"So, what do we now?" Sokka asked the group as they flew on Appa's newly saddled back.
"Hey, you're the reason we had to leave," Katara shot at her brother.
"How was I supposed to know papayas were flammable?" Sokka defended. "I told Toph we should have gone with mangoes."
"Are you calling this my fault?" Toph shouted.
"Whatever. Toph's wrongness aside, I keep getting the feeling we are forgetting something."
"Like what?" Zuko asked.
"I'm not really sure. Just something. Or someone." His eyes suddenly burst wide open in realization. "Suki!"
"Who?" asked Ty Lee. She remembered hearing that name somewhere before.
"She's this girl I'm sort of involved with," Sokka answered stressfully, disheartening Ty Lee. "I can't believe I forgot about her!"
"I hope she's okay," said Aang
"Maybe we could go to Kyoshi Island to look for her and the other Kyoshi Warriors." Katara suggested. Mai and Ty Lee's hearts dropped.
"Kyoshi Warriors," Ty Lee said, a distressed tone in her voice.
"What, do you know them or something?" questioned Aang.
"Um, no." Mai answered. "We don't. But we've heard of them."
"From Azula?" Katara asked.
"That kingdom stealing scoundrel," Kuei added bitterly.
"Yeah. Why?" Ty Lee said, her nerves increasing.
"Well, you guys had their clothes in Ba Sing Se. How did you get their uniforms anyway?
"Azula didn't say," Mai answered.
"Excuse me children, but shouldn't we be getting back to travel plans." Iroh interjected. Ty Lee and Mai were never so grateful in their lives. "If you plan to go to Kyoshi Island, it seems your bison is traveling in the wrong direction."
"Okay," Aang said. "Turn around, Boy!" The Flying bison made a 180° degree turn and began once again soring over the vast seas of the Earth Kingdom.
"Look! Down there!" Toph exclaimed while pointing to the ocean, causing everyone to pointlessly look over the edge and see nothing.
"You guys never learn do you?" Toph said, receiving angry glances from everyone, including Momo and Bosco. "Blind, remember?" The group traveled for hours on end, until finally Ty Lee saw something over the side of Appa.
"It can't be," Katara said as she gazed over the side to see a Water Tribe Ship. Sokka looked over as well, and came to the same conclusion.
"It's Dad! Aang, bring us down!" Aang then pulled on Appa's reigns, bringing Appa to begin descent down to the ship. They landed right beside the ship, and Sokka realized his conclusion was correct. "Sokka, Katara!" Hakoda said as he kneeled on the edge of the boat. "It's so good to see you again."
"Capture her!" Smellerbee heard someone say. But she could not look back. She had to keep running. Without Longshot. She felt a tear come to her eye, but she couldn't stop. She would run forever, as fast as her feet could take her. After what felt like a lifetime, Smellerbee found herself at the gates of Ba Sing Se. She quicky pulled out her sword and pulled it to a Dai Li agent's throat.
"Open the gate if you ever want to breathe again," she said to the agent, who was in a state of pure terror. Reluctantly, the man reached into his pocket and pressed a button on a remote control. Slowly, the walls began to open, Smellerbee clutching her sword to his throat the whole time through. As soon as the gate was open, she pulled the sword away and sprinted out of the city.
"Those doublecrossing bitches!" Azula shouted to herself. She was mad. Madder than she has ever been. Such emotion from Azula was so scarce that even her close family had probably never seen it. In fury, she shot a fire blast at the wall. Nervously, a man opened the Grand Doors and slowly approached Azula.
"Tell me, minion. Do you remember what happened last time some fool barged in the Grand Hall and approached me without proper notice?"
"Forgive me princess," The Dai Li agent stammered. "But I have a message from Fire Lord Ozai." Azula's narrow and sceptical eyes widened, her anger turned to stress. "He demands that you return to the Fire Nation immediately. He says that if you are not there in two days, he will send his Royal Guard to come get you."
