Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.

This was a very fun story to write, and I am very pleased with the result. This will be the last chapter. Thank you all for your reviews and support. I really appreciate them.

Chapter 10

Sokka awoke and found himself in a dank dungeon cell. After he was able to remember what had happened, he was able to determine that he was in the ship's brig. He groaned as he stood up and realized that he was now a prisoner. Sokka was frustrated by the fact that the rescuer now had to be rescued, but his troubles were only going to get worse as he noticed who was guarding his cell.

"Oh, man. Beaten twice in one day. That's got to be a personal record." Sokka said as he rubbed his head.

"So, your awake now are you?" said a droll female voice.

"Hey, its YOU! That girl from Omashu who let Azula use her brother as a bargaining chip when we were trying to save King Bumi! What did Ty Lee say your name was?! Mai, that's it!" Sokka shouted.

"That would be me, and you would be the water tribe boy Ty Lee is obviously infatuated with. I wonder if my brother drooled on you too when you held him." Mai responded.

"Well yeah...but that's not the POINT! How could you just let your younger brother be endangered like that?! A good older sister would have protected her younger sibling at all cost!" Sokka yelled as he grabbed the bars of his cage.

"You mean same way you protected YOUR younger sibling from us every time we met up?" Mai calmly stated.

"Well, that's not what I meant!" Sokka screamed out of slight embarrassment.

"Your chattering reminds me of a poodle-monkey I saw. I can see why Ty Lee is so...interested in you now. You're not as entertaining as Zuko, but to each their own." Mai said while maintaining her stoic demeanor.

Sokka didn't know what offended him more, the thought of being compared to a poodle-monkey, or the thought of being compared to Zuko.

"First of all, I'm NOTHING like Zuko! Second of all, YOU'RE nothing like Ty Lee! And third of all...well, I'll get back to you on that." Sokka said.

"I guess that's your opinion then." Mai replied.

"MY opinion is that the Fire Nation is full of people who wouldn't stop at anything to get what they want no matter what the cost to others may be! It's just cruel!" Sokka shouted.

"So wait a minute, YOU befriend Ty Lee, and lead her on, but then admit that your friendship was just a lie and WE'RE the cruel ones? I guess it's true, all is fair in love and war right?" Mai asked calmly.

"Well..." Sokka said trying to form a response.

"I never really did believe the ends justified the means in situations like these, but I guess Azula was right." Mai said.

Sokka didn't like losing at anything whether it was a physical fight or an argument, especially to the Fire Nation, but he couldn't deny that Mai was absolutely right. Sokka decided it would be best to try to reverse the argument against her.

"I bet TY LEE wouldn't have let Azula use HER family for such a selfish reason." Sokka said bluntly.

"You STILL don't understand yet, do you? You don't disobey Fire Nation royalty, or you end up in YOUR situation. It's foolish to do so. Only ONE person I knew ever defied them, and he was exiled." Mai said with a hint of sadness.

"So you think I'm foolish for standing up to the Fire Nation, huh? Well, I'd rather be a hopeless fool than a mindless puppet who does only as she's commanded." Sokka said proudly.

"Like I said before, I guess that's your opinion." Mai said in a non-caring manner as she walked towards the exit of the brig and opened the door.

"Oh no." Sokka thought as he saw Ty Lee enter the room.

"Azula told me to tell you that the ship's mechanic says that maintenance is almost complete and that we'll be ready to leave shortly." Ty Lee told Mai.

"Alright, I'm taking a break. Maybe I'll see what "her highness" is up to." Mai said as she handed Ty Lee the keys to the cells and stepped outside the door.

"So...long time no see?" Sokka said sheepishly as Ty Lee stood in front of his cell.

"Quiet! The prisoners are not allowed to talk!" Ty Lee said sharply as she turned her back to Sokka.

"Wow she's still mad at me. I can't say I'm too surprised." Sokka thought to himself as he noticed Ty Lee wipe her face.

"Listen Ty Lee, about what I said in the forest, I didn't MEAN it..." Sokka began.

"Then why did you say it?" Ty Lee asked quietly.

"Well, I..." Sokka said at a loss for a better explanation.

