Sokka had been enjoying a nice lie in when the messenger came.

He didn't think anyone would be able to blame him; after months of sleeping rough and with months until his invasion plans came to fruition, he had earned some extra sleep. Aang, meanwhile, was training with Toph again. It was hard to sleep with the crunching of moving earth outside his window.

That was until the messenger from the Earth King had arrived, bearing a message that had alarmed him.

His Majesty the Earth King Kuei, 52nd of his dynasty and 1st of his name, Lord of Ba Sing Se and Sovereign of all his Lands, the Wall that protects his people...

(Kuei, it turned out, had a massive list of titles and every single one of them was on the message.)

...and Lord of Fortresses, does urgently request the presence of Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. There is crucial business that needs their attention.

The siblings had exchanged worried looks when the messenger had finished. "Is it a trap?" Katara asked. "Has the Earth King somehow turned against us?"

"Whatever happened, it wasn't me!" Protested Sokka.

"But nobody was accusing you..."

"Unimportant!"

"It's odd that none of the others were invited though. Why does Kuei want us but not Aang? Or Suki or Toph? They're Earth Kingdom."

Sokka sighed. "I soppose we should go and see what he wants. Make sure to take your pouch though, just in case we need to make a quick exit."

As they approached the Earth King's Palace, Sokka became increasingly uneasy. What if this was a trap? Should they run?

They were met in the hallway by the Earth King himself.

That's odd, Sokka noted. Normally he would meet them inside the Throne Room.

"I'm glad to see you made it in time", Kuei said, wearing the same stern expression as he had worn the first time they had laid eyes on him. "You're needed in the throne room."

Sokka and Katara followed him, now really worried, but as Kuei entered his throne room his entire demeanour changed. A smile came on to his face as he pointed out a large group of men congregated under his vacant throne. "There's someone there I would like you to meet."

Sokka was quick to notice that they wore blue- the colour of the Water Tribe. Could that mean...

"Sokka? Katara?" A voice came from among the men, and their father emerged.

Both siblings rushed to hug him as Kuei looked on satisfied.

The last time Sokka had seen his father had been years ago, watching his ship recede into the distance. Sokka had wanted to go with him, but Hakoda had turned him down, instead entrusting him with looking after the remainder of the tribe. Sokka had thrown himself into that duty until the Avatar had arrived on that fateful day on the Iceberg.

"I didn't know when we would see you again," Katara whispered.

"I didn't either. But I thought of you every day when I left. Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," Hakoda replied, through tears.

"However, I do come here with grave news. We were operating on the coast nearby when we discovered a large fleet of Fire Nation troop transports operating in the area. It was far too many troops for us to hope to fight alone, but we guessed the Fire Nation must be planning something involving Ba Sing Se and came here to warn the Earth King."

Kuei butted in. "They said they were from the Southern Water Tribe like you, so I asked if they knew who you were and when they did sent that messenger to fetch you. We wanted to surprise you."

"Thank you," Katara addressed the Earth King.

Even if you did make us think we were about to get arrested, Sokka added mentally.

"If the Fire Nation are coming for Ba Sing Se, then the Council of Five needs to hear about this. Can you speak to them later?" Kuei asked Hakoda.

"And afterwards, you have to meet our friends!" Katara said excitedly. "One of them is the Avatar!"

Despite the storm clouds on the horizon, Sokka was content. All the people he loved most in the world were together in one place, protected by the great walls of Ba Sing Se.

Even as he chatted excitedly to Hakoda about the innovative new sea-mines they had invented though, Sokka realised that this would probably not last long.