Guess what! I looked at my reviews this morning and I have six. Six! That's incredible! I mean, for a slightly less than popular show like AVTLA it's in'freakin'credible! And 148 hits! - I'm so happy. Anyway. . . .If you have any ideas for the title, tell me, I don't really like the one I have up. Understand. This is BEFORE episode 16 - The deserter. Meaning that Katra does not know she can heal stuff, Zuko's ship has not been blown up by the pirates, Aang knows squat about firebending and Sokka isn't in love with Yue. He's still mooning over Suki. Remember that now.


Beast!

Katara woke up slowly, her azure eyes slowly making her way around the sparse cell she was in. She looked down and saw chains at her ankles and more on her wrists. She pulled at the bonds lightly, testing them. Even though somewhat rusted they where still very strong, giving Katara barely enough room to move her arms.

The girl tried to reach her ankle chains but found that her bonds kept her back. Katara snarled and stood up, glad at least for the small slack allowed for her legs. She concentrated and tried to bend the water she carried in her water bag, but soon realized that the chains, once again, kept her back.

Katara frowned, the creases in her forehead deepening, and pulled at her chains again, knowing that she would not be able to escape. She scowled at the manacles that continued to resist her efforts to escape. The girl heaved her body against the chains, putting herself at an unnatural angle in order to break free of her manacles.

The water bender contorted her face yet again and clenched her fists, ignoring the pain of the iron that bit into her wrists and ankles, even through her clothing. A cry ripped through her throat as a shackle drew blood along the tender flesh along her right forearm. She quietly dropped to the ground, tears building up in her eyes. She glared at the soldiers watching her from outside, laughing at her.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled, her arms supported by the restraints. Katara's shoulders where hunched up, her arms hanging from the chains. The irons barely gave her enough room to sit down. She wasn't allowed enough slack from the fetters to move her left hand to stop the blood flow, so she had to kneel there, in the bare cell, all alone, with blood slowly trickling down her arm.

She suddenly stood up, the iron chains chinking together. 'I won't let this beat me,' she thought. 'I will prove to this spoiled prince he cannot break me!' Katara grimaced as the wound throbbed.

"Zuko, you beast!" she shrieked, her eyes still bright from unshed tears. "Let me go you spoiled brat! ZUKO!"

The last word reverberated and bounced of the empty walls of the corridor, filling the space with Katara's anguish and pain.

Upstairs in the Prince's quarters Zuko cracked an eye open and looked at Uncle Iroh.

"Did you hear something uncle?"

The slightly overweight firebender glanced up from his Pai Sho game to gaze at his nephew. "I do not think so Prince Zuko." he said returning his concentration to the board game. The man moved a Lotus Tile two steps forward. "Although, our prisoner has been awfully unobtrusive, tell me nephew." he said, not looking up from his game, "How long will she stay here?"

Zuko stood up from his meditation pose and brushed his armor off, just in case a soldier should see him with a spec of dirt on his uniform. He did not ask how Iroh had known about the girl. The old firebender was very perceptive.

"Until I see fit." he answered, walking out of the room.

Iroh shook his head and sipped some of his ginseng tea. "So impatient." he muttered. The other man, Yurit sat across from Iroh. As the general was talking the other man suddenly smiled and moved a Wheel Tile three spaces to the left.

"Trapped General. I believe I win again!" Yurit said an impish look on his face. The fat general spat out his tea and leaned forward, disbelief etched onto his face. He looked up and smiled.

"Best six out of thirteen?"

The prince strode down into the base of his ship, a hard mask on his face. He stopped a few steps away from Katara's cell, looking at the guards standing there. He nodded a curt dismissal and walked the few steps to the water benders door. He reached to his waistline for the keys when he heard a shout from inside the room.

"Zuko, you beast!" the girl cried, "You spoiled Prince. Zuko! Let me go!"

"I will not."

Katara gasped as the prince of the fire nation pushed open the door and walked into her cell, almost as if her shout had summoned him there. Zuko looked over the girl, noting the nearly dried blood on her arm. He frowned slightly then shook his head, returning his gaze to the defiant girls face.

"I will not." Zuko repeated, stepping farther into the cell "I will not let you go, I will not be spoken to like that, and I will not let you or anyone else stand in my way."

Katara slumped against the wall, a picture of weakness. "What do you want from me anyway?" she muttered, her head slumping to one side.

