The fire benders, taking their beaten princess as a sign of their defeat, gave in willingly. The uniformed soldiers were taken below deck, to be housed in the very cells that they had shackled Aang inside only hours before.
Sokka bounded to his sister and they embraced. "You took her down!" he exclaimed.
She grinned. "Zuko did all the work, really." She met his eyes once more, and she thought she saw the ghost of smile twitch across his face.
It vanished as a burly earth bender approached Zuko.
"He's a fire bender." He said, pointing to him accusingly. "I saw it. And just look: he's got a uniform on. He's going to be shut away as well."
Zuko curled his lip. "I'd like to see you try."
Katara moved in between the rivals. "No, don't. We trust Zuko-."
"Zuko?" Another earth bender closed in upon them. "Zuko the Fire Nation prince? You trust that slime?"
Sokka grabbed Zuko's arm to prevent him from lunging at the name-caller. Aang found the conflict unfolding and took a place between the opposing sides.
"What's going on?" Aang asked.
"The avatar! He'll settle this. This little girl won't let us put him away."
"Little girl?" Katara growled.
"Why are you fighting?" Aang cried. "We just overtook Azula's ship, everyone's alive, and there are a few less fire benders that the world has to bear with now! What could possibly make you upset?"
Katara decided to let the earth bender's 'little girl' comment slide. The earth benders, however, were not to be deterred.
"This is Prince Zuko! Give us one good reason not to lock him up too."
"Because I trust Zuko." Aang replied sternly. "Is that reason enough?"
"That depends. Maybe you're not on our side." A thin, wiry man snapped back.
Haru gripped the man's shoulder. "Listen, Avatar Aang's only interested in helping for peace. Haven't you heard about the things he's done? He's a selfless monk who's our only hope to ever have peace again. I know Zuko as well, and just because he's the prince of the Fire Nation doesn't mean he's evil or scheming to end our lives. Right, Zuko?"
Zuko nodded as sincerely as he could.
"Now," Aang sighed. "Did that convince you?"
"Yes," the earth benders muttered, humbled.
Zuko took advantage of the lull to slip away to his uncle.
"Uncle? How do you feel?"
Iroh was seated on the ship's tipped railing. "Never better, especially seeing that you've reached a truce with the avatar."
Zuko ducked his head. "It was only to help get you back."
"There is no shame in turning to your enemy for help," Iroh said laying a gentle hand on his nephew's shoulder. "I'm proud of you."
"Thank you, Uncle." Zuko raised his gaze and gave a genuine smile.
"And not to mention, that water bender isn't that bad looking either, eh?"
Zuko groaned. "Uncle… please…"
"What? You have eyes, don't you?"
xxx
Aang, Katara, and Sokka stood together on the deck once all the fire benders had been secured.
"So… Here we are again." Katara said happily. "I told you it wouldn't be that long."
Sokka draped an arm over his sister's shoulders. "It felt a lot longer."
Aang sighed. "Yeah, it did. We have a lot of stories to share."
"Let's eat first," Sokka said, patting his stomach. "That slop Azula fed us was awful."
The three of them laughed easily once more.
"Listen," Aang said, lowering his voice slightly. "Before we go, I wanted to ask you guys something."
Sokka groaned. "It's about Zuko, isn't it?"
"I want to ask them if they want to travel with us…"
Katara lapsed into silent contemplation, but Sokka let out another groan.
"Aang, you're gonna ask the guys who've been on our tails since the South Pole to join us? You're just asking for trouble!"
"They have nowhere to go, and I don't think that they even can consider trying to take me to the Fire Lord."
"Aang," Katara said gently, "If you're thinking of also having them teach you fire bending, I don't think they will. You'd be asking them to help you kill Iroh's brother and Zuko's father."
"Point… Katara, one. Aang, zip." Sokka said sarcastically.
"I know." Aang replied somberly, "But I can't just let them struggle on their own, either. There's a warrant for their arrest."
Katara glanced at Sokka and cleared her throat.
"What?" he snapped.
"Point. Katara, one. Aang, one." She replied.
"No. I'm referee, and that's not a good point." He folded his arms across his chest.
"Well, I'm with you, Aang. But I wouldn't expect to receive an okay." Katara said.
"Thanks, Katara."
They both looked at Sokka expectantly.
"Even if you do say no, you'll be outnumbered." Katara pointed out.
"Katara, two. Sokka, zip." Aang chuckled.
Sokka sighed. "Zuko's a jerk."
"Not all the time." Katara countered. "He can be fairly normal."
"If they turn out to be… the same as they were, then we can leave them." Aang offered.
"They have money," Katara added.
Sokka scoffed. "So?"
"Money to buy food."
"Oh. Well… I may consider-."
"Great!" Katara exclaimed.
"I don't think we'll regret this," Aang said reassuringly.
xxx
"Are you sure you won't stay?" Katara asked Haru.
They stood outside Nishe, the setting sun sending blazes of orange upon the quiet houses. Katara didn't really want Haru to stay with them, but he had been a help, and her policy was politeness.
"Yeah… I've wanted to get to the tournament for awhile, and they said because of our 'interruption' that they'd start them over."
"Well, good luck."
"I'll really miss you…" Haru inclined his head toward her.
Katara stumbled backward. "Uh… me too. Have fun at the tournament. See you later. Bye."
"Oh… okay, then." He grinned and waved. "Bye."
She walked back over to the others, her cheeks flushed pink.
Zuko smirked and muttered to her as she sank to the ground beside him, "You didn't kiss him goodbye?"
She sent him a glare in reply.
