Death: Ok, a few things here.

One: I said on the summary of this story that there Maybe Yaoi. That means there Might be, but I am not completely sure. If anyone has a problem with Yaoi, please go read another story that's all good and everything's perfect. Notice, though, that unlike some of my other major stories, this is Rated T instead of M. Even if there is going to be Yaoi in here, it will only go so far as a few kisses.

Seriously. I did not think I needed to say such warnings for this story. Then again, Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cartoon and not an anime. So I guess I shouldn't be this surprised.

Two: I have changed a little bit of the original storyline, mainly when Zhao actually slays the Moon Spirit. It makes more sense to me that with Aang present, he loses control and allows to become one with the Ocean Spirit. I also changed the little fact two certain firebenders don't exactly escape in time. Read this chapter and find out.

Disclaimer: Let's see. I don't own ATLA, as I have said in the first chapter.

Chapter Two – Dragon's Breath

=3=

The next morning Zuko awoke to the sound of rain drizzling on a roof over his head, an itchy but warm blanket, and the overwhelming smell of fish. He vaguely remembered the fishermen offering their small house for the night. Zuko hated accepting the kindness of others when he was down.

But he had been weak, and there was promise of rain. He couldn't even find the energy to argue against taking up the man's offer. And so Uncle thanked Akio for his kindness, promising to brew some of his best tea for them.

Experimentally Zuko sat up. His entire body ached from yesterday's event. But other than a few scratches from the glass he broke through, the former prince felt fine.

'Xia He was right on one thing. It would seem I can recover quickly.' The thought made him pause for a moment.

Then the realization hit him like a slap in the face. Zuko had made a visit to the Spirit World.

A part of him didn't want to believe it. But how else could he explain why he had spoken to a dragon, let alone explain how warm and safe her body was when she held him close? Even if he happened to be under the influence of strange connotations, he could have certainly not made up that conversation.

Zuko sighed, pushing the doubts aside for now. He'll have time to question his sanity once he's figured out a plan to infiltrate the Northern Tribe. Obviously he wouldn't be swimming his way in.

As Zuko moved to stand up, a burning pain ripped through him. He sat back down, stretching his left leg out and realized the source of the pain was his ankle. With a frown Zuko pulled the pants leg up to reveal a rough rope burn.

The skin was red where the rope had scrapped and rubbed against his leg. Zuko could even see the fine lines of the rope of the fishing net. Somehow the net had rubbed through his clothing and met skin, nearly tearing the outer layer apart.

All right, so maybe he wasn't all together. At least he was still in one piece.

Stifling a groan Zuko lay back down, spreading his arms out. It looks like he'll have to wait a few days for his ankle to heal. Which, if Zhao was anything to go by, the prince didn't have a few days.

A sudden thought made him pause from the numerous complaints and cursing his own stupidity.

'My clothes don't feel like cotton…Shouldn't they be Fire Nation silk?' Zuko sat up to examine his attire.

Earth Kingdom green. Not the pretty greens of the nobility, but the ugly earthly, throw up green. And if the sleeves were anything to go by, for they extended far below his hands, the clothing was a size too big on him.

'Was I really so out of it that they had to dress me in something like this?'

Maybe his regular clothes were too burned for him to wear anymore. At least, that was what Zuko hoped was the case.

It was just odd to be wearing another nation's color. Red and gold was always familiar to him. The colors reminded him of home.

The one place he wanted to return. With the Avatar's return the possibility was just out of his reach. And yet with each time he caught up with the airbender and the Water Tribe siblings, they always found a way to escape. Each time he thought he had the Avatar, he was tauntingly close to achieve his goal.

Zuko was lying down again, staring blankly at the ceiling. The sound of rain seemed almost smoothing in the silence. Although he wished to move and do something he can't really get very far with an injured ankle.

'Why can't I capture him? The few times I've caught him within my grasp, he finds a means to slip through my fingers. It's like trying to catch smoke.'

