Here it is! Chapter 7! Sorry it took so long, but i was really busy. Finals, y'know? But now that school's over, I'll have more time than ever, and I will get new chapters in quicker. Please read & review!!!
Chapter 7: The Execution
A suspenseful silence filled the air as Appa began its landing. As soon as the bison's six massive feet hit the ground, everything came crashing down. The battle happened so fast that it was hard to tell who was who. As the smoke of the battlefield cleared, the Freedom Fighters pulled the Avatar team away from the fight. By the time the soldiers could catch up to them, Toph was able to shoot out a massive wave of earth, leaving most of them immobile and a few unconscious. Soon, they were long gone.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Aang.
"Well, we wanted to help out with the war, but then we were captured and brought to this place." Smellerbee responded. "We were just escaping when you got here." After she finished speaking, she noticed Zuko. "You're the guy from Ba Sing Se. You're Lee."
"What's going on?" Toph asked.
"We saw him in the city. Jet wanted him to become a Freedom Fighter until-" Smellerbee then turned her focus to Zuko. "Are you really a firebender?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Zuko answered. "My name isn't Lee either. I'm Zuko, banished Fire Prince.
"Well since you're traveling with the avatar, I guess we can deal with it. I just hope that its what Jet would have wanted."
"Wait, where's Jet?" asked Katara. No one responded. "No. Someone tell me he's okay." Again, no response, until Longshot spoke up.
"Jet is dead. He died under Lake Laogai."
"No. That's not possible." Katara said. "He promised he would be okay." When anyone would try to comfort her, she would push them away.
"Katara," said Aang. "It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do."
"I could have used the spirit water to heal him!" Katara shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "He would still be alive."
"But Aang wouldn't." said Sokka. "If you had used it on Jet, Aang would have been killed by Azula's lightning, and the world's last hope would be gone forever."
Eventually, she got up and pushed on ahead, suppressing tears. "We have to move on and find Suki."
"When you were captured, did you see a girl with white makeup and a warrior's uniform?" Sokka asked the Freedom Fighters
"Yes. She's in the city, and her execution is tomorrow," said Longshot.
"Oh, thank God she's okay. We have to go find her. We'll check the whole city if we have to." After searching for hours, They decided to rest for a little while.
"Hey Katara, do you want to talk?" Aang asked. He could tell she had something on her mind. She agreed, and they walked out of earshot of the others.
"Why didn't you give Jet the spirit water?" asked Aang. "It's not like you to not think of it."
"I know." Katara sighed. "The truth is, I was angry. I remembered how he had hurt me, and I couldn't help feeling he deserved what he was getting." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I didn't want to believe that he could die. And having the water not work would be too unbearable. It was terrible, it was stupid, but it's what I did." She was now sobbing openly. Aang moved closer to Katara, holding her in his arms and comforting her.
"You loved him, didn't you?" Katara nodded gently. "I'm sorry. I really care about you. I just need some time to think." Suddenly, they saw the sky become brighter, and the heard the loud crackle of fire. They went back to the others, and soon, all of them saw an enormous flame burning half a mile away.
"What's going on?" asked Toph. "It sounds like a fire."
"It is," Zuko responded. "It's the fire used for executions."
"They always light the fire an hour before it starts," said Mai. "We don't have much time."
"Well, we can follow the fire, and it will lead us straight to Suki!" Sokka said hopefully. He rushed toward the blaze, with the others trailing behind.
"Welcome," Azula said to a massive audience gathered around an open flame, with Long Feng by her side. "I present to you, my fellow Fire Nation citizens, one of our greatest enemies. This prisoner has worked much against our cause, and she has worked closely with avatar. I bring before you, Suki of Kyoshi Island." A pair of Dai Li agents came out with the warrior, who was tied up with chains. Her hair was dirty and unkempt, and she was wearing no makeup. She was dressed in nothing more than slaves' rags. It was clear Suki would not give up without a fight, for she was struggling with the ropes and flailing her arms.
"Your majesty," Long Feng whispered to Azula. "It seems we have a problem."
"What is it?" Azula responded sharply.
"Well the Avatar and his friends have escaped, along with the five Freedom Fighters."
"Then send Kai after them. They will be coming here to find their friend. I'm sure of it."
"As you wish, Princess," Long Feng responded. He then left to find Kai.
Aang and the group found themselves standing at the threshold of a huge, Colosseum-like building. As soon as they entered however, they were greeted by Lieutenant Kai and a group of Dai Li agents.
"Here to rescue the peasant, are you?" he said. "It won't matter. Her blood will spill by daybreak."
"They're outnumbered 8 to 12," Sokka whispered, standing his ground. "Only 3 people can go after Suki. It'll have to be Aang, and Zuko, and me."
"On three," Pipsqueak counted off. "One, Two, Three." As soon as he said one. Everyone ran forward. The girls and the Freedom Fighters charged at the Dai Li, weapons clanging, ice shooting, and rocks flying. Aang, Sokka, and Zuko fought their way through the group of agents. After making it through, they dashed speedily through the vast corridors in the Palace of Harutoma.
