21. New Friends, Old Enemies
"We've located the Avatar's secret layer. Now what?" Seaman Oki whispered.
The young soldier had a hopeful look on his face as he turned to look at Iroh. All the three crew members were looking at the old General expectantly.
They are counting on me to know what to do, Iroh realized. Hopefully I won't let them down.
Prince Zuko had left in such a hurry to liberate the Avatar that he hadn't given them instructions beyond 'you'll figure something out'.
Iroh peeked one more time over the large boulder they where huddled behind. Avatar's entourage was still in the cave surrounded by ruins, exactly where they had been when Iroh and his men had found the place almost half an hour ago. Two people-sized sleeping bags, a lemur cleaning its fur, and the airbison. The usual group minus the Avatar himself.
Now was indeed a good time to get creative.
Iroh tried to recall what he knew of airbison; he had never spent a great deal of time studying the supposedly extinct species, nor had there been many opportunities to do so.
Still, Iroh considered himself a knowledgeable sort of man. Surely he knew something that would help them resolve this situation peacefully?
Airbison were considered docile creatures. When faced with a threatening situation, their go-to reaction was flight, not fight. Being the original airbenders, flight was almost always an option for them.
The animals avoided conflict, but not to the point the Air Nomads had. If a bison couldn't escape, or it wouldn't escape because it needed to stay to protect kin or people it was attached to, it would fight. Considering the creature's size and airbending capabilities, having to fight the airbison would be no small effort.
This particular bison, Appa, was certainly attached enough to the Avatar that it would fight for its owner. It had proven as much during their first encounter by taking down most of Zuko's crew on its way to the Air Nomad. Iroh presumed Appa was loyal enough to extend his protective instinct to the Avatar's companions as well.
The real question was whether the bison would perceive Iroh and his men as a threat or not.
How smart is it? Smart enough to recognize us as enemy by our uniforms? Sensitive enough to realize some of us are firebenders? Reasonable enough to be reasoned with?
Iroh just didn't know.
Iroh wasn't in the habit of underestimating creatures just because they weren't human, though. He had met dragons, and knew they were at least as smart as humans were. Even so, just because the animal was smart didn't mean it thought or behaved like a human would. Intelligence and a certain type of understanding of what rational behavior was didn't always go hand in hand.
Appa might be smarter than we all know. Probably not smart enough to understand speech, though. Bison probably have their own, non-verbal ways of communication.
It seemed Iroh wasn't getting any wiser by contemplating the situation. It was good to theorize before acting, but there came a time when the only way to see if those theories were correct was to put them into practice.
"I have a plan. If I'm right, this shouldn't be too much of a problem", Iroh informed the crew.
"And if you're not, sir?" Seaman Juva didn't look convinced.
"Should it turn out I was wrong, we shall make a swift retreat and reevaluate the situation from a more comfortable distance."
Everyone nodded. They still remembered how easily the bison had taken them down the last time they fought it.
"Excellent. Wait here", Iroh ordered. He got up, left their hiding place, and started to slowly advance on the bison.
The animal hadn't moved much during the almost half an hour Iroh had been observing it. It was most likely asleep. Which meant that if Iroh wished to communicate with it, he'd have to awaken it first.
Well, let's hope you're a morning person.
Even if the bison wasn't, at least Uncle had plenty of experience dealing with people who were grumpy when woken before sunrise. Then again, it was possible his nephew wasn't so much a grumpy morning person than just grumpy, period.
Either way, Iroh had experience.
The old man coughed loudly a few times, which got the animal to stir. The bison lifted its massive head, still looking a bit sleepy. When Appa noticed Iroh, it stared at him. He didn't get up, tough, most likely because the two Water Tribe kids were huddled atop his tail.
"Good evening", Iroh greeted, hoping his friendly tone conveyed he wasn't an enemy. "I'm Iroh. We have met before, though under unpleasant circumstances. Today, however, I've come to extend an olive branch, so to speak, by aiding your ill companions."
