11/20/20 A/N This chapter has been changed in a major way after the first third, for those of you who have already read it in it's original form. Feel free to tell me what you think of the alteration. Warning: Sad!

The air cools down to a pleasant temperature after the sun sets. Rina stands half submerged in the water of the little lake they found. Every now and again, she'll let out a strange little snoring noise. Zuko finds the sound oddly endearing.

He lay there in a little brown sleeping bag, staring up at the sky full of stars.

Those stars are all like the sun. All huge burning balls of fire. He thinks to himself. He'd read an article at the Rising Fire University not too long ago, detailing the theory and how the researchers intended to study it with a telescope a thousand times more powerful than any ever used on Fire Navy ship. Zuko found that rather difficult to imagine, but he supposed anything was possible.

If that's true... I wonder if there are any worlds like this one out there. With people. I wonder what they'd look like.

He takes a deep breathe of the cool night air. The lake is fogging up a little, and the mist seems almost to dance in the light of a thin crescent moon.

Rina lets out another snore and shifts in the water a little. Zuko can't help the little smile on his face. He'd never felt much affection for his rhinos before. Each one had only been a means of transportation. But now that he was more open to friendships, less angry, he almost thinks of his riding rhino as a pet.

Rina has her own personality and character quirks, and he wonders if any of the other rhinos he'd used in the past did and he just hadn't noticed.

He turns on his side and stares out across the flat land until it rises abruptly into mountains. He'd be heading through that moutain trail tomorrow, and would be on it for several days. His thoughts turn again to his mother.

I wonder what she's like now. I wonder if she still likes theater, or fire flakes. I wonder if she still sings at night. Will she still recognize me?

His hand brushes his scar.

She'd be proud of me for how I got it. He decides. She'll be so proud of me for helping the Avatar learn Firebending. She's going to be so glad that Father isn't a threat anymore and that she can come home.

His eyes flicker closed, and he's relaxed and ready for sleep.

A sudden flurry of feathers makes him open his eyes again, as a messenger hawk lands not two feet away from him.

He hastily takes the wrapped message and opens it. He immediately recognizes Uncle's handwriting.

My Dear Nephew,

I have been having the most wonderful conversations with your dear Mai. She comes to visit me here at the Palace often. I think she still thinks about you quite a bit. She is such a sweet young lady.

Zuko smiles a little, as warmth bubbles up in his chest. "Sweet" isn't really a word he would use to describe Mai.

Several of the officials here are proposing to host the Restitution Meetings here in the Grand Hall. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the matter. Personally, I think it's a great idea! We can make it festive, instead of those stuffy, boring Treaty Meetings that the Earth Kingdom put us through.

Zuko's smile becomes a grin and he has to chuckle a little to himself. Aside from the war meetings, his father would force him to sit through anything and everything from the weekly briefings on public concerns, to the monthly budget reassessment, to classes on manners and palace etiquette. Anything that was boring or just downright useless. Zuko swore his father picked the most boring things on purpose. There were many harsh admonishments for not paying enough attention when he was younger.

Iroh's idea of keeping things festive and fun certainly seemed like a good change of pace. A break every now and then helps the attention span. He'd learned this while training Aang.

Unfortunately, I do have some bad news to share. I went to visit Azula this week, as you'd asked. She seems a little less crazy, but no less driven for revenge. She told me to tell you to get her out of there, or she'd take something very near and dear to you, and that you'd never recover from it's loss. I certainly don't think she'll get out of that place any time soon, so there is no need to worry. But when she does get out, it's very possible that she'll just have to go back to prison. I'll keep checking in and seeing if there is any improvement.

How is your search going? You promised me that you would write to me! I haven't heard from you at all in the last two months, Nephew! Are you alright? Are you eating enough? Keeping warm at night? You'd better be sure to tell me all the details of the places that you visit. Be certain to tell me anything about local situations that involve the Fire Nation soldiers and navy. It could be important for some of the laws we might pass here. I hope this letter finds you well and at peace.
Sincerely,
Your Uncle Iroh

Zuko wishes he'd brought a pen and paper with him. He carefully folds the letter and tucks in his pocket, and gets some bread for the hawk to eat.

