Author's Notes:

Eleven very positive reviews! Well, I guess I'm continuing this. Thank you all for liking this story, it means a lot to me.

Ok, now some of you guys had some questions, so let's start with the back story, since that's what everyone seems to want to know. Since this is an AU Zuko's story will be different from before. I will reveal his past as the story continues, kind of like how it was in the show, and devote whole chapters to it from time to time, otherwise I will only hint at it. Now as for Iroh, you'll find out soon (evil laugh).

Now, here's something I need help with. I'm not sure if I should make this story one very, VERY long story, or if I should divide it into parts; you decide. That way, I know what to properly title this story. Please let me know in your reviews.

Now, I give you the next chapter of Homeless Dragon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.

Ch. 2: Reasons

Zuko walked along the road of the forest. It had been five days since he saw the Avatar, and he had been walking with very little sleep since that time. The experience still left a lot on his mind, and none of it was positive. Under normal circumstances meeting the Avatar would have been nice, and perhaps he would even say it would have been an honor. But after his experience, he thought it would be best to avoid him and his companions, especially the girl.

'Stupid scroll…' he muttered to himself.

He groaned at the thought of the incident, and it was all he could think about for the past few days. Those kids were even there in his dreams. He focused his attention on the scenery, hoping it would take away any thoughts of the group of people that he considered a plague on his mind.

He looked at the forest displaying their lavish autumn tones. The dazzling mixture of red and orange gave him a strong sense of the Fire Nation, his old home. Zuko felt his heart pang as he started to feel homesick, but then the thoughts drifted back to the palace, to his father, and anger rose in his heart. He was not sure which was worse, thinking about the Avatar and his friends and the trouble they brought, or missing his home but feeling the hatred that welled up with the man who branded him.

Feeling a certain unhealthiness with his thoughts and hunger starting to set in, he decided to take a break from walking, and found a nice tree with a soft pile of red leaves that had fallen from the tops past some of the bushes. He set his pack down, and sat against a tree. As he rummaged through his supplies looking for a snack, he heard an aged grunt.

He immediately put his stuff away, and got onto his feet. As he did though, he heard rustling, and grabbed his dual swords and gripped the handle as the sound and stalked toward it. He brushed away some of the foliage around him, and saw the source of the sound.

It was an old man in Fire Nation clothes.

'Am I in the colonies?' he thought.

The old man appeared to have fallen, and struggled to get up. Zuko went back and got his things before coming to the old man's aid.

"Sir, are you ok?" he asked him.

The old man looked up at Zuko, and raised his hands in defense.

"Please don't hurt me! I'll give you anything you want!"

Zuko felt a little hurt that he had just been accused of banditry, but grabbed the old man up and helped him on his feet anyway. The old man looked up to Zuko and examined him as well, especially his swords.

"You're… you're Earth Kingdom," said the old man fearfully.

"So?" lied Zuko.

"Why help me?" he asked, now perplexed.

"You looked like you needed help," answered Zuko, "But if you're here, I take it there's a colony not too far?"

"Well not a colony, just an occupied Earth Kingdom town," replied the old man warily, "If you were on your way there, you would have had a hard time getting in."

"I see," said Zuko sadly, "Well, I suppose I'll have to move onto the next town."

"Actually…" began the old man catching Zuko's attention, "If you help me get back to the town, I can get you in. After all, I am the elder."

"Really?" he asked the elder.

"If you… promise to not to hurt me or my family," he answered.

"I would never," Zuko answered instantly.

The elder stared at Zuko, searching for any lying in his expression and answer. After a moment, he nodded warily.

"Very well, follow me," said the elder.

Zuko bowed courteously.

"My feet thank you," said Zuko, "Oh; I'm Lee by the way."

"…I am… Lao Ren, a… pleasure," said the elder, surprised by the boy's manners.

Zuko promptly escorted him. Half-way down the road, Lao Ren sighed.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked Zuko cautiously.

"Yes, it is," replied Zuko, hoping to end any awkward tension.

"Too bad dark shadows hide beneath it," continued Lao Ren.

"Shadows?" he asked.

