(Originally posted April 17, 2023 on AO3)

In the days following the Pohuai Stronghold escape, Aang felt much lighter, like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Iroh's health seemed to have improved greatly thanks to the frozen frogs, and Zuko had been smiling a lot more than usual.

Now that Iroh was feeling better (and was no longer deliriously challenging Momo to Agni Kais), the trio had finally been able to determine where exactly in the Earth Kingdom they had ended up. It turned out that they had overshot Bin-Er completely due to the storm, which Iroh had already deduced when Aang and Zuko had told him about their escape from Pohuai Stronghold. Additionally, Iroh had determined that they had been camping in the ruins of Taku, an Earth Kingdom city that had been sacked by Zuko's grandfather and Iroh's father, Fire Lord Azulon, decades prior.

Aang often wondered just how much more Iroh knew. He hadn't been angry when Zuko had told him that his uncle had known the truth about what Sozin had done all along, but he couldn't help but wonder why he had kept so much from both of them in the first place. He also found it odd that Iroh, who had clearly once been just as ruthless as his brother and predecessors, was now seemingly a wise and kind old man who was willingly helping the greatest threat to his nation. Aang tried not to dwell on this too much, but these thoughts were always in the back of his mind.

As they had already long passed Bin-Er and were still planning on traveling to the Western Air Temple, it was initially decided that the group would continue on straight west from the ruins of Taku as soon as Iroh had fully recovered. However, with Zhao and the Fire Nation now most likely scouring the entire northwestern region of the Earth Kingdom for any signs of Aang and his mysterious captor, Zuko had rightfully stressed the importance of leaving the area as soon as Iroh was well enough to travel. On top of that, the supplies they had gotten from Teo weeks ago had been nearly depleted, so the trio had no choice but to venture south, away from Taku, to find a place to restock that wasn't crawling with Fire Nation soldiers.

Thankfully, after a few days of flying and some careful scoping of the area, they settled on camping close to a mountainside village just northwest of the Great Divide. Iroh needed rest, as he had still not completely recovered, but Aang was holding out hope that he would be back to full health any day now.

Before they set off for the village, Zuko made sure that Aang remembered to wear his bamboo hat to cover his arrow. Aang didn't argue; he wouldn't make that mistake again. He tried not to beat himself up too much about what had happened at Pohuai Stronghold like he had after Kyoshi, but it was difficult not to, especially when he remembered that Zuko had risked so much to break him out of the fortress all by himself.

When the boys arrived at the village, Zuko made his way to the produce stand while Aang explored the rest of the small market area. "Look, Momo!" he said, pointing down towards an unfurled mat with several trinkets displayed upon it. "An ancient airbender pendant, just like the monks used to wear!" The lemur chirped in reply from where he sat on his shoulder.

"Ancient? A man traded it for medicinal herbs two days ago," the merchant, a man dressed in green fur-lined winter robes, said. "He was wearing it around his neck."

Aang's eyes widened, and he felt his heart leap in his chest. He knew it was dangerous to get too excited; it was very likely that the person who traded the pendant had simply found it in an old ruin. However, he could not resist the urge to cling to any shred of hope he could find. If even just one person had survived Sozin's attack, that would be enough.

"Did he tell you where he got it?" Aang asked eagerly. "Did he have more? What did he look like? Did he say where he's from?"

"He came from the high mountain," the merchant replied, pointing his thumb behind him. "Probably a traveler who got lost. No one from the nearby villages would go there. The mountain is sacred, full of flying spirits."

The mountains, Aang thought. If an airbender would be anywhere, it would be the mountains!

"Aang, are you done? We need to go!"

He blinked and shook his head as Zuko's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Coming!"

Zuko eyed Aang suspiciously as they trekked back to their campsite at the ruins. The Avatar had been strangely quiet since they had left the village, and he was becoming concerned. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Aang replied, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

"Are. You. Oh. Kay." Zuko enunciated monotonously. "You've just been abnormally quiet ever since we left the village. Not that I'm complaining, because usually you can't stop talking."

