Legal necessities: I just bought the rights to ATLA… I wish that wasn't a lie.

Chapter 7: Zuko Alone

A voice had told him not to rob those people. A quiet, yet somehow firm, no argument voice. It had been full of disgust that put a festering pit in his stomach, a stomach that direly need the food and water, as he was out. But all he could see is the woman's swollen belly, and here that smooth voice.

What you're doing is wrong! There's no honor in what you're doing!

He had done what his conscious told him was right, and was proud of that fact, but now he could barely keep his eyes open. There was a town nearby, but it seemed too far away. The sun felt cold on his skin. He couldn't see straight, he could faintly recognize that it was because he was falling.

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"He has an intense fever, he's burning up." A woman murmured gently, brushing his forehead with a cloth. He didn't recognize who it was, but that was the least thing on his mind.

"W-water." He croaked, and only seconds later felt a cup on his lips.

"This has herbs in it that will give you vital nutrients, drink it all." Zuko heard the woman say, he didn't need to be told twice.

"Is he going to be alright, mom?" a boy asked, out of sight.

"It depends, Lee. This fever should pass, but only if he fights it. And right now it doesn't look as if he is."

"Why not?"

"I don't know honey, you can ask him if he wakes up again."

"If?"

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He had been here before, only once, but he remembered. It was all the same, an island made of ice and fire, it was too hot for the cliffs to be made of frozen water, but it seemed this place defied logic. He felt that ache of contentment begin to seep in, but shoved it away hard. Last time he lost himself in here, he woke next to Kana.

He pushed that thought away too, moving his limbs along faster, and before he knew it, he found what he'd been looking for. What he'd been looking for the last time he was here. Pillars stretched high into the sky; so far he couldn't see them, standing in front of two oak doors.

He felt his stomach tingle with dread as he approached, putting both hands on the smooth wood. He took in a deep breath, and swung them forward, the scent of burning ice lilies wafting him in the face. It was so potent that if the smell was any thicker it would cause him to gag.

He was so focused on this, that he didn't realize he wasn't alone until he caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye. His head snapped up, as his jaw fell open. A woman moved in a pool of glowing water, two crystals adorning each eye, red and blue by one, yellow and green by the other. But it wasn't just any woman; it was Kana.

"Hello Prince Zuko, I'm so glad you could finally join me." Her voice sounded strange, smooth, echoing.

"Who are you?" he whispered, her lips perked up at the side.

"I'm whoever you need at the moment, your conscious, I guess you could say." She laughed, rising out of the water on what looked like steps.

"I've been here before." He said, and she shook her head.

"You've been outside of here before, you weren't ready to come in yet."

"Why wasn't I ready to come in?"

"Come here and I'll show you." Zuko hesitated, but after a moment he slowly walked towards Kana, who knelt by the pond she had been in. He sat next to her, and immediately felt his throat tighten. It was a rippling picture of him as Fire Lord, two dragons twirling around him, right as he was about to ask the woman what this was, she pushed him in.

He fell for what felt like an eternity, until suddenly he was just sitting on a mat in the throne room, no scar on his face. He took in a breath, staring ahead at a figure kneeling in front of him, staring at him with somehow warm blue eyes. He felt his shoulders relax; it was Kana, but not the one he had seen moments ago.

"It's getting late, are you planning on retiring soon My Lord?" he heard the blue dragon ask, but Kana just shook her head telling him that no he was not had the strangest feeling that the blue dragon sounded like Azula, but that couldn't be right, could it?

"I'm not tired."

"Relax Fire Lord Zuko, just let go. Give in to it, shut your eyes for a while."

"No, Fire Lord Zuko! Do not listen to the blue dragon; you should get out of here right now. Go! Before it is too late!" the red dragon snarled in his ear, he sounded like his uncle.

"Sleep," the blue dragon yelled, "just like MOTHER!" Zuko saw the dragon open its mouth, sharp teeth protruding from its pink gums, he was going to be swallowed whole! He closed his eyes, but nothing happened. When they opened again, Kana stood there with her arms wrapped tightly around its mouth, keeping it contained.

"If you want to get out alive, then you need to run!" she screamed at him, "Run Zuko!"

He did what she said without thinking, leaping from his spot on the throne, as everything seemed to collapse around him. And as he kept running, his mother appeared in front of him, tugging her hood down and shouting at him. "Zuko, help me!"

