A/N: Just a different version of the end of The Boiling Rock: Part 2 episode. This is also my first story for Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I apologize if characters seem different. Especially Chit Sang. I like his character and wish there had been more of him in the story, so that is what I will do. Also, this story will have a sequel in a way. I will go through when they had to leave the air temple, then I will end it there and start a new story to continue the series my way.
- Disclaimer: If I owned the show or comic series I wouldn't be writing this.
- Rated: T
- Warnings: Nothing that hasn't already been shown in the show or comic series.
- Written: August 28th 2015
- Edited: September 28th 2016
- Chapter 1: Escape
* "Speaking"
* Thoughts
* Dreaming
* "Dream Speaking"
* Memories
* "Memory Speaking"
"Everyone in!" Suki ordered as she quickly opened the door to the gondola and waved for the rest to follow her.
Once Sokka, his father and Chit Sang entered, Suki looked around for Zuko. She spotted him next to the lever that set the gondola in motion. He quickly pushed the lever down, then began to kick it. Everyone stood there, wondering just what he was thinking. He took a glance over his shoulder at a group of guards that were running towards them, took one last kick at the lever, snapping it off. The moment the lever broke off, he took off into a sprint towards the gondola and jumped from the platform where it docks.
Sokka was the first to move, quickly running to the windows facing the gondola platform. He thrust himself halfway out of the gondola, just to make sure he was able to grab onto Zuko's arm. The weight of the older boy nearly ripped him out of the gondola and almost sending them both into the scorching waters below. He groaned with the effort of trying to pull the former prince up as he swung. Zuko grabbed onto the edge of the window and began to pull himself up, Sokka grabbing onto the back of his shirt and shoulders to help him inside.
"What were you doing?" Sokka nearly screamed. he almost had a heart attack when he saw Zuko leap from the platform. It was a miracle he had managed to get a hold of the firebender before he fell from his reach and plunged to the water.
"Making it so they can't stop us." Zuko answered, as if the stunt he'd just pulled hadn't nearly cost him his life.
Sokka felt himself relax as he thought about what Zuko told him. "Way to think ahead." He said. He then instantly felt stupid, because that was not something that he would have ever thought about when they were trying to escape. To be honest, he just thought that the gondola couldn't be stopped once it was set in motion. In his defense, he grew up in the Southern Water Tribe and they didn't exactly have much experience when it came to machines. Zuko on the other hand…
"Wait." Hakoda suddenly said, causing the others to look at him. He was standing next to Suki, looking back towards the platform. He pointed to two figures standing at the edge. "Who's that?"
Sokka and Zuko instantly headed over to him and looked to the platform. Zuko grit his teeth. "That's a problem." He said slowly. "It's my sister and her friend."
"Your sister has friends?" Sokka suddenly asked with a confused stare.
"Unfortunately." Zuko answered just as Ty Lee jumped up onto the ropes holding the gondola up, while Azula stole a guard's cuffs, using them to attach herself to the rope while using her fire to propel her towards them.
"What?!" Sokka yelled and took a closer look. "Oh great… We come this far only to be killed by a crazy, lightning wielding psycho and her circus friend!"
"We're not dead yet." Zuko said as he turned to look at Sokka. "She won't be able to bend lighting up here. There's too much metal and not enough room to move around."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sokka then asked, holding his arms out to the side.
Zuko had to resist slapping the Water Tribe boy. Had he grown up in the Fire Nation, he would have. "Metal conducts electricity, which is what lightning is. Lightning is attracted to several things, one of them being metal. The lighting has a higher chance of redirecting and going through the gondola and not at us. It would still probably kill us, but she'd end up electrocuting herself too. She won't risk it." He explained as he turned his attention back to the quickly approaching girls. "What we have to worry about, is her blue fire." He said with a grim expression.
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better!" Sokka yelled sarcastically, waving his arms around.
"This is a rematch I've been waiting for." Suki said as she glared at Ty Lee.
"Me too." Zuko said and looked at his sister. Both he and Suki looked at each other before they pulled themselves onto the top of the gondola.
"This isn't a good idea!" Sokka yelled as he thrust his head out of one of the windows and looked up to the roof.
"You got a better plan?" Zuko asked, his head coming from over he side so that he could look at Sokka. "If we don't do something, we're dead." Saying this shut Sokka up.
