Zuko pursed his lips and bowed his head slightly to keep the bright sun out of his eyes, his straw hat shadowing his face as he rode his stolen ostrich-horse through a barren area. The ostrich-horse stumbled slightly, but Zuko was able to keep the creature upright and walking with a small nudge of his heels in its sides. The creature gave an indignant squawk but continued to trudge down the dirt road until Zuko pulled it to a stop in front of a decrepit-looking bridge that crossed over ravine.

Zuko stared at the bridge contemplatively for a moment then nudged the ostrich-horse forward, the creature groaning quietly before it started walking across the bridge. The banished prince had only made it about halfway across the bridge when the ostrich-horse's foot suddenly fell through one of the wooden planks, causing the creature to squawk in panic as it began to struggle to get its foot loose. Zuko gritted his teeth as he pulled the reins tautly until he managed to get the panicking creature under control, then the two continue crossing the bridge.

The ostrich-horse trudged down the dirt road cutting through a swath of grassland while Zuko hunched forward slightly in the saddle. The banished prince straightened and took a deep breath, his eyes widening slightly when he smelled food cooking and he hurriedly pulled the ostrich-horse to a stop. The scarred prince looked around him for a moment, then spotted a man crouched beside a small fire below the ridge Zuko had been walking along, a steak cooking over the fire.

Zuko stared at the steak and grabbed his growling stomach then he let his hand fall on the hilt of his dao swords, preparing to steal the food from the man. The scarred teen hesitated when he saw the man stand and walk over to a small tree where a woman was sitting. The man crouched in front of the woman and Zuko let the hilt of his swords go when he saw the man rub the woman's very pregnant belly. Zuko carefully bowed his head slightly and nudged the ostrich-horse back into a slow walk.

Zuko swayed slightly in the saddle as his ostrich-horse plodded down the road that cut through the grasslands covered in broken Earth Kingdom rocks. He shook his head slightly and lifted his water pouch to his lips, drinking the small amount that was left thirstily. The scarred prince sighed as he tucked the empty pouch away, his eyesight becoming blurry from hunger and exhaustion.

Zuko shook himself awake with a quiet gasp when his eyes had drifted shut and he straightened his back, but a second later he hunched forward again and his eyes began to drift close again. As his eyes closed again, Zuko's mind flashed back to his mother as she smiled before disappearing down a dark corridor. The scarred prince snapped his eyes open quickly but kept his head bowed, the hot sun beating down on him and his ostrich-horse as they continued down the dirt path.

Zuko pulled his mount to a stop and he stared down at the small, obviously poor Earth Kingdom town just below the ridge he was standing on. The prince nudged the ostrich-horse and the creature groaned again then it began slowly walk towards the small town. Zuko glanced around the small village from under the wide brim of his hat, taking in the poorly constructed wooden buildings.

"Come on, spider snake-eyes!" An Earth Kingdom soldier said excitedly then rolled a pair of dice which landed with two fives face-up, "Ha, ha! Yeah!"

The two other soldiers crouched on either side of the man quickly turn and punch him in the stomach once each while the man's arms were raised, causing the first soldier to grunt with each hit. A fourth man, clearly the leader of the small band of soldiers smirked slightly as he watched.

Zuko eyes narrowed slightly as he rode past the four Earth Kingdom soldier, his gold eyes briefly catching the ringleader of the four soldiers, who was glaring at him suspiciously. Zuko's eyes narrowed and he glared back, then pulled his ostrich-horse to a stop beside a small merchant store. The banished prince dismounted from the saddle and walked towards the merchant standing behind the small counter in front of the store.

"Can I get some water, a bag of feed and something hot to eat?" Zuko asked as he held out his hand, showing the merchant the two coins in his palm.

"Not enough for a hot meal." The merchant said apologetically as he looked at the coins then the scarred teen, "I can get you twobags of feed."

Zuko nodded once and looked down, suppressing a disappointed sigh as the merchant entered the store behind him. The prince glanced casually to the side, catching sight of the four Earth Kingdom soldiers watching him before he noticed two young boys hiding beside the merchant's counter. One of the boys giggled quietly then threw an egg at the four soldiers, hitting one of them in the head.

"Ow!" The hit soldier yelped as egg dripped off his head.

The banished prince quirked a brow slightly as the two boys exchanged worriedly looks then ran off as the soldier that got hit spun around with an angry scowl on his face while the others turned around as well.

"Hey!" The leader of the soldiers shouted when all they saw was the stranger by the merchant's counter, "You throwing eggs at us, stranger?"

"No." Zuko replied shortly without turning around.

"You see who did throw it?"

Zuko turned slightly to face the four soldiers, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his dao swords, "No."

"That your favorite word, no?" The soldier that had gotten hit with the egg demanded aggressively.

"Egg had to come from somewhere." The leader stated, ignoring what his man had just said as he glared at Zuko.

"Maybe a chicken flew off." Zuko responded drily as he turned back around.

One of the soldiers laughed and the leader glared at him darkly, causing him to shut up instantly. The merchant returned then with two bags of feed in his arms and made to give the bags Zuko, but the leader of the small band of soldiers stepped forward and snatched them away from the merchant.

"Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support" The leader said with sarcastic sincerity as he tossed the bags to one his fellow soldiers, "You better leave town. Penalty for stayin's a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me."

Zuko's eyes narrowed dangerously when the leader of the soldiers patted one of the hammers hanging from his waist menacingly while his men walked away.

"Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation." The merchant commented as the four soldiers walked away with Zuko's feed bags, "But they're just a bunch of thugs."

Zuko didn't say anything as he walked back over to his ostrich-horse and put his foot in the stirrup, preparing to remount the creature. Just as he was about to swing into the saddle one of the boys from earlier appeared on the other side of the animal.

"Thanks for not ratting me out!" the boy said gratefully as he gave Zuko a wide, gap-toothed smile.

Zuko ignored the boy and swung into the saddle, nudging the ostrich-horse forward with his heels. The boy watched the scarred teen with an annoyed look before his expression brightened and he rushed in front of the ostrich-horse, grabbing the reins.

"I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich-horse for you." The boy offered then began leading the animal away before Zuko could even reply, "C'mon, I owe you!"

Zuko pursed his lips slightly but didn't protest as the boy lead the ostrich-horse through the town by the reins. He gritted his teeth slightly and held his stomach when it began to growl.

Zuko looked around with bemused curiosity as the boy led his ostrich-horse down a dirt path that cut through a large pig farm among the mountains in the countryside. At the end of the dirt path is a little wooden farmhouse, a large wooden barn with a roof that needed to be re-shingled, and several pens full of hybrid pigs.

"No one can ever sneak up on us." The boy, Lee, said with amusement as he and Zuko walked past the noisy hybrid pigs.

"No kidding." Zuko responded with a barely suppressed snort of amusement.

Lee grinned up at him then led the ostrich-horse towards the barn while Zuko waited near the end of the dirt path. The banished prince glanced to the side and quirked a brow when he saw a pig-rooster standing on one of the fence posts. The pig-rooster crowed at him and Zuko's gave it a weird look before his attention was pulled away from the hybrid creature when a man in his late thirties walked towards him, a woman peering curiously from behind the farmhouse.

"You a friend of Lee's?" the man asked warily as he stood in front of the scarred teen just as Lee came running out of the barn and grabbed the man's arm.

"This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" Lee said excited to the man, obviously his father, "By the end, he practically had them running away!"

The woman who had been peering from behind the farmhouse walked forward and stood beside her husband and son, wiping her hand on a rad.

"Does this guy have a name?" The woman inquired good-naturedly, if not a little warily.

"I'm...uh..." Zuko stuttered slightly but was saved from answering when Lee's father spoke up again.

"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela." The man chided gently as he smiled at his wife then looked back at Zuko, "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."

"The real soldiers are off fighting the War, like Lee's big brother Sensu." Sela added quietly as she glanced at her young son, who was staring at the ground then she looked up at Zuko again with a kind smile on her face, "Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"

"I can't." Zuko said carefully with a small shake of his head, "I should be moving on."

Sela frowned and gave her husband a look, "Gansu could use some help on the barn. Why don't you two work for a while, and then we'll eat."

Zuko hesitated then nodded in agreement when he realized there was no way he could get out of it anyway. Sela smiled brightly at him then returned to the farmhouse to finish preparing supper while Gansu led Zuko over to the bard with Lee trailing behind them.

"You don't seem like you're from around here." Lee commented as he watched his father and Zuko re-shingle the roof from the ladder he was resting on.

"Mm-mm." Zuko muttered as he shook his head slightly, trying to focus on doing a good job at re-shingling the roof, but failing slightly.

"Where are you from then?" Lee persisted and Zuko lowered his hammer, looking up at the sky with a faraway expression on his face.

"Far away."

"Ohhh." Lee said interestedly while Zuko picked up the hammer again, "Where are you going?"

"Lee, give it a rest." Gansu scolded as he gave his son a stern look, "Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?"

"Yes." Lee sighed disappointedly and rested his head on his arm, remaining quiet for a moment before asking, "So how'd you get that scar?"

Zuko jumped slightly in surprise at the abrupt question and swung the hammer down a little too hard, striking his thumb. The scarred prince hissed and groaned quietly in pain, his thumb now red and throbbing. For some reason, Xiaodan popped into his head and he could practically hear her laughing at him, causing him to scowl faintly and he shook his head in an attempt to get her out of his head.

"It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about." Gansu scolded his son, more firmly than last time, "A man's past is his business."

Gansu gave his son a hard look then went back to hammering, Zuko following suit a moment later while Lee just sighed again but remained quiet.

Zuko stared at the shingles as he began reminiscing about the past, the repetitive sound of hammering filling his ears.

'A woman dipped a finger into a small pond then held her hand out, revealing the breadcrumbs resting in her palm. Zuko smiled as he sat beside his mother by the pond in the Royal Gardens, watching as a baby turtle-duck swam forward and ate the breadcrumbs from her hand. Three other baby turtle-ducks swam towards them, quaking eagerly in hopes of receiving some breadcrumbs like their sibling while their mother swam after them at a more languid pace.

"Hey mom, wanna see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?" A young Zuko asked then he threw the rest of the bread loaf into the water, hitting one of the baby turtle-ducks.

"Zuko!" Ursa gasped quietly in shock as she looked at her son, "Why would you do that?"

The baby turtle-duck resurfaced and shook its head, then it turned to look as its mother approached. The mother turtle-duck nudged her baby away then charged at Zuko, giving his ankle a hard bite.

"Ow! Ow, ow! Ouch!" Zuko yelped as he kicked his foot in an attempt to get the angry mother turtle-duck to let go of his ankle.

