When the large, proud warship of Commander Zhao sailed next to Zuko's own ship, Kaida began to wonder what kind of trouble she had gotten into. She was standing next to Uncle Iroh, who kept reassuring her that the commander was uglier than he was strong.

"He's foolish, often like my nephew and his temper. But don't take him lightly, he's still the Fire Nation's commander. You must really play the part of the Avatar."

Kaida nodded, she had been in predicaments before that were quite messy, but this was just aiming to top them. She still felt that she was doing the right thing for these people, despite their horrid reputation in the other nations.

"I must really thank you for what you are doing. It means a lot to me that Zuko finally gets to go home." His eyes firmly held her gaze. He watched her sea green eyes shift to a light yellow-orange when the great commander himself boarded the smaller ship, along with several fellow officers.

"Well well, how's the search for the Avatar going Prince Zuko? Any luck? Or has the Avatar humiliatingly slipped from your grasp, again." The word again was said in such a hard tone, Zuko almost flinched. But he did not. He had no reason to fear this man anymore.

"Actually, I was on my way home." The prince smiled making the commander's face twist in disgust.

"Have you forgotten your little problem? Hm?"

"No, my task is finished." Zuko felt a surge of power over this man that he never felt before.

"W-what!" Commander Zhao's face reddened and his anger showed clearly on his face. "That is not possible!"

"Right here." He motioned to Kaida, who stood motionlessly next to Uncle Iroh.

The commander's face relaxed and donned his evil sneer again, "Prove it."

Uncle Iroh nudged Kaida a little, and she stepped forwards a little. She took a deep breath and conjured a fireball, just as Iroh had told her. She studied the commander's expression as she extinguished it and turned to the water, raising a column of water into the air for him to see. His expression changed to a bit shocked at the sight. She continued to surprise him when she sliced the air like in the demonstration she gave Zuko, sending and air current towards him.

"Impossible!" was all he could utter as she turned to the ice covered rocks they sailed by. She found a boulder sitting on a crevasse and sent a blast of winds into it knocking the boulder into the air, appearing to Earthbend. His face was clearly shocked. He thought the Avatar was different than her, especially since he had last seen the Avatar on board a flying bison. He ignored his questions and went straight to the point. "Thank you Prince Zuko. I'll take her from here. I'm sure your father will be pleased."

"Excuse me?" Zuko's expression shifted to anger.

"Bring her aboard will you?" He asked one of his crewmembers who stood behind him. He smirked at the prince's expression.

"Commander Zhao, may I point out my nephew captured the Avatar, not you. He has earned the right to return to Fire Nation." Uncle Iroh pointed out.

"He wants to return does he? He wants to come home to daddy?" His taunting was playing on the prince's last nerves. "Well fine then. Get him." His firm voice snapped a solider out of his stupor. The man seized Zuko by his wrists behind his back.

"Let me go! I'm warning you…" Zuko's voice was dangerous.

"You want to go home don't you?" Commander Zhao's voice was filled with sarcasm. He grinned at Uncle Iroh's expression. "Take 'em on board. See you later, General." He nodded as he and his troops retreated to his ship, away from a dumbfounded Iroh. He was frozen to the spot and could only stare.

Prince Zuko and Kaida were made to sit in two sturdy chairs in the commander's office. Their hands were bound back so they couldn't disrupt the trip, which wasn't going to be very long. The silence was too much, and soon the two were talking as though they had known each other for years. Zuko lost his mask of hatred and was actually pleasant to be around for once. But their chat was cut short when the commander stepped in his office.

"Enjoying the trip? I do hope so." His voice was so thick someone could have sliced it with a knife. "Keep from bending in here, I don't want my office ruined and you probably can't get out anyways." The man smirked and turned to leave again.

The prince slumped back in his chair and frowned at his predicament. He became aware Kaida's green eyes were watching him calmly. He raised his own fiery pupils to catch her gaze, but she quickly turned away before he could. The conversations they had leading up to this pompous commander's arrival on his own ship were like that of old friends. He never felt so comfortable talking to anyone like this before. He sat in his deeply puzzling thoughts while she watched him once more. She studied how he sat in utter stillness with a determined look as he calculated the world around him. She had lived in Fire Nation for a good deal of her life and came to hear of the prince often. She wondered while he was exiled that year, not knowing the reasons such a renowned son of a powerful leader could do something foolish enough to land himself banishment. She still failed to see this boy, thinking perhaps on the meaning of life itself, who sat in front of her with complete serene thought could ever be capable of a crime so high to be exiled from his homeland. She had always been loyal to the prince, Fire Nation being her birthplace and childhood home. But she, like him, didn't always support the Fire Lord's decisions in the war all around them. She jumped a bit in her seat when she saw his yellow-gold eyes pierce their way into hers. She smiled meekly, like her mother did, and averted her gaze after a few awkward moments.

Why was she staring at me? Zuko thought to himself, snapping from his perplexing thoughts. He felt his heart jump when she smiled, just like the day he met her. He didn't understand why he felt himself grow nervous when she smiled or laughed at one of Uncle's jokes. He let his neck relax, letting him stare at the floor.

Zuko drowsily opened his eyes, seeing the commander's office resting before him. He frowned at the sight, realizing he must have fallen asleep. He squinted as he looked around the room, spotting his only companion still asleep. Kaida's head was tilted to the side very slightly, letting her light blonde hair fall in her face. For some strange reason, Zuko itched to move some of those long bangs from her face. Her hair reached a little past her shoulders he could tell, and her bangs were just as long. He could have slapped himself at the thought. What was WRONG with him? He shook his head in attempt to get rid of the strange thoughts. When he stopped he looked up to see a pair of clear blue eyes staring back.

Kaida smiled to him, "Good morning."

Zuko felt his stomach do a couple front flips. He mumbled a response in his efforts to calm himself. They both turned when the door creaked open.

"Morning kids! Time to go!" Commander Zhao had the worst fake friendly voice. The world behind the door he stood beside was lit by an orange sun rising on the horizon. Fire Nation.