'So that's the famed Boiling Rock.' Senzin mused to himself as the volcanic island came into view.
He hasn't personally been to the island prison before, too busy with commanding in the frontlines at the time. Still, its reputation as an inescapable citadel was well-known, though in the military, it was received with mixed reactions as the prison did also demand a good amount of firebender personnel. Personally, Senzin wondered if the supposed inescapable nature of the Boiling Rock justified the costs of building and maintaining it, similar to his opinions on the War Minister's "wonder weapons" and was curious to see it for himself.
Unfortunately, as much as he might want to check the prison's features and particulars, he'd have to put that off for another day as this current visit has much more at stake.
He was half-hoping that Mai's uncle was mistaken about having Prince Zuko, if only to delay the confrontation between brother and sister. At least if so, Senzin would have more time to prepare Azula to be mentally stable. Sadly, from what he knows about Ming from both his experience with the man in his childhood and his reputation now, the man took his duty seriously and would not make such a mistake like that.
"Senzin, I see you're already here."
Senzin turned around and saw Azula approaching, with Ty Lee and Mai walking beside her. Senzin gave Azula a small bow of his head in acknowledgement and slight deference before fully standing up.
"Mai wanted to talk to Zuko in private, so she'll go confront him first." Azula stated as she motioned her hand towards Mai.
The girl in question looked stoic as she did back during their mission in the Earth Kingdom, but Senzin could detect a pained determination in her eyes. Senzin felt for her, someone who was hurt by things larger than her, something he felt back then as well.
However, this personal confrontation that Mai wants was not ideal for Senzin. He wanted to be present at all times whenever Zuko is confronted so that he could control the flow of discussion and maintain his narrative. While Mai's personal confrontation with Zuko would likely focus on their relationship, there was still the risk of it veering towards Zuko's supposed assassination attempt on Ozai.
"Would that be wise, Azula?" Senzin asked, addressing her less formally as there was no one else around to hear.
"He is a known traitor…" Senzin left the rest unsaid, hoping that Azula provide the rest herself and would see his point of view.
Alas, she didn't.
"I'm sure even my traitor brother wouldn't hurt Mai. Well, physically at least. Mai wants this and she's capable enough to handle herself." Azula said, dismissing Senzin's suggestion.
"Besides, we'll all be nearby if anything happens, so it'll be fine." Ty Lee chimed in with a smile.
Senzin was sure Zuko wouldn't start anything by himself, especially against Mai. Senzin saw the affection the two had for each other back in Caldera. That didn't reassure him regarding Ozai's assassination. However, there didn't seem any point to continue pursuing this, so he simply accepted it with another bow. He'll just have to hope Mai doesn't bring it up.
Senzin suddenly felt the airship come to a halt and after a few moments, saw the doors open to the makeshift airship dock of the prison.
As they stepped off the airship's ramp, they were met by a group of prison guards. One of the guards, the ranking officer among them, stepped forward and greeted them.
"Princess Azula, it is an honor to receive you. We apologize that the warden is not here personally to greet you himself. Your visit was unexpected, and the Warden is busy investigating an attempted prison escape." The officer informed them with a deep bow.
Senzin raised his brow at that. What a coincidence, an escape attempt at the same time Zuko was taken into custody? Though, maybe not a coincidence…
"An escape attempt? I thought this was an inescapable prison." Azula questioned with an unamused look.
"Yes, it is, Princess. All would be escapees were captured and the warden is interrogating their accomplice right now." The officer answered, still in his full bow.
Senzin gave a side look to Azula, which the Princess caught and reciprocated.
"Princess, this is most likely not a coincidence." Senzin stated his opinion.
"I think the same. This is probably the Avatar and his friends. Zuko most likely joined up with them already." Azula shared, crossing her arms in contemplation.
"Change of plans, I'll need to see this 'accomplice' and see if we can sniff out the rest." Azula decided after some thought.
Senzin saw an opportunity to keep an eye on Zuko and quickly spoke.
"We should split ourselves. I'll go with Mai so that I can keep Zuko secure while you go to the warden. If this is them, we'll have to account for those we already have at all times."
Azula immediately nodded in acceptance, seemingly trusting his judgement on the matter.
"Ty Lee, you're with me." Azula called out, causing the acrobat to step closer to her.
"Take us to the warden." Azula then ordered, which the officer quickly did.
Senzin looked towards Mai, who looked back at him and nodded. Senzin nodded back and called over one of the other guards present.
"You, take us to where Prince Zuko is held."
As he and Mai approached the cell where Zuko was held, Senzin cautioned a look at Mai's face. On it, he could see the subtle tensing of muscles and the slight trembles. She was angry. She was hurt.
