A/N: Warning, if you have not read The Search, (First of all, read it, it's amazing.) and second, you need to read it because the beginning of this chapter has a scene of the end of Part 3 in it (with some minor changes and adding of sorts). Anyway, please R/R, and enjoy!

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Chapter One: Same As Always...

A tiny, four year old Zuko waddled across the sand. In his palm was a firelily, its pink-red petals standing out against the stark-yellow earth. The entirety of the flower was giant compared to his tiny hand, barely fitting on top of the pudgy grabbers. His trek across the beach continued until he reached his destination.

Sitting down on the sand was a three year old girl. She had dark, raven hair, the same exact shade as his. Her eyes were closed, her ears listening to the war of the sand and ocean.

The hot, tiny pebbles suffocated the noise of his footsteps as he arrived, so he reached down and lightly poked her shoulder with the hand that wasn't carrying the flower. The girl slightly jumped, startled by the unexpected touch, but relaxed when she saw the familiar face.

She searched his yellow eyes, attempting to discern the reason he had disturbed her serenity. Zuko pointed to the flower in his hands, and as soon as her eyes saw it, she gasped at its beauty.

Zuko held the flower out towards her, offering it to his sister.

A smile reached her lips and pulled the thick pink lines upwards. She took the blooming plant and put it in her hair. After this she gleefully stared at the water again and sniffed in its salty smell. But, after a few seconds, something caught her eyes and brought her head to look up again. Her brother's hand was still extended out, his hand open.

The girl stared at it in confusion, and then looked back up at her brother's face. All he did was nod with a smile.

Azula took his hand and stood up. They walked along the beach, the flower never leaving her hair, and their hands never leaving each other.

"Get away from her!" Zuko yelled as he pushed his sister away from their mother.

"No!" she snarled. She balanced herself from the forced movement and punched out blue fire towards her brother. He dodged with a quick spin to the side and using his momentum, sent an arc of orange fire out from his leg in retaliation. Azula backflipped in order to avoid the hot jet and landed perfectly on her feet, sending another punch of heat Zuko's way.

A vase exploded from the impact as the Fire Lord dodged the attack easily. Before he could go back onto the offensive, he sister flew threw the air and spun manically, kicking out towards him with a plume of deadly plasma. At the last second he bent his back out of the way.

His face felt the searing heat of her kick as it passed centimeters away from his face and crashed into a wooden cabinet, shattering it into pieces. With blinding speed, Azula landed and gathered fire above a closed fist, bringing it forward to collide with Zuko's face. With an airbender's agility, Zuko deftly stepped to the side, once again avoiding certain death.

Azula stopped and stared at her brother, panting wildly. Then, with an animalistic urge, she got into a perfect stance and extended her index and middle fingers.

"Oh, for crying out loud, stop moving!" she shouted. The exciting buzz of lightning gathering onto her fingertips filled the air.

"Don't do it, Azula! I told you already, I know how to deal with your lightning! I can redirect it anywhere." Zuko warned, not wanting to fight any longer.

Azula's eyes watched him intensely, as if she didn't hear his words.

"Azula, please..." tears started to fill his eyes, "We're family... Don't make me-"

The princess interrupted him with a noise of rage and fired the enraged bolt of lightning towards her brother. The electricity hit Zuko in the chest as he caught it, rattling through his nerves like an enraged prickle-snake. His golden eyes met hers as she watched his hands move into the redirectioning position. His were filled with uncertainty and pain, and hers the same. He didn't want to hit her with it... He couldn't hit her with it... She could die.

I need to release it now... Zuko thought. His nerves were being fried and torn to pieces.

Before he could decide, his chi decided for him. With a grunt of pain he unwillingly released the bolt, only being able to move his arms upwards a little. The involuntary electricity hit Azula in the shoulder, causing her to fly back and crash into the cabinet that she had destroyed.

Zuko collapsed onto his knees. His limbs were burning, and felt as though they had been hit with fire several times. The smell of smoke and steaming flesh hit his nose and he shuddered involuntarily. Some of the electricity was still there.

After a few seconds of shaking, he stood up, the burning in his arms and legs slowly receding into a dull throb. His eyes focused onto his sister, who was groaning in the heap of wooden rubble. She cracked open her eyes slowly and looked at him, no rage being there any longer. Only sadness showed itself.

Their eyes met and they stared at each other, not knowing what to say. After a moment, she spoke.

"Don't you get it Zuzu?! You and I will finally be free!" her eyes and voice were now pleading, "You of a throne you never really wanted, and me of this incessant nagging in my head!" Zuko winced as he heard the desperate tone of his sister's crazed words.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "No, you're wrong."

"Oh, stop kidding yourself!" she yelled angrily, pulling out the letter with false information, "The other morning when you had me over that cliff, why didn't you just let me go?! You could've gotten rid of me, and this letter!"

Before Zuko could retort, she continued, "It would have been so easy! Admit it! You need me to help you be free!"

The Fire Lord though for a moment, and then spoke, "In my heart, I know-I've always known-" he tied his hair into a traditional topknot and slid the Fire Crown in, "-that the throne was my destiny."

"That morning on the cliff..." Zuko began while his heart wrenched, "Azula, our relationship his so messed up. It's been like that as long as I can remember. And maybe it'll be like that for the rest of our lives."

As he said this, her normally emotionless face betrayed the pang of sad emotion she felt in her stomach.

He continued, "But one fact never changes. No matter what, you're still my sister." her eyes widened as tears threatened to fill her eyes. Unfamiliar twinges of emotion filled her stomach as her brothers words filled her ears. She looked down and squeezed her eyes shut, tears falling down onto the floor of the destroyed house.

