AnitaGrace: Check out yanocchi's Reversal of Fortunes - it's really good!
I'm back and I'm going to finish this thing! It's going to be great! (I hope) I'd like to reiterate that Elsie is not a Mary-Sue of me. Because I am not her. (Good reasoning, Ani...) Umm, also, there's no mention of Souzen's comet even though I definitely started this story after that episode/s. And also, did you know that the episode after next is called Zuko Alone! I'm excited - are you excited!
On with the show:
The heavy door slammed open and shut once again. The light clicking footsteps of a smaller person made their way down the dark hallway, coming closer to Aang in his abyss of a cell. Aang sat up and listened, trying to countdown the exact second the person walking would appear.
3…2…1…Not yet. 1…1…1…
Finally, the small boy appeared in front of Aang's cage and Aang stopped counting the number one over and over in his head.
The boy's dark hair was long for a boy (definitely longer than Aang's) and his skinny chest protruded over a caved-in belly. A pair of grey, loose drawstring pants that were obviously meant for someone much larger hung on his narrow hips. The poor guy probably couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds for all he claimed to be of the age eleven.
"Will you tell me more, today?" the little boy asked in a quiet and yet excited voice. The hands clutching the tray of food tightened visibly enough for Aang to see even in the darkness.
"Yes," Aang said. It was his only rescue from the dull monotony of his days in the cell. How long had it even been? Three days? And he was calling them monotonous already?
Well, they were. They were long and dull, with nothing for a usually-active boy to do. He was stuck in a dark, chilled cell with no change in light for hours. There wasn't even any noise other than the footsteps of this boy as he brought Aang his meals – which were meager – the silence which Aang tried to fill with singing, talking and tapping. Katara's visit was the highlight of his stay.
The boy handed Aang his tray (sometimes Aang wondered if the boy would ever refuse him his food if Aang didn't tell him stories) and sat down on the ground. He held out a small palm and it lit on fire. The casting glow was almost more comforting than the presence of another human being.
"Well," Aang began. "Appa was flying over the ocean when we finally reached the island we were headed to. And we were going there to ride the giant koi fish – like really big goldfish, but instead of riding the fish, I got attacked by the oonagi…"
The boy stared up in fascination as Aang continued telling him about their stay at Kyoshi, how Sokka had dressed up as a girl and how Katara became jealous of all the attention Aang had been getting. When he got to the part where Zuko attacked the village, demanding the Avatar, the boy interrupted.
"I want to be in the Fire Army, too." He blurted it out without thinking, apparently, for he clapped a hand (the unlit one) and blushed. "I just mean… I don't want to be stuck here forever," he tried to explain. "It's not the… the burning people part I want to do, I just don't want to be here…" He trailed off, unable to voice his despair of his surroundings.
Aang reached a hand out and clasped the boy's shoulder. "I understand," he said. "I don't like it much here, either."
The boy looked up at Aang and smiled. "You should finish quickly," he said. "I have to take that back soon."
Aang nodded and slurped down the entire bowl of soup in one gulp. The boy clapped his hands lightly, extinguishing the fire and gently laughed. He immediately relit his hand and smiled.
"That was cool. Can you do that because you're the Avatar?"
"Nope," Aang said proudly. "It's just something I can do. If you practice enough, I bet you can do it too."
"That's so cool," the boy said, his eyes eager. "I wish I were the Avatar."
Aang's face dropped. "Well," he shrugged, giving a half smile. "It's kind of something you're born into. Again and again and again."
The boy giggled and stood up, holding a hand out for the tray. "Okay," he said. "Well, I have to go. It's been too long – I don't want them to get suspicious."
Aang nodded. The guards here were very tight about security. The tray had no utensils, no string or napkins or anything at all for him to possibly be able to use to escape. The boy had to strip all his clothes to be able to come in here, and he had to wait while Aang ate his soup and drank his water and then he had to make sure Aang gave him back everything. It had to be a very stressful job for such a little boy.
The boy left and once again, Aang was all alone in the dark. He wished he could have done something really clever, like hide the water somehow and use it to bend his way out of here.
The chains on his ankles clanked as he stood up and walked over to his bed. He flopped down on the wooden plank, his ankles hanging over the edge because the chains didn't reach far enough.
Aang sighed and tried to stare up at the ceiling but the room was too dark to see it. It hurt his eyes to look that hard.
"You know, we can't just land Appa in the middle of the Fire Nation."
Sokka rolled his eyes. "I know that Elsie."
"Okay," she said. "Just making sure."
"Man, you've seriously gotten more mouthy in the past couple of days. You're starting to remind me of Katara," Sokka complained.
Elsie smiled to herself. Yes, she had. And it was kind of nice. Because, despite his whining, Elsie thought Sokka actually respected her more now when she was speaking up about things. It seemed to Elsie, Sokka could only treat another person like a person when that person showed a warrior-like spirit.
If Elsie had known all about Suki, she would have felt she had that proof. But she didn't know, so all she had were speculations.
Sokka pulled on Appa's reins and Appa lowered, landing on a very small, nearly tree-less island. There were a few miserable trees in a circle in the middle of the island and some scraggly bushes but it didn't seem like the sandy place was a good hide-out. Elsie didn't say anything, however. She felt Sokka must at least think he knew what he was doing.
"All right," Sokka said, sliding off Appa's neck. Elsie slid forward and looked down at him, Momo riding on her shoulder. He looked up at Appa and Elsie and Momo. "Here's the plan: We leave the flying rug and the mini flying rug here, disguise ourselves as servants in the Fire Castle of Palace or whatever, find out where Aang is, sneak down to him, free him, let him get all Avatar-y, find Katara, get Katara, and get out of there."
"You'll never pass as a Fire Native." Elsie said.
