"I am not what happened to me; I am who I choose to become." —Carl Jung
/
Sokka wants to make contact with Suki right away, but I force him to wait. I volunteer us for cleaning duty in her block. He gives me a murderous look but it gets the job done. It's quiet. We're the only guards on the block.
"Now or never!" I whisper to him, tossing him the keys to Suki's cell.
"How'd you—"
"I stole them."
Sokka's mouth falls open but then he's grinning like an idiot. "Thank you."
I wave him on, uncomfortable with his gratitude. I don't deserve it.
"No, seriously, Zuko. Thank you."
"Hurry up!" I snap. "Before someone else comes along."
"Right!" Sokka salutes me before slipping into Suki's cell.
What an idiot. But I like him. I'm honored that he's grateful for my help. But I haven't done nearly enough yet to make up for what I've done.
As the minutes tick by, I start to get more and more anxious. Come on, Sokka. Hurry up!
The telltale signs of footsteps approaching makes me break out in cold sweat. I post myself outside of Suki's cell, praying whoever's coming isn't coming to Suki's cell.
I curse my rotten luck when the female guard materializes and stops in front of me. She narrows her eyes at me. "What are you doing here recruit?"
"I-ah…" How in the Spirits am I supposed to distract her so Sokka can get out?! "I noticed the lights are out in there. I was going to investigate." Smooth, Zuko, real smooth.
She snorts. "The lights are out in every cell, recruit." She tries to peer into the cell but I step in front of her. "What are you doing?" she growls. "Get out of my way."
I have a decision to make. Leave Sokka to his fate or do the right thing for once in my life no matter what it'll cost me. It's not even a decision, really. I already knew my life was forfeit as soon as the female guard appeared.
I square my shoulders. "I can't let you do that."
Her eyes narrow in anger. She moves to shove me out of the way, but I grab her arm, and shove her into the wall.
"Hey!" she yells. "What are you doing?!"
She grabs onto the arm I'm using to pin her and twists until I'm the one getting slammed into the wall. Pain flares from my broken ribs who are complaining they aren't getting enough down time to heal properly.
I feel oddly calm. I know fighting. This is what I've done my entire life.
I hook my heel around the guard's and shove her off balance, away from the cell. I barely manage to get her into a head lock when I catch Sokka sneaking out of Suki's cell out of the corner of my eye.
That momentary bit of distraction is all the guard needs. She elbows me hard enough in my broken ribs to elicit a cry of pain.
"An imposter!" she shrieks, getting me in the ribs again. She's found a weakness and is exploiting it. Just like every Fire Nation child is taught.
We grapple some more, neither of us really having the upper hand.
"Guard help!" She must have spotted Sokka. "He's an imposter! Arrest him!"
She shoves me into the wall, my vision going black as my ribs protest. She twists my arms behind my back at awkward enough angles that, if I struggle, she can break them effortlessly.
The distraction was a success. Sokka's cover is still intact.
I meet his gaze as he runs up to us, indecision in his eyes. I nod to him. "It's okay!" I implore him with my eyes. "Don't lose your cover!"
Sokka squeezes his eyes shut, but when he reopens them he helps the female guard wrestle me into handcuffs. He shoots me a worried look when a cry of pain escapes me, but I just glare at him.
"Hold him!" the female guard snaps at Sokka before ripping off my helmet. She gasps, her eyes narrowing in recognition. "The traitor. Prince Zuko!" Then she delivers a viscous punch to my midsection.
My legs start to give out and Sokka has to hold me up. I can hear his breathing quicken behind me. Don't ruin this for yourself! I silently implore him. I knew the danger I was walking into with open eyes. I already accepted any punishment that comes my way.
The female guard spits in my face before ordering Sokka, "Come on. We're taking him to the Yùzhăng." She marches ahead, anger in every step.
"I'll figure this out," Sokka whispers in my ear as he hauls me along.
I'm barely able to keep my feet. "Just get Suki and get out!"
"What? No!"
"Forget about me!" I hiss. "I'm not worth the risk of yours and Suki's freedom!"
Sokka's saved from having to answer by us reaching the lift. We aren't able to speak any more or else risk the female guard hearing us. Sokka's grip is tight on my arms. I can hear his brain whirring, trying to come up with a plan. This is the first time since we stepped foot on this nightmare of an island that I've felt calm. This is where I'm meant to be. This is what I deserve. A prison cell.
/
I'm shoved into a cell and left for hours, Sokka's worried look the last thing I see before the cell door slides closed, blocking out the light. My hands are still handcuffed behind me. I slide down the back wall until I'm sitting cross-legged on the ground.
And then I wait.
/
Sokka's mind is still reeling from what just happened when the female guard, whose name Sokka's learned is Ānlè, lets out a snort of laughter after locking Zuko in his cell. She sent a runner to notify the Yùzhăng of Zuko's capture. He has to suppress a shudder. He was hoping to not have to see that vile man again.
