Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Today I'm not myself

And you, you're someone else

And all these rules don't fit

And all that starts can quit

-"Au Revoir" by One Republic

Zuko didn't know how long he'd been staring into those blue eyes.

It could have been days, months, or even years. But it all ended when she spoke.

"Sir? Sir, are you alright? Can you tell me your name?" she said gently.

Zuko noticed that he was surrounded by people. They made a circle around him, their unfamiliar faces all showing the same emotion: concern.

Where am I? was the first thought to cross his mind. As he surveyed the area he felt a hand on his back, helping him into a sitting position.

Zuko's ears were ringing and pain was shooting through his head. He groaned, face twisting into a scowl. He raised his hand to touch his head when a different hand stopped him.

"Oh, no, don't touch," the feminine voice chastised him. As she pushed his arm down, Zuko got a look at the woman who was kneeling next to him.

It was her. The waterbender. She look different, though. Older. How had she aged? The girl (woman?) beside him was not fourteen anymore. But it was her. Definitely her.

"Sir? Can you tell me your name?" she asked.

Zuko opened his mouth, but the pain hit his head again. He grabbed his head, hunching over in his place. Stop his mind said to the agonizing pain. He thought he might have said it out loud.

"Sorry, but that's not going happen. I'm a doctor, you see. Well, I'm not one yet, but I will be, and- wait! Where are you going?"

Despite his hurting head, Zuko had gotten up and stumbled away. He pushed past the circle of worried people, going somewhere, anywhere. He looked all around, but was blinded by fast moving objects and flashing lights. Feeling the sun, Zuko looked up. But there wasn't any sky. Where was the sky? Had it disappeared? The only thing in its place were massive, rectangular structures that went up and up and had no end. Everything was bright. Too bright. His head pounded.

Zuko continued forward, stumbling, tripping over his own feet. He wanted to get away from here. Where was the Air Temple?

Moving quickly, Zuko was abruptly pulled back. Something was on his arm. Or, rather, someone.

"Are you crazy?" asked the waterbender, her grip on his arm extremely tight.

"Let go," he demanded, pulling his arm away.

Zuko tried moving again, but the girl was strong. She stayed rooted in place as he tried to step forward. Since she wouldn't let go, Zuko was going to have to pull her along. Forcefully, Zuko lurched ahead, dragging the girl with him.

"Stop! Stop!" she exclaimed as her grip on him was loosening.

It became a game, one Zuko used to play as a little boy in the palace. It was where two people would be on either side of an object, usually a rope, and they would each pull. Whoever pulled the other forward, or made the other lose their grip, won. That's how Zuko felt now. Only, in place of a rope, was his arm.

"Stop," the waterbender repeated, weaker than before.

Agitated, Zuko turned to the woman saying, "What do you want?"

"I-I... you can't just walk away! You're hurt. The ambulance is going to be here soon. Besides, I'm just trying to help," she responded.

"If you want to help me, you can start by telling me where the Air Temple is," he told her.

Her blue eyes clouded in confusion. "Air Temple?"

Zuko scowled, annoyed. "Don't play dumb with me, waterbender."

"W-waterbender?"

Zuko turned away, rolling his eyes. Obviously, the girl wasn't going to help them get back to the temple. It was just like her, to pretend that she had no idea where it was located.

How she found him, Zuko had no idea. And why had he been acting kind towards him?

Frustrated to no end, Zuko began walking away again. He would just have to find his way back himself. Which way to go...?

Zuko noticed that he was in some sort of rectangular courtyard, sort of like the ones in the palace, only bigger. Lush green grass covered the ground, with tall trees scattered around creating shade. Where the grass ended, some sort of flat, dark paved trail ran around the courtyard. On the opposite sides of the dark, angular trails were the large buildings that scaled to the sky. All around him, there were people. Walking, running, lying on the grass. And they were dressed oddly, too.

The strangest thing was the objects that glided on the trails around the grass yard. Zuko could only describe them as a strange type of machine. They moved quickly, and had flashing lights on the front and rear. They came in all sort of shapes and colors.

How strange.

As Zuko walked, the grass came to a stop, and he cautiously stepped onto the smooth ground. The mechanical objects whizzed past him. If he tried to cross the way, would they stop? Of course they would. He was a prince, after all.

Calmly, Zuko stepped forward. He thought he might have heard a shout com from somewhere behind him, but he paid no notice to it. He took another step. Another shout, louder this time. Closer. From his right came one of the machines, small and black. Zuko knew it would let him pass, though. As it came faster and faster towards him, Zuko took another step.

