It was decided that Xhela and Sokka would volunteer for the mission, while Aang and Appa would not participate in the rescue. If Aang was captured, the Fire Lord would be alerted and the three of them could not handle the mad man and Firebenders at the time being.
Xhela gave her firebender uniform to Ping, instructing him to lead Sokka and her to the Boiling Rock as his captives. To make it convincing, Ping received a black eye from his general to look like the two had put up a fight. Also, under Ping's firebender armor were a few stones, to give the appearance he was very buff, and Sokka's boomerang.
The Avatar and his flying bison would remain hidden on the outskirts of the Boiling Rock until a signal was given for them to fly in and help them escape.
Xhela's stomach twisted into knots as she and Sokka depressingly followed Ping towards the entrance of the Boiling Rock. A foul smell like rotten eggs hit her nostrils along with a sudden heat wave. Once they were close enough, she realized that the prison sat on a hot pool of water supplied by hot springs deep underground.
"I have new prisoners," Ping yelled a little too loudly at a fellow Firebender standing guard at the entrance. Small beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.
Don't mess this one up Ping…Xhela crossed her fingers and silently prayed that their plan would work.
The guard snorted before he approached Xhela and Sokka to examine them closely. "Who are they?" he muttered as he poked Xhela roughly in the shoulder.
"That is Earthbender General Xhela," Ping pointed to the female, "and this is a warrior from the Northern Water Tribe," he pointed to Sokka.
"Alright, bring them in then," the guard pushed the door open and ushered the three of them into a box-shaped contraption that hung from a thick rope above their heads. The Firebender then shot a small flame high into the air to signal to the firebenders on the other side.
The box jerked forward awkwardly and was pulled along the tight rope across the boiling pool to the prison. The Boiling Rock prison looked like a typical Fire Nation prison, being made solely out of metal and high walls.
Sokka exchanged a nervous look with Xhela as they moved closer and closer to the prison. "Just stick to the plan you two. We'll see you in two days Ping…" Xhela kicked her warrior in the foot, "Don't look so damn sweaty. You're a Firebender after all," she hissed at Ping.
An older Firebender with a long black beard and mustache unlocked the front gate to the prison with a golden key hanging on a silver chain from his neck. He barked at Ping to lead the "fresh meat" to their new homes. Xhela made sure to memorize his face.
Escorted to their new prison cells, Xhela winked to Sokka before they were split up and placed in separate cells. "Welcome to your room in hell," chuckled a Firebender guard as he shoved Xhela into her dismal-looking cell.
Well at least he is honest, she thought to herself as she quickly glanced around. No windows except for the metal bar door and a bed the size of a pin cushion on the floor. Xhela could only describe the cell as cold, dark, and depressing. Letting a long sigh out, the Earthbender sat down on her useless bed on the floor and stared at the other prison cells across from her.
There had to be at least 100 cells with only 20 or so Firebender guards. Xhela guessed that so few guards were needed because the prisoners had no way to escape. The only way out was through the locked gate and into that hanging contraption. Even if a prisoner got that far, the Firebenders could just cut the rope and let the prisoner burn to death in the boiling pool. If there was only a way to keep them from cutting the rope…
Xhela snapped out of her thoughts when her cell door suddenly opened. A guard handed her a mop and a bucket of water, "Time to clean your scum," he snarled.
Walking downstairs, Xhela found all of the prisoners out of their cells busily cleaning with the guards keeping a close eye on them. The Earthbender spotted a familiar face over by the staircase – Katara was scrubbing each step with a tiny brush. Her hands were bound with metal cuffs to prevent her from moving her arms enough to bend water.
Silently moving to where Katara was cleaning, Xhela stuck her mop in the soapy water and randomly moved the mop across the metal floor pretending she was working. "Katara," she hissed in a low voice.
Katara lifted her head to look at Xhela and almost dropped her scrub brush. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. The Waterbender glanced around at the other prisoners; she spotted her brother not too far behind them. "Is Aang…?"
"No," Xhela coughed to cover up their conversation. "Best to leave him out of this rescue mission this time," she winked before dipping her mop into the bucket. "Just get ready to break out of here in two days…"
Fuck! Fuck – fuck! Xhela slipped down the metal stairs as she rushed away from the Firebender guards hell-bent on killing her. How did our plan get so fucked up? The general bolted up the opposite metal staircase across the prison with the guards hot on her tail. SOKKA THIS IS ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT! Xhela dodged a fireball before heading towards the warden's office at the upper floor of the Boiling Rock.
Everything was working smoothly until Sokka found his lost love – Suki locked up in one of the cells only hours before their escape. Memorizing the guards' patrol patterns were utterly useless when the group of heroes were forced to wait an extra hour to rescue Suki. Xhela was forced to improvise, which wasn't one of her best traits.
