Earth Fire and Heir chapter4

The next day, Iroh and Zuko were on their way to the Earth King's palace. Zuko looked out their cart's window, wondering if he made the right choice coming with Iroh. He couldn't get Jet off his mind. He knew he'd only be away for about a day, maybe even just a few hours, but Jet was all he could think about.

Zuko started rubbing his belly a little, not knowing what he was doing, until the baby gave a somewhat hard kick where his hand stopped. He looked down at his belly, and his uncle put his hand on his shoulder, smiling. Zuko smiled back.

---

When they were in the tea room, they waited for what seemed to be a long time.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked.

"Maybe the Earth King over slept?" Iroh said, not entirely sure.

As they pondered this, a couple dozzon men in black and green clothing came into the room.

"Something's not right." Zuko whispered to his uncle, as the men stood in front and behind them.

"It's tea time." Said a familiar, and hated girl who came in, and stood in front of them.

"Azula!" Zuko said, getting up rather fast despite his pregnancy.

"Have you met the Dai Li?" Azula asked. "They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's so firebender. I just love it!"

Iroh stood up. "Have I ever told you how I got the nickname, 'The Dragon of the West'?" he asked.

"I'm not in the mood for one of your war stories, uncle." Azula said, looking at her nails.

"It's more of a demonstration, actually." Iroh said, before taking a sip of his tea.

Zuko smirked, and quickly ducked behind his uncle, as fire spat out of his mouth, firing at all the Dai Li agents. Iroh then blue a hole in the wall, and he and Zuko ran out of it, running away from Azula and the Dai Li. Iroh shot lightning at a wall, and jumped down, landing on a bush.

"Come on!" Iroh called to his nephew. "You'll be fine!"

Zuko looked down at his uncle, and heared the people coming up behind him. He put his hand on his belly, suddenly concerned about his baby.

"I promise no harm will come to it!" Iroh called.

Zuko nodded, but before he could jump, two earth gloves grabbed him from behind, and pinned him to a wall.

Azula walked up to him, smiling her normal evil smile. "I see Ba Sing Se has made you soft." She said. She then looked at his belly. "I see Uncle's eating habits have gotten to you as well."

"Let me go!" Zuko yelled.

"No thanks." Azula said, walking away.

---

In a crystal cave, deep underground, the waterbender, Katara, was walking around, somewhat hoping for someone to save her. She saw the door that she had fallen through open.

"You have company." One of the Dai Li agents said.

Zuko struggled to get away, but the Dai Li pushed him down the small tunnel, and he rolled down, landing on his front.

'I hope the baby's okay..' he thought to himself. 'This can't get any worse...'

"Zuko!" He heared a familiar voice say to him.

He looked up at the water tribe girl he asumed was the Avatar's girlfriend. 'Apparently, it can.' he thought.

---

Iroh rushed to the Jasmine Dragon, where Jet was sweeping outside.

"Jet!" He yelped.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Jet asked. "Where's Zuko?"

"Azula and the Dai Li captured him." Iroh answered.

"What?!" Jet yelped.

"Don't panic." Iroh said. "We just need to get help."

"Right." Jet said. "And I think I know who can help us."

---

At the Avatar's home, Aang, Toph and Sokka looked around.

"There's no one here." Toph said.

"Katara is in trouble! I knew it!" Aang exclaimed.

"Oh no.." Sokka said.

"Wait," Toph said. "Someone's at the door." Aang and Sokka turned to the sound of someone knocking. "Actually," Toph continued. "I know who it is." She walked to the door. "It's an old friend of mine." She opened the door, and Iroh stood outside. "Glad to see you're okay." Toph said.

"We need your help." Iroh said.

Sokka and Aang took fighting stances.

"That won't be nessisary." Jet said, walking up next to Iroh.

"You're alive?!" Sokka said, surprised.

"Yes." Jet said. "I almost died, but I'm okay."

"Wait," Aang said. "You two know each other, Toph?!"

"I met him in the woods one day and knocked him down." Toph said. "Then he gave me tea and some very good advise."

"May I come in?" Iroh asked, smiling. Toph nodded, and Iroh along with Jet came in. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se." Iroh said.

