Sokka's not entirely sure how to react to the gifts piled high in the front room. On one hand it's great that people like Zuko enough to give him that. On the other, they are in the middle of a war and painted fans aren't really that useful. Kyoshi Warrior fans would have made a nice gift though. Finally, he settles on just nodding and commenting, "At least you brought back good fish."
"And plenty of fruit!" Aang chimes in, having returned earlier that morning from releasing the bison.
Toph, on one of her rare ventures into the house just shrugs. "So you two got a bunch of food. Big whoop. Now when they start giving you clothes and jewelry, that's when you know you've made it."
"Well, they did give me a few new outfits," Katara replies. "Oh and I thought you might like this! They gave it to me but it seems much more your style." Katara hands Toph a new headband, trimmed with jade beads.
Toph scowls in response, grabbing the accessory. "Fine, I guess they like you or something." The earthbender runs her fingers over the beadwork before swapping her old headband out for it. She elbows Katara. "You did alright, Sugar Queen."
Azmia watches this whole exchange silently, her knuckles white as she grips the broom she'd been using to sweep out the kitchen. One town is good, it's a start, but no one on that island is Fire Nation the way everyone else is. Hira'a, founded by Avatar Roku's family, has always been more accepting of the other nations than anyone else and has been considered backwards and repugnant for it. Azmia watches the way Prince Zuko looks at the waterbender, the adoration shining in his eyes. One town is good, but it's not enough to make that woman safe for him. She wishes it was. With how the prince looks at the waterbender, Azmia wishes one town was enough. At least she still has time to convince him, so long as no other little adventures pop up between now and when Zuko needs to face his father and become the true Fire Lord. Katara looks up, noticing the woman for the first time. Azmia smiles warmly and Katara's eyes narrow into hostile slits.
Once the boat is returned to the pier and things have settled down for the evening, Katara finds the older woman.
"Ah, Katara. How are you feeling?"
"What did you give me?" Katara demands.
"What do you mean?"
"I was beyond just sick from that tea. What was it?" Katara snarls.
Azmia steps back, the cold fury in the waterbender's eyes throwing her off guard. She'd been taught to respect all of the elements, appreciate their place in the world but her time in Azulon's court had shown her just how vengeful, how destructive fire could be and that water could never truly hope to stand against it. This girl's eyes tell a different story. "It was just the tea. I made it stronger, that's all. I never meant for anything bad to happen!"
Katara glares at her, locking her blue eyes on the gold ones in front of her. "That'd better be all you did. I don't enjoy being poisoned by someone I should, theoretically, be able to trust. I know that Zuko and Sokka have both talked to you. I'm sure they've both threatened in some way, but," she seethes, "if I find out, if I get even a hint that you hurt me on purpose, you won't have to worry about them. I'll settle things with you myself." With that, the master waterbender, the bloodbender turns heel and stalks out of the room, leaving a glowering Azmia in her wake.
Again, almost like déjà vu, Zuko finds her as soon as she closes the door on Azmia. "Who were you talking to?" He asks. "I thought everyone was outside."
"I needed to take care of something with Azmia," Katara responds before adding at the look on Zuko's face, "I went to find her, don't worry. She won't start a conversation after what you said to her."
"Good. I don't like her and I don't like her talking to you after last time."
"Trust me, I try to avoid her for the most part. What's up?" She motions to the small scroll in his hand, another message from Uncle.
"Uh, let's find everybody first."
Katara's eyebrows furrow. "What's going on?"
"Let's just find everyone."
She grabs him by the shoulder. "What's going on, Zuko!"
"Uncle found your dad."
"Oh Goddess! That's great news!"
Zuko grimaces. "Not exactly. He's in the Boiling Rock, it's a maximum security prison."
Katara's shoulder's slump. "Oh."
Once Zuko rounds up the whole gang, the reactions are about the same, excitement followed by gloom. "So," Sokka finally asks, "how are we going to break him out?"
. . . . .
"I want to come with you," Katara mutters later that night when it's just her and Zuko alone in their room.
"And I told you, that's not going to happen. I'm not taking you to a maximum security prison. End of story."
"It is not the end of the story!" Katara snaps. "He's my father, I have every right to go with you three!"
"Aang's not even going in the prison, he's only dropping us off and coming back later. I don't want you or the Avatar in there," Zuko replies exasperatedly. "Do you remember what Azula said on the Day of Black Sun? Who she said was at the Boiling Rock?"
Katara doesn't respond. Finally, a whispered, "yes," is heard in the dark.
"So you get why I don't want you to go with us?" He runs his hand over her arm, anger boiling inside of him at the thought of what could happen, what did happen. He pulls her close. "Katara, please don't ask me to put you in that situation. I won't do it."
Azula always lies, he reminds himself. Maybe she's lied about this too.
. . . . .
It takes two days to reach the Boiling Rock and another for Zuko and Sokka to find two guards alone, tie them up for Aang to handle, steal their clothes, and stroll right into the prison, courtesy of the gondola passing from the edge of the volcano to the prison below. Sokka freezes as he steps off the gondola, Zuko almost running into him.
"What's going on?" The words hardly escape his mouth before Zuko too is staring in horror at the sight before them, suddenly even more grateful that Katara is far, far away from here. He'd thought the Boiling Rock was a maximum security prison. That's what he'd been told growing up. That's what Uncle had told him. Zuko looks at the emaciated man in front of him, stripped to the waste with burn scars across him back, pushing a wheelbarrow full of raw iron.
