So here;s the deal. I had suddenly gotten inspiration for two chapters in advance and started looking and realized that I was almost done so I figured why not? So a few minutes later and now you guys get the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I know I have been enjoying writing this fic!
Danny watched Zuko curiously as he poured some tea into small cups "Nobody can make tea like my uncle but hopefully I learned a thing or two, would you like to hear uncles favorite tea joke?" he asked casually.
A number of responses came back, something that caused Danny to smile, they were finally starting to accept Zuko.
Of course he had been with them for about a week. Granted him and Aang had taken a side course when his fire bending failed him but it gave Danny time to recover. Zuko walked to Haru and The Duke to hand them their tea "Okay, well I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is 'leaf me alone, I'm bushed'" he said.
Everyone stared at him, the fire being the only thing making a sound in the night air. Danny shook his head "Next time remember the whole thing, it might be funnier" he said dryly.
Everyone laughed at the remark and Zuko smiled lightly towards Valerie who smiled back. Zuko then went to Sokka who looked at Danny before turning to Zuko "Can I talk to you and Danny alone?" he asked.
Zuko shrugged but set the tea down. Danny raised an eyebrow but slowly got to his feet, following after. They stopped some distance from camp and Sokka looked out towards the darkness of night "If someone were…captured by the Fire Nation where would they be taken?" he asked.
Danny's eyes widened in alarm "Who was captured?" he asked.
Sokka looked sadly at him before bowing his head "The invasion members had us kids go on without them while they were captured. Jazz wanted to keep it from you until the time was right" he muttered.
Danny's face became pale while Zuko looked back and forth between the two "Who was in the invasion who was so important to you?" he asked.
Sokka shot him a rough look before lowering his gaze "Our parents" he said roughly.
Danny's fists trembled "I told them to stay away" he said quietly.
His body began to tremble as his heart clenched "I told them to stay away for their safety" he said in dismay.
Sokka touched his shoulder "I know" he said. He then turned to Zuko "Please. It would help me so much if I at least knew where they were" he said.
Danny shot him a glare "Know where they are? Forget that I'm saving my parents" he said fiercely.
Sokka glared him down "And do what? We need to finish this war" he said.
Danny looked away, not saying anything. Zuko sighed "I'll tell you my suspicions but you have to agree to stay" he said firmly to Danny.
Danny looked away but stayed silent. Zuko sighed, looking away "My guess is…they were taken to the Boiling Rock" he said quietly, opening his eyes to look at them.
Sokka frowned slightly "What's that?" he asked.
Zuko met his eyes with a blank look "The highest security prison in the Fire Nation. It's an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable" he said.
Sokka's eyes became troubled and Danny looked at Zuko "Where is this place?" he asked.
Zuko shot him a sharp look "You promised not to go" he reminded.
Danny nodded tightly "I just want to know" he whispered.
Zuko nodded warily "It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew past it on your way here" he commented to Sokka.
Sokka nodded, his face a fraction paler than before "Thanks Zuko. I just needed to know" he said.
Zuko nodded as Sokka walked back towards the fire "Yeah. I'm sure" he muttered, looking towards Danny who looked away with a pained expression.
Line break
That morning Sokka carefully snuck over to Appa. It was tricky when he nearly stepped on Momo but he managed to make it through without waking anyone. With a smile he began climbing Appa, calming the bison as he woke. When he got to the top he couldn't help but give out a startled yelp as he fell to the ground "Zuko!" he said in surprise.
Zuko moved to the side, looking down "Not up to anything, huh?" he asked.
Sokka sighed, gathering his belongings "Fine, you caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad. You happy now?" he asked.
Zuko's face remained blank "I'm never happy" he said.
Sokka sighed, hefting his shoulder pack "Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea. It was my decision to stay when things were going wrong. It's my mistake and my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me Zuko" he said, his eyes blazing.
Zuko sighed, jumping down "You have to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you" he said.
