Chapter 9 - The Hard Truths

The sun finished setting in the distance barely half an hour after the two traveling benders departed from the small nameless plains village. In its place, a lonely moon slowly rose above the horizon, casting a pale glow across the open fields. The stars began to make their presence known overhead, one by one, as their light peeked out through scattered, shifting clouds.

Katara was still unequivocally seething with scarcely contained righteous fury. Her faith in the goodness of people had been tested to the absolute limit and the people had been found wanting. How dare they! How dare they turn on Zuko like that! He had helped them! Helped them when no one else would! When they couldn't help themselves! He had stood up to the injustice of Gow and his goons! He had liberated their village from a tyrant! He had not asked for anything in return. He did not expect anything in return. And the townspeople still turned on him! Why? Just because he was a firebender?

Biscuit maintained a measured and steady pace as she continued to trot down the dark road with only the faint moonlight and stars above to light the way. Zuko listlessly adjusted the reins to keep the ostrich horse on a straight march forward. His downward sloped gaze and sedge hat hid any of the emotions that may be playing across his face from his companion.

The Water Tribe girl could feel herself growing more and more agitated as the moon rose higher in the night sky. She felt the need to waterbend, to work through her frustration and anger. She wished that she had done more than just freeze the feet of a couple of bigots to the ground. Disappointment entered her thoughts. Disappointment in others for not being accepting, for being close-minded, for not listening to what they had to say.

The livid waterbender only began to temper her ire when she realized that her companion had not spoken or displayed an emotion of any kind during their entire trek away from the plains village. Instead, Zuko had kept his head pointed forward and his features stoic. He seemed fixated on traveling throughout the night, if only to get as much distance as he possibly could between him and the unreasonable village they had just left.

When the Fire Prince shifted slightly after a bump in the road, Katara realized then that only his right hand gripped Biscuit's reins. Tracing his other arm with her eyes, she cringed inwardly. His left arm was cradling his rib cage and he winced in pain every so often as Biscuit trotted along the unpaved road. How could she have forgotten the beating he had just taken? His 'victory' had come at a steep price, one he had paid a high tax for, both physically and mentally.

"Zuko, we should stop," Katara declared as she placed her hand onto his left one over his rib cage. The firebender grunted and shifted to push her hand away. He then released a muffled hiss of pain due to the movement his stubbornness had required. "Zuko..."

She couldn't even try to heal him while they traveled on horseback. Katara was out of water. She had used all she had in the fight against Gow and never had an opportunity to restock due to all the bigotry that ran them out of town. She scanned the area in a feeble attempt to spot a water source, but nighttime severely limited her vision. She could not hear the sounds of flowing brooks or streams along the road either.

Just as she placed a hand on the saddlebags to try and search for some bandages, the waterbender observed a pale beam of moonlight break through a heavy cloud line to illuminate a concealed, tranquil pond just off to their left side. They could have ridden right past it in the dark of night and never seen it. They would have, if not for the auspicious glow of the moon, almost as if the celestial body high above was looking out for them.

"Zuko, please. Let's stop here," Katara tried again as she leaned past him to take the reins from his hands. The firebender offered no protest this time and allowed her to guide Biscuit towards the pond.

Reaching their designated campsite, Katara slid down from the ostrich horse first, then helped her companion down and led him to water's edge. Sitting him down, his back to a large rock beside the pond, she removed his sedge hat and inched closer to examine his head where he had been struck by a rock from the mob. The moonlight seemed to intensify in brightness to chase away the darkness around the campsite so that the waterbender could see better. There was a cut on his temple about an inch in length, but fortunately it didn't look very deep.

Zuko's arm was still clutching his side tightly, seemingly as if to hold himself together or perhaps just cradling a more elusive injury. Katara gradually and tenderly eased Zuko's arm out the way, wincing sympathetically when the firebender hissed in pain at the movement; even more so when the waterbender carefully assisted him in removing his shirt over his head.

Katara gasped in alarm at what she saw. Several large purplish-red discolorations were forming across the Fire Prince's chest and along his severely bruised shoulders. As her fingers lightly brushed against one particularly gruesome bruise, Zuko drew back defensively at her touch as he turned his head and coughed up some blood.

"Why didn't you say anything if you were hurt this badly?" stressed Katara, her voice laced with worry.

"Pain, is just the body's way of getting stronger," stated Zuko reflexively.

Katara didn't get the impression that he was trying to be smart or clever with her. He actually sounded like he was simply reciting a mantra, something he had repeated to himself countless times before. Was this how the Fire Nation trained their people? To the waterbender, it seemed like one of the most absurd things she had ever heard in her life.

The Water Tribe girl bent a column of water from the pond upwards along her arm and over top the firebender. Flattening the water into a swirling disc, she gently lowered the glowing water down onto his injuries. She was dismayed further as she worked.

In addition to the fresh bruises that she could see and heal, she felt the water weaving towards much older wounds that had long since healed on their own. Just how many times had he been beaten this harshly that he could now simply and silently endure the pain? How many times did he not receive healing to properly recover?

