So this is my second story! Yay!
Anyway, it's an idea I had for a while:
What if Zuko didn't escape from the gang at the North Pole?
And what would happen as they made their way to Ba Sing Se with a high profile prisoner? Well this is what would have happened (in my mind). Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Captured
At the North Pole…
"What if he gets free?" Yue asked timidly from behind Sokka's shoulder.
"He won't... This is some quality rope." He replied smugly as he tied the complicated knot around the prisoner's wrists.
"Maybe we should tie him up with something he can't burn off." Katara suggested. She promptly went to their belongings at the back of Appa's saddle and pulled out a long thin chain they'd acquired from the many times Aang has been captured by Zuko. She grinned at the thought of Zuko being bound by his own chains. She then returned to the unconscious fire bender and tied the chain around his legs and arms.
"Just in case." She said as she tied the last knot and froze the metal with her water bending. Once Sokka made sure the bonds were solid he moved the hefty teen to the center of Appa's saddle so they could keep an eye on him.
Just as Sokka roughly placed the Fire Prince down, he grunted. They all paused and stayed perfectly still, waiting for their enemy to make a move. After a moment of drawn out silence, and making sure the prisoner was still out cold, Aang grabbed their attention with a "yip, yip," and they were off in the snow-filled sky.
They arrived back at the Spirit Oasis in time to see Zhao holding La, the spirit of the Moon, captive. The firebender was still unconscious behind them and there was no telling when he would wake up. Before Aang jumped down from Appa, he turned to the others.
"Sokka, Yue, come with me. Katara, I need you to stay with Zuko while we deal with Zhao." He commanded with authority beyond his twelve years.
Sokka nodded to the young monk and helped Yue down from Appa's saddle. Katara moved to the front of the saddle to keep an eye on the action, but still be close enough to the captive if he were to try anything. She was listening to the banter of world balance between Aang, the demented commander of the Fire Nation Navy, and now General Iroh when she heard a strangled moan coming from behind her in the saddle.
She whipped around to see the banished Prince struggle his way to a sitting position. Thinking that she would be met with opposition, she pulled water from her water skin and positioned it in front of her.
Zuko looked around at his surroundings, but his eyes didn't focus until the waterbender came into his view. He narrowed his eyes when she bent water in front of her and opened his mouth to speak. But a familiar, bellowing voice cut him off.
"Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold! Let it go now!" Iroh shouted from the other side of the oasis.
"Uncle?" Zuko searched frantically for the owner of the voice. When he spotted his uncle, he struggled violently against his chains. Once he realized he could not get free from the chains, he wiggled himself closer to the edge of the saddle.
"Oh no you don't." Katara mumbled as she bent her water into a water whip aimed for the Prince's head. She could see the beginnings of a red welt forming on his scalp and realized that it would take more than that to incapacitate him. Zuko swung his head around so fast, she flinched.
"I suggest, Peasant, that you quit this before something bad happens to you." He grunted and turned back to his uncle who was now fighting a group of soldiers. He also noticed Zhao sneaking away from all the chaos.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Katara asked, clearly not fazed by his malicious tone. "It's not like you can do anything; you're all tied up." She finished smugly.
Zuko growled, but otherwise ignored the peasant as he made his way back to the edge of the saddle.
Katara suspected this and went to pull more water, but the water wasn't responding. She looked up to see that the moon was no longer there and everything was darker than before. So instead she grabbed the end of the chain holding the prince's limbs together. She pulled the chain as hard as she could, causing Zuko to slide across the saddle towards her. When he came to a stop just before her, she took the end of the chain she was holding and tied it to a handle on the side of Appa's saddle.
The firebender turned to look into his enemy's eyes. The hatred in her blue orbs mirrored in his own. His glare intensified as a smirk appeared on the waterbender's face.
"I believe that's three for me… and one for you? How sad." She whispered haughtily.
"Untie me and we'll see how sad it'll be." He roared into her face as he struggled against his binds.
"As if." She said and turned to see everyone kneeling by the Koi pond. Katara swung one leg over the side of the saddle and just before she jumped to the ground, she looked at Zuko. "Don't go anywhere now." She teased and fell gracefully to the ground.
Katara kneeled beside Aang at the side of the Koi pond and looked at their saddened faces. "What happened? Where did the moon go?" She asked frantically.
Iroh turned to the young girl and let out a hard sigh. "Zhao has killed the moon spirit…"
Katara's hand flew to her mouth as she tried to contain the sadness that overwhelmed her. She turned to look at Yue, who had told them all a story about how the moon saved her life. Katara mused that the death of the moon spirit must be affecting her the most.
And she was right, because Yue's cries could now be heard throughout the oasis. "There is no hope now…" She cried as she huddled closer to Sokka.
