Author's Note: Sorry it's been a bit since the last update. This chapter took longer to write because there was a lot going on and obviously I wanted to changed things to make it original and more interesting. Just a heads up, I've changed the rating of this fic. I just felt like it should be M because I use a lot of language already, there are some innuendos too but the main reason is because of how violent things are going to get-starting with this chapter. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! P.S parts of this chapter are influenced by Dark Knight Rises. If you haven't seen it GO SEE IT!
~th3rdhal3~
"No one can make tea like Uncle. Hopefully I learned a thing or two." The prince poured a handful of cups out on a tray one night after dinner.
"Iroh is the tea man!" I agreed as Zuko handed me a cup.
"Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" The older boy then asked us. This was a surprise, it had been a long time since I'd seen him in such an uplifting mood. Everyone listened to hear what the prince had to say. "Okay, well I can't remember how it starts but the punchline is: leaf me alone, I'm bushed!" I couldn't help but snicker quietly. The rest of our group stared at the boy blankly. "It's funnier when Uncle tells it." The boy admitted as he handed everyone else their tea.
"Yeah, next time you might wanna get down the whole thing before going live, Zuzu." I teased him. The prince looked a little bothered at first because I had called him that in front of everyone, but then he cracked a smile.
"Zuzu?" Katara repeated, missing the joke.
"It's what his sister and I used to call him when we were kids." I explained. "He hated it."
"Still do." The prince chuckled as he made his way over to where Sokka sat a little ways away from everyone.
"I still can't believe you were friends with her." Toph shared. She meant Azula. "What's her specialty other than lightning? Bitch-bending?" The group got a real kick out of that one. Even I had to agree it was funny.
"You know, there was a time when she was actually quite pleasant." The group did a double take.
"What, when she was sleeping?" Toph guessed, resulting in more giggles and chuckles from those around her. My cousin, as sarcastic and unbelievably blunt as she was, always knew how to make me smile. That's when I noticed Sokka wasn't present and neither was Sokka. It only took a few moments to piece together that the two had removed themselves from the group to discuss something privately. I wondered what it could be and curiosity burned inside of me. I took a sip of tea from my cup in contemplation. I'll figure it out. I always do.
The memories of that night came back to haunt me. My racing heartbeat, chugging along at one-hundred beats per minute. My limbs shaking from the anticipation. The heat that surrounded the duel. The blue and white flames colliding again and again. But there had been a moment from the scene in which I had forgotten. Within the blue and white fire, a cerulean light had formed. It was majestic and radiant. I could barely make out a figure in blue, shinning as I looked up at it. It was this blue light, this sapphire angel that drove me to pick myself back up and finish things. But soon the flames shrunk smaller and smaller as the scene began to slip further away.
I woke to the sounds of poor tip-toeing. I sat up on my sleeping mat and turned my head in the direction in which it came from. I was careful about how swiftly I moved because Katara was next to me and I didn't want to wake her. Sokka was slinking towards Appa and he was carrying a knapsack. What in Agni? I threw my blanket off and got up. Using some stealthy maneuvering I had learned from my friend Roje years ago, I silently followed the warrior boy. I really could have walked normally if I wanted because Aang's sudden snoring would have drowned out my footsteps. At one point, he turned around to check that everyone was still sleeping and I quickly hid behind one of the wooden panels. Once Sokka started climbing up Appa, I dodge rolled to make it to the other side of the flying bison.
"Not up to anything, huh?" Sokka squealed and let go of the saddle, causing him to fall down on his butt. Someone else was up there. Zuko!
"Fine. You got me. I'm going to rescue my dad." The warrior boy told the prince. Rescue? His dad had most likely been taken prisoner along with everyone else from the invasion force that had stayed behind. My guess was that Hakoda was now at the Boiling Rock-the Fire Nation's highest security prison. "You happy?" I climbed up the other side of Appa as quietly as I could.
"I'm never happy." Zuko replied and I couldn't tell if his answer was meant to be a joke or not because of the serious tone.
"Well that explains some things." I chuckled, hopping into the saddle. The startled prince gasped and nearly fell off the Sky Bison as well. Down below, Sokka looked surprised to see me. "You are not going to the Boiling Rock. That's insane!" I tried to talk some sense into Katara's brother.
Sokka gathered the items that had fallen out of his knapsack and turned back to us. " I have to do this. The invasion was my idea-it was my idea to stay when things were going wrong. My mistake. And it's my job to fix it." The Water Tribe boy proceeded to climb into the saddle.
"I'm going with you." Zuko declared.
"Me too." I agreed.
"No. Both of you, out!" Sokka refused. "I have to do this alone."
"How are you going to get there?" The prince questioned him. "On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison day cares." I chuckled quietly at that. The scarred boy did have a point though. Zuko then hopped out of the saddle and slid off of Appa. He beckoned for us to do the same. "Come on. We'll take my war balloon."
It was morning by the time we had gotten any real mileage. Zuko started the flames in the burner and it was smooth sailing ever since. At first, conversation was awkward because the two boys still weren't well acquainted. Eventually though we got on the topic of Zuko leaving everything behind for the better.
"Did you leave behind anyone you cared about?" Sokka asked.
"Well I did have a girlfriend." The prince shared. "Mai." So the two had gotten together after all. I knew since we were kids that it was inevitable. A goofy grin took over Sokka's face.
"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" Yep, that's the one. There really was no other way to describe Mai.
Zuko sighed himself and a warm smile appeared on his lips. He cared for her a lot, that's why even just hearing her name brought a smile to his face. "Yeah. Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it." I frowned, feeling sorry for the boy.
Sokka leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "My first girlfriend turned into the moon." I had heard about Princess Yue before, but the way the boy described the situation was priceless.
"That's rough, buddy." Zuko sympathized. I leaned over the edge of the basket and stared out at the clouds as we soared on.
