The Chong Sheng Trilogy: War by rachelthedemon

Breakout

Disclaimer: I own not, you sue not.

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The Chong Sheng Trilogy

PART I: War

Chapter 5: Breakout

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Unlike the Dai Li themselves, there were few things a Ba Sing Se prison guard really needed to worry about as long as the captives stayed in their cells. Metal cells, he reminded himself, as no Bender of any element could manipulate such material. There was no way any prisoner would be going anywhere without a key.

Of course, so little stress had the downside of making the job boring as hell. Overseeing the cell block was nothing to regale the wife about. Most of the time, the prisoners slept. Or read, if they could. Or scrawled various profanities on the walls of their cubicles. He didn't care as long as nobody tried to pick the locks.

And so here he found himself, about halfway through his shift and watching a lone prisoner attempt to rip his toenails off with his teeth. No real reason, just to see if he could. While most of the time the prisoners were nothing to acknowledge, they occasionally did things that amused him greatly.

The sound of footfall in the hallway made him look up, putting his chair forward as the officer entered the cell block and trying to look as though he hadn't been daydreaming. "Good Evening, Sir. How can I help you?"

He didn't speak, which wasn't all that alarming. The Dai Li were not known as men of words. Instead, he answered by holding out his hand, presenting the guard with a piece of official parchment. He took it, unrolling the scroll to read it. His brow arched in suspicion.

"Release form for the Avatar?"

The officer nodded.

He looked back at the form, eyes narrowed. There was a mistake in the arrest. These prisoners are to be released with utmost haste, and our sincerest apologies. Long Feng's familiar signature and seal graced the bottom, though he had rarely seen the man authorize a release form for anyone. Though he supposed the Avatar was one of those special cases that even the de facto ruler of Ba Sing Se dared not tangle with.

"Follow me," he said, rolling up the scroll and giving it back to the officer as he turned into the cell block. "I'm sure the Avatar will be happy with the news.

* * * *

Of all the situations Sokka had endured since deciding to travel with Aang, none were quite so hateful as this one. His arm and leg were starting to regain some movement; not that he could demonstrate such with the way they were all chained up, held fast against the wall with heavy iron restraints.

"I don't get it!" Toph growled, trying in vain to twist her arm free. "They were Fire Nation, and they attacked us first! Why are we the ones sitting in the slammer?"

"Because this city is run by an arrogant small-minded moron and his creepy flunkies who don't really give a damn what's going on outside the city walls as long as the citizens don't find out about it," Sokka griped. "And we're all quite capable of publicly tearing the robes off his little operation and turning the city against him if we really wanted to. I don't know about you all, but that's sounding like a mighty good idea right now."

"Maybe," Katara murmured. "But what good would it do for the people to know? All you'll have is chaos and panic when there's no need, and it won't get us any closer to taking advantage of that eclipse. Who needs to know is the Earth King, not the citizens."

"At this point, I'm not even sure the Earth King exists," Sokka growled. "Feng controls everything. What the hell would the Earth Kingdom need a king for when they already have a dictator?"

"But we don't know for sure," Aang reminded them. "And until we do, the Earth King is our last hope."

"See this?" Sokka said, sucking in deeply and exhaling hard. "This is me, not holding my breath."

"Pipe down and quit your whining," the rough voice from the shadows commanded. "You'll be out of here soon enough."

Sokka's head snapped up, along with everyone else's, to meet the severe face of their cell block guard. It took him a minute to process the words, his eyes narrowed. "Say what?"

"I've been informed that your arrest was a mistake. According to the release form, you're free to go."

Aang's jaw hit his collar before he picked it back up again. "If you're joking with us, it's not funny."

"Do I look like a joker?" The guard stepped aside as he unlocked the cell, letting the officer behind him through.

Sokka's brow furrowed as he approached, uniform not quite the right fit and a large bandanna covering one side of his face. The hat obscured most of it, save for his mouth and the other eye. He took the offered key from the guard, coming up to Aang first and unlocking his shackles from the wall rings but leaving them around his wrists, coming around to each of them and doing the same. Cold, calculated, and silent as the walls themselves. Sokka opened his mouth to ask just what in hell was going on as the officer came to free him, but one look from the man was enough to close it for him. No words left his lips, but he could almost feel them behind that look.

If you want to get out of here alive, shut up.

