[Y/n] paced back and forth in the room; she was being held in Zuko's chambers. He most likely wanted to speak to her about abandoning him. [Y/n] couldn't even think of a way to explain it. She had no words when she saw him other than not to hurt the members of the Water Tribe.

[Y/n] felt herself get more and more stressed from this situation. She only hoped Katara and Sokka were okay, and that they were taking care of themselves. [Y/n] stopped in her tracks seeing a familiar painting on Zuko's nightstand.

{A/n: This is just to represent what the bracelet looks like and the pose.}

It was a portrait of [Y/n] that was painted the day before she left. She felt so beautiful that day.

~

[Y/n] smiled when the servant held a mirror up for [Y/n] to see. "I look beautiful. Thank you." She said to her servant, and the girl smiled. "There's no need to thank me, Lady [Y/n]. With your looks, my job was easy." She said, and [Y/n] blushed. "Nonsense. You're very skilled." [Y/n] said and hopped off the chair.

"Please, be careful, my lady. I know you get overly excited, but I wouldn't want your beautiful hair to come undone." The servant said, and [Y/n] nodded. She walked out of her chambers and saw Azula walking down the hall. She was dressed up too for her portrait as well. Azula gave [Y/n] a disgusted look while [Y/n] looked at her in awe.

Much to Azula's dismay, [Y/n] never found Azula scary. Well, no one is more terrifying to [Y/n] than Lord Ozai, but [Y/n] always thought Azula was powerful as well as beautiful but a bit.

"[Y/n]..."

[Y/n] turned to see Zuko dressed up as the young prince he was. He smiled at the smaller girl, causing her to blush. He looked at her fondly like she was the love of his life. Though, they've never established their relationship. "You look beautiful, [Y/n]." He said, and [Y/n] smiled at him. "Thank you, Prince Zuko, and you look rather handsome yourself." She said with the same fond look.

"I-I have something for you." Zuko stuttered while holding something behind his back. [Y/n] tried to peek, but Zuko hid it well in his hands.

"What is it?" [Y/n] asked.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand." He said, and [Y/n] quickly did. She felt something cold on her wrist. "Okay. You can look now." Zuko instructed, and [Y/n] opened her eyes. A golden bracelet was there on her wrist, and [Y/n] smiled. "It's so beautiful." [Y/n] cooed and hugged Zuko, "Thank you, Zuzu."

Zuko blushed at the nickname, and he held [Y/n]'s hands. "It's beautiful just like you." Zuko said, kissing the back of [Y/n]'s hand. [Y/n] blushed and smiled a bit.

~

"I never thought you of all people would leave me." [Y/n] heard and turned to Zuko, standing at the door. [Y/n] set the portrait down as he walked closer to her. "Why did you leave the Fire Nation? Why did you leave me?" Zuko questioned while grabbed [Y/n]'s hands, "You've been living with the Water Tribe, dressing like them. Why?!" He pointed at [Y/n]'s clothes.

There were so many questions that he needed answers to. [Y/n] looked down at their hands. "Zuko..."

"Don't call me that!" Zuko snapped, "Call me by that stupid nickname Azula gave me! Didn't you realize my feelings for you?!" He'd never normally raise his voice at her.

[Y/n] finally looked up at him with widened eyes. "Zu... it was hard not to..." She muttered, but every time she looked at Zuko's face. The scowl on his face remained [Y/n] of Ozai.

Zuko looked so much like his father now.

"The day I left... I overheard two soldiers saying that your father had my father executed after he became Fire Lord." [Y/n] explained, and Zuko's eyes widened, "I was supposed to fight the Avatar if he ever were to return... After learning that, I felt destroyed. That's why I left the Fire Nation, and I'm not returning."

"Then what about me? I need the Avatar to regain my honor."

[Y/n] caressed his cheek and rubbed her thumb over his scar. "I... I don't love this version of you, Zuko." She said, sadly.

"What do you mean? This is me!" Zuko snapped at her again, and [Y/n] pulled her hands away then shook her head.

"I want the Zuzu I fell in love with back. The socially awkward man who is compassionate towards others. The man who fought for those Fire Nation recruits not to be use as a sacrifice to Earth Kingdom troops because you knew what they are doing is wrong." [Y/n] said.

"Yeah, and look where that got me!" Zuko yelled and pointed at his scar.

"I know how much pain that has caused you, and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. It haunts be constantly." [Y/n] said, sadly, "But, whatever this is, it's not you. I don't know you anymore."

