Heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee's chapter 2! Read, Enjoy, and Review!

I forgot it again. *Sigh* Well, better late than never, I guess.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. All credits for that great show go to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the creators. The only thing I own is the plot of this little story.

Unexpected, an A:tlA fanfic by Tsunami Storm

Chapter 2: Miracles and Threats

The next morning dawned, the first rays of sunlight shining through the gaps in the trees around him. Zuko lay perfectly motionless, breathing in the crisp morning air and allowing the shafts of light to dance across his body. Breathing as deeply as his numerous injuries would allow, he felt almost glad to be a Firebender- that he could regain his strength by the power of the sun. For a moment he felt almost at peace, staring up at the rainbow sky of dawn.

However, nothing lasts forever in this world, and the weight of his current situation came crashing down on his shoulders once again. He had betrayed his nation, abandoned his family and the girl he loved, and was cast out into exile. Compared to his emotional and mental scars of guilt, his physical wounds were nothing. Groaning, he sat up with difficulty, his abdomen muscles sore from the torture he had endured the previous day. Both his arms hung useless at his sides, having been broken on his sister's orders. Zuko grimaced when he saw the extent of his injuries on his chest, arms and legs, but felt gratitude that they'd at least left him a modicum of dignity by leaving him a pair of ragged shorts.

Zuko then tried to stand up without the use of his arms, only to fall back with a cry of pain when he remembered that he'd broken his leg when he fell from the airship. Gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain, he reasoned that both of the bones in his lower right leg had snapped, judging by the waves of pain spreading from the area of the fracture. I can't move like this. He realized with a jolt. And after what happened last night, I doubt that Sokka will come back. He groaned to himself and flopped weakly back down on the grass, helpless to do anything else and hissing sharply when his badly flayed back touched the hard, unyielding ground. Am I really going to die here?

Two hours later, far below the forest, the Gaang was waking up to prepare for the day's activities. Haru, The Duke and Téo were going to finish exploring the temple, Toph was going to practice her Earthbending techniques, and Katara and Aang stayed by the fountain to train in Waterbending. They all kept fairly quiet as one member of their group was still asleep, and this person could be quite grumpy if he was woken too early.

Said warrior was peacefully at rest, dreaming of the princess who had captured his heart. In his dream, the two were sharing a friendly picnic at the North Pole Spirit Oasis- munching on freshly baked bread and laughing at Sokka's occasionally witty jokes while the stewed Sea Prunes lay forgotten in their bowls.

Suddenly Zhao and Zuko appeared from the tundra wastes behind them, murder gleaming in their eyes and fists flaming with their destructive element. A ball of fire suddenly shot toward the Water Tribe members out of nowhere and struck Yue in the back, killing her and the Moon Spirit Tui instantly. His eyes wide with horror and anger, Sokka charged at the Fire Navy Admiral, whipping out his meteor sword and yelling like a madman. Zhao paid him no heed and continued to fight his opponent, Zuko.

However, something before Sokka's eyes caused him to freeze in his tracks in shock. Zuko was staring at Yue with the same look of horror in his golden eyes. Tearing his attention away from the fallen princess, Zuko turned his burning gaze on Zhao, who was merely smirking in triumph- not even acknowledging the atrocity he'd committed. Suddenly Zhao was replaced by Azula, but the merciless smirk was still present on this foe's face. Wordlessly, she shot a bolt of lightning at the enraged prince, who was too preoccupied to block it, much less redirect it. She then fired off Firebending forms that were far too quick to distinguish, leaving her brother scarred and barely conscious on the ground, looking exactly like Sokka remembered seeing him the previous day in the real world. Azula then turned her attention to him, her golden eyes gleaming despite the lack of light.

Just as he braced himself for the blow that would end his life, Sokka cracked open one eyelid to see what the holdup was. Azula had taken a step backward, her eyes and mouth open wide with terror and disbelief. Sokka whipped his head around, and there was the spirit of Yue- bathed in the glow of the full moon behind her. Yue had summoned a giant wave from the water around the Spirit Oasis and allowed that wave to come crashing down, carrying a screaming Fire Princess away with it as it ebbed.

Grinning at Yue in thanks, Sokka jumped when he heard a weak groan behind him. The Water Tribe warrior knew that Zuko was hurt badly and probably wouldn't survive without his help, but still he hesitated. This guy had put them through so much in the past, why should he help him now? After another groan from the injured prince, the Moon Spirit spoke. "Why do you not help him?"

