I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender; if I did you would find this in a bookstore...and Zuko would be the main character.

The bow of Prince Zuko's ship was alight with bursts of flame. They were not under attack, but still Iroh kept his distance from the front of the ship. His teenage nephew was very frustrated and angry, a common state for teenagers. And an angst-ridden teenage firebender is something to back away from, even for the Dragon of the West. Instead he took the time observe his pupils technique. While the power of the fire bursts was certainly impressive, they lacked finesse and control. There was too much was energy. That is nature of anger, he mused. The old man shook his head; his nephew needed to find a new way to fuel his fire.

Not many noticed the secret smile he wore. He already had his next few moves planned out. A good Pai Sho player always did. So focused was he on his planning, he did not notice when Zuko ceased his venting. In fact, he had become very still and pensive. The young man stared off in the sea as he asked, "How long do I have?"

Iroh took a moment to consider how best to answer, "I saw a hawk leave shortly before dawn this morning. If it went to capital, we should have a couple of weeks. However, if it finds a ship it could be sooner."

Zuko's shoulders fell, "Any problems with the crew?"

"Nephew, your crew loves their prince," the general plastered on a smile that wasn't fooling anyone. The prince gave his uncle a glare in a way only a teenager could.

"Well, there may have been a few disagreements…"

A new voice spoke up behind them, "It has been taken care of, Prince Zuko." Lieutenant Jee bowed and continued when he saw the confused look, "There were some who were…displeased with your actions. They are currently in the brig."

Zuko blurted out, "Why are you helping me?"

"You are my prince, sir." Jee answered.

"I was a prince," the young man grumbled.

The sailor smirked, "I have not received notice from the Fire Lord disowning you from the royal family." Iroh laughed and slapped Jee on the back. More quietly he added, "And I have a son about the Avatar's age."

The soon to be ex-prince then did something Jee never would expected, the perpetually angry prince bowed to him. "Thank you, Lieutenant Jee."

"Your orders sir?"

It was Iroh, who responded, "Pull into Kyoshi Island, if you don't mind. These old bones feel a need for a walk, in somewhat neutral territory."

"Yes sir," Jee smiled.

After the sailor left, Zuko spoke up, "Why are we going to the Kyoshi?"

Iroh wore a mysterious smile, "Only a starting point, my dear nephew. You know we cannot stay on this ship. The men have already endangered their lives by helping you."

"I know that!" Zuko spat before his face fell, "I just don't know what to do."

The old hand on this troubled nephew's shoulder "Let your uncle worry about that. I have friends in many places, the gift of great tea-making!" The pair shared a smile at that, "Now if you excuse me, I must pack for our trip."

He was at the door when Zuko called to him, "Uncle?"

"Yes, nephew?"

"We are not taking the sungi horn."

Kyoshi Island was barely in sight, when the worst happened. There on the western horizon, was a glint of metal. A quick inspection with a telescope proved Zuko's fears to be true. It was a Fire Nation ship. His heart nearly stopped when he recognized the flag. Flames licked the edges of his fingers as he wrung the innocent telescope. Of all the commanders to find him, it had to be Zhao.

Zhao was well-known if not well respected. He was well-known for his ferocity, his unwavering assaults on the enemy. He embodied the fighting spirit that Ozai sought very naturally. What was even more memorable was his disdain for weakness, especially from his own men. That man would destroy any perceived weakness in the Fire Nation, even from his own prince. Zhao had witnessed Zuko's Agni Kai.

The teen turned to Iroh, "Uncle?"

Stroking his bread, the older man replied, "That was much quicker than I thought."

"Maybe father was having me followed," Zuko snapped.

"Certainly a possibility. We will have to make the rest of the trip on the boat. And we best hurry. They will be able to see a launch before soon."

Zuko turned and saw a good portion of the crew watching their prince expectantly. Now there was a problem. Zuko and Iroh could easily escape and disappear into the Earth Kingdom. A ship and its crew could not. This old ship was no match for Zhao's in either speed or firepower. And the prince couldn't let his men be sent to gallows for his own crimes.

Mulling over an idea, "Jee, I have something hard to ask of you."

The Lieutenant nodded, "I believe we are thinking of the same plan, sir."

The prince gave a salute and bowed, his uncle joined him. "You are a good man, Jee," Iroh said.

"For my princes and my men…anything."

Jee hit the deck hard, somewhere between a cough and groan. The cold metal didn't actually feel that bad against his numerous bruises. It was almost soothing. Another cough, and there was a splash of red on the gray steel. He didn't have long to contemplate just how bad that was when two guards dragged him to his knees.