He swallowed thickly, his world-famous instincts telling him it was probably best to take the unspoken advice. Especially since his wrists were still bound and the one leg Ty Lee had disabled was still a bit unsteady. They were all led single file as the guard closed up their cell and the block behind them.

The officer carried Momo carefully under his arm, ignoring the lemur's trills and squirming. Sokka marched right behind him, down the seemingly endless dank passages, turning and and hoping to whatever major deities might be listening that their...he didn't want to say "rescuer" just yet...was going the right way. The sound of crackling torches was maddening, leaving every nerve on edge the further they went. He felt a nudge at his ankle, and leaned back as Toph raised on tiptoe to whisper to him.

"His steps are familiar."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at the man's back more closely for a minute. "We know him?"

"I can't say for sure. Just that his steps aren't new to me."

The officer whirled to stare them both down, single eye blazing.

What part of 'shut up' do you have trouble with?

Sokka shivered, just the tiniest bit spooked at being able to read that expression as clearly as if he'd been spoken to. People, in his experience, just shouldn't be able to do that. Except for the Avatar, because Aang was special like that.

He turned around again, leading them onward.

It wasn't all that long before the hall opened into a large carved room, lit by only two torches, housing a small desk and little else. At the desk sat another Dai Li officer, who looked up as they entered with an even more severe face than the guard.

"Why are the new prisoners out of their cells? We had orders that they were to be kept on constant watch."

The one leading them bowed, presenting the note. "We have new orders, Sir. Direct from Master Feng himself."

Something in Sokka's chest clenched. Hard. He knew that voice. A nagging sensation, like his memory had a pebble in its shoe and try as he might he couldn't get it out.

The other officer took the note, reading it over what looked like several times. "This looks like Master Feng's hand. But the request of a prisoner's release only hours after apprehension..."

"He is the Avatar. I'm sure Master Feng has his reasons."

"Perhaps," the checkpoint officer muttered, pausing for a long moment before bowing his head. "It's best not to question any order bearing his name."

Sokka gulped, hardly believing his ears as they were waved on into the next corridor with nary more than a glance.

* * * *

The warm night air pressed around Katara's face as they finally exited the prison, relieving the shivers of being stuck underground for all that time. The streets were empty in the late morning as their officer unlocked the shackles from their wrists, being charged with the duty of escorting them to their Upper Ring house.

Or so the Dai Li thought. As soon as they were reasonably out of earshot of the prison gate, she whirled on the cowled man. "Just what the holy flying hell are you--!"

He clapped a hand over her mouth, growling. "Shut up, or I'll to do it for you. Do you want to get us all killed?"

Sokka marched up to him, free arms ready to take a swing. "You get your hands away from my sister before I cut them off!"

The man easily blocked it, spin-kicking him into the wall. "Shut up, all of you! We're not safe yet. The more noise you make, the more danger we're in." He released Katara, glaring at all of them. "Now follow me and don't say a word."

"Why should we?" Sokka groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Just who the hell are you, anyway?"

Toph turned toward him. "You mean you can't tell?"

He flailed a bit, to his credit trying not to shout. "He's got half his face covered!"

Katara watched them all argue, the initial shock at such a foolish act bleeding off into a reeling confusion. Of all the people to be rescued by, she never expected... It felt like one of those pranks Sokka used to play on her when they were children. There had to be a punchline somewhere. She stepped up behind the officer, taking a deep breath and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Zuko...? What in God's name are you doing?"

Sokka's jaw would've hit the floor were it not attached to his face. "Him?"

Aang and Momo stared after him, just as dumbfounded, while Toph simply glared at them. "You people and your eyes, I swear!"

The officer snapped over his shoulder at her. "I'm sure you can figure it out if you try hard enough. Now shut up and follow me."

Sokka shook his head, waving his hand away. "Oh no, pal. If you think we're going anywhere with you--"

"Look," he growled, "I didn't free you all just so the Dai Li can recapture us while we stand around here arguing. I'll explain myself later. Right now we don't have time for this. We need to get out of this city before the rocks start flying."

Aang looked back toward the prison, swallowing. "He's right, Sokka. We have to get going. It's not safe."

Toph nodded. "We'll kick his ass later if we need to."

Sokka opened and closed his mouth a few times, grasping for a response before finally thinking better of it. Likely because Toph had already started pulling him after them.

