Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, The Last Airbender
Zuko closed the steel door behind him, drawing a long breathe. What was it about that water tribe girl that always got on his nerves? Was it her constant mistrustful attitude she displayed around him, or maybe how around her everything was his fault? Maybe it was how she always, always had to point out that he was a worthless exiled monster no one wanted around? Glad to know someone cares…
Recently Zuko had developed a more patient and mellow attitude, and he was confident that she would be dead if he had been the same as he had been before they left Ba Sing Se. Right now though, he was just grateful to get a break. Things had not been easy since he joined the Avatar's quest to destroy his father.
The warmth of the steam rising from the water startled him, the cold air around the steel ship chilling his bones. He turned the shower on, and watched the warm water fall from the shower head. It would be so nice to take a shower, considering he hadn't properly bathed in two weeks. The annoying water bender still occupying his thoughts, he jumped into the steaming shower.
Katara marched down the hall towards her room, an unsatisfied expression sketched across her beautiful face. She opened the door to her room and shut it with haste. With a heavy sigh and fell to her bed. Why did she give Zuko a hard time? The young fire bender had gone through a lot, recently revealed to her. It couldn't be easy dealing with his banishment, then becoming a fugitive, and having to leave his uncle behind in Ba Sing Se. And now one of his new companions would not stop insulting, tantalizing, and driving him crazy.
She still did not know why, although she tried time and again to convince herself it was because they were on board a fire nation rebel ship, the feeling of insecurity driving her crazy. Zuko trained with Aang all day, patiently helping him through all the basics. That was something she did not expect Zuko to have, patience. Toph was absolutely miserable, not being able to see or earth bend. And Sokka, well he just sat in his room with his boomerang mumbling insults about the fire nation. Katara knew she could trust these rebels, but there was always that feeling.
Not to mention her current problem with a certain banished fire nation prince. Katara glanced at the far side of her metal room, knowing that Zuko was probably right on the other side of that wall. She cursed her luck a hundred times with the rooming arrangements to be right next to Zuko and having to share a bathroom, but that was much more preferred then sleeping down in the lower wet and very cold levels of the ship. At least on this level the engine kept it a bearable temperature.
Maybe a nice shower would calm her thoughts. She smiled as she imagined the nice warm water hitting her skin. Yes, that would be extremely refreshing. She gathered a towel and some clean clothes and walked the short distance to the bathroom. Her trail of thought constantly went back to Zuko, and she found that she was unable to avoid the subject. Katara was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even noticed the muffled sounds of the water falling behind the thick red curtain. She undressed and undid her hair, preparing to clean herself. Slowly she approached the curtain and reached for it.
Maybe I should apologize to him, and we could smooth things over. I'll talk to Zuko tomorrow and maybe we could come to some sort of agreement, possibly become friends.
She withdrew the curtain and exited her stubborn thoughts, realizing the water was on as she stepped into the tub. Katara stopped and turned around to see a very naked Zuko absolutely still, in the middle of washing his hair. His eyes were wide with surprise and he didn't move a muscle. Katara's mouth was wide opened and her eyes too, were wide open. For about fifteen seconds the motionless, naked teenagers did not avert their eyes.
"Oh my god!" Katara finally broke the silence and jumped out of the shower, throwing the curtain closed behind her. Did that just happen, please spirits tell me that did not just happen! Extremely fast she wrapped a towel around her semi wet body and ran back to her room.
Zuko still stood motionless inside the shower, unable to move. He came out of his trance shortly, turning off the water and stepped out, drying himself off and dressing. Slowly he walked out of the bathroom and to Katara's room, where he knocked on the door.
Katara buried her face into her pillow, positive that her entire body had changed from her very dark tan to bright red. Why? Why of all people did that had to be Zuko? Even Sokka would have been better! She was confident that it couldn't get much worse until she heard a strong knock on her door.
"Who is it?" she asked with her face still I the pillow.
"It's Zuko, can I come in?" Katara looked down at herself. She was still in a towel, but it hardly mattered after what he just saw.
She stood and tried to control her blush, but knew she failed miserably. Slowly the water bender walked towards the door and opened in half way, revealing a fully dressed Prince Zuko. He had a firm look on his face handsome face, a slight hint of a frown curving his lips.
"Come in," Katara gestured towards her room and he nodded, stepping into the steel room. He stopped in the middle of the room and tried to look like he was observing the room, but failed. The two stood in awkward silence for a good minute until Katara spoke. "Look, Zuko I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and I didn't notice you, it was just a mistake, I hope you can forgive me."
"I came to apologize to you," he said, refusing to make eye contact.
Katara glanced up from the ground towards him. "Apologize to me? But why?"
"I wanted to make sure you didn't feel violated in anyway, and I am sorry I saw you that way." He finally looked at her, his golden orbs making contact with her blue ones.
