First of all, I have to admit that I am not a native speaker, so there might be a few mistakes, but if you write me a message to tell me about them, I will correct them as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: All characters belong toMichael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and I don't earn my money with these stories.

This story was written during the National Novel Writing Month 2022.

Temporary Truce

Zuko was riding on his komodo rhino through a forest in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. His uncle had been abducted by earthbenders, that much was clear, but Zuko had no idea where they could have gone.

It's all my fault, he thought over and over while frantically searching. If he hadn't left his uncle alone, none of this would have happened.

"Prince Zuko, shall we gather search troops?" one of his officers had asked when they had found General Iroh gone.

"No, I'll go alone," Zuko had told them. It seemed brave, but in reality, he just didn't want anyone to see him in his current state. He had never been more worried before. His uncle was the only person left to him who still stood by his side, had gone with him into exile, and still treated him like royalty. Zuko didn't want to think about what could happen to his uncle, but horrid pictures formed in his mind. Uncle Iroh alone in a dark prison cell, or his hands crushed, or his lifeless body dumped in the next river. Suddenly he found footsteps and carriage traces in the sand and followed its trail through the thick forest. He had been searching the whole night and was glad that the sun was rising again. Now he might see more.

Then through the trees, he saw the murals of a village. Maybe they had Uncle Iroh here!

Zuko carefully rode closer until he saw a figure sitting at the entrance of the village. It was a girl with long black hair and the saddest expression he had ever seen. An old, brown blanket was around her shoulders and when a sob escaped her throat, he noticed she was crying. Then the girl lifted her head and the bluest eyes he knew stared into the forest without seeing anything. The sight was so hauntingly beautiful and sad to behold that he had the sudden urge to protect her and cheer her up.

Until he recognised her: she was the girl from the Water Tribe who had helped the Avatar escape from his ship. Katara, the Avatar had called her. Well, if she was here, the Avatar had to be too! And Uncle Iroh!

Angrily, Zuko jumped off his komodo rhino and stormed towards the girl. "You!" he shouted, and a flame tingled on his fingertips. "Where is he?!"

Katara stumbled onto her feet. "Zuko!" she gasped, then positioned herself in a fighting stance, though there was no water near her. "You have them!"

Zuko ignored her. "Tell me where my uncle is, right now!" He shot a fireball to the ground before her feet. "Is he in this village?" He had the sudden urge to see it in flames.

Katara ignored the fire and stormed towards him. "You have them! Where are Sokka and Aang? Give them back to me!"

Her fearless rage distracted him, and he finally listened to what she was saying. "The Avatar isn't with you?" he asked surprised.

"No, he's not," she spat, but tears formed in her eyes. "You caught them, haven't you? That's why they haven't returned yet. And now you've come for me." She slowly backed away.

"I have no idea where the Avatar is." Unfortunately, he thought.

"Liar!"

Zuko sighed. "Look, I'm just searching for my uncle. Is he here?"

"No, he's not."

Zuko put his arms down and the fire subsided. "Then where…?" he thought loudly. "Have you seen him?" he asked Katara. "Did he come by this way?"

She shook her head, her own anger changing into worry. "What happened?"

Zuko gulped. "He was captured by earthbenders."

"Good," Katara replied.

"You don't understand. They might hurt him or… kill him." He tried to stay calm and strong, but his fingers twitched, and his eyes were probably bulging.

"Again: good! He deserves it."

"That's not true. Uncle is the best person in the world."

"He's from the Fire Nation! He was the general who tried to destroy Ba Sing Se!"

"He changed," he replied, but Katara didn't look convinced. War was… complicated.

From the entrance of the village, a roar came and Zuko saw the monster the Avatar always travelled on. "A flying bison!" His eyes widened. If he could just… "Katara!" he said excited with hope. "Can I borrow that thing?"

"What?! Of course, not!"

"Please!" He couldn't believe he was begging a filthy peasant, but the worry for his uncle was overwhelming. "Up there I can find my uncle in no time, I know it. Please."

Katara's face softened. "I can't," she explained. "I have to wait for Aang and my brother."

"We could go look for them, too," Zuko offered, desperate to get going.

Her face squinted. "So, that you can capture him again?"

"No, I promise you: not today."

"How about: not ever?"

"I can't," he said. "Please. Uncle means everything to me."

Katara stared at him a moment longer. "Fine," she said. "But don't try anything!"

He nodded; he would agree to anything today.

Katara knew she was insane. She was flying on Appa, looking for Sokka and Aang, and next to her sat Prince Zuko who was looking for his uncle. She was helping the Fire Nation! But Zuko had looked so helpless and worried about his uncle that she had cracked and given in. There was something about him at the moment that made her heart go out for him.

