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Rises with the Heart	By : AngelaBlythe Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 11670 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-PART I
- 2-PART II
- 3-PART III
- 4-PART IV
- 5-PART V
- 6-PART VI
- 7-PART VII
- 8-PART VIII
- 9-PART IX
- 10-PART X
- 11-PART XI
- 12-PART XII
- 13-PART XIII
- 14-PART XIV
- 15-PART XV
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RISES WITH THE HEART
IX.I
It was only after they had cleared the blockade that Zuko allowed himself to relax somewhat. He had passed the blockade several months earlier under considerably less desirable circumstances. Actually, Zuko was unsure whether passing the blockade chasing the Avatar, or passing the blockade carrying the Avatar was less desirable. At this point, everything was so muddled in his head he could barely remember his own name. All he knew was that if he couldn’t convince at least the Fire Council, he would be dead in a matter of hours. Or rotting in a cell, having failed his uncle and the Avatar.
Either way, his uncle and the Avatar would be rotting in a cell for at least the next month. Zuko wouldn’t really need to worry about their safety until Sozin’s Comet. The Fire Lord would keep them alive until then, at least. The Fire Nation was deeply rooted in tradition and symbolism. Killing the traitorous Dragon of the West on the night of Sozin’s Comet would be symbolic of the Fire Lord’s strength and the Fire Nation’s power.
He knew he had to focus on one event at a time – namely actually getting into the Fire Nation unmolested – but he couldn’t help but jump ahead. How would he get Katara, Jeong Jeong, and that annoying little earthbender into the Fire Nation once he was integrated into the Fire Council and given his birthright? Where would he hide them while they were waiting for the comet? A thousand questions burned through his thoughts. The truth was, he was more or less alone in the Fire Nation now. He had always had someone. Before her disappearance, it was his mother. During his exile, it was Iroh. Now he was entering the belly of the fire-breathing beast without so much as a casual ally. All he had was imperial pride, a traitor, and the Avatar.
For all his fear, passing the blockade was relatively uneventful. The gawking stares of unbelieving Fire Nation soldiers, and the vicious looks of the commanding officers, were more or less rebuffed by Zuko’s calm façade. He kept on reminding himself that he had to be like Azula. If he was going to appeal to father and the council, he had to act like Azula – calm, sadistic, and unrelenting. His father valued these characteristics, and abhorred failure. But was Zuko’s apparent double victory (capturing not only the Avatar but the traitorous Iroh) enough to make up for his banishment and status as a traitor?
People cheered as the imperial guard escorted Zuko through the capitol to the palace. Zuko played the part perfectly – he was the stoic, powerful, repentant-looking traitor-turned-patriot. He toted the Avatar and the Dragon of the West – not something anyone could boast lightly of. Even Azula hadn’t been able to do this. And the people loved him. Red confetti littered the sky and ground where Zuko rode. The cheers and screams and joyous music of the Fire Nation half made Zuko wish this were all real. There might have been a time when he could have become a double traitor and honestly turned in the Avatar and Iroh. But that time was long past. Azula and the Fire Lord needed to be disposed of, and Zuko would be the one to do it.
Zuko knew that word of his return would spread like wildfire once he breached the blockade. He was expecting a formal greeting from perhaps some council members, but what actually happened was more than he could have wished for. The whole of the Fire Court was present for Zuko’s homecoming. Save Azula, who was nowhere to be seen, every member of the royal family and leading lords and ladies were present, dressed in their ceremonial finery.
A band was playing loudly, horns and trumpets and drums raised above the cheering voices, and then all was silent as the Fire Lord appeared. Perhaps the most terrifying part of looking at his father was the fact that Zuko resembled him so closely. Had Zuko not been burned so horribly – by his father no less – he would have appeared to be a younger Ozai. Their eyes were the identical golden-bronze color, and their build was quite similar. True, Azula might have more of their mother’s ‘prettiness,’ but Zuko was far more akin to his mother than father. It was startling to see the similarities, though. Zuko had become a man over the last three years in exile. He might get a little taller, or fill out a bit more, but he wasn’t much smaller than his father.
