It was nightfall at the Western Air Temple. Zuko poured tea to give to the members of Team Avatar.
"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" Zuko asked.
"Sure."
"I like jokes."
"Bring it!"
"Okay." He served tea to The Duke and Haru. "Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!'... Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it."
"Right... maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing." Katara said. I laughed with the others, and Zuko smiled.
"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens." Toph said. Zuko handed tea to Teo and Toph. He then approached Sokka. Sokka locked eyes with me and I nodded, getting up.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asked. He stood up and walked out, and I followed. Zuko set down the tray of tea. We walked away from where the rest of the group was gathered.
"So, what's up?" Appa woke up and looked at us as we walked past him.
"If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?" Sokka asked.
"What do you mean? Who was captured?"
"When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be."
"I can't tell you."
"What? Why not?"
"Trust me. Knowing would just make you feel worse." Zuko turned to leave, but I stopped him from going.
"It's my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put him through."
"It's not good, Sokka."
"My guess is, they were taken to the Boiling Rock."
"What's that?"
"The highest security prison in the Fire Nation." Sokka looked at him, horrified. "It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable."
"So, where is this place?"
"Why do you need to know? What are you planning?"
"Nothing. Boy, you're so paranoid." Sokka said. I rolled my eyes.
"It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here."
"Thanks, Zuko." He yawned. "Just knowing makes me feel better."
"Yeah, I'm sure it does." Zuko said sarcastically. We looked to each other as he headed away and nodded to each other in silent agreement.
Zuko and I hid in Appa's saddle, waiting for Sokka to show up, like we knew he would. I was sitting next to Zuko, curled into his side, with my legs over his legs. Zuko had his arm around my waist, and drummed the fingers of his free hand on my shin. And Sokka finally showed up. He began to climb onto Appa, who awoke.
"Shh." Sokka said. Appa went back to sleep and Sokka climbed on top of him. However, as he climbed up, he notices Zuko and I already in the saddle.
"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko said. Sokka fell off Appa, his bag's contents falling out.
"Fine, you guys caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad. You happy now?"
"I'm never happy." Zuko said. I smirked and tilted my head to whisper in his ear.
"You are when I grovel." I whispered. He smirked and rolled his eyes. We got up and watched Sokka pick up his thing.
"Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea, it was my decision to stay when things were going wrong." Zuko jumped off of Appa. "It's my mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me, Zuko." He pushed Zuko aside and began to climb up Appa and onto Appa's saddle.
"I can." I said, jabbing him in the chest. He yelped and fell off again. I hopped off Appa and looked down at him.
"You need to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you." Zuko said. He grabbed my waist. "We both are."
"No. I have to do this alone."
"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares. We'll take my war balloon." We walked off to the war balloon.
Zuko blasted fire into the tank to keep the war balloon moving. A moment of awkward silence between the two followed. I looked between the two, waiting for one of them to speak.
"Pretty clouds." Sokka said.
"Yeah... fluffy." Sokka whistled. "What?"
"What? Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."
"No kidding." Zuko said.
"Yep, a balloon... but for war." Sokka said. I face palmed.
"If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war." He blasted more fire into the tank.
"Yeah, it seems to run in the family."
"Hey, hold on. Not everyone in my family is like that." Zuko said defensively.
"I know, I know, you've changed."
"I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down." Zuko said. I reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard."
"It wasn't that hard." Zuko admitted.
"Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?" Sokka asked.
"Well, I did have a girlfriend. Mai." Zuko said. "But-"
"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?"
"Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it."
"My first girlfriend turned into the moon." Sokka said. Zuko looked shocked for a moment. He looked up at the sky briefly, before glancing back at Sokka.
"That's rough, buddy." Was all he said.
It was nighttime. Yue was shining down on us as Zuko continued to keep the tank full. Sokka was asleep, snoring aloud. I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"So..." I said. Zuko sighed.
"Listen, I do care about Mai. But at this point, as a needy friend, like Jin. I care about you."
"So you were lying to Mai?" I asked, sitting cross legged.
"Mostly. I mean, I don't want her to become a wanted criminal." He said. I nodded.