Sokka paused from where he started climbing back up Appa "No. I have to do this alone" he said.
Zuko crossed his arms in annoyance "How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked prisons don't have bison day cares" he said.
Sokka paused before sighing in defeat. Zuko motioned him to follow "We'll take my war balloon" he said quietly.
Line break
The gang slowly woke up upon a few missing members in the group. With a sigh Katara picked up a note "What does it say?" she asked.
Katara squinted her eyes, trying to decipher the writing "Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko" she said.
She then squinted further "PS. Danny came with" she read.
She then turned it over, surprised at seeing more better eligible writing "One more thing. Aang, Valerie will teach you while I'm gone. Listen to her and maybe you'll come out in one piece" she said, smirking slightly at the end.
Valerie grinned slyly at Aang "This is what I've been waiting for" she said. Aang yelped as she grabbed his shirt, pulling him off to train.
Line break
Up in the war balloon an awkward silence seemed to ring as Zuko fire bended into the burner. Sokka gave him a small grin "Do you get tired doing that?" he asked.
Zuko shot him a questioning look "Not really. Why?" he asked.
Sokka shrugged "Because…maybe I can help" he said sheepishly.
And with that Danny phased out of Sokka who glared at him "That was so not cool" he said.
Zuko gaped at him and Danny rubbed the back of his neck "Half spirit. One of my abilities" he said sheepishly.
Zuko shot him a small glare "What happened to not going?" he asked.
Danny pointed to Sokka "You never said he couldn't go and up until this point I was him" he reasoned.
He then glared at Sokka "And do you ever think about anything other than meat?" he asked dryly.
Sokka returned the glare "Do you think of anything besides my sister?" he snapped. To Zuko's amazement Danny managed to pale and blush at the same time making him look like a peeled potato with a sunburn. Zuko began laughing as Danny stuttered out an excuse.
Sokka waved him off "Your fine but please. Never allow me to see that again! There's only so much Katara I can stand" he said.
He then shivered "I'm okay with it as long as the thoughts stay clean" he said.
Danny sighed in relief "Thanks" he muttered.
He then glared at Zuko who continued laughing "Keep it up and you'll find yourself walking around camp shouting you love Valerie at the top of your lungs wearing the goofiest clothes I can find with a big goofy grin on your face" he challenged.
Zuko raised an eyebrow "And how would you do that?" he asked.
Danny's face became blank and he pointed to Sokka "Half spirit. Take over body. Duh" he said.
He then blinked, turning to Sokka "Wait. How did you know I was half spirit?" he asked in surprise.
Sokka looked away "During the invasion it was an ambush with the Dai Li. Azula set it up with her new friend. He told her that you were half spirit from another world and so Jazz told us all on the trip to the air temple" he explained.
Danny sighed "Who was her new friend?" he asked.
Sokka shrugged "I don't know. They only said he was tough" he said.
Danny frowned, now officially curious. Once more an awkward silence fell on the balloon. Finally Danny turned to Zuko "So what exactly is your relationship to Valerie?" he asked.
Zuko sighed, looking away with a small smile "When I first met her she had no place to go and she listened to me rant and so I told her that if she pretended to be my girlfriend it would offer her a place to stay. I don't know why but I had this urge to protect her. She felt fragile and yet strong" he said.
Danny smirked but stayed quiet "I guess the feelings have just developed over time" Zuko said quietly.
Danny smirked at him "Have you kissed her?" he asked.
Zuko smiled at him "For show in front of Azula but to be honest it was amazing" he said, a light blush on his cheeks.
Danny smirked at him "I'm sure" he commented. And with that they fell silent but this time it was a little more comfortable. That night Danny sat in the back of the basket, playing with some water from a canteen at his side. He was carefully molding it into shapes and freezing them momentarily. On the other side Sokka snored loudly and obnoxiously as Danny sorely considered gagging him with the water.
But before he could make the decision Zuko straightened up "There it is" he said.
