We All Fall Down Chapter 1: The Stranger, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

China: Hey everybody, its China here and sorry for not being active on this account. I know I haven't updated Yuma's Twin Sister for a while but I don't exactly like how Zexal ended and I feel like I messed up with the story somewhere so its hard writing for it -_-

Anywho, I've had this story stored on my computer for quite some time and now I'm ready to publish it! This story contains my OC Mani and if you're curious to know what she looks like, I've used a picture of her as my cover picture :) It was drawn by my friend on Deviantart, Manga-Samurai. I quite admire the second season of TLAB because Zuko developed a lot and even without firebending, he's still a strong fighter.

The first chapter takes place during 'Zuko Alone' and it will be following the series slightly differently. Thank you to anybody who reads this and chooses to follow and favourite. I apologise for this being over 7k but I didn't want to split it in half and I wanted to set the scene. Now enjoy and reviews are encouraged along with any critique. Sorry for it not being an update for YTS, I wanted to write something different for another fandom and I'll try to prioritise my update list.

Also after this chapter, I'll probably write more in first person then in third person because I prefer it.

"No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!"
― C. JoyBell C

Zuko was not used to being alone.

Granted he may have been banished from the Fire Nation for the past two years, but he still had his uncle and crew to accompany him. The Earth Kingdom paled greatly in comparison to the splendour the past Fire Nation, although the change of scenery was a significant improvement over the sea. Suddenly Zuko's stomach growled and a pain erupted through his abdomen, he used his free hand to rub circles on it in an attempt to soothe it. Granted Zuko had had the opportunity to rob a young couple for supplies but after seeing the woman's swollen belly and realising that they were traveling on foot, his morals kicked in and he knew that they were in a worse off situation then he was.

So he went past them without a second glance. Zuko wasn't sure if it was the sleep deprivation or the dehydration that was making him reconsider if his father was right. Maybe his kindness was a weakness? The raven haired prince instantly shook the thoughts out of his head. No. He wasn't weak. His time apart from Uncle Iroh was to prove that. Iroh had taught Zuko everything that he possibly know, but Zuko lacked real world experience. For all of his life, all his decisions had been made for him and his destiny had spiralled out of his control. Never had Zuko felt this vulnerable before. Paranoia flooded through him, what if some passer-by recognised him as the banished son of Fire Lord Ozai?

Zuko knew that in his current state, he was in no position to fight anybody off. He was too fatigued, his broadswords training and even his firebending had abandoned him. So when Zuko finally saw a village after seeing nothing but sand for the last few hours, he thought that he was hallucinating. For starters, it was in the middle of nowhere. However when he saw an Earth Kingdom girl ride up to him on an ostrich horse, he knew that it wasn't a figment of his imagination.

She had to be around Zuko's age and if not for her green clothes, he would have mistaken her for a resident of the Fire Nation. Her eyes were a shade of fine amber, she had long flowing raven hair with a small portion tied into a top bun and dark olive skin from countless hours working in the sun. She smirked at him before passing by.

'I guess I know where I'm headed.' He thought, snapping the reigns of his ostrich horse as it whined before speeding down the hill.

The first thought that popped into Zuko's head was how barren everything was. There was no grass and he was taken aback by how every building was crudely built out of rotting wood. He knew that the war had hit the other nations hard, but he wasn't aware that it was this bad.

"Can I have some water, a bag of feed and something hot to eat?" Zuko slid two gold coins out onto the counter.

The merchant looked weary, "There's not enough here for a hot meal. I can get you two bags of feed though."

Zuko bent his head down in shame, growing increasingly irked by the laughter a small group of villagers were making. It was official, he had reached an all-time low. That was when he noticed the two giggling small boys bent down next to the counter, holding something white in his hand. It wasn't until the boy threw it that he realised it was an egg, flying towards the gamblers. They instantly sprang to their feet, drawing weapons and pointing them at Zuko.

"Ow!" The hit soldier yelped as egg dripped off his head. "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." Agni, these men were annoying. It was just an egg, why were they overreacting?

"Well then," the leader stroked the two hammers hanging around his waist. "Did you see who did?"

"No." Zuko replied shortly without turning around, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his Dao swords, "No."

Two young boys were hardly enough to get riled over, kids being kids and everything. Growing up, he and Azula got up to all sorts of mischief that Ursa had to break up. Tears almost cascaded down Zuko's cheeks, even after seven years the raw pain he felt after his mother's disappearance still burned within him.

"That your favourite 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 dryly 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. "Fine."

Unbeknownst to Zuko, the girl from earlier had witnessed the entire fiasco. Golden eyes sparkled with fascination, "Well well well, looks like things are starting to heat up around here." Steam rose from her fingertips.

