Hey guys! LaidEffect is back again! Before we dive into the upcoming chapter, I need to apologize for not updating the last two weeks. You guys deserve an explanation after I went AWOL and left you guys wondering if this fic was going to be updated or not.

(To anyone just interested in reading the story, you know the drill. In case you're new here, please scroll down to the unbolded part for the beginning of Chapter 15)

Ok, where do I start explaining? Oh yeah!

Right after Chapter 14 was uploaded, I was hit with a fever which lasted for over a week. I also had the worst day of the first half of my 2021 because I had a covid scare. A doc thought I was positive with the virus, only to tell me immediately he – excuse my language – fuarking mistook the wrong report *don't ask how, I dunno how that happened. I almost throttled the poor guy for giving me a scare. Still kinda felt bad that he looked like he didn't get enough sleep in the past 2 weeks. I'm rambling, am I?*

Then after I recovered (a lil bit), exams were around the corner (they were supposed to be on 10th June and 11th June), and so I found my time completely preoccupied with studying and last-minute preparations for the papers.

Keyword: Supposed.

Around last Wednesday (June 2nd), I received an announcement that my exams were cancelled because the country I live in just re-entered (total?) lockdown, and thus my papers were postponed to September (im taking an international paper, and they're exams are like a 3months-a-time thingy).

Oh, and when I returned to writing I had this writer's block for like a few days when I tried to write this chapter bcs sure, my mind is a pit of darkness and pain and... that took a very dark turn, didn't it?

Anyhoo...

So there's that. Stupid-body got sick with stupid-fever for a stupid week, and right after Stupid-Me had to prepare for this all-important exam which was postponed at the almost last minute, only to suffer from stupid-writer's block just to torture Stupid-Me.

Long story short: I really really am sorry for leaving you guys hanging for around 3 weeks without any heads up whatsoever. (Also, please forgive my overuse of the word 'stupid'. That's how I felt in the past 2 weeks)

Right right right, let's move on to Chapter 15 of Flames of Destiny.

Dreams weren't something common to Zuko. Dreams that felt all too real were even less common. So this dream was definitely confusing for him.

He was back in the... Throne Room.

The place was like Zuko remembered it. Black pillars with elaborate gold bases were arranged in an orderly fashion on two ends of the room, specifically designed not just for supporting the roof, but also to add to the intimidating atmosphere that the black tiled floors created.

Soldiers clad in firebender armour lined up in five rows in front of him, standing before the figure who was seated on the throne located on a higher platform. A wall of fire surrounded the podium, lighting up the room and adding an eerie and overwhelming factor to give whoever was sitting on the throne a menacing presence.

It took a moment before Zuko realized that he was the one sitting on the throne.

He was the Fire Lord.

The spacious room was quiet, the heavy silence only broken by the sound of flickering flames from the barrier of heat in front of him.

The soldiers maintained their formation, awaiting 'Fire Lord Zuko's orders. But he couldn't remember what he was supposed to decree. He could only make up a vague feeling tugging at him like it was pulling him in multiple directions.

The ominous tune mysteriously resonating within the walls of the Throne Room did not help ease Zuko's mind.

Yet the new Fire Lord remained seated stoically, being the perfect Fire Lord for the Fire Nation.

"It's getting late," a smooth voice whispered in his ear, and at the corner of his vision a reptile-like creature circling his throne. Its blue scales and white underbelly obvious as it continued its slithering motion in the air. Zuko recognized the species: Dragon.

How? He was unsure. Yet he just knew.

"Are you planning to retire soon, my lord?" The Blue Dragon's voice whispered again, its voice smooth and soothing, yet Zuko could detect the hint of cunning laced underneath.

"But, I'm not tired," he protested.

"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko," the voice that sounded too eerily like his sister, Azula, coerced. "Just let go. Give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while."

Suddenly, 'Fire Lord Zuko's vision blurred, and he felt a strong urge to close his eyes. His eyelids started to close, despite him not being able to feel the rest of his body.

"No, Fire Lord Zuko!" another voice boomed with the Throne Room, snapping amber eyes wide open. If Zuko's eyes could widen any further, his eyeballs may drop from their sockets.

Another serpentine being circled the 'Fire Lord', its red body moving fluidly in the opposite direction that was unlike the Blue Dragon's slithering motion. But Zuko was surprised not by the contrasting movement, but by this new voice.

It sounded too much like Iroh.

"Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!"

