DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor am I in any way affiliated with Michael Dante DiMartino or Bryan Konietzko. This story is purely fan-made.
A/N:
Okay, here's the deal. This chapter is to do with Sokka, Aang and Iroh. You can read this chapter or skip ahead to the next chapter, as this chapter won't advance the normal story along in any way. Either way, enjoy what you're reading!
Sokka gazed at the ground from his position on Appa. It had been several hours since Katara and Toph had left, and he was worried about his little sister. Well, when wasn't he? But this time it was different…she was going somewhere to purposefully get captured, and knowing the Fire Nation, her capture would not be gentle. Sokka tried to reason with himself by saying that Katara could look after herself, plus, she was with Toph, who was no pushover.
Yeah, and she really looked after herself down under Ba Sing Se…Sokka told himself. In the times he had been conscious, Aang had filled Sokka and the Earth King in on what exactly had happened earlier. Sokka was horrified when he heard about the Fire sibling's attacks on both Aang and Katara, but he wasn't that surprised. Sure, Iroh had been full of "Zuko has good inside of him" but Sokka didn't believe it for a minute. And as for Azula, well, she was just insane. Which now led him back to the current problem. The sun was setting; casting its dying rays over the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se. Aang was sleeping, as was the Earth King. The Earth King's bear - Bosco - seemed to have gone off hunting, although Sokka wasn't sure how that would turn out. After all, Bosco had (Sokka was assuming) spent his entire life being cared for and waited on hand and foot. Sokka would be impressed if the bear managed to catch a leaf.
Being by himself didn't always agree with Sokka. He was left alone with his thoughts which, despite what Katara might quip, were many. Mostly he just went over all the ways he could have stopped Katara and Toph from leaving the gang. They could have stayed, and left Iroh in the clutches of his family. True, this may seem heartless, but surely there was another Firebender out there who would be willing to teach the Avatar?
We would've figured something out…Sokka fretted. To Katara he thought: I told Dad I would protect you, but how can I when you've grown up so much?
Resting his chin on his knees, Sokka continued to stare desolately at the ground. His mind seemed to be waging war against itself. One part was advising Sokka not to worry, that Katara was a master Waterbender, and had faced off with Zuko before, and won. The other part was saying that Katara - despite how mature she may act - was still only fourteen. Plus, she had the power of the moon on her side when she had defeated Zuko at the North Pole.
"We can't go for them yet…we have to wait." Sokka told himself, almost sternly. Because, no matter how much Sokka wanted to go and retrieve his little sister and his friend, he knew that doing so may make things worse.
"Sokka?" Asked a weak voice from below him. Quickly lifting his chin up from his knees, Sokka stood up on Appa. Managing to balance, he crossed Appa's back and climbed down to where Aang was lay, eyes open blearily.
"What's up?" Sokka murmured. It seemed a habit that in the presence of ill people, Sokka tended to lower his voice. It had nothing to do with waking the Earth King up; for all Sokka cared they would drop him off in the nearest safe house then fly away in the opposite direction.
"They'll be okay you know." Aang said faintly. His throat felt dry, and no amount of water would quench his thirst right now. Sokka had light-heartedly suggested cactus juice, but Aang did not seem to register this joke. Sokka realized soon after that Aang had not been there to witness Sokka's cactus-juice-induced high and felt like an idiot.
Sokka gently lay his hand down on Aang's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I know." Sokka smiled. "Besides, did you see Katara's hair when you escaped? No way will she let Zuko and Azula get away with that."
Aang smiled weakly and shut his eyes again, soon falling asleep. Sokka was glad that this joke had registered, even if it wasn't a particularly good joke. He wasn't concerned that Aang had fallen asleep; he had done this a lot in the past few hours.
I guess that's what getting shot by lightning will do to a guy…Sokka thought, standing up and leaning against Appa, sighing. No matter what anyone told him, he would be worried about Katara and Toph.
Aang drifted in and out of consciousness, barely registering his surroundings in his conscious periods. When he was awake - like now - his head felt like he had been slammed against rock repeatedly. Which, come to think it, he had. Of course he had to have a fight with the Fire Lord's children in an environment with no soft things to land on. The only blessing was the waterfall and underground river which had proved an extremely valuable source of water. Without the waterfall, Katara wouldn't have stood a chance.
Katara…Aang thought, troubled. I tried to save her, but if Iroh hadn't come then I would have gotten her killed…if I can't save Katara, then how am I meant to save the world?
Aang tried to open his eyes, but struggled. It felt as though the strain of opening his eyelids would kill him; as though weights had been grafted onto his entire body, making it difficult to execute even the simplest move.
Helpless.
Aang didn't like the sound of that word, yet it was the word best fitting him now.
Yeah, along with "failure" and "weak"…Aang thought, frustrated. He would groan if he had the energy, but instead he just lay there, wallowing in guilt. Unable to move. Unable to focus. Eventually he just let unconsciousness overpower him once more.
When Iroh had opened his eyes, the two girls had gone. Immediately, he had sat up, despite his bad back, and scanned the cell once more. When he was sure that Toph and Katara weren't around (it wasn't hard to determine; after all it was a very small cell) he began running through all possible scenarios in his mind as to what had happened to them. These were torturous thoughts, as Iroh knew what Azula was capable of.