Just then, an eerie blue light filled the air around them and they all looked to Aang, who was now in the Avatar state and walking into the pond.
Zuko struggled against the chains that held him. He used all his strength to try to get free. He saw a blue light shining from somewhere across the oasis and instantly knew what it meant: the Avatar state. And if he had any doubts about it before, the multiple voices laced as one that floated to his ears only reassured that it was what he thought.
The banished prince continued to struggle and ignored the blue light as it filled the oasis.
Zhao roamed the great ice city, trying to remember the way to his ship. He knew if he didn't hurry that the Dragon of the West would unleash his wrath upon him. And contrary to popular belief, Zhao was no idiot. He couldn't take Iroh in a fight. He couldn't even defeat the banished prince, but he blamed it on the fact he had caught off guard and underestimated the teen.
He ran through the streets taking turns at random, trying to find the massive wall that was at the front of the city. Suddenly he noticed the water glow a bright blue as it flowed alongside the walkway he was on. He decided to not think much of it and kept running, effectively dodging groups of waterbending soldiers as well as firebending ones.
As Zhao rounded another corner and looked up. He was almost to the wall, almost to his ship. But just on the other side of the wall, he saw it. A giant fish like creature, and the outline of a small boy in the middle of it. The Avatar, he thought as he ran faster.
Iroh looked up in sky just in time to see the moon reappear like magic. The avatar was busy with the ocean spirit and the young waterbender was comforting her brother over the loss of the princess. Now was his chance to get Zuko. He sneaked his way towards the giant bison that held his nephew. Every step closer, the beast would grow more anxious and began to growl when he was only a few feet away.
He tried to calm the beast down, just enough to get his nephew and get out. But the low growls coming from the bison made him change his mind.
"Zuko, are you up there?" He called out softly.
"Yeah." Zuko replied just as quietly. Iroh could only see the tip of his head as the prince tried to look at him. "Uncle, that peasant tied me to the handle, I can't get free. You'll have to untie me."
Iroh moved to go around to the other side of the bison, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned his head slightly to see the waterbender. What's her name? Ah, yes…Katara. The old man thought to himself.
"I can't let you take him, Iroh. I'm sorry, but he's too valuable to our cause…" She told him quietly.
"I understand where you are coming from, young waterbender. But try to understand where I'm coming from. Zuko is like my son… If you take him, that will be the second time I have let my son slip away from me." Iroh replied with emotion lacing his voice.
"I'm sorry, General, it's just something we can't do." Katara stood her ground and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Then, I'm afraid, we've come to a disagreement. I'm sorry, Katara, but I believe you understand the love a father has for his son…" The old general turned so that he was facing the young girl, but noticed that her brother was also standing there with weapons at the ready.
Iroh raised his fists to prepare for defense, but as soon as he did, ice crept up his body and took hold of it. Within seconds he was encased in ice from his toes to his neck.
"Wow, Katara! That was amazing!" Sokka exclaimed. "I didn't even see you move!"
"It wasn't me, Sokka, it was Pakku." She replied, exasperated. "He's standing right there you know." She pointed to the waterbending master and the chief standing off to the side.
"General Iroh… What a surprise. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to have to take you prisoner now." Master Pakku addressed the old man.
Zhao looked on as all but three ships were destroyed by the spirit and the Avatar. He also noticed the moon was back and how much of a failure this turned out to be. He should count himself lucky that he was now on one of the three ships that made out of harm's way.
He was furious to say the least. Zhao decided that if he was to return to the Fire Nation, it would not turn out well. He needed to come up with a plausible story that pinned the blame on other than him; most likely the retired General that threatened him. Just the fact that the general threatened him was enough to label him a traitor.
Zhao thought about the possibilities as his ships traveled to the nearest Earth Kingdom port.
Katara kept an eye on both the Prince, who was being led in chains from Appa to the brig of the ship, and also on Aang who was speaking with Chief Arnook. They were taking the firebender to Ba Sing Se for a higher security prison.
"Aang, are you sure you want to take the prisoner all the way to Ba Sing se?" Arnook asked the young Avatar as he was about to board the vessel. "That's quite a bit of responsibility. I'm sure my men would be more than able to take care of the Prince."
"Do you doubt the Avatar's powers, chief?" Pakku asked incredulously with eyebrows raised high.
The chief turned to the old master, then to the young Avatar. "Of course I do not doubt your abilities, Avatar. Good luck on your quest through the Earth Kingdom." Arnook then bowed to Aang and turned to walk back down the plank to the icy dock.
"Thank you, Chief Arnook." Aang said as he bowed at his retreating form. He then turned to his waterbending master.