Zuko wanted to move. He wanted to listen to the urgency voiced by the Red Dragon, but he couldn't move.

"Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko."

Azula's voice rang again, and the room abruptly started fading into black. Both soldiers and the pillars crumble into nothingness.

Shocked, Zuko found himself finally able to move his body. He looked around, but all he could find was pitched-black darkness.

"Sleep..." The voice was becoming louder, and more hostile. Two dim orbs the shade of gold started to glow right in front of Zuko, and he realized that they were the eyes of a dragon. Blue scales materialized in the darkness, revealing itself to be the blue dragon. Up close, Zuko could make out its wide, flat snout, golden eyes resembling a cat, and its long whiskers.

It was baring its sharp teeth at him, its mouth curled up sinisterly like a wicked smile. This time, Zuko tried to run, but once again found himself frozen on the spot. Floating in the middle of nothingness as the blue dragon eyed him like he was a helpless prey it has been playing with for days.

"Just like mother!"

With a snarl, the dragon opened its mouth and launched itself at him.

For a while, all Zuko could see was nothing, hearing only the faintest sound of an echo.

The echo grew louder and clearer. "Zuko." a voice called out to him repetitively in the darkness anywhere.

"Zuko."

He felt a sensation of deja vu as he heard the voice, as if he should know the person yet he couldn't place it.

"Zuko!"

He wanted to run in the direction of the voice, to find his mother. But again, all he could do was stay still and stare into the void.

A silhouette started forming in front of him, and soon it solidified into a hooded figure whose back was turned towards Zuko. Pulling the hood down, the figure spun around, and Zuko recognized the person standing in front of him.

His mother.

She was as he remembered her to be. Her skin was unblemished and smooth, her golden-brown eyes radiating kindness and love that she only had whenever she set her sights on him.

Again, he tried to fight his frozen body. He wanted to hug her after not seeing her for so long. To hear her tell him that everything will be alright. But again, he couldn't do anything but float in the darkness as he studied his mother's face.

Something wasn't right. Her beautiful facial features were twisted into one of worry and fear. Of what? Zuko couldn't tell. When he stared into her eyes in search of an answer, he felt a sudden chill crawl under him.

His face was flawless, the scar which his father had given him was gone.

Yet, seeing this perfect version of himself just felt... wrong.

"Help me!"

Zuko tried to reach out upon hearing his mother's cry for aid, but he felt a strong force pulling him downwards before anything could be done.

oOo

"We'll split up to cover more area," the boy with dark brown hair tied into a wolftail said. His blue eyes darted towards the girl leaning against the wall. "Toph, I guess you should come with me."

"Why?" Toph huffed at the suggestion, her lips forming a pout as annoyance started pooling in her chest. "Because you think I can't put up posters on my own?"

In one swift motion, she grabbed the handle of the paintbrush in Sokka's hand and twirled around, spraying the wall with glue. Just as fast, she slams a poster on it with her other hand.

A few seconds passed, and the earthbender felt that the silence was feeling too awkward. Letting out a tired sigh, she hung her head sheepishly.

"It's upside down isn't it?" The poster wasn't upside down at all. In fact, Toph had slammed the sheet in a manner that the blank side of it was facing out. She handed the paintbrush back to Sokka as another dejected sigh escaped her lips. "I'll just go with Sokka."

Watching Sokka leading Toph to the other side of the street, Katara and Aang shared a look before grabbing their own stack of leaflets and headed in different directions, all keen to put up as many 'Lost Sky Bison' posters as possible in the Lower Ring.

They had gotten the leaflets made yesterday, and Aang, in a fit of excitement, grabbed a stack took to the air, dropping the printed sheets into the streets below as he glided over the three Rings in Ba Sing Se.

When he made it back to Team Avatar's assigned house in the Upper Ring, he had already taken two back and forth trips which lasted till the evening. They were about to get dinner when Joo Dee – the creepy girl with a creepy smile that acted as their shady tour guide - suddenly paid them a visit to reprimand them against putting up posters without proper permission from appropriate authorities.

"You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters."

Aang didn't exactly take the warning that well.

"We don't care about the rules and we're not asking permission! We're finding Appa on our own and you should just stay out of our way!"

It was comical the way the Avatar lost his patience. His whole head turned scarlet red and steam was visibly coming out of his ears, and his arms started flailing by his sides like a bird flapping its wings when he yelled angrily at the poor horrified girl and angrily chased her out of the building.

