AN:

First and foremost, I have to apologize for Xxxxxhggg and Shaggy Rower about my comment last chapter. the story "The Saga of Tanya the Firebender" belongs to Shaggy Rower. In my inexperience I confused "favorite stories" and "my stories".

Again, sorry to both of you.

I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

Chapter 5

"One! Two! One! Two! Three! Repeat!"

Zuko was standing on deck, supervising the training of his crew with the new equipment. It was decided that the men will have a daily training for an hour and a half to two hours to sharpen their skill and teamwork against greater threats. Hǎibiān opened the eyes of many men in the crew, and in turn they gave their all-in training.

It was a slow start; the men weren't the spear's tip as the saying go. But results were showing, their stamina increased, their teamwork improved, they aim got better and their strikes became stronger and faster. If before, the crew could raid a village and the random trading vessel, now Zuko was certain they could hunt down pirates and overwhelm a ship their size.

Something that he will defiantly put his crew through while he would have to journey with a smaller group. It will give them income from the bounties, as well as experience for the crew. Most importantly, it will give him the prestige that he desperately needed.

He and Sai reached a conclusion, Zuko must gain more prestige to have a say in anything that truly matters. If Zuko the banished prince asks for more people for his plans, he would be respectfully declined at best. But if Zuko the bringer of Agni's justice and the enforcer of the fire lord's rule asks the same think then he would hardly be refused, obviously he acts in the name of the fire lord and is defiantly planning one thing or another that must stay secret.

Zuko didn't particularly liked it, it went somewhat against his sense of honor. But he will gladly accept it if it means raising his standing in the eye of his father. He also agreed that he could do much more good for his people that way, he could order food supplies and homes for those in need without too much eyebrows raised.

"Halt! Take five and return for "overwhelming"! After this training's over for today!"

The men groaned; they did not like "overwhelming" practices. This specific kind of practice was made by Sai (as most of the others, although Zuko did contributed to some), the idea behind it was facing a single overwhelming opponent like the Avatar. However, in lack of Avatars to practice on they had to make do with the next best thing they had available, meaning his uncle.

As the five-minute brake ended Zuko and the man stood om one side of the deck and Iroh on the other.

The young prince took notice that his men were still cautious and unwilling to be the first to attack, but they aren't shaking in their boots anymore. It showed that the men started to grow courage, they wouldn't abandon him in a time as he always thought they would have.

Zuko didn't waste time and ordered his men.

"Encircle and trap! Benders, put him on defense!"

As the soldiers did as they were told, Iroh didn't stay idle. He easily blocked and returned the fire balls the benders throw at him as he moved from one side of the deck to another in a speed that no man his weight and age should have any right to possess, knocking soldiers one after another.

They did manage to keep him on the run, although Zuko suspected that his uncle went easy on them to not discourage the men. Zuko himself wasn't spared as he got his fair share of bursitis from the old man. He tried once to absorb the flames of his uncle with his swords, but unfortunately the heat was too much for them to handle and they melted in his hands. He and Sai are working on a solution, but for the time being Zuko will just have to replace the swords every few battles.

Anyway, he thought he managed to get uncle to a hold when he and two other benders shot a stream of fire against Iroh's own. The spearman behind uncle thought so too, as he rushed to stab the dragon of the west in the back (with a training spear, no harm would have ever come to uncle). Uncle however proved his title as he stepped to the side, letting the spearman get the full burn of the attack. Zuko and the others immediately stopped firing and gave the retired general a perfect chance to blast them.

To their credit, Zuko and the others managed to block Iroh's first assault. They did not manage however, to stop the old man from doing a perfect flip and blast them from the back. The two soldiers stood no chance and were blasted away, unable to battle. Zuko managed to turn in the last possible moment and block most of the attack, he did, however, had to fall back a few feet.

"I'm not out yet, uncle!"

"Well done, nephew! You couldn't do that two weeks ago!"

"Flattery won't help you!"

"Oh, but nephew, I'm not the one on his knees."

"Not for long!"

Iroh had to cease his attack to avoid another spearman, and the dance began again.

After another four minutes Zuko's group were battered and bruised on the ground, Iroh however didn't come unscathed. While there was no physical injury, he used more of his stamina then he would have liked. It seems his nephew's strategy of tiring the enemy out instead of overwhelming it taking its toll on the old man.

"Well done nephew! You all survived three entire minutes more than last time! A new record if I say so!"

"Thank… you… argh."

"Your welcome nephew, you did manage to give this old man trouble breathing."

