A/N: I had always intended to stretch my timeline out a little more than the series does and I've realised that I needed to have started doing this back in chapter 1 (Banished). I apologize profusely for my inattention, I should have known better. Therefore some changes have been made to some but not all of the previous chapters, any changes in a chapter are summarized at the bottom of that chapter, so you don't have to read the whole thing again, and I'll list them all again here:

Hesan is now three weeks from the Fire Nation capital, not four days.

Manyu is now a week north of Hesan, not four days.

Western Air Temple is now three and a half weeks from Manyu, not a day and a half.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys make me so happy! Also thank you to people who are reading and don't review, you guys are cool too! Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I have no idea why but it has just been so difficult to write. Also life.

Thanks go to ArrayePL this chapter, your PM is what finally made me push through this block. Thanks for the encouragement!

It was early afternoon when the ship finally weighed anchor just off the coast of the large island that held the old Air Nomad lands and the Western Air Temple. Zuko watched them approach from the balcony near the helm, which was quickly becoming his favourite spot on the ship. Nobody really came up this far except Helmsman Liu, Lieutenant Jee and himself. Because of this it was a nice quiet spot to simply be alone, even the helmsman's nervous silence didn't bother him so much. It was preferable to the tense silence of the rest of the crew; whenever Zuko approached the men they would stop all conversation, eyeing him. The strange behavior had Zuko on edge and avoiding his crew.

Zuko had made his preparations the night before, a small bag of food, water and some useful supplies, and stowed them on the river steamer in preparation. He would have to make this journey alone - he didn't trust any of the men to come with them except maybe Jee, but he needed his lieutenant to stay here keep the ship under control. Much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't sure he could trust his crew and the looks they gave him on the rare occasion that he left his room certainly didn't reassure him.

With a final glance at the towering cliffs and peaks of the Western Air Temple, Zuko sighed and made his way down to the river steamer. The little boat was already hooked up to the winch, with Zheng and another engineer, Tachi, standing by waiting to lower it into the water.

It was only a few minutes boat trip to the coast. He was coming in to the beach at the low end of high tide, which meant that once the boat was beached, he wouldn't be able to move it himself until the tide rose again in about ten hours. This didn't worry him too much, he figured he would need a long time to arrive at, and thoroughly search the temple and he didn't want to be rushed.

The beach that Zuko had chosen was one of the few sandy coves available. It was on the south side of the island which was the closest to where Zuko's map told him the temple would be. Despite the close landing it would still take at least three hours to climb to the temple.

The path leading up from the beach was little more than a goat track through the dense jungle that covered the southern slope. As he walked, Zuko let his mind wander over the last four-and-a-bit weeks.

Despite the length of time they had been sailing, Zuko still didn't know the first thing about his crew. The only ones he'd ever really had a proper conversation with were the helmsman, and Jee, his lieutenant. This was mostly due to his habit of eating in his room and spending all his time either sitting in his room meditating, working in his office or standing on the helm's balcony.

He hadn't done any serious firebending on the three week journey, his bending was very unstable, some days he would be fine, others he would struggle to light his lamps. It was frustrating and embarrassing and he was afraid that his bending would cut out halfway through a training session, he wasn't sure what he would do if his crew saw that.

They already don't respect me. How much worse would things be if they knew that I couldn't even bend properly?

Zuko was startled from his grumpy musings when his foot caught in a root, tripping him and pitching him forward. He landed hard on the root-knotted ground, hands outstretched to break his fall. His left hand landed awkwardly, half-on-half-off a jutting root and pain flared in his wrist.

Zuko rolled onto his back and cradled his wrist to his chest, sucking air through his teeth, he lay on the jungle floor for several moments, seething. He had to have the worst luck in the history of the Fire Nation!

