((I'm sorry that this is coming out on Sunday, but we lost power at my house soI couldn't get this up. Anyway I hope that you all like this chapter. Once again I want to thank all of you who have reviewed this story. It means a lot to me.))
Zuko groaned, as he once again tried to get himself up off of the ground, but the gray haze of pain made the dark walls swim before him. The pounding in his head turned into a sharp stab of pain, starting in the place at the back of his skull that had hit the ground.
Blinking to clear his vision he forced himself into a crouching position and glared at the chamber around him. The water that was dripping, and flowing, from the ceiling made splashing sounds as they hit the pool of water on the floor of the room.
He closed his eyes as the pain worsened as he climbed to his feet, his movements slow and sluggish. He turned to get a better look of the room but saw only what he had seen before his feet had gone out from under him. But that really didn't matter, but what did was there was no person in the chamber.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to leave the chamber, moving slowly so as not to upset the pain in his skull any more then it already was, when the fact he had fallen came back to him. He knew that he had been solid in his footsteps, all fire benders were. So what had caused his feet to slide?
Looking down he saw a slick of water where he had been standing. The shine of the water made him squint for a moment, as he thought about how advanced a waterbender would have to be in order to do that.
So wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the bubbles issuing from the pool of water in the room. Nor the head that popped up for a breath of air before sinking beneath the surface once more. He looked up in time to see the last ripple from a drop hit the edge before turning and stalking out of the chamber, the flame over his hand shining bright with his anger at his stupidity and weakness.
"How could you have done that?" he hissed at himself before taking a deep breath to calm himself. He looked down at the dusty floor knowing all he had to do was follow the footprints in it to get back outside. He glared at the dust as his feet messed up the four prints heading to the water chamber.
He let his mind insult itself for being so foolish as he walked back to the chamber he had slept in the night before. The mindless ramblings that popped out of his mouth every now and then held more anger then most people would expect to find in a boy his age, and all of it directed at himself.
He let out a sigh as he looked at the cold embers of the fire before tossing his head to the side, trying to forget the chase entirely. Yet something kept tugging in the back of his mind, something he couldn't understand and wasn't about to waste time trying to.
Speeding up to a jog he followed the footprints of Zhao and his men back to the original chamber. Stopping to glance back he glared at the right tunnel before wheeling around and dashing out to the bright morning light and the cold water of the fall.
He sat on the edge of the pool for a moment before moving away. He told himself it was because he had to get back to camp, and get off of the island. But deep down he knew it was to get out of range for whatever waterbender was on the island.
Grumbling to himself about what he would do to Zhao for what he had tried to do to him he jogged back to the camp, not even taking the time to look at the sky or sea. He had seen far too much of both since being banished anyway.
He slowed to a walk about half way to camp figuring it best to enter camp not looking like a drowned rat, after all Zhao was going to be a big enough pain without giving him anything else to use against him.
Zuko moved deeper into the folds of the hills and sat down leaning against a steep slope of the hill. He let a sigh escape his lips as he brought a hand up to his head and touched the area that had smashed into the ground.
He winced as it touched the sensitive area and when he moved it away, back into his line of sight he wasn't surprised to see a slight bit of blood. He had scraped it up pretty badly but it was drying already, so he felt no need to worry about it. After all he was a firebender, and firebenders were able to take what ever came at them, that was why they would win the war.
"He is a fool," he hissed to himself before looking up at the sky and squinting against the early morning sun glaring down on him.
He wiped his bloody hand on the grass next to him before letting his head fall back and rest. He let his eyes slid closed before snapping them open, knowing it would be a foolish move to fall asleep in the open.
Even if he hadn't found anyone in the cave he didn't know if someone was in there, he had hardly been through all of it. And Zhao was still in a foul mood, more likely to kill him then the Earth King himself.
Slowly his eyes closed with a reluctance that surprised Zuko on some level as once more he let himself fall into an exhausted sleep, one that he knew he might not wake from.
Zhao glared at the men sitting in the room with him, all his own. They looked at the floor or at each other but knew better then to look at him. He had already showed his temper earlier and they didn't feel like being the next target.
Yet for all the work they did at not looking at him they all worried about what he could have done to be placed in there with them. He was a commander, he had respect every where he went. Even the Earth Kingdom troops they had met had shown him some respect, not much but it was there.
