Collide

by FoxBlitz

Katara had been so sure of her plan to liberate the prison rig. How was she to know how efficiently the guards would respond to an uprising? Zuko had been positive that his best course of action was to travel separate from his Uncle. What else was he supposed to do when he came across a person from his past? Sometimes, through all the doubt, two people collide. Eventual Zutara.

30. Ch 30 - The Bloodline

Chapter 30 - The Bloodline

The second of two sand towers began to take form as Zuko sculpted another bucketful of damp sand into a vertical column. Taking a stick in his hands, the young Fire Prince carefully craved out a small trench to protect his creations from the gentle tide that ebbed and flowed nearby. A couple of spiral seashells adorned the outer walls, giving the fortified, tiny monument an artistic touch.

As the small firebender placed a finely crafted, miniature Fire Nation flags upon the peaks of each twin towers, Zuko stood from his kneeling position. Brushing the wet sand from his legs, the young child beamed with pride at his completed work.

"You've been busy, my innovative little turtle duck," commented Ursa as she approached and admired her Son's creation. "I especially like the seashells."

"They're the dragon towers!" gloated a tiny Zuko in a childish voice. "From that story about the light and dark dragons!"

Ursa gave a slight laugh at her Son's rambunctious. "You always liked that one, didn't you? So which tower belongs to which dragon?"

Zuko quieted down for a moment as he assumed a thinking expression, his arms crossed across his chest and his head arced slightly in concentrated though. Ursa couldn't help but smile at how cute Zuko looked, giving such serious thought to such a simple question.

Pointing excitedly to one of the towers, Zuko exclaimed, "This one's Diage's tower. Because it has more white seashells!"

Nodding, Ursa noted, "So this other tower belongs to Nyriss then? Is it because of all the grey and dark colored shells?"

"Yeah!" cheered a young Zuko happily.

Ursa draped her arms over her Son's shoulder's, pulling him against her in a slight hug. "You remember the moral of that story, right? Diage and Nyriss are locked in an eternal conflict within all of us. And we chose which dragon wins the fight each day."

"But isn't Nyriss the larger of the two dragons? Isn't that unfair?" asked Zuko as he enjoyed being close to his Mother as the two of them looked over the twin sand towers.

"That's because there's so much negative energy in the world," explained Ursa with a melancholy tone in her voice. "But that doesn't mean Diage doesn't have a chance." Hoping to lighten up the conversation, the Fire Lady tickled her Son's stomach as Zuko squealed with childish laughter and squirmed out of her grasp.

Recovering his breath and shaking away the lingering tickling sensation, Zuko stood near the light dragon's tower as he proclaimed, "Then, I want to make sure Diage wins! He fights with honor!"

The sand tower exploded into fine powder behind the young Fire Prince as Azula landed on top of the structure. Kicking the ruined sand tower remnants, Azula mocked, "If you're going to help Diage, then I'm going to work with Nyriss! He always has more fun in the stories!"

"Azula!" scolded the Fire Lady tensely. "That wasn't very nice! Your Brother worked very hard building those sand towers. Apologize this instant."

Begrudgingly, the Fire Princess turned to face her Brother before stating in a rehearsed and insincere tone, "I'm sorry stepping on your weak and stupid sand buildings. Next time, you should make them better."

"That wasn't an apology young lady," chided Ursa crossly. "Do it again."

"Urgh, fine!" complained Azula with a pout. "I'm sorry, Zuzu." She still didn't sound very convincing.

Zuko wanted to yell at his Sister and call her out on her fakeness, but he decided against it since their Mother was watching them and already dealing with Azula. Instead, he settled for a simple, "Just don't do it again."

A grin spread across Azula's face. "Just like a Diage. This is why Nyriss always wins in the stories, because Diage isn't very strong."

"Nyriss doesn't always win!" argued Zuko in defiance. "Diage has just as many victories!"

"Half of those 'victories' are just because Nyriss lets Diage win, out of pity probably," claimed Azula as she extended the childish argument. "Nyriss can command lightning and blue fire. What does Diage have? Just a silly, little lantern on a chain. What a weakling!"

As Azula's adolescent laughter grew louder, the clear blue skies above shifted as ashen clouds rapidly filled the sky, painting the heavens a darkening black. Wide paths of sand along the beachside parted as volcanic lava boiled up from below, spilling across the landscape and covering everything in a molten glow.

In a panic, Zuko turned to find his Mother, but Ursa had completely disappeared. The Fire Lady was no longer around. Neither was Azula at this point. The Fire Princess had faded away too, but her haunting laugh persisted in the background.

Another rumbling boomed as the ground itself shook and the second sand tower belonging to Nyriss grew at an exponential rate until it formed an imposing volcano on the verge of eruption. The billowing, heavy ebony smoke signaled the newly formed volcano would burst any moment now.

Zuko wasn't a child anymore. Instead, he had reverted back to his teenager self once again. Lightning and thunder crackled overhead.

"Come to my island." The words pierced through the area. It wasn't a request as much as it was a command.

Scanning the horizon critically, Zuko failed to find anyone else on the beach.

The unknown voice spoke again. "On the day of the summer solstice, seek me out."

"Who are you?!" demanded Zuko as he shouted the question against the howling winds. His own voice sounded so weak and faint in comparison despite his yelling and the other voice seeming to speak at a normal volume and not at all being affected by the worsening atmospheric conditions.

Ignoring the Fire Prince's question, the unfamiliar voice rang out one final time. "The summer solstice. Come to my island. It is time for you to learn the true history." From the beach directly in front of Zuko, a column of fire burst into life, roaring wildly before shifting into a geyser of water that hardened into an earthen column of solid rock only to crumble away in the wind.

The firebender didn't get an opportunity to demand the voice's identity a second time. High above, the volcano erupted angrily. Molten lava bubbled and spewed over the edge as the magma surged across the beachhead. Volcanic ash and fumes filled Zuko's throat and the firebender panicked as he found he couldn't breath.

The Fire Prince sprang back to the waking world as he launched up with a start from his bedroll, assuming an alarmed expression as a cold sweat fell from his head. Zuko was gasping for air with a heavy pant and clutching his chest as he attempted to settle his uneven breathing.

It had been so real. Everything had been so real. Like he was actually being suffocated by an active volcano.

Zuko didn't need any more clues to figure out who that mysterious voice belonged to. Every kid in the Fire Nation knew the story. The story of the hero who fought and gave his life to save his best friend and hundreds of innocent villagers from a wild volcano.

"Avatar Roku," muttered the Fire Prince as he stared out at the nighttime sea along the coast.

---

"You want to go where?!" asked Sokka, confusion heavy in his tone as the four of them were having breakfast the next morning. He pulled out the map. "That's completely out of our way! You're killing me with all these new destinations. How are we supposed to get from there to here to over there and then to the rendezvous... No, nope, not going to happen." The Water Tribe boy was overloading attempting to figure out a new route.

As her Brother stressed about finding the time for yet another detour, Katara turned to Zuko as she asked with concern, "Why do you suddenly want to go to Avatar Roku's island? We really don't have the time."

Zuko was brooding as he stared into the flames of the campfire. He didn't want to go Avatar Roku's island. He wanted to keep going towards the Magma Slags. This trip was already taking forever as it was. All this zig-zagging and weaving across the Fire Nation archipelago. Sokka claimed it was necessary to obscure their movements. Which was probably true, but the Water Tribe boy also limited the time in which they could fly to when there was cloud cover to mask their presence from any observing eyes.

Which only slowed their travels further, but it wasn't like all these side adventures were helping matters either. The Fire Prince sighed. He really didn't want to go to Avatar Roku's island. But there was a part of him that just knew that he needed to go. One does not simply ignore the call of an ancient and well respected Avatar after all.

"I had a dream last night," proclaimed Zuko. "Well, more of a nightmare actually. But there was a voice. It instructed me to go Avatar Roku's island on the day of the summer solstice. Apparently there's something I need to learn there. Some so-called true history."

"So we're listening to strange, mysterious voices now?" grumbled Sokka as he folded the map back up in a huff. "I thought I was finally going to get a break from all that weird Spirit World stuff since Aang's not even here."

"This isn't the first Spirit World thing we've done," retorted Jin. "We've had our share of strange encounters too."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" groaned Sokka in response. Turning back towards the Fire Prince, he focused instead on, "And what's this incredibility important lesson you're supposed to learn anyway? It can't be more important than the assault on the capital. We don't have time for a history lesson right now."

"The solstice is supposed to be tomorrow, isn't it? I think I have my dates correct," assessed Jin as she counted the days on her fingers to check.

"Yeah it is," confirmed Sokka as he did his own mental math real quick. "Funny how this cryptic voice told you to have us travel an entire day out of our way with just enough time to make it to Avatar Roku's island." The Water Warrior narrowed his eyes. "I think it's a Fire Nation trap."