As the waterbender worked, she felt Zuko's eyes on her as he stared at her inquisitively. His question caught her off guard. "Am I a bad person?"

Katara balked inwardly. This was the most vulnerable she had ever heard the firebender. She had expected anger from the Fire Prince. She expected him to growl and rant and rage against the villagers just as he usually did against all his problems. She expected an eruption of fire and emotion.

What she did not expect was a lonely flame flickering in the evening wind, threatening to go out. Sela's and Lee's rejections of him rose to her thoughts. He had been impacted by their denunciation of him to the bigoted mob greatly. He had just started to open himself up to that family. He had just started to allow himself to care what happened to them. And they spit on him. Katara felt a fresh wave of indignation bubbling up within her.

Zuko's eyes held such dejection and gloom as he looked at her, almost pleadingly, for an honest answer. He needed to hear an answer. Katara realized that she had yet to respond to him.

Had he asked her that question back when they first met in the South Pole or at Kyoshi village, then she would have immediately affirmed his evilness; his efforts to try and capture the Avatar and destroy all hope for the world.

But then, they met again, several months later, and he was different. Still angry with the world and quick to yell and thrash, but he seemed to be searching for something intangible, some answer that was just out of his reach.

The Water Tribe girl had seen firsthand the very wickedness that people were capable of several times over since she had left her sheltered home in the South Pole. She had learned of the evil that could lurk within people's hearts. Zuko had never displayed that capacity. Not really. He tried to appear cold and uncaring, the supposed perfect son of the Fire Nation, but that wasn't him. It never had been. Try as he might to hide it, there was a warmth to Zuko. She knew it was there. She had seen it. She already knew her answer.

"No, you're not," the waterbender stated with firm validation as she maintained focus on her work.

The firebender continued to look at her for moment. He appeared to be considering her response, but was not quite fully accepting of her words. His eyes shifted to the pond. "My own Father despises me. My Sister is trying to kill me. My own country rejects me. Other countries loathe me. There's a bounty on my head. Everything I do, only seems to make people hate me more."

She detested seeing him this way. Where was the Zuko she knew? The fierce fighter who seemed indomitable. The one who would grit his teeth and stand back up when pushed down. She reached out with her hand to grab him by the chin and turn his head back to her. Empathetic blue eyes focused solely on him. "Zuko, you're not a bad person," she reaffirmed more resolutely.

There seemed to be a rush of hopefulness within those gold tinted eyes for just a moment. Then, it was gone. The firebender pulled away and settled again against the rock at his back. Katara drew fresh water from the pond as she continued the healing process.

Biscuit wandered over to the water's edge to take a drink. The low hum of cricket hoppers and the hoots of owl bats filled the night's ambience. The scattered clouds in the night sky above seemed to move and adjust themselves around the solid beam of moonlight that concentrated itself keep the campsite bathed in pale, silvery illumination.

"When the cold snow falls and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives," recited Katara as she worked. Zuko shifted slightly. "My tribe is from a place in the South Pole known as Wolf Cove. We always had to work together to survive. My Dad would tell Sokka and I those words whenever we fought amongst ourselves or whenever we tried to do things on our own. You can't face everything alone Zuko. No one can survive in this world without help. No one. Let me help you."

The Fire Prince kept his gaze turned away. "Why would you want to help me? I'd just drag you down too."

"You reached out first. Back when you saved me from being a slave. You may deny it, but I know you did so out the goodness of your heart. You're a good person Zuko. Even if others can't see it, I can," replied the Water Tribe girl. Then, she gave a slight smile. "We can be a pack of two, working together as we roam the Earth Kingdom."

Zuko remained quiet as the low hum of the waterbending healing continued to echo gently around the campsite. He didn't know what to say in return as he thought over her logic. Evidently though, it appeared the Water Tribe girl was not done.

"There once was a young girl otter penguin who had been separated from her family and her home," suddenly began Katara in a storyteller voice. Zuko looked back at her in confusion. "She had been taken you see, captured by wicked tiger sharks who meant to eat her. She had almost given in to the hopelessness of her situation and resolved to be eaten, when a brave boy koalaotter appeared. He was rough and he was gruff and he was tough. He even had a scar along his left eye from a fisherman's hook."

Zuko snorted ruefully. Katara laughed slightly as she continued to heal him and speak her story. "But he was more than that. Passionate, impulsive, like no one the girl otter penguin had seen before. The boy koalaotter fought off the tiger sharks in an epic battle of tooth and claw and freed the girl penguin otter from her imprisonment. But the girl had nowhere to go. The tiger sharks had taken her far from her home and she had no way back. The boy otter offered to let her follow him and she agreed. Together, they traveled near and far and had many fantastic and wonderous and incredible adventures together."

The firebender had turned his head away, but Katara could tell he was still listening, despite his attempts to appear disinterested. "But the boy otter had a troubled past you see. His tribe and the girl's tribe were at war with one another. It was the boy's tribe that had sent the tiger sharks to steal away the girl in the first place."

