ANNOUNCEMENT: So a lot of people were not cool with me asking for a certain number of reviews, and they called me out on it. To all of you that did... thank you! You were all right, it was kind of a dick move. Some things were going on in my personal life, I wasn't feeling so hot about myself, and I tried to manipulate you guys to feed my ego. And yeah, I shouldn't have. So I'm very sorry about that. If you want to review, great, but if you don't, that's fine too.
If I ever make a move like that again, or say something in my author's notes that you don't like or think isn't cool, then feel free to call me out on it, seriously. I don't care if you PM me of leave a review and say 'not cool bro.' Chances are I wasn't in a good mood or was having a bad day and morphed into a douche. I WILL apologize if I'm in the wrong.
So, in summary... I'M SORRY!
It was a relief to get off the ship for a while, even if it wasn't at a proper port. They'd dropped anchor and a small party rowed into the shallows of a small inlet. Iroh had gone ashore to see what he could find, along with the soldiers who went along to hunt and scout around for signs of the Avatar. Last they'd heard, he was heading in this direction…
Asuni sighed and stretched up from her cramped position, tucking a small plant into the bag over her shoulder before turning and heading back to the beach. She'd taken the opportunity to come ashore to gather some herbs for cooking, possibly a few things for medicine. She'd caught a young private sneezing a lot the other day, and another one had a really runny nose. It looked like there might be something going around…
"There you are."
Asuni looked up and saw Zuko standing ahead of her by the small boat. She smiled at him, and nodded, moving closer to the waves.
"Did you need something, Prince Zuko?"
Zuko hesitated. "No. Just… we'll be leaving soon," he finally said. "You should get aboard soon, or I'll leave you behind."
There was a time Asuni would have believed that in a heartbeat, but now she wasn't was positive it was a lie. So she smiled and bowed and said, "Of course, my prince."
Asuni didn't bother to wait for the boat. There was no need for her to take up space on the boat coming back to the ship proper when all it took for her was a quick board of ice and a little water elevator to get her back on deck. The crew barely even reacted when she suddenly popped over the side of the ship.
Asuni returned to the kitchen and settled, preparing her plants. She knocked the clumps of dirt from the roots and placed them in the pots with the plants she'd brought aboard. Following that, she washed and dried them carefully. Some were diced to be used to flavor the meat the men brought back from their hunting. Others were tied into bundles and hung from little hooks in the roof of the storage room to dry. A little extra spice in a meal could make all the difference.
However, when they didn't leave within an hour, Asuni began to wonder. They should have left by now, Zuko was anxious to get back underway now that they'd gotten a solid lead a few days previous. She poked her head out of her door. Two soldiers stood at the end of the hall, talking amongst themselves.
"Why haven't we left yet?" she called to them.
"General Iroh is missing," one of them said grimly. "Prince Zuko's about to start a search, we're supposed to ready him a rhino." They moved off down the hall, presumably to complete their order.
Asuni swore softly. General Lo Shen would kill her if anything happened to Iroh under her watch. The General admired Iroh greatly. Besides that, who knew where Iroh had gotten to, and what kind of people may have taken him? She could hardly let Zuko walk into that situation unprepared.
Asuni went to her room and opened her cubby. She once more climbed into her black clothes, armor, gloves, and boots. Her chain whip of course was a must, tucked up a sleeve and ready to use. This time she slid two knives inside of her boots instead of onto her chest. She decided to err on the side of caution and strapped her sword to her hip as well. The last touch was the mask over her face, hiding her identity.
Ready for whatever might come, Asuni slipped from the kitchen and up onto the deck, making her escape over the side of the boat. Once more she travelled in her underwater bubble, passing under the boat that was taken the rhino to shore as she went. Asuni climbed ashore, bone dry and ready to start scouting.
She headed immediately off the beach, obliterating her tracks as she went. Asuni moved through the trees and slipped from shadow to shadow, going to where Iroh had been having his bath. She'd stumbled across him while collecting herbs, and it was an experience that was forever burned in her mind, and not in a good way.
