"You're suffocating me, so very hard to breathe.

My mask is growing heavy, but I've forgotten who's beneath." Reclusion, Anberlin.

Xx

"We haven't been able to catch up to the Avatar since the storm, Prince Zuko, but if we continue heading north east…"

Zuko listens to his captain as they hover over a large map. The massive storm a few days ago had blown them off course, causing them to lose the Avatar's trail… again. Zuko knows that Zhao is still adamant on finding the Avatar before him, and there's no way he's going to let that happen. As they discuss their course, a large ship pulls up beside theirs

"Uhg, what do they want?" Zuko is sick and tired of running into Commander Zhao and his soldiers. The inconveniences are numerous, but one that is surprisingly annoying is feigning appearances. He hates having to put his hair up just to "look presentable" in front of his troops; none of Zuko's crew cares when he wears his hair down, and the topknot always ends up giving him a headache when he leaves it in too long.

"Perhaps they'd like to play a nice game of pai sho!" His uncle sits at the game board, the crewman opposite him staring intently at the tiles as if he could win just by willing the victory into existence. Zuko rolls his eyes, doubting that they're actually here to play pai shao.

One of Zhao's soldiers walks in holding a scroll. "Admiral Zhao's hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance. All information in regards to it must be reported to him immediately."

"Oh, the admiral has been promoted!" To his uncle's credit, he sounds genuinely happy for the new admiral. He places a tile on the board and his opponent groans.

"We have no new information on the Avatar." Zuko lets his frustration seep into his voice. "Now let us pass."

"The Admiral is not allowing any ships in or out of the area," the soldier states matter-of-factly.

"Get off of my ship!"

The soldier leaves, the gears in Zuko's mind already turning as he walks away. If Zhao is putting so much importance on finding the Avatar, and he isn't letting anyone into this area… he peers down at the map; Pohuai Stronghold is maybe an hour's run inland. Zhao must have knowledge of the Avatar's whereabouts and be preparing to capture and hold him there, using the famous Yuyan Archers to help him.

"Uhg!" The soldier playing against Iroh slaps himself on the forehead, clearly having lost. The fool should know better than to challenge my uncle to a game of Pai Sho.

"Excellent!" Iroh scoops up the winnings in his arms, pulling them to his side of the table. "I take the pot. Would you like to play another round? You're getting much better!"

Xx

Zuko anxiously waits until the sun has fully set, the waning crescent moon rising high in the blackness of the night. He's glad it isn't full; he doesn't want too much light tonight, just enough to see where he's going. He gets to the mainland and sets off in a silent run towards the stronghold. The pendant of Katara's necklace is cool against his skin; he hadn't had a chance to give it to her when they ran into each other while fighting the pirates (her parting words still tint his cheeks red at the thought). But, if he sees Aang tonight, there's a good chance he will see Katara as well, and he can return it to her. He imagines the look on her face when he gives it to her; her blue eyes would light up like the ocean reflecting the sun on a clear day, her smile would spread across her face, her full lips stretching with the emotion…

He shakes his head to rid himself of the thought. Just because a pretty girl is kind to him and treats him like a real person doesn't mean he has to get all emotional and think about her all the time (he really does think about her all the time, so much so that he has trouble concentrating on the menial tasks in his daily life). It's not good for him to form an attachment to her; he does eventually have to capture the Avatar (he keeps having to remind himself of this), and when he does, she will want nothing to do with him. The thought hurts more than he likes to admit, the idea of her wanting nothing to do with him a spear of ice through his stomach, but it's necessary. It's the only way he can return home and restore his honor. Do I really even want to go home? Recently he's been having more traitorous thoughts regarding his destiny to capture the Avatar. Why do I want to go back to a home where all I got from my father was hatred and abuse? The scar on his face is not the only one his father has given him, but he has told himself for so long that he will eventually return home, and that when he does things will be different. He isn't sure what he would do if he decided he didn't want to return— he'd be a fugitive of the Fire Nation, on the run for the rest of his life. But would it be better than going back to the person who tossed him aside without a second thought?