"I guess it makes sense, your dad wouldn't bother keeping them alive just to sit and rot. I guess it makes sense," Sokka mutters, the words catching in his throat.
Zuko sees a fire whip crack across a prisoner's back. He watches the man fall, watches as the fire whip lands again and again, the savagery stunning him into silence. This isn't how the Fire Nation acts. In all this time, in all his travels…he'd never seen anything like this.
A man behind them laughs, "Fresh meat, huh? Don't worry, you'll get used to it in time. They're all dogs, at least this way they earn their keep."
Sokka has to force himself to breathe, to laugh, to loosen his fists clenched so tightly his nails cut into his palm. "Yeah, never thought of it like that. Just dogs," he forces out a weak laugh.
"Come on, you're probably replacing Lee and Dai. I'll show you to your rooms, make sure you don't get lost on your first day." The large man marches forward, whistling a happy tune, a sharp contrast to the misery around them. Each step away from the gondola unveils new horrors. First, it's the smell. It's worse than the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. It smells like sweat, piss, and the unmistakable stench of burning flesh. Zuko has to hide his shudder, recognizing the scent all too well.
Next, comes the eyes. There's no anger, no hate, there's nothing in them, definitely not hope. The room at the bottom of the Western Air Temple, the one with piles of bones in the corner and skeletons on the beds, the one he'd managed to forget about so thoroughly, managed to wipe its existence from his mind, springs to the front of his thoughts. How many of those women and children had shared the same dead-eyed look? How many people had all hope drained from their faces by his people? In one hundred years, how much blood was on the hands of the Fire Nation, on the hands of his family?
"We've got a pretty good set up here, all the guards have their own rooms. Warden wants to make sure we all have privacy," the guard laughs again, "for whatever you want to get up to in your spare time." Both Sokka's and Zuko's blood runs cold at those words.
Eventually, Sokka manages to steady his breathing and clench his stomach well enough to ask, "I heard you have some Water Tribe chief here, is that true?"
"Yeah, still got some spirit in him too, at least he did when I left a week ago. Warden's probably fixed that by now."
"Where is he," Zuko interjects, talking over the hiss that escapes Sokka's clenched teeth.
"Working the forge last I heard, those Water Tribe mongrels don't like the heat. Well, here you go." The guard stops in front of a nondescript door. "This was Lee's room and Dai's is the next door on the left. Good luck, you'll get the hang of this place in no time. Warden usually lets new recruits explore for the first day or two, really get familiar with the lay of the prison before getting on the roster. Just remember to keep it down." With that the guard leaves, off to torment whatever poor prisoner has the misfortune of running into him.
Zuko opens the door, his feet carrying him inside as Sokka follows wordlessly behind him. Neither says anything. There's nothing to say. They sit in silence, no thoughts, just shock coursing through them.
"I didn't know," Zuko eventually says, his voice gruff and ragged.
Sokka nods. "We have to find my dad. Zuko?"
"Yeah?"
"I asked you after Azula invaded Ba Sing Se where Suki was." Sokka looks up, hoping, praying he's wrong but fear raises its ugly head, gripping his heart. "You said she might be here. We need to look for her too. I can't let her stay in a place like this."
Zuko doesn't even argue. "We'll look for her too. First, let's get your dad."
It would be smarter to break up, to look for the forge and Hakoda separately, but neither of them can stand the thought of being alone in this hell. They walk past pair after pair of sunken eyes. Some follow curiously for a moment before turning away. "Where would we even find her?" Sokka mutters.
He doesn't have to look far.
A woman, hunched over to make herself smaller, small enough to avoid most guards' eyes, mops the hallway in front of them. Sokka squints. Her hair is different – much shorter, thinner, limper, and she's much thinner, her collarbones jut out too far and her cheeks are hollowed out but it's her.
"Suki?" Sokka hardly whispers
She doesn't respond, just continuing to mop. "Suki?" He grabs her shoulder but she still doesn't speak. She doesn't look at him, just stands there. "Suki, it's me." He pulls his helmet off. "Suki, look at me," he pleads.
Slowly, clearly unwillingly, she looks up. Her face remains the same, blank and unexpressive, until slowly her eyebrows furrow. She squints. "You can't be here. You're not here."
"Suki, it's me. I'm here. I'm getting you out of here."
"You're not here," she repeats again, her brain refusing to believe it's him.
"Suki, it's really me. We're getting you out of here."
Tears well up with what little hydration she has left as the words process. "Oh Sokka!" She throws herself at him, hugging him as close as she can. He hates to realize that that's as tightly as she can hug him. "Do you have any food?"
Sokka hugs her tightly, holding her to him. "No, sorry," he apologizes. "I'll get you some soon though."
Zuko coughs, "We can't stay out here like this."
"Who're you?" Suki questions, trying to peer through Zuko's visor. "You sound familiar."
"Uh, I'm no one important." Now is not the time. She may be more than half starved but he's sure she remembers what he did to her village.
"I'll explain in a minute," Sokka interjects. "He's right though."
"Take her to your room. I'll keep looking for Hakoda."
They part ways, Zuko venturing farther into the prison while Sokka leads a shaky Suki back to the safety of his new room. She freezes at the threshold, hesitant to step in. Sokka can't help but recognize the haunted, slightly wild look in her eyes. He'd seen flashes of it on Katara's face when she'd woken from her nightmares after Zuko's ship. "Hey, it's okay."
"I know," Suki snarls before catching herself. "Sorry, I just…" she shrugs, gritting her teeth before stepping in and closing the door behind her.
