I've started this story after revistiting a concept I've sketched out years ago but never wrote after all, since I had other things to write at the time. When I picked this up again, I thought to give it a try and write it up, especially after seeing the comics and the Korra series, which finally gave me the needed ideas.
If you see the format you can by now see by my other works, that I've specialised in letting the canon story go in interesting directions by changing on factor, which ripples through the story. I found this gave me more freedom in my writing than other ways of doing so.
After positive feedback, I decided to go on with the story.
Chapter-specific notes are always at the end of the chapter to prevent spoilers.
Now, this chapter took far less time than the last one, thanks to how orderly my RL currently is. I have fun with changing the canon.
PLEASE leave reviews. I really need these in order to gauge what parts are good and what need improvement.
"It's a warrior's uniform, you should be proud. The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."
-Suki
Chapter 5: The Fall of Kyoshi Island
After dropping off the Avatar at the Southern Air Temple, they had barely made it to the supply depot where they had to refuel, before they would take course to the first meeting point near the coal rigs at the southwestern coast. Zuko didn't want to show it, but he felt humiliated when seeing how much the big warships at the docks dwarfed his old ship. It was clearly the intended effect his father had aimed for when giving him a ship of a class that had long become obsolete.
"I want this to be done as quick as possible. I don't want to risk running into Zhao if I can prevent it. I doubt I can endure his presence for long," Zuko said while watching his crew preparing the coal chutes.
"Careful, Zuko. You don't want to jinx it," Mai warned Zuko. "Remember what happened with that rhino."
"That was an accident, nothing more," Zuko argued, blushing a little when Mai reminded him of the incident some months ago.
"Yeah, sure," Mai replied with a knowing look, a small smile creeping into her features.
"It is good to see how much young Mai has relaxed since she has come on board. Oh, she still is her sarcastic self, but that's one of the reasons my nephew loves her so much," Iroh proudly told Ursa, having watched this exchanged from some distance.
Ursa knew the girl was warmer than she let on, she just hid it very well. "I don't even want to imagine what would have become of her, had she stayed with her parents. Meeting them once already had been bad enough, I can't imagine living with them. Well, no need to dwell on that."
"Well, I would say..." Iroh stopped when having spotted someone whom they didn't want to meet. "This spells trouble." They quickly walked to Zuko, fearing what could happen.
"Ah, Prince Zuko."
Zuko barely held back a curse. Of course Captain Zhao had used this moment to enter the deck of his ship, giving the small group a look-over. After all, they hadn't seen each other for over two years. Mai and Ursa felt dirty at the looks he was giving them, knowing that he'd undressed them with his eyes. It felt degrading. Zhao only arched an eyebrow when seeing that Zuko had let his hair grow out again
Iroh decided to better defuse the situation. "Captain Zhao, a pleasure to meet you," he told him, although it was clear he couldn't stand the man.
"It's commander now," he told them with a smirk that made it clear he felt superior thanks to his rank.
Iroh honestly wondered how his brother decided on promotions. "You got promoted. How nice for you."
"Oh, I feel honored that a hero of the Fire Nation is telling me this." It was also clear he was totally insincere. Zhao then gave the ship a look. "What brings you into my base?"
"We just need to refill our coal supply and then we are out of your hair and on our way," Zuko told him, not wanting to make more smalltalk than needed.
"It must have been a long journey. I invite you for some tea in my command tent while your ship is re-supplied," Zhao offered, giving them a look which made it clear that it wasn't optional to not come.
Normally they would have told him to piss off, but they could hardly do so in his own base or risk getting stranded. "Oh, of course we accept. I'm sure you will be delightful company," Ursa told him, straining to keep a neutral face.
Zhao looked like he got what he wanted. "Excellent, if you just follow me..."
While they followed, Mai imitated putting her finger into her throat to Ursa, before she whispered "As soon as this is over, I need a long, hot bath... with lots of soap!"
"Just bite your teeth together and keep going, dear. It will be over soon enough," Ursa reassured Mai, despite wanting to be somewhere else as well.
"I wonder what Zhao is planning this time. It's not like him to be a good host to anyone unless he wants something," Zuko meanwhile growled, while looking around nervously.
Iroh did remember that incident where Zhao had tried to provoke Zuko all too well. "Let us be careful. Zhao does nothing without a reason..."
o
"...thus the war is going very well. Before the next year is over, Ba-Sing-Se wil be in the hands of the Fire Nation and everyone has to bow to the Fire Lord," Commander Zhao concluded his short recap of the recent war events, while looking at a map of the Earth Kingdom.
"If my father thinks the people of the Earth Kingdom will bow to him willingly, he must be very naive," Zuko replied, no longer bothering with niceties after having to endure Zhao's monologue for too long.
"Over two years at sea and you still are as rebellious as ever. No wonder considering the company you keep. It's no surprise why your father banished you. And the conquering of the Earth Kingdom actually is quite easy when the peasants are disappointed by their old masters and welcome us. It really is only a matter of time now," Zhao lectured Zuko to the latter's annoyance.
"You sound really optimistic. Overconfidence comes before the fall," Ursa reminded Zhao.
Zhao didn't seem to think so. "I rest my case about the company Prince Zuko is keeping. The influence is all too clear."
Zuko really didn't like the looks Zhao was giving his mother and Mai. He'd seen these in the palace too, often with noblemen and the female servants, which sometimes led to the shocking end result of a violated woman. He really wanted to leave. While he had no doubt that Mai knew how to defend herself, his mother was no fighter and her bending was negligible.
