(Originally posted January 22, 2022 on AO3)
Aang patted Appa's muzzle to soothe his anxious murmuring, waiting patiently for the Fire Nation boy - Zuko, he'd said his name was - to return. He remembered the confusion and hostility he had seen in Zuko's eyes, and the severe burn mark over his left eye. Did he lose an Agni Kai? Aang wondered, cringing as he remembered Kuzon telling him about the violent Fire Nation practice. It's rare to see burns of that degree unless it was done on purpose.
Appa grunted, interrupting his thoughts. "I know, buddy. We had a long and dangerous flight last night. I'm sorry I put you through that," he said. "Maybe I should try and go back to the temple... It was pretty reckless to run away like that. Monk Gyatso must be worried. But we'll just hitch a ride with Zuko for a bit, and then once you're rested we'll be back in no time."
At that moment, he spotted a figure in red clumsily climbing over the wall of ice. Zuko had returned. Aang bounded quickly towards him with a gust of wind.
Zuko appeared startled by the sudden movement. "Sorry," Aang apologized, rubbing the back of his head with a crooked grin. "I forgot you all haven't seen many airbenders before. I'll refrain from doing stuff like that in front of your crew."
Zuko simply nodded, not meeting his eye. "Let's head to the ship."
Aang sat on Appa's head as the bison pushed his way through the ice. "Who knew you were as good at swimming as you are at flying, buddy?" Aang said with a smile. He watched Zuko, who was hopping on the ice clumps towards his ship in front of them. Aang had offered to let him ride in Appa's saddle, but Zuko had adamantly refused.
As they approached the ship, Aang's brow furrowed in confusion. He had never seen a Fire Nation ship quite like this. Granted, he had not really paid attention to the nuances of Fire Nation ships due to always traveling to the Fire Islands on a sky bison.
The ship was made completely of metal, and the hull, which was heavily damaged, had been lowered onto the ice. It would be a tight fit, but he would be able to get Appa onto the deck. He hopped off onto the large platform of ice that the ship's hull was resting on, and Appa pulled himself onto the platform as well.
As they finally boarded the ship, Aang noticed something was off. There were two rows of what looked to be Fire Nation soldiers on either side of them. However, unlike the Fire Nation uniforms Aang had seen before, these looked... scarier. Each had a full suit of armor on and pointed helmets, their faces obscured by a cover that was reminiscent of a skull.
"Hey... Zuko? What's going on, why are there soldiers on your ship?" He asked as he heard the hull of the ship lock back into place.
Zuko didn't answer. Aang turned to him and saw that he had backed away, hands up as if he were ready to fight. Aang looked around, fear settling in as he noticed each of the soldiers doing the same. What is going on? He wondered as he slowly backed towards Appa. I don't know what we've gotten into, buddy, but I hope to the Spirits that you can fly again.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers shot a blast of flames at him. Aang evaded the blast by airbending himself onto Appa's saddle, grabbing his staff from the saddle. "Yip yip!" he said frantically. Appa grunted, but did not move.
"Zuko, you said you were just giving me a ride! What's going on?" he demanded, standing on top of Appa's head, staff pointed defensively. He thought he saw a flicker of guilt flash in Zuko's amber eyes before they hardened again.
Aang had no idea what to do. He couldn't - and wouldn't - fight, only disarm and evade. As Appa backed towards the hull of the ship, Aang jumped back down and slammed his staff forward, creating a huge gust of wind that blew all of the soldiers over, including Zuko, who quickly got back up and began running towards Aang, fire emanating out of the backs of his closed fists.
The two sparred for several minutes, Aang evading each one of Zuko's attacks. Suddenly, he heard a growl from behind. Appa was swatting back soldiers with his tail, throwing some overboard. "Appa!" Aang shouted, fearful that the bison would get burned. However, Zuko took this as an opportunity to take him by surprise while his back was turned and knocked his staff out of his hand.
The two continued sparring, Zuko pushing Aang further and further back until Aang felt his foot step back and over the edge of the ship, falling into the icy water below.
