I feel like such a dork for writing this chapter so quickly and then having to force myself not to immediately post it because I wanted to give people the opportunity to actually read the last chapter before I go posting another one (and I wants the reviews hehe). For some reason, this fanfic isn't getting as strong of a reception as my other one - which I find odd and kind of sad.

But, in the end, I'm a friendless recluse who has nothing better to do during a pandemic than finish my degree, file for unemployment, and write Zutara fanfictions. So, here it is. (I'm too impatient to wait for reviews haha)

Sorry for the spoiler chapter title..

This chapter was inspired by the song 'Caught' by Florence + The Machine from their 2015 album, 'How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'.

Please enjoy and don't be afraid to leave a review! (it makes me feel less alone)

Chapter 5: Caught

…

I was thrashing on the line

Somewhere between

Desperate and divine

…

And I'm caught

I forget all that I've been taught

I can't keep calm, I can't keep still

Pulled apart against my will

…

The room was large and rather stately, still decorated in the traditional Earth Kingdom fashion; green tapestries adorned the walls and the furniture was ornamented with bronze embellishments. He sat on the edge of the canopy bed, unable to sleep anymore. Dawn was approaching, he knew from the growing fire in his core, and trying to sleep more would be entirely pointless. Instead, Zuko decided to rise and bathe; he hadn't been able to bathe since they were on the ship nearly a week ago. He could tell from Governor Ukano's pinched expression the previous night that the perfumed man had been having a hard time dealing with Zuko and Iroh's odor.

There were some other needs that Zuko had not been able to tend to during his days in the saddle and the tightened fabric of his pants was a stark reminder, demanding release. He got to his feet and stretched before walking to the washroom that adjoined the bedroom Governor Ukano had provided him with. These quarters were much simpler than those in the Fire Nation Palace; the tub was big enough for two, but much less ostentatious than the pools in the palace that were emblazoned with golden flames, and the shower was merely a faucet that protruded from the ceiling in the corner over a stone bench. Though, he couldn't complain. He had quickly gotten past missing the finer things in life during the first couple months of his banishment and these accommodations were significantly nicer than the ones on his ship.

Sighing, Zuko decided a shower would suit his needs better and turned on the faucet, waiting for the water to heat while he undressed. As he grasped himself, his mind drifted, conjuring images of beauty he had seen on his travels; disembodied lips parting slightly, a slender neck, slim shoulders that converged on an even slimmer waist, long dark hair, doe-eyes looking up at him… sapphire eyes that glistened like the night sky reflecting on the ocean- horrified, Zuko realized he was imagining the waterbender and stepped to the wall to catch himself. What the hell?

The water was hot now and Zuko decided perhaps his other needs could wait as he stepped under the faucet, letting the heat run over him. It wasn't all that strange that his thoughts had meandered to the waterbender's features; she was beautiful, he had noticed that upon first seeing her. Her appearance seemed exotic, different from the familiar standard of beauty that the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom held on to. And although he was royalty, he was still a young man, who had been long deprived of intimacy with a member of the opposite sex. He was searching for her, after all – well, for the Avatar, but by association. Zuko scowled as he tried to stop thinking about it.

When he was clean and dressed, he walked to the room across the hall that had been issued to his Uncle. The old general was awake, having bathed himself, and was sipping a cup of tea. Upon seeing Zuko, he waved him over, a big smile on his face.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh proclaimed, "Come, enjoy some tea with me. We must discuss our plans."

…

"This will have to happen just after sunset – that seems to be when they change the guard. Gan and Yong will go with you," Guotin was saying to them. "They will open the wall to the dungeons so you can enter. Feng and Qiu will bring up the rear. There will be guards in the dungeons that will have to be taken care of swiftly as to not alert others. Make sure you bring enough water," He turned to Katara, "It's likely you will have to break more than one lock."

"I've got plenty," She said, patting the water skin at her waist.

They were back in the underground base of the Omashu resistance eating a late lunch.

"I can take care of the guards," Suki pointed out, her eyes still red from crying that morning.

Guotin looked at the girl, his mouth hung open in surprise.

"She's a Kyoshi Warrior," Sokka explained, "She can handle herself."

