A/N: Some more information about the version of Pai Sho I found:

You can think of the 6 basic flower tiles as being arranged in a circle diagram. Each tile can form Harmony with the tiles next to it in that diagram, and Disharmony with the tile across from it. These effects happen whenever two tiles are in active play and on the same straight line. Forming new Harmonies grants you additional actions and having Harmonies is the key to 2 out of the 4 possible ways to win. Disharmony, however, is forbidden; you are not allowed to make a move that will result in Disharmony.

Trying to take out an opponent's White Lotus is ridiculously hard. You have to make a new Harmony in order to plant an Orchid (Red Lotus in this story). Then you have to make another new Harmony to plant a White Lotus. Then you have to move your White Lotus out onto the board to activate it. Once you have the White Lotus in active play, the Red Lotus acquires the ability to capture your enemy's tiles, including their White Lotus. But now it can also be captured by any of your enemy's tiles, too. A Red Lotus with the power to capture is the ONLY tile that can possibly capture a White Lotus. So you have a minimum of 3 required steps, involving the formation of 2 new Harmonies, and after all of that you have to get to the enemy's White Lotus while avoiding literally all of your enemy's tiles, or else your Red Lotus will be captured and all this work was useless.

Ugh. Oh, and the White Lotus' special ability is the ability to form Harmony with any and all basic flower tiles, includng the ones belonging to the enemy. It is the only tile with the ability to be in Harmony with an enemy's tile.

.

If there was anyone who could discover a previously hidden path, it was Uncle. He was good at being surprising. When Zuko felt like his mental state was adequately concealed, he knocked on the door to his uncle's chambers. "Uncle?"

Iroh opened the door after a delay. "Ah, what is it, Prince Zuko? I was busy oiling my instrument."

"Teach me to play Pai Sho."

Iroh blinked. Zuko smiled, just a little. Had he managed to catch Uncle off guard for once? See? I can be a surprise too. Iroh quickly recovered. "Of course!" They entered the room. Iroh bustled about his quarters, opening the Pai Sho set and arranging the tiles. Of course the set was already on an open surface with seats nearby. Zuko felt guilty for never asking before. How long had those seats been there?

At his uncle's request, he sat down on the seat nearest the Fire Nation banner hanging on the wall. Something about sitting near that giant flaming red mass, so strict in its boundaries, made him uncomfortable. It's a reminder of something I want but can't have. Yes, that was the explanation.

Iroh explained the different kinds of basic tiles to Zuko, what they could do and how they could move, all in a fairly ordinary way. His eyes really lit up when he began to explain how the tiles could interact with each other on the board. He smiled every time he used the word Harmony, and shook his head every time Disharmony came up. When he began to explain what the accent tiles and special flower tiles could do, everything made sense. Zuko was not surprised to learn that the White Lotus tile was best at, you guessed it, being in Harmony with other tiles. He recalled how his uncle had said that the White Lotus was the cornerstone of his unusual strategy.

When the game started, Zuko paused before his first move and tried to decide what to do with that knowledge. Did that mean he should try to block the White Lotus or knock it out of play, in order to weaken Uncle's game? Or did it mean he was bound to lose if he went anywhere near it, so he should focus on all the other tiles it could form Harmonies with? What did it mean? If that tile was so valuable, did that make it a weak point or the strongest point in his uncle's game?

Iroh smiled proudly. "Good, Nephew! Planning your strategy is very wise."

It was a good thing Zuko was here to get information and not to win. Otherwise his pride would have been hurt by what he was forced to do. "What does it mean, Uncle?" he asked. "You've said the White Lotus is the cornerstone of your strategy. Does that mean I should capture it to weaken you, or stay away because you've made it the most powerful piece on the board?"

Iroh chuckled. "That depends, Prince Zuko. What kind of person am I?"

What kind of question is that? "Uh...old? Wise?"

"Yes! Wise." Iroh pointed down at the tile. "All people have certain qualities that make them unique, Nephew. The difference between a fool and someone who is wise is how they treat those qualities." He looked up to make sure Zuko was watching. "As you say, a certain quality of me is that this tile is my favorite. If I was a fool, I would ignore that and leave it unguarded. But I like to think I've learned enough to be wiser than a fool, so instead I accept that quality in myself and work with it to turn it into a strength."

Zuko sighed. Does he have to make everything into some sort of life lesson? "Avoid it then?"

Iroh sighed too. "Yes."

They stopped talking and began to play.

Partway into the game, Iroh made a move that was completely against what he was trying for. "What was that?" Zuko asked. A mistake? Did Uncle make mistakes? He did sometimes, but it was hard to tell when.

"Oops." Iroh looked surprised. He did! Go for it!

Zuko was defeated in a particularly embarrassing way within three turns. "How?!" he yelled. Iroh burst out laughing, and Zuko realized what had happened. "That wasn't a mistake at all! You tricked me!"

