Zuko recoiled as if he had been struck. "I haven't found anything. It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago." And it didn't matter that he had been reborn, Zuko told himself. He would never betray his country. "Come on, Uncle, we're going."

He stood up and marched towards the tent flap, but before he could reach it, Zhao's guards crossed their spears to bar the way in front off him.

Another soldier with a lieutenant's insignia walked up behind them, holding his helmet under one arm. "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko has the Avatar in custody." The man smirked and lifted up the tent flap to show off his two struggling captives in Water Tribe blue. "I brought his prisoners with me if you wish to interrogate them."

"Now, remind me." Zhao came up behind him to whisper in his ear. "How exactly was your ship damaged?"

"The Avatar blew us into an iceberg," Iroh interrupted hurriedly as Zhao's guards backed Zuko back into his chair. "That's how we found the two of them."

"Two of them?" Zhao mocked. "There's only ever one Avatar, General Iroh."

"Someone airbended our ship into that ice sheet," Zuko began truthfully. "They were the only other people around. It had to be one of them."

"So you crashed into an iceberg, and you assumed the Avatar must have done it to you," Zhao scorned, failing badly to hide his disappointment. "You're more pathetic than I thought."

"Sir," the Lieutenant cut in. "The crew confirms that there was definitely airbending."

Iroh stepped between his nephew and the commander. "I saw it myself."

Zuko pushed himself to his feet. "I demand your soldiers escort them back to my ship immediately."

"Why should I?" Zhao asked him as the guards shoved him back down. "You haven't even managed to figure out which one of them is the Avatar. Getting them to the Fire Nation is too important to leave in a teenager's hands, especially yours."

"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I-" Zuko couldn't let Zhao take them. How long would it be before he figured out that neither of them were the Avatar? how long before one of them cracked and told Zhao who really was? He could feel the sweat gathering at the back of his neck and beading up on his brow. "My father gave me the job of hunting for the Avatar. If you don't think I can do it, go take it up with him."

Zhao patted Zuko's bald head. "Oh don't worry, Prince Zuko. He doesn't think you can either." Zuko snorted fire out of his nose.

"Careful, Zhao," Iroh warned.

"Why should I coddle him, General?" Zhao tipped Zuko's chin up, and Zuko jerked out of his grasp. "The rest of the world already knows the Firelord just wanted to get rid of him. It's time somebody gave him a taste of the truth." He grabbed Zuko's chin again. "Though how you could have missed the way your father feels about you when you have the scar to prove it-"

Shoving him back, Zuko shot to his feet with a shout. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"

Zhao scrambled back to his feet and brought his face down until it almost touched the Prince's. "Is that a challenge?"

"An agni kai," Zuko hissed. "At sunset."

"Very well." Zhao stepped back. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." As he stepped out of the tent, he paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let's let the prisoners watch. I'm sure they'll enjoy this."

~*~

After the guards had followed Zhao out and they were alone in the tent, Iroh took a sharp breath. "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?"

"I will never forget." Zuko closed his eyes.

Iroh came closer, his voice harsh and very quiet. "And what happens if you airbend at him?"

Zuko's hands clenched. "I can't let him have them, Uncle."

"I know," Iroh told him. "Don't do anything foolish."

It was, Zuko figured, a little too late for that.