Summary: Suffering from fever over his conflicted emotions, Zuko is blessed by the dragons Ran and Shao with mysterious visions. Will this new gift be a curse to all that he had once believed in, or will it set him on a path that he had always wanted but never truly seen until now?

Warnings: Updates will be irregular and the pairings are for now, undecided. Warnings include a very AU version of season two's ending and all of season three, violence, language and possible death/ more spiritualism.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Avatar the Last Airbender, any of its characters or any of the pieces I use from the story. This is done solely for my enjoyment and for others. Standard disclaimer applies for every chapter.

Fire Dreams

Chapter One: Dragons, Dreams and Destiny

The bison leaves in a gust of wind and Zuko is torn between relief and gut-wrenching panic, now that the adrenaline has faded.

They leave Lake Laogai without really saying anything further and the walk back to their home is shrouded in a heavy silence that neither seems willing to be the first to break.

For the most part, Iroh is content to leave his nephew be, knowing he has made the right decision but is still young and expected to feel conflicted.

He won't pressurize the teen unnecessarily for he knows Zuko will speak to him when he's ready.

Zuko walks just a few steps behind his uncle, expression flat as he deliberates back and forth on his thoughts.

He feels strange, numb and breathless.

At first Zuko thinks its guilt, regret for his choices or fear that he's made a terrible mistake somewhere. That cloying sensation that he's messed up and failed again. The feeling that he can never do anything right.

However, as they get back into the city proper, he starts to think it's something much more than just anxiousness and panic, because he honestly does not feel good at all.

A cold sweat has built up along his arms and brow, and when they enter the street close to their apartment, Zuko realizes that he is starting to feel too hot as well.

He's used to being warm. It is after all, natural for a fire bender to feel slightly warmer in temperature compared to others, but this is noticeably too warm and practically stifling.

He glances up at his uncle, wanting to say something but also still a bit hurt from his recent lecture and not quite willing to be the one who speaks first.

They're steps from their building and at this point, Zuko is trembling slightly and trying to keep his breathing even.

"You did the right thing, letting the Avatar's bison go free." His uncle says, closing the front door once they are both inside.

Zuko barely hears him as he sways on his feet, unable to continue to pretend that he's alright.

"I don't feel right." He murmurs and doesn't register when his vision blurs and darkens.

"Zuko!"

Iroh rushes forward in alarm, crouching by his suddenly prone nephew's body.

There is heat rising from Zuko's skin and he gently picks the boy up, heading to the room and already listing the things he needs.

"Do not fret nephew, for I will not let anything happen to you."

Lost amidst the sudden burning fever and pain that racked his body, Zuko dreamed.

He dreamed of startling visions and images of things that had forever haunted his past, as well as things that he could never, even in his wildest nightmares, begin to imagine.

The Agni Kai with his father, stretching out before him, somehow becoming far longer than it really had been until fire spread with a burning voracity and all he could do was scream when it engulfed him…

Flames bit at his face and the fire burned into his very soul.

Three years at sea washed over the heat, filled with an emptiness he could not begin to fully describe and a purpose that left him questioning, doubting, hating everything, before icy water washed over him and he drowned in the darkness with bony hands, gleaming ghostly white…clawing, grasping, stealing…

Hunting the Avatar and facing trial, after never-ending trial, getting so close to perceived victory, only to fail each and every single time.

To be so close only to always fall short of his goal.

Blind, unrelenting determination that brought him what?

Honor?

Glory?

Fear?

Uncle's constant presence and kind words, his insistence to help and offer advise whether well-received or not.

His sister Azula with her cold laughter, as harsh and unforgiving as any winter snowstorm…barren promises mixed within honey-toned lies and torture.

He should know better.

After all, Azula always lies.

The Fire Lord, his father. The desire to please and get his attention while a small part recoiled and despaired.

His mother's face, fading every time he tried to reach out for it…gone, lost and almost forgotten...

Fractured, distorted and warped by turbulent emotions, the memories played repeatedly in an everlasting cycle, pausing briefly when he half-awoke from his sickness, only to return vigorously when he once again lost consciousness.

Nightmare followed by another nightmare, until it all vanished and his dreams turned into something else entirely.

Clad in the raiment and crown of the Fire lord, Zuko found himself kneeling upon the Fire lord's throne-mat, behind a screen of golden flames. In front of him stood rows of fire nation soldiers, and though he does not bring a hand up to touch his face, Zuko knows that the scar is not there (and strangely, he feels incomplete without it).

He sits impassively, not understanding the scene or its meaning.

On either side of him, are two lithe dragons, one blue and the other red, slithering down nearby pillars as if to address him.

"It's getting late. Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?" The Blue Dragon whispers softly and Zuko finds that its voice sounds compellingly like his sisters.