"Bandits my boy, bandits," said Lao, "They've been raiding around this area for a while, and soldiers are none too pleased. They've been enforcing a number of curfews and restrictions on the town, and its people. And I'm not just talking about the Earth Kingdom inhabitants, the Fire Nation ones as well."

"That bad huh?" asked Zuko.

"Mm," sounded Lao, "I remember not too long ago when I could walk the woods without any fear of harassment."

"Then why travel if it's dangerous now?" asked Zuko.

"Well, I needed to get some herbs to treat my daughter's illness," Lao Ren answered, now sensing he could trust him, "My son-in-law is fighting in the war, and my granddaughter is looking after her mother, my daughter. I was the only one who could get it, and now that you're here, I can get back safely."

"I see," said Zuko, "So, that's why you wanted me to escort you."

"I apologize if I've inconvenienced you, but it's absolutely necessary to save my daughter's life. They're counting on me to come home and if those bandits-" said the elder.

Zuko recalled a memory in his past, and held up his hand to calm the elder.

"Don't worry about it. I understand," said Zuko.

"You do? Oh thank you," said Lao Ren before sighing out of relief, "Now shall we… enjoy the scenery while we can?"

Zuko couldn't help but nod his approval. The woods really did remind him of the best parts of home. The warm colors were like the very fire within him: bright, powerful, and unrelenting. It was as though the last breath of the summer burned brightly and defiantly before the cold, dark hand of winter claimed the landscape, and he decided to savor it for as long as he could. He and the old man walked silently through the woods, admiring the beauty until they heard bird calls.

"Ah, even the birds are enjoying the scenery," said Lao Ren.

Zuko however looked confused.

"Odd, they should be in the south at this time of year," said Zuko.

He recognized the calls from the Southern Earth Kingdom, where the birds were in the autumn months until they flew back north in the spring. Then he got a familiar feeling. He stopped the elder, and looked around. Aside from the calls it was way too quiet.

"Sir, I don't think we're alone," said Zuko.

"W-What do we do Lee?" asked the elder frantically.

"Just stay calm, and close," said Zuko, "I'll protect you."

They edged slowly through the woods, and Zuko acted as if nothing was wrong. He kept his drawing arm limp, and then a same bird call rang through the woods, only it seemed harsher. His arm tensed, and he heard rustling from above.

"Stay close!" he shouted as he drew out his dual swords.

No sooner than did, a figure leapt down from the trees and landed in front of them with pure malice in his eyes. He had messy brown hair, tan skin, light armor, hook swords, and a twig in his mouth. Zuko glared at him, and he heard something behind him. He took a step back closer to the old man, and separated his swords. One blade pointed to the first attacker, and another pointed to a huge guy with a log tied to his back and a boyish-looking girl.

"What are you doing in our forest you leeches?" demanded the first attacker.

"Your forest?" began Zuko, "Are you the bandits who have been attacking this area?"

"Bandits?" shouted the other boy, "Is that what that Fire Nation trash has told you? What about you? You're Earth Kingdom, why are you protecting him?"

"I don't have to answer to you," was all Zuko said.

"Please!" the elder plead, "Let us go! Have mercy!"

"Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation have mercy?" yelled the boy.

He was about to charge, and Zuko was fully prepared to counter it when a club latched to one of the legs of the attacker.

"Jet! He's just an old man," said an oddly familiar cracked voice.

Zuko's eye widened as he saw one of the three people he had been working hard to get out of his head.

"Sokka?" he asked as he saw him.

"Lee?" he replied.

The person, now called Jet looked at the two of them.

"You know him?" he asked angrily.

"He helped us once, long story," said Sokka before looking to Zuko, "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question. First pirates, now bandits?" he said angrily.

"We're not bandits!" Jet objected, "We're Freedom Fighters!"

"Oh, really, you could have fooled me," growled Zuko.

"Traitor!" shouted Jet, but Sokka stopped him from attacking, "Search him!"

The big guy and the girl made a move, but Zuko lunged before the first step could be taken. He landed a powerful kick into the big guy's gut, and used his body to push him back close to the old man. The big guy flew a couple of feet, and girl was about to charge. But Zuko shot her a deadly glare that pinned her in place, and he glared back at Jet.

