Unlike the last chapter, I actually got around to this one pretty quickly so it wasn't written in one quick rush. Also, the story now has over 150 reviews so yay, let's try and get to 200 now. By the end of this chapter, Abby's location will finally be revealed so that should be an interesting reveal. This chapter takes place during the Earth King and as per usual, italics are dreams/flashbacks and it shouldn't be hard to differentiate which is which.
Keep Hope Alive
For the first time in a long time, my body wasn't filled with pain. It was weird, since pain was something that I had become so used to as of recently. That wasn't the only thing that registered in my mind, since I then realised that I wasn't even in my prison cell. For a moment, I just stood around the empty room as a bright light surrounded me and it wasn't long before the fear welled up inside of me, since every time I found myself in a new room something bad always happened to me.
My breathing started to rapidly increase, since it felt like the room was closing in on me. This was unlike anything that I had felt before, and I berated myself for allowing this to already cripple me before any action they took. It angered me how weak I had become, but I knew that there was nothing I could do to save myself. Footsteps could be heard from behind me, and I braced myself for whatever impact that never came.
"Abby? Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.
Shocked, I turned around to find Liling standing there. Confusion quickly filled my mind as I wondered what she could possibly be doing here. Had she come to mock me like everyone else? I didn't want to believe that Liling would treat me like everyone else had, but my initial perceptions had been wrong so far.
"What is wrong?" Liling asked, appearing to be genuinely concerned for my well-being.
"You need to help me. Please, get me out of here. I can't stand it any longer," I pleaded, desperate for any help.
Liling gave me a confused look, "Abby, what are you talking about? You're not in any danger. You're in that Tatakai Stronghold."
"W-what? N-no. I c-can't be," I stammered, disbelieving of what I was being told.
The more Liling's word sunk into me, the more I realised that she was right and that I was in fact back at the Tatakai Stronghold. I was even no longer in my prison clothes, since I was now dressed in my former training gear. This made no sense to me. I was supposed to be in prison. Was it all a dream? Was this a dream?
"Abby, do you need to have a lie down?" Liling asked gently.
"What I need is someone to tell me what is going on. I can't be here. I don't remember being here," I said, glancing around the room that I had found myself in.
Slowly, Liling approached me as she put a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Abby, dear you are fine. There is no need to worry. Have you been injured?"
At that question, my eyes widened as I remembered the lightning strike that Azula had flung towards me. Carefully, I placed my hand against what should be my scarred side, only to feel nothing. There wasn't even an ounce of pain where my injury was supposed to be.
"This doesn't make any sense," I murmured.
My confusion only seemed to add more to my panic as I was unable to make sense of this situation that had to be some sort of dream. Any minute now, I'd wake up in my prison cell and be faced with more gruelling hours of torture at the hands of my captors.
"While I am here, I came to remind you that your training session has been pushed forward for this afternoon. Daisuke was able to pull some strings to get you the better time slot. Nothing but the best for his protégé," Liling explained.
"What training session?" I asked, confused.
"Your weekly training session that you have every Wednesday with Daisuke," Liling clarified. "You didn't forget, didn't you?"
"No. Of course not," I muttered, remembering the training sessions that I had with Daisuke although it still didn't make sense to me given what I thought reality was supposed to be.
"I wouldn't blame you if you did forget, since it's not like you need your training sessions anymore given you your recent success. Speaking of which, you'll be happy to know that the Avatar's execution has been moved forward as well to this Friday," Liling said.
My eyes widened, "Execution? For what?"
"What do you mean 'for what?' You were the one who captured him, succeeding in your mission. Fire Lord Ozai has been debating for weeks now on what to do with the boy, but he ultimately decided to execute him since the boy still poses as a threat if he is alive. If he dies, he will merely be reborn into the Water Tribes and will hardly be able to stop our quest to victory," Liling explained.
With every word that Liling spoke, the more confused I had become. This was just like when I went through my metamorphosis where I had dreamt that I captured the Avatar. It practically was the same plot of the dream, just in a different place.
