Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Unhappy" by Lukas Graham

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Chapter 6 - The Search Continues

I'm tryna pick up on the signs

Read between your lines

To see what's going on

'Cause it's weighing us down

Zuko is sitting on the edge of bed, sharpening his swords, his when his uncle enters.

"You've been down here all day," the older man says. "Some fresh air will do you a world of good."

"I've already gotten plenty of fresh air today, and it did me the opposite of good," Zuko replies dryly, not taking his eyes off his task.

"I warned you that you would have to handle the situation carefully."

"I'm aware."

"You can't be mad at her for reacting the way she did. For her, the tragedy is still fresh in her mind and you just happen to represent the catalyst of it."

"I'm not mad at her."

The sharpening stone in his hand zings off the blade of the sword. He gently runs his thumb along the edge, wincing when it cuts open the skin. He sets the stone down.

"Then why are you hiding down here? She feels terrible about attacking you. By avoiding her, you're making her feel worse."

"I came down here to think." Zuko sucks the drop of blood from his thumb. "That village that she claimed was hers was obviously destroyed decades ago, if not a hundred years ago. Either she remembered wrong, or she was asleep in that ice for a long time."

"Neither of those are likely. Even the most powerful bender wouldn't survive in the ice for that long."

"There is one other alternative." Zuko sets his swords down and paces the length of his room. He doesn't like what he's about to suggest. "She could have had her memories altered. We need to go visit Her."

Iroh's eyes widen. "Are you sure that's necessary? You remember what happened last time we visited Her."

"Of course I do. But we have no other options. She knows everything. She sees everything."

"She's evil, Zuko. And crazy."

"I know!" Zuko takes a deep breath to calm down and he levels his voice again. "It will take us a few weeks to get there. Maybe Katara will have recovered her memories by then and we won't have to see Her. But the Waterbender girl is my last chance to find the Avatar. We've searched the rest of the world with no results."

"And what if the Avatar simply doesn't exist anymore?" Iroh asks gently. Zuko knows the question is not meant to hurt him, but he can't pretend he doesn't feel burned by it.

"The Avatar didn't just disappear. He couldn't have! Because then I have no way to regain my honor and my throne."

"Is that what you're really looking for?" Iroh asks. "Will regaining your title as heir to the throne make you happy?"

Zuko whirls around. What is his uncle trying to suggest? "Of course! It's the only thing I've ever cared about. And I will get it back. Whatever the cost."

Iroh sighs deeply. Zuko hates when he does that. It feels condescending, as if Iroh knows Zuko better than he knows himself. Which is completely ridiculous. Iroh's mind has grown soft from endless Pai Sho games and bottomless cups of tea.

"You don't understand." Zuko turns away. "You don't care about honor. You don't care that my father is Fire Lord instead of you. You don't care that you lost the siege at Ba Sing Se. You don't care that the entire Fire Nation thinks you a bumbling fool."

As always, Iroh is not upset at Zuko's harsh words. Instead he replies with infuriating calmness. "You're right. I don't care about those things because they don't make me happy. Why should I put so much effort into something that doesn't improve my life?"

"If you are happy living without honor, then you're even more foolish than I realized."

"But I do still have my honor. Honor does not come from a single person. It certainly doesn't come from my brother, Fire Lord though he may be. Only I can uphold my own honor. When you learn that, you will be much happier."

"I'll be much happier when you stop talking in riddles and start helping me out." Zuko sheathes his swords and slings them over his shoulder. "We're setting course for Her, and that's final. Feel free to return to the Fire Nation whenever you want. You're not the one who's banished."

Iroh sighs again, and Zuko feels his irritation sparking up again.

"You know I am always on your side," Iroh says.

"Good. Then you can stop complaining about my methods, unless you have a better idea."

"You can't force Katara to go to Her."

"I don't have to."

Zuko slams the door open on his way out, leaving Iroh to stand sadly in the room alone. He storms up the stairs and bursts onto the deck. A few deep breaths in the frigid air calm his anger.

He always feels a little bad after speaking to his uncle that way, but his pride is too great for him to apologize. And it's not that he dislikes Iroh - it's just that he has so much anger and rage constantly and it's so easy to take it out on a person who never seems to get hurt.

It's not fair of him, he knows, but he can't seem to stop himself. He needs an outlet for his pain, and sometimes firebending and sword fighting isn't enough. After years of pretending to not feel negative emotions, years of hiding them all away so he could act the part of a perfect prince, he wants a real human being to know exactly how he feels, no matter how ugly it ends up being.