"Look, even if he is Fire Nation he's just a civilian," objected Sokka trying to hold Jet back.

"Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!" said Jet facing Sokka.

"This doesn't feel right!" said Sokka desperately.

Jet glared at him, before looking at Zuko, who did the same.

"…Whatever, Let's get out of here," said Jet angrily, "It's starting to smell like viper-rats."

Jet turned away, and the girl helped the big guy walk as they followed him. Sokka looked back to Zuko and the elder with regret.

"Come on Sokka!" shouted Jet.

Sokka looked back before he walked away.

"Sokka," began Zuko and he caught his attention, "I'm disappointed; I expected better from you and your friends.

Sokka stiffened and clenched his fists before continuing onward.

Zuko let him go, and went back to the elder. He sheathed his swords, and knelt before the Lao Ren.

"Are you ok sir?" he asked him.

"Yes my boy, but that boy was right. You're a traitor to the Earth Kingdom for helping me."

"It doesn't matter," said Zuko, "…I'm homeless anyway."

xXxXx

Sokka was sitting in a slump.

Initially, he didn't like Jet for showing him up in the fight yesterday, but now he was just plain angry at him. He attacked an innocent man, someone who had nothing to do with the war. He was surprised that Lee, someone from the Earth Kingdom, was protecting him, but Jet's behavior far outranked any other thoughts.

'Sokka. I'm disappointed; I expected better from you and your friends.'

Lee's words were a harsh reminder to Sokka. He was one of the Avatar's companions, and being associated with the Avatar meant living up to a strong code of moral standards. He could see that Aang and Katara were already in Jet's palm, and he had to get them away from this place. He was a bad influence to Aang, but most especially to his sister. He could tell she was infatuated with Jet, but she had to know the truth, even though Sokka knew that it would crush her.

"Hey Sokka is Jet back yet?" asked Katara.

He heard his sister, and Aang was already with him, so he sighed.

"Yeah he's back, but we're leaving," said Sokka in frustration.

"But I made him this hat," said Katara disappointed.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug!" said Sokka hoping to deliver the news quickly and less painfully.

"What?" asked Katara in disbelief, "No he's not."

"He's messed up Katara," he shot back.

"He's not messed up," said Aang, "He's just got a different way of life; a really fun way of life."

"He almost beat and robbed a defenseless old man."

"Almost?" asked Aang.

"The only thing keeping him and his gang of merry men from going through with it was Lee."

"Lee?" Katara asked shocked.

"You mean the guy who saved us from the pirates?" asked Aang.

"No, Momo's friend," said Sokka, "Yes, that Lee."

"But we flew. How could Lee be here so quickly?" said Aang.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that he was here and he saw Jet for who he really was: a bandit," said Sokka.

"I want to hear Jet's side of the story," said Katara firmly.

They immediately went to Jet's part of the hideout, and brought up Sokka's accusations.

"Sokka, you told them what happened, but you didn't mention the guy was Fire Nation?" said Jet.

"No, he conveniently left that part out," said Katara.

"Fine, but even if he was Fire Nation, he was just a harmless civilian," said Sokka.

"He was an assassin Sokka," said Jet as he pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the table, and unscrewed the handle revealing a vial of extremely potent venom, "See, there's a compartment for poison in the knife. He was sent to eliminate me; you helped save my life Sokka."

"I knew there was an explanation," said Katara relieved of Jet's innocence.

"I didn't see any knife," said Sokka angrily.

"That's because he was concealing it," said Jet.

"See Sokka," said Katara, "I'm sure you didn't notice the knife."

"There was no knife," reaffirmed Sokka, "No way was that on the old man, and even if there was, Lee kicked back Pipsqueak, and scared Smellerbee from retaliating. Lee is a very scary guy!"

"It was all an act by Smellerbee," said Jet, "And once that traitor wasn't looking, Smellerbee swiped it away."

Sokka looked at Katara and Aang, and felt disgusted that they were eating up Jet's garbage like fresh lychee nuts. They should have remembered how skilled Lee was. After all, he fended off two groups of dangerously armed thieves by himself while the rest of them tried to get a pirate ship in the water. The story was so unbelievable; Lee would have been able to stop Smellerbee even if he wasn't looking.