"Tell my father I will be there," said Azula. She was really nervous. She knew what her father wanted her there for. He wanted to ask her about the traitors, Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai.
"Katara, it's been a long time," Hakoda said as the ship docked at the Southern Water Tribe. "Sokka, its been a few weeks. So what brings you and your friends back to the South Pole, anyway?"
"Well, we weren't actually planning to come," Sokka began. "Before we saw your fleet, we were going to go to Kyoshi Island to look for my gir-" he suddenly stopped himself from saying to word. "Um, my friend."
"Sokka!" Hakoda said sternly. "You weren't going to tell your father about your first girlfriend?"
"Actually," Katara chimed in. "He already had another one back at the North Pole."
"Ah, I remember my first girlfriend. Her name was-"
"Uh, Dad?" Sokka interjected. "Could we talk about something a little less awkward?"
"Oh, sure son," Hakoda said. "Unfortunately, the men and I have to leave in two days." This statement was greeted by dissapointed expressions from Sokka and Katara. This sadness was interrupted when another warrior came over to Hakoda.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Hakoda said to the man. He then turned back to Sokka. "Sokka, you remember Kaharo, correct?"
"Yeah," Sokka replied.
"Well, he is willing to stay behind and train you as a warrior."
"Seriously?" Sokka asked in excitement. "That would be great!" Kaharo was an expert with a boomerang, and Sokka had always idolized him. Now he was going to train him. Sokka was thrilled.
"But what about Suki?" Ty Lee interjected. "Who knows what could happen to her?"
"You're right. But what could we do?"
"Sokka, meet me at the training grounds in 10 minutes," said Kaharo. "If we are to finish training in two days, we will have to work immediately and constantly."
"Yes, Master Kaharo," said Sokka. Kaharo then procceded to walk further into the village a head for the Training Grounds. After bidding a temporary farewell to his father, Sokka followed his master, along with Aang, Katara, Toph,, Kuei, and Iroh. When Mi and Ty Lee began to walk, however, Zuko pulled them back until the three of them were the only ones left.
"Why did you lie?" Zuko asked, drawing worried looks from the girls.
"What are you talking about?" asked Mai, though she knew the answer.
"You know that you can't lie to me. I can tell if you're telling the truth. You know what happened to the Kyoshi Warrior."
"Please don't tell them," Ty Lee pleaded to Zuko. "If they find out, they'll never let us stay."
"And why does that matter to you so much?" Zuko asked, though he knew why. Ty Lee did not respond. "You know that what you are doing is extremely selfish."
"Since when are you the selfless one?" Mai asked angrily. "You tried to destroy the Avatar, the world's last hope for peace, just so you could help yourself."
"I know, and I'm not proud of what I did. I just don't want you two to make the same mistakes I made."
"Please don't tell them," Ty Lee said
"I won't. Just remember this," Zuko said to Ty Lee. "It doesn't matter if it helps you or not. If you really cared about him, then you would tell him."
"Set sail for the city of Ozai," Azula said to the captain of the ship. The stairs of the ship folded open, revealing a doorway, and the princess strode onto the ship.
After 3 hours at sea, the ship finally docked in the Fire Nation capital. When Azula got out of the ship, she saw a sea of Fire Nation soldiers, all dressed in crimson uniforms, parting in the middle at the sight of her, revealing a path. Azula, followed two Dai Li agents, walked the path and made way for the Royal Palace. When she reached the palace, she was greeted by three guards, who escorted her to the Fire Lord's throne room.
"The Fire Lord has requested that you stay out here," the guards said to the Dai Li agents. Azula and the guards then opened the doors to Fire Lord Ozai's throne room. The throne room was exactly the same as it was last time Azula was there. She spotted the fire burning in a large torch behind the Fire Lord, casting a menacing shadow over Ozai.
"Hello Father," Azula said, trying to keep her composure.
"Greetings Daughter," Ozai responded. "I heard of your exploits in Ba Sing Se, and I am very impressed."