"Here, why don't you sit down?" He motions to the bed where she perches, not letting herself relax fully. He goes to sit beside her but the sudden flinch has him pull back.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Suki immediately apologizes.
"It's okay," Sokka immediately responds, opting instead to sit on the floor in front of her. He'd already seen enough of this place, heard what the guard had to say. He doesn't want to think about her being stuck in here.
"Do you have any food?"
"No, but let me look around and see if the previous guy left anything." He begins rummaging around, hoping for something, anything, to help her. "What happened?"
Suki shudders, running bony fingers through her limp hair. "That bastard prince's sister attacked the other Kyoshi Warriors and I on our way to Ba Sing Se. We decided to help with the war efforts after you all left. It was the middle of the night, the acrobat had us stunned before we could hardly even get out of bed. Those of us that could move did, but then came the fire." She tugs at her sleeve. Sokka inhales sharply, noticing the scarring on her arm. They peek out from under her threadbare top, wrinkled, purple burn scars that were obviously not given any attention by any kind of healer.
"Azula did this to you?" He growls, "She's dead."
"Sokka, I –"
"I mean it. She can't get away with this."
Suki looks at him, looking for food, careful to give her space. He came for her. She didn't think anyone would come for her, especially not him. She hadn't seen him since the day Kyoshi had burned. He looks so much older, so much wiser now. He actually came. "Oh, Sokka!" She sobs again, the relief rising up in her like a wave. She flings her arms around him, her face buried in his shoulder as the sobs tear through her.
Sokka holds her close, tears stinging his eyes. Every person responsible for this atrocity, the prison and what was done to Suki needs to pay. Vengeance can wait though. For now, protecting Suki and getting her some real food take priority.
. . . . .
Katara and Toph lounge on the beach, soaking up the sun. "You seem a lot more comfortable on the sand than when we first got here. I guess sand bending is going well?"
Toph laughs, "Yeah, look what I can do!" She flexes her fingers and sand rises to them, creating a miniature Toph before settling back down.
"Oh wow! That's amazing!"
"Yeah, I know," Toph states matter of factly.
Katara lazily bends water up to her, just to have something to do with her hands. "What do you think you'll do after the war?"
Toph shrugs. "Not go back to Gaoling, that's for damn sure. Maybe I'll start a school, teach some other earthbenders how to kick butt. If the palace has stone floors I might just stick around to help you and Sparky out. You'll probably need it for a while."
Katara can't help but smile. "You want to help me deal with all the Fire Nation nobility and their stuffiness?"
"Oh Sugar Queen, they won't know what hit them," Toph laughs.
. . . . .
Zuko continues his search, trying not to look too closely at anyone who isn't obviously Water Tribe. He'd scared several people by looking too long, noticing the way they tried to shrink in on themselves to avoid his gaze. Between that and his breakfast only barely staying down, he moves quickly, only looking up when necessary. The smell gets worse as he continues. After several wrong turns and asking a guard for directions so Zuko can 'just look around' he finds the forge.
The heat makes him pause as it makes the air shimmer before him. Molten ore bubbles in crucibles around the room as the screeching hiss of metal dunked in water echoes around the tall chamber. Zuko passes stacks of cogs and disks and metal contraptions he has no name for, scanning the prisoners, slaves really, working the forge. There're more Water Tribe men and women here than anywhere else in the prison, haunted blue eyes everywhere he looks.
"Oh, thank Agni, my relief is here!" A guard calls out from a corner as far away from the crucibles as possible, waving Zuko over. "You wouldn't believe how boring it's been."
Zuko heads over, winding his way between rows and rows of broken Water Tribe warriors. No, he realizes with a start, the Water Tribes don't train women to fight yet here they are, toiling over the forge as well. He grits his teeth, forcing himself to calm down, forcing down the fire rising in his throat. He needs to get Hakoda and get out. He can demolish this place as soon as the war is over. It will be the first thing he does. "Are you the only one in here?" He questions when he finally makes it over to the guard's moderately cooler section.
"Yeah, Chang left an hour or so ago, not sure why. Either way, glad you're here. I'm going to go take a much needed nap. Here're the keys."
Zuko mutely accepts the keys, hardly hearing anything after Chang. So, that butcher really is here. His blood begins to boil. He could finish what he'd started before Uncle had stepped in, make sure Chang never touched Katara again. Make him pay for the nightmares, for every scar she'd almost been cursed with. Zuko forcibly shakes the thought away. He doesn't want to be a killer. There's already enough blood on his family's hands. He'd better keep his helmet on no matter what though.
With no guards in the forge it's easy to look for Hakoda. He approaches an inmate, a woman with burn scars too similar to his own wrapping around her arms.
"Hi, do you know where Hakoda is?" he asks politely.
She tenses, obviously thrown off by his tone. "No, I don't," she whispers hoarsely but her eyes dart nervously towards the largest furnace.
Zuko doesn't respond, unsure of what to even say. Thank you would seem odd from a Fire Nation guard. Instead, he simply heads towards the furnace, hopeful. There! Mere feet from the flames, Hakoda sits chained to the floor, manacles around his wrists. His head is shaved, the braids he'd previously worn gone along with the warrior's wolf tail. He's skinnier, but nowhere near as bad as Suki. He's only been here a fraction of the time she has though.
"The warden wants to see you," Zuko states, the lack of contempt surprising the chief.
