A/N: Sorry about the wrong chapter put up earlier. I must have clicked the wrong document.
Finally, they find Suki! Poor Suki, had to endure one and a half weeks of the worst Concentration Camp out there (actually it was a death camp, but that's beside the point).
Oh, and HJ, about that "single military men" comment, don't push your luck, buddy. I will hunt you down and hurt you if you tease me like that again. But hey, it's all in good fun, right? You know what, in geography class today, I thought way too hard about my situation and gave myself a headache. I didn't think I could do that! I got a headache from thinking too hard! Wow... But anyway, I ended up skipping my math class because of it.
Guess what people!? I going to Colorado this weekend for a drill meet. I'll be shooting pistols and rifles (I'm too lazy to go into details like what kind of weapons they are so we will just leave it at that) and will be coming back on sunday. Sorry, but I won't even be checking my e-mail this weekend. Oh! And next week, the last Death Note movie comes out! God, I'm soo excited! I don't care if I have to go to school the next day, I'm gonna go see it! Yay, L!
Anyway, continuing on... On with the story!
Chapter 8—Auschwitz
They ran as quietly as they could across the grassy plain to the outpost, every once in a while, stopping and hiding behind bushes or large rocks when a search light passed over head. Getting in without being seen was the hard part of the plan; finding Suki and getting out was a walk in the park in comparison.
They had a back up, in case some of the guards happened to bump in to them. If they were seen before Katara and Toph got to the supply room and put on female uniforms, they were to act as Ambassadors from Berlin inspecting the camp. If asked why they were not informed of their arrival, they were to say that they had come unannounced and wished to be in and out during the same night.
The group came across the tall, tightly knit barbed wire fence and stopped.
"How do we get in?" Katara whispered. Zuko said nothing but instead grabbed her hand and made a lifting motion with his free hand and nodded towards the fence. She understood and lifted her foot, allowing Zuko to take a hold of it and boost her up and over the fence. He helped the others before quickly and as light-footedly as he could, climbed over to join them.
"Check your uniforms," he said quietly to Sokka and Aang, who closely examined each other's uniforms for torn fabric or holes from the fence. Satisfied that there were none, they smiled and shook their heads before Zuko motioned for them all to follow him into the camp. They successfully dodged behind two buildings without getting caught until the light of a torch appeared around the corner of the supply building. "Flatten yourselves against the building, quick!" Zuko whispered harshly and they all did as they were told, pinning themselves against the wooden building as the soldier passed by unnoticing.
"That was close," Aang murmured. "Do you think they know we're here?" The question was more directed at Zuko than anyone else.
The ex-Nazi shook his head but said nothing. Nodding to Katara and tapping Toph on the shoulder, he took them back, around the corner and into the supply room. "I'll help you find what you need, then I'll turn my back so you can change." He began searching the shelves as he spoke. "If you need help, just ask." They both nodded and waited for him to find them uniforms in their own sizes. He found two, one small and one medium, and took them off the shelf and handed one to each of the girls. "They won't be properly tailored, but they should fit well enough to fool the guards here." He turned his back to allow them to change and had a hard time not taking one peak at Katara who was facing the corner of the room. He wanted to catch but a glimpse of her beautiful and toned body, but knew it was unethical and wrong. He did not think she would take that too kindly. So he remained idle, staring at the wooden wall of the building until he heard his name called.
"Zuko," Katara whispered. "Could you help me over here?"
He sighed. I hope she has at least the blouse and the skirt on already, he begged as he turned around to face her. She had, but she was having problems with her tie. Shaking his head, he walked over to her and tied it before buttoning the top button of her blouse and tightening the tie all the way up to her throat. "Thank you," she said as he smiled in return.
"You're not the only one who needs help, Katara," came a voice from the opposite corner of the room. They both turned around to see Toph completely entangled in her uniform. Katara let out a small giggle as Zuko walked over to the blind girl.
