Sneaking into the prison, the trio managed to find a supply room and grabbed some extra guard uniforms to blend in. Pulling on her helmet, Azara walked out of the storage closet as Zuko and Sokka stood outside while she changed.

"I hope these disguises work."

"They'll work if we all play the parts we're supposed to," Azara pointed out, glancing between Sokka and Zuko.

"We just need to lay low and find my dad as soon as possible," Sokka whispered as the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallways. A group of guards ran by. One of them paused, turning back to the teenagers with an exasperated look.

"Guards! There's a scuffle in the yard. Come on!"

Sharing a glance, the three teenagers ran out to the yard, where the prisoners seemed to be surrounding something. Pushing through the crowd, Azara stepped to the side, allowing Zuko and Sokka to join the circle of guards around the scene.

"I didn't do anything! I'm going back to my cell," a prisoner huffed, turning around. The guard across from him, however, sent a fire whip directly in front of the prisoner.

"Stop right there, Chit Sang."

Zuko moved to step in, but Azara grabbed his arm, tugging him back. "Remember your role," she whispered warningly, before turning back to the fight. "We can't get caught."

"I've had it with your unruly behavior!" the guard yelled at Chit Sang.

"What did I do?"

"He wants to know what he did. Isn't that cute?" the guard joked to Zuko and Sokka, who didn't respond. Azara elbowed Zuko in the side as the guard turned around, lifting his visor to send them a look when they didn't reply.

"Uh, very cute, sir."

"Super cute," Sokka added, stepping out of line for a moment.

"You didn't bow down when I walked by, Chit Sang!" the guard taunted, walking up to Chit Sang.

"What? That's not a prison rule!"

"Do it!"

"Make me."

The guard turned to leave, before suddenly turning around and whipping some fire at Chit Sang. Blocking the fire whip, Chit Sang spun around and redirected the blast at the guard. The guard kicked at it, defending himself, before standing up with a wide smirk.

"Tsk, tsk. Firebending is prohibited. You're going in the cooler," the guard vowed before turning to Sokka. "You! Help me take him in."

"Meet back here in an hour," Sokka whispered to Zuko and Azara, who nodded.

"Be careful," Azara urged before Sokka ran off to follow the other guard and Chit Sang.

"Alright, guards, back to your posts!" another guard yelled, breaking up the crowd. Azara and Zuko stuck by each other, heading back inside the prison.

"We should split up. Cover more ground," Azara suggested quietly, glancing around.

"I don't like it," Zuko shook his head as Azara nudged him in the side.

"Aw, it's almost like you care about me, Zuzu."

"When will you stop calling me that?" Zuko sighed exasperatedly.

"When it stops pissing you off," Azara joked before they straightened up as more guards walked towards them.

"Hey, you, come help us. We've got prisoner transfers to do," one guard ordered, pointing at Azara as she spoke.

"Right away, sir," she agreed, sending Zuko one last look, before following the other guards.

After completing the prison transfer, Azara walked along with the other guards. "So, you must be a newbie then. Don't remember seeing you around before," one of the guards mentioned, glancing over at Azara.

"Yeah, just arrived," Azara agreed, not even lying to them. "What about you guys?"

"Been here for three years now. It's not exactly the worst job in the Fire Nation," one of the other guards spoke up, causing Azara to nod.

"You know, I always wanted to work at the Boiling Rock," Azara started off, trying to get some information out of the guards. "They keep prisoners of war here, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Have you guys gotten any recently?" Azara pressed as they turned a corner.

"No, not really."

"What about Water Tribe prisoners? You guys have any of them here?"

"Not that I can remember," one of the other guards shrugged, sharing a glance with the other veteran guard.

"Why are you asking all of these questions anyway?" a female guard asked, staring down at Azara, who froze for a moment.

"Uh . . . just want to give them some payback. Yeah. My, uh, cousin got hurt in the war," Azara improvised as the other guards nodded in understanding.

"That's rough, buddy."

"Yeah, I'd take the Boiling Rock over the front lines any day," another guard agreed as Azara glanced around the prison.

"Yeah," she sighed, lowering her head.

