I run out to the courtyard, knocking guards out of the way. "Hey! Where are you going?" one asked. I pushed him against the wall. "I'm going to the courtyard," I said. "They told me to get out of my cell."
"Y-yes, of course!" the guard replied quickly.
I ran outside and met up with Sokka and Suki. "Zuko! Good! Now we're all here! We can grab the warden and get to the gondolas!" Sokka exclaimed over the riot.
"How are we going to do that?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Sokka said. "I thought you might have had that."
"I thought you thought this through!" I groaned.
"I thought you told me it was okay to not think things through sometimes!" Sokka replied.
"This is kind of important, don't you think?" I rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sokka doesn't need to take things so literally. "Hey, guys?" Chit Sang said from behind Sokka. "I think your girlfriend is taking care of it." We all watched as Suki leaped on the rioters heads, climbed the tower with a few flips, easily defeated two guards, and met face-to-face with the Warden. Hm. No wonder Sokka likes her. She's pretty great! These Kyoshi Warriors sure are something.
Suki tied the Warden's hands behind his back and used his headband as a gag. We follow Suki up the tower, in our own directions. I think Sokka took some stairs with his dad. I went up the wall by getting a boost from Chit Sang. When we got up there, Suki slammed the Warden's face on the wall. "We got the Warden! Now let's get out of here!"
"Right!" Sokka said. We run towards the gondola. "We're so close!" Suki cheered. Two guards stop us in our tracks. "Let go of the Warden, prisoners!"
"Make us!" I said.
They blasted fire at Sokka. I pushed Sokka out of the way and deflected the fire. Chit Sang moved closer to the guards. The Warden yells something at them. The guards move. "Let's go!" We trailed to the gondola again. This time, I kept an eye on the guards. Just have to make sure they don't pull off any funny business. "Everyone in!" Suki called as we stopped in front of the gondola. Everyone hopped on. I pulled the lever to make it work. But the guards are going to stop us.
I started kicking the lever. I looked behind me to see guards running towards me. I kicked the lever two more times; each kick was harder than the last. Finally, the lever came off and I ran towards the gondola. I dodged the fire blasts from the guards and leap towards the gondola. Sokka reached out and grabbed my hand. He pulled me up.
"What was that for?" Sokka asked.
"I have to make sure the guards don't stop us. If I left the lever there, they would've pulled it," I replied.
"Way to go, thinking ahead!" Sokka cheered.
"Who's that?" Sokka's father asked, pointing to something outside the window. We walked towards the window. At the bottom of the gondola station, Azula and Ty Lee are standing in front of some guards. "That's not good," I said.
"Why?" Sokka's father asked.
"That's my sister and her friend." Azula looked up and snatched a guard's handcuffs. Ty Lee just straight off jumped onto the cable. She jumped onto our cable, making the gondola shake. Azula used the handcuffs to go up the cable. "This is a rematch I've been waiting for!" Suki said, determined.
"Yeah, me too," I said. Sokka and Suki looked at me. I nodded. Sokka opened the top of the gondola and climbed up. Suki followed after and then me. I closed the roof behind me. Best if none of them get in and we don't fall back inside. Ty Lee did a flip and landed in front of Suki. Azula landed in front of Sokka and I.
Azula readied her stance. She smiled and kicked blue flame at us. I stand in front of Sokka and block the fire. Azula kicks more fire at me. I block all of them. Sokka can't protect himself against the fire so its best to get it out of the way. Once Azula finished an attack, Sokka dodges the fire and slices the air in front of Azula with his sword. Its a good distraction, but its not going to hit her. Azula stumbled. She jumped behind us and blasted a wide area of fire. I ducked and Sokka jumped over it.
Suddenly, the gondola stopped. I kept my footing. Sokka, however, started sliding off. I caught him just before he got out of reach. "Hey, thanks," Sokka said, relieved.
"Just returning the favor," I replied.
"They're about to cut the line!" Ty Lee exclaimed.
