Chapter 17 - The Hope

Zuko, Katara, and Jin galloped through the underground escape tunnel on their ostrich horses. Despite the gravity of the situation, the Fire Prince couldn't help but marvel at the design of the subterranean passageway. It was built both tall and wide enough for a horse and rider to dash at full speed unimpeded. But more than that, there were blue luminescent stones lining the ceiling and walls of the earthen corridor that negated the need of a torch to light the way.

Camila must have spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort on the construction of this tunnel. This route wasn't just here by chance, nor was it something that could have been built in the timeframe that Zuko and Katara had been at the ranch.

So, the question that the Fire Prince found himself asking inwardly was, 'Why? This tunnel isn't an impromptu construct. It was built quite a while ago, and someone's been maintaining it for a long time. But why would a simple Earth Kingdom ranch have need of such a thing? Was Camila really that worried of being attacked by the Fire Nation? All the way out here in the countryside? There's nothing of value out here.'

Zuko was pulled out of his contemplations as the trio neared a patch of light silhouetting the outline of a large rock blocking the end of the tunnel. Stopping at the blockade, Zuko dismounted and pushed against the boulder. It didn't budge. "This might present a problem," the firebender declared after another useless push.

"Let me try," suggested Katara as she slid off the ostrich horse she shared with Jin. As Zuko took a couple of steps back, the waterbender swirled a torrent of her element from her waterskin and launched it at the rocky barrier as the boulder exploded outwards to clear the way. With a flick of her wrist, she called the water back into her waterskin.

"You're getting a lot better at that," affirmed the Fire Prince as he stood at her side.

"Thanks!" smiled the Water Tribe girl.

Before either of them could get back onto their ostrich horses, Jin pressed them with questions. This little stop had finally allowed her thoughts to linger long enough that she realized that her two companions knew more than they were letting on. "What is going on? Who were those people back there? What aren't you or my Grandparents telling me?"

Observing Zuko's pained expression, Katara settled her own nerves and started to speak, "Jin, I'm not sure who those people were..."

"Stop lying to me!" shouted the Earth Kingdom girl, anger replacing the worry in her cracking voice. "I thought we were all friends! But you're hiding something from me! Grandma and Grandpa were hiding something from me! Everyone was ready to fight those intruders back at the ranch! Everyone seems to know what's going on besides me! I'm not a child! I don't need to be protected! What is going on?!"

Katara didn't answer. How could she answer? She had been lying to Jin ever since she had met her. The waterbender wanted to speak up, to say something, but the words caught in her throat.

"You deserve to know the truth," stated Zuko resolutely after a moment, his eyes hardening at seriousness of the matter. "But not here, not like this. We need to keep moving, for now. Otherwise... otherwise, we might be throwing away our chance to escape. The chance that your Grandparents gave us."

When Jin started to protest again, the Fire Prince cut her off, "Jin, please listen to me. I promise you. I will tell you everything, but first, we must keep moving. We need to put more distance between us and the ranch in case we have pursuers."

The Earth Kingdom girl opened her mouth to speak once more, but then closed it. With a pained expression, she kicked her ostrich horse to proceed forward.

Zuko helped Katara onto Biscuit before stepping up into the saddle as well. "I hate this," muttered Katara as she leaned onto his back.

"I know. Me too," stated the firebender as he flicked the reins and chased after their friend. Lying had always left a vile taste in his mouth. Zuko honestly had no idea how Azula managed to lie on a regular basis and still be able to live with herself.

A couple of hours later, the sun was starting to rise on the horizon as the trio found a cave tucked away into the side of a hilltop. Directing the ostrich horses over, the Fire Prince nodded with approval of the location. There was room for a quick get-away if needed and the opening to the cavern wasn't too noticeable from the main road throughfare.

Hitching the horses to a tree next to some shrubberies, the trio sat down in the mouth of the cave. Jin was seated on a flat rock while Zuko took a seat on the ground across from the Earth Kingdom girl as he leaned his back against the cavern wall. Katara sat at his side.

At Jin's expectant look, Zuko decided to start at the beginning. "We haven't been completely honest with you from the start. Those intruders on the ranch. That was my Sister and her friends. They are hunting me. Either to bring me back home in chains or to kill me if I resist them too much." At Jin's shocked face, Zuko declared, "My name, my true name, is Zuko, son of Lady Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."

The Earth Kingdom girl's jaw dropped. She had assumed that they were hiding something important from her, but this was too much. "P-Prince of the Fire Nation?" she repeated in disbelief. She shakily turned to her other friend. "Luna? You knew about this?"

Katara nodded, her face crestfallen. "I've known for a while. And I must confess too. My name isn't Luna. It's Katara. I am from the Southern Water Tribes, that part was true."

Jin's head spun. Putting the Water Tribe girl's admission aside, she focused on the Fire Prince. "You're one of them? One of the monsters invading the Earth Kingdom, burning villages, and separating families? So what was all that back at the ranch? Just an act?"

When Zuko didn't respond, Jin jumped to her feet and towered over the silent Fire Prince. "You're the son of the Fire Lord?! The same Fire Lord who is spreading violence and death across the world? Across the Earth Kingdom?!"

"Jin! Zuko's not like his Father!" protested Katara as she looked up at her friend. "Zuko's not someone who spreads violence and pain! He's made mistakes before, but he's learning from them. He cares about others and he's a good person."

The Earth Kingdom girl didn't seem to hear the waterbender, instead continuing, "Why did you come to our ranch? Why did you bring the war to our doorstep? Why did you get my family involved?!"

"Jin, we didn't mean for any of this to happen," Katara attempted to explain. "Zuko was hurt. His Sister struck him with lightning while he was protecting me. Jet and his friends rescued us back in town. They didn't know who we were or why Azula was attacking us. They offered to bring us to your ranch, and we needed a safe place to recover our strength. And everything just got all tangled up from there."

Jin knelt down next to the Fire Prince and shook his shoulders with both of her hands. Her eyes were in tears. "Why did you have to act so kind? Why did you have to make me care about you? Why can't I bring myself to hate you even now?"

"Jin..." whispered Katara, her own eyes getting misty as well.

"Say something, anything, please," pushed Jin as she shook the Fire Prince again, weaker this time.

