Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The last Airbender! If I did then well Katara would have more time alone with Zuko and Zuko would have joined their team when Aang asked, 'Do you think we could have been friends too?'

Chapter 1 Forgetting the past and creating a new future

Zuko walked back onto his ship. He had a headache; it wasn't his uncle's fault this time but the Avatar's fault. He couldn't seem to focus on anything else other than Katara. It had been three months since she had left him. During those three months of traveling two weeks were spent at the North Pole trying to master water bending. Zuko was getting tired of this game of cat and mouse. He was almost half tempted to join with Zhao.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh started walking into his mediation room. It had been a while since he had last mediated so he tried to get away from his uncle that way. It wasn't working that way. "Instead of doing all this work searching for the Avatar why don't you just try hiring a bounty hunter?"

"I will not hire some stupid bounty hunter to find my Avatar!" Zuko tried to shake off the feeling that, that last sentence sounded totally wrong. It worked after thinking about Katara again.

Zuko could never forget what that girl did to him. The day that she left him was the second to worse day in his life. The first of course was when he was banished out of his country.

"That's a shame really. Because I've already taken the liberty of notifying someone." Iroh pushed open the door slightly revealing the bounty hunter.

"General Iroh, Prince Zuko." She said bowing slightly.

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "Uncle who is this?"

"I'm Jun, a bounty hunter from the Fire Nation." She introduced.

The prince's eyes checked her out from the bottom up. She wore all black, strange for someone who was from the Fire Nation. Her black hair was normal though it was left down though coving one of her eyes. Her eyes were hazel. He still didn't trust the girl even if she was from the Fire Nation.

"Uncle I thought I said I didn't need help." Zuko snapped.

"Well whether or not you want to admit it, she'll be good for you." Iroh smirked. "Maybe you'll give me some nieces and nephews. So hopefully she's better than…"

Zuko had, had it. Jun was not going to replace Katara no matter what. Nobody could replace his water bender. And no matter how many times his uncle brought someone new onto the ship he would never go around trying to give his uncle stupid nieces and nephews. He didn't mind Jun coming onto the ship, but having to help him search for the Avatar was going too far.

"My nephew has been stressed out for the past few weeks." Iroh said to the young bounty hunter.

Jun watched the prince storm down the hall. "I've noticed. I'll see if I can talk to him." And she followed the prince to his room.

Zuko slammed his bedroom door and made sure it was locked. He wasn't going to allow that girl to enter his room. He missed Katara terribly, he saw her a few times during their three months separation. And he could tell that the girl had forgotten about everything that happened. He knew that it was probably for the best, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for letting her go like that and then continuing his search for the Avatar.

The door clicked and Jun stood in the doorway. "Hello Prince Zuko." Jun smiled walking up to him. She pushed him onto the bed and leaned over him.

"You kiss me and I will kick you off this ship as soon as you break it." Zuko growled. "These lips are…"

"Yeah one person." Jun leaned down. "Whatever princey." She kissed him.

Zuko's eyes widened when her lips touched his. His reflexes, well reacted, and he kicked her off. "Get out of my room and I'll think about not kicking you off this ship."

Jun left the room and shut the door behind her. Zuko again locked it and melted the door to the doorframe. He was not going allow that girl in his room again. He was lucky if he was going to allow his uncle into his room.

He walked over to his dresser, opened a drawer and took out his blue spirit mask. If he was to join the Avatar he would be tried as treason to the throne and he would surely lose his head. And if he joined Zhao, well, then he would personally pull out whatever hair he had left.

"Treason or my crown?" Zuko asked himself while looking in the mirror. He couldn't help but smirk. Things were different since he got his scar. If his father didn't banish him he might never had met Katara and he might have never fallen in love with her.

He picked up his mother's necklace. It was his most prize possession and he was only suppose to give it up if his life was in danger or he was going to get married. He sighed before taking off his armor. He looked at himself again in the mirror before taking out a dagger and raising it to his skin.

