Author's Note: Remember the episode of ATLA: The Boiling Rock? Remember Chit Sang, the prisoner who didn't rat Sokka out and became a temporary member of Team Avatar for like…one episode only? Well, my siblings and I kept on laughing whenever he was shown, so I decided to do a kind of tribute story for him. Chang and Lee and the bad Fire Nation guard are my OCs, just to be clear. They aren't canon in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

"Heart"

written by loveless80's

Chit Sang was considered a man of few words.

Now, drinking ginseng tea with a bunch of kids definitely younger than him and with the Avatar himself, he decides that there's no way he can put into words the confusion he felt right at that very moment.

From being an unabashed prisoner, to being an adamant escapee, and now a thriving survivor, Chit Sang has always followed his instincts, and as cliché as it sounded, his heart. He displayed it when he killed the Fire Nation soldier who had almost shamed his younger sister, Chang, into being molested by the monster.

He regretted nothing after that, even when he was sent into the most guarded and inescapable prison in all of the Fire Nation: the Boiling Rock. Even when he was forced not to use firebending, the very thing that helped him survive and guard his family from thieves or intruders; even if the place he was sent into was full of those things. He didn't regret it one bit, even when everyday he was bullied by that arrogant and abusive guard.

But what he did regret was not supporting his sister and her family when they needed him; or his ailing and sick mother who was getting old.

Right now, Chit Sang wonders if his life could get any more screwed up than this. Right now he wonders if his life can get any more messed up and weird. But what really makes him rethink his destiny is why, although being a Fire Nation citizen, he resists the urge to be as hostile as he can be with these kids surrounding him.

Of course he knows that the moment he even attempts to hurt the Avatar or his friends, he's dead meat. Done. He's seen the boy with the weird and hurtful-looking scar firebend with enough skill to defeat a squadron of Fire Nation soldiers; besides, the kid faced off with the Princess. Anyone who was sane enough, including himself, knew that it was suicide to do so. Yet he did. And survived. That in itself was an impressive feat, even to a veteran prisoner just as himself. And Chit Sang knows his own limitations due to many years of imprisonment in the Boiling Rock. He knows that the kid can kick his butt-not that he'll admit it, of course.

But it wasn't just the firebending kid. There was that Water Tribe boy who was ingenious enough to pretend to be a guard in the toughest prison in the Fire Nation without raising suspicion, and at the same time hatch two plans to escape; and even though the first plan didn't exactly work-which was mostly Chit Sang's own fault-it was still impressive. At first the boy seemed like a stupid idiot, but he proved himself in the end with his ingenuity.

And there was that Water Tribe boy's girlfriend. Suki, was it? The girl who was also in imprisonment. He didn't know what her crime was or what exactly she did to be sent to the Boiling Rock as a prisoner; he just knew something about her being a Kyoshi Warrior, a group of girls in the Earth Kingdom who were considered as protectors and yada, yada, yada, and she was presumably the leader. But after he sees her raw skill in capturing and taking the Warden hostage, he's thankful that he doesn't have a girlfriend who can kick his butt and make him sing if he ever does a thing that could hurt her. At the same time, he's impressed by the Water Tribe boy who can handle a girl like that. He respects this Sokka boy more than ever, and not just because of his clever plans.

Turns out that looks doesn't define everyone, surprisingly. Chit Sang knows this by first-hand experience because of this crazy kids, but he can't help but wonder if some people think of him as a kind of roughened-up, burly man without brains. Well, not really, but...it was just...sometimes. Sometimes.

And then there was that other prisoner who was Water Tribe boy's father, Hakoda. The guy's older than Chit Sang, but still, the old man has the same fire in his son's eyes.

Needless to say, Chit Sang wasn't thinking of trying to attack anyone. Even that blind Earthbender girl seemed intimidating enough. So, for the first time since his long imprisonment, he relaxes fully and sits around a fire with the most random of people, and takes a sip from his cup of ginseng tea.

"Hey, mister! You gonna eat that or what?" A little kid with an oversized helmet almost covering his face asks him. Chit Sang glances at the piece of stale bread on his hand and decides it to hand it over to the little kid.

"Here," Chit Sang said.