"Both of my girlfriends tried to kill me." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself. Both boys gave me the most peculiar look; particularly Zuko because he was unaware of how popular I was with the ladies.
Sokka struggled to find the right words. "Oh y-yeah. She was kind of violent the other day..." He referred to the incident involving his sister and I. 'Kind of?' You saw her beat the snot out of me! Instead of changing the subject or keeping my mouth shut, I continued on.
"Oh, Azula was much worse." I chuckled. Then it hit me. Spirits, why? It looked as if all the color had drained from the warrior boy's face.
"Wait! What?" Zuko suddenly exclaimed, trying to decipher what he had just heard. His eyes were wide and he stared at me without blinking. Dammit! I grabbed onto the ledge of the war balloon.
"Well, I do believe this is my stop," I swung my leg over the side, about ready to die of humiliation at any given moment. "so if you guys will excuse me, I'll just be g-" I felt myself being pulled back.
"Get back in here!" The boys yelled at me and the force of their actions sent us all tumbling back into the basket.
Night fell, and we still hadn't reached our destination. Sokka was asleep and snoring soundly in his seat. Zuko tended the fire in the burner and I stood at the bow of the war balloon. The breeze stirred up my hair and it felt nice. The price then came over by me and leaned forward against the front ledge next to me. His golden eyes were staring out over the horizon; over the body of water we were flying over.
"So," The Firelord's son turned to me. "You and...my sister, huh?" The question came out kind of awkwardly. I bit my lip. I was usually pretty open about things, but I couldn't believe I was discussing it with Zuko-though the older boy was one of my best friends. "Did you two, like," He paused. "You know, um...do...anything?" I almost snorted. This conversation was growing more awkward by the second.
"Don't worry, Zuzu. We didn't partake in 'sexy-time'." I reassured him. The prince sort of looked relieved. Then I decided to be a little prick. "Though there was this one time where-"
"Ack! Don't tell me!" Zuko covered his ears. I smirked. Mission goal accomplished!
"Hey, you did ask." I reminded him. The prince's head snapped up as he glanced ahead of us.
"There it is!" He exclaimed. This woke up Sokka and the Water Tribe boy stumbled over to the front of the war balloon. Though it was dark, I could still make out the ominous looking landmass in the center of the water; steam was pouring out of the mouth. "There's an abundance of steam to keep us covered." Zuko informed us. "As long as we stay quite, we can navigate through without being caught." I took a deep breath as we approached the Boiling Rock.
"The balloon's going down!" Zuko frantically sent fire into the burners but the air around us was just as hot as in the balloon; we couldn't stay airborne. Even with my help, the flames weren't enough to keep us up. "What do we do?" The prince looked to Sokka and I for an answer.
"Crash land?" The warrior boy suggested. At that point there was no other option. The basket dipped into the water as momentum still sent the balloon forward. Crap! We're gonna get scalded to death! But luckily the war balloon reached land before giving out on us. The three of us were tossed out as it collapsed.
"Well that went well." My voice dripped with sarcasm. I stood up and dusted myself off. Sokka went over to the broken war balloon and began to push the wreckage into the water. Good thinking. We didn't want anyone finding us.
"I had a feeling it would only be good for a one-way trip. If you don't like it, you should have stayed at the Air Temple."
The insides of the prison were eerie and industrious looking, in my opinion; this was probably because we were outsiders in a strange place. "I hope these disguises work." Zuko mumbled. Him, Sokka and I were slinking against the walls, now dressed in red and black prison uniforms-helmets included.
"Course they will!" I reassured him. We looked just like normal guards. "If we wanna find Sokka's dad, we're gonna have to split up. Let's regroup in an hour?" The boys nodded and soon we dispersed.
It was just about the time to meet back up with the other two and I hadn't found out anything about where they were keeping war prisoners. The Boiling Rock was huge and I had only been able to scope out part of the prison. Even though I was incognito, I wanted to make sure I didn't give myself away. That was the reason I refrained from speaking with many other guards; it would look suspicious if I asked too many questions about the prison, even if I was posing as a newbie.
I got the heebie jeebies as I was rounding a corner and almost walked straight into Kenzo. I had not expected to see anyone I used to know stationed at the prison. My last run in with him had not been pleasant in the least bit and if he recognized me now I'd be screwed. I nervously inched past him down the hallway and he eyed me with curious, sepia brown eyes. Shit! I'm drawing attention to myself! The tall boy shook his head silently, shifted his helmet into his other hand and continued in the opposite direction. Phew!
My heart was still beating faster than usual when I made my way onto one of the balconies overlooking the courtyard. I figured that I'd be able to see better from above in case the boys were down there. I realized that only prisoners were down below. Then, I noticed two other guards standing on the other side of the balcony. They were both about the same height and didn't exactly look like they belonged there. "Hey there, fellow guards..." the paler of the two began. "How goes it?" I snickered.
"Boys?" Both lifted up the visors of their helmets to get a better look at me.
"Karuna?" Sokka grinned, looking relieved it was me and not someone else.
"No, I'm Koh. Who do you think?" I remarked, lifting up my visor as well. "And shh!" I warned him. Though it seemed like we were the only ones up there, I didn't want to take any chances. "How's the reconnaissance going? I haven't asked around much because I'd be too easily recognized in this environment." Zuko sighed and shook his head.
"I asked around in the lounge. There are no Water Tribe prisoners...it looks like your father's not here." The darker skinned boy was in disbelief. He kept repeating 'no' and then slammed his fists against the iron wall behind us.