Guotin closed his mouth and nodded silently.

"I can take out the guards too," Aang interjected, "I won't let you guys go down there alone."

"Aang," Katara contended, "I thought we talked about this already. It's too risky."

The Avatar grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

"Katara's right, Aang," Sokka acknowledged, "If you get caught, all of this is for nothing."

"But what if you get caught?" Aang argued, "Then what?"

"The Fire Nation isn't tearing the world apart searching for some siblings from the Water Tribe and a Kyoshi Warrior," Katara noted, "If they catch you, though, what hope remains will be gone."

"Your friends are right, Avatar," Guotin repeated, "If you are captured, you will be taken straight to the Fire Lord and the war will never end until all resistance is vanquished. We can't afford to risk that happening."

Katara shot her friend an empathetic look. She knew how Aang must feel, being left out and feeling like there wasn't anything he could do to help. But he really was more important than any of them – he was the Avatar and the world's last hope for peace – she was just a girl from a dwindling, frozen village at the bottom of the world. The future of the four nations wasn't resting on her back, much to her relief.

"Aang," She reached out to touch his shoulder and rubbed her hand around his back in doing so, "I know this is hard. It's not that we don't believe you can do it, we just can't risk having the Fire Nation even knowing that you're in Omashu. What would happen if they found out you were here, even if we were successful in freeing the resistance? They would tear down the city just to find you... Not to mention that guy, Zuko. It seems like we lost him, but if word gets out that you're in Omashu, we'll all be in danger."

The airbender sighed, defeated, "I know you're right, I just hate the idea of putting you guys at risk. What will I do if something goes wrong and you're captured?"

"You'll just have to save the world without us, bud." Sokka joked from behind, slapping Aang on the back, "I have no doubt that you could do it – anyways, the only thing I'm good for is sleeping and eating meat."

Suki gently elbowed Sokka in the ribs, "Don't worry, Aang. The three of us will be together, we'll have each other's backs."

"We'll be back in no time," Katara chimed in with a reassuring smile.

…

They had spent the entire morning scouring the city for any news of the Avatar. Zuko figured they wouldn't be advertising their identities to the world and wanted to try and keep his search discreet; he had been asking about a bald boy with strange tattoos and a lemur, and two siblings with dark hair and blue eyes. He wasn't particularly surprised when they turned up nothing.

It was afternoon and his Uncle Iroh had finally convinced him to take a break. They sat in front of a noodle house, working their way through a bowl of noodles and a pot of ginseng tea. Despite Iroh's insistence on a break, Zuko kept his gaze on the street, scrutinizing every passerby intently.

"Prince Zuko," The old man interrupted his thoughts, "I think perhaps we should head back to Governor Ukano's Palace soon."

"I have to find them, Uncle," Zuko scowled, not believing that his Uncle would give up so easily. "If they leave the city before I find… him," He glanced around as if someone might be listening, then lowered his voice, "Then we risk completely losing their trail again."

"I am not suggesting we stop looking," Iroh smiled over his tea, "Just that we try another method. It's possible that Governor Ukano or one of his officers might be able to provide useful information to help us narrow down the search."

Zuko considered this for a moment. His Uncle had a point; while he doubted Ukano or any of his soldiers would be able to lead him directly to the Avatar, they might know of organizations within the city that would be willing to hide the boy and his friends.

"Plus, he invited us for dinner," Iroh finished.

"Fine," Zuko replied sharply. "I'll check the market one more time, then we'll head back."

…

The sun was crawling towards the horizon, seemingly faster than Katara had ever witnessed it move. Surely that was just her nerves, she thought. She had never been part of a covert operation such as this one and she couldn't help but feel anxious. What if something went wrong? What if they got there and she couldn't open the locks? She bit her lip.

Gan, the youngest man they had met of the Omashu resistance, seemed to feel the anxiety emanating from her. "Hey, it's Katara, right?"

"Yes," She answered, surprised that he broke the silence.

"You don't need to worry, it'll be fine. Have you ever done something like this before?"

"No," She admitted, shifting her gaze to her feet. They were waiting in an alleyway near the center of the city, a few streets away from the palace walls. "I guess I'm just afraid that I'll mess something up."

