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Zuko's mind was in a whirl. He had wasted, and would unfortunately continue to waste, so much time. The Avatar was free on the ship, and although Zuko could easily find him at a moment's notice, he had no way to restrain the airbender - and even if he could, no way to deliver his prize to his father.

How had he been able to do other things? Meditate? Explore the ship? Train the peasants in arts of war that their backwards breeding would never allow them to fully comprehend? It was all of it a waste of time, made tolerable only because these small actions might help him restore his nation - and with it, his chance to get his honor back.

He needed a plan, and he didn't have one. It was driving the prince of the Fire Nation crazy.

He stalked the halls, an unfamiliar person with a familiar scar, gleaming vivid and new, his armor too heavy to be practical in the ship's warmth. The scar was much more visible now that most of Zuko's head was shaved, the remaining portion of his hair pulled back into a dramatic ponytail.

His stalking brought him to a podroom in the Media Library, where he sat down, heaving a frustrated sigh. He was without a plan, without honor, and his feet hurt. The whole situation was intolerable. As if in response to his mood, music began to issue forth, the angry words and harsh chords combining into a cacophonous noise. It was bitter with rage and disappointment. It spoke to his troubled soul.

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He was late. Zuko was never late. No matter how early Hiccup got up, sometimes hoping to get the jump on his teacher, Zuko was always there, sitting patiently, waiting for him, as if by being there first, he was establishing "I am the teacher, you are the student." Hiccup had the idea that he'd likely have to stay in the Sensoriums overnight to ever get the jump on him first.

But he wasn't there in the Sensoriums. That was...weird, to say the least. Rather than potentially wake him up with the commrings, he decided to nose around and see if he'd gotten caught up with something else.

Eventually, he found him in the pod room, listening to music, with needless to say, an interesting new haircut.

For a moment, he just stood there in the doorway, face creased up in an expression of somewhat perplexed amusement.

What in the world was he even doing?

Edited 2011-04-23 23:42 (UTC)

It was the peasant. Well, one of the peasants. Prince Zuko scowled at the reminder of his role as a teacher.

Why had he accepted that responsibility again? What could a peasant not even from his world do to help restore the Fire Nation?

"I didn't say you could come in."

Hiccup just continued to stare at Zuko, then wordlessly, shuffled back out again, just over the threshold of the doorway, and turned to the meaty wall beside the door and knocked.

Edited 2011-04-23 23:49 (UTC)

You're hilarious, peasant. Except for the part where you're not.

"Go away."

"Nuh uh. We have practice. With how many times you've held me to showing up despite me pulling every muscle in my body, I expect you to do the same."

Pause. "Interesting haircut by the way. With the lone...ponytail...thing."

Edited 2011-04-23 23:52 (UTC)

"I have more important things to do than teach a peasant to do hotsquats."

That was harsh, but Zuko reaches up with a flash of self-consciousness to check his ponytail.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It's always been like this."

Well, not always. But surely as long as Furry Vest Peasant has known him . . .

~~Aw, Hiccup, your boyfriend doesn't love you anymore.~~

There was a moment where there was something close to a wince, and hurt that played out vividly across his face. He'd never really been great at hiding things like that.

That was it then. One day, he could be made into something, one day someone he looked up to thought he saw something in him, and the next? Thrown away. Like he was nothing. Like all he'd ever be was...well, nothing.

It was his secret fear, that those who saw something good in him would just decide one day to give up on him. It was like a knife through the ribs.

And it was almost enough for him to turn right back around to hang out with Toothless and sulk his freakin' brains out.

Except there was a small part of him that, y'know, had faith in his sifu, that knew he wasn't a jerk. That's why he didn't just turn around and run off, long enough to hear something that actually worried him.

"Zuko...you've never had your hair like that as long as I've known you. You always had it longer. Trust me, it's, ah, kind of a striking new 'do. I think I would've noticed you shaving your head before."

Edited 2011-04-24 00:05 (UTC)

"That's Prince Zuko to you. And everyone else."

He'd have gone straight to turning up the music if not for that, the sheer disrespect of referring to him by name alone, as if he and a peasant are friends. What a disgusting idea.

"If you're going to stand there and interrupt my music, you can at least do it with respect."

"No, it's Firelord Zuko. You told me Stacy gave you your memories of it and were talking about how weird it was to not even be sure you lived it."

Now he was really worried.

"You don't remember all that?"

Had Stacy taken all that away again? Had she taken even more than that away?

Edited 2011-04-24 00:57 (UTC)

"Are you crazy?"

What is wrong with this kid? Taunting him with a title he might never have?

"I'm not the Fire Lord. And I never will be if -"

- if he doesn't capture the Avatar. But why is he willing to say that to a peasant? Not that Hiccup and the Avatar are close friends, but that doesn't mean Hiccup and Zuko should be.

Time among peasants must be making him soft, if he's willing to admit this much of his struggle to anyone not his uncle.

"Forget it. I've got thinking to do."

At his mental command, the volume of the music rises.

"Zuk--Prince Zuko, your...uh, magnificence--" Hiccup called over the music, not really sure how to address him. Vikings didn't really do that whole kowtowing to royalty thing. More like they ransomed the king and ransacked the palace.

"Look, I think there's something really wrong here. I think you should maybe got to the Medbay."

The volume lowers, but only for Zuko to ask, "Why are you still here?"

Hiccup walked in the room and put his hand on Zuko's shoulder. Probably a mistake.

"Because you're acting weird and I'm worried about you."

Edited 2011-04-24 02:54 (UTC)

Definitely a mistake. Zuko grabs the hand, and then Hiccup is smushed against the wall with an elbow on the back of his neck.

