Disclaimer: If you think we own this, you're crazy. All Avatar: the Last Airbender afiliated things belong the wonderful minds of Mike and Bryan. If we had come up with this show, we'd have made Zutara canon by now. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

At first, Zuko thought he'd finally given up and had died. That could be the only explanation for the feel of a soft pillow in the place of the cold, stone floor beneath his cheek. He hadn't felt something that soft in ages. He hadn't been warm in ages either, or heard birds. He heard them now, twittering in a manner that would've been annoying had he not been locked away in a prison and left there to die; now they only cemented his belief that he finally had given up. And all because he'd been stupid enough to listen to Azula.

Azula always lies. Why couldn't he just remember that? Was it really so hard? Why did he have to be so gullible?

Zuko rolled over and squeezed his eyes closed, trying not to think about his horrid sister. But it was too late. She tormented him even when he was dead and thought he'd finally escaped her manipulative wickedness.

As soon as he'd stepped foot on the shores of the Fire Nation, she'd had him clapped in irons and carted off to the prison surrounded by lava.

"I can't risk you trying to rescue Uncle," she'd told him, examining one of her perfectly manicured nails. She looked up at him and smiled wickedly. "Did you really think that a traitor such as yourself would be welcomed home as a hero?"

Zuko had looked away from her, ashamed that he'd been so easily taken in by his sister's charisma.

"Oh," she said, then added with a little laugh, "You did, didn't you? Pathetic."

And he'd watched her step gracefully into a waiting palanquin as he was dragged away.

He'd waited for Ozai to come free him. Surely, if he'd known his son was locked away in such horrible conditions, he'd come release Zuko. The Firelord was his father, after all. He wouldn't allow his son to be imprisoned. But the orders never came and Zuko had lost track of how long he'd been in the prison. He'd gone from being angry, to being confused, to being feverish and haunted. What he'd done in Ba Sing Se, it was the worst kind of wrong. The Waterbender had seen something in him, had trusted him, and he'd thrown it back into her face. Where there'd been even the littlest bit of hope, he'd shattered it.

And then she was there, standing on the other side of his cell door. She was a delirium, of course. So he'd talked to her. Told her he was sorry. He knew the panic in her voice as he'd slumped over was all part of the feverish dream. But, for just a moment, there was a second of clarity and she was leaning over him, her blue eyes troubled and tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. He'd seen that look once before when Azula had killed the Avatar. It had been his fault that had happened then. And it was his fault that it was happening now.

He'd reached through the haze creeping around the edges of his vision to touch her face.

"Don't cry," he'd tried to say. "Shh…don't cry."

She'd pulled his hand to her face, her warm face, and smiled down at him encouragingly. "Don't leave me."

He remembered nodding before his eyes had closed for what he thought the last time.

He felt a stream of warm sunlight on his face. Not the watered down kind that had seeped into the prison through holes far away near the surface but pure sunlight that warmed him to his very core. The scent of cool, fresh air drifted around him. He heard water bubbling somewhere nearby. Oh, yes, he must be dead.

Thinking that, as long as he was dead, he might as well explore his surroundings, he sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

Funny, he thought looking out a wide window over a bubbling fountain. This looks just like the Western Air Temple Uncle brought me to when I was first banished.

Pushing himself to his feet, he leaned against the foot of the bed. He wasn't entirely sure that being dead was supposed to be quite this uncomfortable. Every muscle in his body ached and his head spun. He closed his eyes and gave his head a firm shake. It cleared a bit and he started for the door. His legs felt shaky beneath him and, when he reached the hall, he tried to support his weight by leaning against the wall as he walked.

There was an eerie sort of quiet; it wasn't completely silent. He could still hear birds and the fountain. If he listened closely, he could hear the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees and bushes in the garden. It was more…peaceful than silent. He hadn't known that sort of quiet in a long time.

He caught the heady aroma of flowers and followed the path toward them; they reminded him of his mother. Maybe she was here, too. He took a deep breath and filled his senses with the smell; it helped his aching head.

He rounded the bend in the path and came to a small open area surrounding a small fountain. Seated on the ground beside the fountain with her back to him was a girl. Her hair flowed down her blue back in waves of dark brown. He realized that the rich smell he had followed had come from the bright orange flowers that circled the small clearing.

Hesitantly, he cleared his throat.

Alarmed, the girl jumped to her feet and spun around.

Katara, Zuko thought, shock rendering him speechless. Oh, this is not good. If I'm dead and she's here then—"

Katara launched herself at him, her arms wrapping about him and holding on tight. Her momentum toppled the two of them and he fell backward, landing flat on his back with Katara on top of him.

"Oof!" The air rushed out of Zuko's lungs as he struggled to grasp what exactly was happening. Just as he was starting to get his breath back, she sat up and slapped him.

"That was for Ba Sing Se," she said fiercely, unhealed pain swimming in her eyes. "I trusted you and you betrayed me."

There was no mention that he'd betrayed the Avatar or that he'd betrayed his uncle. He'd thrown her unearned trust back at her and it was for that that she was holding him accountable. Zuko rubbed his stinging face. "I'm not dead, am I? Or dreaming?"

Katara blinked at him, her pain being pushed out of her eyes by honest caring. It was not something he was used to. "What exactly do you remember, Zuko?"

He looked away from her, unable to look at that undiluted kindness in her blue eyes, and sat up, resting his arms on his drawn up knees. "I remember Azula ordering me to be thrown in prison and my father not doing anything about it. And I remember the prisoners from the invasion being brought in."