"I'm sure that it must be difficult for you to comprehend, but thanks to your efforts the world is now firmly under our grasp. You truly are unlike anyone else I've ever crossed path with. Your strength and determination is commendable," Liling praised me.
"No. No. No. This isn't how it's supposed to be," I murmured as I stepped back.
Liling raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Of course it is. The Fire Nation has always been the most dominant nation, and now we have our success to prove it. The world is finally at our mercy and we didn't even need Sozin's Comet to ensure that, all thanks to you."
"NO! The Avatar isn't supposed to die! He's the world's only chance!" I yelled.
"But isn't that why he should die?" Liling questioned.
"No! You don't understand! Without the Avatar there is no hope for anyone! We can't live in a world with someone like Ozai in charge!" I exclaimed.
"If that's how you truly felt then why did you capture him?" Liling asked.
"I didn't!" I shrieked as I stood backwards. "I have to make this right. It can't be like this. The Avatar will not die on my watch, not when I can stop it!"
"Abby, you're not thinking clearly," Liling said cautiously.
"No! Get away from me!" I shouted.
Pushing Liling away from me, I ran towards the wall at top speed, desperate to get out of whatever this alternate universe was. Unsure of what to do, I moved my arms in a swift movement and was somewhat surprised when lightning followed through. It seemed as though my dream self was more successful than my actual self. Lightning blasted through the wall as I made my escape before jumping out of the hole I had created, barely having enough time to propel myself into the air as I landed onto the ground with a hard thump.
Surprisingly I didn't feel any pain as I landed on the ground. I quickly lifted myself up and tried to make a run for it, only to be yanked back by some force. Shivers shot down my spine as I realised that my feet were chained to the ground, which confused me since my feet were free just moments ago. Chains were nothing but bad for me, since every time they were attached to me something bad always happened.
Yet again something bad happened as I looked up to see Daisuke towering above me with a sinister look in his eyes that made me shrivel up inside. He then jumped forward, landing on the ground with a hard thump before he forcefully pulled me up by my neck with a tightened grip.
"No one can protect you now, traitor! Tell me what you know!" Daisuke seethed.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" I exclaimed, genuinely having no idea what he was referring to.
"Liar! I know you know about the prophecy! You found it yourself so tell me!" Daisuke ordered.
"I know nothing!" I insisted.
He angrily pushed me back as he towered above me, "Then I'll have to get it out of you the hard way and you know what that means."
Dread welled up inside of me as I knew what he was referring to. If Daisuke didn't get what he wanted through interrogation, then he moved onto torture and I had a feeling he wasn't going to be so easy on me. Even if this was a dream, the prospect of pain was definitely not a good one. A bright light suddenly blinded my eyes as everything I saw around me disappeared on a whim, and I was secretly relieved that it had.
Finally, I lunged forward with no restraints behind me as my breathing laboured. Looking around, I let out a sigh of relief when I realised that I was still in fact in my cell and that it had been a dream after all. Just to be sure, I pinched myself to make sure that this was in fact reality since reality was something that had become difficult for me to decipher ever since I woke up.
My dreams used to be the only place where I could be free, but now they make my everyday torture a constant reminder in the one place where I should be safe. Sometimes it was even better to just stay awake, since at least then I could be alert of my surroundings and tell the difference between what was real and what wasn't. It was almost like I was losing all over again which was frustrating since it was the last thing I had any real control over nowadays.
Turning my head to my secret calendar, I added another tally to the mix, marking my thirty-ninth day of imprisonment. The more time I spent here, the longer the days seemed to last. With every day that passed, the more I longed for my freedom even though I doubted that I'd ever get. As much as I wanted to be free from this dump, I knew that I would most likely spend the rest of my life in this, rotting away in the walls of the same nation that I tried so hard to protect.
It really is ironic how some things turn out in life.
~*•°•*~
Sleep managed to elude me for days after that, since every time I even tried to get some, I was plagued by nightmares that only seemed to get more and more disheartening. In all honesty, I couldn't even remember the last time I actually got a decent amount of sleep without being disturbed by my own dreams. Only when I was unconscious my dreams were kind to me, but I didn't really dream then so I guess that doesn't count.
