Shattered
Chapter Two
Prince Zuko frowned thoughtfully at the map as Lieutenant Jee reported to him. "There hasn't been any direct sightings of the Avatar lately, Sir, but Admiral Zhao was reportedly restricting access to this area here just a week ago." Zuko's frown deepened at the mention of Zhao's name. He knew Zhao was using his new rank to aid in his own search for the Avatar. Pompous, glory seeking ass!' he thought disdainfully. Focusing at the area the Lieutenant had indicated on the map, he spoke. "So if we assume Zhao's on the right trail, the Avatar is still heading north then."
"It seems that way, Sir. If we bypass this area here, we can avoid Admiral Zhao's blockade and end up to the northeast of his position. We might be able to pick up the Avatar's trail there."
"Be careful not to assume too much, Prince Zuko," the retired General Iroh commented as he slid a Pai Gow tile across the playing board, much to the obvious dismay of his playing cohorts. "It can be a costly mistake." Zuko's uncle smiled as he claimed the winnings of the game.
Prince Zuko sighed in frustration. "I know Uncle, but we don't really have any other leads to go on." He nodded to the Lieutenant. "We'll follow your plan for now."
Iroh suddenly glanced out a nearby porthole. "Hold on to something," he warned a second before everyone was thrown abruptly to one side as the ship sharply changed course. A shudder ran through the steel frame as the engines were thrown into reverse. A dark unnatural shadow fell across the bow of the ship. "Speak of the devil," Lieutenant Jee muttered.
Zuko also looked out the porthole. "Zhao," he stated darkly.
"Admiral Zhao", his uncle corrected him mildly as he finished scooping Pai Gow pieces of the floor.
Prince Zuko clenched his hands into fists, little red flames shooting from between his fingers. Then he took a deep breath and visibly composed himself. "Come on Uncle, we may as well go see what he wants."
"We should invite him for tea." Iroh suggested. "What?" he asked innocently to the sharp look his nephew shot him. "It's only polite. And besides, Prince Zuko, you'd be surprised at the amount of information one can gather over a nice cup of tea."
Only somewhat mollified, Prince Zuko made no reply as he, his uncle and Lieutenant Jee descended to the deck to meet Admiral Zhao. The Fire Nation Prince adamantly refused to give Zhao's ship more than a passing glance. The large thing easily dwarfed Zuko's own vessel. A visible reminder of the stature he had lost when he was banished. Instead he focused on the familiar man standing in the middle of his deck. He didn't even ask permission to board!' Zuko thought with mounting ire. Much like his vessel, the Admiral was a bigger man than the Prince although Zuko didn't give that much heed either.
"What do you want Zhao?" he demanded with blunt incivility, as Iroh winced inwardly. Tact wasn't one of his nephew's strong points. To his surprise though, the Admiral's polite smile actually grew into a grin a Zuko's words, before returning to regular size. This can't be good', Iroh thought. Zhao wasn't exactly known for his temper control.
"And greetings to you too, Prince Zuko." Unlike the teen, Zhao kept his voice within the polite range, although his smug and slightly patronizing tone grated on Zuko's nerves. "General Iroh, an honor as always." Admiral Zhao bowed slightly to the older man as Zuko fumed.
Iroh returned the slight bow. "Ah, Admiral Zhao," he said, making sure to put emphasis on the man's rank," the honor is ours. What brings you to our ship today?"
"Business from the Firelord himself." The Admiral reached towards two leather bound tubes tucked into his belt. He handed one to Prince Zuko with a bow. Not good, not good.' Iroh noted that Zhao's grin had returned. He's practically gloating.' "Ah, Prince Zuko, why don't we take care of that later, hmm? I'm sure Admiral Zhao is tired after his voyage and would appreciate some refreshment."
"What are you talking about Uncle?" Prince Zuko frowned. "If it's from my father it must be very important." Zhao smirked as the Prince broke the Firelord's wax seal on the message scroll. "Oh it is, Prince Zuko, it is."
Zuko unfurled the scroll and started to read. His uncle instantly noticed the boy's sudden stiffening posture, the slight shake to his hands. He couldn't see Zuko's face, but Zhao could. "You know, finding a ship this small was no easy task." The Admiral's voice dripped with malice as he leaned towards the Prince. "But it was worth every second, just to see the expression on your face."
Iroh took a step closer to his nephew. "Prince Zuko?"
No response.
"Prince Zuko?"