Guotin seemed to think that waterbenders were equivalent to assassins; the abilities of a waterbender, he had told her, were the stealthiest of all the elements. Katara wondered how many waterbenders he had met and how disappointed he would be when he realized she was nowhere near as skilled as he might have believed.

"You won't," Gan said, "and even if something does go wrong, you'll have Yong and I to back you up."

"Do you know some of the people in the dungeon?" Katara asked, trying to change the subject to calm her nerves.

"Yeah, a bunch of my friends from the resistance are in there, including my brother and two of my cousins. Yong's father and uncle also got taken at the gates."

"How many people do you think are down there?" Katara asked, suddenly realizing the extent of the task she had agreed to.

"I can't say for sure. More than fifty from the resistance… Maybe somewhere around a hundred?"

Katara gulped, wishing she hadn't asked. Guotin's words came back to her: Make sure you bring enough water. He had said it was likely that there would be more than one lock to break… did he mean fifty? Or a hundred? It was too late to back out now, she reminded herself; she was doing this for Suki, for the Omashu resistance – she had to maintain her composure. All she could do was her best.

They stood in a silence that seemed to stretch towards infinity as the sunlight waned, finally sinking behind the mountains on the horizon. At some point, Suki had placed her hand on Katara's shoulder, but she hardly noticed. Her mind was racing with all of the things that could go wrong and all of the rationalizations as to why they wouldn't – or couldn't.

"Ok, let's move," Yong said from behind her, breaking the silence, "Stay close to me."

…

One of the servants that Governor Ukano had brought along with him served Iroh a tray of tea as Ukano himself continued to fill Zuko's ear with talk of Mai. The man was persistent, Zuko had to admit.

"She should be here in two weeks, Prince Zuko," He was saying, "I know she would be delighted to see you again, after so long."

Zuko tried to imagine Mai being delighted and the thought nearly made him laugh – impossible, Mai never seemed to be happy let alone delighted about anything. Even during their childhood, she had always been gloomy and morose. Ukano had forced her to be one of Azula's playmates to maintain their connection to the royal family – all of Azula's playmates must have been forced into it, he thought tangentially – Mai had taken that to mean following Azula around and staring at him from across the gardens. He did suspect she'd had a bit of a crush on him back in the day, but that was years ago; he highly doubted she still felt anything towards him. He was a banished Prince, now. An honorless disgrace.

"- And I hear that she has grown even more beautiful during the last year," Ukano was saying, "You see, I haven't seen my family since my departure to the Earth Kingdom. The march was dreadfully long and I dared not bring my pregnant wife and my sweet Mai on that treacherous journey."

Zuko was still nodding absentmindedly when Iroh spoke up, interrupting Ukano's monologue.

"Yes, the journey through the Earth Kingdom is indeed long and treacherous," He agreed, "Which had me wondering how the city was taken. Did the tanks come in from the colonies?"

"Some, yes," Ukano replied, "General Chan is much more, erm… military minded that I am, General Iroh. He knew the defenses of Omashu were strong and the people were stubborn – he brought reinforcements, supplies, and weaponry in from the colonies in preparation for a long siege. We were pleasantly surprised when the King surrendered without much of a fight, though. It was the citizens that refused to back down. Hundreds tried to defend the gate, to block our passage into the city. They were peasants really, but organized."

This caught Zuko's attention, "Organized peasants. Are you suggesting that there's a rebel organization within the city walls?"

"Oh, yes," Ukano answered, patting the corner of his mouth with an ornate napkin embellished with the insignia of his household and that of the Fire Nation, "It was like a riot. I had hundreds of them arrested before things finally quieted down. I've still been getting news of secret meetings and recruitment events, but it hardly matters. The city has fallen and it belongs to the Fire Nation now – their meager attempts at rebellion won't accomplish anything."

Zuko caught his Uncle's gaze and mentally thanked him – Iroh was a chubby, tea-loving old man nowadays, but he still had the strategic mind of a great Fire Nation General and knew how to get information from people without attracting suspicion.

"Hundreds of prisoners? All of them part of some organized rebellion?" Zuko asked.