"Sorry," he apologized. "I forgot that being blind would make it difficult to put on a uniform you have never worn before. Here…" He helped her pull her arm through her sleeve, tie her neck tie, clasp her belt, and put on the insignia. When they were finished, Zuko inspected both of them for alignment and overall professional smoothness of the fabric before they all left the building and rejoined Sokka and Aang outside.
"What took you guys so long?" Sokka asked when they met behind the building.
"Sorry," Zuko said. "The girls had a little trouble with their uniforms, but it's been sorted out now."
Sokka frowned but ignored the explanation and switched the subject back to their mission. "So how do we find Suki?" he asked. Everyone stared at Zuko as if he were the epitome of knowledge.
He nodded towards the building across from the supply room. "On the other side of that building is where all of the female captives sleep," he explained. "Only female guards attend to them so it will be up to Toph and Katara to find her."
Sokka let out an exasperated sigh. It was clear that he wanted to be the one to find the love of his life, but he knew that if he was the one marching through the prisoner barracks, he would look as suspicious as a fox sticking his nose in a rabbit hole. Finally, after a minute of silence, he nodded and allowed Zuko to lead the way.
The five of them made it to the female sleeping quarters without incident. With the three men standing watch outside the main door, Toph and Katara silently opened the heavy metal door and entered the small, cold room.
---
Katara thought the room was freezing. She shivered slightly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light and when they did, she could not believe what they were showing her. Row after row of thinly clothed women lay asleep on the cold, concrete floor without any padding or blanket to keep them warm. They were all sickly and worn to the bone and the gypsy wondered how it was possible that any of them had survived this long. She slowly came to realize that this would have been her fate if it had not been for Zuko betraying his own people. She had thought him as bad as all the rest when she had first saw him, but as his superior officer began to have his way with her, Zuko proved to be a man who valued honor and justice over his own country any day. For that, she loved him and trusted him with all her heart.
"Check that far row," she whispered to Toph who nodded and began examining each of the sleeping forms on the floor. Katara herself took the middle row. She looked closely at each of the similarly shaved heads as she passed. She noticed that they were all around the same age, late teens and twenties and figured that the young were put to death as were the old.
Finishing the middle row, Katara moved on to the row opposite from Toph. Again, she examined every face but still did not find Suki. She was beginning to lose hope that her friend had survived when a familiar form in the corner of the room caught her eye. Walking over to the girl, she looked down and realized just who it was, her brother's girlfriend and her friend; Suki.
---
Suki had never actually fallen asleep that night. Since the first night she had been put in the hell camp she had been having trouble sleeping after the trials of each day. So it was obvious that she would have heard the door to their room open and close. She could hear the footsteps of the two guards walking among the prisoners and in an attempt to have them leave her alone, she pretended to be asleep.
"Check that far row," she heard one of them whisper. Suki thought the voice sounded familiar, but shoved the thought from her mind thinking that all of the soldiers working with them all sounded the same. Yet she could not help but think she knew this one personally. How, she did not know, but what she did know is that the two Nazis were looking for someone. Closing her eyes tight, she prayed to her God that they were not looking for her.
About five minutes passed before Suki could feel the presence of the guard near her. She shivered, hoping that it was just from the cold, but knew better than to think such things. The guard had stopped only a few feet away from her. Please be the other girl, she begged. Please be the other girl. Don't let it be me. Suki's heart nearly stopped when she felt a gentle hand touch her arm. In a futile attempt to ignore it and pretend to still be sleeping, she squeezed here eyes shut. The hand grabbed her shoulder and lightly shook it while calling her name in a whisper.
"Suki," she said. "Wake up."
Suki blinked here eyes open. It couldn't be; it was not possible. Groggily looking up into the face of the girl who woke her, she was utterly astounded to see Katara's kind face staring back at her.