Zuko took another step forward. "I want to know where the avatar is." he stated. Katara looked at Zuko, right now about three feet away from her. The girl was slightly put off guard at how impassive the prince looked, his yellow eyes locked onto hers. Katara's own eyes widened in fear and she realized she couldn't talk. She licked her lips and then attempted to answer.

"Wasn't he with us?" she asked, her voice quaking slightly. "Aang was traveling with us, we were helping him. I don't know where he is if not with Appa and Sokka." Katara turned her head away, not wanting to hear his response.

Zuko frowned. The girl looked afraid of him, as if she expected him more likely to kill her with every passing second. The instinct to tell her otherwise was cut short by his longing to find the avatar. "So he was with you." he said. He took a step forward. "Who are Appa and Sokka?" asked Zuko. "The water tribe boy and who else?"

Katara slumped to the floor, the gash in her wrist reopening and causing blood to seep down her black armguards. "Sokka is my brother," the girl muttered. "And Appa is the bison." she laughed a little. "You've already seen them so there's no point in not telling you their names." Katara sighed and then looked at the prince, her eyes wide. "Are you going to kill me now?" she asked.

Zuko took a few steps toward the girl, a frown still etched onto his features. He knelt down on one knee and took the keys out of the loop that attached it to his waist. "No." he said flatly. "But I will get this cleaned up." he continued, finding the correct key and unlocking the manacle that held Katara's right hand. After being released her arm fell to the ground, caught at the last second by the prince.

"I don't want you to get an infection." Zuko said, slipping off the armguard. He looked at the wound and frowned. The cut was deep and the blood wasn't clotting properly, having been reopened once before. The prince laid Katara's arm in her lap and stood up, noting that the girl had watched him closely the entire time. "I'm going to get a healer," he explained, walking toward the door of the cell. "Try not to move your arm; it'll just make it worse." Zuko exited the cell, closing it but leaving it unlocked.

As soon as the boy left Katara stood up and tried to water bend again, this time succeeding. Water flowed out of the water bag she had at her waist. She quickly bended the water into an icicle and aimed it at her other wrist. She could perform small bending with one hand, but for the thing she had in mind Katara would need both her arms free.

Zuko had been gone for scarcely two minutes when he felt the boat heave to one side, as if a tidal wave had come up. He rushed onto deck and saw that indeed huge tidal waves were swamping the boat. The prince frowned and then began to make his way slowly to the captain's helm. He suddenly stopped and stared at the sea. The waves were coming from both sides!

The boy snarled and raced downstairs, running into the open the cell, his face furious. Katara was moving her arms in motion to the waves, keeping perfect balance despite the motion of the boat. She raised her arms and a giant wave crashed against the side of the ship, Zuko was slammed against the side of the cell, his armor dulling, but not deadening, the pain.

"Stop!" he yelled at the girl, only a few feet away from him. As the boat steadied slightly and Katara prepared to launch another wave, Zuko leaped up and pinned the girl's arms to her sides. Her eyes opened and she glared at Zuko, beginning to struggle.

"Let me go!" she cried, breathing hard, some of her hair coming loose. Zuko looked her straight in her eyes, his face furious.

"I try and help you; I try and do something nice for you! Then you attempt to drown me and turn over my ship!" he yelled, straight into Katara's face, his hands still on her arms, gripping her hard. "I trusted you! Even if it was just to be alone for a few minutes while I got someone to help your cut, I TRUSTED YOU!"

Katara stopped struggling and stared at Zuko, her face confused and searching. She dropped to the floor as soon as the prince let go of her and cradled her wrist to her chest, leaving some blood smeared on her tunic.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, barely loud enough for the prince to hear. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I won't do it again, I'm sorry." Katara's eyes began to water but she quickly wiped them away and sat quietly, staring at her exposed wrist.

Zuko focused and controlled his anger; the only sign of his rage was a short fire burst out of his mouth. He kneeled down again and put a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Alright, listen." he said, in a commanding voice. "I'm going to try this again. I'm going to the crews' quarters and try to find you a healer. Just do me a favor and don't move. If something like this ever, I mean, ever, happens again." He paused and used his free hand to tilt Katara's head so that her eyes were level with his. "These accommodations will look like a palace compared to the place I will put you." he said.

The girl wrenched her eyes away and nodded. Zuko stood up and made his way out, once again not locking the door. He quickly located a healer and brought him down to Katara's cell. He watched, leaning against the cell's doorway, as the bandages where expertly tied around the girls wrist. When that was done, the healer gave the water bender a few choice words of advice.

