It's been a couple of years. But hopefully, I'm back. Although, probably still irregularly. But now I have a closer grasp on the story with a cleaner vision. I would very much like to finish it one day.

As for the chapter, I'm sorry, but the tropes write themselves. There was nothing I could do about it. It is a shorter one, but it closes down the first part of the story. At least that is how I feel it.

Have a nice read.

15. Aftermath

It took them exactly one week, which considering that the Water Tribe used sails, was a pretty good feat for them, but quite awkward for the crew of the steam powered ship.

General Iroh was surprisingly very good at obtaining information. Ming was not sure if it was thanks to his eloquence and good nature, but it almost seemed like the old general had access to an information net, returning from ports with the directions and destinations of the small Water Tribe fleet.

And after just one week of being on their tail, the fleet of ten ships was just two miles ahead of them.

"Raise the white flag!" the general said calmly.

Jee and Ming shared a bit of a concerned look behind the old man's back, but didn't question him.

"You heard the general! Raise the white flag now!" Jee shouted, so that the whole deck heard.

Ming heard a lot about the Water Tribe being uncivilized savages and meeting them outnumbered, on the open sea - this was them inviting them to be raided, if not something worse. He knew he had to calm himself and decided to blindly trust the experienced general to stop the overthinking.

It didn't take long for their ship to be surrounded by the small Water Tribe fleet.

"I'll use the steam boat. Lieutenant, I'll leave the command to you. This won't take long."

"General, someone could assist you…"

"I'll be fine. Ming's coming with me."

"Perhaps a firebender…"

"Thank you, lieutenant, but I hope to avoid misunderstandings. Getting my unfortunate nephew back is the only priority here. For that no bending will be necessary."

Ming got startled upon hearing his name. Maybe the general was afraid that if the Water Tribe has his nephew truly captured he will need immediate assistance? If they found out Zuko's identity, Ming really couldn't guess how they would treat their archenemy's offspring, even a discarded one. He knew Zuko was careful and usually concealed his identity to avoid unnecessary attention and trouble, but his temper was short and pride deep-rooted. Who was he kidding, the kid was an expert in being a nuisance and a trouble-magnet. At this point, it would be a miracle, if the Water Tribe still had him and didn't throw him overboard in a stone-filled barrel.

Ming followed the old general to the steam boat with bated breath.

"Sir, you think Prince Zuko is injured?"

"Ming, I'd like to think that my nephew is too impatient to wait for his uncle to rescue him. So let's see who's craftier. The famed Water Tribe warriors or that restless nephew of mine?"

Although Iroh's words were convincing and a small smile played around his lips, Ming still saw the lines of worry on his face. Nevertheless, he let his confidence about Zuko's capabilities at staying alive (more or less) be raised when they headed out to the Water Tribe command ship.

"To what do we owe the pleasure to have the Dragon of the West surrender to us willingly?" asked the leader of the Water Tribe warriors as they stepped on board. Ming froze. They know who we are. We ' re doomed.

He looked around. They were surrounded by warriors with tribal weapons pointed at them. Except the man closest to them. Zuko really was with the Water Tribe. Ming immediately recognized his dual swords and wanted to signal to the general. General Iroh however was already giving him an inconspicuous nod and approached the chief warrior non-threateningly with his hands in his sleeves.

"I'm sure you must already know that if you know who I am."

"If you're not here to fight for your nephew, then you must have come here to trade yourself for him," the warrior smirked.

Ming gulped. He knew this was a bad idea.

"That could also be a solution."

Zuko would never agree to this, Ming knew.

"And why would we trade if we can have both, the son and the Firelord's brother."

The Water Tribe warriors moved in to close a circle around them.

"Although it has a nice ring to it, if you put it like that, but I'm not sure my brother would mind losing either of us, quite the opposite."

The chief warrior narrowed his eyes.

"But maybe the Dragon of the West would ring nicer in some Earth Kingdoms' general's ears than a banished prince."

"That would be for Earth Kingdom officials to decide."

"Then let me ask you as my nephew's guardian…" then the old general lowered himself to the wooden deck ready to kowtow, when the chief warrior interrupted.