Hauling himself to his feet with his right hand, the left still pressed to his chest protectively, Zuko trudged forward once more. As he walked he prodded at his wrist; it was slightly swollen but it didn't hurt as much as he thought it should when he poked it so he supposed it probably wasn't broken. The heel of his palm was purple though, and a bit scraped up. Brushing the dirt away, Zuko fished out his waterskin and washed out the scrape, wrapping it in one of his spare bandages.

Worst. Luck. Ever. Jungles were notorious for their diseases, and Zuko had gone and cut himself.

Oh well done Zu-zu! The voice in his head, mocking him, sounded uncannily like Azula. Won't that look good then, coming back to Lt. Jee, delirious with some disgusting jungle fever. 'What happened Prince Zuko?' he'll say, 'Oh nothing lieutenant, I just tripped over my own enormous feet!' Urgh.

Caught up in his own imagination, Zuko barely noticed as he broke the tree line, emerging onto a plateau at about the elevation of the temple. He'd been walking for nearly two hours so far and the sun was starting to cool off as the day moved towards evening.

The trip across the plateau was uneventful, if tedious. There was no shade and even the late afternoon sun was starting to take its toll. Zuko felt weak and ill, but it wasn't as bad as the day he collapsed on the dock so he kept trudging.

When he finally reached the Western Air Temple he almost didn't realize it. He arrived at the edge of the cliff tired, thirsty and hot and spent several moments staring across the chasm blankly before he remembered what his maps had said.

Blinking himself out of his stupor, Zuko started fishing in his pack. A few moments later he was tying off a length of rope to one of the sturdier looking trees. His knotwork wasn't fantastic, but he was pretty sure it wasn't going to give way. A little giddy, he took hold of the rope, wrapping it around himself for rappelling, and stepped off the cliff.

It was hard work and Zuko's hands were slick with sweat by the time he got his first look at the temple. The annotations on his map had not done it justice, this place was truly bizarre.

The temple was composed of several towers, suspended upside-down from the underside of the cliff. It was almost vertigo inducing. Sliding further down the rope to get a good arc, Zuko adjusted his grip and began to swing. He needed enough momentum to reach one of the tower ledges. He hadn't picked the worst spot, but he hadn't picked the easiest either: the nearest shelf was about ten feet away.

After he had built up his momentum, Zuko waited until he was at the top of his arc and then let go. As the ledge sped towards him, Zuko wrapped his arms around his head protectively. When he landed, it was on his side. He slid several feet across the stone, tumbling painfully.

Grimly, Zuko picked himself up. His rope was swinging gently off the edge of the platform, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve from this level, but higher up where he hadn't been able to get an arc to swing, it was much closer, he'd leave from there.

Leaving himself enough time to return to his boat for high tide gave Zuko four hours to search. The temple was composed of several towers, suspended upside down from the roof of the canyon, as well as a network of tunnels and balconies worked into the stone of the canyon wall. It was difficult to see from where he stood how the towers might be connected and Zuko decided to search the tunnels first.

As he was walking through the temple, Zuko couldn't shake a pervading feeling of uneasiness. It wasn't until he was about to leave the open spaces for the tunnels that he realized why he was so uncomfortable.

Where are the training grounds? The military complexes? These buildings just look like houses.

Zuko had learned all his life about the Air Nomad armies, about how Sozin defeated them with the help of the comet. He had been expecting to see some evidence of the battle here, but there was nothing. No weapons, though surely not all the Nomads were benders? No training spaces or practice yards big enough to hold more than a handful. It was strange.

Maybe it's all in the tunnels. That wouldn't make much tactical sense... but they did lose right? Maybe they just weren't very good.

Searching the tunnels took Zuko several hours. The whole temple was unnervingly deserted. The only sign that anything had happened here were scorch marks on the walls and floors of some of the buildings. There were no weapons or armour left, no forlorn skeletons, never put to rest. It was as though the temple had been cleaned. The thought was both unnerving and slightly exhilarating.

Who could have cleaned this place, but the Avatar? He must have come here and laid the soldiers who died to rest.

