This is an AU fic. It happens in season three, not sure when exactly, but after 'Awakening' and before 'Black Sun part 1'. Probably won't be shipping, but if there is, Cannon pairings hold (no Zutara). For the most part, Cannon holds up until the events of this story, with one future exception (you'll see what that is later on). Though I'm not sure as to whether or not I'll include Combustion Man. Enjoy, and review.
Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was walking alone through a small Fire Nation village. He was alone, and wearing a hooded robe and the clothes of a commoner. He had his dual swords with him in case he met danger that his firebending couldn't fix. He knew his father wouldn't have approved, but he didn't care. If he was going to rule these people, he would need to understand them. Keeping the hood up over his head, he walked through the street. As he walked, a boy caught his eye. The boy had hair and was wearing a headband, but Zuko would have recognized his face anywhere. The Avatar. Zuko sucked in his breath and ducked into an alley. When he was sure that The Avatar hadn't seen him, he came out from his hiding place and began to follow him, his mind racing. As far as his dad knew, The Avatar had died in Ba Sing Se. And Zuko was the one who had killed him. If his father found out The Avatar was still alive... Zuko shook his head. He would need to finish the job, right here, right now.
Aang was walking through the market when he saw a familiar face. Zuko. And from the looks of it, Zuko had seen him too. The prince had hid an alley for a moment but came back out when Aang didn't react to seeing him. In the instant he had seen Zuko, Aang decided to go back to Sokka, Toph and Katara. He headed back to their camp, with Zuko following him.
"Guys!" Aang said. They, minus Toph, looked up at him.
"Aang?" Katara asked. "What's wrong?"
"It's Zuko," Aang said. "He saw me in the village and he's following me now." Katara's gaze narrowed.
"Then we need to go," she said. She was about to get onto Appa when Sokka spoke.
"Hold on," he said, raising one hand to tell them to stop. "This may not be such a bad thing. Zuko's the prince, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well, if we're able to capture him, we might be able to force the Fire Nation into a truce." Katara stared at him.
"And how do you propose we do that?" She asked. "Wait in the trees until he arrives then throw a net on him?"
"She has a point Sokka," Toph said. "How are we suppose to contain him." Sokka picked up a stick and began to draw in the dirt.
"Here's the plan," he said. He drew a stick figure meant to be Zuko. "We wait in the trees until Zuko comes. Then, when he least suspects it, Aang and Toph form a ball of earth around him." He drew a circle around the figure. "And then we just keep him in there until he wears himself out."
"What about his firebending?" Katara asked.
"That's the beauty of it!" Sokka said. "We'll turn his bending against him! While he's in the earth ball, everytime he firebends, the ball gets hotter. Once he's trapped, he won't be able to bend without cooking himself."
"You know," Katara said, "this isn't that bad a plan." Sokka smiled until he realized the thinly veiled insult included in her words.
"Alright," he said. "Into the trees." They climbed into the trees and waited for Zuko. Eventually, the prince arrived. Using eartbending, Toph and Aang followed Sokka's plan and trapped the prince in a sphere of rocks.
Zuko ran through the forest until he reached a clearing. There was The Avatar's bison, but no one else. Too late did he realize that it was a trap. The ground he was standing on came up and surrounded him, trapping him. He firebent at the sphere but it had no impact. Enraged he kept firebending, the temperature within the sphere rising with each blast. But still it would not give. After a few more blasts he noticed the air was becoming stale, and he was having trouble breathing. His eyes widened and he looked around to see if there were any holes, any way for air to enter the prison. To his horror, there weren't. The sphere had a limited amount of air and he had used most of it to power his flames. He gasped, trying to take a gulp of air. He tried to firebend again, but only a small flame came out. he wiped the swaet from his brow as panic came over him. He remembered what his uncle had said about the power of firebending coming from the breath. He coughed and sank down, bringing his knees to his chest. Couldn't breath. Couldn't firebend. He coughed again, his vision blurring as the prince suffocated. He weakly tried another fire blast before slipping into unconciousness.
Toph had been listenign to the prince's heartbeat closely and knew the moment he had passed out. Once she wa sure the danger was gone, she opened the earth ball. Sure enough, laying on the ground unconcious, was Prince Zuko. They all looked down at him then at each other.
"Now what?" Aang asked. "We tie him up and bring him with us?"
"We won't be able tie him up," Sokka said. "Toph, you know those earth gloves the Dai Li use?" Toph nodded. "Well, do you think you'd be able to restrain him by using something similar?"
"No problem," Toph said. Soon, Zuko's hands were bound behind his back with earth. Sokka then picked up the prince and tossed him into Appa's saddle.
"Now let's get out of here before someone spots us," he said. They all got onto Appa and Aang grabbed hold of the reigns.
"Yip-yip!" He yelled and Appa took off. Little did they know, as they left they were being watched by two Fire Nation soldiers.
"What do we do?" One of them asked.
"Contact the Firelord," the other said. "And tell him his son has been taken prisoner."