Thanks to my lack of sleep, my torture sessions became more and more unbearable. Since I hardly had any energy to react or do whatever it was that they wanted me to do, they continued to increase their force and brutality. That would explain why now, my face looked pretty damn fucked up along with my hands as well, since they'd practically tried to crush them with a brick. As for my face, they'd used that same brick to bash my face in to the point where I started coughing up blood.
Now I was in what I referred to as my 'recover time' since this was when they'd leave me to fend for myself before coming back with more methods of torture. Admittedly, I had always known that the Fire Nation was a viscous place since after all, I was raised here but I never would've thought that they could be so inhumane. Looking back, that was probably a result of my own blindness that had clouded my judgement for so long. If only I hadn't been so stupid, I could've avoided all of this torture.
Sometimes I wondered how my life would've turned out if I hadn't been corrupted from such a young age. Maybe then, I would've realised my mistakes and changed my path sooner so I wouldn't have ended up like this. If I could've, I might've even trained the Avatar in firebending. I certainly knew my basics and so much more than that which would've made me a perfectly qualified teacher for him, even though I might not have enjoyed it. As part of my training, I had to teach other people who weren't as advanced as me and I never really enjoyed it. But since the world was on the line, I might've stepped it up a bit. Now, I couldn't see any way for the Avatar to learn firebending, since nobody in the Fire Nation would be willing to turn traitor after seeing what had happened to me.
The doors opened to my cell once again and I braced myself for another torture session, only to let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Ming heading towards me. For a prison guard, Ming went beyond any of my expectations which I suppose was a good thing for me. It was still difficult to understand how Ming could be so compassionate towards me when Fire Nation guards are trained to rule with an iron fist.
"You're getting luckier, Abby. This time I don't have to hide what I do since they're expecting me to fix you up," Ming addressed me as she stepped inside my cell.
Raising my eyebrows, I couldn't help but inwardly scoff at her comment on me getting 'luckier.' If I was getting luckier, I'd be able to find a way out of this wretched cell. So to me, I was just as 'lucky' as I'd always been.
"I'm sorry that the people here are so cruel to you. Nobody deserves the sort of treatment that you're forced to receive. For someone your age, you should be out there and enjoying your life like any normal teenager should. Not locked up in some cell where you get abused against your own will," Ming said as she dabbed a tissue on my face with some sort of ointment on it.
"Don't give me sympathy I don't deserve," I disagreed.
Ming looked down at me, "Don't tell me you think you deserve this treatment."
I nodded, "I do. Like they say, I'm a disgrace to the Fire Nation and I deserve everything I get."
"You are not a disgrace," Ming insisted with a shake of her head. "If anything, you are an example of what everyone in our nation should be like. If more people were like you, maybe then we wouldn't be such a dark place."
"Nobody should want to be like me. Even I don't want to be like me," I stated.
Ming sighed, "How could someone like you be so against themselves at such a young age? You're completely blind to your own self-worth."
"There is nothing worthy about me. If I was truly worthy, I wouldn't be in here. I would be out there living the life that I never got to have," I admitted.
"Those sick bastards have reduced you to such a pessimist in regards to your own self. Do not let them break you, Abby. That is what they want to do. That has been their goal since you first woke up," Ming said.
"Don't you think I know that?" I snapped as I flinched away from her touch. "From the beginning I knew that was their goal. They made it quite obvious with how merciless they were with their beatings. At first, I tried to resist it, I really did. But it's hard to resist when it's the same thing day in and day out. I always thought that I was a strong person, but my own self image has been destroyed thanks to what they've done to me. Only now I realise that I was never that person. That person was just a false illusion of what I thought I was, a weak and pathetic individual."
"You're not weak or pathetic," Ming tried comforting me, but I refused to acknowledge it.