The hot springs were obliterated, destroyed by a rock fall. It looked as if a landslide had come through, and a normal person would brush it off as such. However, Asuni wasn't a normal person. She saw the sloppily concealed footprints, and, more to the point, the fact that rocks didn't fall uphill. She pulled water from the ground, the only remains of the hot spring, and carved letters into the ground.
Earthbenders
Under this was an arrow, pointing in the direction they'd headed. Asuni took off, following a game trail with freshly-snapped twigs edging it. A few yards father on, she hit a proper dirt road, and there she found ostrich horse tracks, indicating that the Earthbenders who captured Iroh had indeed passed this way.
A quick moment of thought, orienting herself on her mental map of the world, and Asuni realized they were heading in the direction of Ba Sing Se, and that was perhaps the worst city Iroh could be held hostage in. The city still held a lot of hate for him, and she had very little hope that he would be kept alive for ransom. If he was, he certainly wouldn't be treated well.
Asuni sped up worriedly, watching for signs of sentries left behind that might try for Zuko. She found none and assumed the soldiers were too flushed with victory from their capture to consider that Iroh was a significant person in the Fire Nation, and of course someone would come after him. Really, it was surprising. The soldiers of Ba Sing Se were part of the reason the city had held so long against Iroh's siege. They should have been better than this.
For a few worrisome minutes, Asuni lost the tracks over a rocky patch, but she followed her hunch and kept going in the direction of Ba Sing Se, following the path. Soon she saw a lone straw sandal, resting on the road. She knew it was Iroh's because of the red ribbon strap. No one outside of the Fire Nation would be caught dead wearing anything red. It was a recipe for instant shunning.
Asuni dug a small trough and set the shoe upright in it, making it more visible, followed by another arrow to direct Zuko.
She followed the tracks as the road rose up, running along the edge of a cliff. Here she kept close to the cliff face and kept low to try and keep herself from being spotted. The soldiers were likely in full uniform, and they would have the supplies with them necessary to make it back to Ba Sing Se. That would be slowing them down, and she had no doubt that she was catching up.
That was confirmed when Asuni rounded a corner and saw several ostrich horses ground tied nearby. A few made noises when they saw her, but she hushed, soothing them. Their riders didn't seem to be nearby. She heard voices though, and for a moment Asuni couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Then she saw the edge of the ledge. In one section the dirt was freshly disturbed.
Asuni crouched and ran to the edge. She lay down on her stomach, only her head looking over so that she wouldn't be as visible. Down the slope she saw a sunken pit – clearly Earthbender work – with a raised dais in the center. Iroh was shackled there with his hands splayed before him on a boulder. A small group of Earth Kingdom soldiers were gathered around him.
"You."
Asuni looked up to see Zuko staring at her with narrowed from the back of a komodo rhino. She nodded in acknowledgement and skittered back from the edge, straightening up.
"Did you leave those signs for me to follow?"
Another nod, and Asuni pointed down. Zuko dismounted. Cautiously, he came closer, eyeing her with more distrust with every step he took. Finally, he peered over the edge, just as one of the soldiers spoke.
"These dangerous hands must be crushed!"
Asuni glanced back down and saw a boulder lifted into the air over Iroh's hands. The boulder began to fall and Zuko lunged, kicking it out of the way. The soldiers blinked in surprise as the prince turned and slammed the heel of his armored boot onto the rock where Iroh was tied. The chains shattered, leaving Iroh free to move his arms independently.
"Excellent form, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he stood up, smiling at his nephew.
"You taught me well," Zuko smirked, turning to face the soldiers in a ready stance. Asuni jumped, rolling down the ridge and landing beside Zuko. She tugged out her chain and let it fly, swinging it over her head in a circle. It made an ominous whirring sound as it spun, a warning. She stood, muscles coiled and ready for one of the soldiers to make a move.
