The loud noises of fire blasts had silenced, and now there were just some voices. Sokka was too far away to hear everything clear, but he managed to sense a few words. "…sky bison…" "…you think…avatar?..." "…fell down…" He swallowed hard. Those people had noticed him and Zuko falling down, which meant they would start looking for them. He sneaked over to the other boy, who was leaning against a tree, trying to mask in how much pain he was. "Zuko.", Sokka whispered. "We have to go. The institute is on the mountain ahead of us, we will try to get there. I´m sure the others will be there too." He pulled Zuko up and did his best to keep him on his feet. Concern hit him when he felt the burning heat of the other´s skin. Everything in Zuko´s experience showed illness and the need not to be moved, but they had no choice. And Zuko knew that, so he forced his legs to take one step after the other. He tried to keep his breathing silent when Sokka nearly dragged him through the forest, away from the voices. Suddenly, there was a loud crack next to them. Sokka spinned around and looked in the face of a fire nation´s soldier.
He dodged just in time when a fire blast flew in his direction. "There they are!", the soldier shouted and aimed at them again. Sokka pulled Zuko´s arm and dragged him away behind a tree. Letting the sick boy fall to the floor, he took out his boomerang and threw it to the enemy, who was running after them. The weapon hit him on the head and sent him to the floor. "Zuko, I there was ever a moment for firebending, it is now!", he said when he heard other people running towards them. He thew his boomerang once again and helped Zuko up. The fireprince gritted his teeth and tried to stand by his own. He had to do something right now, or Sokka and him would die in this forest. And that would all be his fault… A big flame burst from his fist and stopped two firebenders, who were running their way. When another fire blast flew to him, he managed to redirect it. "Give up, you are surrounded!", a voice behind the two boys shouted. Sokka looked from one enemy to the next, but there was no escaping. They were right, they couldn´t get out of this. He stood back by back with Zuko, who needed all his energy to keep up and was rather leaning against the water tribe boy. The enemies were standing around them, their fists pointing at them, ready to take a shot if they moved. Zuko´s eyes grew wide when a tall, slender man stepped forward. "General Reeko.", he mumbled. He knew the man, as he was a close consultant of firelord Ozai. The general smirked when he recognized Zuko. "Well, well, if it isn´t the banished prince. The last time I saw you, you were in a better shape, weren't you?" Even though Zuko felt like fainting, he faced the general with a spiteful expression. He didn´t look away when the man marched up to him and stood right in front of him. "Looks like allying with the avatar can affect your health. Speaking of him…" He grabbed Zuko by the collar and gave him a threatening look. "Where is the avatar?", he asked angrily. A pained grunt he couldn´t hold back escaped Zuko´s lips, and he felt unconsciousness creeping up. Then suddenly, the other man was thrown away from him. Dropping to the floor, Zuko noticed strong wind swirling in a circle around Sokka and him, causing the enemies to back off. Someone appeared next to him, and suddenly he was falling through the earth beneath him.
When the general suddenly got tossed away from Zuko, Sokka looked around in confusion. Then he saw it: Aang was coming from overhead flying with his glider. He spinned the gadget and made a swirling wind appear around the boys. "Hey Aang!", Sokka greeted his friend with relief when he came to stand next to him. "Hey Sokka.", the other boy said shortly. "Let´s get you out of here, shall we?" He stamped hard on the earth and the floor beneath them disappeared. Before he fell into the dark hole, Sokka managed to grab Zuko, who was lying on the floor. Everything went dark when Aang closed the hole above them, but after he had lit a small flame, Sokka could see their new surroundings.
They were under the earth in a broad tunnel. "Wow, Aang, you came in the last second.", Sokka said, wiping earth from his face. Aang nodded. "Sorry I took so long, but I couldn´t come without any plan. And I made this tunnel so that I could get you down without any problem." A weak cough coming from Zuko attracted the boys´ attention. Sokka lifted him into a sitting position. "Hey, buddy, we´re almost there. Hold on, okay?" He wasn´t sure if Zuko had heard him. The firebender was pressing his arms to his aching chest while the coughs were intensifying, flames escaping his throat once again. His friends both sat down next to him and put their arms around him. Through his pain, Zuko felt them holding him. He thought of his mother tending him when he was a kid, of his uncle who had taken her role after she had disappeared. And there he was now: Without his mother, and his uncle somewhere probably hating him. But he still had people who cared about him. This was everything Zuko could think of when he finally recovered his breath. With his friends, he was save.
"We should get going.", Aang said when Zuko´s breaths had calmed down a bit. "I don't know what these firebenders are up to, but I´m not keen to finding it out." Together with Sokka, he lifted Zuko to his feet. They dived under his arms and rather carried than supported him when they walked along the tunnel. "This path ends between some trees at the bottom of the mountain where the institute is located.", Aang explained. "From there, we will fly up with the glider. Although we should better stay behind the mountain so that those benders don't see us." They walked for a few minutes, then Sokka saw light ahead. They had reached the end of the tunnel. Outside the sun had risen properly, and it was shining brightly through the leaves.