Escape from the Boiling Rock

''This article is about the event. For the episodes, see The Boiling Rock, Part 1 and The Boiling Rock, Part 2. For the location, see The Boiling Rock.''

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- My guess is, they've been taken to The Boiling Rock. It's on an island, in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable.

The Escape from the Boiling Rock was one of the final engagements in the Fire Nation's war for world domination. Although the engagement was strategically minor, it did affect history, as it was the first successful escape attempt from the Fire Nation's most advanced maximum security prison. The infiltration and subsequent escape was carried out by select members of Team Avatar. The infiltration and escape lasted around two days, with the first attempt being unsuccessful.

The skirmish resulted in a victory for Team Avatar, who sustained no losses. The escape also resulted in Princess Azula being betrayed by her two best friends, Mai and Ty Lee, thus leading to her mental breakdown. The skirmish also caused Suki to join Team Avatar.

The escape was one of the final events before the arrival of Sozin's Comet, when the Fire Nation would suffer a strategic defeat.

History
In the Later stages of the the war, Fire Lord Ozai built the Boiling Rock to sustain traitors and other enemies of the Fire Nation. The prison had the most advanced technology of any other Fire Nation prison. As the years went by, not a single successful escape attempt was made, giving the Boiling Rock a record of being inescapable.

During the lost days of bison Appa, Suki and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors were defeated and captured by Princess Azula and her friends, Mai and Ty Lee. Suki was in turn seperated by the rest of the warriors and shipped to the Boiling Rock prison.

On The Day of Black Sun, a small invasion force led by Chief Hakoda attacked the Fire Nation Capital in hopes of ending the war. Due to Azula's cunning, however, the entire invasion force was captured except for Team Avatar. This weighed heavy on Sokka, making himself feel as though it was his fault his father was imprisoned.

Prelude
One night at The Western Air Temple, Zuko notices Sokka seems upset about something, and goes over to talk to him. Sokka asks Zuko where he thinks his dad and the rest of the warriors were captured. Zuko guesses that they were taken to the Boiling Rock, and tells Sokka how the prison is inescapable. Sokka states that he just wanted information.

That night, however, Sokka attempts to sneak away on Appa. Zuko catches him, and after some arguing, Zuko decides to travel with Sokka. Together, the two of them travel to the prison on Zuko's War Balloon. After a day of traveling, Zuko and Sokka finally make it to the prison. However, because the air outside of the ballloon is just as hot as the air inside, the balloon is unable to continue flying.

Infiltration
When Zuko and Sokka entered the area above the boiling lake, their balloon crashed into the island's shore. To make sure know one suspected who they were, they were forced to sink their balloon into the lake. They then infiltrated the prison and disguised themselfs as prison guards.

While Zuko questioned the other prison guards if the prison holds war prisoners, Sokka is called to the prison yard as back up to help with a scuffle. In the prison yard, one of the guards bullies a prisoner, Chit Sang, because he did not bow down to him. While Chit Sang was walking away, the Bully Guard launches a Fire Whip at him, forcing Chit Sang to redirect it back at him. The Bully guard states that Firebending is prohibited, and, upon seeing Sokka, tells him to help take Chit Sang to the cooler. Without a choice, Sokka is forced to cooperate.



Sokka sadly watches Chit Sang shiver in the cooler, but the the Bully Guard disregards his concern. At that moment, The Warden arrives to harrass Chit Sang and states he should not have tried to escape. Chit Sang denies this, but The Warden ignores him and tells him to continue his shivering. Later on, Zuko informs Sokka that he asked around, and that their are no new war prisoners. Just when all hope seems lost, Sokka spots his love interest, Suki.

When Suki returns into her cell, Sokka sneaks into it, while Zuko watches the door. Sokka tries to mimic what Suki did upon reuniting with him in The Serpent's Pass, instead, however, he is punched in the gut. The minute Suki recognizes him, they embrace and kiss each other. Their reunion is cut short when a guard tries to get into Suki's cell. To prevent Sokka from being exposed, Zuko attacks the guard until Sokka can sneak out of the cell. When the guard spots Sokka, she tells him to arrest Zuko. Unable to say no, Sokka is forced to arrest Zuko.

