AN: So, I got a review that I wanted to answer. Since it may be a popular question.

TifaValentine99

Will this become a Zukaang (Zuko/Aang)?

Yes! It won't happen for a while. But it will turn into Zukaang.

Enjoy!

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Water to Put Out the Fire's Past – Chapter 2

It was obvious that the five of them would have to ride on Appa in order to reach the Southern Air Temple.

Zuko looked at the Sky Bison warily, he didn't think it looked very safe. The Avatar had no such worries and jumped into the saddle.

The two teenagers from the Water Tribe had the same hesitance. They may have ridden Appa before, but not when the animal was flying. The older one apparently was disbelieving that the animal could fly.

Zuko had no such thoughts, he had heard stories about the Airbenders and their Sky Bison. If the Avatar said he could fly, he knew it could fly.

"Come on Zuko, Iroh. Air temple here we come!" the airbender was excited.

Iroh laid a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Come on, nephew. I'm sure the air temple will be a sight to behold."

Zuko smiled, he wondered how it different it would be compared to the Western Air temple. That temple had been upside down and they had gotten there through the use of one of the Fire Nation's hot air balloons. The banished prince watched as his uncle climbed the bison to get into the saddle. Zuko quickly followed after him. The two siblings had climbed into the saddle while his uncle was talking to him. As brief as it was.

The Avatar grinned, "okay. First time flyers. Hold on tight. Appa, yip yip."

Zuko thought the words were weird, but he guessed it was some type of word, so the bison would know to fly. He started to grip the saddle tightly as the bison made his takeoff. It wasn't until they were in the air and gliding that his grip slackened.

The airbender looked amused and Zuko felt himself flush. He glanced at his uncle to see him completely relaxed and looking around him. And the more they flew through the sky, the tinier the Fire Nation ship became.

That was when Iroh turned to face the Avatar, "Aang, would you mind to indulge an old man's curiosity? Where have you been these past 100 years? Most would expected you to be an old man, not a young child?"

The young airbender look ashamed when he heard the question. He didn't have time to form an answer before Katara answered.

"We found him frozen in an iceberg," Katara cut in.

Iroh's eyebrows rose in wonder, that was an answer he hadn't been expecting. But it made sense. If Aang had frozen himself in the iceberg, it was very likely he wouldn't age. It was like the Airbender had been frozen in time. He didn't miss the guilty look on Aang's face. No doubt there was a story, but the child felt ashamed about it.

Iroh didn't expect to hear the story, that was when Aang started speaking.

"I ran away… it was like everything and everyone had changed. I couldn't handle it. I never wanted to be the Avatar. All I knew as soon as they revealed I was the Avatar. I was suddenly different, any friends I had, I lost. The monks thought friendships would distract me from my duties," Aang's voice was soft.

Iroh laid a comforting hand on the Avatar's shoulder. The teen looked at the older man.

"It is a heavy burden. But that should never stop you from making friends. It is our friends that help make a person's burden easier. But there is no shame in running away. Life has a funny way of surprising us. What matters is that you are here now." Iroh smiled.

Aang gave a half smile, no doubt the running away was weighing heavily on his mind.

Zuko was gazing out to the sky, looking for the Air Temple. Aang had said they would be there in a few hours. He spared a glance around him, everyone was awake except for Sokka. It was still pretty early. Aang was still looking out and guiding Appa towards the temple. Katara was currently speaking with his uncle. He was a little worried for Aang. He had been listening when the Airbender explained about running away. But he didn't think anyone told him where the Fire Nation had annihilated the airbenders.

Katara gave Zuko a wary glance when he decided to sit near Aang.

The Avatar noticed immediately and smiled, "morning Zuko."

The firebender gave a small smile, the teen's bright mood was slightly contagious. That was when his eyes went wide. The air temple came into view and it was stunning. They weren't the structures that were upside down. They didn't have the grey walls with green roofs. There were blue temple spires all over the temple. You could see a path leading to all the buildings. No doubt the sanctuary was the biggest and tallest tower. The temple overall seemed a little small, but it was still intriguing to look at. Zuko had never been to the Southern Air Temple before. Even though the sun had barely been out, the light was reflecting on one of the spires.

