disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!

Great Escape

All she wanted was to practice that lightning move she'd found the scroll of tucked away under her bed.

She didn't want to relearn some damn etiquette lesson…

"Mariko, you are not going anywhere until you have your lesson, young lady." Emiko vowed as she strode after her daughter who was dressed for practice, heading for the training grounds. With her sleeveless crimson tunic tied tight by a black sash at her small waist and the baggy maroon pants that were tied at the shin, she knew if her daughter didn't have her black hair and pretty face, she would pass as a boy.

"Mother, I've learned enough etiquette to throw out the window; I don't need a revising lesson." Mariko said blandly over her shoulder, continuing to walk, stepping onto the covered walkway.

"Has three years away from home turned you into such a wild child?" She demanded crossly, patience thinning by the second, seeing her daughter pause in taking a fourth step.

She closed her eyes, counting down from ten in the back of her head. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nine, eight, seven…

"I think you know what it means. Yes you returned home in one piece, but I know there's something wrong with you, Mariko. Something happened out there, didn't it? Something changed you…" Four, three, two…

"That's none of your business. Just because I came home doesn't mean I came back because of you, Mother. Besides, it has nothing to do with you." Mariko stated quietly, continuing on her way and leaving her mother in her wake.

She slammed the door to the training ground courtyard when she arrived, noting the tall wooden dummy at the opposing end of the spacious courtyard, wiggling her toes and cracking her neck a couple of times, inhaling deeply and then exhaling steadily as she eased her stance, feeling her muscles relax as she had hoped they would.

Lowering her arms, she exhaled again, extending her left hand's index and middle finger, swirling them in a circle and watching sparks crackle in the air, she could swear they were pale blue; egged on by the prospect, she channeled the crackling sparks in a circle infront of her, watching the sparks drag in the air, becoming that shade of blue she had been hoping for. Pulling her right hand to harness the sparks, she quickly let go to extend her right arm behind her and aimed the sparks at the dummy, hearing a sharp crack sound before she was sent flying back, landing against the far wall.

Her head spun for a split second before she realized that her lightning trick had backfired into a mini-explosion and knocked her back; she glared in frustration and scrambled to her feet, taking the same stance again and preparing to fire.

As it happened before, she was sent flying from another explosion.

"Damn it!" Mariko swore, closing her eyes tight in further frustration and rubbing them with the heels of her palms, gritting her teeth. "Why can't I do it?" She hissed.

"Uncle tried to teach me how to use lightning, too; it kept backfiring no matter how many times I tried." A low voice mused from the door of the courtyard, perking her ears.

She looked up to see him standing there with an empathetic light in his eyes; she shook her head, rubbing her eyes, wracking her brain for the reason of why he was here and finding it as she remembered he'd said he was going to visit again on this day. "Zuko…" She smiled bitterly up at him, her eyes meeting his. "I forgot you were going to come over. I'm sorry you had to see me like this…" She gestured to the charred smoke on her clothes and some on her cheeks and brow, looking away.

"You do look terrible, but that just means you were trying your damnedest to learn something new." He shrugged, stepping away from the door to help her to her feet. "Who am I to judge?"

She sniffed and took his hand, wiping the remains of her disastrous attempt from her brow with the side of her wrist, shrugging back. "I know. I just hate that I wasn't able to do it on the first try; it means I've still got something wrong with me, just like my mother said." She half-joked bitterly, looking away and glaring at the dummy.

"As nice as it feels to know I'm not alone in that boat, between the two of us, you're the one who's got the level head; I guess you always have, for as long as I can remember." Zuko mused, seeing her eyes lift again to hold his stare.

Mariko smiled a little, sighing. "I suppose you're right…" She blinked as she suddenly recalled something else, meeting his gold eyes. "Hang on, isn't tomorrow that important war meeting? My father said there would be a meeting soon, and given he mentioned he'd be gone all day I figured it was tomorrow… I thought you were going as well." She saw the confusion flicker in his gaze.

He quieted, lowering his gaze as his eyes tightened; it figures he'd be the last to know. "I guess I wasn't invited." He grumbled.

She shook her head slightly, looking at the dummy yards away and smiling impishly, looking at him. "Do you want to do the honors of destroying the dummy? It'd probably help." She gestured with a flourishing hand to the tall wooden object at the far end of the courtyard.

Zuko smiled wryly at her attempt to cheer him up, nodding. "Level-headed and disastrous…" He chided, letting her shuffle away as he took a stance before sending a large fireball at the dummy, setting it aflame.

Mariko shook her head with a chuckle, punching him lightly. "Shut up, I didn't hear you complaining in the past, so why complain now?"

Had his father not intended to invite him out of spite…? Or were they both jumping to conclusions?

'… I was the perfect prince, the son my father wanted… But I wasn't me.'

She fastened the wrist guards onto her arms, tying the tethers on her right wrist with her teeth before lowering both covered forearms, stepping into her mirror's view and taking in her garb a final time.