All too much sugar covering a bitter and cold fury.

"I'm not tired." He answers automatically, frowning as the Blue Dragon draws closer.

The creature sets him on edge.

"Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go, give into it. Shut your eyes for a while." It purrs.

"No, Fire Lord Zuko!" The Red Dragon suddenly shouts his voice reminiscent of uncle's. "Do not listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it is too late! This place is a trap."

Zuko's frown merely deepened, confusion welling up inside of him like a wave, with both dragons poised close by.

How could he leave when he did not know where 'here' was?

"Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko." The Blue Dragon murmurs, seemingly trying to comfort him but it only makes his nerves tingle and his skin crawl.

He wants to flee. Everything tells him to flee.

And suddenly the scene begins to disappear, swallowed by an inky blackness with the pillars crumbling into the void and the soldiers collapsing like rag dolls.

Zuko searches the darkness frantically for any light, any glimmer, and his eyes widen with distress…And then two golden orbs appear, followed by the face of the Blue Dragon, which is closing in rapidly.

"Sleep, just like mother!" It roars, jaws gaping wide as it consumes Zuko and throws him once more into shadows.

Then a figure appears and lowers the hood of its cloak slowly, revealing his mother's fine features and sorrow-filled golden eyes.

"Zuko, help me!" He hears her scream before the darkness consumes him one last time.

Iroh watched on in concern as his nephew thrashed around in his sleep, muttering unintelligible words with a constant grimace painted across his face.

The old general knew this was no mere fever with the spiritual energy hovering all around and that the sickness was like a battle for the young Prince, a fight against each idea, each moral roadblock that he had ever had.

A spiritual crossroad he would have to conquer on his own.

Iroh sighed and continued to wipe the teen's forehead with a cool cloth, wishing he could do a bit more than just watch and hope for the best.

"Be strong, dear nephew." He murmured, brushing aside a few stray raven locks. "Agni watches over you and so do I."

His nightmares are strange.

He sees himself as the Avatar and can't help screaming.

It's wrong, so wrong.

He remembers things he would much rather forget.

"Remember Zuko. Everything I have ever done, has been to protect you. Never forget who you are." His mother whispers sadly.

But who is he? Why did she leave to protect him? Why didn't he go with if he was in danger?

"Do you think we could have been friends?" The Avatar asks, looking wary but curious.

But Zuko has no answers because he is shocked by the question as well as furious. How could they be friends? Why does he want to be the Avatar's friend? Why does guilt gnaw at him every time they meet?

"Father's going to kill you." Azula tells him and in his heart he knows she is not lying. But still he hopes she is lying even if he is a fool for doing so.

Because Azula always lies. Unless she knows the truth will hurt him more.

His dreams are painful. He prays for them to end.

Far away from Ba Sing Se, giant creatures long forgotten, stir as they taste the torment of a fire-cousin lost among dreams and nightmares induced by a conflict within his spirit.

'He hurts.' The blue dragon sighs. 'And the spirits are not being gentle.'

'We cannot interfere.' The red dragon barks. 'It is not allowed and this is a critical moment in his fate.'

'You know what the current future holds.' The blue whispers soothingly. 'Even though they win, the world and spirits remain scarred...and our race...is forever extinguished. We cannot presume another future may occur if we just let it run the current course. We cannot afford to simply watch the world crumble before us and do nothing.'

The red dragon growls, crimson eyes gleaming with discomfort while frustration masks his aged sadness.

They had seen what the future held. The great comets arrival and a burning path of destruction. Trust broken amongst companions and endless betrayal. Raiders and looters. The Sun Temple's eventual destruction...

Their greatest kept secret...gone and along with it, the hope for their species...

…and then the world…

'Fine...' He eventually concedes with a sigh. 'But I do not think this will help.'

'How can we ever know if we never try?' The blue dragon says, sapphire scales shimmering under moonlight. 'We have to believe there is a different path. Nothing is set in stone.'

Within his world of darkness, Zuko suddenly finds himself lost in a barren land of rock and smog-filled skies of volcanic ash.

Despite the heat and loneliness, the scene is a more welcome sight than any of his personal memories. It is unfamiliar and that somehow brings him comfort.

But soon, the dream changes and Zuko almost chides himself for getting used to the momentary peace.

Voices whisper to him.

'You are fighting child...That is good.'

What was good? Zuko thought and suddenly the young Prince wishes for his fractured memories.

Screams and images flashed through his field of vision and he is brought to his knees by the intensity.

Things he had never seen. Conversations that simply could not be. Thoughts, emotions, pain...so much pain and betrayal...

A cavern of bluish green crystals looms around him and the water tribe girl is there, looking broken and guilty. Shameful…Confused.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before."

He is surprised at her words and the sincerity they contain.

