Woohoo chapter four!! Okay, I won't be able to update until I get back from vacation (September 1), just to let you know...enjoy! ;)
"Welcome back, Prince Zuko," two voices came from behind them just as Zuko began to pry open the box.
They both whirled around; even though they hadn't managed to see what was inside yet…
Zuko gasped and got into his fighting stance, but Katara didn't seem to understand what the big deal was. Sure, Zuko did say that the place was vacated, but even if that was a lie, the two women surely wouldn't stand a chance against two master benders…
"Back to Ember Island so soon Prince Zuko?" Li asked.
"Why didn't Azula accompany you?" Lo glanced at Katara questioningly.
Katara looked at Zuko, who was ready to attack.
"Grab the box," Zuko whispered to Katara. "I'll hold them back."
Katara stared at him. Surely he wouldn't think of attacking these defenseless old ladies?
Li and Lo immediately sensed her hesitation and let out a low whistle.
Before Katara had time to react, six Fire Nation soldiers jumped into the room; surrounding her and Zuko.
"You tricked me!" Katara screamed at Zuko. "This was a trap!"
Zuko- too busy to listen to Katara's furious accusations- tried to keep the soldiers back, but they were gaining on him.
"Just grab the box and get out of here!" he yelled, creating a huge fire shield between the soldiers and them.
Katara snatched the box and began running for her life.
"Don't let her get away!" Lo bellowed. Two soldiers chased after Katara, while the other four remained behind to take down the traitorous prince.
Katara held the box tightly; it was their only hope for curing Aang, Sokka and Teo. After several minutes of full-out sprinting, she began to tire. Even her counterattacks wouldn't hold the soldiers back. She needed to find a place to hide; she wouldn't make it to Appa unless she had time to rest and regroup. She kept running- the soldiers close behind shooting fire at her- until she reached an abandoned house. She dropped the box and fought the two soldiers with everything she had; running into the house after managing to freeze them up to their shoulders.
The home had an eerie feel to it, but Katara figured it was better than nothing and kept going until she found a room to hide for a little while. The box- to her surprise- still remained slightly ajar; she wouldn't need a firebender to open it again. She let out a deep breath and opened it completely. It was an amazing sight: four, stunningly blue lilies that looked as though they had just bloomed.
She held one tenderly, making sure she wouldn't damage it in any way. If Zuko was right, these flowers would be able to cure her friends...
Katara inhaled sharply. Zuko…
No doubt he had been "captured." Or, if it was a trap, it had failed. Katara had gotten away.
She set the box down and walked around the room. It was a very peculiar place; there wasn't anything in the room except for a few old piles of paper and part of a broken chandelier. As Katara stepped back, she trampled on an interesting piece of paper. Curious, she picked it up and turned it over…
It looked like a picture of Zuko and his family. Azula was just a baby, and Zuko couldn't have been more than two or three years old. Katara noticed that Ozai looked much more different than she had imagined him; perhaps because the portrait was so outdated? She figured the woman must have been Zuko's mom.
"He's so cute," she whispered as she looked at younger Zuko. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe that she just said that…sure, he was a cute little toddler; but still, it was Zuko she was talking about…
"The girl's in here!" she heard a soldier shout from the entrance to the house.
Katara immediately shoved the paper in her pocket and ran for the window. Just before she reached the opening, a flaming ball of fire slammed into the wall no more than a foot away from her. She didn't bother turning around and fighting; she knew there were more than just two of them this time. Instead, Katara leaped out the window.
She hit the ground and instantly began running for the secret cove under the beach. Now if she could just get to Appa…
Fire flew at her from several directions, but she wasn't going to waste her energy fighting them off. If she put everything she had into getting to Appa safely, she may have a chance of escaping.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she saw the abandoned beach. She ran and jumped off a giant boulder, landing carefully in the soft sand. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that some of the soldiers were tiring; she had just enough room to get to the cove safely.
Katara bended an air bubble around her body- still holding on tightly to the box- and jumped beneath the surface and swam to the cove. She saw flashes of orange fly at her above the water, but they couldn't reach her now.
"Appa!" Katara ran over and jumped into the saddle. "Quickly Appa, we have to get out of here."
She bended a giant funnel through the exit of the cove and pointed Appa through it. It was a bumpy ride through the waves, but they finally broke through the surface.
They were met by barrages of fire; Katara noticed at least six soldiers down on the beach; firing away at her and Appa. Just before Katara thought they were home-free, Appa let out a terrible moan. His front left leg was on fire, which led his middle left leg to catch fire as well.
Katara tried putting the fires out, but she didn't have enough water in the saddle. She directed Appa closer to the ocean, but the firebenders still pummeled them from the beach. Appa was getting slower by the second, and Katara was growing more desperate. Just as Appa began to rise higher above the water, Katara managed to extinguish the flames. But Appa was still badly burned.
"Come on Appa! I'll let you stop soon, but please, just get us away from here!" Katara begged him.
Appa responded by soaring higher and faster, until they were high above the clouds and out of sight.
Oh noez what's going to happen to Zuzu? :o
Hehe thanks for reading, any reviews/comments/flames are accepted.