"Thank you,"
"However," Ozai said, changing the subject. "You failed in your original mission. Both Zuko and Iroh have escaped and are currently traveling with the Avatar. Not only that, but you managed to let your friends' treachery go unpunished, and now they are with the Avatar as well. That means that you letr traitors escape. No other member of this family has lost this many traitors for centuries. Worst of all, you had them all in your grasp, yet they all escaped. Had thought of the possibility of having two failures for children, I would have had a third child to take my throne."
"I apologize, Father. I will improve in my next encounter with those traitors."
"See to it. It just might help you redeem yourself. Until then, I will send someone to help you with your mission. Someone you know very well."
"Okay Sokka," Kaharo began. "The first thing you need to learn is how to manipulate your opponent. This technique is essential for a warrior of the Water
Tribe. Like the way waterbenders have the ability to manipulate liquid, Nonbenders manipulate their foes. To do this, you must use your opponent's weaknesses against him. You wait for an opening, and when the timing is just right, you strike." He then lightly demonstrated this to Sokka. "Now you try." Sokka executed the move perfectly, amazing his master.
"That was great!" Kaharo complimented. "Have you learned this before?"
"Yes," Sokka replied. "I learned from a warrior from Kyoshi Island."
"Ah, the Kyoshi Warrior. Since they are so close to Kyoshi Island, we have had much contact with them and taught them many techniques, including this one. So, how are they?" Sokka was not enjoying this conversation. He did not want to think about Suki, or what might be happening to her.
"I don't know,"
"Wow!" This was all Katara and Aang could say as they walked into what they expected to be a small village. From what they remembered, The Southern Water Tribe was nothing more than a block of ice. Now what they saw before them was a spectacular dream in the making, comparable the Northern Tribe.
"Sokka, do you see this?" Katara aked Sokka, who she then realized was already far ahead. "Aang, do you see this?"
"I know. Its amazing." Aang responded.
"What's up?" Toph asked.
"Nothing," said Katara. "Its just that this place looks so different from how it used to look. So much nicer. Oh! I just remembered. We should go see Gran Gran."
"Who?" asked Toph.
"Katara and Sokka's grandmother," Aang answered.
"Toph, you want us to show you around?" said Katara
"Eh, why not. Its not like I have anything else to do."
"What about you two?" Katara asked, turning her attention toward Iroh and Kuei. "By the way, what happened to the others?"
"We'll just go relax somewhere," Iroh responded. "We adults do not have as much energy as you children. And now that you mention it, I don't know where Zuko and the girls are. I think there still talking back near the boat. We'll wait here for them."
"Okay then," Aang said. "Come on Katara, Toph." The children then entered the great city. On all sides, they saw small shops and markets, though most sold similar products. Eventually they saw a beautiful, large building with marble columns and spires.
"Maybe that's a palace or something." Aang said.
"Possibly," said Katara. "And Gran Gran is the leader of our tribe. Let's take a look. The children then walked up the stairway and entered the enormous building. As they expected, almost immediately upon entrance, the children saw familiar elderly woman.
"Katara!" Kanna said to her granddaughter. "It's so nice to see you again. I see you a traveling with a new friend."
"Nice to see you too, Gran Gran," said Katara. "This is Toph Bei Fong. Toph, this is my grandmother.
"Nice to meet you," said.
"Likewise," Toph said.
"So what happened here?" Katara asked her Grandmother. "How did this place become so beautiful so quickly?"
"Well, after the Fire Nation attacked, we decided we needed to rebuild. The real building began when a group from our sister tribe came to help. Eventually, most of the Northern Tribe was down here to help. They returned to the North Pole for Aioki Day a few weeks ago, but they are coming back next week to finish up."
"Aioki Day's coming up soon?" asked Katara. "We haven't seen a calender in a while."
"Yes, Its tomorrow."
"What's Aioki Day?" Aang questioned.
