I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. AU in regards to Zuko's and Azula's childhood and relationship. You'll see. *smiles evilly*

Zuko and his uncle climbed the ramp to Azula's ship.

"Captain, set our course for home."

"You heard her. Take the prisoners home!"

There was silence as the captain realized what he had just said. Two guards started to sneak up on Iroh. It didn't work.

Pandemonium broke out as the guards tried to subdue Zuko and his uncle. Azula ran off, probably to summon more troops. In the chaos, Zuko managed to slip out and run after his little sister. She slipped through a door and Zuko followed her through the corridors, weaving and twisting his way through metal hallways and slightly open doors.

Then he got an idea.

He weaved through the ship until he slipped through a door into a white tiled room with delicious aromas in the air. Just where he needed to be.

The banished prince noticed an older woman stirring a large pot of something that smelled amazing. Gray hair was tied up in a bun at the top of her neck. A loose, plain dark red dress with darker red stripes at the edges of the long sleeves, the hem, and the neck hung on her hunched back.

"Ah, hello. May I have a snack?"

"Hm?" The cook (Zuko guessed) turned around. "Oh, hello, dearie. Of course you may." She must have been half blind, for she seemed to not recognize Zuko's scar. She hobbled right over and pinched his cheek. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to have?"

"A pineapple." It was getting hard to keep a smile on his face and not just steal it - but he knew the consequences of being rude to a cook.

"An entire pineapple? My word, you must be hungry!"

"I, um, missed lunch."

"Ah. Go ahead, dearie."

"Thank you." Zuko spotted a pineapple on the counter. He grabbed it and ran out the door. He didn't know if Iroh was holding out against Azula's soldiers. If he didn't get there fast enough…

No. He couldn't think about losing another member of his family. Not after what had happened to his little sister.

He looked down at the fruit in his hand. If this went right, maybe he could reverse the damage. Maybe.

Finally, after several wrong turns and mix-ups, he found his way back to the deck of the ship, where Iroh and Azula were battling. Iroh seemed a little worse for wear, but Azula was still the same as she had been when she had when she had brung them to her ship.

Fueled by anger at the thing that seemed to be his little sister, Zuko hoisted the pineapple aloft and charged into the fight.