Zuko is walked, pushed really, to another metal room in the belly of the ship. He finds himself sitting on a metal chair, wrists and ankles bound, staring at the metal walls of the room dimly lit by an oil lamp. The two guards lock the door and leave him there for what seems like forever. His anxiety rises with each passing minute, the anticipation killing him. He imagines a million different scenarios all of which end with him being beaten up or burned, he can't stop about what Katara must be feeling, if they separated them to do something horrible to her. He would never forgive himself for not being able to help her. So, he sits on the chair, feeling helpless, until the captain finally opens the door.
"Prince Zuko, what a pleasure to have the chance to speak to you alone, without any…distractions." He says, his creepy smile never leaving his lips.
Zuko looks at him with the smuggest look he can muster, years of training in his prince duties making it feel almost natural.
"Let me tell you how this is going to go" the captain continues. "I'll ask you a few questions, and you'll give me the answers I want. See, this can be a very civilised conversation."
"You won't get anything from me." Zuko growls, interrupting him.
"Ah, you didn't let me finish, Prince, you should really learn to control your temper." The captain continues as Zuko glares at him.
"I am not sure you're familiar with interrogations, what with your status and all. But you're no longer a Prince, are you? You're just a disgrace now, and I don't see why you should be treated any different. If you don't answer my questions, I will break every bone in your body." He finishes so calmly that it makes Zuko's insides twist. This is clearly a man who has done this before, and from the way he looks at him, Zuko knows it's a man who enjoys it.
This only feeds Zuko's stubbornness though, he is not about to betray his friends, he is not about to risk losing the little bit of trust he has managed to get. And he is not about to doom the world to his father's plans.
"So, I will start with an easy one: What were you and the water bitch doing on my ship?"
Zuko doesn't answer. The first punch comes swiftly: Straight to the face, with the distinct sound of a bone breaking. Zuko grunts, the intense pain he instantly feels and the dribble of blood on his shirt confirm it was his nose.
The captain takes out a white cloth and slowly wipes the blood off his hand. Zuko feels sick realising how much he likes this and how many people must have suffered at his hands, but his resolve doesn't weaver.
True to his word, the captain beats Zuko with every question he leaves unanswered.
"What did the bitch do to me?"
Nothing. Another punch to the face.
"Why were you looking for Yon Rha?"
Nothing. The captain hits him square on the chest.
"Where is the avatar?"
Zuko lets out pained grunt, but still does not answer the question. More hits follow.
"Who else is helping you?"
By the fifth question, Zuko is coughing up blood, and he's lost tracks of how many of his ribs feel cracked. Pain radiates from so many different parts of his body that he can't tell any of it apart. He doesn't care that his swollen eye is shut, or that there is way too much blood on his clothes for him to be OK. He still does not say a word.
In fact, with his mind starting to feel hazy, the situation seems kind of funny to him. The Fire Nation treating him like they do prisoners from every other nation, being ruthless. The captain thinking it will teach him a lesson, when it just reinforces his beliefs, what he knows to be the truth, that he has made the right choice. And he can't help but let out a chuckle in between coughs.
This seems to enrage the captain who was already fuming at the lack of success of his methods and who decides to beat him up some more.
"I will wipe the smile off your face, Prince." He says before hitting him again, but Zuko just keeps smiling at him with bloody teeth.
"I don't care if you kill me." The fire Nation Prince finally speaks with as much disdain as he can project.
The captain then takes a step back, something in his eyes tells Zuko he has a new plan, but everything is too blurry, too mushed together, for him to read his expression any more than that.
"You know, your bravery is nothing but stupidity, boy." The captain says in a terrifyingly calm voice. "What do you think happens if you don't talk? Sure, I might kill you,I don't think your father would even mind. But I'll still have another prisoner. A much more interesting one to play with." He continues, enjoying the look on Zuko's face before the prince can hide how angry and disgusted this makes him feel.
"I might even let you live for a while, so you can enjoy the show before I kill you. Then, what do you think will happen to her after you're gone? Oh I guarantee you I'll make her talk. I don't remember how long it's been since my men have seen a woman. Any woman would do, it's just icing on the cake that she is pretty for a water wench. Oh, I'll definitely go first."
Zuko sees all too clearly the excitement and lust in the man's face. The captain looks like he's almost forgotten the purpose of the interrogation, thinking of perverted things that Zuko does not even want to imagine, and it makes his blood boil.