"It's nothing," Aang said, waving his hand absentmindedly.

Zuko stopped, eyes narrowing in slight annoyance. "That's it. I'm not taking another step until you tell me what's going on."

Aang stopped in front of him as well, and turned around. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... okay, so there was this guy selling some trinkets in the village. One of them was an Air Nomad pendant."

Zuko nodded slowly, eyes narrowing further. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "And?"

"The merchant said a man traded it to him two days ago."

Zuko's brow furrowed, and he let out a sigh. "Aang... that doesn't mean he was an airbender. He probably found it in a ruin or something. You should be careful about getting your hopes up. Remember what happened with the storyteller and the Northern Air Temple?"

"I know, I know," Aang sighed in exasperation, sounding ever-so-slightly irritated. "But it wouldn't hurt to at least try to look for him. The merchant said he lives somewhere in the tallest mountain to the north of that village!"

Zuko looked at Aang with a furrowed brow. Of course, he didn't want to crush the Avatar's hope. They were, after all, planning on travelling to the Western Air Temple next, much to Zuko's chagrin. And Aang, ever the optimist, refused to give up hope no matter how many times he and Iroh tried to convince him that they had already searched it and that it would likely be another dead end.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. How will you even find him? And I thought we were supposed to leave for the Western Air Temple as soon as uncle's better."

"Well, his cough is almost gone, but he was still sneezing when we left," Aang replied. "He probably won't be completely recovered for a few more days, tomorrow at the earliest."

Zuko sighed again, pinching his nose bridge. He wasn't going to be able to talk Aang out of this, was he? "Come on," he grumbled, pushing past his friend. "We'll talk to uncle about it when we get back to camp."

Aang huffed from where he laid curled up on Appa's legs. It was the middle of the night, but he just couldn't sleep.

He had been right earlier—while Iroh's cough had indeed subsided, he was still sneezing frequently when Aang and Zuko had returned from the village. Thankfully, much to Aang's relief, the old man had agreed that they all three could go look for the man who had traded the pendant as soon as he recovered. However, Iroh had also echoed his nephew's concerns about the lead not being much to go off of, and encouraged Aang not to get too excited.

He sighed and rolled over. They just don't get it. He understood their concerns, but he needed to look into this. He had to hold on to any scrap of hope he could find, no matter how minuscule.

What if the man who traded the pendant already moved on, or is about to? He thought anxiously. What if it takes several more days for Iroh to recover? If the man who traded the pendant is an Air Nomad, he wouldn't stay in one place too long. Especially with the Fire Nation being everywhere in this part of the Earth Kingdom. He knew he was beginning to spiral, but he couldn't stop his train of thought. What if I miss my chance? Or worse, what if the Fire Nation found him? What if he's...

He sat up abruptly, glancing over at the forms of Zuko and Iroh, who appeared to both be asleep next to the dying embers of the campfire. I may not get another chance if I don't go now...

He pushed himself up gently, shushing Momo when he heard a trill next to him. The lemur's wide olive green eyes seemed to bore into his soul, almost as if he knew what Aang was planning. He tiptoed over to grab his glider, and then away from camp. He looked back over his shoulder, already feeling slightly guilty. "I'm sorry, guys," he whispered. "I have to look into this. I'll be back before you'll even notice I'm gone. And I'll be careful this time."

He flicked open his glider, and took off into the night sky.

Maybe I should have just waited, he thought guiltily as he flew. But I just can't risk it. Besides, Zuko and Iroh both believe all the airbenders are gone, even though they still say they support me looking for survivors... Aang sighed. I won't give up hope. If there's one place airbenders could hide and live, it's mountains like these. I just have to hurry and cover as much ground as I can before going back.

Suddenly, he gasped as he spotted something on the mountainside below. He landed in front of the structure—a tiered monument with Air Nomad symbols etched into it—and grinned widely. "A stupa! Airbenders were here!"

