We get off the ship on the walkway and Zuko has is serious look on his face.
"Uncle, I want repairs as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay to long and risk losing his tail." he tells Iroh.
"Don't you mean the Avatar?" he asks his nephew uninterested.
"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!" Zuko yells at us.
"Get in the way of what, Prince Zuko" a man asks him. He wears a Fire Nation uniform, has sideburns, and looks as though he's in his mid to late 40s.
"Captain Zhao." The Prince said with dislike in his voice while crossing his arms.
"It's commander now." Zhao tells him with a smirk on his face. I heard about him. He was one of the most respected members of the Fire Nation military.
He stares at me, admiring my beauty. I'm not even surprised, everyone that I know admires my attractiveness. Especially boys from my school that have either tried to hit on me or ask me out for 'special events'. But the way Zhao ogled at me started to creep me out. I don't even want to imagine what's on his mind.
He slightly bowed in Iroh's direction. "General Iroh. Great hero of our nation."
Iroh bows back. "Retired General."
"The Fire Lord's brother,son, and soldier are welcomed guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?" Zhao tells/asks us.
"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh gestures towards the ship, that has been almost destroyed by the Avatar.
"That's quite a bit of damaged." Zhao replied in a fake sympathetic tone.
"Yes." Zuko holds up his index finger, while Iroh and I stare disinterested in front of him."You wouldn't believe what happened." He glances at us, and angrily commands the two of us as he gestures at Zhao. Uncle! Akira! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Iroh looked surprised at Zuko addressing him. "Yes. we will do that." He happily holds up his hands on air and relates enthusiastically.
"It's was incredible! What did we crash or something?" He asks his nephew the last part.
Zuko looks uncomfortably at us. "Yes! Right into... an Earth Kingdom ship!"
I support his lie. "That's right! When we crashed into their ship, the Earth Kingdom soldiers got really pissed and decided to fight us out if revenge! But we beat them flawlessly and they retreated!" Okay, 2 things. One, I never cursed (unless angered) and two, the crash-into-an-Earth-Kingdom-ship-and-got-into-a-fight story isn't true. If it was, then our ship would have been more damaged than it is right now.
"Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details." Zhao said smirking while he gets into Zuko's face."Join me for a drink?"
Zuko avoids the former Captain's face and begins to walk away. "Sorry, but we have to go"
Zhao smiles evilly at him as he starts to walk away, but after a few steps, Iroh stops him in his tracks by placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." Iroh removes his hand from Zuko's shoulder as he faces Zhao while Zuko just slants his eyes. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."
Iroh and Zhao walk off. Zuko grunts in anger upon hearing Iroh's tea comment and angrily firebends a small arc out of annoyance as he and I turn to walk after them.
We are in a huge tent that is being guarded by two Fire Nation soldiers. Zhao stands in front of a large map of other nations that is hung up on the wall. He holds his hands behind his back.
"And by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule." Zhao proclaims as Zuko, sits at a table, and Iroh stands in the corner looking at some weapons that are placed against the wall, I I kneel on a zabuton, drinking green tea. He turns around. "The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!" Zuko yell angrily.
Zhao pulls up alongside Zuko and smirks. "Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"
Iroh knocks over a weapon display behind them. The weapons come crashing down with a lot of noise. The former general cowers at the noise and the damage he wrecked. Zhao turns around looking annoyed.
"Eh.. My fault, entirely." Iroh says nervously as he places his hands in his sleeves and walks away backward with a faint smile on his face.
"We haven't found him yet." Zuko denies aggressively.
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago. Along with the rest of the airbenders. Unless you have found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?" Zhao tells him
Zuko faces Zhao and responds very clearly. "No. Nothing."
Zhao expresses a look of disbelief and he rises from his chair.
"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war." He leans in and faces the Prince.
"If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."
Zuko looks up at Zhao and his tone becomes slightly more aggressive.
"I haven't found anything. It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. He gets up from his chair "Come on Uncle and Akira we're going."
As Zuko approaches the door and get I was about to follow him , the guards crossed their spears in front of the exit to preventing him from leaving while a third soldier enters the room, walking up to Zhao.