Instantly Sokka jolted up, looking out as the other two moved to the edge to get a better view. In front of them was a large volcano with steam rising from it. Danny frowned at the steam but Zuko looked at it with a grateful eye "There's plenty of steam to keep us covered. As long as we're quiet we should be able to navigate through it without being caught" he said.
The three remained silent as they dropped down into the steam. For a moment things began to run smoothly until they took a rapid drop. Startled Danny looked at Zuko who was frantically bending fire into the vent "The balloon's not working anymore" he hissed.
Sokka frowned as he studied the steam around them "The air outside is as hot as the air inside so we can't fly" he quickly gathered.
A particular jolt threw Zuko off balance, making him stumble into the side "So what are we supposed to do?" he asked.
Sokka quickly took hold of something as Danny grabbed a side "Crash landing?" Sokka asked helplessly.
Danny sighed "Not if I can help it" he said.
Quickly he summoned his ghost half, grabbing hold of the two before turning them all intangible, flying out and shooting towards the shore. Danny stumbled as he dropped them to the dirt, turning to watch the balloon sink with bright green eyes. He frowned as he powered down to normal, making the two gape at him "I've seen you like that for like a month straight but knowing what it means that is so awesome!" Sokka said with a grin.
Danny blushed slightly but turned to the walls above them Now we just have to finish this rescue mission and find a way out of here. I can fly part of the way but not for long. Especially if we add on more people" he said hesitantly.
Zuko sighed, looking at them carefully "Hopefully you know what your doing. There's no turning back now" he said quietly.
Line break
It was easy to get them into a uniform storage. All Danny had to do was invisibly phase them through the walls till they found it. Sokka was all for just straight looking for the missing parents but Zuko pointed out that it was already starting to tire Danny who had grown unaccustomed to using his ghost powers. So instead they settled for Zuko's idea of dressing as security guards. Zuko looked around nervously as they exited the room "I hope these disguises work" he fretted.
Danny shot him a small glare "They were your idea" he pointed out sharply.
Sokka sighed "We just need to lay low until we can find my dad and Danny's parents" he said.
Danny nodded but neither could get another word in the hall was filled with guards. They exchanged nervous looks but were relieved when one guard stopped "Guards! There's a scuffle in the court yard! Come on!" he shouted.
With that they followed at a slower pace, keeping to the back of the crowd. They easily made it to a large courtyard where the guards shoving the spectators aside before forming a barricade "I didn't do anything. I'm going back to my cell" he said.
The guard quickly created a fire whip, hitting it near the prisoner's feet "Stop right there Chit Sang" he ordered.
Both Danny and Zuko moved to help the prisoner but Sokka firmly grabbed their elbows "We can't blow our cover" he whispered.
They straightened up as the guard sneered "I've had it with your unruly behavior" he said.
Chit Sang turned to him with an annoyed look "What did I do?" he asked.
The guards snorted "He wants to know what he did" he said.
He then turned to Sokka with a smile "Isn't that cute?" he asked.
Sokka remained still, unsure of what to do. Taking charge Danny stood straight at attention "Very cute, sir" he said professionally.
The guard nodded in satisfaction, turning back to the prisoner "You didn't bow as I walked by. And your little friend didn't either though he was smart enough to apologize. Especially when I threatened his girls" he said.
Danny's fists clenched into white fists but other wise he looked calm. Chit Sang however looked outraged "What? That's not a prison rule!" he shouted.
The guard met his eyes with a hard look "Do it" he demanded.
Chit Sang scoffed "Make me" he said before turning to walk away. The guard frowned, creating another fire whip before bending it at the prisoner. Danny tensed, ready to lunge forward but was saved as Chit Sang turned, bending the whip back at the guard.
The guard shook his head, a sly smirk on his face "Tsk, tsk. Fire bending is prohibited. You're going in the cooler" he said.
He then pointed to Sokka "You! Help me take him in" he ordered.
Sokka shot Zuko and Danny a small look "Meet back here in an hour" he whispered.
