Something went wrong as soon as he stepped onto his ship.

A landing party of soldiers was there to meet them. The bison roared, but he couldn't try anything, not with one foot chained and a deck full of people swarming up to meet him. He was brought down to the deck and tied in no time.

Zuko smiled, thinking that Uncle must have been the one responsible for arranging this. He cleared his throat, and every soldier nearby stepped back, the closest ones bowing. Bowing! He felt like a Firelord already.

Zuko had no trouble moving through the crowd, and his smile grew. He spotted his uncle in back, near the entrance. "Uncle!" He ran up to his uncle, stopping before him. "I did it, Uncle!"

"I heard." Iroh put on a small smile. "This is a great accomplishment, Nephew."

"Yes." Zuko grinned. "I can finally go home! We can finally go home!"

Something wasn't quite right about Iroh's reaction to that. Zuko expected a wide grin, a full belly laugh, a call for music and storytelling that night to raise their spirits for the homeward journey. He wasn't a fan of music and storytelling, but he would have happily participated this time.

But Iroh did not call for such a night, or laugh, or even grin. He stroked his beard, looking rather serious. "How will they be accommodated, Nephew? The Avatar is a small boy. It would be cruel to keep him in a small hold forever."

"I…" Zuko was taken aback. Why is he asking about the Avatar's wellbeing so quickly? What about the fact that I captured him? What about how I got us our ticket home after 3 long years? What about celebrating that? "I know. I was planning to keep them chained by hands and feet against walls in one of the rooms. And feed them, and give the sick ones their frogs. It's fine, Uncle."

Iroh grinned. "Good! It is said, Nephew, that the ends justify the means. But I don't think so. What good is it to return home if, by the time you do, you are no longer a good thing for your home to have in it?" Before Zuko could think of answering, he turned away. "But enough of that! This is a night of celebration! Music night!" he called out above the sound of soldiers' feet. "Music night tonight!" Several unoccupied soldiers cheered.

Zuko tried to bring his smile back, but it flickered. Was Uncle...not proud of him? What was that about not being a good thing?

Fire exploding, consuming the ladder, filling the camp. Many screams, then very few. How many soldiers? How many?

Zuko shook his head. No! He was deserving, he was rightfully coming home, at long last. Uncle was just softhearted towards young kids, that was all. As long as he knew they were being treated humanely, he would be perfectly happy and proud.

"Prince Zuko?" He turned, and saw a soldier kneeling on the deck. It was the lieutenant, responsible for distributing tasks among the crew. Zuko looked up to see the crew having subdued the bison and taken the Avatar's friends from the hold. "What shall we do with them?"

"Clear out the main hold and take the bison down there," Zuko ordered. "Tell the navigators to plot a course that takes us through as many small straits as fast as possible. We want to get far ahead of Zhao and stay that way." He looked down at the man. "Before you do, get me the men who chained up the Avatar."

The lieutenant nodded and called out 3 names. One of them was the soldier from the raft who had claimed to personally witness the Avatar being chained. He had been telling the truth. "Thank you," Zuko said to the lieutenant. "Dismissed."

He told the soldiers to lead him to the Avatar, and they did so. The boy was awake. Thankfully, he had already been fully bound, practically cocooned against the wall. He started to struggle futilely, his face looking almost comically angry, as soon as he saw Zuko. "You tricked me!"

"What else?" Zuko asked. It was a genuine question. He held the fireball in his hand higher for better lighting. "You're my ticket home. What else would I do? Keep drifting around the open ocean?"

The Avatar continued to wiggle. He didn't answer. He didn't have an answer.

"You'll be treated better here than with Zhao, anyway. He's a jerk." Zuko thrust the fire outward, checking all corners. "This is a pretty large room. There's enough space." He turned to the soldiers. "You three. One of you stays and binds the Avatar's mouth. The other two go and get his friends. They're sick, so they won't even fight. Give them the same treatment, one on each wall, far away from each other."

The soldiers nodded and left. Zuko turned back to the Avatar, whose mouth was hanging open. "You...you'll let me be in the same room as Katara and Sokka?"

"Sure. Why not." Zuko looked over the chains again. "Not like it'll help you."

