Caught: Chapter 3: Bet

Legal disclaimer things… I do not Own Avatar: the Last Airbender nor any of it's characters… I may end up making me a personal sock monkey in the likeness of Zuko however…

Warnings: This story contains mature content, some language. And this chappy hints at child molestation… I can't help it… I believe Zhao to be a real sick fuck.

What rating do readers think this story should be? I have it at M, but compared to my other two stories this one is pretty light… Is it T status worthy?

Well, I just saw that this upcoming episode of A:tLA is about Aang getting caught by Zhao… while getting medicine for Katara and Sokka… If there is tea involved and Zuko saves Aang I'm going to flip… watch… it won't happen and then I'll just be disappointed…


For Zuko, it was almost too perfect. After the initial shock of everyone processing his request, the Earth Kingdom fool that had traveled in with the Avatar strode right up to the chained Prince and aggressively slapped him across the cheek.

"You pompous little fool! What on the Gods green earth even possessed you to come barging in asking for such a thing… ASYLUM! Who in their right mind would give you asylum? You of all people should know of the hardships and trials we have withstood from your Nation! If you think we'd let you into our fair and glorious city you were sorely mistaken." The Kings head advisor was fuming. Too many have died due to the war the Fire Nation waged. He wasn't about to take pity on the Prince of the Fire Nation… the living blood of that dishonorable power mad man hell bent on conquering the world.

He looked like a pansy, but didn't hit like one. Blood pooled in Zuko's mouth which was just the icing on the cake as he grinned up at the arrogant ass before him. The Advisor immediately took two steps back at the sight of blood. Spitting the blood on the bastards perfectly unsoiled left shoe Zuko began his retort with his victorious smirk. "I had no false illusions Worm. The—" Zuko stopped abruptly to stare at the Avatar. Prince Zuko knew the Avatar would loose the bet, but he never expected the Avatar to react like this.

An eerie blue light streamed fourth through the Avatar's open mouth and odd blue arrow tattoo's. "STOOOOOPPP….." Aang's voice echoed throughout the chamber and all eyes filled with shock as they took in the terrifying sight of the Avatar unleashing his full powers. Anger consumed Aang pouring forth from his small frame though his Avatar powers. 'How could they do this! How could they be so mean!' Raced though his mind as he screamed.

The Advisor began to tremble. Had the Avatar lost his mind? "Sir Aang?" He got out shakily before the winds violently lashed out tossing him like a rag doll across the chamber. Slamming into a set of shelves, he whimpered as a spear landed point first between he legs, three inches from his crotch. Many more sharp and dangerous object were sailing in the winds around him and the Kings Advisor promptly passed out, wetting himself in the process.

Wren dove for shelter under his desk as the Avatar's power threatened to toss him like the Kings Advisor. One of these days he was going to learn to listen to his gut. "Avatar, Please! Calm down and let's talk…" Wren attempted to calm down the outraged Avatar, but his voice was lost in the deafening wails of the wind and creaking of the metal chains. 'Shit! The Prince!' In a panic, Wren poked his head out to check on the Fire Prince. He was still there, but the heavy chains were starting to react poorly to the stress the Avatar was putting upon them. Without thinking Wren immediately summoned up his earth bending powers to break the stones holding the iron gloves on the Prince. And stood in astonishment as it didn't work, the Avatar's rage was disrupting his bending! Wren barley managed to duck the flying scrap of metal. Tripling his power, Wren tried again from the leeward side of his desk.

'If the Avatar keeps this up he's going to fucking kill me!' At this point, Zuko's anger was the only thing keeping him from panicking and giving him the adrenaline he needed to try and get himself out of the current situation. He used the power of the winds to adjust himself and get on his feet. The pain from his stretched and torn muscles further fueled the adrenaline rush and he finally got a good look at the strange device encasing his hands. 'Lovely… I'm on my feet. Now What about this thing?' Zuko thought sarcastically, barely catching himself as the bonds broke and he was free. Stumbling, Zuko lit the fire that had been burning for release, creating a shield around himself to prevent him from flying off as the Earth pick had.

"Avatar!" Aang never heard Zuko.

Grounding his feet, Zuko lashed out with his firebending. He knew it'd never hit the Avatar, but it did allow him to inch his way closer which was all he needed. This was insane, the Avatar shouldn't be bringing the place down like this over him. It was stupid. He wasn't worth it.

"AVATAR!"

Still nothing…

Wren stared in silent awe at the Fire Prince. It was rumored that a hundred years ago the Fire Lord had managed to acquire a fire bending force in which to rival even the powers of the Avatar… but he had thought it just a rumor. Until now. After all the trauma the Prince's body was put though, somehow he still had the power to withstand and even advance on the Avatar. If this was his sixteen year old son, what was the Fire Lord's bending power like after a hundred years of intense training and better physical health? Wren shuddered at the thought.

