Unfulfillable Orders

Zuko made his way down to the prison hold once again. He let himself in and shut the door quickly behind him. He looked through the cell doors. Katara was waiting at the door and smiled brightly when his face appeared on the other side.
“Are you all okay?” He asked them.
“We’re all fine,” Katara answered. “Just waiting to execute the plan. When do we let ourselves out of here?”
“I’m trying to figure out when the easiest time is,” Zuko said.
“What about when everyone’s asleep?” Toph offered.
“Azula might have guards outside her door,” Aang told them.
“I’m going to go check on everyone’s position. I’ll be back as soon as possible. Just stay here,” Zuko said.
He made his way towards the main hall again and was about to turn a corner when he heard voices.
“They have to be taken out soon,” Azula’s voice said.
“What about-” Mai began.
“I don’t really care if you still like my brother. You shouldn’t. He’s worthless to me now that I have the Avatar and his friends. Now he knows far too much. We have to get rid of him, and I don’t mean send him away. Iroh is useless and needs to be taken out as well. The only one we really need is the Avatar,” Azula told them.
Ty Lee’s voice faltered. “How are you going to get rid of them?”
“I’m not, you two are. I don’t really care how you do it. Be creative. Use your imaginations,” the Fire Nation princess ordered.
Mai and Ty Lee were silent.
“We don’t have forever! Go right now, or it’ll be you I get rid of! Report to me when you’re done!” Azula shouted, venom filling her voice.
Zuko knew what she said was true. If people didn’t follow her orders, they were taken out. Azula never showed mercy. She’d almost killed him and his uncle, and now that he thought of it, his friends, on numerous occasions. Why did she deserve to live? Mai and Ty Lee’s footsteps faded the other way. He waited a few moments and turned the corner, but made it look like he’d come from the opposite direction of the prison hold. Azula couldn’t hide most of the shock on her face.
“Zuko, what are you doing here?”
“I was just walking around the palace. I’m trying to find my way around,” Zuko said innocently.
“Ah, well, I’m going to bed. Good night,” she said, and walked off to her room.
“Good night,” he said.
When her footsteps died away and he heard the loud noise of her doors closing, Zuko hurriedly went back down to the prison hold. He had to beat Mai and Ty Lee there! He went in and shut the door. He went over to the cells and made sure everyone was awake. He told them everything he’d heard Azula say.
“Be on your guard. They could walk right in at any second. But remember the plan,” Zuko warned. He gripped the dao sheath at his side.
All most as if on cue, Ty Lee and Mai walked into the prison hold.
“What are you doing in here?” Ty Lee asked, a smile on her face.
“I think I should be asking you that. What are you two doing in here?” Zuko questioned them.
They couldn’t look him in the eyes. Ty Lee stammered in trying to make something up, and Mai just remained silent.
“I know why you’re here. I heard Azula. I heard her plans to have you kill us or she’d kill you,” Zuko said.
The girls made moves to begin attacking.
Zuko held up his hands. “Hear me out though. It’s the least you can do.”
Mai and Ty Lee stood still and nodded.
“The way I see it, you have a few options. You can make the smart choice and help us. You can go outside the palace while we take out Azula. Or you can try to take us out, fail, and have Azula kill you. Your choice,” Zuko said.
The two fighters looked at Zuko and then at each other.
“Azula’s not really your friend. The only time she’s happy is when other people are in pain. She meant it when she said she’d kill you. Trust me, I know,” Zuko continued.
Ty Lee spoke up. “I don’t think we can help you take Azula out. We can ‘conveniently’ be taking a walk while you guys ki-, well, you know. Besides, the Dai Li will be a big challenge. We’ll disable as many as we can.”
“Thank you. And don’t regret this. You owe Azula nothing. She owes you.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck,” Mai said.
“We’re gonna go tell Azula we’re going for a walk. Wait about 10 minutes from when we leave, okay?” Ty Lee said.
Zuko nodded his head. Ty Lee taught Zuko the main pressure points in case he needed them. After they left, Zuko opened the three cell doors. They waited the ten minutes, and the five ‘prisoners’ followed Zuko up to the throne room.
“You guys ready?” Zuko asked. The group nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”