7. Zhao's Secret

"We've got to do something" Aang said, his voice worried but determined.

"No. You can't intervene", Ilya whispered. "Shen made it very clear that everyone is going to end up in more trouble if you show yourselves."

"How could they get into more trouble than this? That Commander guy is going to burn the whole village down unless we do something", Sokka pointed out.

Katara tried to focus on what the others were saying, but her thoughts kept escaping to the events on the street below.

He is here. He has followed us here, all the way from the South Pole. And he is a prince. But what is he doing now?

ooo

A proper Agni Kai required all sorts of preparations, but Zhao and Zuko were on the same page about this one being handled according to the short ceremony. Neither of them even bothered to take off their armors.

That left the risk that one or both were hiding concealed weaponry, but Zuko trusted that Zhao wouldn't resort to playing dirty in front of all his men.

Zuko walked over to Uncle and gave him the four small blades he always carried with him, hidden in various places on his armor. Zuko was sure that Iroh would give him a lecture on how foolish his behavior was, but the older man simply took the knives and nodded.

"No lecture?"

"Not this time", Uncle answered. "I am proud of you for standing up for what you believe in. Extremelyworried, but proud."

Zuko was surprised by Uncle's words, but there was no time for a groundbreaking conversation.

As Zuko turned to look at his adversary, he saw that Zhao was also done giving orders to his second-in-command.

"Remember your basics", Uncle shouted after Zuko as the Prince walked towards their improvised battle arena.

I'm guessing that is Uncle's way of saying 'don't use secret illegal firebending abilities you're not supposed to have'.

Although the village was small, the main street was wide enough for an Agni Kai. Zuko wasn't sure how much the villagers understood of what was going on, but at least they'd had the good sense to back off and make space for them.

Why fight the Fire Nation when they prefer to fight each other for change?

Zuko reached as good a spot as any, turned his back on Zhao and knelt. A small prayer to Agni was one of those ceremonies that never got skipped over.

Zuko's royal tutors had made him memorize several traditional Fire Nation prayers, but Zuko didn't feel like bothering the spirits over this. Instead he used the moment to calm himself and plan his first moves.

Zuko got up and turned around. He would not fail.

Zhao was up already, a confident smile on his face.

The crowd around them consisted of Zhao's men and a few curious Earth Kingdom civilians. The noise was enough to drown out Zhao's next words, but Zuko could read them from the man's lips: 'This will be over soon'

For a moment, both men just stared at each other. The audience grew quiet, sensing the hostility in the air.

Zuko knew exactly what to do. Countless times Mizzra had told him that the best advice to remember in a fight was to 'appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak'.

To Zhao, the only thing more important than an easy victory was that the victory looked easy, since the Commander wouldn't want anyone mistaking them for equals. Zhao would try to end the fight quickly by overpowering his opponent; Zuko would provide him with the kind of adversary he was expecting.

If Zuko played his hand right, Zhao would be down before he knew what had hit him. One lame turtle-duck coming right up. Mizzra, I'll make you proud.

Zuko sent two small firejabs Zhao's way and tried to look surprised when the Commander blocked them with ease. Then he waited to see what Zhao would do.

Zhao sent a surprisingly small firebolt his way. Zuko redirected it without difficulty. Testing the ice, are we? Two can play that game.

Zuko's next attack wasn't much more impressive, but he tried to make his expression look like he was pissed and giving this his all.

As Zuko had expected, Zhao was determined to end this fast. The Commander began a series of firefists. Zuko did equally many whirling kicks to block them. Zuko's choice of block was an overkill, but hopefully Zhao would interpret it as a mistake made by an inexperienced fighter.

The triumphant Commander got closer and closer until Zuko 'could no longer block his attack and had to roll over to dodge it'.

Here is your chance. Take it!

As Zhao prepared to finish Zuko off, Zuko made his move.

The Prince got back on his feet, creating a small arc of fire for camouflage. Zhao had to lift his hands to keep the fire from hitting his face, leaving his center wide open.