"Tell me," she said after a while of flying over the forest, "why do you need to capture the Avatar? Why would you rob the world of its only hope?"

Zuko looked darkly away. "It's important," he said in a low voice.

Katara stared at him. "But why?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he said and didn't meet her eyes.

"You can't truly believe that the Fire Nation is superior and should rule the world, can you?"

He remained silent.

"But I forget whom I speaking to," she scoffed. "Of course, you think exactly that, Your Highness."

"If you must know: it's the only way for me to go home!"

Katara's face softened. "Why?"

He turned his face away, the scar very visible on his face.

"Because you were banished?" she said.

He turned towards her. "How do you know that?"

"Someone in the village told me."

He scoffed. "Great, so now even a low Earth Kingdom village knows about my disgrace."

Katara wasn't sure how to react, but her curiosity won. "Why were you banished?"

He sighed deeply. "I was disrespectful to my father."

"Oh." She wondered what he had done to Firelord Ozai but didn't want to pry. She was already surprised at his openness. "And he sent you to find the Avatar?"

Zuko nodded.

"How long have you been searching."

"Two years."

Katara looked at him and saw a lot of pain on his face. And suddenly she pitied him. Her enemy! "But don't you think it's a bit selfish to take away the Avatar from the world so that you can go home?"

He glared at her. "What do you know of my situation? You have been home your whole life! How would you feel if you could never get home and never see your family again?"

Katara gulped. "Well," she said bitterly, "my mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid and my father has left the village years ago to fight in the war. So because of your family, mine is shattered." And now even Sokka was gone. New tears formed in her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily.

"I'm sorry," he said and sounded sincere. He took something dark-blue out of his pocket. "I believe this belongs to you."

"My mother's necklace," she breathed and carefully took the prized possession from him. "Where did you find it?"

"On that prison island."

She knotted the band around her neck, feeling much better. "Thank you."

He just nodded.

"Isn't there any other way for you to go home without taking the Avatar?" she asked pleadingly.

"I haven't found one."

"Maybe you should search for that instead."

And to her surprise, he nodded.

She took a deep breath. "Let's just find your stupid uncle and get this over with." She leaned over Appa and looked for the general and his captors.

It took them until noon to find them.

"Oh no," Zuko gasped when he saw the scene.

General Iroh was tied onto a huge rock, wearing nothing but underwear, while several earthbenders stood around him.

"They're going to crush his hands!" Zuko said. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

"Come on, Appa!" Katara said and they flew towards the scene. Right when one of the earthbenders was lifting a rock, Appa flew against him, and the rock fell back on the ground.

Zuko jumped off the bison and ran to his uncle, breaking his chains with a precise kick. Katara was shortly behind him.

"Excellent timing, Prince Zuko," Iroh said and rubbed his wrists. "And I see you brought a friend?"

Katara frowned at this statement. There was a stream nearby so she bent some of its water towards her, though it felt exhausting.

"Give up," one of the earthbenders said. Then he saw Katara and frowned. "Why would someone from the Water Tribe help someone from the Fire Nation? Are you a traitor?"

"That's none of your business!" she said but felt ashamed because he was right.

And then it started. Rock clashed against fire. Water froze to ice. And soon all five earthbenders lay unconscious on the ground. Katara was surprised that Zuko and his uncle hadn't killed anyone.

When the fight was over, Katara released the rest of the water in her hands and fell to her knees panting. She really needed a teacher and more training!

"Katara?" Zuko stood in front of her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

He surprised her by offering her his hand and she took it and he helped her up. She gave him a grateful smile, then quickly let go of his soft, warm hand.

"Now could someone please tell me how you two became allies?" Iroh asked with a smile.

"You were gone," Zuko explained. "As are the Avatar and Katara's brother. So we thought…

um…"

"To work together," Katara finished for him though it sounded unbelievable.

The general looked impressed.

"But now our temporary truce is over," Katara said resolutely and went towards Appa. "I guess you'll find your way back, right?" She climbed onto the bison.

"Hey!" Zuko said. "You can't just leave us here!"

"Just walk west and you'll get to the coast eventually," Katara smirked. "And remember: not today!"

"No," he grinned. "Not today."

"Maybe: not ever?"

He hesitated, but then replied: "Maybe."

Katara felt disappointed when she flew away from the prince and his uncle, but it was better this way. And she just hoped that he would truly start looking for another way to come home without abducting the Avatar…

"What a nice young woman," Uncle Iroh smiled.

"Yeah, she is," Zuko replied almost inaudibly. Then he looked at his uncle. "Now, would you please put on some clothes."

THE END.