"I'm going back to the hut and packing my things."

Sokka was livid and just walked away back to where his stuff was. He started rolling up the group's supplies and other gear and put them in Appa's saddle. All that was left were their sleeping bags, and while he was tying them up Katara and Aang approached him.

"We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest," said Katara.

"I'm sorry Katara, Jet's very smooth but we can't trust him," he replied.

"Oh, and we can trust Lee?"

"That's different," said Sokka, "I admit, Lee was a jerk, but he helped us out once and I do think he is at least honest enough to talk straight with us. He agrees with me that Jet is trouble so we should leave now."

"You know what I think?" said Katara, "You're just jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader."

"I'm not jealous of Jet," said Sokka, a little hurt by his sister's accusation, "It's just that my instincts-"

"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay a little longer and help Jet" said Katara angrily, "Come on Aang.

"Sorry Sokka."

Sokka felt betrayed as he watched his sister and Aang walk off. He spent the next couple of minutes grumbling and trying to figure out how to prove to his sister and Aang that Jet was crazy. He tired himself out after an hour and went to sleep, but awoke to the sounds of whispering. He pulled the cloth hanging from the door back and saw two freedom fighters swing to the forest floor. He glared, snatched the bison whistle from Aang's pack on Appa's saddle, and followed them, keeping a safe distance. He saw the cart they were pulling and the contents.

'Blasting jelly?' he thought, 'What are they up to?'

He continued to follow them until dawn when Jet stopped at a cliff edge. That was when he heard the plan to flood the entire Earth Kingdom town. Jet had been leading Aang and Katara on, and he knew he had to warn his friends. But before he could move, he was captured by Pipsqueak and Smellerbee, and taken to Jet.

"Sokka, I'm glad you decided to join us," he said smugly as Sokka was pushed to the ground in front of him.

"I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town," massaging the aches he got from his two captors.

"The plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation," said Jet.

"There are people living there Jet; mothers and fathers and children," reasoned Sokka, hoping to talk the crazed war leader down.

"We can't win without making some sacrifices," brushing off Sokka's concerns.

"You lied to Aang and Katara about the Forest Fire," said Sokka before becoming enraged, "Lee was right about you! You're no different from a bandit!"

"Don't mention that filthy traitor to me!" shouted Jet before recomposing himself, "As for Aang and your sister, I only did that 'cause they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do."

"I do understand, I understand there's nothing you won't do to get what you want," said Sokka bitterly, "Even if it means taking advantage of my sister, and using my mother's death as justification. I will never forgive you for that."

"…I was hoping you'd have an open mind," said Jet with mocking remorse, "but I can see you've made you choice."

He hooked one of Sokka's hands and pulled him toward him while Smellerbee got the other, and put it behind his back. Pipsqueak got a hold of the arm while Smellerbee reached for the other. While they tied Sokka's wrists together, Jet ordered them to take Sokka for a long "walk."

Sokka was put into a forced march for over half an hour. He started to trudge as he tried to find a way to get away from Jet's cronies without actually getting beat up in the process. He slowed down for a bit and Smellerbee aggressively went for him, ordering him to keep moving. Sokka tried to reason with them, but that too proved unsuccessful.

Sokka could tell he was not getting through to them, and he looked away. As he did, he saw the same traps that caught Momo earlier, and thought of a plan. He told them Jet had a lot to learn about being a leader, and ran off ignoring Smellerbee's protests. Sokka dashed into forest avoiding the traps. Smellerbee and Pipsqueak however, didn't even notice them, and they both got caught.

After criticizing their knot work, Sokka ran quickly through the forest. His first idea was to go to the dam, but he realized that he would have had to fight all of the Freedom Fighters that were there, and if he was beaten, which was a very real possibility, the town would still be destroyed. He ran to the village instead, hoping he would make it in time to warn them.

xXxXx

Zuko was outside of the elder's home. The elder, his daughter, a middle aged woman, and his granddaughter, a teenager about Zuko's age and blushing furiously at him, were saying thank you to him for helping them with escort the elder back home.