Zuko used a back rotation kick, partially to please Iroh by using a basic technique. An impressive arc of flames threw Zhao a city block away. The Commander landed still twirling.

Zuko ran over to Zhao so that when the man finally recovered enough to look up, all he could see was Zuko's fist ready to strike him down.

Zhao grimaced. There was a flash of fear in his eyes.

"Do it!" The downed Commander shouted.

And Zuko did. Though not to Zhao's face. Zuko's finishing blow hit the ground a few inches from the man's head.

Zuko looked up and addressed Zhao's troops: "I, Prince Zuko, order you to retreat back to your ships. Immediately."

As no one objected loud enough for him to hear it, the Prince was pleased with the outcome.

Zuko turned to walk back to Uncle. Suddenly, he felt heat right behind him.

Zuko turned around just in time to see his uncle redirect a large firebolt that had been about to hit him in the back.

You! You just don't do that! Zuko was in such a state of fury and disbelief that he started to do the first kata that came to mind. Uncle waved for him to stop.

Suddenly one of Zhao's men pointed behind them and shouted: "Look, it's the Avatar!"

Zuko turned around and could barely believe his eyes. Apparently, one of the fireblasts had set a decorative tapestry on fire and, as advertised, behind it sat Aang and his friends.

ooo

Oh, this is just typical. Of course they had to throw their fire right this way. I bet this sort of stuff never happened to Avatar Kyoshi, Sokka thought.

Sokka preferred to have a plan before taking action, but that was a luxury they could no longer afford. It was time to act.

All of Team Avatar burst into motion. Aang began by doing a few sweeping attacks with his fans, throwing half a dozen Fire Nation soldiers off their feet.

The Militia joined in the fight as well, and unsuspecting firebenders were tackled from behind.

"There's too many of them. We have to lure them out of the village", Sokka summarized the situation to Katara and Ilya. "Also, a diversion wouldn't hurt."

"I can provide some cover", the earthbender girl said and jumped off the roof. As she hit the street, small fissures spread from around her, causing the earth to shake slightly. It wasn't enough to throw anyone off their feet, but when Ilya thumped both fists to the ground, dust burst from the cracks. With help from Aang's airbending, the dust cloud quickly spread across the main street, limiting everyone's line of sight to a few meters.

Good thinking. They can't throw fire at random. If they do, they're likelier to hit their own than us.

"Okay. Aang, Katara, follow me." Sokka landed from the rooftop and began heading towards the town's secondary gate. Katara was right on his heels. Aang jumped up and down between the streets and the rooftops, moving in his unpredictable and airy way, throwing away firebenders whenever they stumbled his way.

Sokka spotted an unwitting Fire Nation soldier and hurled his boomerang at the man, knocking him out. Then he heard someone calling his name, turned around and saw Shen approaching.

The Militia leader was carrying a hammer in his hands, and the weapon made him look much more menacing than before. He was followed by Ilya and another Militia member whose name Sokka didn't know.

"Sokka, you have to get the Avatar out of here", Shen ordered.

"I'm like fifteen seconds ahead of you on that", Sokka replied.

Shen nodded and added: "We still need to talk. When you are safe, rendezvous with us by the little pond roughly the shape of a star, North-East of the village."

Sokka nodded and kept running.

ooo

The Avatar's tricks didn't fool Zuko. The airbender and his gang were obviously headed towards the southern entrance to the village, and Zuko intended to beat them to it.

The Prince ran across the chaotic battlefield, scaling a wall a few times when a bulky Militia guy got in his way.

Zuko felt betrayed. He had stood up for these people because he'd thought they were unarmed civilians, but to prove Zhao right, the villagers had turned out to be hiding the Earth Kingdom Militia as well as the Avatar.

Zuko felt like a naive fool, but he didn't have time to be hard on himself. He still had to fight his way out of this mess and capture the Avatar.

A flash of orange informed Zuko his hunch had been correct. The young monk was on top of a nearby building, headed south.