"What's so funny?" he snaps before he can think better of it.
Ānlè leans lazily against the wall. "You need to lighten up recruit. You're too serious."
"You try lightening up when your friend just got his cover blown so yours wouldn't!" he wants to shout. Wait. Did he just think of Zuko as a friend?!
Ānlè just shakes her head at him. "Hey, you should be celebrating. We just caught the Fire Nation's biggest traitor!"
"Yay us!" he cheers half-heartedly.
She rolls her eyes at him. "Do you have any idea just how big the bounty on Prince Zuko's head is?"
He feels like he's going to be sick.
"It'll be enough to set us up for the rest of our lives!"
Why would Zuko risk everything by coming here with him? How stupid is he?!
"And I remember the little bastard from when the Firelord brought him here." Ānlè snorts. "It was my first month on the job and I was tasked with making sure the kid didn't wander off and get himself killed. He was eleven and still scared of his own shadow." She lets out a guffaw of laughter that sets his teeth on edge. "Oh man, that was a day to remember!"
His hands have formed fists. Zuko's father brought him here when he was eleven! What kind of father does that?!
Ānlè's still talking, oblivious to the effect her words are having on him. "I got to hold the little traitor still and make him watch as Captain Jūnlài tortured a Water Tribe rebel to death right in the Yuànluò for everyone else to watch. As a lesson, you see, in what we do to traitors and rebels of the Fire Nation."
He nearly bites his tongue he's clenching his jaw so tight. No wonder Zuko looked like he was about to have a panic attack in the Yuànluò! He can't even begin to imagine how traumatizing it must have been for Zuko. And he still came anyway! Back to a place that had probably scarred him forever.
He feels like such an idiot! He'd never even thought about what a rescue mission like this might mean for Zuko. Zuko risked his life, his freedom, for him. He has absolutely no idea what to think about that!
"And then!" If possible, Ānlè sounds even more gleeful. "The traitor was locked in the Lĕngquè for a night. The kid was pretty much frozen solid by the time we let him out!"
Oh, how he wants to punch that smile off Ānlè's face! He's seen what those damn cells do to an adult firebender like Chit Sang. He can't even imagine how Zuko even survived as a kid. He was a kid! And Zuko's father did that to him!
Rage is coursing through him. It takes everything in him to smile at Ānlè and pretend like he's enjoying the story. He wants to fight her, rage at her for enjoying the pain of a kid. Zuko didn't deserve that! No one does!
And that's when he realizes something. He'd always judged Zuko for his actions and decisions to hunt Aang across the world, to betray them at every turn. But he's never understood Zuko's family, never knew what he's gone through. Until now. Zuko's father, and most of the Fire Nation see who Zuko really is, the good, loving person, as weak. He can't believe he never saw through the mask Zuko put on to survive, to fit in, to be accepted by the very people who should have loved him for who he is, faults and all.
He can't blame Zuko anymore for taking this long to go against the Firelord now that his eyes are open to what Zuko's been through. Zuko lost everything when he chose Aang. His family. His home. His entire Nation.
And, he realizes another thing. Zuko really has become a friend. He's risked his life several times for Aang. Put up with Katara's and Haru's scorn and being locked in a room every night. He risked his position as a firebending teacher with Aang when he insisted on coming with him. And he really risked his freedom, even his life, to accompany him to the Boiling Rock. Without Zuko's knowledge of the prison, he'd have never made it past that beach. Zuko risked everything. For him. And didn't even bat an eye.
It takes him a second to realize Ānlè is still talking, "It's no wonder the Firelord burned the traitor after he refused to fight in the Agni Kai. Such a disgrace and dishonor. Firelord Ozai should have killed him then and there instead of banishing him. The Firelord should have known Prince Zuko was too weak to find, let alone capture the Avatar in order to restore his honor and his place as heir. The traitor prince deserves all the pain coming for him."
He nearly chokes. A "What?!" dying on his lips just in time. He's supposed to be a Fire Nation guard. He's supposed to know this story. He's supposed to enjoy this story. And suddenly everything makes sense. Why Zuko chased Aang all over the world. All the anger, the hate, the obsession over honor. It all makes perfect sense. And neither he or Katara and Aang ever questioned why Zuko was doggedly hunting Aang. They had seen he was Fire Nation and just assumed the worst. Zuko is so much more than who he lets everyone see, more than the armor he's donned in order to protect himself. And he's ashamed it took him this long to see past the Fire Nation red.
He grits his teeth, imagining punching Ānlè in the face when he smiles genuinely at her. "You're right. The traitor deserves to die." The word tastes like ash in his mouth.
They are all going to make it out of here. Him, Suki, and Zuko. They are all going to escape one way or another. He's not about to leave Zuko behind. Not after everything Zuko's given up for him.
Author's Note
And there you have it. Sokka finally knows most of the story behind Zuko's scar and banishment.
Ānlè's name means "peace." (Yes, it's supposed to be ironic.)