As he sank deeper and deeper, vision fading, he suddenly was reminded of the night he had run away from his temple - the night where he and Appa had crashed into the South Sea. He'd thought they were going to die, but then...
Zuko stared over the edge of the ship, frozen in shock, anger fading. He'd just pushed Aang over the edge, but he couldn't see a sign of him. He had meant only to subdue him, not kill him.
Suddenly, he felt the boat lurch as a large tunnel of water burst forth from the depths of the sea. Through the mist of the churning water, there was a figure at the top, controlling it. It was Aang. His arms were outstretched, eyes and tattoos glowing, face twisted in vengeful anger.
Zuko began backing away in terror. His fears were being realized. This boy was the Avatar. And he was about to unleash his fury on them all.
Aang landed on the ship with a bang, bending the water tunnel around him, forming a barrier. As the soldiers unsuccessfully attempted to attack, he stretched the water tunnel to knock them back over the edge of the ship. Zuko somehow managed to evade Aang's attempts to knock him down, but was running out of stamina, breathing heavily. There was no way he could hope to defeat this boy.
Not a moment later, Zuko noticed the glow in Aang's tattoos was fading, and watched him collapse on the ground, the water he had been controlling splashing onto the ship's deck. This was his chance.
He ran to where the boy had fallen and pinned his arms behind his back. He was alive, but unconscious. He motioned for one of the soldiers who had not been thrown overboard to hand him some handcuffs, locking them into place.
"Secure the beast!" he ordered, as the soldiers moved to carefully throw chains over the bison while avoiding his thrashing.
He heard a tired groan escape from Aang's mouth. His eyes fluttered opened and closed, much like they did when Zuko first found him. He tried to push down the guilt that was attempting to rise as he pulled Aang up and walked him down into the prison cell.
Aang slowly opened his eyes to darkness. As his eyesight adjusted, he realized he was laying on a mat in a small metal room. There was a tiny slit at the top of one wall containing a window that let in the faintest of light, while the only entrance and exit appeared to be a single door. On the wall under the window was a large red banner with the official symbol of the Fire Nation plastered in black on the front.
Aang groaned as he sat up. He remembered being pushed off the edge of the ship by Zuko, but then... nothing. He must have been captured. He had no idea what was going on, but he had to get out of here.
Before he could even start thinking about how he was going to escape, he heard a scraping sound as the door to the cell slid open and a person stepped inside, closing it behind them. It was Zuko.
"Why did you do this to me? What's going on, are you pirates?" Aang demanded, jumping into a defensive position.
Zuko's eyes narrowed, and he breathed in and out through his nose. "I am Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation. I am no pirate, " he replied coldly.
"I may not be an expert at world politics, but I know Fire Lord Sozin is the leader of the Fire Nation. Are you trying to mess with me?" Aang shot back.
Aang saw Zuko's eyes widen slightly. After a moment, he replied, "Fire Lord Sozin was my great grandfather. He passed away over 80 years ago."
Aang snorted. "So what, you're telling me that I was trapped in that ice for decades? That's impossible. I was only in there for, like, a few days at most. I wouldn't have been able to survive any longer."
"I'm not lying. I am the prince of the Fire Nation. And I was tasked by my father with finding the Avatar and returning with them to Royal Caldera City." Zuko said.
Aang felt his stomach drop. How did Zuko know he was the Avatar? He decided to play dumb. "The Avatar? What makes you think I'm the Avatar?"
Zuko exhaled in obvious frustration. "How can you deny it? You're the first airbender anyone has seen in nearly a hundred years. On top of that, we all witnessed what happened after you fell off the ship. You were waterbending. "
When Aang heard this, vague images of what had happened after falling into the ocean flashed through his mind. Is that how I got back on the ship? And what does he mean first airbender anyone has seen in a hundred years?! "I..." Aang attempted to reply. "You really mean to tell me... I was in the ice that whole time?"
"That's the only explanation," Zuko replied.