Zuko reached for the hidden knife on his belt, only to realize he had left all his weapons with Uncle. With four leaps he scaled the wall next to him instead, and hauled himself on the roof.

The Avatar did not notice Zuko's approach, but Katara did. The waterbender was still standing on the ground level. From there she sent a small wave of water in an attempt to knock Zuko back down.

Zuko took cover behind a chimney. In the meantime, Aang landed, and he and Sokka ran for the town gate. Before the Prince had time to go after them, Katara sent another burst of water, this time in front of Zuko to block his way. Zuko jumped back down to the street to meet his attacker face to face.

"You won't hurt Aang or anyone else again. I won't let you."

"Are we really going to have to go through this again?" Zuko shot back, irritated.

"As many times as it takes for justice to be served. You are evil and it is time you paid for it."

"You are angry at me for using you to find the Avatar", Zuko said. "I understand. I would be, too. But I didn't kill your mother."

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK OF MY MOTHER!"

Zuko realized his poor choice of topic a moment too late. Waterbending was powered by strong emotions, and now Katara was fuming. She called more water to her aid from a nearby well.

Katara's next two charges were fiercer, but her aim was still all over the place. Zuko rolled over to duck an attack and simultaneously grabbed a fist-sized rock from the ground. In lack of a more sophisticated projectile, Zuko threw the rock at Katara. It hit her in the middle of her body, knocking the air out of her.

Zuko didn't remember where exactly waterbenders drew their power from, but he hoped loosing one's breath was as damaging for other benders as it was for firebenders. The Prince had to break Katara's focus before she would use her water to slice him to pieces.

As Zuko had hoped, Katara gasped and all the water she had been holding fell to the ground. She wasn't down yet, though. Before Zuko had time to reach her, she was already preparing a new assault.

"You... you... you monster! You had no right to look into my mind!" Katara shouted and sent another wave at Zuko. Zuko blocked it with his fire, and closed in on the waterbender.

With his usual anger to power him, Zuko would have probably taken her down by now. Instead he was hesitating when he should have been acting, for as hard as he tried, Zuko couldn't erase Katara's accusations from his mind.

She is right. I saw more than I ever had the right to, and she did nothing to deserve that.

Zuko wanted to say he was sorry, but there was nothing he could do to make up for his intrusion. Well, almost nothing.

Zuko placed his next steps carefully. He danced around Katara, and before the waterbender had time to call forth her water, Zuko grabbed her hands and twisted them behind her back.

For a brief moment, their bodies were so close to one another that Zuko could feel Katara's heart beat.

ooo

Before Katara had time to struggle free, the Prince let go of her hands and pushed her from behind. Katara fell to her knees, but when she got up, the boy was nowhere to be seen.

She looked around herself, trying to locate her enemy. No! He couldn't have just vanished. He's just human. He has to be.

A familiar sound cut through to Katara's mind even past her frantic thoughts. It's Aang. He's calling for Appa. Appa is back.

Katara realized she had to move. The longer they stayed in the village the greater the risk of something bad happening to Sokka or Aang. They couldn't afford to stall just because she didn't have what it took to beat Zuko.

Katara ran towards Aang's voice. Rounding the city gate, she saw Aang and Sokka were already climbing atop the bison, calling for her to join them.

ooo

Normally Zuko would have gone straight for the Avatar, but in this case, he figured he would make more headway by backtracking a little and avoiding his fight with Katara. Zuko had let the waterbender escape from him on purpose, but he had no intentions of letting the Avatar get away.

Zuko ran a short distance back to the village and took cover behind a building. He ran across a small alley that led to the village's outer wall. After climbing the wall, Zuko could see the Avatar's bison had landed and the Air Nomad was getting ready to flee.

Before Zuko had time to do anything, a small, vicious firebolt hit him in the back. The Prince managed to control his fall so that he fell back on the village's side of the wall, where the fall was considerably shorter.

Upon landing Zuko rolled back on his feet, facing his attacker. It was Zhao.