Earlier, Aang had convinced Iroh to sup with them, and in turn, Iroh convinced Zuko to eat with them as well. They planned to find food somewhere in Nishe, but everywhere was closed, and the only two places open had a three hour wait to be seated. They did find a grocer who had sold them the little food he'd had left in the 'tournament rush', and they lounged in a sleepy corner of the city to eat their dinner.
Iroh enjoyed the company very much. He and Sokka had apparently found common interests in food, and chattered endlessly about it.
Zuko, Katara, and Aang were left to either listen to the babble, or entertain themselves.
Aang was working up the nerve to ask Zuko and Iroh to join him.
"How are you doing, Aang?" Katara asked.
He glanced up from his daze into the bowl of pudding. "Oh… I'm fine, just thinking."
"I've got an idea," Katara said to the group, and waited patiently for Iroh and Sokka to listen before she continued. "How about we tell our share of what happened?"
"That's a splendid idea." Iroh agreed and stroked his overgrown beard. "If I may, I'll go first." He chuckled. "I went to sleep and woke up."
The rest giggled. Zuko stared at his uncle; he was used to his jokes, and he hadn't really laughed at any of them in awhile.
Aang and Sokka took their turn next, and slowly the group began to come into a brighter light of understanding. Zuko stayed quiet while Katara told their part, and was thankful she left out most of it. Finally, when all questions had been answered fully, they settled back, with peaceful smiles dancing in the flickering flame that Zuko had set up in the center of their circle.
Aang trailed his finger in the dirt beside him. If he was to ask Iroh and Zuko, it was now or never.
"So… I was thinking…"
Zuko's heart froze. He could already guess what was coming next, and he'd been hoping that it would never come. He closed his eyes.
Aang continued. "I'm not sure where you two are going, but King Bumi said I have to find an earth bending master skilled in neutral jing, so we're heading to Ba Seng Se. We hope to find someone there. If you two want to come along, that's fine with us."
Iroh's brow furrowed, and he looked darkly to Zuko.
Some sort of wild fury suddenly rose within Zuko, and he stood up suddenly.
"No." he answered coldly and stalked off into the woods behind them.
Iroh sighed.
Katara looked apologetically at Aang. He dropped his gaze. "Sorry I asked."
"I'll go talk to him," Iroh said, and braced himself to stand.
"Wait." Katara said and stood up herself. "I'll go talk to him."
Sokka and Aang exchanged glances.
"I'm not so sure that he'll take that too well…" Iroh tried to sway her.
She began to walk in Zuko's direction. "He'll have to."
Sokka picked his teeth with a bone. "Katara's pretty steadfast."
Iroh shook his head. "And so is my nephew."
xxx
Ty Lee and Mai stood on the deck of the uprooted ship, unsure of whether to run away or to stay. Either would probably prove disastrous.
"Do you think we should-." Ty Lee began to ask, but was cut off by a scream that shook their roots in a way that nothing ever could.
"That's Azula," Mai said quietly.
"Is she hurt?" Ty Lee asked, stepping back on her feet as lightly as she could muster.
"I doubt it, but we're going to be." Mai answered solemnly.
xxx
Zuko sat curled on the ground, his back facing whoever was sneaking up behind him. He had expected, but not wanted, someone from that little posse to try and 'coax' him into joining the avatar.
"Whoever you are," he growled. "Leave."
"Not until I understand why you won't travel with us. It's just traveling, Zuko." Katara pleaded.
Zuko stood up to face her. "Do you realize that by asking me to join him you are asking me to forfeit everything that makes me part of who I am?" He paused, and she waited patiently for him to continue. He dropped his gaze to glare at a patch of grass. "The last thing my mother ever said to me was 'never forget who you are'. If it's the last thing I do, then I will gladly die fulfilling her last request."
Katara shook her head. "But Zuko…"
"By joining the avatar I will completely renounce my title and my nationality. Do you think anyone in the Fire Nation will want to claim someone who is with the only boy capable of stopping them? No."
"Your title? Your nationality? Those things aren't what make you who you are."
Zuko finally met her eyes with a bewildered stare.
She barreled on, her resolve bolstered by his attention. "What you think, what you believe and what you do are what make you who you are. Don't you think your mother wanted you to be happy, and not simply fulfilling traditional obligations?"
"You don't know what my mother wanted." He spat.
"But you do, and do you think she wanted that for you? And why would you want to claim allegiance to the man who banished his own son? He burned you, Zuko!"
"I know that!" Zuko flared, sending Katara a step backward with his flame. "I live with that knowledge every day, every moment! You don't have to remind me of that."
"And you would still swear to his name?" she asked, unperturbed by his outburst.
He shook with rage, and Katara wasn't sure to whom his anger was directed to.
"I'm the prince," he said, his voice losing its harshness. "Do you think I have a choice?"
"Yes. No one has to spend their life doing someone else's bidding. My grandmother didn't want me to leave home. She thought that Aang would be nothing but a disappointment for me… I left anyway, Zuko. I stood for what I believed in, even if that meant going against my own family."
He unclenched his fists. He was sure that she of all people, who was so family-orientated, would do anything for her relatives.
"You went against your family's wishes?"
"If you call Gran-Gran a family, sure. In the end she finally supported me… You can do the same, Zuko. No one's holding you back. Do what you want to do, because your life is yours and yours alone. And think about what your mother would have really wanted; your happiness, or your fulfillment of duty."
Katara waited for Zuko to respond, but he only sank back onto the ground, his back facing her once more. She turned to leave, but turned around to say one thing more.
"I know that I would want you to be happy, at least, and we'd all be really glad to have you."
As she was walking back to the others, Zuko glanced behind him to watch her fade from his vision.
xxx
A/N
Yes! I thought up that conversation about a month ago, and just now wrote it. Usually when I think something up it comes out different onto paper (or the screen), but this time it actually came out RIGHT.
Go me.