"Well, I'm more embarrassed than anything but I don't feel violated."
"Good and I hope we can both just forget about this."
"Of course," Katara said, and for some reason unknown to her, a slight feeling of disappointment filled her stomach. "And Zuko, I also wanted to apologize for the way I have been acting around you lately. Everything has been pretty crazy recently, and I know it has been for you too. I don't mean to insult you and annoy you, I hope you know that."
Zuko gave her a curious look, but it eventually faded into one of his rare smiles. "Apology accepted, now if you excuse me I am pretty tired and of course the shower is open if would like it."
"Thanks, good night Zuko."
"Good night…Katara." She smiled when he said her name, for like his smile it was a rare occurrence. Zuko left and went to his room.
Katara took a shower and went to bed, the fire prince still on her mind. Not only the entire conversation with him, but the undeniably amazing body he had. Katara involuntarily smiled at the thought.
Zuko did not move, just kept his eyes out in the distance. Behind him the earth bender gave another sigh. "I hate this!"
"Give it a rest Toph, we'll be on land in about a day, just hold out a little longer." said Katara. She walked behind Zuko, blushing like she always did when she came near him. He wore his newest style, something similar to his fire nation armor but shades of green.
He just kept his gaze to the horizon, watching the sun go down under the endless far stretching sea, a wall of black clouds out in the distance. Something was not right for the young prince, something wrong. He had a bad feeling in lower depths of what soul he had, and his mind convinced him not to ignore it. He turned his head ever so slightly to get a look at the group behind him atop the long warship's deck.
Sokka silently sharpened his boomerang on the edge of deck, mumbling god knows what. Toph sat miserably on the cold steel and Aang was no where to be see. Katara swirled her long beautiful hair with a graceful twirl, smiling ever so brilliantly while practicing her water bending. He gave a small smile when looking at her and his eyes uncontrollably undressed her with lust. He shook his head to get the rid of the thoughts, but the image of her in the shower would not stop coming back to him.
A shiver suddenly coursed its way down his spine, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his swords hanging from his side. What was it about this entire moment that felt so wrong to him? He learned recently to trust these feelings, and he roughly turned away from the edge of the deck, approaching the group. Katara stopped her joyful practice and blushed yet again as Zuko stopped near them.
"Where is the Avatar?" Zuko looked at all three of them, waiting for an answer.
"He has a name Scar Face," said Toph while flicking the metal.
"So do I," Zuko countered. "Where is he?"
"I think he went to take a nap," said Katara while gesturing to the door. Thunder suddenly crackled in the distance. All four turned in the direction to see a wave of clouds moving steadily along the ocean surface to the east. Bright flashes of light erupted behind the massive swirling abyss of spirits fury, followed by echoing claps of thunder. Zuko squinted and then looked back to the door. "Something wrong Zuko?"
He turned back to her, a worried look on her face. "Stay here," was all the young fire bender said. He began to walk towards the door, but stopped when he felt a soft hand along his arm.
"Zuko, what's wrong?"
"Please, just stay here." He looked back at all three of them, each giving him a strange look except Katara who looked extremely worried and scared. Appa grunted from his small pen on the other side of the deck as the thunder got louder. Everyone turned back to the storm to see it getting closer. He looked into Katara's eyes one more time before he turned back for the door. Silently, he turned the metal handle and entered the dark hall.
A dim red glowing light was visible at the bottom of the stairs which led out into the main hall of the highest floor. Zuko slowly made his way down the stairs, his hands still tightly holding his swords. When his boot finally hit bottom step he stopped. The hall seemed to stretch endlessly, the dark morose lights hardly giving any light. The ship groaned as the engine churned, moving along the water.
His agile and strong legs kept him balanced as he took uneasy steps down the dark hallway, his eyes scanning every inch of steel. Another moan of the ship danced along the walls. His steps became more and more careful as he crouched into a battle ready stance.
Ever so silently he withdrew is swords, disconnecting them and picking up his pace down the hallway. His footsteps were completely silent among the steel flooring, and he gracefully leapt along his way. Soon he came to an intersection and he turned right, making his way into the maze of metal tunnels. Something inside told Zuko to go faster, faster before something happened. He didn't know what, but it wasn't good.
He continued along a few more hallways before coming to another set of stairs which he slid down with ease. He stopped a few steps from the bottom of the stairs at a metal door. Sheathing his swords he knocked. "Avatar, it's Zuko, open the door!"
Nothing.
He growled in anger an hit the door again, this time a little harder. "Avatar!" This time he hit the door extremely hard, denting the metal and causing his knuckle to bleed. Without hesitation he unsheathed his swords and cut the handle, running into the larger quarters. He stood ready to fight, only to see nothing but a trashed room.