After weathering the storm of emotions he knew was justly warranted, Zuko breathed in once and then out heavily. "It wasn't an act. All of our conversations, all of our interactions, that was me. Other than my identity, everything else we talked about, that was me. Or at least, the person I'm trying to be. For the longest time, I've was acting like someone I thought my Father wanted me to be." Zuko looked over at Katara. "And then I got a little push from a friend that made me realize that I didn't like that person I was attempting to be." Katara gave him a small smile in return.

The firebender looked back towards Jin. "I put your family in danger by staying at your ranch. I never meant for us to stay as long as we did, but that doesn't matter. I shouldn't have ever involved any of you." He shifted to his knees and bowed his head low. "For that I am ashamed and I am truly sorry." Then, he looked back up at Jin. "I don't know how just yet, but I will make this right somehow."

The tension in Jin's stance wavered slightly as she sat back down alongside the wall opposite to the two others in the cavern. "Did my Grandparents know about your background?"

"We never told them," answered Katara.

"They knew," affirmed Zuko with a stoic expression. When both girls looked at his in surprise, he elaborated. "We didn't tell them, but they knew anyhow. The parting words that Camila told me was a quip about entertaining two royals. She knew who I was and that my Sister was attacking. I don't know exactly when she knew, but thinking back on it, she might have even known from when we first met her. That would explain several of the little remarks and actions I found out-of-place when I talked with her."

Then another thought came to the Fire Prince's mind as Zuko asked a question of his own. "Those white tunics that Camila and Han were wearing, do you know what that symbol was for? That White Lotus symbol? I've only ever seen it on the Pai Sho tiles, but I doubt anyone was about to play game last night."

Jin shook her head. "I've never seen my Grandparents in those clothes before. I've never seen them wearing armor before. The last time Grandpa held that spear was when he moved it into storage several years ago. And Grandma's never bent earth in front of me before! Why would she hide that from me?! Did my Dad know? Does he know his Mom is an earthbender? I can't believe she was keeping that a secret from me too! Why would she do that?"

"Maybe she wanted to keep you safe," offered Katara optimistically. "The Fire Nation has been rounding up the waterbenders in the South Pole for decades. I was the last one in my village. I don't know if any of the other villages have any waterbenders left. Maybe Camila kept quiet so that the Fire Nation wouldn't come to the ranch to take away a lone earthbender."

"Maybe, but that still doesn't explain the white tunic," pondered Zuko aloud.

An awkward silence fell upon the group. Eventually, Katara broke the stillness, "So... what happens now?"

"We head to Ba Sing Se," confirmed Zuko. "That was the original plan and it hasn't changed. We find my Uncle and your Brother." He looked at the Earth Kingdom girl. "If you're still willing to travel with us, Jin, then we'll escort you to the city and your parents."

Jin looked beyond conflicted. "I need some time to think. There's so much running through my head right now."

"Of course," asserted Zuko solemnly. "Take all the time you need." He stood and walked over to the ostrich horses. Then, Zuko proceeded to remove the saddlebags. "We'll camp here for a while. We need to rest. We'll move when you're ready. Or if you decide otherwise."

When Zuko didn't receive a response from the Earth Kingdom girl, he instead busied himself by taking the initiative to gather some firewood and stack it for a campfire. Removing the flint from the saddlebag, he turned towards Katara. "You wouldn't know how to use this, would you?"

Jin looked up at the Fire Prince from the bedroll she was spreading out. "Wait, why do you need flint? Aren't you a firebender?"

"I... lost my firebending a short while ago," admitted Zuko. "Ever since I let go of all the anger and rage I had been storing up within myself, I haven't been able to call out my fire. If that's what I needed to fuel my bending, then I may be better off without it." Jin gave him a look that clearly indicated that she didn't quite believe his response, but she asked nothing further as she continued to prepare her bedroll.

Katara walked over to the Fire Prince and took the piece of flint he offered her. "Knife too, please." Zuko removed the small Earth Kingdom dagger from its sheath in his boot. "Thank you." Angling the flint near the kindling, the Water Tribe girl struck hard and fast with the knife as sparks flew and the kindling ignited. Blowing softly on the embers, Katara watched as the campfire grew and spread in size.

"I think I can manage that in the future," noted Zuko as he observed her demonstration. Then, he checked out the rest of the contents of the saddlebags. "Camila and Han packed a lot of stuff in here," he stated in surprise as he began to pull out various traveling supplies and several packaged meals. "How did they get all of this ready so fast?"

"We were planning on leaving in the morning," reminded Katara. "Maybe Camila got everything packed the night before? Instead of waiting until the morning."

That seemed to make enough sense for Zuko as he repacked most of the contents except for one of the meals that he proceeded to reheat over the fire. "I'll take first watch. You both get some rest."

After Katara spread out her own bedroll, she watched as Zuko extinguished the campfire and walked closer to the perimeter of their makeshift campsite as he began his vigil while eating slowly. Laying down, Katara tried to get some sleep.

That was until she heard the Earth Kingdom girl speak up. "Luna... no, you said it was Katara. Why are you following the Prince of the Fire Nation?"

Katara turned over on her bedroll to face her friend. "I'm traveling with Zuko. That is his name. And what I told you earlier is true. Zuko really did rescue me from slave traders. That part wasn't a lie. He bought me from the..."

"He bought you?!" exclaimed Jin, a little louder than she probably intended. Katara noticed Zuko tense up at the far end of camp, but he didn't turn back around to them.

"Yes, he did," the waterbender asserted. "He got me away from the slavers without causing an incident that might have ended much worse if he had tried to use force. You know what he did next?" Without waiting for an answer, Katara continued, "He took me to a clinic to receive treatment for all the burns and injuries I suffered as a war prisoner."

The waterbender laughed softly as she recalled the memory. "Then, our first conversation in that clinic was an argument. He released me as a slave right then and there and said that he didn't need anyone traveling with him. And you know what I said in response? I said he was abandoning me and that I wanted to go with him." After Jin's confused look, Katara elaborated, "I was terrified of being trapped in the port town he found me in. I had already been trapped in a prison for the longest time and I didn't want to be stuck in one place again. Besides, I didn't have anywhere else to go. Neither did he in fact."

"But did you know then who he really was?" pressed Jin.

