Title: Reclaiming Honor

Chapter Title: Setting the Board

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: This story was started during the first season; it takes place around Book One: Water, Chapter Eight: The Waterbending Scroll--a little after that, probably. The previous chapter was published before The Storm aired, and therefore from here will deviate from the rest of the series quite a bit. I'd greatly appreciate it if nobody pointed out that kind of thing.

Author's Notes: IMPORTANT! The reason for my unexpected hiatus is long and complicated, but can, in part, be explained thus: Real Life got in the way. My father died in September 2005, just after I'd gotten to a place where I might be able to continue this after a very trying summer complete with a dropped police case and the end of a long relationship, and my plans for the rest suddenly became very difficult. On top of this the end of high school, my grandma's death, repeated family emergencies and legal wank between the state and my fiancée, and everything else that can possibly get in the way all--simply put--did. Murphy's been having a field day on me.

Unfortunately, with work and college and whatnot, writing has been put on the backburner indefinitely. I apologize deeply to you all and want to thank you for your kind reviews--they've been incredibly cheering over the past almost-year and a half. I assure you guys, if there's any way I can do it emotionally, I'm going to finish this thing. Your support really helps me a lot!

Many thanks to Theoneunch for beta-ing. You're a doll!

Review Replies: Thirty-three reviews, oh goddess! For the bulk of your requests to update; I've finally been able to do so! A few people specifically asked questions or had things I wanted to touch on, so I'm due to respond to them. I wish I could reply to everybody!

HanaTohruShipperMorgan: The OOC-ness in previous chapters will, hopefully, be improved upon since I've got a better grasp of the characters a year later… Plus, from here there should be a little more story movement, as opposed to just relationship-related development. Thank you very, very much for the thoughtful reviews, by the way! Hopefully I've improved on subtlety. Neither Zuko nor I am particularly gifted with that. XD

MysticAnime: Hehe XD I was thinking that since the Fire Nation is loosely-based on Japan (but with more of a Chinese twist), the all-popular shaved ice with syrup would be a rare treat of sorts… I doubt he can get a hold of it very often, though--as you said, it would melt! XD Sorry for the lack of cinnamon love. Actually, I picked it partly because there's so much incense available… It was the only thing that I could find on my shelf that suited him at all. My fiancée loves the stuff, though, so I'll likely keep it in for her. X3

Part Four: Setting the Board

It was official: Sokka was going to drive his sister batty. He had successfully managed to annoy the guard enough to be denied his off-white soup for breakfast and was not going to be allowed out of his seat (or rather, the corner he had holed himself up in to avoid being poked at by the disgruntled guard's spear). Not for anything. As if to compensated he had decided to sing an obnoxious ballad that he seemed to be making up about Firebenders in general, with brief cameos of this specific guard, someone named "Damu Aashu," and Prince Zuko himself.

He had been singing nonstop for at least three hours.

"And ol' Damu Ashu,
What is that?
A bird has nested on his hat!
But bright as Firebenders are
He thought t'was just his--
His ha---re!"

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, clamping her hands over her ears. It did nothing to block out her brother's warbling, especially when he raised his voice another decibel to continue. Not only was her brother making a point of singing as badly as he could (when he tried to sing seriously his voice was not half bad, especially compared to this) but his inspiration seemed to have died a good hour prior. She knew this mainly because he had sang the "Damu Ashu's Hair" verse at least four times. Not in a row, but it was starting to come close. He seemed to like it only slightly more than the verse about Prince Zuko being an unsuccessful cross dresser in his youth. Of course, that might have been in part thanks to the fact that Katara would always hit him before he could get to the end.

"That Prince Zuko, whatta looker!
I bet he used to be a hooker--
He'd paint his lips red
And fluff his hair
Then give his customers
Real bad--"

To Katara's surprise, Sokka was the one to shut himself up this time along, long before her fist got anywhere near the side of his head. He clamped his hands over his mouth, going visibly two shades paler, and his blue eyes widened to nearly twice their normal size. She stared at him, puzzled, then looked cautiously over her shoulder. Her woman's intuition already told her what--or rather, who--would have shut her brother up so forcefully without any work at all.

And it was most certainly no comical figure like Damu Ashu.

Prince Zuko was standing just outside their shared cell with his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in his usual drab Fire Nation armor, with a decidedly smug look on his face that Katara could not help being somewhat afraid of. The Fire Prince looked fit to kill--and she would not put him above such a thing. It was just their luck that he would come down at the most obscene moment in Sokka's never-ending ballad.

