Born Beneath An Angry Star

8. Volcano Girls

Zuko sat up like he'd been shot out of a canon. He took a long deep breath of air. He was back at Boiling Rock. He pushed his damp hair out of his eyes and scrambled to his feet. How long had he been down this time? Not long enough, he hoped, to have ruin their escape plan. There was no way for him to tell what time of day it was from his prison cell.

The door to his prison cell opened and Sokka stepped through. "Good. You didn't die." He said.

"Thanks for your concern."

"You're welcome. Dinner is almost over quick get your food and then go sit with my dad."

"Do you really think this plan is going to work?" Zuko asked.

"It has to. Once June starts the riot there's no turning back."

"Wait, June is here and she's starting a prison riot?"

"Long story. Just go find my dad." Sokka demanded.

Zuko walked to the dining hall and got in line for his dinner of flavorless over cooked jook, rotten vegetables, and moldy bread. He didn't even bother with the water. Everything but the unagi was floating in that water. He picked up his tray and kept his head down until he sat across from Hakoda.

Hakoda nodded at him so slightly that if Zuko hadn't been looking directly at him he would have never known he nodded. The two said nothing they just began to eat their dinner. He didn't want to leave without talking to Mai again, but he couldn't risk going back to see her, and she'd probably left to go join his sister's crusade anyway. Sokka thought Mai was bad, but at one time he himself had been bad. It took getting away from the Fire Nation and his father to make him see things for what they really where. No matter what his relationship was with Mai, he still cared about her and still hope that she'd see things clearly too.

Not long after Zuko had choked down the last of his jook the guards were sending everyone out into the courtyard.

Zuko quickly found Hakoda and Sokka.

"Where's Rumiko and June?" Zuko asked.

"I'm right here." June said. "Did you ever get back together with your girlfriend, that Water Tribe girl?"

Hakoda stared at Zuko hard.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zuko snapped.

June rolled her eyes. "Whatever, time to get this riot started." She walked casually over to a prison guard who was arguing with an inmate and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around she picked him up over her head and hoisted him up and down.

"HEY!"She shouted at the top of her lungs. "RIOT!" She threw the prison guard into a group of people in front of her, and turned to kick a female prison guard in the jaw.

The reaction of the other prisoners was instantaneous. A barrage of flames shot into the air as everyone started bending. Fights broke out between prisoner and prisoner and prisoner and prison guard.

Rumiko fought her way towards them. She punched two prisoners in the face before reaching them.

"Good. We're all here. Now all we need to do is grab the Warden and get to the gondolas." Sokka said.

"Katara slow down." Aang said. "You can't go to the Boiling Rock."

"My father and my brother are there. I'm going!" Katara said. She brushed past Aang and marched into her room in the dormitory.

"Do you even have a plan?" Aang wanted to know.

"No." Katara said as she began stuffing supplies into one of her bags.