The Fire Prince shifted a little uncomfortably. "He blamed himself for a great many things and thought himself a bad otter. The girl otter blamed him too, at first. But over time, she got to know him. She saw that he wasn't bad. In fact, he strived to do good and, everyday, he fought to become a little better."

Katara paused to switch out her healing water. "One day, in the middle of their journey, the boy otter asked the girl, 'Am I a bad otter?' And the girl told him that he wasn't. When he asked, 'How do you know?' She replied, 'Because you were there for me when I needed you.'"

Silence enveloped the pair of them as the waterbender finished her fantasy tale. And it remained that way for quite awhile. Only the slight humming of the healing water sounded across the area as Katara worked.

After some time, Zuko commented lowly, "That koalaotter seemed to have the strength of a komodo rhino."

Katara countered slyly, "Or perhaps, a polar bear dog."

He looked back at her as they shared the faintest of smiles. "I think... I think I needed to hear that. You're really good at story telling."

Katara puffed up with pride. "There's usually more hand gestures and sound effects, but I am busy with healing you. You should have seen some of the theatrics Sokka and I would put on for the little kids on story night in the South Pole."

The Fire Prince found himself attempting to imagine that. The sight of several little children listening intently to the waterbender around a campfire. For some reason, the thought didn't annoy him as much as he would have thought it would. But it did have the unintended consequence of bringing up another memory. "It's been a long time since someone has told me a story," added Zuko. "Not since my Mother disappeared."

Katara's healing faltered and the water fell to the ground with a splash. Zuko didn't seem to notice. "She was just gone one morning and I never knew why. No one would tell me anything. My Father demanded me to stop mentioning her and my Sister just laughed at and taunted me."

The Water Tribe girl's hand crept up to her neckline once more and her fingers absently moved as if to grip something that was supposed to be there. "We have that in common." When the firebender looked at her with pained eyes, she elaborated. "I lost my Mother too. In a Fire Nation raid many years ago. She was protecting me."

"I'm so sorry." He meant it. He truly did. Zuko knew the pain of losing a Mother and he did not wish that on anyone, especially the Water Tribe girl next to him. He noticed her hand hovering near her neckline. "I've seen you do that a couple times now."

When a confused look crossed her face, the Fire Prince explained further, "Your hand. It's reaching for something, but there's nothing there."

Katara became conscious of her hand at the base of her neck and dropped the appendage back to her side. She moved her right arm across her body to hold her left elbow nervously as she rocked side to side. "My Mother's betrothal necklace," she admitted after a moment. "It was the last thing I had left of hers. I lost it on the prison rig. They took it from me. It's gone now. They probably... burned it a long time ago."

Realization struck Zuko harder than the rocks Gow had pelted him with earlier that day. He reached for his discarded shirt and fumbled with it for a moment as he pulled something out of an inner pocket. Katara gasped when she saw him holding onto a familiar blue ribbon. "I went to the prison rig because I heard that the Avatar had appeared there. I was shown this necklace as proof that he, in fact, had appeared there with his companions. I was told he escaped capture. I took the necklace. I had hoped to use it somehow to capture the Avatar, but I never figured out a plan for it. I never knew it had such great importance."

"You've had this the whole time?" asked Katara, her voice a little shaky.

"It was one of the few items I had on me when my ship exploded." Bewilderment crossed her face at his response. "I've experienced a couple of assassination attempts on my life over the years." Even more surprise appeared on the waterbender's face as Zuko hurriedly added, "But that's not important right now. Here, I should have returned this to you a long time ago."

The Water Tribe girl stared at her Mother's betrothal necklace resting in his outstretched hand. She had never dared to hope to see it ever again. Especially after it had been torn from her neck several months ago. Her hand reached out slowly as she traced the engravings, still not fully believing it was real. Then, she picked it up and clutched it closely to her heart as if it might disappear again any second. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..." she continued to whisper quietly.

Giving the waterbender some time to collect herself, Zuko gingerly put his shirt back on. He stretched lightly through the soreness. The Water Tribe girl had really improved with her healing ability. The majority of the pain and hurt from his fresh bruises had been dealt with.

Then, Zuko got up and hitched Biscuit to a nearby tree as he removed the saddlebags. Gradually, he organized the small campsite, mainly to occupy his thoughts with busy work. As he picked up a small cloth wrapped package, he heard Katara behind him.

"We don't have to eat those."

The Fire Prince noticed the Water Tribe necklace prominently positioned on Katara's neckline as he looked up. He looked back at the prepared food, wrapped in the cloth. He had half a mind to follow the waterbender's advice and just throw the food away. But he shook his head instead. "It wouldn't do to waste good food, regardless of who prepared it."

Walking back over to the waterbender, Zuko divided up the meal into two portions and handed her one of them. Easing himself back down against the rock he had been sitting next to just a couple of minutes ago, the Fire Prince started to eat. It was late, but he hadn't eaten all day and he his stomach reminded him of that when he had smelled the food.

Katara looked down at the meal in her hands. It was clear that she hadn't forgiven Sela in the slightest. However, her stomach too quickly reminded her of her lack of nourishment today. With a huff, the Water Tribe girl sat down as well as she joined her companion for the short meal.

