Sorry about the lateness, FFnet wouldn't upload it, first due to "heavy traffic" and secondly to "processing errors". Psh.
This chapter is based loosely around Zuko Alone, so if you haven't seen it, there might be some spoilers but not many, because I haven't seen it either. I cant download episodes and I missed the times due to softball.
Remember, flashbacks in italics!
Well, I've been brainstorming a lot and the direction of this fic has become much more defined. If I didn't respond to your review, I'm truly sorry. We were gone for so long…BUT NOT ANYMORE! Softball has agreed to give me a fun summer! Ja---so this is going to be a souped up chappie!
"Okay…open your eyes!" Suki barely managed to hide back a giggle as she removed her hands from the formerly-white hair. "Go over to the river and see how you like it!"
"If you insist!" Yue took off running and threw herself at the bank, staring at her hair…and screamed.
"Just close your eyes," Suki growled, as she used a slightly hollowed rock and another one that was smooth and jutted perfectly out of her hand as a mortar and pestle. It still would take her a long time to grind up the walnut shells to the proper consistency; in fact, she only got through one of the shells. 'This'll take forever,' she thought.
'Unless…" the Kyoshian warrior spotted a familiar plant: the Springeye. Its leaves were one of the main colorings for the famous, red eyelid-powder. Suki glanced at Yue, who had fallen asleep yet again. "What's wrong with a little fun?" she whispered evilly.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY HAIR!"
Suki feigned innocence and stuck out a quivering bottom lip, "It was too hard to grind up the walnut shells, so I did you a favor and gave you some extra shines in your hair!" Her innocent look couldn't mask the laughter in her eyes.
"Just be glad it didn't turn out as bright red as you meant," Yue growled, turning back to the river to study her hair. While it was still very much brown from the initial dye (made from the black walnut), there was an overtone of red which gave her once-ivory hair the same color as polished mahogany.
She ran her hands through her hair, biting her teeth to avoid a confrontation with Suki, something she really did not need at the moment.
"Tsuki…it's really pretty."
"Huh?" Yue hadn't been noticing the actual color, simply what it wasn't: brown. She wanted brown, but maybe this color wouldn't be so bad. It would make her stand out for sure. The sun, that had been immersed in clouds for most of the day, came out and the beams off her hair. She felt…unique again, like she had with her snow-white hair.
"I guess I like it…" Yue said with a grin, "It's better than just plain old brown…sorry!"
Suki stared at the girl for a second and then rolled her eyes, "Maybe I'll try it again when the war is over, on myself, and then we'll both have the best hair in the world. For now however--" Suki jumped up from her seated position and helped up her friend, "We have a trek to continue!"
They quickly gathered up their belongings and continued down the small path along the stream.
Zuko's head was hunched over; his steed looked exhausted from the long run and was starting to squawk from hunger. The sun was beginning to descend from the sky, which was never a good sign for a firebender, but there was a glimmer of hope, because ahead, many small wisps of smoke curled into the air before dissipating just above the tree line.
"Just a little bit further," he muttered, both to himself and the giant fowl. The place seemed about a half mile away, and soon came into view: a small town, deserted except for the smoke. The bird barely made it to the first house before it collapsed in a pile of feathers, panting.
Rolling his eyes, Zuko dismounted and helped his steed up from the ground, whispering a few words of encouragement as it struggled to its feet. It had been relatively fat and happy before it had been taken by the fugitives, and then it was put to more work than it ever had been given before. The two rounded a corner and Zuko sighed in relief, for one last cart was still selling goods, despite the hour.
"Three bags of corn, one bag of oats, one sack of vegetables, and two apples," he said, laying the money on the counter of the cart with a sigh. The clerk took his money and slowly handed him the bags and two lovely apples. Immediately, Zuko dropped to his knees and fed the fowl a handful of corn to soothe its initial hunger.
"You from out of town, aintcha?"
"Yes."
"Best watch out then, there're some thieves that hang out around here," he looked around, spotting a small figure that was running furiously and slammed into the back of the large fowl, which squawked in indignation. "Hello Li."
"There're coming after me!" the young boy squeaked, coming around the front of the bird and crouching as his fear came closer.
"Hey shop-keep, 'ave you seen a little boy run 'round 'ere any time soon?" a large, burly man dressed in Fire Nation armor growled, obviously seeing his target shaking behind Zuko's steed. "Course…we already got one, don't need another, so we'll give you th' boy in exchange for these." He hoisted all of Zuko's just-purchased possessions and grinned widely.
Zuko growled and put a hand on his broadsword, before noticing the larger group of Fire Nation soldiers coming towards them.
"Li!" the clerk whispered, "You boy!" he pointed at Zuko, "Get him out of here!"
The young boy scrambled onto the fowl and they took off walking slowly, so as to not attract any attention from the soldiers; they quietly made their way to a small house at the other end of the town.
