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Chapter 1: The Encounter

It had been days since the attack on the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. The attack had been ingenious, using the Fire Nation's new weapon, a large drill tank, then the tanks, and finally the foot soldiers. It was likely that Princess Azula had been involved in the attack, so of course it had been brilliant. It was also that the attack had been foiled in the end by a small group of young people, the Avatar and his friends, who always seemed to have luck on their side. Was it possible for a twelve-year-old boy to defeat the people of fire? These thoughts ran through the mind of Prince Zuko, as he stood slouched over a basin washing dishes at a small teahouse that his uncle and he worked at.

His thoughts drifted back to the Avatar's group. After the defeat of his nation's troops at the wall of the city the people had considered them heroes, and granted them a furbished home at the upper ring in the inner city. He was sure that the Water Tribes already considered them that, at least from the time of the siege on the North Pole. His muscles tensed at the thought of those …people sitting about in luxury while his uncle and he lived as not much more than beggars. The same blood flowed through the two of them as had flowed through the first fire lord, Ryu.

He remembered his mother's final words to him, but it seemed so difficult to truly hold to them anymore. He now lived a life that needed him to conceal his true identity from the world, except for his uncle. They also had to worry about a boy they had met on their journey, an arrogant 'freedom fighter' named Jet. Zuko had refused to join the group, and that had started the boy's suspicion of them. He'd been snooping around the two for days, trying to find some proof that they were from the Fire Nation. He seemed determined to provoke Zuko into using firebending, and it had taken Iroh to restrain him a few times.

The group was walking through the crowded street in this section of the outer city. They had decided to see what the vendors out there were offering, but it wasn't that great. They saw a definite difference in how things were between the inner and the outer portions of the city. This was likely due to the fact that the refugees weren't being allowed into the inner city. They'd been at a single stand for at least fifteen minutes as Aang was trying to haggle with the vendor, but all he was succeeding at was angering the man. It was finally after Toph had clubbed the back of Aang's head, putting him in a daze, that Katara was able to actually pay the merchant, and they could move on.

A few minutes down the road Toph said, "Hey, that smells good. What's it coming from?"

Aang gave a quick sniff and look around. He then pointed at a teahouse two buildings down from them. He replied, "There's a place down the street, a teahouse or something."

After checking the position of the sun, Katara smiled, "Well, it is about midday, so lets see if we can get a decent lunch there."

Sokka face lit up as he exclaimed, "Yeah, we get to have some real food!"

His forward motion was stopped as a hand gripped the back of his shirt. He turned to look at the narrowed eyes and frown on Katara's face, and all he could do was gulp. He knew that face, and it wasn't a good sign.

She spoke in a low, irritated voice, "Are you saying something against my cooking? Because last time I looked you shoveled it into that big trap of yours on a regular basis."

Sokka stuttered, "Uh, uh, it-it's not that. I, I just mean that it'll be nice to have something else for a change."

Not really feeling up to fighting with him, Katara let go, and said, "I just hope you like cooking your meals for the next week." Sokka stood there with his mouth flapping like a fish out of water as she walked past.

They walked in to find a well lit, comfy looking little establishment that was about half full. A young lady in a yellow dress with a white apron came up and greeted them. She then showed them to a table in the corner, and handed them a menu before going back to her position near the door. Toph merely asked if they had chicken and noodles. When they answered with an affirmative she just leaned back with hands behind her head. Aang settled for the fried rice, and Katara decided on a spiced chicken with rice. Sokka was the problem since he couldn't decide, as everything sounded good.

They were soon interrupted by pleasant but gravelly voice. It asked, "What can I get for you all this fine day?"

The group turned their attention to the source of the voice, and three of them gaped at whom it was they saw. Standing before them with a white apron over his green clothes was the once great Dragon of the West, former General Iroh. This was the man who had led the most relentless campaign, beside the most recent, on the great walled city, and yet here he stood with a jovial expression ready to take their lunch order.

Toph broke the silence, "Well, it's nice to see you again, old-timer. Well, you know what I mean."

"And it is a great pleasure to encounter you again, my young friend. It is comforting to find that you are safe." The elder man said with a smile. "I must say that that goes for you all."

They gave their orders after the shock wore off, and he went to deliver it to the kitchen. The three turned to their blind companion, asking questions too fast for her to understand, let alone answer. She told them of the encounter from when they had split up in order to lose those Fire Nation girls. She had to admit that she was relatively surprised on learning who the man was, but she could tell that he was a gentle soul who didn't mean anybody any harm anymore. Iroh's presence led to another undeniable question; what about Zuko?

They understood that the two would be travelling together, particularly after the incident at the abandoned village. Zuko may have been hot tempered, impatient, and arrogant, but he'd not leave his uncle after an injury like that. In fact, it still seemed to bother him a bit they noticed as he walked about the room talking and laughing with people. Their hesitation was with Zuko. He had tried to capture Aang again the last time they encountered him, but in the end he was the one telling them to get away.

"You know, I really think you all have got the wrong idea about this nephew of his. From what I heard from Iroh he doesn't sound as bad as you've said." Toph commented.

Sokka quickly replied his voice raising as he spoke, "You've got to be kidding! He chased us half way across the world, tried to capture Aang whenever he got the chance, and caused all sorts of havoc for us! Of course the old guy's not going to say something bad about him, it's his nephew!"

"Excuse me, sir, but could you please settle down a bit? You're disturbing some of the other customers, and that not good for business." Iroh asked politely, standing right behind Sokka.

Unfortunately, as they sat down in their seats there was an angry shout from the back that was followed by a few more. It was obvious that two men were arguing back there, and what made it worse was that the voices were familiar to four of the five people at the table. They heard Iroh let out a soft sigh as he began toward the doorway to the kitchen. Iroh never made it there as a boy came falling through it, landing on his back. Another boy stalked through the door, a familiar glare on his scarred face. It was Zuko, and he was angry.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I've already written the next few chapters so I'll post them depending on the feedback I get from you guys.