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Chapter 1: A New Chance
It had been a week. A week since Sozin's Comet. A week since Phoenix King Ozai had killed Aang in their fateful duel. A week since Fire Lord Azula had killed Katara during the Agni Kai. A week since Sokka, Toph, and Suki had been captured by the Fire Nation Army on the airships and were publicly executed in the center of Caldera City. A week since the White Lotus members were all killed in the attempt to free Ba Sing Se. A week since the Fire Nation won the war. A week since everything changed, and Zuko was the only one alive.
Finally reaching an open clearing, deep in the heart of the former Earth Kingdom, where the Fire Nation had failed to reach yet, Zuko took a seat on the ground. Settling into his spot on the forest floor, Zuko began his meditation. Slowly breathing in and out, he focused on his inner flame, determined to get his chi stronger, so he could at least try to avenge his friend's deaths, and save as many people as he could. But a bright flash behind his eyes startled him enough to open them.
But what Zuko saw when he opened his eyes, was not the forest he had sat down in, ten minutes prior. Instead, he was in a slightly different forest. Tall trees stretched all around, with colorful plants located on the forest floor. The entire place gave off a blueish, almost magical, hue, and small lights danced around. Standing up from his meditative seat, Zuko looked around in shock.
"Where am I?" He asked, confused.
"You're in the Spirit World." A voice sounded from behind him.
Zuko turned around and stared at the man behind him in shock. He was tall, with long, flowing white hair and a white beard, and wore a gold, regal headpiece in his topknot. He was dressed in the red robes of the Fire Nation, but they were considerably outdated.
Knowing immediately who the man was, Zuko dropped to his knees. "Avatar Roku," he whispered. "It's an honor."
"Stand up, grandson." Roku told him. "You do not need to bow to me. I assume you are wondering why I brought you here."
Zuko nodded. "That is one of my questions."
"The Avatar Cycle has been broken." Roku informed him. "Your father was able to kill Aang while in his Avatar State, and I will soon fade away as well. But, there is a way I can stop all of this from happening. I can send your mind back in time, so you can fix what happened, and stop the Avatar from disappearing, forever."
Zuko looked at him in shock, his jaw dropped. "You can do that?"
"I can." Roku said nodding. "It is a very rare power, one that I can only do once a millennia, in times of dire importance, although I cannot send the Avatar back. But, I think this qualifies as a time of dire importance."
Zuko looked up at him. "I will go. I want to save my friends, all of them, and stop my father once and for all."
"I thought that's what you would say." Roku said, smiling. "Good luck!" He called, one last time, as white began to obscure Zuko's vision, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
When Zuko opened his eyes, he was startled to feel the rocking of a boat under his feet. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around, noticing immediately that he was back in his cabin on the Wani. Glancing at the calendar on his desk, he groaned. Today was the day after they had fought Aang, Sokka, and Katara at the South Pole, which meant that his friends still thought he was evil, which was something he would have to change soon, if he wanted to save them.
Climbing off of his bed, Zuko headed out of his cabin, eager to find his uncle, so he could tell him what was going on. If anyone would understand what he had to do, it was Uncle. Heading out onto the deck, he looked around for his uncle, noticing immediately that the crew stopped their conversations as soon as he appeared, and went back to what they were supposed to be doing, which was something else he would have to change, before walking over to Lieutenant Jee.
"Lieutenant Jee," he addressed the other man, who turned around, quickly bowing to him. "Do you know where my uncle is?"
Jee nodded. "He's in the gallery, your highness."
"Thank you." Zuko told him, noticing the suprise on the lieutenant's face, before heading back into the ship. Peeking his head through the door, he smiled at the sight of seeing his uncle sitting and playing a game of Pai Sho with one of the crew members. "Uncle, can I talk to you in my cabin?" He asked.
Iroh looked up from his game, smiling at seeing his nephew standing there. "Of course Prince Zuko." He agreed, standing up, before turning to the crew member in front of him. "I suppose we'll have to finish this game another time."
Following Zuko out of the gallery, Iroh headed into his cabin, shutting the door behind the two of them, giving them privacy from the rest of the crew.
"What is it that you want to talk to me about, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked, taking a seat on the bed.
Sighing, Zuko sat down next to his uncle, turning to him. "There's something I have to tell you, Uncle. I don't think you'll believe me at first, but please listen to what I have to say."
Iroh listened quietly as Zuko told him about the events of the last year, about how they chased Aang, Katara, and Sokka around the world, before eventually becoming refugees in the Earth Kingdom, following the events at the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe. About how they settled in Ba Sing Se, and opened a tea shop, until Azula completed her coup of the city, and Zuko joined her in the Crystal Catacombs, betraying Iroh, Katara, and Aang. About how Azula nearly killed Aang with her lightning, and he traveled back to Caldera City with her, with Ozai believing he had killed Aang. About how he betrayed Ozai, and joined the Gaang after the failed invasion on the Day of Black Sun. About how everything went wrong on the day of Sozin's Comet, resulting in the deaths of everyone he cared about. And finally, about how Roku approached him, sending him back to this day, so he could try and fix everything that went wrong.