As they ate, Zuko paused as he reached up to touch his scar. "I'm tired of fighting," he proclaimed abruptly. Katara paused midway through her meal as she looked in his direction. "It's all I've done since I've left home. I've fought against the Avatar and his companions. I've fought against my Sister and her vile lies. I abandoned my Uncle and his sage counsel. That village we saved, those brutes have probably already reasserted their oppression."

The Fire Prince was staring at the food in his hands as he concluded his rant. "I fought... and I lost." He sighed. "Father was right. A weakling like me should have just given up a long time ago."

Katara didn't like seeing him like this. Crestfallen and dejected. It incited an impulse in her to stand up and march directly over to the Fire Prince. He glanced upward just in time for her to slap both her hands against each side of his face, allowing herself to hold his head firmly within her grasp. She raised him to his feet like that so that they were looking at each other at eye level.

"Listen to me Zuko. Giving up doesn't have to mean you are weak. Sometimes... sometimes it means you are strong enough to let go," she stated with her natural fierceness. "You taught me that. Maybe it's time for you to let go of whatever shackles you're carrying. Just like how you helped me get rid of my chains, the nightmares that plagued me."

Zuko pulled away from her grip as he turned away. For a moment, Katara thought he was about to lash out. That he would shout and yell and rant. That would almost be a welcome return to form, even if it would be a step backwards. But his next words were unexpected to the Water Tribe girl.

"I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever." He turned to look back at the waterbender. "Do you really think I could change? Do you really think I could find another path?"

He was asking her seriously, Katara realized, as the Fire Prince's question hung on the crisp evening air. He was solemnly asking for her opinion. And the Water Tribe girl answered the only way she knew how. Earnestly. "Everyone can change Zuko. I can help you."

Zuko got quiet again as he appeared lost in thought. As time passed, Katara was afraid that he was about to declare the entire notion foolhardy and reject the idea. But then he surprised her a second time. "I don't know any other path, but I want to find one."

It was almost as if Katara was looking at a new Fire Prince. A fire was rekindling itself within the firebender, but it seemed to glow brighter than before, less conflicted.

Then, as the Water Tribe girl continued to observe Zuko's determination, a question that had been weighing on her mind for quite a while resurfaced. She felt emboldened to finally ask it. "You don't have to say if you don't want too, but how did you get your scar?"

Instead of flinching, Zuko's shoulders merely fell in acceptance as if he had been anticipating the question. "Three years ago, I spoke out at a war council against a plan of a high ranking general. I was only supposed to be a observer, to watch and learn. But the General was proposing a sacrificial slaughter of a battalion of inexperienced, fresh recruits in order to lure out a veteran squadron of earthbenders. He was willing to offer up the lives of hundreds of his own countrymen in exchange for luring out about two dozen enemies. A fair trade he called it. I called him an unhonorable craven. And then, my Father said I spoke out of turn. That I must be responsible for the dishonor I showed. That I must fight in an Agni Kai."

He explained to the waterbender. "An Angi Kai is an honor duel amongst firebenders. The victor is proclaimed right and honorable in the dispute that led up to the duel. They also are allowed to decide the punishment for the vanquished. When the day of the Angi Kai arrived, I thought I was ready. I did not know my opponent was not the General, but instead my own Father."

The Water Tribe girl covered her mouth with her hands. "Since the Fire Lord declared that I spoke out of turn in his war council, it was him that I offended, not the General. I couldn't, I wouldn't fight my own Father. I dropped to my knees immediately and begged for forgiveness, but my Father said that I needed to learn respect. He gave me this mark to forever remind me of that lesson. And then, I was banished, instructed to find the Avatar to restore my honor if I ever wanted to return home."

"Your own Father?" Katara dropped her meal in disbelief. Never, not in a million years, could she possibly imagine her own Dad ever being capable of such evil. Sokka had been an unruly child, but their Dad had always loved both of them. How could someone be that callous towards their own child? But then Katara understood. This was the man that led the war against the world. This was the true nature of the Fire Lord that spread violence and hatred and chaos across the world. And it appeared that not even the man's own family was spared from this.

Then, another thought struck her. "You said this was three years ago?"

"Yes."

"Aang was only freed from the iceberg in the South Pole near the end of this last Winter. No one knew that the Avatar even still existed three years ago. Everyone thought the Avatar cycle had been broken."

"I know."

"Your Father never had any intention of letting you come home."

"I... understand that now."

She knelt down beside him and wrapped him up in a one-sided hug as Zuko just sat there unmoving. "That's horrible."

"My Uncle has been more of a father to me," declared Zuko. "I need to find him. Perhaps more than I thought I needed to find the Avatar. I need to apologize for my harsh words. I need to tell him I understand what he has been trying to tell me." He chuckled. "I told you I was a terrible student. But I do learn, eventually."

The Fire Prince stood up, only to feel a wave of dizziness as he staggered a step. Shaking his head clear, he composed himself and moved to open his bed roll. "This has been quite the productive day, wouldn't you say?"