"For a friend of the Avatar, you're really incredibly stupid," the prince fairly drawled, and if not for the faintly dangerous glint in his golden eyes he would have appeared bored by their mere presence. Katara winced at his tone; the teen might have looked uninterested, but he sounded more preoccupied by planning something along the lines of roasting her idiot brother on a stick and feeding him to a giant platypus.

"Hey!" Sokka shouted indignantly, hopping to his feet, and Katara slapped one hand to her forehead. Talented as he boasted being as a warrior, he certainly did not have the sense to pick his battles where it counted. And this was most definitely a situation where being quiet could have saved their lives. Not necessarily would; but could. More importantly, Aang's life was also at stake, and all selfishness aside, the world could not afford to lose him. Not again.

As amusing as he knew it would have been to argue with the younger male (even if he was not the least bit armed for a battle of wits) the prince knew that he did not have the time for it. "I hope you're a faster learner than you look," he said almost icily, then turned his attention to Katara instead. At least talking to her might bear fruit.

"What does being a quick learner have to do with anything?" the girl asked, brushing her braid over her shoulder so that she could not fidget with it. It felt like, aside from yelling at her brother and trying to drown him out, she had not done anything else since arriving on this hideous boat. Worrying for Aang excluded, of course, because she had been doing that uncontrollably all night. It was no wonder her braid was covered in split ends; worrying and pulling at it could ruin anyone's hair.

"He's going to learn how to drive a rush boat," Prince Zuko said, and it sounded as though he had expected Katara to either know it beforehand or to have already figured it out. She scowled; the Firebender's smirk ought to be wiped off his face with a paddle.

"Drive a rush boat?" Sokka repeated, raising an eyebrow incredulously at the idea.

"That's what I said."

"Why do you want my brother learning that?" Katara asked, watching Prince Zuko warily. He seemed completely nonplused and that made her all the more suspicious; for all they knew, he probably wanted to get them far enough away from the boat to kill them with a fireball off the ballista. A "hot stinker" as Sokka had so bluntly put it.

Keeping them guessing would have been fun, but the Fire Prince had no more time for that than he did arguing Sokka into the ground. He sighed faintly; time constraints always did ruin his fun… but he did need to put his plan in motion, and fast. "I've decided to let you two go," he said dryly, earning a rather surprised look from each of the other teens. Rather than let them get over their shock and pester him, he quickly added; "I don't need the added headache of dealing with you two when we reach land. Now let's go."

The two Water Tribe children stared at him and he smiled a positively arctic smile their way before heading away from the cell, motioning with one hand to stay the guard before he could close the door. Katara stared at the exit for only a moment before grabbing Sokka's hand and hurrying after him. She did not trust the Firebender--not any farther than Sokka could Earthbend him--but any chance of freedom was better than sitting in a cell to rot. At least they might have a chance to do something to save Aang this way.

Even if Katara had no idea of how.

It did not take long for Aang and Iroh to develop a healthy fondness for one another, and after only a few mildly embarrassing stories had been exchanged they were acting much like lifelong friends. Aang was privately amazed at how much the old Firebender knew and had a feeling that if they had more time for it they could have been closer than fathers and sons were rumored to be.

"You would not believe the things Prince Zuko did at your age, Avatar," Iroh said with a laugh, slapping Aang lightly on the back. The boy smiled; he liked hearing about Prince Zuko's childhood already. There was definitely more to it than Zuko would have liked him--or anyone--to know! "He would go out in the mornings and leave small animals in his sisters' beds. And he would never be caught! Of course, he would tell me all about it before his lessons; he liked to balance work and play!"

"What happened?" Aang asked softly, turning to start down a flight of stairs after the old man. He almost tripped on the hem of the borrowed coat Prince Zuko had given him and jumped up in the air to keep from losing his footing. He barely managed not to fall.

Once Aang had landed and was looking his way again, Uncle Iroh smiled warmly; then looked away as he could not keep the expression up for long. "My nephew grew up and gained many responsibilities. His line of sight changed along with his goals," he said, and Aang sighed softly. Prince Zuko's goal, as far as he knew, was to capture him. Whatever it had been before might have been preferable.

For a moment neither male spoke, and they soon reached the bottom of the stairs. Uncle Iroh placed a hand to the door and slammed his palm hard against it, omitting a short burst of flame. The door swung open and he motioned for Aang to step into the next hall. The Avatar did so, looking around to catch his bearings only to find that it looked lake every other hallway he'd seen on the ship. It only figured.

"Uncle Iroh?" Aang asked rather abruptly, looking up at the old man again before he started down the hall. The former general looked down at him, the perfect picture of grandfatherly curiosity. If he was at all surprised by the familiar address it did not show.