"Because he's the enemy. If it weren't for him, maybe you'd still be alive." Sokka said carefully, not a hint of humor in his voice or on his face. Still frowning, Sokka turned his back on the dying prince and the Moon Spirit, walking away into the darkness. Yue watched him go in silence, disappointment in her eyes and a tear on her cheek. "How much more blood must be shed in this war, Sokka? As part of the Avatar's gang, I thought your job was to help heal the world and make it whole- not leave it in darkness, hurt and divided." Then her tear dropped into the pool where La swam, and both koi- the black and the white- resumed their eternal dance once again.

Sokka woke up with a jolt, sitting up so fast that he sent Momo- who had been curled up on his chest- flying. The traumatized lemur chittered angrily in his face for a moment before flying off to find his master. Rubbing the sleepers out of his eyes, Sokka stretched and yawned hugely, shaking his head to rid himself of the disturbingly realistic dream that he'd just experienced. Wow. He thought. Haven't had a dream like that before. Maybe I'll ask Aang about it later. He's good with all that 'spiritual mumbo jumbo'. After exiting and rolling up his sleeping bag, Sokka unpacked his 'space sword' from his pack and studied it closely. There were a few nicks in the blade from the Eclipse battle. He soundlessly removed his whetstone from another pouch in his bag and studiously began sharpening his weapon, never knowing when he might need it again.

Nothing much of interest transpired that day, and evening found the Gaang gathered in the inner chamber of the Air Temple, enjoying a simple meal of rice and stew that Katara had prepared. Aang had gathered some edible mushrooms, herbs and vegetables from what remained of the ancient gardens, and Sokka had found a wounded jackalope and put it out of its misery. Katara had prepared a special meat-free soup for Aang- who was a vegetarian- and added the few extra pieces of meat to Sokka's bowl, knowing that her brother loved it. After they had finished and Katara was cleaning up the dishes, Sokka took Aang aside to a secluded area of the temple where they would not be overheard by the wrong ears.

"Hey Aang? This is gonna sound really random, but- do you believe that dreams- can sometimes be more than just dreams?" Sokka asked the young Avatar, tapping his index fingers together and looking nervously from side to side in quick succession.

"Sure!" Aang replied happily, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Dreams can be all kinds of things. Sometimes they can be a message from your conscience or a reflection of your desires, messages from the Spirit World, or just random things that make no sense at all." He stated, his gray eyes shining with pride as he remembered what his friend Gyatso had taught him on this very subject. "I've had tons of dreams like all of those. The great thing is that dreams are always meant to make you feel better. It's just figuring out their message, that's the problem. Why? Did you have a dream like that, Sokka?" The Avatar inquired, studying his friend with an inquisitive look in his dark-gray eyes.

"Nah. I was just wondering, is all. You know me, I like to think about things. No matter how random they may be." Sokka lied quickly, mentally berating himself for making his question so obvious. He should have been more subtle! "A- a friend of mine had a dream like that once in the South Pole, and I didn't know what to say about it when he asked me. This was a while ago, long before you turned up." He fibbed, trying to cover up his concern with a phony story.

Luckily for him, Aang was easily dissuaded and didn't press the matter. "Well if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me!" Aang said brightly, whipping out his staff and leaping off the cliffside to soar on the wind for a few hours. Sokka watched his friend go with a smile, slightly envious of the ease with which the Avatar soared through the mists below the temple. For a moment he wondered, If I was an Airbender, would I be able to be that graceful? Then he shook his head to clear his thoughts of the ridiculous fantasies. If the Universe wanted me to be an Airbender, I would've been born one. And with those thoughts, he walked off to return to his sleeping bag.

Meanwhile, another warrior was wishing that he'd been born into a different people than that of the Fire Nation. Zuko groaned in frustration at his helplessness, trying to ignore the stabbing pangs in his stomach. This task was proving impossible, however, as- by now- the insistent organ was roaring like an angry moose-lion. Sighing in defeat, Zuko stared up at the starry sky and the moon shining brightly in the center of the picture. The celestial orb was not yet full, but halfway through its two-week cycle from light to darkness and back again.

