Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own Koima and Jin and Col……and many others.

Chapter 28

"Where's Koima?"

"Let me handle the bitch, General!" Zhao argued with General Iroh, "She's my problem to deal with."

Zhao had come to collect the soldiers at midday, and now he argued that he wanted Koima also. But Iroh would not allow him. It was hard for Uncle to act like he hated Koima. It was Zuko's decision if Koima stayed or went with Zhao. And, of course, Zuko wanted her to stay, much to Zhao frustration.

"She belongs to me now!" Zuko said to Zhao, "She's mine. You cannot have her, it's my decision, not yours."

Zhao glared at him hatefully, "She's your enemy, boy! General!"

"I can do nothing, Zhao." Iroh said, "As much as I want to turn her over to you I am under the command of my nephew." Which was a total lie, Uncle didn't want Koi to go back to Zhao. After seeing her the day they had first found her, Iroh was sure what those wounds were minor compared to what Zhao would do to her once he got her back.

Zhao gritted his teeth in anger and frustration, this was not how he wanted things to go. But that Stupid Prince was unmoving. 'I will get you!' Zhao thought, 'You'll pay for this. If I can't have her then no one can!'

"Having her will be the death of you." He told the Prince, "She'll murder you in bed if she doesn't poison you. It's your funeral."

Zhao looked up at the porthole window below the Navigation room door. Bird's eyes met his. Her eyes went wide with fear when he glared at her. 'Enjoy your last day on earth, Bird.' He said, 'It will be ending soon.' He saw her pull away from the window, vanishing from view. Zhao growled and marched with the ranks of soldiers off the ship. 'I will find a way.'

:;:;:Koima;:;:;

"Koima, what is going to happen to us?" Nihoku asked from his bed. The other three asked also. I wiped away a tear, trying to keep myself busy changing bandages. Everyone was gone…Col, Jin, Lt. Ji…all of the soldiers and even the funny cooks. We were all that was left.

I shook my head and sat down on the end of Homeru's bed to rest. "I don't know. You can al go back to your families?" I said hoping to sound cheerful for their sakes. There was nothing else they could do. Icharu cheered up, "I can see my little sister again! She's fourteen years old now; time for her to get her first kimono." A girl getting her first kimono was a grand even for a family, a moment that a girl was now a woman. Nihoku exclaimed that he could see his wife again. She was pregnant with their first child when he left, the baby would be two years old now. Homeru can go back to his farm and Konan back to his fiancé who had been waiting for him all this time.

I had to smile, all the men were in higher spirits now instead of being grim that they were left behind. 'What's going to happen to me? What was going to happen to Zuko and Uncle? We can't search for the Avatar without a crew.' I looked out the door, 'How is he taking it?'

;Zuko;

"Prince Zuko, I'm going out for an hour or so. Will you be alright?" Uncle Iroh looked into the dark room that is his nephews. Prince Zuko did not look at him, he was facing the wall, his thoughts to his own. There was no hope now because of Zhao. He did this to kill Zuko's spirits of ever returning home. And Zuko was bitter.

Iroh sighed, "Sitting in the dark is not going to do you any good."

Zuko said nothing. Uncle closed the door and left the ship. Zuko closed his eyes and dozed off.

:;Pirates;:

The pirates snuck onto the ships deck when they saw the old General leave, humming 'Four seasons, Four loves' to himself. Their instructions had been clear. They would have gladly done it for revenge alone, but the Admiral's donation made them all the happier to accept. They got the kegs of blasting jelly out and started to place them in the best spots. "C'mon!' One of them hissed bad temperedly, "And be quiet!" Despite this order, there was a loud…..CLANG!

;Zuko;

CLANG!

Zuko sat up in his bed, now wide-awake from the noise. What was that? "Uncle?" Had Uncle come back so soon? Had he forgotten something again? Zuko stood up and went to the door and looked out. There was no one in the hallway but him.

"Koi?" There was no answer. Odd. The silence sounded eerie from the absence of the normal crew bluster that always inhabited the ship. Zuko slipped on his robe and headed for the Navigation room to investigate.

;Koima;

All of the men were asleep, finally. I made one last round, checking to see if there was anything else that needed to be done before I retired to my own bed. There wasn't. I went to an empty bed by the window and collapsed onto it, too tired to move.