Hakoda looks up, anger carefully hidden behind his eyes. There is no way to escape, he'd seen that on the gondola ride in. Instead, he's sat and meditated, trying to lock the sane part of himself away where this prison couldn't reach. The comet will come soon enough and he'll either be rescued or Ozai will win and no matter where Hakoda goes, he'll die fighting the Fire Nation anyway. Apparently, the warden had seen it though, that spark of hope so Hakoda was sentenced to sit here, chained next to the furnace watching as his country men and women straining under the cruel eye of the Fire Nation guards.
Sometimes the bastard with the scar on his neck comes in, just to taunt him, to tell him what had happened to his baby girl so many months ago. Every time he comes Hakoda just closes his eyes, trying to block out the words. As long as his son and daughter were out there and safe, away from this hellhole, that's all that matters.
"Come on, Hakoda, get up." Zuko doesn't wait, just starts jamming key after key into the lock connecting his manacles to the floor. It may not release the chief from the manacle chain but that can be done in his room.
Slowly Hakoda gets to his feet, surprised to be called by his name. An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of his stomach. "What does the warden want?"
"I don't know." Zuko responds, relief washing over him as a key clicks in the lock. "Come on." He grabs Hakoda's arm, more to steady him as the lack of food makes him more than a little weak at the knees no matter how much he tries to hide it. Zuko can easily see deep shadows under his eyes and scars that weren't there last time he saw the chief.
He leads Hakoda from the forge as slowly as he dares, uncomfortable at how thin the man has gotten. The chief, unused to the gentle treatment, grows more and more concerned. Surely no one from the resistance would be so foolish as to come and get him now, before the comet, while there are much bigger concerns. The doors close behind them and Zuko breathes a sigh of relief. Even for a firebender, the forge was oppressively hot.
They walk much slower now where no inmates and no guards can see. "It's me, Zuko. I'm here to get you out," Zuko mutters, worried about being overheard even here with no one around.
"Dammit boy!" Hakoda growls, wanting to shake the firebender but his arms just don't have the energy. "You're next in line, you can't be here! Without you, so many plans fall through. And tell me, please tell me you weren't stupid enough to bring the Avatar and my children here. Please." Hakoda barely gets the last word out, fear tightening around his throat like a hand, squeezing and suffocating him. Tears leak out of his eyes. "Please tell me my children aren't here."
Zuko looks down. "Katara's safe. She's on Ember Island."
Hakoda closes his eyes, leaning against the wall for support. "I don't want Sokka to see me like this," he finally admits. "He shouldn't have to see a place like this."
"He wasn't about to let you stay imprisoned. Now come on, we need to keep moving." Zuko guides him forward, keeping a firm hand on the man's arm. To onlookers he looks like a guard making sure the prisoner doesn't escape but they both know Hakoda needs the support though neither wants to admit it. "Do you have any food?" The chief asks, echoing Suki's question earlier.
"No, we'll get you some soon," Zuko replies. Hakoda nods, a little light headed. Zuko's amazed at how nonchalant the guards are. He passes several and they do nothing more than nod at him. When you're on an island in the middle of a boiling lake and only one way off it's easy to relax he supposes. He hates to admit it, but he looks for Chang. It's only to avoid him, Zuko tells himself.
Zuko pushes open the door to his room to see Sokka standing there awkwardly in the middle of the room. When he sees Zuko he breathes a sigh of relief. "It's okay, Suki. You can come out now." Suki slowly slides out from under the bed, Sokka gently helping her up back onto the bed when he catches sight of his Hakoda.
"Dad?" His voice cracks as his father has difficulty fighting back tears.
"You shouldn't have come," Hakoda chokes out. "It was a bad idea." But his words hold no anger, only overwhelming relief.
Sokka ignores him, opting instead to pull him in close for a hug, wincing at how pronounced his ribs are. "We're going to get you out. Both of you."
Suki watches the whole exchange through tired eyes but she keeps look at Zuko who still hasn't removed his helmet. Finally, she asks, "So who are you anyway?"
Zuko grimaces, knowing this was coming. Slowly he removes the helmet, showing her his face. Suki's nostrils flare. "I'd heard you joined up with the Avatar."
"Yeah, I'm one of the good guys now I guess," he responds, looking away.
"Don't think that makes up for what you did. Do you know the damage you did to my village?"
"Sorry, I'll do what I can once I'm Fire Lord to fix things."
"Sorry doesn't cut it. Houses burnt down, beams collapsed, people died. You did that. You," she snarls. If she was stronger, he's sure she'd have tried to kill him by now.
"I didn't know," he whispers. He kneels in front of her, apologizing as best he can. "Nothing I say can make up for what I did and there's no explanation that's worth anything when compared to people's lives but I truly am sorry. I promise I'll do everything I possibly can to make up for it once the war is over. I can't bring people back but I'll make sure your island is safe." He needs to keep everyone safe from place like this, from the atrocities his own people have committed. He'll keep them all safe.
Suki narrows her eyes, taken aback by the sincere apology. He isn't at all the arrogant boy who'd set fire to her village. For once in her life she isn't sure what to do so instead she just looks away, closing her eyes. She doesn't have to look at him, doesn't have to think about the fact that maybe this war didn't change everyone for the worse. Instead she focuses on the fabric under her fingers, the blanket on a bed she's in of her own volition, with a man she never thought she'd see again who has come to take her away from here.
Sokka watches Suki fall asleep, worn out. "Why don't you stay here and rest, Dad. We'll go grab you two some food."
"Thank you. I trust you have a plan to get us out of here?"
"Yeah, we're going on the gondola tonight. Now, just wait here and we'll be back in a minute with plenty to eat." They leave the keys with Suki and Hakoda so the chief can get out of the manacles while they find food.
