the avatar, and that one good firebender, lee

water, part four

jang lets out a restless sigh. "i guess we have to get used to calling him admiral zhao, huh?"

the comment is met with silence, as the entire crew, jang included, watch the poor prince zuko intently; curiosity piqued at his uncaring self laid out on his mattress. feng bites the bullet. "zuko? how are you, buddy?"

zuko offers a huffing breath. just two hours ago the jasmine dragon docked at another port on their schedule, stopping for travelers to step off, for iroh to buy more tea from his special provider, and for feng to visit his ladies. for zuko, however, was the arrival of commander--or, for better word, admiral--zhao, cornering the ship in the docks with the placid order that, for the time being, and for no suitable reason, no ships were permitted in or out of the area.

"i mean, if you...if you go right now, you could probably get to the avatar before zhao," jang suggests. the admiral was still instilling a blockade, informing all incoming or departing ships of the news. "like, right now. if you wanted to."

with another sigh issued, zuko rises, swiftly, and leaves the room in a decided manner.

"really? that got to him?"

-------

"aang?" katara wakes, groaning at the ache of her forehead. sokka does just the same, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "no frogs in my mouth, right?"

"no, none, now hurry guys!" aang cries, shaking the duo awake. katara sits up, noting their sleeping bags, coats, and food packed and strung up on appa. "we gotta go back!"

"go back where?"

"aang, in case you forgot, we were sick for days," sokka complains, gulping down his water. "what's the rush for anyway? another tourist site?"

"no! no, no," aang repeats, jumping up on appa. "please, hurry, i'll tell you on the way over."

after the siblings hoist themselves up on the bison, aang makes haste in taking off, flying towards the pohuai stronghold. aang explains, "when you guys got sick, i was told by an herbalist to get the frozen frogs for you to suck on." both siblings mumble an ugh. "but when i went to get them, i was captured by zhao, and he took me to this stronghold and locked me up. he wanted me to live in prison, so that the avatar could never be reincarnated."

"aang, that's horrible," katara comments. "how did you get out?"

"i'm getting to it!" a tug on the reins, and appa dips a far right. "a spirit saved me. a blue spirit, and when we were leaving, he got shot. i wanted to go back for him, but he told me to go, and i-i did, because i told him i was gonna go back for him."

"so, where are we going?"

"back to the stronghold!"

"aang, no," sokka presses. "you just got out of there. i'd rather you not wind us all up in the same situation."

"i have to go back for him." stubbornly, aang rushes appa, but pulls on the reins hard a moment later, once catching sight of the ground below. "what happened?"

the water tribe siblings, wiping the grogginess from their eyes, peer down below. there, barely standing, sits the burnt ruins of a stronghold, the wooden frame now ashes, and the soldiers and archers aang fought through--gone. "no, he can't be gone."

"what could've cause a fire like that?" katara wonders. at aang's faltering expression, she suggests, "maybe you should try the town nearby. maybe he escaped, and went there."

"i don't know," aang mumbles, but pulls the reins anyway, and turns appa around.

-------

zuko finishes the last bite of his lunch and, before he can pick up his plate, jang reaches over. with a snatch, the boy brings it to the sink with the offhand comment, "how's the shoulder, prince?"