Thanks, Dreamer6482! I loved writing the different, uh, facets of Azula. XD Hope you like the rest!

And yup, Theadora, Mike and Bryan did come out with a Book 4… of sorts. XD I forget what convention it was shown at, but it was soon after the Finale in 2008. They took some of the fanart that people had made and made the mouths move. Sorry, I don't know how to put a link in here, but you can catch it on YouTube someplace. And the thing that fanart-Toph said to fanart-Sokka was, "Kiss me, you Water Tribe stallion." XD

Some friends of mine have suggested that I write a full fic of just the Blue Spirit and the Red Spirit up on the rooftops, so… I'll keep you posted. XD

And thank you too, LittleHogwartsGirl! And everybody else. :D I appreciate it.

So, meanwhile back with the Gaang…

Chapter 26.

Chapter Twenty-Six:
The Other List

It turned out that the Kyoshi Warriors were escorting caravans to and from the Fire Nation border, occasionally helping out where needed. They had set up camp in the hills, and it wasn't too long before the Gaang spotted them.

After the Gaang landed, Sokka slid down Appa's side. "Suki!" He ran toward her.

"Sokka!" She ran toward him. They hugged each other when they met. "It's been so long!" she said. They kissed.

Katara and Toph walked up a moment later with sly smiles. Toph shook her head. "Those two are really something."

"Yeah." Katara nodded in Suki and Sokka's direction. "Apart for a few months, and look at 'em."

"They really should get a room."

"Yeah, or something."

Sokka broke the kiss. "Oh, knock it off." Toph and Katara laughed.

Suki smiled and tilted her head. "Want to let me in on the joke?"

"Oh, just some payback for something Sokka did," said Katara. "Good to see you, Suki."

"Oh?" Suki looked at Sokka with a raised eyebrow, still smiling. "And what did he do?"

"Hi, Suki!" Aang walked up and gently slipped his hand into Katara's.

"Hello, Aang! How are you doing? What brings you to our part of the world?"

Aang smiled sheepishly. "Actually, we're here to see Ty Lee. Is she around?"

"Yeah, where is she?" Sokka let go of Suki. "It seems like she usually flies in out of no—"

A green figure flipped overhead, and landed nose-to-nose with Sokka. "Hi!"

Sokka jerked back and went into a reflexive defensive posture, one arm bent over his head, the other out front, fingers splayed, and one leg lifted and bent at the knee.

— — —

In the rocks up above the camp, a lone figure was watching. It turned slowly… and beckoned.

— — —

"Hey, Avatar!" Ty Lee said brightly, eyes wide in the white makeup with red eyeshadow. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah." Aang smiled. "It's been a while."

"So what did you want?"

"Well… this is going to sound a little silly, but… the way you move and flip around, I have to ask."

"Oh? What?"

— — —

Overhead, the lone figure was joined by a dozen other shadows, crouching behind the rocks. They looked to the leader… and waited.

— — —

"The way you move is a lot like the way I move," Aang explained. "Very airy, hard to get hold of. It made me wonder if you ever felt like me in other ways, especially now that you use fans."

"We don't use fans so much nowadays, Aang," said Suki. "It's usually swords and shields now."

"Oh. I see."

"I don't understand," said Ty Lee. "What do you mean, feel like you? How?"

Aang looked at her intently. "I wonder if you ever feel anything in the air when you move. Do you ever feel like you're moving the air? Do you see anything happen?"

"Oh, you mean, like… like I'm bending the air?"

"Yeah, exactly!"

"I'm sorry, Avatar… no."

— — —

Up above, some of the shadows were getting restless. The leader gestured sharply. Then again.

"Why?" one whispered. "They're all together!"

"Wait!" the leader whispered back. "We take them when they separate!"

— — —

"Why?" asked Ty Lee.

Aang looked at the ground, downcast.

"I had a vision from a past Avatar, Avatar Yangchen. She said I had to restore the Air Nomads. The way you move, I was hoping you were an Airbender." He looked at his feet. "I haven't found one yet."

"Oh… I'm sorry, Avatar. I wish I were. Part of this is me on my own, but I trained at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls in acrobatics and self-defense." She looked sadly at Aang. "I'm sorry it isn't Airbending."

"That's okay." Aang looked at Suki. "I guess we'd better get going, then."

"I'm sorry, Aang." Suki looked sad, too. "You could spend the night with us."

"I'm all for that idea." Sokka tried not to sound too eager.

"No…" Aang shook his head. "Thank you, but I think we'd better get going. There should be another list of possible Airbenders waiting for me in Ba Sing Se."

"Okay." Suki nodded. "Goodbye, Aang. We'll keep an eye out for you, and let you know if we find anything."

"Thanks."

The two groups said their goodbyes, and the Gaang headed back to Appa. On the way, Katara laid a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Aang."

He put a hand on top of hers. "Thanks." He gave it a squeeze, then lowered his hand. "Heh. It's not like it's anything new, really…"

"I know." She squeezed his shoulder, then let go.

— — —

A few moments after the Gaang was out of sight…

"All right, now!"

The leader threw out an arm. "Wait!" he said in a strangled whisper.

The impatient one punched the rocks in front of him. The punch sent a current of tremor down the hill, and rocks began to fall.

One of the Kyoshi Warriors looked up and pointed. "Rockslide!"

The rocks began to bury the camp. The Kyoshi Warriors scattered.

The shadow leader glared furiously at the one who started the rockslide, then angrily gave the signal. On command, they all punched down, sending more rocks sliding down the hill. Then he brought his arm down at the camp. "Attack!"

