"Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed? Does it make you happy you're so strange?

And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame. We can watch the world devoured in it's pain."

The Beginning is The End is The Beginning, Smashing Pumpkins

Xx

The pressure is on as Aang prepares for the battle with Ozai. After Zuko's confrontation with his father, they had come to believe that he had something up his sleeve for the day of the comet, and their best bet for saving the world from the Fire Lord's wrath was to stop him before he could release it upon the world. Zuko has been training with him relentlessly, and both of their bending has been getting stronger as a result. He can't be sure, but ever since that night he spent with Katara, he thinks that he's been seeing other colors in his fire. At first he thought it was a trick of the light, but it happens no matter what time of day it is and no matter what lighting he's under. Traces of pink and white, sometimes flickers of purple and green; he even thinks he's seen a tiny amount of blue in there at one point. As it is, he's been seeing quick flashes of color in Aang's fire as the days wear on, and as they train today, his and the Avatar's fire is bright and hot, and as the finish the last move in their set, both of their flames are speckled with noticeable color.

"Holy shit..." Zuko looks over at Aang, the boy's wide eyes matching Zuko's.

"You saw that, right?" Aang's brows crease, and Zuko nods his affirmation. "Wow. Ran and Shaw must have really liked us, huh?" Zuko laughs, and Aang joins in as they walk to the beach to cool off.

Xx

The boy has been progressing steadily, and Zuko decides to teach him how to redirect lightning, knowing that Ozai would use the deadly attack without a second thought.

"It's critical that you lead it away from your heart, otherwise it'll kill you."

"I mean, there's always Katara with a little spirit water, right?" He looks over at Katara sitting on the steps of the courtyard.

"Actually, I used it all up after the fight with Azula."

"Oh." He looks distressed, anxiety etched into the lines on his face.

"As long as you can redirect it, you can send it right back at him. I don't think he knows how to, and if you can get a direct hit, you can take him out." Aang whips around to look at Zuko with wide eyes.

"I can't just kill him!" Zuko knows that Aang's been struggling with this for days, but they only have three days until the comet comes.

"Aang, you have to!" Their shouting has drawn the others from their places in the beach house. "There's no other way!"

"There has to be another way!" He feels bad for Aang, who is seriously conflicted about compromising his beliefs as a monk to fulfill his duty as the Avatar. "None of you understand the position I'm in!"

"Aang, we're just trying to help." Katara stands to walk over to him, but Aang steps away from her.

"Well, when you find a way to beat the Fire Lord without killing him, I'd love to hear it!" He storms off, Momo flying circles above him as he walks away.

"Aang, you can't run away from this!" Katara steps forward to follow him, but Zuko places his hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

"Let him go." She looks up at him over her shoulder with wide eyes. "He needs to work this out for himself."

Xx

The next morning, Aang hasn't returned. They split up to look for him, but he is nowhere to be found, gone without a trace aside from some disconcerting footprints that lead from the beach house into the ocean. After they have a perfectly valid freak-out, the five of them regroup to explore their options.

"So, the comet is in two days." Sokka briefs them all as they sit on the steps. "We have no idea where Aang is, and we don't know where the Fire Lord is going to be on the day of the comet. Any suggestions?"

"Shit." Zuko tilts his head backwards towards the sky. "Wait a minute!" He snaps his head forward again to see the group looking at him anxiously. "I know how we can find Aang."

Xx

They touch down in the Earth Kingdom hours later and make their way into a grungy tavern where Zuko knows his uncle's contact will be.

"So, why are we in a dirty tavern in the Earth Kingdom? How will this help us find your uncle?" Suki is rightly perplexed, but Zuko knows they've succeeded when he sees a woman arm wrestling with a man twice her size, and winning easily.

"She's going to help us," he points towards the woman, who's now fighting off the large man without spilling a drop of her tea. "June."

"I don't know who this June lady is..." Toph is clearly amused as June proceeds to slam the burly man into the table, his limp body slumping to the ground as she sits back down in her seat and takes a sip of her tea. "But I like her!"

