Disclaimer - I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I never will, either. Are we good? Good.

A.N. I hope you guys like this chapter. I got very little response for the last chapter, so I gather that either it was really bad, or I lost most of my readers in the huge gap between that chapter and the one before it. I apologize for the gap once again; this story is becoming harder and harder to write. I refuse to completely give up on any story, but the gaps between chapters get larger and larger, and I am sorry for that.

OooOooOooOooO (With Zuko and Sokka)

The banished Fire Nation prince and the Water Tribe peasant rowed through the rough ocean waves together. Both were worrying about the same girl, and both were hoping to get to her before it was too late. There was silence in the small boat commandeered from Zuko's ship; there was nothing to talk about.

Trust was a little lacking between the nations, and so it was between the boys. The only reason that Sokka had not attempted to kill Zuko was because he needed the Prince's help to rescue Katara. Surprisingly, Zuko held very little actual animosity for the Water Tribe boy; he was Katara's brother, and if he wanted to maintain their friendship, the boy was off-limits.

These were the thoughts that filled the rower's heads as they traversed the waters searching for a proverbial needle in a haystack. Soon enough, smoke was spotted on the horizon, and hope bloomed in the hearts that beat faster at the thought of the rescue in store.

OooOooOooOooO (With Katara)

Katara listened carefully to ensure that there were no approaching footsteps to ruin her plan. Once she was sure of her relative safety, she streamed the extra water she was keeping onto the door. It took most of her concentration to hold it in a ball around the lock, but she used the rest of her energy to freeze it there with a breath. Once the ball was complete, she sat down hard to recuperate.

'Well, it looks like being kidnapped by Zuko is the best thing to happen to my bending in years. I'm learning all kinds of new tricks,' she thought sarcastically as she forced herself to stand. Just then, the clank of boots echoed in the hallway. 'Looks like I'd better get a move on,' she goaded herself. The Waterbender centered herself and stood silent and unmoving for a moment before lunging forward and swinging her foot around to slam into the ice-covered lock.

It shattered, and Katara allowed herself a grin of celebration. Then she unfroze the water from the wall by thinking of heat, which was easy; she thought of Zuko. The water melted and fell under her confident control once more. She used one hand to hold the water up, and she supped her ear with the other to listen to the footsteps. As they stopped in front of her cell door, she shoved it with all of her strength. It slammed open with a thud as it met the forehead of the unfortunate guard on the other side.

Katara peeked out to make sure that the man was unconscious before running with quiet steps down the hallway as her water trailed behind her.

OooOooOooOooO (With Iroh)

The Dragon of the West was worried. After his nephew had run off to attend to the Water Tribe boy, Iroh had continued to fight. He was aging, however, and he wasn't as much use as he had used to be. Fortunately, the fighting ended nearly immediately after Zuko vanished. Iroh spent the next hour or so helping the medic tend to the wounded in the infirmary. As he finished patching up one soldier's arm, Lieutenant Jee came sprinting into the room.

"Are you injured?" Iroh asked worriedly. It seemed to him that there was a rather unnerving air of urgency around the Lieutenant, and that could not be good. Jee shook his head quickly and gestured that the General should follow him. As the pair made their way to the deck, Jee explained the happenings of the last hour, and Iroh grew more and more uneasy.

"Zuko has gone to challenge Zhao?" He questioned as Jee completed his tale. "Has he learned nothing from me?"

"I do not believe that he is planning on challenging the Admiral. He simply seemed to be planning on kidnapping Miss Katara back without alerting anyone to his presence. I think Miss Katara would be most helpful and welcoming in this endeavor, so I have little doubt towards its success," Jee replied fairly calmly. "I simply came to inform you that you were in charge and to ask you for instructions. What would you have us do, General?"

OooOooOooOooO (With Zhao)

Zhao awoke in his cabin with a terrible headache and several unpleasant burns, but those were easily ignored in the face of his fury. 'That little brat is going to pay, and so will that wench. I'll get them if it takes me years; they'll never see the pain coming.' His thoughts were vicious and cruel, but that had never bothered him, and it certainly didn't now. After a moment, he realized that he was on his ship and it seemed to be moving.

He slammed out of his room and to the bridge in a righteous fury. "Who called the retreat?! Whose orders are you following, you worthless maggots?!" He shouted as he stalked into the room. The soldiers there all flinched, but one managed to speak through his mortal terror.

"Kari ordered the retreat, sir, after he captured the girl. You were injured, and thought it best to cut our losses."

Zhao was about to send a fire-blast at the man when he registered the full meaning of the statement. "He captured the girl? Where is she, and why was I not informed?!" He growled.

The man flinched even further, but he knew that answering was the best course of action now. "Kari had her placed in the holding cells for your convenience, and you were still unconscious when all of these things transpired, sir."

"Very well. Send for Kari, and have someone fetch the girl. I believe there is an interrogation warranted."

OooOooOooOooO (With Zuko and Sokka)

As the two boys finally pulled up alongside the ship they had been chasing for an hour, a loud crashing sound echoed from the bowels of the metal beast.

"Think that came from the holding cells?" Sokka inquired with a small smile.

"Undoubtedly," Zuko replied with a wolfish grin. "I believe that that would be our signal. Let's move."

The Prince quickly grabbed the rope from the bottom of the craft and tied a lasso. Sokka gave him a nod, and the boy threw it high onto the ship. It looped around a hook on the rail, and Zuko tugged it to tightness. He flashed his companion a thumbs up before clambering up the rope. His agility allowed him to do this rather quickly, and he reached the deck long before Sokka.

When at last both boys were present, they gave each other a look and headed for the door to the stairs. All Fire Nation ships were built roughly the same, meaning that if you knew your way around one, you knew them all, so Zuko lead the way. As he swung the door open, an alarm sounded.

Sokka shot Zuko a furious glare, and the boy raised his hands in surrender to convey the message that this wasn't his fault. As the rescuers paused to think about their next step, and door flew open and someone came running out.

OooOooOooOooO

A.N. Well, there you have it. I apologize again for the wait. Normally I would ask you to review, but I don't really deserve it, so I won't. I do hope that you liked it, though.