At least it's a nice night. Zuko mused, listening quietly and calmly to the cicada-hoppers as they performed their nightly masterpieces. Probably gonna be a nice day tomorrow too, judging by the smell of the wind. Suddenly a solitary cloud passed over the moon, casting the world below it into shadows for a brief moment. Zuko scowled at first when he saw the cloud, but then turned pensive as he thought of a symbolic meaning that the cloud could have. That's not a bad symbol for my life. It was bright a long time ago, but lately there have been dark clouds that blocked the light of the right path. The cloud passed slowly in the gentle breeze, bathing the injured prince once again in the silvery glow of moonlight when it finally passed. Gazing at the lunar body, Zuko's mouth turned up slightly at the corners. Now it's like the fog has lifted, and at last I see the light.

Just as he thought this, the light from the moon intensified and a transparent figure appeared before him- her white hair and dress flowing like silken waterfalls. "Yue?" Zuko rasped in surprise, his throat still sore. The Moon Spirit nodded once without a word as if in greeting, then touched a soft hand to his right arm- gently erasing the pain and mending the bone as if it were soft, warm clay. Zuko gasped softly when his arm was healed, marveling at the power the Moon Spirit possessed. As she was turning to leave, Zuko called softly, "Hey, wait a minute." Yue obliged, freezing in her movements and listening without turning around.

"I- I just wanna say- I'm sorry. It's partly my fault that you- died. If I hadn't been chasing the Ava- I mean, Aang, then Zhao wouldn't have come to the North Pole and made your sacrifice necessary. I- I'm so sorry." He broke off, a thin tear streak coursing from his good eye.

At this Yue turned around to face him, then knelt at his side and put a gentle hand to the left half of his face, the side with the horrible scar. Then in a voice as quiet as a whisper, she breathed, "It was the will of the Spirits that I became the Lady of the Moon. It was no fault of yours, Prince Zuko. Do not burden yourself with needless regret. This way, I am allowed to do whatever I can to aid those who require help, where and when they most need it. Like you, for example." She smiled, poking the prince playfully on the nose and laughing at his bewildered expression. Zuko instantly relaxed at the sound. It was like a harmonious chorus of tinkling bells. Having said this, Yue slowly returned to the sky- looking back at the suddenly exhausted prince who was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Thank- you, Yue-" He managed before drifting off into a deep, healing sleep. The Spirit of the Moon smiled down upon him one last time, then faded from this world to return to the realm of the other spirits. Just before she faded from this world, she took one last look at the sleeping prince. "Never lose hope, Prince Zuko. You are destined for great things."

Just as the sun was rising in the east- Zuko woke up with a low groan and rubbed his head to erase his pounding headache, forgetting for a moment the miracle that had occurred the night before. Suddenly he remembered, then stared at his right hand for a few moments in disbelief. Surreptitiously checking to see that no one was around, he concentrated on his palm, and a small tongue of fire appeared in the space where before there was nothing but air. Slowly Zuko smiled, glad for once that he could command the potentially wild element. Snuffing out the flame with a flick of his wrist, the Fire prince stood up with the aid of his newly healed right arm and set off to find something to eat.

Wrapping up the shirt that Sokka had left two nights ago, Zuko twisted it into a makeshift sling, carefully tying* and looping it around his neck for his left arm. Then- with just his right arm- he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders like a cloak to keep himself warm in the crisp morning air. After limping and hopping on his right foot for a few steps, Zuko found a long stick that would be suitable to use as a crutch. Concentrating his chi, Zuko summoned a small flame on the tip of his index finger and used it to carve the piece of wood into the correct shape. Once he was satisfied with his makeshift crutch, Zuko put it under his right arm and walked off to satisfy his hunger.

[I'm pretty sure one can tie a simple knot with a broken humerus. Just have to be careful to use only the forearm down. It's not the same, but I managed something similar with 'tennis elbow'.]

Unbeknownst to him, an unseen spy was poking around the campsite he'd just vacated. The newcomer had snuck in just as Zuko had left, feeling his uneven and limping gait as he shuffled away through the underbrush. Hm. The spy thought. He's obviously wounded, but I don't see why Snoozles is keeping secrets about him. Bending down to the ground, the individual studied the tracks around the campsite, feeling the lay of the land with Earthbending, taking notice of where the teenager had lain for nearly two days as well as the various sets of footprints around the clearing. Well, at least I know where Sokka went that first day. He should've known better than to keep secrets from the 'Human Lie Detector'!