He's conflicted by her change in thoughts. He sympathizes with her previous rage, after all, he too has lost his mother. Yet, her accusations are also unfair. He may have been hunting the Avatar, but it wasn't him that did the deed all those years ago. It wasn't him that attacked her people.

It's not fair for her to blame him.

In this prison, none of it seems to matter though…

She offers to heal his scar and he wants her to, but then his uncle and the Avatar are there and he feel's angry but the anger is muddled.

His uncle speaks.

"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good!"

Azula attacks and his uncle is trapped

"Release him immediately!" He demands. He doesn't understand what is happening. Why has it turned out like this? Uncle doesn't deserve this treatment.

"It's not too late for you Zuko. You can still redeem yourself." Azula says. A part of him holds hope in her words but another part whispers 'Azula always lies...'

He knows this but why…

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh tries to reason and Zuko wants to listen because uncle has always been there even when he hasn't wanted him.

"Why don't you let him decide, Uncle?" Azula smiles viciously. "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want."

The temptation is there but he is still unsure...Is it truly that easy? Nothing has ever been easy, why would it start now?

"Zuko, I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want."

But he betrays his uncle, he lets Azula kill the Avatar...and he goes home.

It's not what he imagined. He feels guilty and full of shame. Uncle won't talk to him and he feels awkward around his family. He should feel happy; this is everything he ever wanted!

Why does it feel so empty?

He sees more things that haven't happened. More impossible things.

He and Mai kiss. He loves her...Did he love her? They haven't spoken in years, nor seen one another or even written letters. How does that build love?

He sends an assassin after the Avatar, because somehow he knows the boy has survived.

After all, he survived one hundred years encased in ice.

He finds out Roku was also his ancestor. That he and Sozin were friends and that Sozin murdered him, simply so that the Fire Nation could have something that didn't seem to belong to them.

Sozin died hunting down the Avatar...alone, friendless and driven insane by his obsession.

Was that to be Zuko's fate? Forever hunting the Avatar. To be driven to insanity.

He is more confused than ever, but the voices urge him to watch, to learn and Zuko feels he must see it finished even if he doesn't want to anymore.

Zuko may be home, but nothing has truly changed. He's still the boy that was scarred and banished all those years ago...only now he's older and actually has the courage and understanding to fight for what he believes.

He confronts his father while the other nations lead an attack on the Fire Nation capital...an attack he knows will fail. He decides to help the Avatar. He knows it is the right path. He sees why he feels so empty.

He betrays Mai as well, leaves her behind in order to protect her. Why does he betray all those he cares for?

Zuko is still the same child who got burnt and sees that his opinions never really changed.

His honor was never lost.

And suddenly the images are a montage of swirls and actions he can barely understand.

A fight on air bender cliffs and gaining trust that felt so hard to obtain.

Dragon's alive, ancient sun warriors and true fire bending in a multitude of colourful flames!

Breaking into the Boiling Rock. Mai and Ty Lee taking on Azula.

Fleeing the Western Air Temple.

Sacrifice. Struggle. Fear. Duty to the world. Understanding. Friendship. Love. Sozin's Comet. Destruction.

...His uncle forgives him. He fights Azula for the crown.

There is peace for a while.

And then the world ends…

There's a darkness that can't be healed…Civil wars…hate, prejudice, cults and hypocrisy…restless spirits who have not been appeased…slaughter and carnage like none he has seen before…So much worse than the war.

Darkness.

Decay.

Death and the Dead.

Zuko is back in the field of molten rock and ash clouds, on his knees and breathing hard. Tears stream down his cheeks and his stomach churns at the things he has seen.

"What-w-why did I have to s-see that?" He utters in strangled gasps, smoke and sparks furling from fingertips in his agitation. "I don't u-understand."

'They are but one set of visions, of a so far, undetermined future. Choices not yet made and paths that have yet to be taken.' A voice rumbles and Zuko is suddenly on his feet, stumbling away from a large creature that was not there before.

Crimson eyes sparkle at him.

"A dragon." He breathes and the giant creature seems amused.

'Yes, dear one. We are Ran and Shao.' A second voice, much softer, whispers behind him and he is moving again when sapphire eyes blink.

"Ran and Shao?" He questions, looking from the blue dragon and then to the red and something makes sense. "The dragons I saw in the visions? The last two."

…and the Sun Temple burned, dragon blood staining the ground while the raging crowds screamed in victory as the last embodiment of fire, all that they hated, was extinguished…

'Indeed.' Ran agrees, blue scales rippling as she moves slowly.

'You are brighter than I thought.' Shao growls. 'Good, it will make this easier.'

"I thought all the dragons were gone?" Zuko asked quietly, because he is dreaming and this can't be possible. History tells them the dragons are gone. "They say my uncle killed the last one."

Shao roars and his scales shudder.

