handed Zuko over to him…

Over the next week while their ship was being repaired Bato watched as Hakoda listened to people tell their stories, hoping to hear something about a boy with a scar. He watched the docks hoping to see someone who looked like Zuko, but no one ever came. The day before they left for the island, something urged Hakoda to enter a small shop and he saw a pack of whale bone beads, they almost never had beads like this outside of the Southern area. He picked up a handful of red ones and paid the shop keeper and left to his ship. Once he got on board he pulled out a strand of hair similar to the two he already carried proud for his children, he braided the red bead into the strand and tied it together. He would carry Zuko with him wherever he went and hope the spirits would keep him safe.

During dinner without a word he set the rest of the red beads out on the table where the men were eating and walked back to his cabin, and laid in his bed, his real bed and went to sleep.

The next morning he went to the mess hall to see all the beads were gone, he went on deck to start preparations to to leave the docks and join their fleet and he couldn’t help but smile as we watched the little specks of red in a sea of blue.

——————————-

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

“So you’re telling me my dad has a red bead in his hair… for Zuko?” Sokka couldn’t help but sound annoyed.

Bato nodded and pulled back some of his long hair to reveal a single dread with a red and blue bead.

“Everyone who was on that ship with Zuko wears a red bead to show their respect and ask the spirits to protect him.”

Katara frowned, “Well he is protected that’s for sure, the guy is always on our tail and he shows up everywhere we are! So after you gave him to Zhao what happened?”

Bato shrugged, “We aren’t sure. We didn’t hear anything about the Fire Prince for over a year and the little we have heard about him was only after the Avatar’s reappearance. Your father assumed he was dead a long time ago, we just figured the Fire Lord killed him once he was returned to the capital. We were shocked when we heard a bar tender talk about a boy with a scar looking for information on the whereabouts of the Avatar.

“I thought your dad was going to pass out. I remember him jumping up and asking how long ago he was there and all these wild questions, the bar tender thought he was crazy. Apparently Zuko and his Uncle left the bar weeks before we arrived, I remember how disappointed your dad was, but relieved that Zuko was alive and back with his Uncle. The only time I saw him more disappointed was when we were only a couple days behind you kids.”

Sokka perked up, “Oh yeah? When was that?”

“Well we were forced to come to shore because there was a horrible storm, we thought our ship was going to capsize. We met an old man and his wife, they owned a fishing boat, and said the Avatar saved them from the storm. He told the story of a young man in blue and how he went out to sea with him to make some extra money. He said the young warrior thought he was hilarious, so we knew it was you Sokka. Your father was so upset he missed you kids I had to make him stewed sea prunes two days in a row just to get him to smile again!”

Everyone laughed, Aang smiled.

“We passed over Zuko that night, I remember exchanging eye contact, he was on his ship tending to one of his men and didn’t follow us. I remember the storm being one of the worse ones we have encountered so far. Isn’t that odd we are are always running into each other, even in a terrible storm what are the chances we fly directly over Zuko?”

“Well yeah Aang, he is chasing us, he kind of follows us everywhere….We probably fly over him all the time.” Katara didn’t seem too excited to keep running into Zuko.

He put his head down on his knees, “yeah I guess you’re right.”

Bato smiled at Aang, “I believe you never meet a person on accident, don’t worry, destiny works in mysterious and funny ways. Now it is getting late and I am expecting a message from your father tomorrow afternoon with a map to his location, would you kids like to come with me to see your dad?”

Sokka got excited for just a moment before remembering the story Bato just told them, even though he wanted to see his dad so badly he needed some time to let everything sink in. Aside from the fact they needed to get Aang to the Northern Water Tribe to find a water bending master. They didn’t have a lot of time to waste.

“I would love to see dad, it has been almost three years, but we have to get Aang to the North Pole to find a water bending master. The fate of the world rests on his small shoulders, we don’t have any extra time. I’m sorry, tell dad we love him… and that Zuko is ok…”

Bato understood, “Just keep in mind Sokka, alive doesn’t necessarily mean ok, but I will relay the information. Your father will be so proud of you helping the Avatar. Now lets get some sleep I’m sure everyone is tired.”

Sokka gave Bato a fake smile before laying down to try and get some sleep, even with all the crazy thoughts and emotions he had whirling through his mind.

- - - - - - -

Morning came quickly, the chilly wind was gone and sun was out making the world a warmer and brighter place. Aang was up early taking care of Appa, the sisters supplied a big bushel for the sky bison and Aang out was enjoying the beautiful morning.

He snuggled his face against his fuzzy best friend, he didn’t get much sleep last night. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything Bato had shared, his conversation he had with Katara and the way Sokka seemed to be really offended by his dad’s relationship with Zuko.

Zuko.

Now that was a guy who really confused Aang, he knew from the first day he met Zuko that there was a good person inside all that anger and hostility. The way he attacked him and his friends was never with the intent to hurt them, he always showed some restraint. On the other hand, he did burn down Kyoshi Island… on accident, but still. He stole Katara’s necklace and used it to lure Aang to an ambush with… Pirates. Then turns around and breaks him out of Pohuai Stronghold like a one man army, and he didn’t even use fire bending… its all too confusing!

Aang groaned and snuggled his face closer to Appa, burrowing his eyes and nose as deep as he could get, Appa always made him feel better.

If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?

Aang thought of that moment between him and Zuko all the time, mostly because for the first time ever, he was close enough to Zuko without the boy yelling and throwing fire at him. He remembered the flash of hesitation in his gold eyes when Aang asked him, “do you think we could have been friends, too?” But that hesitation turned to anger. And as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. He didn’t necessarily throw fire at Aang as much as he threw fire in Aang’s general direction. That’s at least how Aang likes to think it happened.

Maybe he threw fire because he was hurt, or angry, maybe confused? But for whatever reason he lashed out and Aang left, never receiving the answer to his question.

“Do you think he will answer my question one day buddy? Do you think there is a future where we could be friends? I think I would like that… I think I would like that a lot…”

“Who are you talking to weirdo?”

Sokka was walking up the hill headed out of the Abbey, hands in his parka pockets. It was unusual for the Water Trie boy to be up this early but Aang knew he was probably still processing the story from last night.

“Oh you know, just catching up with Appa, telling him all about our night last night because he couldn’t join in story time. I didn’t want him to feel left out.”

“Well Aang I hate to break it to you but he is a ten ton flying bison, he is probably going to miss out on all sorts of fun moments we have INSIDE of anywhere, ya know, because he’s big.”

Aang laughed, “yeah Sokka, I got it.”

There was a moment of awkward silence and Sokka began kicking the ground, he acted as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

“Do, uh, do you think my dad likes Zuko more than me… I mean he seems to really like the angry jerk and he spent all that time with him while he just… left me, well Katara too… but he left us and now I find out he has been snuggling with the enemy behind my back. I don’t know what to make of it all, I can’t help but feel hurt and angry and I don’t know how to process it. I’m supposed to be the hilarious sarcasm and meat guy! Katara usually handles all the dramatics, its how we keep the balance! I’m funny she is dramatic! Stupid Zuko ruining a good thing… he isn’t even here and he is ruining stuff…”

Sokka continued to mumble, something about pony tails and sad stories and stupid jerk but Aang couldn’t understand any of it.

He hated seeing his friend so conflicted, so he pulled his face away from Appa and floated over to where Sokka was still kicking rocks and sat down, giving him a friendly gesture to sit next to him. Both boys sat together their backs pressed up against the giant flying bison while he happily munched on his hay.

“Sokka, I don’t think your dad could love anyone more then he loves you and Katara. From what Bato said last night, it appears he loves you guys so much that it drove him to dive into freezing waters to save Zuko, because he reminded him of you. I believe his love for you is the sole reason he was so determined to protect Zuko. He saw a broken boy the same age as the son he loves so much and wanted to be the father to him that he was unable to be to you at that time. I don’t claim to know your father or his intentions but if I had to take a guess I would say it was his love for you that saved Zuko, not the fact that Zuko was anyone special.”

Sokka smiled, “I like to think Zuko isn’t anyone special, just some evil jerk who wants to capture you and bring you back to his evil dad. See, that right there, makes me feel sane. If I start thinking of him as a decent human who has just been hurt so many times that he is angry and lost… well then, the whole sanity of the world falls apart and I am just not ready for that.”

Aang smiled at his friend, “We can keep going through life thinking Zuko is, what do you call him? Crazy angry pony tail jerk. Will that make you feel better?”

Sokka smiled nodding his head yes, “Yeah, I think I would like that a lot.”

- - - - - - - -

Aang and Sokka spent the rest of the morning finishing packing up Appa. They were going to stay another day and spend more time with Bato but Sokka seemed ready to get going, and Aang couldn’t blame him. It was a weird night and he knew everything with his dad really upset Sokka. So maybe getting back on their journey to the Northern Water Tribe would get things back to normal.

Katara had tears in her eyes when she hugged Bato goodbye, “Please tell my dad we love him very much and we will meet up with him as soon as Aang masters water bending.”

Bato gave her one last hug before turning to Sokka.

“Listen Sokka, I know I might have shared some things with you that were hard to hear, but I want you to leave here knowing that your father loves you very much and he is always thinking about you. He will be so excited to hear that you and Katara are alright and traveling with the Avatar to help save the world. You have become a strong young man, just like your dad was at this age. Please do not forget to keep your sister safe, and come find us as soon as you can.”

Sokka smiled, happiness reflecting off the tears in his eyes, he needed to hear that from Bato. Sokka and Bato shared a strong hug followed with a traditional Water Tribe handshake before parting ways. He felt better after what Bato said and could finally relax knowing his dad loved him and he would do everything possible to make him proud.

They set off on Appa waving goodbye to Bato as he stood in the Abbey waiting for the messenger with the map to their father.

- - - - - - -

Somewhere far down the road a bounty hunter, an old man, and a boy with a scar were headed towards the Abbey riding a Shirshu tracking the sent of a girl whose necklace they had in their possession.

They arrived too many days too late, Bato received his message and left to join his tribe – with the children gone there was no reason to stay longer. He was healed enough for the long journey ahead.

The Avatar was over the ocean already, too far gone for the Shirshu to track on foot. Not the brightest idea to try and swim to the North, so they would need to return to their ship and set course for the Northern Water Tribe. Paying June her gold the Fire Prince grew more angry by the minute having just missed the Avatar. He shot angry fireballs into the air in his frustration, but left everyone unburnt and the Abbey in tact.

As the Avatar traveled safely to the North, the Fire Prince was following behind, trying to catch up. Little did he know he was also being tracked – Zuko never did have much luck when it came to Zhao.

- - - - - - -

“There it is!” Aang pointed excitingly.

“The Northern Water Tribe…” Katara’s voice filled with all the awe that reflected in her big blue eyes.

“Oh good we’re finally here.”

The Gaang was accepted into the Northern Water Tribe with open arms, they were invited to a feast in their honor.

Aang found his master, Pakku.

Sokka found the love of his life, Princess Yue.

Things were going great, well…. Until Katara learned she wasn’t allowed to train to use her water bending to fight, because well, she was a girl. She always took things like that so great…

It only lead to a fight with Master Pakku, too bad she didn’t have her necklace – he had clearly had won the match and still refused to teach her how to fight with her bending.

Yagoda heard about the match between Katara and Pakku.

“You should be nicer to her, she told you who she is I take it?”

Pakku looked confused.

“She is the spitting image of Kanna, how can you be so blind? She is Kanna’s grand daughter.”

Pakku’s mouth dropped, this was very big news to him.

Maybe he was stricken with grief after losing the women he loved, perhaps he thought training Katara would help him feel connected to Kanna, or maybe they just caught him on a good day – but he agreed to teach Katara to use her water bending abilities to fight

As long as she continued to learn to heal – she would need to have both skills if she was going to be traveling with the Avatar.

The North was turning into everything they could have ever hoped and dreamed it could be – well except for poor Sokka, he couldn’t catch a break.

“I’m engaged!” Revealing her betrothal necklace she turned and ran back to the palace in tears. Leaving a heart broken Sokka standing alone on the ice.

Sokka never gives up on anything, so by the dumb luck that he was given by the spirits, Yue and him continue to ‘do activities’. He feels his heart growing more attached to her every moment he spent with her, he hopes she might leave with them when its time. He wanted her with him always.

- - - - - - - -

Somewhere not too far away from the North, a small Fire Nation ship explodes.

- - - - - - - -

“That’s weird, the snow is grey, I wonder what that could mean?”

Sokka and Katara knows exactly what that means – the Fire Nation is going to attack.

Being taken off the mission is the best thing that has ever happened to Sokka – stupid Hahn and his stupid shoulder spikes. Now he gets to spend time with beautiful Princess Yue, in the magical spirit oasis. Well… He could take or leave the oasis. Sokka’s never been much into the spirit mumbo-jumbo.

Aang is trying to contact the moon and ocean spirit when an explosion directs Sokka and Katara’s attention to the fire benders invading the sacred oasis.

Zhao and Iroh appear through the smoke followed by Fire Nation soldiers, Katara’s eyes narrow.

“Zhao! How dare you enter this place! It is sacred! You need to leave now!” She draws out a water whip from the water surrounding the small island. She is prepared to fight to defend Aang while he is stuck in the spirit world.

Katara looks at Iroh and waits for Zuko to emerge, he never does.

“Where is Zuko?!”

Iroh glances briefly at Zhao and then back at the young water bender, “Unfortunately my nephew was killed in an explosion a couple weeks ago. He will be missed.”

Katara’s heart drops, dead!? Zuko cant be dead… He doesn’t just die! He is a fighter, he always makes it out ok – her dad was going to be so upset….

Zhao doesn’t even acknowledge the conversation about the dead Prince, and he didn’t hesitate to attack her, his anger and hate makes his flames strong. He is more experienced in combat so she struggles against his fire. Katara does her best to fight back – but after a few blows are exchanged she hits the floor exhausted and is knocked unconscious.

Sokka yells, “KATARA!!!” His boomerang in hand, he stands between Zhao and Yue, as Zhao reverts his attention to the small pond ignoring the Water Tribe boy.

Katara slowly begins to pull herself back into consciousness just in time to watch the fire bender reach into the water of the oasis. Her heart sinks and she gets a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

He reaches into the pond pulling out a white Koi fish, he places the fish in a brown bag, the fish squirming for her companion La. The sky turns bright red.

“I am… A legend now! The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories of the great Zhao, who darkened the moon. They will call me, Zhao the Destroyer, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao the Invincible!”

Aang is back, his grey eyes pleading with Zhao, “Zhao don’t!”

“Its my destiny, to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe.”

“Destroying the moon won’t hurt just the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you! Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash onto the world!”

Iroh steps forward, “he is right Zhao.”

“General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery? Let me guess, Zuko isn’t really dead is he?”

Aang’s face twists into an emotion Katara has only seen on his face a handful of times, the look of rage, hurt and sadness. He doesn’t say anything about Zuko, he stays focused on the man holding the moon in a small brown bag. The fate of the world in his hands.

Iroh takes another step forward, “I’m no traitor Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit I’ll unleash on you tenfold. Let it go, now!”

Iroh shifts into a fighting stance, his golden eyes flickering with anger as he waits to see what Zhao will do.

Zhao slowly releases the Koi into the pond, he watches Tui and La meet together and begin their dance once more. Perfect balance, such harmony – it angers Zhao, he hates the peaceful tranquility of the spirits. He is so full of hate and anger he needs to lash out – shooting a blast of fire into the water he strikes Tui, burning the fish beyond saving.

Iroh attacks Zhao, Yue screams, the world turns grey.

Aang seems to be in a trance, like he knows exactly what to do. He takes a step into the water of the oasis and for a moment he stars into the eyes of La and their spirits became one.

The Avatar and the Ocean Spirit merge together to seek out justice for the fallen moon. The ocean is angry and fueled by the power of the Avatar, they begin to destroy the Fire Nation attackers, every ship, every solider – no mercy is shown tonight. Iroh is the only surviving Fire Nation person, he has the spirit’s favor. They let him escape on a small boat headed towards the Earth Kingdom. He has someone waiting for him there.

Zhao the Destroyer is destroyed by his own arrogance – Bato was right – destiny is funny.

Sokka knew from the beginning when he saw Yue for the first time that he wanted to be with her forever, and now she will always be with him. She is his moon.

Leaving the Northern Water Tribe was sad, but after what happened with the Avatar state it was time to find an earth bending master so Aang could get closer to mastering the four elements and then truly master the Avatar state- it was a dangerous power for someone so young to wield. Katara has proven herself worthy of teaching Aang water bending on the road, she has become a master herself.

“For you, spirit water from the spirit oasis, the water has unique properties, don’t lose it.” Katara has a feeling deep in her heart when he hands her the amulet, she would carry it with her always. Just like she had with her mother’s necklace.

The Gaang traveled by boat a ways until they are close enough to the Earth Kingdom to set out on Appa and meet up with General Fong. He was going to provide them with safe passage to Omashu.

They flew in silence for a while until Aang looked back into the saddle at his friends, “Did I dream it, or did Iroh say Zuko was dead…?”

Katara had hoped he forgot about that, she knew he had a special place in his heart for Zuko and it would devastate him to find out he was dead. Especially because of what they knew about him now – she knew Aang was always secretly hoping they would become friends.

“Iroh said he was killed in an explosion, I’m sorry buddy.” Sokka was leaning back on the saddle his head tipped back still sulking about Yue. There wasn’t much emotion behind his words.

“What Sokka is TRYING to say, in a sensitive way that wont HURT your feelings, was that yes, Iroh said he was dead. But Zhao said something about him not really being dead – so maybe there is hope that he is still alive.”

She smiled sweetly at Aang.

“If anyone could survive an explosion it would be Zuko. If the whole world exploded he would survive, don’t worry too much about it.”

Sokka wasn’t helping.

Katara rolled her eyes but saw Aang smile and turn back to face the front as he steered Appa, hopefully he was getting excited about learning earth bending and not thinking about the maybe dead, but might possibly be alive, fire bender.

When Aang wasn’t looking anymore Katara reached over and punched Sokka on the shoulder.

“OW, what was that for!?”

“Jerk!”

- - - - - - -

So General Fong is crazy, it makes perfect sense why Chief Hakoda didn’t like him.

They will be heading to Omashu without his help.

- - - - - -

In a different part of the Earth Kingdom the Fire Princess has a reunion with her beloved Uncle. She is ‘devastated’ to hear of her brothers passing. Oh well.

They fought with fire long enough for Iroh to distract her and slip away, making sure he wasn’t being followed.

Things just got more difficult, they always did with Azula.

- - - - - - -

The swamp was weird, things are not right with people who live in a swamp… even Sokka didn’t want to eat the giant bugs, and that was saying something.

Katara couldn’t shake the imagine of her mother from her mind, she reached up to touch her necklace and then remembered… it was gone, and eventually so would her memories of her mother. She cried herself to sleep that night.

At least Aang had an idea of who he was looking for, a small girl and maybe her pet flying pig? Hey, he liked flying animals.

- - - - - - - -

The Blind Bandit was who they have been searching for! After the events in Omashu it was nice to find the master King Bumi was talking about, someone who really listened to the earth. The girl he had a vision of in the swamp.

The Fire Nation was gaining more control of the Earth Kingdom, if they took control of Ba Sing Se the war would pretty much have been won. They couldn’t let that happen.

Aang was really torn up over Omashu at first, with it being conquered by the Fire Nation, but after talking to King Bumi he felt better about everything. King Bumi seemed to have everything under control, in a weird way that didn’t make any sense, but Aang trusted him so they left him there.

Having Toph join the group was… rocky… at first. Her first day she stormed into the woods only to have tea with a stranger who was on his way to meet up with his nephew. He had some great tea and even better advice. She felt better after being in the kind man’s presence and she helped him feel better about how he was going to handle the reunion with her beloved nephew. They parted ways, each one having a strange feeling they would cross paths again.

- - - - - - - -

So being chased all night was awful, what was even more awful was the fact that Zuko’s sister was worse than Zuko. So much worse, when she shot fire at them she wanted them to burn.

“My brother died a dishonorable failure, I will not make the same mistakes he did.” The air began to feel dry and hummed like static as she summoned her lighting.

She had Aang cornered in the abandoned village, he was so tired and starting to feel delusional. Was it just him or did she look like Zuko? Oh wait, its his sister… so wait, did she look like him or did he look like her? Weird.

Before she could strike the Avatar down, a figure came out of the shadows and redirected Azula’s lighting . If it would have hit Aang, he would have been as good as dead. He focused on the figure and realized it was Iroh! Just an older looking Iroh, he didn’t have his top knot anymore.

He looks shorter now… Was he always that short? Was Zuko short? No Zuko was tall, for a teenager, I think… I don’t know anything anymore… Need sleep….

Not long after Iroh’s life saving intervention his friend’s showed up, with four against one, they quickly got Azula to surrender.

But Azula never surrenders… She just distracts them with hope of a surrender. She shot her lightning and struck Iroh in the stomach, he didn’t have time to redirect the entire strike so he took most of the blow.

Lucky for him, fire benders that can produce lightning are more capable of handling a lightning strike.

After Azula retreated, team Avatar put as much distance between them and that terrible girl as Appa would let them, but like them he was exhausted.

Katara worked on Iroh’s wounds while they found a safe place to rest. Finally feeling comfortable about the spot they picked they landed to make camp.

“No camp… just sleep….”

Sokka rolled out his bedroll and fell on top without even tucking himself in, he was asleep almost instantly.

Katara couldn’t agree more, between no sleep and the energy it took to heal Iroh she was beyond exhausted, she followed Sokka’s example and just laid right on top of her bedroll.

Toph made a quick earth tent and passed out.

Aang snuggled into Appa’s tail like he did every night with a smile on his face, even though it wasn’t night- he could just pretend.

They left Iroh sleeping in Appa’s saddle to allow him to recover, no one had the strength to move him and without making camp there really wasn’t a point. They would move him in the morning once they had everything set up.

- - - - - - - - -

The sunrise woke the sleeping fire bender, his eyes blinking heavily as he tried to focus on where he was. He could not quite remember what happened yesterday, oh wait, he was shot with lightning. Azula’s cruelty has only grown stronger during the last 3 years of Zuko’s banishment.

Zuko, he will be worried if I don’t arrive at Ba Sing Se on time, and when Zuko worries he does reckless things. I need to heal as quickly as possible so I can arrive there on time. I can’t have my only nephew worry. If he thinks he is alone I can only imagine what will become of the boy.

Iroh shifted and tried to move himself to a sitting position but the pain radiated through his body and he couldn’t help but grunt and take a sharp gasp.

Katara stirred, “Iroh are you awake? Hold on, I am coming up, I need to do another healing session on you before you try to move.”

Katara came into Iroh’s line of vision, her big blue eyes filled with compassion and love, she knelt down by his side and opened his tunic to begin healing his wound. The water felt so cold and soothing against his burning flesh, he always loved water bending. Maybe in a different life the spirits would allow him to return as a water bender. He would be very thankful if they would allow him to do that – he would want to be a healer, repairing those who have been injured.

Injured people remind him of his nephew, he needed to get to Ba Sing Se.

“Katara was it?”

She nodded, looking at him with smiling eyes.

“How long do you think, before I am recovered enough to travel again?”

“I would say give yourself two days and then light travel, you can always come with us. After you defended the moon spirit I am sure Aang and the others wouldn’t mind you traveling with us.”

Iroh smiled at the young water bender, “You are most kind, but I have someone waiting for me in Ba Sing Se and I can not keep him waiting.”

Katara looked at him inquisitively, “Who do you have waiting for you in Ba Sin Sa? We are also headed in that direction.”

“NO WAY! We are not going straight to Ba Sing Se, we are taking a VA- CA- TION! You remember those? It’s a thing you do to RELAX!”

Sokka’s voice carried into the saddle as he screamed from his bedroll, good to know he has been listening.

“Sorry Iroh, I guess we are taking a vacation first, I’m sure you will still be able to come with us if you want, afterwards we will go to Ba Sing Se.”

“I am sorry my dear, but the person I am meeting is rather impatient and tends to be very reckless with his life when I am not around,” he chuckled, “ok he is always reckless with his life, even in my presence. But it makes me feel better when I can keep an eye on him.”

Katara smiled, “So he is alive?”

Iroh set his head back at the cooling water soothed his aches and pains, “yes lady Katara he is in fact still alive. It would take more than his boat blowing up and sinking to the bottom of the ocean to stop my nephew. He likes to think he is indestructible, I beg to differ, but he has made it this far.”

Katara couldn’t help feel a huge wave of relief crash over her, she wasn’t sure why but finding out Zuko was alive made her feel as if some of the pressure of the world was lifted from her shoulders.

“Aang will be so happy to hear that, he likes to think one day they can be friends.”

Iroh smiled, “my nephew could use some of those, he has had a very lonesome life. He has suffered quite a bit.”

Katara’s eyes shifted down, the events of Bato’s story flashed in her mind, “yes I have heard.”

Iroh looked very confused.

“I would like to know what you mean by that my dear, but that is the kind of conversation you have over tea. Would you mind helping an old man out of this saddle and onto some solid ground?”

Katara took his arm and gently helped him onto the ground, Sokka and Aang were awake at this time and were attempting to set up camp.

“Iroh would you mind helping us get a fire going?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Once the tents were set up, Katara began to prepare breakfast while Iroh worked on getting some tea brewed. Toph finally emerged from her stone tent, she kicked out her foot and the walls fell back into the earth. She yawned and shook the dirt out of her hair, stumbling over to the fire she plopped down and crossed her legs in front of her.

“Good morning slackers, I see we finally got the campsite set up.”

“Yes we did Toph, with no help from you.”

“You trying to pick a fight with me sweet cheeks?”

“No Toph, all I am saying is when everyone woke up they got up and helped us get the campsite ready for us to stay a couple of days while Iroh recovered. It would have been nice to have some help is all.”

Katara’s tone was trying to be sweet, but It was dripping with attitude and resentment. So for someone who relied on what they felt and heard around them, she wasn’t doing a very good job hiding it.

“I DON’T KNOW WH-“

“Jasmine tea? Its very calming, I always give it to my nephew, he tends to be quick to anger. Here please enjoy. Katara I poured you a cup as well.”

Both girls mumbled their insults under their breath but happily took their tea and decided to drop it before anything got out of hand.

Aang floated over to Iroh and gave him a traditional Fire Nation bow, “Thank you so much General Iroh it was so nice of you to make everyone tea!”

“Oh please Aang, call me Uncle, its much less formal. After everything you children have done for me it’s the least I can do.”

Katara cleared her throat as she water bent everyone’s breakfast into their bowls and began to pass them out.

“Just a minute ago we were discussing Zuko and how he was alive, I wanted to ask to you about that if you don’t mind?”

Aang perked up and grinned, “he is alive!? That’s so great!”

Sokka rolled his eyes, “See, I told you an explosion couldn’t kill him. SOME-ONE…. Thought I was being insensitive. Shows THEM...”

He smirked over at his sister who slapped him in the face with his own breakfast stew, “Ouch fine… Stupid magic water…”

Iroh sipped his tea slowly and looked into the fire, taking deep slow breaths as he tried to make himself more comfortable. The fire responded to his breathing, Aang seemed to really enjoy it.

Iroh took a bite of the stew and his face light up with happiness, “this is absolutely delicious Katara! Thank you!”

Everyone ate in silence for a while before Iroh rubbed his belly happily, his bowl empty.

“Before we have this conversation I am curious about one thing you said to me earlier, Katara, when I shared my nephew has had a difficult life you responded with, ‘I know.’ I was just wondering what you were referring to. My nephew tends to be a very private person so I am not sure when or how you would have persuaded him to talk to you about anything personal?”

Katara stared at her stew for a moment, trying to decide the best way to talk with Iroh about Zuko’s history with the Southern Water Tribe.

“Iroh.. I mean Uncle, were you aware of the time Zuko spent on a Southern Water Tribe ship?”

Iroh looked at her, his eyes reflected all the surprise his words didn’t say, “I was aware, yes.”

“Well it was Sokka and my dad’s ship he was on, we ran into our dad’s best friend Bato before we made it to the North and he told us to story of finding Zuko and the time he spend on their boat with them. I wasn’t sure if you were aware, at the end of Bato’s story he was taken by Zhao and that was the last they heard about him.”

Iroh was quiet, he stared into his tea, everyone could tell he was deep in thought. Finally he looked up from his drink.

“Do you mind telling me the story your father’s friend, Bato, told you?”

Katara looked at Aang and he nodded in approval, “of course.” She responded.

So she told him the story, the entire story – every word she could remember. It took some time, and some unnecessary commentary from Sokka, but she was able to recap the entire tale of the Fire Nation Prince and the Southern Water Tribe. After a while they finally got to the end of the emotional story. Katara realized it was Toph’s first time even hearing about Zuko. She was lucky to have missed all the drama the group had with him when their Avatar journey first began.

“So Zhao took him which spared my father and his crew… that was the last time any of them saw or heard from Zuko. They assumed he… died. They know he isn’t dead now, but I guess for a while they thought he was killed by… The Fire Lord.”

Iroh was quiet again, looking into the still steaming cup of tea he held in his hands. Everyone sat in a circle around the fire sipping tea and finishing their stew. Everyone was waiting anxiously for Iroh to speak – hoping he would reveal what happened after Zuko was captured by Zhao.

“Yes… the Fire Lord was going to kill Zuko, he was going to make and example out of him. To show people what happens to traitors of the Fire Nation, royal family or not. I was searching for my nephew after he was taken from our ship by the storm, I always knew he was alive. When my son… When Lu Ten passed I got a cold, sick feeling throughout my body and I instantly knew something happened to my.. to my son. I didn’t get that feeling when Zuko was taken from the deck that night, so I knew he must still be alive.” His voice was thick with emotion as he stared into his little cup of tea.

“I spent a long time searching the near by waters, watching the ocean all day and into the night. I intercepted every messenger hawk I could find. Hoping I would find some kind of information that would help me find Prince Zuko. It wasn’t until I was almost out of hope when I intercepted a messenger hawk while I was in the western waters of the Earth Kingdom. The hawk was carrying a few scrolls, they were from the Commander Zhao responding to the Fire Lord.

“The scrolls were kept together thankfully, so I was able to follow the entire conversation starting with Commander Zhao’s first notification that Zuko was picked up on a Southern Water Tribe ship. He claimed that Prince Zuko was fighting along side the enemy and destroying Fire Nation ships and killing their nation’s soldiers. I couldn’t believe it, I thought it had to be a lie, but what gain would Zhao get from lying about Zuko and his actions?

“I kept reading the different scrolls searching for a location or more detail about the crimes being pinned on my young nephew. I read the Fire Lord instructing Zhao to bring the traitor to the capital so he could be executed, and during the transportation process the traitor was to be given no special treatment. Traitors do not receive mercy from the Fire Lord. Commander Zhao had sent a response that he would be headed to the capital and would interrogate the young Prince to gather intel that would give them an advantage over the enemy. I couldn’t imagine what intel my 13 year old nephew would possibly possess.

“The messenger hawk was carrying a response from the Fire Lord going back to Zhao, and it read, show no mercy. My heart sank, and I knew I needed to move quickly to save my nephew’s life. I could not bear the thought of losing another son. Zhao has a reputation of being a cruel man, I never worked with him directly but I heard rumors of his cruelty.

“As you children know my nephew has a glorious habit of rubbing people the wrong way, he doesn’t know went to back down even if it would cause him less pain. This was my biggest worry.”

Iroh took some time away from his thoughts to drink his tea, his face had twisted into a mixture of anger and sadness, his eyes were closed as he continued.

“I spent a long time in the palace with my brother as Fire Lord, and I used that time to gain certain skills I knew I might need one day. One of those skills was my ability to copy my brother’s calligraphy exactly. So I altered the message in the scroll and sent it as the Fire Lord’s response. I wrote that the Fire Lord would be sending myself to collect Zuko and bring him to the capital so Zhao could continue his glorious military success in the western Earth Kingdom. He did not need to waste his precious time on a traitor like Zuko. I assumed he would take the flattery from the Fire Lord very well and release Zuko with no issues.

“It took me four long days to reach Zhao’s ship, using the coordinates I took from the messenger hawk. Upon boarding I learned Zhao was aware of why I was there, so I knew my message must have gotten to the ship with no issues and my plan was working. I was playing into his good graces and humored him by exchanging old war stories and sharing a cup of tea.

“Finally I was able to steer the conversation to Prince Zuko, I shared I was eager to get him back onto his own ship and that the Fire Lord had decided that a life of banishment was more suitable for his son then an execution. Zhao is not a smart man, as you witnessed in the North Pole, and with my reputation in the Fire Nation, people tend not to question me. So he did not argue or defy what I said in anyway and instead he escorted me to where they were holding Zuko.”

Iroh reached for his tea pot and the second he picked it up the steam began racing out of the top, it started whistling loudly and the group could hear it boiling like crazy. Just because Iroh touched it, he must have been fuming with emotion.

He poured his cup of tea and offered some to anyone else who wanted more and each one of them politely decline, mostly because they feared being scalded by the burning tea.

He took a deep breath and continued.

“We went deep blew deck, almost to the boiler room and came to a cell door, the guard opened it while Zhao stood off to the side and I entered the cell alone. I will never forget his weak raspy voice calling out for me… He was chained to the wall, his face was bruised and lip bleeding, he couldn’t stand he was so weak, his wrists and ankles bleeding from the heavy metal shackles they had him in. He was being tortured by Zhao and his men… my 13 year old nephew, beaten and chained like an animal. I was beside myself. If Zhao wouldn’t have released him to me I would have burnt that entire ship down.

“Zhao was needed alive for my plan to convince the Fire Lord that Zuko was not a traitor, or I might have struck that man down where he stood. The boy felt like nothing in my arms as I carried him back to his ship. It took every ounce of restraint to not go back onto Zhao’s boat and burn it to the bottom of the ocean. But I had what I wanted and I just needed to put as much distance between our ship and Zhao as quickly as possible.

“I had my nephew back after a year of him being lost to me, I knew his injuries would recover. But it was his mind that was in a deeper state of despair and confusion, even more then the day he was swept overboard. After he recovered physically he was more angry than ever. I know he was so confused and hurt, he loved his nation and Zhao had hurt him while his ‘enemies’ the Water Tribe men, had shown him great compassion and kindness. He was so lost, he didn’t come out of his room for weeks. I know he was contemplating what to do next.

“As a result he decided to take what he thought was the easier and more familiar choice and pledge his life to finding the Avatar and reclaiming his spot in the palace. He just wanted his father to love him and after everything he went through he was more confused then ever. So unfortunately he chose what he thought was best, which was his anger and the Fire Lord. I should have given him council but he shut me out, he wouldn’t let me in at all so I had to allow him to do this on his own.

“I have always supported my nephew through his choices, but I have also tried to be the voice of reason when I feel he is going down the wrong path. I have asked him many times about his time with the Water Tribe men but he has always refused to talk about it. I know it had a big impact on him, he just wont accept that there might be a life outside of being angry and striving to get affection from someone who will never love him. Sometimes I would catch him meditating at the bow of our ship fumbling with these blue beads, but when I would ask, he would just lash out and go back to his room.

“He still has the nightmares almost every night and every so often he will mutter a few things that lead me to believe he is still holding onto the memories from that year out at sea with the Water Tribe. He will say names and mutter things about needing to save them, but other than that I had no knowledge of his experience. All I want now is for my nephew to find his own destiny and not the destiny someone else has forced onto him.

“I want to thank you for sharing the story with me, and that you trust me enough with that information. It helps give me clarity to why my nephew was so hurt by what happened. It makes my heart fill with warmth knowing your father was kind to Zuko, it made a big impact on him. Unfortunately the Fire Nation’s cruelty drove him back into the Fire Lords control. When I meet with him in Ba Sing Se I will continue to try and help him make good choices and maybe one day he will wake up and want a better life.”

Everyone was quiet, the fire was moving slowly, in rhythm with Iroh’s controlled breathing. Aang was the first to speak, “how did you get the Fire Lord to pardon Zuko?”

Iroh smiled, “It was very easy actually, I told him that I was able to retrieve Prince Zuko from Zhao’s custody and his traitorous actions were a huge misunderstanding. Zhao didn’t have any information from my nephew, even with his cruel interrogations. Zuko was loyal to the Water Tribe men and wouldn’t share anything about them or their plans or fleet locations.

“But I told the Fire Lord it was because he didn’t have any information that he could share. I told him that Zuko was only on that ship a short time and committed no traitorous actions, but in fact was help prisoner. I shared with my brother I was so confident in Zuko’s loyalty to the Fire Nation that I would pull myself our of retirement whenever he called for me. I put my life up as a collateral for Zuko’s loyalty and the Fire Lord agreed. He was still banished, but at least he wouldn’t be hunted down and slaughtered, and that’s all I could really ask for.”

“The Fire Lord is a terrible person.” Toph stood up and stormed out of camp. Followed by the sound of crashing rocks and clouds of dirt, she was definitely blowing off steam.

Aang looked at Katara, “We should find Zuko when we get to Ba Sing Se, maybe we can reason with him and help him join our group? He can teach me fire bending!!”

Katara smiled, “Of course Aang, I think that’s a great idea.”

Sokka groaned, “FINE! But I am not sharing a tent with him, we have to get him his own tent. Oh and he can’t yell all the time, he will give me a headache. Maybe tell him to change his hairstyle, I hate the pony tail. If he can do that then MAYBE he can come with us.”

Katara smiled and jumped to hug her brother, “Oh thank you wise leader Sokka!!”

Aang smiled and looked at Iroh, “Is that why you went to help Zhao when he attacked the moon spirit? Because you told the Fire Lord you would help when he called for you?”

Iroh nodded, “Yes exactly.”

“Wait, so did Zuko’s ship really blow up?”

“Oh yes it blew up, I know Zhao had something to do with it, he hated Zuko so much – but Zuko returned the hate so the feelings were mutual. Zuko said he saw the bird from the pirates we used to try and capture you Aang, so I believe Zhao paid the pirates to kill Zuko. Lucky for my nephew his time training with me all these years made his fire bending reflexes pretty sharp, so he was able to protect himself and only sustain small damage.”

Katara looked puzzled, “So why didn’t he come with you to the North? He knew Aang was there wouldn’t he want to capture him? Or does he just hate Zhao that much?”

“Ahhhh, you are curious children, I like that about this group. Prince Zuko has been confused for a long time when it comes to the Fire Nation and how they treat people. After Zhao tried to kill him, again, I think he became so consumed in his confusion and wasn’t sure what to do next. Similar to how he was when I rescued him from Zhao’s ship those years ago, he needed time. I had to go to the Northern Water Tribe and I offered to help him stow away and I would keep him safe but he refused.

“He said he was confused, and needed time to figure it out on his own. So we agreed to meet in Ba Sing Se in two months time, and I have friends in the city waiting for his arrival. They will try and keep him safe until I arrive. This is why I can not be late, my nephew attracts trouble and makes bad decisions so if I am late I don’t know how effective my friends will be at keeping him safe.

“I was on my way to the Earth Kingdom ferry when I saw the lightning, I knew it had to be Azula, so I wanted to check and make sure she didn’t find Zuko – but instead I stumbled upon you Avatar Aang. Now the story has arrived at our present moment and I am very thankful for the kindness you have shown me and the forgiveness you have for my nephew. He is a good person on the inside.”

“Yeah yeah, it’d be nice for it to be on the outside too but if Aang and Katara want to take the angry jerk with us when we get to Ba Sing Se I wont be able to stop them.” Sokka leaned back on a tree and crossed his arms.

“My only hope is that Zuko is more open minded to the idea now that he has been traveling alone for some time. He has had many moments to think, without anyone’s influence. I will contact you once I arrive and we can set up a meeting point. Now I am an old man and I need my rest so if you children don’t mind I am going to go lay in the sunshine and relax. Thank you again for the delicious meal, Katara, it was most satisfying.”

Iroh stood slowly and walked over to a flat grassy area and laid on his back, within a couple of minutes the Gaang could hear his uncomfortably loud snoring.

Toph stormed back into camp finally, “Alright lets go find the fire bender!”

Katara rolled her eyes.

“Toph we cant just go out into the Earth Kingdom looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found. The Earth Kingdom is huge, even with Appa it could take months to find one person. Uncle came up with a plan for us to meet up when we get to Ba Sing Se.”

“Well if we find Zuko before Ba Sing Se then we wont have to go there at all! I am down to search the entire Earth Kingdom if it keeps me out of that stuffy city.”

Aang laughed, “Well we all know you don’t want to go there but we have to talk to the Earth King about the war and come up with a plan for fighting the Fire Lord. I’m sorry but we have to go to Ba Sing Se. We can take our vacation first! Whose turn was it to pick a spot?!”

Katara jumped up, “Oh its my turn!!”

Aang grabbed the map and held it open, “Alright Katara where do you want us to go on your mini vacation!?”

She searched for a second before pointing at a spot on the map, “How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing.”

Aang looked at the map, “Oh yeah I’ve been there, it’s a pristine natural ice spring and I usually don’t use the word pristine. Its one of natures wonders!”

“Well its settled, we will wait one more day while Uncle heals and then we will head out to the Misty Palms Oasis!”

Everyone seemed excited and looking forward to a much needed break.

Iroh left the group the following day after a few more of Katara’s healing sessions, before he left he handed Aang a white lotus tile. He told him to hold onto it and they would find each other in Ba Sing Se in a few weeks.

The vacation did not go well, in fact – it was a complete disaster.

They lost Appa.

Wondered in the dessert.

Sokka drank cactus juice.

Aang felt so much pain, his grief and anger from losing Appa was beginning to consume him. It even began to affect the people around him.

The only good thing to come out of all this, they discovered the Day Of Black Sun. Finally, a plan to defeat the Fire Lord. All they needed now was to speak to the Earth King and get his support.

It took a long time to finally get to Ba Sing Se without Appa, only to discover it was under attack.

Azula is a difficult enemy, she is cunning, manipulative and deadly. The Fire Nation drill was a force to be reckoned with, but Azula and her crew were worse.

Team Avatar was able to put a stop to the attack and even though Azula got close to putting an end to Aang, she was unsuccessful. It was a close call.

Finally… they were in Ba Sing Se – 6-8 weeks to meet the King? Unacceptable.

Aang is distracted looking for Appa and his friends get to know the city.

Iroh finally makes it to Ban Sing Se, he is a few days after the two month deadline but he received word a few days ago his nephew was waiting for him at a local tea shop. He sent word to find out if the Avatar was in the city and apparently he was not.

Iroh found it odd that Aang and his friends were not in the city yet, but he could not allow himself to be distracted with that. He had to stay focused on his new life in the Earth Kingdom and the well being of his nephew.

Before Iroh even checked out his new apartment he rushed to the tea shop where Zuko was supposed to be waiting. He was excited to go to a tea shop, he loves tea, but he loves Zuko more.

The tea shop is small, nestled tightly between two other buildings, one is a massage parlor and the other a salon. The tea shop had a single lantern hanging from the door frame, the shop is closed for the day but Iroh’s friends made sure it stayed open long enough for him to arrive.

He placed his hand on a painting of a white lotus flower that was painted on the front of the shop, it felt like home.

Opening the door, two golden eyes met his gaze instantly, and if Iroh wasn’t so tired he could have swore he saw a smile.

“Uncle…”

- - - - - - - -

Aang dropped missing Appa posters all over town, he was getting desperate to find his missing friend. Life felt so much darker without Appa by his side.

Someone in the city picked up the poster, knowing instantly what he needed to do.

Appa would be coming home soon.

- - - - - - - - -

So the city of Ba Sing Se is awful, Toph always knew it would be awful.

Not only was it awful but it was corrupt, they found the secret Lake Laogai. Jet approached them and tried to lead them away from the city and further from Appa.

Under the lake there was a creepy series of tunnels, the Dai Li were everywhere and the Avatar and his friends had to fight for their lives. Some of them didn’t make it out alive. They would always be thankful for the sacrifices Jet made to help end the war, even if he was an asshole sometimes.

Finally they made it out of the of there, still no Appa.

Oh wait…. APPA!!!! He was back!

Having Appa made it so much easier to meet with the Earth King. Too bad he didn’t believe the conspiracy theory, they had to get him proof.

Good thing there was a huge Fire Nation drill sticking out of the outer wall.

Bye bye Long Feng.

The King finally believed them, time to start planning for the eclipse.

- - - - - - - -

Zuko looked different, his Uncle was worried about him. He had cut off his phoenix tale and let all of his hair grow in, it wasn’t long enough to pull all the way back but it still hung in his face. The inky color made his skin look washed out but the hair covered a lot of his scar, especially as he hung his head down. He had lost weight, probably from traveling alone through the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko didn’t speak much when Uncle first arrived, he seemed happy to see his Uncle, but was still so lost. Removing his phoenix tale was a sign that he had cut some kind of ties with the Fire Nation, Iroh wasn’t sure if it was done out of anger or it was intentional.

They shared an apartment together and Zuko stayed out late coming in and out through his bedroom window. Iroh decided it was time to have a talk with him. They have been reunited for over a week and still haven’t had a decent conversation outside of the tea shop they worked at and the casual conversation about meals and going to bed.

Iroh sat on Zuko’s bed, waiting for him to come back through the window so he could finally speak to him honestly. He was worried about his nephew and it was time to intervene.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“We searched Long Feng’s office and found secret files on everyone, there are letters here for you.” General How began to hand out the letters.

Toph decided to go see her mom.

Avatar had to go to the Eastern Air Temple to hopefully master the Avatar State with a guru.

Sokka and Katara received word that their father close by and was defending the mouth of Chameleon Bay – one of them would be able to go see him while the other had to stay behind with the Earth King.

Katara insisted Sokka go, after everything that Bato shared and how deeply it affected her brother it was only right he got to go see their father. They had a lot to catch up on.

Everyone said their goodbyes and Sokka and Aang sailed on Appa, promising a speedy and safe return. As Appa flew away Katara couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling in her chest.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The Blue Spirit moved silently through the night, he finally was going home for the night, slipping quietly through his bedroom window he was caught off guard for the first time ever by his Uncle sitting on his bed. Apparently waiting for him.

Iroh rubbed his eyes and smiled, “Oh the Blue Spirit, I wonder who could be behind the mask?”

There was a low groan and Zuko pulled the mask off glaring at his Uncle.

“Uncle… What are you doing awake?”

“I am wondering the same thing about you nephew, did you forget we have work tomorrow?”

“No Uncle, I did not forget I have to go work at a stupid tea shop in this stupid city. Thank you for the reminder, now why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“Zuko why do you insist on shutting me out? We have been separated for almost three months, that’s the longest time we have been apart since yo-“

Zuko cut him off sharply, “I know Uncle. Please stop reminding me. I am not a 13 year old boy anymore I do not need you to wait around for me to come back. You like making tea, you want to live here in this horrible city, do not let me hold you back.”

Iroh looked hurt, “Why can’t you ever talk to me about how you are feeling or what you are thinking about? Instead you hide behind a mask and let your anger make the decisions for you. I want to help you Zuko but I can’t do that if you wont let me!”

Iroh was beginning to raise his voice, he was getting so angry at his nephew for pushing him away when all he wanted to do was help him. He could no longer sit by and watch him self destruct, and continue to make bad decisions.

“You want to be miserable, you think you deserve this pain and suffering. You think that you are meant to be alone but I know that deep down you want more from life then the life you have allowed yourself to live the last 2 years! I am here trying to understand, I am trying to help you through this journey you are on but you push me away every time I ask.”

Iroh knew he was going to say something he might regret but at this point he was desperate to get through to his nephew.

“Would it be easier if I was Chief Hakoda? Would you talk to me then?”

There was an awful silence that filled the room as Zuko continued to stare at the floor. Finally he looked up at his uncle his golden eyes flickering like fire, he always looked angry but this time his eyes told a different story, one of sadness and hurt. Uncle regret bringing the Water Tribe man’s name into this conversation, it was a low blow to his nephew.

“I was out setting the stupid Avatar’s bison free!! I found the fucking posters and decided that he deserved to have his fucking bison back! So the last couple of nights I was tracking the Dai Li and found their secret hideout under a lake. I followed them and found the bison chained up and I set him free so he could go back to the Avatar! Are you happy now!?”

Zuko was almost out of breath his face was twisted in an angry scowl, but there was also the deep hurt he was still trying to hide.

Iroh smiled and stood up from the bed, he walked over to his nephew and pulled him into a deep hug. Zuko stayed stiff, he didn’t hug him back but Iroh could feel him take a big breath as if he was happy to tell him what he had been doing.

“I am so proud of you Prince Zuko… You did the right thing without me even having to give you advice, you did the right thing…”

Zuko pulled away his eyes still angry and flickering like fire, he moved passed him Uncle and sat on the bed, “please leave me alone Uncle…. I just want to be alone.”

Iroh nodded, he knew doing the right thing would be difficult for Zuko and it might take some time for him to adjust to making different choices.

“Goodnight Prince Zuko.”

Zuko looked up, “Goodnight Uncle…”

Iroh left Zuko’s room shutting the door, he needed to make a trip to see the Avatar tomorrow. It was time to create a plan to get Zuko to talk with Aang.

- - - - - - - - - -

Katara was so happy to be helping the Council of Five create a plan to invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. It was a huge responsibility and Katara knew she was more than ready to help bring this war to an end. She was the only one left in the city while everyone else away.

Katara was headed to a meeting with the Council of Five and afterward she would give the finalized plan to the Earth King. She was extra happy today because Suki and some of the Kyoshi Warriors had just arrived in the city! Sokka would be so excited when he got back and Katara couldn’t wait to catch up with the girls.

Meanwhile Iroh was on his way to the home the Gaang was staying in within the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. His special friends helped him gain access to the information and documentation he needed to visit the Upper Ring, he was eager to come up with a plan to get his nephew to talk with them. He left Zuko at the tea shop while he made his way to their home.

He knocked and waited, knocked and waited, and waited some more. No one was home, he wrote a note and left it on their door letting them know the address of where he and Zuko were working and invited them for tea.

Little did he know the Dai Li were watching the house, bringing the information back to Azula she let out a crooked smile.

“Please send an official royal invite to my Uncle and one guest to serve the Earth King tea this afternoon. I am looking forward to our family reunion.”

- - - - - - - -

Katara smiled as she walked into the palace, scroll in hand. The plan was perfect – if everything went accordingly they might be able to end the war without Aang having to fight the Fire Lord!

She entered the Earth King’s hall, the king wasn’t there. The Kyoshi warriors stood in front of the throne.

“Suki I have important information to give to the Earth King!”

The girl in the middle stood up and took a step forward. Katara looked at the warrior and saw two light brown and gold eyes staring back at her. “Oh don’t worry” she said, her voice sharp and sinister, “we will make sure the Earth King get your little message.”

Katara couldn’t run fast enough, Ty Lee was alright in mid air and with one jab to her shoulder Katara’s arm went limp, another two jabs and she was down.

Azula was in Ba Sing Se.

Katara watched helpless on the floor as a Dai Li agent approached Azula.

“Princess, the older gentleman we saw at the Avatar’s home earlier is here. He believes his is serving the Earth King tea, they are waiting for you. He is with a boy with a large scar on his face.”

Oh no… Uncle and Zuko… how did she find them!?

“What a nice surprise, my long lost dead brother! I think its time for a family reunion.” She glanced over at Katara, “Throw her in the crystal catacombs!”

Ty Lee giggled, “Of course! Oh you are going to love it down there it is so pretty!!”

- - - - - - - - -

Appa dropped Sokka off on the hill above his father’s base camp. For whatever reason Sokka had a nervous feeling in his stomach. He loves his dad but it had been so long he wasn’t sure what the men’s reactions to him would be.

He puffed out his chest and climbed his way down, rubbing one arm he walked through the beach and into the camp, he recognized some of the faces in the group of people he saw. One man approached him and smiled, “Sokka!”

Others started to smile and they began grouping around him commenting on his height and joking about how he wasn’t a little boy anymore.

One man pointed to a tent in the center of the congregation, he took a deep breath and pushed open the tent flap. It was large inside with a table and a big map rolled out, Bato tapped his father on his shoulder and Chief Hakoda looked up, “Sokka!” He had the biggest smile on his face.

But the only thing Sokka could see was the red bead dangling in his father’s hair.

- - - - - - - - -

Aang was almost there, he had learned to survive, to forgive himself, let go of his shame, accept his grief, to stop blaming himself and accept his destiny – but when it came time to let go of his earthly attachments he was faced with a vision of Katara in trouble.

Without hesitations he left to help her.

He could barely hear Guru Patrick yelling to him, “You will never be able to go into the Avatar state again!”

He didn’t care her had to save Katara!

- - - - - - - - -

Sokka was helping his dad fill, what his dad called – stink and sink bombs.

He was being extra quiet and he knew his dad could tell something was bothering him.

Sokka couldn’t help but continuously glance at the red bead sitting next to his and Katara’s bead. Acting like it belonged, when it didn’t.

Hakoda noticed the last time Sokka glanced at it, “Son, I am sure you have questions for me and I want to give you all the answers but it is a long story and I want to have time to sit down and talk to you about everything. Right now we are preparing fo-“

“CHIEF, there are four Fire Nation ships approaching!”

“Thank you Anke, tell the men prepare for battle!”

Hakoda stood to his feet looking down at his son who looked so sad, “what do you want me to do dad?”

Hakoda reached out his hand, “I said MEN, prepare for battle. That means you Sokka.”

Sokka couldn’t help himself, he jumped up and hugged his dad and just before he went to join the other men to prepare for an attack he saw a huge familiar shadow descending onto the beach.

“Oh no this can’t be good news.”

Aang didn’t have to say any words – Sokka knew he had to leave.

“I’m sorry dad I wont be able to join you on this fight, I was excited to show you what a great warrior I have become and make you proud.”

Hakoda put his hand on Sokka’s shoulder, “Sokka you do not have to prove anything to me, I know you are a great warrior and I am already so proud of you. Why do you think I put you in charge of the village while I was gone? I love you son.”

Sokka and Hakoda shared a tightly squeezed father and son hug before Sokka left to join Aang on Appa. Katara was in trouble and they had to save her.

But they also had to pick up their blind earth bending master on the way, she wasn’t hard to find from the sky.

- - - - - - - -

Iroh and Zuko say quietly in a room within the Earth Kingdom castle waiting for the Earth King to join them for tea. Instead of the Earth King the Dai Li were suspiciously lining up around the fire benders. Zuko and Uncle exchanged looks just before Azula entered the room.

“Look who is back from the dead, this is such a nice family reunion wouldn’t you say… Uncle?”

Iroh’s eyes shifted from Azula to the Dai Li, “Did I ever tell you how I got the nick name, The Dragon of the West?”

The older man took a sip of tea before he breathed a powerful stream of fire at the agents to distract them so he and Zuko could escape. The agents moved fast and Zuko wasn’t prepared, his hands and feet became incased with stone while Iroh made a break for exit. He looked back at his nephew and Zuko urged him to go, “Uncle please go!!!”

Iroh knew better than waste an opportunity and he left Zuko there at the mercy of Azula. He needed to find the Avatar and his friends, it was the only way to save Zuko and Ba Sing Se.

- - - - - - - -

Katara paced the cavern, she finally had feeling back in her arms and her bending was back, but no matter what she did she was stuck.

Anxious and angry she needed to walk, it was the only way she was going to stay somewhat calm.

How did Azula get into the city? What was she planning? Would Aang and her brother be okay when they came back to the city? Would she kill uncle and Zuko?!

She groaned and kicked the dirt. Things were going so well and now this, Azula was definitely worse than Zuko.

Suddenly the ceiling opened up and a man’s voice sneered, “You’ve got company.”

They tossed someone down into the cell with her, when the boy looked up she saw a familiar red scar…

“ZUKO!?”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Zuko hit the ground, hard, landing on his shoulder. He slowly pulled himself onto his knees and looked up at Katara, his gold eyes only lingering for a second before he looked down at the ground. His hands instinctively went up to his hair and he began to run his fingers through it nervously. He didn’t say anything, he just stood up and walked to the furthest corner of the catacomb and sat down lotus style, his back to Katara.

She had to admit, this was not the Zuko she was expecting to encounter when they finally met up again. The vision she had was an armor wearing, fire throwing, always yelling, pony-tail swinging, smart comment making – jerk bender. Not this… This was a quiet, full head of hair, not engaging with her, sulking in a corner… Zuko.

She wanted to say something to him, but finding the right words was proving difficult. She was filled with so much rage towards him for so long, but now, she wasn’t sure how she felt about him.

He seemed to be comfortable in the silence, perhaps his unaccompanied travels in the Earth Kingdom had taught him when should hold his tongue.

But Katara was not good at staying quiet, she always shared what was on her mind. To her, this silence was suffocating and uncomfortable. She would rather him come down here screaming at her and throwing flames. At least she would know how to handle that Zuko. She didn’t even know how to begin to talk to this Zuko.

“So why are you here?”

“….”

“Did Azula capture you too?”

“….”

“Did you find your Uncle already? Oh wait, you must have, I heard Azula say something about you guys serving tea? Do you work at a tea shop with your Uncle?”

“….”

“Why won’t you answer any of my questions!?”

“…..”

How long have you been in Ba Sing Se?

“…..”

“Are you trying to make me mad? UGH, if I had water right now I would smack you in the head with it!”

“…..”

“Did your Uncle say anything about you coming to talk with us?”

“.….”

“FINE! Don’t say anything!! Just sit there and be miserable!! I don’t care!!!”

Katara continued to pace the cavern, her anger always had a habit of getting the best of her. Maybe that was something they had in common.

“I don’t know why my dad cares about you so much.” The words fell off her lips before she even realized what she had said.

He turned and looked at her.

“What are you talking about?”

He speaks.

“I am Chief Hakoda’s daughter and Sokka, my brother, is his son. I know you know my dad.”

Zuko’s face seemed to grow increasingly more pale, if that was possible. His eyes still staring intently on the floor, almost as if he was a afraid to look up at her. He had a slight shake to him now, maybe from anger or nervousness, she couldn’t tell.

What Katara could tell was she caught him off guard by her comment and he was probably thinking of all the awful stuff he has done to her and Sokka.

Good, he was awful to us and he should feel bad.

The comment might have been a low blow to make, but she did get a reaction which was her purpose of sharing it. Unfortunately he was quiet again, at least he was looking in her direction now.

Katara crossed her arms, “You’re seriously not going to say anything to that. I thought you cared about my dad, I thought you would at least say something!”

Zuko closed his eyes, trying to block out any trace of emotion. He has worked so hard these last two years to block out any memories or thoughts that would make him second guess his choice to capture the Avatar and return home to his father.

Now this girl, Chief Hakoda’s daughter, was yelling at him and asking him to feel things again. He was already so confused from his lonely travels through the Earth Kingdom, he didn’t need this extra uncertainty right now. He needed to push all the emotion away and just sit here in silence.

He turned back around and faced the wall again, deciding that staying silent would be the best course of action at this point. Usually when he opened his mouth he made things worse. When he spoke he made Azula burn him, his father burn him, Zhao burn him, why did everyone want to burn him?

Why did everyone from the Fire Nation want to burn him?

Traitorous thoughts, maybe he really was a traitor. A traitor to The Fire Nation, to the Water Tribe, to his mother’s last words…

Never forget who you are Zuko.

Who was he?

He has absolutely no idea.

- - - - - - - - - -

Iroh remembered where the Avatar’s house was, he needed to get there as quickly as he could. Sending a silent prayer to Agni that they would somehow be at their home and they would be able to help him rescue Zuko. Before he said or did something that would get himself killed. He was so talented at making people want to kill him.

He saw the bison, Appa, first and he knew they had to be close by. He knocked on their door and heard voices coming from inside the house.

“Hey I know who it is!”

Toph opened the door and smiled at him, Aang waved from just inside the home.

“UNCLE!”

They were here and they were happy to see him.

“I need your help.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Enough time had passed and Katara decided that she no longer liked the glowing green crystals. In fact she hated the color green now, the crystals were green, the fake Kyoshi Warriors wore green, and stupid Zuko was wearing green.

Toph would be upset but Katara decided to boycott the color green, it made her feel better thinking about never dealing with the color green again. Instead of trying to figure out how to deal with the fire bending sulking in the corner. She was starting to let go of some of the anger she had from earlier, but she was still bothered that Zuko wasn’t talking to her.

Well if he wouldn’t talk to her it didn’t mean she couldn’t talk to him.

Katara stopped pacing and sat on her knees with her hands together in her lap. Sitting like this reminded her of home. All the Southern Water Tribe women sat like this while they mended clothing, prepared meat to jerky, or just enjoyed sitting by the fire sharing stories. Her mom sat like this, Katara could still remember that.

“Did my dad tell you about my mom? I know you probably wont answer but I hope he did. I hope he told you how brave and kind hearted she was, and how no matter what challenges she faced she would always hit them head on; she never gave upon anything or anyone. I like to think I am like my mom in that way… I want to think I am like my mom in a lot of ways. She was the most important person in my life and the Fire Nation took her away from me. One day she was here and the next, she was gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye, and now I have nothing to remember her by except my memories… Memories that I am starting to realize, wont last forever…”

Her hand instinctively went to touch her neck, but she knew her mother’s necklace wasn’t there. Katara’s eyes began to fill with tears, she couldn’t stop them, they began to run down her face.

At least her tears weren’t green.

Closing her eyes she buried her face in her arms, bringing her knees out from under her and up to her chest. She curled into a ball trying to stop the the sadness from consuming her, she needed to stay strong just in case Zuko did decide to attack her.

If Zuko decided to anything beside sit in the corner staring at the wall in silence.

He stirred, as she was trying to wipe all the evidence of her crying away. He stood up and walked over to her. He got on his knees in front of where she was sitting and reached into his pocket and pulled something out. She held her breath, not sure of how to respond to his sudden advancement. It didn’t seem hostile, but she couldn’t help feeling slightly put on edge.

He pulled out a ribbon and unfolded it slowly. There was a familiar stone, her mother’s necklace. There were 3 blue beads that had been wrapped in the ribbon and he took those in his other hand, slipping them back into his pocket.

“Here… sorry.” Is all he said.

She didn’t grab it right away, the necklace had been lost to her, she figured Zuko just got rid of it after he took it and it was no longer useful. The necklace was gone for so long and now here it was, in perfect condition, just like the last day she had it.

She slowly reached out and took the silky ribbon in her hand, her thumb grazing over the stone. The stone that was hand carved by Master Pakku, he told her about how he proposed to her Gran Gran with this necklace and that she had kept it all those years. It was passed to her mother and finally to her. Katara couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face again, she looked up at Zuko and on impulse she reached out both her arms and hugged him around his neck.

Burying her face in his shoulder, “Thank you so much Zuko.”

He was so stiff and shifted uncomfortably under her. Zuko let her hug him for just a second before he wiggled just enough to let her know it was time to let go of him. She pulled back and wiped her face, putting the necklace back on her neck, where it needed to stay forever.

“Sorry I wasn’t thinking straight, I am just a hug type of person. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Zuko snorted, “Yeah your whole family is touchy, you people are always touching each other.”

She smiled, “my dad gives great hugs.”

His gold eyes left her gaze as he looked back at the ground, “… Yeah he does.”

“So are you going to actually talk to me now? Or are you planning on retreating back to your corner?”

She smirked at him and he rolled his eyes- now they were finally getting somewhere. He stood up and walked a few feet away and then turned and sat down, far enough away from her that she couldn’t touch him but close enough they could still talk without yelling. He was facing her this time, so that was an improvement.

“So did Azula throw you down here?”

He glared at her, probably out of habit, and then sighed.

“You’re not going to leave me alone until I talk to you are you? You’re just going to ask me the same questions over and over until I finally answer them?”

She nodded yes.

“Agni, you are your father’s daughter.”

“Oh yeah? Say’s the boy who carries around Water Tribe beads! Don’t think I didn’t see them. I know you are carrying them with you.”

His reaction wasn’t what she expected at all, he blushed and looked away.

“Yes, Azula captured me and threw me down here. Well…she didn’t capture me herself, I think she said something about me not being worth her effort or whatever, so the Dai Li caught me. My Uncle escaped though, I’m sure he will come try and break us out.”

“Your sister’s terrible.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

“So… why do you carry those beads? Sorry if its an invasive question but there isn’t anything else to do down here but ask each other uncomfortable questions, right?” She tried smiling at him.

He was glaring at her again, but up close she noticed he wasn’t as scary looking as she remembered him being when they first met. Maybe it was the hair? Or perhaps now she knew all his anger was a front to hide the terribly confused and hurt boy on the inside.

No, it was definitely the hair.

“Are you hoping your child Avatar boyfriend comes here to rescue you?”

Now it was her turn to glare, “He is not my boyfriend!”

Zuko smirked, he got the reaction he was hoping for.

“It’s annoying when people ask you, what was the word? Oh, invasive questions now isn’t it? There is nothing wrong with sitting in silence. If you are even capable of being silent.”

Now his arms were crossed, and she was starting to get annoyed with him.

“I don’t have a problem with answering personal questions! I am not hiding anything, you can ask me whatever you want and I will tell you! I’m not the jerk who wants to keep everything about myself a big secret.” She threw her arms in the air for dramatic effect before bringing them back to her chest and crossing them in a pouting manner.

He raised his eyebrow and his golden eyes softened, “What happened to your mother?”

Dammit Zuko.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Capturing a Dai Li agent wasn’t that difficult, at least not when you have the World’s Greatest Earth Bender!

For being part of the Dai Li, the man revealed the whereabouts of the ‘secret’ underground city very quickly.

Sokka liked to think his warrior presence intimidated him, and no one had the time or the right words to argue with him.

Toph placed her small hands on the stone floor, “He was right, there is a ancient city under here… it’s deep, deep down.”

She widened her stance and pushed her arms forward creating a tunnel that would begin to lead them into the underground city. “If you keep following this path forward it will lead you to a large cavern.”

Sokka took charge, “Aang, Iroh – I mean Uncle.. You two follow Toph’s tunnel and rescue Katara and the angry jerk. No offense.”

Iroh smiled, and put up his hands in a ‘none taken’ gesture. His eyes flickering with amusement.

“I will go with Toph to warn the Earth King of Azula’s coup.”

The four of them all nodded and split up with their buddies – they had to save their friends and the entire city from being burnt to the ground by Azula.

- - - - - - - - -

“Why would you ask me about my mother?”

Katara’s eyes narrowed at Zuko as he stared at her from across the cavern.

“I want to know.”

She hesitated as she felt her eyes start to sting again, she put more effort in controlling her tears this time. Slowly she took in a breath and looked Zuko in the eyes.

“My mother was… she was killed in a Fire Nation raid when I was just a small girl… She was protecting me. She told the fire bender who came to kill me, that she was the last water bender, to save my life. He burnt her to death in my home while she was defenseless. He left her body there like she was trash and I found her just before… just before my dad…”

The imagine of her mother’s smoldering body flashes in her mind, she reached up and touched the stone of her necklace – it’s there this time. She still dreams of running as fast as she can to find her dad, but in the dream she can’t run fast enough. The more she runs the further her dad gets – she is stuck in a loop just wondering if she had ran a little faster could her father have saved her mom? Or would she have lost them both to the attack? Katara puts her head against her arms again shaking her head slowly trying to chase the memories away.

“I’m sorry…”

She looked up, his eyes were soft again, she could tell her truly meant that he was sorry. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“I lost my mom to the Fire Nation too.”

Her heart began to thump so loud she was sure Zuko could hear it. Did he just share something personal with me?

“What happened to your mother? Wasn’t she Fire Nation?” She knew Bato’s story and what he heard Zuko share, but it was different coming directly from Zuko.

He opened his eyes again, not backing down to her eye contact. Her eyes looked like Hakoda’s eyes, and it was always so easy to talk to him. He made Zuko feel safe and protected, Katara’s eyes did the same.

“To my knowledge, Azula being the source… So who knows, Azula always lies. My grandfather asked my father to kill me to earn the throne and to surpass my Uncle in the line of succession. My father agreed and was going to kill me in my sleep that night, Azula overheard the conversation because she was spying. She told me, well… she taunted me with it, and thought it was so funny that I was going to be murdered. Even as a young girl she had a very twisted sense of humor. My mom heard her and I am guessing she confronted Ozai and took my place or something. I have no idea what happened, she came to me in the middle of the night and told me something and the next day she was gone.

“When I say gone, I don’t mean like how your mom was gone, with her memories still haunting you in your house and having to deal with her possessions, and stuff. I mean every single trace of my mother’s very existence was gone. No one would speak her name, my father wouldn’t allow Azula or me to mention her ever. All I have left of her is a theater mask and a portrait. One of those things was destroyed when my boat exploded, but I am sure I can find a copy of the portrait in the palace when I go back home…”

He trailed off and then stopped talking.

“Why do you want to go home Zuko? It sounds like an awful place.”

He was quiet for a while, he had broken their eye contact and was looking at the floor again. His eyes might have shifted to the floor but she knew his mind was somewhere completely different, far away from this cavern.

“I… I don’t know, wouldn’t you want to go home?”

Katara shrugged, “yeah I guess. But my memories of my home are very different then the memories you must have.”

He shrugged.

“I guess.”

The was silence between them as Katara wiped the rest of her tears away and uncurled herself. She let her legs stretch out in front of her and rested the top half of her body on her arms propped up behind her.

“I’m sorry about your mom Zuko… Will you tell me what she said to you before she left?”

He chuckled, and the words left his lips like they were poison.

“….Never forget who you are.”

There was silence between them.

Katara wanted to make sure her next words did his mother’s last words justice. Zuko’s mom sounded like a strong woman, a woman who loved her son – just as her mom had loved her. Katara wished Zuko would look at her, but the fact he was even sharing this much was enough.

“Your mom sounds like a very smart and strong woman Zuko… She must have wanted you to have a purpose in your life greater than what she saw happening around you. She probably knew you had the power to change your life and possibly the lives around you. If you chose to, if not, you might just end up like your father instead of her. I’m sure that is not what your mother would have wanted from you Zuko.”

He finally looked up at her, his face was angry but he didn’t shout or lash out. He knew she spoke the truth, he just didn’t want to hear it.

Zuko didn’t say anything else to her, he just lifted his legs and spun around having his back face her again. She could see his hands go up to his hair, he began to run through it before she saw his fingers grab it at the root and hold it tight.

She might have just gotten through to him, even if just a little, her mom would be proud. Zuko’s mom would be proud too.

- - - - - - - - -

Aang and Iroh’s journey into the depths of the Earth Kingdom was going surprisingly well. Aang was becoming a very skilled earth bender and Iroh held his little flame to help light the way. They made a good team.

“Hey Uncle, would you be able to teach me fire bending? It’s the last element I need to master.”

“It would be a huge honor to teach the Avatar, but I do not think it is my destiny to be your fire bending master. If all goes as I hope there is someone else who would be better fit for you and your group. He is a good fire bender and he would make a wonderful teacher.”

Iroh looked at Aang and winked.

“Okay Uncle, I have another question. Toph thinks you give great advice, may I get your advice on something?”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Well… I met with this guru who was supposed to help me master the Avatar State and control this great power, but to do it I had to let go of someone I love… and I just couldn’t.”

“Perfection and power are overreacted, I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love.”

“What happens if we can’t save anyone and beat Azula? Without the Avatar State what if I am not powerful enough?”

“I don’t know the answer. Sometimes, life is like this dark tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep going –“

Aang pushes the last of the earth through the tunnel and it opened up to a huge cavern with glowing crystals and an underground waterfall. There were reminders of a once thriving civilization. They had irrigation channels that used the water from the falls to travel through the cavern. The small remains of structures were broken down and hardly in tact but it was still a beautiful place.

“- you will come to a better place.” He smiled at Aang who smiled back. “Now lets find where they are keeping my nephew and Katara.”

- - - - - - - - -

Azula was moving through her plan with little effort, the coup was a success and the Dai Li pledged their loyalty to her. She laughed internally, Uncle is the perfect mentor for my not dead brother, he was a failure at capturing Ba Sing Se just like my brother is a failure at capturing the Avatar. This is too easy.

Sokka and Toph were unsuccessful in stopping Azula’s plan, they arrived just as the Dai Li attacked General How, and they had to try and stay out of sight.

But maybe if they got to the Earth King in time they could stop the complete take over of Ba Sing Se. The King was probably unaware of Azula’s presence, so all they needed to do was get the King to safety. Then they could go find the rest of their friends to take out Azula.

Easy right?

Nothing with Azula was ever easy.

Sokka and Toph ran into the throne room, “Oh thank goodness we’re in time!”

“In time for what?” One of the warriors bounced over to Sokka, getting a little too close to his face.

“Those aren’t the real Kyoshi Warriors!!!” Toph yelled as she slammed her foot down launching a huge pillar of stone at one of the warriors.

There were two of the fake Kyoshi Warriors with the king, one of them was the girl who could immobilize anyone using pressure points and the other was a knife expert. Mai & Ty Lee.

“Sorry to disappoint you.” One of the fake warriors said as she rolled her eyes and threw out three double-bladed knives aimed at Sokka.

Toph pulled up a stone wall before the blades could make impact.

Just as they were beginning to engage in any real fighting, Azula stepped out from behind the throne with a fire blade to the Earth King’s throat.

“This fight is over.”

Both Sokka and Toph put up their hands just before Ty Lee bounced up to them and with a few jabs they were on the floor.

-- - - - - - - - - - - -

Katara watched Zuko curl into himself, he has not spoke since they had the ‘mother conversation.’

She was so anxious to know what was going through his head, and if he was thinking about what they talked about.

“Zuko? Are you alright?”

“…yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about anything?”

“..….”

“Oh please don’t go back to shutting me out, I just want to help you Zuko.”

His head snapped around to her and she could see the angry fire burning in his eyes.

“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!”

There was the Zuko she met in the South Pole, the guy who burned down Kyoshi Island, who tied her to a tree with pirates. She saw the anger but for the first time she really saw the hurt in his eyes, the kid she heard the stories about who just wanted his father’s love and a place to live. Katara was going to give it one last try and see if she could reach that person.

“Listen Zuko I know you angry, I get it, I am angry too but I am trying to do something about it! I am trying to end the war and stop people from suffering. You have suffered so much because of the war! We all have! But you are still trying to capture the world’s last hope for survival and turn him over to the most evil man in the world! The man that would hurt his own children to grab power! The man who wants to watch the world BURN, ZUKO! Do you have any idea what is going on out there?! What the Fire Lord is doing to people!?”

Zuko’s brow furrowed, of course he knew, he had lived in it for two months. The only different was he was a fire bender hiding in a world that HATED fire benders from other fire benders.

“I am not blind waterbe- Katara, I am very aware of what is happening in the world. I have met a lot of people who have been greatly affected by the actions of my father. I have seen towns whose people were too afraid to leave their homes because of Fire Nation soldiers. I am not naïve to what is happening. And it is wrong of you to even assume I am still trying to capture the Avatar. When is the last time you and I have interacted? Before my ship blew up? So don’t come at me all high and mighty because you think you know me and you think you are so much better than me.”

He stood up and walked back to his original spot and sat down his back facing her again.

Well that backfired… Am I in the wrong and Zuko… is right? Sokka would faint.

She took a deep breath and tried again, “I am sorry Zuko…”

She moved closer to him sitting far enough away to give him space but close enough that she might reach out and touch him.

“I know I should not have said that stuff to you, but I was trying to talk to you earlier and you just shut me out. I can’t understand your intentions if you don’t explain them to me. I just have to assume for myself based on the past. But you are right, I don’t know anything about you. I am trying though, but you have to give me something.”

“….”

“So are you still trying to capture Aang?”

“Well yeah.”

“Tui and La, ZUKO!! Why did you go on that huge rant of me not knowing you or assuming that you want to do bad things and blah blah blah! Then you turn around and confirm you want to do bad things!”

He shrugged, “I guess I’m just a bad person Katara. Now leave me alone. I am done speaking with you, if you try and talk to me again I will attack you.”

Her breath was caught in her throat. She could hear the seriousness in her voice, but she didn’t want to believe he would attack her right now after everything they spoke about.

“Zuko I…”

The walls began to shake and Zuko stood up, his fist engulfed in flames, his body shifted to an attacking stance.

Katara didn’t have any water, she would be vulnerable to an attack. She glanced at Zuko, he noticed she was defenseless and to her surprise he moved in front of her in a protective way.

The wall crumbled into a medium sized tunnel and Iroh and Aang walked out.

“AANG!!!!”

Katara screamed and ran around Zuko pulling Aang into a tight hug. Aang smiled and held her close and then saw Zuko standing behind her.

“ZUKO!! You’re alive, that is so great!!”

Zuko looked confused, “Uncle… why does everyone keep making comments about me being alive? Did you tell everyone I died!?”

He looked angry but Iroh just chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, “I just wanted to protect you and I figured if people thought you were dead they wouldn’t be looking for you.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and his Uncle embraced him in a tight hug. Zuko didn’t return the hug but he also didn’t push him away.

“Uncle, why are you with the Avatar? Um, hello Avatar.”

He looked around Iroh and waved slightly at Aang. That made Aang’s extremely happy and he waved enthusiastically back.

Iroh took a deep breath, “Zuko I would like to talk to you about some things, Aang, Katara? Would you be so kind as to give us a minute, I’m sure you are eager to find Sokka and Toph – we will catch up with you?”

Aang gave them a traditional Fire Nation bow, he and Katara made their way back through the tunnel and into the cavern. Aang needed to catch Katara up on everything she missed with Azula and the coup. As they exited Katara couldn’t help but look back at Zuko one last time before he was out of sight.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka, Toph and the Earth King were patiently waiting in their metal cell.

Once the coast was clear Toph ripped into the metal door, pulled it off the hinges and cast it away like it was nothing.

They had to get Appa and go save their friends.

And possibly angry jerk, Sokka wouldn’t call him their friend, at least not yet.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Iroh put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder gently, “Zuko… I know you have had a tough life, and I wanted to say I am sorry for not being able to stop terrible things from happening to you. But these last few months I have learned so much about you that you have refused to share with me. I have heard tales of you protecting people you love, against evil. Not looking at a nation vs a nation, but looking at good people vs. evil people.

“You protected people from another nation because they were kind to you, but yet still you stay loyal to a man who has done nothing but try to destroy you. A man who banished you, who burned you, a man who was going to execute you because of another man’s word. Does that sound like someone you should be loyal too?

“… Or do you want to be loyal to people like Chief Hakoda, Bato and Katara, people who see the good in you and want to support and love you. I know you have struggled with doing the right thing in the past but now the Avatar and his friends need your help. This is the decision that will change the course of your life-“

Iroh was cut off by the crystals on the walls and floor shooting through the earth and trapping him where he stood. Azula and two Dai Li agents slid into the cavern, even in her Earth Kingdom outfit she looked so Fire Nation.

Azula stood in front of them and smirked, “I assumed this treachery from Uncle, but not from you Zuzu, my loyal brother. The Prince of the Fire Nation. I heard Uncle down here trying to poison your mind with traitorous thoughts. He wants you to betray your family Zuzu, and your nation – your home. For what? For some savages? He fills your mind with nonsense.

“If you chose to help the Avatar I will strike you down and you will be dead, for real this time. Or you can choose the path you have already chosen, help me capture the Avatar and return him to father. Restore your honor and bring Ba Sing Se to its knees.”

She chuckled softly, “It’s a pretty easy choice Zuko. But I will let you decide.”

With that she walked away, going in the direction that Aang and Katara just ran. She would catch up with them soon and hopefully they would be ready.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Just as Katara and Aang reached the cavern a stream of blue fire cut them off. Aang turned to see Azula walking calmly out of the tunnel. She smirked and began throwing fire in every direction. She was attempting to trap them in a confined area by creating walls of fire.

Katara knew Azula was powerful, but she didn’t expect her to be so quick – she was everywhere at once. Lucky the cavern had a rather large water source so Katara equipped herself in water arms and began striking back at Azula. Just when she thought maybe they would have the upper hand for once, Dai Li agents began to appear.

The fight became overwhelming. Aang was balancing his different elements much better than he had in previous fights. Him and Azula were in a focused battle while Katara tried to keep the Dai Li agents at bay.

Azula and Aang were both equally matched in their speed, Aang was agile, but so was Azula. Azula was ruthless, every shot she took she intended to kill him. Aang was using his air bending to dodge her fire, and his earth bending to return attacks. Aang was a strong fighter but he was worried and distracted about Katara down there with all the Dai Li.

Katara was holding her own for a while, until one of the Dai Li’s attacks hit her arm. The hit was successful in pinning her left hand to the floor. She lost temporary control but she still had the other arm shooting ice spikes and water whips at her attackers. It was three agents on one water bender, but she didn’t want to distract Aang and give Azula any opportunity to deliver a fatal blow. Before the Dai Li could attack her other arm and immobilize her, she saw the familiar orange and yellow flames create a wall of fire in front of her.

The Dai Li were stunned and took a couple steps back looking to see who the other attacker was.

Iroh and Zuko were in the cavern now, Iroh rushed to Katara’s side and helped her break the stone incasing she was in. Now that she was free the Dai Li agents began attacking more ferociously, her and Iroh began to battle them together.

She had to look, she had to know if Zuko was fighting by their side. She didn’t see him until she heard Azula’s voice.

“Traitor!!”

Azula was angry, it was the first time Katara heard her voice sound anything other than condescending and in control.

Katara could see Aang and Zuko side by side pushing Azula further back. Aang looked over briefly at Katara as her and Iroh struggled to take on more Dai Li agents. He could see the panic in Katara’s eyes as more agents began moving in to join the battle. The fight was tipping out of their favor, even with Iroh and Zuko’s help.

Azula’s anger was making her flames bigger and stronger, she glared at Zuko and gave a strong fire kick in his direction and he was unable to block. He flew backwards and hit the wall, slumping to the floor.

Aang looked panicked, Azula smirked and began moving towards him full force, he was struggling to keep up with her advances. Using his earth and air bending combined he shot into the air and landed just outside of the battle area. He incased himself in stone and began to meditate.

Her remembered the guru’s words. ‘Learn to let her go or you cannot let the pure cosmic energy flow in from the universe.’

He had to let her go if he was going to save her, opening up his final chakra he put everyone’s well being before his own personal feelings. This was the true test of being the Avatar, and he was ready to accept the responsibility.

Aang could feel the rush of power, it was a familiar feeling from the few times he has experienced the Avatar State. His eyes and tattoos began to glow, he emerged from the rock dome that was protecting him and began to rise up towards the ceiling.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko pulled himself to his knees, he could see the Avatar glowing. The same glow that he experienced their first time in battle when Aang almost destroyed the Wani. Zuko could see that everyone stopped fighting in awe of the Avatar’s power- he remembered how captivated he had been the first time.

But Zuko felt something in the air, something more familiar then the Avatar’s glowing, something that reminded him of home.

Lightning.

Azula.

He knew she would going to do something terrible, right in front of him he saw her, swirling her hands in a circle preparing the lightning.

No one else was watching her, he had to do something or she would kill Aang. He jumped to his feet, even with the pain in his shoulder he took off as fast as he could in her direction. Just as she was releasing the lightning he shoved his body into her as hard as he could.

They both fell into the water, the lightning leaving her fingers just before they hit the surface. What would have been a direct hit to Aang’s back, instead hit his shoulder. The lightning still coursed through his body but it missed a direct hit to his core.

Aang’s head shot back and he began to fall. Katara felt the same feeling she had the day her mother was killed. It was a thick emotion, clutching onto her stomach and chest and squeezing them so tight they might burst.

Summing the biggest wave she could, she knocked the Dai Li agents out of her way and grabbed Aang before he could hit the ground.

Azula and Zuko had pulled themselves out of the water, Zuko was moving towards them slowly. His back was facing Katara, and his front facing Azula, waiting to see what her next move would be.

Azula’s hair was slightly out of place and her eyes were fixed on Aang and Katara. She was breathing though her teeth, her anger coursing through her eyes as she glanced from Aang to Zuko.

Aang moaned an awful sound, his skin was smoking from where the lighting hit his shoulder. The color of his skin was fading into a soft pale color, and his heart beat was slowing down.

“Ka… Katara….” He cracked one of his eyes open looking up at her, his eye was a fuzzy grey color.

Tears began running down her cheeks, she could help it, her best friend was just struck down with lightning. Aang’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went limp. He was alive but barely, if Zuko didn’t push Azula out of the way then Aang would have died instantly. Lost to the world forever.

Now Zuko was standing in front of them blocking Azula from being able to deliver the final blow.

Iroh couldn’t get to them, he was single handily battling six Dai Li agents, and he was holding his own. He was trying to stay focused on his own fight, if any of the agents got past him he knew the kids would be in even biggest danger. Azula by herself was a big enough threat.

“Move Zuzu.”

“No.”

“Zuko I said move.”

“No Azula.”

“Remember what I told you in the holding cell? If you help the Avatar I will kill you. Do not make me kill you.”

“Do what you have to Azula, I am not moving.”

Zuko shifted into a fighting stance, his right arm shaking a little from where he was thrown in through the tunnel and then smashed against the wall. His bright gold eyes were fixed on Azula. Her eyes returned the contact, they were a mixture of light brown and gold.

Azula always tried to look intimidating, and usually it worked. But she had mother’s eyes, and Zuko always found comfort in her eyes because of that. Zuko, he had father’s eyes – so when he was angry the fire would dance on display, and right now he was angry.

Azula glared at him and reached out pointing her two fingers at him.

“You are a traitor after all, I always knew it was true – you picked those Water Tribe savages over your family! Those savages over your Nation! No wonder father hates you so much, he always knew you were weak! Now you stand here, between the Fire Nations victory, and a Water Tribe peasant. She is holding the last remaining threat to winning the war. If I were father I would burn the other half of your face off you traitor!”

Zuko flinched slightly, but he didn’t change his stance, his fire eyes fixed on his little sister. Expecting the worse, Azula was like his father, she didn’t know mercy.

Azula re gained her composure and reeled in her emotions, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them her hands began to move in a circle and the air began to crackle.

Katara felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she knew she had to move Aang and her out of the way. If they were shot with lighting they would die.

Katara began to summon as much water as she could, but she wasn’t fast enough.

Azula struck, her lighting fast and powerful. She was aiming at the Avatar but Zuko was already standing in front, she knew he was going to get hit before she even released the blast.

But she was no traitor.

Zuko moved in front of the blast completely, blocking Katara and Aang as they were being surrounded by water.

Zuko and Iroh never went over lighting re direction, they never had time together to practice, and it was a powerful blast. Zuko took the entire shot into his core. His body shot back and hit the ground, convulsing and burning from the inside he laid still.

Azula stopped, she didn’t make another move, her eyes fixed on her twitching bother. He laid on the floor in front of her smoking and convulsing. She began to scream, “YOU IDIOT!!!! YOU TRAITOR IDIOT!!!!”

Iroh saw everything, he saw his nephew take the hit, he saw him shield Aang and Katara with his own body. Even when he was doing good things he was still always getting hurt. Iroh began to see red, his fire burned brighter than even Azula’s flames. Within moments the Dai Li were either down, dead, or backed off enough to allow the Dragon of the West to run to Zuko. He scooped the boy in his arms and looked over at Katara.

She had Aang in her arms, “Uncle lets go!! Come on!!!”

He ran over to her, Zuko wrapped tightly in his arms. Too warm, like he was actually on fire.

Katara used every ounce of the rest of her strength to lift them as high as her bending would take them. Before they reached the top of the earth began to crumble opening up a huge hole and Appa came into view.

Toph, Sokka and the Earth King were there. Toph used her earth bending to lift them the rest of the way.

“We have to go!! Get us out of here!!!!”

Katara looked back into the cavern, she saw Azula on her knees – the look in her eyes was empty. Maybe she realized what she did, maybe just maybe, Azula regretted it. Katara doubted it but even as they fled, Azula didn’t attack. She just sat on her knees and watched them vanish into the clouds.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sokka was confused, scared and confused. Aang wasn’t moving, he was not the correct color, and Katara was crying. Then Iroh was crying holding Zuko, who also wasn’t moving, who was even more pale then usual.

“What happened?!” Sokka needed answers.

“Azula… She, she hit Aang with her lightning. Zuko pushed her out of the way so it didn’t hit him head on, but he was still hit…..”

She glanced over at Zuko for the first time, his hair was covering his face. Iroh was holding him so tight and rocking him ever so gently, tears streaming down him face.

Katara continued telling Sokka and everyone else what happened, “Azula went to finish the job and shoot another lightning bolt at Aang and I and Zuko… Zuko stood in front of us and took the hit… I think…. Uncle is Zuko… Is he dead?”

Katara couldn’t stop crying, she was waiting for him to answer as she removed the spirit water from her neck. The pain in her chest increased when she realized…. She couldn’t save them both.

She only had enough for one person. Looking up she met Sokka’s eyes, he nodded at Aang, and Katara knew she was always going to heal Aang.

She looked at Iroh and the tears kept coming, “I’m so sorry Uncle… if I could save him I would…. I’m so sorry, I have to save Aang…. I am so sorry Iroh….”

She looked back down at Aang and using the spirit water she pushed it deep into his wound. She could feel the way the lightning had torn through his insides. Burning his veins, and blocking different chi channels, there was so much damage from one strike Katara couldn’t believe it.

The spirit water started to work right away, healing the burnt tissue and cleansing the blood. His heartbeat picked up and began to stabilize as it became stronger. Aang groaned slightly and opened his eyes, “Katara… you’re, you’re ok…”

She nodded and hugged him tight, “I will be right back Aang just lay here. You’re going to be ok.”

She motioned for Sokka to come and take over navigation and keep Aang steady on Appa. He moved to the front of Appa right away pulling Aang into his lap.

Katara made her way across Appa’s back to where Iroh was sitting holding Zuko.

“Uncle… can I see him? I am going to try to help… please.”

Iroh didn’t say anything, he loosened his grip slightly allowing Zuko’s body to limply shift towards Katara. His tunic was singed and she could see the mark similar to the one on Aang’s shoulder. It was almost shaped like a star, and Katara could smell the burnt flesh from where she was sitting.

Pulling her own bending water out of her water skin she began trying to heal him. Her hands began to shake as she moved her water through his body, the damage was extensive…
But he was alive, his heart was the slowest she has ever felt, and his breathing was almost non existent but he was alive.

She began pulling and pushing her water through his core and up into his chest, repairing the blood vessels around his heart first, trying to get the beat stronger and more consistent. There was so much damage, and she was so tired. Her energy was almost gone but she wouldn’t stop working on him until she saw little dark spots appear in her vision. She kept pushing the water trying to heal as much as she could before Katara blacked out. The last thing she felt was his slow and unstable heart beat.