He lays back down, pondering what to do about his sister.

The doctor had said that her treatment was still somewhat experimental. There hadn't really been anything warm or caring about the place. And the padded room they'd put her in almost seemed smaller than the cell she'd had in the Tower.

He wonders for the millionth time if he did the right thing.

What is she going through right now? Why does she see Mother? I wonder if she thinks of me at all? Of Father? Is she lonely, or just angry?

He is startled to realize that he misses his sister. But he doesn't really understand how that can be. Every time he's seen her since he was thirteen, she'd been trying to kill him. And she certainly hadn't seemed at all upset all those years ago when Grandfather Azulon was going to make Father kill him.

Why does she hate me so much? What did I ever do to her? She was the one born lucky. She had everything she could ever want. So why did Uncle help me instead of her? What if I were the one still messed up? What if she'd taught Aang Firebending? What if there was something I could have done to stop this?

He remembers going to Ember Island, sitting on the porch of their old vacation house. She'd coaxed him to the campfire, sympathized with him. Clearly, she had some good in her somewhere. Uncle Iroh didn't really seem to think so. But that night reminded him that she'd had her struggles too. What were they? Just how had Father actually treated his favorite?

When he finally does drift off to sleep, Azula is the only thing in his mind, grinning maniacally at him, hair strewn about, charging him in their Agni Kai, her eyes streaming tears even as she grinned.

What would Mother do?

(page break), (page break)

When he wakes, the air is already heating up, and the light fog that had been so pretty to look at the night before is now thick and soaking everything from the ground, to his sleeping bag, to his supplies. Rina is enjoying an early morning bath.

The sun isn't yet above the treeline, but it's light enough to see easily.

Zuko quickly gets up and packs everything up, wrinkling his nose a little at the soggy bread. He pitches that to Rina in the water, who happily scoops it all up in one big, wet gulp.

When they are finally on their way again, Zuko allows himself to ponder what he could do with Azula if he did take her out of the asylum. She needs help, and it looks like those people don't know what they're doing. They may have good intentions, but he doesn't want his sister to be a lab rat.

It's not like I'd know what I'd be doing either, but maybe Uncle can help. He helped me. Maybe he can help me to help Azula.

Various ideas swirl in his mind, including bringing Mai along to help. He discards that one fairly soon, since it might not be hard for Azula to turn them again. and she definitely would try. She may need help, but she sure doesn't want it.

He considers Aang's energybending. Azula's Firebending had been fairly weak soon after she'd been locked up.

Maybe it's due to the fact that she has no ambition. I don't know that her fire was actually fueled by hate. Just ambition. She could get it back though, if she gets angry enough.

And she will be angry. She's been locked in a cage for months, followed by being declared insane and put into an even smaller room with nothing to do. Nowhere to go.

At least he'd been given command of a small ship and a traveling companion when he'd been banished!

He decides that Aang would have to take away Azula's Firebending for at least a little while. Which means that he'll need to find them again.

If I didn't want to find Mother so badly, I'd send Uncle to look for her and send Azula with him. He'd know how to help her. Then I could just sit back and figure out more on what I'm doing with running the country.

But he knows this isn't an option. What if Uncle makes a mistake in identifying his mother? It has been several years, and anyone fleeing the Fire Lord would have to be a true master of disguise.

Zuko already knows that he's better at tracking people than Uncle. And he can always ask Uncle for advice in how to deal with his sister.

Zuko almost doesn't see the familiar little village as it appears on the path ahead. So deep is he in his thoughts.
But he is now minutes away from it on the mountain trail.

What will I say to them? Will they help me after what happened? Do they know the war's over and that I'm Fire Lord now? Did Mother even pass by here?

He briefly considers turning around, but as he gets closer, he starts to get the feeling something isn't right.

He can't see any of the buildings coming into view over the hill. He knows he should be able to see it from stomach drops into his feet and his heart almost stops.

He urges Rina into a run, rushing towards what's left of the little village.

"Gansu?" He calls. He's pretty sure that was the man's name.