"Even if that is true... What does the Fire Nation want with the Avatar? I'm... not denying it. But I'm not even 16 yet, I didn't even find out I was the Avatar until a few days ago! I won't be any help to the Fire Nation, I barely know anything about politics, and while I am a master at airbending, I haven't even started learning any of the other elements," Aang attempted to explain.
"Help us? Why would the Avatar help us? You're our enemy. My great grandfather battled the Air Nation army over 90 years ago to stop you, but you escaped," Zuko replied angrily. "Nobody knew what happened to you. We searched for years. We knew you had to be alive because you never reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle. It was just a matter of finding where you had hidden."
Aang could not believe what he was hearing. "What on earth are you talking about?!" Aang replied, exasperated and growing more anxious by the minute. "You think I froze myself in there on purpose? Also, the Air Nomads don't even have a formal military, we are a peaceful people! We've never gone to war with anyone! "
"The Air Nation tried to stop the Fire Nation from rightfully sharing our prosperity with the rest of the world!" Zuko shot back.
"Sharing your prosperity with the rest of the world?" Aang repeated, flabbergasted.
"Unfortunately the leaders of the other nations don't see it the way we do. They're not willing to let us share our prosperity peacefully. So, we do what we must. We fight," Zuko replied, matter-of-factly.
Aang fell to his knees, everything he had just learned running in circles in his head. Sozin died over 90 years ago. Nobody has seen an airbender in a hundred years. The Fire Lord sent his son to capture me, because I'm the Avatar. The Fire Nation has been at war with the rest of the world for almost a hundred years... He couldn't believe it. If what Zuko was saying was true, that meant that everything and everyone he knew was gone. "A hundred years," he managed to breathe after several minutes, staring at the ground.
"I... see this must be a shock for you," Zuko said, the harshness in his voice fading.
Aang didn't reply to this comment. "What have you done with Appa?" he asked.
"Your beast is still on the deck. We've restrained him." Aang whipped his head up and looked at Zuko with an angry expression, and Zuko backed towards the door a few steps. "But don't worry, we've been feeding him vegetables from the kitchen, and the restraints aren't tight!"
Aang was still glowering at him. At least they weren't hurting Appa. "Why are you down here anyway? You got what you wanted. What use is talking to the prisoner?"
"Well, I, uh... I thought you deserved an explanation." Zuko said.
"Gee, thanks for being so considerate," Aang replied sarcastically.
Zuko folded his arms, face growing irritated once more. "My honor is on the line. I have to take you back to my father. I don't have a choice."
Aang sighed, looking down. He considered using airbending to distract and stun Zuko and attempt to escape, but with Appa restrained, he wasn't sure he could escape without him. He didn't even know where his staff was.
"We've arrived at the South Sea Fire Navy outpost," Zuko continued. "We'll be getting some minor repairs and then be on our way back to Royal Caldera City."
Aang didn't bother responding and continued to stare at the floor.
Zuko huffed. "We shouldn't be in the port longer than a day or so. Don't get any ideas about trying to escape. There are hundreds of soldiers here and you won't stand a chance against them."
He slid open the cell door and stepped outside. Before closing it again, Aang briefly caught his eye, but Zuko quickly shut the door.
Aang curled up and buried his face in his arms. How was he going to get out of this?
As Zuko and Iroh made their way down the ramp of their ship, Zuko's stomach churned. He could not allow anyone to discover that he had actually found the Avatar. He hoped nobody would look under the large beast-snapped tarp that the Avatar's bison was currently sleeping under.
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and someone find out about our cargo ," Zuko said through gritted teeth.
"You mean the Avatar?" Iroh replied.
Zuko spun around angrily to face his Uncle, who took a step back. "Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" said a voice from behind. Zuko started and quickly turned around.
Once he realized who the person was, his eyes narrowed and he folded his arms. "Captain Zhao."
Zhao smirked. "It's commander now." He turned to Iroh and bowed slightly "And General Iroh. Great hero of our nation."
"Retired general," Iroh replied with a polite smile, bowing back.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?" Zhao asked.
"Our ship is being repaired," Iroh answered, gesturing towards their ship. Zuko realized how puny and badly damaged it looked in comparison to the much larger Fire Navy ships next to it and felt the hot sting of embarrassment.
