The Fire Nation guards dragged Sokka out of the prison barge onto a metal dock along with the other new Earth Kingdom prisoners. The sun was just beginning to set and the constant smoke from the prison rig gave the sky a deep red hue. The air around them was filled with smoke.
They had been traveling for a couple of weeks. He and Lien had changed their Fire Nation clothes into something that helped them blend in. They had already met the king of Omashu who had trapped them in a growing rock candy in order to test Aang, who it turns out knew Aang when he was a child over a hundred years ago. They had then traveled to a small Earth Kingdom village at the foot of a mountain. There they had met and befriended Haru, a local earthbending teen. Soon after there had been a collapse at the mine and Katara had convinced him to earthbend the trapped miners out, only to be turned in. Katara had wanted to rush to his rescue but when she told the group her plan Sokka had immediately interjected.
"I will be the one captured, not you," he'd said calmly. "I know Fire Nation architecture better. Plus if I fail, you'd be rid of your number one Fire Nation spy suspect."
Katara had begrudgingly agreed. Both had a pretend argument and using the air shafts that ran through the area, they had managed to utilize Aang's airbending to make it look like Sokka had actually used earthbending. He'd been captured and was now standing in line on a dock. An older looking Fire Nation soldier was approaching. His tone was smug.
"Earthbenders, it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden. I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests. And I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host. You will succeed here, if you simply abide-"
Someone a couple people away from Sokka began coughing, probably due to the smoke. Angered, the warden quickly turned and shot a flame at the man's feet.
What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him?! Take him below! One week in solitary will improve his manners. Simply treat me with the courtesy that I give you, and we'll get along famously."
That last part had been directed at Sokka. He then stood and gestured to the prison.
"You will notice, earthbenders, that this rig is made entirely of metal. You are miles away from any rock or earth. So, if you have any illusions about employing that brutish savagery that passes for bending among you people, forget them. It is impossible. Good day."
He walked off and the guards escorted the new prisoners into the prison courtyard. He heard the walls slam close.
"Tatzu?" Haru's confused voice sounded close. Sokka turned to see the earthbender stand.
"Hey Haru,"
"What are you doing here?"
"Katara felt responsible for your imprisonment. She wanted to help you escape by getting captured, but I felt more responsible so I got captured in her place."
"Gutsy Tatzu. Come, I want you to meet someone."
They headed over to a group of older prisoners. One had nearly white hair, was balding and had a long beard.
"Tatzu, this is my father Tyro. Dad this is Tatzu."
Sokka bowed formally. "It is an honor to meet you sir."
The old man handed Sokka a small clay bowl of soup. The smell nearly caused Sokka to gag.
"Have some dinner Tatzu. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's hot and it keeps up our strength."
Another prisoner walked up and mentioned something about the prisoners not having enough blankets. Sokka watched the exchange with interest. Obviously this Tyro was a respected man among both the prisoners and the guards.
After the man had left, Sokka asked, "It I may ask, do you have any plans of escape?"
Tyro looked a bit incredulous then lowered his head.
"The only plan we have is to just lay low, stay alive until the war ends. We can only hope that we survive long enough to see home again."
Sokka looked hard at the old man and frowned. The look on Tyro's face matched that of Haru and the others in the circle. They'd been broken in spirit. "So you're just going to give up?" Sokka grew angry. He could understand their feelings of hopelessness, but he had thought that people who could bend earth would be more stubborn and eager to be free. His voice grew as he continued.
"You all are just going to sit here, wallowing in your own despair? This is not the Earth Kingdom I've heard so much about. This is not the Earth Kingdom who fought off General Iroh at the capital of Ba Sing Se."
He clambered up and pounded on a lid.
"This is a disgrace. I don't see the proud citizens of the Earth Kingdom. What I see before me are the shells of men, women and children who would rather live in shame than fight the injustices done here!"
From behind him he could hear the warden walking up to watch. He ignored him and continued.
"Your ancestors would be so ashamed of you for abandoning the fight! You are letting them win!"
He'd hoped that he'd at least have planted the seeds of rebellion in them, but as he looked out he people looked away, ignoring him. Frustrated he jumped down and walked through them. Glancing up he saw the warden looking pleased. He growled and headed off.
When the anger diminished the first thing he felt was surprise. He had never felt that angry before. As the sun vanished below the horizon and the appointed rendezvous time approached, he resolved that he was going to stay. When he met Lien, Aang and Katara, later that night he indicated as such.
"You can't stay, your identity will be discovered," Lien said concerned. "Hurry up, there are guards everywhere."
Sokka frowned and shook his head. "No, these people need to be broken of their despair."
Lien shook her head. "We'd better stay. Tatzu can get pretty stubborn sometimes."
Katara nodded. "Let's find a place to hide."
Aang went over and whispered something to Appa, who instantly flew off. The four found a spot in the middle of some boxes.
"Okay, so now we're stuck here. What do we do?" Lien asked.
Aang looked down. "I wish I knew how to make a hurricane."
"Wouldn't work," Sokka said. "These rigs are built to withstand very strong windand rainstorms."
"I was thinking that the warden would run off and we'd steal his keys."
"I think he'd rather escape with his life and keys. They're prisoners and to him they're less than the dirt they can bend," Sokka said. He leaned back and stared at the smokestacks. He heard Katara sigh sadly.