The five that had been charged with killing Zuko looked at each other not daring to look at the other men, fear of the hatred in the eyes of their fellow firebenders kept their heads bowed in shame and pain.
Zhao was not the commander they had expected. After being told they had lost the body of the prince he had decided to show the rest of the men what happened if they didn't follow orders to the letter. And none of them had expected to be awake a few hours latter. But there they where, sitting in the same room as the man that had broken their ribs and limbs.
All of them tried not to show the pain they were in but their eyes betrayed them, giving any whom looked a window into their inner thoughts. And the glares that would get tossed to them one by one where more damaging then anything they had physically gone through. They could always get stronger the Zhao and beat him in a duel. But to get their fellow firebenders to respect them would be a much harder thing to do, and not a one of them figured they could do it.
"Stop acting like a bunch of babies," one of the other firebenders snapped his anger outgrowing his fear of the commander for a moment. But his dark eyes darted over to Zhao not a moment latter only to receive an approving look from the other man.
"And who are you to tell us anything?" the second in command snapped, knowing full well he should be taking up the challenge.
"At least I can protect myself, and follow orders," the firebender said in a low voice, more anger than threat.
"So you can be some commanders lap dog. What an accomplishment," the second said before lifting his eyes to look at the tapestry on the wall. The smirk on his face was a testament to the mental status of all firebenders surviving in the army. All of them loved to destroy everyone and stay as strong as possible.
"Shut up," Zhao said in a flat voice that held all the anger and authority that he held. He glared at both men so as to keep them shut before silently wishing that he could die, if only to get out of that room.
The smell of so many bodies packed into the small, hot, area was making him sick. And the water and fish swimming past the windows above their heads made him very nervous as to how strong the boat really was.
The sound of boots tromping down the hall reached all the men, causing a group breath as they all forced themselves to stand and look ready for anything that came through the door. Yet Zhao and the five that had been beaten stayed seated, all figuring that there was noting that could be done to them that would be any worse.
"Get back," came the call from the other side of the door as the sound of keys reached Zhao's ears. He turned to look at the door; watching silently as his men moved back and the door swing open on the squeaky hinges that made him grit his teeth.
"Against the wall," the man snapped as he walked into the room, his green earth Kingdom robes made him look important, and his commanding tone hinted at a long time at the job. Yet the man that followed him was clearly the reason for whatever power he had over the firebenders.
"Commander Zhao, please come with us. There are many things we must speak of," the old man said looking right at the commander for all of a second before looking at the five that had yet to move. The questioning look he gave them earned him poisonous glares from them.
Zhao slowly got to his feet, an angry frown on his lips at so clearly being looked over by a simple old man. He mentally asked himself why he didn't just attack them right where they stood. But the answer to the question came faster then he wanted it to.
The seven other ships would kill anyone and everyone on the ship if they where to get free. And the thousand Earthbenders on the ship greatly outnumbered him and his men. He let the thoughts of what they where up against slip into the back of his mind as the old man moved out of the door way and into the hall once more.
"Commander Zhao, you will leave your weapons here," the announcer said pointing to the sword at his waist.
Zhao felt his teeth grind as he untied the sword and handed it to one of the firebenders. He felt the fire in his veins light back up at being asked to leave the mark of his position behind before nodding his head to the clerk and stepping out into the hallway with the younger man behind.
"Do as you are told and you might survive Commander," the man said stepping up beside him giving him a warning look before moving to stand next to his master and lord, leaving Zhao to his own thoughts of the best way to get out of the situation.
Iroh looked up at the men coming into the room he had, all solders wearing earthbender armor. He sighed softly to himself before he looked up at them with a lighter look on his face, the one he used to get his nephew to listen to him.
"Do you have any ginseng tea?" he asked as politely as he could before sitting there quietly waiting for the response.
"Yes, would you like some?" one of the men asked, his face hidden by his long hair and beard.
"It is my favorite," he said with a smile as the man gave a slight bow before leaving the room, to get the tea.
"General Iroh, please forgive the accommodations that you have been given, but with the king and his men staying on our best ship I fear that this is the best we have," the other said removing the helmet the he had put on before attacking the firebenders on the shore.
"It is quite alright, captain," Iroh said gently, slightly shocked at the comment. He was well known, not only for being the fire lord's brother but also for being one of the best generals in the army. So after nearly fifty years of killing earthbenders why was he being treated like an honored quest instead of the prisoner he was?
