XX: The Boiling Rock
"Sokka, why did you want to know what prison your father might be in?" Zuko asked.
"Oh, it would just give me some peace of mind just knowing where he is."
"Would you like to try and break him out?"
"Why? Wh-what makes you think that I'd want to do that?" Sokka questioned.
"I've been with you long enough to tell that you were lying to me a moment ago. Besides, if we're to agree with my uncle when he said we were becoming brothers in Ba Sing Se, then I can't let you go doing something reckless on your own. We can take my war balloon there, and we can leave while everyone's asleep." Zuko replied.
"Agreed then." Sokka replied.
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Sokka and Zuko snuck away as soon as everyone was sound asleep, leaving a note saying that they were going out hunting and that Aang should practice his Firebending exercises while they were gone, and took off on the war balloon.
"It's going to be a while until we get there." Zuko stated as they took off.
"So, did anything interesting while you were back home?" Sokka asked.
"Honestly, when I returned to the palace it felt more like I had left home. My father and sister are a menacing duo, you guys, and Mai, were much more welcoming… Father, however, on the Day of Black Sun, revealed something quite treacherous to me."
"Care to share some details?" Sokka asked.
"Apparently after my cousin's death, I would've been appointed as Uncle Iroh's heir. After my father had asked for Iroh's birthright, Fire Lord Azulon was offended by my father's actions, and had planned to strip my father of his title and disown him. It happened that Azula listened in on him and they considered a plot: Azula would tell our mother that Fire Lord Azulon was going to have father kill me so that he could understand his brother's pain. It was a trick to get my mother to step in and help to provide my father with what he wanted: the throne. My mother was a talented herbalist, so I hardly have a doubt that she may've concocted a poison and had father do what he pleased with it, leading to my grandfather's demise."
"Dang, how is it that you're not crazy after coming from such a messed up family? No offense!" Sokka asked.
"Easy, I got banished for three years, so I got away from the crazy before I caught it completely!" Zuko replied.
"Did you just try to make a joke?"
"Yes, I believe I did… So, Sokka, would you mind if I asked you something a little personal?"
"That depends on the question."
"Do you sometimes wish that you were a bender?"
"Perhaps, yes, I mean you guys make it look like a lot of fun, but it also seems like this power comes with a lot of responsibility."
"You're right, power does come with responsibility. I've felt what it does when it gets out of control… but if you could have any form of bending, what element would you take?" Zuko asked.
"Believe it or not, I might have to go with Firebending. I could use it to cook my food, but if you tell Katara that I said that, you will face the wrath of my boomerang!" Sokka replied.
"Hey, I wouldn't want you to face the wrath that is Katara."
"So, Zuko, if you could have any other form of bending, what other element would you pick?"
"I think that I might have to go with Airbending, Aang makes it look like a lot of fun, that's something that seems to run a bit short in the Fire Nation… but I wouldn't follow the customs too closely, I like eating meat too much."
"Haha, yeah, me too!" Sokka replied. Sokka looked over the balloon basket and then spoke: "Speaking of meat, do you think that you can catch us some fish?"
They were flying over water, and Zuko saw some fish swimming in the ocean below them and replied: "I can shock them with lightning, but then I'd have to go down to get them."
"Fire away!"
Zuko cleared his mind and guided a bolt of lightning to strike the water, upon impact, he electrocuted some fish and then he jumped over the basket to retrieve them. He used his Firebending to fly over the water while he scooped a few fish out and then flew back up into the balloon. Fish in hand, Sokka cleaned them and Zuko roasted them.
"Yeah, perhaps when you're in power, I'd make the Fire Nation a regular vacation spot. The local cuisine really grew on me, and everyone looked good in red." Sokka replied.
"Should I tell Katara you said that?" Zuko asked. Sokka flashed his boomerang.
"So, was it hard leaving Mai behind?" Sokka asked.
"I think that it was harder for her, but I had my doubts that she'd like being a high-class lady hanging out with those beneath her rank and sleeping on dirt. What about you, did you have to say goodbye to anyone?"
"Well there was Suki of the Kiyoshi warriors, but my first girlfriend turned into the moon."