"Thanks mister. By the way, my name is The Duke."

"Duke?"

"No, The Duke! Why do people forget that?" The little boy said, looking annoyed and irritated.

Chit Sang laughs. The small kid reminds him of his sister's son, Chit Sang's little nephew named Lee. He takes a drink from his tea, when he notices the kid in the wheelchair, the one with the bandaged legs. Teo, was it?

"Hey, what's your problem, kid?" Chit Sang gruffly asks, hoping to see if he still has that "intimidation" factor in him.

The Teo kid looks at him nervously and uncomfortably. Yeah, he's still got it. "Um, aren't you Fire Nation?" The kid asks, unsure.

"Yeah."

"So, what are you doing here? Not that I have objections on you being here, but…I'm just curious."

Yeah, why was he in an air temple, from being in an impenetrable-not anymore-prison? He wonders that himself, but shrugs it off. Chit Sang doesn't really stop to think about hard stuff and strange matters involving life-or-death, except if the situation calls for it.

"I was a prisoner from the Boiling Rock. Firebender kid here and that Sokka guy had a plan and I was an accomplice. In return for my help, my butt was saved from being stuck in an awful prison," he explained quickly. As stated before, Chit Sang was a man of few words.

The kid named Teo wheeled closer to him, now more interested than ever. "How did you get to a prison like the Boiling Rock?"

"How did you get paralyzed?" Chit Sang interjects and evades the question. He's not really comfortable sharing the details on how he murdered a molesting soldier of his own nation.

Teo looked uncomfortable again, but took a deep breath. "I don't-I don't really remember…I was only a little kid at that time, pretty young that I couldn't exactly remember the details. My dad built me this wheelchair with air gliders in order for me to travel easier…"

Chit Sang held a hand to stop him. "Kid, it's alright if 'ya don't wanna share. How about you, Duke-y?"

The small boy frowns at him angrily. "It's The Duke! How many times do I have to tell you? Hmph! I'm a Freedom Fighter, and I'm proud of it. We met the Avatar and the Water Tribe brother and sister way back, like months ago. I remember Jet having the goo-goo eyes on that Katara girl." His eyes turned misty. "I miss Jet. I miss Smellerbee and Longshot too. They're also strong and brave Freedom Fighters like me, and right now they've come to find Jet and get him back from whoever is stupid enough to mess with us."

"You mean, you've still didn't meet your other fellow Freedom Fighters?" Teo asked.

"Yep…except for Pipsqueak."

"Why? Why them only?"

The Duke fidgeted uncomfortably, contemplating his answer for quite some time. "Jet...the Avatar and Waterbending girl kinda stopped his plan to finish of a couple of Fire Nation soldiers in a village. I was...sorta disappointed with him, and so me and Pipsqueak parted ways. I'm not sure about the other Freedom Fighters, though. And know we're helping the same guy and people who made our group separate, or disband, whatever that word means."

"That's tough, kid," Chit Sang commented idly.

"So...what's your story, Teo?" The Duke asked the paralyzed young boy.

"Um…my father and I met the Avatar too, a few months back. We were so pleased to see an actual airbender in front of us, the Avatar, no less. At the same time, we were nervous to be in the presence of the lost Avatar himself, and with the war approaching fast, we knew that we had to do something-anything-to at least to stop the Fire Nation's rule with an iron fist by helping the Avatar. Frankly, I was…"

And so their little "awkward-yet-turned-suddenly-friendly" chat continued on, and at the end of the night, they became a little subgroup among the Avatar and his friends.

Chit Sang sleeps with the Duke boy by his side, with Teo near them, resting at his wheelchair. Before he slept, he stared at the ceiling. And properly thinks for the first time in forever.

He was a Fire Nation citizen, and a criminal. He wasn't going to deny that. But why did they not question him? Well, it was maybe because they needed all the help they got, even from an escaped convict. There was that kid with the intimidating scar on his face. He was sure as hell that the guy wasn't innocent, to say the least. Or it was just because he wasn't really of a threat, just someone unimportant enough to stand at the side-lines.