"You think everything's a Fire Nation trap," dismissed Katara.

"And I'm usually right!" protested the Water Tribe boy with both his arms raised high over his head. "There was this one time Aang and I were casually walking through the woods in the Earth Kingdom and Bam! Fire Nation."

"Why were you walking in the woods? You had Appa. You could fly," asked Katara as she looked at her Brother oddly.

Sokka mumbled something about instincts and how it's hard to understand the complexities of outsmarting your enemy before he shook his hand in the air as if to wave away the unimportant memory. "Look, all I'm saying, is that if something sounds like a trap, looks like a trap, or feels like a trap, then it's definitely a trap."

The Water Tribe boy poked at the fire with a stick as he finished his rant. When all he heard back in return was silence, he looked to see the resolved faces of all his friends. Sokka sighed. "We're going to Roku's island, aren't we?"

"We leave in ten minutes," declared Zuko as he wolfed down the rest of his breakfast.

---

The four friends traveled on Edel for the remainder of the day, resting on a small, nondescript island that night. Early the next morning, they reached Avatar Roku's island.

"There it is," announced Zuko as Edel neared overhead the mass of rock and stone below. "It looks just like it did in my school books."

Katara, Jin, and Sokka leaned over to get a better look. Two dormant volcanoes rested on the otherwise barren island. The larger of the two volcanoes was positioned in the center of the landmass. The three of them looked at each other with uncertainty as Zuko guided Edel down to a flat landing zone.

Disembarking, the four of them looked around for a time but there was nothing in the immediate area except for the outcroppings of volcanic rock. "There's nothing here," stated Katara in confusion.

Jin knelt down and placed her hand on the ground. Concentrating for a minute, the earthbender gasped. "Yes, there is." The Earth Kingdom focused for another minute before standing back up. Dusting her hand off on her clothes, Jin elaborated, "Toph could probably sense it better, but even I can feel what's down there. An entire town, dozens of houses. They're all buried beneath the rock, completely covered in ash."

"Well, that's just great," muttered Sokka as he threw his arms up in frustration. "I don't suppose this voice of yours told you what to do once we got here, did it? Because I am not digging through several of feet of volcanic rock. We don't even have shovels!"

Zuko frowned. He was unsure how to proceed. The group spent the next hour looking around the area to see if they missed something, a collapsed ancient shrine, a hidden bizarre trinket, a lone mysterious hermit, anything. But there was nothing to find. Other than the desolate rock and twin dormant volcanoes, the entire island was barren and devoid of life.

"Well this was a colossal waste of time," huffed Sokka as he kicked the dirt in irritation. "Next time you hear strange voices in your head, please keep them to yourself." The Water Warrior pulled out his map again as he started to make some adjustments while grumbling about how they needed to stay productive.

Zuko sat down in the center of a flat area of volcanic rock. "I was so sure that there was going to be something here. That dream was just so real. It was like I was actually there."

"We all get realistic dreams sometimes," offered Jin comfortingly as she attempted to console the down firebender. "This one just happened to motivate you to take us to this island. We'll just have to rush even faster to the Magma Slags now."

Zuko gave a grunt. He couldn't believe that he made the team waste precious time coming all the way out here for nothing.

"I believe you," reassured Katara as she sat down next to the firebender on the flat rock.

The Fire Prince breathed out in acceptance. "Thank you, but maybe Sokka's right. Maybe this was just a complete waste of time."

The waterbender knew that Zuko was feeling down for dragging them all out this far for seemingly no reason. But she wasn't sure what to say to comfort him. She knew how real dreams and nightmares could be. She knew all too well herself. Katara shuddered as she shook away her old nightmares before they had the chance to fill her thoughts.

Zuko breathed in and out calmly as he assumed a meditative position. "What are you doing?" the Water Tribe girl asked inquiringly.

"Clearing my head," replied Zuko with his eyes closed. "I know that I'm missing something. Maybe if I can just think about it quietly for a moment."

The Water Tribe girl watched the firebender as he relaxed slightly and loosened his shoulders as he focused and held his meditation pose. She could see how his brow scrunched up thought. It was like he was attempting to think about a thousand things all at once. That sounded like something Zuko would do. Always fretting about if he was doing things properly.

A couple of minutes passed, and then some more. Zuko hadn't moved the entire time as his breathing steadied and he almost appeared to be asleep while sitting down. 'Did he actually fall asleep?' thought the waterbender to herself as she nudged the firebender's shoulder with her finger.

"Zuko?" she asked hesitantly. The group had been flying pretty hard for the last day and a half to get here and Zuko didn't get much sleep doing any of that travel. He had been thinking too much about this dream of his. Katara shook the Fire Prince by his shoulder, but Zuko remained unresponsive. Worry set in as her eyes sharpened with concern. She shook both his shoulders this time, with more force than before. Still nothing.

"Sokka! Jin! There's something wrong with Zuko!" the Water Tribe girl shouted with distress heavy in her voice.

"Finally! I've been telling you that for weeks," joked Sokka as the two of them jogged over. However, the Water Tribe boy's face grew serious when he noticed the agitation on his Sister's face. He knelt down next to the Fire Prince as he examined his friend briefly.

Standing back up, Sokka concluded, "He's in a trance. This happened to Aang several times before, whenever he communicated with the Spirit World."

"But how?" asked Jin, perplexed. "He was just sitting here. No one else is here and nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Sokka shrugged. "Beats me. Spirit magic is weird. Maybe whoever that voice belonged to dragged him over to the Spirit World."

"What do we do then?" asked Katara as she checked the Fire Prince's forehead with the back of her hand. He didn't seem to be running a fever.

"We wait. It's about all we can do really," answered Sokka as he walked over to where Edel was lounging about. He began to pull off the saddlebags. "Best get comfortable. Aang always took his sweet time whenever something like this happened. It might take a while."

---

Zuko opened his eyes as he spoke, "Alright, let's look around one more-" he stopped as he realized he was alone on the island. He stood up abruptly. "Katara? Jin? Sokka?" he called out as the firebender's head moved on a swivel to scan the horizon.

"Your friends are not here. It is only you and I," answered a voice from behind him. The Fire Prince spun around to come face-to-face with a glowing red dragon and an old man riding on top of the beast's head. The man patted the head of his mount. "And Fang too, of course. Can't forget about him."

"Avatar... Roku?" asked Zuko questioningly.

"Of course. Who else did you think called you here?" Roku motioned for Zuko to join him on top of his dragon. "Come along now. You took longer than I expected to meditate and find me. We have little time and there is much you need to know."

It took Zuko a moment to compose himself at the sight of the great Fire Nation Avatar. Steeling his resolve to learn whatever this legend had to teach him, the firebender swiftly climbed on top of the dragon as Roku beckoned Fang to lift off. "Where are we going?" Zuko asked.

"To visit the past of your great Grandfather," answered the Avatar. "And to witness his final moments."

The scenery below them changed as the royal courtyard of the Imperial Fire Palace came into view. Zuko noticed two young men sparring amongst the grass and shrubberies. Suddenly, one of the firebenders surged forward in an attack as the other backpedaled only to trip over a tree root and begin to fall; however, the aggressor caught the other one by the arm and held a fire blast in his other hand. Zuko expected he was about to witness an act of cruelty when the firebender snuffed out the flame in his hand and allowed his friend to fall to the ground.

"Looks like I win again Roku," taunted the first firebender.

A younger version of Roku stood back up and dusted off his tunic. "You've got to be kidding Sozin. The tree root did all the real work."

Sozin gave a hearty laugh. "Aren't you always the one telling me to be aware of my surroundings?"

Zuko looked at Avatar Roku in surprise. "You knew my great Grandfather?"

Avatar Roku gave an unreadable expression, but only said, "Back then, we were best friends. The world was full of life." Zuko heard the sound of someone else approaching as Roku wistfully added, "Full of love."

Zuko looked back at the scene from the past as he noticed an attractive young lady walk across the nearby courtyard cobblestone pathway. Young Roku was staring at her dreamily. Prince Sozin elbowed his friend in the side to knock him out of his blissful stupor. "Say something to her you dork. Otherwise, I will."

A young Roku raised his hand in a hopeful greeting and was about to call out to the young lady, but was overcome with fright as he collapsed to the ground in defeat, lying back and putting his arm over his eyes. "What if she thinks I'm a fool?"

Prince Sozin sprinkled grass over his friend's face as he sat down next to him. "What if she doesn't? Courage my friend, courage. Love makes cowards of us all."

Avatar Roku sighed as he watched his past self cower in fear of being rejected. "Love can be difficult, when you are young. You have been quite fortunate, as I hear it."