He clears his mind as he sees Pohuai Stronghold emerge in the distance. The large tower in the center pierces the sky, the walls around it a halo against any offensive attack that would attempt to breach it. Zuko takes a deep breath; he has trained meticulously over the past seven years to perfect his stealth skills, and this is his moment to shine. He pulls the theatre mask over his face, fastening it tightly around his head. The Blue Spirit mask had been Zuko's alter ego for years after picking it up at a stall in a small Earth Kingdom town. It was a mask that Zuko felt drawn to; his mother was always particularly fond of the theatre, and the mask called to him when he had first seen it. It offered him a new life— something Zuko desperately wanted, something he wished for in the deepest hours of the night when the nightmares got the best of him and his anxiety closed around his chest like a vice. He puts the mask on, and the life of Prince Zuko fades away into the inky darkness to be swallowed by the forest.

His steps are silent as he approaches the stronghold, scoping out the guards' patterns and timing his entrance to avoid them. He gets over the walls, his dark clothes absorbing the small amount of light reaching him from the moon and the few lanterns scattered around the grounds, and dashes to the main building. Once inside, it's easy enough to find his way to where Zhao is keeping Aang, especially once he gets closer; one or two half frozen frogs clamber past him towards the exit, and Zuko knows that the Avatar is the only one in this place that would be in possession of something so ridiculous. Breathing deeply, he approaches the door leading to the room where Aang is being kept from around a corner. He tosses a guard's helmet that he had snagged earlier into the corridor, quickly tucking himself up flat against the wall to wait for the first guard to come investigate. He comes around the corner, walking past Zuko who is hidden in the shadows, and Zuko bounds out to cover the man's mouth with a gloved hand, using his other arm to put him in a chokehold. The guard struggles silently against Zuko's grip, eventually passing out, and Zuko pulls him off to the side before gently lowering his body to the floor, making sure to be as soundless as he can.

He heads back to the corner before Aang's chamber, and takes off a glove. He shoots a small burst of fire out towards where the other guards will see, and makes a little noise to create sounds that would be perceived as a struggle. Pulling his glove back on and jumping up to the ceiling to place himself above the guards, he counts two sets of footsteps approaching him. The next two men round the corner, walking straight past him just as the other one had moments before. Zuko drops silently to the floor, positioning himself behind the two men, and in an instant he is swinging his leg in an arc to sweep both men off of their feet simultaneously. As they hit the ground, he grabs each of their helmets, pulls them off, and whacks them on the sides of their heads. They drop to the floor unconscious, slumped on top of each other. They really ought to train these guys better. He quickly rounds the corner, throwing a sharp dagger at the last guards hand as he reaches for the alarm horn, and the guard lets out a gasp as the blade slices his palm. The man punches his fist, sending a plume of fire towards Zuko, who spots a bucket of water and uses it to extinguish the flame. He swings the empty bucket around and whacks the guards legs causing him to topple over, and then hits him over the head with it before he can make too much noise. He bends down and grabs the keys off of the man's belt, using them to open the huge doors to the chamber holding the Avatar.

Aang is chained between two pillars, his arms and legs both splayed open in a vulnerable position. Zuko pulls out his dual swords and runs up to slash at the chains, freeing Aang from the constraints.

"Who are you? What's going on?" He considers answering, but decides it's safer to leave his identity unknown for the moment. "Are you here to rescue me?" Zuko moves back towards the door, motioning towards it with a tilt of his head. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Aang's eyes linger on the unconscious guard on the floor and the small spot of blood forming around his hand as they head out of the chamber.

"My frogs!" As he says it, Zuko almost steps on a half-frozen frog dragging itself across the floor. He turns to see Aang stopping to pick them up. "Come back! And stop unfreezing!" Zuko doubles back and grabs Aang by the arm, pulling him away from the frogs. "Wait! My friends need to suck on those!"

Zuko looks back at Aang, a look of disgust hidden underneath the Blue Spirit mask. What the hell is this kid going on about? He continues to drag Aang along until he follows of his own volition, thankfully forgetting about the stupid frogs. They make it out of the main tower easily, and begin to pull themselves up using a rope that leads to the top of the first wall. Aang gets about halfway up the wall, with Zuko right behind him, when the alarm horn belts, and a soldier's face pops over the lip of the wall.

"Here he is!" the soldier yells and cuts the rope, and Aang and Zuko fall down to the ground beneath. Aang airbends them a soft landing, a small cloud of dust rising as a result. Once the dust clears, more soldiers have begun to surround them, and Zuko unsheathes his swords as he and Aang take off towards the exit.

