Contrary to expectations, the so-called ‘Seedy Merchants Pier’ was devoid of any Fire Nation presence despite being deep inside its territory. It also lived up to its name, giving off a lawless, untrustworthy vibe that made staying here overnight a risky prospect.

Of course, Aang didn’t think so, ignoring the scarred brutes scowling his way and finding the vendors a bit too interesting. Sokka heaved a sigh as he followed after the gullible Avatar. At least Katara could be trusted to stop him from doing anything reckless, like getting duped into buying useless baubles, while Sokka restocked on lost essentials.

Seriously, Aang’s sudden panic over the coming comet was understandable, but he and Katara shouldn’t have been so reckless with their water splashing. Most of the supplies given by the friendly folk up until were gone now, including a weighty pouch of Earth Kingdom currency King Bumi had given to them, and the foodstuffs from the villages and the grim folks of Kyoshi Island.

Well, considering that they somehow knew about the Avatar’s return, and that he was being hunted, Sokka probably couldn’t hold it against them. The Kyoshi Warriors that greeted them had been coldly polite, being unsubtle in hinting that Aang should move on as quickly as he could.

Okay, so maybe Sokka’s…unwise insulting assessment of them hadn’t offered a good first impression either.

And maybe he should’ve taken the hint about their prowess instead of interrupting their training (he really shouldn’t have called it dancing in hindsight) and getting his ass handed over to him by their leader, Suki. The lady was in no mood to play, simply challenging Sokka to a duel and then handily making him kiss the floor in a blink of an eye.

His contrite apology was curtly accepted, but the Kyoshi Warriors proceeded to ignore him in favor of continuing their training. They were really serious about expecting an attack, and as a means of showing his remorse, Sokka offered Suki everything he knew about the Fire Nation prince that was hunting Aang.

“Zuko? His name is Zuko?” Suki had asked, looking very weird for that moment. At his confirmation, the expression of the Kyoshi Warriors hardened as they exchanged glances. Then they trained harder, but at least Sokka was allowed to literally watch and learn from them.

They were preparing to leave on the third day when the alarm was sounded. Zuko arrived with an intimidating force, but Sokka watched from the alleyway as Suki met the invaders defiantly. The other Kyoshi Warriors were hidden similarly, or on rooftops.

“Zuko of the Fire Nation,” she announced fearlessly, “The Scorpion Xing asks that you compensate any damage done to this island.”

Whoever Xing was, the guy must’ve been important enough to make the prince and his small army pause with surprise. Zuko promptly dismounted from his komodo rhino to walk up to Suki, and Sokka had to risk his concealment just to strain his ears to pick up their exchange.

“Xing was here?”

The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors nodded. “He says that Azula has plans for this island, and she doesn’t appreciate it being ruined.”

The prince’s face scrunched up for a second, before reforming into a scowl. “Where is the Avatar?”

“I cannot tell you that,” Suki said, and then fell back into a fighting stance, her fans suddenly appearing and unfolding in her hands.

Zuko’s scowl grew as he too took on a hostile pose. “Then know that your village will be generously compensated.”

Suki acted first, launching herself with fan blades leading the way. The prince dodged and sent a knee up to her side, but she dodged with an agility that Sokka knew he could never achieve, and then used her fans to pin his arm and foul the flaming punch that would’ve followed.

As they dueled, the rest of the Fire Nation soldiers began to move in. Sokka followed after the Kyoshi Warriors as they ambushed the group, doing his part while Aang and Katara hurried up doing whatever it was they were doing. In hindsight, Sokka realized that the defenders and the invaders were not fighting in earnest. It took days of idle traveling for him to pick out the strange details; fire was only thrown when there were no buildings behind their targets, though that didn’t stop spears and swords from striking with lethal intent.

Watching the two groups fight served as harsh enlightenment that Sokka shouldn’t be too confident about his abilities as a warrior. The painted Kyoshi Warriors were nimble and precise with their attacks, somehow effortlessly matching spears with their war fans. The Fire Nation troops too were ruthless in their bladework, showing a lethal efficiency in their movements.

Yet, somehow, neither side was actually harming the other. Oh, there were cuts and light stabs, but even Sokka’s inexperienced eye could tell that no one was getting seriously maimed. Even Suki, for all her grimness, only kicked Zuko back with a pretty cartwheel, and opted to run towards Sokka instead of finishing the job like he had expected her to.

“Go, Sokka. We’ll keep them occupied as long as we can. Get the Avatar out, now!”

“But…I- I want to-” He couldn’t form any credible reply, and Suki ended up shoving him towards the village center.

“Go!”

“Right. I’m going. Thank you, Suki.”

She managed to roll her eyes at him before glancing at the approaching Fire Nation prince. The guy’s scowl really was something else. “You can thank me by getting Aang out of here safely. And Sokka?”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever come across the Scorpion of the Fire Nation, or his Defiant 11th, just run, understand?”

