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Author Notes: Upon doing some constructive criticism on myself, I realized that I over-did the Sokka and Toph scenes in the last chapter. I'll make sure to control myself this time. I can't resist putting them in scenarios (for some reason). Also, I am still not a big fan on "too many fan made characters". Much like my other fics, I try to keep the new characters to a minimum amount.

Disclaimer: All Avatar: The Last Airbender characters belong to Bryan and Mike, Nickelodeon, and (sighs) Viacom. All Rights Are Reserved.

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Episode 7 - To Return

The pair have safely made their way out of the palace compound and were able to sneak their way into the outer city. With the security being lax at this time, it was pretty easy to move between both parts of the capital. The servant was beyond joy of seeing the area that he grew up in. He couldn't help but stop every few minutes just to look around at the closed up shops and other homes that were all shabby looking. The Blue Spirit had to constantly tug at his sleeve just to make him keep going. Then, the sudden thought dawned on him. Where exactly was his rescuer leading him to?

Several streets later, he was able to get his answer.

"Over here!" shouted an excited voice coming from a young man, holding a torch, who appeared to be waiting for them. They were in front of Coriander Coltsfoot. The servant read the store's name several times to get familiar with it. He had that sinking feeling that he'll be there for awhile. Both he and the Blue Spirit followed the young man into the shop. As soon as they were far from the store's main entrance, the young man swiftly turned around. "Are you guys alright? I was starting to get worried," the young man, who appeared to be the shop's owner, asked with great concern.

The servant watched the Blue Spirit slowly nod his head before realizing that the young man's attention was now on him.

"Um….. I'm sorry but I don't follow. Who are you and how do you know him? Or, is it vice versa? And why am I here?"

"Telling from your clothing, you came from the palace right?" the young man asked without any hesitation. The servant made a small jump backwards in reaction.

"Ye-yeah. You're good. I'm just a kitchen servant though. Nothing special compared to him." The servant glanced at the Blue Spirit, who stayed silent.

"Well, welcome to Coriander! My name's Bochen Deng but you can simply call me 'Bo'," the shop keeper grinned. "Glad my place can become your hiding spot. You can live here as long as you---"

"Hold on! I have no intention of bringing you trouble that's already on my shoulders! As soon as daylight hits, I plan on running far far away from here."

"Hmm? Tough tough. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"What?"

"You do have to remember that this place is still a part of the royal capital. You'll have to be super stealthy to get through the security at the outer city's border."

"I know that but maybe if I brought him…," the servant didn't finish his sentence. His savior was no longer standing besides them. "Where did he go?"

"He probably went home," Bo carelessly said with a shrug.

"Huh?" The servant gave him a beady eye look.

"He does this all the time. The only reason he comes here is to drop off and pick up his daggers, see?" Bo lifted the daggers and began slicing them through the air as if he was fighting someone. The servant sighed as he gently picked up a nearby empty flower pot.

"Maybe, he isn't who I thought he was…."

xxxxx

The chirps of animals were becoming louder and louder with each passing second. They were mixing with the sounds of running water that were constantly pouring near his ears. His closed eyes started to have light seep into them to a point where he couldn't keep them closed any further. Then, they opened to reveal a world he thought he'd never see. Everything was green around him. A medium size waterfall was falling several feet away. A group of birds quickly flocked from one tree to another.

Then, he noticed it. A familiar scary looking blue mask was sitting by his leg. A black cloak was laying beside it. His mind went blank as he began to back away from those two objects. Pain shot up through his body once he stopped moving.

"Where am I?" Zuko placed a hand to his forehead. He should be in his room, but at this point, he's definitely far from the palace. Why was he aching so badly? Moving his head further up on his head, he felt his hair was loose from its royal bun style. Glancing down at his body, he noticed that he was wearing one of his least formal attire that consisted of a solid dark gray shirt and slacks.

"We're in our secret place," came a voice that he definitely didn't want to hear. His doppelganger was communicating inside his head.

