They'd been walking for hours. Zuko was leading the way, moving confidently through the trees as they climbed the rock, his flame cradled safely in his hands. Aang couldn't help but notice that his fire never flickered, even when Zuko stumbled or tripped. The size always stayed consistent, and the little flame shone brightly against the daylight.

Aang was having a tougher time. He was moving slowly, hesitant to walk too fast or move his hand too much for fear of accidentally extinguishing his flame. It remained stubbornly tiny no matter how hard he tried to make it bigger, and Aang was starting to get worried.

When Zuko reached the top of the ridge, he turned back to where Aang was still climbing. "Hurry up," he said, a hard edge to his voice. Aang could see a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.

"I can't," Aang replied, reaching up to grab the rock above his head with his free hand. "If I walk too fast, my flame will go out."

Zuko shook his head. "Your flame's gonna go out because it's too small. You're too timid. Give it more juice."

Aang felt a mild panic creep into his heart. It was the same overwhelming sense of fear that overtook him whenever he thought about really firebending again, accompanied by the image of Katara's burned hands. "But what if I can't control it?"

"You can do it," Zuko said, staring at Aang with a mix of intensity and admiration that Aang didn't know what to make of. "I know you can. You're a talented kid."

Aang couldn't help but smile at that, and his face turned a light shade of pink.

The two of them kept walking, and Aang swallowed thickly before breathing just the slightest amount of heat into his flame. It got a little bigger, big enough that it didn't look like it was about to fizzle out any second. He managed another small smile.

They spent the rest of the day climbing, and by the end of it, Aang's legs were aching and there was a sheen of sweat dripping down his back. They made it to the top of the mountain right as the sun was beginning to sweat, and when Aang took in the sight before them, he gasped.

In between the rock was a large stone courtyard, where Solaire and the other Sun Warriors stood waiting for them. Aang couldn't help but wonder how they got here before them, but he kept his mouth shut, instead just staring at the magnificent view. Solaire stood in front of a large, magnificent stone walkway, and as Aang looked up he could see a narrow bridge stretching between the two rocks. Around the courtyard, the other Sun Warriors were either standing or bowing on their knees, but all of them were facing the bridge.

As Solaire walked towards them, Aang couldn't help but glance at Zuko. His face was impassive, betraying nothing, and as Aang turned back towards Solaire, a small grimace spread across his face.

"Hello there," He said, in that metal, tinny voice of his. He still hadn't taken the helmet off, not even once, and the mask was as impassive as ever. "Facing the judgement of the Firebending Masters will be very dangerous for you." Solaire shifted to glance at Zuko. "Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance. The Masters might not be so happy to see you." Aang could see Zuko's face fall, his eyes drifting down towards the floor and an unmistakable look of remorse on his face. His own heart was pounding, both for the danger Zuko was probably in and for himself.

"I know I wouldn't be," one of the other Sun Warriors chimed in, sneering at Zuko with his hands on his hips.

Aang gulped again, his brain rapidly trying to come up with a positive spin on the situation. "But once they find out I'm the Avatar‒"

Solaire cuts him off. "Ah, but have you forgotten that you vanished? Allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world? The decline of the dragons is your burden, too."

Aang's eyes widen, the panic overtaking him yet again. Part of him still felt guilty about his decision, all those years ago, and having it thrown back in his face yet again made his insides clench.

Without warning, Solaire stepped even closer to them, rapidly reaching out to take a piece of both their fires before they could blink. It was a move so graceful that Aang almost didn't believe his eyes, and Solaire passed the fires to the Sun Warriors waiting on either side of him a heartbeat later. Aang couldn't help but gape at him in response, though he noticed that he still held a small bit of flame in his hand.

Aang watched the Sun Warriors on the outskirts of the courtyard stand up. One by one, the flames passed between them, and each one formed a perfect circle of fire in between their outstretched arms. This is it. Now or never, I guess, Aang thought.

But an overwhelming sense of fear still gripped him, and as Solaire began walking forward, towards the bridge, Aang turned to Zuko. "We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we'd hoped." As if to punctuate the statement, he held up the small flame still cradled in his palm, with a small nervous smile.

Zuko raised an eyebrow for a moment, before his expression morphed into a steely, confident look and he shook his head. "No. We're seeing this through to the end," he said. "We're gonna meet these 'Masters' and find out what's so great about them."

Aang sighed. He had a feeling that Zuko would say that. He can't help but be afraid, though. "What if they judge us, and… attack us?" he asked, a small tremor lacing his voice.

Zuko smirks, though. "Well," he said. "We're the Fire Prince and the Avatar." He unsheathed his sword slightly from where it rested against his back. "I think we could take these guys in a fight, whoever they are."

Aang admired Zuko's confidence, and his spirit, but he still wasn't convinced. The anxiety was turning his stomach in knots, but he supposed there was nothing to do except face the fear. So he nodded, even as his eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes widened to betray the panic he was feeling.

As the final Sun Warriors completed the circle of fire at the other end of the courtyard, Zuko took a step forward. "Bring them out," he yelled, with all the authority and confidence that the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation was meant to have. He sounded stronger than Aang suspected he felt, but as they waited with bated breath, Aang let Zuko's spirit give him strength. They were both going to need it.