D/C: I own nothing.

Warning: Might get a bit angsty towards the ending.

Shout-out to ProudGeek4Ever! Thank you so much for beta reading the Floating White Lotus!

Golden Ginger Fire Tea

Is a blend of fresh ginger, lemon, honey and a handful of spices. It has a wide variety of health benefits.

-Ginger: Nausea, anti-inflammatory, fighting infections and relieving gastrointestinal discomfort.

-Turmeric: (Check page 15.)

-Cayenne: Boost a body's metabolism, reduce hunger, and may aid with chronic pain.

-Cinnamon: (Check page 16.)

-Honey: Rich in antioxidants, powerful cough suppressant and benefits the health of one's heart. (Natural sweetener. Very good.)

-Lemon: Prevents scurvy. Weight loss, makes the skin look good, freshen one's breath…(Reminder to pack up more of them to prevent the men from getting scurvy. Lemon water is good… especially for hiding Uncle's medicine.)

Jee handed Iroh a steaming cup of tea. "Worried?"

They stood at the edge of the boat and looked out at the sea. It was the same direction they had seen Zuko sail to get to the Fire Temple. It was by far one of the stupidest things Zuko had ever done in his life. He had done loads of idiotic things, but this easily made its way the top five, or well, possibly top three at this point.

"Of course, I'm worried. I'm always worried." Iroh answered. The horizon began to shift colors signaling that morning was quickly approaching. As much as he did to support his nephew, this had to be one of the times they didn't agree about a course of action. Sneaking into Fire Nation waters. He was going to get himself killed.

Iroh turned around to head back into the ship. He needed meditate.

Jee watched the man walk away. The last time he had seen Iroh in such a state was at the announcement of the late Fire Prince's death. That day had been a complete disaster. Many assumed that it was general Iroh that called for the retreat, but it had really been a colonel with high enough ranking that ordered everyone to pull back. Jee and several others, most now working on the Floating White Lotus, had to carry away the devastated general.

No one knew the full extent of what happened that day. It took some time for Iroh to regain his bearings. The first thing he did was ensure none of his men would be taken at fault for what had occured. They knew he still grieved his lost son, but got back on his feet to care for the people that needed him.

Jee shook away the memories of the trying times. Iroh had never been the same after that. The only time he became somewhat himself again was when Zuko was around.

-.-

Zuko knew that what he was going to do was completely and utterly stupid. It could very well lead to his death. Sneaking back into the Fire Nation to get to the Fire Temple was not something he ever thought he'd do. But here he was in a small, inconspicuous boat headed for the temple in the dead of night. His friends would still be at the village. They were probably resting for the journey they'd make in the morning.

The reason for his midnight boat trip was simple. He had to get to the temple before the others without anyone raising the alarm. There could be some sages that still followed the old ways. Luckily he knew there was at least one, but the rest were unknown at the moment.

He was thankful for his disguise.

-.-

Shyu lead the avatar and his friends through the caverns of the Fire Temple. The sage made sure they didn't cross paths with any of the others. "Avatar Roku once called this tempt his home. He formed secret passages out of the magma."

Aang's hand trailed against the walls and he was deep in thought. "Did you know Avatar Roku?"

"No." Shyu shook his head. "But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this Fire Temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?"

Shyu paused. Then he pulled out a scroll from his clothes and went to hand it over to Aang, but Sokka grabbed it first.

"This is Zuko's scroll!" Sokka loudly exclaimed causing Katara to smack the back of his head reminding him to keep quiet. He ignored her in favor of reading the scroll.

"That came last night. A few weeks ago an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Roku," Shyu paused for added effect. "It's eyes began to glow!"

"That's around the time we were at the Air Temple." Katara thought back to a similar event. "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too."

Shyu then turned around to face Aang with a knowing smile. "At that moment we knew you had returned to the world."

Confusion was the only emotion Aang felt at that moment. "If this is the Avatar's temple why did the sages attack me?"

