Disclaimer: I own nothing at all from Avatar: The Last Airbender, sadly, but I do own my OC's and my ideas though.

WARNING: This chapter is rated T for a small amount of mental torture and cruelty, but it will get better y'all, I promise! It's all part of the plan!

-Short recap from previous chapter: Zuko finally gets over himself and while comforting Umi, realizes he loves her. (It's about time!)-

Words would never truly express the depth of emotion she felt the moment Zuko enveloped her in his warm embrace. How she wished she still had her water spirit powers, to be able to convey her feelings without speech in such a unique way would have rendered mere words unnecessary. Now, she was at a loss for what to say. She didn't blame him for how he'd treated her, knowing how much he'd been through. How could she ever hate him? She wanted to stay in his arms forever. Umi imagined herself becoming more to him than simply a friend, and for a moment, the thought was bliss.

Reality quickly crashed in on her fantasy and suddenly she knew they could not be. She had watched as the prince of the fire nation fought and defeated the extremely unstable, only other possible, heir to the throne. The ocean had shown her much in her time within its seemingly infinite waters. She had missed a great many things during her time in the massive tree, and this war the nations waged would never end if Zuko could not ascend to the throne of the fire nation.

The former spirit of the ocean knew she could never be what she wanted to be to the man who held her close. It was time to let go. She suddenly wanted to run, put as much distance as possible between her heart, and the man who had captured it without even knowing.

Drawing a calming breath Umi pulled away slightly and Zuko obligingly released her and stepped back. She turned away from him, swiping the back of her hand over her nose and sniffling. Pausing, she stared at the dirt beneath her feet, taking in the bumpy, brown texture with a few gangly patches of grass sparsely scattered about. "Say something, Umi, please…" his voice broke and although she didn't see it, his face reddened at the telltale sign of his emotion.

Umi felt her heart thud and her stomach flip when he spoke. How she wished she could spin around and jump back into his arms and declare her undying love. She was free at last, her eternity and powers were gone, but she was free of her imprisonment; free to live, but not free to love. Not her, not now. Steeling her resolve and wiping a few stray tears from her face she squared her shoulders and slowly turned back to face him.

"I don't blame you Zuko." She clasped her hands in front of her in an effort to keep from grasping his hands in hers. "I know how much you've been through, and I'm incredibly grateful for what you've done for me."

"It's nothing compared to what you gave up for me Umi!" he asserted passionately, "I've been foolish and selfish…" he trailed off as she shook her head.

Tears began to well at the corners of her eyes "Oh Zuko, please do not chastise yourself on my account, you have not wronged me!" Attempting a slightly watery smile she shook her head and took a small step back when his arms reached for her at the sight of her tears. He looked stricken and she hastened to explain her actions. "You always have my forgiveness whether or not you have needed it, just know that." Umi paused, and taking a deep breath, she began again.

"My fate was to be imprisoned in a tree for eternity or die slowly as it died until you rescued me. I know nothing of how to live in this world, I hardly know myself anymore…" her voice trailed off and she clasped her arms in front of her as her thoughts fell on her uncertainty of the future. "I've been happier with you and dear Iroh than I have been in a very long time" she looked down and studied his boots; loathe to the see the hurt in his eyes when she spoke "the last thing I want to do is give that up…"

"You're about to say 'but' aren't you?" he asked softly, hesitantly.

"I'm sorry…" her eyes finally sought his. She knew they shared something special, something words couldn't easily define. If only she could stay.

Zuko stepped forward again, this time he grasped her shoulders before she could step away. "Please don't do this, don't go!" his voice rasped endearingly and the warmth of his hands on her shoulders nearly destroyed the foundations of her resolve. "Please!" he begged "I know I was wrong to get lost in my own world, I will do better from now on, I promise!" His impassioned plea caused her stomach to clench and her heart began pounding as reality began to set in.

This was it, she realized. After everything she'd been through, she was really going to give him up. She shook her head sadly. "I can't, Zuko. I need to find out who I am now. I need to find my own way." Her resolve all but melted away when he slowly released her shoulders and stepped back as she saw him roughly brush his hand over his good eye. "How could she leave?" she agonized "how could she not? How could she…?"

Zuko rubbed an arm over his eyes again, looking like he'd been sucker-punched. His hands fell to his sides and balled into fists. He looked away before he spoke again. "Will I ever see you again?" His voice sounded forced, his tone almost hard.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Keep it together…" she told herself. "I'm sure we will" she answered quietly, looking at a point somewhere past his shoulder. "The world is not so large…" Taking a deep breath she looked at him once again to find his gaze had returned to her.

