K15: I apologize that it's taken so long for the chapter. Last October, my computer crashed and it has taken me nearly a year to get another. But never fear! Not only have I found my notes on this story, but also this is the first thing I've planned to update! So, without further ado, enjoy the new chapter! Later. K15
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Avatars: the Last Airbender.
Chapter 7:
She quickly closed her eyes, her nails clawing at the dirt below her. The heat rushed passed her, singeing some of the smaller darker hairs off. As a member of the Water Tribe in the middle of a war, there was death around her constantly, but never had she come so close to it. And for a moment, the world stopped moving.
Letting the air return to a normal temperature, she squinted out of one eye, the blurry form of Zuko stood before her. His shoulders were heaving up and down, and the fists at his side smoking from the recent attack. Sitting up, Katara turned around and eyed the tree behind her. There was nothing more than a pile of ash. He at least had some self-control with it, instead of burning her; he burnt the nearest forest inhabitant. She then turned around to find him leaning against another tree, his shoulders still heaving.
All the rage I had been holding in for the past fourteen years escaped, she thought. What was I thinking?
"Let's get back to the ship," said Zuko. He offered her the red mask, which had been thrown to the side. "Uncle must be worried."
Picking herself up, Katara made her way back to the shore. Her deep blue eyes avoided the mask in his pale hands. Shrugging, the banished prince followed. Even though the silence was awkward, her thoughts ran as free as a turtledove. Her tanned hands ran over her face and through her hair. One thought kept returning, however.
Zuko tried to kill me.Unconsciously, her steps fell evenly with him.
"Katara?"
"Hmm?" she returned.
"What came over you?" he questioned. "Nobody has gotten angry with me like that for a long time."
They stopped on the shore; the water lapping at their feet. She turned, facing the ocean. It was the one place where she felt like she belonged. Seconds ticked by and tears started to fall freely. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Without warning, she spun around, and cried into his shoulder. Not knowing what else to do, he patted her back.
"We'll get them back," he assured her.
Sighing, he stood there for minutes. An uneasy feeling settled into his stomach. With his temper, he could've easily killed her. With his left hand, he began rubbing the side of his cheek. In times like these, it was always best to list the good things, whether it be about a person or in his life.
She's strong, brave, smart, loyal, beautiful, fiery, passionate, and beautiful. His golden eyes widened and he pushed her to arms length. Her quiet sob had finally subsided, and other than a few tearstains, hadn't looked like she cried at all.
"Maybe we should try to get back to the ship," Zuko suggested again.
Katara smiled and wiped away the last tear. "Then— " a pause. "What's that sound?"
The sand shifted and he had just enough time to grab Katia's arm, pulling her out of harms way. They fell backwards, with him landing on his back, with a loud "oof." He took in several deep breaths. Looking around her, Zuko saw a large cage where the two had once been standing.
He leaned back and came face to face with a pair of big blue eyes. They closed and her head began to lean in forward. Sweat rolled down his face and he let out an audible gulp.
Pulling back a little, he placed a finger on her lips. "I think now we really should find Uncle," he said.
Opening her eyes, flashes of emotion went across her face. She pouted, huffed, and climbed off of him. Once again, she took her spot on the sand and began to look out towards the horizon. He held his head up, before letting it fall against the ground.
"Girls can be so stupid!" he muttered.
"Let me go!"
The kicking and screaming continued as metal was clinked together. The female fire bender remained silent as she tugged at the chains. A frown formed on her face as she circled the Avatar.
"My friends are coming to save me," he informed her. His grey eyes followed her form as she walked over to the Water Tribe warrior.
"Your friends are as good as dead," Nyla snapped. She tugged at the chains, pinning Sokka to the wall. "And if they somehow survived, they aren't coming. I've destroyed their only mode of transportation." She released a long evil laugh before leaving the dark, cold cell.