The Fire Lord raised his hands for quiet, his strong lips frowning regally. He wore red and gold, and the three-pronged crown that symbolized his status as Fire Lord of the Fire Nation was perched over his topknot. “Why have you returned, son?” he boomed in a great voice.
“I have returned to restore my honor, Fire Lord!” Zuko responded, taking a knee and bowing his head. “I have captured the Avatar and the Traitor for the glory of the Fire Nation.”
Zuko stood and turned to his two prisoners cruelly. He had supplied both with bruises and slight burns the other day so they would look like actual fugitives. Sneering, Zuko backhanded his uncle and pulled the chains around both his and the Avatar’s necks. “Bow before the Fire Lord!”
Both Iroh and Aang fell to the ground. Unable to brace himself with his manacled hands, the Avatar fell on his face, but Iroh kept balance on his knees. Sadly, Zuko couldn’t relent. He put his foot on his uncle’s shoulder and pushed him on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko could see his father’s lip twitch in satisfaction. “Traitor,” Zuko spat, sneering viciously at his uncle.
“The Fire Nation welcomes you, Prince Zuko,” the Fire Lord said heartily. Zuko noted that it was the Fire Nation, not the Fire Lord, that welcomed him.
Zuko couldn’t say he expected this, or even that he met this surprise warmly. He could only conclude that the Fire Council had already met and decided their stance concerning the renegade prince and what image they wanted to promote. Zuko had pushed their hand with his overtly public entrance and display of prisoners. He held no illusions that his father wanted him back. He probably didn’t even need him back, not even as a symbol. For all his father cared, Zuko could have disappeared as a bad rumor in the Earth Kingdom, and it would be better if he never came back. But since he WAS back, the Fire Lord, and the Fire Council, couldn’t ignore him. Public opinion of Zuko would be high, as Zuko had framed himself as a repentant son looking to make good his past mistakes. He had ‘captured the Avatar and the Traitor for the glory of the Fire Nation.’ Not for himself, not for the Fire Lord, but for the FIRE NATION.
The Fire Lord made slight gesture for Zuko to join him on the dais. Zuko pulled the Avatar and Iroh along behind him, making sure they were on their knees. “My son has returned!” Fire Lord Ozai bellowed. “He has given us not only the Avatar,” there was a deafening roar, “but also the traitorous Dragon of the West!” There was another roar, and the crowd calmed under his hand. “Tonight, there shall be celebration!”
The crowd cheered again, their screams and hollers accompanied by fanfare and red confetti. The Fire Lord bathed in their adoration for a moment, then entered the palace gates with a snapping cape. Someone grabbed Zuko’s arm (probably so he wouldn’t be tempted to speak to the people of the capitol) and directed him to follow his father. The captain of the guard took the two prisoners, and Zuko didn’t dare give them a look as they parted. It might be a while before he saw his uncle, but he couldn’t risk revealing himself with affection.
When Zuko caught up with the Fire Lord it was before the full Fire Council in the throne room. His father was seated on the Burning Throne, looking terrifying as usual. Zuko stood proudly before the council, then knelt on one knee, his opposite fist on the ground. He waited a long while for his father to speak, and nearly jumped when he finally did.
“Make no mistake, Zuko,” the Fire Lord growled. “You walk on thin ice. The Fire Council and I have decided that you are restored as a prince of the Fire Nation, but you have no power, and you are not my heir. Your presence is merely tolerated, and you are under house arrest. As soon as this war is over, you will likely join my traitorous brother and the Avatar in jail.” He looked angrily at his council. Zuko knew then, that the ‘Council and I’ comment was just the council. “Now leave.”
