A/N: I'm back~ Now for the second arc of this little piece of fun. As usual, I've rough edited this now but I'll hardcore edit it tomorrow morning.

Chapter summary: In which Zuko is a launching pad for a wild animal, is okay with walking, and very okay with his new toys.

4: Jet - Part 1

She was still glaring at him. He couldn't figure her out. What was her problem? He'd helped gather wood, actually lit the fire for her, and brewed the tea. …Actually, that might be why she was glaring at him. Zuko liked his tea, but he'd been told that it was, well, bracing to other people. He wasn't sure why. It tasted fine to him.

At least Aang seemed to like him. Then again, the young Avatar seemed to like everyone. He'd even seemed to like those pirates which still made Zuko want to smack his face and pull out his hair in disbelief. Aang was hopelessly optimistic. Granted, he was just a kid but still!

Pirates were not to be trusted. Everyone knew that. You only dealt with them if you had no other choice or you had something to hold over them to make sure they kept their end of a bargain and didn't stab you in the back later. Zuko was going to have nightmares about that stupid lizard-parrot for weeks. Creepy thing.

And all of that excitement over a single waterbending scroll. Zuko groaned and fell back against the flying bison's thick fur and soaked in the early morning sun. Why was he still with these guys again? He didn't know. He honestly didn't.

Well, yes he did. Aang asked him to. Since Zuko had to plan his rescue of Master Shyu and hunt for his mother carefully, he agreed to stay. But only until he knew where Master Shyu was being kept and had an idea of where to start looking for his mother. Once he knew, he would leave.

He did like the trees here, though. There wasn't much underbrush as he expected which meant there lots of herbivores in the area eating it. That he meant he'd probably have to look higher up for anything to replenish his stash of herbs. He was running a bit low on witch hazel anyway. The Avatar's gang certainly managed to get bumped and banged up frequently.

As long he avoided any plants he wasn't familiar with, he should be fine. He was always ready to learn more herbal remedies, but not at the expense of harming one of his companions. As much as he wanted to find Master Shyu and his mother, he knew that just wandering off on his own without any clue where to start was stupid. Not to mention a death sentence if he was caught in the Fire Nation. Well, everywhere else in the world too, probably, but at least the rest of the world didn't have an active kill-on-sight order out on him. So there was some hope.

Besides, Zuko wasn't hated by everyone in their little group. Sokka didn't trust him but had a grudging respect for his cooking abilities. Zuko wasn't as talented as Katara, granted, but he could make something edible. In return, Zuko appreciated Sokka's hunting skills and had begun to take lessons. When he finally broke off to go searching for Master Shyu and his mother on his own, he would need to know how to feed himself with something other than plants.

Katara was beginning to come around too. She still preferred to deal with him from the other side of Appa's saddle, but at least she was civil with him now. It really was amazing what nearly getting captured and killed by a group of pirates could do to a flawed relationship. Ever since Zuko, Aang, and Sokka teamed up to rescue her from the pirate's clutches, she'd actually begun to talk to him. Not yell at him, talk to him.

Turned out, she had mother issues too. Small world. Unfortunately, whereas Zuko's mother was just missing, he refused to accept anything else without definitive proof, Katara's mother had been murdered in a raid by the Fire Nation. It hadn't been his fault, he hadn't even been aware of the raids on the South Pole, but he still felt guilty about it. Maybe if he'd known… Maybe if he'd kept his mouth shut at the war council…

It probably wouldn't have changed anything. The Fire Lord despised Zuko. Ozai had been just waiting for an excuse to get rid of the failed bastard. He would have ended up banished from the Fire Nation or simply killed eventually. Accidents happened with firebenders all the time and everyone knew the royal family was a prime target for assassinations from both within and without the Fire Nation. It would be unfortunate but unsurprising if something should… happen.

Across the campsite, Katara was muttering something under her breath. Her fingers brushed her bare throat and Zuko suddenly understood. Her mother's necklace was still missing. No wonder she was in a bad mood. If Zuko ever lost his mother's last letter to Ikem, he would probably feel the same way.

"Hey, where's Momo?" Aang asked, breezing up to the campsite. "I haven't seen him for a while."

Zuko blinked and check his stash of berries and nuts. "He's not here," he said.

"How would you know?" Sokka asked incredulously.

"Because my food's still here," Zuko replied.

