As morning became night at the western air temple Zuko pours tea that he has prepared. It was the Black Dragon Pearl. The young princes asked where Aang got it from he simply told him Katara found it. Zuko was curious at first of where she found it but decided best not to ask.
"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" Zuko asked giving out teas to every one
"Sure." "I like jokes." "Bring it!"
"Okay. Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punchline is "Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!"." Everyone went silent. "Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it."
"Right... maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing." Katara said making every one laugh
"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens." Toph said getting a cup of tea.
Zuko then walks over to Sokka"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" the young warrior asked getting up and walking away from everyone with Zuko behind him
"So, what's up?"
"If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?" Sokka asked
"What do you mean? Who was captured?" curiously asking
"When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be."
"I can't tell you." Zuko said looking away
"What? Why not?"
"Trust me. Knowing will just make you feel worse." The young prince turns to leave till he felt a hand on his shoulder
"It's my Dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put him through." Sokka said wanting to know
"It's not good, Sokka."
"Please" asking in a pleading tone
"My guess is, they were taken to the Boiling Rock." He said facing the wolf warrior
"What's that?" Sokka asked
"The highest security prison in the Fire Nation; it's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable." The firebender informed
"So where is this place?" the young man asked already planning
"Why do you need to know? What are you planning?" Zuko asked
"Nothing." He quickly said "Boy, you're so paranoid." Waving him off
Zuko looked at Sokka sternly "It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here."
He smiled "Thanks Zuko." Forces a fake yawn out "Just knowing makes me feel better." Then walks back to the group
"Yeah, I'm sure it does." Zuko said sarcastically
Later on that night a shadow moved around headed towards Appa. Appa opens his eyes but was signaled to keep quiet. He starts to climb up reaching the edge of the saddle till.
"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko asked scaring Sokka and making him fall off of Appa
"Fine, you caught me. I'm going to rescue my Dad. You happy now?" he asked gathering his things that fell out of his bag.
"I'm never happy." The young prince stated
"Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea; it was my decision to stay when things were going wrong. It's my mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me, Zuko." Sokka said lightly pushing the prince to the side
"You need to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it." Watching Sokka climb back up on Appa again "I'm going with you."
"No. I have to do this alone." Reaching the saddle
"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares." Zuko stated looking at Sokka "We'll take my war balloon."
Morning comes and everyone is waking up from their slumber. Appa walks up greeted with a some hay given by The Duku. Katara notices Momo holding a note and using it as a blanket. Then she carefully takes the note away and looks at it.
"What does it say?" Toph asked curiously
""Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko." One more thing. "Aang, practice your Firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats every time you hear a badgerfrog croak. Zuko."" Katara said turning to the young monk who was getting ready to go back to sleep till they head a badgerfrog croak.
Aang sighs and slowly stands up "Uggh, nobody else has homework." Then starts to do his exercises "One hotsquat, two hotsquat, three hotsquat, four hotsquat"
A war balloon is seen flying through the clouds with two passengers in it. One is a young prince and the other a young warrior. Zuko firbends into the tank making sure the balloon stays stabled. After that there was an awkward moment.
"Pretty clouds." Sokka said looking up
"Yeah...fluffy." they stayed quiet for a bit till Sokka started whistling "What?"
"What? Oh, I didn't say anything." The young swordsmen said. It was silent for a moment till he spoke up again "You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."
"No kidding?" Zuko asked
"Yep, a balloon... but for war."
"If there's one thing my Dad's good at, it's war." The young prince said adding extra flame in the tank.
"Yeah, it seems to run in the family." Sokka said looking at the firebender
"Hey, hold on, not everyone in my family's like that." Zuko quickly said defending someone instead of himself
"I know, I know, you've changed." He said waving him off
"I meant my Uncle. He was like a father to me. And I really let him down." Looking at the side feeling disappointed of himself.
"I think your Uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us, that's hard." Sokka said trying to make Zuko feel a bit better about himself
"It wasn't that hard." He said
"Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?" the young man asked a bit surprised
"Well, I did have a girlfriend. Mai." Zuko said almost dreamy like after saying her name
"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" The wolf warrior asked grinning
"Yeah." Zuko said with a proud smile then frowned "Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it."
"My first girlfriend turned into the moon." Sokka said still feeling a bit sad about it then looked over a Zuko.
The firebenders eyes looked up to the sky then back as Sokka "That's rough, buddy."