Zuko could live with house arrest. For now. He was given his old rooms back. The furniture was sheathed in sheets, but otherwise clean. He had his old clothes stocked in his dressers and closets, and his huge, four-poster bed filled the center of the room. The man who led him to his rooms was a minister named Rakun, and he was hopelessly talkative. He had been assigned as a kind of babysitter, along with a group of six firebending guards. Rakun’s job was probably to report everything Zuko did to the Fire Lord. Jeong Jeong and Iroh had warned him that Zuko would no longer have any privacy. He would have spies watching him twenty-four hours a day, and he would go nowhere, save his room, unattended.
The first part of his mission was over. He had successfully infiltrated the palace, regained his title (nominally), and stayed alive. Next, perhaps the most difficult part of his mission, was to rise in power within the council, and sneak his companions into the capitol.
Zuko sighed as he fell into his feathery, red four-poster. Tonight, he would probably not sleep.
IX.II
Zuko did as Jeong Jeong and Iroh suggested. He made use of his princely privileges to act every bit the prince he was. After attending the celebration in honor of the capture of Iroh and the Avatar, Zuko made sure he was at every royal dinner. Though he didn’t speak unless spoken to, he acted the prince with a straight back and frowning, quiet arrogance.
He also trained from dawn to dusk. He worked his way through several squadrons of firebenders a day, defeating them singly or in groups. Often he was watched by members of the Fire Council, and sometimes even engaged in light conversation. After dinner he would go to the palace Fire Temple and meditate publicly in front of the Fire Mages. When he was resting from training he would often watch the drilling of soldiers. He knew many of the commanding officers from his youth and exile. They were the ones he engaged in conversation; they were the ones he focused on. As important as it was for him to infiltrate the Fire Council and gain the confidence of its members, it was equally as important for him to appear to have an interest in the military and get to know the officers. He asked them of their campaigns, got to know their names and top soldiers, talked about the superior officers, and even got to know them personally.
In these ways he created his image. Jeong Jeong and Iroh said the ideal prince was a powerful bender, a spiritual bender, and a strong leader. Zuko tried in every way he knew and his advisors suggested to look and act as if he belonged, like a prince, not a traitor, and no longer an exile. It was a little over a week of these princely exercises that Zuko was approached by someone who would become his ticket into the army and the Fire Council.
General Shu was an elderly man – old, really. He had been in the Earth Kingdom for longer than Zuko had been alive – a little over thirty years – and had taken countless cities, killed numerous soldiers, and was a powerful bender. He was a tall man who walked with a strong limp, and had large white sideburns and a mane of long white hair. He – more than any other member of the Fire Council – watched Zuko. He often observed the young prince during his training sessions – observed silently. Some of the council members tried to engage Zuko in conversation, tested him, but Shu only watched.
“Boy,” the old general growled as Zuko passed him with a nod of respect. Zuko stopped, annoyed at the informal address. Had he not been in the position he was in, he might have reprimanded the man.
“General Shu,” Prince Zuko replied with another curt nod.
Shu squinted his eyes at him and then frowned. “Tonight, you sit beside me at the table.”
Zuko nodded again, repressing a tight smile. Shu frowned again and then stalked away without so much as a farewell. Zuko did as the old general requested, and took the seat directly next to General Shu. Shu was second in military supremacy only to War Minister Qing, who was currently laying siege to Ba Sing Se. His age took him out of the Earth Kingdom, but he was a premier advisor to the Fire Lord. He was exactly the kind of man Zuko needed to convince of his loyalty to the Fire Nation.
Shu did not engage Zuko in conversation that night, and Zuko made no attempt either. However, at the end of the meal, Shu gave him a hard look and told him that the next night, he would again sit at his side. So again, Zuko sat next to the old general in silence the following night. And the night after that. On the fourth night, Shu looked at Zuko and said, “You’re kind of hard to get rid of, aren’t you, boy?”
Zuko inhaled angrily, forcing himself into a state of relative clarity. “I only wish to prove my worth and my loyalty,” Zuko replied solemnly, trying to sound repentant.
“Well, you don’t fool me, boy,” the general barked, slurping noodles rudely. “I know what you want.”
Zuko frowned.
“Well, you’ve got it,” the grizzly man growled. “Captain Zuko.”