Katara followed close, not quite beside him, shoulders hunched and arms wrapped over her chest, chilled despite the dry night air. She didn't dare look up at him, not knowing what to think. He said he would explain later, but she doubted if anything would make the situation less confusing. Why he, of all people, would come to their aid when it was an obvious danger to both himself and his uncle were he to be caught. Was his quest for the Avatar really that important? Or was he just that stupid?

She risked a glance up at him. He looked determined, recognizeable under the Dai Li garb now that she knew better. As though there was nothing else to stand in his way now. Yet it wasn't his usual threatening look; or if it was, she got the impression such sentiments weren't directed at them.

"Zuko?"

"What did I tell you?" He hissed, without looking at her.

She ignored it, the curiosity too much for her. "This is the second time you've saved me. From what I know of the Fire Nation, that's hardly typical. What's going on?"

He paused, his face hardening. "Are all of the Southern Water Tribe such geniuses, or are you just special?"

She stared, slack-jawed for a minute as he drifted further ahead, quite obviously in no mood to talk.

* * * *

Stupidity, Zuko decided, was an amazing character trait; it amazed him how the Avatar and his companions could be such brain-damaged idiots, yet manage to defy an entire nation of soldiers more than once and still be alive. He'd finally succeeded in getting them all to keep silent as he led them through the maze of Middle Ring streets, attempting to remember where the nearest exit to the Lower Ring was. The trains weren't running at this time of night, which meant they needed to go on foot and do so quickly. The entire city would be crawling with officers once the jailbreak was found out, he knew, and that would make escape impossible.

He'd banked on this. Had even planned the timing to leave them ample time before dawn to get the hell out of the city. What he hadn't banked on was dealing with such thick-headed rescuees. It didn't quite feel like the Northern Siege all over again; he knew what to do, and that he couldn't waste any time doing it. The problem was getting his charges to realize that.

They rounded a corner, footsteps silent along the ground, backs pressed to the wall as he lead them cautiously forward. The streets themselves were empty, wisely having cleared out before curfew. Especially this close to the prison. He peered around the second corner, recognizing the gilded lamp-posts that told him the entrance was close. He looked back, signaling them to follow.

And not ten steps later, he stopped short. Listening.

There it was again. A faint rustle in the shadows. Cloth and shoes scraping on cobblestone and the barest whisper of a displaced breeze. He held his breath, squinting into the inky darkness ahead to see who their uninvited guest was. He could discern a faint figure there, small and slight underneath long robes, heading toward them.

He crouched, taking a defensive stance and no chances.

"Do I look that dangerous?"

His eyes narrowed, the voice sounding familiar, but not in a way that made him uneasy. Yet he still maintained his caution, remembering his cover. "At this time of night, yes. It's far past curfew."

"Then dare I ask what you're doing out here?"

He somehow managed to keep his voice even. "Leading these charges t--"

"--To safety after breaking them from prison, I know."

His eyes snapped wide, stance relaxing in complete shock. "How did you--"

She stepped forward, into the cone of flickering light from the streetlamp as she let the hood of her cloak fall back. "Just a hunch."

He gasped, the word barely a whisper on his lips. "You?"

She nodded, signaling for him. "Yes. Now I believe you have a city to escape, and not a whole lot of time to do it in." She motioned for him to follow her, rounding a corner to their right. Around the back of a closed dress shop and into an alley that reeked of rotting tea leaves. He tailed after her, the rest of them in tow, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Jin, what the hell are you doing? How did you--"

"I'll explain later. Right now, I need to get you all out of here before the Dai Li catch you. You'll never make it to the outer gate before they figure out what just went down, and the Lower Ring is always crawling with them at night. I know a better way out." She turned down the alley a few steps, while he just stared after her dumbfounded.

"Well?" she asked. "You want to get to safety or not?"

Zuko traded glances with his charges, all equally confused, before following her with shaky steps. "Where are you taking us?"

"I told you. A better way out. Now be quiet and follow me."

Zuko opened his mouth to protest further, but thought better of it. This was not happening. It couldn't be happening. It felt too much like the psychotic dreams he'd been having lately, the ones that always made him wake up more exhausted than when he went to bed. As though this wasn't happening to him, but was part of a play he was watching.