"Sela?" He gets off Rina to examine the burnt remains of a building. There is a puddle of wet, ashy mud underneath some of the boards. It hasn't rained in a while. The wreckage must be at least a month old. Probably more.

"Lee?!" He gets back onto Rina and starts searching the surrounding fields and mountain trails, looking for anyone who may have seen or heard what had happened.

By the time the sun has set, he's back where he started, having found nothing to suggest that anyone had been through the area since the village had burned.

He starts to unsaddle Rina, just outside the little village. He lights a small fire and prepares to eat. As he's digging around in his saddlebags, he notices a small footprint off to the side, shadowed by the fire.

It's small enough to be a child's footprint.

And it's only a day old. Hours, maybe.

"Lee?!" Not daring to hope, but eager to help whoever might be left, he douses the fire, and ties Rina securely to a tree further down the trail.

The trail of footprints is difficult to follow. Between the clumps of grass that dot the landscape and all the backtracking this little person did, it isn't easy to get a read on a certain direction.

Eventually, he finds the land beneath his feet sloping upward, towards a hidden trail in the woods. The footpath is so narrow that it's hard not to step on the footprints.

The trees get somewhat sparse as the trail gets steeper. Walls of rock rise up around him.

The footprints here are fresh, minutes old, but very difficult to see. Whoever this is knows he's in the area now. And they know how to step lightly.

"Hello?" He calls, quietly. "Is anyone up here?"

He hears a crash off to his left and he jumps, throwing a small fireball towards the noise. It illuminates a netted bag, made from briar vines with the thorns scraped off, swinging from a tree.

But nobody is there.

He sighs, turning to head back down the mountain, with the idea of investigating further tomorrow running through his thoughts.
But a small opening in the rock wall catches his interest. Lighting a flame in his hand, he slowly approaches it.

"Hello?" He calls again. "I'm here to help."

He enters the cave, and follows it until it deadends about forty feet in.

There lay three stone chests. One is open to reveal scrolls.

Sitting down, he takes one and opens it. Inside, he can see that it's a written history of the Avatar. He carefully places it back inside and takes another scroll.

His eyes widen as he scans through it's contents. It speaks of Prince Sozin, as though it's the present tense.

He gently takes another scroll, and it looks like a brief letter written by Avatar Roku to the Crown Prince, telling of his Earthbending training.

"Put. That. Down." A child's authoritative voice commands.

Startled, Zuko drops the scroll.

"I didn't mean in the dirt, Ashmaker." It growls hatefully.

"I'm sorry. You startled me." He reaches for it and brushes it off, tucking it back into the chest.

"Back up! Get outta my cave!" The little boy demands.

Zuko hastily obeys without complaint.

"Put your light out! Who knows who else out here. And if you yell for help, or tell anyone where I am," he brandishes a cooking knife. "I'll gut you myself!"

"No need for that." Zuko extinguishes his fire and calmly sits on a large rock.

"What are you doing up here?" The boy remains standing, coiled like a snake looking for an excuse to strike. "Who sent you, Ashmaker?"

"Nobody sent me. I'm looking for someone. I stopped by the village for supplies. I was there once and the people treated me kindly."

"Our mistake!" The boy interrupts with a hiss.

"I saw what had happened and I've been looking for survivors all day."

"I've got news for you. It's just me." He spits.

"I'm sorry." He resists the urge to reach out to the boy.

"No, you're not! And I don't care. Get out of here! I don't want you or any other Fire Scum knowing where I am. Scram! I hate you all!" A clump of dirt flies into Zuko's eyes.

"Ow! Hey! You didn't have to do that!" He shouts, wiping at his eyes.

"I don't see you leaving. Want me to do it again?" The boy draws his bare foot back for another kick.

"Stop it! I'll go if that's what you want." Zuko shields his eyes for the next dirt wave. He stands up and turns to leave, then whips around and knocks the knife from the kid's hand.

Swiftly grabbing both of the boy's wrists, he forces him down into a seated position.

Holding on firmly with one hand, he lights a flame in his other.

"Lee!" He smiles with relief as the flame illuminates the boy's face. "You made it! You're alive!"

