Burnt Out - Zuko x OC

Sweet Talk

The words sounded foreign to Sokka. Individually, they made sense, but together it was as if Zuko was speaking a dead language. "My dad?" He said, breathless. The cooler was right there. Freedom for his friends was closer than it'd been in weeks and yet he couldn't help but to feel guilty for wanting more.

"You said you wanted to redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance." Zuko said.

Suki leaned in close to Kai and whispered, "They're both on that whole 'honor' kick now?" And Kai held in her laughter, nudging the girl in the ribs.

Sokka sighed, "If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe sometimes it's better to just call it quits before you fail." He glanced back at the prison and then up at the gondolas that would be moving across the lake in just a few hours. "I'm staying, you guys go."

Suki refused to join Chit Sang and the other two strangers in the cooler, and Zuko wasn't going to leave if it meant abandoning Sokka in a Fire Nation prison.

"You guys can all go, you know." Kai said. "I can stay back, I can get Hakoda and sneak out without anyone noticing. And if shit hits the fan, no offense, but I'm the most likely to make it out alive. You guys go, I'll catch up in a few days."

She felt possessive fingers wrap like spider legs around her wrist, and as she was about to rip herself away, they softened. They slipped between her own and held onto her hand for dear life. "That isn't an option, Kai. I go where you go."

"All right, well we're out. Let's roll, baby." Chit Sang pushed the cooler off of the shore and hopped in, steaming water splashing around them as they set sail. Kai gave their boat an extra wave off from where she stood for good measure.

But she didn't foresee them getting very far.

The four of them stood on the beach shoulder to shoulder; Zuko, Kai, Sokka and Suki, watching their escape plan unfold without them.

"I hope we didn't just make a huge mistake..." Sokka said, and they made their way back up to their respective cells.

*****

Sokka and Kai were monitoring the prison yard the next day when things went awry. The alert system blared over speakers attached to the watchtowers, lights flashed red against their faces and one of the warden shouted, "Guards! Secure the perimeter and lock down the prisoners! Now!"

"The plan failed, they're caught!" Kai heard Sokka say to himself.

One of the guards cracked a whip made of fire, using it to herd these prisoners, these humans, like livestock, and Kai winced every single time. The memory of pain was permanently burned into her brain so deeply that her ankle began to ache right where her achilles had nearly been severed. Kai searched through the sea of people for Zuko until their eyes met across the yard, he sat on the outskirts with Suki.

The gondola began moving on its track, wheeling over the bubbling water and through the steam until the white vapor blocked their view of it.

"Here it comes... " Sokka said when it re-emerged from the silk screen.

He held his breath as it docked, the doors swung open and new inmates began to walk out single file with their hands tied behind their backs. All were dressed the same, crimson colored sacks with holes cut out for the arms, legs and head. Shackles clanked against each other as the men, already broken-willed with long faces, fell into line.

And then they stopped moving. A dozen or so men all around the same age as Hakoda, some even with the same build, but none were him. And Sokka's heart hardened, Kai could hear his blood slow its flow as he was silently let down once again.