This is a P-13, extended edition of the "Southern Raiders," ending the way I saw fit, and from Zuko's point of view. It was probably one of my two favorite episodes from the "Avatar" series. Review if you liked it!

"Because of you, I'm ashamed of my life, because it's empty! Because of you—I am afraid."

"You look awful." Katara snapped, not even betraying surprise at seeing me sitting outside her tent.

"I've been waiting for you." I said. The excitement, the fear of what I was about to propose had kept me up all night.

"Come to plead your case again, beg me to trust you?" The Water Tribe girl scowled. "Forget it."

"I know who killed your mother." I didn't waste words. I spoke a little on the quiet side, forcing her to stop, to listen. "And I can help you find him." She froze, then turned.

"You're lying." She said. Her ice-blue eyes showed her anger. "You can't know that."

"I spoke to your brother. Found out what happened." I said. I reveled inwardly in the fact that I had the truth on my side, for once. "The Sea Ravens killed your mother. They were part of my father's campaign against the Southern Water Tribe—kill their benders, and they would be helpless. I can help you find the Sea Ravens. They're pirates, raiders. The commander likely killed your mother himself, or he'll know the same of the raider who did."

"You're going to help me attack your fellow Fire Nation troops?" Katara said sharply. A breeze whistled past us, tugging her long hair. I wondered how I had found it in me to fight this girl so many times in the past.

"By now, my father has issued a kill order on me for treason." I said, not looking away from her. "I have no sympathy for murderers, no matter what flag they wear." She looked around, over at Aang. He was a hundred yards off or so, feeding the bizarre flying bison. Then she looked down, then at me. I could see the questions flashing around her. Whether she could do it. Whether she could trust me enough for this. Whether it was worth the risk.

"How would we do this?" Katara finally asked. I suppressed the urge to smile at the tiny victory.

"First, we find a Fire Navy Communication Tower." I said. "You'll need my help to find the records. They're updated by messenger hawks, and will have the location of the Sea Ravens. Then… well, you can guess that part. It's close to suicide. We'll be attacking an entire ship of soldiers."

"Pack whatever you'll need." Katara said briskly.

I let the girl talk. Aang had gone with me to the dragons, but this wasn't a learning expedition. If we were going to get to borrow the flying bison, it would be because she had asked.

"I need to borrow Oppa." Katara told the Avatar. The bald little kid looked up, still brushing Oppa's fur.

"Why?" He grinned, like something was hilarious. "Is it your turn to go on a little field trip with Zuko?"

"Yes, it is." Katara said flatly.

"What are you two doing?" Toph walked over. The blind girl looked interested. "If you're going on another 'fishing trip,' Zuko, can you at least bring some meat back?"

"Uh, I guess." I felt my pockets. I had a few silver pieces on me.

"Zuko is helping me find the man who killed my mother." Katara told Aang. Her face was set in a fierce scowl. "I'm going."

"What?" Aang said. "What are you going to do?"

"Get him to apologize nicely." I interrupted. "What do you think? We're going to carry out justice. He killed an unarmed woman."

"What?" Sakka walked up. "You're doing what?"

"We're going on a hit mission." I said flatly. "Going to find the man who killed your mother."

"Katara, revenge isn't the answer." Aang said, concern on his face. "Forgiveness is the answer. Revenge is like drinking a poison and expecting it to hurt someone else."

"No it's not." I said. "And Katara needs this, Aang. She might be the greatest waterbender alive, but she's still not going to just get over her mother being killed."

"Aang, I just need a ride for a day or two." Katara told him. "I'll be back soon."

"Sooo… you guys are going to, what, attack an army base?" Toph asked curiously.

"A ship, actually." I said. "There's a full moon tonight. We have enough time to get the location and attack the raiders before sunrise."

"Wow." Toph said, impressed. "You know how strong that will make Katara?"

"Toph!" Sokka yelled. I wondered idly how Katara managed to have the village idiot for a brother. "Katara, I miss Mom too. But you can't go kill someone."

"Then you didn't love her like I did!" Katara shouted at him. "She was our mother, Sakka, and some monster took her away! Now Zuko is offering to help me find him. And you want me to say no?!"