"Training… Over… Agni, my ribs…"

Just another day on the ship.

"I must say uncle, your tea is only better and better any time you make it."

"Why nephew, you're making me blush."

Zuko was sitting with his uncle drinking together tea. He opposed the idea, but Sai convinced him that using his uncle's ties with the White Lotus, however small they are (in Zuko's opinion), as well as the connections he had in his time as general and crown prince are worth a few hours of suffering.

"Uncle, when you needed something being done fast and quietly, who would you call?"

"This is quit a question; may I ask what exactly you had in mind?"

"I need a steady supply to equip the crew. I also need a factory of sorts to research and build some ideas I had away from praying eyes and ears."

"Why hide? What are you trying to build?"

"I plan to make some inventions that will help me to hunt the Avatar, I don't want anyone to have a chance to upstage me after I find the Avatar. Only I must be the one to catch him."

His uncle was deep in thought for a minute, Zuko waited patiently for his answer.

"I still don't see why you need all of this prince Zuko. I think it would be a waste of time and resources you instead could put into your search and training. I also don't think you understand the amount of coin needed to achieve everything you talk about, which isn't your fault as you were raised as a prince with unlimited amount of wealth."

Zuko sighed, it seemed it was time to put the sentimental card.

"Look uncle, the Avatar isn't the only reason. I saw the colonies, I saw how people live their lives and I think it could be better. It's our responsibility as people of the fire nation to bring our greatness to all the corners of the globe. But I fear that while our military might has grown tremendously, the quality of live we promised to our people is falling short to my expectations. I plan to use the factory as a platform not only to create Avatar hunting equipment, but to create non war related inventions away from the clutches of the bureaucrats."

It seems that his speech moved something in the old man's heart, because his uncle looked like he was silently crying tears of pride. The retired general then rose from his chair and walked to Zuko and hugged him.

"You have no idea how proud I am to hear you say this, I'm sure your mother would have been proud of you too."

That took Zuko by surprise. He knew his uncle would open a little, maybe talk about some people he knew that could help. He didn't That. And pulling the mom card is not fair! How can he trick his uncle now!

"You don't have to, the factory will create instruments for civilian use as well. It's no less important for your career than building your military strength."

'Suppose so…'

"I… thank you uncle."

"But one thing I must ask nephew. How are you going to finance such an endeavor?"

Zuko smiled at that as he pulled something from his sleeve. Once Iroh looked at it, he was amazed to see a diamond with the diameter of one of his nails.

"Zuko… Where did you get this? You didn't steal it did you?!"

At his uncle's surprised and frightened face Zuko couldn't help but let out a chackle.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I created it."

"You… created it?"

It seems his uncle is still in shock.

"I put a piece of coal under heat and pressure."

He then demonstrated it by taking a piece of coal from the fire nearby with his gauntlet, wrapping both his hands around it, and closing his hands, hard. He waited for a minute or two until he opened his hands and showed a diamond in his hands.

It was actually Sai's idea. Every time he thinks that damnable thing can't be crazier, Sai manages to exceed his expectations. Who would have thought that you could make diamonds from coal! Sai explained to him that the two are actually created from the same material but have a different configuration for their atoms. Then Sai explained what atoms are. It was a tuff lecture, but the results were more than worth is.

"So, will it be enough for my plans?"

Uncle Iroh was slowly shrugging of the shock.

"Yes… yes, I believe it would be enough. I will see what I can do about the factory."

"Thank you uncle, for the future!"

"For the future."

Both men raised their cups and drank the tea.

To say Hakoda was conflicted would be an understatement. He and his men were planning another raid on a closings fire nation vessel, this was normal. What wasn't normal was the letter he got from the oh so kind information broker.

His relationship with the bandit lord Mi-Sha started when he and his men were in need for any kind of information on either the position of his kidnapped wife, or new targets for raiding.

A messenger appeared one night in an inn they stayed, he wanted a meeting between his boss and Hakoda. As payment he promised information on a camp Hakoda and his men had trouble trying to go around, half of it he said right away and the other half would be given at the end of the meeting. Hakoda was intrigued and accepted the offer at the condition that his men will escort him.

When he and his men came for the meeting place, he was glad he insisted an escort. The room had a small table for two and only had three occupants, but they were enough to send him on edge.

The two men, for they were much larger and board sholdered to be women, wore matching uniform. Each of them had a dark green long-sleeved coat with matching long pants, brown thick gloves and a belt within many pockets.

