Avatar the Last Airbender: The Boiling Rock (1) STRATEGY

Written by Katie Jo aka AVidZktjo

One night around the fire, Sokka was reminiscing about their journey since meeting Aang. The Duke had asked how they had found the Avatar, and so the whole story was quickly rushing out of Sokka's mouth. He started from the beginning, regaling the group with the good times and the bad, to Zuko's chagrin. And if Sokka left out a part, Katara was quick to add whatever it was that Zuko had done to them at that moment of time. As much as he wanted to explain himself, he decided that it was better to leave things as she wished to see them. She didn't trust him, and he doubted that she ever would again.

But as Sokka reached the end of his story, telling about the invasion and how they had fought Azula, Zuko listened closely, intrigued as to how close they had been to his father's chambers. He had to admit, part of him had hoped that the Avatar would have burst in during his confrontation with Ozai. He wished that he could have fought beside their Gang and taken down the sadistic man right then and there, but things never turned out as Zuko wished them. He was never one to get what he wanted, just what he didn't want – more pain.

Sokka began to describe Azula for Haru, Teo, and The Duke since they had never met Zuko's wretched excuse for a sister. It was quite humorous at times, but suddenly Sokka quieted down and looked into the fire, his thoughts drifting away with him. Katara put a hand on his shoulder and Sokka glanced over at her with a weak smile. Zuko could sense the love between them, and he felt a piece of his heart break. What would it have been like to have a sibling that comforted you instead of torturing you? But Zuko wasn't allowed to think on that thought for very long because The Duke interrupted with the question, "What is it? What happened next?"

Katara took her hand down from Sokka's shoulder as he looked over at The Duke. "Azula told me that she had captured Suki and had put her in a Fire Nation prison."

"You mean that warrior girl you met on Kyoshi Island?" the young boy innocently asked.

Sokka looked back down into the fire as he continued. "Yes. She must have gotten the Kyoshi garments from Suki and some of the other girls before invading Ba Sing Se, and she must have thrown them all in prison or worse." Sokka suddenly stood to his feet, and Katara quickly stood with him. But when she offered a comforting hand on his shoulder once more, he moved away from her. The rest of the Gang silently watched him walk away, except for Zuko.

Katara's eyes followed the firebender's every move, and she almost went after him, curious as to his purpose for going after her brother, but The Duke quickly asked more questions which Aang slowly began to answer, and she found that she couldn't pull away from the group. After Aang had finished explaining what happened with Suki, The Duke asked more lighthearted questions and the Gang laughed and joked with each other once more. But Katara couldn't get her mind off of Zuko, so her eyes kept glancing towards the door, wondering when the firebender would return.

********

While Sokka was telling his tale, the young Kyoshi warrior, Suki is what he called her, kept catching something in Zuko's mind, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She seemed to disappear quickly from Sokka's story, so he paid the thought no heed. But then her name was mentioned again and not just as the Kyoshi warrior, but as one of Azula's prisoners. The memory finally registered in his mind.

On his travels home with Azula back to the Fire Nation, she had bored him with the story of how she had brilliantly infiltrated Ba Sing Se. Zuko had rolled his eyes, not really caring to hear about how she had defeated several Kyoshi warriors, or how she had impersonated them to get inside the city, or even how she had overthrown Long Feng and taken control of the Dai Li, which secured her victory over the Earth King and his capital city. While she had talked, his mind kept wandering to his Uncle, and he kept asking himself if he had made the right choice. So the memory of her story was vague and seemed of no significance. Until now.

As Zuko had walked away from the group to follow after Sokka, he couldn't help but notice the way the room seemed to freeze around him as Katara's glare bored into his back. Her eyes, though a beautifully brilliant blue, could make a man's blood run cold, and he had never felt more cold than when her piercing gaze was centered on him. He had tried for the past few days since he had joined to just ignore her, but his thoughts wouldn't obey him, and he found himself thinking on ways to please her, things to do that would earn back her trust, something that would redeem himself in her eyes.

But this was of no importance to Zuko now. He walked with a purpose towards Sokka, and when he reached him, the troubled man seemed to stare at Zuko with a condescending glare similar to his sister's while Zuko tried to explain himself. "About this Kyoshi warrior…I may know where she is being held prisoner."

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise. "You do? Where? Where is she?" he feverishly asked.

"Azula once told me about her victory at Ba Sing Se. Amazingly, she left nothing out. She told me about the Kyoshi warriors and how they had met up with them in the woods near the village of Shan Aei. Apparently it was an easy battle for my sister, and she walked away with a few captives for my father's favorite prison," Zuko calmly explained.

"So where is it?" Sokka practically yelled at him.

"The Boiling Rock."

Sokka scratched his head. "Oookkaayy…so where is that?"

"Let me show you," was all Zuko said before running off in the other direction towards his room. When he returned, he held in his hands the greatest treasure Sokka could ever imagine – Fire Nation schematics!!!

Sokka snatched them from Zuko's hands and began to thumb through the pages and pages of Fire Nation secrets. But before his wonderment carried him away, Sokka looked up at Zuko and asked, "Why didn't you show us these before? We could have been planning our next invasion already!"

"Because it wasn't the right time. The Avatar doesn't need to think about the next invasion just yet. His mind needs to be focused on learning to firebend."

"But Sozin's comet is coming in less than two months! How long were you going to wait?"

Zuko could tell that Sokka's anger was rising, so he quickly changed the subject to the issue at hand. "Well…you have them now. Do you want to use them to free your friend or not?"

Sokka glared at Zuko for a few more seconds before looking down once more at the stack of maps he held in his hands. The one on top was of the Boiling Rock prison, and Sokka was intrigued by the length and depth that its tunnels ran. How could anyone infiltrate it? It seemed completely closed off to the world. It was then that Sokka realized he would need Zuko's help, so the only answer to the firebender's question could be, "Where do we begin?"

One of the corners of Zuko's mouth tipped up as he took the maps from Sokka's hands and began to walk towards the back of the temple, explaining to the water tribe warrior their means of entrance, rescue, and escape. They spoke long into the night, discussing strategies until only one remained in their minds. It was not going to be easy, but Zuko was sure that the Gang could get inside the prison and free Sokka's friend. And when they did, it would be a chance for Zuko to show the Gang that he was on their side, even a chance to show the masterful waterbender that she could trust him again.

This story initially started out as just a simple drabble, but it has expanded to a full-length story on The Boiling Rock episodes. This, you could say, is merely the prologue or introduction to it. The next piece of the puzzle will be called THE BOILING ROCK DISCOVERY in which the Gang will go to a Fire Nation village situated next to where the prison is located. There they will enjoy the delights of a circus and make a startling discovery about the history of the war's effects on the airbenders. And then their real mission begins!!!

Unfortunately, I wrote this story over a year or so ago when I was big into Avatar and Zutara. I started this story before the episodes were available for viewing so I had a whole other idea in mind for this prison episode. My vision of it was a little more intense, more grown up and realistic (in other words, more like a horribly real, full-scale prison), and involved the whole gang in a huge heist. It was gonna be a great story, and it may still be a great story. I might come back to it someday soon even, but for now it only has two chapters. Read them and review them if you so wish. Thanks! Enjoy!

AVidZktjo