He walked around to the other side of the stupa to peer down into a shallow gorge. His heart leapt again as he saw what looked to be some sort of cave dwelling. "Those caves look man made... and there's light down there! That means there's someone there now!" He quickly hopped down into the gorge, using airbending to speed up his descent.

He approached the doorway of the cave, peering inside. "Wow! This place is full of airbender stuff," he breathed in awe. He scanned the room, spotting a gong, a horn, a dorje, and many more seemingly authentic Air Nomad items.

At the back of the room, a person was seated in lotus pose facing a carving of an Air Nomad monk on the wall. They were surrounded by several bowls of burning incense, and they wore robes of orange and yellow.

Aang felt his heart beat even more intensely, tears stinging in his eyes as he became overcome with emotion. Could he have actually found another living airbender?

"Um... Excuse me?" he asked the person, voice soft. "Are you... I mean, do you live here? Do all these things belong to you?"

The person was silent for a long moment, then turned around slowly, removing their hood to reveal their face.

"What!?" Aang exclaimed, abruptly taking a step back and holding out his staff defensively in front of him. "The merchant?"

"Now! Get him!"

He whipped around to see a Fire Nation soldier enter swiftly through the stone doorway, tossing a heavy net over him. Aang tried unsuccessfully to deflect the net with his staff, and fell to the ground under its weight. A second soldier yanked away his staff, while a third and fourth got to work tying him up.

Aang stared down at the ground, a mix of anger and shame welling up in his chest. I was wrong. Again. I can't believe I was so stupid...

A fifth soldier entered the room and stopped right in front of him. Aang could only see the soldier's boots.

"Make sure he's bound up tightly. We wouldn't want him escaping again," the soldier ordered.

Aang immediately recognized the person's voice, and whipped his head up. It was Admiral Zhao.

Zuko awoke abruptly to Momo chattering and pulling at his ponytail. It was still dark outside, and the sun hadn't even risen yet. He sat up quickly with an irritated grunt, prying the lemur off of his head and glaring at him. "What in the Spirits has gotten into you?!" he demanded.

Momo squirmed in Zuko's hands and continued chattering. When he let him go, he flew over to land on Appa's legs and ran in a circle over and over in the same spot.

After staring at the lemur for a few more moments in irritation, he slowly realized something: Aang was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes widened, and he suddenly felt completely awake. He scanned the campsite frantically, hoping to the Spirits that Aang was just taking a bathroom break and hadn't done what Zuko was dreading he had.

"Aang?" Zuko called out, throwing off his blanket and pushing himself up off the ground. "Aang!" he called out again, walking around the perimeter of the campsite.

No response.

Not again, Zuko thought, a mix of anxiety and irritation unfurling in his chest.

He walked over to Iroh and crouched down next to him. "Uncle!" he hissed urgently.

Iroh opened his eyes blearily and blinked several times. "Zuko? What time is it?"

"Aang's gone again. I think he went to look for that man he was talking about yesterday. The one he thinks might be an airbender."

Iroh blinked several times in concern, and he sat up. "I see. He can't have gone far."

"I can't believe it. He couldn't just wait a couple days, at least until you were better?" Zuko grunted in frustration, exhaling steam from his nose as he began to pace. "Urgh! Whatever. He can't have gone far. He's gotta be somewhere in the mountains near the village," he muttered, half to himself, half to Iroh. He scanned the campsite again. "We should take Appa. His staff is gone, meaning he probably flew there, and flying is faster than going on foot anyway."

Iroh nodded, pushing himself up off of the ground. He hadn't sneezed at all yet since he had been conscious, which was a good sign.

Zuko tried to keep his feelings of anxiety and frustration from overwhelming him as the two quickly began gathering up and packing their belongings into Appa's saddle. He just had to go and do this again, literally a week after Pohuai Stronghold! Zuko thought angrily. What was he thinking? He once again grunted audibly in frustration.

"Don't worry, nephew. We'll find Aang." Iroh reassured him, clapping a hand onto his shoulder. "And if you need to rescue him again, you won't be alone this time."