Grabbing her bed roll, Katara spread the bedding down next to her traveling companion's sleeping area. "Can't say I liked how it started." She grasped her Mother's betrothal necklace. "But it definitely got better."


He felt like he was floating up high above the ground. Had the stars always been that close? The moon so bright? Turning his head, Zuko could see for miles in every direction as he scanned the horizon. A gentle breeze coolly brushed against his cheek as a swarm of owl bats fluttered by in the distance searching for a nightly meal of insects.

His head ached dully. Like he was missing something important. The more he thought about it, the further the notion drifted away. He moved to take a step. Only there was no ground underneath him. Zuko's foot swam in an empty sea of air. His effort to walk merely caused him to flail aimlessly, high in the sky as he seemed to hover there.

Glancing down in a growing panic, the Fire Prince saw his body lying far below him, still wrapped snuggly within the warm bed roll. However, his face was sweating heavily and grimacing as if he was struggling with pain. The waterbender lay near him, still blissful asleep and unaware of any change to the firebender.

Zuko began to feel very alarmed at the unnaturalness of all this. How could he be down on the ground and also somehow floating high above in the sky. Last time he checked, he didn't have the ability to fly. If he did, then maybe he wouldn't have had as many problems as he did when he was trying to capture the Avatar all those months ago.

Shaking his head, the Fire Prince willed himself to focus. The Avatar was unimportant. He needed to figure out what was going on with him right now. So instead, Zuko began to check himself over in the air. He appeared a blurry, blue translucent but otherwise seemed to be whole and healthy. Just as he attempted to calm himself and consider his situation, a long scaly shadow rushed and whirled pass him. The firebender spun around.

"It's been a while Cousin! Far too long in fact," greeted a ghostly Fire Nation man seated on the head of an impressive dragon floating a short distance from the Fire Prince.

"Lu Ten?!" exclaimed Zuko as he took stock of his long-since passed family member. He frowned. "Am I dead?"

Lu Ten laughed heartily. "No, little Zuko. It's more like you are at a crossroads of sorts. I am here to be your guide."

"I don't understand," stated the firebender as his frown grew. His headache spiked sharply, but he ignored it.

The fire dragon let out a mighty roar. Zuko took a step back. Or at least he attempted too. Floating midair like he was meant that he mostly just stumbled around in place.

"It seems my friend here grows impatient," observed Lu Ten as he patted the dragon's head soothingly. "I'll just say this. The world has been unbalanced for over a hundred years. And our family has been at the heart of it. I did not realize this during my time. My Father did not realize this completely until after my death and his Brother seized power. Your eyes are opening to these truths and it is time for you to choose. It is time for you to choose good."

Before Zuko could ask what his Cousin meant, the fire dragon took in a sharp intake of air as a glow of light rose deep within its throat behind rows of sharp jagged fangs. Then, a plume of fire surged directly at the Fire Prince as he raised his arms defensively.

As the waves of red, yellow, and orange faded away, Zuko found himself back in the Fire Palace courtyard. The crimson pillars lined the plaza impressively as large bronze, bowl-shaped torches of flame lit themselves one by one. Two people stood facing each other at either end of a formal dueling ground. Behind both figures, gigantic Fire Nation emblem banners fluttered proudly in the hot island air.

"Is that?" started Zuko as he recognized the figures.

"Your Agni Kai of three years past," answered Lu Ten as he approached his Cousin. "Your inflection point. Where your Father forced upon you a destiny of his creation, not yours." A pained cry rang out across the courtyard, Zuko watching stoically as a burst of flame scarred a younger, vanquished version of himself. "All stories have a beginning."

Zuko's world blurred again into a rush of colors as the throbbing pain in his head grew in volume and he found himself standing atop a mountain side. Strong powerful gusts of wind threatened to blow him over as birds and ring-tailed winged lemurs flew off in every direction.

Overhead the sky was a blood red as a crimson comet streaked across the sky. Sky bison filled with women and children were urgently evacuating from the tall spires of stone temples. The Fire Prince watched with wide horror-filled golden eyes as giant hulking siege weapon shots of fire catapulted into the sides of each fleeing sky bison midair, animal and unarmed passengers spilling into the seemingly endless caverns below with terrified cries.

"Cease this madness Fire Lord Sozin!" shouted an elderly monk, his eyes pleading for mercy. He held a glider staff in his hands as a makeshift weapon, a scattering of other monks standing behind him similarly armed.

"Give me the Avatar and I won't need to destroy your entire people to find him. Otherwise Gyatso, blame the spirits that it was the Air Nomad's turn in the cycle," demanded Sozin as he summoned two impossibly large bursts of fire in either hand. His legions of firebenders took ready stances at his side.

Lu Ten placed a hand on the Fire Prince's shoulder just as Zuko was about to rush forward. "And all stories have an end. The Air Nomads fell this day to our family's ambition. And the world took another step towards imbalance."

Sozin unleashed a suffocating inferno that incinerated the defiant monks as Zuko's mouthed a silent 'No!' and dark, rich smoke rushed outward to block his sight, a piercing pain ripping at his head.

