The Unfortunate Adventures of Fire Lord Zuko

Part Three – Si Wong Desert

It had been easy enough to get over to the Earth Kingdom mainland. A boat had ferried Zuko the short distance between the northern landmass on which Ba Sing Sei was located, and the vaster southern continent.

Having completed the first leg of his journey, the Fire Lord found himself at a small port just a stone's throw away from the Si Wong Desert trying to barter a ship to take him to the South Pole. Unfortunately the number ships going that far south were few and far between. Resigning himself to the idea of getting a ship further down the coast and trying his luck there, Zuko pulled out some coins to buy a ticket.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Turning, Zuko came face to face with a tall man wearing dusty brown robes.

The man smiled at him. "I couldn't help but hear that you want to get to the South?"

"That's right." Zuko nodded, instantly wary.

The man seemed to recognise his expression and chuckled. "Don't worry I just wanted to make you an offer. That," he jerked a thumb at the idling ship. "Will take you down the eastern coast of the Earth kingdom. It's a long trip."

"And you have a better idea?"

"Actually I do." The man pointed to a group of similarly dressed people stood close to where the dirt of the floor began to fade in to sand. Past them Zuko could see what looked like a wooden boat resting on the sand.

Zuko raised an eyebrow at the man and he smiled. "Sand-sailer. Us Sandbenders use them to get around the desert all the time. We've recently decided it would be a good idea to start ferrying people across the desert, what with the war over and more people travelling about these days."

Zuko eyed the vehicles dubiously.

"They're quick." The man assured. "We'll get you to the southern edge of the desert in half the time that ship would, and we'll do it for half the price."

Zuko considered it. While he could not deny that travelling through the Si Wong Desert would be a lot quicker than going around it, he was also aware of the Sandbender's reputation. Once he'd joined the Avatar's group he had heard all about the time Appa had been stolen and the subsequent trouble the group had encountered.

On the other hand, he would be going in prepared and importantly he had no exotic beasts for people to steal. Zuko was a formidable fighter and could see no harm in going as long as he kept his wits about him.

"Deal." Zuko threw a handful of gold coins towards the man who caught the metal disks smoothly.

"Excellent. As soon as you're ready to leave we'll be off."

Zuko followed after the man and joined the group by the sand-sailer. He had eyed the contraption with a keen eye, taking in the runners resting in the sand and the pooled square of fabric that was used to push the craft forward. It looked sturdy enough although undeniably less comfortable than any ship he'd been on.

Climbing aboard, Zuko stood out of the way of the men at the front of the sailer who bent the sand in to a small twister and he watched as the cloth between the runners inflated with the generated wind. The vessel gave a lurch before beginning to glide smoothly across the sand. Zuko turned and watched a the ramshackle port disappeared swiftly from view.

Though the desert was not his favourite place to be travelling to, he wished to reach the Southern Water Tribe as quickly as possible.

The group made good progress through the day.

Zuko watched as the compass guiding the sand-sailer spun round to point backwards as they passed the Shi Wong Rock and knew they had travelled over halfway by the time they settled down to camp for the night.

Zuko had been hoping to make the whole trip in one leg but there was little he could do. The Sandbender tribe pulled out materials for impromptu tents and a fire pit was easily provided by the Fire Lord.

Zuko was surprised when he was passed a share of the food for the evening but accepted it with thanks. The meal consumed in relative quiet and Zuko had almost finished his food when the leader of the tribesmen offered him a drink.

Zuko sniffed the contents of the small cup that had been pressed in to his hand and frowned. "What is it?"

"A desert specialty." The man laughed. "It will do you no harm, I assure you. It breaks up the monotony of drinking only water quite nicely."

Under the expect eyes of the Sandbenders, Zuko took a small sip and was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing taste. He finished the rest of the liquid without further hesitation and sighed happily, a heavy feeling spreading through his limbs. The Fire Lord was unable to worry about why the now-smirking man's face before him was fading in and out of focus.

