Chapter 6: Wherever You Go, I Will Too

Isla was meditating in her room like always, still trying to heal the wounds on her arm. She kept herself reminded of her real mission. Iroh was outside her door. He was listening to her sighs. Zuko walked by. He looked up at his uncle.

"Is she…?" he mumbled.

"She is still healing her wounds. Is there something you want from her?" Iroh asked.

Zuko shook his head. Isla popped her head out at the door. She looked at both of them and smiled.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Prince Zuko here has something he wants to talk with you about," Iroh said, pushing Zuko into her room. "I will go enjoy some Jasmine tea in my room."

Isla blinked at Zuko. He turned his gaze away. She made her way to the middle of her room. Her hand gestured at the mat on the floor, inviting Zuko to sit down. The prince made his way and sat down. Isla grabbed some water from her many bottles around the room.

"So, what's up?" she asked. Water started to wrap around her hands. She reached out to Zuko's scar.

Zuko's forehead cringed but then, relaxed to her touch. He took a glimpse at the scars on her two arms. Isla noticed where his eyes were.

"Does it bother you that I have scars?" she asked.

"I don't care…" he replied.

"I see," she smiled, amused by his reaction. "You're a bit tense. Is something bothering you?"

"We haven't had any leads for a few days. Uncle does not have mercy during training," he muttered.

Isla giggled. "Well, he just wants to toughen you up. You never know when the Avatar will master all 4 elements after all.. We have to be prepared. I can't back you up all the time."

She moved her hands onto his head, trying to sooth him with her waterbending. Zuko felt calmer than usual. He heaved a long sigh. Isla was satisfied with the help she gave him. She put away her remaining supply of water.

"I think you're all set for dinner?" she asked.

Zuko got up. He took one look at Isla before exiting her room.

"A simple 'thanks' would be nice," she mumbled.

Isla made her way to the kitchen. The cook saw her and greeted her with a small bow.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Uhh.. you don't need to do that," the cook replied.

"It's okay, I'd love to sharpen my skills~" she hummed.

She started to work on the fish. The cook helped her with the veggies. Soon dinner was ready. She served them and sat down with Iroh and Zuko to eat. They had a quiet dinner.

Isla took a deep breath. Iroh watched as she fixed her stance. She started to waterbend, creating a whip and aimed at her father. Iroh blocked with a simple fire, creating a steam.

"Again," he said sternly.

Isla aimed at him again. He took a step back and blocked it again. She started to fume up and continuously water-whipped at Iroh.

"You're not getting anywhere with that temper," he sighed.

Isla threw at Iroh one more time. Then, she stopped when their ship passed by a mining factory. It was in shatter and was burning down within minutes. Isla and Iroh stared at each other. They docked. Zuko stormed into the building. Isla rushed to catch up with him. Iroh shook his head as the soldiers who were watching.

"What happened to this place?" Zuko questioned.

Isla squatted and checked the burned coal. "Seemed like there was a fight?" she guessed.

"This place was supposed to imprison Earthbenders from the mining town," Zuko said looking around.

A small trinket shone close to the edge of the area he was standing. Zuko made his way and saw a familiar necklace on the floor. He picked it up.

"The Avatar…" he muttered.

Isla saw the resolve in his eyes. She made her way back to the ship first. She went to the Captain and informed him to start the ship.

"We have to catch up to the Avatar," she said.

"But, the Prince is yet…" the Captain said, but before he could finish, both of them saw Zuko boarding the shape.

Iroh saw the concerned look on Isla's face. He approached her.

"Let's be prepared," he said to her.

Isla nodded. She excused herself. Zuko passed by her, handing her the necklace. Her eyes met his.

"Keep it for me," he said.

Isla nodded and placed it inside her pocket.

Isla woke up and found that they had docked on an unknown island. She went to the deck to find Zuko training with a few of his soldiers. Four of them were already down and taking their breaths. She checked for any major injuries but there were none. She watched as Zuko took down the last two. Isla took a deep breath and splashed him.

"What did you do that for?!" he shouted.

"I know you need to train but don't take it out on them!" she replied.

She picked up some water and made a spiral wave around her. Zuko fixed his stance.

"Should we leave..?" a soldier asked.

"We should stay and watch," another one suggested.

Isla and Zuko started to fight with each other, her waterbending against his firebending. The soldiers sat down and watched to see who would fall first. Two hours later, Isla fell to her knees, catching her breath. Zuko fell back, huffing a breath of fire.

"That was a good fight," she muttered.

"It was a good break of sweat," Zuko agreed with her.

He stood up, wiped his sweat and started to walk over to the exit. Isla stood up.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to go get Uncle. It seems he forgot his way back," he said.