Silence filled the room, as a guard walked in. A smirk covered Sokka's face. He let out a loud and disgusting belch. The guard turned, and the boy could only guess, gave him a dirty look. When the guard had turned his head back, the clicking started, changing tempos along the way.
…Click
….Click….click…click…
Click, click, click
… click…click…
….click…click…
…click
"Would you stop that!" the guard yelled. "You happen to be the worst prisoners, I've had the pleasure of baby sitting!"
"Well, you're not the best scenery to look at either, Bub," Sokka replied. "And I'm hungry. Where's the mush?"
Aang blinked. This confirms it. Sokka's nuts.
The masked guard threw and apple core at Sokka's head. "Make a meal out of that, Boy," he snapped. "You'll be fed when we reach the Fire Nation, if you're lucky."
"So, we have to wait for Daddy Dearest to decide our fate?" Sokka asked. "Can't do anything by ourselves? Can you even take a bath on your own? No wonder you smell bad."
"Sokka," Aang warned.
"What?"
"I think you're making the guard angry."
Sokka looked up. Sure enough, the clear sign of an angry firebender stood before him. There was smoke coming out from under the mask, and flames were licking at his hands. The guard then punched the flames forward, but before it could reach the two young boys, it flickered to nothing.
Turning to see whom it was, the guard immediately dropped to one knee. His hand went over his chest and refused to look up at the visitor. "I'm sorry, Princess, please forgive me for a momentary laps of judgment," the guard quickly said.
"Aang, I think that all firebenders are the same," Sokka said, loud enough for Nyla to hear. "Foul tempered, ugly, and smelly."
The young princess glared at Sokka and then turned to leave, pulling the guard out with her. It wasn't as if they actually needed someone to guard them anyway. "You can starve to death," she barked. "And the rats will be the only thing to keep your rotting corpses company." She then slammed the door shut with enough force to rattle the small cage the two were in.
Aang turned to his friend and raised a dark colored eyebrow. "What now?"
There was shaking from the chair Sokka was chained to and soon the rusted chains fell to the ground. Momo ran up Sokka's shoulders and dropped a small key in the warrior's hand. He smiled and walked over to the young Avatar.
"I told you I had a plan. See what happens when we listen to my instincts? We get out of here."
Katara stormed down into the room she shared with Zuko. It had become her prison in the short time she was away from Aang and Sokka. There was a small window and she was able to see the water flowing around the ship. She slammed her mask on the bed and walked over to the closet were her clothes were stashed. She pulled out a bag and started to shove her things into it.
She was sick and tired of listening to his orders, and chasing his Avatar. It didn't take two to rescue someone, and she was pretty confident in her abilities as a waterbender. The female waterbender could rescue the two on her own. The faster she did such a thing, the faster she could return normal. Then she would be able to return to hating Zuko.
The door shut and locked behind the next person who walked into the room. It didn't take a fortune teller to tell Katara that it was the spoiled prince who had entered the room. Ignoring him and all his worth, she began to pace the room, trying to figure out a plan how to get off the ship and to where Sokka and Aang were located.
"I shouldn't have fallen for his charm to begin with," she said to herself. "I should know better. Every time I put my faith in someone, it always backfires. He should have never stooped to such a level as digging a hole. Who does that anyway?"
Zuko stood there, his back to the door, blinking. He was completely at a lost at what to say. Not that he wanted to say anything at that point. The point was to remain completely silent. He didn't want to alert her of his presence, though he was pretty sure that she was aware he was in the room.
But she sat there talking, muttering plans on how she could escape. Then she said, "I guess, it's not his entire fault. Maybe I should stop being such an easy target to be captured by."
Shock hit Zuko hard and fast. After everything that had happened, even getting banished from the Fire Nation, he was still blamed. But here was a girl, talking herself out of the hate for a firebender, one that was easily blamed for starting the war (it was his grandfather who had killed off all the airbenders). But he still used the Water Tribe girl as bait, let his sister get away, and almost killed them not once, but twice! He really was turning out to be the bad guy the Avatar was portraying him to be.