Aang's expression seemed to be even brighter.

"Aang, I know you probably don't trust me yet. But you need to know that the Fire Nation had gone after the Air Nomads. They already went after the Southern Water Tribe. There is a lot of people in the Fire Nation that follows the Firelord's orders without question," Zuko didn't want to have this conversation. But he knew that Aang needed to know what to expect.

Zuko caught the look that his uncle gave him. It was a look of sadness. There wasn't going to be avoiding finding the remains of the airbenders.

Zuko was expecting Aang to be in denial of Zuko's words. He didn't try to explain more when Aang seemed confident that the airbenders escaped. He knew that the Fire Nation didn't need a Sky Bison to reach the temple, they had hot air balloons and the comet on their side. He wound up going to his uncle's side and that's when he noticed that Sokka was finally awake. The teen wasn't openly glaring at him, but it wasn't a look of trust either.

"He doesn't believe that the Fire Nation killed all the airbenders," Zuko whispered to his uncle.

The words caught Sokka and Katara's attention. They knew this already, but the conversation intrigued them a little. They had only heard stories from their grandmother, not from the Fire Nation's perspective.

Iroh sighed, he knew this would probably happen. "Aang probably won't have the truth sunk in until he sees it first-hand. And he will, no doubt the remains are still around the temple. It is impossible to hide that truth from him. There is still hope, he is the last airbender. That means there is a chance the Air Temples can be restored."

"How?" Katara suddenly asked.

Iroh turned to look at the young waterbender. "Aang is still at heart, an airbender. Despite that he is the Avatar. Even if he is the last airbender in the world. That will keep hope that more airbenders can be born. Even if Aang is the last Airbender, there is hope that it won't be that way for long."

Katara looked stunned, "how could the Fire Nation do that?"

Iroh gazed up at the sky briefly, "it all started with Firelord Sozin. He started the war one-hundred years ago. He wanted to conquer the world. So, he used the comet to exterminate the Air Nomads. Avatar Roku had already passed by then. Avatar Roku was the only one standing in Sozin's way of dominance. And he knew that the next Avatar would be born into the Air Nomads."

Katara covered a hand over her mouth in horror, "how could they do that?"

"Most of it is because everyone is expected to follow whatever the Firelord orders. To do otherwise would be treason. Which can be punished by death," Iroh bowed his head.

Katara was too stunned or shocked to say anything else.

"But you and Zuko aren't following what he has said. You're helping Aang defeat the Firelord. Wouldn't the Firelord want the Avatar?" Sokka asked.

Iroh nodded. He glanced to see his nephew listening to the conversation with a dark look in his eyes. He had always worried about his nephew, especially since he told him that he was going to disobey the Firelord. He wasn't going to capture the Avatar. Iroh had felt a heavy heart, but he would follow whatever his nephew wished to do. He felt proud of him, Zuko wasn't following blindly on orders. He was following his heart, he was truly his mother's son. Iroh knew it was a hard lesson to learn. For Zuko to know that his father never truly loved his children, just the power it brought them. The war meeting had shown exactly who Ozai was and it wasn't pleasant. Zuko had the scar as physical proof. The truth had been a heartbreaking one and he knew that Zuko is struggled with those painful memories. He already knew that Ozai had planned to kill him had Ursa never intervened and protected him. He had been one of the few that she had told before she was banished for treason. Apparently, his brother still had some love for his wife, otherwise she would have been killed for her actions. Not only was he worried for Zuko, he was also scared for him. He knew what would happen if someone found out they were helping the Avatar. Treason. And his nephew wouldn't be as lucky to just be banished like his mother was.

"Which is why is it best that we keep the Avatar's existence hidden as long as possible. It will be inevitable that people will learn that the Avatar is alive. You will have those from the Fire Nation that will try to capture him and you by extension," Iroh warned.

Iroh got two twin nods from the siblings.