"The commander will wish to speak with you soon. But I must ask, where is prince Zuko? You were placed in charge of the boy two years ago. And yet we were unable to locate him with you. Why?" he asked in a slight rush, worry of where the temperamental prince could have gotten to fill him.
"I do not know," Iroh said with a heavy sigh. "I have not seen him since yesterday before the storm."
"What?" the captain asked in shock as the door was opened and the other man came back in holding a teapot and a couple of cups. The steam wafting from the pot gave testament to just how hot the liquid inside of it was.
The man placed the pot and three cups on the table before turning and leaving the two men alone again. The Captain moved and poured Iroh some tea before doing the same for himself before taking a seat near the older man.
"How is it possible that you have not seen your nephew in the past 20 hours? You are in charge of his well being," he asked looking at the older man, wondering if he was a great as they say he was.
"Zuko does not like listening to things, or people for that matter, but he is able to take care of himself for a few days," he said before taking a deep sip of the tea earning a grimace from the man sitting with him.
"It really isn't that hot to us you know," he said in a light voice as if it wasn't insulting that the man could forget he was a firebender.
"You know that we have to capture him," the captain said as the sound of several men walking down the hall caused all discussion to stop.
"Captain you had better not be spoiling him. He might be a general but he is a prisoner," said a man as old as Iroh as he walked in smiling warmly to the old firebender before closing the door behind himself, locking out his own men.
"You haven't changed a bit," Iroh said softly as he took another sip of his tea and poured a cup for his old rival.
"Neither have you. Tell me how is that leg?"
"Fine, only hurts when it snows, thankfully my nation is rather warm," Iroh said with a twinkle in his eye.
Both men nodded respectfully at each other before they grew serious once more. The look on their faces scared the captain slightly; it looked as if both of them were about to lose their heads.
"You know that we have the king in our fleet."
"Yes," the retired general said with a slight sigh.
"There will be no trial."
"Was there ever going to be?"
The three men looked at each other as they all took a sip of the calming tea and silently praying that the horrors of the day to come would vanish into thin air, and knowing deep down that there was nothing that could be done to change it.
The cawing of seagulls pulled Zuko back from the world of dreams. Sitting up quickly he groaned as the pain from the bump on his head came back in a sharp jab. Gritting his teeth he jumped to his feet before slowly walking back to where he believed camp to be.
It looked as if it had been over a day since he had last been there, and had any food. Silently insulting himself about how weak he was being he stopped himself from climbing the hill to look down at the camp.
If Zhao was still looking to kill him, just strolling in might be a bad idea. He might be able to beat Zhao but not all of the men the commander had with him, not without mastering the advanced sect at least. He thought about the best way to get to camp without announcing his presence to all when he finally let his sprit guide him a bit.
He stopped and listened to the bird's calling to each other overhead, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. But try as hard as he might he couldn't hear a single person. And he just could picture Zhao and his men stay quite even after capturing his uncle.
Slowly he rounded the hill and looked at the plane that had been the camp for him and his fellow firebenders. But the 'huts' that had been constructed stood on different levels, some toppled over and some completely destroyed by what looked like an earthquake.
Squinting his good eye, he glared at the horizon before his eyes went wide at the sight of five Earth Kingdom ships bobbing on the surface of the sea. He turned and slid back to the shadowed side of the hill before trotting away from the destruction that had befallen his men.
He let the fact that the Earth Kingdom had captured his uncle and the rest of the men that depended on him. He felt his fists tighten and flame form around them as his legs kept pushing him onward to whatever destination he had picked.
He froze when once again the cave came into his view. The damn cave where he had spent the night while his uncle could have been attacked and possibly worse. The cave Zhao and his men had nearly killed in. The cave where he knew some thing wasn't right.
Snarling he sprinted into the cave, barley noticing the wetness of the water as he burst into the cave and sprinted down the right tunnel. He followed the foot prints in the dust back to the chamber he had slept in. it past him in a blur as he let his legs carry him back to the chamber with the water dripping in from the water fall outside.
The head bobbing just above the surface of the water gasped as it turned to look at him. The dark skin glowing in the light of the flame above his fist. Zuko stopped and glared at the person waiting for them to move. The hatred and anger flowing through his veins made him feel as if he could take even his father on.