"Katara!" she softly cried, nearly waking everyone in the room. "What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you," the gypsy replied, helping her friend to her feet. Suki's legs were weak and almost devoid of any muscle and she had much difficulty standing, let alone walking. "Geez, how much do they feed you here?" Katara asked as she helped Suki to the door. Toph soon followed, lightly stepping over the sleeping bodies to join the other two. "One rice cake per meal?"
Suki sighed. "Less than that, actually; we only get to eat once a day and even then it's not a full meal. All they give us is this disgusting-smelling stew that tastes like the underside of a pig."
"Then how is it that you all have survived this long?" Toph asked.
"Mainly pure will power," Suki explained. "That's how I managed to do it. The only thing I thought of was seeing you guys again." She paused and looked around. "Where is Sokka?"
"He's outside the building with Aang and a new friend of ours. We'll be getting out of here as soon as we join them."
Suki smiled as she allowed Katara to help her out the door. "Thank you," she whispered.
---
Zuko gripped his rifle tightly as he, Sokka and Aang guarded the door to the female prisoner's room. He had a gut feeling like something was going to go wrong, but at the moment he had no means of knowing what that was. He looked at Sokka. He seemed to have an air of utmost confidence about him, almost as if her were the happiest man on the planet. Zuko had a hard time deciphering why until he remembered that Suki, the girl they were rescuing, was the man's girlfriend. Of course he was happy, he was about to get back his only love.
Aang was a different story. He seemed scared of something. He was really nervous and kept looking around expecting to see a squad of armed soldiers ready to arrest them marching around the corner. Placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder, he smiled and gave a slight nod to the boy that said, "Relax." He understood and seemed to have a bit more confidence. He stopped shaking and stood tall with a firm grip on his Lugar.
"They're certainly taking quite some time in there," Sokka said after a few minutes of waiting.
"Just be patient," Zuko told him. "I'm sure they have to search through a large group of women who all look the same. The guards do shave their heads when they get here."
Sokka widened his eyes and stared at Zuko in disbelief. It seemed that the man did not realize all the truths of the concentration camp and was in for a surprise when he would see his girlfriend again. He opened his mouth to say something but just as he did, a soldier came around a corner and shined the light of his torch in their faces. Aang took one step forward in an attempt to remove the light from his eyes but the soldier yelled at him to stop.
"Halte!" he cried in thick German and Aang froze in step. "What are you three doing here?" he asked.
"We're running a midnight check on the prisoners," Zuko lied, thinking fast on his feet. After all their planning, he had not thought of what to say if they were caught outside the female quarters.
"If you are, then shouldn't you be at the male's hut?" he asked, obviously not buying Zuko's bluff.
The ex-Nazi opened his mouth with another quick reply but Sokka stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," he said.
Zuko nodded and the gypsy walked over to the guard, swinging his arm over the man's shoulder in a friendly fashion and walking off passed the building and around the corner. The ex-Nazi watched as the two men disappeared around the corner hoping that nothing terrible happened and Sokka was taken prisoner or killed, or worse, failed to talk sense to the man and they were all in trouble.
Only a few seconds passed by after Sokka and the guard disappeared around the corner before Toph, Katara and a girl Zuko had never seen before appeared out of the tiny, concrete building.
"So this is Suki," Zuko said when he laid eyes on the girl. "I hope she's well enough to travel."
"Once she gets some food in her, she'll be fine," Katara stated, handing the girl over to Zuko. She was lightweight and skinny. Obviously malnourished and over worked; two signs of the Concentration Camp. She would need lots of food and lots of rest before she was able to help carry any packs or help with anything on their travels. Traveling with her would be a real burden, he had known that from the beginning but he still was not prepared for it. "And speaking of Sokka," Katara continued. "Where is he?" She sounded worried.
"A guard saw us and Sokka took him behind the building to 'talk' to him. He should be back any minute." Zuko glanced in the direction that the gypsy had disappeared. "And speak of the devil."
Just as he looked, Sokka came running back around the corner to the group waiting for him.