Time passed and darkness took over. Sokka was sleeping soundly while Zuko added some flames into the tank making sure the war balloon was maintained. He walked over to the other side and spotted the boiling rock.
"There it is!" Zuko said causing Sokka to wake up quickly to look as well "There's plenty of steam to keep us covered. As long as we're quiet, we should be able to navigate through it without being caught." The young prince informed
As the approach the volcano Zuko adds a bit more juice to the take making sure the get over the rock edge. But the flames from the tank start to act up causing the balloon to lose altitude and start to sink.
"We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!" Zuko said a bit panicked and kept adding more flames to the tank
"The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!" The warrior quickly stated
"Uhg so what are we supposed to do?" the firebender asked
"I don't know! Crash-landing?" Sokka said looking back at him
The war balloon starts to skid across the boiling water. Sokka who was holding onto the edge felt the boiling water splash on his hand; he quickly covered his mouth so not to be heard. Once the war balloon skidded on land it quickly dumped out the warrior and prince. Then it broke down.
"How are we going to get off the island if the balloon won't work?" Zuko asked
"We'll figure something out! I suspected it might be a one-way ticket." He said quickly getting up from the ground
"You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?" the prince asked getting up as well.
"My Dad might be here! I had to come and see!" Sokka said gathering the war balloon
"Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this...this is just crazy!" the young man pointed out watching the warrior
"Hey, I never wanted you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it by ear. So there." He quickly stated after gathering up the balloon. He was going to push it in till he got burned so a kick the war balloon into the water.
"What are you doing?" Zuko asked
"It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone find it." Sokka said
Zuko looked at the young man "I hope you know what you're doing." Then turned and looked at the large prison building "There's no turning back now."
Morining arrives and two figures sneak through the ventilation shaft. The room that they snuck into was the fire nation guard uniforms. They quickly changed out of their clothes and into the uniform. The door opens and they step out.
"I hope these disguises work." The prince said
"We just need to lay low and find my Dad as soon as possible." He said then they heard footsteps.
"Guards! There's a scuffle in the yard come on." The worker said. Zuko and Sokka quickly follow going outside to see and prisoner and a guard talking.
"I didn't do anything! I'm going back to my cell." The large man said turning away
The guard makes a fire whip and hits the ground "Stop right there, Chit Sang."
Zuko sees this and gets ready to step in to stop the guard till he felt Sokka's hand grab a hold of his arm.
"We can't blow our cover." He said in a low tone
"I've had it with your unruly behavior!" the guard said
"What did I do?" Chit Sang asked
"He wants to know what he did. Isn't that cute?" the guard asked Sokka and Zuko when he didn't get an answer he looked at them.
"Uhhh, very cute, sir.
"Super cute." The older guard turned back to the prisoner
"You didn't bow down when I walked by, Chit Sang!" he said walking over to the large man
"What? That's not a prison rule." He said looking at the man
"Do it!" the guard said getting close to his face
"Make me."
For a second they stared down each other till the guard smirked and pretend to walk away. But then quickly turns around and tries to fire whip the prisoner. Chit Sang turns around and quickly fires back at the guard. But the guard blocks it then looks at Chit and makes a disappointing sound.
"Firebending is prohibited. You're going in the cooler." Then points at Sokka "You! Help me take him in."
"Meet back here in an hour." Sokka whispered and took off
The guard and young warrior walk back into the prison going straight to the coolers.
"The warden will deal with you soon." Then the guard shoves Chit Sang into one of the coolers letting Sokka close the double door then looks at the young man "Can you believe this guy?"
"Prisoners! Am I right?"
"Uhh tell me about it."
Meanwhile Zuko is gathering a bit of food in the cafeteria/lounge area.
"Hey, new guy! I know it's the rule to have your helmet on at all times, but this is the lounge. Relax." A male guard said smiling
"But what if there's an incident? If I'm not prepared, someone could strike me on the head." Zuko said making the male guard and female guard laugh.
"Give it a week, he'll loosen up." The female guard pointed out
Zuko sat down with them "Can the new guy ask you veterans a few questions about the prison?"
"No, you can't date the female guards." She quickly said
"Trust me, you don't want to." A guard said trying to speak quietly only to get hit in the head by a cup.
"No, that's not it." He leaned in "The Boiling Rock, it holds the Fire Nation's most dangerous criminals, right?" the guards nodded "So what about war prisoners?"