"Surrender yourselves!" ordered the troop leader. "It's five against three. You're clearly outnumbered!"
"That's true!" Iroh agreed, flicking the chains still attached to the manacles on his wrists. He held each one in a tight grip, ready to use as a whip. The chains were tough, heavy iron, and they would leave one hell of bruise, possibly shatter bones. "But you're clearly out matched!"
The soldiers attacked. Asuni's claw shot out, pulling the chain behind it and wrapping around one tightly. She tugged and he went flying into the air with a shout, before slamming to the ground with another expert tug. She disengaged her weapon and flicked it out thrice more, cutting nine deep gouges in the soldier's chest. Spinning, the chain flew out, catching another by the throat. The claws dug in, hooking the back of his throat and piercing his skin. She wrenched him forward into a face-plant on the ground and disengaged once more.
Zuko and Iroh had dispatched the other three. They both turned to look at her, standing side by side. Asuni advanced and bowed in her usual way: on one knee, one arm folded on her forward knee and the other folded behind her back.
"Who are you?" Zuko demanded. Asuni looked up at him. She placed a finger over her lips before standing and backing away. "Wait!"
Asuni waved and jumped, racing back up the road.
Asuni knelt down to place dinner in front of Zuko and Iroh, tucking the tray against her thighs as she rose.
"Anything else?" she asked.
"My nephew seems to have an admirer," Iroh replied, which was definitely not what she was expecting.
Asuni blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Uncle!" Zuko hissed.
"A strange girl who wears all black and goes about wearing a theater mask of a queen," Iroh continued, undaunted. "She helped us fight against the Earth Kingdom soldiers who captured me, and Prince Zuko says he saw her on Kyoshi as well."
Asuni pretended to be disturbed. "I think they call those stalkers, General Iroh."
"Ah, but she was fighting! She defended him!" Iroh pointed out.
Asuni dearly wished she could gag the old general before he said something to give her away. She sent him a vicious look as the prince glanced down at his plate and angrily shoved a piece of meat into his mouth. Iroh just continued to smile innocently.
"My uncle said she bows like a member of the Royal Guard," Zuko grunted.
Asuni stiffened and sent Iroh a look that clearly read seriously?! Again, he just kept smiling.
"They're just a myth, your highness," Asuni disagreed.
"I know that!" Zuko snapped.
"You forget," Iroh broke in. "I was once in line to be Fire Lord, and there are things known only to the Fire Lord."
The light from the lanterns illuminating the room continued to flicker merrily, but a tense silence settled over the room. Zuko lowered his chopsticks thoughtfully and Asuni's knuckles whitened as her hands clenched on the tray.
"Are they real, uncle?" Zuko asked with genuine interest. Iroh opened his mouth, eyes flicking to Asuni, who subtly shook her head.
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Iroh replied with a mysterious smile. "But this meal in front of us is certainly real, and it looks delicious. You've outdone yourself again, Asuni."
Just like that, the atmosphere dissolved and Asuni relaxed. She bowed from the waist as Zuko returned to his meal, a contemplative frown on his face.
"Thank you, General," she said, straightening. "I'll return later for the dishes."
"At least we have a clue to the Avatar's location," she heard Zuko say as she left, "so this wasn't a complete waste of time."
Asuni soon learned what Zuko meant by a clue. Apparently on their way back to the ship, Zuko and Iroh had stopped at a village and forced the headman to tell them if the Avatar had been through the village. The headman had admitted that he had, and that he knew for a fact the Avatar was heading to Crescent Island. It was a simple matter to correct their course and head towards the temple there.
Asuni was watering her plants when the commotion started. She let the water she was using soak into the soil before turning and going to the kitchen door, opening it and poking her head out. She was nearly decapitated as a soldier rushed past her.
"Whoa!"
"Ah!"
Asuni recoiled into the kitchen and the soldier skidded to a stop.
"Kang?"
"Asuni!"
