This is only the first chapter. For some reason, my first chapters always start out rough, but it does get better, I promise.

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko and Katara would already be together! So would Aang and Toph, as a matter-of-fact. Hmm..

------------------------------------------

Katara, Sokka, Aang, and Toph. An odd group of people, if you got a good look at them. A Water Tribe warrior, a waterbender, an earthbender, and the last airbender. All they needed was a firebender to complete their group. Too bad the good ones were in short supply. There was one old man that Toph seemed to like, but unfortunately for them he was the uncle of the exiled prince that had been chasing them forever. Tonight they were camping on an island to let Appa rest. He had been flying for 2 days straight and they were almost to the mainland, but Appa was too tired to make it any further than where he landed.

"I'm hungry!"

"Sokka, you're always hungry."

"Why don't you go find us some food?"

"If you would stop eating it all, we would still have some!"

"Are you blaming me for our lack of supplies?"

"Yes, I am!"

"Guys, stop fighting! Let's go, Sokka. We can find some food and Katara can start the fire."

Sokka stood up and crossed his arms before stomping off into the woods, Aang trailing behind him. Toph looked in Katara's direction. "I think someone needs an attitude adjustment," she laughed.

"Yes, he does."

She stood up and started wandering around looking for sticks to start their fire. She didn't want to make one too big because it would be noticable from the ocean, that is, if Zuko was still chasing them. She had a feeling he was, but they hadn't seen him in a couple days. That didn't mean anything though. If anything, it worried her.She continued along the beach lost in her thoughts, picking up a stick here and there unconciously.

I'll save you from the pirates.

She let out a small gasp at the memory of that day, that moment. She looked around, half expecting to see him standing in front of her. Nothing. She looked in her arms at the sticks she gathered. She only had 4 of them. With a sigh, she kept walking down the beach. The sky was slowly starting to get dark, but the sun was still out well enough to see for a little while.

Maybe in return, I can restore something you've lost.

That bastard. She wasn't sure if he knew what that necklace meant to her, but he knew it meant something or he wouldn't have used it the way he did. She rubbed the place on her neck where her mother's necklace usually hung. How she hated that night. He taunted her with it, dangling it inches in front of her nose knowing she couldn't get it from him, yet.. there was something strange in his voice that night. It sounded almost flirty, taunting, maybe a little teasing? She wasn't sure that man could be capable of such emotion, but she had witnessed fear from him when his uncle was shot down by lightening from that evil girl that was now chasing them. She knew that his uncle was his weakness, that girl knew it too somehow.

Snap!

What was that? She whirled around and realized she couldn't see Appa or Toph anymore. She had no idea how far away she had wandered, but it was further than she wanted to. Good thing she was beside the ocean if she needed to fight. She looked frantically around for the source of the noise, eyes darting through the trees in the woods next to her. Katara backed away slowly towards the ocean, hoping it was just her mind making her paranoid.

"I'll save you from the pirates."

"Who's there?" she shouted into the empty-looking woods. Was that my imagination speaking again? It sounded so real, but it did the last time too. La, I'm going nuts!

"Missing your friends, aren't you?"

Katara spun around and ran full speed to the water's edge before turning to see a form step out of the woods. She recognized his voice, but it was getting too dark to see clearly. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want from me?"

"Tsk, tsk. I thought surely you wouldn't forget me, as many encounters as we've had." The figure continued to come closer to her, making her back into the water.

"Don't come any closer," she said, readying a water whip. She glanced around to see if anyone else was nearby to help, but she couldn't see anything now. She looked back at the figure standing before her just as a fireball lit up in his hand, lighting his face up. Her eyes grew wide in horror and shock and she could barely speak. "Zuko.." she finally managed.

"There you go. I knew you wouldn't forget me, Katara."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know more about you than you'd expect." His eyes narrowed in the light of his fireball, his brow furrowed. "Where's the Avatar?"

"I'm pretty sure we've been through this before, haven't we? You know I'm not giving him up, I don't see why you're still trying."

"Persistance can pay off after a while."

"Are you really prepared to disgrace yourself by losing to a girl again?"

"Don't fool yourself, Katara. You couldn't beat me again if my hands were tied behind my back. I've been practicing since we last fought."

"And I haven't? In case you haven't noticed, it's nightfall. I'm a waterbender. Put two and two together, Zuzu."

"Don't call me that!"

"Aw, did I hit a nerve in the poor little princy-poo?"

"You sound like my sister. Let's see if you fight like her as well!"

Zuko shot his fireball at Katara's face, but she dodged it without an effort. "What was that? Come on, I've seen you fight better than that," she taunted.

Her water whip snapped at his feet and he jumped back a step. He threw fireballs one after the other at her, but she pulled up a water shield and turned them to steam. She kept up her shield with one hand and formed a couple large ice spikes behind it with the other. The second his attacks stopped, her shield came down and the spikes were hurled at him. One hit the sand next to him, but the other hit his boot. It penetrated the armor of the boot, but didn't quite make it to his foot inside.

