Their ship limped, if a ship could limp, into a neutral port a week later. They'd tried to make it to a Fire Nation port, but the Earth Kingdom Navy had cut them off and they didn't have enough men to risk a direct confrontation.

But they'd needed to resupply, and their ship had been hit, so this is what they'd come to. What they really needed was another ship.

Iroh could remember that conversation- it hadn't been pleasant, but it had been necessary. Zuko had been pacing his room, muttering to himself when he knocked on the door and was let in. "Zuko," he'd said, "Our ship is very recognizable, especially in these waters. We cannot run forever, not with them herding us as they are. We need a new ship."

"I know we can't keep doing this but how are we supposed to stay supplied in a different ship! We can't lose the Wani and still go to Fire Nation ports for a stipend! How are we going to keep everyone together and alive if we get another ship! We have money left- some- from our last stop but it won't keep us forever!" Zuko was panicking.

Iroh let his hand rest on Zuko's shoulder. It wasn't really resting because Zuko was so much taller than him, but it helped Zuko so it was worth it. "There are other ways to make money. We could get a merchant vessel, we have enough money to start out there, and if we were able to sell the Wani we'd have more. I have contacts that might make such a sale easier."

Zuko wasn't convinced, but he was listening and Iroh had another card up his sleeve. "If people begin to trust us it could make it easier for us to find the Avatar. They are unlikely to tell a Fire Nation prince, but Earth Kingdom merchants would have more luck."

Zuko was definitely thinking now, and Iroh left him to it, taking a small step back to give the boy some room.

He looked up again. "I don't know anything about being a merchant." He said, and Iroh knew that he was afraid. Afraid of being stuck in a role he had no idea how to live in without warning, without training, again.

Iroh found himself smiling a little. "Luckily for you," he said, "I know some people. There are those among the crew even who could help us get started."

Zuko told him he'd think about it. Iroh had known his decision was already made though. Protect the crew. That was his first priority now, and right behind that was get them home. Any move that got him closer to both goals at once would be seen as a golden opportunity.

Now it was almost time.

…-…

Zuko stayed on the ship about half the crew- the other half went with Uncle. Fights between nations weren't allowed at neutral ports, that didn't mean the pirates were actually going to follow the rules. In fact, Zuko was counting on them not following the rules.

Uncle had gone to see if he could secure a buyer for their ship. Zuko was just waiting for the sun the set- then his job would be to go back to his cabin, put on the Blue Spirit mask, and scout out which pirate ship they should steal.

He was almost excited. After they stole it they'd need to sell it and buy a new one legally so they could get the correct licenses- but that was a worry for a later time. For now they just needed to get a new ship and get out of here before the pirates figured out what they were up to.

Turning from Avatar hunters to merchants and Avatar hunters was a problem that could wait until later.

For now- they needed to get out of this alive.

….-…

Tien couldn't believe his luck. This- this wasn't just luck. It was as if all the Spirits had decided to smile down at him at once. The old man had left the ship with a fair amount of crew members, enough to make the Dragon's capture almost impossible.

Then, the Dragon had split from them. They'd let him be, and now he was alone. Well, not quite alone, it seemed like he'd found someone to play Pai Sho with him, but it was close enough. This was the opportunity they'd been looking for, a way to get to the Dragon without really fighting him.

He motioned to a couple of his men. A few on the inside, to make sure the Dragon didn't get to any tricky business, couldn't sneak out the back or nothing. The rest would wait outside, just out of sight, so they could jump him while his eyes were still adjusting to the darkness outside.

A quick job. Almost too easy.

…-…

It was easy to shout at his crew and say he was going to bed. They knew what was actually going on anyways. It was easy to slip into the blue spirit costume and easy to sneak off the ship. It was after that things started to get a little harder.

He hadn't really thought of how big the port was, or how he was supposed to tell which ships were normal people's ships and which were pirate ships. It took him longer than he wanted to finally make it to the section where the Earth Kingdom Navy had docked, and he only found them on accident.

Getting on these ships was harder than getting off his own, but that was probably because he was actually worried about getting caught. Not that he couldn't fight his way out if he needed to, but it would be much harder to steal the ship if people on board were on the lookout for it.

He found the perfect ship and watched as a group of pirates dragged his Uncle on board. He'd seen a group of people dragging something and thought it couldn't be good, so he'd followed. It hadn't been good, but it could have been worse. He could have missed them. The fear almost made him freeze though, and the anger that followed was a welcome distraction. He wasn't quite sure who he was angry at- Uncle for getting himself captured trying to help him, the crew for not protecting Uncle, the pirates, himself for getting banished so this was necessary in the first place, but it didn't really matter. Anger let him start moving again.

The pirates wouldn't leave tonight, he knew that- he still didn't want to leave his Uncle alone. At the same time it probably wasn't safe to take on this many people on his own, not if he wanted to do it stealthily. He needed the ship and his Uncle, and he needed to get them without alerting the rest of the Navy. It was almost convenient that the ship and his Uncle were in the same place.

…-…

The crew members who'd gone out returned with Earth Kingdom clothes, two pairs for each person on board. They got changed on board the ship. Zuko felt ridiculous in the Earth Kingdom clothes. He wasn't supposed to be wearing green. He put it on anyways.

He had a mirror in his quarters. He stared at it for a long moment. An Earth Kingdom merchant. With a Phoenix tail. He felt his breath speed up as he clutched his knife. He didn't want to do this. He really didn't want to do this. It felt like a betrayal, it felt like giving up- but he had to.

Earth Kingdom merchants did not have Phoenix tails. Before he could overthink it the knife came up and the hair fell down into his hand. He stared at it for a moment, then dropped it onto the bed. He didn't need it anymore. It was time to get Uncle back. Protect the crew- protect Uncle- that's what mattered.