Hello again! So I'm updating two days in a row, sort of to make up for the fact that I was going to update regularly and I didn't and I know that's always annoying when people don't update but I'll update regularly now, I promise! Standrd disclaimer applies and here's chapter 3!

Chapter 3: "Ask the Man That You Call Father"

After that night, Zuko constantly pondered his actions. Why had he let the girl escape? She was the enemy. She hated the Fire Nation and he was loyal to it. He was supposed to hate her in turn, right? He thought so, yet he didn't hate her. To his own dismay, he actually respected her. She may have been the enemy, but she had guts. As much as he wanted to and knew he was supposed to, he somehow found it impossible to look down upon her or any of the Water Tribe slaves.

About three nights following the confusing incident, Zuko found himself wandering the path he assumed she'd taken as an escape route. He wasn't sure what made him go that way, but he went anyway. As he traveled further along the path, he came upon a place where he knew he was not welcome: the tiny piece of land on which the shabby homes belonging to the Water Tribe slaves were built. He stopped dead, knowing he should not keep going. Yet, he was drawn to the place, as though something important awaited him there. So, his feet kept moving.

To his surprise, none of the slaves showed any sign of disrespect the way the girl had. Instead, men avoided his gaze, women hid their faces behind veils of long hair, children peeked out from behind their mothers. They were afraid of him. He should have known. Most slaves feared the Fire Nation. It wasn't hard to tell; if they weren't afraid they would have tried to escape by now. Some supposedly had tried and were killed in the process. No one really knew if it was true or just something made up by the Fire Lord to keep the slaves in line, but no one risked it, either.

"Jet! Jet, he's here! I told you he'd come, Jet, I told you!"

Zuko wheeled around at the sound of a young woman's voice. A teenage girl with the Water Tribe's trademark blue eyes and unusual pure white hair dashed toward him, dragging a boy who looked a little older than her by the wrist. She stopped a foot or so in front of the prince, her eyes dancing with something akin to elation. "I knew you'd come!" She whispered excitedly. He quirked an eyebrow. "Do I know you?" "No, but we know you." She replied, bursting with excitement. He narrowed his eyes. Why would a slave girl care at all about the Fire Lord's son? Shouldn't she hate him? He nodded, still confused. "May I ask your name?" Her face lit up. "Yue! My name is Yue, and this is my older brother, Jet." She gestured to the boy behind her, who remained silent, glaring at the prince. "I knew you'd come, I just knew! Jet and out mom didn't believe me, but I knew it'd happen someday! And now here you are! You came back to us!"

Zuko was taken aback by the statement. "What do you mean came back to you?" He asked. How could he "come back" to someone he'd never even met? Her face fell. "You…no one told you?" He shook his head, although he had no idea what she was talking about. "I should have known." She sighed. "Fire Lord Ozai and his wife Ursa are not your real parents." Suddenly, anger flooded Zuko's mind. How could she say such a thing? And how could she be so calm about it? He glared down at the girl before him. "That's insane!"

"It is not insane!" She stared up at him, daring him to challenge her, and he narrowed his eyes, enraged by her attitude. "Yue-" Her brother put his hand on her shoulder, about to say something, but she pushed him away. "It's true! You are not the son of Ozai and Ursa!" Yue shouted as Jet continued in his futile attempt to calm her. "Azula isn't your sister, either! I am!" They were silent for a moment, her staring up at him, begging him to believe her, while he stood stock still, not falling for her act in the slightest. He was about to shout back when she continued. "Our mother, Kohana, she gave you up so that you could live! You are our brother!" "What do you mean so that I could live?" He demanded indignantly. He stumbled back when she got in his face and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"ASK THE MAN THAT YOU CALL FATHER!"

Zuko was about to explode when Jet stepped forward and pushed his sister behind him, as if using himself as a barrier between Yue and the angry prince before them, which, Zuko thought, was probably exactly what he was doing. "I'm sorry about my sister, Prince Zuko." He said. His voice was panicked, worried for his sister's well-being, but Zuko could also see the hate in the other boy's eyes. "She…uh…she has a…a mental illness! Yes! That's what it is, a mental illness. She's not right in the head, so she doesn't know what she's talking about." Yue protested, but he placed a hand over her mouth to silence her and began guiding her in the direction of their home. "Really, really sorry, your Highness. Please excuse my little sister, she means no harm." The words coming from Jet's mouth were polite, but Zuko could tell by his tone and overall demeanor that Jet was much like the Water Tribe girl in the way that he Fire Nation and everyone in it. Zuko also got the feeling that if he laid a hand on Yue, all hell would break loose if Jet had anything to say about it.

