Wowwie! Close Combat was recently bestowed the honor of a fanfiction award for "Skilled Combats" by Lala-Ness, a fellow fic-writer and theowner of a very cool Avatar site. Awesome! XD Well, I guess that's Close Combat for you—come for the romance, stay for the action! Thank you, Lala-Ness! (bows)
Not to let down expectations, here's another chapter...also chock-full of action-y goodness!
Chapter 13: "A Captain"
Iroh gaped. He had expected that Captain Himoto would fully cooperate and give him Prince Zuko's boat without question—certainly not to be put in the same situation as Zhao! "I am aware that both of you withheld critical information concerning the Avatar and thwarted each other's attempts to capture him in order to preserve your own interests. Such action is inexcusable–even for an admiral and Lord Ozai's brother. People of the Fire Nation should do what is best for their country–not for themselves...or their nephews," Himoto's steely gaze rested on Iroh. "You will both be taken to Lord Ozai to explain yourselves...as soon as my men and I secure the Avatar."
Both Iroh and Zhao began to protest, but the captain cut them off with the wave of her hand. "Take the general and the admiral to the prison hold on our ship and put them under special guard. Have the general's men brought aboard here." As if anticipating her mens' concerns, she added, "And do not worry about General Iroh's men trying to use this ship to escape. They are very loyal to him, and so long as we have the general in our keep, his men will follow."
She nodded and her men quickly followed orders. The soldiers flanking Iroh and Zhao led them back up to Himoto's ship. They were met with confused looks from both their crews before roughly being shoved towards the door below deck. Iroh glanced over to see Lieutenant Jee in an heated argument with one of Captain Himoto's officers. As he was led down the stairs, the former general briefly considered resisting arrest and joining his men in an attempt an escape, but knew it was useless. Himoto's crew far outnumbered them, and even if they were to somehow escape with Prince Zuko's ship, it would be little trouble for her to chase them down. He would have to wait for another opportunity.
The prison bars of the brig clanged unsympathetically as he and Zhao's cell doors shut. Iroh sighed. His men were probably already informed of the situation and being held aboard Prince Zuko's ship. Damn. He should not have underestimated Captain Himoto–she had turned out much shrewder and more outstandingly loyal to the Fire Nation than he had given her credit for.
As if picking up on Iroh's thoughts, Zhao sneered from his cell, "Well, it appears the Dragon of the West once again proves he is not as clever as he likes to think he is..."
Iroh ignored Zhao's baiting and stayed silent. If worse came to worse, and the opportunity to escape arose, he just might have to enlist Zhao's aid to break out of here. Although, quite frankly, he would much rather leave Zhao to face Ozai...
Himoto scrutinized the maps in front of her. There. A small island not far from here. From what she had gathered from her interrogation of Admiral Zhao's crew (General Iroh's had simply refused to talk), the Avatar's animal guide was wounded. This was the closest island in the vicinity and the only one the wounded beast could have flown to while the storm was still raging.
Satisfied, she commanded her men to steer the ship towards the island. When its dark outline became visible in the telescope of her ship, she gave the order to stop. "Captain," one of her officers asked, "Shall we advance on smaller boats?"
"No," she replied, "The storm is passing, but the weather is still unfavorable. The Avatar isn't going anywhere with his animal wounded. We'll bide our time until the weather clears and the Avatar gains a false sense of security. Then we'll advance on the island and ambush him at dawn."
Katara laid on the floor, staring at the ceiling. She'd had a restless sleep, despite her exhaustion. Her mind ran in circles—she worried about Aang and Sokka and the whole situation they were in. Mostly, however, her mind dwelled on one person in particular. Prince Zuko.
Katara glanced over at Zuko's back. He had thought she liked him. She had never lead him on or anything...at least, she didn't think so. How did he get an idea like that?
All those things you did–saving my life and healing me–you did them because you cared?
Well, of course she cared! She wasn't heartless!
For me?
What she had done out of compassion and her sense of morals, Zuko had thought was done out of feelings for him? Katara gave Zuko's back a sympathetic look. What sort of life could he have had to mistake her deeds as affection? She remembered hearing that his own father had banished him. Not someone who grew up with a lot of love, she thought sadly.
