Leave it behind, Zuko couldn't get his uncle's words out of his head. He staggered through the open door, his clothes stuck to his body with a layer of cold sweat. Leave it behind, Zuko stumbled forward, running into a wall. He struck it with his shoulder, sending a jolt of pain down his arm and through his chest. His head was on fire and he barely registered the pain radiating from his shoulder as it was lost among the soreness he was feeling all over.

"I don't feel right," Zuko mumbled out before collapsing forward. Iroh caught him before he hit the ground and carried the unconscious prince to his bed to rest. Remember when you were small enough that I could carry you on my shoulders? Iroh thought ruefully as he laid the prince down on top of the bed. Of course, I was a lot younger then as well, Iroh mused as he took a spare blanket from the closet and spread it out over Zuko's sleeping form. Iroh went to the kitchen and wet a towel before returning to Zuko's room.

They had moved into the new apartment yesterday and they were still getting settled in. Iroh had accidentally walked into the wrong room a dozen times at least and Zuko got frustrated while cooking dinner because all the cupboards and pantries were all in different places. What a place, Iroh thought with no small amount of wonder. To think, when I had come to this city as a conquering general I didn't even get through the agrarian ring. Now, as a simple tea maker, I call the upper ring 'home'. Iroh was drawn away from his musings as Zuko shivered under the thick blanket Iroh had provided for him. Iroh frowned, Prince Zuko was perfectly healthy only a few hours ago. Iroh stood up reluctantly and went out into the kitchen, searching through the plethora of cupboards and shelves until he found a small sealed box. No, Iroh thought resolutely, this is no normal sickness. Iroh broke the seal on the box and inhaled deeply as the thick, aged scent of the rare tea blend filled his head. Zuko is at war with himself, Iroh thought as he closed the box and placed it on the counter for later. Iroh knew what to do, after all, he had seen it once before.

It was dark in the room but Zuko could still see perfectly fine. That's weird, he thought. His mind was hazy, he realised, and any attempts to focus or think too hard were impossible. The room was small. There was a stove and a counter with a sink in the corner with a few cupboards. Along one wall were three doors and a single door along the adjacent wall. In the middle was a table with two chairs. Where am I? Zuko wondered, the creeping feeling that he knew exactly where he at the forefront of his mind. Home?

He blinked and there was a light from beneath the single door. The exit, Zuko corrected. He found himself walking toward the light, his feet shuffling awkwardly across the bare wooden floor. He stopped before the door, reaching out with his hand to touch the door knob. It was hot to the touch and Zuko pulled his hand away quickly as a jolt of pain told him his palm was burnt. What? Zuko thought groggily. He shook his head slowly in an attempt to get a hold of himself. He hadn't been burned since he was a little boy. Except for the agni kai, he shuddered involuntarily, pushing the memory out of his mind. Ever since he had learned to firebend as a child he could control the energy in his body to avoid being burned by flames. It was the only way that firebenders could wield fire so close to their bodies without being burned. Zuko took a deep breath and reached out for the doorknob again. This time it didn't burn him and he relaxed a fraction before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

The light beyond was blinding and Zuko had to resist the urge to slam the door closed again. Somehow he knew that if he closed it it wouldn't have opened again. He took a hesitant step through the threshold and his feet felt sunbaked flagstone beneath his shoes. The smell of the air, the sounds of native birds, and the low, muffled sounds from far off told him exactly where he was. The Fire Lord's Palace, Zuko stood perfectly still as if any motion would fix the attention of the entire palace on him. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sun he noticed he was in a courtyard and the courtyard was completely empty.

"Hello Zuko," a familiar female voice called from behind him. He spun around, slipping into a fighting stance. "What's the matter?" Azula asked with feigned puzzlement as she walked casually out into the courtyard.

"Azula!" Zuko flinched from the effort of exerting himself. Azula giggled in her taunting way.

"Oh, Zu Zu," she glided across the courtyard so she was only a few paces from her brother. "Why are you always so hostile with me?" Zuko grimaced in reply, not wanting to say anything for fear of giving his sister a potential angle for attack. "Come on," Azula said with false sweetness, "we're family. If you can't be nice to me, then who can you be nice to?" Azula moved quickly behind Zuko and when he spun around to face her she was gone. In her place was Jin, her face a mask of hurt and confusion. She looked at Zuko with shock and Zuko looked down at himself to see he was wearing the robes of the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

"Jin! I can explain," Zuko took a step forward but Jin took a step backward, flinching as he raised his hand toward her.

"How could you lie to me?" Jin said weakly as tears filled her eyes. Zuko felt his heart breaking in his chest and the pain of it nearly made him keel over.

"Please," it came out as barely a whisper. Zuko felt his own eyes filling with tears as the sight of Jin became too much for him to bear.

"You're just like her," Jin said, taking another step back as Zuko took a step forward, raising an accusing finger at him.

"No!" Zuko shouted with intensity that scared even him and he stepped forward, a jet of flames flashing out from his extended hand and consuming Jin.

Zuko awoke screaming. Iroh nearly fell out of his chair at Zuko's side as Zuko shot upright so that he was sitting up on the bed. His muscles screamed in protest and he fell back down so that he was lying down on the bed again. Iroh fixed the blankets so that they were covering Zuko before he spoke.