The prince stood still, listening. He could hear the two siblings in the distance. "Why won't he believe me?" Yue asked no one in particular. "It's the truth, something should just click! Doesn't something usually click when people learn the truth?" "He's Fire Nation, Yue." Jet replied in a brotherly yet bitter voice. "Or he thinks he is. Why would the Fire Nation Prince believe a couple of Water Tribe slaves? We don't mean anything to him. We never will. That's the way it is."

That was the last of the conversation he heard. But as he walked back in the direction he came, he thought about the two siblings. A part of him, however small, couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen Yue's eyes before.

xXx

When he returned to the palace, Zuko meant to sleep, but couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't sleep that night or the next night or the next. Yue's voice kept replaying itself in his head.

"Azula is not your sister! I am!"

"Our mother, Kohana, she gave you up so that you could live! You are our brother!"

"Ask the man that you call father!"

He lingered on those words for days, secretly wondering. Was it true? Was Yue really his sister? Could that be why her eyes seemed familiar? Or had Jet been sincere when he said Yue "wasn't right in the head?" And what did she mean by "ask the man that you call father?" What would Ozai know about any of this? There was only one way to find out.

When his lack of sleep began to annoy him, Zuko made his decision. He didn't tell a soul, not even Uncle. He didn't feel like he could trust his family with this secret. It was only his to know. When the rest of the palace was sleeping peacefully, he put on the long black cloak he often wore when he didn't want to be caught and went to her. The one with all the answers.

Lady Mitsu.

He'd never gone to the seer before. He'd never felt like he had any reason to, but he knew what she could do. According to Uncle Iroh, she read people's futures accurately every day and rarely made mistakes. He always thought it was ridiculous, but she was the only person he could think to ask. After all, Uncle did say she read Ozai's future and exactly what she had predicted came true. Zuko entered the little building, careful not to make too much noise. He knew for a fact that she was open because she only worked at night. It worked perfectly for him. Luckily, there was no one else inside. He cleared his throat. "Hello?"

A red curtain to his left was pushed back and there she stood. She was younger than he'd expected, probably in her late twenties or early thirties. Although, rumor had it that she participated in witchcraft, so he assumed it was one of her spells or potions or whatever she used. Her black hair was curled and wild; she wore bright red lipstick and dark eye makeup. She was much flashier than most Fire Nation women, but then again, she was known to be eccentric in both personality and appearance. "Welcome." She said in a dreamy voice. "I am Lady Mitsu. What can I do for you?" He hesitated before he pulled back his hood and revealed himself. She didn't seem to be surprised. "Prince Zuko. I've been expecting you." She motioned for him to follow her behind the curtain and he did so. Behind it was a long hallway, which she led him down until they approached one of the many doors. He couldn't even think of what might be behind any of them.

Behind the door she opened was a small room with no furniture. It seemed odd, but so did she, so Zuko didn't question it. Instead, he sat on the floor where she told him to in front of a silver box. "Now," She said in her far-off voice. "What is it you wanted to see me about, Prince Zuko?" Zuko tensed slightly, unsure of how to word it. "Something…happened the other night and I…I don't know what to think of it. You're the only person I could think to ask. I can't ask my uncle; I don't know why, but I'm just not comfortable asking him. And my father? Forget it. I heard you had all the answers, so…" He trailed off, unable to think of what else to say. She simply nodded serenely. "I wouldn't say all the answers, but I do have a lot. What is your question?"

