Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or the lines from the show.

Chapter 4: Questions and Answers

The four teenagers surrounded the campfire, enjoying a small dinner of fish, rice, and a sparse amount of vegetables. They were nearing the North Pole everyday, now almost reaching the northern shores of the Earth Kingdom. Though with no means of income, their small amount of money procured during their travels was dwindling. As were their supplies. Luckily Katara somehow had a knack for figuring out what types of foraged foods were edible, Z and Sokka would go hunting or fishing every other day, much to Aang's objection.

"If you don't like that we're doing it, then don't eat it," Sokka would say. And for Aang's sake, and their own, Katara would make a separate dish for him. Just so he would stop preaching about 'all life being sacred' and other Air Nomad monk nonsense. Z just wanted him to let the others eat what they wanted without protest. It wasn't any of his business what the Avatar ate, so why should the Avatar care about what he put in his own mouth?

With a sigh, Z realized that he had been odd for the past week since the group left the ruined city. He would only speak when spoken to, yet he would try to engage in activities with everyone including hunting with Sokka and training with Aang, which wasn't more than breathing exercises and meditation. Which Aang vehemently disliked. Their days were spent traveling, nights were spent on the ground. According to Aang, Appa could travel for long distances, but with the North Pole rapidly approaching, he wanted to make sure the sky bison had enough rest.

Z had also refused Katara's repeated offers to help him jog his memory, knowing that he probably couldn't handle what was going to come next. It wasn't that he was afraid, it was more as if seeing his past would just solidify the fact that he used to be these people's enemy, whether he knew it or not. Sokka and Katara filled him in on what was happening with the war, how the Fire Nation was almost reaching victory after one hundred years of battling. And how the airbenders had been wiped out at the beginning of the war, making Aang the last of his people. Z knew he was a part of the culture that has been destroying the world, and felt tremendous guilt for even being associated with them. Had he felt pride before by being Fire Nation? Was he hell-bent on fighting in the war? Or was he a deserter, not wanting anything to do with his homeland? Maybe based on the scar he had, so obviously made from fire, the latter was true. But he had no way of knowing.

So every night, he wished he could remember at least one snippet of his life before the storm. Something useful but not intense and so powerful that it made him hard to sleep, mulling over the horrible things running through his head. And tonight, he kept his eyes transfixed on the fire like he did every night, as if he could see something in there.

"Z?" He heard Katara murmur as she moved over and sat next to him. He didn't move his eyes from the blaze, but he grunted in reply to her. She sighed and scooted a little closer, placing a hand on his forearm as she whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine…"

He was quiet for a moment but then sighed as he tore his gaze from the fire to look at her. He looked in between her eyes, trying to find the best place to start based on the thoughts he had tonight. And the last memory he recounted. He blinked a few times before glancing back at the fire and asking, "What can you tell me about the Fire Lord?"

"Why?"

"Curious."

He glanced back over to see Katara had narrowed her eyes and was thinking deeply at the moment. For a while, the only sounds they could hear were Sokka's and Aang's conversation about the pros and cons of jerky, and the rustling of the canopy above. Z was about to ask again, but shut his mouth when Katara bit her lip and replied, "The Fire Lord's name is Ozai. He's only been ruling a couple of years. He's ruthless and cruel. Apparently he's willing to sacrifice troops at the drop of a hat if that meant a victory."

Z flinched and looked back to the fire. Deep in his gut, he knew all of this to be true. How, he didn't know. Hecouldn't come up with a logical reason in his head other than it had been ingrained there in someway shape or form. But what his mind was telling him was that those things were false, and that Ozai was a great leader and had the right intentions for the Fire Nation at heart. But based on his current situation, and the stories he heard from his friends, he knew they were false.

Katara rose and eyebrow and scooted a little closer to him, their thighs touching, as she asked again, "Why did you want to know?"

"It's nothing," he replied flatly.

"Alright," she backed off gently. "Anything else you want to know?"

He smiled, glad of her respect of his private thoughts. He had so many questions, some about the war, some about the rest of the world. But one stood out in his mind that seemed to be appropriate to ask. "What's it like in the South Pole?"

For a second, Katara looked shocked. Like she wasn't expecting that question to come from Z's mouth. But after that look passed, she chuckled, "Cold. Snow and ice everywhere. We live in tents and igloos."

"Doesn't sound that pleasant."

"Hey!" she pushed his shoulder lightly. "I don't see you talking about how great your home-"

He turned and shot her a slightly irritated look, eyes narrow and brows downturned. His mouth was set in a line. That was another thing they rarely discussed: his lack of memories. He hated when these people pried. Not because it annoyed him, but because he was thinking the same things they were and he was afraid of acknowledging the person he may have been before the accident. It was something that needed time. Not to be rushed. And for all the effort they put into trying to let Z piece things together on his own without taunting or too many questions, there was always that chance the agreement was breached.

"Sorry."

"Why should you be?" he spat with disgust, picking up a rock and tossing it at the logs. "I have no home. No friends, no allies…"

"We're your friends," Katara added softly, placing her hand on his.

"Right."

