Chapter 3 – Survival Instincts
Hideo and Lim were supposed to be on guard duty that night, both having sustained only superficial injuries during the altercation with the spirit. Both of them were dreading it.
"Hideo, if those smoky things start coming out of the walls I'm running for it. I'll jump overboard if I have to, do you think they can swim?" asked Lim.
"You coward! Where is your Fire Nation pride and honor?" ribbed Hideo good-naturedly. Privately, he agreed wholeheartedly.
"Unlike you, I am not a firebender. Also unlike you, I have strong self-preservation instincts."
"You're lucky Prince Zuko is charge of the ship. I have a cousin working in a prison in the colonies, and the warden threw a captain overboard because he didn't know the difference between a buffalo and a bison!"
Hideo and Lim jumped in shocked when a new voice entered their conversation, "I can understand the confusion, buffalo and bison are very similar."
"G-genral Iroh!" Both men quickly stood at attention.
"Please," he gestured for them to stand at ease, "I've come to tell you the good news. You have the night off!"
"But who will be on guard duty sir?" asked Hideo. Lim elbowed Hideo to shut up. Iroh politely ignored this.
"I will be," he replied with a smile.
If the crew thought it was strange that General Iroh, Dragon of the West, was on Guard duty, they kept their thoughts to themselves.
Ostensibly, Iroh said it was because Prince Zuko wanted to give the crew a night off after the stressful events that day, and to prepare for their new stations on the morrow.
They left the ship in search of a local tavern in high spirits.
Meanwhile, Iroh and Zuko argued the logistics of their plan in the brig.
Zuko paced agitatedly in front of the cell. The girl was still out cold.
"Uncle, why don't I just open the cell and carry her out like this? There isn't anybody but us on the ship! Who would I be dressing up for?"
"Nephew, if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well," said Iroh serenely.
"This is ridiculous," grumbled Zuko.
"It was your idea," shrugged Iroh.
"My idea was to move the girl and say the blue spirit took her, not to actually dress up as the blue sprit!"
"But nephew, it will be more authentic this way…"
Zuko threw his hands up in defeat and stormed off to get changed.
When he returned, his Uncle was sitting calmly with a steaming cup of tea.
He put a hand to his chest in mock surprise when he caught sight of Zuko in his blue spirit getup.
"Oh my! The Blue Spirit! Please don't hurt me, I am but an old man!" he cried dramatically, "Nice mask Zuko," he added in a whisper.
Zuko ignored him in favour of braking the chain keeping the cell closed with a strike of his swords.
The girl was still unconscious. He tied her wrists together securely with a length of rope, before hefting her over his shoulder.
He was walking down a long stretch of corridor when he heard voices up ahead.
"…still be left when we get there?"
There was no time to go back, this stretch of corridor had no doors, and they were meters away…
"General Iroh won't be there so I'm sure there will be-"
Thinking fast, Zuko put the girl down on the floor, and leap up to grab the pipes running along the ceiling.
He pulled himself out of sight just as the men rounded the corner.
"Lim, look!"
Both men hesitated, unwilling to approach the girl.
"Shit! W-what do we do? What is she doing here!"
"I don't know! You go check her!"
"No, you go check her!"
"You're a firebender, you check her!"
"Well, you better get out your sword and have my back!"
When they got within striking range, Zuko dropped down from the ceiling, drawing his dual broadswords smoothly and crouching in front of the girl defensively.
Both men attacked in panic. It was feeble and sloppy.
It was nothing for Zuko to disarm without hurting them unduly. He bound their wrists with their own belts, and stuffed their mouths with their own wrist bands.
Zuko felt a pang of guilt, after all they were his own men, but he reasoned that as soon as he secured the girl he would come back and let them go.
He locked the girl safely in his quarters with no further mishaps, leaving her on his futon.
He changed back into his regular clothes and stowed his Blue Spirit costume away where no one would happen across it.
He headed back down, intending 'happen' upon his men and release them, but then he spotted Zhao boarding his ship, several of his men in tow. That was quicker than he expected. He made an about face to head straight for them. His poor men would have to wait.
He schooled his expression into one of vexation and panic. It was depressingly easy.
"Zhao? You're back again? I don't have time for this-" he said impatiently, trying to move past him.
"Ah ah, not so fast Prince Zuko. Your crew tells me you have an honored guest on board."
"Had, we had a prisoner," replied Zuko, infusing his voice with anger.
"What do you mean?"
"She escaped," he snarled.
"You expect me to believe your prisoner just escaped?"
"It's true Zhao, I was guarding her when she got away," Iroh had arrived. Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"A mere slip of a girl got away from under your nose? She escaped from Dragon of the West?" exclaimed Zhao incredulously.
"She had help. I saw the Blue Spirit," Zuko was impressed, his Uncle looked suitably haunted.
Zhao scowled. "You must take me for a fool if you think I'll believe that. We both know who the blue spirit really is." He glared pointedly at Zuko.
"I don't care who you believe Zhao, I'm going to pursue them. Get out of my way-" said Zuko.
"Nephew no," interrupted Iroh, "Zhao, you spoke to the crew. Did they tell you what the girl did?"