Ursa smiled slightly and walked forward, easily removing the mother turtle-duck from her son's ankle then she tossed her back into the pond gently. The mother turtle-ducked quaked once then swam off with her babies, Zuko watching them go with a pout on his face.

"Stupid turtle-duck." Zuko grumbled in annoyance as he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, "Why'd she do that?"

"Zuko...That's what moms are like. If you mess with their babies..." Ursa explained gently then she put her arm around her son and playful snapped her teeth, "Ahrm! They're gonna bite you back."

Zuko laughed and leaned against his mom's side, the two looking out over the gardens with happy expressions on their faces...'

Zuko continued to help re-shingle the barn roof, but his mind continued to drift as his thoughts wondered from that day at the pond with his mother to a different memories.

'Azula pursed her lips slightly as she did a two cartwheels then tried to do a round-off, only to trip and fall onto her backside with a grunt. Ty Lee giggled quietly then took a step forward and cartwheeled twice then did a round-off before doing a complicated backflip, landing on her feet perfectly with her arms held out proudly. Azula scowled slightly then pushed her friend over and laughed.

"Ugh! Azula!" Ty Lee gasped as she glared slightly over her shoulder at the laughing princess, Mai watching disinterested from beneath the tree the three girls were playing near.

Mai noticed Zuko and Ursa walking past and she smiled then quickly looked away, a blush forming on her cheeks. Azula looked between her friend and brother curiously for a moment, before a mischievous grin formed on her face and she turned towards Ty Lee, a plot forming in her mind.

"Watch this!" Azula whispered in Ty Lee's ear, causing the girl to giggle then Azula ran towards her mother and brother, "Mom! Can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game!"

"I am not cartwheeling." Zuko stated vehemently he gave his sister a narrow-eyed look.

"You won't have to." Azula retorted with an eye roll, "Cartwheeling's not a game, dum-dum."

"I don't care." Zuko snapped back while Ursa looked between her two children wearily, "I don't want to play with you!"

"We are brother and sister. It's important for us to spend time together!" Azula said with a sickly sweet smile on her face as she turned to look up at her mother, "Don't you think so, Mom?"

"Yes, darling. I think it's a good idea to play with your sister." Ursa agreed then she ruffled Zuko's hair affectionately, "Go on now, just for a little while."

Ursa turned and walked away while Zuko glared suspiciously at his younger sister as she led him into the yard she and her two friends were playing in. Azula grinned widely and quickly maneuvered Mai away from the tree she had been sitting under until she was standing in front of the fountain in the yard while Zuko stood a little bit away with Ty Lee.

"Here's the way it goes. Now what you do is, try to know the apple of other person's head, like this." Azula explained as she took an apple from the tree and placed it atop Mai's head then she ran back so she was standing with Ty Lee and her brother.

Mai looked at up at the apple on her head then back at Azula, just as the princess sent a jet of flame at the apple with her Firebending, catching the apple on fire. Zuko gaped in shock and ran forward to help, causing Mai to scream slightly as he ran towards her. The young prince tried to reach for the burning apple, but only succeeded in slamming into Mai, knocking them both into the fountain with Zuko landing on Mai's stomach.

"See, I told you it would work!" Azula crowed with a laugh as she put her hand on Ty Lee's shoulder and the two stared down at Zuko and Mai, both of them blushing in embarrassment.

"Aw, they're so cute together!" Ty Lee cooed with a giggle as Zuko stomped out of the fountain angrily.

"You two are such...ugh!" Mai snapped angrily as she glared at her two friends.

Zuko scowled darkly as he stomped back to the house just as his mother was exiting, heading towards the children with a scroll of paper in her hand.

"I was just coming to get you. Uncle Iroh sent us a letter from the war-front." Ursa said when she spotted her son, who merely stomped past her, leaving small puddles behind him as he went, "You're soaking wet?"

"Girls are crazy!" Zuko said by way of reply as he threw his hands up in frustration, leaving his mother to watch him stomp into the house with a perplexed look on her face.

Iroh sat in his tent on a small hill that overlooked the large gap in the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, sitting at his desk as he wrote a letter to his family.

"If the city is a magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold." Iroh murmured quietly to himself as he wrote, "I hope you may all see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!"

He chuckled to himself and shook his head then he continued to write.

Zuko and Azula laughed at the joke while Ursa smiled and continued to read the letter.

"Until then, enjoy these gifts." She read, glancing up when two servants dressed in white entered the room, her children eagerly running to meet them.

"For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the Outer Wall. Ursa continued to read as Zuko took the dagger from one of the servants, "Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship."

Zuko looked at the dagger admiringly then unsheathed hit and read the inscription on the side of the blade, "Never give up without a fight..."

"And for Azula, a new friend." Ursa spoke as her daughter took the doll wearing a green dress from the other servant, "She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls."

Azula held the doll by the head, making disgusted sounds and sticking out her tongue as she looked at it.

"If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then Dad will be next in line for Fire Lord, wouldn't he?" Azula asked innocently as she turned to look at her mother, the doll's head still in her grasp while her brother played with his new dagger.

"Azula, we don't speak that way." Ursa chided her daughter sharply then she softened her voice, "It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of health."

"How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted Dad to die?" Zuko added as he stopped swinging his dagger around and turned to face his sister.

"I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than His Royal Tea-Loving Kookiness." Azula muttered as she turned away from her mother and brother then set the doll's head on fire with a malicious grin on her face.

