Force of Iron
Chapter 14
Old Vendettas
Zuko raced through the ship searching for Katara. He knew time was short and scolded himself for not running quick enough, even though he was running as fast as he could, but his patience stretched too thin.
He knew the layout of his own ships, having spent several years on one when he was a teenager, but having spent his entire time in the brig he never had a chance to learn where Ozaian was keeping Katara. He checked all the possible locations as he made his way up through the floors of the ship. After he had scoured the lower levels he had finally made his way out onto the deck, where he could access the upper floors of the ship. As he emerged from the stairs of the lower levels he swore he heard somebody behind him. He quickly glanced behind him to see if anyone was there. Strangely, he saw no one. But by the time he had turned around to face forward it was too late and he had run right into one of his most loathed old enemies.
At first he thought he had just run right into a deformed old man. But as the old guy got to his feet with the help of his bodyguards that wore bleached white masks and old fire nation uniforms. Zuko's heart rate quickened in fear, and once when he saw those unmistakable, unnaturally large side burns. He knew who he was up against.
"Zhao," he said as they both got to their feet.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't the once great Fire Lord, who will soon be overthrown by his long forgotten twin," said Zhao menacingly through his deformed lips.
"I don't think that will be the case Zhao, after all your supposed to be dead," replied Zuko fighting back rage and impatience.
"Well we'll see won't we, after all it is about that time when you received the consequences of your actions from those many years ago," he said menacingly.
Zuko grit his teeth as he said, "Your probably talking about what happened at the North Pole aren't you? And I'll have you know that what you've become today you brought upon yourself and for the record I tried to save your life but it was you who refused."
The memory of what happened that one night at the North Pole was fresh in both of their minds. The moon a blood red then dark as its life vanished. The spirit of the ocean's hand plucking Zhao from his duel with Zuko, beginning to drag him down into the icy waters, and Zuko reaching out his hand to help him but Zhao refused as he accepted his fate. Now his face was severely scarred as punishment for his crime. It was obvious that the spirits thought a just punishment was to take back some of the gifts that they had given him, which would explain his severe deformities. It was also known as the Spirit's Curse.
Zhao was too angry to face the facts, all he wanted was revenge. To see Zuko lying on the floor dead, his golden eyes dull, his body cold and stiff, and the stench of his blood filling the air. The very image temporarily satisfied him, but it wouldn't be enough to quench his thirst until the image became real.
His lust for blood fueled his anger in such a way that he sent a deathly wave of fire in Zuko's direction, with his soldiers following suit.
Zuko felt the heat of the approaching fire near him. His instincts told him to create a wall of fire himself to block or ease the impact of the blow. But something in his mind told him otherwise. If he did attempt to block the blow he would have to conjure up another blow himself, thus beginning a duel, which would take up more time then necessary. Zuko did not have time on his side. He needed to ditch Zhao and find Katara before Ozaian did the unthinkable.
The fire was all too close now. He could feel it begin to singe his skin and clothes. He slowly closed his eyes as if he was accepting his fate. He could picture Zhao smirking malevolently as he was engulfed by flames.
Zhao watched as his long time rival was engulfed by flames all the while grinning triumphantly. He waited for the fire to die down to reveal a dead and burned Zuko, but it never happened. Instead the fire that surrounded his enemy began to grow. Slowly at first but as the seconds passed the faster it grew. Until it was so large that it burst like an overfilled balloon.
Zhao, cut off guard by the blow, lost his footing and was sent flying across the deck only to hit his head on the railing and loose consciousness.
Zuko stood in the middle of deck still standing in a fighting position. The edges of his already ratty clothes singed but were otherwise intact. Small and harmless burn marks dotted his skin but other then that he was in no great pain, having suffered from far worse burns in the past. His breath was heavy as his eyes scanned the deck. Upon seeing Zhao and his minions unconscious he relaxed his fighting stance, with a small, triumphant smirk on his face.
Seeing that his plan worked and that he was successful he proceeded with his mad dash toward the upper levels of the ship.
It wasn't long till Zhao regained consciousness. Once he found that Zuko was gone he angrily muttered to himself, "Coward! That bastard didn't even have the courage to finish me off…again."
Though his body ached with every movement he made, he found his feet once more, kicked his guards awake and bluntly ordered them pursue Zuko into the upper levels of the ship.