"Uuuu, I'll come!" she exclaimed, running to catch up with him.

They took two soldiers with them as well. Isla and Zuko soon arrived at the hotspring where Iroh was taking a break. She looked around, no trace of water anymore.

"Uncle? Where are you?!" he called.

"Sir, maybe he thought you left without him?" one of the soldiers suggested.

"He wouldn't leave us like that…" Isla said.

"Something's not right here," Zuko spoke, looking around.

He spotted something odd at where his Uncle was dipping. "That pile of rock."

He walked up to it. Isla was right beside him.

"It looks like there has been a landslide, sir" the other soldier said.

"Land doesn't slide uphill," he glanced up at the soldier and then looked back at the sharp rocks. "Those rocks didn't move naturally."

"Earthbenders…" Isla said, half growling.

"Ready my rhino, I will pursue him," Zuko ordered his soldier.

"Sir!" they replied and rushed back to the ship after grabbing Iroh's clothes.

"You don't think they could have gone far?" she asked him.

"I don't know, but we're going to find him no matter what," he said.

Isla waited on the rhino. Zuko got off. She watched as he picked up the slipper on the ground. He smelled it.

"Ergh.. Yeah, that's Uncle Iroh," he mumbled.

Zuko got back onto his rhino. Isla moved back a little. He took a glimpse of her.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing…" she whispered.

They started off again by following a trail this time. Appa, Aang's bison suddenly passed by. Isla tapped Zuko's shoulder and pointed at it. Zuko contemplated whether to save Iroh or go after Appa. Isla waited for his decision for a few minutes. She soon hopped down, surprising Zuko.

She spoke up, "Honestly, you have better judgment than this. I can go after my father and you can go after the Avatar's bison if you want."

Zuko stared at her for a few seconds. She raised a brow.

"Hop on," he said.

She smiled, getting back on the rhino's back. They pursued Iroh.

Isla pulled a little water and stopped it in front of Zuko's face. "You need a drink."

Zuko sipped it right up. She smiled, satisfied. They soon reached where they felt like Iroh was. They heard some voices. Zuko kept his rhino hidden. He told Isla not to get involved. She was reluctant. Zuko ran to save his Uncle before they could crush his hands.

"Excellent form, Prince Zuko," she heard Iroh's voice.

"You taught me well," Zuko's voice was heard.

"Surrender yourselves. It's five against two. You're clearly outnumbered," the General of the Earthbenders said.

Iroh grinded his teeth. "That's true. But you're clearly outmatched."

Isla jumped in with a kick on the General's face. She landed smoothly on her feet after that.

"I told you to stay hidden!" Zuko shouted sternly.

Rocks started flying at them. Iroh made use of the chains and started breaking the rocks one at a time. Isla rushed in to immobilize the General. She made sure to not use her waterbending.

"Who are you and why are you with these firebenders?!" the General questioned, aiming to grab her feet with his Earthbending.

Isla jumped away. She aimed a fist at the General but he blocked her with an earth wall. She slid down to kick him off of his feet.

Zuko fire-kicked two of the henchmen. A large rock came flying at him, but Iroh caught it in time and threw it back at the two throwers, catching them off guard. They were unconscious in no time.

The General caught Isla's leg and threw her off onto the wall. She cringed but picked herself back up. The General made his way up to her.

"You put up a good fight…" he said, summoning a large amount of sand and rocks to bury her.

Iroh pulled at his feet. The pile of sand and rocks fell onto him. Zuko ran to Isla's side. She flashed out a grin and made a peace sign with her right hand. Iroh walked up to them.

"Now will you please put on some clothes?" Zuko sighed.

"We brought them," Isla said, gesturing her head at their rhino's hidden place.

As they waited for Iroh to put on his clothes, Zuko was staring at Isla who was busy brushing off the dirt on her uniform. She caught him staring. She raised a brow as a sign of confusion. Zuko shook his head.

"Do you think you can make it to the ship alone?" he asked.

"Oh, that's right! Your rhino simply cannot take us all three…" Isla muttered.

"What is the matter?" Iroh asked.

"We're going to make a pit stop. We saw the Avatar's bison fly the other way," Zuko explained.

"We thought of pursuing it, but we can't all ride on him," Isla said, rubbing the rhino's head.

Iroh nodded. "Very well then, you two go and I will wait here," he decided.

"What? No, Uncle! I will not let you out of my sight again!" Zuko said.

Iroh leaned closer to Zuko. "She may not look like it but you are aware she is injured. She is in no shape to return to the ship alone," he whispered.

Isla blinked confusedly when they both took a glimpse of her. Zuko groaned.