His eyes plead with her to change her mind and her resolved wavered yet again. It shouldn't have been this hard to do what she was convinced was the right thing.

o0o0o0o0o

Zuko's heart was racing and his stomach was doing flip flops. He had finally realized how he felt about Umi and now she was leaving. "How did this happen?" he agonized, then once again, as if to torment him, his actions over the time they had stayed on this farm flooded his mind. It was entirely his fault. She had every right to leave and find her place in the world; it was because of him she even needed to in the first place. He swallowed hard, forced his hands to relax and cleared his throat, the sudden sound making her jump slightly.

"I..I understand." He stuttered slightly, neck flushing and ear warming at his own nervousness. "When will you…" his voice trailed off, he didn't even want to finish the sentence because it would sound too final.

"I…" she hesitated slightly before clasping her arms in front of her as if needing to shield herself. "I have nothing but the clothes I've been given by these kind people. I will see if I can prevail upon them to trade my services for long enough to earn a bit of coin and perhaps learn a trade of some kind…" her voice trailed off again. She sighed before continuing. "There is much I must learn, and I know you and Iroh will not stay here much longer; you are meant for more."

He shook his head "I don't know about that, but I know there is room for you with us wherever we go! No matter what we do there's always room for you." Just for a moment he hoped she would change her mind; then her beautiful eyes filled with tears once again and he longed to reach out and gather her into his arms again.

"I know." Umi swiped at her tears before letting her arms fall at her sides. She seemed to gain new resolve before his eyes. "I know there is Zuko, and I also know that if I stay with the two of you I will never learn to survive on my own. This is something I must do."

He nodded. There would never be a time he would be ok with her decision; selfishly, he wanted her beside him. This was not ok! He wanted to grab her and shake her and command her to change her mind. But that wasn't who he was, not now. He'd changed, and so had she.

The rest of the day was uneventful. It had seemed that no more words were necessary between them, no matter how much both wished things were different.

It was the next day when Iroh approached Zuko, looking for answers. He was well aware of the tension between the two, and now that neither seemed to be speaking, he determined to find out what was going on.

Zuko knew what was coming the moment his adopted father approached him, two steaming cups of tea in hand. He sighed. Iroh handed him the other cup of tea and gestured for him to sit down on a nearby log where the young man had been chopping wood. He didn't say a word, simply sipped his tea with the silent patience borne of age and wisdom.

"She's not coming with us!" Zuko finally burst out "she says she wants to learn how to live now and learn who she is..why can't she do that with us? I don't understand!" He felt the tears of frustration prick at his eyes, "I…I don't want her to leave!" He looked away, ashamed of his emotional outburst. Zuko hung his head and hunched his shoulders. Why couldn't she see that?

"You love her."

"Yes."

"Have you considered telling her how you feel?" There was silence for a moment.

"I can't. She chose her path, just like I chose mine." He heaved a sigh and took a swallow of his tea, coughing slightly and thumping his chest when the hot liquid went down the wrong way. Iroh stood up and reached out to assist him but he just handed him the teacup. When the coughing subsided Iroh spoke.

"You will make a great and kind Firelord, Prince Zuko." Iroh stretched out his hand with Zuko's teacup.

His head snapped up and he stared at the gray haired man next to him. "I…what?"

"You have a path too, Zuko. The fire nation is going to need a leader, one with a good heart, someone who will lead the nation in an era of peace." Iroh looked him directly in the eyes. "That someone is you."

Zuko shook his head incredulously. "I can't beat my fa…the Firelord!"

Placing the teacup on a log, his adopted father put his hand on his adopted son's shoulder. "You must take the throne, Zuko. I cannot do this for you, the nation must see a young man, full of promise and life; not an old man who has already lived his life."

"But…he's too strong!" Iroh nodded.

"That may be, but you are not meant to face him." Zuko blinked. "The Avatar will face and defeat the Firelord. When that time comes, you must ascend the throne and right the many wrongs done by the evil of the Firelords since Sozin during this 100 year war."

Zuko simply stared at his adopted father. Rule the fire nation? How could he? Did he even know how to rule a nation?

As if reading his thoughts, Iroh spoke again. "You have matured beyond your years Zuko, endured hardships that would break a lesser man, and persevered against great odds. You can rule, and you will be exactly what the fire nation needs to issue in an era of continued peace."