"It's Jee, isn't it?" a voice asked somewhere in front of him, a familiar one.

Twisting his head, Jee found him still staring down Commander Zhao. Everyone in the Fire Nation knew Zhao, by reputation if they are lucky. Zhao was a devout follower of the Ozai Doctrine of war. It was quite simple. If you weren't Fire Nation, you were just above animals and to be treated as such. And if you didn't have the stomach for that kind of war, you were just above that...barely. Zhao was often sent trouble recruits to be "broken." The Fire Lord was kind enough to ignore the number of training accidents

In other words, Jee was royally fucked.

The commander cracked his knuckles in anticipation, "So we have a…unique situation here. Explain it to me…one more time."

Jee took a ragged breath and winced. Breathing hurt, damn it. But he was protecting his men, and his prince, that was enough to give him fire enough to stare down this monster. "There was a mutiny. Once the princes and I had secured them in the brigs, I was assigned to the helm. The princes evidently left while I was steering the ship."

The monster smiled, "And the whole crew mutinied…save, of course you."

"Yes, sir."

Zhao leaned forward, "According to my men, most of the captives are unharmed. A few are considerably more injured, at least one almost to death."

"Some mutinied more than others."

The commander backhanded the younger man, leaving a sting pain on his cheek and a coppery taste in his mouth. Jee spat a glob of blood and spit in the monster's face. A guard kicked him to floor for that. Zhao idly wiped off the blood, "Tell me where are the princes? I may even forget the charges."

"I was following orders," said Jee's muffled voice from the deck.

"Yes, that's true. But we found this ship flying the royal colors…with no royals on board. And you have admitted to being the helmsman at the time. A very serious charge."

The Lieutenant forced himself back up, quite a feat with his hands bound behind him. "I will not give you my princes."

The monster grinned, the kind of grin one sees a jackal-bat. The last one you see.

Zuko and Iroh stared silently at their little fire. Well, Zuko was watching the fire and Iroh was carefully watching the teapot. Both were trying to ignore some rather disturbing thoughts. They had seen a fire on the horizon less then hour ago. Either the men rebelled and broke out the brig or…Zuko was unable to finish the thought. There was no more he could for his men. And there were things to planned and done.

Pulling out his dagger, he watched as the light of fire danced of the keen edge. In a manner known only to the master smiths of the Earth Kingdom, the maker had written three simple words on the blade. Never give up. It was a noble sentiment for an ex-prince, an exile, and a child. Zuko was all three.

"So what am I know uncle?" he asked as he raised the dagger and sliced off his phoenix tail.

Without looking up, Iroh responded, "A good man. Come, let me help you." The teen walked over and sat before his uncle. The older man pulled out a razor and gentled shaved away the rest of his nephew's hair. He felt very old watching his nephew stare into the flames. He had lost his mother, his father and sister, his birthright, and his very home. Iroh prayed to whatever spirits would listen that he could save this child. Bitterly, he added that they owed him that much.

Zuko was too deep in thought, but his uncle noticed the fire flicker black for their briefest of moments.

Standing the both of them up, Iroh turned Zuko to face him. Rubbing his own bald head, he exclaimed, "Nephew, we match!"

A ghost of smile tugged at his lips, "You pull the look of better than me."

"It comes with age, my nephew." Rummaging through his pack, Iroh suddenly become very somber. "Oh dear, " He looked behind Zuko into the woods, "I do not believe I have enough cups for all you. Do you have any we could borrow?"

A teenager slapped his forehead and a dozen Kyoshi Warriors stepped out into the clearing.

Zuko was positive his life could not get any worse. Banished, disowned, hunted, and now he could add captured to that list. Not only captured but tied to a pole like an animal hung to dry. And to add insult to injury, he was being held with the Avatar and his friends. If he had captured him when he had the chance, none of them would be here. Granted, it would have been worse for the Avatar and in hindsight probably not much better for Zuko. Perhaps the former prince would have thought better of the situation if the orange-clad boy next him would stop talking.

"Hey Zuko! Fancy meeting you here."

"What happened to your hair?"

"Do you they still eat fireflakes in the Fire Nation?"

"How did you get captured? I was trying to ride the Unagi and almost got eaten by this giant snake thing."

Fortunately, one of their captors happened to be watching the one sided exchanged. Zuko asked of them, "Can he have a gag?"

The boy stuck his tongue out at him. Any further rebuke was cut off when the Water Tribe boy on Zuko's other side woke up. He immediately started shouting for the guys who caught them. This was followed by several sexist comments and several angry women inching closer. Zuko dropped his head and sighed.