"Not all," The Governor responded, "A few were part of the former City Guard. They had to be replaced, of course. They're in the palace dungeons now, under hundreds of feet of stone and a couple thick layers of steel. You need not worry, Prince Zuko."

The next course was brought in and Zuko decided he would go visit these dungeons after their meal. However, not half-way through the braised duck, one of Ukano's soldiers rushed into the dining room.

"Governor, there has been a break-in! There are rebels in the dungeons. I sent in what was left of the night guard, but there are too many, I-"

"They are out of the cells?" Ukano was yelling, suddenly on his feet.

"Uncle, find my men and send them after me," Zuko was out of his chair in an instant, striding towards the young soldier, "Show me the way to these dungeons."

…

They grasped forearms as the seven of them navigated the pitch black tunnels below the palace. Yong led the way, followed in order by Gan, Sokka, Suki, herself, Feng, and Qiu. Katara wondered how many tunnels must exist under all the Earth Kingdom cities and what kinds of secrets they contained. It was truly a fascinating feat of earthbending, to create such an intricate network of hidden passageways that could be erased as quickly and painlessly as they were created.

"Not far now," Yong's voice carried through the darkness, "Feng, and Suki, get in position."

Katara felt Feng let go of her arm and squeeze past her towards the front of the procession. Her heart was pounding in her ears as the wall before them opened into a large underground chamber, bathing them in an eerie green light. She was relieved to find that there weren't as many cells as she had feared – perhaps fifteen that held prisoners. As she passed through the threshold, she heard guards shouting in the distance, but Suki was already on them with Feng following close behind. Katara uncorked her waterskin and approached the first cell on her right.

The lock was a clunky iron thing, the size of her fist. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the tumult around her. The prisoners in the cells were yelling at the guards, thanking the resistance, thanking the spirits, watching her intently and hurrying her along – she ignored them all. Focus was paramount, she reminded herself as she filled the keyhole with water. She had practiced this process with a smaller lock around lunchtime and, to her surprise, she had been successful. Guotin had informed her that instead of just pushing in the latches and disengaging the locking mechanism, if it came down to it, she could burst the lock open with an instantaneous phase change. She had wondered where he got all this knowledge from but thought better than to ask.

With a twist of her wrist, the water inside the locking mechanism froze and the lock clicked, but the shackle did not loosen. She tugged at the lock as hard as she could. The fear had returned and suddenly she was present again. The clamor filled her head as she desperately pulled at the lock. This was it, she thought, her worst nightmare. A hand reached through the bars of the cell and grabbed her wrist. Reflexively, she moved to yank it away, frightened and confused, but then she saw the man's face. He looked young, in his mid-twenties. His expression was calm and solemn, like he was somewhere else.

"Listen, girlie," He said, his tone smooth and serene, "You can do this. There's no one else in here. There's no rush." Letting go of her hand, he held both of the bars and continued to stand over her as she went back to filling the keyhole with water again. She nodded and let out a long exhale to calm her nerves. This time when she froze the water, the shackle came loose immediately and the prisoners cheered. Relief washed over her and she pulled it free, letting the door swing open as the ten men and a couple women poured out, heading towards the door that Yong and Gan had made in the wall. Qiu waved them into the corridor and Sokka waved them around the corner into the darkness as Katara moved to the next cell.

Suki and Feng, with some help from Yong and Gan, had taken out the eight guards that had been standing watch over the prisoners and were in the process of tying them up when Katara reached the next lock. This one was exactly the same as the first and she hoped this meant things would only get easier from here on. She was opening the second lock moments later when that presumption shattered. One of the guards had struggled free from Suki's grasp and grabbed a thick rope in the corner, yanking it down. A clangor filled the cavern, echoing off the stone walls and their eyes collectively widened.

"Shit!" Suki shouted as she kicked the guard. He only laughed in response.

"You won't get away with this, rebel vermin," He spat at them.

"He's sounded the alarm," Feng yelled, "What do we do?"

Yong looked over at Katara as she started working on the third lock, "We get ready for a fight."

