Summary: What happens when Zuko lets himself be captured by the Avatar? And what happens when he escapes and captures Katara? The fate of the world hangs in the balance. Zuko x Katara
Author's Notes: Well, here I am with my first Avatar: The Last Airbender story. I discovered this show about a week ago (cause I don't have cable or satellite TV) So I just watched the episodes up to the ones in late May. I probably won't see any more unless my uncle keeps recording the new ones that come out. To all the people who reviewed my Yu-Gi-Oh stories, I apologize if you thought this was an update. I'll still be writing for those stories.
Punctuation Notes: Just the usual...
"lalalala" – talking
"lalalalala" – thoughts
----Insert a Random Place Here---- - signifying a new location or scene change
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. This disclaimer applies to the rest of the story.
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----Aboard Prince Zuko's ship----
"Uncle!" Prince Zuko barged into the navigation room.
"Ah, Prince Zuko," Uncle Iroh looked up. "Care for some green tea or perhaps some chocolate cake?"
"Uncle, this is a navigation room! What are you doing with tea and cakes?" Even if Zuko hadn't been a fire bender, anyone would have been able to see the smoke pouring out of his ears.
Iroh shook his finger. "You must control that temper of yours, Prince Zuko," he said, a smile on his face.
Zuko pointed to the exit. "Uncle, out here now!"
Uncle Iroh pouted. "But I haven't finished my tea yet!" he complained.
"Fine," Zuko rolled his eyes. Lowering his voice so the other crewman wouldn't hear him, he whispered in his uncle's ear.
"I've figured out a way to capture the Avatar," Zuko hissed.
Iroh raised one eyebrow. "A strategy that doesn't involve us losing?" he quipped.
"Shut up. This plan is foolproof. All we do is meet the Avatar head on in battle."
"But we'll lose," Iroh pointed out.
Zuko smirked. "Exactly. That's the point, my dear Uncle. After we lose, I'll act helpless and the Avatar will capture me and my 'defeat' will lead him into a false sense of security. Then it will be easy to capture him, perhaps while he is sleeping"
"The predator becomes the prey," Uncle Iroh remarked. "One of my favorite proverbs, or should-be proverbs. Very well, Prince Zuko. It's your ship."
"Set a course for this island," Zuko ordered his sailors, pointing to a place on the map. "I've been tracking the Avatar's progress and I'm positive he'll be here."
"Yes sir," the helmsman responded, altering the ship's course.
Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Just you wait, Avatar. You won't escape on that giant animal this time. I'm coming for you."
----On a Small Island Somewhere in the Ocean----
"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara asked her friend.
"Cleaning Appa's toes," was the response that drifted back.
Behind her, Sokka held his nose. "That is just disgusting!" he exclaimed, trying to wipe away the fumes.
Appa roared, quickly coating Sokka with a layer of saliva.
"Umm...never mind," Sokka groaned as both Katara and Aang giggled.
Suddenly, a light caught their eyes. A fireball had spiraled up into the sky, illuminating the army below it.
"Fire Nation," Sokka whispered.
"How did they find us?" Aang asked, looking around.
Sokka quickly responded, "I'll bet they've been tracking us. It's not that hard to spot a giant flying bison."
"What do we do?" Katara whispered.
"We fight them!" Sokka drew out his weapons.
Aang shook his head. "We can't. There are too many of them."
"We have no choice," Sokka argued. "Appa's asleep and we can't escape. If we run, we die. So my instincts say we should stay and fight."
Katara giggled. "Are we hearing from Sokka's instincts again?" she smirked.
"Katara..." Sokka growled.
Aang looked down at the ground. "Sokka's right," he said. "We have to fight the Fire Nation."
Sokka puffed out his chest. "Haha, Katara," he said. "I was right and you were wrong. My instincts have never failed me yet."
Katara rolled her eyes. "Save the bragging for after the battle," she remarked.
----At the Fire Nation Camp on the same Island----
Zuko nodded to his soldiers before sending a ball of fire into the air. "There's no way the Avatar could have missed that," he remarked.
"Men, prepare yourself for battle," he ordered, conjuring two spheres of fire.
For a while, all was quiet. Suddenly, Zuko turned and shot fire into the nearest bush. Aang leapt out, using air bending to propel himself towards Zuko.
Sokka let out a battle cry and charged the Fire Nation soldiers. His eyes widened in fear as they all shot fireballs at him. Ducking at the last moment, he watched as fire exploded around him.
Katara opened her canteen as two soldiers drew nearer. Using the water whip, she knocked them both unconscious.
