Screams echoed through his mind. Her screams. No amount of plugging or covering over his ears would block out the sound. Empty eyes stared back at him, accusing him as she was consumed by white flames, howling into the void until she disappeared.

He woke to the darkness of his room.

Zuko took stock of his surroundings, the calm rocking of a ship at port, vague scents of torches, candles, and incense wafting in the air, mingling with the smells of ship and harbor. He swung out of bed and looked himself in the mirror and wiped some of the sweat from his brow.

"What is wrong with me?" he wondered aloud.

Behind his golden eyes, he saw – felt Blue glowering at him. The Spirit had been more than content to remind Zuko of his presence, even if all he did was observe.

Yet Blue's anger had rubbed against Zuko's own fury and resentment, both erupting spectacularly when Ozai attempted to strike him down.

Enough! Zuko rebuked the presence, splashing some water onto his face. As much as he wanted to continue hiding in his quarters, he had other things to do.

Outside, the noises of repair and cleaning efforts were already starting. General Iroh's ships had all been brought in the previous day bearing the scars of their battle and the jubilant crews loudly cheering and joining the celebrations. While they were undergoing repairs, Zuko had taken up one of the rooms on ship to rest in between work days.

Dressed and ready for the day, he emerged from his quarters. Making his way to the docks, Zuko barely acknowledged the hails and greetings in passing, automatically heading for where he had intended to help for the day.

Thanks to the combined efforts, the restoration and reconstruction were progressing smoothly and rapidly, most of the damage had been cleared out and repaired already, allowing for more to tend to the wounded.

If planning for the invasion was nerve-wracking, cleaning up the mess that came afterward was magnitudes more difficult. There were the casualties, though for that, Zuko thought, were mercifully light for both sides and the capitol had been evacuated beforehand. Structural damage was easily mended, what with all the earthbenders hanging around and the army of able bodies there to facilitate reconstruction.

The list of things to do was still growing, and Zuko felt a small migraine coming on just thinking about it. Fortunately, he would not be responsible for doing all of it himself.

Last he had heard, Azula was still put up in bed, convalescing, but if the healers were to be believed, she would be recovered enough to assume the duties of the Fire Lord today and a small coronation ceremony within the week.

Or Fire Lady, Zuko thought. It wasn't something that had been brought up before, seeing all the predecessors who had ruled in their own right had been male. A conundrum, that's for certain.

Back to task, Toph was occupied with reconstruction, Katara was healing the wounded alongside the other healers and doctors, all tasked to capacity, even with the relatively light casualties. Sokka was still organizing the task force, having taken command after his father had been wounded in the battle, only now he was just keeping the peace and making sure no one tried any funny business while everyone else recovered. Aang and Mai were moving from place to place, helping wherever they could, since their skillsets were not exactly conducive to rebuilding.

After they were finished in the capitol, they had to deal with the factories dotting the landscape, as most of them were still devoted to the war machine, and if memory served, they coughed up large amounts of pollution.

Then there were all the POWs and the political prisoners, former colonies, occupied and contested territory to liberate and untangle.

All that is in the future for now, Zuko thought. He still had another, more immediate concern.

Sighing, he progressed through the chambers. When arrived where the rest of the entourage awaited, Hakoda and General Fong rose to greet him.

"Are you ready?" Zuko asked.

"My people have been waiting one hundred years for this moment," General Fong answered. "I'm more than ready."

Chief Hakoda nodded. "Shall we?"

Leading to the conference room,

The delegation was met by a docile Azula, the soon-to-be Fire Lord confined to a chair, eyes and leg still bandaged. She only barely followed their movements, tracking them by the sounds of their footsteps. Even crippled, she still held herself up regally, power still simmering within.

Zuko was still questioning his handling of Azula. While she was no longer able to fight, she was still a formidable tactician and strategist. If she still had hostile intentions, she kept them superbly well hidden.

He stopped himself short on that particular train of thought to make sure Blue was still behaving himself.

"Please, seat yourself," she said, voice small and unassuming. "I'm sure we have much to discuss for the impending treaty."