They had a carapace armor in bronze color and had twin blades, one on each side of the belt. Their heads were covered by a dark green hood and whatever was seen was hidden behind a stainless-steel mask with seven holes positioned like the spots on a ladybug. You could see from each hole shining bright as the compassion and kindness of the men, meaning it was black as tar.

He knew his men, they were skilled warriors, much better trained then the common fire nation trooper. But he didn't want any of them to fight either of those men standing silently at attention. His years as hunter sharpen his senses to recognize predator and prey, and those men were clearly predators, efficient ones at that.

Sadly, they paled compared to the one in the middle, the "boss" no doubt. Hakoda wasn't a little man himself, but the giant sitting next to him was a league of his own. With shoulders twice larger than his and hands that could snap a lion -moose's neck Hakoda didn't fancy his chances at a fight.

He was dressed similar to his two companies from what Hakoda could see but lacked the hood and helmet. He had grey intelligent eyes that had hunger and cruelty in them, like storm clouds unleashing punishment on the poor fisherman until his boat can no longer hold the abuse.

His head was balding, and he had a messy grey beard. He wore a headband in the same dark green color of his coat, but it had brown prints that looked too much like dried blood for comfort. The expression he wore looked too much like an adult lion-moose trying to imitate its younger self cuteness.

"Hello Hakoda, I believe we can help each other."

His voice was quiet, yet it filled the entire room stronger than any scream. Hakoda had to fight the urge to swallow, he outnumbered the host six to one, but he didn't fill in control, at all.

This man gave off more power than any earth army general Hakoda met.

The meeting itself was surprisingly quiet, and the proposition was quite simple. Mi-Sha will supply information about fire nation forces, as well as good spots for ambush and hiding. In return, Hakoda will harass the fire nation's forces and create enough noise to move attention away from the crime lord's business.

Oh, Mi-Sha told him enough about his under the table dealing, saying honesty is the best policy in those things. It disgusted him, but frankly he expected something like that. He excepted the deal, even as his heart was screaming at him not to. The search for his wife and the crusade against the fire nation came first and second, his morals only slightly below the crusade.

It went smoothly enough, until it didn't. Disturbing rumors reached his ears about some famous woman of the night, this so called "Queen of The South" resembled his wife too much for his liking. He had a meeting with Mi-Sha, he demanded from the desert man to release his wife immediately. Words were said and threats were flown, it nearly ended in a brawl until Mi-Sha told him that he could come and see for himself.

And that is exactly what Hakoda did, he went to the Si Wong desert and found the building that his supposed wife was residing in. After his men did a thorough search, they had found this supposed "queen". To Hakoda's disappointment and relief it wasn't Kya, the woman had tan and braided her hair like his wife did, but she was clearly not from the water tribe, at least clearly for an insider.

The crime lord was surprisingly understanding, he didn't demand any compensation for the mess. But it was clear that their relationship would be much colder than before (not that it was even remotely warm to begin with), and they both knew it.

Hakoda knew that Mi-Sha was an evil man, but what he saw in the "most free city in the world" showed him how much degenerate and filthy his information broker was. He may or may not have "accidentally" attacked the wrong ship that contained illicit cargo or led local law enforcement "by chance" to some ally with a shady deal.

Back to the present, the letter from Mi-Sha asked (ordered) him to commit a raid on a single old fire nation cruiser. Hakoda immediately smelled something fishy, Mi-Sha would never point him at a single target like that. If the crime lord wanted someone gone, he had enough men and resources to do it on his own without relying on a wild card like Hakoda.

Therefore, it could mean two things, and none of them was good for him and his men.

First, Mi-Sha finally had enough of him and sent him on a suicide mission. In this case, he had to prepare his men for immediate evacuation. Secondly, Mi-Sha was planning something big and needed a distraction that Hakoda will supply by attacking a seemingly unimportant vessel with some important figure. Causing the fire nation to hunt him and his men like dogs, again. In this case, he should get his men a safe place to hide until the heat will go down. No pun intended.

He hated the situation and was disgusted with himself. He is the chieftain of an entire civilization, and here he takes orders from some thug. It twisted his gut to the point that he wondered how he will be able to look at his kids without feeling ashamed of himself, but he knew better.

He could ignore the letter, yes, but after each stunt like that he usually had some complications. A patrol getting too close to comfort to their hiding place, more enemies than expected at a mission and so on. He was on thin ice as it is, again no pun intended, and he wasn't in a position to take another hit like that at the moment.

