After losing the Avatar at Kyoshi Island, Zuko, Zeraphina and the rest of the men on the ship continued their search for the elusive Avatar. Though they sailed for a few days, there were no signs of the Avatar, and the map of his movements wasn't very useful in the long run.
The only clue that they had found that related to where the Avatar was heading, was a water tribe necklace found on the ruins of an earthbending prison hold run by the fire nation. It was the same necklace that the water tribe girl that had been traveling with the Avatar. It was the closest thing to their path that they could find. And Zuko was even more determined not the lose him.
However, as Zuko continued looking for the young airbender, Zeraphina spent most of the time to herself in her room, meditating and focusing her mind on her fire. Since Kyoshi Island, she's been having strange dreams, much stranger than her usual dreams. There weren't as clear as they were once before, shrouded in mystery like a fog over her eyes.
She sat on her bed, meditating as she tried to make sense of her previous dream. In her mind, she stood in a room shrouded in a bright red light, flames all around her as she stared at a single figure in front of her.
A man dressed in fire nation clothes with long white hair in a traditional top knot. He seemed strong and was smiling at her.
"Hello, Aang. What took you so long?" The man said. Zeraphina was confused, but she turned to her right and saw the Avatar standing by her side. It didn't seem like Aang could see her, but it didn't matter, as someone else was in the room along with them.
"Who is this man?" Zeraphina asked.
"He is the previous Avatar. His name is Roku. I had the pleasure of conversing with this man only once before the hundred year war."
"What did you speak about?"
"The future, as many would if they were like me and the Avatar. We were both fairly worried about the Fire Nation and the path Fire Lord Sozin was treading upon. I wanted to do something, but Avatar Roku told me to stay out of the battle."
"But why would he say that? Surely you would have been able to help fight in the war."
"Not without you, dear child. You know what you are, and you know what I am. There is no possible way for me to do anything without you."
Zeraphina looked up at the owner of the voice, seeing their eyes filled with pain and regret. The pain of not being able to do anything in the war, and the regret of not trying harder to help. She reached out her hand towards the voice's owner, feeling their warmth course through her fingers.
"I understand. I just.... hope that the Avatar can defeat the Fire Lord. He's just a child after all." Zeraphina said.
"I know, but you've seen your dreams. You know that this war is going to end very soon."
"Yes, I know."
Zeraphina stood there, watching as her dream continued. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but by the way Avatar Roku looked as he spoke, she could tell that he was very serious.
Slowly, she came out of her trance, finding herself in her room just as a knock came to her door.
"Come in." She called out. The door opened, revealing Zuko with dirt on his shoulders and sweat on his brow.
"My Prince, what happened to you?" Zeraphina asked.
"I had to find my uncle before we were able to leave." He said, sighing and taking a seat next to her on the bed.
"That doesn't explain all the dirt on your shoulders. You're usually pretty put together. Did something happen to Master Iroh?"
Zuko nodded, "My Uncle was soaking the hot spring and when I left him alone for a while longer, I went to check up on him. There were unnatural rock formations all around the area, so I concluded that he was captured by Earthbenders. I found him and we fought the soldiers before they could crush his hands."
Zeraphina sighed in relief, "Thank goodness you were able to find him in time."
"I was able to find information about where the Avatar was heading."
"You did? Where's he going?"
"He's heading to a crescent shaped island in the Fire Nation."
Zeraphina's eyes widened, "The Fire Nation? My Prince, you can't be serious about going back to the Fire Nation just to chase him down. There's no telling what might happen to you if you return."
"I'm doing it, Zera. My father will understand why I'm going back to the Fire Nation if it means capturing the Avatar."
Zeraphina sighed and placed her hand on her chest, "Don't think for a second that the Fire Lord is a merciful man, My Prince. If he was, you and I would still be in the Fire Nation eating raspberry tarts like we used to."
Zuko chuckled, remembering those carefree days as children. The only happy days he could ever remember that happened in the Fire Nation."
"Well, what have you been doing while I was gone?" Zuko asked quickly changing the subject, "You've been in your room for days now, hardly ever coming out."
Zeraphina smirked at the young prince, "Oh, are you worried about me?"
Zuko didn't say anything, which gave Zeraphina her answer.
She chuckled, "I've been meditating." She answered, "My dreams are getting confusing now."
"What do you mean by confusing?"
"Like I said. I can't see very much in my most recent dreams, there's so much fog that I can't see things very clearly. But I know for sure that I was in a fire nation location."
"The Fire Nation? Does that mean we may be going back home?"
"I don't know." Zeraphina shrugged, "But it's possible that we may be coming across the Fire Nation very soon."
"Why do you think that your dreams are getting confusing?"
Zeraphina stood up and looked out her window, seeing the setting sun ripple across the waves below. Many times, Zeraphina could tell the time of year and day just by the light of the sun. And from how the sun looked now, the time of the year it was, a very special day was coming very soon.
The Winter Solstice.
It could also explain why she was hearing the voice much clearer than normal. She could even see the owner's shape just a little bit.