Carefully stepping toward the center of the clearing, Toph put a hand to the ground where Zuko had been laying earlier. As she felt what elements composed that particular area, she muttered quietly, "Ew. From what I can feel, this guy's lost a lot of blood. Hm. Maybe Sugar Queen can think of some kinda remedy for that." With those thoughts, she scratched her head a few times with her finger, then scratched her side and stretched, yawning hugely as she did so. "Well, that's enough sleuthing for today. Maybe I'll get to count a few more koala-sheep before everybody else starts running around." Then she left the temporarily abandoned camp and shuffled back to the temple, eager to return to her earth-tent.

Half an hour later, Zuko returned to his camp, unaware that he'd had a visitor while he was away. Over his shoulder hung a rope that was tied to several small game animals. He untied them from the rope, coiled it, then placed it on the ground next to his other belongings. He then found five long sticks, tied two of them together in an 'X' formation, then stuck them in the ground. Repeating that action, he did the same thing with the other two, then quickly skinned, boned and skewered the meat on the fifth stick and suspended it between the two 'X' supports. After gathering a pile of dead branches and small, fallen logs, he breathed deeply and set the logs ablaze with a swift fist of fire. Then he ventured back into the forest to find some wild berries that he had seen earlier. The young man accomplished all of this amidst searing, excruciating pain and agonizing slowness, but he persevered with the knowledge that his actions were absolutely necessary for his survival.

As evening drew near, the animal jerky was finally ready to be stored or consumed. Zuko carefully extinguished the flames under the makeshift rotisserie, then cooled off the meat and began slicing it into strips with a fire dagger [That is, a superheated tongue of fire that resembled a knife]. Once that was finished, he packed four sets into the blanket-turned-knapsack and saved the fifth and last for tonight as his evening meal. Earlier he had found several wild carrots and other edible vegetables, as well as plenty of wild berries. The small forest had provided the first adequate meal he'd had in days, and he was grateful. He silently thanked the spirits and Agni in the other world for allowing him the ability to fend for himself out in the wilderness, and smiled when he thought of the one man who had taught him to do it by himself: Iroh.

With a sigh, he lay back on the soft grass, thinking of his uncle's solitary prison break. I hope he's all right. Zuko thought to himself as he gazed up at the starry night sky. Then again, Uncle's got a lot of friends from all over the place. And it's not like he can't take care of himself. He'll be fine. With that half-certain thought, he drifted off into a light doze- which eventually became a deep, healing slumber.

The next morning found the Gaang up early, as they had decided the night before to train Aang facing multiple benders and warriors in battle. Katara used some of the most advanced Waterbending moves she knew, Toph and Haru attacked with large boulders, and Sokka used his space sword and boomerang as his offensive. One by one, Aang defeated each warrior- taking a bit longer than normal to defeat Toph and Haru, as his Earthbending skills were not yet perfected.

After the training 'battle' was over, Sokka sat down on a large fallen pillar with a sigh, rather embarrassed that he'd been the first one to be defeated. A few minutes later, Toph flopped down next to him, sighing out loud, "Nice job, Twinkletoes. Maybe you'll get the hang of this 'Avatar' thing after all." She then cracked her neck and knuckles loudly and leaned back against the pillar. "Too bad we're missing an element. If you had a Firebending teacher, then we'd really have a party!"

Aang tensed and scowled for a moment at his Earthbending master. "Yeah? Well who would you suggest as a teacher? There's not many Firebenders who wouldn't want to eliminate me on the spot. The only one that wouldn't would be Jeong-Jeong, but he vanished a long time ago." After saying this, he too sat down with a thump and put his head in his hands, a symbol of defeat.

"Hey, Roku was a Firebender, right? Why don't you just go to the Spirit World and have him teach you?" Sokka interjected after a minute of dejected silence, inspiration striking him like a bolt of lightning.

"That's a great idea, Sokka!" Katara squealed, excitement flaring in her sapphire eyes as she looked at Aang, a wide grin on her face.

"I hate to burst your bubble, guys, but that won't work." Aang replied, the same dejected look on his face as before. "Don't get me wrong, Sokka. It was a great idea, but there's no bending in the Spirit World."

"Whoever said anything about bending? Sure, he may not be able to give demonstrations, but he could still teach you the forms, right?" Sokka persisted, not to be dissuaded by a mere technicality. "You already learned the basics from Jeong-Jeong, so Roku could teach you the rest!"

"But how will I know if I'm doing it right? And there would be no way to gauge the power of the forms without actually bending the element." Aang stated, seeing the point of the suggestion but also considering every possible angle.