"That makes sense." I said, looking away. Zuko fired into the tank again before looking to me.
"Hey," He said, "What's really bugging you?"
"Nothing, forget it." I said. Zuko walked over and knelt in front of me, grabbing hold of my hands.
"Avery, what's wrong?" He asked. I sighed.
"I don't even know." I admitted. I looked to him, and noted something out of the corner of my eye.
"There it is!" I exclaimed. Sokka awoke to see it.
"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." Zuko said. As we entered the steam though, the balloon began losing altitude. Zuko frantically blasted fire into the tank.
"We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!" He blasted fire up into the balloon.
"The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!" I said, getting to my feet. I fell into Zuko, who fell into the side as the balloon tips.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Zuko asked.
"I don't know! Crash-landing?" Sokka yelped. The balloon skidded along the boiling water, splashing my hand. I shook out my hand while blocking my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. The balloon hit the base of the rock, ejecting the three of us from it.
"How are we gonna get off the island if the balloon won't work?" Zuko asked.
"We'll figure something out! I suspected it might be a one-way ticket." Sokka said.
"You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?" Zuko asked. I was still biting my hand so I wouldn't cry. The burn was bad, very bad. Sokka walked to the destroyed balloon.
"My dad might be here! I had to come and see!"
"Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this... this is just crazy!" Sokka gathered parts from the balloon together.
"Hey, I never wanted you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it by ear. So there." After the hot water on the balloon burned his hand, Sokka kicked it into the water.
"What are you doing?" Zuko asked.
"It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone to find it." Sokka said.
"I hope you know what you're doing. There's no turning back now." Zuko said.
"Uh, Avery?" Sokka said. "You okay?"
"MmmmmMmmm" I hummed, shaking my head. I held out my burnt hand and Zuko and Sokka gasped, cringing.
"How'd this happen?" Zuko asked, carefully taking my hand and examining the wound.
"Water." I said briefly, voice laced with obvious pain. I went back to biting my free hand.
"We need to get you bandaged up. Inside we can steal guard uniforms and get you hand fixed." Zuko said. Sokka and I nodded.
It was morning. Zuko, Sokka, and I had managed to sneak in. We bandaged my hand and disguised in prison guard uniforms. Well, they did. There were only two guard uniforms. I disguised as a prisoner.
"Remember, Zuko is Tatsuo, Sokka is Tatsuya, and I'm Kaida." I said.
"I hope these disguises work." Zuko said.
"We just need to lay low and find my dad as soon as possible." Sokka said. A series of guards ran by. One of them ran back and looked at them.
"Guards! There's a scuffle in the yard. Come on." He said.
"I can't leave my charge." Zuko said, roughly grabbing my bicep and pulling me back.
"Your charge?" He asked. "Oh yeah! I forgot the Warden allowed private charges."
"Well, Kaida is my charge alright."
"Well bring her along then!" He said. We took off running towards the yard. Prisoners were gathered in a circle as the guards moved through to the inside.
"I didn't do anything! I'm going back to my cell." A large prisoner said.
"Stop right there, Chit Sang." A guard said, whipping fire at him. I frowned, instantly not liking him. Zuko tried to approach, but I grabbed his arm to stop him.
"We can't blow our cover." I said. Zuko nodded and stepped back.
"I've had it with your unruly behavior!" Said the bully guard.
"He wants to know what he did. Isn't that cute?" He said to Sokka and Zuko. He gave them a look when they say nothing.
"Uh, very cute, sir." Zuko said.
"Super cute." Sokka agreed.
"You didn't bow down when I walked by, Chit Sang!" The Bully Guard said.
"What? That's not a prison rule!"
"Do it!"
"Make me." The bully guard walked away. But then, as he was leaving, he whipped fire at Chit Sang. Chit Sang blocked it, and redirected it at him. The bully guard broke the blast with a kick.
"Tsk, tsk. Firebending is prohibited. You're going in the cooler." He pointed at Sokka. "You! Help me take him in."
"Meet me back here in an hour." Sokka whispered to Zuko.