Ursa pursed her lips and eyed her daughter warily...'

Zuko sighed quietly in his sleep as he laid on a pile of hay inside the barn, his dreams haunted by his memories. The barn door creaked open a small crack and Lee peered in cautiously then he crept inside when he saw that Zuko was asleep. The young boy snuck forward as quietly as he could until he reached the hay pile the scarred teen was sleeping on then Lee carefully took the sword sheath from where Zuko had hung it on a hook near the hay pile. He froze when the scarred teen made a noise in his sleep but when he didn't wake up, Lee quickly grabbed the swords and rushed out of the barn as quietly and quickly as he could manage, closing the door behind him with soft creak. Zuko's eyes snapped open after feigning sleep and he sat up then followed the young boy that had taken his dao swords.

Lee stood in the large sunflower garden on his parents' farm, slashing and jumping around as he chopped the heads off of several sunflowers with the dual blades. He was completely unaware of his audience as he began to stab a dead tree trunk repeatedly, his tongue sticking out slightly as he started breathing heavily from exertion.

"You're holding them wrong."

Lee fell backwards in surprise and he slowly got to his feet, the top of a sunflower on his head. He looked nervously at the scarred teen standing with his arms crossed a few feet away from him in the sunflower garden. Lee's expression became ashamed and held the blades out to Zuko when he walked closer to Lee.

"Keep in mind, these are dual swords." Zuko explained patiently as he put the swords together then took them from Lee's hands, "Two halves of the same weapon.

"Don't think of them as separate, 'cause they're not." Zuko said as he took several steps back and began swinging and twirling the swords around him, demonstrating his skill, "They're just two different parts of the same whole."

He cut off the head of a sunflower then straightened and walked back over to Lee, holding the swords out to him, so the young boy could try again. Lee smiled and took the swords then began mimicking the moves Zuko had just shown him, being much more careful and less awkward with the weapons. Zuko watched as the young boy slashed the swung the swords then jumped and pushed off the dead tree trunk, landing a few feet away. Lee turned back to look at Zuko with an eager expression and the scarred teen smiled kindly at him, nodding his head in approval. Lee grinned back widely and laughed happily. Zuko watched him practice for a few more minutes, then the two walked out of the sunflower patch.

"I think you'd really like my brother Sensu." Lee commented, glancing up at the older boy as he walked beside him, "He used to show me stuff like this all the time."

Zuko nodded slightly but remained silent.

"Here," Sela said as she offered a package to Zuko after he had mounted his ostrich-horse the next morning, "This ought to get you through a few meals."

Zuko reached for the package with a grateful expression when something caught his attention and he looked up, noticing a cloud of dust in the distance. His eyes narrowed when he saw it was the four soldiers from the other day riding in on ostrich-horses. Gansu stepped so he was standing next to Zuko's ostrich-horse.

"What do you think they want?" He asked warily without looking away from the soldiers riding towards his farm.

"Trouble." Zuko replied as he glared at the approaching Earth Kingdom soldiers.

The hybrid pigs began squealing and making noise as the riders drew to a halt a few feet in front of Gansu and Zuko.

"What do you want, Gow?" Gansu demanded calmly, shifting slightly so that he was standing protectively in front of his wife and youngest son with Zuko on his ostrich-horse beside him.

"Just thought someone ought to tell you that your son's battalion got captured." The leader, Gow, said with a smirk then he addressed his men, "You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniformed and put 'em on the front line unarmed, the way I heard it." One of the soldiers replied then he spat on the ground, "Then they just watched."

"You watch your mouth!" Gansu snapped angrily while Sela stared at the Earth Kingdom soldiers with a horrified expression on her face.

Gow nudged his ostrich-horse towards Gansu but Zuko cut him off by maneuvering his own mount between the Earth Kingdom soldier and the farmer. The two glared at each other for a moment, Zuko's gold eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs." Gow sneered after a moment, unwilling to let his men know the stranger had unnerved him then he turned his mount around and rode away with his men.

Zuko watched them go, his mind unwillingly remembering a similar situation.

'A younger Zuko laughed as he chased Azula around the yard while their mother sat calmly in front of the fountain in the middle of the yard. A servant dressed in white suddenly approached the peaceful Fire Lady, a scroll in his hands. Ursa took the scroll from the messenger then opened it with a curiously. The woman gasped quietly and stood up, tears sliding down her cheeks as she held the scroll loosely at her side.

"Iroh has lost his son." Ursa said calmly when Zuko approached her, "Your cousin Lu Ten did not survive the battle."

Zuko stared at his mother in shock and sadness but Azula just looked on with disinterest several feet behind her brother, her arms crossed loosely over her chest...'

Zuko shook his head slightly and stared out at the dirt path leading towards the pig farm, his ostrich-horse still positioned protectively in front of the family standing behind him. Gansu was holding his wife in a tight embrace as she cried quietly into his shoulder while Lee stood slightly to the side, looking up at his parents worriedly.

"What's gonna happen to my brother?" The young boy asked apprehensively.

"I'm going to the front." Gansu said firmly as he pulled away from his wife, holding her by the shoulders, "I'm going to find Sensu and bring him back."

Gansu hugged his wife again then led her back to the farmhouse as she cried desperately, leaving Lee standing a few feet away from Zuko. The young boy ran towards the scarred teen, his face hopeful.

"When my dad goes..." He started to ask hopefully as he looked up at Zuko, "Will you stay?"