Zuko was looking down at the scene below, a hint of blush coming to his face as he thought about Katara. "There's times when I still find myself not fully believing that there is someone out there who likes me back. Like I'll wake up one day only to find out that it was just a trick," he admitted one of his insecurities honestly.

Avatar Roku nodded in understanding. "You'll find that everyone occasionally has similar worries. That is why you should always cherish the time you do have."

With that, the old Avatar guided Fang to the ground and descended to the courtyard. He started to walk into the main ballroom. "Come with me now. We have a party to attend." As the Fire Prince quickly followed, he added, "Prince Sozin and I shared a great many things, including a birthday."

The ballroom itself was filled to the brim with partygoers dressed in fancy gowns and fine dress robes. At the top of the stairs stood both Prince Sozin and a young Roku. As the pair walked down the steps, Roku spied his crush amongst the people in the crowd. They locked eyes for a moment only for both of them to blush as Roku missed a step and started to fall forward until Sozin caught him by the arm. Helping his friend back up, Sozin slapped the young Roku on the back and laughed energetically.

Suddenly, the doors behind Zuko and Spirit Roku burst open as several official looking Fire Sages rushed into the room with haste, bowing before the two young men. Prince Sozin stepped forward urgently. "What's wrong? Did something happen to my Father?"

"No, my Prince," answered the head Sage. "We are not here for you today." He turned to address the young Roku. "We greet the new Avatar, Avatar Roku, on the day he has come of age." A gasp rippled throughout the crowd of partygoers as whispers were hushed and everyone fell into a respectful bow. A young Roku was standing there with his mouth agape and just as surprised as everyone else. Young Roku turned to Prince Sozin as the conflicted prince managed to compose himself, reluctantly bowing towards his friend with the obligatory respect demanded by someone of his station.

---

Jin sat on column of volcanic earth she had lifted out of the ground as she occupied herself with bending her new, recently purchased metal staff into various shapes and angles. She had boasted to the Water Tribe boy back in the weapon shop that her Grandpa had shown her how to use polearms for self-defense, but in actuality, Jin knew that she was a complete novice. She had primarily wanted the metal weapon so that she had a readily available source of iron to metalbend.

In all honesty, the Earth Kingdom girl still found herself in awe of how Toph discovered this new form of earthbending. It was a unique art that, in Jin's estimate, no one else in world knew about, much less how to accomplish such a feat. And now this new bending style was something that only her and her earthbending master knew how to do.

Not that Jin told anyone else yet, but metalbending made her feel special. Not too long ago, she had just been an average Earth Kingdom girl with no outstanding qualities or uniqueness. Now, here she was traveling with amazing friends and learning things that she had never expected to know. And not only that, but she had found an earthbending master who had taught her this unbelievable form of earthbending.

Jin very much doubted her Grandma knew how to metalbend. Hopefully, when she found her Grandma again, this time Jin would be able to surprise her with a new form of bending.

The foes that the Earth Kingdom girl had faced so far during her travels certainly hadn't been expecting to face a metalbender. Truthfully, who would? It's difficult to be ready to handle a new form of bending that no one's ever really seen or heard of.

'Still, metalbending does have one flaw,' thought Jin as she continued to practice. Metalbending wasn't that useful if she didn't have a supply of metal around to bend. Which was another reason why the Earth Kingdom girl wanted the metal polearm.

Jin bent the iron bar into a flat sheet and then attempted to re-bend it into back a solid pole, but it was tricky. Apparently, the more delicate aspects of this art were evading her. She still needed more training.

She heard footsteps behind her as Sokka approached with a whetstone and his meteorite blade in his hands. "Practicing?" the Water Warrior asked. "Mind if I sharpen my sword over here? Katara's fussing over Mr. Meditation back by the campfire."

"Sure, I don't mind," the Earth Kingdom girl answered as she bent another earthen seat for the Water Tribe boy to set-up on to begin sharpening his meteorite blade. "I'm hoping to be able to impress Toph when I see her again." Jin somewhat managed to reform her metal staff as she judged her work with a critical expression. "Or at the very least, catch up to her a little. I still can't believe how talented Toph is. She learned all this herself."

Sokka nodded along as he poured some water along the edge of his blade before bracing it against his leg and running the whetstone across the surface with long, even strokes. "Well, Toph did have the badgermoles to teach her ever since she was young."

Jin returned a frustrated laugh as she flattened the iron rod out a second time and attempted to condense it back into a polearm again. "You know what I meant. Earthbending nearly all intuitive for her."

"She does claim that she's the greatest of all time regularly," acknowledged Sokka as he checked the sharpness of his sword before pouring more water and using the whetstone again.

Successfully managing to reform her iron polearm on the next attempt, Jin leaned back down into her earth chair with a sigh of victory. "Anyone can say they're the greatest, but I think Toph might actually be the greatest. This earthbending stuff is hard, but she makes it look so effortless."

The Water Tribe boy gave a slight laugh of his own. "Toph likes getting praised. If you tell her that, then maybe she'll reduce the intensity of your next training session."

"Ha! If I could be so lucky," retorted Jin. "Chances are, she'll increase the intensity and tell me nice try for using flattery to try and evade training."

A comfortable quiet fell amidst the two of them. The only sound that echoed across the desolate, volcanic area was the uniform sliding of the whetstone across the meteorite blade.

Jin raised her arms above her head as she stretched out with a tired yawn. She had been practicing for a while. The glint of her meteorite bracelet caught her attention as she felt the familiar weight on her wrist. Earthbending the bracelet into a couple of various forms and shape, Jin stated, "Thanks again for this bracelet. It's the simplest material I've earthbent yet. There must be something about space earth."

The reverberation of the whetstone scraping incorrectly along the meteorite blade jarred abruptly across the area as Sokka paused in his work to lift up his sword and examine the misstep. "I'm glad you like it," came the preoccupied reply.

The Water Tribe boy appeared to busy himself with making sure that he didn't mess up the sharpness of his weapon as Jin looked back over her other two friends. Katara was attempting to practice her waterbending, but every few seconds, the waterbender unmistakably sent a worried glance over towards the mediative Fire Prince, who remained motionless.

Jin frowned. She didn't really get all this Spirit World stuff. And her own experiences with Spirits and the supernatural had been a mixed bag. Sure, the Lion Turtle had granted her the power to earthbend, but the Earth Kingdom girl had to face her fears during a crazy realistic challenge first.

Thinking about the Lion Turtle again caused Jin to remember her brief encounter the Water Tribe Princess Spirit. Which inevitably led to the earthbender asking, "So what was Yue like?"

The whetstone banged loudly on the volcanic rock as Sokka dropped the tool in surprise. Clearly, the Water Tribe boy had not been expecting that question. "W-What?" he somehow managed as he looked up in shock. "Where did that come from?"

Jin shrugged in response. "Thinking about all this Spirit World stuff made me remember the time Zuko, Katara, and I met that Lion Turtle in the Spirit World. We met Yue there too. And I remember her speaking fondly of you. So I was just wondering what she was like."

Sokka didn't say anything for a noticeable amount of time, choosing instead to stare down at the ground as he clutched the hilt of his meteorite blade tighter. Jin realized that perhaps her innocent-sounding question might have encroached on a taboo subject for the Water Tribe boy.

"Sokka, I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about-" started Jin as the Water Tribe boy cut her off.

"Yue was amazing," asserted Sokka. "As a the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, she was elegant and graceful and beautiful. But she was more than that. She was never conceited like you might imagine a royal to be. And she was always kind hearted. She was willing to give everything to protect those closest to her. She did give everything to protect those closest to her."

The Water Tribe boy sighed sorrowfully as he continued, "The Fire Nation attacked the North Pole, and Yue gave up her life force to restore the Moon Spirit. I was a mess for a long while after that."

Jin wasn't entirely sure how to comfort the Water Tribe boy. "I'm sorry for being up a bad memory. You must have been so torn up losing your first love like that."

"I was," agreed Sokka as he picked up the whetstone that he had dropped earlier. "But when Aang, Toph, and I reached Ba Sing Se, I ran into Suki again."

"Suki?" echoed Jin. She didn't recall hearing that name before.

"Yeah," answered Sokka as he poured more water onto his meteorite blade and began resuming his sharpening of his sword. "Suki was the first girl outside my Tribe that I met, back when my Sister and I left the South Pole with Aang. She's a Kyoshi Warrior and one of the fiercest girls I know." Sokka gave an nostalgic laugh. "Suki beat me up several times when I first met in her back in Kyoshi village. Showed me how to be a stronger fighter and all it took was her knocking some sense into me," he elaborated.

Jin continued to play with her bracelet absentmindedly as she listened to the Water Tribe boy reminisce fondly. She had been curious, but now she was learning more than she expected about the Water Warrior.