Sokka hadn’t fully understood back then, but he couldn’t ask for clarification as Suki returned to battle with Zuko.

He only understood after asking King Bumi about it while they enjoyed Omashu’s hospitality.

Unlike Suki, Aang’s eccentric friend was more amused than fearful, at least initially. “Hah! The Scorpion? That’s what they call him nowadays? Eh… Scorpion… Meh, I guess it sounds cool.”

“So who is he?” Aang had asked with almost painful innocence. “Sokka said his name made Zuko stop.” Pause. It made Zuko pause in thought.

Bumi’s face took on a serious expression, a cold one that was far more intimidating than his little act when they had first encountered him. “Colonel Xing, leader of the 11th Regiment. A cunning and dangerous foe, that one. Almost made me break a sweat dueling him.” The king looked a bit too smug announcing that last bit.

“Is he after me as well?”

“Hm…no, I don’t think so. But that doesn’t mean you can just waltz up to him.” Bumi then turned to Sokka to offer a slow nod. “Heed the warning you received. Stay away from any banners bearing the scorpion. If you think I’m a mad genius, you should hear what he’s done.”

That foreboding piece of knowledge expanded to a confusing and terrifying degree when they visited the villages. The folks of the mining village were as much fearful as they were grateful for Xing the Scorpion Dragon, or Xing the Young Dragon. Supposedly he was somehow responsible for returning village’s formerly enslaved earthbenders and lightening their taxes, which would remain the case so long as the village didn’t do anything ‘regrettable’.

Yet there were also rumors of him and his regiment committing horrible actions on their enemies. It was a mistake having Katara and Aang around to hear of mutilated bodies and throats being slit in the night. Both had trouble sleeping because of it.

Not Sokka though. He simply chose to stay up as a night watch to provide some comfort to them. He never mistook rocks for severed heads or the crackle of dying flames as footsteps of boogeymen. Most definitely.

The people of Senlin were far more approving of the monster for some reason. Then again, maybe Sokka didn’t understand the significance of new roads and cabbage donations.

They were actually considering calling for the Scorpion’s help to solve their dark spirit issue before Aang’s timely arrival! An oppressed Earth Kingdom village seeking a monstrous example of the Fire Nation for aid.

How loony was that?

From them, Sokka learned that Xing had supposedly slain a dragon recently. That infuriated Aang, who apparently met dragons before they went extinct, and found them friendly enough.

Stolen novel; please report.

Even here, in the rough-and-tough lawlessness of Seedy Merchants Pier, Sokka found that Xing was a properly feared name. A casual mention to try prying more news about the Scorpion Dragon had earned him harsh glares from the stall vendors and their customers within earshot.

“Here’s a free tip, kid,” the grocer Sokka had engaged with snarled, “Keep that name, and anything related to it, to yourself. Everyone’s trying to get on with their lives here, understood? Bad news only comes if you go looking for it.”

“Y-Yessir.”

Understandably, Sokka’s mood after that was soured for the rest of the day, made worse after his sister’s really st- Really unwise decision to steal from pirates.

Maybe after she’s had her fun learning how to better splish and splash, he could convince her to return the scroll somehow. They already had one angry prince on their tail, adding pirates to the mix wasn’t going to make things better…

*****

Zuko reigned in his temper as he followed his uncle through the smuggler’s port. Bad enough that it was a wasteful detour, the aptly named Seedy Merchants Pier was not a place that made him comfortable at all. Its existence within Fire Nation territory was tolerated simply because as a trading hub it opened access to goods and information that would otherwise be impossible to find. It came at a price of course, but it only required a stupid fad to sweep the home islands for the nobles to empty their vaults just to secure Water Tribe scrimshaws or Earth Kingdom vases. And nobody cared that the goods would likely be counterfeits.

He’d have preferred just taking an extra day to reach a friendlier colony to buy a whole new Pai Sho set for his uncle, but the older prince had been stubbornly adamant.

Judging from the amount of useless trinkets Prince Iroh had carried into the ship, Zuko felt that his uncle simply wanted to stretch his legs and go shopping as a break from the monotony of the Avatar hunt. With that little consideration, the exiled prince reluctantly gave his diligent crew a day of shore leave.

He almost rescinded that when he overheard some smugglers mentioning the familiar descriptions of his quarry. It was too good of a coincidence. Maybe uncle Iroh had been unknowingly guided by the spirits? Or was it Xing’s spirits chipping in?

Regardless, Zuko studiously kept a neutral expression as he continued to eavesdrop while his uncle obliviously empty the shelves of the boatshop, and then hurried back to his ship to organize those soldiers and marines who were still on shift. Roping in the smugglers would be a significant boost to manpower, especially considering their local familiarity, but Xing’s lessons about working with unknown quantities stuck with Zuko. Better put in extra work with his men, than deal with potentially unreliable mercenaries.