He blinked, and everything was back to normal. He sat on the throne, the dragons gone, the crumbling gone, everything but him gone. He breathed a sigh of relief as a hole opened beneath him, and the rug dragged him under, a hand gripping his own before he could disappear. Zuko met Kana's eyes, gasping, but the sparkling pools that were her gaze seemed like frozen pits.

"Never put your life in someone's hands, they're bound to steal it away." She let go, and he fell.

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Zuko felt a wet cloth touch his brow, and he sputtered awake in a coughing fit. He peeled his eyes open and saw a woman with dark brown hair and eyespouring tea. She put it to his lips, and he swallowed without instruction. It felt like a sword was being shoved down his throat, but the cooling sensation afterwards was too good for him to stop. He groaned clutching at his side.

"This isn't a natural sickness." The woman murmurs, glancing at him warily. "It's what happens when a person is changing, a change so drastic that they have to expel the rest of them out to make room for the new."

"What's happening to me?" he croaks coiling in on himself as his body is wracked with coughs.

"Something that naturally takes years to happen. My husband went through the same thing once, and he came out a much better person, hopefully you will too." Zuko barely heard the end of her sentence as he felt back into his nightmares.

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He landed hard on his knees; the last thing he remembered was that Kana had let him fall. Let him fall with a look of contempt. He didn't know who either of those two Kana's were, but they weren't his Kana. The one who had wanted to be friends, who hated causing people pain but did it for the better good.

"Rise and fight Prince Zuko." He heard a snarl from above him, and as he raised his head to look, he felt his heart stop. His father, he staring down at him with such a look of disgust, everything seemed pathetic next to him.

"Please, Father! I am your loyal son!" he heard Ozai's roar, then pinched his eyes closed for what he knew what was to come next. But it never did. There was a loud crash, the pitch of the crowd was too high, and when he peeked through one eye he saw Kana standing above him enraged. A large burn was scorched into the fabric of her dress, going all the way to her skin.

Zuko couldn't breath. He watched in horror as she yanked him to his feet by the collar of his shirt, placing her face in front of his. "Why can't you ever be a man?" she screamed at him, "you always let others get in the way, hopping they'll save you! For once stand up for yourself; I shouldn't have to protect you from everything!"

Zuko swallowed, a lump in his throat. He saw his father rise from where he'd been thrown, but he couldn't speak! He couldn't warn Kana! She was so focused on him that she didn't notice Ozai's approach, he wanted to move, but couldn't. Not against his father. He watched his father raise a fist of fire, striking with a snarl.

He could hear his own yell, throat finally opening, but as his father's fist slammed against Kana's back, she seemed to explode. His eyes bulged out as he was dropped, snow crystals blowing in front of him. There was a sudden blowing of wind, so forceful he looked away, and when he could see clearly, he saw he was standing in a field surrounded by trees.

Kana was there too, and so was the Avatar. He stared down at Kana's sad expression, her face so solemn. "I sorry, Zuko." She whispered, turning away. He didn't know what compelled him to grab her arm, stopping her from leaving. She just shook her head, and pulled away, walking towards the Avatar.

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"You're still warm, but your fever's broken at least." The woman said, patting his forehead with a cloth. His eyes wandered around and he could see hay, he was in a barn. "My husband said the pain would be worth it, in the end."

"How long have I been here?" Zuko croaked, and a boy popped out behind his mothers' skirt that looked like a younger version of the woman.

"Two days. So what's your name?"

"I'm… uh."

"You don't have to say who you are if you don't want to. You've been through quite enough." The woman murmured gently with a kind smile.

"So our guest is finally awake is he? Well that's great, isn't it Sela?" A man laughed, entering the barn. He was rather muscular, and Zuko managed to make out that he had the same nose as the boy. He must be his father.

"I need to be moving on." Zuko croaked, sitting up, making Sela laugh.

"You're to sick for travel, but Gansu has some work on the roof that shouldn't be to strenuous, if you want something to do of course." The woman said with a kind smile, and he nodded in agreement.

"Come on then," the man ordered, "let's give him some privacy to get ready." Zuko watched as they all left and slowly rose to his feet to keep from falling. He was still pretty dizzy, and his muscles were sore from thrashing unconsciously during his fever. Jerkily yanking on the clean Earth Kingdom clothes by his sick bed, he walked out of the barn into the sunlight.