"Well, I've got to try, Elsie!" Sokka stated. "I can't just let my sister and my friend rot in a prison somewhere in the deepest darkest part of the castle. I have to save them. I promised I'd keep them safe."
Elsie almost asked who he had promised.
"Well, I just don't think with your hair, and eyes and skin that you'll be able to disguise yourself as a Fire Native," she shrugged. "I don't think it'll work."
"And you think you can do it?" Sokka asked incredulously. "Even if you dyed your hair black, you still have Water Tribe eyes and skin. How would you pass off as a Fire Native anymore than me?"
"Because I can do this," she quipped. A tiny flame appeared in her palm and danced. She closed her hand over it and put it out, staring at her closed fist.
"…True. Okay, fine," Sokka rolled his eyes again. "But the rest of your disguise will have to be good."
"I know," she nodded.
Both Sokka and Elsie decided to let Appa drop them off on a tiny island near the harbor mouth of the great city, Souzen. Because it was there they noticed many fishermen passed in their small rigs, poor men most likely without much of a knowledge of fighting (if there was a need for Sokka and Elsie to capture the boat) or to recognize the two from any descriptions Zuko might have given the army because of their association with the Avatar.
So it was not surprising to them, at least, when a small boat saw the waving figures of a boy and a girl, wearing headscarves and blue clothes, and made its way to the island.
"Oh thank you, sir!" Sokka ran down the edge of the beach to where an elderly man had pushed his boat up on shore. Elsie followed behind, trying to look as timid as she had felt only days before. "We thought we'd be stuck here forever!"
The tall, thin man with white hair and a long beard and mustache looked warily at him. His dirty grey clothing with tatters and patches displayed his apparent poverty. "And what was a boy and a girl like you doing on this here island?"
Elsie felt herself blushing at the man's assumption. She didn't try to cover it, however – it lent greatly to her character.
Sokka cleared his throat. "We were tricked, sir." Elsie nodded, having practiced the story all night while waiting for the sun to rise. "A couple of kids told us there was a ghost on this island. And my sister and me," Sokka made sure to make that one word very clear. "We didn't believe 'em. So they told us if we stayed the night here and proved there wasn't no ghost, they'd give us five coppers. Each." He added. Just to make the pot sweet enough for someone like him to want.
"Eh," the man said, looking over them. "Do you know these kids' names?"
Sokka shook his head.
"Must be Moelij…" the man muttered. He looked up and grunted. "Well, guess you better get in the boat. I got fishin' to do, though, so I can't be taking you home now. You'll just have to wait and help me with my hauls."
And so Elsie and Sokka hurried into the boat and spent the rest of the day pulling up nets filled with heavy water and meager fish. And just to let you know, that stuff can be very tiring. Elsie fell asleep on the way back.
When Elsie woke up in the harbor, the old man was tying up the dock and Sokka was strapping fish to his back.
"We have an ice-house back at my home," the man told them. "You can help me carry all this fish back. It'll be easier with three."
The three of them strapped the fish onto their backs in large grass baskets and wove their way through the bustling streets of the city. Evening was descending and people were beginning to make their ways home. The further they walked, the dirtier and smaller the streets became, houses began leaning in on themselves and each other. It felt as if they'd all topple down at any moment.
The man turned down an alleyway only large enough for them to go by in single file. He then turned left and they were in the back of one of the buildings. A shed-like structure stood at one end and the man opened it, throwing his basket in with the speed of lightening.
"Quickly!" he called. "You don't want the ice to melt, do you?"
Elsie and Sokka threw their baskets in hurriedly. The man shut the door and locked it with a heavy bolt-lock he produced from a sagging pocket.
"Good," he said. He wiped his hands on his pants. "Now it's time to be going in. Bye."
Elsie and Sokka darted a look at one another. Now what do they do?
The man must have noticed it, for he sighed and said, "You don't have a place to go, do you?"
Elsie and Sokka shook their heads.
"Fine," the man slapped his hands on his thighs. "You can stay with me and my wife. Any man who works with Plijak can stay with Plijak. Or woman," he added, looking at Elsie. "Come inside."
He turned and walked through the door at the side of the building.
"An old woman lives above us, so it's pretty quiet here." Plijak gestured to the roof and Elsie and Sokka looked up. "Except for when she starts acting like a cat and howling away at night. But she hasn't done that in a while, so you might be lucky."
Sokka looked incredulously at Elsie who smothered a giggle.
"And my wife, Mimsha, should be back soon. She sells the fish at market," he told them.
"You can stay here." Plijak opened a creaky door. A small room with a single woven reed mat and a small window was all to be seen. Elsie raised an eyebrow but quickly put it down again, not wishing to insult the man enough to rescind the offer.
"Thank you," she said quietly. The man grunted.
"Orphans," he said, shrugging. Sokka blanched but Plijak didn't notice. "It's gotta be tough for you without a home or a family. But don't worry. You can stay with us for a while, until you find jobs." He wagged his finger at them in warning. "But you'd have to find jobs or else out you go! And you'll earn your keep. No lounging about. The boy can help me on the boat. I'm sure Mimsha can find something for the girl."
With that, he walked away, leaving Elsie and Sokka to their new room.
They looked around, and then at each other. Walking to the window, Elsie pulled back the ragged curtain and looked out. A flaming building shone against the background of the sunset. Gold twinkled at his curved eaves and brilliant sapphire and emerald shone from its tiles. The palace looked like it was on fire in front of the flaming sky.
"We'll do it, Sokka," Elsie said, her eyes wide and calm at the sight. "We'll bring both of them back."
Sokka nodded and while Elsie couldn't see him do it, she knew it was there.
Anita: Yay! All done with this chappie! See ya'll later!