It's uncomfortable, but it's just a hold, and Zuko lets go. "You forget your place, peasant. It doesn't involve worrying about me - and definitely not touching me."

Zuko had never laid a hand on him without warning him first. Usually it was to a show a hold, a throw, to show how just the right way for the joint to lock up, to show how much pressure was the difference between a pin and a shattered arm.

Of course, he'd never called him "peasant" before either.

"I'm your friend. So maybe it's not my place, but I'm going to worry about you anyway," Hiccup said defiantly, rubbing his arm. "There is something wrong with you. You're not acting like you did yesterday. Do you understand? You're acting like an entirely different person. Don't you see how that could mean something's wrong? Especially given Stacy's tendency to mess with our heads and memories?"

Edited 2011-04-24 03:07 (UTC)

"We're not friends. The only time I wasn't acting like myself was when I agreed to teach you in the first place."

The audacity of these peasants. And the time he's wasting, indulging their audacity!

"I don't have time for any of this! I need a plan. I need -"

The volume of the music rises. Zuko appears to think for a moment.

"I need a guarantee. I need something to bargain with."

"Zuko, what you need is help!"

Why wouldn't he listen? How could he not see this wasn't normal?

Edited 2011-04-24 04:04 (UTC)

It comes to him suddenly - the perfect bargaining chip. The perfect way to ensure the Avatar will come with him willingly, when the Fire Nation is restored.

"What I need is a hostage."

Newly confident, confident enough to overlook Hiccup not using his title, Zuko pauses to enjoy the chorus of the song. This is his favorite part.

Because back in the Four Nations, he did try. And he DID get so far. And just when he was starting to think he'd reached the end -

"In the end, it WILL matter."

He brushes past Hiccup, aiming for Hydroponics.

"Hostage? Zuko!"

There was no way he could make him do anything if he didn't agree to it. Zuko could put him on his butt in like a second flat.

He had to think. The music was distracting him though.

"Stacy, turn off that awful music."

He'd become familiar with it during his time as "Harold" when he'd been living his alternate life, and found it wasn't to his tastes when he got his normal memories back.

"Linkin Park is terrible anyway."

AC/DC was where it was at.

The music cut out, and he thought carefully, eventually deciding he couldn't handle this alone. He needed help with this, so help he was going to get. After one last defiant look at Zuko's back, Hiccup ran off.

He needed to find someone from the Medbay or Security or Kang or someone to figure out what to do.

Mai blinked as she stepped into the media library. Since when did Zuko listen to such angry music? That's when she noticed the haircut.

"Uh, Zuko? When did you decide to go back to the topknot?"

Since the medics shaved his head to tend to his burn and it's been much more simple to care for than a full head of hair?

"I don't want to talk about it."

Mai frowns and walks over, slipping into the seat next to him.

"Zuko, what's wrong?"

She puts a hand on his shoulder - they're in private, after all.

What's wrong? What's WRONG?

"The Fire Nation is gone. The Avatar is right here, but I don't even have a country to take him back to."

And physical comfort from no-longer-estranged girlfriends is for people with HONOR. He stands up, moving restlessly.

"Without the Fire Nation, I'll never get my honor back - and I've just been sitting around, not doing anything to fix it!"

"...Zuko, you already went through this whole stupid 'capture the Avatar' phase, remember?"

Oh Agni, what is wrong with her boyfriend? She stands, folding her arms.

"You don't need the Fire Nation to have your honor. Why are you suddenly making such a big deal over this?"

"Because I haven't been making a big enough deal of it!"

He paces, angrily.

"What's been wrong with me? Sitting around - teaching peasants how to fight - the Fire Nation's gone, the Avatar's right there, and I've barely done anything about it!"

Seriously, he must have been crazy all this time!

"You already made a big deal out of it ages ago! I thought you'd moved past this!"

Seriously, what is wrong with you, Zuko?

"You've done enough about the Avatar and I'm tired of hearing about him all the time!"

Alex was in a bit of a daze, having accidentally stayed up all night working. It was just too easy to loose track of time when there was no sense of night and day. He was walking around with his headphones on, blasting trance music from the laptop in his backpack as he headed to the podrooms in the media center, hoping to just find a little privacy and maybe a nap.

Unfortunately, this daze caused him to fail to realize that the podroom was already occupied when he went to open the door, Zuko's singing suddenly far more audible and clashing harshly with the music he was listening too. He jumped back, ashen-faced. Pulling out his headphones he began to stutter, "S-sorry, I d-didn't..." He looked confused for a moment, studying his teacher's face, slowly realizing that it actually was the same person, "Z-Zuko?"

"Training's cancelled."

Zuko sits hunched over in the podroom, brooding intensely to what sounds like guitars being murdered.

Again, the audacity of these peasants angers him. "Prince Zuko, peasant. You forget your place."

Alex stares at Zuko for a moment, confused. He had always been hot-tempered, but he had never called Alex a peasant, or demanded to be called 'Prince'.

"I-I... S-sorry, Prince Zuko..." The anger was worse than it usually was with Zuko, and Alex stepped back for fear that it might attack him. "Wh-what happened... You're acting s-strange..."

"No, I'm not."

Seriously, he's a jerk all the time. How does Alex not know this?

"I have thinking to do. Get out."

Alex decided to do something he wouldn't dare a few months ago; he didn't listen. "N-no, you're n-never this angry! And y-you changed your h-hair, and... You look different!" He definitely looked like he wasn't going anywhere.

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I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE THIS IS GOING TO BE AWFUL

It's quite all right! I sorta expected this, but it's just been too long!

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