POV: ZUKO AND IROH

"Prince Zuko?" Iroh questioned his withdrawn nephew.

Zuko looked away from the old man's eyes; hiding the sickness he felt writhing around inside of him from the man who had all but spawned him.

"I don't want to talk about it," the angry youth snarled. As the boy opened his mouth to talk again, a coughing fit broke him off. When Iroh moved to pat his nephews back, Zuko stood and rushed from the room, slamming every door possible on his way outside.

Long after the doors had slammed shut, Iroh sat in his spot in the floor, staring at the bed where Zuko had been laying. Sighing, the old general stood, shrugging off his robe before sliding into his own bed. "Zuko," he whispered, drifting off, "I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. For a boy so young, you try to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. I just hope that when it becomes too much for you to bear, you will seek help instead of letting it rot you from the inside out, like it did your father, and his father before him, and on through the generations past. My beautiful little Zu-"without another syllable, the elder man succumbed to sleep; not knowing that the person he loved most in the world wouldn't be there when he awoke.

POV Change: Sokka

Stretching in the fading sunlight, Sokka walked down the deserted streets of lower Ba Sing Se, looking for something interesting to do. Hanging out with his sister and the others was fine most of the time, but, every once in a while, he just had an irresistible urge to wonder the nearest streets alone.

Just as he was going to start back for the house they were staying in, he heard soft singing. The words were too faint to hear, but the melody was lovely. Like a melancholy nightmare; soothing but frightening.

Approaching the source, he was grabbed on the shoulder. Turning to confront whoever had touched him, he was stunned to find an old woman and a beautiful young lady. They both had fingers to their lips, motioning him into a nearby house.

Following silently, Sokka resisted the urge to ask what was going on until he got inside, where he couldn't be heard by unwelcome ears. Wary of entering a strangers house, Sokka kept his back to the wall, watching the pair suspiciously, wondering why they felt the need to speak with him.

Closing the only open window, the old woman gestured at the girl to speak, but to do so quietly.

"I don't know who you are, but don't go near Lee. He'll hear you long before you can get close enough to attack." She said, warning in her tone.

Sokka shook his head, "Who the heck is Lee? And why did you bring me here? I was just trying to get closer to the person singing."

They both let out sighs. "So you're not a slaver?" the young girl asked, relief and fear in her voice.

Sokka tilted his head to the side, "What would a slaver be doing in Ba Sing Se?"

The woman snorted. "Young man," she rasped, "I don't know what anyone has told you, but this is Lower Ba Sing Se. The Slavers come and go as they please, stealing refugees and natives alike. Not a day goes by when some poor mother doesn't lose a child to those monsters. On the bad nights, whole families disappear, leaving nothing but smoking rubble behind."

"T-that's awful!" Sokka exclaimed, "Have you told the guards? The king?"

This time the girl was the one to snort, her beautiful face scrunching up in distaste, "The guards are in on it; and the king couldn't care less. Like G-Ma said; this in lower Ba Sing Se. Not a soul cares about what kind of lives we live."

Sokka shook his head, "That can't be true! How could the officials turn their backs on living, breathing people?"

Smiling, the girl shook her head in mock sadness, "To live the life you've had. . . . By the time I was six years old I had learned the truth of this place. That was when the slavers took my mom; they gave the guards the first round at her."

Sokka gasped, repulsed by what he was hearing; maybe Toph was right, cities were evil places. "Can't you all leave? Go somewhere safe?"

Before they could answer, Sokka cut them off, "Yeah, I know; this is the last safe heaven on earth. It was a stupid suggestion." Sighing, he looked G-Ma and the girl up and down. Their clothes were ragged, but well kept, feet bare. "Are you two natives of refugees?"

G-Ma raised a hand, "I'm a Native. Lynn was an orphan refugee when I picked her up."

Lynn looked away, "I don't know why it would be any of your business; you live above the inner gates."

Sokka shook his head, "I don't live there. I'm just traveling with the Avatar, so we get to stay in one of the upper estates." As Sokka was about to continue, Lynn hissed art him.

"Get out of our house!" she near screeched.

Shushing her, G-Ma turned to him. "You have to leave now. If we catch you here again, we will call the Night Watch."

Sokka was flabbergasted; what did he do? "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you, but I can go anywhere I want to. It's a free city, after all."

As G-Ma opened her mouth to retort, a flurry of knocking sounded at the door. "G-Ma?" A raspy voice asked, "Is something wrong? I heard Lynn yell."

Lynn's eyes widened as the shoved Sokka into the hall, motioning for him to be quiet.

"Oh, Lee," Sokka heard G-Ma greet, "Lynn just saw a spider, is all. I'm terribly sorry to have disturbed you. What a shame that you had to stop when you finally felt good enough to sing.

A choked sort of chuckle came from the front room. "It's fine, G-Ma. I'm feeling much better than before. That medicine you gave me did wonders."

Even Sokka could hear the lie in that statement. This person sounded as though they were on their deathbed.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, but I still think that you should tell your Grandfather that you're sick. I'm sure he wouldn't let you work so hard if he knew."

That same chuckle erupted, "I'm sure of it, G-Ma. That's why I can't tell him. He's too old to have to work so hard for so little money."

