Chapter 12: Second Impressions

Zuko gave a respectful bow to Azula. She walked over to the large table and sat down near the front.

"So you made it here," she simply stated. Zuko didn't understand. Why wouldn't he? With a wave of her hand, an older man stepped forward at her call. "Fix him." The man walked over to Zuko and began to strap his armor off. After setting the broken chest plate on the table, the man froze.

"Princess," the man said quietly. "This man has no injuries." She shot a confused gaze at the man, then at Zuko and frowned.

"Impossible," she murmured. "I was sure I had hit you." She stood up immediately and quickly walked towards Zuko. Without warning, she yanked open his robe and deepened her frown. Now that he saw his body in brighter light, Zuko also was amazed at the healing job Katara had done. His alabaster skin had mended perfectly, no sign of burns or bruises remained.

Azula continued to stare down at his body, and turned to the man again. "Did he stop by for treatment?" The man shook his head and stepped back. "Princess," he replied. "If the injury was as grievous as you had said, even if he did come by, I would not have been able to heal it completely by this time."

Her eyes flashed dangerously and peered down at the man. "Are you suggesting that I was wrong?" The man's eyes grew wide and bowed lower. "O-Of course not, princess." She stood still and the silence pierced the air.

"P-Princess," the man stuttered. She swiftly raised her hand to stop his words. "Enough," she commanded. "I will sort this myself. You may leave." At her comment, he bowed briskly and walked out of the room. Without another word, Azula turned and returned to her seat. She gestured for him to sit down. Not wanting to feel awkwardly exposed any longer, Zuko quickly retied his robes together and sat at the other end of the table.

"You didn't go to get treated?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, princess," Zuko replied honestly. Technically, he did get healed, but not by the male doctor from before. He figured that man couldn't come close to what Katara had done in an entire day.

"So then, you were not injured?" she asked again.

"Yes… princess," he answered slowly. Heck—injured was a serious understatement—he was almost burned to death. But Zuko didn't know if she would buy it. Her eyes narrowed at him, studying his face for any sign of that would betray his words. After a moment of silence and staring, she gave a small nod and seemed to move on.

"Lee," she started. "Your job is very simple. You will lead the other soldiers on this ship, and report back to me at sunset." Zuko nodded. Wondering how many other men before him heard those words. She paused and stared at him. "You take orders from me, and no one else." She continued, "I do not know why you were hiding your strength this entire time, but that is not my highest concern."

Zuko sat at the other end, nodding at her words and keeping his head lowered. He wanted to go back to Katara, but he knew their talk could be an opportunity to find out information. With another wave of her hand, a maid approached the table with clean armor hanging over her arms. "Change quickly and follow me," she commanded. Zuko quickly took the armor from the girl's arms and hurriedly strapped them on, removing his previously stolen, now damaged one. The metal felt considerably lighter and than the one before, and the design was somehow different. There was no helmet or faceplate with the set. Azula began to walk out, and Zuko scurried on after her.

They began walking downstairs in silence, and Zuko was starting to feel nervous. They were walking closer and closer towards where Katara was. He remembered there was no other room on the bottom floor except the one they were currently occupying. Azula continued to descend down to the stairs. There was no doubt—she was headed for the bottom floor.

Zuko had to stop her somehow. He couldn't let her find Katara. Just as he was about to shout out to her, she stopped suddenly against a wall and almost ran into her. Katara was practically sleeping—or as Zuko hoped—in the other room twenty feet down the hall, but Azula looked towards the dead end.

"Stand back," she said quietly. Zuko instinctively stepped back. She took a few breaths and punched a stream of fire from both fists into the corners of the wall. The fire slowly began to spread down the wall, turning randomly, and twisting throughout the wall. No, it wasn't random at all. As the fire continued down the wall, it began to make an image. After the two lines of fire connected, Zuko realized what it was—the fire nation symbol. The sign burned a scorching blue and suddenly the metal wall trembled. It shook and began to open at the center. Zuko almost dropped his jaw in surprise; it was a hidden room.

Azula stepped inside, and Zuko cautiously followed. The door shut automatically behind him. The room was bare, nothing but metal walls surrounded the small place. Small torches were hung on the walls, illuminating the room a deep orange. Zuko laid eyes on a large man lying on the ground at the end of the room, with his head hanging down. Thick shackles held down his wrists and ankles. Azula gestured to the man, "This is the man from our recent mission, and as you heard, it was a failure." Zuko simply nodded, not exactly knowing what she was talking about. "You will come here everyday to interrogate him. We are searching for his sister." Zuko's heart stopped. The man's figure had looked familiar, and her words began to click pieces together in his mind.