Not many things caught Mani's attention, but seeing that teenage boy with the scar enthralled her. Yet not for the reasons one might expect. It was what the scar represented for her. Hardship. Danger. Abandonment. Things she only knows too well. Every morning Mani lived in fear that the Fire Nation would return to finish their previous raid.

A lump had risen in her throat, her cousin Sensu had been recruited into the army and she hadn't heard anything from him after almost a month. Her father almost had the misfortune of leaving Plain's Village as well, thankfully an old war injury had immobilized him and left him unfit for active duty. Granted it meant she spend most of her time running errands for both parents and being unable to form connections with other people her age but it worked out fine for her. Mani still had her cousin Lee to annoy her.

Speaking of which...

"Papa, I'm going round to Auntie Sela's and Uncle Gansu's farm!" Mani shouted into the backroom, pulling off the apron that adorned her pelvis.

"Why?" He shouted back.

"Mama needs me to pick up a package!" She lied, the real reason being she wanted to check out the traveller that Lee had taken back to his family's farm. "Don't worry I'll be back before nightfall!"

Gopan left the backroom and watched to see his daughter mount her ostrich horse. "Just be careful, you know how Gow gets at night. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I can look after myself, after all, I learned from the best." Mani winked, giving Gopan a thumbs up as she snapped the reigns. "Yah!"

"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.

Suddenly the hybrid pigs in the pen started to squeal loudly, causing all three males to focus their attention on the source of the noise. A figure began to dismount from the ostrich horse and Zuko realised that it was the girl who had smirked at him from earlier. Lee's eyes were filled with excitement and he hastily made his way towards her.

"Cousin Mani!" Lee practically tackled her in a hug, resulting in the two of them to fall into the muddy pig pen. Zuko expectantly waited for her to blow a gasket, instead she laughed loudly and threw a handful of mud into the young boy's face. "It's good to see you too squirt."

"Who's the girl?" Zuko asked Gansu, taking care to not further injure himself with the hammer.

Gansu broke out into a small smile, "That's my niece Mani. Her father's the village merchant, but due to an old war injury he has trouble with strenuous tasks so he sends her out to run errands instead. She's a sweet kid, she even assists us on the farm on occasion since my eldest son Sensu was enlisted."

Almost as if on cue, Mani chose that moment to look up at the roof and winked at Zuko. Flustered, he focused on re-shackling the roof but made little progress. Zuko didn't know how to explain it but the way Mani stared at him was unnerving. Like she knew a secret about him that the others were unaware of. Zuko's stomach dropped, did she know he was associated with the Fire Nation. He quickly rid himself of those thoughts, he was being ridiculous and besides, Zuko wasn't staying this village for too long.

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

The scarred teen turned his back on Mani, she puffed her cheeks out; the least he could do was acknowledge her.

"Mud fight!" Lee grabbed his own handful of mud and slapped it into her hair.

"Kid you've down it now!" Mani wrapped her arms around Lee and the two rolled around in the pen until Sela let out a horrified scream.

"Oh...hey Aunt Sela, you look well." Mani said sheepishly while rubbing her head.

After some time had passed, Lee and Mani had been washed off and were now sitting down at the dining table along with Gansu, Sela and Zuko. The room was in complete silence until Lee asked, "So how'd you get that scar?"

"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 before returning to his meal. Mani rested her interlinked fingers underneath her chin and stared at the Fire Nation inhabitant.

"So how long is your guest staying here for?" Mani inquired, eyeing his Dao swords that were now hung over the edge of a chair.

"I'll be gone tomorrow." Zuko bluntly answered, not looking up from his plate.

"Wow, you really don't like talking do you?" She joked, stabbing a piece of meat with a fork.

"Mani..." Sela warned. "Surely at your age you would know better by now."

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" She murmured under her breath. The candle in the centre of the table momentarily flickered, slightly increasing in size before returning to normal size.

Nightfall had hit Plain's Village and Mani was now departing from the pig farm.

"It was good seeing you again Mani. Say hi to your mother from me." The older brunette woman embraced her niece who returned it.

"You too, I hope you hear from Sensu soon. He is probably alright, I bet the messengers are just too afraid to travel to the front line." She proclaimed, mounting her ostrich horse.

"I hope that's all it is." Sela sighed, watching Mani's figure retreat into the distance.

Mani hadn't gotten far from her uncle's house when she was stopped by two soldiers. She recognized them from earlier as part of the group who had taken the stranger's feed.

"What are you doing out at this time?" The Earth soldier demanded, drawing his sword for emphasis.

Mani dismounted from her ostrich horse, holding her hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Is it nightfall already?" She appeared to be surprised at the darkness enveloping the sky. "I must have lost track of time, why don't you just let me off with a warning and I promise this'll never happen again."