"That he was the prince of the entire Fire Nation? No," answered Katara honestly. "I found out about that a little later. But I did know that he was a firebender already though." Before Jin could ask, the waterbender explained, "I told you, he has made mistakes before. I didn't meet Zuko for the first time at that slave auction. I met him before that in the South Pole, back when he was chasing after Avatar Aang."

"The Avatar?!" blurted out the Earth Kingdom girl.

"My Brother and I accidentally awakened Aang, who had been trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years. Zuko tracked us down to my village and demanded Aang's capture. We managed to escape and he chased after us. I ended up getting captured on a Fire Nation prison rig while trying to inspire earthbenders to rise up and escape." Katara's eyes darkened. "That was my own mistake. I... A lot of people died there because of my foolishness. And, I was separated from my Brother."

Katara paused for a moment before resuming her story. "I don't know much after that. I know that Zuko had a couple more run-ins with my Brother and Avatar Aang, but he wasn't successful in capturing them. At some point, his Sister was sent to capture him instead for what his Father claimed were his constant failures. Zuko became an exile in the Earth Kingdom, on the run from his country, in addition to already being a banished prince from the Fire Nation. When I met him again in that port town and he rescued me, he was already different from the Zuko I had initially met in the South Pole. And each passing day since then, he's been questioning his own past and his upbringing. Most people would have buckled under all that weight and rejection. But he's not like anyone else I have ever met from the Fire Nation. Or from anywhere else for that matter. Zuko has a kind of strength unique to him that is hard to disregard."

Jin didn't say anything further as Katara finished her tale. Instead, the Earth Kingdom girl looked contemplative for a couple of moments. Then, Jin turned away from the waterbender on her bedroll as she pulled a blanket over her head.

Katara watched Jin for a minute longer with a sad expression on her face. Everything was starting to dangerously resemble the events in the plains village all over again and that left a knot in the pit of the Water Tribe girl's stomach as she turned back around on her own bedroll herself.


Several hours later, as early afternoon arrived, the trio silently worked on repacking their campsite and getting the ostrich horses ready for travel once more. Katara had swapped guard duty with Zuko around mid-morning when she awoke and noticed the firebender slowly nodding off as he stood leaning against a tree.

It wasn't until Zuko was helping Katara up onto Biscuit that Jin walked around from behind her ostrich horse and finally spoke. "My Grandparents trusted you both." Zuko and Katara both turned to look at the Earth Kingdom girl. "They told me that I could trust you." Jin stared at the ground momentarily, her fists clenched. "But I don't know if I can do that. I don't know if my Grandparents actually knew about your backgrounds or not. You claim they did, but you all were both lying to me already. So... I just don't know."

Neither the firebender or the waterbender said anything as they continued to listen to Jin. "You both saved the town from Jet's insane plan to blow half of it up just to take out one firebender, Zuko's Sister I'm guessing by the sound of it. I don't know if that was to save the townsfolk or because Zuko couldn't bear to watch his Sister die like that. We didn't find out until later that she wasn't actually at the inn, but we didn't know that beforehand."

Jin looked Katara. "It's only been a couple of days, but we became fast friends in that short time. We laughed, we bonded, and we cried together. I think that's why this hurts so much. Because you couldn't trust me with knowing what was really going on until the situation forced your hand. I don't know if you were going to give me the chance to understand or if you were just going to leave without saying anything." Katara looked absolutely crestfallen. She knew Jin was right. And she didn't know if she would have told Jin the truth before she left.

Jin's gaze shifted to Zuko. "When I first saw you, I thought that you were another casualty of the Fire Nation's brutality with that scar on your face. You appeared so strong and determined to continue to keep moving forward despite the pain you were feeling. You were curt but you weren't mean. You were clumsy but you never gave up. You saw each task my Grandpa and Grandma gave you on the ranch through without complaint," continued Jin.

The Earth Kingdom girl played with the hem of her travel tunic apprehensively. "I liked you. I really liked you. I had thought that someday, maybe we could be together. I know that you don't feel the same way, that you picked Katara. Maybe that was because she already knew your secret and had accepted you, Fire Prince and all."

Jin breathed in and out to calm herself as she finished, "I don't think I can trust either of you right now." Katara and Zuko both felt the impact of those words. "I want to, but I just can't." Katara's and Zuko's eyes were both cast down at the ground. They had expected this, but to hear the words hurt more than they thought they would.

However, Jin wasn't finished. After a short pause, she continued, "But I also don't want to lose any more friends. I've already lost my old village. I already lost all of my old friends. I lost my old life. I don't know if I just lost my Grandparents, but I want to stop losing things. I'll keep traveling with the two of you to Ba Sing Se and we'll see from there." Katara and Zuko both looked up at their friend as Jin concluded, "One step at a time."

Katara slid down from Biscuit and threw herself around Jin as she embraced the girl in a fierce hug. "You were my first real friend since leaving the South Pole. I don't want to lose you either." Both of them were fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.

Zuko gave a small bow. "Thank you. I swear, I will regain your trust one day. When you determine that I am worthy of it."

With a fragile understanding, the three of them finished getting the ostrich horses ready and continued on their way. The next couple of days of travel proceeded without incident. Jin raised an eyebrow at how close Zuko and Katara lay near each other during each night, but didn't say anything about it. Actually, Jin didn't comment or speak to them much at all during these last couple of days after agreeing to travel with them. It made the journey a bit awkward, but at least the Earth Kingdom girl wasn't openly hostile to them. And Katara and Zuko both accepted that she still needed time to figure things out for herself.

Whenever they camped, Katara and Zuko would spend some time practicing their waterbending and sword training. They wanted to be ready in the event Azula caught up to them again. Zuko suggested that they spar in order to give Katara some more realistic experience with fighting against an opponent instead of just running through forms. She lost the first couple of sessions to the speed of Zuko's blade, but she learned to react and think out her next actions quickly. Soon, she found herself on much more equal footing with the Fire Prince during their practice. Jin would watch silently during these training sessions while she tended to the ostrich horses.


About a week later, the trio came upon a broken wagon on the side of the road with a middle-aged man fussing with an unattached wheel and two women looking over his shoulder with worry. One of the women appeared to be heavily pregnant. As the trio neared the group on the road, Katara recognized the man and the pregnant woman as the two people looked over at the trio on the ostrich horses. "You!" the waterbender exclaimed in suprise.

