I'm blown away by the support this story has been getting. Thanks you all so much and sorry it took so long. The scenes we were working on lately are at another level of complexity and thinking them up and writing it out took a lot more time than expected.

It was really fun to read all your guesses on the last cliffhanger and I have to say, no one got it right ;) but I admit, it was a mean one. Have fun reading on! - ystävä

Sorry, but going to say in advance (as you may be able to guess from this title) that this is a two parter, so another cliffhanger is coming. Thank you in particular to UpAt2AMWithTheBoys, your enthusiasm definitely encouraged me here. To explain the cliffhanger, a mix of the heavy themes to come and rapidly increasing length of the chapter forced our hand here, but I hope this keeps you on edge for the next chapter to come. These next two chapters are a pivot point for Zuko, and how he is to take himself moving forward, so as Pakku said, "study closely"- ML8991

Chapter 11: Do You Know?

Sokka felt a surge go through his body and suddenly, there was blinding light forcing him to squint his eyes shut for a moment. In those few seconds of disorientation, he started to realize several things: His skin was rapidly heating up in the sunlight; His arms were held sidewards in a strong and uncomfortable hold with hands pressing against his neck. The tips of his shoes barely touched the ground. He heard confused shouts of unfamiliar voices, disconcerted murmurs of the person holding him, their grip loosening… When Sokka tried opening his eyes again, he understood at once that he was outside the library and then heard his sister shout for him.

Just a second later, he heard Aang shout "Appa!" in panic. Confused, Sokka struggled to get free, but the movement only caused whoever was restraining him to tighten their hold again, so Sokka settled for looking around for a strategy to figure out what was going on here instead.

He heard Appa groan miserably and tried to follow the sound, only to see that Appa was covered in ropes that were held by a group of nomads. Just then, Aang started shouting, thousands of voices layering his own.

"No!"

Sokka saw a flash, and blades of air cutting through the ropes, freeing Appa in moments. Appa, feeling the ropes loosen, tried to move with new vigour, lifting up into the air as Aang finished slicing through the ropes he'd missed the first time.

Amid the fearful shouts of the desert nomads, Aang glided down, eyes flickering back to their normal grey. Sokka, felt that the hands holding him had slackened and quickly moved to get free, succeeding this time. He heard Aang speak again.

"How dare you! How dare you try…." Aang was at a loss of words. He took a step forward, Appa landing a safe distance behind him. The sandbenders drew back, some, stumbling in their shock.

"Why?" Aang shouted. "Why would you do that?"

"We, we…" One was stuttering… but someone else's shout drowned out what he tried to say.

"Sparks? You alright?... Sparks?... Zuko! Where is he?"

As Toph's voice grew frantic when no reply came, Sokka paled in realization. So that's what Wan Shi Tong had meant by "a Life for a Life".

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The sudden transition to darkness made his head swim. The shadows blurred his vision, but it was apparent he was inside. How he had come to be… His brain unhelpfully supplied that this must be inside the library, but how he'd gotten there he could not make a guess at, though spirits surely must have had a hand in it. As to what spirits could want with him, he hoped he could find out so he could get out of this mess.

He tried to stand up, but the limited water supply of the group, on top of the fighting outside, made him slump back to his knees, his head swimming as he fought back collapsing from exhaustion. A cold, cruel voice, however, cut through his reverie at once, bringing him to a sharp focus and to his feet.

"So the banished lands in my realm. Is it really so surprising that after being abandoned by your mother, father, and uncle, that your new found companions would do the same?" leered the owl-like figure.

Zuko dragged himself into a submissive position, face down, in part to pay respect to the spirit, but also to avoid showing the spirit his hurts. He answered in quiet tones. "I guess not. Forgive me great spirit, but why am I down here, and not where I was?"

Wan Shi Tong chuckled, "Are you deaf as well as near blind? Your companion, the Water Tribe boy, offered you as a boon, a life for a life, and I would happily have your life, Prince Zuko." he cackled.

The thought that the great knowledge spirit wanted his life was enough to make Zuko break free from his slump all the way, a chuckle working itself up his throat. He looked up to the towering bird which loomed over him like dappled shadow.

"My life, heh. What value would it have to you? As you say, I am banished, an outcast, never to set foot on the soil of my home lest I return the Avatar. I am unloved, unwanted, and without allies. I am no one and offer no value to your collection. So I repeat, spirit, what value would I and my life have to you?" he reproached.

