Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Note: I made Zuko a year younger, so instead so sixteen he is fifteen. That's all.

Chapter One: Time of Dying

I will not die, I will survive. – Three Days Grace

Zuko fled from the Fire Nation as fast as he could. He moved quickly, though his feet were filled with dread. How exactly was he going to get the Avatar and his friends to forgive him especially after what he had done to them in the catacombs? He wasn't looking forward to graveling for forgiveness, but he knew he had to help restore peace. That meant he had to apologize.

Once he crossed the Fire Nation boarders safely, Zuko decided it was time to rest. He'd been traveling all day, non-stop, without breaks for food or water which may have had something to do with the fact he didn't have any food or water.

Sitting down in a clearing, Zuko wondered if he had made the right decision. Leaving his country to fight against it? He was definitely a trader now, if he wasn't already a trader before.

He laid his head down, hoping to rest at least for a couple of hours. As soon as his head hit the cold hard ground, the traitor prince heard something in the trees. He hopped to his feet and pulled out his dual swords.

A bulky dark figure stepped from the trees and into the dull moonlight. Zuko recognized him. He was the assassin he had hired to kill the Avatar.

"Umm, hi," Zuko stuttered. Out of all the things he had forgotten the guy's name. "Umm, you know you really don't have to do the job anymore." The assassin glared down at the prince as he approached. Zuko took steps back, not wanting to get to close.

"I don't work for you," he growled.

"Oh, well," Zuko said, nervously. "Problem solved."

"I work for your father." Before Zuko could comprehend what he meant, the guy shot laser beams of fire at him. Lucky, Zuko dodged them just on time.

The prince charged at the assassin with his swords ready, but another beam of fire threw him off course. Zuko was fighting a losing battle. This guy was just way too strong.

A blast of fire knocked Zuko on his back, and he felt his swords fly from his hands. His eyes were closing, though he tried to stay conscious. Come on, get up and fight, he told himself. It was too late. The assassin delivered the final blow, his sword through Zuko's side, and pulled it back out triumphantly.

Zuko ran his hand along his side, and when he held it up to his face; he saw it was covered in blood. Every breath was a battle, a very painful and hard fought battle. He couldn't move. Zuko couldn't even scream. The idea of death was growing more welcoming as the intense pain in his side increased.

He was in bad shape, and he knew he was going to die. It was only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds, and Zuko couldn't wait to be rid of the pain, though he was disappointed that his death would be this way, alone, and very non heroic.

All the things he would never be able to do flashed before him, like a slideshow. Prince Zuko would be nothing but a joke in the Fire Nation, and the other side of the war would probably be relieved he was gone. Would anyone even care that he was dead? Mai, maybe. That is, if his lifeless body was ever found and if he was ever confirmed dead.

No one would care, and Zuko didn't blame them.

"You're a horrible person, you know that?" The Waterbender's words echoed in the back of his mind as he lay motionless on the cold ground. That day she had been right, and now he would never get the chance to prove her wrong. He would die a monster.

That was it. Zuko took a deep breath, ignoring the horrible pain it caused him. He wasn't going to allow himself to die. He'd do everything he could to stay alive, and even he failed at least he would die trying instead of simply giving up.

No matter how hard he tried to stay awake, it was no use. His energy was already impossibly low without him losing lots of blood. The trees were blurred, and they distorted into a swirl of black and dark green. The ground beneath him was shifting.

"Save yourself, Prince Zuko," a voice whispered in his ear. A familiar voice, but Zuko was in no state to identify it.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Zuko yelled back to the voice as the earth began to spin faster.

Something hit Zuko's leg, and the earth stopped spinning. His leg twisted in agony. Zuko shut as eyes as tears leaked on to his face. The pain throbbed so much he screamed involuntarily.

"Jet, I think I found someone," said a voice.

It was the last words Zuko heard before drifting off, and he was almost sure that they weren't just in his head.