"I've done my part. You said I could have all the airbender relics as payment," the merchant said to Zhao, folding his arms.

"Take as much of that junk as you can carry. I don't need any of it anymore," Zhao replied, not even bothering to look in the man's direction. "They served their purpose—to lead a curious Avatar right where I wanted."

Aang glared up at Zhao from where he sat tied up on the ground. He had never thought he could have felt this much rage, this much hatred toward anything or anyone. Until Zhao.

"When your little friend stole you from me, I knew I had to act quickly, and that I wouldn't be able to find you so easily again," Zhao spoke calmly, pacing in front of Aang with his hands behind his back. "Then, I remembered something. An old Fire Nation tactic."

Aang remained silent.

"This tactic was used many years ago by Fire Lord Sozin," Zhao continued, and crouched down to pick up an Air Nomad pendant from the ground, holding it up and gazing at it almost as if he were admiring it. "The few airbenders who escaped his first assault were too hard to hunt down. Instead, he laid traps for them. Places like these caves were made to look like they were inhabited by other airbender refugees."

Aang's eyes widened in horror at this revelation. He had been right—some of his people had survived the attack.

"Sozin fooled them by using their own everyday objects as bait, luring them far enough for our soldiers to close in." Zhao crushed the pendant beads in his hand. "Seems this old stratagem still works well enough to catch one last airbender," he finished with a malicious grin, dropping the broken pendant beads onto the ground in front of Aang.

Aang felt himself begin to tremble uncontrollably, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel a familiar mix of rage, grief, and fear swirling within him, threatening to break through to the surface.

He tried to fight it, knowing what would happen if he gave in.

But why should you fight it? A small voice deep inside him whispered. It was his voice, but at the same time, it wasn't. Why should you care about hurting this man? He has already hurt you, and he's certainly hurt many others. It is only justice.

No! His own, lone voice countered. I can't! I made a vow as an Air Nomad to never intentionally harm a living creature! I...

The Air Nomads are gone. And you are the Avatar. It is only justice, the voice, now multiple voices, echoed.

It is only justice.

It is only justice.

It is only justice.

Aang took a deep breath.

And he gave in.

Zuko flinched as he heard an abrupt boom in the distance. The sound came from the mountain ahead of them, and he soon spotted a cloud of dust rising into the sky on the western edge. "Aang!" he exclaimed, whipping Appa's reins to speed them up.

He glanced back over his shoulder at Iroh, who had a worried expression on his face. They both knew what this most likely meant.

As they flew closer to the source of the dust cloud, which had now become a vortex, Zuko realized that it seemed to be coming from inside a gorge on the mountainside.

"Zuko!" Iroh suddenly shouted, pointing down toward the gorge. "We must help them!"

He followed the trajectory of Iroh's pointer finger and spotted what his uncle had been referring to: a small group of people running away from the dust cloud. Zuko winced internally; he sincerely hoped that Aang hadn't accidentally hurt any of the villagers who lived in this area, as he knew that it would weigh heavily on him.

He landed Appa near the edge of the gorge and dismounted, Iroh following close behind, and began to run towards it. However, they both abruptly stopped in their tracks when the group of people they had spotted from the sky climbed over the edge of the gorge.

Zuko immediately put his arms up in an attack stance when he realized that the people were not in fact innocent Earth Kingdom villagers, but Fire Nation soldiers being led by none other than Admiral Zhao.

Zhao came to a stop a few feet away from Zuko and Iroh, clearly somewhat rattled, though it was evident he was doing his best to hide it. Zuko did not miss the look of surprise on the admiral's face when he realized who was now standing across from him. One of the other people, an Earth Kingdom man, climbed over the gorge last and continued running past Zhao and his soldiers, screaming in terror.

"So, at long last the traitorous Prince shows himself. It's quite a coincidence running into you here," Zhao taunted, attempting to smooth his disheveled hair. "I had the Avatar in my custody at Pohuai Stronghold not eight days ago, and he claimed that you had parted ways. Then, the most curious thing happened."