I touched the crystal necklace hanging from my neck, feeling the cool smooth stone, my mind off in a different place and time……

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling that shook the whole ship…then a loud explosion. There was a blinding flash and a rush of heat as I felt myself being thrown backwards by the blast. Metal tore at my face and arms before I was submerged water….then…darkness…

;Iroh;

Iroh looked back when he heard the blast, a mushroom cloud of fire rose up into the air over the place where Prince Zuko's ship was docked. Terror filled him when he remembered who was on the ship:

"ZUKO! KOIMA!" Iroh ran all the way back to what was left of the docks…and the ship. Smoking debris floated in the water, still on fire.

"KOIMA! ZUKO!" Iroh shouted, running back and forth on the beach shore, "Oh no! ZUKOOOO! KOOOOOOI!"

;Zuko;

Zuko's face burned with pain. He could hear someone…Uncle…calling his name. "ZUKO!" He opened his eyes and was looking at the smoking remnants of his ship. He felt a moments puzzlement…then it all came back to him. Parrot, Pirates…. Zhao. 'He tried to kill me!' Zuko held onto a piece of his Uncles Pai Sho table. A few tiles were floating in the water around him.

He groaned, everything hurt…even his eyes. Holding onto the game table he kicked his way to shore where he could hear Uncle calling his name. Uncle was also calling another name….

"ZUKO! KOIMA!"

'KOI!' Zuko's heart skipped a beat. He had thought she had gone with Uncle! She was on the ship?

"UH-KLE!" Zuko choked painfully. His mouth felt like it was lined with salt. He spat out a mouthful of water.

"ZUKO?" His Uncle saw him, "Oh thank Agni you're alive!" Uncle helped Zuko board the dock. "Where's Koima?" Iroh said suddenly, his face white with fright. He had thought that Koima would have been with Zuko. Where is she? Uncle feared the worse.

Zuko tore off his soaked robe so he could swim better, "She wasn't with me. She's still out there! KOIMA!" He shouted. The only answer he received was the crackling of the fire.

'Oh Agni.' Zuko dove into the water. The salt stung his face almost to the point of crying. He ignored it and swam hard, "KOIMA!" He shouted. Terror coursed through his body at the thought of losing her, especially like this, without even finding her body to bury.

Zuko stopped when he felt something brush against his leg…a hand! Koima! Zuko reached down and grabbed it and pulled up as quickly as he could. Instead of Koima, Icharu surfaced. Zuko swallowed. Icharu stared at him through cloudy dead eyes. If Koima was in the infirmary with them…

Zuko let go of the man's limp hand and Icharu sank back underneath the surface.

"KOIMA!" Zuko pushed aside floating debris and crates that held food they had purchased only a few days ago. 'Where is she?' Zuko looked away hurriedly. Another man lay floating in the water, his body was partially held up by a part of an infirmary bed. The cause of death was plainly seen in the pieces of metal imbedded in the man's back and sides. This was the remains of Konan. Zuko swallowed back the bile that bubbled in the back of his throat. Koi could look like that… 'Please Agni, not her, please not Koima.' Zuko prayed, 'This is not fair. She deserves better than this!'

He threw his head back and gave one last yell, "KOOOIMAAA!"

"Zu-koh!" He heard Koima's voice, but it was faint in the crackling of fire and things collapsing.

"KOIMA!" She was alive! Where was she! "Where are you!" He shouted as loud as he could. There was a long silence and he feared that she had passed out or even worse. Then….mercifully, "-cough- He-Here! Over…here! 'ELP!"

He followed the sound of her voice and saw her holding on to part pf the ship that was a mass of melted metal, her arms around one of the melted support beams that had once been the storage room. Koima was almost submerged; the water was up to her cheeks. She struggled to keep her mouth above the water, "Help!" She spluttered and coughed, "Something…is pulling me down!" She gasped.

Zuko swam over to her as fast as he could. Her face was covered in cuts and burns. One bad cut was over her eyebrow and it still bled horribly.

"Where? What's holding you down?" He grabbed her around the middle and pulled up, his arm holding onto the beam to keep himself up also. She coughed and clung to his neck as she tried to breathe, "My legs…it feels like rope. It hurts…" She whimpered. Zuko tried to pull her away in hope of dislodging the ropes hold on her legs. She didn't move. She was truly stuck. Koima cried out as the ropes cut into her legs, her hold on Zuko tightened. Zuko was thinking quickly, "Can you swim down and untie yourself?"

Koima shook her head, "I can't swim!" Oh Agni.

"Hold onto the beam again. I'm going under." Zuko made sure she had tight hold of the beam, "Don't let go." He ducked under the water and felt down her legs for the rope. He got it. It was apart of the rigging under the deck. There were pulleys and weights tied with the rope, pulling Koima down. He pulled the ropes hard to loose them. They didn't budge. He tried again, but to no avail. His lungs screamed for air so he had to go up.