"I don't know." Zeraphina lied to Zuko, "But we should be careful. I don't have a good feeling about what's coming up."
Zuko stood up and walked over to Zeraphina's side, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever it is, you'll figure it out." He said, then left her alone in her room.
~~~~~
Zeraphina slept, but her dreams were the same as usual. She stood in front of Avatar Roku, who continued to speak to Aang in that fire nation room. But, as she thought the dream would continue much like before, it changed.
She saw herself, standing with Avatar Aang. There was white everywhere, the full moon shining brightly above them as they stood in front of a large pond. Zeraphina could feel the cold all around her, but Zeraphina's future self had her hood down, her red hair flowing down her back for all to see.
"Is she really a DragonBorn?" Katara's voice asked.
"There's no way. DragonBorns don't exist." Sokka claimed.
"And yet...." Another voice said, one that Zeraphina could swear that she had heard before but couldn't place immediately, "I've met her before."
Zeraphina watched as the scene changed once more. Zhao was standing in front of them, a damp bag in his hand as he glared at Zeraphina's future self.
"If you do anything to harm that spirit, Zhao, you will be facing the wrath of a dragon!" She shouted at the Commander.
"Like I'm afraid of a little girl that was just lucky to be blessed with the fire of a dragon!" Zhao shouted back, "Without that hair, those eyes and that mark, you would be nothing!"
A great fire burned in front of her. Zeraphina could feel the heat of the fire rising within her, and all she could see was a figure covered in flames with white glowing eyes. The figure bent a great wall of fire straight at her.
~~~~
Zeraphina gasped, her body drenched in sweat as she shot up from her bed. Her dream was horrifying, and she never wanted it to happen. But her dreams always came true, no matter what she tried to do in order to change it for another future.
One of the greatest downfalls of being a DragonBorn.
"Zera!" Zuko shouted from outside her door, "We're getting close to the Avatar! Meet me on the deck."
Zeraphina sighed and quickly got dressed in her uniform and her hooded cloak, encasing her entire body in it before she left to meet the prince. Her eyes stung at the sight of the sun, but she embraced the warmth it gave off.
"Zeraphina." Iroh said, gesturing for her to stand close to her. She complied and stood close to the old man as they both watched Zuko look through his telescope.
"Sailing into Fire Nation waters." Iroh said, "Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish."
"You sound just like her. I have no choice, Uncle." Zuko said.
"My Prince, has the three years at sea scrambled your memory?" Zeraphina said, "I said it before and I'll say it again. The Fire Lord, your father, banished you from the Fire Nation! Who knows what will happen if you get caught!"
"I'm chasing the Avatar, Zera! He will understand if that's the reason."
"You give him too much credit." Iroh said, "My brother is not the understanding type."
Zuko ignored his uncle and friend, finding the Avatar's flying bison in the air just ahead of them.
"There they are. Helmsman! Full steam ahead!" Zuko ordered as the men on the ship brought up the catapults to shoot them down.
"Ugh! Really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something a little more fragrant?" Iroh asked as he fanned the smoke away his fan.
Zuko lit the large ball of coal on fire, "On my mark. Fire!" He shouted and the fireball was launched into the air. It missed the bison narrowly, but just then, they all saw something that made their blood run cold.
"A blockade." Zeraphina said, seeing the rows of fire navy ships on the border of the Earth Kingdom waters and those of the Fire Nation.
"Technically, you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now, and they cannot arrest you." Iroh said to his nephew.
"He's not turning around." Zuko said ignoring his uncle once again.
Zeraphina rushed over to the Prince and took him by the arm, "I'm begging you, My Prince. Let's stop here for now. The Avatar may be heading that way for now, but he won't risk the chance of being in the Fire Nation for too long."
Zuko looked down and shook his arm from Zeraphina's grasp.
"I'm sorry, Zera." He whispered, "Run the blockade!"
The ship didn't stop, continuing to sail after the Avatar into Fire Nation waters. As they sailed, fire balls from the blockade began flying towards the sky bison and their own ship. One of the fireballs hit the ships engine, causing it to sway badly.
"Prince Zuko!" The engineer shouted from the burning engine, "The engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs."
"Do not stop this ship." Zuko ordered.
The ship continued to head toward the blockade, but their path was slowly being blocked by the ships.
"We're on a collision course!"
"We can make it!" Zuko said.
Just as they came close enough to the ships, the ships cut their engines and allowed their own ship to pass. For a moment, Zuko and Zeraphina saw Zhao on one of those ships, glaring down at the two of them as they continued to sail off.
"What's he up to, Uncle?" Zuko asked, "Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"
"Because he wants to follow you." Iroh answered.
"Master Iroh is right, My Prince." Zeraphina added, "He's going to follow the smoke left behind from our ship all the way to the Avatar, the prize both of you want so desperately."
"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do." Zuko turned to Zeraphina, "Zera, I want you to take a couple of the men and make a bigger smokescreen. Be quick, we'll be heading out soon."
