Zuko's golden eyes darted around madly, their gaze shifting from one personification to the other: Azula, his coldhearted, power-hungry sister that painted the perfect picture of evil; and Aang, the "good guy", the last spark of hope for the rest of the world -- but mostly, Aang was just a child in a world where everyone seemed against him.

They were surprisingly alike, Zuko realized, if you left out some of the major details of their backgrounds. Aang, for example, had left his people long ago, and while Zuko was forced out rather than given a choice, the both of them still had the same desire to restore the honor they lost because of it.

It was this that made him hesitate in making his decision; why was it, he wondered, why was it that when he had finally found someone who shared the same journey as him -- to prove to the people around them that they weren't the cowards they were always mistaken for -- he had to sacrifice his own honor in order to save him?

As he was snapped back to reality by the shouts of fighting, he instinctively thrusted his arm forwards to shoot out rope of fire, breaking the hold that Katara's water whip had on his sister. "Sorry, Aang," he muttered under his breath, realizing that he had already made his decision. Unsurprisingly, the Avatar showed no look of shock when Zuko had chosen to stay on Azula's side; after all, Aang needed to fight to restore his honor. It was his duty -- his destiny.

Just like me, Zuko thought to himself before firing another blast of fire at the Water Tribe girl, a look of regret lingering in his eyes all the while.