(A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual. I've been busy lately, not to mention I had a bit of a writer's block. But I hope you like what I have.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 4: Reliving the Past

Riding elephant koi wasn't the only thing Zuko was learning. He was also learning about the strengths and weakness of the Water Tribe, and he was sharing that information with his father and Zhao.

He thought he was keeping a low profile, but he underestimated the abilities of a certain Earthbender. Toph was able to use her Earthbending to detect lying, and it didn't take her long to figure out what was going one with all the lies that were being told to keep her, Aang, and Iroh in the dark. But she was quick to inform them, and plans were quickly made.

Zuko returned one day to find his uncle and Aang packing bags. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Yes." Said Iroh. "We're moving to a warmer location. There's another base the foggy swamp a few miles from here?"

Aang's head snapped towards Iroh. "The foggy swamp with the ancient Banyan-Grove Tree?"

Iroh grinned. "That's the one."

Using his Airbending, Aang jumped ten feet in the air. "All right!" That's when he noticed the confused look on Zuko's face. "The legendary ancient tree that reveals the past, present, and future. You've heard of that?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Seeing the Banyan-Grove Tree for the first time was something Zuko would never forget. It was a very emotional moment for him, one that tended to repeat every time he went there.

While there was nothing all that special about the tree at first glance, other than it's massive size, it was the affect the tree had on people that made it so special. According to Iroh, time was merely an illusion here, and one tended to experience both the past, present, and future.

Though Zuko couldn't say what the others saw, he saw something that made his heart clench painfully. A beautiful middle-aged woman with long black hair, the top tied into a bun and held in place by the crown of the Fire Lady. She wore a smile on her face, yet it did not reach her eyes, indicating the sadness she hid behind her smile.

"Mother…" Zuko whispered.

Iroh glanced at the prince. "Something wrong, nephew?"

Distracted, Zuko turned to him, then looked back at his mother, but she was no longer there. "N-No… nothing."

Iroh didn't look convinced, but he let the subject drop. "Come, we should make camp."

"Finally, someplace warm." Mai commented. "I was sick of all the snow and ice."

Iroh smiled. "The humidity in the swamp and the trees trapping the heat is what keeps it warm."

"I didn't ask for a history lesson."

"Come on, Mai," said Aang, "just look around. Can't you feel the magic in this place?"

"Oh yes," she replied sarcastically, "it just fills my soul and gives me inexpressible joy."

Zuko rolled his eyes as he followed them. Like Mai, he didn't believe in magic. The thought of a tree being able to dissolve the barrier between time was absurd. So he had hallucinated his mother. Big deal. She'd been gone a long time, and he missed her terribly. So he had a daydream about her, end of story.

"Mother, want to see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?"

Zuko's head snapped in the direction of the voice and he stopped dead in his tracks. A young boy, a young him, completely scar-free, sat on Lady Ursa's lap in front of a pond. In the pond swam a mother turtle-duck and her turtle-ducklings, eating the pieces of bread Ursa and little Zuko had been tossing to them.

Young Zuko took the entire roll of bread and threw it as hard as he could at one of the baby turtle-ducks, earning a pained squeak from the baby.

"Zuko!" Ursa cried. "Why would you do that?"

The mother turtle-duck decided that scolding wasn't enough of a punishment. Quacking angrily, she swam up to young Zuko and bit him.

"Ow!" young Zuko cried. "Stupid turtle-duck!"

But Ursa gently consoled him. "That's what happens when you mess with a mother's babies. They bite you."

The illusion faded away, and the older Zuko realized that Mai was talking to him. "Hey, snap out of it. You're falling behind."

He blinked. "Oh, right, sorry."

But this wasn't the only time he saw such things. Later that day, he received another vision. This one wasn't a happy moment either.

"You'll never catch up." Azula told him.

He remembered this. His father had demanded to see the current Fire Lord, Azulon. The so-called child prodigy, Princess Azula, named after her grandfather, had just demonstrated her Firebending skills, and had found it necessary to taunt her less advanced little brother into making a fool out of himself.

Her plan worked as young Zuko demanded to show off his own skills, and failed miserably trying to match his sister. But his mother was there to console and praise him for trying.

The current Fire Lord, however, was less than pleased, unable to tolerate failure, and demanding why Ozai was wasting his time.

The vision had faded away after that, but Zuko would never forget what had happened. He, his mother, and sister had been ordered to leave while father and son spoke. But Azula had snuck away, dragging young Zuko with her to eavesdrop. They heard as Ozai made his case to Azulon, declaring that he should be Fire Lord rather than Iroh now that their cousin Lu Ten had died. This had sent Azulon into a rage that Ozai would suggest betraying his first born his right to the crown immediately after having lost his son.

Zuko had not stayed after that, but Azula had been more than happy to fill him in on what happened.

"Dad's going to kill you!" she said in a singsong voice. "Really, he is."

According to her, Azulon had decided that a fitting punishment for Ozai would be to know the pain of losing a son, demanding that he take Zuko's life. Of course, Zuko refused to believe such things, repeating his mantra of "Azula always lies". Yet in his heart he feared that this time she was being truthful.

He never did find out. Later that night, his mother had come to his room, telling him that she would always love him and that everything she was doing was for him.

That had been the last time he had seen her. The next morning, she was gone. On top of that, Azulon had mysteriously passed away in his sleep, and, as his last request, had named Ozai as the future Fire Lord.

Other visions had occurred while in the presence of the Banyan-Grove tree. Some of them were happy memories, but most were sad. And, to his horror, the worst memory of his life had come to him while here.

"Please, Father," 13-year old Zuko begged on his knees, "I meant no disrespect!"

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!"

Zuko shook his head to clear away the vision. He didn't want to relive that the worst memory of his life. He didn't need a vision to remind him of what had happened. He had a permanent reminder on his face.

Angrily, he turned to his uncle. "Tell me again why we have to stay at this accursed place."

Iroh glanced at him. "This place is not cursed. It's blessed by the gods."

"It's done nothing but bring up painful memories!" Zuko shouted.

Iroh shook his head. "No, it merely shows you what you need to see. Rather than looking at these visions, painful or not, in a negative way, look at them as a way to shape your future. Do that, and the Banyan-Grove Tree will show you what your future may have in store."

That wasn't what Zuko wanted to hear. "I know what my future has in store. I'm to reclaim my honor and take the throne."

Iroh sighed, but said nothing. 'If that is the future you want for yourself, then perhaps that is the reason why you are experiencing such painful memories once again.'

(A/N: An emotional chapter for Zuko. In case you were wondering, the Banyan-Grove Tree was supposed to be the substitute for the floating mountains. And I must say, it was hard trying to find something t take their place. Next chapter will get back to the main story, so stay tuned for that.)