"What happened?"Aang asked once he arrived.
"We got in a fight and I ended up knocking him out cold. If we want to get out of here before his unconscious body is found in the dumpster, we have to move fast." He looked up, panting, and caught sight of Suki leaning on Zuko's shoulder and his eyes widened. It appeared that he could not believe what his eyes were telling him.
"Hello, Sokka," Suki said with a small smile. She let go of Zuko and hobbled over to her love.
"Suki…" He caught her as she wobbled on her weak legs and fell to the ground. The two embraced and there was a moment of silence before Zuko interrupted.
"It's time to move," he said. "The soldiers will be growing curious as to what happened to their comrade so we have to get out of here quick."
Everyone nodded as Sokka picked Suki up piggy-back style and they ran off back to the barbed wire fence. Zuko went in a different direction. Now that they were in, it was easier to escape if one of them took over the watch schedule. Running off to the south end of the camp, he dodged between buildings and sheds to get to the south watch tower. He would make the men there believe that he was there to relieve them of their duties and allow the others to escape before leaving himself with no watchmen to see.
He ran between two buildings and stopped at the corner, flattening himself against the wall. Just near the south tower, a group of guards stood talking in hushed and angry voices. They seemed suspicious of something and as Zuko looked closer, he saw in the middle of the group, the very man who had seen them at the female's holding cell. How was it that he had woken up so soon? Didn't Sokka say he was out cold? Something was not right. How were they going to escape if there were so many guards watching? There was no way they would be able to leave from this end of the camp. Deciding to turn back and find the others and help them get out a different way, he turned around and ran back to the other end of the building only to be cut off by two guards.
Zuko quietly cursed under his breath, gripping his rifle tightly and slowing to a walk to casually go around the soldiers. He nodded once as he passed them and was about to let out a sigh of relief when one of the soldiers grabbed his arm. Zuko was taken by surprise and swung around to have his back slammed up against the wall.
"What the hell!?" he cried, playing the part of the wrongly accused. "What are you doing? What's going on?"
"Don't pretend you don't know," one of the soldiers said with a wry smile. "We know who you are, Gunnery Sergeant Zuko Brandt."
Zuko's eyes widened. How did they know? Who told them? How did they find out? He did not know what to think of the situation and tried desperately to find a way out. His mind raced and he tried to struggle, not being able to think of anything else to do, but the soldier holding him countered his moves and ended up flipping him around and holding his arms behind his back in a painful position. He grunted from the sharp pain in his shoulders as he was slammed face first up against the wall once again.
"The warden would like to have a little word with you," the second soldier said as he was led back to the watch tower that he had come from.
Oh, I'm sure the warden would just love to have me here, Zuko thought as he was walked out into the open. That's only because the Fuehrer would promote whoever caught me up several ranks. Plus the reward money wouldn't be that bad either. That's all these people ever care about, rank and money.
Zuko had a death glare on his face as he was brought to the gaggle of soldiers, male and female alike, and shoved in the middle with every guard's weapon pointed at his chest. There was no way he would be able to make a run for it with that many barrels pointed and ready to kill. Zuko glared at each one of them in turn. They would get no respect from him, no congratulations, no praise, nothing but sarcastic remarks and cold insults.
"The prisoner is in custody," one soldier said loudly. "Someone wake the warden!"
"Good luck!" Zuko shouted sarcastically at the man who had run off. "All the warden will do is yell at you, roll over and go back to sleep!"
"Shut up, you!" One of the soldier's behind him slammed the butt of his rifle into his left kidney making him cry out in pain and his knees buckle. He fell to the ground and clutched his side as little droplets of blood fell out of his mouth as he coughed violently. "You have no right to say that about the warden!"