No. It was more like trying to capture water with only his hands and no container to fill. Smoke would be if he were chasing down an illusion. This was exactly how he had felt at the beginning of his journey in search of the Avatar. The journey was all smoke and mirrors when he didn't know if he was searching for an Air Nomad or a member of one of the two Tribes.

Yet if there had been an Avatar born into a Water Tribe, they would have known long before Zuko had been banished.

'At any case it's better that the Avatar is an Air Nomad. Since he's seeking help from the Northern Water Tribe, he has yet to master water. The invasion will be costly for both sides.'

Zuko grit his teeth at the last thought.

His people, his crewmen, would all drown or freeze all because of the ambitions of Admiral Zhao. There was a reason why Zhao had called forth all available men and women for this invasion. Zuko understood his tactic well.

Use the overwhelming force of numbers, and to sacrifice as many as Zhao needed until he had secured a victory.

Zuko had seen a similar strategy at his first war council meeting. His body shuddered at the memory. Hands fisted tightly as Zuko did his best not to burn something, anything –

"Ah, nephew. You are awake! I was beginning to worry when you didn't come out when the sun rose earlier this morning."

Uncle peered inside the small room. Zuko immediately sat up with a startled look on his face. He quickly hid his surprise with a not so great smile.

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I haven't been awake for very long. But my ankle hurts when I put weight on it, so that's why I haven't gotten up yet."

Agni, his voice was so raspy and dry Zuko could feel the inside of his throat crack and whither.

With a frown, Iroh sat beside his nephew's bed mat and lifted a hand. Zuko opened his mouth to ask what he was doing when the warm, gentle hand felt his forehead.

The hand was icy cold to the touch.

"You're hand is freezing, Uncle."

Iroh shook his head. "No, it is your forehead that's burning. It would seem you have struck a fever overnight."

Zuko frowned. Rarely would a firebender have a fever. When it does occur, it is usually lethal with all of the inner fire burning out of control. Combine that and a high fever, leaves a firebender delirious the first day, a coma on the second, and then followed by death at sunset of the third day.

As if knowing his train of thought, Uncle smiled.

"Luckily you are born from a strong family heritage on both sides. Not to mention you are young, so your body has a better chance of fighting it. This fever should die down by tomorrow."

Zuko could only nod. When it came down to illnesses, Uncle was almost always right. The remedies of such illnesses, well, he would be better off fighting against an angry platypus bear protecting her cub. There was a reason why Zuko sent out the more competent crew to find remedies when they docked when there happened to be a breakout of a simple cold or the threat of flu on the ship.

"So…what are we going to do about the invasion? I mean, we can't allow the Avatar to fall under Zhao's hands." Zuko almost let loose the little detail this wouldn't be the first time.

'He did not say anything about capturing the Avatar before Zhao. I guess this is a good thing?' Iroh noted. The old general rubbed his chin to give himself time to ponder over this.

"Well, Zhao offered me to return to my position as general. That takes care of me. However, that does not guarantee he will accept you. We have to make him believe the assassination attempt succeeded."

"All right. We can work with that. If you accept his offer, I can just join as one of their own. The helmets of the regular army hide the entire face. So long as I don't take it off no one will notice." After all, who would question a faceless, eager recruit joining the fleet?

Uncle was a little more hesitant with this plan.

"And what, pray tell, would you do once we reach the Northern Water Tribe? Follow Zhao and then snatch the Avatar from under his nose?"

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid, Uncle? I can take him one on one, but not if there are other men to back him up. Plus, there will be waterbenders surrounding us." Zuko crossed his arms. "Maybe I can take one of the smaller boats, and find a way to sneak in before the invasion."

"Hmm. That will be difficult if we reach them in the middle of the day. Zhao would want to launch an attack immediately."

"And what if we don't? What if we reach the Tribe at night? We both know Zhao would never give them the advantage of the moon's protection." Zuko simply shrugged.

"But you might have to swim. Don't you know how dangerous that could be for a firebender, swimming in those waters in the cover of darkness? If you are not careful your inner fire will burn out and you will be frozen in a matter of seconds."