"You expect us to approve of you going to assassinate this guy?" Aang asked, sounding incredulous.

"I saved your life, Aang." Katara said. I saw her fists clenching at her side. "You owe me this. Now that I know he's out there, and Zuko can find him for me—I can't let this go. I was a child, Aang. He killed her in cold blood."

"Katara, this is wrong." Aang told her. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." A tear ran down her face. A tear of helpless rage.

"And when monsters are allowed to roam free, the world is left with Air Temples filled with the bodies of peaceful nomads." Katara shot back. With that, she stormed away. Aang gave me a pleading look.

"Don't do this." He entreated me. "More violence isn't the answer." I closed my eyes in frustration. I understood how easily my grandfather must have wiped these people out. But I managed to keep my head.

"Aang. What will happen to me if I pluck this blade of grass?" I asked, crouching. He didn't reply. But Sokka did.

"Nothing." He said, looking baffled. "It's just a blade of grass." I plucked it, then tore it into shreds.

"How about your sword?" I asked Sokka. "What if I took your sword and cast it into the ocean?"

"He'd freak out, probably try to attack you." Toph remarked. "You should have seen him, this other time when I bet his sword to make some money… Snoozles was freaking out that I'd lose it."

"And Aang, what would you have done, if when I found your bison back in Ba Sing Se, I killed it, instead of freeing it?" I asked darkly. Aang refused to answer.

"You should have seen him when some sand benders stole Appa, in the desert." Toph said helpfully. "He destroyed a few of their sand-ships, and went into the Avatar state. We thought he was going to kill the raiders, or blow us all up. Only Katara didn't run."

"That doesn't mean murder is okay." Sokka protested weakly.

"Is Toph telling the truth, Aang? About what you did when Sand Raiders stole your bison?" I pressed. To his credit, Aang didn't shout or walk away, what people sometimes do when you're proving an argument.

"Yes." He admitted quietly. "I probably would have destroyed them if Katara hadn't stopped me."

"Is a person's life not even more important than your bison, Aang?" I pressed, fighting to keep my voice even, to not loose my cool.

"Violence won't bring Katara's mother back, Zuko." Aang said calmly.

"I think he knows that, Twinkletoes." Toph remarked snidely.

"Killing that raider won't bring her back." I admitted easily. "But it's a declaration. To the Raiders, to everyone—that Katara's mother was a person. She had worth. That someone loved her. And unlike a blade of grass, there's punishment for wrongly taking a life. You know what declaration it is to let him go? It's saying, 'It's fine. You can go kill water tribe girls whenever you feel like it. They're not important, they don't matter.' "

"So… you're really going on an assassination mission." Toph asked me. I nodded, giving my sword one more wipe of polish. Just inside my tent, a solid black warrior outfit was laid out, with a pack of weapons, a map, and a little food. A few moments passed in silence..

"Yes." I said quickly, remembering why she hadn't said anything after I nodded.

"That's pretty awesome." Toph remarked. I gave her a look.

"Aang gets all upset, and even Sakka doesn't agree, despite it being the man who killed his own mother. But you think it's good?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"What Twinkletoes is saying is nice." Toph shrugged. Her pale eyes were fixed on something I couldn't see. "But in the end, there's really bad people out there—like your dad—and you think they'll just stop murdering people if you be nice to them? No offense. The only way to stop them is to kill them." I studied her. She didn't look like much of a warrior. She was probably only thirteen or so. Still just a child. She was a cute kid, too. Probably looked like a little princess when she was dressed up. I had never met her family, but I knew the name was practically royalty in the Earth Kingdom.

"What?" She asked. "I c an feel you staring at me."

"Nothing." I said, looking away.

"You were just going to take Appa anyway?" Aang shouted, angry.

"Yes." Katara said flatly. We were both dressed entirely in black. I had my swords. Katara had a pouch of water on her belt for bending. Aang fell silent for a moment.

"That's okay. Because I forgive you." The smart-Alec paused for a second. "That give you any ideas?"

"We'll be back within two days." Katara said, ignoring the ridiculous question.

"Confront him. Let your anger out—and let it go." Aang said earnestly. "But when you face him, don't choose revenge."

"No wonder your people got wiped out." I said critically.