Aang fidgeted a little, twisting his shoulders somewhat nervously. His hands, too, were never still. The question he had in mind was hardly the sort he ought to ask anyone aside from Prince Zuko, but he did not think for a moment that the other boy would have answered him. "Zuko… what does he have to capture me for? Katara said that it had to do with his honor… but how can I help him get back a thing like that?" he asked softly, resisting the urge to look away as he spoke. It was rude to ask a question and then avoid the answer, no matter how disheartening it might be.

Iroh gazed at the boy for a long moment. The Avatar really was full of surprises, bounds of them. He had not quite expected a question like that out of the little boy, even if he was blessed with the wisdom of innumerable previous lives.

There was, of course, a simple answer to his question, but one the old general hardly considered valid. Aang's head was a proverbial bargaining chip, one that the Fire Lord prized, a wild card in a game none of the players seemed to fully understand.

"You cannot," he replied after a time, eyeing the brokenhearted look that passed over Aang's face somewhat sadly. The Avatar was quick to recover, though, and he opened his mouth to question, to protest, something--but Uncle Iroh cut in; "Honor is not something that can be lost or picked up again. My nephew does not understand this. He believes his father, my brother's, notion that it is a thing that can be taken away and bought back. He wants to believe it, because it is far simpler than reality."

Aang's shoulders slumped visibly as Iroh spoke. It was as if a great iron weight had been hung around his neck, pulling, dragging him downward. "Then what's the point?" he asked, "If I can't do anything for him…"

The Avatar's voice trailed off miserably, fading to nothing in the darkened hallway. He did not need to finish; there was nothing more to say.

"Who told you that?"

The baffled look on Uncle Iroh's face looked almost too sincere to be faked, and Aang stared dumbly at him. Suddenly, the old man smiled broadly. "I only said you could not return his honor!" Iroh laughed heartily, slapping Aang on the back in such a jovial way that the boy could not help smiling a little. "You have already done great things for Prince Zuko, Avatar. He has grown much looking for you these past two years; he has seen things in his travels he never would've heard about at home, he thinks for himself… perhaps a little too much, there. That's a great something."

Slowly, Aang's smile widened as Iroh turned away and continued down the hall. It was somehow comforting to hear that he had done some good, at least. While it could not change his current situation, he felt a little lighter. At least it meant one less chain to drag behind him on his way to the gallows.

A low moan went through the ship as it rocked with the sea, moving ever closer to port. It reverberated through the halls, echoing eerily, and Aang barely heard Uncle Iroh's final words of praise.

"Thank you, Avatar, for giving my nephew hope."

If there had ever been any doubt in his mind, it was long gone by the time Prince Zuko had spent five minutes with the Water Tribe girl; she was utterly maddening. It was a theme with women, he knew, and he wondered if there was some law of nature that made them all completely insane. Katara would not speak to him--something Prince Zuko did not mind in the least--but continually huffed behind his back, scowling and pouting like a child, trying to wear him down. It was silly, juvenile, and would have been infinitely easier to ignore if she would only stop her poor excuse for a Komodo Rhino imitation.

Thus far things seemed to be going smoothly. Sokka was easily disposed of, and after forcing a promise to cooperate from him in return for Katara's safety had been left with Lieutenant Jee for a crash course in the operation of a coal-driven rush boat. There were maps of the Fire Nation's surrounding waters aboard, more than enough coal to make a trip as short as their intended one, and despite their doubts that an uneducated commoner could comprehend what needed to be done Sokka had miraculously proven both Prince Zuko and Lieutenant Jee wrong by taking one look at the boat's schematics and starting the reactor on his own.

Maybe, just maybe, the bumbling idiot's occasional genius would make up for any holes in the plan.

That left dealing with Katara, a job that Prince Zuko--unfortunately--knew had to be his own. The fewer people involved, the less likely word would ever get back to his father of possible treason; helping the Avatar escape from inside the Fire Nation was surely grounds to have his tiny window of hope shut forever. Zuko could not afford to think about that for now, but he knew that he was doing something right. Someone had to reward him for that, somehow.

The only real problem with being discrete about this lay in bringing his plan up without sounding as though he was trying to give her ideas.

Katara soon solved that problem for him.

"Tell me why you're doing this," the girl said abruptly, stopping cold in the deserted hallway. Ahead of her Prince Zuko smirked; he would have to admit, she really was very good at walking into a trap. Much like an ant slipping into the awaiting jaws of an ant lion at the bottom of a sandy pit. It was very convenient. But he kept walking, appearing (from behind) as though he had not heard her.