"Well, you could try it, at least." Sokka muttered, slightly disappointed that his brilliant idea was not so brilliant after all. Suddenly he remembered another Firebender who could teach his friend, but kept quiet about that idea. He still didn't know how Katara and the others would react. In fact, he himself was still unsure of what to think of the prince of the Fire Nation. Judging from their brief interaction a few days ago, Sokka had not noticed any hostility from the other teenager; merely a reserved, calm and even slightly defeated attitude as he had helped him bandage his wounds on his face, back, chest, arms and legs. Maybe- when he recovers- I'll ask him about it. I have no idea how long it will take for him to heal, though. If only Katara would heal him- but there's as much a chance of that happening as Aang has of becoming a carnivore.

When Zuko limped into his campsite later that evening, the last thing he was expecting to see was a guest, stoking an already built campfire. If not for his broken leg and arm, Zuko would have leapt five feet back and crouched into a fighting stance. As it was, he started slightly and froze in his tracks, wary of the stranger who knelt in front of him- his back turned and eyes focused on the fire. The young man wore armor from the Southern Water Tribe, and a helm in the shape of a wolf's head hid his face from view. Without turning around to look at the prince, the warrior mused, "About time you showed up." Then he stood to his feet, turned around and grinned.

"Sokka?" Zuko gasped. He limped closer to the fire to see if it was truly who he thought to whom he was speaking. Sokka's grin changed to a smirk, and he nodded once briefly in confirmation. "Well, let's take a look at those injuries of yours, shall we?" The swordsman suggested, not wasting any time with small talk. After a moment of confusion, Zuko nodded and sat down carefully by the fire, taking care not to put too much pressure on his injured leg. Sokka pulled two flat boards out of the pack he'd brought with him, as well as a veritable mountain of strips of cloth. He then unpacked a metal kettle and three metal rods, which he set up over the campfire. He then walked to the stream and filled the kettle with the clear water, then set it up over the fire to boil.

After doing this, he turned to Zuko, and- with his assent- carefully inspected his right leg. "Well, it's definitely broken, but it should heal just fine on its own. I'm no Healer, but I've had to set a few bones in my day. My guess is, as long as you keep using that crutch, it'll heal by itself in a few weeks." Sokka guessed, adopting a professional manner to calm his injured companion. This was neither the time nor place for jokes. Placing a board on either side of Zuko's leg, Sokka secured the makeshift brace with several strips of cloth, the ends of which had been clumsily sewn together so they formed a long chain. After he tied the end to secure the braces, he helped the prince to stand up- testing the contraption to see if it was too tight. It wasn't, so Zuko sat down again and adjusted his arm sling with his right hand, keeping his eyes downcast the whole time.

"That's weird." Sokka muttered quietly, scratching his head. "I could've sworn that both of your arms were broken last time." Then he addressed Zuko directly. "Why is that, do you think?" Zuko merely smirked mysteriously and answered, "Maybe a spirit took a liking to me and healed my right arm."

Sokka snorted. "Yeah, right. Like that would happen. No offense, but you're not exactly the most likable person in the world."

Zuko laughed too, figuratively waving off the observation as if it were old news. "None taken, but I wasn't joking. The Moon Spirit appeared to me last night and healed my arm. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining. She probably saved my life."

At this point, the water in the kettle was boiling, but Sokka took no notice of it until it started whistling shrilly. Closing his gaping mouth and shaking his head violently to clear his thoughts, he dropped a clean rag into the boiling water to sterilize it. He then removed the kettle from the fire and set it aside, waiting for it to cool down sufficiently. After a few minutes, he removed the cloth and squeezed some of the water out so that it wouldn't drip. "Now-" He stated, "-let's take a look at your back."

Zuko grimaced, but then nodded and rolled over onto his side. The air hissed through his teeth as Sokka sucked in a shocked breath, horrified at the sight before him. Zuko grimaced again. "Bet you're glad your sister isn't as crazy as mine." He joked, humor showing on his face, but pain and regret shining in his golden eyes.

"Oh, I dunno." Sokka mused, continuing the joke. "Katara can get pretty crazy sometimes." He laughed twice, then turned serious as the truth dawned on him. "Wait. Your sister did this to you?"

Zuko nodded, then shrugged. "Everything except for my left eye, but you probably already knew that." Sigh. "She's always had it in her to do something like this. It was only a matter of time before she snapped. I just happened to be on the receiving end."