After the glare of the sun stopped blinding him, Zuko glanced around, slightly surprised at what he saw. The woman, Sela, was caring for farm animals, mostly different kinds of pigs with a content smile on her face. Lee was slashing around at some grain, and a ladder led up to the roof, where the woman said he should look for work. He climbed up the wooden rungs, poking his head above the shingles to see Gansu already at work.

"Well come on, if you're gonna help, then hop to it." He said with a lopsided grin, taking a moment to rest on his haunches and address Zuko.

"Right." He said pulling himself onto the roof, and relishing the pull of his muscles. Gansu handed him some metal nails and a hammer before getting back to work. He peered down at them bewildered, he'd never had to work a day in his life, he didn't know how to use these. He could just start nailing them in wherever, but he'd probably make more work for the older man. But it'd be embarrassing to admit he didn't know how to do this. He put the nail against the roof-

These people just cared for you while you were on your death bed, suck up your pride and do the honorable thing.

The hammer nearly fell from his hand, he could have sworn he just heard Kana speaking, it would be something she'd say... And she'd be right. "I've never worked on a roof before, I don't know how I should do this." Zuko managed to choke out, making Gansu glance up at him.

"Nail the shingles up by the corners, here," he said pointing, "and here." Zuko hesitated before doing what he was told, the nail bending to the side crookedly. "Like this." Gansu chuckled, slamming his own hammer into the nail, straightening it. He held the base with two fingers, gently tapping until it didn't move, then slamming it full force into the roof.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Lee asked, leaning against the house on the ladder. Zuko shook his head.

"Uh-uh."

"Yeah, I could tell cause you don't know how to fix a roof. Everyone around here knows how. So where are you from?"

"Far away." He answered bluntly, following what Gansu had taught him to do, step by step. The kid was kind of annoying, but manageable. He couldn't figure out why he didn't want to snap at him to go away, he would have not a day before.

"Lee, give it a rest. Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?" Gansu ordered his son, sharply.

"Yes." He said dejectedly, face brightening suddenly. "So how'd you get that scar?" Zuko jumped at the shear audacity of the question, right as he brought the hammer down. It slammed down on his thumb, forcing him to stifle a cry of pain through gritted teeth.

"It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. A man's past is his business." Gansu growled coldly at his son, who quickly disappeared down the side of the building, leaving the two men to work in peace.

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"You shouldn't steal." Zuko said quietly, making Lee drop the two dao swords he'd been swinging around, and fall backwards. The boy had run into a field of dandelions to hide, but obviously he was found. The kid quickly jumped up, swords in hand, and offered them back with a shamed look on his face. Zuko just looked down at the boy, sighing. He put his hands over Lee's. "You're holding them all wrong."

"Keep in mind, these are dual swords." He took the swords and began to demonstrate moves for Lee, a concentrated look on his face. "Two halves of a single weapon. Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole."

That sounded like something Kana or Uncle would say.

He gave the swords back to Lee. The boy practiced a bit, and then looked back at Zuko. His arms are folded and he has an uncharacteristic smile on his face, causing the boy to laugh. Zuko took his swords back, and the two started down a path back to the house. A full moon hung overhead, and he couldn't help but wonder what Kana was doing at this moment. He imagined she had found an Earthbending teacher by now.

"I think you'd really like my brother Sen Su. He used to show me stuff like this all the time."

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"This should get you through a few meals." Sela said gently, handing a bag full of food to Zuko, who sat atop his Ostrich Horse.

"Thank you." He said, nodding at them. Just as he turned his mount to leave, he saw a dust cloud be kicked up by soldiers approaching. They drew to a stop right in front of him, blocking his path.

"What do you want, Gow?" Gansu spat at the man in charge.

"Just thought someone ought to tell you, your son's battalion got captured." Zuko turned to Gansu, whose expression was twisted in horror.

"You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the frontline unarmed, way I heard it. Then they just watched." A soldier snickered.

"You shut your mouth!" Gansu snarled, obviously trying to keep from lunging forward at the soldiers. Gow growled back at him, trying to move forward, but Zuko shifted his horse in the way. They stared at each other before the other man turned away.

"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" Gow hissed, he and his men turned away, heading back the way they came.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" Lee croaked, but everyone just ignored him.

