Standard disclaimers apply.

The old earthbender had been right. Fire Nation prisons weren't great, but they were survivable. The benders had been separated into special housing and the Mechanist taken away by a general who wanted to offer him a more gilded cage in exchange for continuing his design work, but Hakoda and the rest of the 'normal' war prisoners were housed near each other and even allowed to congregate during meals and yard time as long as they followed prison rules. The guards were no more or less harsh with them than anyone else, and their strength in numbers prevented the Fire Nation prisoners from trying to settle any patriotic grudges.

The chief spent the time outside his cell making sure all his people were coping well, forming alliances with other war prisoners who were held there and observing the routines and habits of the guards. The time in his cell he spent worrying about his children. He was fairly sure that if the Avatar and his companions had been captured, the rumors would spread even to the prison, but he still worried. Where had they gone after the invasion failed? What possible hope was there even with Aang free? From long tactical discussions with Sokka before the four children had split off from the rest of the force, he knew that outside of a confrontation during the eclipse, the only way for the young monk to defeat the fire lord and his powerful daughter was to become a fully realized avatar. Which would require mastering firebending. Which the child apparently didn't even want to do, if a miracle provided him with a firebending teacher.

So Hakoda worried. What if the Avatar tried to master firebending on his own? Sokka had told of how the last attempt in that vein turned out, with Katara burned. What if they tried to confront the Fire Lord with what they had and were killed? What if they waited too long and the Fire Nation used the comet that the guards often whispered reverently of to inflict some new horror on the world?

Then, two days ago, while he had been sitting in his cell and worrying, the guards had come outside of their normal routine. They hadn't spoken, merely shackled him and escorted him out of his cell block, past the other war prisoners, none of whom seemed to be similarly disrupted. They marched him all the way out of the prison, to a rather bored looking soldier standing beside a Fire Nation troop transport with a scroll.

"This is the one," one of the guards said in a tone of boredom.

Not to be out-bored, the soldier with a scroll didn't even look up from it when he said, "Name?" There was an awkward silence as Hakoda waited for one of the guards to answer, until the soldier looked up directly at him and repeated with some annoyance, "Name?"

The second guard laughed and jostled the chief. "He wants to hear it from you, Water Tribe, so he knows we didn't bring the wrong guy. Cause us guards are just so dumb compared to fancy pants cargo shippers."

The other guard didn't seem to find the idea as amusing and the soldier had a look of a man who was already a good 27 seconds behind schedule, so he responded. "Hakoda."

The soldier made a mark on his scroll and gestured to the transport. "Sit him down anywhere that's free."

"Where am I going?" He was surprised to get an answer instead of a cuff.

"You're getting a vacation," the second guard said, apparently always ready to be amused by his own wit. "The warden here keeps an eye on the new prisoners to find the ones with true leadership potential, and sends them on a luxury lakeside vacation. Just don't try to go swimming." Then they left him chained to a bench, and a few moments later the transport began to move.

lineline

Two days later, the transport had been joined with another bringing prisoners transferred from the Earth Kingdom colonies, and he at least knew where he was going. The Boiling Rock. Lakeside vacation, indeed. The highest security prison in the Fire Nation, housing their most dangerous criminals. And he was going there alone. Hakoda was a brave man, but he wasn't stupid. This was going to be rough.

On the brief breaks they were given each day, he tried to get a feel for the prisoners with him, considering them a sample of what he would be dealing with soon. There was the expected assortment of violent scum, one of whom had called him "exotic" on their first travel break and tried to bribe a guard into seating them together. The guard had looked at Hakoda's stony face and replied with a laugh that he'd rather not explain the scum's injuries when they were transferred. A few were there for treason, but he quickly determined that they had been trying to advance their own place in the Fire Nation rather than opposing it's goals. One rather extravagant fellow claimed to be a pirate and regaled anyone close to him with tales of daring raids and exotic islands, and the chief did his best to be seated in the other transport from him when he could.

None of them presented any hope of future allies and easily half were potential threats. Things weren't looking good.

Then, on the second day of travel, just as Hakoda was settling into a restless doze and worrying about his children, the transport came to a sudden, jarring halt, before being rocked again by an impact from behind. The two guards who rode inside had been thrown around worse than the prisoners, who were at least chained in place, and it took a moment before they were up and yelling at everyone to stay where they were (as if they had much choice). One had just opened the transport door when it was yanked out of his hands and he folded over an extremely garish red boot to the stomach.

"Captain! Are you in here?" The figure moved swiftly into the small space, easily rolling under a fireblast from the second guard and coming up to smash him in the face with the hilt of one of the twin swords he held. The chief could hear yells of confusion and sharp popping sounds coming from outside and smelled smoke drifting in. He tried to get a good look at the intruder as he searched the transport, but only got the impression of mismatched finery in black and red, an almost feral strength and grace, and a silk crimson scarf tied up around his hair and trailing to obscure half his face.

After determining that his captain wasn't present, the man gave a carefree laugh as he flipped his swords so the blades pointed down and began smashing off various prisoners' chains. "Olly-olly oxen free!" he called as Hakoda felt more than saw the cuffs on his own wrists and ankles broken open, "Everybody scamper and feel free to hit a few guards on your way out!"

'Of course,' he thought, impressed in spite of himself that his skin wasn't even scratched. 'The more chaos the merrier.' Most of the escapees would probably be recaptured with no mounts or clear idea where they were, but a greater distraction would help the pirates. Well, he for one wouldn't be turning down the opportunity.

But as he left the transport, coughing in the stinging smoke, the chief felt a hand grab his arm and looked to see the pirate again, the trailing end of the scarf now pulled down across his face to cover his nose and mouth. "Come on," he heard, but didn't wait to hear more. Pirates had only one interest in Water Tribe and it wasn't a friendly one. Hakoda drove his fist into the man's gut and wrenched away as he gasped. Starting to run and trying to determine the best direction in the turmoil around him he heard an angry curse, but if the thrown swords made any noise it was drowned out and all he knew was a crash of pain and then darkness when the joined hilts of the twin blades struck his skull.

A/N : I know that it is wrong, but the urge to end the chapter here is overwhelming! I imagine it's apparent to just about everyone (except poor Hakoda) what's going on, but the cliffhanger is still fun. Next chapter : Confused!Hakoda, Cranky!Sokka and DefensivelyApologetic!Zuko...