"Fine, you and her can ride it. I'll walk!" he gave in.

"Thank you," Isla mumbled.

They made their way to the small town. Zuko interrogated a citizen to get some information about the Avatar. After obtaining it, they went back to the ship and were on their way.

Isla parted the waters as the ship stormed at the highest speed it could. Zuko was on track with Appa. Iroh shook his head at his behavior.

"You really think you won't get arrested?" Isla asked.

"Have you completely forgotten that the fire lord banished you?" Iroh reminded him. "What if you're caught?"

"I'm chasing the Avatar. My father will understand why I'm returning home," Zuko protested.

"You gave him too much credit," Iroh muttered, rubbing his beard, "My brother is not the understanding type."

Zuko brought out the catapult. A stink bomb was ready for him to fire up. He gave a signal and it was aimed at the bison. Aang navigated successfully to avoid it. Isla secretly gave a sigh of relief. She sensed something coming.

"A blockade," Zuko muttered.

Isla raised her hand, ready to react. Iroh held it and shook her hand.

"Technically, you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. If you turn back, they cannot arrest you," Iroh said.

The Avatar went in for it. Zuko did not think twice and decided to run through. The blockade started their attack. The attacks fell from the Avatar to their ship. Isla used a little bit of waterbender to put off the fireballs.

"Isla, go hide," Iroh ordered her.

"But..!" Isla was reluctant.

Iroh looked sternly at her. The engine was damaged. Isla helped put out the fire and ran to hide in her room. She tried to feel through the waters and make out what was happening. She heard some engines stopped. Their ship was still moving. Isla filled up her bottle with more water. A soldier came to her room.

"Miss Isla, we're docked at the temple," he reported.

"I'll be out soon," she replied.

Zuko and Isla entered the temple, but there was not a single human to be seen. They made their way further.

"You don't have to come," Zuko said to her.

"Father has left you in my hands. I can't let him down," she sighed.

They suddenly heard voices.

"He's inside! Open the doors immediately before he contacts Avatar Roku," one of the sages said.

Zuko and Isla ran up the stairs. The sages were subdued by Katara & Soka. Zuko took the opportunity to grab Aang.

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara shouted.

"Sorry," Isla made an appearance.

"The Avatar's coming with me," Zuko said as he held off the smaller boy.

Isla made a worried face. She was conflicted to help them, but she just watched as the sage chained them up on one of the walls. Katara glared at her.

"Why are you helping him?" she asked Isla in the lowest voice she could.

Aang broke free. He ran to help his friends, but Katara told him to enter the chamber. He did as told. Isla looked at Katara.

"All will be explained when you reach the North Pole. Trust me," Isla whispered.

"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko asked the sage that betrayed the Fire Nation.

"Because it was once the sages' duty. It is still our duty," he replied.

Zuko was furious at the answer. Before he could do anything, they heard an applause behind them. It was Zhao. Isla could feel a little shiver down her spine and her scars tingled.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm sure the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him," the Commander said.

"Zhao…" Isla growled under her breath. Katara could sense how intimidated she was.

"And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort but your little smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors in one day." Zhao muttered, smirking. "The Fire Lord will be pleased."

Isla was caught off guard by one of Zhao's soldiers. She felt her wrists on fire. Zuko wanted to fight back, but he heard a groan at the back. He turned around to see Isla already in Zhao's hands.

"Move and she will taste my fury again…" Zhao warned him.

"You're too late, Zhao! The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed," Zuko shouted.

Zhao smirked and glanced up at the large door. "No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out."

He moved his glance at Isla. She trembled. "Take the girl to my ship, I do not want her to see Zuko's embarrassing moments," he ordered.

"Zu..ko.." Isla called out in shivers, she kept on staring at him.

"You'll be fine," she read his mouth.

Isla was taken to the prison hold. All of her weapons are stripped off. Soon she heard some other doors open. A few grunts was heard before they closed. The sages must have been taken away too. Suddenly, her door opened. Two Fire Nation soldiers were in front of her.

"The Commander would like to see you," they said.

She glared at them. They picked her up and pushed her to walk with them. They soon reach the Commander's chamber. Isla was left there, facing Zhao. She was not looking at him. Zhao threw her water bottle in front of her.

"You're a waterbender. I'm impressed you've kept yourself hidden for so long," Zhoa muttered.

"I get dehydrated easily, that's why I carry this bottle around," Isla lied.

"Save the lies to the Fire Lord. I don't think he would have mercy if he knew his brother was hiding an enemy all this time," he smirked.

Isla gulped. "What do you want…?" she shot a glare at him.

Zhao gave out a satisfying smug. He was proud of himself.