"That's quite a bit of damage," Zhao said.
"Yes," Zuko quickly replied, trying to think of a way to tell Zhao what had happened without sounding suspicious. "You wouldn't believe what happened..." He glanced at his uncle, and angrily gestured at Zhao. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Iroh's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes. I will do that." He happily held his hand up and began to relate enthusiastically. "It was incredible!" He leaned towards Zuko, and asked from the corner of his mouth in a confused tone, "Should I tell him how we crashed?"
"Yes! Right into... an Earth Kingdom ship!" Zuko quickly finished.
Unfortunately, Zhao did not appear convinced. "Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details." He leaned towards Zuko's face, causing his anger to rise. "Join me for a drink?"
Zuko averted his gaze and turned to walk away. "Sorry, but we have to go."
He felt the hand of his uncle land on his shoulder, stopping him. "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." He removed his hand from Zuko's shoulder and faced Zhao while Zuko narrowed his eyes. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."
As Iroh and Zhao walked away, Zuko felt the anger overcome him as he growled in annoyance, a small flame appearing as he exhaled, and turned to follow his uncle.
Some time later, Zuko and Iroh were still in Zhao's tent, and Zuko was growing impatient. He glanced to the side and watched as his uncle admired some weapons placed against the wall.
"...And by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war." Zhao finished. He had taken the time to explain all of the military's plans for the next year for reasons Zuko did not understand.
Zuko turned back to Zhao and replied angrily, "If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!"
Zhao smirked, walking closer to where Zuko was sitting. "Three months at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"
Suddenly, there was a crash as the weapons Iroh had been admiring fell to the floor. Zhao turned towards him, looking annoyed.
"Eh... my fault entirely," Iroh said, rubbing the back of his neck. He placed his hands inside his sleeves and shuffled towards the entrance to the tent. "I will be on the ship if you need me, nephew."
Zuko sighed and turned back to Zhao. "We haven't found him yet," he replied aggressively.
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago," Zhao said. Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Along with the rest of the airbenders." He turned back toward Zuko, another malicious smirk on his face. "Unless you have found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?"
"No," Zuko replied, defiantly refusing to break Zhao's gaze. "Nothing."
"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found," Zhao said, leaning towards Zuko again.
"I haven't found anything . It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago," Zuko reiterated, getting up to leave. "I'll be on my way."
However, as he approached the tent entrance, Zhao's guards moved to block the way with their spears, letting a third guard through. This guard made his way to Zhao.
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko has the Avatar in custody," the guard reported.
Zhao smiled maliciously, and Zuko felt a spike of terror mixed with rage. "Now, Prince Zuko - why don't you introduce me?"
As Zuko led Zhao and his guards onto his ship, his mind raced with questions on how he was going to get out of this situation. Where is uncle? He wondered, shaking his head. He didn't have time to think about that now.
Thankfully, Zhao did not take notice of the Avatar's bison, which was currently hidden next to the trebuchet and other weapons under a large tarp. They descended into the ship and approached the cell. By this point, Zuko had already given up. Zhao was going to take the Avatar from him. He was going to lose his chance at regaining his honor, and he would never be able to return home.
One of the guards slid the metal door of the cell open, and they all walked inside. To Zuko's utter surprise, the cell was empty .
Zhao turned to Zuko angrily. "What is the meaning of this? Where is the Avatar?" He demanded.
"I don't know! This is our only cell, he was just here, I swear. He must have escaped. He could be anywhere in the port," Zuko replied angrily.
Suddenly, Iroh appeared, in the doorway, seemingly out of breath. He bowed at Zhao and said urgently, "Commander Zhao, the Avatar has escaped! I was just informed by one of your guards that he was spotted on the south side of the port."
Zhao grunted in frustration. "We can't allow him to leave the port! Come on, I need all my men searching the south side," he ordered his guards, and they all quickly exited, leaving Zuko and Iroh alone in the empty cell.