Iroh kept laughing, infuriating Zuko to no end. He was about to light that terrible banner on fire when Iroh finally stopped and started to move pieces around. He was undoing his last several moves. "Of course! Look at what it allowed me to do!" Step by step, he showed Zuko exactly what he had been thinking for the past few turns. He finished with, "And it never would have happened if I hadn't taken that one step back."

Zuko closed his eyes and waited for the oncoming words of wisdom.

"Sometimes a step back is really a step forward, Prince Zuko."

There it is. Right on schedule. Come to think of it… Zuko opened his eyes. Why was his uncle, who never made much sense, suddenly on a schedule that he could predict? "Uncle, why did you say that?"

"Because it's true, Nephew." Iroh poured himself a cup of freshly warmed tea and drank it, peering over the rim of the cup at Zuko the whole time.

Zuko saw that and knew he was on to something. "No. You've been throwing out a lot more life wisdom than usual. You don't normally wedge lessons on the nature of happiness into a perfectly normal walk like you did yesterday. Why are you doing this?"

Iroh smiled, the softly spreading smile of delight that was never anything other than genuine. "It comforts you, Nephew. I know how you like to sigh and roll your eyes when I do."

Zuko blinked and straightened. "I don't roll my eyes."

Iroh ignored that. "You are in need of comfort lately, and direction as well. I would be failing in my duties to you if I didn't."

Zuko glanced away, feeling completely seen through. Or was it just seen? Uncle must have known what he was there for the whole time. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"You're welcome, Nephew." Iroh tilted his head back to drain the last drops of tea from his cup. "Ah, there is nothing more soothing than tea!"

Zuko narrowed his eyes. No, that wasn't true. Uncle couldn't know why he was here because Uncle didn't know about his problems with the water spirit. Wait, had Uncle just said something about direction? No way forward because of the barrier, no way back because…

"That's it. That's it!" Zuko straightened suddenly. Thankfully there were no candles around, or else they would have flared in time with his eyes. "That's it, Uncle!"

Iroh leaned forward. "What is?"

Zuko's eyes darted around. "We need a plan. By tonight!"

.

That night, Zuko ordered all crew to get some rest. He said it was because they would need all heads rested tomorrow to launch an attack on the ice. The crew all went to bed gratefully, even as they shivered and gulped back dread.

Zuko and Iroh went back to their quarters too. But instead of climbing into bed, they made preparations. Zuko changed into anonymous non-Fire Nation black clothes, and Iroh changed into his brown sleeping robes before fetching a knife and some leftover food. Then they came out of their quarters, nodded at each other, and split up. Iroh headed down to the hold, knife, food, and skeleton key in hand. Zuko took the other keys and went to the Avatar's room.

"Hey," he announced as he set fire to the timber pile.

The captives awoke instantly. "What are you doing?" the Avatar asked. Was that a tinge of hope in his voice?

Zuko shot him a glare as he began to unlock the chains. "Letting you go. Hold still."

"So you can keep him out of Zhao's hands," the waterbending girl said.

"Maybe. I have other reasons too." Zuko glared at the rest of the chains as he unlocked them. Click. Clank. The Avatar began to wiggle. Zuko unlocked the manacles, and the Avatar stood on his own two feet for the first time in several days.

Zuko went around and unlocked the other captives, too. It was a cinch compared to unlocking the mass of chains that had held the Avatar in place. Zhao didn't need nearly as many. But I can't afford to be stingy, and he's still a jerk who doesn't deserve anything, especially not an admiralty! "You're letting us go too?" the nonbender boy asked. "Why?"

Zuko turned so none of them could get the drop on him. "The bison and the monkey -"

"Lemur!"

"- whatever were kept in the main hold at the front of the ship. Uncle went to free them; they should already be waiting for you on deck. The entire crew is in bed, so you won't have any trouble."

All of them, even the Avatar, stared at him in disbelief. "What -"

"Go!" he ordered.

The nonbender boy took his sister's arm. "Let's figure out what he's doing on the way." They ran from the room before Zuko could change his mind, after checking the hallway, of course. Zuko watched the Avatar's back with increasingly tense arms. When it was gone, he took a deep breath and forced his arms to relax and uncross. Then he went back to his room to grab some additional essentials he was going to need if the last part of the plan worked. It was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, the universe would smile on him one last time.

.

Iroh ran up the steps to the deck so fast he had to catch his breath. The bison made threatening sounds, while the lemur chattered from the saddle on its back, which nobody had ever taken off. Iroh had made a stop to fetch the children's packs, so the lemur was armed and ready to throw anything it needed to.

Iroh sat down near the bison to reassure them, taking deep breaths. He had no idea why his nephew was in such a rush, but this was a good rush to be in. He would find out what it was for when Zuko finished releasing the Avatar.