Ozaian groaned in irritation at the unwillingness of the waterbender that refused to give in to him and his needs. Everything he tried she somehow managed to wiggle out of. But like the waterbender he would not give up till she gave into him.
So far in his quest to seduce and/or rape her he had only gotten her outer dress off, leaving her in only a plain red shift, that hugged her body more then her dress did and also revealed a little more skin. Seeing her like this only increased his drive, but it didn't make his pursuit any easier.
For awhile he had her front side pinned up against the wall. It was where he had managed to get her dress off and had begun to remove her shift and he probably would've succeeded if he wasn't interrupted.
He had lowered the shoulder straps from her shoulders and had begun to kiss the tender flesh of her neck and collarbone. He couldn't help but smirk through his kisses whenever she shivered and whimpered. He was about to slide the shift further off of her when someone burst through the door of her room.
While still holding Katara against the wall he turned angrily toward the person who interrupted him.
"What do you want?" he snarled, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
The young spy said nothing and bowed to his master, trying not to show how scared he was of him. Once he straightened up he noticed Katara and the fear in her eyes as she was pinned against the wall. He himself knew Ozaian was evil but his cowardliness convinced him to take no action.
"I just came to inform you that Zuko has escaped from the brig and is currently searching for Lady Katara," he said as sternly as he could while holding Ozaian's gaze.
Ozaian's tense anger relaxed slightly upon hearing the news. After he dismissed the spy and the bedroom door was securely closed once more he released his hold on Katara, whose legs gave way under her as she scrambled on the floor for her dress. She found herself trembling as she fingered the fine material of her outer garment. Yet she felt something inside of her blossom that she hadn't felt since the messenger hawks were intercepted, hope.
Zuko was free.
He was on his way to save her.
He was going to defeat Ozaian.
It was all going to be over soon.
She felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips as she slipped the battered dress over her head. She stumbled a few times as she got to her feet. She remembered feeling the hem of her dress brushing against her feet and the feeling a being slightly safer now that she was covered once more. But the serene thought was interrupted when she felt Ozaian grab her arm and throw her against the wall. She let out a yelp of pain when her head collided with the wall.
She prayed that Zuko would arrive soon. She didn't know how much more abuse she could take. She was well aware of what Ozaian could do when he was unstable and drunk. She feared what he was capable of when he was sober and had full control over his actions. She didn't think she would get lucky this time.
She opened her eyes that had closed from the sudden impact of pain, to find Ozaian standing inches from her face. His eyebrows were furrowed in rage and his mouth was the shape of a grim frown. If it wasn't his expression that scarred her then it definitely would have been the small dagger that he held in his hand, threateningly close to her face.
She felt her heart thump rapidly against the inside of her rib cage, as fear took hold of her.
She wanted to run.
She felt her legs beckon her to take flight.
But her fear stricken mind kept her in place, as well as Ozaian's other hand that was positioned at the base of her throat, holding her against the wall.
"Zuko broke his side of the deal," Ozaian began suddenly, making Katara jump. "Do you recall the deal?" he said as he pressed the flat side of the blade against Katara's smooth cheek, making her shudder from the touch of the cold steel.
Ozaian, however, did not wait for Katara to answer and said, "The deal was that as long as he behaved and stayed put, you would be unharmed. However, by his escape he has broken his part of the deal. Now I am afraid you will have to face and bear the consequences."
The all too familiar malice in his voice still sent shivers up and down her spine. Yet she didn't quite recall Zuko and Ozaian making that kind of bargain.
Her eyes widened fearfully as the small dagger that he held mere inches from her face suddenly became surrounded by flames.
All Ozaian did was smirk.
Zuko continued his dash through the ship's corridors, his luck had been no greater then it was several minutes ago. He still hadn't found Katara and his patience was at its end. He prayed and hoped that something or someone would help him find Katara.
His prayers where suddenly answered in a most unorthodox way, when he heard a bloodcurdling scream come from down the hall. He felt his heart almost stop.
Katara!
Without a second thought he dashed to the room that he assumed, no knew was the origin of the scream, and burst through the door.
The first thing he saw was Katara with fresh tears falling down her cheeks, as Ozaian held her against the wall, with the shoulder of her dress having a large hole that was burned through to the skin and surrounded by blood. He knew it was Ozaian that had inflicted that wound on her, since he held a smoking dagger in his hand with blood coating the edge.