"You little traitor! You impeded my investigation in order to capture the Avatar yourself, and thus sided with your enemy nation!" Zhao shouted.

Why is he coming after me? I would have thought he could put our enmity behind him while the Avatar is still around...

Zuko realized that Zhao probably didn't know the Avatar was still around. Which meant that Zuko had to find a way to go after the Air Nomad without tipping the Commander off about his intentions. Perfect.

Zuko sent a quick firejab Zhao's way. While the man prepared to counter it, Zuko ran straight for him. He tried to push the Commander out of his way, but the other man raised fire to block Zuko's path completely.

The Prince lept over the flames and tackled Zhao off his feet. When Zuko finally got past Zhao, he intended to run for the town gate, but Zhao's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"If you run from me now, you are no better than your traitor mother."

ooo

The Earth Kingdom Militia had more or less retreated from the fight with the help of their dust cloud. However, since Commander Zhao was nowhere to be found, the situation in the village was still a mess; no one appeared to be in charge.

When the bison took to the skies outside the citywall, Iroh weighed his options. The situation needed was some... crowd control.

"Are you all so busy standing around acting useless that you have not noticed the Avatar is escaping?" Uncle stated loudly and pointed at the sky where the bison could still be seen for a moment before it vanished behind houses and walls.

"Well, aren't you going to go after him?" Uncle suggested with a more emphatic tone.

"Commander Zhao's orders were to..."

"I am sure that Commander Zhao would be very angry if we lost the Avatar again", Iroh pointed out. "In fact, the Commander has most likely gone after the Avatar himself, feeling that your orders under the circumstances should be self-evident. The Avatar is, after all, the greatest single threat to our Nation's war efforts, and the standing orders to all Fire Nation soldiers are to do anything it takes to arrest him. I suggest you return to your ships as fast as possible, so that you stand a better chance of following the Avatar."

Zhao's second-in-command looked convinced enough. He nodded and ordered the troops to retreat back to the main gate and to Halti Bay.

Uncle was relatively sure that if Zhao had been there, the first thing the Commander would have done was find someone to blame, but that would have put them right back where they started.

This way, the village will be spared, at least for the time being. With little luck, Zhao's troops might even take off without their Commander, and that would give Zhao someone else to take his anger and frustrations out on.

Iroh was slightly concerned for his own and his nephew's safety once the Fire Nation forces retreated, but that was a minor inconvenience considering how badly the situation could have ended.

The part that truly worried Uncle was that Commander Zhao was indeed nowhere to be seen. Nor was Zuko, and somehow Iroh guessed those two things were connected.

ooo

Zuko was used to insults, implied and blatant, but Zhao's was so unexpected that, for a moment, the Prince completely forgot his hunt for the Avatar.

"Did you just insult my mother?" Zuko shouted as he turned to look at the downed man.

Zhao said nothing more, but somehow Zuko got the impression there was more to the words than just a bad looser trying to find new ways to insult his enemy.

Zuko took a menacing step towards Zhao. "My mother was not a traitor."

Zuko could have walked away then. There was no reason why he shouldn't. None but the nagging doubt that Zuko thought he'd put behind him years ago: What happened to my mother?

It was unlikely that Zhao knew more than Zuko himself did, but he had to be sure.

To the older man's surprise, Zuko walked back to the alley. Expecting an attack, Zhao tried to keep Zuko away, but the teenager blocked the Commander's firepunch and grabbed his hand.

Time to get to the bottom of this.

ooo

Six years ago

Sergeant Zhao was irritated. He had always been a natural leader among his peers. He had always been a promising firebender, even if Jeong Jeong was too bitter and jealous to admit it. Still, no one was willing to acknowledge his accomplishments.

The Orion was a medium-sized battle cruiser, and their mission was to escort supply ships making their runs between the Fire Nation proper and her Earth Kingdom outposts. It was hardly the sort of mission that paved one's way to glory, so for the time being, Zhao's military career was on the hold.