"Then it's time to leave," Azula said. I pulled Sokka back onto the gondola. "Goodbye, Zuko," Azula said, blasting herself into the air with her fire. Ty Lee and Azula land on a nearby gondola, heading down. Azula smirks. Ty Lee looks...concerned.
"They're cutting the line!" Suki said.
"I hope this thing floats," Sokka's father said.
"Let's just hope it doesn't melt," Sokka said. "Wait, who's that?" I look back down to the gondola station again to see...Mai? "That's Mai!" I replied.
"Sorry, Warden," Chit Sang said. "Your record has just been broken."
The gondola stopped on the station nearby, right before the mouth of the volcano. My sister was here. How did she get here? Did she take a ship? "Zuko, what are you doing?" Sokka asked. "Why are you standing there?"
"My sister was there," I replied.
"Yeah, so that's why it's best we leave her back there. We have to go!"
"What I mean is that she's here! She must have brought something here." I followed Sokka down to the dock. "There!" I pointed at an airship. "That's our ticket out of here!"
We ran towards Azula's airship. We have to get out of here before she notices it's gone. "Do you know how to fly this thing?" Sokka's father asked.
"Nope," Sokka said, disappointed. "Its Fire Nation stuff. I only know Water Tribe ships."
"It's okay," I said. "I know how to drive it."
"Great, well, let's get out of here then," Suki said.
I started the airship. It rocked when it took off but quickly became steady. "And, we're off!" Sokka cheered. We sat in silence for a little before Suki broke the silence. "So, you're Sokka's dad?"
"Yes," he replied. "I'm Hakoda, chief of the Northern Water Tribe. Pleased to meet you. Sokka told me a lot about you."
"Oh did he now?" she asked.
"Dad, let's not get into that!" Sokka exclaimed.
"And you're Prince Zuko?" he asked, kind of sternly. I hesitated. Will he be like Katara? Will he hold a grudge against me too? "Yeah," I replied slowly.
"He's on our side now, dad," Sokka said, quickly.
"Is he now?"
"Yeah," Suki said. "I don't know all the details myself."
"I can tell you!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Let's not make the whole ride about me..." I said.
Sokka ignored me. He summed up all the times I tried to capture Aang. All the times I almost got away with it. About my uncle.
Uncle...I'm sorry. If I could've told you that sooner. I could have you here with me. You could see me now; see how much I changed. It wouldn't even make a difference if I did change if you couldn't see it. How can I make it up to you? What can I say? Uncle, I'm so sorry. "Right, Zuko?"
"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my thoughts.
"I said that you are a good guy now. You came to teach Aang Firebending?" Sokka said.
"Oh yeah, right," I said. "Yeah, I've come a long way."
"Well, it sounds like you've made great improvement," Sokka's dad...err...Hakoda said.
"It sounds like you uncle would be pleased with you!" Suki said, smiling.
"I just hope he's not mad at me," I muttered.
Night came. I landed the airship where I had my war balloon. Sokka walked out first. I followed. "What are you doing in that thing?" Katara asked, walking up first. "What happened to the war balloon?"
"It, uh, kind of got destroyed," I replied.
"Sounds like it was a crazy fishing trip," Aang said.
"Did you at least get some good food?" Toph asked.
"I did!" Sokka exclaimed. "I got friendship and fatherhood!" Everyone seemed confused after that. "What?" Toph asked.
Suki, Chit Sang and Hakoda leave the airship. "Hi, I'm new," Chit Sang said. "Name's Chit Sang. What's up?" Hakoda walked next to Chit Sang. "D-dad?" Katara asked.
"Hi, Katara," Hakoda greeted. Katara ran up for a hug. "How are you here? What happened?"
"We kind of went into a Firenation prison and jailbroke Suki, dad, and Chit Sang," Sokka said. Hakoda grabs Sokka and hugged him too. "You saying you guys didn't get any meat?" Toph asked.