In Chains

A Hero Always comes Home

Zuko looked up into Ozai's eyes.

"You're not my father." Zuko replied evenly.

"Oh Zuko, you have helped my reputation. Thank you. No wants a traitor as a son."

"I'm not the traitor. Zoe is."

"Zuko, you're hurting my feelings." Zoe taunted.

"You don't have any feelings. I'll be hurting much more than your feelings in a minute." Zoe laughed.

"Zuko you're not in a position to hurt anyone." Zoe warned. Something in Zoe's voice had changed.

"Bow Zuko." Ozai demanded. Zuko looked Ozai in the eyes.

"Never."

"Never say Never." Ozai laughed. Zoe raised her hand and winced.

Zuko felt something pushing him to his knees. Zoe. Zuko fought back.

Zoe was shocked. Zuko was fighting it. He cried out in anguish.

"Leave him alone!" Katara yelled. Hama struggled to keep Katara from breaking free.

"Why do you care?" Ozai asked with interest. His eyes sparkled like a child who had been told that he would be celebrating Christmas every day. Zoe gasped. Katara you idiot!

Katara gulped.

"Because, you can't blood bend! It's wrong and cruel! Stop it! Stop it! It's wrong! Knock it off!!" Katara yelled. Zoe exhaled slowly. Nice save.



"Why do you insist on hurting my feelings?" Zoe asked innocently. Her hands were still raised.

"You don't have any!" Aang yelled. Aang's breaths were ragged and shaky. Azula laughed.

"I never knew a monk could get mad." Azula laughed again. Azula's laugh was like nails on a chalkboard. Zuko gasped as he fell to the ground.

"Zuko is finally where he belongs. At my feet." Ozai laughed. Ozai raised his hand.

"Take them out of my sight." Ozai demanded. Azula, Hama and Zoe walked away. Zuko stayed at the ground. Zoe walked back and went to help him up. Ozai got there first and kicked Zuko in the stomach. Zuko remained silent. When Ozai walked away, Zoe's eyes filled with pity. Zoe helped him up.

"I don't need your help, Zoe." Zuko replied spitting her name like a curse. Zoe couldn't tell if she had been punched in the stomach or if it just felt that way.

She grabbed his arm and led him into the prison cell. Sokka and Toph had already been chained. There were four more sets of chains. A metal door closed behind them. Zoe handed Zuko to Hama, while she chained Katara up. Then Zoe took Zuko and chained him up next to Katara. On the other side of Katara was Toph. Next to Toph was Sokka. The cell had two chain prisons on each wall, except for the door. Sokka was facing opposite to Zuko and Katara and Toph were at the back wall.

"Where's Aang and Iroh?" Sokka demanded.

"Somewhere inside the palace." Zoe responded airily.

"Give us an answer!" Zuko yelled. Zoe turned around and looked straight into Zuko's eyes.



"Zuko, stop struggling. You're only making things worse for yourself." Zoe snapped. Her voice was cold, but it sounded like a tiny part of Zoe wanted to cry.

"This is your fault! If you hadn't run away then we wouldn't have to get you and-" Zoe cut him off.

"You never had to go and find me. I don't need your help." Zoe walked out of the room. Hama laughed and followed her. Katara looked at Zoe.

"Zoe!" Katara yelled. Zoe turned around.

"What happened? I knew you!"

"No you didn't." Zoe walked away. Katara felt tears forming behind her eyes.

Zoe walked calmly to her room. It was luxurious and everything a girl could want. Zoe motioned for one of the servants to come over.

"Yes m'lady?"

"I want a teddy bear."

"Yes m'lady." The servant scurried out of the room. Within minutes she brought back a teddy bear. She set it down on the bed.

"Thank you." Zoe said quietly. The servant walked out of the room. Zoe locked the door. Zoe sat down on the bed and held the teddy bear and cried. Hope…I miss you. The tears flowed and she let the memories take over her.

Two girls played in the early morning on a porch. Hope was laughing.

"I love my teddy bear!" Hope exclaimed. Hope was running around.

"Really?" Zoe asked.

"Of course!" Hope giggled. In the distance, five fire nation guards were approaching. Hope paled.



"Zoe? What do they want?"

"I… I don't know Hope."Zoe whispered. The Guards marched up to the house and grabbed Hope.

"What are you doing?" Zoe screamed. Hope dropped her teddy bear.

"Leave me alone!" Hope was screaming and crying. She kicked the guards.

"She hasn't done anything! Leave her alone!" Zoe screamed. She ran up to the Guards and pounded on their metal armor. Hope was screaming even louder now.

"Take me instead! Please leave her be! She's not even 10! Please!" Zoe was sobbing now. Zoe ran to hug Hope but the guard pushed her down. Zoe got up again and punched the guards. For a brief moment Hope and Zoe's hand touched. The guard pushed her down to the ground. Zoe's face was tearstained and dirty.

"Don't take my sister away! Please!" Zoe ran after the guards. A guard threw a fireball at her. Zoe fell to the ground and sobbed. She heard Hope's screams and protests. Zoe sobbed even harder.

Zoe grabbed the teddy bear and cried as she thought of all she had lost.

Zoe stood in front of Iroh, frowning.

"I need to be better."

"Try this." Iroh threw a fireball at the ground and raised it and moved it so it circled him, forming a dome. Zoe nodded and bowed. Zoe breathed deeply. She tried the exact same thing. She lost control. Water from the creek circled around her fire shield. Zoe put her hands over her head and shook her head. Her shield broke and water splashed all over Iroh. Iroh created a shield.



