Fanfiction - Avatar (Zuko/Aang)

[fannish_nan]

Title: The Rise and Fall of a Fire Nation Prince - Prologue
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Zuko/Aang (Also, pretty much the entire main cast is in here somewhere)
Rating: Overall, probably an R. This part, PG.
Word Count: 4,078
Disclaimer: Don't own, not making money, please don't sue.
Warnings: This part? None.
Notes: YES. Ye Olde Capture Fic is finally getting posted, one part at a time. ...Don't look at me like that. EVERYONE has to write a capture fic at least once in their Avatar fic writing careers, right? RIGHT? JUST SAY YES. This is set....oh, probably around mid-first season. So everything that happened in the second season, well, it didn't. No meeting Toph, no reaching Ba Sing Se, no Zuko cutting his hair.
ALSO, this is not a fic in which the relationship between Aang/Zuko is all peaches and cream and goodness and light. Let's face it; Zuko's one fucked up kid and that's not going to make anything easy.
However, it is my very real belief that, while love doesn't conquer all, Aang certainly has the ability. GO AANG.
ANOTHER HOWEVER: despite what I just said, this also isn't a particularly dark fic. Since. I enjoy happiness and joy and good-natured teasing met with rage and pouting. Oh, Zuko.


Beta-ed by the awesome chrissy_sky. <3333


The sun was setting on another day. It’s fading rays cast an orange hue on everything it touched and as darkness began to set in, long dark shadows began creeping out to play. Nocturnal animals began their song as well; some haunting and beautiful though most were shrill and frightening.

None of this mattered to Zuko though, as he stood at the edge of the giant river, hard shoes sinking into the pebbly sand. He’d been tracking the Avatar from the nearest town. After some persuasion, the locals had gladly told him where the Avatar and his friends had been heading. ‘North,’ they’d said with frightened and frustrated eyes. ‘North towards the Xan Ji forest.’

And so Zuko and his soldiers gave chase, following the wide river’s current along the forest’s edge. When they’d reached the middle part of the forest’s edge, Zuko had ordered his men to drop anchor and search the forest, slowly and quietly.

Hearing a footfall behind him, Zuko tensed and glanced over his shoulder. “Uncle,” he acknowledged, voice low. The night demanded the quiet.

“Prince Zuko, what are you doing?” Iroh asked, coming to Zuko’s side. “Why are you out here alone?” He drew his arms closer to his abdomen, the thick fabric of his clothing keeping the slight chill from sinking in.

“I’m waiting for my men to come back,” Zuko said, immediately on edge from his uncle’s nonchalant attitude. “Waiting for one of them to tell me he found the Avatar.” The words were bitter, angry. Almost hopeless.

Iroh raised an eyebrow and stroked his chin. “Prince Zuko, I’m sure he will be found. He believes he is safe in these forests, that we do not know where he went.” He chuckled. “It was foolish of him to tell the people in that town where he was going.”

“He’s a child,” Zuko said, eyes narrowing. “He has no choice but to be a fool.”

Iroh wisely decided not to speak of how Zuko was only four years older than the Avatar. He opened his mouth to assure Zuko once more, but a soldier came staggering out of the forest and hurried over to them. He was panting as if he’d been running a long distance and the breaths sounded hollow and heavy under the armor.

Zuko was immediately tense. “Well?” he said, a shiver running down his spine.

The soldier straightened. “S-sir, we found him,” he said, breath heavy. “He and his friends are camping on the east side of the forest. We’ve got them surrounded.”

Zuko unconsciously glanced at Iroh before stepping forward. “Go back. Survey the scene until I get there,” he ordered, eyes narrowing dangerously. “If you manage to let him escape this time, it will be your head.”

The soldier’s armor kept them from reading his expression but both Iroh and Zuko heard a deep, nervous gulp. The soldier bowed deeply, head very nearly touching his knees and he turned, running swiftly back into the trees.

Iroh put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “We should be going, Prince Zuko,” he said, a small smile forming on his lips as he saw the shocked expression on Zuko’s face. Zuko nodded and hurried forward, taking the same path that the soldier did.

***

Darkness had firmly set on the small campsite and the only light the three children had was that of the small, flickering campfire. It danced off their faces as they sat. Appa was off to the side, laying heavily against a tree. His deep, easy breathing signified that he was asleep, and the occasional snort or kick proved that he was having dreams. Momo wisely decided to sleep away from the flying bison, choosing instead to curl up in Aang’s lap.