General Fong frowned slightly. "While Chief Hakoda is free to speak for his people, I would rather the Earth King be a part of any permanent end to hostilities. This is not a peace treaty. Yet. And I am certain the leaders of the other nations would wish to be present for such a momentous occasion."

Azula tented her fingers on her lap. "Very well. Then it should be a simple matter until such an event can be arranged. Messages are already being sent to the Fire Nation commanders to stand down until such an arrangement can be made."

"That's good to hear," Hakoda said

"Why not have your forces pull back entirely?" Fong challenged.

"Because there are plenty of prisoners to be exchanged on both sides," Azula answered. Fong looked ready to contest the decision, but she beat him to the punch. "Until we can properly facilitate an exchange and establish a proper treaty, my troops will stay where they are at the moment. I imagine you would prefer having us where you can see us."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as the talks continued.

[-]

Sigh.

Another day, more cleanup. Since nearly all of the work had been completed, Mai was left with little else to do other than sit around. Idly leaning on a wall outside the camp, she twirled around a dagger as she waited for the meeting to finish up when a familiar voice called out.

"Mai?"

Standing up, Mai turned to the source. "Ty Lee?"

Mai was then promptly reminded that the acrobat had both speed and strength, nearly taking her to the floor when she was glomped.

"You're alive!" she cheered. "When you didn't show up after the explosion, we thought you had been killed."

"Almost was," Mai replied.

"Well, it's still good to see you. Where have you been all this time?"

Mai's gaze shifted to the side as the bubbly girl drew her conclusions.

"So, you helped the Avatar?"

"Mmhm."

"It's so crazy that Zuko never told us."

"He didn't know back then."

"Well, what do you think of all of this? After seeing what he did to Azula, his own sister…"

"To be fair, she did try to kill him several times."

Ty Lee deflated slightly. Her admiration and veneration of Azula was being tarnished alongside her faith in the Fire Nation.

"Where did things go wrong?" she wondered aloud.

"With what?" Mai asked. Honestly, there was a pretty long list for that.

"We grew up together, only for us to try killing each other. You heard about their dad, right?"

Mai nodded. "How did you find out?"

"I heard from the guards who were there. If not for them, it's possible that we would have never realized it was the Fire Lord." Mai tried to ignore the uncharacteristic frown on the other girl's face. "Speaking of, I heard that Zuko had removed himself from succession and passed the title to Azula. I'm not sure how happy she is, since…you know."

"On a brighter side, we won't be fighting anymore."

"Mai? Brighter side?"

"What?"

Ty Lee hugged Mai suddenly. "I knew you'd lighten up eventually!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mai said, prying the girl off.

"Do we have Zuko to thank for that?"

Mai blushed slightly. "Among other reasons."

A short distance away, she could see the other members of Team Avatar at work, laughing as they worked. Ty Lee leaned over to look the same direction.

"I think it's good for you," she said eventually.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Mai asked.

"I'm sticking around for a little while. What about you?"

"Leaving. I technically committed treason, even if under a measure of duress, so I might keep my head down until that all blows over. I'll visit at some point, I'm sure."

"So…friends?"

Mai paused, then nodded. "Sure."

Ty Lee's face lit up. "See you soon, then. Don't be a stranger!"

One last hug and the acrobat went skipping along.

Mai sighed once more.

[-]

A knock on his door in the middle of the night had Zuko blinking the sleep out of his eyes as his eyes adjusted to the lights.

"I finally managed to get some sleep, Aang," he said. "Tell me this is important, or I'm going back to bed."

Thankfully, the airbender wasted no time getting to the point.

"Roku wants to talk to us."

That had Zuko wide awake in short order. "You talked to Avatar Roku? And what do you mean us?"

"Um…"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nevermind. What did he have to say?"

"He said he wanted us to go to his island on the day of the solstice."

"Alright. Let me grab some things."

In short order, the duo were moving down the stairs to the main deck of the ship. Zuko grumbled a little along the way.

"Why didn't try talking to you at a more reasonable hour, or giving us time to prepare?"