"It's alright, nephew," Iroh said soothingly, "it was just a nightmare."

"Uncle…" Zuko's voice was weak and uneven when he spoke, "I...I...she was there." Zuko babbled incoherently for a few moments before he was asleep again. Iroh dabbed the wet cloth on his forehead to cool him down. It was another half hour before Zuko awoke again, this time less violently than the last.

"You're burning up," Iroh told him, dipping the cloth in water again before placing it on Zuko's forehead, "you have an intense fever. This will help cool you down."

"So thirsty," Zuko managed to say, though his voice was still weak and raspy. Zuko tried to sit up, despite his body aching in protest, but Iroh made him lie back down. Instead, Iroh reached beside the bed to the bucket of drinking water he had prepared after the last time Zuko had woken up. He dipped a large spoon into the water and held it up as he helped Zuko sit up slightly so he could drink.

"Here's some clean water to drink," Iroh said to get Zuko's attention as the youth threatened to fall asleep again. "Stay under the blankets and sweat this out." To Iroh's surprise, Zuko took the spoon from his hand and gulped the water down in an instant. He tossed the spoon aside haphazardly before reaching over the side of the bed and grabbing the bucket of drinking water. Zuko's strength failed him as he tried to lift the bucket off of the ground so instead he leaned over the side of bed and dunked his head into the bucket, drinking as much as he could. He threatened to fall over the side of the bed so Iroh rested a hand on his shoulder to stabilize him as Zuko drank and drank. Soon the bucket was light enough to lift even with Zuko's diminished strength and he tilted it so that he could drink the last of the water from the bucket before tossing it aside.

"Thank you," Zuko managed to say, his throat burning from the cool water. Iroh smiled as he helped his nephew lie back down on the bed, once again fixing the covers.

"Sleep," Iroh told Zuko softly, "I'll be here when you wake up." Zuko said nothing but his eyes closed and after a few moments his breathing became soft and regular and Iroh knew he was asleep. Iroh felt a pang of sorrow overtake him as the sight reminded him of happier times, when the Fire Nation's rising star general would watched over a young boy and girl for his younger brother who was off on business with his wife. Zuko had been so carefree in those days and it broke Iroh's heart to see the boy grow into a young man full of anger and grief. Iroh steeled himself, maybe after today, Zuko can be happy…

Zuko was in a familiar place. It was the throne room of the Fire Nation palace except he was seeing it from an unfamiliar perspective. What am I doing on father's throne? Zuko wondered as his hand subconsciously reached up to feel the crown resting on his head. Am I the Fire Lord? There was a gust of hot air as two dragons approached him, curling through the air on either side of the throne like exquisite fish swimming in elaborate loops. The dragons, one red and one blue, wrapped themselves on the stone pillars on either side of the throne dias.

"It's getting late," the blue dragon began circling around Zuko and he heard Azula's voice in his head, "are you planning to retire soon, my lord?"

My lord? Zuko thought with surprise. No, his mind was becoming fuzzy again and he struggled to keep this thoughts straight, if I'm Fire Lord than that means father is… something was wrong and it made Zuko's hair stand on edge.

"I'm not tired," he said guardedly as the blue dragon rested its head beside his, as if to whisper into his ear.

"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko," Azula's voice said inside his head, "Just let go. Give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while." Despite himself, Zuko began closing his eyes until the other dragon spoke.

"No, Fire Lord Zuko!" the red dragon spoke with Iroh's voice, "Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!" the red dragon came closer, poised opposite the blue dragon and the room began to crumble away to nothing.

"Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko," the blue dragon said softly as both dragons disappeared. The room was gone now and the throne floated in nothingness for a moment before the blue dragon reappeared before Zuko. "Sleep," it opened its mouth as its voice became harsher, "just like mother!" The dragon charged at Zuko and Zuko's heart stopped as he saw his mother's face within the beast's maw.

"Zuko! Help me!" Ursa looked up at her son for an instant before the dragon closed its jaws and everything turned to black.

Zuko's eyes opened wide, the sound of his heart beating drowning out the world beyond his bed. He breathed a few raspy breaths as his eyes darted back and forth. His fingers hurt as they dug into the mattress beneath him. What's happening to me?

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you're enjoying the story so far :) It's been a lot of fun to write and the response from all of you has been amazing!

So this chapter takes partially from the episode 'The Earth King' and the rest is all me. I have a lot of fun writing dream/trippy sequences and if you liked it you might also like the chapter of my other story, Six Weeks in Ba Sing Se, where Sokka goes to the Spirit World to confront his fears of loss (shameless self promotion :P ), so check that out if you want to :)

As always, let me know what you liked, what you didn't, and what you want to see happen with the story! I love reading reviews from all of you and I take everything you say into account when writing the rest of the story.

Reviews:

To Mee-Mee: Thank you so much :) heh, I'm glad to hear I can further the Jinko cause!

To bunjeepanda: Thank you for your kind words :) I'm glad that you've found the story so enjoyable so far and I'll continue to strive toward building the relationship between Zuko and Jin as believably as I can. Also Iroh is going to get some more backstory as of next chapter so stay tuned for that!

To Anonymous Rex: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint :)

To ZukoWithHair: Thanks for the critique! I'll go back and grammar check the story when I get the chance, just this week has a been really busy at work so I haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I can say that things will be very different from what happens in the show :P