"You know, you were right, Azula," she looked up at him, her mouth slightly open, "I do need you to be free. But not with taking the throne from me. I mean being my sister. I need you, Azula. I need you as my friend. My family..." he trailed off and closed his eyes, his arms falling limply to his sides. Her eyes widened even more than before and her mouth closed. It trembled slightly, and she grit her teeth as more tears started flowing down her beautiful face.

"Shut up..." she whispered, her hands coming up to cover her ears, "Shut up!"

She leaped up and dropped the letter, shooting out a stream of fire towards Zuko. He held out a hand and dispersed it, the flames harmlessly passing his sides.

His sister dashed past him as he shouted, "The letter!" He knelt down and picked it up, turning back to see Azula running away. He rushed to the doorway.

"Azula!" he shouted as he reached out a hand as if he was trying to grab her, "Come back!"

Without a second thought, he ran out of the house and into the night, following his sister's retreating form. Noriko followed after him, still confused but wanting to help in any way she could. Azula was quick, quicker than Zuko. But, he was always close behind her. She sprinted across the plains of Hira'a, leading Zuko and her mother closer and closer to the entrance to the Forgetful Valley.

"Come back!" her brother shouted breathlessly as he ran, "I can help you! I want to help you!"

She slowly stopped at the gorge to stare at the only family she had left. Tears still rolled down her cheeks.

"Same as always, Zuzu." she began, "Even when you're strong... You're weak."

After this, Azula ran into the Forgetful Valley, knowing that this was the last time she would see him.

At that moment Noriko heard a huge rumbling noise in the distance and looked in its direction to see a spinning column of water shoot up from the forest. A giant, tree-like entity shot out of the funnel with a small blue shape and a large white animal flying her way. She gaped at the amazing sight.

Not taking her eyes off of the three figures, she reached out to her right and said, "Fire Lord, look!"

But when her hand reached nothing but air, she looked to where her nation's leader had been standing. He wasn't there any longer. She looked around to see where he had went, and when her eyes ventured into the gorge, she saw the shape of a certain Fire Lord disappear into the shadows...

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Aang shouted in disbelief.

Ursa was confused. The last thing she could remember was seeing the giant spirit reaching out to give her a new face. The last time she had seen her son and daughter was the night she left Caldera. The bald boy with the arrow on his forehead was asking where they were and she had no clue.

"I mean that I don't know where they are, and I don't know anybody named Sokka! From what I remember, they should be at the palace! Why aren't they?!" the mother asked, the protective feeling of motherhood surging back through her after months.

The Avatar put his head in his hands and groaned, not believing this.

"Katara, please explain what happened to Zuko and Azula after she left. I'm going to go search for them." Aang said curtly.

He picked up his glider from the ground and opened it, flying away into the distance.

The former Fire Lady gasped, "He's flying! He's... That's impossible!"

Katara smiled and said, "Please, this way miss. A lot of things have happened after you lost your memory."

The first place Aang thought to search was the house. But, it turned out to be a disappointment.

Ikem and Kiyi were unharmed, Sokka with a few minor burns and scratches. But, there was no sign of the two siblings that seemed to have just disappeared into thin air.

The Avatar asked Sokka time and time again where they had gone but all he saw was them running off with Noriko before she turned back into Ursa. This scared Aang. Zuko was his friend, and if Azula and him both had disappeared, that could mean bad things for the Fire Lord and the entire Fire Nation.

Silently, he flew above the town of Hira'a, hopelessly searching for the two siblings.

Zuko was lost. The Forgetful Valley's forest had enraptured him in its dense foliage ever since he followed Azula inside. He was hopelessly, horribly, and utterly lost. The possibility of find his sister kept getting lower and lower in his head as he wandered through the green plants.

"Azula!" he shouted while stopping to rest at a tree trunk. The Fire Lord looked around but found nothing. He groaned and put his face in his hands.

Nrrgh! Zuko's eyes widened. He looked up and his eyes wandered for the source of the sound. It was definitely human and female. BOOM! He jumped. The distinct flash and thunder made by lightning was nearby. It had to be her. Zuko leaped from his spot at the tree and raced of in the direction of the sound. After a few seconds of running, he caught sight of a fallen tree in a small clearing.

He took a few more steps and he reached the clearing. There were small fires raging in the foliage and scorch marks over the fallen tree truck. Zuko calmly dissipated the fire and after, searched for any signs of Azula.

On the ground was a bundle of pink, red, and black. His breath hitched and he knelt down. There she was. His little sister.

He couldn't see her face, so he got onto one knee and gently flipped her over. Her eyes were closed and she was limp. Zuko quickly lowered his ear to her chest and slightly panicked when he didn't hear anything at first. But, after a few seconds, a healthy-sounding heartbeat made its way known to the Fire Lord. He sighed and felt a one million pound weight lift from his chest.

Zuko noticed a bit of hair from her hairline was frizzing out across her forehead, and without thinking, he reached out and softly brushed them away from her skin. A sound came from her throat and without opening her eyes, she groggily reached out and lightly covered Zuko's scar with the palm of her hand.

"Mom?" she murmured hoarsely.

Zuko's good eye sadly narrowed and he took her hand. He set it back down onto its resting place on her stomach and sat down next to her. He wondered what he was going to do and how he was going to find a way out with a sleeping Azula that would attack him the minute she woke up.

At some point, he fell asleep.

chap. fin