"You were just using your friendship with me to have an advantage in the war. I wasn't a new friend to you, just one less opponent to deal with. That's something I would expect from Azula, but not from you." Ty Lee said sadly.

"No, that's not it. You don't understand..." Sokka replied.

"I heard you clearly. You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it. I really liked you Sokka. I didn't care that you were from the Water tribe, but you couldn't see past the fact that I was from the Fire Nation. While it's true that I'm from the Fire Nation, I'm also a girl. I have feelings, and you've hurt them." Ty Lee said as tears slid down her face.

Sokka could see that Ty Lee was sincerely hurt by his actions, and then he remembered one time when he was a little kid. He was teasing Katara and just playing around, but accidentally went too far and she started to cry. His parents came up to him, and while his mother consoled Katara, his father told him a man has to protect and respect women, and that the worst thing a man could do is hurt a woman.

"I can't believe I forgot that." Sokka thought to himself.

Sokka then remembered the events of the invasion of the North Pole, and how upset and heartbroken he was during Princess Yue's sacrifice. He wouldn't wish that kind of pain on his worst enemy, let alone a kind person like Ty Lee. The fact that he had forgotten his father's words, along with making Ty Lee cry was causing Sokka to feel incredibly guilty.

"Okay, Ty Lee this is the truth. I only said those things because I was around my friends at the time, and I was nervous, so I said something I shouldn't have. I didn't know you were in the area at the time, because if I had, I would have never said that. I know that doesn't excuse my actions, but I hope it explains them. What I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry I hurt you." Sokka said sincerely.

"I didn't tell Azula where the avatar was. I was talking to Mai about how I found you in the woods, and Azula overheard and thought that you would be near the avatar. She insisted that I take her to area I had just been in, and she would know if I lied to her. Azula knows when people are lying because she's had so much experience at it, and I'm a really bad liar anyway." Ty Lee said as she slowly faced Sokka.

"Well that explains a lot." Sokka said.

"When we returned to the area, Azula saw the avatar, and began her attack. You and your friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ty Lee replied.

"Yeah, we're use to that." Sokka said as he looked at Ty Lee.

"Thank you for your apology, Sokka. It meant a lot to me." Ty Lee said as she smiled.

"Yeah, no problem. Remember, I'm just "a guy who would like a cute girl even if she's from the Fire Nation" as you said before." Sokka said while flashing a big grin.

"I can see that now." Ty Lee said with a slight giggle.

Just then, several soldiers ran by the prison corridor that Sokka and Ty Lee were in, and were talking about seeing a female waterbender aboard the ship near the avatar's holding cell, and were gathering reinforcements from a recent battle with a female earthbender outside of the ship. Sokka knew that they were talking about Katara and Toph, and knew he had to help them, before it was too late. He had a plan, but was uncertain it would work. Sokka decided that he had to try.

"Ty Lee, I have a big favor I need to ask you." Sokka said quickly.

"What is it cutie?" Ty Lee said as she looked at him through the cell bars.

"Well, I kind of need you to open this door and let me out." Sokka said completely sure that his request would be denied.

"What? I...I can't. I'm sorry, but Azula..." Ty Lee said nervously.

"Ty Lee, I know you might be afraid of defying Azula, but you know that keeping me and my friends prisoner isn't right." Sokka said.

"Well...I..." Ty Lee said as she looked at the key in her hand.

"Ty Lee, I lost my mother to the Fire Nation, please don't make me lose my sister the same way." Sokka pleaded.

Sokka's words had truly touched Ty Lee, and in an instant, she unlocked Sokka's cell without thinking. By the time she had realized what she had done, all she noticed was Sokka hugging her, and giving her a small kiss on her left cheek, which made her blush.

"Thank you Ty Lee. You did the right thing." Sokka said warmly.

"So that means we'll still have dinner and a pastry after the war is over?" Ty Lee asked.

"Sure we will. In fact, I look forward too it." Sokka said as he ran out of the prison corridor.

"And when I rub my cheek. I'll remember that promise too." Ty Lee said as she saw Mai come in a little while afterwards.

"Ty Lee, I think the prisoner just escaped. Are you alright? What happened?" Mai asked with a slight bit of concern.