That's rough buddy." Zuko replied, unsure of how else to respond to something like that.
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They arrived at the volcano wherein the Boiling Rock resided. The prison was on a tiny island, surrounded by the hot spring that filled the volcano. The war balloon crashed as the water outside was the same temperature inside. Sokka wasn't too choked up about it, he figured that the balloon might've been a one-way ticket anyway, and so he sank the balloon before they were caught.
They snuck inside the prison and dressed up as guards. Zuko made extra sure that his helmet would stay on firm. There was no doubt that the Fire Nation knew of his betrayal, and after assaulting his father, he knew he was a wanted man, and his scar was too distinctive.
As soon as they got into uniform, a 'fellow' guard found them and told them to get to the yard, because there was a disturbance going on.
From the sound of things, a prison guard was actually the one picking a fight with an inmate.
"You didn't bow to me when I arrived." The guard told the inmate.
"What? That's not a prison rule! I'm going back to my cell." The inmate exclaimed. He just turned and walked away, wanting to just get out of it, when the guard bent a fireball at the prisoner and the prisoner redirected it back to the guard.
"Firebending is prohibited, you're going to the cooler, Chit Sang." The guard told him, he pointed to Sokka and ordered him to help take him to the cooler. Sokka whispered: "Meet me back here in an hour."
He then helped to escort Chit Sang to the cooler. The cooler was a small cell for short-term solitary confinement, essentially a human refrigerator. Sokka took a look at Chit Sang as he sat there shivering.
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Zuko found his way to the guards' cafeteria, and a guard called over to him: "Hey, I know it's prison rules to have your helmet on at all times, but here's where you can relax."
"What if there's an incident? If I'm not prepared, someone could strike me on the head." Zuko replied. The guard and a lady guard sitting with him laughed for a moment and the female guard spoke: "Give him a week, he'll loosen up."
"So, can the new guy ask you veterans some questions?" Zuko asked, approaching their table with his tray.
"No, you can't date the female guards." The lady replied.
"Trust me, you don't want to anyway." The male guard added, and his friend threw a cup at his head.
"That wasn't it; the Boiling Rock, it holds the most dangerous criminals in the Fire Nation, right? Does that include war criminals?" Zuko asked.
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"Look alive, here comes the warden!" The guard told Sokka, and they stood at attention. The warden opened the door to the cooler and stepped inside: "I heard you tried to use Firebending to escape."
"I wasn't trying to escape." Chit Sang replied through chattering teeth.
"He's lying, I saw it with my own eyes!" The guard cried out.
"No one has ever escaped here, and I'd sooner jump into the boiling lake myself than to let that record fall. Go back to your shivering." The warden replied and he left.
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"Hello there, fellow guard." Zuko spoke upon meeting up with Sokka.
"Hey Zuko, did you figure out anything?"
"Yeah, I asked around the break room… I'm sorry Sokka, but there're no Water Tribe war prisoners here."
"What?! Are you sure?" Sokka asked. Zuko nodded. Sokka banged his fist into the wall in frustration before turning to Zuko, saying: "So we came all this way for nothing?!" Then he turned so that he was overlooking the yard.
Zuko knew that Sokka was in distress, so he tried to comfort him by trying a proverb that his uncle would say, to Sokka all he heard was some gibberish about clouds and silver sandwiches.
"Hey, maybe we didn't come here for nothing after all! Look over there! It's Suki!" He exclaimed, pointing to a young woman just sitting on a rock, when a bell ring and another guard announced for all prisoners to go back to their cells. With Sokka, his love drive for Suki drove him to chase after her!
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Suki was stretched out on her bed, not giving a care for anything, when the door to her cell opened, and a guard came inside. She sat up and calmly asked him: "Did I do something wrong?"
"You mean that you don't recognize me?" The guard asked, crossing his arms.
"You people all look the same to me." Suki replied.