"You're just saying that because you're angry." Aang said serenely. "I forgive you."

"Yip yip!" Katara called. With a lurch, the huge creature rose off the ground. I felt a rush of excitement. This wasn't the sort of mission I was used to. It was important. It was brutal. It was actually just.

"Turn a little left." I checked my compass. "Alright. There's a fire navy tower not too far—we should be there within an hour of flying."

"Then we attack it, and find the records." Katara said.

"No." I corrected her. "If we're discovered, protocols will be for a full scramble. They'll assume we're spying for another navy. If they find us, they'll warn every ship and all positions will be changed. The only way we could stop that is to kill everyone there before they could send the warnings."

"So we can't be seen." Katara realized. "That makes this a little harder."

"Some." I agreed. "But not too much. The towers have minimal staff." She fell silent, and we kept flying. I saw the moon in the distance, huge and white. I didn't like it. No fire bender did. I suspected the power it gave waterbenders—combined with how much weaker firebenders at night—had led to the creation of werewolf stories.

That, or maybe there were really werewolves. Who knew.

"I can't believe Sokka." The girl said abruptly. "He should have wanted to come with."

"He would've ruined the mission." I countered. She glanced at me.

"I know. But, he should have understood. Agreed. I'm going to avenge our mother, not just mine." She sad. I shrugged.

"Have you ever killed someone before?" I asked. She was silent for a few moments.

"No." She admitted.

"It's not easy, the first time." I cautioned her. "It's easy to think you want to do it. Or to plan it. Actually delivering the blow is a lot harder." She was silent again for a few moments.

"Got any tips?" She asked, quietly. I looked out over the ocean. I had only ever killed one man myself. It was justified. But it had still made me sick.

"Decide beforehand that you're going to kill him." I said flatly. "When the time comes, don't think. Don't hesitate. Just act."

"Land over there. He should be out of sight of the tower." I directed her. She nudged the reins, and the huge furry creature landed. I jumped down, and went over to the edge of our little rock. The tower was just a few hundred yards off, separated by water. Not to mention higher up. Katara grabbed my hand and ran towards the water. I threw caution to the wind and went with her. We jumped, and the water turned to ice before we hit it. A second later, we were shooting across the water on our patch of ice.

She didn't slow down as we approached the cliff. She just caused the ocean to rise with us, about twenty feet higher than it had been a second later. We jumped to land, and the water fell back behind us.

"There." I pointed towards a low window on the tower, only ten feet above us or so. It was basically a lighthouse, the tower. I ran forward and charged up the wall several steps, then grabbed at the ledge and pulled myself up. The room was empty, thankfully.

Behind me, Katara nimbly ran up the wall and pulled herself in, with more ease than I had shown.

"Now what?" She whispered.

Finally. We were headed towards our target. Two benders assaulting a ship full of hardened raiders. Two more hours, tops.

"You should get some rest." I told Katara. "You'll need your strength. Without a full moon, this would be a suicide mission."

"Oh, don't you worry about my strength." Katara said bitterly. "I've got plenty."

"You realize we have to sink the ship, as well?" I asked. "Too much risk otherwise. We leave any witnesses who say a female waterbender and a firebender with a huge scar attacked them—the navy will scour every island within a hundred miles for me. My father doesn't take treachery well."

"Fine." She said. "I can do it. I'm not some helpless little girl anymore." I was a little surprised at that. I had wondered if it would change her mind.

"What happened, that day?" I asked quietly. She was silent again for a few minutes. I wondered if I had pushed too far. The whole point of this mission for me, was to prove to her I meant what I had said. That she could trust me.

That I could trust myself.

"Not much to tell." The girl finally said. "Fire nation had raided our village plenty of times over the years. They would usually try to capture every bender they could… capture, or kill. There were always a few bodies, and plenty of wounded after one of their raids. The black snow… the ash from their ships always rained down before an attack. One attack… one attack I ran back to our house, to find mom. I was seven. But there was a soldier there. A fire nation man, yelling at my mom. I don't really remember what he said… my mom told me to go find my dad. By the time I found him, the soldiers were leaving, just like that. And when we got back to our house, so was the soldier… and my mom. My… my dad tried to not let me see her. Not like that. But I still got a glimpse of what was left of her..."

