Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. But I sure do love playing with its characters!!
Author's Note: This is a threequel to two earlier works, Land of Fire and Stone and Voice of the Earth. If you don't want to read them, here's the basics. Zuko/Toph, Katara/Aang, Sokka/Suki, and Jet/Mai. Jet is not dead. He is now king of Omashu. Practically everybody has kids. It takes place about ten years after the fall of Ozai. The rest should be self-explanatory. I hope.
Bender
Chapter 1
Sokka stood in the small wheelhouse of his newest fishing vessel and looked out across the rolling horizon before him. At last the clouds were parting and the wind was beginning to die down. He glanced a few feet to the side where the Duke sat, half lounging and asleep in a chair. It had been a long night, a long day, and now was almost night again as they'd weathered one of the worst summer storms Sokka could remember.
The vessel still tossed and rolled with the huge breakers, and as Sokka looked across the deck, he could see timbers hanging where the decking had literally been ripped loose by the waves. However, most of their shrimpcrab pots were still safely lashed down, thanks to the crew's quick work and the Duke's experience. After all, he'd grown up fishing with Sokka and Hakoda near the South Pole, where the storms were fierce and the water was an icy deathtrap to any unlucky enough to fall overboard.
Sokka had been glad to have the Duke on board this trip serving as first mate rather than captain of his own vessel. Ever since they'd expanded the fleet into the warmer waters off the coast of the Earth Kingdom to go after the smaller shrimpcrab that migrated off the coast of Kyoshi Island, Sokka had been experimenting with a new style of ship.
This style was a cross between the traditional sailing vessels of the Watertribe and the newer engine-driven design of a Fire Nation destroyer. Thanks to work from Haru and Teo, it also sported a new form of fuel—an earthbended coal/vegetation blend that burned hot and efficient, but with much less smoke and waste than the earlier Fire Nation formula.
This new fuel was part of Zuko's big plan to increase cooperation between the nations. The coal was Earth Kingdom, and the vegetation came from some of the volcanic islands of the Fire Nation. Sokka thought it was the fuel of the future. The range of the ships was dramatically increased, and time from fishing grounds to port was dramatically decreased.
The new boat was fast and versatile—if he ran out of veggiecoal, he used wind; if he ran out of wind, he used veggiecoal. It was a win/win no matter how you looked at it in his opinion.
However, none of the rest of the Watertribe wanted any part of it. Not even his own father. The ship wasn't traditional and it bore too many reminders of Fire Nation naval ships coming to destroy.
In the end, Sokka sold his interest in the traditional fleet and ended up sinking nearly everything he had in outfitting this new ship and setting up the trade system that would bring the exotic shrimpcrab delicacy to the tables of Omashu and Ba Sing Se—at tremendous profit for all involved.
Provided they didn't sink in the weather, he thought to himself as the ship took another bad roll.
He ran a hand through his long dark hair, taking a moment to tie it back into his customary ponytail. It had come loose sometime in the past twenty-four hours, and this was the first break in the storm long enough to to give him time to pull it back out of his face again.
Then he rubbed his eyes and his face in an effort to rouse himself. While those thirty-footers had been washing over the bow, nearly swamping them several times, he'd not trusted anyone else at the wheel, not even the Duke. That made a grand total of at least 36 hours without sleep.
But he'd catch up on missed sleep when he got home. This was his ship, his crew, his responsibility. However, now that the weather appeared to be behind them, maybe he could grab a couple of hours of rest.
"Hey, the Duke!" he called to the young man sleeping next to him.
"Hmm? What's up?" the Duke replied immediately, shaking sleep away with the alertness of a true fisherman, used to rising at unusual hours.
"Things look a lot calmer now. Can you spell me for a while? I need some time in the sack," Sokka answered with a yawn.
"No problem," answered the young man as he pushed a hand through his unruly brown hair and rose, stretching as best he could in the small wheelhouse.
"If you need me, I'll be unconscious," Sokka continued as he handed over the wheel of the boat. "Wake me in a couple of hours."
The Duke cast a practiced eye across the water. Above them, the clouds had begun to clear, allowing the full moon to shine down at last across the rapidly darkening waters. "I think the worst is behind us," the young man ventured. "Looks like we can make port for repairs without running back through that mess."