"It's a holiday celebrating the moon and ocean spirits." Kanna explained. "You see, many years ago, Tui and La both fell in Zove with a beautiful woman of the Water Tribe named Aimi. To prove their love, the spirits gave up their immortality and came down to the mortal world as humans. However, when they each confessed their love for Aimi, she spurned them, leaving them heartbroken.
"Now every Aioki Day, the men of our tribe 12 and older show how love lives on by giving an Aioki Necklace to the woman they love."
"Thanks. I have another question." The others all turned their attention back to Aang. "Do you have a bathroom?"
"Oh, sure," Kanna responded. "Down the hall and to the right." Aang then thanked her and walked off through the hallway.
"Oh, Gran Gran?" Katara began to ask when Aang was gone. "Does the man have to be from the Water Tribe.
"Yes they do, unfortunately," Kanna said, disheartening Katara. "However, if I remember correctly, Bato said that someone has become an honorary member of the Water Tribe, though the name slips my mind. I believe it started with 'A'." Though she was trying to hide it, Katara felt a small smile creep over her face.
"Man, Katara," Toph said to Katara outside of the palace while waiting for Aang. "I cannot believe you have a thing for Twinkle Toes."
"What makes you think I like Aang?"
"I saw that smile when we were talking with your grandmother." Before Katara could respond, Aang opened the door and exited the palace.
"What did I miss?" Aang asked.
"A lot," Toph said.
"She's just joking," Katara said nervously. "Not much happened."
"Oookay," Aang said. "Anyway, we should go find Sokka and look for a place to stay for the night, shouldn't we?"
"Yeah, we should," said Katara.
"Are you ready for the next lesson, my pupil?" Kaharo asked.
"Yes, I am ready." Sokka responded. His master went through many lessons, Sokka figuring most out withing two or three tries.
"You are doing great Sokka," Kaharo stated to his student. "I can see why your father speaks so highly of you."
"Thank you, Master Kaharo."
"Sokka!" Katara said as she spotted her brother. "How's your training going?"
"It's going pretty well." He responded "So what's up?"
"Well we were looking for you so we could find a place to stay for the night. Its getting late."
"But I'm still training," said Sokka. He then turned his attention to Kaharo. "Could I please turn in a little early?"
"Well, I was planning to finish up in an hour, but since you're doing so well, I guess its okay. I want you back at 4:00 am sharp, though."
"Yes, Master Kaharo."
Why did this all have to happen? Smellerbee asked. First I lose Jet, and now I lose Longshot. I guess I am destined to be alone in the world. She then remembered what Longshot had told her. "You will never be alone." He was wrong. Or was he? She then remembered something an old friend had said. "We will always be there for you." They're here. Outside of the city. They're in Wei Xiao Se.
Smellerbee traveled on foot for a while until finally she entered the village.
"Excuse me," she asked a woman at the entrence. "Have you seen a group of fighters in red armor?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I have not."
"Thanks anyway," Smellerbee said. "And by the way, I'm a girl!" After leaving the woman, Smellerbee searched for hours through the city, but to no avail.
"Man. It shouldn't be this hard to find them in such a small village. Oh! That's it! They will be somewhere hard to find. And they'll be somewhere high up."
After looking around, she spotted a tall building hidden by other buildings.
"That must be it!" she then entered the building and took a stairway to the top the building. True to her assumption, when Smellerbee reached the top floor, she saw just who she expected.
"Smellerbee!" a large young man said. She was not alone anymore. She was once again with the Freedom Fighters.
"Oh, Sokka," Aang said as the other seven went into their rooms to go to sleep. "I kinda have an issue I need help with."
"Yeah you do, but I'm not the one to ask. Maybe you should see a therapist or something,"
"Seriously Sokka, I need to know how to give the girl I like a necklace for Aioki Day tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's Aioki Day? I must've really been really focused on my training. Anyway, you came to the right place. I am a master with the ladies. So what you have to do is…"
"Come on everybody!" Ty Lee yelled. "Rise and Shine! We've got a big day today."