. . . . .
A cave high up on the outside of the volcano serves as the perfect hiding place for Aang, Appa, and the two Fire Nation guards Aang leaves tied up in the corner. They're well fed with fruit Aang pilfers from the crates at the pier, just unable to go anywhere. The guards aren't good conversation, he has to admit. Fire Nation dominance this, Air Nomad devils that, they won't listen when he tells them what really happened so eventually he stops trying. The hours go by, just waiting for Appa to hear the bison whistle that Sokka has around his neck. They should be leaving tonight, so long as they were able to find Hakoda easily. If not, then tomorrow night.
. . . . .
Sneaking food out of the mess is easy enough, though they can't take much. A few guards come to talk to them, to tell them they don't always need to wear their helmets, or just to rib on the new guys, but it's easy enough to laugh those off, to play along. In the mess it's easy to forget the horrors outside the doors, the horrors these guards created.
With one steamed bun each hidden in their armor, carefully put there when no one was watching, Sokka and Zuko head back, wishing they could have grabbed more. "I can't believe we found them so quickly!" Sokka smiles before his expression quickly sombers. It seems wrong to rejoice, wrong to smile in a place like this. What little of his smile is left quickly disappears as they round the next corner and step into a courtyard full of toiling prisoners.
Sokka's blood boils while Zuko's freezes to ice. Princess Azula, in perfectly polished armor, flanked by Mai and Ty Lee, stands in front of them, talking to the man they can only assume is the warden.
"Yes, I'd heard about your recent acquisition of the Water Tribe chief. I want to see what passes for a warrior in the Water Tribe. Before I go and say hello, bring Chang to me."
Mai speaks up, "Is that really necessary, Azula?"
"Mai!" The warden immediately bows, "Please forgive my niece. I'm sure she-"
"Oh Warden, don't worry. She's my friend and I always want my friends to feel comfortable telling my anything." The sparks flying from her eyes say otherwise. The smile that borders on venomous stays in place as she continues, "But yes, Mai. It is necessary. I want that little waterbender who seduced my brother to pay and I want her dearest daddy to know exactly what's going to happen to her first. You know how the Water Tribe is about their women." Azula laughs as if she's just told a hilarious joke. Mai doesn't respond. Ty Lee nibbles on her cheek.
Zuko stands stock still, willing himself into silence, willing himself to not move a muscle, not cover the short distance and throttle his sister. They won't make it out of here alive if he does though. Sokka reaches the same conclusion even with his anger over how Suki was treated pounding through his head.
Azula catches sight of the pair who quickly bow. Zuko's suddenly immensely grateful to Piandao as Sokka's bow is in perfect Fire Nation form. Azula just scoffs and walks by. "I'll wait for Chang in your office. I'm on a bit of a tight schedule so if he's not there in ten minutes it will be your head, Warden." She calls out. As they pass, Ty Lee looks down at the bowing guards. Their auras are uncomfortably familiar. She should say something. She glances around the courtyard, looking at the faded auras and broken bodies. They don't deserve to live like this, no one does.
When the trio finally disappear from sight and the warden scurries off, Zuko and Sokka set off as quickly as they dare. "The plan's changed. Azula's here and she'll be looking for you soon!" Sokka announces as soon as the door closes behind them. "Here!" They hand over the steamed buns. "We have to figure something out."
Sokka was expecting a reply. Instead, Suki and Hakoda are focused entirely on the food in their hands, scarfing it down as quickly as possible. "Guys, didn't you hear? We have to…do…something." His words trail off as Suki winces, clutching her stomach. Hakoda does the same before heaving. He at least keeps most of the bun down while Suki hurls forcefully, emptying the contents of her stomach on to the floor. "What's wrong, are you okay?"
"It wasn't the bun, we ate them and we're fine!"
Suki grimaces, tears threatening to spill over, the pangs in her stomach barely subsiding. For one blissful moment there'd been food. For one blissful moment she'd had something warm, the best food she's ever had in her life. "I ate too fast," she whispers, hunger and sorrow washing over her yet again. "I knew better, but…" she doesn't finish the thought, tries anything to avoid the shame of puking, the shame of eating so quickly when she knew she shouldn't, the shame of being here in the first place.
Sokka sits beside her, offering a hand that she slowly takes. "It's okay. I would have done the same."
Zuko frowns. "We don't have more food and we don't have more time to get you any. Azula is here and she wants to see you, Hakoda."
Hakoda looks up with sunken eyes, the sour taste of regurgitation on his tongue. He looks at his son and at the woman he obviously does care for. "No," Zuko snaps before the chief has the chance to say anything. "We came here, we risked too much for you to do some noble sacrifice bullshit!" he snarls. "You're leaving with us, even if I have to drag you onto the gondola myself."
Sokka chimes in, "Yeah, Dad. We're not leaving you. We're all getting out together."
"Kids –"
"No!"
Hakoda sighs. "Fine, but what are we going to do?" He doesn't want to admit how difficult it is to focus on anything other than the bits of bao bun on the floor.
"No one questioned it when I brought you here," Zuko muses. "Azula is waiting for Chang. If we leave right now, before she goes to talk with you, we might have a chance. We'll say we're escorting you two to the gondola on her orders. By the time she hears it'll be too late. We'll be gone. We just have to go now!"
Sokka nods, "Seems like a good plan. Anyone have any objections?" Silence meets his words. It takes a moment to coax Suki's and Hakoda's bodies up from sitting down. Slowly, they rise, taking deep breathes to prepare for the journey ahead. "There's food at the end. Aang should have lots for us to eat." It's not freedom, but food that ultimately convinces their bodies to move.
