Chapter 2

"Fire Lord Zuko, where exactly are you headed in the Earth Kingdom?" asked the captain.

"I'm heading to Ba Sing Se," Zuko answered.

"What for, if you don't mind me asking."

"I have an important matter to take care of with the Avatar. Something that needs to be taken care of right away."

"Does this have anything to do with your mother?" Zuko turned quickly and looked at the captain. The fact that he knew what he was up to surprised him.

"How did you know?" Zuko questioned.

"Well," he began. "Right after the day of the eclipse, when I still served your father, he told me the story of how you confronted him. He told me how you came in with your swords drawn on him and told him of your plans to leave the fire nation and help the Avatar. He was so angry at you, and you were going to leave, but he was still powerless so he couldn't do what he wanted to do to you. So he told me how he got you to stay until the eclipse ended."

"Yea, he told me about my mother, how she's still out there," stated Zuko.

"Zuko, you mothers dead!" cried the captain

"What?"

"She's dead, gone, no longer alive. He just said all that stuff so you would stay until the eclipse ended so he could harm you. He told me he made it all up. That she's dead." The captain began to cry a little. " I saw you visiting your father for the past few days and I knew you were questioning him about her. I'm so sorry Zuko. I'm so sorry."

"Your wrong," Zuko whispered.

"What?" questioned the captain. Zuko reached out and grabbed the captain by his shirt forcefully.

"Your Wrong!" he shouted. He threw the captain against the wheel of the ship. "Now get me to the earth kingdom!" Zuko stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him. He made his way down the hall and into his quarters. He slammed that door too.

"I'm sorry, Fire Lord," the captain whispered to himself. "I'm sorry"

. . .

The sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon as Zuko sleepily stepped out of his quarters and made his way down the hall towards the captain who was still steering the ship. He entered the room and saw the captain standing at the wheel. He did not seem to notice Zuko though. He kept his eyes fixed on the rough seas. He had stayed up while Zuko slept to make sure they made it to the edge of the earth kingdom safely.

Zuko sat on a bench that was attached to the wall on the left side of the room. When Zuko sat the captain turned and saw him sitting. He looked surprised.

"Fire Lord Zuko," the captain said. "How long have you been here."

"About three seconds," Zuko chuckled. The captain let out a small laugh, though still upset about what happened earlier. He turned away and again began steering the ship. "I'm sorry captain," Zuko blurted out. "It was wrong for me to get mad, you were just telling me what you heard."

"You don't have to b-"

"Yes I do," Zuko said cutting the captain off. "I shouldn't act like that. I don't want to be that mean Fire Lord that my father was. The only person that deserves to be treated that way is him. And I'm going to try my best to treat him that way." Zuko laughed again. This time the captain let out a louder laugh.

They both remained silent for a few minutes, but in time it was broken by Zukos voice.

"Did my father tell you, how she died?" He asked.

"He did." Responded the captain. "Would you like to know."

"I would."

"Well," the captain started. "Your father said that after she did what she did, you know, kill Fire Lord Azulon, he banished her. He said she got her things and was ready to set out. She had a small boat ready to leave in, but the boat was sabotaged. Your father said he watched from the palace as she got in and began to row out into the middle of the sea. He then said the boat quickly started to go down, and she didn't have enough time to row back to shore. She sunk down into the water and that was the last he saw of her." Zukos eyes were filled with tears at this point.

"So, she-she d-drowned," Zuko said trying not to choke. Suddenly his crying turned to rage. "Was it my father who sabotaged the boat."

"Yes," the captain responded. "It was. He killed her." The captain turned and looked at Zuko. His eyes were once again filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"It's okay," Zuko said between sobs. "At least now I know. Turn the ship around and head back to the fire nation."

"Are you sure Fire Lord?"

"Yes"

"Very Well." The captain grabbed a hold of the wheel and turned the ship around. They were now heading back towards the Fire Nation.

"Thank you for telling me," Zuko said. "I would have been crushed worse if I went out and found nothing. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go to my quarters. I need a little more time to myself." The captain nodded as Zuko walked back down the hall letting out small sobs with every step he took.

When he entered his quarters he threw himself on to his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long while, but sleep slowly over took him.

When Zuko slept, he dreamed. His dream went like this:

He was in a dark room, no light at all. All he could see was himself looking into a dark abyss. He was wearing a very fancy robe. His hair was up in a bun held in place with the fire nation emblem pick that used to belong to his father. He was sitting cross legged on a pillow. He had a very serious look on his face and was still as can be.

The lights in the room began to fade on, and he could see, standing on the opposite side of the room, his mother. She was crying, and had her face buried in her hands. Zuko remained still as he watched her for a short while.

After a few moments her head rose and she saw Zuko sitting.

"Zuko!" she yelled. "Zuko, my son."

"Mother!" he cried. He rose from the pillow and stood looking at her. "Mother!" He slowly began to walk towards her. She seemed to be doing the same, but they were not getting any closer.

"Come to me Zuko!" Ursa shouted

"I'm trying mom!" He responded. "I'm trying." They still were not getting any closer. They both reached their arms out towards each other, but were too far away to touch.

"Zuko!" Ursa yelled again. Tears began to stream down Zukos face. He wanted so bad to be with her and he was now running as hard as he can, but still not moving. He then slipped and fell face first on the ground. He looked up and his mom was getting farther away, until she vanished. Zuko rose to his feet, still crying.

"No!" he screamed. "No, I was so close." He fell back down to his knees and hit the floor with his fist. Suddenly the floor began to crumble beneath him and he started to fall.

He landed moments later on a dirt ground, and around him was a forest. It was night time and the sky was filled with stars. He looked longingly into the sky. Something felt strange to him. And then he realized it, the stars were moving. They slowly began to form the words: I'm Alive.

When Zuko saw this he rose to his feet. He began looking around at the forest and then back to the sky, but the writing was gone.

. . .

Zuko shot upright in his bed. He was now awake. He could feel his heart pounding as he breathed heavily. He looked around his room to make sure he really was where he thought, and he was.

Zuko quickly threw the covers off of him and raced down the hall of his ship back to the captain. As he approached the door, without stopping, he swung it open and ran full force into the room.

"Turn this ship around!" he cried. The captain was stunned.

"Again?" he questioned. "Back towards the Earth Kingdom."

"Yes."

"But Why?"

"My mothers alive."