The letter claimed that some high-ranking individuals close to the royal family were boarding the ship, and that sinking it would give a huge blow to the fire nation. How much of it was an blown out of proportion was anyone's guess, but the crime lord doesn't lie in things like that, it's bad for business.

The plan was simple enough, place explosive mines in the way of the cruiser and embark when the ship is in chaos. Using stink bombs, they would dispatch the crew and take the two persons of interest as hostages to use for ransom. On the way they could interrogate the prisoners for information.

"The charges are ready in position."

Hakoda sighed at the update, it seems the mission will start soon.

"Get the men ready in position. The darkness of the night will cover us until we reach destination. Be ready to disengage at any moment."

"Yes sir!"

He had a bad feeling about it.

BOOM!

Zuko woke up with a start.

"What happened?!"

"We are under attack if I had to guess. Explosives if I'm not mistaken."

"What?!"

"Men! To arms!"

The young prince quickly equipped his armor and gauntlets and ran to the deck. On his way he heard sounds of fire bending, good, it means that his men were still in the fight. When he reached the deck, he saw his men blasting at the water below.

He blasted overboard a raider that was running to one of his soldiers with a club raised. He then turned to said soldier.

"Report!"

"Sir! Explosives tore a hole in the front side of the ship, pirates are trying to board the ship by hooks from their vessels. We think they are water tribe, sir."

"Blast it!"

A water tribe here could only mean that they are being raided by chieftain Hakoda. Even he heard about the nightmare of the southern sea, his attack and guerilla warfare again the fire nation is a thorn in the side for many generals.

If propaganda is to be believed, he and his man drink the blood of their fallen enemies and use the bones as weapons and building materials. But propaganda also said that everyone full moon water benders lead people to their doom by controlling them like puppets via the water in the blood, So Zuko took the rumor with reservations.

'What should I do?'

"Cut the hooks to deny more invaders to board the ship, simultaneously make time for the entire crew to arrive. Put fire on any ladder the ship has to deny them entry you can't cut."

"You five!"

Zuko pointed as a random group of soldiers.

Guard the rails! Each takes a part of the ship! Cut any rope and put fire on any ladder you see! Don't let them get on the ship!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone else, with me! We send those barbarians back to the sea of which they came!"

"Hora!"

There was proximately the same number of reds and blues on deck. He could see a blue figure dressed differently from the others, it had a more detailed wolf helmet as well as more fur. By the way the figure gave orders he assumed it was none other than chief Hakoda himself.

As he fought his way and barked orders, he saw how well the last two weeks of training paid off. the crew from before would have fallen long ago, maybe even before he would have reached the deck. This crew… well they weren't winning, but they were holding their ground against a more experienced foe.

That didn't mean he had an easy work, not by a long shot. He had to assist his men left and right, blasting a barbarian here, making tribesmen move away there, it took a lot from him. His most challenging task was getting rid of the smoke bombs.

Sai immediately identified the threat it posed and instructed Zuko how to dispose of the gas. Zuko had to clap his hands and, using fire bending, create a shock wave to banish the gas from his ship. He had to time it perfectly and be relatively close to the source or else the smell would linger.

Fortunately, it seems the attackers had a finite number of stink bombs. After a while Zuko didn't have to worry about the bombs and could focus entirely on the battle ahead. It went well beyond what he hoped.

He saw that most of the crew was already on board and fighting. The new equipment he gave his men really made the difference. He saw from the corner of his eyes a crew member and a water tribe warrior at a standstill with weapons locked. The barbarian even seemed to have the upper hand as his blade drew closer and closer to the crew member's neck. The soldier, however, managed to put his hands in a way that the fists were pointed at the chest at the enemy, and shot a stream of fire from his gauntlets. The barbarian quickly disengaged, running away to put out the fire on his clothes.

Like before at Hǎibiān, Zuko went straight for the leader. He saw Hakoda slash at a crew member, luckily the new scales protected the men from being gored. Zuko quickly shot a fire ball at the chief and picked up the fallen men's sword. The two leaders met and clashed with their respective swords with a shower of sparks.

As the battle raged on around them, the two were locked in their own fetal dance. Once again, Zuko was facing a more experienced opponent. Unlike Ter however, Hakoda was experienced with the sword. His ferocity and agility were almost too much for the almost fourteen years old prince to handle. This time Zuko couldn't even use his blasts because Hakoda was just too close and too fast. Even if the chieftain wouldn't intercept him, a blast from this distance will harm Zuko too if it hits the target.

"You're good, who are you?"