"He didn't say," Aang replied. "Still, everyone else is ready to go."

"Everyone?"

They stepped out into the early morning air where everyone – Sokka, Katara, Toph, Mai, Suki – was loading onto Appa.

"Just for a simple trip like this?"

"Hey, we're still the Avatar Team here," Sokka answered. "We're with you wherever you guys need to go."

Zuko nodded. "Thanks."

[-]

In flight, they traded off in the pilot's seat, taking staggered naps. By the early light of dawn, nearly everyone had roused. Sitting quietly the entire trip, Zuko read through a number of scrolls.

"What are you reading, Sparks?" Toph asked.

"A copy of my great-grandfather's journal. I've been reading it nearly every night before I go to bed."

"Your great-grandfather must have been a boring guy in order to put you to sleep."

"Not entirely. For example, I found out that he and Roku were friends growing up."

Sokka perked up and looked back. "Really?"

"According to what I read, yes," Zuko confirmed. "Speaking of…Aang, you can still talk to the Avatars before you? All of them?"

"Yeah."

"But isn't Zuko the Avatar, now?" Suki asked.

"I'll always be part of the Avatar Cycle. I just didn't think I would be seeing any more of this until after I let go of my hold on this world."

"You can say dead here," Sokka chimed, though Katara quickly shushed him.

Zuko looked up from his reading. "Does this mean that until then, I'm going to have to find you to talk to any past Avatars? Before you, I mean."

Aang shrugged. "Maybe."

"Wonderful."

"Land!" Katara called out.

"There it is," Aang announced. "Roku's home."

As the drifted in a little closer, they got a better view of the island, devoid of any habitation, or any distinct landmarks, blanketed in clastic material.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sokka asked. "It looks like there's nothing here."

"This is where Roku told us to go."

Zuko glanced over the side of the saddle. "If this is where we're supposed to go, we can debate the specifics once we're down there."

A quick landing, the group began dismounting.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Zuko inquired.

"What?" Sokka asked hesitantly. "Is something about to attack us again?

"It feels like a graveyard."

"Probably because it is," Toph said. "There's an entire village, hundreds of houses buried under the ash."

The wind whistled past the group as the stood in silence.

"This doesn't change anything," Zuko said, mercifully breaking the silence. "Ready, Aang?"

"Yup."

Both assumed lotus position, submersing themselves into the past. When they both came back out of their trip, both were wide-eyed and short of breath.

"That was intense," Aang panted.

Zuko stood up, having trouble with his footing. "I… I need some time to think on all of this."

Once they had walked off the effects of their journey, they relayed the story to the others. As the others were digesting it all, Toph was staring out thoughtfully.

"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" she asked.

Aang grabbed her hand. "I don't see why not?"

"Well, scientifically speaking-"

"Sokka!" Zuko and Katara chorused.

One by one, the others joined in the group hug, standing under the fading daylight.

[-]

Zuko sat on the observation deck overlooking the plaza.

"A chilly night."

"Uncle. Thanks for the reading."

"It is important to know and understand your past, especially if you wish to avoid repeating the same mistakes as your forebears."

They sat there, listening to the waves washing around them until Zuko spoke up.

"What my great-grandfather did…"

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Zuko. Your mother's maternal grandfather was Avatar Roku. Good and evil are both in your nature, the legacy from your ancestors. But they are not all you are or will be."

Zuko looked down as his uncle turned to leave.

"Did I do the right thing, Uncle?" Iroh stopped in his tracks. "Should I have killed Azula?"

The old general stood still for a moment, then answered. "That is something only time will be able to tell."

A/N: A little breath of fresh air before the finale builds itself up. Also, you get to see one of two episodes from pre-DoBS that I moved and condensed. The other is where we will begin next time.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord episode was pretty cool, but there really is no need for me to rehash everything from this part, especially when I'm doing so much to deviate from canon at this point, so we got a quick summary plus a few new comments. Would have skipped it entirely if it weren't for certain elements (heh.) needed for Book Four.