The bison looked thoughtful and even a bit suspicious, but at least it wasn't attacking him on sight. Encouraged by the progress in their their relationship, Iroh took a few measured steps towards the animal.
Appa sniffed the air coming from Iroh's way, his eyes narrowed and he began to growl a low growl. Damn. I guess you do remember me.
Iroh lifted his hands in a placating gesture and backed off.
"Appa, what is it?" a weak voice asked from one of the sleeping bags. Katara had apparently been stirred by Appa's movements.
The girl looked up. Her eyes were feverish and she didn't appear to be fully aware of her surroundings.
Iroh stood very still. He had a feeling that Katara being awake would not make his task of gaining Appa's trust any easier. Uncle hoped she wouldn't see him in the dimly lit cave, and that she'd go back to sleep.
Too bad, it was exactly then that the lemur decided now was a good time to take a closer look at the new arrival; it floated closer to Uncle and landed on top of the man's head, sniffing him fervently, eyes wide and curios. The animal appeared to be unsure of what to make of Iroh, but at least it was acting in a friendly manner so far.
Should I have bathed this morning? Iroh wondered as the lemur climbed onto his arm, still sniffing him all around. Is there something funny about the way I smell?
"Momo", Sokka suddenly joined the conversation. "Stop teasing the evil old Fire Nation guy."
The casual way Sokka said this and the blissful smile on his face before he went back to sleep told Iroh the boy wasn't fully awake. More good luck for Iroh.
Katara, however, narrowed her eyes. She was a bit more conscious than her brother, and now clearly trying to determine what was going on.
Appa was still growling at Iroh. Momo was still sniffing him.
What is it about my smell... Oh, of course. Iroh realized his mistake.
"Don't worry, my furry friends", he said quietly in his most reassuring voice. "I'm not a dragon. I might smell like one, but that's only because I live with one."
The lemur looked straight into Iroh's eyes for a long time, and then went back to sniffing him. Yep, the lemur definitely doesn't understand speech.
The bison, on the other hand, stopped growling. It still looked suspiciously at him, though.
Iroh briefly weighed his chances of beating an airbison in a one-on-one fight, should the situation take a turn for the worse. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, when neither he nor Appa particularly wanted a fight.
Uncle was an experienced fighter, and although he had no desire to hurt anyone, he was fairly sure he could get the upper hand in a fight; formidable as the bison was, Appa was clearly best suited for running, not fighting. Also, most animals from other nations were afraid of fire.
Plan A had worked well-enough, considering the bison hadn't attacked him. Still, Iroh doubted that prolonging the conversation would get him further than this. It was time for plan B.
Iroh carefully retreated back to the boulder he and his men were using as a base of operations.
"You're doing great, sir!" Seaman Juva whispered. "I couldn't hear what you said to them, but they woke up, and still no one attacked anyone, so it must have been something pretty convincing."
The other two were nodding as well, and Oki said: "Funny creature, the lemur I mean."
Oki pointed at the animal still resting on Iroh's shoulder. Iroh had to agree: "Yes. Not exactly shy."
"No one can say you didn't try. Can we now retreat back to the ship?" Juva put in.
"Actually", Iroh said calmly. "I still have one more Pai Sho tile up my sleeve."
Uncle would be lying if he said the crew looked happy to hear that. No one complained out loud though.
"Seaman Oki, do you still have those branches I asked you to pick up at the herbalist institute?"
Oki nodded and held out some branches that had green, round leaves on them. "What are you planning?"
"I don't think I'm going to get in any friendlier terms with the bison just by chatting with him", the General replied and winked an eye at the men. "But nothing brings people together like food."
Then he turned back to face Appa and walked over to him, holding out the branches.
Iroh walked as close as he estimated the bison would let him, dropped the branches on the ground and retreated.
Appa looked dubious and sniffed a couple of times. An animal that size was always hungry, and Iroh knew the branches smelled wonderful. The man waited in anticipation.
Slowly, Appa got up on his six legs, shrugged the children off his tail and took a few steps to reach the branches. Then he gulped down Iroh's present in a matter of seconds.