They get June outside, and she introduces them to her shirshu, Nyla. Zuko has met the woman on a few occasions over the years, and knows that the animal can track scents anywhere in the world. Katara grabs Aang's staff off of Appa's saddle and hands it over to June, who holds it out for Nyla to sniff at. The creature sniffs around in a circle a few times, then returns to June and lays down, covering its nose with its paws.

"That can't be good," Sokka says, dismay coloring his voice.

"Well, your friend doesn't exist." June's deadpan drops all of their jaws to the floor.

"Wait, what do you mean? Is he dead?" Katara's voice is shrill, Zuko's anxiety bubbling up in his stomach.

"Nope." June hands Katara the staff. "We could find him if he were dead. It's a real head scratcher. Well, see ya!" She waves over her shoulder and begins to walk away when Zuko has another idea.

"Wait!" He goes to his things and pulls out a beat up white lotus pai sho tile. "My uncle gave me this while we were in Ba Sing Se. Can you use it to find him?" June takes the tile from him and lets Nyla sniff at it.

"Zuko..." Toph sets her milky eyes in Zuko's general direction. "Isn't your uncle in jail?"

"I don't think so. When we were flying over Caldera City on Appa I saw that the prison tower closest to the palace had been damaged. I don't know for sure if he was in there, but it would make sense if he used the invasion as a distraction to escape."

"That's strange, Master Piandao gave me one of those tiles too." Zuko shrugs at Sokka, not knowing the significance of the tile, but knowing that there has to be one.

"My uncle always said that pai sho wasn't just a game."

"Nyla's got a scent." June hops up onto the beast and takes out her whip. "Let's go."

Nyla leads them through the country to the destroyed outer wall of Ba Sing Se, and is pawing at the rubble as Appa touches down beside him.

"My uncle's in Ba Sing Se?" Zuko is a little surprised; he knew his uncle had enjoyed living here, but he didn't think he would return so quickly.

"He's somewhere beyond the wall," she gestures with her head towards the city. "Nyla's getting twitchy, so he can't be far. Good luck." Nyla takes off into the distance with a crack of June's whip, and the group is left standing next to the rubble of what used to be Ba Sing Se's outer wall.

"It's been a long day." He scrubs his face with his hand, his exhaustion matching that of everyone else. "Let's camp here for the night and start fresh tomorrow."

They fall asleep on Appa's legs and tail; Sokka had claimed Appa's tail for him and Suki, so Zuko and Katara squish together on one of his legs while Toph elects to sleep in an earth tent. Sleep comes fast to them all, but they are soon awakened by a wall of roaring fire surrounding them. When the fire dissipates, four old men are standing behind them.

"Well, look who we have here!" The oldest looking man says in a strange, squeaking voice. Zuko looks to Katara to see if she's as confused as he is, but her face is alight with excitement.

"What's going on? Who are these old guys?" Zuko is glad that Toph speaks up so that he doesn't have to.

"These are great earthbending masters and friends of ours!" Katara introduces them one by one, Zuko's embarrassment at not having recognized Piandao coloring his face pink.

"So wait." Suki's face is as confused as Zuko's, and he's glad he's not the only one who has no clue what's going on. "How do you all know each other?"

"All old people know each other!" Bumi laughs, a hearty amount of snorting going along with it.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society. A group that transcends the divisions of the four nations." Something niggles in the back of Zuko's mind.

"The Order of the White Lotus." The words spring from his lips before he has the chance to analyze them; he's heard his uncle mention them very briefly before, and it explains the lotus tile perfectly.

Jeong Jeong nods solemnly, "The White Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth. But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus." Pakku looks at Zuko, his eyes holding something nameless in his flashing gaze. "Your uncle; Iroh of the Fire Nation." His heart takes flight in his chest, it's beat the steady pulse of a sparrowkeet's wings, and a bright smile emerges on his face.

"Well, good." Toph doesn't bother schooling her snarky tone. "'Cause that's who we're looking for."

"Then we'll take you to him." Piandao tilts his chin down in a nod to Zuko.

"Wait! Someone very important is missing from your group..." Bumi rubs his chin, squinting one of his eyes and raising his brows. "Where's Momo?" Seriously? Momo is who he's worried about?

"Gone," Sokka replies, "and Aang along with him."