With Nyla

Damn it. She thought while twirling her hair.

Her brother had gotten away again. She had let both her father and 'Fear' down. Shadow was now destroyed and she was partly to blame for it. There was also the factor of the Avatar. If he mastered the last two elements before the comet comes then the Fire Nation would be screwed and she couldn't have the crown.

Nyla put her head in her hands. She had absolutely no plan. After all her brother was supposed to be dead. Her plan was suppose to have Zuko dead and then she would work on capturing the Avatar. But that wasn't working at the moment and the war was still continuing.

As far as she knew Zuko was just as power hungry as her younger sister and father. She never really spent time with her twin because her younger sister wouldn't allow it. Plus there was her father constantly training Zuko.

Zula had always been after the crown since the day she could walk and talk. She was always found more time to get around Zuko more than at dinner. The worst part was she was able to see her brother's banishment.

"Something the matter sissy?" Zula asked walking up to her older sister. "Having trouble tracking Zukki?"

Nyla stood up and spun around. "Shut up! I haven't seen you come up with a better plan."

"Look father put me with you because he thought you were weak." Zula was now standing on her toes looking at her sister. "And Zhao definitely didn't do you any good."

Zula was now pacing around her older sister. She had her hands behind her back and was looking at the other fire princess. She had a feeling that Nyla had no knowledge of the training that Zula and Zuko had to go through.

Nyla glared at Zula and her eyes followed her younger sister. Her eyes then landed on a mask that Katara had dropped on her deck about three months ago. That was it!

"I've just gotten a plan. Go away little sister." She said blowing her sister off.

Zula scowled as she left the tent. She narrowed her eyes and knew that if her twin siblings stood in the way any longer she would never get the crown. She left the room without saying a single word.

With Katara

She was setting up the camp again. The boys, of course had gone off to find the food. Though she had reason to believe Sokka took Suki for a little time alone while Aang searched the nearby forest for food. They landed after seeing Zuko's ship off in the distance. About five miles away from the shoreline Katara and Suki had guessed.

Katara couldn't help but shake her head. Three months of traveling from the North Pole to the city of Ba-Sing-Sai was a little ridiculous. They had revisited both Suki and Haru who were both eager to come along but due to the fact that the Fire Nation was still in his homeland Haru was unable to travel with them for a while since they needed all the earth benders that they could get.

Three months was the last time she ever saw Zuko. She chose to forget everything that happened there. She took a box shoved all the memories in there and dropped into the deepest part of her mind along with her mother's death. The only time that they would resurface would be in her dreams and they were only bits and pieces of them. She didn't even know if it was Zuko or not.

It was the dry season; they were told, in the forest that they were staying by. But of course Katara took that extra caution and put up the rain tarp. Her instincts were telling her that it was going to rain that day and even Sokka and Suki didn't argue with her.

She looked up into the sky and wondered what in the world was taking those three so long. She turned around and came face to face with Sokka standing in front of her.

"Boo!"

It was a delayed reaction but Katara still screamed. "Sokka don't do that again!"

"Fine I won't." He muttered. "Anyway we got a new teammate!"

Katara nodded and looked behind him. "We found this girl she doesn't talk at all and she answered to Red Spirit. So I guess that works." Suki shrugged. "I guess she wanted to join our team because she would follow Sokka around."

Katara could tell that Suki was jealous just a bit. Even though those two weren't officially dating you could have sworn that they were.

"That's always good. Maybe she knows the Blue Spirit." Aang said jumping down from a tree. "Now only if only we could get Prince Zuko to join."

Katara growled in frustration. "If that fire bender joins I'll marry him."

Sokka and Aang started to laugh. "You'd be surprise at what one can forget little girl." Sokka teased patting Katara on the head.

Katara glared at her brother before sighing. He did have a point. She could remember some stuff like how she had work with Zuko to rescue both Aang and him but that's about it. If she could remember anything else she probably wouldn't like it.