"I'm going to the front. I'm going to find Sen Su and bring him back." Gansu declared, looking at a distraught Sela. She nodded once, then both moved toward the house. As soon as they were inside, Lee burst into tears, running up to Zuko.

"When my dad goes, will you stay?"

"No. I need to move on, I need to make amends with some of my family. Here." He said offering Lee his dagger. "I want you to have this. Read the inscription." Lee took the dagger and unsheathed it.

"Made in the Earth Kingdom."

"The other one." Zuko said, annoyed.

"Never give up without a fight."

"There is a fine line between bravery, and stupidity. Make sure you don't cross it." Zuko put his steed in a gallop, and rode away.

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Zuko was looking up at the stars, remembering his time on his ship, with his crew... With Kana. She played over everything she had ever told him then, and everything she had told him when they were refugees together. He came to one conclusion. "Kana had always lied." He grimaced, it's not like she was to blame. He wouldn't have told the truth either.

Zuko was knocked from his thoughts at the sound of a wagon fast approaching; he lurches upright only to see Sela distraught.

"You have to help. It's Lee." she wailed getting off the wagon and approaching Zuko. "The thugs from town came back as soon as Gansu left. When they ordered us to give them food, Lee pulled a knife on them. I don't even know where he got a knife! Then they took him away. They told me if he's old enough to fight, he's old enough to join the army. I know we barely know you, but..." She began to cry.

"I'll get your son back."

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"Hey! There he is! I told you he'd come." Lee shouted out.

Gow and his men emerge from the shadows. Still silhouetted by the light from the sunset, Zuko dismounts and takes off his hat. He and Gow face off, the latter backed by his men.

"Let the kid go." He snarled.

"Who do you think you are? Telling us what to do?" How snapped back.

"It doesn't matter who I am. All I need to know is that you're all a bunch of bullies impersonating soldiers... And a friend of mine would expect nothing less of me putting you in your place."

"Are you going to let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" How hissed to his men.

The soldier to Gow's left brandished his spear and walked forward. Zuko pulled back as the soldier lunged, then drew the handle of his swords right into the stomach of the charging thug, knocking the soldier backwards.

Another man ran at Zuko with his spear, but he just blocked, then brought him to the ground with a palm blow to the forehead.

The last pawn charged Zuko with his spear, but he broke it in half with a blow. The thug dropped the remains and ran.

Gow, made of sterner stuff than his men, drew his two war hammers and adopted a bending stance. Zuko in turns drew his broadswords. Gow slammed the ground with one hammer, raises a rock and hit it with the other. It flew at Zuko, who shattered it with his blades. Gow repeated the move twice in rapid succession. Zuko destroys one rock, but got hit in the gut by the other. He recovers and ran at Gow with

his blades.

When another blow hit him, Zuko realized something. He couldn't beat him with just these swords. He wasn't good enough, his style had too much brute force behind it, something that Earthbenders utilized even more than Firebenders. Another rock hit him, and he went flying, slamming into the ground hard enough to knock his breath away.

When his eyes opened back up, the glare of the sun the only thing he could see, a shadow seemed to flit into view. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kana was looming over him, hands on hips, with a mocking smile. He must still be sick with fever. "Come on, get up." She commanded. "If you can't beat him with the sheer force of fire, than try another tactic. You're fast Zuko, don't be the flame that rages over everything, be the one that flickers in and out of existence."

With a roar, he leapt back to his feet, throwing one blade right at Gow. The man bent a chunk of earth up to deflect it, and when he looked back at where his opponent was, he was gone. Before he could even chuckle, Zuko brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of his neck, as hard as possible. He bent down, retrieving the knife that Gow had apparently taken from Lee, and walks over to Sela.

"Give this to him when he's ready. I tried to tell him that there is a difference between bravery and stupidity, but apparently he doesn't understand that quite yet." Sela looked down at the blade in her hands, then lunged forward, embracing Zuko as tightly as she could.

"Thank you for saving my boy." She whispered.

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So for any of you Zutara fans, I recently learned that Bluetarako has recently revamped the alternate Zutara ending on Deviantart. If you're an animator, know an animator, or simply what to help her out in this endeavor, read her journals and find out how you can!

Character Questions Answered

Toph, who do you see Kana as; a mother, a sister, or a best friend?- Oh I don't know, I figured Water Mama rather implied something. Maybe I should start calling you Meat Head instead of Sokka.