He stood in a trench. Skywards rose a magnificently grand earthen wall that seemed to reach the heavens and stretch for miles in either direction. He heard bursts of fire and the impact of rocks ring out behind him. Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers were locked in a pitched battle at the base of the wall. Near the center, were the fighting was the thickest, fought a Fire Nation commander as he encouraged his men and resolutely defeated adversary after adversary.

Just as it appeared the legion of Fire Nation was on the verge of victory, Zuko noticed an odd Fire Nation soldier stalk towards the commander. Suddenly, the man was behind the commander and despite the distance, Zuko could hear the man clear as day whisper into the commander's ear, "Prince Ozai sends his regards." Then the commander jerked abruptly as the odd soldier melded back into the pitched fighting and simply vanished. The commander collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut, a knife in the back of his armor. His helmet rolled off, revealing the shocked face of Lu Ten.

"Ozai long had designs on taking the throne. My Father's success at Ba Sing Se would have cemented his ascension without question in the contest amongst Brothers," explained Lu Ten. "Ozai sent men to ensure that did not happen. Our family's ambition bloomed treachery even amongst ourselves."

The Dragon of the West appeared, falling to his knees over his son, shedding tears as he ordered an immediate withdrawal from Ba Sing Se. "However," concluded Lu Ten with a somewhat hopeful tone in his voice, "Unbeknownst to even himself, Ozai's actions that day had the unintended result of lighting a spark. A spark that lit a torch of redemption. A torch that could be passed along." Zuko saw his Uncle tearing off the Fire Nation medals and ribbons on his uniform in disgust and discarding them into the sea before walking off his ship and returning home as a young Zuko ran up to hug him.

Zuko stared at his younger self embracing his Uncle as memories of fonder times began to fill his head, which seemed to dull and calm the constant headache he was experiencing. "Why are you showing me all this?" he asked.

"My Father used to tell me all the time that 'It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it only from one place, then it becomes rigid and stale,'" answered Lu Ten. "Understanding yourself, understanding the past, understanding the other nations, each will help you become whole."

"This is starting to sound like Avatar stuff," noted Zuko.

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person, the balance and harmony of those cultures that makes the Avatar so powerful. Four quarters of a whole. The Avatar is the world's keeper of histories that spans lifetimes. But this knowledge can make you stronger too. Make you whole," replied Lu Ten.

"But why now?" returned the Fire Prince. He still did not understand why his ghostly cousin appeared to him now of all times. If this was so important, then why did his cousin's spirit take so long to appear before him? It had been years since Lu Ten's death and years since Zuko departed on his ill-fated quest.

"Because you recently stood at the precipice of change. And then you took the first step," answered Lu Ten with a proud smile. "You may have had some help along the way, but you will only be all the stronger for it. The world yearns for balance. And you've finally decided to be a part of that."

The Fire Prince looked away from his Cousin. "I decided to seek my own path. How is what you're doing any different than my Father? You said he was influencing my destiny. Aren't you just doing the same?"

Lu Ten gave a mirthful laugh, like Zuko had just said something funny. "I am only showing you what has already come to pass. And while I hope you make the right choices, you are free to draw your own conclusions and make your own decisions.

The Fire Prince's vision swayed as his head spun and flashed with pain. Shaking himself steady, Zuko shivered. All around him was ice and snow. He heard a crashing sound and moved to witness several steel ships breaking through the ice and anchoring just short of a small village. Legions of Fire Nation soldiers poured out and ran forward trailing blades of fire in their hands. Numerous war cries sang out as Water Tribe warriors met their charge and the two forces clashed.

At the head of the Water Tribe warriors was a fierce looking man wearing a wolfskin helmet. A chieftain by appearances. He was the first to engage the firebenders in their white skull masks. Despite not being a bender, the Water Chieftain was a flurry of whalebone spear strikes as he pierced firebender after firebender. Zuko watched, impressed by each parry and counter. The man was an unstoppable force as he lashed out and slipped away before he could be surrounded over and over again. His charge inspired his warriors to fight with even greater ferocity despite the fact they were outnumbered three to one.

Behind the battlefield, Zuko noticed a beautiful woman urge a little boy and a strikingly familiar little girl into a nearby igloo as she shut the heavy animal skin behind her. A moment later the little boy came running back out carrying a boomerang in his small hand.

The Water Chieftain appeared to take notice of the boy at the same time as a firebender. Faster than Zuko could blink, the man had closed the distance, leaping over the firebender, his spear a blur of movement, and scooping up the young boy at the same time as that firebender lost his head. The Chieftain retreated to the rear for a brief reprieve as his warriors closed ranks around him.

Then Zuko saw it. An armored firebender approached the door of the igloo that the woman and the little girl were hiding out in. Zuko felt himself running before his mind even registered what his body was doing. The armored firebender entered the igloo. Time was slowing down all around him. From the corners of his eyes, the intense battle seemed to fade away. The battle cries grew fainter and fainter. Zuko continued to run. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him that something gut-wrenching was about to occur within that igloo. He could hear Lu Ten behind him, shouting at him to stop, that these events had already come to pass. He ignored him.

