Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Avatar, or this would have been the episode in the first place, and I wouldn't have to re-write the whole thing.;)
Author's Note: I'm sure a lot of you, after watching The Boiling Rock, thought to yourselves, "I wonder what Liselle129 would do with this?" (Okay, work with me, people.) Well, you need wonder no longer. This is my version of events, using the same major plot points but involving more characters the way I would have liked and eliminating some of the less believable elements.
The PlanSokka was troubled. He had many things to be troubled about since the failure of the invasion on the Day of Black Sun, but what bothered him the most was that his plan had led to the capture of his father, along with just about every fighter he'd ever known.
There had been a chance to turn back, to retreat, when Aang had related the news that the invasion had long been anticipated. However, Sokka had decided that they would press onward. Hakoda had helped to convince him to do that, certainly, but the final decision had ultimately been Sokka's, and he bitterly regretted it now. They should have regrouped to fight another day, but he'd been so convinced that the eclipse offered their best chance of success, even if they'd lost the element of surprise.
There had to be something Sokka could do to make up for that misjudgment. Unfortunately, his inspiration had been failing him lately, and he didn't know what his next step should be. The only thing that was clear to him was that he desperately needed his father. Tired at last of his futile internal struggles, he pulled Zuko aside one evening at the Western Air Temple.
"Uh, Zuko, I was just wondering…" Sokka began hesitantly. When the other's piercing, golden eyes fixed on him intently, the best thing seemed to be to just rush through what he wanted without pausing. "Do you have any idea where prisoners, like the ones taken during the invasion, might be sent?" The prince's gaze didn't waver, almost as if he'd expected this question to come.
"You don't want to know," Zuko said at last, turning away. Sokka grabbed his arm, not caring how desperate or pathetic he probably seemed.
"Yes, I do," he persisted. "I – I really need to know where my father is." There was a flicker of sympathy in Zuko's eyes as he turned back to face Sokka, and he sighed.
"There's a place called The Boiling Rock," Zuko said. "It's a volcanic island between here and the Fire Nation. The prison is built right into the volcano, and the worst criminals are put there. No one has ever escaped. One side is a sheer rock face; on the other is a lake that boils from the heat underneath it."
"Okay, thanks," Sokka chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "How far away did you say it was?"
"Look, don't do anything stupid like trying to in there by yourself," Zuko warned him.
"I won't," Sokka promised, but Zuko refused to give him any more information.
Sokka didn't sleep well that night. He couldn't help thinking that there must be a way to get his father out of there, if that's where he was. Just because no one had escaped didn't mean it couldn't be done. Besides, it had been built to contain firebenders. Sneaking an earthbender or waterbender in there would completely change the rules.
The next morning, after they'd had breakfast and Teo, Haru, and The Duke had gone off exploring again, Sokka gathered the rest of the group together. He explained that he wanted to try and rescue Hakoda from The Boiling Rock. To his surprise, Toph was the first to respond favorably.
"So, what's the plan?" she asked.
"I don't actually have one," Sokka was forced to admit.
"What?" Aang demanded. "You don't have a plan?"
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, my plans haven't been working out well lately…" Sokka trailed off.
"You can't control everything," Katara tried to make him feel better. "They were still good plans."
"No! They weren't!" he practically shouted. "I was an idiot to stick with the eclipse idea. I knew Azula and her friends were in Ba Sing Se. I should have considered the possibility that they'd heard about the invasion plan." It was even worse that he'd been the one to tell the Earth King that the Kyoshi Warriors were completely trustworthy. He could have banged his head against the wall at the thought of his loose tongue. He still didn't know where Suki was, but at the back of his mind lingered a hope that she might be at this prison, too. Rescuing her and his father might make all of this worth it.
"Any of us could have thought of that, too," Toph pointed out. "We didn't."
"I could also have retreated when we had the chance," Sokka pointed out, unwilling to be drawn out of his melancholy just yet. "I didn't."
"What's done is done," interrupted Aang. "The important thing is what we do now."
"I was up half the night, but the only thing I came up with was that we still have some Fire Nation uniforms and that it would be really handy to have a waterbender and an earthbender in there," said Sokka in an attitude of defeat.
"That's okay, Sokka," reassured Katara, resting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "I think I have an idea."
