Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do, however, own Kangdi, whose name shall later be changed as you continue reading and finding out more about her backstory. Avatar and all related references are owned by Nickelodeon.

Chapter 2: Discoveries

Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me

Distracting/reacting

Against my will I stand beside my own reflection

It's haunting/how I can't seem

To find myself again

My walls are closing in

(Without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)

I've felt this way before

So insecure

"Crawling," Linkin' Park

"Is he coming around yet?"

"Wait, Sokka." A brown-haired young girl dressed in blue robes glanced up from where she was tending to her friend the Avatar, to snap at her brother. "Don't be so impatient."

The dark-skinned Water Tribes warrior crossed two partially bandaged arms over his chest. "Hey, all I'm saying is that Aang should wake up as soon as he can. We're gonna need him conscious if we want to invade the Fire Nation next."

His battle plan was at least rational. But the numbskulled dolt was getting on the two girls' nerves. And despite possessing his famed "Sokka's instincts," the warrior couldn't sense the impending danger.

Therefore, the fifteen-year-old was not expecting what came next. The ground that he had been standing on shot up into a long, thin column, catapulting the boomerang wielder straight up into the air. Toph Bei Fong stood in the filtering sunlight, her heel embedded solidly into the ground as Sokka shot away.

Katara looked around the find the source of the earthbending. She blinked innocently at her blind friend. "Hey, it's quiet!"

The silence was only temporary. There came a loud, insistent "Ahhhhh!" as Sokka crashed back down, and the twelve-year-old Earthbending Master who was the cause of his pain shrugged. "Or not."

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?!?"

"Because you can't keep your mouth shut, Snoozles."

Sokka grumbled at this. He could see no flaw in Toph's logic; and the dissatisfied boomerang wielder chose to limp away, nursing his sore backside.

Toph sat down beside the older Waterbender. "He has a point, Sugarqueen." Her clouded green eyes completely missed the startled look that Katara's blue ones sent her. "The eclipse is coming soon, and there's lots that we gotta do. Aang would want us to start doing whatever we can right now. First off, we need to find him a Firebending master. Then we'll need a plan to get into the Fire Nation, and disguises for everyone. I doubt the Firebender guards will welcome the Avatar, two people from the Water Tribe, and one from the Earth Kingdom, much less help us get in. And once we've done all that, there's still the problem of the extra royalty getting in our way."

Katara nodded her acceptance of her friend's analysis. "That all sounds pretty good, but what should we do?"

Toph grinned. "We may still have another trump card. Katara, I need you to tell me all about everything that happened down in the catacombs. Don't leave out any details: they could be really important. Now, spill."

The voices wouldn't stop.

For the past day, the clueless prince had been lying in his room trying to sort out the mess of rebellious thoughts in his head. They wouldn't quiet down.

Shut up! he yelled at them.

No!

Why not?

You betrayed Uncle Iroh, and you know it. He never had to join you when you were in exile. Is this your thanks – turning the Dragon of the West into a fugitive and then turning him in to Ozai?

I never asked him to join me.

Do you have any idea of how much you mean to him? Well? Do you?

Does it sound like I care? About anything? At all?

Admit it, Zuzu. You're too afraid. You're too weak. You knew that you could help him, you knew you had a chance, and you knew that no matter what you do, your perfect family was never coming back. And it never will.

My father loves me! he argued silently. I've helped Azula conquer Ba Sing Se. I've helped Azula kill the Avatar. I will get my honor back. Father will welcome me home with honor! One hand absently reached up to trace the scar over his left eye as the boy battled his simmering conscience.

Oh, yes, honor is something that you seem to know all about, eh, Prince Zuko? "If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or not. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation." That's what Zhao said, isn't it? Guess what. He was right! No matter what you do…

SHUT UP!

…no matter how hard you try, your father will never truly accept you back. He always did adore Azula. And she always has lied, just like she's lying now about what happened. When you get back, she could persuade Father to have you executed. She could use you to get something that she's always wanted.

