"Alright Ty Lee, that should just about do it. Now before you go jumping off the walls, I think it would still be a good idea for you to take it easy for a week or so, just to make sure the wound is healed properly." Katara was explaining as she brought the healing water back into her trusty skin. Ty Lee, for all that she seemed to be an airhead most of the time, was listening intently to her healer and hanging on every word like it would be the difference between life and death.

"Thanks Katara!" She said as she jumped up and bounded away towards her friends.

"And for the love of the Spirits, DON'T hit your head on anything!"

"All healed up are we Ty Lee?" Azula asked as her friend rejoined the Fire Nation section of Team Avatar. Despite the apparent lack of any real interest one way or another, Ty Lee knew Azula cared, at some level, or else she wouldn't have even asked at all.

Ty Lee beamed with all her usual exuberance, stating confidently, "Never been better!"

"No thanks to her 'friends'." Katara couldn't help but mutter loud enough to be heard.

"Would you let it drop already Waterbender, it's in the past." Zuko had to admit he was impressed with his sister's self control in the face of constant antagonizing at the hands of someone she didn't even particularly care for, but even he knew she had her limits and if this kept up, she was going to snap. Nobody was safe if that happened, himself included.

"Killing Aang is also in the past, but I guess we should just forget that happened as well, huh?"

Here we go again.

"Yes, you should. Spirits I thought we were past all this, what exactly is your problem?"

Katara's limitless anger for all things Fire Nation was showing clearly once more. "You're my problem, you're a problem for everybody here! Why don't you just get lost, Firebender."

Ty Lee, never one to listen to someone bad mouthing her princess and not do anything about it, stepped up in Azula's defense. "Excuse me!? Azula is a princess, you need to show her some respect. Nobody talks to her like that and gets away with it!"

"How can you defend that, that monster!?"

"She is not a monster!"

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you Waterbender!"

"Don't threaten my sister!"

"Don't insult mine!"

"ENOUGH!" Aang shouted, bringing a blast of air down between the two groups as a warning. Everyone had the presence of mind to keep their mouths shut, but that didn't prevent them from glaring daggers of hatred at one another.

Aang sighed with frustration, cursing his duty of being the world's peace keeper at times like these. "You guys, if we want to get anywhere, it looks like we're going to have to lay down some rules. Azula, you need to start treating people like people, nobody here is a servant that you can walk over. I know it's probably not an easy thing for you to do, but I think a little kindness could go a long way."

"And Katara, you need to keep your personal feelings to yourself. You can't keep blowing up over things that were done to me, I've forgiven both Zuko and Azula, and they're my Firebending teachers now. If I want to have a chance at defeating Fire Lord Ozai, I'll need to learn everything they can teach me, and I can't do that if I have to keep breaking up fights like this."

Azula and Katara never broke eye contact the entire time Aang had been speaking, and the Avatar now glanced anxiously between the two girls, hoping his little speech might sink in while simultaneously dreading that it wouldn't make an ounce of difference.

"You're wasting your breath Twinkletoes, neither one of them could go a day without fighting over something stupid." Toph so helpfully supplied from where she sat against a wall, mindlessly twirling a piece of straw in her mouth while looking up at nothing in particular.

Azula rounded on Toph, "Excuse me? What makes you think this?"

"Oh please, Sunshine, don't make me laugh. I bet you couldn't stop yourself from arguing with Katara to save your life. You don't have the self-discipline."

"I most certainly do too! I happen to be a master of self control I'll have you know."

"Oh yeah? Prove it." Toph challenged with a sly smirk. She caught the sound of Katara huffing in protest, and, redirecting her attention, called out, "What's the matter Katara, afraid you don't have more self control than Azula?"

"I most certainly do too! If she can act like a civil human being than I'll be happy to pretend she's one."

Aang considered the two girls with no shortage of caution before venturing, "So... no more fighting?"

Both Azula and Katara gave a short "Hrmphf," crossing their arms and turning their heads in mirroring poses of disdain. Otherwise, they seemed to be in agreement, at least for the time being. If a ceasefire was the best he could get, Aang would take it at this point.

"Great! Now that we have that out of the way, maybe we can get back to what's really important. Like lunch!"

An hour or so later, sitting around a small fire with stomach's full and the last scraps of a meal being picked at here and there, the much larger gang was doing it's best to maintain a paper thin veil of civility and cooperation, and that's when Sokka decided it was as good a time as any to proposition his newfound allies. "Hey, uh, Zuko, Azula, think I could talk to you guys for a minute?"

The two siblings exchanged wary glances before shrugging and, getting to their feet, followed Sokka to a comfortable distance away from the others. When they came to a stop, Zuko asked, "What's this all about?"

Sokka thought about how best to ask his question so as to avoid raising concern, "Does the Fire Nation have any... special prisons?"

Azula raised an eyebrow, stuck somewhere between disbelief and amusement. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific. We have a lot of prisons you see, and believe me, they're all pretty special."

"Yeah, I had a feeling that might be the case." The young man quipped in response before resuming seriousness. "I mean, is there a specific place they might take high priority political or war prisoners?"

Zuko gave his sister a knowing look, which she returned with an identical amount of enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for a question they both knew the answer to. "Yes, we do, as a matter of fact." She answered in a way that didn't bode well for Sokka. "A very special prison." Not well at all.

Still, he had to ask, "Really, where?"

"Knowing would only make you feel worse." Zuko told him, but he could recognize the look of someone who wasn't going to give up, despite the odds against him. It was a steel resolve that he had seen in the mirror plenty of times himself.

"Believe me, nothing could be worse than not knowing at this point. I have to know where it is."

"Who is it?" asked Zuko, seeing right through Sokka as if he were a pane of glass.

The Tribesman was crestfallen as he answered, "My father."

A moment of silence passed between them as the information sank in, until Azula broke it. "The Boiling Rock."

Sokka looked up at her, blue eyes meeting gold as he searched frantically for more information. "What?"

"The Boiling Rock." She repeated just as adamantly, this time explaining, "It's a compound situated on a small island of rock in the midst of a volcanic crater. The water that surrounds the prison is at a constantly heated state, hence the name, 'The Boiling Rock'. It is quite literally what it says, a rock boiling inside a volcano."

"Great... a prison in a volcano. I should have guessed."

Zuko tried to talk some sense into his ex-rival, "Look, I know you want to rescue him, but believe me, it's a suicide mission. You'd never get in, and even if you did, you would definitely never get out."

Sokka put on his best clueless face, "What, me? Break into a high security prison? No, no, you got me all wrong Zuko. Like I said, I just wanted to know to ease my conscience, and now that my conscience is eased, I'll be on my way. Thanks guys, I appreciate it." Patting Zuko's shoulder as he meandered by, Sokka was the picture of nonchalance. Azula arched an eyebrow at her brother, who returned an equally skeptical look right back.

Once the tribesman was out of earshot, Zuko whispered, "He's going to try it."

Nodding, Azula commented, "Yes, and he'll likely get himself captured and tortured for information on the Avatar's whereabouts while he's at it. Shall we break his legs?"

Zuko blanched at the casual manner with which she made the suggestion. "No, we can't do that!"

"Hmm? What, Uncle didn't teach you that one? It's really quite simple, you just kick for the knee cap-"

"Azula, we can't break his legs because we're supposed to be a team now. They aren't our enemies anymore, we can't just go around breaking their legs." He could hardly believe he was explaining this as if it weren't just common knowledge.

Azula still didn't give up. "But he's threatening to compromise our entire operation, certainly the Avatar would understand taking drastic actions to maintain a secure location in enemy territory, he would be a fool not to." She stated with all the confidence of a general. "I'm going to ask him. Avatar-!"

She turned as she called out for Aang, only to be turned abruptly back around when Zuko grabbed her arm. "The Avatar is not going to be okay with you breaking his friend's leg!" Azula pulled her arm free, clearly content to ignore her brother on this as she called out again. When Aang perked up she beckoned for him.

"Come here, I have something to discuss with you that is of paramount pertinence."

Shrugging to his other friends, Aang got to his feet and walked over, asking with more than a touch of confusion, "So, what's all this about a parrot mountain?"

"What?"

"What?"

Forgetting about whatever nonsensical thing the Avatar had said and getting back to the matter at hand, Azula told him, "Your friend, Sokka I believe, has apparently come down with a mild case of insanity." Ignoring the incredulous stare she was receiving, Azula continued, "He has it in his head that he's going to break into our highest security prison in an ill-fated attempt to free his father, who is likely dead anyways, and he's going to get himself captured in the process. If that happens, he will be tortured for information, and he will break, and when he does the entire domestic force will know our location by nightfall and be here in the morning."

Aang couldn't help but scratch at his bald head, the things he was hearing and the speed at which they were said causing it to actually hurt. Azula carried on with only the briefest of pauses, "He isn't going to relinquish this fantasy of being some kind of hero, so that leaves us only one truly viable option; we must subdue him."

"Uhh, all... right. How?" Aang could really only play along at this point.

"Well, I suppose there are a number of ways. We could have Ty Lee paralyze him, Toph could probably lock him into the ground, or we could break his legs. I'm quite partial to that last one."

Aang's eyes doubled in size as he practically shouted, "What!?"

"It's the most logical. The paralysis is only temporary and there's no telling whether or not he could break himself out of rock with that sword of his. Breaking his legs is the most logical, long-term solution, and the pain may just bring some sense back to him." If she was kidding, which Aang certainly hoped she was, there wasn't a single external indicator of such. It was more than a little creepy how comfortable she was with the idea. Zuko, all but forgotten behind his sister, could only drop his face in his palm.

"Azula, you can't be serious..."

"Absolutely. This is a serious matter, if that buffoon gets captured and gives up our hiding spot, we're all in danger."

"But we can't break Sokka's legs!"

Azula thought about it for half a second before coming up with, what qualified in her mind as, a compromise. "Fine. We can break just one leg."

"We can't break any legs!" Aang cried as he threw his arms out to signal "discussion over." Azula, having not had the last word, clearly disagreed with the sentiment, but she was cut off by the Avatar's own version of a compromise. A much nicer, less violent, compromise. "Look, if Sokka is really thinking about doing something as stupid as you say he is, we have to talk him out of it, I agree, but we aren't going to go around breaking legs on a whim."

