Summary: Just when Aang's gang thought they had enough to worry about, there's a new enemy, one that is capable of stealing a bender's power. And, Prince Zuko makes an alliance with this new foe. How can they escape with their bending and their lives[Eventual ZukoSokka
Disclaimer: All things relating to Avatar: The Last Airbender do not belong to me.
Rating: Mm.. I'll start it as T but I know it's gonna go up..
Warnings: Violence, Swearing
Pairings: ZukoSokka (a ways away though.. ;; )
Note: Well looks like here's another chapter out.. I'm surprised that people already have read this.. I just wrote the prologue yesterday, my goodness. Anyways, now we have some Prince Zuko-ness which is always appreciated.
Italics- Thoughts of characters
Chapter One: Striking a Deal
"Dammit!" A pair of angry fists slammed down on top of an oak table, fire spurting irritably out off them and setting flame to the map beneath them. The paper began to shrivel and blacken, nearly a quarter of it burning up and turning into ashes until finally the pyro who had started it put it out with a few sound pats. The raven haired boy then ripped the map off his desk, sending the now useless piece of parchment to the floor and shoving his chair back to get up.
"Uncle! Have we no idea where the Avatar is headed? Not a single clue? I've checked these damn maps over and over again b-" Zuko paused in his tirade, glancing around the currently empty room, searching with gold eyes for his Uncle Iroh, who had once been standing behind him. Where had that senile old man gone? Letting out of hiss of frustration through his teeth, the young Firebender stormed out of the room and into the main corridor of his ship, having a feeling he knew exactly where his uncle had run off too.
Low and behold, he was entirely correct with his assumptions.
The aged man was seated comfortably on the ground, legs crossed, chatting idly with another Firebender who was part of the crew and sipping tea peacefully. Just the sight of his Uncle enjoying himself, while he, Prince of the Fire Nation was losing sleep trying desperately to find the Avatar, his only chance for redemption. Zuko spent his nights plotting possible ways to get the airbending monk alone, knowing that the boy was a force to be reckoned with by himself.
But with that little group of friends of his, he was nearly unstoppable.
At least, with the blind Earthbender and that female Waterbender he was a bigger threat.. However that boy from the Water tribe was hardly troublesome, being a complete and total idiot without any bending skills. How pitiful. The ghost of a smirk crossed Zuko's face as he realized just how simple it would be to kill the other teenager with just his firebending skills.. Such pleasing thoughts were pushed from his mind however as Iroh looked up at him with a bright smile, motioning for him to take a seat.
"Ah my nephew! I was just speaking of you! You look very tired, perhaps you ought to spend more time sleeping and less time prowling the deck beneath the moonlight, eh? You won't be much use if you're exhausted when we finally locate that monk, will you? Oh my dear sailor, it seems as though you've run out of tea.. Here, have some more! It's freshly brewed from the finest tea leaves and-" The gray haired man suddenly stopped as he realized that Zuko's one good eye was narrowed somewhat hostilely at him, which meant he ought to shut up and soon.
"Uncle I haven't the time to watch you coddle my soldiers, and you haven't the time to do so. We need to find the Avatar's location before he moves on again and we get too far behind. You seem to be forgetting this key fact, and you're distracting my men from their jobs. Now come with me and we can plot a course for the nearest land mass.. Perhaps someone will have seen him.." With that command issued, the prince once again stalked off and out of the room, leaving his uncle to excuse himself and take a cup of hot tea along for the ride.
Once on deck, Zuko stared out at the endless blue that stretched before them, lips in a permanent scowl, leaning on the railing. How is it they keep evading me? No matter what I do, I can't seem to catch this blasted monk.. He's only a twelve year old for god's sake! He's making me look like a goddamned fool.. I must find him before it's too late.. Once again the prince was torn from his musings, but this time he was not so upset by it, since the person screaming from atop the ship was neither his uncle, nor giving him pointless news.
They had finally found land.
"I want all of you to search this island.. Find and ask anyone you can if they've seen the Avatar, and if they refuse to talk, make them. I will go on my own to search the center of the island.. We shall all meet back at the ship within three to four hours.. Anyone who is not back by then will be left behind. Uncle," Prince Zuko now barked to Iroh, who was staring with a slightly far away look in his eyes at the ocean, as usual drinking his cup of tea, "Stay with the ship."
