A/N: Welcome to my first fanfic ever. I don't know how long it will go, and seeing as I am new to this, any advice or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I am going to try to get the first three chapters (not counting this, being the very long prologue) by Friday, than update about once a week. Read, enjoy, and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Don't make money either.

The eerie green glow of the crystals beneath Ba Sing Se made Zuko think that it was all a dream. It had to be a dream. Someone other than his mother or his uncle showing him compassion was simply impossible. Wasn't it? The cool feel of the waterbender's hand on his scar told him no. But how could she, of all people, care about him? Hadn't he chased her best friend across the earth, fought her personally numerous times, and even tied her to a tree? Yes, among other things.

And yet here she was, offering to heal the mark that the very man who sent Zuko to chase the avatar had given him. He knew he didn't deserve this. Even if he had, it seemed fate would still manage to get in his way. It always does, he thought bitterly. Every time something went even remotely his way, the universe saw fit to tear it all away from him. Every time.

But maybe this time was different.

Maybe he was different.

He wasn't the same Zuko that had tried so desperately to capture that elusive bald monk. He wasn't the same Zuko that had burned down the village of Kyoshi, or threatened women and children at the South Pole, or hired bounty hunters to track down a group of kids (one of which was still touching his face).

So who was he?

Never forget who you are.

Had he ever even known? Maybe at one point, at a time where he stood up for what he believed in. Before he knew of all of the terrible loss and suffering that came with the war his forefathers had started. But not now.

He had no idea who he was anymore. He knew what he believed. That this war was wrong. That his mission was wrong. That his father was wrong.

What he didn't know was whether he was willing to fight it. Was that what his mother had meant? Would she want him to betray his people to do the right thing?

Zuko didn't get a chance to reflect on this as a large explosion suddenly sounded from behind, breaking his train of thought.

"Aang!" The waterbender (Katara?) shouted. Much happier about it than he was, Zuko noted sadly. Then he saw his uncle, and was immediately put off.

"Uncle, what are you doing with him?" Zuko asked as he was tightly embraced by the man in question.

Whatever response his uncle had was cut off as the avatar himself answered the question. "Saving you, that's what!"

This made Zuko angry, which he subconsciously knew was very irrational. But Zuko ignored that as his uncle's outstretched hand prevented him from tearing the monk to shreds then and there.

"Nephew, it's time we had a talk," Iroh said, turning towards the avatar and the waterbender: "go find your friends; we'll catch up with you."

Zuko couldn't help but notice the girl's apologetic, almost hopeful, look back at him as she walked away; disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel leading back into the world above.

"Why uncle?" Zuko asked, still in a bit of shock from what had just transpired.

"Zuko, you are not the man you used to be. You are stronger, wiser, and freer than you have ever been. And now you have reached the crossroads of your destiny."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Aang and Katara were in their fighting stances, seemingly in a stare-off with the fire princess. It was as if no one was willing to risk making the first move, as though that was the surest way to lose this fight.

Azula knew she was at least close to being outmatched. She wasn't stupid, far from it actually. She knew that both of the benders in front of her were skilled, and the nearby underground river was no help to her. Of course, Azula was always one step ahead. She knew that if she could just stall long enough, the Dai Li would allow her to easily overwhelm and capture the avatar.

The tension was suddenly broken when a large fireball hit the floor in the middle of the three benders. They looked to see Zuko, now sleeveless, in a fighting stance a few yards away. His eyes darted back and forth between his sister and the avatar, and after a quick glance at Katara, he struck.

Azula was caught off guard so badly she almost didn't move in time. Almost. With a swift backward flip she shot blue fire at Aang, who quickly put up a rock wall in defense. Zuko and Katara attacked Azula simultaneously, Katara with her trusty water whip and Zuko with a low kick that shot fire in an arc just inches above the ground.

Azula spun a wall of fire that dissipated Zuko's and dissolved Katara's water. She was knocked back hard by a human shaped gust of wind that sent her crashing back into some of the crystals. Her opponents surrounded her, ready to strike. Suddenly, a large explosion sounded off to Azula's left. She smirked as the Dai Li agents came pouring out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zuko was now surrounded by close to a dozen Dai Li. Katara faced the same number, octopus stance at the ready. Aang was faced with twice as many and an angry fire princess added on. The situation looked bad, to be overly optimistic. Aang could only think of one solution. It was let go of the girl he loved, or lose her forever. He bent himself into a crystal shell.