The plan is too simple, too easy. This whole escapade has been too easy. Finding Suki and Hakoda within a few hours of arriving, all too easy. Zuko can just feel it, the other shoe waiting to drop. Soon it does. It's not Azula or the warden that crosses their path. It's Chang. With his tall, towering frame that blocks the hallway, a nose that didn't heal right after Zuko's shoe had smashed it in, and a scar on his neck that perfectly matches Katara's teeth, Chang's easy enough to recognize. With his helmet, Zuko's safe. With his helmet on, there's no reason to start a fight, no reason to risk exposing themselves no matter how much anger rises through him at the sight of the butcher. Hakoda stiffens, wishing, praying to Tui and La for the strength to fight, the strength to rip the man in front of him apart limb by limb. His son's safety stops him from trying anything.
"What're you doing with him?" Chang demands. "The princess wants to see him."
"Yes," Sokka replies, oblivious to who this man is. "We're taking him to her."
"Alright," Chang shrugs. "We'll go together. She wants to see me too."
"We're taking him to relieve himself first," Zuko replies in a voice significantly deeper than his own. It was the first lie that came to mind.
Chang raises an eyebrow. "Tell him to go."
"We're taking him to use the facilities, then we'll be on our way."
"No, he's Water Tribe. He can go right here. They're all dogs and deserve to be treated like it." Chang laughs almost as coldly as Azula. "I treated his daughter like a dog, like a little bitch, it's right that he gets the same treatment."
Tui and La must have heard his prayers. Hakoda lunges for the man, knocking him down, his hands wrapping around Chang's throat. Chang's eyes bug out as he tries to knock Hakoda to the side but is unable to loosen the chokehold he has. "Get him off of me!" he chokes, ordering Zuko and Sokka.
Sokka grits his teeth. "That's the man isn't it?"
Zuko nods before pulling chief off. "Let it go, Hakoda, let it go! No, Sokka!" Zuko pushes Sokka back before the other warrior can join in too. "Leave him, both of you."
"You don't know what he did!" Hakoda snarls.
"Yeah, I do," Zuko replies cooly, his voice deadly. Some part of his brain shut off as soon as the first blow landed. This is his fight, not Hakoda's, not Sokka's. He was responsible for Katara. He can't let her brother and her father get hurt fighting a man who was never their responsibility, never their subordinate. This isn't their fight. "Sokka? Take them and get to the gondola. I'll catch up."
"Not a chance," Sokka retorts. "She's my sister."
"Sokka," Zuko grabs his arm, "I'll catch up. Just. Go."
Sokka finally relents, grabbing his dad's arm, pulling him away as Chang gasps for breath.
"What are you doing? Why isn't he in irons? Arrest him!"
Zuko doesn't respond. There's only one way out of this. If Chang walks out of here, Azula will find them. If Chang calls out, Azula will find them. There's only one way out of this.
Zuko scowls. People have died on his watch. He didn't mean to hurt anyone, yet people in Kyoshi died because of him. The Fire Nation soldiers in Ba Sing Se died because they followed him.
If he'd taken care of Chang back on his ship, he wouldn't be a problem now.
Chang heaves himself up to his feet. "What's the meaning of this!" He swings at Zuko. The prince sees it, some distant part of his mind telling him to block. His training kicks in, sending fire right into Chang's side where the armor doesn't meet.
Chang coughs, grabbing his ribs. "Who are you?" he demands. Zuko doesn't say anything, just watches Chang's eye widen as he removes his helmet. "No, you can't be here!" Chang gasps in disbelief before grinning, "I can't wait to find out what your sister will give me when I bring you to her." The butcher lunges.
What had been the damage on the ship? Broken ribs on both sides, broken sternum, broken arms, broken nose. Zuko aims for the ribs again, releasing volley after volley of fire.
The butcher lunges, trying to tackle the younger man but Zuko easily sidesteps him, bringing an elbow down on his exposed, scarred neck. Chang manages to grab a leg, but Zuko shoves his palm into the man's nose.
Blood spews everywhere, coating them both.
Chang spits that blood right into Zuko's eyes. As the prince moves to wipe it away Chang's fist connects with the side of his face, knocking him onto the ground. Chang presses his advantage, pummeling Zuko.
"You think you're so much better than everyone else with your ship and your father and your firebending. You're no better." Zuko raises his arms to protect his face, to wipe the rest of the blood out of his eyes as Chang pounds on his forearms. "You'll die the same as anyone else."
Chang keeps punching, keeps wailing on Zuko's forearms, trying to beat through the prince's defense.
It doesn't work.
"I should thank you." Chang continues, punctuating words with punches, "After you kicked me off your ship your sister found me and brought me here. Here, I get to do whatever I want to whoever I want. It's so much better than your silly, pathetic excuse of a ship," he growls, his voice gruff and thick with his own blood.
Zuko waits for the beating to stop for just a moment.
Just a moment is all it takes. He reaches out, grabbing the face of the man on top of him, pouring every ounce of fire he has into the butcher. "You'll never hurt anyone again," he gasps, "You'll never hurt Katara again. Not her, not anyone." Chang tries to pull away but Zuko holds on.
The guard starts to scream, starts to call out, maybe beg for mercy but Zuko's hand latches over his open mouth, sending fire deep into the belly of the beast. Zuko watches it, watches the man burn from the inside out, the skin charring around his mouth. Zuko watches it all as though it's someone else's hand, it's someone else underneath Chang.