"Stay close to me!" Aang calls behind him to Zuko as he aims a powerful blast of air towards a line of guards, sending them flying every which way and clearing a path to the closing gates. Aang pulls ahead, and Zuko is trapped in a scuffle with a group of guards. He uses his swords masterfully to slice at the spears they have pointed in his direction, but he is surrounded by no less than 10 men and is getting overwhelmed. A sudden gust of air blasts some of the guards away, and Zuko has to leap into the air to avoid the second gust that disperses the rest. Over all the commotion, he hears the gates to all three walls slam shut. Fuck.

Aang uses his airbending to send Zuko flying up and onto the top of the innermost wall. He is immediately surrounded upon landing, but Aang grabs him underneath his armpits with his legs, using a spear as a propeller to fly them through the air. It doesn't last long; they drop down messily onto the top of the middle wall, Aang's legs having given out under Zuko's weight. They both bolt upright, working back to back to take care of the guards that have surrounded them. A noise draws them to the lip of the wall, and they see soldiers using stiff bamboo ladders to climb up towards them. Zuko stands at the top of one, batting away soldiers with his swords as they appear, and Aang shoots columns of air down the other two to clear them. Aang rushes over to him holding the two ladders, handing one of them to Zuko as he hops onto the one that Zuko had just cleared.

"Jump onto my back!"

Zuko takes a running leap and manages to land on Aang's back. This kid is strong for someone so scrawny. Aang uses the ladder he is holding as a giant set of stilts, grabbing the last one from Zuko. He's crafty, too. While they are balanced on the last ladder, a guard sends a burst of flame upwards, and it swallows the ladder beneath them. They make a jump for the last wall, just getting their hands onto it, but neither's grip is strong enough and they plummet to the ground just inside the outermost wall. The wind is knocked out of Zuko's lungs, but he forces himself to stand anyway, swords drawn and ready to fight. His whole body is sore; they're so close to the exit— he can't give up yet. Four guards approach them quickly and throw flames towards them, and Aang jumps in front of Zuko to airbend a protective bubble around them.

"Hold your fire!" The guards comply, and Admiral Zhao steps forward through the horde of soldiers. "The Avatar must be captured alive."

Zuko moves before he thinks, grabbing Aang and pressing the blades of his swords to his throat. He feels the boy's sharp intake of breath, and vows to apologize later. He hears Zhao growl in frustration.

"Open the gate." There is hesitation while a man whispers questions to the admiral. "Let them out, now!"

The gate slides open behind them, and Zuko slowly guides Aang back towards the forest, keeping his eyes on Zhao the entire way. This is too easy, there's no way he would just let us go. He watches the admiral closely, and sees him shift his eyes upward. Zuko follows his gaze, seeing one of the famous Yuyan archers nock an arrow, and before he can react, the projectile is flying towards him, and everything goes black.

Xx

Zuko's head is pounding when he wakes. The sky is too bright, even filtered through the treetops as it is.

"Hey Zuko!" he sits up, startled by the voice of the Avatar. "Thanks for saving me back there." It was for selfish reasons. He wants to justify his actions to himself, but with a headache throbbing between his ears and his sore muscles screaming, he doesn't bother. "You know, you remind me of my old friend Kuzon. He was one of my best friends back before the war, and he was from the Fire Nation." He looks at Zuko, his true age showing through his shining eyes. "Maybe someday the world can become a place where people have friends from every nation, all over the world." Zuko stays silent, not knowing how to respond. The kid has so much hope, so much optimism despite everything that's happened. It would be extremely annoying if it didn't spark a tiny feeling of hope inside him too. "I have to get back to Katara and Sokka. They're sick, and I need to treat them before they get worse." Aang floats to the ground from where he was perched on a log. "Do you want to help me collect some frozen wood frogs? They have to suck on them."

"Uh..." Zuko considers the strange request. "I have to get back to my ship. I've already been gone too long." Suck on frozen frogs?

"Oh." Aang looks downcast, and Zuko can't figure out why he feels so guilty. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you later, then."

"Wait." Zuko pulls up his sleeve and unties Katara's necklace from around his arm. Removing the weight feels wrong; he's had it there since he found it, and when he takes it off, his wrist feels too cold without it. "I found this on the beach on Kyoshi Island. Give it to Katara for me."

"Oh, it's her necklace!" Aang lights up again, pulling a reluctant, small smile onto Zuko's face. "She's going to be so happy to have it back, I'll make sure she knows you got it back for her!"

"Thanks."

Zuko watches the Avatar bound away through the trees, once again feeling both like a failure and like he accomplished something at the same time. At least Katara will get her necklace back; that has to count for something. It has to.