"So, this is another dream that I'm in?" Zuko asked as he attempted to stand up but couldn't due to the pain.

"No. As I said, we're in our secret place that only us and a special friend knows."

"You're not making any sense. I get that this is a secret place but special friend?"

"I'll explain that another time."

"What!? Then tell me, at least, as to how I got here or why my body is in this condition? Did you do this!? And why is that mask here!? I thought I got rid of it in Ba Sing Se!"

"You're not going to get angry at me?"

"……. Maybe. That all depends on what you tell me."

"Very well. I can tell you this much that I'm partly responsible for your current body pain. I apologize for that matter, but the other person responsible for your situation is you, yourself."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why is that?"

"Heheh… Such an ignorant question."

"You!!" Zuko raised his voice a little at the doppelganger. Was he expected to know everything?

"Right now, you're only using half of your body. You may not notice it, but your body and self went split when you were at Ba Sing Se."

"Ugh. Now, you're giving me a headache!"

"I'm sorry. I can't explain this further without getting more technical than I already am."

"So, what you're telling me is that I don't have total control over my body."

"Correct."

"That explains why I keep finding myself in random places in the palace. I hope you didn't do anything weird to me while I was knocked out!"

"Again, it's not totally me who's controlling your body. It's you….or, the you that you left behind. I'm really a second party here."

"The me that I left….ragh!! I don't understand any of this!!"

"There is a way to correct this."

"Eh?"

"You must find the truth behind your family's past. Look into the archives of the Fire Sages. There, many answers will come to light."

"The Fire Sages…"

"Once you understand that, your uncle's words will be much more meaningful to you," the doppelganger paused before finishing his sentence, "I hope".

"Hey, do you know where they took my uncle?"

"……No. I am you, therefore, I don't know."

"………"

"You must stay cautious at all times when you return to the palace. You cannot go back to your room as you're no longer welcomed there."

"Why? What happened!?"

"You freed a servant from his cell and confronted your sister in front of the tower. She highly suspects that you're the Blue Spirit," the doppelganger's voice reverberated through Zuko's head. The boy's face grew pale.

"No way! She'll definitely tell my father…and I'm not there! Why didn't you bring me back!?"

"Wake up! Do you think they'll be so stupid to ignore your room last night? They had to check." At that moment, it finally dawned on Zuko that he can't go back living like how he use to. Then again, was he really happy living that kind of life? Things were missing from his heart and deep down, he was scarred to look.

"Ok, so how do I get out of here?" Zuko asked as he attempted his second try at standing up. He wobbly managed to stand this time while ignoring the pain that shot through his body. Thankfully, he was sitting near a tall bamboo shoot so he grabbed a hold of it to keep his balance. A few seconds went by but his doppelganger's voice never replied back. "Hello? Mr. Voice?" Zuko tapped his head as if there was a little person living in his brain. Again, there was silence from the doppelganger. "This is crazy! I'd be sent to the asylum for this!" He let out a frustrated sigh and decided to walk around the secret place, or wherever he was, in order to charge up his body.

The place was apparently a small clearing surrounded by lots of bamboo shoots and thin trees. The sky was the only visible opening that he could find unless…. Zuko approached the waterfall and examined it closely. He realized how shallow the water was so he carefully took off his boots and waddled into the water. It felt like a brief respite towards whatever his body endured earlier. He sloshed through the water until he got close to the waterfall. Its roaring easily drowned out any other sound behind him. He poked his hand through the fall and suddenly, a flash of deja vu went through him like a knife. "??" That's strange.

After that feeling went away, Zuko extended his arm out further and discovered a hidden tunnel behind it. The boy paused for a few seconds before throwing himself through the rushing water but his head collided with a wall. "Oof!!" Zuko stumbled backwards and collapsed bottom down into the shallow pool of water. He groaned rubbing his head. Apparently, the tunnel's hole was shorter than his height. Getting onto his hands and knees, Zuko baby crawled towards the waterfall. He closed his eyes tight once he got under and through the roaring water. His body, already wet, no longer felt the water's coldness as it sloshed over him.