"You really don't know?" the bird sneered, a grin forming on its face. "You, whose blood caused this war. Your father, who has harried the colonial settlements and tortured your home; his father, who hounded the waterbenders to the end of his days, seeking to continue that legacy of his father, who in a day and a night struck a race of you humans from this world. And yet, there was another who caused the war: The Fire Avatar. He stood by as his once friend laid waste to the world, only making a feeble effort to repel the ambitions of the one he named brother."

Zuko, whose head had hung in shame at the mention of the deeds of his blood, quirked his head up at the mention of the last Avatar, clearly confused.

"He had children," the bird continued, his grin growing ever more malicious and cruel as he shifted his gaze lower to Zuko's hunched form. "ones who lived in Hira'a and stayed quiet as they saw the atrocities of the Fire Lords. They decided that one of their children should marry that line. She married the spare, with no chance to gain power. That was until the day the wall fell. Oh yes, the Dragon lost his fire, his son, and his throne, all in the stroke of a week. And this spawn of the Avatar caused it all. And all for her children, or so my foxes say. The second, a great flame, azure as the spirit sky, Crown Princess, and the first, a little ember, who now cowers before me. Do you see now, Prince Zuko, who you truly are. Not only Zuko, Son of Ozai, Son of Azulon, Son of Sozin, but also Zuko, Son of Ursa, Son of Jinzuk, son of RO-KU."

The bird punched out the syllables of the last name, each landing like a physical blow, as he dropped the library lower. Zuko's feet collapsed under him with the sudden motion and the knowledge he now possessed felt like bricks dragging him down and keeping him there. As his thoughts swirled, he wondered what was going on above and how he could get out of this dire situation, all while the bird drew ever closer.

00000

Toph cried out "ENOUGH!", her words stilling the group just as much as her bending did: Sokka felt the sand around his feet freeze in place, solidifying to a rough rock that stilled any and all motion. There were sounds of protest from the sandbenders, and Katara shouting: "Toph, what are you doing?"

Then Toph screamed: "Where is he? He was here before, what did you do to him?" Her unseeing eyes were blazing in Sokka's direction, for once her gaze piercing and true.

Sokka swallowed guiltily, but he didn't say anything. He saw Aang now flying into the air and surveying the whole scene from above, but failing to catch a glance of Zuko. Katara was looking around frantically, too. But then Toph turned back to Sokka, taking a step forward.

"Sokka, you're just about standing where I thought Sparks was last standing. And I don't think I felt you passing through that window. Where. Is. He.? You got something to do with it, don't you dare even think of lying. Tell me right now!" she punched the ground and the library seemed to jump when her fist connected with the ground.

"Uhm,.." Sokka swallowed, seeing no other choice but to talk, his throat tight. "Wan Shi Tong… he wanted him. He's…. He's probably somewhere down there."

"Whaaat?" Toph's voice rose a few octaves with the word before continuing on a more normal pitch. "How, why? What the hell. Start talking." she snapped, each word like a stone to the gut.

"He, he wouldn't let me go. He demanded payment for knowledge that he saw lost by human's actions. I have nothing but my life. So...so...so he suggest to take mine, add me to his collection. I... " he paused, a tinge of red of embarrassment and shame flooded his face. "I suggested he take Zuko… the big scary bird-thing thought it fair, "a life for a life" he said. Then, I felt a weird tugging at my gut, and I suddenly was out here, with you guys."

"You sacrificed Zuko." Aang said blankly, shock written on his face.

"I was desperate, I didn't know what to do, I'm sorry, I didn't know what he'd do. I didn't know he'd switch us. I was trying to buy myself some time to figure a way out." Sokka looked at them pleadingly, the sand like rock at his feet shifted, pressing now, rising over his ankles.

"How could you!" Toph screamed. "How could you do that?! I thought you were starting to get along better! He's human, just like us. He might not see eye to eye with us, but I thought you had started to see that he isn't evil! He isn't. And now he's gone, why? Because you thought him expendable. Because you valued your own life above his! He's been keeping us alive, he was the one who figured out how to get water out here in the desert. And what do you do? You give him to an evil spirit to add to his 'collection'." She spat the words.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I didn't think straight…" Sokka said quickly, but Toph would have none of it, sand-stone rising ever higher on Sokka's body.

"Toph, calm down! This isn't helping him or anybody," Katara, feeling the situation escalate, laid a gentle but firm hand on Toph's shoulder.