A sinking feeling assaulted the pit of the General's stomach. What have you done now, brother?' With his nephew so unresponsive, Iroh decided to break with propriety. He reached out and gently tugged the scroll from the Prince's lifeless hands. As if freed from a spell, Zuko instantly whirled away and retreated across the deck at a stiff, rapid pace. As Iroh watched his nephew's back disappear inside the ship's interior, Zhao chuckled softly. "There's one for you too, General, when you're done with that." Iroh accepted the proffered scroll before turning his back to the Admiral. He began reading Zuko's message.
"Prince Zuko," the letter began formally. Iroh noted that it was obviously written with a scribe's neat pen, not the Firelord's own scrawl. "Your mission is failed. The noble Admiral Zhao has successfully captured and delivered the Avatar to our mighty homeland. His name shall be engraved in the hearts and memories of our people for all time. He shall be remembered with honor. You, my son, shall not. I am ashamed of you. I generously gave you the means to redeem yourself and you returned my good faith with unforgivable failure.
You, who so ardently protested a respected General's plan, saying it was a dishonor to the young soldiers who serve the Fire Nation, have failed those very same soldiers. Indeed you have failed all our people by allowing the Avatar to escape you time and time again. I am also aware you blatantly refused to cooperate with Admiral Zhao, even though such cooperation would have resulted in the Avatar's more immediate capture.
Had you learned the lessons of respect, courage and honor that your exile was to teach you, it would not have come to this. If you had cared more for the people you claimed to love than your own selfish interests, it would not have come to this. You are a disgrace to the Fire Nation. Therefore, your banishment is hereby extended indefinitely. You are to immediately relinquish your ship and any other Fire Nation property to Admiral Zhao.
Farewell, Zuko. When the armies of the Fire Nation march victoriously over the ruins of Ba Sing Sei, may you truly realize what your dishonorable actions have led you to lose."
The Firelord's own mark was stamped at the bottom of the letter. Iroh slowly rolled up Zuko's scroll. His own missive was short and to the point. He was ordered to return to the Fire Nation capital with both ship and men, and he was to report to the Firelord as soon as he arrived. First, however, Zuko was to be dropped off somewhere "appropriate." Immediately, if not sooner. Iroh rolled up his own scroll and tucked it under his belt with the other. He stood silently, his sharp mind weighing his options. He ignored the sounds of Zhao clearing his throat and impatiently shifting his position. The Admiral obviously knew what was going on and had just as obviously had come to rub his triumph in Zuko's face.
Zhao cleared his throat again. "Well, excuse me General, but I must take custody of Prince Zuko and this ship."
The General didn't turn around or raise his voice, but his icy tone still stopped Zhao dead in his tracks. "Admiral Zhao, your presence on this ship is no longer required."
And despite wearing long sleeves, pants and full Fire Nation armor, the Admiral felt hair rising on his body. "But General Iroh, the Firelord himself sent orders for me to oversee Prince Zuko's exile and to escort this ship back to…"
"Which you can clearly do from the comfort of your own ship," Iroh interrupted as he faced the man. Their eyes locked for a long moment until Zhao averted his gaze. Even though he was over a foot taller and clearly more physically fit, Zhao wasn't willing to face the retired General's wrath. He tried to save face. "Very well. As the Firelord's brother, perhaps it is best if you handle the boy." He lowered his voice to what he hoped was a more intimidating tone. "But no delays. The Firelord is not a patient man."
"Good day, Admiral." Iroh spoke with absolute finality, turning away from the man dismissively. The Admiral had no choice but to bow stiffly and return across the boarding bridge to his own ship. As if I don't know my own brother', Iroh thought angrily. He knew Ozai only too well. Iroh fought down an intense feeling of rage. It took every ounce of self control for him to bank down the fires in his heart. Displaced anger would serve no purpose here. He would deal with his brother later. Zuko needed him now.
"Lieutenant", he summoned the other man, who had been standing a polite distance away from the higher ranking officers. "Ready one of the landing vessels. Load it with as much coal, water and food as it can safely carry."
"Sir!" Lieutenant Jee saluted before whirling away to give the appropriate orders. The men above deck, who had been trying hard not to notice the strange interactions of their commanders, sprang to action. Aware that something major was going on, but ignorant of the details, they were grateful for something normal to focus on.
Iroh crossed the deck with his natural calm, measured pace, so different from Zuko's hurried flight. Still, he was relieved to close the iron door behind him as he entered the ship, sealing himself off from both the innocently curious looks of Zuko's men and the far more malevolent observers of Zhao's. Once inside he dropped all pretense of calm and flew down the hall towards the Prince's chamber. He could only hope that he would know what to do once he got there.
