Chapter 9

Warning: I think I really pushed the T rating here as some characters get wounded in this chapter

The group stopped at another island. They knew that they would soon approach the North Water Tribe as the temperature was getting colder and Uncle Iroh recognized some of the architecture that clearly was located in the Northern hemisphere.

"Our journey to the North Pole will soon end and we will finally learn some Water bending" spoke Katara as she thought about her upcoming classes. Little did the girl know that their sister tribe would not allow her to do that.

"Uncle, what is our plan to stop the Father lord?" asked Zuko

"You mean defeat the Fire Lord?" asked Korra as she smirked

"I said Fire Lord," replied Zuko as a few flames exited his hands

"Chill, o wise Crown Prince, slayer of the dreadful Father lord!" spoke Korra with sarcasm, which annoyed the Prince greatly

"Guys, I don't think it is a good time to argue. This place seems dangerous" spoke Sokka

The bushes began moving and everyone glanced on the suspicious activity. "I told you so!" screamed Sokka as he readied his boomerang. A small fire ferret jumped from the bush and then quickly ran towards another one, where it soon disappeared.

"Yes, o dear brother of mine, this is a very dangerous island" joked Katara as she looked at her brother. The boy was clearly embarrassed.

"Korra, I know that you need to first learn Water bending but I feel that you need to learn Fire bending now as well. Come, I will teach you two some fire bending" spoke Iroh as the two teenagers separated from the group. The three of them then arrived at the nearby creek, where both Zuko and Korra dropped their outer layers so that they could practice Fire bending more efficiently. As Korra looked at the Prince, she blushed but then proceeded with Iroh's lesson.

Meanwhile, on the other part of the Island a man arrived at the citadel. "Captain Zhao" began an officer but the man corrected him.

"I am Admiral Zhao, Fire Lord Ozai promoted me as I am assembling forces to capture the Avatar. My informants told me that she is in the area somewhere close by" spoke Zhao as he entered the main building. He smiled since he knew that the Avatar was on the island and soon he would be able to capture her.

After a few hours of training Korra progressed immensely but during practice Zuko always beat her. "Korra, you have the greatest raw power among any bender but you lack technique" spoke Zuko as he showed another form to the girl.

"Whatever!" spoke Korra as she returned to the camp

"Uncle, why are Water Tribe women so difficult?" asked Zuko

"There are many mysteries in this world my nephew and this could be the biggest of them all" Iroh laughed as Zuko became frustrated before the boy returned to the camp.

As he arrived, he noticed that the majority of his friends were sick; only Korra and he were not experiencing any side effects. "Zuko, don't come closer, you cough might cough get sick too" spoke Katara as she coughed a few more times. Zuko saw that the Water siblings were feeling unwell, and Jinora due to being an Air bender flew in the air each time she coughed.

"I will search for a way to cure them, you stay here" spoke Korra as she jumped in the bushes and disappeared.

Zuko looked at Korra's shadow, but before he could follow the Avatar, Katara spoke. "Zuko, please don't leave us" This was a new sight for the Prince since Katara always tried to appear strong but now it was obvious that the girl was weakened.

Zuko came closer and took Katara in his hands. "What cough are you cough doing?" asked the girl as she tried to crawl away.

"Don't worry, I am a Fire bender and I won't get sick as easily" he looked in the girl's eyes.

"Get cough a room cough" spoke Sokka as he crawled away from the couple. The two laughed.

"I am sorry I hit you Zuko" spoke Katara as the Prince took her hand and looked her in the eyes.

"You don't need to apologize, I behaved like a jerk. Its just since I have lost my mother" spoke Zuko, as a tear escaped his eye

"I lost my mother too. She protected Korra and me, the last Water benders of the South Water Tribe" spoke Katara as the two teenagers brought their faces together, as their lips almost touched each other.

"Zuko, the Avatar had been captured" spoke Iroh as he quickly arrived at the scene.

"What?" Zuko looked at his uncle, pulling his face away from Katara before he looked at the girl once again.

"Go, I will be fine" spoke Katara as she kissed Zuko on his cheek. The boy stood up and ran towards the group's supplies before taking a few items and disappearing silently in the forest.

"General Iroh" spoke Katara as she looked at the older man

"Katara, please call me Uncle, we are practically family" the old man spoke as the girl weakly laughed

"Uncle Iroh" It seemed strange for Katara to say that but she continued, "When we faced Azula and that boy, I coughed her fire. But I am a Water bender" asked the girl

"You see, the bending arts are very mysterious. Long time ago, before people could bend the elements, people bent the energy within themselves and even others; according to the Library's archives at least. Sometimes, a few powerful benders are born to each nation who have the potential of bending their opposite element. I am no expert on this of course and I have no idea how people could even do such a thing, but I heard of a few cases when people besides the Avatar could bend two elements." The man finished his lecture, as he did not know much more about the subject

"Zuko must be very lucky to have you as his uncle" spoke Katara to which Iroh laughed

"I think that he might be even happier to be in your presence" he smiled before leaving the girl, thinking about the conversation as she coughed.

As Korra opened her eyes, she saw that both of her feet and arms were chained. The girl could neither move nor bend. As she struggled, she saw the man who captured her.

"Greetings Avatar. My name is Admiral Zhao. I presume the previous Air Nomad Avatar had died? And to think that I considered you to be a challenge to capture" laughed the man

"I will get out of the chains and then you are toast" spoke Korra

"I don't think so young Avatar. You see, I am a Master Fire bender and I will maim you if necessary. Rest assured, your remaining life will be spent in a metal cage, from where you could never escape" spoke Zhao as he took Korra's hand and applied some fire. The girl screamed.