The object made no show of slowing down though. Zuko began to doubt himself. When it was within twenty feet of him, it made a piercing wail. Zuko's heart pounded. It wasn't going to stop. It was going to-

He was quickly pulled back, out of they way of the machine. He groaned as he made contact with the ground, scraping his elbows.

The object made another wail as it flew past him. Then, it turned right and disappeared.

Zuko breathed out a sigh of relief. He began to get up so he could-

"Oh my God, are you okay? Of course you're not, you were almost just hit by a car!"

It was the waterbender again. Looking worried, she bent down, grabbed Zuko's arm, and pulled him up. She checked him, up and down.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked, not kindly.

"I'm taking you back over there," she pointed to the grass, "and we are going to wait for the ambulance." She started to pull him.

Zuko was taken aback by this. "I'm not going anywhere except to the Air Temple. And you should, too. The Avatar is probably waiting."

She stopped and turned to him, puzzled. "Is your head okay?" She reached her hand up to his head but he slapped it away. Hard.

"Do not touch me," he asserted. Peasants did not touch princes.

"Yeesh. Fine. But you are going to the hospital."

Hospital?

"No." He said. "I'm going to the Western Air Temple."

"Look," she said. "I'm pretty sure there isn't any place here called "Air Temple" or anything like that. At least, not in New York."

"New York?" Zuko repeated. "Is this some city in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Umm. No, it's a state."

Zuko gave her a blank look.

"You know," she continued. "Like in the United States."

Zuko became even more confused. There wasn't any place in the Earth Kingdom called "United States." Not even in the Fire Nation, or the Water Tribes. It wasn't a name of an Air Temple, either.

The waterbender gave him a look. "Yup," she said, nodding once. "Definitely going to a hospital." And with that, she began pulling on him again.

"No," Zuko said, pulling back.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes,"

Agni, now they were starting to sound like her and her brother.

What was with her? Zuko knew she was the mothering, nurturing, nagging type. But she didn't even like him. In fact, she hated him. She'd pretty much made that clear long ago.

"I refuse to go with you, waterbender."

She stopped. "But you're not well," she told him.

"I do not care. I need to find the Air Temple."

She sighed, defeated. "Fine. But get some rest, first. If you start feeling dizzy, ask a friend or family member to take you to the hospital."

Zuko nodded noncommittally. He just wanted her to leave him alone. He needed to get back. She would have to find her own way back. Or maybe the Avat- Aang, maybe Aang would come get her. The bald boy did seem to have a soft spot for the girl.

He started to turn away, but he stopped when she asked, "You are going to go home right?"

Zuko didn't respond. He didn't know how to.

"Do you live around here?" she continued.

Zuko hesitated, then shook his head.

"Do you have money to buy a room?"

Zuko's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

"A room. In a hotel. Do you have money for it?"

Another shake of the head.

At that, she dug into the bag she was carrying. She pulled out a smaller pouch, rifled through it, then pulled something out. She outstretched her arm, her hand holding small pieces of rectangular parchment. They were a pale green color, much like the the hue of the blind earthbender's.

"Here," the waterbender said. "Take it."

Zuko took the pieces from her hand, studying them in his own. After a moment, he looked back at her.

"Well?" she said. "Aren't you gonna go? You really should lie down."

"I do not understand," Zuko said, somewhat sheepishly.

The look on her face could only be described as sympathetic. She seemed to ponder on something, and for a moment Zuko thought he saw her eyes light up, but it came and went.

"Well then, how about I take you there?" she asked, sounding eager.

"Fine," Zuko said. "But only if you leave me be once we are there."

She nodded. Taking his arm, she directed him to the left. They walked on the paved trail the was alongside the street where the machines moved.

They walked quietly. In the silence, Zuko thought about the woman walking next to him. Why was she helping him? Was it just a trick to lead him away? And why wasn't she just as concerned about getting back as he was?

They'd never had a good relationship, if it even really was a relationship at all.. They had always been enemies. In a half hour they had spoken more words to each other than in all of their traveling (well, Zuko's chasing) and even when he joined her side she still hated and avoided him. Why was she being nice? Her attitude towards him was the complete opposite as before.

"What's your name?" the woman blurted out, interrupting Zuko's thoughts.

Didn't she already know?

"You know who I am," he stated, annoyed by her act.

"No, I really don't," she said.

Zuko looked at her, appalled. The waterbender was really getting on his nerves. He looked at her, expecting a smirk, but instead she look genuinely serious. And curious.

"Pr-" he started. "Zuko," he then amended. He knew that she didn't care very much for his title as prince. Especially being the prince of a country she hated and often mocked.

"Okay, Zuko. I'm Katara Kuruk."

Kuruk? As in Avatar Kuruk?