Shyu took a deep breath and his shoulders dropped as he answered. "Things have changed. In the past the sages were loyal only to the avatar. When Roku died they waited eagerly for the next avatar to return, but he never came."

Guilt washed over Aang. "They were waiting for me."

Sokka hadn't said much because his attention had been on the content of the scroll. He rolled it back up and hid it in his shirt. What he read made him rethink a lot of things about his friend. But now he had to focus on the situation at hand. "Don't feel bad. You're only hundred years late."

Everyone scowled, but Sokka paid no mind to it.

-.-

He hated Zuko.

Hate wasn't even the right word to describe it.

Zhao hated Zuko with passion. He didn't remember what brought on the hate, but it had taken a foul turn for the worse since Zuko bested him during the Agni Kai. It didn't matter how much he goaded Prince Zuko. The banished prince just simply shrugged it off or general Iroh would calm his nephew down before he could get a good reason to take him out.

It was becoming increasingly infuriating as it became a race to capturing the avatar.

Zhao grinned maliciously at the thought of finally one-upping the disgraced royal. He yelled at the sages to hurry up with opening door to the sanctuary. They did open it. And a lemur covered in soot stared bark at them.

"It's the Avatar's Lemur. He must have crawled through the pipes!" The Fire Sages weren't happy at all for being duped.

Momo sprang into action. He leapt at a Fire Sage's head and grabbed the hat effectively blinding him. Katara charged from her hiding spot and pulled another sage's tunic over his head. Sokka went for a different approach and grabbed hold of a Fire Sage's lower skirt. He then pulled it over the man's body and covered his face with it

Sokka could her his sister crying out for Aang to go, but she didn't get any answer. He caught sight of Zhao holding Aang in a firm grip and he felt his heart drop. They had not planned for this. It was one thing dealing with the Fire Sages, but Zhao was different. The guy had relentlessly been hunting them down. And now he had the avatar. "No..."

Bonk!

Zhao's grasp on Aang loosened before he dropped forward in a dead faint. He was knocked out. Everyone that still had the ability to see saw a figure dressed in black. The person was carrying dual broadswords and had a blue mask that covered their face. Momentarily everyone stopped fighting to stare incredulously at the newcomer. Nobody had expected another wild card in this fight.

The masked person motioned for Aang to enter the sanctuary. Aang heard the sound of Fire Nation soldiers heading towards them. Many were calling out for their commander. One of the sages shouted out for them, but was swiftly knocked unconscious by Sokka. Too bad it was already too late. They could all hear the footsteps quicken. Aang attempted to get to the door, but a newly awake Zhao grabbed his ankle from his place on the ground.

The masked figure hit Zhao once more. Then he grabbed Aang and chucked him into the room. The door shut tight and a blinding light made them all turn away their eyes. By then the Fire Nation soldiers had arrived and they attacked.

-.-

"Listen carefully. We don't have much time." Roku stood face to face with Aang as he warned him about the near future. "Sozin's Comet will return by the end of summer and Fire Lord Ozai will use it's power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds even the avatar won't be able to restore the balance of the world. Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives.

"I haven't even started learning any element other than air! I don't have anyone to teach me water- or earthbending and Zuko only agreed to teach me firebending if I learnt those two first."

"It takes years of discipline and practice to master the elements. But if the world is to survive you must do it by summer's end."

-.-

"Thank you for helping us," Sokka thanked the masked figure when opportunity came. The figure was currently helping them fight against Zhao's men. Shyu had called the figure the Blue Spirit because of something with the mask. That was unfortunately after Sokka tried giving him an... odd nickname. The fight was coming to a stalemate, but it was preferable to being captured. "So, you're the silent type then?"

Oh, the comebacks he could give. Too bad he would rather not spill his identity. The last thing he needed right now was for someone to recognise him and inform his father of what he'd been up to. It was too soon in for that to happen.