"Yeah, go ahead and set course for home," Sokka sighed in resignation. "I just wish we had a full catch to go with us. The migration is nearly over and we've only caught about half of what we'd planned." He shook his head in disappointment.
"Even then, we'll make enough to pay for expenses and have enough left to refit for the speckled tunamackerel run in a couple of months," the Duke offered in his most encouraging voice.
Sokka gave him a nod and a weary smile, but he was still not happy with the results. He'd wanted more than expenses.
Suki had been wanting to move to a bigger place. With six year old Zutara, three year old Toma, and the one year old twins Aiko and Hasue, their little house on Kyoshi Island had grown crowded indeed. She missed their old place further south, and truthfully so did he.
For one thing, his new neighbors were his in-laws, he thought with a silent laugh. Then he countered the laughter. Pao and Shei were good people and a great help to Suki when he was out fishing. He was glad to have family nearby.
And they were semi-famous—having been part of the gaang that took down Fire Lord Ozai and saved the world.
But even when you're famous, he thought, it could be hard to come home. And Kyoshi Island was his wife's home. A home where she'd been a great warrior. And now she was a fisherman's wife.
Sokka sighed once more as he navigated down the narrow steps to the deck below. He started to turn through the door that led to the bunks below when he decided to take a turn around the deck instead, just to check the damage before darkness set in completely.
The ship was a wreck. Half the starboard rail was completely missing, lost during the storm. Their fishing traps, though still securely lashed down, were broken and battered. Maybe half of them were still usable without major repair.
Sokka yelped in anger as he nearly stepped into a hole on deck where one of the wide wooden planks had been snapped and wrestled free by the power of the waves. The boat still rolled with the ocean, taking waves over the side, and he knew if he didn't want to get soaked, he'd soon have to go below.
Overhead, the stars were beginning to shine in earnest and the moonlight glimmered on the whitecaps as the sky grew darker. Sokka stepped carefully to the aft rail which hung precariously and tried to pull it back into some semblance of repair in the fading light. It fought him as he pulled against it. And the more it held back on him the angrier he got.
However, the anger, frustration, disappointment, and worry fueled his efforts, and he managed to haul the heavy timber back into place. With a sigh, he stood and looked back over the ruin of his new boat.
"Short of sinking, it couldn't get much worse than this," he stated in evaluation and turned to go below.
Then without warning, a rogue wave washed over the side, spilling him effortlessly over the broken-once-more aft rail.
Though summertime, the waves were still cool as they washed over him, pulling him beneath the water. He managed to break the surface, aware that the boat was already fifteen feet away. He began swimming toward it, but another wave rose up around him, this one even taller than the last and he had to fight just to keep his head above water.
Already exhausted from lack of sleep, his arms and legs felt like lead as he tried to tread water, calling out for help. But in the sound of the waves and the engine, he knew there was no way he could have been heard.
His boots and leathers began to fill with water, dragging at him like lead weights. Reflexively he tugged off his tunic and let it slip away into the depths.
Sokka tried to kick his boots off his feet, but they refused to budge. The knots were too tight. He had a sudden flash of coming home and holding out his feet for Zutara and Toma. They had so much trouble untying the leather thongs, especially when the knots had gotten wet and shrank into themselves. But they never got tired of trying to pick them loose so they could pull off Daddy's boots for him.
He wished with all his heart that he could see them again.
As the waves washed over him once more and the leather of his clothing grew heavier, he knew he would never make it to shore. The lights of the boat had begun to recede into the distance. He called out to them again, but the waves had already driven him a good fifty or more feet from the boat. Likely, the Duke wouldn't even know he was gone until he was ready to be relieved. Probably not until morning when they made harbor, knowing the Duke.
He tried once again to pull his feet free of his waterlogged boots, but between the incessant pounding of the waves over his head and the numbness of his fingers in the cool water and the uncooperative leather thongs, he knew it was hopeless.
Even had he pulled them off, he was over twenty miles from shore in heavy weather without anything to cling to. This was it, he realized. This was how it would end.
"Oh, Suki," he called to her. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry to do this to you."