An hour had passed when Azara finally managed to slip away to meet back with Zuko and Sokka at the balcony overlooking the courtyard. "There you are! I was getting worried," Sokka sighed in relief as Azara walked over, lifting up her visor.

"I asked some of the other guards. No recent prisoners of war or Water Tribe prisoners," Azara announced solemnly, causing Sokka to slump.

"Found the same thing asking around the lounge," Zuko agreed before turning to the Water Tribe boy. "I'm afraid your father's not here, Sokka."

"What? Are you guys sure? Did you double-check?"

"Triple checked, I'm afraid," Azara spoke softly, placing a reassuring hand on Sokka's shoulder. He spun around, banging his hand onto the wall in frustration.

"No! No!"

"I'm really sorry, Sokka," Zuko spoke as Sokka turned back around.

"So, we came all this way for nothing? I risked your safety for nothing," Sokka sighed, staring at Azara. "And I failed . . . again." He lowered his head in shame.

"At least now you know, Sokka. It wasn't completely in vain," Azara tried to comfort him, grabbing his hand, and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Ah, what would Uncle say?" Zuko wondered, causing Azara to shoot him a glance. "Sometimes, clouds have two sides, a dark and light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich! So . . . when life seems hard . . . take a bite out of the silver sandwich."

"Which means what?" Azara asked, looking confused.

"Maybe we haven't failed after all!" Sokka exclaimed suddenly, straightening up.

"That's the spirit! I can't believe it worked. I didn't even know what I was saying," Zuko spoke, looking mildly proud of himself.

"No, what you said made no sense at all. But look!" Sokka pointed into the courtyard. Azara and Zuko followed his finger down to where a single prisoner, a familiar girl with short auburn hair, sat on a rock in the courtyard. "It's Suki!"

"What's she doing here?" Azara questioned, looking surprised to see Suki in the Boiling Rock of all places.

"Prisoners, back in your cells!" one of the guards yelled, causing the prisoners to shuffle back inside.

"We should try and talk to her. She can help us escape," Sokka informed Zuko, who nodded before quickly lowering his visor. Sokka and Azara did the same as a senior guard walked around the corner towards the three teenagers.

"Hey, you, come help me. Need help wrangling up some unruly prisoners." He pointed at Azara, who straightened up under his gaze.

"Coming, sir," Azara nodded, shooting Zuko and Sokka a look, before running after the other guard down the hall.

After she helped put away the 'unruly' prisoners, Azara broke away from the other guards to search for Sokka and Zuko. Walking along the halls, Azara paused when she noticed Suki being led back into her own cell and changed course.

"I'll take care of this prisoner. You should take a break, you look like you could use one," Azara interjected, running over.

"You know, I could use a break. Thanks, newbie!" the guard nodded appreciatively, before walking off.

Azara led Suki into her cell before turning around and closing the door behind her. "What are you doing?" Suki demanded in a rough tone as Azara turned around.

"Suki, it's me, Azara." Azara pulled off her helmet to show her face to the Kyoshi Warrior. Suki instantly relaxed when she recognized the other girl.

"Azara?" Suki gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. "It's good to see you again!" The two girls shared a brief, but tight embrace.

"You too," Azara chuckled as they pulled away.

"And I like the haircut," Suki replied, pointing at Azara's distinctly shorter haircut.

"Thanks," Azara laughed, tugging on a short strand. "Needed a change."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here with Sokka and my brother to look for Sokka's dad. We didn't even know you were here. What happened to you?"

"Princess Azula happened," Suki growled out as Azara winced at her words.

"Sorry about my sister," she offered apologetically, smiling sheepishly at the Kyoshi Warrior.

"I'll forgive you if you get me out of here," Suki teased, causing Azara to smile and nod.

"Sounds like a deal. We're in the middle of trying to come up with a way to get out of here. You got any ideas?"

"Not any that would be successful," Suki sighed, looking like she'd already thought through at least a thousand different escape plans.

"That's okay. We'll try and think of something and then come and get you."

"Sounds good. Be careful."

"I'll check in when I can," Azara promised before moving to leave Suki's cell.

