A/N: In the episode where Aang first met Roku's dragon and rode on its back to the crescent-shaped island, there was a brief scene where they flew directly over the earthbenders who had captured Iroh. Iroh looked up as they flew over; he saw them, though they were spirits. Between that and the scene where Zhao mentioned Iroh's journey through the spirit world, there's clearly a lot about Iroh that the original series decided not to cover. But I find it fascinating...

In season 3, Aang attends a Fire Nation school. One of the questions he is asked on a test is what year the Fire Nation defeated the Air Nomads' army. The Air Nomads did not have an army and there was no big and glorious battle, but that is the propaganda taught in Fire Nation schools.

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Iroh thanked the inventor for inviting him to use his own private office. The inventor waved him away. "Think nothing of it! This young man saved my war balloon from falling into Fire Nation hands. It's the least I can do." The inventor folded a sheet of canvas and laid it on the floor. Iroh put Zuko on it. There was no more canvas available, so the inventor draped a large sheet of drawing paper over him as a blanket.

Aang and co. finally arrived, having managed to extract themselves from the celebration. "Is he okay?" Katara asked.

Iroh nodded. Sokka rubbed the back of his head. "You didn't see the look on his face up there. He was half crazed or something. Seeing the battle must have taken a lot out of him."

As far as Iroh could recall, that was the first time he had ever heard Sokka sound sympathetic. If Zuko didn't want to become friends with them, he was going the wrong way. Personally, Iroh liked friendship, so he had mixed feelings about that. He nodded again. "He has never seen war before. I'm sure it was a terrible shock." He then asked the inventor for water and a cloth.

The inventor nodded. "Of course."

Sokka gave him a sideways look. "You're being awfully nice for a guy who was just attacked by the Fire Nation."

The inventor looked shocked. "Why shouldn't I be? Dragon Boy might be a firebender, but that's exactly what we needed. Without a replacement burner, the balloon would have crashed. On second thought, I'm glad he destroyed it. That technology is admittedly more useful to the Fire Nation than to anyone else."

"You're okay with having two firebenders staying in your temple?" Katara asked.

"As long as they behave themselves."

Iroh grinned. "Don't worry! I promise that nothing will happen."

Sokka looked out of the window. "We should go back out. People are still really happy."

Aang and Katara nodded. The three of them left to rejoin the festivities. The inventor left to get the water and cloth he had promised. Iroh was left alone with his nephew.

Iroh looked down at Zuko with a sigh. "You're on the path of friendship, you know. Even if you step off of it to fight every now and then, you are still growing closer to the Avatar and his friends. If you really want to stay enemies, your only chance is to stop traveling with them right now."

Realistically, that wasn't going to happen. Iroh raised an eyebrow. "We haven't seen any sign of the water spirit for several days, and we've been traveling away from the water. What makes you think it's still around?" Zuko hadn't mentioned the water spirit recently, but his behavior made it clear that he thought it was still after them. Nothing else could compel him to stay so close with the Avatar, knowing the risks.

"What kind of spirit is the water spirit, anyway?" Iroh muttered. "I don't see anything in either the physical or the spiritual dimension of this world when it appears. It's invisible…"

The inventor came back. "Here you go." He placed a bucket of water and a neatly folded cloth next to Zuko's head.

"Thank you."

An awkward silence descended. There was nothing for the two of them to do other than wait for Zuko to wake up. "So," the inventor began. "I've been calling him Dragon Boy this whole time. What is his real name?"

"Zuko," Iroh answered. "And you're not the only one. The children here seem to believe that he and I are dragons."

"Well, you are firebenders."

"This isn't the first time he's told people he was a dragon. Once, when he was 3, I came back for a visit and he crawled into my lap to ask me when his horns would grow in." Iroh couldn't help but smile at the memory. Zuko had been so cute, so affectionate and open, when he was little. Nothing like the angry and defensive teenager he was now. Iroh hoped those days would return.

"What did you tell him?" the inventor asked.

"I said he may have the heart of a dragon, but his body is human."

The inventor nodded. "I think that's the right answer. My own son, Teo, is an airbender in all but bending. He has the spirit of one. That's what matters."

Iroh laughed. "It's a little early to claim to be a dragon, though." He patted Zuko's forehead. "Someday."

Zuko gasped. Or rather, he tried to; he seemed to be having trouble breathing. As Iroh and the inventor watched, alarmed, he took a few more choked-off breaths. Then he cried out and threw himself to the side, his arms lashing out to claw at anything they could reach. The inventor jumped back to avoid his knee being torn open. Zuko grabbed the paper and tore it to shreds, then the canvas, which was sturdier. He sat up clutching the canvas in a death grip, gasping for air and shaking.