A few minutes later, the bison's eyes got glassy and tired. Appa laid back down and began snoring. Exactly the reaction Uncle had hoped for.
Years ago Iroh had made the same mistake; he had come across leaves that smelled delightful and, wanting to experiment a bit, brewed tea from them. Only later he learned the plant was a rare Earth Kingdom herb used by traditional healers as an anesthetic.
Iroh had noticed and recognized the plant outside the herbalist institute. He suspected it had been brought to the area for medical use, and had since spread wild.
The plant wasn't dangerous, certainly not one of the more dangerous things Iroh had put in tea during his first tour in Earth Kingdom. Iroh didn't know exactly how effective it was, but a cup had been enough to put some of his fellow officers to sleep for hours, so Iroh was hopeful a few branches would be the right dosage for something as large as an airbison.
The old firebender felt a bit bad for deceiving his new friend in this way, but at least he could take comfort in the fact that his motivations were honorable.
Believe it or not, I'm trying to help you.
Iroh waved for the crew that it was safe to come out of hiding and proceed with their plan.
ooo
Aang was feeling awful. Getting caught by the Fire Nation had never been on his to-do list, but the timing was about as bad as it could get. Sokka and Katara were counting on him.
The frozen frogs Aang had managed to collect while running from the archers had thawed in the warmth of his cell, and even they had abandoned the young Avatar. Aang was starting to get unusually desperate. How am I going to get out of this?
There was a commotion going on outside his cell. The airbender stayed quiet, trying to hear what was happening.
It sounded like a struggle. It sounded like a fight. And after that, nothing. Whatever it was, it was over as suddenly as it had begun.
The door to Aang's prison cell opened. A sleek, dark figure slid in and closed the door behind him.
Aang tried to stretch his neck to see who it was. When the figure turned around, he saw that the mystery man had a blue, scary-looking mask covering his face. Or it was his face, and this wasn't a man at all, but Aang doubted the latter.
"Who are you?" Aang asked. The masked figure didn't answer. Instead he/it unsheathed a sword that turned out to be two swords.
Now Aang was getting worried. Before the monk had time to say anything more, the figure started to move towards him, his swords swirling and ready to strike. Aang yelped and closed his eyes.
There was a metallic clank as the swords hit home. The chains that had been holding the Avatar 's hands fell to the ground, followed closely by the ones that had been tied to his legs.
Aang was stunned. "You want to help me?"
The man had already moved back to the door and peaked behind it, making sure the way was clear. Now he waved his hand, telling Aang to follow him.
The Air Nomad didn't know who the masked man was, but despite his scary appearance, it seemed that he wanted to help. Aang went with him.
ooo
The Avatar was finally in Zuko's custody. Or at least the boy was following him, which was good enough for now.
The Blue Spirit lead Aang down corridors and secret hatches, grateful they hadn't ran into anyone yet. The Avatar was fast and even sneaky, but he lacked the experience and arrogance it took to pull something like this off, so the longer they were able to avoid confrontation, the better.
While the two youngsters were walking through a sewer to get under the innermost wall, Zuko peaked a glance the Avatar's way. The other boy looked at him curiously. Zuko turned away and picked up the pace.
Doesn't he recognize it's me? I mean, most people don't, but we met just this morning. He knows Prince Zuko is in the vicinity, and he knows I don't get along with Zhao... surely his list of candidates can't be that long.
Maybe he knows it's me, but fears that saying it out loud might break the spell, and remind me that I'm on the wrong side here. Though probably he doesn't know. I guess it would be pretty hard to picture the kind of man he thinks I am doing anything even remotely like this.
Plus, he's never seen me fight. Not really. Not like this. Not with my Dao.
Zuko wanted to keep his focus on the here and now, but uninvited stray thoughts kept appearing in his mind. Thoughts of Ozai.
The more Zuko thought about it, the surer he was of what he was doing;Zuko had no regrets about rescuing the Avatar today, just like he didn't regret standing up for those soldiers three years ago in that fateful War Meeting.