Katara sighed. She was tired, but her body refused to sleep. Sitting up, she saw weak beams of light peeking through the cracks of the wooden door leading to the deck. The waterbender got up, careful not to make any noise. Well, since she couldn't sleep, she might as well get up. Maybe she could enjoy the sunrise. As she headed for the door, something of interest caught her eye. A piece of torn sail lying stashed in the corner of the room. Katara picked it up and inspected it. Not exactly soft, but it would make a good blanket for keeping warm. Making certain to stay as quiet as possible, Katara crept over to Zuko. She peered down to his face for a moment, unable to discern any expression because his glaring red scar. With a soft sigh, she gently placed the blanket over him and stepped up on deck.
Zuko laid on the floor, drifting someplace between sleeping and waking. His arm hurt from being slept on so long and he half-heartedly rolled over. The movement caused the sore spots on his body to ache, and their complaints brought Zuko completely out of his slumber. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around the room. In the dim light he could make out the ship's clutter, but couldn't find Katara anywhere. She had gone!
The prince sat up quickly and noticed something he had missed earlier while his mind was still under the fog of sleep—he'd been covered in some makeshift blanket. Zuko gripped the corse fabric in a fist and grit his teeth. First, she says she doesn't care, and then she does something like this! He threw off the blanket angrily and rose to his feet. The prince quickly snatched his armor and latched it on.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Zuko stepped on deck. He found Katara sitting in the middle of the deck, looking up at the cloudless twilight sky. Zuko gave a small breath of relief. For a moment, he thought she might have run off. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Katara jumped at the sound of his voice. "G-good morning," she choked, "You startled me!"
"What are you doing?" he repeated.
"I...had a hard time sleeping...so I came up here..."
A long silence.
"Um, listen," Katara began tentatively, "About yesterday..."
Zuko inwardly grimaced. Did she really have to bring that up? First thing in the morning? "There's nothing to talk about," he said shortly.
"But—"
Zuko turned and headed for the boat's wheel. "Drop it," he hissed, offering no argument. "Go get the engine started."
Katara shot him a irritated look. What was with the attitude? She just wanted toclear things up! With a sigh, she went below deck and prodded the small engine's fires to life. From above, she heard Zuko's agitated voice shout, "Hey! Get up here now!" Katara shut the engine door with a bang. Was he going to be barking out orders like that all day? She marched upstairs and headed toward Zuko, ready to give him a piece of her mind. When she caught his intense stare out to sea, she followed his gaze out the narrow opening of the cove.
There, off in the distance and closing in fast, was a Fire Nation ship! And not only one ship—Zuko's ship was traveling with it!
"Captain," the soldier called, "the boats are ready. Your orders?"
"Take the boats into that small cove. We'll keep them there while we split up and search for the Avatar."
"Yes, Captain."
Zuko and Katara watched as several smaller boats disengaged from the larger ship.
"Don't they ever give up?" Katara cried, exasperated.
"How did Zhao manage to get help?" Zuko wondered aloud.
"Well, however he did, Zhao's help is heading straight for us!"
"They're probably looking to dock in the cove. We have to abandon the boat and get on land–there's no way we can get out of this cove without being spotted."
"Then what?"
Zuko tossed Katara a harpoon as he secured his spying glass and knife onto his belt. "One thing at a time," he responded. Taking the ship's wheel, Zuko drove the boat right onto the shore of the cove, beaching it.
They rolled the rope ladder over the side of the ship and climbed off. Zuko ran to the edge of the wooded area beyond the beach and snapped off a branch. He came back to Katara, and as they both made their way quickly off the beach, Zuko swept the branch back and forth to cover their tracks. When they reached the trees, Zuko disposed of the branch. They swiftly traveled through the wooded area, careful to avoid leaving a trail.
After a short distance, Zuko stopped. "We should hide around here. The soldiers are obviously here to search the island, and when they pass by we might be able to pick up on some information."
"If they're searching for us, where are we going to hide? I'm sure they'll be checking all around!"
"I don't think they're searching for us. And we can hide up these trees," Zuko grabbed a low branch and pulled himself up, "I doubt they'll be looking up here. Just be sure not to leave scuff marks on the bark with your shoe—that will give us away." He offered her his hand to help her up, but Katara reached for the branch and pulled herself up. Zuko raised an eyebrow before continuing his climb up the tree, Katara following.
