Why was it so dark? It's daytime… Right? It has to be, unless my sense of time has been askew. Still, I should be able to see some light, the stars, the moon- Anything? I'm still on the ship, aren't I? I can feel the swaying motion of the sea- But something isn't right. The waters between Ba Sing Se and Ozai Island are always rough, but there is no irregularity- And then there's the darkness.

A hand stretched out, and where it should have felt the bars of a window, it grasped empty air. Reaching back toward the cot, he quickly realized that this wasn't his bed. It was too rough, to lumpy- the prince of the Fire Nation, with newly restored honor in tow should not be sleeping on a bed not even befitting to a common nobleman, even when on a long journey. In fact, the bed felt like- No, it couldn't- yes. A jail cell bunk. The hand reached across the bed and felt the cold steel wall. He was in a prison at sea, but how did he get there?

I should be going back to the Fire Nation. Azula said- Wait. How could I have been blind enough not to realize what was happening? Azula said I would be welcomed home with honor, Azula said Uncle betrayed me, Azula said this ship was taking us back home, and Azula said that the avatar and his friends were in the prison hold. I saw her take them here, but…. Azula also said that father was going to kill me and that I was going home before? How could I be so foolish? How could I-

"Only a fool would listen to Azula," realized the banished prince aloud. The echo of his tenor voice threw back sharply from the walls, proving the small size of the room. Now that he thought about it, hadn't his sister said that there were many small cells covered with thick shells of pure steel to separate the prisoners on the ship, so that guards never had to fight more than one? So it was-

"You're not very smart, are you? I only saw her for ten minutes when we first were dragged on the ship, and I could tell that every word she said to you was a lie."

Zuko started at the sound of a female voice. Isn't that- He created a small flame in his hand, and it quickly illuminated the room. He scrunched his eyes tight, having forgotten just how bright light was. When his pupils had contracted to the point when he could see, he studied the room and its other occupant. It was made of black steel, about three meters cubed. Two walls were spanned with long, rectangular cots, which were little more than a mattress on a steel plate. In one, a small girl was sitting up. Her eyes were wide open, but her eyes were glazed over. Yes, that was the avatar's Earthbending instructor, whatever her name was. She was blind or something like that. The other two walls were blank, other than a small seam in the vague rectangular shape. The door.

"There are some guards outside that door; they captured me the last time I tried to escape. If only I could have seen them- I hate this ship, I can't see on it."

"You can't see off it either," he retorted, feeling grumpy and really just wanting to pick a fight with someone.

She obviously didn't feel the same way. "Whatever. At least you're awake; together we might be able to escape."

Zuko glared at her with futility. "What are you talking about? We can't even open the door!"

"How do you think I escaped last time?"

"I assume you waited for-"

And at that very moment, the door opened, and Azula entered. Toph sprang to her feet at the scraping sound.

"Who's there?" she yelled at them.

"Azula…" growled the prince.

"We have arrived at home brother. I hope you don't mind the situation, but you know how important it is for you to be careful- Father can't hurt you if you're safe in the prison hold," quoth the princess.

"You're lying!"

"Oh, so you finally figured that out? What took you so long?" Azula's tone was rhetorical and dismissive- she didn't seem to think of him as a threat at all. The truth was, he really wasn't.

Meanwhile, Toph had grabbed a part of the metal, it pulled off like a cloth through her bending, and she shaped it into a sharp metal spike. Azula's eyes flashed once to her, so quick that only Zuko noticed. Toph's weakness showed as she suddenly threw the spike at Azula.

The spike clanged against the metal corridor beyond the door. The prodigy straightened. "Well, I must say you are a very interesting Earth-bender. A metal bender- but you're still blinder than a wolf-bat in a machine." Looking at the guards stationed on either side of the door, she turned her back to Zuko, tossing a parting sentence over her shoulder. "I do enjoy these visits with you Zu-zu."

Zuko raised his hand to send a blast of fire her direction, but lowered it shakily as the door slammed shut.