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Chapter Text

“Please, Father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart. I’m sorry I spoke out of turn!” Young Prince Zuko pleaded as he groveled at the feet of his father.

“You will fight for your honor,” Fire Lord Ozai demanded as he stepped forward. Zuko lifted his body off the ground to face him then slowly bowed to the ground again.

“I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son,” Zuko said on the verge of tears.

“Rise and FIGHT prince Zuko!” Ozai said while walking towards Zuko in a terrifying and intimidating manner.

Bowing even lower, “I won’t fight you,” as Zuko made the decision to deny his fathers requests. He got on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face.

“You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher,” Ozai said while looking down at his son who looked up with wide, tear stricken eyes, terrified for what’s to come. His sister Azula, Commander Zhao and the entirety of the fire nation at the battle looked in anticipation while his Uncle Iroh sat there in horror. He closed his eyes, looked away as Ozai struck Zuko with flames. Screams filled the room. Horror stricken faces graced few as faces of satisfaction were the many.

“You will leave the fire nation and not come back until you have retrieved the avatar. Is that understood?” Ozai demanded, standing there amidst a crying and bleeding Zuko.

“Y-yes Fathe-er,” Zuko stuttered as his father looked at him with disgust and failure. Ozai walked away, leaving his uncle, Iroh, to take him back to his quarters. Zuko’s heart had been shattered while his now burnt eye throbbed and bled.

2 Years Later - Present Time

At the depths of the Western Air temple, Prince Zuko and Iroh stand. A bandaged Zuko stands there as the wind blows his hair and he begins to speak.

"Uncle, when do you think I will capture the avatar?" Prince Zuko asks impatiently as he looks into the abyss angrily awaiting an answer from the man.

“You must be patient Prince Zuko, as the time will arrive,” a nervous Iroh answers in a calm and understanding tone. As Zuko grows angrier, the corner of the platform he is standing on starts to crumble as he topples down the mountain to his demise. Once he falls to the bottom a surprising boost of air from his hands stops him from impacting the ground. He lays himself down on his stomach and turns over to lay on his back. He looks with wide eyes up to his uncle.

“Did you see that?” The boy whispers in shock then repeats again much louder. “DID YOU SEE THAT? That must have been the avatar! I know it is uncle!”

“I don’t think so, Prince Zuko. I saw it come from your hands,” Iroh yells down as he looks at him in shock. He somehow finds his way down safely and helps him up.

“Maybe you’re right. It felt…different. Like it was something inside me that opened for the first time,” Zuko stares at his hands as he focuses, calms down and tries again. 

*SWOOSH* *SWOOSH* is the sound the punches make as they hit the air with a current that slams forward and rustles an old tree, breaking off a few branches.

“What the-,” Zuko exclaims while throwing a few more punches. His and his uncle's eyes widen as they run to a room that was locked when they first arrived and the only way to open it is with airbending. Zuko walks up to it and throws a punch full of air in the tube that opens a series of horns until the doors finally open. Inside are many different statues, stopping at what seems to be Avatar Roku, the fire avatar before the airbender. 

“This doesn’t make sense. The airbender should still be alive... and be here. And even if he is…isn’t there an order the elements go in?” Zuko asks himself and his uncle.

“Interesting. Very interesting,” Iroh says as he sits down in the middle of the spiral of statues. “Come Zuko, sit with me,” Iroh softly says as Zuko walks over. 

“What’s this for uncle?” Zuko says, questioning his uncle's methods.

“Meditate with me. Reach your inner soul and find truth and wisdom. Do it with me,” the two sit still, eyes closed, legs crossed, hands on knees and a relaxed mind. “Be light like a feather and breath.”

Zuko and Iroh sit there, calmly breathing as a flash of light fills Zuko’s mind. He jumps at the sudden flash which makes Iroh slowly open his eyes.

“What do you see,” Iroh calmly whispers as Zuko keeps his eyes closed. 

“I see…the avatar. He was encased with ice and…never escaped. Then I see 2 people with their eyes glowing,” Zuko says with a slightly trembling voice. The visions keep showing up leaving him to wonder why he is being shown these visions. As they lead on, he finds himself face to face with a girl who is wearing Earth Kingdom clothing and sitting with crossed legs and hands on her knees.