"Oh, well maybe you'll rocognize this then…" The guard told her. He tried to pull her in closer to him when she took a hold of him at his chin and slammed him into the door, knocking his helmet off his head, only to reveal that it was her friend, Sokka! They hugged for a moment and Suki explained how she ended up here. After getting captured by Azula, soon after helping a hurt and scared Appa, she was singled out as the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, and sent her here. She had no idea where the other warriors were by this time, but she also told him: "I'm so glad to see you, Sokka, I knew you'd come someday!"
"I'm not alone, Zuko's outside, keeping watch right now, we're going to get you out of here." Sokka replied.
"You're still travelling with him?" Suki asked.
"Yeah, he's been a lot of help. Suki, I know what he did to your village, but he's a completely different person now."
"I believe you, now you should probably get going before you get caught yourself." Suki replied. The shared one last hug and Sokka snuck out, almost unaware of the fact that Zuko was wrestling with a female guard that had tried to get into Suki's cell.
"Guard, help me! I think he's an imposter! Get him off me and arrest him!" The female guard called out. Not willing to blow his cover, Sokka approached Zuko and took him down.
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." Sokka whispered as he hauled Zuko away.
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The warden entered Zuko's cell a while later, soon after he had just earned himself the inmate's uniform.
"Well, well, Prince Zuko, I never thought that I'd find you in here." He spoke.
"How did you know who I am?"
"How could I not? You were the one who left my niece in tears after the Day of Black Sun."
"You're Mai's uncle? I'm sorry, I tried to let her down as easily as I could." Zuko replied.
"Quiet! You're going to be my special prisoner now. You best behave. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down. Why, they'd tear you to shreds."
"So what's in it for you? You could just send me over to my father and collect whatever reward he has for my head!"
"Believe me, I intend to collect." The Warden replied.
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Sokka found Zuko and Suki together, mopping a floor and he got down to tell them of their escape plan. He noted that the coolers were insulated, and would be perfect to use as a boat to get across the boiling lake, there was even a blind spot in the perimeter that would make for a perfect launching point! All they would have to do is just get in the cooler and ride the current to the other side.
"Alright, but how are you going to get the cooler out?" Zuko asked.
"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out?" A voice asked. They looked up and it was Chit Sang, he got down to their level and told them: "I know you're hatching an escape plan. Perhaps I might be of some help too. Or… does the warden need to hear about this?"
"Fine, fine, you're in too! First we need someone to unbolt the cooler, so someone needs to get inside." Sokka replied, he pulled out a wrench and passed it over to Zuko.
"Oh, I can get you inside." Chit Sang told them.
He and Zuko took up the mops again and they bumped into each other.
"Hey, what are you stupid? Why don't you watch where you're going?" Chit Sang snapped, giving Zuko a shove.
"Hey, watch who you're shoving!" Zuko snapped back, and they locked themselves into a fight!
"I think you mean whom I'm shoving!" Chit Sang replied, and they continued their wrestling match with fellow inmates cheering them on.
"I need some backup here!" Sokka called out to the other guards. Chit Sang delivered a good kick to Zuko's gut, and launched him several feet, and he came rolling to a stop. Zuko quickly got back to his feet, and with a punch threw a fireball past Chit Sang's head.
"No Firebending! Into the cooler!" A guard told Zuko as he dragged him away.
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Sokka waited for over an hour before going to Zuko's cooler and then telling him: "I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson."
Zuko breathed in the warm air from outside and a tongue of flame plumed from his mouth as he showed Sokka all of the bolts he'd collected.
"I got the other's out already, they'll be waiting for us down by the shore." Sokka replied.
"Wait, someone's coming!" Zuko exclaimed in a whisper. Sokka ducked into the cooler as a pair of guards walked by: "New arrivals at dawn."
"Anybody interesting?"
"Nah, just the usual: robbers, traitors, some war criminals, though I did hear that there might be a pirate!"
"War criminals, it could be your dad. Do you still want to carry out this escape, or should we wait and see if he's coming?" Zuko asked
"Would it be right for me to risk Suki's freedom on a slim chance?" Sokka replied.
"It's your call." Zuko replied.