"Oh, yeah, good point," Aang said, tapping his cheek thoughtfully.

Sokka and Katara quickly checked their own bags of snacks.

"Nothing here," the waterbender said sounding worried.

"Not here either," Sokka said, popping a nut into his mouth as he did so. "Maybe he wandered off."

"Come on, Aang. Let's go look for him," Katara said, getting to her feet. "You two stay here and finish packing up camp," she said to Zuko and Sokka before following Aang further into the forest.

She was just trying to avoid drinking his tea.

"Actually, I'll join you," Sokka said quickly, scrambling after them.

Ouch. Right in the gut. Well, damn. Guess he got all this tea to himself. Whatever would he do? He filled his cup to the brim and sipped it.

He could still hear the group nearby but he could no longer see them from his current vantage point. No big deal. With a quick swipe of his hand, the campfire doused itself and Zuko began dismantling to the cooking contraption. The unburnt sticks he tossed carelessly into the bushed. Hopefully, it would look more natural that way. The burnt sticks he would bury with the ashy remains of the fire. Better safe than sorry.

He heard the shrill warbling cry of the odd lemur and rolled his eyes. Just like he thought. The little critter had wandered off. Again. On the bright side, every time Momo disappeared, he reappeared with a new stash of berries and nuts to munch on.

Zuko was secretly working on building up to courage to ask Aang if he could keep the little guy after he left. Momo's scavenging habits could be useful. The thing was also cute and its fur was just soft enough to be comfortable. The fact Momo seemed to enjoy riding around on Zuko's head or shoulders was another point in his favor as far as Aang was concerned. Zuko knew it was just because he was the tallest of their group, aside from the giant, furry, flying bison.

Leaves rustled and Zuko looked up from rolling up his bedroll, expecting to see Katara, Sokka, or Aang appear. He did not expect the wild monkey-linx that bounded into the camp at top speed. Zuko wasn't stupid. He had just enough time to gape before ducking down and covering his head protectively. Paws landed squarely on his back then jumped away, continuing through the forest away from his camp.

"Okay," he murmured. "That just happened."

Appa waffled in agreement before letting its enormous head fall back to the ground. Probably good advice. When it didn't make sense, just accept it and go with it. Besides, it was probably Aang's fault anyway.

"Zuko!"

Case and point.

He looked up in time to see the Avatar fly out of the same bush and land gracefully by the flying bison's giant face.

"Hey buddy," the airbender said happily, pausing to pet Appa's fur before turning to Zuko. "We need to go," he said seriously. "The Fire Nation's nearby."

No.

"What?" Zuko gasped, his eyes already darting around the forest beyond the campsite for any signs of red and black armor. "Where? How do you know?"

"We found some traps a ways up the trail," Sokka said, stepping through the bushes with his sister by his side.

"Actually, Momo found them first," Katara said, petting the chittering lemur on her shoulder. "We set him free."

"And the other animals too," Aang chirped with a grin.

Zuko was right. That monkey-linx was definitely Aang's fault.

"Anyway," Sokka drawled, "the traps were metal."

Zuko frowned. "But I thought the Earth Kingdom uses metal traps too," he said.

"Some of them do," Sokka said, nodding. "But they use iron. These traps were steel."

Ah. Yes, that made sense. Crap.

"I'll start burying the ashes while you guys finish taking down the camp," he said, dropping back to his knees and using his fingers to dig a hole in the soft earth.

He could hear the Avatar's group of friends working around him and tried to keep his heartbeat calm. The Fire Nation was here. Again. Zuko knew they were hunting the Avatar and since he was currently traveling with the Avatar, it made sense if he ran into the Fire Nation too. Like the incident with the pirates. He just would much rather that not happen.

The Fire Nation would capture the Avatar. They would probably kill him. Even if Fire Lord Ozai hadn't heard of Zuko's escape from Crescent Island -unlikely- or hadn't gotten around to ordering his death -also unlikely- Zuko was still traveling with the Avatar. To any loyal Fire Nation soldier, that meant he was a traitor by default and all traitors were killed. No exceptions. Zuko liked being alive, thank you very much.

"I think we should walk," Sokka said suddenly.

Zuko paused. "Excuse me?" he said in flat disbelief.

"Think about it," Sokka said, holding up his hands to stall any arguments. "The Fire Nation is hunting us and that general guy has been tracking us since the South Pole. How do you think he's been doing that?"