Toph shed away, releasing her hold on everyone's feet while turning to the tower, fist clenched. "I don't want to be calm!"

She threw it into the stone wall of the tower, sending rocks flying. Then she frantically laid her hand on the stone, feeling for any activity inside. Feeling for the heartbeat of one firebender, hoping it wasn't too late.

Aang was staring at Sokka still. "You're lying, right? You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't! You're not like that."

"I feel him." Toph said right then and Aang snapped his head over.

"He is?"

"Sokka's telling the truth, he's with the douche bird, but he's alive. We need to get him out!"

The library was lurching again and Toph clawed her hands into the stone, if only she could lift it somehow! "Aang, you have to get him out. The library is still moving down. I can't go, I can't let it go." she ground out, lifting with all her might, and she started to feel some of the mortar come loose.

Aang threw a glance back towards Sokka, who had finally fallen to his knees in shock. "We're going to talk later." Pale grey eyes shifted to storm grey as he shifted his attention once more to the sand benders, some of who'd been trying to sneak off. "And you! I'm not done with you, you'll stay right here or…"

There was an almighty crash. Aang spun around, facing the now gaping hole where the tower had once stood, its minaret a pile of loose stones on the sand as Toph panted with exertion. "Hold on Sparks, Twinkles is coming." she said in a woozy voice, just before her legs gave way, her hazed eyes closing. Katara tried to catch her as she slumped into unconsciousness.

00000

As the predatory gaze of the all-knowing spirit closed in, Zuko's resolve steeled, his soft gold gaze hardening to Agni's blinding gaze. He wouldn't give up, not now, not like this. He drew himself up, and as he spoke, his voice rang true and strong. This was not the broken boy that had been forced into the realm of the spirit, this was the Crown Prince, the spark that the Fire Lord had tried so hard to snuff out, the true Light of the Nation.

"You list these blames spirit, and I accept them. My part in this war, too, is not without remorse or regret. Yet here I stand. Although I started my exile against those who are outside, I now walk with them. Can you say the same, spirit, one who risked the imbalance of the world for the sake of one man's vanity? You are cruel, callous and spiteful. I care not that Sokka left me to die, he has made that threat clear enough to me before, but if one is to rule, one chooses his battles, and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe is not a battle I choose. But I choose to fight you Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things, Keeper of the Great Spirit Library. Do you choose to fight me, given the knowledge you have of my kin?"

Zuko goaded the supercilious strigine spirit, hoping the imperious inquisitor wouldn't see beneath his bluff. He could feel the seeping exhaustion of fighting above ground, and he was worried that if the bird tried anything, he would be gone.

But move the bird did, each peck landing like a blade of lightning, aiming for the Prince.

But. He. Wasn't. There.

Zuko's face became a blur, a ghost of spirit blue and pale skin merged as one as the bird tried to land a blow on the Prince. Time and time again the bird tried, and each time he was thwarted, so he eventually stilled his efforts. If knowledge was what the mites were here for, that was what they would get. Zuko, too, stilled when the bird did, confused by the inactivity, but glad to be able to catch his breath all the same. A heavy air settled between them as the bird began to speak. "Oh little spark, dipping into performances and shadows, how clever you have become." Each word dripped with condensation and false flattery. Zuko noted that the syllables oozing out were like Azula's slow honeyed tones when she knew something he did not. His hackles raised, on edge, he leaned back as the bird swooped low once more, continuing his syrupy soliloquy, whispering poison into his ear.

"But not clever enough. Your mother, now she is a clever one, able to whisper and deliver poison in equal measures. She near brought down a dynasty, playing your uncle for a fool, but she too was pricked by the thorn of her plans. To save you, she gave away her freedom. Removed from court, from her husband, from you. Cast to the winds, and now lost to all."

Zuko was floored by these implications, his mother...might be alive?

An eerie silence fell over the pair, as Wan Shi Tong landed the last of his venom. "Would she be proud of you now, Prince. One who should not be touched, bemirsched; one whose light should be pure as the Eternal Flame, blackened; one whose purpose should be for his nation, skewed. Are you still her Prince, Zuko? Or have you broken that promise? Have you forgotten who you are?"