One of the warriors stopped in front of him, "Do you have comment about women being able to fight too, fire-boy?"

Zuko smirked at her, "You obviously haven't met my sister and her friends."

The warrior seemed a little taken aback, so did the idiot boy. Iroh, somewhere down the line continued, "The Fire Nation has always had women in their military."

"I have never heard of any," said one of the warriors. Zuko noted she had a sense of command about her. Must be the leader, he mused

The teen shrugged as best he could, "They don't serve on the frontline." The leader stared to glare again and he added, "We have found they are better suited for more…discrete operations than as shock troops."

Iroh quickly threw in, "But they also serve on the navy ships. And the armor can make it hard to distinguish gender, unlike your lovely uniforms."

Zuko groaned, "I take back what I said, can he have a gag?"

This seemed to satisfy the warriors, and they went on to question the others. It only ended when the Avatar airbended himself to the top of his post, proving his story. However, it was the Water Tribe girl that came to rescue of the two firebenders.

"What about them?"

The leader stated simply, "They are Fire Nation spies we caught." Iroh looked positively insulted and mumbled something about offering his best tea and too few cups.

The girl wouldn't stand for it, "Sure they are Fire Nation, and invaded my village, and captured Aang…"

The ex-prince growled, "Please, stop helping."

She blushed and continued, "What I mean was that he let us go and left my home in peace."

The Kyoshi Warrior seemed consider this for a moment. It was very contrary to anything she knew about the Fire Nation. Then she said, "Our lookouts did spot a Fire Navy ship attacking another one. What do you know about this?"

Zuko strained against his bonds at this revelation, "What happened to the smaller ship? Did it escape?"

The leader stared closely at him. She noted the fear in his voice and etched across his face. There was a silent pleading in his eyes. She shook head then turned to her subordinate, "Release them."

The scarred young man sat quietly in the house provided for their stay. He was at a loss to say the least. What does an ex-prince do with himself? Should he run away and join the circus like Ty Lee? Should he found some rebellion and wage against his militant father? No. Work in a teashop? Hell no.

He idly thought about asking if anyone on the island could use his help with…anything. He was never taught any really labor related skills, but was a fast learner. Kyoshi was a nice enough place, oceans and forests were a nice mix. The people were mostly friendly to the Fire Nation refugees. And the war had generally left the island alone. Maybe he could help the Kyoshi Warriors with a few things.

But no. He knew Uncle had some plan for the both of them. Zuko wasn't sure what to think of that. Had he gone from a worthless pawn of his father's to a not so worthless pawn of his uncle?

Any further musing was cut off with a knock on the door. The door which promptly slid open without a response from the teenager. He saw Katara, the Water Tribe girl, and decided to ignore the rudeness of it. Even more so when he saw her carrying a tray of food. She smiled prettily and said, "I thought you might like something to eat."

Zuko thanked her and sat down at the table. Remembering the lessons his mother and uncle had ground into him, he said, "Would you care to join me?" Always be kind to women and very kind to smart, beautiful women, his uncle would say.

She looked around briefly, "Where is your uncle?"

Shaking his head, he replied, "Our guard promised to show him the Kyoshi tea ceremony." The only provision, other than confiscation of weapons, for their freedom was that they be "supervised" at all times. Iroh and their supervisor quickly bonded over their mutual love of tea.

Katara giggled and sat down across from him. In the back of his mind, he decided that it was a cute giggle. The rest of his mind was very confused at this thought. They quietly ate their meal, fried rice and some fish Zuko didn't recognize. If Zuko was at a loss before, he beyond loss now. His only really interaction with girls was either with relatives or Azula's two friends. And the latter were really pleasant experiences. Even those were three years ago. He had barely seen a girl since his banishment, let alone talked with one.

"Um," Zuko started, "That's a nice necklace you have." He wanted to hang his head in shame at his lame attempt.

Katara's hand gently touched the pendant. Even the sheltered teen could tell that she looked very sad all of a sudden. "Thank you, it used to belong to my mother." It wasn't hard to guess from her tone of voice what had happened to her mother. The Fire Nation had been raiding the Southern Water Tribe for decades. His people had been raiding her home for decades.

"I'm sorry," Zuko managed to say. For the first time in his life, he was a little ashamed to be Fire Nation. After all, he could relate to the loss of a mother. Katara looked up at him in half-surprise and half-confusion. For a moment, he thought of telling her about his own mother before thinking better of it. No need to spread the misery around.

