Zuko blinked awake and felt different. He didn't feel complete or normal. But he felt… almost free. Like chains were lifted from him. Even if there were people staring at him. He knew their faces, not their names. Not until he saw one he knew. "Uncle?"

There was excitement when he spoke, most of all from Uncle. Katara asked him how much he remembered and he lied. In a way. He didn't remember much but he did remember when he was a blank void. He remembered Long Feng's voice calling out to him, telling him to fight or to protect him. Telling Zuko to burn himself.

A glance down and he could tell most of his burn had been healed. Small surface redness was all that was left. He wondered if it would stay that way, with a physical reminder of how he had no control of his life. Perhaps Katara would heal it completely. He didn't care.

Uncle and Katara continued to talk to him, to show excitement, to be thrilled he seemed to return to normal and he wanted to be left alone. He couldn't stand their smiles, their cheerfulness. His mind had been taken over and controlled to the point where he couldn't think or speak without a command to do so. He couldn't stand to be around them. To be around anyone.

"Nephew? Where are going?" Uncle asked when Zuko headed to the door.

"I… I want to be alone." That might be the truth and might be a lie. "I'm going to find a room I can be by myself."

"Nephew, you shouldn't be alone right now. There's still so much we need to check."

He didn't want them to check. He didn't want them to see what was wrong and right in his head. He didn't want anyone in his head. "Uncle…"

"Perhaps a break is a good idea." Katara suggested. Zuko didn't know if she was trying to please him or Uncle. He wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.

He held back a sigh. Uncle cared about him, more than anyone else. "Maybe… maybe we can have some tea later." He didn't want tea. However, Uncle would love it. As much as Zuko had put Uncle through over the years, having tea with him would be the least he could do.

"That would lovely Nephew."

Zuko nodded and left before another word could be said.

He didn't know exactly where he was going, just that he needed to get out of there. He figured getting fresh air on deck would be a good idea. The sun warmed his face and the smell of seawater filled the air. He couldn't believe he was saying it, but he missed it.

He managed take a few steps on the deck when he realized it was a bad idea. The Water Tribe looked at him with pity in their eyes. Pity for being brainwashed. Pity for being under someone's control. Pity for being weak.

He didn't want pity. He didn't want the looks. He wanted to be normal. No one on this ship would treat him that way. No one would ever treat him the same anymore. He could see his life where years down the line he would be with dignitaries from all over and one would comment "did you hear? He was brainwashed…" with looks of pity.

If it wasn't for the fact that Katara has been working to heal him and Uncle would do anything to get him back, Zuko would have jumped over the railing.

Zuko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No matter how bad things seemed, it wasn't worth ending his life. He could handle it. He could handle whatever was thrown his way. Even if he didn't remember everything.

That was another problem. His memory was not complete. After being brainwashed, his memory was altered. Katara was able to heal a good amount but then Long Feng came in and ruined that. With the latest healing, he was back to where she left off. Back to not remembering all of his family. Not remembering his childhood. Not remembering if he was happy.

"Are you done brooding Sparky?"

Zuko almost jumped when the tiny earthbender spoke. He didn't realize she was next to him, he was so lost in his own thoughts. "I wasn't brooding."

"Hmm." She stepped closer to him, standing next to him by the railing. "I don't even need my earthbending to know that's a lie."

"What…? Lie-" Zuko took a deep breath. It didn't matter. "I don't remember much."

"Katara can help with that." She shrugged.

"I don't want to be controlled again."

"Again, Katara can help."

"I don't want to be viewed as the one who was brainwashed, pitied by everyone."

"I don't think everyone pities you." She whispered after a brief pause.

"That's not how I feel." He gripped the railing. "I can see their stares. They look at me like I'm weak. Like I can't be trusted."

"No. They-"

"And how do you know?!" He interrupted, his anger getting the better of him. "You're blind. You can't see how they look at me."