The princess huffed in annoyance, but ultimately gave in. "Fine, we'll do it your way, with talking and words." Aang rose a little bit with a new confidence, almost unable to believe he had just actually talked the Firebender into following his advice. "But," she snapped like an ice-pick making it's first hole, "If your way doesn't work, and we can't talk him out of it..." motioning with her hands as if she were snapping an invisible twig, she concluded in a wicked tone that promised delivery, "Breaky-breaky."

Ignoring the threat, Aang turned and walked away, coming up behind Sokka and hesitating for a moment before he asked, "Hey Sokka, can I talk to you about something? It's kind of important..." he trailed off, casting a glance over his shoulder to the menacing visage of Azula.

"Sure thing buddy, what's on your mind?"

"Sokka, you aren't thinking of... going anywhere, or anything, are you?"

Sokka looked at his friend as if he'd turned purple, "Who, me? Nooo, never. Not this guy, nope, I'm just hangin' out and doing my thing, you know me." Despite his best attempts at nonchalance, Sokka's sleek veneer cracked under the withering and, ultimately, disbelieving stares he received from multiple parties, including the Avatar himself. It was only natural that Toph would choose that precise moment to shuffle by, her timing impeccable as always.

"Smoooth, Snoozles, real smooth. But you're still lying."

Spinning around furiously, Sokka nearly shouted, "Must you constantly do that!" The effect, however, was somewhat lessened by his voice cracking.

"Sokka, you can't do what you're thinking of doing, it's way too risky." Aang pleaded, but it had the effect of a raindrop on a boulder in terms of breaking his friend's resolve.

"I have to do this Aang, there's no other way."

"Have to do what?" Katara interrupted the argument before it could even begin in that stern but concerned mother's voice she had mastered along with bending. One look and Sokka knew he had already lost.

With a powerful yet resigned sigh, he confessed, "I have to rescue dad. Nobody understands, the invasion plan was my idea, and when we had the chance to turn back and get everybody out, I was the one who said to keep pushing forward. I failed, and I lost dad because of it. I lost... my honor." Fists clenching he looked up with a face harder than any steel, "I have to get it back."

"Tell me about it." Zuko deadpanned from where he stood behind his sister, arms crossed and knowing all too well where chasing "honor" lead to. Sokka struggled to respond, but all he could manage initially was to glare at the scarred prince. It was left to Zuko to carry on, "Look Sokka, you can run around the entire world trying to regain your honor, believe me," after a look that dared him to argue otherwise yielded no response, he continued, "but it won't mean a thing if you wind up getting yourself killed in the process."

"Do you remember the North Pole? When I had captured the Avatar?" One didn't have to be a master of reading body language to see that both the Water Tribe siblings and the Avatar himself remembered with little difficulty the ordeal. "Capture the Avatar, and regain my honor, that was the deal. I captured the Avatar, I had my honor, and then I had nowhere to go. What good would my honor have done me if I had frozen to death up there? The only reason I'm still alive, is because I had enemies who were kind enough to not leave me passed out in a snow bank. If you get captured, at the Boiling Rock of all places, you won't have enemies nearly as kind."

"I know I'm not going to like the answer," it was Katara who spoke up first with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, and asked, "but what's the 'Boiling Rock'?"

"It's a prison," Zuko responded with little enthusiasm for the place, "and it's not a very fun one. It's inside a volcano with a boiling lake surrounding the place."

"Why doesn't that surprise me very much."

"I said the same thing Katara."

Fidgeting for a moment, Katara said with no small amount of reserve, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Zuko, Sokka. This sounds way too dangerous."

"Like you're one to talk, Katara! Remember Haru? Remember getting yourself thrown into prison and inciting a riot!?" Sokka threw his arm out in emphasis, but did little more than incite his sister's anger.

"This is completely different! That place was in the ocean, not a volcano, and the prisoners were Earthbenders who were on our side. This place will be full of Firebenders, and criminals or not, they probably wouldn't be too happy to see you!" Even Azula had to admit, goody-two shoes or not, the girl had a pretty effective angry rant mode. "Do you even have any idea what they might do to you if you got caught!?"

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought both Sokka and Katara's attention to Azula, who so confidently stated, "I believe I could shed some light on that."

Sokka turned around to face the Firebender, rolling his eyes and sarcastically commenting, "Yeah, I just bet they taught Torture 101 at your school."

Azula narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "Advanced Techniques for Information Extraction was the name of the course, actually. It was an advanced class and I'll have you know, I did exceptionally."

"Yeah, Azula was head of the class, she was great!" Ty Lee shouted from where she was still seated by the small fire.

"I wasn't actually serious..."

"Well I am." Azula admonished, making Sokka feel like a kid caught in the act. "They have specially trained Firebenders who are taught how to control a small, concentrated flame as opposed to large and powerful attacks. They're actually rather useless in a fight, but for inflicting maximum pain while still keeping someone alive..." letting the words trail off, she gave the young man only the most predatory of glares before finishing, "there's no one better."

Still, Sokka was unfazed in his conviction to rescue his father, "I don't care, and I'm not afraid. This is something I have to do, if none of you are willing to help me then fine, I'll do it by myself, but I'm going, whether anyone of you likes it or not."

Nobody said anything in immediate protest, and Azula took a moment to breath as she deliberated. It didn't take long for her to reach a conclusion though, and without a hint of resignation she stated, "Fine. Suit yourself."

Sokka blinked, this being far from what he expected to hear. When he didn't make a single movement, Azula questioned, "Well? What are you waiting for, go on your fool's errand, get yourself killed, see what I care. You can even take my airship while you're at it." With that, she promptly stormed off to her temporary room.

Aang looked to his friend, brow pinched with worry and asked, "You really have to go through with this, don't you?"

Sokka didn't even hesitate in his answer, "Yes, I do Aang. I'm sorry."

"Then I'm going with you."

All heads immediately turned to Zuko, including his sister who froze in her tracks. "You'll need some help flying that ship, and getting to the prison itself."

"Excuse me, Zuko, might I have a word with you." Azula demanded more than asked, anger brimming just beneath the surface of her voice like magma in a volcano.

"Azula, listen-"

What she heard, however, was "Azula, slap me," so she did. Hard.

"Are you fucking stupid or something!? Just because I call you dum-dum all the time doesn't mean you have to go and prove it every chance you get!" Her shouting caused onlookers to flinch just as much as the slap did, but she didn't seem to pay any notice one way or the other to anybody else standing there. "Don't you have any idea what dad would do to you? The Avatar wouldn't get it as bad!"

"Azula, I know it's dangerous, but that's exactly why I have to go. He doesn't have a chance on his own. I chose to help the Avatar, that means helping his friends as well." Zuko's voice didn't quite manage to hold all the conviction his words did, but his resolve was still firm enough.

Azula stared straight into his eyes, desperate anger threatening to manifest itself through the windows to her soul in the form of tears, and Zuko stared right back with resigned, grim determination. There was no need for words for her to understand that he had made up his mind and would go through with it, no matter what. Her mouth turned downwards as her face scrunched up in pain, and Zuko reached out to touch her shoulder and say "I'm sorry," but she swatted his arm away as she turned on her heel and took off, head bowed so that her bangs might hide her face and prevent anyone from seeing the angry, hurt tears that she could no longer contain.

Zuko's initial reaction was to chase after her, but he immediately had second thoughts. Probably best to let her cool down a bit. He turned to see Sokka, along with most everyone else, staring at him with an assortment of looks, ranging from confused and skeptical to concerned. Ty Lee was outright angry, a rare look indeed for the usually jovial acrobat, but one recognizable with little difficulty when it was there.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Sokka, not the least bit skeptical himself. He didn't have to be one of the Fire Lord's children to understand exactly what kind of danger he was putting himself in.

Zuko was as unwavering in his decision as the day he told his father he would be joining the Avatar, "Yes, I am. You don't stand a chance doing this by yourself, but maybe if I help you, we can figure something out."

After briefly considering the situation in his own head, Sokka nodded. "Alright, but we'll need to arrive after sundown if we want to avoid being seen. How long will it take us to get there, and when should we leave?"

Zuko thought about it for a moment before replying, "We'll want to leave within the hour, it should take us the rest of the day to get there."

"Alright, I'll start gathering some supplies." He made to move and then hesitated, looking over his shoulder back to Zuko, "You take care of whatever you need to take care of." His meaning wasn't lost on the Firebender, who looked with no small amount of uncertainty towards the passage his sister had disappeared down.

Toph was leaning idly against a pillar as Zuko walked by, and, not missing a moment to tease someone, "Boy, you sure do have some luck when it comes to girls."

He wanted to snap back at her with anger, but the truth of his situation settled on him before he could, deflating his response to a begrudging, "Tell me about it."

Before he could walk away, she said one last thing to him, "You had better know what you're doing Zuko." His only thought was that he didn't have a clue, and that much was nothing new to him.

He reached the room he and his sister shared, and could tell from the furious huffs that she was inside. He tried to swallow the knot that had formed in his throat, only to find it as immovable as he himself. Despite commanding his hands to open the door and his legs to step inside, all he could do was remain as still as a statue. Eventually, finally, he mustered the courage to step inside.

She noticed his presence immediately, if the mirror that came sailing straight for his head was any indication. He only just managed to duck in time, and he heard the glass shatter against the stone wall overhead. "What's the matter with you!? How could you be so senseless!"

"Azula..." he stepped towards her, slowly, cautiously.

"Never mind that peasant, do you have any idea what dad will do to you?! You, the son who came to tell him you were turning traitor during an eclipse when he couldn't do anything but seethe over it!"

"Azula I-" another timid step. He could see without much difficulty the tracks left behind by the tears that streamed down her cheeks, tears that were still defiantly falling.

