[Author's Note 11-12-15]: Hello again everyone! I'm finally editing the rest of Spiritflame and hopefully bringing it to a close! It's much shorter now because I condensed the chapters and made them each longer. Enjoy the story!

Chapter One: Rescue

*Zuko*

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slid my feet into my satin slippers. I pulled on my robe and let my hair fall out of its ponytail. I walked out of the room and down the long hallway to the dining area. When I saw the food on the table, I immediately looked to the head of the table where Mai sat, reading a scroll. My Uncle Iroh sat next to her, and my mother, Ursa was to her left. She looked up when she heard me walk in.

"Good morning, Firelord Sleep-in," Mai said, actually smiling. Since the war ended, we all moved into the palace together. Mai was happier than I had ever seen her, and it filled me with joy.

I walked down the long table and kissed my mother good morning and then I kissed Mai on the lips. "Better late than never. Good morning, Mom."

"Good morning, Firelord Zuko." She sighed, and looked at me with watery eyes.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Zuko."

"This must be the happiest family in all of the Fire Nation," Uncle said, glowing.

"This is the happiest family," I corrected. I couldn't have wished for a better ending to a not-so enjoyable story. But it doesn't even matter.

In the end, everything turned out different from how I had always dreamed...

But it was perfect.

"Zuko?" Mai asked me, a crease in her face forming. "Something wrong?"

I smiled. "Of course not." I paused for a minute, taking it all in. I grabbed a chunk of bread off the table and put it in my coat pocket. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later."

"Be careful, sweetheart," my mother called after me.

I walked down the hallway to the Entry Hall and down the hallway to the back of the palace. It lead me to the pond where everything seemed to have begun for me.

I stepped down the small staircase and sat at the bench beside the pond. I took out the bread and fed the turtle ducks. As I sat there, I remembered feeding them with my mother, the time Mai fell into the pond, and how much thinking I've done in this spot.

But most importantly, it was where I proposed to Mai.

I was so relieved that everything was finally settling into place for me. I knew this was how it was meant to be.

And yet...

Something didn't feel right.

"Zuko...?"

I turned over my shoulder to see Mai stride down the steps. She sat next to me on the bench and I put my arm around her shoulders, kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"What's bothering you?" she inquired. When she worries, she still is always careful to not give anything away.

"That's just it... Nothing." Mai looked at my quizzically and I chuckled. "Maybe it's just because I'm used to there always being something wrong. I've had to struggle my entire life just to stay alive or prove myself…." I sighed before continuing. "Now…? I don't have to anymore... And it just feels so foreign to me... This..." I trailed off.

"Peace?"

I nodded.

"You'll get used to it." She leaned her head against my shoulder. "Or I'll have to make you." She punched my ribs softly as a little reminder that she cared.

I smiled. "Ow! That hurt!" I exclaimed loudly.

Her face hardened but playfully. "Want me to make it hurt?"

I grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the floor. "I can make it tickle," I said, smirking.

"Oh no... Not this again..." I started to tickle her in the grass around the pond. Her laugh was rough from underuse for so long. But it always made me smile.

I stopped tickling her and kissed her. She held my hand and entwined her fingers in mine, smiling into the kiss.

Later…

There was a deafening explosion that sounded not too far away.

"Zuko! What's happening?!" Mai yelled at me over the roar of another explosion. The ceiling above our bed shook and started to fall on us.

I jumped up out of bed, my eyes wide. "Come on!" I yelled back. I grabbed her hand and we ran.

We raced down the corridors of the palace. There was smoke in every direction and we ran, covering our faces and coughing along the way. My vision blurred as the smoke made my eyes tear, but as we approached the palace Entry Hall, the knot in my stomach tightened and my heart raced faster as I realized what was happening when the guards started towards us.

"She's escaped, sir! She's here! Five men have been taken down already, your highness."

"Get everyone out of here!" I managed to yell over yet another deafening roar of the palace crumbling around us.

"But sir!" My most trusted advisor wanted Mai and I to be safe, but lives were at stake.

I gripped his shoulders forcefully. "Go! Now!"

He stared at me for a moment longer, his eyes searching for some kind of weakness to allow him to protect me. He clenched his eyes shut and then asked, "Your mother?"

"She is your main priority! Be sure Uncle is with her. Now move out!"

"Yes sir!" He saluted me as he turned to run away, but stopped for a moment and he mouthed the words I didn't want to hear. "Be careful."

I didn't turn back as we pushed our way through the palace doors and onto the Grand Staircase at the front of the palace.

"Azula."

*Nick*

I walked down a hallway to a small room with a red curtain. When I pushed past the curtain, my breath caught. I saw them standing there, flesh and blood.

The blue arrow on his head glistened, and the necklace around her neck was shimmering in the artificial light of the room around us. The girl with the dark hair was smirking as usual, and the boy with the boomerang was smiling, holding his beloved girlfriend as well. They held their arms open wide, and I raced over to hug them.

It had been a long time since the last time I had a dream as pleasant as this one. I missed Aang and everyone dearly, but for some reason, I couldn't have dreams about them anymore.