- - - - - - - - - - -

It began raining, which made their vision in the darkness even worse. Everyone was flying in silence.

Aang was laying on Sokka’s lap while he steered Appa.

Toph was extremely quiet, and not just because she hated flying… She could feel pain and sadness and smelled the burning flesh - it was overwhelming her senses.

The Earth King sat quietly with his bear, Basco, not sure what he could say or do to make anything better.

Iroh held Zuko as close as he could, tears still streaming down his face, he quietly prayed to Agni to not take another son from him.

‘Please Agni, let your will be done, but I beg you, please, do not take another son from me. I have already lost so much, I can not live without Zuko. Please don’t let all the suffering this boy has endured lead him to death. He is meant for more then this, please Agni I beg you, spare him.’

Katara lay on her side next to Iroh, she was passed out from exhaustion. She needed her rest if Aang and Zuko were going to live, she would have to heal them.

Sokka knew where he needed to go, his dad would know what to do. Right now, with the fall of Ba Sing Se, combined with the fall of his friend, he needed his father. There was that nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach again, what would dad do when he saw Zuko.

Sokka looked over his shoulder to look at his group of friends, everyone was so beaten down they needed somewhere safe to go. They needed to be with people they could trust.

His dad was planning on capturing a Fire Nation ship and would be somewhere close to their camp. They weren’t supposed to head out into open waters for at least another week so if they moved quickly they should be able to find them.

Sokka glanced at Zuko, it was so weird to have him with them, but he saved Katara and Aang… He might die because he saved them. His dad was going to be devastated…. Iroh was already devastated.

Sokka turned back to the front and squared his shoulders sitting up straight, he had to be strong for everyone. He was going to keep them all safe.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The rain began to increase, Sokka was trying to follow the shoreline and find the camp he had met his dad at earlier in the week. He wasn’t the one flying the day they arrived but he could have swore he remembered where it was.

Finally the tents came into view, he found them! Thank Tui and La, he didn’t have a backup plan.

The camp was already being broken down and supplies were being moved onto a medium sized Fire Nation cruiser that was anchored just off shore.

Sokka felt that the ship would be the best place to land with Appa, that way they could move Aang and Zuko into rooms to heal.

The Water Tribe men saw Appa and began waving them down, Sokka brought Appa down on the front deck of the ship. The Fire Nation ships were so much bigger than the Water Tribe ones, and instead of being made of wood they were constructed completely steel. Unlike Water Tribe ships the Fire Nation cruisers had all navigation and sleeping quarters above deck and everything else was below.

Bato was standing on deck with a big smile on his face, “Sokka!!” He yelled walking towards them.

He began to slow down when he saw Sokka’s face, full of grief and defeat. He slid off of Appa’s head with Aang in his arms. Sokka’s head dipped down as he felt the tears gathering in his eyes, why was he crying? He was a man, and men don’t cry.

Bato turned to one of the Water Tribe men, “Go get Chief Hakoda right now! Hurry!”

Katara was awake again and she slide down the side of the bison, Bato was there to grab her.

“Katara, are you okay? What happened?”

She couldn’t help it, she was sobbing, shoulders shaking, her chest heaving she couldn’t even lift her eyes off the floor. Bato was becoming increasingly worried.

“What happened to Aang?”

She finally looked up, her big blue eyes were red from exhaustion and the amount of crying she was doing.

“He… He was shot with lightning…. He is ok though… I think he will live…”

Bato pulled her into another hug just as Chief Hakoda came running onto deck.

“SOKKA! KATARA!! What happened?!”

Bato reached into Sokka’s arms and picked up Aang, so Sokka could hug his dad.

Both kids ran into their father’s arms, Katara was shaking uncontrollably and she couldn’t take control of her crying. Sokka was crying too, he was trying to hide it and stay strong but he couldn’t hide the terrified feeling he has in his chest. Hakoda held them so tight, “are you ok? Are you hurt? Please children, I need to know…”

Katara shook her head no, “We’re find dad… but… but dad… I am so sorry…. I am so so sorry I tried… I don’t know if its going to work…. I had to pick one and I had to save Aang dad… I had to save Aang….”

Hakoda reached out and wiped the tears off his daughter’s face – the face of her mother. “Katara what are you…..”

Hakoda stopped speaking, Sokka could feel his dad’s heart rate increase, he took in a sharp gasp and Sokka let go and stood back. Katara was already standing off to the side trying to get a hold of herself.

Iroh had slid off of Appa and was approaching Hakoda, and in his arms was a weak but alive, boy with a scar.

Hakoda ran over to him, pulling back Zuko’s hair and looking at his face, “Oh Tui and La… ZUKO!”

Iroh wouldn’t release his grip on Zuko but he could see how frantically Hakoda was trying to look him over. Finally Iroh let the Water Tribe man pull the boy into his arms, he sank to his knees holding Zuko against his chest.

“What happened? What is going on?” Hakoda’s voice was shaking.

He looked over at Katara and she looked at Sokka, “He was hit by lightning… dad he took the lighting to save Katara and Aang….” He spoke so softly the tears returning to his eyes.

Bato came back on deck, “Katara I think the Avatar needs you he is in the infirma– Oh my Tui and La is that Zuko!?”

Bato ran over to Hakoda and got on his knees, “what happened?!” He put his hand on his best friend’s shoulder as Hakoda held Zuko close.

Katara took one last look at her father and Bato before she ran to find Aang, he was her priority right now. She had to make sure he lived, she used the Spirit Water on him and not Zuko… She had to make sure she didn’t fail them all.

Hakoda stood finally, Zuko still held tightly in his arms, “He was stuck by lighting to save my daughter.” He spoke softly, as the rain turning into a light drizzle.

Iroh was standing close by, he and Hakoda exchanged awkward looks. Sokka picked up on the tension between them, which was weird because Iroh was not a confrontational man.

Hakoda carried Zuko to the infirmary, it was a lot bigger than the one on the Water Tribe ship. He set the boy gently on one of the beds, he was soaking wet just like the first time Hakoda fished him out of the ocean. He was older now, hair was shorter, he has a huge red and black wound on his chest, but he was Zuko. Hakoda turned to Iroh, “I will let you remove his wet clothes and I will bring something dry for him to wear.”

His words had almost no emotion in them when he spoke to Iroh, but Iroh gave him a small Fire Nation bow anyway.

Hakoda glanced at the Avatar across the room, his face was twisted in pain and Katara was trying to heal his shoulder with her water bending. Tears were still streaming down her face, it made Hakoda’s heart twist even tighter.

The men finally left the room and Iroh began to remove his nephew’s clothing. He had to close his eyes when he saw how horrific the lightning blast had impacting his body. Iroh pushed Zuko’s hair back and cupped his face, saying another prayer to Agni to please save his son. The lightning strike had destroyed so many of Zuko’s veins that his skin itself looked like a lightning strike. The boy was so pale and there was barely any movement in his chest when he took his shallow breaths.

Hakoda came back with a fresh Water Tribe tunic and pants, he didn’t say anything when he handed them to Iroh. He took one look at Zuko and needed to leave the room immediately to get air.

“I will be back to check on him later. Noa will be here soon to help.” Was all he said to Iroh before shutting the door.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka brought the Earth King and Toph inside out of the rain.

A Water Tribe crewman took the King to where he would be staying. He gave Basco a weird look but he didn’t say anything. Why would he bring it up? Is the bear any weirder then having the Earth King, a flying bison and lemur, The Dragon of the West, Avatar, or Fire Prince on board? Not really, so he kept his mouth shut.

Sokka’s head was swimming with emotion, he finally stopped crying and was trying to be strong for Toph. She was very quiet which was odd for the blind earth bender. Sokka could tell she was scared, tired, and very sad. He had to be strong for her, “Its going to be okay Toph…”

“Liar.”

Oh yeah, he forgot about that.

They arrived at the room she would be staying in, he made sure it was right next to his room. Far away from where Aang and Zuko were staying in the infirmary, just in case something happened to one of them he didn’t want Toph to be the first to know.

“I will be right next door, please tap the wall if you need me. I am going to bring you some fresh clothes so you don’t catch a cold. I will be back soon.”

Usually Toph hated being treated like a helpless little girl, but right now she was very accepting of the extra love and attention. She needed it at the moment.

Sokka left her room and closed the door, he started down the hallway and saw a Water Tribe man, the youngest he has seen so far, running down the hallway. He was carrying a big leather book, a red and blue bead dangling from a braid in the front of his face. The rest of his hair pulled back into a wolf-tail.

He stopped when he got to Sokka.

“Did you arrive with the Avatar?!”

Sokka nodded.

“Where did they take Zuko!?”

Sokka was surprised but also… not surprised…

“He was taken to the infirmary.”

“Oh yeah that makes sense! Thanks!!”

He took off running again.

Sokka found some clean clothing for Toph and went by to drop it off. He could have swear he heard her light sniffles though the door. He knocked twice and set the clothing in front of her door, for whenever she was ready. He needed some air.

Sokka found himself on the deck, leaning against the railing, staring up at Yue.

“Yue, I need your strength, I need to be strong for my dad, my sister, and my friends… I feel weak though, and I cant be weak right now. They need me to be a man and I-“

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, turning he met his dads glossy blue eyes.

“Son, being a man doesn’t mean you don’t have weak moments… You kids have been through a terrible ordeal and being a man means knowing when its ok to grieve. You also need to remember you aren’t alone. We are all here for you, just like you are here for all of us. I just cant express to you how happy I am that you and your sister are ok…”

He pulled Sokka into a father hug, and Sokka felt the tears stinging his eyes again.

“I missed you so much dad, I am so glad we are here with you now.”

Hakoda set his hand the back of his son’s head and held him close, Sokka snuggled his face into his father’s chest.

“I think us men need some fire-water, why don’t you join me in my cabin and lets have a drink.”

Sokka didn’t say anything but he nodded and pulled away from his dad wiping his eyes. They walked together into the Chief’s cabin. It was a large room, with a large desk against the wall, and a big table in the middle of the room. There were maps and pieces all over the table, all marked up with different routes and locations. His dad reached into the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out his trusty whale skin canteen and motioned for Sokka to sit down with him with their backs against the desk.

“Why are we sitting on the floor dad? This room is huge we can sit anywhere.”

He closed his eyes and smiled.

“This is where I like to sit when Tui and La bring me almost dead fire benders.”

He took a swig of the canteen and then handed it over to Sokka. Feeling like man Sokka brought the canteen to his lips and tossed his head back. The sensation was not what he was expecting, it was as if he swollen molten lava. He tried to keep his composure but the couching started and the slight gagging. Hakoda laughed and patted Sokka on the back.

“It grows on you, I promise.”

Sokka smiled and rested his back against the desk, it was actually pretty comfortable down here.

“Sokka, I need you to tell me about what happened in Ba Sing Se… Please.”

Sokka closed his eyes, “So it started when we lost Appa…..”

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Katara has not left the infirmary in a week, she would take turns switching from Aang to Zuko, performing a healing session on each boy before taking a nap and then repeating. Sometimes she would forget to eat, the only reason she even sleeps is from pure exhaustion.

Katara would usually just lay her head down on whatever boy’s bed she is working on, still seated in her chair, catching a few hours rest before waking and continue to heal.

Noa is the only person who she allows to help her with the boys. He is from the Northern Water Tribe and has experience with water bending healers. He brought a book with him that has been extremely helpful, without it, Katara was not sure if she would have been able to pull Zuko out of death’s grip.

The book is filled with ancient Water Tribe healing techniques, unfortunately there is not much information on lighting strikes. She did find a helpful chapter on repairing veins and helping increase blood flow to the heart. It was the only thing that has kept Zuko’s body from completely shutting down.

Noa is also a friend to Zuko and will sit and talk to him for hours about random things. He often mentions a play he is writing. He sits with Zuko and tell him he has to live in order to get more facts from him to complete the story.

‘Coward Prince’ is what he was calling it, sometimes Katara can hear the tears in his eyes as he speaks to Zuko. She would always pretend like she didn’t hear anything and let the man have his moment with the fire bender.

Aang is doing better but he’s still not well enough to stay awake for any amount of time. He will wake up for a short moment and ask Katara if she is ok, and then fall back asleep. She doesn’t think the boy even knows why he is asking her if she is ok, it was just the last thing he consciously said to her, so its like his mind is stuck in that moment.

Zuko on the other hand has not opened his eyes once, he doesn’t move at all, the only movement he makes is when his body is going into cardiac arrest. Which has happened three times in the longest week of everyone’s life. Katara is always right there when it starts to happen, she uses her bending to keep the blood moving and pushes enough through his heart to get it pumping again.

It really scared Katara to watch his body react like that, it always starts with a twitch of his left hand. Then his arm would shake, finally his body would convulse and she would have to press her water deep into his chest to try and stop the attack. She is slowly repairing the damage to his heart and other major organs but there is something weird deep inside him she can not reach.

Iroh would not leave Zuko’s side for the first few days, but finally Katara convinced him to go wash up and get some rest in an actual bed. At least for one night, her and Noa would stay with him and make sure nothing happened. He reluctantly agreed, and now he returns every morning at sunrise and leaves for a few hours at night to sleep.

Katara is constantly reading the Northern Water Tribe book, trying to figure out what the unknown entity is inside of Zuko, no matter how deep she pushes into him it is always too far away to reach. It feels like a twist in his chi, but more than that, almost as if all the energy in his body was being pulled into the block.

Noa knocked lightly at the door, he always did that before he entered, not wanting to startle Katara. He is a really sweet guy, the youngest of the Water Tribe men.

“Good morning Katara.”

“Oh, is it morning already?”

“Yeah, just after dawn, General Iroh will probably be here any minute. I just wanted to check on everyone, including you, and see if you needed anything.”

“No I am ok, thank you Noa.”

He smiled softly at her and walked over to Zuko and sat down. A much larger Water Tribe man came in behind him stopping at Zuko’s bed.

“How’s the fire rat doing?” The man’s voice is deep and commanding, his words seemed harsh but his tone is caring.

Noa looked at him, “Same, Anke.”

He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes brows with one of his hands.

“You better wake up kid, I have worked on my stance and I need to knock you down this time. So get your shit together and wake up, I am not a patient man.” He was looking down at Zuko, his hand resting lightly on the boys shoulder. Anke was trying to sound calm but Katara could hear the tiny bit of worry in the man’s voice.

“I’m sure he will wake up… I mean its Zuko, he is a fighter. He will wake up.” Noa was always so positive.

Anke put his hand on Noa’s shoulder now, “I know he is, I expect to see him sparring with the crew by the end of the month.”

He was trying to sound hopeful but there was just so much doubt in his voice as he looked down at the completely still fire bender.

“Has he always been this pale?”

“Not since we pulled him out of the ocean, no.”

Iroh walked into the room, not surprised to see Water Tribe men standing next to his nephew. The original crew that Zuko had traveled with would come visit him frequently. You could always point them out because of their red beads. Some of them would talk to him, other times they would just come and say a prayer and leave, but none of them ever spoke to Iroh.

“Good morning everyone.” Iroh said with a small bow.

Anke snorted and took his hand off Noa’s shoulder and moved around the old man and left the room.

“Sorry General Iroh. Anke isn’t very friendly. He didn’t like Zuko very much when they met either.”

“It is alright Noa, and please call me Iroh, or Uncle. I am no longer a general for the Fire Nation.”

Noa looked nervous and scratched the back of his neck, “Ok… Iroh.”

Turning their attention back to Zuko the room filled with silence.

- - - - - - - - - -

Sokka was having an equally long week, his eyes felt so tired from lack of sleep. His dad kept him busy during the day, he was having him help with all the preparations they needed to do before they cast off into the open sea. Sokka was having a hard time sleeping at night knowing how close they came to losing Aang to Azula, and she wasn’t even the Fire Lord. He was having serious doubts about the success of Aang fighting Ozai, even with the help of the eclipse.

Sokka has never worked on a ship before, he had a lot of canoe experience, but no ship experience. Hakoda would ask him to do simple tasks and Sokka would have no idea what he was talking about. Sometimes he saw his dad catch himself and try and show him what he meant, but either way it made Sokka feel unhelpful. But tonight is the big night – he is going to help with the war meeting before they leave for the open sea.

Tonight he is going to brief the Water Tribe men on the plan for the solar eclipse. They still have around two months before the Day of Black Sun, so it is imperative to work through all the information and come up with a concrete plan. They are lucky to have Iroh on board with them, he knows things about the Fire Nation that would greatly benefit their attack plan.

“I don’t know how comfortable I am having the Dragon of the West in our war meeting tonight.”

Hakoda looked at his son as they made their way to the mess hall to get some breakfast.

“But dad, you are the one who completely trusts the Prince of the Fire Nation, the guy who burnt down Kyoshi Island and has tried capturing Aang like… one hundred times!”

Hakoda chuckled.

“I see your point but I slept in a room with that kid for almost a year, I watched him kill to defend me and my men, I shared meals with him – I trust him even with what he has done since he left my ship. He took lightning for your sister and the Avatar. What has the Dragon of the West done for anyone outside of him waging war for the Fire Nation?”

Sokka and Hakoda drank fire-water that first night they arrived and talked about everything that has happened in their lives while separated. They took turns telling their stories. Sokka walked him through training the children of their village, finding Aang… Finding Zuko… Traveling to the North, Yue… Omashu getting captured, the swamp bugs, Appa’s kidnapping, Ba Sing Se, Jet… All the great and not so great things about his life traveling with the Avatar.

Hakoda told him the same story Bato shared all those months ago, but a slightly different and more reserved version. Sokka knew he was keeping Zuko’s personal details private out of respect for him.

Too bad Sokka already knew everything.

But he didn’t tell his dad that. Hakoda told him about the fights with Fire Nation ships, he shared about the men they lost and the battles they won. He explained the story of how they captured the Fire Nation cruiser, which was an interesting tale.

Overall it was a great moment between father and son. Sokka no longer felt that sting of nervousness around his dad. He still didn’t LOVE the red bead, but he decided if it meant that much to his dad then he would support it.

They arrived at the mess hall which is much larger then the small ‘cafeteria’ style they had on Hakoda’s old ship. There was enough room to feed over 50 men, the ship is so large that they were able to combine the entire fleet to the one cruiser. There is a big kitchen stocked with food and exotic spices. Most of the men were very unfamiliar with the different cuisines, none of them have ever ate Fire Nation food.

Hakoda saw Bato, Anke, and a few other Tribesmen sitting at a table enjoying leftover sea urchin stew from last night’s dinner. They waved the father and son over to sit with them.

“Good morning Sokka! You hungry?”

Bato grinned at him as Sokka rubbed him stomach.

“Aren’t I always!? I’ll go grab us some grub dad!”

Walking into the kitchen he saw Iroh and two other Water Tribe men going through the food storage cooler.

“This is hog-fish, its best served over rice, usually cooked in a pan. Oh, these are badger-frog legs, they are amazing lightly breaded in this machine over here..”

He motioned for the men to follow him as he walked them through the different machines in the kitchen and their extended purposes. He looked up to see Sokka and smiled, “Good morning Sokka.”

“Good morning Uncle, its good to see you outside of the infirmary.”

Iroh got a sad look in his eyes and Sokka knew he shouldn’t have mentioned that.

Idiot.

“Yes Miss Katara told me I needed to come get something to eat and these young men wanted a tour of the kitchen. I know my way around a kitchen.” He rubbed his belly and chuckled.

“Would you like to join my dad and I for breakfast? We are having left over sea urchin stew.”

Sokka figured inviting him to join them might lift some of his dad’s suspicion of the old fire bender. He could see Iroh’s hesitation but he smiled and accepted the offer.

They dished their meals into bowls, and Sokka grabbed an extra for his dad and made their way back to the table where the men were sitting. It was taking some getting used to all the metal, its like everything was made of metal. The walls, ceiling, chairs, tables – nothing was flammable that’s for sure.

Iroh and Sokka neared the table and he noticed his dad and friend’s instantly got stiff and stopped speaking.

“Uhhh, dad, I invited Iroh to have breakfast with us if that’s ok.”

Hakoda didn’t say anything but he nodded, Bato and Anke just stared at the Iroh.

They all sat down, Sokka sat next to his dad while Bato sat on the other side. Anke sat across from them and Iroh took a seat next to the massive Water Tribe man. Anke snorted when Iroh sat down and stood up, “I don’t think I am hungry anymore.” He picked up his still half full bowl and left the table. Clearly not done eating.

Iroh watched the man walk away and folding his arms into his sleeves looking Hakoda in the eye. “Is he alright?”

Hakoda nodded, meeting the man’s gold eyes with his own fierce blue ones. “Yes we were just having a discussion that upset him. Probably needs to just walk it off.”

Iroh raised an eyebrow, still not touching his food, meeting the Chief’s gaze across the table. Sokka could feel the tension building.

“Do you mind if I ask what you were discussing that would upset him so much?”

Hakoda smirked, “We were just talking about what we do to men in the village that hurt children. I don’t know in the Fire Nation if you have any laws about hurting young people but we take it very seriously in the South. If a man is found injuring his children we strip him of his home and his family, drag him into the tundra and leave him there with no food or clothing and let him fend for himself.”

“I see…”

“Yes, but the Water Tribe is a close knit group of people, so if we suspect someone is being mistreated usually someone will come forward and stop it from happening. Family is very important to the Water Tribe, we do not take kindly to people who do not understand the special bond of family. We haven’t had an incident like that in many years. We take care of all the children in the village as if they were our own.”

Sokka’s throat began to feel dry, and his chest was tightening. This conversation had a purpose and the purpose might be directed at Iroh. He wasn’t sure what his dad’s point was but he knew better then to intervene. He poked the stew with his spoon before looking over at Iroh.

The man’s face was very calm, but his eyes burned like fire.

“Correct me if I am misunderstanding, Chief Hakoda, for I mean you no disrespect. Are you trying to tell me something right now? I have come to understand that the Water Tribe men are a very strong and honest people, and usually say what they mean directly. So I am not sure if you are looking for me to understand you or if I need you need to clarify. I can certainly explain Fire Nation family hierarchy for you but I do not think that is what you are looking for from me.”

Hakoda let his spoon rest in his bowl and he put his hands on the table shifting his body back in his chair. Visibly tense he never broke eye contact with Iroh.

“I will make it painfully clear for you Dragon of the West… I pulled you nephew out of the ocean three years ago with a burn that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Which to clarify for you, is your fucking brother, Fire Lord Ozai. The boy was, and still is, a child.

“I watched your nephew scream during the night, begging and pleading for help and for people to stop hurting him. He told me about his time living in the palace and how you left him there alone for two years while you went on some… Spirit journey or whatever you were doing. He was tortured by that sick man you have leading your fucked up nation and you just left him there to rot. Then when you did come back to him you let him go to a war meeting, accept a fire duel and you sat in the stands with everyone else while he held that little boy on the ground and burnt his face off. You let them cast him aside like he was garbage. So Dragon of the West, did I cover everything or is there anything I missed?”

Hakoda’s knuckles were white from gripping the edge of the table so hard, his eyes flashing with anger as he stared at Iroh. Sokka was silent, he didn’t look up from his bowl – Iroh as such a nice guy and his dad was usually so respectful. Sokka didn’t know how to interpret this interaction, but his dad did have a point. He couldn’t imagine Iroh not being there for Zuko. From all the time they have spent with the old man he seemed almost obsessed with his nephew and would do anything and everything to keep him safe.

Maybe that wasn’t always the case?

At first Iroh didn’t say anything, he sat there quietly with his arms tucked into his sleeves, never breaking Hakoda’s eye contact. He finally took a controlled breath and started to speak slowly.

“Chief Hakoda, you are a very strong and wise man, I could tell that from the moment I met you. I can see why my nephew cares about you so much, and it brings me joy to see how much you care about him. But I need you to understand that your couple months with Prince Zuko if not enough time for you to understand the complicated situation that is the Royal Family of the Fire Nation.

“My brother is indeed a cruel man, he holds nothing sacred to him, not the spirits, the fellow nations or his children. As much as my brother is cruel he is also powerful. If it was so easy to confront him and change his ways do you think you and your entire tribe’s men would have left their families to fight a war against him? He the Fire Lord, the most powerful leader in the world right now. The abuse of his children is an accepted part of Fire Nation culture. I am not saying personally it is acceptable, but Sozin changed the way our Nation treats the world, and also the way we treat our citizens and their families.

“Sozin style fire bending is fueled by anger and hate, but that is not the true way of fire bending. I know this because I have mastered the true way to fire bend from the original source. The Fire Nation supports the idea of beating and burning those around you and the ones that rise will be filled with anger. Sozin believed those men and women will be the further of the Fire Nation. Azula is a prime example of that. She never has needed to be beaten down because she is constantly exceeding the expectations of her master’s and her father. She is her father’s daughter cruel and ruthless, but I believe she is terrified to be any other way.

“Zuko on the other hand is his mother’s son… He is more caring, trusting and fiercely loyal. All the things his father is not. Ozai tried for years to beat and burn Zuko into a heir he could be proud of. But no matter what Zuko did he could never live up to his father’s unrealistic expectations for him, he could not be cruel like Ozai and Azula. With Azula’s spectacular bending abilities and cut throat personality, Ozai wants her to be his heir, not Zuko.

“The Agni Kai was supposed to be Zuko’s demise… but the boy did not fight and to his father’s disappointment the child begged for forgiveness on his knees. Ozai knew he could not kill Zuko in cold blood in front of every noble of the Fire Nation and still have their undying support. So he did what any angry, abusive man would do when he didn’t get his way, he unleashed his anger on the boys face. Then he banished him so he would never have to deal with the boy again. He sent him away before the blood from from his wound was dry, and told him to capture the Avatar if he wished to return.

“If I would have stepped in at any point during the Agni Kai then it would have been declared void and they would have postponed it to a different day. I would have been charged with disruption of a sacred duel and possibly banished or in prisoned. Ozai would have had someone convince Zuko to fight in the next one and he would have killed the boy. By law Ozai was in his rights to burn Zuko, even if he was under the legal age for an Agni Kai.

“Zuko was injured badly, but he was alive. Banishment was a result of refusing the fight during an Agni Kai, but it also gave Zuko an opportunity to escape his father’s cruelty. So I left with Zuko to protect him. I saw what his father did to him all those years and still, through everything, Zuko is a good person.

“Was he angry? Yes. Did he turn to violence? Of course, who wouldn’t when that’s all they know. But he never hurt the innocent.”

Iroh gestured over to Sokka, “He didn’t even know this young man was your son when he came to your village. He could have destroyed the entire place and burnt this young man to the ground. He came at a skilled fire bender with a spear, he was very brave, but Zuko could have struck him down with no effort but he did not. I love my nephew as if he was my own son and I would do anything to protect him. Does this provide different insight, Chief Hakoda?”

Chief Hakoda loosened his grip on the table as the old fire bender spoke. He listened quietly to the words, he seemed to understand where Iroh was coming from. The fierce look in his eyes softened as he glanced at Sokka and then back at Iroh.

“I have to ask, Iroh, why did you leave for two years when you knew how cruel your brother was to his children? How could you possibly leave them with him?”

Iroh closed his eyes, his head dipped a little and his voice got quiet.

“I understand you know what it feels like to lose a wife?”

Hakoda slowly nodded yes, without saying a word. Pain and sadness flashed in his blue eyes.

“That pain never goes away, but it does get lighter with time. I understand you have never lost a child?”

This time Hakoda shook his head no and glanced over at Sokka again.

“That pain…. That pain never goes away. That pain is the type of pain I would not wish onto my worst enemy. That… Pain is the reason I pulled out of Ba Sing Se, it’s the reason I retired my military career and forfeited the throne. The pain is so deep and overwhelming I needed to find out if there was anyway to try and begin to heal it. The only thing I could do was try and find a way to the spirit world and beg them to bring my son back. It took me a long time but I was able to get some answers, even if they were not the ones I was hoping for.”

The Water Tribe men around the table began to listen in more intently as Iroh spoke of the spirit world and were curious if he would claim to have traveled to the other side.

“I begged for them to bring my son back and that I would trade places with him, just as long as they brought him back to the world of the living. It was not able to be done, what is dead… is dead... But I did receive a vision, of another boy who needed a father. A vision of a small, scared boy hiding from his father and sister’s cruelty. They told me I would have a choice soon to take him as my son, or continue wondering the spirit world looking for more answers. I chose to return to the capital and be there for Zuko. The day he was banished is the day I took him as my own and began to raise him the way I should have raised… Lu Ten. That boy is my son and I will never stop loving him no matter what choices he makes… Even if I do not agree with them.”

He smiled at Sokka, and Sokka knew he was probably referring to the fact that Zuko chose to chase the Avatar all over the world. Or maybe it was terrible pony tail hair cut choice. Both of those decisions were equally awful.

Hakoda closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as Bato put his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. Hakoda opened his eyes and looked at Iroh. He knew his son was watching him and how he handled this interaction. He realized soon after their arrival that Sokka has great respect for the fire bender, and he could use this moment to show him how to be a strong and understanding leader, in spite of anger.

“I am sorry for the way I have been acting towards you, Iroh, I did not fully understand the situation and I blamed you for the boys suffering as much as his father. I know now that it is not the case and I will inform my men that you have done nothing but protect the boy and try to keep him on the right track. Some of my men have a special spot in their hearts for that fire bender so excuse them if they seem cold towards you. I would like to extend an official invite for you to join tonight’s war meeting so you might give us some insight on our plan’s for invasion.”

Iroh smiled and took his hands out of his sleeves and picked up his spoon, “It would be my pleasure Chief Hakoda.” He began to eat his soup.

Sokka smiled and went to get seconds.

- - - - - - - - - -

Katara rubbed her eyes as she moved her glowing hand over Zuko’s chest again, she was almost done repairing the damage around his heart. She is hoping that this will make his heart stabilize so he would stop going into cardiac arrest. She was sure every time that happened to Zuko, his uncle also had a heart attack. Iroh was getting breakfast and it was taking longer than usual, which was good the old man needed to get some air.

She had to stop healing for a second and sit down, she was working on Aang all morning while she let Zuko’s body rest. Now that she was back to working on Zuko she was realizing how much work it was going to be to get his body stabilized. She looked down at the boy who, just a week ago, was yelling at her in the cavern and talking about his mom… Now he looked lifeless on the table in front of her.

She was watching him breathe, trying to gather more energy to try and attempt to reach the unreachable blockage that seemed to be pulling all of Zuko’s chi. His body wasn’t trying to heal itself, all his energy was wrapped in that spot should couldn’t get to.

Katara sat back in her chair and stared at his shallow breaths, her eyes traveled past the lighting wound and she scanned the rest of his upper body. Her stomach churned as she saw the faint burn scars, shaped like hands. There was a bad burn scar on the side of his rib cage, and there were small scars that could have been caused by training accidents. But most of the scars looked intentional, with concentrated force.

She couldn’t help but think of Bato’s story and she felt her anger bubbling. Taking a deep breath she had to calm down. That was then and this is now, she needed to focus on healing him now or he would die. She reached out slowly and touched the back of her hand to Zuko’s forehead, it was extremely warm, almost hot to the touch. She knew fire benders ran hot but she needed Iroh to help confirm if this was normal or if he was running a fever. It felt weird to touch Zuko, the guy that chased her and her friends all over the world. Just to turn around and take a bolt of lightning for them. He was a very confusing person.

There was a soft knock at the door as Noa slowly cracked it open and slipped inside.

“Did he wake up?”

Katara shook her head no.

“Damn… I am starting to get worried… Is it normal for someone to stay unconscious this long?”

Katara shrugged slowly, “It really depends, he might be running a fever which mean there could be an infection. The lightning did major damage to his internal organs and there is this weird… block? I’m not sure how to describe it unless you are able to feel it. Its sucking all of his energy and messing with his chi… but I can’t reach it. Do you have any idea of what it might be?”

Noa tapped his chin, and pulled a chair from across the room and sat down next to Katara.

“It might be something spiritual? I feel like its always something spiritual… You know how the Northern Water Tribe is, you have a stomach ache? You pissed off a spirit. Your head hurts? Spirits. You tired? Go ask the spirits for help…”

Katara chuckled, “You’re not wrong. The Northern Tribe is a very spiritual place. But for good reason.”

He huffed and leaned in looking at Zuko, “I hate seeing him just lay here…”

“Were you guys close?”

He nodded not looking at her, “Yeah… he bit me.”

“He what?”

“He bit my hand, because I wouldn’t bandage his face, he was trying to get the wrappings… Asshole.”

“Why wouldn’t you bandage his face?”

“He needed to let the burn breathe, he couldn’t just keep wrapping it. He was hiding from it when he needed to just own up to it.”

“Yeah… it must have been hard to own up to something that…. Big.”

Noa shrugged, “I never saw his scar, I always saw his eyes. He has wolf eyes, like a predator, I think his eyes are more intimidating then his scar.”

Katara remembered the way Zuko’s eyes burned like fire when he yelled at her.

I wonder if ill ever see those eyes again… Or if they are closed forever.

Katara shook her head side to side, NO! I will not think like that, Aang and Zuko will both be fine…

“So what’s Zuko like? I don’t know him that well, I just know angry, chase the Avatar, yell at you, Zuko.”

“I mean, that’s pretty much Zuko.”

“Really?”

“No… He is… um… He is loyal? No, I just called him a wolf and now I’m describing a polar-dog… He would punch my shoulder if he heard me comparing him to animals. I honestly don’t know how to describe him. He will yell at you for hours about your stance while you spar with him because he wants you to be safe. The next day he might bite you, talk to you about his favorite plays, burn someone’s throat to save your life, lay on the deck with you in the sunshine and talk about getting shot with lightning. Then show up on your boat two years later…. Shot with lightning…”

Noa put his head in his hands, “I don’t know how to talk to people I’m sorry. Maybe that’s why Zuko and I got along so well… we both suck at talking to people. Oh there you go! That’s something about Zuko – he is incredibly awkward and awful at impressions. He would do his sister and it was awful, and we are writing a play together. Well I am writing it, he is just my lead actor. It’s called ‘Coward Prince.’ I think that’s an inside joke, but I am not really sure, maybe ill actually write the play – who knows.”

Katara laughed, for the first time since Ba Sing Se, she actually laughed. Noa seemed pleased. Before they could continue with anymore conversation Iroh walked into the infirmary.

“Hello Katara, Noa, how is my nephew doing this morning?”

“He is doing the same Uncle, but while you are here do you mind feeling Zuko’s forehead and tell me if he has a fever? He is so hot but I know fire benders are usually pretty warm.”

Iroh rushed over to Zuko and put the back of his hand against his nephew, “Yes he is very hot, even for a fire bender. Has he shivered at all, or moved in any way?”

Katara couldn’t look him in the eyes, she didn’t know what to say. Zuko has not moved once since they arrived. The only movement he had was his shallow breathing. His eyes didn’t even flutter behind his closed eyelids. But he was alive, barely.

“No…”

“I see.”

“Should we move them somewhere more comfortable? Maybe getting them out of this infirmary will do them some good? I know my dad had a room for Zuko and Aang right next to each other whenever they are feeling better, but maybe we should move them now. I can continue to heal them while they rest in a softer, more inviting bed.”

Iroh smiled softly, “That sounds like a great idea. Do you know where the rooms are?”

“Yes I can show you.”

“Alright, Noa why don’t you grab Aang and I will take Zuko. Be very careful.”

Noa nodded and went to go lift the little air bender in his arms, he was a lot heavier then he looked. They moved the boys gently to their rooms. Team Avatar’s rooms were in the same hallway, and Zuko’s room was there too – maybe because he was Team Avatar now?

Toph was standing in the hallway leaning against the cool metal wall, her arms crossed. She seemed to be expecting the group as they rounded the corner. Toph had been staying out of the way the last week, the events from Ba Sing Se really upset her and its easy to forget she is just a 12 year old girl. She was starting to come around more, which brought back a sense of humor to the group.

“Are Twinkletoes and Sparky doing better? I noticed you were moving them out of the infirmary.”

“We thought possibly moving them to a comfortable bed would help their bodies recover better. At least getting them settled in their rooms before we set out into the open ocean tomorrow.”

Noa and Katara went into Aang’s room, they were smaller rooms with a big bed in the center and two fire nation banners on the wall behind the head of the bed. There was a small desk in the corner with two chairs and another Fire Nation banner next to the door, and so much metal.

Zuko’s room was identical to Aang’s, the only difference was there wasn’t a Fire Nation banner by the door.

Iroh laid his nephew down gently, even with the movement from the infirmary to the room, Zuko didn’t stir. If he wasn’t breathing and Katara didn’t feel his heart beating, she would have thought he was dead. He looked and acted as if he was dead. Katara knew his lack of recovery has something to do with the blockage in his energy field. She was growing increasingly frustrated that she still could not reach it. She couldn’t even figure out what it was.

Katara sat by Aang’s side for a while, hoping we would open his eyes, she just wanted to see his grey eyes look at her like she was the most important thing in the world. She wanted to hear him laugh and tell her everything was going to be ok. But the longer she sat there there more she doubted it was going to be ok, she needed her friend back.

After she left Aang’s room she stopped by to check on Zuko, Iroh sat by his bed gently stroking the boys hair.

“I am going to go into the mess hall and try to find something to eat and then take a nap, afterwards I will do the final healing session for the night. Would you like me to bring you anything? Maybe some tea?”

Iroh glanced over his shoulder at the young water bender, her eyes were always filled with such kindness.

“No thank you dear, but I appreciate your offer. Please go get yourself something to eat and rest – you have been working so hard.”

Katara smiled and shut the door as she exited the room. Tomorrow was a full moon and she was counting on it to give her the strength to try and save Zuko. She feared what would happen to Iroh if the boy died, she had to do everything she could.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Nightfall came quickly and the Water Tribe men began to assemble into the Chief’s cabin, standing around the table that was in the center of the room. All their maps and scrolls were laid out on the table ready for the meeting.

Sokka stood at his dads right hand at the head of the table, Bato was to his left, Tulok and Anke stood close by. Iroh entered the room and stayed back, close to the door, he was there to observe and show his respects to the Chief’s invite rather than participate.

Chief Hakoda cleared his throat and using his Chief voice he began the meeting,

“Alright men, I wanted to start by thanking each and every one of you for the dedication you have shown our cause. We were able to obtain this Fire Nation ship which will allow us to sail into the Fire Nation’s waters undetected and prepare for the invasion. My son, Sokka, as most of you have met; has discovered a weakness in the Fire Nation’s benders on the day of the eclipse. For a limited time they will lose their bending abilities. We plan on attacking their capital on this day and with the spirits on our side, the Avatar will defeat the Fire Lord.”

“Will he be healed enough to even be in battle? I heard he was close to death.”

“No the Avatar is going to recover, it’s the ash-maker that isn’t going to make it.”

“What did you just call him!?”

“I called him what he is, ASH-MAKER, if I heard right he is the Prince of the ash-makers! I hope he dies!”

“I will throw you overboard if you disrespect him like that!!”

Shouting and arguments broke out in the room. Men were yelling over each other, throwing insults at the different tribesmen. It was Hakoda’s original crew vs the rest of the Water Tribe men.

Hakoda’s voice silenced the room, “ENOUGH!!!!”

Everyone stopped and looked at their Chief.

“I don’t care about the differences between you men, we are here to end the war. ANYONE willing to help us complete that cause is welcome, fire or water. If you have a problem with that then you may come and discuss it with me personally. We will not act like a group of savages towards each other or we become exactly what the Fire Nation thinks of us.

“WHEN Prince Zuko wakes up, I will be the one to personally deal with him and you will not need to worry about his presence. While we are on the subject I would like to call someone else forward to clear the air so there are no more surprises or assumptions. General Iroh do you mind stepping over here?”

Iroh smiled and gave a small bow as the men cleared a way for him to go and stand next to Hakoda.

“Please Chief Hakoda, just Iroh. I am not longer a general.”

“Very well, this is Iroh. He is Fire Lord Ozai’s brother and was formally the Dragon of the West…”

Mummers broke out in the crowd but no one said anything directly, Hakoda continued addressing the room.

“He is here to help END the war and bring down the Fire Lord, he helped the Avatar escape Ba Sing Se. He has valuable information that will help us be better prepared to step foot on Fire Nation soil. If anyone has a problem with him I am sure he will be willing to address your concerns… Personally.”

No one said a word that time, the room was filled with awkward silence.

“Alright men, now that we are on the same page, Sokka would you like to walk us through your plans? Iroh would you mind staying up here with us so we can ask you a few questions?”

Iroh smiled and moved aside to give Sokka the floor to speak.

Sokka cleared his throat, “Alri-Alright men…” His voice cracked. “Lets start from the beginning….”

He began to explain his plan.

- - - - - - - - - -

It was late by the time the meeting had ended. The Water Tribe men seemed more comfortable with Iroh being on board after he was able to give so much significant information to aid their plan. It would be understandable for some of the men to continue to stay a safe distance from the fire bender, but for the most part everyone was happy to accept the extra help.

Everyone retired to their rooms to turn in for the night. Katara laid in a bed for the first time in over a week. She couldn’t fall asleep, her thoughts were twisting up her insides as she tried to keep her mind positive and hopeful. The night grew longer and she could not not lay in bed anymore, she needed to go on a walk and get some air.

She passed by the boy’s rooms and made her way outside onto the deck, it was empty. The ship ran on coal so instead of the crew focusing on adjusting sails and tying knots the men were down below shoveling coal and controlling the ships navigation. They were still anchored by the shore so it was exceptionally quiet.

Katara stood at the railing of the ship, her hair was loose, fluttering as the chilling wind whipped up from the waves. She looked up at Yue, almost full, shining down and filling her body with warmth. Her heart ached but the moon helped ease the pain, she touched her mother’s necklace and couldn’t help but think of Zuko.

I need your strength Yue, I am worried about my healing abilities and if it will be enough to save Zuko and Aang. I am more worried about Zuko, I know he has made bad choices but he doesn’t deserve to die. Please Yue give me your strength to heal them. I don’t want to let anyone down, everyone is counting on me. I can’t do it without you.

She closed her eyes letting the mist from the waves caress her skin, she felt better after asking Yue for help. The big push would come tomorrow and she would know at that time if she would be able to save Zuko’s life.

Katara pushed away from the railing and made her way back to her room, she noticed there was a light coming from the hallway where their rooms were in. She walked quietly not wanting whoever was there to be disturbed by her. She saw Zuko’s door was cracked open, she expected to see Iroh in his nephews room but as she passed her held her breath. It was her dad, sitting by Zuko’s bed, his head in his hands. He had a lantern on the floor next to the bed, the rest of the room was dark.

He was talking softly but Katara could hear what he was saying, she knew she should just keep walking. But she couldn’t help but allow her curiosity to make her stay.

“Come on Zuko… You are stronger then this, I know you are in there… You have to come back to us. I don’t know what I would do… How I could handle… You don’t deserve to die. You don’t deserve to be killed at the hand of your sister… Please… son, please open your eyes.

“Tui and La, you swept this boy into my life from the sea, and just as quickly as he came, he left… Now you bring him back to me on the brink of death. I need you to save him, I need some spirit out there to do something. Agni? Sun spirit, this is one of your children… He has burned for you and been burnt for you, do not forsaken him.”

Katara’s throat began to itch as her eyes filled with tears, the pain in her father’s voice was so raw. She couldn’t remember him sounding like that except for when her mother was killed. He was quiet for a while, his head heavy in his hands. Finally he reached out and touched Zuko’s scar, his hand slowly moved up to his hair and he ruffled it just slightly.

“I need you to wake up Zuko… my daughter needs you to wake up… She is trying so hard to save you, if you die… She will be so broken. Katara has been through so much loss already I don’t want to see her lose anyone else. We all need you here Zuko, Noa wants to talk to you so badly… Anke wants to fight you, Bato also wants to fight you… Actually, I think the whole crew wants to fight you. But in a good way, you inspired them. Now you have to wake up….”

Katara couldn’t listen anymore. She moved away from the door silently and crept back to her room. She laid down on her bed face first in the pillow. Her silent sobs muffled as she tried to push her dad’s saddened voice out of her mind. Silence only came after sleep took her away.

- - - - - - - - - -

Azula stared at the parchment in front of her, her sharp pointed nails tapped the Earth King’s desk. She was lost in thought as Ty Lee approached the desk.

“Your aura is all dingy and grey today Azula, is everything alright?”

Ty Lee’s bubbly personality usually brought Azula some comfort, but today it made her want to dig her nails into the girl’s braid and light it on fire.

“I am sorry my aura is not the color you were hoping for, if you want I can make it so you don’t ever see another aura again and then you wont have to worry about what colors they are.”

Her voice was steady and sharp, with a slight bit of irritation.

“Oh Azula! It’s not possible for me to not see someone’s aura, only if I was dead silly.”

“Your point?”

Ty Lee got quiet, “I’m sorry Princess I just wanted to check on you, ever since the Avatar and his friends escaped Ba Sing Se you have seemed… less focused.”

“I am just as focused as ever, I do not need you to concern yourself with me. Why don’t you go see if Mai has everything under control with the preparations for the arrival of the Fire Nation nobles. Father has appointed General Chow to come and oversee the city while we go on our mission.”

Ty Lee’s eyes lit up and her smile returned to her face.

“Ohhhhh what are we going to do next!? I am having so much fun with all these missions!”

Azula smirked, “We are going to finish what we started and find the Avatar to make sure he is dead.”

Ty Lee nodded, “right! I will go check in with Mai! Work on your aura while I am gone Princess Azula!”

She bounced out of the room before Azula could respond, her attention going back to parchment in front of her.

She had to respond to father’s message, but for the first time in a long time she didn’t know what to say.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Katara woke up to Toph poking her in the head as the small girl stood at her bed side.

“Sweet cheeks… Wake up.”

Katara cracked her eye open, “What Toph?”

“We have a problem.”

Both her blue eyes shot open and she looked at the blind girl, sitting up in her bed quickly.

“What’s going on Toph?! What time is it?”

“It’s the middle of the night still, I think dawn is approaching, but I have no idea honestly. I don’t even really know what dawn is, but I went to go check on Twinkletoes because I couldn’t sleep and he isn’t in his bed.”

Katara jumped out of bed, her feet hitting the cold metal floor, she grabbed Toph’s shoulders and her heart began to pound in her ears.

“How do you know?! Where is he?!”

Toph sighed obviously annoyed, “I know because I went to check on him, and he wasn’t in his bed. I think I know where he is but its kind of weird so I need you to confirm for me.”

Katara nodded slowly, not sure what the young blind girl could be talking about. Toph turned and walked out of Katara’s room with Katara close behind her.

She walked a past Sokka’s room and then her own and finally stopped at Aang’s room. She opened the door and Katara saw the bed was empty. The sheets were pushed back like he climbed out of the bed himself, but there was no sign on him.

“You’re right Toph this is weird…”

Toph snorted, “Oh no, this is not the weird part.”

She left Aang’s room and next door was where Zuko was staying, she opened his door and Katara gasped.

Aang was laying in Zuko’s bed on his back , his tattoos glowing but his eyes still closed. Aang had his arm reaching over the space between them and had his hand placed on the spot where the lightning struck Zuko.

“Is it as weird as I think it it?”

Katara nodded, realized Toph couldn’t see her, “Weirder.”

Toph actually laughed, “Want to know how weird it actually is? Their breathing and heart beats are the same. Every time Zuko takes a shallow breath so does Aang, and their heart beats are in exact rhythm. Its like they are the same person, but two separate bodies.”

Katara walked over to the bed on Aang’s side, she didn’t want to touch him but she wanted to confirm for herself what Toph said. The girl was right, they were breathing at the same time.

“Is this the weird Avatar shit that Sokka is always talking about?”

Katara’s eyes remained glued to the bed, “This is definitely weird Avatar shit.”

- - - - - - - - -

Aang always loved the way the sun cast delicate shadows over the Southern Air Temple in the morning, the soft yellows and oranges of the rising sun would wake the sky bison and they would fly out to graze. Aang could see them from the window of his room, it was one of his favorite things about his old home.

He loved having dreams about his old life, it was the only time he could truly escape the troubles of the world and live in a more simpler time. It was also the only place where he was able to talk to Monk Gyatso. Aang looked over his shoulder as his friend brought another pie out of the oven. Using his air bending he fluffed up the gooey center and looked over at Aang and smiled.

“You seem troubled Aang.”

“Yeah, I just miss you, and I miss my home… The war is overwhelming some times and people keep getting hurt.”

Gyatso smiled at his friend, “When pain, misery or anger happens, it is time to look within you, not around you.”

Aang laughed, “You always knew what to say.”

Gyatso touched his young air bender’s shoulder, “Now are you going to help me eat these pies or not?”

They sat together eating pie and talking when Aang saw the color of the temple starting to change.

“What is happening Monk Gyatso?”

The older monk looked at him and smiled, “We have a visitor.”

Aang saw part of the temple turning into a darker color, slowly fading from the soft tan and orange color he was used to and bleeding into a deep red and gold. A dark tunnel of black emptiness was forming in one of the walls of the temple. Out of the tunnel walked Avatar Roku.

“Hello Aang.”

Aang gave him a traditional Fire Nation bow, “Hello Roku! What are you doing here? Am I still dreaming?”

The old Avatar chuckled, “No Aang you are not dreaming, you are in the spirit world.”

Aang looked confused, “I don’t remember meditating to come here and why would the spirit world look like the Southern Air Temple?”

Roku sighed, “Unfortunately I had to bring you here, you are took weak to come on your own. It looks this way because its your subconscious mind creating familiar and comforting images. I brought you here because I need your help.”

“Of course anything you need I am here. What can I do to help?”

“My great, great grandson is sick, and if you do not help him he will die and my nation will fall into irreversible darkness. The world will never find balance and the Fire Nation will destroy everything and everyone before it destroys itself.”

Aang looked really confused now.

“How can I help your great, great grandson if I am too weak to even meditate? I don’t see how I will be of much help.”

“He needs your help spiritually, you are the great bridge and right now he is lost inside himself. He has shut himself deep into his subconscious and I am afraid only you will be able to get him out.”

“I will do anything I can to help your great, great grandson. How do I find him?”

“The tunnel I came through will lead you into his subconscious, but I must warn you, it can be a dangerous place. There is much pain and darkness inside him, and it can be easy to get lost in his emotions. If you lose your way and you can not find him and bring him back, you will be stuck there and lost to the world forever. You can not allow yourself to feel his emotions, you have to keep moving forward until you find him. Once you find him, you have to bring him back in order to get out. I wouldn’t ask you to do something so dangerous if it wasn’t so important to the world.”

Aang looked back at Gyatso for guidance and the Monk smiled at him, “Feelings are just visitors. Let them come and go. If you can do that then you will be fine, I believe in you Aang.”

Aang swallowed the lump in his throat and stood to his feet, “I will do it.”

He began to walk into the tunnel before glancing back at the Roku, “How will I know when I find him?”

“He will be in a safe place, and you will know.”

Aang nodded and took a few more steps.

“Oh wait, what’s his name?”

“Zuko.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Sokka tapped his chin with his index finger, “Yep… This is definitely some some weird Avatar shit.”

Sokka stood next the bed on Aang’s side looking down at his glowing friend. He slowly reached out his hand, index finger drawn, to touch the air bender.

“Don’t touch him Sokka!!!”

Katara hissed and smacked her brother’s hand away.

“Ow, Katara!”

The morning arrived quickly. Katara and Toph decided to wake Sokka at sunrise to get his take on what was happening with Aang and Zuko. He was their idea guy, so maybe he would be able to share some insight on what was going on.

He did not appreciate being woken up at the crack of dawn, but at the first mention of weird Aang Avatar stuff, he was out of bed.

Iroh came into the room just after dawn, he stopped in the doorway immediately when he saw all three of the Avatar’s friends in Zuko’s room. After he laid his eyes on a glowing Aang in Zuko’s bed he decided to go get Hakoda. He knew Chief Hakoda was a busy man but he cared about Zuko, he would want to be aware of this.

By mid morning the small room was filled with Katara, Toph and Sokka who stood at the edge of the bed on Aang’s side. While Hakoda and Iroh sat in the chairs in front of the desk just behind them. Iroh fixed some tea, him and Hakoda were quietly sipping from their cups while the children tried to figure out what was happening.

“Does ‘weird Avatar shit’ happen often?” Iroh questioned Sokka’s assessment.

“Oh yeah, being apart of Team Avatar means you have to be ready for all the weird glowy, whooooooshy, spirit world crap that comes with Aang.”

“Stop calling us Team Avatar, Sokka!”

“Well that’s what we are! Without Aang we are just two siblings, and a blind girl.”

Toph reached out and punched Sokka on the shoulder, “We didn’t ask for your help so you can say stupid stuff. Do you have any idea of what might actually be happening here?”

He began tapping his chin again, “Nope, not a clue.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, “I need to go and get the crew ready to cast off today, I will come back at lunch time and we can see if there have been any updates on the situation. Iroh, would you mind keeping on eye on… Well, on everyone. Thank you for the tea.” He set the empty cup on the desk.

The old fire bender chuckled, “Not a problem.”

“Don’t worry dad, detective Sokka is on the case! Katara do you know where I might find a pipe?”

Hakoda grumbled under his breath, “Yeah, I don’t know if that makes me feel better or more nervous.”

He left the room to go ready the ship and his crew.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Aang felt time drag on as he continued walking through the dark tunnel, it seemed never ending. The warnings Roku gave him made him nervous but he knew that the fate of the world was in his hands.

Though, he still was fuzzy on how saving Zuko had any effect on the rest of the world.

At least he figured out why he was so connected to Zuko now, he was Roku’s great, great grandson.

Does that mean I am related to Zuko? Am I his great GRANDFATHER!? Wait, not that doesn’t make sense. I’ll figure it out later I need to stay focused now.

Roku warned him about the danger’s of being in someone’s subconscious, especially Zuko’s subconscious, so he needed to be extra cautious.

He kept walking into the endless black void. Aang knew if he kept moving forward he would eventually stumble onto something. There was no way this was it, Roku wouldn’t send him into never ending darkness.

Just like in the spirit world he was unable to bend, so hopefully that would not be an issue.

Aang squinted as he saw something in the distance, he heard a small voice, it sounded like someone making fight noises. As he grew closer, he saw a small boy with black hair tied up in a phoenix tale swinging around a small dagger. He pretended to get stabbed and with a howl he fell to the floor with his eyes closed, pretending to die.

Aang moved closer and stood next to him looking down, “Hello! I am Aang!”

The boy’s bright gold eyes shot open and he sat up, scooting back, using his legs to push him away from Aang.

“Who are you? You aren’t supposed to be here.”

Aang kept smiling, “I am Aang, I’m looking for someone. Do you think you think you can help me?”

The little boy’s golden eyes looked him skeptically, “You look weird. Where are you from?”

Aang felt a swell of pride when he spoke, “I am an air bender, I am from the Southern Air Temple.”

“No you’re not, they are all dead.”

“Oh, well I survived.”

“My great, great grandfather Sozin killed them all. So you’re a liar, like Azula.”

“…What’s your name?”

“Prince Zuko.”

“Oh wow!! You must be Zuko when he was a kid! That’s so cool!”

The kid version of Zuko gave him a weird look, and pulled himself to his feet dusting off his pants.

“…Ok, well I am going to go away from you now. You enjoy being… an air bender or whatever. Goodbye!”

The kid took off in the opposite direction from where Aang walked in from. Aang felt a desperate urge to follow him, he needed to get out of this darkness and find present day Zuko.

Aang began running after the kid as he ran off into the darkness. Slowly the dark void began to dissipate and a smooth tile floor started to appear under his feet. It was a dull gold color with large tiles connecting together. As Aang ran further, walls began to form around the flooring, they were tall and a deep red color. He began to slow down as the room began to fill in.

He found himself standing was a long hallway, in the distance he could see it opened up into a circular courtyard with a garden in the center. The tile continued making a path around the edge of the garden and branched out into multiple other hallways, all connecting to the courtyard. Each hallway lead into darkness.

The color scheme was very obvious fire nation. The walls were a deep red with stone based pillars going down each side. The center of the pillars were covered in an elaborate damask pattern of red and gold going up to the top. When Aang looked up he couldn’t see the ceiling it was just darkness. There were sconces on the walls with Fire Nation banners hanging between every sconce.

Aang realized the area was in the shape of a sun, the garden was the core and the different hallways were the sun’s rays. The lighting had a night time hue, except for the soft fire glow from the sconces.

He kept moving forward until he felt a strange falling sensation. Aang realized he was literally falling. His face hit the ground noticing his legs had been kicked out from under him. He jumped back to his feet and no one was there, “Zuko… is that you?”

Unexpectedly, the small boy jumped out from behind one of the pillars and spun on the floor throwing a small wall of flames at him. Unable to bend Aang had to jump back, resulting in him stumbling and falling on his butt. Without his air bending he found himself a lot less graceful.

The flames were weak enough that they did not burn Aang, or travel too far from the source but strong enough to startle the air bender and knock him down. Child Zuko stood over him with his fist aimed at his chest.

“Why are you following me!?”

“I am just trying to find someone! I am not trying to hurt you.”

“Well I can’t help you! You need to leave! Before YOU get hurt.”

Aang stood slowly and child Zuko’s little fist followed his movements, he was scowling at Aang. Zuko looked so different without his scar he was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were sharp and full of life, his golden iris’s watching Aang closely. There was a softness to him, maybe because he is a child, and he had yet to experience life’s cruelties.

“I can’t leave until I find my friend. Please, can you help me? I promise I won’t stay long if you do.”

Child Zuko slowly let down his fist and his sharp eyes softened, he let out a long breath accompanied by a groan.

“Ughhhhh fine. Who are you looking for?”

“I am looking for… You I think, just an older you.”

Zuko tapped his chin and his foot at the same time and looked at the ground.

“Which one? There are lots of versions of me, you need to be more specific.”

“Well, I don’t know how to be more specific, ummm a teenage you, with a scar, longer hair, but shorter then your hair. Kind of bed head style, doesn’t have a comb?”

Child Zuko’s face dropped a little and Aang could see the sadness flush in his eyes, “Oh okay, I can take you where the Zuko’s with the scar are… Come with me.”

He pivoted around and started to walk down the hallway towards the garden. As they walked Aang noticed some of the hallways were really dark and hardly had any sconces, maybe 3-4, while other hallways had 10-15. He wondered why the differences in lighting?

“Why do someone the hallways have more light than others?”

Child Zuko was quiet for minute and then sighed, “The brighter the hallway the happier thoughts and memories, the darker ones you need to stay out of, or you’ll die.”

Aang felt a nip of cold on the back of his neck when the small Zuko said that, something didn’t sit right in his stomach.

Suddenly a small girl stepped out from behind a pillar, her arms crossed.

“Oh my, what do we have here? Shouldn’t you be practicing your fire bending? Not walking around with… a short bald guy?”

Aang recognized that voice even in child form, Azula.

She looked like Azula, just small – her eyes had the same coldness as a child even now, present day. Her hair was in the same style, a high bun with her bangs out perfectly. A child Azula stood in front of them with a smirk on her face, arms crossed.

“Dad is not going to be happy that you are out here walking around with a stranger.”

“Well he won’t know if you don’t tell him!”

“I’m not going to lie to dad.”

“There is a difference in lying to dad, and going and telling on me when dad didn’t even ask!”

Child Zuko’s fists were tight and even though Aang couldn’t see his face, he could tell from the kid’s body language that he was probably scowling at her.

“Oh Zuzu, you are so easily riled up, calm down; I just want to meet your new friend. You don’t have any friends so I am sorry for trying to be a good sister and wanting to introduce myself. Hello, I am Princess Azula.”

Her honey brown eyes flashed something sinister as she looked at Aang. Child Zuko turned and looked at him, “Leave him alone Azula, I am just trying to help him find his friend.”

“Oh? So you aren’t his friend? I figured, no one wants to be friends with a failure like you. Dum-Dum.”

She giggled and skipped down the hallway in the direction they came from.

“You better get him out of here before dad finds him, or he will die.”

She giggled all the way out of sight.

“Azula always lies, don’t listen to her.”

He turned back around and kept walking. Aang felt really unnerved from the entire interaction.

- - - - - - - - - -

“I HAVE GOT IT!!” Sokka stuck his finger up in the air. He had pulled down one of the Fire Nation banners and wrapped it around his shoulders to look more detective – like.

“Sokka take off the banner, you don’t look like a detective, you look like an idiot.”

Toph snorted, “an idiot with a banner wrapped around his shoulders.”

“Guuyyss... I am trying to discuss my theory with you! Pay attention.”

Iroh chuckled in the background as he sipped his tea. He was enjoying the company of the Avatar group and he was sill able to keep an eye on his nephew. Maybe the energy and conversation would help him wake up. One could only hope.

“Are you ready?!”

Katara and Toph nodded with very unamused looks on their faces.

“Aang….. is making Zuko…. AN AVATAR!!!”

“…..”

“Huhhhh?!”

“…..”

“Why aren’t you guys saying anything?”

“Because you’re dumb.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Aang and Zuko got to the end of the first hallway and stopped at the garden’s edge. The garden was fairly large and full of exotic flowers and trees. In the center of the garden there was a large cherry blossom tree at the edge of a pond. Aang could see turtle-ducks swimming in the pond. A women sat next to the water feeding the ducks little bits of bread.

“What’s in there?”

Aang pointed at the beautiful garden.

Child Zuko dropped his head and looked at the floor, “You cant go in there. That’s where mom is.”

Aang looked back into the garden and glanced at the women again. She was beautiful, she had long dark hair and half of it was pulled up in a Fire Nation top knot. She wore a elegant Fire Nation royal gown with big sleeves. The grown was so long the bottom flowed onto the grass as she sat on her knees. Her skin was pale like most Fire Nation heritage, and her eyes were soft. But she had a terrible sadness to her, and she never looked up from the pond.

“Why cant you go in the garden?”

The small Zuko glared up at him, “You just can’t ok!? Now follow me, we are almost there.”

He began to walk around the garden slowly, small Zuko seemed to be dreading the walk to the darker area. As they got closer to the next hallway there was an awful feeling of heat that overcame Aang’s body.

Fire began to dance on the edge of the garden, all the walls began to melt under the flames that were crawling up the sides. The red and gold pattern on the pillars began melt and drip onto the floor, burning holes in the tile.

Child Zuko’s face dropped of color and his eyes got really wide and body started to shake.

“Father is coming, we have to go! Come on, you have to hide!!”

Zuko gabbed Aang’s hand and began to pull him forward, he broke into a run and Aang was forced to follow. He rounded the first corner he could find, the hallway had dim lighting, not as dark as the area they were originally headed. But Zuko seemed to be panicked and desperate to hide Aang.

“Are you sure we can go this way?”

Aang was getting nervous as he felt the heat grow stronger and the air began to thicken, his lungs were getting heavy and it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.

“It doesn’t matter! If he finds you he will kill you, come on, we have to hide!! Please, you don’t understand, we have to go!”

Child Zuko pulled him harder and they ran together into the hallway, his small hand reached out for the first door he found. Zuko began tugging on the handle, it didn’t open at first but after he put all of his might into it, the door swung open. Aang could only see darkness on the inside but child Zuko pushed him in and shut the door behind him.

The darkness was everywhere but the air returned to normal and the heat had dissipated. Aang turned to open the door again but it was gone. He was back in a void of nothing but darkness, he decided to do what he did before and just start walking.

Just like what happened the first time, darkness began to fade and Aang found his footsteps making small clanging noises. He looked down to see he was walking on a metal surface, looking up again, he saw he was below deck on a ship. It reminded him of the style of ship that Zuko brought him to the first time they met. But this one was much bigger. He was walking down a hallway when he heard a small broken voice call out.

“Someone there?”

Aang looked to his right and there were metal doors with a small slit in the top to peek through. He looked through the peep hole to see a boy about his age chained to a wall. He lifted his head slightly revealing a familiar red scar. His hair falling in his face, some of stayed pulled into his phoenix tale, his face was bruised and he looked skinny.

“Zuko?”

The boys head snapped up when he heard his name.

“Zhao?”

“No Aang.”

“…oh… Aang, can you get me out?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Oh… well can you bring me some water? I’m so thirsty.”

“No I don’t think I can…”

“Oh… well aren’t you just completely useless.”

“I like to think I am of use! I can be very helpful, I’m the Av- Helpful!”

“Well alright, ‘the helpful’, you can’t get me out, or get me water, so what can you do?”

“I can… umm… I can… hang on, ill find you some water.”

Aang started to make his way down the metal hallway when he remembered he was not supposed to be getting emotionally involved in any situation. He needed to figure out how to get out of here and find Zuko. He was pretty sure this was not the Zuko he was looking for either.

He also needed to keep in mind that he was unable to use his bending in here, and it was obvious that other people could bend. So he needed to be careful of that, more importantly he needed to stay away from The Fire Lord. He continued down the hall until he was almost to a stair case leading up into more unknown darkness.

He heard footsteps coming down the stairs in front of him, Aang quickly jumped behind the steps and crouched down. He saw a man and two Fire Nation guards headed down the hall and stopping at Zuko’s cell. He recognized the man in front almost immediately- Zhao. He opened the door to Zuko’s cell and walked in.

“Hello, Prince, are you ready play nice to tell me about the Water Tribe? I am losing patience.”

“You need to lose the side burns, and keep the patience.”

Aang snickered until he heard what sounded like a muffled thud followed by a groan.

“Lets try that again, how many ships are in their fleet?”

“Enough…”

Another thud sound came out of the cell and he heard a raspy gasp for air.

“What direction are they headed?”

“To… They’re going to… your mom’s house…”

There was a scream followed by a whimper and Aang knew he needed to get out of there before he fell victim to his emotions. He quickly climbed up the stairs and suddenly he wasn’t on the ship anymore.

The bright light almost blinded Aang, he blinked a couple of times before coming face to face with a blue dragon. Letting out a sharp gasp he met the dragon’s golden eyes – almost identical to Zuko’s eye color.

Aang was alive when the dragon’s roamed the skies, but he had heard they were hunted to extinction by fire benders. The dragon began to move, circling him slowly. Instead of being surrounded by darkness, it was as if he was standing in emptiness. It was bright and void, aside from the blue dragon moving around him.

He heard Azula’s voice coming from the dragon.

“You don’t belong here. You need to leave, there is not room for you here. You will fail… You will fail to defeat the Fire Lord. This mind is already lost, you should leave before you’re lost forever.”

Aang squared his shoulder and watched the dragon swirl around him.

“You need to help me find Zuko. I am going to bring him back with me.”

There was a cackle and the dragon began to spin around him faster.

“Oh you think so? He is broken, you can not help him anymore then he can help himself. He is weak, and I sense weakness in you too. You will get sucked in and never escape – you should leave now. Don’t let father find you..”

Aang didn’t stop watching the dragon as the light from the room began to fade slowly, back into darkness. The dragon began to circle faster, the tone of voice and volume began to shift to a louder more panicked tone.

“LEAVE, LEAVE, LEAVE, LEAVE!”

Before Aang could respond he felt himself drop, he was falling fast. He attempted to blast air beneath him but he didn’t have his bending. He kept falling until he felt an unbearable crashing cold.

The air bender’s body sank deep into the water as he desperately kicked his legs trying to push himself to the surface. His head finally broke the surface as he gasped in the sweetest air, right before a huge wave crashed over him. Pushing him back under the surface he began to feel unbearably cold. Kicking his legs he struggled to find the surface.

He kept pushing his legs, trying to kick as hard as he could but no matter what he did he could not reach the surface. His lungs were burning, he finally had to gasp for air. Instead of finding relief, he ingested cold and salty sea water. His chest began to ache as the sea water filled his lungs. He felt a panic inside him. Thunder and lightning crashed above him.

No, do not panic. I must stay neutral and calm, I am the Avatar I can handle this situation. I am not going to drown in Zuko’s subconscious.

A calmness swept over his body as he felt the push and pull of the waves. The pull wanted to drag him under but the push would allow him to reach the air. He waited for the next push of the ocean waves and kicked as hard as he could and broke the surface.

He felt strong arms around his waist and suddenly he was hoisted out of the sea. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be rescued.

Opening his eyes he looked around, he was laying on the deck of a ship again. This time he knew the ship all too well…

This was the ship that Zuko used to follow him all over the world.

The – what was the name?

He couldn’t remember it right now, his mind was still fuzzy from the experience he just had. The ship was docked at a pier and there was no crew on board. Everything was silent, the sun was setting in the background.

Aang saw… UNCLE! He saw him walking down the ramp of the ship and into the city. Aang finally stood up and decided to find Zuko, he knew this wasn’t the Zuko he needed either but it was better than laying there alone.

He began walking through the ship when he saw Zuko jump out of a room, hands and stance in a fighting position.

“Who are you?” He looked exactly like the first time they met, pony tail and all.

“Hi, I’m Aang, I am just looking for someone.”

Zuko stayed in fighting stance, he looked so angry and his scar was almost burning against his pale skin.

“Well I am the only one on board this ship right now, the rest of the men are traitors and left to join Zhao’s fleet. So you should probably go find whatever ship they are on now.”

Aang rubbed the back of his head, “Oh yeah maybe I should.”

“Ok, so… leave.”

“OK.”

Aang went to leave when suddenly there was a strange smell, and the heat of fire began to burn underneath him. He could hear parts of the ship exploding, which meant… they were going to explode.

Zuko looked at him with an intense gaze of fear, his good eye so wide he could see white all around his iris. Zuko jumped forward and grabbed Aang. He held him close and spun, admitting his own flames as he tried to push back and move the fiery blast away from them. They were both launched out a window and Aang felt his body explode in pain as he hit the surface of the water, again.

He took a deep breath, just this time he didn’t fall under the water – he fell into darkness.

Aang rolled as he hit the ground, his shoulder began to ache as it took the blunt of the force.

“ZUKO!”

He screamed, to no one.

No one was there.

It was just darkness.

Aang began to breath, deep controlled breaths, he needed to remain in control of himself – the world needed him. He could not allow himself to get lost in in here. He decided to take a moment and concentrate. Sitting lotus style he brought his hands together in his lap and closed his eyes.

He began to feel a familiar presence…. UNCLE!

Opening his eyes he saw nothing.

A large pair of eyes opened in front of him, they seemed to be staring right into his soul. They were dark and friendly, they were Uncle’s eyes.

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again.”

His voice brought a calming feeling to Aang’s chest.

“Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out.”

Another large pair of eyes opened next to Iroh’s.

These were a light brown and had a sweet sadness behind them.

A women’s voice spoke, she was comforting and kind.

“Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.”

More eyes began to appear in the darkness, Aang recognized these golden brown eyes. Cold and calculated.

“Dad’s going to kill you, no really, he is.”

“You are a failure, dad thinks so.”

“He never wanted you to come home, he is disappointed in you.”

“You’re a traitor!”

Aang took another deep breath. Containing the emotions that were begging to be let into his heart.

Aang saw his own eyes open in front of him.

“Do you think we could have been friends?”

A pair of blue eyes opened just above his own, the voice that spoke was Chief Hakoda’s

“You stepped up without having to be asked and you showed me exceptional fire bending skills and used them to save lives rather then destroy. You were very honorable tonight.”

“Your father is cruel and you did not deserve that. He was wrong.”

A cold chill hit the air bender in his chest, all the eyes closed suddenly and vanished. A sharp and angry pair of eyes opened in front of Aang. They were bright gold and full of fire. They resembled Zuko’s eyes, but without the scar – but these were not Zuko’s eyes... These eyes were full of hate and anger, these eyes craved violence.

“Stand and fight!”

“You will learn respect!”

“Worthless, failure.”

“Pain is how you grow, without it you will fail.”

“Weak, worthless child.”

The voice grew louder and the flames behind his eyes began to pour into the darkness. They created a wall around Aang, growing larger with every word that was spoken. The air was getting thick again, the fames closing in on him, licking at the back of his heels trying to push him closer to the burning golden gaze.

“You were lucky to be born.”

“Suffering will be your teacher!!”

“You will stay here until you produce a spark!”

The voice rang through the darkness, growing louder and the flames burned hotter and brighter.

- - - - - - - - - -

“Ok, you have to really trust me on this one… I think I finally have it figured out!”

It was about mid day at this point, Sokka was determined to ‘solve the mystery.’

Katara was now sitting on the floor, her back pressed up against the bed. She was facing Sokka as he walked back and forth on the floor, tapping his chin.

Toph was laying on the desk with her bare feet pressed up against the metal wall. Iroh left to go gather everyone lunch and check in the kitchen crew to make sure they were understanding the spices and food preparation details. Tonight they were planning on preparing a Fire Nation dinner from the rations they confiscated when they took over the ship. Iroh was happy to help them do it right, he felt better about leaving Zuko’s room knowing all the kids were there keeping him company.

“Sokka, you haven’t had a good idea all day…. The most intelligent thing you have said was using their names. Everything else was ostrich-horse shit.”

“But this idea is actually decent!!”

He flipped the corner of the banner he was still wearing over his shoulder, wrapping himself in it further.

“So, what is it?” Toph asked not even glancing over in their direction.

“Toph, don’t encourage him.”

“What else do we have to do? Its been hours and nothing has changed, they are still in exact rhythm and neither of them has even flinched. So Sokka, lay it on us, what is the big idea.”

“So… Are you ready for it…? Zuko is Aang’s reincarnated LOVER! That’s why Aang always wants to be friends with the angry jerk, and explains why Zuko is chasing him all over the world! The only way they can be together is in the spirit world! So they have run away together.”

Sokka’s face displayed a huge grin and this time both girls punched his shoulder.

Iroh walked through the door a second later with a tray of food.

“Did I miss anything?”

- - - - - - - - - -

The flame’s were becoming unbearable, Aang tried to keep breathing steady as the evil energy was trying to choke him. He felt his breath being pulled out of his lungs. Gasping, he fell onto his hands and knees.

Gyatso’s words drifted through his mind.

“Feelings are just visitors. Let them come and go.”

Suddenly Aang felt the cold feeling of metal being held up to his neck. Two blades touching each side of his throat gently. The flames began to die down and the eyes closed. In the distance he heard Zhao’s voice.

“We need the Avatar alive, open the gates.”

Aang felt himself being pulled pulled to his feet and began to back up slowly, he recognized this moment. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the Blue Spirit mask, and the dual broadswords at his throat. They kept walking backwards in silence until he heard the sound of a door being opened.

He felt a hand grab the back of his robe and yank him strongly and he fell backwards.

“Oh Agni, you’re alive!!”

Aang was breathing heavily. He chest was heaving, sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes were sealed shut trying to block out all the eyes. But he continued to keep his emotions in control. He knew he wanted to scream, he wanted to feel the sweet release of crying, but he needed to stay neutral. The world need him, Zuko needed him.

Aang opened his eyes slowly to meet the gaze of child Zuko staring down at him. His big gold eyes looked worried, but also relieved.

“I thought you died! I have been waiting outside that door for hours!”

Aang sat up slowly, his body was aching – Zuko’s subconscious mind was starting to put a heavy strain on his body as well as his mind.

Child Zuko reached out to help pull him up to his feet. The sleeve of his long sleeved tunic lifted when he reached, revealing a burn on his arm shaped like a hand. Aang’s brow furrowed and he looked at the boy in his eyes.

“What happened?”

Zuko looked away, ashamed.

“Father found out I was playing in the halls instead of training, so he was teaching me respect and discipline.”

Containing his emotions was becoming increasingly more difficult. He needed to take a small break from everything.

“Zuko, do you think we can sit here for a while and just… relax?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Child Zuko say down his legs extended out in front of him next to Aang, he tapped his feet against each other as they sat in silence.

Finally Aang spoke.

“Why did you come back for me? You knew it was dangerous.”

“I dunno, I couldn’t just leave you there. I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“You’re a good person Zuko.”

“I know.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t have to do a lot of things, that’s never stopped me before.”

Aang glanced down at Zuko as the small boy looked up and smiled at him.

They sat there for a while before Aang decided to take this time to try and get to know Zuko better before he started back on his journey. He needed to find his Zuko, but after everything he just went through, he also needed to try and regain his composure.

“So Zuko, do you like living in the palace?”

“Sure.”

“What do you do for fun?”

“Play with my swords I guess.”

“Do you like your swords more than fire bending?”

The child Zuko peeked his head around before answering softly.

“…yeah.”

“Why don’t you like fire bending?”

“Its hard, and Azula is so much better at it then I am. She is a prodigy, and I am weak.”

“You’re not weak, Zuko.”

The small boy scowled, “Yes I am, that’s what Azula and father say when we train. I am not as good as them, I always lose.”

“Just because you are outmatched doesn’t mean you are a failure, you just need to continue to improve… I know if you work hard you’ll be a great fire bender one day.”

“You sound like Uncle.”

“Your Uncle is a smart man.”

“Yeah he is.” Zuko smiled.

“Are you close with your Uncle?”

“Yeah, he is gone right now, but when he gets back everything will get better.”

“Are things not good right now?”

“….”

“I see.”

“Mom always liked Uncle, they got along really well, now they are both gone. At least I know Uncle is coming back….”

“I’m sorry Zuko…”

“Its ok.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

“OH I KNOW!!!” Sokka stuck his finger up in the air again with his idea face on.

“NO SOKKA!!!!” Toph and Katara responded in unison.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The air bender and fire bender sat together for a while, Aang was starting to feel better until he noticed the flames of the sconces in the hallways began to flicker.

Some of them began to go out, Aang looked up to see the darkness above them was closer then it was before – he could almost lift his arms and touch it. He looked down the hallway to his right to see the darkness at the end had moved forward, the last door that used to be visible, was now gone.

“Zuko what is happening?”

The little boy was curled up now, his knees brought up into his chest and he rested his head and arms on top of his knees.

“I’m dying.”

“Wait, what?! I haven’t found you yet!!”

“It doesn’t mean I can’t die. I have been dying for days, I don’t have any fight left. I am too tired.”

The little Zuko looked at Aang, his once bright and vibrant eyes were faded and a bit cloudy. He put his face into his arms and shut his eyes.

Aang jumped up, he had to find Zuko soon, he was running out of time.

“Zuko… ZUKO, PLEASE. I need you to tell me, if you were hiding from your dad, where would you hide? If you wanted to feel safe?”

He cracked an eye open, “In… in my room? If I can’t be with mom… I feel safe in my room… That’s the last place I saw her… I miss my room…. I just want to go home….”

Tears began to fill the young boy’s eyes.

“Zuko, I want to get you home, I will make sure you are safe. Which hallway would your room be in?”

His face filled with terror, “The dark hallway… you have to go through the Agni Kai to get there… if you do that you might die. You cant go there, just stay here.. Ill protect you…”

The boy’s eyes closed again while the tears finally fell down his cheeks and into the floor.

Aang looked at the hallways, the once bright and flickering sconces were going out, there was one hallway with a single flame left. He knew that was where he needed to go.

To the Agni Kai… Whatever that was.

“What door is the Agni Kai?”

“….”

“Zuko? Do you know what door the Agni Kai is in?”

“….”

The boy wouldn’t stir, he kept his head down slumped forward.

The air bender took a deep breath and turned to his friend, giving him the traditional Fire Nation bow of respect.

“Thank you for your help Zuko, I will save you, I promise.”

He began to run at full sprint toward the darkest hallway, he braced himself for whatever was waiting for him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Azula handed the scroll to the messenger hawk keeper, “make sure this gets to The Fire Lord right away. He is expecting it in a timely manner.”

The man gave a deep bow and took the scroll pressed with her her royal seal.

Azula was not a nervous person, and she didn’t deal well with emotions that she did not understand. Once she completed her task the feeling would go away, she is sure of it. Her main concern now would be finding the Avatar and finishing the job her traitor brother was incapable of handling.

“Such a simple task, even that dum-dum could have done it if he wasn’t so distracted by Water Tribe peasants.”

If he was even still alive.

Of course he was alive, Zuko doesn’t die.

He refuses to die.

Unless you shoot him full of lightning.

Then he would probably die.

No, he wasn’t dead when he left Ba Sing Se.

… Are you sure?

Azula shook her head with just the tiniest bit of motion and rolled her shoulder’s back. Keeping a stoic face and turned and made her way to her air ship fleet. It was time to actually capture the Avatar.

- - - - - - - - - - -

There was only one door in the dark hallway, and Aang felt his stomach sink. He was running out of time, it was now or never.

He grabbed the handle and pulled, and pulled, using all of his remaining strength.

Finally the door opened.

It was a different kind of darkness, it was thick and full of negative energy, and so very cold. Aang took a deep breath and stepped inside. He was instantly hit with the smell of burning flesh.

His stomach turned, he felt the rise of bile in his throat. The smell was unlike anything he has ever experienced. His mind began to wonder to his darkest thoughts…

Is this what it smelled like when the air nomads were slaughtered?

In the distance a man was coming forward, his sword drawn – he looked like a pirate. Aang panicked, he wasn’t sure how he would defend himself. Just as the man was close enough that he would be able to strike, he froze. The man’s throat began to blister and then burn, Aang heard him scream.

He had the most awful scream Aang has ever heard, blood was curdling in his throat. Aang watched as the man’s throat burned until his blood poured down his neck and began falling to the floor. Another pirate came running forward and Aang watched the entire scenario play out again.

This time a fire Nation solider, hands blazing came running to Aang, and he suffered the same fate.

A calmer man was approaching, he had black heavy eyes, he was dressed in fine Fire Nation clothing. Smirking he was whispering.

“Shhhhh little girl, its ok. It wont hurt…”

Before the man could move any closer he fell to his knees, the tip of a blade poking through his chest. The blade twisted and the man’s eyes drained of life and he fell forward onto the ground. Spilling blood everywhere.

Another three Fire Nation soldiers came running, in full armor, two had swords drawn and one carried their flames. As quickly as they appeared they began to fall – slashes of a blade cutting into them and causing their blood to splatter on Aang’s legs as they fell.

Aang looked down and realized he was standing in blood, it covered the floor where the seven dead men laid. His chest felt heavy and he found it hard to breath again. Closing his eyes he remembered his control, he must stay in control.

With his hands shaking he stepped over the dead bodies and kept moving forward. The smell was only getting worse, and he began to feel heat radiating all around him.

A group of men were standing in a line, they came into view as Aang approached, they were clearly Fire Nation soldiers. They men looked young, and they wore an older Fire Nation style of uniform.

They stared straight ahead not even looking at Aang as he passed. One by one they began to fall suffering from injuries. One man looked like something big struck his face and his skull cracked as blood splattered onto the floor. Another man screamed as his legs were crushed and he fell. One man had a gapping hole appear in his gut, his hands trying desperately to feel the wound and stop the bleeding. He of course, could not, and he fell like the rest.

Each young man fell and succumbed to their injuries. Their dead faces staring into nothing, but they’re lips began to move and in unison they chanted.

“You couldn’t save us…”

“You couldn’t save us…”

“You couldn’t save us….”

Aang began to run, his heart pounding, his ears ringing. He kept running as fast as he could. He couldn’t look back he couldn’t allow his mind to think, he just needed to find Zuko. He needed to find Zuko, NOW.

He ran right into the Norther Air Temple, confused he stopped and realized he was standing outside of a stone door. Aang recognized it, covered in intricate designs representing the air nomad culture, it needed air bending to open. With no bending, he wouldn’t be able to open it.

After taking a closer look he saw scorch marks along the sides, and the door wasn’t closed – it was cracked open.

Aang touched the door and slowly pushed it open – he saw Zuko sitting on his knees on the floor, his head in his hands.

He was a little older than Aang was now – shaking his head back and forth, he didn’t look up. Aang walked past him to see Sozin standing there, an evil smile across his face.

“I killed them. I killed them all. Every mother, every child – I killed all the air benders. They didn’t even fight back!” Sozin was laughing. His gold eyes light up with flames.

Aang moved past Sozin to see bodies piled in the room, tiny skeletons, children’s bones. They were in weird positions, like they were shielding their bodies from the attack. Some of them held each other, forever frozen in time. There were hundreds of tiny dead air nomad remains.

Aang screamed.

He couldn’t stop, trying to suck in air he felt his chest collapse. He fell to the floor, and kept falling. Breaking through the stone floor of the air temple he was tumbling and falling faster and faster until he felt himself hit the ground.

Pain shot through his body, but he was still able to move. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw a ridged stone ceiling. The air wasn’t warm anymore and the dead flesh smell was gone. He sat up slowly wincing from the pain. He was in a tiny stone room the ceiling was so low he couldn’t stand up, he could barely get on his knees. The space was small and jagged rocks lined the walls, the ground was simple dirt. The door was made of wood and had a small opening hardly bigger then the peep hole on the cell Zhao had Zuko in. Bars were on the window so small fragments of light peeked in.

He saw a child Zuko in front of him, facing away, clawing at the door and pressing his ear up to it listening.

Aang stayed quiet and watched.

“Father?”

“Father can I come out now? I promise I will train harder… I will make sparks I promise… Please?”

He listened with his ear pressed up against the wood, groaning he sat back and wrapping his arms around his legs holding one hand out and cried.

“Please fire… Please come out, please, I don’t want to die in here…”

Finally Aang spoke, “Are you ok?”

Obviously startled the small Zuko spun around and moved away from the door into the corner. His face was covered in dirt and his hair was falling out of his phoenix tail, his eyes were red and had dark circles under them.

“Who are you?”

“Someone who is looking for their friend, what are you doing in here?”

“This is where I have to stay until I can make sparks.”

Aang’s heart sank, “what do you mean?”

“Father said there is no use for me if I can’t make fire, so he said if I concentrate with no distractions I should be able to make sparks… He said its good for me, I need to be a fire bender.”

Zuko went back to staring at his hand.

Aang started to feel around the walls and ceiling, trying to figure a way out of here. He knew Zuko didn’t have enough time left and he didn’t have time to be trapped in a stone box. He was beginning to lose control over his emotions and dreading the idea of actually being stuck in this awful place forever.

“How long have you been here?” He asked, still pushing on the walls trying to find a loose stone that he could use to crawl out.

“Three days.”

“Do you have food and water?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Can you just let me concentrate please!?”

Aang grew tired and sat up with his back against the door, watching the small Zuko try and make a flame. He wondered how long his twisted father had him stuck in here until he finally got it. Obviously Zuko is a fire bender so he must have eventually got it, but he wondered how long it took.

After a few minutes he heard the door open and Aang fell out backwards.

Aang rubbed his shoulder, pulling himself to his knees he began to try and stand, but he froze, his eyes wide with confusion. Standing in front of him, with a smile on his face was himself. He stood there with his glider, Momo on his shoulder.

He heard a sinister voice raining down over him.

“Capture the Avatar, restore your honor.”

“Restore your honor.”

“It is your destiny.”

“Capture the Avatar.”

Aang watched himself smile and tickle Momo’s chin and laugh. He saw his innocent face become filled with fear, chains wrapped his neck and was forced to his knees. Fire burned around him and he screamed, tears falling down his face.

Aang had to look away, he couldn’t watch himself burn…

He stood and started to run again. He was so disoriented, he wasn’t even sure if he was going in the right direction. He was getting lost. He was so lost and he didn’t know where to go. Aang began looking around, panic in his chest, tears stinging his eyes, his breaths coming in short spastic movements.

He fell to his knees and wept.

Aang felt a soft hand touch his face, it was the women from the garden. She was beautiful her eyes full of love, she smiled softly.

“You are lost grandfather, why are you here?”

Roku’s grand daughter… Zuko’s mom…

“I’m trying to find your son, I am trying to find Zuko…”

His voice wasn’t his own, it was Roku’s own words and his voice, Aang was only the vessel.

“Grandfather, you can not find that which doesn’t want to be found. You know how good my son is at hiding. You should leave him be. He has suffered enough.”

“I know dear, but if I do not find him I am afraid The Fire Nation, our home, our people – they will perish. Never to rise again out of the ashes of Sozin’s war.”

She smiled and helped lift Aang to his feet.

“If you take him with you, he will have to leave me, how do you expect me to say goodbye to my son again?”

“He will be back, a better version of himself. Please dear, help me save him, and save the Fire Nation.”

She looked sad, but nodded, and pointed in a direction.

“He hides behind that door, behind his shame and his pain. His biggest fear. But if you push past all the pain and the fear he will be waiting. I love you grandfather.”

She leaned down and kissed the top of Aang’s head.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka laid on the floor, the banner draped over his face.

It was night fall now, and the ship was well out to sea. Everyone was back in Zuko and Aang’s room, the mood was not as fun as earlier. They were beginning to get worried, neither of the boys have moved the entire day.

“Is this normal?” Toph was sitting next to Sokka on the floor, her feet resting on top of his legs as she leaned back on her arms.

“I mean I was in the spirit world for like… two days? I hope Aang went to the bathroom before he left because let me tell you – there are no bathrooms in there.”

Sokka was trying to lift the mood but no one was taking the bait.

Iroh was fixing everyone tea, his face what been joyful all day, but slowly as the night fell and there was no movement from either boy they could see the sadness and worry returning.

Hakoda was still working with the crew, the Fire Nation ship proved more difficult to get everyone accustomed to now that they were moving. The men were not acquainted to the Fire Nation’s technology so Iroh had to help Hakoda work out the kinks during the day.

They were waiting for Hakoda to join them, for some reason Katara had a feeling that he was avoiding coming to the room. She knew her dad took mother’s death really hard, but he was forced to put on a brave face for her and Sokka. Zuko was no comparison to her mother’s death, but for a Water Tribe man to wear a bead for someone, it meant that there was a strong bond.

She guessed he was keeping busy to avoid the sadness and worry that would come with waiting around in the room. Her dad was a warrior, so he was keeping busy. She felt sad for her dad, she didn’t want to see him lose another person that he cared about.

An idea popped into her head.

“Uncle, do you have the clothing Zuko was wearing the day we left Ba Sing Se?”

She was going to say, the day he was struck by lightning, but she didn’t think that would have been the wisest word choice.

Iroh looked at her confused but fake smiled anyway, “Yes dear, why? Do you need them?”

“I think he has some beads in his pocket, I was wondering if it would be ok if I took them and braid them into his hair? They are Water Tribe beads and maybe the spirits will find favor if he wore them correctly?”

Iroh seemed to have a genuine smile this time, “Of course Katara. I will see if he has them.”

Iroh went to his bag sitting in the corner of the room, it held the very few possessions the fire benders had left. He rummaged around and pulled out an article of clothing and began searching in the pockets. Iroh finally pulled out 3 blue beads.

“I believe this is what you are looking for?”

She smiled and walked over taking the beads, she went over to where Zuko was laying and hesitated.

“Do you think it will hurt him or Aang if I touch him? I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Sokka swirled his hand over his head as he spoke, “Eh I mean what’s the worse that could happen?”

She rolled her eyes, Sokka could be such a pain sometimes.

She hesitated again, this time for an entirely different reason.