"Are you really so stupid or do you just hate me that much you would rather be dead than-"

This time it was her voice that was cut-off mid-sentence, as Zuko wrapped his arms around her and gently pushed her face to his chest, embracing her so suddenly and in a way that left her drained of any desire to continue shouting. Instead she just let her emotions run away and all the tears that she had been fighting spill forth as if a levy had broke. Azula couldn't remember putting her arms around him, but soon enough they were there, clutching onto him much harder than was necessary, as if determined not to let him go and leave her again. He didn't speak, just held her tighter and let her cry.

"Why do you have to go?" she asked in a hopelessly small voice after a few minutes had passed and her tears had slowed to a trickle. It was a voice that clutched at Zuko's chest and made breathing difficult. It was a voice of guilt.

"Someone has to help him, he can't get there on his own."

"That doesn't mean it has to be you." she accused, but already knew that realistically, it did. Perhaps if she said it with enough conviction though, it might become true...

"He needs a Firebender Azula. The Avatar is hardly capable and aside from that, there's only one other person." It didn't take all of her impressive intellect to realize who that was. Zuko squeezed tighter as he whispered, "I won't risk letting him get you."

Azula felt the slightest desire to argue, to disagree with him, to talk some sense into him, but ultimately, all she could do was let out a reluctant sigh and silently agree with him. "Please come back."

"I will."

"Promise?" she held him tighter, as if not to let him go at all, the thought of losing the only person in the world who cared about her eating away at her insecurities like moths at a blanket.

He returned the gesture happily as he breathed into her hair, "I promise."

He didn't want to let go, and she didn't want to let him go, but it was an inevitability sooner or later, and the thought ate away at the both of them that eventually they would have to let go, perhaps for good. As Zuko finally withdrew his arms and turned to go, Azula reacted without a second though, spinning him back around and grabbing his cheeks to pull his face to hers for a kiss he couldn't escape even if he had wanted to.

It was a bittersweet exchange, the salty tang of tears a reminder to Zuko of exactly what his decision was causing his sister to go through, while she herself had to battle the nagging thought that this could realistically be the last time she ever saw her brother. Bittersweet as it might have been, the two cherished it with all their hearts, and neither was eager to see it end.

When at last they pulled away from one another, Zuko looked into his sister's eyes and saw everything that was himself reflected in them, and he told her, just as certain as if he were saying the sun would rise tomorrow, "I will be back Azula." She had no choice but to trust him.

"I believe you."

With that, he turned and exited the room, leaving Azula to collect herself and get a hold of her treacherous emotions once more. Zuko didn't make it far though, before he ran into yet another girl with something to say to him.

"You had better come back Zuko." He almost didn't recognize the voice at first, the foreboding tone so different from her usual banter, but he didn't have any trouble identifying Ty Lee as she stepped from around a corner. He hadn't noticed her, but she must have heard the whole exchange. It didn't bother him though, he knew if there was only one person in the entire world who would keep a secret for Azula's sake, it was her.

"Ty Lee, what are you-?"

"You don't get it, do you Zuko?" she accused with a scathing tone rarely if ever heard before by anyone, let alone the banished prince. His confusion held him temporarily unable to speak, so she continued, "She's hanging on by a thread, has been ever since three years ago when you left her with... him." Zuko didn't like the way she stumbled over that last part, but he didn't say anything. Her anger abated and made way for another, even more unsettling emotion, one he couldn't quite name but it was a mix of fear and sadness, "I tried to be the one she needed, but she didn't pick me. She picked you Zuko, and you don't even know what it means. If you don't come back..."

"Ty Lee, I promised her I would be okay, and I will be. You don't have to worry."

"Yes I do! You have no idea what it will do to her, do you? She gave up everything she had to run away with you, can't you see that? Now you're just going to run off and leave her here all alone? I can't believe you Zuko!"

"She won't be alone, she has you, and Mai-"

"She doesn't want me! She wants you you, you, idiot!" Ty Lee was beginning to sound hysterical, but she didn't show any signs of really caring about that at the moment. She leveled one very serious, very threatening finger at Zuko, and told him, "I don't want to lose her, so she had better not lose you." Before he could get a word out in response, she had turned and disappeared around the corner once more, leaving Zuko with nothing but her words ringing in his skull and a whole new sense of anxiety and doubt. Was this really worth it... He had never really stopped to fully consider the consequences when he volunteered, and now it was all crashing down on him like the stone roof above his head.

He had already given his word though, and he couldn't back out now. Sokka was counting on him, and with or without his help, the fool was going. Zuko didn't often ask the spirits for help, in fact he couldn't remember the last time he had, but he found himself suddenly praying to anyone or anything that would listen.

As he rounded the corner to re-emerge on the open platform with the dried up fountain, he saw Sokka standing there with nothing but the clothes on his back. Zuko dug his fingers into his eyes, a habit he noticed he had picked up in place of immediately exploding into anger. "Why are you not ready? I thought you were going to get some supplies and pack your bag!?"

Sokka was as calm as ever as he replied, "Well, after thinking about it for a bit, I realized those things would be a waste. Our best shot is infiltrating the prison and pretending to be guards. We can't just walk in with our bags and stash them somewhere. We're just going to have to hope that the Fire Nation supplies it's prison guards with food." He said that last part as if there was a distinct possibility that they in fact did not. Zuko was less than amused. War mongering tyrants maybe, but they still treated their own like people.

"Alright," Zuko groaned, still not entirely convinced of the wisdom to this plan, "let's get this over with. The airship is up by our old camp, it's not far."

With a hug to Katara and a final farewell to Aang, Sokka plodded off in Zuko's wake, pace quick in an effort to catch up. As the two disappeared into Toph's tunnel, Aang and Katara exchanged worried looks with one another. "I hope they know what they're doing," said the latter, but Aang gave her a reassuring smile.

"If there's one thing we know about Sokka, it's that he always finds some way out. He's pretty clever, and when that doesn't work, he can usually get pretty lucky."

"You had better hope his luck can counteract Zuko's." They both turned at the sound of Mai's flat, dull voice, and she explained, "The guy's a walking catastrophe. I mean, how many times did you slip through his fingers when he was chasing you? How many times did he have you with no hope of escape, only to fail miserably in the end?"

When they stopped to actually think about it, they realized the answer, and it was a lot. Mai could tell by their faces what they were thinking, "I know you probably think a lot of that had to do with you being the Avatar, but you're not that good honestly. You have his bad luck to thank more than your own skill, I swear he's probably cursed or something."

Ty Lee couldn't contain her chuckle at that remark, "Yeah, if it hadn't been for Azula he'd probably still be serving tea."

Katara blanched at the memory of seeing Zuko and his uncle back at Ba Sing Se. "You mean that wasn't just a cover? I saw him in that tea shop but I thought it was some trick to infiltrate the city..."

"It was a trick alright," Mai explained with lackluster enthusiasm, "he was pretending to be a refugee and hiding out in Ba Sing Se was the safest thing he could do. After that colossal blunder up north, the Fire Lord put a price on his head, along with his uncle, and sent Azula to bring them both in. I never could for the life of me figure out why Azula ever offered him a chance to share in the glory and clear his name, especially considering she already had the whole city subdued. I mean, with the Dai Li in her back pocket and the Earth King hostage, she didn't need his help for anything, she could have taken all the glory of the conquest for herself and brought her brother and uncle back in chains."

"But she didn't..." Katara finished aloud with a strange sense of bewilderment. "I never understood that, it seemed like Zuko was just as much her prisoner as I was, yet in the end he still chose to join her."

Mai crossed her arms and looked expectantly at the Waterbender. "And why do you think that was?"

"I think I know why." Aang answered as Katara was struck with the realization she had never even thought about it before, strange as it had been. "I don't think it was a choice between Azula and the Avatar, or good and evil. I don't think it was even a choice at all. I think Zuko saw his sister outnumbered and in danger, and that was all he needed." Turning his head to look at Katara, he asked, "Do you remember when we were down there, and Zuko looked like he was about to take our side against Azula? I remember that look in her eyes, it was as if she were physically hurt. She must have felt so betrayed."

When he looked back to Mai, it almost seemed for the briefest of moments as if she had just the tiniest, most imperceptible amount of a smirk on her lips. "Well, I guess you aren't as dumb as I thought you were." It took Aang a moment to realize that yes, in fact, that was a compliment.

Fire shot forth from Zuko's open palm and into the furnace of the airship with a powerful woosh, and they rose higher into the air. Sokka was seated casually in the back, being in charge of steering the ship but for the time being, he was more or less just relaxing and doing nothing. The silence between the two boys had become uncomfortable a long time ago, now it was simply becoming unbearable. At last, Sokka couldn't take it anymore and decided to attempt conversation with his short time ally, long time nemesis.

Looking about the balloon, he commented on the only thing he could think of, "You know, I actually helped the guy who invented these war balloons."

Zuko gave him a sideway glance from where he stood facing the furnace, "No kidding?"

"Yep," Sokka nodded, "a balloon. But for war."

The banished prince scowled, "If there's one thing my father's good at, it's war."

"It seems to run in the family."

"Hey, we're not all bad." Zuko said in defense of his kin. Sokka held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"I know, I know, you've changed, and your sister too, I guess."

Zuko frowned as he clarified, "I meant my uncle. He was the one who was more like a father to me, and I turned on him. I was such an idiot..."

Sokka was unfamiliar with comforting someone, and much less so someone from the Fire Nation, but he tried his best anyways. "Don't be so hard on yourself, we all do stupid things sometimes. You're helping us now, and I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving everything behind and running off to join the Avatar, that couldn't have been an easy thing to do."

Zuko made a noise of sarcastic amusement before replying, "It wasn't that hard."

"What, you didn't leave anyone behind that you care about?" Sokka asked, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Well, there was Mai, my girlfriend. I wanted to leave her out of my turning traitor, but it looks like she found me anyways." Zuko hesitated at this next part, thinking of how best to explain it without giving away anything too incriminating. "Then there's Azula..."

"You know, I was meaning to ask you about that, it's been bugging me ever since the two of you showed up, but why did your sister join you? I mean, no offense," Sokka told him as if he couldn't emphasize that particularly point enough, "but she always seemed like she hated you more than any of us. It was like, the Avatar was just business, but you were something personal. What gives?"