"No more bending until that heals, don't try and move it to much either, it's pretty deep and you could get a serious infection." The healer got to his feet and bowed to Zuko, leaving the cell. He stopped in the corridor and whispered to Zuko. "You should really take those chains of her, they really are quite dangerous." Zuko shook his head at the man, indicating that now was not the time.

Zuko sighed and stepped forward into the small room, a few feet away from Katara. "Have we learned our lesson?" he asked softly, a hint of malice in his voice. The girl on the floor nodded and then looked up at the prince, her eyes hard. "Why did you take me?" she asked.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You have already asked that and I've already told you, I need to find the avatar." he said. "If I had thought you simple I would not have bothered."

The girl's eyes hardened even more. "Then it's a good thing I'm not stupid, isn't it?" she said. Katara continued staring at the prince, her gaze steely. "You said last time that you wanted to know where the avatar was but this time you said you needed to know." the girl declared. "Which is it then? Do you need to know or is this just some brainless hobby to pass the time?"

Zuko glared at the girl. "I need to find the avatar." he said. "There is no 'want' about it." he looked away from the girl, ashamed. "My throne, my family, my honor." Zuko said slowly. "I'm about to lose it all."

Katara let a flash of pity show on her face. What had happened to this boy to make him so determined?

The prince turned back to Katara. "Where were you heading? The avatar must already know air and earth bending, he passed through nearly all the cities in the Earth Nation." he paused and then continued. "The South Pole is deprived and desolate, no one of any bending consequence lives there." He nodded and sat in front of Katara. "He is heading to the North Pole."

Katara's eyes widened. Aang hadn't learned earth bending! He should have, Zuko made a fair point. What really amazed the girl was how well Zuko could put everything together. She gasped slightly as the boy sat down in the seiza 'correct sit' position in front of her.

"Why can't you just let it go?" she asked Zuko. "Aang is supposed to save the world, he's supposed to help everyone. Wouldn't it be better to give up this little vendetta with Zhou and let well enough alone? "

Zuko snorted and clenched his fists. "If only it were that simple." The boy paused and then continued, "You don't understand," he muttered. "My father, Fire Lord Ozai, has banished me. Until I find the avatar I have no privilege, no distinction, even though my birth entitles me to such. I am an outcast, an exile." The boy sighed and looked up from his lap.

"Do you know what it's like?" he asked. "To have a father you love, then to have a king who hates you?" Zuko's eyes where locked onto Katara's.

The girl searched his face, looking for signs of deceit. She shook her head slowly, hoping that Zuko would go on. No such luck, the prince rose from the floor and made to exit before Katara's voice called him back.

"Wait!" Katara pleaded, having risen from the floor. "If Ozai is your father, aren't you like him?" she asked, her face creased in a frown. "Ozai is a murderer, attacking and killing innocent people for his own gain, what makes you so sure you won't end up like him?"

Zuko's face remained an inexpressive mask. He stood there, his fingers resting lightly on the handle. Standing there, he answered Katara, not looking at her.

"Ozai may be my father," Zuko said, carefully and without pause, turning to pierce the girl with his harsh gaze. "But I am not his son. I refuse to become what he is." The prince turned to the girl, anguish on his features. He started to say something and then shook his head, stepping out of the cell.

He lingered at the entrance before closing the door, watching Katara's confused face. "I'll come down tomorrow," he began. "Don't worry if you're hungry I'll remind the kitchens to send you some food."

The prince then left the small room, locking the door behind him. He went up into his chambers and fell onto his bed, staring at the dragon painting on his wall. Why had he said all those things to that girl? What was he thinking? Zuko groaned and turned over, pulling a pillow over his head. The young prince then began to doze off. Maybe this time he would be able to take a nap without being interrupted.

Below Zuko's chambers Katara was still standing, staring at the door that Zuko had left by. "He is so strange." she muttered. "Hey!" the girl exclaimed, looking at her arms, raising them up to inspect the wound on her wrist. "He didn't lock me up again."

Katara smiled and dropped her arms back to her sides, slipping down the wall. "Maybe he isn't such a beast after all."


Yep. That's the end of chapter 2! Huzzah for Heart Bender! I put this up on Sunday . . . So we will see how long it takes to appear on Oh - - - Here's another funny pic, also not done by me. http/img377.imageshack.us/img377/4205/booter147vd.gif

Yep so push the lavenderish colored button down at the bottom and review. Till later

Heart Bender.