"I packed in some cured meats for the road. They'll last for a while," said the daughter, looking healthier than she was yesterday.

"Thank you ma'am," said Zuko as he put on his pack.

"Um…" began the granddaughter holding a wooden box, twiddling her thumbs, and averting her eyes away from Zuko's face, "I… I … I have some medicine. It may help you along the way."

She stretched out her arms and presented it to him with a bowed head. She looked up slightly to see his reaction.

"This will come in handy," said Zuko smiling courteously and as he got it, his hand brushed hers, "Thank you."

She faced down to the ground, and her face was absolutely red with affection as Zuko gently took the medicine from her.

"You're welcome here anytime," said Lao Ren.

Zuko fastened his swords on his back, and bowed to his hosts before walking away. He left the town, and acknowledged a Fire Nation guard who thanked him for looking after the elder, and went off into the woods. He would have to move quickly if he wanted to avoid that Jet guy, and get out of the woods without any kind of conflict. He wasn't afraid of the fight, but the terrain. Jet and his men most likely knew the woods inside and out, and he would be at a serious disadvantage.

Just when he figured things were going to go without any problems, he heard a rustling. He drew his swords, and faced the source of the sound. It was Sokka running out of the bushes. He immediately stopped as he saw Zuko take a stance against him.

"Lee!" yelped Sokka with his hands up.

"Sokka?" began Zuko, relieved and suspicious, "What are you doing here? Are you and your friend going to attack me now?"

"First of all, Jet isn't my friend," said Sokka angrily, "Second, I was looking for the village."

"Why?" asked Zuko as he lowered his blades.

"Jet wants to flood the valley; he's going to blow the reservoir."

"What did you say?" asked Zuko in disbelief, "That would kill everyone and everything in the valley. What happened to 'I'm a Freedom Fighter?"

"Some sick thing about it being a necessary sacrifice, a demand of war," said Sokka, not paying attention to Zuko's sarcasm.

The last three words filled Zuko with anger, hatred, and sadness as he clutched the part of his robe with his handkerchief.

"…I see," said Zuko.

"Sorry Lee, I don't have time, I have to warn them," said Sokka.

Sokka went into a random direction when Zuko grabbed him from behind and spun him around to face him.

"You're going the wrong way, the village is that direction," he said pointing to the south, "And you're going to need someone to vouch for you."

"Who?" asked Sokka.

"Me, of course," said Zuko a little frustrated that Sokka didn't see how obvious the answer was.

Sokka smiled, finally catching on, and Zuko just sighed as he sheathed his swords.

'Here we go again,' thought Zuko before opening his mouth, "Let's go, we're wasting time."

He and Sokka ran back to the town. On the way a thought occurred to Zuko.

"Hold on! It hasn't rained here for weeks; I bet the reservoir isn't even full," said Zuko, "Even if he did blow it, the water wouldn't be enough to flood the entire area."

"He tricked Aang and Katara into helping him fill it up with water," said Sokka.

"WHAT?" shouted Zuko as he heard the name of Sokka's sister, "First she takes a stupid scroll, now this?"

"I know!" agreed Sokka.

"You know at first, I thought she just had a lapse in good judgment, but this clinches it. Your sister is stupid!"

"Hey, don't call my sister stupid. She's just naïve. Jet smooth talked her into doing things for him," said Sokka angrily.

"Naïve is just another way of saying foolish. And as for that guy, isn't it your job as an older brother to keep strange boys away from her?" asked Zuko.

"Hey! I'm a great older brother! She's just stubborn, and she never listens to me," said Sokka as they arrived at the village gates.

"Lee, what are you doing back to soon? Is something wrong?" asked the guard who greeted him earlier.

"Zhang, get everyone in the square," said Zuko as he recalled the guard's name, "The elder especially. This person has an announcement to make. It's an emergency."

Zhang looked at Zuko, and then to Sokka and sighed. "Lee" helped the elder, so it was only fair he do him a favor. He ordered the other guards to call for an emergency announcement, and very shortly, the square filled with people. Sokka looked nervously, but Zuko put his hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down," said Zuko, "I'm right behind you."