Zuko had to think about it for a moment, as answering that particular question could potentially raise a lot more serious questions. "You have to understand that Azula's not all bad, she was just really confused, just like I was. It's not that she hated me, just that she was angry. Believe me, the last thing you want is to have Azula angry with you."

"You don't need to tell me twice. What did you do to make her so mad?"

Zuko felt the familiar weight of guilt pressing down on him and his shoulders sank underneath it. "I left."

Sokka looked at the older boy with confusion, and rightfully so. "You left...?"

"When I was banished over three years ago."

The tribesman was completely miffed by that response. "But it's not like you left by choice, how can she possibly hold that against you?"

Zuko's head fell and his eyes closed as he replied with solemn regret, "Because I still left. Everyone did." It was a hard truth to swallow, but a truth nonetheless. He could tell by the quizzical look he received that Sokka didn't quite catch his meaning, and so he explained, "Uncle left, I left... even our mom left."

"Your mom left?" Sokka was suddenly very interested, the subject of lost mothers being something that struck far too close to home.

Zuko nodded, "She was banished, just like me. I don't think she ever even said goodbye to Azula. She likes to pretend it doesn't bother her, that she hated our mother and that our mother hated her, but I know better."

"Man, that has to be hard to live with. I always thought your sister was just some crazy, evil little fire monster with no heart, but if she went through all of that as a kid, maybe it's not all her fault."

Zuko didn't like the way he was talking about his sister, but he could see how it might be justified, so instead he redirected his anger at a more deserving target. "No, I have my father to thank for how she turned out." Another blast of fire into the furnace, this one perhaps a little more powerful than was necessary. "Ever since she first started to Firebend, he's been corrupting her, twisting her to his own evil purposes. I couldn't let it go on any longer, so when I saw what might have been my only chance to free her, I had to take it. I know what you probably all think of her, and I'm sorry I did what I did, but I had to bring her with me."

"It's alright Zuko, I understand, believe me. I think you did the right thing, too."

Zuko gave Sokka an earnest, thankful smile, however small, and not knowing what else to say, turned his attention ahead of them. That's when he noticed the volcano up ahead, and with a newfound determination he exclaimed, "There it is! The Boiling Rock." Another blast of fire was shot into the furnace while Sokka appraised the situation. Much to his chagrin, the prison was exactly as it had been described to him.

Remembering positive attitude, he tried to look on the bright side. "Well, at least the steam should give us plenty of cover."

That it did, but being spotted soon became the least of their concerns, as the balloon began sinking at an alarming rate the moment it entered the steam cloud that surrounded the facility.

"What's wrong, why are we sinking!?" Zuko shouted, suddenly regretting every part of this plan. He shot fire into the furnace non-stop in a desperate attempt to keep them airborne, but to no avail.

Sokka had to consider the situation for a moment before it dawned on him and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner, "The air outside the balloon is just as hot as the air inside, we've lost our lift and we're goin' down."

Abandoning his mad, frantic attempts to get the balloon rising once more, Zuko braced himself for a not so smooth landing, while his companion did exactly the same. As the balloon skimmed the surface of the boiling water, a small amount splashed up and made contact with Sokka's hand, and he was forced to cover his mouth to prevent screaming loud enough to alert everyone to their presence. The basket was quickly growing hotter underfoot and it would only be a matter of seconds before the boiling, acidic water ate completely through it.

They collided with the shore not a moment too soon, and Zuko leapt deftly with the inertia to land on the rocky shore with a roll. Sokka's exit from the now ruined war balloon was remarkably less graceful, but in the end it worked out.

Zuko wasted little time in chastising his lack of forethought, "Now how are we supposed to leave? My uncle always said I never thought things through, but this is just crazy!"

Sokka didn't seem nearly as concerned over their predicament, which was slightly more unsettling for the scarred prince. "Don't worry, I had a feeling this would be a one way trip, we'll figure something out. And I'll have you know, I always think my plans through, but in case you haven't noticed, my plans haven't exactly been working out lately so this time I decided to wing it."

Zuko couldn't help but groan his displeasure at being stranded, which Sokka quickly responded to. "Look, you didn't have to come, I would have been just fine on my own. I knew this would be dangerous."

"Which is exactly why I did."

Without another word, Sokka set about piling the deflated canvass of the balloon into the basket and then nudging the wreckage out into the boiling lake, earning himself yet another exasperated remark from his irritable companion. "What are you doing!?"

"It's wrecked anyways, and we don't want anyone to find it or it might give us away." The tribesman replied with a confidence that seemed to sink along with the remains of their transportation. Without so much as a final bubble, the last bit of red sank beneath the deceptively calm surface, never to be seen again. The two boys turned their attention to the walls that towered over them, and began considering how the hell they were going to get up there, without being spotted no less. The most pressing issue that faced them, undoubtedly, would be escaping. One step at a time, Sokka told himself. One step at a time.

Azula watched as the balloon flew off towards the west until it was an invisible speck in sky, telling herself over and over that everything would be fine, that he had promised to return and so he would. Forcing herself to believe that it was true was an entirely different matter, she soon discovered, as despite her knack for lying, she just wasn't as effective at deceiving herself. She soon found that her only option to avoid going insane with worry was to focus on something else. She had to preoccupy herself, but how?

She decided after a moment that with her brother gone, she should probably take over as the Avatar's Firebending teacher. At the very least, it would give her something else to focus on besides the nagging in the back of her mind that something terrible was going to happen and she would never see her brother again. It would also give her a chance to fix whatever flaws Zuko encouraged in the Avatar. She would not have her only student become a failure at an art she was so gifted with.

Seeking him out, it didn't take long to find him lounging about with the rest of his friends, and hers too she noted, idly chatting and sharing their own experiences from shared encounters.

"You know, we would have had you if it weren't for fluffy over there." Mai's distinctly indistinct voice drifted to Azula's ears, followed by Ty Lee agreeing and Katara huffing in annoyance. She didn't necessarily refute the point, the princess noted with some interest, before turning her attention to the large flying bison with a curious expression. As if noticing both her eyes upon him and the ongoing debate, the beast gave out a low, rumbling growl.

Aang couldn't help but laugh, "It's true Katara, Appa did save you two."

"Avatar!"

Aang jumped to his feet and flailed his arms as he spun around, eventually settling into a sloppy fighting stance, all in a motor reflex at the sound of a voice he had come to dread and hadn't quite taught his body to not respond defensively to. "Uh, hi, Azula." The girl in question stood with her arms crossed and hip cocked, a self-satisfied smirk on her face for the world to see.

She gave him time to slowly relax himself before announcing, "It's time to resume training, let's go."

Aang's reluctance was obvious as he shuffled forward with his head drooped down and shoulders sagging, and before he was out of earshot Toph was kind enough to call after him, "Lucky you Twinkletoes!"

"Yeah," he mumbled to himself, "lucky me."

As he followed Azula to the remote section of the temple where he usually practiced with Zuko, Aang couldn't help but wonder, with no small amount of dread, what Azula's teaching style could possibly be. Last time, she had drilled him in the same manner as Jeong Jeong, insisting he squat and breath and feel the sun. Was she going to make him hold a leaf this time? He could only pray not...

They reached the open platform and she signaled for him to stay put while she walked some dozen paces ahead of him, then turning she commanded, "Alright, show me what you know so far." Azula settled into a more relaxed stance than she would for a normal fight, expecting only the most weak and pathetic attempts at Firebending.

"You want me to attack you?" Aang asked in a manner that said he was obviously not keen on the idea.

"No, I want you to show me what you know. Is talking back to your teacher all you know?"

"No, it's just that-"

"Just what!? That's all you're showing me you know how to do, so it must be true!"

"Fine!" he shouted, anger overriding reason as he leaped forward and threw an open palm straight out, unleashing a wave of orange and red fire straight ahead. With a simple backhand Azula launched an arc of azure fire that all but disintegrated the Avatar's attack, fading to embers just inches shy of the stunned boy's face.

"That was pathetic. You're the Avatar, you're supposed to be the strongest bender in the world. I know children that can Firebend better than that!"

"You aren't exactly helping you know!" Aang fired back in defense. "You're supposed to be teaching me, not shouting at me and ordering me to do something then ridiculing me when I do it wrong."

Azula considered him for a moment before sighing, "Very well. What is your spark?"

Aang blinked. "My what?"

She rolled her eyes, "Your spark, your catalyst, the thing that lets you turn energy into fire." When all she received in return was a blank stare, Azula knew she would have to explain it, "Firebending makes use of the breath as energy, the fuel if you will, but a spark is required to ignite fuel. Do you follow?"

Aang nodded, and she continued, "Emotion is that spark, and most Firebenders these days are taught to use anger and rage as theirs, but in reality any emotion can be used. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the bending. What is your strongest emotion?"

"Well..." he had never really thought about it before, but he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"Sadness over the loss of your people? Maybe anger from when the Dai Li kidnapped your bison? Or how about-"

"Love." He said so simply, and with such finality, that Azula didn't even need to question if he was sure about that. She studied the determination in his eyes and nodded.

"Then you need to focus on that feeling, let it's essence be imbued within you, feel it permeate your entire being." Azula explained as she moved to stand next to the Avatar. She was speaking much quieter now as she closed her eyes and focused on her own spark, feeling the all too familiar emotion swell up inside of her. Aang mirrored her actions, closing his eyes and focusing on the love he had for a long time now acknowledged, though uncertainty of whether or not it was reciprocated prevented it from being fully and clearly realized.

He heard his teacher inhale, and so he did as well, then felt her move and wordlessly mimicked the action. When their hands were thrust forward simultaneously, twin gouts of flame were unleashed, one a dazzling blue and the other a fierce red. Aang opened his eyes at last to admire his handiwork and was amazed to see a conflagration he never imagined himself capable of. Azula had noticed as well, if the smirk on her lips was any indication.

"I believe there may be hope for you yet, Avatar."

He couldn't help but grin back. "Being the Avatar has to count for something."