Just as the pair was about to continue their dance, light flooded the air and Toph's voice breezed down, telling him to hold on. He was going to do more than that, he reasoned, the sunlight, although dimming quickly as the sand rushed into the void space where he presumed the minaret had stood, flooded his drained chi. The surge of energy he felt bellowed out in flame, and as his fire surged towards the bird, he could have sworn it flickered into a pale white, perhaps a hazy blue. Wishful thinking, surely, he thought in passing as he thrust the gout of flame towards the shocked bird, who was now reeling backward.

Even in retreat, baulking from the raw flame, Wan Shi Tong tried to attack, talons tried to seize the Prince, but the heat was blazing from said one's hands and he couldn't get close. So instead, he backed away, further and further, until suddenly, there was a railing that he stumbled over. And Wan Shi Tong grasped on nothing. With a mighty effort, he tried lifting himself from the black maw, his wings beating dramatically, but his last thrust had left him unbalanced, and with a final gust, the great bird fell down. Into the void below. His cry echoed in the still air, until silence lay in the air save the rushing of the sand into the central span. All Zuko could think about, as he saw a haze of orange-yellow floating down, was: how the minaret had disappeared!? But then, as his body finally registered that the immediate danger had passed, darkness took him into its absolute and gentle embrace and he thought no more.

00000

Aang quickly glided down through the gaping hole. He hadn't flown far when he saw Zuko move into action. And Aang reeled backwards in shock when hazed white flames spurt from Zuko's fists, raw, but focused on forcing the giant bird-spirit backwards, away from him. He stared at Zuko, never having seen him display fire like this. Zuko forced the bird back, claw by claw, until there was nothing to step on. In an attempt to keep balance, the giant bird spread his wings, then shot out one of his talons to claw at Zuko. That was the moment when he finally lost balance and fell backwards, feathers singed. The loud screech, resounding from the walls of the abyss as eerie noise, slowly got quieter until it faded away to silence.

Zuko, who had been standing there, staring at the falling creature as if frozen, suddenly slumped down, Aang, not expecting it, could just watch him crumble on the ground to remain there unmoving.

"Zuko?" Aang hurried over, shaking his shoulders, but the firebender was out. Aang sighed, trying to lift him up. Zuko wasn't as heavy as Aang thought he should be, but he was still heavy enough that Aang, when he jumped off the ground with the help of airbending, got dragged back down after having risen all of a few feet. He tried again, but exhaustion also shot through him and he realized that he would be unable to get Zuko out that way, not when he was unconscious and therefore barely more than dead weight. The dome was too high.

He looked around for any other way, acutely aware of the sand still drizzling down slightly from a few edges. His gaze fell onto the rope hanging from the edge of the ruin that the minaret presented. The rope didn't touch the ground anymore. Aang didn't like to leave Zuko behind even for a moment, but he saw no other option if he wanted to find a way to get Zuko up.

He grabbed onto his glider and jumped up.

00000

Katara had caught Toph and laid her down, laying a hand on her forehead. Deciding that Toph was just exhausted from a combination of heat, dehydration, and exertion, she opened her water skin, pulling out some water that she gave Toph in small sips, making sure it went down the correct tube via her waterbending. She looked up to see that the sandbenders once more were trying to sneak off.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, you're staying right here! You don't want to piss off the Avatar further, do you?"

The sandbenders had frozen at her words, but now turned to her, shocked. "That kid's the Avatar?" one asked unbelieving.

"Well, you saw him, what did you believe he was? Now how about all of us sit down and…"

Aang flew through the hole, landing directly beside.

"I need some rope. He passed out. Can't fly him up. We need to..."

Aang looked around, eyes falling onto a sandbender who still held some rope in his hand.

"You!" Aang pointed at him. "Give me that!... On my signal, start pulling." He stared at the sandbenders, who quickly nodded, obviously afraid of incurring the wrath of the boy they now understood to be the Avatar.

Aang took the rope and disappeared into the dome again and Katara leaned over to see him hanging on the rope, trying to tie the ends together. Eventually he managed, flying down and dragging Zuko from where he'd passed out to the center. It was tough going, the sand was still pouring in, now making a sizable mound, but Aang could see the sand start to spill through small gaps in the stonework, the sand acting as an abrasive to rub away at the gangways stone. then he tied the other end of the rope around Zuko's chest, below his arms, testing the knot, making sure it wouldn't tighten, but also not so loose that Zuko would slip out halfway and undergo further damage.

"Alright," he called out, amplifying his voice with some clever airbending. "Start pulling!"