When his breathing finally slowed, the inventor moistened a cloth and dabbed his forehead with it. "That looked like one nasty nightmare."

Zuko pushed the cloth away. "I'm fine." He wiped his forehead dry. "All those people aren't, though. They were just...attacking…" He looked up at the inventor. "Why were they attacking you?"

"I have powerful technologies that they want," the inventor replied. "And they don't want this temple to become the home of an organized resistance."

"That doesn't justify the murder of innocent people!" Zuko exclaimed. His breathing was too fast again. "That doesn't… You couldn't even fight… They didn't have to...swarm this place." He shivered at the word swarm. "Why did they bring so many tanks?"

"Zuko, stay calm," Iroh said. He wet a cloth and placed it on the back of Zuko's neck where it was burned. Zuko winced. He was pale. "Ssshhh," Iroh murmured soothingly. "The battle is over. It's alright. Everyone is safe."

Zuko dipped his head. "I just can't believe it."

"I felt a similar way after my first battle," Iroh told him. "I wish I had listened to my conscience back then. So many terrible things could have been avoided."

Zuko shook off the cloth and stood up, went to the windows. "They're celebrating half of their mountain being blown up."

"I'll do a more thorough investigation tomorrow," the inventor said. "But for now, the temple seems perfectly stable."

Iroh caught his attention and shook his head. That wasn't important. He joined Zuko at the window. "I understand. Today is not a day of celebration."

"I'm sorry about your balloon," Zuko said without turning around. "I felt like I had to. The way it made such a big explosion so easily, without putting us in any danger, seemed wrong."

"I agree," the inventor said. "Some technology is too powerful. I see that now." He joined them at the window, clapping a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Why aren't you down there with them?" Zuko asked. "You're the leader here. Your people need you."

The inventor rubbed his goatee. "I suppose that's true. I'd best be toodling along then." He nodded at Iroh, then left.

They stood together in silence. Iroh remembered how he had felt as a young soldier. Resolving the conflict inside himself had taken a long time and a lot of effort, and he knew it was a very personal process. He could not help anyone else through it. So he looked out the window at the celebrating people, watching spouses embrace each other and children run to the edge of the temple to look at the mountain. Many of them had already gotten their children's gliders and were soaring among the blast area. Iroh noticed Teo and the Avatar. The Avatar held something in his hand, and he and Teo seemed to be talking. Then Sokka raised his arm and elicited another cheer.

"How can they be happy?" Zuko asked.

"Battles like this happen all the time," Iroh answered. "It usually turns out worse."

"Worse?"

Iroh knew there was no way Zuko could fail to understand his meaning. He, like Iroh long ago, had probably never imagined what Fire Nation occupation actually looked like. Iroh let him imagine it now.

Zuko turned away from the window. "It's good to hear that the temple's stable," he said. "The sun's already setting, so we'll have to sleep here."

Iroh nodded. "Let's ask about sleeping arrangements."

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The inventor let them roll out their sleeping bags in the hall in front of the large door. It was locked again. A shiver ran up Aang's spine as he looked at the lock. The lock was supposed to depend on airbending and be unopenable by any other means. Had the inventor made airbending redundant? It was nice to see all these people enjoying the pleasure of flying. They really did have the spirits of airbenders; Aang felt almost at home here, with them. But his spirits sank like a rock at the thought that airbending might be meaningless. His airbending was a part of him that he was proud of. The thought that once he died, it would be gone and nobody would even miss it brought tears to his eyes.

"Aang? What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"This lock was supposed to only be opened by an airbender. But he found a way around it. Our gliders were only supposed to work with airbending, and he found a way around that too." Aang wiped at his eyes. "I'm the last airbender. And it feels like once I'm gone, nobody will miss it."

Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "There's still hope. Your kids, someday, will be airbenders. Airbending won't just disappear from the world."

Aang wondered what Zuko thought of this. He didn't turn around to see. Even if Zuko was right that he was lucky, wasn't he still allowed to feel bad? Hurt was hurt. Aang wasn't going to be ashamed of his feelings. He rubbed his eyes again. "I hope so. Thank you."

Zuko was conspicuously turned away. He had his back to everyone as he looked out the large windows. As the others settled into their sleeping bags, Aang watched him. Finally, he mustered his courage and walked over. He stood at Zuko's side and said nothing.

The firebender glanced down at him. "No."

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't need to. And the answer's still no."

Zuko got into his sleeping bag and went to sleep, leaving behind a very confused Aang. He hadn't meant to ask anything. What was Zuko saying no to? Aang put out the light and crawled into his own sleeping bag with a sigh. In the silence, he could hear the temple around him. Insects skittering through the walls, the wind in the windows, echoing slightly off the stone. Aang closed his eyes and listened.