Shutting the door carefully behind her, Azara glanced around for any sign of other guards, before moving to look for Sokka and Zuko. An hour had passed, and she still hadn't spotted any sign of them when she finally saw Sokka standing by the railing overlooking the yard.

"Sokka," Azara whispered as she walked over, picking up her visor. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you and Zuko."

"Sorry, there was a bit of an . . . incident," Sokka replied, causing Azara to raise an eyebrow.

"What kind of incident?"

"Well, uh, you know . . ." Sokka trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "We . . . he . . . may or may not have been . . . you know . . . uh . . . arrested." Azara froze, her eyes widening in shock at Sokka's words. "Please don't freak out!"

"Why did he get arrested!? And how!?" Azara demanded before groaning, covering her face with her hands. "This is exactly why I knew I couldn't let the two of you go by yourselves unsupervised," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

"If it helps, I know which cell he's being held in," Sokka offered as Azara sighed, shooting her boyfriend a look.

"We need to move this little operation along. Fast. I mean, Zuko's not exactly some random Fire Nation citizen. He's got a giant identifying mark right on his face! Once the warden figures it out, then he'll tip off Caldera City, and then my sister will come here, and we'll never see the light of day again!"

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out. I'll figure it out," Sokka corrected himself as Azara sighed, grabbing his shoulders.

"I'm sorry for yelling, I'm just . . . stressed," Azara replied, lowering her head slightly. "But I did manage to find Suki. We talked and she's in with whatever plan we come up with."

"Well, that's good. We could use her skills to get out of here."

"Definitely. So, do you have any leads? Any ideas at all?" Azara asked, straightening up.

"I think I might have one that could work," Sokka started to explain when Azara noticed a group of guards making their way over to them.

"No, I would most certainly not want to go out for tea with you later!" Azara announced loudly, hoping to cut Sokka off before he could blurt out his plan in the presence of other guards.

"What are you—"

"—Newbies," one of the guards scoffed, shaking his head. "Trust me, kid, you don't want to date a coworker. Way too much paperwork." The guard wrapped an arm around Sokka's shoulders, causing the Water Tribe boy to nervously sweat.

"Oh, yeah . . . right."

"And trust me," a female guard spoke up, turning to Azara, "you could do much better than one of the male guards here."

"Uh . . . thanks?" The group of guards walked off, leaving Sokka and Azara by the railing again.

"Huh, who knew that a Fire Nation prison would bother documenting inter-workplace relationships?" Sokka shrugged, looking mildly surprised. "The more you know."

"Come on, Cactus Brain," Azara teased, tugging him along.

After testing out Sokka's theory, they walked through the halls together in search of Zuko and Suki. Azara finally spotted them mopping some floors together on one of the lower levels of the prison. Sokka led the way over as Azara looked out for any suspicious guards or prisoners.

"Oh, good, you guys have met," Sokka replied as they walked over, glancing between Zuko and Suki as they mopped.

"Actually, we met a long time ago," Suki corrected as Zuko picked his head up at her words.

"We did?"

"Yeah, you kind of burned down my village."

"Oh . . . sorry about that. Nice to see you again," Zuko stated, causing Azara to shake her head at her older brother.

Zuko and Suki continued to mop, slowly inching their way behind one of the staircases and out of sight of the other guard patrols, before discarding their mops. Sokka and Azara slid over as well, ready to share their plan.

"So, listen, I think I have an escape plan. I checked out the coolers again, and the point of them is to keep firebenders contained, right?" Sokka explained, glancing around the group.

"Yeah . . ." Zuko trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"So, they're completely insulated and sealed to keep the cold in. Well, to keep the cold in, it also has to keep the heat out, right?"

"Just get to the point, Sokka," Suki sighed from beside Zuko.

"It's a perfect boat for getting through the boiling water," Sokka revealed, wearing a wide smile.

"The cooler as a boat? Are you sure?" Zuko asked, sharing a look with Azara.

"I'm telling you; it'll work. We walked around the perimeter. There's a blind spot between two guard towers. It's the perfect launching point. And we already tested it out. We'll roll the cooler into the water and just float with the current. It'll take us straight across. As long as we don't make a sound, no one will notice. And bing-bang-boom, we're home free."