With Iroh

Iroh had found Jun sitting outside of his nephew's door. It seemed that his plan hadn't worked out the way he wanted it to. He sighed and looked down at the bounty hunter.

"Go rest for the night. I'll talk to my nephew." Iroh said knocking on the prince's door. There was no answer and Iroh figured that he was just not speaking and trying to mediate.

My nephew must be still head over heals about that water tribe girl still. Iroh thought stroking his beard.

"Prince Zuko open up!" He pounded on the door. "Please Zuko!"

Zuko still wasn't answering. Iroh sighed and finally used his fire bending to burn a whole through the door. He walked threw it and looked around the room. There was no sign of Zuko anywhere.

"Prince Zuko?" The retired general called out.

He walked over to the dresser and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He then placed his hand on the top and found a piece of parchment on there. Picking up it up he found it to be a letter address to him.

Dear Uncle

I know that you're wisdom has well intentions but I'm not going to even think about being with Jun. She's a nice girl and all but I just don't like her the way I like Katara. She's my water peasant and nobody could replace her.

I can't stay confined to this ship any longer. Being stuck on a ship for two years searching and trying to capture the Avatar gets a little boring. Though I will still continue my search for the Avatar I will do it my way. I also can't be confined to my father's rules and laws any more. After all I'm banished and I'm not in the fire nation so I don't have to listen to him any more.

I know you're going to start to worry about me but there are things that I must accomplish on my own. Like finding out who I really am. I need to find a sense of personality for me and not just what my father created that was right before you. More like I was before Mom died. So I'm going to tell you not to worry about me. I won't do anything stupid, like wandering into the Fire Nation following the Avatar or something like that.

Tell the men that they are relived of all their duties serving me. I don't want to hear about you trying find where I am. My men need to go back to their families. As you would say they need to create children. So I want them to have some sort of freedom before my father takes them away to fight in the war.

I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for me. You've always known what I needed. And despite the fact I'm allergic to Ginseng Tea you still offered me some. And yes Uncle you can have my fish tonight. Just to let you know you've always been more of a father type figure than my own father and I thank you for that as well. Remember that I will always love you.

I know you will see my father again before I will. Things are going to be different since I'm not obeying him. After I capture the Avatar I will take my crown back and then I will banish and/or kill him. He must know this and I don't care how he finds this out.

Take care Uncle Iroh.

Sincerely

Prince Zuko

Iroh looked at the letter. He couldn't help but smile but at the same time he wondered what made his nephew to have a change of heart. He looked down at his feet to think of the possibilities of why his nephew would leave.

"What's this?" He asked picking up a dagger.

The dagger was covered in blood. Iroh never knew Zuko to be much of a cutter. He then noticed a circle of blood around him. He stepped back being extremely careful on not to smudge the circle. He then climbed on the prince's bed to get a better view.

Besides the circle of blood there was an outside layer of dirt. Inside of it was a diamond shape and inside of that was a star. Both were made of blood. The retired general gasped shaking his head. He knew what this meant.

"Prince Zuko, " he muttered.

It was then when he noticed that Zuko's mother's necklace was gone. Normally it was kept on the nightstand next to Zuko's bed. But this time it was gone. Also the sketchbook that he had given the prince, for his sixteenth birthday, was gone as well.

"Prince Zuko, hopefully the ritual will be in your favor. And your outcome will be better than your fathers." Iroh muttered turning to leave the room.

With Zuko

By the time the young fire bender reached land it was raining. He was both drenched and without any form of shelter. Making sure that his blue spirit mask was on firmly before beginning his walk along the forest's edge. Hopefully he could find the Avatar before it got too dark.

"Sokka, would you just relax its just rain." Zuko's stomach did a flip. If the Avatar was close that meant so was Katara.

He walked slowly walked into their camp just as Katara was making sure that everyone in the tent. She looked straight at the blue spirit and couldn't help smiled. "Do you need a place to stay?"

The blue spirit nodded. He tried his hardest to keep his hormones under control. He didn't want to throw his mask aside and pull the girl into a kiss right now. It was working slowly but not completely.