Zeraphina nodded and rushed over to the men nearby.
"Orders from the Prince." She said, "We need to make a smoke screen large enough to cover a small boat. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Milady." They all said and quickly got to work creating a big cloud of smoke.
They continued sailing until they got close enough to the crescent island. Zuko took Zeraphina by the hand and helped her into a small boat slowly being lowered into the water.
"Uncle, keep heading North." Zuko said, "Zhao will follow the smoke trail while Zera and I use it as a cover."
Iroh looked worried, but they continued with the plan. Zuko and Zeraphina sailed over to the shore and made their way inside, climbing up the many stairs to reach the top. All of a sudden, Zeraphina stopped in her tracks.
"Zera? What's the matter? We have to go." Zuko said, but he turned to see that her eyes were wide, and the color had changed.
"Zera?" He asked, carefully walking closer to the girl.
"There is no need to worry." Zeraphina said, but her voice.... it wasn't hers.
Zeraphina climbed up the stairs passing Zuko, who stood there in shock. He quickly shook it off, reminding himself to ask Zeraphina about what had happened later on.
As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, they heard voices. They climbed just a little bit higher and saw five Fire Sages standing in front of large door.
"It's the Avatar's lemur." One of the sages said.
"He must've crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked."
A white and brown lemur jumped onto one of the sages, while the water tribe siblings tackled two of the others. One of the Fire Sages betrayed the others and kept one of the others still.
"Now Aang!" The betraying Fire Sage said.
"Aang! Now's your chance!" The girl, Katara, shouted. But it was already too late. Zuko and taken Aang by the hands and pinned them behind his back.
"The Avatar's coming with me." Zuko said, "Close the doors, quickly."
Before Zuko could get Aang close to the stairs, the Avatar broke free and threw the prince down the stairs. Aang ran towards the room, passing by Zeraphina who did nothing to stop him. For just a second, Aang could see her smiling at him, mouthing the word 'Go', as if encouraging him to escape.
Aang barely made it into the room before the doors shut and a bright glow erupted from the cracks in the door, sealing it shut. By that time, Zuko had come back and tried to open door with five fire blasts, but alas, it was sealed.
"Why isn't it working, it's sealed shut!" Zuko growled.
"It must've been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." The head Sage answered.
"Of course he doesn't." A voice said behind them, "Avatar Roku simply wants a word with his reincarnation."
The sages and the prince turned around to see only Zeraphina standing behind them. She stared at the sage who helped Aang try to get into the room and smiled at him, seeing no form of malice in his eyes.
"Lady Dragon?" The sage said with a quivering voice.
"Tell me, why did you help the Avatar escape from the prince? You don know the consequences of this, right?" Zeraphina asked.
"Because it was one the Sage's duty. It is still our duty." He answered.
Suddenly, a loud clapping sound echoed throughout the room. Everyone turned to see Commander Zhao and several of his men walking up the stairs, a great big smile on his face.
"What a moving and heartfelt performance." Zhao said, "I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."
"Commander Zhao--" One of the sages bowed.
"And, Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors in one day. The Fire Lord will be pleased." One of Zhao's men took Zuko into custody, holding his hands behind his back.
"You're too late, Zhao!" Zuko shouted, "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."
"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out. Tie him to the pillar."
The soldier did as he was ordered and secured Zuko to one of the pillars in the room.
"When those doors open, unleash all your fire power!"
"Commander Zhao, what you are doing is dangerous to the balance. If you want to continue living to see the end of this war, I suggest you give up your search for the Avatar this instant."
Zhao didn't take the threat to heart and casually walked over to the DragonBorn.
"Oh, my dear Lady Dragon. How kind of you to worry about something like this. But, I'm afraid your worries will be a waste." Zhao chuckled and placed his hand on her cheek, being careful to keep her hood on so no one else could see her.
"Once this is all over, and I deliver the Prince to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar, I will be rewarded greatly. Perhaps, part of my reward will be you."
Zeraphina growled, unconsciously summoning bits of her fire at his feet. Zhao stepped away from Zeraphina to avoid getting burned by her flames.
"It would be wise to never touch me again you filthy pervert." She glared at him, "Angering a dragon leads to devastating consequences."
They stood in silence for a moment, before the doors began to open, a bright blue light glowing from the room and two eyes staring at them.
Just as the fire benders shot their fire, something else controlled them. A figure stood in the center of the fire, bending it at will so it never hit him. A man with glowing eyes and long white hair dressed in fire nation robes.
"Avatar Roku!" Zeraphina shouted, her own fire reacting the the past Avatar and swirling around her. The flames began to protect her from any harm.
The fire continued to surround her, but a voice spoke to her.
"Hello, DragonBorn." Roku's voice spoke to her, "I hope that you will continue to watch over and protect my reincarnation."
Zeraphina smiled as her body grew warm and her vision became darker.
"As the others before have done, I shall do the same." She said before her vision turned black.
The last thing she remembered was a pair of arms keeping her up and carrying her away.