"We came all this way for nothing! I failed." He slumped against the wall. Aww, ponytail...Zuko went into some confusing advice to help cheer up the Water Tribe boy. I stopped listening a few moments in because I noticed something. I grabbed onto the rail in front of us and peered down at the courtyard. Though all the prisoners were dressed in similar red uniforms, I was able to find a familiar face. The fiery brunet sat on a flattened boulder; her blue eyes were filled with discomfort, yet hope as well. Suki
"Zuko, no one cares about your silver sandwich!" I cut the prince off. The boy turned around and stared at me peculiarly. I pointed down below. "Hey boomerang, look! It's your forever girl!" The Water Tribe boy followed my gaze and when Suki was in his line of vision, I thought hears had replaced the boy's eyes.
"We're busting her out!" Sokka sped through the exit of the balcony with me at his heels and a very confused Zuko followed us.
We were able to locate Suki to let her know about our escape plan, but at the expense of Zuko's identity. He attacked a guard that was about to go into Suki's cell. Sokka and I had no choice but to play along and arrest him in order to keep our cover. The warrior boy and I found him later in one of the corridors with Suki. The two were mopping up the floor along with other prisoners close by. Sokka and I ushered them over behind one side of the staircase to discuss the plan.
"I checked out the coolers again." Sokka informed us. "They're designed to keep fire-benders contained so they're insulated. This also means that they keep heat out. It's a perfect boat for getting out of the boiling water." He explained. I had to admit, the boy was a genius at times. Zuko and Suki looked at one another, clearly feeling differently about the warrior boy.
"The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?" The prince asked. Sokka nodded.
"When I was going around the perimeter earlier, I noticed a blind spot between two guard towers-it would be the perfect launching point." The Water Tribe boy relayed the rest of the plan to us. "All we'd have to do is follow the water's current and stay quite. Then bing bang boom! We're home free."
"Sokka, you know I could just earth-bend an escape route for us using the hot spot outer walls, right?" I double checked. The tan boy gaped at me and started sputtering incoherently. Suki rolled her eyes and continued our conversation.
"Well you might have to do that if we run into any problems...how are we gonna get the cooler out though?" Sokka pulled out a wrench from his uniform and handed it to the prince.
"We're gonna have to take it apart from the inside first." Zuko took the tool and hid it in the shirt of his prison uniform.
"I know how to get you in." I told the scarred boy, remembering the incident in the courtyard when we had first arrived.
My back was against one of the walls as I pretended to be monitoring the prisoners who were mopping. Zuko was in position and was drawing closer to me with his back to me. I timed it perfectly so when I started to pace forward, the boy accidentally bumped me with the mop handle. I instantly went into character. "Hey! What are you, stupid?" I grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him aside. He was thrown off lifted him off of the ground but he remained in character once he regained his composure.
"Hey, don't shove me!" He bit back, thrusting his open palms at me. The prince did it in a way that it sounded real but barely made contact. I staggered back, pretending to have been struck. I pointed a finger at him.
"You're gonna find yourself in serious trouble for striking a guard!" I raised my voice so that our tumult could be heard. Soon, other prisoners had gathered around us and were making a ruckus. I shoved the scarred boy back a few feet and then he came at me with a hook punch. I took him down in the most gentle way I knew how; I grabbed him by both arms and flipped him over my hip. I made it look like I threw him harder than I actually did. When the prince scrambled back on his feet, he punched out a fireball at me. It wasn't real big so I jumped over it with ease. More guards appeared out of thin air it seemed.
"No fire-bending. Take him to the cooler!" The one who had spoke was Kenzo. Two other guards hauled Zuko off within seconds. Yes, it's working! "The rest of you, back to work!" I almost had a mini heart attack when Kenzo addressed me. "You good?" He asked. Shit, what do I say? He'd recognize my voice if I said anything. Maybe not though...It had been a long time since I had spoken to him last.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah." I replied in a rougher voice than usual. Kenzo nodded and slapped me on the back. After that, he stalked off down another corridor. I breathed a silent sigh of relief then glanced up above to smirk subtly at Sokka and Suki who were on the second the level. Now it was time to play the waiting game.
Some time later, Sokka and I snuck around to the section of the prison where the coolers were positioned. Sokka yanked both doors back, emitting chilled air into the corridor. Inside, the prince was crouched, head down. "I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson." The Water Tribe boy crossed his arms. He was really taking this guard act seriously. Zuko slowly raised his head, exhaling a small flames as he did.
"Yes, I have." The scarred boy smirked. He held the ends of his uniform top, cradling all the bolts and screws. Nice job, Zuzu! Sokka lifted up the visor of his helmet and leaned in closer.
"We just let Suki out of her cell a few minutes ago. She'll be waiting for us at the shore." Suddenly my ears perked up.
"Someone's coming!" The sound of footsteps down the hall drew closer. Zuko yanked Sokka into the cooler, then grabbed me and shut the door quickly. Instantly, the chilled temperature crawled up my skin, creating goose-bumps all over. I could see my breath clear as day as I exhaled. I looked down to see a familiar hand wrapped around my waist. "Uh, Zukes?" Another nickname I had for him. "You can let go now." The scarred boy snapped out of his trance.
"Huh? Oh! Sorry." He let his arm drop. The three of us knelt down and put our ears towards the cooler door.
"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn." A man's voice said.
"Anybody interesting?" The female's voice he was with sounded so familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
"Naw," The man shrugged. "Just the usual, some robbers, couple traitors, some war prisoners..." The three of us glanced at one another simultaneously. No wonder we hadn't been able to find anyone; they hadn't been admitted to the prison yet.
"It could be your dad." Zuko whispered to Sokka. The warrior boy closed his eyes and simply nodded. It was evident that he was contemplating on the situation. "Well, what should we do?" The prince asked. "Go ahead with the plan or wait another night?" I could tell Sokka was conflicted.
"I-I don't know!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. " Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom-all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad might show up?" The Water Tribe boy had a point. We didn't know for sure if Hakoda would be part of the new arrivals. I sighed.
"The guy did say war prisoners." I pointed out. "This means that all the others could be arriving as well. We could break everyone out." Sokka stroked his chin as he mulled the idea over. "Before we decide anything, we should go meet up with Suki first."