And at that moment, Senzin forgot above everything else. He only saw Mai, the little girl he adored so many years ago, hurting.
Senzin placed his hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her to a halt. From the way she looked at him, he could see that she was surprised by the sudden act.
"What?" She asked, a slight sharpness to her tone from all the emotions swirling inside her.
Senzin ignored it and simply opted to give her a tender hug. He felt her become stiff, probably from shock before she slowly relaxed and returned the hug.
"Senzin." She whispered softly; anger momentarily forgotten as they simply enjoyed a moment of being truly close to one another again after so long.
Senzin had no words for her, not wanting to ruin the moment. He simply wanted to let her know he was there.
Eventually, Senzin broke off their spontaneous hug but not before giving a quick kiss on Mai's forehead, like he used to do before. He gave Mai a small smile, which she reciprocated as well.
Senzin knew she'll still be angry when she finally confronts Zuko. No comfort beforehand can truly quell such anger from a fresh betrayal when confronting the culprit. But at least, he could offer her the confidence to enter the room and to face it wholeheartedly.
'Well, this is a conundrum.' Senzin thought as he looked at the groaning guard on the floor and the angry Mai at the locked door.
Apparently, a riot has broken out during the lockdown. Most likely Zuko's accomplices, Senzin believed.
Senzin had entered the cell with the guard as soon as they heard the riots in order to secure Zuko. Zuko took the opportunity to shoot a fireball at Senzin and run towards the exit. With Senzin still recovering from the close quarter blast and the guard trying to defend Mai, Zuko was able to lock them inside, bringing them to current state of affairs.
"We'll get him. Your uncle, Azula and Ty Lee are still out there." Senzin said, though it seemed that it was ignored.
They spent a few minutes in the cell in silence until a prison guard came running by who was then able to get them out.
Now, Senzin and Mai were running towards the gondolas where it seemed the prisoners were making their escape.
As they came closer to the platform, Senzin saw the guards starting to saw through the ropes holding up the gondola where the prisoners, but more importantly, Azula, Ty Lee and Warden Ming were.
'Are they idiots?! Azula's still on that gondola!' Senzin thought as he was about to shout when he caught a glint of steel at the corner of his eye.
With an anger and frustration he has not felt in so long, he grabbed Mai's arm and pulled her behind him, launching him a bit more forward.
"Stop cutting the rope! Are you all idiots or traitors!? Princess Azula is on that gondola!" Senzin shouted harshly, causing the guards with the saw to look towards the gondola and immediately stop their action.
Senzin glared down the guards in the area, who were now on the ground in total submission.
"Stay on the ground, I'll deal with you all later." Senzin ordered coldly as he approached the stuck line and removed the obstruction, making the gondola move once again.
"What are you doing?" Senzin heard the cold voice of Azula ask as she dropped back down on the platform with Ty Lee.
Before Senzin could answer, she immediately addressed the guards on the ground.
"Stop the gondola and cut the rope!" She commanded, to which a few guards responded to by standing up and moving towards the rope.
"Stop." Senzin countered, making the guards freeze in their tracks.
"What is this, Senzin?" Azula asked again in her cold voice.
"They still have Warden Ming as a hostage. I'd rather not have Mai watch her uncle fall to his death. Besides, it's clear the Avatar himself isn't here. I'm sure if we track them down, they'll lead us to him as well." Senzin answered confidently, not backing down from Azula.
Senzin saw Azula consider him for a few moments, her face not betraying any emotion. Beside her, Ty Lee was shifting her worried gaze between Azula and Senzin.
After a few tense moments, Azula sighed and said, "That's a good enough reason."
Senzin bowed deeply towards Azula before he ordered the guards to help in securing the prison. He'll deal with them later.
And as the rest of them moved towards the gondola to ride back out off the prison proper, Senzin placed a heavy hand on Mai's shoulder to stop her.
As soon as she stopped, Senzin leaned in close to her ear and whispered coldly, "I saw what you were about to do. Azula needs you, her friend, but try something like that again, and I'll deal with you myself."
It might pain Senzin to hurt and threaten Mai, especially after the moment they shared just before, but like Zuko said to her, this is bigger than any of them.
'Everything is bursting at the seams. Time is running out.'
Just a quick statement: Yes, I know the timeline of the Mai-Zuko confrontation and the Warden's interrogation is very off (Mai was supposed to be talking with Zuko already while the Warden was still sussing out the accomplice) but it becomes too convoluted to make the chapter progress in that original sequence (see: I was lazy) so I just changed it to how it is in the chapter. Thanks.