Chapter 2: Confrontation
Fire Nation; Roku's island
After successfully slipping by the Fire Navy blockade again, Zuko finally reached the place where he believed he could find the solution to his problem. It had taken him days to get to the island where the last Avatar, Avatar Roku, had lived. This island was the place where he suspected his uncle was hiding out, likely high up on the slopes of one of the two volcanoes towering over the rest of the island.
Slowly, he made his way up the slopes, trusting his gut instinct to pick which volcano to check first. Zuko looked up to see how far he had left to go and his features darkened at the sight of the black snow falling down. Apparently there was a Fire Navy patrol nearby, which meant Zuko had to be even more careful - and which would slow down his progress even further - as he tried to avoid drawing any attention to him. At least he was already halfway to the top of the volcano, and he doubted the man he was looking for was that high onto the slopes.
Several minutes later, Zuko managed to make out a small plateau on the slopes, hidden from view from most directions. It would be the perfect hiding place, so, if his uncle was on the island, he had to be there. Speeding up a little, but still making sure he didn't draw attention, Zuko made his way to the plateau and was greeted by the sight of a blue and white tent.
Zuko took a moment, and a few deep breaths, before he entered the tent - a mostly empty tent. Zuko sank to his knees and screamed out in frustration. All of his hopes seemed to dissipate in that one brief second and the all too familiar feeling of failure returned to him. Part of him started wondering why nothing ever came easy to him, and why he always seemed to fail.
"Prince Zuko," a familiar voice sounded behind him. Zuko looked up and across his shoulder to see his uncle standing behind him. Immediately, he dropped his gaze and turned head again. Zuko could not imagine his uncle could be happy to see him, let alone forgive or help him. He merely waited for the inevitable moment his uncle would send him away.
Against all of his expectations, his uncle just walked past him and sat down opposite to him. "Would you like a cup of tea, nephew?" Iroh offered, but Zuko declined. He didn't even feel worthy of being in his uncle's presence, let alone share tea with him. Not that he expected he would be able to keep any tea down right now anyway. "Uncle…," Zuko began, "I... I need your help…"
