An Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction (Zuko X OC)
"And lastly, we are free, but we are not our own persons."
At this, the student frowned and looked up at her teacher. "How can that be free?"
The beautiful woman smiled, but it didn't reach...
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Zuko was surprised at Sokka's rather serious tone. He was used to his sarcasm-filled remarks or biting jokes that were mostly directed at him. He stood up and led Zuko away from the camp fire they had made. Once they were out of earshot, he asked. "If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?"
"What do you mean? Who was captured?"
Sokka crossed his arms over his chest and heaved a heavy sigh. "When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken. I just want to know where they might be."
The prince looked down at the rubble that littered the ground. "I can't tell you."
"What? Why not?"
"Trust me, knowing will just make you feel worse." Zuko didn't want to tell him about that place.
He was about to return to the others when he felt a hand on his shoulder stop him. "It's my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put him through."
"It's not good, Sokka..."
"Please." He hoped he could convey all his sincerity and seriousness to convince the prince.
He thought about it for a long minute before he answered. "My guess is...they were taken to the Boiling Rock."
"What's that?"
"The highest-security prison in the Fire Nation." He saw Sokka's face fall, but he wasn't finished. "It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable." He had never been to the place, but he had heard enough of it to know that it isn't exactly a tourist destination.
"So where is this place?"
The question grabbed his attention. "Why do you need to know? What are you planning?"
"Nothing! Boy, you're so paranoid!"
But Zuko already had a feeling where he was headed with this. "It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the Fire Nation. You guys actually flew right past it on your way here."
"Thanks, Zuko." He gave him a sincere smile, then yawned. Just like that, he was back to the regular Sokka. "Just knowing makes me feel better."
"Yeah... I'm sure it does..."
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Before the sun could rise into the sky, Sokka had packed a few rations of food into his satchel and was about to climb up on Appa's saddle.
"Not up to anything, huh?"
He let out a surprised yelp and fell back onto the cold hard floor of the temple. Once he regained his footing, he gathered his scattered belongings, avoiding Zuko's eyes. "Fine, you caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad. You happy now?"
"I'm never happy."
Sokka could say the same for the last few days. No matter how much he tried to hide it behind his smiles and jokes, guilt still riddled and twisted his gut. "Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea. I decided to stay when things were going wrong. It's my mistake and it's my job to fix it."