With a sigh Zuko said, "Mom, what have I gotten myself into?"
Katara gasped and looked up at him for the first time. Standing up straight and tall, she narrowed her eyes at the prince. "What are you doing here?' she snapped.
"Do you really think you're going to escape from here?" he asked. 'You're still my prisoner, a prisoner with much information on the Avatar. And you have yet to tell me anything useful."
He grabbed her arms and flung her against the bed. She struggled against his grip and he took one of his hands and pinned her arms above her head. Her hair had fallen out of her braid and spread out around her head.
"What are you doing? Let me go!" she shrieked.
"Tell me about the Avatar," he said, leaning closer.
"I refuse to put Aang in any more danger than he already is!" she said, kicking her legs.
Using another hand, he placed it on her knees, stilling her legs. She glared at the prince and opened her mouth slightly to scream. In order to block it, he placed his lips over hers. It was a desperate move. One normally he wouldn't do, but the situation called for it.
She made some sort of noise against his mouth and he pulled away. He then put his mouth against her ear. Whispering, he said, "Tell me about the Avatar and I'll let you go."
"Not on your life," Katara ground out.
A smirk crossed his lips and he said, still in the soft tone, "Then tell me how you've mastered being an incognita in such a short time."
She made a face and brought her head against the pillow. With as much force as she could get in this situation, she brought her head against his. He let go of both her legs and arms and she sat up.
"Again, that's not your concern!" she snapped. "Throw me in a cage or where ever you keep your prisoners. Because I'm done being your scapegoat."
Rubbing his head, Zuko stared at the girl. She was a pain, both figuratively and literally. He watched her run across the room, putting a good amount of distance between him. She seemed to be very set in her ways and not telling him about the Avatar.
Finally, he sighed and leaned against the wall. If he couldn't get the information by force, maybe he could reason with her. He knew it hadn't worked in the past, but it was always worth a second try.
"Can you at least see it from my point of view? I need the Avatar," he all but pleaded.
"Can't you see it from the world's point of view?" she quickly countered. "The world needs the Avatar. We need a moment of peace; the world needs to stop the Fire Nation! So that the only deaths would be that of a natural death, why can't you see how much pain and suffering your nation is causing the world?"
He stopped, closing his mouth. Never had he been told that his view was wrong. He needed the Avatar to regain his honor, to bring happiness back to his life. And more importantly, he needed the Avatar to please his father. If nothing else, that's what he had to do.
Katara rubbed her wrists, enjoying the silence. She had always been quick on her feet. But these matches with Zuko were starting to get on her nerves. He was a spoiled brat, a spoiled brat that had been brain washed by the Nation he was sworn to govern. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the prince. But if he was to rule a Nation that was causing war, then he needed to know how the other Nations felt.
And that the Avatar was the only hope to bring peace to a world that was divided, but almost so united as well.
There was a clicking and the door swung open causing the two teens to look at the visitor.
"Prince Zuko, I have some bad news."
"What is it, Uncle? I'm busy interrogating the prisoner."
Iroh sighed, rubbing his wrinkled forehead. His nephew was impossible. The way to win the Water Tribe's girl's heart and trust wasn't through a series of questions; it was a series of actions. But it was Zuko's life, and no matter how much advice was given, the young man had to figure out these things on his own.
"Uncle!"
Iroh looked up. A small smile crossed his face as he placed his hands into his long sleeves. "It seems Zhao's army has done more damage than originally thought. There is damage to the lower part of the ship, and a hole in the deck."
"So I've seen, what does this have to do with you being here?" Zuko snapped.
"We're sinking."
K15: And there we go! Chapter 7! It turns out I have the revisions to the next chapter as well, so hopefully, I can write that up rather quickly as well. Also, I don't remember if I had sunk Zuko's ship before. So, I'm sorry for any repeat actions. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time. Later. K15