YET ANOTHER LONG ASS AUTHOR'S NOTE:-

Thank you, everyone, for the immense support you have given me. This chapter is mostly set up for the escape and some other important events. Basically, all the characters are being set for the next arc. From the next chapter, the escape plan starts.

Oh and the scene with Zhao. I wanted to show where he is and establish his character. I took a scene that canonically is Azula's but I made it Zhao's, because it fits PERFECTLY.

Edit: I forgot to add that it would be beneficial if you looked at an Earth Kingdom's map. The map I am referring to while writing is this one:

/ / images . app . goo . gl / 74wVHWZ5Q84EpRkC9

A couple of things before the chapter begins.

Broken Hearts and Shattered Breaths: Once I finish this arc, I will turn to that story and finish it. Then I will return here to start the next arc.

Tease: I might actually end the story as it stands. The fourth tease isn't working out. As such, with the third tease, the story does get a partial conclusion.

Sleepless in Ba Sing Se: A new modern AU that came to me suddenly. It is actually a story that is very dear to me because it deals with Insomnia. (I have a type of insomnia myself. So, it's kinda personal). Do take a look.

Trigger Warning: A depressed Suki.

Please do read and review. I heart reviews.

Chapter 26

"Hei Bai!" Aang screamed, annoyance rising within him. "Hei Bai! I'm the Avatar! Come, talk to me. Why are you bothering these villagers, Hei Bai? Come, talk to me!"

The spirits had been asking him to come to meet them for a while but Aang had pointedly ignored their calls. His attention was focused on Katara and getting her out of the problem that she had landed herself in. One thing led to another and he was now hunting the Fire Prince. Trying to find him, he had somehow landed in this village. The village head asked him, as the Avatar, to help them because a spirit by the name of Hei Bai was tormenting them. The request lay heavy on Aang's shoulders. On the one hand was his duty and responsibility as the Avatar. He was the bridge between the Spirit World and the World of the Mortals, and it was his job to intervene when the spirits interfered with the mortal world. But on the other hand, this meant that his quest for the Fire Prince was going to take a back seat. He knew from past experience that whenever the spirits summoned, it was never a matter of a few hours. His every sojourn into the Spirit World had taken days and time was not a luxury Aang had. Katara was waiting.

"Please Avatar Aang," the leader had begged, perhaps sensing his hesitation. "You are the only one who can."

The much older man was practically at his feet, crying. Unable to stand that, Aang bent down and picked the man up by his shoulders. "Please, don't do that. Falling at the feet of a much younger man does not befit your station."

"But you are the Avatar."

"Be as it may," Aang said, "But I am also only twenty years old. You should not have to beg me like this."

"Does this mean you will do it, Avatar."

Aang gave a weary sigh but nodded. And that was how he was here, in the forest, screaming for Hei Bai. Frustrated, Aang kicked a boulder, his bending making the stone split into two. Where the hell was the spirit?

"You all wanted to meet me, didn't you?" Aang screamed, his voice cracking slightly. "You have been asking me to come to you for ages! And now that I am here, you don't even show up? Hei Bai?"

'Aaaaaang.'

Aang whirled around to find a large black and white, six-limbed animal looking at him. He looked at his hand to find it tinted blue. "I'm in the spirit world," he muttered. He looked up at the animal and said, "Are you Hei Bai?"

'Yes.'

"Why have you called me here?"

'We have to talk, Avatar.'

"So I gather. I'm here now, tell me."

Hei Bai lowered his head. A diamond shaped mark on its forehead opened and a long, brown, and sinewy tentacle emerged from it. The tentacle dropped on the floor in a heap at Aang's feet, making him jump back, and began to steam. Hissing and spitting, the steam gathered into a familiar shape.

'Gyatso!'

"Aang, come, let us take a walk."

Aang followed the spirit that looked like his old friend. The two of them walked quietly for some distance before Gyatso spoke, 'Why have you been ignoring the spirits' call?'

"No offense to you, but I have other things to do as well," Aang said a little irritably. "In case you all haven't noticed, I have been a little caught up with my personal life."

'You are going after something that does not belong to you."

"I know Zuko is not my –"

'I'm not talking about the Fire Bender. He is on the path that would lead him to his destiny. I'm talking about you. You are straying from your destiny.'

