Suki stood on the deck of the Kyoshi, staring off towards land. Next to her, Mingzhu and another Kyoshi Warrior were flanking Sokka.
The water tribesman's hands were tied.
His Space Sword had been taken from him, and hung on Suki's hip next to her normal sword.
"I can't believe you would do this," Sokka said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I'm only doing what is necessary," Suki replied, regret in her voice.
As they watched, Jet and a few of his compatriots emerged from the tree line and walked towards the beach. Suki pulled out her telescope and looked towards them, and with a sinking feeling in her chest she recognised the chief of her village, Oyaji, being held with a knife to his throat by one of Jet's captains. Suki vaguely remembered that his name had been given as Pipsqueak.
"Looks like it's time to go. Li, give the signal."
As Suki began to clamber over the side towards a waiting rowing boat, Li supervised the running of a message up the mast; the signal flags read Will Deliver Sokka Presently. Please Spare Prisoner.
Suki settled into the boat and looked up, to where Sokka was protesting.
"How am I supposed to get down there with my hands tied? Did anyone think this through?"
Eventually, one of the Kyoshi warriors climbed down to stand next to Suki in the boat. The other stepped behind Sokka.
"Wait, what are you-"
The question became a shout of alarm as he was pushed forward, over the side. Suki and Mingzhu managed to catch him without capsizing the boat in the process.
"A little warning next time? I may be a prisoner, but I have my dignity."
"There won't be a next time."
Once Sokka was in position, Mingzhu and the other Kyoshi warrior took up the oars and began to row towards the shore, where Jet waited for them.
"He doesn't look very happy to see me, does he?" Sokka observed nervously.
"On the contrary, I think he's very pleased to see you," Suki replied. "I don't think that's any better for you though."
"Great. So this is how it ends. Betrayed by my own girlfriend." Sokka's voice had a note of exaggerated bitterness to it, and was a little louder than usual.
"You know it was a choice between you and the island. I would make the same choice again in a heartbeat."
"For what it's worth, I don't blame you. But you're still about to hand me to your enemy, and he will probably kill me, so forgive me if I am less than happy about this."
"You think I'm happy?" Suki turned to face him, her own voice raising. "Betraying you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do!"
"Sure." Sokka said that in a tone which indicated he didn't believe her in the slightest.
Suki hit him.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Everything."
"Am I interrupting something?" Jet shouted. Suki realised that they were now right in the shallows. She jumped out of the boat and splashed towards the shore, motioning for the others to follow them.
"Hello Suki," Jet greeted her.
"Jet."
"I see you brought me what I asked for."
"I would have preferred you asked nicely."
"I tried asking nicely. You told me to get stuffed, as I recall, leaving me with no recourse but threats."
"Here he is," Suki pushed Sokka towards him.
Jet circled the prisoner, and Sokka looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"What are you going to do to me?" Sokka asked.
"That is the question isn't it? Of all the people, why you?"
"Yes, why me? Why not some other water tribesman?"
"Well, Prince Sokka, I do need you specifically."
"Actually, we don't have the title of 'Prince' in the Southern Water Tri-"
"That's not important!" Jet snapped. "I don't care what title you use, what passes for civilisation among you snow savages has never interested me."
"That's quite a hurtful term, you know.."
"Again, I don't care! What are a few slurs when balanced against all the villages your raids wiped out?"
"So you know who I am, great."
"It is great. You know what else will be great? The reaction of your father when he finds out his son was killed during a raid on Earth Kingdom territory."
"But I haven't been raiding Earth Kingdom territory." Sokka pointed out.
"I know that. You know that. But the water chief, and the Earth King, don't know that."
Suki finally grasped Jet's plan, and decided she had heard enough. She needed to act now, before Jet decided to run Sokka through right there and then.
Slowly, deliberately, she moved to unsheath Sokka's Space Sword. As the black blade moved, glinting, into the sunlight, Jet looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Surely you want his sword? It's the finest weapon I've ever seen!"
Jet bought that excuse. "It is a very fine weapon..."
Suki deliberately moved it out beside her and motioned it up and down. She knew that behind her, far behind her on the Kyoshi, Li was watching proceedings through his telescope, and was now turning to signal the crew to pull on the anchor. When that moved, it would signal-
On cue, the water behind Suki erupted.
Jet and the rest of his crewmen were taken entirely by surprise, being thrown backwards several feet. Pipsqueak had relaxed his grip on the knife, and so Oyaji had escaped having his throat cut in the tsunami.