The banished prince was growing impatient the more Iroh questioned his motives.

"Why are you so concerned about all of this, Uncle? You said yourself I have good bloodlines from both of my parents. Combine that with the very fact I'm royalty means my inner fire has a few extra boosts. So long as I'm not under for more than five minutes then I'll be safe."

"Because I need you to take this plan seriously, Prince Zuko! Think about what you'll be doing, the risks that you will take. Will all of that be worth it, when you capture the Avatar?" Iroh nearly stormed.

Zuko flinched back, not expecting anger. Uncle was never one to be furious in front of him, let alone at him.

"You certainly had no qualms when I brought those pirates in to help set a trap for the Avatar!"

"Those same pirates destroyed our ship! They nearly took you away from me, Zuko. I cannot, and will not lose another son!" Tears threatened at the corner of Uncle's eyes. He closed them, taking in a deep breath to calm down.

…Ah. So that was the reason why Uncle has been overprotective. Zuko bit his lip before continuing.

"But Uncle, I can take care of myself just fine. And besides, it's not like I'm going to be caught between a net and drowning once we reach the North Pole. I'll find a way inside. I'm really good at sneaking, you know this."

Infiltrating a stronghold had been easy. Getting out nearly cost him an arrow in the head. For some reason or another the Avatar didn't leave him behind when it was time to run. Perhaps it was his way of repaying Zuko for rescuing him at all.

Maybe this time he'll get lucky.

'Right. Since when did luck ever shine on me in the first place?' Zuko thought bitterly.

Iroh sighed deeply. "Nephew, I just want you to be careful. There's no telling what Zhao might plan for the invasion. He shows a confidence I do not particularly like. He may have a plan that completely throws everyone off."

Or destroys everyone around him. Zuko understood the hint in his Uncle's words.

"All right. So I'll be extra careful this time. I promise, Uncle."

Iroh could only nod. In his mind he wondered what Zuko meant by this time.

=3=

The next day the prince greeted daylight in overcoming the small fever the night before. It still hurt to walk around with his ankle, but with a binding from Akio, supposedly a family trade secret to cure rope burns, Zuko was able to put weight on his left foot. He couldn't walk very far, and he often needed to stop and sit down.

When Zuko took a better examination of his binding, he found that the bindings were merely seaweed. At first he was stumped. How could something so simple work wonders on the rope pain? When he felt over the seaweed, however, his fingers felt some sort of balm substance that held the seaweed together. And at the same time it seemed to be the secret to easing the pain.

Akio had seen what he was doing and quickly scolded Zuko on not to touch. Iroh watched the scene with amusement, inwardly laughing at how flustered his nephew appeared. But he had to agree with the fisherman about not messing with the binding or else it would all come apart.

At early morning of that day the pair of firebenders gave their final thanks to the fisherman and his son before setting off towards Zhao's ship, which happened to be in the next town. How convenient, Zuko thought, that Zhao would be far enough he wouldn't be a suspect in his ship's destruction. Yet at the same time he was near enough to hear the news of the prince's untimely death.

'I bet he was laughing like a fool when he saw the smoke rise up.' Zuko wanted to burn something, particularly Zhao, at the mere mental image.

Soon, he told himself. Soon he will make the admiral pay for taking away his crew and then had the audacity to destroy his ship.

Meanwhile, it had been easy for them to take some poor bloke with the Fire Navy Armor, take the armor and Zuko assumed the identity of Officer Chen Chan. The real officer, well, Uncle had the bright idea of leaving the man with the town's healer, claiming he has some sort of amnesia and has taken Chen Chan's (Zuko) identity as his own.

It was either leave the guy stranded in the woods with nothing but a loin cloth, or put him some place warm and a roof over his head.

Uncle could be a little too forgiving, Zuko often thought. But at the least the healer would keep an eye on the real officer, keeping him at bay until Zhao's ship left port. By then it would be too late for the officer to raise the alarm.

Then many twists and turns within the town's market later, Zhao greeted them personally as they boarded.

