Ice Maiden Olivier: Aww, thank you!

Kawisdom: Ack, thank you for all the reviews. I'm so glad that you liked the swamp scene; that was by far my favorite part to write. There's a bit of an explanation as to their crimes coming soon. Thank you for pointing out some of the flaws in the earlier chapters; that should be helpful in editing this beast, as well as in troubleshooting some of the later chapters.

I'm going to be taking a bit of a pause over the weekend. Updates should resume on Monday.

Zuko shot up from the table, glaring down at his uncle. "Is this true?" he demanded.

Iroh wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Uncle!" he cried, his voice almost pleading. The strange feeling in his stomach was back-and with a start, he realized that it was dread. Iroh shut his eyes tightly, as if in pain, and took a deep breath.

Zuko went rigid, his stomach sinking. His uncle's refusal to meet his gaze was answer enough.

He stormed past his uncle and out of the house, slamming the sliding doors shut behind him. He heard them open again, but he was too angry to care. How could he, when-

When he was a spirit, for Agni's sake!

It had been bad enough when he'd just been a freak with wings. He couldn't go home, he couldn't regain his honor, couldn't reclaim his throne. Everything he'd worked so hard for had slipped out of his grasp in an instant-no, not an instant, a long, frozen moment, because he'd been left to die-

Something hot and wet trickled down his palm, and it was then that he realized that he'd dug his nails into his hand so hard that it had drawn blood.

He stopped in his tracks, staring down at his hands. When had his nails gotten so sharp?

He swore under his breath, dropping his hands angrily. He wasn't even human anymore; why was he bleeding? He was some sort of spirit freak now, not-

He wasn't human.

Iroh had lied to him.

His knees suddenly felt weak, and he clutched onto one of the posts of the fence surrounding Song's ostrich-horse enclosure. It didn't do much more than catch him slightly as he fell to his hands and knees.

His vision was blurry, and he forced himself to take a deep, shaky breath. Something hot hit his hand, and he realized that he was crying.

Why was he crying? He hadn't cried when he realized he'd died, he hadn't cried when he'd realized the significance of the Avatar leaving him to freeze. Why was he crying, why was he crying?

He realized now why he'd felt so wrong.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder, and Zuko scrambled around, swatting the hand away. Iroh knelt besides him, his eyes narrowed concernedly.

"When did you know?" Zuko asked, his voice hoarse and raw. Iroh shut his eyes, drawing a deep breath.

"When did you know?" Zuko demanded, narrowing his tear-filled eyes. Iroh opened his eyes, gazing sadly at his nephew.

"I suspected it the very moment you appeared on my ship," Iroh confessed. Zuko's eyes widened slightly, but the teen immediately narrowed them back into a glare.

"Why did you lie to me?" he snapped, barely hiding the hurt in his voice.

"I needed to be sure," the old man continued, his voice sorrowful. "Zuko, becoming a spirit is an incredible honor-but it is not something I would wish upon anyone, least of all you. I-"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Zuko snarled.

Iroh didn't respond.

Zuko stood, his expression full of hurt as he gazed down at the old man. "I'm leaving."

Iroh sighed. "Alright. Where-"

"No," Zuko snapped. "I'm going. Alone."

"Zuko-"

"I need to figure some things out, Uncle. I think that it's best we part ways," Zuko said quietly, turning away from his Uncle.

"You don't have to do this alone, nephew," Iroh murmured. Zuko whirled around, eyes blazing angrily.

"No, I do. I can't just...keep going with you as if nothing's wrong," he snapped. He averted his gaze, a pang of sorrow hitting his chest. "You...you lied to me, Uncle," he whispered, his voice suddenly raw and vulnerable. Iroh glanced down at the ground guiltily.

"Why did you lie to me? Why-" he broke off, a lump forming in his throat. He was trembling now, his hands balled into fists. His vision blurred with tears, which quickly began to stream down his cheeks. "Why did you lie to me, Uncle?"

Two gentle hands grabbed his fists, tugging him gently to the ground. Zuko complied, falling to his knees-and then into Iroh's arms. Iroh hugged him tightly as he silently cried, burying his face in his uncle's shoulder.

"I was selfish," Iroh began after a long moment. "So, so selfish. I didn't want to believe it, didn't want to think for a moment that you would have to suffer more."

"And yet," he continued, pulling away from Zuko to look into his nephew's eyes. "I seem to have only caused you more pain."

Zuko averted his gaze. He felt empty, drained, and didn't know how to respond.

"All that I ask of you is that you forgive me for my mistake. If you wish to part ways, I will not pursue you."

Zuko looked at his uncle, his gaze sad and vulnerable. He got to his feet, then glanced into the distance briefly before returning his mournful gaze to his uncle. The two men gazed at each other-before Zuko broke the still pause by extending one of his hands down to Iroh.

He took his nephew's hand, and hauled himself to his feet. Zuko turned away, letting go of Iroh. He stared into the forest for another long moment before speaking.

"You're all I have left," he murmured softly, his voice thick with emotion. With a sigh, he turned back to his uncle, his gaze hard. "Promise not to lie to me again," he said sharply, warningly.

"On my honor," Iroh replied.