There were a lot of things he was looking forward to finding out, actually. He hadn't expected it to be this easy to get Zuko to change his mind. Zuko was no fool, certainly, and the combined threat of the water spirit and Zhao was formidable. But even so, Iroh had not expected him to relent this quickly. He must not be relenting at all, only changing course! Iroh smiled. He still had no idea where Zuko was changing course to, and there were parts of the plan that still did not make any obvious sense, but it was good to see a piece of advice resonate so fully with his nephew. Iroh trusted that he would find out what the real plan was in time.

The door burst open and the Avatar shot out, swinging a piece of wood as a staff. He swept a hard blast of wind across the deck. "Hya!" Iroh adjusted his weight to avoid being sent flying. Even the bison hunkered down, and made confused upset sounds after the wind passed.

Katara and Sokka came out behind the Avatar, both with makeshift weapons ready, but saw nobody. The door banged shut behind them. "What?" Sokka asked. "Was he telling the truth?"

"Yes," Iroh said. "It worked! He is letting you go."

"But why?" Katara's eyes narrowed. "It makes sense for him to let Aang go. I never expected him to let us go, too. And why is he letting Momo go? Are those all our supplies?"

"I don't think we should think too much about it," Sokka said. "Let's go, before he starts whatever secret master plan he has." Sokka ran to Appa and climbed up into the saddle.

"I don't like this," Katara said, but she followed. She immediately took a pack from Momo and began to search it. Momo stared at her quizzically, then began to scatter the contents of another pack.

Meanwhile, Aang took his usual seat on Appa's head. He waved at Iroh. "Thanks for helping us. I won't forget it. Can you get him to stop chasing us?"

"I can try," Iroh replied.

Aang smiled back at him. "I would rather not have been captured, but I'm glad we met you."

"Oh, how I've missed you!" Sokka said as he cradled his boomerang in his arms. To Aang, he whisper-shouted, "Let's go already! Who knows what he's doing?"

Aang lifted the reins. "You ready, Appa?" Appa roared back. They were about to move, when -

The door slammed open again, and Zuko walked out onto the deck. He held no weapons, wore no adornments, and held his hands flat against the sides of his legs. "Hey!" he called, looking up at the Avatar.

Against the simultaneous urgings of both of his friends, Aang stopped and looked back.

Zuko opened his mouth, and hesitated. In that time, they all heard a crackling sound, and ice appeared over the sides of the ship. It crept over the railings with surprising speed, and flowed down onto the deck. A wave slapped the boat, throwing spray onto the deck, which began to freeze over.

Zuko shivered. So did everybody else. Sokka jumped to his feet, boomerang in hand. "It does not look friendly! If it moves, it's getting a face full of metal!" The ice continued to move, so he threw the boomerang. There was a harsh clang as the boomerang bounced off the ice and sailed clumsily off the side of the boat into the ocean. "No!" Sokka cried. "Just when we were reunited!"

Katara held her hands out toward the ice and slowly relaxed her fingers, exhaling as she did so. Nothing happened. "What on earth…?" She tried every conceivable movement of her arms. Nothing happened. The Avatar did the same, and still the ice continued to creep. It stopped of its own accord after they gave up.

"Okay, maybe it's not friendly," Aang conceded. "We should go!"

"Hey!" Zuko's yelp would not have caught anybody's attention if not for the note of desperation in it. He had backed up several steps, towards the doorway. He was almost completely encircled by the creeping ice. Aang gasped, reins forgotten. Zuko clenched his fists, but they all knew firebending was useless on this ice.

Iroh's eyes widened. "Nephew!" He was worried, but there was ice between him and Zuko, and it crackled when he tried to take a step.

Katara's eyes were wide, before she turned away and closed them. "We have to go," she reminded Aang.

"Hey!" Zuko objected.

"WHAT?!" Sokka snapped. He stomped his foot. "That's the third time you've said that! What do you want?"

Zuko glanced at the ice. His jaw trembled, and he shuddered as the words broke free of him. "Take me with you."

.

…

I can't believe I just said that.

Nobody else could either. "...What?" the Avatar asked.

"Nephew?" Iroh looked completely flummoxed for the first time in Zuko's entire life.

Zuko shivered before trying again. "Take me with you. To the Northern Water Tribe."

"Isn't that the exact opposite direction from the Fire Nation?" asked the nonbender.

"Yes." Zuko glanced at his uncle. "But it's the only place to go. I'm out of options." Or rather, he had been out of options before. Now there was one path open to him, and not none! There was a chance for a future without a painful death, with meaning and purpose and possibly going home. Thank you, Uncle. You have no idea how much this means to me.

The nonbender boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, I get it now. If you're traveling with us, you can capture Aang any time you want. Nice try!"