"I wish you luck as well, but I must warn you." Pakku started. "Although general Iroh has escaped, I can assure you that he will do whatever it takes to get his nephew back. I do not believe he will return to the Fire Nation without his nephew, if at all. Please, be careful."
"Don't worry Master Pakku, we got this." Sokka said as he slung an arm over Aang's shoulders.
Pakku raised his eyebrow, "I'm sure you do." He turned to walk to the front of the ship as it sailed through the icy waters of the North Pole.
A couple weeks later, off the coast of a small Earth Kingdom town…
Katara, Sokka, and Aang were standing on the deck of the water tribe ship next to Appa.
"This is where we say our goodbyes." Pakku said as he faced the young people in front of him. "Remember what I told you, Aang. And continue with your waterbending practice; I'm sure Katara would be glad to help you."
Aang and Katara bowed respectfully to their waterbending master. "Of course I'll train Aang, Master Pakku."
Pakku nodded to his star pupil then turned to the tribesman nearest him, "The prisoner is on his way to the deck, yes?" He asked calmly.
"Yes, master. Mikk is bringing him here as we speak." The tribesman replied.
"Very good." The master waterbender replied, uninterested.
Shortly after, the waterbending tribesman named Mikk, arrived on deck with the firebending prisoner at arm's length in front of him. The prisoner was bound in chains and gagged with a wet rag. Aang saw the gag and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Why is he gagged?" Aang asked curiously.
Mikk scoffed and held his arm out to the avatar, "He breathed fire at me and my coat." There was a mass of fur on the tribesman's coat that was matted and black. "I didn't even know he could that," he added quietly.
"Oh…" Aang replied. "Can you get onto Appa okay?" He asked tentatively, ready to help if needed. Mikk nodded his head with a smirk and led the prisoner toward the giant flying beast.
Aang said his goodbyes to everyone on deck and airbended himself on the bison's head. Sokka and Katara had climbed into Appa's saddle and waited for their prisoner to be loaded. Mikk was hoisting the firebending prince up to saddle height when he lost his hold on the prisoner and he started to fall back down to the deck. Katara was fast though and caught Zuko's arm before he fell too far.
Her fingers burned from the weight she was supporting, but they also burned for another reason. "His skin is really hot, just so you know." Mikk told her as he hauled Zuko over the side of the saddle very unceremoniously and climbed into the saddle with him.
"Thanks for telling me." Katara said sarcastically as she examined her hand for burns. She then turned to Mikk and raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you planning on joining us?"
But before the young waterbender could reply Aang spoke up from Appa's head. "Pakku said he would sleep better at night knowing there were two master waterbenders to look after the prisoner."
Katara noticed that they were suddenly in the air and turned to the tribesman again, "You're a master?"
He nodded, and then added, "Yeah, Master Pakku has trained me since I learned I could bend. I've been a master for a couple years."
"Wow, that's amazing!" Katara exclaimed, "And so young, too! How old are you?"
Mikk chuckled, "I'll be sixteen this spring."
"Incredible…" She commented.
Aang turned around and boasted, "I became a master airbender at eleven! And I'm almost a master waterbender. Isn't that amazing?"
Katara tore her eyes away from the handsome young man and added, "That doesn't count. You're the Avatar- of course bending would come easy to you."
Aang harrumphed and returned to steering the bison. Mumbling something the rest couldn't hear. Sokka sat on the edge of the saddle between Katara and Zuko, sharpening his boomerang.
"I don't see what the big deal is," he put in. "It's just magic water… It's really not that special."
"You're just mad because you can't bend!" Katara countered.
"As if!" He cried. "Why would I want to waste all that time learning bending when throwing my boomerang gets the same effect?"
Katara just crossed her arms over her chest and mumbled a "whatever loser," as Mikk simply laughed at the entire scene.
"I'm glad I don't have any siblings." He mentioned then turned to the prisoner and asked, "What about you, Fire Price? Any siblings?"
Everyone stared at Zuko, expecting him to somehow answer them with the gag in his mouth. But the firebender just narrowed his eyes into slits and grunted. Mikk smirked and turned to Katara and Sokka, "I'll take that as a yes."
Katara giggled then situated herself to look over the side of the saddle as they flew over the land.
"Where are we going first, Aang?" She shouted over the wind as they picked up speed.
He glanced back at her and smiled before answering. "I thought we would check up on Bumi and see if he'll agree to be my Earthbending teacher."
"Shouldn't we take Zuko to Ba Sing Se first?" She asked quizzically.
"Omashu is closer. Plus, I just have this feeling that we should go there first." He replied.
Well, there you have it Chapter 1! 3000 words! Woohoo! I'll try to make every chapter this long, but I'm not sure if every chapter will be as easy to write…
Thanks for reading! Please review!