"I thought destiny was what we made it to be."

'It is. For everyone else. But you are the Avatar. Rules are different for you.'

Aang huffed, "How is saving the woman I love not a part of my destiny? I'm just doing what Long Feng asked me to do."

'The Earth Bender named Long Feng is using you, Aang. Do not fall for his petty tricks. Concentrate on bringing balance to the world.'

"I will! As soon as I get Katara from Ba Sing Se –"

'The Water Bender is not at Ba Sing Se,' Gyatso said.

"What? What? No! Where is she?"

'She is where she is supposed to be,' Gyatso replied. 'Concentrate on eliminating Fire Lord Ozai.'

"NO!" Aang screamed. "No. Where is Katara? Tell me where is Katara?"

'The Water Bender is not your destiny.'

"NO!" Aang screamed. "If this is what the spirits have to say, then I'm leaving."

'Aang…'

"Stop tormenting the village and let me go," Aang said through gritted teeth.

'Avatar…'

"Gyatso! Let me go!"

The spirit sighed and touched a finger between Aang's forehead.

Zhao leaned against the prow of his ship; his brows knitted to a frown. If all went to plan, they should be reaching the Chameleon Bay by tomorrow evening. They would then be traveling by land for a day to reach the former war camp near Ba Sing Se.

"Admiral," his ship's captain said, "We have a slight problem."

Zhao turned around, his eyes narrowing. "What problem?"

"The path we are on takes us between Kiyoshi Island and Chin, but the tides won't let us take the route. We would either have to go around Kiyoshi Island, or wait till the tides let us go through."

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I don't understand something," Zhao said. "Do the tides command the ship or do I?"

"I'm sorry, Admiral, I don't understand."

"I'm asking that if I throw you overboard, would the tides think twice before crashing you to the rocks?"

"N..no Admiral."

"Then stick to our course and I might decide to spare you still."

The Captain bowed and beat a hasty retreat. Zhao's lips thinned. Incompetent asshole.

Suki held her plate and shuffled along in the line. The stench wafting from the fellow prisoners used to make her gag but now, she had become used to it. Once, she had a deep brown, silky hair that framed her face. Now they were matted, and Suki could not bring herself to care. As she picked a piece of dry bun from the pantry, she noticed that her chipped nails had black gunk under them. Once Suki would have dressed down a trainee Kiyoshi Warrior for unkempt nails, today, her own nails did not elicit anything more than a sigh from her. She spooned some unappetizing looking gruel on her plate, grabbed a spoon and settled on a bench where the prisoners ate.

"Hi," a male voice said to her, startling her. She looked up to find a man of about her age sitting across her. Ignoring him, she spooned some gruel into her mouth.

"Surely that swill is not more interesting than me," the man said.

Suki refrained from rolling her eyes and looked at him, letting her irritation show, "Back off. I'm married."

"So am I," he said. "Does that stop us from being friends?"

"I'm not interested in making friends in this hell-hole."

The man shrugged and said, "Being here is hard enough. Doing it alone is harder. I heard that you were the leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors. I thought having you as a friend would help me."

"Oh! So, you were looking for a bodyguard for yourself, eh? And here I was thinking your motives were entirely altruistic."

The man grinned, showing a chipped tooth. "This is a prison. It is every man and woman for himself here. Building rapport is the only way to survive here. I'm not ashamed that I approached you for my own benefit. If you decide to get that stick out of your butt and decide you want to actually make your time here livable, find me. I'm Sora."

Saying so, the man picked his plate and walked away. Suki realized that she had lost her appetite.

"Zuko we have to talk!" Katara said, standing up. "There is something –"

"Katara!" he cut her off, shooting to his feet. "Let me tell you something about myself. I don't do this kind of talk. I'm not good with it. I'll get awkward, say the absolute wrong thing and in general make a mess of things. I have learned a valuable lesson with Mai. I'm making those mistakes again."

Katara gaped at him in disbelief, "So you won't talk? At all?"

"Nope."

"How is that helpful in any way?" Katara snapped, unable to understand.

"Maybe it's not, but you have no idea how badly I messed up last time I opened my mouth about something like this."

"Everyone makes those mistakes, Zuko!" Katara said, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep herself from screaming in frustration. "You learn from those mistakes and you move to better things."