“My name is Avatar XinRui. I am the first Earth avatar to live in this new cycle and the second avatar in the cycle. You may be wondering why you are here, yes?” Avatar XinRui speaks calmly as she looks into Zuko’s eyes and waits for an answer.

“New cycle..?" Zuko says as he shakes his head to distract himself. "Why am I having these visions and why can I shoot AIR OUT OF MY FISTS?! I’m a Firebender!” Zuko yells in confusion and rage.

Avatar XinRui stands up tall as she walks forward and looks right at him. “Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, you are the Avatar, ” she states as she places her finger on his forehead. 

“WAIT-,” Zuko yells as he flashes back to reality. He jerks forward onto his hands and knees, face sweating profusely as he sits back down. He looks at his uncle with wide eyes as he starts to speak.

“Uncle, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Chapter Text

“So it is true…” Iroh says, head down in a knowing tone. He sits there for a while not speaking but soon lifts his head. He looks at Zuko's sweating shocked face when his bandage falls off leaving a scar that was brought forth to him by his father 2 years ago.

The two sit in silence for a while until Iroh speaks up. “I had a feeling that there was something up. Before the hundred year war, the avatar was nowhere to be found and was assumed to be dead by the nations. The water and earth nations claimed that they found the avatar yet we all thought it was a plot to overthrow the fire nation. Now I believe that it was not a lie.”

Zuko stands up with anger and storms out of the room. He roams around the temple as he feels a familiar sensation around him. He snaps to the side as he feels a hand on his shoulder but turns around to see no one there but a statue of a woman. The statue says nothing, as Zuko walks forward sensing an eerie feeling.

“Avatar Yangchen, an air nomad and the air avatar coming before Kuruk, Kyoshi and Roku,” Iroh pokes up and says as Zuko jumps and falls down. 

“Uncle! What are you doing!” Zuko yells, worrying as to how he got over here so quickly and how he happened to find him in one of the most secluded spots in the temple.

“You’re not alone Prince Zuko. Your time has come and it is your job to understand that the fate of the world is on your shoulders. You must master the elements and take out those disrupting the balance of the world. Choose your path wisely my nephew for it will decide your fate,” a calm and astute Iroh speaks. He stands there awaiting an answer from the boy in front of him. He is waiting patiently as he watches the boy turn away sharply, eyes widening as he walks forward to stop him from leaving.

“You don’t get it do you uncle. The fire nation is counting on me, my father is counting on me. What’s he going to do if I tell him I am the avatar? I don’t have what it takes uncle. Face it, I am a failure,” Zuko says as he walks away, not looking back.

He walks away back to the statue room to hopefully clear his head. He walks into the room as he finds himself back in the center of the spiral of statues, relaxing his mind and body as he meditates calmly with no distractions. He finds himself back in the room in which he met the past avatar. A new face also appears in the same position as the other girl.

“My name is avatar Hayeni, the first water avatar in this new cycle. It seems you have called me here,” the water avatar speaks as Zuko sits in a calm manner as he sits straight. The room around them seems to be a bright forest with a view of the ocean around them. It seems like a fantasy as the trees rustle and he happens to be sitting on an engraving of the fire nation insignia. He looks across to the avatar and sees a water insignia, then next to him on the right is an earth engraving. On his other side, or anywhere, he doesn’t notice one air symbol. While it is the order of the avatar cycle he notices that it starts with water and ends with him, leaving an empty space for the next air avatar. Zuko closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He starts to speak.

“Why…why are there water, earth and fire engravings but no air one? It seems interesting to say the least,” Zuko spoke as he stared in curiosity  at the avatar across from him. 

“That- that’s what you want to know? Well, when the avatar left the air temple during the storm, he never…died. His avatar spirit did which caused him to be considered dead,” the avatar speaks in confusion and truth as he looks at Zuko.

“Then how have you and Avatar XinRui been able to continue the cycle and call yourselves avatars and how is it that I also am a new avatar if the spirit is dead?” Zuko, head down in thought, speaks to the avatar.