Clothes lay sprawled across the floor, the beds destroyed and the furniture broken. Searing marks of ash and soot stretched along the wall. Zuko put away his swords and approached night stand, the only piece of furniture not in pieces. Atop there was a small piece of paper. He reached for it, turning the parchment over to see one word.
Forsaken
Zuko's eyes narrowed and he crumbled the paper into a ball, lighting it on fire with rage. He turned back to door and began to walk out into the hallway, the paper disintegrating into ashes on the floor.
"Sokka, something's wrong." Sokka looked up from his boomerang to his sister who held her hands together, rocking nervously back and forth.
"I'm sure everything's fine Katara, Zuko's just paranoid." He ran a finger along the sharpened edge and placed his weapon back into its case. He walked towards his little sister and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. "Besides, if something did happen then you got me to protect you."
"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. Behind them a roar of thunder shook their very roots, startling all three of the gang. Lightning crashed into the ocean just miles away, followed by another ear shattering bang. Waves started to hit the side of the ship hard.
"You know, I wonder why the captain hasn't steered us away from the storm, I wonder what he's doing," Sokka scratched his head. "In fact I haven't seen any of the crew today, just you guys."
"Yeah, me neither." Katara and Sokka both turned to Toph waiting for her reply.
The blind girl looked their way, but then waved a hand in front of her face with a dump look on her face. Katara gave her a mad look but looked up at the bridge, a tall two story tower stretching from the center of the deck. She squinted to see inside the room behind the red tinted windows, and then gasped.
"Sokka, aren't boats suppose to have a pilot?" She asked.
"What? Of course."
"Ours doesn't." She pointed to the top of the tower, and both saw the same as the other. No one was in the bridge.
Zuko came to another ladder and jumped down the narrow chute, landing with a loud bang at the bottom. As he moved, his eyes grew narrower, the sharp edges of his swords starting to glow with fire. The air around him grew warmer, quickly increasing in temperature. He finally came to hallway he was looking for, a long wide one with no doors on either side. When he was about halfway down the hall he jumped, spinning through the air in a flip.
As gravity pulled his body back to the ground, his right sword came around, the edge flaring with fire. Before it even made contact with the metal the ground started melting from the intense heat. His blade cut through the steel with ease, and he slipped through his opening. He fell a short ten feet and landed loudly on his feet.
One hundred surprised sets of eyes landed on Zuko. He stood fully, fire erupting from his body and swirling around him. All the crewmen stepped back from the intense heat.
"Azula! I want the Avatar back!"
"Ah, Zuzu, I was wondering when you would show up." Azula tried her best cover her frown with a smirk. How the hell had he just done that? She studied her brother, amidst the flames the engulfed the area. She could feel the immense heat, and a bead of sweat dropped from her forehead. His swords were ablaze, the edges lined with streams of blue fire.
"Give him back, now!" With every word Zuko yelled the flames grew more intense. Azula heard the noises, and was smart enough to figure out what was going on. Zuko was sinking the ship.
"Actually I think I'll bring him back to father, maybe his head will make a nice decorative in your old room."
"I wasn't giving you an option…" With that Zuko's blades sparked to life, lightning dancing around the very warm metal. The flames around him turned blue, and the crewmen rushed to get out. Their clothes burst into flames from the immense heat, and they screamed in agony.
Azula took a step back as her brother took a step forward. A support beam from the ceiling melted away and fell to the ground, crashing into the protesting metal trying to withstand the heat. Zuko brought both blades up to the ready.
"Get the Avatar and go!" screamed Azula to her lackeys. Mai and Ty Lee quickly obeyed, throwing an unconscious Aang into the back of a small boat. The ramp lowered and thunder suddenly pounded the ears of everyone inside the lower cargo hold of the ship. Water splashed inside, huge waves knocking the already beaten ship out of balance. The chamber filled with steam, the flames evaporating the water.
Zuko saw the ship prepare to leave and growled in pure anger. Screaming with rage he spun his blades in circles over his head. Massive bolts of lightning crashed into the hull of the smaller ship, exiting the enraged prince's swords.
Inside Ty Lee yelped in surprise as the steel exploded, the powerful attacks destroying the outside. Water immediately began to pour into the ship, and the two frantically tried to escape. They threw Aang out first, and he hit the steel hard, slipping towards the the open sea.
"Do not loose the Avatar!" screamed Azula. Before she finished the words though, a screaming lightning strike whizzed by her head, tearing through reinforced steel and out into the water. Azula brought a hand up to her head, the left side bleeding and deaf. She saw a blur of movement as Zuko ran passed her, kicking her in the stomach while he ran by. She fell to her knees in pain.
Zuko slid along the broken platform and scooped up Aang just before he fell into the sea. Quickly he turned around and ran as hard as he could carrying the Avatar over his shoulder. When he returned to his flames they grew bigger. Mai saw him run, and in a last desperate attempt threw a long knife his way. It didn't even come within ten feet of the fire bender for it melted before it could.