Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who has read this, and double thanks to everyone who took the time to review. I was so elated by your response that I was going to post this chapter last night, but I fell asleep while proofreading it. On the subject of updates, expect one every few days, because that's realistically how much time it takes me to write these. As always, feedback of any sort is welcome.

"Nope. No. Nada. Come again? Not happening. Never. Never ever."

Sokka was not enthusiastic about allowing his little girlfriend onto a Fire Navy ship, and he had apparently never been taught to keep his voice down, as I could hear him beginning a stream of negations from where I was passing through the entrance to my ship. I tuned him out, mostly; if he could actually change Aang's mind—which I doubted—then I would find out in an hour and pursue a different course of action.

The first thing I did once I was out of sight and earshot of the village was turn to the nearest guard and order him to find Uncle, bring him up to speed on what had transpired, and tell him to meet me in the captain's antechamber in twenty minutes, dressed for tea with important company. I then dispatched another to make necessary arrangements with the cook.

My next preparations raised the eyebrows of the guards receiving these orders: prepare a guest's chamber outfitted with every luxury we had onboard, and prepare a maximum security holding cell.

I was keeping my options open. One way or another, the Avatar would be coming with me.

I then withdrew to my room on board, where I removed my armor and came to the unexpected realization that I was missing my helmet. I must have left it sitting on the ground after Aang's dramatic entrance had knocked it off my head. I hadn't thought about it much, but that would have made my scar much more visible as I spoke to the Avatar.

And yet, he had not stared, as so many did. He did not scorn—ah, he did not know. Of course, he would have been the one person in the world who didn't know how the infamous prince had been shamed, burned, and banished. I wondered how long that ignorance would last, and what its end would do to my chances of keeping up this charade of friendliness and diplomacy. For a charade it was: the Father Lord would have no interest at all in Aang's cooperation, only in his removal from the playing field, the elimination of a potentially uncontainable threat.

I readied myself for entertaining company, something that I never engaged in willingly. I would definitely be taking cues from Uncle on how to act the gracious host. I put on some of my finest clothes, wanting to appear to be a legitimate prince. Also, looking my best was a sort of contingency preparation: when Azula manipulated, it was one part intimidation and two parts seduction. I would try what I considered to be fair play first, but if the girl proved difficult, the 'unintentional' charm would turn on and I would watch her fall. I had tried and succeeded with this tactic once before, and Katara, young and sheltered here as she was, would be even easier prey.

As pleased with my appearance in the mirror as I would ever be, I went to meet Uncle. Entering the room, I found him there, waiting for me.

"Interesting approach, Prince Zuko," he commented mildly. "I would not have expected it of you to invite the Avatar to tea." I knew that Uncle would have found the situation heart-warming if he weren't so suspicious of my plans now.

"I had not expected the Avatar to be a child," I returned, trying to stand still despite the nervous energy brought on by my finally having found the Avatar; I failed, succumbing to pacing before my Uncle. "What does it mean, Uncle? For the Fire Nation? For me?"

"It might yet be too soon to say for sure. I will tell you what I think once I have met the Avatar. What is the boy's name?"

"Aang," I supplied. "Our other guest is a Water Tribe girl named Katara; she looked at me as though she wanted to kill me."

"So you invited her to tea?"

"…Yes."

Uncle sighed. "This is sure to be an interesting day."

Half an hour later, I was standing again at the entrance to my ship, this time ready to greet my guests.

I had an extra guest. I almost scowled, but placed Azula's smile on my face instead.

"Ah, are you going to introduce these nice young people, Nephew?" Uncle asked me as I led the three of them in.

"Yes, of course. Uncle, this is Aang, the Avatar, and Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe."

Aang bowed courteously, a gesture which the other two did not mimic—stiff-necked savages.

"This is my uncle, General Iroh, Dragon of the West." They probably didn't even know what that title meant, but even an imbecile could figure out that it must be something impressive.

"Retired general," Uncle corrected amiably. "It is an honor to meet the Avatar and his friends."

Aang looked downright bashful. If I had ever been one to find children particularly cute, I would have found Aang cute for all the fact that he was practically grown out of childhood.

In perfect contrast, the Water Tribe kids were staring at Uncle with narrowed eyes. I saw rage and hatred again in Katara's eyes, and it was starting to unsettle me a little how automatically and liberally she applied her opposition to all things Fire Nation.

Uncle noticed, but would not be intimidated by a couple of peasant children. "We had not been expecting three," he said conversationally. "I'll see to it that we have another place set. How did we come to have this pleasure?"

"It was sort of a compromise," Aang explained.

"There was no way my little sister was going aboard a Fire Nation ship without anyone to protect her," Sokka elaborated. "Aang may still not understand it, but we're at war." No one would mistake Sokka to be a polite individual; he exuded sourness. "And I made a promise to our father when he left for war that I would protect her."

"An understandable sentiment," Uncle said empathetically. "You're more than welcome." Turning to Aang, he continued, "Your friends are not wrong in their caution—we have been at bitter war for the last century. However, we on this ship mean you no harm—don't be fooled by my nephew's bad behavior. Aggression is a flaw in his character."

This earned me three glances before Uncle engaged them again, gathering us all around the table and pouring tea. He was wonderful at polite chatter; I could not have done this negotiation without him to smooth it over.