"The preparations are complete, princess," said Long Feng. Azula stood on the balcony of the courtyard, watching the ceremony from above. She watched as soldiers dragged Suki to the center of the palace and brutally tied her to a stake. Soon, a pair of Fire Sages entered, with flames in their hands. As they traveled to the center of the room, however, a boomerang flew in their direction. The boomerang knocked the torches to the grounds, starting a fire.
"The Avatar!" someone shouted as Aang, Sokka, & Zuko dashed into the courtyard, attacking numerous firebenders and soldiers along the way. Immediately, Azula sprung into action, jumping from the balcony and landing smoothly on the ground.
"Hmm," said Azula. "A small child, a vengeful boyfriend, and a treacherous fool. Not much of an army. Is this all the Earth Kingdom has to oppose me?" Rather than respond, Sokka fought through to Suki, fire in his eyes. He had a lust for vengeance and a hunger for blood.
Meanwhile, Aang and Zuko were fighting for their lives against a mob of soldiers. Zuko was using a combination of his broadswords and firebending, while Aang was blasting the soldiers with jets of earth. Aang was dodging fireballs left and right when, suddenly, he felt an cold sensation in his chest. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain, to the point of being unbearable. He looked down to see blood spurting from a huge gash in his torso. He had been slashed by a sword.
Aang clutches his chest in agony, trying to keep the blood from spilling out. However, it eventually became to difficult, and he fell to the ground. His vision became blurred, and he could barely make out the image of Zuko and the other fighters. The clanging of swords and the crackling of fire were the last thing Aang heard before slipping out of consciousness.
"Aang's out cold," Zuko shouted to Sokka over the fighting. "He needs healing soon, or he may not survive."
"You need to go get Katara," Sokka shouted back. "Take him with you. That way he can't be injured any more seriously." After firing one last flame at the soldiers in order to clear the area, Zuko took Aang on his back and ran back to Katara and the others.
By this point, Sokka had almost finished untying the rope which bound Suki to her stake. After cutting the last strand of rope with his machete, the warrior was free. Without wasting a single moment, Sokka pulled his lost love into a loving kiss.
"I knew you'd come," Suki said as they separated.
"There's not much time. We have to get out of here," said Sokka.
"We can't leave yet," Suki responded. "We need to free this city from the Fire Nation." Before Sokka could say anything else, he saw a streak of lightning pass through the crowd of people and hit Suki in the heart.
"Suki!" Sokka shouted in agony. He saw his love fall to the ground, right in the middle of the battlefield. He turned to see who had fired it, and saw Azula, her icy gaze fixed on the girl and her mouth in a cruel grin.
"What's going on?" Smellerbee asked as Zuko came back in the room. She was clearly out of breath. They had just successfully pushed back the Dai Li agents. Everyone was wondering the same thing, but Katara, who was the first one to notice Aang, instantly knew why he had come back.
"Oh my God," she said as she rushed over to Aang and put her hand on his cheek.
"He was slashed by a sword," Zuko explained. "He doesn't have much time." Katara instantly grabbed her bending water from her bag and opened the bottle. With the movement of her hand, the water floated toward the wound and began to glow. Soon, the gash, became a minor cut, and eventually faded away altogether. In a little while, Aang's eyes opened up, and he could see the worried gaze of Katara.
"Oh, Aang," Katara cried. Before either knew what was happening, they were in each other's arms, their lips pressed together in a kiss that seemed to last forever. When they pulled apart everyone around was completely confused. However, rather than waste time, they all ran along to catch up with Sokka.
"Suki, don't worry. Katara can heal you," said Sokka after taking Suki away from the battlefield. Though he was saying it would be okay, it was easy to tell he was frantic.
"Sokka," Suki replied weakly. "I've been hit by lightning. I won't be alive much longer, no matter what Katara does."
"No, I can't lose you. Not again." Sokka said in denial.
"Sokka, there's nothing you can do." Said Suki. Realization finally struck Sokka, and he began to accept what was happening.
"I love you Suki, and I will never forget you."
"I love you too, Sokka." Sokka and Suki joined together for one final kiss. Sokka held her until the her muscles became limp and her eyes lost their light. Suki was dead.
Even after she had passed, Sokka would not let go of her. He could not bear the thought of never being with her again. When he finally separated from his passed love, he fell to the ground, and began to cry. He stayed hear mourning until Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, Ty Lee, Mai, and The Freedom Fighters arrived.
"Oh no," Aang said as they entered the room. "We're too late." Surprisingly, Sokka stood up and began to walk back to the battlefield.
"We need to free this city," he said. "Its what Suki would have wanted." They all filed down the hallways and found their way to the battlefield. Sokka, fueled with vengeance, ruthlessly attacked the soldiers. When fighting the soldiers, Aang remembered how many people the Fire Nation has savaged. People he cared about. People he loved. Suddenly, the anger in his heart caused him to throw fire from his hands. He had learned to firebend.
Eventually, the group managed to drive the Fire Nation out of the city and reclaimed it for The Earth Kingdom. The city of Butomi was restored. However, the battle would leave a permanent scar. The loss of Suki, the Kyoshi Warrior. This loss will change the life of the twelve heroes forever, especially Sokka's.
Well, its done. Hope u liked it! PLEEEZ Review!!!