"No. I need to move on." Zuko replied quietly then reached behind him and took out a sheathed dagger then he bent down and gave it to Lee, who took it with a faint smile, "Here, I want you to have this. Read the inscription."

Lee unsheathed the dagger and looked at it confusedly, "Made in Earth Kingdom."

"The other one." Zuko corrected patiently and Lee turned the dagger around, looking at the other inscription on the blade.

"Never give up without a fight." Lee muttered, glancing away from the dagger just in time to see the scarred young man ride away.

Lee ran after him for a few moments then stopped, clutching the sheathed dagger in his hand as he watched Zuko disappear down the dirt road.

Zuko closed his eyes slightly as he rode away, his memories catching up with him again.

'Zuko slashed the air with the dagger his uncle had sent him then clutched his chest dramatically as he faked his death, falling to the floor of the Royal Palace with a groan. Azula quirked a brow as she watched her brother from her spot sitting cross-legged in a chair behind him.

"You waste all your time playing with knives." The young princess sniped meanly, "You're not even good!"

"Put an apple on your head and we'll find out how good I am!" Zuko retorted angrily as he jumped to his feet and glared at his younger sister.

Azula gave him a disinterested look and changed the subject, "By the way, Uncle's coming home."

"Does that mean...we won the War?" Zuko asked in confusion as Azula hopped from the chair and walked towards him.

"No." Azula replied drily, "It means Uncle's a quitterand a loser."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko snapped in annoyance as he glared at his sister, "Uncle 's not a quitter!"

"Oh yes he is! He found out his son died and he just fell apart." Azula retorted cruelly as she walked towards a pillar and began to circle it then she leaned her back against it and crossed her arms, "A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground, no lose the battle and come home crying."

"How do you know what he should do?" Zuko asked angrily as he watched Azula, "He's probably just sad his only kid is gone. Forever."

Azula opened her mouth to retort but snapped it shut when her mother appeared in the doorway.

"Your father has requested an audience with Fire Lord Azulon." Ursa said hurriedly, "Best clothes, hurry up!"

Zuko ran past his mother quickly to get ready while Azula followed at a slower pace.

"Fire Lord Azulon...Can't you just called him 'Grandfather?'" The young girl asked drily as she approached her mother, "He's not exactly the powerful Fire Lord he used to be. Someone will probably end up taking his place soon."

"Young lady!" Ursa said sharply as she stared down at her daughter, "Not another word!"

Azula sniffed slightly and ran past her mother, heading towards her chambers to get ready.

Ursa watched her daughter leave wearily, "What is wrong with that child?"

"And how was it Great-Grandfather Sozin managed to win the Battle of Han Tui?" Ozai questioned his children as he sat on the floor with them and his wife in front of Fire Lord Azulon's throne.

"Great-Grandfather won...because..." Zuko began to answer then faltered.

"Because even though his army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages." Azula cut in before her brother could finish his answer, "The enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses burned to a crisp in minutes."

"Correct, my dear." Ozai praised his daughter, "Now, would you show Grandfather the new moves you demonstrated to me?"

Azula smirked slightly as she stood up and took a few steps forward. She stood facing Azulon with her heels pressed together while her fists rested against her sides at chest-level, then she quickly thrusted her hands out to her sides before raising them perpendicularly to her body. Her family watched as she brought her left arm parallel to her right then bent her knees in a quick squat before moving back to its original position perpendicular to her body. She then folded her atop each other in front of her waist. Her warm-up finished, Azula began making circle motions with her arms as she stretched one foot back into a lunge-position then she quickly turned and kicked her foot out, shooting fire from her fist and the bottom of her foot.

Azula then jumped slightly to the side and spun around, shooting a stream of fire at the floor while Ozai watched with a small, proud smile on his face. The young princess continued to demonstrate the complicated new Firebending moves while Zuko watched in amazement from his seat beside his father. Azulon watched his granddaughter with a blank expression as she finished her demonstration by jumping into the air and kicking fire upward before she landed in a kneeling position in front of his throne, her head bowed.

"She's a true prodigy!" Ozai praised as his daughter walked back over to her family, "Just like her grandfather for whom she's named."

Azula smirked as she retook her seat next to her brother, whispering derisively to him form the coring of her mouth, "You'll never catch up..."

Zuko jumped to his feet angrily, "I'd like to demonstrate what I've been learning."

Ozai's eyes narrowed slightly and he frowned as he watched his son walk forward a few steps. Zuko took a deep breath and started off his demonstration by performing the same warm-up that his sister did, manage to produce a small burst of flame from his fist when he began Firebending. He quickly tried to create another blast by jumping up and kicking out his foot, but he falls down before he could. Zuko quickly got back to his feet, panting heavily as he tried again only to fall down again even harder, causing Azula to smirk slightly as she watched her brother fail.

Ursa hurriedly got to her feet and approached her son worriedly.

"I failed." Zuko muttered ashamedly as he pushed himself to his knees just as his mother kneeled beside him and helped him the rest of the way.

"No. I loved watching you." She said gently, comfortingly, as she put a hand on his cheek, "That's who you are Zuko. Someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard."

"Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pomp?" Fire Lord Azulon demanded harshly, ignoring his daughter-in-law and grandson as he stared down at his son coolly, "Just tell me what you want. Everyone else, go!"