"You… attacked this ship… without knowing who… I am?!"

"Do I really need a reason to attack a fire navy ship?"

"He got you there, your highness."

'Less talking, more helping!'

"Try electrocuting him."

''Can't concentrate, let alone get a clear shot!'

"Then good thing that electricity can go through touch, and you two constantly touching at one point."

Zuko immediately understood Sai's idea. Yes, electrocuting his sword sounds like a great idea, he just needs enough breathing room. Luckily, his opponent decided to be 'merciful'.

"You don't have to fight, you know. Surrender yourself and we will leave the ship and its crew alone. There isn't any need for farther bloodshed."

"Like I would believe you! Besides, why should I surrender when I have the advantage?"

"You're delusional! You're good, I'll give you that. I have a son your age and if he has half of your skill I couldn't be any prouder. But be reasonable, you're outmatched here, this isn't a game!"

"Good! Because I've done playing!"

Hakoda sighed as they prepared to clash blades once again, planning to finish this fight in the next few blows. Only to cry in pain as their swords clashed.

Zuko successfully electrocuted his blade while the two talked. He could see the electricity travel down the tribesman's body as he cried in shock, but he didn't stop there. He kicked Hakoda's legs, making the older man kneel, and then round kicked him with a fire bending enhanced foot to the head, sending the chieftain back a few good meters.

To Finish the battle, Zuko sent a weaker version of the blast that fell Ter at the warrior. Hakoda would have usually evaded and reposted such attacks, but the shock from the electrocution made him more sluggish. As the blast caught Hakoda on the chest, he flew crushing to the metal wall behind him. The chieftain's helmet flew away in the process.

"Hakoda!"

It seems that the invaders stopped their advancement to protect and surround their wounded leader. It spoke greatly for Hakoda's will that even after the hits he taken, and the obvious concoction he had, he was lucid enough to order his men to retreat.

A few smoke bombs were thrown, but when Zuko blasted away the smoke there were no water tribe men to be seen.

"Should we go after them, your highness?"

"... No, it wouldn't be a good idea to hunt them at night, especially wounded as we are."

Zuko then went and picked up the chieftain's helmet.

"Besides, I believe we had our pound of flesh. Send a course for the nearest navy base, we're in a dire need for repairs."

"Yes sir!"

Suddenly Uncle busted threw the door, ready for battle, only to be confused when he saw his nephew holding a battered water tribe helmet.

"And the dragon had finally awoken."

"Uncle, we need to have a talk about your sleeping habits."

The Ketu Harbor captain was Zhao, from all possible harbors it just had to be the one Zhao was in!

Zhao is a bully who made his opinion on Zuko clear from the moment of the young prince's banishment. He may be a good soldier, but he had no honor. He ruled his men with thugery and was indifferent for anything that doesn't help him raise ranks.

What joy it was to be greeted by the good captain.

He knew that Zhao became recently a captain because the peacock immediately flaunted his new position. Immediately after his uncle greeted him, the man said that he was a captain and not a lieutenant.

"I must say, this is quite a damage your ship has taken. Just what in the world could have done that, I wonder."

The fakeness of his words was sickening to hear for the young prince. For better or worse, at least he didn't have anything special to hide that Zhao could use against him.

"Well, if you must know. We had a little skirmish with water tribe raiders. The explosives they used to stop the ship are the cause of the damage you see."

"Say, why don't you tell me more about it over a cup of tea at my office?"

"I should really check out a place for my crew to sleep."

"It's a wonderful idea captain Zhao!"

"Uncle!"

"Nephew, you at least should accept it when your host offers you tea! You own him at least this much respect."

"Splendid! Let me show you my office!"

"We really need to work on your tea addiction uncle…"

The two princes were at Zhao's office drinking jasmine. The captain preceded to ask them questions about the raid, as well as other rumors that started to float.

"So, your highness, I heard that you have a new moniker now. 'Amber samurai', I believe it was called?"

"Not my choice… Anyway, I was in a shop buying an amber comb and then suddenly some thugs arrived. One thing led to another and I found myself dismantling a crime syndicate in the colony."

"I'm sure it was more heroic than it sounds."

Sarcasm was just dripping from the captain's tone.

"It was, outnumbered and against more experienced opponents, my nephew stood tall as he became a symbol to the people."

"I'm sure… Speaking on adventures, has there been any news about the Avatar?"

"There haven't been any signs of him. I searched every piece of land the nomads lived on without success yet."

