The Kyoshi Warriors had not expected to find the Avatar's Sky-Bison languishing in a cave, but life is full of surprises.
It had been a few days since their leader, Suki, had returned from the Serpent's Pass, where she had assisted the Avatar and his companions in escorting a refugee family to the safety of Ba Sing Se. With that done, she had left, back to the countryside of the Earth Kingdom where she was more needed.
It had been hard to leave, especially in light of the strong feelings she and Sokka shared for each other, but her duty called. Presently, her duty was huddled, dishevelled, dirty and terrified, in a cave, far from his companion.
Suki turned to address the warriors under her command. "He's been lost for a while, and it looks like he's been hurt. Stay low, and stay quiet."
"I can't believe you found the Avatar's Bison," a Kyoshi warrior by the name of Mingzhu exclaimed. "Didn't you just see the Avatar a few days ago?".
Mingzhu's question cemented in Suki's mind her plan of action. "Yes," she answered, "so he can't be too far from here. It's our responsibility to get Appa back to him safely. This could be our most important mission yet!"
With that, Suki beckoned her warriors to follow her and they clambered over the ridge towards the terrified animal.
At the sound of their approach, Appa looked up and began to growl. He must have suffered some trauma that made him distrust people since he was lost. Suki warned the rest of her group to give him some space, then slowly came closer and in the most soothing tone she could muster began talking to him.
"Appa, it's me, Suki"
A step closer.
"I'm a friend"
Another.
"I want to help you. You're hurt. We can help you feel better".
Now she advanced several more paces, and then stopped.
"And we can help you find Aang".
At the sound of his friend's name, the Sky-Bison lifted his head and grunted. Suki reached out to touch it.
A few hours later, the Kyoshi warriors had successfully cleaned Appa up. The chains that had bound his feet had been removed, the thorns embedded in his skin had been plucked out, not a nice process but necessary, and the dirt had been washed away. Appa grunted appreciatively and gave Suki a lick. The warriors stood back, admiring their handiwork.
With this done, Suki now considered the next course of action. She had left Kyoshi island with her warriors a few months earlier, after the Avatar and his companions had come through on their way to the North Pole. He had inspired them to do more to help, which was why they had departed for the mainland and spent the time since helping poor Earth Kingdom farmers and travellers deal with attacks both from Fire Nation patrols and from bandits. Now, though, was the most important task yet. This one could have a direct impact on the outcome of the war; without Appa Aang's ability to travel quickly was severely limited. Since Aang was currently in Ba Sing Se, Appa was needed there.
Suki turned to speak to her companions.
"We have the sky bison, which means we must deliver him to the Avatar. Myself and a few others shall go to Ba Sing Se with Appa. Aang is there".
"So is Sokka", one of them replied laughingly. Suki softened at the thought of seeing him again.
"Yes", she replied with a smile, "he is."
Before anything else could be said though, the sound of movement came from behind a nearby ridge. Suki barely had time to whirl towards the source of the noise before a blast of blue flame hit a tree, sending it crashing to the ground before them, and three enormous lizards came crawling into view, each with a girl on its back.
One of them had black hair and a bored expression. The second was dressed in bright colours and surveyed the scene before her with what looked like delight. The third was dressed in the regalia of the Fire Nation, and regarded them with cold eyes. Suki felt like the girl was planning a hundred different ways of killing everyone in the clearing.
The third girl, who appeared to be their leader, spoke.
"You are easy to find aren't you. It's a wonder my idiot brother hasn't captured you yet". As she did so a tuft of Appa's fur fluttered out of her hand.
They must have been tracking the Avatar, Suki realised. Her warriors must have come to the same conclusion, or at least realised that these newcomers were hostile, because as one they pulled out their war-fans and extended their retractable shields, presenting a wall of bronze towards the lizard-riders.
The lead girl seemed singularly unimpressed by this display. "What are you, the Avatar's fangirls?"
The girl next to her, the perpetually delighted one, appeared to take a second to get the joke. Suki did get it, but had heard variations of it a hundred times before and its charms had worn off. It hadn't had many to begin with.
"I'm afraid that if you're looking for the Avatar, you're out of luck," Suki said. "He's not here."
The gloomy girl sighed. "I told you this was a waste of time", she moaned. "We came all this way for nothing."
This realisation did not seem to bother the leader; instead a small smile appeared on her face.
"You may not be the Avatar, but you are friends of the Avatar. And any friend of the Avatar is an enemy of mine!"
And with that, she sprang out of the saddle and sent a tremendous blast of blue fire towards the line of warriors. Suki dove out of the way, and led the charge. She saw the gloomy girl wave her hands at them, but instead of fire several small projectiles whistled through the air; Suki held up her shield and several throwing knives bounced off it. Meanwhile, the other girl leapt into battle with impossible agility, throwing a series of lighting-quick punches at the nearest Kyoshi warrior. Suddenly, that warrior appeared to lose control of her arms, dropping her shield and war-fan. In triumph, she yelled "you're not prettier than we are!" at her downed foe. Suki rolled her eyes at the poor attempt at an insult. The acrobat was then attacked by several other warriors. Though she ducked and weaved and punched, disabling another warrior, a third managed to score a hit with her war-fan, sending the girl collapsing to the ground.
"TY LEE!", Suki heard the knife thrower shout. A blast of fire came at Suki, who only just managed to roll out of the way as it burned a tree behind her with blazing fury. She turned to see the leader, coming at her with rage in her eyes and flames in her hands.
"So, you're good. Not good enough!" The last word was almost screamed.
Suki dropped the war-fan and grabbed her sword, managing to dodge out of the way of her opponent's first slash. She had fashioned her flames into something approaching blades. Suki rolled under the next strike and blocked the third with her shield, the metal glowing slightly even after so little contact with the heat. She then ducked under the firebender's lunge, came up behind her, and brought the hilt of her sword crashing down on the back of her opponent's head. The firebender crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
The remaining Kyoshi Warriors rounded on the third girl, who had run out of friends. The girl took a step backwards, looked around, and then put her hands up.
"Look, I'm not stupid. I know when I'm beaten."
With that, as soon as it had begun, the fight was over. The Kyoshi warriors had soon secured their new prisoners and tended to those who had been incapacitated. The knife thrower had told them her name, Mai, and the name of their leader, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. This was a big deal. With the Kyoshi warriors having captured the daughter of the Fire Lord, this could have drastic implications. She had also told them what Ty Lee had done to those warriors, a technique called Chi-blocking.
"Impressive, I admit,", Suki replied. That might come in useful in the future.
The plan had not changed. The Kyoshi warriors were still going to Ba Sing Se. They would deliver Appa to Aang, but now they would also deliver the Fire Nation Prisoners to Earth Kingdom custody.
Suki resolved that the fastest way was to ride Appa, and so she, three other Kyoshi Warriors, and the three prisoners boarded the Sky-Bison.
"Fly!" She shouted.
Nothing happened.
"Er...take to the skies? No. What did Aang tell you to make you fly?" She asked Appa.
The bison groaned in response.
Suki remembered that day on Kyoshi Island, when she had fought the Fire Prince Zuko to allow the Avatar to escape. Suddenly, the memory came back to her. She patted Appa's head.
"Appa, yip yip!"
The Sky Bison rose into the air. Ba Sing Se awaited.