Chapter 22- Going To Save Family

You yelped as you got thrown over someone's shoulder, out of your hiding place, and landed on your back. You groaned in pain as Twig hopped on your stomach and paws at you.

"Who are you?" A female voice commanded, and you opened your eyes to see you were surrounded by girls, uniforms and make up, iron fans pointing at you. Then, one girl took one step closer to you.

"I'm asking you again," The girl who presumed to be the leader glared at you, and you stared up at her.
"How'd you get on Kyoshi Island?" She growled, and you gulped, feeling a little nervous.

"Well?"

"You're very pretty,"

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Twig cooed sadly at you while you were staring at a ring you made in the palm of your hand, a fan symbol engraved in the center. The Gaang sat around the fire while Zuko hands people tea.

"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" You heard Zuko ask the Gaang.

"Sure," Katara shrugged.
"I like jokes," Aang smiled at him.
"Bring it!" Toph closed her eyes as she lays her head down on your lap.

"Okay, well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punch line is; "Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!"..." You raised an eyebrow at that joke, as you heard it before, but Iroh made it funny.

"Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it," Zuko
"Right... maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing," Katara joked, which made everyone laugh, and made Zuko smile a little.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens," Toph sighed as she sat up and drank her tea. Zuko handed tea to Sokka, but he just looked up to the ex prince.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked, and Zuko nodded, the two of them leaving.

You watched them leave, and you felt an uneasy feeling in your stomach. Twig nuzzled your against your hand, and you petted his head.

"Hmm..."

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Sokka quietly snuck over and around the others, making sure they wouldn't wake up anytime soon. He sighed in relief as he climbed up Appa, to reveal you and Zuko sitting on the saddle. You furrowed your eyebrows at the fact Sokka was about to leave without you knowing.

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko raised an eyebrow, and that made him yelp and fall backwards.
"Really Boomerang? Going out to that prison all by yourself?" You said in slight disbelief as Sokka got up to dust himself off.

"Fine, you caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad. You happy now?" Sokka huffed out.
"I'm never happy," Zuko muttered, making you slightly roll your eyes at his edginess.

"Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea, it was my decision to stay when things were going wrong. It's my mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor. You can't stop me, guys," Sokka told you both as he grabbed his bag.

"You need to regain your honor? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you," Zuko said.
"I'm also going too, if your dad is there, then my mom could be there too," You grabbed Sokka's arm to prevent him from leaving.

"No. I have to do this alone," Sokka shook his head, which made you huff a little.
"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares," Zuko glared, and you felt him place a hand on your shoulder.

"We'll take my war balloon.

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You felt bad that you left Twig behind, but you knew you had to draw less attention if you want to possibly save your mom and Sokka's dad.
"Pretty clouds," Sokka mumbled as you three sat in Zuko's war balloon, with you laying against Sokka's chest.

"Yeah... fluffy," Zuko replied, and you felt the awkward tension as they never really had an actual and normal conversation.
"Wow, this is more awkward than family dinners," You whispered, rubbing your neck. Suddenly, Sokka started to whistle.

"What?" Zuko asked him.
"What? Oh, I didn't say anything. You know, a friend of ours actually designed these war balloons," Sokka told the ex prince.
"No kidding," Zuko hummed.
"Yep, a balloon... but for war," You trailed off.

"If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war," Zuko sighed and lit the furnace more.
"Yeah, it seems to run in the family," Sokka shrugged, making you elbow him.
"Hey, hold on. Not everyone in my family is like that," Zuko defended.

"I know, I know, you've changed," Sokka waved his hand.
"I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down," Zuko sighed and looked down.
"Princey, you know Iroh would be proud that you have found your own path, and a good one too," You told him, giving him a soft smile.

"Yeah, I mean, leaving your home to come help us? That's hard," Sokka piped in.
"It wasn't that hard," Zuko shrugged.
"Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?" Sokka tilted his head, and you and Zuko made eye contact before coughing.

"Well..." Zuko trailed off.
"During my... stay, at the palace, Princey and I were in some kind of relationship," You confessed, and it made Sokka choke on his spit.
"R-really?!" He said in shock, making you blush a little and Zuko looking away.

"Yeah, and that included Azula, Ty Lee, and... Mai," Zuko said.
"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Zuko smiled at you, and you were a little flushed.

"She was... something else. And Ty Lee? Oh man, she could take anyone in a fight," You mumbled, and Zuko looked at Sokka for a second before Sokka pulled your closer and placed his chin on top of your head.

"Our girlfriend turned into the moon," Sokka said, and you nodded, feeling sadden as you still missed Yue. Zuko looked up for a moment before looking down at you both.

"That's rough, buddy,"

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Night falls, and Sokka was laying his head on your lap as Zuko leaned against the furnace, holding your head as you were on the verge to sleep.
"There it is!" Zuko suddenly said, making you jolt awake and Sokka to sit up straight. You gulped as you see the volcano, held with hundreds of mistreated people.

"There's plenty of steam to keep us covered. As long as we're quiet, we should be able to navigate through it without being caught," Zuko told you both, but as the balloon got closer, it started to go down.
"We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!" Zuko said in a panic.

"The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!" Sokka explained.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Zuko asked, and you took a step away from the edge.
"Do what we normally do. Crash land!" You harshly whispered as Sokka got boiling water on his hands, making him cover his mouth to prevent screaming.

The balloon crashed down on the ground and you three jumped out, coughing and waving the mist away.
"How are we gonna get off the island if the balloon won't work?" You asked while wiping dirt off your face.

"We'll figure something out! I suspected it might be a one-way ticket," Sokka grumbled as he picked up the balloon tarp.
"You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?" Zuko asked in disbelief.

"My dad might be here! I had to come and see!" Sokka argued.
"Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this... this is just crazy!" Zuko whispered shouted.

"Hey, I never wanted you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it by ear. So there," Sokka argued.

"Fighting ain't going to build an escape route, so we have to think rationally," You sighed and rubbed your face.
"What are you doing anyways?" You asked as Sokka pushed the war balloon into the boiling water.

"It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone to find it." Sokka told you both.
"I'll try to bend a path later once we find our parents, but first we need to scope out the place," You said as Sokka walked to you.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Zuko said as you three turned to the prison.

"There's no turning back now,"
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