"You?" said Toph skeptically, arms folded across her chest.
"Yeah. You have a problem with that?" Katara challenged.
"It's just that the last time you had a plan, we both ended up in jail," Toph reminded her. Instead of getting angry, Katara grinned slyly.
"And that's just where we're trying to go now, isn't it?" she returned. Toph opened her mouth but could clearly find no response to that, so she closed it again and dropped her hands in surrender.
"So what's your plan?" Zuko brought the girls back to the point. This was pretty daring on his part because Katara was still not bothering to hide the fact that she didn't like him. However, the prospect of a new adventure seemed to override even her distaste.
"It's very simple," Katara explained. "You and Sokka will wear the uniforms and pose as new guards. Toph and I will put our Fire Nation clothes back on and pretend to be prisoners."
"This is where the worst criminals of the Fire Nation are sent, as well as prisoners of war who are thought to be the most dangerous," Zuko objected, raising his eyebrows (well, eyebrow) disbelievingly. "How are we going to convince them that you two fit into one of those categories?"
"Especially since you obviously don't want them to know you're not Fire Nation," Sokka added, also curious to know the answer. Katara's smile only broadened, and she had that wicked gleam in her eyes that always seemed to get Sokka into trouble. He steeled himself.
"We'll just tell the truth," his sister replied. "You'll tell them I stirred up a rebellion and destroyed a military factory on one of the southern islands and that Toph here is the infamous Runaway." Hearing that, Toph grinned to match Katara, and Sokka was sure that the two girls would have exchanged glances if Toph were capable of that.
"Katara, I've got to hand it to you," the blind earthbender conceded. "You can be a genius sometimes."
"It must run in the family," declared Sokka, mentally reviewing the outlined plan and checking it for holes. Meanwhile, Zuko was looking from the two girls to Sokka.
"It sounds like you were all pretty busy in the weeks before the eclipse," the prince commented finally.
"And I suppose you spent your time getting pampered and heralded as the honored hero?" Katara snapped at him.
"Part of it," he conceded. "Most of the time, though, I was trying to stay out of my sister's way and renewing a relationship with a girl I then had to leave again to come here."
"You had a girlfriend?" Sokka exclaimed before he could stop himself. Zuko glared at him.
"Is that so surprising?" he challenged.
"I don't know, I just…never really thought of you as having a personal life," Sokka tried to explain. "You always seemed so single-minded."
"Well, I wasn't born that way," muttered Zuko.
"What about me?" Aang interjected in a small voice. "What can I do?"
"I'm sorry, Aang, but I don't see how you can slip into the prison with us," Katara told him apologetically. "If you're discovered there, you'd draw too much attention, and now that you've shaved your head again, it's going to be really hard to disguise you." She ran a hand across the young Avatar's scalp to emphasize her point.
"And you're too small for the uniforms," Sokka put in, thinking that the armor and helmet would be the easiest way to hide Aang's ubiquitous tattoos, if only they were the right size. Katara threw him a glare that clearly said, "Not helping," but Sokka didn't see what her problem was. He was just telling the truth.
"I don't suppose we could wait a couple of weeks so that I could grow it back?" Aang suggested without much hope. His eyes met Katara's, and they were both silent for a space of several heartbeats. Whenever they did that, Sokka got the uncomfortable feeling that there was an entire conversation going on that he couldn't hear. He wondered whether Toph ever felt that way when people around her were exchanging glances or expressions. Maybe she just didn't even know it was happening. Finally, Aang broke eye contact and sighed, "I didn't think so."
"You can still help, though," Katara assured him.
"Right," Sokka interjected, believing he knew where she was going with this. "You can be our backup."
"Backup?" Aang brightened a little.
"Exactly," Katara confirmed. "You can come in if we get into trouble."
"And someone will have to take care of Appa," Toph added, patting the bison's side. "I'm assuming we'll be taking him, and we can't just leave him alone on bare rock for several days."
"Maybe I shouldn't go, either," Zuko said worriedly. He raised his left hand to touch the scar around his eye. "I'm not that much less noticeable than Aang is."
"Just keep your visor down all the time," Sokka advised. "You're the only one who really knows anything about the prison or Fire Nation protocols, so we need you there. It's a risk we'll have to take." In a way, this was a test. How much did Zuko trust them? More importantly, how much could they trust him? Zuko inclined his head, once, to indicate his agreement.