His attitude was exactly the type that Katara hated most, and being ignored when she knew very well that she had been heard riled her up more than the sight of Aang being fawned on by groups of younger girls ever could. She was more than certain that the prince was only ignoring her because she was female, rather than because of her tribe, and that was not acceptable. Not at all!

If there had been any water in sight she would have liked to use it to slap the other teen silly.

"Tell me!"

Prince Zuko turned to look over his shoulder, carefully replacing his smug smirk with a look of feigned boredom. It was one he had practiced and perfected mainly to avoid looking too interested when his uncle was babbling (he found that the old man did in fact sometimes say useful things, although most of the time it was simply babbling), and to his surprise the look worked quite well here. "I don't need you," he said smoothly, nearly laughing at the darkening scowl on the Waterbender's face. It really was not a very attractive look for her. "It's a favor to the Avatar, really." He waved one hand dismissively, again turning his back on the girl and continuing down the hall with practiced slowness in his gate. The mechanical bird was almost wound up properly; he could nearly hear her singing. After a careful pause, he added as if it were an afterthought; "Think of it as a last request. Or a parting gift."

He could have sworn he heard Katara physically snap.

Katara lunged for him, snarling much like a Komodo Rhino. And, similarly, it was more than easy enough for the Fire Prince to avoid her attack, especially after living around the irrational, violent creatures for much of his life. He stepped neatly to the side and just as she was about to come at him with another poorly executed attack, he sent a short blast of fire her way. It was weak, and could not have been strong enough to really singe anything other than fine silk, but it startled her.

"Do you want to try to stop me?" he asked, unable to conceal his triumphant smirk any longer. Not that he needed to; Katara had taken the bait, hook, line, and sinker. This was too easy. He sorely hoped the rest of the plan would go just as smoothly.

The girl could feel a burning hate for the older boy then. How dare he look so smug about it? It was as though he had planned this, or knew some incredibly crucial secret that she was not privy to and was withholding it. Did he think this was some kind of game? Prince Zuko had to be the most loathsome creature on the planet. It was little wonder he was the Fire Lord's son; he was just like him! "We won't just try," she hissed, staying back only far enough to be out of range if Prince Zuko were to try blasting her. Not that a meter or so was far enough to escape a real volley. "We will stop you. I won't let you hurt Aang!"

Determined not to laugh at the foolish girl or her big words, the prince--the puppet master--folded his arms over his chest and regarded her calmly. Katara was far too easy to get riled up; he had planned a lot more arguing leading up to tricking her into cooperating. And as disappointing as that was, at least they could cut to the chase. "You're really very sure of yourself, aren't you?" The prince asked almost thoughtfully. Before she could reply, however, he continued. "The rush boat will take you back to the island we found you on by mid-afternoon, and by then my men and I--and the Avatar--will be well inland. Regardless of time, we'll camp at the Northern crossing of the White Tiger River for the night. That will give you a few hours to catch up on your flying bison."

Had the information come from anyone else Katara might have been happy; there was a chance, however slim, that she could still save Aang. From their experience with Fire Nation naval ships, she knew that Appa could outrun them in a pinch. She also knew that the great bison could find its master on a cloudy, moonless midnight if it tried.

But her informant was the last person she wanted to trust.

"If you hurt him, I'll make you wish you were never born!" The girl snapped reflexively, and Prince Zuko dismissed her with a shrug; it was an idle threat, and they both knew it. Katara's Waterbending prowess were erratic at best, and while Zuko had never seen her bring down a small glacier in a fit of rage, he knew perfectly well that there was no conceivable way for her to do anything truly damaging in the confines of his ship.

She might be a little more formidable at the White Tiger River, with a nearly inexhaustible water source to draw from, as well as the moon's strength, but that would only work to his benefit for now.

Prince Zuko turned away again, continuing down the hall without another word on the subject, ignoring the nearly tangible daggers the Water Tribe girl was glaring at him. He hardly cared if she believed his information; she'd have plenty of time to question his motives after she was off of his ship.

"Hurry up," he called over his shoulder, barely sparing her a glance to see if she'd moved at all. Unsurprisingly, Katara had not budged. "The sooner we find my uncle, the sooner I'll be rid of you and your brother." Then, though he knew there was much yet to do, he could at least rest a little. Working sneakily like this was against his principals and was giving him a headache.

Or perhaps it was the slipper that collided with the back of his skull.

Part Four: Owari

While the rest of this story has been plotted out, I've yet to write the next chapter(s)--it may, unfortunately, be another while before you guys get an update. Many apologies. I can't make any promises, but I'm hoping to--at least--update before the winter solstice. That's just before Christmas, so check back, and contact me if I'm tardy!

R&R makes love and is the reason I actually updated. Hint? Of course. :D