In the last three years, Zuko had given a lot of thought to that day, especially on what he could've done differently. The Prince had tried to understand why his actions had been so bad they couldn't be forgiven, but to this day, Zuko wasn't sure what he would've done it differently.
Now that Zuko had let go of trying to win over his father's love, he could look at what had happened from a new perspective. He could rise above his faith in his father's righteousness and look at things for what they really were; if Zuko had stayed quiet that day, nothing of any consequence would've changed, because nothing had. The men would still have been sent to their deaths. They would still be dead.
The biggest change would be that Zuko wouldn't have been banished. Not on that day, anyway. So from that point of view, Zuko had screwed up big time. However, just because Zuko had voiced his opinion in the wrong way at the wrong place at the wrong time, didn't mean his opinion was wrong.
'What's right is never needless to say out loud', Uncle had said to him years ago. Only now Zuko understood what he'd meant.
There were many things Zuko regretted doing that day, but voicing his opinion against the General's plan wasn't one of them. If one of the things Zuko's banishment was supposed to teach him was that his words that day had been wrong, Zuko hadn't learned his lesson.
Zuko pulled himself and the Air Nomad to the shadows when two guards passed above them. After the road was clear, he gestured to Aang that they would go above ground now. The boy nodded.
Zuko lifted the metal lid and both boys climbed out of the sewer. They quietly ran to the second wall, where Zuko had left a rope hanging.
The boys were about halfway through the climb when an alarm was sounded.
"Over there! It's the Avatar and the Blue Spirit!" A voice called from the yard.
Someone cut the rope and Aang and Zuko started falling to the ground.
ooo
Aang used an airbending kata to soften their fall. As soon as they were safely on the ground, the man the soldiers had called the Blue Spirit went into a battle stance.
Fire soldiers were closing in on them from all sides now. The masked man reacted faster than Aang, which was unusual in itself, but not the only unusual thing about him; the more Aang thought about it, the surer he was that there was something familiar about the way the lean, masked figure moved. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, or where he'd seen it before, though.
Aang's first reaction was to grab for his airstaff, but then he remembered it had been destroyed, and that he'd left his fans at the camp. Airbenders didn't often fight unarmed (they always kept a staff along anyway), but Aang didn't let lack of weaponry slow him down for long; he tackled one of the guards, grabbed the man's spear and turned it into a fighting staff by breaking off the pointy end. Airbenders didn't use lethal weapons.
Before Aang had time to do more, his mystery friend had cleared a path to the next gatehouse, and was waving at Aang to keep up.
The fight that ensued was fast-paced and three-dimensional. Despite the enemy's overwhelming numbers, Aang was feeling a bit excited; he and the Blue Spirit made an excellent team, constantly having each other's backs. Although his new companion hadn't said a word, they had a silent understanding of what they were doing. They were making stuff up as they went, but that had gotten them on top of the second wall now, so Aang wasn't too worried.
The Air Nomad swept attackers away with his airbending while the Blue Spirit fought them off with his swords. The blades looked sharp and dangerous, but thankfully his new companion was careful with his weapons. The Blue Spirit appeared to be as reluctant to seriously injure anyone as the airbender himself was, which made Aang trust his silent companion more by the minute.
Whoever he is, looks like we have a lot in common.
Aang noticed an attacker coming towards the Blue Spirit from behind. "Look out!"
The swordsman turned just in time and pushed his attacker away with a sweeping motion of his hands. The soldier flew far from them.
The Blue Spirit turned to wave Aang to follow him, but the Air Nomad was too shocked to move. Was that... Did he just...
Suddenly all the pieces fell in place: the familiar way the masked man moved, his reluctance to hurt his enemies. And that move he'd used a moment ago was a bending kata. A bending kata Aang knew, even if he hadn't seen it performed with swords before.
The Blue Spirit turned around, and noticed Aang wasn't following him. The masked man waved at him furiously, but all Aang could do was stare. Stare and smile. He must've looked like he'd gone mad, but he didn't care.
