Zuko awoke in a dark, dingy prison cell, no doubt the prison that Father had gifted Azula when she was five. Warily, he looked around, but his head was still foggy from his nap on the bench and the only thing he saw was a lump in the corner. Cautiously, Zuko crept over to the blob of cloth, recognizing it as a shivering girl in water tribe clothes.

He turned her over gently, realizing that she must be having a nightmare. His voice sounded hoarse, but he managed to rasp from his parched throat, "Katara, wake up. It's just a nightmare. Wake up, Katara!" At the last sentence, Zuko's voice filled with concern and his voice raised slightly, and he shook her rather desperately. His eyes flashed with worry, but then he sat back in relief as Katara came to. "Zuko? Zuko?! Oh, thank- thank goodness-" Her voice cracked and tears ran down her face, and she pulled him into a tight embrace.

Zuko realized how weak he felt, and vowed he wouldn't show it, not in front of his lovely Katara. He had to protect her no matter the cost. That's why, when four guards stepped in and grabbed each of them roughly, Zuko was the first to fight back.

"Jeez, kid. You might be a fugitive, but it's not like we're taking you for torture or anything." The guard who had spoken —a girl, no doubt— placed a calming hand on Zuko's shoulder. Though he didn't like it, Katara shot him a warning glance, so he complied reluctantly and came with their quadruple entourage. They were marched, not rudely, to a large cafeteria where a hundred or so other prisoners were sitting and eating. The room wasn't silent, as most of the prisoners had managed to make friends and were chatting frantically.

Zuko and Katara's escorts stepped away once they were in the cafeteria, locking the door. Hands laced together, they stepped cautiously towards an empty table, neither of them very hungry. For half an hour, they sat and talked, each smuggling some food into their robes for when they finally worked up an appetite. A guard began ushering the prisoners towards the cell block, but as Zuko and Katara stepped out, the quadruple of guards pulled them away.

"Got orders to take you for interrogation. My advice is give 'em what they want as soon as you guys get in there. Don't want to see you guys getting hurt. Seem like nice folks." The guards all looked rather remorseful, which just made Zuko even more terrified as to what was to come. Zuko could feel Katara's grip tighten around his arm, and he caressed her shoulder to tell her it was okay.

Zuko could feel it coming, and sure enough, when they reached the iron door, two guards took hold of Katara's shoulders and led her away. Zuko could feel the desperation rising in him, but he took a deep breath and sent Katara a look that meant, Go with them. We don't need trouble on our first day here. He could see the frantic look in her eyes but she nodded grimly.

She wasn't helpless, after all. She could defend herself better than most, and she was still considered a teenager. Feeling powerless, Zuko followed his ushers into a large, bare room. It consisted of iron plating every single surface, from the walls to the blocky metal chair in the center of the room, with metal shackles on the arms and legs of the chair.

His ushers left as a new caretaker arrived, this one some kind of general or something. The man shoved Zuko roughly into the seat, tightly manacling his wrists and ankles to the cold chair.

Authors Notes

Hi guys, lol, really long chapter here. Was originally going to be longer, but whatevs. This is the intro to a lot of Hurt!Zuko trash, so forgive me for all this junk that you have just read. Also: Avatar is not my cartoon. I did not make it, IT IS NOT MINE. The pleasure I get from tormenting the characters, however, is entirely mine, and is not shareable. Have fun reading my fluff, idk what I'm doing so...