The admiral's daughter, the noble princess, was gone once again.

Her polished black boots covered her feet, maroon pants covered her legs and were tied by a blood-red sash, her sleeveless tunic she'd worn while in the Earth Kingdom that was deep red with pinkish gray lining and the dark gray undershirt with sleeves that stopped short of her shoulderblades covering her torso.

Tying her hair back into a high ponytail to tame her mane of black hair, she looked at her reflection again and smiled slowly, bitterly; if she didn't look the part of a firebender then she probably would've been startled at the sight.

She pulled the letter out that she'd written shortly after coming to her decision what felt like hours ago, scanning over the words scrawled on the parchment and nodding a little, setting it on her vanity tabletop before turning to her bed and making sure all her daggers were accounted for, polished and sharpened, tucking two out of the set of twelve (a gift she'd gotten for her twelfth birthday from her father) into her wrist guards on the inside, making sure they wouldn't poke at the bindings she'd wrapped around her forearms as a precaution, looking lastly to the katana sheathed in its black scabbard sitting in the middle of her bed.

She smiled fondly as she picked it up, drawing the curved blade and admiring the sunlight that winked off the flat face, the crimson cloth beneath the black leather fastened tight on the hilt; the sword she'd stolen the day she'd set out after Zuko's banishment, the sword belonging to her grandfather on her father's side… the sword that had seen her in the lowest points of her young life.

She exhaled, sheathing it swiftly with a quiet 'clink' when metal met wood, slinging the black leather strap over her right shoulder along with her brown bag's straps, heading to her window, taking one final sweep of her room's various hues of crimson and maroon, opening the latch and letting a breeze steal past her, threatening to tug loose strands of her hair from the ponytail it was held in.

The admiral's daughter inhaled the fresh air before she hopped out and started her descent to the safe earth beneath, glad once she felt solid ground beneath her boot soles, taking off in the direction of the palace.

Her mother hadn't spoken a word to her since their spat the other day, so even though the childish part of her wanted to just up and leave without a note, the more-mature part of her, the part that had been honed and strengthened her in her travels, overruled the lesser half and fueled her hand to scrawl the words she'd written on that paper now sitting on her vanity desk.

'I'm sorry I'm not the pedigree daughter you wanted, but this is something I have to do. This is my reason for living. I hope to see you again. Love always, Mariko…'

::::::::dOb::::::::

He felt lighter, for some reason, probably because he was actually doing the right thing by leaving.

Of course he had to set his uncle free; that was a priority. Maybe they both could somehow get into the good graces of the Avatar by stating their standing in this war that had gone on for too long…

"And where do you think you're going without me?" Her familiar calm voice brought his feet to a halt and he stopped walking to see she had been waiting for him in the corridor's dimness, leaning against a post, her arms folded over her chest complacently; she lifted her gaze to hold his own with that fire in her eyes, the stubbornness and determination and sheer tenacity she exuded that was Mariko.

He contemplated demanding she stay behind, that this was something he had to do to redeem himself, but her words echoed in his head, how she promised that she would go with him wherever he went… So he didn't argue it. "Not very far, obviously. Come on." He nodded his head slightly forward, seeing her face brighten.

Mariko grinned and stepped away to embrace him tightly, feeling his own arms hug her waist, kissing him happily, feeling him reciprocate just as eagerly, before drawing back, the grin still in place.

Grinning back, even if it was a small one, Zuko continued down the corridor with his girlfriend having sidled to his right side.

Even as they entered the underground bunker where his father and sister were safely kept, she couldn't fight the feeling of adrenaline rising slowly inside her, bubbling like lava in her veins. She briefly wondered why he wanted to see his father of all people, but decided against asking and instead keeping her mouth shut, following his lead without a word.

So when he stopped short of the thick metal door to his father's room, she was quiet, letting him gather his wits. She only moved to peck his cheek, smiling slightly when he looked to her for some form of explanation.

He smiled faintly back, exhaling and facing the door, stepping forward to throw it open.

His father's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise at seeing his son present, lowering the cup of tea from touching his lips. "Prince Zuko… What're you doing here?" He asked, surprise replaced with curiosity; his eyebrows lifted once again at seeing the sight of Admiral Khan's daughter traipsing behind the prince. "And why have you brought her with you?" He added, curiosity truly piqued.

The prince was the one to answer, making sure his attention was focused solely on him and not on his companion. "I'm here to tell the truth." He answered solemnly.

"'Telling the truth' in the middle of an eclipse… This should be interesting." Ozai mused, waving away the line of a dozen guards to exit so he could speak with his son freely.

Zuko inwardly exhaled, starting. "First of all, back in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar… not me."

Mariko lifted a brow at seeing the miniscule flash of surprise in her future father-in-law's tawny eyes as he remarked, "Why would she lie to me about that?" He asked, leaning forward a bit in his seat, eyes trained on his son.

