Previously on Superstition:
Zhao realizes that Zuko has his prisoner, so he vows to go 'make him pay'. Aang and Sokka hear his outraged screams and decide to follow the ship.
Chapter 11 - Discovery
Zhao didn't think that they would ever catch Zuko's ship, quite frankly. He was getting so impatient that several of the crewmembers had been taken to the sick ward for severe burns. Most of these victims were the unlucky coal engine operators, whom had told Zhao that it was impossible to go faster without killing the engine.
Needless to say, the Admiral hadn't liked that much.
Upon first sighting the banished prince's ship on the horizon, a great shout of malicious glee echoed over the water. It was in this manner that Aang and Sokka were awakened that morning.
It had been almost a week since Katara had been kidnapped, and the majority of that time had been spent following this Fire Nation ship across the sea, placing blind faith in the hope that this ship would lead them to her. In reality, both Aang and Sokka knew there wasn't much else to do other than follow it. They didn't exactly have any other leads than the knife, and if the angry shouting days ago had been any indication, Zhao was just as desperate to find the girl as they were. It was just a miracle that nobody on Zhao's ship had noticed them in the cover of the fog.
Unfortunately for the two boys and their pet primate, there really wasn't that much to do when riding a giant flying bison over the water for a week. Food was scarce, so they spent much of their time attempting (rather unsuccessfully) to catch fish and other edible marine life. So far, they'd caught mostly fish and drifting pieces of seaweed. The method of catching the fish was a bit harder to figure out at first, since they lacked fishing equipment. Stomachs growling, they had almost resolved to heading back to the mainland for some food, but then Appa had come up with a most unexpected—not to mention unappetizing—solution.
The giant bison had made some bubbles in the water, to put it politely.
The group's food problems had been, for the moment, solved. They used the knife to cut the fish, then they tried to cook the fish by laying a metal pan (where had that come from?) on Appa's back in the sun. They, of course, referred to Sokka alone; Aang was too squeamish to gut a fish, and Momo wouldn't be much help at all. The end result was a pathetic form of sustenance that kind of resembled badly-made sushi. Sort of. But in the end, it was food and it filled their bellies, and with nothing else to do but twiddle their thumbs, the trio spent their time sleeping.
"Did you hear that, Sokka?" Aang asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly. "It sounded like that guy from before…"
"Hmm? Yeah," Sokka replied groggily.
"S-Sokka! Wake up!" The younger boy shouted suddenly. "Look, look!"
"What?"
"There!" Aang pointed into the distance. "It's a ship!"
"Yeah, yeah, we've been following that stupid ship for ages now," Sokka complained, not looking.
"There's two ships now!" Aang cried triumphantly, though considerably quieter than the Admiral. "I bet that's the ship Katara's on! We found her!"
Now Sokka was awake.
"What!" He exclaimed, searching the distance with his eyes. "I see it! I see it! Aang, we found her! Yesss!" He shot up and began jumping around, trying to hug his younger companion.
Unfortunately for the young Water Tribe boy, the fish-cooking pan was still on Appa's back as well. And for what wasn't the first time—nor to be the last—he fell headfirst into the icy seawater.
Meanwhile, a plan was forming in the Admiral's head. A devious plan, yes. If everything went well, he'd have the girl, the Avatar, and with any luck, that stupid prince would be out of his way for good.