I am going to touch Zuko, the guy who tried to capture my best friend for the last few months. The boy who tied me to a tree and chased us to the ends of the earth. A fire bender. The son of the Fire Lord.

She took a deep breath and grabbed a piece of his dark hair on his front right just before his ear. She began to braid it slowly, she was surprised that his hair was so soft. She hummed a traditional Water Tribe melody and braided the beads into his hair, knotting it off at the end.

She smiled at her work, the beads were evenly spaced and worked into the braid perfectly – just like her mother taught her.

Please mom, watch out for the boys. Bring Aang back to me.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Aang grabbed the door handle, it was warm to the touch. His body felt weak, he knew he was out of energy. He wouldn’t be able to last much longer in this place. This was the last chance he had to save Zuko, if not he would have to try to save himself or accept his demise.

He pulled the door with all his might, it didn’t budge. He continued to pull, giving out a cry of frustration he finally wedged the door open. He cracked it open just enough that he could slip through.

Aang held his arm up to his face, the light was sharp and painful to his sensitive eyes. He had grown accustomed to the darkness. After a few minutes of blinking his eyes finally adjusted to the arena he had walked into. There were stands on each side, filled to the brim with people. Torches stood on the side lines, fire dancing wildly as the crowd cheered.

Aang was standing on the far end of the stadium arena, a tall muscular man with long dark hair was slowly moving towards his opponent, his back facing Aang.

He knew it was the Fire Lord, and he didn’t have to look to know who was on the other side of the arena.

Aang looked past the situation involving the Fire Lord slowly walking down the area, his eyes fixed on the far end where he saw another door. He just had to get across the stadium and he could find Zuko.

The people in the stands weren’t looking at Aang at all, their eyes fixed on the ‘fire duel’ happening in front of them. Aang’s eyes finally fell on Zuko. He was the same age that Aang was now, his golden eyes watched his father approach, terror and fear were evidently present.

He was on his knees, his forehead touching the ground, his body shaking.

“Please father. I only had the Fire Nation’s best interest in heart. I’m sorry I spoke out of turn.”

“You will fight for your honor.”

“I mean you not disrespect. I am your loyal son.”

Aang’s heart clenched. He closed his eyes, trying to drown out the situation unfolding in front him. He knew what was coming, he couldn’t stand to watch. His stomach was already in knots, his chest heavy from sadness and fear. He decided to step off the arena and try and slip by undetected in the small path between the stands and the lifted arena.

Aang couldn’t help it, as he moved past Ozai and Zuko he looked up. He could see the tears streaming down Zuko’s face as he begged his father for mercy and forgiveness.

“Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!”

“I wont fight you.”

Ozai reached down just as Aang passed by, he cupped his son’s face for just a moment before he took his other hand and grabbed the back of his hair.

“You will learn respect and suffering will be your teacher.”

He moved his hand from Zuko’s cheek to the middle of his face and Aang began to run as he heard Zuko scream. He thought the burning throat screams were haunting… Nothing would ever compare to the sound that Zuko made as his face melted under the hand of his own father.

Aang stopped at the door. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he just had to know… What did Ozai do after? He was going to fight him soon and he just… He needed to know…

Turning he saw Zuko laying on the ground, bleeding and shaking. The smell of burnt flesh filled the area. Some people in the stands gasped, some screamed, others even cheered.

But Ozai, he looked down, smirked and turned and walked away. Aang knew in that moment, that The Fire Lord was evil incarnate.

Aang turned back to the door and surprisingly it wasn’t as hard to open, he pulled the door and slipped inside.

He was greeted with the fresh smell of lavender and felt the refreshing cool ocean breeze. Looking around he saw a large but simple room. A big bed in the center, Fire Nation banners on both sides. There was a desk, a dresser with a wall mounted mirror and an attached bathroom. The floor was a polished black, white and gold marble while the deep red walls reflected the light from the candles. There were candles everywhere, the room was so soothing and comforting.

He took a step forward and saw Zuko. There was a balcony in the room, he could see the ocean just on the horizon. He always forgot the Fire Nation was a nation of islands, and the capital was no exception.

Zuko sat on the balcony railing, looking out into the ocean. He looked exactly like he did the day of Ba Sing Se besides his clothing. His hair was medium length and he wore a simple black and red tunic with pants, and a red sash around his waist. Aang took a step forward and Zuko’s head tilted back and they met eyes.

His golden eyes looked tired, cloudy, and so sad.

“What are you doing here, Avatar?”

Aang took a deep breath, his body so weak from the events that just transpired. He was so exhausted but he finally felt safe; like this room, here with Zuko, was where he needed to be.

“I am here to save you.”

He grunted and rolled his eyes, “Save me from what?”

Aang slowed down, “Do you know where you are?”

Zuko frowned and looked at his room and then out into the ocean, “I am home.”

“No Zuko, you aren’t home, you are inside yourself. I am here to bring you back so we can help you get home.”

“Help me how? I am a traitor to my nation, my sister… she… my sister tried to kill me. My father tried to kill me. Fuck, random earth kingdom people tried to kill me because I was Fire Nation. They hated me because of the color of my eyes, and you come here and say you’re going to save me? I’m sorry if I am having trouble believing you, Avatar.”

He looked at Aang again, his eyes becoming dimmer and more cloudy. But his scowl was just as Zuko as the day they met.

“I don’t claim to have all the answers, but you have people that love you and want you to come back. If you stay here and allow yourself to give up, you are giving up on them. Your Uncle, Chief Hakoda, me, your mother, they all believe in you and love you. If you give up its not just you that will suffer. If you love your nation then fight for them. You are the strongest person I know, you never give up. It would be so disappointing to see you give up now.”

Zuko’s scowl turned into a blank expression as he turned his head looking out over the balcony again.

“How are you even here?”

“Your great, great grandfather asked me for my help.”

“Sozin…?”

“No Roku.”

“Oh great. Just great.”

“I take it you didn’t know.”

“I don’t think my father cared to tell me anything about my mother or her history. Once she left, she was as good as dead. So yeah, I guess it was never brought up. Good to know though.”

“I have walked through some of your memories, and your pain, and sadness. Zuko you carry a lot of pain with you, and as much as I want to help – no one can heal that but you. Zuko you have had to endure some terrible stuff, but its made you strong. I am asking you to use that strength to come back with me and help me end the war. To save your people, and end your father’s cruelty.”

“I don’t know.”

“Your mother helped me find you Zuko, she believes in you, we all believe in you. Please, don’t give up. At least not while we still have hope.”

Aang moved further into the room, he stopped at the entrance to the balcony, waiting quietly for the fire bender to answer. Zuko put his head down, slowly he looked over at Aang. To Aang’s delight he saw a flicker of life. The small blaze began to burn behind Zuko’s golden dragon eyes.

“Ok, I will come with you.”

Aang smiled and held out his hand, Zuko hesitated but he reached out and accepted the Avatar’s help.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Katara’s eyes were so heavy, she tried to keep them open but the long day was pulling her eyes lids closed.

She had moved one of the chairs next to Aang’s side of the bed, her head was sitting in her hands.

Sokka and Toph were snoring on the floor, and Iroh joined in their sympathy from his chair as he leaned against the metal wall.

The full moon was high in the sky and usually Katara wouldn’t be able to sleep with Yue’s energy coursing through her veins. But her body was psychically and emotionally drained, she was planning on using the full moon power to try and heal Zuko. But it didn’t seem like a good idea to disrupt whatever Aang was doing.

Her eyes slipped closed for just a moment, her head laid on the bed next to Aang’s side when she heard it…

They were awake.

Aang sat up in bed, his breathing was heavy and his eyes were wide as his hand lifted off Zuko and laid across his chest. He was trying to collect himself again, feeling the bed, the solid environment that reminded him this was the real world. He looked over and saw Katara, her big blue eyes full of tears, but the biggest smile on her face.

“AANG! You’re awake!!”

Sokka and Toph jolted awake, “AANG!!”

Iroh jolted awake in that moment, almost falling out of his chair.

She couldn’t help but to lean in and hug him around him neck, digging her face into his shoulder. He smiled and his shaky arm reached out and took her in a light embrace. He took a gasp from the pain in his shoulder and back, Katara helped him settle back into a comfortable laying down position.

She saw him looking over at Zuko.

Her eyes followed his and her heart clenched as she saw Zuko’s eyes half open looking at at Aang. He was alive, and more awake in this moment then he has been for over a week.

Iroh’s eyes filled with tears as he kneeled by his nephews bedside, finally seeing life in him. Agni had not forsaken him.

“Thanks.. Ava- Aang.” His raspy voice whispered.

Aang smiled as he closed his eyes, “Anytime Zuko…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Zuko’s eyes were open. He was breathing a little deeper, and his heart was beating a little stronger.

Iroh was at his side, smiling down at Zuko with happy tears in his eyes.

“I am so glad you are awake nephew. You had me so worried, you know it isn’t good to make an old man worry so much. Of all the times you have had me worry, this has to be in the top three. Please, promise me you won’t ever jump in front of lightning again, at least, not until I teach you how to re direct it.”

Zuko didn’t smile, but he gave a soft nod. His golden eyes were still cloudy, his eyelids were heavy, and his chest burned something awful. But he was alive. He slowly reached his hand over to where the lightning strike was and tried to touch it.

Katara’s hand was already there working on healing the damage. “Don’t touch it Zuko! I am trying to heal it right now, you don’t need to go and poke it! You just woke up!”

She glared at the fire bender and he glared right back, but slowly he retracted his hand and laid it at his side again. Closing his eyes his breathing evened out and he was back asleep.

“Aang whatever you did, it fixed the chi problem I was feeling, the block is gone.”

Aang didn’t respond, when Katara looked over at the air bender is was also asleep. He somehow he looked more tired now, then he did previously.

“They’re both asleep. Whatever happened, Aang fixed the problem. Now I can finally heal Zuko properly and his body can start working again. Everything seems to be flowing properly. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to save him but I am positive now, he will make it.”

Iroh let out a long exhale of relief. He was smiling, his eyes soft as he stared at his nephew.

“I believe my nephew’s injuries were not only physical, but his soul was injured as well. It happened when I retrieved him from Zhao, he was completely broken mentally. He fell into a deep sleep and I was unable to wake him, he stayed like that for almost a month. I thought perhaps it was because of the extent of his physical injuries. But I realize after all this that, maybe, it was deeper then that.

“Zuko is at war with himself, just as Sozin and Roku were at war. Both bloodlines collide inside him, locked in a constant battle for power. When Chief Hakoda gave Zuko kindness and love, it made him think differently about the war and everything he thought about the Fire Nation. He liked and trusted people from a different nation, and he saw them suffering because of The Fire Nation. Zuko justified everything his father did to him, but he could not justify what his father was doing to other people.

“But fear, and hurt made him retreat back to everything the Fire Lord has drilled into him since birth – his safety net. Zhao pushed him right back into his father’s grasp. Whatever you and Zuko spoke about in Ba Sing Se must have weighed heavily on his mind, he finally made the right choice. He finally accepted that the Fire Lord is wrong, and the key to fixing the world lies with the Avatar. It’s the only reason I can think of for why he would stand between you and Azula.”

Katara looked down at the sleeping fire bender, slowly what little color he had, was returning. He was going to survive. She wasn’t sure what that meant now, she was so preoccupied with trying to save his life she didn’t think about what would happen after.

“So do you think that he will… be good now? Or do you think he will just wake up and realize he made a mistake and try to hurt Aang?”

Katara’s heart clenched at the thought of Zuko hurting Aang, she wouldn’t let that happen. She was not the young water bender that he fought all those months ago. She was stronger and more experienced. She would not hesitate to use that experience to defend her friends.

“I think it was fate that you and Zuko ended up captured together, and that Azula was the one to unleash the attack. Making him choose between the Fire Lord and the Water Tribe. Between good and evil. If Zuko wakes up with any doubts, I believe fate was prepared for that. It was no mistake that we ended up on your father’s ship. Your father has a big influence on Zuko and I know that he will help guide him to the right choice. I have guided him as much as I can, it is necessary have help from other people. I am exhausted. Zuko is not an easy person to live and travel with.”

Iroh chuckled, but there was truth to what he said.

It was nearing dawn at this point and Katara was exhausted. The power of the full moon gave her strength all night and powered her bending. Now that the moon was leaving and the sun was headed towards the horizon, she was feeling the extra energy leave her body.

Sokka and Toph had already retired to their rooms after Aang woke up and they realized he was ok.

Iroh yawned next to her, he stood slowly and rubbed his eyes.

“I think its best if I retire and try to get some sleep before the sun rises. I wont be able to sleep much after that happens. Lady Katara you should try and get some rest as well. I am sure Aang and Zuko will be alright for a few hours.”

She nodded and stood up, once she was standing she felt the weakness in her legs and arms. Her body was exhausted of any extra energy, she needed to get some sleep.

Katara wanted to go and wake her father, she knew he would be happy that Zuko was alive and woke up. But she knew it was late and he would be awake in a few hours, she could talk to him then. Glancing behind her she took one last look at the former enemies laying in a bed together, and smiled.

“Goodnight guys, see you in the morning.”

She left and closed the door behind her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hakoda laid in his bed staring at the metal ceiling. He usually visited Zuko at night so he could have some peace and quiet with the boy. He knew everyone was probably still in his room, it was an intense situation.

Hakoda didn’t mind the energy that the kids gave off as they cracked jokes, and tried to hide their fear with fun and picking on each other. He found that being in the same room with an almost dead Zuko was emotionally draining for him. Trying to stay strong in front of his kids was even more exhausting. Katara was doing everything she could to heal Zuko and Aang. Sokka was trying to keep the group positive and in a good spirits. He admired both of his children for being so strong.

Unfortunately, they were accustomed to death. They both had to cope with the death of their mother at such a young age. He believed it helped shape them into the strong and courageous people they are today, but it still saddens him that they had to endure that.

Watching Zuko die in that bed, it was too much for Hakoda. He needed to keep himself busy, just as he did when he lost his wife. He had to stay strong for his kids, and being in that room with Zuko, it made him unable to be that strong figure they relied on. So he would slip in at night when no one was there and be alone with Zuko – so he could display the feelings that he tried to hide all day.

He was not a soft man, he was a warrior and death was not a stranger to him. But the death of a child, which Zuko still was, was unbearable. Zuko was almost like a son to him, he was attached to the fire bender and to see him laying there… It broke Hakoda down. The reason he was laying there was even worse, he took a lighting strike from his own sister to save Katara. Zuko saved his daughter’s life by taking a bolt of lightning that was shot at him from his own flesh and blood.

It made Hakoda’s blood boil.

Finally Hakoda got out of bed, he was obviously too worried about Zuko to sleep. He slipped on his shoes and crept out of his cabin and down the hallway. He was on the opposite side of the conning tower, his room was next to the bridge, while the kids were in the living quarters.

As he walked through the ship to Zuko’s room, he saw the sun peaking through the horizon as the light cascaded in through the windows. The red glass, gave the sunlight a sinister feel. Hakoda was trying to grow accustomed to being on a Fire Nation ship. Everything was deep reds, and black, there wasn’t any personality in the ship’s design.

Hakoda decided to take a quick pit stop on deck to watch the sunrise. Iroh would usually wake with the sun, so he couldn’t stay too long. He still wanted to visit Zuko before his uncle came in for the day.

He liked Iroh, the more they interacted the more he realized the man’s soul was much more Water Tribe than it was Fire Nation. He had a calmness to him, and a positive presence that Hakoda enjoyed. Hakoda was a serious man, and it was nice to have someone around him that was so light hearted. But Iroh also had a sharp mind for war tactics, together they made a strong team.

Hakoda took a step out on the deck and the ocean wind instantly swept through his hair, his beads clinking together as they swayed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, mornings were always his favorite, the world was so quiet and calm.

He opened his eyes and his heart did a double beat, there was someone standing on the deck, looking out into the ocean

He was wearing Water Tribe clothing, he was thin, with messy dark hair…. And Hakoda knew – Zuko.

He rushed towards the boy, his heart beating quickly, his breath was stuck in his throat. He stopped just behind him and decided not to startle the boy. Zuko has already fallen off one ship in his life, he did not want to have a repeat of that.

“Hi, Chief Hakoda…”

Zuko’s voice was deeper then it was when they first met, but it was just as raspy. He didn’t even turn when he spoke and it brought a smile to Hakoda’s face just to hear his voice.

“How did you know it was me?”

Zuko turned his head, his unscarred face visible to Hakoda, the boy’s golden eyes burning with the same fire he saw the day they met.

“You always walked like a barbarian, I could hear you coming down the hallway.”

Hakoda chuckled and moved towards Zuko and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. He couldn’t stop himself and wrapped his other arm around Zuko and gently pulled him into a hug.

“I am so happy you are alive Zuko… When I saw you - when I saw your uncle holding your body… I thought you were dead. I was afraid you were lost forever.”

Zuko didn’t hug him back right away, he was tense and shaking slightly. But finally, he seemed to let his guard down enough and brought his shaky arms around the Water Tribe man to accept his fatherly affection.

“I’m hard to kill.”

Hakoda laughed and pulled the boy in a little tighter, resting his hand behind the boy’s head.

“Its my favorite thing about you, Zuko.”

They both let out a small laugh and pulled apart, Hakoda touched foreheads with him before he let the boy out of his grasp to take a look at him. Zuko looked older, and more mature then the 13 year old he met two years ago. But his eyes were the same, and his scar was just as red and ridged as ever. He didn’t remember the scar being that bad, but it couldn’t have gotten worse so it must have always looked that fierce. He was wearing Water Tribe clothing, and somehow he looked even more Fire Nation. His hair was shorter, no phoenix tale, just a mess of dark silky hair.

Hakoda’s eyes went to the beads braided in his hair, the same beads he gave to the boy two years ago.

“You are wearing our beads?”

Zuko looked confused, his one eye brow bent in a small frown. He reached up and felt around his head until his hand grazed the three beads braided into his hair.

“I guess I am, I didn’t put them there, but yes, these are the beads you gave me.”

“Do you remember who they were for?”

“You, Noa and Bato.”

“I’m glad you still remember our names, I figured you started calling us savages once you went back to the Fire Nation.”

Zuko was deeply frowning now, “I didn’t go back to the Fire Nation, I went with Zhao, and then my Uncle. I have never been back to the Fire Nation. Well… ok I did go to a temple in the Fire Nation but that’s because the Avatar went there, but other than that I did not go to the Fire Nation.”

Hakoda saw that his comment upset the young fire bender.

“I wasn’t trying to say that you physically went back to the Fire Nation. I was trying to say that you went back to trying to capture the Avatar to lift your banishment. Am I wrong?”

Zuko rolled his eyes and grunted, “No.”

“So why did you do that Zuko?”

“Ive been awake for five minutes and you are already interrogating me?”

“If your well enough to stand on this deck, I think you are well enough to answer my questions.”

“You haven’t changed much.”

“I can’t say the same for you Zuko.”

Zuko looked hurt by that comment, but Hakoda saw the boy hide all the emotion off his face instantly. It was a new skill he must have acquired, he did not have that skill when he was 13. Zuko always wore his emotions on his sleeve, it was always easy to tell what the young fire bender was thinking. All you had to do was look at him. Now Zuko looked stoic and unapproachable.

“Are you going to answer my question?”

“…..”

“Oh no, not this.”

“…..”

“Maybe you haven’t changed that much.”

“What do you want me to say?! Yeah, I’m the the evil ash-maker, haunting people’s nightmares. Spawn of Ozai, bringing death and destruction everywhere I go! Shooting fire at children as they run and hide. Watch out, I might burn down your village!”

Zuko was getting loud with him, his anger flashing through his eyes. His body langue was stiff and his fists clenched, but there was no fire.

“Who are you really, Zuko? Are you an ash-maker, is that what you want to be known for? Are you the guy who burns down villages and hurts innocent people? Is that really you? Because I do not know that Zuko.”

That question hit Zuko in the stomach like a ton of bricks.

Never forget who you are.

He felt his face get red as he turned away from Hakoda and grabbed the railing for support as he felt his legs get weaker. He wasn’t intending on being out here so long, he was just going to watch the sun rise and then go back to bed. But of course, Hakoda had to come out and start questioning his very existence.

He wasn’t surprised at all, he was dreading this interaction. He knew if he ever saw the Water Tribe Chief again, he wouldn’t know what to say. What could he say? He found out in Ba Sing Se that the Water Tribe kids he was chasing with the Avatar, were Hakoda’s children. He knew the man would never forgive him for that. He tied his daughter to a tree!

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just remember Zuko, you are not your bad decisions, everyone has a past, and everyone makes mistakes. You can change your future. Zuko, you are young, brave and loyal. Anyone would be lucky to have you fighting by their side. You have been choosing to fight alone for so long, for reasons I don’t claim to understand. But now you have the choice to fight with people for the greater good. You think about who you are Zuko, and what you want for the remainder of your life. I will let you get some rest before you collapse and we can talk again when you feel better. Alright?”

Zuko nodded. His eyes felt heavy and his brain was swimming with Hakoda’s words, his lightning wound was burning.

The Water Tribe man took Zuko’s arm, before he could protest he wrapped his arm around the boy to help hold him up while they walked. Hakoda was still much taller then the fire bender but he wanted to help him to to his room, so he crouched slightly as they walked him back to his bed. Zuko didn’t look up at him at all, Hakoda could feel how tense the boy was.

It was obvious the last two years were not kind to Zuko. He seemed worse off now then he was when they parted ways. Hakoda knew it would take time for the boy to heal, and he would give him all the time he needed.

“I care about you Zuko, please remember that I only want what’s best for you.”

Zuko nodded but still did not look up. He kept his head down, until they got to his bed and Hakoda helped lower the boy onto the mattress.

Zuko gasped in pain, his eyes closed clenching his teeth as Hakoda helped him lay down.

“Katara will kill you if you get out of this bed again, and then she will find me and kill me. This time you will die, and I will join you in the spirit world. So stay here, until she tells you that you can leave. Got it?”

“You are… You’re being very bossy… Is the bigger boat… getting to your head?”

Zuko smirked at him, his bright eyes half closed.

Hakoda pinched the bridge if his nose, “go to sleep.”

He smiled at Zuko before turning to leave, glancing back one more time to see the fire bender’s breathing even out.

He touched his red bead and thanked Tui and La for bringing Zuko back and keeping him alive. He slipped out of the room quietly and could hear his crew starting their morning chores. For the first time in over a week Hakoda met the morning with a genuine smile.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Aang woke up with a pounding head ache. His shoulder was burning and his body felt like the first time he and Toph ever practiced earth bending, sore.

His mouth was like a desert, he needed some water. Looking over next to him he saw Zuko laying there, breathing but very still. Recalling the terrible memories of being in the fire bender’s subconscious brought a familiar cold chill to the back of his neck.

I don’t remember anything after getting Zuko out. I hope he is ok now. I need some water… Where is everyone?

Looking around the room, surprisingly, it was empty. He and Zuko were alone and Katara was no where to be found. Aang felt worried for her, not sure why, but every time he woke up she was there. Her beautiful blue eyes filled with kindness and compassion. Standing over him like she did the first day they met, when he came out of the ice. He needed to make sure she was ok, there was an overwhelming desire to find his friend.

Standing slowly, the pain in his body seemed to rush to his head. A strong throbbing appeared and it was pounding into his skull. His vision was blurry for a moment, shaking his head back and forth brought back his clear sight. One shaky leg in front of another he walked out of the room. Using the walls for balance he realized very quickly he had no idea where he was going.

His legs were weak, and he felt his body slowly slipping down the wall. His butt hit the floor, wincing in pain, he rested his back against the wall. The metal was so cold against his bare skin.

I am supposed to be feeling better, I shouldn’t be so weak right now. How am I going to fight the Fire Lord like this. Everyone is counting on me… If I fail its over, everyone will die. Katara will die…

Tears began to well up in Aang’s eyes, it was a mixture of pain, doubt, sadness, anger… He was overwhelmed and he didn’t know what to do.

“AANG!!!”

Her voice cut through his mind like a sharp knife, everything faded except for the sound of her footsteps hitting the metal floor. She was running, Katara was running to him.

“Tui and La, what are you doing out of bed!? You need rest!! You should not be moving this soon!”

Aang nodded, his eyes searching her face, waiting for her eyes to meet his. Desperate to feel her blue eyes connect with his grey ones, so he could truly see her. She finally looked at him after checking on his injuries, it was everything he needed. Her eyes made him feel safe and loved, it was like a cool glass of water after a long day of training.

Water.

Oh yeah.

He was dying of thirst at this very moment.

“Katara… I need water…”

His voice sounded as dry as his mouth felt.

“Oh of course Aang!! Let me grab my water skin and I will be right back. Stay here, after this I am taking you back to your room so you can get some rest. I have a feeling Zuko will be getting visitors today and you need to sleep. You were in the Avatar state for a long time and you need to regain your strength.”

“Ok Katara.”

His boyish features stood out when he did his goofy grin. She shook her head, rolling her eyes, sometimes he was too much.

She left to her room and fetched her water. After he drank she helped him back to his old room, as he laid down she tucked him into the covers.

“I will be back to do a healing session on you, I am going to go get us some food and we can eat together before I work on your wounds ok?”

Aang nodded happily, “sounds great Katara.”

She stood and walked out of his room, leaving the door cracked open.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Katara saw Noa in the mess hall, he was sitting next to Anke and they seemed to be having a heated discussion.

“I am telling you, the Avatar can fly!”

Noa shook his head, in a childish way. “No, he can not FLY, he can bend the air and glide! There is a difference!”

“Gliding is a fancy word for flying! Noa, you are just trying to confuse me!”

“You’re confusing yourself!”

“Shut up! I can kick your ass!”

Katara couldn’t help but laugh as she dished herself up some breakfast stew. She needed to get something light for Aang, he couldn’t have anything too heavy with his injuries. She found some vegetable broth in the kitchen and poured some into a bowl. Grabbing two pieces of bread she made her way past the arguing Water Tribe men.

“The Avatar is not BALD, he shaves his hair.”

“Why would he do that?! The kid is BALD!”

“ITS BY CHOICE!!”

Katara rolled her eyes, “ok, I don’t even want to know why you guys are arguing about Aang, but he can not fly, he glides. He uses a gilder and bends the air around it and that’s what makes him fly. Without the glider he can’t go anywhere. Also, Aang is a monk, so he shaves his head, it’s part of his culture. Is there anything else you need cleared up while we are on the topic of Aang?”

Noa tapped his chin, “I don’t think so… Are you satisfied now Anke? Being wrong about everything must be difficult.”

Anke rolled his eyes and kept eating his stew.

Katara was going to surprise Noa later, but now seemed like as good a time as ever, “Oh, Noa?”

He looked up at her, “Yeah?”

“Zuko’s awake.”

The Water Tribe man dropped his spoon and shoved his chair back, he smiled widely at her and took off out of the mess hall. Anke rolled his eyes and kept eating his stew.

“About time that damn kid woke up, I am going to give him so much shit for how lazy he has been since he got here.”

“You do that Anke. I’m sure he will appreciate it.”

Katara left the mess hall, balancing the two bowls and bread in her arms, smiling to herself.

- - - - - - - - - -

Noa ran as fast as he could down the hall, rounding the corner he saw Zuko’s door and pushed it open as hard as he could. It made an awful sound as the metal door hit the metal wall and he saw Iroh practically jump out of his skin.

“Oh my Noa, is everything alright?! Are we under attack?!”

He was standing, the chair next to Zuko’s bed was pushed back. Noa turned bright red, realizing he had scared Iroh with his intense entrance.

“Oh, no I mean… umm.. I just heard, well Katara told me that Zuko was awake and I just… I mean I am so sorry for busting in like this. I was just excited and I… Yeah I don’t really know what to say.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and heard a raspy grunt come from the bed. He looked over and saw those familiar gold eyes staring at him.

“Idiot.”

“Woah! Good to see you too, Zuko!! How is the bigger idiot doing?!”

“Oh great comeback Noa! We are all so impressed!”

Iroh smiled and decided now was a good time to go gather some breakfast.

“I will leave you two to catch up, be nice to Noa, Zuko – he has been helping take care of you.”

“I will be nice if he stops calling me an idiot.”

“YOU JUMPED IN FRONT OF LIGHTNING!”

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME AN IDIOT!!”

Noa rubbed his face with his hands, remembering as much as he missed Zuko… Zuko was probably the most difficult person he has ever interacted with. Iroh gave a small bow and left the room, Noa could swear he heard a humorous laugh coming from the old man as he walked away.

Noa took the chair and sat down next to Zuko. He realized how different the boy looked, he was scruffier, and his eyes were filled with more fire, if that was even possible. He didn’t have a child’s face anymore – his features were sharper, and his scar was deeper then Noa remembered. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked too thin.

“You look like shit.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “yeah ok, I was shot by lightning. I think I am allowed to look like shit.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you, I mean, maybe I was… But I don’t mean you look like you got struck by lightning, like shit. More like… You have stopped taking care of yourself a long time ago like shit. You just look… different.”

Zuko groaned and started running his fingers through his hair.

At least that was the same.

“Maybe I like looking like shit. I wake up every day and think, today, I should see if I can reach a new level of looking like shit. Is that what you want me to tell you?”

Zuko crossed his arms and looked away from the Water Tribe man.

“Woah. Ok Zuko. I don’t need all the attitude! I am just worried about you.”

“Yeah I know, everyone is worried about me. Well stop. Just, don’t. Ok?”

Noa frowned, “no.”

“What do you mean, no?”

Zuko had a hiss to his voice, his words dripping with anger and hostility. But Noa didn’t care, he knew Zuko was angry, hurt, and scared. He had spoke to Hakoda and knew that Zuko had made some bad choices when he was away from them. But that didn’t change the fact that he was Noa’s friend, and he wasn’t going to just abandon him. He wore a red bead for him.

“Do you know what this means?”

He pointed at his red bead.

Zuko just looked at him, he didn’t say anything.

“It means… You are an important part of my life. It means I care about you. It means I want the spirits to protect you, as one of my brothers. We are brothers Zuko, and family doesn’t abandon each other. I’m sorry, but you can’t just push me away.”

Zuko glared at Noa, he let out a long breath, smoke seeping out of his nostrils.

“You obviously have never met my family.”

“Well yes, you have a point. But we are like a real family, one who isn’t going to burn you and shoot lightning into you.”

Both boys sat there in silence for a while. Noa remembered that about Zuko, he was really good at being quiet at times.

“Zuko I am trying to help you. Why do you have to make everything so difficult?!”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh I’m so surprised.”

Zuko’s fingers were buried in his hair, pulling it slightly at the root. He looked upset but completely calm at the same time. Noa figured that changing the topic to something less, heavy, would probably do the fire bender some good.

“So…. What are have you been up to?”

Zuko glared at him.

….Smooth Noa….

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka was enjoying being around the Water Tribe warriors, his people. Some of the older men were still treating him like a child, but the ones that knew him when he actually was a child, were starting to treat him more like a man. Sokka bonded with the youngest Water Tribe warrior on the ship, Hotah, he was 19 which was a year younger then Noa.

Hotah was from a small village in the South like Sokka, he also lost his mother to a Fire Nation raid, just like Sokka. Unlike Sokka, Hotah also lost his father to the same fire bender while he tried to protect his mother. Hotah hid under the bed with his infant sister while he watched his parents burn to death right in front of him.

They bonded pretty quickly.

Hotah was a tall guy, he was built strong, a natural born warrior. He had light brown hair that he wore long, two braids in the front on both sides of his face. Half his hair was pulled up in a wolf tail like most of the Water Tribe men. He wore two beads, one for his grandmother and one for his baby sister. One in each braid at the bottom.

Hotah had two other warrior friends that were from his village, Paq who was 21, and Kulo, who was 23 – all three men did not like the fire benders on board the ship. They made a lot of comments about it, and some of them made Sokka a bit uncomfortable. He would never say anything, but he would avoid commenting himself if possible.

“I say we just throw them overboard, the fat one would probably float.”

“Yeah I guess, but I’d like to slit the Prince’s throat and send his head back to his dad, who is the fucking Fire Lord.”

“I don’t think his dad would care.”

“Probably not, but it would make me feel better.”

“Good thing the ship is metal, so we don’t have to worry about them burning it down in our sleep.

“Maybe that’s why the Chief wanted us to get a metal ship, so he could bring along the ash-makers. No offense Sokka.”

The four men were hanging out in one of the cargo holds. They arranged some of the different crates into a circle so they could sit and talk without the risk of other crew members hearing them. With good reason, sometimes Sokka felt like if people heard what they were saying, they would get in trouble.

It was their own secret hangout spot, the ship was so much bigger then any Water Tribe ship there was a lot of opportunity to be alone.

But it was nice to hangout with Water Tribe men, especially one’s that treated him as an equal. If he had to deal with a little disrespect to his father, and some hateful comments it was worth it.

What was his dad thinking anyway, wearing a bead for a fire bender, of course people were going to talk. Not all of it would be nice things. His dad would understand, he was sure of it.

“I hate the way Noa obsesses over the Prince, I know he is a healer, but I had a rope burn yesterday and he only spent a couple minutes with me! Slapped some ointment on it and sent me on my way.”

“Do you think a rope burn hurts as much as a fire burn?”

“I don’t know, ask the scarred Prince. I’m sure he would tell you. Shit had to hurt, I heard it was half his face.”

“Probably deserved it.”

Sokka chimed in for the first time since the conversation started.

“His dad… The Fire Lord… He did that to him.”

Maybe he was trying to help Zuko get pity, or maybe he wanted the other men to realize that he was a victim too. Whatever the reason, he knew as soon as he said it he should have just kept his mouth shut.

“Oh seriously?!”

Hotah had a huge grin on his face and leaned back slapping his knee.

“That’s the best thing I have ever heard.”

Sokka felt a tickle in his stomach.

Guilt?

Yeah, probably guilt.

The other two men smiled as well.

“See how fucked up the Fire Nation is?! They burn their own once they run out of our people to burn. They have destroyed our Tribe and your little sister is the only Southern Water Tribe bender left alive! Its sick!”

Sokka nodded, because… He did have a point.

Even though Hotah was the youngest, he was the leader. The other two men followed his lead. He was larger, louder and much meaner. But Sokka liked him, he was only mean to people of the Fire Nation, and Sokka could understand that. He respected Chief Hakoda, except for when it came to the fire benders. Which Sokka could also understand.

Right?

“Well as long as the ash-makers stay out of my way we will be fine. I would hate to have to get into it with one of them. I think I could take the old guy, and I haven’t seen the Prince yet, but if he could get a scar like that he can’t be that strong.”

Sokka, again… Opening his mouth.

“Iroh, the old guy, he is the Dragon of the West… So maybe you don’t want to fight him.”

All three men had their mouths hang wide open.

“WHAT!?!? AND HE IS ON OUR SHIP!?”

There was lots of angry yelling after that.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Katara and Aang were enjoying their lunch together. The air bender seemed extra clingy since he woke up from the Avatar State. Katara felt worried, he didn’t look very well.

“Aang… Do you want to talk about… What happened with Zuko? You seem very… Off… since you woke up and I am worried about you.”

Aang smiled at her, he chewed his bread slowly and sipped his broth. He loved that Katara cared enough about him to be worried, but he hated that the way he was acting was making her worry.

“I don’t want you to worry about me Katara.”

“I don’t want to worry either Aang, but you seem very – tired, clingy, nervous… Its just not like you. Maybe if you talk about it you’ll feel better. You know, like after the North incident, we got through that together. I can help you get through this, if you will let me.”

Aang looked at her, his eyes flashed with nervousness, like if he told her it would make everything real. He was scared, and she wasn’t sure of what she is scared of.

“Did… Did Zuko do something to you?”

His eyes flashed another emotion now, sadness. A deep heavy sadness, just from mentioning the fire boy’s name.

“No Zuko didn’t do anything to me, I just…”

He took a deep breath. Control, breathing - he could experience his emotions now. He didn’t have to be scared anymore.

“I went into Zuko’s subconscious, I had to try and navigate through his mind and try to find where he locked himself away. Katara… It was horrible, it was the worse thing I have ever experienced. It was terrifying, evil, sad, tormenting… I cant even describe it to you.”

But Aang did try to describe it, he knew he needed to protect Zuko’s privacy but once he started he couldn’t stop. It felt good to tell someone, and have someone else share the horrors he had to endure. Katara was his best friend, she would understand and help him. So he told her everything he remembered, the eyes, the dead soldiers, the small Zuko, the pit, the darkness – all of it.

After he was done he took another sip of his broth and waited for her to say something.

“That is… awful. I’m so sorry Aang…”

He closed his eyes as she reached out and placed her soft hand on his shoulder, the uninjured one.

“The worst part… was right before I found him. I had to witness his dad burn him… Katara.... His dad burnt his son and then… He smirked, and walked away while Zuko screamed on the floor… I can’t get the images out of my head. Every time I close my eyes I see him on the floor screaming, I see his dad’s evil eyes staring at me saying all those horrible things.”

Aang shudders slightly, closing his eyes even tighter and shaking his head.

“I just want to forget everything, but I know if I didn’t go there, Zuko would have died. I watched his mind slowly giving up, he was going to die Katara. I had to do it, but I don’t know if I will ever not see the horrible images. Or hear the awful words. I keep thinking about the child Zuko, trying to help save me, and I left him there to suffer. But I know its not true, our Zuko is the child Zuko, he just grew up. Its just all so complicated and its making me feel crazy.”

Aang laid on the bed with his bowl of broth in his lap, his legs stretched out in front of him. Katara sat on her knees next to him. She placed her empty bowl of stew on the floor and brought Aang in for a gentle hug.

“It will be ok Aang, I promise those memories will fade with time. I know because I suffered with terrible images of horrible things never leaving my mind when my mom died. I never thought I would be able to close my eyes and not see her burnt body on the floor of our hut. I never thought I would unsee her panicked eyes as she told me to leave, that she would be fine. But give it time, they will fade and you will heal. But you have to try and get some rest if you want to recover from your injuries. You saved Zuko’s life, so anything you saw, he is safe now because of you. If you keep that in mind maybe it will help you sleep.”

Aang nodded as Katara let him go slowly and got off the bed, she picked up his bowl and smiled at him.

“I promise Aang, it will be ok. Thank you for talking to me about it. Now can you try to get some sleep? I think you need rest before I do another healing session.”

The air bender nodded and settled down into the bed, she stood there with him gently stroking his head as he began to fade into sleep. She hummed softly and rubbed the small bit of fuzz that was growing on his head.

Within a few minutes he was asleep.

She quietly left his room and slowly shut the door, she turned just in time to see Anke walk into Zuko’s room.

Followed by yelling.

“WHY ARE YOU OUT OF BED!?”

“STOP YELLING AT ME!”

“I WILL PHYSICALLY HOLD YOUR FIRE NATION ASS IN THAT BED IF YOU DON’T GO LAY DOWN!”

“I WILL BURN YOU!!”

“I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, FIRE RAT!!!”

“OW, STOP!!!”

Katara walked over to the door and peeked in, not wanting to be seen but also curiously wanting to see the Water Tribe man interact with Zuko, the Fire Prince.

Anke had cornered Zuko, and was trying to herd him back to the bed. Zuko was weak, and he wasn’t standing all the way straight. Probably because he had a huge open wound in his core.

Finally with lots of glaring and scowling Zuko laid down in the bed and Anke pulled a chair over to his side. He made the chair pulling as dramatic as possible, letting the metal legs slowly tear across the metal floor, creating an awful sound.

“Dramatic much?” Zuko smirked

“Oh, says the guy who shows up after 2 years shot with lightning, dead in his Uncle’s arms. You gave Chief Hakoda a fucking heart attack.”

Zuko looked down at the bed and didn’t say anything. Katara couldn’t place what he was feeling or thinking, but it was a different look for him. It wasn’t angry or yelling, it was almost sad and ashamed.

Once it was clear Zuko wasn’t going to say anything Anke continued.

“I hate that, the not saying anything shit, you do. It makes me want to hit you, but I will wait until you are well enough to hit back. I have come a long way with my hand to hand in the last two years so I am ready to spar with you.”

Zuko smirked again, his golden eyes flickering with amusement.

“So have I.”

“Yeah, yeah I am sure you have been up to all sorts of great stuff since I saw you. I believe you’ve been out burning down villages and threatening children?”

Katara had to cover her mouth to smother the giggle, she wouldn’t get caught spying. She was really starting to like Anke.

“I burned down ONE village…. ok, I burnt down TWO villages. I didn’t threaten THAT many children. Just the Avatar and his friends.”

Anke grunted, “yeah Hakoda’s children, you idiot.”

Zuko groaned and put his head in his hands, his dark hair covering his fingers.

“How the fuck was I supposed to know…”

“Well you could have started by NOT acting like a fucking fire rat, ash-maker, spawn of the devil Fire Prince! Maybe leave all the Water Tribe people alone, and I heard you did all this with a fun little pony tail?”

“I had a pony tail when I met you – and its called a phoenix tale, you savage.”

“But I heard you ONLY had the pony tail.”

“Well I was a traitor and Zhao made me pay for my crimes so that’s how it ended up and I just kept it that way. Reminded me of my sins to the Fire Nation and the Fire Lord.”

“You sound brain washed.”

“Yeah… I know.”

“… So Zhao really fucked you up?”

“…Yeah.”

“I’m sorry kid.”

“IM NOT A KID.”

“Ok… teenager.”

Zuko groaned and Anke put his hand on his shoulder. Zuko looked at him for a split second before the massive Water Tribe man pulled his top half in for a soft and short lived hug.

Katara was blown away, she hugged Zuko in Ba Sing Se, but it was quick and brought on from the intense emotions of getting her mother’s necklace back. Anke hugged Zuko out of pure affection and Zuko let him, he didn’t even stir.

“I’m glad you are back, and you are ok.”

“…..”

Then Anke smacked the back of Zuko’s head.

“STAY AWAY FROM YOUR EVIL FAMILY, DAMN IT!!!”

Zuko smirked, “we’ll see.”

Anke groaned and Katara knew she was over staying her welcome.

She turned to leave and almost walked directly into Iroh’s chest. She gasped and dropped her bowls. They clattered onto the floor and Iroh bent down to pick them up for her.

“Do you need any help to the kitchen Katara? You seem lost.” He has a twinkle in his eyes, full of amusement.

Katara’s face was bright red, “N-No… Um, I am good! Just collecting dishes! Do you have any dishes?! I was going to see if Zuko.. If he had dishes and then… Y-You know bring them, to the place… Where dishes go! Its what I am doing, standing here, outside his room… With dishes.”

Her various tones used during that explanation was off putting, even to her.

Iroh smiled and winked, “of course Katara, a young lady like yourself, always working too hard. Taking care of others. I do not have any dishes for you to take and I know my nephew is fresh out of dishes himself. We are so grateful for you, please let me know if I can help you at all.”

Katara backed away slowly, her face was still blushing as she quickly turned and made her way towards the kitchen as fast as possible. She was caught spying, and he seemed to think it was funny.

- - - - - - - - - -

Another week passed and everyone fell into a routine.

Katara would heal Zuko and Aang in the morning and at night. Aang was sleeping a lot more which was good, his dark circles seemed to be lifting and his color was returning.

Zuko was the opposite, as time inched on, he grew more restless and was moving around a lot more. He seemed to feel well enough to move around on his own so Katara gave him permission to walk the ship.

Iroh and Hakoda worked on their battle strategies and planning the safest routes to a good meeting spot before the invasion. They were growing closer with each passing day. The invasion was a month away and everyone was counting on them to have a plan. Sokka was helping a lot, he was a natural born leader with great ideas.

Sokka found some Water Tribe friends and was spending a lot of time with them. They did a lot of sparring after their chores were done. Hotah was teaching Sokka how to use a sword, it was a slow process but he seemed to be improving.

Toph spent a lot of time with Appa and Momo, and harassing the Water Tribe men. She seemed to be giving Aang and Zuko time to recover. But Katara would catch her going into Zuko’s room and asking him for stories about the Gaang before she joined.

Zuko seemed to like the blind girl for the most part. He didn’t tell her to fuck off, so that was progress.

“So, you burnt down Kyoshi Island?”

“Yep.”

“That’s awesome.”

“I guess.”

“Have you burnt down anything else cool?”

“Um… I burnt down my bedroom once.”

“In the palace? Sweet.”

“I guess.”

“So your sister’s crazy huh?”

“I guess.”

“I like you Sparky. You say what you mean, even if its only the same thing over and over.”

“…ok?”

“We are going to be friends.”

“…..”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko was out on deck in the mornings meditating, he tried to do it before the rest of the crew would wake up. His original crew was nice to him but some of the other men would give him the cold shoulder or say snarky things as they would pass. For the most part he ignored it, but he was known for his temper and making sure he meditated everyday would hopefully help him control it better.

Toph came up behind him and put her foot on his shoulder, he flinched and turned to glare at her.

“I don’t know if your making a face at me or not, but I can tell your annoyed. Good morning Sparky!”

“What do you want?”

“Do you want to get breakfast with me? I know you take most of your meals in your room. But it will be good to get you out in the world!”

“Ive been out in the world, the world does not like me very much.”

“Not good at making friends?”

“…..”

“Oh come on, you’re with me. You’re not going to let a small blind girl walk all the way to the mess hall alone right? What if I get hurt?”

“I think you can take care of yourself.”

“Are you going to make me beg?”

“…Fine.”

“Good, because I wasn’t going to beg.”

Zuko and Toph walked to the mess hall, Zuko could finally stand straight and his wound stop stinging constantly for the most part. Sometimes he could feel the electricity feeling tingle his body but he was used to that. It wasn’t the first time he was hurt by lightning.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind he and Toph arrived at the mess hall just as breakfast was done being prepared. A few men were already eating, a few glares were shot his way but there were also a few red bead smiles.

He didn’t recognize anyone by name so after he and Toph got their food they sat at a table alone.

Sokka and Hotah came in shortly after they started eating. Zuko saw Sokka’s friend stop walking and stare at him. He had deep blue eyes, but unlike Hakoda and Katara’s eyes, Hotah’s blue eyes were filled with anger and hate.

He kept walking with Sokka after a moment and both boys got their food and Toph waved them over to their table.

“Snoozles!! Friend of Snoozles! Come join us!”

Zuko ran his hand through his hair as he looked at his stew, spinning it slowly with his spoon. He knew the Water Tribe boy did not like him, and obviously his friend didn’t like him either. He had to play nice though because he was Hakoda’s son. It didn’t make things any less awkward.

Toph touched Zuko’s shoulder, “just be nice Sparky. It will be fine.”

He wasn’t sure how she could tell he was nervous but he appreciated the encouragement. He could be nice.

He could be nice.

Could he be nice?

Yeah probably not…

Sokka gave Zuko a dirty look and sat down across the table from the fire bender and the earth bender. Hotah sat next to him. Things were awkward and quiet for a minute, so Sokka decided to try and break the ice.

“So… This is different. You know, seeing you and not having you trying to burn us and capture Aang.”

Zuko didn’t look up from his stew, spinning it slowly.

“Yeah.”

Hotah was staring daggers into the Fire Prince. His angry blue eyes drilling into Zuko’s scar. Finally the fire bender looked up at Hotah, his golden eyes meeting the Water Tribes angry glare.

“What?”

“Nothing, just thought you would be… bigger.”

Zuko scrunched his nose and glared at the Water Tribe man.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well you’re pretty small, I thought the big bad Fire Nation Prince would be bigger and more intimidating. The scariest thing about you is your face.”

Zuko gripped his spoon tight, he hated when people said things about his face.

Be nice.

Ok. He could do this.

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Yeah, from what Sokka said about you I thought you would be more… Firey, not so weak and sad looking.”

Zuko’s eyes were flaming now. He was getting sick of this stupid guy and his attitude.

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

“Why? Will you throw flames at me? Give me a reason to cut you down right here and right now. Chief Hakoda can’t save you if you try to burn me.”

“I don’t need Chief Hakoda to protect me. I could fuck you up without throwing a single flame.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No. It’s a fact. Are you such a savage you don’t know the difference?”

Toph snorted, that pissed Hotah off even more.

Hotah stood up from his chair and snacked the fire bender’s bowl out from in front of him, spilling stew all over the floor. Putting both hands on the table he leaned over to Zuko, getting close to his face.

“Get up and do something, please. I am begging you.”

Zuko stood up and shifted into a fighting stance, his eyes fixed on Hotah. Sokka stood up and put his hand on his sword, even though he was new to sword fighting he knew he had to back his friend up. He knew Zuko was a formidable opponent.

“ZUKO!”

Bato’s voice carried over the mess hall, him and Tulok had just walked in for breakfast, seeing the boys in fighting positions.

Bato picked up his pace until he stood next to Zuko putting both his hands on the boy’s shoulders and turning him around.

“Come with me boy.”

Zuko glared at Hotah and Sokka one last time before he decided to willingly follow Bato. Tulok looked at the situation, noticing Zuko’s food on the floor, and Hotah leaning over the table in Zuko’s personal space. He knew the fire bender pretty well, and Hotah had been lucky this time.

“Hotah, what is it that you are trying to do? Are you trying to instigate a situation that will result in you being burned? I don’t see what you are trying to accomplish.”

“He started it Tulok.”

Toph sighed, crossing his arms.

“Oh yeah, and that’s why your food is thrown on the floor and he was leaning over the table baiting you into a fight?”

Tulok looked at the blind girl, surprised she even knew that much about her surroundings. But knowing she was traveling with the Avatar meant she must be an exceptional bender. So he left that alone.

“Hotah, lets take a walk, just you and me. Sokka why don’t you stay here with your friend. I am disappointed to even see you in a situation like this.”

Sokka felt his heart drop, he always admired Tulok and to hear he was disappointed in him was awful. He slumped down into his seat slowly as Hotah and Tulok left.

“Your friend’s a jerk.”

“Zuko’s a jerk.”

“No, Zuko is a nice guy pretending to be a jerk. Hotcha or whatever his name is, is actually a jerk. A jerk to the core.”

“Whatever Toph, you didn’t know Zuko before, like we do. He is not a good guy.”

“Your dad seemed to think he is a good guy. Tulok and Bato seem to think he is a good guy. Heck even Aang thinks he is a good guy and he was being directly chased by Sparky. I think you might be the only one who thinks Hotcha is a good guy.”

“Its Hotah, and don’t you have some metal bending you should be practicing?”

Toph snorted and blew at her bangs, “alright Snoozles. Don’t say I didn’t try and warn you. Enjoy your breakfast alone.”

She stood up and left Sokka to eat. Alone.

She was wrong.

He didn’t enjoy eating his breakfast alone.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Bato could feel the heat radiating off the fire bender. He was taller, stronger and more angry the the child they scooped out of the ocean, but still very small in comparison to Bato, he was also small compared to Hotah. They walked in silence for a while, Bato wanted to let him gain a little more control before they discussed what happened.

They made it all the way on deck, the sun was higher in the sky now and Zuko seemed to calm as soon as the sun’s rays hit his face.

“So do you want to talk about what happened?”

Zuko glared at him.

“That fucking guy came at me for no reason!”

His fists clenched and he tried to control the angry flames that danced at his fingers.

“I know Hotah can be a… a um…”

“A fucking twat?”

Bato looked at Zuko with surprise, such language.

“Ok… We can use that, colorful vocabulary. A fucking twat, but he has experienced a lot of pain caused by the Fire Nation. I know you alone are not responsible for the crimes of your nation, but people are sensitive to your presence because they associate it with the pain they feel. Most of us know you are a good guy Zuko, but I am asking you to practice patience and restraint when it comes to those that are not as accepting. Please, if you don’t you will put us in a difficult position. I don’t want to see Chief have to choose between you and the safety of the crew.”

Zuko gripped the railing, heating it up with his anger he felt the hot metal searing his skin. After the pain began to hit him he let go, looking up at Bato.

“Fine.”

“Fine, what?”

“Fine I will practice, patience.. or whatever.”

“Good, it will be ok, we are only a month away from the invasion.”

“What invasion?”

Bato felt his skin prickle, oh shit. He didn’t know. He wasn’t supposed to know until Hakoda and Iroh decided to speak about it to him. He wasn’t ready to know.

“Bato. What. Invasion?”

“It would be better for you to talk to your Uncle and the Chief about that.”

He didn’t look down at Zuko, but he could feel the fire bender glaring daggers at him. He needed to go talk to the Chief before Zuko got to him.

“Ok, stay out of trouble. I will see you later.”

He left quickly.

Damn it all, I just cant keep my big mouth shut can I? Koda is going to murder me.

- - - - - - - - - -

Tulok and Hotah’s conversation didn’t make the young Water Tribe warrior feel any better about the situation.

Something about kindness, and forgiveness, and that Prince Zuko didn’t do anything to anyone he knew and a bunch of other bull shit.

If anything, it enraged him further, his people, HIS Water Tribe men were siding with a dirty ash-maker. He was down in the cargo hold hangout kicking boxes around and pretending they were stupid fire benders.

No, he was pretending they were Prince Zuko. With his stupid fucked up face and his dumb burning eyes. He would like to drive his sword right into those stupid eyes and make them stay closed forever.

His buddies joined him shortly after he started thinking of all the ways he wanted to kill Zuko.

Paq and Kulo sat on a crate watching their leader pace back and forth, his face red with anger. Sokka ventured down after he spent time trying to find Hotah after the mess hall situation.

“I could probably lock him up in one of the cells on the ship. But people would probably look for him there.”

“You could lock him in a crate and hide him in one of the cargo holds, it would take them forever to find him.”

“Hmmm, that’s an idea.”

Sokka sat down slowly, he knew Hotah was mad but he knew his threats were empty. At least he hoped. He knew they couldn’t actually try to kill Zuko.

Could they?

“So how did your talk with Tulok go?” Sokka genuinely wanted to know.

“Like shit, he is an ash-maker sympathizer, they all are. They want us to play nice with the Prince of the fucking Fire Nation and I cant just sit by and do that! I am loyal to the Water Tribe and that means taking out every fire bender we meet. I’m not here to make friends and share tea with them!”

His anger was apparent as he kicked another crate, cracking the wood.

“We could throw him over board, and no one would blame us. I mean, didn’t he fall off another ship which is the whole reason we are in this mess?”

Paq’s words hung in the air, Hotah’s eyes began to smile, his face changed from angry to excited.

They had joked earlier in the week about throwing the fire benders overboard but this time it seemed like they were actually contemplating it.

“Yeah we could definitely do that. No one would know, we could wait until a storm and throw him over the edge. I like the way you think Paq. By the time anyone notices, he will be long gone.”

Sokka’s stomach began to knot, they were joking right? They wouldn’t actually kill Zuko.

He knew he should say something, but he didn’t. He just sat there and watched the boys discuss an awful plan of drowning Zuko.

He promised himself he would say something if they actually were going to go through with it.

- - - - - - - - -

A few days passed as storm clouds began to move in, the sky was becoming dark and heavy. The wind was picking up, making it difficult to walk across the deck safely.

Hotah met Sokka after breakfast, “We are doing the plan tonight, so get ready.”

Sokka didn’t say anything.

Shit.

- - - - - - - - - -

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

The storm moved in quickly, and it hit the ship hard. The waves were crashing through the railings and sweeping over the deck with deadly force. The crew was on strict orders to stay off the deck so no one would fall overboard. There would be no hope for someone if they fell into the ocean during a storm of this magnitude, the waves were already threatening to swallow the ship.

The rain was thick and pouring out of the sky, the visibility on deck was close to nothing. Lightning crashed through the clouds, lighting up the sea for only a glimpse before total darkness consumed it again. The moonlight was smothered by the thick rain clouds.

Most of the Water Tribe men had their sea legs established already, but this type of rocking brought an entirely different realm of motion sickness. The rising and falling of the waves made the ship extremely unstable. There were moments where the ship felt as if it was falling out of the sky before it would strike the ocean again with tremendous force.

The newer crew members were the ones that truly fell victim to the ship’s intense movements. Men piled into the bathrooms as they clutched the toilets for dear life. No one wanted to be tilted and rocked while throwing up.

Most of the able bodied men were down below deck shoveling coal, they were trying to keep the ship’s engine power going strong in order to keep moving forward to stay in control. If they ended up at the mercy of the waves there was the potential to capsize.

Hakoda, Anke and Bato were at the wheel trying to navigate through the storm and stay as close to their course as possible. The lack of stars and moonlight was making it exceptionally difficult to keep a steady course.

Poor Tulok was over come with sickness and unable to help, he has always had terrible sea legs.

Appa had to be secured in a lowered area on deck, the crew covered with him with tarps to try and shield him from the water. Appa was no stranger to storms so the bison didn't seem too bothered.

The men that weren’t below shoveling coal, and weren’t throwing up, were working through different parts of the cargo hold to make sure everything was tied down. The last thing they needed was possible explosive materials hitting the sides of the ship and exploding. The entire ship would sink if that happened, and the entire crew along with it.

The crew had been in the process of going through the Fire Nation cruiser’s vast amount of cargo but it was a slow process. So no one knew exactly what was down there.

Hotah and Sokka were assigned to tie down crates and supplies while the storm wasn’t as bad. They were instructed as soon as the waves picked back up they needed to come back to the cabin area with the rest of the men. The boys needed to move quickly so they could secure everything before the ship started to heavily rock again. If the crates and barrels were to tip over it could crush one of them to death or seriously injure them.

As they worked, neither boy said anything, they were too focused on the urgency and importance of their task. They couldn’t risk anything happening to the ship, or they wouldn’t have to worry about killing the Fire Prince. They would all be dead.

Finally Hotah tied off the last of the rope and wiped the sweat off his brow. Both he and Sokka were exhausted. They took a break and sat on the floor their back resting against the supplies. Sokka was glad they were able to get everything tied down but he was nervous for what Hotah might want to talk about now that they were done.

“Some storm, huh?” Sokka smiled and nervously laughed.

“Yeah. Really intense.”

“Probably a good thing we can’t go on deck, I would hate for something bad to happen to one of us.”

“Yeah, I think we need a change of plans.”

“Plans? Oh yeah! The plan! I kind of thought we were just joking around about that.”

Sokka laughed awkwardly as he tried to play off the extremely uncomfortable idea of killing Prince Zuko.

“Do you think I would joke about something as serious as protecting the Water Tribe men from a dangerous ash-maker?”

“…No, I guess I don’t think you would joke about that.”

“Good, because I am serious, we have a change of plans.”

Hotah closed his eyes and let out a long exhale.

“I think we need to move the plan to later tonight when the ship sails through the eye of the storm. It will still be storming, but not as bad. We can’t be on deck too long, so Paq and I were talking earlier and we think we need to lure him to our hangout area and restrain him, then toss him over. We can’t risk executing the plan on deck in the storm if he decides to put up a fight. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys, just the ash-maker.”

“Prince Zuko will definitely put up a fight. He would fight you over what to eat for breakfast, so expect a fight from him if you are planning on trying to kill him. How are you going to get him to follow you to the cargo hold? He isn’t your biggest fan, if you haven’t noticed.”

Hotah reached out, like Water Tribe men do, and grabbed Sokka’s shoulder.

“Yeah but he will follow you.”

“Me?! No way, he hates me too.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t hate your dad.”

“What does my dad have to do with this?”

“You just have to tell him your dad wants to talk to him and I bet he will follow you, no questions asked.”

“… Maybe. No guarantees.”

“I am confident it will work, so is Paq. I haven’t seen Kulo today but I told Paq to update him on the plan whenever he sees him. Can we count on you Sokka?”

Hotah looked at Sokka, his blue eyes searching the young Water Tribe boy for hesitation.

“Yeah… Yeah you can count on me…”

“I hope so.”

Hotah stood up and offered Sokka a traditional Water Tribe handshake and Sokka stood and grabbed the man’s arm just below the elbow.

“I’m glad you aren’t an ash-maker sympathizer Sokka, you’re a good warrior. You’ll make a great Chief one day.”

He turned to leave and Sokka followed, those were the words he always wanted to hear from another Water Tribe man besides his dad.

So why did they make him feel so terrible?

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko sat with his uncle in his uncle’s cabin, the ship was rocking but not as bad as earlier. They both helped tie down two supply rooms earlier, and they were told to rest and wait to see what other assistance would be needed. So far no one came to get them, so they sat in silence.

Zuko had been avoiding everyone for the past couple of days, keeping to himself in his room. His uncle knew something was bothering him, but he didn’t want to ask him just yet. He had a sneaking suspicion of what it might be.

Now they were alone together and Zuko was just…. Glaring at him. Sitting lotus style on the bed, glaring, with his arms crossed.

“Something on your mind nephew?”

“No, why? Is there something on your mind? Something you think you should share with me?”

“Not that I can think of, no.”

“Ok, then there is nothing on my mind either.”

“Is there only nothing on your mind… because there is nothing I want to share?”

“Maybe there would be something on my mind, if there was something you wanted to share.”

“Nephew this entire conversation is not making much sense. I am just trying to understand why it is that you are sitting on my bed glaring at me.”

“Am I invading your space by being here?”

“I don’t understand?”

“Oh, am I invading your privacy by having this conversation?”

“Prince Zuko you are still not making sense.”

“I feel like my personal space is being INVADED by you.”

“…. Prince Zuko are you trying to be subtle?”

“Is it working?”

“No, but I know you well enough to have a slight idea of why you are pushing the word invasion around. Did someone say something to you about an invasion?”

“Maybe.”

“Why do you always choose to make things difficult?”

“Because its in my blood.”

“I see no lie in that.”

“ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT THE INVASION OR NOT!?”

Zuko was screaming now. Iroh slowly stood up from his chair at the desk and grabbed his tea pot. When his nephew started screaming it was time for calming jasmine tea.

“We need tea, I will be back and we can discuss.”

Zuko groaned and threw himself backwards on the bed covering his face with his hands.

- - - - - - - - -

Katara sat on Aang’s bed, the storm was making her worried, she could see the lightning cracking through the sky from the porthole in the room. Every time the thunder would crash, Aang flinched slightly. The boat’s erratic rocking was throwing everything off balance. So much so, that the desk in their room slid across the floor and slammed into the wall. Good thing it was a metal desk hitting a metal wall, so no damage done.

Aang was awake and watching Katara listen to the wind howl.

“I think I should go check in with my dad and see if he needs any help. I am a water bender, I should see if I can help in anyway.”

“I should come with you, I want to help.”

“No Aang, you need to stay here and rest, please. If you are going to be strong enough to fight the Fire Lord during the invasion, you need to save your strength. I am going to find Toph and have her come here and stay with you. She can make sure you don’t get crushed by this desk or hit by a chair if the boat starts going crazy again.”

“I’m not helpless Katara, I am feeling better everyday.”

“I know that Aang, you are amazing, I just want to be on the safe side. So please, stay here?”

“…Ok.”

“Alright then, I am going to check in with my dad and send Toph to you, I will be back soon.”

She smiled at Aang and then disappeared out the door.

- - - - - - - - -

“TWINKLE TOES!!!!!”

Toph slammed down into the bed, “Show me how you did that thing to Zuko. I want you to be all up in my subconscious!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Awwww, come on.”

“Ok I’ll try.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Katara found her dad in his cabin, he was standing at the war table looking at a map while talking to Iroh.

“Dad! Uncle! How is everything going?”

“Katara sweetheart, everything is going. Well... its going as good as it could be in this massive storm. Its like La is angry with us, I swear, we think our ship is shifting course towards one of the outer Fire Nation islands. We just aren’t sure which one. Iroh and I are trying to figure it out right now. Its hard to navigate in this storm, I can’t see any stars and the moonlight is blocked by the clouds. I thought maybe Iroh would be able to help, with him being more familiar with Fire Nation waters.”

“Your dad found me just as I was getting ready to prepare some calming tea for my nephew.”

“Is Zuko ok? After I finished healing him I have not really seen him around. I know I have been pre occupied with Aang but I thought I would see him at some point.”

“Yes dear, nothing for you to worry about. Let the older men worry about my feisty nephew. You keep taking care of Avatar Aang and make sure he continues to heal. You are doing such a fantastic job.”

Katara beamed, “Thank you Uncle. So you said we were sailing into Fire Nation waters, how far away from the capital are we?”

“We are heading to the Fire Nation capital?”

There was a thick silence when they heard that deep raspy voice cut into the conversation. Zuko was standing in the door way, his golden eyes were open wide looking at the men standing at the table. His arms were hanging at his sides, Katara could see a slight shake.

“Are we in Fire Nation waters right now?” He asked, the shake was present in his voice.

Hakoda glanced at Zuko and then quickly to Iroh. Iroh was staring at Zuko, his face was calm, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.

No one said anything for a moment so Zuko filled the silence.

“Fuck all of you.”

He turned and left.

Katara looked at Iroh and then her dad, they both were stiff and clearly uncomfortable with what just happened. Both men looked very surprised, as if that was the last thing they were expecting.

“He didn’t know… Did he…?”

Both men looked at each other. Iroh nodded and answered.

“My nephew has made a lot of bad choices in his life, and even though lately he seems to be making better decisions… We could not risk the element of surprise when it comes to the invasion plan. We were planning on speaking with him when he got closer to the rendezvous. But he heard about the invasion plan from someone on accident and now… Well now he just heard more from us. He technically isn’t supposed to be in Fire Nation waters per his banishment agreement. But he is also not supposed to be on a hijacked Fire Nation cruiser thats being commanded by Water Tribe. I fear that him finding out this way will make this conversation much more difficult.”

“So you were afraid he was going to… Tell the Fire Lord?”

She saw sadness coat the older fire bender’s eyes, he looked down at the map and then back at her.

“Sometimes I do not know what he might do to try and earn his father’s love. I would hope not, but I could not be positive. So I had to make a decision to keep the future of the world safe, even if it hurt my nephew’s feelings. As much as it pains me, I would never intentionally lie to him unless absolutely necessary.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Iroh.

“So now what?”

Bato walked through the door, he was looking back behind him and then turned and saw everyone standing there awkwardly.

“I am going to assume something happened just now in here that caused an extremely pissed off fire bender to storm down the hallway mumbling something about traitors and liars?”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose harder.

“No Bato, you can thank yourself for that. You are the one who even mentioned the invasion to him in the first place!”

Bato touched his chest. “Me?! He is the only one on this ship that doesn’t know! He would have found out eventually! So the question now is who is going to talk to him?”

Everyone was silent. Katara looked at the three men standing before her, all too scared to go and tell the truth to a teenager. Even if he was a fire breathing, anger filled, Prince of the Fire Nation.

“I will go speak with him.”

Hakoda’s voice broke the silence.

“I know we all agreed to wait and have this conversation with him when we landed on the island but I think its time now. Would you be alright if I spoke to him Iroh?”

The old fire bender slipped his arms in his sleeves, he gave a small bow to Hakoda.

“I would be honored that you would care about my nephew enough to try and save him. I think if anyone would be able to break through his barriers it would be you, Chief Hakoda.”

The Chief nodded, “just on the safe side I am going to give him a few minutes to cool off.”

Iroh grinned.

“Wise decision, as always.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Zuko wanted to go on the deck so bad, but it was storming outside. He paced the hallways a few times but it was too crowded with all the cooped up Water Tribe men. They were pouring in and out of the barracks and the mess hall was crowded. It was unusual to have this many men inside the ship at one time, but the storm outside was relentless.

Zuko needed to be alone, he couldn’t think straight with all the loud Water Tribe men ‘hooting and hollering’ around him. He decided to head below deck, stomping his way to the cargo hold area. He remembered the cargo room that had a boxes and crates arranged in a seating area, so he decided to go there. He didn’t know where else to go, he was stuck on this stupid boat until they hit land.

He decided on his way to the cargo hold that he was going to get off this boat the second he could and leave all these liars to invade the capital without him.

Fuck them, and fuck their stupid plan. I didn’t want to help anyway. I saved the Avatar from being toasted by Azula, they can take it from here. I didn’t even want to help them end the war. I just want to be by myself, maybe ill take Azula’s advice and find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt me.

He wasn’t sure if he was convincing himself or if that’s what he really wanted.

Never forget who you are.

Who am I? I am someone no one will ever trust… Even Uncle doesn’t trust me.

He screamed to himself, spitting fire, as he kicked in the familiar cargo hold door. The door swung open and hit the wall with force. The satisfaction of kicking the door in made him smirk to himself, maybe he could just kicked the shit out of a bunch of boxes and make himself feel better. Maybe burn some shit too.

Yeah that’s what he will do, burn shit and kick stuff.

He walked in and saw the boxes and crates had been moved and tied together.

Oh that’s right, the storm. Everything is packed tight. Why am I so stupid, I literally came down here with Uncle and packed this shit up myself. Stupid Uncle. Lying Uncle. I can’t even storm off successfully. No wonder they didn’t trust me with their stupid invasion information. Fuck them.

He went to turn and leave when he saw Hotah standing in the doorway.

Stupid Hotah, with his stupid face.

Stupid Hotah, with his stupid sword.

Stupid Hotah, with his stupid sword drawn, pointing it at Zuko.

Oh.

Shit.

“What the fuck do you want?!” There was venom in Zuko’s voice.

“Well, well, well… Sokka didn’t tell me he was going to lead you down here already. I have to admit, he is a true Water Tribe warrior. Bringing the banished Prince down here to his death. I am impressed.”

Zuko scowled at the man, shifting into a fighting stance.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Did Sokka not come get you?”

“No.”

“Oh Tui and La, we have the spirit’s blessing tonight! Not only did they give us a storm for cover but they had you come down here of your own free will!? This is going to make a great Southern Water Tribe legend one day. They will tell stories of the mysterious death of the Fire Nation Prince in the middle of a terrible storm.”

“Not that your story isn’t fantastic, but I need to ask you something.”

Hotah looked extremely confused, “what?”

“Do you know about an invasion plan?”

“Of course, that’s why the Avatar and his friends are here. We are going to take down the Fire Nation capital on the day of the eclipse. Did no one tell you?”

Hotah started laughing.

Zuko screamed, “THEY TOLD YOU!? BUT YOU ARE THE DUMBEST GUY ON THIS SHIP!”

Hotah’s expression change to a frown and he shifted into his own fighting position.

“I am smart enough to kill you and get away with it.”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed and he cracked his neck, rolling his shoulder blades as he loosened his arms, his stance strong.

“I’m still breathing, bring it water boy.”

Hotah lifted his sword and moved to strike.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka paced his room, stressing wasn’t his thing, meat and sarcasm were supposed to be his thing.

“I keep it light hearted, I crack jokes, I eat meat! I don’t sneak around and lure jerk benders to their deaths…”

He slumped onto his bed burying his face into his pillow. He mumbled to himself for a while before exhaling deeply and flipping to his back staring up at the ceiling.

Yue, I want to ask you for help. But I think I already know what you would say. I know its wrong, I can feel the wrong in my stomach, and my stomach has never let me down before. I finally have Water Tribe friends that aren’t children and they like me Yue, they actually like me. But at the same time they want me to do something terrible, even if its to a terrible person.

Uhhhh, but Zuko isn’t that terrible. My dad… uhhh, my dad loves him. He saved my sister’s life, he saved Aang’s life. He hasn’t burnt anyone since he has been here with us. I know he doesn’t deserve to be thrown into the ocean like a worthless sack of rocks… I have to do the right thing don’t I? Even if I lose my friends?

Sokka groaned and rubbed his face, he had to go talk to Hotah. He needed to try and convince him that he can’t take his pain and suffering out on Zuko.

It isn’t right.

He knows that now.

Who is he kidding, he has always known it was wrong.

Sokka swung his legs over the bed and stood up, time to go murder his new friendship instead of the stupid Fire Prince.

Life isn’t fair.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hotah struck first, he was a big guy and relied on his strength to crush his opponent. It was similar to the way Anke fought when he and Zuko first sparred.

Zuko was fast, way too fast for the Water Tribe man. Hotah swung at Zuko’s core, he was confident his hit would land, but Zuko stepped one step to the side and dropped to the ground. The sword sliced way above his crouched body and the fire bender used his position to shoot his body back up and kicked the Water Tribe man in the chest.

Hotah stumbled backwards and grunted, his eyes narrowed and he fixed his sights on Zuko who was standing in front of him in his fighting stance.

Zuko had no weapons, and he knew that if he used his fire against his attacker he would justify the violence by blaming Zuko for the attack. He had to be smart about this.

Hotah yelled and rushed forward, he swung his sword from the above his head and down, striking as hard as he could. Zuko jumped back with little effort as the sword made contact with the metal floor. Lifting the blade back up, the attacker sliced from right to left, and then back the other way. Zuko dodged with ease, he wasn’t even breathing hard yet.

Hotah was losing momentum, trying to land his advances with the immense effort and strength. His intense efforts would be tiring for anyone. Hotah let the tip of his blade rest of the floor while he tried to catch his breath.

Zuko smirked, it was time to take the offensive. All his Blue Spirit skills came out as he took a few steps forward approaching Hotah. Using his right arm, he reached out and flicked his wrist up, using the heel of his hand to collide with Hotah’s sternum.

The small movement delivered exceptional force. Hotah stumbled back, but to the Water Tribe man’s luck, he didn’t fall. But he did double over trying to catch his breath. His blue eyes shot up to Zuko’s face, landing on the fire bender’s smirk. Zuko stood tall and used his hand to bait the other man with a ‘come here’ motion, triggering Hotah’s rage.

Pure adrenaline and anger fueled the Water Tribe man forward. He swung his sword over his head and curved his attack to the right, trying to hit Zuko where he was going to be, instead of where he was. Hotah was finally trying to use his brain in the fight instead of attacking blindly. His advances pushed both boys closer to the stacked supplies.

With the years of training Zuko had, he saw the moment Hotah’s arm moved to signal the blade’s intent of curving to the right. Zuko jumped up, the blade swung underneath him and the fire bender grabbed the rope he personally used when he wrapped the the cargo hold together. He climbed the stack and dangled by one arm just above Hotah.

He pushed himself off the crates and barrels, flipping a front flip over the Water Tribe man’s head. He landed on the floor in front of Hotah, a few feet out of reach.

Just as Zuko was getting ready to go on the offensive again, the boat lurched to the right. Both boys, not expecting the sudden movement, tumbled against the wall.

Hotah was completely out of breath, his larger body and less tactical training made his impact with the wall forceful and painful. He hit the metal wall and hissed as his shoulder collided with the structure. Zuko was more agile and was able to use his body and the momentum of the ships movements to roll against the wall and push himself back to his feet.

Hotah grabbed his sword and put it between him and the fire bender, he was still on his butt with his back against the wall.

Zuko turned and started screaming at Hotah.

“WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME!?”

“You’re… YOU’RE A FI-FIRE BENDER!”

“WHY DOES THAT MATTER?! WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO TO YOU!?”

“JUST…” Hotah was trying to catch him breath, “just… stand still and let me, just let me kill you.”

Zuko crossed his arms, looking angry, as his body shifted with the tumbling boat. His feet stayed perfectly planted on the ground. Years on his own ship made him steadfast during rough weather.

“I am not going to stand here and let you kill me! Do you hear how stupid you sound!? Agni, you’re an idiot and even you knew about the invasion plan!”

Zuko ran his fingers through his hair, looking down at the floor for a moment before scowling back at the Water Tribe man on the floor.

Hotah slowly began to rise and gather his composure as the ship’s movements became stronger. The crates were creaking and the sound of snapping wood could be heard in the stacked cargo from the pressure of the rocking ship.

“I’m not backing down!” Hotah yelled as he brought up his sword again.

“Good, I will gladly keep humiliating you!”

“HOTAH!!!!”

As if the spirits themselves came to Hotah’s rescue, Paq and Kulo came rushing in. Both of them were reaching for their weapons. The two Water Tribe men drew them, ready to defend their friend.

Paq held his sword out in front, Zuko noticed how awful his stance was and saw the slight shake he had in his wrist.

Nervous.

Good, he should be.

The fire bender glanced over at Kulo who was armed with a boomerang. The edges were sharp but it’s intended purposed would do him little good in such a small space. Zuko glanced between all three men and smirked, shifting his stance lower.

“Bring it, idiots.”

They all attacked, Zuko was more experienced in hand to hand than any of his attackers. He used their inexperience against them and without using fire, he incapacitated Kulo first.

With just a boomerang he wasn’t much of a threat, Kulo swung his weapon without purpose. He sliced into the air a couple of time in Zuko’s general direction but didn’t come anywhere close to actually landing a hit.

Zuko spun on the floor, swinging his legs out he caught Kulo’s ankle knocking him to the ground. As Kulo hit the floor Zuko lifted his leg with the same momentum he had from the spin, and kicked Paq in the chest. Knocking the air out of his lungs, Paq doubled over.

Zuko used this moment to push Kulo’s body with his foot and slide him out of the way. As he slid the boat tipped to the left this time, throwing them into the tied down cargo.

Zuko hit the stack of crates hard, without skipping a beat he grabbed the rope and went to pull himself up. He felt a strong grip on the neck of his tunic and heard Hotah’s voice.

“Nope, not that again!”

Hotah yanked with all his strength and pulled Zuko down onto the floor. Hotah swung his sword down trying to slice into the fire bender laying on the ground. Zuko used his legs to push himself off the stack of crates and slide on the metal floor just out of range. The sword hit the floor and Hotah let out a yell.

“STAY STILL ASH-MAKER!”

Zuko jumped up and glared at him.

“WHY DON’T YOU STAY STILL!! TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE!”

Kulo tried to raise off the floor but he hit the wall pretty hard and he seemed disoriented. Paq saw his injured friend and lifted his sword running at Zuko, weapon raised.

Zuko was focused on Hotah and shifted slightly when he saw Paq advance. He looked with his golden eyes between both men, trying to watch them both simultaneously. Paq brought his sword down without purpose, he was swinging from emotion instead of strategy. Zuko dodged the hit and ducked as Paq’s blade went across, trying to strike Zuko’s core after the first hit missed.

Paq was growing increasingly frustrated and Hotah stepped up to join him, trying to catch Zuko off guard.

But Zuko was prepared.

It wasn’t IF Hotah advanced, it was when, and Zuko was ready. He landed from his jump and dropped all the way to the floor missing the swing of Hotah’s blade. He balanced on his arms kicking out, he landed the blow on Paq’s knee. Knocking the man’s leg out from under him with a terrible cracking noise.

The Water Tribe mad screamed and hit the floor, his head knocked against the metal with another terrible crack. Hotah saw his friend fall and rage overcame him. The adrenaline of seeing his friend hurt made his strength increase but it also made his advance’s sloppy.

Zuko dodged multiple over exerted hits until the man grew exhausted and was gasping for air. Zuko kicked his leg up and made contact with Hotah’s face. The kick knocked Hotah back against the wall, his eyes shot wide open for a moment before he squeezed them shut. Blood began pouring out of his nose, possibly broken.

Zuko was breathing heavier now, his eyes darting to the men that laid on the ground. Paq was holding his hands on his knee, tears streaming down his cheeks. Kulo lay on his side, trying to catch his breath and shaking from fear and probably pain.

Hotah leaned against the wall, his sword pulled out still pointing at Zuko.

Zuko relaxed just a bit and stood tall, “I guess we are done here.”

“NO! Ash-maker! You will not get away with this! You attacked us!!”

Zuko’s face contorted, “WHAT?!”

“That’s what I will tell people! They will believe me too, you have injured all of us and you are walking out scratch free? Who will they believe?!”

Sokka’s voice cut through the air, “No Hotah, you won’t. I can’t let you do that, it isn’t right.”

Zuko looked over at the Sokka with disbelief on his face. His breathing was becoming more controlled and he began to wonder how long Hakoda’s son had been standing there watching.

“Sokka! Help me! The Fire Prince is right here! We can take him together!”

Hotah spoke like he didn’t even hear Sokka’s last words. His blue eyes desperately darting between the fire bender and the Water Tribe boy.

“Hotah… It’s wrong, I know I should have said something sooner, and I hate myself for being to much of a coward. But you can’t kill Zuko, he is an asshole, yeah – but you cant kill him simply because he is Fire Nation. I’m sorry. I know you won’t want to be my friend anymore but I can’t live with myself if I let this happen.”

He looked around at the incapacitated men and chuckled.

“Or what could have happened here. I don’t think your plan is going very well, even without my part.”

Hotah glared at Sokka and then turned his attention back to Zuko, his anger was festering. He glared at Sokka and spoke to him with a vicious tone.

“I knew you were weak Sokka, just like your pathetic father. He must have been so disappointed in his real son that he had to go and adopt this ash-maker. He is a weak Chief, with a weak son and added a weak Fire Nation reject to his already pathetic family. A stupid banished Prince whose own father BURNED him and the only person who cares about him is a fat fire bender, and the stupid Water Tribe Chief of a dying tribe. A man who couldn’t even save his wife from a fire bender….”

Before Hotah could continue Zuko’s hands light up with fire. Sokka’s chest became tight as he watched the former, or possibly current enemy, erupt into anger. Flames dancing in his eyes and his body went stiff as the fire grew bigger. The lanterns on the wall began to flicker wildly as Zuko’s eyes narrowed at the man who spoke about his uncle and Chief Hakoda like that.

He exhaled a strong breath of fire before he took a step towards Hotah. Staying steady as the ship did another dramatic tilt, Hotah stayed pressed up against the wall in front of Zuko. Sokka fell on the floor, not letting his eyes leave the two boys standing in front of him.

“Don’t EVER talk about Chief Hakoda or my Uncle like that! I will show you how small and weak you really are, I will burn your body into ash and show you what being an ASH-MAKER means! Chief Hakoda is more of a man then your tiny brain could even comprehend! His son, is not an idiot, well at least not all the time! He didn’t want to follow your fucking influence to do something crazy! You started a fight you can’t win! I didn’t even throw a flame at you, and I could have burnt your pathetic ass to the ground ten times!! You brought these other idiots into your personal issues and now look-“

He motioned over to Paq and Kulo who were still on the floor. Kulo was trying to comfort his friend while he cried and held his broken knee.

“A good leader doesn’t bring his men into a battle he knows he can’t win! Chief Hakoda would not do that to his men, he would think through his actions and do what is best for everyone. He isn’t a blood thirsty moron like you!!”

Hotah’s face scrunched up and his breathing became erratic.

“YOU ARE THE REASON MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!! YOUR FUCKING NATION KILLED ALL MY FAMILY!!! YOU ARE THE SPAWN ON THE MAN WHO BURNS EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE IN HIS PATH!! LOOK AT YOU!! HIS OWN SON, HE FUCKING BURNT YOUR FACE OFF AND IF YOU CAN’T SEE THAT, WHO IS THE MORON!? YOU ARE PRINCE ZUKO!!! YOU ARE THE MORON!! NO ONE EVEN TOLD YOU ABOUT THE INVASION PLAN BECAUSE NO ONE TRUSTS YOU!! YOU HAVE NOTHING!! JUST LIKE ME!!”

Zuko’s growled and lifted his flaming fist above his head, prepared to strike down at the Water Tribe man as he slowly and weakly lifted his sword the point directed at Zuko.

Hotah’s eyes were fixed on the flaming fist above his face, his eyes changed from angry and hostile to terrified. Zuko saw the shift in the man’s face as he was truly petrified of the fire that was being held above him. His sword began to tremble as his arms shook from fear.

It was in that moment that Zuko realized that Hotah didn’t hate him, he was terrified of him, and the Fire Nation. He was hurt by Zuko’s people, and confused on why it happened to him. He didn’t know how to control his fear so he lashed out in anger. He thought that killing Zuko would bring justice to his family. Just like Zuko thought that capturing the Avatar would regain his honor. Hotah was fully of anger from losing his family… He was lashing out at Zuko because of the pain he felt.

Just like Zuko lashed out.

Just like Zuko was angry.

Just like Zuko didn’t know why bad things happened to him.

Just like Zuko felt tremendous pain.

His flames slowly flickered out and he lowered his hand, letting his arms rest at his side. Zuko’s head dropped and his hair covered his eyes, he exhaled slowly.

“I am sorry what my people did to you Hotah. Even though I don’t like you, I don’t wish that type of anger and pain on anyone… I know what its like to lose everything. I know the pain and rage you feel… I have also made many mistakes driven by that rage and anger… Your family didn’t deserve to die. I am sorry they were taken from you… I understand your suffering…”

He spoke in almost a whisper, finally looking up into the Water Tribe man’s eyes as he sat against the wall completely shocked. He still had his sword pointed at Zuko but his face was calmer, and he seemed to be mulling over Zuko’s words.

Sokka watched the interaction in complete shock, he never thought Zuko would say something like that. He had to smack his face a few times just to make sure this wasn’t some backwards dream he was having.

Before Sokka could stand or make a move, he saw Kulo stand up with a dagger in his hands.

“Don’t listen to him Hotah!! He is an ash-maker!! They killed your parents and killed my brother!! Look what he did to Paq!! He might not be able to ever walk again!”

Kulo ran forward and Sokka could have swore Zuko stood there and let the Water Tribe man stick his dagger deep into the fire bender’s back. He didn’t dodge, or shift, he just took it. He didn’t make a sound, which was deeply disturbing to Sokka.

Hotah sat there stunned as Kulo backed up slowly realizing what he did. Zuko left his back to him, the dagger sticking out of his left shoulder blade.

Before anyone could say anything the lanterns flickered again as the ship dropped, causing everyone to lift off their feet. The boat landed heavy in the water and rocked hard to the left, sending all the boys stumbling into each other. Hotah still had his sword drawn and pointed at Zuko, so when the fire bender tumbled toward him he was penetrated by the blade.

Sokka heard Zuko scream this time, as he stood he saw Zuko laying on Hotah, the tip of his blade sticking out of Zuko’s back. The sword had cut clean through him.

Hotah looked down at the fire bender in shock and then back up at Sokka. Blood was soaking through the back of Zuko’s tunic.

“I didn’t… I didn’t… I wasn’t going to…. Go… Go get help Sokka! GO!!!!”

Sokka stood slowly as Hotah turned Zuko over on his back and withdrew his blade. Dark blood was spilling out of the cut and onto the floor. The ship did another hard shift and this time everyone fell to the right, Zuko’s body left a blood trail as he slammed against the stack of crates.

He left out a gasp and curled into a ball of pain, trying to put pressure on his open wound. Blood was everywhere and Sokka could see a panic in Hotah’s eyes as he tried to help the fire bender.

“Sokka GO!!!!!!”

Sokka snapped his mind out of the situation unfolding in front of him, and took off out the door.

He had to find Katara.

Or Zuko was going to die.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hakoda searched Zuko’s room, the mess hall, the barracks, he even peeked out onto the deck knowing if Zuko was that angry he might do something reckless like go onto the deck during a hurricane.

He was taking his time while he searched for the angry fire bender, he wanted to think and really know what he was going to say to Zuko.

They haven’t had a chance to really talk since he woke up. Hakoda knew it was his fault, the boy was around, but he was avoiding the Chief. And Hakoda was allowing him to have his space because he didn’t want to jump down the boy’s throat. He knew he tried to act like a father to Zuko in the past but with being separated for two years and his Uncle being here, Hakoda wanted to make sure he respected them both by setting boundaries.

Zuko would duck into empty rooms when Hakoda came down a hall, he saw the fire bender do it once so he knew he was avoiding him to the extreme.

Hakoda was busy he did admit, he was working on the invasion plan with Sokka and Iroh. He had begun to really like the old fire bender, he was a good man. They have spoke about Zuko before and he was surprised how much the older man didn’t know about his nephew.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“Zuko told you what?”

“He told me his father hit him with fire whips and wouldn’t let him go to the infirmary to get healed. I saw the two long scars on his his back. They look like they got infected and didn’t heal right.”

Iroh’s face was a mixture of confused and angry.

“I have seen those scars, when I asked about them Zuko said he fell out of a tree and was hit by the branches on his back… I can see now that I may have been lied to. It makes me wonder how much else the boy has lied to me about.”

“I don’t claim to know Zuko’s past anymore then you do, I am just repeating what the boy told me.”

“See, Chief Hakoda, I do not know much about Zuko’s life from the year he turned 7 until I picked him up off Zhao’s boat. I was off to war and spent little time in the palace and after I lost my son. I was devastated and I didn’t come back to the palace until Zuko was around 12. Even then, he was the Crown Prince so he was kept really busy and his father was the Fire Lord so there wasn’t much I could do with the things I did witness…”

“I understand, I hate the Fire Lord with a burning passion, but I can admit that I would not fight him – at least not alone.”

Iroh just nodded, “He is a formidable opponent. I just wish he would use that power to do good in the world, not harm children and rage war.”

“Do you think there is any good left in him at all in him?”

“No, not even the smallest bit.”

“What about this Zhao guy? I did not find him to be a very kind man when he was on my ship to retrieve Zuko. But he did not burn down my boat, which he could have, and he did not follow us or come for my fleet at a later time. I was so fearful for Zuko’s safety, I was worried for months, I found it hard to sleep, food was bland I just could not stop worrying about the little fire bender.”

Iroh closed his eyes and nodded slowly, using his controlled breathing, Hakoda could see the anger swelling.

“Zhao is dead, and I do not like to speak ill of the dead but I truly hope that man is rotting in the darkest place in the spirit world. He is a monster and tortured my CHILD nephew to try and extract information from him about you and your tribe and your connection to the Earth Kingdom fleet. The only reason you were not found, or no attack came is because Zuko would not turn you over to him. He refused to give him any information about you and your fleet or the direction you were heading. He paid a heavy price for that…”

Hakoda swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat, that damn lump. He didn’t know Zuko had been tortured, he might have thought it possible but there was no way he actually thought a man would torture a boy.

But would a father burn a son?

Maybe he didn’t know anything about the world anymore. At least not a world at war.

“Zuko wouldn’t have known that information I made sure we did not discuss any Water Tribe locations or information with him.”

Iroh chuckled his eyes flashing a mischievous look.

“You are naïve if you think that you spent a year on a boat with Prince Zuko and he didn’t know exactly where you were and precisely where you were headed. If there was a document, map, message, a conversation - anything that Zuko could see or hear, he would have looked at it or listened in. He is a very self aware young man, and he knew exactly what you and your men were doing and where you were headed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the name of each captain on each of the 8 ships you had in your fleet. What was it... 8-10 men on each ship? You worked closely with General Fong’s fleet?”

Hakoda tried not to look as surprised as he was.

“That little…”

Iroh reached out and clasped the Chief’s shoulder.

“Oh Chief Hakoda you have much to learn of my sneaky little nephew.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hakoda smiled to himself. He was looking forward to talking to Zuko, he wanted to have the close bond they had before they were separated. He was going to do whatever it took to make sure the young man was comfortable with him again.

He just had to cut through the anger, and the hurt, and right now the fire bender was very angry and probably really hurt. Hakoda knew Iroh had his reasons for not sharing the invasion plan with Zuko but it was still wrong, and Hakoda knew that.