"Uhh," Aang muttered, trying to come up with an answer.

"What general?" Zuko asked curiously, finishing up securing his bedroll and sitting on his heels. "Maybe I've heard of him."

The group blinked and stared at him, Sokka and Katara suspiciously and Aang openly hopeful. "Really?" the Avatar chirped.

Zuko frowned, getting to his feet and looping his tied bedroll and person belongings onto his back. "I mean, I've been out of the loop for several years," he said reluctantly, "but if he's anyone I remember, I can tell you what I know."

The waterbender tilted her head and looked at him oddly. "Why would you do that?" she asked in honest confusion. Her eyes widened and she waved her hands, "Not that I'm upset or telling you not to," she added quickly, "I'm just curious, is all. No offense meant."

"None taken," Zuko said with a shrug. "I hate the Fire Lord and I won't turn down an opportunity to screw him over. He ruined my mother's life and mine. The least I can do is make his life difficult." He smirked. "Besides, the Fire Nation will be wanting me dead as a traitor anyway, so I don't have anything to lose." He jerked his chin at Aang expectantly, "So, who is this general?"

"He's this old, fat guy," Aang said excitedly, a brilliant smile on his face. He spun up a small whirlwind and rode it down from the top of Appa's head where he'd perched like a bird to land lightly in front of Zuko. "He's always polite when he talks to us-"

"Holding us at fireblast is not being polite, Aang!" Katara cried in dismay, looking offended by the suggestion.

"True," Aang admitted, tapping the corner of his mouth thoughtfully. "But he could've just blasted us and everyone else in the village and then ask us, be he didn't."

"That would've been inefficient," Zuko said, shaking his head.

Sokka lifted an eyebrow and stared at him in suspicious curiosity. "Why do you say that?" he asked. "Not that I'm complaining, just…"

"Well, if the general got his position by merit and not just because he's a friend of the Fire Lord," Zuko said in derision, "then he wouldn't be stupid enough to start killing people before interrogating them. How would he know he didn't accidentally kill the person who had the answers he was looking for? Besides," he added, adjusting the packs on his back, "people tend to talk more quickly if they know what's being asked first. The answer may not be something worth keeping quiet about. Better to use force after. It saves time and chi."

Katara and Aang looked horrified by the thought but Sokka crossed his arms, taking Zuko's advice seriously.

"How horrible," the waterbender murmured, hugging herself.

"But…" Aang licked his lips and clutched his airstaff, his wide gray eyes filled with optimistic hope. "He's the only Fire Nation soldier I've ever talked to who actually talked back without blasting me with fire," he said. "He can't be all that bad." Lifting his gaze to Katara. "Right?"

"You still haven't told me who it is yet," Zuko said, before looking at Sokka. "Although, I betting whoever he is has been tracking you because of him." He jerked his chin at the enormous flying bison. "It's kind of hard to miss a giant, six-legged, furry monster flying through the sky no matter who you are."

"My thoughts exactly," the Water Tribe boy said, nodding. "That's why I think we should walk. At least until we're sure we've lost the Fire Nation's trail."

The bison opened its huge mouth and moaned pathetically.

"I know buddy," Aang said, patting Appa's head. "It's okay. It won't be for forever. Who knows, walking might be fun."

"Walking is not fun," Aang moaned for the umpteenth time.

Breathe, Zuko. Just breathe. In, hold, out. Now count every breath and bit his tongue. Hard.

"It's so boring!" Aang groaned, slumping even further until he was practically trudging.

"It'd be less boring if you kept your mouth shut long enough to have a couple minutes of silence," Zuko said.

Immediately, he found himself the recipient of two shocked expressions from Aang and Katara and one grateful expression from Sokka.

"Thank you!" Sokka called back to the firebender.

"Sokka!" Katara cried. "Don't encourage him."

"Don't encourage Aang, either," Sokka said. "Look Aang," he said, looking down at the airbender walking between him and his sister, "I know you don't like it. But unless you can make Appa invisible or something, this is our best option."

True. However… Hot, moist air blew against Zuko's back and he winced at the smell of bad, animal breath. Appa seemed just as annoyed with walking as the Avatar. Maybe it was an airbender thing.

"Actually, that makes sense," he murmured, casting a glance over his shoulder at the flying bison.

"What makes sense?" Aang asked, riding a brisk gust back to where Zuko walked.

