Zuko was part of the fire nation once more. He was no longer banished. This was his wish, wasn't it? He was, again, prince of the fire nation and heir to the throne; the next Fire Lord. He had betrayed his uncle. That was unplanned, of course, but he had to do it if he wanted his place back. Still, he felt that something was missing, other than his uncle. He lay down on his bed and as he closed his eyes, an image appeared in his mind.

He saw bright brown eyes and the image of a girl became clearer. She looked at him with hope in her eyes. Her hand drew closer to his face, to touch the scar marred on his face by his own father. His father who had banished him away from the fire nation years before, and to think he was back there now, in the presence of the man who had given him that terrible scar.

She took a vial of special water from the necklace that she wore around her neck. She motioned to pour the special water on his scar that could rid him of it forever when… "Katara!" shouted the avatar, Aang, who he was destined to capture to regain his rightful place as the fire nation's prince. How dare he and my uncle burst in! Wait, what am I thinking? Thought Zuko. Aang and his uncle ran toward them and Aang hugged Katara. Zuko glared at him and Aang glared back. Zuko wished that it was him instead of Aang but his fantasies were interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Zuko! Father wants to talk to you." Yelled his sister, Azula, from outside his room. Zuko rolled his eyes and threw a blast of fire at the closed door. Then he got up and walked out the room.

Zuko entered the large hall of the Fire Lord. Fire blazed around his father, the Fire Lord, who sat at the throne. Zuko bowed down low and after a few seconds of silence, he said:

"Father, you have now accepted me."

Then he heard the cold and cruel laugh of his father. The laugh seemed familiar, in fact it sounded like the same laugh he heard when his father was about to hurt someone. Zuko began to shake with fear.

"Zuko, are you shaking?" asked his father in a cold, mocking tone. "You fool; did you really think that I would accept you? Especially after what you did? Please…"

He heard his father laugh that cruel laughter once again. But this time it was joined with another one's cold laugh. From the corner of his eye, he saw that it was Azula who was watching from behind on of the pillars.

"But…" said Zuko as he stared at his father. His father stood up with fire in his palms, just like the time when his father gave him his horrible scar. Zuko was on the floor again, while his father prepared to strike. Zuko could have done something but he felt defenceless, powerless – weak. His father aimed to burn his face, but Zuko had protected it with his arms. Zuko felt a searing pain, his entire arm was burning. He looked at it and saw an even larger raw scar. Again, Zuko heard that laughter that joined his father's. Azula looked down at him and said:

"Zuko, you're pathetic."

And she laughed the cold laugh she had.

Zuko had cried before, but he wasn't going to cry now. He was going to go away in his own will, with that he went out of the palace, away from the fire nation once more. So he began searching for his uncle, who was there for him before. He just hoped that his uncle would forgive him enough to be there for him now.