“Man, I really need some meat!” Sokka said, looking dejectedly at the fruit Katara had gathered. “How can anyone live off of this stuff?” He poked a purple fruit suspiciously and glared at the juice that it left on his finger. “How do we even know it’s not poisonous?”

“We don’t; that’s why you’re eating it first.” Katara rolled her eyes at the horrified expression on Sokka’s face. “Calm down,” she said. “It’s just fruits! We’ve eaten them before, remember?” She picked up a small, triangle fruit slice and popped it in her mouth.

Sokka ate one dejectedly. “No. They all taste and look the same to me. They’ve pretty much blurred into one bad, bland, blob of boring,” he said.

“Hey, that was good!” Aang cheered, the sound disturbing Momo for a moment. He petted the lemur back to sleep as he continued. “All Bs!”

“Don’t egg him on, Aang,” Katara ordered. “Sokka, all you’ve been doing is complaining lately and I’m getting so sick of it! Honestly, if you’re so tired of the way things have been going, why don’t you think of something to change it?!” Her voice had risen while she went on this mini-tirade and the last couple of words were yelled.

Sokka stared at her for a moment before shrugging. “What can I do?” he said, raising an eyebrow. Katara flinched and clenched her hands into fists.

“Then stop complaining!” she said, looking like she wanted to reach out and strangle Sokka. “If there’s nothing you can do about this situation, nothing you can do to better it, then stop complaining! I’m sick of listening to it!”

“Well, hey!” Sokka said, pointing juice stained fingers at her. “You don’t have to listen to it, you know. You could, I don’t know, thicken your hair loop things and wear them over your ears for all I care!”

Katara’s outrage was given voice to a squawk and Aang raised his eyebrows. Uh, maybe I should do something? He thought, stroking Momo. “Hey, you guys!” he said. “Come on, let’s not argue. Don’t we have enough problems to deal with without having to worry about each other?”

Sokka waved his hand in the air nonchalantly. “Don’t try to reason with her, Aang,” he said sagely. “Girls don’t care about logic.”

Aang winced at that and Katara growled. “Sokka, you sexist, idiotic jerk!” she said, and the water whip came lashing out of her small flagon, hitting Sokka in the back. Katara brought it back to her with a smirk and glared at Sokka. “Logic that!”

Sokka cried out and tipped over, back arched as he tried to rub the impact point. “Jeez, Katara!” he cried, rubbing frantically at the closest point to the wound that he could get. “You didn’t have to hurt me!”

Katara shrugged and poked the campfire with a stick. “Yeah, okay,” she said, a giggle escaping her at the spectacle Sokka was making. “You’re such a baby!”

“That really hurt!” he whined. “Come here, Aang, see if I’m bleeding!”

Aang grinned and carefully dislodged Momo from his sleeping spot in his lap. Crawling over to Sokka, he lifted the dark blue tunic up and inspected Sokka’s back.

“Well? How bad is it?” Sokka asked, eyes narrowing when he heard Katara scoff. “Am I bleeding?”

Aang’s eyes squinted and bowed closer. “It’s just a red spot,” he said finally, rubbing the reddened skin. “I think you’ll be okay.”

“Hey! No touching!” Sokka said, shooting away from Aang defensively. “It really hurts!”

Aang shrugged. “Sorry,” he said. “Do you want me to go get you some water or something?”

“No,” Sokka said, glaring behind Aang at Katara. “I think water has done enough to me for now.” Katara rolled her eyes broadly at that statement and Aang smothered a laugh.

“Well, okay,” he said, sitting beside Katara. Momo sleepily climbed back on his lap and curled up tightly, holding his tail between his front two paws. Aang petted him and looked at his two human companions. “But could you guys please stop fighting? At least for a little while.”

Katara glared at Sokka for a moment longer before tossing her braid over her shoulder. “Fine,” she said, tossing a smile to Aang. “You’re right; it’s silly to argue like this.”

Sokka sniffed. “Okay. Just keep her away from me.” He sniffed pitifully.

Katara growled and clenched her fists. “Such a baby,” she muttered.

Aang blinked at the two of them before yawning widely. “Momo, you’re putting me to sleep,” he murmured, petting the flying lemur’s large ears. Momo chirruped quietly at him and curled his tail around Aang’s arm.

A snapping in the woods caught his attention and Aang looked up, eyes wide. “What was that?” he said, glancing at Sokka and Katara. “Did you guys hear that?”

“I did,” Sokka said, immediately getting to his feet, boomerang in hand. He looked in the direction the sound seemed to come from, eyes narrowed. Katara got to her feet behind him, eyes wide.