Sokka didn't seem to notice the Earth Kingdom girl's unease as he resumed talking. "Suki was able to pull me out of the pain I had from losing Yue in the North Pole. Her and her fellow Kyoshi Warriors were protecting people around Full Moon Bay. I don't know exactly what happened to her and her warriors now that the Earth Kingdom fell. Only..." he paused as his face soured.

Hesitantly, Jin pressed, "Only what?"

The Water Tribe boy looked up at the Earth Kingdom girl. "Only when Toph, Aang, and I were fighting Azula and her cronies in Ba Sing Se, Azula was wearing Kyoshi Warrior armor. And when we were escaping with Aang's unconscious body, I couldn't make out exactly what Azula was shouting as we fled, but I'm sure it was a taunt about something she had done to the Kyoshi warriors."

Sokka punched the ground in anger from his seated position. "Everyone who gets close to me seems to end up hurt. My Sister ended up a prisoner. Aang ended up in a coma. Yue lost her life and became the Moon. And Suki's probably a prisoner, or worse. I'm just a jinx."

The Earth Kingdom girl glanced over at Sokka with sorrow in her eyes. The Water Tribe boy was attempting to hold back from getting more emotional than he already was. Probably because he undoubtedly thought that would be unmanly of him. "Zuko once told me that Azula always lies. Maybe she was lying about having done something to the Kyoshi Warriors. Or maybe some of them got away. Or anything else could have happened."

They sat there together in silence for a time. Jin looked back yet again at where Zuko sat unmoving on the rocks in his meditative position as Katara sat there next to him. The Water Tribe girl had not left the Fire Prince's side even once in the past few hours, choosing to keep an eye on the firebender in the unlikely event something happened. Sokka had assured them earlier that Zuko would probably snap out of it on his own once he completed whatever task in the Spirit World he had been pulled in there for.

The Earth Kingdom girl's attention was drawn back when Sokka stood up. He collected his whetstone and sheathed his freshly sharpened sword. "I just don't want my friends to get hurt again. I've lost enough people that I care about." With that, he walked over towards Edel to check on the thunderbird.

Jin shifted uncomfortably as her hand brushed against her iron polearm that lay forgotten at her side. She really didn't feel like practicing anymore right now. Especially since her own thoughts wandered over the fact that she also didn't really know what had happened to her Grandparents. She was hopeful that they had escaped the ranch, but everyone kept telling her that this Azula person was overwhelmingly strong. The earthbender picked up her metal staff and willed herself to keep practicing. "I've lost enough people that I care about too," she whispered to herself resolutely.

---

"Everything started to move quickly after I was named the Avatar of my time," began Avatar Roku. "Within the week, I was to depart to the Southern Air Temple to begin my training with the other elements immediately. Prince Sozin was less than pleased at the Fire Sages for the swift departure that they had set for me, but he knew better than to argue. Instead, he gifted me this." Avatar Roku unfastened the headpiece in his hair and handled it to Zuko.

Zuko's eyes widened as he examined at the royal artifact in his hands. "He gave you this? Sozin's Father and all the Fire Sages would have punished him after they found out. This headpiece is only supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince."

"Sozin didn't care. He was my friend and we were going to be apart for a long time," answered Roku as he accepted the headpiece back and affixed it to his hair once more. "One of my many regrets is that I did not give a gift to Sozin to remember me by. Perhaps things could have been different if I had. We can never know."

Zuko and Avatar Roku were flying atop Fang yet again as they crossed the Patola Mountains towards the Southern Air Temple. Arriving, the Fire Prince noticed a young Roku standing in a lineup of young monks all holding wooden staffs. "This was my first stop on my Avatar journey. This is where I learned airbending."

The Fire Prince watched as a young Roku practiced several different forms of airbending movements as he learned to harass the winds. The young Avatar would swoop and dive along the air currents with his glider staff, sometimes performing impressive feats of aerobatics such as a double somersault. However, another young monk was always at his side, pushing him to do better as each of them strove to out-do the other in a friendly competition.

"A friend of yours?" asked Zuko as he watched the two race along on air scooters.

"Gyatso," acknowledged Avatar Roku. "He was my first friend after I left Prince Sozin back in the Fire Capital." Roku grinned. "He was a bit of an airhead in his youth."

"Please, don't," grumbled Zuko. "Sokka tells enough bad puns as it is already." Looking back at the Air Temple, the Fire Prince cringed as he saw Gyatso attempt to air-surf on his glider only to fall. Young Roku caught the monk on his glider, but couldn't control the extra weight and both of them crashed into a wall after causing a stampede of people to get out of the way.

"I promise we got better with our airbending. Eventually..." laughed Avatar Roku as Fang started to fly off again. The world seemed to shrink in on itself. That was the only explanation Zuko could come up with for how they managed to travel such a great distance so quickly as they rapidly approached the Northern Water Tribe. "After years of practice, I mastered airbending and was acknowledged by the elder monks. I then traveled to the Northern Water Tribes. Waterbending was especially challenging for me as it was my opposing element. But in time, and with much training from Taqukaq, I managed to master it as well."

Zuko watched as a young Roku emerged from a rushing wave of water in the arctic as he raced towards a waterbender, whom the Fire Prince assumed was Taqukaq, standing on an ice glacier. The sight of Roku's waterbending wave surfing reminded the firebender of Katara doing something similar during their battle against the Southern Raiders. Young Roku pulled up an enormous wave of water, then crashed that wave onto the ice glacier, carrying his waterbender instructor all the way up a tall nearby Water Tribe building carved into an ice wall. The waterbender stood back up after the attack and grinned as he waved down to Roku below.

Fang took off again and Zuko found himself in the familiar terrain of the rocky Earth Kingdom. Young Roku was standing, shirtless with a only a simple pair of green pants, on a flat patch of earth in a horse stance as he punched outward repeatedly. He raised his arms up and the earth underneath him rose to form a small platform that Roku earthbent as a vehicle up the side of a mountain.

"My master in the Earth Kingdom was named Sud. He was a stubborn, obstinate, blunt, pig-headed, brute." An earthbender appeared next to a young Roku riding his own rock platform as he taunted the Avatar into a race. The two of them sped up, each attempting to gain an advantage over the other. They tore across the landscape, through bushes and trees, disappearing along the rolling foothills periodically as they raced to a mountain far off in the distance.

"He was also a lifelong friend," smiled Avatar Roku.

Sud reached the finish line and pumped his arm skyward in victory only to realize that Roku was already sitting under a tree on the mountain, sipping a cup of tea as an additional cup was waiting for Sud. The look of shock on Sud's face lasted only a fraction of a second until it changed into a sly grin. The earthbending master picked up the tea and drank it all in a single gulp with no elegance before slapping Roku on the back with a mighty palm and laughing heavily as Roku looked miffed at his tea spilling out from his cup.

"It was bitter work. It was challenging work. And it was lengthy work. But the results were worth it." A young Roku stood on the top of a mountain as he called forth elements of fire, air, water, and earth. Each element surrounded him in a ring as Roku's eyes glowed and he realized the full power of his unlocked Avatar State.

"By the time I returned to the Fire Nation, twelve long years had passed. Much had changed in my absence." A young Roku walked into the throne room of the Imperial Fire Palace. Seated alone on the throne, brightened by an imposing backdrop of flames, sat Sozin. Roku walked, unafraid, along the red carpet that led to the throne steps.

"Sozin!" the young Roku greeted happily. Then he paused, slightly unsure of himself. "Or should I say, Fire Lord Sozin."

Sozin rose from his daunting throne with a commanding presence. "It is customarily for my subjects to bow before addressing me," he declared in a serious tone, his face hardened. Fire Lord Sozin walked down the steps as a young Avatar Roku gulped, more than slightly intimidated despite being a master of all four elements. Then, Sozin revealed his boyhood smile. "But you're the one exception." He wrapped his childhood friend up in a fierce bearhug.

Avatar Roku wiped a tear from his eye as he stood next to Zuko. "Even knowing what he will become, it still gets me that, right now, after all these years, he was still my best friend." Avatar Roku and Zuko watched as a young Roku and Sozin talked happily and excitedly about what had occurred to each of them over these last twelve years. "If only we could have captured this time together."

Zuko could almost feel the sorrow in each of Roku's words. When the firebender reached out to place a hand on the man's shoulder, Roku composed himself. "That was unsightly of me, excuse me for that," stated Avatar Roku as he composed himself once more.

The scene in front of them changed to that of a wedding. Avatar Roku gestured forward with his arm. "A couple of years passed, and I finally managed to find that courage my best friend always said I had in me."

Zuko noticed the same girl on the wedding altar alongside Roku that the Fire Prince had recalled from the earlier memories. "It's her. The girl from the courtyard."

"Ta Min," proclaimed Avatar Roku with a smile. "I was a late bloomer, but when love is real, it finds a way." They watched as the ceremony concluded and the couple kissed. Avatar Roku grinned. "It took four of my friends several years to beat me over the head again and again with encouragement, but, eventually, I learned to be brave."