After searching everywhere for Zuko, he decided to head below deck, he didn’t go below deck very often but it was the only place that Zuko could be at this point. The ship was built with multiple levels, the first one below deck was the cargo hold.

There was a lot of storage on the ship, rooms full of crates, there was an area for Komodo Rhinos to be stabled, a weapons area, a room for war machines to be stored, and endless supplies. Hakoda wasn’t planning on being on the ship very long because of the invasion, so he didn’t have the men taking inventory of everything that was down below.

He did send groups out today to try and tie down anything that could shift and cause an issue during the storm. He knew this ship had explosives he just wasn’t sure where they were located so he had to be safe about it. Lucky for him the crew came back and said everything in the cargo area had been secured.

He made it down the stairs and stepped into the long hallway, lanterns on the walls in between each door. The cargo hold area was massive. There was a lot more space and more items then they had in the entire Southern Water Tribe fleet.

He saw someone running down the hall, squinting he saw… Sokka?

“Sokka! Son! What are you doing down here?”

As he got closer Hakoda could see the sheer panic in his blue eyes, his eyes that were the same as his mother’s eyes.

“Sokka!! Are you alright?!”

He ran forward and Sokka flew into his arms, burying his face in his dad’s chest.

“D-d-dad! Dad I need, w-we need to find… Katara. Where is… Where is Katara!?”

“Sokka, son, you need to slow down. Are you hurt?”

He began to look his son over, Sokka pulled away roughly, surprising Hakoda.

“Dad. We need Katara! Zuko… Z-Zuko had been stabbed. He is going to die. I need to find Katara! Go help! Please!!”

“ZUKO!? STABBED?! You need tell me, where he is son, where is Zuko!?”

“He is in the third door down to the right. Please, you have to do something. Please dad! I’m going to find Katara!!”

Sokka let go of his dad and ran past him, leaping every two steps up the stairs.

Hakoda took off, the fastest he has moved in months. His heart was pounding in his chest, the lump in his throat suffocating him. He made it to the room Sokka told him Zuko was in and tore open the door.

His face went pale, and his heart stopped.

Zuko was on the floor, blood was… everywhere. Smeared across the floor, splattered on the cargo pile, Hotah was sitting over him his hands pressed firmly on the fire benders stomach. The Water Tribe man had blood up to his elbows, tear streaks on his face. There was a large pool of blood under Zuko, and it was spreading out, which meant he was bleeding out.

All Hakoda could think of was seeing the small boy at the river, unconscious holding his side, dying. Now again, in his care, Zuko was dying.

Paq and Kulo were up against the wall by the door, not even looking at the Chief when he ran in. Kulo had his knees pushed up against his chest and his hands over his ears, he was shaking something awful. Paq looked injured and he lay on his side looking away from the bleeding fire bender.

Hakoda ran up to Zuko and pulled Hotah off of the fire bender throwing him back onto his back. As soon as Hotah was removed Hakoda could see the deep red blood pouring out of clean cut in his stomach. The wound was deep, and it was fresh. Hakoda put his hands on the wound applying pressure and looked at Zuko’s face. He was pale and his eyes were half open and cloudy. His lips were parted and his jaw hung open a small amount.

“Zuko! Zuko can you hear me!?”

The fire bender’s gold eyes flickered at the sound of his voice and he turned his head slightly looking at the Chief. His eyes coming back to life slowly.

He nodded.

“Zuko please, we are getting Katara she is going to heal you. You just have to not die ok? Please son, just stay with me please. I just got you back please….”

Zuko reached up slowly and grabbed the Chief’s tunic holding on tight. He smiled softly as if to show the Water Tribe man he was here, and he cared about him.

Hakoda’s eyes filled with tears, he only seemed to cry when the fire bender was here. Maybe because he was always almost dying?

Yeah, that could be it.

He looked down at Zuko and forced a smile.

“Don’t worry Prince Zuko, I am here, we are going to save you. Katara will get here and she will heal you. I wont let you die, I will not let anything bad ever happen to you. I am so sorry about the invasion plans, I know this is not the best time for me to say it, but I trust you Zuko. I would never hide something from you, we just wanted to make sure you were ready. Please, just hold on for me and I will tell you everything.”

Zuko gripped the tunic tighter and his eyes looked right at Hakoda, a small glisten of moister entered the Prince’s eyes. Even though his eyes were half closed and growing foggy a stream of tears fell from his good eye and hit the metal floor. It instantly disappeared into the spilled blood. Zuko’s grip loosened a bit as his eyes began to loose their spark.

Hakoda looked at the door and prayed.

“Tui and La, please stop playing games with my heart. Save my fire child.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Katara left her dad’s cabin after he went to go find Zuko.

She had to admit she was pretty disappointed in the leader’s decision to hide such a big thing from Zuko. She could see why he would be upset. She would have freaked out too and probably water whipped them all into submission!

Before going to check on Aang she went to the infirmary to see if Noa had the healer’s book in there and if they had any good remedies for burn creams. She wanted to get stocked up before the invasion, fighting the Fire Nation even during an eclipse would result in burns. She wanted to make sure they were prepared to treat potential burn infections.

Noa was actually in the infirmary reading the book, he saw her walk in and smiled.

“Katara! I feel like its been so long! I know it has only been a couple days but we were spending so much time together, and I miss you!”

His face got red, and he looked away from her and back to the book.

“Ohhh, uhhh not like that. I mean, you are beautiful, but not like that. No, I mean, you are beautiful like that! But I miss more then your beauty! I wow… I am just going to stop. Right now. I am going to stop talking…. Now.”

The Water Tribe man was bright red, and fumbling with the red bead in his hair. He closed his eyes and used his other arm to rub his face in his sleeve.

“Here, let me try that again… Hey Katara, long time no see! How is it going? See, I can talk like a normal person.”

Katara held it in for as long as she could and burst out laughing, Noa always made her laugh, and she really did love him for that.

She walked over to him and pulled up a chair.

“Can we look at burn creams and proper burn healing practices?”

They looked through the book for a while, flipping pages and discussing different healing experiences they had with burns.

“I had to help my village a lot with burns, during the peak of the Fire Nation raids people were getting badly burnt on a weekly basis. It is an awful thing to go through, I remember people laying there and groaning, begging to be put out of their misery. Infections are the real killers, if a burn getting infected, which they almost always do… you have to act fast or it can kill. That’s what I am most worried about during the invasion is people getting burned and dying from an untreated infection.”

Noa looked lost in thought as she spoke about burns. He had his head resting on his hands staring at the book but not really seeing the words on the page. He looked at her, his big blue eyes filled with sadness and hesitation.

“I’m sorry about your village, and the raids… I am sorry the Northern Water Tribe never did anything to help. I should have known that we were not staying neutral we were just being cowards and letting out Southern sister’s take the heat from the Fire Nation. Ummmm, no pun intended.”

They both chuckled, Katara sighed.

“Have you had to deal with a lot of burns? Being a healer on a ship in the war with fire benders must have put you in a lot of situations healing burns.”

Noa didn’t look at her when he spoke.

“Yes, I have had to deal with a lot of burns, some so bad they died. But the worse burn I have ever had to heal was done by a fire bender to a fire bender.”

Katara was puzzled at first, then it clicked.

“Zuko?”

“Yeah, he was so young, so small and so scared and he had this horrible burn… We thought it was a scratch, or a black eye, something small under those bandages when Chief pulled him out of the ocean. I was asked to help remove the wraps and treat the wound. We have no idea what was under those wrappings. It was the most terrible thing I have ever seen, I still have nightmares about it. I threw up instantly, like, all over your dad’s floor.

“Chief had to hold the kid down and I can still hear the screams and I couldn’t do anything… I was frozen. Bato had to come help your dad, I just froze up. That was bad, but the infection and the fever were worse. The things he said in his sleep from the fever…”

Noa shuddered.

“The way his burn crusted over and stuck the bandages, until I realized to put a certain herb in the salve so it didn’t stick. I learned everything I know about healing burns from Zuko, and he just took it like a man even though he was just a boy. He didn’t cry and whimper and complain about pain. The only time he did that was then he was tormented by his nightmares… I just… I hope I never have to ever deal with something like that again.”

Katara was quiet, she saw that Noa was finally looking at her and their eye’s met. She could see the pain in his face because he friend had suffered so much.

“We will make sure no one else had to go through that Noa. We will end the war and stop everyone’s suffering, Aang will defeat the Fire Lord.”

He smiled at her, that goofy grin she remembered from the moment she told him that Zuko woke up. They began looking at the book again and were startled when Sokka came flying into the room.

He put his hands on his legs and hunched over, he was breathing like he was being chased by a moose lion.

“Sokka! Are you and Toph play-“

“ZUKO!!! Zuko… stabbed, we have to – come with me!!!”

He grabbed Katara’s arm and pulled her as he began to run again.

She didn’t look back but she could hear Noa’s chair scrape across the metal as he stood to follow them.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Katara got to the storage room just as the ship took a nasty tumble to the left, she lost her balance and fell into Sokka, who fell into Noa. The two siblings didn’t even realize he was behind them until they were all in a pile on the floor.

Katara saw the blood first, second she saw her dad.

He was holding Zuko’s head in his lap, tear marks on his cheeks as he had both hands on Zuko’s stomach where the blood was coming out of applying pressure

The three Water Tribe men sat against the wall by the door, not moving or looking in her direction when she walked in. She assumed they had been the people who hurt Zuko.

“Dad!! What happened!?”

She knelt down next to Zuko, his hand was tightly wrapped in her father’s tunic and he seemed to be looking to the Chief for reassurance and comfort. Hakoda didn’t move when she knelt down he kept Zuko’s head in his lap and started running his hands through the boys hair as she took over.

She saw the fear in Zuko’s eyes, he wouldn’t look at her, he kept his eyes fixed on Hakoda. Her father who had the fire Prince in his arms, wearing a red bead for the boy and shedding tears for him.

“I don’t know Katara, but I will find out. Those responsible WILL be punished… I have not had to execute someone on my ship since we set sail. But someone will pay for this.”

His words were ice cold, his eyes never leaving Zuko as he spoke. She has never heard her father this cold before. He was a man of wisdom and strength, but this… This was an anger she was not familiar with.

She popped her canteen and pressed her hand on Zuko’s open wound, she was healing the fire bender for the second time in a life or death situation. She wasn’t sure what happened here, but things did not look good for Zuko or the other Water Tribe men.

Zuko had lost a lot of blood, his skin was almost white and his eyes were foggy, but they were open. The Prince stared at her dad, his eyes almost looked like they were pleading Hakoda for help. Her dad held tight, comforting the dying boy.

She pressed into the cut hard, the injury had pierced all the way through his body, she needed to try and mend the tissue and muscle as deep as she could get right now. She had to seal the flesh and stop the bleeding from the front so she could move to the back. She couldn’t do that until she repaired some of the damage underneath the skin or he could suffer internal bleeding.

She loved healing, but in situations like this it was imperative she stayed focused and worked fast. Healing required a lot of energy, more then any amount of combat training. An injury this big would take a lot of energy and time, she was moving as quick as she could.

Noa’s voice broke the silence as he approached them.

“TUI AND LA, HE WAS ACTUALLY STABBED!?”

He slid to the floor next to Hakoda, not touching the fire bender, he put his hands on the sides of his own face and tried not to be sick.

“Chief Hakoda, what happened?! How did he get stabbed on our ship!? Why is he always getting stabbed!? Oh no, is it my fault? He gets around me and he starts getting stabbed! Zuko, why are you stabbed!?”

For the moment Zuko’s eyes looked at Noa, but he was too weak to make any sound or movement, his eyes went right back to Hakoda. The Chief didn’t look at Noa, he couldn’t tear his blue eyes away from his fire bender.

Noa turned his attention to Hotah and the other two Water Tribe men sitting against the wall. Sokka stood off to the side, not being able to stomach the situation unfolding in front of him. The boat was still rocking heavily, every couple of minutes there would be a heavy tilt of the cargo room.

Hakoda was a rock, he would not be moved, he held Zuko strong and made sure he did not slide across the floor. Katara iced her legs into the metal floor to ensure she stayed in her position.

Noa stumbled across the cargo hold, sliding into Sokka who fell on top of him – again.

Noa jumped up and helped Sokka to his feet, he turned to Hakoda.

“Someone needs to go get his Uncle.”

Hakoda nodded, “Yes Noa, please go get Iroh.”

Sokka spoke up, “I can go with him.”

Noa was already out the door and down the hall, sprinting to get Iroh.

“No.”

“But dad I-“

Hakoda didn’t even look at Sokka, “I don’t want you or the other three boys going anywhere until we know what happened here. Do you understand me?”

His voice was cold and unforgiving, Sokka had never been spoken to like that. His heart began to race and his lungs burned with every short gasp he inhaled.

“Yes sir.”

He looked at Hotah who was staring at the floor, hands shaking as his sword laid next to him, covered in blood. Sokka knew it was an accident, but the situation leading to the accident, was not. Sokka knew he was guilty too, he had played a role in the planning. Even if he was not apart of the actual attack.

In fact he was on his way to talk to Hotah about everything to make sure he didn’t go through with it. Then he was planning on telling his dad to make sure Zuko didn’t get hurt.

Did that matter?

Nothing mattered if Zuko died.

He didn’t deserve to die…

Sokka knew that much.

He sat on the floor next to Hotah, sitting himself with the guilty, he might as well – he is just as guilty as them.

- - - - - - - - - -

Katara wiped the sweat off her forehead smearing Zuko’s blood on her face. She was exhausted, but for the most part the front of the wound was repaired. Not completely, but enough of a head start that the tissue and the muscle would heal faster and the bleeding would stop.

“We have to flip him over dad, his injury was a clean cut, I need to repair the back. Can you help me turn him?”

Hakoda nodded and looked down at Zuko, she watched as he touched the boy’s scarred side of his face getting his attention faster that way.

His eyes flickered for a moment when Hakoda’s hand touched the damaged skin.

“Zuko, we are going to flip you over so Katara can heal the rest of your injury ok?”

Zuko nodded softly, and even seemed to give a little effort to move.

They flipped him over and Katara began trying to wipe away the blood that coated the fire bender’s back. His entire back was a dark red with the smeared blood he had been laying in. As she searched for the exit wound, she gasped.

“What is it Katara?”

“He has been stabbed in his shoulder too!”

She glared over at the Water Tribe men on the wall.

“What is wrong with you!?”

Her voice was full of raw emotion and anger. They were Water Tribe men! They weren’t supposed to be capable of doing such horrific things to people.

Katara went to work trying to heal the rest of his injuries.

“I need more water, and we need to get him cleaned up so I can wrap the wound. He should hopefully survive if he stays in bed and rests. He will need a lot of fluid to help restore all the blood that was lost. Good thing Zuko’s a fighter or he would be dead right now.”

Iroh ran through the door with Bato and Noa on his tail. Noa had bandages in his hands and slid next to Katara instantly.

“Bato, please go get two buckets of water! We need a rag too.”

Bato nodded at his best friend and turned and left. Not before shooting Sokka a disappointed glance.

Iroh kneeled next to Hakoda and gently took his nephew’s hand.

“What happened?”

His voice was low and calm, it sent a chill through Hakoda’s spine. This was his friend Iroh, but he was also the Dragon of the West, and he seemed, angry.

“I do not know yet. Katara has healed his wounds for the most part but he was injured badly. He was stabbed… Twice… We are going to make sure he gets into his bed and is stable and then we will begin questioning those men on that wall there.”

Iroh’s eyes burned with red flames, he looked over at the four men, his eyes landed on Sokka. Sokka couldn’t look up, he couldn’t look at anymore disappointed glances. He was so ashamed already, he couldn’t look at Iroh. He just couldn’t stomach it anymore.

Katara grabbed the rag and bucket Bato brought back and began cleaning the blood off Zuko’s back. She tried to ignore the condition of his back without the stab wounds. He was riddled with scars and she was too tired to even put much thought into it.

Just clean off the blood and wrap the wound.

That’s all she needed to worry about right now.

Finally he was cleaned and bandaged, Hakoda gently lifted the fire bender. He was asleep, or passed out, either way he was limp in Hakoda’s arms as they made their way to Zuko’s cabin. Katara left with him, looking at her brother once more before leaving him behind.

Iroh stayed with the four men not wanting them to leave and try to disappear and hide in the crowd of other Water Tribe men. His anger was boiling inside him, his inner flame more like an inner bon fire. He knew Hakoda would take good care of his nephew, he trusted the Chief.

Bato and Iroh stood there watching the men, no one even looked up at them. It was very clear that Paq’s leg needed medical attention but no one seemed worried about it right now.

Everyone stood there in silence until eventually Hakoda came back to the room, without Katara and Zuko.

“Alright men, lets head to my cabin so we can figure out what happened here. There will be severe consequences for this. Bato, Iroh, help me escort them to my cabin.”

Sokka felt his stomach drop as his dad looked at him.

He saw something in his dad’s eyes he has never seen before.

Disappointment.

He was disappointed in him.

He should be…

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

The four Water Tribe accused sat in chairs in front of Hakoda’s desk, the war meeting table was a few feet behind them. The room was eerily quiet as the men sat there. Paq’s leg was still broken so he had it stretched out in front of him awkwardly while he tried to balance himself on the chair.

He didn’t dare ask for medical attention.

Hakoda sat in the chair at his desk, his fingers laced together and his elbows resting on the top of the desk. Iroh stood to his left, his arms tucked inside his sleeves across his chest. Iroh’s expression was unreadable, but Hakoda could guess he was still very angry. To his right stood Bato, his arms were crossed as he eyed each of the Water Tribe men, and boy.

Noa and Katara were with Zuko in his room, they were not invited to be apart of the interrogation. Katara was worried for her brother and begged her father to remember that Sokka was not a bad person and wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone.

Hakoda didn’t seem to hear her words, she has never known her dad to be a cruel man. But seeing him like this was a new side to her father that reminded her, he is a warrior, and a leader. He has to do what is best for the tribe and the safety of his men. He looked at her for a moment and spoke in an icy tone.

“I will not allow this to go unpunished.”

She didn’t say anything after that. Her blue eyes sunk to the floor and her head dipped down, she only nodded at her father’s words. Her dad didn’t say anything else, he just turned and left.

If Sokka really did attack and try to kill Zuko there was nothing she would be able to do to help him. Even if she doubted with all her heart that her brother would do that. Zuko was the enemy, or had been the enemy, either way he didn’t deserve to be butchered in a cargo hold. She knew that for a fact.

The room was silent for a while, everyone was waiting for Hakoda to speak but the Chief was trying to find the right words. Finally he let out a long exhale and looked at his son.

“Sokka, I have known you your entire life, you are my flesh and blood and you have always been a good boy. In the past you have displayed bravery, honesty, compassion, and trust. I would like you to tell me what happened in the events leading up to Zuko being stabbed. I trust you to be honest with me as I know you are an honest man.”

Sokka flinched at the word, man. He was a man in his father’s eyes and he had let him down.

Sokka told Hakoda, Iroh and Bato the entire story, he didn’t leave out a single detail. He took his part of the blame, he knew he should have said something before Hotah got so far into his plan. He should have told his dad sooner, he should have done something to protect Zuko. He wasn’t thinking, he knew it at the time and he definitely knew it now.

After he told his story, Hakoda nodded. “Thank you Sokka. Now you Hotah, tell me in your words what happened.”

Hotah looked up for the first time since he sat down in the chair. He didn’t think he would have to talk, it was painfully obvious that Hotah’s sword was the one that pierced through Zuko. He was the leader of the plan, he was guilty. He didn’t know why he needed to re tell the story.

“It happened how Sokka said it happened.” His voice shook as he spoke.

Hakoda narrowed his eyes at Hotah, and then glanced at Iroh. The man looked neutral on the situation but Hakoda knew better – the fire bender was furious after hearing the plan to kill his nephew. He could feel the heat radiating off him in waves.

“Hotah, I am giving you an opportunity to share your reasoning, and a chance to defend yourself. If you do not take this opportunity I will cast my judgment and your fate will be sealed.”

Hotah closed his eyes, he may look like a man, but he was still very young. He was the youngest man in the entire crew, and the one who felt he, personally, lost the most to the Fire Nation.

“I wanted to kill Zuko. I am not going to deny that. I plotted against him and when I found him alone in the cargo hold I acted on that desire to kill him. I was unable to land a single strike, he took out myself and my two friends without any weapons and he never threw a single flame. I did everything I could to anger him into striking me with fire… and he almost did.”

Hakoda glanced at Iroh, before turning his attention back to Hotah.

“But then he told me he was sorry.”

Iroh’s face reacted, he raised his eyebrows.

“He said he was sorry for my family being killed, and he was sorry for what the Fire Nation did to me. He said he understood why I was angry, and that he was angry too. He told me he knew what I was going through and he was sorry… And I believed him. I realized in that moment that I was wrong. He had been hurt just like I was hurt, and we were two of them same, only different by nationality. He could have killed me at any moment but he didn’t.

“I wasn’t going to kill him, I swear to you. I was going to lower my weapon and give up my insane pursuit of unfair justice. But the ship hit a wave because of the storm and we were all thrown around in the room. I know it sounds crazy, but he did fall into my sword. After I saw what had happened I told Sokka to go find help. I didn’t want him to die. I tried to save him, I put pressure on his wound and tried to stop the bleeding… but I have never done that before. It just wouldn’t stop, there was blood everywhere and I couldn’t do anything to stop it… I felt like when I saw my parents being killed. I was helpless and he was dying on the floor because of me… I am so sorry I did that to him…

“Also, Sokka didn’t do anything wrong Chief, I pressured him into everything. He just wanted to be my friend and I exploited him for my own personal revenge, and when it came down to it he did the right thing. If he didn’t go find you the fire bender would be dead… ”

“Prince Zuko. Hotah, his name is Prince Zuko. You will address him by his name, not as fire bender.”

Iroh’s voice cut through the air, his voice was not the fun loving uncle that they knew him as. He spoke as the Dragon of the West.

Iroh didn’t break eye contact with the young Water Tribe man until Hotah looked back down at the floor. The dried blood was still on his arms up to his elbow.

Hakoda let out a low exhale and looked at Paq and Kulo, “Which one of you stabbed Zuko in the back?”

Kulo raised his hand. “He hurt Paq, he broke his leg and I was afraid he was going to kill Hotah…”

“Well I would have understood if he did kill Hotah, considering you were attacking him and trying to kill him. It was very cowardly to stab someone in their back, I would have hoped better from a man of the Southern Water Tribe. Is there anything you or Paq wants to add to what Hotah said?”

Both men shook their heads no.

Hakoda turned his head to look at Iroh and then at Bato.

“Is there anything you two would like to ask or anything you would like to say?”

Bato shook his head, he knew if he opened his mouth he would stir up his anger so he felt it was better to just support his best friend in whatever his judgement would be. He reached into his hair to touch his red bead, and that gesture alone was enough.

Iroh sighed and looked at the four people seated before him, he cleared his throat before he spoke.

“I believe there is good and evil in every person, it just comes down to a choice.

“A person can choose to be good or evil. The Fire Lord chooses to be evil, even if at one time he had the choice to be a good person. The same goes for Prince Zuko and for each of you. Today, some of you chose to be evil while another chose the good. If you choose evil, then that makes you just as bad as the Fire Lord. Just because you do not have the power to hurt as many people as the Fire Lord, you used the small amount of power you had to hurt one person. They are both the same. I pray the spirits have mercy on your souls.”

Hakoda nodded after the old fire bender spoke. His words were wise but firm.

“Bato do you mind taking them into the hallway and keeping an eye on them until I come up with a punishment?”

Bato nodded, “No problem Chief.”

After they left the room Hakoda let out a long groan and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Iroh… Every time your nephew comes into my life things get so difficult. Why is that?”

Iroh chuckled lightly.

“It is a special skill Prince Zuko possesses, he knows how to find trouble everywhere he goes. I am just thankful that Agni is always looking out for him or he would be dead ten times over. I am also very thankful for Katara and her special healing abilities, I owe that girl my nephew’s life twice now. She is a gifted bender Chief Hakoda.”

“If only my son would use his intelligence the way Katara uses her bending. I can’t believe he was so stupid to follow Hotah’s influence.”

“Chief Hakoda you can not blame Sokka for being influenced by a man he looked up to. Zuko has lived his entire life looking up to and being influenced by his father. Look how much corruption that man brought into his son’s life. It has taken me years to try and undo the problems that the Fire Lord has instilled in his own flesh and blood. Sokka is a young man who was momentarily blinded by friendship, but he did the right thing in the end. He saved Zuko’s life the same as Katara, he came to get you. He did not play any part in the attack and he did not hide anything that Hotah said or did from you. He knows right from wrong and he chose to do the right thing, he is a good boy.”

“If you could grant me some advice I would be more then happy to hear it. What would the Fire Nation do in this situation?”

“I do not think you want my countries response to this, there is much corruption within the Fire Nation at this time. If you remember correctly my brother challenged his child son to a fire duel and burned him in front of a crowd for speaking up against an inhumane plot to slaughter young soldiers. But if you want my personal guidance I can try to help.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, “What do you think I should do?”

“If this happened in your village back home between a bunch of young men squabbling over, lets say a girl – and one of them was injured in the same manner as Prince Zuko. What would you do?”

“Well, to raise a weapon against one of your tribesmen is punishable by death. There are very few instances where raising a weapon to someone would be considered acceptable. A girl would not be one of them, unless it was an assault against a woman. Do you think I should make an example of these men? Sokka did not raise a weapon to Zuko so he will be punished less, but the other three men displayed tremendous amounts of violence. Even if some of it was accidental. I just keep thinking about if Zuko was not a good fighter, and he was unable to fight back for so long… He would have been struck down.”

“Yes, he would have. But we are lucky men to have a Zuko that is so skilled in hand to hand combat. I must say its hard to believe he said the things that Hotah shared. Either he is exaggerating or my nephew is turning into the type of man I always knew he could be. It makes my heart warm to think that he would recognize his own anger and spare the lives of those men who were attacking him. I know from hearing the story he could have killed them very easily. I will support any decision you make, because I know it will be for the better of your tribe.”

Hakoda nodded and called for Bato, the men returned to the room and sat back down in the chairs. Paq was struggling with his leg, but he was too nervous to speak, and definitely still too nervous to ask for a healer.

“I have thought about the situation and spoke to Iroh and listened to his words. I am the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and it is my duty to do what is best for all men in the tribe. Today, members of our tribe raised weapons on our ship during a storm, causing harm to an individual and could have caused harm to others with their recklessness. They plotted and schemed to take the life of someone for no other reason other than revenge. One of you showed restraint and chose to do the right thing before it was too late.

“Sokka, for your punishment you will spend the next week shoveling coal below deck, you will only be allowed in the mess hall after everyone has ate and if there is anything left you make have that. Understood?”

Sokka nodded, “Yes sir.”

“For the rest of you, I command the punishment of death by execution on deck tomorrow at sunset. Bato, will you escort these men to the holding cell below deck as they wait out their punishment.”

Sokka’s heart dropped, he has seen men punished by death back home. Usually they were stripped and tied to a pole and left to freeze to death or be eaten by wildlife. He has never witnessed an execution on a ship. He knew that there was a strong chance they could be put to death, but he didn’t think his dad would actually do it. But he was within his right at the Chief to command this if they deserve it.

But Sokka couldn’t help but think of what Zuko said to Hotah before he let Kulo stab him in the back. He seemed to understand Hotah’s anger and why he wanted to hurt him. Zuko should know what his dad was going to do to them. Maybe he could do something to save them.

Everyone left Hakoda’s room, Sokka waited to speak to his father before leaving. Hakoda started organizing stacked papers on his desk and didn’t look up at his son while he stood in the doorway waiting to speak.

Hakoda spoke first.

“Sokka, I can not discuss this with you right now. Please, let me have some time and we can talk after the punishment is carried out.”

Sokka nodded slowly, his heart ached with the disappointment he caused his father to have with him. He left the room and headed back to his cabin to let out his sadness in private.

Once Hakoda was alone, he went to the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out his whale skin canteen. He walked to the front of his desk slowly. Slumping down onto the floor he took a swig of the liquid inside. He hoped he was doing the right thing executing these young man, he just didn’t see any other choice.

- - - - - - - - -

Katara paced the hallway where their rooms were located. Aang was sleeping, thank goodness, she didn’t even know how to begin to explain what happened.

Zuko was stable and Noa was sitting by his bed waiting for him to wake up.

Katara was waiting for Sokka, she wasn’t sure if she was going to hug him or punch him in the face.

What was he thinking?!

He could be an idiot sometimes but this was a new level of stupid.

She saw her brother turn the corner, he was looking down at the floor his shoulders slumped forward. He walked slowly until he saw Katara was running towards him. He couldn’t control it anymore and his tough exterior broke down and he ran to his sister.

Her hugs felt like what he imagined his mother’s hugs would feel like, he was ashamed to say he didn’t remember them anymore. They embraced for a few minutes until she let him go and smacked him across the back of his head.

“What the heck is wrong with you!?”

“I know…”

“What were you thinking!?”

“I wasn’t…”

“Zuko almost died Sokka!! After Aang did all that Avatar stuff to save him, you and your buddies tried to kill him!!”

“I wasn’t going to kill him Katara, I swear. I was going to get dad and tell him everything, I don’t even know why Zuko was down there. I was on my way to try and talk Hotah out of it, I wanted to see if I could reason with him. He was my friend…”

“Zuko was down there because he was upset, no one told him about the invasion plan, he heard dad and Uncle talking about it. You should have seen his face when he heard them talking about it behind his back, he looked really hurt. He was probably trying to find a place to cool off, its pretty cramped up here with the storm raging outside.”

“That’s probably how Hotah found him…”

“Yeah and he tried to kill him Sokka! Its going to take me at least four more healing sessions to fix the damage. He was going to die Sokka, he was looking at dad like he knew he was going to die. Its really messed up what your ‘friends’ did.”

“Well they are going to pay for it Katara, dad ordered them to be executed…”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, its just like the rules back home, if you raise a weapon to a member of the tribe without a good reason its punishable by death. He is going to execute them at sunset tomorrow.”

“Oh that’s awful, even if they do deserve it.”

“I don’t think they deserve to die Katara… Zuko and Hotah spoke before the whole ‘stabbing’ thing happened. Well… The big stabbing, not the dagger stabbing, uhhhh – it sounds so bad when you say it out loud. But I think Zuko actually reasoned with Hotah, they are the same and now he is going to be put to death. I want to talk to Zuko and see if he can talk to dad or something…”

“No Sokka.”

“But Katar-“

“NO. You stay away from Zuko for right now. Your friends have to face their punishment. Dad is the Chief and I trust him to do what’s best for the rest of us.”

“But Kata-“

“I’m done having this conversation with you. I am going to heal Zuko, you know, the guy who you let your friends stab.”

“They guy who burnt down Kyoshi Island and threatened Gran Gran and tied you to a tree. Ok Katara.”

Both siblings stormed away from each other, not really knowing where they stood anymore.

- - - - - - - - -

The storm passed and the morning came quickly. Zuko was still sleeping, but his wounds were almost healed after the last session Katara had with him.

He lost a lot of blood so she wanted him to rest as much as he could. When he did wake up she gave Noa strict instructions to make him drink water and bone broth so he could build back up with strength.

Zuko woke up briefly during the night gasping for air, he drank some water before falling back asleep.

The sun rose and Zuko’s eyes slowly opened with it, he glanced around the room before he saw Noa sitting in a chair by his bed sleeping. His head was leaning against the wall and he had a line of drool in the corner of his mouth.

Zuko tried to remember what happened, things were a little fuzzy but he remembered the storm and the fight, he remembered falling and then being in pain. Hakoda holding him, Katara healing him, but other than that everything was a blur.

He sat up slowly, there was a dull pain where the sword sliced into him, but nothing like the pain he should be feeling. His shoulder was sore from the dagger but other than that he felt fine, a little weaker then usual but he was alive.

Noa mumbled something before he jolted awake, wiping his mouth he looked at Zuko and his blue eyes went wide.

“YOU’RE AWAKE!”

Zuko flinched and nodded.

“Well I am now.”

“Sorry I didn’t mean to yell, I am just so excited you are awake… Again. I have to know, what is it about you that makes people want to stab you!?”

Zuko shrugged and smirked, “Fire Nation, I suppose.”

Noa groaned. “I feel like someone shouldn’t get stabbed this much. I don’t know how you people do things in the Fire Nation but in the Water Tribe its not normal to get stabbed.”

Zuko shrugged and rubbed his eyes.

“I don’t know what to tell you Noa, I just am the lucky guy who gets all the attention.”

Noa laughed.

“Yeah you are just so lucky, oh burnt one. We are all so jealous of all the attention you are getting. We all want to know how we can get struck by lightning and stabbed all in the same month! Its just not fair! You get to have all the fun!”

“Shut up Noa.”

“You shut up.”

“I’m not doing this with you, again.”

“Why don’t you focus on not getting stabbed again, how about that?”

“So what ended up happening to umm… the other guys.”

Noa looked down at his hands, picking at one of his finger nails in hesitation.

“Well, Sokka was given punishment of shoveling coal and last meal pick for even having a conversation with Hotah about killing you. But umm… Hotah, Paq and Kulok are going to be put to death tonight at sunset.”

“On whose orders?”

“Chief Hakoda, I guess he and Iroh decided together. They’re… close… I have heard.”

“Yay for me, but why would he put them to death I don’t understand, it was an accident.”

“You getting stabbed, the second time, was kind of an accident. But still there are still tribe rules we all have to follow to keep everyone safe. One rule is you do not withdraw your weapon during on a ship during a storm, and you definitely don’t pull out a weapon and attempt to kill an innocent person.”

“I am far from innocent Noa.”

“Well you are innocent in this situation. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Says you, I have done some things that I think would justify a stabbing.”

“No Zuko, you cant talk like that. You didn’t do anything to those guys and they plotted and tried to murder you and were going to throw your body into the ocean. You would have just vanished and none of us would have had any idea what happened to you. Its not right, and its punishable by death.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes, “I need to talk to Chief Hakoda about this, I don’t think this is right.”

“Its not your call Zuko…”

“It was my stabbing! Don’t I get a say?”

“Ummmm, I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Well, I have a problem following rules so if you would just excuse me, I am going to go talk to Chief.”

Zuko began to try and get out of the bed and Noa grabbed his arm trying to get him to stay.

“No Zuko! You have to stay in bed!”

Zuko tried to pull away and Noa grabbed his other arm, they struggled against each other for a moment before Zuko made a strong pull with his arms dragging Noa out of the chair and onto the bed.

“ZUKO STAY DOWN!!!”

“NO!!!”

Noa was in the bed with Zuko at this point trying to put his body weight on Zuko’s arms to hold him in the bed. Noa suddenly felt a sharp pain on his arm.

“DID YOU JUST BITE ME?! ….AGAIN!?”

“WELL GET OFF!!”

“YOU BITE ME!!!”

“LET ME GO!!!”

“….Should I come back?”

Both Noa and Zuko looked up and saw Katara standing in the doorway with tea, Iroh was standing behind her with a smile on his face.

Noa was draped across Zuko and had both his arms across the fire bender trying to hold him down. Zuko’s hair was a mess and he was trying to use his legs to kick Noa. There was a very clear bite mark on Noa’s arm where Zuko had bit the Water Tribe man.

Noa quickly pulled off of Zuko as the fire bender glared at him the entire time. Noa stood and smoothed out his tunic, smiling awkwardly at Katara.

“I um, I was trying to keep… I didn’t want him to get up. So yeah, I was keeping him in bed… So he could rest…”

Katara walked into the room and set the tray on the desk, giggling.

“Is that a special Norther Water Tribe technique? I have never seen a patient wrestled into bed, but again, I have never treated a conscious fire bender before. How are you feeling Zuko?”

He crossed his arms still glaring at Noa, “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me.”

“I am not that heavy! Plus, you bit me. We are even.”

“You jumped on me the day after I was stabbed!”

“You’re dramatic! You acted like it was no big deal to get stabbed”

“No, you’re dramatic! And it isn’t that big of a deal!”

Iroh laughed and cut them off, “Ok boys, I think that is enough yelling for today. Zuko you need to rest and Noa it is probably not a good idea to lay across Zuko right now in his condition. Zuko stop yelling at everyone please.”

Zuko smirked at Noa and he responded to him with a roll of his eyes.

Katara found the entire interaction humorous and she was happy to start seeing a different side of Zuko, slowly. It was extremely interesting to see him interact with the different Water Tribe men.

“Uncle, I need to talk to you about the Water Tribe men who are planning to be executed tonight.”

Iroh almost dropped his tea.

Almost.

“Um, yes nephew we can discuss that. Maybe after Lady Katara works on your wounds?”

Zuko grumbled, “fine.”

Katara moved slowly, unsure how to begin healing an awake and aware Zuko. When she treated him for his lightning wounds he wasn’t lucid and she never had to work on him fully awake. She was uncomfortable with the idea of him watching her, his intense golden eyes made her uneasy. To be honest with herself, he still scared her a little.

“Ok Zuko, I need to remove your bandages and have you flip onto your stomach please. I am going to focus on your back during this session and hopefully by tomorrow you should be fully healed. Is that alright?”

He briefly looked at her, his eyes burning into hers. She looked away pretending to watch something Noa was doing.

“Ok.”

He rolled onto his stomach on top of the blankets and put his head in his pillow. Katara let out a breath of relief that he wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was still wearing his beads, they were lost in the inky mess of hair that was always everywhere, but she saw a glimpse of the blue.

Smiling to herself she began to cut off the bandages that were wrapped around his middle and went up to his shoulder and onto his upper arm. It was hard to believe just yesterday he was laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, stabbed twice.

Once the bandages were removed she began using her bending to stitch together the last bit of damaged tissue and flesh that remained of the injury. While she pressed on the wound she focused on the feeling of his body intertwining itself back together slowly. It was amazing what her bending powers could do to repair the human body.

Her eyes couldn’t help but wander around his back again, this time she wanted to really see what she thought she saw last night in the cargo hold.

Just like she thought his back was littered with scars. There were faint burns that looks like hand prints on his arms, some wrapped around his bicep like he was grabbed and burnt, others just looked like pieces of burnt hand prints.

He had two horrible burns that ran across his entire back, like a stream of fire hit him and it didn’t heal right. But what had her really concerned was up towards his neck there were a few spots like looked similar to Aang and his matching lightning wounds. These were on a smaller scale and she wondered what could have caused that. Three or four of them around the base of his neck and down by his shoulders.

Maybe a smaller lightning strike? Maybe he was practicing with lightning? Or maybe it was a more concentrated attack, but who would do that and…. Oh….

She shook her head and stopped looking at his back. Her stomach was in knots as thoughts raced through her mind. He had a pretty nasty burn scar across his side right over his ribs, again she wondered… How? Fire benders were apparently hard to burn…

He flinched when her other hand moved to the smaller injury on his shoulder. It was almost completely gone and wouldn’t scar, unlike the one that cut completely through him. He would have a small scar from that. He probably wouldn’t even notice it with all his other scars he had.

“Are you done yet?”

Zuko’s voice shook her out of her thoughts and she saw he was looking at her, the unscarred side of his peeking at her from the pillow.

“Yes, almost. Patience.”

“Ugh, my mom used to say that.”

Katara couldn’t help but notice Iroh’s head pop up from the map he was reading while he drank his tea at the desk in the room. After a few minutes of silence he went back to studying the map again.

Zuko probably never spoke of his mom, which is why Iroh looked over at them. She never told Iroh about the conversation they shared in Ba Sing Se, so he wouldn’t know she knew all about Zuko’s mom. Which is probably why he was more comfortable saying something like that in front of her.

Katara couldn’t help but smile thinking that she had a part of Zuko’s past that her and him shared together. It made him seem more human to her, rather then the son of the Fire Lord. She was starting to think that being the son of the most evil man in the world wasn’t as glamorous as she had originally thought.

After seeing all the abuse to his body she realized his life probably wasn’t full of just pampering and servants like she previously thought. He seemed to have gone through some horrible experiences, at least that’s what she could assume from the condition of his body. Most of these scars couldn’t be accidents. Especially not the ones shaped like hand prints.

Maybe one day he would be comfortable enough with her to tell her about it. She couldn’t help but blush when she thought of him sharing more intimate details about his life with her.

Oh stop Katara, you get around someone with a sad story to tell and you melt like an ice cub in the desert. Get a hold of yourself, this is ZUKO. He is not like Haru, or Jet, and he definitely isn’t like Aang. So get a hold of yourself and stop being immature. We have an invasion plan to worry about and Aang is almost well enough to start moving around again and pretty soon he will start practicing. I need to stay focused on that and not trying to learn more about the Prince of the Fire Nation.

“Ok, I think your done.” His raspy voice jolted her out of her thinking to herself.

Katara felt Zuko shift under her hands and she realized she had been caught up in her thoughts. She was done a couple minutes ago and the water had stopped healing and dripped off her hand onto the bed and the floor. A quick flick of her wrist and the water was pulled back into her canteen.

“Sorry I don’t know what happened, I guess I got distracted.”

She couldn’t help but glance at his scars again, this time his eyes followed hers and he sat up and grabbed his tunic.

“They’re just scars.”

“How’d you get them.”

She saw Zuko’s eyes pop over to Iroh who didn’t look up, but both of them knew he was listening.

“Various things.”

“So specific.”

“Yep.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“I am aware of that.”

“You don’t have to be rude.”

“I’m not being rude.”

“Ok Zuko.”

“Ok… Katara.”

“Wow, I didn’t even know if you remembered my name, you called me water bender for so long.”

“Well its because I know you now, and you are a water bender.”

“Oh? You know me?”

She saw him flush a little, amusement flashed in her blue eyes. Picking on Zuko was fun, she understood why the Water Tribe men enjoyed it so much. He didn’t say anything as he slid his tunic over his head. Sitting on the bed he picked at the edge of the blanket nervously.

“What do you know about me Zuko?”

“Nothing.”

“No, come on, you said you know me.”

She watched him glance over at Iroh again, even though the old fire bender was looking at the map quietly they both knew he was still listening.

Katara giggled before she decided to put the fire bender out of his misery

“Fine, we can talk about this later.”

Zuko scowled at her and didn’t say anything.

“Alright, you need to take in a lot of fluids today and try and get as much rest as you can. I will do another healing session tonight and then tomorrow you should be good to go back to doing…. Whatever it is that you do during the day.”

“Ok...”

She smiled, surprised that he didn’t argue or protest anything she said. It was an improvement.

“Tomorrow try and stop by and see Aang, he has been asking about you and I think he would like to see you. I wont let him leave his room yet. Ok?”

“Um… sure. You aren’t worried I am going to try and capture him?”

Katara laughed, “and go where? Into the ocean? Steal Appa and fly away? No Zuko – Trust you.”

She saw him flush again and look back at the blanket.

“Ok.”

Katara looked over at Noa who was standing by the bed grinning. She forgot he was still standing there.

“Damn Zuko, I think you’re more awkward at speaking than I am!”

“Shut up Noa.”

“Ok, Ok, I am going to go get some sleep in a bed now that I know you are doing better.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Yeah, yeah, love you too fire bender. A pleasure always Katara I am sure I will see you soon.”

Noa left chuckling to himself.

Zuko just kept picking at the blanket nervously so Katara decided to go back to Aang’s room and finally fill him in on the whole… Zuko being stabbed thing.

“Alright boys, I will be back later tonight. Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?”

Iroh looked up smiling, “No dear, you have been so wonderful like always. Thank the pretty girl for saving your life Zuko.”

“Thanks.”

Katara smiled and left the room, she needed some air before going to see Aang.

- - - - - - - - - -

Being angry wasn’t normal for Sokka, he was usually an easy going guy, he liked being considered the ‘funny guy’. But after the events of the last 24 hours he couldn’t help but feel overcome by sadness and anger.

He was angry at himself.

How could he have been so stupid?!

Now Hotah, Kulo and Paq were going to die because he didn’t speak up. Some future leader he is, he couldn’t even save his ‘friends.’

Well I guess I can’t consider them friends anymore, they will be dead in a couple of hours.

Tears tickled the back of his eyes again. Men aren’t supposed to cry, but he couldn’t contain his sadness, he kept crying. So much so, that his pillow was soaked with tears from earlier.

He disappointed his dad, he almost got Zuko killed, his sister was mad at him, he tribe would probably never follow his lead… Everything was just too much for Sokka to deal with right now.

He needed to talk to someone, anyone. He really wanted to talk to his dad.

Even if his dad didn’t want to talk to him he was going to try anyway. At the end of the day, they were blood family, and he knew his dad loved him.

He stood up with purpose and wiped the tears out of his eyes. Leaving his room he mustered up all the courage he could find as he started the long walk to his dad’s room. As he got closer he saw a glimpse of someone standing at Hakoda’s door.

They were just standing there.

It was Zuko.

He looked nervous. Sokka could see the shake in his hand as he reached up and knocked on Hakoda’s door.

The door opened and he heard his dad’s voice, it was a comforting sound. The same sound that soothed him when he had nightmares after his mom died. The voice that praised him after their first hunt. The deep booming voice he listened to at night before he went to sleep while his dad and Bato laughed outside his room by the fire.

Sokka stood just out of view around the corner. He watched his dad pull the fire bender in for a deep hug before inviting him into his room.

Sokka felt the anger in his chest – it wasn’t fair! Zuko was evil, he burnt down villages! He tried to capture Aang and give him to the Fire Lord! He attacked people and was the son of the most evil man alive!! He wasn’t supposed to be here with his tribe and his father, being hugged while Sokka was sent away.

He walked up to the closed door and pressed his ear up to the metal. He couldn’t hear anything but muffled talking, so he decided to just open the door a little so he could hear better. The door cracked open and he held his breath waiting to see if either of them noticed.

They kept talking and Sokka could hear everything clear as day.

- - - - - - - - - -

Zuko waited for his uncle to leave the room before he decided to sneak out. He knew his uncle didn’t want to talk to him about the Water Tribe men that were to be executed tonight. He was avoiding the topic and Zuko knew why.

They were fire bending guests on a Water Tribe controlled ship. It didn’t matter that they were all getting along, for the most part, or that Zuko had a good relationship with the Chief. They were still from the enemy nation, which meant the customs and rules were very different. Iroh always respected other nations and he was aware of the different customs of the Water Tribe and he wanted to respect how they handled their own people.

Zuko on the other hand did not agree with the situation. He understood why Chief Hakoda made the decision to execute Hotah and his friends, but he didn’t think that the Chief knew enough about what happened. He wouldn’t feel right unless he spoke to Hakoda himself, he at least needed to try.

Now that the storm had passed the men were out on deck, the wind was cool from the heavy rainfall and the sun was warm. Even though it was getting later in the afternoon the sun was still high enough for the warmth to cover the men as they stood on deck. Zuko wanted to go and soak up Agni’s warmth but he needed to talk to Hakoda first.

As Zuko made his way to the captain’s cabin he began to feel a flutter of nervousness as he got closer to the door. He trusted Hakoda, he knew the man from the year they spent living in the same room. He just could not help the feeling of dread he had when he thought of speaking his mind to someone of authority.

By the time he was standing at the door his arms were trembling. The last time he spoke out to a leader about their decision, he was burnt. Anytime he would speak out to his father he was punished. It was hard to let that fear go, even when he trusted the man who was behind the door.

Zuko stood there longer than he would like to admit, trying to gather the courage to knock on the door. He finally brought his hand up and knocked on the metal, waiting a few minutes, Hakoda opened the door.

A rush of relief hit Zuko when Hakoda smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling with happiness when he saw the fire bender standing there. He couldn’t control his dad instincts and he reached out and took Zuko in his arms and hugged him tight.

Zuko tried not to flinch, but it was a hard habit to break. He let Hakoda hug him for a few minutes and even returned the hug for the last bit of time.

“Zuko, I am so happy to see you are ok! Come in! Let’s talk.”

Zuko nodded and took a nervous step inside the cabin. He knew they were being watched, he could feel the eyes on him. But once they went into the cabin and shut the door he knew they were alone.

“How are you feeling Prince Zuko?”

“Just Zuko is fine Chief.”

“Ok just Zuko, how are you feeling?”

Chief Hakoda sat on the floor his back against the desk and motioned for the young fire bender to sit next to him. Zuko hesitated but decided it was safe to sit with him, he could always roll out of the way if the conversation didn’t go well. He always had to have an exit strategy from years of things not going well for him.

Hakoda looked at him smiling, and Zuko returned the eyes contact. Zuko’s unburnt side of his face was the closest to the Chief which he did on purpose, so he didn’t look overly angry while they spoke. He was aware of how the scar made him permanently glare out of that eye. It always put people on edge when they saw him, he hated that about his face. There was nothing he could do so he just tried to adjust his positions with people to try and hide it.

“I am feeling better, your daughter has been healing me so it doesn’t even hurt anymore. Its more of a dull, back of the mind pain, rather then the hot searing pain that I felt when it first happened.”

Hakoda frowned.

“I am so sorry my men did this to you.”

Zuko noticed the door crack open, even if it was just a tiny amount. He wondered who was on the other side, and was so curious they would risk being caught just to eavesdrop. He assumed it had to be Bato, Tulok, Anke or one of Hakoda’s children. There was no one else he would think, that would have the guts to open the Chief’s personal door.

“Its ok, that’s actually…”

He took a deep breath and tried to look up from the floor. He tried to shake the nervousness out of his voice and steady his hands. Hakoda noticed how nervous the fire bender was and it had him concerned. It reminded him of when Zuko was just a boy and would struggle having conversations with him even about something small like how he liked the food or how he slept that night.

“Are you ok Zuko?”

Zuko looked up from the floor and at the Chief, trying to show his respect.

“Yes I am fine, I just… I am here because I wanted to talk to you about what happened.”

“Oh? Ok, what is on your mind?”

“I don’t think you should execute Hotah and his stupid friends.”

Hakoda’s brow furrowed, he quickly relaxed his face trying to remember that the fire bender was easily spooked at times and paid attention to things like voice tone and facial expressions. He wanted Zuko to be comfortable with him and want to talk to him about things that were on his mind.

“Why is that Zuko? They tried to kill you.”

“They talked about trying to kill me, and in the moment they attempted to kill me, but they were not successful. I could have killed them a hundred times while we were in that stuffy room, but I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you kill them Zuko?”

He hesitated, he wasn’t expecting to be asked that. He didn’t know what to say, did he even know why he didn’t?

“….I don’t know why I didn’t, maybe because they were your men? Or maybe because it felt wrong because they were such an awful fighters. I might have felt sorry for them?”

“Do you really think it was because of any of those things? You don’t seem very confident about it.”

“…..”

“Zuko?”

He took a deep breath.

“…. I think I saw myself in him. I saw his anger and rage, how he charged forward without thinking. He attacked from an emotionally driven reasoning, rather then thinking about the situation rationally. He was hurt, and he needed to blame someone. I can relate to that, and I don’t think he deserves to die because he made a mistake. In the end, he tried to save me, it was just too late.”

Hakoda stayed quiet for a while, he really mulled over the words Zuko said. He was surprised how mature the boy was being. But it didn’t change anything, they broke the rules and had to suffer the consequences.

“I understand, and I respect you coming to me but it doesn’t change that he attacked an innocent person and drew weapons on a ship, during a storm. The consequences for that are death, Zuko. I am sorry but my decision is final.”

Zuko’s eyebrow frowned and he looked at the Chief in his eyes for a long moment.

“You’re wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re wrong Chief Hakoda… This is not the right thing to do.”

Zuko’s voice was strong, he was confident in his words. Even if he trembled while he said it, he was not scared to be honest. He was ready for the repercussions.

Hakoda lifted his hand and he saw Zuko flinch, closing his eyes out of habit, and it broke Hakoda’s heart. He took his hand and put it around Zuko’s shoulders in a soft comforting way. Pulling Zuko in closer to him.

“I would never strike you Zuko.”

“Sorry, old habits die hard.”

“I want you to know you can talk to me about anything and you don’t have to fear me when you speak your mind. I would never hurt you for being passionate about your decisions. You did the right thing 3 years ago when you stood up to your father, and you are doing the right thing now talking to me about this. I am just not going to change my decision, even though I respect your opinion.”

“Why not? Why do you think this is right?”

“I have to show my men that you can not break the laws in this tribe, even if they think they have a good reason. You can not draw weapons and attack a person and not have consequences. I have to show that our leadership is willing to do what it takes to protect the people who live within our community so they can feel safe. I have to be a strong leader for my men and show that I am willing to protect them and the consequences are steep for violence against a tribesman.”

“I am not a tribesman.”

“Do you wear our beads?”

“…Yeah.”

“Do we wear beads for you?”

“Some of you do.”

“Have you fought by our side? Have you spilled blood for us?”

“Yes I have spilled blood for you, MY people’s blood. In the Fire Nation attacking your own men is traitorous. The punishment would be death. The Fire Lord was going to execute me for my crimes. Is he wrong? Because based on our laws, he is not.”

“I don’t understand where you are going with this Zuko?”

“I killed, my OWN people… For you. My nation’s laws state that I should be executed. When I failed to fight in my Agni Kai I deserved to be burned, by our laws. Even as we sail now into Fire Nation waters, if I was caught I would break my banishment and I would be executed. Is that wrong?”

Hakoda frowned staring at Zuko.

“The Fire Nation doesn’t get to uphold laws that are so evil and in humane. I can not compare this situation with the Fire Lord’s fucked up world he is trying to create. If he had his way everyone would burn and there wouldn’t be a world left to live in.”

“Ok, so maybe the Fire Nation isn’t the best example for you… So what about me personally? I have broken your laws. I threw fire at children, I tied your daughter to a tree… Which I REALLY hope you knew about before I just said that… because that would suck for me if you didn’t. So ill go ahead and say sorry for that… But anyway… I attacked your village and I threw fire at your people. I tied to capture the Avatar and bring him back to my fa- The Fire Lord. I burnt down Kyoshi Island…. Why am I not being held responsible for what I have done?”

“Are you trying to convince me to kill you?”

“Maybe.. I don’t know. I mean.. If that’s what you thought was right, as the leader. If you were holding me accountable for these laws you have instilled to protect the tribe then yeah… I should be put to death. All I am trying to say is… You disagree with the Fire Lord, and yet you turn around and you act like him by upholding laws that aren’t fair in every situation.”

Hakoda looked angry that he was being compared to the Fire Lord.

“This is not like that Zuko. You were not in my command when you did those things. I know you, and I know you were confused and hurt and only doing what you thought was right by your nation’s standards. So I can not cast my judgment onto you and hold you accountable for those things. If you turn around and start throwing fire at my people on this ship, or try to hurt my children or the Avatar then yes, I will be forced to take action against you.”

Zuko ran his fingers through his hair, he knew this conversation was doing him more damage then saving stupid Hotah.

“Hotah is an idiot, but he is a confused and hurt idiot. Just like I was, or I am… But you aren’t holding me accountable because you say you knew I was hurt and confused. Well so is Hotah, he thought he was doing the right thing. Just like I did, I was convinced it was my destiny to capture the Avatar and restore my honor. Hotah was convinced that he was supposed to kill the Prince of the Fire Nation to avenge his families death.

“And his dumbass friends walked into a room and saw a fire bender fighting their friend, and their friend was losing. What would you do? If it was Bato or Tulok in Hotah’s situation and you didn’t know me, are you saying you wouldn’t step in to help?”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, he let Zuko finish speaking.

“All I am saying is I think its wrong to execute them for being stupid. If you start executing people for making stupid decisions then I guess let me know when you plan on executing me because I am the Prince of stupid decisions. If its worth anything, Hotah did stop, and he did try to help me once he realized he was being stupid. I also technically did fall into the sword, and I could have blocked the dagger but I let him stab me. I know that sounds crazy but I swear in the moment it seemed like that right thing to do.”

Hakoda sat there with Zuko in silence, both boys had their heads resting against the metal desk. They weren’t looking at each other, just staring at the back wall of the cabin. Hakoda finally broke the silence after what felt like forever. His tone was soft and almost humorous.

“Hey Zuko, I have to know something.”

“Hmm?”

“How did you hide behind that animal hide in my old cabin all those years ago?”

“Oh, ummm well wooden ships have inconsistencies in their paneling, especially ones that weren’t made very well. No offense. So I held onto the small ledge of inconsistency between some of the boards, and I pressed myself flat and evened out my breathing in small controlled breaths so the hide wouldn’t move. When I had to come out I just let go on my grip and slid down the wall.”

Hakoda nodded slowly, “I’ll have to tell Anke, it has been bothering him for two years.”

“Yeah well Anke’s stance and slow fighting skills have been bothering me for two years.”

“Did you miss us Zuko?”

“…..”

“Awe you did, I know we missed you.”

Hakoda pulled the fire bender close and set his head against the top of Zuko’s hair.

“I missed you guys a lot…” Zuko whispered.

Zuko relaxed under Hakoda’s arms as the Water Tribe Chief closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry Zuko… I am so sorry I let you go with Zhao…”

“You didn’t have a choice, it was either I go, or we all fight to the death. Zhao’s boat would have crushed your ship, we would never have had a chance.”

“But I know he was cruel to you…. Your uncle told me he tortured you.”

“Eh, most people are cruel to me. I am used to it by now.”

“You should have to be used to something like that. You are a good kid.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“No… I suppose you aren’t. But you’ll always be a kid to me. Even if you’re the Fire Lord one day, you’ll always be my little fire bender.”

“Oh yay…”

Hakoda chuckled.

“The sun is leaving the sky soon, you should go soak up some sunshine before its all gone. I appreciate you coming and speaking to me. I’d like to talk to you more, can you stop hiding from me? I care about you Zuko and I would like to spend some time with you, if you would have me.”

Zuko blushed, he figured Hakoda realized he was hiding from him. It was still weird to be called out for it.

“Yeah I will come visit you more.”

“Thank you, is there anything else I can do for you Zuko?”

“Not kill Hotah and his idiot friends.”

“Anything else?”

“Be nice to Sokka… He is a good guy, he stood up for me even though he has actual reasons to hate me. Unlike Hotah, if your son attacked me it would completely justified. He loves you and I know you being upset with him is probably killing him inside. Trust me, I know what its like to feel like your father is disappointed in you. It sucks.”

Hakoda removed his arm and stood up, reaching out his hand he offered it to Zuko to pull him up, which he accepted.

“I love Sokka, he is one of the most important things in my life. I know he is a good kid and a strong person. I just need him to understand and learn from this situation so he doesn’t make a mistake like this again. People’s lives are not things to mess around with, because once someone is dead there isn’t anything you can do to bring them back.”

Zuko thought about his uncle and Lu Ten, he knew that what Hakoda said was true.

“I understand Chief, just don’t be too hard on him.”

Hakoda ruffled Zuko’s hair as the fire bender tried to pull away.

“Alright I will see you later Zuko.”

“Yeah yeah. Bye Chief Hakoda.”

Zuko knew whoever was standing at the door was gone now, hastily moving down the hallway to not get caught. He hoped whoever it was got whatever it was they were looking for.

- - - - - - - - -

“ZUKO WAS STABBED!?!! HOW!? He has been awake for like… a week!?”

Katara held up her hands, “hang on Aang I will explain everything.”

Toph sat her head in her hands with a grin on her face.

“Oh this should be interesting.”

- - - - - - - - -

Zuko stood on deck until the sun was setting, some of the men were gathering already waiting for the Chief to come out for the meeting. Chief Hakoda called a meeting with the crew, which meant he was going to execute the boys in front of everyone.

Some of the men were sparring on deck while they still had light. Katara told Zuko he had to wait three days before he could go back to his fire bending training and spar with any of the Water Tribe men. It was hard for Zuko to watch people spar without joining it. He loved to fight, which wasn’t always a good thing.

But what else did people expect? As much as he hated it, he was the son of Ozai. Fighting was in his blood.

Iroh stepped onto the deck and saw his nephew leaning against the railing of the ship off to the side and away from everyone else.

“Prince Zuko do you think its wise for you to be leaning up against the railing like that? I believe you know most of these men because of your ability to fall overboard.”

Zuko fake laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Very funny Uncle. Are you here to join in the ‘meeting’.”

Iroh’s smiled faded and he leaned against the railing next to Zuko.

“I am not here to join, I am here to support you and be here for you. I know we didn’t get a chance to talk about this, which I know you wanted to, but I will respect Chief Hakoda’s leadership and I urge you to do the same.”

Zuko smirked.

“Yeah, I already spoke to the Chief and it didn’t change his mind so it is what it is now.”

Iroh had a surprised look on his face, “you went and spoke to Chief Hakoda on those men’s behalf?”

“Yeah and it didn’t work.”

Before Zuko could say anything else he was being pulled into a tight hug from his uncle.

“What is it with everyone today, you people keep hugging me!”

“We are all so proud of you nephew, you have grown so much this past month I can hardly recognize the man standing in front of me today. You are calmer, and wiser, you have been thinking things through and you are showing compassion. I am so proud of you Prince Zuko. I always knew you were a good person, and now other people can see that good.”

Zuko tried not to blush but it wasn’t very often he relieved compliments.

Sokka stepped on deck with more of the Water Tribe men, he also stood off to the side in the back. Zuko could understand why, a few times he caught the boy looking at him. Zuko in the past would march over there and ask him what is problem was.

But it didn’t really bother him that much now, most people stared at him and he wasn’t going to pick a fight with every person who gave him a weird look. He liked to fight – but not that much.

Chief Hakoda, Tulok and Bato came onto the deck with Hotah, Paq and Kulo between them. They were not in chains and it looked like someone had healed Paq’s leg, he was limping but it didn’t look nearly as bad as it did before.

Zuko noticed Toph come onto the deck and she stood next to Sokka, but he didn’t see Katara or Aang anywhere. They would not be joining in watching the execution.

Hakoda stood close to the bow and the prisoner’s kneeled down in front of the Chief and his second and third in command. He used his Chief voice and began speaking.

“Good Afternoon men, I wanted to start by saying thank you all for taking time to meet here together as a group to deal with an unfortunate incident that happened on our ship yesterday. These three men are accused of pulling out their weapons during yesterday’s storm and plotting and attempting to kill one of the people on our ship.”

He paused to let the crowd murmur and gasp as they looked at the men kneeling on the deck before he continued.

“As we all know, our tribe thrives off the order we keep under the laws we have in place. Without these laws we would not have the ability to stay united as one tribe and keep everyone safe. When someone breaks those rules they must suffer the consequences of their actions. The consequences for these men’s actions is death.”

The crowd mumbled again, but no one protested, they all knew that what the Chief said was true.

“I accepted that this is what must be done, using the same weapon that was used to try and strike down their victim. I was prepared to execute them, even with them being young men, some of the youngest on this ship….”

Zuko saw Hakoda make eye contact with him. His chest got tight as the Water Tribe Chief cracked a small smile.

“I was prepared to do what we needed to be done to maintain order on this ship. But I had a conversation today with someone who shared a different opinion on my actions. As you men know, I have been Chief of the Southern Water Tribe for almost two decades. I have never shied away from executing a man for his crimes. But today, I spoke with someone about mercy, and how the the war has hurt people so deep they are blinded by that pain and become confused between right and wrong. I know we have all lost something or someone because of the Fire Nation. Many of us have lost people we love, and that pain alone, would drive us to do things we never thought possible. I didn’t think twice about my decision execute these men for their crimes until I was compared to the Fire Lord…”

The crowd got loud for a moment until Hakoda put up his hand.

“I know we are no where close to the evil that the Fire Nation had forced onto our tribe for the last 100 years. But if I can not show compassion and understanding in these moments, am I much better than the Fire Lord? I have heard these men’s side of the story and the justifications they gave themselves to why they did what they did. I have spoke to other people involved who agreed with their justification and understood why these men would do what they did. So I am going to ask you, my tribe, my family… I am torn in my decision. So I ask you – what do you think we should do? Should we execute these men for their crimes or show them compassion and forgiveness with a lesser punishment?”

The men spoke amongst themselves until Noa yelled out.

“Compassion!”

A few other men nodded and started shouting out, “Forgiveness!”

Some men called for execution, but over those few voices many more yelled for compassion.

Hotah looked up for the first time his eyes scanning the crowd of men, his eyes coated in tears and they began spilling onto his face.

Hakoda nodded and held up his hand.

“I have heard you men, and tonight we will show the world that the savages of the Southern Water Tribe will grace these three men with compassion and forgiveness as it was the tribe’s decision! So instead of death, these men will be confined to shoveling coal for all working shifts with no rotation and will sleep in the cargo hold area away from the rest of the crew. They will be stripped of any titles they held and will never hold a title in this tribe in the future. But they will live. Thanks to you men here tonight.

Meeting adjourned!”

The Water Tribe men hooted and and cheered as they dispersed, most of them headed into the mess hall for dinner.

Sokka stood there, in shock. He heard the entire conversation between Zuko and his dad and he knew that was the only reason Hotah’s head wasn’t rolling on the deck right now. Sokka looked over at Zuko who had his arms crossed over his chest and his face was unreadable. He wondered if the Fire Nation Prince had any idea he just saved those men’s lives.

Hakoda and Bato with Tulok stood where they had been during the speech and the four men that were kneeling on the floor stood on their feet and each thanks the leaders for their mercy.

Hakoda nudged his head in Zuko’s direction and Sokka saw Hotah’s eyes turn to the fire bender. To everyone’s surprise Hotah started walking over to Zuko.

Zuko tensed up as the Water Tribe man approached him. He didn’t switch to a fighting stance, he just stood tall and waited to see what Hotah would do.

Hotah approached Zuko and as soon as he was close he got down on one knee and dipped his head.

“Thank you Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation for speaking on my behalf. I owe you a life debt.”

Zuko looked down at him, when Hotah finally lifted his head and met eyes with the fire bender, Zuko reached out his hand to offer the man assistance in raising off the ground. Hotah looked completely surprised but he accepted the boy’s hand and he stood up.

Without speaking a word, both water and fire came to an agreement. Iroh stood by looking like a very proud uncle.

Just as everyone was heading off deck, the lookout came running out, “Fire Nation ship on the horizon! They are headed this way!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

The Water Tribe men worked into a panic, an organized mess of men changing into Fire Nation armor and removing their beads and wolf tails. Hakoda had the most generic looking Water Tribe me to be stationed on deck in the morning. If they were to be boarded, they couldn’t give away their identity by having a crew full of dark skinned, blue eyed men.

Sokka ran up to his dad, “What do you need me to do? I want to help.”

Hakoda hesitated but smiled at his son and put his hand on his shoulder.

“If you can make sure that your sister and the Avatar are safe, let them know what is happening. We can not risk the Fire Nation getting their hands on Aang. If they do, then everything we have done up until this point, was for nothing. I trust you to handle this.”

Sokka felt his chest swell with pride.

His dad said he trusted him.

It was a start in the right direction, he wasn’t going to let him down.

The crowd of blue shifted into a sea of red, the men looked uncomfortable in their Fire Nation uniforms which were more ridged and conforming then the traditional, loose fitting, Water Tribe apparel.

Zuko looked down at his own clothing and realized he was wearing Water Tribe colors. There was no reason for him or his uncle to be on deck anyway, so he didn’t see the point in changing. He liked the comfortable blue clothing.

“Do you want to go make some tea?”

Zuko gave his uncle an awkward smile.

Iroh’s face looked like he was going to ignite in happiness, but the expression changed quickly as he looked over at Hakoda who was commanding his men.

“I would love nothing more than to share a cup of tea with you Prince Zuko, but I want to make sure that Chief Hakoda and his crew feel prepared to be boarded. From all my experience, maybe I can lend some advice. I will meet you in your cabin later?”

Zuko shrugged, “Ok Uncle, I will see you later.”

Iroh gave a small bow and they parted ways.

Iroh walked over to Hakoda and waited by the sidelines while he barked orders at his men. Bato stood next to him with two uniforms for them to change into, he noticed Iroh first. Tapping his best friend’s shoulder, he motioned over to the fire bender, who was standing by.

“Iroh, what can I do for you?”

“I know this is a chaotic moment for everyone, but I wanted to see if I would be able to help you and your men in anyway.”

“I am thankful for your continued support, but I am hoping this will be a brief interaction if they do decide to board us. As long as we look the part and use the up to date information you have provided us I believe we should be ok. If not – my men know what to do, they will wait for my signal.”

“I respect you and your leadership Chief Hakoda, but considering we are on a Fire Nation ship, it might look more realistic if we have fire benders on deck. It is very normal for fire benders to practice their bending in the morning. Considering the darkness from nightfall, we have enough cover to make sure everyone on this ship is in a fire nation uniform. There should be more than enough in one of the storage areas down below deck. The ship will not board us at night, but I can confidently assume they will board us in the early morning. This ship is far off its original course, so it would be normal for them to check in on us and get a status update.”

Hakoda mulled over the information provided by Iroh.

“Well the only two fire benders on this ship are you and Zuko, and possibly the Avatar. My daughter said he was in no condition to be outside of his cabin.”

Iroh nodded, “I understand that, which is why I am offering up our assistance. It would be better than us having to battle a Fire Nation ship.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Are you sure I am not going to put Zuko on this deck, and then something horrible is going to happen to him? Which will result in both of us being put through a tremendous amount of stress and worry?”

Iroh laughed, smiling at his Water Tribe friend.

“Possibly, but I will be with him. I will not allow any harm to come to my nephew. I can assure you that. Even if he tries his hardest, I will not allow him to get injured.”

Hakoda nodded, “Alright, I know you two mediate at dawn, I will let the morning crew know you will be fire bending. We can only hope we have the spirit’s favor tomorrow.”

Iroh sighed, putting his hands back into his sleeves.

“I like to believe we are blessed by the spirits, we have made it this far in the war, and life.”

Hakoda clamped his hand down on the old fire bender’s shoulder.

“You are not wrong, friend.”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko went to the mess hall to get some dinner for his uncle and him.

Stewed sea prunes.

Gross.

He took an extra couple of pieces of bread, and no one said anything.

He ate his bowl at a table alone, a few Water Tribe men looked over at him, but no one approached him or said anything. Zuko didn’t care about being stared at, he was used to it at this point. Having a scar on half your face drew a lot of attention. These men were not looking at his scar though.

Zuko finished his bowl, barely.

Walking back up to the kitchen he took a second helping, no one said anything about it. He left the mess hall with his two bowls and pieces of bread shoved in his pocket.

Stopping at his cabin he set the two bowls down on the desk and pulled out the couple pieces of bread from his pocket. He nibbled one as he laid back on his bed, staring at the metal ceiling above him. It was early evening at this point and everyone was preparing to be boarded tomorrow.

For once, he was happy not having to be involved in this particular situation. After all the drama with Hotah and his idiot friends and Hakoda’s son, he just wanted to meditate and stay out of everyone’s way.

Hakoda and his conversation sat heavy in his heart, it was exactly what he needed to finally feel comfortable on with his original Water Tribe crew. He was avoiding Hakoda, and now he knew they did miss him, and no one hated him.

Zuko couldn’t help but smile.

He sat up and fumbled his fingers in his hair until he felt the smooth surface of the beads that Katara had braided into his hair.

Katara.

Why was she being so nice to him? He tied her to a tree, dangled her dead mother’s necklace at her and hired pirates to hunt them down. Maybe she had a soft spot for idiot fire benders who can’t catch a break and fall on swords?

“Uhhhhhhhh, why am I such an idiot!?”

He fell back on the bed, letting his piece of bread slip out of his hand and onto the floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka knew that Katara would be in Aang’s room. She was always in Aang’s room.

‘Healing’ him… Sure. Snuggling with him is more like it.

Sokka smiled to himself, it felt good to smile again. The last 24 hours were stressful, and Sokka didn’t like to stress. His dad said he trusted him, Hotah and his friends weren’t going to be executed, and Sokka had an important task from his dad.

Things were looking up!

So why was he so nervous standing in front of Aang’s door? Possibly from the fight he had with Katara earlier that day? She seemed pretty mad at him about the whole, Zuko being stabbed, situation. He didn’t blame her, he knew he was an idiot.

He had not spoke to Aang since the situation either, maybe he would be mad too? Sokka couldn’t over think everything, he was done stressing. It was time to face the situation head on and take whatever Aang and Katara had for him.

He knocked on the door and heard Aang’s voice through the metal.

“Come in!”

Sokka opened the door to find Katara, Aang and Toph all together in the room. Aang was laying in bed per usual, Katara sitting in a chair at his bedside and Toph was laying on the floor her feet firmly planted on the ground.

“Snoozles! How is my favorite murderer?”

Sokka glared at her before realizing, she couldn’t see him glaring.

“I am glaring at you, Toph.”

She grinned and shrugged, “Hey, it’s a well deserved nick name. I mean, I would have never guessed it. The funny, meat loving, leader guy, turning bad; and the scary, bad, fire bender going good! It’s the perfect switcharoo.”

Sokka rolled his eyes before landing on Katara and Aang, they both had the same expression on their face. The same expression he was getting a lot lately.

Disappointment.

Aang spoke first, thank the spirits because Sokka, for once, was at a lost for words.

“Katara explained what happened, and I want you to know, I am not mad at you.”

Sokka’s heart started beating faster, he was trying to contain his smile.

“I know that it must be hard for you to be around all these other Water Tribe men after so long. And after 100 years of war, I can only imagine how much anger and hurt there is within people. I know you didn’t do anything personally to Zuko, and for that, I am thankful for. I appreciate you trying to do what was right for him even though I am sure your feelings towards him have not changed.”

Sokka shook his head, no. His feelings towards the fire bender had not changed. He may respect him a little more than before, but one good thing done, does not make up for a lifetime of him doing horrible things. Burning down Kyoshi island being one of them, the home of his girlfriend, Suki.

Katara crossed her arms and stood out of her chair, Toph wiggled her toes in excitement. She loved watching Katara lay into people. Especially when it wasn’t her.

“I already told you how I felt about everything. I think you owe Zuko an apology and you need to stay far away from Hotah and his gang of murderous, murder guys. The fact that dad spared their lives was a gift from the spirits and it was not an opportunity for you to go back to them and buddy up again. They are bad news, Sokka, and you obviously can’t be trusted with them.”

Sokka frowned, “No, this was not a gift from the spirits. It was a gift from Zuko, he went and talked to dad on their behalf.”

Toph’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“Wait… Sparky is the guy who compared your dad to the Fire Lord!?”

Katara frowned.

“What?!”

Sokka threw up his hands, “Wait, wait, you two weren’t there for the speech dad did. Let me explain.”

Sokka took them through the spying, the almost execution, Hakoda’s speech, the tribe’s forgiveness. After he was done talking every one of their mouth’s were wide open.

Well Katara’s and Aang’s mouth were wide open, Toph just grinned.

Toph spoke up first, “I am in LOVE with this fire bender, good job Aang. Great addition to the group! Guy gets shot with lightning to save us, has a spirit journey with Aang, gets STABBED, saves stabbers, calls the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe the fucking Fire Lord and then acts like everything is no big deal. I gotta find this guy and give him a good arm punch.”

She walked towards the door, stopping only to punch Sokka in the arm, a little harder than usual.

“Don’t try to kill my new favorite person again Snoozles! Got it!?”

Sokka nodded, “Got it, Toph.”

She opened the door and let it slam shut on her way out.

“Ow, she hit me kind of hard that time.”

Katara sneered, “probably doesn’t hurt as much as getting stabbed.”

Sokka rubbed his arm and frowned at her.

“What do I have to do to make you let it go?”

“Oh I don’t know… Go back in time and make it so Zuko isn’t lying on the floor of the cargo hold room bleeding to death looking at our dad like it’s the last thing he will ever see?!”

Sokka knew in that moment, that this wasn’t entirely about Zuko getting stabbed. Katara was hurt, she was hurt about their father and the fact that she had to witness his affection for someone else when she needed that affection too. Katara was hurt by their father when he left them in the village alone, and she and him have not had a chance to talk about anything. There has been a lot going on. Katara needed to talk to her dad about how she felt hurt by him.

“I think you need to talk to dad, Katara. Tell him how you feel.”

She looked taken back.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you’re hurt, and I think you need to talk to dad about it. I know this is hard for you, everything that is going on… I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”

Katara’s face stayed stern, but her deep blue eyes flashed sadness, she knew he was right.

She didn’t say anything though, lowering her arms and turned back to Aang.

“Is there anything else you needed? Or did you just come here to apologize about Zuko?”

“No, dad wanted me to let you guys know there is a Fire Nation ship on the horizon and they seem to be headed this way. We think the ship might be boarded so I was told to come and make sure you guys stay safe. They should make it to us in the early morning, so I was going to come by then and stay with you guys just in case something goes wrong.”

“Does dad not think I can handle protecting Aang?”

“Ugh, Katara, no; he just wants me to help you. Can you just let your big brother help protect his little sister?”

“His sister who is a master water bender. But sure. Come by in the morning. Please protect us big strong Sokka of the Water Tribe.”

Sokka rubbed his face with his hands, he wanted to stay and argue with her, but his stomach was burning from not eating all day. He had been too stressed to eat and his punishment made it so he couldn’t eat until the rest of the tribe had their fill. He figured it was late enough that he could finally go try and get some food.

“Ill see you in the morning.”

He turned and left.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Toph stomped down the hallway, she always stomped everywhere, feeling the vibrations in the earth helped her see further around her. On the metal, everything was so smooth and flat she could almost feel the entire floor of the ship. She could feel Zuko’s fluttery heart beat in his room, he was always on edge.

The only time she remembered him not being on edge was when he was unconscious after being struck by lighting. Other than that his heartbeat was always a little too fast.

She got to his door and without knocking she kicked it open. Fire shot out from the boy’s hands as he jumped up and shifted into a fighting position. She knew he saw it was her, because he calmed down substantially.

“Hey Sparky! I just wanted to see how fast your heart would go if I just busted in. You sure do know how to freak out!”

Zuko frowned, “Well yeah, you just kicked my door in!”

“Oh calm down… But seriously, calm down your heart is still going crazy.”

Zuko took her advice and took a few deep controlled breaths before he felt himself relax.

He sat back down on the edge of his bed while the little earth bender entered his room and leaned against the wall.

Neither of them said anything for a while, until Zuko realized she was waiting for him to say something. Speaking to people was not his strength. Especially someone from the Avatar’s little group. He didn’t know the girl that well, she was not there for most of his antics before his ship blew up. But he assumed she knew enough about him to not have the best opinion of him.

“So.. Ummm… Is there a particular reason you kicked my door in?”

Toph shrugged, “Not really.”

“Oh. Ok… So, you just wanted to come in and lean against my wall?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Oh. Alright…”

“You are so awkward Sparky, I love it.”

“…Thank you?”

“No, thank you! I just wanted to come in and say, welcome to the group.”

“What group?”

“Ugh, I cant believe I am going to say this but, Team Avatar duh.”

“I’m not part of Team Avatar?”

“Oh yeah you are, spirit stuff with Aang is like an automatic in. Plus Katara seems to like you and Aang obviously likes you. And if that second bowl of food and extra pieces of bread on your desk aren’t for you, I’m sure Sokka will love you after that.”

She could tell Zuko blushed, his heart rate skipped up before going back to his normal pace.

“Um.. Yeah ok.. Thanks. I thought your were blind?”

“I am, but I can still see.”

“Oh because that makes so much sense.”

“It does if you aren’t a feeble minded idiot.”

“… Did you just call me an idiot?”

“Yes I did Sparky. You are an idiot, but you’re a good guy and you didn’t deserve to get stabbed by those lunatics.”

“Oh, thank you. I enjoy not being stabbed.”

“Well now that you are part of our group, I have your back. If those guys even pick up a fork around you I am going to metal bend then right through this ship and into the ocean. Sound good?”

“You can metal bend?”

Toph smirked and tipped her head.

“Welcome to the group, I will catch ya later.”

With that she was gone, and Zuko couldn’t help but smile again.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

“WORST PUNISHMENT EVER!!”

Sokka screamed into his pillow.

Not only did he not get any of his favorite food, steamed sea prunes, but there wasn’t even any bread left! He was given a few pieces of seal jerky and sent on his way.

Sokka knew he was going to starve to death tonight.

Is this how I die?! Starved in my bed? Alone, while everyone else feasts on their sea prunes?! Is this what my dad wanted, my death!?

Sokka felt his stomach growl and he rolled over looking down at his middle section.

“I don’t want to hear it. I know your hungry, just eat the seal jerky and be happy!”

He grabbed his pillow from behind his head to cover his face and groan into it.

He was just about done throwing his childish tantrum when he heard a knock at his door. He sat up, smoothing out his hair, he made sure his clothing wasn’t too ruffled from rolling around the bed complaining to himself.

He walked over to the door and opened it up, he was definitely NOT expecting this visitor.

Zuko stood at his door.

Awkwardly holding a bowl of food.

Food.

He had… Food.

“Umm.. Hi, Zuko here…”

“Yes Zuko, I can see it’s you. Did you… want to… come in?”

“Oh yeah… Sorry. I was just talking to the blind girl, and uhh, I forgot you can see.”

“You mean Toph?”

“Oh, good, that’s her name. I couldn’t remember… Thanks.”

“Glad I could help.”

Sokka turned to the side to make room for the extremely uncomfortable and awkward fire bender to walk in. He took a few steps inside and turned to Sokka, handing the bowl towards him.

“Here.”

“Is this… For me?”

“Yeah… I know you uh, were punished. So I uhh, got you food. So here.”

Sokka took the bowl of stewed sea prunes and was relieved to find the bowl was warm and there was small whips of steam coming from the contents.

He could have hugged Zuko.

He could have, but he didn’t.

“Oh man its still warm! I cant believe its still warm!”

Zuko held up his hands and wiggled his fingers.

“Fire bender.”

“Oh man, using your magic powers for good and not evil is totally paying off for me.”

He saw Zuko glance at the ground for a moment, the evil comment probably wasn’t the nicest thing to say to him.

Damn it Sokka.

“I really appreciate this Zuko, um… Do you want to stay here while I eat it? I mean if you have something better to do that’s fine, but you are welcome to stay.”

“Sure, I can watch you… Eat your food.”

Sokka smiled he went and sat at the end of his bed, sipping the stew and chewing on a sea prune.

Zuko walked over to the desk and pulled himself up, sitting on the top part of the desk swinging his legs above the floor.

“Oh wait! I have bread.”

He jumped down and reached into his pocket, he pulled out a few squished pieces of bread and handed him to the Water Tribe boy.

Sokka spoke with a mouth full of food, “Thanks!”

Zuko made a slightly disgusted face before returning to the desk.

They didn’t say anything while Sokka sucked down his food. The warmth in his stomach making his smile grow bigger and bigger with every bite. Finally, he was done eating and he set the bowl on the floor and laid back.

“Oh man, you’re my favorite fire bender.”

“Was there another one I was competing with?”

“I mean, your uncle is pretty cool. When he isn’t furious with me.”

“I don’t know, my uncle is definitely better then me, he should be your favorite.”

“Nah, your uncle took AWAY my food, and you brought me food. You win. Sorry to say.”

“…Yeah.”

“I don’t mean, sorry to say you win like I didn’t want you to win, its more of an expression.”

“An expression of what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, well then why do you use it?”

“I don’t know Zuko! Why are we even talking about this?”

“I didn’t think we had anything else to talk about.”

“Maybe you’re right, most of our experiences together haven’t been that pleasant.”

“No, they have not. So um… Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to chase you guys, well I did… Mean to chase you guys. I actually put a lot of time and effort into chasing you guys but I am sorry about it now. I wasn’t sorry then, I was actually pretty pissed I couldn’t catch you. But I’m not very good at things, so I am sorry now, for what I did then; trying to catch you. But I mean… I technically was trying to catch the Ava-Aang, not you, but you got in the way a lot. I hope this makes sense and you understand I am trying to say sorry and not make this worse.”

Sokka couldn’t help it, even though images of the angry ponytail jerk were floating through his mind; the awkward scruffy haired, wearing Water Tribe clothing guy sitting on the desk was too funny to not laugh.

He laughed and kept laughing until tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.

“Its fine Zuko, I get it. You’re sorry.”

Zuko nodded and looked at the floor. Sokka realized it was his cue.

“I am sorry too, I didn’t mean to let those guys try to kill you.”

He looked up, his golden eyes flickering like fire.

“No problem. Anything else?”

Sokka frowned.

“What else would I be sorry for?”

“You hit me in the head with your stupid boomerang! That shit hurt! I had a knot in my head for a week and I was wearing a helmet!”

Sokka smirked, “Well if we are saying sorry for everything then you need to apologize for burning down Kyoshi Island! Or man handling Gran Gran, or tying my sister to a tree! What about the pirates!? Oh, and the frogs! I know you were the one who broke Aang out of Zhao’s prison, did you know he made us suck on FROGS!? I had a wart on the back of my throat hanging thing for a month!”

Zuko frowned, “What!? The frogs were not my fault. It was either break him out or let Zhao take him to the Fire Lord! Do you know what he would have done to him?”

“Don’t you mean… Your dad!? Or did you just take MY dad and forget about your evil one?! Yeah, looking at you, I can only imagine what he would do to Aang!”

Zuko looked hurt, like really hurt.

Sokka regretted it as soon as he said it.

He knew that he was mad at Zuko for all those things he said.

But what upset Sokka the most was Zuko’s great relationship with Hakoda, and pretending like he wasn’t the spawn of the most horrible man on the planet.

And he just threw it in his face like an insult… But literally threw an insult about his face, in his face… Does it get any worse than that?

Zuko didn’t say anything, he just swung out his legs and jumped off the desk, landing without a sound. He turned and walked out Sokka’s door and let it slide shut.

Leaving Sokka, sitting on the edge of the bed, feeling like a huge asshole.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko was pissed, he was flaming, literally. Flames danced on his fingers, he needed to go on deck and let out his frustration.

No one was on deck by the bow so he took the opportunity to let off some of his steam. Working through his katas and letting his frustration flow out of him through his fire.

He concentrated on his forms in the darkness until his hair was stuck to the sweat on his forehead and the back of his neck. His breathing was controlled but he was losing strength. Finally he slowed down and came to a stop.

“Its beautiful watching fire bending when it isn’t coming at you trying to burn you.”

Zuko recognized Bato’s deep voice.

The man came out of the shadows smiling at the fire bender.

“Why are you out here throwing around fire, Zuko? Everything ok?”

He nodded, “Yeah, everything is fine. I just haven’t practiced in a while so I needed to do that.”

“I believe you and your uncle are going to start practicing tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware, aren’t we expecting to be boarded by the Fire Nation tomorrow?”

“Yeah we are, that’s why we need you on deck making us look like a real Fire Nation ship.”

“It’s a good idea, i’ll admit that. But you know if someone see’s my face we’re all screwed. I am a traitor and they will burn this ship down if they find me on it.”

“Well then be careful and don’t let anyone see your face kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore Bato.”

“Yeah and you weren’t a kid back then either, as you said. Let’s talk in 10 years and we will see if you consider yourself a kid in the moment.”

Zuko smirked, the idea of still talking to Bato in 10 years. He secretly hoped he would still talk to everyone in 10 years. But he wasn’t going to admit that out loud.

“So what are you doing out here?”

“Well I saw flames and I wanted to make sure we weren’t being attacked, or something wasn’t on fire. But I found you.”

“Here I am.”

“You look tired, do you want to sit and talk?”

Zuko shrugged, “sure.”

They sat down by the edge of the ship, resting their backs on the railings. Bato always wore long sleeves, Zuko didn’t remember that about him from when they sailed together.

“What’s with the sleeves? Aren’t you hot?”

Bato sighed, “I wear the sleeves to keep people’s eyes to themselves.”

Zuko frowned, “What do your arms have that people want to see?”

Bato looked Zuko in the eyes, and slowly pulled up one of the sleeves revealing the huge burn that covered the entire left arm.

“It goes all the way down my side and into my stomach. If I was not healed by the sisters in the abbey I would have died.”

Zuko’s eyes were wide, his hand shook slightly as he reached out and touched the burn on Bato’s arm. He reached up and touched the burn on his face. They felt the same.

“What… Happened?”

“We were raiding a Fire Nation ship and a bender came out of no where and took me by complete surprise. Lucky for me, I turned at the last minute, or he would have had a direct shot and I would have died instantly. Hakoda dropped me off to heal after the burn happened and I had to meet up with them after I was better, if I got better. That’s actually where I ran into Katara and Sokka and they told me all about you and the little angry rampage you were on.”

Zuko nodded, not taking his hand off of Bato’s arm.

“Did it hurt?”

Bato laughed, “No shit it hurt. Did your face hurt?”

“Like fucking hell.”

“Yeah imagine it all over half your body.”

“I couldn’t imagine.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone, except maybe your dad. But that’s because he deserves worse than this. That’s why this war is so awful, men burning men, for what? What does the Fire Nation want that we have? There isn’t anything left – its just endless pain and suffering.”

Zuko never heard it explained like that.

“The war is supposed to be the Fire Nation’s way of spreading our wisdom and abundance onto the world. Helping the other nations be as successful as we are. We are supposed to be spreading the good…”

Bato looked down at Zuko and then motioned towards his arm, “Does this look good?”

He almost touched Zuko’s face, the scarred side.

“Did that feel good? Does anything about this feel right?”

Zuko flinched away from the touch and Bato lowered his hand.

Both water and fire sat in silence, two people from different sides of the war. Both who have been burned by the Fire Nation.

“The war is wrong. I know that now.”

Bato was surprised, they met eyes. Blue and gold.

“I’m glad you know now, but now we have to do something about it.”

Zuko looked away and nodded, “I will.”

Bato smiled and leaned his head back, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the side of the ship. The silence was comforting, Bato put his scarred arm around Zuko’s shoulder and Zuko leaned his scarred face against the man’s arm. They found comfort in each other.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Dawn came and the Fire Nation ship was close, they were definitely on a direct course to them. There was no denying it and ever man on board was in Fire Nation clothing. They continued their duties per usual.

Sokka, Hotah, Paq and Kulo were down below shoveling coal, they had to start in the middle of the night. They didn’t speak to each other, they just stayed focused on their job.

Sokka hated shoveling coal, it was awful, and hot.

He needed to get through it so he could find Zuko and talk to him.

He knew he fucked up, and he had to make it right.

Before he did that, he had to go make sure Katara and Aang were alright. His dad asked him to keep an eye on them and he was taking that very seriously.

Above them the ship was buzzing with nervousness. The Water Tribe men were not looking for a fight but they were prepared if one was brought to them. They had to protect the Avatar at all cost.