Another wave pressed him beneath its surface and he briefly considered just breathing it in and letting the water take him away. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't stop fighting for life. His wife and his children deserved so much more than this.
He thought of his twin babies, son Aiko and daughter Hasue. They'd just started walking and babbling Dada when he came in the door. They wouldn't understand when he didn't come home again. Neither would Zutara or Toma. The thought filled him with unutterable sadness.
"Take care of them for me," he prayed to the spirits. And the moon shone down on him with a beautiful light. "Watch over them for me, Yue!" he called to her where she floated so serenely above it all. Then another wave washed over him, filling his lungs with water.
And the sea pulled him into its embrace, like a mother with her child. He looked up through the dark water and could still see the white orb of the moon above. But as his consciousness slipped away, all he could see was Suki's face.
Hundreds of miles away, Aang stood on the balcony of his suite in Omashu and looked up at the same moon overhead. Below, his wife Katara practiced her waterbending with a quiet concentration and peace that could only come from having both their boys in bed.
Three year old Bumi would have loved to stay up and watch Mama practice in the moonlight, but six month old Kodaso had been asleep for well over an hour. Aang gave a little earthbending glance down the stone tiled corridors to the children's rooms where they slept peacefully. Toph's talents had added a new layer to his earthbending that no other avatar had ever experienced, he thought with a smile.
Then he turned back to where Katara worked, her hands and arms moving in a sinuous ballet of power and grace as the water suspended between them glistened and shone in the moonlight. She loved to bend by the light of a full moon when a waterbender's powers were at their peak.
And he loved to watch her.
Even the trees and flowers of the courtyard moved and swayed with her as her bending encompassed everything around her. Sometimes Aang could even feel the pull on himself as she worked. He closed his eyes and relaxed in the ebb and flow, letting his own waterbending abilities resonate with hers so that he could feel her movements with his entire self.
Then out of nowhere, it all stopped.
Katara's water fell from her hands with a splash and she cried out in surprise. The sky had gone suddenly dark as if a cloud had passed over the moon, but as Aang looked up he realized there was no cloud in the sky. The moon still hung there, but its light had gone gray and dim.
"What happened?" Katara asked, fear in her voice. "What happened to the moon?"
"I don't know," Aang answered. He tried to waterbend the globe back up from the ground, but his waterbending abilities were gone. He ran down the stairs to the courtyard below where Katara trembled anxiously, her arms wrapped around herself as if she'd grown suddenly cold.
Then Aang tried to earthbend a small boulder without any problem at all. Likewise, he easily produced a palm full of fire. Only his waterbending abilities were gone.
"Has something happened at the north pole?" he wondered aloud. But even as he said it, the sky began to grow lighter as the moon's glow returned, slowly at first, then rapidly returning to its full illumination.
Katara waved her hand over the soggy ground and her globe of water surged up to meet her as if nothing had happened. "What was that all about?" she asked nervously as she replaced the water in the flask at her side.
"I have no idea," Aang replied. "But I think we'd better see about finding out."
Late the next day, Suki had just dished up supper for the children when she heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening. Zutara and Toma were up from the table in a flash, both yelling, "Daddy!"
She winced a little at the sound, having had a persistent headache all day long. She'd been trying to get the storage room reorganized, but with four little ones constantly underfoot, the effort had been more than it was worth.
Plus, her husband had a tendency to keep every piece of clothing he'd ever owned. She thrown out sacks full of outgrown trousers and coats, worn out socks and undershirts—including a couple of old shirts that he swore were good for wearing when gutting fish. She personally believed even dead fish deserved better than those holey things.
Then there were the boxes of indecipherable papers---scraps of notes about new boats, fishing schedules, trade routes, invention plans. It was impossible to tell what was worth keeping and what needed to be thrown away to make room for more scraps of paper.
In the end, she'd kept it all. "I just hope you've managed to land a full catch this time, Sokka," she'd actually said aloud. "We have got to have more room or you are going to have to clean some of this junk out!"
She wiped Aiko's mouth and rose from the table to greet her husband. But to her surprise, the Duke stood in the doorway instead, an odd expression on his face.
"Where's Daddy, the Duke?" asked Zutara curiously.
"You kids go out and play a while," the Duke said to them, but he was staring straight at Suki. "I need to talk to your mom a minute."