The scene changed again. This time to the receiving line where the new couple was accepting the congratulations and well-wishes from their wedding guests. Avatar Roku's face grew melancholy. "Unfortunately, Sozin had already started to change more than I realized."

Zuko noticed the Fire Lord drag the new Avatar away from his seat and towards the balcony. The firebender quickly followed them outside and the elder Roku followed at a much more subdued pace. The older man hated this part. The part where the first warning signs of his friend's transformation were on full display. The signs that Roku ignored because he loved his sworn Brother.

"Hear me out first," started Sozin. "Right from the start, I was destined to be the Fire Lord. It was my birthright, my destiny. And although we didn't know it until later, you were always destined to be the Avatar."

"Right..." noted young Roku hesitantly.

Sozin turned to his friend and spoke excitedly with his arms wide for emphasis. "It's an amazing stroke of luck, almost as if it was willed by the heavens themselves, that we know each other so well, isn't it? Together, we could do... anything."

The light buzz that young Roku had from his wedding wine quickly sobered as he listened Sozin's claim carry on the wind. "Yes, we probably could," he acknowledged uneasily.

Sozin wasn't done. The Fire Lord started to pace. "Right now, our nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth. No one is hungry and people are happy. We have been blessed with good fortune in so many ways."

"We have," confirmed young Roku, again in slow agreement. He halted his friend with a wave of his hand. "Sozin, where are you going with this?"

The Fire Lord got to the point. "I've been thinking. We should share this prosperity with the rest of the world." The shock on young Roku's face was readily apparent as he took a couple of steps back. Sozin either didn't notice or didn't care. "In our hands is the most successful empire in the course of history. It's long pass time we expanded it."

"No!" shouted young Roku as he suddenly looked every part the Avatar. "The four nations are meant to be just that: four."

The Fire Lord attempted to persuade his friend. "Roku, stop and think about it for a moment. You haven't even considered the possibilities a venture like this could achieve."

Young Roku turned his back on his friend. "There are no possibilities, Sozin." He began to walk back to this wedding party. "I will entertain no more talk of this foolishness." Young Roku never noticed the disappointment on Sozin's face warp and twist into disdain.

---

Sokka was digging through the saddlebags. "Hmm..." he debated. "Did someone hide all the hippo cow jerky? I could have sworn we had more somewhere." He pulled out some dried fruit chips. "I guess these will have to do." He walked back to where the others were gathered near the still meditating firebender. "I wish we had some meat," he moaned.

Katara gave her Brother an annoyed look. "Zuko's stuck in this weird Spirit Trance and you're worried about food?"

"Hey! What could be more important than a little something to eat?" protested Sokka as he leaned back against a rock. "Zuko's the one in a trance, not me. And we've got to eat something when we have the time."

Jin motioned for the Water Tribe boy to share some of the dried fruit. Taking a couple of the fruit chips, the earthbender munched on one casually. "Sokka's right. Don't think I haven't noticed. You haven't eaten anything all day. Here." She handed her waterbending friend half of the handful she had received from Sokka. "And I'm not accepting 'I'm not hungry' as an answer. Eat."

Katara halfheartedly accepted the offered food. She didn't start eating until she noticed that Jin hadn't moved and was staring at her, hands on her hips, waiting for the waterbender to eat. Katara shoveled the fruit chips into her mouth as one big handful and ate quickly. This seemed to satisfy Jin as the earthbender returned to her previous spot.

"This is just so frustrating! Sitting here all day, not being able to do anything to help, not knowing what's going on, not being able to be useful," complained Katara.

"Could be worse," replied Sokka as he continued to crunch away lazily at his snack. When his Sister looked at him, he shrugged. "Not sure how, but it could be."

Jin shook her head at Sokka. "You know that if he wasn't in a trance, Zuko would scold you for saying things like that."

"Well he is and I can," huffed Sokka as he turned his head to the side, his arms crossed defiantly, and a little vexed for still being called out. Way off in the distance, the Water Tribe boy thought he observed the shadow of a person in the fading light of the evening. He leaned closer to get a better look as he narrowed his eyes. "Hey, is that person?"

As Jin and Katara looked in the direction that Sokka was pointing, a thin beam of concentrated light shot past them and impacted an outcropping of rocks. The rocks shattered violently into dust as a massive explosion burst forth from the light beam. Sokka shakily turned his head to witness the destruction. That beam of light had brushed right past the side of his head.

"I was wrong! It's worse! Much worse!" the Water Tribe boy shouted with dread as he dove for cover from a second light beam that zoomed by much closer than the first.

"This isn't the time to panic!" shouted Katara as she surrounded herself with water defensively. "We need to protect Zuko."

"This is the perfect time to panic!" screeched Sokka as he looked up from his hiding position. "That beam of light nearly took off my head!"

"Just get Zuko somewhere safe, Sokka!" demanded Katara. "Jin! Help me with this enemy!" Both the waterbender and earthbender moved to engage the approaching threat.

"And where exactly is safe?" grumbled Sokka as he jumped to tackle Zuko to the ground. "It's a mostly flat beach with just a couple of rock outcroppings." He impacted the firebender, but instead of dropping both of them to the ground, the Fire Prince didn't budge. "What the?" Sokka tried to push Zuko over. Then, pull him away. The Water Tribe boy strained his muscles, but Zuko did not move from his spot. "This... might be a problem."

Katara summoned forth a massive tidal wave from the sea as the surf swept up the beach. Spinning and weaving, she crashed the water down. However, a beam of light rushed forth from her opponent's forehead and disrupted her water before it could reach. The waterbender was thrown backwards from the ensuing blast.

Jin raised a wall of earth in front of the waterbender to block an sequential explosive beam from reaching Katara. The waterbender noticed the back side of the earth wall facing her begin to glow with a bright red circle. Katara dove with a dodge roll to the side just as the explosive beam cut through the barrier. The wall buckled and fell. "You're going to need more than one wall to stop that attack!" Katara shouted in warning.

Jin was already tearing gigantic blocks of volcanic rock from the ground and heaving them at their attacker. Unfortunately, whoever this guy was, he didn't appear have any trouble shooting each hunk of rock down with his mind combustion beams.

Sokka was at his Sister's side and pulling her back up to her feet. "Zuko won't budge," he stressed as he drew his meteorite sword. "There's some kind of Spirit magic locking him in place."

Katara narrowed her eyes at their opponent as she drew more water from the sea. "Then, we'll just have to win." The red tunic man with a black goatee breathed in deeply as he released another beam of light from his forehead.

---

"My discussion with Sozin on my wedding day was my first real test as the Avatar," stated Avatar Roku. He sighed. "And I failed, miserably. How miserably, I would not know until many years later." The scene around them shifted again. "Despite my warning and rejection of his plan, Sozin decided to put his scheme into action without my support."

Zuko saw the shoreline of the Earth Kingdom, but instead of the rich greens and golden yellows, he observed crimson reds and sharp golds adorning the various towns' walls. The scene shifted once more and they were back in the Imperial Fire Palace throne room.

"I've seen the colonies, Sozin! How dare you occupy Earth Kingdom territory! Disrupt the lives of others! You will withdraw your forces immediately! Or I will do it for you!" roared a furious Roku as he stormed into the throne room.

Fire Lord Sozin stood from his throne angrily. "How dare I? How dare you! A citizen of the Fire Nation, address your Fire Lord this way." The Fire Lord met the Avatar's march as both former friends glared at one another. "Your loyalty must always be to your nation first and foremost. Anything less makes you a traitor, by law."

"Don't do this, Sozin. Do not challenge me. It will only end badly. It is over. Withdraw your forces and let it end in peace." Roku turned to leave the throne room.

"I did not dismiss you! Come back here Roku!" growled Sozin angrily. When his friend did not acknowledge him, something deep within the Fire Lord broke. Somewhere, deep in their shared collective mindscape, a painting of a laughing young Roku and Sozin as childhood friends ripped apart before igniting into flames.

In a rage, Fire Lord Sozin lunged forward with an immensely powerful fire stream directly at Roku's back. Smoke and flame spread everywhere throughout the throne room, but when the action faded out, Roku was gone. Sozin took a step back as he raised a defensive stance. The Fire Lord heard the earth shift beneath him as Roku emerged from the ground, having burrowed into the earth to avoid the earlier attack.

Sozin attempted to strike again, but Roku's airbending was faster as the Fire Lord was knocked off his feet and slammed into the wall, hard. Sozin gasped in pain from the impact, but Roku was not done. Columns of earth bound each of Sozin's limbs as Roku raised the already defeated man high above. Roku appeared in front of Sozin on a column of air, in the completed Avatar State, his eyes aglow with power as he leveled the throne room in its entirety.