Five of them vaulted the ridge and skated down the hillside into the camp. A moment later, the rest followed.

"Ambush!" Quickly some of the Warriors produced sword and shield, and lunged at the attackers. Bright steel flashed—but the attackers blocked with columns of rock, then hurled the columns back. The Warriors dodged.

The first group of five wedged in toward one Kyoshi Warrior, then broke off and wedged in toward another, then broke off again and wedged in toward Ty Lee, who was unarmed.

But not disarmed. One attacker got too close, and a couple of quick nerve punches made both him and his column of rocks collapse.

The others fanned out. "Here! She's here!"

"They're after Ty Lee!" Suki cried. "Warriors! Defend her!"

"No! I can take care of myself!" Ty Lee darted in and jabbed under an attacker's arm. The attacker fell back.

Another four attackers closed in behind them.

— — —

The Gaang were just about to mount up on Appa when they heard booms and crashes from the forest where they had been. They heard shouts, too, male and female.

Sokka looked back in alarm. "They're being attacked!"

The Gaang ran back to the camp.

— — —

Suki had fought benders before, but facing a dozen Earthbenders at once was something else, especially a group as focused as this. The Kyoshi Warriors had two things going for them: their attackers were mainly focused on Ty Lee, and Ty Lee, true to form, was as hard to catch as an otter goose. Once caught, she was as troublesome as a boarcupine. Her nerve punches and painful kicks attested to that, as attackers reeled away.

The other Warriors, though, were not able to deal with the Earthbenders so well. Some of them went down, hurt. It was only a matter of time. The Kyoshi Warriors were outmatched. Suki could not protect Ty Lee or the group forever.

Only the whirling whistle of Sokka's boomerang announced its presence as it smashed into the side of an attacker's head.

The Gaang barreled into the Earthbenders. Aang led the charge, hurling air and fire. An Earthbender turned to attack him—and got slashed by Katara's scything water whip. Toph blew another one off the hillside with an earth ram. Sokka bludgeoned his way into them with his warclub.

In seconds the balance had changed. The Kyoshi Warriors rallied, and the Earthbenders could not hold. Their leader sensed this, grimaced, and made a decision. He gave a piercing whistle, once, twice.

The attackers backed up and hurled walls of earth in front of them, then they skated down the hillside and away. Some gathered their wounded comrades, balled up earth and stone around themselves, and rolled down the hill.

One attacker wasn't so lucky. He had gotten backed up against the hillside and was surrounded, Kyoshi Warrior blades all around. He looked around frantically—then he hurled his Earthbending down and brought up a column of earth beneath himself. He flew up over their heads and down the hillside, flailing wildly.

Then it was all over.

Suki lowered her sword and shield and smiled. "I'm glad you were nearby."

"Hey." Sokka grinned and brought his arms wide, club and all. "Like we'd do otherwise."

Katara came over. "Who were those people?"

"I don't know." Suki frowned. "But they were after Ty Lee."

"Ty Lee? Why?"

"I don't know that either." Suki's scowl deepened.

"I think I know," said Toph. "Some of it, anyway. Aang, did you feel it?"

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

"The way they Earthbent, Twinkletoes. We've felt it before. At Lake Laogai."

Aang's eyes widened. "The Dai Li."

"But why would the Dai Li be after Ty Lee?" Katara asked. "Besides, I thought they were outlawed!" She looked at Aang. "Weren't they?"

Aang nodded. "I thought they were."

"Hey." One of the Kyoshi Warriors brought over a satchel. "One of them dropped this."

Suki took it and ran through it. She took out a piece of paper and looked at it closely. She showed it to the others. "I think we have our answer."

The group looked. It was a list of names, and one of them was Ty Lee's. Her eyes widened, and her hand came to her mouth. "They were after me. But why?"

Then Aang saw the list. "Oh, no. That's the list I have, from the Earth Regent. The list of possible Airbenders. And every name except for Ty Lee's is… crossed off."

He brought out his own list. Katara looked. "The lists match." She looked at the ground. "Even the order on the lists matches."

Aang walked away a short distance. "Someone gave the list to the Dai Li. And we haven't found any people on the list. We started to not find them with the first list we got."

Sokka looked at Aang. "Which means either the Dai Li have captured them, or…"

"Or…" Aang closed his eyes and hung his head. He clenched his teeth.

Tears came to Aang's eyes.

"And it's all because of me. All because I wanted to restore the Air Nomads."

"Aang..." Katara put an arm over his shoulder. "You're doing what you have to do. It's not your fault. Was there anything you could have done?"

"No... no, but I know now. And I have to stop them. I have to stop the Earth Regent from putting together another list. More people will die if she does. Suki." He turned. "Where's the nearest pigeon goose station? I have to tell Ba Sing Se."

"There's a town a few days away to the east—"

"They won't believe you."

All eyes went to Sokka. "What? Why?" Aang asked.

"Aang, think about it. Anybody could pretend to be you and send a message. For something this important, you have to tell them in person."

"Then we go to Ba Sing Se." Aang turned to Suki. "Will you be all right?"

"Don't worry about us. We know about them now. We're going to find them and find out more about what they're doing. Plus, don't forget." She looked at Ty Lee. "We recently learned a few new... tricks." Ty Lee smiled and nodded, a hunting look coming to her face.

"All right. Take care."

"You too. Good luck!"

With that (and with a slightly longer goodbye between Suki and Sokka), they parted. The Gaang boarded Appa and secured their gear. Then Appa took off, roared in farewell to the Kyoshi Warriors, and turned northeast for Ba Sing Se.