A/N: Hey peoples! I'm so incredibly sorry for keeping all of you waiting so long! But don't worry; after leaving this aside for three months, I finally have some inspiration to keep the story going! WOOHOO! However: I must warn you that updates may come somewhat slowly, seeing as I have two stories going, and a third on the way.
So… Here's chapter four!
Avoid, Evade, Elude, and Dodge
"Take this you hotheads!" Sokka cried out, flinging his boomerang into the throng of Firebenders. He smiled in satisfaction as it hit one soldier's metallic helmet, then ricocheted and collided with another, sending them both to the ground. But Sokka didn't wallow too long in the slight glory of his achievement; there were dozens more enemies to contend with.
As the warrior caught his boomerang, Katara used the water in the pouch slung over her shoulder to create a long rope of water, with which she tripped a soldier. Using the same stream of water, she slapped another Firebender across the face a few times.
Aang had quietly slipped into the cover of the surrounding trees. From his partially hidden position, he did his part in the battle by blowing down a few of the opposition. He tried very hard to disregard the pain in his arms, and he succeeded for the most part. Eventually, he started to feel slightly light-headed. Whether it was from blowing so much air or from blood loss, he didn't know…
Katara began looking around for Aang, hoping that she, him, and Sokka could run from the Firebenders. But he was nowhere to be seen. His attacks plainly came from nearby the clearing, but they always came from different directions, making it impossible to alert him of their retreat without the soldiers hearing it.
"Katara! Look out!" The Waterbender swiveled around to see a red-clad man sending fire her way. She quickly retrieved water from her canteen and held it out in front of her to quench the flames, but the force of the attack knocked her off her feet and onto her back. The Firebender approached her to attack again, but was struck down by Sokka's club. As the warrior helped his sister up, soldiers surrounded them.
"Oh, crud," Sokka mumbled.
Zhao came up to them, smiled nastily, and created fire in his hands. Then, he shot both flames at Katara and Sokka. Katara repeated what she had done before: with the little water she has left, she created a shield for her and Sokka. Again, it extinguished the flames, but the Water Tribe siblings were each thrown into a tree. They slumped down to the ground, apparently out cold.
"Katara! Sokka!" Aang exclaimed, running out from the trees and into the clearing. When all the Firebenders in the clearing turned and looked at him, he realized his mistake. "Uh… Hi?"
"Restrain him," Admiral Zhao commanded. Immediately, two men went over to the Avatar and grabbed his arms. He let out a short yelp of pain, and tears began to fill his eyes.
"You and your friends thought you could beat us?" Zhao said harshly. "Well, you thought wrong."
Katara was hovering somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness when she heard Zhao say loudly, "Tie up the Avatar, then he can watch as we dispose of the peasants!"
That's when something strange happened. The Waterbender could hear yells of fright. She could practically feel the terror in the air. But she couldn't stay awake any longer. Katara passed out just as the wind began to pick up.
Out at sea, on a ship that had just left an Earth Kingdom port, was a girl. She was slightly out of breath, as if she had been running from someone just recently. The girl was in a seemingly unused room on the huge metal vessel. The only thing in it was a large steel chest, behind which she was now crouching.
Of all places to hide, I just had to pick a Fire Navy ship! she thought in exasperation. Well, at least it had gotten her away from those soldiers who had recognized her. They would've taken her back to the Fire Nation, and she really didn't want to return there… No, not after what she'd been through.
Then, hearing footsteps outside the room, she immediately tensed. She hoped she wouldn't be found. After sprinting a mile or two through the town the ship had just departed from, she wasn't up for a fight. Unfortunately for her, the door to the room opened, and a pair of Fire Nation soldiers came in.
"Hey! What d'you think you're doing here?" exclaimed one of them. He had a gruff voice that suited his extremely muscular build, and he was at least 6 feet tall.
"You're going to have to come with us, miss," the other ordered sternly. This man wasn't as rude, or as tall, but she still knew him as the enemy.
The girl glared up at them, not wanting to go, fearing what she might encounter. But she got up anyway, and walked to the door. When the first soldier made to grab her arm, she jerked it away, giving him an annoyed, livid look.
The three of them walked down the halls of the ship in absolute silence. Soon, they had reached their destination. When the guards opened the door to what seemed to be the main room, the first thing she heard was a triumphant cry of "I win!" and someone else groaning in dismay.
As they walked in the door, the girl saw an old, stout man with a grin plastered on his face. He was scooping up a large pile of coins happily. She guessed that he was the one who she had first heard. In front of him, there was a circular board, and there was a man across from him, on the other side of the board. He held his head in his hands, obviously frustrated at his loss.
On the other side of the room was a teenaged boy with his head completely shaved except for a ponytail in the back. His head was down; he seemed to be reading something, or maybe looking at a map.
"Prince Zuko, sir!" thetaller soldier said. At this, the girl stiffened up suddenly. It couldn't possibly be him, could it? she thought, slightly nervous. But when the teenaged boy looked up, presumably at the sound of his name, the girl's worst fears were confirmed: it was, indeed, the one and only Prince Zuko, complete with a scar.
"What is it Lieutenant?" the Prince replied, not rudely, but not kindly either.
"We founding this girl snooping around on one of the lower decks," the soldier reported.
"What? I wasn't – " the aforementionedadolescent began.
"Be quiet, you!" Zuko cut her off. "What is your name, girl?" he then inquired harshly. "And why were you on my ship?"
She just glared at him, angry that even after all these years, he didn't recognize her, but he still treated her like dirt!
"Answer me, girl!" he yelled at her. She opened her mouth begrudgingly to tell the vulgar Prince her name, but decided against it, favoring an option that only just occurred to her.
"You want an answer?" the girl exclaimed wrathfully, yet with a slight smile. "Well, here it is!" As she said this, she brought up her leg and kicked it out towards Zuko's chest. It didn't quite reach the target, but flames appeared a few inches in front of her foot that shot at him.
Zuko only just dodged the stream of fire, and used every once of self-control he had left to not attack her in return. Scarcely suppressing the majority of his temper, he commanded bitterly, "Take her to the prison hold. NOW."
Then, for a split second, his eyes met hers, and he thought he felt a foreign presence in his mind. That feeling soon disappeared, and he turned his back on the girl. However much he despised thinking about it, there was something familiar about her…
A/N: So... Does this kinda make up for taking so long? No, I guess it doesn't. I suppose the only thing I can promise you guys is that I WILL finish this story. Eventually...
Thanks to all my reviwers! And if anyone can guess what happened before Katara passed out, I'll give you a cyber-cookie!