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape." He informs him.
Zhao smiles evilly. "Now remind me," Zhao walks up to Zuko and leans over to talk his ear. Zuko slants his eyes." How, exactly, was your ship damaged?
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Zuko sits on a chair being flanked by 2 Fire Nation guards, explaining how the Avatar escaped despite our efforts to stop him. Zhao paces back and forth in front of him.
"So a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders." Zhao stops pacing. "You're more pathetic than I thought."
"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again!" Zuko claims angrily
Zhao
"No, it will not. Because you won't have a second chance." Zhao tells him.
"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I -"
Over Zuko's shoulder, Zhao angrily turns around and firebends a spread that turns into an arc.
"And you failed!" He walks intimidatingly up to Zuko.
"Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."
Zuko's face contorts with anger and he jumps at Zhao. Before Zuko can reach the commander, however, he is held back by the two guards.
"Keep them here." Zhao orders them.
Zhao walks away, leaving a very pissed off Zuko. Despite having his arms held behind him, he kicks the table in front of Iroh, breaking it clean in half, sending the objects that were on it flying through the room in the process. I walk towards the angry Prince to calm him down.
"More tea, please." Iroh asks calmly with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Looks likes there's a spark of rivalry between a banished Prince and a former Captain who seems to have a fetish for me, despite the fact that he's a middle-aged man and I'm 15.
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Me, Iroh, and Zuko sit on chair in the middle of the tent. Zhao pushes the cloths aside that serve as tent doors and enters.
"My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go.
"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko asks him angrily
Zhao starts to laugh out loud. "You? Stop me? Impossible."
Zuko angrily gets up. "Don't underestimate me, Zhao! I will capture the Avatar before you!"
Iroh gets up as well. "Prince Zuko, that's enough." he tells him sternly.
I also get up from my chair. "You're only making our situation worse than it has to be!"
"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you." Zhao tells Zuko arrogantly.
"You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor, and restore my rightful place on the throne!" Zuko retorted angrily.
If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation.
"That's not true."
"You have the scar to prove it."
With a cry of frustration, Zuko jolts up out of his chair and gets into Zhao's face. The two stare at each other in anger.
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko yells at him furiously
"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asks him mockingly.
"An Agni Kai. At sunset." Zuko proposes.
"Very well." Zhao erects himself.
"It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. He turns around. "I guess your uncle and your girlfriend will do."
My eyes widen in embarrassment.
"She isn't my girlfriend!" Zuko shouts at him.
Zhao rolls his eyes and walks away.
"Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?" Iroh asks him in concern.
"I will never forget." Zuko says darkly. I myself will also never forget the last time Zuko dueled 'a master' in an Agni Kai.
At the Fire Nation arena, Zhao is squatting down. He is bare-chested and barefoot and wears a cape over his shoulders. Zuko squats the same way in front of Iroh and is dressed in the same attire.
"Remember your firebending basics Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons." Iroh instructs him.
"I refuse to let him win." Zuko tells in determinedly.
Zuko stands up and turns around. The cape drops from his shoulder and I blushed. I can't help but gawk at his strong, athletic, but toned upper body. On the other side of the arena, Zhao also rises and turns around; his garment swivels down as well.
"This will be over quickly." He whispers confidently
A Fire Nation soldier standing on higher grounds. He sees that the duo has readied themselves for battle, so he rings a large gong. Zuko and Zhao stand in the middle of the arena, both taking on a firebending stance. Zuko has his hands stretched out in front of him, glaring at Zhao. Zhao stands the same as Zuko. The screen splits; the upper pane is a close-up of Zhao's eyes and slowly slides to the left, the lower is a close-up of Zuko's eyes and slowly slides to the right.
