Chapter 7: Break In and Out

I hadn't meant to break into the prison. I had been devising a clever plan to get captured and then help my boys break out when a guard grabbed Katara. She lashed out and kicked the guard between the legs. The other guards surrounded her and before I could remind them that this was going according to plan, Sokka had jumped on top of the burliest guard and Toph managed to kick at least five of the armed men to the ground. Aang danced and wove between the fighting bodies, landing a few critical hits as we went. This continued for a few minutes before one of the guards reached behind her and pulled the sword from its sheath across her back. That was the point when I decided that all of my plans had been thrown into Avatar Roku's volcano.

I ran up behind the guard and held my hand up to her throat. "Drop the sword."

"What makes a little girlie like you think that you can order me around?" she sneered.

I felt my palm heat up, "the fact this little girlie can make a big fire." The guard yelped and let her sword clatter to the ground. The fight slowly stopped around me and I heard a few gasps from the guards stationed outside of the jail. "Alright, listen up! Do as I say and I might let this sucker live." The guards nodded fast enough that I felt sorry for their necks. "You two," I pointed to the guards standing outside the door, "are gonna let us pass without calling any of your higher ups. Got that?" The armored figures nodded slowly.

"Hestia, there are better ways to get them back," Aang said quietly from behind me.

The guard that I was holding laughed, "you're Hestia huh? Who'dve thought that the famous keeper of orphans would be the one threatening to kill me. Oh, this is too precious. Are those horrible children are yours? Well, what can I say? Once a delinquent, always a delinquent."

"I'd shut up if I were you," I interrupted.

"What? Are you naive enough to think that the moment you go through that door they're gonna keep following your 'orders'? Stupid girlie. Your kids aren't gonna make it out and neither are you. I'll make sure of that."

"Yeah well, I'll take my chances." I turned back to the small group behind me. "Aang, Katara, I need you to make sure they don't call reinforcements. Toph, Sokka, follow me. Try not to do anything stupid." I pushed the guard in front of me and pushed more energy into the ball of fire in my palm. "If you like your pretty hair, you're gonna show us the way to my kids," I told her.

It was surprisingly easy to break Azida, Lizz, and Raz out of their cells. There was only one guard in the hallway and Sokka was able to take him out with his boomerang. Lizz was in a cell next to Azida and Raz. The small girl had already managed to break a few of the bars with one of her many hidden knives before the guard caught her with it. I easily managed to pry them apart enough for her lean frame to slip through. Azida and Raz were a different matter; but one glance at Toph showed me that she had a plan. She shoved the guard forward and took a key ring from the woman's belt. The cell door was unlocked and we ran.

The guard turned to look me in the eye. Her face was close enough to the flame I was holding that her cheek was turning red. "Believe me, Girlie. You're never gonna get away with this. There's no way in hell you're family's gonna live through the year."

"It's saying tough things like that that gets you killed before the year is up. I'm not sure how well you'll fill out that threat from the grave. Girlie." I gave the guard my happiest smile. She winced and gasped at the pain in her cheeck. I pushed her through the door in front of me, "you guards are never as tough as you think you are." There was a loud cheer from outside the gates. A small crowd had gathered in front of the jail and they were all staring at us. "What are you looking at? There's nothing to see here," I called. They continued to look as someone muscled her way to the front of the group, the young woman pointed at me and held her head up in defiance.

"I saw those guards take two beaten-up boys and a defenseless ten-year-old girl into the jail without charging them!" The girl announced to the crowd behind her. Her dark eyes shined with mischief and her brown curls bounced when she nodded at me.

"That's right! give the girl her brother's back!"

"They're innocent!"

"I saw it all." The crowd was yelling and cheering. They were pushing against the gates and I watched as the hinges were torn off the metal supports. A wall of bodies rushed through and surrounded the guards. The guard that I had been keeping hostage was ripped from my hands and pushed into the center of the mob. Aang and Katara ran next to me and smiled.

"Not many people like the guards in your town," Aang smiled.

"I thought it was just the people in the slums. Aang, why would that girl help us?" I asked.

"Why did you help us?" Aang looked like he was going to speak before Toph rushed at us and interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, we can do the mushy chit chat later, we should go. Now." She took off in the direction of the slums. I looked back to see Azida hoisting Lizz onto his back; Raz was standing shyly by my side. I scooped the boy into my arms and smiled when he wrapped his arms around my neck.

"Hold on tight," I said. Raz nodded into my shoulder.

A/N: Hey Guys! Look at me updating on my birthday, I'm such a nerd. I know it's been a bit longer then I was expecting and I'm sorry for that. If anyone tells you that fight scenes are easy to write without summarizing them feel free to tell them how wrong they are (or if you like being witty you can always punch them in the face and tell them to write about it). I'm not sure how many people actually read my author's notes, but I'd like to thank my wonderful Beta. She has corrected so many comma splices and is the Grammar Queen.

-Ananimous