Sokka took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"People of… the town," began Sokka, "you're all in danger!"

The people began to mutter.

"There is a group of people in the forest, and they're going to blow up the dam!"

Worried shouts rang throughout the village

"Listen to me!" shouted Sokka, "You don't have much time! We need to get everyone out of here!"

"Why should we believe you?" demanded on of the Fire Nation soldiers, "For all we know, you could be a spy sent to lead us into an ambush!"

Everyone, even the Earth Kingdom citizens began to side with the soldier's claims.

"Listen!" began Zuko, "I don't know him well enough, but I do know that Sokka is an honorable man. He's telling the truth."

"Isn't that Lee, the boy who saved the elder?"

"He can be trusted right?"

"I don't know."

"He could be in cahoots with those bandits too."

Zuko looked at Sokka grimly, but a loud thud sounded from behind. It was Elder Lao Ren with his family as he struck his cane to the ground.

"I say, we listen to them!" said the elder.

"Elder?" asked one of the guardsmen.

"Lee is a man of honor, I would trust him with my life without a second thought," said the elder, "And as for the boy who is warning us now, Sokka is it? Even though he was with the man who accosted me, he defended my life just as well as Lee did. They are both men of honor, and I say we put our trust in them."

There was silence throughout the people until one man spoke up.

"…If the elder trusts them, then I suppose we should as well."

"I agree," said an Earth Kingdom citizen, "He may be Fire Nation, but the elder has looked after us too."

As the villagers slowly began to agree, Zhang cleared his throat.

"Silence!" he shouted over the whispers, "I will take the elder at his word. Everyone evacuate, but in an orderly fashion! Don't bother taking anything with you; we've probably wasted enough time talking about what to do."

Sokka smiled brightly, and Zuko nodded in approval. The guards began to form up, and began to lead the citizens of the town out. Sokka was at the head of the line, and led them up to higher ground, while Zuko stayed along the rear to make sure no one was left behind. Because of the efficient organization of the whole event, they were able to get everyone out safely, and when the guards did a head count and confirmed everyone was there, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom citizens alike, Sokka took out the bison whistle from his pocket and blew it hard.

"What are you doing?" asked Zuko.

"There's still a chance that I can stop Jet," said Sokka, "Will you stay here, and make sure no one goes back?"

"No problem," said Zuko.

"Thanks Lee."

Sokka ran off deeper into the woods, and blew the whistle harder. Not long afterward, Appa landed near him and he got on. After getting off the ground, he headed to the reservoir, and saw a bright light fly into the air. Sokka squinted and saw it was a fire arrow. He went faster as the dam blew, and saw the charging, merciless water raged through the valley like a stampede of raging komodo-rhinos. Trees were easily uprooted, birds flew away chaotically, and animals fled for their lives. He looked back and saw the village. It was quickly engulfed in the billowing torrent, but the raging water just kept coming and piling itself layer after watery layer. He was glad that everyone was out of there, and when he saw Aang, Katara, and Jet on the cliffs he went in that direction.

"-the Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe," he heard Jet say.

"It will be safe," Sokka said as he arrived, "Without you."

"Sokka!" cried out Katara happily.

"I warned the villagers about your plan… just in time," said Sokka glaring at the half-frozen rebel leader."

"What?" shouted Jet incredulously.

"At first they didn't believe me. The fire nation soldiers assumed I was a spy, but two people vouched for me. The old man you attacked and Lee," said Sokka as he recalled the events, "They didn't believe Lee right away, but the elder urged them to trust us; we got everyone out in time"

"Sokka, you fool!" snapped Jet angrily, "We could have freed this valley."

"Who would be free? Everyone would be dead," shot back Sokka.

"You traitor."

"No Jet," said Sokka, disappointed, "You became the traitor when stopped protecting innocent people."

Jet looked to Katara who looked away from him in disgust.

"Katara, please help me," he pleaded.

Katara had had enough.

"Good bye Jet," she said, crying at the fact that she trusted him, and he used her.

When she got on, Sokka whipped the reigns, and they flew off.

"I thought you were going to the dam," said Aang as they picked up altitude, "How come you went to the town instead?"