"But you will tell if you discovered anything, right? After all the Avatar may be the only thing that can stop the fire nation from total dominion over the world. I don't need to tell you that any information about the Avatar is critical."

"Well, the Avatar hasn't been seen for over a hundred years, so kindly focus on your mission and I will on mine."

"Of course, of course… although a mission it quite an overstatement, isn't it? Punishment is a more fitting word."

"Careful Zhao, banished or not I'm still a prince."

"Of course, your highness."

"Now if you don't mind, I had a tiring night and I would like to rest."

As he started walking, the guards at the door blocked him.

"Excuse me?!"

At that same moment a soldier of Zhao went in with Hakoda's helmet.

"The crew was interrogated. The ship was attacked by the pirate Hakoda and his men. The attack was repelled after the prince defeated Hakoda in single combat."

"Let me take care of it, your highness."

'That conniving son of a slug! Do whatever you want to him!'

"I warn you; I will have to take control of your body. Do I have your permission?"

'Whatever! Just make him regret it!'

"You will regain control in five minutes at most."

Suddenly, Zuko was surrounded by arcs of lightning. His eyes were glowing in a dangerous amber light and the floor beneath his feet caught fire.

Zuko's body moved slowly towards the soldier, the arcs seemingly grew, and flaming footprints stayed in the places he walked. It stopped when it was a foot away from the soldier who now tried to melt into the wall.

"What do you mean by 'interrogated'?"

"I-I, well.."

"Speak."

"It was only questions! We didn't do anything! He ordered us!"

The soldier pointed at Zhao while shaking like a leaf.

"You little –"

"Quite."

The demonic voice seemed to silence the captain.

"And when I will ask my men the same, will their answer be as yours?"

"Yes! Yes, I swear by Agni, yes!"

"The helmet was in my private quarters, How did you get it?"

"I-I…"

"I see. Go and make sure my men get the best food and beds available. Now leave."

The soldier ran away like Koh itself was after him.

The helmet now turned to the guards, it's visage as terrifying as a vengeful spirit.

"Accompany him, at once."

The guards didn't need another motivation. Now Zhao had the full attention on the thing.

"And as for you!"

"Prince Zuko, I think that it's enough."

'Sai… I think you should stop. Sai, why can't I move?!'

"A moment your highness, I won't do anything drastic. I promise it will be worth it. After that I will relinquish control back to you."

'Fine, but we will have a long talk about this!'

"Not now uncle. Now tell me captain, what did you hope to achieve? Perhaps you thought I was hiding information about the Avatar that you could exploit?"

"I-"

"How should I deal with you I wonder, should I execute you now or make it public?"

"Zuko!"

"Y-you can't! I did no crime, and you have no right!"

"I can beg to differ; you ordered an interrogation on people approved by the fire lord himself to accompany his son like common criminals. You invaded the prince's privacy and stole his belongings at the hope for blackmail. You outreached your boundaries as a common captain!"

"And as for right?! I have every right to inflict justice upon all who I see as corrupt by the degree of my father himself! And an attack on the prince by a known enemy, and so close to your base? Why all the facts combined that's just reeks from conspiracy! I'm sure that father wouldn't mind if phrased right."

"You-you-"

Fear seemed to consume the newly appointed captain.

"But it doesn't have to be this way~"

The way the thing spoke now was predatory like, it reminded a purring of an apex predator that trying to assure its prey that everything will be fine.

"Why don't we strike a deal that will help the both of us? You see, I find myself in dire need of professional men to do as I commend. You, on the other hand, are in a dire need for achievements for promotion. What I offer is simple, I borrow a few of your man, no more than a tenth of your force in total, and in return you get the achievements they will bring as their official commander. Send us to the toughest battles, the ones normal soldier doesn't expect to succeed. If I die? None will blame you. If I win? You get glory."

"What do you say, do we have a deal?"

The thing offered a hand to shake.

Now Zhao looked interested, he was an ambitious man first and foremost. Greed overpowered fear as Zhao considered the proposal. Normally he would scoff and send the other party packing, but the prince showed power and ambition. And if there are two things Zhao can respect it's those two. Besides, the more dangerous the mission, the more chance he will be rid of this problematic blackmail.

"You've changed prince Zuko… fine, I accept your proposal."

The two shook hands.

"Excellent."

The handshake was suddenly consumed by flames. Zhao tried to pull his hand back, but he was unable to even budge the surprisingly strong hold of the thing. He realized after a second that the flame didn't burn, two seconds later the two suppurated.

"Goodnight captain!"