The thought that she was bait from the Dai Li crossed his mind, with more than reasonable doubt. She obviously knew things; it would have made more sense for her to ambush him when he was alone rather than leading three rather powerful benders and a competent fighter. She certainly didn't seem like the utterly stupid type. But at this point, he wasn't quite ready to drop his guard entirely.

The aforementioned fighter leaned in for a moment from behind him. "You have any idea what she's on about?"

"None at all," he replied. "Stay wary."

She took them around another corner, feeling with her hands along the wall. "The entrance is here, I just need to find it again." Zuko watched her, fascinated as she kicked off her shoes and slid her feet along the ground, toes probing the cracks in the cobblestone, features narrowed in concentration. "Little more to the left...riiiiight...here." She pressed the cobble in with her foot, standing back from the wall as a section of it turned sideways with a growl of stone against stone.

A yawning hall of darkness beckoned them, and she answered the call first, heading inside. "This way."

They stood there for a moment, the indecision clawing at Zuko's insides. The Avatar shattered the uncomfortable silence first. "You really think we should?"

"We have much of a choice? Either follow strange girl down a dark, foreboding passageway, or face a few hundred Dai Li officers with just our bending skills and good looks. Personally? If it's a trap, she's only one. Much better odds."

"Well whatever you're gonna do," the other girl piped up, "decide fast. The streets are starting to crawl."

Zuko paused only a moment before nodding and heading into the passage. "Come on. We don't have time to lose." They all filed after him with a surprising lack of hesitation, the door to the tunnel grinding shut in their wake.

* * * *

The tunnel was dark, a steep downward slope that threatened to trip them at every step. Zuko led them beside this...Jin...person, a ball of fire floating in his hand to light their way. All in all, Aang had little clue what to make of all this. The guy who had been trying to capture him and kill his friends for the last few months had just broke him out of Dai Li custody, and someone he knew was apparently helping them escape the Impenetrable City through a secret not even the Dai Li knew of. Things were, as Sokka would say, bending logic until its back broke.

He caught up beside Zuko, still looking at what he could see of the ground. "Now can we ask what's going on?"

"A jailbreak," he answered curtly. "You're the Avatar. Didn't you figure it out already?"

"I knew that much. I just don't know why, other than to take me back to the prison you think I belong in."

"It's still too soon to say anything. All I'll tell you is that I did not break you out of there for anyone else's benefit."

Aang frowned, finally looking up at him. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't. But have I lied to you before?"

"Well no...but you've done everything else to try and capture me. Why should I--"

"I've never given you a reason to not trust my word. There is no honor in deception." He looked down at him, quiet but severe. "If I'm going to capture you, I'll do it by my own skill, not trickery."

"Is that what you're doing now?" Aang sniped. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Zuko looked away, muted once again. "Things were different then."

"How? I'm still the Avatar, you're still--"

"No," he growled. "I'm not. And I'll explain once we're out of this godforsaken place."

Much as he hated to admit it, the guy had a point. He'd met far more corrupt people who were supposedly on his own side than on his enemy's, and the irony of it never escaped him. But that didn't make him any less confused about why Zuko of all people was leading him to safety, or why he and his friends were letting him.

Of course, a large part of it was that they really had no other choice, as Sokka said. And admittedly, fighting Zuko was a whole lot easier than fighting the Dai Li. Things had happened so fast -- literally in a matter of hours -- that it was just easier to roll with it right now and figure things out once he found time to breathe, let alone think.

He turned to the girl leading them. "Where are we going?"

Jin smiled. "This city's best kept secret for the last one hundred years. Not even the Dai Li know of it. This tunnel is only one of a thousands networked beneath the surface. Right now, we're a good thirty feet under, one of the shallower ones. Some of them run as deep as two hundred feet."

Zuko blinked, just as confused as Aang. "Why?"

"They were designed and built the same time as the walls, when the war first started. A refuge for citizens to hide in should the city ever be captured or destroyed. We're actually in a venting tunnel right now, one of the ones that allows air into the deeper passages."

"And you're sure the Dai Li don't know? Why wouldn't they?"

Jin nodded. "Because the Earth King who ordered the building of these tunnels isn't the same guy who's in charge now. As the years went by and the city withstood every attack the Fire Nation hurled at it, people adopted the idea that the walls were themselves invincible, and so the tunnels were just forgotten about."

Sokka caught up to them, frowning. "How do you know all this? 'Cause between creepy tour guides and a complete denial there's even a war going on, I'm willing to bet they don't teach this stuff at Ba Sing Se University."

