Kataara on tumblr actually inspired me for this one-shot. She made a post about an alternative Crystal Catacombs scenario, but Sokka is the one stuck in there instead of Katara. (Much yes. Very much yes.) I love this idea so much, and though I think Kataara wanted a Zukka angle, I'm going to indulge my little gen-loving heart with this one.

The Other Sibling

Prison welcomes with glowing crystals and an angry Water Tribe boy. A very angry Water Tribe boy. Zuko is too numb to pay attention to the shouts, too numb to care about anything. Azula has won, and now he's locked up in this place, and—

Something hard bounces off his head. A pebble? Zuko stares at the pebble. Then he frowns at the Water Tribe boy, who now has a handful of pebbles and is already taking aim again.

"Where's Suki?" Water Tribe demands.

"Who?"

It's hard to follow the conversation. Zuko's brain seems stuck on You Failed, You Failed, You Failed, and he's not sure he's ever heard the name Suki, and—

"Tell me where she is!"

He sighs and lets his shoulders slump. "I don't know, okay? Just leave me alone."

Water Tribe does not. He keeps shouting and throwing pebbles until all that numbness and despair falters like embers stirred with a hiss of wind.

Zuko's eyes flash. "Quit it!"

"I'll quit it when you answer the question! Where's Suki?"

"Like I said, I don't know! I don't know who that is!"

This is the wrong thing to say. Water Tribe gets angrier. Zuko learns that Suki is the name of Water Tribe's girlfriend (and Zuko burnt down her village once), and Azula was wearing her clothes and pretending to be her. Or something like that. Either way, Water Tribe is worried, and he wants answers, and it seems he thinks Zuko is the biggest evil jerk ever to walk the world since Zuko burnt down her village and didn't bother to learn her name.

(Zuko thinks this is not a good time to admit he's not certain about Water Tribe's name.)

"I don't know," Zuko mumbles. "I don't know what happened to her. That's the truth. I'm sorry."

Water Tribe glowers and glowers and glowers. Then his brow furrows. "Something is weird about you."

Silence.

"You're normally all RARGH! FLAMES!" He does a few punches to mimic firebending. "And you said sorry to me." He pulls a face as if the apology is the most offensive part.

More silence.

"This is creeping me out now."

Zuko sighs. This guy never shuts up.

"Oh, I get it. This is some Fire Nation trick, isn't it? You want me to lower my guard and spill information to you, but your mind tricks won't work on me! I'm too vigilant for that."

Zuko gives him the flattest of flat looks. His tone is just as flat. "Did you miss the part where I got tossed in here with you? I'm a prisoner as well."

"That's what you want me to think!"

Zuko suppresses a groan and presses his hands to his face. He just wants to wallow in silent misery (because everything is terrible now), but Water Tribe doesn't know the meaning of silent. He keeps going on and on about "Fire Nation mind tricks" and how he's not buying this poor prisoner act, blah blah blah …

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"No," Zuko mumbles.

Water Tribe takes this as a sign to keep talking.

oOo

"You're really going to cling to this prisoner act, huh?"

Zuko flops onto his back and drapes his arm over his eyes.

"I already told you I won't tell you anything."

Silence.

"You could at least make yourself useful and get some food for us. It's not like your cover will be blown since I don't believe you anyway, and—"

Zuko throws a pebble at him.

"Hey!"

The tiniest of smiles tugs his lips before he goes back to glooming.

Water Tribe keeps talking.

oOo

"How long have we been in here now?" Water Tribe mutters.

Silence.

"Can't you just tell your sister or the Dai Li that—"

Zuko sits up. "For the last time, this isn't a trick! I'm not here to interrogate you! In fact, I wish my sister hadn't dumped me in here with you, because all you do is talk, talk, talk and it's driving me nuts!"

Water Tribe blinks. Looks a bit offended. Blinks some more.

"Just shut up already!" Zuko yells, and stomps off to gloom in a different part of their prison.

Water Tribe follows. "You know—"

"RARRRGH!"

oOo

Water Tribe has gone suspiciously silent. He sits with his knees close to his chest, and there is a pensive, if not grim, look on his face. Zuko frowns.

"Hey, Jerk Prince …"

Zuko's eyes narrow. Does this idiot really think he's going to respond to that?

"Zuko."

"What?"

"In that abandoned village, you and your uncle really did fight against your sister, right? It wasn't a trick?"

A sigh. "Are you that paranoid? Do you honestly think we'd put on such an elaborate hoax, getting Uncle hurt and putting me in prison with you here, just so you'll think I'm on your side and, what, tell me some information I probably already know?"

"Right …"

Silence.

"Is he okay?" Water Tribe asks.

"Who?"

"Your uncle."

Zuko's eyes widen.

"It just ... seemed like he got hurt pretty bad."

Zuko is quiet. "He's okay now. Or was the last time I saw him …"

Uncle had got away. He hadn't got caught by Azula and the Dai Li, because he didn't make stupid, impulsive choices. Uncle had to be okay … right?

The silence settles.

"Sorry I threw rocks at you."

Zuko raises his one good eyebrow. Water Tribe is apologising?

"But you kind of deserved it. I mean, you did chase us all over the world, and you attacked my village, and you burnt Suki's village, and you're Fire Nation, and—"

"I get it."

Water Tribe hugs his knees closer to his chest. "I think a part of me knew you weren't really working with your sister—not after what happened at that abandoned village—but … it's just hard for me to trust anyone from the Fire Nation, you know? Ever since Mum …"

Zuko sits up straighter. His heart clenches with a truth he doesn't need to hear, because there's only one reason Water Tribe would mention his mother in this context.