"I still don't like this plan." Sokka said as he pulled himself to the top with Suki and Zuko. He drew his sword while Zuko and Suki got into fighting stances.
Ty Lee jumped off of the roof and flipped over the group, landing on the other side of Suki, who quickly turned to her, anger in her eyes as Ty Lee stood up. Zuko and Sokka turned back to Azula the second they heard her feet hit the roof of the gondola. Azula was smiling and quickly took her stance, before turning in a full circle and producing a fire kick. Zuko jumped up and blocked her fire with his own. While Zuko and Sokka fought Azula, Suki had most of her focus on Ty Lee. Being careful to dodge any fire the made it past Zuko, trying to ignore just how close some of it had been.
The next blast of fire Azula sent, Zuko blocked easily and the second the fire had dispersed, Sokka came from behind him and swung at her, she dodged easily. Zuko was going to have to hit Sokka at least once when this was over for such a stupid move. Sokka knew he shouldn't ever get that close to the Fire Nation princess and he had done it anyway. Azula went to throw fire at him, but he jumped back quickly allowing Zuko to come up and block the fire, but not far enough to end up in Suki's fight. Zuko threw his own fire at her and she jumped in the air, twisting and landing back down again, smiling at him. Her smile quickly vanished and she jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blade of Sokka's sword. She was then forced to duck as Zuko's fire went over her. She now balanced on the edge of the gondola with her hands, most of her weight having to be leaned forward. She looked up and then pulled her legs back over the gondola, through her arms and shot fire at Zuko and Sokka. The both jumped to the side to avoid it.
For a moment, Azula abandoned firebending completely and jumped to Sokka in an attempt to kick him. Zuko quickly grabbed Sokka by the back of his armor and pushed him back. Azula's attack ended up landing a hard kick on Zuko's abdomen.
The former prince was forced back and into the middle of the gondola, he gritted his teeth trying to keep from yelling out as he felt several of his ribs snap from the force. His head snapped back against the metal and for a moment he saw and heard nothing. He shook his head slightly and forced himself up to avoid more fire. He stumbled slightly, his vision tilting and almost going black again, his ears ringing so loudly in his head that he could swear he felt vibrations. His head pounded and he felt like he wanted to throw up, but he kept his stance and waited for another attack.
"What's wrong, Zuzu?" Azula said with a smile on her face. "Can't take a hit." She said and returned to firebending.
Their fight continued on this way. Azula and Zuko throwing fire at each other and either dodging it or blocking it, Zuko trying to keep his balance, Sokka trying to get in a hit or two when Zuko blocked her fire. That is until Zuko heard the Warden yell. "Cut the line!"
Zuko attention was pulled from his sister for just a second, just one moment, which he knew was one of the worst mistakes he could have made at that time. When his eyes when back to his sister, not even a second later, the first thing he became aware of was blue fire hitting his chest and burning through his clothes and skin as he was thrown back.
"Zuko!" Sokka yelled as he saw the older boy get thrown back as though he weighed nothing. He tried desperately to reach for him, to keep him from falling from the gondola, but he was just too far away.
The only reason Zuko hadn't fallen straight off the gondola, was the miracle that as he was thrown back, Ty Lee kicked Suki and he hit her. They both slid, but Suki managed to grab onto the middle of the gondola and the back of Zuko's shirt. She let out a pained grunt as she felt and heard popping in her left shoulder and elbow, when the gondola suddenly lurched and she was dragged toward the edge a bit. She dared not let go of the firebender in her grasp, her heart lurching itself when she heard fabric rip.
"Sokka!" She yelled when she saw her boyfriend sliding towards the edge of the gondola, trying to claw at the metal, unable to stop himself. There was nothing she could do. She was barely keeping herself and Zuko on the gondola, is she let go of the metal she was holding onto, both her and Zuko would fall to the water below. She almost screamed for Sokka again, but then she saw Hakoda appear from the side and grab onto his son. She let out a thankful breath and looked back to Ty Lee as the acrobat jumped back onto the line.
Her face went from battle ready to panicked and Suki knew exactly what that had to mean. "They're about to cut the line!" She yelled and looked to Azula.
