Alrighty! Updated chapter. This is the Beta, uploading for playsslaw. Please enjoy this chapter!
Meanwhile on a Fire Nation warship a few miles from Water Nation shore; a Fire Nation Prince by the name of Zuko, stares at the stars on the ships cold, steel deck with his normal cocky smirk gleaming in the moonlight. Something about the Water Tribe scenery was captivating; the way not a single cloud covers the seemingly always full moon, the way the sea casts a perfect reflection of the blemish free sky.
However, Zuko and his crew were not sight-seeing. They were on a mission, a mission to catch and return the Avatar alive back to the Fire Nation, as a way to redeem himself. When the Prince was young his father, the Fire lord, invited him to a military meeting, to discuss the best way to move troops to insure a victory in battle.
But the Prince was meant to be seen, not heard. The plan that the Leaders came up with was simple, they decided to send a group of weaker Fire Benders as bait to lure out the enemies stronger benders. No matter how hard he smirked and glared, the boy had a large, soft, gentle heart; he could simply not allow anything he loved to get hurt. And he loved nothing more than his nation. And what is a Nation without its people? Nothing.
Appalled, the boy spoke up and roared,
"You can't sacrifice an entire fleet like that! Those soliders love and protect our nation, how can you betray them?" Before he could come to his senses and realize what was coming out of his mouth, it was already too late.
'Damn,' Zuko thought to himself. He had gone and done the one thing that he was not supposed to do: speak. But the thought of those men dying not only for their Nation, but also because of their Nation...flared something inside of him that could not be tamed, his humanity.
"Zuko!" exclaimed a voice in the far corner of the room, a voice belonging to an old Fire Nation general by the name of Iroh. Iroh was not only the man that managed to break through and nearly conquer the impenetrable Earth Kingdom Ba Sing Se, but he was also the Fire Lord's brother as well as Zuko's uncle.
"What? They are trying to sacrifice good men with families! How can you sit and watch these bru-,"
"ENOUGH!" interrupted his father Ozai (the firelord), "Brother, what possessed you to bring this insolent boy into a war room of all places?" The Fire Lord spoke with hatred and complete disgust at the actions of his son, truly wanting nothing more than to burn him to a fine crisp. However, not wanting to tarnish his image with the blood of his son he spared him, or at least, at that moment.
"I thought maybe it would be good for the boy to see how these things go, seeing as how he is next in line for the throne...but I can see now...that it was a mistake." With his last words he turned to look at Zuko directly in the eyes; there, amber gold eyes met brown, and the brown pair belonging to Iroh gave an 'it will all be okay' look. Iroh's eyes and head sunk towards the floor, secretly wishing he did not have to bear witness of the events that were about to take place.
Because the boy had disrespected one of the generals he was forced to an Agni Kai (an Agni Kai is a traditional firebender duel that is centuries old). It is a fight for one's honor and is won only when one opponent burns the other. Without hesitation Zuko accepted, thinking by beating the general that he 'disrespected' he could finally prove to his father that he wasn't a failure; however, it was not the general he was fighting. The man turned out to be none other than his own father the fire lord. Zuko, being unable to burn his own father surrendered and pleaded for his father to stop. Being the ruthless man that he is, the fire lord burned the left side of Zuko's face leaving a permanent, everlasting scar. Since Zuko surrender and refused to fight he was banished from his kingdom, to never return...until he came back, with the Avatar.
Roughly shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, the prince leaned back on the ships railing and released a long sigh. For some strange reason, the Prince had a terrible headache. It was all about to end, the Avatar only a few miles from where he was. Zuko could finally return home. Home: the word rang through the prince's head over and over, was it ever really a home? He thought to himself. Within a few moments his deep thought was interrupted by the slapping of a large hand on his back.
"Zuko!" said the owner of the massive hand, "Why are you out here all alone? The rest of the crew members are in the mess hall drinking to their hearts content!" The hand belonged to none other than his uncle Iroh, to Zuko; it seemed as if the old man knew exactly when something was on his mind.
"Uncle" he warmly greeted, "your timing is truly a force to be reckoned with. But I'm just getting some fresh air, hopefully that will be enough to stop my head from splitting."
"Hmmm...I think I know why you have a headache;" Iroh inquired, Zuko with his eyes widened, expecting something that would actually fix his headache, was disappointed when his Uncle said, "Too much sake!" Zuko's otherwise pale skin blushed the faintest red, for the first time ever, his uncle had actually given Zuko a straight answer without making him do some type of inner soul searching. Shortly after their conversation, the pair left the deck and returned to the party.
Within minutes of returning to the party Zuko's headache had completely faded. "Hmph, the only way to get rid of a sake headache is to drink more!" he thought to himself. Everything about Zuko was irresistibly alluring, so no one could really blame the women in the crew for swooning at the mere sight of him. The most attractive thing about the prince was the cocky, one-sided smirk he seemingly always carried. The second was the low tone of voice he used in your ear, it was as if he could coax you into doing anything he wanted. And lastly but certainly not least; his body. Because of the vigorous training throughout his life, his muscles were nothing short of perfection. However where there is light; there is darkness. Behind the light of his muscles, smirks, and tone; was the darkness of his only facial blemish, the permanent scar on the left side of his face. This was Zuko's one and only insecurity; the slightest glance would cause his emotions to spiral out of control and become highly unpredictable. The 'shield' he spent a good part of his life would come completely down. He could become angry and attempt to hurt you, he could become sad and start to cry; the possibilities are endless. If someone were to actually touch the scar...that is another story entirely.
As the party began to die down, Zuko was taking his final shot of the night when there was a loud knock at the ships steel door. "Who is it?" Zuko called. When there was no answer Zuko picked up his glass and approached the door. Before he could make it halfway the door swung open and revealed none other than General Zhao, the man no one ever wanted to see.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite banished prince," taunted General Zhao. The general made it his life mission to cause as much pain as possible to Zuko; both emotional, and physical.
With narrowed eyes that could cut steel Zuko hissed "General Zhao, to what do I owe the pleasure of you gracing me with your presence?"
"It's Admiral Zhao now and believe me, had I not come here to retrieve something I would not dare step foot on this pitiful ship." At the word retrieve Zuko slightly, but luckily unnoticeably flinched.
"What possible possession of mine do you think you're going to get off my ship?" Thinking that Zhao was planning something vile (which he was), Zuko's muscles tensed preparing for a fight"
Seeing the sudden change in Zuko's posture excited the admiral to unmeasured amounts. "With permission of your father, I came to take your crew in a siege-assault against the water tribe. We shall finally be rid of the waterbending filth forever"
Not hearing anything after 'taking his crew' Zuko became hostile, his life ambition of capturing the Avatar and returning home was slipping through his fingers. "You are NOT taking my crew! I refuse to allow it!" With every word the fire burning in the prince's amber gold eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if they were attempting to burn Zhao until there was nothing left.
With a snicker at his victory over Zuko the admiral replied: "Too late, before I came here I showed your crew the hand-signed document from Fire Lord. Giving me full control over them...have a nice night Prince Zuko." With an insincere bow the Admiral turned on his heels and headed for the door. As he reached for the door handle he stopped and turned around, keeping his head turned away from Zuko he spoke. "However, I am not a man without a heart. Tell you what, I will make you a deal. You can still obtain the Avatar...if, you follow me and take my orders. Not as a prince, but as a solider."
With his last words the Admiral was gone, and Zuko was left alone in the mess hall; the tiny glass he was holding shattered into pieces, and blood slowly trickling down his hand onto the ships cold, steel, floor.
So what'd you think? As always reviews are greatly appreciated.