"Well, well, if it isn't General Iroh. I assume you have come to take up my offer? Oh, and I am deeply sorry about your nephew. The news arrived to me yesterday morning." The admiral didn't seem all that sorry, but Iroh took the blatant insult with grace.

"Yes. Seeing as how I cannot be of anywhere else, I thought it would be nice to come back from my retirement."

"With you with us in the invasion, things should go rather smoothly. It is a pleasure to fight alongside the Dragon of the West." Zhao turned to Zuko, curiously. "And who is this?"

Zuko, gritting his teeth, saluted the admiral. "Officer Cheng Chan, sir."

"He has been kind enough to escort me here, since I did not know my way around this lovely little place." Iroh glanced at the busy town. "This is a thriving community, despite the one hundred year war. I can see why you have made a stop port here, comparing this to the one I had been previously."

Zhao took the bait of Iroh's praise and completely turned a blind eye to the officer accompanying Iroh.

"Yes, I had thought so too. With a large market place I knew it would have all the supplies we need for this invasion." The admiral smiled in a way that made them shudder. "Would you care to hear my plans of how we will conquer the Northern Water Tribe? It would be a great to have your insight on what we have so far."

"It will be a pleasure. And perhaps I can make us some tea while we're at it? I hope you have good tea leaves on board." Iroh smiled on the outside.

But inside, Zuko knew his uncle wanted nothing more to do with the man who tried to murder him.

=3=

Being on a ship that was moving instead of docked some little run down village almost put Zuko at ease. Although Zhao's ship was larger, it moved the same as the Wani had. Smooth over the waves and the low hum of the engines vibrating and echoing through the metal walls.

It was these sounds and tingling under his feet that helped him bear through the day. The humming calmed him enough he wouldn't step out of line and do something stupid. And at night the hum lulled him into a dreamless sleep. In a way this was all Zuko could latch on to in order to remain anonymous.

And when he had time to think, Zuko often compared the differences of this ship and the Wani.

His ship may have been small, but she was excellent at turning sharply at a moment's notice. This ship, however, was too big and heavy to attempt such a maneuver without capsizing. Although it is fast, a large chunk of metal can only do so much.

But the one perk this ship had for being big, was the waves pushing against the hull weren't as effective compared to a smaller ship. Zuko was rather grateful for this, otherwise he would have limped around doing whatever chore he was given. If he limped, everyone would ask questions.

And Zuko was a terrible liar. Anyone would notice this immediately. Once suspicions are planted and spread it wouldn't be too hard to be noticed by Admiral Zhao. Who happened to be the last person Zuko ever wanted to answer questions to.

Each night he would sit on his bed, lightly feeling over his bindings. He had been told he could take them off if the balm and seaweed dried. Thus far the seaweed was mostly dry, but the smooth balm was still wet to his fingers.

Whatever this balm was, it was doing wonders. On the day the Northing Tribe has been sighted, Zuko could walk around without worry of limping. He learned Zhao's first stage of his plan was to draw out the Avatar, hopefully to capture and detain him, and then proceed to invade.

Well, he did draw out the monk. But that was all that had been done other than losing a bunch of ships and men.

When night fell, Zhao ordered all ships to anchor, to wait out the night. This was Zuko's chance. It was now or never.

Carefully Zuko sneaked away to rendezvous where Uncle had told him earlier that afternoon.

'Agni, this will be either really stupid or a desperate enough plan that might actually work.'

=3=

Iroh had every reason to object his nephew's leaving. He had every right to put a stop to this stupid idea and make Zuko accept the plan of just cornering the Avatar during the invasion the next morning.

Alas, he could not even raise a finger in this situation. If he caused a scene now, people will see his nephew without the disguise they had so carefully planned out to keep him safe. Honestly, the old general wondered just where Zuko's stubbornness came from and why it seemed to be a bottomless pit.

Even if he convinced his nephew to go with the safest plan, it did not mean it was the sure way to go. A lot can happen in a battle. Zhao or any of his other men may end the Avatar's life unintentionally, and thus all of their work coming along with this useless invasion would be all for naught.