"Li!" The young boy threw himself from his mount and into his mother's arms, "Oh Li, I was so worried!" She looked up from her son to the strange scarred boy who was Li's savior. "And you young man, thank you for bringing him home to me; my other son hasn't come home yet either, so I've been worried sick. Would you like a place to stay the night?"
"I would truly enjoy that," Zuko said, with a short bow that was really a nod. After all, Nobility didn't bow to the commoners.
His steed was well fed and locked in the small stable for tonight, and as for Zuko himself, he was completely stuffed on Earth Kingdom home cooking. He had cleaned his plate twice and now mopped up the remaining gravy with a slice of dark peasant-bread. He leaned back and sighed, "That Miss, was delicious."
"Why thank you young man, but it's you who we should be thanking. What can we call you?"
"Young man."
The woman sighed, but accepted his secrecy. A knock sounded on the door, and Li's father went to answer it, opening the door just a crack. "What do you want?"
"We're here to inform you," a very nasal voice hissed, "That your eldest son has been captured by the Fire Nation. He faces very much certain death. Have a nice evening!"
Laughter echoed outside the door and Li's father slowly closed it, tears forming in his eyes. "Those bastards," he growled, "those Fire Nation bastards have no right to take him for no reason!"
Zuko held back his retort. The way these people viewed the Fire Nation was incredibly different from how he viewed them. If he had known about this…those men would be gone and responsible people would be put at this station. As it was, he was powerless.
Another knock sounded on the door, but no one answered it. The visitor banged loudly. "Please open!" a desperate voice called out, "For the kiss of the fan is given by the wielder!"
Li's mother looked up in surprise. That particular code was used only by her former disipline of Kyoshi, "What would one of them be doing here?" She opened the door and saw two girls panting and holding their stomachs with hunger.
"Please spare us shelter; we were chased by some Fire Nation soldiers!"
"Come in, come in. I'm afraid we already have a guest, but maybe you travelers can go along your road together."
"Perhaps…I'm Suki and this is Tsuki. She's a waterbender from the north."
"You are both welcome in my home for the night," Li's mother said with a bow, which was returned by both Suki and Yue.
"And we thank you for your hospitality," Yue said in her soft voice. Zuko suddenly coughed very loudly, it sounded as though he was choking, but he waved away the concerned stares.
The two newcomers made their way to the table as Li was put to bed by his mother; his father was heard grieving in the next room; and Zuko's fowl let out a loud screech.
"It's not noisy here at all…is it Prince Zuko?" Suki muttered in an uninterested voice; she had recognized his scar the momentshe had walked in,"You must have done something good for these people, but so help me, if you hurt them, I will not hesitate to destroy you." Her words ended in a hiss.
"Well then, you keep my secret and I wont boil you where you stand," he growled back. The two stared icily at each other for a moment and then turned away with their noses in the air.
Yue sighed and served herself a small helping of the food still left on the table. Seeing no utensils on the table, she drew a carved ivory spoon from her robe and began to eat the stew. Suki gave herself a large helping and slurped it directly from the bowl. They both finished at the same time and tore pieces of bread to get the last bits of juice from their plates.
Suki sighed with delight, "That is the best food I've had since leaving Kyoshi Island! There really is no comparison Tsuki. And it tastes so much better when eaten with a friend!" Yue grinned as she saw Zuko's eye twitch; her new friend really was good at annoying people.
At that moment however, Li's mother came in to put the food up and bank the fire, leaving them to share the dining room for a sleeping space. Yue leaned back against one of the sitting cushions, comfortable in her robe; Suki removed her armor and wrapped her warrior's cloak around her. Zuko simply leaned against a corner, waiting until the other two were asleep to doze off.
Yue woke to the sounds of crying, and winced at hearing that sound so early in the morning. Suki was already up and helping to haul water from the communal well.
"What happened?" Yue asked her friend, staring at the distressed mother, "And where's their son?"
"He went to go break his brother out," Suki sighed, "They have them both now."
"Zuko gave him his knife," Li's mother cried, "and told him to never give up! Now that boy's gone and there's no way you two alone could save him."
Suki raised an eyebrow, "I'll go find out where they're holding Li; Tsuki, go after Him, and make Him come back."
Yue nodded, "Which direction?"
"The east path out of town," Li's mother sniffed.
Yue set off running towards the rising sun and soon found the path; she had to slow down a little on the rising hills and without her heavy cloak to weigh her down,made good time. She started to see fresh tracks and sped up, soon catching a glimpse of the banished prince in the winding road.
"ZUKO! ZUKO! COME BACK!" She screamed.
The great bird stopped and turned around, coming to face Yue.
"Li took your knife and confronted the soldiers! His mother wants you to save him!" She panted heavily, glad that she had lost the burden of the heavy hair. Zuko glared at her, and then snorted.
"Get on."
"What?"
"Get on, girls shouldn't travel alone and I won't wait for you to walk. Get on."