"Come on you're going to catch a cold." Katara smiled dragging the boy into the tent.

"Katara, we can't fit anyone else into this tent." Sokka complained.

"Well we could always cuddle." Aang suggested scooting closer to Katara. Katara smiled and leaned up against Aang.

Sokka gagged then shrugged. "Whatever. He looked at the Avatar. "Did you find anything?"

Aang shook his head. "No because you told me to be a look out."

The blue spirit tilted his head slightly. They didn't have anything. He flung off his bag and looked threw it. He had a few pieces of jerky, an ink quill, an ink jar, and his sketchbook but that was it.

The Red Spirit kicked her bag over to the rest of them. He was impressed by what it contained. It contained everything under the sun, from jerky to dried fruit.

"Jerky!" Sokka yelled grabbing food and shoving it into his mouth.

After they had eaten and they set up their sleeping bags they talked a bit. Before Katara and Suki yawned.

"You guys I'm going to sleep don't stay up too long." Katara said crawling over to her blanket.

"Don't worry about it. We will be up for a little longer." Sokka shrugged.

Red Spirit nodded and crawled over by the warrior and fell asleep. All three girls were asleep shortly after that leaving the boys awake.

"What are you doing here?" Sokka asked leaning back.

Zuko took off his mask and sighed. "It was time for a change. Plus you need a fire bender. I'll let the rest of the time…"

"What do you want me to do with the necklace?" Sokka interrupted.

"You haven't given it to her?"

Aang looked at the two boys. "I think I'll go to sleep I'll let you two talk." He crawled over to a spot in a corner and quickly fell asleep.

"No she wouldn't talk to any of us for about the first three weeks after we left." Sokka said taking out a ruby necklace.

"Does she even remember what happened?"

Sokka shook his head. "No I tried to talk to her but she would just change the subject."

Zuko smiled. "Well we just can't let her know about me then. Though the note that I give you make sure she gets both tomorrow." Sokka nodded.

"When are you going to tell her?"

"That I'm here?" Zuko asked. "I'm not. She can figure it out on her own."

Sokka nodded before yawning. "Are you sure you want to do this treason?" He asked.

Zuko looked around to make sure no one was up. "Yeah I'm positive maybe my sister will quit following me. I can't let my father run my life."

"Finally getting what your father is really about?" Sokka asked again.

"Yeah, my father is a jerk sometimes." He looked at Katara and sighed. "Okay most of the times."

"Do you regret what you said?" Sokka sighed also. "You know how she doesn't care about herself?"

"No, I was letting my temper run what I said." He looked at the mask in his lap. "I do know that what I said had some truth. I miss her though and I wish she could have stayed on this ship."

Sokka smiled. "You still love my sister don't you?"

"Of course. I can't live without her. She's my water peasant." Zuko shook his head. "I'm going to bed. So we'll talk later."

"Zuko,"

"Yeah?"

"Your twin. Well…" He paused. "Does she have a boyfriend?"

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "No I don't believe she does. Nyla was never into boys."

"So would you mind if I well…" Sokka turned and looked at Suki.

"No if you have a crush on her that's fine with me." Zuko put his mask on. "And I give you permission to date her. But you may want to make a second thought. She is a fire bender after all."

"That's alright." Sokka said pulling his covers up.

"Hey Sokka."

"Yea?"

"Never mind." He turned over. He scooted over closer to Katara and wrapped his arm around her waist. The sound of the rain put the two boys to sleep.

K15: Hi ya guys. This is the sequel that I promised. Kinda sorta... I'm just too lazy to do a whole different stories. But don't worry I'll be keeping track on your reviews for these chapters. (Shrug) So the first half of this is Running from fear itself and the rest of these chapters are Forgotten and Betrayed. I hope you liked this chapter. It took me forever to write. I've got a three day break so I'm hoping to update once more this weeked. (SHrug) Plz review it keeps me motivated during the school year. Later. K15