When Zuko was satisfied that they were sufficiently covered by they tree's leaves, he sat himself on a sturdy branch, one hand braced on the trunk of the tree. Katara pulled herself up and sat next to him, gripping the branch to steady herself. They waited a few moments, listening hard. After a few minutes of silence, a slight rustling of bushes could be heard below.
"...boat's engine...still warm...Zuko? Should we...Avatar...later? No...Captain...said that...immediately...doesn't want so many men off ship...while General Iroh...Zhao...in custody..."
Katara strained her ears to hear, repressing a gasp at the mention of Aang. After a while, the faint rustling subsided as the soldiers continued their stealthy search.When they were certain the soldiers were gone, the two of them climbed down the tree.
"Aang and Sokka must be here," Katara cried excitedly, "We have to go find them!"
"No. Listen—my uncle is being held aboard the larger ship with Zhao. My crew must be with them, somewhere. We need to find my uncle and crew and free them."
"We need to find Sokka and Aang! They need our help!"
Zuko gave an impatient snort. "The island is being searched by soldiers, many of them firebenders. They are well rested, well equipped, and outnumber us. If we were to find and aid the Avatar, we would simply be overwhelmed and captured along with him."
"I won't abandon—"
"You won't!" Zuko snapped, voice rising slightly, "If you want to help the Avatar and your brother, then you'll help me free my uncle. With his help and my crew, we can better combat these new soldiers. Running to the Avatar will only get us caught along with him."
Zuko turned and began walking in the direction they had come from. "They found our boat with the engine still hot and mentioned my name, so they know about us and suspect we're here. We'll need to be very careful. Come on." He paused, waiting for Katara to follow. "Let's go!"
Katara stood her ground. "You can go try to free your uncle—I'm going to help Aang and Sokka."
Zuko scowled and snarled, "Did you not hear a word I just said? We can help them after we free my uncle! Now, follow me!"
"No! You can do what you want, but I'm—"
Katara was interrupted as Zuko strode up to her and roughly grabbed her wrist. She was uncomfortably reminded of last night's confrontation, and made an attempt to wrench free. Zuko hissed, "We don't have time for your stupidity! I will need assistance, and you're the only option I have! I do not want to see the Avatar captured here anymore than you do. If you want to help him, you'll have to help me first!"
Katara stopped struggling and thought a moment. "All right," she relented.
Zuko let go of her wrist slowly and turned. "Follow me," he said.
Sokka blinked blearily as he heard a screeching in his ears. He waved irritably at Momo, who was jumping back and forth between him and Aang. "What is it, boy?" Aang asked, rubbing his eyes. Momo turned and screeched to the left of them.
Sokka looked out into the woods, eyes trained in the direction of Momo's indication. Nothing but wet trees and broken branches and rocks. "What the hell are you howling at?" Sokka grumbled. By this time, Appa had woken as well, and yawned lazily. "Aw, geez Appa!" Sokka yelped as he hastily crawled out of the range of the bison's breath, "You really need to—" Sokka sentence was cut off as a rope net flew past him.
"What the..?" Sokka cried. From the bushes came forth firebenders, at least a dozen in number. Both boys blinked in shock. Aang reacted first and swept his hand along the ground, picking up wet leaves with his airbending and plastering them to the faces of the approaching soldiers. Sokka took the opportunity to fling his boomerang towards their opponents. His weapon ricocheted off the first soldier's helmet and struck the soldier next to him, knocking the two men off their feet. The boomerang, having ricocheted off the second soldier as well, whizzed back into the water-warrior's hands. Sokka smirked, pleased with himself.
Aang took up the offense immediately after, creating a small tornado that collected debris from the storm and then pelted it at the firebenders. The soldiers, too busy using their bending to keep from being struck or stabbed by the flying debris, failed to notice Appa's movement until too late. With a speed uncanny for such a massive animal, Appa struck the firebenders with a sweep of his enormous tail, sending them flying. "Thanks, Appa!" Aang chirped.
More firebenders, attracted by sound of the fight, quickly arrived to aid their comrades. "Can't we ever get a break from these guys?" Sokka groaned.
"I don't think these are the same guys," Aang called, noticing the fresh armor and lack of Zhao's insignia on them.