Now it was up to her to kidnap the pointy-beard warden and use him as leverage as they escaped on that hanging contraption.
Sprinting up the stairs, Xhela slammed into the metal door with all of her strength. Ignoring her ringing ears, the general took a few steps back before she rammed the door again. On the fourth try, Xhela finally broke the door down to the warden's office.
Immediately she slid across the metal floor to take cover under the warden's hug map table as the elder Firebender kicked flames at her. Xhela broke a leg off the table to make it fall off-balance on its side protecting her even more.
After catching her breath and counting to three, the Earthbender leapt over the broken table waving the wooden steak like a mad woman. She narrowly dodged the flames the warden threw at her and was able to block of few of his punches with her weapon. Somehow along the way, the end of her wooden steak caught on fire.
Finally finding an opening in the Firebender's attacks, Xhela moved in quickly to knock the wind out of him by hitting his Adam's apple. Swiftly moving behind him while he was busy coughing for air, Xhela wrapped her arms around his neck and head and held the burning end of her weapon close to his face. She could smell his pointy-beard burning.
The guards rushed into the warden's office to find him under Xhela's death grip with flames dangerously close to his sweating face. "Take one step closer and I'll burn this man's eyes right out," she threatened in a dark voice. "Now back up against the wall, lie down on your stomachs, and place your hands above your heads," the Earthbender barked at the guards. "If any of you follow me – I'll kill him!"
Slowly backing out of the warden's office, she silently counted how many guards had come to the warden's rescue. She smirked when all were accounted for. "Nice place you guys have here by the way," Xhela stepped out of the office and tediously moved backwards down the stairs to where her friends were waiting.
"You got him!" Sokka exclaimed as he hugged both his sister and girlfriend.
"Get the key from his neck Katara and unlock the gate so we can get out of here," Xhela tightened her grip on the warden's neck and head when he tried to struggle.
The warden glared at Xhela, "I'll break both of your fucking legs once I am free. I swear it," his words were full of venom. The general just chuckled to herself in response.
Just as Katara unlocked the gate, yelling and shouts came from the courtyard – the Firebender guards were coming. Xhela froze, What should I do now? She glanced over at her friends; they were already in the hanging contraption waiting for her to join them.
Xhela's eyes widened when she realized how the contraption worked. Someone needed to rotate a wheel on a levy system. If they took the warden with them, who was going to operate the wheel?
"Looks like you didn't think this far ahead, did you Earthbender?" the warden hissed with a smirk on his thin lips.
Fuck… Xhela bit her lower lip as she decided on what to do. Taking the blunt end of the wooden steak, the general knocked the warden in the back of his head to temporarily stun him. She carried him to Sokka and ordered to take him, "If you have to kill him – do it. If you stop moving, use your hands and move this thing."
The Firebenders guards had finally pushed their way through the prisoners in the courtyard to the entrance of the Boiling Rock. Flames were being shot into the air, they were signaling for reinforcements that were stationed nearby.
"Where are you going?" Katara stared at her wide-eyed.
"I'll keep them from burning the rope down," she kicked the hanging contraption to move from the stone platform to a quarter of a way over the hot pool. "Don't come back here…I'll be fine!" Xhela then rushed over to the wheel and began to turn it counter-clockwise, hoping she would have enough time to get them halfway before the Firebenders attacked. She glanced back to see all 20 Firebenders standing behind her, the only thing standing between her and them was the gate.
Hurry hurry hurry! Beads of sweat dripped down Xhela's face as she turned the wheel as fast as she could go. Once her friends were only a few feet away from the stone platform on the other side, the Firebenders had melted the gate down.
Xhela waited for a Firebender to make their first move at burning the rope. One bender was finally brave enough but Xhela suddenly leapt on him with her fists flying. If she could cause enough commotion amongst the guards, they would forget about the prisoners escaping for the time being.
She continued to swipe at Firebenders stupid enough to get within her reach until they all worked together to overpower her. Xhela was dealt with a blow to the back of her head, stunning her and forcing her to her knees. Once on her knees, she was continually punched in the ribs until she collapsed to the ground unconscious.
The Earthbender awoke when her face was shoved under icy water and she struggled to breathe. Dragging her face out of the water by her hair, the warden sneered at Xhela with his dark eyes. "Your friends and the Avatar may have narrowly escaped our clutches but we still have you." He leaned closer to whisper something into her ear, "The Fire Lord would like to have a few words with you."
A chill went down her spine. She was finally fulfilling her destiny, but Xhela felt like this was not what she had in mind. I wish you were here to save me this time Zuko…
The warden pulled away from Xhela's face with a smile on his thin lips, he enjoyed watching the fear consume her. He snapped his fingers to his guards before exiting the cell, "Break her legs."
Notes: New re-write for this chapter entirely. Sorry guys, I just think this works better than the last one.