Roku allowed the Avatar State to recede. "I am sparing you, Sozin. Out of love for the brotherly friendship we once shared, I am granting you your life. But I warn you. Even a single step out of line and I will return. And it will result in your permanent end."

Fire Lord Sozin glared at Avatar Roku with anger and hatred that Roku had never seen on his friend's face before. Then, Sozin's expression fell into sadness as he hung his head in defeat and relented.

Zuko and Avatar Roku returned to above Roku Island, but it was not like Zuko remembered it in the Fire Prince's time. This island was bustling with life and activity as hundreds of people went around their daily routines.

"Sozin and I did not speak to each other for twenty-five years after our battle. I spent most of my time here, at my home. This... was my next failure," admitted Roku mournfully.

The past Avatar glanced over across the sea back towards the Fire Palace. "I never attempted to reach out. Never attempted to reconcile with my friend. I allowed him to fall further into his madness. My mercy from our fight was no mercy at all. Not for him, not for the people of this world. I ran from my duty. Too afraid to deliver the justice to my friend that I would have delivered had it been anyone else." The volcano on Roku's island erupted. "And the heavens delivered justice onto me instead."

Zuko watched silently as he saw Roku flee from his house with his family. Watched as the man used airbending to create safe passages for his wife and townspeople from the smoke, ash, and poisonous gases that emerged. Witnessed the point when Roku motioned to his wife to keep running with their young daughter as he turned and attempted to save the town.

"In my hubris, I sought to challenge the elements themselves to save my town," whispered Avatar Roku. "This was my final test and my final failure."

The Avatar Roku below earthbent a massive wall around the town that halted the initial waves of lava rolling down the sides of the volcano. Then, the ground shifted as landslides washed away the wall and several whole chunks of the town. Earthbending himself a platform, Avatar Roku rushed to the summit and earthbent a trench down the side of the volcano opposite to the town and out towards the sea. The lava cooled as it descended into the ocean.

"You're winning," observed Zuko, sounding impressed.

Avatar Roku shook his head. "It would not last. I was but one man. I could not do it all."

Zuko continued to watch as the Avatar Roku below used airbending in an effort to cool the lava in the mouth of volcano to prevent it from surging any further. Unfortunately, a burst of poisonous gas erupted at his feet and the man took in a large mouthful of the harmful substances. He air-blasted the gas away and stumbled. Another burst of gases appeared and he desperately air-blasted those away too.

"Battling the elements was an impossible task already," stated the Avatar Roku from up above. Another vent of poisonous gas surged. "And I had to do it while I could scarcely breathe. The fumes were overwhelming and I was near my limit."

A mighty roar filled the air as Roku's dragon Fang from the past let out an urgent growl, racing down towards its friend. "It's all right Fang!" The past Roku coughed as he airbent another jet of fumes away. "Get out of here! I'm fine!"

Slamming his hands together, Roku entered the Avatar State. His eyes glowing a pure white, he earthbent an gigantic fist of earth that clamped down on the erupting volcano, sealing it shut for good. Roku collapsed to the ground, completely spent and panting heavily. At the sound of the second volcano erupting, he despaired.

"Need a hand, old friend?" asked a familiar voice.

Roku's head shot up as he rejoiced to see Fire Lord Sozin atop his blue dragon. "Sozin?"

The Fire Lord grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him on top of his dragon. "Hurry now. There's not a moment to waste."

Zuko watched as the pair arrived at the second volcano, together. The past Roku earthbent another trench to the sea to release the pent up lava as Sozin placed his hand over the mouth of the volcano. The Fire Lord began to absorb the heat from the lava, passing the temperature through himself, and redirected it out from his other hand towards the sea as the lava began to rapidly cool.

"For one fleeting moment, I had my friend back and my world had been restored. Sozin was right. Together, we could accomplish anything," stated Avatar Roku as he watched the scene unfold with a forlorn expression. It appeared that the two men were slowly beginning to control the natural disaster. Together, they were beating the odds.

Lightning crackled overhead as it struck the ground underneath Sozin and the rocks started to crumble. Sozin grit his teeth as he began to fall only for Roku to earthbend a new platform for the Fire Lord. They grinned at each other. Then, the volcano exploded again and they had no choice but to run.

Zuko witnessed the two of them as they dodged and weaved to avoid a series of poisonous gas vents that burst around them. Roku jumped forward to airbend a sudden vent away from Sozin only for another vent to explode upward from underneath him. Disoriented, Roku stumbled to his knees. He was gasping for air and reaching toward his friend for help.

Zuko listened as Sozin stood over his former friend, his face devoid of any emotion. "Without you, all my plans are suddenly possible. I have a vision for the future, Roku. Farewell, my old friend." The Fire Lord jumped onto the back of his dragon as he flew away from the danger.

The Fang of the past let out an urgent roar and raced towards Roku as poisonous gas swept in from every direction, followed by an avalanche of rock and ash. Fang coiled himself around Roku moments before the rubble hit, enveloping them both completely and snuffing out the lives of both the old Avatar and his animal companion.

Distantly, Zuko heard the sound of a baby crying as it was being born. The firebender spun towards the direction of the cry and saw three old monks holding a newborn baby in the outline of a far-off monastery. "Is that... Aang?" the Fire Prince muttered.

Zuko wheeled back upon Roku, angrily, the pieces clicking into place, one-by-one. "That's why Sozin attacked the Air Nomads! The history books... our Fire Nation history books. It's all a lie, isn't it? There was no planned invasion by the Air Nomads. It was Sozin. It was all Sozin! His preemptive strike to keep the Fire Nation safe... it was an execution. He was seeking out Aang. Sozin wanted to prevent the next Avatar from challenging him."

"And he never found him," returned Roku. "But he might as well have." The former Avatar shook his head in shame. "For who could have predicted the actions of a frightened boy? Who could have envisioned the result of Aang's emotions to run from his destiny, and my failures? Trapped within ice for one hundred years. The Avatar removed himself from the world and the Fire Nation was free to pursue its ambition, unchecked."

"But grandfather Azulon pursued the waterbenders in the South because they would have been the next in line. Sozin and Azulon must have assumed Aang had been killed at some point, because he never showed to challenge them after all those years. They must have assumed that the Water Tribes were hiding the new Avatar somewhere since the Water Tribes would have been next in line. The North had always been heavily fortified but the South was vulnerable to attack. All those raids, all those waterbenders being taken prisoner. That was just another hunt for the new Avatar," analyzed Zuko, critically.

"There has always been much darkness along Sozin's family line," stated Avatar Roku solemnly.

Zuko put this hand to his head as he attempted to somehow digest all the information he was being told. Something wasn't adding up. "Wait a minute, you said that you were going to reveal my great-Grandfather's final moments. Fire Lord Sozin was still alive at the end of that story."

"You have more than one great-Grandfather," answered Roku simply.

Zuko's mind raced. "Your Daughter, the one I saw your wife carry to safety. What was her name?"

"My sweet, precious little Rina," whispered Roku in response.

"Grandmother Rina... from my Mother's side..." muttered Zuko. "I'm descended both Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku?"

Overcoming his shock, he pressed Roku further. "Why are you telling me this?! Why not Aang? He's the Avatar, not me. It is his destiny to restore balance to the world, not mine!"

Avatar Roku looked downcast. "It shames me to acknowledge this, but my latest reincarnation is not ready for the responsibilities of what must be done. Avatar Aang has not matured enough to understand these truths. He is as immature today as he was when he entered the iceberg one hundred years ago. The confrontation with the current Fire Lord draws near at an alarming rate. Aang is simply not ready, especially with his Avatar State sealed away from him."

"And I am?" retorted Zuko in disbelief. "You expect me to succeed where you have failed?"

"You are my great-Grandson," stated Avatar Roku with evident pride. "I have shown you the past because it is yours to know. For one who knows nothing, can understand nothing. Good and evil wage an endless struggle within you Zuko; born of the conflict between your two great-Grandfathers from over a century ago. Our failures have fallen to you. This is the curse you must bear."

"So I'm the errand boy who now has to clean up both of my great-Grandfathers' messes," put Zuko bluntly.

Avatar Roku grimaced. "In a brusque manner of speaking, yes. But the important thing to understand is that what happened generations ago can be resolved here and now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and of the Fire Nation. Born within you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world. The blood of the Avatar resides within you, my blood."

'He is four made one,' echoed in the Fire Prince's mind in the voice of the Lion Turtle. "Wan..." Zuko whispered lowly as he recalled the ancient master's words.

Roku's ears perked up at the name his great-Grandson had muttered. "How do you know that name?"

Zuko put more of the pieces together. "He was the first, wasn't he? The first Avatar."

"He was," nodded Roku in acknowledgement.