The Fire Prince was a step away. He heard the blood-curling scream from within. He gripped the animal skin in the doorframe and threw it open. Zuko came face-to-face with the giant open maw of the fire dragon Lu Ten had ridden in on. A moment later he was enveloped in fire and his head nearly burst open in pain.

Somewhere, distantly, as he hovered there, floating in the darkness, he heard his Cousin's faint voice. It was strange. As the voice spoke to him, he could swear that he heard his Uncle's voice blurring together with Lu Ten's. "You are currently undergoing a metamorphosis. You are in conflict with the expectation of yourself and the belief of what you could be. Your mind and body are at war with themselves. This will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be."

Then, came the pain. Like nothing he had ever experienced before in his life. More intense than when he received his scar. More twisted than the mind games of his Sister. More brutal than the beating of rocks from Gow. Then, blackness.


Katara awoke to the sounds of the firebender twisting and turning in his sleep. He was grimacing and seemed to be immense pain. "Zuko, wake up, Zuko!" she urged as she shook his shoulder.

He didn't stir and her worry intensified ten fold. Reaching out to the nearby pond, she bent a small column of water and splashed him with it. The result was a soggy, unresponsive Zuko. His grimace darkened in his slumber.

"Zuko, I need you to wake up. Tell me what's wrong. I don't know how to help you," she stressed as she tried to shake him awake again. But he wouldn't wake. She place a hand on his forehead. He was running a high fever.

Katara took a step back, willed herself into a force calm, and bent more water as she wrapped it all around the Fire Prince and concentrated on healing. But this was different. She couldn't feel the water healing him. There was no visible effect.

The waterbender focused harder. She had no idea what was going on with Zuko. Why he was in this state. He seemed fine when he went to bed last night. She was sure that she had healed him fully from his fight with Gow. Was there something that she had missed? Something that was causing this to him?

If there was, her waterbending couldn't find it. He just wouldn't wake up. His grimace wouldn't disappear. It was like he was in constant pain. He appeared to be breathing, so at least that worry was off the table for the moment. However, she was at a complete loss.

What could she do? Even if she could miraculously find the strength to lift him onto Biscuit somehow, she had no idea how far away the next town was. If someone recognized Zuko as a firebender, then she wasn't entirely sure that she could keep him safe and get them both out of the situation while he was unconscious. She needed help. They needed help.

The waterbender rushed to Biscuit only to pause as she gripped the reins. If she left with the horse, then there was absolutely no one left to watch over the Fire Prince as he lay defenseless in the middle of the wilderness. She moved Biscuit over near Zuko and hitched the horse to a closer tree. She took the ostrich horse's head in her hands and human and animal locked eyes. "Keep him safe, please," she pleaded, not sure if the horse understood her. Then, she took off in the direction of the road. Biscuit neighed as the ostrich horse watched her go.


About an hour later, as Katara ran down the well traveled road, she finally found other travelers when she very nearly crashed into a traveling husband and wife duo as she rounded a turn on the path. She fell on her backside as the man steadied his heavily pregnant wife.

"Are you alright?" asked the woman as she observed the young waterbender. "You seem to be in such a hurry."

Standing back up and dusting herself off, Katara's words rushed out of her, "My friend is very sick. He won't wake up no matter what I do. I just don't know what to do. I'm trying to find help."

"Oh dear," said the woman as she looked at her husband. "Than, your Sister knows a little apothecary, doesn't she? Maybe she could help?"

"I don't know," answered the man as he rubbed the back of his head with indecision. "Where is this friend of yours? We're still about a two day hike from my Sister's village."

Katara seemed reluctant. "I don't know if he can wait that long for me to go and come back."

Than seemed to pause in thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know if it will help or not, but you could always try some bacui berries."

His wife grabbed his arm. "Bacui berries?" she balked. "Really? Isn't that just a snack food?"

"My Sister told me once that although bacui berries are primarily a cure for the poison from the white jade bush, the natural antitoxins in those berries also serve as a base for numerous other medicines." Than shrugged. "So they might work?" He didn't seem very certain of his own suggestion. "Besides, bacui berries grow all over the Earth Kingdom in nearly every wooded area. So at least they should be fairly easy to find."

"Thank you!" thanked Katara, willing to grasp at straws at this point. At least it was a task that she could set herself to accomplish instead of feeling completely helpless. Almost instantly, the waterbender turned to run back the way she came.

"Hold up there miss," called back Than as the waterbender paused. "I'm just speculating here. There is absolutely no guarantee that bacui berries will help your friend. And since it looks like you're about to search for them regardless, then I got to warn you about maka'ole berries as well. They look deceptively similar to bacui berries and can cause blindness if consumed. The trick to remember is the leaves of bacui berries are rounded while maka'ole berries are pointed. Otherwise, the berries themselves look the exact same."

Katara bowed her head in thanks. "Thank you for your kindness."

"It's nothing," replied Than. "With any luck, those berries will help your friend. We travelers have to stick together after all."

As Katara hurried back down the way she came, Than turned to his wife. "Those berries better work after I talked them up like that."