After this, the two boys sat in silence while Sokka cleaned the numerous wounds on Zuko's back. "It looks like you were pretty lucky." Sokka commented after a few minutes. "I'm surprised that these deep ones didn't cut through any muscle. It's gonna leave some pretty bad scars, though. I can't do anything about those."

"That's okay. It doesn't matter what the person looks like on the outside, but it's what's inside that counts." Zuko answered, wincing as the hot water stung his wounds.

"Wow. Who told you that?" Sokka questioned, impressed by the other teen's observation. He was barely a year older than Sokka was, but he was clearly wise beyond his years.

"Heh. I actually made that up, but it's based on what Uncle was always telling me when we were traveling together, trying to find the Avatar." Zuko supplied, smiling as he thought of the man who had taught him so much. "Y'know, 'cause of my- scar." He pointed to the area with his right thumb, and Sokka nodded in understanding.

Half an hour later, Sokka had finished cleaning and bandaging all of Zuko's wounds, and the Fire Prince joked that he resembled a badly wrapped mummy. Both teenagers laughed at that for a while, then Sokka packed up his supplies and turned to leave the clearing. Just as the Water Tribe warrior was about to enter the tree-line, Zuko called, "Hey, wait a minute Sokka." The other boy turned to look back. "Aren't you guys in need of a Firebending teacher for Aang?"

Returning to Zuko's side, Sokka knelt down again. "Yeah, we are, but how did you know that? The Avatar's training is supposed to be a secret!"

"Hey, whoa! Don't blow up on me! I just noticed that Aang seemed pretty proficient at the other three elements the last time I saw him, and I figured you guys would need a Firebender who'd be willing to teach the Avatar- and not try to capture or kill him." He added for good measure.

Sokka calmed down, then crossed his arms. "Good point." He admitted grudgingly. "But I'd be willing to bet that the rest of the Gaang won't be too happy to see you, much less let you teach Aang."

"I've thought about that. You could say-" He whispered his plan into Sokka's ear, and the Water Tribe boy's face slowly changed from confused doubt to excitement. "Do you really think that'll work?"

Zuko nodded. "From what I know of your sister, she's basically a trusting, compassionate person, right? She'll buy it. Hopefully. If I can manage to convince her of my intentions, then the rest of your friends should be easy to win over."

"And if she doesn't?" Sokka pressed. "What if she figures out the truth?"

"Then I'll just tell my whole story of the past few days and beg for mercy. If she forgives me, then great. If not-" Zuko sighed. "Well, it's been nice knowing ya, Sokka."

A loud knock sounded at the door to the palace throne room. "Enter." A female voice commanded. Soon a curious cacophony of odd sounds filled the room. It sounded like a metal man walking. Thump. Clang! Thump. Clang! As the man approached the royal audience chamber, Azula looked up from the scroll she had been perusing.

"Ah, you're here. Good. I take it then that you received my summons?" The Fire Nation princess queried rhetorically to test the bounty hunter. Of course he had! Why would he be here if he hadn't? For an answer, the bearded Firebender with three eyes nodded, put a metal fist to his heart and dropped to one knee in respect.

"I hear that you're the best when it comes to finding people, and that you know the value of information, know when to keep your mouth shut. Pardon the pun." Azula smirked, tucking one of her ebony bangs behind her ear. The man merely stared at the princess, not reacting to the trivialities.

"Now to business. Simply put, there is a man at large who has become a threat to the Fire Nation, an enemy of the state. He may already be dead, but I like to be precise. If he is not, I want you to find him, capture him and bring him to me alive." She rolled up the scroll and threw it to the bounty hunter, who ripped it out of the air with his metal fist. "This is the man I expect you to find. You are free to use any means necessary, but make sure he lives. Bring him to me successfully, and you will be rewarded handsomely. Oh! One more thing. If you happen to find the Avatar on the way, bring him to me alive as well. Kill the others."

The bounty hunter put his fist to his heart again and bowed. Turning his back to the Fire Nation princess, he stumped out of the throne room, clenching the scroll with Prince Zuko's portrait in his metal fist.

End of chapter 2

Next chapter teaser: Convergence

Well, it seems that Sokka trusts Zuko, at least. Now we just have to worry about the others.

Oh no. It's Combustion Man again! Eep! And Azula is as ruthless as ever.

See you next chapter!

God Bless!

Tsunami Storm