Zuko starts to lower his arms, leaving a trail of fire behind, directing a strong fire blast at Zhao. Zhao moves to the left, out of the way of the blast before moving back to the right to avoid another blast. The prince shoots two more strong blasts at Zhao. Zhao crosses his arms in front of him and takes the blasts head on. He moves one arm up and the other down, dissipating the flames. He smirks at Zuko, who is seen panting heavily with his arm still stretched out from his last attack. He angrily grinds his teeth and performs a roundhouse kick, spraying flames at him. Zhao creates his own flames to push away Zuko's blazing attack. He performs his trick again. Zuko, squints his eyes and directs another powerful flame kick in Zhao's direction. Zhao smile as holds his own fire ready. He launches forward and swings his arms over the ground, severing Zuko's next attack. Zhao seems unfazed by Zuko's attacks. Zuko pants heavily with fatigue. I cup my hands to my mouth and Iroh holds his fist up, while rooting for his nephew.
"Basics Zuko! Break his root!" he yells to him.
"Knock his block off!" I cheered
Zhao ferociously attacks Zuko with a strong fire blast. Zuko is thrown back a bit by the force of the attack while he diverts the flames to both of his sides. Zhao takes a step forward. He directs another powerful blast at the prince, using both his arms this time. Zuko is thrown back again, but still diverts the fire away from him. Zhao takes another step forward and fires again with the same result on Zuko's side. Zhao firmly plants his foot down, holding both of his wrists together and fires another strong blast. Zuko is thrown back upon impact and slides back several meters over the ground. He lifts his head while grunting in pain. His expression turns to one of shock as he looks up and sees that Zhao has jumped up and is soaring through the skies toward him. With a loud scream, he lands at Zuko's feet, erects himself and thrusts his fist forward to deliver the final blow. I look in horror as the fire is inches from Zuko's face. Zuko's eyes, which open wide in fear as the fire reflects in them. At the last possible second, Zuko rolls out of the way and swirls his feet around. He gets up in this swirl, swipes Zhao's legs from underneath him. Zuko plants his feet as he firmly plants them on the ground. He smirks confidently and steps forward, sliding fire at Zhao's feet, who steps back. Zhao is caught off balance and wobbles backward. Zuko keeps repeating his move, directing his attacks at Zhao's feet in an attempt to throw him off balance.
Zhao falls back in distress and Iroh smiles approvingly while I shoat "Oh Yeah!".
Zuko directs a powerful kick at his adversary. Zhao barely pushes it out of the way while staggering back ever further. Zuko kicks again and this time he succeeds in knocking the commander over. Zhao falls down and rolls over on the ground, where he ends up on his back. Zuko runs up at him and threatens him with an outstretched arm, ready to deliver the final blow. Zhao brings his head up and looks at Zuko.
"Do it!" he challenged.
Zuko grunts and thrusts his fist forward, emitting another fie blast. I gasp in in shock. Did he just burned him? He erects himself and I see a black spot next to Zhao's face.
"That's it? Your father raised a coward." Zhao tells him in a disappointed tone.
"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back." Zuko warns him. He turns his back to Zhao and starts to walk away.
Zhao gets up with his back facing Zuko. He suddenly turns around and aims a powerful firebending kick at Zuko, spreading his flames. Before Zuko notices anything, however, Iroh intervenes and grabs Zhao's foot, dissipating the fire. Iroh tosses Zhao back who slides away on his back. Zuko wants to charge Zhao in anger, but Iroh stops him.
"No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory." Iroh tells him and turns to face Zhao with a look of disapprovement.
"So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you." Zuko looks at Iroh upon hearing those last words.
"Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious."
The 2 of us walk towards the gate of the arena. Zhao partially erects himself, with his left arm resting on his left knee, and grunts as he watches us leave.
"Did you really mean that Uncle?" Zuko asks Iroh softly.
Iroh smiles slyly while glancing at his nephew. "Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite."
Zuko smiles a bit as we walk towards the ship. I turn around to face him as we are about the walk on the walkway.
"Hey, you did great today." I said.
"Really? Thanks." He replies
"I just want to lets you know that whatever happens on this journey I'll alway be by your side. Through in and threw out." I tell him.
"That one the the things that I admire about you."
Zuko and I walk up the walkway and onto the ship were the Helmsman starts the ship and it moves. Our adventure has just begun.