"Took you guys long enough." The Kyoshi warrior teased as she helped us roll the cooler down the slope and to the shore. Though we were under the cover of darkness, I couldn't help but fear that we'd get caught. Once we got the cooler onto the level ground, we pushed it sideways to slowly ease it into the water.
"Everyone in the cooler, let's go!" Sokka ordered. Suki and I hopped in and waited for the boys to follow suit. Sokka retrieved our old clothes and his space sword from underneath a rock.
"Are you sure you wanna go?" The prince asked him." You said you wanted to redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance." At this, Suki slid out of the cooler and over to her boyfriend.
"Your dad?" Sokka sighed.
"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's better to call it quits before you fail." He shrugged his shoulders and slung his sword and sheath over his back. I jumped out of the cooler and joined the three.
"No. You can't just give up. Failure is an essential part of growing-you learn from experience and can better yourself from it." The warrior boy began to retreat to the cooler but I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Just because there's a possibility you might fail, it doesn't give you a good enough reason to quit." I told him. The boy came to a halt and sighed deeply.
"Then I'm staying." He finally decided. "You guys leave and get out of here." He turned to Suki. "You've been here the longest. Go with them. I'm not risking your freedom." She took his hand off of her shoulder and held it.
"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka." The Kyoshi warrior declared.
"We're staying too." Zuko pulled me into a side-hug. I grinned. We can do this! Just one more night.
"The gondola's moving!" Sokka informed us. The four of us had our backs pressed against the iron wall of one of the outside balconies. He and Suki were in front while Zuko and I were in back. We all waited anxiously for the new arrivals to show their faces. "This is it." The gondola had just arrived in its station. "If my dad's not here, we've risked everything for nothing." I was nervous too, but I was still hopeful. Slowly but surely, the new prisoners began to file out of the gondola. Many were tall and strong but none were the Water Tribe chief. "C'mon, c'mon." Sokka prayed through gritted teeth. It seemed as though all the arrivals had stepped out and for a moment the four of us hung our heads in disappointment. Then, the last prisoner stepped off. Determination sparkled in his blue eyes, showing that his spirit could never be broken. His familiar hair loopies were unmistakable. Hakoda had arrived.
One the new prisoners had been assigned to their cells, Sokka went looking for his father. I stood outside Zuko's cell to keep him company. Some time later, the warrior boy came back. "Guys," he began, positioning himself on the other side of the cell door. "I just got done talking with my dad. We came up with an escape plan together." He barely had time to finish his sentence when we were interrupted by two guards.
"What are you doing here?" They asked us. Dammit! What do we say? Luckily, Sokka was already on it.
"We were just telling this dirty low-life what we think of him!" It was a pretty good excuse actually.
"Well you'll have to do that later." The male guard said. "He's coming with us." What? Why would they need Zuko? Where they going to turn him in to his father? I desperately hoped that wasn't the case.
"Why?" I asked them.
"Cuz we have orders from the Warden. That's why!" The female guard snapped. I knew that voice was familiar. Not just the sound but her tone as well. And being able to see her face this time helped trigger my memory, even if she was wearing her helmet. It was Naomi. How many of them are here? It worried me that more people from my childhood were associated with this place.
"Can't I get ten more seconds to rough him up a bit?" Sokka asked. Both guards rolled their eyes and agreed to the condition. I remained in the hall while Sokka was able to quickly relay the new plan to Zuko. For a short moment, an awkward silence washed over me and the two guards. Naomi eventually yanked open the cell door to stop Sokka from "roughing up" Zuko so they could take the prince away. The male guard leaned against the threshold and gave me a once-over.
"Hey, I'm Jiro. What's your name?" He tried in a cool-guy kind of voice. It took everything not to punch him in the gut. Guys like him bugged me like no other; cocky and suave. I simply rolled my eyes and turned away from him. The guard named Jiro shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself." At that point, Naomi came out with Zuko. As Jiro went to grab the prince's arm, he adjusted something around his neck. It was a gold pendant attached to a black cord. A leopard was engraved in it. My eyes widened ever so slightly. How...? It was my father's necklace. One that he had given me before leaving on his final conquest. The scumdogs! How did they have it? Did they raid my house once I was proclaimed "dead"?
"C'mon. We've gotta let Suki know what's up." Sokka nudged me once the others were out of earshot. My blood boiled.
"That guy's got my necklace." I informed him through gritted teeth. "I'm getting it back." The warrior boy grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back before I could go off in pursuit.
"Karuna, no offense, but risking our plan just for a necklace isn't a good idea. We'll get you another one." I tore away from his grip and turned to face him.
"That necklace was given to me by my father. He's dead now so, no, I can't get another one." The darker skinned boy looked a little stung by the harshness of my words, but then he nodded curtly.
"Do what you have to do. Meet us in the courtyard in an hour."
It took a little while until he was alone, but I was able to finally catch up to Jiro. I wanted him isolated so that no one would sound the alarm. The jerk was heading down a narrow corridor which was empty and had poorer lightning than most of the others. He stopped suddenly and turned. Upon seeing me behind him, he smirked. "So you want to get acquainted after all, dollface?"
I crossed my arms and glared at him. "You have something of mine." I said in a level voice. Jiro chuckled to himself and the smug look from earlier returned to his face.
"More like I will have something of yours." The more I stood in his presence, the more disgusted I felt. In a flash, I struck him in the temple with my heel. As he came crashing down to the floor, I kneed him in the face and grabbed him by the front of his uniform. Then I slammed him into the adjacent wall. The guy had barely been able to elicit a gasp before I had knocked him out cold. I dragged him by his uniform over to an unoccupied cell and threw him in. I knelt over him and yanked the necklace over his head and returned it to its rightful place on my neck. Then I stood up and exited the cell, slamming the door closed behind me and leaving the unconscious guard locked in there.
