Aang was, at first, confused. He remembered seeing the flames approaching them, and then everything was gone.

He felt as if his eyes were open, but there was nothing to see, and though seconds before, the roar of fire was in his ears, he could not hear. It felt almost as if he was floating on air, but nothing seemed to be holding him in place, nor was he on firm ground. Everything around him seemed to be a void, and he wondered if he were dead.

'You need not be afraid,' said a voice, though it seemed as if he were standing in a quiet and crowded library where sound barely echoed.

"Who are you?" he said, feeling as if his voice was disconnected from his body.

"Who do you believe I am?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I knew!" Aang snapped, and suddenly, he became aware of everything. It still felt as if he were floating, but almost seemed as if he were floating inside a cloud. He looked at his hands, then looked at the individual who stood before him.

Aang could not tell if the person before him was a male or a female, the clothes too baggy on the person's body to tell if it was a male or female. It's eyes were yellow, similar to Zuko's eyes, and red hair straight and cut at the shoulder.

"You're…Ran…or Shao?"

"Correct."

"Which one?"

"Does it matter?"

Aang opened his mouth to reply, and realized that the answer was indeed unimportant and the dragon-turned-human would probably not tell him anyway.

"Where are we? And why are you a human?"

"We are within a portion of my mind, and I appear to you this way since this form is familiar to you."

"Ah," said Aang, suddenly feeling very foolish.

"Despite having approached us once, you have returned to see us once more. What is it that burdens you, Avatar?"

"I've been having problems bending, and I didn't know what to do, or even where to start."

For several seconds, no words were spoken. Aang lowered his eyes as the dragon continued to study him.

"It is simple and yet complex as well. You are the Avatar, and therefore can control the elements. Yet, each element has its opposite, and the two oppose each other, but create a balance. Within you, your emotions are unstable, and cause the elements to become unstable."

"Wait. I know that my emotions can influence my powers, but is this like a lecture on giving up my love and all of that in order to enter my Avatar state?"

The dragon looked amused.

"No, that is not what I meant. There are things that you have not resolved within yourself, like anger and fear, that causes your emotions to upset the balance. You have never fully balanced your powers, but if you can face your powerful emotions, then perhaps you can finally find the full power of the elements."

It took several seconds, but then Aang said, "Huh?"

The dragon sighed. "You said that sometimes strong emotions can control your powers, right?"

"Right…"

"And really, you're still training to fully develop your skills as the Avatar, correct?"

"Yeah."

"But there are some things you haven't resolved yet, therefore you cannot develop your skills fully."

Again, Aang paused in thought. "So I face these issues and then I can control the elements?"

"You oversimplify things, but close enough. It is accepting the emotions and accepting the powers that will bring you to full power."

"Okay…I guess."

"I can't teach you everything, but at least I can give you a start."

And with those cryptic words, everything turned into nothing.

Zuko was not overly fond of having little to no control over situations. If he was going to have to deal with such circumstances, he wanted to at least know where the hell he was. He hated fog, and he hated not being able to see.

"Anger was always your weakness," said a voice, before a person appeared. The androgynous person certainly looked like a typical Fire Nation individual, except for the very blue hair.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "You're one of the dragons."

"That is correct. I thought perhaps this form may provide more comfort to you."

"More comforting than what? A giant, talking head?"

The dragon shrugged. Zuko figured that the dragon was right. It was always less disconcerting to be talking to a human than a different creature, no matter how tame a creature may appear. He also realized he was being less than polite while talking to a being that was really far bigger than him. He decided it was best to change his tone.

"Why did you bring me here, wherever here is?"

"To speak to you about matters pertaining to Aang."

Zuko waited for the dragon to continue, but when no more words were spoken, he realized that he was going to have to delve for more information. "What matters specifically?"

"You."

"Me? I don't understand."

"Aang will be facing a difficult time. There are many things that he will have to face to balance his gifts. You, as his friend, can help him."

"Friend…"

The dragon tilted his head to the side. "You are infatuated with Aang, are you not?"

"I-is it obvious?"

"To normal humans, perhaps not, but we cannot doubt our sense of smell. You find him attractive."

Zuko coughed and looked down, his face turning red.

"Are you ashamed?"

"It's not that. It's many things. Like how I'm the Fire Lord and he's the Avatar. Or how we're both males."

"But you care for him."

"It's not that simple!"

"Is it not that simple because you are making it complicated? Tell me what is more important to you, Zuko. Is your position more important? Is the fact you are both male more important? Tell me what it is that stops you from pursuing him…"

Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but he did not know how to answer.

"Even if you were merely to support him as a friend, you would be giving him a great deal of help, but you must understand that keeping your emotions locked will be detrimental to you."

"It doesn't matter what these emotions do to me. What's important is that Aang is all right. I want him to be happy."

The dragon sighed, almost as if this answer was not really what it wanted to hear. Still, it said, "Aang will be going through a difficult time, not only with his own feelings, but with his powers as well. He will be facing parts of himself that he may not wish to see. No matter what, will you be able to help him?"

"There's no doubt."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what."

"Then you may be surprised what you will find."

Before Zuko could question the remark, everything seemed to dissolve.

Aang and Zuko both awoke at the same time. Almost immediately, Zuko sat up, which he regretted a little when his head seemed to spin a bit. Aang, however, stared at the sky. They could hear several of the Sun Warriors making their way up the stairs. In the sky, Aang saw Shao and Ran flying, but what surprised him was the third, smaller dragon flying with them. From where he was, the small dragon seemed almost gray.

"It's like your eyes, Aang," Zuko said, looking up to see what fascinated the Avatar so much.

"Do you think so?"

"Well…"

Aang smiled and closed his eyes, ignoring the voices of the worried Sun Warriors, asking if Zuko and he were all right. He listened to the sound of his heart, and felt the fire that burned within him. He tried to touch the other elements, but could feel a resistance to them.

"Aang?"

"I can feel it, Zuko. The fire within me, still unstable, burning inside. It's like Shao and Ran unlocked something inside of me."

"What…what does it feel like exactly?"

Aang opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Zuko. "It feels like anger."