The truth that he won't admit out loud is that he needs his uncle. Iroh patiently taught him firebending, even when Zuko was fed up with how bad he was compared to Azula. Iroh always listens to him, even when he is being hurtful. And Iroh always follows him, even when he's being irrational.

One day, after Zuko has found the Avatar and brought him to his father and his regained his title as heir to the throne, he will repay his uncle back for all he's done. In the meantime, he must relentlessly keep up his search for the Avatar.

Katara finds Zuko standing at the bow of the ship, watching the horizon. She wraps her blanket more tightly around her shoulders and slowly approaches him.

"I'm sorry for attacking you earlier," she says. "I don't really blame you for what happened to my village."

"It's fine. If there's one thing I understand, it's anger." He doesn't look at her as he speaks. From the side she's on, she can't see his scar. In the moment he looks sad and lost, not so different from how she's feeling. "It takes control of you and lashes out at anyone nearby."

"It does," Katara agrees. She had felt so strange after her outburst. Anger isn't an emotion she usually lets control her. Like the water she has mastered, she is also patient and calm. But even the high seas can get stormy once in a while and when they do, destruction follows. "Did I hurt you?"

"No. I'm fine." He finally turns to look at her. "What do you plan to do now?"

It's her turn to look away. All day she'd been alternating between trying to get a grip on her grief and trying to decide what to do. No clear answers on either matter presented themselves.

"I don't know," she admits. "I have nowhere to go."

"You should stay with us."

His suggestion shocks her. She stares at him in surprise. "You would - you would let me stay?"

He lifts a shoulder absently. "Why not? You've proven yourself useful on board. We lost a man in the kraken attack, so you're not an extra burden on our supplies."

She's not so much surprised by the suggestion itself than by the fact that Zuko is the one to say it. This is the sort of thing she'd expect from Iroh, not from the prince. But if Iroh had suggested it, she might not have agreed. Hearing the words come - entirely free of his own free will - from Zuko gives her the confidence to agree.

"I wouldn't mind staying. At least for a little while more."

He nods. "You're free to leave whenever you want. We make port once every couple weeks to replenish our supplies."

Katara recalls the bow of respect he had given her the day before and she uses it now. "Your generosity is much appreciated."

She returns below decks, the cold wind proven chilly even for her. As she passes the galley, she sees Iroh eating and walks over to him.

"Zuko invited me to stay on the ship," she tells him.

"He did?" Iroh seems a little displeased. Katara wonders why. It's not because he doesn't want her around anymore, right? She hasn't felt that vibe from him.

"Yes. And he wasn't even mad at me for earlier."

Iroh shakes his head slowly. "Sometimes I have no idea what is going through the head of my nephew," he says. "And sometimes, I know him all too well."

Katara shakes off her paranoid feeling. Iroh is just speaking in riddles, like always. His actions speak much louder - if he really didn't want her around, why would he have helped her earlier?

She reluctantly returns to her room. She's fine when she's around other people and doing things. It's when she's alone that the pain comes rushing back, ready to crush her fragile ribcage and lay bare her heart.

She'd thought she'd be glad to have her memories back, but she's just more upset and confused than ever. She wants to know why everyone in her village was gathered together, vulnerable for an attack. What was so important? And she wants to know who grabbed her hand and convinced her to run away, but she can't see their face.

Most of all, she wants to know how she ended up in the ice and how long exactly she was there for.

She has the feeling that if she can solve those three mysteries, everything else will fall into place. She'll have a purpose in life again. Right now, she's just drifting - quite literally. And while she's thankful Zuko and Iroh have given her a home for the moment, she doesn't want to stay here forever. She wants to find fellow Waterbenders and anyone that might have connections to her or the people she loved. She wants to find a place where she can thrive.

There's something important missing in her life, and she needs to remember it.

Sokka wakes up on a comfortable bed covered in soft blankets and staring up at a wooden ceiling. He can't remember the last time he felt so warm. Although he's already been sleeping for what must be days now, he can't seem to get himself up for another couple of hours.

When he finally wakes up fully, he spends a few minutes stretching. His muscles ache as if he's been asleep for a hundred years. And, he notes with a smile as his stomach rumbles, he feels as though he hasn't eaten a proper meal in a hundred years.

He explores the room he's in and is pleased to find a bowl of rice and meat on a table in the corner. It's lukewarm, but it's the best non-dream meal he can remember eating. Sure, he prefers Water Tribe food, but when starving nothing tastes as good as what you're currently eating.