"No really," she whispered as she turned his hand over and clasped it with her own. Instead of rebutting, he just stared down at their contact blankly before he looked back up at her with dejected eyes. She shook her head and squeezed his hand tighter, "We're your friends, Z."

He stared at her for a moment, eyes flickering back and forth between hers. He knew at that moment he looked lost. Because he really was. But he was also lucky. Lucky to have friends like Katara, Sokka, and Aang to be there for him when he had been washed up on the beach and all alone. With a faint smile, Z nodded and looked back at the fire, without letting go of her hand.

"So how did you end up travelling with the Avatar?"

Katara chuckled and leaned back against her bag. "Well a couple months ago, Sokka and I were out fishing and found Aang in an iceberg. He had no idea the war was going on and all he wanted to do was ride animals and travel to far off places.

"I told him I was a waterbender and he volunteered to take me to the North Pole so I could find a master because there aren't any in the south. At first, Sokka objected but our Gran-Gran convinced us that perhaps it was time for us to branch out and see the world. And get me to the North Pole to achieve my potential. With it just being me, I had to teach myself everything I know. And a lot of it was accidental or experimental and I honed in on it all as much as I could, so I'm not completely hopeless. When Gran-Gran agreed to let us go, Sokka joined along and we started travelling north. We stopped at the Southern Air Temple and found out that Aang was the Avatar. He didn't tell us but he went all 'Avatar State' so he had no choice on telling us then."

"What's the Avatar State?" Z asked.

"It's when I can use the powers from all of the Avatar's before me," Aang chimed in. Z and Katara looked over at the monk, who was slurping the rest of his soup. And eyeing their joined hands a little enviously by Z's judgement.

"That's terrifying," Z replied, earning a confused look from the other three teens. "Well using all of that power? It sounds like it would be scary. You could easily lose yourself and do something you regret."

Aang lowered his head and turned back to Sokka, where they continued their hushed conversation, occasionally looking over at Z and Katara.

"Anyway," she drawled as she rolled her eyes and looked back to Z. "We've been travelling northward since then, stopping in villages and helping people along the way. We were being chased by a Fire Nation ship for a while but we never actually met the guys on the ship. Thank goodness."

Z blinked a few times before he nodded and looked back at the fire, mulling over what he just heard. "So before now, you never left home?"

She shook her head. "No. Our father left our village two years ago to fight in the war. Sokka and I were supposed to take care of the village."

"How old are you?" Z suddenly asked, his interest peaked.

"Sixteen," Katara replied with a smile. "Do you know how old you are?"

He thought for a moment but then shook his head, "No. But I think I'm older than you. Not by much though."

Katara nodded and sat up straight, unlatching their hands and grabbing their empty bowls. Then she stood and looked down at him with a smile. "Get some rest. We have one more stop to make tomorrow and then we're going to cross the ocean to get to the North Pole."

Z nodded and stood up as well, then headed to his bed roll and laid down. With all that he had been thinking about in the past few days and the strain of trying to repress any memories that might drift back to him, his mind felt exhausted. He could hear the movement around camp of Sokka and Aang following behind, getting in their respective sleeping places and going to sleep as well. Katara was the last to go to sleep, after putting the dishes away and snuffing out the fire with a handful of dirt. Once she had settled into her sleeping bag and the camp was silent, Z finally closed his eyes and willed himself into a deep sleep.

"If I'm going to rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?"

"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?"

"Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"

A scene formed around him, revealing a stadium full of people. Their cheering roared in his ears as he looked up and saw a man with a shadowed face at the other end of the arena approaching him with command, looking down at Z with a disgusted look. "You will fight for your honor."

Feeling tears prick behind his eyes, Z pleaded with the man, "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son!"

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" the man growled as he strode closer.

Z kowtowed on the ground in front of the man, tears starting to fall from his eyes. But he kept his voice steady when he replied, "I won't fight you."

The man was towering over Z now. When he looked up, he could see the malice in the man's golden eyes as flames licked his right fist. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

Z shot up and shouted, feeling sweat dripping down his face and soaking through his shirt. He kept looking out in the distance, trying to recollect the scattered dream as it kept fading back into the depths of his mind. There was just one thing he could grasp onto as it all crept away, one little fact that probably meant more to him than any other thing he had remembered thus far. He barely noticed when Katara came running over and straddled his knees, grasping his face and checking to see if he was okay. She was saying something, but Z couldn't hear her. He kept hearing the voices.

Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!

You're just a banished prince. No friends, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you.

Dad's going to kill you. Really, he is.

Then a new one rang clear in his mind, clearer than any of the others. Like it was being murmured into his ear right at that second.

Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

"Zuko…" he whispered, feeling his eyes widen. A few tears escaped his good eye and trickled down his cheek, bringing him back to where he was at that second. His eyes flickered to the girl in front of him, still cradling his face and running her thumb over the area under his good eye to remove any of the fallen tears. She looked tremendously confused at what he had just said, obvious in the frown that moved every muscle in her delicate face.

"What?"

He grasped her hand gently and pulled it away from his face, looking away from her now and smiling almost faintly as he repeated, "My name is Zuko."

A/N This chapter was revised on November 22, 2013.

Lines from this chapter were from "The Storm", "The Southern Air Temple" and "Zuko Alone".