"Go!" Suki shouted to him, as she used the Space Sword to cut through Sokka's restraints. As the passed the weapon to him, Katara and Toph came charging out of the water, having been hidden in a large air pocket under the bay. Behind them, a rush of Marines, Kyoshi Warriors and Water Tribesmen came charging up the beach.
Jet was the first to recover.
"Treachery!" He screeched. "Get them!"
A fearsome war cry rang from the tree line, as his men ran down to engage.
Suki pulled out her own sword, and tapped to activate her shield, as she got into a fighting stance.
"That was some good acting," Sokka told her, as Pipsqueak came charging at them, waving an enormous hammer over his head and screaming.
"Why, thank you," Suki replied. "You were very convincing yourself."
She rolled out of the way of Pipsqueak's hammer, which slammed harmlessly into the sand, before jumping on top of him and balancing on his shoulders.
"I thought the slap was a bit excessive though," Sokka told her, as their opponent flailed about. Sokka took the opportunity to get a slash in with Space Sword, managing to nick the giant's arm.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I had to make it look good- ah!"
Pipsqueak had eventually tried to swing the hammer back at himself to get Suki off him. Suki threw herself away, and the only head the hammer hit was Pipsqueak's own. The giant seemed to realise his mistake too soon, and slumped to the ground. Suki rolled into a combat position.
"Suki! Behind you!" Sokka warned, and she barely dodged out of the way of a slash from a hook sword.
"I should have known," Jet snarled. "You're in too deep with him to ever give him up."
"Why are you so obsessed?" Suki countered. "Are you trying to deliberately hurt me?"
Jet gave a short bark of laughter.
"Not deliberately, no. Don't flatter yourself. But hurting you is a nice little side effect. Treason must be punished."
"I'm not the one committing treason here!"
"Yes you are. Working with the water tribes is treason, let alone sleeping with one!"
"The war is over, Jet."
"Not if I have anything to do with it."
Jet managed to get one of his hooked blades around Suki's sword, and tore it aside, but his thrust with the other blade was prevented from hitting home by Sokka, who caught it with Space Sword.
"I suppose it's better this way," said Jet. "At least the signs of battle will be authentic."
He swung his swords again, with one being parried by Sokka and the other by Suki.
"And there will be no witnesses."
Jet was, it turned out, very good. He swung his leg out, tripping Sokka over, and was only prevented from finishing the job by Suki parrying both his swords centimetres from his face. He then smoothly transitioned into attacking Suki, swinging one sword at her chest and then the other at her face when she moved her blade to block. Suki bent over backwards and watched the sword pass over them.
And then her eyes looked past the sword, up into the sky.
At the faraway shape of an incoming sky-bison.
Suki jumped away from Jet, moving to shield Sokka from him while he got up and retrieved Space Sword.
"You've lost, Jet."
"And what makes you so sure?"
Suki merely pointed into the sky.
Jet followed her gaze.
"A sky-bison. So what? Air Nomads are pacifists, they won't get involved."
"This one will."
On cue, Suki watched as a figure jumped off the sky bison, plummeting towards them for a few seconds before opening a glider.
"The Avatar is here."
Jet was knocked away by a gust of wind as Avatar Aang landed in front of them.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he told Suki. "What did I miss?"
"Just an attempt to start a war. One that won't succeed."
"Aang!"
The Avatar was knocked backwards by the arrival of Katara, who gave him a quick hug.
"I've missed you," she said breathlessly, before turning to survey the battlefield.
"I've missed you too," the Avatar smiled.
"What was this meeting about?"
"Some dispute over who should sit on a council."
"They called you away for that?" Sokka asked incredulously.
"I know. One disadvantage of being the Avatar- everyone wants your opinion on stupid stuff."
"Well, you're back now."
"I am. Who needs bringing to justice?"
"He does- wait, where did Jet go?"
Sure enough, the spot that Jet had landed on was now empty, and the man had vanished.
"He can't have got far," Katara said. "Toph?"
"What?" The Earthbender shouted back. She was on the other end of the battlefield, and now that she was in her element she looked like she was having the time of her life carving through enemies.
"Where's Jet?"
"Hold on!" Toph concentrated for a second, pausing only to throw up the ground underneath one of her enemies, throwing him into the sea.
"He went that way!" Toph pointed into the forest.
"That's the way to the village!" Suki shouted.
"Well, I think I can see that..." Sokka pointed too, and Suki's heart dropped.
For rising up over the trees, clearly visible in the summer air, was a column of smoke.