Almost three years ago, Fire Lord Ozai had sent his son in search of the legendary Avatar. Somewhere along the line, his son found out the truth, that it was a wild goose chase and his father only wanted to be rid of him. For almost three years ago, the prince had disrespected his father and shown his "shameful weakness" in front of everyone, and this wild goose chase was a punishment for doing so.

Thankfully, the prince had his kindly uncle and his closest friend to aid him on his quest...or more accurately, to take care of him and support him during his exile. And because of them, the prince never gave up. Even knowing the Avatar was dead and the cycle broken, he held onto the thin shard of hope that his father was wrong, that the Avatar was out there. And with his capture the prince would restore his honor and regain his father's love.

*

"Zuko, it's been almost three years," Mai sighed. "You know as well as I do that the Avatar's dead?"

Zuko growled softly, tightening his grip on the ship's rail.

"He's out there, okay? And as long as he's out there he's a threat to the Fire Nation!"

"Come on, how much of a threat can a dead man be?" Mai put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Zuko, maybe this is for the best. Maybe you were meant to find some other way to restore your honor."

He turned around to glare at her.

"Don't say such stupid things, Mai, he's out there and we're going to capture him if it's the last thing we do!"

"Hey, just because you were wrong doesn't mean you get to chew my head off," she snapped. "Now let's go-"

Just then, an incredible pillar of blue light shot up somewhere in the distance, and Zuko gasped.

"It's him! Mai, you know what this means?!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, you were right. But that still doesn't mean-"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, okay?" He gave her a quick hug. "But the important thing is he's alive and we've found him." He glanced towards the ship's helm. "Helmsman! Set a course for that light!"

As the ship steered towards the pillar, Zuko grinned. Finally, at long last his years of pointless searching were at an end.