The thing called when it left, Iroh quickly followed.

After Zuko made sure his men had a decent place to sleep and asked their side of this so-called interrogation, he went to sleep in his own tent. It seems that soldier was properly spooked, because all the places he and his men had were above the average quality of the army.

Once he was alone however, he had one important thing to still take care on.

"Ok Sai, just what was that before?"

"You have to be more specific, I'm afraid."

"Cut it out, you know exactly what I'm talking about! What was that with Zhao?!"

"So you're talking about the possession, what about it? You gave me explicit permission to possess you. I warned beforehand about it."

"Whenever did I say that?!"

Sai than showed Zuko a record of their brief conversation.

"Fine, I suppose I can forgive that, but why did you make me Zhao's errand boy?!"

"We need a steady supply of men to go under the radar and a bank of missions to increase our experience, influence and prestige. Zhao's rank secures the first and his ambition, disregard of his men and relatively frontline position, combined with his pettiness towards you cover the second."

Zuko hated how logical Sai sounded even when seemingly making atrocious decisions.

"I don't like him, he will obviously use us."

"You don't need to, and we are using him as well. Consider it a test of patience, after we grow enough to raise our own men you can ditch him."

"And no more possession!"

"What about when you are unconscious and in a life threatening danger?"

"Only then! But nowhere else, understood!"

"Crystal."

"By the way, how long do you think it will take to fix the ship?"

"A week, but with how much the good captain loves having you here, I will say five days."

Zuko let out a snort of amusement.

It was the morning next day. Zuko woken at dawn, as expected from a fire bender. He didn't have a nice sleep, even though he retired to bed in the early evening and was dead tired.

After yesterday's events Zuko couldn't bring himself to sleep with the helmet equipped as became his norm. He always thought about how Sai took control of his body and how he could do it as easy at any given moment. Yes, he promised not to, but Zuko couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the helmet.

Sai didn't comment when he pulled the helmet of the head, thank Agni he didn't have to deal with that. But after a few hours Zuko still couldn't sleep, he was anxious. He still had reservations about Sai, but he needed the helmet, he had to put it on. The closest thing he ever experienced was when he was little and ate something really tasty and wanted more, but this was hundreds of times stronger.

So he put it on, mercifully Sai didn't make any comment this time as well. And so Zuko went to sleep, for real this time.

Now, however, Zuko did his regular morning routine. Meaning breakfast, fire bending training, material training, strategy training.

Breakfast was interesting, on his way to eat he noticed a few soldiers whispering in hushed tones. Apparently, his encounter with the Sea Wolf, commonly known as Hakoda, spread like wildfire. And as any rumor, the stories only grew more outrageous the longer people talked. He thinks that he would have remembered fighting a seven headed sea serpent the size of an emperor class battleship.

Anyway, one good thing from all the attention was that he didn't have to wait long in line for food, people let him pass before them. As he got his meal he started searching for his crew, he found them in a middle of a gathering of soldiers.

"And then we were, seemingly cornered and outnumbered three to one. But we were able to push them back! I gutted to barbarians at once!"

Well, it seems like his men were busy enough, no need to bother them.

"Your highness! I was just about to reach the part where you fought Hakoda!"

Never mind.

Without much of a choice, Zuko sat in the table.

"Well, don't let me stop you."

"Right, so this brute was going to stab Lau here, but the prince was immediately on him. They had an awesome sword battle, and the prince was seemingly outmatched, but then out of nowhere Hakoda fell on his knees and was blasted to the wall by the prince! Knowing that the battle was lost, he immediately ordered a retreat!"

The crowd cheered as the soldier told his story.

"How did you do it your highness?"

One of the soldiers of the port asked.

'Sai?'

"Play it cool. Comment on the foe's prowess while show off yours. Excuse your initial disadvantage as a scam to lower his guard."

"Well, you see, Hakoda, barbarian as he is, is a great warrior. I had to bring him to a false sense of security and lure him away from his men. When the time was right, I enhanced my sword with lightning and Hakoda shook himself and it gave me more then enough time to finish the job."

Zuko showed his right hand when he talked, lightning decorated his upper arm to the amazement of the people nearby.

Zuko stayed there a little to amuse the present company at Sai's insistence. It was safe to say that the opinion on him grew tremendously.

"I wonder how many of them will jump on the opportunity to accompany you now."

'I know! I never received such attention from the military before!'

"It's only the beginning your highness, they all will call your name when we're done."

'Wonder how the barbarians are now.'

