Author's Notes:

Yay! The rewrite paid off!

But man was this chapter hard to write. I was seriously trying to figure out how I was going to get Katara and Zuko out of this little predicament they're in. It's finished though, and I hope I came up with a realistically possible escape plan for them that makes sense on paper. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.

Chapter 5: Escape

In the moonlit night above the Fire Nation, five giant air balloons sped their way to the capital with its precious cargo. Little did the crew of these five airships know that their cargo had broken out, and was roaming freely on board their lead airship.

After incapacitating the four guards looking after them, Katara gathered up the water from her healing session, and put it back in the skin that the Dai Li had thrown at her to heal Zuko. After two days of being in a holding cell filled with uncertainty, she could not wait to get out of the place, and she figured after all the physical torture, Zuko was probably thinking the same thing. They both left the prison area of the ship, and closed the door behind them quietly.

Zuko had told her to follow him, and since he was more familiar with the airship that they were on, she accepted that he would be leader. He led Katara through the corridors quickly and stealthily. She was no slouch when it came to stealth, but Katara was astounded at how quickly Zuko could move without making a sound, especially in his patched up condition. She began to study Zuko's movements as they went along through the corridors because in the back of her mind, she felt she could take a lesson from him, though she would never admit that to him personally. He moved a lot like a spirit, at least in the way that she thought a spirit would move.

'A spirit,' she thought.

The entire thing reminded her of her Painted Lady adventures in the polluted village. How she could move as silently as a mouse from one place to another, and not disturb anyone or anything unnecessarily. The only difference was that she didn't have the luxury of being caught by some random group of soldiers that she could easily take down. Instead, the risk was being caught by the Dai Li, Fire Nation soldiers, and Azula.

Zuko stopped at an intersection at the middle section of the ship, and heard the footsteps of people approaching. He looked in both directions, and noticed a broom closet. He went for it while Katara followed, but when he opened the door, she stood her ground.

"Katara, hurry," he whispered angrily

"I am not going into a broom closet with you," she hissed.

"I'm not going to do anything to you," hissed Zuko quietly in disbelief.

Katara's stood her ground, but Zuko still presented the open room. She could hear footsteps getting louder, and she sighed in exasperation and went in with Zuko. Fortunately, to her surprise, the closet was not as cramped as Katara had feared.

"Do you remember the plan?" asked Zuko as he stood near the door of the closet.

Katara looked at him, and her thoughts drifted back to the agreement of cooperation that they had while they were eating breakfast.

"Ok, here's the plan," he began whispering, "Phase one would be to incapacitate the guards. I suggest you hold off on the soup, put it somewhere the guards won't find it. We could use the salt in the liquid to blind them."

"There would be four guards though from what I remember, and it looks like there would be enough liquid for only two," said Katara.

"Then, I don't know, use the water for healing me to disable them, and I'll knock them out," said Zuko.

Katara thought for a moment, and thought that part could work out well. She looked around, and saw a few places she could hide the soup with her bending.

"Ok, so we take out the guards, then what? I mean, we're hundreds of feet in the air, getting out isn't exactly going to be easy."

"Alright, that's phase two, and the hardest one since it will require complete silence and perfect timing. These airships usually have a dozen war balloons for emergency use. We're going to commandeer one, and get to the closest island possible."

"What do you mean?" she asked, "We should use it to find Aang, not some random island in the country."

"Well that's the thing Katara. If we are in the Fire Nation, then I'd need to find out where, and I am not going to risk our one shot of escaping on getting a map from the navigation room. Once we land on an island, and figure out where we are, then we can go to Ember Island and meet up with Aang," said Zuko.

Katara's eyes widened when Zuko mentioned where the others were.

"And how would you know where Aang is?" asked Katara.

"I gave Toph instructions when we got back from the Boiling Rock. She would have given them to the others, and they would have headed there. The place is safe, don't worry," assured Zuko.

"Don't worry? How do you expect me not to? Looking back on all our encounters, your plans seem to have a lot of flaws," she hissed.