His brows furrowed. The sounds seemed to have changed. He opened his eyes and looked around, and did not see anything. But something was there. Something must be there. Aang was suddenly convinced beyond all reason that the spirits of airbenders past must be awake and active right now. He sat up and got into meditating position. As he had practiced doing onboard Zuko's ship once, he focused intently and waited for his spirit to drift out of his body.

The soft sound of a sandal brushing against the stone floor made his eyes fly open. A man stood silhouetted against a window. Well, not quite; some light shone through him. He was a spirit. Aang ran up to him, stopped and turned back. His body was still sitting on top of the sleeping bag without him. Aang smiled and joined the man at the window. He realized it was the same window he and Zuko had been standing in front of.

The man was dressed in large robes that wrapped from his left shoulder to his right waist, covering his legs. He was a monk. Aang didn't recognize him. "Hi," he said. "I'm Aang."

The monk smiled. "A young airbender, I see. I didn't know there were any still alive."

"I was frozen for 100 years in an iceberg."

"Really? That long?"

"Yeah." Aang turned to him. "Who are you?"

The monk faced him, too. "You can think of me as one of this temple's spirit keepers. I lived here once, when I was alive. I promised that after I was gone, I would return here. I can't change anything that happens. But there is value, too, in serving as a witness."

Aang blinked tears away. "I think I understand. I just can't stand the thought that after I'm gone, the world might forget about airbending. Forget about our people."

"The world will do whatever it likes," the monk said. His voice was completely neutral. He had made his peace with it long ago. "But us keepers will still be here."

Aang let himself cry freely. "Thank you. It's good to hear that."

The monk put a kindly hand on his shoulder, then turned and walked away quieter than a flesh and blood person could have managed. Aang returned to his body. Only now did he feel tired. He settled into his sleeping bag and went to sleep.

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In the middle of the night, Zuko shivered. He was a child and his home was being invaded by ants. He moved food around relentlessly, built moats, beat at them to drive them away. But still they came! As his dinner was covered with shining black metallic insect bodies, he cried in a corner terrified. Father was going to be so angry… Then the earth rumbled as an explosion blasted out the windows, sounding like the world was ending. He tried to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. Nothing nowhere no help.

Zuko opened his eyes. Thankfully, he had not started sobbing like a baby in the waking world. But his chest still hurt and his throat still ached. He coughed and sat up. Ugh. My dreams are terrible lately. I wonder what the watcher thinks of it.

Nobody else stirred. Faint light shone through the windows, giving the hall a soft blue glow. It gave the whole room a sense of peace and remoteness. Despite that, he knew he would not be able to go back to sleep. Zuko pulled a patch of cloth out of his pack and sat in one of the windows to burn it. Hopefully the concentration required would keep him from thinking of the dream and allow him to find peace.

He lit a strand and put his hands in position. He had to concentrate fiercely at first, but he soon got back into the rhythm. He slipped into a trancelike state where he did not even notice time passing. The trance was briefly interrupted by having to light a new strand, but he sank back into it almost immediately. Had he ever known this level of peace before? The depth of the gratitude he felt toward Master Jeong Jeong could not be measured.

But not even the best things can last forever. Zuko's mind split into different streams. In one stream, he continued to focus and burn the cloth. In the other, his mind wandered on faraway adventures.

Was Uncle right? Are most battles like that? No, they can't be. Earthbenders are stubborn and willing to fight to the last man. You have to break every bone in their body just to stop them. That's why we've lost so many people. The Fire Nation army isn't bad, and they're not doing anything wrong. We're liberating the Earth Kingdom. We're doing them a favor.

But these people aren't stubborn at all. They're not dangerous at all. They're air people, not earth people, and air is harmless and likes to wander around having fun and never gets on my nerves. Why attack air people?

Why did we destroy the airbenders?

There must have been a reason. Didn't they have an army? I remember something about them having an army from school. There was a big battle. It was no different from fighting the Earth Kingdom now.

But… How could a nation of monks raise an army? Even if they did, it wouldn't be like the Earth Army. They wouldn't be so stubborn and obnoxious. The Avatar's teacher, Monk Gyatso, sounds just like Uncle.

If the Air Nomads didn't need liberating, why were they attacked? If helping them was the goal, why were they destroyed? It doesn't make sense.

Are the Avatar's friends right? Is the Fire Nation really fighting just to conquer? Are we really not helping other nations at all?

Zuko let out a sigh of relief; the strand was finished. He lifted his head off his hands and shook it to drive out the uncomfortable thoughts. He really had to learn not to let his mind wander. He raised a hand to light a new strand. Then he froze.