Strategically, it was best to capture the Avatar before anything goes wrong. If both Zuko and the Air Nomad survive, and there was almost nothing left of Zhao's army or the Northern Water Tribe, at least there will still be hope for the world. So long as his nephew did not lose his temper, anyway.

So, Iroh watched his nephew leave on the little boat and into the mist. Of all the years of perfecting the image of a royal prince and leader of an entire army, he did not feel he succeeded in hiding away all of his worries from his expression. Not when Zuko cast him one last fleeting glance.

A little later Iroh still had difficulty masking his inner conflict. He was merely grateful he and Zhao were alone on deck so he could stand a foot or two behind the admiral. Iroh's relief was short lived, however.

"General Iroh. I have a plan that I could not foretell in front of the others. Now that we are alone, and the Northern Water Tribe within our sights, I want to tell you how I am going to defeat them."

Arrogant, power hungry worm, Iroh thought to himself.

"You sound as if the battle has already happened and over. War is unpredictable, and not everything will go as you plan." The old general gently advised while his mind was not really into the conversation.

"Yes, but do you know why I was promoted to being Admiral in the first place?" Zhao half turned to sneer.

"I know my brother chooses well for men of high positions in the army. Particularly those who share the same goals as he does." Iroh merely shrugged off.

In his mind, however, the old general was wondering where all of this was going. Why would this man, who attempted to murder his nephew and nearly succeeded, bring this up at all? Something was brewing in Iroh's belly in response to this strange conversation.

And no, it had nothing to do with indigestion. Or at least he hoped that was not the case.

"You see, a few months back, I visited Wan Shi Tong's library. I was in search for something, anything to defeat the Northern Water Tribe, as they have taken their stand for far too long. Since the Earth Kingdom was a failure, I thought it was best to conquer the North, and then proceed with the last remaining nation."

"A well thought plan." Iroh nodded. He could not help but agree to this logic.

"Anyway, as I was searching through all that there was concerning Water Tribes, I stumbled across an ancient scroll that briefly mentions the Moon Spirit."

Zhao seemed to be glowering at his own discovery, as if it was something of great importance.

'This cannot be good. If he found something about the Moon Spirit…' Internally, Iroh was growing more and more concerned.

"This scroll hints that the Moon and Ocean Spirits have taken a living form in our world. I care nothing of the Ocean Spirit, but the Moon Spirit, I had a revelation. Since the tribes are children of the Moon, why not take away their source of bending?"

Iroh almost dropped dead at the inquiry.

"Are you suggesting that you are going to slay the Moon Spirit?"

Zhao turned to face him with a broad, crooked smile. It was a smile the old general, had he been any younger, would have left him quaking in his boots.

'Oh, Spirits. I should not have let Zuko go.'

=3=

'Well, this obviously backfired at my face. Again.' Was Zuko's first thought when he awoke, tied up by his own rope, on the saddle of the Sky Bison.

He succeeded in capturing the Avatar, which had been surprisingly easy, but the Spirits just loved to mess with him. Now with the addition of a sore ankle, probably due to carrying the weight of the monk, Zuko had a throbbing headache.

'When I get the chance I'll knock Sokka's boomerang at his head and see how he likes it.'

He could vaguely hear his uncle's voice, trying to convince Zhao not to go along with whatever he was doing. The Avatar was pleading while the Water Tribe siblings threatened Zhao what would happen if he succeeded.

Whatever was going on, Zuko knew now was not the time to catch up. He managed to free himself from his hold before peeking over the saddle to assess his surroundings.

He recognized they were back in the little cave he found the monk meditating earlier. Near the pond Zhao stood holding a bag with something squirming inside. Zuko could just make out the outline of a fish inside it from his view.

What struck him odd was the sight of a dagger in the admiral's free hand pointing at his prize.

As much as Zuko wished to help Uncle, he was not in the best position to fight. Not with this headache. He could just barely think straight through all the pain and nausea. Zuko was beginning to suspect he had a concussion.