Once he was inside the narrow tunnel, he followed it carefully as there was very little light. Whoever created the tunnel didn't make it smooth. There were several bumps and jaggy surfaces throughout the tunnel. Three-thirds in, Zuko felt like he touched something that didn't feel like a bump so he quickly created a ball of fire just to see what it was. To his amazement, his hand was touching the handprint of a child. Zuko stared at it as if entranced by the small handprint before forcing himself to look away. Why did he suddenly feel strange over that handprint? Is it possible that a child created this crude but impressive tunnel?

Another minute passed before Zuko finally reached the tunnel's end, which opened up to the edge of a dense forest. The worn out prince slowly got to his feet as soon as he was out of the tunnel. He instantly recognized the area as an outskirts portion of the outer city. Zuko glowered his eyebrows a little as he stared up to look at the inner city peaking out above the trees. His family would be waiting for him should he return.

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"No, Aang! Stop!" shouted Katara as she was running towards a blindfolded monk. He was practicing on a new waterbending move that involved freezing opponents. Unfortunately, Aang ended up freezing himself. Most of his body was covered in ice except for his head.

"So, how did I do?" he grinned sheepishly.

"Since this is your first try, it's not too bad," Katara gave a half earnest reply once she was right next to the frozen Aang. "Now, can you melt yourself out of this mess?"

"Melt?"

"Yeah. I know you haven't been practicing your firebending as of late."

Even though Aang's eyes were covered by the blindfold, Katara could easily see his eyebrows tilting downward. Firebending wasn't the best subject for the young boy to deal with. The last and only attempt that he made of firebending ended up disastrous. "I don't think I can do it."

"Sure, you can."

"No, really! I can't do it! I don't want to do it! I said that I'd never do it again back then. Well, I'm still standing by it!"

"Aang…."

"Let it go, Katara. He's traumatized from that incident, remember? He'll probably be the only Avatar to master three elements and that should still be ok, right? Better than mastering just one element? Hehe…" Sokka grinned once he reached the end of his sentence and displayed two thumbs up at Aang. He was walking towards them in a casual manner. Katara sadly looked to the ground.

"It might be ok now, but when that time comes…. I can't help but shake off the feeling that something bad will happen."

"You worry too much, little sister! Aang has three elements on his side. The Fire Lord only has one. Now, what's greater? Three or one? The answer is simple. Three, of course! The Fire Lord will definitely cower before Aang. I'm sure of it!"

"But, the Fire Lord is the most powerful bender in the Fire Nation. It doesn't really matter how many abilities you have if you can't master your own enemy's power."

"Katara's right," Toph's voice floated from above everyone's heads. The blind earthbender was laying on her back on a thick tree branch. The tree, itself, is right behind Aang. "I may be the smallest competitor in earthbending tournaments but that didn't stop me from overcoming a lot of my opponents. You can't underestimate who you're going against."

"G-Guys….," Aang's voice interrupted their discussion in a form of chattering teeth, "can we discuss this af-af-ter I'm out!?"

"Ack, sorry! Forgot you were still in it!" Katara raised her hands gently up before lowering them in front of her. The ice became water and flowed uncontrollably into the grass. Aang immediately wrapped his arms around his body in order to return warmth into it. "See, if you mastered fire, you won't be doing that." Aang bowed his head in silence. He couldn't accept that his friends were right.

The monk continued to rub his arms for a few more seconds, but stopped in an instant when the most obvious fact hit him. "Oh wait! What am I doing?" Aang took off his blindfold in order to push his right fist into the palm of his left hand. He snorted out as much air as he could muster in order to air dry every part of his body and clothing. Upon drying himself, Aang inspected his clothing one more time. This gave Katara an idea for a change of subject.

"I think we have to go into a Fire Nation village."

"Huh? Why!?" Sokka expressed an exaggerated horrified look at his sister.