"I don't need to. You're not weak because of what happened to you. You're strong. You survived. There are people who will never be free from the Dai Li." She turned to face him. "You have an Uncle who loves you and will do whatever it takes to get you back. You're not alone. You have people who care about you." She punched him and walked away.

Zuko stood there well after she left, thinking about what she said. He didn't know who she was, couldn't remember if he met her previously or not, but she wasn't wrong. Katara had been able to heal him so far. She could fix him. He just had to fix himself as well.

Days had passed in the same way. Wake up, eat, have Katara heal him, spend time with Uncle, lunch, heal some more, spend time staring at the ocean, dinner, healing, and sleep. The healing process was long and tedious. Sometimes Zuko felt it helped and he remembered more of himself. Other times he felt it was a waste. Pointless to everyone involved.

It seemed everyone was moving on without him. He was not needed. Uncle and Aang spent time firebending in the morning so Zuko was not needed for that. Toph practiced her metalbending and tried to teach Aang. (Apparently being stuck on a metal ship made her curse for not being able to see until she was able to bend it to her will.) Sokka and Hakoda spent time planning for the invasion and Uncle helped with any information they needed. Zuko was not needed for that. Even if he was, how much would he remember and how much would they trust him?

He felt so useless. They didn't need him. Uncle could teach Aang firebending. Uncle could tell them where the bunkers were. Uncle could help them. Meanwhile, Zuko was stuck in a room trying to regain himself. Never mind the fact that one of them would come in the healing session and use the phrase Long Feng used to control him. He panicked each time they used it. He didn't know if he would still listen to the phrase or what they would ask him to do. He had to trust that they wouldn't hurt him or make him do something stupid or harmful.

At least Uncle was always there. Uncle would make sure he wasn't hurt. Uncle gave him a sense of stability and safety. A way to trust.

Katara could tell Zuko wasn't happy. At least, not Zuko happy. She did as much healing as she could and put as much effort as she could into those healing sessions. She could tell Zuko was becoming Zuko again, even if he didn't. The barriers that were once placed in his mind were coming down. He still struggled with the phrase but it was easier to break free from it. She thought, all things considered, it wasn't bad.

She wondered, briefly, if they could tell him to never listen to that phrase anymore while he was… influenced. But then, what if there was another phrase? Or what if it made things worse?

She decided it would be best if they didn't try. Instead, she worked harder on getting him better. She focused more of her time and energy breaking his walls until, one day, she didn't find any. She searched around his mind and found nothing holding him back.

"The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai." Katara should have waited as there was usually two or three people in the room when the phrase was used and at the moment it was Zuko and her. Still, she couldn't contain her excitement and hopes that she broke Zuko free.

"Oh… okay…?" Zuko blinked at her.

She squealed in delight. He might not understand it, but she did. "Zuko, this was the first time!" At his blank stare, she continued. "First time you've responded to the phrase like normal and not under control."

"Does that mean… that I'm not longer brainwashed?"

"I think so." Her smile grew as spoke.

Zuko was free. He felt… happy for a change. It was odd. It was different. But nice.

After Katara healed him, she brought Uncle in. Uncle was ecstatic to have Zuko back. Zuko couldn't lie, the enthusiasm was contagious and Zuko felt happier seeing Uncle's expression. Katara left the two of them together, mentioning she would tell the others but not have anyone disturb them. Zuko didn't care. He was normal and he had his Uncle with him. Tears fell from Uncle's face and soon Zuko followed.

Hours later, when they broke from the hug, when they enjoyed a few cups of tea together, and when they talked as much as they could, they opened the door for the rest of the group to pounce on Zuko. He chuckled, something he hadn't done himself in years, as he felt the embrace of friends. He hadn't even realized they were friends until then.

As the days went on, Zuko found himself more immersed in the group. He sat with Aang and Uncle during training. He offered insight of being afraid of fire Uncle didn't know.

He might not have known his family as well as Uncle did, but he was able to offer Sokka details about the Palace Uncle could not. After all, when one is running around and hiding in small places, trying to be undetected, one is able to find many secret doors and passageways.