The door to the Prince's room lay ever so slightly ajar. Iroh paused outside to listen. Nothing. He gave a polite little knock, the sound of which seemed disproportionately loud. Still nothing. Iroh peeked his head inside the door, fully prepared to ward off any fireballs that came his way. There were none.
"Prince Zuko?"
In fact there were no flames at all, save for the lamps that lit the room. Iroh stepped inside, making sure to close the door behind him.
"Prince Zuko?"
Where he had expected chaos and flames, he found only the teen standing quietly towards the center of the room, back to the door and apparently contemplating a pile of clothes stacked on his futon. A bag sat on the floor with a few items tossed in it. The only movement was the slight shaking of the boy's body. The only sound was of his breath, rapid and short, as if he had just finished a particularly grueling training session.
"Uncle?" Prince Zuko broke the silence in a slightly wavering voice. "Do you think Father would mind my taking some Fire Nation clothes?" Zuko turned his head towards the older man, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "I don't seem to have many others."
Iroh's heart broke. He crossed the room, reaching out for the son that was not his. "Prince Zuko, none of this is your fault. Zhao got lucky, that's all. I'm sure…"
But Zuko shied away from him. He paced the room haphazardly, not meeting Iroh's gaze, like a wild animal in a cage. "But it is my fault!" the teen shouted. "It's all my fault. Father is right, and I don't know how he found out, but he did and it's all my fault!" The Prince stopped his rapid pacing to face his uncle, his face twisted in torment. "Don't you see? He's right. I didn't put the Fire Nation first and, and I thought it would be alright because then I would capture him, but it wasn't, was it?" Zuko held his hands out before letting them drop lifelessly down. His voice turned almost pleading, as if he was begging forgiveness. "Don't you see? Don't you see, Uncle? He asked me if we could have been friends and I even thought about that. So you see…" Zuko's gaze turned toward the Fire Nation flag hanging on his wall. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I am a traitor."
Iroh could see alright. Even if the Prince's words made no sense to him, he could see. The teen had already endured so much in his short life, all in the name of pleasing his father. But this time was unlike two years ago, when the Agni-kai permanently scarred Zuko's face. Then the Prince had reminded Iroh of a young sapling. Though trampled under the steel clad foot of his father, he had been bent and damaged, but not broken. Back then he had sprung back up, eager with the hope of redemption that capturing the Avatar would bring. This time, there was no hope to sustain him. "Prince Zuko," Iroh reached out once more.
"I am so sorry, Uncle." Zuko faced him and hung his head. "I'm so sorry I wasted your time these last two years."
"Prince Zuko, that is enough!" The sudden harshness of Iroh's tone struck the boy like a slap and he stood there wide-eyed and momentarily stunned. Iroh used the opportunity to close the distance between them. He clamped his large, well worn hand on the teen's shoulder; this time Zuko didn't shy away. "Time spent with you is never wasted. You are a good nephew and an excellent student. I am proud to be your teacher." He gave his nephew a warm smile, which the startled teen returned briefly, before reality faded it back to a look of hopeless misery.
"Oh Uncle, what am I going to do?"
What indeed' Iroh thought. He had nothing to offer Zuko, no proverb or sage advice to take the pain away. Iroh scanned the room, thinking. Then a small smile grazed his lips. "I think you should pack your Fire Nation clothes, Prince Zuko. I haven't seen you run around naked since you were three and you did an impromptu striptease in front of the entire court!"
Zuko blushed at the memory. "Uncle, I'm serious!"
"So I see. Still, Prince Zuko, I think you are taking this letter a little too seriously." Zuko's mouth dropped open and Iroh held up his hand to halt the teen's impending explosive protest. "Let me finish." Iroh choose his words with care. He knew the Prince wanted nothing more than what most children received naturally, the unconditional love and acceptance of his father. On the other hand, what Ozai wanted wasn't a son, but a miniature version of himself, ruthless and driven. His brother withheld affection and employed punishment in hopes of molding his son in his own image. On some level, the sixteen year old probably knew he would never please his father as he was. Still, Zuko had stubbornly hung on to his compassion and principles, refusing to cross the intangible line into ruthlessness. But Zuko was still young and in many ways still idolized his father. So Iroh kept his true thoughts about the Firelord and the situation carefully hidden. In order to preserve Zuko, he would have to lie to the teen.