"Our clothing isn't exactly Fire Nation material if we're planning on going in there."

"True. When do you want to go?"

"Later this afternoon."

"This afternoon!? We just got here!"

"Yes, but the sooner the better."

"We still have time."

"Sokka, the Day of Black Sun is a couple of weeks away. We can't waste any more time than we already have. Staying put on this island isn't going to help us, either!"

"Well…then…. Maybe, I'll stay behind while you guys go. Someone needs to watch the island anyways."

"Sokka," Katara had a twinge of annoyance creeping onto her face. "Did you notice that we didn't eat anything today?"

"Erm, yeah, but I thought I'd hunt for some fish. Aang could go get some berries. Toph can easily find us some land meat." At the mention of her name, Toph punched the side of the tree branch that she was laying on. Several twigs came falling out of the branch and perfectly nailed Sokka on the head. "Hey!"

"Don't rely on me to do your dirty work," Toph said as she picked some stuff out of her nose. Sokka grumbled looking up at the tree. He wasn't entirely at peace due to yesterday's fight about the Mechanist's gift.

"Um, question?" Aang felt he had to come in somewhere or else, Toph and Sokka might just start a mini war.

"Yes Aang?" Katara asked with relief. She was also getting tired of the Toph and Sokka vibe.

"Just where exactly are we anyways?"

"Sokka, you were the last person guiding Appa. You know better than me as to where we are." Everyone turned their attention to the tallest member of their group.

"Oh,…..riiiight…," Sokka half-enthusiastically replied and rubbed the back of his head. "We're somewhere north of a place called Ember Island and south of the Earth Kingdom. Not that close to the royal capital but it's good enough. The Mechanist gave us a better version of the four kingdoms' map. It contains a lot of names and better detail." Sokka reached towards one of his back pockets to pull out a rolled up map. He unfurled the parchment and held it up high. "See? Isn't it great!? It's also going to be our rendezvous point with other people who are going to help us."

Aang didn't really care one way or the other about the updated map. His eyes are starry as he stared at one particular spot on the map. "Ember Island? I love Ember Island! Let's go!" Aang made a small air hop before rushing towards Appa, who was still sleeping on his side. Momo, who was pretty much invisible for most of the day, came flying out of Toph's tree and followed his master with quick flaps. Katara and Sokka exchanged glances thinking similar thoughts that it's been awhile since Aang looked this happy. Maybe, too happy?

xxxxx

Aang is back in control of Appa's rein with brimming excitement. Everyone else have resumed their sitting positions on Appa's back. Sokka and Katara sat on opposite sides. Toph is laying on her back near the rear.

"I thought you didn't want to go?" Katara asked Sokka, with a serious face.

"Originally, but look at Aang! He's acting funny…" Sokka raised one eyebrow at the monk's back. "So, I'm curious. What makes Ember Island great?"

"It's the most magical wondrous place in the entire Fire Nation!" Aang piped up in a sing-song type of voice. Sokka and Katara let their mouths hang open. Has Aang lost his mind!?

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After much inner debate with himself, Zuko decided he had to get back to the palace somehow. Would his family believe him if he said everything was a misunderstanding? He wanted to doubt the doppelganger's words, and yet, he couldn't bring his heart to do so.

Zuko left the so-called "secret place" area and traveled through the forest. He had to avoid both the outer and inner parts of the city at all costs, but how? How did his doppelganger do it? Did he fly? Did he magically transport his body from one part of the capital to the other? Zuko immediately halted his thoughts. His speculations were starting to get ridiculous. Fly… I wish.

It took him a good twenty-three minutes to reach the hill that starts the path up to the inner city. As usual, there were hordes of people lined up waiting patiently for their turns to get through the checkpoint. But, what's this? Something seemed different at the checkpoint. Zuko crouched behind some bushes that were still a part of the forest. The checkpoint is adjacent to his hiding spot giving him a good view of everything.