It was past midnight but Zhao couldn't sleep, so he passed his time by walking around the ship's corridors. Since they were out on the ocean, there was no need to keep constant security patrols going. Zhao hadn't met a soul on his walk to the ship's deck.

The only thing that made their current trip slightly more interesting than the past dozen or so ones was their mystery passenger. No one on the crew knew who he was or even what he looked like, because he had entered the ship wearing an all-covering, old-fashioned widow's attire, and hadn't left his room since.

Only the Captain of Orion was allowed to go into that room, which meant that the rumors and speculations among the crew were beyond wild by now.

Zhao himself presumed that the man was one of Fire Lord's spies on a secret mission that required keeping his identity to himself. If Zhao was right, and he was relatively sure he was, the truly interesting question was which Fire Lord had sent him.

The night the Orion had left the Caldera City was also the night Fire Lord Azulon had passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Sending this spy could have been the old man's last act, but a more intriguing scenario was that it had been Fire Lord Ozai's first act. What could be so important that even before his official coronation, Ozai had sent a spy into the dead of night on a secret mission?

Now there lay a mystery that Zhao would have loved to get to the bottom of. Knowledge was, after all, a good way to power.

The Orion would reach her destination tomorrow morning, so Zhao didn't have much time left to investigate. Also, try as he might, he couldn't think of a way to get inside the room without blatantly disobeying a direct order.

Zhao walked up the ramp that led to the deck. He hoped that the cool night air would help him think clearly.

There, on the moonlit deck, stood a figure.

"Who are you?" Zhao demanded as he walked towards the stranger.

The hooded figure startled and turned to look at Zhao. To his surprise, it was no one he'd ever met in person, but Zhao recognized the face anyway.

Shocked and not knowing what else to do, Zhao knelt on the deck. "Lady Ursa... Fire Lady Ursa. My sincerest apologies. I didn't realize anyone was out here this late."

Lady Ursa looked wary, but her tone was polite. "Just Lady Ursa. You may rise"

Zhao lifted his head. The mystery passenger, Zhao realized, isn't a spy at all.

Lady Ursa was wearing a multilayered gown. On top of that she had a plain traveling cloak and a scarf that could be worn to cover her face, though at the moment it hang loosely around her neck.

No jewelry or other obvious signs of power. No Fire Nation insignia.

Zhao didn't have to see Ursa's displeased reaction to know he had just stumbled upon something he wasn't supposed to know anything about. A man with more tact might have made his exit right about then, but Zhao wasn't about to walk away from such an intriguing encounter. He tried to quickly think of something polite to say.

"Is there anything I can do for you, my lady? Something I could bring you, perhaps?

"No."

"May I ask what you are doing here?"

Ursa hesitated before answering: "I came out here to admire the scenery."

Not what I was asking and you know it, Zhao thought. He would have to approach this from a different angle. Something was definitely wrong about this picture, and Zhao intended to find out what.

"I'm... deeply sorry for your recent loss in the family," Zhao said.

Now Lady Ursa turned for the first time to really look at Zhao. He could see hints of panic under her composed features.

"My loss?" Ursa said, "Zuko.. my children. Has something happened to them?!"

Zhao was baffled. He couldn't come up with anything wittier than the truth: "No, my lady. I was referring to Fire Lord Azulon's passing."

Somehow, Zhao's words made Ursa look sullen, almost angry. Zhao made a mental note of that before adding: "I am sure your children are fine."

Why wouldn't they be?

There was such hatred in Lady Ursa's next words that Zhao would have taken a step back if he hadn't still been kneeling on the ground.

"Fire Lord Azulon wasn't a member of my family."

Zhao was surprised and shocked by her words but tried to look politely indifferent.

No one spoke of the Fire Lord in that tone. No loyal citizen, at least. Zhao was cautiously optimistic he had just been handed the key to unraveling this mystery.

"What is going on here?" an authoritative voice asked from behind Zhao. As Zhao saw who it was, the Sergeant hastily got up and saluted his commanding officer. "Captain Ping."

