A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long guys! I know this one's a little short but a chapter is a chapter right? Haha! Woot for the plot moving along again! Here's to the longest fic I've ever done and the most I've ever written on any one thing! *clinks imaginary glass* Now, on to the story!

Iroh's eyes widened in realization; he'd been so busy worrying about survival that he'd forgotten all about the strange feeling from the water and the images he'd seen in his mind. "Wait, how did you find me anyway? How far are we from camp?" Zuko shook his head. "I'm not sure how far we are from camp, but…" he hesitated; "I was laying in a stream not too far from there when suddenly I had a strange feeling of urgency from the water, I started getting these images in my head. I saw you in a cave holding a big rabbit by the ears, and then I saw you in front of a glowing pool of water with your face all wet; I saw pictures of the way here too." He shrugged "once I started coming this way it just kind of fell into place and I just knew I was going the right way." During his nephew's explanation Iroh had gone from curious to quite interested very quickly. "What you saw, the images, those things happened." He explained how he had come to fall into the cave and a small portion of what he'd gone through trying to find an exit. "It was the images I'd seen in my head when I dunked it in that small pool that helped me find my way to the exit. I saw you as well" he added "I think there is something quite unique about the water here." Zuko nodded then realized uncle couldn't see it in the dark. "I agree" he spoke aloud "it's pretty unusual."

All was quiet for some time as they trudged through the forest. Iroh offered light but Zuko refused, saying he knew the way. After awhile Zuko spoke up "am I really that hideous?" he asked suddenly. Iroh did a double-take and stopped in his tracks. "What? What do…oh of course not, what would make you ask such a thing?" The boy stopped walking and stood still quietly for a moment. "It's an honest question uncle. They were disgusted and horrified when they saw me. The girl, I saw pity in her eyes. I wanted to throw up." His gaze darkened with anguish, "they called me a monster" he whispered. "Oh Zuko, they weren't talking about how you look, they were talking about how you've treated them." Uncle hurried to reassure him, "the girl even said that you'd acted like a monster, not that you looked like one." Zuko was silent for a moment. "Maybe. Still, they were all disgusted when they saw me." Uncle shook his head. How could he get through to his nephew that it wasn't the way one looked that mattered, but what was on the inside that counted? "Zuko, forget about them. Whatever they thought was their problem and has nothing to do with you at all" he gently placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "What matters is what is in your heart." The boy shrugged the hand off his shoulder and began to move forward again.

"That's just it uncle, I don't know what's in my heart; at least not now. I've been chasing the avatar trying to regain my honor so long I'm not sure what to do if I'm not trying to capture him." He sighed heavily. "I don't know what to do now. Who I am, what I am, it's all a mystery to me. Am I fire nation, really? I'm a laughing stock, an outcast. The poor shamed scarred son of the Fire Lord." He snorted derisively. "Now it's even worse. Not only is my face scarred, so is the rest of my body! I'm even missing pieces, a cripple!" Zuko stopped abruptly, forcing Iroh to halt just as quickly to avoid plowing into him. He turned around, facing his uncle and asked for him to make fire, for light. Iroh quickly complied, illuminating the forest with a modest flame in his hand, dark shadows lengthening eerily between the trees. "Look at me." He demanded. Iroh looked into his eyes sadly. "No. Look. At. Me." Zuko spit out the words in staccato, emphasizing every one. Iroh closed his eyes for a moment and looked at his nephew, taking in the tattered clothing that had once been his, the terrible ropy or deep scars, the missing leg and partial foot. Tears sprang unbidden into his eyes.

"I am looking, Prince Zuko." He answered quietly. "I see nothing hideous, certainly no monster. All I see is the evidence of a young man who, despite nearly unbeatable odds has managed to survive and thrive. I see a young man who managed to fight through an experience that might have killed a weaker person. I see a young man who managed to again overcome the odds to more than survive the hand that was dealt him. I see a young man who managed to survive with a disability on his own with no former knowledge or training." Iroh blinked at the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes and allowed them to slide down his cheeks unchecked. "Zuko, you don't realize how strong you are. A few scars cannot make you into some hideous monster, only your actions can do that. So far, I see a hero, not a monster. You showed yourself to be a true hero today and I am so proud of you." The boy's face registered surprise as he stared at his uncle. This was not what he had been expecting. "You did what needed to be done to rescue me from that cliff. You showed yourself at your physically weakest before your sworn enemy to ensure my safety. You plead for my life, twice, even braved a blade at your throat with strength and calm." The old general shook his head "you just don't realize your own strength; your own worth."