It was a slow process and Aang looked out from below, ready to catch Zuko should anything go wrong. His apprehension rose with the rate in which the sand was coming in, with it making a sizable pyramid on the central span, he just hoped that the stonework could hold the added weight.

When Zuko was close to the opening, Katara, who had been the one in the front, grabbed below Zuko's arms. His head lolled to the side as she pulled, soon another pair of hands reached out, together with the nomad who had lent a hand they pulled him over the edge, careful not to injure him. They laid him down next to Toph, and Katara carefully held his head, lifting it into her lap as she checked up on him. She stroked through sweaty bangs, more to calm herself than it helping him any.

Aang landed next to her. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. He's just exhausted, like all of us. We need to get out of here."

"Hey, you! We need to get out of this desert, you know the way, don't you?" Aang levelled his gaze across the sandbenders, who had resumed their attempts to sneak away.

"Uhh, just keep flying north, you should get to some woods which border the Kengulan River, once you see that, you can continue to the Impenetrable City, or go to the Salt Water, please, just leave us be." cowed one of the benders, clearly in fear of the abilities of the Avatar's motley group.

Aang believed him, so he finally let them retreat, then turned to Katara, who was still sitting next to Zuko and Toph.

"We should get moving."

His gaze flickered to Sokka, who was staring at a pair of blades that were laying in front of him. "Sokka, help us get them onto Appa!"

Sokka looked up, disoriented.

"Sokka, come on!"

Sokka finally moved, albeit sluggishly. It was just then when they both heard Katara.

"Zuko? Zuko? Are you alright? Come on, drink something."

Aang quickly jumped over. Zuko had woken up and was trying to sit up. Katara quickly supported him, uncorking her water skin and holding it to his lips. Zuko drank too fast and ended up coughing, choking on some water which had promptly gone down the wrong tube. When his cough had settled down, he looked up tiredly, trying to get his bearings.

"They're gone. We got you out. You're safe." Katara spoke in calming tones. He only nodded, still in a daze. "Come on, let's get you to Appa, they said we need to fly northwards."

Zuko stumbled to his feet, took an unsteady step, moved to grab his head as if dizzy, took another two steps before his legs suddenly gave out again. He collapsed into the hot sand, ungracefully and didn't try to rise again. Katara who had grabbed him in an attempt to steady him had gotten pulled down with him and now scrambled up, worriedly turning Zuko onto his back to see if he was okay. He was unresponsive, mouth slack. She realized that they hadn't even taken the rope off and quickly moved to remove it. As she fretted, Katara realised that it might have been restricting his breathing too and sincerely hoped that that hadn't been the case.

Aang helped Katara bring Zuko to Appa, and Sokka, having watched them, finally moved to help get him onto the saddle where Katara gently arranged him, so that he wouldn't choke if anything came up. Then they went to get Toph. Sokka still felt out of it.

By the time they had her in the saddle, Sokka spoke: "There were some blades lying around, we should take them with us" he said distractedly.

"Well, hurry up about it." said Aang, clearly impatient to get out of there. Sokka lugged himself off as he retrieved the blades and put them in the saddle beside him, legs still kinda shaky.

Soon, they were up in the air, making it to the north, the pair of blades safely bound down just in case to make sure that they didn't risk injuring someone. Katara worriedly sat beside her two patients, Zuko refused to stir, even with the rough take off, but Toph was starting to groan. She shifted her attention towards her, to make sure she wasn't disoriented when she fully came to.

When Toph came around, she immediately asked what had happened, so Katara quickly filled her in on. Once she had heard enough, Toph shuffled in the saddle to sit next to Zuko, keeping a hand on his shoulder, worried for the firebender. Zuko didn't move at first, but as time went on, he showed signs of restless, fitful sleeping. He never startled awake though, which was worrying all of them.

Sokka was quiet, careful not to draw attention to himself. He knew the tense atmosphere in the saddle had to snap at some point and knew that the respite time he had was only thanks to Zuko being unconscious. His unease wasn't helped by the mounting worry for the firebender that unsettled his stomach.

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For Sokka, the time of confrontation still came too soon. Zuko just hadn't woken up, and it had already been over an hour, so the groups attention shifted from worrying to nailing the culprit. It began with Katara pressing for answers, the other passengers in the saddle gathering round, as Katara took word.

"So, Sokka, I think it's time for an explanation," sighed Katara in a resigned manner, not bothering to turn around to face him.