Line break
Danny paused, unsure of where to head off. Zuko had decided to trail off after the other guards so Danny shrugged, deciding to remain as sentry to watch the prisoners wander around. Almost lazily he scanned them but inside his heart pumped with adrenaline as he searched for the faces he wanted to see most. But before he could get far another guard walked up to him "So, you're a newbie right?" she asked.
Danny looked at her in surprise "How did you know?" he asked nervously.
The girl shrugged, keeping her eyes on the prisoners "To uptight. You can loosen up a little. Believe it or not most of the prisoners are pretty much harmless" she commented.
Danny nodded but stayed silent. Suddenly an idea came to him "So are there any prisoners that would be considered trouble?" he asked.
The female guard just shrugged "Not really. We have these two girls, one who in my opinion shouldn't be here" she said in disgust "But fortunately one of the younger men have become their 'bodyguard' as they call him" she said.
Danny shot her a curious look "Fortunately?" he asked. The woman besides him winced "She can't be older than thirteen. She doesn't belong here but that bodyguard and her mentor protect her very well" she said quietly.
Horror passed through Danny but he forced it away for now "Do you guys have any war prisoners?" he asked.
The lady paused, thinking for a moment "Not any new ones. I heard there was an invasion on the capitol that failed but we haven't received any new prisoners from the captured ones" she commented.
Danny's heart fell and the two fell silent. For a while they watched in silence before the lady perked up, looking at something nearby "There's bodyguard's charges. Wonder where he's at. Normally he doesn't leave them even though the older can fend for herself. If I were you'd I'd learn what they look like and stay away. They are pretty much inseparable. Once the two older ones found out about the younger one they formed a defensive about her. They are very protective of her" she said, pointing.
Knowing he had no choice Danny followed her gaze and his heart nearly stopped as he recognized the figures. His throat felt dry and his breath was a tad harsh "She shouldn't be here" he whispered.
The lady besides him nodded coldly "Agreed" she said.
She then looked up as a small bell sounded "It's time for a change in shifts. Good luck" she said.
She then smiled "By the way, my names Lorine" she said.
Danny gave her the best smile he could muster "It's been a pleasure to meet you. I'm…Fenton" he said after a brief moments pause.
She raised her eyebrow but shook it off before walking away "Goodbye Fenton" she said. Danny waited till she was out of sight before hurrying off, he had to find Sokka and Zuko.
Line break
It didn't take long to find Sokka and Zuko, both of who had their visors up. He ran towards them and they both tensed, getting into fighting positions, worrying on their faces. Quickly Danny lifted his visor to show he wasn't a threat. As soon as he did Sokka dejectedly dropped his shoulders "Our parents aren't here" he said sullenly.
Danny nodded "I know. But someone else is" he said.
Quickly he pulled Sokka to the railing, pointing downward. Sokka gaped before a wide smile lit up on his face "Suki!" he said excitedly.
He then frowned, noticing the girl besides her "Who is that? She can't be older than twelve" he said.
Danny looked at him with a desperate look "She's my sister. Her name is Danielle. She's actually a copy of me but it's complicated and I haven't seen her for a long time. And she is twelve" he said, his body shaking.
Sokka and Zuko exchanged horrified looks before they steeled their expressions "We will break them out of here as soon as we can" Zuko vowed.
They then turned as the prisoners were escorted back to their cells. Danny's heart clenched as he watched Suki place a protective hand on Danielle's shoulder as they walked out of Danny's line of sight. He then sighed heavily "Come on. Let's find where they're at. I need to talk to them" he said.
Line break
It wasn't to hard to find Suki's cell number, though Danny fretted at the strange absence of Danielle's. Carefully Danny and Sokka slipped into the cell and Danny felt his heart flutter when he saw that Danielle and Suki were in the same cell "What do you want?" Suki asked harshly, quickly getting up and moving in front of Danielle.
Sokka raised an eye brow at Danny "I'm surprised they don't recognize us" he said.