"Sergeant Zhao, what do you think you're doing out here?" The Captain asked, irritation and worry blatant in his voice.

"It's alright", Lady Ursa said to Ping, who in response bowed deeply at the noble woman. Deeply, but he did not kneel all the way to the ground.

Someone has fallen out of grace, Zhao noted.

Captain Ping commented on the cold night air and suggested Lady Ursa would be more comfortable back in her room. Ursa bowed and walked away from the two men.

"Why are you out here?" the Captain demanded from Zhao as soon as Lady Ursa was out of hearing range.

"Just making sure everything was in order before we make land in a few hours", Zhao tried to sound respectful, yet unapologetic.

The old Captain's face wrinkled as he considered the situation, but finally he sighed and asked: "How much do you know?"

"Only that we have a high-ranking guest on board our ship. Though I do wonder why the crew was not informed of Lady Ursa's presence. I am sure everyone would have considered it a great honor", Zhao said as innocently as he could.

"She will leave the ship first thing tomorrow morning. Officially, she was never here. You may tell no one of what you've seen or heard tonight. Am I making myself clear?"

"Chrystal, sir", Zhao bowed deeply and added, "I live to serve the Fire Lord's commands."

Captain Ping did not deny Zhao's presumptions, which was as good as admitting they were correct.

She is a traitor and the Fire Lord has banished her for it. It's being kept a secret to avoid a scandal.

Two weeks later, Zhao received a letter from the Fire Nation informing him that he had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant for his exceptional services to his nation. The letter had the Royal Seal on it.

Finally, Zhao had gotten himself noticed.

ooo

Zuko felt a bit nauseous, and not just because of the disgusting way Zhao had used his mother's hardships for personal gain.

However, there was also a flicker of hope building up in his chest: She's alive.

ooo

Ilya and the rest of the Miltia were standing by the star-shaped pond, waiting for the Avatar to arrive. She hoped the Air Nomad would show up soon, because she couldn't stand another minute of the silent tension. It still seemed unreal just how badly she had messed up.

Before Ilya had escorted the Avatar and his friends to the roof, Shen had quietly told her that no matter what happened, she was to make sure the Avatar would not be detected. A simple enough job she had completely failed at.

Shen was very disappointed in him, and it really stung. Shen was Ilya's idol. His inspiring words had convinced her to join the Militia in the first place, against her family's wishes.

Ilya was 17 years old. She understood that the women who were left to take care of the farms and provide food for the soldiers were a crucial part of improving their country, but as an earthbender, she felt like she could do more than just remove rocks from fields.

Three of her four brothers were in the Army, and after she had run off to join the Militia, her family had disowned her. They thought the Militia was unpatriotic and against the Army.

The Militia wasn't. They were just against the Army's bad leadership. Her family didn't see it that way.

The Militia was her new family, and now she had let them down, too.

The Avatar's bison appeared above them and landed next to the pond. Shen didn't bother with pleasantries. "Are any of you injured?"

"No, we are fine", the Water Tribe boy, Sokka, answered, "but what about you guys? Is everyone okay back at the village?"

"The villagers are fine. The Fire Nation left soon after you did."

What Shen was saying was almost the whole truth. Most of the Fire Nation soldiers had gone after the Avatar, but not all. An aged firebender giving orders had really taken his time to leave, eerily unfazed by the fact that he was alone and surrounded by enemy forces.

"Whew, that's a relief", the Avatar said. "I'm glad the whole thing worked out in the end."

Worked out? Hardly, Ilya thought and rolled her eyes.

"Have you given more thought to my proposal?" Shen asked.

"Your proposal...?" The Avatar's tone was innocent but a small cringe around his eyes told Ilya the boy knew what was coming.

"That the Avatar and the Earth Kingdom Militia join forces in our common battle."

"Oh, yeah. That one", the Avatar said and scratched the back of his head, looking uneasy.

"Maybe we could decide that later. You know, once we have gotten to know each other a little better..." Sokka put in, but the Avatar shook his head.

