Chap. 4

Stage 2

The prow of the Fire Nation ship cast a long shadow across the docks. As the various peoples of the Nations walked around, looking for their next purchase or for a new mark to sucker into a deal, they unknowingly did one thing in common. No matter their alliegance or purpose, each man woman and child stayed away from the shadow of the ship. For the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom members, this came as no great surprise. But even the few Firebenders on the dock stayed away, as if the ship contained some great evil from their homeland. Most of the Firebenders on board would have been slightly pained by that snub from their own people. But only one Firebender was above deck, and Zuko had long stopped caring about the accolades of his people. Or rather, he had stopped admitting to himself he did.

Where is he? Zuko thought angrily, as he looked over the prow of the ship. Since landing on the docks, the soldiers had left and returned with more then enough food to get them across the next few months. Almost every member of the crew had returned, each one…. Iroh. The old general had left to browse the shops, promising his young nephew that he would return by the time the ship was loaded. But the ship was nearly loaded now, and Iroh was nowhere in sight. What worthless garbage is he buying now? Zuko wondered, as he paced the deck. I swear, it's almost like he planned this so he could do shopping. He does this in every town we stop in. There's no reason I shouldn't just leave him here.

But at that vengeful thought, Zuko stopped and shook his head in astonishment. What am I thinking? Uncle may be an annoyance, but I cannot even consider abandoning him. He has stood by me when everyone else cursed me. His wisdom can be invaluable, especially his knowledge of firebending. Besides, if I would abandon him after all he has done for me, I do not deserve to return home.

What he has done for me….. Even after all this time that thought still made Zuko reflect on what had happened. He could still hear his father's voice, banishing him from the land of his birth. He could feel the pain in his face, as the fresh wound festered. He could also remember the cool touch of the wet cloth applied to his face. He could remember the words of his uncle, offering to aid his fallen nephew in his quest. And he has never faltered since then. Zuko thought. That is why I must capture the Avatar, not only for my honor, but to show my father that neither my uncle nor I are the failures he thinks we are. Zuko would have reflected more, but suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps on the deck.

Whipping around, the young prince saw one of his troops running up the deck to him. "Prince Zuko! I have news!" the soldier yelled, as he crossed the ship to where Zuko was standing.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, hoping that this solider would bring him the news he had desired to hear for so long. His hopes were realized a second later, when the soldier said, "The Avatar has been sighted in the town. Two of the crewmen are pursuing him."

"How do you know?" Zuko asked, his urgency spilling into his voice. "I was making a purchase in the town, when I saw fire-blasts from a distance. They were then answered by water and air blasts. I wasn't sure if it was our men or not, but then I heard them cry out. It is indeed two of ours."

"Can you take me to them?" Zuko asked.

"I can try my prince, but they were moving fast. We must hurry and mount the rhinos so we can pursue them." The prince nodded, and the two of them began to run down the runway into the lower deck.

The crewman told the truth; he had seen the effects of the battle between the heroes and soldiers. And it was indeed moving fast. When Aang and the others had been found out, they had been near the center of the town, but now, they were moving closer to the docks. In fact, they reached the docks within a few seconds. Realizing that they were out of room, the three friends turned and faced the two soldiers. "End of the line kids." One solider said as he reached them.

"It isn't over yet." Aang replied, grim determination on his face. The young Airbender meant it too. Since seeing what the Fire Nation had done to the Air Temple a hundred years ago, Aang had been filled with a want to punish the Fire Nation for their crimes. He had tried to control it, remembering that all life was precious. But there was no reason he could not take out his anger on these two soldiers, so long as he kept control. Still, for a moment, Aang imagined that he was Gyatso, fighting the Fire Nation, only this time…..

"If you were a real Avatar, I might believe you." The soldier replied, breaking Aang's concentration. "But you're just a kid. And so are your friends. This won't be a long fight."

"I don't think so." Katara said, as she threw her arms into the air. Behind her, the water of the docks rose upwards into a long tentacle. With a flourish, the young Waterbender whirled around and directed the water straight at the soldiers. As the tentacle shot forwards, the two of them readied their firebending to counteract it. But such actions were unnecessary. Just as the tentacle prepared to strike, it suddenly moved upwards and shot over their heads into the wall. As it harmlessly splattered over their heads, the two soldiers looked at each other in confusion. Katara simply looked at the water in surprise. The two soldiers prepared to take advantage of this, but before they could, a boomerang whirled over them, destroying their focus.

"Nobody tries a sneak attack on my sister. Well except me." Sokka said, as the boomerang flew back into his hand. The soldiers almost instantly fired back, but their attack was blocked by the whirling force of Aang's staff.

"Hey Sokka, left or right?" he asked, as he took a defensive pose.

"Why don't you pick, Aang?" Sokka said, as he prepared to attack.

"Well the odd side seems good for you so…" and with that, Aang suddenly leapt into the air, charging for the solder on the right. "Oh real funny!" Sokka yelled back, as he took the soldier on the left.

Meanwhile, Katara watched the battle somewhat distractedly. She wanted to help, but she wasn't sure what had gone wrong with her bending. Everything had been perfect, even as the water moved past her body. Why didn't it work? She wondered, as she watched Aang land his attack on the solider. I've done that move a million times. Why now? She wondered, as she looked over everything she had done to launch the move. The stance was right, the movements were right. But then, Katara realized that just before the attack had landed, there had been a strange feeling in the water. Usually, the water was like a willing tool, always ready to bend to her commands. But before the water had hit, Katara had felt a small twinge but not like the kind a bender would use. No, this felt more like….. someone bending well enough that the water really is an extension of themselves. She realized. For a second, she wondered if the Fire-benders were learning other bending arts, but then something happened that drew such thoughts from her mind.

Aang circled the soldier, dodging the man's attacks with ease. For every blast of fire that was thrown at him, Aang was able to counter with an Airbending move. But then, the young boy saw his opening as he leapt away from an attack. Sokka had clubbed his soldier's hands away from him, injuring the man's fingers. The young warrior instantly drew out his boomerang and tossed it while the solider was incapable of firebending. However, the solider had enough ability left to duck, as the boomerang soared over his head. But the distraction this provided made Aang's slider become distracted for a second. With that second, Aang gathered up a huge stream of air, and spinning around shot it out at his solider. But whatever misfortune had stricken Katara also struck Aang. Instead of striking the soldier, the airstream shot past him. Worse, it interrupted the path of Sokka's boomerang, so that instead of returning to its owner, it clunked him in the head and knocked him unconscious. Aang cried out in surprise, but before he could move to help his friend, he heard Katara cry out behind him. Whiping around, Aang saw Katara in the grasp of Zuko, a fiery fist pointed at her face.

"Your choice, Avatar." Zuko said, his good eye staring right at the Airbender. For a second, Aang's grip on his staff tightened. But then it grew lax, as with a sad and crippling expression, Aang nodded his surrender. The soldiers quickly took his staff and bound his arms. Behind Zuko, the crewman who had reported the incident came herding the two rhinos. As the four Firebenders loaded Aang, Katara, and the unconscious Sokka onto the rhinos, their actions did not go unseen. From a back alley nearby, the blue man and the white man watched the capture of the Avatar.

"Stage 2 is complete." The blue man said, as he spoke into his weapon, a lengthy blue trident, decorated with shells and coral designs. The blue stone in the center of its head glowed, as the voice of the red man came through.

"I'll be waiting." It said. The blue man quickly said a few more words, then broke off communication, as he and his companion watched Zuko speed off with his prizes.