Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Rescue
Chapter 6
The uneasiness that crept into Zuko's stomach the moment he stepped into the Fire Nation Camp would just not go away. Every moment he felt he was under the watchful eye of every Fire Nation soldier in the whole Fire Nation army. Any soldier could probably pick out his face from a mile away. All he needed to do was keep his face hidden and everything would work out ok, just like he did at the North Pole.
But No, Zuko had to remind himself. This was different, much different. When he was on Zhao's ship, if any soldier recognized him, he could be easily persuaded to look the other way. That was when he was still royalty whether he was banished or not. Now, he was branded a traitor and if he was recognized, this time he would be eating the fire balls instead of giving them out.
Surprisingly they were given little trouble entering the camp. Their cart was checked and that was it. Kin-lo had hidden in a barrel and is now currently scouting out the camp for any sign of the prisoners. Kin-lo disappeared for the first day and Zuko was starting to wonder if something happened to him. The first day in the camp was probably the hardest, it took awhile to get used to the rhythm of an ordinary day of a common Fire Nation soldier.
Compared to the Earth army the Fire Nation was much greater and more organized. Zuko always believed that the Fire Nation army was superior to any in the world and now he saw that it was true. Tanks were lined up in rows and swords, spears as well as other weapon were being continually produced. Soldiers were constantly being trained in fire bending or whatever weapon they preferred.
The soldiers in the camp never rested which was not a surprise to Zuko, when he and his unit were to be shipped out the very next morning. They were to carry weapons and food to a fleet of Fire Navy ships some where near Ba Sing Se. Kin-lo would need to hurry if their mission was to be a success.
Later the same night before they were to be sent out, Zuko and the rest were sitting around a camp fire silently eating their meals when a masked Fire Bender sat down next to Zuko. Startled, when the banished prince realized he was not wearing his mask he turned his head to shield his scarred face from the eyes of the soldier.
Much to everyone's surprise, after the man sat down he made him self at home. He reached out and grabbed the pan of frying food and dished it onto his plate. Not sure how to react the Earth soldiers just stared at each other until Jin-lo was the first to speak.
"Hey, you fat Hog-monkey are going to share or what?" he said laughing after he recognized his brother.
Zuko's confusion went away when he saw the soldier removed his skull mask, revealing the bearded face of Kin-lo.
Smiling back the other brother spoke. "Hey, I haven't eaten all day while you and the others were lying around having a vacation."
"So what did you find out?" Loam said cutting to the chase, "we don't have time for fooling around, we're being sent out tomorrow morning."
"Ouch" Kin-lo replied, his mouth full of the fried food, (what ever it was). "Because what I've seen will take a lot more time than one night."
"That's all we have."
"Well then, I guess I better fill you boys in." Kin-lo said taking another bite, "But I must worn you it's not a pretty sight, they have hundreds of war prisoners and not all of them are warriors. In fact most of them seem to be ordinary peasants."
"What about the men we need to rescue?" Katso spoke for the first time, since they entered the camp. "They should be the priority."
"The battalion is significantly smaller, I made contact with one of the remaining soldiers, he told me that the Earth Benders were taken out to sea somewhere. While now it's just him and a few others." Kin-lo paused to shove more of the fried food into his mouth. "but I must worn you, they are in no condition to make a fast escape. That is if it should come to that."
"How many guards?" Loam asked.
"There are four guard posts each with a single guard, but I can assure you if there is a problem we will be having fire balls for supper instead of this fried food. There's only one entrance, a gate that is guarded by two guards."
"Hmm" Loam said thoughtfully, "If there was another way out, it would make our job that much easier."
"We could make another entrance, I found a whole stock of blasting jelly in a warehouse not too far from the guarded area."
Lang smiled "that should come in handy…"
ATLAB
Iroh had been searching for days and still had no leads on where Zuko had gotten to. It was hard, ever since they arrived in Ba Sing Se they tried to stay as discreet as possible. So far he had absolutely no leads on his missing nephew. However he had noticed men following him. They were dressed in green robes. The two men have been following him ever since he started his search.
They were professional, that Iroh was sure of. But no one could spy on the Dragon of the West with out him knowing about it. They were the least of his problems. He needed to find Zuko and fast. So far when everyone he talked to got a glimpse of the men in green, they either avoided his questions or just politely wished him luck on his search while turning down any help they might have had to offer.
Now he was sure that the men who have been following him were the key to finding Zuko. He needed to ask them some questions.
Iroh walked down the street, it was nearing dusk and the two men kept a consistent distance behind him. Iroh took a few more steps before he broke out into a full on sprint.