Zuko was flying. And not that fake look-at-me-I'm-on-a-bison flying, but honest to Agni soaring through the sky.

Zuko was so good at flying that he was doing it on his back, eyes facing up towards the blue sky and the bright sun. Waving happily at the sun – because really, what self-respecting Firebender didn't love that big old ball of gas? – Zuko suddenly realised that he would quite like to look at the world below as he flew past.

Attempting to roll on to his stomach, Zuko was a little perturbed when a hand grasped his shoulder.

"Whoa there!" Looking back up, Zuko could see a woman flying next to him.

Zuko thought that she was better at it than him – she was sat up and flying all at once which was very impressive. She looked rather familiar but wasn't the blue-eyed girl he had been looking for... maybe the blue-eyed girl was hiding in the bright blue sky? Maybe he could go up and check? Willing his body to change direction and head upwards, Zuko concentrated, his face screwing up.

"Hey you're not going to throw up are you?"

Zuko had forgotten the other girl was here. He blinked at her and raised a hand – he giggled at how funny all three of his hands looked – and used the middle hand to poke a finger in to the girl's nose.

She did not look happy. "Okay, time for you to sober up."

The words meant nothing to Zuko but suddenly he was no longer flying and was instead falling. He had just decided that it might be an appropriate time to panic when the world became cool and wet around him.

Spluttering, Zuko scrambled up on to his feet and out of the pool of water he had been unceremoniously dumped in. The world suddenly seemed a lot clearer to him though he had a most unpleasant sense of confusion coursing through him.

Wiping his face off Zuko glared at the laughing woman at the edge of the water. "You!" He hissed, recognising her finally.

"Me." Jun nodded. "Glad to see you back to old yourself Fire Lord."

Zuko glanced around – he appeared to be on the edge of the desert – the sand dunes still visible endlessly before him, but as he glanced behind he could see ramshackle inn – and he was stood in what seemed to be a trough of water.

"Where am I?"

"Western edge of the Shi Wong Desert." Jun said simply.

Zuko blinked. "Western? But I was headed South." His eyes grew wide as he realised that his pack was missing. His hands went to his waist and his stomach dropped as he found that his money pouch was no longer tied to his belt. "Damn it!"

"Figured it out?" The bounty hunter asked, voice amused. "Here's a tip – never accept a lift from Sandbenders."

"I don't understand what happened." Zuko ran an anxious hand through his hair.

"Well from the nonsense you were spouting I'd guess that they slipped you some cactus juice."

"Cactus juice?" Zuko vaguely recalled Sokka mentioning the stuff but the memory was hazy.

Jun nodded, hand stroking the side of her monstrous pet. "Pretty potent stuff. I found you rolling around in the sand pretending to be a tumbleweed. I thought it would be best to take you with me so your skin didn't get as fried as your brain."

Zuko glared, furious with himself for letting such a thing happen to him. "What were you doing out in the middle of the desert anyway?" He asked Jun, voice almost accusatory.

"Well," the ebony-haired woman began. "A lot of my current contracts are to find war criminals or people that tried to do a runner once the war was through. It just so happened a lot of them seem to like making a break across the desert. It's just lucky for you my shirshu picked up your scent and headed in your direction."

Zuko eyed the sightless rodent before him but didn't feel very lucky. "I need to get my things back." Zuko grumbled. "I need you to help me find those thieves."

"Nope." Before Zuko could argue, Jun held up a finger. "But I am willing to cut you a deal. You said some pretty interesting things while you were out of it. Sounds like that Water Tribe girlfriend of yours is waiting for you down South. I can help you get there."

Zuko glared fiercely but the bounty hunter remained unmoved. Sighing, the Fire Nation teen conceded. "Fine. What do you need?"

A year you say? Don't be ridiculous, it's not been that long!

… Okay I apologise, but better late than never right... right?. I'll try to do better I promise!