The gondola straightened out a bit and Suki was able to let go of Zuko and stand. She looked down at Zuko his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, his eyes clenched shut. Her eyes widened at the scorch marks that littered his chest. But that was a burn and while she knew burns, especially burns that big probably felt like his skin was being ripped off, that's not what worried her the most. No. What worried her was the blood at the corner of his mouth. Even with everything that he'd done to her village, to her friends, she hoped that he'd only bit his tongue.
"Then it's time to leave." Azula said, causing everyone to look at her as she used her firebending to launch herself to the other gondola that was passing theirs. "Have fun watching him suffer." She said as she got away from them. Ty Lee followed her and jumped to the other gondola. "I only wish that I would be there to see it myself."
Sokka climbed back up to the top and ran over to Suki and Zuko. He stopped and stared at Zuko for a moment, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. "Oh no…" He whispered as he looked at Zuko. He turned his look to Suki. He had no clue what to do, what to say. Katara was the one who always knew how to deal with injuries, especially injuries like that. She was the one who could look at someone she cared for hurt and still think logically about what needed to be done.
"We need to get off the roof. Help me with him." She said and quickly turned to Zuko, kneeling down, grabbing onto his shoulder with her good arm and beginning to drag him towards the edge.
Sokka shook himself from his thoughts and helped her. "Dad, help us get Zuko back into the gondola!" Sokka yelled down to his father as he helped Suki get Zuko to the edge. When they got him there, Hokoda was halfway out of the gondola with Chit Sang holding onto the front of his shirt.
Slowly and carefully Suki and Sokka handed Zuko over to Hakoda, who was quickly pulled back into the gondola by Chit Sang. He then helped Suki in who in turn helped Sokka in. She was forced to grab onto him with both hands when the gondola lurched again. She winced and gritted her teeth, tears at the corner of her eyes. Hakoda was by her side instantly and grabbed onto his son. Sokka grit his teeth when he felt her joints move in ways they were not supposed to.
He turned his attention towards the platform to see what was going on. "Hey." He called up. "It's Zuko's girlfriend. That gloomy girl with knives." He said, causing Hakoda and Suki to look at May. "She's fighting the guards!" He said as they pulled him in. A few moments later, the gondola began to move again.
"Let's be thankful for that." Hakoda said as he looked the other way at the other docking station that was now almost close enough to jump to.
"Suki!" Sokka yelled. "What happened?!" He asked as he looked at her arm and the dark bruises that were forming around her elbow. Given how her arm felt when she grabbed him, he feared that her joints were dislocated, and it turns out he was right. He made an attempt to grab her arm to look at the damage. She only backed away from him.
"When I grabbed onto Zuko, then grabbed onto the gondola, it dislocated my shoulder and elbow. I'll be fine once they're back in place. Right now," She said and looked to Zuko, who was currently being looked over by Chit Sang. "I'm more worried about him."
Sokka sighed and looked to Zuko as Hakoda walked over to the firebenders and kneeled down on the other side of Zuko. The younger firebender was no longer wincing in pain or had his arms wrapped around his chest in an attempt to relieve his pain. Instead his arms were at his side and he was staring at the ceiling of the gondola, his breathing shallow and uneven, his eyes unfocused.
"Sokka." Hakoda said and looked to his son. "Did he hit his head while you two were fighting?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah." Sokka said with a slight nod. "He pushed me out of the way of one of Azula's attacks, but it forced him back and he hit his head against the gondola." Sokka answered.
"That's probably why he's not very responsive right now." Hakoda said as the gondola stopped. He looked down at the injured teen once more, before looking to Chit Sang. The man only nodded and slipped his arms under the former princes knees and shoulders, lifting him up with ease, before running out of the gondola with the others, being careful not to jar Zuko around too much.
"Sorry Warden." Hakoda said as he looked back at the Warden. "But your record is officially broken." He said as he caught up with the others.
"Great," Sokka said. "Now how do we get off of this death trap?" He said quickly as he looked around.
"When I was brought here, there was a dock just this way." She said and pointed before quickly going to the edge of the cliff. "There." She said and pointed with her good arm at Azula's airship. "We can get away from here using that." She said and looked to the others.
"You ever pilot one?" Sokka asked. "Cause I know we haven't." He said and gestured to his father and himself. "And Zuko's out of commision right now."