Iroh let his hand drop from Zuko's shoulder. "It is time for you to find the Avatar. Seek him out, only this time, join him. Assist him. He is our only hope of defeating Firelord Ozai. Even if you were prepared right now to face him in Agni Kai, the consequences would be dire. If you were to win, the people would see a violent and cruel son who killed his own father in a battle for the throne." He shook his head slowly. "That would place you in much the same position as Ozai, feared and hated. No…" he continued "you must not fight him."

As relieved as he felt, Zuko was still mulling over what Iroh had said. He picked up his now lukewarm tea and drained the cup in one gulp and stood up. Iroh frowned at his adopted son's lack of respect for perfectly good tea.

"I have to think." He said shortly, and walked away, handing the teacup to Iroh as he passed. The old man heaved a sigh as he watched Zuko leave. "He'll make the right decision." Nodding emphatically, Iroh drained the last dregs of tea in his cup and walked back into the house with both teacups in hand, feeling positive about the future.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After they had arrived at the quiet farm, time almost seemed to stand still. As if taunting him, time seemed to fly after the conversation he had with Umi. One moment he was undecided on their next course of action, and the next they were packing up in preparation for travel to the fire nation.

After much time spent in solitary meditation Zuko came to the realization that he needed to confront the Firelord. If he was ever to rule, he would need to stand face to face with the man who sired him and make him listen to what he had to say. Maybe it was his adopted father, or perhaps Umi's insistence that he should be the next to succeed the throne; regardless, he realized his path would always lead to the throne. It was in his blood, he could not escape it.

He and Umi had spoken little once he had announced their intentions to leave. What was left to say? She would stay, they would go. He couldn't change it, no matter how much he wished he could.

Almost before he knew it, the day had come for them to depart. In some ways he was excited to be beginning a journey; in other ways he was mourning what could have been. He had a knot in his stomach, and it just wasn't going anywhere. His goodbye to Umi had been stilted, short and awkward, and he wished he'd had the courage to try one last time to convince her to change her mind. He wanted to fold her into his arms and tell her his truest, deepest feelings for her; but almost before it began, their goodbye was over, and he was walking away.

The kind couple had generously given them supplies for their journey, for which both soon-to-be travelers thanked them profusely. Once they had again thanked them for their hospitality over the last few weeks, Zuko and Iroh set out once more towards whatever the future held.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

She was furious. Although she seemed unable to hold on to coherent thoughts most of the time, her mind feeling like a sludge that just wouldn't cooperate, for exactly (she'd had more than enough time to count them) ten minutes every day at noon she experienced perfect lucidity. During those ten minutes her mind was sharp and her lack of the incredible power she'd once wielded was acute. Despite that, no matter how much she screamed they never once loosened her bonds.

At first she'd tried communicating, but it was difficult at best, and she was always ignored. Azula was certain she'd been captured by someone and was being held for ransom, or some such thing. Never once did it enter her mind that she might be below the very palace she'd been born and raised in. She knew she couldn't form words well, but she railed and insulted them as best she could at the top of her lungs, until once again, her mind was muddled and she could no longer concentrate or form thoughts properly. Every day was as the last, she was primarily unaware of either being fed, or cleaned, as those who cared for her never appeared during her coherent moments. At least, not until now.

It had been a month since the epic battle between siblings and the former fire princess had become an unknowing prisoner beneath her own home. Ozai refused to visit the cell, he found the hideous form of her grotesque and burned skull-like face to be disgustingly offensive, and while she had been his best hope for a true successor to hold the title of Firelord when he became the Phoenix King it was clear that was a lost hope.

When it became clear that the Firelord would never visit the cell, a disgruntled soldier with a fractured mind, a penchant for vengeance, and an axe to grind who had suffered particularly by her hand in the past, had managed to buy his way in. Her guards had no love for her and it had been easy to pay them off so that they would allow him entrance one minute before noon and ignore and forget anything they heard.

Under normal circumstances the imprisoned girl would scream her displeasure at the empty room for a solid ten minutes, but on this day, she fell silent, feeling, as if with a sixth sense, that something was not right, and that she was not alone for the first time since awaking.

She was right.

The first couple of days, the man merely came in and stood silently, like a statue, for the entire ten minutes. Azula felt nerve wracked, and for the first time she felt vulnerable, exposed, and yet she could hear nothing; there was no proof that anyone was there. Somehow, she still just knew.