"What's going on?" Asuni asked, looking to the end of the hall. Soldiers were running here and there, hastily pulling on armor. Some had already donned their helmets and were heading for the stairs up to the deck.
"The Avatar's been sighted!" Kang exclaimed as he fumbled with the strap of his armguard. Asuni rolled her eyes and stepped forwards, knocking his hands away and taking over. She easily slid the leather into place and tugged it taught, buckling it with flick of her wrist.
"Ah, thank you," Kang said gratefully. "The prince wants us on deck to ready the catapults."
Asuni's eyes widened. Catapults? The prince was pulling out all the stops. Desperation was clear in his movements. Catapults were for ruthlessly breaking down anything in their path. If the Avatar took a direct hit, he would be killed. At the very least, if his bison was hit, it would be brought down into the water, risking the Avatar drowning. He was putting the Avatar's death on the table as a possible result.
It was easy to see why though. Crescent Island was part of the Fire Nation. Zuko couldn't go into the Fire Nation, not without breaking his banishment. If he was caught, he would be killed. The Avatar had to be brought down before he reached the Fire Nation waters, or Zuko wouldn't be able to follow. Then it would be a free-for-all among every Fire Nation commander looking for glory to get at the Avatar.
Asuni darted back into her room and grabbed her thick red robe off of her bed. She threw it over her shoulders and was belting it closed over her clothes to keep out the cold sea breeze as she ran down the hall and up the stairs.
When she reached the deck she saw Zuko on the upper deck outside of the control room. He was peering through a telescope that had been set up by the railing, attended by Iroh and another soldier. Asuni followed the telescope's direction and saw a large dot on the horizon. The Avatar's bison, she guessed, going by how fixated Zuko seemed to be on it.
Asuni mounted the stairs and headed to the upper deck, readying herself for a verbal fight against the prince. This was crazy! There were so many risks involved in tracking the Avatar this way. Zuko could be captured, the Avatar could be killed… They could wait until the Avatar left the Fire Nation – surely he wouldn't risk staying in enemy territory long – and pick up his trail later on.
When Asuni reached the deck, she heard Iroh fighting with his nephew.
"Sailing into Fire Nations waters. Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish!"
"I have no choice, uncle."
"Have you completely forgot that the Fire Lord banished you? What if you're caught?"
"I'm chasing the Avatar! My father will understand why I'm returning home!"
"You give him too much credit! My brother is not the understanding type!"
"Helmsman! Full steam ahead!"
Asuni stepped out onto the deck and looked around. Zuko was staring intently into the telescope, his back to her. Iroh was the first to see her. He widened his eyes at her and shook his head. Clearly, this was not the time for her to intervene. Asuni hesitated, but Iroh shook his head more insistently. With an annoyed frown twisting her lips at her inability to do anything, she retreated back into the ship.
Asuni watched with bated breath as the catapults were raised onto the deck from below. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the smell of the flammable paste that covered the missiles. She winced every time one was lit and fired up towards the bison flying above, her hands fidgeting with the sleeves of her robe so much she wondered if she might tear them.
The bison was completely capable of dodging the missiles though. They were mere irritants to the animal and its riders. Of far more importance to everyone involved was the line of boats that loomed on the horizon, sliding back and forth through the water along the very edge of the Fire Nation's territory.
"A blockade," Zuko said grimly.
"Technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters," Iroh advised. "If you turn back now, they can't arrest you."
"He's not turning around!"
"Please Prince Zuko!" Iroh begged. "If the Fire Nation captures you, there's nothing I can do! Do not follow the Avatar!"
Asuni froze, hardly daring to breathe as she waited for his answer.
"… I'm sorry uncle. Run the blockade!"
Asuni slumped at that. She had only one option now. She had to turn the boat around herself. If she cut the engines now, then she could stop them before they reached the blockade. If she was caught though, she would be revealed and her cover would be ripped to shreds.
