I am going to find the Avatar if it's the last thing I do. It's my destiny as the banished prince.

I stare at my crew, then out at the horizon. "We're going to lose the Avatar! Hurry up!"

"Prince Zuko," Uncle says softly, his hand on my arm. "You may want to consider giving them a break. We've been sailing for almost eighteen hours."

"I don't care. I can't lose him."

"Prince Zuko…"

I ignore him. "There! They're going to be coming down for the night. We can attack then."

Uncle sighs, but says nothing.

Once night begins falling, I take most of my crew and make my way to the Avatar's campsite. One of the members steps on a twig, alerting the Avatar and his friends of our presence. I curse and send a fireball at his waterbender friend, which she deflects with a water whip. She's a pathetically weak fighter. Her brother is just as useless; he doesn't even bend.

In the end, the Avatar escapes. Again and again, he escapes.

After a particularly brutal loss, we run into Zhao, a Fire Nation commander, in the open sea. Great. Just what I need.

"If it isn't the banished prince and the failed general," he says by way of greeting.

"Commander Zhao," Uncle, always respectful, replies.

"I'm taking your crew."

"What?!" I exclaim.

His lips curl into a smirk. "Higher rank, higher priority. The Firelord believes in my ability to find the Avatar."

"You can't do this."

He gestures to his right, then behind me. I look; my crew is gone. Bastard.

"You should just give up now," he says. "You'll never make anything of yourself."

Uncle grabs my arm before I can attack. "Prince Zuko!"

Zhao smirks again. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Uncle holds onto me until they're out of attack range. When he lets go, I hurl a fireball at Zhao's ship. It misses, of course.

"Why did you hold me back?" I scream, hurling a fireball at the sea. "I could have killed him!"

"I think we need some tea," Uncle replies, picking up his kettle.

"To hell with your tea!" I throw one of his teacups onto the deck.

Uncle picks up the pieces, shaking his head. "Prince Zuko, your inability to control your anger is going to be your undoing."

I plan a new mode of attack since we lost sight of the Avatar while dealing with Zhao. The Avatar needs a waterbending teacher. Time to go to the North Pole.

"How do you plan on getting in?" Uncle asks. "There's a reason the Fire Nation hasn't captured them."

"I'll figure it out," I reply.

We train as we sail to the North Pole, and Uncle once again counsels me on my anger and impatience.

"Of course I'm impatient!" I yell. "Restoring my honor depends on capturing the Avatar!"

Uncle just sips his tea.

When we reach the North Pole, I find a chute the penguins use to travel and climb in while Uncle stays with the ship. All the tunnels I take to gain entrance are filled with water, and I'm kind of nervous about running out of air. I make it inside, dropping to the ground in a sort of oasis. That's when I notice the Avatar sitting cross-legged, his arrows glowing, in the Avatar State. Perfect.

"Don't even think about it," I hear a female voice say.

I turn to see the Avatar's waterbender friend. "You."

She's in a fighting stance, so I decide to give her what she wants. We battle, my patience quickly wearing away. I'm not destroying her.

"You've been practicing." The words are out before I can stop them.

"I have."

She has more confidence too, but I know part of that is from defending her friend. She's winning for so long that I'm grateful when the sun rises, giving me an edge. The Avatar is mine. I take him out into the blinding snow, finally finding a cave far enough away to avoid detection. Unfortunately, he comes out of the Avatar State too soon, and we're back in the snow. His friends and sky bison find us, and the waterbender jumps down.

"Here for a rematch?" I ask her.

"Trust me, Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match," she replies, throwing me about forty feet in the air with a column of snow. I black out when I hit the ground.

When I wake up, I'm in the city and the sky is red. The moon's gone. I see Zhao trying to escape, so I shoot a fireball at him.

"You're alive?" he says, a mix of anger and surprise on his face.

"I'm alive."

"You should have just accepted your fate as a failure and as a disgrace."

I shoot a fireball at his head in response.

We continue to battle, then Zhao gasps. "It can't be!"

The moon's back. Before I can respond, a giant water spirit grabs Zhao. Against my better judgment, I hold out my hand to help. He refuses, and the spirit pulls him under. I stand staring at the water until I hear someone say my name. I turn to Uncle, who smiles and says, "I'm surprised you're not trying to capture the Avatar."

I think back to the snow, to the waterbender attacking me. I've got to admit, I'm kind of impressed. And I'm sure they're the ones who saved me. "I'm tired," I reply.

Uncle smiles. "A man needs his rest."

Yes, I do.

We start traveling again the next day and come across Azula, my younger sister. Another person I don't want to see.

"What are you doing here?" I demand.

"Father sent me," she replies. "He wanted me to tell you that he wants you to come home. He said he would pardon you."

"He wants me home?" I never thought I'd hear those words.

"Yes. He wants his son home."

Later, as Uncle and I are preparing our things, he cautions me against believing Azula. "Things in our family are not always what they seem."

"Father wants me home!" I snap. "You're just a lazy, selfish old man who's jealous of his younger brother!"

Uncle sighs. "Prince Zuko, I can assure you that the only problem I have with my younger brother is the way he treated you."

I automatically touch my scar, then yank my hand away. "Well, all of that is about to change."

"I hope you are correct."

Azula greets us when we reach the dock and a bad feeling washes over me. One of her crew members makes a move to strike, so Uncle and I immediately take a defensive stance.

"What is this?" I shout.

Azula smirks. "Father considers you a miserable failure. He would rather have you rot in prison than out in the world embarrassing the Fire Nation."

I hurl a fireball at her, which she dodges. "Don't worry, Zuzu. Jail won't be that bad."

"Shut up!" I yell, attacking again.

After a good twenty minutes of fighting, Uncle and I manage to escape. I'm so angry I can't see straight. How could I have been so stupid?

"Uncle, I'm leaving."

He stops and looks at me. "Excuse me?"

"It's time for me to find my own way."

He stares into my eyes, like he's reading my soul. Finally, he nods. "If you feel it is best."

"I feel it is best." I hold out my hand. "We part ways here."

He ignores my outstretched hand and embraces me. "Take care of yourself, Nephew."

"Good-bye, Uncle."