Capture

AN: Hey ya'll! I won't keep you waiting long today, either, so here's the story, and if you have any comments or questions—tell me!

Katara was thrown into the cell, an angry Zuko behind her (honestly, why was HE mad at HER, she was the one who had been captured!) yelling, "I'll come for you when I need you!"

Katara sighed and walked over to her "bed", which was a thin, dirty mat on the ground without a pillow or anything. Why did I have to go shopping alone? Katara thought to herself, wishing she could go back in time. But she thought she could deal with it later, and decided to get some rest.

BANG! Katara had just started to close her eyes when the door slammed open, and Zuko walked in, followed by two guards who looked positively delighted that someone pretty was on their ship.

Katara hated every bit of this, and wouldn't—no matter what—give Zuko his way.

"Soooooooo. I bet you've figured out by now why I've taken you aboard my ship." Zuko stated, glaring at her.

Katara glared back, but felt herself cower on the inside (dang! This guy's glare could KILL someone!), yet said, "No."

Zuko smirked, and said, "Well, I happen to know that your little Avatar friend wouldn't want anything to happen to you, so he'll make sure you're safe with him, but I'm keeping you here because you'll be perfect bait. Ha! And while you're here, I might as well get as much use of you as possible. You better answer my question!"

Katara put her chin up, crossed her arms, and glared as she thought about how disrespectful he was to her—talking about her as if she were a worm you place on a fishhook!

"Now, WHERE IS THE AVATAR HEADING?" Zuko commanded, his eyes blazing and daring her to refuse to answer.

Katara sat there with her mouth shut—she wouldn't sell out her friends for anything, or so she thought at the moment.

Zuko growled, and asked her again, "I repeat, where is The Avatar heading?" You WILL answer my question!"

Katara saw his hands fill with flames, and she whimpered, but said firmly, "no."

"Excuse me?" Zuko flared, "'no'? Answer me, or you will be turned to ashes!"

"NO!" Katara said as a final word, and shut her eyes.

Zuko's temper got the better of him, and he sent a flame at her, enough to knock her out, but not kill her, because he would have to keep her alive for bait, but only barely.

Katara fell backwards, hitting her head on the floor, and blacked out.

Sokka, Haru, and Aang raced across the forest and out of it, and Sokka and Aang scrambled onto Appa and prepared for takeoff.

"WAIT!" Haru panted out! "I want to come too! I want to save Katara, after all, this might be the last time I ever see her!"

"No, Haru. I know how you feel, but you should stay here, and Katara wouldn't want you hurt or something." Aang said in a kind yet firm voice, even though what he really felt was that he wanted Katara to be happy with HIM for saving her, not Haru.

Haru nodded, disappointed, and walked sadly off.

AN: Hope yal liked it! And it wasn't too short. Just to try to help, Katara is in a regular type of jail with bars, not her own room, yet she's the only one in her area. When Zuko slammed the door open, it was into the whole area, not her actual cell. I don't really know why that matters, but I felt like saying it. Read and Reply, please!