"Leiko," Prince Zuko walked forward and knelt down to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is it really you?" Leiko looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh Zuko I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was forced into this! I didn't want to!" she spit out quickly. He placed his hands on her face and pulled her up to him. She ran two tender fingers over his scar and gasped. Just the feeling of his scar made her quiver, but the sense of his hands on her made her feel calm and safe. It was her old friend. What a shock, he had changed so much! What had they done to his face? His handsome face and smooth skin. "Zuko, it's me…it's Leiko!"

"What are you doing here?" he inquired.

"My father sent me to kill you. He forced me to do it, he said if I didn't he'd lock me away in that dungeon until I die! I begged him to stop but he wouldn't! I didn't want to go through with this! I'm sorry! He's after the avatar!" Zuko let go of her face as she slid down and bowed, begging for his forgiveness. "And now that I betrayed him…he's gonna kill me!" she began to weep. "He'll make me rot! I can't go back!" She heard Zuko sigh.

"I still can't believe it's you."

"It is!"

"Leiko wouldn't attack me." Leiko snapped up and grabbed her hair tie and pulled it off of her hair, letting it hang loose.

"See, it's me!" and she went on to prove to him, "One time, you got your foot stuck in a rhino trap and I helped you out of it! And I was the one girl who could hit a single bird out of the sky with a sling shot! And then on my twelfth birthday you gave me a gold necklace with a flame charm. In fact, I think it looked exactly like this." And she reached into the top of her ninja suit and pulled out the necklace. She showed it to him. "When you gave this to me, you said that it was a sign of our friendship…that what we had was special and too strong for anything to break. You said you'd never forget me…please tell me you haven't!" Zuko reached forward and touched the necklace.

"Leiko…" he finally spoke and she smiled, "Look at you. You're…you're a warrior."

"I know; I've changed a lot. I was obligated to become this."

"Has Zhao been training you all this time?" he asked.

"Yes, four times harder since you left." She said as she turned away and tears pattered onto the deck. "I can't go back home. Please, let me stay with you. You're my only hope." Iroh walked forward and saw her.

"Leiko?" he asked in disbelief. He ran forward and Leiko stood up with Zuko. "Leiko? What on earth? Is it really you?" Leiko bowed.

"Yes. It's good to see you General Iroh."

"You led the incursion?"

"Most unwillingly, I swear to you. Zhao forced me to do it, but I deceived him. Now I have nowhere to go." She explained.

"Than why did you do it?" Zuko asked.

"Because you're my friend. And friends don't kill each other. I've been waiting two years for you to return with your uncle."

"And you never gave up hope?"

"Not a chance." She said with a smile. "I had nobody else to talk to, or confide in."

"There she is!" men yelled as a whole army of fire benders ran up to the bay! Leiko knew well that they were after her! She gasped and dropped her bag. She was dead! "Admiral Zhao says to kill her on sight!" the man yelled again. Zuko grabbed her form behind and put the katana to her neck! What was he doing! Leiko tried to break free of his mighty grasp!

"Zuko…" she was no terrified.

"Just play along." He whispered to her. "Let's be off!" and the helmsman steered the ship off the bay and further onto the ocean. Leiko watched as the land mass grew smaller in the distance. She was gone from home…and now on a ship headed in circles around the world. What would she do now? She turned and looked at Zuko and Iroh. And without warning, she jumped up and cheered!

"I'M FREE!" she yelled into the air and danced around! No more hateful father or unnerving fiancée…just her, Zuko, and the ocean ahead.