The agents who were following him were startled by the old man's sudden burst of speed, but regained themselves before they rushed after him. Seeing him duck into an alley the two Di Lai agents followed.
They turned the corner to find him gone. The old man had vanished, the agents could not believe it. No, wait, it was too late before the he came out of hiding, trapping the two agents within the alley.
"Hello" Iroh said kindly to the agents, "Were you looking for someone, perhaps you could come over and have some tea at my shop? It's on the house."
"Sir," one of the agents started. "We are agents of the Di Lai and I am afraid you are under arrest."
With that two other agents appeared from behind and rock cuffed Iroh while the other two grabbed him by the arms and led him out of the alley. Unnoticed to the agents was a small grin crept on to Iroh's face.
ATLAB
Zuko and Lang walked side by side through the darkened camp, until they came to a small metal warehouse which held the blasting jelly they needed to complete their mission. Zuko still wore the fire bender uniform and mask while Lang now wore an officer's uniform they borrowed earlier that same night. It was nearing midnight and most of the soldiers turned in for the night.
Two sleepy soldiers stood guarding the entrance. They woke up instantly as the two men approached.
"State your business" the one soldier said gripping his sword.
"I am Captain Loku, here to retrieve you men for a briefing" Lang said, trying to sound as official as possible.
The guards just looked at each other, obviously not buying it. Time for "plan B". Before the men could do or say anything, Zuko grabbed the one, throwing him hard to the ground knocking him unconscious. The other Fire guard drew his sword but was not fast enough before the banished prince twisted the sword out of his hands and sent him to the ground with a hard punch to the face.
The startled look on Lang's face was replaced by a smile.
"Nice one, Lee" Lang said giving him a pat on the back as he walked over and started to unlock the door with keys they also liberated with the uniform.
Iroh had once told Zuko, "Fire bending is a great power, but if a time comes when you needed to go with out that power you need all skills not just a bending art."
At the time, the young angry banished prince dismissed it as another useless lesson but now he could see how many of his Uncle's lessons that seemed useless at the time, actually turned out to be good advice.
He came back to reality as Lang opened the doors and they stepped inside. The room was dark, with no lamps or any way to see what lay ahead. They waited until their eyes adjusted to the darkness before they could make out faint blurs which appeared to be barrels of blasting jelly.
Crouching down, Lang whispered "Two of these barrels should make a nice hole in the wall." He laid one barrel over on its side and rolled it out. Zuko started for another barrel, but stopped when he noticed broad swords, surprisingly similar to his old ones on a shelf nearby . They were stuck in a clutter of weapons and empty barrels, Zuko pulled the twin blades out of the clutter. Looking at them for a second before he was interrupted by Lang.
"Hurry up Lee!" He whispered, "we don't have all night."
Tucking them quickly in his belt he rolled the second barrel out into the night. Zuko and Lang met the others under a tree which stood just out side the metal wall.
"Good, you got them" Loam said turning to Zuko and Lang as they came into their circle.
"No problem" Lang replied.
"I made contact with their leader again" Kin-lo said quietly, "they'll be ready when the time is right."
"Good" Loam replied, "Your brother should be here with the cart at any second."
Now that Zuko noticed it, he realized that Jin-lo was nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry" Kin-lo explained, "He's hiding in the woods not far from here. He thinks the blast will scare the rhino."
"Ok," Katso said, "let's get this over with."
With that they silently set to work placing the Jelly. After they were done they met back at the tree. Lang lit the trail and they all covered their ears and ducked behind the safety of the thick tree.
The silence was broken by the blast, which was followed by hot metal shards flying in all directions. After the smoke cleared six figures emerged from the smoke. They hobbled towards the tree, the stronger ones trying to support their weaker comrades. Zuko and the rest rushed forward to help the injured men out of the walls.
Jin-lo came forward with the cart which was then quickly loaded with passengers. The young man Zuko helped onto the cart looked slightly familiar, but he would worry about that later. The guards on duty were shaken alert by the blast and now were shouting out orders.
The last of the men loaded into the cart just as the Fire Benders assembled. Jin-lo whipped the rhino with the reigns and it hurried forward. The Fire Benders shot fire balls at them, missing them and only making the rhino go faster.
"Let them go!" Zuko heard one of the officers shout, "keep the others from escaping!"
By this time all the other captives were waking up and starting for the hole. The soldiers formed a wall, keeping them inside. The sight of the prisoners trying to escape slowly faded as they disappeared into the safety of the darkened woods.
Author's Note: Wow! It's been a long time, but thanks for those who have been patient with me. I will finish this story, but it might take a while. Any way in my next chapter I am going to add a character into this story that was only mentioned in Avatar, but I thought it would be cool if Zuko would meet him.