The old firebender glanced at his nephew and nodded to show he had heard, before once more turning his eyes on the sea and humming to himself. Zuko decided to just let it go, even though he was bothered by how Iroh seemed to be ignoring him, striding down the iron ramp that lead to the sandy shore of the island. There were no ports around, which once more caused the prince to wonder if there really was anyone inhabiting the island currently..
Adjusting his armor, Zuko motioned for his soldiers to go in separate directions before he himself went straight down the middle, into the thick jungle that covered the land. It was obvious to him after a few moments of walking that there was little human disturbance here, what with the foliage so thick and nearly impossible to get through, which explained why he had to use a bit of firebending to get through. Just when he himself was about to give up hope (what was the point of going through this godforsaken jungle if there was no one around?), he stumbled upon a clearing, which had clearly been made by humans..
There were still tree stumps left on the outer edges of the open grassy circle from where people had chopped the massive plants down, which probably meant they weren't benders.. hm. Prince Zuko slowly crept into the open area, good eye darting suspiciously around, wondering where the people who had made this clearing were.. The firebender suddenly turned around, hearing the sound of a stick snapping behind him, fire engulfing his hands out of habit, readying himself for a fight.
"Who's there? I'm not an imbecile, I can hear you.. Show yourself, or else I'll-" Zuko's hand raised to his neck as a sharp dart pierced it, and he quickly ripped it out, but it was too late.. Whatever was on the tip of the object had invaded his blood stream, and he swiftly lost consciousness, the world around him going black.
Searing pain pounded his head mercilessly, cracking his skull and causing him to see spots as he opened his eyes slowly. The prince attempted to rub his head, only to find his wrists were chained to the wall above his head and wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he tried. So, he attempted to melt the metal with his fire, but no matter how long the flames licked the steel, it refused to soften. What the fuck was he going to do now? His uncle wouldn't come looking for him until later on, and even then how would he manage to find him? Giving an irritable shake of his head, Zuko once again tried to melt the steel, only to be greeted by a dark chuckle coming from across the room.
"It's useless to try.. Those chains won't melt no matter how hot your fire is.. I've designed those specifically for Firebenders.. Though I didn't expect to find one so soon.. I intended to capture two more Earthbenders, then water, and finally.. air. But I don't mind skipping ahead a bit.. Especially when I have a fine specimen here to take power from.." The prince grew more and more irritated as he listened to that silken voice that sounded so damn conceited.. He was just rubbing it in Zuko's face that he had him captured.. but what the hell was he talking about? Take his power.. That wasn't possible!
"Show yourself coward.." The Firebender finally growled at the shadows, wanting to see his captor's face just so he could direct a jet of flame at him, perhaps melt the skin off his face and listen to it sizzle.. Morbid satisfaction at the thought swept over him, but was quickly smothered as the man spoke again, laughing mockingly at him.
"Coward am I? I don't understand your logic boy.. I know you just want me to emerge so you can try to attack me.. I'm not that naïve, nor am I idiotic, as you may suspect me to be. I'd rather lurk here in the shadows and watch you search for me with those golden eyes of yours.. They are very unique, aren't they?" The voice had moved now, coming from his right side instead of directly in front of him, and the prince struggled to pinpoint it's owner's exact location.
"Shut the fuck up.. Tell me what you want.. I have things to do, and I can't waste my time in this room with you spewing nonsense.." By now Zuko's curiosity had peaked greatly, and he yearned to know exactly what his kidnapper desired, and what he meant by his previous words.. Luckily for him, the man was a 'bragger' and immediately sped into an explanation, the haughtiness evident in his voice (which had now moved to the left).
"Well you see, I have always admired benders.. All sorts of benders, and yet.. I was born into a poor, pitiful Earth Tribe, with absolutely no bending powers whatsoever. Now you might say that is common, that I shouldn't have been so affected, but listen to this.. My tribe was so small.. So tiny that everyone could bend but me. Ever since then I've been trying to figure out a way to get my own bending powers.. But not just earth, no, I want them all. I shall be the first being ever to be able to control all four elements, and then I will take over all the kingdoms.."