Just as the ravenette was about to remount, the soldier pointed his sword at her, "Not so fast little missy, you said the same thing last week and the week before! How do I know you're not an agent of the Fire Nation?"

She snorted, "That's ridiculous. Why would the Fire Nation send a fifteen year old girl to spy on this godforsaken village?"

The soldier did not look amused, "For that exact reason. Nobody would suspect a young girl to bring about our destruction."

Mani burst out laughing, wiping a tear away from her eyes at the ridiculous accusation. "Hahaha you slay me. I'll just be on my way, pleasure speaking to you as always." Mani took a step back and was met with a muscular man who held a blade at her throat. "You're not going anywhere, in fact I think we're taking you to Gow."

Bile rose up in Mani's throat, "You can't do that! The man has no human decency!" She instantly covered her mouth at her words. 'Oh shit.'

Both men exchanged a look with each other and the solider tightened his grip on the younger girl. "You just insulted the leader of our army, you're in trouble now girl!"

Seeing no other way out, Mani stared to the ground as she gripped the flat edge of the sword with both green gloved hands. A large flame emitted from them and started to melt the steel until it was broken into three pieces. Before the man could react at his weapon being dismantled, Mani propelled herself backwards with a small flame jet and used the added force to elbow him into the nearby fence.

"Firebender!" The solider who had threatened Mani lunged towards her, so she drew her own metal fan from her waist.

Mani waited for him to be within arm's length of her and used her fan to push him backwards, knocking him off of his feet. Before either man could rise to their feet, she remounted her steed and rode off.

"Hey! Get back here!" They protested, watching the firebender ride off into the distance.

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 angrier 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."

After the events of last night, Mani had no choice but to keep out of the public eye lest the soldiers attacked her family. However after hearing all the ruckus centred around the watch tower, she couldn't help but peer out from her hiding spot and was met with a solider sliding past her on his back. Curiosity enveloped her and she decided to get a better look at who was causing all of this.

At that moment, the scarred teen kicked a soldier's spear in half and the man ran away in fear. The only man standing was now Gow, a proficient Earthbender.

'I wonder what they're fighting about.' Mani thought, her blood running cold after she realised that Lee was tied against a post. 'Lee?! What have I missed?!'

Mani was about to strike the distracted Earthbender with her metal fans - until she realised that she had left it on her ostrich horse. 'Oh no this is bad! He wouldn't have gotten into this fight if Lee didn't get captured. I have to do something, but I'm unarmed.'

Suddenly, the teen's eyes snapped opened and grabbed his swords from the ground, twisting 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. The teen 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.

Now it was Mani's turn for her mouth to drop open. 'He's a Firebender?! Oh my gosh that's incredible! I've never met one up close in real life before! I wonder how he did that flame thing with his swords, I wanna be able to do that with my fans! Maybe he'll teach me if I ask him really nicely or something!'

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

'So that's his name.' Mani crossed her arms, 'Prince of the Fire Nation huh? He's perfect!'

"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!"

At that moment, the two men from last night appeared carrying new weapons. Zuko un-sheathed his swords in anticipation but instead of engaging him they walked right past him and pointed their spears at Mani.

"You!" One exclaimed, it was evident by the look on his face that he wasn't leaving anything to chance this time.

Mani held her hands up in mock-surrender, "Gentleman let's be reasonable about this."

He twirled his spear around and charged at her. Unarmed, all Mani could do was backflip in an attempt to avoid his attacks. The other man interceded, grabbing her leg and throwing her across the ground. Mani had barely anytime to recover when the first man plunged his spear into the ground, narrowly missing her after she propelled herself to her feet using her shoulders.

'Damn, they're way more alert this time.' Mani scowled, 'Do I just keep dodging them and hope they tire out?'

The second man who had attacked her took out the rope dart he had wrapped around his waist and used it to ensnare one of Mani's wrists, pulling her towards him with all of his strength before kicking her in the abdomen, knocking her to the ground. Then, while the rope dart was still attached to her, he flung her forward into one of the watchtower legs.

Mani could feel all her breath being knocked out of her and was certain that her back was now bruised. Gold eyes hastily flashed between the two men, seeing no other way out, she prepared her counterattack.

Once again, the solider smiled and prepared himself to launch the young teen - until she feebly managed to grab onto the rope and set it alight. It spread up the length of the rope and split in half. Mani then ran towards him, shooting a fireball at the ground before using the propulsion to punch him in the face.

Shock rippled throughout the crowd, even Gopan couldn't hide his disappointment. Mani closed her eyes in shame, 'I'm sorry Papa but I can't hide who I am anymore.'