"A fight?" Gan repeated, surprised, "There's only six of us with Katara working on the locks. How are we supposed to fight for any amount of time?"

Yong seemed to ignore Gan's question, instead speaking to Katara, "Work on getting the ones on this side open first. When the reinforcements arrive, we'll protect you."

Katara nodded at him as the third lock hit the floor and prisoners rushed out of the cell.

"We're here to help," One man said, exiting the cell she had just opened, "The City Guard won't stand down when the great city of Omashu is in danger."

"I'll help too," A woman stood next to him, stomping her foot to the ground and punching a rock into the empty cell she had just exited. "It feels good to have the earth under my feet again."

Katara had opened three more cells by the time the reinforcements arrived and now some 20 men and a handful of women stood at her defense. She fumbled with a lock when the guards came erupting from a door in the stone, spilling water out of the keyhole. Not wasting any time, she cursed her clumsiness and bent the water from the ground and back into the lock. It turned to ice as she beckoned and the shackle popped open.

The fighting was in full swing now, a mess of swords and rock flying through the air. She crouched behind Gan as he blocked attacks coming their way. The eighth lock opened and clattered to the floor.

When she reached the twelfth lock, the crowd seemed to be dwindling. The former City Guard had locked the defeated dungeon guards in the cells they had previously occupied. More and more prisoners were following Qiu's waving into the corridor. It was now just the original seven of them and two men from the City Guard. The last few cells were emptier than the others and she set to work on the twelfth lock, reminding herself they were almost done. As the shackle came loose, echoes sounded from the corridor that the reinforcements had arrived through, then there were flames.

Katara ran to the next cell as she heard commands behind her. The singing of blades whistling through the air, the clanging of metal on metal, and the heat from flames declared that the battle was raging on behind her once more. Another shackle came loose, another cell door opened. They were retreating now and over the din she could hear Yong's command, "Fall back!"

There were two more cells left, but only one of them contained prisoners. She ran to the lock, intent on finishing what she had started. The eight prisoners inside watched her anxiously and she fumbled with the lock. Suki was suddenly behind her, yelling.

"Come on, Katara! Let's go!"

Yong was running through the passage and Qiu was turning to follow.

She froze the water, releasing the locking mechanism and the door came open. Suki waited for her and then they set off running towards the exit with the last few prisoners. Katara was following her friend to the corridor, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, when she saw movement in one of the cells that she had thought was empty. She stopped, just before reaching the entrance to the passageway. It was an old man in the cell, alone. He had a wild look about him; a twitchy eye, a hunched back, and a crooked, gap-toothed smile.

Katara hesitated, realizing she couldn't in good conscience leave an old man alone in here after she had released everyone else. Vaguely wondering why he was the only prisoner in his own cell, she ran over to work on the lock.

She had filled the keyhole with water and was about to freeze it when the old man shouted, "Look out!"

Strong arms circled around her waist and pulled her bodily from the cell door, lifting her into the air and swinging her around to face what remained of the battle. Six fire nation soldiers stood staring at her, surrounded by bodies – whether dead or merely unconscious, she wasn't certain.

Whatever training she had in hand-to-hand combat, in waterbending, in the simple art of conversation, was all forgotten. She was unceremoniously dropped to her feet and grabbed by the shoulders from behind. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't even think of doing anything now, let alone move her body. She waited patiently for one of the firebenders to unleash a wave of searing pain upon her, but none of them moved. They were staring past her, over her shoulder.

A chill ran up her spine when a voice whispered wickedly in her ear, hot breath tickling the side of her neck, "I never thought I'd find you down here, Little Rabbit. It must be my lucky day."

Whew! I can't believe how quickly I wrote this chapter!

First of all, I need someone to tell me... do you think that first scene of Zuko was too much for a T rating? I'm toying with the idea of eventually changing this to an M rating, for a number of reasons that include violence, language, and sex. I'm just nervous because I have never actually written anything remotely citrusy before, but I want to. Or, I at least want to try. I was planning on delaying the M rating for at least a couple more chapters, but I couldn't help myself from writing that first scene... thoughts? Preferences? T or M?

Please let me know what you think! REVIEW? :D (seriously, please?)

...

With love,

A Storm