"If only there was a way we could help them help themselves," she said.
"Well they'd need something to bend. Like some earth," Lien replied.
Sokka's eyes widened. "Or coal."
All three stared at him confused. He pointed at the smokestacks.
"How'd I miss this? It'd be too hard to keep the fires going with wood, so they're most likely using some coal."
"In other words, earth," Aang finshed.
"But how do we get the coal to them?" Lien asked.
Sokka's mind raced and quickly came up with a solution. "The same way we earthbent in the village."
Sokka outlined a plan utilizing his basic knowledge of Fire Nation prisons. He knew that the heat from the coal fires were vented out four different ways. He instructed Aang to close all but the one that exited near the courtyard. Aang would then airbend the coal into the courtyard, giving them a sporting chance. Aang worked all night clambering through the ventilation shafts.
As dawn approached, Lien, Sokka and Katara were hiding near the vent. Lien handed Sokka his sword. "We're gonna be fighting our way out of this Sokka," she whispered. "and we can't have them seeing you firebend. Especially your fire."
He thanked her smiling. His smile faded when he heard a guard shout, "There are the intruders!" The three immediately found themselves surrounded. Katara opened her water pouch and got into a fighting stance. Lien retrieved her new weapons, dual blading knives that she'd gotten quite proficient in during her stay on Kyoshi Island.
Tyro ran up. "Tatzu stop! You can't win this fight!"
Sokka turned to glare at the elderly man but was distracted by a low rumble. Knowing immediately what was coming he backed away from the vent only to be showered with dust and bits of rock as the still warm coal erupted like a geyser from the vent. Aang came out, coughing and covered in soot. Deciding to be tough again, Sokka climbed up the mound and retrieved a large piece of coal.
"Look at all this earth! This is enough to fight your way off the barge. I've read stories of great earthbenders who have fought off someone with less. If you just sit there dumbfounded, you would be exactly the filth that the Fire Nation accuses you of being."
He grew enraged as he saw people back away, looking down in shame. Screaming in frustration he threw the coal hard at Haru, who ducked too late as it hit his turned back, causing him to stumble. The warden laughed.
"Did you honestly think that a few words of reverse psychology and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh, but you still believe in them. How sweet. They're a waste of your energy boy."
The warden turned to walk out but a single piece of coal sailed through the air and hit the back of the warden's head. Outraged, the warden spun back. Sokka looked as well to see Haru, a look of pure defiance plastered on his face. He was levitating three pieces of coal above his hand. Enraged, the warden sent a blast of fire toward Haru, The coal between them moved suddenly, forming a wall between the two and absorbing the deadly attack.
Tyro had protected his son. Sokka felt a huge wave of relief which was short lived as he heard the warden shout, "Show no mercy!" as he and his guards unleashed their full attack. Tyro was joined by four others who formed a larger wall. Tyro grunted loudly then shouted for everyone to hear, "For the Earth Kingdom, attack!" He launched an attack on the guards. Sokka grew his sword instantly and ran towards the warden and the guards, shouting a battle cry. As the battle raged around them, Sokka and Lien focused on disarming the guards.
There was a rumble and Sokka turned to see that a huge hole had been blasted through the thick iron wall.
"Get to the ship, we'll hold them off!" Tyro shouted as he turned to face the guards. Sokka turned to head to the depths of the barge.
"Tatzu where are you going?!" Aang shouted.
"I'm gonna destroy this place!" he shouted. Lien instantly ran to join him. Knowing he couldn't stop her he nodded.
They continued to fight until the prisoners were off. The two watched amused as the warden and guards were placed on a small platform of coal and dropped into the ocean. As soon as every prisoner was gone, the two headed down. With no one to witness, they were free to use their firebending to melt and destroy everything they could. Massive explosions rocked the barge and they eventually caused enough damage to cause massive explosions. They ran to the surface and jumped only to be caught by Appa who flew after the large Fire Nation ships.
Later when the two had reunited with their traveling companions, Tyro and Haru approached. Assuming they'd be upset with him, Sokka looked at them and said, "Hey um, sorry for all those harsh words about-"
Tyro raised his hand, stopping Sokka. "Tatzu, what you said was true. We had failed out ancestors and our kingdom. We just needed to have it said out loud."
"Well, the coal probably helped too," Sokka said a bit sheepishly.
"It wasn't just the coal, it was you Tatzu," Haru said.
"You did what was needed to break the hold that place held on us," Tyro added, placing a hand on his shoulders. "Now we have the strength to take back our villages, to take back all our villages! The Fire Nation will severely regret the day they set foot on our land!" He raised his fist and the former prisoners raised theirs in a mighty war cry.
Sokka watched this with a satisfied smile. He was happy that he had managed to save a portion of the population from the overbearing propaganda of his adopted homeland.
"Tatzu, why don't you and your companions come with us?" Haru asked.
"I can't. We need to get Aang to the North Pole in order for him to learn waterbending," Sokka replied.
"So it's true. He's the Avatar?" Haru asked, looking at where Aang was playing with a small piece of coal.
"That's right. That's him."
Their thoughts were interrupted by Katara rushing up to them.
"My mother's necklace! It's gone!"
Phew, updated finally!