"But how are you going to get the cooler out?" Suki questioned, still looking apprehensive at Sokka's plan.

"Yeah, how are you going to get the cooler out?" Chit Sang piped up, jumping down to where the group was hidden.

"What? We didn't . . . we-we didn't say that," Sokka stammered out nervously.

"Yeah, you heard wrong," Azara warned, narrowing her eyes at Chit Sang.

"I heard you hatching an escape plan, and I want in."

"There's nothing to get in on," Zuko insisted in the same tone Azara had used.

"Yeah, the only thing we're hatching is . . . an egg?" Sokka tried, causing Zuko and Suki to groan.

"What he's trying to say is that maybe you should mind your own business if you know what's good for you," Azara replied in a deadly tone, as Sokka nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what she said."

"Okay, well, I come with you, or the warden hears about this egg," Chit Sang threatened, causing the group to share defeated looks.

"I guess we have no choice," Suki replied, looking down.

"Okay, you're in. Now first we need someone to unbolt the cooler, from the inside," Sokka spoke, handing a wrench over to Zuko.

"Oh, I can get you inside," Chit Sang promised before they split up.

Azara observed from the deck surrounding the floor as Zuko pretended to mop back into Chit Sang, hitting the larger man with his own back. "Hey! What are you, stupid? Watch where you're going!" Chit Sang snapped, shoving Zuko away from him.

"Hey, you watch who you're shoving!" Zuko pushed Chit Sang back as Azara raised an eyebrow. Hopefully the rest of the mission wouldn't rely on their acting skills. Because otherwise they were absolutely screwed.

"I think you mean whom I'm shoving!"

The two started to fight, gathering a crowd of prisoners around them, chanting louder and louder. Zuko tried to punch Chit Sang, but the larger man threw him to the ground. "I need backup over here!" Sokka yelled, causing Azara to spring into action.

Zuko got to his feet and blasted some fire at Chit Sang's feet, causing the older man to jump back. "No firebending! Into the cooler!" a guard yelled as Azara ran forward.

"You're coming with me, prison scum," she told Zuko before leading him away with another guard. Shoving Zuko into the cooler, Azara nodded to the other guard before walking off to meet up with Sokka.

After about an hour, which was how long Sokka had predicted it would take for Zuko to successfully unbolt the cooler from the inside, Sokka and Azara returned to get him out. Sokka had already managed to free Chit Sang while Azara had led Suki out to the meeting point. Now all they needed was Zuko and the cooler.

Sokka pulled open the door to the cooler before crossing his arms over his chest, trying to act like a tough guard. "I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson."

Zuko picked up his head and released a breath of fire to warm himself. "Yes, I have . . . completely," he smirked, before revealing all of the bolts in his lap.

"Always the dramatic one," Azara teased as Sokka lifted his visor.

"We got Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells a few minutes ago. They'll be waiting for us at the shore," Sokka explained as Azara heard voices from down the hall.

"Someone's coming! Quick, get inside." Squeezing into the cooler with Sokka and Zuko, Azara shut the door behind her. The three teenagers held their breath, trying to be quiet, as the round of guards walked closer.

"Yeah, new arrivals coming in at dawn," a male guard shrugged as they walked by.

"Anybody interesting?"

"Nah, just the usual. Some robbers, a couple traitors, some war prisoners, though I did hear there might be a pirate."

"No fooling!"

"War prisoners," Azara whispered, turning to Sokka. The Water Tribe boy instantly looked conflicted, his lips pressing into a thin line.

"It could be your father," Zuko added as Sokka looked away from the siblings.

"I know."

"Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?" Zuko asked, causing Sokka to huff.

"I don't know! Is it right for me to risk all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is going to show up?" Sokka asked, glancing between Zuko and Azara.

"It's your call, Sokka," Zuko stated, causing Sokka to slump.

"We'll support you no matter what you decide," Azara promised, grabbing Sokka's hand, and giving it a squeeze.