"I can." Chit Sang suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him. "What? I'm not as dumb as I look. Before I was sent here, I was training in mechanics. Fire Nation airships have the same parts as just about everything in the Fire Nation that uses machines. It wouldn't take a genius to work one."
"Guess you really never should judge someone before you get to know them…" Sokka said, surprised at the man they had just broken out of prison, without even knowing why he was sent in the first place. "Glad you found out about our escape plan."
"What are we waiting for, let's get out of here." Suki said. "I can't imagine Azula is going to sit by and let us escape. She could be on that other gondola right now."
They quickly headed down the cliff and to the docking area, before running onto the airship. "Here." He said and passed Zuko, who at this point was unconscious, to Hakoda. A moment later firebenders were surrounding them. Chit Sang smiled, cracked his neck and made quick work of them before he tossed them out of the airship, shutting the entrance and heading to the controls. "I'm going to need help. It takes at least two people to get one of these into the air." He called back.
"You think you're up to that, Sokka?" Hakoda asked and looked to his son. Sokka nodded and ran up to Chit Sang, doing everything he said, with a little bit of frustration on his part. Within a few minutes, they were slowly climbing into the air and flying away from the Boiling Rock. While they were busy flying, Hakoda gently set Zuko down and turned to Suki. "Let me look at your arm." He said. She nodded and walked over to him. "I'm going to put your joints back into place, so how about you sit down first."
She sighed, knowing exactly how this was going to feel and sat down. She grit her teeth so that she didn't bite her tongue and took a deep breath as Hakoda forced her shoulder back into place. She almost let out a scream, but held it in and closed her eyes tightly, a few tears slipping past and down her cheeks. Hakoda didn't give her a warning with either joint, which she was glad for. It was always worse when a warning was given.
"I don't think you'll have any lasting problems besides pain for a few days." He said and looked at her. "Try not to move your arm around too much." He said, giving her a small smile.
"I know." It came out a little rude and she quickly apologized. "Sorry. It just that I've been a warrior for so long, that I'm use to injuries like this and know what and what not to do."
He only smiled back and shook his head, before turning his attention to Zuko. Sokka came walking back over to them and sat beside Suki. "You all right?" He asked. She smiled and nodded.
"I'm fine." She said. "I've had worse during training." She said and then looked to Zuko, before sighing and leaning back against the wall. "You think he'll be all right?" She asked.
"Probably." Sokka said. "No matter how hard we or anyone else tried, we never could get rid of him." He said with a small smile. His smile vanished when he saw Suki's worried face. "Suki?"
She sighed. "I know I shouldn't care about him. Not after everything he's done… But for some reason I can't help but worry about him." She said and pulled her legs closer, resting her arms on her knees. Sokka put his arm around her and she leaned into him.
"I know the feeling." He said and looked at Zuko. "He chased us around the world for so long, that when I started seeing him as part of our strange little family, I was wondering why I began to care about him too." He said and paused for a moment. "Then I realized, even though he's done so many bad things. He was just as scared as we were."
"When did you become so smart?" She asked and looked at him.
He smiled and laughed slightly. "Hey, just like Chit Sang, I'm not as dumb as I seem." He said and looked at her.
She sighed and rested her head on his chest. "I just don't see how he can go from begin what he was, to being how he is now. It just doesn't seem possible."
"We all thought the same thing too and Katara still does think that… But like Aang said, everyone deserves a second chance. Though," He said and leaned back against the wall. "Not everyone takes that chance. He did. He genuinely wants to end this war and stop what his nation is doing. He wants to fix his mistakes."
"He can't fix all of them." She said and shook her head.
"No one can. But he'll have to live with that and that's the cost of what he did. In the end, what's done is done and there's no real point in dragging it along." He said. "Least, that's what Toph said. I agree with her on that. I never thought Zuko would turn out to be such a great friend, but he did. I never would have found that out if Aang had not agreed to give him a second chance. I would also have not found you or dad."
Suki smiled slightly. "If that's how it is, then even with what happened to my village, I'm glad he's around."
"So am I." Sokka said after a quiet moment.
After a couple of hours Suki had fallen asleep. Hakoda was tending to Zuko and Sokka was giving Chit Sang directions on where to go.