"Prince Zuko, the Firelord has been my brother for far longer than he has been your father. I think I know him fairly well. With the Avatar in custody, he simply needs time to find another suitable mission for you, that's all. If he were to allow you to return to the Fire Nation now, it would make a mockery of all the time you've been out here. And I'm sure you'll agree that your men could use a short visit with their families after two years." Iroh made sure to emphasis the word "short". "In fact, I'm going to go with them, to see if I can't help my brother find another quest for you. In the meantime, Prince Zuko, why don't we find a suitable place for you to wait, hm?"
Iroh moved to Zuko's map covered desk, hating himself for the lies he had told his nephew. He had no idea if he could bend the Firelord to his will. Knowing his brother, he probably expected Zuko to show up with the heads of all the Earth Kingdom's Generals on a platter in order to appease him. Still, wasn't a false hope better than no hope at all? Iroh was only grateful the Prince had no idea that his return to the Fire Nation was hardly voluntary. He shuffled through the charts, most marked with Avatar sightings, until he found what he wanted. A place close enough for Zuko to reach, a place safe enough for him to stay. He forced his voice to be light and cheerful.
"Look here Prince Zuko, this island is perfect." "Yopoko," Iroh read the brief notes on the side of the chart," Neutral territory, shallow harbor that only light cruisers can enter, no features of notice." Zuko came over to stare at the chart with dull eyes. Iroh clasped his hand, forcing the teen to meet his eyes. "Now you promise me, Prince Zuko, you give me your word that you'll wait for me right there. And I promise you that I'll come back for you as soon as I can."
"Promise?" Zuko's voice was barely a whisper. Iroh squeezed his nephew's hand. "You have my word, Prince Zuko." Zuko nodded almost imperceptivity, "I promise too."
"Good. Now why don't I help you finish packing."
The packing went quickly. The Prince didn't have much to call his own, but with Iroh's help several items of "Fire Nation property" that Zuko would have abandoned ended up in the bag. Unfortunately, Zuko insisted on taking the one item Iroh had hoped he's forget: his father's spiteful letter. Iroh knew that rereading it would do the Prince no favors, but despite that he surrendered it without protest. He simply could not think of a single voiceable reason to keep the hateful thing. The only time he left his nephew was to summon Lieutenant Jee. Iroh wanted to fill him in on what was going on away from Zuko.
"Tell the helmsman to keep our ship a little away from Zhao's," he ordered. "I don't want the Admiral to make any more surprise visits."
The Lieutenant nodded grimly. "Don't worry Sir, he won't."
The preparations were over all too quickly. Iroh accompanied his nephew down the corridor to the inner launch bay of Zuko's ship. It was a quiet, solemn affair. Just outside the door to the hanger Iroh once again clasped his nephew's shoulder. "Remember your promise, Prince Zuko and remember that I'll be back for you shortly." Zuko nodded silently before pushing open the door. They both stepped in and stopped, taken aback. Lined up in two parallel rows extending from the entranceway down to the launch ramp was the entirety of Zuko's crew. As the Prince entered, the men as one snapped to attention. Zuko hesitated, surprised, as his Uncle smiled proudly from behind him. It had taken two long years and a few well placed words from Iroh, but Prince Zuko had finally won the respect of his men.
They proceeded toward the small boat where Lieutenant Jee met them. "Sir, I think you'll find everything well stocked and in order for your journey." The Prince gave a small nod. "Thank you Lieutenant." He entered the boat.
"Safe Journey, Prince Zuko", Iroh said softly. "Uncle" Zuko nodded to him before turning away, standing stiff backed and tall. His pride would not allow him to fall apart in front of his men. The hinged stern of the ship cracked open and Zuko's boat was lowered into the water.
The Lieutenant, standing next to General Iroh as they watched the Prince depart, stirred. "Um Sir? Are you really okay with all of this?" The man shifted awkwardly. "I mean it just doesn't seem right…" His voice dropped off, not wanting to say anything that could be perceived as treasonous.
Iroh understood. He smiled at the man. "I appreciate your sentiments, Lieutenant, but for now the best thing that we can do for Prince Zuko is to get to the Fire Nation as quickly as possible." The General's eyes narrowed. "And let's see if we can't lose our "escort" along the way."
"With pleasure, Sir." Jee bowed and departed, the men moving back to their posts. The stern of the ship started closing up, shutting off Iroh's view of Zuko.
"Safe Journey, nephew."