"Oh! It's the girl who was searching for medicine!" declared the pregnant woman as she discerned the waterbender herself. She noticed Zuko beside the waterbender. "Is this the friend you were trying to help before?"

Katara nodded. "Yes, he is. Thank you again very much for your help. The bacui berries turned out to be a life saver."

The man stood up. "I'm very glad to hear that. I didn't want to say it at the time, but even I figured then that they were a long shot. Despite the fact I came up with the idea in the first place."

"Berries?" asked Zuko. "What are you all talking about?" He thought back and vaguely recalled the red berries on the branch next to him when he woke up from his fever dream. "Are you talking about those red berries on the vine? I didn't have any of those until after I woke up."

Katara went bright red for some reason next to him as Jin moved closer on her ostrich horse. Taking pity on her mortified friend, the Earth Kingdom girl changed the subject as she introduced herself, "Pleased to meet you all, my name is Jin. Is there a problem with your wagon? It looks like one of the wheels is broken."

"Nice to meet you too Jin. I'm Ying. This is my husband Than. And next to me is his Sister and my Sister-in-law, Faye," greeted Ying as she held her pregnant belly.

"I'm sorry. I was in such a hurry last time we met that I never introduced myself," realized the Water Tribe girl. "I'm Katara and this is Zu-"

"Lee," interrupted Jin as both the waterbender and firebender turned to look at her. "I joined up with Katara and Lee here a little while ago. We're all headed to Ba Sing Se to find my parents there."

"We're on our way to Ba Sing See also." Then, Than sighed as he looked over at the broken wagon. "Well, we will be if I can ever get this wagon wheel axle repaired." Than pointed to where he was having trouble. "Though, I think that we are going to need to just collect what we can from the wagon and abandon the rest of it. Faye and I can't fix this on our own. And I don't want to burden Ying to work in her condition. We'll have to travel the rest of the way on foot."

"We can help!" offered Katara brightly, thankful for the change in subject as she hurried to keep the focus on something else. Unfortunately, her thoughts were still lingering on the reminder of helping Zuko earlier. "We owe you for letting me know about the berries that helped my boyfriend." As the waterbender finished, her eyes widened at what she had just said.

Zuko's cheeks flushed bright red as he turned his head slightly to cough faintly into his fist in a poor attempt to hide his self-consciousness. Then, he attempted to maintain his composure. "Ah right, what my... girlfriend said." The word sounded very foreign to him. He had never imagined using it before, much less actually saying it out loud. "We would be honored to help you with repairing your wagon."

As Ying, Than, and Faye looked at the blushing young couple slightly freaking out from atop of their shared ostrich horse, Jin sighed as she explained to the others. "They're... completely new at this."

Ying smiled knowingly as she looked over at Than. "I recall those same butterflies quite well."

Zuko slid down from the saddle and walked over to Than as the older man explained what they needed to do. The man had been planning to use an extra board they had in the wagon to act as leverage and pitch the wagon up. Then, the next step was to shove a fair sized rock underneath to hold up the cart. After that, Than was fairly confident that he could make sufficient repairs to hold the wagon wheel together until at least the next town on their way. The issue was he couldn't lift the wagon and move the rock with just his Sister to help.

Than and Zuko positioned the wooden plank to function as a lever. As the Zuko, Katara, and Jin pushed down on the board and raised the wagon upward, Than and Faye worked together to push a good sized supporting rock underneath the cart to keep the wagon in place.

With everything in place, Than set about making the repairs as Zuko assisted the man by either handing him whatever tool the man asked or by holding something in place as Than explained what he was doing while making the repairs. Than was a bit of an experienced traveler and had some practical knowledge of repair work, which he explained was invaluable when on the road.

Zuko nodded in agreement. His recent travels had shown him just how woefully unprepared he actually was to survive on his own. If he didn't have others to help him or teach him things, then he never would have survived as far as he had until now. He had been learning useful skills, one after the next, from different supportive people throughout the Earth Kingdom.

Now that Zuko reflected on it, this was much different than his childhood in the Fire Nation. The sense of community and people looking out for one another on the road or at small homesteads in the Earth Kingdom was vastly different than the standoffishness and guarded questions that he was used from growing up in the Imperial Fire Palace.

As the two men worked, Katara helped Ying sit down in the shade of a nearby tree as Faye provided her Sister-in-law with some drinking water. "How far along are you?" asked the waterbender.

"Nearly the full nine months," answered Ying. "The baby's due probably any day now. I'm hoping that we'll make it to Ba Sing Se before then, but delays like this certainty aren't helping. But as long as I'm with my family, I'm sure that everything will work out somehow."

"I can't believe that you're traveling in your condition! You should be resting somewhere, not on the road," stated Jin as she stood nearby.

Faye and Ying shared a pained expression before the pregnant woman said, "When I first met Katara not that long ago, the Fire Nation had just recently attacked and destroyed our village. A group known as the Rough Rhinos, armored firebenders riding on komodo rhinos, trampled everything in sight. My husband and I were able to escape in time because our house was on the far end of the village. We fled to his Sister's town. However, the worry that her small village would also be attacked one day terrified me. We're hoping to get behind the secure walls of Ba Sing Se so that we can raise our baby safely and away from all this war and violence."

"Something similar happened to me," empathized Jin. "Both at my parents' village and at my Grandparents' ranch."

Faye passed out more drinking water to Jin and Katara with a sad smile. "Our stories are all too common as of late. The Fire Nation has been getting more and more aggressive lately. I honestly fear that even Ba Sing Se may not be as safe as we hope."

"Faye, don't say things like that. If Ba Sing Se isn't safe, then where else could we possibly go?" countered Ying. To that, no one had an answer.


About an hour later, Than declared the repairs complete and with a push from the pack animals, the wagon was back on solid ground ready to move. A quick test demonstrated that the wheel was holding and everyone made ready to move out once more. Than and Faye helped Ying into the back of the wagon bed before getting onto the front bench of the wagon as Than took hold of the reins. Zuko rode alone on Biscuit while Katara took the opportunity to ride with Jin on the other ostrich horse as her friend seemed a little more approachable today.