Instead he asked, "Where is Aang? Seems like he is either bugging you or me."

Zuko was surprised to see put down her chopsticks, scowl and cross her arms. He had seen a similar look on Azula. It did not bode well. "He is off impressing the village girls with his little airbending tricks," she spat out scornfully.

"He does seem to like the attention," he said carefully.

Katara mumbled something about the savior of the world was busy flirting.

The scarred teen smiled, "I don't think an eleven year old knows how to flirt."

She barked out a laugh, "It's easy to forget just how young he is, isn't it?" The Water Tribe girl quickly noticed Zuko's face harden; his eyes stare off into the distance. It made him look older than a teen should. Her mothering instincts kicked and she placed a hand on his.

It took a few minutes, but he finally croaked out, "I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. He is just a kid, even younger than…" His voice seemed to fail him.

She managed to say "Zuko," before they heard the shouting.

Both teens quickly ran outside, nearly knocking over the table in the process. As soon as they opened the door they saw what was wrong. Kyoshi was burning.

As a third prince, and later crown prince, Zuko had military strategy shoved down his throat since he was five. He may lack Iroh's experience, but had a knack for figuring out an opponent's tactics before anyone else. There was no such plan among the firebenders attacking Kyoshi. There was no focused assault, no defense line, and no coordination whatsoever. Zhao had apparently simply told them to burn everything. Zuko bitterly thought of how proud his father would be of his commander.

He was impressed when the first reaction out of Katara was, "I don't have my bending water."

Taking a quick stock of the surroundings, he asked, "Can you use the water in the well?"

She grimaced, "I don't think I can, the water is very far down, and I am not very good yet."

Zuko felt similar without his swords, they made dealing with multiple fighters much easier. Still he stayed calm, "Its okay." He knew that the Avatar and his friends were staying at a small house at the other side of town. The side away from the flames. "Run and get it, see if you can find any of the warriors." They had to fighting somewhere else on the island. The people of Kyoshi were no pushovers.

"But Zuko…"she started to say before he interrupted her.

"Go! I will be fine," as soon as her footsteps were far enough away, he added, "I think."

Charged at the armored group of men nearest, he bended a wave of fire at their feet. Some stumbled back, a few even fell. They wouldn't be caught off guard again. He blocked a blow to his head, and quickly tripped the attacker. Then kicked him the head for good measure. Zuko barely managed to block a fireblast with one of own. This wasn't going to be easy he thought.

Despite his negative thought, he was making progress. Five were down already, but many were coming. He swept a low kick, knocking one man down while avoiding another. Swing a ring of fire around himself, the scarred prince managed to gain some breathing room. He was ready to kick out a few more blasts of fire when he heard a voice.

"Ah, Prince Zuko, There you are."

The men and the flames part, revealing the commander wearing a shit-eating grin. Zuko held fast before the man, "Where are my men Zhao?"

The older man looked very unconcerned when he said, "Oh, I do believe they are at the bottom of the sea."

"You bastard!" shouted the prince as he flung a particularly large fireball at the man. The commander easily swept it aside and returned with one of his own. Zuko dodged to side and attack from a different angle. Zhao dodged by a matter of inches. The young man smirked, "I think your hair burning Zhao."

The older man growled, swung out a fist and nearly caught the former prince across the chin. Zuko, however, did manage to land a kick to the commander's jaw. Zhao stumbled back, and waved off his men, ready to jump in. Zhao then sent a large wave of fire. The teen managed to deflect it, but not soon enough to dodge the kick to his diaphragm.

Zuko fell his knees coughing. Zhao may not be smart or agile as him, but he had superior brute strength and was armored. A second kick hit the boy's head before he could recover. He managed to get all fours again before he was hit again. The teen was no longer sure if it was Zhao or his men attacking him.

After they decided he had enough pummeling, two soldiers held up their former prince for their commander. Zhao seemed to be profusely enjoying the moment. "Just think how your father will reward me for being back you head, Prince Zuko," he gloated.

Zuko just hung his head; he had nothing to say to man. And his jaw was very sore at the moment.

"No words of defiance?" Zhao snorted, "Even death you are coward." He raised a hand just inches in front of the scared prince's face. Zuko could feel the heat start to gather. The teen was barely aware of the flash of gold that stuck Zhao in the temple. Or the shouts, gusts of air, and shouts from all sides.

He was, however, very aware of his uncle catching him. No other man on the planet smelled of jasmine and smoke. "That is enough, Zhao," Iroh roared out.

Zuko's mind faded into black and sleep.