He was completely unprepared for what his uncle had spoken. Zuko stared at the old man in shock; his own tears somehow leaping unbidden into his eyes. When had uncle become so dear to him? The sometimes eccentric old general seemed to have endless wisdom and capacity to love and forgive. It would take him some time to process what uncle had said, but for now, for now it was good. He turned around and began to walk again. "Thank you uncle" he said hoarsely. Iroh smiled and followed quietly. The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence. It was a long walk back to camp, and both were tired when they arrived. Zuko was first to break the silence. "See? I told you I knew the way." Iroh nodded "you did at that, I'm impressed. Now I don't know about you, but I need some serious sleep. Goodnight Zuko." "Goodnight uncle" Zuko replied, and gratefully collapsed onto his bed.

The next morning found both of them waking with growling stomachs. Rifling through the supplies Katara had left them on a whim, they found jerky, fruit and a few bandages. Both snatched a piece of fruit as if it might disappear before they could eat it. "Oh this is so good. I'd almost forgotten what fruit tasted like" moaned Zuko, a bit of juice sliding down his chin as he chewed. "Mmm" was the only reply he received from his uncle, who was just as busy demolishing his own fruit with huge bites. After taking a piece of jerky each they left the rest of the food for another day. Iroh asked Zuko to tell him more about what happened while he'd been lost in the cave and the boy obliged; simply relating with little detail his experiences of the last few days.

The next few days sped by in relative normalcy. Zuko and Iroh trading off who would get the food that day once the supplies Katara had gifted them ran out. Iroh was proud of his nephew's resourcefulness and told him as much, making Zuko uncomfortable and pretend to be eyeing a spot on a tree trunk very studiously. Aside from that, neither of them spoke of what had transpired, and life moved on as it had been. Iroh still worried about how long it would be before they rejoined the world, but he kept his worries to himself.

Barely a week had passed since their ordeal and Zuko was becoming antsy. He hadn't told his uncle, but whenever he went to fish in his stream he now called it, the water seemed to be calling him. The last time he'd fished and lain down with his head in the water the feeling had become so strong he was forced to sit up to escape the pull. He simply couldn't understand what could be causing such feelings with just water. Maybe it was time he stopped fighting the call and follow where it lead; after all, the last time he did that, he'd found uncle. It couldn't possibly be bad, of that he was certain.

"Well Zuko" uncle exclaimed, "it is official. We are now wilderness men." He held up a long tunic he had spent weeks working on, a mismatched puzzle of various colored rabbit pelts sewn slightly messily but it seemed sturdy nonetheless. Zuko raised an eyebrow at the dubious garment as uncle held it out to him. "This is yours, I made you one first" his brow furrowed. "It appears we may have to weather another winter here and what was left of our clothes can hardly be considered protection." The young man nodded, "yes uncle, you are most likely right. I was wondering why you had saved all those old rabbit pelts. You are very good at this survival stuff." The whiskery old man let out a huff of laughter. "Ah Prince Zuko, you learn a few things by the time you get to be as old as I am." Zuko smirked. "I wasn't aware it was possible to be as old as you uncle." Iroh brought a hand to his chest in a motion of surprise "you wound me!" he gasped in mock chagrin, tilting his head back and closing his eyes dramatically, "oh you young people have no respect for your elders! Woe is me! Woe is me!" He cracked one eye open and peeked at his nephew from the corner of his eye, too curious about his reaction to hold the act. His intended audience wasn't even in the shelter anymore. "Zuko! Where are you? I was giving a performance worthy of a crowd of people and you cannot even deign to stay until the end?" A reply was quickly forthcoming from outside the shelter. "Uncle, with you there is no end, I didn't know you were performing; I'll try to pay more attention next time so I can tell the difference."

"So cold!" Uncle gasped in mock horror, "this younger generation" he lamented "no respect, none!" He smiled to himself as he laid the patchwork rabbit pelt tunic on the cot for Zuko. It felt good to joke with his nephew; it was good to know the boy could find a sense of humor when once it had seemed he had none. So much had changed…

Late afternoon found Zuko once again heading to the stream for water. Every time he did so he told himself he would follow the pull he always felt, but he never did. Upon arriving at the stream he repeated his normal ritual of hunkering down and lying in the water. He expected to feel the gentle pull of that..something; only this time it wasn't near as gentle. It seemed almost frantic, he felt a panic that he knew did not come from him and he was so disturbed that he sat up quickly and gathering his water, made his way home as speedily as possible; as if doing so could somehow help him to outrun the feeling. Once again he did not tell uncle, but the old man knew something was amiss yet he kept his peace, the boy would talk when he was ready.

That readiness came much sooner than he'd imagined. The very next morning Zuko announced that he was going on a journey and asked if uncle could help him prepare. Iroh's heart sank a little when his nephew gave no hint as to why, but again, he did not pry; he simply did as the boy asked, and several days later, a rabbit skin pack on his back, he trekked out across the forest floor heading for the stream.

