Inside My Mind

Title: Second Chances
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Characters: Clef, Shidou Hikaru, Ryuuzaki Umi, Hououji Fuu, Presea, Ferio, Lafarga
Summary: When the Magic Knights return to Cephiro, Clef is glad for a chance to make amends.
Notes: Set in the manga universe.

A/N: Many thanks to FFN's Antoinette Veronica for beta'ing this for me.
All recognizable dialogue and thoughts are taken from Tokyopop's 10th anniversary edition of Magic Knight Rayearth. Alternative wordings and spell names are taken from the resources on the Magic Knight Rayearth fansite Definitely Not Tokyo.

( Second Chances )

Title: The Road to a New Beginning
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Characters: Lantis, Shidou Hikaru, Mokona, Hououji Fuu, Ryuuzaki Umi
Warnings: Contains spoilers for the third volume of Magic Knight Rayearth 2.
Summary: Lantis never thought that his search for the Road to the Pillar would end like this.
Notes: Set in the manga universe.

A/N: Many thanks to FFN's Antoinette Veronica for beta'ing this for me.
All recognizable dialogue and thoughts are taken from Tokyopop's 10th anniversary edition of Magic Knight Rayearth. Alternative wordings and spell names are taken from the resources on the Magic Knight Rayearth fansite Definitely Not Tokyo.

( The Road to a New Beginning )

Title: First Meetings
Rating: K+/PG
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Characters: Lantis, Shidou Hikaru
Summary: Lantis' first meeting with the Magic Knights and with Hikaru alone.
Notes: Set in the manga universe.

A/N: Many thanks to FFN's Antoinette Veronica for beta'ing this for me.
All recognizable dialogue and thoughts are taken from Tokyopop's 10th Anniversary edition of Magic Knight Rayearth. Alternative wordings are taken from the resources on the Magic Knight Rayearth fansite Definitely Not Tokyo.

( First Meetings )

Title: A Misunderstanding of Sides
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, OCs
Warnings: Brutal pragmatism on the part of OCs, one use of the F-word
Summary: When the Gaang takes a trip to the Earth Kingdom after EIP, Zuko gets captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers while away from the others.

A/N: Many, many, many thanks are due to my amazing betas, amanda_violet and bother_kupo. Without their help and invaluable advice, this story would not be as good as it is.

( A Misunderstanding of Sides )

Written for avatar_500, Prompt #62: Anonymous

Rating: K/G
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Zuko, Mai, Katara
Summary: Zuko finally learns how Azula found him in Ba Sing Se

Not Anymore

Team Avatar, Mai, and Ty Lee were relaxing together after dinner on the day after Zuko's coronation, not really talking about much of anything, when Zuko surprised everyone with a question.

"Mai," he said, "I'm not sure why I never asked you this earlier, but how did Azula find out that Uncle and I were in Ba Sing Se?"

Mai cast a surreptious glance at Katara, then smirked wickedly and said, "You mean Katara never told you?"

"N- Katara?" Zuko's head immediately snapped around to look at the waterbender and she shifted uncomfortably as she became the center of attention.

"I thought I was telling Suki!" Katara snapped. "I wouldn't have said anything if I had realized it was Azula before I started talking."

Written for the June Drabble Madness challenge at atlaland

Rating: K+/PG
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: June, Zuko
Summary: June never wanted to take another job from the Fire Nation prince again

Unwelcome Trouble

After the disastrous job she had taken from the Fire Nation prince, June was not expecting to see him again and she certainly wasn't going to take another job from him. So when he showed up at her favorite tavern asking for help in finding the Avatar—again—she brushed him off. That lasted right up until he asked, "Does the end of the world sound like more fun?"

Freezing momentarily, she slowly sat up straighter and put down her cup. "What do you mean by that?" she asked him.

Taking a deep breath, he answered her. "I mean," he said, "that Sozin's Comet is returning the day after tomorrow and my father is planning on using its power to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground. If we can't find Aang before then, everyone is going to be in deep trouble."

"All right," she said, getting out of her chair, "I'll help you. And under the circumstances, I'll do it for free, since I doubt you have any money with you." Walking over to the prince, she got right up in his face and said, "But let's get one thing straight. If nothing happens the day after tomorrow, you are going to be in very deep trouble with me, Prince Zuko."

Title: A Matter of Trust
Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Primarily Zuko and Hakoda, secondary appearances by Aang and Sokka, minor appearances by everyone else at the Western Air Temple after TBR.
Summary: After their escape from the Boiling Rock, Hakoda must decide if he can trust Zuko.

A/N: Once again, many thanks are due to my amazing beta, amanda_violet, who has assisted me greatly in polishing and improving this story.

( A Matter of Trust )

Title: Aftermath
Rating: K+/PG
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Iroh, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Piandao
Summary: Iroh receives word of the Gaang's victories and gives someone a well-earned tongue-lashing.

A/N: Many, many, many thanks are due to my amazing beta, amanda_violet. Without her, this story would be nowhere near as polished and it would not have reached its current form.

( Aftermath )

Written for avatar_500, Prompt #34: Red

Rating: T/PG-13
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Ozai
Summary: Ozai is furious when Zuko confronts him

Seeing Red

"I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

"He's the one who's been a real father to me."

"I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you."

Zuko's words dinned in on Ozai from all sides. He could not believe it. His son, who had always been so eager to please him, was defying him. His son, who had always been so desperate for his approval, was declaring Iroh to be his real father. His son was going to join the Avatar, the Fire Nation's greatest enemy.

Seething, Ozai offered the one piece of bait that he knew would make his son stay long enough to be killed. As he felt his firebending chi getting stronger, Ozai prepared himself to create lightning.

When Zuko caught the lightning, Ozai was shocked to the core of his being. His son, the firebending failure, had created a defense against lightning.

Looking past the fire burning at the edge of the dais into the empty room, Ozai was furious. His son—no, the traitor, for the boy was no longer any son of his—would live only for as long as it took to capture him and return him to the capital. He would kill the traitor himself.

Written for avatar_500, Prompt #33: Trust

Rating: K/G
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Zuko and Aang
Summary: Zuko is surprised by the first person to trust him after he changes sides

Unexpected Trust

Zuko was honestly surprised by the first person to truly trust him after he joined the Avatar and his friends. The first person to trust him without having an outside reason wasn't Katara—no surprise there. It wasn't Sokka. It wasn't even Toph—she had the whole "living lie detector" thing going for her. It was Aang. The person who probably had the least reason to trust him.

When Katara had objected to letting Aang go off to find the Sun Warrior ruins alone with Zuko, it was Aang who had insisted that she stay behind with the others. Not Toph—Aang. When Zuko asked Aang why he was so certain that he could trust him, Aang had shrugged and said, "Because everyone has the potential for good in them. It just takes some people longer to find it than others. You've proven that you've changed."