Zuko dropped his jaw and turned incredulously to General Shu. “Captain Zuko?”
“The thing is,” General Shu explained, “you’re popular. You’re young, powerful, and you don’t run your mouth…anymore.” Shu laughed. He was present the day Zuko had made his fateful mistake, and even for the Agni Kai that gave him his burn scar. “Because of public appeal, the pressure to get you into public view has outweighed the Fire Lord’s ire. He thinks you can be useful in the final campaign, if as nothing more than a curiosity.”
“Maybe they should call me Captain Curiosity then,” Zuko said sourly.
General Shu barked a laugh. “Shouldn’t say such a catchy name in this company, boy. It’ll stick.”
Zuko almost smirked at his own wit.
“Of course, your title is mostly for show, and you won’t go to Ba Sing Se with the other officers. You’ll never leave this island for as long as you live.”
After the dinner had ended, Zuko reflected those words for a long time. For some reason they struck a cord of truth within him. He probably would never leave this island again. Either he would die or be made Fire Lord. And then die. But he would never see the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes, or travel or be free. He was a captive almost as much as the Avatar and his uncle.
Zuko had given up trying to get a message to Katara and Jeong Jeong. They would just have to find their way to the Fire Nation on their own. Zuko had his own problems, and they began in earnest when he took a survey of his regiment. His lieutenants were firebenders, but the rest of the soldiers were glorified footmen. Their previous captain had been a drunkard and a lecher, and the regiment had spent a lot of time doing nothing in small Earth Kingdom towns.
The incident with his First Lieutenant spoke volumes. Lieutenant Lee was generally a lazy man, and he kept a lazy drill routine. Zuko was determined to rise in the ranks and gain genuine power. Lee was a bit of an obstacle. In fact, the whole regiment was a test. Zuko should have known that Shu wouldn’t have just ‘given’ him anything. This was a test, just as the dinners had been a test, just as everything was a test now. Unfortunately for Lee, Zuko was relentless and stubborn, and had no reason to respect a lazy officer.
“Maybe you can explain to me why it is several hours after dawn and your troop has yet to begin drills, Lieutenant Lee,” Zuko said softly when he had finished his appraisal of his first three lieutenants.
“Well,” Lee mumbled, not even saluting his commanding officer, “today’s Friday, and on Fridays I generally give the boys a bit of a sleep in.”
Zuko nodded and brushed past his Lieutenant Lazy. “I see, Lieutenant.” Zuko paused, admiring the new weaponry his regiment had been given – on account of Zuko being royalty. “Lieutenant,” Zuko began again, not looking at the unfortunate Lee, who obviously didn’t realize the fine line he walked. “Are you aware of my favorite day of the week?”
Lee sniffed. “Can’t say I’m familiar, sir,” he replied.
“It’s Sunday, Lieutenant. Sunday morning, to be precise. Before dawn. Do you know why this is, Lieutenant?” Zuko asked.
Lee must have had some inkling about what was coming, for he straightened his shoulders and began sounding terribly respectful. “No, sir.”
Zuko turned on Lee with a cruel smile. “Because I get to spend it watching my friends – my best friends – complete latrine duty. For the whole battalion.” Zuko paused. “And do you know who my best friends are, Lieutenant Lee?”
“No, sir.”
Zuko made a pained face. “That’s disappointing, Lieutenant. To think, my good friend Lieutenant Lee not knowing that he – and his fellow officers – were my best friends.” Zuko smiled again. Lieutenant Lee would do well to avoid making Zuko smile. “I expect the whole regiment ready for latrine duty on Sunday morning, Lieutenant Lee. Before sun up.”
“Yes, sir,” Lee replied stiffly to Zuko’s back.
After Zuko reported the change of duties to his higher ups on the command staff, Zuko spent the rest of the day training and meditating. Since Shu had not told Zuko to sit anywhere different, Zuko took his place next to the old general, who looked somewhat pleased that evening.