Zuko flinched involuntarily. Had Zhao somehow found him out?

"He was broken out by a mysterious masked figure, which my soldiers have taken to calling 'The Blue Spirit'."

Zuko's heart pounded in his chest. "Out of my way, Zhao," he replied, willing his voice to remain steady and hoping that the admiral hadn't noticed the effect his words had had on him. "He wasn't lying. Uncle and I aren't with him anymore. I'm here to capture him. And I really don't care to hear about how the 'great' Admiral Zhao failed to keep the Avatar in his custody."

Zhao's smirk disappeared, and his eyebrow twitched. "I don't know if you've noticed, dear Prince, but that vortex back there is your precious Avatar. And he doesn't seem very willing to be captured at the moment."

"I see," Zuko replied. Now he was the one with a smirk on his face. "So you're running away, like a coward. That makes this easier for me, so I suppose I should say thank you."

Zhao raised an eyebrow, then barked out a loud laugh. "Ha! I'm not too proud to admit I know when I'm outmatched. I admit I have underestimated him. I will not make the same mistake again. If you think the two of you can take on the Avatar in that state, be my guest," he sneered, then turned to Iroh. "But even the great Dragon of the West can't hope to stand a chance against that." He turned back to Zuko. "And it will be rather difficult to regain your honor if you are are dead, Prince Zuko, wouldn't you say? Though I doubt that will happen even if you do manage to survive."

Zuko's temper flared. Zhao was a thorn in his side that he could never fully remove. But now, here he was, more vulnerable than Zuko had ever seen him. Could this be his chance to get rid of the thorn once and for all? "You think I'm just going to let you just get away?" Zuko replied with a laugh of his own. "The Avatar isn't the only one you've underestimated."

At that moment, the sunrise peaked over the edge of the eastern horizon, and he felt it enriching him with energy. He took a deep breath, then shot several blasts of fire at Zhao, who was slightly taken aback, but managed to block the blows with his own fire blasts.

"Zuko, no!" Iroh yelled from behind him.

"The Avatar is mine!" Zuko snarled, ignoring his uncle's pleas, and continued to shoot as many fire blasts at Zhao as he could muster. Thankfully here, unlike on Kyoshi, he didn't have to worry about burning down any buildings or hurting any bystanders, so he didn't hold back. Zhao's soldiers quickly joined the fray, and Iroh grunted in frustration as he began fighting them off with his own fire.

Suddenly, the wind around them picked up, the force causing everyone to lose their footing, some falling to the ground.

"Ugh. I'm not about to go out like this," Zhao growled, and ran past Zuko and Iroh before either could recover quickly enough, his soldiers following close behind.

Zuko moved to go after them, but felt a hand latch tightly around his forearm. "Stop, Zuko! Zhao is not our priority right now!"

Zuko whipped back around. "But if I let him get away, he'll just come back again! And you and I both know he'll never give up. He'll keep searching for us. He'll keep searching for Aang!"

"Never mind that," Iroh said, shaking his head. "There will be other opportunities to deal with Zhao. Right now, we need to focus on calming Aang down before he destroys the entire mountainside, and the village below."

Zuko looked up at the vortex ahead of them, fear settling back into his body as he remembered the last time Aang had gone into this "Avatar State", as Guru Pathik had called it. He could just barely see the Avatar hovering in a sphere of air at the center of the vortex through the dust and dirt, the unmistakable white glow beaming from his tattoos and eyes.

"Do not let yourself be consumed by panic," Iroh said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Aang needs us."

Zuko looked back down into Iroh's eyes, and nodded.

"Come." Iroh turned around, using his forearm to shield his eyes, and began walking towards the vengeful form of the Avatar, Zuko following close behind. He suddenly felt a strong sense of deja vu.

Zuko's thoughts were running through his head like wildfire. Zhao had hurt Aang. Again. And he hadn't been there to protect him. Again. What had the admiral done to trigger Aang to go into the Avatar State? It must have been something major. He really wished he had been able to burn that perpetual smirk off of Zhao's smug face.

