(A/N) This picks up at the end of the Book 3 episode "The Avatar and the Firelord".


Zuko was confused. It was usually a rare feeling for the brooding teenager, but it had become central to his life over the past few months. Ever since he first spotted the Avatar in the Southern Water Tribe…

As he walked over to the palace dungeon, his confusion slowly began to boil into frustration, which in turn became anger. Why did everything have to be cryptic? Why couldn't things just make sense, like they always used to? Zuko tried to think back to a time when things actually did make sense, but as he watched the memories playing back through his head, his hand instinctively moved towards his scar. All of the memories, every single one, took place before… it had happened. His mother was almost always there, but it wasn't just that. His sister had still been, well, bitchy, but she actually showed emotion. Mai and Ty Lee were usually there, doing their things. But the one common absence was his father. He wasn't in a single one of Zuko's fond memories.

Zuko shook his head as he entered the dungeon. He needed to focus on the task at hand. Zuko found the cell he was looking for, knowing it by heart at this point, and entered. The door slammed behind him.

Zuko glared at the prisoner. The man in the cell was seemingly a shadow of his old self. Gone were the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth, caused by the man's near perpetual smile, replaced by, well, normal old wrinkles. His hair was greasy and unkempt, and he didn't react in any way to his new guest.

"You sent this, didn't you? I found the secret history. Which, by the way should be renamed "the history most people already know." The note said that I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end."

A moment passed, and the old man still showed no sign of recognizing Zuko's presence. Finally, right as Zuko was about to scream in frustration, Iroh looked up at his nephew.

"No, he wasn't."

Now, Zuko was genuinely confused. His uncle had always been a very knowledgeable man, and he certainly wasn't a liar. So what the hell was he talking about?

"What are you talking about?"

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku."

Zuko was shocked. He was related to the Avatar? Well, kind of, in a weird, spiritual way. But why did this matter? It only meant that he was even more of a disappointment with his firebending abilities.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers, can help you better understand the battle within yourself. Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now... by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the fire nation. Born in you, along with all this strife, is the power to restore balance to the world."

Iroh reached over and removed a brick from his wall, revealing a small pouch. He handed it to Zuko.

"This is a royal artifact. It's supposed to be worn by the crown prince."

Zuko opened the pouch. It held a gold crown-like artifact, supposed to be worn over a top knot. Both of them just stood there for a while. Zuko was trying to process what had just happened, and Iroh was wondering whether to continue pushing his beloved nephew.

Just as Zuko was about to walk away, Iroh spoke up.

"Nephew, look inside yourself. I once told you to look inward, and seek your own destiny. Do that now. The spirits… they are not calm. This war needs to come to an end, and YOU have the ability to do it. You have the opportunity to right the wrongs of our nation."

"But how, Uncle?"

Iroh grimly looked Zuko in the eye.

"That is something you must figure out on your own. But I know that you can do it. You have struggled, fought, and lost, more than any soul should ever dream of, and yet you still keep going. That is who you are. That is what you are. No matter what happens, you keep on going."

Iroh reached into the hole in his wall and pulled out a small, ceramic object. He handed it to Zuko.

"I must remain here, but you can still find allies in every corner of the world."

Zuko looked down at the white lotus tile in his hand.

"Come with me, Uncle. I need your help, your guidance." Zuko was nearly in tears at this point.

Iroh shook his head.

"It is not my time, Prince Zuko. I have my own plans. You need to go now if you want to evade the palace guard."

"But Uncle…"

"GO! Goodbye, my nephew. We will see each other soon."


Aang's eyes fluttered open while the moon was still high in the sky. He looked at the dying embers of their campfire and saw that the entire group had fallen asleep around the campfire. He tried sitting up but he felt a warm weight on his left arm and chest. He looked to see what it was and was met by a mass of chocolate brown hair. He softly chuckled and enjoyed Katara's closeness for a while. As the sun started to rise, he decided that it was time to get moving, and he tried to get up without waking Katara up. He failed, miserably, as Katara began stirring before he had moved more than a finger.

Katara looked over at Aang and blushed heavily. Aang shot straight out from under her and started nervously bumbling.

"I…uh…we….uh, I'm gonna go check on Trey."

Happy with his smooth getaway, he went to find Trey's tent. He walked in and saw that Trey was still breathing. Aang wasn't exactly a doctor, so he didn't know what else he could do. He plopped himself on the ground in frustration.

His friend had now been unconscious twice from head injuries in the past few weeks, and Aang was genuinely worried. If only Sokka hadn't been so obnoxious about sparring…

No, Aang couldn't blame Sokka. It was an accident, pure and simple. Still, it had been 4 days, and Trey hadn't shown any signs of waking up. He didn't know what to do, so, like any good monk, he began to meditate.

After a few moments, he connected with Avatar Roku.

"Avatar Roku, I, uh, wasn't expecting to talk to you."

"I know Aang. I wanted to speak with you. Your friend is now in the Spirit World, and he's going to need your help."

Roku began fading away.

"But Roku, how will I find him?"

"You will find a way, Aang."


Trey found himself in a cave. He didn't remember how he got there, but it somehow felt… familiar. He couldn't tell which way would lead him out, so he picked a direction and started walking. After a few minutes, Trey heard a clicking sound, almost like a ton of legs pattering on a wet sidewalk. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he was, and he was terrified.

"Now you aren't supposed to be here. Well, you're not really supposed to be anywhere, so I guess I can't be surprised. Either way, your face would be a wonderful addition to my collection."

Trey gulped and did his best to clear his face of all emotion.

"Hello, Koh."


(A/N) Ooooooohhh a cliffhanger. Fun! Anyway, this was a pretty short chapter, but a whole lot of, err, stuff happened, and I think it turned out pretty well. I apologize if there were any glaring grammatical errors, by the way. I did my best to proof read this, but I am still hungover from last night, and I only got about two and a half hours of sleep to begin with. Other than that, enjoy, and be sure to review!