This is my first fanfiction ever, so please leave reviews so I can improve. Please note that this story was written after the Lake Laogai episode, and thus might not be reflective of any changes by the end of the season. This story assumes nothing drastic happened to any of the main characters after leaving Ba Sing Se, and merely suggests what could have happened between that and finding the Guru. I'm probably going to wait until at least the next episode to decide what to do as far as continuing the story. If the turn of events leads this scenario to be too farfetched, then I'll probably let sleeping dogs lie. I'll continue it, or at least start something fresh (but along the same lines) if people like it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
How Late Is Too Late?
Aang noticed a jerkiness in Appa that he hadn't felt since they were in the Cave of Two Lovers. "What's the matter, Appa? Guys, maybe we should land. Appa's acting strange." Appa glided to the ground, although reluctantly. Aang leaped off Appa. "Maybe we should walk from here." The others gradually made their way down, although with noticeable regret, aside from Toph. "I'll never get used to flying," she said with a sigh.
"Look guys, there's fur here; Appa's been here before," noted Sokka aloud.
"Thanks, Sokka, I was under the impression it was just white grass."
"Hey, Katara, just because your boyfriend died doesn't mean that you can push me around!"
"Don't you ever talk about him like that. He was head and shoulders above you in every way! I'd like to see you make a sacrifice half that big for something you care about!" Katara turned her back, which didn't conceal the tear trickling down her cheek.
"Enough!" shouted Aang, whisking between the two. "Sokka, back off. That's crossing the line. Besides, we don't even know if he's…." Katara whimpered. "Come on. We have a lot to do before the comet arrives. The town's this way. We should get going… oh no!"
Tosh stood at the outburst, after nearly dozing off during the ordeal minutes before. "What is it, Aang? I don't feel any vibrations."
"The trees. They're burned. The Fire Nation's been through here. We better hurry to the town ahead!"
The group made their way through a clearing of foliage, and the town opened up in front of them. It was a quaint village, not big enough to draw the Fire Nation's gaze.
Aang and the rest made their way inward, noticing a lack of concern on the locals' faces. "Ah, travelers! Welcome to Kiragi. What brings you to our humble city? I'm the leader, Gilak. Oh my, that must be the bison we heard about. That would make you the avatar, would it not?"
"Uh, I guess so. Were you expecting us? And what happened with the scorch marks in the forest? Were you attacked?"
"Actually, those questions have similar answers. We weren't attacked, thank the Avat… you, I suppose. Anyway, a group of warriors from another village were passing through the forest when they apparently came by your flying friend, injured and famished. Not soon after that, three women from the Fire Nation attacked them. Quite a battle, so it seems. Luckily, the three women never entered this village. It seems their interests lied elsewhere. Who can blame them, really. There's nothing much here worth noting to outsiders."
Katarra fumed a little. "Well, what of the warriors that were attacked? Are they alright?"
"Well, for the most part. The majority of them were just knocked unconscious. A couple had noticeably week muscles, and flopped around like fish for the better part of a week. One did receive some burns. She's stable, but the burns aren't to be taken lightly."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "She? You did say they were warriors, right?"
"That's right, the whole group was. Must've been quite a sight, eh, watching all those girls go at it!" At this, Katara started to reach for the water in her canteen, but caught herself. "Oh, I almost forgot, silly me. One of the girls is missing. Must've been taken, for whatever reason."
Sokka's heart sank. "You don't think… no, it's not possible. She said they were going to stay with the ferries."
"I'm sure it's nothing, Sokka. I should see them, though. I might be able to heal them, especially if their wounds are still fairly fresh." Gilak nodded, and led them to a large building at the far end of the village.
"Here is our infirmary. You'll find the girls in the largest room at the end of the hall."
Aang bowed. "Thank you. You've been very helpful."
"Anything for the Avatar. Let me know if there's anything else we can do for you." Gilak returned the bow, then turned and left.