"When you first came to the village, I thought it was going to happen all over again," Water Tribe whispers. "It was almost a relief when you said you wanted the Avatar."

Zuko closes his eyes. "Sorry."

Now Water Tribe sits up straighter.

"About your mum. That's something we have in common."

"Was it … an enemy?"

Something heavy and unpleasant twists Zuko's stomach. "No. I think …"

It was Father.

The words don't escape his lips, but they fill his mouth with a foul taste, like poison coating his tongue. The old fear, the old doubt. He's pushed and pushed that horrible thought away for so many years, refusing to let it linger, refusing to let it imprint truth. But a part of him knows. A part of him has always known.

His fingers curl into his legs and he presses his face against his knees. "It was the Fire Nation," he whispers. "The Fire Nation took my mother from me as well."

oOo

It gets easier to talk after that. It's like there's a wall of rocks between them and now they're pulling it down bit by bit. Not that they have a proper heart to heart. Not really. It's more like a slow thawing, a tentative truce offering.

"Alright, that's it," Water Tribe says, standing up. "We need to get out of here."

Zuko doesn't move. "Unless you're secretly an earthbender, neither of us will be going anywhere."

"Oh ye of little faith, we just have to use this." Water Tribe taps his head.

"Right …"

"Trust me. I have an idea."

The idea is stupid. Really stupid. Zuko tells him it isn't going to work, but Water Tribe insists that they at least try. That's how Zuko ends up lying flat on the ground as still as he can.

"This is so ridiculous," he grumbles.

"Shh. Dead people don't talk."

A muscle in Zuko's jaw twitches.

Water Tribe yells for the Dai Li, demanding they come quick because something has happened to Zuko.

No response.

"Man, these people really don't care about you," Water Tribe observes.

Zuko flicks him in the ankle. His small "Ow" is the most satisfying thing Zuko has heard since getting dumped in these catacombs.

Water Tribe keeps yelling until an exasperated Dai Li opens a hole in the ceiling.

"What?" the Dai Li growls.

"Zuko tripped and hit his head and now he's not moving. I mean, I personally don't care if he's dead or not, but if you guys were hoping to keep him alive, you should probably do something about that …"

"Like we're really going to fall for such an old trick!"

The hole closes up.

Zuko rests his chin on his palm. "Told you it was a stupid idea."

"You didn't play dead well enough."

"Right. It was my acting skills that made your plan fail."

Water Tribe folds his arms and looks the other way. "At least I'm doing something. What do you suggest we do?"

"Think about our place in the universe?"

Water Tribe gives him a look.

oOo

"Hey, Jerk Prince."

Silence.

"Zuko."

More silence.

"Fine, I'll just ask you then. If we get out of here, will you keep hunting Aang?"

Still more silence.

"Are you doing this on purpose now? Because I—"

"No."

Water Tribe blinks. "Huh?"

"I don't … see the point in trying to capture the Avatar now," Zuko says quietly.

He doesn't like the Earth Kingdom, doesn't want to be stuck here, but he's beginning to realise that maybe he doesn't have to follow the destiny his father forced on him either. He could choose a different life. He could.

"Well, Aang still needs to learn firebending. Just saying."

Zuko scrunches his nose. "Did you … just ask me to teach the Avatar firebending?"

"All I'm saying is firebenders who don't want to kill Aang are far and few between. Beggars can't be choosers, you know."

Well, that was really unflattering.

"And you seem alright," Sokka says offhandedly. "For a jerkbender."

"Uh … right …"

Silence settles again. Both boys sigh.

oOo

Uncle, some blind girl, and a lemur turn up (after blasting a hole through the wall). Everything happens very quickly after that. They escape through the tunnel, but are soon blocked by the Dai Li and Azula. Zuko should have known his sister had been watching the whole time.

The blind girl grabs his arm. "Hold on tight."

"Wha—woah!"

She speeds them off, far away from the Dai Li and his sister. Far away from the catacombs altogether. Then the four of them (or five, including the lemur) face each other.

"Thank you, Miss Toph," Uncle says.

"No problem. It was your information that helped me get Snoozles back."

Ah, Snoozles. So that was his name.

"What will you both do now?" Snoozles asks.

Zuko looks at Uncle. They can't go back to Ba Sing Se. Azula won't rest until she has them locked up, which meant she probably hadn't been lying about what Father had ordered either. Maybe … maybe it really was time to give up on capturing the Avatar.

Maybe it was time to move on.

"What do you think, Uncle?"

Iroh rubs his beard and glances at Toph and Snoozles. "Is there room for two more on the bison? We need to get away from here as soon as possible."

"Of course," Toph says, "but Aang has Appa right now, and he's at the Eastern Air Temple …"

"We could meet up with my dad and Katara," Snoozles says. "They're just in the bay area."

Iroh thinks this is a good idea.

Zuko frowns. Everything is still moving so fast, but he knows he can't go back either. All those dreams of home and family have to stay just that: dreams. The only way to progress, to stay alive and out of prison, is forward.

"Okay," he says.

Maybe he'll come to regret this choice, maybe he won't. But he will press forward.

.

.

.

OMAKE

"So, Snoozles …"

Coughs and splutters. "Snoozles?"

"Uh, yeah … isn't that your name?"

In the background, Toph cackles like a mad little gremlin.

Zuko's face burns. Oh no.