…Where were my hands just now?

Still frozen, he looked down. He had lifted his head off his hands. That meant he had not been using them.

What on earth?

His heart started to beat fast. He hesitated to light the new strand, because what would happen if he did? Was the fire spirit active? He felt for it inside. No, his insides felt just as comfortably warm as always. Zuko lit the next strand. The glowing ember sat there, flickering slightly as it ran out of fuel. Too small to move, it stayed where it had been lit until it died. The fire spirit was not being mischievous.

So what happened? Curiosity overtook fear. Zuko had never heard of anything like this. Firebending without moving? Without using his hands at all? If he could do that, he would be the most powerful firebender in the world. He would be so impressive, Father might just bow to him. Father would have to recognize me! Zuko eagerly lit the strand again and thunked his head down on his hands. Concentrate!

The second ember stayed where it was. If he didn't move it, it would die. Zuko concentrated on it until it was all he saw. Come on, come on. The ember began to flicker. It became only half as bright. No! Move already!

The ember surged forward by almost an inch. Zuko gasped. He had tried to push it forward by sheer force of thought. Was he moving the fire with his mind? He tried to move it again. Go on, go on. He didn't bother to repress it, just nudged it in any direction. The ember moved onto the next strand to its left. Wait, what am I doing? This isn't the exercise Jeong Jeong taught us. Well, who cares? This is a lot more important than that stupid exercise. I have other bits of cloth.

The fire spirit flared, stabbing him internally with a red-hot needle. Zuko winced. The ember went out. What was that for? Jerk! He relit the strand and used his hands to repress the fire and keep it moving in a straight line. Maybe whatever he had done would happen again.

His mind split again into two streams. One stream focused on doing the exercise. The other paid attention to his own thoughts. He lit another strand without breaking his trance, same as before. Only when he felt secure in the grip of the trance did he dare to try anything. I'm imagining how it moves a second before it moves. Am I doing it again? He pulled his hands back slowly, careful not to break the trance. He imagined how the ember would move. A moment later, it moved. He gasped. Careful! Steady. Keep doing it. His mind wobbled. The two streams threatened to collapse into one. They converged, split apart, converged again. He let out his breath with painful tightness and moved the fire forward slowly, very slowly. The streams reluctantly separated.

He breathed in, and repressed the fire. He breathed out, and pushed it forward. Meanwhile, he tried to figure out what he was even doing. Imagination alone didn't seem to be responsible - his mind tried to wander off again, occasionally throwing up images of the fire exploding, and it didn't explode. He struggled to return to his breath every time such a distraction happened. It was hard work. He wasn't used to controlling his own mind to such an extent. He grew tired. I never knew it was so hard to control my own mi -

Wait a second!

He gripped his abdomen. When he controlled himself, as he had done with Master Jeong Jeong, he felt it in his stomach. Was he controlling himself now? The uncomfortable twanging of his insides had taught him that he could do it without meaning to. Zuko stared at the tiny fire and concentrated on his stomach. He breathed in and repressed it. Is that…? He breathed out and urged it forward. Oh my goodness.

He was pushing directly on the fire spirit.

The shock took his breath away. His mind collapsed into its normal state. The ember went out. He looked around, suddenly afraid that someone might have noticed what he was doing. But no, nobody was awake.

He stared at his left hand. With one finger, he made a tiny candle flame. He watched the way it wavered until he could feel the wavering inside. Using every ounce of dexterity he had developed practicing with Master Jeong Jeong, he fastened his inner grip onto the fire spirit. He grimaced as he did so, afraid that it would hate him for trying to control it. To his surprise, it did not. He was able, after a while, to get a secure grip on it. The candle flame separated from his finger. He could somehow feel that the link between the flame and his own firebending was broken. He lowered his hand and watched the flame hang in the air.

Suddenly it flew at his face. He reflexively batted it away. What was that?! I thought it wasn't angry! Then he realized his own inner grip was pulling backward. He had accidentally come close to burning himself. With his own firebending. Just like Father already thought. Zuko's enthusiasm waned. He was not the most powerful firebender in the world, and Father would not be proud of him. Father would only laugh. Zuko's cheeks burned. He snatched the cloth off his leg angrily and left the window. He stuffed it back in his pack. What had he been doing, thinking he could be so impressive? It was never that simple. Every time he thought he'd learned something, Azula had already mastered it ages ago. He was never going to be the most powerful firebender in the world. He wasn't any good at it.

Zuko flomped down on his blankets and turned away from his pack. Nothing there was worth thinking about. Good riddance! He did not drift off to sleep peacefully. He counted himself lucky that he drifted off at all.