"Wait…wait…" the warrior seemed shocked as the rest of the men, including Ming, that he stopped the elder from finishing the prostration.

"We… no longer have your nephew," the man sighed heavily.

Was General Iroh right? A whirlwind of possibilities came to Ming's mind about how that sneaky boy escaped. These Water Tribe men would never guess the resourcefulness of their Prince…

"We encountered a storm one week ago and the boy fell overboard. The Fire Nation boy perished in the waves. He's gone."

No . That couldn't be right. Ming must have heard wrong.

They have run for miles, now they barely jogged. Fatigue started to settle in. Zuko had to commend the girl for keeping up. Well, after the whole ordeal with their escape, she didn't need to prove anything about her capabilities. Not even the near death experience this morning slowed her down.

"Aren't we far enough? This seems like a good place to stay for the night," she asked when they arrived at a small stream.

They gained some distance and some time thanks to Unagi, from their potential pursuers, but was it enough? It was getting dark and he had to admit, he was exhausted. The terrain was rough, they kept off the roads and the clear stream was like a gift to their dried out throats.

"As good as any."

He collapsed down with Suki in tow next to the water. They both drank greedily after they haven't seen a drop of water for the whole day. The burst blisters on his hand stung as he submerged his palms in the ice cold water, but felt better after he got them clean.

"How are your hands?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It could get infected."

"I've dealt with worse," he said. Some blisters won't get him killed. What bothered him far worse was the inability to bend.

The sun was setting and it seemed they were in for a freezing night. They both tried to warm their hands after drinking from the icy stream by breathing on them. Zuko however didn't feel any difference, even his breath felt cold. He looked at the girl in the veining light, he saw her breath come out in small puffs, but there were none when he breathed. He tried to breathe deeper and prolong his exhalation. It dawned on him. It was not some physical issue.

"I knew it. They do hurt!" she shuffled closer.

She reached out for his hands but he pulled away.

"Don't be a… What is it?"

The burn mark - he didn't pay much attention to the soft tingling in his shoulder ever since he woke up. Not to mention the color change.

"Hey, speak to me…"

"There is something wrong with me."

"What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"I… I don't…"

Should he tell her more? If they're stuck together for now, can he keep hiding it?

"Have you injured yourself on the ship? On the run?"

He looked at her defeatedly. Why was she so concerned? He was basically a stranger to her. She didn't even know his name.

"My inner fire is gone."

"You mean your bending?"

"Not only that. I'm cold. My body can't get warm, we were running the whole afternoon and I'm still cold. Even my breath… look." He exhaled deeply. "Even my breath is so cold, there's no vapor!" He stood up, feeling the panic rise.

"Why? What happened? I could firebend just fine before! I could use my bending on the water tribe ship!" He paced around the confused girl.

He pulled on his jacket to reveal the burn mark. "Even after that witch put this thing on me, I still could…"

The burn mark has changed since he last saw it. The bluish color was deeper and it grew in size. Now it was twice as big as he checked on it five days ago.

He let the jacket slide back up and took a few steps back. A frustrated cry has clawed his way out from his very core. He needed to punch something. Even if no fire came out, he threw some fire punches and let his anger out on the nearest tree. He kicked and punched, but it wasn't satisfying at all, not if there was no heat behind it. Not a way to steam off.

"Stop it, STOP IT!"

He didn't realize she was shouting at him, until he was grabbed by his collar and almost stumbled down as the girl pulled him back.

"You're just hurting your hands all over again! And also letting half of the world know of our location!"

Suki couldn't watch him do this to himself any longer.

What have I gotten myself into? Water Tribe, witches, firebenders, assassins... just a week ago this would all seem like some kind of crazy adventure story, what would come next - the Avatar?

She pulled him away from the poor tree, but it just made him turn his attention to her. He broke out her grasp and fell into a fighting stance.

"You're joking right?"

"Why are you helping me? You should go back home and forget about me! About this!"

She couldn't have heard right.

"Seriously? Calm down!"

She saw the rise and fall of his chest, he was spiraling into a full-blown panic attack. But even so, he did not let go of his fighting stance.

