Chapter 1: Contemplation
Eastern Air Temple
It felt like he had gambled and lost, not just once but twice. Not only had the Avatar not been where he had expected him to be - here at the Eastern Air Temple - but also, he had discovered, his firebending had abandoned him. Even if he could find the Avatar, he would be useless to him now. Like always, it seemed that every decision he made backfired in the worse way, especially the past few weeks. Thoughts of giving up this new destiny he was trying to forge himself had come to him, but he shook them off every time, determined to push on and find the Avatar, for once, to help him.
His fist connected with the stone as he punched the wall in frustration. He wanted - no, needed to find the avatar, but at this moment his thoughts were at a crossroad. Were Zuko to find the Avatar and his friends, he would be of no use, and his only chance of getting them to let him join them would be gone. But he was unsure if he even had the time to delay, to find a way to regain his bending before continuing his quest to teach the Avatar firebending.
Zuko sighed heavily as he decided to wander around in this temple to see if he could find an answer or at least something to point him in the right direction. Zuko doubted anything here would be of any help to him but he guessed he could use the time to ponder about his problems. After walking through the halls of the temple for a time, Zuko still didn't know what to do. He had considered regaining his firebending first, but did not know how he could possibly manage to do that in time.
Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, waiting for a brief moment before he turned to his left to examine a mural he had spotted from the corner of his eye. The air nomad in this mural… It reminded him of someone… It was almost scary. The mural reminded him of the man he had betrayed, his uncle Iroh. Maybe his uncle knew what had caused his bending to leave him. Zuko sighed heavily. His uncle couldn't possibly forgive him for what he had done to him, let alone that he would help him. But, as this was the only thing he could come up with, Zuko knew he had to try.
The former heir to the throne of the Fire Nation turned back and began to make his way back through the halls and out of the temple. He had only one opportunity to regain what he needed for the one opportunity to regain his honor by helping the Avatar restore balance. The destiny he had envisioned for himself only recently hung by a very thin thread, but if he didn't try, Zuko knew that thread would snap for sure.