Chapter Eleven: When Paths Meet
Zuko and his uncle made their way to the dock they first landed at, Zuko leading the way. Since they lost the soldiers, they didn't have to run anymore, Although they were still walking rather quickly, since Zuko was wanting to find the Avatar before he gets away or someone else finds him. That, and it would be harder to find him after dark. "Uncle, I appreciate your help, but I could have gotten out of there, myself. Like I told you before, I think we should go our separate ways... I need to find my own path."
"Zuko, is this your path?! You're good at heart, but you're going down the path of destruction. Do you truly want to capture the Avatar, or are you only pursuing this path to gain your father's love?" Iroh asked, concerned.
Zuko narrowed his eyes. "My path is what I choose, Uncle!" Zuko told the man, ending their conversation. Iroh stared after Zuko with a look of doubt.
---
As Sokka, Katara, and Toph headed toward the next dock, Katara caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. 'Was that Zuko?' she wondered, looking in that direction again, but not seeing anyone.
"Katara, c'mon! We need to try to find him before... they do whatever they might do to him!" Sokka called to his sister. "Besides, it's almost sunset."
"Actually... Maybe we should try looking over here," Katara said and pointed in the direction she thought she saw Zuko.
"Why there?" Sokka asked, confused.
"...Just a hunch..." Katara told him, not wanting to tell him about Zuko until she's sure it was him.
---
Meanwhile, Aang finished cutting through his ropes. Smiling, he began to get up, but then noticed some soldiers close by and ducked back down into the tall grass.
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"I believe it's time we separate again. This time, don't follow me," Zuko told his uncle.
---
"Sorry, but this is a military-only dock," a soldier told Katara.
"But... My father wanted us to come, so we can learn about what he does," Katara told the man.
The soldier glanced toward Katara suspiciously. "He should know that civilians, even related, are not allowed here," he said, then sighed when seeing Katara's big puppy dog eyes. "Fine... I'll let it slide this time. What's your father's name? I'll call him."
"Uh..." Katara said. At that moment, another soldier approached the dock. He has a fire nation mask over his face. He stares at Katara and the two others for a minute, then turns to the guarding soldier.
'That was odd...' Katara thought. 'Does he know us...?'
"Name," the guard asked, looking down at his check sheet. Instead, the soldier shot a ball of fire at him, knocking him out. Katara gasped in shock, and Sokka grabbed her hand. She glanced behind her to see Zuko take the helmet off. She then felt a strong tug on her arm as she was pulled behind a bush by her brother.
"Hey!" Katara exclaimed. She was going to say more, but Sokka put a hand over her mouth.
"Shh," Sokka whispered as she tried to free herself. "This is a military port, remember?" Sokka removed his hand when Katara had quit thrashing about. "Besides... That guy who took out the guard may be after us next."
"Incase you didn't notice, 'That guy' was Zuko. - He must have been the one who kidnapped Aang!" Katara whispered.
"So that could mean that Aang's around here somewhere-" Sokka paused for a second. "What a minute. Are you sure it was Zuko?" Sokka asked skeptically.
"Yes! I saw him take off the helmet as we were running. - I'd know that face anywhere."
"He was around the same weight..." Toph whispered to them.
"Stop!" Toph had said.
He stopped. The blind earthbender was staring in his direction, her ice blue eyes filled with anger. Aang said something, but it was rendered unrecognizable by a gag. Zuko started to run into the woods surrounding the camp. Toph concentrated on the feel of the teen's footprints as they hit the ground.
"It would make sense that he was the kidnapper... But why would he come back to the dock? It doesn't add up!"
"...Maybe Aang never left."
Sokka stared at Toph as he contemplated the possibility. "Maybe Aang broke free when Zuko reached the mainland, and he's searching for him now."
"Then we need to find him before anyone else does," Katara said.
"Someone's coming!" Toph warned them. Sokka and Katara froze, listening.
---
The general from before leaned toward a bush with his arm outstretched. He created fire in his other hand, ready to attack whatever he had heard in the bush. He considered the possibility of it being the avatar, but after last time, he couldn't be sure.
"You!"
The general turned to see Zuko standing behind him.