Truthfully, for the most part, he didn't care. If he was going to be just a useful bystander in the war, then so be it. It wasn't like he was that clueless. He knew that by helping the Avatar's friends, he had chosen a path which involved turning his back on the very same nation that thought him everything he knew and believed in. That gave him the right to freely firebend before he was put into jail. But this path he had carved, this choice, it meant getting back on the nation that had him locked up in chains, without giving him the opportunity to even have contact or at least have his loved ones visit him. The same nation with the messed-up beliefs.

But he didn't care anymore about revenge or any of that emo crap. He just wanted to see Chang again since he was imprisoned, to visit his mother for the first time in twenty-seven long years, and to hold her hand before she passed away. He wanted to see how much of a man little Lee had become, if he was even taller than Chit Sang himself, or if he had the same face as he. Or even if Lee had the same clear blue eyes Chit Sang and his sister had, which was unusual for a Fire Nation-born citizen. And as cheesy as it sounded, he wanted to see the world again, and to explore how much of it has changed over the course of twenty-seven years. Time in prison didn't exactly give you the privilege of that.

For the first time in twenty-seven years, Chit Sang, a man of few words, lets himself sleep peacefully, with the free wind blowing on his rugged and toughened-up face, without worrying about having to wake up early to do prison chores in the morning or not letting his defense down, in case an inmate or a prison guard with an old grudge surprises him and catching him off guard behind his back by beating him up and mistreating him.

Chit Sang is a free man now, albeit only in literal terms. But he knows he is. How else can he hear birds sing and feel the fresh air whip his face? He's going to fight for this newly-found freedom, a freedom he's not sure if he's lost or just buried deep down in his long list of big and implausible expectations in life. He's going to fight for it, even if his opponent is the great Fire Lord Ozai. Even to the ruthless Princess Azula. He's not going to give it up for the world; not now, not ever.

In all his twenty-seven years of imprisonment in a literal hellhole, he has never felt more alive and free, free to do whatever the hell he wants.

Besides, he deserved it after all these years, right?

And when he's done fighting for it, when he finally achieves it and conquers it, he's going to firmly clasp and grasp it deep within his mind, body and soul, and most especially, heart. He's going to keep it there until he meets his family again. He's going to fight and defend for it. But right now he needs to rest and pray and hope that the next day he lives to fight another day again. To be rewarded with another day, to have another moment to see his family once more, to see his loved ones again.

Chit Sang does not like to think about hard stuff and strange matters involving life-or-death situations, except if the situation calls for it. Like getting ready to be executed, which he was sure was going to happen to him only a day before. But right now, staring at the intricately-painted ceiling with the crumbling walls, he decides to make an exception, even though what he's only doing is pray to the Spirits and think about emotional crap and useless things in the dead of the night.

Chit Sang isn't stupid or clueless or naïve; but right now, the only thing that he could do is believe in the Avatar, and believe in himself, even if his path isn't the one he had been expecting. He's pretty much oblivious to his own destiny, but right now he has no choice but to follow his carved path in order to see Chang and mother and Lee again. He has no choice but to act dumb in his own stupid destiny; but if it means surviving, then he's all up for it. Even if his path is terrifying and horrible and can mean self-inflicting harm, or even suicidal.

But he'll survive, like he always does. He'll do it to see them again, not to win a goddamn pointless Hundred-Year war with an overzealous and obsessive Fire Lord.

As confusing as his whole path is right now, he's going to follow his heart, even if it means getting killed in the process in horrible, disgusting ways. Because he's followed his heart, not his inner instinct or inner mind or inner conscience, throughout his entire life. He's always going to foot one in front of the other. His destiny is just there, within his grasp, exactly in front of him, and he's up for the challenge to retrieve that particular purpose. And when he finally reaches that vocation in his life, he's going to follow his inner heart.

Chit Sang is a man of few words, and everyone who already knew him long enough knows that he has always followed his heart.

He lets the wind sing its lullaby, and before he knows it, he's already dreaming of clasping his nephew's shoulder and commenting on how much his little nephew has grown.

Finish

Author's Note: So, leave a review? Just a simple "sweetness" can make my day. Or night. Lol. Hope you enjoyed it! Sorry if it was confusing…if you understand the story, and you want to write your own meaningful or interpretation, please leave a review! I'll appreciate any inward thoughts from all you lovely readers.