SHUT UP!

No. Either way, Zuzu, you've lost. You never had even a scrap of dear Daddy's attention. And now? Now, you've gone running back to Daddy and betrayed Uncle Iroh. You turned your back on him, imprisoned him, led Azula straight to him. You let her manipulate you!

You don't know what you're talking about or who you're talking to, so SHUT UP!

Don't I, really? After all, I am a part of you. Let me tell you what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how you tossed away the only person left who trusted, loved, and respected you, all for a foolish whim that will never come true. I'm talking about how you do not deserve the throne, or the title of Fire Prince: only your uncle does. I'm talking about how you proved you were really a traitor all along. Zuko, you weakling.

SHUT UP!

Weakling…weakling…weakling…

Kangdi was trying to find a way out. Think, think, come on, there's got to be some use for that brain. Dark amber orbs roved around the cell, finally resting on the door. The hinges! Of course! She knew from experience that they were the pressure points of any door; if her captors had been such dolts as to situate them on the inside, then a bit of applied tinkering should loosen the mechanisms. A sly grin spread over her face.

No such luck, though. The firebender's enthusiasm was promptly squashed as she examined the panel. It was a sliding door – no surprises there.

Punching a hole in the opposite wall would not be the best idea, either. If she did that, Kangdi would simply plunge into the ocean, to be gifted to sea serpents and the like, or pounded into the rocky coastline of the Fire Nation, extinguished like so many miniature flames. No doubt Princess Azula would be highly entertained by both endings. Neither prospect seemed very heartening to its victim, but the warrior's second plan was also crushed, as the walls turned out to be even more heavily reinforced than the door itself.

She pounded the side of her jail cell in exasperated anger. No! There had to be some way, some technique in existence that would let her break out. Or maybe… She grinned, recalling her Firebending basics. Maybe that technique didn't have to exist yet.

"Here, hold your hands like this. Direct the qi into your arm, and keep it there. Build up your force as you move, so."

The man assumed a back stance in the gray pre-dawn hours, extending his left arm out in front of him and building up power in his right. Core energy began to leak out of his hands, assuming the form of fire. Then, he sent a swift punch to the air in forn of himself. Fire exploded out of his tightly clenched fist, spreading out in every direction. "Release!"

He turned to the small figure standing beside him, who was watching in amazement. "Building up power is crucial to this technique. You must also channel the energy properly and direct your fire. Try it."

"Sure thing, Dad!" The excited younger firebender had assumed the same position long before. Ripping energy from her core and sending it to her fist, she dealt a similar blow to the air. "Ha!"

Fire exploded out of her fist in a similar fashion. But only similar. Although the girl had done exactly as she had been instructed, the technique was a bit off-kilter and decidedly smaller than what her father had modeled. But instead of helping out, the amber-eyed man just shook his head and walked away.

For the young girl, that entire day was passed practicing and refining the technique nonstop. Perhaps she was a Firebender, but she had still picked up a stubborn grit from the Earthbender fugitives that passed through.

When she was quite finished, she had missed all three meals, shirked her duties for the day, and thoroughly warmed and scorched the entire practice ground, as well as her hands, in achieving thorough mastery of the technique. This had taken a goodly toll on her eight-year-old body, and the young girl was charred and covered in dirt and scratches, none of which she seemed to mind. Finally satisfied, she toppled with exhaustion…

A secretive smile stole over Kangdi's face at the recollection.

If she could just spread the core energy through the metal door as her fist hit it, the resulting explosion might tear it off its joints. Otherwise, she could concentrate the energy around her fist and make that explode on contact, greatly multiplying the strength behind the blow.

Firebenders had the ability to extend invisible qi lines beyond the body without having their energy immediately turned into their element. While the fifteen-year-old had witnessed this before, it had only been for show, executed by uncivilized thugs in the Fire Nation streets. The trick was fairly simple once you had a good grip on the basics. Combined with one hard shot, it might be turned into a fearsome weapon.

Now the rebel grinned outright.

This was her chance!