Zuko and Iroh were on deck, Zuko shifted uncomfortably in his Fire Nation armor that was a few sizes too big for him. Iroh had a more casual Fire Nation outfit on, he didn’t seem to think he needed to wear the armor. He insisted that Zuko wear it though, it made him wonder if Iroh thought they might face a fight.

They were practicing their fire bending on deck like they were supposed to. Trying to make their ship look extra Fire Nation. Zuko caught some of the Water Tribe men stopping their duties to watch them shoot flames at each other. Most of the men were like Bato and never saw fire bending up close, unless they were being attacked with it.

Zuko tried to stay focus on actually training instead of just shooting random fire blasts into the air. His uncle critiqued his form, and made him re run through the basics. It was nostalgic being on a Fire Nation ship, going through basic katas with uncle, while wearing armor. It was almost like old times

Except he had hair now, so that was new.

The crew being entirely Water Tribe men was new.

And the fact that he actually had the Avatar on a ship was definitely new.

Just like Iroh said, the Fire Nation ship pulled up to them, just after dawn.

They extended a ramp and three soldier’s came aboard, their Commander, followed by two men in full armor.

Hakoda and Bato were there to greet them. Both men wearing helmets to try and disguise their obvious Water Tribe ethnicity.

“Commander, why are you off course? All Western fleet ships are supposed to be headed towards Ba Sing Se to support the occupation.”

Hakoda spoke up, “Actually we are from the Eastern fleet, we are supposed to be delivering some cargo.”

The man in front of him was tall, with grey hair and a sharp grey beard that wasn’t very long. He looked weathered, like he spent many years at sea.

“Eastern Fleet? Admiral Chan didn’t inform me he was sending any of his ships our way, what exactly are you delivering to him?

Hakoda shifted, and Bato spoke this time.

“We are delivering weapons and blasting jelly.”

“That’s odd, I wonder what Admiral Chan would want with more weapons? Its not like he is planning a siege or anything.”

The Fire Nation man eyed them suspiciously, “What are your names?”

“I am Ding, and this is Chey.”

The man nodded slowly, “You men don’t look Fire Nation… How long have you been under Admiral Chan?”

Hakoda took this one, “After we served under Zhao.”

That got the man’s attention, “Were you in the siege of the North?”

“Yes.”

The man tapped his chin and his eyes narrowed, “I know you are lying. Only 15 men survived that siege and I led them all out of those fringed waters myself. Guards, seize them and lets ge-“

“Lieutenant Jee!”

Iroh’s voice broke through, cutting the man off.

Jee looked over to see Iroh walking toward him with his helmet down.

“General… Iroh? What in Agni’s name are you doing on this ship? I thought you died in the siege of the North?”

“No, no I am very much alive.”

“How did you escape? Weren’t you in the city when Zhao tried to kill the moon?”

“Yes I was, I was able to escape by commandeering a small Water Tribe boat.”

Jee looked at Hakoda and Bato suspiciously.

“Is this, your ship? I am sorry if I am being rude, General, but I am just confused. These men are obviously not Fire Nation and no one even knew you were alive. Now I find you commanding a Fire Nation cruiser, off course, with a bogus story about delivering weapons to Admiral Chan.”

Jee’s eyes scanned the ship’s deck and landed on Zuko who was standing back with his arms crossed. He wore a helmet so he would have been impossible to recognize.

Unless it was by someone who spent 2 years on a ship with him.

Someone who knew his body language.

Someone who knew that if Iroh was here… Then Zuko would be close if he was alive.

Jee frowned and pointed at Zuko.

“You, solider, come here.”

Zuko got stiff and moved forward slowly.

Jee crossed his arms.

“Remove your helmet.”

Iroh sighed, rubbing his eyebrows.

Zuko removed his helmet.

“Agni, Prince Zuko!?”

Zuko threw up a crooked smile and gave a slight wave.

“But you’re dead! The Wani blew up!”

Zuko shrugged and glared at Iroh, “Yes, I am aware everyone thinks I am dead.”

Jee rubbed his face, “Ok, I am officially confused.”

He turned to the two men behind him, “Leave us.”

“But sir-“

“I gave you an order!”

The two men hesitated but left. Jee waited until they were gone and let out a sigh of relief.

“Truth time. You two. Now.”

“Someone must have got a new title, because you are more cocky then I remember.” Zuko crossed his arms again and glared at Jee.

“Nephew, show… Commander? Respect.”

Jee nodded, “Yes, I was promoted after ‘showing exceptional bravery’ during the North… catastrophe.”

Iroh nodded, “Yes it’s a shame, all those lives lost.”

Jee nodded not taking his eyes off Zuko, “I want to know how YOU are alive Prince Zuko.”

Zuko shrugged, “Dumb luck?”

Jee rubbed his face again, “So let me guess… You lived, renounced the Fire Nation, found your Water Tribe friends, stole a Fire Nation ship and now you have some hair brained scheme to take down the Fire Lord and take the throne?”

Hakoda held his breath, that was exactly what they were doing. Except he didn’t know they also had the Avatar.

Zuko shrugged, “Maybe.”

“You are still a little shit, Prince Zuko.” Jee looked at Bato and Hakoda again. “You two Water Tribe?”

Hakoda looked at Bato, he shrugged and they both removed their helmets.

“Yes we are, I am Chief Hakoda and this is my second in command Bato.”

“Hakoda? Hm, Zuko used to yell your name in his nightmares.”

Zuko looked down and his face got red, he ran his hands through his hair a couple of times.

“Listen, I am not here to turn you in, as long as you have him.” Pointing at Zuko, “And you plan on getting him on the throne. Ozai has gone mad with power and after seeing all the lives lost in the North, I am afraid how many more good men and women we will lose if this war continues the way it is. And Princess Azula is just as crazy as Ozai, if not worse. Even though, Prince Zuko, you were not my favorite person when I was under your command, you are a good person and you have a kind heart. I know you will be a fair and just ruler. So take these men, and get to where you need to go.

“Oh, and Prince Zuko, you had better make sure this works. If not, your father will not stop at just burning your face. He will kill you, and everyone else on this ship. So be safe. It was good seeing you again, General Iroh. I am sorry I could not sit with you and share a cup of tea.”

Iroh gave Commander Jee a traditional Fire Nation bow. “I am sorry as well, I know how much you loved your jasmine tea. Maybe after the war.”

Jee chuckled, “Yes, maybe.”

He turned and left, the ramp was raised and the ships parted ways.

Zuko’s shoulder slumped and he let out a long breath of relief.

“I thought for sure he was going to freak out, him and I did not get along very well.”

Iroh smiled and put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, “No nephew, you didn’t really get along with anyone.”

He chuckled as Zuko frowned. Iroh turned to the Water Tribe men, who looked as pale as a fire bender.

“Tea?”

Hakoda glanced at Zuko before pinching the bridge of his nose, “Yes Iroh, tea sounds amazing. Bato, join us?”

Bato smiled and ruffled Zuko’s hair as the three men departed, leaving Zuko on deck with his arms crossed scowling.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko wandered around for a while, he tried to find Noa but apparently he was healing people. Which was annoying.

Zuko remembered what Katara shared about Aang wanting him to stop by. He was nervous to see the Avatar, maybe because he chased him all over the world?

Or was it because Aang had frolicked through his subconscious?

Either one was unsettling. But he didn’t have anything better to do so he decided, why not?

He walked up to Aang’s door and tapped lightly, he heard the Avatar’s voice from behind the metal door.

“Come in!”

Zuko took a deep breath and cracked open the door and took a sideways step inside, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Aang and all his friends in the room.

He had expected to see Katara, possibly. But he was caught off guard to see Toph sitting on the floor, Katara laying at the end of Aang’s bed, and Sokka sitting in a chair behind the desk. The entire group of kids he had relentlessly chased, and fought on at least one occasion. Except for the blind girl, he was glad he never had to fight her, he was pretty sure he would have lost.

Aang looked excited to see him, “Hey Zuko!”

Zuko awkwardly put up his hand in a waving motion.

“Hello. I see everyone is here… I can come back?”

Toph laughed, “Calm down Sparky, its fine, you can come hangout with us. Like I told you yesterday, you’re part of the group now!”

Zuko’s eyes shifted to Sokka who looked exhausted and very dirty, probably from shoveling coal all day. He only looked at the Water Tribe boy for a second before looking back at Aang.

“Ok…”

He stood by the door for a moment before deciding to just sit down, where he was standing, lotus style.

Katara looked at him sitting there and knew he was probably feeling extremely uncomfortable, so she decided to break the ice.

“How did everything go with the Fire Nation ship?”

Zuko saw all eyes fall on him, he tried not to shrink into himself. Taking a deep breath he looked at Katara and tried to answer confidently.

“It went fine, my uncle and I knew the Commander. He used to work on my ship when he was a Lieutenant. He knew everything, that they were Water Tribe, that we are going to over throw the Fire Lord and all that. He was ok with it I guess. So he let us go.”

He looked around the room and everyone seemed completely shocked. Except for Toph, she looked like she couldn’t care less.

No one said anything so Zuko decided to try and break the silence.

“Everything ok?”

Katara shook her head, staring at Zuko.

“I need you to back up. So first, he KNEW the crew was Water Tribe?”

“Yes.”

“He was ok with it?”

“Well I don’t know if he was ok with it, but he didn’t stop us. He knew that I knew Water Tribe people and he recognized your dad’s name from umm… Stories. From when I was with him. So he let us go.”

“Ok that’s another thing, he let us go… Because he knew WE, including you, are going to over throw the Fire Lord?”

“Yes.”

“So you are going to help us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Bato’s arm.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does to me.”

“Ok, so you’re going to help us defeat your father and then what?”

“I guess… I’ll become Fire Lord.”

Aang smiled and cut in this conversation, “That’s what Roku said! That’s why he sent me to go get you, so we could restore balance in the world.”

Zuko just nodded, like he agreed. It was still very new, being around the Avatar and his friends and just, hanging out, casually talking about over throwing his father. He was trying to blend in and not be the awkward, idiot, jerk he was known for.

“So you are planning on helping us with the invasion plan?”

Zuko turned to look at Sokka, it was the first time they spoke since the uncomfortable conversation last night.

“Yeah. I still don’t know the plan, but I will help where I am needed.”

“We will probably need you to help Aang defeat the Fire Lord, you know his weaknesses.”

“He doesn’t have any weaknesses.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Well then you go live with him for 13 years and come back and let me know if you find any. We will all wait patiently for your return.”

Sokka glared at Zuko and the fire bender shot him a dirty look right back. He wasn’t going to put up with this non bending Water Tribe baby and his crap.

“I just find it hard to believe he doesn’t have a single weakness, are you not telling us because you are still protecting him?”

Zuko was getting angry, he couldn’t control himself when he got angry. He wanted to burn this kid to the ground, he didn’t care if he was Hakoda’s son.

Toph must have picked up on his rising heart rate because she cut in aiding in his defense.

“Shut up Snoozles, you are just mad because you couldn’t come up with any tangible weaknesses for the Fire Lord so you are punishing your short comings off on Sparky. He obviously doesn’t know, and I can tell when someone is lying so I would tell you. Stop being such a jerk.”

Katara nodded, “Yeah Sokka, you kind of are being a jerk.”

Sokka stood up out of his chair, he was the one who was angry now.

“This is seal shit! This guy attacked us for months and burns people to death and you all are just like… ‘welcome to the group long lost best friend’. Ever since he came into the picture MY LIFE has been crap! None of you seem to even care! Dad obviously likes him better, Aang is going on spirit journeys with him, Toph you are nice to him, and Katara will fall in love with anyone who has a sad life story. And sorry Zuko but your life is a walking travesty!! I’m leaving!”

Sokka stood up and went to leave. Zuko stood up and blocked his way.

“What do I need to do to get you to let this shit go?! You are the one making things difficult for yourself! No one is doing anything to you! You are doing it to yourself!”

“I need you to fuck off Zuko!”

Sokka shoved Zuko and everyone in the room held their breath.

Zuko felt the flames dancing on his hands, he knew he could just reach out and burn the Water Tribe boy to the ground. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t do it to Hakoda or Aang or Katara… Or Toph.

Zuko took a deep breath and moved out of his way, making a small sarcastic gesture for him to pass by and go out the door.

Sokka glared at the fire bender and walked out the door, slamming it as hard as he could on the way out.

Zuko let out an angry breath of fire and stomped his foot, fire shooting out from under his feet. He looked up once at the rest of the group before storming out of the room as well.

Aang sighed, “Bye Zuko…”

Katara stood up, “Ill go talk to him.”

Toph snorted, “Which him? Fire boy or cry baby?”

Katara stopped, she knew if she went after Zuko everyone would give her shit and say she was in love with him. Which was not true. If she went after Sokka then she would be encouraging his behavior, which was wrong. He was acting like a spoiled brat and was jealous of her dad spending time with Zuko and not him. She was jealous too but she wasn’t shoving Zuko around because of it.

“Never mind. I’ll let them work it out.”

She sat back down at the bed and looked at Aang, “Aren’t you supposed to be the balance of the nations. Well I think water and fire are going at it. Shouldn’t you have done something?”

Aang smiled, “I don’t think this has anything to do with water or fire, I think this has to do with two teenage boys who are both head strong leaders. They have to work this out on their own.”

Katara sighed and looked at Toph, “What do you think?”

Toph laughed, “I think they’re both the two most dramatic boys in existence, and I feel bad for you dad.”

Katara smirked, “Dad started it, let him figure it out.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Hakoda sat down at his desk after having tea with Bato and Iroh. He always enjoyed conversing with them both. Iroh was full of wisdom and experience and Bato knew him better than anyone. Hakoda felt balanced by both men and he respected them both equally.

When Iroh first started making Hakoda tea he had never really been a tea guy. In the south they didn’t drink tea, they would drink boiled whale blubber for warmth, but never tea.

When he first started drinking tea with Iroh, it was an acquired taste. Now he looked forward to having the tea, he could even differentiate between the different blends.

He was settling into his desk, ready to read a few scrolls before heading to bed when a knock came at the door.

Hakoda stood and opened the door, to see his son standing there. Teary eyed and flushed with frustration.

“Sokka, are you alright?”

Sokka rushed his dad and wrapped his arms around his strong waist and buried his head in his chest. He just needed his dad right now.

“Dad… I miss you, I just need you right now. I don’t know what to do, I feel so angry and I need you to help me…”

Hakoda hugged his son tight, burying his face in the top of Sokka’s hair. He kissed the top of his head gently before pulling away.

“Why don’t you come in and we can talk.”

Sokka nodded, wiping the tears from his face.

They entered the captain’s cabin and Hakoda sat on his bed patting the seat next to him. Sokka happily took it.

“What’s on your mind son?”

“Its… Zuko dad. I think I hate him… I just I don’t know why you love him more then me… I can’t be around the guy, he stole my friends, and he took you…”

Hakoda frowned, placing both his hands on his son’s shoulders. Sokka looked up his dad slowly, both blue eyes meeting in the middle.

“Sokka, my son, why would ever think something so crazy? Why would you ever think I would love anymore more than you?”

Sokka met his dad’s eye contact and saw the love and comfort he remembered. Finally gaining control of his his emotions he took a deep breath and decided this was as good as a time as ever to talk to him.

“Dad, I love you, and I know we talked about this when I first got here but after everything that has happened I cant help but feel like you love Zuko more than me. I know I made a mistake trusting Hotah and Zuko got hurt. But Zuko has hurt people and I have done nothing but try to be a good son. I did what you asked, and I took care of my sister. I have fought next to the Avatar, I have had to deal with things that a 16 year old shouldn’t have to deal with. But I do it because I know it’s the right thing to do and I don’t want to feel like you don’t love me. It sucks to feel like you are disappointed in me…”

Hakoda grabbed his son and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Sokka, I would never, ever want to do anything that made you feel like I didn’t love you, or that I wasn’t proud of you. I am so proud of you my son, you are strong, intelligent, brave, cunning, compassionate, and so much more. You are the perfect balance of your mother and me. I just expect more from you because I know how amazing you are.”

“But you were so hard on me, and I saw you were disappointed with me… It hurt so bad. I felt like you just are ok with everything Zuko has done because you guys bonded once a few years ago… Its just not fair.”

Hakoda frowned and pulled his son back so he could look at him again.

“Sokka…. I raised you. I know you know how to act, and I know you know what is right and what is wrong. I expect more form you because I am proud of the way you were raised. It’s the same for your sister, your mother and I raised you to be compassionate leaders who are understanding and brave and will do whats best for people. One day they will be your people.”

Sokka smiled knowing his dad still expected him to be Chief one day.

“Son, you were raised right, which is why I was disappointed when you chose to do something that was so out of character for you. You may think I love Zuko more, which would be wrong. I love Zuko in a different way then I love you. Its not more, and its not less, its just different.

“I didn’t raise Zuko, I know he was not raised right. He wasn’t raised with love or compassion and definitely never received kindness. Its hard for him to do whats right because he was manipulated into thinking the wrong thing was the right thing to do.

“You say he burned villages? His father wants to burn the world. He killed men with fire? His father branded him in front of a crowd and then banished him. He is mean? His father kills anyone who disagrees with him. Zuko’s moral compass is backwards, he wasn’t raised to know that his version of right is wrong.

“That is why I take extra time with him, or why we seem so close. I have to watch him to help guide him. I don’t do that with you because I know you will do the right thing, and you are a man, you don’t need that extra attention. But I am sorry if I ever made you feel like I wasn’t paying ENOUGH attention to you. I will put more effort into that, I love you Sokka and I missed you so much.”

Sokka listened to his father’s words. It made sense, he knew the Fire Lord was evil but he never really thought about the evil Fire Lord raising children.

Like, what kind of bedtime stories did he tell them?

‘Tonight I am going to read you the list of war criminals that will be executed tomorrow.’

‘Do you want to watch me burn this village down?’

‘Don’t forget to make them suffer before they die!’

‘Not evil enough! Try harder!’

Sokka shuddered just thinking about it. He could imagine that someone would be pretty fucked up growing up like that. So its surprising Zuko wasn’t more evil…

“He just makes me so angry dad….”

“That’s because you guys need to bond. Did I ever tell you that Bato and I hated each other at one point?”

Sokka’s jaw dropped.

“Ummmm NO. I never knew that.”

“Oh yeah, Bato got on my last nerve. We were close as children but once we got a little older we started to bump heads. He was always trying to one up me on everything we did. He succeeded at times, which was even more frustrating. We got in a fight one time and knocked the snot out of each other and didn’t speak for a month. Then one day he stole some fire water from his dad and we got drunk, bonded and have been close ever since.”

With that being said Hakoda stood up walked to his desk and pulled out his whale skin canteen.

“I want this back, but here. Go find Zuko, you two drink and bond and stop fighting with each other. Settle your differences with some liquid courage and leave everything from the past in the past.”

“I don’t know dad… I kind of insulted… His face.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sokka, son you are so many amazing things but you are also an idiot sometimes.”

Sokka nodded, “I have heard that a lot lately.”

He took the canteen from his dad and smiled.

“Thanks dad, I love you.”

“I love you too, now go make friends with your new fire bender brother.”

Sokka frowned, “That’s not funny dad…”

Hakoda laughed and gently pushed his son out the door, closing it behind him.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko wasn’t in his room, or his uncles room.

Which was an awkward conversation for Sokka. Iroh wasn’t too excited Sokka was out in the late afternoon looking for his nephew. But he told him where he could find Zuko, much to Sokka’s surprise.

Zuko was on the deck, sitting by the bow. His medium length black hair was fluttering in the wind, his back was to Sokka as he approached.

“What do you want?”

Sokka froze, how did he know?

“How’d you know it was me?”

“You walk like your dad.”

Zuko turned his face, unscarred side towards Sokka and scowled.

“You aren’t going to freak out because I mentioned your dad right?”

Sokka rolled his eyes.

“I come in peace, I brought a peace offering.”

Zuko’s one eyebrow lifted, “What is it?”

Sokka lifted the very full canteen and wiggled it, listening to the swishing of the fire water inside.

“Isn’t that your dad’s fire water?”

“Yep. He told us to bond and gave it to me. So here I am, trying to bond.”

Zuko scoffed, “Yeah alright.” Turning his head back to face the front.

“Listen, I am trying here, why are you making this so difficult?”

“Well… how did you say it, I am the most awful person on the planet besides my FATHER, so why not be difficult too. I can start expanding into other categories, so far I have difficult and awful.”

Sokka sat down next to the fire bender, poking his legs out of the gap in the railing like Zuko was. His legs dangling over the water. He uncorked the canteen and took a swing, instantly regretting it.

He coughed, and sputtered, gasping for air only made it worse. He sucked the burning liquid into his lungs which made him keel over. Finally he got in control of himself and peeked at Zuko.

The fire bender was smirking at him, “You deserved that.”

“You know, you are right I did. Here.”

He handed the fire bender the canteen, but Zuko hesitated and frowned.

“This isn’t some plot to steal Hakoda’s fire water, drink it, get me in trouble and make your dad hate me right?”

Sokka smiled, “That would have been a great plan, but unfortunately, its all legit. Plus I think you could burn down my dad’s ship and he would still love you.”

Zuko flushed and then shrugged, taking the liquid he took a swing. Zuko didn’t have the reaction that Sokka had at all. It was as if he had been drinking the stuff his whole life.

“Why didn’t you do the whole, burn- cough -wheezing thing like me?”

Zuko shrugged, “I was captain of a ship for 2 years and there wasn’t much to do so I drank with the men sometimes. I knew what to expect. Why? Have you not drank fire water before?”

Sokka tried to act tough, “Oh I have, like… Once. I had a swig of my dad’s but when he left for war there wasn’t anyone left to drink with. I definitely wouldn’t drink with Katara, she isn’t into that kind of stuff.”

“What kind of stuff? Enjoying herself?”

“Yeah pretty much.”

“Hmmm, I could see that. Here. Make up for lost time.”

Sokka smiled, a genuine smile as he took back the canteen. He was prepared this time and took a long swig, swallowing it entirely before he took a breath. The warmth was filling his belly and his smile turned a little crooked.

Sokka decided he liked fire water.

He and Zuko went back and forth drinking, probably more than they should. It takes a while for the effects to really settle in, but after some time both boys were feeling the fire water.

“I’m sorry I made fun of your face…”

Zuko looked over surprised.

“Wait… You were making fun of my face? Ohhhh… I thought you were just being an asshole.”

“Wait, I was being an asshole…”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Its ok, sorry you think I stole your dad.”

“You did steal my dad.”

“Yeah, ha, I did.”

Sokka frowned and smiled at the same time. He pushed Zuko’s shoulder causing the fire bender to lose balance and almost slump over.

“What makes you think you can just shove me!? I am royalty! You’re a peasant, you can’t touch me!”

Sokka smirked and pulled out his index finger, “What are you going to do?”

Slowly, he inched his finger closer, making little bendy motions like his finger was crawling closer.

“Don’t. Do it.”

Sokka’s finger touched the side of Zuko’s unscarred face.

“Get off!”

Zuko pushed the hand away and smirked, Sokka laughed.

“You’re so dramatic!”

“Says the guy who threw a huge fit earlier today and stormed to his daddy’s room to cry about his feelings!”

“Wait, how did you know I went right to my dad’s room?”

“……”

“OHHHHH…. YOU were going to my dad’s room!!!”

“Yeah, you beat me to it!”

“You were going to tell on me!!”

“NO! I was going to say you tried to stab me again and see if he would execute you.”

Sokka gasped, “Oh my that’s so evil!”

“Well I am just an evil guy!”

Sokka laughed, “You know what’s the most annoying!? You’re not! You are like… A nice guy. You act tough, but you’re a softy! I see it now, all squishy and soft! Softy!”

Zuko glared at him, but couldn’t help but smile as he took another swig of the canteen.

“I’m not soft.”

“Yes you are.”

“Ugh, I know.”

“Softy.”

“Shut up, cry baby.”

“You must cry too, your life sucks, you have to cry about it.”

“My life doesn’t… Oh shit you’re right, my life does suck, but no I don’t cry about it. You don’t cry in my family or you get burned. Weakness is a no go.”

“Damn, is there anything you can do without getting burned?!”

“Umm….”

Zuko had to actually think about it, he tapped his chin.

“You can burn someone else before they burn you and that’s ok. Or if you come up with an exceptionally evil plan to do something horrible to someone or even better, a group of people. Then you get praised and told you’re a prodigy and everyone will bow down to you because they are so afraid of you. Then when you spar against your much weaker, older brother, you can do everything you can to make him look pathetic so his father hates him even more than he already does. Then you can smirk when he gets burned instead of you and later at dinner you can mock him for being so pathetic until he says something smart back to you and father gets mad and beats the shit out of you.”

Zuko blew out a breath into his hair as the front pieces fluttered around.

Sokka just stared at him.

“Seriously?”

“I forgot the question.”

“I’m sorry Zuko..”

“Don’t be sorry, I am sorry, I don’t make being nice to me easy. I know that, which is why it is so hard for people to be nice to me…”

Sokka put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, clumsily.

“You can have my dad.”

Zuko smiled, an actual smile. “I like your dad. I wish he was my dad.”

Sokka nodded, “If he was your dad I don’t think you would look the same…”

“Yeah the scar…”

“No I mean the Water Tribe. You would be all sorts of mixed together. Tan skin? Nah I cant see you with tan skin. Blue eyes? Oh no way… Maybe you should just stay Fire Nation.”

“I think I will.”

“Are you really going to turn on your nation?”

“I’m not turning on my nation. I am turning on my father.”

“Oh damn… That’s deep.”

“The deepest.”

“Like wayyyy down in the ocean!” Sokka sang.

Zuko chuckled. Almost a laugh, but still just a soft chuckle.

“What was it like growing up in the South Pole with your dad and sister? Oh… and your mom…”

Sokka looked sad as he stared out into the ocean watching the sun slowly set.

“It was pretty great. My mom was a lot like Katara, I think. I don’t remember her too much, I always think of Katara when I think of my mom. She was a good woman and she took care of us and made sure my sister and I didn’t kill each other. NOT to be confused with you and your sister... You two actually try to kill each other.

“My dad was Chief so he was in charge of the village and making sure there was order and people worked together. He lead the hunting and fishing trips, I remember my first one… I got three hooks stuck in my hand…”

Zuko gasped. “Ive never seen a hook. But I have heard of them… How did you get three stuck?”

“One got stuck, so I had to use another to get it out, which didn’t work… Then the third… Ya know.”

“It makes sense.”

“SEE, I’m glad you get it. It made sense to me. Katara thought I was an idiot.”

Zuko smirked, “I think your sister still thinks you’re an idiot.”

“Oh shut up, she’s all over you because your have sad eyes and a broken back story. Evil guy, turns good! Be nice to me because my daddy wasn’t!”

Zuko shoved Sokka this time. His face turning red.

“Shut up!”

“It’s true!”

They were quiet for a while, swaying with the waves. Sokka finally turned to Zuko and took a deep breath.

“Let’s be friends.”

Zuko raised his good eyebrow and shook his head trying to shake himself back into the moment.

“You want to be my friend?”

“Yeah, that’s how Aang does it, he just floats into a situation and is like ‘hey everyone I’m the Avatar lets be friends’ and everyone cheers and he has life long friends. So instead of dragging it out and doing what someone like you or me would do and make it a long thing with insults and bad vibes and arguing and then becoming friends… Let’s just, ya know, skip it. Do you wanna be my friend?”

Zuko smiled, a real smile.

“Yeah, I haven’t ever had a friend my own age.”

“Me either.”

“But you lived in village full of people and could go anywhere you wanted.”

Sokka scoffed, “You’ve been to my village, you almost saw the whole thing and you didn’t even step ten feet away from your ship. I was the oldest kid besides Katara, too old for friends, too young for war.”

“Yeah well, war sucks.”

“Best thing I have ever heard you say.”

“Cool, so friends.”

“Yep. Prince of the Fire Nation… and Sokka. Friends.”

“Sokka…. Water Tribe Chief in training, son of Chief Hakoda, greatest dad ever.”

“Shit, that sounds better than what I said.”

“That’s one thing the Fire Nation is good at, they can make anything sound fancy. Watch… ‘Fire Water of the Southern Water Tribe passed down from Chief Hakoda to his first born son Sokka, future Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.’ See?”

“Oh shit… Do something else.”

“Ummm… ‘Boomerang, carved from the – fuck what was that animal called?”

“Walrus whale.”

“Those sound gross.”

“Oh they are, they smell so bad.”

“And you people eat them?”

“Oh yeah, and boil their blubber and drink it when its cold.”

“….Savages.”

“Shut up, ash maker.”

“Both statements are true. I can turn things into ash, and you are a savage.”

“Then you’re calling my dad a savage!”

“No, he is a barbarian, similar, but different.”

“Does he know you call him that?”

“Yeah, I called him it to his face.”

“You don’t lie about anything do you?”

“No, I’m really bad at it, and its not honorable.”

“OH NO… Let’s not get you started on HONOR! I will have to throw you over.”

“HEY! Honor is important, but I gave up on it when I cut off my phoenix tale.”

“You mean your… Pony tail.”

“Phoenix. Like the bird.”

“Pony, like the tail.”

“You are an idiot.”

“Look who is talking.”

“My body feels weird, like its squiggly.”

“Mine too.”

“Is it supposed to feel like that?”

“I don’t know, should we go ask my dad?”

“Yes. Let’s go bother Hakoda. Yes, that’s a great idea.”

Sokka went to stand up as he stumbled backwards and fell on his butt. Zuko laughed and leaned his back onto the deck, using his legs he pushed himself off the ships railing, sliding back across the floor

Sokka looked at him confused.

“Why did you do that..?”

Zuko shrugged, “A couple of seconds ago it seemed like a great idea.”

Both boys laid on the deck for a while before trying to sand up. It took effort but they were both finally to their feet. Leaning against one another they made their way to Hakoda’s room.

Katara was coming onto the deck just as Sokka and Zuko were stumbling into the tower. She frowned, looking cornered, thinking they were fighting.

“What is going on?” She questioned.

Sokka stopped and grinned leaning forward.

“Zuko gets the hook thing, all three of them. He. Gets. It. Right buddy?”

Zuko smirked and looked at Katara, his golden eyes burning into her.

“Yep, makes sense.”

Sokka pulled the fire bender’s arm to lead him away and as Zuko passed Katara he reached out and flicked one of her hair loops.

“Hair loopy.”

Was all he said as Sokka disappeared off the deck dragging the Prince of the Fire Nation behind him.

Katara felt her face flush red as Zuko turned slightly to look at her one last time before they disappeared out of sight.

I don’t think I will ever understand boys.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Azula never dreamed, because she never allowed herself to dream. Dreaming was for people who wanted to be someone else, or somewhere different. She was happy with who she was and the path she was on, her confidence and self assurance allowed her to prevent her mind from wandering during the night.

That was, until Ba Sing Se.

She didn’t dream of far off places, happy memories, or people she missed. She only had one, brief dream, that was recurring each and every night; just before she would awaken at sunrise.

She was standing in the catacombs, her finger’s pointed at the Avatar, but it wasn’t the Avatar – it was Zuko. She would scream insults at him, and she would threaten his life. He would just stare at her with his bright gold eyes, and his massive scar.

Their father’s eyes, the scar their father gave him.

Her would never move, no matter what she said to him. So she did what father would want her to do… She shot him with her lightening.

The lighting struck him in the chest, and he fell.

Her mind replaying the way his body laid there, convulsing on the floor. His golden eye’s squeezed shut as the pain traveled down his arms and legs, and his skin smoldering from the heat he held internally.

After the energy left his body, he laid still.

She watches him lie there.

She has seen Zuko in pain before, she has watched his body suffer in the hands of their father. She has seen the pain and hurt in his eyes, but never like this. Not anything like this, and never because of her.

She did this, she used an attack meant to kill the last threat to the Fire Nation, on her brother. She hurt Zuko so many times in the past, but never like this.

Something about this was different.

Now he was… He might be…

Azula opened her eyes.

Sitting up in her bed she could see the soft light from the sunrise pulling itself through her window. The airship was not the most luxurious way for a Crowned Princess to travel, but it was the fastest. Her hair was perfect, her skin flawless, but a small bead of perspiration lined her forehead.

The only physical evidence of her recurring dream.

Pulling her legs to the edge of the bed her feet touched the cool floor, imminently raising her temperature so she could walk through warmth. Cold floors were unbecoming of a Princess.

Her long silk, Fire Nation robe slipped off her shoulder as she crossed the floor into her personal bathroom. The tile in the bathroom was different from the brushed steel in her sleeping quarters. The tile was comforting, it reminded her of the floor at home in the palace. The soft gold color, complimented the red walls.

Azula drew herself a bath, she always liked to begin her day, fresh. The warm water was soothing and helped her relax while she thought out every move she would make during the day.

Azula liked to plan her day thoroughly, leaving nothing up to chance. If something wasn’t able to be completely planned out, she liked to think of multiple outcomes and how she would respond. Once she felt confident in her daily plans, she would remove herself from the tub and allow the servants to enter her quarters to dress and prepare her hair and makeup.

Once she was ready for the day she would meet up with Ty Lee and Mai for breakfast. A light meal to begin her morning, she never indulged on anything too rich in flavor or too heavy. She needed to stay nimble and alert, food was only needed for nutrients, nothing else.

Azula smirked to herself as she let the water rise to her chin. Soaking in the warm bath water and inhaling the fragrant oils she infused in the water. She let her mind wander for only a moment…

Zuzu liked to eat fire flakes and dumplings. He would stuff his face until he was sick.

Zuzu never thought much about anything, he just crashed through life without thinking.

Zuzu said and did whatever he wanted, even if he knew there would be consequences.

Zuzu was an idiot.

No… Zuzu, IS an idiot.

Because he was alive.

….Right?

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hakoda was just about to lay down and go to sleep, it had been a long and stressful day for everyone on the ship.

Between being boarded by the Fire Nation soldiers, the preparations that was needed to get the crew ready to be boarded. The ship getting closer to the rendezvous point for the invasion, Sokka and his inability to get along with Zuko… He just wanted and needed to relax.

Hakoda heard a commotion in the hall, sitting up in his bed he listened attentively. There shouldn’t be people in the hallway at this hour. Bato would be relieving Anke in a bit to take over the ship’s controls for the night, and the night shift would be taking post soon, but none of that would happen in this close to his cabin.

He heard a loud pounding on his door.

“Dadddddd….”

“Sokka?”

“Dad its me… Open up. Pleasseee.”

“Is everything alright, son?”

As Hakoda opened the door the full body weight of his 16 year old son hit the floor. Only an intoxicated idiot would lean his entire body weight on a door the opened into the room, and would be knocking, asking for it to be opened.

“How did it go with…Zuko?”

He looked into the hallway and saw the fire bender covering his mouth, concealing his smile, just out of sight behind Sokka. Who was still laying on the floor.

“Ok boys, come in here please.”

Sokka attempted to stand up, but he needed a little help from his dad to get himself completely off the floor. Zuko swayed into the room after Sokka was finally on his feet again.

Hakoda looked from Sokka to Zuko, and then back again.

“I take it you boys enjoyed the fire water?”

Sokka smiled and leaned against the desk, “You mean… Fire Water passed from Chief Hakoda of the Southern Tribe to Sokka king of the Water Tribe and his trusty companion, Zuko of the Fire Nation king of the flame!”

Zuko frowned, “That’s not right…”

Sokka rubbed his chin, “No, it didn’t sound right, how did it go again?”

Zuko shrugged.

“I don’t remember.”

“Well, it was great in that moment. Dad what are, YOU, doing right now?”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I was going to go to bed.”

He looked over at his bed to see Zuko had decided to lay down in it, for a moment he felt a bit nostalgic. It had been a long time since the fire bender and he shared a cabin.

“Hmmm… The Water Tribe ship had better beds. This one is not as comfortable.” Zuko said, staring at the ceiling.

Hakoda sighed, “It’s better than the floor…”

Zuko shrugged, “Perhaps.”

Sokka laughed and slapped his knee.

“Oh man! Leave it to the Fire Nation to make a ship that has a thousand different ways to kill someone, but has the most uncomfortable beds!”

Zuko sat up, “Obviously… The Fire Nation cares more about their enemies dying then their men having a good nights sleep. They probably think, ‘oh man if we make these beds awful, then people wont want to sleep in them so they will be out fighting the war instead’.”

Sokka pointed at Zuko, his eyes wide and a smile on his face.

“THAT. IS. YES!”

Zuko smiled. Hakoda rubbed his face.

“Maybe you boys can go bother someone else?”

“But dad, we love you!”

Zuko jumped off the bed, smirking sarcastically at Hakoda.

“Yeah Hakoda, we love you!”

Hakoda glared at the fire bender, it seemed his son was more intoxicated than Zuko was. Even if the boy was definitely not sober, Zuko was holding it together better.

“Why don’t you take Sokka and go find Noa or something, he would enjoy this.”

Zuko crossed his arms frowning.

“Are you saying you don’t enjoy us?”

Sokka gasped and covered his mouth, “Dad… How could you?!”

Zuko smirked at Hakoda again, as the older Water Tribe man jokingly glared back.

“Zuko, why don’t you tell Sokka all about how you and I met? That is a good long story that will eat up a lot of time, away from my cabin.”

Sokka rolled his eyes, “Bato already told me the story! You two snuggling, becoming roommates, Zuko killing people, getting stabbed, going with Zhao, and now being reunited. See, I know it all.”

Zuko seemed to cringe when he mentioned Zhao. Hakoda felt a sting of guilt in his chest.

“Ok boys, so what is it you want to do? Is there any of the fire water left? I think I need a swing.”

Sokka looked extremely excited and he pulled the whale skin canteen from behind his back, where it was tucked into his waist belt.

“Here!”

Hakoda wiggled it, feeling how light it felt, he realized just how much the boys had actually drank. He lifted the nozzle to his lips and took a long swing, gulping twice. When he brought the canteen away from his mouth both Sokka and Zuko stood next to each other looking shocked.

“You didn’t even flinch…” Sokka said.

“Yes son, I have been drinking fire water for years. After a while, you get accustomed to the taste. I must say, you boys really drank a lot.”

Zuko pointed at Sokka, who didn’t notice being called out.

Hakoda smiled at the fire bender and for the first time he realized just how different Zuko and Sokka looked psychically.

Zuko was a taller than his son, with scruffy black hair and pale skin. While Sokka wore his hair in a wolf tail with shaved sides, his skin was a deep tan, like the rest of the tribe. Zuko’s eyes were narrow and piercing, with a bright gold iris. Sokka’s eyes were bigger, and a deep blue. Zuko was more physically fit, he carried more muscle mass, even with his lean frame. Sokka was thin, strong, but lanky.

Both boys couldn’t be more opposite, but in this moment they were the same. Both drunk, getting along, coming to him for comfort.

“So, can I assume you two are going to be getting a long from now on?”

Zuko answered this time, “yes, we are friends now.”

“Oh you are?”

Sokka nodded and put his arm around the fire bender’s shoulders. Zuko only flinched a little.

“Stop flinching!”

“I didn’t flinch!”

“Yes! You always flinch! I never noticed before!”

“You have never touched me before!”

“Yes I have! We have fought before!”

“HA! As if you got close enough to me to touch me.”

“Jerk bender! Let’s fight now! Ill show you!”

“Do you need to go get Hotah and his friends before we start?”

“OH… YOU JERK BENDER!!!!”

Sokka lunged at Zuko, who effortlessly shifted the Water Tribe boy’s body weight, using it against him. Sokka crashed onto the floor, almost slamming his face into the war table.

“Oh man… Now I don’t feel good….”

Zuko’s eyes got wide.

Hakoda’s eye’s did the same.

“Oh no! I have not had anyone puke in here, yet! If you are going to be sick you have to leave! Come on!”

Hakoda grabbed his son up by the back of his tunic and lifted him to his feet. Sokka stumbled a bit and his cheeks flushed red, while the rest of his face had a hint of green to it.

Hakoda looked over at Zuko, “Take him, NOW.”

Not realizing how his tone came off. Zuko’s eyes shifted to the floor and he moved past Hakoda and took Sokka’s arm to begin leading him out of the room.

“Zuko?”

He turned slightly, his unscarred face peeking over at Hakoda.

“Thank you.. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

He gave a small smile, “Its fine, i’ll get him to bed. Goodnight.”

Hakoda nodded as the boys left and his door closed. Pinching the bridge of his nose he laid back in his bed, as he was before the boy’s visit. But now his bed had the faint smell of smoke and the warmth from the fire bender who had been laying there for only a moment.

He smiled and closed his eyes, resting his hands behind his head. Lately, he started a new ritual where he would talk to his wife every night. He did this when she first passed, hoping to hold onto the warmth he felt in his chest when they would lay together. The warmth that generated when he felt her eye’s rest on him, or her voice would sing while she cooked.

After he found Zuko and had to give him up to Zhao, that moment accompanied with leaving his children alone in the village. He found that he needed to talk to her now, more than ever. He began talking to her every night and somehow he felt like she gave him some clarity. Not every time, but enough that he felt the familiar comfort he had longed for since her passing.

“Kya, I know you probably wouldn’t agree with the way I handled things today with the boys. I know, giving them alcohol to solve their problems probably isn’t the best approach. But I have to say… It worked out really well.” He found himself chuckling, thinking of her disapproving face. The face he saw most in Katara.

“They seem to genuinely be getting along. Zuko is a good boy, I wish you could have met him. I think you would like him, he needs a love like yours in his life. He is missing so much love, he needs your special motherly touch. I wish you were here to help me with him, and the rest of our kids. I know you would like his uncle too, he is a good man, and makes great tea. Yeah, I drink tea now, don’t laugh. Our children have grown so much, they are so strong and I see more and more of you in them each day. I miss you, moon of my life. Until we are reunited again… Goodnight.”

He closed his eyes letting the memories of his wife laying in his bed stroking his hair, lull him to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

“DON’T PUKE ON ME!!”

Sokka stumbled, Zuko held onto him tight.

“Please, just a couple more feet to the edge and you can throw up over the side! The fish will love it! You just have to…”

Sokka gave a small dry heave.

“WATER TRIBE PEASANT, I SWEAR TO AGNI, DON’T DO IT!!!”

With a last resort he shoved Sokka so his body hit the railing, his hands gripped the sides and he thrust his head over, blowing chunks of food into the ocean below.

Zuko felt a wave of relief hit him when he realized the boy was not going to throw up on him.

Zuko could face an entire prison full of guards single handed and not hesitate, but he would not and could not handle someone else’s vomit.

Nope.

Sokka finished expelling his stomach contents and slid down to the floor. He was smiling, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Oh man! I feel so much better.”

Zuko slid down, next to him… But far enough away that he wouldn’t be a victim of a second round of vomit if Sokka’s nausea came back.

“I am glad you are feeling better.”

The moon was out now, casting a silver glow onto the metal deck. Sokka looked up at the moon, Zuko saw an unbelievable sadness fill the boy’s eyes.

“The moon… I dated the moon.”

Zuko raised his one eyebrow.

“I know I am not… Not drunk. But… I don’t think I am understanding that correctly?”

Sokka sighed, “Her name was Yue, she was the most beautiful, kind, smart, sweet, amazing girl you would ever meet. But she became the moon.”

“How did she become… The moon?”

“Zhao came… took the fish… killed the fish… Now Yue is the moon.”

Zuko wasn’t entirely sure what to say, or that he actually understood what Sokka was talking about, but he knew he had to say something.

“That’s rough buddy. Zhao’s a dick.”

Sokka looked over at him, his eyes twinkling through the sadness, at Zuko’s comment.

“Zhao is a dick.”

“A small dick.”

“The tiniest dick.”

“Ok lets change the subject, I don’t want to talk about Zhao’s dick anymore. Or ever again…”

Sokka nodded, slowing down the movement when he realized that nodding made his brain feel like it was rattling against his skull.

They sat in silence until Anke walked onto the deck. Instantly seeing the boys he frowned and made his way over to them.

“What the fuck are you two doing?”

His angry stare went to Sokka, who seemed to shrink under the massive man’s glare. Anke had lived in the village when Sokka was a boy but they never spent anytime together. The man had lost everything to the Fire Nation and mostly kept to himself. When they left for war he was the first person to voluntarily want to leave to fight the Fire Nation. Sokka could see the red bead in his hair though, so he knew he must be concerned for Zuko being on deck alone with Sokka.

“Agni, Anke… Chill… Sokka’s good people.”

Anke raised an eyebrow, “Ok fire rat, like I am going to take your judgement on ‘good people’. When I met you all you talked about was capturing the Avatar to restore your HONOR, for the FIRE LORD, the most evil man on the planet. So excuse me if I am not jumping up to accept your tiny brain’s assessment of character.”

“Ouch.” Sokka said, smirking at Zuko.

The fire bender’s brow furrowed.

“You wanna fight about it?!”

He jumped up, not realizing how much the fire water affected his mobility, he stumbled forward. Anke caught the back of his tunic before he could stumble onto the floor and slam his face into the metal.

He held Zuko there for a moment, his body hovering over the deck. Their eye’s met before Anke laughed and let go of his hold. Allowing Zuko to fall face forward onto the metal floor.

“Ow, fuck! Why did you do that?!”

“To teach you a lesson, you can’t just fight everyone that pisses you off. Or you end up stabbed, idiot. You two seem off your game, well, more than usual… Have you two been drinking? You stink like cheap fire water.”

Sokka nodded, he knew better then to lie to Anke. Even with his dad’s blessing and gifting him the fire water he still felt guilty, like he was going to get in trouble with Anke.

The man just crossed his arms and smiled, “Well shit, let me go to my cabin and get my booze and Noa, and we will come join you. You know how Noa is, he has to be invited or he would probably cry about it for a week.”

Zuko smirked, “Aw, you love Noa! Admit it! He is your buddy…”

Anke frowned, “Do you ever want to get off this floor again?”

Zuko shook his head yes, as the Water Tribe man glared down at him.

“Bring food.” Sokka’s voice cracked as he spoke, “Please…”

Anke rolled his eyes, “Light weight. Sure, I will bring you food.”

Zuko pulled himself off the floor slowly, as Anke walked past him he pushed the fire bender back to the ground with his foot.

“Fuck!”

Zuko got off his stomach, pulling himself into a sitting position. Using his feet he pushed himself and slid back over to Sokka, not trusting himself to stand.

“Anke likes you.”

Zuko shrugged, “I guess, he has a weird way of showing it.”

“He wears a red bead for you… I don’t think you understand how… Crazy that it to me…”

Zuko looked at him puzzled.

“Anke lost his wife and daughter to a Fire Nation raid… He has a deep hatred for your people… But he… He likes you.”

“Well, he is one of only a few.”

“Your life is sad.”

“You said that already.”

“Yeah well I realize it more and more every time you open your mouth.”

“Well I just wont talk then!”

“Ughhhh… Whatever Zuko!”

Anke came back to the deck after a while, carrying a canteen that was larger than the one Hakoda gave them. Noa came out from behind Anke and ran over to Zuko, plopping himself down next to the fire bender.

“Anke said you’re drunk.”

Zuko raised his eye brow, before glaring over at Anke.

“Anke is a lair. I am not drunk, I am squiggly.”

Noa looked over at Anke, “Did ya hear that, you lied. He isn’t drunk – he is squiggly.”

“Oh yes, excuse my ignorance. Your friend is squiggly.”

Noa smirked and poked Zuko in the face, his finger touching the bottom edge of his scar.

Sokka held his breath, he never saw anyone touch Zuko like that, especially not his face.

Zuko glared at Noa, but seemed to allow the Water Tribe man to touch him, and his scar.

“You are drunk, I can’t believe you aren’t trying to bite me.”

“I don’t always bite you!”

“You have bite me, TWICE! Sokka, how many times has he bit you?”

“Um… None?”

“SEE!”

Zuko pushed Noa’s hand away, “He doesn’t stick his fingers in my face!”

“I healed your face! So I can touch it if I want! Its not like I haven’t touched it a bunch already. I’ve rubbed more burn cream on your face then all my patients combined.”

“That’s not how healing works! You can’t heal someone and then lay claim to their body!”

“Oh, stop being so crabby!”

Anke took a few deep swigs before handing the canteen to Sokka, whose face twisted in disgust. He knew if he refused to drink it, he would look weak in front of the two Water Tribe men. Against his better judgement he took the canteen and took a short swig. The burning wasn’t as bad this time, and it seemed to almost comfort his aching stomach.

“Is… Is this fire water?”

Anke snorted, “Nah, that shit’s rough, this is fire whiskey. Smooth isn’t it? Only good thing to come out of the Fire Nation.”

“Hey!”

“Calm down Zuko, you aren’t bad, but you aren’t as good as fire whiskey. Wait, have you boys been drinking that nasty shit your dad drinks? You guys are going to feel like koi balls tomorrow.”

Zuko looked at Sokka, whose eyes were pleading with him not to tell the other men about how he already puked over the edge. Even though Zuko wanted to embarrass Sokka, he knew if he actually wanted a friend he probably shouldn’t do that.

So he kept his mouth shut.

The men sat in a circle taking turns drinking Anke’s fire whiskey. Noa leaned back on his elbows looking up at the stars.

“It feels like camping, we just need a camp fire and it would be perfect.”

Zuko lit a small flame in his hand and held it next to Noa.

“That’s not really… I mean its nice, but we need a roaring fire. Not some palm flame.”

Sokka’s eyes were twinkling from the small flame Zuko held out, he was not accustomed to being around fire benders that were not attacking him. So it was captivating to see Zuko holding a flame in his hand.

Sokka reached out for the flame slowly. “I think fire bending is cool…”

Zuko closed his fist and the flame disappeared, “It is, but don’t touch it, you idiot…”

Sokka realized his mistake and flushed a deep red, he was drunk and acting stupid in front of the Water Tribe men.

Zuko turned to Noa again, “If you find something to burn I can keep a fire going. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just something that will hold a flame.”

Noa jumped up, “We have stuff that will hold a flame in the infirmary! Ill be right back!”

He took off into the darkness.

Noa almost bumped into Katara, his face turning bright red as the Water Tribe girl moved out of his way, he stopped short, almost slamming into the wall.

“Oh… Uhh… K-Katara! Good evening… I hope you are having a good evening! I am just going to find something to burn. S-So yeah… What are, ummm what’re you doing?”

Noa was trying to play it cool, as he went to lean back against the wall, his elbow slipped and he barely caught his balance before stumbling onto the floor.

Katara covered her mouth trying to hide her amusement, Noa was always so awkward.

“I was just coming out on deck to enjoy the moonlight. It’s a beautiful night and I wanted to see it in person, instead of just through the porthole. But did you just say you were finding something to… Burn?”

Noa rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah so… Umm… Zuko is going to burn stuff for us. We are camping, and drinking… D-do you want to join us?”

Katara crossed her arms, “Zuko is burning stuff? Who are you with?”

“Zuko, Anke, Sokka and me. Well… Zuko isn’t burning anything yet, but I am going to get it now!”

“….Sokka and Zuko?”

“Yeah, weird right? But they seem to be getting along.”

“That can’t be right.”

Noa shrugged, “Go see for yourself, I will be right back! Wait for me!”

He began running again, headed to the infirmary.

Katara looked onto the deck and could see people sitting in the front corner, the moonlight made the viability better, but it still wasn’t great at night.

She walked over to the shadows and it was as Noa said, Zuko was sitting against the ship’s railing a few feet away from Sokka with Anke in front of them. Everyone turned as Katara approached, she met eyes with Sokka who gave her a sheepish smile.

“What’s going on over here?”

Anke smirked and held the canteen for Katara to take a swig.

“Drinking, come join us. You deserve a break with all the healing you do all day.”

Sokka laughed, “Katara is not going to drink with us, she is a NO FUN ZONE.”

Katara crossed her arms, “I have fun!”

“Oh yeah! I’m having soooooo much fun repairing these pants! I am rolling on the floor in laugher over this new water trick I just mastered. Oh wait, she definitely has fun cooking dinner every night! She can barely contain herself! Sorry Katara, I forgot how much fun you are!”

Katara frowned, glaring at Sokka she snatched the canteen out of Anke’s hang and threw it back. Instantly regretting her decision, she felt the need to sputter and spit the liquid out, but she knew she had all the boy’s eyes on her right now. She wanted to prove she was fun, and that women can handle their liquor too.

She didn’t know how much she should drink, but after the third gulp she felt Anke put his hand on the canteen and slowly remove it from her lips.

“Woah there fun girl, you might want to slow down, you will make yourself sick.”

Zuko snorted, “Yeah… It would be a shame if she got sick. Must run in the family.”

Sokka turned his head sharply to Zuko, glaring daggers at the fire bender who didn’t return the eye contact.

Katara plopped down in between Anke and Zuko, already feeling the tingly feeling in her fingers from the fire whiskey. Her tummy felt warm and cozy, like she could recede back inside and stay warm forever.

“So are you boys just sitting here… Talking?”

Anke shrugged, “Not really, talking, more like… Drinking. Sokka is doing a lot of talking though.”

Noa showed up a moment later with a couple of empty crates from the infirmary.

“Will these work, Zuko?”

Zuko shrugged, “sure.”

Noa threw the crates on the floor in the middle of the group. Zuko pointed his finger at them, instantly they were lit. The fire was small, but big enough to provide a soft light in the group. The warmth from the fire mixed well with the warmth in everyone’s belly. Normally it would be too windy to keep a fire going on deck, but with a handy dandy fire bender, the flames stayed steady.

Noa looked at everyone for a moment, deciding where to sit. He made his way over to Katara and Zuko and sat down in between them. Sokka and Zuko were still sitting against the railing, Anke, Katara and Noa all sat cross legged on the deck around them. The small fire dancing in the middle.

Noa took another swig from the canteen before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few pieces of jerky, he handed them to Sokka.

“I know Anke forgot to get you some food on purpose, so here I stopped by the kitchen for you.”

Sokka’s eyes lit up, “Oh Noa, I could kiss you!!”

Noa shrank back, stealing a small glance at Katara before making a disgusted face. His cheeks flushed with a pink color.

“O-oh, no thanks. I wouldn’t be comfortable. Thanks though.”

Zuko smirked and poked Noa’s face.

“Why are you turning pink? Do you want Sokka to kiss you? You look nervous.”

Noa pushed the fire bender’s hand away, “Stop Zuko! I don’t want Sokka to kiss me. He can kiss you!”

Zuko’s brow furrowed, “Never.”

Sokka looked sad, “Hey! I am a great kisser, any of you jerks would be lucky to kiss me! Well except you Katara, that’d be weird.”

Katara made a dry gagging face, “Ew. I would never kiss you, brother.”

Anke held up his hands, “No one is kissing anyone. Unless its Zuko and Noa, cause I know Noa is in love with the fire rat.”

Noa pointed his finger at Anke, “NO! I am not! If I am in love with Zuko, then… Then so are you!!”

“Zuko’s a child, Noa, like you.”

“I am not a child!” Noa and Zuko said in unison, before looking at each other.

Zuko crossed his arms and blew up a breath making his hair flutter.

“I am not kissing anyone, especially not Noa. So lets change the subject. This is almost as bad as the Zhao’s dick conversation.”

Anke flashed with anger. “What do you mean by that? Did Zhao show you his dick? I swear I will kill that man…”

Zuko held up his hands, “WOAH NO… NO, THIS IS NOT A CONVERSATION WE ARE HAVING!”

Anke glared at him, Zuko happily returned the glare.

“We will talk about this later, fire rat. That disgusting man had better not have shown you his dick.”

Zuko just turned his head looking into the fire.

Noa tried to break the tension, “OK! Let’s play a game! Now that Katara is here, we shouldn’t talk about dicks, or kissing, you know… She is a lady, so lets be appropriate. How about let’s play truth or lie? We play all the time with the rest of the tribe.”

Sokka perked up, swaying a little, he steadied himself.

“Oh yeah! I know that game. We say something about ourselves and we have to guess if its a truth or lie!”

Anke nodded, “Sounds good.” Taking a swig of his canteen he began passing it around. “I’ll start.”

“I hate all fire benders.”

“LIE!” Sokka screamed, “You like Zuko.”

“Nah, it was a truth. I hate the kid.”

Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes, “I’ll go next. Anke is the best fighter I have ever encountered.”

“Truth!” Anke smirked at him.

“Lie! His stance is awful!” Noa laughed.

Anke looked over at the Water Tribe man, “Oh yeah? I remember you standing on deck for hours a day practicing your stance. How many times did your back hit the floor?”

Katara interrupted, “Ok boys, I get it, you are all strong men. Let’s play for real, if we are going to play. So Anke, that was a legit question. Zuko you need to wait your turn, we will go around the circle this way.” She pointed from Anke to Sokka. “So it will go Anke, Sokka, Zuko, Noa, and then me. Everyone agree?”

They all nodded.

Sokka scoffed, “Thanks for keeping the order, oh fun Katara.”

Zuko snorted in amusement.

Katara glanced at Zuko for the first time since she sat down. The moonlight made his pale skin almost look like it was glowing. The fire reflected off his gold eyes, making them shine as they flickered against the flames. He sat with one knee propped up and his arms resting on it for balance. He looked softer in the moonlight, but his face still rested in a scowl. His shaggy black hair hung in his face, hiding some of the scar. He looked so different from the day they all first met.

“Ok, so since Anke just went, its my turn?” Sokka asked.

Katara nodded, “Yes, so go ahead. Truth or lie?”

“I have kissed a Kyoshi warrior.”

Katara yelled, “TRUTH! Right? You and Suki kissed?”

Sokka smiled, “Yes!”

Anke looked impressed, “The Kyoshi Warriors are a strong group of women, good for you Sokka.”

Sokka thought he might faint from the compliment. Anke never complimented anyone.

“Yeah Kyoshi Island was beautiful… Until SOMEONE…. Burnt it down.”

Sokka glanced over at Zuko, who seemed to shrink a little from the sudden blast from his past.

Katara instantly went to his defense.

“Aang fixed it, he used the Unagi to put out all the fires. Not everything burnt to the ground. Leave him alone, its over with now.”

She saw Zuko perk up just the slightest, his intense eyes glanced over at her for a brief second, before going back to the fire. Katara smiled at him, she didn’t want him to feel worse about his past then he probably already did. She saw him making an effort to be a better person and Sokka needed to give him a break.

That’s why she stood up for him.

No other reason.

Keep telling yourself that, Katara.

“Sorry man… We’re bros now and I just threw that shit in your face. My bad.”

Zuko shrugged, “I mean… I did burn it down. So I get it. I didn’t know she was your girlfriend.”

“Would Suki being my girlfriend have made you not burn their village down?”

“No, I would have probably burnt it down faster.”

Sokka glared at him, “Not funny.”

Anke laughed, his booming voice carrying through the wind.

“I think Zuko’s humor is spot on. Your next fire boy.”

Zuko looked nervous, “I… Uh… I don’t know what to say.”

Noa smiled and put his arm around Zuko, always invading his personal space. He hated it, but secretly he enjoyed the comfort Noa provided.

“Just say something about yourself we might not know and we have to guess if it’s a lie or not.”

“Uh… I served tea in Ba Sing Se. With my Uncle.”

“LIE! No way.” Anke seemed confident in his answer.

Katara smiled, “Truth!”

Zuko glanced at her and nodded, “You’re right, truth.”

Katara beamed, “I know, that’s how Azula got you and Uncle to come to the palace, right? You thought you were serving the Earth King?”

He nodded, “Yep.”

“Ok my turn! Ummm… I have never been drunk before.”

“Truth!”

“Lie!”

Noa smiled, “Truth. This is the first time… I uhhh… I drank with people. I didn’t have very many friends back in the North. My brother is younger than me, and my only friend isn’t a big drinker. So I never had the opportunity… But I am… Glad I get to drink with you guys….”

Noa smiled softly, staring into the fire.

This time Zuko put his arm around Noa, much to everyone’s surprise.

“It’s understand, I never had friends either.”

Noa leaned his head against Zuko’s shoulder, “lets be friends.”

Zuko nodded, “I think we already are.”

“But you left.”

“I know.”

“You wont leave again, right?”

Katara watched the boys, she saw Zuko’s eyes look down at the floor before he closed them.

“I… I can’t promise that. Sorry.”

Noa jerked his head up, glaring at Zuko for a moment. Zuko’s eyes stayed closed, and Noa sighed a long low breath and shrugged.

“I get it. Ok. We will stay friends, even if you leave.”

“Ok.”

Noa turned to Katara, “Your turn Katara.”

Katara broke her gaze away from the boys and looked up at the Yue, tapping her chin. She wanted to say something good, so everyone thought she was fun. She was fun, she just needed to prove it.

“I kissed the leader of the Freedom Fighters in a treehouse.”

Sokka’s face drained of color.

“YOU KISSED JET!?!”

Katara smirked and lifted her chin in smug manner.

“I don’t know Sokka, did I?”

“I’m going to say, LIE. It had better be a lie, no sister of mine is going to kiss crazy Jet and his stupid Fire Nation obsession…” He kept mumbling.

Zuko raised his eyebrow.

“Wait, Jet… Like, tall annoying guy, with a grass face and two stupid hook swords?”

Both Katara and Sokka looked at Zuko confused.

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“HA! GRASS FACE! YES!”

Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka.

“Do you know Jet?”

Zuko frowned and narrowed his eyes, “He followed my Uncle around Ba Sing Se after they traveled there on the ferry together. This was before I met up with him. Jet was convinced he was a fire bender because of some shit with a tea cup, and my uncle couldn’t get the asshole to drop it. Jet followed him into the Upper Ring and tried to fight him in the street. Him and I went at it for a moment before he was dragged off by the Dai Li. He is fucking crazy Katara, I cant believe you put your mouth on him. Did you taste his grass?”

Katara turned a deep shade of red, “Shut up Zuko! No, I didn’t taste his grass! I never kissed him it was a lie!”

Sokka wiggled his eyebrows, “Surrreee it was sis. You’re just mad because the second worst person in the world called you out for kissing the worst person in the world.”

Zuko tapped his chin, “Wait… Am I the second worst person in the world?!”

Sokka scooted over to him and clasped his hand on the fire bender’s shoulder.

“You are redeeming yourself, but yes. In my book its Jet first, you second. You tried to kill us, but Jet tries to kill everyone. Plus you didn’t feel the need to TALK to us all the time when we fought, Jet never shut up!”

Anke interrupted, “I am going to stop you right there, this Jet guy might be annoying but your book is all fucked up, Sokka. The FIRE LORD is the worst person in the world, and I think that Zhao guy is up there too. I can also think of a few other fire benders who would be above Jet on that list.”

Zuko smirked, “I agree with Anke.”

Sokka groaned, “Any guy with grass mouth who tries to kiss my sister is worse then the Fire Lord to me. Its MY Book, I can list it how I want.”

Katara smiled, “Aww, you love me brother!”

Noa looked over at Zuko, “What was it like growing up with the Fire Lord?”

Everyone got quiet. Zuko looked up from the fire, his jaw clenched and his brow furrowed.

“Um, fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yeah, fine.”

“Ok… So specific.”

“I don’t know what to say. It was fine. That’s all, there isn’t anything else to say. I am done playing this fucking game. I’m going to bed.”

Just like that, Zuko stood, stumbled but recovered and stormed off. The fire flickered and went out as soon as Zuko was out of sight.

Anke snorted, “I was wondering how long it would take him to get pissed and leave. He lasted a lot longer then I thought he would. Parties over.”

Noa looked sad, “He doesn’t ever talk about his past. I wish he would be more open.”

Anke looked at Noa, annoyed. “Zuko is about as open as a otter-clam. You could try to pry him open with a finely shaven whale tooth, but your hand could slip and give you a nasty scar. Like this one.”

Anke held open his hand displaying a long scar in the center of his palm.

“Best to just leave the clam closed, trying to open it will just cause pain to you and the clam. No one wins.”

Katara sighed, “I’m sure it wasn’t easy growing up with The Fire Lord, and crazy Azula. She did shoot him with lightning, trying to kill him. I’m sure there are other parts of his past that were just as unpleasant.”

Her mind drifted to the scars that covered his body, and the burnt handprints, she tried to contain a shudder.

Noa frowned at the sound of Azula’s name.

“Lightning girl… Yeah, I don’t like her. Ya know, he told me she was going to shoot him with lightning right after he was stabbed and I have to say, I didn’t believe him. I do now, obviously.”

“She is pretttyyyy awful.” Sokka said as he leaned his head back onto the railing. The swaying ship, the handful of seal jerky and the extra booze were not agreeing with him.

Katara brought her knees up to her chest, the alcohol was making her feel weird. She had this intense urge to chase after Zuko and apologize. She just wanted to comfort him and help him escape the pain of his past, especially with how much he seemed to be trying to change. She wanted to heal him.

He even used her name tonight.

Katara stood up, “I am going to make sure he is ok.”

Sokka frowned, “Not a good idea sis, but if you are going to be walking towards the rooms… uhhh… Can I come with you? Ya know… For support?”

Katara grinned, “For whose support? Yours or mine?”

Sokka glared at her, “Just help me.”

She took his arm and help him balance as they bid their farewells to Noa and Anke who seemed like they were going to sit on the deck a while longer.

“Good night kids, see ya tomorrow. If you see Zuko, tell him I expect a sparring session tomorrow to repay him for storming off tonight. Little brat.”

Katara smiled at Anke, “If I see him, I will relay your message. Now come on Sokka lets get you to bed.”

“Oh I’d like that… Mmmm, I love my bed.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko stomped all the way to his hallway, a small bit of smoke was seeping out of his nostrils.

How dare Noa try to get me to disclose my life to all of them. I don’t even know Sokka and Katara that well and he wants me to just tell them about my fucked up life?! Why? So everyone can pity me?! Oh look, there goes the banished Prince whose father was mean to him growing up.

Don’t stare at his scar, its such a sad story.

Poor Zuko, his mom left him. Or was killed. Who the fuck knows!?

Fucking Noa… Trying to be such a fucking… Noa. UGH!

He shook his head and found himself standing at his Uncle’s room. Confused on why he was here, Zuko closed his eyes. Taking a few deep breaths of control, trying to contain his emotional, internal battle.

Uncle made my life better… He was always there for me. I could have just told them that, The Fire Lord was mean, but Uncle was always nice to me. He always took time for me, even when I was a jerk to him. Ugh, I was always a jerk to him. He came with me when I was banished… He sat by my bed… He cares about me like I was his… Son. He is more of a father then Ozai ever was, or will be.

Zuko slowly opened his uncle’s door, the deep sound of snoring hit his ears instantly. Uncle always snored in his sleep. The sound annoyed Zuko for years, but now he found himself missing it sometimes. He found comfort in the pudgy man’s snoring.

Zuko slipped in quietly. Walking to edge of Iroh’s bed he reached out and poked his uncle in the shoulder.

“Uncle…”

Iroh opened his eyes, landing on Zuko he lifted from his bed, sitting up he reached out and grabbed Zuko’s arm.

“Are you ok, nephew?! Did someone hurt you?”

Zuko frowned, “no Uncle, I am fine. I just… I wanted to uhh… I just wanted to tell you…. Thank you. For… um, for everything. You have always been there for me… Even when I didn’t deserve it. I just… I love you. Ok. So goodnight.”

He went to turn and leave when he felt himself being pulled down into his uncle’s strong arms. The warmth and faint smell of ginger tea hit his nostrils. It was comforting, like the snoring.

“You never deserved anything but love and kindness, I am the one who is honored to be the man to give that to you. I love you too, Prince Zuko.”

Zuko returned the hug, burying his face into his uncle’s shoulder, absorbing all the comfort he could. They stayed together for a long moment before Iroh let Zuko pull away. The Prince pulled the man’s blanket closer to his shoulder’s as Iroh snuggled back into bed.

Without a word, Zuko turned and left the room, feeling lighter and happier than he did standing in the hallway only moments ago.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“GOOD NIGHT SOKKA!”

“But Katara….”

She slammed her brother’s door shut, she was trying to decide if him being on cactus juice was worse then the alcohol. Either way, both options enhanced Sokka’s ability to annoy her.

She turned to head to her room when she was Zuko walking towards her, he was looking at the ground like he was deep in thought. He glanced up, his gold eyes meeting her blue ones instantly.

He stopped, she smiled and gave a small wave.

“Hi Zuko.”

“Uh… Hi Katara.”

“I thought you were going to bed?”

“I was.. I mean, I am. I was just checking on my Uncle.”

Katara smiled. “That was sweet of you.”

“Uh, sure.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be ok?”

“I mean… You stormed off back there. You didn’t say bye to anyone. I think your hurt Noa’s feelings and Anke said you owe him a sparring session tomorrow for not saying goodnight.”

Zuko frowned, crossing his arms in a very ‘signature Zuko’ pose.

“Noa needs to learn when to shut his mouth and I will find Anke tomorrow and kick his ass like I always do. Don’t worry about me Katara.”

Her eyes softened, her voice just above a whisper.

“Of course I am going to worry about you, Zuko...”

“Don’t. Just.. Leave me alone.”

He moved past her, she could feel the heat radiating off his body as he passed her. Making sure there was enough distance between them that their shoulders wouldn’t touch. Katara sighed and turned to watch him pull open his door and walk in, without giving her a second look.

He was so guarded, but she was starting to see the sadness and pain he tried so hard to cover up. She knew he needed help, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

And Katara liked a challenge.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“….Kill….Me….”

“Its your own fault for drinking so much last night. You know, you missed your shift shoveling coal. Apparently Hotah covered for you, but you might get in trouble with dad if he finds out.”

“Do… Do you think he will kill me? …Because I would love that.”

“No he isn’t going to kill you, but your hangover might. You don’t look so good.”

“Uhhhh… I can’t stop throwing up. I don’t know if I will ever be able to eat seal jerky, ever again.”

Sokka was laying on his bed, face first in his pillow. His hair was loose and his skin was a few shades lighter than it was yesterday. His eyes were half closed as he laid there trying not to throw up again. Katara came to check on him when she woke up this morning, and had to bring him a bucket so he would stop throwing up on the floor. Lucky for him she was able to bend the liquid into the bucket, unfortunately there was nothing she could do for the small bits of jerky that were still on the floor.

Today Aang was going to leave him room and walk around, she was excited to get him out onto the deck and into fresh air. He would be cleared for training soon, which was good considering the invasion was only a few weeks away. They were about a week away from the rendezvous point, and then it would be only a short amount of time before they would be moving towards the capital.

“Please Katara…. Glowy hand me… Just… Glowy hand… Me….”

Katara sighed and pulled fresh water out of her water skin and brought her hands up to his forehead and tried to sooth him where she could. Too bad for Sokka, that being hungover was more of an internal sickness mixed with dehydration, not an injury she could fix.

“I will go get you some water, but you should probably stay in bed and rest.”

“Oh really? Well I was thinking of going to running laps around the ship.”

Katara used her water to whip Sokka in the back of the head.

“I am just trying to help! You jerk! You don’t have to be sarcastic to me. Sit here and rot for all I care!”

She stormed out of his room and down the hall, she paused at Zuko’s room, wondering if she should check on him.

Just leave me alone.

Their interaction last night didn’t go very well, but she was a healer so it was her job to check on him and make sure he was alright.

Right?

Yes, definitely.

You’re a healer, you heal those who are hurt and sick, so you are just checking on him because he could be sick. Like Sokka.

She knocked lightly on his door.

“Zuko? Are you alright this morning?”

No answer.

“Zuko? I am going to open your door.”

Nothing.

She cracked open the door and saw the bed was neatly made and empty. She was surprised, she wouldn’t have guessed Zuko to be a neat person. But from the looks of his room and how everything was organized and clean, it appeared he was. He didn’t have clothing on the floor, or plates of dead food on the desk, no messy sheets thrown everywhere – like Sokka.

She smiled to herself and closed the door. Making her way towards the deck she had to shield her eyes when the blaring sun hit her face. It was a beautiful and bright morning, the sky was clear, not a cloud to be seen. It was a warmer day, with a small breeze, mostly created from the ship’s movements.

The Water Tribe men were working hard on deck, she saw Anke and Zuko in the front corner sparring.

She was surprised, Sokka was in his room dying and Zuko is out here fighting. The boys couldn’t be more different.

As she got closer she saw Toph was leaning against the railing as Zuko and Anke sparred with their hand to hand combat. Anke raised his fist and brought it down hard on Zuko’s shoulder. The boy winced but kicked out his leg, trying to hook Anke’s ankle, but the larger man jumped before Zuko’s leg could make contact. Anke used his momentum to shove Zuko in the chest on the way back to the ground. Zuko fell back but caught himself before he fell, pushing himself back to his feet, he took a deep breath and moved towards Anke.

The Water Tribe man waited to see where Zuko would move but the fire bender was too fast. Faking a left Anke turned to intercept, but was surprised when Zuko struck him on his right, knocking him in the side of his face. Anke shook his head trying to escape the sharp pain that was inflicted. Her turned to face Zuko but the boy was already on the deck spinning on his back, his legs catching Anke unexpectedly. The Water Tribe man was knocked down as Zuko raised back to his feet.

“Fucking fire rat.. You’re fast. Fuck.”

Zuko smirked before turning a pale color, he ran to the edge of the ship and threw his head over, vomiting into the water.

Anke laughed, “Not feeling so hot today kid?!”

Zuko let the upper half of his body hang over the side for a moment before Anke walked over and pulled him back.

“Chief will kill me if I let you fall overboard, not to mention your uncle.”

Toph smirked, “Sparky likes to fall overboard, huh?”

“Oh yeah, that’s how we met the brat. Pulled him out of the freezing ocean. Been stuck with him ever since.”

Zuko slid down the side of the railing and rubbed his hands on his face, “Wanna go again?”

Anke laughed, “Yeah, you should get some water first before you pass out.”

Zuko did look extra pale, his dark hair was stuck to his forehead from the sweat. He wore a sleeveless tunic and silk training pants. All black in color, which wasn’t helping him with the over heating.

Katara walked up to them and pulled out some of her water.

“Here Zuko, I have some water for you.”

He glared up at her, “I don’t want to drink your nasty bending water.”

Katara frowned and bent her water back into its container, “You’re a jerk! Well I hope you and Sokka are sick all day! UGH!” She threw her arms down by her sides, stomping her foot, she pivoted around and stormed off.

She was going to go get Aang, he was always nice to her. She was completely done with teenage boys, for good. Or at least for today.

Toph slapped her knee laughing, “Oh man, Sparky! You just insulted the queen grudge holder! She will never let you live that down.”

Zuko frowned and crossed his arms, still sitting on the deck.

“I didn’t insult her, I insulted her water. For all I know that shits been used on Sokka, or Aang. I am not drinking something that has been on either of those guy’s skin. No thanks. I’d rather die of dehydration.”

Toph grinned.

“Just be prepared for the cold shoulder. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Ok.”

Zuko stood up, walking over to Anke, he shifted into a fight position. Trying to shake the terrible feeling he had from the hangover, or maybe it was the fear of Katara’s cold shoulder.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Aang was so excited to be out of his bed and on the move again. He was feeling so much better, his shoulder hardly hurt anymore and after spending so much time resting, all his energy returned from being in the Avatar State so long in Zuko’s subconscious.

He was almost back to normal, the only thing that lingered were moments where he would have terrifying flashbacks of the horrors he went through while trying to save Zuko. He often wondered if that was something Zuko had to deal with on a day to day basis, no wonder he was always scowling.

Aang ran his hands through his short dark hair that was growing in, Katara told him not to shave it. She said if he had hair he might not be as easy to recognize. It was weird having hair though, he only had hair as a baby. Part of his culture was for the men to have a clean shaven head, it was part of being a monk and a master air bender.

Of course he was willing to make sacrifices to win the war. So if having some hair would help keep his friends safe, then he would wear his hair proud!

Katara huffed into his room, breaking his train of thought, he greeted her with a smile and noticed immediately that she was annoyed.

“Everything alright Katara? Are you ready for breakfast? I can’t wait to get on de-“

“UGH! Between Sokka and Zuko, I don’t know who is more annoying!”

Aang tilt his head, “Well I would think Sokka… Zuko doesn’t seem as talkative as Sokka, but I bet once we spend more time with him he will open up an-“

“No Aang! They are both annoying, selfish, jerky… Jerks! I am not healing either one of them ever again! I don’t care if Zuko gets shots with a hundred lightning bolts! Or Sokka gets a hundred hooks stuck in his hand! They can just figure it out!”

She huffed and sat down on Aang’s bed, crossing her arms, pouting.

Aang smiled, “Oh Katara, I am sure it will be fine. I doubt Zuko will get shot with a hundred lightning bolts, and I don’t know about Sokka… But I think it would be hard for even him to get a hundred hooks stuck in his hand.”

Katara cracked a smile.

“Thanks Aang, you always try to make me feel better.”

“Good, now lets go get breakfast! I am so ready to be out of this room.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

After breakfast Aang emerged onto the deck, a couple of Water Tribe men stopped what they were doing in shock of seeing the Avatar up and moving through the ship. A few of them gave him respectful Water Tribe handshakes, gripping each other at the elbow.

Aang wore a huge smile, his eyes scanned the deck until he saw Zuko.

He was sparring with Bato at this point, both men moving through the motions. Zuko was fast, but Bato was strong. Zuko stopped when he saw Aang, their eyes met.

Bato didn’t see the Avatar or notice that Zuko had stopped sparring with him, he saw the sudden halt of movement from the fire bender and took the opportunity to strike.

He knocked Zuko in the side with his leg, there was a horrible crack as the fire bender shrieked and hit the floor.

“Bato… What the… FUCK!?”

Zuko held his side as he tried to catch his breath. Bato rushed to his side, kneeling down by the boy on the floor.

“Zuko, I’m sorry! I thought you were going to block. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just help me up. Fuck.”

Bato stood and helped pull the fire bender to his feet. Aang rushed over to them, Katara slowly following behind him.

“Zuko, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you alright? You left your bed.”

“Yeah Katara said I am ok to start moving around the ship now. In a few days I should be able to start training.”

Zuko nodded. “That’s good.”

There was an awkward silence between them before Aang broke the silence.

“Do you need Katara to heal your ribs? It sounded like you might have cracked one.”

Zuko glanced over at Katara who glared daggers at him, Toph’s words rang through his mind.

“Uh, no I am ok. It will be fine.”

“Are you sure? She is right here…”

“No, no, I’m fine. No.”

Aang chuckled from the awkwardness radiating off the fire bender, watching Zuko run his one hand through his hair. The arm on the side that was injured stayed by his side.

“Ok if you say so! I am going to go walk the deck for a while with Katara, do you want to come?”

He glanced at Katara again who made an effort to glare even harder, making sure Zuko knew he was not invited.

“Oh, uh… No I am good. Thanks. You guys have… Uh, fun. Or what not.”

“Alright Zuko! I will catch ya later flameo!”

Confused, Zuko watched Aang bounce away with Katara close behind him. She shot Zuko one more glance before she turned her full attention to the overly excited air bender.

Bato set his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, flinching, he forgot Bato had been standing there the entire time.

“Smooth Zuko, I don’t know what you did to make Katara mad at you, but you should probably try to fix it.”

Zuko let out a long breath, “Yeah, probably.”

“I think that’s enough sparring for today, you need to go see Noa, and maybe he can wrap your ribcage so the bone heals right.”

“Yeah, ok.”

Zuko rubbed his face and made his way to the infirmary, at least Noa wasn’t mad at him.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The next couple of days went by quickly, especially now that Aang was able to participate with everyone. He spent a lot of time with Zuko. Much to everyone’s surprise their personalities complimented each other extremely well. Aang seemed to understand Zuko better than anyone else, and Zuko allowed Aang into his personal space, like he did with Noa.

Aang wasn’t as touchy as Noa, but he would often sit next to Zuko, or spar with him, they would eat together. It was really weird at first. But after a few days it was normal to see Zuko and Aang sitting on deck talking, or sitting in the mess hall together.

Sokka and Katara kept a close eye on the fire bender in the beginning, considering he spent the last half of a year trying to capture Aang and deliver him to the Fire Lord. But now they seemed to just be friends, trying to end the war.

Once Aang was ready to begin training again, Iroh made it a point to take him and Zuko to the bow and train them on lighting redirection. With Azula and Ozai being their strongest opponents, Iroh wanted to make sure both of the boys knew how to re direct their powerful attacks.

Both Zuko and Aang were victims of the deadly lightning, so they already had experience with the flow of energy that lightning omitted.

They spent two full days on the redirection stance and movements, after the end of day two, Iroh felt confident that they would be able to redirect an attack. He didn’t want his nephew to ever go through something like that again, and the world couldn’t afford to lose the Avatar, or the war would be lost.

- - - - - - - - - -

They were one week away from the rendezvous point, and everyone was getting excited and nervous. Today was the day of the big meeting, where they would go over all the information needed to gather the allies that would help them invade the fire nation. Using the smaller boats on board they were going to divide people into groups and send them to each location to recruit people to help with the attack.

Dawn broke the horizon, orange, pink and yellow filled the night sky. Pushing the darkness to the edge of the world, Zuko and Iroh were there to greet it head on. The two fire benders meditated at the bow of the ship, breathing and enjoying the rising sun.

Iroh opened his eyes, frowning he stood to his feet.

Zuko felt the movement and turned to his uncle, “What’s wrong Uncle?”

Iroh didn’t say anything, he seemed to be sniffing the air. Zuko rolled his eyes and assumed it had something to do with tea.

Maybe someone is burning some tea somewhere on the ship and Uncle can smell it. Old weirdo.

Before Zuko could smirk to himself there was a terrible crash as the ship lurched to the side. Iroh stumbled and Zuko caught him before he hit the ground. Wincing from the pain in his side.

He never did have a chance to talk to Katara.. Would have been nice to have her help heal him.

Zuko heard Appa growl, and another horrible crashing sound could be heard coming from the back of the ship. Both fire benders took off in a sprint to see what was going on, only to stumble upon two flaming projectiles that had struck the back deck of the ship.

Zuko and Iroh saw two Fire Nation cruisers flanking their ship, using their trebuchets to launch their attacks. Zuko and Iroh quickly extinguished the flames before they heard the alarm being rung on board. Water Tribe men began pouring out onto the deck, shouting orders and moving to load their own attacks.

The men on shift were wearing their Fire Nation uniforms already but as for the rest of the crew who were not on duty wore the traditional blue Water Tribe colors. At this point it didn’t matter, either way they were being attacked so faking their identity wouldn’t work.

Chief Hakoda was on deck, “How did this happen!? How were these ships able to flank us during the night!? Who was on watch!?”

Bato frowned, “I am not sure, but I will find out. What are you orders? We can’t use the trebuchets without a fire bender, the men are bringing up the explosives now.” He looked at Iroh and Zuko.

“Iroh, would you be able to help us ignite the ammunition? We need to fight back before these cruisers sink us.”

Iroh nodded, “Yes I it would be my pleasure to help you. We need to make sure the Avatar and his friends are safe. Nephew will you go check on them and make sure they know what is happening? There could be a fight on this ship in our future and we could use the their help.”

Zuko nodded and took off running towards the conning tower.

They were under attack, and there was no talking their way out of this one.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Zuko’s footsteps and heart beat were in alignment, every running step he took his heart seemed to beat a little faster. The ship was under attack, and they were outnumbered. The crew stationed on the two attacking cruisers were trained Fire Nation Navy, they would know the weapon systems better than the Water Tribe men. The Fire Nation would be more experienced in combat, and were known for being ruthless.

Zuko needed to protect Aang, over the last few days he began to realized how important Aang was to the world. The kid seemed to have a special ability to relate and corporate with all different types of people, he was strong but compassionate. Zuko never knew anyone besides his uncle that understood him and tried to relate to him. Aang talked a lot more than Zuko did when they spent time together, but Zuko was a good listener and didn’t mind the air bender chatting away in his good ear.

That was another thing, Aang always sat on his right side, as if to avoid him having to strain to see or hear him. Zuko never shared with anyone that his injury impacted his vision and hearing. So for Aang to just understand it, was special to Zuko. He still had the urge to capture him, deep in his soul, but he knew he could never act on it. After three years of relentless searching and focus, the urge to capture Aang wouldn’t just evaporate in such a short amount of time.

Zuko weaved in and out of the Water Tribe men as he entered the tower, everyone was in a complete frenzy. This situation was a lot different then an approaching cruiser, this was a full on battle. The heat from the flames on the deck proved that. Men were pulling on armor, grabbing weapons, shouting orders… Their blue eyes filled with fear, but determination. If he knew anything about the Water Tribe men, it was that they would fight until their last breath. Chief Hakoda would never let them sink without putting up one hell of a fight.

Zuko rounded the corner, sliding across the floor, he saw Aang’s door. It was still early in the morning but with how the ship was constantly shaking, and all the yelling, there was no way anyone could still be asleep. Once Zuko was in front of Aang’s door, he knocked, no answer. He opened the door to find Aang’s room empty.

A thick feeling of dread filled his chest, where could the kid have gone? He knew Katara’s room was close, so he went to her door and knocked.

“Come in!”

Zuko opened the door to see Katara already fully dressed, water skin secure as she tied off her braid. He expected her to yell at him, glare, maybe say something sarcastic, but instead she broke into a jog, moving past him.

“What’s going on?! Where can I help?”

“Where is Aang?”

She stopped, “He wasn’t in his room?”

Zuko shook his head.

“I don’t know! I thought he would be in his room, maybe he is in the mess hall? Wait… Why are you looking for him?”

“Chief Hakoda wanted me to find him and keep him safe.”

“Oh, ok. Just checking!” She smiled before beginning to move again.

Both fire and water ran through the hallway, dodging the men piling out of the kitchen area. They entered the large dining area, people were yelling and shoving food into their mouths. Scanning the tables, there was no blue arrow in sight.

Katara looked at Zuko as he frowned. “Can you find your brother and Toph and then come find me on deck? Your dad and my Uncle are stationed towards the back of the ship, so that’s probably where I will be.”

Katara gave a firm nod before she took off running back to where everyone’s rooms were located. Zuko took a separate path, following the flow of men who were headed to the fight. He felt something tug on the back of his tunic, turning he saw Anke standing tall and proud. As he stood stationary, men moved around him, not daring to bump into the giant Water Tribe man.

Anke got down on one knee to make his face level with Zuko, he reached out and took the fire bender’s face in his hands. The man’s blue eyes were firm, they flashed determination and focus. Zuko’s own gold eyes were not as focused, he couldn’t help but display some of the panic he was feeling inside. Taking a deep breath he expanded his sense of control and met eyes with Anke.

“Be careful. Please. Stay away from anyone with a sword or any sharp objects in general, and if this fight turns for the worse… Leave. Take one of the smaller boats, and get the fuck off this ship. The world needs you Zuko. You and the Avatar have to survive this.”

Zuko nodded, not sure what words he could use. The world didn’t need him, he is a banished ex-prince, traitor to his nation, disappointment to his father and mother. But now was not a time to have this discussion with Anke, especially since his comment was so sincere without any insulting or sarcasm.

Anke ruffled his hair, and touched his beads, before rising back to his feet and both of them continued towards the deck.

Once outside, the smoke was pillaring through the air, the heat from the flames was suffocating. There was extensive damage done to the back of their ship. A few of the attacks had hit the front deck as well, they seemed to be using long and short range attacks. Hitting their cruiser on all sides.

Zuko saw his uncle and Hakoda focused on their own offensive maneuvers, he knew better than to interrupt a General and a Chief in the middle of battle.

He scanned the deck until he saw Aang with Appa, the bison was out of his holding area, no tarp to hide his identity. He was bellowing loudly, the fire was scaring him and he wanted to take to the skies.

“No buddy, you have to stay on deck, we can’t risk the Fire Nation seeing you right now. Please Appa, it will be ok…”

“Aang!” Zuko yelled rushing towards the Avatar. Aang saw his friend and smiled.

“Zuko! Are you ok?”

“Yeah I am fine, I found Katara and told her to get Sokka and Toph, they are going to meet us here whenever she finds them.”

Aang smiled.

“Good idea! I heard the crashing and screams so I had to come check on Appa. He is terrified, he wants to fly away. But I need to go see where I can help, I can’t just sit back while people could be dying. I am the Avatar I need to do something.”

Zuko could hear the frustration in Aang’s voice, the shaking sound coming from his throat indicated he was close to tears. The boy was still wrapped in bandages from his lighting injury, he was still recovering, just like Zuko. But Aang had to fight the Fire Lord in a few weeks, he couldn’t afford to get injured or worse….

“Aang, you… You can’t help right now. There isn’t anything you can do-“

“I CAN FIGHT, ZUKO!”

Zuko held up his head, his brow furrowed as he looked the boy, eye to eye.

“You can fight, yeah, you can fight and get hurt, or get killed. Then everything these men are fighting for will be in vain. You can not just rush out there and risk everything that everyone has been working towards over the last hundred years. They are all counting on you to fight the Fire Lord during the invasion, that’s where you are needed. Appa needs you right now, if something happened to him – Well I mean fuck, without the flying bison I would have captured you months ago.”

Aang couldn’t help but smile, he looked up at Appa, rubbing the bisons fur and closing his eyes.

“You’re right Zuko…”

Zuko smiled, it was a small smile, but still, he felt happy for once. For the first time his words seemed to be heard and someone was listening to him. It was different when he was on his ship and the crew was receiving his commands, being forced to listen to him. His uncle pretended to listen to him, but Zuko knew he did whatever he wanted to do anyway. His father and sister.. NEVER listened to him. He didn’t have any friends, so he never even had anyone to try and talk to… But Aang seemed to hear his words and value his opinion.

That meant the world to Zuko.

Before he could say anything else the ship lurched to the side, screaming and smoke billowed from the conning tower, an explosive had made contact.

Zuko’s face drained with color, Katara and the rest of his… Friends? Were in there. The metal would raise in temperature and begin to melt under the heat from the flames. The melting metal would give way to pressure and the entire tower could collapse. Before Zuko could move toward the tower, he saw an impressive size wave crash into the place where the fire was burning.

The flames extinguished immediately, he saw Katara on the deck bending the ocean to her will. She made eye contact with Zuko for a moment before looking past him at Aang. Sokka and Toph were behind her, moving towards Appa. Katara switched her eyes back to where Hakoda and Iroh were with the group of Water Tribe men.

“Stay with Aang! I need to go see if I can do anything to help!”

Before anyone could protest, Katara was gone, sprinting towards the fight. Like Katara always did. Sokka groaned and rubbed his face.

“This is NOT, how I like to start my day. Toph stay with them, I need to go check in with my dad and make sure Katara doesn’t get hurt.”

Toph crossed her arms, “I can help, I am not some weak blind girl.”

Sokka groaned harder, shooting the blind girl a look she couldn’t see.

“I am not saying that Toph! I need to help my tribe and right now you are blind to anything that isn’t on this ship. You can’t see through the ocean, so you need to stay here with Zuko and Aang, I will be right back.”