Yue hadn't had much experience with any type of riding animal. She had seen the Komodo Rhinos during the siege, but that was it. "How?"
Zuko rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand. Yue stared at it. "Grab my wrist and I'll pull you up." Seeing the look he got, Zuko rolled his eyes again. "I'm not completely filthy Your Highness."
"Don't call me that!" She growled and gripped the prince's wrist, then felt a viper-like squeeze on her own before flying through the air to land on the backside of the bird.
"Just try to hang on. If you fall off, I'm not stopping for you. HYA!" He kicked the sides of the beast and they took off at an incredible pace, Yue gripping the saddle for dear life. She had never gone this fast except for on Appa, and then there had been Sokka to hold on to. She bit her lip in sadness from the memory.
They suddenly stopped, having reached the edge of the town. Yue slammed forwards, her head knocking into the prince's. "Owwwww."
Both teens gripped their aching heads and glared at each other. "Now what?" Zuko muttered as Suki ran up to them, decked out in her warrior's armor and makeup.
"I found out where he is," Suki sighed, then glared at Zuko, "And it won't be easy to get to him, even with firebending." Yue slid off the beast and nearly fell over.
"Well, we'll just have to use unconventional methods then." Zuko growled, a malicious grin spreading over his scarred face as he tied his two broadswords around his belt.
The three used the now evening shadows to sneak around the town and get close to the army's base and prisoner compound. They had figured out that now was the best time to free Li. Suki had both of her steel, fighting fans tucked away and was using her two conventional cloth and wood ones. Yue had a canteen filled with fresh water and her steel fan from Conae, and Zuko had both of his broadswords at the ready.
During the day, Yue had been studying her water scroll in search of the attacks and defenses her art held. She had found one very useful one that Katara had alsoused before: ice disks.
They came to the door of the compound, which was locked. Suki kneeled and used a small throwing needle to pick it; they entered cautiously, the Kyoshian warrior leading the way, fans poised and ready.
The first guard they saw was drunk and passed out, so left him and continued on. The prisoner's stalls were nearer to the entrance than the army barracks. So it took almost no time to grab the small boy and escape out the door with him; the large group of guards they met outside would not be nearly as easy to deal with as the drunken guard.
"Hang back with Li," Suki ordered as she and Zuko moved forwards. What happened next was a flash of steel and tumble of bodies being thrown by both of the warriors. Using her new experience from war, Suki ducked one of the slashes from a sword and, with a twist of her body, sent him flying into one of his own comrades. She smirked and then twisted out of the way of another attack.
Zuko was showing no mercy to the firebending soldiers, in fact, he was showing less than Suki. Soldiers were spurting blood in every direction due to the skill of his blades. He eventually made his way through the soldiers and faced off against the soldier who had taken his bags of grain. That match was over quickly, as Zuko spun around and used a hard kick to break the man's right shoulder.
Behind the two fighters creating the melee, Yue and Li stood, very frightened by the confrontation, and it was very clear who was gaining the upper hand. Despite the skill of Zuko and Suki, the firebenders were much greater in number. Li cried out as Suki was hurled backwards by a blast of fire and slammed into the compound wall with a groan.
Now Yue stood up with both fear and determination. She had to defend these two people from the ones now advancing towards them; after all, Zuko was still swamped by an impressive amount of men. She ran through the water-whip technique and took her stance as she opened the canteen. When one began a firebending attack, she lashed out with her water-whip and struck him in the eyes with a crack. He fell over and started screaming.
Now Yue was petrified; she had never hurt someone in her life! But she took another stance and recalled the water back to her, forming it into an icy cylinder. Slice by slice she cut it off, flinging it at the firebenders. They tried dodging, and the waterbender nearly vomited when one of her disks cut off the hand of one of their assailants.
When most of the ice was gone, Yue recalled the water again, this time forming it into a shield around her arm. With a cry, she charged the remaining soldiers, slamming her shield into their temples and faces to break noses.
At about that point, she heard a loud cry. There was a huge burst of flame and Yue's water dissipated from the heat. More bursts of flame came from the fire fight.
"You think you can stop me! The prince of flame?" An inferno shot up into the night, "I am Prince Zuko, heir to the throne and you will not suffer to defy me!" He spat flame at the final soldier, who collapsed onto the ground, then turned around to face the grim crowd that had gathered. He was met with solemn silence.
Li's mother gathered up her son, "We tolerated you because you saved one of us, but now you must leave. Return, and you will be killed."
Zuko stuck his chin in the air and walked off, mounting his steed before taking off. The other two girls snuck away in the shadows, following the young, exiled prince on the same eastern path.
'I know you told me a different path,' Yue thought to the Ocean Spirit, 'but I know this is my path.'
Okay, so I think that Zuko and Yue will have a Han Solo/Leia relationship, notice the "Your Highness" part? That might change into "Your Worship".Please review! 10 pages deserves a review I think. Comments, ideas, pillowstuffing...all welcome!AND YOU GET CAKE!