They ended up sneaking the cooler out of there and meeting down by the shore where Chit Sang stood with a pair of his cronies. They got the cooler in the water, but after Suki found out that they came here in hopes of finding Sokka's dad, and that there might be a chance of him arriving by morning, Suki insisted that she could wait a few more days to escape, and that Zuko was willing to wait too. So while Chit Sang and his cronies got into the cooler, the others decided to stay behind.
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Not long after reentering the prison, they heard a bellowing scream from Chit Sang as he had gotten tired of the heat from the water and the slow current, but his makeshift oar failed him. They were caught and reeled back into the prison, where Chit Sang would be held for questioning.
Sokka was more focused on the arrival of the gondola with the new prisoners. One by one the new arrivals stepped up, and when all hope seemed to be lost, Hakoda had stepped off.
"Dad." Sokka spoke softly.
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Sokka ran up to the welcoming party as the warden laid down the law with the new prisoners.
"… Look me in the eye." The warden spat at Hakoda, whose head was lowered.
"No." Hakoda said flatly. The warden took him down, and demanded that he look him in the eye again. Hakoda glared at him, and as the warden turned away Hakoda raised his manacles and the warden tripped to fall on his face, earning laughs from the new arrivals. Once the warden got back up to his feet, he ordered for the guards to get the prisoners out of his sight.
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Hakoda sat in his cell, on the bed, when a guard stepped inside saying: "Thank goodness you're alright!"
Hakoda got to his feet, assuming a fighting stance, and told him: "If you take one step closer, you'll see just how okay I am!"
The guard threw up the visor and Hakoda recognized that it was Sokka, his eyes tearing up with happiness and embraced his son. However, with some time during this lockdown, they decided that it was time to come up with a new escape plan.
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Zuko was resting in his cell when Sokka came around to talk to him, he told Zuko that they were going to work on a distraction, but a pair of guards came over to tell Sokka that they needed to take Zuko, and that the warden wanted to see him, so they parted ways.
The warden brought out Chit Sang, and announced that he knew that there was a guard that was an imposter. Sokka was sweating as Chit Sang stepped forward to rat someone out, and it should've been Sokka, but Chit Sang took this as an opportunity to get revenge on his bully guard, and pointed his finger to him. The guard was hauled away, kicking and screaming, and Sokka was left to breathe a sigh of relief.
Zuko was thrown into another room, and he called out to the guards: "I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Oh, we both know that's a lie."
Zuko turned to the sound of the voice and saw her: "Mai, how'd you know I was here?"
"The warden's my uncle you idiot."
"Right…" Zuko trailed off.
"Listen, you broke my heart, but at least you looked me I the eye and told me why you did it. I wanted to tell you that I regret not leaving you. Perhaps you were right that I would be miserable with those, apparent, peasants, but at least I'd be miserable with you. Perhaps I should ask what you've been up to and what you're doing here."
"I'm sure you'll find out shortly what I'm doing here. I can explain after the war, but it really has to stay a secret. As for everything else, well I've made some new discoveries within myself in my time spent with the Avatar, and he's learning to Firebend… Mai, did you come here by yourself?"
"No, Azula and Ty Lee are here too."
"That's going to be a problem, no doubt that my treacherous father is after my head and he sent Azula to collect."
"Treacherous, look who's talking."
Zuko explained to Mai what Ozai did to claim the throne, and made it clear to her that Ozai was claiming a throne that rightfully belonged to either him or his Uncle Iroh, and killed his own father in order to obtain power.
"So, the real traitor to the Fire Nation is Fire Lord Ozai, and Azula had played a part in this? Zuko, whatever you have planned, I won't interfere, but I don't think that I should get involved.
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Cit Sang met up with Sokka in the yard and told him that he owed him one for not ratting him out, and that he knew that they were hatching another escape plan.
"Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need a distraction. Do you think that you can start a riot?" Sokka told him.
"You mean a prison riot? Sure, not a problem." Chit Sang replied, he snatched up a fellow inmate, raised him above his head and called out: "Hey, riot!"
The yard immediately exploded into chaos! Inmates were Firebending, and nonbenders were throwing punches!