Zuko is soon interrogated by The Warden. Much to Zuko's suprise, The Warden reveals he knows who Zuko is, and that he is also Mai's uncle. Later on, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko gather around to hatch an escape attempt. Chit Sang overhears them and tells them that unless they let him in on the plan, he'll tell The Warden. Realizing they have no choice, they let Chit Sang in on the plan.

First Escape Attempt
Soon Sokka comes up with a good escape plan; to unbolt the cooler that Chit Sang was in, and to use it as a boat to escape. Zuko and Chit Sang then pretend to fight, and Zuko Firebends at Chit Sang. The guards fall for the chrade, and, as Sokka predicted, they threw Zuko into the exact same cooler that Chit Sang was in earlier.

While in the cooler, Zuko used his breath of fire to keep himself warm, and unbolted the entire cooler. Sokka soon lets him out, and before they escape, Zuko and Sokka overhear some guards talking about the prison's new arrivals, including war prisoners. Zuko and Sokka realize this may be Sokka's dad. Sokka is then distraught over what to do.



That night, Sokka and Zuko finally arrive with the cooler, and Chit Sang tells them he also decided to bring his girlfriend and best friend. Before they leave, Sokka comes to the sudden conclusion to stay at the prison at the chance of him rescuing his father. Zuko says he'll stay with him, and even though Sokka urges Suki to leave, Suki tells him she won't leave without him. Chit Sang, however, eagerly jumps into the cooler. Realizing they lost their chance of escape, Sokka, Zuko, and Suki sneak back into the prison.

Meanwhile, Chit Sang tries to move the cooler faster by ripping of a peice of the side and using it as a paddle. In the process of doing this, he burned himself, making him scream loudly. The guards hear him, and the cooler is soon dragged back to the prison.

Meanwhile, Sokka, Zuko, and Suki watch the new arrivals leave the gondala. The gondala seems to be empty after most of the prisoners exit, and Sokka is distraught and upset, thinking he has made a huge mistake. However, much to Sokka's joy, Hakoda steps out of the gondala.

Second Escape Attempt
At dawn, The Warden greets the new prisoners. He tells them that as long as they obey him, they will be treated fairly. As The Warden passes by Hakoda, he orders him to look him in the eye. Hakoda refuses. Amused, The Warden pushes him to the ground. He tells Hakoda he knows exactly who he is, and that he'll lose his strong will in some time. Hakoda finally looks him in the eye. Satisfied, The Warden walks away, but Hakoda trips him with his handcuffs. Angry, The Warden orders the prisoners to be taken away.

Later, Sokka sneaks in to Hakoda's cell to greet him. Hakoda, like Suki, threatens to punch Sokka, but Sokka reveals his identity. Hakoda and Sokka then embrace each other, and they start to think of an escape plan.



Meanwhile, The Warden interrogates Chit Sang on who thought of his escape plan. Chit Sang refuses to talk, but The Warden has him tortured by holding his head upside down. Chit Sang confesses that it is someone disguised as a prison guard. The Warden condecsendingly pats him on the head, and leaves the cell.

Sokka then sneaks into Zuko's cell. Two guards come, however, and say they have direct orders from The Warden to transport Zuko to the interrogation room. Sokka asks the guards for ten seconds to "rough up Zuko". The guards give him ten seconds, and he tells Zuko to meet him in the yard while punching a pillow. The guards then transport Zuko to the interrogation room. Instead of finding The Warden, he finds Mai waiting for him.

Sokka then sneaks into Suki's cell and tells her the plan; to comandeer the gondala by distracting the guards with a prison riot and to use The Warden as a captive. Suki is doubtful, but Sokka is sure it will work

Meanwhile, Sokka is taken to the yard. The Warden then gets Chit Sang to tell him the imposter. Instead of Sokka, Chit Sang instead points to the guard who bullied him. The Warden then takes the guard into custody for interrogation. Much to his suprise, he is soon interrupted by Princess Azula and Ty Lee. Azula then tells The Warden that the guard is not the imposter, and leaves.