"No, Sokka", the airbender said. "I have my answer. It's 'no' and it's not going to change."

Shen looked disappointed and even a bit angry, but his voice remained calm: "So be it."

"Look, let me explain", the Avatar continued, looking at everyone around him.

"It's not like I think you are bad people or that your demands are evil. It is just that I am the Avatar, and since it's the Avatar's job to maintain peace in the world, I can't actively support an organization that considers civil war a potential means of reaching its goals. If there ever comes a time when you want to have talks and sign treaties, call me and I will be right there to help you with that, but I won't help you start a revolution."

If the Avatar had meant his little speech to be conciliatory, he really did not understand the Militia. The Avatar was saying that the current leaders had the law on their side and were thus the only side that had any right to enforce their beliefs, effectively reducing the Militia to a bunch of terrorists.

Shen and the other leaders said their farewells to Aang, Sokka and Katara. Perhaps the Avatar and his Water Tribe friends sensed the coolness in the atmosphere, for they did not stick around too long.

ooo

"Look, Aang. I think we should talk about what happened back there", Sokka said hesitantly once Appa had gained some altitude.

"You're absolutely right", Katara agreed. "Zuko wasn't there today by accident. He has followed us all the way from the South Pole, and he'll keep following us, and that's why we should be prepared for him the next time we meet."

He won't catch me off guard three times in a row, Katara promised to herself.

"Um. True, but that wasn't exactly what I was talking about. I meant what happened with the Militia", Sokka said.

"Look, I know you liked them and would have wanted me to help them but I just can't. I'm sort of not even allowed to", Aang defended himself.

"Whoah. I'm not trying to accuse you of anything", Sokka said quickly, "and, for the record, I didn't like them that much. And even if I had, I would have sided with you, because, as we told you back at the Southern Air Temple, you are part of our family now, and family sticks together in that kind of situations."

Katara put her arm around Aang's shoulder to emphasize her brother's words. Aang gave her a weak smile. He was probably still upset that he hadn't been able to be friends with everyone.

Sokka went on: "We are not in league with the Militia, and we're probably no worse for it, but talking with them made me realize just how big a job we have ahead of us. Keeping that in mind, I think we should have some type of agreement on what exactly it is that we want to happen and what all we are willing to do to make it happen."

"Okay", Aang said, already much cheerier. "That's at least easy. We want to end the war and restore peace and balance to the world."

"Obviously, but I think the real question we should ask ourselves is: what kind of a world are we trying to restore? Again, I say this in the best of ways, but Aang, you are a bit conservative, and I think we should talk about that."

"Conservative? Me? But I'm an airbender. We believe in detaching ourselves from our earthly possessions and seek freedom and harmony. We love practical jokes. Children of Air aren't conservative", Aang said, baffled.

"Probably true, but let's not forget that you are in fact one hundred and twelve years old. It's only natural for someone who spent the last hundred years inside an iceberg to like things that are still the same way they were before. If I was sent to the future, I would probably think all the changes that happened while I was gone were weird and alien. If I was given a choice, I would want most of the things to go back exactly the way they used to be. Not necessarily because they're now bad, but because they're different.

"A lot has changed while you were gone, and granted, much of it for the worse. I should know, since the Southern Water Tribe has lost more than most in the last century, but I still believe that at least some of the changes were necessary and even good.

"What I'm trying to say is that when we do restore balance to the world and all that, I bet there is going to be even more changes after that, and you're going to be in a position to help decide which of those changes happen and which don't."

"But", Aang mumbled, sounding miserable. "How am I suppposed to decide all that? I'm just a twelve-year-old and I don't have Gyatso or other wise, old people to help me."

"You have us", Katara said in a comforting tone. "We will help you, and so will Suki and Haru and all the other friends you're going to make along the way."

"Yeah. We'll help you fight your battles, on the battlefield and off it", Sokka pitched in with an encouraging smile. "But since we still have some way to go before the world is saved, now might be a good time to start considering where you stand on all sorts of issues."