I raced through the prison corridors to find the entrances to the courtyard. Everything looked the same and I hadn't committed the perimeter to memory yet. The gang was expecting me and I was on the opposite side of the prison. I came to a halt when I saw a cell door fly open about ten feet in front of me. And out came the assassin in maroon and black robes. "Mai!" I couldn't help myself from hollering out. The raven haired girl turned her head sharply to gaze at me, knives grasped tightly I her hands. Without thinking things through, I pulled my helmet off and tossed it over the ledge. It clattered once it finally hit the ground below.
"Sankari..." Her voice was barely audible. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same." Somehow it brought me joy to see her again.
"Zuko's here..." She finally said. There was pain behind her amber eyes. I nodded.
"I know. I'm with him." Why I was telling her all of this, I wasn't quite sure. The older girl's face had confusion written all over it where a standard stoic expression used to be.
"I don't get it, Sankari. Why? Both of you are betraying your country." Her grasp on her weapons tightened. I paused for a moment then shook my head.
"That might be so, but the Fire Nation is betraying the world." I explained to her. "We're not sharing our wealth and prosperity. We're tearing down the other nations to create a super power. And for what? It's not about pride for our country anymore. It's about doing what's right. It's not about standing by idly and blindly taking orders. It's about discovering the mask that was placed to cover up the truth from you, and tearing it down." I sighed as I looked upon her face; a certain understanding could be found in her eyes. "Maybe someday you'll realize this, Mai." I pushed off the ground and into a jog. I couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"Sankari!" The governor's daughter called after me and I stopped at the opening of another hallway. Sorrow and pain was on the assassin's face. "I won't fight you." She declared, throwing the knives to the ground. I inhaled deeply as I stared at my dearest friend.
"Then don't." I responded. "Take off your mask, Mai." I turned on my heels and took off into a run.
Sokka's POV
I fidgeted in anticipation. So far, everything had gone right. All the prisoners had been let out into the courtyard, just as planned. I found my dad and Suki. Now all we were waiting for were Zuko and Karuna. "Where are they?" I asked for probably the fourth time that minute. We couldn't launch the next stage in our escape plan without them.
"Be patient, Sokka." Suki advised me, putting a hand on my shoulder. Her affection gesture helped me relax some. My dad scanned the scene.
"We did have to move on with this in a timely manner, however." He said. "We can at least start the riot now. They'll be able to find us." I glanced to the left to see Zuko running towards us.
"Good! You're here." I breathed a sigh of relief. The prince looked around for a moment with golden eyes after he had caught his breath.
"Where's Sankari?" I blinked and at first didn't understand what he meant. Who the-OH!
"You mean Karuna?"
"Yes!" The scarred boy clarified.
"Why does she have two names?" I wondered.
"She was adopted I think...Listen! Are we just waiting for her or? What do we have to do now?" Zuko snapped us back into focus. The truth was, I didn't know what our next move should've been. My dad was right; we had to keep moving on with the plan, but at the same time I didn't want to go without Karuna. What in the world could she be doing? Come on...I had to make a decision, and I could feel the pressure. Unfortunately, one was made for us. The prison bells went off and the doors back to the inside opened simultaneously.
"Prisoners! Back in your cells!" The Warden demanded from high up on the balcony. A good number of guards came out to enforce the order. No! This couldn't be happening. If only we had had a little more time. Now we'd have to start all over from scratch.
"This isn't right." I expressed to the others. "We have to find Karuna." But soon, Suki and my dad were ushered away by some of the guards. Then I felt myself being seized by the arms. "Hey!" I tried to fight my way out but they were clearly stronger than I was. Things looked bad. Really bad.
Back to Karuna
My boots clinked against the metal floor as I ran. The clock was running out. I needed to regroup with everyone outside. Rounding the corner down one of the main chambers in the prison, I nearly screeched to a stop because of who was present. The Fire Nation princes, accompanied by Ty Lee, was reprimanding a handful of rookie guards-by the looks of it. I threw myself against the wall adjacent to the threshold. I shimmied slightly over, back against the wall. I hoped none had seen me. I looked down at my hands for my helmet then realized that I had taken it off at least ten minutes ago. I carefully peered around the threshold to see what exactly was going on.
"Are you telling me, that you're so incompetent that you couldn't even keep a prisoner stationed in his cell?" The guard whom she spoke to looked as if he was going to piss himself. "You had one simple task..."
"N-no princess!" The guard practically shook with fear. "We had Prince Zuko held up in here-"
"Had." Azula cut him off, emphasizing the word and the skittish guard lowered his head in shame. "My brother is gone as is my patience." The princess narrowed her golden eyes. "You are of no more use to me." Quicker than lightning, one hand was at the back of his head and the other at the side of his jaw. She pulled in opposite directions, evoking a clearly audible Snap! I cringed at the sound as I watched his limp body slump to the floor. Next to the princess, Ty Lee looked a bit sickened as well. Looking as remorseless as usual, Azula turned to her counterpart. "Go find Mai and begin the search. My brother isn't the only one among us." The acrobat barely hesitated before carrying out the orders. She led the rest of the guards present with her through the other end of the main chamber.
My body decided it wanted to wretch then. The noise tipped off the princess and she tore her gaze away from the deceased body at her feet. Golden eyes met gray. Fuck! I sprang up from my crouched position on the ground and sprinted back the way I came. Azula was right behind me and it seemed as though the princess' speed had increased since our last encounter. Making a quick and dangerous decision, I pushed off from the rail beside me and cleared the gap, landing on the other side of the sector.
"Sankari!" She called out to me. I stared at her from across the platform. There was enough distance between us where neither could really do much to the other. "What in Agni are you doing here?" There was no point in beating around the bush because she already knew I was here.
"I'm with Zuko. We're freeing our friends." I proudly stated.