"You bitch!"

"That's what you get for picking a fight with me, Zuzu."

Zuko growled at that horrid childhood nickname, secretly wondering where this peasant heard it from, and continued hurling more fireballs at her, but she just made another water shield. His attacks stopped for a second and she dropped her shield and gasped. He was right in her face. He grabbed her wrists before she could do anything else and attempted to drag her out of the water. She fought back, of course. She kicked and screamed and jerked and spit at him but he wouldn't let go. His hands were heating up the moreshefoughtuntil they burned her skin and she cried out in pain.

"Stop fighting and this will be a lot easier."

"You bastard! I hate you!"

"Good," he smirked. He jerked her around in front of him, still holding her wrists, their noses almost touching. Her blue eyes refused to shed tears, to show weakness, to let him win. The moon was almost full and shining in her eyes as she glared into his. "Stop fighting and it won't hurt so much."

"Let. Me. Go."

"No."

He spun her around, almost enough to make her dizzy, and grasped her shoulders tightly and pushed her forward. She walked for a bit until his grasp loosened ever so slightly, then she broke free and tried to make a run for it into the woods. He lunged at her and grabbed her foot, sending her sprawling into the sand and knocking the breath and conciousness out of her. He sighed in frustration and muttered under his breath before picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way to his ship. He took her below and placed her on a cot in the holding cell. She was certainly easier to stand when she was unconcious. He thought for a second before pulling a blanket out and covering her up.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Where's Katara? It's late, she should be back by now!"

Toph was sitting next to the small fire that Aang had managed while Sokka paced back and forth. She looked in the direction his vibrations were coming from. "I just know that she went off to find sticks for a fire. She went that way if it helps any." She pointed out in the direction Katara left.

"But she could be long gone by now! She could've been eaten by a platypus-bear or kidnapped or knocked unconcious somewhere or murdered. Anything could've happened to her!"

"Sokka, calm down. Katara can take care of herself. Besides, it's almost a full moon out tonight. Her waterbending is strong, she can handle whatever comes at her." Aang held out a stick with a fish on it and Sokka took it.

"Maybe you're right, Aang," he managed with a mouth full of fish. Food always seemed to comfort him. "If she's not back in a couple hours, we're leaving to find her, okay?"

Aang and Toph just nodded. They were worried about her too, but Sokka was always more worried. She was his only sister, his baby sister. He promised their father he would take care of her and look out for her when he went off to the war, now she was lost in the woods of an island that they knew nothing about.

They said nothing for the next couple of hours, just sat around staring into the fire and worrying about their friend. Sokka looked up in the sky and stood up. "Come on, let's go. She's not back, we're going to find her."

Aang and Toph stood up and followed him down the beach, Momo riding on Aang's shoulder chittering away. They called her name and kept walking down the beach. Aang was walking next to the water when he noticed a big ice spike on the ground. It was poking out like it had been shot.

"Hey Sokka, you'd better see this."

Sokka ran over and saw the spike. "Someone has her. She fought with someone here and now she's gone."

"Fire Nation."

Aang and Sokka turned to face Toph. "What?"

"I smell smoke and.." she sniffed again. "..and a hint of spice?"

"Aang, can you see any footprints?"

"No, it's too dark. We'll have to wait until the morning to go after her."

"No! We have to leave tonight or we'll lose her altogether!"

"Appa can't go anywhere until he's rested!" Aang yelled. The beach got quiet before Aang turned and started back to their camp, the other two following. Aang and Sokka sat down next to the fire and Toph bended herself a tent and went to sleep.

"We'll get her back, Sokka. Don't worry."

---------------------------------------------------------

Zuko's ship was surrounded by ocean when the sun peaked over the horizon. He was on deck with half a smile on his face, watching the sun rise and thinking about the events of the night before.

I have you now, Avatar. You will come to me to rescue your little friend and I'll catch you so I can go home.

"What's got you in a good mood this morning, Prince Zuko?"

"Who said I was in a good mood?"

"The smile on your face." Zuko wiped it away and his face went blank. Iroh watched him with slight curiosity. "What happened last night?"

"I got the Avatar's waterbender girlfriend. Now it's just a matter of time before he turns himself over to me."

Iroh sighed and shook his head. He wanted so badly to tell his nephew that not even the Avatar would allow for him to go home now. His father didn't want him back, but Zuko refused to believe that. He needed someone with courage and an attitude as big as his own to explain that to him.

"I'll go see if she's awake."

Zuko turned and walked down below. Iroh stayed on the deck and sipped at his tea. A couple minutes later, he was about to go down to check up on his nephew when a very agitated and ear-splitting scream came from below them, ringing through the halls, up the stairs, and out on the deck where Iroh stood. He smiled and sipped his tea again.

-----------------------------------------

My other chapters, in addition to being better, will also be a bit longer. I'm not a fan of my chapters being under 3,000 words.. I'm odd like that. My usual fans, you know the routine! My new fans, this is the routine: R&R!

Jenn