"I better get in there and see if I can help." She opened the door, preceding the rest of them. Sokka followed her. His worst fears appeared to be true. The pair walked between the rows of beds. Suki was nowhere to be seen. "I'm sorry, Sokka…"
"I… I knew this would happen. I never should have let her leave. We have to find her!" He turned to leave.
"Wait, Sokka. We will find her, but we have to take care of the rest of the Kyoshi warriors first. We can leave tomorrow."
Sokka stopped at this. "Tomorrow might be too late!" he screamed.
"For all we now, it may already be too late."
"That's the story of my life." He started to the door once again.
"Where are you going?"
"To think. And get some meat." A solitary tear dropped from his face. Then, just like his life had been going ever since the turn of events at the Northern Water Tribe, it exploded onto the ground, with nothing to show for it but broken pieces scattered along the dusty floor.
Sokka sat basking in the moonlight, much like that night on the Serpent's Pass. I couldn't protect her, just like I couldn't protect you. He waited, almost as if he expected a response. What is meant for me? Maybe Aunt Wu was right, and I bring all this on myself. Maybe I should just stop caring. I thought… you were meant for me. But you were meant for something bigger. And why was I involved at all? The only thing it brought was pain.
"Sokka, you should get some rest." Katarra sat down next him. Sokka dropped his gaze from the moon to the ground. "You know, you're just like your boomerang: no matter how far you go, you always end up back where you start.
"I didn't ask for your advice."
Katarra laughed. "You're starting to act like Zuko. I'm just saying, maybe you should spend more time going after what you want and less time preoccupied with your own misery." Sokka said nothing, and the two sat for what seemed like an eternity. "Just get some sleep. And don't worry: everything will turn out fine."
The next day, the gang set out to find Suki. They traveled on foot, because it was near impossible to see anything below the canopy from the air. "They couldn't have gone far," Sokka noted, "because they won't be hiding. They want us to find them." Aang used his technique he learned back in the swamp to search for her.
"This way."
Not long after, they found what they were looking for in a clearing.
"If it isn't the Avatar. It was very unfortunate that your bison got away, but this pushover ended up being a worthy substitute." Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai stood at the far end of the clearing, with Suki pinned to a tree via Mai's knives, gagged. Sokka noticed that Ty Lee was wearing Suki's headdress.
Ty Lee sent Sokka the same look she had given him on the drill. This time, though, Sokka struck first. Without warning, he heaved his boomerang at Ty Lee, who barely had time enough to duck before the weapon smacked the headdress off her head before returning to him. "It doesn't look as good on you." With that, the battle erupted. Aang and Azula focused on each other, with Aang utilizing a variety of earthbending moves to block her lightning. Katarra and Toph faced off against Mai and Ty Lee. They were kept on the defensive as Ty Lee danced around the pair and Mai sent barrages of blades at the pair. Appa, on the other hand, had little room to maneuver, and was forced to resort to the occasional tail slam whenever one of the girls got close enough to warrant it. All of the commotion left Sokka the opportunity to go to the aid of Suki.
He ripped the cloth from her mouth. "Suki, are you alright?"
"Sokka, look out!" He turned in time to notice a trio Mai's projectiles zooming towards them. She had already pinned Toph to a tree, and he was in danger of worse. In a flash, he whipped his machete to counter, parrying them to the side. He flicked his boomerang in response, but she deftly dove out of the way, only to get swept away by Appa.
He finished removing the knives. "Here, take my machete." He turned to reenter the fray.
"Sokka…" He turned to meet her gaze, which lasted for more than a moment. She stepped up to him and pressed her lips against his. "Thank you. For everything." She didn't wait for a response, instead choosing to sprint to the nearest enemy. Sokka took off after her.
"It's still better than Omashu," sighed Mai as she dusted herself off. As soon as she stood, Suki was in her face. Frantically, she launched stilettos to deter her assault, but Suki just sent them back in her face. Suki pressed on until Mai was backed into a tree.