"I'm sorry." I meant it. "But now you can avenge her."

"What happened to your mother?" Katara abruptly asked. She looked at me. "In the tunnels… you said something about your mother. You lost her."

"I think she was banished." I said slowly. "I don't know. Something happened..."

"What?" Katara asked. I tried to keep the emotion under control… the strength of it surprised me. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep.

"My father wasn't Fire Lord at the time… he asked my grandfather to revoke my uncle's birthright, after his son was killed in the earth campaign." I remembered all too well. "He was angry… he scared me. I ran. But my sister stayed in the room, listened. A few hours later, she came into my room, taunting me, saying, 'He's going to kill you.' She said that father had been told because he tried to take my uncle's birthright so soon after he lost his son, my father should feel the pain of losing his only son as well."

"What happened?" Katara asked. For once, I didn't see malice in her eyes when she looked at me.

"I don't know." I said honestly. "My mother came and took Azula away, chiding her. I was sobbing in my room, afraid. Afraid that maybe once, my sister hadn't been lying. My mother came back a little while later. She sad, 'Zuko, it's going to be okay. I promise. I love you, I won't let anything happen to you.' " I forced my voice to stay level. "She said, 'Whatever I do, it's to protect you, because I love you. Promise me you'll never forget that.' I did. The next morning, my grandfather was dead. And my mother was gone."

Katara looked over at me again.

"Maybe when the war is over… maybe we can find her." Katara said.

"That's it." I said, looking at the torchlight coming from the raider's vessel. "The Southern Raiders." I stretched a little, flexed. Checked my swords. "How do you want to do this?"

"Follow my lead." Katara said shortly. "Appa. Underwater, trust me." She stood, somehow keeping her balance. The flying bison headed lower, and then abruptly went under the water. But Katara bent the water, kept a huge bubble around us and the bison's head. We surfaced on the other side of the vessel, close enough to climb the side. The bison rose up, silently… Katara stood, her face covered by cloth, her torso covered by water. We rose up just enough—

In time to see half a dozen raiders loitering on the deck. Katara swept her arms, and a huge stream of water blasted the deck clear. I jumped down, drawing my swords, heading for a stairwell. Katara followed.

We moved quickly, just under a run. I knew these ships well enough, knew where the commander would be. We ran down corridors, moving to the bridge.

Two men with fire bender masks almost ran into us.

I slashed quickly, going for the throats, dropping them both before they could firebend. Katara was frozen for a moment, staring.

"This is war." I said simply. "These people are murderers. They'd kill unarmed waterbenders at the first chance." I kept moving. She followed, and we found the entrance to the bridge. We flattened ourselves next to the door.

"You take the door. I move in first." I whispered. It was one useful thing I had learned about fighting. When breaching a door, the person doing the breaching never was the first through the door.

Katara nodded. She brought her arms back, and hurled the last of her water at the door. It exploded inward, and I followed it quickly.

He wasn't a slob, I'd give him that. The commander hurled two fireballs at me rapidly, but I blocked just as quickly, the flames dying out. The man's arm suddenly bent, flexing away from me. I turned.

Katara was controlling him somehow, bending his limbs for him. I overcame the shock and yanked his helmet off. I had never seen a waterbender do something like that.

"Is this the man?" I asked Katara. She stared at him. I wondered if she would even remember if it was.

"Who are you people?" The man gasped. Neither of us answered, and Katara just stared at him for a few long moments.

"No." Katara said, disappointment in her voice. "It's not. I'm sure it's not." I forced the man to the ground, my sword held on his throat.

"About seven years ago, the last raid on the southern water tribe." I snarled. "Not everyone fought the villagers. A raider sneaked into the village and interrogated a woman in her igloo, then killer her. WHO WAS IT?!"

"I heard that story!" The man gasped, sounding relieved that he could answer. "Captain Tsung. He retired several years ago. He said he killed the last Water Bender in the southern tribe. That was the last time we were ordered to attack them—the Fire Lord said there was no more need!"

"Where can we find him?" I growled.

"I heard that he was living on Salt Lake Island!" The commander said. "By the cliffs!" I let his arm go, and he grabbed his bent hand, rubbing it, trying to ease the pain. I brought my sword up and slashed downward, killing him instantly.