None of this settled well with Zuko, it only allowed his anger to reach high levels that it hadn't reached in a long time. Taking a fighting stance he said "Let her go Ozaian."
Ozaian turned to Zuko, his hold on Katara still firm and unwavering. Zuko was slightly taken aback by the crazed look in Ozaian's eyes, as if he was on the verge of insanity. It could only remind him of Azula's crazed looks after she herself lost the last of her sanity.
Tense, silence moments passed and nothing happened. Until Zuko, his patience at an end said, practically screamed, "Ozaian! Let. Her. Go."
Ozaian grinned an evil grin and said, "I don't think so, brother!"
Zuko stared at him confused, not fully understanding what he meant. Then suddenly he felt something heavy and hard hit him in the back of the head, knocking him off his feet. However he didn't loose consciousness. In the midst of regaining his posture he was grabbed by his arms and roughly pulled too his feet, then forced down to his knees. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know that he was being held by Zhao's men. It was Zhao's grim and mutated laughter gave it away.
"Well, well," began Zhao, strolling in front of Zuko, who struggled in the arms of his men. "The Fire Lord overcome by nothing more then a band of rouges. How shameful! No wonder many men of the Fire Nation refuse to even acknowledge their heritage in the world."
Zuko ignored the comment, knowing he had more important things to worry about then Zhao mocking and jeering at him. He tried in vain to free himself from the soldiers' grasp. But their strong hold on him was unwavering.
Zhao turned to Ozaian and said, "It appears that I was right about keeping him alive. I mean look at how much trouble he has caused, he even attacked me and my men out on the deck."
"I will not kill my own brother," snapped Ozaian. "You know how well the spirits are capable of making one reap the consequences of their actions."
Zhao stroked one of his gray side-burns and said, "I was never quite fond of how superstitious you were, and then again I never said that you should be the one to end him."
Katara felt a mix of fear and panic rise in her chest. Zuko's fate was literally in the hands of these two men, and they were both standing there discussing if he should be killed or not and if so, who should end his life. What sickened her about it all was that they were talking about Zuko, her Zuko, as if he was some sort of worthless object that could be disposed of. The only thing that seemed to comfort him at the moment was Zuko's golden orbs meeting her tear-filled blue ones. They held onto each other's gaze as if they were holding on for dear life, and in their current situation they were.
"What do you mean?" questioned Ozaian as he still kept his hold on Katara.
"Well, I've been wanting to kill this man ever since he let this happen to me," he said gesturing toward his face and hand. "So if you don't want to get your hands dirty I would gladly have my men do it for you. What do you say?"
Katara let more tears fall out of her eyes, before she knew it she was pleading for him to spare Zuko. "Please let him live, please, I beg of you," she said through choked sobs. At her words Ozaian promptly slapped her across the face, silencing her, but not her sobs and tears. Zuko fought against the guards that held him as he witnessed this. Ozaian leaned close to Katara's ear, and whispered, "Give me one good reason why I should let him live."
Katara felt him bite her ear and suck on part of her skin in a seductive way, all the while hearing Zuko struggle. "Cause I can think of a hundred good reasons why I should kill him," he whispered into her ear once more before pulling away.
Ozaian then turned to Zhao and through his insane eyes and clenched jaw he said, "Go ahead and kill him."
A/N: Sorry I'm updating this late. This took longer to write then I thought. But here it is. I can only hope that you got some enjoyment out of it. I know its a little intense, but to be honest when I'm watching a movie there is nothing I like more then a suspenseful intense battle scene, as well as hard core romance, so I hope that I managed to pull off a tone of tension in my writing.
One reviewer said that my story was riveting. to this reviewer I want to say thank you, because it helped me type this chappie faster, and it meant alot. Because I haven't been getting a lot of reviews lately. So PLEASE!! let me know what you think. Compliment or complaint I will be happy to receive and read it.
In other news I can now count the number of chapters left on one hand. So the end is near :o!!
I don't know when I'll update again. I'm in the middle of embarking on several other writing endeavors, which are mostly fan fictions. But I'll update when I can.
See Ya:)
-I own nothing!! and made no profit whatsoever!!