"Nowhere to run now!" yelled Suki as she swung a last time. Mai jumped off the tree to appear behind her.
"Oh really?" She raised a stiletto in preparation.
"Yeah!" rebutted Katarra, as a blast of icy water careened her into a nearby tree. The victory was short-lived, however. Ty Lee used the opportunity to attack Katarra's pressure points, and she crumpled like a wet towel. She turned her sites next on Suki, and the two danced with hands and machete blurring in circles. Meanwhile, Azula had lit half the surrounding forest on fire, which sent Appa running in all directions. Aang blasted much of her lightning with his airbending blasts, but found it hard to keep the flames from redirecting to his friends in the cramped space. Sokka had finally made his way to help Suki. As he was about to release his boomerang against Ty Lee, Momo, who had been flying around frantically in an effort to avoid the attention of the three women, smacked him in the face.
"Momo! You're lucky you're not meaty enough to bother cooking!" He ripped the lemur from his face and continued his trek.
Suki and Ty Lee were still swinging away at each other. Suki stumbled on a thrust, creating an opening for which Ty Lee took full advantage. She grabbed Suki's wrist, performing a series of jabs, which caused the machete to fall to the ground. Suki was helpless as Ty Lee jabbed her legs and back. Sokka could only watch as Suki fell to her knees before completely doubling over.
"See! I'm prettier and stronger than her!" She sent Sokka another flirtatious look before rushing at him. Sokka awkwardly dodged her as he stumbled backwards. In desperation, he threw his boomerang up at her, which she effortlessly sidestepped. "Your aim is as bad as your choice of girls!" She raised her hand like a cobra ready to strike.
"Well, it looks like you have my luck for today!" Ty Lee looked up just in time to see the branch smack her in the face. "Haha! Take that, Aunt W…" Sokka fell to the ground, as he forgot he had to catch his boomerang. Fortunately for him, he fell face to face with Suki. "Uhh, hey."
"Thanks again, Sokka. I don't know what I'd do without you."
He smiled. "And don't you forget it!"
"You're still the same old chauvinist. We'll have to work on that."
"Maybe if you give us a chance to work on it."
Aang was desperately looking for an opening on Azula. "You're out of your league, avatar! There's no one that can help…" She was interrupted by an explosion of flames created in the burning perimeter of the grove. Aang took the opportunity to unleash a boulder at her, smacking her to the ground. "Zuko, I've had enough of you ruining my plans!" She ignored the Avatar in desperation to vaporize the figure emerging from the flames.
"No, Azula. I've had enough of you… just being you!" The two collided in a ball of fire, both moving so fast that it was impossible to tell who was who. Aang took no time worrying about the new conflict as he gathered up his downed comrades and placed them on Appa. As they broke through the canopy, the last thing he saw was a forest in flames.
Sokka sat in the moonlight once again; only this time he embraced his company. "You're not planning on leaving again, are you?"
"I left before because I was needed elsewhere… and maybe I still am."
Sokka removed his eyes from her gaze.
"But maybe I'm needed here, with the Avatar. And with you." Sokka looked back with joy in his icy eyes. "I'll stay, if you'll have me."
"Are you kidding?! Of course I want you with us! But I'm going to have to keep you on a leash. I can't go saving your hide every time there's trouble. You make a terrible damsel in distress, especially with the makeup and that warrior's outfit."
"Oh yeah? Well, you make a terrible hero! Flopping around like a fish instead of sweeping me off my feet."
"As I remember it, I still won the fight. But I guess I could always see what Ty Lee's up to. I bet she needs someone to nurse that head wound, and I think my schedule just opened up."
"Relax! Since when are you the only one who can kid?"
"Remember, I'm the meat and sarcasm guy. You're just insecure."
"Well, I know how to take care of that." She leaned in for the kill. Sokka hesitated, as he glanced up to the moon. He waited a moment, looking for guidance. Then he smiled.
"I guess there's no avoiding it, is there?" He accepted her invitation.