But everything after that is fuzzy, he almost added. He looked back at her. "And I remember you. You told me not to leave you."

Or had that been a dream, too? Nothing made much sense anymore. Zuko's head felt heavy and he had a headache that had him running his hands over his head looking for the sharp needles of pain. While he had been in prison, he had lost all boundaries between reality and his dreams. Was he just a victim of another one of his fever-induced visions?

"Zuko," Katara said softly, reaching out and laying a light hand on his shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what to do but felt that some sort of connection was needed. "What do you mean? Are you saying that, after Ba Sing Se, they threw you in jail?"

Disbelief edged her question and Zuko's head hurt even more trying to remember the details.

After Ba Sing Se…no, after killing the Avatar, Azula had taken the throne and Uncle had been thrown in jail. Zuko remembered trying to go speak with him but he had refused him. He remembered that. And he remembered being angry and hurt and confused. He'd wanted so badly to explain to Uncle why he had done it, why he'd followed Azula. But the old man would have nothing to do with him.

Then they had left for the Fire Nation. Mai was his only comfort during that time; he could forget his problems when he was around her. All the anger and the pain and the confusion would seep away until it was as though they had never existed.

But his problems had slapped him in the face as soon as he reached the Fire Nation; he had been arrested and thrown in jail.

"Hey! What's going on," he had yelled as the guards carried him away.

Azula had given him one of her you-mean-you-haven't-guessed looks.

"Why would Father want you home? You've been nothing but an embarrassment! Plus, we can't risk you trying to free Uncle," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders and, turning her back to him, she had walked away to the palanquin.

Zuko had struggled against the guards to no avail. He called out to Mai but Azula ordered the girl to her side.

Mai had taken one last look at Zuko and the look in her eyes almost had him believing that she would defy his sister and come to him. But, in the end, she obeyed Azula and left him to his fate.

"Bye, Zuko," she had said in her normal, monotone voice.

After hearing those words, he had stopped struggling. No one was going to help him.

The rest was a blur. How much time had he spent with his guilty conscience? How much time had he spent being haunted by the things he had done? The people he had hurt?

"Yeah," Zuko muttered to answer Katara's question. "Yeah, they did."

Zuko was lost in painful memories while Katara stared at him curiously.

She thought of how she and Sokka fought and of how she'd accused her father of never being there. She'd never realized just how selfish it was of her to react that way. Here was Zuko, who's sister had betrayed him and who's father had scarred and banished him. He had been thrown in jail by the very people who should've done everything in their power to keep him out. She knew that, had she been thrown in prison, Sokka and her father would go through hell and high water to free her. She couldn't even begin to wrap her head around the idea that Zuko didn't have family like that.

Giving into that same compassionate instinct that had brought her to her knees beside Zuko as he lay in a dirty cell, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close.

"I won't lie to you, Zuko," she said softly, feeling Zuko tense. "I don't know what you're going through. But I do know that we'll help you get through it. I'll be here for you."

Zuko felt Katara's arms tighten slightly and fought the urge to pull away. The truth was that, although Zuko fully appreciated the gesture, he'd been locked in a small cell for a long time; he was feeling claustrophobic.

As if sensing that he was uncomfortable, she loosened her arms, resting her hand on his back instead.

"Just remember what I said Zuko," she said with a gentle smile. She stood and turned to walk away.

Zuko's hand darted out and grasped hers. She stopped and looked down at him. He was still looking away from her, toward the setting sun.

"Thank you," he whispered, looking up at her. "Thank you for everything."

She nodded, giving his hand a squeeze before taking a few steps away and rounding the bend.

He'd thanked her. He appreciated what she'd said. And then she'd walked away? Katara hit herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Turning back around, she marched back toward the alcove. He'd heard her coming and was on his feet, eyeing her suspiciously. She stopped before entering the small clearing, giving him his distance.

He watched as she stood there, worrying her bottom lip and furrowing her brow in thought. He lowered his hands, trying to override the instinct to protect himself; she was no threat to him. He didn't want to scare her away by being unapproachable so he lowered his eyes to the ground at her feet. It was hard for him but he'd try to be submissive if it would keep her around.

"Are you hungry?" Zuko looked up at her. She was smiling warmly again and holding a hand out to him. "I'll give you a bit of a tour along the way."

He looked from her face to her hand, trying to decide what to do. The smile on her face never wavered, her hand never shook. It seemed genuine. Zuko cleared his throat and took her hand. "I'd like that…thank you."

Katara's smile grew at the added gratitude and led him back down the path. "You're very welcome."

Mwahaha..ha..hahaha...hahahahhahahha

Okay...now that that's out of our system, on with the craziness!

Feast your eyes upon Chapter Two people! Behold the loveliness! The brilliance! The...the...um...right...you get the point.

Here's your explination of how Zuko ended up in jail (Bad Azula. Bad!), Zuko's craziness, why Zuko's hurt...in short, this is the Zuko chapter. We really enjoyed writing from Zuko's perspective. It was great fun and a little different for both of us. And, in case you don't realize this (which means we didn't do our job properly), Zuko's condition still isn't so great. We'd rate him about 75 or lower.

This is picture can be found here:

http/northernbanshee.

It is the picture that inspired us to write a oneshot...that turned into something much more.

Simatra: face in hands You're so dramatic...

Lurisa: grinning like mad You know you love me and my drama!