With an hour to spare before he needed to head back to the river steamer, Zuko decided to search some of the larger buildings, just in case there was something else he could learn. The first building he chose to search through was the one nearest his rope, as he didn't know how long it would take.

Searching the building was much more difficult than searching the tunnels, there were many rooms, and they were tiny. In fact, now that he really thought about it, everything was tiny. All the furniture in these rooms was in miniature. Like children's rooms.

The thought was slightly unnerving.

In the next room he came to, Zuko noticed something. Underneath the shelf bed was a small, faded scrap of orange fabric. Ducking down to check under the bed, Zuko recoiled with shock.

Curled up under the bed was the tiny, desiccated form of a child.

Pressed against the opposite wall, Zuko couldn't move. Suddenly he understood what should have been so obvious from the beginning.

He had always been told of the Air Nomad armies, but the Air Temples were just that, temples. It had never occurred to him that this, as well as the fact that there were no Air Nomads left meant that it wasn't just the armies that Firelord Sozin had destroyed. Children had died.

Firelord Sozin hadn't just defeated an army, he'd slaughtered a people.

It was so obvious, when you thought about it. But nobody did. He certainly hadn't. Zuko felt a cold steal thought his limbs, creeping up his spine. For the first time in his life he was... ashamed. Of his people, of what they had done.

Night had well and truly fallen by the time Zuko was able to move from his place in that room. He stood, stiffly and made his way to the rope. He had only just enough time to make the trip back to his boat.

The climb was difficult and dangerous, but for Zuko it passed in a numb blur. He had always been so sure, so confident in his nation's' rightness, in the justice of the war. War was ugly, people died and land was burned, it was not glorious. But it was honorable, to fight for your nation.

There was nothing honorable in the slaughter of children.

As Zuko made his way down to the boat, he wondered if his father knew, if his uncle did, and what they thought of this.

When Zuko reached his river steamer the tide was high under the moonlight. He could see the lights of his ship in the distance, and felt himself relax slightly, though he hadn't been aware of the tension.

Zuko pushed the steamer into the water and lit the lights on board. As he made his way toward the ship he heard them preparing for his arrival. The engineers, Tachi and Zheng were waiting to winch his boat on board when Zuko maneuvered around to the rear of the ship and he was so relieved to be back on board his ship, where things made sense, that he actually smiled at them. Just a little bit.

When his boat was secured, Zuko wearily ascended the tower to his room and, locking the door behind him, collapsed onto his bed without even removing his armour.

Jee hadn't been on duty when Zuko returned last night. It was something of a pity; he'd heard from Zheng that the prince had actually smiled when he came on board. Jee wasn't too upset though, he'd been pleasantly sleeping and a few hours of decent shut eye were worth missing one of the prince's rare good moods.

Despite the prince's obvious misgivings, the crew had been perfectly well behaved while he was gone. Unfortunately for him, Jee suspected that this was because he was gone.

It's not that the crew were hostile towards the prince, they were just dangerously indifferent. It was obvious why; Zuko never joined them for meals, he never visited the mess hall, he barely made an appearance on deck. In fact the only crew members who even saw him on a regular basis were Liu, the helmsman, and Wei, the old man who brought him his meals.

Jee honestly didn't have any idea why the prince was acting like this. He'd had terrible captains before, but never so uninvolved, it was bizarre. Every commander to come out of the Caldera seemed to be the same: micromanaging dictators who seemed to get off on ordering people around. The prince, whom he had expected to personify the current doctrine, was pretty much the opposite.

Well, that isn't entirely accurate. When he is around he manages to bark orders like the rest of them.

Frowning, he made his way to the helm. Liu was looking tense at his post and as Jee looked around, he spotted the prince standing at the railings. Their course had turned south this morning, toward the small island that Zuko had ordered them to visit. The line of the prince's shoulder was taut and he was gazing out over the ocean as though he were trying to see all the way to the island, or perhaps the Fire Nation beyond it.

Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Jee addressed the prince, "We're making good time, Prince Zuko. We should reach the island in just under a week."

Zuko turned to face him, wearily. He looked like hell, his bandage was spotted with blood near the centre and his other eye was bloodshot, with a shadow underneath it that suggested that the prince had not had a good night.

So much for that good mood.

"Have the engineers prepare the river boat for another excursion. I want to search this island for signs of the Avatar." The prince turned away again, looking out across the ocean, "If I find no sign of him there then we travel north."

Jee stood silently for a few minutes, just watching the prince. The tension never left him and eventually the boy turned and made his way back to his room. Jee grimaced, he didn't know what the boy did in there all day, and frankly, he didn't really want to know either.

Raising an eyebrow he watched Liu visibly relax with the absence of their captain, the nervous man turned and gave Jee a woeful look, "Did you hear that? North. This quest of his is going to get us all killed."

Jee palmed his forehead, sliding his hand down his face he closed his eyes and sighed, "I'll talk to him. Maybe it's only as far as Yu Dao."

The week spent traveling to the island was not a pleasant one for Zuko. He had so much to think about and he wasn't sure he was the right person to be working everything out. Zuko knew that he wasn't very clever and he was afraid of twisting himself up in some false thinking and getting everything wrong.

There was no one else here though. The people Zuko turned to when he was confused were all gone. Biting the inside of his cheek Zuko struggled to master his emotions. He was so, so lonely. Lonely and confused. He missed his uncle, whom he felt he could have asked about all of this, and he missed Mai, who was probably his only real friend. They didn't really talk about things but just being around somebody who wasn't judging him, who didn't have any expectations of him, was very comforting. He missed Mai for another reason too. It was kind of embarrassing to admit, even to himself, but Mai was really pretty. He hoped he could see her again soon.

Everything wasn't completely hopeless though, somebody had definitely been to the Western Air Temple and Zuko was sure it was the Avatar. Who else would have gone to all the trouble of putting the dead to rest, but be such a small group that there was no other sign of their being there?

LINE

The island turned out to be entirely ringed by cliffs. Zuko ordered that they search the coast for anywhere suitable to land his steamer and a few hours later Liu spotted a river, the prince would be able to take his boat up the river until he found a landing site.

Jee was left again to look after the ship.

With the prince's apparent lack of interest in his crew he had started a bit of a patrol, from one end of the ship to the other, stopping to chat with everyone to make sure things were going well. It was as well that he did because things were not at all well. For the past few weeks Jee had been hearing grumblings from certain members of the crew, Mung chief amongst them.

It was a frustrating situation: there was nothing conclusive that he could deal with and Jee could only hope that he would have time to intervene when things became serious. The last thing he needed was for Zuko to hear about this. After the last time, there's no telling what he might do.

Zuko steamed his way upriver for an hour and a half before the river became too narrow. The island was a dense jungle, surrounding a volcanic cone. If there was anyone living on the island, chances are they were in the cone.

Following the river was the only viable option, the jungle on this island was much thicker than than the one surrounding the Western Air Temple. However it's clogged channels soon became too narrow and Zuko was forced to proceed on foot.

Underneath the dense canopy the air was was hot and humid, filled with the shrieks of animals and the stench of decaying plant matter.

Zuko picked his way carefully through the morass for several hours. He hadn't brought anything weapons other than his uncle's knife and his firebending, and the vines were proving a serious challenge to just the knife.

The ground was rising steadily as Zuko pressed on, the vegetation slowly thinning as he approached the outer edge of the volcanic cone. The slope of the cone was heavily eroded and Zuko had to climb slowly, checking every foothold carefully.

Cresting the lip of the cone Zuko was startled to see what looked like the ruins of a whole civilization. Taking a deep breath, he began his descent into the the caldera.

The Sun Warriors! Of course! I knew they were supposed to have occupied the Fire Nation Islands thousands of years ago. I didn't know there were any ruins left though, not like this! It's huge!