'We are here. We are not gone.' He rumbles like a moving mountain. 'Your uncle is a true fire bender, worthy of the flame. He understands balance.'

'Iroh spared us on his pilgrimage, when he learned that fire was not purely destruction.' Ran murmurs. 'That fire can be so much more. That it can also be life and change.'

"How?" Zuko asks. He wants to know. He wants to make sense of these things he has seen. These emotions he has felt. "Please explain."

He can't believe he is begging.

Ran looks sympathetic.

'It is hard little one. We cannot give you all the answers and we haven't even shown you all that could be. The spirits won't allow us to interfere completely.'

"Then what can you tell me? Why did you show me all this?" Zuko cried, frustrated. "What do you want from me!?"

Everyone wanted something.

'We want you to make a difference.' Ran answered, unmoved by his shouting. 'We want you to invest change before you make those mistakes...We want a future.'

Mistakes? Zuko frowns and then his gut clenches. Betrayal. Going home.

"How do I know your visions are real?" He demands. "This is a lie. A sick, twisted dream brought on by my fever. You are using me like everyone uses me! You just want me to save you from extinction!"

'Not a lie!' Shao roars and Zuko trembles at the rage he can taste in the air until the dragon calms and seems more empathetic. 'We simply want peace. No suffering. Change. A future just like you. A chance'

'You saw the imbalance that occurs.' Ran murmurs. 'You saw the dead and what will come to pass.'

The teen thinks back on the visions, the memories of what they claim will happen.

Sunstone...

"It feels alive." He had told the Avatar.

Could it be a dragon egg?

He can feel the truth in the visions even if he doesn't want to...He can sense the way events and choices will unfold...because he knows his uncle and what he would say. How he would act if hurt or betrayed. Knows his uncle would welcome him back if he should atone for his mistakes.

And deep down, he knows Azula, maybe even more than he truly knows himself. He knows his father...and knows that maybe his honor wasn't lost...he simply did not believe in himself enough to continue fighting for what was right.

…and the dead.

Zuko shivers even as he looks up at the circling creatures.

"What must I do?" He asks. "What can I do?"

Changing his choices was one thing, but to prevent the spirits from seeking revenge?

Ran and Shao twirl and spin in a dance he has also seen. A dance he and the Avatar did to learn true fire bending.

'You have been shown what will be if you follow a certain path.' The dragons intone. 'The future is what you wish it to be and so the choices are yours to make.'

The world began to fade and the dragons dancing became more chaotic. A swirl of colours. A sense of encouragement and multi-toned flames warm and comforting around him (in him).

And Zuko knew nothing but darkness, final parting words and a caress of warmth.

'We can only advise and give you these tools...and hope the choices you make, are the right ones…' Shao utters.

'Destiny is nothing but decisions…and the will to fight for what you truly believe in.' Ran whispers.

There are other futures besides the one Ran and Shao have shown him. The future they say is current and most likely to happen.

Zuko's dreams continue, diverging and coalescing into other horrifying images and thoughts.

The alternate paths are sometimes darker...more dangerous. And sometimes, the paths are nice yet no less chaotic.

The young prince has found that just one minor change can cause an imbalance or sudden alteration...leading to a future of completely unknown results.

Every decision, no matter how small, can bring hope...or complete destruction.

When he finally slips into a more restful sleep devoid of anything but quiet darkness, Zuko wonders why he always finds himself in situations that seem horribly unsuited for him to deal with.

Golden eyes snapped open and Zuko sat up so fast, his joints clicked in protest.

His eyes take in the dingy room and...

Back in Ba Sing Se?

He heard a familiar humming and could smell different hints of tea in the air and what he thought was porridge.

Uncle.

The teen sighed heavily and collapsed back onto his sweat-soaked sheets, images and thoughts from the dream, echoing in his head and his body completely worn even though he has been sleeping.

What would happen now? Was it all that simple? Could he change the future just by being him? By making choices for himself?

Did he try?

Was it all real?

…and the spirit world trembled at the potential change. Pathways that lead to future outcomes, rippled and warped.

A few noticed the slight alteration, not all of them benevolent or amoral.

In the shadows of his tree and terrible forest, the Face-stealer grinned.

How interesting…

A/N:

Notes;

I am using the theory that the Sunstone is really a dragon's egg in disguise even if not truly confirmed in canon.

Dragons (Ran and Shao) have the ability to see possible futures and their outcomes. They cannot interfere without permission and even then, it's more of giving the person advice.

Though Kou is amoral and not actually specified as evil, he does have great potential as a villain especially when great villains are usually the ones where you can't tell what they truly want.

On a side note;

Embers by Vathara is a great inspiration for most of my Avatar works, and if I achieve even a fraction of the greatness they did with that story, then I will consider it a fantastic accomplishment.