"[Y/n]-"

Aang came bursting through the door. "Looks like I underestimated you." Zuko said and started blasting Aang with fire. "Zuko, stop!" [Y/n] demanded, stepping in front of Aang to protect him.

"Get out of the way, [Y/n]." Zuko commanded, and [Y/n] glared. "No." She said, sternly, and got into a fighting stance, "If you want Aang, you'll have to face me."

"I don't want to fight you, [Y/n]." Zuko said, eyes narrowing past her at Aang.

"Then you will let us go." [Y/n] said, grabbing Aang's wrist and his staff.

The two rushed out onto the deck of the ship. "Leave, Aang. I'll hold off Zuko." [Y/n] said while watching Zuko catch up to them with other guards.

"I can't just leave you, [Y/n]." Aang said, and [Y/n] smiled at him.

"There's no need to worry. Zuko would never hurt me." [Y/n] said until they suddenly heard a growl in the distance.

Zuko looked up. "What is that?" He questioned.

[Y/n] and Aang smiled. "Appa!" They cheered, and Zuko shot flames at Aang, knocking him off the boat.

"Aang!" [Y/n] called and clutched her fist.

[Y/n] promised herself that she would abandon everything she learned in the Fire Nation, but she needs her waterbending to save her friends. Suddenly, Aang came out of the water with his eyes and tattoos glowing. Aang was waterbending, now. Once Aang landed on the deck, he manipulated the water to knock Zuko and some of his crowd overboard.

The glowing of his tattoos slowly faded, and Aang fainted. "Aang!" [Y/n] caught him before he could fall to the ground.

Appa landed and Katara and Sokka rushed over to Aang as well. "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming." Aang muttered, and [Y/n] let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory. And I wanted to save [Y/n]." Sokka said.

"I dropped my staff." Aang muttered, and Sokka stood up. "I got it." He said and rushed over to go get it. [Y/n] and Katara helped Aang onto Appa, and [Y/n] noticed Zuko's crew slowly standing up. "Hurry!" [Y/n] ordered while using her waterbending to freeze the soldiers in place.

"Come on, [Y/n]!" Sokka said while grabbing [Y/n]'s hand, pull her towards Appa, "Yip yip! Yip yip!" They got on the flying bison, and Appa started to fly.

Once they were in the air, Zuko and Iroh attempted to shoot them down with their fire, but Aang used air to redirect the flame into the side of a glacier, causing snow and ice to fall on Zuko's ship. [Y/n] gasped and looked down worryingly.

'Please, be all right.' [Y/n] thought, and she could still see that Zuko and Iroh were fine. [Y/n] let out a sigh of relief as Appa got further away. "How did you do that with the water?" Katara asked Aang, "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

"I don't know." Aang said, "I just sort of did it."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked.

"Because I never wanted to be."

There was silence. [Y/n] was still staring longingly towards the direction of Zuko's ship, hardly paying any mind to the conversion. "But, Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war." Katara said.

"And how am I going to do that?" Aang said.

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" Katara questioned.

"That's what the monks told me." Aang answered.

"Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master Waterbending." Katara suggested.

"We can learn it together!"

"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some Firebender heads on the way." Katara said to Sokka.

"I'd like that. I'd really like that." Sokka said and noticed [Y/n]'s sulking look. "[Y/n]..." She looked back at them. "Oh, I'm sorry. What was that?" [Y/n] questioned.

"Why didn't you tell us you could Waterbend?" Katara asked.

[Y/n] sadly looked over at her. "I wanted to abandon everything I've learned in the Fire Nation." She said, looking down in shame, "I never wanted to use it against anyone."

"Why?" Katara pressed.

"Katara..." Sokka said.

"It's okay, Sokka." [Y/n] said and sighed, "It's a bit of a long story." She took a breath, "My father has always told me about how the Sun gives everything in this world life. That's why... when my mother was deathly ill and pregnant with me, my father prayed to the Sun Goddess, Sol, to give her strength. My mother was healthy enough to give birth to me, gracing the goddess of the Sun with my body to use as a vessel for her power, and me with the ability to learn different bending styles." [Y/n] began taking off her glove. She showed them the sun mark on the palm of her right hand.

"So far I've mastered Water, Earth, and Fire only because prisoners from each nation were forced to teach me. The purpose the Fire Lord gave me was to fight the Avatar if he were to ever return. I have always wanted this war to end, and I never wanted to fight anyone. But, after discovering that, I left the Fire Nation. " [Y/n] finished.

"If you mastered the three other elements, maybe you can teach Aang and I Waterbending." Katara said.