It was meal time for the guards. I wasn't allowed in the lounge, so I went to the yard. I looked around and noted a slim red haired girl sitting alone on a large rock. I walked over and sat next to her. She looked at me oddly.
"What's your name?" I asked casually.
"Suki." She said. My eyebrows shot up and I looked at her with wide eyes.
"You're Suki? As in, 'Sokka's Girlfriend' Suki?" I said. She perked up.
"You know Sokka?"
"Yeah!" I said. "Me and him are traveling with the Avatar."
"'you and him'?" She said.
"Okay, rewording now. I joined the Avatar's group, and Sokka's in said group. I'm not 'with' Sokka. I'm 'with' Zuko." I said.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"My name's Avery, but for the sake of not breaking our cover, call me Kaida." I said. I looked up to see Sokka and Zuko talking on a balcony of sorts. I trained my eyes on them and when they looked down, they saw me. I waved and Sokka lit up, seeing Suki next to me.
"Prisoners, back in your cells!" A guard yelled. I stood and looked to Suki.
"I don't have a cell, sir." I told a guard. "I'm Tatsuo's charge."
"Who's?"
"He's knew here, sir." I said. He nodded.
"Alright. Well, come with me. We'll find this Tatsuo of yours." He said. I waved to Suki and followed the man.
"Guard, help! I think he's an impostor! Arrest him!" I heard someone yell. The guard I was walking with and I exchanged looks and took off running. Zuko was fighting with a female guard. "Get him off me and arrest him!"
"You're under arrest!" Sokka said, grabbing Zuko and throwing him to the floor. I cringed. I looked to the guard and frowned.
"You people trusted an imposter with a dangerous criminal?"
"You aren't dangerous." he said. I quirked an eyebrow.
"Why do you think I'm in here?" I asked. He gave me a look before nodding.
"Good point. You there!" He pointed to Sokka, who was leading Zuko away. "What's your name?"
"Tatsuya." He replied. The guard pushed my forward.
"She's your charge now." He said, before heading away. Sokka, Zuko, and I exchanged looks.
I followed Sokka around, following orders and playing along when he 'rough housed' me. We came down a flight of stairs and saw Zuko and Suki mopping floors.
"Oh, good, you guys have met." Sokka said.
"Actually, we met a long time ago." Suki replied.
"We did?" Zuko asked.
"Yeah, you kind of burned down my village." Suki snapped. I fought back a small snicker as Zuko paused from mopping for a moment.
"Oh, sorry about that. Nice to see you again." Zuko said. This time, I laughed quietly. The four of us ducked behind the staircase Sokka and I had come down a few moment earlier.
"So, listen, I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?"
"Yeah..."
"So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?"
"Just get to the point, Sokka." Suki said.
"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water."
"The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?" Zuko said.
"I'm telling you, it'll work. Avery and I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free." Sokka said.
"But how are we going to get the cooler out?" Suki asked.
"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out?" Chit Sang said, jumping down the stairs next to us. I yelped and my grip tightened on Zuko's hand.
"What? We didn't... W-we didn't say that."
"Yeah, you heard wrong." Zuko said, backing Sokka up.
"I heard you hatching an escape plan, and I want in." Chit Sang said.
"There's nothing to get in on." I said.
"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is... an egg?" Sokka said. I facepalmed and Zuko and Suki sighed in disgust.
"Okay, well, I come with you or the warden hears about this egg, too." Chit Sang said.
"I guess we have no choice." Suki said.
"Okay, you're in." Sokka said. He handed Zuko a wrench. "Now first we need someone to unbolt the cooler, from the inside."
"Oh, I can get you inside." Chit Sang said. "We just need help from the little lady."
"Uh..." I stuttered.
Two guards look down at the prison area. I walked out from behind the stairs and stood in a specific spot. Zuko pretended to be mopping and 'bumped' into me.
"Hey! What are you, stupid? Watch where you're going!" I yelled, shoving Zuko.
"Hey, you watch who you're shoving!" Zuko yelled back, shoving me in return.
"I think you mean whom I'm shoving!" I said. We started scuffle as the prisoners cheered us on. We broke apart and Zuko went for a punch. I ducked and tackled Zuko onto the floor.