"I'm so sorry. What was I thinking? I can't do this!" Zoe yelled.

"Yes you can." Iroh smiled.

"Cheer up. You did very well for your first time. Let's go have some tea." Zoe laughed.

Zoe smiled fondly. She held her teddy bear.

"I miss you." Zoe whispered. Zoe felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wasn't sure who she missed. Iroh, Hope, or maybe the old Zoe who was always on the run so her past could never catch up with her. Zoe walked to mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked like Azula. Zoe smashed the mirror.

"Reflections can lie. I'm not her."

Then who are you? Zoe shut her eyes. She was chained by her past.

Her past haunted her, never letting her let go, only letting her go so far before she broke. Never letting her let go of her pain, forcing her to hide. If she tried to face it all she would break. But if she ignored the ghost of her past, she would be torn apart from the inside. She was chained just as much as the gang was. Zoe's hand was bleeding. The pain was close to unbearable. Zoe suddenly slipped into the Warrior's Will and blocked out all of her pain.

Azula walked into Zoe's room.

"Hello." Azula said. Zoe suddenly slipped out of The Warrior's Will, pale and shaking. Zoe was scared by what she had seen.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked.



"Father wants to see Zuko and Katara. Go to the throne room." Azula demanded.

Sokka suddenly realized why Katara had yelled when Zuko was getting hurt.

"You like…Zuko?!" Sokka whispered.

"Uh…"

"Zuko?" Sokka stared Zuko down.

"Um No." Zuko felt his face burning.

"You're lying. Both of you." Toph said happily.

"Toph why couldn't you keep your mouth shut for once?"

Azula walked into the room and untied Zuko and Katara.

"Where are you taking my sister?" Sokka yelled.

"Shut up peasant." Azula walked out of the room pulling Katara and Zuko behind her. Soon Katara and Zuko arrived in the Firelord's throne room. Zoe was already there.

"So Zuko I heard that you have… feelings for this water tribe peasant." Ozai stated coldly.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked angrily. How could Zoe do this?

"Well you certainly have been making sure she never got hurt." Ozai laughed.

"Why would I like her?" Zuko spat. Katara gasped. How could he say that? Did he even like me?

"Zoe, while you were with them did you ever think that they were together?" Ozai's voice sounded like a teacher, asking a question when they already knew the answer.



I'll kill her if Katara gets hurt. Zuko thought angrily. Zuko controlled himself and forced his face to show no emotion.

"No." Zoe replied simply.

"Are you sure?" Ozai asked.

"Yes. They hate each other." Zoe replied. Zuko thanked Agni silently.

"Oh. Take them back to their cells." Ozai ordered.

"Yes sir." Zoe grabbed Katara and Zuko and walked them back to their cells.

"You're welcome." Zoe whispered coldly as she locked them up again. Zoe walked out of the room.

When she entered her room she lied down on her bed for a while and suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

"NO!" Zoe was screaming, alone in the dark. One by one she saw everyone she cared about die. Hope, Mom, Dad, Iroh, Nate, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Aang and Sokka.

Zoe was sobbing.

"Leave them alone! Please!"

"They never loved you! You're a freak!" Azula's voice taunted her.

"Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." Zoe pleaded.

"But we didn't leave you. You left us." Iroh's voice said.

"You broke your promise." Hope cried.

"No I never meant to… Please forgive me!" Zoe yelled. Hope was bleeding.

"You hurt me…." Hope sobbed.

"NO! I would never hurt you!" Zoe pleaded.



"Look at you. Everyone hates you. You are a freak. You failed. You let them down. You can't protect anyone. Why you ask? Because you died. You weren't there for them when they needed you most." Ozai's voice laughed.

"You hurt everyone around you Zoe! It's better that you're dead." Azula screeched.

Zoe woke up, clutching her blankets. She was sweating like crazy. Zoe breathed in and out but couldn't go back to sleep.

"What was that about?" Sokka asked.

"Zoe just saved us from the torture." Zuko replied. His head was swimming. Why did Zoe protect them like that?

"Why?" Toph asked.

"I wish I knew." Katara replied. Her heart was still pounding furiously in her chest.

"Katara, what I said. I didn't mean it." Zuko apologized.

"I know." Katara said.

Sokka looked up.

"What did you say to my sister?" Sokka whispered harshly. Toph grunted.

"Sokka shut up! What happened lovebirds?" Katara felt her face heat up. Oh My God! Why does she have to say that? We haven't even like hugged! Geez.

"Ozai thought Katara and I were together. And Zoe lied and said that we weren't." Zuko answered simply.



"What do you mean lied? You are not together!" Sokka yelled. Katara looked up fiercely.

"I can like who ever I want Sokka!" Katara hissed.

"What about Jet? How'd that go?" Sokka hissed back.

"Shut up!" Katara rattled her chains.

"Wait…Jet? Was he a freedom fighter?" Zuko asked.

"Yes." Sokka replied clueless to Zuko's obvious rage.

"I hate him!"

"So do I."Sokka agreed.

"I hate him too."

"But you still went out with him." Sokka argued

"You went out with him?!" Zuko asked angrily.

"No not really."

"You're lying." Toph teased.

"Oh my God! I'd rather face the Firelord than listen to this!" Katara yelled.

Katara suddenly screamed in anguish.