As I listened in watchful silence as Aang described in detail his conveniently timed escape from the Southern Air Temple, I noticed that Sokka and Katara were no longer sporting mistrustful looks. Uncle had already started to win them over. He was good.

"I think you wise," Uncle was saying to Aang, "for being leery of holding too much power. With great power comes even greater responsibility, much too much to expect a twelve-year-old to bear. Even as an adult, I was not anxious to have power. I did not oppose the rather suspicious decision to give my brother my birthright. I had seen the particulars of being the Fire Lord, and I rarely ever looked forward to it." He looked at me. "What about you, Zuko? Do you want to be Fire Lord?"

I would have glared at Uncle for putting me on the spot like that if not for the curious stares locked on me. What could I say that would be the right thing to say? What would take this mistrust out of their eyes?

"I do," I said after considering for a moment. "I was born to be Fire Lord, and I have grown up with that knowledge. I have been away from the Fire Nation for a long time, and I miss it terribly. I miss life as a prince terribly; I want to go back." Admittedly not my best work, but I at least avoided putting my foot in my mouth.

"I am glad you brought that up," he said, and I knew where he was going with this. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to go there just quite yet, and I hoped my cautioning look conveyed that. Uncle proceeded, "This is something we are very anxious to discuss with you. We are in somewhat of an uncomfortable situation, and perhaps the only person who can help is you, Avatar Aang."

"Sure," said Aang, curious. "What do you need me to do?"

Uncle wordlessly deferred Aang's inquisitive glance to me. I met the Avatar's eyes.

"Three years ago," I halted abruptly, switching to a less sensitive approach. "I was sent out to find the Avatar and bring him to the Fire Nation. My father so badly wants to meet you that it would be unwise of me to return without you. I have been away from home for three years and I desperately want to go back. Will you accompany me?"

Aang considered it for a moment. "Okay," he said at last, and I actually gave him a genuine smile. He probably couldn't tell the difference between a genuine smile and an Azula smile, but Uncle appreciated it. "But what does the Fire Lord want with me?"

"Probably nothing good." That was Sokka's skepticism. Katara's expression was guarded.

I chuckled in what I hoped to be a good-natured way. "My father merely wishes to establish diplomatic relations with you—you are an extremely significant world player of undeclared allegiance. I imagined he would want to make you his political ally, but now that I know you're just a kid…"

"Why would the Fire Lord need the Avatar as an ally?" Katara cut in. "You're not exactly at a disadvantage in this war."

"The validation of the Avatar," I continued to lie, "would allow the Fire Nation to initiate action to bring this war to an end, which I believe is in everyone's interests."

"We're not interested in losing!" Sokka objected, a possessive hand grasping Aang's shoulder.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because—" Katara cut herself off. She looked at them uncertainly. "I…don't know. What would it mean for the Southern Water Tribe if the Fire Nation won the war?"

"It would mean an end to the violence," Uncle said gravely. "Your father would come back home."

"But that's not it," Sokka conjectured.

"That's as far as it would directly impact your isolated little village," I said. "The rest is just politics—it's really beyond your sphere of understanding."

Sokka correctly read that as a slight, his eyebrows lowering in annoyance. He didn't have a comeback, and I watched him search for one for a moment before clamping his mouth shut and frowning in apparent concession.

I took some pride in my success in defending my fake political agenda. Neither Uncle's slightly disapproving frown nor the reality that I had only tricked children could take that away from me. I was simply too happy at the prospect of going home.

"But," added Aang, "I want to go home too. I haven't seen the Southern Air Temple in a hundred years, and I want to see my people. Could we stop there on the way?"

Internally, I rattled off a long line of cuss words I had learned from the crew over the years. Externally, my eyes widened, the scarred skin around my left eye pulling taut as it refused to open any further. Alarmed, Uncle looked to me, I looked to Katara, and Katara looked solemn.

"You didn't tell him?" I asked Katara.

"Tell me what?" Aang was a perfect picture of ignorance. As much as I didn't regret lying to him and betraying him into the hands of the Father Lord in order to achieve my own ends—for it was absolutely imperative that they be achieved—I felt wretched for having to disillusion him of his blissful unawareness.

"Your people aren't there anymore," Sokka said darkly.

"Why not?"

There was a silent struggle going on that moment between the four of us as we fought to make one of the others speak. My pleading look forced Uncle to concede.

"Avatar," came his gentlest voice, "The airbenders died out not long after you left them. The air temples are empty."

"That's why we were so shocked to see an airbender when we met you," Katara rapidly injected. "It's been generations since any have been seen."

I watched Aang's face—the painfully slow transition from shock to disbelief to horror. I had to look away at its inevitable crumpling.

"How?" Aang gasped. Hearing shifting, I looked up to see Katara wrap Aang in a hug, and I could not quite justify to myself the excessive magnitude of the gratitude I felt towards the girl in that moment.

"Murder," Sokka accused.

"War," I corrected.

"It was the Fire Nation," Katara whispered into the grieving Avatar's ear. My short-lived gratitude died.

Aang tensed up. As he slowly and deliberately turned his grief-contorted face to us, his eyes and tattoos began to glow.