"Hey, I thought we made a deal," shot Zuko, "When we get out of here-"

"Alright already, 'Mr. I Know What I'm Doing," she sighed, not wanting to hear him remind her, "So, where are these escape-balloons?"

"They're in special hangars to the sides of the bridge," he replied.

"You mean, they're near Azula?"

"Yes, which is why, we have to be quiet. From what I understand, you have experience in sneaking around, so going down the halls quietly should be no problem for you, or did I hear wrong?" said Zuko.

Katara looked nervously at Zuko. Although she was daring, she was not suicidal, and the idea of being so close to Azula in order to escape did not sit well with her. She was usually a little more cautious, which seemed to be the exact opposite to Zuko. He made his move at the first possible opportunity, no matter how dangerous the consequences were. She couldn't tell if he was being brave, stupid, or just plain reckless. Despite this, the desire to get off the flying prison managed to outweigh all caution, and she nodded her head.

"Alright the signal will be when I wake up from the healing session tonight. Are you ready?" he whispered raising the soup bowl.

Katara's thoughts returned to the present, and she gave him a hardened look of determination.

"Phase two, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," responded Zuko.

"I remember, don't worry," said Katara.

He nodded and slowly opened the door, and when he confirmed the coast was clear, he motioned her to follow him. They both slid out of the closet, and treaded very lightly. Katara looked at the man who was leading her to safety, and though she agreed to follow his lead, she couldn't help but worry that this could all go awry.

The two went further down into the halls, stopping at certain points to let patrols walk by and making turns into adjacent hallways to avoid clusters of guards. After a few minutes, they had arrived at the bridge area. When Katara saw the number of guards, and Dai Li agents, her heart fell. It looked as though the majority of the soldiers were stationed there to make sure they didn't escape.

"Now what?" she whispered angrily.

"We wait for the patrol," said Zuko, approaching a nearby door.

"What patrol?" she asked, still following his lead.

"They've escaped! Prince Zuko and the water bender escaped!"

"That one," replied Zuko before opening the door, grabbing her hand, and pulling her with him into the room.

Zuko had managed to quickly, but quietly closed the door.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" whispered Katara.

"Fire Nation patrols and guard shifts are absolutely punctual," he explained in a quiet voice, "Once you know the routine, it's pretty easy to figure out an efficient time table for escape.

A series of footsteps could be heard going down the hall, and it didn't take long for what sounded like an explosion to sound through the doors.

"Azula's mad," said Zuko smugly.

Katara was wondering what kind of room they were in. It was completely dark, but it smelled rancid. She shifted her foot closer to the door, and it sounded like she was in a puddle. She took a small step and almost slipped, but Zuko caught her before she completely fell and made any kind of noise to give away their presence. When footsteps reverberated throughout the airship, Zuko helped her regain her footing with the sound of desperate people drowning out any kind of noise.

"Where are we? It smells awful," said Katara.

"The interrogation room," said Zuko.

Katara looked at the floor. She didn't see anything, and part of her didn't even want to know what kind of slippery liquid she was standing in.

"Um… Katara?" began Zuko nervously.

She found herself very close to the prince, and holding his arm.

"Sorry," she said quickly letting go, "It's just… how long are we supposed to stay here?"

"Just for a minute," said Zuko.

The room was completely dark and even though she was in the place for five minutes, she felt like it had been hours, and the room was beginning to work on her psychologically in all sorts of strange ways. The only light in the room was the light from outside barely penetrating the creaks in the doorway. She shuddered at the thought of being "interrogated" in a room like this. She thought of images of someone being tortured, and then having to wallow in whatever filth the poor victim's own body expelled during that time. She had half a mind to throw up, when Zuko tugged her sleeve.

"It's time," said Zuko.

Katara let out a sigh of relief as Zuko, slowly opened the door. There were no guards in the general vicinity and he led her out. Katara began to breath normally, glad that she was out of such a terrifying place.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently.

"I'm fine, let's just… I don't want to be here anymore," she answered.