“Sokka, calm down,” she said. “We don’t even know what it is. It might just be an animal or something!” She glanced over her shoulder at Aang. “I didn’t hear it though; what did it sound like?”

Aang shook his head, getting to his feet. Momo clutched his shoulder tightly, tail looping around his shoulders loosely. “I don’t know,” he said. “It sounded like a footstep or something like that. Something on twigs.” He and Katara shared a look before they both looked forward towards the darkened trees.

They looked just in time to see a bright flash of fire heading straight for them. Aang gasped and pushed Katara out of the way before jumping out of the way himself. He landed easily and looked over. Katara was on her knees, coughing while Sokka was standing over her, brandishing his boomerang in front of them. Aang ran over to them and looked down at Katara, worried.

“Are you okay?” he asked her and she nodded.

“Aang, we’re in trouble,” Sokka said, eyes wide as he stared ahead. Aang stepped forward and brought his glider down, sending a strong gust of wind towards to forest.

“Who’s there?!” he yelled, pointing his glider towards where the fire came from. “Come out!”

“That’s right! Be a man!” Sokka yelled. Katara snorted behind him and he flinched, looking at though he wanted to turn around and argue with her more. He resisted the urge. “Come on, what are you, afraid?!”

“Sokka, what are you doing?!” Aang whispered frantically, eyes wide. “Stop egging them on!”

“It’s better to fight people we can see,” he said, brow furrowed. “We need to get them out of the trees so that if we have to fight, we can see just who we’re fighting.” He addressed their enemy again. “Come on, don’t be a coward!”

There was a bit of laughter in the woods and sudden noise told the children that whoever it was, was stepping forward.

“Oh no,” Katara said, tensing. “You got your wish, Sokka.”

Several red-clad soldiers stepped out of the forest in front on them, while at their sides more soldiers came out of the forest. It was too dark and there were too many for Aang to count.

“Ooohh,” Katara said, fear evident in her voice. “They’re Zuko’s men. He must have sent all of his soldiers after us.” She touched Aang’s back gently.

A growl off to the side caught Aang’s attention and he turned sharply towards Appa. Several Fire Nation soldiers had surrounded the large flying bison, pointing spears at him. Appa was rearing back, a panicked gleam in his eyes at this threat.

Aang jumped up in the air and swung his glider in a fierce horizontal strike. Wind gushed from the blow and Aang yelled, “Leave him alone!” Two of the soldiers turned and punched flames towards Aang and he fell from the sky, landing heavily on the ground.

“Appa! Appa, fly away!” Katara yelled, waving her hands in the air. “Come on, fly! We’ll meet up with you later, I promise!” Appa took a few steps back, his heavy feet leaving deep entrenches in the ground. He moaned in protest and slammed the ground with his powerful tail.

“Go on, buddy,” Aang said, getting to his feet. “We’ll be okay.” He grinned up at the flying bison and Appa groaned and took off, his take off sending a powerful blast of air and dropping the children and the soldiers to the ground.

Aang watched him go, eyes wide. A soldier came up beside him and grabbed his arms roughly.

“Hey!” Aang cried, struggling against the soldier. “Let me go!” He stomped hard on the ground with his foot, using air to lift him up off the ground. He kicked the soldier in the chest and darted away. A boomerang flew past his head and smashed against the soldier’s head. Aang looked over at Sokka. “Thanks!”

Sokka caught the boomerang. “Heads up!” he said. “They’re all coming!” Aang glanced around wildly and saw that Sokka was right; the soldiers, seeing the attacks, surged forward, fire at their fingertips and weapons in their hands.

A long, thin stream of water lashed out, slapping two of the soldiers sharply on the shoulder before coming back to Katara.

Sokka turned abruptly to tell her something when a heavily armored elbow slammed into his face. He groaned pitifully and slumped to the ground.

“Katara!” Aang yelled, twirling the glider over his head and pointed it at the soldiers nearest him. “Get Sokka!”

Katara turned and sent a slap of water at the soldiers near the fallen Sokka and ran over to him. “Sokka! Sokka!” she said, shaking his shoulders roughly. “Are you awake?!” He groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his face and feeling blood run down his cheek.

“Did we win?” he asked, and Katara rolled her eyes. She pulled him to his feet and together they made their way back to Aang.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” she said, grabbing Aang’s hand. “Come on!” She tugged on Aang’s hand. “Let’s go!”