The Avatar ground his teeth together like a petulant child again. "Don't you understand what's happening? I'm the Avatar! I have to maintain balance among the four nations! If the Fire Nation conquers everything, there won't be balance, and bad things will happen!"

Zuko scoffed and turned away. "You'll need to be a lot more specific than 'bad things' to convince me. We have all the best ships. Great schools. Grand buildings. My father, and all the firelords before him, just want to share those things with the rest of the world. It'll be fine."

"No, it won't be!" The Avatar put on his best pleading face. "Look at what the Fire Nation is already doing! They're hurting people! That's not going to stop just because they win. The ends don't justify the means."

Zuko roared. The fire in his hand nearly touched the ceiling. "Don't spout all your monk lessons at me! I'm not a monk!" He clenched his fist, putting the fire out and leaving the room in complete darkness, then left. The door closed perhaps a little harder than it needed to.

"Tell Uncle and anybody else who wants me that I'll be in my room," he ordered a nearby crewman. The crewman nodded and bowed. Zuko found it annoying this time. Of all the ways he'd expected to be received, this wasn't one of them. What was wrong with Uncle? Why couldn't he see how great this was? It was perfect! They would be going home, Zuko would take his rightful place, the war would proceed, and the world would rebuild with the help of advanced technology. Nothing was wrong.

The floor tilted lightly under Zuko's feet. The ocean was acting up. Well, too bad. Zuko ignored it and went to his room. He could skip this music night just like he'd skipped all the others. He wouldn't be missing anything.

He went to his room, took off his regalia (which now looked pointless), and climbed into bed. A wave of cold lifted inside, and he bent over shivering, just before the boat shuddered. Still shivering, Zuko pulled the covers over himself and huddled as tightly as possible. It didn't help.

.

That night, Zuko dreamed of somehow finding himself in a backwards Earth Kingdom swamp town where bending didn't exist, so everyone wanted to burn him as a witch. He escaped into the swamp, where he spent the entire last half of the dream running in circles. Just before the dream ended, Zuko came to a stop, panting for breath, knowing somehow that the witch burners were right behind him and they'd brought the pyre with them.

He awoke briefly, gasping as hard as he had in the dream, feeling the fire from the pyre scorching him, almost burning his back. He groaned, realized he was awake, then fell asleep again. This time he was in an ice field, and there was no one coming. He was very relieved...until he realized no one was coming. The sun was directly above him, and there were no stars in the black sky. He'd lost the Avatar and the kid had gone north, to this place of ice. Where was he? Where was the Avatar? The ice turned red and began to burn like hot coals.

That was how most of the night passed. Zuko awoke from painful dreams frequently, either frozen or burned awake, or both. He shivered and sweated into his blankets. It was most unprincely.

Finally, he threw off the blankets and forced himself to stay awake this time! No more dreams. He sat in bed, groaning and trying to get his breath steady. There was no sound. Music night must already be over. He almost wished he'd gone. It couldn't have been worse than the night he was having so far.

"Stupid Avatar," he whispered. "Stupid -" No. I can't say such a thing about Uncle. "Silly Uncle. Why can't he just be happy about good news? Why does he have to make everything into trouble? Why can't he just relax?"

Zuko groaned and dragged his hand down his face as if he had claws. Of course. He should've known better. The universe would never turn his way and stay there. It had tricks to play on him. Dirty, cruel jokes. What more was he going to be put through?

As if in answer, Zuko shivered and bent forward again. He could feel the water spirit running alongside the boat, shoving it aside as if cruelly teasing. His bones felt like ice.

I hate spirits! Zuko flopped back into his pillow. How could such a good day end so badly?!

He buried his face in the pillow and drifted back to sleep. There were no more dreams.

.

The next morning, the navigators summoned him.

"We plotted a course quick and twisty, through narrow straits, just as ordered," the pilot began. "But we've run into a problem. The boat isn't able to move as quickly as it should in this rough water. We might be better off stopping in a port and waiting, or taking to more sheltered waters."

Zuko glared at the map. He knew there was no storm, nothing to take shelter from. Or rather, the storm would simply follow them. "Stay on course."

The pilot looked hesitant, but said, "Yes, captain."