Zhao eyed Iroh suspiciously.
"Farfetched tales about shadow demons. All lies no doubt."
"They weren't lies; the girl is possessed by an evil spirit. I beg of you Prince Zuko, don't go after her. She's too dangerous."
"Check the brig," Zhao ordered his men. Two peeled off from the group and headed below deck. Zuko glared, but let them go without comment.
"This is a waste of time. She isn't on the ship anymore!"
They all waited in agitated silence for Zhao's men to return. They didn't return alone.
"There was no one there sir," they reported, "but we found these two men gagged and bound."
Hideo and Lim trailed behind Zhao's men looking disheveled and embarrassed.
"What happened to you two?" Zuko demanded.
"We were ambushed by the Blue Spirit! He had the girl with him."
"I told you!" cried Zuko.
"Sir there's something else…" injected one of Zhao's men, "we had a look in the mess hall. All the tables and chairs were broken. It looked like a battlefield in there."
"You won't object if I check Prince Zuko?"
Zuko made a show of stomping his foot and huffing indignantly, but they all marched to the mess hall together.
Zhao looked taken aback as he took in the damage, broken tables, broken chair, scorch marks and all.
"You're telling me one girl caused all this damage?"
"It took all our men to subdue her Lieutenant Zhao," said Iroh.
"Yes, and she's on the loose right now!" cried Zuko.
"She is obviously more dangerous than we gave her credit for... Prince Zuko, my men and I will personally search for the girl; she is no longer in your jurisdiction."
"What!?"
"Iroh, you may accompany us to lend assistance."
"I'm not sure how helpful I would be in your search-"
"I insist, after all, you actually know what the girl looks like," Iroh glanced at Zuko, and then back to Zhao. Iroh and Zuko both knew he didn't really have a choice.
"I would be honored," Iroh eventually replied, bowing his head respectfully.
"I need to buy some things from town anyway; it will be good to stretch my legs off this boat," he gave Zuko a meaningful look.
"Enjoy your banishment Prince Zuko," said Zhao spitefully, by way of farewell.
Zuko didn't have to try very hard to put on an angry expression as he watched them leave.
"Er… Sir…?" ventured Hideo. Lim elbowed him to shut up.
"What should we do now?"
"What are you two even doing here?" asked Zuko, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Lim forgot his silver, and I came with him because I wanted to drop off my helmet-" Zuko held up a hand wearily to stem the flow of words.
"It doesn't matter, I just want to be alone."
"So… Does that mean you don't mind if we go meet the others in the tavern?"
Zuko rolled his eyes.
"I think that means yes, let's go," whispered Lim urgently.
Once they had disembarked, Zuko allowed himself to sigh in relief.
He supposed their plan could have gone worse. They succeeded in their objective in the end; making it look like the girl had escaped.
He was angry that Zhao had strong-armed Iroh off the ship and that he now had to wait for him to return for the next phase; the exorcism. If Iroh returned very late, it would have to wait for the next night.
They had decided to perform the ritual at a beach across the bay from where the ships where moored. It was surrounded by high sandstone cliffs, and if they moved inland enough no one would be able to see their firebending from the port.
The sun was well on its way down, there wasn't much longer to wait.
He returned to his room with a bucket of water, just in case. When he arrived, the girl was awake, and her eyes were blue.
He set the bucket down right in front of her and she immediately plunged both bound arms into it, sighing in relief.
"Thank you. Water really helps to keep it away," she murmured.
Zuko crossed his arms and considered the girl carefully, the way her brows were pinched together, and the way her shoulders were hunched.
"It's not hurting you is it?" he blurted.
She looked confused.
"The spirit, is it hurting you?" he clarified. He didn't like the idea of her being in pain longer than was strictly necessary.
She shrugged.
"Not physically." Zuko frowned, and found to his surprise that it was possible to dislike Zhao even more. If Zhao hadn't insisted on taking Iroh with him, they could be getting rid the spirit that very second.
"You seem… more yourself," he ventured cautiously.
"I'm stronger at night," replied the girl.
"But it's not night yet..? The sun won't set for another hour or so." The girl shrugged.
"It's nearly night then," she amended, "I… I can tell the moon is coming up," she disclosed hesitantly.
So uncle was right, she is stronger at night… Zuko tacked that information away to tell Iroh later.
He sat at the opposite end of the room, cross-legged and facing the girl. He lit his meditation candles with the tip of his index finger and started his breathing exercises. Usually he would close his eyes as he made the flames grow and shrink with his breath, but needed to watch the girl.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Meditating," he replied curtly.
"Where are we?"
"My quarters."
She started in surprise at that piece of information.
"W-what am I here for?" she asked in a quivering tone.
"Because General Zhao searched the ship and we needed to hide you so he couldn't take you prisoner himself. Now can you shut up? I'm trying to meditate," he snapped.
For some strange reason the girl looked relieved. She examined the room with open curiosity, no doubt cataloging everything she laid eyes on to use against him later. At least, that's what his sister would do.
They sat in silence that way until the sun had properly set, Zuko watching the girl, and the girl watching his dancing flames.
Suddenly he heard a sound. The creak of an un-oiled door hinge.