Likely he wouldn't have another chance to escape Zuko carefully slipped over on the bison's other side, away from the sight of the others. His landing was a little awkward, for he could barely get a grip through the thick fur to guide his way down.

Unfortunately he misjudged the distance halfway down and let go. The pain and the rubbing of his ankle meeting fabric told him his bindings somehow came undone. It took every ounce of his control not to make a pained sound at the fall.

He could hear someone screaming, and then color faded into shades of grey, white, and black. At the same moment, Zuko's heart lurched, seemingly jumped up to his throat and then quickly sank down to his stomach. He couldn't hold back the cough in response to the pain.

Stumbling on wobbly legs Zuko made a break for the exit, not bothering to care if anyone saw him or not.

When he reached the outside, Zuko stopped to watch the confusion, and felt even more confused himself. Waterbenders couldn't bend, and Agni, he couldn't believe his eyes, but the Fire Nation was actually winning.

But why couldn't the waterbenders bend their element? He looked up to the moon, and saw it glow crimson red.

'Zhao killed the Moon Spirit. Was this why he was so confident about the whole invasion in the first place?'

Speak of the devil. Zuko saw the man most likely responsible running from the corner of his eye. Something inside the former prince broke. He seethed with so much anger, he ran after the admiral. He couldn't even feel the pain or paid any mind to the dizziness of running.

Finally he caught up to the man on a bridge, yelling out his name with a roar.

Zhao turned then froze, as if he was face to face with a living ghost. He might as well be.

"You…you're alive? But how in the world did you survive?"

"You took my crew, destroyed my ship, and now you've taken the life of the Moon Spirit. Zhao, you have gone too far!" Zuko launched a few fire punches and a swirl of low kicks.

Zhao's eyes widened at the sight of blue and orange flames, the colors dancing around each other as they made their way towards him. He barely had time to dodge or summon his own flame to deflect the oncoming fire.

The young prince was about to launch another set of flames when a strange, watery glowing hand rose from the water under the bridge. He felt it's presence before he saw it, and quickly ducked in time as the hand passed over him to grab for Zhao.

Water blue fingers ensnared the admiral in a strong grip no amount of struggling could help. Zuko watched, puzzled, as the hand lowered back into the water.

Realization hit him. With a sudden act of kindness, Zuko ran to the edge of the bridge, holding out his hand to reach out.

"Take my hand!"

Surprise filled Zhao's eyes. Then there was a grim expression, one of defeat. The admiral accepted his fate.

Zuko could only watch as the man disappeared into the depths. He could not move from this spot, for he was not fully able to grasp what he had just witnessed. A hand touched his shoulder, bringing him back to the present.

"Let's go, nephew."

Zuko could only nod and follow his uncle's lead. Together they ran towards one of the holes the Navy Ships had drilled through the outer wall. Now and then they deflected any attempts of waterbenders preventing them from escape.

It took until this moment for Zuko to realize two things at once.

One, the moon was no longer red. Somehow or another, the Moon Spirit was revived. Which would be a good thing, he supposed.

And two, they were the last remaining few firebenders around. All eyes of the tribe were focused on them, seeing as they knew his uncle happened to be a general. They did not seem to know who he was, but Zuko was not about to leave his Uncle.

"Zuko, go! I can take care of myself. You need to escape!" Iroh pressured, creating a wall of flame to stop an oncoming water slash.

"No! I'm staying with you. I will not lose you to become a captive of the tribe!" Zuko yelled back, sending a flame kick at his uncle's attacker.

'For once, I wish you were not so stubborn, nephew.' Iroh mentally sighed.

Suddenly they were surrounded. The firebending pair stood back to back, tense and ready to strike or defend if needed.

"The old man's the general!" One warrior shouted.

"But what about the pup he's got with him? Who is he and why is he not dressed in the Fire Nation armor?" Another pondered.

"Who cares? Let's just end them. The general is better off dead! He is Fire Nation!"

Zuko snarled at the words. He turned to the man who said them with a deathly glare.