They spent the next several hours refining their plan and carefully packing. They didn't want to load Appa too heavily for this trip, since he would already have to carry five people plus the armor.
When Haru, Teo, and The Duke wandered back for the midday meal, they naturally enough asked what was going on. Katara informed them that the rest of the group was going to be taking a trip for a few days. By mutual agreement, they were not giving the three boys any details. They'd probably want to help, which would definitely strain Appa and not fit into their plan. Anyway, they should be perfectly safe at the temple because the ones who were really wanted by the Fire Nation would be leaving. Only Haru looked a little suspicious, but he let it go.
At last, everything was ready. Despite chafing at the delay, Sokka decided that they should leave in the evening, so that dark could cover their approach to the island. However, Aang and Katara would pull a cloud around Appa for extra camouflage, just as they'd done during their prior jaunts between the islands of the Fire Nation. Since they needed their hands free for that, Sokka would do the driving, with some guidance from Zuko. Everyone got on Appa's back and settled into their positions.
"You do realize that this is going to be impossible, don't you?" Zuko announced just before they took off.
"It's initiation, Fire-breath," Toph smirked, even as she gripped the side of their new saddle so hard her knuckles whitened. "To be a full member of this group, you have to participate in at least one impossible quest."
"I guess I'm well on my way, then," said Zuko resignedly, taking his place near the front to instruct Sokka as needed.
"Yip yip," said Sokka, and they were off.
--
Of course, the down side to using the darkness as cover was that the group had to spend the night camped on a slim stretch of black beach beside the sharp ridge that stood across from the prison, on the other side of the boiling lake. Toph seemed right at home, raising a tent for herself without hesitation, but Aang already missed the grass and flowers of the temple. He didn't feel tired and knew he would have little to do but rest over the next two or three days, so he kept watch for most of the night. The thought of real Fire Nation prisoners being delivered while they slept sent prickles down his spine.
At first light, the entire group climbed up the slope and huddled below the gondola platform, preparing to make the final approach to the prison.
"How am I supposed to know if you need help?" Aang asked them. It was something they hadn't really been able to decide without actually seeing the layout of the place.
"You won't," answered Sokka. "Give me your bison whistle." Obediently, Aang handed it over. Sokka blew on it experimentally, and Appa groaned and turned his head toward the sound no one else could hear.
"You'll have to rely on Appa," Sokka explained. "When he responds to the whistle, come in and get us."
"We might need to send more specific messages, though," Katara pointed out.
"Well, if I still had Hawky, that wouldn't be a problem, now, would it?" Sokka retorted.
"Hawky?" Zuko interrupted the conversation that looked to turn into a sibling argument. "You had a hawk?"
"Briefly. It doesn't matter now."
"How about Momo?" Toph suggested. The little lemur, hearing his name, perked up from his perch on Toph's shoulder and looked around owlishly.
"That's a great idea, Toph!" Aang exclaimed. "Momo, you go with Sokka. If he ties a message to you, fly back to me as fast as you can. Got it?"
"Does he really understand you?" queried Zuko doubtfully. Aang had always felt that Momo understood him better than anyone else. In any case, Momo leapt to Sokka, draping himself across his helmet.
"Close enough," Sokka decided. "Are we all ready?"
"Almost." Katara approached Aang while Zuko helped Toph into the gondola. "Take care of yourself."
"I wish –"
"Yeah, me too, but this is something Sokka and I have to do. I mean, it's our dad."
"I know," Aang conceded, finally reconciling himself to the role he was to play. "Just be careful. I'll be here if you need me."
"You always are," she murmured, smiling, and with a last hug, she scrambled up into the gondola with her brother. Aang pushed the lever to begin their journey before ducking back down out of sight.
"Well, it's just you and me, Appa," he said to his old friend. "Let's see what we can do to make this place a little more livable." Besides, it was a chance to work on his earthbending.
And try to forget the dangers the others were throwing themselves into.
--
Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16
Author's Note: So the first major thing I changed was Sokka ignoring the resources available to him. He's never done that before, and I found it hard to believe that he, as a non-bender, thought he could just charge into a supposedly impenetrable prison alone and break someone out. Next up – the charade begins!