"You might know how to fire bend a little but even your body will get burnt if I apply enough pressure. After all, Prince Zuko has a scar on his face that will never go away" he smiled as he left and locked the door.

A few tears dropped from Korra's eyes. "I am so sorry guys, I failed you" spoke Korra looking on the ground. She tried to use her tears for water but was unable to do so. Neither could she use her fire or earth to help her. The avatar realized that she was stuck.

Suddenly the door flew from its hinges and a man appeared from the shadows. The man had a blue mask that covered his face; he held two Dao swords in his hands and waved them in two different directions.

"The Admiral sent you to kill me? Go ahead, and another Avatar will be born!" the girl screamed as the man in a costume jumped at her and quickly moved his swords. The Avatar closed her eyes.

When she opened them, Korra saw that the chains were off and she could stand freely on the floor. She made a confused expression as the man made a sign for the girl to be quiet before he looked outside.

The man in the mask led Korra away from the dungeon but soon they encountered many Fire Nation soldiers, who attacked them. Korra sent fire waves at them since she could not see any water, however despite her attacks, the girl was unable to handle an entire squadron of Fire benders all by herself.

The man jumped and with ease took a few Fire bender soldiers by himself before he showed the gate to Korra with his hand. The soldiers were approaching and the duo was running out of options.

An archer shot an arrow at the masked man but Korra jumped in front of him; the arrow passed threw Korra's right arm as she cried in pain. The duo exchanged looks; the masked man then took the arrow and threw it at the archer, who then dropped on the ground.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Avatar. You should surrender as you are leaking blood from your body and you are in no position to fight me" spoke Admiral Zhao as he sent a large fireball at Korra. The girl cried, as she knew for certain that her demise would soon occur.

Suddenly, a red wall made of ice appeared and Korra looked at herself in shock. The girl then realized that her tears had diluted her blood, which helped her to bend it and make an ice wall, which sheltered the girl from the fire attack before it got blasted to bits.

Korra weakly smiled and stood up on the ground proudly despite experiencing intense pain in her right arm. She smiled as she bend more diluted blood and began using two elements at once. Her right arm was bending the pool of blood while her right arm sent a few more fireballs at the incoming soldiers.

Zhao looked furious as he realized that he could not stop Korra as quickly as he would have hopped. More archers arrived and shot the group, while the mysterious man in the mask dodged the arrows, many of them hit Korra. The girl's arms and legs had been wounded and one arrow flew past her side, slightly wounding her. Zhao finally smiled.

"I am sorry Korra" spoke the mysterious stranger as he jumped towards the girl and with quick speed pulled all the arrows from the girl's body before applying some fire to them. The girl screamed.

"You are a smart Fire bender" smiled Zhao, "Or should I call you Prince Zuko" the man smiled as Zuko took of his mask and looked at the Admiral with anger. Before Zuko could do anything, a few more archers sent more arrows, two of which hit the boy and as they went through his arms, they pinned the boy to the ground.

"I am sorry Korra, I don't think we will make it" he spoke to his friend

"Send an arrow to his chest and kill him, the Avatar is mine" spoke Zhao. As the arrow left the bow, Zuko closed his eyes, preparing himself for an immanent death.

Korra looked at her teammate and suddenly a huge fire erupted from her. The girl rose in the Air, as fire surrounded her body and sent it in all directions. The arrow was destroyed in an instant. Korra then sent a huge fireball at the soldiers, which knocked out many of them. The Avatar then grabbed Zuko and projectile herself away from the citadel. It was clear to everyone that Admiral Zhao was not pleased.

Korra flew for a few miles before she turned to her natural state and the two descended into the forest. The pair fell in the nearby swamp. "You saved me Korra, thank you" spoke Zuko as he took the two arrows from his body quickly, so that he would not feel pain for a long time.

As Zuko took the second arrow out of his body, Korra weakly stood up. As she grabbed his arm, she quickly hugged the boy before passionately kissing him. Zuko quickly pushed the girl away as Korra looked with a puzzled look at him.

"I am sorry but I don't like you that way" spoke Zuko before

Korra looked on the ground, clearly sad before noticing a few frogs in the swamp. She took a few of them and the two returned to the camp. "You two look horrible" spoke Sokka when he saw his teammates. Korra's arms and legs were full of arrow marks, and in some instances her arms had a few holes. Zuko did not look much better.

"Here, I found your treatment" spoke Korra as she put a frozen frog into each person's mouth. After sucking on it for a while, the frogs moved before jumping away from the group.

"Eww" spoke Katara as she realized just what their medicine was

In the evening, the group sat at the beach, where Korra told the group on what had happened. Katara put her hands in the water as it glowed. The girl was surprised.

"What is going on?" asked Katara before Iroh noticed the glowing

"Katara, you have been gifted with healing powers that few Water benders have" spoke Iroh as he looked at her. The girl smiled and then dropped both Korra and Zuko in the water as she began her healing. Even though the wounds had closed, the scars remained. The group then left on Unagi, as they were sure that Zhao's forces began scouting the island.

A/N:

I decided to skip the Deserted Episode, as I see no reason to include it in the plot. Regarding this chapter: Korra currently has a crush on Zuko but the two will not be together.

Next Chapter: the Team arrives at the North Air Temple, where Jinora reunites with her family

The chapter after that: The team arrives at the North Pole, Sokka meets Yue