Ursa stood and walked in front of her children as they left the throne room. She was unaware of the fact that Azula had grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him behind one of the tapestries hanging on either side of the exit.

"What are you-?"Zuko started to ask but Azula shushed him as she pulled him over to where a crack between two tapestries was located and the two peeked back into the throne room curiously.

"Father, you must have realized as I have, that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his son's death, my brother abandoned the siege at Ba Sing Se, and who knows when he will return home." Ozai said humbly as he sat before his father, "But I am here, Father, and my children are alive."

"Say what it is you want!" Azulon demanded, tired of his youngest son's word games.

"Father, revoke Iroh's birthright." Ozai implored carefully as he bowed before his father, "I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me."

"You dare suggest I betray Iroh? My first born? Directly after the demise of his only beloved son?" Azulon practically roared in outrage as the fire in front of his throne leapt with his anger, "I think Iroh has suffered enough! But you...Your punishment has scarcely begun!"

Zuko sucked in a quiet breath in fright then he ran away from behind the tapestry and out of the throne room while Azula stayed behind to continue watching, an evil little smile on her face.

Zuko laid on his side in the middle of his large bed, staring at the wall blankly then he jerked into a sitting position when he heard his door suddenly creak open. His eyes narrowed he saw Azula leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"Dad's going to kill you." She said in a sing-song voice then her tone turned serious as she turned her head to smirk cruelly at her brother, "Really, he is."

"Ha-ha, Azula." Zuko replied drily as he sat up and glared at his sister, "Nice try."

"Fine, don't believe me. But I heard everything. Grandfather said Dad's punishment should fit his crime." Azula said indifferently as she walked further into the room then imitated Azulon's voice,"'You must know the pain of losing a first-born son! By sacrificing your own!'"

"Liar!" Zuko snapped in angry disbelief.

"I'm only telling you for your own good." Azula snipped with a sniff then her expression brightened and she sat on the edge of Zuko's bed, "I know! Maybe you could find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt you!"

"Stop it!" Zuko barked, now more angry than disbelieving as he glared at his sister, "You're lying! Dad would never do that to me!"

"You father would never do what to you?" Ursa asked curiously as she appeared in the doorway of Zuko's room and looked between her two children, "What is going on here."

"I don't know..." Azula said innocently, her eyes widening slightly when Ursa walked into the room and grabbed her by the arm.

"It's time for a talk." Ursa stated firmly as she pulled her daughter out of Zuko's room, Azula reluctantly following her.

Zuko gripped his blanket tightly and closed his eyes as his mother and sister left his room, the door closing behind them.

"Azula always lies. Azula always lies." He muttered like a mantra...'

"Azula always lies..." Zuko muttered to himself after the memory faded and he stared up at the sky, lying in the green grass on a hill several miles from the farm.

The scarred prince sat up when he heard an ostrich-horse squawking then he blinked in slight surprise when he saw Sela sitting at the front of a hay cart.

"You have to help! It's Lee-the thugs from town came back as soon as Gansu left. When they ordered us to give them food, Lee pulled a knife on them! I don't even know where he got a knife! Then they took him away!" Sela called out desperately as she hopped off the cart and approached Zuko, sobs catching in her throat, "They told me if he's old enough to fight, he'd old enough to join the army. I know we barely know you, but..."

"I'll get your son back." Zuko promised as he got to his feet and headed over to his ostrich-horse, which had been grazing quietly several feet away.

Zuko rode through the small archway that served as the entrance into the small town, the sun setting behind him. The people that had been outside quickly scattered and hurried back into their homes or stores when they saw him coming. Zuko's eyes narrowed when he spotted Lee tied to one of the water tower's posts.

"Hey! There he is!" Lee exclaimed excitedly as he lifted his head and stared hopefully at Zuko as the older teen approached him, "I told you he'd come!"

The Earth Kingdom soldiers quickly got to their feet and walked out from under to the tower as they prepared to face the stranger while Gow exited one of the buildings across the street.

Zuko pulled his ostrich-horse to a stop then dismounted and took off his hat.

"Let the kid go." Zuko ordered as he took a few steps forward and stood in front of Gow and his men.

Gow laughed loudly then quickly regained composure and glared at Zuko, "Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?"

"It doesn't matter who I am." Zuko replied calmly, "But I know who you are. You're not soldier, you're bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power, mostly over women and kids. You don't want Lee in your army-you're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war."

"Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" Gow demanded as he looked at one of his men.

The soldier scowled then charged forward with his spear in hand. The man thrusted his spear at Zuko's head, but the scarred prince sidestepped easily then he ducked down and unsheathed his dao blades slightly, punching the man in the stomach with the hilt. Zuko straightened and sheathed his sword, watching passively as the man slid feet across the ground then began to crawl away hurriedly.

The other's soldiers watched their comrade run away then one of the shook his head with a growl and runs to attack Zuko with his own spear. Zuko shifted back a step then lunged forward as the man's spear came at him and he pushed the weapon up and to the side, then he grabbed the man's forehead and pushed him to the ground roughly. The man gaped up at him for a moment then scrambled to his feet and ran the other way, following the first soldier's example by fleeing down the street.

Zuko glanced to the side and turned when he saw a third soldier charging at him with his spear raised offensively. The scarred teen stood impassively the man got closer then he took a step forward and kicked the spear right in the middle once it was closer enough, snapping it in half. The spearhead, along with the upper half of the spear goes flying in the other direction and the soldier gasped, dropping what was left of his spear then turning tail and running away like the two previous soldiers. Lee cackled loudly from his spot still tied to the post, a huge grin on his face as a crowd gathered along the streets to watch the fight, his mother among the crowd.