All bravado has fallen away from Lee's face, his eyes widen in terror.

"What do you want? Are you here to kill me too?" He asks in a small voice.

Zuko pauses for a moment, wondering if that's how he looked when...

He extinguishes the flame in his hand and turns to lean back against the mouth of the cave. He keeps his hand around Lee's wrists, but makes a motion for him to sit next to him, instead of across from him.

"Lee, I'm not here to kill you. The war is over. It has been for a few months now. I don't know what happened to your village, but if Fire Nation soldiers were involved, then I need to know. I can't bring your family back, but I can make sure that the people who did this face judgement for it."

Lee doesn't say anything for a moment. Zuko thinks he hears a sniffle.

"I don't know either. I wasn't there when it happened." He says, his voice squeaking.

"Where were you?"

"I was up here. Playing. Mom always told me not to wander this far. But I found this cave and all the scrolls, and I used to come up here a lot after Sensu was drafted." He sniffles again. Zuko can feel a sob jerk through the boy's body, although he doesn't hear anything else.

Zuko slowly lets go of Lee's wrists, not really thinking that he'd go anywhere now.

He glances awkwardly out of the cave at the trail while Lee collects himself.

"I hate you." Lee reiterates, not managing to summon any venom to back up the words. Zuko knows that he means it though.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry, Lee. I'm so very sorry." He murmurs.

"Are you going to leave now?"

"No." Zuko lights his hand up again and starts taking another look around the cave.

There are some pictures piled in one place, nestled between a rock and the wall, and some clothes, all different sizes. It's all slightly charred around the edges. There is a small bowl of berries close to the personal belongings.

"Have you been living here on your own for the last few months?" He asks, incredulous.

"Yeah. Didn't have anywhere else to go. Tried to leave a few times. But I saw Earthbenders in Fire Nation clothes farther down the mountain. I thought maybe the Fire Nation got the Earth Kingdom and that it wasn't safe. Figured nobody would help me. So I came back up here." He stares at the ground and uses his toe to draw circles in the dirt.

"What do you eat? How do you stay warm?" Zuko shines his flame closer to Lee, finding it hard to ignore how the boy flinches away from it.

Lee is even skinnier than when Zuko had last seen him, and not much taller. He is smudged in dirt and his clothes are torn. Cuts litter his exposed arms and legs.

"I eat whatever I can. I wash in the stream not too far from here, and I sleep in that pile of clothing." He mutters, pointing to each thing as he goes.

Zuko swallows hard. He wants to grab Lee and tow him down the mountain.

"I have something in my saddlebags that might help those cuts feel better." He offers instead. "And some food, if you want any. I have cured fish from Kyoshi Island. Have you ever tried fish before?"

He can see the conflict in Lee's face as he battles between his hunger and his fear and disgust.

"Can you bring it up tomorrow?" He asks, tentatively.

"You can have it tonight, if you follow me now."

Again, the silent conflict.

"Just promise we'll come back." He says. He reaches for a sharpened stick.

"I promise."

*page break* *page break* *page break*

Zuko digs through his pack as Lee looks around. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lee looking towards the buildings.

"I didn't find any, uh, bodies, over there. Maybe your parents made it out." He offers, awkwardly.

"How far did you dig under the wood?" He asks, as though making a point.

Zuko's stomach rolls over.

Did you actually...

"Not far." He manages to say.

"Yeah, there are bodies, Fire Scum. My mom's dead." Lee's tone is flat, resigned, even though he had been tearful at the mere mention of his family earlier.

"I'm sorry, Lee." Zuko swallows around the lump in his throat.

"Yeah, well sorry doesn't bring them back! Does it!" Lee shouts. He comes over and stands like a tall man ready to pummel his prey to death. Under different circumstances, it would have been funny due to his small size and skinny frame. But now, it just makes Zuko want to hug the kid and cry with him. He knows this is not an option at the moment though.

"I know it doesn't." He replies, putting the saddlebag down and turning towards Lee. "Believe me, Lee. I know."

He holds up some cured fish. Lee takes it and bites into fiercely.