The scream dies before it truly began.
Suddenly, as quickly as it started, the fight is over.
Silence settles around him.
For all of Chang's bluster, he wasn't strong. He wasn't powerful unless he was facing someone that couldn't fight back.
Chang hurt people, hurt Katara and Agni knows who else. Now he can't. It's as simple as that.
Zuko pushes the corpse off himself, trying not to look at the charred face of the dead man. He can't help but see it, the perfect, black, burned imprint of his hand.
There wasn't another way to keep everyone safe.
There wasn't another way to get everyone out alive.
He should feel something. He should feel remorse, joy, guilt, relief, something.
He doesn't feel anything at all.
. . . . .
Azmia watches the two benders laze about in the courtyard. She has to admit she's thankful the little earthbender doesn't come in the beach house much. Iroh had told her about the girl's ability to detect lies, mentioned it as a valuable asset, but Azmia sees only a threat to the carefully crafted story she's telling. Only years of practice, hunched over fishing nets and wash basins, and before that years in the Fire Nation court had allowed her to withstand the blind girl's scrutiny before. Now, with so much on the line for both herself and Zuko she has to be even more careful.
Zuko had left for the Boiling Rock of all places days ago. She'd sent word to Iroh as soon as she found out that's where he went but he may not get there in time. Fear grips her heart again at the thought of her prince in such a dangerous place. If only she'd known he was going there before he left! Instead, as they made their plans she'd been sent away, far from the waterbender. If she hadn't been foolish in the beginning…Azmia swears at herself once again, it was a foolish miscalculation.
Now, because of her screw up in the beginning and Zuko's frequent excursions, she doesn't have the chance to persuade him the way she'd wanted to. It's hardly a month until the comet and she's running out of time! Prince Zuko isn't even here, how is she supposed to convince him if he's always running off on some new adventure?
If that waterbender is allowed to accompany Zuko when he takes the throne, everything she's worked for since he was a child, everything Iroh has worked for, it will all be for naught. The court and the people will turn against him. No matter what Hira'a and the elders think, all will be lost. Azmia grits her teeth, hating that she has to do this once again. There isn't another choice, not really, not with the fate of Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation in the balance.
. . . . .
Sokka eyes the blood on Zuko's armor, blood easily explained to other guards as 'a prisoner got out of line'. Hakoda looks at the young man, careful not to appear friendly or like anything other than a perfectly compliant prisoner. "Are you okay?"
Zuko nods, looking straight ahead at the gondola who's doors are opening. The lies went well enough, no one stops them. The door closes behind the group and after a moment the gondola begins its slow, steady climb up the wires to the top of the volcano's ridge. Just as they start to breathe a sigh of relief, the gondola grinds to a halt, swinging in midair.
Azula's voice can just be heard over the precipice, berating a soldier. Somehow no one is surprised, even if they don't want to admit it. Zuko looks out over the abyss, his helmet off, locking eyes with his sister. She grins like a shark that smells blood. Slowly, the gondola starts to reverse course. Azula smiles wider.
Sokka fishes the bison whistle out of his armor, blowing furiously. Hopefully Appa's close enough to hear!
"Suki, Hakoda, you both stay in here. Sokka and I will handle them." Zuko states, feeling rather flat. He should be scared, he should be concerned. He's not. He's going to kill Azula, she's going to hurt the people he cares about. She has to go down. With no more thought to it than that, Zuko readies himself by the door. Sokka, without a sword, with nothing but his fists, stands behind the prince, waiting for the gondola to still.
Suki wants to fight. She knows the moves. She knows how to get around fire, at least if she's awake. She wants to fight. Her body won't let her. The gnawing in her stomach, the weakness in her arms, she can't fight. She can hardly move sometimes.
"Come now, Zuzu. If you surrender nicely, I'll let everyone else go." Azula calls, her mirth barely contained.
"She's lying," Sokka mutters.
Zuko nods. "Azula always lies." He doesn't respond to his sister's goading.
"Oh well, it was worth a try," she drawls before the gondola doors swing open. Zuko immediately throws fire at Azula while Sokka manages the nearby guards.
A shuriken flies at him but misses, skittering to a halt at Sokka's feet. Sokka, ever the innovator, grabs it, using what little advantage he can.
Azula juts her hand forward, blue flames rushing towards he brother who moves them around him, a move so similar to what he'd seen Katara do, before throwing them back in her face. Her eyes widen barely before narrowing dangerously. She send fireball after fireball towards him, always with perfect form, perfect execution.
Zuko's form is more fluid, less sharp, and his flames look almost like waves at times. He is every inch a master firebender, adapting his attacks to whatever will be the most useful.
Azula scoffs. "Somehow I'm not surprised the little peasant rubbed off on your bending. You never had a good grasp on it anyway, did you Zuzu? You're not very good."
"Good enough to beat you," he replies, throwing fire at her face that she only barely misses.
"Zuko!" Sokka shouts, pointing to the sky. There, coming in hot is Appa, Aang on his back! "We have to go!"
Zuko blocks more of his sister's flames, until they start to be directed at Appa instead. While she's distracted, Zuko sends another volley, pulling her attention back to him. The back door of the gondola opens and Hakoda and Suki climb aboard Appa, the adrenaline strengthening them. Sokka grabs Zuko, trying to pull him back and not get scorched by the flames. "We have to go!"
"If I stop she'll burn us all!"
But with a cry she does stop. The flames die and Zuko only sees Mai, glaring angrily at him.