When they had gotten as close as they could without risking being knocked backwards by the intensity of the wind, they stopped, both crouching down to avoid being blown backwards. "What do we do now, uncle?" Zuko yelled through the wind.

"Whatever Zhao did upset him enough to trigger his Avatar spirit," Iroh replied. "Similar to what happened at the Southern Air Temple."

Zuko wracked his brain in an attempt to guess what could have set him off. Aang had desperately wanted to find this mystery man in the mountains who had traded the pendant to the merchant in the village. Zhao had clearly found him and had attempted to capture him. Could the two events somehow be connected?

"Uncle, could Zhao have... ambushed him somehow? That's the only explanation. But how would he have even known where to find him? This area is so remote."

Iroh's eyes widened slowly, seemingly in realization as he met Zuko's gaze. "It is... very possible that Zhao used an old tactic of Sozin's to... lure Aang to this place."

Zuko stared back at his uncle, brow knotted and eyes wide with outrage and disgust. Just when he thought his great-grandfather couldn't have been any more despicable of a human being, he had been proven wrong once again.

His gaze moved over to Aang's angry visage, which was twisted with rage and grief. He could see tears streaming down his cheeks. As he watched the Avatar, an intense mix of anger, shame, and sadness began welling up deep inside of him.

Without thinking, Zuko immediately stood up, and began to walk closer to the sphere of air, using all of his strength to push through the wind. "Aang!" he called. "Aang, it's me!"

Zuko nearly had a heart attack when the Avatar's head abruptly whipped to face him. "They're gone," Aang said, though what came out of his mouth was not his own voice, but what sounded to be hundreds of voices speaking in perfect unison. "They're all dead. He killed them. The Fire Nation has devastated the balance of this world. "

Aang was talking about the airbenders, Zuko quickly realized. "I know!" Zuko shouted in response. "We did, I know that now! And it never should have happened!"

The Avatar's vengeful gaze was still locked onto Zuko, but he thankfully didn't make a move to attack.

"I... I understand how you're feeling right now," Zuko continued, willing his voice to remain steady. "Rage, pain, grief... I went through the same thing when my mother disappeared. Your people were your family." Zuko closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. "They may be gone, but you... you aren't alone! Uncle and I..." He briefly glanced back at Iroh, who was staring at him with an expression of mixed pride and awe, and smiled slightly. He then turned back to Aang. "I know it doesn't make up for what the Fire Nation has done... What we've done. But we're both here for you. We'll protect you."

To his great relief, he could feel the intensity of the wind wavering the longer he spoke, and took an opportunity to step closer towards Aang. Eventually, he got close enough to grab his wrist, and he gently began to pull the Avatar back down to earth.

Aang's angry expression slowly began to fade, though his tears continued to flow steadily. "You aren't alone," Zuko repeated, and felt the wind die out completely. Aang's feet touched the ground, and he collapsed, causing Zuko to catch him as the two sank to the ground on their knees. He felt Aang's body shake as he sobbed, wrapping his arms tight around Zuko's torso. He still wasn't used to hugs, but allowed himself to embrace his friend in return, gingerly resting his arms on the Avatar's back.

He felt another pair of arms wrap around him as Iroh hugged the two boys tightly.

The crisp, freezing air stung slightly upon hitting Zuko's face as they flew away from the mountain in the now-gloomy morning sky, reminding him that winter must be near. He hadn't noticed how cold it was before, being so preoccupied with finding Aang.

Once he had stopped crying, Aang had once again become unusually silent, though this time Zuko knew it was for good reason. The Avatar was sitting at the very back of the saddle, arms folded and resting on the edge, staring at the shrinking mountain range behind them.

Zuko didn't know what to say. He reached out a hand, hesitating for a moment before placing it gently on the airbender's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Aang."

Aang turned to face him. He smiled slightly, but there was still much sadness in his eyes, along with something else. In that moment, the Avatar suddenly seemed much older to Zuko. "It's not your fault," Aang replied, and turned back around.

