A/N Zuko will act a little bit out of character. I’m sorry.

---

Chapter One: No Place Like London

---

Zuko shouldered his duffel bag. The ship about to moor and he didn’t want to waste any time getting off the boat. He had spent the last three years working at sea. He looked out to the lights and shadows of London.

“I have sailed the world, Beheld its wonders, From the Dardanelles, To the mountains of Bhutan…”

“But there’s no place like London!” he sang cheerfully.

“No, there’s no place like London,” Sokka growled bitterly as he stepped forth from the passenger bunks. He was much older than Zuko, with scraggly hair sprouting in many directions, yet with a clean-shaven face. He was tall and thin.

“Mr. Todd?” Zuko asked in surprise.

“You are young,” he replied. “Life has been kind to you… You will learn.”

He turned away and looked out onto the city.

“There’s a hole in the world like a great black pit, And the vermin of the world inhabit it, And its morals aren’t worth what a pig could spit, And it goes by the name of London.”

“At the top of the hole sit a privileged few, Making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo, Turning beauty into filth and greed,” he said as he turned to Zuko and place a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“I, too, have sailed the world, And seen its wonders, For the cruelty of men, Is as wondrous as Bhutan.”

Sokka’s grip on Zuko’s shoulder tightened.

“But there’s no place like London…”

Zuko looked at Sokka with worry. “Is everything all right, Mr. Todd?” He seemed to notice his grip on Zuko and released him.

“I beg your indulgence, Zuko,” he muttered. “My mind is far from easy. I once felt these streets to be familiar. Now all I see is shadows, everywhere.”

As they spoke, the ship pulled into dock and Zuko and Sokka walked down the gangplank to the streets of London.

Upon seeing the city, Sokka stopped. Zuko remained a few feet in back of him.

“There was a barber and his wife, And she was beautiful, A foolish barber and his wife, She was his reason and his life, And she was beautiful!

And she was virtuous…

And he was naïve.”

Zuko looked at Sokka, puzzled.

“There was another man who saw,” Sokka growled. “That she was beautiful., A pious vulture of the law, Who with a gesture of his claw, Removed the barber from his plate, Then there was nothing but to wait…

And she would fall!

So soft!

So young!

So lost and oh, so beautiful!” Sokka keened.

“And the lady, sir?” Zuko asked, jogging to catch up to Sokka. “Did she succumb?”

“Oh, that was many years ago… I doubt if anyone would know…” Sokka moved forward and Zuko stepped forward as well. “I’d like to thank you, Zuko. If you hadn’t spotted me in that shipwreck, I’d be lost on the ocean still.”

Zuko shifted his weight, uncomfortable with praise. “Anyone would have done it.”

Sokka shook his head. “I’ve known a great many men who would have sailed on and never felt any remorse.” He turned to leave again.

“May I see you again?”

“You may find me, if you like. Around Fleet Street, I wouldn’t wonder.”

Zuko stuck out his hand. “Until then, my friend.”

Sokka ignored the hand offered to him, picked up his bag, and disappeared down a side alley.

“There’s a hole in the world, Like a great black pit,” he muttered to himself, “And it’s filled with people who are filled with shit! And the vermin of the world inhabit it…”

Sokka continued to walk through the city until he found the street corner he was looking for. A dirty sign hung over the shop: Mrs. Lovett’s Pies. Sokka took a deep breath and entered the room.

An older woman, in her thirties, was violently chopping up vegetables. Her clothes were ragged and her hair had fallen out of its neat bun and hung in wisps around her face. As Sokka entered the shop, the bell attached to the door jingled. The woman’s head shot up and she gasped.

“A customer!”