At the North Pole, Zuko's faith in the importance of his mission had been reaffirmed. Watching Admiral Zhao be dragged to the bottom of the canal never to resurface had reminded him that the Avatar was a dangerous and unpredictable force that needed to be stopped - no one person should be able to wield that much power unchecked. The memory had provided a sense of purpose, driving him onward in the months to follow. In capturing the Avatar, not only would he restore his honour, but also protect his nation from the spiritual icon's wrath.

After his metamorphosis, those feelings had withered, but watching Azula cower before the Avatar's potent aura, his desire to defend his homeland was revived.

Azula never cowered.

"Don't hurt her!" yelled Zuko, using his good arm to push himself up off the floor.

Cradling his shoulder - which had started to turn a shade of cold blue - he staggered towards Azula, who looked as if she'd sooner ballet dance with a platypus-bear than back down from a fight. The Avatar's empty gaze rounded on Zuko and the ground beneath his feet shifted backwards, carrying him away from the Princess as she took up a fighting stance.

He knew from experience that if the situation was to be reversed, Azula would delight in her brother coming to harm, but that didn't mean Zuko was unaffected by the thought of his little sister disappearing from the face of the Earth. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if the help he had requested from the Avatar got Azula killed, but instead of striking her down, the air nomad tensed his hand and made a twisting motion, using earthbending to sink her into the ground. All that remained exposed was her head - the Dai Li agents similarly submerged on either side resembled two grumpy emerald mushrooms sprouting out of the cave floor.

With her entire body trapped in rock, Azula couldn't move an inch, let alone bend or do anything remotely useful in an escape attempt. Incensed, she tried breathing fire, but the Avatar was far out of her range and swiftly clamped her mouth shut to put an end to her futile efforts. Other than wounding her pride, Azula had not been harmed and Zuko found his values tested once more. Perhaps the bald monk was the right person to be trusted with such an awesome power after all.

The Water Tribe girl - Katara - rushed to catch Aang, probably expecting him to drop out of the air as he had done when previously exiting the Avatar state, but his descent was controlled and he drifted towards the floor with full awareness, the light rapidly fading from his skin.

"Aang, that was incredible!" Katara gushed, moving in for another hug.

He allowed Katara to wrap her arms around his torso, but this time, he did not reciprocate and pulled away, his face stoic and clear of emotion. In a word: focused. Turning to Zuko, he rested his balled fist against his open palm and bowed his head in gratitude.

"Thank you for your assistance," said Aang respectfully - all trace of the goofy kid ironed out of his mannerisms.

"I didn't do it for you," murmured Zuko, a shadow of resentment darkening his tone. "I did it for her," he said, unabashed - he hadn't meant it as anything more than a declaration of his service and a reminder of an unspoken agreement.

"Zuko, your arm!" cried Katara, rushing to examine his ruined shoulder.

Rolling up his sleeve, she probed his pale skin to assess the damage. He could see an angry red welt from where Azula had branded his wrist with a print of her hand - so deep and clear that fingerprints were visible in the burn - but it was completely numb. He couldn't feel anything beyond the row of bruises forming just below his collar on his left arm.

"Katara, you heal Zuko. Iroh, come with me - we need to round up the rest of the Dai Li and put this coup down," Aang ordered with an air of authority as he freed the old General from the crystal.

Iroh nodded and the two headed for the mouth of the tunnel, towards the surface to deal with the other traitorous agents.

As he disappeared back inside the passage, Iroh sent Zuko a warm smile, full of love and adoration. "I am proud of you, my nephew," he called out, not waiting for a response before leaving to help the Avatar.

Zuko valued his uncle's opinion greatly, so if this was the course that Iroh deemed to be virtuous, he must have made the right call in fighting alongside the Water Tribe girl. It had gone against everything Zuko stood for and challenged everything he believed in, but in choosing this path, he had earnt Uncle Iroh's pride and respect. On the road to redemption, this seemed like a good place to start. A tug on his sleeve pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked down at Katara, concern streaking her face.

"Don't worry. Azula forced it back into the socket with her foot," Zuko told her, trying to roll his shoulder and prove the damage was superficial.

Katara was unconvinced, tearing away the fabric of his shirt and gripping his shoulder tightly so he would keep it still.

"This is bad. Sorry, Zuko - this is really going to hurt." She apologised in advance and stood back, streaming her element out of the waterskin at her hip.

Immersing each arm in the liquid - her bending like an extension of herself - she wrapped one water tentacle around his torso. The other snaked around his left arm, squeezing tighter.

"Wait, what are you going to-"

In one fluid motion, she yanked his left shoulder out of its socket again with a sickening pop. Pain blossomed across his body, his battered shoulder as the focal point. Then, Zuko relinquished his grasp on consciousness and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Zuko awoke in an infirmary. Judging by the facilities, he was still in the upper tier, but someone had carried him out of the ruins of old Ba Sing Se and into a private ward to rest. The room was spacious and his cot had silky, green sheets with plush, olive pillows lining the headrest. A cool breeze drifted through an open window - he couldn't have been out longer than a few hours as pale moonlight still shone down from a crisp, white sphere, illuminating the night.

Lifting himself out of the bed, he looked for any sign of who had brought him here, but everything was decidedly Earth Kingdom, from the bedding to the drapes - even the clothes laid out for him at the foot of the bed were green and gold, detailed with traditional patterns. Nothing suggested Katara had even been here, but she must have as the burn on his wrist had vanished and he could lift his arm without any trouble.

He vaguely wondered when she'd be back, if at all. She'd probably fixed him up and gone home to bed, so he'd have to thank her in the morning. Stretching his muscles, Zuko yawned and went over to shut the window, snatching up a green shirt and pulling it over his head along the way. Hearing the door behind him open, Zuko spun sharply on his heel to see who had entered.

"I hope I did not wake you," said his uncle, softly closing the door behind him.

Zuko ran a hand through his messy hair so it no longer fell across his face and shrugged. "I was up," he said sleepily.

Iroh did not say anything. Instead, he shuffled further into the dimly-lit room and took Zuko's face in his hands, running his thumbs across his nephew's smooth cheeks - a look of astonishment etched into his wizened eyes. Then, he pulled the teenager into a bear hug, sobbing quietly into the crook of his neck.

"Uncle…?" Zuko asked, surprised by the old man's sudden flood of emotion.

It was then that Zuko spotted a small, aquamarine vial discarded and uncorked on the bedside medicine cabinet.

Suddenly, saying 'thank you' couldn't wait another second.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited or reviewed last chapter - I really appreciate your encouragement! Please do tell me if one or more of the characters is OOC and I'll try to fix any problems. Until next time XD