"You know, if you're looking for work once you reach Ba Sing Se, I could probably get you an apprenticeship with either a blacksmith or carpenter friend of mine," offered Than as he made conversation on the road. "I know several shop owners along craftsman's alley in the Lower Ring."

Despite him using a hammer more times in the last few weeks than he had ever imagined himself using in his entire lifetime, Zuko shook his head as he dismissed the offer. "Thank you for the consideration, but I don't think I would be qualified for either of those professions."

Then, to himself, Zuko thought, 'First Gansu at the pig farm, Han and Ralin at the ranch, and now Than on the open road. What is it about Earth Kingdom people that allows them to have such a high level of camaraderie towards unknown travelers?'

"Offer's on the table if you change your mind later," replied Than. "Most teenagers your age wouldn't have had the patience sit around and help with a wagon repair, much less listen to an older man explain how to do the job correctly. So don't sell yourself short, plenty of shops would love to have an apprentice that actually listens."

As Zuko talked with Than, Katara quietly asked Jin, "Why did you call Zuko, Lee again? I thought we agreed that lies weren't good for anyone."

Keeping her voice low, Jin replied, "While it does hurt that you both lied to me, I do understand why it was necessary. Zuko is very much a Fire Nation name. Too many people in the Earth Kingdom hold grudges and fear against the Fire Nation."

"Thank you Jin," expressed the waterbender gratefully.

A couple of minutes passed before another question popped into the Water Tribe girl's head. With all the more serious issues going on, she hadn't thought to ask earlier. "Jin, I never asked, but if you've named all the animals on the ranch, then what did you name this ostrich horse?"

"Bree, because of the his white and elegant looking feathers," answered the Earth Kingdom girl. They continued like that with Katara daring to ask little questions about Bree, the ostrich horse, as she tested the waters with how much her friend was willing to start speaking with her again.

A short while later, the main road narrowed as it wrapped around a mountainside. "I don't know about this," warned Faye as they examined the route. "There's not much room for the wagon to pass."

Than grimaced. "I didn't realize that this route had such a treacherous and narrow stretch." He pulled out a well worn map from the folds of his tunic and unraveled it as he checked the course. "We could go around. It would take some time to backtrack all the way to the previous fork in the road, but there is another way we could go. It would add an extra day or two though."

Ying poked her head out from behind the wagon tarp as she scanned the canyon passage as well. "If you think the route's wide enough, then I vote we go onward. I know that you'll keep us all safe Than."

The middle-aged man looked conflicted. He knew that his wife was due to give birth any day now. All these delays and detours were wearing on her, but she maintained a positive outlook despite the pain she was undoubtedly experiencing. He wasn't sure about this current path. If they had more time, then he would not even be debating this. He would have already turned the wagon around immediately and taken a different path.

Than considered his other possible options. They could abandon the wagon. They had been considering doing just that earlier today. Walking this stretch would be much safer than trying to take a wagon through. But then they would be limited to just what they could carry on their backs. And his wife would be forced to walk the rest of the way to Ba Sing Se while pregnant.

Handing the reins to his Sister, Than dismounted the wagon and held onto the yoke of the ostrich horse that was pulling the cart. "Faye, I'm going to guide the horse on foot. Keep the wagon steady. We can make it through." Than had made his decision. Zuko, Katara, and Jin exchanged uneasy glances, but fell into a single file behind the wagon as Than set the pace.

After the first bend around the canyon side, the rocky road actually opened up a bit and the path was wider than it had been at the start. This allowed the group to breathe a little easier. It appeared their initial fears, while still valid, were lessened a tiny bit.

As the group marched along, Zuko would occasionally glance down the edge of steeply sloped mountainside. A gravelly slope of loose rocks and no trees or bushes angled sharply down about four hundred feet. At the bottom flowed a quick moving river of water, whose current was flowing back in the direction that they had been walking from. The Fire Prince certainty did not want to worry about going down there for any reason.

As the group continued along the tense, but uneventful route, a rumbling sound above them snapped everyone's heads up and to the left instead of down and to the right where most of them had previously been looking.

"Is this an earthquake?!" shouted Zuko urgently.

Instead of answering his question, Jin barely managed to shout, "Rock slide!" before multiple rocks of varying sizes came tumbling down onto their position.

"Get out of their path!" yelled Than just as a medium sized boulder impacted the harness connecting the ostrich horse to the wagon, snapping the wood and causing the horse to run off down the road away from the danger. Faye was pulled forward out of the wagon with the reins she was holding and along the road a short ways until she dropped the reins from her hands.

Then, as quickly as the rock slide began, it ceased. No one moved as Jin and Zuko attempted to calm their respective ostrich horses. Just as Than was about to run back to the wagon to check on his wife, another cracking sound echoed loudly throughout the mountain range as half of the road underneath the wagon broke apart and the entire carriage started to slide down the steep mountain slope.

"Ying!" shouted Than in a crazed panic as he was about to jump off the side of the mountain after her just before Zuko tackled the middle-aged man to the ground. "Let me go! Ying! I'm coming!"

"Calm down!" demanded Zuko as he continued to wrestle with and pin Than to the ground. "Look! The wagon caught on some rocks. It stopped moving already."

As Than slowly ceased his struggles, he looked over the edge to see that Zuko was indeed correct. "Ying!" he shouted again. "Are you alright?!"

"Than?!" his wife shouted back. "I think so. The wagon stopped. But I'm afraid to move!"

As Than and Zuko stood back up, the middle-aged man stated frantically, "I need to get down there." He started to pace around with anxiety.

Grabbing a large rope coiled around the saddle on Biscuit as well as the one on Bree's saddle, Zuko knotted the two pieces together to extend their length. Then, he secured one end to a jagged rock spiking up from the roadside. Lastly, he tied the other end around his waist.

As Katara looked away from the stalled wagon on the cliff slope, she finally noticed Zuko standing at the edge trying to determine the best way down. "What do you think you doing?"

"I'm going down there. Someone has too and Than is too hysterical to be of any use right now," the Fire Prince answered as he observed Faye attempting to calm her Brother down. Before the waterbender could protest any further, he stated, "I'll be right back," and started down the mountain as steadily as he could. He attempted to keep any disturbances of loose rocks to a minimum.