Suki woke to Sokka gently shaking her shoulders. "Sokka?" She asked with a yawn. "Is Zuko alright?" She asked and sat up slightly. She loved Sokka, but her arm was numb from how she had been lying and she needed to move it.
"Yes." Hakoda said with a nod. "He has a head injury, but I don't think it's bad enough to worry about. He has two broken ribs and has some bad burns on his chest and arms, but I don't think it'll scar. At least not if we can get him to Katara in the next day or two." He said and sat down in front of them. "He's over there." He said and nodded to Zuko, who was sleeping a few yards away from them, his chest heavily bandaged.
"There was blood at the corner of his mouth." Sokka said after a moment and looked to Hakoda.
He nodded. "It could be something with his lungs or other internal bleeding. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about too much and like I said, as long as we can get him to Katara, he'll be fine." He said and leaned against what appeared to be a meeting table.
"That's good." Suki said with a small yawn.
"I suggest you two go back to sleep. Chit Sang said he could handle getting us to the Air Temple. I'll wake you two when we got there." Hakoda said. "I just wanted to tell you how Zuko was doing."
The two teens in front of him didn't argue with that and quickly fell back asleep. He sighed and ran a hand down his face before he stood. "If you want to try and sleep, you can." Chit Sang suddenly said, causing Hakoda to look over to him.
The Water Tribe leader shook his head. "No, it's fine." He said as she leaned back against the meeting table, putting his hands on the edge of it.
"You don't trust me." Chit Sang then said.
Hakoda couldn't deny that. He didn't know this man, he had no reason to trust him. "I don't." Hakoda said and shook his head. "But that's not why I'm not going to try and sleep."
"Then why?" Chit Sang glanced back at the darker man.
"I haven't seen my children in three years. I've been a prisoner several times in those years, each time I thought I would be killed and I'd never see them again." Hakoda answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was worried about them everyday. Now here I am, my son in front of me and my daughter getting closer."
"You're scared it's not real?" Chit Sang asked over his shoulder.
"No. I know it's real." Hakoda said and shook his head. "I have had many times where I could have returned to my tribe, only to have that chance taken from me. I know how easily all of this could be taken, and that is what scares me."
"You're from the Southern Water Tribe, right?" Chit Sang asked as he flipped a few switches and turned to look at him.
"I am." Hakoda answered with a small nod.
"Do you know why the Fire Nation has tried so hard to get rid of the waterbenders from the North and South?" The firebender asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the control panels, careful not to lean on any of the actual controls.
"If the airbender Avatar died, the cycle would be broken if there wasn't a waterbender." He answered with a shrug.
"Yes and no." Chit Sang said and shook his head. "Though it's rare, firebenders, earthbenders, airbenders and waterbenders, can all have children that bend a different element. My uncle's wife had an earthbending daughter." He said as he turned his eyes away for a moment. He sighed and looked back to Hakoda. "The Fire Nation left the rest of your tribe alone. Even if they had killed the last waterbender, it wouldn't be like someone from your tribe couldn't give birth to another waterbender."
"What are you saying?" Hakoda asked with a tilted head.
Chit Sang shrugged. "It's just strange is all." He said as he turned back to the controls. "If the airbender had died all those years ago, the Avatar would have probably already been born a waterbender. Not that I know a lot about how the cycle works, but from what I understand, once the Avatar dies, another is either born or conceived. If that's the case, even if the Avatar had still been in his mother's womb when the Fire Nation killed the rest of the airbenders, he would have just been reborn again, right?"
Hakoda was silent as he thought about what Chit Sang had just said. "A lot of what is taught in your nation is propaganda, right?" Hakoda asked, gaining a nod from Chit Sang. "Do you think it would be possible that the Fire Lord was trying to get the Avatar to be born a firebender?"
"I don't know. Maybe." He said with a sigh. "I wouldn't doubt it." He shook his head slightly.
"It would make the most sense." Hakoda said, looking towards Zuko. "Children can be molded to be certain ways. If the Fire Nation had an Avatar born to them, then they could almost ensure how the rest of the world would run…"
A/N: I had nowhere else to go after that, so I just ended it here. Ummm… Yeah, that's it for now. This is a story from my original account, that was almost finished on that account. I lost the login for that account, made this one, got back into that one, then decided to move my stories to this one. The only thing I will be doing, is going back and editing my work.