I gently released myself from the hug with tears streaming down my face. I wiped them away quickly, and we smiled at each other, no words passing between us. The usual air of comfort overwhelmed me, and I glowed.

They proceeded with their small gathering. We seemed to silently talk about how things were at the South Pole, school, and the ending of the war. We laughed in a strange silence as time appeared to be on our side for once.

That was when I felt an invisible force taking hold of me. I reached out to my family, but they continued laughing and talking. No one noticed I was being pulled away.

I was dragged behind the curtain at the front of the room. The force released me, but something else was grabbing my wrists.

I looked up and saw a cloaked figure dressed in red from head to toe. The shadowy figure's face was hidden and I only felt the heat from his skin burn my arms as the person held me.

My kidnapper finally pulled back his hood, and I gasped.

His face was scarred. He had shaggy, black hair. His gold eyes bore down into me and shook me to the core.

"Find me."

And then I woke up.

*Zuko*

Her eyes glowed wildly; they were much more wild than when I last saw her six months ago... but it was same spot... same desire. She shot a lightning bolt at the last guard standing behind her, finishing him off. The silence rung in my ears until I heard Mai bring out her throwing stars behind me.

"Zuzu!" she called to me hysterically. "How nice it is to see you!"

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at her. "You're killing all of the guards you grew up with! You lived here your whole life!"

She snickered and then it turned into wild laughter. She snorted. "You mean the same guards that betrayed me?!"

"They betrayed you because you betrayed the people! I thought you were getting help!" Back in the prison, there were healers and therapists for her to talk to whenever she needed it, and regardless of her need they would visit at least once a day.

"Killed them all," she said with a dismissive wave. "They were useless to me."

I clenched my fist and shook with anger. "How could you?!"

"It's really simple, Zuzu! It's the same way you're useless to me!"

And with that, the end had begun.

Mai and I charged at her head-on with fire being punched from the very fists that had supposedly locked her away. Azula used her blue fire to create jets behind her and she started towards us. She started to send the blue flames our way uncontrollably, and we both managed to dodge the first few attacks, but I was hit in the stomach in the very spot I was burned in six months ago. I screamed in agonizing pain, not recognizing the sound of my own voice. I hit the ground and fell onto my side.

"Zuko!" Mai rushed towards me, first doing a front roll as a blue flame landed in the very spot she was standing in not even seconds before. Another flame shot towards her but she threw three stars at the fireball, slicing it in three places and disintegrating it. She sprinted and finally landed at my side. That's when my vision began to blur.

"Zuko!" Mai yelled. She turned to Azula. "You'll pay for that!" she screamed, shooting daggers. She did a front roll as Azula shot a ball of fire. She did a front flip when Azula kicked fire at her.

When I was finally able to get back on my feet, I stood up quickly and started running at Azula. My scar protested, but I pushed on for Mai. Azula and Mai were in hand-to-hand combat and as Azula shoots a flame, Mai pushes her hand out of the way. As she flips her arm behind her back, Azula finds that Mai left the side she was turning towards defenseless.

Azula caught my eye and smiled.

"MAI!"

Mai stopped where she was, her eyes open wide, and she dropped her stars, falling to her knees. Then Azula pulled her hand out from Mai's shoulder blade, holding one of her throwing stars, covered in blood.

Mai fell.

I raced over, fighting back tears of agonizing pain, forcing myself to keep from going under. Then, I used both of my hands as well as my mouth to send a wall of orange flames at Azula, finally knocking her out.

I stopped for a minute and just stared. I stared at nothing... Then, without recognizing the feeling, my feet dragged forward toward the pool of red around Mai. I waded through and found myself crumbling at her side. I picked up her head and kissed her blood-stained forehead.

Tears refused to stop pouring down my face. My body didn't stop shaking. I sat in silence with the lifeless beauty laying in my arms.

The world seemed to lose all air.

My heart was dead.

All emotion was gone but the overwhelming agony. It was no longer the physical pain that hurt.

I kissed her on the lips, hard. Then, I kissed her head, cheeks, neck, and hands repeatedly, wanting some way for me to wake up and to have her raspy, crystal fire voice in my ear.

"It was only a dream, Zuko."

But it wasn't.

She was gone.

I stayed like that for hours... maybe longer. Night had already fallen. I touched my lips to hers gently one last time before standing up. At some point, a guard had come and taken Azula away from me. A few tried to speak to me but I never responded.

Finally, I picked her up in my arms and started to walk through the empty palace. It seemed as though everyone was gone. The palace was covered in ash and ruble. I didn't feel my feet carry me or feel her weight on my arms. I just went where my body took me.

I allowed my body to take us to the palace pond where we played as children all those years ago. I dug a grave for her, and after hours of hard labor, she was buried. I set her favorite flowers on her grave and said a prayer, asking for the great Avatars of the past to watch over her. I stood there just staring at the grave.

I ran.

I ran fast... and far.

I don't know where my body took me, but when I awoke, I found myself at the shore. I stood up and looked out over the ocean. I looked into the clear, blue water and saw my tattered reflection.