Danielle glared "You all look the same" she hissed.
Sokka smirked and did a small bow "It's your favorite psychopath and his dashing friend" he said.
Danielle's eyes widened "It's Vlad!" she shouted, running out from behind Suki to nail Danny in the stomach as Suki nailed Sokka.
Sokka gasped in surprise "What did I say!?" he asked, trying and failing to dodge the onslaught.
Danny swiftly threw off his helm, throwing at Sokka who took his off as well, rubbing his head "What do you think? And I am not a psychopath!" he said angrily.
Sokka scoffed "Sure your not, your just the guy who seems to look for trouble" he said with a smirk.
Danny scowled, his eyes turning green "Just you wait…" he stopped as a small figure jumped on him, pushing him to the ground
"Danny!" Danielle said in relief.
Danny looked at her in surprise before returning the hug "I've missed you Danielle" he said lightly.
Suddenly Suki also knelt down, giving him a tight hug. Danny smirked lightly at her "We found your boyfriend Haru" he commented.
Suki sighed and looked away "To be honest I just said that so Sokka wouldn't feel bad, yes I know Haru and we're friends but please that moustache is to ridiculous" she scoffed.
Suddenly they heard a knocking and both boys ducked bringing the girls with them "Excuse me I need into that cell" a voice said.
Danny winced at that, if they were found then they were as good as toast. Danny then smirked and turned Sokka invisible "Time to go" he whispered, taking them out of the cell.
Unfortunately it was to late. Zuko was holding the lady. Danny growled to himself as him and Sokka came visible, helmets once more on their heads "Guard, help! I think he's an imposter!" she shouted.
Danny winced and looked at Sokka who had an unreadable expression on his face. The female guard growled angrily "Get him off me and arrest him!" she shouted.
Danny was about to run when Sokka moved forward, throwing Zuko against the floor "Your under arrest!" he shouted.
To Danny's surprise he found himself in a grip hold from the woman as well "And your under arrest as well for hesitating when a fellow guard is under attack" she barked. Danny felt himself pale and saw Sokka shudder as him and Zuko were lead off.
Line break
Danny looked away in defiance as the door opened to his and Zuko's shared cell. They figured it would be better then wasting more since they had come to the conclusion they had to be working together. Zuko however looked defiantly towards the door at the warden "Well, well, well. I never thought I'd find you in here…Prince Zuko, and the Phantom Bender" he said mockingly.
Danny and Zuko exchanged startled looks "You know who we are?" Zuko asked.
The warden furrowed his eyes "How could I not? You have posters worldwide and you broke my nieces heart" he said angrily.
Zuko raised an eyebrow "Who's your niece?" he asked.
The warden growled angrily "Mai. She loved you since you were kids but you left her for that Valerie girl" he said angrily.
Danny pushed up straight, his back tense "That girl happens to be my friend" he said angrily.
The warden looked taken back for a second before getting into a relaxed posture "A spy then? Looks like she'd better avoid capture or she'll face death" he said smugly.
Zuko growled "If you want to torture us then why don't you just tell my father where we are?" he asked angrily.
The warden looked at him angrily "Oh in due time I intend to collect" he said with an ignorant air.
Danny smirked, leaning against the wall casually "Sure. With enough time to gain as much for yourself as possible while hiding in your office like a coward" he said casually.
The warden scowled at him, launching his fist forward and Danny yelped, holding his arm where the fire struck. He looked at the man with feral eyes "Coward" he spat.
The warden merely shrugged "The coward who will win" he said. And with that he walked out without another word.
line break
The next morning Zuko, Danny, Suki, and Danielle were mopping floors, apparently it was a daily routine. Sokka smiled as he looked at them "Good, you're all together" he said.
Suki nodded stiffly at him "Yes, though we want to move to a corner if we want to talk" she said, motioning to a secluded place.
With a nod they quickly moved there, sitting down. Immediately Sokka grinned "So listen, I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again, the whole point of them is to keep fire benders contained right?" he asked.
