A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! Whenever I see a review in my inbox, I always feel like updating sooner, so the more reviews the better! :D
So sorry for the looong delay, I was busy with homework. X(
Onto chapter 6!
Captured Trust Chapter 6: The Firebending Masters Part 1
"The Sun Whats?" Sokka questioned, scratching his chin in confusion.
"The Sun Warriors," Zuko corrected, "Legend has it that they were the first firebenders. They learned from the dragons."
Aang lifted his head at the mention of the dragons. "Why can't we just learn from the dragons?" he asked.
"Dragons are extint," Zuko replied.
"I thought dragons were still alive! I saw plenty when I was young!" Aang said, jumping up.
"Well, THEY AREN'T NOW!" the fire prince yelled. The flames of the campfire rose suddenly, sparks flying in the air. Aang looked at the flames in fear and Katara wore an angry expression on her tan face. Zuko noticed his mistake, and lowered the flames to their normal height.
"My ancestors killed them all," he added quietly, bowing his head.
"Well, I haven't ever heard of the Sun Warriors before," the monk said after an awkward silence that followed Zuko's outburst.
"That's because they've died off thousands of years before," the firebender stated, moving to sit down on the floor.
"What's the point of looking for some dead firebenders that might not even be alive?" Sokka uttered.
"Rumors have it that the Sun Warriors still reside in ruins, hidden from the outside world."
"Yeah, if they're hidden, then how are we supposed to find them?" the warrior retorted.
"It happens to be that there are ruins not too far from here called the Sun Ruins. The Avatar and I have a good chance of finding the Sun Warriors there." Zuko finished, staring out into the dark night sky.
"Wait, hold it," Katara shouted, to everyone's surprise, "Did you just say 'Aang and me'?"
"You're still our captive, and you plan to go somewhere unattended with Aang? Who knows? You could just turn your back on us and take Aang back to your filthy Fire Lord Father!" the waterbender yelled, ignoring the shocked looks on Zuko's and Aang's faces.
"I'm going with you."
"What?" Sokka cried, "I won't let you go on a crazy mission with that Jerkbender! Who knows what could happen?"
Katara sighed. Her brother was acting overprotective once again. "Sokka, how many times do I have to tell you this? I'm old enough to take care of myself. I can go wherever I want to go."
Moments passed as the siblings stared at each other. "Fine," the warrior finally said. He strode up to Zuko, and pointed a finger in his chest. "But if anything happens to Aang or my sister, you are dead meat."
"Sure," Zuko said unenthusiastically, easily swating the boy's finger away.
The rest of the night progressed slowly. After Katara had locked Zuko into his cell for the night, she had trudged back to their camp to sleep. After a few hours, she found it was impossible to sleep, thoughts running through her mind, troubling her sleep. Soon, the waterbender decided to practice waterbending to clear her mind.
Katara rose from her sleeping bag, making her way silently to the small fountain near the edge of camp. The soothing sounds of the rushing water helped clear her mind. She gracefully lifted her arms in a common waterbending stance, rasing an orb of water in front of her body. The moonlight reflected off the orb, and Katara could see herself in a reflection made by the water. Staring at herself, she thought about her decision to join Zuko and Aang in their quest to find the Sun Warrriors. Why had she volunteered to join them?
It's because I can't trust Zuko to be with Aang alone. I can't even trust him! She thought. Thoughts of the firebending prince had her face heat up suddenly. Quckly bringing her hands up, she brought the orb to her face, cooling it off. Why do I have to keep thinking about him! Darn it!
Abruptly, she chose to go back to camp, ending any more thoughts of the prince. When she reached the campsite, Katara ran to her sleeping bag and shut her eyes forcefully. Sleep soon overcame her, and she drifted off into a dream.
Zuko laid his head on the cool wall of his cell. The shackles around his wrists clanked as he put his arms on his knees. Tomorrow he would find the rumored Sun Warriors and learn the origins of firebending. Firebending that didn't require anger or hate. The firebender tried to remember a time when he had not used anger as a source of firebending. Surprisingly, he couldn't find a time. The times when he had been chasing the Gang, he had been angry constantly, driven into insanity. The banished prince recalled himself as a small child, crying when no fire had come out of hands when Azula had shown him a huge fire blast. He had run to his father, who merely looked away in disgust. At that time, anger had bubbled inside of his small body, and a flame erupted from his out stretched palm.
Zuko had never wanted to rely on anger and hate to firebend, but he had no choice. Now, he had a choice, and he chose to join the Avatar in the quest to defeat the Fire Lord. Even though he felt that he had made the right choice, Zuko couldn't help but feel empty inside. His firebending was gone, and he was degraded to the status of a prisoner. The teen groaned at the thoughts and shut his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.
The next morning, Katara woke at dawn to let out the prince from his cell. She yawned. How could firebenders wake up so early?
Zuko walked sullenly next to her, his arms crossed. He noticed how the waterbender walked sleepily, her arms sagging and her usually bright eyes dull.
"Can't you walk any faster?" the prince muttered quietly. Katara, however, heard the comment.
"Look, I'm not an early bird like you firebenders, okay? It's not my fault I can't wake up," she retorted; walking slightly faster than before. A slight smirk was all she received from the sullen prince.
As the pair reached the campsite, they realized that Aang was already sitting on Appa, his gray eyes shining with excitement. Toph stood next to Appa, her small hands holding onto the creature's long fur.
"Come on guys! Let's go meet those Sun Warriors!" he cried, gesturing them to get on Appa.
"Coming!" Katara cried. She threw her hand out, reaching to grab Zuko's arm. Her aim was amiss, and she ended up grabbing his pale hand. Zuko looked up in surprise but followed her to Appa's saddle, both their faces slightly colored.
Katara climbed up first, grabbing the tufts of the Air Bison's long furry coat as she made her way up into the saddle. Zuko followed suit after her, mimicking the way she used Appa's fur to get up. Once they were settled onto the bison, Katara and Zuko sat on opposite sides of the bison, Zuko in front with Aang, and Katara in the back.
"Are you sure you guys are gonna be okay without me?" Toph's voice cut through the air.
"We'll be fine Toph," Aang said impatiently.
"Yeah, and if Mr. Fire Prince does something funny, we can take him too," Katara added, then pointed to some rope stashed in the corner of the saddle, a grin on her face. Zuko groaned at the memory; the events that had happened at the North Pole played fresh in his mind.
"Well, we're off now! Yip yip!" Aang yelled hastily, slapping the reins. With a mighty push of its tail, the air bison roared and sailed into the blue sky.
"Sun Warriors, here we come!"
A/N: So that's the end of chapter 6! Next chapter will be up soon, I PROMISE :D
Anyways, R&R!