Alone again for the second time since the tragedy had happened Iroh was prone to wallowing in his thoughts; those treacherous thoughts that had him worrying constantly about Zuko's welfare, and wondering why he would want to leave, where he was going and when, even if, he would return. Finally, in an effort to keep himself from going stir crazy, he began on a winter tunic for himself.

Zuko was a little excited to finally be going after what he couldn't explain, and yet he was a little nervous too. It was something he couldn't explain and didn't understand, even though his heart told him he was in no danger from it, his fighter's instinct told him otherwise. He frowned as he neared the stream, excited as he was. Was he ready to do this? It would be easy just to get water and go back, uncle wouldn't say anything. He mentally slapped himself. NO! He wouldn't chicken out, he was no coward. Laying his pack down on the ground next to the stream he lowered himself into the cool, babbling water once again and lay down, slowly allowing his head to displace the flow of the stream last. Almost instantly he was inundated with feelings bordering on panic and desperation. Fractured images flooded his mind, too quickly for him to sort out. The pull was there too, the almost magnetic tug to an unknown place sent by an unknown someone who was clearly in some sort of trouble. He resisted the constant flow of more information than he could handle, and was immediately rewarded with slower, much more sensible images as if that someone had understood his confusion. He was understandably disturbed by that kind of connection to someone he couldn't even explain the existence of. It wasn't long before the information was no longer being transplanted in his mind and the only feeling he was left with was one of haste. He struggled to get upright and once again hoisted the small pack onto his back. His journey was finally beginning.

He traveled well over half a day, feeling of haste or no, he did not hurry. He had to be far more careful than the average person and was forced to take detours when the terrain proved too rough. Eventually, nearing early evening, he spied the scene of a natural tragedy. A sink hole had appeared in the forest, and as such it was slowly claiming a massive tree. A large number of the roots in the tree's incredible root system were exposed to the air and/or broken off. The tree was dying. Some of its leaves were turning colors and certain branches seemed as though they were already dead. He felt pity for the tree, it was such a grand specimen, the largest he'd ever seen; it was a huge waste that such an amazing thing that had probably lived hundreds, even maybe a thousand years or more should die in such a manner. In that moment he wondered at his own compassion; more than his body had changed with time and tragedy.

As he gazed on the doomed tree he began to wonder something. Uncle had fallen through a hole into a cave, could this sinkhole be part of that? Was it possible for it to have been spreading since the integrity of the ground had already been compromised? Suddenly the images in his mind began to come to the forefront of his consciousness. The tree, he thought, the tree! There was something special about that tree. It was the tree he was here for, somehow. No, that wasn't right. Well, yes it was to a certain extent, but there was more to it, he just wasn't sure. As he stood there gradually it seemed as if he should reach out and touch that doomed tree. It seemed like a crazy notion but lately crazy was almost normal for him so he simply made his way very carefully to a spot he hoped was safely far enough away from the sinkhole where he could reach a branch of the incredible tree.

Once he made it there he hesitated as he reached out to touch the dying tree; regaining his willpower he continued to stretch out his arm, laying his hand gently on the gnarled bark of a crooked limb that reached down to where he was. Instantly it was as if he was back in the water, only much stronger. Relief so palpable washed over him in waves. He almost jerked his hand back but stopped himself before he could pull away. The urgency and panic, the feelings he'd been experiencing were gone finally, in their place was something else. A voice spoke to him, inside his head. Such a melodic and lovely voice; he was mesmerized. He froze in place, hand gently resting on the bark of the huge tree. "I bid you welcome to my home, Zuko." The voice said gently. Zuko gave a start. "How do you know my name?" he questioned. "Ah, that is simple" the lovely voice answered sounding amused "you and I have met on many occasions although you did not realize it". The confused young man frowned as he stared at the tree he was currently having a conversation with. Nope that wasn't strange, not at all, people talked to trees all the time right? Right… Then it hit him. "The water, the stream..you're the source of the pictures and feelings from the water!" He could almost feel the tree-person smile. "Right on the first guess too, I knew you were smart!"

Zuko had the grace to blush and he looked around, embarrassed. "I want to thank you for heeding my call and coming to my aid." The voice wasn't wasting any more time in getting down to business. Zuko nodded, still a little embarrassed; then, realizing the tree probably couldn't see him he simply said "you're welcome". After a short pause the tree began to speak, telling him first that it wasn't actually a tree. "I have a physical body, such as it is, I think" there seemed to be some confusion about that but it continued "but this tree has been my prison and my lifeline for many, many years." Zuko interrupted "your prison?" he asked, curious despite himself. "It's a long story" the melodious voice answered with a sigh "and one best left when I'm not in danger of perishing thanks to this horrendous sinkhole." He didn't blame the tree-person there; he'd feel the same way. "How can I help?" he asked, wasting no time either. "For me to be released, the tree containing my essence must be incinerated completely. That is the only way to break the bindings that have kept me here" the voice sounded sad "it is a shame that such a grand and noble tree must lose its life, but seeing as it is already dying I would have my freedom; I do not wish to die with the tree, slowly." Zuko was quiet for several moments. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "You brought the wrong person to help you" he answered quietly. "I can no more burn this tree than I can run on one leg." He was instantly flooded with feelings of anger and reproach through the tree. "I will not listen to you speak of yourself in such a manner, I know you are a fire bender and I know about the tragedy that robbed you of too much." Zuko's first reaction was to question how, but before he could even utter the words the voice answered. "As this tree I have been connected to all the water that flows together at one point or another, and I have spent a very, very long time extending my reach. I felt your broken body in the river; I knew your loss before you yourself did. I felt your loss a second time when you laid down in the stream for the first time. That was when I endeavored to reunite you with your uncle."