The Fire Prince filed that information nugget away as he refocused on Roku's plea. "Why just me? Azula shares this same connection, this same legacy."

Avatar Roku continued to look forlorn. "You Sister has already closed off her connection to light and balance. Her actions have embraced the dark ambition and legacy of being Sozin's great-Granddaughter. The conflict within her has already ended. Darkness fills her heart."

"So you claim that she is already lost? Just as my Father is lost?" The Fire Prince read between the lines. "You're telling me to kill both of them, aren't you? To end their line?" He paused as he narrowed his eyes. "If I was just as lost, would you have told Aang to kill me?" Roku's silence revealed to the firebender the unspoken response.

"I see," noted Zuko, dryly.

"In life, I failed in my duty. In death, I will not fail again," declared Avatar Roku boldly. "We don't get to choose our destinies Zuko, but we must all do our duties."

"That's rich, coming from you," retorted the Fire Prince. He frowned. "And so the great-Grandson must pay for the sins of his great-Grandfather."

Avatar Roku started to fade. "This is not the legacy I would have wished upon my great-Grandson. My problems should never have become your problems."

"But they have," proclaimed Zuko in frustration. He looked out across the sea, watching the pinkish-red hue of the evening sun as it washed the archipelago island chain of the Fire Nation aglow in a soft, warm light. With determination, he announced, "I will bring peace, but not for you. Let our family's past die. Let it burn away. I will do so for those dear to me. So that they will have a future."

Avatar Roku finished fading away but his voice still echoed across the Spirit World hauntingly. "I have no right to ask any more than that."

---

Katara was breathing heavily as she glared at her opponent. Her clothes were torn all over the place from the fragments of volcanic rock that had splintered and flew from the explosive blasts. The ribbon in her hair had come undone at some point and her sweaty hair matted her face as she pushed it away from her eyes. She still had a ring of water gathered around herself.

From the corners of her eyes, she could assess that Jin and Sokka weren't faring much better. Sokka was bleeding from his left arm as it hung uselessly at his side. He still gripped his boomerang in his right hand while his sword had fallen to the ground at some point. He dared not to pick it up at the moment and break eye contact with their seemingly indestructible opponent.

Jin was limping slightly as she favored her right leg, but she was still ready to fight. The earthbender moved first as she raised several columns of volcanic earth between them and the strange firebender to block his vision of the battlefield. Explosive beams immediately rang out as the stranger worked to clear the obstructions.

The waterbender was already on the move again as she used the opening to slip into the sea, swimming underwater as she circled around behind their opponent from the other side. As the earthen columns fell, Sokka's boomerang flew through the dusty ash as it whipped in a curved arc at the strange firebending man's face. Their attacker noticed the arced weapon as it drew close and managed to twist his body enough to avoid the surprise attack. He fired his explosive blasts right back at where he predicted the Water Tribe boy was standing to catch his boomerang on the return flight.

Jin raised a series of five rock walls in front of Sokka that just barely managed to absorb the onslaught as Sokka dove to avoid any more follow-up blasts. The earthbender noticed Katara emerging from the water behind their opponent. The strange firebender appeared to realize that he hadn't seen the waterbender in some time and spun around to the face the sea.

Explosive blasts met tidal wave and both benders were thrown away from the detonations. The man with the weird eye tattoo on his forehand recovered first and prepared to finish off the collapsed waterbender with a final blast when the steel on his right hand gauntlet rose up and swung him around, his beam shooting harmlessly into the sky.

The unknown man growled as he realized the earthbender was somehow controlling his metal gauntlet. Without hesitation, he used his left hand to break the gauntlet off, revealing that he had no right hand and the arm was missing up to the elbow. It was an old wound, suffered long ago.

Jin was caught flat footed at the sight of the man breaking off his metal arm when she had thought the steel glove had been armor. She wasn't prepared to defend against the predictable explosive blast as the man breathed in heavily.

A layer of water appeared in front of the Earth Kingdom girl as the liquid hardened into crystal clear ice, with a slanted diagonal angle. Jin spied Katara laying on the ground with her arm raised as she completed her waterbending to defend her friend.

When the light beam struck the ice, it was redirected away into another ice mirror that reflected the beam back toward the tattooed man. His eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected return as the beam struck the ground at his feet and threw him backward. Tumbling into a roll, the mercenary was quick to recover.

Their attacker stood once more, slightly dazed, but extremely angry. Thunder boomed overhead as a flash of lightning danced in the clouds. Engaged as they were in the dangerous melee, no one had realized the growing storm above until now.

With a piercing squawk, Edel dive-bombed from a black cloud, extending her razor sharp talons as she neared the strange firebender. A beam of light flew upward at the thunderbird and she broke off her dive into a beautiful spin to avoid the attack. As Edel flapped her wings to regain attitude once she flew by, the tattooed man turned to shoot the thunderbird in the back. Lightning crashed down from the heavens and struck the mercenary squarely as he howled in anguish.

Her lightning successful, Edel circled midair to come back around, her wings full spread as she glided along, surveying the smoking cloud of ash obscuring the person who was trying to kill her master's flock. Suddenly, a beam of light emerged from the smoke cloud and impacted Edel's left wing as an explosive charge rocked the thunderbird. With a cry of pain, the large bird rammed into the ground, throwing up rocks and debris as she slid amidst the dirt.

Katara watched with dismay as Edel didn't immediately get back up. The strange firebender was already walking toward the waterbender again as the Water Tribe girl struggled to rise to her feet once more. She summoned what limited water she could from her waterskin to defend herself with. There wasn't time to bend more water from the sea. Katara prepared to endure the next attack as the tattooed man breathed in deeply again.

There was an enraged cry as a vertical arc of fire surged forward and struck the attacker in the side as he was knocked away, the edges of his tunic set ablaze. Zuko was at the waterbender's side seconds after landing from his flying axe kick. "Sorry I'm late, again."

"No, you're right on time," stated Katara with reassurance in her voice now that she knew Zuko was okay and no longer trapped in his Spirit trance.

The strange firebender stood once more and instantly had to defend himself from a relentless combined onslaught of fire and water as neither Zuko or Katara allowed him a chance to breath. The waterbender was slowing though, her strength long since tapped from the brutal endurance battle she had been fighting already. Zuko redoubled his attacks to make up for the slack.

The tattooed man managed to get off an offensive beam after expending so many of his explosive firebending attacks on defense once he noticed the waterbender slowing in her own attacks. The Fire Prince leapt forward as he brought his hands together to combine a sea of fire that lit the explosive beam prematurely and caused the detonation in the middle of the battlefield instead of near the waterbender and firebender duo.

Earthen columns burst up all around the strange firebending mercenary, pinning his left arm to his side and preventing him from moving. Jin had managed to circle around the fight while Zuko and Katara held the man's attention.

Undeterred, the tattooed man breathed in deeply to attack again as his head was still free. The whistling sound of a boomerang sang through the air once more as it impacted the defenseless man square in the forehead, directly on his third eye tattoo.

The strange firebender winced in pain as he shook his head and tried to shake the blindness that threatened to take his sight. Something was wrong. His chi felt off, but he was still on a mission and these children were far better than he had initially estimated. This fight had dragged on for far too long. He needed to unleash even stronger firepower.

Breathing in deeper than before and filling his lungs to capacity, the third eye firebender looked directly at Zuko and attempted to release the strongest explosive beam he had ever attempted. But instead of the expected attack, the man felt a sharp pain in his forehead as he saw a flash of light in front of his eyes and heard the ensuing explosion all around him.

"He... blew himself up," managed Sokka as he was the first to recover from the aftermath of the tattooed firebending mercenary's final attack.

---

The paving stones lining the corridor towards the Imperial Fire Throne room tapped faintly, echoing the rhythmic tap-tap-tapping clicking sound of Azula's boots as she proceeded forward. There were no windows in the corridor, so despite it being mid-day, the atmosphere of the pathway remained dimly lit by the occasional wall torch.

This was how the current Fire Lord liked the walkway towards the throne room. It made even the most sure and confident of his Generals and subordinates feel the dread and apprehension of having to come talk to the Fire Lord. Without saying a word, Ozai could appear imposing and intimidating long before the people called into his court ever arrived.

Azula knew the little mind games her Father liked to play. And she respected him for them, because those games worked spectacularly well. Even the Fire Princess could feel the slightest of unease as she neared the entrance to the throne room despite knowing the game.

The issue was, Azula was not entirely sure why she was being summoned to see her Father. Especially in this manner. As Fire Princess, she was allowed the privilege to use a side entrance into the throne room without having to traverse this main corridor. However, this privilege had been denied to her today. This not knowing was unfamiliar to her, and it ate away at Azula.

Still, she would not let her concern show, particularly not to her Father, who would seize upon that advantage and use it against her. No, she would not give him that opportunity. She just needed to figure out what this summons was all about and turn it back in her favor.