"She must have Katara!" Aang said.

"She has captured my nephew as well." Iroh said.

"Then we'll work together to beat Azula, and save Katara and Zuko." Aang said.

"Whoa there!" Sokka said. "You lost me at 'Zuko'."

"I understand how you must feel about my nephew," Iroh said. "But believe me when I say there is good inside him."

"Good inside him isn't enough!" Sokka said. "Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?"

This angered Jet. "What do you have against Zuko?" he asked.

"Do I even need to answer that?" Sokka asked. "He's tried to kill us countless times!"

"No!" Jet yelped. "He was only trying to capture Aang so he could go home!"

"How would you know?" Sokka asked.

"Because he told me so." Jet said. "And Zuko's not after you anymore! He's changed, a lot. Trust me, I know."

"Sokka," Aang said. "Katara's in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best hope."

Sokka crossed his arms, a serious look on his face.

"We brought someone who might be able to help us." Iroh said, walking outside. There was a Dai Li agent on the porch, and Toph bended some earth, lifting him up. Jet removed the cloth from his mouth.

"Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup." The agent said. "They're going to overthrow the Earth King."

"My sister!" Sokka said. "Where are they keeping Katara?"

"And Zuko!" Jet said.

"In the crystal catacoumbs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace." the agent answered.

With that, they all left.

---

Meanwhile, in the crystal cave, Katara was standing behind Zuko, who was sitting down, facing away from here.

"Why did they throw you in here?" Katara asked. "Oh wait, let me guess. It's a trap, so that when Aang comes to save me you can finally have him in you little Fire Nation clutches."

Zuko almost turned to her, but changed his mind.

"You're a terrible person, you know that?" Katara said. "Always fallowing us, hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace?"

Zuko tried to ignore the annoyingness of her words, but then she said something that angered him.

"But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war, violence and hatred is in your blood."

"SHUT UP!!" Zuko said, standing up imediately. "I am NOTHING like him! You have no right to judge me! You have no idea what my father has put me through!"

"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, crossing her arms.

"What do you think?!" Zuko yelled. "I'm the BANISHED prince of the Fire Nation! My own FATHER thinks I'm a failure and a disgrace! So you know what he did?! He banished me, and gave me something to remember it, on my FACE!" he pointed to his scar.

Katara gasped at this. She always wondered how he got that scar, but she never imagined this.

Zuko turned away from her. "But why would you care?" he asked, no longer yelling. "You hate me as much as your friends and boyfriend do, for always trying to capture him."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "You mean Aang? He's not my boyfriend." she said.

"You sure act like it, the way you always protected him from me." Zuko said.

Katara was now, surprisingly, starting to feel guilty. She just yelled as someone who had been through as much as she had, if not more.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Katara said. "I didn't know."

"You're not sorry." Zuko said. "You're just saying that. I've tried to capture your friend so many times, but you never stopped to think about why I was doing that."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

"When my father banished me, he sent me to capture the Avatar." Zuko answered. "Only then could I return home, with my honor."

"I really am sorry." Katara said. "If you don't believe me, I understand."

Zuko sat back down, not letting the Water Tribe girl see his hand rubbing at his belly.

"Like I said," Zuko started. "You don't know what I've been through. My father scarred me, he always favored my sister over me..." Zuko let out a quivering sigh. "and my mother is gone."

Katara's eyes grew wide at this, remembering her mother had died to the Fire Nation. She walked over to Zuko, and sat down next to him.

"That's something we have in common." she said.

Zuko looked at her, his good eye slightly wet and shiny. "What?"

"Me and my brother lost our mother in a Fire Nation raid." Katara said. "You know that necklace of mine?"

Zuko nodded.

"She gave it to me. It's all I have left of her." She said, touching her necklace.

"Before my mother left," Zuko said. "she just told me to never forget who I was. That was the last time I ever saw her. I don't even know if she's still alive." he sighed. "That's what bothers me the most."

Katara put her hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't know you've been through so much."

Zuko smiled slightly. "It's okay."

Katara retutned that smile, and stood up, walking to the other side of the cave, to think.