Gow's eyes narrowed as he watched the last of his men run away in terror then he unhooked his dual hammers from his waist and turned to face the scarred young man, shifting into a fighting stance. Zuko unsheathed his dao blades then pulled them apart as he shifted into his own fighting stance.

With a grunt, Gow slammed one hammer into the ground and Earthbended up a rock from the ground then he used his second hammer to launch the rock at Zuko, who easily shattered it with a single slash from both of his swords. Gow's eyes narrowed again and he quickly attacked again, this time Earthbending up three large rocks which he launched at Zuko with his hammers in quick succession. Zuko gritted his teeth and deflected the first two with the edges of his swords, but the third one caught him in the stomach and caused him to stumble back a few steps. The scarred teen quickly straightened, unperturbed by the blow, then he charged at Gow with his swords crossed in front of him.

"Give him a left!" An old man in the crowd cheered, "A left."

"It's not a fistfight..." The old man's wife stated drily as she looked at her husband.

"He's got a left sword, don't he?" The old man retorted with a huff and the old woman rolled her eyes.

Gow smirked slightly and Earthbended up three rocks again, launching them at Zuko in quick succession as the young man charged at him. Zuko responded the same way he did last time, easily deflecting the first two as he continued to run towards Gow, but he brought his swords in front of his chest to deflect the last one a little too late and it struck him in the abdomen, knocking him onto his back. Zuko quickly used the momentum from his fall to somersault backwards and to his feet, though he stumbled back several feet. Gow smirked cruelly.

"Look out!" the old man shouted worriedly from the crowd.

"Behind you!" Lee shouted a moment after the man, his eyes widening as he watched Gow use Earthbending and his hammers to launch several larger rocks at Zuko.

Zuko grunted quietly each time he deflected one of the increasingly larger rocks with his blades and he was forced back a step with each attack. Gow continued Earthbending rocks at Zuko, giving him little to no time to recover from each hit. Both men were fighting at full force, although only Gow was on the offensive since Zuko was too busy deflecting the Earthbender's rocks to actually attack Gow.

Gow smirked savagely and sent one more rock at Zuko then stopped, but before the scarred young man could recover, Gow Earthbended a small avalanche at him. The crowd and Lee gasped in shock and horror as the rocks slammed into him and sent him flying back several feet where he landed roughly on the on his back, his head slamming into the ground. Zuko clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as the sudden pain caused his mind to flashback to the past.

'Zuko slept peacefully in his bed the same night Azula had come into his room saying his father was going to kill him when he was suddenly shaken awake.

"Mom?" He mumbled drowsily as his eyes opened and he looked up at her blearily.

"Zuko, please, my love, listen to me." Ursa said urgently as she pulled her son into a sitting position, her hands on his shoulders, "Everything I've done, I've done to protect you."

She quickly pulled her barely conscious son into a tight embrace, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head. She quickly glanced over her shoulder when she heard footsteps then she held Zuko at arms' length again.

"Remember this, Zuko." She said pleadingly, "No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are."

Ursa pressed another kiss to his forehead then stood up and turned away from him, pulling the hood of her cloak up then she disappeared down the dark hallway...'

Zuko shuddered slightly as the flashback faded but he didn't open his eyes, his ears easily picking up the sounds of Gow approaching him.

"Get up...!"Zuko heard Lee whisper worriedly from several yards away.

Gow smirked down at the prone form and raised his hammers for the final blow when Zuko's eyes suddenly snapped opened. Zuko grabbed his swords from the ground and he twisted around fluidly as he rose to his feet, Firebending a hurricane of flames around him as he rose. Gow cried out in shock and dropped his hammers as the flames knocked him onto his back. The flames cleared and Gow stared up in horror at the seething, scarred young man standing above him with his dao blade at his sides.

Gow scowled then rolled to his feet and raised his fists, determined to finish the fight even though he was now unarmed. Zuko snarled and charged the other man, slashing his swords as he shot multiple fireballs at Gow. The Earthbender threw up a shield of rock in an attempt to deflect the fireballs, but the blasts are too powerful and he is knocked backwards again, this time hitting the side of a building, debris falling onto his head.

"Who...who are you?" Gow demanded weakly, lifting his head to stare at the scarred young man.

"My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." Zuko replied proudly as he stood in front of the downed Earthbender, his dao blades smoking slightly at his side then he sheathed them, "Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."

"Liar!" The old man that had been cheering him on previously shouted angrily, "I heard of you! You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!"

Zuko ignored the old man as he kneeled in front of Gow, causing the Earthbender to shudder in fear, but Zuko does nothing to harm him and merely takes the dagger he had given Lee back. The scarred prince then straightened and walked over to where Lee was being untied by Sela, the dagger held in his hand.

"Not a step closer!" Sela barked defensively as she stood protectively in front of Lee and Zuko stopped a few feet in front of them.

"It's yours." Zuko said quietly as he held the dagger out to Lee, who was peering at him from around his mother, "You should have it."

"NO! I hate you!" Lee shouted angrily as he and his mother walked away.

Zuko flinched slightly and closed his eyes, the young boy's words causing him to have another flashback.

'Zuko jerked awake with a start and sat quickly, looking around.