She seemed to understand, lowering her arms she nodded. He had a point, and even though Sokka could be an idiot sometimes… He was definitely NOT, an idiot.

Just like that, Sokka was gone, running towards the fire. A warrior going to fight with his men. Zuko felt like he should be doing more, but a strong voice in his head told him to stay with Aang and Toph. This is where he was needed most right now.

He was trying to listen to the voice in his head more.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Iroh was lighting explosives and igniting the blasting jelly covered projectiles, launching them at the enemies. Hakoda was covered in flint debris and sweat poured from his face, both him and Iroh were moving as quickly as possible. Bato was giving orders to the crew, trying to keep everyone as organized as possible through the chaos.

Hakoda saw Katara and Sokka out of the corner of his eye, stopping what he was doing, he turned to them.

“What are you kids doing here?! You need to head to the bow where it is safe!”

Sokka frowned, “Do you really believe anywhere on this ship is ‘safe’ right now? We are here to help, Katara is an amazing water bender. I am a warrior, we can help!”

Hakoda knew that Katara would be a great asset in this situation, and there was no use trying to pretend they were Fire Nation anymore. These attackers, obviously, already knew that. Sokka was a strong leader as well, they could use him to help navigate the ship out of the line of fire.

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, no matter how skilled his children were… They were still children. They were supposed to be home playing in the snow, having petty arguments, and helping out the elderly. But those times were very far behind them, his children had fought in this war by the Avatar’s side since the day they found him. He could not stop them from being the warriors they have grown to be.

“Alright Katara, come with me, lets see if you can use your bending to push these attacking cruisers off our course. Sokka, stay here and help Iroh, if you get any bright ideas feel free to share.”

Both Sokka and Katara felt pride swell in their chest as their dad showed trust in them, trusting they were not the small helpless children he left back home. Katara was excited to show him how far her bending ability had developed. She walked to the edge of the ship, her eyes focused on the water in between the two cruisers that were pushing full steam ahead.

They were close in proximity, firing their attacks at her family, her friends, and her tribe. It was time for her to show the Fire Nation what the last water bender of the Southern Water Tribe was capable of.

Focusing, she lifted her arms pulling the ocean water between the ships into a large wave, she split the wave in half allowing the natural flow of the element to crash onto the deck of each ship. Hakoda watched in amazement and horror as the powerful ocean water swept the enemy off deck and into the depths below. The shifting of the water titled the ships off course, splitting them up and causing their captain’s to have to realign the assault.

Katara summoned another swell of ocean, pushing the ships further apart. They were almost completely sideways at this point. She pulled another large wave crashing it onto the deck of one of the ships. Katara lifted her hands, freezing the water in place. She shift her attention to the other cruiser and did the same, the attacks stopped as the enemy crew needed to focus on unfreezing themselves before they could do anything more.

Drained of energy she slowly lowered her arms, she felt her father’s hand grip her shoulder. Bending that much water out of the living ocean was a lot of work. It was similar to the energy needed to heal someone.

“Katara, that was…. Amazing, you truly are a gifted water bender.”

She looked up at her dad, his smile was soft and his eyes seemed to be smiling at her. She leaned into him, feeling the comfort of her father’s strong arms wrap around her, embracing her in a hug.

The moment didn’t last long, Sokka interrupted with a plan.

“We need to lose the ships. I have an idea, if Katara and Aang water bend us up some fog, and Iroh and Zuko muster up some steam, we can fill the area with a haze and hopefully slip away it’s under cover.”

Iroh stood next to Sokka, his arms tucked in his sleeves.

“I believe my nephew and I can fire bend into the ocean and create enough steam for this plan. It is a good idea, I must say. But it will only allow temporary escape. We need to make sure the Avatar stays safe, now that we know the Fire Nation is aware of our presence. I think it would be wise for the Avatar to escape and separate from us once we are out of immediate danger. The steam/fog cover will provide a chance for us to escape the attack, and cover the Avatar’s bison to fly away.”

Hakoda paused, he knew Iroh was right. This attack meant that the Fire Nation was aware that this ship was under Water Tribe control. If they didn’t know it before they attacked, they certainly did now. Especially after Katara’s astounding water bending display.

“I believe Iroh is right, we need to get you kids to safety while we finish gathering our allies for the invasion. Sokka, will you go get Zuko and Aang so we can get this idea of yours into action. After we have enough cover, I need you kids to get out of here.”

Sokka’s eyes shifted to the floor, he didn’t want to leave his dad, not after things were going back to normal. He wanted to stay with him and help lead the Water Tribe men to safety. But deep in his chest he knew he was needed with his friends, they would be lost without him. He had to keep his promise and keep Katara safe.

Sokka met his dad’s stern blue eyes and nodded in agreement, before he turned and ran to where Appa was standing. As soon as he approached, Aang hopped off the bison.

“Is everything ok? I noticed the attacks stopped.”

“Yeah its fine, but I need you and Zuko, we are going to create a thick fog/steam cover so our ship can escape under the cover. After that…. We are going to have to leave. We have to take Appa and get out of here.”

Aang frowned. “No, we can’t just leave everyone. What if there is another attack?”

“I know Aang, I don’t like it either, but my dad and Zuko’s uncle have a point. They know we are not Fire Nation now, and if we don’t get out of here then we are putting them in more danger. If they capture our ship and discover you and Appa, they wont hesitate to kill you and everyone else. I’m sorry Aang but its for the best.”

Aang looked down, balancing his weight on his staff, he felt conflicted. Aang felt a warm hand touch his shoulder lightly, looking to his right he was surprised to see it was Zuko.

“He is right Aang, you have to go. It’s the only way for you to stay safe. The Fire Nation won’t stop until this ship is destroyed. If they know you are here, they’ll send the entire Navy after you, including Azula.”

Aang looked at his former enemy, the look Zuko gave him was sincere, but he could see the sadness in his golden eyes.

“Well, you have to come with us.”

Sokka and Zuko spoke in unison, “What!?”

Aang nodded, “I need to learn fire bending, you are the only fire bender besides your uncle who would be able to teach me and I doubt your uncle is going to leave this ship. Plus, you are my friend now… I want you to come with us.”

Zuko hesitated, there was no way he could leave his uncle here alone on this ship with the Fire Nation trying to blow them up. Plus, he has never been alone with the Avatar and his friends, he wasn’t sure how to act, or what to say. He felt extremely uncomfortable with the idea.

Sokka shook his head, “Listen guys, we don’t have time for this, follow me. We have to start the plan or we are going to run out of time and then we will have to figure out how to get EVERYONE off this ship. Let’s go!”

Zuko and Aang followed Sokka, while Toph stayed behind with Appa. Once they arrived, Aang and Katara went with Hakoda, while Iroh and Zuko went to the edge of the ship. The fire bender’s blasted a steady stream of fire at the waves crashing at the surface of the ocean. Once the fire hit the water there was a hiss as steam rose from of the contact. Iroh and Zuko worked on this while Katara and Aang used their water bending to generate fog.

Aang smiled happily, finally using his bending, and finally feeling useful.

Sokka stood back and smiled, he was pleased that his plan was working. Slowly the thick layer of fog mixed with the steam and created a haze along the surface of the sea. Once they couldn’t see the enemy ships any longer, Sokka gave Bato the signal and he and Tulok changed their course. The ship went full speed to try and put as much distance between them and the enemy.

Hakoda approached Sokka and smiled, “That was a brilliant idea, son.”

Sokka beamed, “Thanks dad.”

“You are a true leader, the way you took charge without being asked, how you came up with such a simple but innovative plan. You saved lives today. I think we will have enough cover to get away from the Fire Nation ships without injuring any of our men. You should be proud of yourself son, I know I am.”

Hakoda pulled Sokka in for a deep hug, it took all their strength to hold back their tears.

The ship lurched forward, cutting through the water effortlessly. The benders continued to build their cover, giving them enough time to put a decent amount of distance between the ships. Once Hakoda felt the appropriate amount of distance was achieved, he told the benders to stop.

Aang wiped his brow. “Wow, I haven’t bent that much water since we were in the North Pole! It feels good to be back in action!”

Katara smiled at her friend, turning to see Zuko and Iroh walking towards them. She remembered being mad at Zuko, but she couldn’t remember why.

Oh yeah! His highness was too good for my peasant bending water. I mean… It was kind of gross. I did use it to try and heal Sokka’s hangover. I know I wouldn’t personally drink water after it was on Sokka’s forehead. I guess I can just let it go.

She gave the fire benders a smile, deciding to smooth over the tension that might been lingering.

“Good work guys! Sokka’s plan was pretty effective, I think we will be able to slip away undetected! Nice fire bending.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow, confused.

Isn’t she mad at me? Because I insulted her disgusting, stagnant water? She made a huge deal about it a couple of days ago. I haven’t really spoke to her since… Who knows. Girls are crazy.

Zuko ran his hand through his hair looking down at his feet, “uh yeah sure no problem.”

Hakoda looked at the fire bender skeptically but decided he didn’t have time for anymore teenage drama, he had more important things to deal with.

“I know we are all feeling more relaxed after pushing the enemy ships away from us, but we are not out of the tundra, yet. Iroh brought up a good point earlier, we need to get the Avatar off this ship. We can meet up in a about a week at the rendezvous point. But it is too dangerous for him to be here any longer, our cover is obviously blown so things could be more hostile going forward.”

Iroh tucked his hands into his sleeve nodding in approval to what Hakoda said.

“I believe Aang, and his friends, along with Prince Zuko should leave on his sky bison while we have the fog/steam cover.”

Zuko frowned and looked at his uncle.

“I am not leaving you here Uncle…”

“I will be fine, Prince Zuko. I am of more use on this ship helping Chief Hakoda, than I am with you right now. I hate to say it nephew, but you are very recognizable. If the Fire Nation discovers you or Aang on this ship, they will send Azula after us. Once Azula arrives, along with the entire Fire Nation Navy… We will be helpless. If you want to save these men’s lives, then you need to leave with the Avatar.”

Zuko looked hurt, upset, angry, all his emotions flickered in his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked over at Aang who smiled at him, looking back at his uncle he lowered his head.

“Fine.”

Aang cheered. “Yay! I’ll go tell Toph and everyone, go get their stuff and meet at Appa!”

Aang fluttered away, hardly trying to contain his happiness about the fire bender joining their group.

Katara knew there wasn’t anything she could say or do to keep Zuko on this ship, not that she would try to make him stay. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him… It was just… Weird. It was odd enough encountering him on the ship all the time, but now to share Appa’s saddle with him. There wasn’t anything weirder than that.

Zuko seemed to feel just as uncomfortable as she did, he shifted uncomfortably, stealing glances at his uncle.

Iroh put his hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Why don’t we go gather your stuff, we need to move quickly.”

Zuko reluctantly followed Iroh, every step he took brought a stronger feeling of dread. He didn’t want to leave his uncle, or Hakoda, and the rest of his Water Tribe friends. But he knew, if Azula found him here – she would burn this ship to the bottom of the ocean.

- - - - - - - - - -

Everyone was ready to leave, their belongings packed tightly on Appa’s saddle. Aang rubbed his new hair, the dark brown stumble had grown into a normal head of hair. Not as long as Sokka or Zuko’s hair, but longer than Aang has ever worn it before. His blue arrow still visible on his forehead.

“Well… I guess this is goodbye.”

Aang looked at his friends, each of them, besides Toph, looked upset.

Hakoda kneeled in front of Sokka and Katara, both Water Tribe kids hugged their father tight. Katara buried her face into his chest, wiping away the tears that began flowing down her face. Sokka hugged him around the neck, breathing deep to hold back the flutter in his throat.

Hakoda held them both tight, before slowly releasing them. He put each of his hands on the side of both of his children’s faces. “I love you both so much, and I am so proud of you both. Keep an eye on each other please.”

Hakoda glanced at Zuko who was hugging his uncle.

“If you don’t mind, keep an eye on him too.”

Sokka looked over at Zuko and then back at his dad, man to man. “I will dad.”

Hakoda smiled at his son, “I know you will, you are a great leader, Sokka.”

Zuko held his uncle tight, he didn’t want to leave him here. Even though he knew that Iroh was in good hands, he trusted Hakoda and his tribe to protect his uncle with their lives. Even if Iroh didn’t need it.

Iroh placed his hand on Zuko’s unscarred side of his face, “Please, be careful, stay away from any majors towns, wear your hood, don’t start any fights, no sneaking around at night, don’t mouth off to soldiers…”

“Ok, ok, Uncle I get it.”

“I am serious about you not sneaking around at night… You will be in the Fire Nation now, you have a reputation here.”

“Ok Uncle, I know what you mean, I won’t I promise.”

Iroh pulled him in for one more hug before letting him go, taking a step back as Hakoda approached.

“I expect to see you in about a week, in one piece, no new stab wounds please.”

Zuko smirked and crossed his arms, “I’ll do my best Chief.”

Hakoda smiled and put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, testing the waters to see if the young Fire Prince would let him give him a farewell hug. The boy leaned into his touch and Hakoda took the opportunity to pull him into a tight hug.

It was short, but enough for each of them to show each other they cared and would be missed.

“Take care of my kids please, you can call it… Making up for all the time you spent chasing them. Don’t let anyone ELSE, tie my daughter to a tree. Please, one time is enough.”

Hakoda smirked and winked at Zuko as the teen’s face flushed red, but he looked up at Hakoda his fire eyes strong.

“I will protect them with my life.”

“I know you will.”

“Will you tell Bato, Anke, Noa and the other guys I said bye? I don’t know where they are and I don’t have time to go find them…”

“Of course Zuko, I am sure they will understand. Well, Noa and Bato will understand, Anke might punch you. But you’ll live.”

Zuko smirked and gave a small bow before he turned to Appa. Swallowing his fear, he climbed onto the beast’s back and into the saddle. He met eyes with the Gaang and gave a small wave.

“Uh, hi.”

Aang sat up front, Appa’s reins in his hands, “Yip yip!” Appa flew into the air. Katara started bending a cloud around them to conceal their identity. Zuko wasn’t conscious the last and only time he flew on the bison, his heart leaped into his throat when the massive creature launched itself into the air. He watched as the ship got smaller and smaller before it was completely out of view. The rest of the world faded into a fog from the cloud Katara was bending around them.

Zuko sat back and met eyes with Sokka, who smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. Zuko returned the awkward body language by running his hand through his hair, and looking back down at the saddle.

Was the entire flight going to be this awkward?

- - - - - - - - - - -

Iroh and Hakoda watched Appa turn into a cloud and fly out of sight, both men let out a low sigh simultaneously. Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose while Iroh slipped his arms into his sleeves across his chest.

“I hope they stay safe.”

Iroh smiled. “I am sure they will do their best to stay safe… If only they understood what it takes to truly stay safe in this world.”

Hakoda nodded, “Sokka has a bad habit of coming up with elaborate plans which usually include putting himself or someone else in danger, lucky for him they usually work out. Oh, and Katara… She is the splitting image of her mother, looks and personality. If there is someone who needs help, Katara is going to help them, even if it puts herself in danger. My son told me she got herself purposely imprisoned by the Fire Nation to save a group of earth benders, and he even helped her get imprisoned!”

The Chief rubbed his face in distress, Iroh chuckled and put his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“My nephew dresses up as the ‘Blue Spirit’ and broke into one of the most secure Fire Nation prisons to release the Avatar. And then a few month’s later he broke into the Dai Li’s secret hideout to release the Avatar’s bison. He has been breaking into Fire Nation military bases and taking their food and medicine to pass out to villagers… He has been doing this since he was eleven years old, still living in the capital. He is the third most wanted criminal in the Fire Nation, right under the Avatar and Prince Zuko.”

Hakoda’s jaw dropped, his blue eyes staring widely at the retired General.

“The Blue Spirit… Is Zuko? Of fucking course it is. You know some of my men consider that guy their hero? They have his wanted poster and everything.”

Iroh chuckled, “Let’s keep that information to ourselves, he does not need anymore attention, he already gets enough of that. We just need to pray that the spirits keep these kids safe. They do not know how much trouble they muster up, wherever they go. So far they seem to have the spirit’s blessing, I just hope Agni continues to find favor with my nephew. He continues to push his luck in this life, and I am afraid one day it might catch up to him.”

Hakoda returned the gesture to Iroh and places his hand on the old fire bender’s shoulder.

“They will be fine, at least they have each other.”

- - - - - - - - - -

“I don’t know why I thought this thing would be faster.”

Zuko looked over the edge of the saddle, his chin resting in his open hand, he was not amused.

Katara was napping on the floor next to her brother who was sharpening his boomerang, Toph sat next to Zuko.

“Oh Sparky, clam down, we will be there whenever we get there. Do we even know where we are going?”

Aang glanced behind him at his friends, “usually we like to start our missions with a more upbeat attitude, Zuko! But to answer your question Toph, I am not sure where exactly we are going. I am just taking Appa in the direction Chief Hakoda told me to fly and once we hit land we will make camp.”

Sokka scoffed, “We only have enough food for one or two days. We will need to find some place with a village so we can gather some supplies.”

Aang nodded, a huge smile plastered across his face.

“No problem, leader Sokka! I will make sure we land in a spot not too far from a village so we can gather some supplies!”

“Thanks Aang.”

The group rode in silence until Aang spotted land, they flew past the shoreline and followed the forest. Appa flew at a slower pace now that they were closer to the ground, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention from people that might see them.

They followed the woods until a village became visible in the distance. The buildings were settled into the mountain ridge, with a deep cavern which held a deep river and many waterfalls. It was a more well off Fire Nation town. The houses were made of expensive stone with red clay rooftops. There was faint smoke stacks filling the air, filled with amazing smells and evidence of a lively town.

Zuko perked up, his eyes scanning the area, “I think I know where we are.”

Sokka looked at the Fire Prince.

“You do?”

He shrugged, “I mean, I haven’t been here in… Well… It’s been years, but if I am not mistaken I think this is Shu Jing. An old master of mine lives here. He was my sword master when I was younger, he taught me to fight with my dual broadswords.”

Sokka frowned, “You know how to fight with swords? I have only seen you fire bend.”

Zuko shrugged.

“Just because you have never seen me do it, doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”

Aang turned back around, looking at the group again, “I can vogue for him, he is definitely a sword master himself.”

Sokka looked at Aang and then back at Zuko. Katara rubbed her eyes and sat up, yawning she tried to see what the boys were talking about.

“You broke Aang out of the prison Zhao had him captured in, didn’t you? He told us, but honestly, I always had trouble believing him.”

Zuko shrugged again, “I did.”

That seemed to be the end of that conversation, but Sokka was intrigued.

“I want to learn how to fight with swords! Lets camp by the town and then, Zuko, you can take me to meet your old master!”

Zuko cringed, “I don’t know if Master Piandao would train someone from the Water Tribe.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped. “Well you will just have to just have to do some convincing then, wont you?”

“Oh yeah, I am the master of persuasion.” Zuko scoffed.

“Well you better start practicing!”

“Well you will have to help me, you are the one that never shuts up - I’m sure you can come up with something convincing.”

Sokka tapped his chin, as if he were in deep thought. “I mean…. I could just say I am Fire Nation?”

“Oh, yeah... That would work.”

Katara rolled her eyes, Zuko and Sokka were evenly matched when it came to their common sense.

“If we are going to pretend to be Fire Nation citizens then we need to change our clothing, I don’t think our Water Tribe outfits and Toph’s red cloak are going to suffice.” Katara chimed in.

Zuko nodded, he was wearing his Fire Nation pants with a Water Tribe tunic. They could not be seen wearing the enemy colors in his homeland. It was weird to think of the Water Tribe as ‘the enemy’. The lines between good and evil were so blurred in his mind he wasn’t even sure how to think straight. So he did what Zuko thought was best, he ignored it completely. If he didn’t look at anyone as ‘Water Tribe’ or ‘Fire Nation’ and just looked at them as people he wouldn’t get confused.

He felt like it was a great plan.

He just needed to change his blue shirt.

“We could steal clothing from someone on the outskirts of the city? People will probably have their unmentionables hanging out just ripe for the picking!” Sokka smirked elbowing Toph in a comical way.

She rolled her eyes, “you want to pick someone’s ripe unmentionables? You’re gross Sokka.”

Katara giggled as she continued to bend the water into a cloud around them and Zuko smirked, arms crossed.

Sokka’s jaw dropped, again. “That’s not what I meant!”

“That’s what you said Snoozles.”

“Ughhhhh, fine. Let’s just find a spot to land the big guy and find some clothing to steal.”

Aang’s head whipped around. “No, we aren’t stealing from innocent people.” As he brought Appa down to land in an empty part of the mountain. There were trees surrounding the valley, giving the group some cover from the possible threat of Appa being spotted. The area was beautiful it sloped gently to the side of the mountain, giving the group some room before the forest began. The grass was tall enough for Appa to graze, and within walking distance to the town.

Sokka groaned and rubbed his face, “Aang, we have to find something to wear! The only money we have left is for food! We aren’t exactly living it large when it comes to the finances.”

Zuko’s eyes lit up, “wait.”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch half full of coins and Sokka’s eyes went wide.

“Ok Princey! If this is the royal treatment, then I could get used to it! Do you always just roll around with a pouch full of coins?”

“Not usually, I mean… Before my ship blew up and before I was a traitor to my nation, I did. But now I don’t, well… At least until Uncle gave me this. He knew we would need it, so he told me to take it and give it to Katara. So here.”

Zuko handed the pouch to Katara, who hesitantly took it and began counting the contents.

“Wow Zuko, thanks. This is great. There are two gold coins in here and a few silver, this will help us out so much…”

He shrugged, “sure.”

“Ok fancy pants, maybe that’s what Toph should start calling you.” Sokka laughed and slapped his knee, elbowing Toph again.

Zuko looked down at his pants, “they aren’t that fancy, I mean, they’re just training pants.”

Sokka slapped his forehead,

“Never mind.”

- - - - - - - - - -

After sending Appa to graze the group began to walk towards town. Zuko stopped at the tree line, hesitating.

“What’s wrong Sparky? Your heart rate is going crazy.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea for Aang and I to go into town with you guys? I know, the kid has hair now and everything, but there is still a huge blue arrow on his forehead. And uh... I mean… My face? I’m sure there are wanted posters for me in every town…”

Aang shrugged, “He has a point, why don’t you guys go into town and get us some clothing and then come back here. I need a hat, or a headband or something. Zuko needs a hat, or a hood.”

Katara crossed her arms, “I don’t know how comfortable I feel with leaving you here, alone… With Zuko. The guy who has been trying to capture you since the day you came out of the iceberg.”

Zuko groaned, “I don’t understand what more I have to do to show you people that I am not trying to capture Aang anymore!” He ran his hands through his hair a couple of times, frowning at the ground.

Aang placed his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “I trust him, you guys go ahead. I will stay here with Zuko and you can bring us back something to wear. After, we can all go into town together.”

Katara sighed, “Ok fine.”

The three left Aang and Zuko alone.

- - - - - - - - -

Both Aang and Zuko laid on Appa’s tail staring at the sky, it had been an hour since the rest of the group went into town to buy some clothing. Aang and Zuko didn’t speak much, but they enjoyed each other’s company none the less.

“What does that cloud look like to you?” Aang asked, curiously, pointing at a weirdly shaped cloud in the sky.

“I don’t know… A cloud?”

“You don’t have much of an imagination, do you?”

“Not really, no. Things are pretty straight forward where I come from.”

“…Yeah it’s pretty awful where you come from.”

“Yeah, you aren’t lying. But if I had to take a guess I would say it looks like… uh… a mushroom.”

Aang laughed, “a mushroom!? I was thinking an otter-fox!”

“What?! That is not at all what an otter-fox looks like!”

“Yes look, there is the face, and the tail and its whiskers.”

“You don’t have imagination... You’re delusional.”

“The monks always taught us that a free mind is a healthy mind, letting go of things that threaten to hold us back will allow us to see things in places that we never knew were there.”

“…Sounds like a bunch of mumble-jumbo to me.”

“You should really try having a more upbeat attitude!”

Zuko grumbled. “Pacifist… Happy-go-lucky… Easy for you…” He rolled over on his side ignoring the giddy monk.

“Oh-Kay. Grumpy pants. I will just watch the clouds alone.”

Aang couldn’t see it, but Zuko was smiling.

- - - - - - - - - -

“Ugh, they have been gone forever, when will they be back?”

“Would you like to watch clouds again?”

“No.”

“Well maybe we can take a walk?”

“No.”

“Well alright! Let me know if you change your mind.”

- - - - - - - - - -

“Do you think they would be mad if we took Appa and hid behind the mountain, so they thought I captured you and ran off?”

“I think that would be incredibly cruel.”

“Sokka would find it funny.”

“Katara would not.”

“Katara doesn’t think anything is funny, ever.”

“You… Yeah, you do have a point. But we still should not do that.”

“I could actually capture you.”

“That wouldn’t be very honorable.”

“Ha, you’re right. I wouldn’t even know where to bring you if I did capture you.”

“Things sure have changed, haven’t they?”

“You have no idea…”

- - - - - - - - - -

“THAT, WOULD HAVE BEEN… HILARIOUS!!!” Sokka’s grin was ear to ear, tears leaking out of his eyes as he laughed, giving his knee a soft slap.

Zuko smirked and looked over at Aang, “See, I told you he would think it was funny.”

Toph laughed, clutching her arms around her stomach. Katara frowned and crossed her arms.

“I don’t think that is funny.”

Aang smirked at Zuko, “See, told you she wouldn’t think it was funny.”

Zuko just rolled his eyes in response.

The three friends came back with some extra camping supplies, clothing, food, accessories, everything they would need to blend into the Fire Nation. Aang was excited to wear the Fire Nation clothing, it has been over 100 years since he was in the Fire Nation.

For Aang, Katara picked out a long dark brown tunic with gold trimming, and a pair of grey pants which tucked into tall boots. He wore a red and gold headband that covered his arrow perfectly.

She brought Zuko a pretty basic outfit, black tunic with red trimming that tucked into a pair of black training pants with a deep red waist belt. He was given long black and red cloak with a large hood. The material was silk which was nice and lightweight, considering how hot it got in the Fire Nation.

“Do you like the clothing that I picked out, Zuko?” Katara smiled, trying to be nice.

“Yeah its fine, it’s a little.. Uhh, black… But I am not complaining. Thanks.”

“Sorry I didn’t know what colors you liked, and you’ve been wearing Water Tribe clothing the entire time we were on the ship, except for when you were wearing the armor… So I figured I couldn’t go wrong with black. I tired to get you pants similar to what you were already wearing.”

“Yeah, its fine.”

Aang broke up the awkward conversation happening between Katara and Zuko.

“Kuzon would have loved this! He wore something similar, I think these were the exact pants and everything!” Aang started chatting about Kuzon, his Fire Nation friend he had before he was frozen. He seemed really excited to be back in the Fire Nation, he wouldn’t stop talking about all the fun memories they shared.

Once everyone had changed into their Fire Nation outfits, they were ready to head into town to get something to eat. Katara felt weird being this exposed in her new clothing, she wasn’t used to showing her stomach like this. Apparently it was common within the Fire Nation for women to dress more provocatively because of weather, and also the culture was more risqué than her Water Tribe family.

“You look beautiful Katara.” Aang’s face turned a shade of pink as he complimented his Water Tribe friend.

Sokka and Zuko met eyes, and rolled them in unison. It was the first time the teenage boys had mutually had the same thought at the same time. Sokka decided he and Zuko could possibly become good friends, even without the influence of fire water.

Sokka was sure he never wanted to drink alcohol again.

Or drink cactus juice again.

…Ok, maybe he would drink cactus juice again.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Shu Jing was a wealthy town, nestled on the side of a mountain, next to system of waterfalls. It was a beautiful town, quiet, and strangely without a military presence.

Zuko kept his hood up just in case word spread of his location, he knew Sokka wanted to try and train with Master Piandao, and if Ozai found out Zuko or the Avatar were here that would not give them enough time to train. Or even worse, he would send Azula and she might set the whole town on fire.

“Ok! Food first, and then back to camp. Tomorrow we go to Zu-“

Zuko’s hand covered Sokka’s mouth before he could finish.

“You have to call me something else, I went by Lee in Ba Sing Se, so call me that. If you call me my real name people will recognize that and then me and we wont be able to go see Master Piandao. Got it?”

Sokka nodded his head and Zuko removed his hand.

“Damn Zu-Lee! Your hand is so warm. Are you always this warm?”

“Yes, most fire benders run warm…”

Toph ran up to Zuko and grabbed his arm, “Ohhhh you are warm! I’m staying next to you.”

For some odd reason Zuko let the small girl hang onto his arm, and he didn’t even flinch. He liked Toph, she meant what she said and didn’t play word games. Unlike his sister, who always had an ulterior motive and who spoke in riddles to confuse him.

Also, Toph didn’t shoot him full of lightning. So that was a plus.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka insisted on a restaurant that specialized in smoked meats, Aang was not thrilled. Without an option for him, Katara promised she would cook him up a special meal at the campsite as soon as they got back. She just needed to stop at the market and pick up some fresh ingredients.

After eating, and stopping at the market, they all made it back to the campsite without incident. It had been a long day for everyone, so after the tents were pitched and Aang’s meal was prepared they all went to bed.

Zuko felt weird sleeping in camp with everyone, he never slept this close to anyone, except his uncle. But he trusted uncle, and uncle knew what to expect from Zuko when they slept close together.

He shifted uncomfortably before going in his tent, trying to push down the feeling of worry that was weighing heavy in his chest… He knew that he couldn’t hide his nightmares forever but he was hoping to try and keep them secret for a little while longer. It was only their first night all sleeping close together. He knew it was embarrassing to be 16 and still waking up almost every night screaming…

Zuko didn’t think ahead, like uncle reminded him often, and right now it was really biting him in the ass. He didn’t realize that Katara was setting up camp, and she was doing him a nice gesture by setting up his tent for him. To his surprise she put up his tent extremely close to everyone else’s tent.

Maybe she wanted to keep an eye on him?

But based off where everyone else was set up, it seemed more likely that the group often slept close to each other. If he would have paid attention a little more, he could have moved his tent further away and set it up himself.

But now it was done, and he was awkward enough with everyone that he didn’t need to go and move his tent away from them in the middle of the night. That would be just as weird as him waking up screaming.

So he decided to just… Not sleep.

If he didn’t sleep he wouldn’t dream, and if he didn’t dream then he wouldn’t have any nightmares.

No nightmares. No screaming.

Perfect plan.

So Zuko laid on his bedroll, hands behind his head, staring up at the top of his tent.

This is will be fine, I will stay awake all night tonight and then tomorrow I will politely move my tent… No one will notice if I move it further out. If they do I will just say… That… I uhhh… Well I don’t know what I will say, but I am sure I can figure it out. Ugh, see this is what Uncle was talking about, I don’t think anything through. I can’t just move my tent and not know what to say. Good thing I have all night to think about it. I will come up with the perfect plan and then I will be fine and no one will know. Good plan. Great plan… I am so… Good… At plans.

I’m fucking terrible at plans…

- - - - - - - - - -

Dawn approached and Zuko could feel the sun beginning to rise. His first plan worked, he didn’t sleep all night. His second plan, of making a plan, did not work. He has no idea how he was going to move his tent and he honestly didn’t have the energy to put anymore thought into it at this point.

Zuko felt a flutter of excitement, and nervousness mixed together in his stomach. He was taking Sokka to see Master Piandao today, he hasn’t seen his old master in years. The last time he saw his swords master, he spent the summer with him when he was ten.

Now he was taking a Water Tribe boy to try and lie to him and get him to train him, which was not honorable. It made Zuko feel sick that he would have to lie to his old master, but honestly if they wanted to have a successful invasion and beat the Fire Lord, Sokka would need more than his boomerang.

Zuko left his tent and found a small stream at the edge of the forest that he could use to splash cold water on his face and run it through his hair. He needed something to keep him awake, and he knew his hair was always a mess. Usually he didn’t care, but he decided he didn't want to look like complete shit when he saw his old Master.

Walking back to camp everyone was still sleeping as the sun began to pull itself higher in the sky, he got the fire going and decided he would have to wake Sokka up if he wanted to get the Master Piandao’s home before afternoon.

Going to Sokka’s tent he slipped his head into the flap, the boy was obviously still dead asleep. Drool was running out of the side of his mouth and he laid flat on his stomach. A small snoring sound was coming from the Water Tribe warrior, his back rising and falling in rhythm with the snore.

“Pssssst, Sokka.”

“……..”

“Sokkkkkaaa….”

“……..”

“Oh man, there is so much amazing, free meat out here.”

“…Waahhhh?”

“Oh good, you’re awake. Come on we have to go.”

“Did you… Did you say something about free meat?”

“Yeah, but you have to come out of the tent dressed and ready to go, if you want it.”

Zuko left Sokka’s tent and let the guy try and pull himself together. He emerged a few minutes later dressed in his Fire Nation clothing, top knot and all, ready to go. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head before bringing them to his face and wiping his eyes.

“Ok Zuko… Where is the meat?”

Zuko handed him a strip of the seal jerky that Hakoda packed for them.

“This is just stupid seal jerky. You said amazing, free meat. This is just regular free meat.”

“I think it’s amazing, so come on lets go.”

Sokka glared at the fire bender, knowing he had been duped into waking up. But now that he was awake he was growing excited to meet his new Master. Zuko spoke highly of the man, and if Zuko was as good of a sword fighter as Aang said he was, then Sokka was excited to meet the man that trained him.

Fire Nation or not, he was ready to learn.

No one else was awake in camp yet, but Sokka left a note that they went to go find the Sword Master and they would be back tonight.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko and Sokka stood in the formal foyer, waiting for Master Piandao to accept their request for a meeting. A man by the name of Fat, brought the boys inside, and Zuko recognized him from all those years ago when they trained together. But Fat did not recognize Zuko, which was understandable, he was a young child then, with long hair and no scar. Now he was older, with half his face burnt into leathery, angry skin, and his shaggy black hair was unkempt and unruly.

“Master Piandao will see you now.”

Sokka and Zuko entered a large room, the wall facing the town was completely covered in glass, the view was breath taking. Master Piandao sat, his back facing the boys, dipping his brush into ink and composing a letter.

Zuko nudged Sokka with his elbow trying to signal him to say something. Sokka cleared his throat and tried to speak with his own version of his dad’s Chief voice.

“Master, my name is Sokka and I wish to be instructed in the way of the sword.”

“Sokka? That is an unusual name.”

“Oh.. Uhh… Really, cause where I come from in the… Uhh, Fire Nation colonies it’s a pretty common name, for Fire Nation colonials.”

“Let me guess, you have come hundred’s of miles from your small village, where you are the best swords master in town, and you think you deserve to learn from the master?”

“Well actually I have been all over the world…”

“Yep… Here we go…”

“And I know one thing for sure, I have a lot to learn…” Sokka let his head fall, his eyes looking down at the red rug beneath his feet.

“Your friend is a lot more humble in his approach to being trained then you were, Prince Zuko.”

Sokka looked over at Zuko whose face flushed a deep red and his gold eyes shifted to the floor.

“How did you know it was me?”

“I would know your stance anywhere, you can’t hide behind that scar from me. Now I must ask, why do you bring a Water Tribe boy here to train with me? And why do you allow him to lie to me about his origins?”

Zuko frowned, “I know we shouldn’t have lied, but with the way the world is now, we couldn’t risk him being exposed as Water Tribe. I apologize for the disrespect.”

The Master set down his brush and stood, facing the boys.

“What would you know of the way of the world young Prince? Aren’t you in support of the war and your father’s bidding?”

Sokka watched Zuko squeeze his eyes shut and shake his head no. “No, I am not in support of the war, and I want to help Sokka, and our other friends put an end to the senseless violence. I was blind to what was happening for so long and now I know the truth, so that’s why I brought Sokka here to train with you. He is a good person, and he has good intentions, if anyone deserves to be trained by you it would be him.”

Zuko looked up at his old Master and Piandao nodded and smiled, “I am happy to hear you have finally seen the truth, and escaped your father’s influence. It took you long enough, but you are here now and that is what is important. I will train your friend, and I will allow you to train with him, I am sure you have developed some bad habits with all your travels.”

Zuko smirked. “Yeah, I probably have. I do not have my swords anymore, we left Ba Sing Se in a hurry…”

“That is alright, I see you and your friend do not wield any weapons right now. We will fix that. For now, I will take Sokka with me and begin the basics. Fat, will you take Zuko to one of our guest rooms so he can clean himself up and possibly get some rest? I will begin his training tomorrow.”

Zuko flushed again, embarrassed that he probably looked that bad, but decided it would be better to rest in a private room and let Sokka have his time with the Master. Sokka had a huge smile on his face and looked at Zuko. “Thanks buddy.”

Zuko nodded, “no problem. I will see you tonight.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko waited in the courtyard for Sokka, he felt much better after taking a hot shower and getting some much needed sleep. He was nervous to see how Sokka’s first day went, and even more nervous to ask his old Master if it would be possible for him to stay in the guest room tonight.

He decided it was the best way to avoid embarrassing himself with his night terrors, if he could just stay here like he did when he was a kid.

Sokka dragged his feet all the way to where Zuko was standing, “I… Hurt…. Everywhere….”

Zuko’s smirked, “You didn’t even start the real work yet. He just had you write your name and shit, right? Just wait.”

Sokka groaned and rubbed his face, “I need sleep….”

Zuko nodded, “Uhhh, I need to talk to Piandao before I leave, why don’t you head back to camp and I will meet you here in the morning?”

Sokka frowned, “You aren’t going to come back to camp?”

“No, probably not, I am going to stay here and catch up with my old Master and I will see you in the morning.”

“Uhh, ok.. Katara will probably be mad but I can cover for you.”

“Katara is always mad, and sure, say whatever you want. Ill see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Alright Zuko, by the way, thanks for everything. I appreciate what you said about me when we first arrived. You didn’t need to say all that.”

Zuko gave a small genuine smile, “I know, but I meant it. Night Sokka.”

“Night Zuko.”

Sokka drug his feet all the way back to camp.

- - - - - - - - -

“Why do you want to stay here with me instead of going back with your friend?”

Zuko ran his hands through his freshly clean hair, looking at Piandao he knew it would be futile to lie, and he was done trying to lie anyway. Closing his eyes he told him the truth.

“I have terrible nightmares and I wake up… Screaming, and I say things in my sleep and I don’t want them to hear it or keep them up at night so I was hoping you would let me stay in the guest room I slept in earlier…”

“Is that why you came here today and looked like you had a black eye? Because you didn’t sleep last night to avoid waking your friends with your night terrors?”

“…Yeah.”

“Eventually you will need to face this problem head on. I have never known you to be the type of person that backs down from a challenge. I know this situation may present itself in a different way, but never-the-less, it is still a challenge. You will need to be honest with your friends, and tell them the truth and if they are truly friends they will accept it. It is, after all, part of who you are Prince Zuko.”

Zuko kicked the rug and frowned, looking at the dirt he had accidentally scuffed into the red fibers.

“I know, I wish it wasn’t.”

Piandao smiled, setting his hand on his young pupil’s shoulder. “You have been through much hardship Prince Zuko, you have experienced more than most people my age. You are stronger and wiser because of it. Without those experiences you might not be on the path you are now. Your friends will understand, for now, you are more than welcome to stay in my home.

“Fat, will you take Prince Zuko to one of the guest rooms and get him a change of clothing. Something, less black?”

“Of course, I don’t know if we will have anything to fit him, but I will run out first thing in the morning to get him something.”

“Thank you.”

Zuko gave Piandao a traditional Fire Nation bow before wishing him a goodnight and following Fat to his room.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“What do you mean Zuko is going to stay with this Piandao guy tonight? Sounds awfully fishy…”

Katara frowned as she twirled the stew with her bending. Sokka was laying on the ground next to the fire and informed his friends Zuko decided to stay behind tonight.

“I don’t know Katara, I’m telling you what he told me. Master Piandao is a little odd, but he is a good guy and the way Zuko and him spoke, I don’t think they are pulling anything Fire Nation evil on us. I think Zuko probably is stuck up and wanted to sleep in a normal bed and not on the ground. Can you blame him? He is a Prince after all, carrying around bags full of coins and just giving them away. Plus Master Piandao didn’t even have him train today, he made him go take a nap or something, guy looked like shit this morning.”

Katara kept frowning but didn’t say anything, she was annoyed that Zuko thought he was too good to sleep on the ground like the rest of them.

Toph shrugged, “Most high class folk don’t like sleeping in dirt like I do, but I doubt that is why Sparky didn’t want to sleep with us. He is always so freaked out and his heart rate is always too fast for a normal person, he probably has issues or something.”

Aang sat up, thinking back to what he experienced in Zuko’s subconscious. “He might have nightmares and doesn’t want us to know. Remember, Bato told us he used to wake up screaming at night and based on what I saw him his head, he has a good reason to. I have nightmares about the things he experienced, I can only imagine what he has to deal with.”

“I forgot about that…” Katara sounded sad thinking about Zuko’s scars and the one’s that looked like handprints. “I wish he would have just told us, if that is the reason. I wouldn’t want him to think we would judge him for that. If anything, we would be there for him.”

Sokka groaned, “Oh we know you want to be there for Zuko, Katara. Just let the guy work out his issues the way he wants to. He is a man, this is how men handle things, like men! So don’t go get all ‘hi Zuko, Katara here, I want to help fix your problems because I can’t stay away from bad boys will sad life stories.’”

Katara was fuming. “That’s not what I do! Stop telling people that!”

“Oh yeah?! What about Jet! He was… THE WORST, and you ate up his ‘poor me’ act like it was candy!”

“Don’t bring up Jet! That was a mistake, and I know better now. I am not going to bother Zuko about it! Ugh! You are so frustrating! Stop bring up Jet!”

Sokka scoffed, “fine.”

They all ate in silence before going to their tents to try and get some sleep.

Aang laid in his bedroll thinking about Zuko and how traumatized he must be from dealing with the terrible things he saw within his friend’s subconscious. Aang felt a special connection with Zuko now, and he wanted to be able to help the fire bender. He decided he would give more effort in getting to know his new friend, and not let his past mistakes define his future.

With that in mind he fell asleep. His dreams filled with angry golden eyes haunting the dark corners of his mind, muttering evil things.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

Sokka ran as fast as he could, gasping for air as he rushed up the stairs to Master Piandao’s home. Grabbing both of the golden dragon door knockers, he began pounding them as hard as his tired and sore arms would allow. After a brief moment, Fat opened the door, looking unamused as always.

“You are late. Master Piandao does not appreciate tardiness.”

Sokka’s hands were on his knees, hunched over he was trying to catch his breath.

“I…Am….So….Sorry….Not…A….Morning…Guy…” He coughed a few times, spitting on the ground. Fat looked even more unamused now, if that was even possible.

“Follow me, Master Piandao and Prince Zuko are sparring in the training arena.”

Sokka followed him through the courtyard and around the side of the home, there was a stone area, surrounded by rocks and trees. Sokka saw Zuko and Piandao sparring, Zuko was wielding dual broadswords while Piandao favored the single straight sword.

Sokka was in awe of the two fighters and the way they moved through their motions. Every move they made was precise and calculated. He had only ever witnessed Zuko’s fire bending, and even then, he didn’t get to really watch it. He was always too busy running away from it. Zuko was an incredible swordsman, he moved with Piandao as if they were locked in a deadly dance.

Zuko was agile and quick, but he was still outmatched next to Piandao, who was able to throw the fire bender off balance. Zuko hit the ground and caught himself before Piandao dealt the deadly blow, tumbling off to the right he re grained his footing and waited to see Piandao’s next move. The Sword Master and the Prince danced through a few more motions before the match ended with the tip of his Master’s blade against Zuko’s throat.

“You have been practicing, Prince Zuko, you are less rigid than you were when you were younger. But I fear your injury has caused you to over compensate your left side. We will need to work on that. Overall I can see you have developed your sword skill greatly since our last encounter. Good job.”

Piandao looked past Zuko, his eyes landing on Sokka, who stood nervously on the sideline. “Ahh, Sokka, you are late. I am sure Fat informed you about how I view tardiness.”

Sokka nodded and bowed, “I will not be tardy again Master, I am sorry.”

“Very well, Zuko you will spare with Fat and work through some of the things I pointed out this morning. Sokka you and I will continue your training together.”

Sokka was relieved he would still get to train with Master Piandao, he knew how strict Fire Nation people could be, especially after being around Zuko. Sokka knew he was lucky to be allowed to continue his training. Sokka looked over at Zuko who was already covered in sweat and looked like he had been training for hours.

Zuko nodded a hello at Sokka who responded with a small wave before Piandao and him left the side arena and headed down towards the mountain ridge overlooking a beautiful waterfall.

- - - - - - - - -

“You want me to… Paint a picture?

“No peeking.”

“Finished!”

“You added a rainbow?”

- - - - - - - - - -

“Rock gardening teaches the warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage.”

Sokka ran around, moving a few large boulders under a tree, setting a soft piece of moss over one of the boulders he laid himself back and put his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes he let out a low exhale, enjoying the cooler temperature brought by the shade. Fat walked up to inform Piandao that lunch was almost ready and Sokka peeked one of his eyes open.

“Do you mind grabbing us a cold drink?”

“I’ll take a lemon in mine.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka and Fat sparred with wooden weapons for the rest of the afternoon, Sokka’s skills were improving quickly. Zuko sat lotus style next to Master Piandao and they watched Sokka spar. Zuko was impressed with the way Sokka grasped the lessons that his old Master was giving him.

Master Piandao’s methods were unorthodox, but effective. Zuko had struggled with the creative process that was needed to be a skilled swordsman. Eventually he let go of his old way of thinking and loosened up enough to fully understand what was necessary. Sokka didn’t seem to need any kind of loosening. He was already loose and creative and much like his Water Tribe element, he would bend and adapt to his surroundings.

The Water Tribe people were lucky in that sense, they were open minded, flexible and accepting.

After training with master fire benders and then his father and sister, he was not as open minded to the unorthodox way that Piandao went about his teachings. It reminded him a lot of his uncle and the way he looked at the world, and his outlook on fire bending. It was nice to hear that his abilities have grown, he liked to think he was changing more everyday and looking at life differently. He wanted to be looser and more flexible, like Sokka and the rest of the Water Tribe.

Sokka was excelling quickly, and impressing both Zuko and the Sword Master.

The lessons came to an end that day and Sokka couldn’t feel his legs or arms.

Sokka and Zuko sat on the edge of one of the balconies in Piandao’s massive estate. They had a great view of the sunset after having an elaborate dinner that the chefs prepared for all of them. Sokka made another comment about living the Princey life, and needing to figure out how to become royalty. He ate more food that night than Zuko had ever seen anyone ever eat in his life.

“Does sword fighting always make your body feel like a sea slug?”

Zuko shrugged at Sokka’s comment, “I mean, it’ll go away eventually. I don’t remember being that sore, but I also did fire bending training 6 days a week. So maybe I was used to it?”

“Woah, you had to train 6 days a week?”

“Oh yeah, the Royal Family was expected to have their children master their element by 17. If not it brought great shame onto the father. So obviously, Ozai was intent on making sure he didn’t look like a fool. Azula is probably already a master, and she is only 14. I don’t think it matters now if I am a Master or not, with the banishment and everything.”

Sokka could hear a hint of sadness and bitterness in Zuko’s voice when he spoke about his sister and her fire bending ability. He felt a sting of his own sadness when he thought of how powerful Katara was, and how she mastered water bending already and she was only 15.

“I understand having a prodigy sister, Katara can do amazing things with her bending. Hell, everyone in our group can do amazing things with their bending. You and your fire, Aang and ALL the elements, and Toph with her magic feet. I have always felt like the normal guy, the not so special guy who just reads maps and makes funny jokes. Its nice to feel like I am excelling somewhere that will help me be a better warrior.”

Zuko nodded, looking at the Water Tribe boy sitting next to him. “I understand wanting to have something that is your own. You are an already gifted swordsman, with Master Piandao’s training you will be a legend.”

Sokka laughed, “I don’t know about legend, but I would take the title of ‘greatest swordsman ever.’”

“I think you would have to battle Master Piandao for that title, you know why they call him the greatest swordsman in the world right?”

Sokka arched his eyebrows and shook his head no, his blue eyes staring at Zuko as he unfolded the story.

“Master Piandao was born a non bender to parents that were legendary fire benders. When they found out their son was not a fire bender, they abandoned him. When he grew older, he discovered sword fighting and excelled. He ended up joining the army and serving in the Fire Nation military, raising through the ranks quickly. But when he experienced the war and all the senseless violence and destruction it caused innocent people, he deserted his position and ended up coming here. Fire Lord Azulon discovered he was here and sent 100 soldiers to kill him. Master Piandao fought all 100 soldiers and won. The military never came back for another attack and they left him to live the rest of his life in peace. My uncle told me the story when he brought me here to train with him when I was just a boy.”

Sokka’s jaw had dropped at some point during the story, and when Zuko was finished telling the tale he looked over at Sokka and smirked.

“It’s a pretty impressive, isn’t it?”

“Uhhh, yeah. I am definitely impressed.”

“I was too.”

“Hey Zuko… Can I uh, ask you something?”

“….Sure?”

“Why did you want sleep here instead of with us back at camp?”

Zuko could feel the heat rushing to his face, the sound of his own pulse beating was all her could hear in his ears. After a second he felt the sound return and the heat settled back into his inner fire.

“I just wanted to talk to Piandao and spend some time discussing things with him, and I didn’t want to go back to camp too late and wake everyone up.”

“You aren’t a very good liar, Zuko. When you got here yesterday Master Piandao made you go take a nap, which makes me think you didn’t sleep the night before. Are you not comfortable enough to sleep around us?”

“No… Uhh.. No that’s not it… I mean, it is… But… Umm… I don’t know what to say.”

“You could just tell me the truth. We are friends… Aren’t we?”

Zuko and Sokka looked at each other, and for the first time Sokka really looked at the fire bender. He could see the fire flicker in his eyes, but behind the flames he could see the fear and the sadness which consumed him. He felt, sad, for Zuko, that he had to suffer with such emotions when he was such a good person.

Zuko’s eyes broke away from him and looked out into the horizon, the sun was almost completely gone now and the stars were beginning to fill the night sky. He took a deep breath and close his eyes.

“I have… Um… I have nightmares, and I have struggled with them for years. Ever since… My father… Uh… When he first started to punish me while growing up. I was told nightmares were a sign weakness and I got in trouble if I had them… So I tried to hide them. When I washed up on your dad’s boat I had them really bad, and your dad helped me, a lot. I got much better, and then I went with Zhao and they got way worse. My uncle tired helping me, but I think its beyond help now… I am embarrassed that I am almost an adult and I still wake up at night screaming like a child…” He released the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Sokka’s expression softened as Zuko spoke about himself and what he believed was a weakness. Sokka for the first time, understood a little more about Zuko, and that he was just a kid, his own age. A kid who had a really rough life and just needed friends, who could give him support and understanding.

Sokka reached out and clasped his friend’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed, if I went through half the things you have in your life, honestly, I don’t even know if I would be functioning. Dude…. Your dad burnt off half your face… And you forgave him. You are stronger than I am, by a long shot. You shouldn’t be scared to share these type of things with us, we are your friends. We wont judge you for having nightmares. If anything, it would help us understand you more. Its ok to not be in complete control while you sleep, I mean… I didn’t even wake up on time for training today! You don’t have to avoid us just because you have nightmares.”

Zuko gave a genuine smile, Sokka never saw the boy smile before. He looked so much better when he was happy instead of when he was scowling at everything. Even his scar seemed less intimidating when his smiled.

“Thanks Sokka… I appreciate it. I just… I don’t know what its like to have friends.”

“You and me both buddy, but we are friends now. Manly friends, we have to have each other’s back.”

“I will always have your back, Sokka.”

“I will always have your back too, you jerk bender.”

Zuko snorted, before either boy could say anything else they saw the sky come to life with a meteor shower. The now dark horizon twinkled with flashes of light as the meteor’s shot across the night sky.

“Woah! This is awesome!” Sokka jumped to his feet, leaning over the balcony railing to get a better view of the spectacle. As they watched, one of the meteors looked closer then the rest of them.

Too close, actually.

It was headed straight for the town, sizzling past the rooftops, the flaming space rock landed over the edge of one of the mountains. Zuko frowned and then inhaled a sharp breath.

“Isn’t that where our camp is?”

Sokka’s face drained of color when Zuko said those words.

Katara….

“Katara!!!”

Sokka tried to jump over the balcony before Zuko grabbed the back of his tunic, pulling him back.

“Are you an idiot!? You’ll break your legs!! We are three levels off the ground! Follow me!! If we move quickly we can try to help them!”

Both boys took off in a sprint, racing to where their friends were. Hoping that everyone was ok.

- - - - - - - - - - -

They arrived on the scene just as Aang and Katara with the help of Toph were extinguishing the flames that had been moving with great speed towards the town. Lucky for everyone, the space rock landed pretty far away from where they set up their tents. But without the bender’s help the flames would have eaten through the trees and could have been in danger of igniting the town on fire.

“Sokka!” Katara yelled her brother’s name and rushed towards him embracing him in her arms. Zuko stood back, awkwardly, rubbing the tip of his boot into the dirt.

“Katara, we saw the meteor and when it landed we were so scared that it hit our camp and you guys might be hurt. I am so glad you are ok!”

Toph crossed her arms and walked over to Zuko. “Were you really worried about us, Sparky?”

“Well… Yeah, that’s why we ran here.”

Toph punched the fire bender in the arm. “We have been worried about you too!”

“Well I didn’t almost get hit by a giant flaming rock!”

“Well you didn’t come back to camp last night! We were worried.”

Zuko ran his hands through his hair and cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I will… Uh, I will stay here tonight.”

Aang swooped down and smiled. “Yay! Zuko’s back!”

Katara smiled at Zuko, “Its good to have you back, Zuko.”

“Thanks guys.”

The group walked back to camp together and the benders, excluding Zuko, chatted about how they saved the town from being burnt down and how cool it was to fight a space rock. Sokka fell back and walked next to Zuko.

“You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want, I am sure Master Piandao wouldn’t mind if you stayed there again.”

“Yeah I am sure he wouldn’t, but I think I should stay here with you guys. I mean, eventually I will have to. So, why not now?”

Sokka smirked and threw his arm around the fire bender, who didn’t flinch… That much.

“You are starting to like us, jerk bender, admit it.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “I guess.”

They arrived back at camp and Sokka made Katara dish him up some of the left over stew they ate for dinner that he missed out on. Zuko was astonished that the guy could eat MORE food.

He took the bowl and handed it to Zuko, “Heat this for me.”

Grumbling, Zuko took the bowl and held it in his hands, heating it up until little bubbles began surfacing. Steam started to rise out of the bowl, Sokka slurped it down quickly, with his mouth still full of food he thanked Zuko for heating up his second dinner.

“Gross, don’t talk to me with your mouth full.”

Zuko walked away from Sokka towards his tent, he lifted his flap and crawled inside. He laid down and tried to relax, he heard shuffling outside his tent and someone who sounded like Sokka curse.

Zuko peeked his head outside of the tent and saw Sokka setting up his tent next to Zuko.

“What are you doing? Why are you moving your tent?”

“Oh hush, I am moving next to you so if you… Ya know… I can help out. Ill be right here. Ok?”

Zuko frowned, but nodded and moved back inside his tent. He laid on his side, the scarred side facing up. He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes. For the first time in years, he felt safe. He didn’t have any nightmares that night, instead he dreamt of his new friends and a sky full of meteors.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next few days went by quickly as they trained with Piandao, Sokka had the great idea of using the space rock to make their new swords.

Zuko had to admit, he was really excited about his new ‘space swords’ as Sokka called it. Both boys foraged their own weapons, a jian sword for Sokka and dual broadswords for Zuko. The meteoric iron worked surprisingly well being molded into a blade. Piandao was tempted to make his own weapon out of the material but Sokka claimed that would be copying and he was too original to be copied.

The last day of training with Master Piandao he told Zuko and Sokka to spar. Sokka was surprised because Zuko was a much better swordsman then he was, but he agreed anyway.

Men don’t back down from challenges.

The dual was short, Zuko tried to take it easy on Sokka, at least until he saw how skilled Sokka had gotten from all the training. He almost lost his footing to the Water Tribe boy, but using his agility he grounding himself again, taking out Sokka’s leg instead. Sokka hit the ground hard, and Zuko noticed that flexibility would be something he could help his new friend with. Sokka was stiff and took falls hard, he would hurt himself if he fell like that and wasn’t quick to recover.

Sokka was covered in sweat and noticed that Zuko didn’t have nearly as much perspiration as he did.

“Why… Aren’t you… Sweating!?”

Zuko smirked, “fire bender. I don’t get hot usually.”

Sokka frowned and re aligned his stance, raising his sword. “Cheater!”

Zuko smirked and re positioned his swords as the boys went back at their dual. Zuko was having more fun dueling with Sokka then he ever did training with his father or any of the other masters. His uncle was a great teacher and he excelled under his fire bending command, but he wasn’t fun. Sokka poked fun at him, and didn’t yell at him if he missed a step, he wasn’t trying to actively hurt him like Azula did.

He found himself actually wanting to train with the guy. Sokka lost every round, but the last go around Zuko let him have the upper hand and yielded when Sokka knocked him on the ground.

“OH YEAH!! Beat the Prince! Water Tribe!!”

Sokka cheered for himself before offering Zuko a hand to get off the floor. Master Piandao smiled at Zuko who gave him a look to not say anything. Sokka deserved the win, he was working hard and had impressed Zuko a lot. The only way Zuko knew how to compliment him would be to let him beat him in front of the Master. He knew Piandao wouldn’t punish Zuko for losing, so he wasn’t worried about being burnt or cut. It was nice to have training that didn’t end in an injury, it reminded him of the summer he spent here.

His summer was lonely though, it was better having Sokka here. He was way better company than Fat.

“I enjoyed having this time training you boys, I am impressed with each of you. Especially you Sokka, you have improved faster than any student I have ever trained. I believe with Zuko continuing your training you will become one of the greatest sword masters in the world. I wish you both the best of luck in your journey. Tell the Avatar I am honored to serve one of his friends.”

Zuko and Sokka inhaled simultaneously, neither of them had said anything about traveling with the Avatar. Sokka lifted one of his eyebrows.

“How did you know?”

“Us old guys know a lot of things, now be safe on your travels. If you ever need help, use this.”

He gave Sokka a White Lotus tile, Zuko rolled his eyes. “A Pi Sho tile?”

“Pi Sho is not just a game young Prince.”

“I know, that’s what my uncle always says.”

“Take this with you Sokka, and please, both of you try to stay out of trouble.”

The boys both gave their Master a respectful bow before turning and heading back to camp.

- - - - - - - - - -

Zuko avoided nightmares for the first couple of nights while staying with the Gaang, but the night before their last training session he woke up screaming.

His face covered in sweat, his arms were trembling and his heart rate was going crazy. He tried to catch his breath but the lump in his throat was making it impossible to intake the amount of air necessary for basic survival. His eyes squeezed shut, he tried to push out the memories that haunted him in his sleep.

He took one of his trembling arms and ran it through his hair, his head was pounding, mouth dry he reached over and took a small sip of water. That cleared out the lump in his throat and allowed him to finally take a deep breath, focusing on controlling his inner fire.

“Pssst… Zuko, don’t burn me. You alight?”

He heard Sokka whispering from outside his tent.

“Y-Yeah, I’m f-f-fine. Go b-back to sleep.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? I mean… We could talk about it?”

Zuko couldn’t help but snort at the idea of talking to Sokka about his father, The Fire Lord, holding him down and burning him while people sat in the stands and ate snacks, cheering. “No, I’m good. Go back to sleep.”

“Alright man, let me know if you need me.”

Zuko rolled back on his side, finally gaining control of his mind and body again, he tried to go back to sleep. The only person he ever told the story to was Chief Hakoda, when the burn was still fresh. But apparently, in the Water Tribe, its normal to tell everyone you know, everything about everyone. The Water Tribe was a group of people who shared everything, even things that weren’t theirs to share.

Zuko knew he couldn’t be mad at Hakoda for telling people, it was part of his culture. To be open and accepting, to share what you have and tell stories of the things you have experienced. In the Fire Nation it was the opposite, don’t tell anyone anything and keep your secrets hidden. Cover your bruises, smile, don’t discuss it, pretend its all ok.

He knew people asked Hakoda what happened, it was a common question Zuko was asked.

What happened to your face?

That’s a crazy scar, what happened?

How’d you get that scar?

You must be an awful fire bender to have a scar like that

He has heard it all, especially when he traveled around the Earth Kingdom, people liked to share their burn stories. Zuko did not like to share his burn stories, all of them included being the son of the most hated man in the world. So he made sure to keep to himself, which he was learning was impossible in the Avatar’s group.

Sokka and him were apparently best buds now. Not that he minded having a close guy friend his own age… He also likes Aang a lot more then he thought he would. He seemed to have a special bond with the young monk.

He just didn’t know how to share things with them the way they shared with each other. The thought of letting people into his personal space was terrifying, but the thought of letting people try and get close to him emotionally was worse. He appreciated the help, but Zuko knew how to handle himself.

He made it this far right?

- - - - - - - - - - -

The group packed up Appa, and after eating breakfast they loaded up on the bison’s saddle and began moving towards the meeting point for the invasion. They were ahead of schedule, Sokka was trying to keep them to a strict time line to make sure they weren’t late meeting back up with the Water Tribe men. He was getting more anxious now that the invasion was a week away.

Sitting in the saddle he studied the map, calling Zuko over to help him navigate. Katara was bending the cloud cover as the boys argued over the map.

“Zuko you don’t know anything! This is where we were… This is where we are going!”

“I was a captain of my own ship for two years! I know everything!”

“Give me the map!”

“No, I am using it!”

“Give it back!!”

“Ill burn it and then no one will get it!”

“You burn my map I am throwing you over the saddle!”

“I’m taking you with me!”

Toph groaned, “Will you two cut it out. I know exactly where we are.”

Sokka looked at Toph. “You do?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen all this before, we are headed in the right direction.”

Zuko frowned, “But you’re blind?”

Toph groaned harder, “No shit genius, I am kidding. Maybe you should have someone else look at the map, you two buffoons don’t seem to have it together.”

Katara laughed, “At least they are getting along now, and we don’t have to worry about Zuko accidentally falling on Sokka’s sword.”

“HEY! It wasn’t my sword… It was Hotah’s sword, and he did fall!”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “Here Sokka, look at this, it’s Shu Jing, we are going this way. Look at the sun, we are headed west based on its position in the sky. So we are headed in this direction.” Zuko’s finger ran across the map, “This is where we want to be by the end of the week. So maybe we can camp somewhere by this small village. Its tucked deep in the woods so Appa can hide, and its close to the island we are meeting Hakoda.”

Sokka studied the map and listened to Zuko’s words. “Yeah ok, you’re right.” He looked at Aang who was sitting on Appa’s head. “Aang we are going to fly another couple hours and then make camp. Ill tell you when to bring Appa down!”

Aang peeked around, “Sounds good!”

- - - - - - - - - - -

The woods were… Creepy, to say the least. The whole area had a dark energy, Aang noticed it the second he landed Appa.

“Are you sure this is where we should camp? I am getting creepy vibes from this place.”

Sokka started unloading Appa, “Yes I am sure, it’s the only village for a while and we need to get more supplies, plus I am not making decisions based off your ‘creepy vibes.’”

Katara crossed her arms and smirked at her brother, “We make decisions based off your instincts, Sokka.”

“That’s different, I am the leader, dad put me in charge of this rag tag group. My instincts kept an entire village from being swallowed by a river. Which… I could point out, was because your boyfriend wanted to kill the Fire Nation.”

Katara saw Zuko smirk out of the corner of her eye while he helped Sokka unload.

“What are you smiling about?!”

Zuko’s face went blank and he looked away from the angry water bender, “Nothing.”

“Hey don’t get mad at Sparky! He didn’t date a crazy person who wanted to drown a village full of innocent people.”

Sokka laid out the bed rolls, not even bothering with trying to set up tents. Zuko shrugged, “No Toph, I did not date a crazy person who tried to drown innocent people.”

Sokka laughed, “Have you dated anyone… Ever?”

Zuko tapped his chin, “I mean, I had a small thing with one of my sister’s friends when we were young, but that was a long time ago…”

“Oh yeah? Your crazy sister who wants to kill you and Aang? We met some of her friends, which one did you date?” Katara asked as she grabbed the supplies she needed to make an easy meal. The sun was setting at this point and it would be dark soon.

“Her name was Mai, and she was really tall with dark hair and liked to throw knives. She was really good at it too.”

“WAIT, is she gloomy and sighs a lot?!” Sokka turned quickly, staring at Zuko.

“Uh, yeah. Do you know her?”

“Yeah we do! She knifed us to a tree once, and was dressed up like a Kyoshi Warrior when they took over Ba Sing Se! She is so… Blah.”

Zuko snorted, “Yeah she is… Blah.”

Sokka shook his head.

“Jeez your life just gets more and more depressing.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

After dinner the group sat around the fire, Sokka was telling a ghost story which no one found scary. Katara just laughed and Aang laid on the ground with Momo on his chest.

“Water Tribe slumber parties must suck.”

Katara perked up, “I have a Southern Water Tribe story I can tell… And its real…”

She told the tale of her mother’s friend being trapped in her home during a snow storm. The smoke stacks still rising from the home even when the fire was out, and no one was left in the house. The little girl could still be heard whispering, ‘I’m so cold, and I can’t get warm.’”

The group shuttered, that story was a lot more frightening then the ‘sword hand’ tale Sokka was telling while he swung his space sword.

“How about you Sparky. You grew up in the Fire Nation palace, with your crazy sister. I am sure you have a scary story to tell.”

Zuko was watching the fire intently he shrugged and looked up. Katara saw his gold eyes fix on her, the color of his eyes was alive as the fire danced through his iris. It almost took her breath away before remembering it was Zuko who was looking at her.

He looked over at Toph, “I mean… Ok… So I don’t know if this is a story… But I would consider it pretty scary. When I was younger I would go to sleep at night and when I would wake up in the morning and go to breakfast… The FIRE LORD would be there. Every… Single… Morning. Pretty terrifying, right?”

Aang felt a cold chill run down his spine, imagining the evil gold eyes watching him while he ate. “That actually sounds awful.”

“It was, but its over now. So don’t lose sleep over it.”

Aang sighed, “I am trying not to.”

Before anyone could say anything else a crackling voice sounded just over Katara’s shoulder.

“Hello, children.”

Everyone screamed, Zuko drew his swords and shifted into a fighting position in front of his friends. Sokka stood next to him, both boys staring at the old lady walking out of the dark woods.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you, my name is Hama. You children shouldn’t be out in the forest by yourselves at night. Even with these strong boys protecting you, I have an Inn nearby. Why don’t you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?”

Sokka lowered his weapon and smiled, “Yes please.”

Zuko did not move, he and the old lady made eye contact and he felt something cold on the back of his neck. The same feeling he got when his father would look at him after he failed to meet his expectations, the feeling he got right before something bad happened.

Hama only looked at him for only a second, but it felt like an eternity. She smiled at the other children, her eyes never going back to Zuko. They followed her back to the inn which was on top of a cliff overlooking the village.

Zuko walked behind the group, he couldn’t shake the uneasy chill he felt when Hama looked at him. The rest of the group seemed ok, and almost excited that they met Hama and she was inviting them to her inn.

Maybe he was being paranoid?

Hama invited them to all sit at a table while she prepared tea, Sokka slid in a chair next to Zuko, tapping the fire bender on the shoulder.

“You good buddy?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so.”

Hama came by and poured the tea, lingering on Zuko she smiled. “You have the most beautiful gold eyes young man, usually that color is only found within the royal family. You are lucky to carry such a color.”

Her beady blue eyes seemed to say something her words did not. Zuko frowned and crossed his arms.

“Thanks.”

Sokka laughed nervously, “Yeah our buddy Lee here… Ha, he just gets all sorts of comments about it! You know… Look at bright eyes over there! But this guy WISHES he was royalty. But I mean look at him! His hair, it a mess, and these clothes! Pshhhh, slummy, he is just a poor kid like the rest of us. Ha… Ha…”

Sokka brought the cup of tea to his lips and sipped it, allowing it to silence his babbling. Zuko leaned over and smirked, “Smooth.”

Katara ignored them and Aang smiled at Zuko while he sipped his tea.

“Thanks for letting us stay here tonight. You have a lovely inn.”

“Aren’t you sweet, you know you should be careful, people have been disappearing in those woods you children were camping in.”

Sokka frowned and set down his cup leaning forward.

“What do you men, disappearing?”

“When the moon turns full, people walk in, and don’t come out.”

Hama looked up from her cup and met Zuko’s eyes, he made it a point this time to glare at her. He wasn’t afraid of this old hag, and if he needed to,he would defend his friends from her. There was something off about her, he spent enough time with evil people to know the look in someone’s eyes.

“Don’t worry you will all be completely safe here. Why don’t I show you to your rooms and we can all get a good nights rest?”

Everyone was quiet but they nodded and followed her upstairs.

She gave everyone their own rooms and bid them a goodnight.

Aang wondered into Sokka’s room after Hama left. “Psssst, Sokka.”

“What are you doing?”

Aang jumped a few feet into the air only to land and see Zuko leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed.

“I uhhh, I was scared, so I wanted to see if Sokka was awake. This place is creeping me out.”

Zuko uncrossed his arms, “Yeah me too. There is something off about that lady.”

Aang shrugged, “I don’t know, she seems nice.”

“Everyone seems nice to you.”

“I know, I know, but if we are going to compare… You don’t really like anyone.”

“You have a point.”

Sokka slid open his door, using his best yelling whisper voice. “If you guys are going to stand out here and discuss how creepy this place is why don’t you come in here and not doing it in the hall where Hama can hear you!?”

Aang flushed red and Zuko rolled his eyes. “Who cares, she knows she is creepy.”

Both boys walked into Sokka’s room and they spent the next hour talking about the different levels of creepy this place was and how it compared to other creepy places they experienced.

Aang came to the conclusion that Zuko’s subconscious was the creepiest place he has ever been.

Sokka concluded that the the Fire Nation cruiser was the creepiest place he has ever been.

Zuko decided it was the Fire Lord’s bedroom.

They all agreed Zuko’s was the creepiest, by far. No one wanted to be in the room where the most evil man in the world laid his head at night.

They headed off to bed, Zuko couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka opened his eyes to see Katara and Hama staring down at him, not able to control his reaction he screamed and slid off the bed onto the floor.

“Wake up dear! It’s time to go shopping!”

Everyone was downstairs ready to go, Aang and Katara were chatting happily about what they were going to buy. Sokka saw Zuko leaning up against the wall next to Toph, they both shared the same unamused facial expression.

“I think I am going to skip the shopping and just stay here.” Zuko’s raspy voice made the rest of the Gaang stop talking.

Aang looked disappointed, “Oh come on, please, come with us.”

Zuko pulled away from the wall and shook his head, “No really, I think I am just going to stay here. Ill work with my swords and do some meditation.”

Hama walked up to the group from the kitchen and looked at Zuko, walking towards him he felt the same cold chill he did last night.

“Oh come with us dear…” She reached out to touch his arm and as soon as her skin made contact with his he jerked away.

“Don’t touch me!”

Scowling at her he grit his teeth and moved away from the group.

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to upset you. Might I add that you are so warm! You don’t happen to be a fire bender do you?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed even more, his brow furrowed. “I am.”

“I have never had a fire benders before.”

Zuko was taken back, “You live in the Fire Nation, and you have never met a fire bender?”

“Oh my! My old age must be catching up to me. I don’t even know what I am saying anymore. If you want to stay here you are more than welcome, there is tea and food in the kitchen help yourself. We will be back soon.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come Zuko?” Katara asked looking concerned, her blue eyes searching him, just to make sure he was alright.

“Yeah I am sure, go ahead without me.” He waited until the group left before releasing the air he didn’t realize he was holding onto to.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hama and the rest of the Gaang shopped until the sun was high in the sky. Hama seemed to be collecting all sorts of different foods, she was determined to get everything on her list. Out of everyone Katara was getting along with Hama the best, they walked in front of the group giggling and chatting like a couple of girls.

Sokka, Toph and Aang carried the wicker baskets full of food. Sokka watched his sister laugh and bond with the creepy old woman.

“I wish I was with Sparky right now, I bet he isn’t doing all this giggling.” Toph said with a groan.

“I don’t even know if Zuko knows how to giggle.” Aang replied scratching his head.

“There is something not right about that lady I swear… My instincts are going crazy about this one.”

Aang laughed, “Don’t tell Katara that, she will go on another rant about you and your instincts again. We don’t need you bringing up… Jet… Again.” He trailed off and Sokka ignored the slight annoyance in the air bender’s tone when he talked about Jet.

“All I am saying is, she seems off, ya know?”

Toph nodded in agreement, “Something about this whole place is off, I swear… My feet feel people screaming under the mountain.”

“What!?” Sokka and Aang said in unison.

“Yeah, I don’t know what it is, exactly… But it feels like screaming. It isn’t all the time, but when we were in the woods I thought I heard it before Hama found us. I haven’t heard it at all today, but I am keeping my feet on high alert.”

“Good, keep your feet on it.” Sokka glared at Hama in front of him, just another thing to add to the weird list. “Oh and another thing, she seems weirdly curious about Zuko too. She said something about his eyes, and then tried to touch him and I saw her staring at him while we were drinking tea.”

Aang intercepted that comment, “Well to be fair, Zuko was glaring at her the entire time too. I don’t think he has stopped staring at her either. I thought he was going to try and cut her down when she popped out of the woods last night.”

“Well Zuko isn’t known for showing restraint. That is a new quality for him. Example, Kyoshi Island.”

Everyone agreed, suddenly Hama lifted her arm to he forehead and stumbled. Katara grabbed the older woman, dropping her basket of goods.

“Hama!! Are you alright?”

“Oh… Yes, I think I am just exhausted from being in the sun so long and not sleeping much last night. Would it be possible for you children to continue to shop for me and finish getting everyone on the list? I think I am going to head back to the Inn and try and get some rest.”

“I can come with-“ Katara was cut off.

“Oh no dear, that is alright. I was actually going to give you children a silver piece to get some lunch at my favorite noodle stand up there on the corner. Chang makes the best noodles in the village. Just a gesture of thanks for helping carry all the fruits and vegetables for me. Whenever you are done eating and shopping I will meet you back at the inn.”

Katara nodded, “Are you sure you will be alright walking all that way by yourself?”

“Yes of course. Thank you for your concern, you are so sweet. I will see you children later.”

Hama left quickly, moving through the crowd until she was out of sight.

Sokka frowned, “Hmmm… Creepy.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Zuko meditated for an hour and then went outside to practice with his new space swords. He had to admit, Sokka was a genius for thinking to use the meteorite to make their swords. The jet black blades were sharp and lightweight but strong and precise. Zuko went through a few sets before sheathing his blades and looking around the outside of the Inn.

It was a creepy little place, slightly run down, but overall in decent shape. The inside was basic and not decorated in any Fire Nation décor, which he found a little odd. His people were known for having pride in their culture, and most public places had a portrait of the Fire Lord on display – as it was the law.

Zuko was in the kitchen, looking for the tea Hama said was there, when he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Turning he saw the old lady standing in the door way.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” She asked, grinning at him.

“Uhh… Where is everyone else?” He frowned at her.

“You are very skeptical young man, you don’t seem to trust me at all.”

“Well…. I don’t really trust anyone, so don’t feel special.”

She grinned a little wider, “Why would the Prince of the Fire Nation not be a trusting person? I assume you are loved by all your loyal Fire Nation people, and you are after all, the son of the Fire Lord.”

Zuko felt his skin crawl, he took a step back and before he could reach for his blades he was thrown against the back wall by a burst of water. His arms and legs were frozen to the wall, using his breath of fire, the ice began to melt. Hama smirked and threw more water at the young Prince, squeezing it until the boy couldn’t breath. His fire breath stopped as he tried to gasp for air.

Hama moved closer, touching Zuko’s scar with her icy finger tips. She chuckled and whispered in his good ear.

“I am going to have so much fun with you….”

His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he lost consciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“Should we have let Hama go back to the Inn when its just Zuko there alone?” Toph asked as she slurped a heaping chopstick full of noodles into her mouth. Katara winced at the disgusting way the young girl ate.

“Its Zuko, a powerful fire bender, sword master, never gives up and is always ready for an attack… I am sure he will be fine against the big, bad, little old lady.” Katara said rolling her eyes.

Sokka shrugged, “I have to agree with Katara on this one, Zuko can handle himself. He did go head to head with Aang a few times and held his own. He will be fine. Now I will say, Hama was right about this noodle place… They have MEAT NOODLES. I thought only terrible things happened in the Fire Nation, but Zuko is not that bad, and they make noodles out of MEAT. I think I am going to get a second home here after the war.”

Toph groaned, “Let’s not talk about ending the war, and second homes, and the Fire Nation being bad. Ok? We are not going to blend in very well if you do that.”

Aang put down his shop sticks and started rubbing his chest, he shuddered a little. Katara looked over at him with concern in her eyes.

“Are you ok, Aang?”

“Yeah I think so… Is anyone else cold?”

Sokka chewed on his noodles, talking with his mouth full. “What are you talking about? Its like… a million degrees out. I am sweating.”

“You’re always sweating.” Toph shot back.

Sokka just shrugged and Aang felt another shiver go through his body. “I don’t know its just weird, I felt a pain in my chest and really cold all of a sudden. Its not as strong right now, but it was weird how strong it felt.”

Katara reached over and touched his face with the back of her hand. “Maybe you aren’t feeling well? Let’s head back to the Inn. You should try and rest. Maybe you and Hama are sick?”

Aang shrugged, “I don’t feel sick, I just felt really cold for a moment. It’s gone now. Weird.”

Sokka glared it at the village, “Weird lady, weird town, weird feelings.”

On their way back to the Inn they heard villagers talking about the full moon tomorrow night and how people were going missing in the woods. Sokka turned to Aang, “This might be a job for Team Avatar.”

“Stop calling us that Sokka.”

“No seriously, this sounds like some spirit world shenanigans. Plus, team Avatar is growing, we have a fire bender now. We need a name!”

“Let’s call ourselves, Sokka’s instincts.” Toph said as Aang and Katara laughed.

“You guys are rude.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

They arrived back at the Inn just as the sun was moving towards the edge of the earth. The once bright blue sky was bleeding into a hue of oranges and reds. The group put the items bought at the market in the kitchen. Sokka tapped his chin looking around.

“I think, I am going to explore.”

“No Sokka, you can’t snoop through this nice ladies home. It isn’t right.”

“Well where is Zuko!?”

“He is probably outside doing, I don’t know, Zuko stuff. Did you think he was going to just be waiting here for us to come back? He is probably doing his own thing. Like you say Sokka… Man stuff.”

Sokka nodded in approval, “Yes, man stuff. Well I am going to do man stuff and look around, that Hama seems a little strange. Don’t you agree Aang?”

Aang put up his hands up in a surrender fashion, “Strange, maybe, but it doesn’t mean we should go through her things.”

“Where is Zuko when you need him?! He would go through her things with me…”

Katara crossed her arms and rolled her eyes dramatically, “Ohhhh yeah, because ZUKO is the perfect example of someone who always does the right thing.”

Sokka waved her away, “Either help me, or go away.”

He began opening cabinets and looking through some of the spare rooms in the inn, Katara and the group followed him.

“Sokka what are you doing? You cant just snoop around someone’s house!”

“It’s fine.”

Aang looked around nervously, “She could be anywhere in this house! What if she catches you.”

“She is probably sleeping, she said she was tired.”

“I don’t know… You’re going to get us all in trouble. This is just plain rude!” Katara felt really hesitant as her and the rest of her friends followed him. “Sokka you’ve looked enough!”

He went up the last flight of stairs until they arrived at a strange locked door.

“Just an ordinary innkeeper huh? Then why does she have a creepy locked door up here?!”

“Probably to keep people like you, from snooping through her stuff!”

“We’ll see….” Sokka gazed through the key hole to see a small box sitting in the middle of an empty room. “It’s empty except for a little chest…”

Toph’s looked excited, “Maybe its treasure!” Aang and Katara looked at the girl with weird looks before returning their attention back to Sokka.

Using his sword he tried to pick the lock.

“Sokka! You are breaking into a private room!” Katara sounded more frantic now that they were breaking into Hama’s locked room. The door clicked unlocked, he opened it slowly.

“I just have to see whats up here.”

He picked up the box and looked around, “Maybe there is a key up here somewhere…”

Toph smiled, “OH! Hand it over, I took a piece of that space rock I should be able to bend it into a key…” She messed with the black meteorite in her hand until it formed it into a key. Pushing it inside the lock she began to jiggle it around and the chest’s lid popped open.

Aang started chewing on his fingers, “Guys… I don’t know about this.” As he watched the chest carefully.

Katara stood back until the chest lid popped open, her curiosity got the better of her and she approached the rest of the group.

“I’ll tell you what’s in the box…” Hama’s voice made everyone jump at least ten feet into the air. Turning around to face the old woman who stood in the doorway, Sokka slipped the box behind his back.

She approached them and Sokka pulled the chest out from behind his back and handed it to it’s rightful owner. Reaching inside, Hama pulled out a blue comb, resembling a style that was familiar to Sokka and Katara.

“This is my greatest treasure, it’s the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe.”

Sokka and Katara’s jaws dropped. Katara’s hands began to shake as she covered her mouth in surprise.

“You’re… From the Southern Water Tribe?”

Hama smiled and nodded, “Yes, just like you.”

“How did you know?”

“I heard you children talking around your campfire.”

Sokka frowned, “But why didn’t you tell us?”

“I wanted to surprise you, I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner tonight.”

Katara clasped her hands in front of her, her big blue eyes sparkling with delight. “I knew I felt a bond with you right away-“

Sokka cut her off, “And I knew you were hiding something! So we are both right!” Katara glared at him before smacking him in the arm.

“Well come on now, lets get cooking!”

They all went downstairs and soon the entire bottom floor of the Inn was full of wonderful smells. Aang left to go feed Appa his cabbage while Hama and Katara laughed and shared Water Tribe stories in the kitchen.

After a while Toph began to feel odd about the whole situation, she couldn’t feel anything in the house because it was a wooden flooring but she had not heard Zuko talk since they got back. He was more of the quiet type but not this quiet.

“Hey guys, where is Sparky?”

Sokka looked around the kitchen and saw the it was dark outside, “That’s a good question….”

Hama smiled, “Oh, your golden eye friend wasn’t feeling well when I came back from the market, I made him some calming tea and sent him to bed. Maybe we both caught a small sickness. He is upstairs sleeping in his room, would you like to go check on him?”

Sokka shook his head no. “Nah, he is a big boy, I’m sure he can handle himself.”

Toph wished she could feel the earth beneath her feet to just make sure Zuko was really upstairs, and confirm Hama was being honest. But Katara seemed to like her and Sokka let down his guard so she had to be ok.

But Toph couldn’t shake the memory of people screaming under the mountain.

- - - - - - - - - -

It was discovered at dinner that Hama was a water bender, Katara was ecstatic. Aang couldn’t remember the last time he saw Katara this happy. It made him happy seeing her so excited, she thought she was the last water bender of her tribe so to find another one was a dream come true.

Aang wondered how it would feel to find another air bender, it would probably feel really great.

Hama told the terrible story of her imprisonment, and how she watched the other water benders slowly lose the will to live. She watched one by one as her friends and family died in that inhuman conditions they were kept in. When Sokka asked how she escaped, Hama said it was too painful and decided to go to bed.

Katara and Hama were going to go practice their water bending tomorrow, Hama wanted to share everything she knew with the young girl. Katara was so excited she wasn’t sure how she would get any sleep tonight.

Everyone said goodnight and after finishing their dinner they did the cleaning before everyone made their way upstairs. Sokka stopped at Zuko’s room with a bowl of five flavor soup, he knocked softly.

“Hey, Zuko… You alright in there?”

There was no answer.

Katara stopped and watched as Sokka knocked a little louder, “Zuko?”

Still, no answer.

He went to grab the handle and try to open the door but it was locked, the door wouldn’t budge.

Sokka looked over at Katara who just shrugged, “Maybe he was really tired? He probably doesn’t sleep well with the constant nightmares… Maybe he is exhausted?”

Sokka frowned looking back at the door, “Maybe…” Katara went into her room and so did Aang. Toph lingered in the hallway watching Sokka stare at Zuko’s door.

“What do your instincts say Sokka?”

“That something isn’t right…”

“Me too”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hama waited until the Inn was quiet before she made her way outside, freezing herself some stairs she walked out her window and down into the hidden path that led into the woods. Her only light being the almost full moon, she walked through the forest like she had for many, many years. Coming to the mouth of a cave she walked inside, passing by the people she had blind folded and chain to metal poles, she walked to the back wall.

Hama unlocked a metal door and stepped inside, chained to the back wall was her new toy. Zuko was blind folded and chained, both hands behind his back close to the wall. Sitting on his knees his head shot up when he heard the door open. Growling, smoke filtered out of his mouth.

“I’d play nice if I were you, fire bender.” Hama’s voice brought the cold feeling back to him. Now he had a real feeling to accompany the voice. She had him frozen in ice for hours today and his strength was lacking because of it. Now he was chained in a small room with no access to the sun, he was starting to feel exhausted. The chains were too short for him to stand, so he was left kneeling on the cold stone floor.

“What do you want from me?!”

She smirked and reached out touching his face softly. He pulled away from her touch, breathing a small puff of flame as a warning. She removed his blind fold so she could look into his frightened gold eyes.

“I would think twice before you try and burn me child, if you aren’t careful that could be the last breath you ever take. Now tell me, Prince Zuko, how does it feel to carry your element with you everywhere you go? It’s the only thing I have ever admired about fire benders, you carry your element inside of you. As a water bender you must pull your element from out of the earth, so I am sure you can imagine how difficult that can be when you are locked in a metal cage. Your arms and and legs chained apart, being treated like you are less than a human. Some of us were without our element for long they lost their bending ability.

“Could you imagine, Prince Zuko? Could you imagine losing your inner fire? No longer having a connection to it, your bending being gone. All because someone decided you were a threat and you no longer deserved to be treated like a human life.”

Hama move closer to the restrained fire bender, he glared at her, imaging her bursting into flames where she stood. She grabbed a fist full of his hair, digging her sharp nails into his scalp. To her delight she could feel the blood tricking out of the scratches. Using her free hand she bent his blood away from his scalp and made it dance in his face.

“Did you know that the human body is 70% water? Isn’t that just fascinating?”

Zuko’s eyes went wide, he seemed to understand she was insinuating something awful. But what was she planning?

“You’re sick.” He spat at her through gritted teeth.

She smirked and had his small amount of blood dance in a circle in front of his eyes, before she froze it into a sharp spike. She brought the blood dagger up to his good eye.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if I lost control? Accidentally thrusting this sharp object into your eyes, blinding you. When fire benders lose control they burn people, but I see you know all about that already.” Her eyes lingered on his scar.

Zuko smirked and chuckled. “This was no accident, and there was no loss of control. Don’t act like you know me, witch.”

The word witch seemed to trigger an emotional reaction from her. The blood she was controlling went slack and splashed onto the floor. She was about to release her hand from his hair when she noticed the Water Tribe beads braided into the side of his inky locks. Her eyes narrowed as she jerked her hand, pulling his head to the side so she could get a better look. Her free hand touching the three blue beads that Katara had braided into his hair for him.

“Where did you get these!? Your trophies!? You think our culture is a sick joke!?”

Zuko frowned and winced as she pulled his hair tighter, straining his neck as she pulled his head down.

“No… I.. Was given these. They are mine…” He winced slightly from her jerking movement.

“LIAR!!!!” She released his hair and backed up. Taking a deep breath, Hama reached out to the almost full moon that was high in the midnight sky. Her bending wouldn’t be as strong tonight as it would be tomorrow, but she had big plans for tomorrow night.

Tonight was about something else.

“You took my culture as a prisoner, you caused my people to suffer greatly, you destroyed our very way of life, and now you mock our most sacred traditions. Tonight I want to show you what it feels like to suffer, and what it means to have your bending suppressed. Let’s see how small we can make that inner fire of yours?”

She reached out with her jagged fingers and began to feel inside of him, following his veins and chi paths, tracing the warmth to the chakra in his stomach. “I found it… Where you fire benders keep your warmth. Let’s see how hard we have to squeeze to put it out.”

Her fingers began to move and Zuko felt his inside’s clench, it was a pain like he had never felt before and slowly he felt his inner fire flickered, growing smaller. Throwing his head back he began to scream.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Aang jolted up in bed, screaming, holding his stomach he felt a dull pain deep inside of him. Gasping for air his whole body was shaking.

Katara pushed his door open, running inside his room, her water whip ready to attack.

“Aang!! Are you ok?!” She moved around the small room, noticing it was empty she looked at the air bender who held his head in his hands trying to control the trembling.

Sokka and Toph stumbled in the room after Katara. Sokka’s eyes were closed, still sleeping in a sense, but his sword was swinging.

“Who… Where… What’s going on?”

Aang looked at his concerned friends and put his hands on his stomach, the dull pain was still there but not as strong. “I don’t know… I felt like… I don’t know how to describe it. I was sleeping and then… It was like… My insides were melting? I don’t know how else to say it. It was a horrible, sick feeling and I just woke up screaming. Now you guys are here. You know as much as I do.”

Katara put her water back in her water skin and sat on Aang’s bed, the moonlight draping over the bed reflecting off her crystal blue eyes.

“Were you having a nightmare?” She asked him in a soft, motherly voice.

“No… I don’t think so. Like I said, I just woke up screaming… I felt like my stomach was melting and I woke up feeling cold and terrified. Then you guys came busting through the door.” Aang looked past Katara at Sokka who was leaning against the handle of his sword while the tip rested in the floorboard, he was almost asleep.

“You guys can go back to bed if you want, I‘m not in any danger.”

Sokka didn’t say anything but he took the advice and left the room headed back to his bed. Toph lingered for a moment, “You sure you’re alright Twinkle Toes? That was a really scary sound you made.”

“Yeah Toph, I am alright. Thank you. Goodnight I will see you in the morning.”

Yawning, the small earth bender went back to her room. Katara stood up, her eyes never leaving Aang as he sat up in his bed, his body finally started to calm down.

“Is there anything I can get you before I go back to bed Aang?” He shook his head no. “Ok, well goodnight.”

