Chapter 5: Never Give Up Without A Fight

His eyes were blurred and he was groggy as his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings. He blinked furiously and held his shoulder when the agonizing pain hit him and shot up his arm. He heard a scratching sound and looked up to see Zhao sitting in a chair across from him. The boy was also sitting in a comfortable chair, and to his surprise wasn't chained or handcuffed to it.

His voice was gritty and soft as he managed to call out for Katara. He got up off the chair and cleared his throat staggering back slightly from being unbalanced due to his bad shoulder.

He growled in frustration, "Where is Katara?" When there was no response he yelled, "Tell me! Where is Katara?" His voice echoed off the walls but Zhao seemed to be unmoved by his sudden outburst. He just sat still and stared into Zuko's hateful, golden eyes.

Zuko went to the door and pulled at the handle, contorting it slightly and rattled the door furiously, but to no avail. He turned and willed himself to look into the smug eyes of one of the people he hated most in his life, one of the people who he wished dead without any remorse.

Zuko moved into his firebending stance and aimed his two index fingers at Zhao but only a few sparks erupted from them.

Zhao interwove his fingers with each other and sat them in front of him on the desk, his demeanor calm and collected. "It won't work Zuko; you always seem to fail at everything don't you?" He questioned mockingly.

"What have you done to Katara?" He asked in a harsh whisper, his teeth clenched together.

He laughed and leant back in his chair nonchantly. "Don't worry Zuko, she's fine, just a few scratches."

"If you dared lay a finger on her…" Zuko threatened menacingly, hatred dripping off every word.

"Oh Zuko, stop worrying about your girlfriend and come sit down," Zhao indicated to the seat opposite to him, but Zuko kept his place. "Very well then," he said a little more darkly. "What I want to know, is that why is it taking your friend so long to get here? Usually the Avatar can trace everyone especially his friends, or weren't he with you and your little friends on Ember Island?"

But Zuko did not move nor say anything, he did not seem to even acknowledge the fact that Zhao was trying to engage a conversation with him. Zuko stood firmly his eyes planted on a crack on the wall so not to look into Zhao's smug eyes. His fists were clenched in anger and his breathing was heavy.

"Come on Zuko, a man to man chat. Just tell me what I want to hear."

Ignoring what Zhao had said he asked, "How was it that you managed to capture all my friends but not Aang?"

Zhao faltered a little but it went unnoticed by Zuko. "Well he got away didn't he? He is the Avatar after all. Plus your friends are weak and were easily captured, just like you and your little peasant girlfriend. Now if you will excuse me I have things to do, so we will continue our little talk later. Katsu! Takeshi! Get him out of my sight!"

Two burly men, their faces hidden, walked into the room and one grabbed Zuko roughly as the other lead them both to Zuko's old room. As Takeshi held Zuko's wrist together and held the back of his ripped shirt tightly with his other hand he whispered urgently in Zuko's ear, "Your uncle is on the ship, your friends are not."

Zuko looked behind him bewildered, but Takeshi slapped his head and he turned back around, now with a throbbing pain in both his shoulder and skull. Katsu opened the door and Takeshi pushed him in roughly, and quickly the refurnished door was shutting behind Zuko without any noises from its hinges. Zuko shot one more glance toward Takeshi as the shadow of the door enveloped him, and then he was gone.

"Zuko!" Katara said running up to hug him. "I was so worried."

He flinched when she touched his shoulder and she quickly withdrew her arms looking at his wound and his pain stricken face.

"Are you ok?" He asked caringly.

"Yes, I'm fine." She looked down. "Do you think it was a bad idea to stay here?"

"Katara, I don't know. Well I didn't know." He dropped his voice slightly. "But that guard just told me that my uncle is here, but the others aren't."

"What? Really? Do you believe him?" She questioned.

Zuko replied slowly, "Well I'd rather believe him than Zhao and he did sound genuine. But if he is here, and we get him out safely, then it definitely wasn't a waste of time staying behind." He smiled at her reassuringly and she returned a warm smile.

The first thing that Zuko checked was that his pearl dagger was still safe and untouched underneath the bed, in which it was. He retrieved it from its place and ran his fingers along the superior craftsmanship as he sat on the floor. His gaze was focused on its inscription and he read quietly to himself, ´Never Give Up Without A Fight'. Zuko with his new found courage suggested, "I think I know how we can get out of here." A smile creeping upon his face. Even Katara could see his eyes twinkling in the dark.

Katara waited expectantly for more and he said, "But we will have to wait to get our bending back first."

It was Katara's turn to smile and she told him mischievously, "Well, when the guards thought I was still knocked out they were going to give me some of that Chi Block stuff. But they were too busy talking to notice that I woke up and bent it out, so all I drank was some refreshing water."

Zuko chuckled at Katara's attitude toward bending the rules, watching her smiling eyes.

"As soon as we get some water I'll heal that burn on your shoulder."

He nodded in thanks and let out a sigh of relief that he would be rid of his burn soon; he didn't want another scar to add to his collection.

"So if it's true that your uncle is here, then where do you think he would be?"

"Well there isn't exactly a prison cell or any secret trap doors anywhere, so my best bet would be that he is somewhere near Zhao who is probably at the wheel with plenty of guards surrounding him. That's why we will need our bending."

"Well if we're lucky, that guard will come back and give us a little more information."

They sat in the dark in silence, leaning against each other, for they were the only company that they had. But by not exchanging words with one another their minds were left to wander freely. Katara thought about their situation, although, it wasn't long until she was thinking about the gaang, her brother, her dad, her mum, Zuko. The people who she was so close to, but everyone except for Zuko was so far away from her, out of her reach, out of her grasp. She couldn't see them nor talk to them, no interaction was possible in her situation. And it was then that she thought What happened if we don't make it out alive. If Aang doesn't come and Zhao decides to…Trying to shake that thought out of her mind she leant into Zuko further and closed her eyes gently.

"This Jasmine Tea is very nice," the old man said curtly taking a sip of his tea. "But I can not help to wonder why you are sailing further away from the Avatar," he questioned in a grave voice.

"Well you see Iroh," Zhao said, turning towards him. "They have that flying bison creature and can catch us easily. But by moving away from the Avatar it takes us closer to the Fire Nation," he smirked.

Iroh shrugged and stood up in his enclosure made up of a metal ceiling and vertical bars that surrounded him, acting as a small cell. "May I have some more tea, please?" He asked kindly.

Iroh got given some more tea and asked Zhao who was scanning the ocean, his eyes narrowing, "Are you up for a game of Pai Sho? I have my lucky tile," he asked joyfully, a wide grin forming on his face.

I liked this chapter. I hope you did too! Updates may become slower because of exmas etc but I will try my best to get them up in a few days. Please review.