The air temple had been really interesting to see. There were some tense moments when Aang realized how much things had changed in the past 100 years. And if Zuko got glared for snickering because Aang knocked Sokka off the pillars in Air Ball, he wasn't going to complain. What was really interesting was watching Aang show off his airbending to gain access to the sanctuary. Zuko silently watched as his uncle did a small bow towards Avatar Roku.

"Who are you bowing to, Iroh" Katara asked.

Aang smiled, "that's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me."

Iroh nodded, "a highly respected Avatar. I had heard stories of him in my youth. There are some that still pay respect to him. After all, he grew up with Sozin."

"The Firelord that started the war? You mentioned him earlier today." Sokka commented.

Iroh nodded, "yes. Once a time the two were friends. A friendship divided when the war was started. Though, the war didn't officially start until after Roku had died."

Sokka looked disbelieving, but he didn't say anything. It was hard to believe that a Firelord and Avatar had been friends.

That was when Aang spotted a Lemur and decided to chase after it.

Zuko glanced at his uncle, "he's going to come across some of the Fire Nation, isn't he? We've already came across one."

Iroh sighed, "it can't be avoided. I just hope he does not come across someone he knows. It would no doubt activate the Avatar inside him. That's if it doesn't once he comes across any firebenders."

Zuko looked worried, "we should find him. Maybe we can calm him down."

"Would it really activate his Avatar state?" Katara asked as she walked with Iroh, Zuko, and Sokka.

"It is hard to say. But it is very likely. No doubt the young Avatar was close to his people. It will have a huge impact on him," Iroh spoke softly.

"Oh no! We're too late," Katara shouted as they got closer to the center of the temple.

Zuko could see Aang's airbending tattoos glowing, his anguish was activating the Avatar State. He was creating a ball of air around him with his airbending. Aang was already starting to create a tornado. "Come on, we got to help him."

"Aang!" Zuko shouted.

"Snap out of it!" Sokka yelled.

"Aang! I know you're sad that all the Airbenders are gone! But you still have us," Katara yelled.

"We're your family, you aren't alone!" Sokka shouted.

Zuko wasn't sure if Aang could hear all three of them yelling. Not until he saw Aang who had started to hover with the ball of air around him, descend slowly back to the ground. He didn't try to get closer until the ball of air disappeared. He had to catch Aang when he started to fall, no doubt the Avatar state took a lot of energy out of him.

Iroh stood a few feet away, concerned. Even he had to admit, Aang could be very powerful once he was trained.

Aang's voice was small and sad, "I'm sorry. You were right the whole time. They probably found the other temples. I really am the last airbender…"

Zuko let Aang put his weight onto him. "I promise it's not completely hopeless. Someday, there will be more Airbenders."

"You really think so?"

Zuko smiled before nodding, "come on. We should go."

Aang nodded.

"We will need to move quickly," Iroh commented as they made their way back to Appa.

"What do you mean, uncle?" Zuko asked, still supporting Aang's weight.

Iroh looked solemn, "when Aang activated the Avatar state. The statues on the Avatars in the sanctuary started to glow. The Fire Nation will know that the Avatar has returned, as will the Firelord. The quicker you make it to the North Pole and master Waterbending, the better."

Aang looked down, "so it's my fault the world knows I'm back before we ready for them to know."

"It's nobody's fault. The world would eventually find out," Iroh said gently.

That cheered Aang up a little and tried to see if he could walk now. His steps were still a little wobbly. Zuko and Katara frowned in concern, but Aang seemed to be recovering his energy quickly. It didn't take long before everyone was on Appa again and they were taking off.

"You will have to drop me back off at the ship," Iroh stated once they were an hour into flight.

Zuko looked at his uncle surprised, "you're not coming with us?"

"It will be better if I follow. Too much of a big group would get you noticed more. It will be better that you ride with your friends on Appa. I will meet you all at the Northern Water Tribe," Iroh's voice was kind. He didn't want to separate from his nephew. But this was more of Zuko's path than his. But he would always follow closely behind to keep an eye on them.

Katara raised an eyebrow, "I doubt they'll let you by. I imagine they're not a big fan of the Fire Nation."

"I will be fine. I have some allies within the North Pole," Iroh said with a secret smile.