She grinned a little, slightly crooked. "The Dai Li are not the only keepers of this city's secrets. There are some of us who know too much to be afraid."

Zuko's eyes narrowed, looking directly at her. "...Who are you?"

Her smile turned even more cryptic. "That's another one of those secrets." At his even more suspicious look, she chuckled. "Don't let it bother you too much. I'm trustworthy. If I wasn't, I would've turned you in as a Firebender back at that fountain."

He just about tripped over his feet, gaping at her. "How did you...?"

She laughed behind her hand. "Sure, Li. You totally lit all those lanterns within ten seconds because you carry a quiver of flame arrows in your back pocket." A sigh composed her as she led them onward. "Really, how stupid do you think I am?"

Aang looked between them, trying not to laugh with her. "How much further is it?"

"We're halfway into the Lower Ring by now, so it shouldn't be all that much more to walk."

Toph piped up from the back, grinning. "Why walk? I don't know about you, but after ;looking for that bison all day and having to fight those two flunkerettes, my legs ache."

He smiled, nodding. "A little speed can't hurt."

Zuko arched a brow at them both as they struck stance together, pulling up a section of the ground to hold everyone on, pushing and pulling in waves to send them forward through the tunnel. The rock itself bent in front and back of them in a single pulse, propelling them through the passage at a rather nice clip. Enough to feel a breeze rushing on either side. Aang looked up at Jin, grinning.

"Lead the way."

* * * *

Zuko didn't think it was possible for things to get any weirder as they all made their way out of the tunnel's carefully concealed exit, which was blocked by a large rock that the blind girl had to move for them. The branches of a gigantic oak spread above them as he pulled Jin up onto the surface. Nobody was what they seemed anymore. Innocents were keeping secrets, his enemies were his allies -- for the moment, at any rate -- and Ba Sing Se was quite possibly the most vulnerable city in the world, made so by its own willful ignorance. So much for planning. Not when the rug kept getting ripped out from under his brain. Right now, all he wanted was find Iroh and have some tea to clear his head.

God, I did not just think that...

"So..." Jin asked, "Where to from here?"

He found all eyes trained on him, and challenged his insides to calm themselves. "To find my uncle, and hope the Dai Li haven't done so first."

"Then I think you'll be needing a few things. More for your companions than yourself, since their belongings are back in the city someplace." She unhooked a couple of leather pouches at her belt, holding them out. "Here. You have rations in one bag, and coin in the other. It should be enough to buy you some supplies in the next village."

His jaw dropped again, taking the pouches with a flustered squeak. "J-Jin, what are you--"

The Earthbender girl pushed him aside, bowing to her. "He says thank you ever so much, and he'll be sure to pay you back someday. Or at least that's what he would say if he wasn't a total loser."

She giggled, even moreso when he just seethed at them both. "Then you'd best be getting out of here, shouldn't you?"

Aang nodded, starting to lead them all through the moonlit maze of trees. "Yes, yes we should." Zuko felt the Water Tribe girl pulling at his shirt, urging him on as they waved a last farewell to Jin, turning and heading into the woods beyond.

His glare didn't subside as he regarded them all with renewed contempt, wondering if this was still as great an idea as he'd thought a few hours ago. "Do you thank all who help you with insults?"

"Well, not everyone," The Water Tribe boy mused. "Just the ones who've tried multiple times to kill us first."

The girl elbowed him sharply. "Please excuse my brother. He can be somewhat of an inconsiderate jerk when stressed."

Aang let his forehead drop into his hand. "Would now be a good time to ask where your uncle is?"

Zuko nodded, deciding to shift his focus to the more important matters at hand to avoid roasting the Avatar's companions to cinders. Or at the very least cauterizing their mouths shut. "Follow me."

* * * *

The walk seemed endless, an invisible trail winding up into the barren rocky ledges that encased the forest valley, the moon splitting the sky in two straight overhead by the time they reached the lighted mouth of a single large cave, the scents of tea and fresh jerky and the warm breath of fire wafting from inside.

Despite the growling of his stomach and the watering of his own mouth as he ducked into that of the cave, Sokka surveyed their new shelter with a suspicious frown. "The hell is this?"

Katara looked around after him, blinking. "Judging from the bedrolls, teapot, and cozy-looking fire? I believe it's called a 'campsite.'"