"You", Aang almost shouted. "You're an airbender!"
ooo
I'm not an airbender.
The Avatar was mistaken or mad. Those were the only logical explanations. Zuko was a firebender. He wasn't an airbender. He was light on his feet, but that didn't make him an airbender.
"I saw how you pushed that man away with airbending", the Avatar went on, still smiling like a fool.
Surely Zuko couldn't have used his firebending without noticing it himself? He if anyone should know there were firebending techniques that did not require visible fire, but he was careful not to use firebending – in any of its form – when portraying the Blue Spirit.
The kid probably had a wild imagination, and was seeing things the way he wanted them to be rather than the way they were. Zuko had years of experience of that, though never to the point of hallucinations.
The Avatar was still standing in place. What should Zuko do? Drag the boy the rest of the way by his collar?
Before Zuko had time to make up his mind, the air was full or arrows.
The volley was headed for the orange figure, but a good number of the arrows were aimed at him as well. Aang, finally over his moment, noticed the arrows as well.
The Yu Yan were behind them. Zuko had a plan, but there wasn't enough time to hand signal what he wanted the other boy to do. Zuko pointed at the other side of the wall and shouted: "Jump!"
Both boys were fast enough to get out of the way and behind the solid wall before the arrows rained down on them.
As Zuko leaped over the side of the wall, he sheathed his Dao to free his hands for climbing. Zuko took hold of the ledge of the wall to keep from falling down the whole way.
Normally, Zuko could've easily taken his body crashing to the side of a wall. Now though, a flash of pain reminded him of the shoulder Toph had injured. Zuko was able to hold on, but only barely. The shoulder wasn't dislocated, but it wasn't working quite right, either. Zuko was thankful no one could see the pain on his face under the mask.
As Zuko was hanging on, he noticed the Avatar hadn't understood him; the airbender had jumped entirely off the wall and landed smoothly on the ground. The younger boy turned to look up at him, looking as confused as Zuko felt.
Both boys appeared to be mentally asking the same question: What did you do that for? I thought we had a plan.
Zuko tried to think quickly. He could try to jump down, too. The Avatar seemed to be expecting that, probably still under the assumption his masked savior could airbend. Zuko groaned.
The Prince tried to estimate how long the fall was. Too long. Maybe. Since he wasn't an airbender. Probably.
However, even if he'd survive the fall unscathed, it seemed insane to give up the advantage of his location for no better reason than that standing on the wall made him a bit easier target for the Yu Yan. Speaking of which, apparently they weren't all back on the inner wall with Zhao; several face-painted archers were on the ground between the last two walls, now closing in on Aang.
Zuko bit his lip. The earlier wave of arrows had been meant to lure them into an ambush. How had he missed that?
The airbender dodged the arrows the best he could, but Zuko had already seen how this dance would end. He had to go to Aang's help.
Suddenly two arrows nailed Zuko's left leg in place by his trousers. Oh shit.
If it weren't for Zuko's years of training, he would've been trapped as soon as more arrows reached him. As it was, Zuko was able to wiggle free and roll back on top of the wall.
Temporal safety, at least, but any minute now more soldiers would storm him. Zuko lay flat, holding his injured arm on top of his torso, trying to even his breathing and think.
Is this how it ends? Was I an arrogant fool to think I could steal the Avatar from the most powerful nation in the world? Should I just cut my losses and try to get out here while I still have a chance to get away?
Zuko opened his eyes. No. This isn't how the story ends.
ooo
Ari was on the ground, ready to block the Avatar's way if he got past the three members of their squad of twelve who were actively on him.
The airbender was fast, but there was no doubt about how this would end; the Yu Yan had already succeeded in capturing the Avatar once. They would do so again.
Now they even had the advantage of knowing their enemy, and although the Blue Spirit was an unknown factor, he was nothing a trained squad working as one couldn't handle.
They had already managed to drive the Avatar to a trap, and as soon as the airbender was caught, they would go after the thief. He might have slipped from them for now, but he wouldn't get far.