"Why did you do that!?" She asked. I grimaced. I wished it had been the man. But our work wasn't done yet.

"Katara, a water bender girl and a guy break into his ship, demand a name and location out of him." I said, shaking my head. "What do you think he would have done at first daylight? Sent a warning! We would walk into a trap." I glanced around. "It will be morning by the time we get to Salt Lake Island. Assuming it takes us most of the day to find him—we should be back with the others by the next daybreak."

She relented. "Let's get out of here."

"Not yet." I said, mentally planning the fastest route below deck, where a hole would sink the ship. "We sink the ship."

"All the people will drown." Katara said, staring at me.

"Do you know what they did the water benders they captured?" I asked. She hesitated.

"Yes." She admitted. "I met one of the benders they had captured."

"These raiders are murderers, rapists." I said flatly, wiping my sword on the commander's uniform. "If we don't stop them, eventually they'll be called to raid the Southern Water Tribe again. They'll rape and kill again, it's what they do. Do you want your relatives to die because you let the raiders go so your conscious could be clean?" She let out a breath, but looked up from the floor.

"Alright." She relented. "Lead the way."

The ship didn't have lifeboats. I guess the raiders never thought they'd be in danger of being sunk. Their targets usually never had the weapons to actually fight back, nor the warning to plan in time.

I slept on the flight, waking a few hours from daybreak. Katara looked exhausted. Her eyes had dark spots, and I was amazed she could keep us flying.

"You should get some rest." I said. "We won't have the moon on our side when we face him." She didn't reply. I bit my tongue and just removed some fruit from my pack. It was still fresh enough. I would have preferred bread, or meat, but it would take the edge off the weakness in my muscles.

"There were probably thirty men, at least, on that boat." The girl said abruptly, not looking at me. "How many do you think are alive now?"

"None." I said flatly. "We sank their ship far from harbor. They won't be able to swim to land. And there wasn't enough rubble in the water for anyone to use like a raft."

"I wonder what she would think of me. If she knew what I had done. How many people I just killed." She said. I rubbed my eyes. Somehow, I understood this girl a little better. She made sense. Somehow, in some way I couldn't quite grasp. I was too tired to think clearly.

"I think your parents love you. Both of them." I said. She was shaking a little, looking away now. All I could see was the back of her head.

"Would they love what I've turned into?" She asked, brokenly. I tried to think of a response. It was hard. Maybe it was the elements… Iroh had told me that we fire benders were shaped by our element. Fire never hesitated. Never turned back, never showed mercy. Water wasn't like that.

"I think you have nothing to be ashamed of." I said quietly. "I think your mother would have died to protect you… I think you loved her just as much."

It wasn't too hard. Finding the island. Finding him in the marketplace. And then he left, heading along a dismal, lonely trail. His home was set by itself.

He sensed us, somehow, despite the drizzle that had set in, blurring the senses, dampening our footsteps. A mile from the town, he turned and blasted a hedge of bushes, shouting a challenge.

I threw several punches, sending him to the ground in flames, though I was weaker than normal. The sun was hidden, replaced by rain.

"We weren't behind the bushes." I said, in a fighting stance. Katara pulled down her mask.

"Take my money! Just let me go!" The man shouted, throwing several silver pieces at us.

"Recognize her?" I asked. He shook his head, refusing to face us. "LOOK AT HER!" I roared. He complied. She stared back, her face set with fury.

"I was just a girl, back then." She said coldly, touching her water tribe necklace. "And it was my mother wearing this, not me." Recognition dawned on his face.

"It can't be…" he said. "You. That little water tribe girl." Katara nodded silently.

"Why did you kill her mother?" I demanded. "Refuse to answer, and I promise you, this will end very painfully."

"It was a raid… I had been informed there was one water bender left at the South Pole." He explained weakly. "I found the wife of the chief. I knew that she'd know who the bender was…"

"Go on." I prodded.

"After she sent you off… I demanded again, who the last bender was." The man said reluctantly. "She tried lying, saying that there were none left. But I knew better. She crumbled, asked if we'd leave her tribe in peace if she gave me the name. I agreed." He took a breath, looked at the two of us. "She admitted it was her. The last bender. She surrendered. But weren't taking prisoners, so... well, you know the rest."