"Let me guess, your instincts told you," said Katara.

"Hey, sometimes they're right," said Sokka, satisfied.

"Um Sokka, you know we're going the wrong way, right?" asked Aang.

They both smiled while Sokka was surprised

"And sometimes they're wrong," he said as he turned Appa around.

They flew over the town, and Sokka waved at all the towns people. Everyone, even the Fire Nation soldiers cheered as they turned a blind eye to them just this one time. Katara was happy that her brother saved everyone and regretted not believing him.

"Hey Sokka?" she began catching her brother's attention, "I want to say-"

"Oooh, wait," said Sokka as something caught his eye and he took Appa to the ground, "Sorry Katara, hold that thought."

xXxXx

Zuko walked through the woods when a shadow appeared in front of him and began to grow bigger. He heard a roar from the sky, and looked up to see Appa land in front of him.

"Lee!" shouted Sokka as he held the reigns, "Why aren't you with the people?"

"The townspeople were safe, I didn't have a reason to stick around with them anymore," answered Zuko.

"Well… do you need a lift to the next town?" asked Sokka, "I kind of owe you for sticking up for me."

Zuko considered it, and even though he had hoped to avoid the Avatar group, his feet were still tired and he thought it would be great to get another look on the world from the sky again.

"Sure," he answered.

He climbed up on Appa, and sat himself comfortably looking over the saddle. Appa flew up, and Sokka asked where he wanted to go. Zuko told him there was a large town a fifty miles away in the northeast, and pointed to the direction that Sokka should go.

"So, Katara," began Sokka as he headed toward Lee's destination, "You were saying something earlier?"

"Yeah," she said taking a deep breath since Lee was in front of her, "I wanted to say sorry for not trusting you."

"It's ok Katara," said Sokka, "Just promise to avoid boys like Jet from now on."

"No problem," said Katara surprised at the two things that didn't happen.

The first was Sokka going into a lecture on how she should have trusted his judgment and how he was always right about "things like that." The second was that Lee was not asking anything about Jet, or looking for a reason to call her stupid. She looked at Lee, and despite how she still felt about his rude attitude, she felt he deserved some thanks as well.

"And Lee," she began catching Zuko's attention, "Thank you for sticking up for my brother."

"…Don't mention it," replied Zuko.

The ride was quiet for several minutes before Sokka cleared his throat.

"So Lee," began Sokka, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Zuko.

"You're Earth Kingdom," began Sokka, "Why did you protect the old man?"

Zuko considered the question carefully before answering.

"Aside from him being able to get me into the town, I helped out the old man because he needed it, and because he had a family waiting for him back at his home… I know what it's like to wait for someone to come home, and abruptly find out he's not coming back," said Zuko as his thoughts drifted to his cousin, "If I did nothing, if I had let that Jet person do what he was going to do, it would have been the same as me inflicting the same kind of pain I felt on someone else. I could never forgive myself for that."

"Lee…" began Sokka solemnly.

"What about you?" asked Zuko, "Why did you save the village? Jet did have a point; it was filled with Fire Nation soldiers. Why not let it happen?"

Sokka listened to the question. The way that "Lee" said it made it seem like more of a test. Katara and Aang wanted to hear this answer as well, and they both scooted over to hear it.

"I guess… it's because you were right about what you said when I went back with Jet," said Sokka recalling the event after Jet tried to attack the elder, "I travel with the Avatar, which means I fight for something greater than some random victory. I fight to help end this war, and for the peace to come. If I can't put aside my hatred for something more important, then I don't deserve to be here."

Aang and Katara smiled warmly at Sokka for his answer, and Zuko smirked, hearing the honest in it.

"I see," said Zuko.

Zuko looked out of the saddle, and a thought came to him as he enjoyed the view.

'There may be hope for them after all,' he thought as they flew off to the horizon.

Another chapter done! I hope you guys like it.

For disclaimer purposes, I should let you know that I do use quotes from the actual show. I don't own these either; I just use them for my own purpose.

Author's Notes:

Lao Ren in Mandarin pinyin format literally means "Old Man."

Thank you for reading and please review.