"Mom?" He called out then jumped out of bed then ran out of his room and down the hall, "Mom? Mom!"

Zuko entered the front room of his family's quarters in the Royal Palace, a frown appearing on his face as he looked for his mother, unaware of Azula admiring his dagger from behind one of the pillars in the room. She quickly re-sheathed the blade and stepped out from behind the pillar to face her brother, a smirk forming on her face as she hid the dagger behind her back

"Where's Mom?" Zuko demanded when he noticed his sister leaning against one of the pillars.

"No one knows." Azula replied with a disinterested shrug then she waved Zuko's dagger around casually, "Oh, and last night, Grandpa passed away."

"Not funny, Azula! You're sick." Zuko snapped as he gave his sister a disgusted look then his eyes narrowed when he noticed she had his dagger, "And I want my knife back, now."

"Who's gonna make me?" Azula asked with a sneer as she ducked away from her brother when he tried to grab the knife then she held it out tauntingly, "Mom?"

Zuko growled slightly and lunged forward, snatching the knife from his sister's hand then he dashed out of the room to keep looking for his mother. He ran towards the Royal Gardens, pausing for only a moment when he saw his father standing beside the pond then he ran forward.

"Where is she?" Zuko asked, almost pleadingly but Ozai doesn't acknowledge him and merely continued to stare down at the pond in silence.

Zuko stared at the back of his father's head for a moment, then he bowed his own head in defeat, his shoulders slumping when he realized that his mother was gone.

"Azulon. Fire Lord to our nation for twenty-three years." The Great Fire Sage intoned as he and the other Sages stood on a raised dais where Azulon's coffin and funeral pyre were with Ozai, Azula, and Zuko standing to his right, "You were a fearless leader in the battle of Garsei. Our matchless conquer of the Hu Xin provinces. You were father of Iroh, father of Ozai, husband of Ilah, now passed. Grandfather of Lu Ten, now passed. Grandfather of Zuko, and Azula. We lay you to rest."

The Great Fire Sage turned to face the coffin and held up the fire crown as two of the Fire Sages dressed in right stepped up beside their red-clad leader and used Firebending to light Azulon's elaborate coffin on fire, as was customary, while Ozai moved to stand where the Great Fire Sage

"As was your dying wish, you are now succeeded by your second son." The Great Fire Sage intoned as he turned back around to face Ozai, who was now kneeling, then he placed the fire crown in Ozai's topknot and stepped away.

"Hail Fire Lord Ozai!" the crowd of red-cloaked people called out simultaneously

Ozai rose to his feet and the group of mourners wearing red and holding flags all kneeled down once, along with the Fire Sages standing, Zuko, and Azula behind him. The young princess looked out at the crowd from behind her father with an absolutely wicked smile on her face, her gold eyes glittering maliciously. Zuko looked over at her then the kneeling crowd, his own gold eyes burning with fear...'

Zuko remounted his stolen ostrich-horse and rode out of the small Earth Kingdom town, the villagers standing in lines on either side of him with various weapons gripped in their hands. They watch him leave with anger and hate in their eyes, but Zuko ignored them all, riding toward the setting sun just as aloe as when he arrived.

Xiaodan perched in a tree branch and watched the setting sun through slightly narrowed eyes, her lips pursed thoughtfully, her thoughts flashing back to her vision in the swamp.

'Xiaodan used Airbending to propel herself forward and she landed lightly on the root, then walked closer figure.

"Hello? Are you alright?" Xiaodan questioned as she took a step closer.

Suddenly the figure whirled around and swung a pair of dao swords at her head, causing Xiaodan to yelp as she jerked away from the attack and tripped backwards, landing on her butt on the root.

"Zuko?!" Xiaodan squeaked as she stared up at the scarred prince standing in front as he pressed the tips of his dao blades against her throat.

Xiaodan stared up into his gold eyes, her own molten orange eyes wide with shock and slight fear. Those same gold eyes narrowed slightly then he suddenly spun away from her and darted towards the trees, leaving Xiaodan to stare at his back in bewilderment.

"Wait!" Xiaodan shouted and leapt to her feet then she raced after the banished prince.

Xiaodan weaved between the trees and jumped over roots as she chased after what she thought was Zuko, who somehow managed to stay several feet ahead despite the fact that Xiaodan was using Airbending to increase her speed.

"Spirits, Firebug, would you stop!" Xiaodan called in irritation then skidded to a stop when she reached a small clearing in the middle of the swamp and she looked around, but the scarred prince was nowhere to be found.

"Firebug?" She called out as she turned in a circle, her brow furrowing in confusion, "Hello, Zuko?"

Xiaodan shook her head in utter confusion and turned around to head back the way she had come only to freeze in place when she saw something was blocking her path...'

"Why did I see you in my vision, Firebug?" The white-haired Airbender murmured quietly to herself as she stared at the setting sun, "Why were you the one that led me to that clearing? And why can't I seem to get you outta my head since I had that vision in the first place?"

She waited silently, hoping that maybe the wind or the sun would possibly answer her but after a moment she sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she would probably never know the answer to her questions, unless she somehow met up with a certain grouchy banished prince.

After riding several miles with his head bowed, Zuko lifted his head to stare at the sun. He narrowed his eyes slightly when mischievous, laughing orange eyes came to mind as he looked at the orange sky in front of him. The scarred prince quickly shook his head in an attempt to shake thoughts of a certain annoying, white-haired Airbender from his thoughts.