"Oh, well." Bumi looks considerably more relaxed, and Zuko wonders about the old man's state of mind. "If they're together then I'm sure they're fine!"

The White Lotus members lead them back to their campsite as Bumi regales them with the tale of his reconquering of Omashu on the day of black sun. Zuko would have a hard time believing it if the old man wasn't so strange; he's not sure what to expect from him, but earthbending with his face alone seems like something a crazy old man would be able to do with enough effort. They approach the camp, and Bumi lowers a slab of rock to allow them entrance into the neat space. There are nice tents set up around the perimeter of the camp, following the shape of the cleverly hidden base— the rocks are arranged in a circle with a narrow opening to shield it from view from the outside.

"So..." Zuko shuffles anxiously. "Where's my uncle?" Piandao points to the far end of camp, where a large tent stands bearing the seal of the White Lotus.

"Your uncle's in there, Prince Zuko." Piandao's use of the honorific startles Zuko; he hasn't heard anyone call him a prince since the last time he'd seen his uncle. His knees wobble as he makes his way to his uncle's tent, nerves forcing his feet to a halt right outside the entrance.

"Are you okay?" Katara approaches behind him, his ever present anchor pulling him back from the precipice of his anxiety. Her hand laying gently on his lower back makes it possible for him to ground himself, and he takes a deep breath.

"I feel guilty." He shakes his head. "My uncle went to prison, was trapped for weeks on end, and I was free, running around trying to catch you guys again like nothing even happened."

"Zuko." Her voice is grave, her soft hands coming up to frame his face and pull him to look down into her eyes. "What the Dai Li did to you was so extreme that it impacted your bending. You can't discount your experience just because you feel guilty. When I was healing you…" Tears well in her eyes, and he pulls her in for a much needed hug on both sides. "Your uncle will understand. He's a good man."

Zuko nods, knowing that, as usual, she's right. She lays a gentle kiss in the hollow of his throat where her head is notched under his chin before she pulls away, and he heads into his uncle's tent. Iroh is sleeping peacefully, so Zuko sits down and waits until the sun rises, trying not to fidget in his restlessness in fear of waking him. After a few hours, he can feel the sun blessing the world with its warmth, and his uncle stirs, rising slowly from his sleep before looking over at Zuko, who is on his feet faster than he can blink.

"Uncle—"

Before he can even begin voicing his thoughts, Iroh is pulling him into a tight hug, his tears gathering and wetting Zuko's shirt. He had never realized how short his uncle was until now, the man's head only brushing Zuk's chin, and a fierce protectiveness washes over him as he grips his uncle tighter than he has since he was thirteen. His own tears fall freely, gathering in Iroh's grey hair as they cry together.

"My son..." His uncle's voice shakes and breaks, the man not bothering to try to hold back the gentle sobs rocking his body. "I was so scared for you, Prince Zuko. I had heard that you were again searching to capture the Avatar, and I feared the worst." Zuko has no words, so he simply rests his cheek on his uncle's head and thanks Agni and every other god that there is that his uncle is safe. "And then I heard that Azula had given you over to the Dai Li—'

"Uncle," he pulls his uncle away to hold him by his shoulders. "It's okay. I'm okay, Katara healed me." His uncle's red rimmed eyes soften, a familiar gentle smile warming his face.

"I knew she was good for you." Zuko feels a flush come over his face. "And how is Lady Katara?"

"She's good." Iroh pins him with a knowing smile and a wink, to which Zuko can't help but groan, causing his uncle to chuckle. He thinks back to his conversation with Katara about his mother and what she had told him to ask his uncle about.

"Uncle..." Iroh looks at him with interest in his eyes. "What's a twin flame?" The interest quickly morphs into a knowing smirk, something warm sparkling in his uncle's amber eyes.

"A twin flame is a single soul split into two different bodies." Something stirs in Zuko's chest, reminiscent of that strange tugging sensation he feels when he thinks about Katara. "It is a sacred bond, one that defies space and time to ensure balance in the world. Why do you ask, nephew?"

"No reason." His cheeks flood with color, knowing that his uncle can see right through him. "Just curious."

"Of course, Prince Zuko." Iroh winks at him before they head outside. Coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally), Katara is right there to meet them.