She shrugged, "Yes, well, you may have the raw power of an Avatar and a strong spark, but always remember the most important part of Firebending is control." Azula walked calmly towards the edge of the platform and swung an arm in a backwards circle, unleashing a bolt of fire half her size from two extended fingers as her hand came to bear. The fireball soared across the wide open chasm, striking the far wall with all the force it had upon first being released. A loud boom echoed out as dozens of rocks were blasted away to fall into the fog below, disappearing from existence with only a distant, muffled grating sound to indicate they ever existed at all.

"Now you try." She said, looking over her shoulder to a flabbergasted Avatar with a sly grin.

Gathering himself up, the Avatar marched with mock confidence up to the ledge, then taking a deep breath, performed exactly the same movement he had watched her make, unleashing a fireball even larger than the one she had made. Almost immediately it began losing mass, and before it even cleared a quarter of the distance it had all but fizzled out of existence. He tried again, this time producing the largest ball of fire he possibly could, but it still failed spectacularly. Aang couldn't believe it.

Azula shook her head, but from her expression and her tone it was clear this was exactly the outcome she had been expecting, "No no no, all wrong. You're focusing too much on the power of your attacks, instead of on controlling them. Any Firebending child can hold a steady flame in their hand, but it takes true mastery of the element to maintain that same amount of control over an increasing distance."

Aang nodded as the understanding dawned on him. "Jeong Jeong told me that I had to master control and discipline before I could master fire, that without control, fire would just destroy everything in it's path."

"Control goes both ways Avatar. It is necessary to prevent your flames from turning into a wildfire, but also for preventing them from dying out completely. True mastery of Firebending is achieved only when you find the proper balance."

"Of course," Aang beamed, "it's always about finding the balance."

Azula smirked, and Aang wasn't entirely convinced he liked it. "I'm glad you see it that way. I want you to continue trying to hit that wall, and don't stop until you do. You will learn how to control your Firebending, and if suffering has to be your teacher, then so be it."

"I hope the time you spent with your girlfriend was worth it." Zuko grumbled to the prison guard squatting next to him in a small alcove behind some stairs. It was the only spot they could talk extensively away from prying eyes. In the short time they had been there, they had managed to sneak in, steal prison guard uniforms, locate Sokka's old girlfriend Suki, and have Zuko's cover blown in an attempt to buy the tribesman some time. All in all, he'd seen better days.

"I'm sorry about that, but I think I may have figured a way out of here. The coolers work by keeping cold in, but to do that, I figure they must also keep heat out. If you can get inside one and unfasten it, I found a blind spot that the watchtowers can't see. We can launch it from there and then the current should take us to the other side."

"Hey, that's a great idea." said a completely unfamiliar voice from above them. They both looked up to see another prisoner leaning over a railing looking down at them, and upon their finally noticing him, he grabbed the bar and swung himself down. The man was practically a mountain, easily outweighing both Sokka and Zuko put together, but that much was fairly common for the male population of the prison. "So when do we break out?"

Sokka laughed nervously, "What, breaking out? No, not us, I don't know what you're talking about." Zuko was beginning to wonder who was worse at lying, Sokka or himself.

The prisoner was having none of it. "Look, I know you're planning a break out, and I want in. Otherwise, I'll just go to the warden with this little plan of yours..."

"Alright fine, you can come along, but you have to do exactly as I say." Sokka grumbled, unhappy with the intrusion but helpless to prevent it now.

"Deal." the man agreed.

"Alright, the first thing we need is to get inside one of those coolers."

The man didn't skip a beat, proclaiming with total confidence, "Oh, I can get you in."

Not long after they had hammered out all the details and finalized their plan, a large man was standing with his arms crossed over his chest observing nothing in particular when a much smaller, younger man with a scarred face bumped into him with a mop. The two immediately turned to confront one another with angry scowls and harsh words on their lips.

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" shouted the bigger one.

"Why don't you watch where you're standing!" Zuko returned, trying hard not to think about how ridiculous the entire spectacle was.

They locked hands in a mock-power struggle, making the scene even more ridiculous that Zuko would even stand a chance in pound for pound strength with this man over twice his size and girth. In no short order Zuko found himself being pulled and thrown across the room, stumbling as he landed but swiftly regaining his composure. By this time every prisoner and guard alike were viewing the scuffle with ranging degrees of amusement and confusion.

Deciding that he had brought more than enough attention to himself, Zuko punched forward and shot a more or less harmless ball of fire at the man's feet, earning a swift response from the guards.

"Hey! No Firebending, into the cooler with you!" The nearest guard grabbed his hands and wrenched them behind his back before herding him off towards the nefarious cold torture tanks meant to serve both as isolation devices as well as Firebending suppressors. Right before he was pushed inside the metal container, the guard handed him a wrench.

"Make sure you loosen every bolt, I'll be by to check on you later." Sokka told him, and with that he shut the door and continued with his "guard duties", while Zuko took to unfastening the cooler.

After an hour, Aang was frustrated. After two, he was on the verge of a breakdown. But after three hours of trying to see a fireball all the way to the other side of the gorge and making it only halfway at best, the Avatar was just plain ready to give up. He couldn't believe it, but he found himself missing the leaf.

Noticing that he had ceased his futile, however entertaining, attempts to strike the far canyon wall, Azula abandoned her meditation and began approaching her new student, calling out to him, "Given up have we?"

Aang hung his shoulders in defeat as he turned to reply, "I just can't do it. No matter how hard I try I just can't keep the fire going long enough to hit the wall."

"Just as I suspected, you haven't mastered control well enough yet. Here," she said, handing him a candle and lighting the tip with her fingers, "this candle is meant to last one hour precisely. I want you to keep it going until sundown exactly. For every minute before that you let this flame die, or for every minute after that it's still burning, I'm going to hurl the largest, most powerful blast of fire that I possibly can at you. One way or another, Avatar, you will learn how to control fire."

Aang gulped visibly as he nervously accepted the candle, thinking to himself, Well, at least it's not a leaf. Sitting himself down with his legs crossed, he placed the candle directly in front of him and felt for the flame, channeling his chi to assume control over it and, settling into rhythmic, proper breathing, he focused his awareness on the flame and concentrated on mainting a slow, steady burn. Azula watched the Avatar with a smirk of satisfaction, deciding she wasn't half bad at this whole teaching thing. Perhaps I'll teach Zuzu's kids...

The thought of her brother's children suddenly brought an entirely new quandary to the forefront of her mind. Of course she wouldn't be having his children, for obvious reasons, nor would she be marrying him. Mai would probably be the one, if only to keep up appearances, but she wasn't keen on the idea. He needed a strong Firebender to ensure his children were as powerful as possible. It should be me, she told herself, and she supposed they could secretly have some and pretend they were Mai's, but there were too many risks, not least of which being the possibility of crippling deformity.

There was also, of course, the distinct possibility of the secret getting out, which would put their children in serious danger. She had no doubt that, should the Avatar prove successful and her father defeated, there would remain for many years rebel sects that would oppose her brother's rule. Should a secret such as a child born of incest reach their ears, it would be gas on a fire, and though Azula was fairly confident nobody would be fool enough to challenge the throne so long as she had any say in the military command, she also knew she couldn't possibly be there forever.

Azula wasn't even entirely convinced that she wanted to have children in the first place, come to think about it. From what she understood of the process, it was an increasingly uncomfortable nine months followed by an excruciating, unimaginable amount of pain, and when it was all said and done her body would be essentially ruined. While vanity was far from being her most prominent sin, she did value her beauty to an extent. Bending others to her will could prove to be much more difficult if she were a hideous, fat shrew.

Deciding now was hardly the time for such unpleasant thoughts, Azula rose from where she was seated across from the Avatar and set about running through her Firebending katas, a habit she had long ago taken to whenever she needed to clear her mind. Aang himself was so heavily entranced in his exercise that he didn't even notice her move.

She started off quick, precise and pure in her movements, as near perfection as anyone could hope to achieve. Her movements were swift and sure as she flowed from one stance to the next with the seamlessness of a Waterbender, only to stab at the air with her forefingers with all the sudden ferocity of a Firebender, the kicks that sent her sailing into the air every bit as powerful if not more so. Whenever she landed, it was with all the grace of a cat and when she rose once more it was with all the unyielding power of an Earthbender.

At a certain point, Aang had peeked his eyes open when he caught the barely audible sound of feet hitting the stone floor. Though she was quiet, she couldn't quite land like an Airbender. He suddenly found himself lost in her movements, so unlike anything he had ever learned from any of the other bending disciplines, and, with his recent discovery of the true meaning of Firebending from the dragons, he found himself somehow, strangely, understanding. It was like a dance, not with a partner, or even with herself, but a dance with all the world around her. It was the dance of fire, growing and changing, yet always being the same in it's essence. Whenever she would rise she would fall, and whenever she went down she would always come back up. Twisting and turning to the right would lead to a spin to the left, and in this manner she seemed to move without resistance, almost without thought even, she simply moved, just as fire cared not for what lay in it's path, only that it would find a way past it.

It was a true expression of Firebending, something so much more than keeping a leaf from burning or a candle from dwindling, or hitting a target over 50 yards away with a blast of fire. It was so much more, so much breathtakingly, beautifully more, and Aang found himself aching to learn it for himself, to be capable of interacting with the world in such an unbridled, passionate fashion.

By the time she centered herself with a final exhalation, the candle was all but forgotten and the Avatar was fully captivated by her display. Azula opened her eyes to see his grey eyes opened wide, staring at her in a way that told her he had been fixated for some time. She sauntered towards him, eyes flicking to the candle in front of him before finally saying, "You've lost focus on your candle, and it's burned more than halfway now in less than an hour."

Suddenly realizing his mistake, Aang went immediately back to concentrating on the small flame, resuming his proper breathing and focus. "I would be quite surprised if it lasted another hour, let alone the three or so 'til sundown." With that deceptively unthreatening remark, Azula took a seat directly across from the Avatar and proceeded to study him with an unblinking stare. Aang tried his hardest to block out the unpleasant tingling in his stomach that grew slowly but steadily outwards.