Well, angry by Aang's standards, anyway.

The teens decided to begin putting up posters around the city regardless of the rules the next day, given that the sky was already dark when Aang slammed the door in Joo Dee's face.

The airbender made a mental note to apologize to the poor girl when he remembered her horrified face when he lost his temper.

Which led them to now, with the quartet putting up the leaflets in the east side of the Lower Ring. Hoping that their efforts were not for nought.

oOo

Zuko was certain he was still dreaming. Why else would he be standing in the middle of a forest that looked like nothing he'd ever seen? To add to the weirdness, the ground was coated with snow. It reminded him of the time he was in the Northern Water Tribe, at the warm part of the Spirit Oasis when he kidnapped the Avatar.

But there are so many plants. Both North and South Pole don't have plants that grow in the snow. And both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation don't even have snow!

So why does this feel so real?

His thoughts were cut off by a frustrated grunt followed by the shuffling sound of someone kicking something. The snow, perhaps.

"We have to tell Chiron," Zuko's vision snapped towards the voice of a girl, and he would have widened his eyes if he could. The girl – who looked younger than him – was tanned and had an athletic build, but he was thrown off by her hair. It was a strange yellow-gold akin to honey and had curls that he had never seen before. Then he saw her eyes. It was unnaturally grey, like a brewing storm.

"No," another voice, Zuko was certain he recognized it, interjected forcefully, and he watched as his vision turned to see, in shock, Percy Jackson standing in front of him.

The man – then-boy – looked much younger, probably in his mid-teens. His face had traces of baby fat, unlike the sharp jawline he had now. He was shorter, even the girl was a little taller than him, and his body had a few traces of muscles, as if he had just started training to be the tall fighter Zuko recognized. Yet his unmistakable wild black hair that was swept to one side ruffled in the wind and his green eyes emanated waves of stubbornness as he spoke.

"Um..." Zuko found himself speaking, but it didn't sound like him at all. It was nervous and way too young, like whoever spoke just started puberty. "what do you mean... no?" And Zuko was sure he did not sound anything like that.

"We can't let anyone know," short-Percy (he sounds more annoying as a kid!) started rambling. "I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a –"

"A son of Hades!" The girl gasped. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

'Hades'. Zuko had heard Percy curse with that word on numerous occasions, and he was confused, to say the least.

How can a curse word have a son? How does a curse word break an oath? Why does gold-hair-girl make it sound like it's a bad thing?

The trio – short-Percy, Gold-Hair-Girl and Not-Zuko, that is – started dwelling into a conversation about how the curse word Hades did not break the oath (whatever that is) and some other things. The conversation flew over Zuko's head. He didn't even understand the few words that he heard – a casino for lotus, Hall of West-something, Great Something, and someone named Bee An Kah saying something about a law-er – yet the trio continued talking like they understood everything.

"– If the Olympians find out..." Zuko found his attention snapping back at the grave tone short-Percy used.

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Gold-Hair-Girl finished with equal gravity. "That's the last thing we need."

Oh... that kinda explains the 'horrible' part...

Wait, when did I start taking Percy seriously?

"But you can't hide things from the gods," Not-Zuko protested, and he sounded even more nervous than before, to the point Zuko thought he was bleating like a goat. "Not forever."

"I don't need forever," short-Percy said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen."

Zuko noticed through Not-Zuko's eyes how much Gold-Hair-Girl paled. '"But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might be about Nico. We have to –"

"No," short-Percy stood his ground, "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me." His eyes glowed slightly, as if welcoming anyone to challenge his claim.

"Why are you saying that?" the girl cried, and for the first time, Zuko realized just maybe Gold-Hair was worried for the annoying demigod. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?"

Whole world? Zuko's thoughts veered towards a fresh memory, one of an argument he had with Percy recently.

"Everyone said I was prophesized to make a decision or watch my world burn, and be killed by a cursed blade no matter the result!"

Just as short-Percy opened his mouth to speak again, Zuko's vision started spinning. A rasping female voice started booming into his hearings. It sounded ancient and powerful, and the young firebender felt like it was coiling around his head as it started reciting something. A poem perhaps Though he couldn't make out a single word being said.

oOo

"This is the place I heard about," Aang listened to the boy with bushy brown hair explain as they entered the building.