"You say that everyday, Ty Lee." Mai said as she tiredly walkedout of her bedroom. "We don't even have anything planned today. You said that yesterday and all we ended up doing was lying around all day, and frankly that's all I want to do today."
"Yeah but that's still no reason to stay in bed all day!" Kuei, Iroh, Katara, and Zuko all walked out of there rooms next, followed by a sleepy Bosco stumbling in.
"Where are the other three?" Zuko asked.
"Well, the Avatar said he was goinfg out shopping." Said Ty Lee
"And Sokka is out training." Katara said. "So where's Toph?" She and the group all went to her room to investigate. They found Toph lying face down on the floor next to the bed, her hair sticking up as if it was full of static and a coating of dirt on her nightwear.
"Hey Toph," Katara said softly. "It's time to get up." When Toph did not respond she said, "Toph!" More forcefully. Toph only moved her hand a little, which sent a piece of the floor flying up, pushing Katara out of the room, and slamming the door shut.
"She's not much of a morning person."
"Sokka, my pupil," said Kaharo. "You have improved faster than anyone I have ever taught."
"Thank you, Master Kaharo," said Sokka
"You should be thanking yourself. You could have done all of this without my help. Congratulations Sokka, for you are now a Master Warrior."
"Really! That's amazing!" Sokka shouted. "I'm gonna go tell my dad!" He then began running, then walked back to Hakaro. "Um, where is my dad?"
"He's staying in the building to the left of the palace. He'll be proud when you tell him the news. I'll bet your mother is proud of you, too."
"Yeah, I'll bet she is."
"Hey Katara," Aang said as he walked through the door. " You wanna go out and see the city or something? I saw this fountain shaped like the moon and ocean spirits. Its pretty nice for a fountain shaped like fish."
"I'd love to!" exclaimed Katara. "I mean, that sounds good."
"Okay, lets go." Said Aang. The two of them walked through the city. After a few mitutes, they found themselves at the fountain.
"Oh wow," Katara said in amazement as she gazed at the beautiful fountain. The lanterns around the fountain reflected their magnificent light onto the calm water of the fountains. "This is so beautiful."
"I have something for you." Aang said.
"What is it?" asked Katara. Aang then reached into his pocket and pulled out a shining blue necklace.
"Oh, its so beautiful," Katara said. "Aang, I can't believe this."
"I know it was a dumb idea." Aang said sadly.
"No, it wasn't," Katara said. The two leaned in, and their lips came together form a kiss which lasted for two minutes, though to them it felt like a lifetime,"
"Happy Aioki Day, Katara." Aang said softly as his lips came apart from Katara's.
"Happy Aioki Day, Aang."
"Smellerbee!" Pipsqueak exclaimed.
"Its so good to see you guys again." Smellerbee said.
"So, where are Jet and Longshot?" asked Sneers. Smellerbee's face instantly turned solemn. "Jet is dead."
"What?" The Duke asked in shock. "How did that happen?"
"He was killed by the Dai Li while trying to protect the Avatar."
"Oh no," said Pipsqueak. "So where's Longshot?"
"He was captured a few days ago," said Smellerbee. "After the Fire Nation took over Ba Sing Se."
"We'll help you get him back," said Sneers. "We're not losing anyone else to the Fire Nation."
"Thank you so much guys," Smellerbee said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I wonder what Longshot's doing right now." The Duke said.
"Yeah, me too."
"Apparently, since you are not susceptible to reeducation," Long Feng said to Longshot, who was being held back by a pair of Dai Li, though he was not even putting up a fight. "Incarceration is the only way to insure that your misdeeds are punished for. Take him away, agents." As they were ordered, the Dai Li gripped Longshot' arms more forcefully and pulled him along to the prison cells. He was then shoved into the cell with a teenage girl in white makeup.
"Hello," she said. "My Name is Suki."