"Why you don't like walking," he said, tilting his head thoughtfully. "You're an airbender."

Aang blinked and frowned in confusion. "Yeah," he drawled. "I thought that was obvious."

Breathe. Just breathe.

"It is," Zuko said. "But you're walking on the earth." He stomped his foot on the dirt to emphasize his point. "Think about it. Water is the opposite of Fire. So what's the opposite of Air?"

"Earth," Katara murmured in surprised realization. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're Water," Zuko said. "You're used to walking or sailing just like the Fire Nation. I bet the people of the Earth Kingdom travel by land almost exclusively. I'd be surprised if they had a navy of any significant size."

Aang scratched his bald head and spun his airstaff around absently. "So the reason I don't like walking is because it's part of my opposite element?" he asked.

"No, you're just a bored twelve-year-old," Sokka chimed in from the front of their walking train.

"Can't argue with that," Aang said cheerfully.

The kid had way too much energy. How could anyone have so much energy and not explode? Any firebender with that kind of energy inevitably ended up setting things on fire by accident. Were all airbenders as energetic as Aang?

…Had they been…

"Either way," Sokka said, cutting into Zuko'a increasingly dark thoughts, "we shouldn't have to walk too much further." He turned around and started walking backwards, stumbling over a root as he did so. "Once we get out of these trees, we should be okay to fly again." He pushed a few bush branches aside. "The Fire Nation should be far enough behind us by now that it'll be okay."

He turned around and froze.

"What is it?" Aang called, propelling himself up to Sokka's side while Katara and Zuko hurried after them on foot.

They immediately regretted it.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka shrieked.

On the bright side, Zuko thought as he shrugged off his backpack, the Fire Nation soldiers looked just as surprised to see their little group as they were to see the soldiers. But that didn't mean Zuko was going to let them off easily.

He ducked a fireball and spun his legs around, tripping the nearest firebender and riding the momentum back up to his feet. A swift punch to the firebender's face and the soldier's nose broke.

Three fireballs flew past him, and he turned to face the latest assailant and ooh! Nice dao. Finder's keepers.

He leaned forward and raced at the soldier next to the attacking firebender, crouched, and leaped, flipping over the soldier's head and gripping the dao blades' hilts as he passed. Landing gracefully on his feet, he swept right foot around and behind in sync with his right arm to keep his balance and strike the soldier with his newly acquired blades.

He managed to avoid beheading the soldier at the last second, dropping the blade so it sliced through the protective, leather under armor instead. He didn't mind killing, but Aang did. This was just a common foot soldier, not a commanding officer. There was no insignia or gold decorating his armor. No need to kill him if Zuko didn't have to. Disabling would do nicely.

Besides, he got a shiny new pair of dao from the exchange. Worth it.

He felt the heat before he saw the fire blast, turning his head sharply to the right and narrowly avoiding a fresh burn on top of his scar. Damn. He was slipping. Speeding up his turn, he spun completely around and swirled his dao blades in swift wrist movements that dispelled the flames, disrupting the chi flow and cutting through the air and ripping apart the fiery core.

Oh, he missed this. Before he bent his first flame at eight, Zuko had tried his best to find something to be good at. When Master Piandao showed him the dual dao, Zuko fell in love. The blades weren't swords, they were merely extensions of his arms, a part of his body and mind. They moved where he wanted them to because they were a part of him. This was something he was good at.

One of the few things he was proud of.

He deflected another fire blast then leapt over a fire stream landing on a soldier's spear shaft. Swinging his right leg up and around, he kicked the spearman's helmeted face and brought his blades down, easily slicing through the wooden spear shaft. Landing on his right foot, he finished his spin with a knee to the soldier's gut.

Leaping back so he was out of the soldier's reach, he found himself back-to-back to someone. Without looking, he could tell the stranger was taller than Sokka but wore no armor. Not Fire Nation then. So who-?

"Nice blades," the person said, his smirk audible in his voice. "Wanna team up?"

Heh. What the hell. "Bring it on," Zuko said. He spun one blade and both he and the stranger leapt apart for their own targets.

This could be fun.

A/N: EDIT 9/27/18: Nevermind. Ignore what used to be here. I've decided to just let the story go where it will and leave it as "gen" until it feels like doing otherwise. So expect nothing but gen and canon pairings unless told otherwise.