Did you know that they make gloves for feet? It's a little something called barefoot running. Crazyness. They look like the half-socks my mom gets when she wears flat. LOLs.

That morning, Julie and Iroh were both chained up and transferred to The Dragon's Gate. From the tiny window of the tank she was in, Julie could make out the shape of the prison. It was just as Iroh said, dug into the side of a huge mountain. She could see the guards pacing along the top of the gate like little ants.

The prison cells there were just as dirty as the ones aboard Azula's ship, but at least they were bigger. Julie was separated from Iroh and thrown into an isolated cell. The guard slammed the door behind her and walked away, leaving her all alone.

Takeshi uncoiled himself from Julie wrist, where he had been hiding during the journey. He was growing again, Julie noticed. Soon he would be almost three feet long. Almost full grown. She watched as he scared the elephant rats off. They squeaked loudly and dashed into the shadows, their little trunks waving in panic. Satisfied that there were no more little critters, Takeshi flew back and curled himself around Julie's shoulders.

Zuko, meanwhile, was given dress robes to change into for the welcoming ceremony. He was also given a heavy shoulder pad that weighted him down. He hated that. It made him feel sluggish and, well, it was pretty hard to firebend in. Just because he was so frustrated and angry, he summoned all of the fire from the trench in his room and threw it into the wall. It created a giant brown scorch mark. It stared at Zuko disapprovingly like an eye.

Scowling, and not feeling any better than he did before, Zuko went off to the deck of the ship for the welcoming.

"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's capital. In Ba Sing Se she found her brother, Zuko, and together, they faced the Avatar. And the Avatar fell, and the Earth Kingdom fell!" Lo and Li raised their arms.

Zuko found himself feeling even more disappointed. This wasn't how he wanted his return to be. He wanted his father to be here to welcome him back with honor. He wanted to see how proud his father would be, his son finally coming back after proving himself. But did he really prove himself?

Azula had told him that he earned back his own honor. For once, she sounded like Uncle Iroh. No, not Uncle Iroh, he thought frantically. His uncle was probably in the Dragon's Gate by now, doomed to rot in the dark cells. All because of him. But he had to.

It was the right thing to do, a voice within him whispered. Zuko shivered in spite of the warm sun. You are the rightful crown prince, are you not? The voice continued – Iroh was just a crazy old man. Zuko found himself agreeing with the dark voice. But then, there was another voice. It was lighter, and sounded a bit like his mother. What about Julie? Are you just going to let her die in that filthy prison? You loved her, Zuko. You can't do that. As angry as he was, Zuko had to admit, he wasn't just going to let her die.

Iroh sat against the wall of the cell, meditating. He concentrated on making his breath slow and even. It was the breath that made firebenders powerful, and he was a master at controlling it. But as he emptied his mind, the events of that day in Ba Sing Se came back to him. Zuko was so lost, but he refused the help that was offered to him. If only there was a way to open his eyes to the real world and his ability to control his own destiny.

He always thought that his father would be the one to offer him his honor. Iroh loved Zuko too much to tell him that in reality, his father did not love him. His little brother did not feel any love. He had come close to telling, but that would hurt Zuko too much.

Ever since they were children, Ozai had been serious and cruel. Azulon had seen this as the mark of a true Fire Lord. Iroh had always been content with what he had, but to Azulon, this was a weakness. His eldest son was a fool. Still, he stuck to the old traditions and prepared to pass the crown on to Iroh, but Ozai intervened. If not for Ursa who only wanted her son to be safe, Iroh would be Fire Lord and the war would be over. The old general sighed. Fate is a funny thing.

Azula swept her gaze over the soldiers and citizens gathered on the Royal Port. Yes, the victory in Ba Sing Se was a great occasion, but she had a feeling that the Fire Nation had not completely won. There was still something wrong. And she was just the person to fix it.

When she hit the Avatar with lightning, she felt all of his power disappear. But now, it was back. She could feel that he was not dead. He was still alive and well, somewhere in hiding, and she would not be to blame for this failure. Azula snuck a glance at Zuko, who also appeared deep in thought. She smiled slightly, the gears turning inside her head. Someone else would get the blame when the Avatar reappeared.

For now, she was going to wait until there was news of his sighting. She had secret ships patrolling the oceans, looking for anything suspicious. When the he was found, she would make sure to end him, once and for all. That little boy and his friends have eluded her for too long. Then, she would return as a true hero, and father would be pleased.

I know, short chapter. I suck at long chapters because well, I end up running out of things to write about and if I add too many events, it seemed like I stuffed too much stuff into the chapter…

Thanks so much to all of my readers. And especially the reviewers! So considerate of you guys :) Reviews just make my day! *hint hint*