"Uncle, we have to go too, maybe we can catch him first!" Zuko exclaimed, turning towards the door.
"I wouldn't follow them, Prince Zuko," Iroh replied calmly.
"Why not?" Zuko replied angrily. "My honor is on the line!"
"Prince Zuko, follow me to my chambers, quickly." Iroh said. Confused, Zuko followed.
When they arrived in front of Iroh's room, he looked both ways before carefully sliding the door open. On the hammock inside sat Aang, staff in hand.
Zuko immediately assumed a fighting stance. "Uncle! What is he doing here? Why did you arm him?"
Aang looked up and gave him a glare. "The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone!" he replied in annoyance.
"Prince Zuko," Iroh began explaining. "I suspected from the moment that Zhao appeared that he would most likely interrogate the crew. When he began asking about the Avatar, I knew I had to get back to the ship to prevent him from finding him."
Zuko looked at his uncle with cautious optimism. "Well... I'm glad you did. But how on earth are we going to get out of here without our ship? The repairs haven't been made, and I have no idea what Zhao did with the crew."
Aang stood up. "I'm going to help you," he said.
Zuko turned and looked at him with surprise and suspicion. "You... why would you be willing to help us?"
"Your uncle told me how dangerous this Zhao guy is. Plus, I wanna get out of here and back to my temple. But I need Appa for that. If you release him, I will take you with me. I give my word," Aang said, placing his fists together.
"How do we know you won't just fly away as soon as we release your bison?" Zuko asked.
"I don't know what kind of people you've dealt with in the past, but when I make a promise, I keep it," Aang replied, never breaking Zuko's gaze. Zuko couldn't help but be inclined to believe him. The only one of the two who had been deceptive was himself.
"Please, Prince Zuko. We must make a decision quickly, before Zhao's search comes to a close," Iroh pleaded.
Zuko sighed heavily in frustration. "Fine. But don't make any wrong moves," he said, pointing his finger into Aang's chest.
The three quietly made their way to the deck, where Appa was still covered with a large tarp next to the rest of the trebuchet. From the sounds of his quiet snores, he appeared to be sleeping. Aang blew the tarp off of the beast, rousing him.
Appa began growling when he saw Zuko. "Hey, buddy, calm down. He's not gonna hurt you, not while I'm here," Aang soothed. "Can you please remove the restraints?" He asked Iroh and Zuko.
When they had finally removed the chains, Aang quickly airbent himself onto Appa's neck, picking up the reigns. Zuko prepared for him to immediately attempt an escape. However, he kept still, and stared at Zuko and Iroh. "Aren't you guys coming? Get on."
Zuko stared back incredulously. He wasn't going to take this chance to flee and leave Iroh and Zuko to face the wrath of Zhao?
"Go on, nephew!" Iroh urged. "I need you to help me up."
Zuko shook his head and nodded, climbing up into the beast's saddle, and reached down to pull his uncle up.
"Okay, everyone on? Are you holding onto the saddle? First time flyers, hold on tight!" Aang said.
"Yes, yes, we're good. Just go!" Zuko replied impatiently.
Aang nodded and turned around. "Come on, buddy. You can do this. Yip yip!"
Zuko was not at all prepared when the beast, as Aang had said, slowly ascended into the air. He gripped the side of the saddle tight in fear. He glanced at Iroh, whose expression was a mix of excitement and awe.
"You're doing it, buddy!" Aang exclaimed happily.
Suddenly, a voice yelled out from the docks nearby. "There, it's the Avatar! He's escaping with the Prince!"
"Well don't just stand there, shoot them down! " Zuko heard the enraged voice of Zhao reply.
"We have to go, now, " Zuko ordered as several firebenders formed a group stance and produced a large blast of flames that was headed in their direction.
Aang pulled Appa's reigns just in time to miss the blast as Zuko clung to the saddle for dear life, and finally began flying out over the ocean.
As they made their escape and were out of range of another blast, Zuko looked back, and while he was too far away to see his face, he knew Zhao was glaring back at him with rage in his eyes. They had escaped, but he knew Zhao would follow.