A colorful light in the corner of Ari's eye caught her attention. She knew she wasn't supposed to let the Avatar out her sight, but she looked up. She had to know what the flash of light had been.
Since Ari was the only one on her squad who looked up, she was the first to see it: the black dragon.
He's back!
The Avatar had been running along the wall in order to avoid being shot at from all sides. The dragon breathed a thin stream of fire between the airbender and the Yu Yan.
Now everyone saw the dragon, but they appeared unsure what to do about it. The dragon landed on the scorched ground, its eyes never leaving the Yu Yan. Its enemy.
No! Ari had to stop her squad from attacking the dragon. She whistled to get their attention and did the hand signal for standing down.
Ari hadn't told Colonel Shinu about her miraculous savior, partly because she feared the man wouldn't believe her, but mostly because dragons had been hunted close to extinction, and Ari hadn't wanted anyone to go looking for this one.
She had told her squad everything, though. An important part of why the Yu Yan were better than everyone else was that they moved as one, and for that to be possible, they had to know each other well.
The other archers knew Ari had been saved by a dragon, this particular dragon, and she hoped that her signal was enough to tell them what she wanted to happen next.
The leader of their squad, Hozir, nodded at her once. They understood.
A life debt was a personal matter, but if Ari's debt meant she had to go against her orders, and quite possibly against her team, they would rather work as one or not at all.
Ari's debt wasn't the only reason they were willing to stand down; just because firebenders had hunted down the last dragons didn't mean everyone hated them. On the contrary: in Fire Nation culture, dragons had always been respected. They symbolized many good things. Ari wasn't alone in her wish for the last dragon to live.
In unison, all twelve Yu Yan lowered their bows. Not all the way down, in case they needed to defend themselves, but not aiming at anything, either.
The dragon looked surprised, but reluctantly turned its attention away from the archers and to the Avatar. It was eyeing the boy in such a meaningful way that even the airbender got the hint.
"You want me to ride on you?" The Avatar sounded half-surprised, half-thrilled.
The dragon nodded, but instead of lowering its head to help the Avatar climb on its back, it grabbed the Avatar into one of its paws, the same way it had carried Ari the first time they met.
The black dragon opened its wings and took off, and not a single arrow was fired to stop it.
Ari felt relieved and worried: relieved that his savior hadn't been hurt, but worried for getting herself and possibly her entire squad in trouble.
More soldiers and the rest of the Yu Yan arrived on the yard. Ari made her decision; she would take the blame for the Avatar getting away. She wouldn't let her team go down for this.
"What on earth happened?!" Admiral Zhao had reached the yard. He wasn't happy.
"There was a dragon, sir." Hozir stepped up to meet the man. "It took the Avatar and flew away."
Zhao looked like he was boiling. "Yes, I saw the dragon. Everyone did. What amazes me is the part where the dragon calmly flew away. Meeting minimal resistance, I might add."
Ari opened her mouth to speak but Hozir was faster: "Couldn't get a clear shot, sir."
Zhao looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. While the Admiral was still looking for strong enough words to describe his feelings, another Yu Yan inauspiciously stepped next to Ari. She brushed Ari's hand to get her attention and whispered: "Not a word."
"The Yu Yan are supposed to be able to shoot wings off a fly without killing it. How could you not hit something that big?!"
"I saw the situation." the field leader of the Yu Yan stepped in. "Hozir is right. It was an impossible angle. With the smoke and the heat distorting the visibility, there was no way to..."
"I could've hit it if I'd been holding a bow and an arrow!" Zhao shouted, looking a bit deranged.
"Even if there had been enough time for an attack, my Yu Yan's arrows wouldn't make a dent in the dragon's skin", Colonel Shinu, the real leader of the stronghold, said calmly. "The Yu Yan are the best, but we couldn't have trained for this scenario. We just weren't prepared for this."
Ari was too stunned to say anything; they were all teaming up against the Admiral to cover up for one of their own.
ooo
Zhao was back in his office, packing his things. He had ordered his ships to sail off first thing in the morning. There wasn't a minute to loose.