"Alright," he said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

He slid his hand down her shoulder, and gently held her wrist. He tugged at it to signal her to follow him before letting go, and crouching near the corner. She got herself together, and she kneeled behind him. Zuko peered around the corner, and saw the emergency doors. They were unguarded, and he looked down the hall and saw that the guards were still scrambling, and hadn't noticed them at all.

"Now," he whispered

The two darted straight for the doors, and as they were about to reach it a blue flame shot at the handle, and melted it.

"Hello Zuzu."

They looked to see Azula standing down a hallway to their left.

"You didn't honestly think I would leave the escapes completely unguarded, did you?" she said.

"Katara, cut down the doors," said Zuko.

Zuko lunged at Azula shooting some fire, and Katara bent the water into a blade, and began to cut the hinges just like she did with the support beams in the drill. The commotion drew the attention of the guards, and they began to run back. Zuko pushed Azula back, and saw some piping along the guard's path, and shot at it. It burst sending scalding hot steam in every direction. The agents and guards in the path struggled to get out of the boiling cloud, and those who were lucky enough to avoid it had to go the long way around the airship. Zuko smiled at the fact that he bought them a little time, and returned his attention to his sister, who was even more furious than ever.

Katara eventually managed to cut down the doors, and turned to Zuko.

"Come on!" she shouted.

Zuko heard her, but couldn't help but notice Azula's fighting style. It was not as precise as it was before. It seemed more erratic, more emotional. It was similar to how he used to fight while chasing Aang, and he quickly took advantage of that. He sent one flame to distract her, which worked, and quickly sent another blast into her torso. It was a direct hit; Azula was sent flying back five feet into a wall, knocking her out. He quickly went into the emergency doors, and went for the nearest balloon.

It was similar to the balloon that he and Sokka took to get to the Boiling Rock, but with one minor difference: a collapsible propeller system. Otherwise it had the same kind of basket and engine design that Zuko was used to flying. Part of the uninflated balloon was connected to the basket with strong sturdy lines. The rest of the balloon ran into the roof, which Zuko figured was so that it could inflate to full size outside the airship before deployment. Zuko looked inside and saw a bag of coal, a spyglass, and emergency rations and supplies. He then looked at the front of the basket, and the balloon and saw a pathway for both that led to a large, rhino-sized destructible door with glass hinges designed to shatter with enough force. The only thing that kept the balloon from simply falling into the sky was a single lever at the front of the door.

"So, how does this work?" Katara asked looking at the balloon.

"You leave preparing this thing to me; I need you to hold off anybody going through that door."

"Me?"

"Look, unless you can magically heat up this coal, I need you to make sure that no one damages the balloon," said Zuko impatiently.

Katara scoffed and faced the door, and had her water ready, even if it was a meager amount.

Zuko tugged on all the lines to see if they were secure, pulled out the propellers, and when that was settled, he jumped in, ripped open the coal bag, and shoved some of it into the engine before shooting an intense flame to light it up. The gases from the coal began to quickly fill the balloon, and the sounds of ruffling canvas and could be heard from outside. He spent some time examining how the propellers tied into the engine when a few guards arrived now and then, but Katara quickly whipped them into submission. Once he figured out the engine components in relation to the propellers, he pulled a lever, and the propellers began to spin slowly.

"Katara!" he shouted.

She turned around, and saw Zuko had got the engine going, and quickly jumped into the basket with him while steering clear of the now spinning propellers. Zuko shut the engine door and pulled the door lever. The top pathway that held the balloon itself popped off into the sky, and the weight of the balloon did everything from there on out: they slid down a small ramp, which broke the glass-hinged door, and they began to twirl in the sky as they fell from the moving airship at full speed. However, the spinning did not last long, and the two began to fly through the skies relatively easily.

Katara could not believe what had just happened. They had gotten out of Azula's hands; correction, Zuko had gotten them both out of Azula's hands. She turned to see him managing the engine, and she quickly hugged him.

"You did it! You actually got us out of there!" she yelled joyfully.

Zuko yelped in pain. Katara suddenly remembered that he wasn't healed properly, plus things weren't really patched up between them which was all the more reason why the hug was awkward, and she quickly let him go.

"Sorry," she said calmly.