With the guards gone, they pulled the cooler out of its place and started to sneak down to the meeting place. Getting the cooler through the more deserted halls of the prison was the easy part. Getting the cooler down the embankment to the meeting place, which was down a rather sheer hillside, was the surprisingly difficult part.

Suki and Chit Sang ran up to help the three teenagers lower the cooler down to the shore. "Took you guys long enough. This here's my girl and my best buddy, they're coming too," Chit Sang explained, pointing to two other people on the shore.

"Fine. Everybody in the cooler. Let's go," Sokka ordered gruffly. As Chit Sang and his friends got into the cooler, Azara turned to Sokka, who had moved to grab his Water Tribe clothes from their hidden location.

"Sokka . . . are you sure this is what you want?" she asked softly, walking over, and kneeling beside him.

"You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance," Zuko added, standing beside his sister.

"If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail," Sokka sighed, lowering his head.

"No, it's not. Look, Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out," Zuko replied, earning a look from his younger sister.

"Zuko," Azara sighed, rubbing her face tiredly.

"That supposed to make me feel better?"

"Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over—"

"—Get to the good part, Zuko," Azara cut in, a warning clear in her tone.

"You have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail," Zuko told Sokka, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on?" Chit Sang called from the cooler.

"No. I'm staying. You guys go," Sokka finally decided before turning to Azara. "You go with them. You just got out of prison; I can't let you go right back."

"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka. And that's final," Azara replied firmly, placing her hand over his own.

"What about you Suki?" Sokka asked the Kyoshi Warrior, who shook her head.

"I won't leave without you guys."

"I'm staying too," Zuko agreed as Chit Sang shook his head.

"Not me, I'm out. Let's roll, baby," Chit Sang replied, pushing the cooler into the lake, and jumping inside it. The four teenagers watched the cooler float away with mild dread. Azara turned to Sokka as he lowered his head, clearly still conflicted.

"We gave up our only chance of escaping. I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake," Sokka sighed as Azara squeezed his shoulder.

"Even if we did, we'll face it together. Like always."

The sun started to rise as the four teenagers made their way back towards the prison, staying in the blind spots of the guard patrols. As they inched along the outer wall, a loud yell from the lake caused them to flinch. The guards jumped into action and Azara could clearly hear the warden yelling out orders amid the chaos.

"The plan failed! They're caught!"

"Look, the gondola!" Azara pointed out as it appeared through the steam, lowering slowly towards the prison. The group of teenagers inched closer to the gondola station until they had a clear view of the doors.

"This is it," Sokka sighed as they crouched down in the shadows. "If my dad's not there, we've risked everything for nothing."

"Not nothing," Azara assured him, before turning to watch the prisoners walk off the gondola.

Man after man filed off the gondola, all in some smattering of cheap red fabric that was indicative of a Fire Nation prisoner. Admittedly, Azara had no idea what Hakoda looked like, but not one of these men looked even remotely Water Tribe.

"Is that him?" Zuko asked, pointing at a large man with tattoos and a nose ring.

"My dad doesn't have a nose ring," Sokka scoffed, before turning back to the gondola. More prisoners walked off, but there was still no sign of Hakoda. "Where is he?" The line of prisoners ended, causing Sokka to slump. "That's it? That can't be it."

"I'm sorry, Sokka."

"Oh, no."

"Hey, you! Get off the gondola!" one of the guards yelled suddenly, causing Sokka to pick up his head again. One last prisoner walked out of the gondola, his dark hair in a half up-half down style with two strands held together by blue beads framing his face.

"Dad!" Sokka gasped excitedly at the sight of his father.

A.N. So, I had to tweak some things since, you know, Suki and Sokka aren't together in this story, but I think it still flowed decently.

And just as a heads up, the current structure for the rest of this book (as of right now in my writing and editing process) is: one more chapter for Boiling Rock (the second episode), a Southern Raiders chapter, an OC chapter or two depending on editing, probably two chapters for the Ember Island Players, somewhere between four and six chapters for the whole finale/Sozin's Comet episodes, and an epilogue. So that's somewhere between ten and thirteen chapters left, just FYI. Because this fanfic isn't long enough already lol.

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting as always!