Sokka then tricks a guard into letting the prisoners out, saying he has direct orders from The Warden. The guard then lets the prisoners out. Sokka, Suki, and Hakoda then enter the prison yard. Hakoda then attempts to start a prison riot unsuccessfully. Chit Sang then appears and tells him that his genorosity comes with a price, and that he wants to escape with them. Sokka asks him to start a riot, and Chit Sang does just that by shouting "HEY, RIOT!".

Mai berates Zuko for leaving her. Zuko tells her that its about the Fire Nation, not her. Mai sacastically tells him that she now feels all better. Zuko tries to tell her he never meant to hurt her. Just then, a guard enters the cell who has orders to protect Mai because of the riot. Zuko sees his opportunity, and he locks Mai and the guard in the cell. He then makes his way to the yard and meets up with everyone else.

While Sokka and Zuko argue about how to capture The Warden, Suki takes the initiative and goes after him on her own. She runs on the heads of the rioting prisoners and scales the walls of the yard with an amazing display of acrobatics. She disables the guards protecting The Warden, ties him up and gags him. They all meet up, The Warden now their hostage, and make their way to The Gondola. The group makes it onto the gondola, and Zuko breaks the lever so the guards can't stop them.

Battle On The Gondala


As they begin to ascend, they spot Azula and Ty Lee approaching. Ty Lee runs on gondola's cable while Azula propels herself with Firebending towards the gondola. Azula then fights with Sokka and Zuko, while Ty Lee fights Suki. Ty Lee attempts to block Suki's chi, but Suki avoids her technique and attempts to land some punches on Ty Lee unsuccessfully. Sokka and Zuko match Azula fairly. Azula and Zuko share fire blasts, with no one gaining the upper hand. Azula nearly meets her fate when Sokka aims his sword at her throat. She dodges it, however, at the last second. The five of them continue to fight until The Warden breaks free of his restraints while Chit Sang is distracted, and orders the guards to cut the line.

The gondala then starts to swift back and forth, causing Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Azula, and Ty Lee to have to balance for their lives. Azula and Ty Lee then make it on to another gondala, bidding her brother farewell. Just as the guards are about to finish cutting, they are disabled by Mai. She starts to pin the guards to the floor with her daggers. A guard asks her what she's doing, to which she replies, "Saving the jerk who dumped me." She frees the line, and the gondola used by the group starts moving again. Zuko realizes what Mai is doing, while Azula and Ty Lee watch in dismay.

They make it out of the prison ground, leaving The Warden behind in the gondola. Although Suki points out how are they going to leave, Zuko figures out that Azula must have come to the Boiling Rock somehow and spots an uninhabited Fire Nation Airship. The group uses the airship to escape off the island.



Mai is detained by guards and brought forth to Azula. Azula demands to know why she saved the escapees, knowing the consequences. Mai tells Azula she miscalculated, as she loves Zuko more than she fears Azula. The two of them are about to attack one another, but Azula is stopped by Ty Lee, who blocks her chi. Ty lee and Mai try to escape but are quickly captured. Azula calls them fools and orders the guards to let them rot in prison so she'll never have to see their faces again.

New Members
Back at the Western Air Temple, Sokka and Zuko exit their newly captured Airship. Aang and the others remark their fishing trip must have been one crazy fishing trip. Toph asks if they at least got any meat, and Sokka answers they got best meat of all, the meat of friendship and fatherhood. Hakoda, Suki, and Chit Sang exit the ship and present themselves to the others. Katara is overjoyed to see her father, and embraces him and Sokka, as Zuko happy watches. In the background, Toph asks "Seriously, you guys didn't find any meat?"

Aftermath
The escape was very important to the gaang's success in the final battles of Sozin's Comet. It caused Team Avatar to gain three new members, Suki being the only permanant one. The betrayal of Mai and Ty Lee caused Azula to have a total mental collapse, bringing about her defeat at the hands of Zuko and Katara. Not another major event occured until the day of Sozin's Comet, when the Fire Nation would finally lose the war.

Appearances and References

 * The Boiling Rock, Part 1
 * The Boiling Rock, Part 2