"Because the Avatar's alive: he survived. In fact, he's probably the one leading this invasion, he could be on his way here right now."

"Get out! Get out, both of you, if you know what's good for you!"

"And that's another thing: I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

His lip curled, "You will obey me, or this defiant breath will be your last!"

Both teenagers drew their respective swords as he stalked off his makeshift throne, the prince biting out, "Think again! I am going to speak my mind, and you're going to listen." At seeing the sharp threat subliminally posed, he complied reluctantly and sat back down, a glare on his brow.

She traced her thumb over the leather on her katana's hilt as he spoke his piece, the piece he'd wanted to say for what felt like centuries… Her brow crinkled into a soft frown as she watched the amber glow of the lighting in the room bounce off the thin length of her heirloom sword.

"…Well, since you're a full-blown traitor now, you didn't stop to even think of who you were dragging with you into the shameful and short life of a traitor, did you?" He saw him glance momentarily at the silent firebender at his side, continuing now that he had a footing, "Really now, what would your father, your esteemed father who has served our great country for the past twenty years, think if he were to find out his daughter had turned her back on her own family to live so lowly?"

She glared stonily, squaring her shoulders and standing her full height; now she remembered why she never cared for her future father-in-law, especially moreso when he burned his own son three years ago. "Like I care what he thinks; he's so career-oriented he wouldn't bat an eye if he found I was gone. I know my place is to help Zuko put you down, you bastard leech." She stated brazenly.

"Strong words to come from you. Tell me, Prince Zuko, since you both are obviously of one mind, why wait to let the Avatar defeat me? You're both armed, and I'm powerless; you could end it now." Ozai drawled, his narrowed gaze shifting between the couple.

Zuko snapped back firmly, "Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." He sheathed his dao swords as she quietly sheathed her katana, grumbling out a last goodbye to his father before turning away, Mariko following dutifully.

"Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me, but only during the eclipse!" Slipperiness coiled around his next choice of words that stopped the prince dead in his tracks. "If you have any real courage, you'll face me when the sun comes out… Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

A tense silence filled the large room, threatening to choke the prince whereas it had already set the admiral's daughter's nerves on edge as she glanced between father and son briefly, and then to the door.

Just a few minutes left; he's buying time… Damn, spirits don't let us screw this up.

"What happened that night?" Tui and La, he had to take the bait!

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, commanded me to do the unthinkable and kill you, my firstborn son. I didn't want to do it, but your mother found out that night, and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, so she proposed a plan… a plan in which I would become Fire Lord, and your life would be spared." A malignant glint shined in his gaze and she felt her insides recoil at the striking similarity he and his daughter shared. "Your mother did vicious treasonous things that night, and she knew the consequences and accepted them. As punishment for her treason, she was banished."

"So she's alive…?"

"Perhaps… Now I realize that banishment is an unworthy punishment for treason, and your penalty will be far steeper. I might regret informing Admiral Khan of the penalty dealt to his only child, though."

The sun had come out and caused hell to break loose as twin bolts of lightning came to life in the Fire Lord's hands and he sent both jetting at the two teenagers.

"Zuko!" Mariko made to push him out of the way before freezing as she watched him harness the vicious electricity with a hand, a defiant grimace contorting his face as he aimed it at the throne and redirected the lightning, sending it screaming back in his father's direction, only to cause an explosion as the bolt hit its target and knocked his father back.

"Let's go!" Zuko grabbed her hand and bolted out of the room at top speed, leaving her no room to protest as they both ran as fast as they could, his mind swiveling to the prison where his uncle was being held.

It had felt sad and strangely relieving to know that his uncle had broken himself out of prison.

The wind whipped at her mane of hair she'd pulled down, following his gaze in the direction the familiar air-bison was flying, stepping up to his side. "Uncle would be proud of you… I know he would."

He glanced away from the bison kept in sight, seeing her eyes were warm. The words his father had said resurfaced and he looked back at the flying beast. "You know we're probably not going back home anytime soon." Probably forever.

She leaned against the railing, regarding him with a knowing look. "Someone has to pick up the crown once Aang dethrones your father. And I'll be damned if it's Azula." She smirked grimly at the horrid nightmare.

"That makes two of us… Honestly, I don't know if I'm angrier at myself for putting you in the line of fire of my father's lightning, or if I'm happy that you're stubborn enough to follow me to the ends of the earth." He fought the shiver at the possibility of letting her be slain by his father's hand, hating the cold knot that formed in the pit of his stomach at such a horrid scene… Wait, was he really starting to worry for her?

She didn't really know how to respond to that; she smiled a little, inhaling the clean air around them and sighing. "Just accept it and stop being so pensive." She requested patiently, meeting his gaze and holding it tenderly, watching a smile creep onto his features.

"You're still bossy."

"… Bite me."

A/N: the fun is only just begun, gents.