But it's my family's fault, Zuko thought morosely, looking down. He removed his hand. "So... next stop is the Western Air Temple, right?"

"No," Aang replied, firmly, but not unkindly. "I'm done searching. I've seen enough now to know that there's no point anymore. I really am the last airbender."

It seemed this incident with Zhao had been the final nail in the coffin. He knew it would happen eventually, but Zuko felt uncomfortable seeing his friend like this, finally acknowledging that he was the last of his people. "Are you sure? I know uncle and I didn't find much, but maybe there's places we didn't get to. You never know—"

"I'm sure, Zuko," Aang interrupted, turning completely around, expression hardened. "I know you're trying to cheer me up, and I appreciate it, but like I said, I know now that there's no point. Zhao proved that to me today."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Zhao is a monster. He wanted to rile you up on purpose because that's what he does."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that what he said about the surviving airbenders wasn't true. Sozin didn't stop with the temples. He went out of his way to make sure he killed every survivor with traps just like the one Zhao lured me with." He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, then opened them again, looking behind Zuko at Iroh, who was sitting on Appa's head with reins in hand. "Iroh, did you know about this?"

Iroh sighed, then turned around to look back at them, arm resting on the lip of the saddle behind him. "I did. And I'm sorry." He did look genuinely remorseful.

Aang's face twisted in anger, and he clenched his fists. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he demanded. "Why didn't you say anything about what you knew earlier? You knew the truth of what Sozin did this whole time, and you never bothered to tell me!"

Zuko empathized with Aang. He felt the same way when he had confronted Iroh about this. To be honest, he was still a bit angry with his uncle.

"You have a right to be angry with me, Aang," Iroh replied calmly. "I was not truthful. I should have told you sooner."

Tears began to well up in Aang's eyes again. "I just... don't understand. Why wouldn't you tell me?"

Iroh sighed. "I'll tell you what I told my nephew: because I was a coward, and I wanted to spare you the pain." He paused for a moment. "And because I am ashamed of what my family has done, and that for so long I knew everything, but did nothing."

Aang folded his arms and looked down for several moments, an uneasy silence hanging in the air. Finally, he spoke again, looking at Iroh directly. "It doesn't matter what you've done, Iroh. You know you were wrong, and I know that's not who you are now. Just... no more secrets, okay?"

Iroh smiled gratefully and bowed his head in agreement. "No more secrets. I promise."

Aang then turned to Zuko, gaze softening. "That goes for you too, hotman. I want you both to be honest with me. I can take it."

Zuko felt his shoulders fall as he released the tension he had been holding. He was glad Aang's anger seemed to be short-lived. "No more secrets," he repeated with a nod.

"Good," Aang replied with a sigh, slumping his shoulders as if he had been holding in a large amount of tension as well. His mouth opened into a large yawn, and he rubbed his left eye.

"You should rest, Aang," Iroh said. "I'm willing to bet you didn't get much sleep last night."

Aang did not protest, simply nodding in response as he moved to lay on his side, Momo curling up next to him. Before long, he was fast asleep.

"What are we going to do now, uncle? Where are we going to go next?" Zuko asked Iroh, staring at the sleeping form of Aang, brow knotted in concern.

"I'm... not certain. Right now, we need to make sure we are staying as far away from Zhao as possible." Iroh sighed, shaking his head. "With him being thwarted two times in the span of a week or so, I can imagine he is going to be even more relentless than usual. He has most likely notified the military and northwestern Earth Kingdom colonies to be on the lookout for a flying bison. I wouldn't be surprised if he has already alerted the Fire Navy to monitor the west coast as well."

Zuko paled. He hadn't realized just how precarious their situation was. "Then... where are we supposed to go?"

"South. For now. The south side of the river is still under Earth Kingdom control."

Zuko pressed his fist to his mouth in concern. "So... there is no destination. No objective, other than staying away from the Fire Nation?"

Iroh nodded. "Our objective right now is to keep Aang safe."

Zuko couldn't argue with that.