Things were not going well for the wolf cove warriors, Bato concluded. What should have been a relatively easy mission turned out to be a crippling disaster. Thank the sea and moon that Hakoda prepared beforehand for thing to ho south… great, now he caught Hakoda's horrendous sense of humor.

Future problems aside, the plan itself was executed perfectly: Plant bombs, catch crew by surprise, board ship. It was after that when things went to Koh.

The sailors put a much harder resistance then anticipated, the equipment they had sure helped. Even so, the situation was manageable. They clearly had the upper hand by numbers and experience, at least they had until that damnable prince showed up!

Well, in that time they didn't know he was the price, but after some digging, they discovered that the ship they attacked was actually the personal transport of the banished prince. It came as a shock that a prince, banished or not, would travel in that piece of junk. Even he new the ship was outdated by fire nation standards.

Obviously, the prince was a conniving mastermind that used the appearance of the old ship to drew enemies of the fire nation of low to medium skill, like pirates and earth kingdom frigates, to their doom. Like a swamp turtle that uses his tongue as bait to lure fish and then shut his jaw upon them when it's too late.

Anyway, once the prince arrived, he started to take control of the situation. Firstly, he made sure that any and all ways to climb to the top were blocked, it didn't matter that they outnumbered the crew five to one if only a fifth of them was on board.

Secondly, their ace in the sleeve, their smoke bombs, were completely nullified by the prince. Who in his right mind could have guessed fire bending could just blast the gas away?! At least it seemed that the prince was tiring from it, unfortunately the bombs ran out.

And the last nail in the mission's coffin was the duel between the prince and Hakoda. At first, like their mission, it went well. Hakoda had the kid on the ropes, Bato knew his chief probably held back because Sokka is of the same age as the prince. Bato couldn't fault him for that, he didn't know what he himself would have done if he had a kid.

Back to the topic, the chief finally decided to get serious after his reasonable terms were rejected. The kid would have been down in two to three moves, except the kid decided to pull off the kid's gloves… damn you Hakoda… It was his Chief who found himself down in a few moves.

The persistent son of a seal managed to call for retreat, and rightly so, as the positions the tribesman were at the moment would have been fetal without a proper leadership. Luckily, the men who couldn't get to the ship proved spirit sent as they tended the wounded and retreat with haste.

Soon enough, they arrived at an abbey where their wounded were tended. Hakoda fell asleep in half the way, and they had to carry him on a stretcher. They also warped his head in bandages to stop the bleeding. The head abbes immediately ordered her charges to prepare the warriors for medical attention.

Hakoda had to stay at least three weeks bedridden. His stubbornness from before is demanding it's price, he also had some internal injuries from the lightning sword that could have unknown affects that needed close attention.

It also means that they will be leaderless for that long. Usually Bato would take the lead as second in command. But even with him in charge, a good portion of their men was stranded, and their battle efficiency drastically decreased. Quite frankly, he also didn't think he could replace Hakoda.

Unknown to Bato, one of the nuns saw Hakoda with his severe head injury carried on the scratcher. She was also one of the nuns who interacted with the outside people when selling perfume created in the abbey. As any human being she sometimes talked with her costumers on many things, she blurted about Hakoda's situation once or twice, but asked "to keep it between them."

Obviously, it was one of the first things the customers talked about when they returned home. From there word went from mouth to ear and as often happens, it gets distorted. By the end of the week a nasty rumor said that the southern chief was slain by the rough prince.

AN

And we had Zuko meet other characters from the show, probably not how most of you expected.

Now let me make one thing clear Hakoda doesn't work for Mi-Sha in any way. their deal is more like 'Hey, you want to attack that ship? OK hear's info. now couse as much noise as you can.', Hakoda even outright put a stop to a few of Mi-Sha's operations.

now for reviews:

Brenne:

Glad you liked it! In the case of the Avatar and Rava, their main thing is to preserve balance and harmony. so understandably they aren't fans of rapid change. As to your other point... let's just say that you aren't completely wrong to be warry. This chapter also had a few less stellar facts about Sai.

deniswanheda:

I will neither confirm nor deny your theory. As for his relationship with his father? well this is a whole can of worms that needs to be delt with. Yes, even Sai breaks from his uncaring personality, but look closely how he uses it to his end.

Guest:

Farther perspectives of Ozai will be given. Needless to say it will be interesting to write the entire drama of the royal family and I'm sure you would like the results.

Anyway, be sure to write what you think about the chapter and the story. Don't be afraid to share what you think could and should happen.