The soldier carrying the spear twirled it around and hit the ground with it. "You're a Firebender! I knew it, you're probably working with him!" He gestured to Zuko and Mani ran a hand through her hair.

"No I'm not! Why don't you just leave me alone and we can move on with our lives." Mani narrowed her eyes, holding her fists in front of her.

Instead of answering her, he simply charged and she had no choice but to keep sidestepping until his accomplice managed to knock her off her feet. Caught off guard, the armed solider began to swing with powerful blows that succeeded in knocking her back a few feet. Helpless, all Mani could do was block the attacks to the best of her ability trying to spot an opening, growing increasingly agitated.

'I can't take much more of these attacks,' she thought. 'I can't keep blocking, I won't win like this.'

On that note, he kicked Mani in the stomach leaving her sprawled on the floor. She stayed silent for a few seconds, her eyes glowing with determination and she managed to rise to her feet. Mani slammed her fists together, flames enveloping her hands before she charged at the armed guard. Once Mani got close, he started to swing at her but she managed to duck with ease and lashed out with an array of fireballs. Distracted, he started to swing around wildly allowing Mani to land a couple of powerful punches that succeeded in breaking his spear in half.

Now unarmed, Mani used a small jet of fire to propel her elbow into his abdomen. He knelt over in pain and was knocked back a step, allowing Mani to grab his arm and spin him around, snapping her leg out and kicking him square in the forehead. He fell limply to the ground and was carted off by the remaining Earth Kingdom soldiers.

Mani breathed heavily, glad that the battle was over before she winced at the sharp pain in her side. She limped over to help untie Lee but Sela had beaten her to it. Zuko who had witnessed the entire debacle, walked over to return the dagger to Lee but Sela blocked both of the Firebender paths.

"Not a step closer!" Sela barked defensively as she stood protectively in front of Lee, leaving the two of them to stop 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.

"Kiddo, hate is a bit of a strong word don't you think?" Mani smiled weakly, holding her hand out towards him until Sela grabbed her wrist and shoved her backwards.

Mani was evidently hurt by this display, her mouth dropping open. "What's wrong?"

"You've been endangering our lives this entire time and you didn't think to tell me?!" Sela exclaimed.

Mani rubbed her head sheepishly, "I won't say 'endangering' per say..."

The brunette woman placed her hands on her hips, "Then what would you call this? You just fought members of the army and for what reason? Mani, you always say you don't mean to do this or mean to do that and yet you still do it."

Tears sprang to the ravenette eyes, "Auntie please, what are you saying?" It felt like her heart was beating out of her chest.

"I'm warning you to stay away from my family and I mean it. You bring nothing but trouble to our door and I'm tired of it." Sela took hold of her son's shoulder and walked away, leaving the crying girl with sobs overcoming her body.

Mani looked around at the remaining villagers, hate and anger filled their eyes and it was aimed solely at her and Zuko. Her worst nightmare had finally happened, she had become an outcast. She rested her eyes onto her father and Gopan slowly turned his head to the side, not being able to look at his daughter.

As Zuko prepared to remount her ostrich-horse, Mani had made up her mind and ran up to him.

"No, wait! You can't leave!" She grabbed the reins of his stolen animal, forcing him to look at her.

"Can't you take a hint? I'm not wanted here." Zuko replied, coldly.

Mani looked up to him in fierce determination, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Well neither am I. You're a Firebender, correct?"

He rolled his eyes, "Thank you for stating the obvious."

"What I'm trying to say is I think you're really talented and-"

"Does this have a point?" Zuko interrupted, irritated that he was being blocked by the shorter girl.

She snorted, "And what I'm saying is I want you to teach me."

His eyes briefly widened and he shook his head. "No way, I don't have time for this."

Mani's cheeks puffed out, "Look pal, there's no point in you leaving right away. The sun's setting and do you know what type of creatures come out at night? For your own personal safety at least, why don't you spend the night at my house and you can leave the moment the suns risen. Sound fair enough?"

Just as Zuko was about to protest, he thought about the situation pragmatically. The girl did have a point and the fight against the Earth Kingdom soldiers had weakened him. Maybe it would be sensible to take up her offer.

"Fine," he said finally. "But just for the night and once morning hits, we part ways."

Mani did a mini fist pump and climbed on the saddle behind him.

"What are you doing?" He complained, trying to push her off to no avail.

"Well I left my ostrich horse at home and this seemed like the most logical answer." She replied, slapping the animal's behind so that it would start moving.

The villagers gripped their various weapons, watching the pair ride off into the setting sun.

"By the way, my name's Mani." She cheerfully smiled.

"I don't care."

"Spoilsport."