"Well...you see...I...Oh please, don't tell Azula!" Ty Lee cried out.

"It's no business of mine what you choose to do. Like I said before, to each their own." Mai said calmly.

"Thank you Mai." Ty lee said as she hugged her.

Mai was used to Ty Lee hugging her on numerous occasions, so this didn't surprise her. Ty Lee was happy, and felt she had done the right thing. All Ty Lee could think about was if Sokka was safe, considering how many Fire Nation soldiers were aboard the ship.

Sokka was running around frantically searching for Katara, until he saw her running with Aang, who was still unconscious on her back. He was able to catch up with her and explained what happened to him, but then more Fire Nation soldiers followed them from behind. Katara explained to Sokka about how she and Toph followed the footprints that led to the boat, and how she found Aang in a cell surrounded by soldiers, which she was able to defeat after they saw her.

"It's a good thing you're safe Katara. I guess we were pretty lucky you were able to find Aang." Sokka said as he started to run faster.

"Likewise, but I still don't understand why Ty Lee would let you go after you were captured." Katara said as she chased after Sokka.

"Let's just say I have my ways." Sokka said with a smile.

"We can talk more about this AFTER we escape the soldiers." Katara said as Aang started to awaken.

"Sokka, he's waking up." Katara said as they approached the upper deck.

"That's a relief." Sokka replied as they made it to the top of the ship.

As Sokka and Katara, made it to the top of the ship, Aang had regained consciousness and blew his bison whistle so that Appa would hear it. Just as Katara had set Aang down, Toph ran up onto the ship, exhausted and chased by more soldiers.

"Toph, are you alright?" Katara asked.

"Sorry guys, there were more soldiers then I thought. They had reinforcements, and I thought I should come up here to warn you." Toph said as she caught her breath.

The others knew that Toph had bitten off more than she could chew, and was too tired to handle all of the soldiers alone, but was too proud to admit it. Just then, the soldiers that were chasing Sokka and Katara caught up with them. Aang and his friends were surrounded but fought back the best way that they could.

"Don't worry guys. I'll hold them off." Aang said as he released a powerful air current that scattered the soldiers.

"I'll help you, Aang." Katara said as she used her water whip to fend off some of the advancing soldiers.

Aang and Katara were able to delay the soldiers, while Sokka and Toph watched their backs since Sokka's arms were still tired from his last encounter with Azula and her friends and Toph couldn't bend on the metal ship. Everything was going alright, until a lightning bolt almost hit Aang causing him to spin quickly to evade it, and he noticed that Azula, Mai and Ty Lee had caught up with him.

"Don't tell me you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" Azula said in cold tone.

"Oh no, not THIS again! I can't be beaten THREE times in one day!" Sokka yelled.

"I have no idea how YOU escaped, and now I don't really care. I started this day with only one prisoner, then two, and now I have four. Did you ever have one of those days where everything goes your way, because it's absolutely wonderful." Azula said, as the soldiers regrouped and surrounded Aang and his friends.

"We'll never surrender to YOU!" Aang said bravely.

At that moment, Momo landed on Aang's shoulder from the sky, and Appa landed on the ship right next to him. Appa then spun around and knocked down the Fire Nation soldiers, causing Azula and her friends to jump back as Appa slammed his tail on the ground. The wind from his tail pushed Azula and her friends further back.

"Appa! I knew you'd hear the whistle boy!" Aang said as he hugged Appa's side.

Aang and the others quickly hopped on top of Appa, and they flew off in the distance, while dodging Azula's fire and lightning. Azula and Mai stood up, and saw Ty Lee standing and staring at Appa flying in the sky, thinking about the next time that she would see Sokka again.

As Aang and his friends crossed the water, Sokka looked back at the Fire Navy boat and realized that even though the war wasn't over, he had won something else just as precious and valuable: a young woman's heart.

Sokka and Ty Lee were now good friends and both had the same thought in mind as they parted ways: "Until we meet again."

The End

Well, that's it. I hope you liked my first Avatar fanfiction, and enjoyed reading it. I did my very best when I wrote it. I'll see you later.