The path down to the city lead Zuko to what looked like the main thoroughfare. A wide avenue, walled and lined with buildings, but no side streets. The steep walls and lack of escape routes set Zuko on edge, the only other place he'd seen such a set up was the formal entrance to the Capital City's docks, a defile, crafted with guard towers and crossbows that would rain death on any invading force.

There's most likely nobody here, but if there is there's no need to make things easy for them.

Picking one of the side streets, lined with low-roofed buildings and plenty of turn-offs, Zuko began his search.

When he was on the ridge, Zuko was able to get a sense of the scale of this place. Most of the construction was open plazas. There were ziggurats as well, each with a single large doorway, these would have to be checked, but aside from that there was very little that required more than a cursory search.

Checking the ziggurats on the western half of the city took Zuko most of the day. They were all empty with no traces of habitation. Slightly disgruntled at the apparent waste of time, Zuko made his way to the eastern side, skirting the large temple in the centre. He would check that last.

As Zuko prepared to enter the first ziggurat on the eastern side he heard something. Freezing , straining to hear, Zuko dropped into a firebending stance.

There!

Footsteps, at least three sets, coming from around the other side of the building.

Slowly, carefully, Zuko positioned himself. Opposite side of the doorway that they'd approach from, a clear avenue of escape to his right. Unless he was flanked and they were just too far for him to hear them.

Damn it.

Catching movement at the corner of the building Zuko stepped forward quickly. He thrust two fists towards the figure shooting out a massive fireball. To his surprise the man pushed his hands forward and guided the fire to either side, dissipating the force of the attack.

Firebenders!

The man was olive-skinned and dressed strangely in red, gathered pants with a yellow sash. He was bare-chested save for a wrap over his shoulders, and bare-footed. His head was shaved with a ponytail and he wore a cloth headband.

As Zuko stared in shock at the man his companions caught up. The three of them were all dressed similarly and none were armed.

The first man dropped into an unfamiliar stance, one palm cocked forward. "Who are you? What do you want with the Sun Warriors?"

"I overheard Jee telling Liu that we're heading north after this. Captain's orders." Mung looked around at his companions, Ryu and Shiro. Hyo was still on duty, but he'd speak to him later.

"North? How far, just to the colonies or up into the North Sea?" Shiro made a pained face, "We're one little ship, what does he think we can do in the North?"

Mung leaned forward conspiratorially, "When's the last time any of you have seen a hawk hmm? Where's he getting his orders from, cause it sure isn't from a communication tower. I haven't seen a single hawk land on this ship since we left Hesan and there aren't any aboard either."

Ryu glanced around nervously, the mess wasn't quite empty but nobody was paying their group any attention, "What are you trying to say? He's the prince! You think what? That he's gone rogue? That's ridiculous."

"Hey, I ain't saying anything. Just stating facts. I don't know why there's no hawks. Just know that there aren't any. That's all." Mung stood and gave an exaggerated stretch, "Ain't nothing wrong with just stating facts."

The Sun Warrior chieftain was a large man, he wore the same primitive outfit as his people with the addition of a cape over his shoulders, very similar to that worn during an Agni Kai, and a large headdress of white feathers. His face was painted and he carried a long staff topped with a seven pointed flame.

The warriors who presented Zuko to their chieftain bowed low but Zuko remained standing, he was a prince, he bowed to no one but his father.

The large man stared at Zuko for a long time. Nobody moved and Zuko didn't blink. Finally the man made a dismissive motion with one hand, "Leave us."

Glancing at each other, the warriors dispersed and Zuko was left alone with the chief at the top of the central ziggurat. An ornate fireplace dominated the small space, the roaring fire reminiscent of the fire sages' temples.

The chieftain spent a long time studying Zuko, paying particular attention to his armour and the bandages covering the left half of his face. The scrutiny was making Zuko uncomfortable, and he had to struggle not to fidget.