"Uh," Sokka said hesitatingly, looking up from his corner. "I, uh,... I may have angered Wan Shi Tong."

"What did you do to piss off the douche bird?" Toph demanded, the wooziness from waking up from her concussion long since passed, and her unseeing eyes narrowing in his vague direction, hair whipping around her face.

"I found the library's section of the Fire Nation, and…"

"And what?" Toph snapped impatiently when he paused, unable to find words.

He winced and quickly drew in air. "It was burnt down. I could only find some random scraps of paper. After some digging, I found one mentioning the darkest day of the Fire Nation." He threw a worried glance over to where Zuko was twitching in his fitful state. "I thought the knowledge could be useful, so I tried to find out more."

Katara recognized the guilty look on Sokka's face, but her heart was not swayed, a member of their group had nearly died. Huh, a member of their group. She was surprised at herself, but she couldn't not see Zuko as not part of their group anymore.

"What happened? What did you do?"

"Wan Shi Tong found me, and accused me of misusing his library: that I'd use the knowledge for evil. He said I had abused the trust of my friends… Look, I know we were search…"

"Was he right?"

"I,..."

"Was he right?"

"Look, I couldn't pass up this chance."

"The chance to do what?" Katara's eyes had begun to narrow also, her brother was squirming like when he had got those fish hooks in his thumbs.

"We finally have something in hand against the Fire Nation. This is war Katara, no one plays fair. Least of all the Fire Nation. And now, I know when they'll lose their bending. There's a solar eclipse soon to happen, one like it hasn't happened in like 2000 years…" He looked up, realizing that his nerves had made him say far more than was safe with the way Katara now looked at him.

"So he was right." She said in a dead tone. "What did this have to do with Zuko, how did he end up being in there with Wan Shi Tong? Why?" wisps of moisture curled like talons up from Katara's hands, the patchless sky dimming as the water coalesced.

"We..Well as you know, I ran. The big bird just came at me like a thing possessed, crashing over parts of the library, and causing it to sink. Aang… Katara, you saw that, right?" he looked round, pleadingly, but no eyes held warmth for him. The air started to grow cold. "Th..then I passed you guys, and I guess I got lost, because I ran to a dead end, you were nowhere to be seen, and the bird came for me. He led me to the centre, and asked me the same question. 'What can you offer the library?' It kept asking that, and I insisted: Nothing. Then it gazed deep into my eyes... please, guys… I don't want to continue." Sokka pleaded, his eyes frantic as no remorse shone back.

"Sokka!" Katara said, her flat tone turning sharp, her eyes as dark as the cloud above their heads.

"It was like looking at nothing...nothing, no life, no movement, nothing. Just emptiness. This wasn't like nights at home Kat… you gotta understand," he pleaded, but her face gave nothing away, "it was like the dark of the ocean, where nothing is, and nothing moves, and it stared back at me, and the bird chuckled... just chuckled as it asked me a question. I couldn't refuse him, not after that." He shuddered, starting to close in on himself.

"Asked you what!?" snapped Katara, her words sending a crack of lightning through the air. Appa bellowed and Aang reacted. As Appa ran from the storm's rage that Katara had produced, they went down, and quickly. They hurriedly landed, searching in vain for cover in the dunes. The sun had dipped low towards the horizon, so they would have been unable to travel much further that day anyhow.

As Aang and Katara argued with each other, both clearly on edge given the situation (Aang wanting to continue as he swore he saw trees before Katara lashed out, whereas Katara defended her actions, given the abrasive way Sokka was acting), Toph stomped hard into the sand and drew up rock to Sokka's neck.

"Best finish that sentence Snoozles, or I might just slip a little, like Sweetness did." she said, each word dripping in snobbish honey.

Alarmed at the creeping rock, Sokka blabbed, "He asked for a life, I don't know, I didn't want to die, he suggested 'A life for a life'. How was I to know he would take Zuko. I just wanted to get out. Awk, Toph, please... urgh, stop."

Toph grunted, and shoved the rock that had been creeping up Sokka's neck away, but as Sokka ran over to hug her in thanks, he ran straight into another stone wall she erected, effectively shutting him from the group, the group he had just so callously implied he would trade his life for any of them.

"No. I'm not letting you off just like that. I don't want excuses, I want an explanation, I want a proper apology, to him and us. For as long as you can't come up with those, stay away from us!" her words final, laced with pain and rage.