Zuko and Danny exchanged glances "Yeah…" they trailed off.
Sokka Smiled brightly at them "So they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well to keep the cold in it has to keep the heat out, right?" he asked.
Danielle sighed, lowering his head "We're placing our faith with this?" she asked sarcastically.
Danny shot her a small glare and she fell silent. Sokka's face fell slightly "It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water" he said.
Zuko and Suki exchanged skeptical looks but Danielle and Danny's eyes widened in surprise "The cooler as a boat? That' genius" Danielle breathed.
Sokka nodded eagerly "I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching pointed. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current" he then paused "On second thought Danny can water bend us over. As long as we don't make a sound it'll be easy and no one will notice because of the steam. And bing, bang, boom we're home free" he said.
Danny frowned "But one question, how will you get the cooler out?" he asked sharply.
Sokka's face went blank "Yeah how are you going to do that?" he asked.
Danny gasped, looking up at the muscled kid above them on the stair railing "Dash? What in the world are you doing here!?" he asked.
Dash swiftly jumped down by them "Your friend Clockwork took a couple of us to help, and how did you get to be friends with a ghost? And get to hanging out with these guys?" he asked, clearly jealous.
Suki shot him a glare "Oh be nice. He's perfectly safe. Plus he's Danielle's older brother" she said.
Dash looked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. Danny however raised an eyebrow "Are your…Danielle's body guard?" he asked.
Dash smiled fondly at the little girl "She's to young to be here and I figured why not?" he said.
Danny shot him a curious look before turning to the others, ignoring him for now "So Sokka, what is the plan?" he asked.
Sokka quickly reached into his uniform, pulling out a wrench "First we need someone to unbolt the coolers from the inside" he said, handing the wrench to Zuko.
Danny smirked "Leave that to me, come on" he said motioning for Zuko to follow him.
Zuko did curiously and after they had gone a few steps Danny turned around and shoved Zuko for no reason "What are you doing?" Zuko asked.
Danny smirked and shoved Zuko who worked hard to defend himself against the half ghost teen "I don't know, I just don't like you" he stated.
Zuko growled, realization lighting in his eyes "Well I don't like you either!" he said, flipping the halfa to the ground.
Danny quickly rolled out of the way as Zuko took his chance and launched a blast of fire at the young half ghost, something Danny retaliated with by using his own. Both boys glared darkly at each other "No fire bending, into the cooler!" a guard shouted. With swift movements both Danny and Zuko were tackled to the ground. The guards lifted them to their feet and quickly led them to the coolers.
Line break
Later Sokka walked to the cooler where he knew Zuko was in, he had no idea where they had taken Danny. However his answer became answered as he opened the door to reveal Zuko and Danny in the same cooler, both shivering. For a moment he wondered if the guards were hoping they'd kill each other "I can take you both back to your cell if you've learned your lesson" he said.
Danny and Zuko looked up, grinning as they held out a ton of bolts "Yes, we have" they said, devious smiles on their faces.
Sokka smiled slightly "I've already got the others" he said.
Suddenly he froze and closed the doors and ducked inside as they heard some coming "Yeah new arrivals are coming at dawn" one guard said.
The other looked carefully at him "Anybody interesting?" she asked.
The first shrugged "Just the usual, some robbers, couple traitors, some war prisoners and I even heard there is supposed to be a pirate!" he said as they left.
Sokka turned to the two boys with worry "It could be Hakoda" Danny said quietly.
Sokka looked down, staying silent. Zuko looked at him carefully "What should we do? Go ahead with the plan or stay another night?" he asked.
Sokka merely shook his head, tears starting to build in his eyes "I don't know. Is it right to risk our freedom on a slim chance that our parents will be here tomorrow?" he asked.
Danny looked at him carefully "It's your call. I'm with you no matter what" he said quietly. Sokka bit his lips nervously, looking down as he struggled to decide.
