A/N: This is the end of this particular story. It's become to AU with the fall of Omashu, Zuko's separation from Iroh (and who knows what next) and the addition of Toph that I doubt I'll try a sequel. So I'll take this opportunity to pimp Superlazygirl's "Providence", effie's head's "Aang the Brave", magnusrae's "Erosion" (sequel to her brilliant "Shattered"), and Zillian's "Animals". These are all works in progress that deserve much praise.

Thank you all for reading this humble effort. It was lots of fun to write. If you've gotten this far, I'm assuming you've enjoyed it too. We must all thank Mike and Bryan for giving us such great characters to work with!

Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own Avatar or its characters. Owell. I'll get over it. So will you. In the meantime…

EPILOGUE:

Zuko awoke with the dawn, and a splitting headache. A mild breeze playing across the water brought the scent of smoke and wet wood to his nose, and with it a rush of memory of the night's events. He had had the Water Tribe boy pinned in the factory. There had been a sense of urgency, because something was going to happen that he couldn't stop… Zuko sat up abruptly as he remembered the explosion and pain that had ended his awareness.

He looked around, only to find himself on a tiny spit of land in the river. Some rags in a pile to the side he recognized as the remains of his shirt, singed, bloody, torn, and showing evidence of having been cut from his body. He was stiff and sore, but he could find no evidence of the injuries that must have accompanied the damage to his shirt. In fact, beyond a sizable bump behind his left ear he could find no injuries at all! Not even a bruise. What the hell had happened?

As he climbed to his feet he saw trails of smoke rising across the river, and guessed that somehow he had been transported away from the factory and left here to recover on his own. But how, and by whom? Sokka, that dolt from the Water Tribe? Surely not. He was probably dead, killed in the explosion that had knocked him out.

But then, why wasn't Zuko also dead? No, there were other rags in a pile at the waterline, filthy, scorched and nearly as blood-stained as the first, but still showing the tell-tale blue of the Water Tribe. And yes, depressions in the wet sand that must surely be the imprint of multiple sets of giant splayed hooves. Ha, the flying bison, perhaps even the avatar himself. So. Had Sokka survived and pulled him out when he himself left the burning factory, or had the avatar rescued them both?

But why save him? Why did he again owe his life to these damn children who were his enemies? The tribesman lacked the avatar's naivete to suggest friendship between them. But he would still have had to put himself at risk, surely, to bring Zuko along with him this far. With his head pounding, it was impossible for him to fathom the motivation behind the other boy's actions, let alone the mystery of his own lack of injury.

Zuko climbed the embankment, cautiously surveying his surroundings for any observers. His bare head and torso left him uncomfortably vulnerable and painfully aware of his status as a wanted man. Avoiding the main streets for the alleyways, Zuko snagged a blanket from a clothesline, wrapping it around his shoulders and draping it low over his head as he made his way across the city to the tavern where he had left his uncle. He felt some guilt for his thievery, but the blanket appeared to be of reasonably good quality and presumably its owner could afford to replace it. In any case, he would be sure to leave it with some begger before leaving the area as a sop to his conscience.

"Prince Zuko!" The edge in his uncle's voice as Zuko entered their room spoke volumes. "The Fire Nation is already searching for the instigators of last night's fires. We must leave before we are caught up in their net. Nephew, what happened to your clothes?"

"Ha," Zuko laughed hollowly. "No matter what else they catch in their net, my father's troops won't find their arsonist. He's long gone." He cast the blanket aside as he pulled open his bag and dragged out replacement clothing. "As for my clothes, river rats will no doubt find use for what is left of them."

Iroh raised his brows in silent inquiry, but didn't press for further details as they left the tavern, quickly putting as many miles between them and Dai Horishi as they could.

It was with great difficulty that Bumi prevented his lip from twitching as Sokka told him off for not projecting the possibility of Prince Zuko interrupting his efforts at sabotage.

"My dear boy, if you wanted a fortune teller you've come to the wrong place—" he attempted.

"Fortune telling!" Sokka's voice cracked. "What I'm saying is that if you're such a great thinker you should have been able to include Prince Jerkface in your calculations. It's not as if you weren't aware of his obsession for Aang, anyway. It's speculation, yes, but informed speculation, right? What are the odds of him turning up at the worst possible times? Gee, considering history, pretty damn good! I mean, I barely got out of there alive! And do you have any idea how exhausting it was for Katara to do all that healing stuff? Will she ever get any thanks from his highness? Ooh no! 'Course not. She's still yawning. Fortune tellers!" He fumed as he palmed his hair back off his face yet again. "We don't need no stinkin' fortune tellers!" He suddenly looked at his sister with some panic in his eyes. "I did thank you, didn't I?

"Sokka's not big on fortune tellers," Aang mentioned sotto-voce at Bumi's other side. He had listened to his friend's recital of their adventure with a combination of envy, dread, and relief. Sokka may be grumpy, but his brooding silence of the previous weeks was gone, and some of his cockiness had returned. Aang had also been surprised to learn the lengths Sokka had taken to prevent his enemy from dying. He had made a point of justifying it rationally, but Aang suspected that Sokka was plumbing his own depths and discovering a few surprises there.

"Well, Katara, you didn't get a chance to do any butt-kicking this time," said Aang, "but that must have been some amazing healing."

"I don't think I will do very well on a battle-field, Aang." Katara shuddered. "Zuko's injuries were just awful, and there may have been internal stuff I missed completely. I may never know. He looked okay when I was done, anyway. I admit, it didn't seem so bad since it was just him and I thought I could probably help him. It was even kind of interesting to see what lies beneath the skin."

Sokka and Aang both interjected a disgusted "Ew!" at this point. Bumi grinned, and nodded.

"No really, I mean it. It made me wonder how different we are from them. I mean, I could heal him just like I could heal you guys, or myself. So what is the difference? Anyway, it was actually a lot harder healing Sokka." She looked at her brother, who squirmed uncomfortably under the attention.

"Cause, you know, I knew it hurt a lot, especially all those burns. I don't know how he did it all. Anyway, yeah, it's really good to know I can do that much, though I'm not sure I liked the learning conditions." Her voice became fierce at this juncture, "I'll tell each of you this right now. There is no way either of you are going on some air-brained escapades without me along. Got it?"

Aang laughed in delight. "Great, Katara, 'cause I gotta tell you. I suspect Bumi is determined to kill off the avatar after all. He's killing me with this training! He seems to think I have to learn to think as well as earth-bend!" Katara's protectiveness warmed his heart. He knew she would never abandon him, unless perhaps for Sokka's sake. They were all a family together.

"So, the factory and its contents were destroyed, we have the names of the engineers, and sources tell me that all the talk is of the daring of the Earth Kingdom's insurgency," Bumi cackled. "Despite the unfortunate meddling of the banished prince, it would seem the endeavor was a success."

Katara looked at Sokka. He shrugged. "Okay. All that's good. I did learn some new riffs from that troupe of musicians. And I got some material for a new song I've started working on. Dad could maybe turn it into a good story. I just wish I could have done some real damage to Zuko."

It was Katara's turn to laugh, a bit hysterically at first. "Damage? Damage? Sokka, you nearly killed the guy! I know, I saw the damage and certainly no one else did all that to him. And then you saved him. Trust me, Zuko knows to keep his eye out for you from now on. What more could you possibly want?" She tucked her arm in his.

Sokka relaxed. "How about dinner?"

FIN