"So." The big man began, stepping forward to place himself in Zuko's personal space, "What does the Prince of the Fire Nation want with the Sun Warriors... hmm?"

Squaring himself, Zuko looked the man solidly in the eye, "I'm searching for sign of the Avatar. I know he was at the Western Air Temple, not far from here. If you have seen him or have any knowledge of his whereabouts you will tell me."

The chieftain stared for a few moments then threw his head back and laughed, startled, Zuko took an involuntary step back. Then he bristled and stepped forward again, fists balled, "What do you know? Tell me! Where is the Avatar?"

Eyes narrowing, the Sun Warrior Chief crossed his arms, "I know nothing of the Avatar. No avatar has visited the Sun Warriors in my lifetime or my fathers. There is nothing for you here Prince. Go home."

Zuko recoiled as if slapped. Shock and anger chasing each other across his face, he didn't think, just reacted. Drawing on his anger, shame and fear he swung and arm back, gathering a fistfull of fire. The flames leapt wild in his hand as he pushed his palm forward, sending a close-quarters fireball at the man.

The Chieftain startled momentarily, then stepped to one side and caught the prince's wrist. With a savage twist he forced Zuko to his knees.

"Foolish, you would attack me when you cannot even control your own bending?" The Chieftain's stare was too penetrating and Zuko had to look away. Kneeling on the floor of this ancient temple, his arm caught in the unyielding grip of a master firebender, one who saw everything he had been trying to hide for weeks, all Zuko could do is grit his teeth and wait.

The grip on his arm grew hot and Zuko prepared himself mentally for the searing pain he knew was coming.

Maybe a kick to the knee... twist hard and fast. Might get out before he can do any permanent damage.

With a sigh, the large man dropped the prince's arm, standing he took a step back then turned to face the roaring fire. His back turned, he spoke, "Did you know, little Prince, that a child's first source of firebending is wonder? A pure joy in the creative act. When we lose that joy, that innocence, we must find a new source for our fire."

Standing, Zuko took a step forward, "I don't know what you're.."

"Anger burns, yes, and it's easy, so easy to draw on." The Chief cut him off, "But anger is flawed."

Zuko crossed his arms and glared. The Chieftain turned to face the prince once more, "There are other sources of fire. Fire is life! And life burns, it strives and it is this quality that a firebender uses to make his fire."

Leaning forward, the Chief poked the prince in the chest, "Find a new source, Prince of the Fire Nation. Find something in you that burns." He leaned back and gave Zuko a sardonic look, "If you really intend to face the Avatar you're going to need something a bit more impressive than that fireball."

Zuko stood, rooted to the spot, he thought of his ship, where he and his lieutenant were the only firebenders. He thought of his aborted training, and of the prospect of facing the Avatar at his current level of skill. And here was a man, a master firebender, just giving away advice.

"Teach me." Zuko caught the man's eye and held his gaze, "I need to master firebending if I'm ever to capture the Avatar!"

The Chief looked the prince up and down, as if assessing his worth, "If you wish to master fire, you must learn from the masters Ran and Shaw. They will examine you. They'll read your heart, your soul, and your ancestry. If they deem you worthy, they'll teach you. If they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot."

A tight knot of anxiety settled in Zuko's gut. After everything he had seen at the Western Air Temple. All his doubts and fears. There was no way he was ready to be judged. A few weeks ago maybe, when he was still so sure in his country. In this war.

What if he was judged and found disloyal? How could he live with himself? What if his father found out that he had these doubts? That he wasn't the perfectly loyal son he should be? Stepping back, his arms held up as if to ward against attack, Zuko shook his head, "No... no... I... have to go. I can't stay here. No... I... I can't..."

Zuko fled.

Next Time: Zuko takes some advice and the crew head north.

A/N: Am I taking too long with a chapter? Are you confused about what's going on in the story? Bug me on tumblr at thesaucepear(.)tumblr(.)com!