The spirits that guided his uncle must have also been with him, because it only took the late evening for Zuko to find the Avatar’s accomplice. The waterbender had noticed their arrival of the boat, of course, but she didn’t catch Zuko and some marines who had waded to the riverbank long before it beached.

There was some satisfaction to watch the girl back away from the bushes, only to find Zuko and his troops when she turned to begin fleeing. The prince quickly caught her wrists to stop her from bending. “The Avatar. Where is he? Tell me, and you will not be hurt.”

Credit to her, the Water Tribe girl refused to answer and instead struggled against his grip. Zuko almost grinned to see her sloppy resistance. She didn’t try a sweeping kick, or going in for a headbutt. Maybe having the marines with him was overkill.

He entertained her futile attempts for several more seconds before tightening his grip to make her stop and yelp in pain. “I do not want to hurt you, or your brother, or any of those that follow the Avatar. I just need the Avatar, and him alone. Tell me where he is, and I’ll let all of you leave, on my…” Zuko stumbled and caught himself before he said ‘honor’. “On my word.”

He couldn’t swear by his honor, since he had none.

“Go jump in the river!”

Zuko sighed. What would Xing do?

This waterbender was basically a noncombatant, so heavy interrogation was out of the question. Not that it was a reliable source of information anyway. At Xing’s suggestion, Zuko had seen the reports on testimonies earned by torture, and he’d been appalled at its reliability.

With a second sigh, he let her go, earning the girl’s surprise for long enough for him to produce a cloth necklace.

“My mother’s necklace!”

Zuko casually tossed it to her. “Here. At least one of us will have something important returned to them tonight.”

The girl gripped the trinket tightly in her hand as she regarded him. “I’m not going to betray the Avatar.”

Zuko managed to shrug loosely. “It’s no matter. I have my men scouring the area. We’ll find him, eventually. Maybe he’ll put up a fight. Maybe he’ll run.” He glanced over his shoulders at the troops behind him. “Secure her. Until we find the Avatar, she’ll be bait.”

“Do your worst,” she replied immediately, no doubt bracing herself for horrors her own imagination brewed up.

As if Zuko would stoop so low. He was dishonored, but he was still a prince, and there were standards he had to maintain.

So he had the waterbender tied to a tree, and waited with some men to guard her. Spirits be kind, the Avatar would show up, and Zuko could exchange the girl’s captivity for the airbender’s freedom.

The spirits had been helpful, but they were not kind. A squad sounded the alarm further down the river. Zuko grinned with anticipation. He’ll not be caught off guard this time. He immediately led his men towards the sounds of groans, roaring flames and stormy winds, and sure enough the young Air Nomad was in the middle of a crowd of firebenders, handily keeping them at bay. Off to the side, the other Water Tribe accomplice was slowly getting pushed back by some soldiers.

Zuko wasted no time in making himself known. “Avatar! I have your waterbender. Surrender, and I will let your friends go.”

The boy reacted in surprise, followed quickly by anger. Zuko saw the telegraphed attack and easily dodged a powerful blast of wind. “Let Katara go!” The soldiers tried to exploit the brief vulnerability, but the Avatar’s reaction was fast, blowing them all aside with a downwards burst of air that tore up grass.

Zuko lunged in, fist first, and almost caught the Air Nomad right in the face. Again, the boy was faster, not only twisting away, but jabbing his staff at the prince’s abdomen. Forced to back away from the attack, Zuko traded firebolts with near-invisible torrents of raging wind.

The grin he wore grew tighter as he kept up with his prey. Zuko’s training had paid off, and he was able to keep up with the rapid, twirling motions of airbending.

Now if only he could find an opportunity to land a telling blow…

Loud yelps almost distracted him, but he easily zoned it out. He was this close to deciphering out the airbender’s moves. He just needed some ti-

Zuko grunted as a growling mountain of fur and bone and meat slammed him into a tree and blasted the air out of his lungs. He blinked away the spots from his eyes as a sky bison barreled through the Fire Nation troops and knocked everyone clear of the Avatar, who then climbed up the beast along with the Water Tribe boy.

They flew away as the prince got to his feet, leaving him to grit his teeth and scowl at his own careless mistake. He’d been too focused on the Avatar, and forgotten about his entourage. Silently berating himself, Zuko wasn’t surprised when the soldiers reported that the Avatar had found and freed the waterbender.

Of course she’d be freed.

The spirits had generously guided Zuko here, but he’d botched the chance they’d given. Trying hard not to verbally vent in front of the men, the exiled prince stomped off back to the boat. The hunt would continue, and he’d have more lessons to study from his uncle.

Zuko would learn from this mistake, but hopefully it’d be the last one he’d make in this hunt.