“The avatar spirit, as you may have possibly guessed, is a real spirit. And as long as they are a spirit they can…freely roam the world in search of a new host once one dies. That’s the avatar cycle. But what that airbender did, abandoning his home and life caused the cycle to be broken and for me to start it back up again,” he speaks unsure about his answer but then feels eyes looking at him. 

“So…he’s still alive…right? I mean, I might as well just look for him if I need to find bending teachers, yes?” The Prince questions as he gradually gets more and more impatient.

“While you may be on to something, you have to promise me one thing…” Hayeni starts as the 2 grow closer in curiosity.

“…what?” An inpatient Zuko asks with a resting face.

“You must promise me that you won't make the same mistake as he did Zuko. You are our only hope to stop the war and to bring peace. You must succeed Zuko. YOU MUST!! ” Hayeni yells as he grows closer to Zuko and sends him flying back as far as he can until he hits the ground, concussing his head and surrounding himself with glowing statues. 

As Zuko lays still and unconscious, Iroh somehow finds him…AGAIN, and bolts into the room as fast as he can and sees the menagerie of glowing statues surrounding the boy. He bends down and quickly but surely, lifts the boy up and checks his pulse. A fast pulse followed by shallow breaths is felt as the boy bolts up and opens his eyes as the glowing slowly drains from his eyes and the eyes of the statues around him. The avatar is alive, and the whole world knows it

Chapter Text

Being revealed to the whole world may be devastating for some but for Zuko, it's more than just getting revealed. His father, the fire nation, and his family now knows that the avatar is alive and nothing will stop them from getting the avatar home and alive whether with Zuko’s help or not. The situation he’s in doesn’t help either seeing as he is the avatar. Zuko wakes up in Iroh’s arms, eyes flickering open as he is faint and struggling to make out the figure standing over him.

“What…happened?” Zuko speaks as he puts his feet down and sits up straight, holding his head.

“I am not sure prince Zuko but you did pass out,” Iroh responds calmly but worried. There is a faint glowing at the top of the room where it slowly disappears. Zuko looks at a little puddle, at his reflection, in shock, soon running to the nearest mirror he knows of and looks in it to see a faint glowing in the corner of his eyes. His eyes start to widen as he realizes what’s happening. He stops to slowly turn to his uncle.

“...they know. The whole world knows the avatar is alive and I’m the reason. Father…he knows,” Zuko says, shaking as he looks at his uncle in shock. As he looked away in shock, he ran away to the way they got into the Western Temple and climbed up the rope that hung down. He looked near the water to spot fleets of fire nation ships heading towards him. He slides down the rope and runs back to warn his uncle.

“Uncle…they’re on their way…a lot of them,” Zuko yells as he runs into the room short of breath.

“Don’t tell me…” Iroh responds knowingly, refusing to believe the truth that has presented itself. He readies himself for combat while Zuko stands there, pondering the choices he has to make about this situation.

“No. We won’t go into combat. Where is one place they’ll never look…” Zuko says as he made the decision to not go into combat and instead flee somewhere outside of the air temples and far away.

“Well, the avatar is not a water avatar and even the fire nation knows that. So let’s flee to the water tribe,” Iroh mentions as Zuko quickly agrees.

“Which one? Northern is much more protected but Southern is much more secluded and hard to find,” Zuko questions Iroh before they head out.

“Good question Prince Zuko. I believe we should go where the tide takes us,” responds the uncle with a calm stature as Zuko prepares the materials to put on their ship docked on the opposite side of the way the Fire nation’s invading.

“Now is NOT the time for inspirational words, uncle. But yes, I do believe we should go to the place in which we find first,” Zuko says as he gives in to his uncle's shenanigans. They sneakily head up to the boat from the air temple, avoiding all spots open to those on ships with telescopes or binoculars. As they made their way to the ship, they quickly let down the spare rowboat on the side as Iroh sat inside with bags of food they grabbed from the ship. They let the crew know that they were on their way to a new location where the ship was not needed and set out on their journey.