Zuko took his seat next to his uncle, bending the fire a little taller. "You'll want to sit for this one."

They did so, one by one, Aang beating all of them to the question they'd asked constantly since leaving the prison. "Why did you rescue us?"

Zuko picked up one of the fresh cups of tea on the warming plate above the fire, sipping it, before offering them all their respective shares. "To put it as simply as possible...things are about to get very out of hand. Tonight's events have made that perfectly clear. If we're going to fight the same enemy for our own survival, I no longer see a point in fighting each other as well."

Sokka glared at him, unconvinced. "What do you mean 'fighting the same enemy?' You're one of them, aren't you?"

"I was," he replied. "At one time, I wanted desperately to believe that. But it's something I've gotten more unsure of than anything else in my life."

Aang stared into his cup, quiet, his tone heavy with an unspoken understanding. "What made you turn against them?"

He swallowed hard, his voice equally thick with restraint. "When they turned against me first."

At their intrigued stares, he continued, eyes lowered to the ground. "I'm tired. I'm tired of being lied to and tricked and doing everything I'm told, only to have it blow up in my face every single goddamn time. I'm tired of trying to please all the wrong people who are just using me in the end. I'm tired of being kept from what I know is rightfully mine, even if I fulfill my end of the deal."

"What deal?"

"The deal that my banishment would end and I could have my old life back if I managed to capture you and bring you across Fire Nation borders alive. I made the bargain three years ago out of desperation, and it was the single stupidest thing I've ever done in my life."

Aang looked at him knowingly. "They never intended to let you come home, did they?"

Zuko shook his head. "We've been branded as traitors. There are bounties on our heads that could buy a house in the Upper Ring three times over. It's the price of failure where I come from. Especially when there's a war going on."

"So why did you help us?" Toph asked. "Why do something you know is just gonna get you killed?"

"Because I don't care anymore. I'm through caring about whether I'm liked by the wrong side or not. I'm through hiding because I have every nation after my head, including the one I was born in." He looked up at all of them, meeting each of their faces one by one. "War never looks the same once you've been forced onto the losing side of it."

Sokka scowled at him, cheerful as ever. "So you want our help to get back on the 'winning' side? Whatever that is?" He shook his head. "Thanks but no thanks, there's nothing in it for us. We don't need any help from your kind."

Katara drove her elbow into his ribs. Hard.

Aang quieted for a moment. "You're assuming there is a winning side. When nations start killing people for no apparent reason, everyone loses."

"Believe me, I know that. I know what you're trying to do, now. Why the Fire Nation wants to stop you. With the current setup, though., I'm wondering why they're bothering to try." He looked up at him. "You can only do so much, Avatar. If there is anything that living on the other side of this war's taught me, it's that the Fire Nation won't be stopped by the force of the Elements alone. It doesn't matter who is mediating; if people want to fight, they will fight. You can't force peace on those who will have no parts of it. And as long as my father and those like him remain in control, my country will continue marching to war like it's a Fire Festival."

"So what's your solution, Ponytail Guy?" Sokka scoffed. "If your country's full of psychotic warlords and run by the craziest one available, what do you plan to do about it?"

Zuko looked at them all, putting his tea down. "Three years ago, I lost everything. My throne, my country, my honor, my dignity, because I saw injustice and dared to speak out of turn against it. My only hope had been finding the Avatar and bringing him to my father. Only then, I believed, would my life return to normal. I was wrong. It took me three years of digging through lies my sister told me and lies I told myself to realize it, but capturing the Avatar would never win back my father's favor. My old life was gone. And everything with it.

"But right before it happened, right before it all fell apart...I was told something very important: to never forget who I am. For three years, I've done exactly that, fooled by a promise that my father had no intention of keeping." He turned to look Katara square in the eye. "Someone reminded me of those words today. Of who I was. And who I still am.

"What I finally realized, after three years of hunting and searching and running around in circles, is that I had no honor to regain. I had none to start with. Honor isn't something that's given to you by virtue of birth. You have to earn it. And so far...I've done nothing that even comes close. In fact, I've done exactly the opposite." He let his voice drop to a low, determined growl. "It's time to remember who I am. To stop following and start leading, and do what I think is right for a change."

"I am Prince Zuko, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation. I can...I will change the world."



TO BE CONTINUED...

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