"I can understand my brother, but you? Why?" The princess marveled at the idea. "Why are you fighting with the avatar?" The threatening tone in her voice was gone. She simply wished to understand.
"Because I believe in a better world, Azula. One where no nation seeks to take control." I responded. The princess still wasn't getting it, however.
"What about everything you used to stand for?"
"My creed has changed." I shrugged. "We were told that the war was the Fire Nation's way of sharing its greatness with the rest of the world. Well look what that's done! The world hates us and resents us!" The princess' hard gaze began to soften slightly. "My drive isn't gone, it's just fueled by something else; hope." Azula shook her head and sighed darkly.
"Now you sound like that pathetic water-bender." She snapped at me. Though Katara and I weren't on the best of terms at the time, I still took offense to the comment.
"Don't bring her into this." I warned Azula. "This is between you and me." Katara had no place in this argument. "You think you can-you think you can end that poor boy's life and then come preach to me that what I'm doing is wrong?" I began to change the subject. The princess' cold stare returned and she glared at me once more.
"Your ledger isn't exactly clean itself if I remember correctly." Her words took me back a year ago into the Fire Nation. The horrible memory of my past began to eat away at my insides. That was different! I tried to convince myself. I was avenging Sameer!
"Fine. We both have blood on our hands." I agreed, following the rails around to cautiously approach her. "But what are you suggesting we do about it? I'm trying to redeem myself, Azula. What are you doing?" The princess attempted to keep her stone cold gaze, but I could see it slowly falter; her walls were coming down. There had only been a few other times when I had seen Azula this remorseful and deep in thought.
"We could leave." Her voice was much quieter and lacked the normal level of confidence.
"What?" I gaped at her.
"We could get out of here-runaway." I almost forgot how to breathe for a moment. I had not been expecting this kind of response from the princess. Leave? Was she out of her mind? "Sankari," she continued. "Think about it. We could start over. Then we wouldn't have to be a part of this anymore. We could go now and nobody would have to know-just you and me." My mouth was a gap slightly. What shocked me more was that she was serious. The temptation started to creep into my conscience. But I forced myself to think realistically.
"You can't be serious." I stared at her in amazement and denial. "Drop everything and leave? We're in the middle of war here, we can't abandon everything!" We couldn't...could we? Where would we go?
"They can sort out their own problems." Azula insisted. "I don't care about any of that anymore if it means I can be with you." She pulled the royal hairpin out of her topknot and held it in her hand. My heart skipped a beat and a half. I didn't think the princess still cared about me. But I couldn't leave. What would the gang think? No one has to know...We had to end the war and I had to fulfill my teaching duty. He has Zuko. The prince could help Aang master fire. They'll be fine. My decision was rash and reckless. I nodded at the princess.
"Let's go!"
The princess and I raced through the prison corridors, navigating towards one of the few exits. In the back of my mind, I couldn't believe we were doing this. I didn't know what in Agni we were going to do once we got outside. We needed a way off the hot spot and I couldn't earth-bend us to land-we were in the middle of an ocean.
"We'll take my airship!" Azula seemed to be reading my thoughts. Of course! How else would she have arrived at the prison? In those moments, my spirits rose. I felt truly happy again, and the thrill of the spontaneity ran through my veins. As we dashed, I turned back to glance at the princess who was only a few feet behind me. The prison didn't matter to me anymore. The dim lights, conformist feel and cold atmosphere were things of the past now. I reached my hand out to her and she reached her out for mine as we approached the exit leading out to the guard towers. I could feel my heartbeat in every part of my body in those final seconds. Everything was right. And then it ended.
"Princess Azula!" A scruffy man's voice caused us both to freeze. Standing at the end of the hall was the Warden. No...My gut dropped. We were so close. "What are you doing?" Fear was behind Azula's golden eyes-almost the same fear she showed underground in Ba Sing Se. What would we do now? We had to take him out so no one else would follow us. As I twisted into a defensive position, I felt a quick jab at my neck. A hit to the back of my knee caused my legs to start to buckle. The next thing I knew, I was thrown to the ground and the princess' foot was on my back.
"Capturing one of the imposters since your forces lack the ability to do so." She declared, without missing a beat. No...she's not doing this! NO! I tried to wiggle out, but I felt strangely numb all of a sudden. Things were not looking good for me. Some guards were summoned and they pulled me up to my feet. Though my legs felt like jelly, I was still able to stand somehow. The Warden approached me.
"What is this..." A dangerous smirk appeared on his lips. "Well, well, well. It looks like General Sankari has come back to life." I glared up at him, displaying my determination and strong will. I would not be intimidated by him. "You've picked a poor place to respawn. You'll do time for your heinous treason. And we do not tolerate, treasonous scum. Welcome to hell, General."
They took me away and held me in one of the interrogation cells. I was now garbed in the same blood-red uniform as the other prisoners. They had me strapped to a chair so I couldn't escape. I couldn't believe this was happening. I could only hope the others were okay. There was no indication that a riot had started which worried me. What are they doing? My friends had to get free from the clutches of the Boiling Rock, with our without me. I didn't care if I was left here to suffer, just as long as my team could flee safely.
I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't see the princess keeping vigil outside my cell. "I was wrong about you." I called out to her. My voice was strained and weak and I half expected her to ignore me. Azula slowly turned around to face me and stepped into the room. Her curious expression cued me to continue. "I thought there was more to you than your title." Her golden eyes narrowed at me. "I thought that deep down, you still loved me." The princess' mouth twitched slightly. "But when it all boiled down to it, you only cared about saving yourself-" WHAP! My head turned sharply to the left. My right side stung from the strike. I could feel the cuts that her nails had created. Azula drew her hand back.
"Then I guess you still don't know me!" She growled before retreating. A single tear had formed in her eye but was never released. Just as she was exiting, the Warden arrived with several guards.