Aang was still engaged in battle with Zuko, dodging and deflecting all the fire sent at him. He created a huge gust, blowing Zuko backwards.
The Fire Prince was down, but not defeated. Furiously, he unleashed all of his fire at the young Avatar.
"Aang!" Katara screamed, jumping in front him. Zuko frowned. His intention had been to hit the Avatar, not this foolish Water Tribe girl.
Aang slowly rose, noticing the right sleeve of Katara's robe burned and charred. Conjuring a sphere of air, he sent it at Zuko. The young Prince fell down, unconscious.
The soldiers, noticing their leader down, started to retreat towards their ships, meeting occasional blasts of air and water from Aang and Katara. In a few minutes, there was not a single Fire Nation soldier in the area, except for Zuko.
Aang walked over towards the Prince and flipped him over. "He looks unconscious," he shouted.
"I say we kill him!" Sokka exclaimed, punching his fist into his hands.
"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed. "We can't just kill him!"
Sokka rounded on his sister. "Have you forgotten all the people he's killed? Our mother? Our father? All the innocent benders? Have you forgotten that he's a part of the Fire Nation, our enemy?"
Katara backed away, tears in her eyes. "That's not true, Sokka. Mother isn't dead."
"You know that's wrong," Sokka stated. "Mother isn't coming back because the Fire Nation – Zuko – took her away!"
"Sokka!" Aang looked astounded. "Take it easy on Katara! Besides, she is right. We can't kill Prince Zuko, even if he does belong to the fire nation."
"We should probably tie him up, though," Katara remarked, glad that none of her friends would become murderers.
"Allow me," Sokka held up a rope left behind by the Fire Nation. "It would be my pleasure."
----A Small Clearing in the Woods----
Prince Zuko opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the light coming through the trees. Feeling a sharp pain in his wrists, he glanced down. He was tied to a tree, the rough rope cutting through his skin and drawing blood. Whoever had tied him had done a good job.
Footsteps were heard in the distance and a girl approached. She was holding something in her hands and approaching the spot where he was tied.
"Zuko?" she asked hesitantly, afraid to say his name.
"That's Prince Zuko to you," Zuko spat out, well aware that he was not in a position to be making threats.
The girl's azure eyes quickly dropped to the forest floor, mumbling a quick apology. "I brought you something," she said, holding out the bowl in his hands.
Zuko struggled to a sitting position, trying to ignore the buzzing noise in his head.
"It's tuna," she remarked, letting him see the small portion of soup. Holding up the spoon, she said, "I'm not going to untie you, I'll just have to feed you myself."
"Untie me this instant, you crazy girl," Zuko said.
Katara shook her head. "I'll give you food, but not freedom," she said, watching him intently.
Zuko's stomach growled, reminding him how hungry he was. He almost wished that he had eaten some of Uncle Iroh's cakes back on the ship. "Fine, give me the food," he said, admitting defeat.
Katara squatted down, scooping up the soup. Slowly, she put the spoon into Zuko's mouth, watching as he hungrily drank the soup. Dipping the spoon back in the bowl, she repeated the process several times.
A noise in the woods startled Katara, and she jumped, spilling soup all over Zuko's face. "Eek," she squeaked, afraid of being discovered.
"What were you thinking?" Zuko demanded, feeling the broth on his face.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Katara exclaimed. Pulling out her handkerchief, she began to wipe the tuna pieces off the Fire Prince's face.
"Katara," Sokka called, not finding his sister at the campfire. Running towards the shriek he heard earlier, he found his sister bending over Prince Zuko.
"Katara!" Sokka exclaimed. "Get away from him!"
Slowly, Katara backed up. "I was just giving him some soup," she said, gesturing towards the empty bowl and spoon.
"You were giving him food?" Sokka asked. "It took me forever to catch those fish, and now you waste it on the enemy!"
"Sokka, he's a human being," Katara protested. "He needs food just like you do."
Sokka swelled. "He's a Fire Nation Prince. Stay away from him. He's a dangerous person, he burned you in the battle."
"But – " Katara protested, before being dragged off by Sokka.
Prince Zuko watched them leave. The boy was annoying as anyone he'd ever met, but the girl...the girl was all right. She had given him food, after all.
His fingers closed over the handkerchief that had been dropped in the confusion.
"Katara," he whispered, watching her retreating figure.
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Author's Notes: And there is Chapter 1. I wrote it all in 1 sitting! Sorry about Zuko being a little OOC, but it was part of his plan to be captured. He has a plan. So bear with me as this story continues.
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