He wouldn't remember anything for another two weeks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Katara couldn't believe what she had just seen. One moment it was avatar state to the rescue and everything was gonna work out, and the next, Aang was plummeting to earth. She didn't think about what she was doing, she just reacted. She caught Aang before he hit the ground and looked up to see Zuko, back turned, preparing to take on nearly fifty Dai Li agents.

If it wasn't for Iroh arriving just in time, they probably wouldn't have made it out at all. As it was, she was racing next to Zuko who was carrying the unconscious, or gods forbid worse, Aang. She was too distraught to even realize that she was trusting Zuko so much already. They quickly found Sokka, Toph, Kuei, and Bosco and took off on Appa.

Katara pulled out the flask of spirit water and tried to heal Aang. At first there was no luck, and she thought he would surely die. But then, he opened his eyes, gave a slight, pained smile, and drifted back into unconsciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zuko noticed Katara using the spirit water on Aang and couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. It's not like he would rather have his scar healed and the boy dead, but it still stung just a little bit. No one had acknowledged him at all yet (they were too distracted by the whole hero of the world dying thing), which was completely fine with him. He really needed to think and was sure that being scrutinized by the water tribe boy wouldn't help much.

He looked off to the side and began to reflect on what had happened. Had he made the right choice? His mind screamed no but his heart said yes. He normally ignored what his heart said (that meant emotions were involved and that meant weakness) but couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at finally doing the right thing for once. Actually, I guess that's two in a row, he thought. He felt good about himself despite the absolute beating he had just received at the hands of his sister and her new minions. That was definitely weird. Zuko was almost always angry, especially after failing so epically. But not since he got sick, and still not now. Maybe he had changed more than he previously thought.

But still, what if he had joined Azula? Would he be getting ready to go back to the Fire Nation right now? Would he be accepted by his father again, after all these years? Guess that doesn't matter now, he thought. Zuko was never one to dwell on the past, mostly because the past was so filled with hurt for him. It only caused him pain every time he looked back, so he bottled it up and moved on. Simplest solution of them all.

Unfortunately everyone was still silent, and Zuko's mind kept drifting back and asking: what if?

Meanwhile, everyone else was thinking things through as well. Kuei was pondering how exactly he could have been so badly fooled for so long. Sokka was planning what they would do next, where they would go, who they would meet, and what they would do about the invasion. Toph was reflecting on what she had "seen" before the gaang had hurriedly left on Appa, as well as how she would hone her new skill of metal bending and make that Fire Nation brat pay for what she had done.

Katara was trying to just stop thinking. Every time she thought it would be about Aang, and how close he was to dying. Or about how long it would take him to recover. How long would it take for her to recover? She had tried to distract her thoughts earlier by thinking about Zuko.

She had decided that he must have changed and that he must be on their side now, seeing as he had almost been killed helping them escape and still hadn't made a violent move towards anyone. Or any move at all for that matter. She figured he could be Aang's firebending master, but still had a ways to go to make up for everything. Then she thought back to their time underneath Ba Sing Se. She sort of felt bad that she would no longer be able to remove his scar, but figured Aang's life was higher up on her priority list.

She thought about what he had said about his mother, how he had understood her pain and even sort of comforted her a little bit when she opened up to him. And that's where the thoughts got a bit out of hand. She began thinking that she had felt a strange connection to Zuko, almost like, like... well she couldn't describe it to herself. It was a bit like her thing with Jet, but at the same time way different and it scared her. She wrote the whole thing off as shock and decided that she really didn't want to think about Zuko anymore.

Finally she couldn't take the silence. She asked, voice shaky, to no one and to everyone "what do we do now?"

And even though they had all been thinking about it quite a bit, even Sokka, the plan guy, had no idea how to answer her question.

Whatever they did though, Ba Sing Se had fallen, and there was no turning back now, not for any of them.

A/N: I know this is short and choppy, but we all know how Crossroads went, this was only meant to fill in the differences. Hate it? Love it? Should I stop now and save us all the trouble? Help me out! Thanks.