Wow. I missed my quota, didn't I? Well, I've been contemplating this story. You know, if I should be a reader instead of a writer? But I've decided that I'm going to keep doing both. And I hope that gladdens someone out there! Fan Fiction wouldn't let me post this until now. You have my permission to blame both of us for the delay. Sorry.

(Second day after the Omashu Summit.)

Chapter 7: New Plans and Old Friends

The servant's small ankles shook in their unfitting boots, the presence of his master quickly crumbling his confidence. He watched as Wei Fu Yong's bony fingers clawed into his desk after the unfortunate servant delivered the news to the tyrant before him.

"Whose fault is this?" he asked. The tension in his voice was obvious, every syllable exuding the lingering rage that would soon explode in the dark office.

"I-I'm not sure, Sir," he managed to stutter out. "I wasn't informed of the details. All I know is that she's been missing for about a day now." Wei Fu stomped to the short courier, towering over him like a platypus-bear but twice as terrifying.

"Why wasn't I told earlier?" he boomed, only a fraction of his anger escaping.

"The two Dai Lee agents guarding her door were only recently found detained in her cell," the boy, despite his nervous shaking, was proud of himself for speaking moderately calmly. After minutes of waiting, he decided to try explaining more, the distressing silence becoming too much for him, "She was careful not to be caught, Sir."

Wei Fu growled with fury. He roughly grabbed the herald's tunic and rammed him into the nearest stone wall, causing an aching shudder to ripple through the boy's bones.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?" he yelled, his veins bulging and eyes widening with displeasure and shame.

"I'm just the messenger, Sir!"

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Wei Fu lowered the child and shoved him angrily to the door, easily sending him across the room. He ran clumsily, thankful for the mercy he was shown.

Once the pest was gone, Wei Fu made it to his desk. His hand clung tightly to his throbbing head.

Everything was falling apart. He was already searching for the Earth Kingdom woman's husband. Now he had to worry about the new escapee. Even his agents weren't doing their job right. His headache worsened as it filled with images of himself locked away forever like Long Feng.

At least I have the Fire Lord on my side. Wei Fu took solace in that fact. With Zuko playing into his hands, things could turn around; the game could be back in his favor. All Wei Fu Yong needed was a new plan.

An epiphany striking him, he stood and walked to the window. As he gazed, the ideas grew into a small outline of a deviant plan.

Perhaps Fen can be of more use to me then I once thought.


"Sokka, you have to get out of bed sometime," coaxed Ty Lee. Sokka only replied with a grunt as he rolled to his side, turning his back to the two determined Kyoshi Warriors.

Ty Lee sighed heavily, and Lumi rested her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I miss her too, but crying about it won't fix anything! We'll be on land soon, so you should get off your butt, and get some breakfast," she said, hoping that she had awakened his lust for food.

He slumped to sitting position and glared at Lumi. "I wasn't crying!" he stated defensively.

She and Ty Lee gave him knowing smiles before telling him about the first village they would be stopping at on their trip to Omashu.

After breakfast Sokka and the three other Kyoshians trekked through the Earth Kingdom, agreed on travelling nonstop until sunset.

As Lumi looked over at the marching Sokka, she congratulated herself for getting him out of bed. Although he hadn't been his usual self since Suki was taken away from him, she was glad to see that he was actually smiling at a joke that another warrior was telling, and that he was telling a few jokes as well.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, Lumi missed the quick figures that dodged behind nearby trees as the group entered the village.

Taking a well-deserved break, they savored the way the town's spring sprayed light drops of water over their warn bodies. Sokka ate his preplaced snack hungrily, but he stopped when something caught his eye, despite nightfall's quickening approach.

The tip of a familiar hat ducking on the opposite side of a roof caused him to stop eating and stand to get a better look, earning him questioning glances from the others. As he squinted, he remembered the headwear and grabbed the hilt of his sword, an unmissed signal for the other members of their gang to prepare for a fight.

Three Dai Lee agents jumped from their hiding places, and citizens scattered automatically. Noting that they were benders, the Kyoshi Warriors were prepared to use Ty Lee's chi blocking techniques that she had taught them years ago.

Outnumbered by one, the Dai Lee struck first, and the battle had begun. One by one, people fell like rain.

Lumi was the first to go down after taking out one agent, and then it was Boa Yu by an unexpected rock column. Shortly after it commenced, the crusade was left only with Sokka and Ty Lee against the two remaining Dai Lee agents.

Ty Lee struggled to come into close contact with them as she fought, and Sokka sliced through stone after stone but was unable to act offensively. Just as the scuffle seemed to be endless, Sokka heard a screech from behind him. He turned to see his alliance sunken to her waist in the ground, struggling to free herself. She looked up at him hopelessly. Suddenly her eyes became more fearful.

"Get down!" she ordered. Sokka obeyed immediately not bothering to turn around. He flattened himself on the floor, covering his clothes in sludge, and looked up to see the attack fly over him and straight into the unsuspecting agent who'd confined Ty Lee.

She gave him a quick smile before Sokka rolled onto his back. His heart sank fast, seeing the last Dai Lee agent standing over him menacingly.