"You brought this upon yourself," she whispered to herself and took out her single remaining fan. He made the first move, jumping at her with a desperate cry. She was ready. His movements were predictably easy to dodge. With one graceful turn, she grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and then pushed him down to the ground.

"Now! As I said, calm down!"

She was pushing him face down, with her knee on his twisted arm. There were some small cries of frustration, but they stopped when she pressed the edge of her fan into his neck.

"You're panicking, you need to get yourself together! We're out in the middle of nowhere, with the Fire Nation probably on our tracks, maybe even others after we robbed that sleazy merchant for supplies. So stop this nonsense!"

He let out one last angry yell and banged his own head to the ground. Then he finally yielded to her. Suki tucked away her fan and let go of his arm.

He curled up on the ground and probably entered the sulking phase of the tantrum.

"I messed up. I messed up real bad this time," she heard him talking more to himself then to her.

"I'm never going home. Not like this…"

She retreated, letting him have his space and started to set up a camp for the night. Or more like just a small campfire with the few sticks, she picked up during the run, and what she gathered now in almost darkness. When the small fire finally kept going, she turned to her small bag of supplies they snatched from the merchant's boat before leaving. There wasn't much to begin with, they were in a hurry, but she pulled out some fresh fruits and jerky. The food won't last them more than two days. They will be forced to find a settlement tomorrow and then… then what? What was she doing here exactly? What was the plan? She thought of her sisters, her home, will she ever see them again?

"I'm sorry," came suddenly from right behind her. She dropped the knife she used for slicing the nashi pears.

"Goodness, can you be any more sneaky?"

"Oh, sorry… I mean, for startling you, but for the other thing as well."

Suki threw the pear at him, his quick reflexes angering her some more, so she just walked away to wash the knife and her hands in the stream.

"Zuko," she heard him say in a defeated voice.

"What's that?"

"My name. My real name is Zuko."

She turned around to see his slumped figure, eyes glued to the ground.

"Hmmm, that's fitting," she smiled. She knew this was a token of apology, which she decided to accept.

"I'm sorry, but you've never looked like a Lee to me. Next time, you need to think of a better cover name."

The boy scoffed and ran his hand through the shortest buzz that started to grow out.

"You know what, Zuko? Apology accepted. Since we are both tired and a bit confused, I think we should sleep on it, but eat something first," she said and pointed at the nashi pear in his hand.

He seemed to just realize what he caught. They both sat down as close to the fire as possible and ate the little their supplies had to offer in awkward silence.

Then he started to settle down opposite her, nudging his bag into a pillow shape.

"Wait, you're going to sleep there?"

"And where else?"

"Well, here," she tapped the ground next to her.

The boy exchanged a few looks between the place next to her and her face.

"Do I bite?"

"Well…"

She rolled her eyes.

"Look, the tree and its roots offer better cover from the cold. And since we have no blankets, this will have to cover us both."

She stood up and started untying the outer robe of her warrior outfit. The material of the outer layer actually provided good insulation against the cold weather. It was meant to withstand the harsh winters on Kyoshi Island.

"What are you…. No I can't… that's not appropriate," he protested when he realized what she was doing.

"Come on! It will be freezing tonight and you said it yourself, you have problem with keeping your body warm. Now come here and stop making this into something it's not. Anyway, we are past appropriateness here. Who do you think washed your unconscious ass in the hot bath while you kept dying on us?"

She cringed as she saw the slight redness spread through his face down his neck. Okay, she maybe exaggerated to stop his nonsense, but now she felt the heat of blush in her cheeks as well. She did not mean it literally, she did not wash his butt. But she did see it. Multiple times actually. Oh, my.

"I mean, it's better we share some body heat, and don't dare to protest!" she raised her voice to hide her fluster.

Thankfully, Zuko stood up without a word and dropped down next to her. The robe was just large enough that if they scuttled close it covered them both.

"First watch is mine. I'll keep the fire going."

Zuko nodded and turned so that his back was to her side. After a while, when it seemed he was asleep, she muttered to herself: "You know, you're in dire need of a babysitter."

"I guess, I am," came a barely audible answer.