It's not until he's finished eating that he realizes his clothes have been changed. He's wearing a green and yellow trousers and tunic set, and when he feels his hair he realizes it's down from his normal style. Luckily he finds his hair tie on the table and ties it back.

Then he decides it's time to leave the rooms. He steps out onto a wooden porch. The first thing he notices is how warm the air is. There's no snow in sight, only brown dirt and green grass and trees. A row of houses face him on the opposite side of the road. A few people walk by but don't spare him more than a passing glance.

"Where am I?" Sokka asks himself out loud, scratching his chin in puzzlement.

"You're in our village on the island of Kyoshi," a man's voice answers. Sokka isn't expecting an answer and he jumps in surprise.

A man with gray hair stands behind him. "I am Oyaji, the leader of this village. You washed up on our shore the day before yesterday. You're lucky the Unagi didn't get to you first."

Sokka gulps. He vaguely remembers waking up to a bunch of girls standing over him. They must live somewhere around here.

"I'm Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe," he says. "Thanks for saving me."

Oyaji shakes his head. "Don't thank me. I was in favor of sending you back to the Unagi. We don't like outsiders here. Can't trust anyone." He narrows his eyes. Sokka feels nervous.

"So...if you didn't want me here, who did?"

"Suki and the other warriors. They don't think you pose a threat. And if you are a Fire Nation spy, they're confident they can take you out."

"A Fire Nation spy?" Sokka shakes his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would I be spying for the Fire Nation? I told you, I'm from the Southern Water Tribe."

Oyaji doesn't let up the intensity of his stare. "It's when you say things like that that makes me nervous to let you stick around. We've managed to stay out of the war so far. We're not about to get thrown right into the middle of it."

"The war?" Sokka can't remember a war. He remembers his village being attacked - by the Fire Nation! Yes! That's what the man must be referencing. News of the Fire Nation attacking their village must have spread and everyone's paranoid they'll be next. But is a surprise attack really considered a war?

"Don't play dumb with me, boy. Everyone knows about the war. Just like everyone knows the entire Water Nation was wiped out."

Sokka feels his eyes grow wide. "Wiped out? No. Just our village was attacked. There's still the Northern Water tribe and the other villages in the South Pole."

Oyaji looks at him like he's crazy. "You must have hit your head pretty hard. The only surviving Water Nation people scattered across the Earth Kingdoms and assimilated. All the benders were killed or imprisoned, but they're long dead by now. The Water Nation is gone. I don't know where you found those furs and artifacts in such good condition, but it's a poor disguise."

Sokka sinks down, sitting on the steps. He holds his head in his hands. His whole tribe, gone? And the whole Northern Tribe, too? No, it's impossible. He can't believe it. They can't all be gone.

"Either you're a really good actor, or you've been living under a rock for the past hundred years," Oyaji remarks. "Did you really not know?"

Sokka remembers the attack. He remembers the screams, the chaos. He remembers his mother telling him to grab what he could and run. That was the last time he saw her. Then he'd grabbed Katara and they'd run. They avoided the Fire Nation for a few days, but the soldiers were persistent and kept finding them. Katara fought off as many as she could but there were too many. He remembers snow and fire swirling around them and he and his sister were separated. Then he'd woken up drifting on the sheet of ice and landed here.

The Fire Nation must have attacked the rest of the villages when they were running away. It must have been a calculated and well-planned attack. But why? The Water Nations were peaceful. They had no quarrel with the Fire Nation.

"It all happened so fast," Sokka murmurs. "How can one lose everything so fast?"

It doesn't feel real. He remembers when Yue died to become the moon spirit. That had felt real. He'd held her lifeless body and touched her new spirit form. And every night when he looked at the moon he remembered her.

But this? How can he accept something that he didn't even see happen? In his mind, his village is still alive and full of activity. His parents still live three huts down from the main pathway. His sister is off practicing her waterbending. Everything is as it should be.

"Listen, kid, I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm starting to think you're not a spy."

You're starting to think? Sokka thinks, but he can't seem to open his mouth to say the words aloud.

"Why don't you just sit tight and I'll bring Suki and the others around. They're eager to meet you. We don't get many visitors here."

Any other day the thought of a bunch of beautiful girls excited to meet him would bring him instant joy. Today, though, he can't feel anything but sad.

He doesn't feel like himself, and he hates it. But how can he feel like himself when he's lost everything?