The wagon wasn't too far down, perhaps a hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty, feet away. It seemed like the wheels caught on some jutted up rocks, but Zuko wasn't certain how long or how well that would hold. For the fifth time in twice as many steps down the mountain, Zuko wished that they had an earthbender with them. If Camila had been around, then she could have either secured the ground around the wagon or better yet, just earthbent the entire carriage back up the cliff.

A couple of loose rocks slid around the wagon as Zuko reached the wooden frame. A shakily voice came from inside the cart, "Than, is that you?"

"It's Lee," Zuko answered as the Fire Prince poked his head in through the cloth tarp. "I had to fight off Than for the honor of coming down here, because he's a bit of a mess right now. Can you give me your hand? Let's get you back up the mountain."

Ying grimaced from inside the wagon as she lay on the floor boards. "I'd love to, but there's a bit of a problem."

Alarmed, Zuko asked, "Are you hurt somewhere? Did you break something?"

The pregnant woman gave a grunt of pain and then smiled in ironic humor. "My water broke. The baby's coming now. Like right now."

Zuko paled. This rescue operation just got a whole lot more complicated. "Katara!" he shouted back up the cliff. "The baby's coming!"

Up on the road, Than fainted as he heard the news. He had made a horrible decision. He should have turned the wagon around. He should have taken a different route. He should have gone another way. Now his wife was about to give birth in a rickety wooden cart precariously balanced on a slope that could give way any moment. He had quite possibly doomed his entire family.

"I'm coming down there!" returned Katara as she clutched the rope and used it as a guideline on her way down.

"No, wait!" started Zuko as he noticed her moving down the mountain. He ceased his protests as he quickly realized that he wasn't going to deter her with words. "And... she's already about halfway down here."

"Your girlfriend's quite the impulsive one," mused Ying as she attempted to distract herself from the discomfort and pain of her contractions as they grew more frequent.

Reaching into the wagon, Zuko grabbed the wooden plank they had used earlier as a lever and wedged it against one of the back wagon wheels to secure the carriage a little better.

Then, carefully climbing into the wagon, Zuko replied, "I thought I was usually the impulsive one."

"A little advice from an experienced couple to a new one; let her be the impulsive one. It will save you a lot of trouble in the long run," winked Ying. Then, she winced as another contraction occurred.

Easing her into a seated position, Zuko muttered, "I'll keep that in mind."

A minute later, Katara poked her head in through the cloth tarp and cautiously climbed into the wagon as well. The wood creaked and groaned with the burden of additional weight, but the rocks appeared to hold for now.

"Don't worry, I've helped my Gran-Gran deliver lots of babies down at the South Pole," assured Katara. The waterbender looked around. "Is there any alcohol in this cart?"

Ying pointed to a bottle tucked in-between some clothes. "There. Faye always keeps a bottle or two laying around."

Grabbing the bottle, Katara pulled off the cork and stated, "Lee, put out your hands." As he complied, the Water Tribe girl poured some of the alcohol onto his hands and then onto her own to rinse the dirt and gravel away. "Best we can do right now, but this should help prevent infection."

Next, the waterbender moved to check on Ying. "I need you to keep breathing as steadily as you can." Katara gave a couple of example breathes. "Just like that. Keep your breathing controlled and as even as you can. In, out, in, out," she instructed as Ying mimicked the breathing technique the Water Tribe girl demonstrated.

Katara positioned herself in front of Ying. "Ok, now I'm just going to check... oh boy," muttered Katara quickly.

Pausing in her breathing, Ying asked urgently, "What? What's wrong?"

Katara started moving faster. "Nothing's wrong. Just further along than I imagined. Lee! The baby's already crowning! Get me something to wrap the baby in. And whatever rags you can find!"

Katara placed her hand on the front of the baby's head. "Ying, you're doing great. I just need you to keep pushing in timing with the contractions. Can you do that for me?"

Ying answered with a pained shouting groan that Katara nodded back at as she continued to guide the baby. As the head fully emerged, Katara spoke again. "Excellent work Ying. You can stop pushing now. Your body will handle the rest naturally. Lee, rag now!"

The Fire Prince was running on auto-pilot. Child birth was not something he had ever witnessed before or even had anything close to resembling experience in. Usually the midwives at the Fire Palace handled all of this stuff while some noble male paced outside the door. Katara seemed to have taken charge and had everything well in hand, so he allowed himself to listen to her completely as he handed her a small piece of cloth that he had torn from the large blanket wedged in the corner of the wagon.

Katara bent some water from her waterskin to soak the rag in as she dampen it, and then began cleaning the baby's face of fluid and membrane. She took a sharp intake of breath when she noticed the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck. 'Okay, okay, Gran-Gran says this can happen sometimes. Just carefully slip the cord back over the head and check for breathing,' guided Katara to herself as she recalled her Gran-Gran's instructions.

Getting the cord out of the way, Katara frowned deeply when the child did not seem to be breathing easily on her own. "Lee, I need that wrapping to secure the baby in and a knife to cut the cord." A piece of cloth was placed near her as she guided the baby out and wrapped the child in the warmth of the wrapping. It took her a second to realize that the wrapping was Zuko's own tunic top.

As the Fire Prince pulled the Earth Kingdom dagger from his boot, Katara lightly shook her head as she gave a relieved smile, "You magnificent fool. A warm cloth will help right now more than you realize. We needed to warm up the baby anyhow, she's in cold stress. Pour some alcohol on your knife, then cut the cord, right there, tie it up afterwards," she pointed. "Ying, I need a large syringe or something that can function like that."

The older woman pointed to a woven basket in the wagon. "There... cooking supplies... should be a meat baster," she managed through the pain.

Zuko had finished cutting and tying off the cord as the waterbender had ordered him to do. Then, he reached inside the basket and grabbed the required item. He held up the meat baster.

"Yes, that's it," nodded Katara approvingly. "Give it to me quickly." Once she had the meat baster in hand, she carefully used it to suck up and clear the excess fluid in the child's mouth. Even if her waterbending had been getting better, she didn't dare attempt to waterbend the fluid out of the baby. It was safer to stick to the methods that her Gran-Gran had taught her. After about two pulls with the meat baster, the child started crying loudly. Katara breathed in relief as she whispered a quiet thanks to whomever was listening.

