"Uncle, tell us a story!" eight-year-old Kin asked.
"Yes! A story!" five-year-old Ryo said.
"What kind of story would you like?" Uncle Iroh asked.
"A true story!" Kin replied.
"Yeah!" Ryo said.
"What about the story about your daddy's scar?" Iroh asked.
"No! We heard that one already!" Kin protested.
Iroh sighed, and searched through his tired, old mind for a story he hadn't told his grandniece and nephew. Suddenly, a thought came to him, and he smiled.
"Alright children, I will tell you a new story. Eleven years ago, your father was banished from the Fire nation for an act of disrespect. He was told he could never return until he captured the Avatar…
Prince Zuko stood on the edge of his ship, looking out at the horizon. Finally, he had done it. He was finally going to go home after all these months. He watched the sun set, with fiery reds and oranges. He heard Uncle Iroh walk up behind him.
"What is it Uncle?" he asked.
"You really should be getting to bed. You need your rest." Iroh responded.
"Alright Uncle." Zuko turned away from the flaming sunset, and headed below deck. Iroh paused to look at the sunset too, and then he also headed to bed.
In the prison hold however, people were not as happy. Aang looked at the wall opposite him, and sank lower into depression. It was all over now. He would be taken to the Fire Lord, who would imprison him until the war was over. Then he would most likely be killed. This is a real lose-lose situation Aang thought glumly. He had no idea where Katara and Sokka were, or if they were even alive. Aang yawned, and leaned against the metal walls, trying to fall asleep. He needed his wits about him if he was going to escape.
Sokka regained consciousness and found himself in a cell. Aw great. he thought. Zuko finally captured us. He thought hard, trying to remember what happened. They had stopped for supplies, and had been ambushed. They were running through a forest, and Katara tripped. He and Aang had gone to help her, and Zuko attacked them. Sokka thought he saw a girl and a boy jump out to defend them, but he wasn't sure. Then he remembered someone hitting him in the head, then everything went black. Sokka didn't know where Katara was, and he hoped she was alright. He promised his father he would be the man of their tribe, but now he didn't know what he was going to do. Sokka turned his head to look at the cell across from him. There was a girl there, looking at him. She was dressed in a jade green top, a brown skirt with slits along the side, jade green leggings, and brown boots. Sokka guessed she was from the Earth Kingdom. She had long brown hair streaked with gold highlights pulled into a ponytail. Her eyes were a piercing purple that seemed to look inside your head and read your every thought.
"Who are you?" Sokka asked.
The girl smiled, and said, "My name's Kin. I was wondering if you were going to wake up at all."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You were hit on the head in the battle, and you've been unconscious for almost a day. I was beginning to get worried."
"Wait, you were ambushed too?" Sokka asked.
"Not really. My brother, Ryo, and I are orphans. Our parents were killed by the Fire Nation. As was our younger sister Yu. We had to go to the local orphanage, but we ran away because we hated it there. We live in an abandoned set of tree houses near an Earth Kingdom town that's control by the Fire Nation. We make it our mission to kill any Fire Nation soldiers that travel the road there. When Ryo saw you guys being chased, he said we had to help. We jumped down and surprised a few of the soldiers, and began fighting. But, the soldiers overpowered us, and knocked Ryo and you out. We've been here nearly a day, I think." Kin finished her story, and looked at Sokka. "I never did catch your name by the way."
"Sokka. My name's Sokka. Where's your brother?"
Kin looked troubled. "I don't know. They probably separated us to keep escape plans from forming."
"I don't know where my sister is either." Sokka said. "Look, I'm really tired, so I guess I'll talk to you some more tomorrow." Sokka then turned to the wall. When he fell asleep, his dreams were filled with worry about his sister.
The next morning, Zuko again stood on the railing looking at the horizon. His head was filled with conflicting thoughts. A large part of him was glad to finally return home, to be among his people again. But there was a small, nagging part that said Is it really worth it? Zuko stared out over the vast ocean, letting the argument inside his thoughts continue. Yes, he had wanted to return for a long time. Yes, he wanted his honor back. But there was still a part of him that rebelled against this. Was the war really worth it? Was it worth it to conquer the world, only to have the world hate you? Was it worth it to capture a child, and to keep it barely alive in order to win that war? Two years ago, Zuko would've answered a resounding yes. Now, he wasn't as sure
Katara woke from a fitful doze. She had managed to fall asleep, but it wasn't easy to stay asleep when you're sleeping on a metal floor. She thought she woke up to hear voices next to her, but dismissed it as a dream. She called out, "Sokka?"
No answer.
She tried again. "Sokka? Aang?"
She heard a weak "yes?" that sounded like Aang.
"Aang, are you alright?" she called out.
"I'm-I'm fine." he answered.
Well Aang's okay she thought. But what about Sokka?
"Sokka? Where are you?" she called once again.
Sokka woke up, and thought he heard someone calling his name. He was going to dismiss it as a dream, but then he was called again.
It sounded like Katara.
"Katara?" he called hopefully. He crawled to the door of his cell. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Sokka."
Sokka sighed with relief. They weren't perfectly safe, but he knew where she was, and she was nearby. He could relax a little bit.
"Do you know where Aang is?" he asked.
"I'm down here Sokka." came Aang's voice from far away. "How are we going to get out of this one?"
"I don't know Aang. I don't know."
A few days later, Zuko was in a much fouler mood. Iroh knew it had nothing to do with the Avatar, but with the day that was coming up. Iroh advise Lieutenant Huo to keep the crew away from Zuko, or else who knows what would happen. Iroh went to talk with Zuko, and try to calm him down. He found Zuko meditating.
"Please Zuko. Try to calm down and not take your anger out on the crew. If you want to talk about it-"
"No Uncle. Please leave me alone."
"But-"
"Leave. Me. Alone"
The candles flared dangerously, and Iroh decided it would be best if he left.
As soon as his uncle was gone, Zuko blew out the candles, and went to lay on his bed. He looked out his window. It was late in the day. In just a few hours, it would be his birthday. That day brought only memories of pain. Zuko buried his face in his pillow, and tried to drift off to sleep. He found it nearly impossible. The argument inside his head was still there, and it prevented him from sleep. He turned on his back, and looked at the Firebending banner above him. He wasn't so sure he was proud of that anymore.