Avatar: the Last Airbender is copyrighted Nickelodeon Studios. Most situations presented are purely the author's ideas and are not affiliated with the original creators. Please keep this in mind when reading my fanfiction! Obviously, as such, most the prescribed characters are copyright Nickelodeon.

Chapter 2: A Stranger from the Sea, Part 2

It was night as Zuko's ship pulled up alongside the floating wreckage. Many of the pieces of wood were burned black, already rotting in the damp water. The warm, orange light that shone from the lanterns upon the prince's ship did not help to create a friendly scene over the charred timber which appeared to have, at one point, to have made up a fishing vessel. The exiled teenager and his uncle stood together, peering over the railing of their own ship, the older man looking somewhat sorrowful as he viewed the sight.

"It's unfortunate." He breathed softly.

"Do…do you really think that this was the doing of pirates, Uncle?" The prince questioned, trying to keep up an air of removed remorse. However, the sound of anger and aggravation was laced upon his every word.

"There is no other reason why a ship in these waters would be burned." Came the simple reply.

"Do you think there are any survivors?"

"I…," Iroh paused, then looked up at his nephew, searching for what he thought Zuko might want to hear. Finally, he finished. "I don't think so."

"There should've been Fire Nation Navy ships here – just out scouting." Zuko said, looking out over the dark and somewhat choppy waves. "The pirates should've been expelled from these waters long ago. My father…" he trailed off. Iroh nodded, with a grunt of agreement. It was true, the old man thought, the Fire Lord should've dealt with these rogue groups long ago. But, since when has my brother ever been concerned with small things such as pirates prying on the little people whom he has overtaken? No, his sights are on 'grander' things. The retired general allowed his shoulders to sag. It was an unfortunate fact that wouldn't change, but he'd rather let his nephew think of it as a group that had merely slipped through the cracks – a fluke.

Two soldiers stood guard on the deck of the ship, leaning on their spears in the lantern light. They chatted quietly, mostly about the next stop at port and what they might send back to their families who were anxiously awaiting their return home – which, of course, would not be for a while. The topic of the wreckage they were passing through came up, and one of the men sighed and moved to the railing.

"We should've stopped, maybe there is someone out there."

"The Prince didn't want to loose any time in his –" Suddenly, he was cut off my his friend.

"Look, look there!" He said, excitedly. "Someone is over there!"

The two looked over, and indeed, a huddle mass, slightly moving, was draped over a large piece of wood that was marked with dark scars from the fire that had devoured the vessel before it sank. Quickly, the man that had spotted the person cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling up towards the navigator and captain:

"Man overboard! Stop the ship!"

There was momentary chaos on the ship before the large vessel slowed to a stop, the Prince immediately rushing out from his cabin once he heard of the alarm. He moved directly to talk to the man who'd called out. With a quick bow to his lord, the soldier began to explain.

"Back there, Lord Zuko, there is a body floating in the wreckage. I could swear that it was moving." He seemed out of breath as he motioned behind him, "We must go back – we can't leave them there."

The prince glanced at his uncle, who looked very serious. The two locked eyes for a moment, and then the prince nodded, as if the two had exchanged some sort of silent message between one another. Motioning to another solider nearby, Zuko spoke:

"Quickly, ready a scouting ship."

The soldier nodded and turned on his heel, pushing his way through the small group of others that had gathered around, curious at the happenings so late at night. As the tension seemed to relax from the situation, the men began chatting amongst themselves. Zuko's lip curled and clenched his fists, looking at them sharply.

"Just because the ship has stopped doesn't mean you all can stop as well! Get back to your posts, immediately!"

The boat hit the water with a slight jerk, and after the ropes were detached from the iron loops, the scouting vessel pushed away from the large, dark side of the Prince's main vessel. As they moved away towards the survivor through the choppy waters, a few men on board lit their own lanterns to light their way through the scattered wood.

There were bits of fishing net, draped over broken boxes that floated alongside seared pieces of canvas that must've once been the sail for the small vessel. There was little talking, and the whole mood of the group was somber until the main navigating pointed wordlessly towards the lump that had been spotted.

It was indeed a person, though one in bad shape. The long black hair was tangled and draped over the face, and their clothing was burned and torn. However, it was indeed still moving slightly. There was a ripple of murmurs ad the scout boat pulled alongside the body, and two of the men leaned over the side of the boat, gripping the person's shoulders tightly and heaving the soaked body on board. Zuko quickly rose from his seat and slipped in front of the body, helping the men to lift it up.

As the hair slipped from it's face, it was suddenly obvious that the person was indeed a female, about as old as Zuko himself. She was breathing shallowly, and had a deep gash on her forehead, the blood having congealed already into a nasty-looking scab. She was obviously unconscious, and after a bout of vigorous shaking, she still stubbornly refused to awaken. The prince instructed one of his soldiers to hold her before signaling to return to his ship.

"We got what we came he for." He said softly, then moved back to sit beside his Uncle, looking deep in thought as the older man looked up into the dark sky, sprinkled generously with stars.

Fin – Chapter 2.

Thank you for reading!

Tried really hard to make Zuko more in-character this time.

Reviews are appreciated.