"I need backup over here!" Sokka yelled approaching. Zuko dodged as I went to elbow him. Zuko blasted fire at me and I rolled off him, out of the way. I then tackled him off his knees as the guards came.
"No firebending! Into the cooler!" One yelled. While Zuko and I continued wrestling, I smirked and kissed his nose.
"Love ya, baby." I said. I then shoved him at the guards. Zuko was escorted away by two guards. Sokka looked at Suki, who was mopping and looked back, as he walked off. I got up and followed him like nothing had happened.
Later, Sokka opened the cooler.
"I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson." Sokka said. Zuko raised his head slightly and released a small breath of fire out of his smirking mouth to warm himself up.
"Yes, I have... completely." He revealed all the removed bolts and screws, which made Sokka smile.
"I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. They'll be waiting for us at the shore." Sokka whispered, lifting his visor.
"Someone's coming!" Zuko hissed. He grabbed us into the cooler and closed the door. I was sitting across both their laps due to the lack of space.
"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn." The male said.
"Anybody interesting?" The female asked.
"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners," Sokka looked at us with shock and worry. "though I did hear there might be a pirate."
"No fooling!" The female said. We waited until we were sure they were gone before speaking.
"War prisoners. It could be your father." Zuko said.
"I know."
"Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?" Zuko asked.
"I don't know! Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom, all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?" Sokka asked, clearly frustrated.
"It's your call, Sokka." Zuko said.
We were outside the prison, and it was night time. Suki and Chit Sang were waiting for the three of us until they heard us above, rolling the, now detached, cooler down the hill. Suki and Chit Sang moved to help.
"Took you guys long enough." He said. I sneezed. "This here's my girl and my best buddy, they're coming too."
"Do they have names?" I asked as I looked to them. There was a male sitting on a rock, and a female waving.
"Chiyo is my girl, Akako's the dude." Chit Sang said.
"Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let's go." We moved the cooler into the water. Sokka lifted a rock hiding his Water Tribe outfit.
"Are you sure you wanna go?" I asked Sokka.
"You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance." Zuko added.
"Your dad?" Suki asked.
"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail." Sokka said.
"No, it's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out." Zuko said. Sokka stood.
"That supposed to make me feel better?" Sokka asked, moving away.
"Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again..."
"Seriously, not helping." Zuko grabbed Sokka's shoulder.
"You have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail."
"Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on?" Chit Sang spoke up.
"No. I'm staying. You guys go." Sokka looked to Suki. "You've been here long enough."
"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka." Suki said.
"I'm staying, too."
"You guys can't get rid of me that easily." I said, smiling as Zuko wrapped an arm around my waist.
"Not me, I'm out. Let's roll, baby." Chit Sand pushed the cooler into the lake and jumped in.
"We gave up our only chance of escaping. I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake." Sokka said. As morning arrived, the cooler holding Chit Sang, his buddy, and his girlfriend was still within the perimeter of the prison. The current escapees were sweating as the cooler slowly floated with the current. Chit Sang said something to his group and ripped off a piece of the cooler. When he put the piece of metal in the water, the steaming water splashed on to his hand, causing him to scream loudly. A watchman caught notice and the watchmen hit an alarm bell.
"The plan failed! They're caught!" Sokka said. A large ballista bolt, fired from the watch tower, caught hold of the cooler, and dragged it back toward the prison. Speaking of the prison, we ran in and to the prison yard.
"The gondola's moving. This is it. If my dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing." Sokka said.
"We had to." Suki said, taking his head.
"Come on, come on..." A large man with a tattoo and nose ring came off the gondola first.
"Is that him?" Zuko asked.
"My dad doesn't have a nose ring." Several more men stepped off. "Where is he?" One more prisoner exit. Hakoda did not appear. "That's it? That can't be it."
"I'm sorry, Sokka." Suki said.
"Oh no..." Sokka said, dropping his head in defeat.
"Hey, you! Get off the gondola!" A male guard suddenly yelled. I looked away from Sokka to see Hakoda step off, head high.
"Dad..."
TO BE CONTINUED!
Can you believe The Boiling Rock has two parts? Sheesh.
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