"Excuse us, princess." He bowed respectfully. The guards came in and unlocked the restraints. They hoisted me up onto my feet, each taking a hold of an arm. I struggled against their grip and tried to pry out of it. My efforts were in vain, however. "Take her to the Chamber of Reckoning." The Warden exchanged a look with the guards and then everything went black.
I awoke face first on the dusty ground. I lifted my head to take in my surroundings. I stood in a pit that was in the shape of a large circle. About twenty-feet above was a ledge that went all the way around the circumference of the circle. And twenty-feet above that was another. What in Agni? There were cells in this place too, only they were made of bars. The prisoners clambered against the iron to peer down at me. Their faces were withered, grimy, and defeated. I slowly stood, gazing at the platforms above me. Surely this was underneath the Boiling Rock. Everything about the chamber screamed underground. Then I noticed my friends up above on the first ledge. Their hands were bound behind their backs and each was monitored by a burly guard.
"Sankari!" Zuko hollered out at me, but then was quickly silenced by two of the guards. I winced as they hit him. No..Because of me they were here. I did this. Everything was my fault, and now they were going to pay the price.
"Fear not Prince Zuko," the Warden scoffed as he said the boy's name. "You'll soon be joining her. This is a reminder of how we deal with traitors!" The bitter prison director looked down at me again. "Let us see what breaks first...her spirit, or her body!" A mechanism was set off and a buzzing sound rang out. To my left, an entrance door was rising; behind it was nothing but darkness. Then, out of the shadows lurched a huge, hulking man. His arms and torso were extremely large and built up. On his face was an iron mask, similar to one the engineer had on inside the Drill we stopped in Ba Sing Se. His physique was quite intimidating, but I had fought big individuals before. I had my bending after all.
I took a stance and and waited for him to draw closer. The large man turned his head to both sides, cracking his neck. A tingling sensation started in my finger tips. I punched out at him, only there was no flame. What? I spread my arms apart, attempting to earth-bending the second time, and still nothing. I stared at my hands in disbelief. Why is it not working? What had they done to me?The powerhouse of a man was towering over me then. I glanced up at him nervously, thinking of what do to. I drew my arm back, planning to go for the vitals, but the man beat me to it-striking me hard in the chest plate. I hit the ground, several feet back and groaned. The force of his hit was incredible and the wind was knocked out of me for several moments. After a small coughing fit, I rolled back onto my feet and stood again. Though I couldn't understand why I was unable to bend, I knew I had to keep trying. I can do this. My father trained me in various forms of martial arts. I'd have to rely on myself as a weapon instead of my bending.
I went in for a quick jab, and my fist made contact with rock-hard muscle. I hit him with an uppercut to the jaw next, but he barely flinched. The man came down and cracked me on the head with an elbow strike. Back I was on the ground, cradling the back of my skull. I couldn't let the pain slow me down though. I quickly recovered and unleashed a furry; I hurled my fists at him, pushing him back some. I slammed into him with my shoulder to try and knock him over, but the man took all the blows like a punching bag. His enormous fist came across my jaw and there was no doubt that it was broken.
"AHH!" I hollered, from the pain and crouched down. I tried repositioning my jaw myself, and even though I was able to pop it back into place, it wouldn't heal correctly if I kept on fighting. I charged at the man in the iron mask, aiming at his mid section to take him down. He kneed me in the stomach, and I doubled over from the blow. I had only been kneeling for seconds when he grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me onto the ground. My body hit the the floor hard. I barely had time to draw breathe when the masked man body slammed me further into the dirt. I could feel at least two of my ribs crack from the pressure. The hulking man backed off, waiting to see if I'd get up or not. Though it pained me to, I rose again. I threw another punch but it was sloppy. The masked man caught my arm at the wrist and bent it over my head, forcing me down. "RGHHH!" It wasn't just ordinary pain, but uncomfortable pain as well. He kicked me in the chest and I rolled back a few feet.
The blood from my mouth hadn't stopped pouring out yet, and my arms were now covered with scrapes and bruises. My abdomen still ached from the powerful blows it had took a short while ago. Aww fuck! The powerhouse came at me again, elbow first. I rolled out of the way and scrambled to my feet. He missed me by mere seconds and hit the dirt ground instead. I scanned the pit frantically, searching for any possible way out. I saw some cracks and deformations in the stone walls surrounding us. I scurried as fast as my body would allow me and began to climb. There wasn't a whole lot to grip onto on the stone and I had to make do with what I could find. The fear clung to me as I climbed on. I was about nine feet up when I looked back to see the masked man closing in on me. I started to climb faster but then I miscalculated a step and started to slip. A beefy hand clamped onto my leg and yanked me down. I face-planted onto the ground again. When I lifted my head, crimson blood ran down from my nose as well. How was I supposed to beat this guy?
Suddenly, I felt myself being dragged by my leg again. I desperately tore at the ground as I tried to fight the pull. Blood oozed out from my ripped finger nails. He threw me into the side of the pit. I raised my arms to lessen the blow, but it did nothing to soften the impact. As soon as I was down I was picked up again. I twisted to face my antagonist just as his fist rammed into my head again. The strike sent me back to the ground. My equilibrium was off when I stood again, and I wobbled a bit. Before I could even plan my next move, the masked man dropped kicked me; his feet plowed into my knees and I could feel the cartilage snap. "GAAHHH!" I screamed out in immense pain and collapsed. Shit! Fuck! Damn!
Looking up into the platforms, I could see the princess standing next to the Warden. She looked on painfully and it appeared as if, for a moment, she had regretted turning me in. But then she turned away from me, clearly wishing to see no more. The powerhouse grabbed me by my neck and hoisted me up high into the air. My airway tightened as I stared into the lifeless iron which stared back at me. "..ackk...gah..w-who a-a-are... you?" I managed to choke out.