Aang and his friends found themselves led into a warehouse. His grey eyes scanned the building. It was dimly lit, but rays of sunlight shone into the building through the holes in the roof, illuminating the place enough for everyone to see that the warehouse was empty apart from a few sacks and a pile of canvas and rope in the corner.

An uneasy feeling settled in his gut, but the airbender decided to temporarily ignore it to spare a glance at Jet. They found the older teen being attacked by Katara, which turned out to be a misunderstanding as the boy claimed that he only wanted to help.

Aang had vouched for Jet, believing that the latter deserved a chance after Toph had claimed Jet to be telling the truth (apparently he was the only one in Team Avatar who did not know about her ability, which Sokka called a 'walking lie detector') and seeing the leaflet in Jet's hand.

Cue now, with everyone spending about an hour following Jet through some parts of the Lower Ring and now standing in an empty warehouse. Katara had lost her patience with the older teen – not that Aang would blame the girl given their less than pleasant experience with the now-former leader of the Freedom Fighter – and started accusing Jet of leading everyone into a trap, while the latter explained that he had overheard a conversation about a 'giant furry creature'.

The Avatar couldn't fully disagree with Katara. It felt... off.

"He was here!" Toph's exclamation had everyone's attention as the teens gathered around her, and three pairs of eyes widened when they saw the clump of sandy white fur in the blind earthbender's hand.

"We missed him," Sokka said dejectedly.

"They took that big thing yesterday," the voice had everyone snapping their head around to see an old man sweeping the ground. "Shipped him out to some island. About time, I've been cleaning up fur, and various, uhhh ... leavings all day."

"What island?" Aang asked with slightly narrowed eyes. Both Katara and Sokka were stunned at the tone their friend was using, while Toph raised a curious eyebrow. "Where did they take Appa?"

"Foreman said some rich royal type on Whaletail Island bought him up," the old man explained as he spun around to look at the teens "Guess for a zoo or such. Though, could be the meat that'd be good."

"Where's Whaletail Island?" Aang asked, and Katara felt her eyes widening further at the scepticism in the boy's tone.

"Far," Sokka answered dejectedly as he lowered the map he was studying upon hearing the name of the island Appa was taken to. "Very far." The son of the Chief placed the map on the ground as the others circled him. "Here it is," the Water Tribesman pointed to a cluster of islands just above the South Pole "near the South Pole. It's almost all the way back home."

"Aang," worry laced Katara's voice as she studied the map. "It will take us weeks just to get to the tip of the Earth Kingdom. And then we'll need to find a boat to get to the island."

Realizing she was getting no response, Katara lifted her head to look at the airbender. The boy wore an unfamiliar look on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched together, lips curved up slightly, and his eyes narrowed in concentration. It looked as if he was trying to solve a puzzle and was looking for a missing piece.

Aang didn't reply, instead he continued to look at the map. Ignoring the confused looks on his friends' faces, he got on his feet.

This feels... too easy.

"Must be nice to visit an island," the old man chimed absentmindedly. "I haven't had a vacation for years."

Katara placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow petulantly at the talkative janitor. "Don't you have some more hair to clean up?"

"Shuffle on, I get you," the man sighed in defeat. "No more need for Old Sweepy..."

Blue eyes darted towards Aang, who remained silent throughout the exchange. It wasn't like the boy she knew to be acting this way. Normally he would be hopping with excitement and his eyes would glow with hope at the chance of finding his best friend and pet sky bison. The idea of losing Appa should have set him off into a panicked frenzy that kids his age would enter when they lose their toys.

This time, however, his body was ramrod straight and his grey eyes looked calculating.

It was rather... un-Aang-like.

"Aang?"

Katara didn't know if the pre-teen had heard her or was outright ignoring her, but she couldn't push aside the slight feeling of her chest clenching tightly when Aang once again did not answer. Instead, the waterbender watched as he whirled around and started walking towards the janitor.

"Mr Sweepy," Aang called out, his voice uncharacteristically guarded as the man turned to acknowledge the young Avatar. "Has any of the men who took Appa carried this?"

He dipped a hand into his pocket and fished out his bison whistle for the old man to see. For a brief moment, he thought he saw Old Sweepy's face morph into one of shock, but it disappeared so quickly Aang took it as the lights playing tricks on his eyes.

"Yeah," Old Sweepy shrugged, but the less confident tone the man used which contradicted his answer did not go unnoticed with Aang. "Some guy carried it around his keys, I guess."