"His sister?" Zuko asked, trying to mask the nervousness in his voice. "If I may ask for clarification, princess, why are we searching for his sister?" Azula stared back at him and paused. Zuko wondered if he had overstepped his boundaries. The silence had begun to drag on until she started to walk back to the door.

"Fire Lord's orders," she finally replied. She seemed to scowl at her own words. "I do not know the details myself, but she is believed to be a key element to win the war." Zuko was in disbelief. They couldn't be thinking about the same people. No way. She stepped towards the door and released a stream of blue fire; the metal complied and opened. "Wake him. Report to me any useful information. Lastly, that man is quite stubborn. Use force if necessary, but do not kill him," she emphasized. "You may return to your floor afterwards." Zuko stood there speechless as the princess walked out of the room and the metal wall shut behind her.

Zuko stood facing the hidden door in silence. After a moment, he figured she wouldn't be returning and quickly spun around to wake the man. He secretly hoped it wasn't him. He crouched in front of the man and shook his shoulder.

"Hey…" he muttered. The man didn't stir. Zuko blinked in anticipation and leaned closer. "Sokka?" he called out louder. The man shifted and groaned, surprising Zuko. He slowly lifted his head and strained his eyes, a deep scowl pressed in his forehead.

It was Sokka.

"Sokka! It's me, Zuko," he spluttered. Now that Zuko got a close look at Sokka's face, his stomach twisted in guilt. His eyes were shaded a dark blue, swollen and puffy. Large cuts decorated his face. The blood had dried and cracked his skin. His beard stubble and hair was singed, obviously burned from firebenders.

"Y-You," he croaked. His eyes seem to widen in surprise. "What are you—" He stopped his words and stared at Zuko's armor. His mouth slowly dropped open. "Bastard… so all along, you were with her." He snarled. "Damn, you little—"

"Wait, what?" Zuko interrupted. He looked down at his armor and understood. "Wait, Sokka, don't misunderstand." He raised his hands in front of him. "Katara and I came to save you, and infilt—"

"You did what?" Sokka growled. "You brought Katara here?" He tired to push himself up, but staggered. He cursed in pain. "You ignorant little—I told you to protect her! Not bring her to her death!" He shouted at Zuko. Sokka's voice was thick with exhaustion, and rasped with every breath.

Zuko didn't respond. How could he say anything to Sokka like this? He averted his eyes away from Sokka's glare, like a child getting scolded from his parent. The silence settled in the air, similarly to the first time they ever talked.

"You brought her here?" Sokka again asked quietly. Not wanting to believe what he was about to hear.

"Yeah…" Zuko murmured.

"On this ship?"

"Yeah…"

Sokka let out a deep sigh and shook his head slowly. He continued to give Zuko a cold glare.

"Sokka, I had too." Zuko started, trying to reason with the exhausted man in front of him. "You were taken, and Katara was seriously distraught with guilt, and I promised I would help her find you…"

"Idiot…" he muttered venomously. He paused, shifting his gaze and closing his eyes in denial. "Is… she safe?" he asked.

"Yes," responded Zuko. " And I will make sure it stays that way." Sokka opened his eyes again and started at Zuko.

"Don't tell her I'm here," he requested. "In fact, get her out of here now." Zuko frowned, taken aback by his demand.

"I can't, we came here to take you back," Zuko argued. "Katara would be furious with me… Besides, we're in the middle of the ocean, we can't exactly walk off." Sokka sighed angrily, obviously not amused with Zuko's comeback.

"Don't tell her," he repeated. "Knowing her, she'll try to be self-sacrificing and die trying to get me out." He slowly shook his head in frustration. With that, Zuko actually agreed. He had figured out Katara 's kind soul would put her in situations where she could be hurt. He couldn't allow that, he wouldn't. He bit on his lower lip and nodded his head in silence.

"What… happened after I was taken?" Sokka hesitantly asked. Zuko shot his gaze back to Sokka and remembered what happened.

"She…" started Zuko. "I don't even know. She seemed to be in some trance like state. She somehow killed all the soldiers without her waterbending… and I swear her eyes glowed red… I know this sounds unbelievable—"

"No," Sokka cut in. "I believe you." He replied dully. His eyes seemed unfocused and sighed.

"You… do?" Zuko inquired. Something had clicked in his head. Zuko leaned back wide-eyed. His circumstance with Katara was seriously out of the ordinary. Why the fire nation wanted Katara, why she seemed to be a different person—this man in front of him had the answers. "Sokka," he spoke firmly. "Please tell me what's going on. I know that you know."

Sokka eyes hardened at his words and his scowl settled over his face again. "Don't misunderstand, Zuko. I don't trust you. Everything that you are fits perfectly with them." He snarled.