The Admiral found it incredibly unlikely that the Yu Yan had been too dumfounded to do anything about the dragon. One or two, maybe, but an entire squad?
Their sudden incompetence was a bit too coordinated to be anything but planned. What Zhao needed to know was who had been the father of that idea. His money was on Colonel Shinu, that jealous, unpatriotic fool, but he couldn't openly accuse the man without proof.
Zhao had interrogated the archers, but the Yu Yan's red wall of silence had kept Zhao from finding the culprit. As much as he would've wanted to, he couldn't have all of the Yu Yan court-marshaled; they were too valuable for the war effort to be locked away in numbers.
The worst Zhao could do was write very negatively about them in his next report.
"Sir." A young officer bowed at the Admiral.
"Yes", Zhao hurried the man to go on.
"You asked us to keep looking for the Blue Spirit. We've just completed our search on the stronghold and the forest, but there's no sign of the thief." The man visibly hesitated, but eventually went on: "None but this."
The soldier handed Zhao a blue opera mask. The mask was smiling at him, menacing and playful. Everyone was laughing at him today, it seemed.
Zhao set the mask on fire.
The mask was evidence and a possible lead, but it had obviously been left behind on purpose, so it probably didn't hold any clues to the identity of its wearer, and he felt like burning something.
Zhao dismissed the soldier, who left in a hurry.
Zhao was convinced that all the hardships of tonight: the Blue Spirit, the dragon, the silent mutiny, they were all connected. He couldn't yet see how, let alone prove it, but when he could, heads would start falling.
If I've learned anything today, Zhao thought to himself, it is that I will never use the Yu Yan again. No matter how talented they are, they can't be trusted, which makes them of no value to my hunt for the Avatar or the conquest of the North.
ooo
"Mmhhh", Sokka mumbled but didn't open his eyes. Someone was pushing his shoulder, but he didn't want to get up yet. "A few more minutes, mom", he said and turned to his side.
"You're awake? Finally!" Katara was next to him, trying his forehead for fever.
"Hey!" Sokka yelped, surprised by the cold touch.
"Sokka, you have to get up. We're in trouble." Katara looked worried.
"What?" Sokka got up to a sitting position and looked around himself, but all he could see were dark walls. "Is someone attacking us?"
"No", Katara said solemnly. "We're a bit late for that fight."
Sokka had no idea what his sister was talking about. He still felt weak and tired, and Katara wasn't making sense.
Upon seeing her brother's blank expression, Katara sighed in irritation and continued: "You honestly don't remember anything about the Fire Nation attack on our camp?"
"We've been attacked by the Fire Nation?!"
"Yes. And now we're held prisoner by Prince Zuko."
Sokka stared at her sister. "Prisoner? Are you sure?"
Katara rolled her eyes. Despite her defiant attitude, she too looked pale,. "Of course I'm sure. Look around yourself. We're in a prison inside a Fire Nation warship right now."
Sokka took a better look around himself. The room was lit by two candles, there were no windows and just one door. The walls and floor were indeed made of metal, and Sokka could feel vibrations through the metal.
Katara's right. We're moving!
The room didn't look like a prison cell, though; there were shelves on the walls, and most of them had stuff on them in bags of varying sizes. By the smell of them, at least some of those bags held spices or herbs, maybe food.
"And you are sure we're on Prince Zuko's ship?" Sokka asked.
"It was the old firebender who always travels with him that caught us", Katara replied.
We're locked in Prince Zuko's food closet. Sokka wouldn't have believed it if he weren't seeing it with his own eyes.
Suddenly Katara looked miserably. "When I realized what was happening, I tried to put up a fight, I really did. But I was so tired and I didn't have any water left."
"It's not your fault, sis", Sokka hurried to console her. "What matters now is that we figure out a way to escape as soon as possible."
Sokka took one more look around to see if there was anything in the room that could be used for escaping. There were two mattresses and their sleeping bags, but Sokka couldn't see the rest of their stuff in the room.