"Don't I?" Zuko asked, coughing and struggling back to his feet. "I think I can say whatever I want about whoever I want. Take this for example." He stood up straight, cleared his throat and spoke in a clear, projecting voice. "The Fuehrer is a backstabbing, hypocritical, psychopathic nutcase whose only reason for starting this war is to make up for all the lost attention he received as a child and prove to his dead-as-a-rock father that he is somehow not a failure. Just watch, America will get involved in this war soon and Hitler will be squashed like a--" Zuko's sentence was cut off by the stock of a pistol colliding with the side of his face. He staggered for a moment before he righted himself and raised a hand to his face, feeling a large welt suddenly appear where one had not been before. "Okay," he said, his voice almost faltering. "Whoever just hit me, had no right to do that."
"Oh, I think you'll find they did," came a cold, female voice from behind the crowd. Zuko knew that voice, had heard it all too much as he was growing up. She was the warden, she was the one who gave the horrific orders to kill, torture and work to death all the prisoners in this camp. She was the devil calling the shots.
The circle parted and a woman the same age as Zuko stepped forward with a smug smile on her face. She wore her dark hair back in a tight bun and an officer's insignia was sewn onto her uniform. She walked up to the ex-Nazi holding up a Broom Handle pistol in front of his eyes. "They have every right to hit you as I have every right to do whatever I want to you." She shook his pistol in his face. "I've been curious about this for a long time, Zuzu," she said. "Where on earth did you get such a wonderful weapon, I thought they were only for us officers."
"Uncle gave it to me," he replied. "Just before he left."
"Oh, I see," she jibbed happily. "You're his new son now. Since cousin Lu Ten died, poor uncle Iroh has to latch himself onto another worthless loser like yourself just to feel happy again." She turned to the group of soldiers around them. "Isn't that sweet, boys?" she called out and everyone laughed. "My dear twin brother thinks that someone actually loves him! What a joke!"
"Shut up, Azula!" Zuko screamed. "You shouldn't talk about things that you know absolutely nothing about!" He clenched his hands into fists from his rage.
Azula raised an eyebrow before holstering her brother's Broom Handle on her own belt and walked away. "Lock him in the temporary holding cell," she ordered. "I will be in to see him soon."
"Aye, Captain," a soldier behind him said as he grabbed Zuko's arms and bound them behind his back. As he was marched off, the only thing that went through his mind was not about what they would do to him as their prisoner, but of whether Katara, Suki and the others had made it out safely.
He turned to look behind him and saw one thing that infuriated him more than having his own twin sister as his prison guard. Zuko saw them, the group, standing behind a building near the fence and the look on Katara's face tore him apart. She was crying, the tears running down her face just like a river flowing down a mountain side. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes as if that would help; that if she opened them again, he would be free, unbound, and away from the soldiers. He could see in her eyes not fear, but sadness, hatred, and betrayal. She turned away, unable bare the sight of him walking to his doom.
However, it was not Katara's face that got him but the face of her brother. With Katara's eyes on Zuko, he looked just as upset as she was, but when she turned and disappeared back behind the building, Sokka's face turned from remorse, to satisfaction. Zuko frowned as he watched the gypsy's expression transform and a smug smile appear on his face. It was him; he was the one who tipped off the Nazis of where he was going to be and when. He was the one who used his trust until he was no longer needed. He was the one who betrayed him.
Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. A single tear fell down his cheek for the woman he loved but it was the actions of her brother that made his hatred burn inside him. He would escape this place, he vowed that he would right then and there. He did not know how and he did not know when, but somehow, he would escape and see Katara's beautiful blue eyes once again. See her smile, feel her lips on his own and her steady breathing against his chest. She was all that he had to live for and all that would keep him alive.
He would see her again, of that he was sure.
A/N: I know, I'm awful. Sorry for making Sokka do that, but I had to to develope the story more. Oh, and yes, Zuko and Azula are twins in this. The show never specified her age and she and her brother look about the same age, so I figured twins would be in order.
Zuko's last name means "fire, or land cleared by fire" in German. I thought it was befitting the prince of the fire nation, don't you?
Hoped you liked and see you next time!