"Iroh!" She leaps forward to hug the old man, Zuko's heart softening with the show of affection. "We're so glad you're okay."

He knows that his uncle will take notice of Katara's use of "we," and when he turns around with a sly smile, Zuko suppresses another groan. His blush is firmly in place on his cheeks, and not about to leave any time soon if his uncle has anything to say about it.

"Have you two finally gotten together?" Katara's blush is bright, now matching Zuko's in intensity. "Oh good!" Iroh doesn't bother waiting for an answer and lays a hand on each Katara and Zuko's shoulder. "I believe I owe Miss Beifong a few gold pieces. Where is the young lady?" He walks away leaving a gobsmacked Zuko and Katara with dropped jaws staring after him.

Zuko shakes his head. "He is so nosy."

Katara lets out a short laugh as he places his hand on her lower back, and they begin to walk to the gathering of people in the center of camp. They catch Iroh and the rest of the White Lotus up on their situation regarding Aang, the faces around them turning dire as the hour of the comet approaches. Sozin's comet is due to streak through the sky tomorrow, and they need a plan.

"Uncle, you're the only one other than Aang who has a chance of defeating the Father Lord."

"You mean the Fire Lord?" Why is Toph correcting me?

"That's what I said!" Katara raises a brow at him, and he feels his cheeks turning pink.

"Hmm..." Iroh strokes his beard in contemplation.

"We need you to come with us!" Zuko knows that this is their best option to defeat his father, and that Iroh would be a good and just Fire Lord.

"No, Zuko." The faces around the group fall. "It wouldn't turn out well."

"But you can beat him! And we can help!" The gang all nod their heads in agreement.

"Even if I did defeat Ozai," the look he gives Zuko is solemn, "and I don't know if I could, it would be the wrong way to end the war. History would see it as just more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power. The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."

"And then—" Zuko swallows his nerves, hoping against all hope that his uncle doesn't answer how he thinks he will. "Then you would come and take your rightful place on the throne?"

"No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart," he looks pointedly at Zuko, "and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko." He thinks his heart stops for a moment until Katara lays her hand on his shoulder, pushing a shuddering breath out of his lungs.

"But I've made so many mistakes." His worst moments flash before his eyes, the fire shooting from his father's fist the brightest of them all.

"Yes, you have." Iroh lays his hand on Zuko's shoulder, and he's never felt safer than he does now, grounded between the two people he loves most in the world. "You've struggled, you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation." He believes in me.

"I'll try, uncle." He does his best to keep the tremors out of his voice, and Katara slides her hand down his arm to take his hand in her soft grip.

Iroh fills them in on what they know of Ozai's plan; he is prepared to lead a massive airship fleet over the Earth Kingdom, and literally burn it all to the ground. Zuko swallows bile as they formulate a solid plan to take on the Fire Nation, whether Aang turns up or not. Zuko and Katara will go to face Azula, making sure she won't ascend to the throne after his father is taken care of (his uncle is confident that Aang will fulfill his destiny, but Zuko isn't so sure), Sokka, Suki, and Toph will do whatever they can to stop the Fire Lord's airship fleet, and Iroh and the Order of the White Lotus will take back Ba Sing Se.

Sokka, Toph, and Suki are to depart immediately on an eel hound, but not until after they've said their goodbyes. Zuko gets a solid punch in the arm from Toph, a hug from Suki, and a proper Water Tribe goodbye from Sokka. They clasp each other's forearms, and pull each other in for a distinctly un-manly hug.

"Take care of my sister." Sokka's voice is wet and strained, and Zuko does his best to keep his own steady to reassure his friend.

"Always." They part, and Zuko takes Sokka by the shoulders. "Take care of them," he nods to Suki and Toph, "and take care of yourself."

Sokka and Katara share an emotional goodbye, and before they know it, their three companions are sprinting into the distance on the eel hound.

Next are the goodbyes with his Uncle, which are no less emotional. They hold each other tightly in silence— mere words are incapable of expressing their love and gratitude for one another. He sniffles and wipes his nose on his sleeve as Katara hugs his uncle, and then they climb up onto Appa and head out into the night.