"Did you hear that?" whispered the girl.
Zuko put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be silent.
He got up and opened the door to the hall.
"Uncle?" he called cautiously. No reply… but he had a feeling in his gut that something was off. Iroh would have answered him directly…
The girl struggled to her feet.
"Something isn't right, I can feel it…" she whispered.
Zuko assumed a defensive stance, arms held loosely out in front.
"Stay here. I'll check it out," he ordered quietly. He had a funny feeling something was off too… Maybe that was why he closed the door, but didn't lock it.
He walked cautiously down the corridor, and nothing appeared. His relaxed a little, but decided to check the control room to be safe.
Everything seemed to be in order there too…
Feeling a bit foolish for his overreaction, Zuko went to turn back, but he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
Fists flaming he confronted the intruder… only to come face to face with the girl. She was leaning heavily against a wall for support, her breathing laboured as if she had been running for miles.
"I told you to stay!" Zuko spluttered.
"S-something is wrong," she repeated. Her blue eyes darted around the room fearfully.
"Everything is fi-" Zuko's eyes widened in surprise. Through the window, he could see a familiar iguana parrot perched on the rails. It squawked and flapped away.
He had time to grab the girl's bound wrists before the first explosion rocked the bridge. The floor beneath their feet roiled violently, and the boom rang in Zuko's ears.
Acting on pure instinct, he yanked the girl, hard, and wrapped his arms around her so his back was facing the boiler outlet.
When the final explosion came a second later, he firebent a pocket around the two of them. They were blasted through the window of the control room, and out over the ocean.
He lost his grip on the girl as they hurtled through the air. The impact when he hit the ocean knocked the breath from his body.
For a terrifying minute he couldn't orient himself, it was dark and he couldn't tell which way was up. Once he figured it out, he struggled to swim upwards because his heavy armour was weighing him down. He undid the clasps with hurried clumsy fingers and pushed the items off his body in a panicked frenzy.
When he finally broke the surface of the water, he took heaving gulps of air.
The water around him was littered with debris from the ship. With a great groaning of metal pushed beyond its limits, the superstructure of the ship collapsed sideways with a loud crash into the ocean below, sending shock waves out through the water.
The girl… Her hands were tied; she wouldn't be able to swim. The thought horrified him.
What was her name? He had heard the avatar say it before…
"Katara!" he yelled, "Where are you!?" he looked around frantically, but he couldn't see anything in the inky water that surrounded him.
"Zuko…" he heard the weak voice from a distance behind him. There she was! Bobbing amongst some debris.
She was clinging to a floating piece of the ship with great difficulty, her bound wrists getting in the way of a proper grip. As he started swimming towards her, her eyes rolled back into her head and she slipped underwater.
Zuko took a deep breath and dived.
He swam blindly forwards and downwards with a hand outstretched, praying that he would crash into her. His prayers were answers as he grabbed what felt like a handful of her robes. He gripped what he could reach of her with both hands, and yanked firmly.
When they broke the surface, Katara spluttered and coughed weakly. She was barely conscious. Luckily, Zuko was a strong enough swimmer for both of them.
It was slow going pulling another person's dead weight through the water, but eventually Zuko's boots touched sand, and he dragged Katara's body out of the water onto a moonlit beach.
The very beach he and Iroh were planning on using for their exorcism.
He allowed himself to collapse onto his back beside her, breathing heavily with exertion. The roaring glow of his burning ship was a fiery blot across the bay. His thoughts raced, slipping through his head like sand in an hourglass.
He reflected on the irony of a firebender saving a waterbender from drowning.
He thought the full moon looked particularly bright.
He thought that Zhao showing up just before his ship was blown up was not a coincidence.
Beside him, Katara stirred and sat up.
"Zuko…"
"What?" he snapped, his thoughts having progressed to the uncertainty of what he was supposed to do. No crew, and now no ship. How was he supposed to capture the avatar now? How was he supposed to regain his honor?
Katara interrupted his self-pity party with more bad news, "I-it's coming back and it wants you. You have to run, I c-can't hold it off all night," the words tumbled over each other quickly, straining to get out.
Zuko sat up quickly, wincing in pain. He hadn't noticed before, but his ribs felt either very bruised, or broken. Blood dripped into his eyes; Zuko assumed there must be cuts on his face.
"I thought you said you were stronger at night!" he cried, using his sopping wet sleeves to wipe away the blood.
"I am," she bit out through gritted teeth, "It's fighting me."
Something in Zuko snapped. Everything always went wrong for him, he could never do anything right. He knew it was impetuous, he knew he should find his uncle first, but he didn't care. He just wanted to take action; he wanted to regain a semblance of control over something, anything in his life.
"That's it, this ends now."
Oh dear, Zuko never thinks things through! What do you think will happen next? Thanks you so much to the people who reviewed! It makes me very happy and gives me more motivation to write. :) If you do decide to leave a review, some things I'd like feedback on in particular, if you happen to be feeling talkative: Did I get the characterization right? Is the interaction between the crew members and Zuko and Iroh actually funny because that's what I was trying to go for haha Sorry for any typos, completely my fault.