He found a shadow in Toph. He spent more time with her as she improved her metalbending. He would hide and she would find him. He found a sister to care about.

He found a friend and ally in Katara. And a sparing partner who held nothing back and was able to test his abilities. He felt himself grow as a bender when he fought her.

As the days and weeks went by, the planning was fine tuned and Uncle needed to visit some old friends while Hakoda needed to pick up a few new friends. Zuko and the gaang went with Uncle. An old friend ended up being Piandao, which Zuko was not that surprised. While Piandao and Uncle worked on letting their fellow old friends know what to do, Zuko and Sokka trained with sword fighting with each other and with Piandao.

Finally, it seemed they were ready for the invasion after months of planning. Zuko was back to normal with no fear of falling under brainwashing. They were prepared and had plenty of practice.

The invasion was full force, plowing through the Fire Nation and its army. They suffered a few small injuries that either Katara could heal or they were fine enough to continue. They were almost to the Palace and the eclipse hadn't started yet. However, it was time to split up.

Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Iroh and Aang went down to the bunkers where Ozai would be hiding. The first door they found Azula. Iroh held her back, encouraging them to flee. Zuko grabbed Aang and ran out the door before Azula could follow. They only had so much time during the eclipse.

When they found Ozai, Zuko had no problem taking out the guards protecting Ozai. Toph and Sokka, who followed a minute behind them, also helped with the guards. Aang attacked Ozai while the guards were busy. Ozai dodged as much as he could, but he wasn't able avoid all attacks.

Zuko felt the sun coursing back through his veins and called out to Aang in warning. It was enough to prepare Aang for Ozai's attack. Ozai shot lightning at Aang, who managed to redirect it back towards Ozai. Ozai was pushed back against the wall and Aang took the opportunity to encase Ozai in earth. Toph added a layer of metal around the earth and Zuko held his sword to Ozai's neck.

"If you don't yield, I will kill you." Zuko did not want to kill his father, no matter how bad he was. It was still his father and a part of him still loved him. However, if that was the only way to end the war, he would.

"I thought it was the Avatar who was supposed to do that." Ozai scoffed.

"He defeated you. He's allowing a chance for you to live, if you choose. I would take that if I were you."

Ozai laughed. "I will never admit defeat. I will-" Ozai was cut off his rant by a rock that knocked him unconscious. Zuko, Aang, and Sokka all turned to Toph.

"What?" Toph shrugged. "You can have him arrested by the time he wakes up. Maybe even have the Dai Li mellow him out."

"Toph!" Sokka cried. "That's… we don't do…"

"Enough." Zuko shouted over all of them. "He's defeated for now. Let's get him out of here and stop the war. Then we can figure out what to do with him." He sighed.

With the war over and Ozai in jail, Zuko felt restless. Uncle was going to be Firelord as Zuko refused to do so at this point. There was still so much he needed to learn and overcome. The problem was, he didn't know what to do.

Uncle suggested staying there and learning about running a country. Zuko didn't mind that except he didn't want to be at the Palace.

Toph suggested taking a trip around together and cause problems. It sounded like fun but not for him.

Sokka said he was going to find Suki and go visit his home. That wasn't appealing to Zuko for the cold and for being a third wheel.

Aang wanted to visit the Air Temples and clean them out or look for any airbenders that might be there. Zuko… didn't want to go. After his first visit to the Western Air Temple, seeing all those dead bodies, he wasn't ready to see that again.

Katara asked about his mother. He realized he had no idea where she was or what happened. Katara offered to journey with him, if he wanted to find out what happened to her, as that's what Katara would want for herself. Hearing that gave Zuko purpose. He offered to give Katara closure for her mother and asked for help finding his.

He found himself excited and motivated with a new mission. Instead of being banished, he was working for something he wanted. Instead of being forbidden from the Fire Nation, he could explore any part of it he wanted with no worries of being arrested. So when he heard of a familiar play being presented in his mother's hometown, he and Katara went off to see what they could find. If nothing else, he would enjoy a play his mother loved.