Zuko left the room quickly, barely making it to the room where the Avatar and his friends were kept in time. He had the little bottle of frog scrapings with him. "You can go in and feed the Avatar now," he told one of the crewmen there. "Put his gag back as soon as he's done, and don't let him out of your sight."

That one nodded and went inside. Zuko held up the jar for the other two to see. "Medicine," he explained while adding it to the plates of food meant for the Avatar's friends. The crewmen dutifully stirred in the mystery substance without asking any questions, then went inside to feed the Avatar's sick friends.

Iroh arrived in time to see this. He walked alongside Zuko for several paces before slyly stating, "I didn't know you had gotten medicine for them, Prince Zuko. It must have taken you out of your way."

"Not much," Zuko replied.

"You missed music night again." Iroh raised an eyebrow. "I know how you feel about music and storytelling, but I would have expected you to attend this one."

"And I would have expected you to be happier about finally going home," Zuko replied. He was aware of anger leaking into his voice, and decided to let it.

"I am happy, Nephew," Iroh said. He put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I never wanted you to be banished and alone in the world. I've told you that before."

"And I remember," Zuko replied. He shrugged Iroh's hand away. "That's why I expected something different. A big grin, or, I don't know, a big laugh or something. Instead the first person you asked about was the Avatar. And then you said something about not being good for my home. What did you mean by that, Uncle?"

The water spirit nudged the bottom of the boat. They both took a second to adjust their footing. "Rough seas," Iroh murmured. "I only meant that it's good to see you haven't lost your kindness, Prince Zuko. Kindness is one of the hardest things to keep in rough storms, but it is also the most essential."

"Oh. Thanks. I guess." The water spirit flung a strong wave out ahead of the boat from beneath the surface of the ocean. Zuko tried not to shiver. He doubted kindness could do anything about storms themselves.

"Don't let anything endanger your kind heart." Iroh chuckled. "It's my favorite part of you!"

Zuko stopped short and turned away sharply. "Yeah, well, go find something to do Uncle. We're hardly moving."

Iroh looked surprised at this, but closed his mouth and said nothing. He stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner before leaving. Zuko felt bad immediately. Why had he snapped? He hadn't meant to; it had just slipped out for no reason at all. He didn't feel able to apologize, though.

I'll apologize later. For now, he went up to the deck. He nodded at the crew there who looked at him with worried eyes, and took hold of safety ropes to reassure them. He looked out over the bow. The boat appeared to be cleanly slicing through the waves, like always. On the surface, the ocean had quieted down some. But he and the navigators knew that the surface was not the problem. The water was rough underneath the boat, dragging on the hull and slowing them down.

To his right, Zuko saw an opening appear in the forested cliffs. The pilot had pointed to it on the map while suggesting they take shelter in a port. No way. We have to get as far away from Zhao as we can. Every second counts. He's never liked me; he could easily steal the Avatar for himself, and then we'll never go home.

He felt his grip starting to slide on the ropes, and clutched tighter. That didn't help, because the boat was shuddering beneath him. Zuko backed away from the bow, but not before getting a look at the waves piling up directly in front of it.

He ran to the navigator's room. The pilot jumped, dropping all of his maps as Zuko burst in. The door slammed against the wall. "You remember how you suggested stopping at a port?" Zuko said.

"Y-yes?"

"Do that. Now." With that, he left the pilot to pick up his fallen maps.

"You happy?" Zuko whispered underneath his breath as he walked. "Dragging on the hull, pushing back on the bow. Fine, we'll take a break and stop. Happy now?" A wave jabbed upwards at the left side of the boat. He guessed that meant No. "Ugh. Can't believe I thought of giving you a nice little pond."

He went to the main hold, located towards the front of the boat. The back of the boat was of course reserved for launching the raft. The bison glared out at him from its chains, grumbling as much as it could while wearing a muzzle. The flying monkey chattered from its cage. Zuko walked in a half circle around the bison, checking its restraints. He didn't really need to, but he felt like pacing. When one of the men tried to talk to him and reassure him that their work was sound, he shot that one a glare at the same time as a thump came from the other side of the metal hull. Zuko turned like everyone else did, but he was pretty sure there was no real danger there. Breaking through the hull wasn't the point. He didn't know exactly what the point was, but surely it did not involve physically tearing apart his vessel.