I narrowed my eyes, "If I wasn't weak and pathetic, don't you think I'd be able to withstand the torture that I've repeatedly faced? If I was really strong, I'd be able to fight against it, but I'm not. And that's okay. I've already accepted that this is the rest of my life and I'm quite happy to live it until my weakness gives in."
"Abby, the fact that you said that just shows that you still have some strength left inside of you, enough strength to get you through this," Ming stated.
"My strength is gone. I have none. Whatever I had left was snuffed out," I retorted.
"You are still strong for making it through this, Abby. If you were truly weak, you'd let yourself give up by now," Ming insisted.
I shook my head, "I've already given up. Weren't you listening when I know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this place? There is nothing I can do to gain my freedom that I don't deserve."
"You've been through so much for someone your age. Trust me when I say that you are strong and there is strength left inside of you, you just have to find it again," Ming said.
"I'd much rather have one of the other guards talk to me right now because at least then they wouldn't try to convince me to believe something that isn't true," I retorted, getting rather annoyed with Ming. It was easy for her to say that there was still hope for me but I knew the truth, I knew there was no hope for me.
"I'm only trying to help…" Ming trailed off.
"Well, your help is not appreciated!" I interjected. "Now just do what you came here to do and leave me to wallow in my own self-pity in peace."
After that outburst, Ming didn't bother saying anything else, for which I was glad. There was nothing that annoyed me more than people trying to make things better when it was obvious that there was nothing that could be done to do so. Finally, Ming finished what she had came here to do before leaving me alone once again. When she left, I noticed disheartened she was and I didn't even feel bad to know that I had caused that. If she was smart, she'd leave me alone in peace and wouldn't try to save me since I was beyond saving, since I was already to fire down to go back.
Here I was again, pushing away people who only wanted to help me. I did it with Osamu, Dhatri, Jae and even Kenji, Liling and Seung. Now I could add Ming to that list. Although part of me desperately wanted the help, since I knew I would need it if I was to make it out of this hell-hole, I just couldn't bring it in myself to let them help me. Truth be told, I had never been accepting of help from others since I had always been self-sufficient. Only now, there was no denying that I needed help but the real question was if whether or not I would take it or let me pessimism take over like I had so far.
~*•°•*~
Due to the constant nightmares that flooded my mind every time I tried to even get a wink of sleep, I was left with very few options. Along with freedom, there was nothing more that I wanted than to close my eyes and get a decent night's sleep. Maybe if I actually got a good night's sleep I wouldn't feel so negative about everything. That was just wishful thinking on my part, since I knew that nothing would make this experience anymore better than what it was.
In times like this, where I had nothing but my ever persistent thoughts on my mind, I tried so badly to distract myself from the reality of my situation. My mind drifted to the Avatar and his little posse. They were probably somewhere in the Earth Kingdom right now, getting that third element out of the way so he could move onto firebending. As for Azula, she was still probably hunting the Avatar now that she had gotten me out of the way. The same could be said for Zuko, since now that I was gone he only had his insane sister to worry about.
Thinking about the Fire Nation siblings made me think about my own family. Truthfully, the only family that I'd ever known was at the Tatakai Stronghold. Looking back, that wasn't really a family since we were only people who worked together to achieve a common goal. The concept of family was so foreign to me, since it was something that I had never really had despite being something that I had always wondered about. Growing up, Daisuke had always told me that my family abandoned me because I turned out to be a firebender and just like everything else he told me, I believed it.
Only now that I had realised that almost everything he had told me was a lie did I stop to think that maybe that was a lie too. If he had lied about mostly everything that he had ever told me, than he very well could've lied about that too. For all I knew, my family was out there wondering where their missing piece was, not knowing that she had grown up hating them thanks to the lies of a callous man. Maybe once this was all over, I could find my family and live the life that I never had growing up.
An eerie smoke suddenly filled my room and my eyes narrowed as it surrounded me. I wasn't sure if it was my sanity acting up or if this was just another way of them messing with me. My questions were answered when I saw Saori floating above the ground with a sombre expression on her face.
"You poor child. Fate has certainly not been on your side," Saori stated.
I scoffed, "Tell me something I don't know."