Katara understood Sokka's point, but she feared the Air Nomad either did not or would soon forget his worries as they set off to a new adventure. Though, at least for the time being, Aang actually looked thoughtful.

It's a start.

Suddenly, Sokka reached behind Katara's back.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Katara protested until her brother opened his hand. In it was Katara's necklace.

"My necklace!" Katara exclaimed as she took the object from Sokka, "I thought I had lost it for good! Where did you find it?"

Sokka laughed. "All this time, it was hanging from your waterskin. Can you believe that!"

Katara's face fell. There was no way the necklace had been hanging from her clothing all this time; when the necklace had gone missing, she had been a prisoner on a Fire Nation prison rig, pretending to be an earthbender. She didn't have her waterskin with her at the time.

Suddenly, a memory of strong and warm hands holding her own behind her back filled her mind.

No. It's not from him. Where would he have even gotten mom's necklace? He wasn't there that day when it went missing, he was somewhere else... following us.

"Katara, are you feeling okay?" Aang asked and came to check her forehead for fever. "You look a bit pale."

ooo

Zuko looked even more pale than usual, but despite Uncle's insistent wishes, the young man hadn't even touched the strengthening tea Iroh had placed before him.

Iroh had found Zuko and Zhao on an alley, each looking more upset than the other. As Uncle had guided his nephew out of the situation, Zhao had began accusing Zuko of, well... The man hadn't been explicit, but knowing what Iroh knew, he could guess what had transpired between the two.

Whatever had been so important that it had made Zuko reveal his illegal firebending power to the Commander, Iroh could only begin to guess.

Now they were safely back in Zuko's room onboard the ship. Uncle hadn't insisted on answers; he knew his nephew well enough to know the boy didn't respond well to being prodded. So instead Iroh waited patiently. Zuko would tell him when he was ready, and no sooner.

"Uncle", Zuko finally looked up from his hands. "Have you given the crew any orders about our next heading?"

"No, but if you would like me to, I could order them to keep heading north, as usual."

"No. It's fine", Zuko said and bit his lip. "Actually, I was thinking we wouldn't go after the Avatar today."

Uncle almost choked on his tea but managed to compose himself and reply: "That would probably be wise. A man needs his rest, and I think a small vacation would do a world of good to the crew as well."

Zuko nodded absently.

"I read Zhao", the boy said, his tone oddly hollow. "I found out that my mother could be alive."

For once, Iroh did not know what to say.

Zuko went on quickly: "So, I was thinking we could take a few days off and try to look into that, you know. To make sure."

Instead of going after the Avatar, was the part left unsaid.

Iroh felt conflicted. On one hand, it was probably a good thing Zuko had other things on his mind than his obsession with the Avatar. On the other hand, his nephew was still very young and vulnerable, and Iroh feared that going to look for Ursa could reopen old wounds.

Eventually, Iroh nodded. Zuko had already made up his mind, and the boy had surely given this decision a lot of thought. Zuko wouldn't abandon his quest lightly.

Uncle wanted to support his nephew and help him find his own way, and if today that meant taking a closer look at tragic events from Zuko's past, he would be right there by his nephew's side.

ooo

Zuko lay under his blanket, but sleep eluded him. No surprise there; he wasn't a heavy sleeper.

When you sleep, people you care about disappear.

Zuko had always thought his mother had died six years ago. No one had actually told him that, but he had always believed so, because... because he knew his mother wouldn't have abandoned him.

However, if she was alive, Zuko had to find her. Even at the risk of losing the Avatar to Zhao.

For all he knew he was chasing ghosts, but if there was even a small chance that Ursa was alive and in trouble and needed his help, Zuko had to be there to give it.

If I lose the Avatar, I can never go home. I will never become the Fire Lord. I will never see Azula or my Father again.

And somehow, if Zuko could get his mother back, it wouldn't be so bad.

()()()

A/N

Thanks to everyone for your kind reviews!