"Where's the avatar!" Zuko demanded. The general smirked, lighting both of his hands. He had a score to settle with this boy. "Where did you take him?!" Zuko asked.
"To get to him, you have to go through me first," the general told Zuko and shot a ball of fire at him. Zuko narrowly dodged.
"With pleasure..." Zuko said coldly and shot a ball of fire of his own.
Sokka poked his head out of the bush, followed by Katara. "Do you think either of them actually knows where Aang is?" Sokka asked as he watched the two fight.
"I doubt it," Katara replied. Both jumped back as the general was knocked into the bush by an attack.
He quickly noticed the three. "What are you kids doing here?" he demanded.
"Nothin'..." Sokka squeaked. The general sneered at him as he stood. Zuko shot another ball of fire at him, though, and caught the bush on fire. The general shot an attack of his own, charging back to Zuko. Neither firebender seemed to care about the high-pitched shriek that came from behind the bush. On the other hand, the sudden gust of air that put out the fire did draw their attention.
Katara opened her eyes to see Aang in front of her. "Aang! I'm so glad you're okay!" she said and hugged him.
"Are you okay, yourself, Katara? You didn't get hurt, did you? I heard you scream and-"
"Actually... That was me," Sokka said.
"Oh."
"The avatar!" Zuko and the general shouted simultaneously. Aang looked up just as two attacks came toward him. He jumped out of the way just in time.
"Aang!" Katara called to him, holding up his glider. Aang smiled widely as he took it.
Soon, most of the port were aware of Aang's presence. And, although Katara, Sokka, and Toph helped fight, there were just too many soldiers. Fortunately, about half the soldiers were fighting Zuko, instead.
Three soldiers were currently in front of Zuko, readying to attack. Zuko touched his side, widening his eyes when realizing that nothing was there. 'I forgot... They took my swords before throwing me in the dungeon,' he thought. He shot some fire at the soldiers as he glanced around for a better area to fight at. He noticed a tree several feet away with two swords - his swords - hanging from a nail. He ran for the tree, the three soldiers following after him while attacking. Using the tree as an advantage, after jumping up to get the swords, he pushed himself off with a flip, flying toward the three soldiers. While in the air, Zuko crossed his arms, lit his hands, and allowed the fire to spread through the swords. Uncrossing his arms, the fire flew outward, toward the soldiers. They shielded themselves from the attack as Zuko went over their heads, landing behind them and then running in the direction of the avatar.
Meanwhile, Aang and the other three were back to back, fighting off soldiers on all sides. "There's too many! We need to find a way out of this!" Sokka said.
Katara widened her eyes as she got an idea. "Aang! You still have that whistle, don't you?"
"This?" Aang asked, holding up the bison-shaped whistle. "Oh! I get it! - You must have taken Appa to find me!" Aang blew on the whistle, then looked around. Appa wasn't in sight. Toph used her earthbending to knock a soldier off his feet before he could attack Aang.
Several other soldiers arrived to help attack. "...This is bad," Sokka stated.
"Run!" Toph yelled. Aang pushed a gust of wind into the soldiers as the other three began to run toward the shore. Aang began to run after his friends, using his airbending to help pick up speed, but had to stop suddenly when Zuko appeared in front of him.
"You're mine..." Zuko said with a smirk as he lit his hands for an attack. The sun was sitting directly behind Zuko, producing an ominous glow around the teen and making the flames in his hands look extra bright. Aang widened his eyes, dreadful of what's to come.
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Sorry I haven't updated in so long... I made this chapter about twice as long as usual, so I hope that makes up for it a little...
I guess I started the chapter on the computer in February, and then, awhile ago, I tried working on it on notebook paper, not knowing I already wrote half of it - but I couldn't get into the story again. Until I found what I already wrote - which was way better and had some things in it that I forgot about. So... anyhow... I hope I'll finish it soon. There shouldn't be too much more.
I love the ending of this... I have such a pretty picture in my head of Zuko and Aang... I hope you guys can picture it, too, based on what I wrote. (and I hope you get the idea that Aang was too taken by surprise to come up with a way to save himself... It's happening faster than it sounds...)