It sounded more like a question than an answer, and Aang definitely did not miss the way the janitor seemed to rush an excuse to leave the teens alone.

"Aang?" Katara tried again.

"Something's not right, Katara," Aang whispered as if he didn't want anyone else to listen in to their conversation. "Things aren't adding up."

The airbender must have seen the confused look on Katara's face because he quickly explained while keeping his tone hush. "Percy said Appa is in Ba Sing Se."

"But he told you that two weeks ago," Katara countered with a whisper.

"I trust him more than I trust Old Sweepy. Besides, Percy was certain that Appa was somewhere in the city."

Katara bit back a sigh at Aang standing his ground. When Team Avatar first started their search for Appa in the capital, Aang had confided in her that their dual-bending companion had informed him that the sky bison was in the city. The airbender later recounted another run-in with Percy with Sokka tagging along weeks later when Aang had opened a new Zoo just outside the Lower Ring, where the man reassured Aang that the sky bison was still in the Earth Kingdom capital.

How Percy knew about Appa's whereabouts? Aang couldn't explain. He just knew that Percy was telling the truth. He was adamant about trusting the man.

Not that Katara could dispute the man's words. Any lead is still a lead for them, and so far Percy had done nothing to prove untrustworthy, so she was willing to put some faith in his claims. That was before now.

"But, Aang," Katara tried, placing a hand on his shoulder in hopes of reaching out to him while also being a calming and logical presence to her friend. "We have for the first time a proper lead on where Appa is."

"I don't know, Katara," the sight of Aang's shoulders slumping down in doubt brought back the tight feeling in Katara's chest. His arms started gesturing around the warehouse. "This just doesn't add up. It seems too... convenient that Appa was moved yesterday. How did they fit Appa through the door? How did anyone not notice a giant white sky bison the size of a warehouse being moved around the city? We dropped the posters yesterday, someone would have contacted us. How could they not hear Appa bellow? You know how loud Appa bellows, Katara."

Katara sighed tiredly before she gently squeezed her grip on Aang's shoulder. "Aang, the 'how' doesn't matter now. Right now our concern is finding Appa. We can worry about the other things later."

Grey eyes glanced over towards the others and noticed Sokka and Toph waiting expectantly for his plan. Aang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then letting it out slowly as he felt the tension leave his body. His lips curved upwards slightly.

"You're right, Katara," Aang said. "We can come back once we find him."

"All right," Sokka clapped his hands together upon seeing Aang coming to a decision. "Let's get going."

Jet quickly spoke up as Team Avatar darted for the door. "I'll come with you."

Katara wasn't quite happy with that arrangement, and was rather vocal about it. The others ignored her, though, while Toph teased her about her past relationship with Jet.

Again, the waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe vocally denied that claim.

oOo

Amber eyes snapped wide open and Zuko shot up from his futon, gasping for air. He was certain he had the weirdest dream. He couldn't remember much as it was all foggy for the Prince-in-Exile. All he recalled was that he was in a concrete jungle with impossibly tall buildings made of glass, and a girl with curly red hair talking to Percy – except younger while somehow looking like death personified – and said something along the lines of Percy 'not being the hero' before the sun was blotted out by a shadow and a horrible sound of something roaring in the background and jolted him awake.

Weird dream? Definitely.

He was about to start dwelling on the meaning of these dreams he had when the familiar voice of his uncle snapped him back to reality.

"Zuko!"

There was a blur in Zuko's vision before it quickly cleared to reveal Iroh kneeling in front of the teen. The old man's eyes darted all over his nephew's body as though looking for invisible injuries while his mouth was moving at lightning speed even Zuko couldn't make out a single word his uncle was uttering.

"Uncle?" Iroh froze at the soft and calm tone that the teen used. In the past three years, Zuko always had a hard edge whenever he spoke, resembling the walls he built as he remained in his self-imposed exile while trying to act older than he should be.

But now, Zuko sounded like a boy his age.

"Prince Zuko?" Iroh responded, acknowledging he heard his nephew calling to him, wondering what the boy has to say. He took note of the unusual crestfallen look on the exiled-Prince.

"Am I a..." a hesitant pause "failure?"

"What?" Old amber eyes widened and Iroh spun around to face Zuko so fast he almost lost his balance. "Where did you get –"

"My father said I was lucky to be born," Zuko said tiredly, his gaze not leaving the futon underneath him like it was the most interesting thing to look at in the room. "Percy even said I was a failure."