Over the next couple hours, Azula neither moved nor spoke, or did anything at all to break the Avatar's concentration, instead she simply stared at him, her molten golden irises promising a world of pain if he failed to keep the candle burning long enough. Even with the sun sinking in the sky and the unmistakable first signs of the sunset were beginning to appear in the sky, Aang couldn't ignore that stare, not completely enough at least. The candle was barely there anymore, a smidgen of wax that realistically shouldn't have lasted more than another minute, but still he was trying. Trying his very hardest to keep that little thing going.

Even with the sun beginning to set and the goal just in reach, he couldn't shake the fear of failure, and the nervousness that had started in his stomach had spread by now throughout his entire body, causing perspiration to bead on the back of his neck and his focus to waver ever so slightly. He gulped, and it was apparently the sign Azula had been waiting for.

Without warning, she inhaled, and the tiny spec of flame roared to life with a dazzlingly bright blue intensity, immolating the remainder of the wax and Aang had to raise an arm to shield his face from the intense heat. Just as suddenly as it had started, the flames died down and vanished, leaving nothing left of the candle and a thoroughly frightened Avatar still shielding his face as an Angry Azula glared at him.

"Why were you afraid!" she demanded.

"I wasn't!"

"Don't lie to me, you're terrible at it. You were afraid."

Realizing the futility, Aang gave up the lie and admitted, "Yes, I was. I was afraid the candle was going to go out and you were going to attack me!"

"And did the candle go out?"

"No, it didn't, but you…"

"No, it didn't, and it wouldn't have either, you had complete control over it, but you were afraid, and you let that fear take root and grow until it consumed you, and then you lost control of the fire." Aang was about to continue arguing, but he stopped himself, realizing a lesson when he was about to learn one, and let her continue. "That was your flame, yours to control, but you lost focus, so I was able to steal control of it from you. The worst mistake you can ever possibly make when fighting another Firebender, especially one as powerful as my father, is to let them take control of your fire."

As understanding dawned over him, the Avatar nodded his head, and Azula concluded her lecture. "Do not ever show fear, Avatar, do not even allow yourself to feel it, no matter how scared you might be. That is true control. When you can control your very most base emotions, then you will be able to hit that wall, and you will have the control of a master Firebender. Then, you will be able to learn the Dance of Fire."

Excitement suddenly swelled up in the young Avatar's chest, so much so that he could barely contain himself as he exclaimed, "You mean you can really teach me that!"

Azula nodded, "Of course I can, but first you must master control. Now let's get going, it's late and I'm sure your friends are driving themselves mad with all the possible ways I could have killed you by now."

Aang gave an unconvincing, nervous chuckle. Azula's sense of humor was still something that could use a little work, but he tried to agree with it when he could. Looking up to the barely taller than himself girl, Aang said, "You know Azula, you're alright when you want to be. I'm glad we're friends now."

Azula was for just a moment taken completely off guard by the implications, but she quickly found her voice to reply without any trace of uncertainty, "Yes, yes I suppose we are now, aren't we?"

"Of course, Sifu Hotma'am."

"Don't you ever call me that again."

"Okay!" Aang called out cheerfully as he raced away at inhuman speeds, eager to see his friends after what felt like training the entire day. Azula watched him go with a mild sense of annoyance. While his childish attitude was certainly annoying for the most part, it held also a somewhat endearing quality. Being forced to grow up as quickly as she had had left little room for any sort of an actual "childhood," and now, seeing someone with so much responsibility on their shoulders who could still find the time to be a carefree kid, she couldn't help but feel some twisted form of respect for him.

Still, if he ever used that dreadfully outdated term in addressing her again, she would probably burn his tongue so badly he wouldn't be able to speak for a month. The idea was tempting, and she half-heartedly considered doing it just for the fun of it. Oh, but we have to be a good girl now, don't we? Play well with others and all that nonsense. Azula harrumphed at the idea. She had never exactly been one to play well with others, which was part of the reason why she was hanging back, not particularly compelled to go seek out the company of anyone else at the very moment, even if her actual friends were there as well.

She turned to face the setting sun once more, though she couldn't actually see it with the high canyon wall obstructing her view, the light of the sky overhead told her that it had nearly sunk beyond the horizon completely, and a chilly night air swept through the exposed temple section she was in. Paying no heed, Azula walked calmly towards the edge, looking up to the sky with her arms crossed and hoping beyond hope to see that damned war balloon.

It was no use. She had avoided thinking about him all day, and so with a defeated, stifled moan she sank down against a nearby pillar, tucking her knees to her chest and hugging them with her arms as silent tears slipped down her cheek. It was okay, Azula told herself, nobody was around, she was allowed to cry, was allowed to let herself feel the roiling emotions inside of her without anybody to judge. She had been told that crying was a shameful showing of weakness, the very idea drilled into her head like so many Firebending lessons, but she couldn't bring herself to care right then.

Zuko was weak, wasn't he? He had so many flaws, so many "shameful weaknesses", but she loved him didn't she, despite all of those? He loved her, too, right? Certainly he would still love her even if she had one or two pathetic little weaknesses, that was the point of love wasn't it? To accept someone for everything they were, regardless of flaws? She couldn't always pretend to be perfect, she would drive herself mad doing so. She was still just a little girl, despite all she had accomplished, everything she could do, deep down she was just a scared little 14 year old girl with nobody in the entire world who cared about her except one weak, dishonored, cowardly idiot who was everything she could never be and if she ever lost him…

Azula clutched herself into a tighter ball, literally biting her tongue to prevent the screams of anguish that wanted so desperately to make themselves heard as the tears streamed almost without end down her pale, smooth cheek.

Zuko couldn't tell how much time had passed in his frozen torture chamber, but when the door finally did slide back open, he was huddled into himself with his head bowed into his knees and his arms wrapped around himself. The guard looked down at him and barked out, "Have you had enough time to learn your lesson prisoner?"

Looking up and inhaling, Zuko let out a snort of flame, showing how very clearly unaffected by the cold he was, and grinning with triumphant defiance as he revealed the dozens of nuts and bolts he was cradling in his shirt. "Yes, I have."

Sokka gave an appreciative grin and told him, "Good, now all we have to do is get this thing out of here and down to the lake. I already have the others waiting." Footsteps suddenly caught his attention, and slamming the door shut once more he spun around to pretend he was standing guard outside the cooler as a pair of actual prison guards came walking past, talking amongst themselves.

"You hear about the new shipment coming in tomorrow?"

"Yeah, nothing special though, just some common criminals, a few murderers, the usual."

"I heard there might be some war prisoners."

The guard's voices died down as they rounded a corner, and after waiting a few seconds to be safe, Sokka turned to open the cooler door once more, and Zuko looked up to him with a knowing expression after having heard the conversation.

"War prisoners." the Firebender intoned.

"My father." Sokka said, his voice full of contemplation. His best chance of escape was now, as he was certain the cooler trick would only work once, but if he did leave now, he might miss the opportunity to rescue his father. He had to decide, and quickly.

Zuko, only too aware of the dilemma his new friend faced, asked him, "Well, what are you going to do?"

Sokka shook his head, banishing the risky thought from his head. "No, we've come too far, and this might be our only shot at escape. I can't risk Suki like that, we have to do this."

"Are you sure? You said you needed to redeem yourself, if you run away now you'll beat yourself up over the possibilities."

"I came here to try and rescue my dad, and he isn't here. Suki is though, and if I have a chance to free her then I have to take it. There's no guarantee my dad would even be a part of the 'shipment'." Knowing the end of an argument when he heard one, Zuko only nodded, and together they set about prying the tank out of the wall and praying they could get it out without being spotted.

Some time later, the attention of three people standing at the edge of the boiling lake was alerted to grunts of exertion and, looking uphill, they spotted two figures struggling with a large metal cylinder. Rushing to provide support, the big guy- Chit Sang, as he had eventually come to introduce himself as- relieved a good deal of the weight and both Zuko and Sokka breathed easier for it. They were careful to lower the cooler slowly so that it would stop before just splashing into the water, and once they had they turned it so one end pointed in the direction they wanted it to go. Once they had half of the tank pushed into the water, Chit Sang's girlfriend, an added stipulation to their agreement, jumped inside, and Suki was about to follow when she noticed Sokka's hesitation.

"What's wrong?"

Sokka was silent for a moment before finally answering, "I can't. I just can't go through with this."

Suki looked at him completely bewildered. "What do you mean, we're right here, we've almost made it."

"I heard some guards talking about more prisoners coming in tomorrow. They said there would be some war prisoners. One of them might be my father, and I just can't leave until I know for sure."

"It's alright Sokka," she told him, expression softening with concern, "you don't have to explain it to me, I understand."

"You do?" Sokka questioned, visibly relieved as she nodded. "Good, when you leave here make for the Western Air Temple, don't worry about me I'll figure another way out of here-"

"Sokka, I'm not going anywhere without you."

Sighing from all the stress of his situation, the tribesman tried to explain, "Suki, please, we don't have time for this, you have to go. Don't worry about me I'll be fine, and knowing that you're safe-"

"Sokka, you can't get rid of me if you tried, I'm not going anywhere." The Kyoshi Warrior said with finality, and Sokka knew when to give up.

From the cooler tank came Chit Sang's voice, "Well we are, see ya." When nobody made any move to join them or otherwise protest, he pushed the remainder of the makeshift canoe into the lake and jumped in, leaving Sokka, Suki and Zuko right where they started, stranded at the prison.

"There you are." Ty Lee's voice was laced lightly with concern, as if she had been searching for some time. Azula might have been surprised that she had been spotted while somewhat hiding behind a pillar, but then, hiding your body and hiding your aura were two different things, and she supposed her friend had spotted the later with little difficulty, if what she always claimed about seeing them were true.

The acrobat stepped lightly towards the ledge where her friend had spent the last couple hours in achingly peaceful solitude. She fidgeted as if waiting for something, and sensing this, Azula said, "You may sit down if you like, Ty Lee." Despite the authority of her words, her voice was raspy and hollow, a telltale sign that she had been crying, though Ty Lee would make no comment of it. Without a second thought she sat down, but only after receiving the princess' blessing. Whatever else circumstance said, she would always be a princess to Ty Lee.