"Go see if Grandma has any candy," Suki added, her eyes never leaving the Duke's.
In seconds, the two older children had dashed next door to her mother's house, leaving her alone in the common room with the young fisherman.
"Where's Sokka?" Suki managed to whisper.
The Duke looked away from her, unable to meet her eyes any longer. "I'm so sorry, Suki," he began, then his voice broke and his shoulders began to shake. "It's my fault. I was on watch. I am so sorry."
"What happened?" she asked more forcefully, fear descending on her. "Where is Sokka?"
"We lost him. He's gone," came the broken reply. "He's gone, Suki."
And just like that, her entire world crashed around her.
When the children returned with her mother, she informed them calmly that Daddy wouldn't be home for a while—that was all she could manage. Her mother looked at her oddly, but kept her peace. Instead she helped get the children bathed and readied for bed.
Then she kissed them and tucked them in, fingering the dark hair of Toma's little warrior's wolf tail, then the beginnings of Aiko's. And Zutara and Hasue kissed her and blinked at her with those watertribe blue eyes.
Somehow she managed to get them to sleep. And her mother stayed in the house for her as she pulled Sokka's old winter coat out of the sack she'd tossed it in that morning. She clutched the heavy blue leather in her arms, her fingers running over its patches and darned places where it had been snagged by hooks and worn through at the elbows from too many winters of hard work.
But the trim of the hood was still soft and clean and the white fur danced lightly in the breeze as she walked down to the beach. She stood there a moment as the sun went down and looked out over the water.
She could still smell him as she pressed her face into the warmth of the coat. She breathed in his scent and she held it tightly.
He was lost, the Duke had said. Lost at sea. Washed overboard over twenty miles from shore. They'd not realized he was gone for hours.
"It must have happened when he turned over the wheel to me," the Duke had said, tears streaming down his face. "His bunk hadn't been slept in." Then he'd took another deep breath and said, "It's my fault, Suki. I should have made sure he got in okay."
She couldn't reply. What could she say to him? How could she comfort him when her comfort was gone? Then the young man had gone back to the dock.
"I won't stop looking for him, Suki," the young man had said. "I won't stop until I find him." But she could hear the hopelessness in his voice. He'd been gone too long, too far out. They wouldn't find him.
Now she stood at the edge of the water where the earth met the ocean. "Sokka?" she called softly. "Sokka, baby, can you hear me?"
Clouds of gray and purple lined the horizon as the sun went down over the waters before her. The waves lapped lightly against the sand, the sound her only answer in the darkness.
"Sokka?" she called again in a hoarse whisper. She hugged his coat to her closer, her fingers clenching the soft fur, as she sank to her knees on the sand. His scent washed over her again and she felt loss and emptiness and sorrow.
"Sokka!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Then she could only weep in great heartbroken sobs.
A continent away, Zuko also watched the sun go down, but from the back of the great golden dragon Blaze. He circled the capital of the Fire Nation, surveying the land below him, not as a king, even though he reigned as Fire Lord, but more as a servant to the country and the people below him.
The new Chan Shipping Complex was coming along nicely in its construction, he decided. But he had questions about the new fish processing facility. Questions that needed answers.
As he and Blaze touched down lightly in the palace courtyard, he could see his wife Toph standing on the balcony watching for his return, their son Rokiroh in her arms. She waved at him at the second the great dragon's feet touched the ground. He waved back, knowing that with her incredible ability to earthbend, she could see him do it.
Baby Rokiroh waved too, and Zuko's heart swelled with pride. He could see Toph talking to her son as they went back inside, presumably to call for dinner for the Fire Lord. Zuko's stomach growled just at the thought of food.
Then he walked with Blaze into the huge house that had been built for him in the courtyard. An entire
wing of the palace had to be reconstructed to accommodate the huge creature, but it was a task Zuko was more than happy to undertake. The dragons had returned to the Fire Nation and he would move heaven and earth to make them welcome and show them respect.
After he made certain Blaze had his own dinner and had scrubbed the scales of his head and neck well with a stiff brush—a grooming that made the big dragon purr and produce little snorts of contented flame—he gave him a deep bow and wished him a very good night.