Aang laid in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, watching the moonlight cast shadows. The ache in his stomach was still there, maybe he ate something bad? No, this was something… Evil. Maybe there was a bad spirit in this area that was causing those people to go missing? He was the bridge between worlds, maybe it was the spirit trying to communicate to him.

He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he was going to get to the bottom of what was happening in the village and figure out what he needed to do. As he fell asleep he thought about why it would hurt his stomach, and as his mind slowly drifted to sleep his last thought was something Guru Pathik said…

The fire chakra is located in the stomach…

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

Zuko couldn’t take it anymore, this woman was trying to kill him. It was obvious now. She wanted him to die in the slowest, most agonizing way possible. She had been trying to snuff out his inner fire all night, his blood was everywhere, the pain was intense. He didn’t even know where the blood was coming from anymore, his eyes bled, his nose, ears, mouth. It was as if his insides were trying to escape her grasp.

Something happened halfway through the night, something he couldn’t figure out. She closed off some part of him, his inner fire was smaller than he has ever felt it. Even smaller than when he first discovered he was a fire bender, back when Ozai gave him an ultimatum.

Create fire, or die alone.

Lucky for him, Agni for once, blessed him. His mind escaped to that day when his father first came to him and told him that his fire bending training was to start today…

- - - - - - - - - -

“Prince Zuko, we need to start your fire bending training today, are you ready?” His father voice was always deep and strong, it left no room for question. His voice always made Zuko nervous, but his mom taught him to put on his brave face and do what his father asked. So that’s what he did, not matter what his father asked him to do, he was always a loyal son.

“How can I start fire bending training if I haven’t made sparks yet?” Zuko stood up and straightened his casual wear tunic and smoothed out his light weight training pants. He had been sitting in his room playing with some of his toys, he was only 6.

“Your sister started producing sparks at only 3 years old, she is a true prodigy. But as my first born son, we need to give you a little push to make you spark. Can you do that Prince Zuko? Can you create sparks for your father?”

Zuko looked up at Ozai, who didn’t look back at him when he spoke, he just looked forward as they walked down the palace hallway. Ozai was not Fire Lord at this time, and he was not in line to take the throne. Uncle Iroh was the Crowned Prince, and heir to the Dragon Throne. Zuko secretly thanked Agni everyday that his nice uncle was going to rule the Fire Nation, and not his father.

He loved his father, and he would do anything to please him, but Ozai was not a kind man. Zuko was always fearful what would happen to the people of the world if his father was in charge. Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and smiled up at his father.

“Are you going to train me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh wow, just like you train Azula?”

“It will be different, she can create fire and is already mastering the basics, and you have created nothing.”

Zuko felt a sting of sadness in his chest, but he quickly pushed it away and replaced it by the happiness he felt knowing that his father wanted to spend time with him. He was excited that his father wanted to train him, personally, and help him create sparks. He never spent any time with Ozai, unless he was being corrected. He spent most of his free time with his mother. So to have an opportunity to train with his father was a dream come true for young Zuko.

They walked until they arrived at a remote part of the palace, there was an old garden which was abandoned and closed off to anyone, except the Royal Family. The garden was here from Sozin’s time as Fire Lord, and no one has used this wing of the palace for years. Some of the servants told stories of it being haunted, this part of the palace was used to house Fire Lord Sozin’s concubines.

The story goes that one day Fire Lord Sozin was so angry, he came to this part of the palace to spend time with his various women. When laying with the women didn’t satisfy his anger, he began to burn them, one by one until no one was left. Shortly after, he closed off this area and abandoned the garden. No one came through here again, well that is, until Ozai brought his young son.

The garden was from a time long ago, so long ago that there was a stone well in the center of the garden. The well was used back when the Fire Nation believed in the idea of wishing and praying to different spirits, asking for blessings and hoping to receive favor. People would bring small gifts that were personal to them, and say a prayer before lighting the item on fire and tossing it in the water.

Now the well was dry and the rest of the garden was dingy and over grown.

“Why are we here, father? Shouldn’t we be in the training arena?”

Ozai stopped at the well, turning to Zuko he put his hands on the small boy’s shoulders. “You will learn to create fire, or you will be left here for the spirits to do with you as they please. Do you understand?”

Zuko didn’t want to seem weak, he knew his father hated weakness, but he was scared. He wanted his mom. What did his father mean when he said ‘left here for the spirits’? Was he going to leave him here, alone, in the abandoned garden with no food or water?

When Ozai finally looked down, his father’s eyes burned into him with anger and disappointment. There was no love or patience, and it frightened Zuko. His small body began to tremble and he started to back away in fear. Before he could break away from his father’s grasp, Ozai hoisted the boy up, and threw him into the well.

The well wasn’t too deep, but the fall was hard. When Zuko hit the ground he felt a sharp pain and heard a terrible crack. He knew something was broken. Zuko tried to pull himself up, but his right leg had an intense burning pain that radiated up his calf and into his hip. He couldn’t hold the back his fear anymore and the hot tears began rushing to his eyes and before he could stop them they were spilling onto his cheeks.

He called out to his father who stared down at the small boy, “You will produce sparks, or you will die in here. I will come check on you tomorrow, use the light I have been so gracious to leave you and fuel your bending. I could have easily closed off the top of this well and left you in the dark, but I am a kind father. The pain you feel now should turn into anger and stoke your inner fire. Find your fire, or die in this hole.”

His father left him in there for three days, he climbed his way halfway out at one point, only to lose his grip and fall back to the bottom. So Zuko concentrated on his sparks, he prayed to Agni to please, please give him sparks. On the final day, when all of his energy was gone, and he had cried and screamed all of his emotions away… He saw a spark.

It was small, but it was there. Then it were two sparks, he tried to make them bigger. He tried to produce a flame like Azula but he could only generate a few pathetic sparks. He knew his father would be disappointed, but Zuko couldn’t help but smile for the first time since he was thrown in the well.

“I’m a fire bender…” He smiled, wiggling his fingers. When his father came to check in just before nightfall on the third day, Zuko used all the energy he had left to create a spark to show his father. Ozai didn’t smile, but he nodded.

“Very well Prince Zuko, I will tell your mother that I finally found you. She has been worried sick, you fell in this well a few days ago. Playing where you shouldn’t have been, did you learn your lesson? You will stay out of the garden from now on?”

Zuko nodded, he knew his father would punish him if he said anything other than what he was commanded to say. He kept a lot of secrets from mother, what was one more?

After he was lifted from the well, and his leg healed, his father locked him up again shortly after. This time in an outdoor stone weapon storage container. He gave him less light and told him to produce a flame. Zuko stayed in there almost a week that time. But he did it.. His father never smiled, never praised him. But Zuko never cared about that, at least not at first.

He found his inner fire. He was a fire bender.

- - - - - - - - - -

The Gaang woke up in the morning feeling slightly freaked out about Aang’s outburst last night. Aang was known to suffer with nightmares, every so often. They usually came from the guilt he harbored from the demise of his entire culture. Sometimes he dreamt about how he ran away from his duties as the Avatar, but ever since he trained with Guru Pathik he seemed to have created peace with his past.

So it was strange that he would wake up screaming like that, without an idea of why he felt such an intense rush of emotion. Aang couldn’t recall a time he woke up screaming, he would jolt awake from his nightmares, but never has he woken up screaming as intensely as he did last night.

Katara was the first in the kitchen, the sun was past it’s position at sunrise and the mid morning light poured through the windows of the inn. It was a beautiful start to the day and Katara could hear the soft rabbit-pigeons singing their morning songs outside. She decided to make breakfast for everyone like they did when they camped together. After the meal that Hama prepared for them, Katara wanted to return the favor and make some traditional Southern Water Tribe stew for breakfast.

Toph was the next one to come down the stairs, she rubbed her face and yawned. The first words out of her mouth were, “How’s Twinkle Toes?”

“He isn’t awake yet, I decided to let everyone sleep in.”

“How’s Sparky?”

“I haven’t seen him yet either.”

“His door is open, and I didn’t hear him in there, and his stuff is apparently in there. I may or may not have rummaged through it… I figured he would be down here with you. The guy is always the first one awake.”

“Well he isn’t in here, maybe he is outside?”

Toph nodded, “Yeah, I will go check, it’ll be nice to get out of this wooden house, I can barely see anything. It’s like I am blind again.”

Katara giggled, Toph was always making jokes about her being blind. It must be hard for her to be in this wooden building, she couldn’t see through wood, but Toph never complained about it. It was a small price to pay for having a real bed to sleep in and a roof over their head.

Once breakfast was on the stove, Katara saw Hama saunter into the kitchen.

“It smells amazing in here Katara, you really didn’t have to cook, I would have prepared something for us. Are you excited for our training together later today?”

Katara clasped her hands together, the excitement twinkling in her eyes. “Oh am I ever!? I have never trained with someone from the Southern Water Tribe! I can’t wait!”

“I have so many amazing things to teach you… It will be life changing.” Hama smiled at Katara, and for the first time Katara felt a small cold chill on the back of her neck. She brushed it off, turning back to the stew.

Sokka and Aang came down shortly after the smell of cooking food must have reached their noses, pulling them out of their bed. Both boys sat at the table waiting to be served. Katara hid her annoyance that they didn’t even offer to help with breakfast or collect their own dishes. But Aang seem really tired today, so she let it go. Katara just assumed it was because he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

Sokka and Aang were served their breakfast stew along with a slice of bread. Sokka began talking with his mouth full, he had no manners sometimes.

“Anyone seen Toph or Zuko this morning?” He swallowed his bite of food.

“I saw Toph this morning, she went outside to feel the earth and look for Zuko. I haven’t seen him yet, knowing him, he has probably been awake for hours. Toph told me his door was open and his stuff was still there which means he probably just went outside to find a sunny place to meditate. You know how he is with his meditation.”

Sokka and Aang nodded as Katara and Hama sat down at the table. Hama water bent everyone some of the tea she brewed and they all sat together in silence eating their meal. There was an awkward tension in the air, Sokka and Aang kept stealing glances at the old water bender.

Finally Aang broke the silence, “So uh, Sokka and I are going to look around the village today while you guys do your water bending. I want to see if I can help figure out what is happening to all the missing people. Tonight is a full moon and I would hate for anyone else to fall victim to the strange disappearances.”

Hama smiled, “That is so kind of you, young man.”

Aang flushed, “Yeah, we are going to leave right after Zuko and Toph come back. We have a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark.”

Speaking of the earth bender she walked through the door right after Aang mentioned her name, “You guys talking about me?” She said with a smirk.

“Yeah we were saying that we want to go do some exploring, but we were waiting on you and Zuko before we left. By the way, Katara made some breakfast it’s in the kitchen.”

Katara stood up, “I’ll go get it for you. Toph, why don’t you sit down?”

Toph shrugged and pulled out a chair, she sat next to Sokka who was sitting across from Aang. Of course Aang and Katara were sitting next to each other. Hama sat at the head of the table, eating her stew slowly and watching the children talk about their plans for the day.

“Here you go Toph.” Katara set a bowl in front of her friend, she also water bent the girl a cup of tea.

“Thanks!” Toph started to slurp her stew, her and Sokka’s eating habits needed some polishing. Camping in the woods for so long really didn’t help their manners.

“Did you find Zuko? I have his breakfast. He really should eat something after laying in bed all day yesterday. Its not healthy to go that long without food.” Katara sounded concerned as she watched the small earth bender run her hand across her lips, wiping her mouth.

“Nah, Sparky isn’t out there, and I looked around really good. I even checked the barn Appa and Momo are in and he isn’t in there either. I’m starting to get worried, what if something happened to him?”

Hama cut in, “Do you children have a routine you usually follow with the fire bender?”

“Well no…”

“So does he usually join you for breakfast and spend all his free time with you?”

Sokka frowned, “Well we have been going to our Master’s for training over the last couple of days, so we don’t really have a routine-“

“So is anything out of the ordinary then? Or is it possible that this is just what he does-”

“What do you mean?” Toph cut in, slamming her bowl on the table, “That just because we don’t have a routine that it is normal for him to just disappear all night and now he is gone in the morning too?! It’s just normal?! We shouldn’t be concerned for our friend?!”

Katara frowned now, “Toph, you are getting loud. Hama is just trying to get us to think about it, she does have a point. Zuko just started traveling with us, he has been training with Sokka and Master Piandao the last few days and we don’t have a routine. He obviously isn’t used to being around a lot of people so maybe he is just taking some personal time and enjoying the sunshine. I know I can’t wait to get outside and start training. I think we are all tired from last night, and maybe a little on edge.”

Hama looked away from Toph and back to Katara. “What happened last night?”

“Oh nothing major, Aang woke up from a nightmare and he had a bad stomach ache…”

“I would describe it differently…” Aang said with hesitation, “It felt like way more than just a stomach ache… I felt like my insides were melting. When I woke up I had the worse pain in the pit of my stomach. It went away after a while, but it was really scary and I still don’t know what might have caused it.”

Hama tapped her nails on the table, “Interesting.”

Sokka glanced at Toph who had her arms crossed and was slumping in her chair, she looked extremely annoyed.

“That’s an odd thing for you to say, interesting?” Sokka asked, raising his eyebrow.

Hama smiled and stood up from her chair. “Oh yes, with the full moon tonight and what has been happening to the villagers who venture into the woods, I just think the whole thing is interesting. Don’t you?” Her beady blue eyes met with Sokka’s and he crossed his arms.

“Uh.. I guess?”

“Well alright then, you three have a wonderful day, I hope you find your friend out there while you explore. Come Katara, its time for our lesson.”

Katara took a last look at her group of friends who sat around the table, all of them looking a little freaked out. She hesitated, feeling guilty for leaving them when they were obviously all concerned about Zuko.

“If Hama and I stumble upon Zuko, I will make sure to tell him to come find you guys. I promise.”

Toph exhaled a burst of air up into her bangs, “I doubt you’ll find him with walking around with creepy Hama, considering he avoids her. But thanks anyway.”

The two water benders left the inn and Sokka turned to Aang. “Soo… Toph and I think something bad happened to Zuko.”

Aang nodded, his face falling into a serious expression.

“I do too.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Katara and Hama walked through a nearby field, the sun was high in the sky, as the morning turned into afternoon. A gentle breeze shook the tree branches and cast little flickering shadows on the ground. Katara smiled as she walked with Hama. It was an honor being taught by the last Southern Water Tribe bender, besides herself, a gift she would truly cherish.

Katara never imagined having the opportunity to learn from someone who grew up in her own tribe. After the Fire Nation raids nearly destroyed her home and murdered all her people, she was left wondering how they would ever rebuild. But with Hama’s help she would be able to return home and build up her people with their own Southern tradition.

Even after spending time in the Northern Water Tribe, it was so different from how she grew up in the South. She was too young to have any knowledge of a time when there were water benders in her tribe. Apparently, her tribe used to have beautiful buildings like the North, but with different bending styles and traditions. All that was lost when the Fire Nation attacked.

“I can’t tell you what an honor it is to meet you, I never thought I would meet another Southern Water Tribe bender. You know you’re a hero right?”

Hama looked at the girl, her smile touched Katara’s heart. “I am just so lucky to have someone to pass on everything I know. It is important for us Southern Water Tribe women to stick together, the enemy is everywhere. The Fire Nation has destroyed so much, our people, our home, our traditions. But now…” Hama’s hand reached out and touched Katara’s arm. “Now, we have hope.”

Katara smiled, tears filling her eyes. “I know what it feels like to lose people to the Fire Nation. I know when you were back home the raids were frequent and destructive… But they still come and take people… I lost my mother to a raid. Shortly after that, my father left the village with most of the men and went to war… It’s been just my brother and I for so many years.”

“Water Tribe must stick together, I know you travel with other companions, but always remember that you alone are in control of your own life. Your brother is a strong warrior and he will fight like most Water Tribe men do, but as a water bender you have to always look out for yourself. You must carry on our heritage and be able to teach the next generation everything you know. You have to take care of yourself.”

Katara looked down at the grass, they were walking down a hidden pathway away from the village, so they would not risk being seen water bending.

“I know I have to look out for myself… But my friends are my family… They are as much my tribe at the people back home. Aang would do anything for me, and Toph she is so strong and nothing can stop her when she is defending her friends. Even Zuko… He has shown me that, even someone from the Fire Nation, is capable of doing good things.”

Hama stopped walking, her brow furrowed as she looked at Katara. Her beady eye’s narrowed and she spoke with a different tone of voice Katara was not familiar with.

“The Fire Nation is the reason we are hiding, the reason we are away from our families and our home. They have destroyed everything and will stop at nothing to watch the world burn. You can never forget that, Katara. It is bad enough you bring one along with you… I must say I am surprised you would be so willing to keep one in your company after what they did to your mother.”

Katara’s heart hurt at Hama’s words, she truly had a deep seeded hatred for Fire Nation people. Which was understandable with everything she went through.

Katara could understand that type of hatred.

She felt the similar hate brewing under the surface when she thought of the man who killed her mother. But Zuko was not that man, and he was not an evil person.

“I know a lot of the Fire Nation is evil, Hama… But… Zuko is… He is a good person. He has been hurt like we have, and he took a bolt of lightning for Aang… He has shown me that there is hope-“

“Heed my warning child, that Fire Nation boy would turn on you the second he saw an opportunity to gain something from it. He will always put himself and his nation before you and your other friends. If you do not see that then maybe you are too naive to handle the knowledge of our heritage and traditions… It would be a shame…”

Katara covered her mouth, “Oh no, Hama, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I know the Fire Nation is evil, and that they have done terrible things to our people. Please… Teach me what you know. I would be so honored to learn from you.”

Hama smiled, her eyes twinkling at Katara again. “Of course my dear, now lets see what you know already.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Aang, Sokka and Toph searched the inn as soon as Katara and Hama left for their training. They were all standing in Zuko’s room, Sokka was holding his dual blades in his hands.

“Zuko wouldn’t have just left without his blades. Master Piandao said that we need to envision our sword’s as an extension of our arm. If you were feeling skeptical about the creepy Innkeeper would you leave your arms in your room?”

“No, probably not.” Aang said rubbing his hair.

“Toph would you leave your feet?”

“No of course not, also… Sparky’s bed is not made. It’s like the sheets were thrown around to show that he slept here. But when I would visit his room on the Fire Nation ship, he was extremely neat and clean, he would have made his bed if he slept here and woke up.”

Aang frowned, “So you think someone… Made it look like he slept here? How long could he have been missing? When was the last time we saw him?” Aang’s voice was breaking into a panic tone.

“We need to stay calm, we still don’t know for sure if he is missing, Aang. If we start jumping to conclusions we will lose sight of the clues that are around. Trust me, I am good at this kind of stuff. I just need a cloak…”

Toph groaned and laid back on Zuko’s bed. “No, we are not doing that stupid detective Sokka act again! We searched this entire place and NO SPARKY, maybe Aang was right when he said it could be spirit stuff… Maybe we should go explore and see if we can find out if there is an angry spirit somewhere? Maybe they took Sparky, like they are taking the people in the village.”

“But we do think that someone took Zuko?” Aang looked at Sokka and Toph with worry in his eyes.

“…Possibly. I can’t see how he would just disappear like this, without his swords, leaving his room a mess, and not checking in with us at all? It’s just too many coincidences…”

Aang felt a sick feeling in his stomach, his mind whirling back to last night when he felt the pain deep inside him. Like a burning feeling, and how he remembered Guru Pathik’s lessons. The fire chakra, was in the stomach… He felt a cold chill trail down his spine.

“Something bad is happening to Zuko. We need to find him…” Aang frowned and stormed out of the room. Sokka and Toph were right behind him.

Aang could be scary when he got serious.

- - - - - - - - -

Aang stood on the edge of a cliff, Sokka and Toph close behind, his grey eyes scanned over the forest below. A small stream cut through the woods, the breeze was light and the sun was casting warmth across the earth.

“This has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the Fire Nation. I cant imagine why a spirit would be angry, or why they would be taking people… What do you guys think?” Aang turned to see both Sokka and Toph shrug.

“I don’t know Twinkle Toes, you are the spirit expert. If you need some earth bending, or someone to eat something, we are your people. But when it comes to the spirit world stuff, that’s all you.”

“Hey! I can do more than just eat stuff.”

“Oh calm down, Snoozles.”

A man was walking by, carrying some supplies and Aang ran over to him, “Excuse me, Sir! Can you tell us anything about the spirit that has been stealing people?”

The man’s eyes went wide. “The only man who has seen the spirit and lived is Old Man Ding.”

“Where does he live?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Hama spun in a circle, ripping the moisture out of the fire lilies. She launched it at a rock protruding out of the ground and sliced it into sections. Katara’s mouth dropped.

“That was incredible!! It’s a shame about the poor lilies…”

“Oh their just flowers, when you are a water bender in a strange land you do what you must to survive. Tonight, I will teach you the ultimate technique of water bending, it can only be done during a full moon, when your bending is at its peak.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? I thought people have been disappearing around here during the full moon?”

“Oh Katara… Two master water benders under a full moon. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.” Katara looked back at the dead fire lilies before glancing back at Hama.

“I guess you’re right…”

“Now dear, I want you to practice what I taught you and I will meet you back at the inn at sunset.”

“Ok Hama, I will see you tonight.”

“Tonight” Hama smiled.

Katara shifted into a water bending stance and began working through the motions that Hama taught her. Pulling the water out of the plants around her and using the energy to throw that water with precision and strength.

Hama watched the girl with a smile before leaving her to practice. She had a few things she needed to do before tonight.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Zuko has never been this cold before, he didn’t know it was even possible for a fire bender to get this cold. He imagined if he would have gone to the North Pole with his Uncle, when he was planning the invasion with Zhao, that maybe he would have been this cold. But of course he would have had a jacket, or his breath of fire… Right now he had neither.

Whatever Hama did to him had drastically injured his insides. He knew he was bleeding internally, and at this rate he would probably die before his friends even found him.

If they were even still looking for him…

If they even started looking for him in the first place…

If he could even consider them his friends…

He was trying to keep him mind out of the dark place it liked to wonder into. He couldn’t give up right now, and without his inner fire burning proudly inside him, he felt like dying. Hama did something awful to him, he knew it… His blood was so desperate to get away from her it poured out of every orifice he had. His eyes bled, his nose, ears, mouth, he even felt blood dripping down his legs which made him shudder, wondering where that blood came from…

His body was in so much pain, as Hama twisted him and squeezed him all night. It wasn’t until he passed out that she finally left him. When he came back to consciousness she was gone and he assumed the sun must have risen. She could only inflict her torture at night, she must draw her power from the moon.

Zuko could usually feel the sun, even when he couldn’t see it. His father’s cruel training in his early years gave him a strong inner fire, and a stronger connection to Agni. But right now.. His fire was too small and too weak. Zuko was afraid if Hama came back to work on him more, the fire might go out. If his inner fire went out completely… What would happen?

Would he die?

Would he want to die?

If he wasn’t a fire bender…. What was he?

His skin crawled with the idea of that evil witch killing his inner fire. He swore to himself when he escaped, he was going to burn that bitch to the ground. He could imagine wrapping his hands around her neck and burning her throat out. He wanted to hear her scream and beg for mercy and he wouldn’t give it to her. He wanted her blood to spill out on the floor, like she did to him.

Zuko’s head shot up, he could hear the people Hama had chained in the cave moving around, their chains clanging against the stone pillars they were restrained to. Some of them whispered prayers to spirits, while other’s cried softly. Zuko could hear them begging, and that only happened when Hama was back in the cave.

Gritting his teeth he tried to summon his inner fire. It wouldn’t work, he was blind folded again and without his breath of fire he had no defense. He was at her mercy, and even with all his past experiences with cruel people, this was different. No one ever inflicted this type of pain on him before.

He could handle burns, cuts, bruises, insults… Any of those would be normal to him. As sick as that sounds, he chuckled to himself.

Sokka was right, his life was so depressing.

He heard his metal door open, accompanied by a soft cackle.

“Oh dear, you bled a lot more than I thought you would. I am sure you are not feeling very good right now. Don’t worry, it will all be over soon. I wont need you much longer, but for now, I need you to follow me.”

“I am not going anywhere with you, witch…”

“Oh child, you don’t have a choice.”

Zuko felt something unnatural overcome his body as his limbs began to twist and move on their own. He was not in control of himself, she really was a witch.

He started screaming.

- - - - - - - - - -

The villager’s had boarded up their windows, the streets were empty, a soft breeze howled through the deserted market place. The three friends gave each other skeptical looks as they moved through town.

They spoke to Old Man Ding just a few moments ago, and by the way he spoke Aang was having his doubts this was the work of any spirit. The man described a sensation of something overcoming him and forcing him to walk towards the mountain.

He heard no one, and he saw no one.

It was a ghost story if Sokka ever heard one.

But still, it was strange to think of someone losing control of their body and being forced to walk against their will. He told them about how he walked all the way to a cave at the foot of the mountain. He swore that he fought the possession with every ounce of his strength, but with how old and frail the man was it couldn’t have been much of a fight.

He explained that just before he walked into the cave the sun began to rise and he re gained control of his body again. He told them how fast he ran back into town, and never he never looked back.

Sokka tapped his chin, “Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?”

Toph’s head turned in his direction. “Oh no! I told you, I heard people screaming under the ground! They must be in the cave under the mountain. The missing villagers must still be there!”

They were headed in the direction of the mountain now. Each of them was a little jumpy from the creepy story Old Man Ding shared with them. Sokka kept glancing over his shoulder, and Aang kept jumping at any sound he heard.

Toph stepped on a twig and Sokka pulled out his sword.

“WHO’S THERE!?!”

“Calm down, it was just me. Don’t worry, I am keeping my feet on high alert, I will be able to tell if someone is coming before they get to us. So put down the sword and leave the keeping watch to the expert.”

Toph stopped suddenly.

“I hear them, they are screaming! Come on we have to hurry!!”

The group started to run, twisting and turning through the woods. Every so often Toph would stop and put her hand on the ground, listening for which direction to walk. They finally came to the foot of the mountain, facing a deep cave.

“This is the place.”

Sokka sighed, “I cant see anything down there.”

“That’s why you have me, let’s go!”

The friends ran into the cave, as they went deeper they arrived at a metal door. Two sconces were lit on both sides, indicating that someone was here recently. Toph used her metal bending to rip the door open and walk through. Aang looked down at the ground and saw a trail of blood.

“I don’t think…” Aang swallowed the hesitation in my throat, “I don’t think this is a spirit…”

Sokka looked over at Aang and shook his head, no. They walked through the door and down a tunnel until it opened up into an underground prison. There were people in chains with their arms above their heads. Most of them looked like they had been tortured, they had bruises and broke bones.

Aang’s stomach turned as he saw some of the people who were imprisoned had already passed on. The smell of rotting flesh was heavy, and without fresh air circulating through the cavern the faint smell of human feces and the copper tang of blood was present.

Sokka’s face contorted and he felt the bile building up in the back of his throat. “This is definitely not a spirit…”

Aang looked around, “Who brought you here?” A young woman, missing an eye slowly lifted her head.

“It was no spirit, it was a witch… She seems like a nice old woman… But she can control you… She had an inn just up the road….”

Sokka’s eyes narrowed, “Hama…”

Another older woman spoke up from the other side of the pillar. Toph was moving around, bending the shackles off the prisoners. Many of them needed immediate medical attention.

“You have to help the boy… She has a boy with her, she came here earlier and took him. She had been keeping him locked in a back room, torturing him. I think she is going to do something awful to him tonight. Please it isn’t right what she is doing...”

Aang’s heart dropped. “What did he look like…” His voice was shaking as he asked.

“He is young, black hair, and a big scar-“

“ZUKO!!!” Sokka and Aang screamed.

“Go and find him! I will take care of everything here! Go save Sparky, before that witch kills our friend!” Toph screamed. She could hear her own heart beat in her ears, she wasn’t easily rattled but this whole situation had her shaking.

Sokka and Aang started running, out of the cave and into the forest. The full moon lighting their way.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hama and Katara met outside of the inn like they discussed, slowly they walked into the woods. Katara felt nervous, keeping her eyes out for anything that looked out of the ordinary. If the disappearing people had anything to do with spirits, then it wouldn’t matter how skilled of a water bender she and Hama were, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Can you feel the power of the full moon, Katara? Can you feel it pulsating through your body? Every time I stand in the moon’s glow, I can feel the power coursing through my veins…”

Katara looked up at the moon, at Yue, and what usually brought her joy and confidence… Tonight, it made her feel a pool of doubt in the pit of her stomach. She watched as Hama moved through the forest, as if she walked this path a hundred times.

Katara could feel the water in the grass beneath her feet, and the trees that surrounded her. She could almost feel the blood flowing through Hama’s veins as she walked just a couple of feet in front of her. The lessons Hama had taught her earlier gave her a new awareness of the places where water hid itself.

“What I am about to show you, I discovered in the wretched Fire Nation prison. The guards were always very careful to keep water away from us. They kept the air dry, our cages were suspended above the ground, and if anyone showed any sign of resisting or fighting back… Well, they would burn us into submission. I learned quickly just how cruel the Fire Nation was to their prisoners…. I watched many of our brothers and sisters wither away and die in that wretched place.

“But I soon realized that where there is life, there is water… The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid. I spent years developing the skill that would lead to my escape. The skill I want to teach to you, Katara, is blood bending.”

Katara’s face changed into a worried expression, blood bending did not sound like a skill she would be comfortable using. But she stayed quiet and listened to Hama continue.

“Controlling the water in another body. Enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I mastered the rats, I was ready for the men. During the next full moon I walked free for the first time in decades. My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect the technique, you can control anything… Or anyone.”

Katara’s tone reflected her unsure opinion on blood bending. “But… To reach inside someone and control them? I don’t know if I want that kind of power…”

Hama’s brow furrowed, her once gentle and kind expression twisted into anger. “The choice is not yours. The power exists, and it is your duty to use the gifts you have been given to win the war. Katara… They tried to wipe us out, our entire culture, your mother!”

Katara’s eyes closed, her expression full of hurt, “I know…”

“Then you should understand what I am talking about! We’re the last two water benders of the Southern Water Tribe. We have to fight these people whenever we can, wherever they are, with any means necessary! I am sure you can imagine how hurt and betrayed I felt when I found out you have been traveling with the Price of the Fire Nation. The spawn of the very bloodline that sent wave after wave of soldiers, until every one of our water bender’s were dead or in prison!”

Katara’s eye’s shot open and she looked at Hama. “You took him… Didn’t you… Oh no Hama, did you kill him?”

Hama smirked, “I didn’t, but we will. Tonight, we take our revenge. For our tribe, for our friends and family, for your mother!”

Katara watched at Hama’s wrist and fingers cracked and began to move, slowly she saw Zuko emerge from the woods. His body was twisted in a way that Katara didn’t recognize as a natural position, he moved until he was next to Hama and she forced him to his knees.

His head shot up and his eyes open, his gaze met with Katara’s eyes. She held her breath, he looked terrified, and hurt. He was covered in blood, his golden eyes looked dull and his pupils were dilated. He was trembling under Hama’s control. Her heart began to beat faster, she looked at Zuko kneeling on the floor against his will.

She defended Hama, and told her friends they were being paranoid. Now she was looking at her tortured friend, who she could have tired to save long ago if she would have just listened to the rest of them. The tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Let him go!! He didn’t do anything to you!! Please, don’t hurt him!!” Her voice was full of desperation and pain. Zuko seemed to hear her fear, he was pleading for help with his eyes. But he was also warning her, trying to protect her when he couldn’t even protect himself.

Hama smirked as she moved her fingers, the Prince fell to the floor on his hands and knees. Hama reached down and grabbed a fist full of his hair, pulling it tight so that she could show Katara the blue beads.

“Look Katara, he mocks our tribe! He wears our culture’s beads as trophies!”

“No I fucking don’t!” Zuko spat out at the woman.

Hama glared down at the boy, “QUIET!”

Her wrist moved again and Zuko’s body twisted and he slammed into the ground, over and over until he laid still.

“Hama! NO!!! Don’t!! He is part of my tribe!! He has my father’s love! The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe!! Please, he didn’t do anything to you.. Please…”

Katara fell to her knees, her eyes swimming with tears as she watched Zuko’s body lay face down on the ground. Hama stood over him smiling, she was proud of herself for causing pain to an innocent person. Then it dawned on her…

“Its you… You are the one who is taking the villagers… Hama what are you doing?! This is not how we treat people. Have you been gone for so long you don’t remember what it means to be a Southern Water Tribe woman? Our tribe is about compassion and love, we are a strong people but we do not hurt the innocent. You are doing exactly what you hate the Fire Nation for doing! You are hurting innocent people just because of where they were born.”

Hama chuckled, “I am, and I have been doing it for years. When I heard you children in the woods telling your stories and I found out you and your brother were from my home. Then to find out this boy was the son of the Fire Lord, imagine my surprise. It is a gift Katara, a chance for us to take our revenge. You can still join me, avenge your mother… This is war, we don’t have time for compassion and love. We have to fight against the Fire Nation people, like they have fought against us!”

Katara’s brow furrowed, slowly she rose to her feet and began to lift her arms. “My mother would be sickened by what you are doing. I will NEVER help you hurt an innocent person.”

Hama grinned a sinister smile. “You should have learned the technique before you turned on me…”

Katara felt her body twist out of her control, her arms separated and she lost control of her bending. Hama’s hand moved and Katara’s boys slammed into a nearby tree. Her eyes went wide as Hama dragged Katara across the ground and slammed her into another tree. She felt the breath knocked out of her lungs. Hama brought her arm up and with her palm flat she moved Katara’s body into a kneeling position, the girl was unable to move.

“You are a fool for not accepting my offer, Katara. It is such a disappointment, I had such hope for you. You were going to be the future of the Southern water benders. Now you will watch as I squeeze the last bit of life out of this fire bender you call your friend”

Katara’s face was wet with tears, she was scared, not only for herself, but for Zuko.

Hama twisted his body back off the ground until he was kneeling next to her. Katara saw his eyes slowly open as he came back to consciousness. His good eye went wide when he saw Katara kneeling on the other side of the clearing, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Hama’s fingers began to close and Zuko could feel his insides began squeezed. His ears filled with blood as his head began to pound. Struggling under her grasp he gasped for air until finally he squeezed his eye’s closed and began to scream. The pain covering every inch of his body.

Katara closed her eyes, unable to watch. Zuko’s screaming ringing in her mind. She took a deep breath and focused, feeling the moon’s energy. She felt her own bending push back against Hama, slowly Katara began to rise. Hama’s eyes went wide as she released Zuko, who slumped onto the floor. Katara knew if she was to save him, she had to defeat Hama at her own game.

Katara pulled water out of the grass she was kneeling on, as she stood to her feet.

“You are not the only one who draw’s power form the moon. My bending is more powerful than yours Hama, your technique is useless on me. Now step away from my friend!”

Katara sent a stream of water at Hama, pushing her away from the fire bender laying limp on the ground. Hama lifted her arms up, grabbing the stream of water, she twisted it behind her back and sent it back to Katara.

The young water bender put her arms out palm forward and stopped the water instantly, causing it to spread out in all directions. Collecting the water back again, she moved forward, twisting her arms, she split the water in half and pushed both streams against her opponent.

The older woman was knocked onto the ground, with a scream she hit the floor. Hama slowly rose to her feet as Sokka and Aang appeared behind her.

Aang saw Zuko laying on the floor and without thinking, ran to him. Sokka drew his sword, his eyes fixated on Hama.

“You’re out numbered Hama. We know what you have been doing! Give up!”

She smirked, “No… You’ve outnumbered yourselves!”

Sokka felt his body go stiff as he was dragged across the clearing, his sword pointed at his sister. “Katara! Watch out!” She quickly tumbled out of his way as he crashed behind her. Aang was pulled away from Zuko, his body also stiff as she pulled the air bender towards Katara.

Katara pulled water from the nearby trees and threw it at Aang, icing him to another tree. “I’m sorry Aang!” She saw him give her a small smile, “Its ok!”

Hama smirked as she moved out of the way when Katara threw a spinning water whip in her direction. The older bender responded by ripping herself water out of a tree and throwing ice spikes at Katara. She deflected, but cried out when Sokka rose from the ground and his sword sliced a cut in her arm.

“Katara!!” He screamed, as his body was manipulated into going in for another attack. Katara moved her uninjured arm and threw a burst of ice at her brother, who she froze to the ground. Hama was still smiling across the clearing, her eyes looked grey under the moonlight.

“Don’t let your friends hurt each other…” The old woman warned as she melted the ice holding Aang and Sokka and pushed them towards each other, Sokka’s sword was drawn and pointed at Aang. Katara felt her heart drop into her stomach, the pain in her arm was throbbing. She felt overwhelmed as she watched her brother moved towards Aang to kill him.

“Aang no!” Katara screamed.

Before Katara could make another move, she heard Hama scream. Fire exploded everywhere. Hama fell back, holding her right arm as she dropped to the ground. The smell of burnt flesh hit Katara’s nose.

Katara saw Zuko standing, his legs shaking and his arm pulled back, fist full of flames. His eyes were narrowed and his lip pulled back baring his teeth. He looked utterly terrifying surrounded by fire, he stood over Hama as the woman released Sokka and Aang.

Both boys fell to the ground, Aang rolled across the ground and pulled himself to his feet. The air bender reached out to Zuko.

“Zuko don’t do it! Please, don’t kill her.. You don’t have to do this. I know she hurt you, but you don’t have to kill her. Don’t let her turn you into the person she think’s you are! You are better than this!” Aang yelled out at his friend.

Zuko’s eyes didn’t leave Hama, her face was full of fear, her eyes watching the flaming hand that threaten to take her life with fire. She knew he would kill her, she could see it in his eyes.

“Please, Zuko… Don’t do this…” Katara said, her voice soft and afraid.

Finally Zuko let out a low breath, and his flames slowly flickered until they went out. His arm was shaking as he lowered it slowly to his side. Hama smirked and chuckled.

“Fool, you should have killed me.”

She pulled water from the grass and threw ice daggers at Zuko, striking him in the stomach and chest.

He fell back and everyone screamed his name.

Hama went to grab Sokka and Aang’s blood again. Before she could, she felt her own arm twist into an uncomfortable position. Her body went rigid and her eyes shot open, she knew what was happening.

Katara was blood bending her.

Aang ran to Zuko, as Sokka sat on the ground, his body shaking with fear as he watched his sister twist the innkeeper to her knees. Katara kept her control holding Hama in place.

Toph appeared at the edge of the clearing, she felt the desperation in the situation and went to help Katara. She bent a pair of stone handcuffs and Katara used her bending to pull Hama’s arms behind her back so Toph could encase her wrists in stone.

“Katara!! We need you!! He is dying!!”

Before Katara could even register what had happened she heard Aang’s voice call to her from where Zuko was laying on the ground.

“Don’t worry, I will watch the old woman, go save Sparky!”

Katara ran over to Zuko and knelt next to the fire bender, the ice daggers were melting and she could see he was struck three times. Aang sat next to him, his hand on the fire bender’s arm trying to give him comfort.

He was hit twice in the stomach and once in the chest. Lucky for him the dagger in his chest didn’t go through his sternum, there was only a hair line fracture. The wounds in his stomach were her focus, dark blood was pouring out of him, it was too dark. A sign of internal bleeding. Katara used the water from the nearby foliage to start closing the wounds and to feel inside of him for more damage.

She took a sharp breath and her hands began to shake. “What did you do to him? Hama, you are a monster! Why!? He didn’t do anything to you…” She yelled at the old woman kneeling on the floor under Toph’s watchful feet.

She heard the old woman cackle, “I wanted to see if I could smother his inner fire. It didn’t work like I hoped, but I did a considerable amount of damage. He is the son of the Fire Lord and he deserves to die. I have no regrets, I would do it all over again.” Her voice reflected no remorse, and she smiled as she spoke.

Toph felt anger surge through her body and she buried the old woman in the earth so only her nose and eyes were visible.

“Don’t worry she can breath, I just don’t want to hear her talk anymore.”

Katara continued to work on Zuko, her eye’s finally had the courage to look at his face. His eyelids seemed heavy but his gold eyes watched her work. He didn’t have the energy to talk, he just watched her face as she tried to stop the bleeding. His chi paths were crushed, like Hama had squeezed them until them closed. Katara was working to restore those first, so his natural energy would help stop the bleeding.

His insides were so messed up she didn’t even know where to start. Hama had tried to destroy his fire chakra, so the muscle and tissue surround his stomach were ripped and broken. Katara worked on him until the moon was high in the sky. It must have moved into the next day but she needed the moon’s power to help fuel her bending or Zuko would die. Even with how exhausted she was, she had to keep trying to heal him.

His breathing was shallow and his body was cold, too cold for a fire bender. Every now and then, he would have a chill run through him and his body would shake, but other than that he laid very still.

Sokka, and Aang sat next to Zuko. Watching Katara work on him, her focus was unwavering. Aang looked at Katara, “Can you use the new technique you just learned to help you heal? I know Hama used it to hurt people… But maybe it will help you heal Zuko? While we still have the full moon…”

It was a good idea, to use a technique designed to hurt someone and rehabilitate it to heal. Her eyes looked at Aang, she could see the fear all over his face. She knew the fear was obvious on her face as well. Zuko was on the verge of death and his life was sitting in her hands.

The same hands she used to bend that woman’s blood and make her submit to her will. The hands that reached out to Zuko and told him not to kill Hama, to let her go. He did it too, he was going to let her live and then she turned around and attacked him.

Katara could feel the tears welling in her eyes again as she pushed her healing hands deeper into his body. She could feel the blood, she pulled it a little and felt it move to her will. She began using the blood bending and combined it with her healing to repair his veins and restore the steady flow of his blood through his chakra. She could feel the heat inside of him growing, even though it was small, it was still alive.

She never felt his inner fire before, she could feel it flicker and move, like a second heart beat. Katara looked at Zuko’s face as he groaned and shifted. Katara couldn’t help but smile.

“Zuko, can you hear me?” His eyes opened, not all the way, but she could see the flash of fire in them again.

“…Did you… Kill her?” He asked his voice was broken and raspy from screaming.

Katara shook her head.

“No, Toph has her trapped in the earth over there, we are going to figure out where to turn her into so she can go back to prison. Then we are going to go as far away from this place as possible.”

Zuko nodded slowly, “Yeah… Let’s leave… I hate it… Here….”

Sokka rubbed his face, “Do you think getting stabbed with ice daggers counts as getting stabbed? Cause dad is going to kill me if it does. I specifically told him I wouldn’t let you get stabbed.”

Zuko smirked, his eyes slowly closing. “You should have… Let me… Kill her.”

Aang squeezed the fire bender’s arm softly, Zuko shifted his gaze to the air bender. “I am really proud of you for not killing her Zuko, you did the right thing.”

Zuko groaned softly and closed his eyes. “…Pacifist…”

- - - - - - - - - -

The Gaang didn’t waste anytime leaving the horrible village. Katara used the rest of her energy and the full moon to heal Zuko’s body to a point where they could travel safely. Katara wanted to heal the other prisoner’s Hama had tortured, but she couldn’t risk being discovered as a water bender in the Fire Nation.

The town’s elders took Hama and were in charge of deciding her fate, at this point it was out of Katara’s hands and she was happy about it.

She stopped Zuko from killing her, she would not stop this village from having their justice.

Once the Gaang collected their things, they gently moved Zuko to Appa’s saddle. His injuries were still very serious but Katara had managed to use the blood bending to heal some of his more major internal injuries. Without blood bending she would not have been able to save Zuko’s life from the damage that Hama inflicted on his insides. She wrapped his wounds and he laid shirtless on the saddle with just the white bandages covering his exposed upper body. Toph covered him with a light blanket so try and help bring his heat back.

Katara was exhausted and she laid down next to Zuko, her back resting against his side. She could feel the heat slowly returning to his body and the warmth smoothed her exhausted body to sleep. No one said anything about how close Katara was laying next to the fire bender. If anything, Toph laid down on Zuko’s other side and Sokka snuggled next to his sister. Everyone was exhausted, and Aang volunteered to guide Appa as far from the village as possible. At least until they found a good place to camp so everyone could get some real sleep.

As they flew away, Aang looked back at his sleeping friends. His eyes lingered on Zuko before he turned and faced forward. The chilly wind tasseled his hair as he flew in the direction Sokka very specifically told him to go. His mind wandered in the silence, he thought about Zuko’s wounds and what Hama did to him.

The Avatar’s hand gently touched his own stomach and he thought of the ache he had felt and the burning that started it all. The fire chakra was located in the stomach, it’s where his and Zuko’s inner flame lived. Hama tried to smother Zuko’s flame, and somehow it affected Aang.

He thought about the random cold feeling her got the other day at the noodle house. He needed to ask Zuko how Hama captured him, did she freeze him? If so… That would explain the cold feeling he felt during a hot day. Whenever they got to rendezvous island he needed to meditate on all this. Somehow, he felt like he and Zuko were connected on a deeper level, but he wasn’t sure how or why. So before he would bring it up to Zuko he wanted to try and get some answers.

But for now, his friends were safe, and that’s all he could ask for.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

The sun was high in the sky by the time Aang found a safe spot to land Appa. Once they landed on the ground, Aang looked back at his sleeping friends and he couldn’t stop himself from joining them in their slumber. Aang decided that when everyone woke up, that’s when they could set up their campsite and stay the night. But for now, he was exhausted, confused, and felt like he had just taken an emotional beating.

Aang checked to make sure Zuko was still breathing before he laid down next to Sokka. Laying on his back he stared up at the sky, it was a cloudless day and the sun was warm and comforting. His mind was whirling with thought’s about his connection to his new friend. While flying, he determined that it had to be linked to the trip he took into into Zuko’s subconscious and somehow they were linked because of it. It was the only logical explanation that he could come up with on his own.

He needed to talk to Roku about what the connection could be, and if it was something that needed to be corrected. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Zuko was Roku’s great, great grandson, but he never felt the connection before and he had fought Zuko many times. The question’s seemed to be piling up in his mind, bumping into each other without answers.

Was permanent?

Could he control it?

Why did it happen?

How did it happen?

Could Zuko feel it too?

The events that occurred with Hama left a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach, almost like he swallowed something evil. She tried to smother her friend’s inner fire, tearing through him like he was an object and not a person with a life. He felt Zuko’s terrified panic, and the pain that came along with it. Even if it was only for a moment, it left a deep impact on him.

The worse part of everything was the image he had of Katara’s face and body language as she dug into Hama’s blood and twisted that woman to her knees. Katara looked so terrifying under the moonlight her hand moving through Hama like she was her puppet. The look in Katara’s eyes made his heart clench, she was so angry, and Aang wondered if she would have killed Hama… He didn’t want to think about it. Closing his eyes he tried to chase away his thoughts and find his inner peace.

Aang couldn’t remember drifting away into his exhaustion, but when he woke up the sun was setting. He was still laying in the saddle and only Zuko was left next to him, everyone else seemed to have woken up to go set up camp. He could hear the faint sound of people talking and the clanging of cookware in the distance.

Aang rubbed his eyes and sat up, he could see down below, the fire roaring and the bedrolls had all been laid out. The air was cool and the light breeze carried the sent of Katara’s cooking into the saddle. Aang heard a groan and saw Zuko start to stir.

“Katara! Zuko is awake.” Aang yelled, turning he scooted next to his fire friend. “Hey Zuko, how are you feeling?”

Zuko tried to sit up, but instead he gasped and scrunched his face in pain. His body slumped back to the ground, a slight tremble running through his arms and legs.

“Don’t move! For spirit’s sake Zuko, you need to be gentle, your body is still really damaged!” Katara crawled into the saddle and scolded the fire bender.

Zuko frowned but didn’t say anything, laying back he tried to take a deep breath and winced from the pain. “What’s wrong with me?” His voice was still raw from all the screaming he had done.

“Hama almost killed you, she practically shredded your insides, she was trying to smother your inner fire. I have been healing you, but the damage is worse than when you were hit by lightning, if you can even imagine that.”

Zuko’s eye’s got wide, “S- should I… Should I be dead?” He stared at Katara, her breath was caught in her throat as his wide gold eyes searched her for honesty.

“If I didn’t… Use the blood bending… Yes, you would have died. But Aang had the idea to use Hama’s technique and combine it with my healing and it’s the only reason I was able to heal you internally. I still have a lot of work to do, but you will live. I’m so sorry Zuko… I am so sorry…” Her voice broke as her blue eyes shifted to the floor of the saddle, unable to look Zuko in the eyes anymore.

Zuko frowned, “What? Why are you apologizing?”

Katara closed her eyes, her face unveiled the hurt she was holding inside. “If I would have listened to you, and everyone else when they said that there was something off about Hama… Or when you were missing and I just assumed you were fine… I could have stopped her from hurting you. I am so sorry Zuko… This is all my fault…”

She felt a warm hand touch her wrist, opening her eyes she saw Zuko’s hand lightly placed on her arm. She was surprised by how warm he was, and how soft his touch felt, even with his calloused hands. Her eyes finally traveled up to his face and they looked at each other for a moment before he spoke.

“What happened, it was completely unrelated to you, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent anything. When the time came, you saved me. Just like you did when Azula hit me with her lightning. Don’t blame yourself, trust me, you’ll end up in a dark place if you start to dwell on the ‘what if’s’.”

His fire eyes were stern and unwavering. Katara let his words sink in, she knew he was right, but she still felt guilt and responsibility for his injuries. The eye contact broke again when he removed his hand from her as he exhaled a long breath before looking at Aang.

“How far are we from the rendezvous?” His raspy voice sounded so raw. Katara made a mental note to try and heal his throat next.

“We are almost there, so maybe a day, a little less if Appa gets enough food and rest. The invasion is in five days, everyone else should be almost at the Black Cliffs.”

Zuko nodded and closed his eyes, “Ok. Katara, will I be healed by then?”

Katara frowned, “Can you not think of fighting right now? What you need to do, is focus on relaxing and healing, not the invasion.”

“What about the invasion?! Are we talking about the invasion!?” Sokka was yelling from where he was sitting by the fire. “No talking about the invasion without me! If you guys want to talk strategy, then come down here! No secret saddle meetings!”

Aang smiled and stood up, “Sorry Sokka! Katara said, no invasion talk while Zuko’s recovering!”

“Well how long is it going to take his Highness to recover?!” Sokka was still shouting next to the fire.

Katara groaned, “He should be well enough to start light training again in two days. He should be well enough to fight by the invasion, as long as he takes it easy.”

Zuko smirked, “Good.”

Aang smiled and hopped out of Appa’s saddle to give Katara space to heal Zuko. He summoned his air scooter and joined Sokka by the fire.

“Stupid boys, and only being concerned about fighting… Not caring that you could hurt yourself even more if you even just try to sit up… You’re over here like its no big deal you almost died.” Katara mumbled to herself as she unwrapped Zuko’s bandages.

“What was that?” Zuko asked, a sarcastic smirk on his face.

“Shut up. I need to heal you and I can’t have you talking while I am mending your internal injuries. You know, the ones that almost killed you.”

“Eh, I’ve had worse.”

“Zuko, I highly doubt you have had worse injuries than this... This is the most damage I have ever seen inflicted on a living person. I don’t know if you remember, but I healed both you and Aang from lightning. This is still worse than that.”

“Eh, I don’t know. It’s a toss up for me.”

Katara blinked and frowned, ignoring him. “Stop talking.” She commanded.

“Yes ma’am.”

She shot him a glare and he smirked before closing his eyes. She waited a few minutes to make sure he was going to keep his eye’s closed before she allowed herself to smile a little.

- - - - - - - - - - -

It was a group effort to get Zuko out of the saddle and into his bedroll. He was still really weak, and every move he made felt like Hama was twisting up his insides all over again. Katara was exceptionally worried about moving him, but Zuko insisted he did not want to sleep in Appa’s saddle. He claimed that the bison needed a break too. Without Zuko in the saddle Appa was free to graze and relax.

Katara was annoyed that the Fire Prince was not only a good person, but he was a damn animal activist. Aang was really excited about it, he liked Zuko more and more as he got to know him better.

Zuko was asleep in his bedroll while the rest of the Gaang sat around the fire together as they finished their dinner. It felt like old times, the four of them sitting, eating, and talking together. No one wanted to talk about Hama and what happened in the village, or the upcoming invasion. But someone their conversation kept drifting back to the invasion, it was currently on everyone’s mind.

Sokka seemed really distracted as he stared into the fire.

“Are you alright, Sokka?” Katara asked, looking at her brother with her famous concerned eyes.

“Yeah, I am just thinking about dad. I hope him and everyone else are ok. We kind of left them in a tight spot.”

Katara smiled, “I’m sure they are fine, it will take a lot more then a couple of Fire Nation ship’s to take down the great Chief Hakoda and The Dragon of the West. Those two are like best buds and they seem to work extremely well together. They will keep each other safe and we left them a good distance away from those two Fire Nation cruisers.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right, I just cant help but worry. Ha.” Sokka smiled at his sister, his face still looked a little sad though.

“I mean, honestly Sokka, you have come up with some good plans before, but I am really impressed with the invasion plan you guy’s came up with.” Katara knew he would cheer up from the compliment. It wasn’t like she was lying, the invasion plan was great and it was all Sokka’s idea.

Sokka blushed and sat up straight, feeling a sudden burst of confidence. “Well when you are a genius mastermind like myself, these plans just come to you.”

Toph grunted, “Oh yeah and I’m sure UNCLE and his military background and your DAD and all his warrior experience didn’t contribute at all.”

Sokka made a weird sound with his lips. “I mean, they might have made a few suggestions, but we all know where the real brains of the operation is located.”

Toph smirked, “Appa. For sure.”

“Not funny, Toph!”

“I wasn’t joking, without Appa we would all be screwed!”

“Whatever, jerk! Are you excited to see all your old Earth Rumble buddies again?”

“Oh yeah! I’ve been hanging out with you pansies for so long I cant wait to be around some real muscle!”

“Hey! I have muscle!” Sokka whined.

Katara laughed, “Making flexing motions at yourself in the river’s reflection doesn’t count. Speaking of rivers, aren’t we close to a rather large one? I thought I saw one on the map.”

Sokka pulled out a map, well one of his five maps and pulled it open rubbing his chin as he studied it. “From the looks of the map we are close to the Jang Hui River, apparently there are a few towns located INSIDE the river. It looks like we are close to one of them, we should check it out tomorrow and get some supplies.”

They all agreed. Aang was tired from flying Appa all night and into the early morning, he didn’t get much sleep earlier. So he bid everyone goodnight and went to his bedroll to lay down, within minutes they could hear him snoring softly.

Katara, Toph and Sokka sat by the fire laughing about how Sokka when met Suki, he had to dress like a Kyoshi Warrior to get her to notice him. Toph didn’t know what to envision when she thought of Sokka in a dress, with face paint, but she knew it had to be a funny imagine. Based on how frustrated Sokka was getting and how crazy his heart beat was going he was embarrassed about it.

“Whatever! You both are jerk faces! Suki and I bonded over that and now she is my girlfriend and we are in LOVE! So laugh all you want!”

Katara heard muffled talking, Toph and Sokka were continuing to argue about the whole Kyoshi Warrior ordeal but Katara was distracted by the strange sound. She heard a raspy voice mumbling and she knew then it had to be Zuko.

She got up from the fire and slowly made her way over to where he was sleeping. His head was moving back and forth and one of his arms was twitching, she could clearly see he was distressed.

He was mumbling, Katara moved a little closer to try and hear was he was saying.

“Father please….”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Please…”

“… Disrespect…”

“…Father… Don’t….”

Katara could feel the rage bubbling in her stomach, her ears were warm as she tried to decide if she should go wake him up or let him work through it on his own. It wasn’t the first time he had nightmares around them, usually she would wake up to him gasping, a few times he would scream. She was never close enough hear what he mumbled in his sleep, and now she wished it had stayed that way.

Her hatred for the Fire Lord steamed deep in her roots, generations of her family have hated the Fire Lords and the Fire Nation. After getting to know Zuko a little better, her hatred reached a new peak. How can a man be so cruel to the entire world, and then just as cruel to his own son? It was sick.

Before Katara could decide what she as going to do about Zuko’s nightmare, his eyes opened and he made a strangled noise before he gasped for air. Trying to sit up too quickly he recoiled and let out a soft groan.

“Zuko, are you alright?” Katara moved closer to his side and pulled water from her water skin.

Sokka and Toph stopped talking for a moment after being interrupted by Katara’s voice, but seeing her by Zuko’s side they went back to their conversation. Sokka and Toph knew Zuko was really self conscious about his nightmares that he made extra effort to keep them to himself. So when he did wake up from them, usually everyone left him alone, for the most part. Once in a while they would make sure he was alright if it was a really bad one, but he never let anyone help him. He never talked about them either.

Katara ran her healing hands over his body, feeling around inside of him. She began repairing more of the damage while she checked him over. Lucky for him, he didn’t hurt himself by trying to sit up too fast. Katara took the opportunity while he was awake, to work on him just a little. Maybe if they sat there long enough he would talk about his dreams.

Or he wouldn’t.

He would just lay there in silence. Until Katara decided maybe…

“So…”

“No.”

“But…”

“No Katara, just.. Don’t.”

“You would feel better-“

“I don’t care.”

“Maybe they would stop-“

“They’ll never stop. Just drop it.”

“Fine.”

“Ok.”

Katara felt the tip’s of her ears grow warm and flush red with frustration, he was infuriating sometimes. She was just trying to help, and he was so stubborn, she had never met anyone so closed off! After she finished the small amount of healing she had started, Katara quickly retracted her water and stood up.

“Goodnight, again, Zuko.”

“Night.”

Katara spun around and stomped away, she didn’t try and hide her annoyance when she approached Toph and Sokka. She didn’t say anything, but she did grab their empty bowls and walked off to the side of camp and began to clean them out with her bending.

“You alright there, Ice Queen?”

“Yes, I am fine. Why don’t you ask Prince Zuko over there is he is alright? Oh wait, it wont matter he wouldn’t tell you anyway.”

Sokka groaned, “Oh, stop sis. He is a man, us men don’t want to share our feelings with you ladies. He is allowed to keep his personal stuff to himself. Stop getting all emotional about it.”

Sokka knew that probably wasn’t the best thing to say to his frustrated sister. He knew as soon as the word, emotional, left his lips that she was going to be mad. Now, seeing her turn her head around and glare at him, he knew his next move had to be strategically planned…

“I’m going to bed, goodnight.” Sokka said hastily.

He scrambled up and made his retreat. Before Katara could yell at him he was tucked into his bedroll, pulling the flap over his head so only the top of his hair was visible.

“Ugh, the boys… They out number us now, Toph.”

“Speak for yourself, I agree with Sokka, Sparky doesn’t have to talk about his issues if he doesn’t want to. You are just nosy and like to be in everyone’s business, and Sparky isn’t all about sharing his business so it’s getting under your skin. If you want my advice-“

“I don’t.” Katara spat, cutting the young earth bender off, who seemed unfazed as she continued.

“Well you’re going to get it anyway. You should leave him alone and let him deal with his own issues in his own way. He isn’t like the other two, if you approach him the way you do Twinkle Toes and Snoozles, he is going to shut down every time. You can’t mother him the same way you can with them. You’re not his sister, and he isn’t a twelve year old boy. If you get frustrated every time he shuts down then you are going to ruin the friendship before it even starts. That’s my advice, and now I am going to follow Snoozle’s lead and hit the bedroll. Goodnight.”

Katara stayed up a little while longer thinking about what Toph had said. She was right, as much as Katara didn’t want to admit it. She couldn’t baby Zuko like she did Aang, and she couldn’t mother him like she did Sokka, because Zuko was not her annoying older brother.

She decided to try and build more of a relationship with Zuko, and maybe figure out how to start a friendship with him. She would figure out how to break through to him, it would take time but Katara was determined to make it work.

Yawning, she rubbed her eyes and walked to her bedroll. She turned and cast a loving glance at the four other bedrolls lined up next to each other. Their little group has come a long way since Sokka and her found Aang in the ice berg.

If you would have told that naive girl standing in the ice that she just found the Avatar and soon the Prince of the Fire Nation, and a small blind earth bender would be traveling with them to end the war, she would have died laughing.

Now it felt so right she couldn’t imagine them not being here to help Aang take down the Fire Lord. Tucking herself in bed, she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“We can’t just leave, those people need our help!!”

“No Katara, we have a schedule!”

“Sokka, how can you say that!?”

“We need to leave, today, no exceptions! You want to help that village?! Let’s defeat the Fire Lord and end the war and then they will be saved. After the war you can go around to all the crappy little towns and save all their people. We have a SCHEDULE!”

“You’re impossible! Aang what do you think?”

“I uhh… I think… That the schedule is important, but so are the people in the village. I understand what Sokka is saying, and I understand you too, Katara. You both have great points, but we do have a timeline… So maybe we should come back here and help them after the invasion.”

Katara made som frustrated noises, and Zuko finally opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he had been sleeping, but the sound of the arguing Water Tribe siblings woke him up. He was still laying in his bedroll from last night, even though dawn had clearly came and went. From the position of the sun it looked around noon, which meant he really overslept.

Zuko slowly sat up as the group walked into the clearing, Katara very obviously upset and Sokka seemed frustrated too. At least Toph and Aang looked normal.

“Why are they mad now?” Zuko asked sitting all the way up, finally. He couldn’t help but privately celebrate the small victory for pulling himself into a sitting position with only limited pain.

Toph groaned and laid on the ground next to him, “We went to this town in the middle of the river, and I guess there was a factory built way, way upstream and its been affecting the town’s that use the river to live. I guess the pollution isn’t that bad down here because they are so close to the ocean, but a lot of people are sick. Most of their medicine goes to the town’s up river, the people there are really, really sick. It’s just a messed up situation.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow, “But why are Sokka and Katara arguing over it?”

“You know… The usual. Ok, maybe you don’t know, but Katara wants to go and help the town and heal their sick people. Which is a bad idea, being in the Fire Nation and them hating anyone who isn’t from the Fire Nation. Except you, Sparky and Uncle Sparky. Sokka wants to keep to the schedule and leave as soon as we finish eating.”

Zuko nodded slowly as he watched Sokka and Katara continue to bicker. Aang strolled over and sat down on the other side of Zuko, rubbing his hair head nervously.

“I hate when they put me in the middle of it. I get where they are both coming from, but Sokka does have a point that she can’t exactly heal them with her water bending.”

“THERE ARE SICK KIDS THERE! Its not their fault all the medicine is sent up river! Who knows how bad their towns are!”

“OHHHH, Katara! Now you want us to fly up river and save ANOTHER town, throwing us even further off schedule!!”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I SAID!!”

Zuko, Toph and Aang looked between Katara and Sokka, depending on who was currently yelling. Sokka was walking around, packing their stuff, while Katara was behind him unpacking it.

“Do you want me to cook for you or not!? STOP PACKING EVERYTHING!”

“YOU DON’T NEED THIS BEDROLL TO COOK!”

Sokka ripped his bedroll off the ground and caught the eyes of his three friends who were watching him make a scene with his sister.

“Oh what… Zuko, your sister shoots people with lighting and tries to kill everyone when she is mad. So don’t you dare say anything.”

Zuko’s mouth opened to say something, then closed again. Sokka stormed off with his bedroll.

“DON’T YOU DARE PUT THAT ON APPA.”

“WE ARE LEAVING AFTER BREAKFAST!!”

“UGH!”

Aang touched Zuko’s shoulder. “Good call, Hotman.”

“Yeah I don- Wait… What did you just call me?”

- - - - - - - - - -

It was not the most awkward meal Zuko has ever had before, but it was the most awkward meal he has ever shared with the Avatar group. The two Water Tribe kids finally stopped yelling at each other, but they moved onto this awkward, glaring, snide comment part of their fight.

Zuko grew up never seeing other siblings interact, he and Azula didn’t really have the most normal sibling relationship so it was hard to compare anyone else’s to his. Sokka did have a point that Azula liked to shoot lightning and try to kill people when she was mad. So he would have been happy with her just glaring at him, that would be her happy with him.

Toph and Aang were only children. Well, Aang declared that all the Air Nomad children lived together and everyone was related so they were all siblings, but Zuko doesn’t think that counted.

“So.” Toph began to say something before stopping herself. “Never mind.”

“No Toph, go ahead, what did you want to say?” Katara was using her ‘nice voice’, she did that when she was trying not to come off like a bitch. Somehow she didn’t notice that it didn’t work, in fact, it made her sound more bitchy.

“Well… I was just wondering… If we decided to… Leave or not?”

The awkward silence was uncomfortably thick.

Zuko poked at his food with his chop sticks, he tried not to laugh at Toph and her bluntness. He liked that about her, he never felt scared to talk to her and say something stupid because she didn’t care. He was the most comfortable with her and Aang, he was starting to get along with Sokka too. But he was completely confused by Katara and was always nervous to open his mouth around her, he never knew how she was going to react.

Plus, she was always asking him questions and trying to fix his problems. It was kind of annoying, but also kind of nice. Only his Uncle fussed over him since his mother died, it was kind of nice being in a group of people that cared.

“We are going to leave tomorrow morning. I think it would be better for Zuko if we let him rest here for one more night, we can leave in the morning and still get to the invasion with four days to spare. It will give you enough time to plan with dad and do all your man stuff before we leave. Is that ok, oh fearless leader Sokka?”

Sokka looked at her and frowned, his frown faded after a minute and he looked defeated. “FINE, one more night, but we have to leave tomorrow. We still have a lot to do before the invasion and I want to stop at this coastal town before we hit to open ocean. Appa needs some armor and I need Toph and I to get some metal she can bend for him. We have a few pieces of silver left from that Zuko’s uncle gave us and Appa needs some protection.”

“Deal, does that sound good to everyone?”

The group nodded.

“Perfect! Alright Zuko whenever you are done eating I need to do another healing session on you.”

Zuko internally groaned, he hated healing sessions. It felt like Hama’s torture all over again, he would rather just let it heal on its own but he would never be ready for the invasion if he did that.

He ate extra slow until Katara caught on and told him he had five minutes or she was taking the rice away. Aang laughed at him so he shot him a glare and the air bender just grinned in amusement.

Zuko knew he was losing his intimidation.

- - - - - - - - -

Zuko laid flat on his bedroll without his shirt on and let Katara work on his injuries. She had to move slowly and put her energy and focus on one area at a time, she couldn’t see what she was healing so she had to make sure she was feeling his body closely. He was warm to her touch, sometimes she could swear she felt his inner fire flicker as if he had another heartbeat. Zuko usually closed his eyes while she healed him, he felt like watching her was awkward.

“Zuko I need you to roll onto your stomach so I can approach some of the healing through your back. Can you do it on your own or do you need help?”

“I can do it.”

He slowly shifted himself around, propping his body onto his elbows and turning himself slowly. Katara could see the hint of pain in his face but it was subtle and he was otherwise expressionless.

Her eyes lingered on his back, the two scars that ran across his back from his shoulder to his hip always caught her eye first. The burn on the side of his ribcage was rather large as well, but what she was really curious about was the few small lightning looking scars around his neck and shoulders.

She thought about what Toph said, and as the water covered her hands she pondered how to start a casual conversation with Zuko.

“So… It’s nice here, right?”

His head was turned to the side, his unscarred side facing up. His eyes were closed at first, but she saw his eyebrow narrow and his one eye crack open when she asked him a question.

“Uh.. Sure.”

“I wish you could have come to the town with us and saw the condition of the river and how many of their people were sick. It was really sad. They said it was way worse up river closer to the factory and I just can’t believe that the Fire Nation would build a factory that close to where people live and allow it to pollute their way of living.”

“It sucks, but that’s what the Fire Lord allows to happen. His advisors have to approve big builds like that, and approve location sites, so he would be aware of the repercussions and he obviously doesn’t care.”

“Its awful.”

“Yeah.”

Katara continued to press into the center of his back, pushing her healing water and slowly, repairing the chi paths. It took so much energy to heal internally that she felt herself stifle a yawn. It didn’t help that she had the most antisocial patient ever.

But after her and Toph’s conversation, Katara was determined to build some kind of friendship with Zuko. She would show that cocky blind earth bender she could build a friendship with the closed off fire bender.

“So…”

“…..”

“Are you starting to feel better after all the healing sessions?”

“Yeah, I can sit up now. That’s a nice change.”

“Yes! I agree! Hopefully we can get you walking again by tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“It is good, it will be nice to have you walk off Appa with everyone. I know you would hate it if we had to carry you in.. Ha.”

“Yeah.”

Katara frowned.

What the heck do I have to do to get him to open up to me! He wont even engage in small talk. Maybe Toph is right, maybe I only know how to mother someone, or baby someone. Has that what being around Sokka and Aang so much done to me? Now I don’t know how to interact with another normal teenager? Ok… So normal teenager is not how I would describe Zuko. Angst filled, anger driven, closed off Prince of the Fire Nation teenager.

“You alright back there?”

Katara blinked and realized her hand still hovered over his back but the water had left her hand and the healing had stopped. This was now the second time that this has happened when she was healing Zuko.

“Oh yes, sorry I was just thinking.”

“Oh… Ok… About my scars, again?”

She blinked, making eye contact with him briefly. His one gold eye flashing back at her, his brow furrowed.

“No! No, I wasn’t looking at that, but if you want to talk about it, we can talk about it.”

“No.”

“Ok… Well I think we have come to a good stopping point.”

“Alright.”

She retracted her water and sighed, surprised when he said something else.

“Katara, thanks for healing me.”

Now she was completely surprised, but grateful. Her big blue eyes sparkled from the compliment.

“You’re welcome, Zuko! Thank you for thanking me.”

“One more thing…”

She stopped.

“I can travel, I think you know that. Is there a reason you used me as an excuse to not let us move on, or were you just trying to stick it to your bother?”

“Oh.. You picked up on that?”

“I’m injured, not deaf or an idiot. I heard you guys arguing all morning, ever since you got back from that village. Toph told me about it, was it… That bad?”

She saw concern in his gold eyes. Katara sometimes forgot they were in Fire Nation land which meant, technically, they were his people. He was their Prince and his people were sick and suffering, so he should be concerned.

“Yeah, Zuko, it’s bad. Apparently it is even worse, up river, closer to the factory.”

“Hmm.”

“I wish there was something I could do to help them. I noticed when I was in town that they put their faith in some river spirit. The town’s people seemed to believe she was going to save them from their suffering as long as they hold faith.”

“This is the Jang Hui river, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is, why do you know about it?”

“No, I have never been here before, but I remember the river’s name from my tutoring sessions. It’s a rather large river, there are actually a few villages located inside, it leads into the open ocean so the villages are big fishing towns. They were known for their.. Uh… Shellfish I think. They used to be the largest collectors of clams, mollusks, you know… Stuff like that. The river is supposedly protected by the Painted Lady, she is the river spirit over the Jang Hui river.”

“The Painted Lady? So that’s the statue of the woman I saw in the center of town? With the red markings on her and long hair?”

“Yeah I guess, I don’t know what she looks like.”

“What’s her story? Do you know?”

“I don’t know much, but from what I remember, she was a normal woman who was closely connected to the spirit world. She grew up on the river, and she was in touch with nature and was extremely caring to all living beings. She was a healer and when she died she became the spirit guardian of the river and all the people within it.”

“Well she isn’t doing a very good job.”

“Most spirits don’t do a good job. Except the ocean spirit, that one seems very dedicated to it’s spirit job.”

It took a second, before Katara realized he was making a comment about the devastation to the Fire Nation in the Northern Water Tribe waters. When Aang fused with La and destroyed the entire Fire Nation fleet. He did have a point, the ocean spirit was very active in the world and it was a spirit that her tribe put their faith in and celebrated often.

“Yeah, the Water Tribe is closely connected to La, and Tui, push and pull. We need both those spirits to fuel our bending. Without them there would be no water benders.”

“I think that was Zhao’s point in killing it.”

“Oh… Well yeah, I guess you’re right. I cant believe the Fire Nation would be so stupid to try and kill the moon.”

“They didn’t try to kill the moon, Uncle said they DID kill the moon spirit. And it wasn’t the Fire Nation, it was Zhao, probably with the Fire Lord’s blessing. No more water benders is his dream come true.”

“Ok… So they DID kill the moon. But Yue saved the moon and now she is the moon spirit keeping watch over us, doing what she can to protect us. So take that Fire Lord.”

Zuko scoffed.

“Are you not spiritual, Prince of the Fire Nation?”

“No.”

“Why not? Don’t your people pray to… um… Agni?”

“Some.”

“Well shouldn’t you?”

“Agni doesn’t care about me, now leave it alone.”

“But I’m sure that-“

“Just stop, you’re done healing me, right? So we are finished here.”

Katara was disappointed that they stopped talking so abruptly but she learned at least a little more about Zuko.

He hated spirits.

He surprisingly knew a lot about geography.

Two new things about Zuko that she didn’t know before. Take that Toph.

Zuko turned his head away from her, resting his chin on the back of his hands. Zuko was still laying on his stomach in his bedroll, with nothing but a black pair of silk training pants on. Aang and Toph left camp earlier to practice earth bending, while Sokka was out in the distance working through some sword exercises.

It was just her and Zuko in camp, but he was done talking to her. At least for now. Her conversation with Zuko did help her come up with a plan for tonight, all she needed to do was wait for everyone to fall asleep.

Zuko knew if he laid still enough she wouldn’t bother him. It’s not that he didn’t like Katara, she was alright, but she always wanted to talk. She wanted to stir up memories and emotions inside of him that he liked to leave alone. They already talked about his mother, and that was hard enough.

He didn’t want to open up about anything else. He worked too hard to lock it all away. It took him a long time to block out the pain, he didn’t need another Water Tribe person trying to undo that.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The day turned into night rather quickly as everyone wandered back to camp at different times. Sokka seemed to have practiced his frustration out, his arms were heavy at his side’s as he sat by the fire waiting to eat dinner.

Toph and Aang were covered in dirt, but too exhausted to do anything about it. Well, Aang was too exhausted, Toph liked to be covered in dirt.

They ate a simple meal that Katara prepared before heading off to bed. The night sky was clear of any clouds, as the stars seemed to smile and wink down at the group. Sokka laid on his bedroll, hands behind his back, watching Yue.

She was a crescent moon tonight, Sokka loved when she was like that. It was as if she was smiling at him, so he smiled back. The feeling Yue left in his chest would never go away, he accepted that. But it was always nice to see her smiling in the sky.

Aang was laying next to Zuko, pointing out some of the different constellations that the Gyatso taught him.

“That there is the Dorado constellation, or as Gyatso liked to call it, the dolphin-fish! We used to come up with fun names for the stars all the time. Did you ever look up at the stars when you were a kid?”

Zuko shrugged, watching as Aang moved his finger in the air, outlining the star’s that made up the Dorado. Aang had a huge grin pulling at his face, he was always smiling when he was around Zuko.

“My mom… Uh, she liked the stars, but we never talked about constellations. There is a legend in the Fire Nation is that the stars are people’s ancestors, watching over them as they sleep. The Royal family though, when they die, they join their ancestors within Agni. Sozin declared that only his bloodline was powerful enough to be with Agni during the day, and that’s why the other souls only can only been seen at night as stars. Smaller and more insignificant then the the sun. Or something like that, I don’t know. I never cared much about the ancient legends like my mom did. Sozin changed most of them anyway.”

Aang smiled at his friend, “I think it’s great that you remember what your mom told you, even if you don’t remember all of it. It’s important to hold onto stories and legends from our elders, we have a responsibility to pass them on to other people. If not, they will be lost forever and you can lose an entire culture that way…”

His voice drifted off into sadness, it was hard to talk about the loss of the Air Nomads. It was weird to think about how Zuko’s past was split between Aang and Sozin. He laid next to a boy who was a direct reincarnation of his great, great grandfather, mourning a people who his other great, great grandfather eradicated. Zuko felt the strings of guilt pull inside his chest. He didn’t directly kill the Air Nomads, but he saw the destruction and devastation that was left from the assault first hand.

He saw the tiny skeletons, the only people with bones that small had to have been… Children. He knew the slaughter was wrong, even if they did have a huge army like Sozin claimed, it wasn’t right. After spending time with Aang he knew that it most likely was a lie. Aang wouldn’t even eat and animal, or squish a bug, much less be apart of a culture with a massive army that was planning on waging war onto the Fire Nation.

It was a weak excuse for propaganda, and he felt foolish for believing it for so long.

He saw the pain on Aang’s face as his grey eyes were fixed on the stars. His mind was lost in the word’s from Gyatso and his other elders, recalling his past civilization that he was determined to not let die with his people’s bodies.

Zuko reach out his arm and set it on Aang’s shoulder, the air bender looked at his friend.

“So… What other constellations did the Air Nomads teach you? I want to learn them too.”

Aang smiled, wider than he was before the sadness crept into his heart. Aang brought a shaky hand up to his face and wiped the small tear that was forming in his eye.

“Ok! So… That one there is…”

Zuko listened closely, memorizing every word so he could pass on the knowledge to his own people one day.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Everyone was finally sleeping, Katara opened her eyes and sat up slowly. While she was practicing her water bending earlier, she may or may not have collected a bunch of river moss that she was now stuffing into her bedroll. Pulling the flap all the way up she covered the top and stood slowly, walking as lightly as possible.

Taking extra precautions as she passed Zuko, who for some reason, could wake up at the croak of a cricket-mouse. Once she was clear of her friends she pulled out the supplies she hid in the rocks earlier. There was a hill just outside the patch of forest by their camp, it was covered in large jagged rocks. It was a perfect place to hide her disguise.

Katara began painting her face red and white by using berries and healing cream, she mimicked the Painted Lady the best she could. Covering her clothing with an old blanket and some rope she pulled the hat over her head she disguised her traditional Fire Nation clothing. Taking a step back and looking into her ice mirror she was pleasantly surprised at the outcome of her Painted Lady cover.

Slipping down the slope of the small hill, she stepped onto the river’s water. Using her bending, she pushed her way to the village, she was determined to help as many people as she could.

Katara would never turn her back on people who needed her.

Never.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

It was late when she was finally finished. Sighing to herself because she knew it wasn’t much. Katara wanted to do so much more, but it was enough to heal the sick and bring fresh fish from the river to the people. Using her water bending she fished out the healthiest fish she could find and froze them, putting them in baskets outside each person’s home.

Her healing made the biggest impact, touching each person she corrected infections, sealed wounds, broke fevers and brought comfort to the pain. The town glowed blue as she moved through the the infirmary, covering her presence in a thick fog.

Smiling, Katara moved her way quietly across the river towards their camp, she reached the shoreline. Slowly climbed her way to the top of the hill that blocked the view of their camp from the river’s edge. She would just cross through the small forest and arrive back to her friends and no one would be the wiser.

She began wiping off the makeup as she reached the top, jagged rocked covered highest point, remaindering her that at one time the river was so large it would crash into the rocks. The peak of the mound was the shoreline a long time ago. Maybe before people ever touched the water, perhaps that’s why the spirits called for a Painted Lady. To protect the river and one day restore it to its full potential.

Katara was caught in her thoughts and didn’t noticed a small flicker of a flame ignite the darkness.

“Oh wow, the Painted Lady. I am humbled by your presence.”

Katara froze, she knew that raspy deep voice anywhere.

She turned slowly to meet gold eyes, flickering with the palm flame her held in his hand. He was leaned up against the rocks, his legs stretched in front of him, his swords leaning against the stone next to him.

“Zuko!? What the… What are you doing up here!? How did you even get up here!?”

He smirked as the small flame caste heavy shadows onto his face, illuminating his piercing eyes. His face right now reminded her of what he looked like when he threatened her with pirates. The memory sending chills down her back. Katara had to remind herself he was not evil anymore, he was on their side, and he wasn’t going to hurt her.

Shaking those ridiculous thoughts away, Katara put her hands on her hips and glared at his smug face.

“How do you know my name? Oh great… Painted Lady.” His words clawing at her brain.

Katara rolled her eyes and took off the hat and veil. Shrugging the deep purple blanket she had draped over herself to hide her Fire Nation outfit, she returned her hands to her hips.

“Katara!? No… Way.” His voice was dry and emotionless. She could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.

“Yes, Zuko, its me, Katara. I know you knew that. Now how did you get up here!? You shouldn’t be walking!”

She glared at where he sat and saw a small indent in the ground, almost like he… Stabbed the ground with his sword. Her curious eyes scanned the dirt to see more slash marks, indicating he used his swords to help balance him all the way from camp and up the hill. She knew Zuko was reckless and determined, but this was crazy.

“Why would you go through all this effort?!”

Zuko shrugged, “I’m not sure.”

“That’s all you have to say!?”

“Well… No. I mean, I knew you wanted to help the village. When I told you about the Painted Lady I saw something… Light up in your eyes. It was as if… You figured something out. So tonight when I heard you try and miserably fail at sneaking out of camp, I knew you were going to do something reckless. So I gave you a heads start and I followed you. I could see your glowing hands from here, I was keeping an eye on you to make sure you didn’t do anything, actually stupid. Then I saw you dressed as the Painted Lady and I had to say something smug.”

Rolling her eyes she braced herself for his scolding, if it was Sokka she would never hear the end of it. Aang would go off on how the spirits weren’t something that should be messed with if she wasn’t the Avatar, and how she should be more careful. Toph wouldn’t care, even if she did hear Katara sneak out, she would probably just blackmail her later.

Now Zuko, crawled his way up the hill to do what… What kind of lecture was she in for?

“So… Let’s hear it! Your big speech, go ahead. Scold me.”

Zuko’s one eye brow raised, and he smothered the flame in his hand. Leaving onto the crescent moon to cast a soft light over the land. She could barely make out his features in the dark, her heart began to beat just a slight bit faster.

“Scold you? Who do you think I am? I’m not going to scold you. I don’t care what you do, dress up like the Fire Lord for all I care, I am just here to make sure you didn’t get hurt, or caught.”

Her face fell into a neutral expression, her big blue eyes reflecting the moonlight perfectly. Sparkling with the stars, she seemed taken back, and confused.

“Oh… Well that’s not what I was expecting you to say.”

Zuko scoffed.

“Honestly… I am the last person to tell you not to dress as a spirit and run around helping people. So do what you think is right, just… Have back up ready. Just in case you need it.”

Katara couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you my back up? What were you going to do? Roll down the hill and attempt to swim across the river with your swords? I’m sure you barely got up this hill, I don’t think you’re the best back up.”

Zuko shrugged, leaning his head back on the cool stone.

“Eh, probably not, but I could blast enough fire and make enough noise to alert the others, or I could cause a distraction, or maybe I would roll down the fucking hill and swim across the river just to spite you.”

Katara actually laughed, covering her mouth she moved over to Zuko and sat down next to him. She saw him tense, his shoulders going stiff and his finger’s tightening on the dirt beneath him. But after a moment he seemed to calm down, his shoulder slumped just a bit and his jaw relaxed.

“If anyone would die just to spite someone, it would be you. But I am starting to think you actually can’t die. Your indestructible.”

Zuko didn’t look over at her, but she saw the smirk return to his face.

“That’s what your dad says, he said its his favorite thing about me. That I wont die.”

Katara rolled her eyes, again. “Men, why do you say such stupid things?”

“Women! Why do you do such stupid things? I bet if Toph came with you, the both of you would have gone and blown up the factory.”

Katara smiled a toothy grin, “Zuko, that is a great idea! I wish I would have thought of that.”

“Yeah… No, wait. No, you can’t do that. Sokka will kill me, and he actually could. I couldn’t fight back right now.”

“Don’t worry, I am not going to blow up the factory. I’ll wait until after the war and then we will come back and blow up the factory.”

“Well… Considering it was my idea you have to at least let me help.”

“Won’t it look bad if the Prince of the Fire Nation is running around blowing up factories?”

Zuko shrugged, “I won’t go as the Prince of the Fire Nation. I’ll go as my alter ego, and you can go as the Painted Lady and we’ll blow it up.”

Katara’s head cocked to the side, “You have an alter ego?”

He turned and looked at her, now that she was sitting next to him she could make out his facial features again. Away from the fire and under the moon he looked softer, even though his gold eyes still looked fierce in the light from the moon. His smirk grew a little bigger.

“Yeah, I’m the Blue Spirit.”

“Wait… I know that name… What… THE BLUE SPIRIT!? Aren’t you one of the most wanted people in the Fire Nation!? For saving the Avatar… Oh… I knew that. I knew that story. I didn’t know you were the Blue Spirit. That’s crazy Zuko, no wonder you didn’t give me any grief for dressing as the Painted Lady. Wait… Doesn’t that mean you are wanted by the Fire Nation, twice?”

“Yep.”

“That’s not good.”

“Eh, I don’t have the mask anymore so its not like they would ever find out. Plus, who would think the already traitor Fire Nation Prince, traveling with the Avatar, is also the Blue Spirit. It is a far reach. Even if they did find out, I am already sentenced to death, they can’t kill me twice.”

Katara looked away, staring straight forward out into the river. It was far from the hill, but with the height she sat she could see the cool water lapping against the shore. In the distance she could see the small flecks of light from the town. It was sad to think that Zuko’s father would sentence him to death, but it was also sad that he would publicly burn his first born son. So Katara wasn’t surprised.

“How did… How did you become the Blue Spirit?”

“I uh… I guess it started just with sneaking out of the palace when I was younger, and then I started to mingle with the people. You know… Give food to the poor, money to orphanages, the usual nice person stuff. When I was banished it was the only way for me to leave the ship and not have any expectations that ‘Prince Zuko’ had. I wasn’t the banished Prince with the scar, I was no one. I could do what I wanted and be what I wanted without any repercussions.”

“It doesn’t sound like you were doing anything, wrong… So why are you wanted? Just for releasing Aang? Which I know is kind of a big deal.”

Zuko let out a breath of a laugh, staring forward now to, watching the water. Even though Katara had turned her head back to face him, he didn’t turn towards her. She saw the distant stare in his face, she waited for him to speak again.

“Yeah… I think setting free the Avatar is a really big deal to the Fire Nation, but I did a lot of ‘treasonous’ stuff before that. What really got the Fire Nation’s attention was breaking into their military bases and stealing food and money and I’d give it away. Or I would sabotage their ships navigation system, or set free their Kimono Rhinos, or dump their clean drinking water, sometimes I would lock the soldiers in their barracks so they couldn’t get out. I don’t know, just various annoying things. I never tried to hurt anyone.”

Katara laughed, full blown laughter, not even trying to hide it.

“You traitor! Why did you do that to your own people? It’s great, don’t get me wrong, but why would Prince Zuko, honor, Avatar, Fire Nation, yelling at everyone, throwing flames, tying you to a tree… Sabotage their own people?”

Zuko scowled at her, but without any of the anger behind it. He actually found it funny too, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“I don’t know, the war… Is wrong. The Fire Nation is full of good people, but we have our bad ones too. Unfortunately the soldier’s abuse their power and my father… He is obsessed with the war. So anything I can do to make HIS life a little more difficult I am going to do. In secret, and then not tell anyone. I also used the Blue Spirit to mess with Zhao. I hate Zhao.”

“Ugh, everyone hates Zhao.”

“He is the worst…”

She noticed his voice trailed off at the end, his eyes seemed to fog over, like he was taken somewhere else. Katara reached out her hand and touched his shoulder, snapping him back to their moment.

“So you have always been a good guy, haven’t you? Secretly doing good deeds the only way you knew how.”

“I guess….”

“If we only knew, maybe you would have joined us a lot sooner.” She smiled at him, but the look in his eyes was still distant, like he was off somewhere else, thinking of a different time or place.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah.”

“I know I keep trying to get you to talk about yourself and your past, but I promise… I wont judge you. Not going to lie though, I did judge you for all the crap you put me and my friends through. But look, we are sitting here, talking like normal people. No fire, not freezing you to the floor, just normal – ish conversation.” She smiled at him, again.

She saw him look at her, but not just glance, like he normally did. Always with fleeting eye contact and distant eyes, this time his eyes peered deep inside her. Searching her for mistrust, or any reason he could use to lash out and push her away. Katara didn’t shy away, she sat there with him, looking back at him just as heavy, and for the first time she saw his guard come down. There was a softness to his eyes, almost like letting out a breath of air you didn’t realize you were holding. Or pulling on a parka after you have been standing in the cold too long, his warm eyes had comfort in them.

He turned away from her again. She kept thinking about what Toph said, ’don’t mother him, and he isn’t your big brother, you can’t treat him like that’.

She kept looking at Zuko, watching his eyes stare in the distance.

What would Zuko want me to do?

Nothing.

What would he want me to say?

Nothing.

Would he want me to say anything?

Probably not.

Katara, don’t ruin the moment.

Oh spirits, I am going to ruin the moment.

Let him talk when he is ready.

Ugh, he will never be ready.

I just need to take the same advice I gave him those weeks ago.

Patience.

So that’s what she practiced, patience. Controlling her primal urge to talk through the silence and try to probe and prod like she usually did. Letting the silence wrap around them like a cozy blanket. Growing up in an igloo full of people, silence was an elusive target.

Sokka was always talking, and usually he and Katara were arguing about something childish. Probably because they were, in fact, children.

When her dad was home, and her mom alive, they would fill the home with laughter and stories from the past. Stories that were passed down from generation to generation, gaining new life when it was told by someone new. Silence could only be found during the night, thats if, the wind’s weren’t howling across the igloo.

When she thought about Zuko, she realized his life must have been the opposite. Growing up in a large and lonely palace. With his mother gone, his sister willing to thrust a bolt of lighting through his chest, and father cruel enough to burn and banish his child son.

He must not be a stranger to the silence.

Maybe it was comforting to him.

Katara remembered when Zuko’s uncle shared about how after his ship blew up, and he left out on his own for weeks. Traveling alone to Ba Sing Se, he must have had a lot of silence then too. It wasn’t likely the Earth Kingdom was kind to a golden eye stranger, with pale skin and a permanent scowl.

Which could explain why, when they were in a large group, he would rarely contribute. He most likely didn’t know how, and he was just growing accustomed to a life full of talkative people. Their group did not make contribution an easy task. Their conversation’s were a healthy mixture of bickering and talking over each other, but it was all harmless fun. Zuko would learn how to contribute, he just had to find his comfort.

The silence was cozy, she sat close enough to Zuko that she could feel his warmth radiating off of him. His inky hair moved in the breeze, dusting across his pale face, his lips set in a thin line.

“I…”

Katara’s ears perked up when his voice cut through the silence, ripping the blanket off their shoulders. She turned her head slightly to look at him, so he knew she was listening. She waited.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Katara realized, in that moment, that he said that phrase a lot, it was his scapegoat. When he didn’t know how to handle a conversation or got uncomfortable, that was his fallback phrase. His personal shield for his uncomfortable moments.

