Previously on Superstition:

After almost being raped by a guard, Katara wakes up in Prince Zuko's room. She, Zuko, and Uncle Iroh eat breakfast together. Zuko realizes that he doesn't want her to leave, and that he genuinely likes her. (In fact, he lovers her!)

Chapter 6 – A Master Plan, Of Sorts

Sokka twirled the Fire Nation knife between his fingers as he and Aang soared through the sky on Appa's back. It had been two whole days since he had seen his sister. He was worried as hell, and it didn't help that Aang was—well, just being Aang, actually. The kid's playful antics weren't amusing Sokka as he thought of all the possible terrible things that a Firebender would do to a pretty young girl like Katara. Just thinking about it made him so angry that—

"Sokka, look!" Aang shouted suddenly. "Sokka, look! It's a Fire Nation ship!"

"Eh?" Sokka grunted, ceasing his knife twirling to see what Aang was looking at. Sure enough, there was a Fire Nation ship. Since Katara's disappearance, the two boys had been flying seaside to try and find her. This was the first ship they'd seen so far. "Gah! Aang! Look! It's a Fire Nation ship!" The younger boy resisted rolling his eyes and ignored this.

"Sokka, that could be where Katara is! Let's go!" Aang cheered. "Appa, yip yip!"

"Aang, stop!" Sokka cried, grabbing the giant flying bison's reins. "We can't just rush in there! We don't even know if that's the ship Katara is on!"

"Whaddya mean? Of course it is! It's a Fire Nation ship!" Aang protested, reaching for the reins again.

"Aang, there are a ton of ships in the Fire Nation fleet! We can't be sure that THAT ship is the one with Katara on it! We never even got to see the ship she was captured by, and even if we had, who's to say they wouldn't have moved her by now?"

"I guess… you're right…"

"Of course I am! They're probably trying to lead us with this ship. I bet it's just a decoy that will lead us to the ship where they're keeping Katara, so they can get to you. Dammit, I don't even want to think about what those Fire Nation bastards could be doing to my little sister right now!" Sokka growled, fingering the knife again. "I wish it had been me instead of her! If I hadn't been so goddamn lazy and slept in, if I'd helped her gather the food, if I hadn't been such a pig and eaten so much the night before, then Katara—"

"Stop it, Sokka," Aang said softly in a rare moment of serenity. "There's no use. Saying 'what if' and 'if only', those aren't going to bring Katara back safe! So we have to go save her, okay?"

Sokka dropped his head. "I know, Aang. I know. But we don't even have a clue of where to start. We don't know anything. We don't even have a map! How can we figure out where we're going if we don't even know where we are? Or where Katara is? We can't do anything!"

"That's not true," Aang said tonelessly. "The Fire Nation took Katara because they wanted me to come. It would be pointless for them to hold her hostage if I wasn't coming, right? So they have to let us know where they are!"

Suddenly, as if on cue, a huge explosion was seen from the ship below them. It looked as if someone had tried to set the ship on fire. The giant ship, which was made of iron, didn't appear to be harmed after the blast, but Aang was willing to bet that several of the unluckier crew members had gotten severely burned.

"What was that!" Sokka cried, surprised.

"Let's check it out!" Aang said happily. "Appa, yip yip!" The bison plunged downward towards the ship, which was in so much chaos that the giant creature was able to settle on the water within earshot of the ship.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE GIRL IS ON ZUKO'S SHIP!" A man was roaring. "WHY THE HELL DOES THAT KID HAVE MY PRISONER!"

Aang and Sokka couldn't hear what the other man said, but the loud man's yelling was enough to give them an idea.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR INFORMANT WENT THROUGH TO GET THAT PIGEON TO THIS SHIP! I WANT TO KNOW WHY ZUKO DIDN'T RETURN THAT DAMNED GIRL TO ME! WHY DIDN'T I SUSPECT THAT HE HAD HER! DAMMIT!"

More quiet voices were heard talking to the enraged man, but their words didn't seem to be quelling his anger very well.

"SET A COURSE FOR ZUKO'S SHIP NOW! GET THIS SHIP GOING AS FAST AS IT CAN, AND I MEAN NOW!"

Aang, Momo, and Sokka exchanged glances with each other.

"So if we follow this ship, it should lead us to Katara, right?" Sokka said shakily, hoping against hope that Aang said yes.

"Yup!" Aang said cheerfully. Suddenly, Sokka frowned.

"But how're we gonna follow them without being seen?"

"Uh…" Aang rested his hand on the back of his bald head, looking to be deep in thought. Then he grinned. "Simple! We'll just stay a little behind them, that's all! And even if they see us, it'll be exactly what they want! I'll be right where they want me, and we'll be closer to Katara!"

"Aang…" Sokka murmured. "I think you just had a really good idea. Am I dreaming?"

"Hey! That's not fair!" The younger boy pouted. Sokka bonked him on the head, glad to know that he would see his sister soon.

As the servants were rushing about gathering the plates that had been used for breakfast, Katara suddenly thought of something.

"Uh, Prince Zuko?" She asked timidly in a very polite and respectful voice. "Where will I go now?"

"For now, you will be escorted back to my room. You will be staying there with me until we find some more suitable living arrangements than the holding cell." Katara involuntarily shivered at the thought of going back to that cell. Zuko and Iroh pretended not to notice.

"Um… yes… but where will I be sleeping?" Katara asked so quietly that the others had to strain to hear her.

"With my nephew, of course!" Iroh said cheerfully. "Don't worry, don't worry, dear. He's not going to do anything inappropriate, I promise! Well, not while he's sober, anyway. I remember that time, when Prince Zuko had accidentally drunk a bottle of scotch thinking it was just bad juice! My goodness, he sounded like a sailor, and it was a good thing no women were around because—"

"Uncle!" Zuko growled loudly, fighting a blush but losing badly. "I told you to never speak of that again! Besides, that was ages ago!"

"Try two years," Iroh said, snickering as he sauntered out of the room. "Now remember, kids, always use protection!" And with that wise parting message shared, he was gone.

". . ."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room with Iroh's departure, filled by nothing other than the sounds of the bustling servants. Zuko stopped staring at the table long enough to stand up and leave the room, saying, "I have to go meditate now. The healer will escort you back to my room. Don't try anything."

"Y-Yes," Katara stammered, following the healer back to her—Zuko's—room.

Dammit, what was that all about! Zuko screamed mentally as he sat quietly in the meditation room. "Use protection!" What the hell! Who does he think he's talking to! Some hormone-driven teenager?

Yup, answered another part of his mind.

I am a prince! Zuko protested.

You are a teenage boy! It's perfectly normal to have those kind of thoughts about Katara. She is, after all, a very pretty girl. A real catch. In fact, it'd be worrying to NOT have those thoughts about her.

For a normal boy! I am a prince, and I MUST capture the Avatar! That's the only reason I've even kept her alive! That's it!

Funny, I don't believe that's what you were thinking earlier at the breakfast table, now is it?

SHUTUP!

Suddenly, the sheer absurdity of him conversing with himself on the matter overtook him, and he laughed, a low, bitter chuckle. Who'd have thought that the Prince of Firebenders would have fallen for some low-life Waterbender? Not him, that's for sure.

Well, apart from Uncle Iroh, anyway…