"Wait a second", Sokka's brain was working a bit slow today. "Where's Aang? Or Appa? Or Momo?"
"Aang left to get medicine for us, remember? But he never came back. Something awful must have happened to him. I don't know where Appa or Momo are."
Katara looked even more miserable. "Prince Zuko probably caught them, too."
Sokka thought that over in his head, but something didn't add up. "I'm not so sure about that. How long was I out of it?"
"I think it's morning again, so a day", Katara said.
"And how long was Aang gone before we got attacked?"
Katara looked thoughtful. "Most of the day. Aang left during midday. It was already dark when the Fire Nation attacked."
Sokka nodded. "Then it doesn't really sound like they've captured Aang."
"What makes you say so?" Katara frowned.
"Remember what that Shyu guy said? Prince Zuko needs to capture the Avatar to get unbanished. Why would he capture Aang, and then stick around for hours to look for us, too?"
"Maybe he knows we wouldn't rest until we saved our friend?" Katara's eyes had a tough edge to them.
"Maybe", Sokka agreed. They had gone after Zuko to save Aang once already.
"One way or another", Sokka went on, "The best thing we can do now is to find a way out of here. We won't be of much help to Aang locked up in a food closet."
Katara nodded. "Any ideas?"
"No, but I'll work something out. We'll get out of this, you'll see", Sokka promised.
"One more thing", Sokka added. "The door is locked, right? You tried to open it but it wouldn't budge and all that?"
Katara glared at him.
"Hey, just making sure."
ooo
Zuko had flown through the night, but now the sky grew lighter, reminding him of how late it was. He started to eye the scenery beneath him, looking for a place to land.
The Avatar had spent what had felt like hours trying to talk him into going back for his friend the Blue Spirit, and his sick Water Tribe friends, but now the other boy had finally fallen asleep.
Zuko had tried to communicate with Aang to let him know his imaginary 'airbender buddy' and Katara and Sokka were safe, but his attempts to form a connection had failed. Zuko wasn't sure why, but his Power of Dragons was really off right now; he hadn't been able to communicate anything despite several tries. Zuko suspected the Avatar hadn't even noticed his efforts.
Maybe the Avatar is immune? Or maybe I'm just too tired to concentrate on it.
Although Zuko was tired and injured, he'd kept going, because he feared that when he stopped, he would no longer have the energy or determination to get up again.
Zuko wasn't feeling too good. Maybe he had caught whatever Jiri had, after all. Still, he couldn't stop. Not now. Not when he had finally captured the Avatar.
He couldn't go back to his ship, though. Not as he was. Not when Zhao was lurking around.
Also, he had ordered Uncle to set sail. Zuko wasn't even sure where he was, let alone where his ship was. His vision was getting blurry at the edges.
He couldn't just let the Avatar go.
Zuko saw a mountain. It was as good a place as any to land; the slopes were steep and barren, so no one could sneak up on them.
Zuko realized a moment too late that his injured left paw couldn't hold his weight, and since there was no way Zuko was letting go of the Avatar, he had no front paws left to stand on. Zuko's long body fell ungracefully to the ground, waking up the Avatar in the process.
"Oh, we've landed. Great. Mind letting go of me now?" The Avatar, ever the optimist, asked.
Zuko was barely awake, so he didn't have the energy to even attempt to reply, but he figured his actions would speak for themselves. Or more precisely, the lack there of.
()()()
A/N
I'm not sure why in the series the Yu Yan didn't try to stop Zuko and Aang from escaping the Pohuai Stronghold, but in this fic they did. Also, I have wondered why Zhao never used the Yu Yan again. In my mind, those two things could be connected.
And what is Zuko's plan now? He doesn't really have one. He's in a pretty irrational state of mind and holding onto a few key ideas that have kept him going so far, not stopping to question whether they are still relevant. I'll say this much: Zuko's sudden illness is to do with his recent breaking free of his father. Letting go isn't easy. Not when you're Prince Zuko.
I hope you enjoyed this story arc, not that it is really over yet, there's still aftermath. Reviews are appreciated.