Grimly, Sokka walked through the ruins of the village that had been his home for only a few months. He closed his eyes, shutting out the painful images, and hit his knees. "Damn it…DAMN IT!" Damn you, Aang! Where are when we need you?
"Sokka?" A young voice asked. Sokka looked up at the young man standing before him, carrying a short bow. "Ev…everyone else is…"
"I know." Sokka said, his voice cracking. He swallowed it all back, and rose. Sokka picked up his sword, and spoke to the boy. "Corin, pack. We're leaving."
The young girl stood at the prow, looking ahead as the ship drew near the island where a small village was supposed to be. It had taken everything the girl had to persuade the sailors to take her with them.
I'm here, Mom. I'll find the Avatar, and make him come back.
"That's strange." The girl heard a sailor say. "I've never seen so much smoke coming from the village before."
Within an hour, everyone aboard saw why. The entire village been laid to waste."They attacked just as the sun rose." Sokka said as the ship's cook laid out a stew. "Fire Nation scum." He glanced at Corin, who hadn't spoken much since the attack. "The boy and I are the only ones who weren't killed."
The quiet young girl spoke. "Are you really Sokka, the man who knows the Avatar?"
Sokka looked at her. "I know him. But Aang's been missing for years."
The girl looked down. "Then you wouldn't know how to find him."
Sokka nodded in agreement. "But I'm going to. Aang's been wallowing in his own misery for too long."
The girl looked up. "Can I come with you, sir?"
"Um…listen, girlie…"
The girl's eyes narrowed. "Girlie? My name is Hikari, and I can take care of myself."
"She is a waterbender." One of the sailors commented. "Not that its any of my business."
"All right." Sokka looked at Kari with interest. It had been a long time since he'd seen a waterbender.
Corin and Sokka sat in a calm spot on the deck of the ship, watching Kari as she toyed with the water around her.
Sokka couldn't get over how much the girl reminded him of Katara, from her mannerisms to the fact that she could bend water.
"You're from the North Pole, right?" Corin asked. "You must be, there aren't any other water tribes that haven't been wiped out."
"Actually there are several in the jungle." Sokka stated.
Kari pushed the seawater back over the side of the ship, and sat down. "No. I'm from the Earth Nation, but my mother was a waterbender. People say I look a lot like her."
"What was her name?" Corin asked curiously.
Kari smiled. "That's a secret."
"Okay." Corin was awestruck, faintly aware that he kept looking at the girl perhaps too much. "Do you have any family?"
Kari's bright smile faltered. "Only my brother, but I haven't seen him in a long time. My parents were…they died saving our village from the Fire Nation."
Corin cursed himself. "I'm sorry." The boy apologized as his thoughts turned to his own parents. After a few moments, he rose.
"Where are you going?" Sokka asked.
"Nowhere, really." The boy replied, and walked off.
Kari watched him leave, then turned to Sokka. "Will he be okay?"
"Corin is hurting right now. He lost everyone he ever knew." Sokka sighed. "So why are you looking for the Avatar?"
"I want to ask him to help my brother." Kari answered. "He's building an army."
"An…army?" Sokka focused on the bright, happy girl. "Why does your brother need an army? It's years too late to attack the Fire Nation."
"I…" Kari reached for her throat, and seemed to take strength from an object Sokka couldn't see. "My brother promised our father he would stop the Fire Lord."
"That's quite a thing to attempt." Sokka stated. "I guess you can count me in. The Fire Nation took everyone from me, and I want to make them pay.
The sound of coughing filled the almost empty throne room. A feeble old man was tending to the Fire Lord while Azula watched emotionlessly. The old doctor fumbled, and Azula was on him, throwing the man down from the throne.
"I will finish, you bumbling fool." She hissed. "Go find a place to die." With practiced motions, Azula wrapped the treated bandages around her father's throat.
"Well done, daughter." The aging man said. "Now, report to me."
Azula bowed. "The Fifth fleet has wiped out another terrorist colony, Father. There was confirmation: the warrior with the black sword was spotted."
"Did he survive?" Ozai asked, ignoring the hitch he had heard in Azula's voice.
"All evidence states he escaped."
"Too bad. The only survivors of that little group are that man and the blind earthbender." Ozai mused. "And we cannot catch either of them. Double all efforts."
"Yes Father." Azula said.
"You may go."
"Yes Father." Azula bowed low, and walked out of the room.
A young boy was waiting for Azula just outside of the throne room. "Mother, is it time for a lesson?"
Azula looked at her son, only the barest hint of smile on her lips. The young boy was no prodigy, but still had more skill than many years older than him.
"Very well, Ryu." She said, and the boy cheered, racing down the corridor.
Azula watched her son go with mixed feelings. No one had ever asked who the father was, but looking at his blue eyes made it very obvious.
And Ryu's blue eyes made Azula afraid for her son, something she had never thought would happen.