A gondola approaches the prison once it arrives the Warden steps off and walks straight to the cooler cells. Meanwhile Sokka and the Guard keep wait, then the young warrior looks through the tiny window looking at the prisoner.
"It sure looks cold in there." He said
"That's why we call it the cooler. He won't be Firebending there." Then notices the Warden approaching. "It's the warden! Look alive!" he said standing at attention
The guard of the Warden opens the doors "So Chit Sang, I hear you used Firebending to try to escape. You should know better."
"I wasn't trying t-to escape."
"He's lying! I saw it with my own eyes." The old guard proclaimed
"No one has ever, ever escaped from here. I'd sooner jump in the boiling lake myself than let that record fall. Don't forget it. Now go back to your shivering." The Warden said turning away and walking out of the cooler.
Zuko carefully approaches a guard "Hey there, fellow guard, how goes it?"
"Zuko?" Sokka asked showing his face
"Shhh! Listen, I asked around the lounge. There are no Water Tribe prisoners. I'm afraid your father's not here."
"What? Are you sure, did you double-check?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"No! No!" then bangs against the steel wall
"I'm really sorry, Sokka."
"So we came all this way for nothing! I failed...again." the warrior said feeling disappointed
Zuko looked at him trying to cheer him up "Uhh what would Uncle say?" then looked at the clouds "Sometimes, clouds have two sides, a dark and light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich! So, when life seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich!"
"Maybe we haven't failed after all!" Sokka said noticing something else
"That's the spirit! I can't believe that worked, I didn't even know what I was saying" Zuko said a bit proud of himself
"No, what you said made no sense at all, but look" point at a young woman "it's Suki!"
"Prisoners back in your cells!" A guard yelled. As Suki went back to her cell Sokka followed her with Zuko right behind him. Once there he entered the cell closing the door behind him.
"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" the female warrior asked not knowing who's under the mask.
"You mean you don't recognize me?" the young man asked
"You people all look the same to me." She retorted back
"Oh? Then maybe you'll recognize this." Sokka leans in getting ready for a kiss instead he gets shoved against the door knocking is helmet off
"Sokka! It's you!" she gets up and quickly hugs him
"The other Kyoshi Warriors, are they here?" he asked
"No, I don't know where they are. They locked me in here because I'm their leader." She informed
"Well, you won't be here for long. I'm busting you out."
"I'm so glad to see you Sokka. I knew you'd come." She leans in and kisses him
Keeping guard was Zuko. He saw a female guard heading his way. He quickly tapped on the steel door giving Sokka a signal someone was coming.
"Excuse me. I need to get into that cell." The female guard said
"No, you can't go in there! The lights are out. The prisoner could sneak up on you." Making a lame excuse
The guard looked at him "Step aside, fool." As she was getting ready to move him to the side Zuko grabs her and pushes her against the wall "Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
The guard quickly turns the attack on Zuko and ends up slamming him against the steel door. As Zuko pins her Sokka manages to sneak out of the cell till the female guards stops him.
"Guard, help! I think he's an impostor! Arrest him!" still struggling against Zuko's hold "Get him off me and arrest him!"
Sokka quickly grabs Zuko and slams him to the ground "You're under arrest!" then as he picks him up he whispers "Don't worry, I'll figure it out."
All three walk over to a changing cell, making Zuko change into prison clothes then he was placed into an interrogation room where he waited.
"Well, well, well, I never thought I'd find you in here, Prince Zuko." The Warden said
"How did you know who I am?" the prince asked a bit surprised
He frowned "How could I not? You broke my niece's heart."
"You're Mai's Uncle? I never meant to hurt her." He said
"Quiet! You're my special prisoner now. And you'd best behave. If these criminals found out who you are, the traitor prince who let his nation down, why they tear you to shreds." He said
"So what's in it for you? Why don't you just tell my father and collect a reward?"
"Oh, in due time, believe me, I intend to collect." He grinned then walks out of the room
Sokka walks down the steps seeing Zuko and Suki mop the floor together "Oh, good, you guys have met."
"Actually, we met a long time ago." She said looking at Zuko out of the corner of her eye
"We did?" he asked
"Yeah, you kind of burned down my village." She informed
He stopped for a second "Oh, sorry about that. Nice to see you again." Then continued mopping
As soon as all three of them hid Sokka began to talk "So, listen, I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again, the whole point of them is to keep Firebenders contained, right?"
"Yeah..."