Blaze, however, did not stand on that sort of ceremony and gave Zuko a lick to the forehead with his rough, hot tongue. Anyone but a firebender would have been burned, but for Zuko it was merely a kiss—though a slightly wet one.
"Tomorrow, my friend, I would like to make a trip to Kyoshi Island to consult with my old friend Sokka," Zuko stated. "Would you be willing to make the trip with me?"
Zuko got an affirmative answer from the dragon—not in words, nor in thoughts, but in something else, something that spoke into his spirit. "Might my wife and child accompany us?" he continued.
Amusement colored Blaze's answer. He found Zuko overly formal, but amusing. Blaze enjoyed interacting with Toph very much. She was not formal at all. And the baby would be no weight at all to carry---as well as a pleasure. He was very much in favor of the trip indeed.
Toph was less reserved in her excitement. She rose from the dinner table and in full view of all the servants, threw her arms around her husband and kissed him passionately. It was always such a treat to get to visit their extended family. She couldn't wait to see them all again—especially the new babies.
"They've never seen Rokiroh either. He'll have so much fun with Sokka's little ones," she declared firmly. "And I think Aang and Katara are still in Omashu for that summit meeting. We can swing by there on our way home and visit with them and with everybody in Omashu!"
Zuko privately thought that Omashu was a long way out of the way to just "swing by," but he didn't have the heart to say so to his excited wife. In fact, he felt sure that he could easily come up with some very good reasons to pay a state visit to Omashu while they were traveling.
"I believe Jet sent us a scroll about an upcoming trade summit that Aang would be presiding over. We were invited to attend. Perhaps a state appearance would be a good idea. We haven't been to Omashu since his and Mai's wedding," Zuko agreed as he gave her a discreet little squeeze. "Blaze has already agreed to take us to Kyoshi Island. Perhaps he will be agreeable to make the journey a bit longer."
Blaze was more than agreeable. Though fully grown at last, he was still a young dragon and enjoyed the opportunity to see the world. Buoyed by the strength that came directly from his spiritual connection with fire, he made the trip with minimal rest stops, coming to land in the central courtyard of Kyoshi Island only a day after the Duke's return to port without his captain.
The entire town turned out to witness the arrival of the Fire Lord and his Lady, as well as the baby crown prince—not to mention the gigantic golden dragon. Within moments Suki had come out the door of her house on the square, fairly running to Toph.
"I can't believe you got the message so fast!" she said. "Not even Aang and Katara have come yet."
"What message?" Zuko asked as an older woman approached. But Suki couldn't make the words come out, so her mother Shei provided the answer.
"Sokka has been lost at sea," Shei managed to explain, despite the tears in her own voice. "About twenty miles out in a storm last night." Then she cleared her throat and continued, "Every available boat has cast off to search for him."
"Did he have anything to keep him afloat? Was he near any land that he might have reached?" Zuko asked as he strode purposefully back to Blaze.
Suki's mother shook her head sadly as Suki tried her best not to cry.
With a look back at Toph and his little son, Zuko reached up to Blaze's jaw, giving it good scratch as he asked, "Can you keep me in the air a little longer? I need to look for my friend." Blaze just put out a forepaw for Zuko to step onto to mount into the saddle.
Toph blinked against the dust that rose around them as the dragon's wings beat hard against the air to propel him and her husband overhead. She bended the cloud of earth back away from the crowd—especially away from Rokiroh's face. Then she felt little hands pulling at her dress.
"Aunt Toph!" came an insistent call and she looked down to see Zutara and Toma before her. "Was that a dragon?" Zutara asked in awe.
"Yes, sweetheart, it was. That was Blaze. He brought us here for a visit," Toph replied. Then she took Suki's arm and gently led her back inside to sit.
Once inside the house, Suki's focus turned quickly to tending to the children. "Would you two like to have a cookie?" she asked them. "Then you can show Rokiroh all of your toys."
Toma nodded and reached out a chubby hand to his mother. Without thinking, Toph commented, "That one is Sokka made over."
Suki's hand trembled as she handed her son a cookie, then stroked his cheek. "He can't be gone, Toph. He just can't be," she whispered. "How could I live without him?"
"They'll find him, Suki," Toph replied, all the comfort she could manage in her voice. "They'll have to find him."