"They won't come off." He told Koi. She clung to the beam, "A knife, cut them off." She said. She coughed as water filled her mouth and spat it out.

"I don't have one." Zuko looked around the floating debris for something that he could use to cut the ropes. He saw a broken window panel, jagged glass clinging to the frame. He grabbed the panel and broke off a large piece of glass, ignoring the fact that it was slicing through his hand. He clutched it and swam back under the water to Koi's legs. He grabbed the rope and began sawing through them. The ropes came apart and fell away from Koi's legs and sank below into the darkness. He let go of the glass and swam up. She was free, but that left one more problem.

"Grab onto my neck." He told her. She looked unsure but did as she was told and put her arms around his neck and held on. Zuko swam away from the ship to shore with his tiny burden, thanking ever one of the spirits that she was alive.

"Uncle!" He shouted as they neared shore, "I got her!" He kicked to shore and Uncle helped him pull her out, "Thank Agni." He sighed, hugging them both in his arms, "I thought I lost you both!"

Koima was still very shaken, "W-What happened…" She held herself and shook. Iroh wrapped his warm arms around her to heat her up.

"Zhao." Zuko said, "He and the pirates."

Koima shivered, "P-P-P-Pirates?"

"Long story. I'll tell it later."

Iroh inspected both their wounds. Zuko was the worst of the two. Koima had a busted lip and several cuts and her cheeks and arms. Including part of her chin, a angry burn covered part of her jaw and neck. Koima pulled away suddenly, "Icharu! Konan! What about them and the others!" She rushed to the waters edge and started screaming their names at the ocean. "ICHARUUU! HOMERU!"

Iroh looked at Zuko, "Zuko?" They went to Koima's side. She was crying now, still screaming their names in hope of some answer. Zuko shook his head, "They're in the spirit world now, Koima." He said solemnly. Koima sank to her knees, staring at the sand and shaking. Her face was blank except the tears that fell down her cheeks. Iroh went to her side and made a quick conclusion, "She's in shock."

"What do we do?" Zuko waved a hand in front of her eyes. Iroh grabbed his hand; stopping him, "We wait. Give it some time. They were her friends, Zuko. She needs to grieve." Zuko sat down on the other side of Koima, "What do we do about this?" He looked at the wreckage.

"I'll come up with something. Get some sleep. I'll take care of Koima."


I love how I can bend these things to my own design. I want a lot of reviews please. I didn't get many on the last chapter. I want more! If I don't get a suffeciant ammount, then it will be a long time till I post again!

I did some research when I was bored the other day. Chinese and Japanese is very different from each other. Chinese characters convey meaning, an object. There are over 13,000 characters in the Chinese language. Avatar has the symbols and that one character has a meaning. In Japanese writing, there is a character for every letter in the alphabet……. Avatar is both a Chinese and Japanese Manga. It has Japanese names, yet Chinese writings. I know some Japanese. Here are some words I have and their meaning.

Momo-Peach

Kotori- Bird

Tokage- Lizard

Amai- sweet

Koibito-sweetheart

Ari- Ant

Kawai- Cute

Kurai- Dark

Kirei- Beautiful

Yukan- Brave

Tsuyo & Koi- Strong (Yep. That's where I got the Koi name. She is strong)

Okaze- Strong wind (That would be a good name for an Airbender. Any of yall can use the name if you want)

Washi- Eagle

Kajo- Glut

Kaeru- Frog

Daiji- Precious

Ryu- Dragon

Baka- Idiot

Hai- Yes

I know more, I just don't wanna type them all up. I work at a child care center. There is a little girl that is Japanese, her name is Sachi and she is 2. When we were outside she saw a lizard and started shouting, "Tokage! Tokage!" She speaks Japanese, were trying to get her to speak English. Some of the other caretakers had no clue what she was saying except me. My dad's friends lived in Japan and I learned some words from them. Sachi can't say my name right, she said , "Ari!" Means Ant. So the name kinda stuck. It's my nickname now.

Yesterday we had to give away my dog , Bear. We are going to be traveling a lot and we can't take care of him. We are going to The British Virgin Isles in the first week of August. In November we're going to London and Abu Dahbi. (middle east) December –Cairo, Egypt. January- Colorado. I'm excited to go to Egypt. I'll take pictures and put them on my Photobucket. My parents wanted us to share the joy of traveling. Though I'm not so keen on flying. I have been iffy about flying since 9-11…… Oh well. But I wanna go to Tokyo and China! Well I took up enough of your time. Leave a review please! Amy.

Oh. P.S. Thank you to the people who visited me on myspace! Happy July 4th!