"Well…for the longest time, I've found myself…pitying the Water Tribe slaves. I never knew why, I just hated the way they were treated. I felt a sort of emotional attachment to them. Not too long ago, there was this girl from the Southern Water Tribe…she was kidnapped and was supposed to be imprisoned for threatening the Fire Nation, but I caught her escaping and I…" He sighed. "I let her go. I don't know why I did it. And then a few nights ago, I met these slaves, Yue and Jet. And Yue said that I was…she said that I was their brother. She told me that their mother-or my mother, I don't know!-had given me up so that I could live. She pretty much said that I was from the Water Tribe and adopted by my parents-or not my parents. I don't know!" He put his face in his hands, frustrated. Lady Mitsu did not seem to mind. "Go on." She said. He took a deep breath to regain his composure. I told her that was ridiculous and asked what she meant by 'so I could live' and she got mad-I don't blame her, I wasn't being very friendly,-and she told me 'ask the man that you call father.' But…I can't do that. He'll never tell me. So I'm asking you. Is there any way that you could explain it to me? Like, predict my future or something and tell me if it's tied to what Yue said?"

She nodded, her big gold eyes fixated on him. "I suppose it is time you know." He leaned forward. "Know what?" "Sixteen years ago, when you were an infant, Ozai came to me asking about the future of his nation. So I told him what I saw: a sixteen-year-old boy of water Tribe ancestry would free his people from slavery and end his unborn child's rule with the aid of a number of unknown allies. He asked when, I told him around sixteen years' time. I shouldn't have told him anything. I wouldn't have if I'd known what he would do."

Zuko was suddenly anxious. "What? What did he do?" Lady Mitsu's expression was no longer distant, but troubled. "Ozai…he ordered that all newborn sons of the water Tribe slaves be killed. And so it was done." Zuko's eyes widened. "My father…killed newborn babies? I knew he was a violent man, but I…never thought he'd go that far." Lady Mitsu nodded solemnly. "Now, the part about your past." Zuko nodded. "Can you do that? See the past, I mean?" "I have seen people's pasts before, yes. People with amnesia have come to me asking about their past, and sometimes people even ask about past lives. Give me your hands." He obeyed and she took his hands in her own, closing her eyes. He did the same, and a minute or so passed with the two of them sitting in silence. Just as he was about to ask what she was doing exactly, he heard a sharp intake of breath and his eyes snapped open. "What? What is it? Did you see something?" She simply stared with wide eyes for a second before shaking her head quickly as if exiting another dimension. "Prince Zuko…I believe I have just seen your past and your future."

He raised an eyebrow. "Both? Is that even possible?" "I didn't think so until just now." She stared at him a moment and then began speaking as if she knew how anxiously he was awaiting her explanation. "Your mother is a Water Tribe woman named Kohana, and your father a Fire Nation soldier whose identity is unknown to her. When you were a baby, your mother abandoned you at the palace doorstep in hopes that Ursa would care for you rather than let Ozai kill you. Ursa did exactly that, and you looked enough like your father to pass as Fire Nation. Ozai decided that you were never to be told of where you really came from. He himself did not know you were from the Water Tribe, and neither did Ursa."

As she spoke, Zuko remembered something. "Kohana…that's the name! That's who Yue said her mother-or, my mother-was!" His voice dropped to a lower whisper than he thought was possible. "So she was telling the truth…" He looked up at the woman before him. "And what about the future part? What was that?" She seemed to sit up straighter before she replied.

"Prince Zuko…I believe that you were the one my prophecy spoke of sixteen years ago. You are supposed to free the Water Tribe people-your people-from slavery and overthrow Azula."

Yes, I'm ending with a cliffhanger. I'm horrible. Anyway, here's some things I'd like to explain:

1: If you've seen the movie "Prince of Egypt," you'll know what I mean when I say that Yue and Jet are sort of like Mirium and Aaron from the movie. If you haven't, Mirium and Aaron are Moses's biological siblings who are teh first to tell him that he's not actually who he thinks he is. Just like Yue and Jet did here, so now you know.

2: Lady Mitsu is wort of a weird character. She's kind of like Aunt Wu in the way that she's a fortune teller, but personality wise she's more like a miz of Luna Lovegood and Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter. Also, "Mitsu" is a Japanese name for a girl that means "Light." (I was looking for a good name and I thought it was fitting).

3: The chapter title and what Yue says to Zuko, "Ask the man that you call father," is actually a line from the movie "Prince of Egypt." Basically, what I'm trying to say here is, I didn't come up with it myself. I just used it because it had a very strong effect on the characters in the movie and I liked it. So yeah.

Ratings and reviews are always appreciated! Thanks!