Zuko didn't know why, but he knew it was up to him to calm the Avatar. In a final desperate attempt, he screamed at the top of his lungs. "AANG! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The blue light pouring forth from Aang's eyes blinked twice before fading back to their natural deep mahogany color. Now noticing Zuko four feet in front of him he smiled awkwardly as the blue light and roaring winds faded slowly. "Hey… you finally called me by my name..."

Kneeling Zuko didn't have the strength left in him to stand, let alone catch the Avatar as he fell to the floor unconscious. Obviously the power was too much of a strain on the child sized body. "Ignorant fool." Zuko muttered slumping further to the floor. He caught the sight of the dumbstruck Earth Captain out of the corner of his eye. He knew they'd forgive the Avatar, he was after all, the Avatar. He briefly thought about saying something in his defense, but it wouldn't amount to anything so he just let the blissful slumber of unconsciousness take hold of him.

Idly Wren wondered what the Prince was going to say to him as he surveyed the damage caused by the Avatar's rage.


The following morning, 14.379 hours after Aang's episode in the interrogation cell.

It was a small round room located off the King's main audience hall. Vines and exotic flowers lined the walls, while bright emerald green fabric adorned with the gold Earth Kingdom symbol covered the chairs and table. Sunlight streamed though the skylight fifty feet up, filling the room with an illusionary tranquility.

There were four of them sitting awkwardly around the luxurious oval shaped walnut table; the King of Ba Sing Se, the commanding General of the guards, Captain Wren and the Avatar himself - Aang. Normally the King would have had his advisor in attendance, but due to the current circumstances the King had dismissed him from the meeting.

Aang laughed nervously and he scratched the back of his head. "I'm really sorry about what happened."

"No one was seriously injured." What else was the King of Ba Sing Se supposed to say? The Avatar had lost control and went bezerk from their treatment of the Fire Prince. '… never would have seen that coming in a million years…' "We'll forgive you this time, providing you have a virtuous excuse." He finished, setting his steady gaze on the child Avatar.

"Heh." Aang laughed even more nervously. "Well, see... it's my fault Zuko's here." Everyone just stared at him. "Heh... err… well… see… we made this bet..."

Warily the King spoke, "What kind of bet." As much as he understood the Avatar's hesitance, he needed the Avatar to just spill everything. He and his people of Ba Sing Se were now saddled with the enormous task of righting their failure from this unexpected test the Avatar had chosen to place upon them. But in order to do so, they needed to know exactly what the test was…

"Ok." Aang took a deep breath in, and exhaled it. It gently blew at the Kings bangs from across the 8 foot table. "I bet that if Zuko walked into a city not causing any trouble then they wouldn't do anything mean to him. Even let him stay peacefully…"

Everyone stared wide eyed at the juvenal innocence of the young Avatar. "Aang, because of the hundred year long war between the Fire Lord and the rest of the world the Prince is hated and feared wherever he may go. He's just too well known, too recognizable and therefore the only place for him is in the Fire Nation."

Tears built up in Aang's eyes as he saw the memory of Zuko staring out at the ocean forlornly saying almost those exact words.

"How did you get close enough to the Prince to make this bet?"

"Heh… well… umm…." Aang stalled. How much should he tell? What exactly should he tell? Lying entered his mind, but he had already caused enough trouble. "Zuko rescued me from that Commander Zhao guy…"

"So. You're saying the Prince took you prisoner from Commander Zhao of the Fire Nation." The General asked slowly trying to work the situation out in his head.

"No. Zuko didn't take me prisoner, he rescued me."

Several eyebrows quirked, both from lack of believing that the Prince could help anyone other than himself and the fact that the Avatar knew him well enough to be on a first name basis with the him.

"I really don't believe Zuko's a bad guy…" Aang's pleading puppy dog eyes had no affect on the men sitting across from him. The thought of the Fire Prince possibly being good was completely alien to them.

"Ok. Let me start at the beginning." Relief flooded though Aang as we watched the four men in front of him sit back a bit. Seeing them relax, he was able to as well. "It all started when Sokka got sick. Katara had to stay and watch over him so that left it up to me to get him medicine." Aang prayed that they were ok, he had sent Momo to run the medicine back to the campsite when it looked like he was going to get caught... Appa was with them, as long as they stayed with Appa they'd be reunited eventually. Appa could track Aang down anywhere in the world given enough time…

"Who are Sokka and Katara?" the King asked. They were finally getting the full story, he wanted to make sure he understood everything.

"They are my friends, they've been traveling with me since the South Pole…" Getting a nod of approval/understanding Aang continued. "Well, in the town there was this old lady who said she knew some people who had what I needed, so I went to the dock she pointed me too and in front of me was one of the largest Fire Navy ships I have ever seen." Aang nearly fell out of his chair stretching his arms out to their full horizontal length, his hand gesturing becoming more animated the further he got into his tale.

"There were a lot of Fire Nation soldiers, and they were quickly burning the port down to get to me. So I did the only thing I could do to get them to stop… I turned myself in. They knocked me out, and when I awoke I was chained up in…" Aang paused to think. "I think it might have been the Commander's chambers. Anyway, it was just me and this Zhao guy. He said all he wanted to do was talk, so I agreed. He unchained me and then we sat at a table. There were some cookies and some… well… tea."