After it became apparent that Azula wasn't going to break the silence, Ty Lee decided she would be the one to do it. "So… how's teaching the Avatar Firebending going? Boy, that's gotta be weird huh?" she commented with a chuckle. Good ol' Ty Lee, nothing ever seemed to dampen her mood. Azula was feeling just the opposite at the moment, and she had to consciously make an effort not to take it out on her friend. It was hardly her fault, after all.

At first, it didn't seem as if she was going to say anything in response, which didn't entirely surprise Ty Lee, but then after a brief, tense silence, she admitted in a quiet, raspy voice, "He's remarkable."

The acrobat blinked in surprise. She couldn't recall her friend ever praising somebody else's abilities when it came to Firebending, as regardless of how good they were, she could always outdo them. To anyone else, it may have been nothing, but to Ty Lee, her friend said more with those two little words than she had ever heard her say before in her life. "Well I'm sure it helps having such a great teacher."

Whatever reaction she had been hoping for, be it a chuckle or a self satisfied smirk, she didn't get it. Azula just continued staring detachedly into the abyss of the wide canyon, clutching herself as if afraid that letting go would cause her to break apart into little pieces that would scatter on the wind. It just wasn't fair. Why did it have to be Zuko, why couldn't it be her? She was there right now, she could comfort her, she could hold her, but no, it had to be stupid Zuko. Stupid Zuko who was always running off for who knew how long? Stupid Zuko who didn't love her the way she deserved. Stupid Zuko who would break her heart, and then what? Ty Lee didn't like the thought of watching Azula fall apart, something she had secretly dreaded for a long time now, longer than she cared to think about. She knew if it happened, there would be no piecing her back together.

"It'll be okay, Azula. He promised he would come back, right?" She couldn't avoid the only subject that actually mattered any longer.

"That will hardly make a difference if he gets caught." she replied, almost as dejectedly as if he already had been. Ty Lee cringed, but refused to give up her optimism.

"He'll come back, he just has to."

"And what if he doesn't!" Azula snapped, her head suddenly coming up and turning to direct an angry scowl in her friend's direction. Anger was a comfortable, familiar refuge, but her eyes told Ty Lee the much sadder truth. Her perfect princess wasn't angry, she wasn't even scared. She was terrified. It was a look that made the acrobat's chest tighten and her mouth go dry.

Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, Ty Lee answered, "You won't be alone Azula. You'll still have me, you'll always have me." She knew it wasn't the right answer, and she could already hear the bitter replies, but it was the only one she had.

Instead of berating her, Azula seemed instead to simply deflate. "It's not the same, Ty."

"Azula, I-"

"Don't say it."

Unable to stop herself, it was Ty Lee's turn to boil over with anger as she nearly shouted, "Why!? Why can't I say it, huh? Azula I love you, I always have and we've both known it for spirits know how long. Is that so bad? Is that so wrong that I can't even say it, that I have to pretend what I feel for you isn't real?"

"Ty Lee-"

"NO! You always silence me, you always make me listen, well now it's your turn Azula! I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen whether you like it or not!" In the face of such a furious onslaught, there was little more for Azula to do than simply sit back and acquiesce, and so she did, as Ty Lee ranted on. "It's always been about you Azula, but there's other people you know. Other people who have their own feelings, and it's downright selfish of you to pretend they don't matter because they do!"

"I've always looked up to you Azula, you know that? I've always admired you, and the way you never let anything stop you or hold you back. When I ran away to join the circus, I almost didn't go because I wasn't sure what might happen, what I would do if things didn't work out. I thought about you, and how you would just make things work in your favor for no other reason than the fact it's you. Nothing's ever been able to stand in your way, not even the Avatar! And now you're in love with your brother? Do you have any idea how messed up that is! But it doesn't matter, because when the world tells you no you turn right around and say 'too bad'. You don't know what I would give to be like that, to be so confident and sure of myself. You don't know how badly I want to be like you Azula."

"You don't want to be like me, Ty Lee." the other girl said in a hoarse whisper.

Ty Lee scoffed, an odd, ugly sound that didn't suit her at all. "Do you even listen to yourself? You think you're the only one with problems or something? Well you aren't! Look at the Avatar, he has to kill your dad in less than a month, but you don't see him moping around like it's the end of the world, even though it could be!"

Azula remained silent, there wasn't really much she could say to that after all, it being true. In the grand scheme of things, her problems truly weren't all that major, but they still felt a lot more important to her than anything else. Ty Lee glared at her friend, silently challenging her to argue back, but when it became apparent that there would be no argument, she eventually softened her features, and when she next spoke, there was no more anger, instead it was replaced with a reserved melancholy.

"You didn't pick me, I understand that, and I'm not going to tell you that choosing your brother is wrong, because they say a girl loving a girl is wrong as well." She sat down once more by her friend's side, reaching an arm across and placing it on a shoulder, that small sign of affection being all she was allowed, so she took it happily. "But just because you don't love me, doesn't mean I can't love you." It was such a simple admission, so small and yet so forcefully honest, that the guilt of it all was quickly becoming too much to bear.

"I'm sorry, Ty."

"Don't be, silly." Ty Lee gave her a one armed hug, savoring the warmth as long as she possibly could. "You haven't done anything wrong by me."

The two friends sat in silence for a little while longer before Ty Lee finally stood and stretched, yawning out, "I think it's time I get some sleep, I'm beat." She waited a moment for Azula to stand, but the princess didn't make a move.

"I'll head to bed soon, I just want to sit out here a little bit longer." she said at last, as if sensing the acrobat's thoughts.

Smiling, Ty Lee turned and walked away as she wished her friend a good night. As she reached the now dark hallway, she couldn't resist one last glimpse backwards, and with a forlorn resignation she thought to herself, It's like she doesn't even know how amazing she really is.

"Dad." Sokka almost couldn't believe his eyes, but sure enough, standing there in red prison rags and looking almost sad though still defiant, was Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. His dad.

The newest prisoners were all lined up before the warden, who was taking a special interest in the leader of the Southern Water Tribe resistance fighters. Sokka watched nervously as his father finally bowed down to the bitter old man, only to stifle a laugh a moment later as the warden fell flat on his face after being tripped. As the guards led the prisoners to their new cells, Sokka carefully followed to keep on eye on which one his father was placed in. Once the legitimate guards had gone on about their business, he slipped inside the cell and carefully shut the door behind him.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

On his feet instantly, Hakoda raised his fists and warned what he perceived to be just another prison guard, "Take one more step and you'll see just how alright I am."

Sokka was quick to remove his helmet, his past experience with Suki teaching him the dangers of impersonating the enemy. "Dad, it's me."

Hakoda's expression couldn't have changed more drastically as he lunged forward to embrace his son. "Sokka!"

They embraced for a brief moment before Sokka cut to the chase. "Don't worry dad, I have a plan to break you out of here. I don't have time to go over the details, just be ready to meet up in the yard when they let you out."

Turning and making for the door, Sokka stopped and looked back when his father called out his name. All the man could think to say was, "Be careful." Giving him a nod of assurance, he replaced his helmet and quickly slid out of the cell, shutting the door behind him and carrying on with his plan.

Or at least, he would have, had he not been stopped ten seconds later by a duo of guards. "Hey you! The warden wants to see you."

Turning to head the other way, Sokka replied cheerfully, "Actually, I'm kinda busy right now, have him reschedule for tomorrow sometime." He didn't make it far though, as a second pair of guards intercepted him and began hauling him off.

"He wants to see you now."

Sokka found himself shoved into a lineup of prison guards, and with his helmet removed he felt suddenly very vulnerable. He attempted to hide behind the guard next to him, only to be elbowed back into place. The warden was standing impatiently while a prisoner was brought forward, one easily recognizable to the boy from the Southern Water Tribe. Apparently, Chit Sang had managed to screw up his flawless plan, and Sokka secretly wanted to smack the oaf.

"Now tell me, Chit Sang," the warden drawled out with malevolent anticipation, "which of these guards is the imposter."

The massive man was looking down at the ground with shame written all over his face at having been broken so easily, and he glanced over at Sokka who shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm-

"It's him!"

Peeking with one eye, Sokka saw the man's finger extended straight at the face of a different guard, and he let go of a breath he didn't know he'd held. Not dead? He nearly wanted to shout his relief and joy, but couldn't afford blowing his cover so he bottled his exuberance. The accused guard was as perplexed as he was outraged, and nearly tried to burn Chit Sang's face off before his fellow guards subdued his arms.

"What are you talking about you liar!" shouted the man, but Chit Sang merely held his hands up in a neutral placating gesture and had a look on his face that said he would say no more. After the guards led the wrongfully accused man away, he directed a grin towards Sokka, who was secretly thanking the man a thousand times over.

While the warden was "interrogating" his guard, Sokka took the opportunity to head up to the main control room where various levers operated the many doors of the prison. There was always a guard stationed in the room, but he had already thought up an easy enough ruse.

"Release all the prisoners into the yard, warden's orders." Sometimes, being an unquestionable authority figure had it's draws, as the simple use of your name could persuade any of your underlings in to doing something, even if it was irrational. The guard blanched at the order, protocol nagging him in the back of his mind.

"But, we're in the middle of a lockdown. I can't do that." the man said with much more conviction than he actually felt.

Sokka shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the man's response. "Alright, I'll just tell the warden you went against his orders, I'm sure he'll understand." Lifting his visor he asked, "What was your name again?" He watched as the man broke out in a sweat and knew he had already won.

"Wait, you don't have to tell him, it's just… that's a really strange request considering we're in lockdown, I'm just confused is all."

"Hey, I'm confused too, but when the warden is in moods like this it's usually best to just do what he says, right?"

Gulping down the nervous lump in his throat, the guard answered hazily, "Yeah…" before proceeding to push all the levers and open the numerous prison cells. A mass of confused prisoners walked warily out of their cells and made their way to the prison yard as Sokka slipped out of the control room and headed for the rendezvous point.