"Why would I bother?" It was difficult to do, but Zuko let his despair into his voice for the first time in a long, long time. "There's no point. As long as this spirit is in the way, capturing the Avatar means nothing. I can't go home no matter what I do." He raised a hand to hide the ice from his sight. "I don't care about capturing the Avatar anymore. All I want now is to get rid of this. I'm going to go to the Northern Water Tribe, learn about water spirits, and do that. I'm not against you anymore."

The waterbender girl narrowed her eyes. The look in them could cut through ice. "You can say that now. But what will you do after you've gotten rid of it? What's to stop you from capturing all of us then?" The Avatar winced at the bitterness in her voice.

Zuko stared back silently for several seconds. Then he looked away. He didn't answer. He didn't have an answer.

Iroh's eyes welled up. "Zuko…"

Zuko abruptly clenched his hands around his arms and scowled. His voice hardened back to its former stubbornness. "Fine. I don't care. I'll go there somehow - if not with you, then on this boat. I'll do whatever it takes. I have no other options."

The Avatar sat still. His eyes focused on the Fire Prince in a new way. "You said that before."

"Yeah, because it's true. I'll do whatever it takes."

"No. I meant the part about not having any other options."

"So did I."

The Avatar's eyes widened in sadness. He looked so young then, like a boy of 6 or 7 rather than 12. Oh no. No. Why is he looking at me like that? Is that pity? Zuko knew for sure he wasn't going to like whatever the boy said next. The Avatar whispered, "You really think that, don't you?"

"What else would I believe?" Zuko snapped. The question was obviously rhetorical, as it had no answer. He wasn't interested in answers, anyway.

The Avatar reared back in shock. "What?!" His face hardened and looked angry. "No. No! You can do other things! You don't have to capture me and drag me back to the Fire Nation in order to bribe your dad into letting you go home! You don't have to do that!"

Zuko stared at him blankly. "...Yes I do." He's talking about my home, my destiny, my whole life. "That's exactly what I have to do."

"Says who?!" the Avatar yelled, outraged.

"Says the entire structure of reality," Zuko replied. He scowled at the Avatar. He doesn't understand. What would a 12-year old who's been frozen in ice until a couple months ago know of how my life works? What does a little kid know of duty? Of honor? I have my place, and I just have to fill it as best I can.

The Avatar looked completely shocked by that. Zuko rolled his eyes. The Avatar's two friends looked shocked as well. Even the waterbender girl had lost the sharp look in her eyes. Weren't they supposed to be older, more reasonable? Why did they look just as shocked as the Avatar? Being looked at this way gave Zuko an uncomfortable itchy feeling, identical to the one he got when he was in port and saw how the Earth Kingdom people looked at him. Just as before, he ignored it. "Well? Can I come or not?"

The Avatar picked his jaw up with much effort. His big eyes shone with sympathy and sadness. Zuko winced at that look. It was infuriating. Stop looking at me like that! he wanted to yell. But yelling wouldn't help. He did his best to endure it instead.

"Yeah," The Avatar said. "You can come. You have to get out of your bubble."

"Wait," interrupted the waterbending girl. "We should tie his hands together so he doesn't try anything."

The nonbender boy blinked. "We're taking him?"

The Avatar nodded. "I can't leave someone who believes that all alone. It's not true!"

Zuko growled, but restrained himself. As long as he gives me a ride, it's fine. Getting to the Northern Water Tribe is more important than anything else. I can do whatever I need to if it gets me there. Having thus settled himself, he uncrossed his arms and walked up to the bison.

"Nephew -"

"What, Uncle?" Zuko did not seem to even notice the ice on deck as he walked over it. The ice sat perfectly still and allowed him to do so.

"...Nothing."

"Come on," the Avatar beckoned. "You can come too." The bison grumbled. The Avatar leaned forward to hug the top of its head. "It's okay, buddy. I'm sure this is the right thing to do."

After looking at the bison for permission, Iroh hoisted himself into the saddle. Zuko did likewise, settling into a spot far away from everyone else, where he leaned out over the side facing his ship. He rolled his eyes while the waterbending girl tied his wrists together. It was getting harder and harder to bite his tongue. I am not to be pitied! What is wrong with them?! His throat was hot and getting hotter; he could feel the fire spirit pacing around, spreading its wings and roaring. Luckily for everyone else, there was no real fire for it to connect to. But for Zuko, the fire in his blood did just as well.

He was glad for the darkness as they rose up into the sky, because it hid the heat flush on his face. He looked down at his frozen boat as the bison flew upwards. At a certain point, Zuko felt the ice slip out of range, and immediately felt much more relaxed. His bones were not painful and cold anymore, and he returned to a normal temperature quickly.

But that didn't mean he was going to be any happier. As he looked down, and the air passing by made whooshing sounds to cover his words, he whispered, "I hope you're happy. Traitor."