"Exactly. I learned from my mistakes and I figured that I should shut up. Tell me, am I misreading your actions here?"

Katara licked her lips and shook her head to say he wasn't.

"Am I not being transparent about my feelings with my actions. Do you have any doubts about what I'm showing you?"

"No."

"Then what is there to talk?" He asked irritably.

Katara closed her eyes and counted to ten to control her rising temper. "We have to talk because there are things I need to say. It's important."

Zuko shook his head and held up a hand, "Fine, since this is so important to you, we'll talk. But not now. Not here. Right now, I want to concentrate on getting out. Once we are out of this prison and safe, we can have that conversation. Is that okay?"

Realizing that he was offering her an olive branch, Katara decided to take it, "Fine, so be it. We'll talk when we get to relative safety. Okay?"

"Fine. Now can we get to our blood bending practice, please?"

Katara stared at him, wondering about the man that was Zuko. How he managed to annoy and make her feel loved and trusted at the same instant, was a mystery. "Okay, let's do this. But if I hurt you, you'll tell me that at least right?"

"Ooh sarcasm!" he said looking half annoyed and half amused. "Don't worry, it didn't hurt. Was just a little… uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Katara asked, raising a brow. "You're unbelievable. Brace yourself. I'm getting ready."

Next morning, Katara's eyes opened to the sound of stones being dropped. Instinctively, she moved to Zuko, feeling a shudder run down her spine. Katara had begun to lament the fact that all her combat skills were entirely dependent on her bending. Standing there, behind Zuko, whose fists were aflame, Katara made a resolve. As soon as they were safe, she would ask him to teach her hand to hand combat.

"Prince Zuko," an Earth Bender Katara had never seen before stood before the. "Would you and Lady Katara join us? Master Utakata request your presence."

Zuko turned to look at Katara, his eyes conveying the distrust and skepticism she felt as well. She gave a small nod and he let the flames in his hand die. "Let's go," he said.

Katara tugged at the hem of her shirt and followed the Earth Bender. The middle-aged man led them through the camp to the raised platform where they had first met Utakata. Like Toph had done the last time, the man created a set of stairs for them. Once atop the platform, he created a bench. Unlike last time, their abductor was waiting for them.

"Prince Zuko," Utakata said, drumming his fingers on his knees. "While I was on my way back, I saw something interesting. Would you like to know?"

Zuko shook his head, "Not particularly. Would you like to know what has been going on in your absence?"

"Not particularly," Utakata replied. Pulling out a sheet of paper from his pocket, he held out a paper. "Perhaps you should take a look at this."

Zuko exchanged a glance with Katara and took the paper from him. Curious, Katara leaned over to read. The paper was a notice issued by Fire Lord Ozai. According to it, the camp at Ba Sing Se was decimated. Zuko was charged with abandonment of his troops and thereby committing treason. And for that, he was exiled from the Fire Nation. Katara's eyes widened and she whipped her head to look at Zuko who was staring at the paper without an expression. To anyone else, he would have looked unaffected. But with a start, Katara realized that she could see his pain in the stern set of his jaw.

Don't show them any weakness.

Zuko lived by the lines he had told her. Even now, upon receiving a news that must have devasted him, he was impassive. Katara wanted to reach over and give him a hug, but she knew he would not appreciate that at that moment. They were surrounded by enemies. Thus, despite wanting to reach over and comfort Zuko, Katara bunched her fists and kept them on her knees. When Zuko spoke next, his voice was surprisingly steady. "What happened to my troops?"

"I don't know," Utakata replied and pulled something else from his pocket. "Your father also responded to my ransom note. Would you like to see it?"

Without a word, Zuko accepted the bejeweled canister from him. He unscrewed the cap and pulled out a piece of silk cloth that had an elaborate design with just one word written on it. NO.

"What does this even mean?" Katara asked.

Before anyone could respond, Zuko burst out laughing. He threw his head back, guffawing, as tears streamed down his cheeks. Around them the Earth Benders exchanged perplexed looks. Along with rising confusion, Katara felt a sliver of worry for him. Did he, by chance, lose his mind?

Zuko got control of his mirth and wiped his tears, "Sorry," he snickered. "How does it feel, Uatakata, to know that your best laid plans have been foiled? That you have a fucking useless hostage in your hand?"