They started running towards the trees, out of the light that the clearing provided. Ducking below outreaching limbs and jumping over fallen logs and rocks, they were much faster than the heavy, armored soldiers.

“I think we’ll make it!” Sokka said, just before a sudden burst of flames surrounded them and set the trees on fire. Katara ducked her head against Aang’s shoulder and they kept running. A soldier appeared behind them and punched Aang in the back. He cried out and fell to his knees, before sliding his leg backwards and slamming it against the soldier’s legs, tripping him up.

Katara grabbed his shoulder. “Come on,” she said, and they ran. “I can’t find Sokka!” Aang heard panicked fear in her voice.

“He probably ran ahead,” Aang said as they ran, “we’ll meet up with him later!”

Katara gave him a watery smile, the fire behind them giving her face deep shadows. “You’re right,” she said. “Sokka might be dumb, but he’ll know we’re getting out of here and he’ll get out of here too!”

Aang nodded and they kept running through the forest, faces getting cut and clothing getting ripped by reaching limps. They reached the edge of the forest and burst out of it. Aang stumbled and Katara grabbing hold of his arm kept him upright as they ran. He grinned at her and she nodded and looked forward and immediately gasped. He followed her gaze and took a step back, eyes wide.

Zuko stood in front of them, brow furrowed. It wasn’t him that made Katara gasp though; he had Sokka with him. The water tribe boy was unconscious, face bloody, and Zuko gripped his collar firmly in hand.

“Sokka!” Katara cried out, and glared at Zuko. “Leave him alone! Let him go!” she said, stepping forward.

Zuko sneered and brought his hand closer to Sokka’s face. A small flare of fire burst from his hand and he held it close to Sokka’s face. Katara cried out again, wordlessly, but Zuko ignored her. His eyes were on Aang.

“If you come with me right now, I’ll leave the boy and girl alone,” he said, eyes narrowed. “If you come with me right now, they’ll be safe.”

Aang bit his lip and glanced at Katara. She shook her head, mouthing no, and Aang looked back at Zuko. Zuko’s eyes were still on him, intent. I have to do this, Aang thought, looking at Sokka. I have to protect Katara and Sokka. The thought that he was going with Zuko—again!—was jarring.

“I’ll go with you,” Aang said, trying not to notice the utter triumph on Zuko’s face.

“No, Aang!” Katara said, grabbing his arms. “No, you can’t!” Her eyes were wide and tears welled up in them. “You can’t go with him! You—you know you can’t trust him! What if something happens to you?!”

Hearing soldiers in the forest behind him, Aang smiled at Katara and touched her wrist. “I’ll be okay,” he said. “They won’t do anything too horrible to me.”

Katara shook her head. “Zuko won’t, but the Fire Lord will,” she insisted. One large, red-clad arm pushed Katara away from Aang and she pushed against the soldier fruitlessly.

“Stop, Katara,” Aang said, softly but forcefully. “I’ll be okay.” He cocked his head to the side. “Take care of Sokka.”

“Aang…” Katara stopped, tears leaving silvery trails down her cheeks. Aang smiled and was jarred suddenly as the soldiers around him jerked heavy chains across his arms and legs, making it impossible for him to move voluntarily at all. Aang gulped noisily, feeling a shiver of fear go down his spine.

Zuko casually flung Sokka away from him, the flame disappearing as if it never was. “Take him to the ship,” he ordered. “Chain him in the brig. I want him to be supervised constantly. If I hear that anyone of you somehow let him escape…” He didn’t finish the threat, knowing that the imagination of the men would more than suffice.

Aang was picked up by one soldier, the anonymous arms curling around his shoulders as he was lifted into the air and taken away. “Wait, I want to make sure that he lets them go!” Aang protested, struggling uselessly against his capture. “C’mon, let me see!”

The soldiers ignored him. Fine! Aang thought, and took a deep breath and-

A sharp pain at his temple was the last thing that he felt.

***

Katara watched the soldiers take Aang away, tight, soft little sobs hitching in her chest, before turning back to Zuko. He wasn’t looking at her; his attention was on the soldiers as they disappeared through the trees in the direction of the coast and ship.

Katara launched herself at Zuko, screaming, “Why can’t you just leave us alone?!” She was caught by one particularly tall soldier, who held both of her wrists tightly to prevent escape. “Let him go!” she demanded. “Let him go and let us go or, or I swear I’ll-”

“You’ll do what?” Zuko said, finally turning his gaze away from where Aang disappeared. He looked at Katara in disgust and then sneered. “You’ll splash your water at me?” he mocked, a smirk on his lips. “Face it, little girl. You’ve lost.” His expression sobered and he turned away from her, following the path that his soldiers had taken. “Be happy you and your brother can escape this situation alive.”