"Just how many are there?" Katara yelled as the never ending horde of soldiers kept coming at them. It got to the point where they were forced to work defence. Sokka and Katara had to take cover behind the pillars while Shyu and the Blue Spirit did their best to protect them.

The door began glow again and smoke came out from under it. It caught everyone's attention. The door unlocked by itself and as it opened a blinding light forced everyone to close their eyes.

Then Zhao started to wake up. He groaned in pain and winced at the light that had only dimmed a bit. His eyes widen when he saw a pair of glowing, white eyes in the darkness of the, now open, sanctuary. Without much thought he ordered his men to attack the young avatar. A wall of fire surrounded the avatar. It revealed none other than Avatar Roku. His eyes were glowing and showed his fury as he picked his target, Zhao.

Zhao was completely horror stricken. He scrambled up from the floor, but one of his men had to help him stay standing.

The Blue Spirit cursed under his breath when he saw the deceased Avatar. That looked just like his maternal great grandfather. His great grandfather had been the Avatar.

-.-

Zuko took off his mask once he made it back to the ship. He didn't bother answering any questions about why he brought back a Fire Sage or why he was upset. It reminded the crew of how he used to be a few years ago. Iroh attempted to follow his nephew, but was turned away. This prompted him to send Jee to talk with the former fire prince.

Jee found Zuko in a storage room where he could hear him cursing up a storm. He came closer and saw Zuko throwing around empty crates with eyes that were red with unshed tears. It went up for him why the prince didn't want to talk to his uncle.

It would ruin Zuko if the man he looked up to as a father figure saw him like this. Jee was someone that the teenager could confide in when he couldn't with Iroh. "Zuko."

What am I supposed to do? " Zuko paced back and forth. "Am I supposed to help the Avatar? Am I supposed to capture the Avatar? What is it I'm supposed to do?"

It wasn't difficult to put two plus two together. The spirit of his maternal great grandfather, the one that once guided him, was the Avatar. The same one his paternal great grandfather had killed to start the war. Both individuals had left behind very contrasting legacies.

One of which his father had put him on the path for and thought he was following while the other matched better with his action despite his reservations for picking a side.

Zuko put his head in his hand as he thought over his destiny. He did not want his ancestors to decide his future and that was what he told Jee. The man patted Zuko's back as the teen sank down to the floor and told him about everything that had happened.

"Follow your own path and make your own destiny. Spirits, if it weren't for you intervening in mine I would be dead by now." Jee didn't let the glare aimed at him stop him. "Do you want to follow Sozin, Azulon and Ozai's legacy of death-"

"No, I don't." Zuko's knuckles were turning white, but his words were resolute.

"What about the Avatar?"

"I can't… I'm… I'm not…" Zuko's breathing were heavy and Jee waited until he had regained his breathing patterns. "I don't know what to do."

"That's okay. Just do what you have been doing. Forge your own path."

Zuko looked Jee in the eyes with a desperate expression on his face. "I created a spy network of people that want my father's head on a stick. I have been getting supplies to soldiers that are going up against the bastard. I've helped everyone I've crossed paths with including the Avatar who I am supposed to capture. My father is a terrible man, but he's still family. Where am I supposed to draw the line?"

Jee sighed and sat down on the floor.

Zuko was staring into the floor. "Should I teach Aang firebending?"

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

"That's why I asked."

"No. Not only is the squirt not ready to be taught firebending, but you are not ready to teach him. You are not in the right state of mind to do it." Jee gave a slight pause. "Before today you had a general idea of where your life was headed. You don't know anymore. You need to cut this destiny crap. Carve your own destiny and make it your own."

"What if my destiny is to help the Avatar? What then?"

Jee gave a minuscule smile and slowly shook his head. "You have already decided to help the kid. What you didn't decide is when. Until then you focus on yourself. Relax, take a break and enjoy life for a bit."

"I tried that." Zuko deadpanned. "It came to an abrupt end when the Avatar came back into existence."

TBC