As predicted, no massive destruction occurred. Zuko covered his entire ship, passing probably every crew member he had as he paced. On one of his passes past the Avatar's room (he had long since lost count), Iroh found him. "Nephew! Come quick - I've been looking everywhere for you."

They went into Zuko's chambers. "Is there an emergency?" Zuko asked while his uncle shut the door. "Because I'm already dealing with the waves. I told the pilot to change course to land at port, and there hasn't been any shaking or thumping for an hour."

"That's not quite the problem," Iroh said mysteriously. Zuko sighed. Another one of his "life lessons" I have to figure out the meaning of for myself?

"The problem is what's causing these waves." Iroh shook his head, looking very sober. "Nephew, everyone onboard the ship has realized by now that these waves can't be natural. This is unlike any behavior the ocean has ever shown before."

"So? What am I supposed to do?"

"The Avatar is known to maintain harmony with the spirit world as well as within the human one. It may be -"

"No!" Zuko shot to his feet, eyes alight. Nearby candle flames rose several feet. "This is my only chance at going home. Our only chance."

"Your father gave his word that he would allow you to return if you brought the Avatar," Iroh argued. "But if we are destroyed by an angry spirit on our way there, the Firelord's word means nothing."

"We won't be destroyed!"

"I agree," Iroh admitted. In a softer voice, he explained, "That's what the men are frightened of, though. I didn't think it would be reassuring to tell them that if an angry ocean spirit was attacking us, we would already be sunk."

Zuko turned away. "We have to get home. We have to. What else can I do?"

"We could try asking the Avatar to placate the spirit, in exchange for letting his companions go free. They're feeling much better by the way."

Zuko shook his head. "There's no way he'll agree to that. How can he do anything about the spirit, anyway? It's not in any spirit world. It's right here in this one, below the ocean. We'd have to release him, and I am not doing that."

"True…" Iroh rubbed his beard some more, then shrugged. "I'm all out of ideas, Nephew. If it is a very powerful spirit, then we may not have any choice."

"I am not giving up the Avatar," Zuko growled.

"I hope you aren't forced to, Nephew." Iroh sighed. "I haven't been able to enjoy a single peaceful moment on deck since this started."

"Uncle?"

Iroh looked up with great surprise. Zuko had said that word softly, gently. He turned to look at Iroh with a tired look in his eye. "Let's have music night again tonight. I'll show up."

Iroh nodded. "I'll go around and see if we can't put together a talent show."

"Sure." Zuko sat on his bed, noticing for the first time how tired his legs were. But he didn't relax. His fists curled. I won't. You hear me? I won't give up my ticket home.

.

Zuko went to music night, as promised. He thought it was probably a lot better when the singers weren't scared out of their wits and the players' hands didn't shake. The news that they would be making port in the morning was met with relieved sighs. Music night was much better after that. If it wasn't for the water spirit sloshing back and forth outside in time with the beat, it might have been tolerable. Zuko's face twitched the whole time. After only a half hour, music night ended early because of candles and torches exploding in bright balls of flame. There was no talent show.

Before he could escape back to his room and soak himself in water to cool down, Zuko was mobbed by crew members. Every single one refused to deliver food to the captive Avatar anymore. "What if he calls spirits to destroy the boat?" one of them asked. No matter what he said, Zuko could not reassure any of them.

He found Iroh and walked alongside him to their quarters. "Congratulations, Uncle. You're in charge of feeding the Avatar now," he told him. "Everybody else is too afraid to."

"Nephew," Iroh said. "If you mean to be a leader of men, there is something you must know."

"What is it, Uncle?"

Iroh glanced back down the hall. Nobody was nearby. "Fear itself is dangerous, Nephew. Without any other weapon, without hurting a single person or burning a single leaf, the strongest fortress can be overwhelmed by fear and conquered easily. Even if the boat stays intact, morale won't."

Zuko said nothing. What could he have said? "Good night, Uncle."

"Good night, Nephew."

Zuko shed his princely outfit as he crossed his room, then fell into bed facefirst.