But as Zuko soared over the ocean with Blaze, he knew in his heart it was hopeless. Even now, the waves were still perilous the further he traveled from the harbor of Kyoshi Island. If Sokka had been without any way to stay afloat, there was no way he would still be swimming.
He looked out across the dark water, hoping beyond hope to catch sight of a dark head bobbing in the surf. But even as he searched, he knew their chances of spotting him, even if right on top of him were next to none. Maybe Aang in the avatar state would be able to tell more.
Zuko considered flying to Omashu instead to get word to Aang faster, then considered that a message had already been sent—probably by hawk. In all likelihood, Aang and Katara were already on their way. So he continued to search instead.
He and Blaze flew tirelessly, sometimes soaring over the boats which also worked a search grid, and with each pass, Zuko's heart grew heavier with the realization of just how overwhelming and ultimately fruitless their task truly was. As darkness fell, both he and Blaze were completely exhausted, though he continued to search by moonlight until clouds moved in, making the sea a rolling sheet of utter blackness.
He landed once again, making sure that Blaze was well housed and fed. "You worked too hard for me today, my friend," he told the big dragon.
Blaze's huge amber eyes glimmered in reassurance even as the lids drooped in weariness. Zuko knew the dragon was happy to have flown him, but sad that their search had been in vain. Blaze drank heavily from the huge trough of water that was prepared for him; then his head sank onto his forepaws and within seconds Zuko could hear the deep breaths of sleep coming from those huge lungs.
Zuko passed a warning to those nearby to avoid being too close to the head of the sleeping dragon. "He snorts flame in his sleep," he explained and watched as a haywagon was quickly moved to the far side of the courtyard.
Then he heard a whuffing sound overhead and only just managed to dodge Appa's rapidly descending furry form as the skybison landed solidly on the ground.
"Good job, buddy," Aang's voice came from his seat on Appa's head. "We made it. You just rest now."
Zuko reached up to help Aang down from his perch atop the large skybison. "I think there's room for Appa next to Blaze," he offered, then helped Aang settle his furry friend in for the night.
"We got here about an hour after you guys," Aang explained in a sad, tired voice. "I've spent the entire day searching. Even in the avatar state, I couldn't get a glimpse of him." They stopped about halfway across the courtyard and Aang turned to look at Zuko.
"Zuko, I don't think we're going to find him. I think it's too late," he said and his shoulders sagged as if the weight of the world lay on them.
They made their way back to the house, where Aang was immediately greeted by Katara, her face pale and worried. Toph likewise clung to Zuko. At the table sat Jet and Mai, holding hands. Suki sat by the fire, turning a piece of paper over and over in her hands. As the door opened, she'd looked up with hope in her eyes, only to have it dashed by the sad shake of their heads.
An unbidden sigh went through the room. Mai and Toph rose and dished up some food for Aang and Zuko who both ate gratefully. No one said a word, however. No one knew what to say.
Then there was a soft knock at the door, and the Duke entered. He looked like he hadn't slept in nights—which was in fact the truth. Dark circles ringed his eyes and he stumbled a little as he made his way into the room.
Jet guided him to a chair and passed him a cup of tea. The young man took it gratefully and downed it in one long drink. Then he wiped his mouth with one unsteady hand and set the cup on the table, whispering a hoarse thank you as he did so. Then without another word, he lay his head on his arms and fell fast asleep.
Katara found a little blanket on the sofa and draped it gently across the young man's shoulders.
The room was silent except for the crackle of the fireplace. The children slept peacefully in the next room, unaware of the drama unfolding in the house.
Then beside the fire, Suki began to cry, soft heartbroken sobs that she did her best to hide. Katara went to her then, pulling her into a comforting embrace, her own tears mingling with Suki's.
Darkness fell in earnest and Mai rose to light the lamps. Jet walked over to close the windows against the cool night air but stopped short to stare at the moon as it gleamed in the sky with an unearthly beauty.
Then, without warning, the door swung open, and Suki gave a cry of joy as her husband took a step into the room.
"I'm home," Sokka stated in a distant voice as if he had trouble believing it. Then his eyes rolled back and he crashed heavily to the floor, completely unconscious.