"So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?" the warrior asked
"Just get to the point, Sokka." Suki said
"It's the perfect boat for getting through the boiling water." Surprising Suki and Zuko
"The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?" Zuko asked
"I'm tellin ya, it'll work. I walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. I already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It will take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing bang boom, we're home free." Sokka informed
"But how are you going to get the cooler out?" the female warrior asked
"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out?" Chit Sang asked jumping down beside the group
"What? We didn- wha- We didn't say that." Waving him off
"Yeah, you heard wrong." Zuko stated
"I heard you're hatching an escape plan, and I want in."
"There's nothing to get in on."
"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is an...egg?" Sokka said then hears a sigh coming from his girlfriend and friend
"OK, well I come with you or the warden hears about this egg, too." He informed the three
"I guess we have no choice." Suki said
"OK, you're in." Then pulls out a wrench handing it to Zuko "Now, first we need someone to unbolt the cooler, from the inside."
Grinning Chit Sang spoke "Oh, I can get you inside."
Zuko bumps into Chit Sang "Hey! What are you, stupid? Watch where you're going!" pushes Zuko
"Hey, you watch where you're shoving!" pushing him back
"I think you mean whom I'm shoving!" Then they being to fight
"I need backup over here!" Sokka informed then Zuko blasts fire
"No Firebending! Into the cooler!" A guard yelled
As Zuko is taken away by two guards Sokka and Suki pretened like nothing happened and walked oppsite ways. Moments later Sokka walks over to a cooler and opens it seeing Zuko.
"I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson." He informed
Zuko breaths out fire and smiles "Yes, I have. Completely." Showing all the bolts and screws.
"I got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. They'll be waiting for us at the shore." The warrior informed
"Someone's coming!" then quickly grabs Sokka and closes the door slightly
"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn." A male guard said
"Anybody interesting?" the woman asked
"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners, though I did here there might be a pirate." He said cathing Sokka and Zuko's attention
"No fooling!" she asked as they continued walking
"War prisoners. It could be your father."
"I know."
"Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?"
"I don't know! Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom, all of our freedom on the slim chance that my Dad is going to show up?" Sokka asked
"It's your call, Sokka."
Later that night outside the prison Sokka and Zuko and carefully and slowly rolling down the cooler. Then Chit Sang and Suki help them as well.
"Took you guys long enough. This here's my girl and my best buddy, they're coming too." The large man said
"Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let's go." Sokka ordered
"Are you sure you want to go? You're the one who said you needed to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your Dad is your chance." Watching Sokka gather his things
"Your Dad?" Suki asked
"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail." The warrior said
"No it's not. Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out." Zuko said
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again."
"Seriously, not helping." Then feels Zuko's hand on his shoulder
"You have to try again every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you'll fail."
"Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on?" Chit Sang asked
"No. I'm staying. You guys go. You've been here long enough." Looking at Suki
"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka."
"I'm staying, too." The prince informed
"Not me, I'm out. Let's roll, baby." Chit Sang said pushing the cooler into the water sailing away.
"We gave up our only chance of escape. I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake." Sokka said.
Morning comes and three escape prisoners sit in a heated cooler.
"Uggh, this current is so slow." He stands up "I can use this to paddle." He said ripping off a piece of metal, as soon as he tried to paddle the water touches his hand. He lets out a loud scream which is heard by a guard. Then the alarms go off.
"Guards! Secure the perimeter and lock down the prisoners! Now!" The Warden ordered
"The plan failed! They're caught!" Sokka said
"Get the fugitives and throw them in the cooler!" said the Warden
"Uhhh...they are in a cooler, sir." One of the guards informed
"One that's bolted down and not floating in the water! This is a lockdown! We have new prisoners arriving, everything must be completely secure!" then a spear is shot catching the cooler and dragging it back.
"The gondola's moving." Sokka says seeing it approaching "This is it. If my Dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing." As the gondola stops
"We had too." Suki said then held Sokk's hand
"Come on, come on" The warrior asked hopingly. The first man he sees is large and has a nose ring along with a tattoo.
"Is that him?" Zuko asked
"My Dad doesn't have a nose ring." Sokka said watching more men come out "Where is he?" he asked as one last man walks off "That's it? That can't be it."
"I'm sorry, Sokka." The female warrior said
"Oh no" feeling sad and disappointed till he heard a guard yell
"Hey, you! Get off the gondola!"
Sokka looks back up with hopeful eyes and sees the last man walk off the gondola then smiles "Dad…"