"I can see that you have allowed the darkness to take control of you, making you a shadow of your former self. Even more alarming, you appear to have no desire to even go on anymore," Saori observed.
"Let me guess, you're here to tell me not to give up myself and that things will get better when they obviously won't," I snapped.
"It's a shame that someone as young as you are has become so pessimistic towards life. You still have so much of it left inside of you, yet you are acting like your life is over," Saori said.
"That's because it is over. In case you seem to be forgetting, I'm locked away in a prison cell with no way out. I've been branded a traitor and a disgrace so yes, my life is over," I retorted.
"There is still hope for you, child. Do not give up on it because that is what they want you to do," Saori insisted.
I narrowed my eyes, "You think I don't know that? From the beginning they tried to break me and I tried to stay strong, I really did. But it's hard to be strong when you have nothing left to hold on to."
"What about your drive? The drive that you have to pass on the error in your peoples ways. Surely that is enough to keep you going," Saori suggested.
"Like I can do that while I'm rotting away in prison," I remarked.
Saori sighed, "You truly believe that there is no hope for you, don't you?"
"Haven't I made it obvious?" I asked.
"Let me tell you one last thing, child. No matter how bleak or hopeless things may seem, there is always a light in the dark which goes for you even now. In times like this, hope is something that you must give yourself," Saori advised me.
"Well, I'm feeling pretty hopeless right about now," I muttered.
"My dear, you must not give up hope. Do not allow the cruelty of this world to override your strength. You are a fighter, it is in your blood," Saori stated.
"What do you mean it's in my blood? What do you know about history that I don't?" I questioned.
"That is up to you to figure out, child. I must bid you farewell now but do not forget what I have told you," Saori said before she disappeared into thin air.
What Saori said only left more questions in my mind as I pondered what she had said to me. She made it quite obvious she knew where I came from, but at the same time she would not tell me what she knew. Spirits really are frustrating; no wonder Avatar Wan separated the Spirit World and the Mortal World from one another.
But despite everyone insisting that I needed to keep going, I really didn't know how I was supposed to do that when everything had been stripped away from me and I was left to suffer. It was becoming more and more frustrating with every day that passed, knowing that everyone expected me to keep going when I had nothing to hold onto. Even now when I had everyone telling me that there was hope left, I still refused to acknowledge it.
~*•°•*~
Another day passed in this wretched place and in that time, I was surprisingly left alone in my cell. Nobody had come to torture or ridicule me which was surprising, since I always had at least once visitor each day. Then again, I should be thankful that I'm finally left alone without anyone to bother me since it was what I had been longing for ever since I woke up.
Unfortunately for me, the dream couldn't last forever since the doors to my cell opened and several figures walked inside. It seemed as though I was about to endure another torture session, just when I was about to relax for the first time in forever. One thing that I had learned in life was that you can't always get what you want, and now was just one of those times.
When they entered my cell, they quickly made their way towards me before forcefully yanking me up and shoving me against the wall. Shivers then went down my spine as I felt them tie chains around my wrists, knowing that whatever was about to happen to me probably wouldn't' be good.
"Today's your lucky day, bitch. You get to have a change of scenery," one of them stated.
"If you try anything, you'll be sorry," another hissed.
It wasn't like I was in any position to try anything. Although my scar from Azula's lightning had somewhat healed, it still hurt to do any basic movements which only made being shoved around even more painful. My mind barely even had time to register what they had actually said as I was shoved out of my cell and towards the door. This was the first time that they had actually taken me somewhere when I was conscious, which was a strange feeling.
As they walked me through the opened doors to the room that had been my torture chamber for the past month, I was greeted with the outside world for the first time in a long time. Technically, it wasn't the outside world since the first thing I noticed was how my torture chamber was in some sort of cavern. There was a long bridge that was suspended above the ground and I assumed that it lead to a much bigger structure. Sure enough, my assumptions were right as the door opened and I was shoved into a much larger complex.