“You don’t have to say anything.” Her voice was soft and understanding. He truly didn’t, she wanted to understand him. Not just get to the bottom of his personality, or life story, but to truly understand Zuko and who we was as a person. All his experiences were all a part of who he was, and how he chose to share them contributed to that.

“Your dad, and Bato… They told you a lot about me. It’s kind of annoying that you people.. Well, I don’t mean that in a bad way.. But that the Water Tribe people like to share everything. Including my life, I guess. I know Bato told you all about my time on the ship with your dad. So I don’t know what else I could even say that you don’t know.”

Katara’s smile softened. “Zuko, just because someone shares something about you, doesn’t mean you cant speak for yourself. Bato didn’t tell us everything, I doubt Bato even knows everything about you. And if he does, then you must really not like us because you haven’t shared anything with us. ” She gave a small, comforting laugh. “You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. Its just nice sometimes to talk about yourself and your life with someone else, someone who cares. Like we did in Ba Sing Se, we talked about our moms. After that, I felt like we understood each other more, didn’t you?”

Zuko glanced at her, she caught a glimpse of the left side of his face. His scar.

He nodded, yes.

“Did you feel better talking about your mom with someone? I know I did.”

He nodded yes, again. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, Katara saw a small puff of fire leave his lips.

“I didn’t know you could breathe fire.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s cool, like a dragon.”

“That’s why they called my Uncle, The Dragon of the West. He taught me how.”

“Oh wow! I didn’t know that. See, learning something new already.” She smiled at him. Pushing her shoulder against his lightly for just a moment before moving it away.

For the first time, since the night he gave her that awkward half smile, the night when he and Sokka decided to get drunk.

Zuko smiled at her.

It wasn’t an Aang smile, it was closer to a Toph smile. Small, a little crooked, but sincere and not given out often or without intent.

“I know we haven’t spoke much… Or really, at all, since Ba Sing Se, and I am sorry. I know I don’t have very good communication skills, as my Uncle would say that. When we were in Ba Sing Se, he made me serve tea so I would talk to the customers. It was awful, I fucking hate the customers.”

“Aw, you could not have hated all of them, could you?”

“Almost all of them.”

“Was there anyone you liked?”

“There was a girl… Uh… Jin. She was nice, and she tried to go out with me. But I am awkward and I told her I juggled-“

“Oh my spirits, Zuko! Can you juggle!?”

“No… That was uh… The problem. I can’t juggle. So when she asked me to show her, I uhh… I couldn’t do it. So that was weird. Then she tried to kiss me, and I just freaked out, and left. So the one good customer I could stand, I just left, standing in the street, in the dark… Alone. I never saw her again, which I was ok with, because it was that awkward.”

Katara laughed, she laughed right in Zuko’s face.

He looked upset, but she didn’t care. He was the idiot that told some poor girl he could juggle.

“Aren’t you good with swords!? Why didn’t you tell her you did something with swords!? Idiot!”

Zuko ran his finger’s though his hair a couple of times. “I don’t know! I wasn’t thinking!”

Katara just laughed again and he scowled at her.

“Ok, your turn, you tell me something embarrassing.”

“Me? Ok, well… Hmm let me think about it.”

She tapped her chin thinking, peeking at Zuko out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her very seriously, waiting to hear what she would say.

“Ok, I got it. When I first started traveling with Aang, we had dinner with King Bumi in Omashu and I was feeling really awkward and nervous about the whole thing. See, I’m from the South Pole, well you saw it. Small village, even smaller population. So having dinner with the king of Omashu was a big deal. I was trying to listen to the story Aang was telling, and I went to take a drink of my water cup and missed my mouth. Water spilled down my chin and went on the front of my shirt. I thought I would be sneaky and just bend the water away but instead I froze the water instead.” She covered her face in hilarious shame. “I was so embarrassed because of course Sokka has to say something, making stupid jokes about my ‘magic water’ and even Aang laughed at me. I was mortified.”

Zuko smirked, “you deserve that. You froze three of my men to my ship the first time we met.”

“No I don’t! And your men were attacking us! I was just trying to enjoy some dinner!”

“Whatever you say, Katara.”

When he said her name with his deep raspy voice, Katara could have swore her heart did that double beat thing she didn’t understand. Perhaps, it was the fear that she had deep down inside for him, being the face of the enemy for so long. Maybe, it was getting to know him more, and realizing he is a decent person inside. It could be his bright gold eyes and the way they seemed to burn with fire even under the soft moonlight.

Or maybe…

Nah.

“Its getting late.” Katara whispered as she tried to stifle the yawn that was fighting to come out.

Zuko nodded, “I have to be honest with you.”

Katara’s eyes were wide, snapping her head in the Prince’s direction.

“I am going to need your help getting back to camp…”

Katara smirked and stood up, offering her hands to her ‘friend’? Yeah… To her friend. He allowed her to help him, his hands holding on as she hoisted him to his feet. His arm wrapped around her shoulder as she slowly helped him back to their campsite. She ignored the warmth and comfort she felt behind pressed up against his side.

When they made it to camp the fire was out, only the glowing embers remained. Everyone was fast asleep, it was late and they planned on leaving right after breakfast in the morning. Katara helped guide Zuko to his bedroll and she slowly lowered him into his bed.

He gave her a soft smile before thanking her quietly, he watched as she made her way to her own bedroll. Groaning, she forgot she put all that nasty river moss in her bag. Lucky for her, it wasn’t there long enough to create a smell, but it was still a process to get all the clumps out of the corners. Once her bed was clean Katara found her mind avoiding sleep.

Satisfied with her conversation with Zuko, and the help she gave the town, she was feeling more giddy then tired. Katara laid there thinking, her eyes blinking slowly until she felt herself slip into sleep. Her mind kept thinking in the form of dreams, golden eyes and a genuine smiles.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The morning was rough.

Sokka was going to die, because Katara was going to kill him

Then she was going to sacrifice his body to the Painted Lady.

Who was she kidding, the Painted Lady wouldn’t want stupid Sokka.

If he yelled at her ONE MORE TIME….

“KATARA!!! LETS GO!!!!”

She whipped around to see everyone already piled in Appa’s saddle. Katara was annoyed because no one else had to make breakfast, do a healing session, and help finish breaking down the camp.

But no one cared.

They were ready to go and she was holding them up. Finally, she crawled into the saddle laying on her back with a long annoyed groan.

“Oh cheer up Sugar Queen, we are going to be at the rendezvous by the end of the day and then Snoozles will be Big Daddy’s problem. Plus…” Toph smirked, keeping her voice low. “If you weren’t out all night with Sparky then maybe you wouldn’t be so tired.”

Katara’s once closed eye sprung open. “What… I wasn’t out with… Not true.”

“Uh huh. I felt it when you left camp, a little while after Limpy went after you, then you both came back late. I know I told you not to mother him or act like he was your bother but I didn’t know you’d shack up with him! Wow my advice really got to you didn’t it?” Toph’s antagonist tone was ringing in Katara’s ears.

“That’s not even close to what happened. If you must know… We just talked. I did take your advice, and it worked. So thank you, but that’s it. Nothing else. So drop it before you make things awkward.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say.” Toph grinned and leaned back on the saddle.

Katara snuck a quick glance at Zuko who was happy to be sitting up and was trying to do some stretching towards the back of the saddle. Sokka was up towards the front, talking navigation with Aang. No one seemed to have heard Toph’s commentary, thank goodness.

Katara’s exhaustion took over and she closed her eyes, knowing this was the last time they would be flying before the invasion.

The end of the war was near.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

The cool morning air felt refreshing as it whipped Zuko’s hair around, touching his scalp tenderly. The cold feeling sent chills down his arms. Closing his eyes he inhaled the sweet smell from the moisture that coated the waking earth.

Appa never flew this early in the morning, the Water Tribe kids liked to sleep in, which Zuko never minded because it gave him time to himself to meditate as the sun rose. Once everyone awoke from their slumber the camp would fill with noise as Katara started breakfast, Sokka started complaining about the schedule, Toph began throwing rocks and Aang began bouncing around.

Surprisingly, Zuko was starting to enjoy the Avatar group, or as Sokka insist on everyone calling them, ‘Team Avatar’. Apparently Zuko joining the group was the final straw that they now needed a group name, even with the strong resistance from Katara and Toph – ‘Team Avatar’ it was.

Zuko didn’t really care what they were called, as long as he didn’t have to decide the name. He attempted to name the turtle-ducks back home when he was a young kid, and they were very ‘unoriginal’ as Azula pointed out. He argued that Greenshell, and Quackers, were completely appropriate names for his turtle-ducks. That argument ended quickly with Azula asking him if he would rather them be named Burnt, and Dead, so Zuko stopped naming the turtle-ducks after that.

The invasion was less than a week away and Zuko couldn’t stop his restless mind from wondering what would happen to him during this whole process. He wasn’t filled in on the specifics of the plan, just the overall idea that the invasion would happen on the Day of Black Sun and there would be different phases. Sokka promised that he would get caught up on all the specific details once they finally made it to the rendezvous island.

Sokka was worried about ‘enemy birds’ over hearing their plans and reporting back to the Fire Lord.

No matter how many different ways that Zuko explained they were just regular birds, not enemy birds, and no matter how skilled Ozai was at sneaky war tactics, he was not training wildlife to spy for him.

Sokka was still not convinced.

Rather than argue with a riled up Sokka, he opted to wait until they were safely at the Black Cliffs and then receiving his much needed debriefing.

Part of him (that he would never openly admit) was glad he was kept in the dark about the whole invasion plan. The idea of being back in the palace with his father and Azula made his skin crawl and his stomach feel hallow.

The thought of Azula brought mixed emotions, she was his sister, and at one time they were close. So close she would crawl into his bed during thunderstorms, he would hold her tight when their father would raise his voice at their mother. They would sneak into the kitchen and steal mangos, her favorite and papayas, his favorite. Together they would hide in the garden as Zuko peeled the skin away from the sticky sweet fruit and burnt the peels so they wouldn’t get caught. They would eat their fruit together and wash up in the small pond, feeling so much smarter and sneakier than anyone else because they got away with their childish crime.

But that was so long ago, and the last time he saw Azula she looked straight through him and shot off a bolt of lighting, hitting him in the stomach.

Running his shaking fingers through his hair his thoughts whirled inside his skull, crashing into each other as he tried to sort of out all his unanswered questions.

Did Azula regret shooting him with lightning?

Did Azula even think he was alive?

When she saw him again, would she finish the job?

Would he let her finish the job?

If his mother was gone, and his sister and father hated him, what did he have left?

Zuko blinked as an unfamiliar warmth filled his chest, accompanied by a soft smile. For the first time in a long time, he felt the tingle of hope in his heart, something that was always so far away that he was exhausted chasing it.

I have… Friends now. Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Noa, Anke, Momo, and Appa.

Friends who… Care about me. Who would do anything to be by my side and keep me safe. They have proven that over and over.

I have Hakoda back in my life, and he loves me

I have Uncle, who never stopped loving me.

I have hope now, even if I lose my sister’s and father’s love, I have gained the love of other more deserving people. The type of people who have earned my loyalty, and my affection. They accepted me for who I am, and the things I have done, they knew me at my worst and they will be there for me at my best.

“Earth to Zuko! Anyone in there, Zuko!?”

Zuko’s golden eyes flickered back to the real world, leaving his thoughts behind as he focused on Sokka’s waving arms. Glancing around he saw Sokka and Toph standing on the ground, Sokka was waving at him frantically while Toph just stared at the dirt.

Zuko had been so caught up in his head he didn’t even realize they had landed.

“Toph and I are going into town and we are going to get some metal and fabric for Appa’s armor, do you need anything? It’s the last stop we will be making before the invasion, so it's your last chance to get anything you might need before it becomes Fire Lord butt kicking time. Uhhh no offense.”

Sokka cringed, realizing that even though he and Zuko bonded the last few weeks, and the rest of the Gaang seemed to have accepted him. It wasn’t too long ago that he was throwing fire and chasing the honor his father held over him, just out of reach.

Zuko switching sides was still a touchy subject, even with everything his father put him through, everyone knew deep down he still loved his father. Possibly even hoped he loved him in return.

“Sorry Zuko…” Sokka let his words trail off, not confident in what else to say about his slip up.

Zuko shrugged, “It’s fine Sokka, and no I don’t need anything from town. Oh… Actually, will you get me a papaya?”

Sokka raised one eyebrow as if to question the request, but after taking a moment to think it over he just shook his head and decided to move on from the conversation completely.

Sokka said stupid and insensitive things.

Zuko made weird requests.

At this point it was better to just leave it as it was.

“Alright, done deal buddy. Be back really soon!” With that, Sokka and Toph disappeared into the jungle.

Appa landed near a small water spring, just outside of a small patch of jungle separating their location from a large rock quarry. Sokka and Toph were walking to a busy port, one that was strictly enforced by the Fire Nation military. The port was connected to a mining town. The town was known for their local coal mines, as well as a large stone quarry which was used to mine expensive building materials often used in the capital city.

The Fire Nation was made up of a chain of islands, so the closer they were to the ocean the more tropical the landscape. The crisp misty morning was slowly fading away as the blaring sun made its bold appearance, rising high in the cloudless sky. The sun’s heat was radiating as it coated the world in a tight fitting humid blanket. Katara began to twist her thick hair in her fingers, holding it together above her bare neck.

“Zuko… Why would anyone want to live here, its so hot…”

Zuko shrugged, “I don’t think its that bad.”

Aang smiled and bounced off of Appa’s neck and joined his other two friends who were still sitting in the saddle. “I think the Fire Nation weather is amazing, Kuzon and I would go swimming almost everyday. The coral reef off the coast of Ember Island is beautiful, Kuzon and I would always search for puffer-crab-fish there! They are so funny, when you catch them you can blow into their mouth and they’ll puff up! After the war I would love to show you the reef, Katara.”

Aang’s face turned a soft shade of pink as he rubbed the back of his neck. Katara looked away, releasing the gathered mass of thick hair she had been holding steady above her neck.

Her face broke into a small smile as her cheeks flushed along with Aang’s sheepish smile. Aang hopped off the saddle, using his air bending to gracefully hit the ground without a sound. Holding out his hand, he politely escorted Katara onto the jungle floor next to him. She couldn’t help but smile and giggle as he gave her a small bow.

Zuko rolled his eyes, laying down on the back of the saddle, Katara did a healing session shortly after leaving camp and he was finally beginning to feel closer to his version of normal. His body still retained a dull ache, but the sharp throbbing pain inside of him had finally subsided. The best feeling though, was that his inner fire was breathing again, he could feel it as clear as the warmth from the sun.

Zuko decided to take this time on the ground to walk around, at least while Katara and Aang were saying awkward things around each other. Sitting up slowly he swung his legs over the edge of Appa’s saddle before realizing how steep a drop it was off the back of the giant flying bison.

“Zuko have you completely lost your mind?”

Wincing, the hesitant fire bender turned his head, meeting eyes with the stubborn water bender. With her arms crossed over her chest and her big blue eyes narrowed, she glared up at him from the ground. Aang peeking out from behind her smiling with his usual childish humor, enjoying watching her scold Zuko.

“I haven’t completely lost it, some of it is still here I think.” He smirked, trying to lift her anger away.

It didn’t work.

“If you want to get off of Appa that’s fine, but you need to ask for help. Do you know what a fall from that height would do to all the progress we have made with your healing!? You could mess everything up with this one STUPID move. Why don’t you guys ever think these things through?! You need to be more careful! Now Aang, go help him down!”

After her outburst she spun her heel in the dirt, let out a frustrated groan and Katara stormed away. Standing at the edge of the spring she began to bend the water into a long stream, running the cool water on the back of her neck and across her forehead.

Aang hopped into the saddle next to Zuko and grabbed his arm, the fire bender frowned, he hated being treated like a helpless, weak injured turtle-duck. If his father could only see him now, he would strike him down where he stood for the amount of weakness he was displaying.

“You made Katara mad you know.” Aang whispered.

“I think I always make Katara mad.”

“Yeah well, you don’t really listen to her healing advice.”

“I don’t really listen to anyone’s advice.”

“Well you should, they only give you advice because they care.”

“Yeah, thanks goody guru.”

Aang smiled, “I know you are trying to insult me, but I take that as a compliment coming from you. So thank you.”

They were finally on the ground and Zuko smiled to himself as his feet hit the earth and his legs didn’t buckle under the weight of his body. His muscles were able to support his movements and his bones no longer felt like they were grinding together when he moved his joints.

Taking a few hesitant steps his body felt refreshed as the movement pushed his chi through his body. The fire was practically crawling under the surface of his skin, once he was far enough away from the group he released a few controlled flaming breaths. Zuko smirked, feeling stronger than he had in days, no longer so weak he couldn’t even stand.

He was no longer kneeling against his will as a woman set on vengeance pulled his invisible strings.

Finally, he was able to breathe without the fear of it being his last breath.

His gold eyes flashed with determination and excitement, he was going to train his hardest the next couple of days and help prepare himself for the invasion. He had been so worried about being too weak to do anything, or even worse, holding the others back with his weakness. But now, he could feel the energy returning, and with his inner fire growing stronger with life, he would be ready.

He would help the Avatar and his friends and make his uncle and Hakoda proud.

After a brief walk and a couple over zealous fire blasts he made his way back to where Appa was resting comfortably next to the spring. The jungle’s canopy gave the large bison protection from the sun, as Appa lazily lounged in the shade. Momo was resting on the bison’s head as his ear twitched listening to the other two Gaang members splash in the water.

Zuko was surprised to see Katara and Aang fully submerged into the spring, Katara had stripped down to just her sarashi wrap and Aang was simply in his Fire Nation under cloth, arrows out. Zuko raised his one eyebrow as he watched his friends water bend at one another while they giggled and screamed in delight.

The fire bender decided not to interrupt and be the kill joy that he was known for, even though they were completely risking blowing their cover. Instead he sat down and leaned up against Appa, closing his eyes while he rested his back against the bison’s comfortable fur. He let the sounds of Katara and Aang’s laughter drown out his still tumbling thoughts.

His relaxation was interrupted by a very familiar and very irritated voice.

“Well, well, well we leave for an hour and you guys decide to have a water bending party in the middle of the Fire Nation. I don’t think there could be anything more RECKLESS, then WATER BENDING…. In the FIRE NATION. Also, AANG, cover up! Your arrows are showing!”

Zuko didn’t need to open his eyes to know that Sokka was probably bright red right now. His eyebrows were most likely doing that scrunched up angry, confused, awkward thing they did when he was furious. His eyes were probably stretched wide, as if he didn’t know what to do with them when he was yelling at someone.

Sure enough, Zuko opened his eyes and turned his head to see Sokka in that exact facial expression. His hands were placed firmly on his hips and his nostrils were flared, wiggling slightly with every heavy breath he took.

“Sorry Sokka, we were hot and we just wanted to cool off…” Aang said in a humorous tone. Smiling wide and glancing at Katara who giggled besides him.

This only enraged Sokka further.

“I expect this kind of stuff from ZUKO, but not from you two! You two are supposed to be the responsible ones!”

Zuko frowned, “what the heck Sokka!? Why do you have to drag me into this.”

“Oh hush, you broke into a Fire Nation prison single handed, without using your bending to save Aang from the creepiest man in the Fire Nation.”

Zuko went to rebuttal, but instead he shrugged and stood to his feet. He didn’t have anything to say against that, surely if Zhao had caught him and figured out that Zuko was under the Blue Spirit mask he would have been executed, indefinitely.

He and Zhao already had a tense and strained ‘relationship’... If you could call being tortured and in prisoned by him at a young age a ‘relationship’. It was more of a mutual hatred from an acquaintanceship formed by a never ending battle for revenge.

Zuko smirked, Zhao was dead, so he had won.

“Are you even listening!?”

Zuko looked at Sokka, realizing he actually had not been listening. Instead he was imagining what Zhao would have looked like being eaten by the ocean spirit that was being controlled by Aang. Imagining Zhao’s stupid, smug, side burned face being drowned in the North.

“Yeah, I heard you. You’re mad, Katara and Aang are bad, I’m reckless, we have to go. Schedule. Late. Right?”

Sokka gave him a suspicious glare, but ended up just rolling his eyes and pushing Toph towards Appa. Katara and Aang were out of the spring, redressing themselves as they tired to conceal the humor they were both obviously feeling.

Zuko didn’t care because he had enough strength to pull himself into the saddle with no assistance. He sat in the saddle feeling a strong sense of pride as Toph scooted next to him, giving him a soft punch to the shoulder. He glanced down at her as she smirked.

“I haven’t been able to give you a good punch since you got all twisted up by that witch. So I figured if you were strong enough to pull yourself up on Appa then you were strong enough to get a punch.”

Zuko didn’t say anything, but he gently leaned his shoulder against the small earth bender. She took that small gesture of affection over all the words that could have been spoken. They sat in silence as Aang and Katara finally loaded themselves into the saddle, followed by a frustrated Sokka and a big stack of metal and a large sheet of fabric.

“Is that all for Appa?” Aang asked.

“Yes, actually, this is titanium, it is practically fire resistant, and this fabric is a fireproof cloth used in the Royal Palace. Apparently, things are prone to catching on fire there.”

Zuko scoffed, and Sokka ignored him.

Katara frowned, “how did we afford all this?”

Toph smirked, and Sokka tried not to look guilty.

“Well… You see, Toph had this great idea-“

Toph cut him off. “I had a great idea to scam the scammers, there was a bunch of people on the side of the road pulling side show scams. You know, the ones with the cup, watch the pebble, find the pebble, don’t take your eyes off the pebble? Well I don’t see with my eyes so I don’t feel like it was cheating. But that’s not how they saw it. We gambled the rest of our coins and made a killing, bought Appa his armor plus some more food and Zuko’s papaya and got the heck out of there!”

Katara’s face warped from a giggly, carefree expression into a concerned and slightly annoyed look. Both her eyebrows were narrowed and her arms instantly crossed over her chest as she yelled at Toph, breaking away only to focus her anger at Sokka as well.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!? What if you got caught!? You could have been arrested in the Fire Nation! How would we have known!? You put everyone’s safety in jeopardy! Sokka, I can’t even believe you went along with this!”

Sokka looked like he was caught with his pants around his ankles. He went to say something, but stopped himself. A rare thing for Sokka to do, he almost always had something to say, even if it would just make the situation worse.

Toph answered without hesitation. “Oh calm down Sugar Queen, we needed more money or Appa wasn’t going to get his armor. Poor Zuko wouldn’t have got his papaya either!”

Zuko pulled his shoulder away from Toph as if to tell her, why are you involving me in this!? I don’t want to be anywhere near this argument!

“I don’t care if Zuko never eats another papaya again! That was very irresponsible and totally reckless! I can’t believe you would do that!”

“Could you for once, stop being such a sour puss and lighten up! Also, leave Sparky out of this, all he wanted was a stupid, gross fruit.”

Zuko looked disappointed that his favorite fruit was called stupid and gross, but he was happy that Toph was determined to leave him out of this particular argument.

“Oh I’m sorry, you think I should be more like you? Like some wild child?!”

“Uhhh maybe!? Maybe then you would see how great we have it? I mean look at us, we are traveling the world, having fun, we just made easy money and there are no parents to tell us what to do!”

Toph reached her arms up and propped them behind her head, Zuko had slid himself away from the arguing women as he and Sokka sat towards the back of the saddle, settling in next to the pile of metal and fabric. Aang was seated up front, grabbing Appa’s reins he whispered, “yip, yip.” The flying bison let out a low rumble before propelling himself into the air.

The sudden movement of Appa didn’t stop the two girls from continuing their argument.

“Ahhh, I see, you’re acting like this because of your parents. They were controlling over you so you ran away and now you act like your parents don’t exist, you act like you hate them but you don’t, I think you feel guilty.”

“I do hate them.”

“I don’t think so, I think you miss them, but you just don’t want to deal with that so instead you act like this crazy person.”

“Look, I ran away to help Aang!”

“It doesn’t matter! All I am saying is we need to be more careful!”

Sokka finally decided to join in the argument, against his better judgment, but watching his sister lay into Toph for being reckless, when she was being just as irresponsible with her water bending.

“Katara… I understand where you are coming from, but you water bending with Aang was just as reckless as Toph using her earth bending to pull a few scams.”

Katara glared at Sokka with a furious intensity that Zuko recognized from his own sister, he slowly turned to look at Sokka who seemed frozen in place under Katara’s steady blue gaze.

“Oh, ok Sokka, good to know what side you are on! Zuko!? What do you think!?”

Then suddenly, everyone but Aang was staring at Zuko. He felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead, he shifted his weight uncomfortably as the two Water Tribe sibling’s icy glare did everything but freeze him in place.

“I uhh… I don’t know what to say…”

Katara scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Of course you don’t. Aang?!”

“Sorry! I can’t hear you! The wind is too loud!” Aang shouted from where he was seated, propped up on Appa’s head. Zuko glared at the back of Aang’s head, wondering if he could light the kid’s stupid head of hair on fire with his mind.

As if reading his thoughts, Aang turned and looked at Zuko for a moment, as if he knew Zuko was contemplating setting him on fire.

“Zuko, I need your help with something! Can you come here?” Aang called for him and Zuko forget about being angry, instead a pool of concern started forming in his stomach. Moving his way past the glaring Water Tribe siblings, and angry Earth Kingdom girl, he joined Aang at the front. Sitting next to the Air Nomad as they sailed through the air.

“Everything ok Aang?”

“Yeah, I just figured you needed a reason to get out of there.” He smiled at his fire bending friend.

Zuko blinked a few times before realizing Aang only called for him to rescue him from being caught in the crossfire of the argument. He didn’t know what to say so instead he bumped the Avatar’s shoulder with his own and smirked at the boy. They sat on Appa’s head in silence, eavesdropping on the argument that began spiraling out of control behind them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The sun was moving lower in the western skyline when the Black Cliffs came to view. Sokka let out a loud ‘whoop’ as Appa began to move closer to the large island. As they flew overhead the evidence of human inhabitance was apparent.

The hidden cove located on the side of the island was littered with docked ships, and the sloping hills of the island sparkled with campfires and torches. Tents were scattered everywhere, all different shapes and shades of color. Earth Kingdom green, Water Tribe blue, Foggy Swamp brown, and of course Fire Nation red. The Fire Nation tents must have been from the tracker off the cruiser docked on the island, because the only Fire Nation people involved in the invasion was Zuko and his uncle.

“Dad’s ship is here!!” Sokka shouted pointing at the large metal cruiser.

Zuko leaned over the side of the saddle, smiling when he caught a glimpse of the ship Sokka was pointing at. Hakoda and Uncle were ok, they made it to the rendezvous safe and sound. It was as if a weight was lifted off Zuko’s chest, a weight he didn’t realize he had been carrying this entire time.

Katara and Toph were still a little on edge because of the argument, but even both irritated girls could get excited seeing their ally’s grouping together to great Appa as he circled the camp before finding a safe place to land.

Sokka was the first off the saddle, followed by Aang and then Katara and Toph. Slowly Zuko slid off the saddle using Appa’s tail to cousin the blow, he hid the small wince from the pain when he hit the floor. He felt a hint of exhaustion from today’s movement and a small amount of fire bending that ate up a lot of his energy.

Iroh came into his view and it was as if all the pain melted away when his uncle ran towards him. Within a breath, Iroh’s strong arms were wrapped around his nephew. Iroh pulled Zuko close to him, Zuko returned the gesture and hugged his uncle back, burying his face in his uncle’s shoulder. His nose was filled the smell of smoke and spiced tea, a scent only his uncle had.

“Prince Zuko, I am so happy to see you back here safe and sound.” Pulling away he stretched out his arms holding the boy in front of him. His amber eyes scanned Zuko’s body looking for any sign of injury, satisfied he pulled him in for another hug.

Zuko hid his pain the best he could, and for once, luck was on his side. Iroh didn’t noticed the small sounds and faces Zuko made trying to hide the discomfort from the lingering ache in his body.

Sokka and Katara saw their dad approach, Bato close behind him. Running towards them, Hakoda threw out his arms pulling both of his children into him for a fierce hug. Sokka and Katara both managed to keep control of their emotions and kept their faces dry.

“I missed you kids!” Hakoda almost yelled. He was so happy to see his children safe and sound. Glancing over he saw Zuko standing in front of his uncle, the boy seemed to be uninjured, sending a wave of relief through the Water Tribe Chief.

Aang and Toph stood off to the side during the reunion, Aang’s arm draped over his small companion. He was aware that after Katara and Toph argued, that she was feeling sensitive about her own parents. Knowing that Sokka and Katara were reunited with their dad was like rubbing salt in an open wound.

Hakoda finally let go of his children and made his way over to where Zuko was standing, awkwardly off to the side near his uncle. Sokka was close behind him, trailed by Katara. Zuko’s face softened when Hakoda approached him and without any hesitation Hakoda reached out and pulled him into a strong hug. Zuko winced this time, but returned the hug nevertheless.

“It’s good to see you in one piece, Zuko. Some of the men, including myself were worried you wouldn’t make it back to us. There may or may not have been bets placed… I did not participate. I am so happy to see you.”

Blue stared at gold while Zuko shifted his body weight around awkwardly but maintained eye contact with the Chief.

“I’m here, in one piece. I made it.”

“Good, and I see you and Sokka have some new weapons. I am sure you two are tired but I would love to see what skills you picked up wielding those swords. Sokka explained that you both have, uh, space swords.”

Sokka smirked and flung his arm around Zuko’s shoulders, much to Hakoda and Iroh’s surprise.

“Yeah we trained with the Master, he is pretty much the greatest sword master alive. If Zuko is feeling up to it we can show you something right now. What do you think?” Sokka nudged his friend who was about to respond before being cut off by Katara.

“Zuko needs another healing session before he can start training again, and I think a good nights rest will do his body some good. So no sword fighting tonight. Save your energy for tomorrow whenever I clear him for training.”

Both Hakoda and Iroh stepped forward. Their questions began stumbling over each other as Zuko and Sokka both glared at Katara. Her cheeks turned red as soon as she realized what she said, and who she said it front of. They had all agreed to keep the whole Hama trying to kill Zuko and Katara now being a blood bender situation to themselves.

“What happened?!”

“Why does Zuko need to be healed?”

“Are you alright?”

“When did this happen?”

“He wasn’t stabbed was he?!”

Both Hakoda and Iroh grabbed Zuko gently, shifting him around, checking him for injuries again. Zuko tore himself from their grasp and backed up so he and Sokka were standing next to each other once again.

Clearing his throat Zuko spoke, “I am fine, nothing happened.”

Iroh sighed, “It’s a little late to lie nephew, which if I may point out, is a skill you lack. Katara would not have shared what she did if everything was fine. What happened?”

Hakoda stood next to Iroh with his strong, tan arms crossed across his chest, looking at both Sokka and Zuko.

“Son?”

Sokka flinched along with Zuko, as Katara slinked away unnoticed. She had enough drama for today, so she decided to go and unpack Appa and join Aang and Toph.

Sokka could handle this one.

Zuko began kicking the rock beneath his feet as he fumbled over his words, unable to look his elders in their eyes.

“Well…. Uh…. It was a weird thing…. Ummm… You see…. Sokka tells the story better. Right Sokka? Tell Chief Hakoda and my Uncle what happened.”

He elbowed Sokka lightly as Hakoda’s and Iroh’s eyes shifted to Sokka. With a nervous laugh he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his blue eyes moving between both men.

“Well… Here is what happened… Zuko here, he… Fell… Off of Appa.”

Zuko’s head slowly turned towards Sokka, the anger in the fire bender’s eyes threatening to ignite his Water Tribe friend in flames. Sokka didn’t look back at him, he kept his eyes fixed on the two men in front of him, which apparently were not expecting him to share that.

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, “So you’re telling me… Zuko, fell off of Appa? Zuko you fell off the sky bison and hit the ground? How did you manage to do that?”

Zuko sighed, a long and heavy sigh, his eyes did not move from the ground, focused on a single blade of grass. He was desperately trying to avoid the panic of being questioned by Hakoda and receiving questioning eye contact from his uncle.

“Like I said, Sokka tells it better.”

“Yeah well… Zuko is becoming a good story teller, so maybe he should tell his own story, of his epic sky bison fall.”

“No…. Sokka… I insist. You tell it the best. You tell them what happened.”

“No ZUKO, it was your FALL, you tell them.”

“Well… How would I have fallen off of Appa!?”

“I don’t know! If anyone could figure out how to fall off of Appa, it would be you!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You know what it means!”

“Wait… You’re insulting me!”

“No shit!”

Before Zuko could respond Hakoda reached out and set a hand on each of the boy’s shoulders. The both went stiff under his touch, gold and blue fixed on what the Chief would say about their now painfully obvious lie.

Hakoda glanced at Iroh who simply smiled and shrugged, looking back at the boys in front of him Hakoda smiled too.

“Listen, something obviously happened while you were gone. But if sticking to this... Interesting story of Zuko falling off Appa is the choice you two made, I will respect that. For all I know, Zuko, you fell off the sky bison and Sokka you saw it, or pushed him, still not entirely sure. For now, its late and I’m sure you two are exhausted. Zuko why don’t you go with your uncle and he will show you were you two are staying until the invasion. Sokka come with me and I will show you were your tent it. You’ll be staying with Noa, Tarrlok, and Denkoa, they are excited to hear all about your Avatar adventures.”

Sokka was pleased to be bunking with Water Tribe men, especially already knowing Noa. He shot Zuko a sympathetic look, knowing his uncle was probably not going to accept their ‘falling off Appa story’ and would push him for more answers..

Zuko responded by glaring at Sokka as his uncle lead him away from camp.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Iroh and Zuko walked side by side until they arrived at their tent, located on the outskirts of the main cluster of tents. Iroh knew Zuko well enough to know he wouldn’t be comfortable being in the center of everything, especially knowing he suffered with his nightmares.

They walked in silence, even as Zuko unpacked his bag and took off his blades, setting them by the head of his bed, neither of them said a word. He could feel Iroh staring at the back of his head as he shuffled his few possessions around nervously.

“Nephew.”

Zuko stopped fidgeting and let his head fall as he exhaled a long breath, still not turning to face Iroh.

“A witch tried to smother my inner fire and I was bleeding internally so Katara fixed me with some creepy blood bending and now she thinks she is evil but Aang convinced her to use it for good and she saved me and I’m fine and I wasn’t stabbed. Well I was stabbed, but it was just with ice and I’m fine and I will be healthy enough to fight in the invasion and my insides are fine, and Sokka didn’t push me off Appa, and I never fell of the bison and everything is fine.”

Gasping for air Zuko ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times before slowly turning around and bringing his eyes off the floor to meet with his uncle.

Iroh blinked a couple of times, obviously taken back from the word vomit that Zuko just unloaded onto him. When Iroh didn’t say anything Zuko turned back around and took off his shirt to change into the comfortable outfit he usually slept in.

Iroh’s eyes lingered on the two most noticeable long burn scars that crossed across his young nephews back. He remembered Hakoda’s story all those weeks ago, his heart hurt at the idea that the story could have been true. He was afraid to find out, even with his gut telling him it was.

“Since you are feeling so willing to share the truth, Prince Zuko. Can you remind me how you got those scars on your back again? I never noticed how… Large they were.”

Zuko’s heart stopped, sliding his spare Water Tribe blue tunic over his shoulders. He racked his brain trying to remember what exactly he told his uncle had happened, he knew he lied, but he couldn’t recall the lie. It was so long ago and Zuko knew the truth, but he didn’t want to tell it to his Iroh. He also didn’t want to lie anymore, he was bad at it anyway.

So he dodged the question.

“I’m tired Uncle, can we talk about it in the morning?”

Iroh smiled and moved to his side of the tent and fetched his ceramic tea pot as he prepared a calming tea blend which he always made for Zuko when he wanted to help him sleep.

The tent was a decent size, two bedrolls on opposite sides of the space, a few candles were lit for light and mediation purposes. They were in a Fire Nation tent which was fine with Zuko, the red was comforting.

Iroh finished preparing the tea as Zuko sat down on his rather comfortable bedroll, accepting the small cup from his uncle without hesitation.

“Will you be hungry for dinner? We can join the other men, or I can bring you something to eat if you want to stay here and rest.”

“No, I don’t think I am hungry. I can just wait for breakfast, but if you want to go out there and enjoy the company of the other men go right ahead.”

Iroh smiled at his nephew, he always looked at Zuko like he was the most important person in the world to him. It always made him feel guilty, Zuko knew he was cruel to his uncle and took his love and gentle nature for granted. Now that he wasn’t blinded by his father’s overbearing expectation for him, and he could see the way Hakoda and his children interacted he had a clearer idea of what real family should act like.

He wanted to be a real family with Iroh.

But in order to do that, Zuko couldn’t hide things from him anymore. He had to be honest.

“I only want to stay with you Zuko, I will wait for breakfast as well.”

Zuko gave him a small smile, taking a deep breath his eyes shifted down to his cup of tea he was gripping so tight.

“You know… Uh… My father wasn’t nice to me. I know you know that… But uh… He was more cruel then I allowed you to know. The scars on my back, I don’t know what I told you, but it was a lie. Whatever it was, father struck me with fire whips when I ran from him. I wasn’t allowed to go to the infirmary so they got infected and now I have the horrible scars.”

Zuko didn’t look up, he hated being honest, he would rather just lie. But he wanted to be a different kind of family, he wanted to have what Hakoda and his kids had. Slowly he looked up and realized that Iroh had moved directly in front of him, sitting on the ground arms length away. His amber eyes coated in a layer of moisture.

He gently took Zuko’s cup from his hand and pulled him in close, placing his hand on the back of his boy’s head and held him softly but firm.

“I am so sorry I left you with that monster Zuko, I should have taken you far away from there a long, long time ago. You and your sister.”

Zuko felt a stinging in the back of his own eyes, trying to blink the moisture away as it began blurring his vision. Burying his face deep in Iroh’s shoulder, he let the tears soak into the man’s robe. It was a brief sob, but it was one of the very few times he allowed himself to show his uncle just how injured he was. He never cried or admitted to any type of emotion except anger and frustration, so it was a big step for him to allow his uncle to see his vulnerability.

After the tears were gone Zuko pulled away slowly, his body trembling. Iroh placed a soft kiss on Zuko’s forehead and tucked him into his bedroll. With a flick of his wrist the tent went dark and Zuko fell into a dreamless sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Sokka, son. You didn’t really push Zuko off of the sky bison did you?”

Katara coughed and choked on her mouth full of rice, spitting the small white grains onto the ground.

“Sokka said he did what!?”

Toph snorted, “Well he did get Sparky stabbed, so pushing him off Appa would be the next best thing.” She laughed at her own joke, which Katara and the rest of the group did not find funny.

Toph didn’t care.

After everyone got their belongings settled into their tents, the sky had fallen into darkness and the hour was late.

Hakoda insisted his exhausted children and friends should eat some dinner before they retired to bed. So Hakoda, Bato, Sokka, Katara, Aang and Toph all sat on stone benches that were created by the earth benders around a small fire, eating their dinner as they caught up.

The simple meal of rice and vegetables was enough to make Aang almost cry with happiness. Sokka groaned, mumbling about how unorthodox it was for the Water Tribe to make a meatless meal. He claimed that he might just die of starvation tonight and then their invasion plan would fail without him.

Everyone ignored him.

Hakoda assured him there was plenty of ostrich-horse jerky he could have, but it wasn’t enough to stop Sokka’s mumbling. The Chief reminded Sokka that they had a lot of mouths to feed from now until the invasion, so not every meal would incorporate meat.

That is unless they wanted to start eating the koala-sheep, which Aang protested immediately.

It was after that when Hakoda decided to start asking about the interesting and unbelievable conversation that unfolded earlier, after their arrival.

“I didn’t push Zuko off Appa dad… He fell….” Sokka couldn’t stop his voice from cracking as he tried to make his lie come off confident and smooth. But it was hard to sound convincing when Zuko put him on the spot and he said the first stupid thing that popped into his head.

He had to admit it was NOT his smoothest moment.

Katara pointed her chopsticks at her brother, “THAT’S the story you two idiots decided to go with!? You two told him that Zuko fell off Appa!? I knew I should have stuck around and not walked away. Did you let Zuko handle the conversation? Is that how this happened?”

Sokka cringed, because his sister was right. Zuko was a terribly awkward person who was completely incapable of lying about anything. For Sokka to allow him to take the lead on lying to Hakoda and Iroh was completely out of his league.

Sokka might have felt bad if he didn’t remember all the glaring Zuko gave him.

Aang titled his head, “When did Zuko fall off Appa? I don’t remember that happening, was that before or after we stayed in Hama’s village?”

Sokka slapped his forehead, of course… He forgot to tell Aang about not mentioning Hama the blood bending, killer inn keeper. The boy who was not a part of the conversation while he was flying the bison the entire time, of course…

Hakoda’s brow raised and a small smile appeared on the Chief’s face as he turned to look at Sokka who was slowly shrinking into himself. Sliding back, his butt slid off the bench and his back hit the ground, spilling his rice all over his chest.

“Damn it!”

Sokka sat up, brushing off the stupid sticky pieces of rice and vegetables that stuck to his stupid Fire Nation clothing. Everyone found it hilarious as they laughed at him, the fire flickering in the center of the group casting shadows across their faces.

He collected himself before returning to his seat, his cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

“Alright son, do you want to re visit that conversation from earlier and start with the truth? I’d love for all of you to tell me about your journey after leaving us in the ocean. I am curious what you kids have been up to. This time, possibly leaving out the whole ‘falling off the bison’ lie?”

Sokka flushed again, his dad was known for his lie detecting skills, which could possibly battle Toph’s own lie detecting skill set. Even though Sokka and Zuko didn’t make it difficult to see through their bullshit, an infant could probably point out that both boys had been lying.

Sokka stole a glance at Katara, who had her face firmly set in a downward position, spinning the contents of her bowl slowly with her chopsticks. He wanted his sisters permission before he told the real story of their adventure, especially the Hama part. It was her choice to decide if she wanted anyone else to know about what happened, she was the one who had to use blood bending against her will. Sokka wouldn't take that choice away from her.

Katara sighed, “It was a rough journey, well not all of it, but there were a few parts that were less than pleasant. I will let Sokka tell the story but promise me dad, you don’t look at me any different, ok?”

Katara’s eyes pleaded with her dad to understand how serious she was about him not changing the way he looked at her. Truthfully, it was never the actual blood bending that worried Katara, because she knew she was strong enough to handle the power and use it for the right reasons. The thing that scared her the most was how the people around her would view her when they saw her ability to bend people’s blood.

She was terrified of people looking at her like she was a monster, the same way she looked at Hama when she watched the woman she had admired, twisting her friends against their will. She remembered the feeling of her own limbs being controlled and the utter terror in Zuko’s eyes as he kneeled helplessly, his body completely at Hama’s will.

Shuttering at the thought, she looked at her dad. He moved closer to her, setting his hand gently on her shoulder. His eyes were soft, and full of love, just like she remembered from when she was a child. He was always so patient and kind, it was her favorite thing about being around him.

She always felt safe.

“Katara, there isn’t anything you could ever do that would make me look at you any differently. You are my little girl and I will love you no matter what. I can’t express in words how proud I am of you and your brother. You are growing into such a strong woman and I trust you to make the right decisions.”

“Thank you dad.” Katara let out a long exhale before looking at her brother and nodded, “Ok Sokka, tell him the tale of … ugh… Team Avatar.”

Sokka’s face lit up after hearing his team name leave his sister’s lips. Clearing his throat he used his best version of his Chief voice to weave the tale of their adventures over the last couple weeks. Hakoda listened intently for the first part of the tale, he smiled a lot when Sokka spoke about him and Zuko training under the sword master. He pulled out his space sword and handed it to his father so he could get a better look.

Hakoda let his hands rub the smooth yet dangerously sharp blade, impressed that his son forged this himself. He had to put in effort to hide the blooming happiness that kept wanting to show itself through teary eyes.

As the story continued Hakoda’s face fell into a concerned look when the story of Hama unfolded. His eyes drifted to his daughter who was concentrating on the fire as Sokka revealed the blood bending revelation and how Katara used it against Hama and then used it to heal Zuko. He tried to downplay the damage she did to Zuko but Hakoda was insistent on asking questions, showing his deep concern for his fire bender.

“Will he be alright, you think?”

Katara met eyes with her father as he put his arm around his daughter holding her close. She buried her head in the pit of his arm, no matter where he was he always smelled like the sea.

“He will be ok, I will admit I was so scared at first… I thought it was all my fault-“

Toph surprisingly cut her off, the two girls even though they were tent buddies, haven't really spoken since the heated discussion from earlier.

“It wasn’t Katara’s fault, Zuko was missing for days and we all could have done something about it but we all played it off like he was fine. No one is responsible for that except Hama, she is the one that took him and put in the effort to make it look like everything was fine. She lied to hide what she did and we fell for it. Zuko doesn’t blame you, he made that clear so don’t blame yourself.”

Katara lifted her head and blinked away the sadness as she looked over at Toph.

“Thanks… Toph… That means a lot.”

“No problem.”

The story wrapped up quickly after the hard part of talking about Hama was finished, Katara did not share about her ‘Painted Lady’ experience and Toph didn't mention her and Zuko’s late night talk, which she was very grateful for. The last thing she wanted was for her dad to think something was going on between her and Zuko and taint the great relationship he had with the fire bender.

The group sat in silence after the story was done, finally Hakoda let out a long breath.

“Well… That is quiet a tale. I am just happy you all are safe and made it here in once piece. I am also thankful that no one actually fell off the bison.”

Hakoda smiled at Sokka who grinned and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yeah… I should have known better than to have Zuko help me lie. Guy can’t lie for crap.” Sokka stated.

Hakoda nodded, “Would you say that everyone is getting along better? It seems like you all are enjoying each other’s company more than you were when you left the cruiser.”

Sokka shrugged, “I guess I see what you see in the guy. Deep down, you know, past all the anger and yelling, he is a pretty cool guy.”

Toph crossed her arms blowing her breath into her bangs. “Yeah Snoozles, you can make it sound all chill, but we all know you like Sparky more than that. You two are buddies, no faking it.”

Katara smiled at her brother and nodded before looking at her dad, “I was on the fence at first, because of the history we have. But Zuko and I actually had a decent conversation and he seems to be really sincere, I like him too.”

Toph snorted and kicked her feet up on a small earth platform. “I think Twinkle Toes and I don’t even have to answer that, we have been team Sparky since way before our little bonding trip. Aang is practically in love with the guy!”

Aang smiled and laughed “I do love Zuko! I am so glad he is part of Team Avatar!”

Sokka’s face lit up as he wiggled his eyebrows at Katara and Toph, “See that! It’s catching on! TEAM AVATAR!”

Hakoda felt his heart squeeze, the worry he had about his children and Zuko were washed away with one conversation. He knew his kids would like him if given the chance, and all Zuko had to do was be himself and let go of all the hate and anger his father tried to manifest inside him.

Smiling, Hakoda watched his son brag about his amazing team naming abilities, while Katara and Toph complained. Aang just laughed and watched the group argue, it was a perfect night. The only thing that would make it complete would be if Zuko would join them.

“Where is Zuko anyway? Iroh was showing him to his tent and I thought they would come join us.” Hakoda looked off to the distance towards the direction of the fire bender’s tent.

Katara spoke up this time, “Honestly dad, its probably better that he isn’t here, that means he is resting. I know we told you the story of what happened but… Honestly, it was really bad. He would have died if I didn’t use the bloo- new technique, to heal him. He needs rest if he wants to be healthy enough to fight with us during the invasion.”

Hakoda nodded and smiled at his daughter, “Thank you Katara, for always being so giving and strong. I don’t know what our family would do without you.”

Katara blushed, the compliment from her father meant everything to her, she didn’t always have the best relationship with him. He left when she was so young that sometimes she felt as if she didn’t know him that well. But now her family was back together again and she was going to make sure they stayed together.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next morning fell into organized chaos as the allies from other nations began their own preparations as the Day of Black Sun came another day closer.

Iroh and Zuko were awake first, sitting on the cliff’s edge overlooking the ocean as they mediated at the crack of dawn. After the mediation, Iroh worked through some of the basic fire bending katas with Zuko to evaluate his strength after the incident he had.

Much to Iroh’s surprise, Zuko seemed stronger and more focused then he did before leaving with the Avatar’s group. Even with the slight tremble in his arms, and the faint shaking in his legs, Zuko held strong and moved with grace and passion instead of his usual anger and determination. Iroh praised him on his form and only had to adjust his stance a few times, much to both of their surprise.

Zuko was exhausted when they finally ended their fire bending training for the morning, but he knew the day was just getting started and if he wanted to be ready for the invasion he would need to push his body to return to it’s old stamina.

As the morning progressed, Katara was the next one to emerge from her tent in order to begin breakfast preparation. Zuko knew she would have a lot of work to do in order to feed all the men that came for the invasion, so he offered to help her out.

She was pleasantly surprised and extremely grateful to have someone’s help. Zuko and her prepared breakfast together while Iroh got the fires going and prepared tea, lots of tea, for all the men. The breakfast meal they prepared was a simple few pots of jook and some fresh berries, but it would be enough to give everyone energy to prepare for battle.

“Thanks for the help Zuko, you really didn’t have to.” Katara smiled at her new fire bending friend as she finished stirring the last pot of jook. Zuko was filling a few bowls with the freshly washed wild berries, he nodded as he finished up.

“No problem.”

Katara laughed to herself and rolled her eyes playfully, no matter how much their relationship progressed, Zuko was just not a talkative guy and Katara was learning to be ok with that. If she wanted to have a long drawn out conversation she could always find Sokka.

People began pouring out of their tents as the smell of fresh fire and sweet smelling jook filled the air. Helping themselves Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation filled seats around the fire as laughter and conversation filled the camp.

Sokka finally emerged from his tent, followed by the other Water Tribe men he was tenting with. Noa saw Zuko and took off in a run, launching himself at the young fire bender almost knocking him to the ground.

“YOU’RE BACK!” Noa yelled before giving Zuko a loud smack across his shoulder, “You could have said goodbye!”

Zuko rubbed his arm and glared at Noa, “I did say goodbye! I told Chief Hakoda to tell you goodbye for me! I didn’t have a lot of time, you know.”

Noa frowned and crossed his arms, “You can always make time for your best friend.”

Zuko made a face, ‘best friend’ was stretching it, but in a world where you could count your friends on one hand, maybe Noa was as good of a best friend as any. He was the friend he had the longest, another reminder of his depressing life. His first friend at 13….Zuko shook his head, he didn’t have time to deal with negative thoughts or Noa and his stupid antics.

“You are planning on fighting in the invasion, right?”

Noa nodded yes, hesitantly.

“Ok, well then after you eat we are going to spar and make sure you don’t die out on the battlefield. I can’t be distracted by trying to look out for you.”

Noa made an annoyed gasping face, “I have gotten so much better since I saw you last!”

Zuko crossed his arms and smirked, “Ok, prove it. Go eat and meet me on the east side of the island in an hour. Bring… Whatever weapon you use now.”

Noa smirked and gave Zuko a playful shove, “I will see you there!” He left to go get in line for food.

Everyone seemed to be sitting with their appropriate nation, Water Tribe with Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom with Earth Kingdom, and then there was Team Avatar.

Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Toph all sat together. Zuko saw them laughing and eating their breakfast and suddenly he felt extremely awkward.

Do I go join them?

Were we only sitting together and acting like friends because we were traveling together, right?

Now that we are back do I just go back to-

“ZUKO!!!!!”

Zuko’s golden eyes snapped up to see Sokka waving like an idiot at him, both arms lifted high above his head before bringing them down to cup his hands around his mouth and yelling his name.

“ZUKO!!! COME HERE!!!!”

Zuko tried to contain his smile as he strolled over to where the Gaang was sitting.

“What, Sokka?”

“What are YOU doing? Come sit with us, did you already eat?”

Zuko nodded. “Yes, I ate a while ago. Some people consider it the morning, I don’t know if you have ever been awake in the morning, so maybe you don’t know what Im talking about?”

Sokka clutched his chest sarcastically, “Ouch, you hurt me fire bending brother, but actually I decided a long time ago that mornings were stupid, and people that woke up in the mornings were also stupid. I am more of an afternoon, evening kind of guy, that's the time all the smart people like to be awake.”

Zuko glared at him while Aang and Katara laughed. Toph snorted, “Anyway… What is everyone’s plans today?”

Sokka cleared his throat, “Well I am going to design Appa’s armor so he doesn’t have to fight in the invasion… NAKED! Then maybe I will practice some of my sword bending with ‘morning guy’ over there.”

Zuko frowned, “It's bad enough Toph calls me Sparky, can I not be ‘morning guy’ too?”

Sokka smirked, “Oh you want to crack jokes about me not knowing what mornings are and then turn around and ask me for favors!? Psshhhhh, you have some nerve-“

Katara cut him off before he could say anything else stupid and irrelevant.

“I am going to work with the swamp benders and see if I can teach them any of the techniques from the Northern Water Tribe that will help us with their part in the invasion. I know we are counting on them for the submarines and I want to make sure they are as prepared as possible.”

Zuko glanced over to the weird swamp benders who were only dressed in a piece of fabric and leaves, one of the shorter men was picking his nose vigorously.

“Those guys with the leaves… They’re water benders?” He asked.

“Yeah, actually they are pretty fanatic, Huu, Tho, and Due are from our cousin tribe in the Foggy Swamp. We met them before Toph joined our group. Huu can bend the water in the local plant life and use it to create a living shield. Its pretty incredible.”

Zuko took one last look at the loincloth and leaves as they three men laughed together and the one guy finally stopped digging in his nose.

“Uhhh huuhh… Ok then.”

Toph stood up and cracked her knuckles. “I am going to go and catch up with my old friend The Boulder and The Hippo and make sure those pansies didn’t get soft while I have been away! Plus, I think I can help some of the other earth benders sharpen their skills before the big day.”

Aang was quiet and didn’t seem to be focused on what everyone else was talking about, he wasn’t eating either, just spinning his food inside his bowl.

Zuko noticed it but didn’t say anything, Katara was the one who finally mentioned Aang’s distant stare.

“Are you ok Aang? Did you have plans for today?”

Aang jolted up, his eyes scanning each of his friend’s stares before locking eyes with Katara. “Oh yeah… Uhh… I am going to practice, everything. You know, I will need to be good at everything if I am going to face the Fire Lord. So if you need me I will be over there working on my forms and such… Ok… Bye!”

Aang set down his still full bowl of food before scooting off in the distance, leaving his friends to watch him retreat.

“Well that was weird.” Katara stated, picking up the bowl of food he left. Sokka reached out his hands, wiggling his fingers as if asking Katara to hand him the bowl so he could finish Aang’s food. Rolling her eyes she handed Sokka Aang’s leftover food.

Toph shrugged, “He has been jittery all morning, I think he is just freaking out because he is so close to having to fight the Fire Lord. Give him some time I bet he will be calm down.” She left the group to go find her sparring partners.

Katara couldn’t help but watch the direction Aang flew off into, her eyes filled with concern as she held one of her arms. She knew how much pressure he was under, no one knew Aang the way she did, ever since he emerged from the ice she knew he was overwhelmed by the expectations the world had for him. The war hadn’t even started when he was frozen, and now he was here 100 years in, and people have lost loved ones and needed him more then ever.

In a few days he would be facing the most powerful man in the world, and Aang was only 12 years old. Katara couldn’t imagine the amount of pressure he was putting on himself, but rather than chase after him she decided it was better to let Aang work it out himself.

She wasn’t going to be there to help him defeat Ozai, so he would need to be confident without her, she had to allow him to do this himself, even if it pained her in the process.

“He’ll be ok. He is young, but he is strong.” Zuko’s raspy voice broke the silence and Katara turned to him in shock. The last person she was expecting to help the situation was Zuko. He didn’t say much, but it was enough to ease Katara’s worry for the moment.

“Thanks Zuko, you’re right. I am just worried about him.”

“You don’t have to be worried until he is in the capital fighting against Ozai.”

“Jee, thanks Zuko.”

The fire bender just shrugged as he stood to his feet, “I’m not trying to be the ‘bad news guy’ but eclipse or not, my father is not going to be an easy opponent. So I understand why Aang is worried, I would be worried as well, if I were him.”

Katara watched at Zuko strolled away, she glanced over at Sokka who still sat next to the fire staring into the flames with uncertainty. Katara wished he would say something, anything. She would even take a stupid joke right about now.

The idea of fighting the Fire Lord always seemed like a far reach, it was an idea that was out there but not actually obtainable. Now with the invasion in 3 days that idea was becoming a reality rather quickly. Katara knew they were all in for the fight of their lives, but no one had the responsibility of fighting Fire Lord Ozai, no one except Aang.

Katara felt her stomach turn at the thought of something happening to Aang. Her mind drifted to all of Zuko’s scars, and the permanent message Ozai tried to teach the boy on his face. If such a man could do that to his own son, what could she expect him to do to Aang…

Rubbing her eyes she cleared her mind, there was no point in her freaking out right now. Her job was to make sure the water benders knew what their plans were and to teach them any useful water bending techniques that would help them defend the submarines during the invasion.

“Well…. On that note, I am going to start planning out Appa’s armor. Good luck with your water bending lessons today sis! From the looks of it you’re going to need it.”

Sokka smirked at his sister as she rolled her eyes, yes the Foggy Swamp benders were a little… Unorthodox, but they were good benders and they left their homes to come and help them in battle. Which was more than the Northern Water Tribe did.

Everyone went to work, it was going to be a long couple of days but all they could do was prepare and practice, it was the only thing they had any control over.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Noa, you need to shift your right foot back, you can’t expect to deflect an attack when you are standing like a damn tree!”

“I did shift back! I am just not going to split my pants trying to crouch as low as you do!”

“If you crouch lower you can duck under an attack with less energy!”

“IM TRYING!”

“TRY HARDER!”

“I think it might be time for Noa to take a break, don’t you think, fire rat?”

Turning Zuko saw Anke standing off to the side with his massive upper arms folded across his chest. His fierce blue eyes watching Zuko carefully, his lips turned into a small smirk. Even with the effort Anke was putting into keeping his cold exterior anyone who knew the Water Tribe warrior would agree that he was very happy to see Zuko.

Crossing his own arms Zuko sneered back at his Water Tribe friend, “Are you planning on replacing him as my sparring partner then?”

Anke laughed, “You think you can handle me?”

“Show me what you got.”

Noa smiled, happy that he was being given a break finally. The sun was higher in the sky at this point and everyone had been training vigorously while the leaders finalized the invasion plans. Zuko was just happy we was strong enough to spar and didn’t have to worry about any of the logistics of the invasion. He just wanted to be shown where to stand and what to do and he was fine with that, his purpose was to support the Avatar in fighting the Fire Lord, it was not his fight.

Anke moved into a fighting position, holding a serrated bone knife over his shoulder, the Water Tribe men were particular to weapons crafted out of bones. Their tribe had a long history of crafting weapons out of the animals they killed, it was considered a sacred practice and allowed the warrior to craft any style of weapon they desired.

Zuko raised his eyebrow as Anke shifted into position, “That’s new.”

Anke saw the fire bender staring at his oversized knife, the detailing he put into his weapon was impressive, it would have taken a lot of time and patience to get the bone into that shape with an edge like that.

Anke was not known for his patience.

“What? Because I am a savage I can’t have a nice ass weapon? I also see you upgraded your weapons as well.”

Zuko smirked, “Sokka had the great idea of making space swords.”

“Of course he did. Now are we going to gab, or fight?!”

Zuko made the first move.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They sparred for three rounds before Zuko was too exhausted to continue, Anke put up way more of a challenge then Noa. His body was screaming to take a break, as his muscles ached and his head was starting to throb. He could tell from the protest his body was giving him that he was pushing it too far, but in his defense, he didn’t expect Anke to put up such a fight.

He really took the advice Zuko gave him all those years ago and he had steadily improved over the last 2 years. Anke was lighter on his feet and his stance was strong, he didn’t swing wildly or use all his strength to try and chop his opponent in half. His attacks were more controlled and thought out. Zuko was able to knock him down the first two rounds and disarm him, but the last one he struggled until he fell.

The fall wasn’t hard, using the momentum from the motion he was able to roll off to the side, and avoid being kicked in the ribs by Anke.

Before Zuko could raise to his feet he felt the cold, sharp edge against his throat.

“Well, well, well look who won.”

Anke noticed the tremble in the fire benders arms as he tried to life himself off the ground, and the small layer of sweat that was forming under his shaggy hair. Taking a step back he gave Zuko room to breathe as the boy pulled himself to a standing position, his breathing was shallow and his chest felt heavy.

“You alright kid?” Anke couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

Noa rushed over when he noticed Zuko’s slight shake, putting himself under the fire benders arm he tried to steady the boy.

“Zuko what happened?! I know Anke has gotten better, but he isn’t good enough to actually beat you. Why are you shaking!? Did something happen to you while you were gone?”

Zuko went to answer before Noa cut him off.

“DID YOU GET STABBED!?”

Rolling his eyes Zuko went to answer but this time he was cut off by Anke.

“Oh man, Zuko if you got stabbed that means Noa you owe me a silver piece. I have to find Toluk and Bato. They both owe me some money too. Man I am going to be rich! Did you really get stabbed?”

Noa frowned at Anke, the man never took anything serious unless it was on fire or bleeding. “You’re a real jerk Anke, you could have helped him! But seriously Zuko did you get stabbed?”

“Not… Technically.”

Anke laughed. “Alright that’d good enough for me! Noa take care of Zuko but make sure you have my money to me by the end of the day! I am going to go find Bato and Tulok to collect! Thanks for making me rich fire rat!”

Anke’s words were harsh but his gaze was soft, his blue eyes met Zuko’s gold as he shared an unspoken apology and Zuko forgave him without a word. Anke couldn't help him in this situation, so leaving was the next best thing for both of them. The massive Water Tribe warrior turned and left, only after making sure his little fire bender would be ok.

Noa walked with Zuko back to camp and had him lay down while he moved his hands across his chest and midsection, feeling for injuries.

“You have some swelling in your stomach area, I think I need to find Katara and I am going to grab some herbs. Just stay right here please. Do. Not. Move.”

Zuko nodded as Noa disappeared out of his sight. Staring up at the sun Zuko groaned to himself as he rubbed his face with his hands before running his fingers through his hair.

How was he going to help them with the invasion if he couldn’t even handle a few hours of sparring?! He was so sick an tired of being weak, just when he thought things were getting better he finds himself back on his back waiting for Katara to heal him.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As soon as Noa came into Katara’s view she knew something happened to Zuko.

Noa was a good guy, he was a strong and passionate healer and he was a great friend to Zuko, so if he was seeking her out something must have happened.

“He didn’t get stabbed during practice did he?”

“No, but I do need to find out if he did actually get stabbed because I owe Anke some silver if so.”

Katara crossed her arms and frowned before rolling her eyes and following the Water Tribe man to where he had Zuko laying in the grass.

“-I think his stomach is swollen, like something internal. I am going to get my turmeric and make him some tea, it should help with the swelling and reduce any inflammation. I’ll be right back.”

Zuko groaned as Katara kneeled next to him, “I hate turmeric….”

“Oh just shut up and drink the tea, it will help you feel better. Now why is it that the first day I clear you for training you had to over do it and now your flat on your back injured?”

Zuko mumbled nonsense as Katara started the healing process. She quickly found the problem, he was using muscles that were so strained during his injures that they were severely inflamed. “Do you understand the phrase, ‘take it easy’?”

Zuko smirked, “Have you met me?”

Katara glared at him, exhaling heavily as she finished healing him. His body was feeling much stronger than it had in the last few healing sessions, he was a determined person and he was getting stronger. But if he didn’t take it easy over the next few days he would not be ready to fight at his full strength on the Day of Black Sun.

“Just take it easy for the rest of the day please. Drink Noa’s tea, and thank your friend for always taking care of you. I have to go back to work, but please Zuko… Stop getting hurt.”

Zuko sat up and nodded, Katara was replaced with Noa and Zuko drank the nasty turmeric tea like requested. Both boys sat together and rested before the inevitable of going back to training would happen.

“You’re going to be ok, right?” Noa asked, his usual humor pushed aside and a hint of worry in his words.

Zuko looked at the man sitting next to him, Noa’s big blue eyes filled with emotion as he clearly worried about his friend.

“Yeah I will be, I didn’t go looking for trouble this time… I promise. Katara said I will be fine before the invasion.”

“I know you’ll psychically be ok Zuko, I mean…. Emotionally… We are invading your home… Are you going to be ok with that?”

Zuko broke his gaze away, looking out into the rolling hills of the Black Cliffs, his eyes lingering on the odd animals grazing at the peak of the hill. Zuko was not expecting that question, but if anyone were to ask it, it would be Noa. Maybe he was his best friend?

They let the silence settle between them, Noa stayed quiet as he waited for Zuko to pick his words.

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure? If you ever need to talk, you know I am here for you. I care about you. I just know you haven't seen your father since you were banished right?”

No, Zuko had not seen Ozai since he was banished, he actually hadn’t seen Ozai since he held him by his hair and burnt his face off. He couldn't find the right words to respond.

“It’s ok to be scared, or worried, you’re allowed to feel a feeling besides anger. I know if it were me and I was invading my home and had to help people kill my family, I would be scared.”

“I’m not… Scared. I just… I don't want any part of it. I don't want to be in the palace, or see them… I just want to stay in the city and fight with everyone else. Aang is the one who had to fight the Father Lord.”

“You mean the Fire Lord?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Yeah ok I believe you, just know that I care about you Zuko, I just want to keep you safe… I’m sorry I am not strong enough to protect you. I have always looked at you like another younger brother…”

Even though he knew Noa cared for him, his words always hit him especially hard. His heart never truly accepted kind words from people, he had a habit of deflecting their feelings, afraid to be hurt. Everyone who was supposed to care for him always hurt him, except his uncle.

But he wanted to change his mindset, Noa was his friend, Anke was his friend. He wanted a family like Hakoda, and a tribe like the Water Tribe. He was honest with uncle last night and let his guard down, so he could try to accept Noa’s words too.

“Uh… Thank you, Noa, I uhh… I care about you too. I ummm, I promise, it’ll be ok. Like I said, I am not going to go into the palace until the whole thing is over. So if everything goes as planned my sister and father will be in chains… Or dead and I won't even have to see them unless I want to. Which I don’t know if I will… I guess I’ll know in the moment. But I will stay safe, I promise.”

Noa nodded, biting his lower lip in a nervous habit. “Good, I’m glad, I don’t want you getting shot with lightning, again… Ha. I mean… It’s actually not funny at all and I kind of hate that you called that they would shoot you with lightning all those years ago. I just don’t want you to get hurt, you’re my friend and you have been through enough in your life. Plus if you die I wont get to introduce you to my little brother, you have to come to the Northern Water Tribe one day. He doesn’t believe me when I wrote him and told him I was buddies with the Prince of the Fire Nation and I need you to make sure I don't come out of this thing looking like a liar.”

Zuko smirked, bumping his shoulder into Noa’s shoulder. “Yeah I’ll come with you to the Northern Water Tribe if this all works out. You will have to make sure I have a few of those furry jackets because I’m sure its cold as shit up there.”

“Well I don’t know how cold, ‘cold as shit’ is, but yes, it’s cold there. Don’t worry we have the appropriate clothing for the weather. You’ll have to give up all this light weight silk crap you are always wearing, at least you have some sense and are wearing Water Tribe blue today!”

“Yeah I slept in this shirt and never changed into the clothing Katara got me, but we have been relaxing long enough, come on. Time to get back to work.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka was finally finished with Appa’s defense plans, he was extremely pleased with what he managed to come up with. Between helping his dad, Bato and Iroh with finalizing the invasion plans and taking way too long to explain the diameters for Appa’s metal armor to Toph, he felt like he did a full day's work!

The sun was lowering itself slowly, the cliffs were casting heavy shadows across the island as the men began trickling in from where they were sparring all day. Sokka saw a large group standing around in one of the fields outside of camp. He could hear the clanging of swords and Sokka felt an itch to go out there and show off his stuff.

Touching the handle of his blade he moved quickly through camp as he got closer to the group he saw Zuko and Hotah, of all people, sparring in the center. They were moving slowly and Zuko was helping correct his footing.

“You need to slow down your mind so you can think through your attack, see how your knee is facing inward, you are at risk of buckling over with the right nudge. If I hit you here.” Zuko tapped Hotah’s right hip with the handle of one of his blades, “you’ll lose your balance.”

Hotah fixed his stance before moving his sword again, a few more motions and Zuko had the larger boy on his back. Walking over to him he reached out his hand and helped him up.

“You’re getting better, we can practice more tomorrow if you want. If you have enough energy I would practice some of those motions I taught you and keep a focus on the positioning of your knees.”

“Ok, thanks for your help today Prince Zuko” Hotah gave Zuko a small bow before leaving the circle. His eyes met with Sokka’s and he gave the a small smile, Sokka didn’t smile but gave him a small head nod to acknowledge him.

Sokka moved into the center of the circle when he heard someone protest, “Sokka, I am next, you had enough time to train with the Blue Spirit when you guys traveled together.”

Zuko and Sokka both stopped, Zuko’s face drained of color and his swords touched the ground as his arms went limp.

“What did you call me?”

The Water Tribe man cocked his head to the side, resting his arms on his club he had planted in the ground.

“You’re the Blue Spirit, it makes sense why you’re wickedly skilled with your blades and you are practically silent when you move. That’s why we are all here, we want to train with you.”

Most of the men nodded and Sokka’s face split into a huge grin. “Secrets out.” He nudged Zuko who stood there stiff as a board.

“I think that’s enough training for today…”

The men around him groaned, and began protesting before Zuko sheathed his blades and raised his hand. “We can continue tomorrow. Just…. Go away.”

Sokka threw his arm around Zuko’s shoulder. “Oh come on Blue! That’s no way to treat your loyal fans.”

Zuko turned and shoved Sokka, he stumbled away as the laughter finally escaped him.

“I wonder who spilled your dirty little secret?”

Zuko’s brow furrowed as he stormed towards camp, “I have a pretty good idea…”

Sokka watched Zuko storm away, he was convinced there was a hint of smoke coming out of his ears, but if anything it just made the whole situation that much funnier.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Iroh, Hakoda and Bato all stood around the war table, hovered over a map of the Fire Nation capital as they finished up their plans in the war tent. Hakoda and Bato traced a finger over the best route Iroh recommended for their troops to march in order to get to the palace steps before the eclipse started.

“We will want to be here, by the time we are ten minutes out.”

“If we are here, by the time the eclipse starts we will be able to assist the Avatar after he defeats-“

“UNCLE!”

Iroh turned and saw Zuko standing at the large tent opening, his arms crossed and his shoulders steaming. Iroh smiled at his nephew, even when Zuko was irate and full of anger he was still always pleased to see him.

Hakoda and Bato glanced over at Iroh.

“What do we owe the pleasure, Prince Zuko?”

“Did you tell the entire Southern Water Tribe that I am the Blue Spirit!?”

Iroh slipped his hands into his robe sleeves, continuing to smile at his nephew.

“I did not, I did tell Chief Hakoda.”

Hakoda pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew Iroh didn’t mean to throw him under the polar-dog sled, but he wasn’t going to lie either. And it was kind of Hakoda’s fault the entire tribe knew...

Zuko’s flaming gold eyes flickered over to Hakoda now, and Bato took two steps away from the Chief to the left.

“YOU TOLD EVERYONE!”

Hakoda peeked over his hand, “Now Zuko…”

“WHY!? Why can’t you Water Tribe sava- people keep ANYTHING to yourselves!?”

“In my defense, a lot of the men were still not as trusting of you, with your obvious temper and the fact that you breathe fire when you’re angry. I thought maybe if I told them that you were the Blue Spirit, enemy of the Fire Nation, a person a lot of our men admire… They would be more accepting. It worked didn’t it?”

Zuko ran his hands through his hair before glaring at Hakoda. “Yeah it worked, but that’s not the point! I mean, uhhh… Why do you have to be so difficult! You should just.. Not have – Just not said anything! Ugh!”

Zuko turned and stormed out of the tent mumbling to himself the entire way out. Obviously he had too much respect for Hakoda to directly attack him verbally, even when he was raging with anger.

“Stupid… Can’t keep anything to themselves… Fucking… Water Tribe…” His voice was lost in the noise of the men gathering outside for dinner.

Hakoda glanced at Iroh who shrugged and smiled.

“I think that went rather well.”

Bato moved back towards his friend and grabbed his shoulder giving him a small shake. “Koda has such a way with the young Fire Nation Prince.”

“Shut up, Bato.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

That night everyone laughed and smiled around the fire. Most of the warriors were exhausted from the long day of training, everyone was grateful to Katara for preparing such a fulfilling meal. She quickly took up the position of cooking for the men since her and Toph were the only females in the entire invasion force.

Even though Katara would argue with anyone of these men if they called cooking women's work. She cooked because she enjoyed it, not because she was a woman. Just to make that perfectly clear. None of them men even mentioned it, too scared of losing the amazing cooking she was offering them.

Fire Lord Ozai would surely surrender before Toph offered to do any kind of work.

Katara prepared her favorite food, five-flavor soup, and of course she made a side of vegetable broth and rice for Aang. Everyone was thankful to Katara for her cooking as they shoveled her food eagerly into their mouth, enjoying all the flavors she put together.

“Hey Hakoda! Your daughter is a way better cook than you!!” One of the men screamed at the Chief as a roar of laughter erupted.

Everyone, for the most part, still sat with their nations, but tonight there were a few more people mingling between colors then there was the previous night.

Iroh, Hakoda, Bato, Tulok, and Anke all sat together enjoying the delicious meal prepared by Katara in silence. Watching the men laugh and banter around them.

Hakoda was watching the eccentric Earth Kingdom men named The Boulder and Hippo, apparently, bicker loudly about who would win an arm wrestling match. They’re voices were so loud it was hard to concentrate on anything but their obnoxious banter.

He felt a soft nudge on his side, looking to his right he saw Bato smiling at him before he titled his towards one of the smaller fires. Hakoda squinted until he clearly saw Team Avatar sitting around the fire with Noa and two other Water Tribe men.

A warm rush entered Hakoda’s chest as he saw Zuko sitting in between Sokka and Katara as they bickered over him. Sokka flung his arm around Zuko’s shoulder as he tried to get the fire bender to take his side in whatever the debate was about.

Katara threw her arm over Zuko as well, much to Hakoda’s surprise, as she tried to get him to agree with her. Zuko shook them both off before saying something Hakoda couldn’t hear and both kids laughed. Aang leaned over Katara and said something and all the kids laughed together.

Hakoda watched as Zuko smiled softly at his new friends and Hakoda tried to stifle his own proud smile as he watched his children accept the boy who he loved like one of his own.

All they had to do was get through the invasion and keep everyone safe and maybe everything would turn out ok.

He could only hope.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

Today is the day.

It is the ‘Day of the Invasion’, also being referred to as the ‘Day Azula Finally Destroys the Avatar Once and for All’.

Azula smirked and snickered quietly to herself as she walked down the long empty hallway leading to the war room. Her hair was pulled back in her traditional top knot and she wore the traditional red and black royal armor.

She was not known for being a funny person, she knew that already, she was not the girl people looked to for a good laugh; but she thought herself to be plenty hilarious. Most people found her sense of humor dark or disturbing but truly, it was how she expressed herself and father always found her humor enjoyable.

But again, people often found her father dark and disturbing, even when he wasn’t trying to be funny, which he never was. She has never heard Fire Lord Ozai tell a joke. Azula just figured it was because he considered Zuko’s life enough of a joke to satisfy any craving for humor he might have.

Azula always depended on Zuko’s failures to cover up any imperfections that might slip through the Princess’s mask. Even in banishment, Zuko would continue to disappoint father. It was always enough for Azula to sprinkle her achievements on top and come out of every situation looking like the superior sibling.

Which she was. Zuko was always failing at something.

Zuko was banished and sent to find the Avatar – Azula mastered the advanced set of fire bending, earning herself the title of youngest fire bending master in the world.

Zuko somehow got himself involved with the savages of the Southern Water Tribe – Azula became the youngest person to generate lightning, a true prodigy.

Zuko pissed off the entire Fire Nation Navy, starting with Admiral Zhao – Azula graduated from the Royal Academy for Girls years earlier than expected.

Zuko failed to capture the Avatar after his sudden reappearance – Azula is sent to deal with her failed brother and traitor uncle herself. Especially after Zhao’s fall in the North, her father needed her to fix it.

Zuko allows himself to be struck by a bolt of lightning and dies protecting the Avatar – Azula captured Ba Sing Se in the name of her father and the Fire Nation.

It is a lifelong pattern that has continued into his banishment and even now, in death, Zuko is still failing to meet his father’s expectations. Azula was forced to tell Ozai of Zuko’s betrayal and the plans the Avatar and his friends had for the day of the eclipse.

She neglected to share with him the chance that Zuko might be dead. Azula knew her father would be disappointed in her inability to finish off her brother, and she couldn't risk disappointing her father.

Azula had to protect herself, first, and it wasn’t her fault stupid Zuzu jumped in front of her lightning. If there was a chance he was alive and she told father that he died, she would be a liar and a disappointment. She was not weak like Zuko, and she would not allow herself to be treated as such.

Even if Zuko was… Alive… There is no way he would be dumb enough to help the Avatar invade the Fire Nation capital.

Would he?

Zuzu is really stupid…

Azula cleared her mind and straightened her back, holding her head high she nodded for the servants to open the massive double doors leading into the war room. Her focus had to switch and her mindset needed to be about finalizing the Fire Nation’s strategy for dealing with the pathetic invasion attempt. Her father wanted to take this opportunity to take out the Avatar, for good.

Her mind refused to listen and felt the need to throw out one last distracting thought, of course, it was just to try and unnerve her on such an important day.

Zuko dies at the hand of his younger sister – Azula becomes the final heir to the Fire Nation.

Why does that thought make her stomach turn?

She steps into the fire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On the day of the eclipse the entire campground came to life right after the first light of dawn broke through the darkness. Zuko and his uncle were known for their habit of waking before everyone and would usually meditate until the first of the Water Tribe men would wake. The Water Tribe people liked their sleep, Zuko learned that when he was thirteen and traveled with them. He swore it would be hours after dawn before anyone else woke up. Katara and Sokka were proof of that as well, they loved to sleep well after Zuko and Aang and eventually even Toph woke up.

Zuko and his uncle spent a few hours yesterday searching through the Fire Nation cruiser’s cargo area for some kind of armor they would be able to wear into battle. Unfortunately, most of it was picked over from their travels and had been used for disguises. Zuko was too thin for most of the adult pieces left behind and it was dangerous to wear heavy armor that didn’t fit properly in battle.

All of the armor Zuko wore throughout his banishment was specially crafted in Fire Nation ports, where he would get measured to create the perfect fit. Now that he was a traitor, there would be no more traveling to port and picking up a new set of armor, those days were long gone.

A new day of scrummaging through the smelly armory of a stolen Fire Nation cruiser was upon him. Zuko rolled his eyes at the thought of where his life had ended up.

Not that Zuko was completely heartbroken over it, but the faint sting of betrayal nipped at his chest. He knew he was doing the right thing, but it still carried wrong, no matter how many ways he tried to justify the situation. He had been chasing his father’s love for years, and now he was helping invade the very place he grew up.

The place where his father and sister lived, the place he thought about everyday as he struggled to capture the Avatar. The ache was still present when he thought about the turtle-duck pond, the kitchen and how they always prepared his favorite spicy dumplings, he missed his old bedroom and the spots where his mother’s memories still lived.

But those days were behind him now, he could only try to look forward, towards a new destiny with an unknown future. What Zuko did know was that his uncle was proud of him, Hakoda was proud of him, he had friends and their people were counting on him.

Not toying with him.

Not leading him into a trap.

Not lying to him.

But truly putting their trust and more importantly, their lives, in Zuko’s hands. It was the greatest responsibility he has ever held, even compared to being a ship’s captain at the ripe age of 13.

No, this was something entirely different than that, this was heavy and unstable. This situation would change the fate of the rest of the world, and for the first time, Zuko was on the right side. He never imagined he would be here, fighting alongside the Avatar and his friends, trying to save the world.

He always imagined a future of him standing next to his father as the Avatar laid in chains at his feet.

Zuko ran his hands through his hair just thinking of Aang in chains at the mercy of his father. Mercy, that’s a joke, his father would never show Aang mercy. Ozai didn’t even know what demonstrating mercy would look like, unlike his brother. Uncle Iroh was the man who was born to lead, and he had his birthright stolen from him and now they were fighting together for the fate of their nation.

Iroh had the opposite problem when they were scouting for armor, he was too large for most of the pieces. They didn’t seem to make armor in his size… girth. But Iroh didn’t seem to care much, he assured his nephew that he wouldn’t need any armor. He insisted he had enough protection right here and he patted his stomach with a smile and a wink.

Zuko rummaged through the clothing that Katara and Master Piandao bought for him when they were in Shu Jing. After fumbling around in his limited selection, he settled on a pair of black training pants with a red and gold tunic. It won’t offer much protection but it was a good quality fabric and easy to move in, so as long as he stayed light on his feet and kept his defenses strong he wouldn’t have to worry about his lack of armor.

Right?

He kept telling himself he didn’t need any armor, but no matter how often he repeated those words he just couldn’t seem to actually convince himself. It would be very reckless to invade the Fire Nation without armor, but what other option did he have?

A creeping feeling of dread was trying to nest it’s way into his brain when he thought about the upcoming events of the day. The only way he would make it through the invasion would be to push all the emotion out of his mind, he had to stay focused and not let his thoughts and feelings distract him.

The camp was alive, noises overlapped as the men prepared for the morning briefing. The nations had to come together one last time before the invasion force planned to leave the island. The men took everything, until all that remained from the once large camp was only a small platform made of stone and footprints in the dirt. The plan was for Sokka to walk the men through the final invasion outline before everyone would head to the submarines.

As the men finished with their personal preparation they began to gather and sit in lines in front of the stone platform. All the nations sat together after the many long days and nights of training, eating, and conversing together. They were ready to follow the Avatar into battle, together as one force against the Fire Nation.

The Earth Kingdom people were dressed in their green and browns, pops of gold made their armor look regal against the roughness. The men fighting for the Earth Kingdom were strong, physically and mentally; they had a deep rooted focus that could not be swayed.

The Water Tribe wore their traditional blue and grey colors. The men wore their tribes arctic-wolf helmets, giving validity to Hakoda and his men’s nickeman: The Sea Wolves. Hakoda sat next to the platform with the Gaang, his main men all sitting together, backs straight, eyes forward.

Zuko and his uncle sat in the front, as much as Zuko protested sitting in the front row, his uncle assured him that he would want to show his new friends his support, and apparently being in the front row was the best way to do that. Zuko reluctantly followed the old man and before he knew it, he was seated lotus style in between his uncle and Bato, who was a little too amused to see the shy boy sitting up front.

Zuko could see Anke sitting next to Tullock in the row behind them, both men looked serious and ready for battle. Anke was a scary looking guy, Zuko decided he was happy the angry Water Tribe man liked him because he would be an intimidating enemy. Anke saw the fire bender looking at him and sent him an angry glare mouthing the words, fuck you looking at?

Zuko responded by sending him an angry glare in return and mouthed the words, dumb ass hole and turned around before he could see Anke’s response. He could feel his uncle’s eyes on him and it was probably better to not enrage Anke right before he would be holding weapons.

“Sokka’s going to walk everyone through the invasion plan and then we will head out, you nervous?” Bato whispered at Zuko.

“No... I mean, kind of. It’s just weird. I can’t say I am happy about this being the way I return home but why not, right? It fits well with the overall theme of my life, so I’m just going to go with it.”

Zuko felt Bato’s large hand land on his shoulder and give a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be fine, kid. You’re with people who have your back.”

Zuko swallowed and nodded, for the first time he didn't have the fight to argue with Bato about calling him kid. He was going to save all his fight for the battlefield, he was going to have their back too.

Staring forward, he watched the Gaang take their place as Sokka shuffled onto the stage, his arms full of scrolls. The Water Tribe boy proceeded to drop everything in his hands, scrambling to gather his items again and get his presentation started.

Watching Sokka ultimately fail at his delivery of the invasion plan was more sad than it was funny. No one would lie to Sokka and tell him that watching him scramble and ramble through his presentation was not hilarious.

But it was also sad, in the sense that Zuko cared about the guy as a friend now and he didn’t want to see his own men laughing at him. So when a few chuckles escaped some of the Water Tribe men sitting behind him, Zuko made sure to shoot them the angriest scowl he had. He forgot how scary he could look when he gave it enough effort. The snickering men flinched before they snapped their jaws shut, not wanting to anger the scarred Prince of the Fire Nation.

Good, they shouldn’t piss him off.

When Hakoda took the stage and dismissed Sokka, the men in the crowd took notice. Their posture straightened and all eyes focused on the Chief, not looking away once. Using his best Chief’s voice, Hakoda took over the briefing, it would be the last time they would all sit together before they departed. There was no room for error or misunderstanding, Hakoda would make sure the information was clear.

“Alright men, just to clarify a few things…” Hakoda went through the plan with clarity and inspiration. Sokka’s head dipped slightly as he watched his dad deliver a flawless speech, ending in cheers and excitement. Hakoda made sure to linger his sharp blue eyes on Zuko for a moment longer than everyone else, a small smile tugging at his lips.

After Hakoda finished, the men began making their way to the docks to prepare for the sea part of the invasion. Zuko was worried about being locked in a contraption that was invented from the insane thoughts going on inside Sokka’s head, but he didn’t have a choice. Apparently, there was an actual scientist involved, but Zuko assumed it was just another of Sokka’s aliases, like Wang Fire.

Zuko scoffed to himself at the memory of the stupid story involving Sokka as Wang Fire. His flashback was interrupted by the sound of familiar voices, looking up, he could see friendly faces ahead of him. Iroh was talking with Hakoda and Bato when Zuko slowly approached, Hakoda’s brow furrowed when he saw the lightly dressed teen.

“Zuko?” Hakoda’s voice caught the fire benders attention, “what are you wearing?”

Zuko knew the Chief was insinuating towards his clothing choice, and he really didn’t have another answer besides the honest one. “Nothing fit.” Because really, nothing did fit.

Hakoda was frowning now, he moved past Bato and Iroh, approaching Zuko he set his hand on the boy’s shoulder. He always forgot how touchy Water Tribe men were, he had to contain the small flinch when Hakoda reached out. Luckily, the Chief didn't seem to notice, he was probably too focused on Zuko’s lack of proper attire.

“Sokka isn’t in his armor yet, perhaps he has extra and we can find something that will fit you. I really can’t have one of my warriors heading into battle in a silk tunic. What would the Fire Nation say about us then?”

Hakoda squeezed Zuko’s shoulder as he led the boy away, moving through the crowd of men headed towards the boats.

No fire bending son of his was going into battle ill prepared.

Hakoda smiled to himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sokka knew he fucked up the entire invasion already, he should just find his dad and beg him to call the whole thing off. What kind of leader can’t even motivate his men?

He watched some of the men snicker to each other, while other men gave side eye looks to the people sitting next to them. The worst part of it all was the blanket look of confusion slapped across each person’s face.

“Why did I have to start at the beginning, beginning….” Sokka rubbed his face with his hands as he carried the heavy box of armor his father brought from the South Pole. There would be something in here that fit him, most of the pieces were discarded from when members of the crew were younger, before they grew into the strong warriors he saw today.

Sokka’s own mind was his worst enemy, if left unchecked, he could convince himself of just about anything. Right now, he was pretty convinced he had just ruined the entire invasion. If he couldnt motivate the men with his words how would they respond to him on the battlefield?

“You know… you probably could have left out the fact that I burned down Kyoshi Island in your little speech. Some of the men didn’t need to know that fun fact.” Zuko’s voice interrupted Sokka’s internal berating.

He saw Hakoda and Zuko approaching him, and Sokka couldn’t figure out why his dad had such a proud look on his face.

Maybe Zuko did something awesome again, damn it Zuko... for kind of being awesome…

“I’m so proud of you son.” Hakoda set his free hand on Sokka’s shoulder, his face beaming with happiness. Sokka’s eyes always met with the red bead before he looked at his father’s face, it became a habit of his for whatever reason. Hakoda’s deep blue eyes were honest and his genuine smile didn’t mask disappointment.

His dad was actually proud.

“Why? I thought I messed everything up so badly when I dropped the scrolls-“

Zuko’s snort interrupted him, “little did you know that was just the beginning-“

“I KNOW!” Sokka groaned loudly as he dramatically dropped his arms by his side and titled his exasperated expression towards the sky. “I got on stage, dropped the scrolls everywhere, and then proceeded to ramble for the next… I don’t even know how long! Dad, if you wouldn’t have cut me off I might have gone through Team Avatar’s – yes it’s a thing – entire history and talked so long we missed the invasion!”

“Sokka, Sokka, calm down. First of all, no one would have let you talk so long that we missed the eclipse. I can promise you that. Secondly… If you think the speech defines the man then you have lost your wit, because it is the man that defines the speech. So what if you aren’t the best at presenting your ideas, your ideas are what really count. We wouldn’t all be here today following your plan into the heart of the Fire Nation if it weren’t for you and your ideas.”

Sokka could feel the tears, he knew they were coming out of hiding when the final blink broke the damn. With tears stained his cheeks Sokka threw himself into his dad’s arms. “Thanks dad.”

Hakoda hugged his son so tight, smothering any doubt his boy would have about himself. Sokka was truly talented and his dad was always proud of him, no matter what.

“Now I need your help with a real problem, none of this silly speech stuff. Your fire bending friend was planning on wearing a silk tunic into battle. Is there any way you can fix him up in some Water Tribe armor that will fit him? I believe there are some pieces in the chest we dragged out.”

Zuko was digging through the chest of armor looking extremely confused. He pulled out an arm guard, frowned and set it to the side, continuing his hopeless search again. Sokka rolled his eyes before pushing Zuko out of the way of the trunk, mumbling to himself.

“Sometimes I think you like getting stabbed….”

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Aang watched his friends bicker over the armor selections, as the Water Tribe blue disguised the Fire Nation red. Aang was perched on a ledge just out of view, he bent himself a small shelf onto the cliff side where he could watch people load into the boats as they cleared out the island.

It was just a bonus to Aang that he was there to witness Sokka trying to fit cranky Zuko into his armor. The air bender found their bickering comforting, bickering reminded him of their days traveling.

Katara and Sokka have bickered since the first he came out of the ice, it shifted when Toph joined because she and Katara liked to bicker the most. But Toph would go out of her way to antagonize Sokka when she could, which led to bickering between them. Now that Zuko was part of their group, he bickered with Sokka the most.