"You dare harm my uncle, and I will be sure to send you to the Spirit World before you cry 'Wolf'!"

Cries of alarm echoed around the Fire Nation princes. Apparently they did not perceive their cornered enemies as threatening, or that they were kin. It was more surprising at how the youngest of the pair would act on his threat.

Not all hesitated and considered the warning. The man who threatened Iroh launched several ice spikes before anyone could stop him. Zuko easily deflected them, but he had not realized he was not the target until he heard a gasp behind him.

He turned to see a spike that had pierced his uncle's right shoulder. Iroh doubled over in pain as he carefully pulled it out. The attack had pierced through his thick armor, luckily only the thinnest part of the spike had torn his flesh. But he was bleeding and try as he might to put pressure on the wound, the blood wouldn't slow down. His breathing grew heavier and labored with each passing moment.

Zuko lost it.

With a deafening roar he launched a fury of attacks at the warriors surrounding them. The flames were of all colors, a beautiful sight if it wasn't so dangerous. The attacks dispersed the men as they quickly shielded behind frozen water the waterbenders put up.

During the confusion the one who attacked Iroh was left alone. Without hesitation Zuko inhaled, then roared once more. This time his breath was fire!

The warrior screamed in terror as he dropped down to roll on the ice. Other warriors began to attack Zuko with all their might. But the prince was not in control of his mind or body.

Instincts drove him, drove him to fight and protect. Fight, drive off and kill any and all threats to his Uncle.

"Hey, pup! Calm down!"

"He's gone mad! How in the name of the Spirits are we going to calm him down!?"

"Quick! Someone fetch a healer! Maybe by healing his uncle, he will see we're not a threat!"

Zuko did not understand these words. Even if he could, he would not simply allow any waterbender anywhere near Iroh. He was too lost in his own anger, and the strong instinct to protect what little family he had left.

When the warriors realized this, they tried defensive tactics in hopes fatigue will slow Zuko down.

The adrenaline was flooding too fast through his veins. His inner fire was burning, and there was little he could do to stop it as it continued to flow through and spread.

A power surged through his entire body, Zuko could barely understand the colorful flames pulsating from him. He did not feel pain and his flames did not burn him. Instead they were cool to the touch. His inner fire was nearly burned out, but with a last push of energy Zuko calmed enough in his head he could actually think.

'Need flight, get Uncle away from the Tribe. Now.'

The Avatar stood a little ways in front of him, hands held up as he inched closer to him. Zuko was aware the boy was speaking. His mouth was moving but there was no sound. He could hear nothing but the sound of the flames engulfing his entire being. Even in this state Zuko had the sense not to attack the monk. The Avatar has allowed himself to be controlled by the Ocean Spirit and sent many Fire Nation men down to a watery grave when the focus should have been solely on Zhao.

Zuko roared and sent a purple white flame towards the chief, who happened to be standing not too far away from the boy. With this attack, he was left wide open. A healer came from his left, sneaking on his bad side.

Before the prince could react, her hands were covered with water and she placed them on either side of his head. Her touch was gentle and the water freezing cold against his heated skin.

Zuko could just barely hear his uncle's screaming when he was knocked out.

=3=

Death: Phew. Another long chapter. I'm not really used to this. I've been writing little snippets of each story I'm planning to update, and somehow this one finished before the others.

Yes, Zuko just breathed fire. In the entire series we have not seen him do anything like that. I kinda doubt at the beginning he could, at least not until he met the dragons Ran ad Shao. But he still did not breathe fire. I was sadly disappointed not to see him do that ;A; It would have been awesome.

So, I thought, why not? It's not everyday you get to see/read him pull something that amazing off.

And here's a little sneak peak I'm going to tell you guys, since its almost Halloween. All you Aang lovers, get ready! He's going to be the focus at the beginning of the next chapter instead of Iroh. We're going to see through his eyes what to make of Zuko's Rainbow Flames.

...Sorry, had to label it like that just once. Random Sokka moment there.

And now, please click the lovely review button my sweets~