Kneeling at the base of the stairs leading up to the Fire Throne, Azula greeted the Fire Lord, sitting up in the imposing iron chair surrounded by a wall of fire. "The Fire Princess greets the rising sun of the Fire Nation."

Ozai didn't say anything in return immediately. Azula did not like the knowing smirk on his face that revealed that her Father was relishing in knowing something that she did not. Eventually, the Fire Lord stated dramatically, "Azula, you excel in all tasks given to you. That is why, I find myself disappointed."

"Disappointed, Father?" questioned Azula, still not yet sure what her Father was getting at.

"The Avatar. You claimed that you defeated him in Ba Sing Se, did you not? Reported that he will not be a problem for our grand plans at the end of the summer," recounted Ozai haughtily. The Fire Lord leaned forward in his iron throne. "And yet, I receive reports that the Avatar is alive and well, traveling unchecked through my very Fire Nation."

Azula's eyes widened as the news came in. She had been sure that the Avatar would be incapacitated for months, if not eventually claimed by the extensive damage she had inflicted on him with the lightning strike to his back. She had used that same lightning to utterly destroy opponents twice the boy's size.

The teeth of the Fire Princess grinded together in frustration. The Avatar must have found a miracle healer or something similar. That was the only explanation she could come up with on the spot as to why the Avatar was able to move around right now.

"I promise you, Father, the Avatar will not escape me a second time," Azula declared determinedly. "Where was he last seen traveling?"

Ozai seemed to mull over the decision whether or not to tell his Daughter the answer. The Fire Lord was enjoying making Azula feel the discomfort of failure. It kept her in her place. After another minute, he answered, "The Avatar appears to be headed towards South Jora Island."

Azula's mind raced with the possibilities of why the Avatar would be headed there. "Does he mean to rescue Uncle? What a fool."

"Yes, it appears my Brother still holds value, serving as bait for gathering flies who would challenge my rule," surmised the Fire Lord. "Perhaps they intend to use Iroh to invoke the people to rise up against me. Ridiculous, but far more inventive than I would imagined for the savages who attempt to oppose me. No doubt an attack is coming."

"But we have taken Ba Sing Se, and the Northern Water Tribe is in shambles," asserted Azula. "Surely whatever resistance remains will be no match for our forces."

"You are right about that," agreed Ozai confidently. "However, even a cornered rat can be dangerous." The Fire Lord signaled for an attendant to approach. "Increase the number of scouts monitoring the waters around the Capital. And summon the 501st and 56th battalions back. We need to ensure nothing will endanger our new weapons until they are ready to be unleashed on the world."

As the attendant rushed off to comply with the Fire Lord's commands, Ozai turned back to his still kneeling Daughter. "I will give you one final chance to capture the Avatar. I trust I do not have to tell you what awaits further failure?"

"It will be done, Father," assured Azula as she rose and departed from the throne room, her thoughts dark. It was not every day that the Fire Princess received a scolding or an insult for a rare failure.

---

Jeong Jeong sat upon the metal bow of his flagship in a mediative pose as he gathered his thoughts. It had been a tense conversation with the Water Tribe Chieftain, but eventually, the two sides managed to find common ground. An uneasy truce was drawn up amongst the two sides. But still, both leaders agreed it would be best to keep a distance between the common soldiers. Grudges died hard after all.

Which is why Jeong Jeong kept the Fire Nation ships at a distance, trailing the ships holding the amassed crews of Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom resistance fighters. Best not to invoke a fight amongst people who should be allies.

Prying eyes, hesitating near the stairs leading up to the bow of the ship were distracting the Fire Admiral from his mediation. "I know that you are there. Approach," ordered Jeong Jeong as he opened his eyes.

Lieutenant Zuri reluctantly complied with the order as she approached and kneeled a short length away from the Fire Admiral respectfully. She didn't say anything, but the conflict in her eyes revealed what was on her mind.

"You question if you are making the right choice, deserting from the Fire Nation, aren't you?" assessed the Fire Admiral.

"I... yes," replied Zuri cautiously. She looked up at the Fire Admiral. "Why did you desert in the first place?"

Jeong Jeong sighed as he thought back to his own past. "I once had the honor of serving alongside the Dragon of the West, General Iroh. He was a good man, Iroh. He would have been good for the Fire Nation, had the fates been kind. When Ozai became Fire Lord, the brutality of the Fire Nation only increased. There were those of us who could not, would not serve such a man. We are remnants of a Fire Nation that could have been."

"Many see deserters as cowards and traitors," claimed Zuri with unease. "My own family has hunted deserters down on the Fire Lord's orders in the past."

"Perhaps we are, cowards that is," agreed Jeong Jeong with a solemn nod. "We chose to run, to abandon our oaths and leave the Fire Nation to fall even further into darkness."

"So what are we doing now? We're aligning ourselves with Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom soldiers who would love to see our country destroyed," accused Zuri.

Jeong Jeong stared at the young female Lieutenant earnestly. "You and I won't find much joy while we're here, but we can keep others alive. We can defend those who can not defend themselves. We can ensure the citizens of the Fire Nation remain safe. Even if they despise us and brand us traitors."

Zuri remained silent as she contemplated the Fire Admiral's words.

Not yet done, Jeong Jeong continued, "Dark winds are rising in the West. And we need good people to help us. It doesn't matter what we think our reasons are. It doesn't matter what others think our reasons are. There's a greater purpose at work here. And we serve it together, whether we know it or not."

"Even as deserters to our country?" asked Zuri.

Jeong Jeong shook his head. "Fighting in a war makes you a soldier. We're soldiers. We have to know what we're fighting for."

The Lieutenant's eyes were downcast. "And what are we fighting for?"

"Life," came the simple response from the Fire Admiral. When the female Lieutenant looked back up in confusion, Jeong Jeong elaborated, "Greed is the enemy. While pride and selfishness ride at its side."

"But everyone wants, don't they?" retorted Zuri.

Jeong Jeong nodded sagely. "The enemy always wins." He glared at the Lieutenant. "But we still need to fight him all the same. It is unchecked avarice, coveting what should rightfully belong to others, that is the darkness in a person's heart. In a nation, this plague only intensifies a hundred fold, dragging and crushing the lives of the common people along the way."

A silence fell amidst the pair of Fire Nation sailors with only the crackling fire of the torches lining the bow of the ship making any kind of noise. Eventually, Zuri asked, "And Prince Zuko, is he the leader we need to restore our country?"

A thin smile crossed Jeong Jeong's face. "He brought me back. And he brought you back. The Fire Nation deserters, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom resistance. The Fire Prince has brought us together all the same. This is his moment."

Again, Zuri found herself without a response as she reflected on Jeong Jeong's words.

Standing up, the Fire Admiral paused as he walked past Zuri, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just once in my life, before it's over, I want to know what it's like to serve with pride, to fight for someone I believe in."

"And you believe in Prince Zuko?" asked Zuri, searching for an answer.

"I believe I do," answered Jeong Jeong as he walked down the stairs away from the bow of the ship, leaving a ruminative Zuri kneeling there as the female Lieutenant brooded over the conversation that the two of them had just shared.

---

This was going to take some very delicate timing. Combustible natural gases and fire didn't usually mix very well. Iroh heard the footsteps running down the corridor. Or maybe some haphazard and pray-for-the-best sort of timing could work just as well. He should have expected one of his fellow inmates to sell him out eventually. Nothing but the worst dregs of society that the Fire Nation had to offer resided here after all.

Strangely enough, it hadn't been the guy who was serving time for ratting out his own mother as a dissent to the Fire Nation that had sold Iroh out. It had actually been the guy who had been unfairly jailed for life because he had been betrayed by his so-called friends during a heist gone wrong. Was that ironic or comical? Iroh wasn't sure. The footsteps grew larger.

The Dragon of the West knocked over his metal cot and positioned it low near the back corner of his cell. Then, he took a rock he had worked loose from the wall and retrieved the hidden blasting jelly that had been smuggled in for him from his White Lotus contacts. He licked the blasting jelly and slammed it against the metal door handle leading to his cell before jumping behind his overturned cot.

This had not been the plan. His escape was supposed to occur during the Day of Black Sun, when the loss of firebending confused the guards. But this is why contingency plans existed. Iroh only wished that the back-up plan didn't involve explosions. They were just so... inelegant.

Iroh sensed the guards at the door. "I hear Lady Luck prefers bold men. I wonder if she'll help out a plucky old codger." Lastly, he idly wondered to himself if those Fire Nation scientists were overexaggerating about just how combustible the gases wafting around in the Magma Slags really were. He could hear the door to his cell being unlocked. With a snap of his fingers, Iroh's eyes grew wide as he watched a flame spark to life as it flew silently towards the blasting jelly.