With the little strength he has left, he breathes fire on the captain, hoping to wipe the look off the disgusting man's face. But he doesn't have much strength left, and his fire is small. The captain leans back and easily avoids it.
Zuko thrashes violently, every movement sending new waves of pain he doesn't know what he's even trying to do, he is too angry to think. "Fuck you, you scum! If you touch her, I will kill you, I swear to Agni, it will be your last day on this earth!" He screams as loudly as he can.
"Nice of you to show your hand." The captain replies and Zuko sees one more punch coming his way before he blacks out.
Katara doesn't know how long she has been waiting, it feels like it's at the very least night-time again. She feels like she's going crazy. She can't stop thinking about what they're doing to Zuko, lamenting the fact that she can't do anything to help him. She hates feeling this useless. Aang or Toph or her brother would have found a way to do something, she is sure of it, but she's just stuck here feeling like a scared little girl, again. The hunger and the fear make her want to throw up.
So Katara tries to busy herself. She keeps listening for something, anything, to tell her what they're doing to him, but she can't hear much other than normal sounds of the ship. Then she tries thinking about ways to escape. And to her surprise, she comes up with an idea, she prays to Tui and La that it will work, but she will have to wait for them to bring Zuko back…if they bring him back.
Just as she is about to start spiralling gain, Katara hear the tell-tale creaking of the door, then sees the two guards she's become familiar with. Most importantly, she sees Zuko between then, his seemingly lifeless body being dragged back to the cell.
"No!" She gasps as they bring him in, and she realises the state he's in. Zuko is unconscious, his whole face is bloody, his black clothes ripped. Every inch of exposed skin is cut or covered in blood. Katara can't stop looking at him. She lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she sees his chest slowly rise and fall. At least he is alive.
"Zuko! Please wake up!" She pleads as the guards chain him back to the wall. "Please, you need to heal him!" she begs, begs the guards, but they just ignore her to lock the door.
"Don't worry, next time it's your turn." She snaps her head towards the door, she hadn't even noticed that the captain was there, overwatching his minions.
"You're a monster, I hope you rot in hell!" Katara shouts at him as he leaves, not giving her a second glance, followed by the guards after one of them lowers a lever and their chains loosen a bit.
The chains now allow her to move her arms a bit and fully stand up, she instantly tries to get to Zuko, but a few feet still separate them. If only she could just get closer, she would at least be able to check on him.
Katara is freaking out, Zuko is not waking up, no matter how much she screams his name. She doesn't know when she had started crying again, doesn't even understand how she has any tears left. She tries to reach out for him, to count his injuries to help him when he wakes up and finds herself feeling so pained and enraged at seeing him in this state.
She finally settles down and watches over him, realising there is nothing else she can do until he wakes up. Her eyes never leave his unconscious body, as if he would die if she blinked.
It feels like forever before Zuko eventually stirs, and Katara's heart skips a beat. He is finally waking up.
"Zuko! Don't try to move, you're really hurt." Zuko hears her say in an apologetic voice. He slowly turns his head around to try to look at her. It makes his head throb.
"Ugh..." He grunts as the world seems to be spinning. He can't see very well, but her can feel the anxiety emanating from Katara.
Everything hurts, Zuko realises, even breathing makes his chest feel like it is about to explode. His scarred eye is swollen shut and his good eye barely opens. He looks at the girl watching him, his vision clearing out, and sees that her are eyes puffy, and concern is etched all over her face.
"Kat-Katara" He tries to call her name, but his throat hurts and his voice is raspy. He coughs again, no blood this time at least. "Katara, I'm OK, did they hurt you?" He manages to ask.
He sees the look of disbelief on her face as she replies. "Zuko, you're not OK! I thought you were going to die; I was so worried!" She is crying and her words are rushed. "Why are you asking about me? Look at the state you're in! This is all my fault!" He tries to adjust his position to face her, to show her that he's OK, but Katara stops him. "No! Please don't move, you'll only hurt yourself more!" She says, and he finds that he is so thankful for her concern over him. "Why did he do this to you?" She asks still in tears.
Zuko exhales before starting his explanation "Because I wouldn't tell them anything…they asked about Aang and what we were doing here but I didn't tell them. Katara, he threatened to take you next." He says in one breath.
"I knew you wouldn't tell him anything Zuko. I…I Trust you." Katara says in a low voice, looking down.
And Zuko can tell she means it, as hard as it is for her to admit. As angry as she had been with him. The relief he feels makes him think that all of this was almost worth it, to hear that Katara trusts him again.