"She was lying." Katara said, closing her eyes, tears dripping down her face. "She was protecting the last Waterbender." The old raider perked up at that.

"What? Who?" He asked. Katara looked at him, fury seething from her.

"ME!" She screamed, raising her hands.

Around us, the rain stopped. The drops defied gravity, floating around us, drifting upwards. The soldier stared, amazed, as they formed a watery dome around us. In a second, icy spears formed and rushed at him, only to stop inches from his face.

"I used to wonder what sort of monster could do that. Now I know." She was shaking with rage. "You're not human. You're completely empty, without a soul. Pathetic!"

"Please!" The man begged. "I did a wrong. I'm sorry. You're entitled to revenge… you could take my mother! That would be fair!" I resisted the urge to laugh. Just when I thought he could get anymore pathetic. The urge died when I looked at Katara. The fury drained from her face, and around us, the icy spears fell to the ground, the rainstorm hitting us again.

"You're not worth the water." Katara said, shaking her head. "You might be breathing, but you're not alive." I couldn't believe this. Her mother had died to save her. Yet now she was backing down, even as rage clouded my vision. Pity? Reluctance? Honor? Why was she not doing it?

"Avenge her." I said to Katara. "We've lingered long enough." She closed her eyes.

"Let him go, Zuko." She said, walking away slowly. "I… I wanted to kill him. But now, I just can't do it." I looked at the murderer on the ground before me. He was visibly relieved. I guess it made sense… maybe it was better that way. Katara was truly a good person.

But my soul was still stained by what my family had done, to innocent people like Katara. I couldn't undo that. Her mother could have been mine… she was an innocent woman who had died to save her child.

There was only one thing I could do.

"Katara said to let you go." I said, looking around us. Katara was already thirty yards away, heading back to where we left the bison. My eyes returned to the raider, and I drew my sword. "I'm not Katara."

We flew back in silence. She had turned, heard the brief scream, saw the blood on my sword. Some hapless local would find his body within a day or two. But she didn't say anything, good or bad. We landed, and she simply walked towards the dock on the little island. Aang ran over to me, concern on his face.

"What happened?" He asked.

"She couldn't do it." I said simply, leaving out a part. It was truth. A partial truth. I looked away. "We had him, and she walked away. She said to let him go." The child ran off, towards Katara. Behind me, I heard tiny footsteps.

"She let him go." Toph said. She was blind, but the girl was sharp. "You didn't let him go, did you?" I looked at the dock. At a girl who had been robbed of her mother.

"I couldn't." I said. I couldn't describe what I was feeling. I'd be able to later, but despite so many words going through my mind, the sorrow, the anger… nothing came out. I had seen myself in that man. What I could have been. A cruel monster who killed innocents without remorse… I had been terrified. "I couldn't let a murderer walk away," I just said, "Like it never happened. Like she didn't matter." The girl was silent for a moment. She probably could guess what I was thinking.

"You did the right thing." She said simply.

"Thanks." I said quietly. I walked over to the dock, where Katara and Aang were talking.

"But I didn't forgive him." Katara said angrily, grief and rage on her face. The face of someone who lost their world, and still didn't understand why. Like a fatally wounded soldier, who just couldn't comprehend how it could have happened, who kept moving, refusing to accept it.

My people had done that. I fought back the swell of shame, of sorrow. This was the legacy my family left on the world.

"I'll never forgive him." Katara told Aang. She wiped her eyes, and looked over at me. I forced myself to not look away. The rage and grief left her face, and she managed a tiny smile. She truly was beautiful, I realized. "But I am ready to forgive you." She said, stepping closer to me. I didn't speak. Didn't know what to say.

Then she hugged me, throwing her arms around me and putting her head against my chest. I hugged her back, tightly.

"Thank you." I whispered. She let go, and I felt a tear roll down from my good eye. She noticed, and just smiled a little. She was still crying, but didn't turn away, or wipe her face. She put a hand on my shoulder, lightly, and walked past. Aang hesitated a moment, and followed her.

Ahead of me, the sun was still rising, just halfway above the horizon. I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of its rays.

It was a new day.