The soldier let go of Katara and pushed her back roughly and Katara knew then that she was dismissed. She shivered despite the heat of the fire in the trees and crumbled to the ground, eyes wide as she watched them leave.

***

Zuko quickly made it back to the shore where he knew his men would be waiting for him. He could hear the soldier behind him, the one that had held back the water tribe girl, but paid him no mind. His thoughts were on the Avatar, on what would happen when he got home. Home, Zuko thought, feeling something that very much felt like cautious happiness. I’ll get to go home.

When he made it to the coastline and the ship, he saw his soldiers waiting for him. The Avatar was with them. Zuko approached him and saw that he was slumped between two soldiers. At the back of his head, a large bruise was quickly swelling up.

Zuko rushed forward to inspect the wound and felt an irrational rage flow through him. I didn’t do that. “Who did this?!” he yelled, golden eyes whipping around to stare at the soldiers. “Who struck him?”

For a moment, no one moved but then a shorter soldier -Zuko couldn’t remember his name and frankly didn’t care to know it- stepped forward. “I did, sir,” he said, and though his voice was quiet it was strong.

Zuko narrowed his eyes and marched over to him. “Why?” he asked. “He was chained up, wasn’t he?”

The soldier nodded. “Yes, but he was struggling. He wanted to make sure you let the boy and girl go.” The soldier paused for a moment before continuing. “I thought it would be the best course of action to stop him.”

“So you hit him,” Zuko concluded. “Even though he was already chained up and could do nothing against you, you struck him.” Zuko turned abruptly. “No one is to harm the Avatar unless he is an active threat. No one but me. If you do, you’ll be scrubbing the decks for the ride home. Do you understand?!” Various nods and murmurs of acknowledgement followed this decree. Zuko stepped away from them all. “Put him in the brig,” he said, going up the ledge into the ship. He could hear the soldiers behind him scurrying to get everything ready and sighed deeply.

Stepping out onto the deck, he saw Iroh looking out over the river. Walking to the older man, Zuko said nothing but put his hands on the railings.

Iroh glanced at him. “So much concern for a prisoner,” he said, before scrutinizing Zuko. “Why is that?”

“He is helpless now,” Zuko said, automatically on the defensive. “There is no reason at all to hit him.” He shook his head. “I should have punished that soldier.”

Iroh sighed. “No, Nephew, you should not have. There is no reason to do it now.” Looking over, he saw some of the soldiers coming up to the deck, getting ready to leave. Iroh lowered his voice. “You have captured the Avatar.”

Zuko was quiet for a moment. “Yes. I’ve captured the Avatar and we can finally return home. I can see father again.”

Iroh nodded but paused. There was a bit of fear mixed in with the hope and triumphant in Zuko’s eyes. “What is troubling you, Prince Zuko?” he asked, concerned. “Is something wrong?”

Zuko bristled at that and cast a glare at Iroh. “Nothing’s wrong,” he snapped. “Why would there be anything wrong?”

Iroh raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Nothing, nothing of course,” he said, and eyed Zuko for a bit before looking away. “I do not think anything bad will happen to the Avatar while he is in Fire Nation custody,” he said, sounding as if he were talking about the weather. “He won’t be killed because he’ll just get reincarnated and the search will continue. And while your father has never been a kind man he has never been one to promote torture.”

Zuko was quiet for a moment, thinking over what Iroh had said, before noticing Iroh’s gaze on him. Zuko bristled. “Stop babbling,” he said. “I don’t know why you would think I would care about whatever happens to the Avatar.”

Iroh waved his hand. “I know, I know,” he said. “I’m an old man; I’m allowed to babble when I feel the need.” He saw the barely contained relief in Zuko’s eyes and smiled. “Nephew, I think I will retire for the night,” he said, patting Zuko’s shoulder. “We have quite the journey ahead of us. You should get some sleep, too.”

Zuko shook his head. “I’m not tired,” he said, though fatigue was in his voice. “I’m going to stay here for a while.” They paused for a moment, bracing themselves against the jarring motion of the ship suddenly starting to move. Iroh brushed imaginary lint off of his shoulder and nodded.

“Alright then. Good night,” he said, and left the deck.

Zuko listened to his footsteps as Iroh walked away, and stared up at the sky, eyes unreadable. He closed them then, and a small, indescribable smile formed on his lips.