Azula needed these girls to find out information on the Avatar…she wouldn't kill them, Iroh had decided, although he wasn't sure if this was purely wishful thinking. Azula may not have been willing to kill her captives, but she knew plenty of ways to inflict pain without causing her victim to die. Plus, she needed only one girl to tell her about the Avatar.
Getting increasingly worried, Iroh prayed that someone would come to his cell. Anyone. The Dai Li, Azula, Zuko…it could even be the Fire Lord, just so long as he could tell Iroh what was going on.
Ignoring the bitter cold that had crept into the cell, Iroh tried to preoccupy himself. Of course, this being possibly the single most boring place ever, there wasn't a lot to be preoccupied with.
Iroh was on his seventh time counting how many stones made up a wall when there was a sharp rap on the metal door. Intrigued, Iroh waited for the door to be unlocked, and, sure enough, a few moments later the door swung open to reveal the Dai Li agent Cai.
"Hello." Iroh greeted politely. He briefly wondered if Cai had access to any sort of tea, but quickly pushed the idea aside.
"I'm sorry about the drugged soup. I swear I had nothing to do with it. I didn't even know about it until it was too late." Cai babbled, ignoring Iroh's greeting. He appeared to be on-edge, but his rushed sentence seemed genuinely guilty.
"I accept your apology." Iroh said sincerely. Then, getting straight to the point with: "Do you know where Toph and Katara are?"
Cai looked down, and for a moment Iroh feared the worst. Then Cai looked back up, and Iroh felt like he was holding his breath.
"One of the girls is in a cell down near to here. It is not as large as this, but she hasn't been harmed in any way. The other girl is sharing a cell with your nephew. It appears the Princess double-crossed her brother." Cai allowed himself a chuckle at the irony of this turn of events.
Iroh however, although relieved to hear that neither girl was hurt, had a very bad feeling about who was sharing the cell with Zuko.
"Which girl is sharing with my nephew?" Iroh pressed. Don't be Katara, don't be Katara, don't be Katara, He silently willed.
"The elder girl, the Waterbender." Cai answered, evidently not hearing Iroh's prayer.
The old man winced slightly, imagining both Katara and Zuko's outrage at finding out who their cellmate was.
"I assume this was Princess Azula's idea?" He asked, but he already knew the answer. Azula would know how uncomfortable it would be for Zuko to even be in the same room as the girl he had just emotionally and physically hurt. So, of course, she would do whatever made someone the least comfortable.
"Yes." Cai replied, nodding. Why?"
Iroh debated with himself for perhaps two seconds on whether or not to fill Cai in on Zuko and Katara's history together. He decided against, seeing as it would probably take too long. Especially as he would have to include the Avatar and the girl's brother into the mix.
"It doesn't matter." Iroh said, shaking his head at the sudden rush of memories. "I trust Toph, Katara and Zuko aren't hurt in any way?"
Cai again chuckled. "I think your nephew's pride has taken a serious blow. Other than that, all three are fine."
Iroh nodded, relieved. Assuming Katara will manage not to kill Zuko anytime soon, I'd say that they will remain safe. Unless of course, Azula decides that she needs information on the Avatar now…he thought.
"How are you doing?" Cai asked, sitting down on the stone floor. Iroh saw him shifting uncomfortably in his long robes, trying to get into a position which would suitably relaxing.
"You don't happen to have any Ginseng tea do you?" Iroh asked.
"I'm sorry." Cai shook his head as Iroh's face fell slightly. "But I am working on a plan to get you all out of here."
"I suppose that will have to do then." Iroh smiled warmly. He knew that this young agent wouldn't have any tea, but didn't see the harm in asking him anyway.
"And I'll update you whenever I hear anything on Princess Azula's plans." Cai promised. Iroh nodded, wondering exactly what Azula was planning on doing right now. Whatever it was, it would not bode well for the Avatar's companions.
Iroh and Cai sat in silence for several minutes, each contemplating their own deep thoughts. Well, Iroh's thoughts were on tea, but he was sure that the younger boy's thoughts were more meaningful.
Suddenly, Cai smiled shyly up at Iroh.
"So…I heard you once tried to invade Ba Sing Se?" He asked, trying to conceal his curiosity. Iroh smiled widely and nodded. He looked off dreamily for a moment, a distant expression on his vacant face.
"Yes," Iroh replied, his dreamy tone matching his expression.
"How did you do it? And why did you fail?" Cai asked, his youth shining through with his inquisitiveness.
"Would you like to hear the full story?" Iroh asked, feeling like a grandfather retelling his young grandson stories.
Cai nodded enthusiastically and Iroh took a deep breath.
This could take some time…
A/N:
I know that this was only a short (well, relatively) chapter, but I hope it was okay. Just let me know if you want any more info on Sokka, Aang, the Earth King and Bosco or Iroh anytime soon )
Anyway, I'm off to write the next chapter. You're reading this, so presumably you're off to read the next chapter. Lol, enjoy, and don't forget to review this chapter as well :D