Line break
As it turned out Sokka wasn't to confident, Danny thought as they struggled to keep the cooler from making any noise. Upon seeing them Suki, Dash, Danielle, and the prisoner from earlier, Chit Sang, rushed up to help. Sokka shot him a glare "What's he doing here?" he asked.
Dash looked at him in confusion "He's been helping me protect Suki and Danielle. I owe it to him to give him a way out" he said loyally.
Sokka narrowed his eyes at the water "Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let's go" he said.
He then moved over to a rock, pulling out his water tribe clothing. Zuko sighed as he looked at him "Are you sure you want to go? You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescueing your parents is your chance" he said.
Suki perked up and Danielle whipped towards them "What about our parents?" she asked.
Sokka looked away in desperation and Danny looked to him silently "If I had cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's better to just call it quits before you fail" Sokka said in desperation.
Zuko sighed, looking at him with a firm eye "No, it's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out" he said.
Sokka shot him an annoyed look "That's supposed to make me feel better?" he asked sarcastically.
Zuko ignored him, pressing on "Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again-" he kept on.
Sokka halted in his tracks angrily "Seriously, not helping" he said bitingly.
Zuko grabbed his shoulder to stop him "You have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail" he said.
Sokka didn't try to pull away, instead just looking at the ground. Danny bit his lip, moving forward "Sokka. Back in my home town I used to ward off evil spirits. And I'll admit, sometimes I wanted to give up. It would be so much easier to hide in my house and let them have the world. But the thing was if I didn't stop them, who would? And with our parents. If we don't take the chance, slim as it may be, who else will?" he asked quietly.
Sokka sighed before squaring his shoulders "I'm staying" he announced.
He then turned to the others around him "You all go. You are all in far worst danger and I would feel better if you were safer" he said.
Danny scoffed "Hello? What part of half spirit don't you get? These guys won't touch me without some sort of consequence. Besides, I heal fast" he said.
Danielle smiled brightly at him "And I'm like Danny. I'm half…spirit? As well. Besides, I can easily beat these guys" she said cockily.
Suki shot her an amused look "If Danielle stays then I stay. Somebody needs to keep her out of trouble" she said.
Dash looked at the two with conflicting eyes before a sigh escaped his lips "I'll…stay. For Suki…and Danielle" he said.
Chit Sang sighed "Fine" he muttered. He then used his foot, pushing the cooler out to the lake.
He shot them a smirk "Imagine what happens when they find it? Give them a bit of a heart attack" he said.
Danny smirked at the ground "I might be able to add a few more" he said slyly.
Sokka gave them sharp looks "Since when are we trying to give the Warden a heart attack?" he asked.
Danielle shot him a smirk "Since when do you care?" she shot back. Sokka glared at her but didn't say anything.
Zuko smiled at him before motioning back to the prison "We'd better get back before we're missed" he said.
Line break
That morning the particularly large group gathered around, watching as the gondola began moving toward the platform. Sokka took a nervous breath "This is it" he said. He then looked down "If none of our parents are there then this will have been for nothing" he said.
Danielle placed her small hand in his "We had to. Besides, at any rate we'll have time to implement 'scare warden to death'." she said gleefully.
Danny shot her a stern look as the gondola landed "Not scare, just put him on pins and needles" he said.
They then watched as the gondola opened and a large man with shaggy hair and a nose ring stepped out "Is that one of them?" he asked.
Danielle snorted and Sokka glared at him "None of our invasion group had a nose ring" he said.
They then watched vigilantly as a line of prisoners exited, ending with a shirtless man with a top knot. Danny's heart clenched but Sokka's heart shattered in dismay "Oh no" he breathed.
Suki placed a hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry" she said.
They stayed silent, looking down at the ground in quiet dismay and sorrow "Hey you, get off the gondola" a guard demanded. Instantly Danny's and Sokka's head shot up as the others looked up in anticipation.
Danny stared wide eyed at the two figures who exited the hanger "Mom…" he whispered at the same time Sokka whispered "Dad…"