"I can't change what's happened, Lee. And I can't bring anyone back. But I can help you find somewhere to live. And I can find out what happened, who did this. I can make sure that they face punishment for it."

"Whatever." Lee mutters. He watches Zuko like a hawk, ready to fight or run if he moves.

"The war's over now, Lee. The Fire Nation has surrendered. I'm the Firelord now, and my father's in jail. He's going to be there for the rest of his life. Do you remember me?" He sits, crosslegged, by his saddlebag, and takes another cured fish for himself.

"Yeah, I knew who you were the minute I saw you snooping around the village today. Kept an eye on you, making sure that you didn't take anything." He snarls.

"I see. You're pretty good at hiding your trail. I almost didn't find you." He offers as a sort of conversation starter.

"But you did, didn't you."

Zuko lets it drop.

When they finish their fish, he rolls out his sleeping bag and Lee starts heading for the mountain.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Zuko calls after him.

"Back to the cave. I'm not staying with you. You said I could go back. You promised."

"I promised that we would go back. And we will. In the morning. I promise." He pats the sleeping bag and moves off to the side. "You can sleep here. I'll keep watch. You'll be safe."

"No!" Lee makes a break for it, and Zuko quickly catches up to him.

"If you really want to sleep up there tonight, then let me gather up some things and I'll go with you." He says.

"No! I don't want you around! I told you to get lost!" Lee struggles against his hold.

"It's not safe for you to be on your own, Lee. You're lucky that you made it two months. I'm not leaving you out here to starve to death." Zuko's tone leaves no room for argument.

"Why do you want to help anyway?!"

"Because, I know what it's like to lose somebody you love. I know what it's like to feel lost and alone. I know what it feels like to starve, to be cold, and to feel like nothing is ever going to be alright again." He points to his scar. "The man who gave me this banished me from my home, when I was about your age. When I was ten, he banished my mother. I haven't seen her since. I thought for years that she was dead. I thought that the only person that had ever loved me was dead."

"Is she?" Lee spits.

"I don't know. I had some reports that she may be in the Earth Kingdom somewhere. Or in the more poor areas of the Fire Nation. Or maybe in the Water Tribes or an abandoned Air Temple. I'm looking for her now. That's why I was out here."

Lee seems to think for a moment.

"How do I know you aren't going to kill me in my sleep, Ashmaker?" He asks, although his words don't have nearly as much bite now.

"I fed you, didn't I? When we were on that mountain, I knocked your knife out of your hand pretty easily. If I'd wanted to hurt you, I would have already. I'm going to look out for you. You won't get so much as a scratch while I'm here." Zuko promises.

Lee decides that this makes sense and flops onto the ground, right where he'd been standing.

"Uh, the sleeping bag's that way." Zuko points.

"I don't need your sleeping bag, Fire Scum." Lee's tired voice mutters.

Zuko scoops him up.

"Hey! He shouts, struggling weakly. Zuko carries him over to the sleeping bag and tucks him into it.

"When I said that not even a scratch would come to you, I meant it. No harm. Not even the cold." He reiterates in a firm tone.

"I've been sleeping without a blanket for two months. I don't need one now." Lee protests, through a yawn.

"Two months too long. Now, shut up and go to sleep." Zuko looks up at the stars and realizes that the night is more than half gone. He glances at Lee, who's already snoring, and decides begrudgingly that it's worth it.

He lays down a few feet from the kid, and idly watches a meteor falling through the stars.

Now what do I do? He wonders, then he's asleep.

A/N Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far. A special thank you to everyone who has reviewed or followed this story. I did change this chapter, mostly because the way I wrote Zuko and Lee meeting again just didn't make any sense (Lee temporarily getting along with Zuko, pretty much accepting his presence right away, only for the anger to come up later in his storyline), so I did this instead. On a side note: I am now fairly certain that I know what romantic pairings are going to be here, but I won't say because...spoilers! But I'm pretty sure from the input I've had so far that most of you are going to like it. I may consider writing an au to this fic if enough people request alternate pairings/endings. I'm having fun exploring how so many things can take so many different paths!