She stopped walking to hold out her hand to him. "It's nice to meet you," she said.

Zuko stopped, too. He look from her face to her hand, then back to her. What was she doing? Did she want something from him?

With an exasperated sigh and a shake of her head, Katara pulled her hand away. She began walking again.

After walking a bit more, she brought Zuko to a large structure with many balconies on the side, stopping at a transparent door. She opened the door, gesturing for him to walk in. Slowly, he did. She followed in after him. They were in a room with a few chairs and a rug, with a desk sitting off to the side. Katara then walked in front of him, going forward and leading him down a clean, brightly lit hallway. On each side of the hallway were doors. Lots of doors.

Curiously, Zuko followed her to the end of the hallway. To his surprise, she turned right and began walking up a flight of steps.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"To find a room for you," she replied without turning around.

Zuko sighed and followed behind her. The sooner they got to where she's taking him, the sooner she would leave him alone. She led him up three flights. He guessed they were on the top level. He trailed behind slowly as she strode down the hallway, finally stopping at a door.

"You said I had to pay?" Zuko said, but Katara paid no notice. She confidently walked inside, stopping once she was through the door to motion for Zuko to walk in.

"This is a 'hotel'?" Zuko asked once he was on the other side. The door closed behind him.

The door opened into a reasonably sized room, appearing to Zuko as a sitting room. It had small table with a few chairs around it, including a sofa. Looking to the right, Zuko saw a section looked very much like the kitchens in the Royal Palace. To the left, a hallway. Directly across from the sitting area was a window, clear and glassy, and the on the other side of it there appeared to be a balcony. The place was nice. Quaint, even. Not overly decorated, but still classy.

Still nowhere near as grand as the Royal Palace, though.

The waterbender walked away from him, setting her bag onto the sofa. She didn't respond to his question.

"Katara?" the prince said, confused by her silence. Her name felt odd on his tongue. He had always referred to her as 'waterbender' or nothing at all.

He turned and locked eyes with her. Her blue orbs showed panic in them.

Zuko then realized what she had done. She had tricked him! The stupid waterbender. She had probably been planning the whole time to separate him from the Avatar and the rest of the group. He knew she didn't like that he was going to train Aang. He just never thought she would try to drive him away like this.

In the blink of an eye, Zuko was at the door. He was about to reach for the handle when the blue-eyed girl slid in between him and the door. She stubbornly blocked his path.

"Move," Zuko hissed, narrowing his eyes. Or I'll make you, is what he didn't say. She may be a master waterbender, but he was still stronger.

She turned her head up to look at him, her eyes now serious. "I can't do that. I can't let you wander off like this,even if you're a stranger. It's my job to help people. I can't turn my back on someone who needs me."

"If you are so keen on helping me, tell me where the Air Temple is," he said harshly.

"That's the thing," she replied. "I'm fairly certain there isn't an Air Temple or anything like that around here. Nothing you say makes any sense. Waterbenders, Avatars, Air Temples, it's just... not here."

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove to me that the Western Air Temple isn't near here."

She blinked. "Alright."

Katara moved away, walking across the room to a sort of wooden chest in the corner. She opened a drawer, pulling out large parchments of paper. After checking them over, she closed the drawer and set them down on the small table. She spread out one of them, gesturing for Zuko to look.

"See?" she said. "It's New York. There isn't any place in the entire state called "Western Air Temple."

Zuko was shocked. The map couldn't really be depicting where he was, could it? He was fairly certain that this 'New York' was no where on a full world map. Perhaps it was a city in the Earth Kingdom. But why would a lowly Earth city have all of the strange things he had seen today? The city appeared to be extremely advanced. But the Fire Nation was the most advanced country in the world. Everybody knew it.

"Show me a different one," Zuko ordered.

She put the map away, spreading out a new one. "This is a map of the globe. See, this is where we are," she said, pointing to a land mass on the western side.

Zuko's eyes scanned the map critically, confused at what they were seeing. She was lying. She had to be. He knew what the map of the world looked like, and this was not it. Sure, some of the land masses look similar in size and shape, but it wasn't the same.

"This... this isn't real. This is impossible," he said, heart beating quickly. For the fear time in a long time, the feeling of fear slowly crept into his chest. Not just fear, though. Uncertainty, too.

"But... it is," Katara insisted, meeting his eyes. Zuko could see that she was just as bewildered as he was about the whole predicament.

What he needed was answers. And whether Zuko liked it or not, she was probably the only one who could help him get them.

A/N: Wow. This was a quick update. I have thoroughly surprised myself.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for your feedback on the first chapter! It does not go unnoticed!

And, as always, thanks for reading!