Chapter 7: And What Became of Aang and Sokka?
It was early morning when Sokka awoke and what was the first thing he notices? No breakfast. He sat up and looked around at their measly campsite. Appa was half asleep on the edge of the smallish clearing. Katara's sleeping bag was set up and partially open. It was empty.
"Katara?" He called out groggily. No reply came. "Katara!" Where was she? The young warrior sprung to his feet, sleep long forgotten, and shook Aang awake. "Aang, Aang! Katara's gone!" Aang sat up a little, and tried to bat Sokka away.
"Maybe she's just gone to practice." Aang suggested sleepily.
"No. She'd be back by now." Argued Sokka, looking worried. "Aang, we have to find her, she migth be in danger." He let go of Aang so that the pre-teen avatar could get to his feet. He then reached for his bag and tipped it out. "Look, she took the scroll. She must have gone off to practice when something happened. That's why she isn't back yet." Aang just gave him a look as if to ask if he was certain, but Sokka just cried out in protective frustration, and jumped to his feet in a half. He stormed down the narrow dirt path to the river edge, muttering under his breath and disturbing the wildlife around him.
Sokka was shocked. His sister clearly wasn't there, but she had been. There were scuffed and partially destroyed footprints that showed signs of a rough struggle. There were footprints from the shoes of a fire solder and bare feet too. He even saw, mostly around a tree with rope dropped at the bottom of it, inprints from Katara's boots.
"Katara." He whispered as he worked out what happened. The teenage warrior followed the dragged life of footsteps from the tree to the bank of the river. The mark of a docked boat was left there. "No!" The Fire scum had taken her! "Zuko!" He roared into the sky, with even greater anger, he turned on his heels and charged back to Aang.
"He's taken her!" He informed Aang with pure malice in his still breaking voice.
"Who?" Aang asked nievely.
"The Angry Jerk, Zuko. Thats who. Zuko has stolen my sister!" Sokka practically roared at the avatar. Aang was still innocent minded and confused. Why would Zuko abduct Katara? What good could she possibly do for him? Realisation suddenly hit him. Bait. He was using Katara as bait to get him to come, and then Zuko would capture Aang. He couldn't let that happen. "What are we going to do?" Sokka was panicking, but Aang was forming a plan.
"We carry on with the goal. We cannot go and get Katara ourselves, or he'll just catch us. That's what he wants." Aang told him hastily. This, at first, angered Sokka, but as he thought of what he said, he calmed down.
"Then who is going to help Katara?"
"I have a small idea..."
The Kyoshi warriors were training in the dojo when the Avatar returned on his flying bison, automatically Suki sensed something was wrong. She smiled, and bowed to Aang as he slid off of Appa's saddle, he mirrored her gesture. As Sokka slid off of the sky bison's back, she ran up to him and hugged him.
"Good to see you, Sokka." She grinned as she released him from the hug. Sokka gave her a weak smile. "Where's Katara?" His smile fell. He looked into her dark blue eyes with a pleading and solemn expression.
"Katara has gone missing. We think that Prince Zuko took her. We think that he is trying to use her as bait to capture Aang." He explained darkly. "I came here to ask for your help. We need you girls." It was unusual for him to be asking for a girls help in a situation like this, but she was a warrior, and a good one at that.
"Please, you and just a few of the Kyoshi warriors need to come with us. We can't think of anyone better." Aang pleaded with desperation in his grey eyes. The female warrior looked at the young avatar and nodded.
"What's the plan?" She asked in her most formal
A/N: Just a little one, but important. Well, you'll see later.
Oh and the Q&A on Ben' is still open, please state if you are asking to her direct, or me on her.
On deviantart or livejournal, I'll submit all of the asked question and who asked them with an answer. It'll be updated as they are asked. Ok?
I must ask, do you want me to kill Ben' at the end of the fic, give her a super-duper-luved-up ending, or ending in another way?