"They will," his wife answered.

"Huh? How do you know Ying?" he asked as he adjusted the large traveler's pack on his back.

"I have hope," replied Ying as she watched the young waterbender disappear into the distance.


Katara checked every wooded area along the road as she returned towards their campsite. However, everywhere she looked, she either found red berries with pointed leaves or just came up short altogether.

She was getting frustrated. She had left Zuko alone all day, suffering by himself alone in the wildness, at the mercy of anyone or anything that came along. And here she was searching for berries.

Katara was grasping at straws and she knew it. She just didn't know what to do. Did she think she was a healer just because she learned her waterbending could heal physical injuries? She knew very little about illnesses. Gran-Gran would always take care of people when they were sick back in her village. Gran-Gran always knew what to do.

'When did the sun set?' the Water Tribe girl realized with a start. Katara had been so preoccupied with searching around the bushes and near the bases of the trees that she had scarcely noticed that night had fallen across the land.

She tripped over a tree root in her haste and just laid there instead of getting up. Zuko was sick and suffering and she couldn't do anything to help him. She had no idea if he was going to get better or worse on his own. She knew that he was strong, but she had seen several strong men in the South Pole fall victim to different illnesses and pass away.

Determination crossed her face. She was wasting time. She had been wasting time all day. She should have tried to get Zuko into a town this morning. Should have found a proper doctor. If he was recognized as the Prince of the Fire Nation, then she would just deal with it then. His health came first.

Picking herself, she started to move back in the direction of the campsite. Breaking past a bush, she stumbled upon a small pond illuminated by moonlight. Katara was confused. She was positive that this pond had not been here previously. She had walked right past this area not even a minute ago and it had been nothing but trees.

In the pond were two koi fish, one white and one black. Each had a single dot on top of their head of the opposite color. The white fish possessed a black dot, while the black fish had a white dot. The koi fish were locked in a circular dance within the pond.

Katara had no idea what to make of the scene. It felt mythical, like she had intruded on somewhere that humans were not supposed to be. Just next to the water's edge grew a single bush of red berries with rounded leaves.

As the Water Tribe girl approached, the koi fish continued their dance, undisturbed by her presence. Gingerly, she took hold of a single branch of berries and pinched it off from the bush. Then, she bowed to the fish. She did not know why she did that. But it felt like the right thing to do.

And as she left, the waterbender looked back to find nothing but a sea of trees once more. The only evidence that any of that had been real was the single branch of bacui berries in her hand.


The moon was at its zenith by the time Katara returned to the campsite. The area looked completely undisturbed. Biscuit was standing over the firebender protectively as if the horse had been waiting for the Water Tribe girl's return the entire time.

Zuko's fever continued to burn. His face was locked in a constant grimace as he shifted side to side occasionally. It appeared he had not awoke in the time she had been gone.

As Katara knelt down next to the Fire Prince and plucked some of the bacui berries from the vine, she realized that he was not going to be able to eat the berries by himself. Refusing to waste any more time to hesitation or any other such delay, the waterbender placed the berries in her own mouth, chewing them softly until they became a paste. The berries tasted sweet.

Katara leaned over the firebender and, placing her lips upon his tenderly, fed him the berry paste. He seemed to swallow the herbal medicine and she checked to ensure the berries had not blocked his airway.

"Please work," she prayed as she watched over him. It took a few minutes, but his furrowed brow started to ease as his face became calm. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead. His fever did not feel nearly as warm as it had earlier that day.

Relief washed over the Water Tribe girl like a tidal wave. The stress that had been pent up all day flooded out of her and she released a breath that she did not realize she had been holding. Zuko was still asleep, but he no longer appeared to be in any pain. Exhaustion took hold of her and Katara curled up next to the firebender as she drifted off to sleep as well.


The next morning came quickly. When the waterbender opened her eyes, she quickly noticed that she was lying there by herself. Alarmed, she hurriedly scanned the campsite and immediately caught sight of Zuko seated cross-legged a couple of feet away, meditating quietly underneath the morning sun.

He seemed to know that she had awoken. "Good morning!" he beamed in an absolutely cheerful tone.

"You're awake!" shouted the Water Tribe girl as she rushed to wrap him up into a tight hug. "I didn't know what had happened! You were asleep for an entire day! Why wouldn't you wake up? Are you alright?"

The Fire Prince returned the embrace slightly as he steadied the pair of them. "I'm not really sure myself. My head is full of dreams and images, each one more hazy than the last. I think I remember seeing my Cousin, but mostly it's just blurs. I think he was trying to tell me something. I was trying to meditate this morning and focus my thoughts, but everything is still foggy."

Zuko ended the hug as Katara sat back a little. "I feel good though," the firebender surmised. "Like really good. It feels like a weight that I never realized was there is gone."

He stood up and walked a couple of steps away. "There is something amiss though." He ran through a regular firebending form, one that she had seen him practice dozens of times before. Completing his movements, Zuko looked back over at Katara. She stared back at him in confusion for a moment until her eyes widen in shock. "Yeah," he confirmed, his tone now serious. "My firebending is gone."