Chapter Five: Katara's Hero
After making his difficult decision, Zuko turned to face his men. "Get the catapults ready!" He ordered and they scurried off to set up the catapults and dump large boulders on each. Once they had completed this, they used their firebending and set the stone on fire. "FIRE!" He shouted and the fiery boulders flew toward the enemy ship. "Fire!" More flew toward the ship. Several of them were a direct hit. Before long, they were right next to Commander Zhao's ship. Zuko and his fellow firebenders jumped aboard and fought all in sight. He made sure that everyone was kept busy and set off to find Katara.
Katara heard a large crashing sound and felt the ship shake from the blow. She stood and leaned against the cold wall. What was happening? Suddenly, the door slammed open and Commander Zhao stormed in. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with him. His grip wasn't like Zuko's. Zuko's was much gentler and his hurt her arm. "Help! Help! Help!" She managed to scream before he thrust his hand over her mouth. She struggled to get away but he was stronger. Her eyes started to water when she saw something that she thought she'd never be grateful to see. She saw Zuko running toward them. "Katara!" He took advantage of Zhao's surprise and used his firebending to set the older man's leg on fire.
As Commander Zhao tried to put the fire out, Zuko took Katara's hand and led her outside. "Back to the ship!" He commanded to his men and they jumped back to their ship. "Make sure no one gets aboard!" He protectively pushed Katara behind him and used all his firebending power to keep the enemies from jumping on as they slowly moved away.
Once the other ship was far enough, the prince nodded to his men to stop. He made a small motion with his hand, indicating for Katara to follow. Right now, she was feeling very confused. Not to mention hungry. "Hey." She jogged to catch up with his quick stride. "Why were those people fighting you? Aren't you both from the fire nation?" Zuko glanced at her. His eyes were clouded and cheerless. "Not too long ago. When I was younger, my father cast me out of the nation." Katara held his hand in an attempt to comfort him. She'd never known. It was truly depressing, especially since it was his own father. He continued, "Father never liked me. He always thought that I was a weakling. I thought that if I brought the Avatar to him, he'd welcome me back. Now I know that my father doesn't deserve my respect anymore. I'm not going after the Avatar any longer." (A/N: Yes, that WAS his decision.)
"So. Is that your only reason for not going after Aang anymore?" Katara inquired as they approached her bedroom door. They stopped just in front of it and he secretly slipped his hand in her pocket before crossing letting it drop to his side. She wondered why he had come after her when she had been taken away if he didn't need her anymore. "No." Zuko took both of her thin hands in his own and stared down at them. "Katara." He gathered up as much courage as he could. "Katara I—" He was cut off by one of his men. "Sir." The man said urgently. "The Avatar has arrived." Zuko raised his eyebrows and opened Katara's door. "Stay in there." He murmured and gently pushed her inside before closing the door.
She immediately pressed her ear against the door and heard the two talking quietly as they moved away. Now, she wasn't so sure if he was really going to stop trying to capture Aang. Maybe he was just saying that so she wouldn't be entirely stubborn. When she heard their voices getting distant she reached over to the handle of the door. Despite Zuko's order, she stepped outside and quietly jogged to where she thought they had headed. She heard shouts and ran out to the deck, expecting Prince Zuko and his men to attack all at once.
Instead, she saw Zuko running around, trying to stop his men from catapulting fiery boulders at Aang, Sokka, Appa, and Momo. Eight of them were shot until they finally listened to his commands. "Avatar!" Zuko called out bravely. "I am no longer going to try and capture you anymore. You may leave in peace with your waterbending friend." Aang wasn't listening and Appa landed directly on the boat. "Katara!" He and Sokka shouted in unison. Momo flew up and fell into her arms, purring. (A/N: Do lemurs purr? XD) They all embraced each other in a group hug, squishing Momo. The large-eared lemur was in between the three of them. Zuko felt a wave of jealousy wash over him. Katara had never seemed so happy. He wished that it was him she was happy about.
He gestured for his men to leave and frowned sadly. With a last look at Katara, he entered the ship and closed the door quietly behind him. He would probably never see her again. When she heard the closing of a door, she looked over and saw that they were the remaining people left here. She felt her heart ache and the corners of her mouth drooped down. "Well, then. Let's go!" Aang grinned cheerfully and jumped on Appa. Sokka, Katara, and Momo followed suit. "Yip yip!" Katara leaned on Appa's furry back and sighed. She watched as the fire kingdom rig slowly disappeared. All she could think about was We never got to say good bye. Her eyes started to water but she refused to cry.
Sokka, having known her since she was an infant, noticed her sudden sadness. "What's wrong, Katara? Aren't you happy to be away from that awful fire nation ship?" He was beaming with happiness about being reunited with his younger sister. "I…suppose." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay Sokka?" He nodded and scratched his head. He thought that she'd be delighted to get away from the prince dude and his cruel men. Apparently, he was wrong.
They soon reached the island they had been staying at and came to a rest on the ground. "Well, we're here!" Aang jumped off and lay on the warm, sandy beach. It was late and the sun was starting to set. "Better set up our bags." Sokka announced and brought out the bundles of cloth. He laid the three of them out on the sand and grinned. "Let's go fishing before the sun disappears. I'm starving." Katara nodded, not realizing her hunger until now. "Alright." She agreed.
"Come on! I know the perfect place!" Sokka ran and beckoned her to join him at a rocky area of the shore. He grabbed the nearest tall stick and climbed onto the rocks. He looked down as if searching for something. Then, he stopped, picked up a jagged-looking rock, and began to scrap the edge of the stick to sharpen it. "Here." He said to Katara after mere minutes. "I'll show you how it's done." He jumped down to a lower rock and stood perfectly still for a moment. His eyes moved slowly and with a sudden plunge, his stick came up with a wriggling, bleeding fish. "Pretty cool, huh?" He grinned and looked over at his sister, proudly showing her his catch.
Unfortunately, Katara wasn't paying the slightest attention to him. She sat on the smooth surface of a rock and stared down into the shallow water. The only thing on her mind was Zuko. She heaved a sigh and continued to think about him. The way he looked at her, with a serious expression. Even with the scar on his face, she thought that he looked fairly handsome. Just thinking about him made her smile. "Hello? Earth to Katara?" Sokka waved his arms in her face, snapping her out of her trance. "Whatcha smiling about?" He asked curiously. "Oh, nothing." She stood and quickly waterbended a fish from the water. "Let's go." She headed back to their campsite. Sokka's mouth dropped open. "WHAT? It took me forever to catch a fish the first time!" He grumbled to himself and kicked at a rock. Then he slowly sauntered after Katara. She was acting mighty strange lately.
That night, neither Zuko nor Katara could sleep. They stayed awake for hours before sleeping uncomfortably. Katara shivered although it wasn't close to even being cold on the beach while the young teenage prince tossed and turned on his bed. They ended up waking again in early morning and thinking about one another. Their mind told them to go find one another but their body wouldn't let them. One question was on each of their minds. Will we ever meet again?
Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry I couldn't update my story earlier. My internets been messed up. I hope I didn't anger you. Hehe. I tried to make this chapter longer but I didn't succeed because I'm a lazy bum with no imagination. xDD Thanks to the reviewers and if you have a question you want me to answer, put "QTA" before your post. Thanks again!