The loud buzz from opening all of the doors at once alerted the warden, who promptly abandoned his interrogation and went to find out who was defying his orders and, more importantly, why. He swiftly exited the facility and walked along the railed walkway that overlooked the prison yard until he reached a group of his guards, each just as nervous as they were confused.

"Who let all these prisoners out of their cells, we're in the middle of a lock down!" So blinded by his rage was he that warden failed to notice one of his guards shrink away and scuttle along the walkway, hugging the wall until he was out of sight.

Down in the yard itself, the prisoners were all milling about in a confused mass, and nobody seemed to notice the guard conspiring with a few of the other prisoners. Zuko came up at that particular moment and looked to Sokka for direction. "We're all here, now what?"

"We need to start a riot, got any ideas?"

His father volunteered to give it a shot, and walking towards the nearest volatile looking prisoner, he took a few jogging steps before shoving the man roughly from behind.

"Hey, what'd ya do that for?!" the man demanded as he rounded on Hakoda. The chief of the Southern Water Tribe blinked once, having not anticipated the reaction of words before violence.

"You aren't mad?" he asked, clearly seeing the anger diffusing from the prisoner as quickly as it had appeared.

"Well yeah, but I've been learning in therapy that I need to take control of my anger."

Hakoda was dumbfounded, and after the man turned around to resume his conversation, he walked back towards his son and just gave him a shrug. It was at that precise moment that Chit Sang decided to so helpfully show up, pointing a finger at Sokka. "Hey, you owe me for not ratting you out earlier. I know you're planning another escape, and I want in."

"Actually, we're trying to escape right now, but we need to start a riot. I don't suppose you would know how to do that?" The burly man waved Sokka aside as he strode forward, blowing air between his lips and making a sound that said "child's play". Apparently, it was.

Chit Sang grabbed the first man he passed, and without any warning raised him above his head and shouting so everybody could hear him, "Hey, everybody. Riot!" It was like shooting fire at a powder keg. The prisoners didn't waste a second in hurling random fireballs into the air and shouting, fights breaking out for no other reason than to fight. The few unlucky guards to have been stationed in the yard were quickly overwhelmed as uncontrolled chaos reigned. Dusting his hands off, Chit Sang walked calmly back towards the others and asked, "Now what?"

"Now, we just need to get to the warden and take him hostage, and we can ride the gondola out of here." Everyone nodded in agreement with the plan, as it was fairly solid, but after a moment of looking expectantly at their ring leader, it was Hakoda who asked the question they were all wondering.

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?"

Sokka realized after a moment that he didn't have an answer for that question. "I'm, not sure."

Looking back towards the crowd, Chit Sang pointed, "Hey, I don't think we have to worry about that, it looks like your girlfriend's taking care of it." Following where the man indicated, sure enough, there was Suki, running atop the heads of oblivious prisoners with all the nimble agility that only studious, disciplined training can bring.

Using all her speed, she hit the wall at a sprint, and using her hands and feet she scrambled up the wall, defying gravity and kicking off with her feet, she flipped backwards so her feet could catch on a horizontal bar. The momentum caused her body to swing like a pendulum, and rocketing upwards, Suki flipped once in the air before landing with all the grace of a cat on the railing of the walkway.

The guards were already charging her, having seen her approach, though none of them actually believing she would make it. Grabbing the one on her right's wrist and using his own charge against him, she easily tossed him over her shoulder and right into his counterpart, sending them both to the ground long enough for her to scramble up to the second walkway. More guards charged, all going down just as quickly as they came until it was just her and the warden.

He punched a fireball at Suki as she charged him, but she easily ducked the attacked and moved under his still outstretched arm, grabbing him by the wrist and wrenching his arm out of the way as her other fist stopped just inches from his face, along with her own face. Glaring daggers at the triumphant smirk she gave him, the warden growled, "You wouldn't dare." Instead of punching him, Suki grabbed the sash around his waist and twirled around him, grabbing his other hand and tying them both behind his back. She then grabbed the bandana that he wore like some sort of crown and made a makeshift gag out of it.

"Sorry warden, you're my prisoner now."

Jaws dropped and eyes wide, all the men on the ground had simply stood and watched as Suki single handedly defied physics and took out a dozen guards before taking the warden prisoner. Hakoda was the first to find his voice, telling his son, "That's some girl you found there, Sokka."

"Yeah, she sure is."

In no time the group had made it's way up to the platform leading to the gondolas, but found heavy resistance in their way. Fire was launched but easily deflected by Zuko, who hesitated from returning fire.

"Stop, we have the warden!" shouted Suki, and all weapons and fists were lowered hesitantly. They couldn't argue with the fact that it was the warden, and nobody knew exactly what to do, so playing it safe, the guards begrudgingly let the prisoners pass with no further hindrance, though they didn't hesitate to follow at a wary distance.

The group piled into the awaiting gondola, all save for Zuko, who stayed back to pull the lever. Kicking at the lever in an attempt to break it, he was met only with unyielding metal. The guards saw their opportunity and rushed forward, and Zuko noticed his predicament. With a final spinning kick, he gave it everything he had and the metal snapped with a violent ring. Taking off at a sprint, he made to leap for the gondola, only to feel something grab his shoulder at the last second.

The guards swarmed over him in a wave while Sokka and the others could only watch helplessly. "Zuko!" Sokka's shout was almost lost on the prince as he was pinned down by a multitude of hands, but he heard it.

In a last ditch effort, Zuko screamed out, "Tell her I love her Sokka! Tell A-"

His voice was cut off as hands covered his mouth, and he felt himself being dragged back into the dark recesses of the prison. All he could think was how utterly, hopelessly screwed he really was this time.

"We have to go back, we have to save Zuko!"

"Son, we've come too far, we can't risk it. You've blown your cover and you'll never have another chance at this. He knew the risks, he stayed behind to ensure we could all get away. If it wasn't for his selfless act, we never would have gotten away. If we want to honor his sacrifice, we need to escape and get to safety."

His father's words struck a chord in the rational, logical part of Sokka's brain, but that didn't make it any easier to accept the situation. Hakoda placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, "We can always think of a way to break him out later."

Something about the distant, cold way he answered, "No, we can't." caused his dad to worry, but he didn't know what to say.

Suki, in an attempt to console her friend and rescuer, told him, "Sokka, we'll think of something, you just have to think positive."

"You guys, the Fire Lord probably doesn't think too highly of traitors." As if they had all forgotten exactly who Zuko was, realization suddenly dawned as grim understanding settled into their faces. Then Sokka added, "Besides, that's the least of my problems, now."

Suki asked the question everyone was wondering, "What do you mean?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose in all too Zukoesque gesture, Sokka muttered, "Azula's gonna kill me."

"Azula, you're going to kill me!" the Avatar shouted after narrowly avoiding yet another blast of azure flame. The princess looked less than pleased, or in other words, very the much the same as always.

"If this is how cowardly the Avatar is then you deserve it! Stop dancing around with your Airbending and fight me like a real Firebender!" Not being one to let conversation get in the way of a sparring match, Azula let loose with another jet of fire that she brought down with a swoop of her arm.

Remembering the purpose of this "friendly" little match, Aang resolved himself not to dodge or avoid, instead remembering his breathing and focusing. With a light hop, he spun 360 degrees and shot both arms outwards, summoning fire as he did and concentrating on growing the flames until he was engulfed in a more or less complete sphere of red and yellow flames. He remembered seeing Jeong Jeong use a similar move, and thought it would be a useful way of defending if he could figure it all out. As it was, he almost had the move down, but his flames lacked in several areas, preventing it from being 100% effective.

Azula relaxed, seemingly satisfied (for once) with his counter. It was admittedly an impressive, creative use of Firebending, and entirely useful for a number of applications. "You're clearly spent, and since you finally decided to defend yourself properly, I suppose I'll be generous. Go take a break, eat something if you like, I don't really care. Just be back here in ten minutes."

Aang would have complained, if it weren't for the fact he had already made that mistake not once, but twice now. Ten minutes was a generous break, and he wasn't going to waste a second of it by digging himself a deeper hole. Bowing to his Firebending teacher, he took off with the speed of the wind to find Katara and some much needed water, then hope Momo hadn't discovered his secret stash of berries.

Azula walked to her usual perch to gaze out across the expanse of fog that seemed to be ever present in this spirits forsaken canyon. Sighing out of what could have just as easily been annoyance or boredom, she tried to think of something that might take her mind off Zuko. It was becoming an increasingly difficult task the longer he was away. Anything could have happened to him, not least of which was boiling to death in that lake. That, she supposed, would be a much more merciful option than being captured and turned over to her father.

It was as she was thinking of this and other equally unpleasant things that the wind suddenly picked up as a loud humming began to fill the air. Before she could even think of what might be happening, the ominous and obvious shape of a war zeppelin began to descend into the canyon, and Azula's heart seemed to freeze in her chest. He's found us...

Turning on her heel, Azula raced to find the rest of the group, or at least, her friends and the Avatar. The rest of them she didn't exactly care about, but the minor nagging details escaped her at that moment. As she raced down the corridors, she was taking a mental note of any and every possible escape route, in case fighting off an entire battalion became too much to handle. Rounding the last corner, she found the entirety of the gang had all gathered, with the Avatar and his friends closest to the ship. There was a mismatched group of people exiting the balloon, all clearly not Fire Nation soldiers, though most of them did wear prison uniforms she noted.

They're back! Azula nearly shouted, but she had the self control to fight the urge. Still, she couldn't deny the anticipation that swelled in her chest, the long awaited relief of being able to put this whole stupid mess behind her. She scanned the crowd of faces, and suddenly her face as well as her spirit dropped. Her feet felt like lead as she stepped forward, dread creeping in to replace the anticipation she had felt only moments prior. No, she told herself, sure she was missing something, he has to be there, he has to be there, he has to-

The terror solidified itself as the group gradually broke apart from their reunion and their faces turned somber upon gazing in her direction. Some avoided looking at her altogether, forcing her to finally ask with uncharacteristically wide, fearful eyes, "Where is Zuko? Where is my brother!?"

Nobody answered.

Author's Note: Hope it was worth the wait, as always thanks for taking the time.