And so Sokka found himself at the edge of the camp, thinking about what happened, why, and what if Zuko didn't wake up and how could anyone stand being cast out and yet so close? How could anyone stand not being able to do anything to reverse it immediately?

Sokka wondered after all this introspection, whether this was how Zuko felt those first lonely nights under the stars in the group. He moved his gaze to the older boy, who was still twitching in his comatose-like state, and wondered what he was going through.

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"Zuko?... Zuko...wake up." A face blurry through eyes just woken up. "...Everything I've done, I've done to protect you…" The face, as his vision cleared, dissolved, and his eyes drooped.

A different time, a different moment, a bird, gigantic, a cold grin in its gaze. "You really don't know?" its screech mocking.

"Dad's gonna kill you, really, he is." A little girl strutting around like a peacock, speaking in singsong melody, sick with sweet poison. He shook his head: Azula always lies.

The Palace gardens, news of death. Dark wings, dark words. A mask on his face, back pressed against a wall to keep hidden in a shadow. Back pressed against the lithic whipping post, pain only echoing, as he was out and seeing, retreating.

A sunny day in the Earth Kingdom. "He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela…" the burly man had said.

Fire surrounding him in a protective wall "My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."

I am unloved, unwanted, and without allies.

"Zuko. That's what moms are like." A ghosts arm wrapped around his shoulder. "If you mess with their babies, they're gonna bite you back!"

Alone.

Hidden little ember, "would she be proud of you now, Prince?" cackled the void.

A stormy night on a ship, a long time ago. "You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?" Spray kissed his face like a tender caress.

"The Dragon lost his fire, his son and his throne, all in the stroke of a week. And this spawn of the Avatar caused it all." The owls face loomed in the dark, its beak like gold.

"The Avatar?" A confused boy, man, human, asked.

"Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety." the ghost of a grip slipped past him like dust.

"Your loyalty to our nation first. Anything less makes you a traitor." A crown glinted in the darkness.

"If I had been more decisive, and acted sooner, I could have stopped the war before it started." An old man turned his face away.

"You, whose blood caused this war. Your father, who has harried the colonial settlements and tortured your home; his father, who hounded the waterbenders to the end of his days, seeking to continue that legacy of his father, who in a day and a night struck a race of you humans from this world." leered the voice out the dark.

"But you, your punishment has scarcely begun!" A dragon roared, heat echoing in the still air.

"And yet, there was another who caused the war: The Fire Avatar. He stood by as his once friend laid waste to the world, only making a feeble effort to repel the ambitions of the one he named brother." continued that chillingly smug tone.

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher" Heat roared around him, consumed him, engulfed him, until it vanished in blinding flickers.

Do you see now, Prince Zuko, who you truly are?

Cast to the winds, and now lost to all.

And he fell downwards, further and further.

Then he stopped.

Nothing.

Quiet.

Void.

Nil.

A/N:

Feedback of any kind is highly appreciated and a great motivator!
We're always up for discussions, so feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions! *this goes for both of us, so I (ML8991) is also up to chats :).

ML8991: Katara basically caused enough static charge from the water being rubbed into a cloud, that her slip of anger allowed that to become manifest as an energy bolt

Ystävä: The end of this is the prelude of one of the most difficult scenes we ever worked on. That said, we decided to split it off to keep it from getting too long and a large part of the next chapter is already written… News on chapter progress as always on my profile page

Review responses & other news:

About the Prequel: You convinced me, it's gone public. Due to FFnet's policies and the nature of the subjects it covers, I decided to upload it only on ArchiveOfOurOwn for now. You can find it under the name A Prince's Fall, same username (ystv)
Please let us know what you think if you choose to read it!

To logged-in site users: as some of you may know, FFnet turned off the PM email-alerts a while ago. As far as I know it's still down, so you may have to check your PM Inbox manually.

BlueJays: Thank you very much. We're sorry for the long wait.

Wizz: It's great to hear from you. Don't worry, the chapters won't run away, with a bit of luck they can only accumulate. Hehe, as you see, Zuko's got a hard life here and his reunion with Iroh sadly hasn't happened yet, though we promise, we haven't forgotten. And Sokka still has it coming, hasn't he? :)

Various guests: . Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it. One of you said: -the way you write is so perfect and easy to read. i start the chapter and then just forget about everything until the end.- thank you so much, that is a huge compliment!
On a side note: If you want a personally addressed response, please leave a name!