Book 1: Fearless
Chapter 6: About a Burning Fire
He ran through the dark forest as fast as he could, not sure if he was being followed, but not wanting to stop to find out. When he couldn't run anymore, he stopped behind a tree to catch his breath. When he could breathe again, Zuko looked around the tree to see if he had been followed. No one was in sight. He listened as closely as he could to see if there was any sound that would give away the presence of a pursuer. After about half an hour of listening, he was satisfied that no one had followed him. He sat on the ground hard. It was a full day after the fight with the Avatar and his friends and since Azula had abandoned him to go with Kayo. Zuko's mind was filled with turmoil and confusion.
"How could Azula stay with that guy when he threatened me? I thought we were on the same side," he thought.
The question kept resonating through his mind, consuming him, forcing him to think about his decisions in the Crystal Catacombs.
"If Azula joined that guy, then she must not have cared what happened to me in the fight with the Avatar."
His thoughts turned to his uncle.
"Uncle. I let him down, just like I always do. AHHHH!!!"
He let out a scream and the birds flew from their nests in the trees.
He let his thoughts wander as much as he could, but somehow they always ended up on Iroh. Finally he acknowledged what he knew he must do.
"I have to get Uncle out of Ba Sing Se. But will he even talk to me after the way I betrayed him?"
Zuko did not know what to do with his doubt. He knew he had to get Iroh out of prison, but he was afraid of confronting him after what had happened under Ba Sing Se. He got up and started walking back the way he had come, back toward Azula and Kayo.
"Hopefully, they'll be gone when I get there," he thought. "I can't fight them both, especially not this Kayo kid. Who is he, anyway."
That question was one that would have to wait to get an answer. Possibly Iroh might know. In any case, Zuko still had to break him out of Ba Sing Se. As he approached the sight of the battle from the night before, he slowed down and stopped. Nothing was moving in the clearing, so he approached it cautiously. When he was out in the open and nothing had happened, he decided that nothing would happen.
Zuko looked around to get his bearings on where he and Azula had come from while chasing the Avatar. When he spotted the right direction, he took off running. It had taken them three days to get from Ba Sing Se to this clearing, so Zuko knew that he had a long trip ahead of him.
After two days of running through the wilderness, Zuko was tired and dirty, but he made better time then when he was with Azula. He could already see the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. As he approached it, he made sure that none of the guards saw him. Even though the Fire Nation had taken over Ba Sing Se, Zuko wasn't sure if Azula had come back and put the guards on alert for him. He looked for the spot where the drill that Azula had used to try and break into the city was. When he found it, he was relieved to find that the drill had been backed out and that the giant hole was still there. He climbed through and began the long trek to the inner wall of the city. He didn't have any plan on how to get inside the city, but he would have to think of something if he wanted to save his uncle. When he was about half way there, he ran out of energy. He found the most sheltered spot he could and lay down to sleep for the night.
This is for those who wanted to know what happened to Zuko. I hope this answers some questions. However, I will not answer the question of how Zuko ends up with Aang. Hope this tides the Zuko fans over for a while, cause the next chapter has to do with Kayo and who he is.