"So that was you!" Exclaimed Zuko. "Yes, but at that time I was not in peril. During the time it took for you to find your uncle the earth continued to collapse from the first hole that dropped him into the cave. It was only a matter of time before a large sinkhole had formed and had begun to swallow my tree. Now, I am helpless to affect this outcome unless you help me." His face fell and he shook his head. "You don't understand I can't help you; I can't help anyone, not even myself." He could tell the tree-person was upset with him again and he was vaguely disturbed, why should he care if a tree was mad at him? The subject of his thoughts interrupted them. "Don't ever say that. You are a proud and strong prince, and you are a fierce fighter and fire-bender. You may not realize it right now but your fire is there, waiting for you. All you have to do is reach out and take it back." Zuko mentally took a step back and considered the tree's words. Was it possible? Could it really be that easy? Might he simply reach out and it would be there? "Try it. We are temporarily connected as long as you are touching the tree; if I can help you, I will." As distracted as he was by the prospect of regaining his fire-bending he did notice that the voice had disassociated itself with the tree, they were not one entity he reminded himself. Before he could really wonder on just who was inside the tree he felt a gentle calm come over him and he sighed easily and closed his eyes, making sure to retain his contact with the rough bark.

Once again he was back in the part of himself that held his fire-bending hostage for so long. Zuko shrank back from the huge wall of fire that seemed to be guarding his power. "Don't" he heard in his mind, that smooth, cool voice a calming effect on him instantly. "There is nothing to fear, that fire, that is yours, your power, your fire, yours to control. You have lost nothing, you simply think you have. Remind the fire who is its bender." 'That's right' he thought to himself, 'I AM the bender, I control the fire, not the other way around!' Taking a deep breath he marched his inner self right up to the scorching flames and was only mildly surprised when he felt no heat. Of course, his mind supplied, his fire, it was his. That was all it took. He made a wide stance and opened his arms beckoning the roaring flames. Instantaneously the wall of fire swirled and twisted and surged, finally merging from a raging inferno to a single flame, a flame that that floated towards him until it stopped directly in front of him. He held out his hand. Gently the flame floated down to hover flickering above his outstretched palm. He smiled slowly, and then closed his fingers over the flame.

Zuko took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He felt warm for the first time since the ship was demolished. It wasn't so much physical warmth as warmth in his soul; he felt more whole somehow, even with his disability. He smiled again, this time instead of extinguishing a flame he shifted into a stance and launched a ball of fire from a fist that displaced the air as he punched. He grinned this time in pure exultation of his craft.

He laughed, and then turned, suddenly remembering the tree person's predicament. "Thank you." He said gratefully. "No matter how much I say it, I can never hope to thank you enough." "You could start by disintegrating this tree…" The voice sounded as if the owner were doing the equivalent of smiling, if impatiently. Zuko's brow knitted in a slight frown. "I don't know how to destroy the entire tree and not burn you in the process", he replied; certainly willing to help, but unwilling to cause this person's demise so directly.

The voice sounded gently amused, "never fear, you cannot damage me in this act unless you do not burn the entire tree." Zuko nodded and made a small humming noise to himself as he carefully picked his way around the tree. "How can I possibly burn the root system of this tree? The rest is easy, but roots snake long and deep underground, where there is no oxygen for fire to burn; not to mention that since the tree is so old the roots will be very deep..." His thought process was interrupted. "You seem to be thinking very hard about this, is something wrong?" The tree person asked. The boy pursed his lips and nodded, not even stopping to wonder if the gesture could be seen.

"I can't work out how to make the fire burn the roots, especially ones that are deep underground." Silence was his only reply, and for several minutes he waited quietly until he thought he was going to go crazy. Just about the time he was ready to burst the voice finally replied. "I don't know." The tone in the tree person's voice was more despondent than he would have ever expected. It almost sounded like it might be giving up. "No!" He nearly shouted, "I'll figure it out, I'll find a way to free you!"

A/N: Ooh now what's going to happen? Review or you may not find out! Hahaha! :0)