"Zuko," Iroh tried, placing what he hopes to be a calming shoulder in the distraught teen. "You are not a failure."

Zuko's head snapped up instantly, his face twisting into one of his more common emotions – anger. "Then how come I couldn't capture the Avatar for the last three years?" He snapped at the grey-bearded man. Just as quickly as it appeared, his face of rage dropped into one of defeat and his eyes lost the spark that Iroh came to associate with whenever the teen was running thin on patience. "Am I really not my father's son?"

Iroh didn't think twice, his paternal instincts kicking in as he wrapped his arms around the boy. "You always have been the son of Ozai and Ursa."

"But when Percy told me to end him, to prove that I'm the Fire Lord's son," Zuko explained, his voice quivering. "I couldn't do it. Am I really that weak?"

Iroh was aware of the fight between Percy and Zuko that happened in the middle of the night. Two men in dark green robes – Iroh recognized their uniform as the unit that arrested Jet weeks ago –appeared at their front door just as the sun rose to investigate reports of noise disturbance. Percy easily told them that it was an 'accident in the kitchen involving burnt tea, clumsy pot handling, hurt feet, and extensive cursing', and though they appeared to not entirely believe the story the agents, known as the Dai Li, had decidedly left them alone along with a stern warning to Percy to not create another scene. The young man's remark of 'no promises' wasn't that well received by the agents and Iroh.

After checking on Zuko and realizing the teen hadn't woken up, the black-haired man explained to Iroh what had happened. The explanation was brief and straight to the point ("Zuko wanted to go out, I disagreed, we fought. Boom. There's that. And, uh, I may have said some things I shouldn't. So, yeah.").

While the half-god had obviously left out several key details of the encounter, the former general was able to piece the information together on his own. Zuko wanted to find the Avatar's sky bison, but Percy, for some reason, had refused and even got in the way.

Mentally, Iroh was considering to clumsily drop a few teapots on their resident demigod's head and feet.

Just not that nice ceramic teapot, though.

"Zuko, you are not weak." Iroh's own words snapped him back to the present as he tried to reassure Zuko. "You are one of the strongest –"

"But I don't feel that way," came the weak reply, and the stout man was oh so tempted to tighten his hug, but stopped himself before he could cut off his nephew's air supply. "I feel like I'm not really part of the Royal Family. Is there something wrong with me, uncle?"

Iroh swallowed a sigh. His mind and heart clashed with one another as he contemplated his next course of action. Zuko deserved to know the truth of his heritage. Ozai can pretend that it was nothing all he wants, but Prince Zuko was always more like his mother than his father despite being a firebender of the Royal Family.

The grey-bearded man took a deep breath, and slowly peeled himself from the hug but maintained a firm grip on his nephew's shoulders.

"Prince Zuko, there was something I wanted you to learn by yourself. But, I guess it's time I tell you the truth."

Slowly, young amber eyes looked up for Zuko to look at his uncle. "What is it?"

"Do you know who your great-grandfather is?" Iroh asked, still unsure how he should broach the subject.

"It's Fire Lord Sozin," Zuko's face morphed into one of confusion when he answered, eyes narrowed slightly even as he looked at the stout man like he just grew two heads. The orbs then widened in shock as realization dawned upon him. "Wait, are you saying –"

"Fire Lord Sozin is your great grandfather," Iroh quickly interrupted before the young firebender could complete that sentence and spiral any further. Internally he was chastising himself for even planting that idea into his nephew in the first place, especially when Zuko is the rightful descendant of Sozin.

Zuko let out a soft 'oh' along with a breath he didn't know he was holding. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. For a few seconds – which to Iroh felt like an eternity – silence took over the room before Zuko spoke again.

"Then why did you ask?" the teen asked, raising his unsinged eyebrow in what Iroh could tell was a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"You have learnt the history about the Fire Nation's rise to power under Fire Lord Sozin, can I say that I am correct?"

"Yeah, he defeated Avatar Roku, who died from the volcano," Zuko answered easily. "I mean, it's basically the history that most people already know."

Iroh decided he would clumsily drop some teapots on Percy for influencing his nephew. Along with some hot boiling water for good measure.

Nevermind. Hot water sounds painful. Teapots shall do. Just avoid dropping that ceramic teapot.

"You are correct," Pushing the thought of causing some physical harm unto the young man with sea-green eyes aside, Iroh returned his focus to the boy sitting across and showing his vulnerable side for the first time in years. "But that is also the day of your great-grandfather's demise."