This time G-Ma chuckled, "You are such a sweet boy. If only more children were like you. So strong and kind."

"With all the things I've done in my life, I'm sure that you're the only person in the world that would call me kind."

There was a smile in G-Ma's voice when she spoke again, "You are kind child. Doing things we're not proud of is a big part of life. One day, you'll understand that as well as I do."

"I'm glad you're here, G-Ma, even if you do like to sound like Grandfather. I guess I should be getting back home. If I'm up too late I'll not want to work tomorrow."

Sighing, G-Ma opened the door, "Alright, Lee, but remember; take care of that Ghettoes cough. Leave it to fester in your lungs and your living days are over."

Giving another chuckle, Lee departed.

Several silent minutes passed before G-Ma whispered, "You can come out now, kid. I think he's out of hearing range."

Stepping out of his hiding place, Sokka cast a curious glance at G-Ma. "Who was that?"

Lynn laughed, coming back into the room carrying a tray with enough tea for three people. "That was Lee. He just got into Ba Sing Se a couple of weeks ago. He and his Grandfather work in a tea vending shop a few blocks over. I had hoped that he would stay long enough to drink another remedy. I'm worried that he's just going to fall over in the street somewhere."

"Shush, girl!" G-Ma snapped, "Don't jinx the poor boy. Lord knows he has enough to worry over without adding Ghettoes lung to it."

Sighing, G-Ma covered her face with her hand, "I wish we could help him get the medicine he needs, instead of some half baked cure-all."

Sokka couldn't stand the despair in her voice, "How much does it cost? I mean if people like you guys and this Lee person needs it, shouldn't it be easy to get?"

Lynn looked at him like he had some screws loose. "Don't you know anything? The more people need it, the higher the price. Maybe someone in the silver of golden district could afford it, but for people like us, people struggling to survive, it's almost unattainable."

Sokka shook his head, "That's not true. In my tribe, when a sickness travels around everyone pitches together to make sure each person has enough to heal them."

"Well, that's in YOUR tribe, not here. Whatever's going on in your tribe isn't going to save Lee. He's going to die and all because people in the inner city can't live without their fancy baubles."

Sighing, Sokka reached for his pouch, "How much does the cure cost?"

Lynn looked him up and down, mistrust in her eyes. "I'd sooner let Lee croak than see you use him."

"Look," Sokka burst out, "I'm just trying to help. You want him to die? Fine. It's no skin off my back."

With that Sokka left the house, too frustrated to notice the shadow following him.

POV CHANGE ZUKO

'Great,' Zuko thought, 'now I have the village idiot snooping around.'

Zuko followed Sokka all the way to the house where he and the others were staying; peeking inside to try to catch a glimpse of Aang, seething that his long time prey was so close, and he was too weak to take him.

Just as he was about to slink away, he felt the ground move, shifting to enclose his leg.

"And you would be . . . .?" the voice of a young girl asked from above Zuko's head.

Cursing, Zuko looked up, finding the Avatar's blind friend sitting on a pillar of rock about ten feet away.

"No one you need to concern yourself with," the banished prince rasped, glad for once that his voice was so distorted by the infection in his lungs.

Jumping down from her perch, the girl sauntered over to him, her sightless eyes narrowed, "Oh, really?" she taunted, "and here I had thought you were that psycho fire bender who keeps chasing us all over the world."

Zuko hissed as the rock bonds on his feet tightened, pulling him off balance. "Nope. I do tend to get that a lot though. I was just following a friend and got lost. If this isn't his house, I'll just be going."

Zuko tried to move out of the binds, but they wouldn't budge. "I don't think so, bubs. I know you're lying. Each time you lie, I feel the vibrations of it in your core."

Zuko tsked, "Useful knowledge. Now let me go! I have no business with you."

The girl laughed, "Other than you being in our yard, following one of our members, and, what was it again? Oh, yeah, almost killing us half a dozen times."

Zuko growled, "I was only following that peasant because he was distressing a friend of mine. And it's not your property; I can be here as much as I want."

The girl scowled, "I'm still trying to figure out how the prince of the fire nation managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se. I mean, it's not like your poster isn't on every wall in town. And no offense, but your kind of hard to miss."

Zuko looked away, hatred sending his temperature sky rocketing. "You don't know the half of it." With one harsh jerk, he broke free, sending a wave of flame at the girl, expecting her to dodge. When she just stood there, it occurred to Zuko that she may not be able to see the fire coming towards her. Cursing again, he jumped in front of the flames, stopping when they were just close enough to let the blind girl feel their heat. Screaming, she threw her hands up, sending great towers of rock straight at her savior, hitting him in the chest several times and in the head once.

Damning himself for his sickness, Zuko booked it, running all the way to Lower Ba Sing Se, not stopping once before he reached G-Ma's little house, hoping that they were still up. Knocking on the door, he felt darkness dragging at him, pulling him to unconsciousness.

'Oh, good,' Zuko thought as the world began to disappear, 'I think I can finally go home.'

Not even Lynn's screaming could rouse him; lost in his own head, he was unreachable.

The end.

Of this chapter.

TBC

Sorry it sucks. FAV/ALERTS are loved!