"The first of many." His voice sounded almost mechanical and it was distorted. I half expected the brute to be a mute. "We are the reckoning." With one hand he gripped my leg, turned my body sideways and brought it down, crushing his knee into my back. A loud CRACK! could be heard. MOTHER FUCKER! He tossed me against the back wall in a limp pile. I could barely catch my breath. Every time I inhaled, my chest tightened painfully. I began to wonder how many broken bones there were in my body. I somehow managed to pick my head an inch off of the ground. My attacker was still a few yards away. He seemed to be waiting for me to get back on my feet. That's not gonna happen.
I couldn't kid myself, in the condition I was in there was no way I could continue with the fight. I'm done for... The sweat and grime ran down my face and into my eyes, slowly effecting my vision. Up above, I could see my friends, looking on with terror. Zuko looked as if he were about to jump in to rescue me. The boy would have too if there was no one there to restrain him. I had failed them. And now they would suffer the same fate as me. Mai was among the spectators. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. The pale girl looked very uncomfortable and her stoic expression was beginning to morph.
In the center of the balcony, the Warden called down to my antagonist. When the masked man's attention was caught, he was tossed down a Morning Star*. "This should speed things up a bit." He chucked darkly. My heart was in my throat. I couldn't let the man keep attacking me, or I'd surely be dead. I eyed the spikes on the club and gulped, feeling how dry my throat really was. I attempted to lift myself up, torso first but then collapsed again. My body was too weak to continue. As the powerhouse drew nearer, I laid my head down on the dirt and closed my eyes, waiting to meet my untimely end. I had given up. I was done. I'm sorry guys...I'm sorry. That's when I heard it; a voice from up above.
"Deshi!" It came from one of the prisoners. "Basara!" As he said these words, he looked down at me from behind the bars which contained him. His hair was matted and dark and his facial hair unkempt. But there was hope in his eyes, and determination in his voice. He said the phrase again, and at first he was alone, but slowly, more voices chimed in, creating a chant. "Deshi! Basara!" The volume began to slowly increase as more voices joined in. The Warden and the guards looked around to see how this tumult had started. I could see them rattling the bars to discourage the prisoners from up above. But the voices were persistent. "Deshi! Basara!" Suddenly, I felt some of my energy return. I tightened my fists and prepared myself or the last stand. The hulking man flipped the weapon in his hand once as he took his sweat time making his way over towards me. The call became faster.
"Deshi deshi! Basara basara! Deshi deshi! Basara basara!"
A serge of adrenaline pumped through my veins and I was ready to go. I inhaled deeply and exhaled clamly. I slowly brought myself to rise, standing as proud and majestically as I could. With the injuries I had acquired, I shouldn't have been standing at all. The spirits must have favored me. The canting soon echoed off the walls of the chamber, loud and strong.
"Deshi deshi! Basara basara! Deshi deshi! Basara basara!"
The powerhouse moved in on me, Morning Star raised. That's when I looked up into the balcony to receive a miracle. In the midst of the ruckus, Mai took down one of the guards and pried his weapon away from him. Her amber eyes locked onto mine and seconds later, she hurled the mace towards me. I charged forward to grab it and used my attackers knee as a step-stool. I swung my club at the side of his head with full force and didn't hold back any. I came back around and struck the other side as well with just as much power. Finally, I raised the mace over my head and brought it down in one sweep, denting the iron on the man's face. The powerhouse stopped in his tracks then fell forward onto the ground with a loud THUD! He did not move again.
The balcony up above had it's own problems. My friends had been able to break free thanks to Mai's help, and they were fighting off the guards that were among them. Someone must have broken the cell bars because soon the prisoners were filing out. The riot had begun. Thank you. I prayed to the spirits. I felt my knees start to buckle and I dropped the mace to my side. Zuko glanced at me from above and pulled himself out of the fight. On the ground, the last thing I saw before my eyelids dropped was the prince landing in the pit.
The rest was a blur. I know I didn't escape by myself. I remember being held. The familiar arms of my childhood friend were wrapped around me, holding me tight. I felt safe and at ease. I remember there was running; lots of it. Once we reached sunlight, I had to shut my eyes tight to block out the blinding brightness. We must have been able to go along with the original plan because I can recall being inside the gondola. I remember seeing the clouds up close, so we had to have taken Azula's airship to escape. As soon as we were out of range of the Boiling Rock, I was out again.
"What the heck are you doing in this thing? What happened to the war balloon?" A comforting female's voice sounded. We had to have been back at the Air Temple because I'd know Katara's voice anywhere. "Oh my god! What happened?" The water-bender cried when Zuko carried me into the temple. As my eyelids opened again, I could see looks of horror and sympathy on my friends' faces.
"We went to a Fire Nation prison." Sokka responded, helping Suki and his father out of the wrecked airship. Katara was overjoyed to see her father, but at the same time couldn't tear her eyes off of my severely beaten and broken body.
"Please, you have to help her." Zuko pleaded. "You're the only one who can heal her." His voice was shaky and a bit unstable. He followed the water-bender over to the sleeping mats with me still cradled in his arms. He set me down gently, and stayed by my side as Katara began to inspect the injuries.
"Okay, this is going to be painful as well, but you'll have to bear with me." Katara coaxed me through it. The healing process was almost as painful as receiving the injuries had been. She started with my jaw first and I could feel my mandibles snapping back into place. That didn't feel too good. Then, she went onto my knees which were heavily bruised and in poor condition. The water was soothing but in a torturous way. I wanted to pull away, to stop any agonizing feeling but I knew the Water Tribe girl was trying to help me. So I grit my teeth and took the pain.
"What were they saying?" Zuko asked. The scarred boy held onto my hand or comfort sake. "In the pit-what did it mean?" Curious golden eyes seemed to search for answers. I groaned, feeling the bone in my knees fuse. But I looked up at the prince, despite the excruciating feeling I was enduring.
"Rise."