That Sunday, however, was Zuko’s first true victory. His regiment lined up for him that Sunday morning before dawn, unpleasant looks on their faces, and began digging and emptying latrines. Not too long after they began, Zuko joined them in their misery. When mid-morning had passed and they were not yet done, Zuko allowed for a short break and noticed he had something of an audience. General Shu had stopped to watch the proceedings.
IX.III
They were an odd trio – three powerful benders of three different countries, practicing three different disciplines, with three distinctly different personalities. The only way their grouping could be considered more eccentric would be if they were spontaneously joined by an airbender and a spirit from the Spirit World. So far there were no more outbursts from Toph, but Katara noticed the chilly atmosphere in the cave that served as their home. Toph was heinously rude, and Jeong Jeong was viciously aloof. Katara was caught in the middle.
A few days after Zuko left, rumors reached her ears (she and Toph worked in the market for an elderly lady selling fruits) that the exiled prince of the Fire Nation had returned to the Fire Nation with two hostages. It was not often clear who the other prisoner was, but everyone agreed that the Avatar was one. Katara had never seen so much chatter and loss of hope in the people as she had during those days. Everyone had an opinion; everyone had a comment. She’d heard of no official response from either the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribes, but she hoped fervently that Sokka had succeeded in locating the leaders of both nations.
Toph and Katara acquired food and other supplies with the money they received, and Jeong Jeong requested candles. Mostly he just sat in the cave and meditated. He was the only one who was featured in wanted posters, and Katara knew he couldn’t be captured no matter what. Toph called him lazy.
Katara knew she was expecting a lot out of Zuko, but if word didn’t reach them within the next week, they were going to be forced to try to infiltrate the Fire Nation capitol themselves. It was completely possible that Zuko couldn’t complete the task they had set out for him. Katara hoped this wasn’t the case, however.
It was a week later that Jeong Jeong made the decision. “We have to leave,” he said calmly as Katara spooned soup into his bowl.
“Yah,” Toph said controversially, “how?”
Jeong Jeong didn’t bother with his usual superior look. Toph was blind after all. “We’re going to have to disguise ourselves as travelers. I can forge official documents well enough, if you get me ink and paper. With all the commotion of Sozin’s Comet, a lot of immigrants from the Fire Nation will be returning home… We’ll pass through relatively unnoticed.”
Toph grunted. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we don’t exactly look like we’re from the Fire Nation. Both Katara’s and my eyes are the wrong color.”
Katara could tell Jeong Jeong was just itching to barb her with the knowing what people from the Fire Nation looked like – or even Katara and herself looked like. “We’ll disguise you two as blind girls that are my granddaughters or something. Wrap a cloth around your eyes and no one will ever know the difference.”
It was a decent plan, and when Katara had bought the proper colors and papers, Jeong Jeong drew up some phony documentation. Katara also purchased some red and pink clothes for them all to wear, and studied the hairstyles that Fire Kingdom girls tended to wear. After Jeong Jeong’s head was shaved, leaving nothing but his catfish whiskers, Katara wrapped blindfolds over her eyes and Toph’s. With full packs and falsified papers, they made their way to the docks to find a Fire Nation ship that carried passengers. Katara knew Toph wasn’t hot about getting on a ship again, but they didn’t have a lot of options.
“Let me see your papers, old man,” the pompous soldier requested snidely. Though Katara couldn’t see it, she heard him mumbling over the documentation. “These papers are old,” the soldier said. “Pretty old…why did you say you left the Fire Nation?”
Jeong Jeong sounded feeble. “My son and his wife left with the older girl, their daughter. They both died, however, and word reached me in the capitol. The girl is my granddaughter, and the other is the daughter of a friend. They were caught in a barn fire and both were blinded.”
The soldier mumbled again. “Really? Both of them?”
Jeong Jeong grabbed Toph by the arm. “Huan, come here.” He pulled the wrap away from her eyes and tilted her head up.
The soldier mumbled something and sent them onto the ship. They soon set sail for the longest journey Katara had ever taken.
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Rises with the Heart