My shirt was ripped on my sleeves and had dark red patches of blood everywhere. The place where I was burned for a second time was torn open, and a gaping wound showed things that no one should ever have to see. My face was black with dirt and my lips were stained dark red. I cupped some water in my hands and splashed it over my face. The water didn't give me any feeling back.

I stood up again and looked out at the sunrise on the horizon. The wind blew my blood-stained hair out of my eyes and I felt the warmth of the sun on my face without truly embracing it.

Then jumped into the water. It felt cold against my skin, but I didn't care. I couldn't really feel anything.

I swam. I swam hard and didn't care how much my body ached. I didn't feel anything anymore.

And then my body gave up.

I was going under.

I choked on the water that began to fill my lungs. I gripped at my throat, trying to somehow get the water out.

Nothing worked, and I was going further into the darkness of the depths of the ocean.

If this is it, then I can see Mai again.

To see her, I will happily go under.

That's when a thought occurred to me. After everything I had done and all the pain and suffering I had caused, I wondered if I would go to the same place Mai was….

But I didn't have any more time than that to ponder it because everything went black.

*Nick*

I woke up and stretched, looking at my clock. For the first time in ages, I got lucky. It was only about eight. I had some time to myself for the first time in months. My sister would still be asleep, and my mom and step-dad were snoring in bed downstairs.

I decided to use my time to watch some reruns that I never got to watch anymore. I fed my cat, Kya and turned on the T.V. I realized that I haven't recorded an episode since two years ago. My feet miserably drag me back to my room and I use what few episodes on my iPod that I had. I decided on "Zuko Alone."

When the "Previously... On Avatar..." is done, I realize what was so important to me about the episode. I turn it off, feeling the tears come, and watch "The Waterbending Scroll" instead.

Toward the end of the episode, Katara is attempting to learn the Waterwhip, but the stream of water drops to the ground. Then, she hears metal grinding, and she runs to some bushes. When she parts them, she sees Zuko's ship on the beach. She turns to run away, but a pirate grabs her.

"No, let go of me!"

She creates another attempt at a Waterwhip and smacks the pirate in the face. He releases her, but then she runs right into Zuko, and he grabs her wrists.

"I'll save you from the pirates."

My breath catches in my throat as I try to breathe. I pause the episode as the scene cuts to black. I got an overwhelming feeling of Déjà Vu, and I try to think back to at time when something like that happened to me.

Then, it hits me… the dream I had.

I sit there completely stunned by the similarity of the dream and the episode. It was almost the same, but instead it was me… he was talking to me. Katara was in the other room in the dream. And not only that but what he said was totally different.

"Find me."

The words seemed to haunt me. I felt like they meant something, but I shook my head. I was just missing the show too much.

I flipped through my iPod quickly, and watched "Zuko Alone." As I remembered how alike Zuko and I were, I shuddered.

A tear comes to my eye when I realize that I misjudged his character by a long shot when I had first watched the show. I thought that he just didn't handle his emotions right, but when I finished watching the episode, I realized the little details of the episode that showed that Zuko was good all along.

But what was making me curious was that very connection that I continuously denied the entire show. I thought I was the most similar to Katara, and all of my friends always said how motherly I am and how much I reminded them of her.

But if I stopped to think, Zuko and Katara aren't all that different.

As I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, I couldn't help but wonder about Zuko's past... and mine.

Maybe we were a lot alike.

That was when, a loud noise completely brought me out of my thoughts. It sounded like it came from outside, but I couldn't be sure.

I quickly put my iPod away and ran out of my room. From the sound of it, the noise hadn't woken up my parents or my sister... or even the dog.

I grabbed my jacket from the railing and flew down the steps. I skipped the last few and landed on the bottom with a thump. It proved my theory of silence correct because still, no one made a sound. I decided not to test it further and ran out the back door.

The morning air was crisp on my skin and I looked up at the still-rising sun. It sent warm chills down my spine and looked around to find the source of the noise. The water in the pool was moving, and I stared at it cautiously. I wondered why it would be stirred or what could have made the entire in-ground pool suddenly move. I slowly made my way up the steps that led to the pool area and opened the gate. I took a deep breath and looked into the pool.

And what I saw... both scared me half to death and made my heart leap.

Floating in the deep end, I see a person dressed in red from head to toe. His hair appears to be black, and he has bandages around his chest. Then, I realize he isn't moving.

I took off my jacket, sneakers, socks and I pulled my hair back. I took a deep breath and jumped in. The water was cool but not completely freezing.

I pushed my way across the pool, seeing the rays of the sun shine on the mystery person's face. There seemed to be a blotch of blood on his face, but it was hard to tell what he looked like in the water. I tried not to think about why he would be in my backyard but rather try to focus on saving him. I finally reach him and I grab his arm and pull it over my shoulders.

I did exactly as I was taught to do by my parents, and I pulled his arm behind me, keeping his head above the water. I pulled him into the shallow end of the pool, and I sit him gently on the steps. I laid his head against the side of the pool.

I gasped in shock.

The face... is that of someone I knew I'd never be able to meet.

I shiver from both the cool air and the sight of his face. Not only is it really him, but something else worries me.

His face has a cut with dried blood, and his chest is completely red. The scar burned across his face seemed to be the least of his problems.