Now, it was Zuko's turn to laugh, a rather loud chuckle that came straight from his gut and shook his entire body. This fool really thought he would be the first to bend water, air, fire, and earth? Was he that stupid that he'd never heard of the Avatar? If only he knew just how many people had had these powers before him.. It would probably be enough to make him go stark raving mad.. Wouldn't that be a lovely sight.
"What are you laughing at? You're my next target!" The man was seething now, the rage and insult poorly hidden in his voice, and leaving Zuko to smirk to himself.
"You are perhaps the most pathetic and uneducated person I've ever met.. There is already someone who can bend all four elements! There has been for centuries! You will not be the first, not at all.. And there's no way you can possibly achieve such a goal anyways. You are not the Avatar.. You are just some pitiful excuse for a man, who has no bending skills at all.." The Prince of the Fire Nation let his words cut the man like a sword, that pleased feeling creeping into his stomach and warming him greatly. It always felt good to attack someone, even if it was with his words.. For a moment the shadows were silent, but Zuko could hear the man's heavy breathing, the frustrated breaths escaping him loudly revealing how upset he was.
"Who is this.. Avatar?" The man finally spat out, finally giving the Firebender the advantage he was searching for.
"Only the most powerful being on the entire planet.. He is supposed to be the master of all elements, however the current Avatar is lacking in skills.. As far as I know he can only airbend and waterbend.. Perhaps earthbend, but not well. Ah, and you'll love this.. He's the last living airbender there is." The prince could only imagine how his kidnapper was going to handle this news..
"What? He's the last there is? But I need four to get the complete power!"
"Yeah, and here's something else you're going to love.. He's uncatchable. I've been chasing after him for months, and he keeps just.. barely slipping out of my grasp." Zuko's smirk wavered as he thought of all the times he'd been so close to getting the Avatar, only to have him slip through his fingers like smoke.. If he couldn't catch him, then there was no way this imbecile who knew nothing about the world around him could..
"Oh is he? Perhaps it's just you who is incapable of capturing him.. I bet I could get him. But, you have experience with him, do you not? Perhaps.. we could strike a deal?" The voice had gone from rage filled and rough to silky and persuasive, and while the firebender hated to stoop so low, he knew he'd have to take up this offer.. "I'll spare your life, and your bender skills, as long as you help me capture this.. 'Avatar.' All I need is to take his powers from him, and then you may have him.. Of course, I can't guarantee he'll live through the extraction process.."
"What? What do you mean? I need him alive, no exceptions! Besides, if you need four of each power, what's the point in trying to get him? Even if you do take his airbending skills you won't be able to reach the full potential of.. whatever it is you have, right? And you can easily find waterbenders and firebenders.." The prince needed the Avatar to be living if he was to give him to his father! Then again.. a dead Avatar was better than none at all..
"Yes, yes I'm aware of that painful fact, thank you very much. However, if what you say is true about him being the most powerful bender, one airbender will be enough.. So, what do you say young..?"
"Zuko. Prince Zuko is my name."
"Prince is it? Well Prince Zuko, would you like my help catching the famous 'Avatar' of yours? I have plenty of men and creatures that will do my bidding, and they will surely be help to you on your journey.." Zuko cocked his head a bit at these words, wondering why this man A) hadn't told him his name and B) made it sound like he wasn't going, "But.. if I find out this is just a ploy to get yourself free from my clutches, I will be sure to hunt you down and suck you dry of your bending powers.. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"No.." The prince mumbled through gritted teeth, already planning how he could take the Avatar without having the other's powers removed.. "Now release me.. I need to get back to my ship and inform my crew that your men will be joining us. Then we have to sail to an island and find someone who has seen the Avatar.. We lost track of him a few leagues back and we have yet to find his trail.."
"Tsk tsk, not much of a hunter are you? Well not to worry, I have just the man to help you out.. But you might want to be careful.. He has a bit of a temper.. I'll have Tontoro release you from your chains, but remember our deal young prince. Do not think I am a fool twice.." With that, the man apparently left, his footsteps fading into the distance and the sound of a door creaking open reaching Zuko's ears.
Now all he had to do was wait for this 'Tontoro' fellow to arrive..
Well there you have it, the first formal chapter. :D Not as long as I would've hoped, but I tried my best. Next chapter should have Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph in it, and you'll see where the heck they're hiding. And no, you won't know the 'bad guy's' name. Not yet anyways. Sorry if anyone seems out of character..