Zuko's face once again scrunched together in confusion. "But Fire Lord Sozin defeated –"

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko," the Dragon of the West cut in quickly. He quickly added, "Sozin was your father's grandfather."

Even with the scar, Zuko's eyes widened and his jaw slacked open in a show of bewilderment as the implication began to settle in.

"Have you ever wondered who your mother's grandfather is?"

His uncle's question rang loudly in the young Prince's head and suddenly Zuko felt like he couldn't breathe. For once he was thankful he wasn't standing upright as his legs felt wobbly.

"It was Avatar Roku," Iroh answered for him, confirming the theory that was spinning in the teen's head.

For the first time, all the pieces seem to come apart at the seams for Zuko, but still come together all the same.

Mom never spoke about her family!

The world around him seemed to start crashing around him, and he grabbed his hair to try and stop the sensation of crumbling. Apparently, Iroh wasn't done.

"Roku and Sozin were friends since their youth. They even shared the same birthday. On their sixteenth birthday, Roku learnt that he was the Avatar, and had set out to the corners of the world to master the other three elements. But before he left, Crown Prince Sozin gave him a gift."

In the corner of his vision, Zuko felt his uncle release his grips on the teen's shoulders and saw the elderly man shift a little before fishing out an item and placed it right under his eyes to see. Slowly, Zuko released his death grip on his hair and reached out gingerly to hold the ornament and examine it.

"When Roku returned after mastering all the elements, Sozin had become Fire Lord," Iroh continued his storytelling. "During Roku's wedding with his love during his youth, Fire Lord Sozin came forth with an idea of a prospering empire by expanding the influence of the Fire Nation: with Roku and Sozin leading the way."

"But Avatar Roku disagreed on that idea," Zuko finished for his uncle, aware of the story. His voice still trembled and his sights were locked onto the headdress Iroh had given him. It wasn't any fancy nor sophisticated crown. Rather, it had a simplistic design, with two prongs shaped like gold flames attached on each side of a red ring meant to be worn around a top-knot.

Iroh nodded, despite knowing that Zuko couldn't see his response. "He even destroyed the throne room and threatened to end Fire Lord Sozin when he found out that his request to maintain balance was outright ignored."

"Then why didn't –"

"He kill Sozin?" the stout man completed the question. When he saw the slightest hint of his nephew nodding, Iroh placed a hand on the boy's shoulder again. "Zuko, Avatar Roku, your great-grandfather, was a merciful and warm-hearted man. He spared Sozin in honour of their friendship."

Having no idea how to respond to that tidbit of information, Zuko remained silent, his body stiff aside from the slight movement in his Adam's apple as he tried to keep his throat from drying up.

"Twenty-five years later, as you know, a volcano erupted that needed Sozin's attention. It was Avatar Roku's home island. They both worked together to quell the volcano, but Roku was overwhelmed by the poisonous gas. Despite pleas by the Avatar to save him, Sozin left him alone having seen all his plans for the Fire Nation possible."

Zuko lifted his head to look at his uncle in the eyes, and Iroh noticed the conflict that was swelling inside the two young amber orbs. "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself," Iroh explained. "Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. It is shown in your struggle to capture the Avatar, and when you couldn't... kill Percy." Immediately Zuko dropped his head in shame at the mention of his recent outburst the night before. "But, there is a bright side." Zuko's head snapped up as quickly as it dropped, this time hope was glittering in his eyes. "What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world."

Zuko thought hard of his uncle's words. The power to restore balance? Isn't that the Avatar's job? How does one cleanse the sins of a nation and a family?

Letting out a sigh, he stared at Iroh, his eyes tired but pleading.

"So, what do I do now?"

Gonna be honest, this chapter took longer to write than I hoped. 2 weeks of not writing really knocked down my inspiration a few notches. Still, this isn't my best writing.

First off, sorry if any of you felt that this chapter doesn't have Percy in it (or at all). Originally, he was supposed to appear somewhere along some point (I can't remember when), but it was scrapped because Aang and Zuko deserve some screentime to shine. (Or is it word-time?). Percy will return soon, no worries.

Second of all... well, guess I only have one thing to summarise for this chapter. Short Post-chapter A/N, what did ya know? Surprise, surprise.

Right, not gonna babble on anymore, and I'll see you guys when I see you.

Lots of love, LaidEffect.