Chapter Text
OK so Zuko shows up at the solstice and gets captured by zhao. Roku comes out and does his thing of letting those chained go.
But here, something happens to zuko - solstice, on volcano, spirits and stuff being closer than before - and the biggest thing is that his ancestor is being channeled by the avatar : bridge between spirits and humans. Who was also an avatar.
So spirits are being channeled in a weird 'that is NOT how spirits work' similar to how that is not how the force works, until it does for plot reasons. Because why not?
Anyway, it doesn't become obvious until later when zuko is on the ship and has sailed away. So he gets a fever and says he doesn't feel good and passes out, but not before telling his uncle and crew - who are listening - that avatar roku was there and destroyed everything.
So he collapses and this is when things happen. Because uncle iroh - he is spiritually aware, maybe committing some treason against his brother by being in the white lotus, and knows that this is huge. Solstice where the spirits are more connected and able to manipulate in the world, on the (most likely) spiritual location, avatar enhanced solstice of a previous and blood relative to zuko? Clearly something is at work here and is worried.
This is also before the water scroll and the storm where the crew gets to know zuko a little more.
So the crew doesn't really have that much of attachment to him - but they do to his uncle who cares for him.
Anyway, things happen and he is sick on and off but is not sick for the duration of water scroll and the blue spirit - because he needs to do them - so he is sick before and after the events but not during them.
But after that is finally when the spirit related thing happens (like to think that it really grasped him when he pretended to be a blue spirit afterwards) and also he was really stubborn and could outlast the spirit related thing.
So by the time the bato of the water tribe episode - he has suddenly become a young kid physically and mentally. He still thinks that azulon is the fire lord, lu ten is alive, his mother is still there, along with azula not as bad as she could be, along with the father still a prince.
Also because zuko is more open and doesn't have the agnst of lu ten dead, azulon prob suggesting either zuko dead or giving zuko to iroh for exchange in children, mother most likely killed azulon and is persona non grata and not talked about, father fire lord, and azula being more and more awful - kind of a different zuko as he doesn't have the memories or agnst yet.
So zuko is all excited that he is on a boat - uncle is here, there are so cool people (listen, he is a sheltered kid - these soldiers are clearly interesting to him as what they do) and other stuff. Sure he doesn't know how or why he is here but he is visiting all the cool places with his uncle to guide him.
Also his uncle decides to explain that there were some spirit shenanigans and that his mother knows what is happening. Also he asks the crew to go along.
So there is this kid zuko who is excited to be out of the palace and just shadows these cool soldiers - what do they do? how and why? just imagine him being a little duckling and shadowing everyone because they are amazing and so cool.
Of course there are some impressions that he knows some things that come through as well.
The crew are kind of in shock to meet this kid who was their bratty prince and captain that was explained in iroh's story, but they are soon disturbed by when he mentions azula, ozai, his teachers and other things.
Also just imagine his crew reacting to his scar free face smiling at them with joy.
So bato of the water tribe episode comes around and zuko wants to find out who this necklace belongs to. This brings the crew on the journey as this kid really needs protection from everyone that might take advantage of him, along with protecting him in general.
So they meet the gaang but they see zuko. little zuko who is all in awe of water tribe people, the avatar and the bison. So he is here to try and capture them because 'enemies of the fire nation' - no one is going to be taking this seriously by the cute kid - but then he notices appa. Who is big and fluffy. So he stares at the avatar and water tribe before running into the bison for hugs. Clearly this is more interesting than the avatar. the avatar - pfft, just a human. look at the fluffy, flammable - azula must never know - animal that gives really good hugs.
While that is happening iroh mentions to them that this was coming for a bit ever since the solstice. and could the avatar, bridge between spirits and humans unravel this? please? as much as they love child zuko, he is gone. they need the zuko that was chasing them. because time passes by and fleeting and it was nice to see what changed, but zuko grew and had to understand. This child zuko is of the past. They need the present.
But for reasons zuko can't be un de aged at the moment.
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That is it for now I guess.