Reacting quickly, he swung his legs and tried to kick the man off balance. But he stood tall and firm with his element beneath him. Before Sokka could think of a new plan he heard a loud thump, and the agent fell to the side

Shocked and confused, he waited for the hero to say something. The bright Sun already hidden behind the mountains on the horizon, Sokka couldn't make out the champion's face, just her memorable figure.

Her arm came down and met his, and she pulled him up and kissed him on the cheek like she had done when they first met.

"Suki!" Sokka didn't waste time to say more than that. He reached for her, dropping his sword, and pressed his lips to hers. She joyfully obliged, both of them forgetting all of their struggles. After minutes of waiting happily, Ty Lee began to grow impatient. The couple ignored her as she cleared her throat intentionally loud.

"Hello? Waste deep in rock over here!"


"So you drop off the face of the Earth, and then show up, suddenly expecting me to be giddy about your crazy notion that a spirit is telling us to go to Ba Sing Se—my worst nightmare wrapped up in two convenient walls, trapping me inside with the insane man I'm taking the time to talk to for some reason—tonight?" she asked, saying her words so fast that Fen had to take a second to regroup before answering.

"Yes."

Toph shot him a look before going back to picking at her food angrily. She had regretfully agreed to have dinner with Fen, only for him to tell her some ridiculous story of a stranger giving him advice on his life.

"Ba Sing Se is different now!" he argued.

"It doesn't matter! The captain of the airship my mother rented won't take us all the way to Ba Sing Se without more money, and we just spent the last of ours on our dinner. It would take us days to get to Ba Sing Se on foot! We're not going," she said with a type of finality in her voice that Fen would usually take as his cue to stop talking, but he was determined with this particular argument.

"But-"

"Appa and I can take you." Toph jumped slightly at Aang's voice. She quietly cursed herself for not noticing his light footsteps. Aang walked towards their table after overhearing the couple's conversation.

Fen was surprised by the Avatar's appearance too, but it was just what he needed; he tried to pounce on the opportunity, but before he could, Toph answered Aang.

"Thanks for the offer, but we're not going to Ba Sing Se," she said coldly. Her reply stung, but he wasn't giving up that easily. If Toph was going to Ba Sing Se, then so was he.

"Are you sure? Do you really want to go back to your father?" Aang persisted, taking a seat at their table. He didn't know much about Toph's life after the war, but her parents seemed like a good conversation starter.

Fen winced at the Avatar's accidental mistake. He nudged him and shook his head slightly to let him know to get off the subject.

"My dad's dead," she said icily, looking away. Aang wasn't sure what to do at that point. Things were even more awkward than before, and no one wanted to be the one to break the tension.

"Oh, uh… Sorry." Toph made kind of a snorting noise to acknowledge his apology.

"This is good progress," Fen said, sounding a lot like a therapist. "I think we should continue this conversation on Appa." He looked to Aang as if asking for permission. He nodded, and they both began to stand.

"This conversation will not be continuing, especially not on Appa!" Toph interrupted, raising her voice. "Fen. We're leaving. Now." And with that she got up and started for the door of the restaurant.

"Toph, wait," Aang said. "I'm going to Ba Sing Se anyway. I would really appreciate some company. Please?" Aang wasn't originally planning on going to Ba Sing Se, but he already lost Toph once because of Roku. He wasn't about to let it happen again, but he wasn't looking forward to what his past life would have to say about this.

Toph, taken aback, stammered for a moment, trying to decide whether she should just storm off.

"I'd be more than happy to accompany the Avatar to Ba Sing Se," said a familiar, high-pitched voice, catching Toph off gaurd once again. She wasn't expecting to see her here in Omashu.

"Uh, well-" Aang stammered, confused by the stranger's offer. He didn't know this person, but it looked like Toph did, judging by her not-so-kind reaction to her showing up.

Noticing Toph's glares, the visitor turned her attention to the fuming earthbender. "You don't look happy to see me," she said with a fake disappointment. "Something wrong, Mud Crawler?"

"No, except I have a stalker apparently," Toph answered bitterly.

"Relax. I'm not here for you. Word got back home that the Avatar came out of hiding," Jie said, letting her eyes loiter on Aang, causing Toph to seethe even more. "So what'll it be, Avatar Aang?"

Flustered with her thoughts and rage, Toph couldn't stop herself from blurting, "Sorry, Jie, But the Avatar already has enough company." Everyone was stunned silent by Toph's surprising acceptance to the trip with Aang.

"Surely there's room for one more?" Jie broke the silence. That's when Fen got an idea—payback.

"Of course there's room! The more the merrier, right?"

"Wonderful!" Jie replied. She skipped from the room, before any protests could be made, as if leading a parade to Appa. Once she was gone, Toph sent a rock straight to Fen's shin.

"What?" he said defensively, rubbing the spot where the rock bruised. "I can't be held accountable for that! I'm 'insane.' Remember?"

While Fen got pelted with more stones because of his taunting, Aang was in the best mood he'd been in for six years. Toph, on the other hand, was still trying to figure out what she had just gotten herself into.

Oh, Fen… so naive.

Anyone remember Jie? She has some ulterior motives... maybe. This was planned from the start, not a random twist. I don't work that way folks!

Review PLEASE, and maybe the next chapter will be up sooner! Tell me if I've made any mistakes that I can fix also. AND I went back and fixed up earlier chapters. Nothin' big!

Your Fearless Leader,
Fox Face (The Foxiest)