On the third day the presence she felt made itself known, and if she had not been bound, she might have fled. The feeling of helplessness was strong, and it sickened her. The presence spoke. The voice sounded a little far away, a bit tinny, but the malice was unmistakable. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"Good afternoon little princess..." the voice sneered "my, my, aren't you just looking disgusting today?" She kept silent, assuming he was one of her enemy captors. "What's wrong?" he taunted "is the little monster princess freak afraid of little 'ol me?" he laughed mirthlessly.

"Nooo…mosssaaa" she tried to disagree with him finally, she was, after all, a princess, and shouldn't be insulted in such a way. "Oh but you are!" he rebutted gleefully. "Let's start with your hair..oh, that's right, you don't have any!" he cackled "maybe your face, oh but that's gone too!"

His words caused a knot to appear in her stomach. It grew with every vile thing he said. She remembered the Agni Kai with Zuzu, she knew she'd been burned, she also knew incredible pain that had become part of her daily existence, but somehow, the changes in her features had not occurred to her until this moment. But..her face was..gone?

"Well, maybe you're not vain, but I gotta tell you, it's pretty gross. Your face isn't a face at all, it's a burned skull with marbled, ropy skin all over." He made a retching sound. "You know you don't have any eyes right? You just have meaty sockets!" The cruel soldier taunted. "Hope you weren't planning on marriage, because I don't think anyone could see you without throwing up on sight."

"Lyyiii.." she refused to believe the horrible words spewing from his mouth like poison. "Oh no princess, I wouldn't lie to you…the truth is oh SO much more fun!" he chortled. "How come you can't talk right? Oh yeah, no lips! Your jaw is fused, they feed you with a tube in your mouth and…ooh you want to know what else?" he rattled on gleefully "you drool! A lot! There's drool falling out of your mouth right now, only you can't feel it!"

"Youu…mossssaaa.." she groaned at his cruelty, but he wasn't quite done with her.

"Oh yes, princess, I am. I'm a monster of your own making." His words were like poison. "You killed my wife and infant child in front of me, simply because I made a mistake." He laughed again. "But you..you were the one who made a mistake. You let me live" growled the disturbed man.

He had one last parting barb before he exited the room. "I could kill you now and no one would ever stop me; but why would I do that? You have…" he chuckled "so very much to live for! After all, I'll be back tomorrow to play, same time, same place. Don't go anywhere princess!"

Her mind had been processing his words somewhat slowly, but finally the reality of her situation was beginning to sink in. The knot in her stomach turned to lead, she began shaking and a scream began to well up from deep inside her soul. "Ggnnooooo!" The cry of anguish and pain was wrenched from her permanently open jaws and she could hear the echoes of his evil laughter as her mind began to fracture and the last ten minutes became snippets of torture for her damaged psyche to toss around, increasing her distress to a frantic level. The crafty soldier congratulated himself on a job well done and left the cell with a spring in his step. He couldn't wait until tomorrow.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0O

While the fire princess suffered alone, another, completely different type of suffering was being experienced by a certain lecherous earth spirit. Hayashi, the tree spirit, had finally made good on her threat to revisit the subject of Daichi's treatment of Umi. At that very moment in the spirit realm there were spikes from her tree in his head and through his heart, holding him immobile and allowing her access to his memories. She was not gentle as she sifted through them; his thoughts disgusted her, but it was his actions towards the former water spirit that caused her to feel a type of nausea that a tree shouldn't be able to experience.

Hisaki and Tenkuu who were connected to Hayashi's tree through her branches as witnesses and judges were spared the majority of what the tree spirit was forced to view. She would share only those memories with them that pertained to the issue of the earth spirits' treatment of Umi; horrible as they were.

Once she had extracted every memory Daichi possessed of the time Umi was trapped in the tree, and any other interaction he'd had with her, she allowed him to rest from her intrusion while she shared these only with the other two spirits. The moment she began to share, the air spirit's eyes began to dull and the human form she enjoyed wearing began to weep for Umi. Hisaki, also in his human form clenched his jaw and his eyes burned murderously as he glared at Daichi.

At that same moment, far away in the spirit realm a long-dead avatar reincarnation felt the release of those memories. He had witnessed from afar the trial and banishment of his Umi, and had foolishly done nothing. This time, however, this time would be different. He flew at a swift pace towards the three spirits; he had much to atone for.

A/N: I finally updated! Everyone please thank Brenne, without whom this chapter (and everything afterwards) would not exist. More coming next week, if you can believe it, I've already written the next few chapters!