"Go," she shouts. "Don't ever come back here." He pauses. If he ends things now there won't be a problem in the future. He won't have to worry about protecting anyone from her ever again.
Sokka pulls him out of his reverie, yanking his arm towards Appa. Finally, Zuko turns on his heel, climbs aboard the bison, and they all fly over the ridge to safety. Aang releases a bird as they fly.
"It tells them where the soldiers whose clothes you stole are. I don't want them to starve to death," Aang says cheerfully. No one responds. No one wants to tell the Avatar that starving to death would be a just punishment.
Azula slowly gets to her feet, her hand pressed against the deep shuriken wound in her side. She wasn't sure if it was the force, the pain, or the surprise that had made her fall. Either way, Mai made her look weak, made her look like her brother! The princess looks over at her so called friends, surrounded by guards.
"Ty Lee, come away from her," Azula orders. "She's as bad as Zuko."
Ty Lee looks at the Fire Nation princess, her perfect hair, her perfect armor, her angry, burning aura. She's ignored it for so long but here, seeing this place that Azula didn't even bat an eye at… she can't keep ignoring it. How many people were sent to places like this because she'd helped Azula? Instead of coming as called, Ty Lee shakes her head. "No, Azula. I'm not going to help you anymore."
Azula's face doesn't shift, doesn't betray a hint of emotion. "Fine, be that way." She turns to Mai. "Are you so hung up on a boy who chose a dirty waterbender over you that you'd betray me? Are you that pathetic, that weak? Or were you working with someone, just waiting for the moment I had my back turned?"
Mai replies, her monotone voice showing no quiver of fear. "No, Azula. You just shouldn't have brought me here. You shouldn't have shown me just how awful and twisted you are then expected me to sit by and watch you kill Zuko. You miscalculated."
For the first time Azula's nostrils flare and fury dances in her eyes. "No, you miscalculated! You'll be stuck here forever to rot!"
. . . . .
Iroh is coming, he should be here withing an hour or two. She wasn't given any information other than when to expect him but if her prayers were answered then he's coming here with Zuko safe and sound. That foolish boy should have never gone to the Boiling Rock! It's good he's coming now. She has to time this just right.
Katara's in the room she shares with Zuko, relaxing on the bed after a particularly filling lunch. It was the kind of lunch that a nap is needed right after, especially since her that ache deep inside of her still hasn't entirely gone away. Unfortunately, Azmia interrupts her sweet descent into sleep.
The maid bows, nowhere near as low as she normally does. "Katara?"
Katara sits up, surprised that Azmia is speaking to her, especially calling her by name. "Yes?"
"If you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you."
Katara's guard instantly goes up as she appraises the woman. "Go ahead," she replies finally, carefully.
Without invitation, Azmia sits on the bed, her whole demeanor changing with the motion. Instead of the slightly hunched, worn out woman Katara's so used to seeing, now Azmia sits much more gently, each movement as graceful as a hummingswan. Her shoulders are back and her head held high. She looks over at the waterbender, years of sadness and pain pooling in her eyes. "I've spent years in hiding, hoping, waiting for the time that it would be safe for me to return." She sighs, all the pain and misery of the years creeping into her voice. "When I came here I didn't know what to expect. My brother-in-law had told me plenty but it wasn't enough. It couldn't have prepared me for everything. To actually see Zuko all grown up, to see him being the leader we had all prayed for, it was almost too much." She pats Katara on the hand before continuing. Katara pulls back instinctively.
"He will make the perfect Fire Lord. He's strong, kind, and determined to end the war. He's just what the Fire Nation needs. I watch the way he is with all of you and I'm amazed. He was so sweet as a child, scared but sweet." Azmia frowns, her shoulders drooping. "I should have been there for him. I'd heard what had happened and how he was for a while.
"You all seem to have helped him remember who he is. I'm eternally thankful to all of you for that, especially you, Katara." Katara's eyebrows raise slowly, she's more tired than she realized and Azmia laughs. "I know, I know you think I hate you but I don't. I bear you little ill will personally, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. It's just what you are to my son, what you will mean to the people, that is what I have a problem with."
Katara tilts her head, trying to concentrate on the words Azmia just said. "Your – your son? What do you mean?"
The older woman with the viscous scar on her neck, the woman who had sobbed at being sent away, the woman who Katara suddenly, painfully realizes didn't accidentally mess up her morning tea, smiles, the years melting away. "I'm Fire Lady Ursa, mother of Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, wife of Fire Lord Ozai. If I thought my son would forget you and settle down with a Fire Nation woman, we would have no problems. Unfortunately, he's made it quite clear he won't do that. You make him weak, waterbender. His enemies will use his love for you as a weapon against him and his critics will say he loves the Water Tribe more than the Fire Nation. I can't allow that to happen. I can't allow my son to be in harm's way because of you." She glances over at the waterbender struggling to keep her eyes open. "If you really care about my son you'll want to help him." Ursa withdraws a long, thin blade, hardly more than a thick needle from her sleeve and jams it in between the struggling to stay awake Katara's ribs.
Katara tries to call for help, tries to bend, tries to fight back but nothing works. Ursa stands up, wiping her hands on the blanket. "Don't bother, I gave you something at lunch to make you too tired to fight. It couldn't be only poison though, my son would blame me. Now, you'll die at the hands of Fire Nation Loyalists who are determined to undermine Prince Zuko." Ursa pats the gasping woman's cheek before walking off.
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
Well, Azmia's not a problem anymore per say…..
Thank you everyone for the reviews, especially AniRay. I really appreciated the enthusiasm and really just getting feedback!