"Well, not thinking anything of it I helped myself." At this Aang slightly blushed. How much could he tell them without hurting Zuko?

"What did Commander Zhao want to talk to you about?" the General asked when the Avatar had paused again. None of them at the table had any idea of where this story was going.

"Well…" Aang paused again. "it wasn't so much as talk as it was…" Aang was now extremely uncomfortable talking about the subject. "Other interests." He finished abruptly.

The Avatar was becoming vague again, and he received a couple of dark scowls for it.

"Ok, ok…" Aang took a deep breath as he sat on his hands. "The Commander Zhao guy wanted to… he apparently likes… heh, ummm. He really likes young kids. And he wanted me to ummm, sleep with him…"

Disgust and shock went though the men's features as they digested what the Avatar said. What kind of sick perverts was the Fire Nation promoting? "Why didn't you just run? You said he untied you."

Aang gulped. "Well, the tea was drugged. He called it lock-chev-vestious? Lo-"

"Lochvestious?"

"Yah! That was it!" Aang nearly jumped about 10 feet in the air with his excitement, they knew what the thing was! Apparently it wasn't good Aang decided as all of them paled and the General looked like he was going to throw up.

The King didn't really want to know anything more about this Commander Zhao. "How does the Prince fit into this?"

"Oh, apparently Zuko's ship needed something. So they had to stop and get what they needed for it. Zuko noticed my glider in a pile of confiscated weapons and becoming suspicious he sought out the Commander." Aang suddenly burst out laughing. "Zuko came bursting into the room right as the Commander was taking off his pants! It was fun watching the Commander tripping over himself in trying to defend against Zuko's flames!

"I wanted to help, but I was in too much pain at the time. Thankfully Zuko was quick in maiming the Commander and nice enough to wrap me in a blanket and take me out of there back to his ship. I just wanted to go and hind until the tea wore off, but he insisted that it would wear off faster if I fought. So we sparred for several hours on the deck." Aang thought back on it. "He was right, when I bended the effects of the tea did feel like they went away… I wonder how long it would have taken on it's own…"

"How did the Prince know about the effects of this 'tea'?" The King didn't want the Avatar pondering about that question.

Sweat formed on Aang's forehead. He couldn't tell them that! It almost killed Zuko to talk about that with his Uncle… Zuko wouldn't even had told his Uncle (the only person he was actually close with) if it wasn't for the situation he created on the Prince's boat. Aang just couldn't answer their question. Zuko would flat out kill him, completely screwing whatever chance he had to regain his honor.

The King didn't need Aang to say it, he had enough information to figure it out on his own. The Prince obviously had compassion for others in need, that was good to know. Perhaps there was hope for him. But, it was time to get back to the current matter at hand. "What was to be your reward if you were to win the bet?"

"Zuko promised to teach me Firebending so that I could master the four elements and face the Fire Lord… I guess that's his dad huh…" Aang gulped, no wanting to answer the next question he knew the King was going to ask.

"If you lost?"

Slightly cringing Aang answered the question. "I promised him that I'd willingly go with him to the Fire Nation so that he could reclaim his honor."

'Gods damn the eternal Dragons to hell.' Simultaneously flowed through the four minds of the adults sitting at the table with Aang. As much as they wanted to let the bet to stay between the two boys, they could never allow the Prince to take Aang into the Fire Nation. What the hell were they to do with this situation?

"Look I made the bet… I have to honor my word. But, I have an idea." The Aang spoke up, doing his job as Avatar and coming up with the perfect solution to help everybody.

End - Chapter 3: Bet

Damn.. this chapter is almost 3000 words... that's 6 full pages in MSword O.o I've never written anything (even for school) over three pages...


Muwahahaha! I feel evil. I dunno why I feel evil… I just do.

THANK YOU REVIEWERS!

Everto Angelus: LOL, well did this chappy clear things up? DeviantART.. it's just a mammoth web community dedicated to all forms of art. Drawings, paintings, digital works, writing, poetry, photography… fan related or original… it's really impressive. I recommend people checking it out.

Chinese Flower aka Holly: If you people can't tell, Wren is so my favorite in this story! I wonder how much credit I can take for him… the Avatar creators didn't even give us his name…

Hieirulesall: yeah, I'm real mean to Zuko. Can't help it, he's just got so much wonderful angst to work off of. Plus my obsession/fetish with good bad guys -.-;;;

Hikari Yume: Of course Zuko or Iroh will teach Aang! If they aren't the one's I'll be shocked.

kissing off into the air: lol, yeah I can handle only so much of Zuko falling madly in love with Katara/Sokka/Aang and joining the group that way.

Aki & SaphireStars: I'm sorry guys… Iroh's not appearing until like the 8th chapter. GOMEN! -.-; He really is my favorite. But he doesn't really fit into the story till then…


C&C always welcomed! And long constructive/complementing reviews help me write sooner rather than latter…I know, I'd have better luck getting you guys to go to a dentist!