[Y/n] shook her head. "It comes naturally to me by watching a few times. I'm sorry, but I have no pointers or teaching to give you. The North Pole is the best option for natural teachers."

"All right, but before I learn Waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to." Aang said and pulled out a map then pointing at various places. [Y/n] sighed once again while fumbling with her bracelet then looked out at sea.

~~

The sun slowly rose in the sky. It was time to pack up camp and set the course to the Air Temple.

[Y/n] didn't believe it was the best idea to go there, seeing that Aang was the only Airbender left in the world. But the young boy had his heart set on seeing his home again.

"Wait till you see it, Katara." Aang said while tightening the reins on Appa's horns, "The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."

"Aang, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home." Katara said.

"That's why I'm so excited!" Aang said with so much enthusiasm.

"A lot may have changed." [Y/n] chimed in while putting her sleeping bag as well as some supplies into Appa's saddle and her eyes softened looking at Aang, "100 years is quite a long time."

"I know. But I need to see it for myself." Aang said and jumped off of Appa's head.

The young monk walked over to Sokka, who was still sleeping. "Wake up, Sokka! Air Temple here we come!"

Sokka groaned. "Sleep now, temple later." He said and rolled over on his side.

Aang thought for a moment then grinned. He grabbed a stick and started tracing Sokka's body with it. "Sokka, wake up. There's a Prickle Snake in your sleeping bag!"

Sokka's eyes shot open, "AHHH! Get it off! Get it off!" He screamed while jumping around in his sleeping bag then he fell on his face.

Katara and [Y/n] giggled at him. "Great, you're awake." Aang said, "Let's go!"

Sokka glared at Aang then sighed. He was a little relieved to see [Y/n] laughing again. She'd been nothing but sad and gloomy since they left Zuko's ship buried in ice and snow.

~~

Zuko and Iroh sat with Commander Zhao for a drink in his tent while their ship was being repaired and Zhao explained Ozai's plan for the war. "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war." Zhao said and sat next to Zuko.

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." Zuko said.

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how's your search for the Avatar going?" Zhao asked, and Iroh accidentally knocked over swords and spears. "Uh...My fault." Iroh said.

"We haven't found him yet." Zuko said.

"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died over a hundred years ago along with the rest of the Airbenders. Our top priority is finding the Sun Goddess." Zhao said, rolling his eyes at what they called her, then he noticed Zuko's silence, "Unless you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."

"No. Nothing." Zuko said and looked away. He could tell the truth. Zuko couldn't let Zhao or anyone from the Fire Nation know that [Y/n] was alive. They would be hunting her down like a criminal. Probably throw her in prison, only giving her just enough to stay alive to fuel the Fire Nation with power.

"Prince Zuko, the Avatar and the Goddess are the only ones who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war, and if the Goddess is killed, the Fire Nation has no power. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found." Zhao interrogated.

"I haven't found anything. It's like you said--the Avatar probably died a long time ago, and the Sun Goddess hasn't shown up by now, so I have no clue where she is." Zuko said and stood up, "Come on, Uncle. We're going."

The two guards at the door blocked the exit. "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar and Goddess in custody but let them escape."

"Now, remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?" Zhao questioned. He sat Zuko down and made him talk.

"So, a 12-year-old boy bested you and your Firebenders, and you did nothing but let the Goddess escape. You're more pathetic than I thought." Zhao said.

"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again." Zuko said.

"No, it will not because you won't have a second chance." Zhao said.

"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I--"

"And you failed! Capturing the Avatar is far too important to leave in a teenager's hands. And with your little girlfriend protecting him now, you're too soft! He's mine now." Zhao yelled, and Zuko tried to launch himself at the commander, but the soldiers held him back. "Keep him here." Zhao said then he left.

Zuko grunted and kicked the table over. "More tea, please." Iroh said.

It wasn't long before Zhao came back. "My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship." Zhao said.

"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try to stop you?" Zuko questioned, and Zhao laughed. "You...stop me? Impossible." He said.

Zuko glared. "Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you." Zuko said as he stood up. "Prince Zuko, that's enough." Iroh said but was ignored.

"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you, you're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you." Zhao said.

"You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor and restore place on the throne." Zuko said.

"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now. Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

"That's not true."

"You have the scar to prove it." Zhao provoked.

"Ahh! Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko yelled. "Is that a challenge?" Zhao questioned. "An Angi Kai at sunset." Zuko said. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." Zhao said and walked away. Zuko glared as the commander walked away.