"It's a healthy baby girl," announced Katara as she smiled at Ying, who was crying tears of joy.

There was a rustling at the tarp at the front of the wagon as Than stuck his head in. "Is she...?" he started.

"Excellent timing. Both Mother and baby are doing fine, but we can't stay here," replied Katara. "Than, I need you to take your Daughter and get back up the mountain. Lee and I will follow with Ying."

Than accepted his baby daughter with trembling hands as he held her close to him as if she might break at the slightest jostle. "I don't want to leave you honey," he said to his wife.

"Go, we'll be right behind you," smiled Ying as Katara and Zuko helped her get into a more comfortable position. With a concerned look, Than disappeared from the front of the wagon as he started making his way back up using the rope line to steady himself.

Ying groaned again as she winced a little. "Don't worry, it's just the afterbirth," explained Katara to Zuko as he looked at Ying with concern. "It's natural and it's the end of the process." Then to Ying, "It probably hurts to move right now, but we need to get you out of here."

The waterbender exited first as both her and Zuko assisted Ying out of the wagon. "I'll stay here a little longer and keep the rope taut so you two can use it to climb back up," proclaimed Zuko. At Katara's worried expression, he gave her a determined look. "The rope will go slack if I go with you two. This way you'll have something to hold onto. Once you're up, I'll follow."

Katara seemed like she wanted to say something, but realized the more time she protested, the longer they would all still be in this precarious predicament. With a nod, she started to help Ying climb while Zuko held the rope taut.

Ying was slow and had to take several breaks to catch her breath as Katara supported and encouraged her with comments of Ying being able to hold her baby daughter in her arms once she made it to the top of the sloped mountainside.

Eventually, Zuko saw the two of them reach the top as they disappeared back over the cliff side. He was about to climb out of the wagon when he noticed Ying's travel pack laying against the wagon wall. Reaching out, he grabbed the pack and threw the bag over his back. Then, he put his hand on the front of the wagon to pull himself out.

The unmistakable sound of splintering wood signaled that the damaged wheel axle finally snapped again from all the shifting weight. The wagon fell away all around the Fire Prince as the rope secured around his waist went taut. Zuko's leg caught against the side of the wagon as he was flung out of the cart. This caused him to swing out erratically upon his exit as he was thrown away from the mountainside. Upon his return swing, the last thought that ran through the firebender's mind as he witnessed the rapidly approaching sloped rocky, and definitely unforgiving, precipice was, 'This is going to hurt.' Then came the heavy thud as he crashed against the ground and he knew only blackness.


Katara was in a panic when the entire group heard the sounds of the wagon giving way and rolling down the rest of the mountainside before splashing heavily into the flowing river and being swiftly washed away. As the group looked over the edge, they saw a limp Zuko laying against the rocky slope and not moving. He was still connected to the rope line.

"I'm going to get him," declared Than before anyone else could say or do anything. "That should have been me out there, not him. Kid held it together when I was falling apart and I need to return the favor." He was already climbing down as he finished talking.

A couple of tense minutes passed before Than returned with Zuko in his arms as he gingerly laid the Fire Prince down on the ground. Katara pulled some water from her waterskin and started to care for the bleeding head injury on Zuko's forehead with her waterbending healing.

Finally, Zuko's face started to twitch as he shifted slightly. His eyes opened half-way in a hazy daze as he looked skyward for a moment without saying a word.

Unnerved, Katara adjusted her position as she shifted her weight and intensified the strength of her waterbending healing. The waterbender froze when she noticed the way Zuko eyes seemed to flicker towards her direction. The look on his face was one of perplexity, almost as if he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at.

"Am I... in the Spirit World paradise?" Zuko managed to croak, his voice hoarse but his eyes never leaving the waterbender's face.

"No, you're not," Than answered with a confused expression as he looked at the rest of the group, each of whom were also sporting equally befuddled countenances.

"Oh," whispered Zuko softly as he took in that information and seemed to give it some serious and deep thought. After a moment he asked again, "Is this.. the other place then? The bad place?" He continued to stare at Katara, making the girl feel very self-conscious.

"No, you're not there either," replied Jin this time, her voice curious at what Zuko was getting at.

The Fire Prince looked beyond puzzled for another minute. Then, he closed his eyes gently. "Then, if it's not too much trouble, could you please tell the pretty water spirit that I'm very tired?" With that, he promptly passed out again.

No one spoke for a few minutes until Than broke the silence. "That was odd, right? That wasn't just me who thought that was odd?"

As the others nodded in agreement, Katara had a small smile on her face with the knowledge that Zuko had been referring to her and that he appeared to be alright.


He awoke with the sharpest of headaches. "Ugh... what happened?" groaned Zuko as he forced himself to sit up in the bedroll he found himself in.

Jin was nearby, poking at a small campfire with a stick. "You nearly got yourself killed and worried everyone half to death. That's what happened," she explained.

The events of right before he impacted the mountainside returned to him at full force. "Where's...?" the Fire Prince started.

Jin pointed to the sleeping waterbender at Zuko's other side. "She exhausted herself caring for your head injury and from delivering the baby."

Zuko sighed in relief when he saw the waterbender snoozing away pleasantly at his side. "She was brilliant today," he declared as he brushed a loose strand of hair out of Katara's face. The waterbender shifted slightly at his touch, but didn't wake up. "The way she handled everything in that wagon. She kept her head and knew exactly what to do. It was quite the sight to behold. She was simply amazing." Zuko looked back up. "How's the baby?"

Jin pointed to the other side of the fire where Than and Ying were sleeping softly with their newborn laying in-between them, still wrapped in Zuko's tunic top. Faye was sleeping nearby to her Brother and Sister-in-law. "Ying and her child are doing well too. Somehow, with everything that happened, you were the only one to get seriously hurt. Everyone else only had a couple of small scrapes."

"That's a special talent of mine, I suppose," Zuko muttered as he checked on the slumbering Water Tribe girl again. He paused as he looked back at the baby. "Wait, is that my shirt?"

"You gave it to them. Don't you remember?" replied Jin in concern.

The memory returned. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?" The Fire Prince laid back down. There was a dull throb of pain in his head, but he ignored it. He considered himself extremely fortunate for learning how to tie strong knots; otherwise, his lifeline could have snapped apart and this whole outcome could have shaped up very differently.