For the longest time, Iroh said nothing, simply watching Zuko with an unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he spoke. "I am so so proud of you, nephew. I knew you would find your way, and you did, and you made friends in the process."
"Thank you Uncle." Zuko said, smiling. "But where do we go from here? Aang, Katara, and Sokka still think I'm evil. They're not going to believe me if I try to tell them I've changed. And, if I keep following them, nothing will change from last time."
Iroh smiled at his nephew. "Then we show them you've changed instead. But, I think we can use our time before the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe, to try and liberate some Fire Nation occupied villages. If we get the villagers on our side, then maybe we can amass more support for the Avatar and his friends. After all, I think this time, the invasion on the Day of Black Sun will go better, if there are more troops."
"Aang will be heading to Kyoshi Island next." Zuko said, unrolling a map in front of the two of them. "Before, I followed him and ended up burning down the village, but that will be different now. Zhao will still be chasing Aang, since he found out that he is alive yesterday, which unfortunately can't be avoided. But, I know where Zhao will be this time, so I can outmaneuver him. After Kyoshi Island, they'll be heading to Omashu and then to free earthbenders from the prison rig."
Iroh looked up at Zuko, from the map. "How much time do we have until your friends free the earthbenders from the prison rig?"
"About a week." Zuko informed him. "We can use that time to help free some Fire Nation occupied villages. Before, I showed up at the rig after Aang, Katara, and Sokka had freed the prisoners, and used Katara's necklace, which I found on the floor of the rig, to track them. We'll still head to the rig like before, under the guise of wanting to learn information about the Avatar, and I'll grab Katara's necklace, which I'll give back to her when I finally get them to trust me."
Iroh nodded. "What happens next?"
"After they free the prisoners, they'll head to this town," Zuko said, pointing to it on the map. "So they can stop the spirit, Hei Bai, from abducting villagers. Since the Fire Nation never occupied this village, and it would only scare the villagers, we won't show up to help. After they help the village, Aang, Katara, and Sokka are going to head to the Fire Temple on Crescent Island, so Aang can speak to Avatar Roku on the Winter Solstice. But, Zhao would have already figured it out, and created a blockade, making it hard for our boat to get through without Zhao noticing. So, I say we head to Crescent Island, before Zhao makes the blockade, so we can help Aang, Katara, and Sokka there."
Iroh looked at him. "What happens on Crescent Island?"
"The Fire Temple is still maintained by the Fire Sages, but unfortunately, except for one, Shyu, they're still loyal to my father, not the Avatar." Zuko explained. "Before, Sokka tricked the Fire Sages into thinking Aang had entered the sanctuary, by creating an explosion, so they would open the doors and Aang could run in. Zhao ended up arresting them all, for letting Aang escape, and Avatar Roku destroyed the temple. This time, we can arrive at the Temple before everyone else, and incapacitate all the sages, except for Shyu, then when Aang, Katara, and Sokka show up, I can give Katara back her necklace."
Iroh nodded. "This is a good plan nephew, but are you sure they'll accept you?"
"I believe they will." Zuko told him. "Last time, all of them, except Katara, accepted me after I stopped the assassin I sent after Aang, who Sokka nicknamed Combustion Man, since he was a combustionbender. Katara only trusted me after I helped her find her mother's killer, and the only reason she didn't trust me before, was because I betrayed her in the Crystal Catacombs. This time, none of that has happened."
Iroh smiled up at Zuko. "I'm proud of you, nephew. You've grown so much. You're like a completely different person, the person I always knew you were meant to be. The only problem I see with our plan is, how do we convince the crew to follow us? We're committing treason."
"I thought of that as well." Zuko told him. "Most of our crew came on this mission because they had either lost their honor as well, or were disillusioned with the Fire Nation, so they had no problem coming along with a dishonored and banished prince on a mission that was doomed to fail. They realized right away, and you did as well, what it took me a long time to realize. That I was never meant to find the Avatar, and my father sent me on a fool's mission. I know some of them will not want to commit such bold acts of treason against their nation, and those I will let leave, but I believe a lot of them will stay."
Rolling up the map on the table, Iroh turned to his nephew. "Then let's gather the crew."
In case it isn't clear, when Zuko first tells Uncle Iroh about what happened, he doesn't go into extreme detail of every event, nor what the Gaang was doing during that time, which is why he goes into more detail with him while planning.
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