If she was caught… But if Zuko's 'admirer' was seen messing with the engines…
With her robe sweeping around her, Asuni turned on her heel and headed for her cubbyhole. She didn't waste time with weapons or armor. This time she only put on the base layer of black, her mask, and crammed her three-clawed chain whip up her sleeve as she left the room sneakily.
It was almost alarmingly easy to sneak through the ship and towards the engine room. The problem was that it was filled with workers doing their best to keep the engines going at full speed, as ordered. Men rushing here and there, skin gleaming with sweat from the extreme temperatures. Just lingering by the door was enough to make her start to perspire in her black clothes.
A whistling sound could be heard and Asuni looked up. She gaped at the sight of the fireballs coming towards them. Several splashed down around the ship, rocking it and throwing water up onto the deck. Asuni gathered some around her hands and waited for the moment when everyone was distracted to strike.
As it happened, the moment everyone was distracted was also the moment her plan was ruined. A fireball fell from the sky and connected with the ship directly over the engine room. The workers scrambled to protect the engines. One man fled from the room and Asuni receded into the smoke pouring from the damaged engines to hide herself as he raced past her.
"Prince Zuko!" he cried. "The engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!"
There was no point in sabotaging the engines now that they were already damaged, and definitely no way she could get into the room unseen. Everyone's focus would be on the engines now, desperate to keep them from overheating and exploding or from stopping. If they stalled in the water now, it would be a very embarrassing and labor-intensive repair job.
"Do not stop this ship!"
Another wave of fireballs were launched and Asuni watched closely now, wary of anymore coming towards them. If worst came to worst she could divert them with her Waterbending and pray no one saw.
She lost sight of a lot of them though as they cut through the clouds overhead. Clearly, they were more focused on the Avatar, who had fled up to use the clouds for cover sometime during the first volley. However, now the bison was shooting back down through the clouds, a small shape in front of it. Asuni's eyes widened as she realized someone had been knocked out of the saddle.
She was relieved when the bison managed to get under the unseated passenger and scoop them back into the saddle, but now the Avatar was low to the water and in plain sight of both ships, speeding closer and closer to the barricade. He was a sitting turtle duck out there in the open. They blasted through a fireball launched directly at them and shot into the Fire Nation.
Asuni let out a relieved sigh. The Avatar was safe, the blockade ships showed no sign of following. However, they were still headed right for it.
"We're on a collision course!" she heard Iroh call.
"We can make it!"
Asuni hissed in distaste and the prince's foolhardy determination. But her eyes widened as she heard the engines stop. Not their engines, but the engines of the ships on the blockade. Every single ship that formed the defensive line cut their engines, sitting dead in the water. Asuni slipped back into the shadows and smoke, watching carefully as they passed the looming ships of the blockade.
Her eyes narrowed in distaste when she saw the flagship's commander. Zhao, standing tall and proud on the stern of his boat, staring down his nose at the ship as they glided past. As soon as they were past, beyond view of the navy ships, Asuni broke cover and swung her clawed hook upwards. It caught the railing around the upper deck and clicked into place with little noise.
With practiced steps, Asuni began scaling up the side of the ship, staying in the smoke as much as possible to cover her ascent. Her shoes were soundless against the metal, and the chain barely rattled as she climbed up over the railing, dropping into a crouch in a corner to listen.
"Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?" Zuko snarled. He stood by the rail, staring out over the sea in front of them. His hands were so tight on the metal crossbar that the knuckles were white. Iroh stood next to him, hands tucked up his sleeves.
"He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after… The Avatar," Iroh explained.
This was what Asuni had assumed. Zhao's disdain for Zuko was well-documented. She remembered seeing the sadistic gleam of pleasure in the man's eyes when Zuko was burned by his father. That wasn't been counting their disastrous encounter over tea. No way would Zhao let Zuko get away when he had the opportunity to arrest him… unless it was more beneficial to Zhao to wait.
Zuko narrowed his eyes. "If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke… then that's what I'll let him do."