Zuko's jaw almost dropped. "You… think I'm a fire nation spy?" he almost yelled. "Sokka, I swear, this is the first time I'm even meeting them! In fact, I've never even been to the fire nation!"

Sokka shook his head and closed his eyes, refusing to look at Zuko anymore. His mouth hardened into a tight line. But Zuko wouldn't let this pass. He couldn't leave this room knowing that Sokka was convinced he was a fire nation spy.

"If I was a spy, why would I save Katara? Why would we come to rescue you?" Zuko argued. His first motive to question Sokka was all gone now. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not working for them."

"Get out of here," Sokka muttered, still looking down. Zuko's anger began to rise. Angry that people were leaving him in the dark. Angry that he didn't know how to protect Katara. Angry that his uncle was gone. Angry that he was thrown into this crazy situation. The flaming torches in the room responded to his anger, and started to flare wildly. His body began to feel hot, and he found the urge to release the flame from his fists.

"I'll prove it to you," Zuko replied quietly, trying to concentrate on his breathing and clam himself down. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove to you that I'm not a spy." Sokka opened his eyes and looked up at Zuko. His frown still deeply etched into his forehead. "Besides, it's now my new job to come and talk to you. So I'll be back tomorrow." He spat bitterly.

With that, Zuko turned on his heel and walked away from Sokka. Before his anger could fully subside, he shot roaring flames at the wall just as he saw Azula do before. The fire nation symbol appeared with his fire, and the door complied with Zuko's demand. Before leaving, he quickly grabbed a torch from the wall and stepped out.

As Zuko walked down the hallway, he heard the wall shut again. All the doors here seemed to shut by themselves. He continued to walk straight into the crate room where Katara was. He felt eager to see her. Yet guilt hit at his heart every time he thought of Sokka. His steps quickened as he approached her, hoping that she was still asleep.

Katara was sitting exactly where Zuko had left her. Her head tilted to the side of her shoulder from the lack of support. Zuko let out a sigh of relief, and the weight on his shoulders seemed to lift. He attached the torch against the wall, thankful that they finally had a light source without his bending.

He sighed again and began to strip off his armor. He sat down next to Katara and almost yelped. The metal floor was freezing cold. Heck—he wondered how Katara was able to sleep. He looked over at her and almost smacked himself in the face. She was shivering. Her hands shook the slightest, and a small frown pressed in her forehead. Zuko mentally hit himself for not noticing before.

He quickly untied his top robe and threw it over Katara's legs. It was cold, but manageable. He secretly thanked the princess for giving him a change of clothes.

Before he could think through it, Zuko gently moved Katara forward, and situated himself behind her back. He blushed, feeling blood rush to his face at their position. It's necessary! I can transfer my body heat to her. She'll understand… Zuko muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath he pressed his hands against her back while her body slumped against his chest.

"Nephew, do you know why fire is the only element that benders can generate without an outside source?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, still breathing hard. "But when I bend… it's almost like it's from a part of my body." Zuko pulled his fingers into a fist, concentrating on his hands. He had been training with his uncle the entire morning, taking a few breaks from time to time.

"Fire is an element of power and passion." Iroh replied. "It is fueled by your internal body heat and your inner fire." He closed his eyes, feeling the cool evening wind. "Whether you desire to protect… or to destroy. Fire will comply with your emotions, which is why it is important to control yourself."

Zuko nodded slowly in understanding. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing again.

Zuko shut his eyes and focused. He clamed his breathing and concentrated on himself. He could feel the energy circulate throughout his body, fluctuating every time he wavered. His inner fire blazed calmly. He traveled throughout every limb, and out his fingers, which was resting on Katara's upper back.

He willed his inner fire to burn higher and his body began to heat up. The heat from his body was released from his hands and onto Katara. Zuko had to be extra careful to avoid giving her a forced fever. After a minute, her body became still and her breathing returned to normal. He continued to breathe steadily, feeling the energy in Katara's body even out.

A forceful blast of energy suddenly shook Zuko from his concentration, impelling him to yelp in shock and open his eyes. Katara's body was abruptly pulled forward from his hold. She groaned quietly and slowly turned her head around.

"Zuko…?" she murmured, turning her unfocused face to meet his. A dark red color receded from her eyes.

A/N: Surprised? I updated within a week this time! :D Hope you guys had a good week.
hmm.. so Katara is some kind of war potential. Hehehe I'm so excited for the upcoming chapters when the truth is revealed... I'll be careful not to rush it.
And on an unfortunate note, I broke my finger yesterday, so there's a possibility that a new chapter won't be coming next week... typing with one hand is so frustrating. But don't lose hope on me!

See you guys, hopefully soon! Please review! :)