The checkpoint guards were inspecting people's packages and identification papers, which is the normal routine. What's new is that the guards kept grabbing people's faces and looking them dead in the eyes. It didn't matter who it was. Men, women, elderly, and even children. Zuko narrowed his good eye. Did his people have to suffer this much just because of him?

After one of the checkpoint guards inspected a farmer, the next person up was a young boy no younger than ten. This boy didn't have anything on him, which gave an air of suspicion to the guard.

"Young man, you have nothing on you?"

"That's right, sir," the boy said as he placed one hand in his pocket.

"Stop!" yelled the guard as he brought down a lance and held it at the boy's throat level. The boy froze immediately with his hand still in his pocket. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm getting out my I.D!" the boy nervously replied trying hard to not look at the lance.

"Give it to me, boy," demanded the guard not lowering the lance. The child hastily went through his pocket and took out a crumpled piece of paper.

"He-here!" The boy raise the paper in front of him with a shaking left hand. The guard swiped the paper out of the boy's possession, flatten it, and began reading. It only took him a few seconds before finding something wrong with the paper.

"!!…. This document is expired!"

"That's…that's why I was going into the inner city. To renew it!"

"Foolish boy. Only those of higher class are allowed to renew their identifications in the inner city. Aren't the outer city centers good enough for you?"

"No, they're not! Papa said that the inner city ones are better. They give out free medicine! I want to get that to help my sick Mama!!" as soon as the boy shouted this, he stomped the guard's foot as hard as he could and grabbed the paper from the guard. The boy dashed through the check point and up the slope.

"Stop him!" the guard half moaned his plea while bending on one knee to touch his aching foot. Fortunately for the guard, there were other guards coming down the slope heading in the boy's direction. This left relief for the rest of the checkpoint guards. They did not want to leave their posts.

The incoming guards were able to corner the boy, who tried to slip past them but failed. Once the boy was subdued, the guards started to debate the boy's fate.

"What should we do with him?"

"He is a minor. We should take him back to his home,"

"No, this child should be a taught a lesson of going into the inner city so badly. Maybe, a night in the prison cell would do him some good? Make him learn his place."

"How about we punish him in front of all these people and make them think twice of disobeying us?"

"Let go! I don't have much time!" the boy cried out as he tried to yank himself free from one of the guards' hold on his arm. The guards, of course, ignored the child's plea. At this point, Zuko had seen enough. The Fire Nation's only prince stood up from his hiding spot and marched right through the checkpoint pushing aside anyone who was in front of him.

"Excuse me, sir!" yelled out a female guard. "We didn't clear you, yet!"

"Try me," Zuko said turning around staring dead straight at all the guards. As soon as they saw his face, there was chorus of random shouts coming from them.

"It's the Prince!"

"The Prince returned!"

"Escort him, immediately!"

"Make sure he doesn't get away!"

"Take him to the Fire Lord!"

Zuko felt their bodies approaching him. Many of the guards left their checkpoint posts, thus, leaving the line of waiting people stranded. Zuko looked out from the corner of his eye at the guards on the slope. They were also coming down towards his direction taking the child with them. He took a deep breath before stating what he needed to say. "I will go with you guys on one condition."

"What is it, your Highness?" asked the first guard who stopped right beside him. Eventually, he will be surrounded by all the guards with very little room to move.

"I want you to take that boy safely home. He shouldn't be around here on his own."

The guard slightly bowed upon hearing the order. "Very well." He turned to relay the order to the incoming guards who were dragging the child with them.

"Nooo! I need to get the medicine!" the child screamed with tears flowing down his face. "Mama is going to die!"

Zuko gripped one of his hands into a tight fist with his back towards the departing group of guards. Flashes of his own mother popped into his mind until the child's screams could be heard no more.

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To Be Continued….

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A.N: I'm suffering from finals-engitus. I end up doing this more so than my papers due this week. Ugh. Because of that, I completed the next chapter too, but I won't release that until somewhere in May (sorry..). Let's just say, in Episode 8, a character from Season 1 shows up.