"Who cares? They're still firebenders!" Sokka shouted, dealing out a back roundhouse kick to a soldier who attempted to ambush him from behind. Aang nimbly jumped and dodged firebenders attempting to capture him, landing swift blows with his staff where he could. Two of the men grabbed the rope net from before and flung it at Aang. The Avatar, aware from past experiences that airbending did not counter nets very well, slipped his staff in the net's meshing, catching it, and swung it back around to the soldiers. As the soldiers became entangled in their own net, Aang leapt back to put some distance between him and the other firebenders.
"Capture him!" a voice shouted. Aang turned around, confused. The voice sounded...feminine. The Avatar's momentary distraction cost him as he was nearly caught off-guard by several fireballs. He dodged them just in time, parts of his clothes getting singed, only to face another, larger fireball. Aang used his wind power to keep the fireball back, but the force of the impact between the two elements launched him backwards into a tree with a hard smack. The world before Aang swam a little and newly arrived firebenders closed in on him. Their advance was stopped as Sokka's boomerang whizzed forward and struck one of the soldiers, knocking him to the ground. The bent blade whirled back into Sokka's hands, and he prepared to throw his boomerang at who appeared to be the leader, judging from the more ornate armor and helmet. He flung his bent blade forward and the leader reached down, grabbing a broken branch from the storm off the ground. The firebender brought the branch forward just as the boomerang was about to strike—the boomerang hit and stuck in the wood. Without a moment's hesitation, the leader threw a fireball at Sokka's feet, causing him to jump. The firebender took the moment of distraction to race forward, branch in hand. Just as Sokka was recovering from the fire-attack, the leader swung the branch around, connecting it with Sokka's skull in a loud thwack. Sokka dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks.
Aang, now recovered from his own hit, leapt forward to help his friend, but the leader of the firebenders grabbed Sokka and lit a ball of flame close to his face. "Surrender," the feminine voice commanded, "Or I will kill your friend. We are only interested with you—come with us peacefully, and we will leave your friends here, unharmed." Aang relaxed and allowed the soldiers around him to take him into custody. The leader extinguished her flame and released Sokka. "Bind him and leave him with the wounded animal. Take the Avatar to the boats."
Sokka was quickly bound in ropes and thrown against Appa. The bison bellowed in protest at Aang's capture, but the Avatar spoke, "Stay here, buddy. Watch over Sokka, all right?" Appa moaned in unhappiness, but stayed put. "Take care of yourselves!" Aang cried over his shoulder as he was dragged away.
Uggh. Damn. His face hurt like hell. Sokka winced and opened his eyes. Appa grunted and nudged him, trying to help rouse the Water Tribe warrior. "Mmph...where's Aang?" Sokka asked, looking around.. The bison gave a dismayed groan in response. Trying to get up, Sokka found it difficult to move. Upon self-inspection, the warrior found himself bound tightly in rope. "Great," he muttered.
A rustling noise to his right caught Sokka's attention. He saw Momo coming toward him, dragging a branch. "Hey!" Sokka shouted, "Just where have you been, eh? Why don't you try helping out here a little?" It was then that Sokka caught sight of his boomerang, lodged in the wood. "My boomerang!" he exclaimed, nearly falling over, "Pull it out! We can cut the ropes with it!" Momo grabbed the boomerang and attempted to dislodge it, but it was rooted too deeply for the lemur to move. Appa stepped in to help, biting the tip of the boomerang with his teeth and pulling it out easily. "Thanks," Sokka remarked. He rolled over onto his stomach and said, "Momo, take the boomerang and cut these ropes!" The lemur grabbed the boomerang from Appa and hopped onto Sokka's back. His small paws moved the bladed edge of Sokka's boomerang quickly over the rope, severing it. The Water Tribe warrior quickly shrugged off the ropes and stood up.
"Looks like Aang sacrificed himself to get us out of a jam...again," Sokka stated loudly, "Appa, are you well enough to do a little more flying?" The bison grunted in affirmation. "Good. Those firebenders are probably taking him back to their ship. Let's go after them and rescue Aang!"
I do believe I've set an all-time record for fanfiction—"Most number of characters taken prisoner in single fic"! LOL! Well, hope you've been enjoying it, since we're nearing the end! Ooooh!