Book 1, Chapter 4: "No Turning Back"

"On Zuko, I can only say that there has never been a more incompetent, lazy, weak-minded individual. How he came from our Great Fire Lord will remain a mystery."

-Commander Zhao, "Glory: A Military History of the Fire Nation"

"Zuko? The Captain of a Warship? Don't make me laugh. My brother couldn't organize a boarding party... let alone command a ship."

-Princess Azula, upon hearing of the terms of her brother's banishment.

Cold seeped in from the wasteland. For a vessel that was meant for the infinite, a stretch of nothing where your very soul could freeze solid, one would think that the icy winds of Hati would be turned away. But Zuko never had that kind of luck. His life was a series of failures and his botched attempt to board the Earth Kingdom transport was no different. Not only had Zuko missed the Avatar, but he was personally responsible for crashing the ship. Now he and his men were stuck on this miserable planet, freezing their asses off. Soon, the native barbarians will come and...

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko spied twelve speeders inching towards the ship. They were in the mountains now, at least several days away. "Well...," Zuko thought, "here they are now." Zuko weakly picked up his pulse rifle, not wanting to attempt to firebend against waterbenders. Zuko sat up, preparing himself to face the oncoming assault.

Two days later:

"Zuko?!? Zuko, where are you!?!" the old general shouted to the massive ship.

"Tourists, huh?" Katara wasn't surprised. She looked at the wreak and guess it was a failed boarding party. Only one way that firebenders would be on an Earth Kingdom ship.

"I'm looking for my nephew." The old man was tense now.

"Ah. Well I doubt he is alive after a full week out here." Katara said pessimistically.

"Sir." One of the soldiers that had come along spoke up. "We've found something."

Zuko, or his body rather, had been found. Nearby were other bodies, but the had gone the previous day.

"Its still warm. We probably just missed him." Iroh was in tears. Katara had never seen a firebender cry.

Katara sighed and drew out some water from her skin. Although she swore to herself that she would never heal a fire nation soldier, she could not bear bringing back a body from the wasteland. She had been to one funeral; she was not going to another one.

Four days later, in the Water Tribe village:

"We can't keep them here much longer." A voice said angrily.

Another voice, this time female, answered: "I'm with you Sokka, but until the scarred kid wakes up there is nothing we can do."

"They are helping themselves to most of what little supplies we have left. All of the food they gave us is already gone. They are pigs Katara and you never should have helped them."

The voices from the hut beside him continued for many hours, but eventually ceased.

Zuko was awake, but dared not move. He had been rescued, but by who? Zuko finally opened his eyes to find his uncle sitting beside him.

"Don't move," His uncle whispered gently.

"Uncle? What... Where is the Avatar, have you heard news?" Zuko was fully awake now. The furs that surrounded him reminded him of his warm bed back in the Fire Nation Palace.

Iroh looked out of the opening of the hut. "Well... the good news is that he is close."

"And the bad news?"

Iroh sighed. "There is no turning back after this..."

End of chapter.

-Sgt. Hydra

Before I forget: Kami. That name will have signifigence later...