"Why did you charge down the mountainside? You were the first one down and the last one back up. For complete strangers even," interrogated Jin.

"It was the right thing to do," answered Zuko honestly, without needing to consider his response. "I used to have trouble knowing what that was. But I think that I'm learning."

"By putting yourself in mortal danger?" pressed Jin.

"I seem to be surprisingly durable," the Fire Prince joked. Jin didn't seem to be too amused at Zuko's jest. Elaborating further, Zuko continued, "I think that's due to all the beatings I took growing up in a harsh environment where even the slightest mistake was corrected with pain and suffering. Those were Father's favorite training tools after all. He even left me this constant reminder on my face."

Jin's eyes widened as she looked at Zuko's facial scar, illuminated by the faint glow of the campfire. "That was from your own Father?"

Zuko stared at the crackle of the flames in the campfire. "When I received this scar, I thought that I had lost my honor. I spent so long trying to find and capture the Avatar, thinking that somehow, by succeeding in that quest, my Father would restore my honor and everything that I thought I had lost that day."

He looked back at the sleeping Water Tribe girl. "I spent three years chasing ghosts, only to find an elusive quarry when the Avatar finally did emerge from his slumber. Then, that false truth was pulled out from under me when my Sister came to bring me back home in chains." Zuko sighed. "So much for family honor. Exiled and traveling through the Earth Kingdom, I was bombarded with the harsh realities that I tried to duck my head and ignore." He smirked. "But Katara wouldn't let me do that."

Then, Zuko continued, "I knew nothing of the real world as a sheltered prince, taught only the knowledge that my Father and the Fire Sages wanted me to know, the views that they wanted me to see." Zuko waved his arm out wide as he seemed to gesture across the landscape. "But traveling across the Earth Kingdom, seeing village after village, hearing story after story, learning lesson after lesson; it gets hard to ignore. All Fire Nation children are taught as they grow up that you must be honorable, otherwise you bring shame to your household. But the Fire Sages never tell you how to be honorable. Only that you must be. And the current Fire Nation only twists and distorts that term to use as a reward for whatever suits the needs of those in power."

Zuko narrowed his eyes as he studied the campfire. "But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what is right. Not what is easy or what someone else pushes you to do."

Jin was stunned at the Fire Prince's resolve as he glared into the campfire. Further, she was shocked at herself at how her heart still raced at the intensity and conviction in his soliloquy. Perhaps that first crush of hers wouldn't ever go away, not really. She shook her head to push any lingering feelings away. But still, Katara was right. 'Zuko really isn't like anyone I've known before,' thought Jin to herself.


The next morning was lively as all the attention was focused on the young newborn baby girl. Ying had thanked Zuko profusely for grabbing her pack from the wagon as it had most of the baby supplies they needed to care for their child with as well as all their passports for Ba Sing Se.

At the mention of passports, Zuko was slightly worried for his group until Jin told him that Camila had packed three passports into Jin's bag for all three of them to enter Ba Sing Se with. That calmed the firebender down, at least right up until the point to where Ying asked Zuko if he wanted to hold the baby.

"I still don't think that this is a good idea," stated Zuko as he held the newborn in his arms, focusing intensely on supporting the girl's head as Katara directed him to do so.

"She stopped crying when you held her," commented a tired Than. "I think that this is the best idea I've heard all morning."

Indeed, the young baby girl had ceased her fits and stared up at the firebender in wonder. Zuko wasn't sure of what to make of the tiny human in his arms.

"Have you settled on a name yet?" asked Jin.

Ying and Than exchanged glances. "Hope," announced Ying. "Her name is Hope. Because that's what she gives us for the future."

"That's a good name," replied Katara as she leaned next to Zuko to tickle the nose of the baby girl. "Welcome to the world, little Hope."

The older couple exchanged glances a second time. "I'm glad you think that," stated Than. "Because we would like to ask the two of you to be her spiritparents."

"W-What?!" stuttered Zuko and Katara in unison as they looked back at a smiling Than and Ying. Hope cooed happily.

"Katara, you delivered our baby on the side of a mountain while Lee was there to knock some sense into my husband and keep us all safe. You both have already proven that you would protect Hope with everything you have. We can't think of any couple more suited than you two that we would entrust our child to, should something terrible befall us," explained Ying. "This whole near-death experience on the mountain showed us that we need to make sure that Hope is taken care of, should something happen to the two of us."

"But your Sister-in-law is right there..." countered Zuko.

Faye shook her head. "They've already talked to me. And I agree with them. As an apothecary, I have to travel deep into the forests and mountains for long periods of time to collect the ingredients for my remedies and cures. I can't watch over a baby there. You two would be much better for the role of spiritparents than me."

"We couldn't, we shouldn't," protested the Water Tribe girl as she looked over at Zuko. He seemed to be extremely conflicted.

'I can barely be responsible for my own life on my best days,' the Fire Prince shouted at himself. 'You're a Fire Nation prince hiding out in the Earth Kingdom! You can't be responsible for an Earth Kingdom baby!'

Then, he heard his Uncle lecturing him during an old lesson in his head once again, 'Everytime you chose to act Zuko, you take responsibility for those lives you save. That, is the burden of leadership. The burden of being Fire Lord. What do you think the honorable thing to do here would be?'

"I think it's a wonderful idea, if I get a vote," offered Jin as she broke the firebender and the waterbender out of their mental distress.

"Jin?" asked Katara in bewilderment.

"After Than and Ying, and I'm still going to say Faye since she is still direct family, you two are probably going to be the ones who will fight the hardest to keep that little girl safe. Everything that I've seen about the two of you makes me think just that," elaborated Jin. "That's truly how I feel."

Zuko suddenly bowed his head formally. "If you think us capable, then we would be honored. We've already gotten involved and we will see your request through in the event it comes to it."

"You really go all in every time, don't you Lee?" smirked Jin.

"Not really giving me much choice here, Lee," playful huffed Katara. Then, she looked down at the cherubic face of Hope as the baby girl smiled back at her. Any remaining doubt faded away. "We... accept."

"Thank you," replied Than and Ying as Katara took Hope from Zuko and held her.

"Just... don't go leaving her anytime soon. She needs you two more than she needs us," pleaded the waterbender as the older couple smiled.