What struck me the most about where I found myself in next was how warm it was, since for the past month I had breathed in nothing but cold air. It was only then when I realised just how cold I was and there was nothing that I wanted now more than to have some form of warmth to cleanse my body. As they walked me through the structure, there was some sense of familiarity that I got from this place, not like I had been here before but like I had heard of it before but I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Eventually, they lead me to another door before pulling it open and shoving me inside. Only once I was inside did they take off the chains that bounded my arms together. As I got acquainted with this room, I couldn't help but notice how small it was compared to my previous torture chamber. Nevertheless, I was still grateful for the change of scenery, especially since it wasn't like the frozen wasteland I once resided in.
"Consider this a reward for your good behaviour. You'll now be treated just like every other prisoner. But, if you even make one slip up or step out of line we'll send you right back to where you were," one of them threatened.
And with that, the men left me in my new cell before slamming my door shut behind me. Turning my attention to the small bedroll that resided in the corner, I quickly scurried towards it as I sought some form of comfort. Never before had I been so grateful for anything as simple as that. Sure, I'd had some form of a makeshift bed in my previous torture chamber but this one was much more better despite its size. Part of me was confused at the sudden change in my environment, since I had convinced myself that I was going to rot in that cell for the rest of my life. I was still probably going to rot away for the rest of my life, just in a different place.
Suddenly, I heard a loud ringing noise that just about drove me up the wall. Nowadays, any noise that didn't sit well with me made me react in the most abnormal way. Much to my surprise, the door to my newly acquired cell opened automatically. At first, I was confused at what I was supposed to do. But when I saw people walking past my cell, I decided to see what was going on.
"What are we doing?" I asked one of the other people.
"It's our exercise hour," they replied.
"Exercise hour?" I repeated.
"Once a day, we get let out to exercise in the yard for an hour. This is our hour," they clarified.
Still unsure of what to do, I simply followed everyone to wherever it was to where they were going. It was strange, since I was allowed to move around freely for the first time since my captivity. Although I still noticed the multiple Fire Nation guards who watched me like a hawk. As I followed the others, I was suddenly greeted with a bright light that almost blinded me. At first, I tried breaking free from the pact and going back to wherever my cell was. Any attempts I made were in vain as I was simply shoved outside along with everyone else.
It was then that I realised where I was. I was actually outside. The light that almost blinded me was the light that I had longed for ever since I woke up. It was strange, since I didn't understand what I was doing out here. I was supposed to be a prisoner, and prisoners like me don't get the luxury of being outside. Since it had been so long since I was outside, it took my eyes some time to adjust to my new surroundings.
When I did finally adjust to what was around me, I was hit with a realisation like a tonne of bricks. The steam that filled the air like it came from a boiling lake was a dead giveaway as to what I'd figured out. For so long, the unknown had been my greatest enemy as I had no idea where I was. Only now, there was nothing to be unknown since I knew exactly where I was.
Part of me wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing for me but either way, my location had become clear to me. It was none other than the Boiling Rock.
Despite starting this chapter early, I still uploaded it somewhat late since I just love procrastinating at everything. Well, there you guys have it. Abby isn't just in any random Fire Nation prison, she's in the Boiling Rock and I think you guys know what that means. It's worth mentioning that Abby was always going to end up in the Boiling Rock, so it wasn't something that I just randomly added to the story like some of my other plots. Leave me with your thoughts and theories in the reviews, since those are becoming a bit lacklustre recently and I'll get back to you guys next chapter :).
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Mogor: It's nice to know that I can still get empathy for Abby, even if she might not like it herself. While Abby might not be getting out of prison anytime soon, things could be looking up for her depending on how you see this chapters revelations.
Reading Reviewer: For the first time since her imprisonment, something good actually happened for Abby given the fact that she's now allowed to go outside which is something she hasn't done in months. Since Abby's at the Boiling Rock, it will definitely change the path of the rest of her adventure and you'll soon see why in future chapters.
Guest: Thanks for the review, I appreciate the feedback. One thing that is fun about writing OC stories is finding a way to weave them into everything that happens since it features a different perspective on the whole adventure. Keep the reviews coming :).