"No, it's not your fault, the adrenaline is just dying down," he said.

"Still, you got us out of there," she said in a surprisingly grateful tone, "Th-"

KRACKLE! BOOM!

Lightning shot by the balloon; Zuko, and Katara looked up to see two blue light sources twinkling. Zuko got the spyglass, and looked at the airship they were previously on. Azula was tethered to the assault platform of the airship, and was charging up her lightning with a maniacal look on her face.

"Get behind me!" shouted Zuko, feeling the adrenaline pick up in his bloodstream.

"Is that-?"

Another lightning bolt shot out, and once Zuko saw it shooting straight toward him, he only had a moment to react. He pulled Katara behind him with one hand, and stuck the index and middle finger of the other into the attack's path.

"Zuko!" she cried as the thought of him getting killed entered her mind.

But, it didn't kill him. She only saw it from behind Zuko, but she saw the lighting slither around his fingers and body before it was sent back to Azula. Katara was dumbstruck.

'He can… he can redirect lightning?'

An explosion could be seen in the sky; Zuko scored a direct hit on the airship, but he wobbled and caught the railing of the balloon before he could actually fall. Katara knelt with him, and saw him slowly open his eyes.

"That was too close," he asked weakly.

"You're telling me," was all she said in reply.

Something caught Zuko's eye, and Katara noticed it. She turned around and saw another set of twinkling lights. Zuko thought quickly, thinking where Azula would strike next.

"If I were her I would aim at- crap!" he shouted realizing her intended target, "Katara, get down!"

"What?"

Zuko pulled her toward him with one hand in a tight embrace, and he began to heat up the other. One moment later, lightning was shot.

BOOM!

Lighting had struck the balloon which ignited the gases from the coal, causing it to explode. But Zuko had made a shield of fire at the last possible moment to shield himself and Katara from the blast. It seemed hopeless though as they were both now plummeting to surface of the earth in a wood and iron basket with a burning balloon above them. After quickly shaking off the after-effects of the explosion, Katara got up, and looked over the railing and saw they were falling into the ocean. She thought quickly, and came up with a plan.

"Give me your hand!" she yelled.

She extended a hand to Zuko, who quickly took it. He got on his feet, but the next words to come out of Katara's mouth almost made him fall back down.

"We're going to jump!" she cried out.

"What?"

"On three!" she shouted.

She looked over the railing of the balloon, and noticed they were about five hundred feet above the air.

"Three!"

She pulled Zuko with her, and they both began to plummet. At around one hundred feet, Katara, fueled by the power of the moonlight, bent water from the sea into a drop-shape to envelop both her and Zuko. The water acted like a cushion when they landed, and it broke their fall as the water crashed and was reabsorbed by the sea. But the impact was still hard on both of them.

Katara recovered quickly though, swam up for air, and began to breathe hard. That was by far the most dangerous stunt she had ever done, but it was better than staying on the balloon which violently crashed not too far from them.

"Zuko!... We… need to… get to shore," she said in between breaths as she waded.

There was no response.

"Zuko?" she repeated looking around, but couldn't find him, "Zuko? Zuko!"

She took a deep breath, and went underwater. She scanned the area, and saw him sinking slowly to the depths. The collision with the sea had knocked him out, and she bent the water around him to pull him up to the surface. Once he was safely on top, she bent more water into a raft made of ice, and put Zuko onto it. She was very tired, but she had to look around for someplace safe to hide from Azula, who would no doubt be coming to their position to confirm their deaths.

She got on board the ice raft, and scanned the area as she took deep, harsh breaths. There were some islands about a mile away from her point of view, and immediately pushed for it, all the while trying to stay conscious enough to get there.

Author's Notes:

I ended with a cliffhanger. Why? Because they're awesome, that's why.

I looked at the pictures of the giant airships, and imagined how big they were in relation to people and to the smaller hot air balloons. After doing that, I figured that it would be possible to store a couple of hot air balloons as an escape measure, so I used that as the avenue of escape.

The fight on the balloon was the hardest part in this chapter for me to write, and I would like to hear any thoughts on that.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you for reading and please review.