The warden was still processing what was going on when Suki ran off to collect the warden as a hostage, and Zuko had managed to escape the room, leaving Mai behind and caught up with Sokka, Hakoda, and Chit Sang.
With the warden in their hold, they made their way to the gondola, the guards saw that they had the warden and put up no resistance as they commandeered the gondola and set off, Zuko broke the lever so the guards couldn't stop their gondola, and jumped, reaching for Sokka's hand, and Sokka pulled him in.
Sokka turned to Chit Sang and his father, telling them: "Make sure that the warden doesn't get out of those bindings."
"I've got it." Chit Sang told them, and he punched the warden in the head and put him in a daze.
"Wait, who's that?" Hakoda asked, looking back to the prison. Zuko looked for himself and replied: "That's a problem, it's my sister and her friend."
Azula took a guard's handcuffs and locked one manacle onto the wire and propelled herself along the line, while Ty Lee jumped onto the line and ran on it as if it were a bridge. The circus freak had an insane sense of balance. They were gaining on them fast, especially now that the guards had managed to stop the gondola.
"This is a rematch I've been waiting for!" Suki declared.
"Me too." Zuko replied. Sokka readied his sword and went up with Zuko and Suki to provide them with some backup. They all gathered on top of the gondola and started fighting. Suki focused on Ty Lee while Zuko faced his sister. She still bore the scar from Katara's attack across her cheek.
Zuko faced Azula without going into the Dragon State, but he did imply his new Firebending knowledge to dissipate Azula's flames, and to return fire, but Azula dodged his blows, all the while Suki was doing a good job to keep Ty Lee from chi-blocking her, blocking her hands with her own.
Since Zuko was ahaving a hard time landing a hit on Azula, he did all he could just to keep her on the defensive. So, while Zuko didn't want to ply his secret talent, he flashed his Dragon State eyes to her, just for a second, but it was enough to tell Azula that there was something dangerous and powerful within Zuko. How could that be? She was always a better Firebender than her brother!
Sokka saw the momentary fear in her eyes and swung his sword at her, forcing her to back off a bit.
Inside the gondola, the warden had shaken his daze and managed to break free from his binds. He managed to bellow out for the guards to cut the line before Hakoda and Chit Sang subdued him again.
"They're about to cut the line!" Ty Lee called out to Azula, as she saw the guards working with a large saw, but the cable was steel and it was going to take some time before it severed, however, with them briefly distracted, Suki turned and snuck a punch into Azula's face! She stumbled back a bit, but both she and Ty Lee made their retreat on an incoming gondola.
While the guards were busy cutting the line, throwing knives flew in and nailed them to the wall.
"What are you doing?" A guard asked.
"Saving the jerk who left me." Mai replied, and she kept subduing the guards.
"What is she doing down there?" Azula asked, rubbing her cheek.
When they reached the ground Azula told her: "I never expected this from you, but the real question is why did you do it? You know the consequences,"
"I guess you don't know me as well as you think you do. I've always loved Zuko more than I feared you… And now, I no longer fear you."
"You should've feared me more you fool!" Azula exclaimed. Mai assumed a fighting stance and Azula was about to go in hot, but then, two punches later, Ty Lee blocked her chi and stood with Mai. The guards surrounded them and after helping Azula back to her feet, she ordered the guards to lock them away and leave them to rot!
So they were dragged away.
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"My sister must've gotten here somehow." Zuko told them, once they reached the outside of the volcano. He looked and saw a zeppelin, and so they abandoned the Warden and they commandeered it and made their clean escape.
"Uh, Zuko, what's going to happen to those girls? Mai and Ty Lee?" Sokka asked.
"For betraying my sister, they're going to be locked up, no doubt, but the warden is Mai's uncle, I'm sure that if he's willing to hear her out, he'll make sure that she and Ty Lee would be treated well. After all I've revealed a couple of secrets to Mai, and Ty Lee acted only to protect Mai from getting hurt. After the war, they'll be released, that I'll promise them." Zuko replied.
From there, they drifted on back to the Western Air Temple.
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Whew, longest chapter for this story yet! If anything, I hope that you felt like you were watching an episode of the show during this chapter.
Please review!