Zuko snorted. "Just wait until I have found the Avatar, then you'll change your tune very fast."
"That reminds me, how is your search for the Avatar going?" Zhao then asked.
"I still haven't found him," Zuko said, faking disappointment.
"And you should not expect to do so. After all, the Avatar was last seen over 100 years ago. It's a fool's quest which you will never master," Zhao told Zuko with an expression that was unreadable. "Unless, of course, you did have found something that hints otherwise."
"Not one clue," Zuko lied through his teeth.
"Maybe we have overstayed our welcome, although the tea was quite good," Iroh said, sensing that the atmosphere was getting dangerous with Zhao asking too many questions.
They were about to leave, when suddenly a sergeant entered and the guards crossed their lances to block the exit. "Commander Zhao, we managed to force a crewman to talk. He said Prince Zuko did find the Avatar, but was unable to capture him. When we used the thumbscrews he also said the Avatar is a teenage airbender."
"Ah, so my hunch was right..." Zhao said with a predatory grin.
Zuko was relieved that his crew would actually lie even under the pain torture in order to protect him, but he nonetheless was angry. "You tortured one of my crew?!" he exploded in fury.
Zhao now looked smug. "Oh please, don't be so dramatic. He's just a lowlife, like the rest of your flea-infested sorry excuse of a crew. Nothing you should care about. We learned of the return of the Avatar days ago and you made yourself suspicious. You obviously lied to me in order to get all the glory for yourself. I won't give you the satisfaction. The Fire Nation is better off without you returning, not that your father would ever let you return, even with the Avatar."
"Don't tell me you plan to arrest us just for that," Mai said, itching to grab one of her knives to wipe that arrogant smirk off Zhao's face.
Zhao actually did look a bit disappointed. "Of course not, even though I would love to. No, I'll just hold you here until my ships move out to start the search. Not that I expect Prince Zuko to have any success. I have hundreds of warships under my control and he's just a poor, banished prince. He'll never measure up to me and I wonder what you see in him that you decided to share his disgrace."
"Don't even try to compare yourself to Zuko. He already is far more of a man than you will ever be," Mai hissed.
"He certainly surrounds himself with good-looking undesirables." Zhao then gave Ursa a closer look. "I have to say you held up remarkably well despite leaving the Fire Nation to live in exile. A pity your status makes claiming you rather difficult, although it would seem to be worth it."
Ursa looked thoroughly disgusted at the implication and actually was a little scared. "If you think I would just accept you forcing me to be your mistress, you are more delusional than I imagined."
"Oh, trust me, Lady Ursa, there are many ways I could use to make you cooperate," he told her, getting a little too close for her comfort.
"Don't you even dare to touch my mother!" Zuko finally shouted, having had enough of Zhao. "For even implying to dishonor her I'll put you in your place!"
Zhao hadn't expect this. "Is that a challenge?"
"Prince Zuko, calm down!" Iroh cautioned, but it was to no avail.
"You better believe it. An Agni Kai at sunset!" Zuko declared for everyone to hear.
"Well, too bad your father isn't here, meaning just your uncle and your mother have to witness me humiliating you. Let's see how your girlfriend likes your face when I'm done with you. Your scar won't stay alone for much longer," Zhao coldly told Zuko before leaving the tent.
"Oh, Zuko..." Mai said while rolling her eyes. On the inside however she was scared, remembering Zuko's last Agni Kai.
Ursa also looked concerned for her son. "Zuko, while I appreciate that you have stood up to defend my honor, I can't help but to fear for your health. You are my only son and already got hurt more than I feel I can stomach."
"Prince Zuko, are you really sure? You do remember the last time you fought in an Agni Kai," Iroh pleaded with Zuko, although he knew it was too late with the challenge already issued.
Zuko touched his scar, the constant reminder of his father's cruelty. "I remember that day all too well... No, not this time. It not only is for my mother, but for Mai as well. The way Zhao looked at her as if she is a mere piece of meat was horribly disrespectful. I won't let him get away with it."
Mai tried hard to hide it, but a small blush colored her cheeks. I actually like when he defends my honor, even if he acts like a moron to do so...
o
That his base did have its own small Agni Kai arena spoke for Zhao's arrogance, as normally a commander would do everything to discourage and punish fire duels, since they tended to be very disruptive to efficiency and morale inside the army. Zhao actually encouraging fire duels with this arena spoke volumes about how he was leading his men. The spectator benches on one side of the arena were filled with crew from Zhao's flagship, many officers amongst them. The benches on the other side were occupied by the entire crew from Zuko's ship.
Zuko actually felt moved how his crew was giving him support. He even saw the man whom Zhao's soldiers had tortured. Despite his heavily bruised face and his hands in bandages, he had insisted on coming to support his prince. Zhao's crew looked down on Zuko's crew in contempt, thinking they are something better. Zuko's crew in return ignored them utterly. The unwritten rules of the Agni Kai stopped both groups from getting physical.
"Remember everything I have taught you, Prince Zuko. You show tremendous potential, but you are still young and the way to true mastery is long. Use the skills I have taught you wisely," Iroh gave Zuko some last instructions, having been selected as Zuko's second.
"I learned much from you, Uncle. I won't disappoint you," Zuko calmly told Iroh, while finding his center and source of his strength. Being determined to protect his mother and Mai from Zhao was giving his fire extra strength.
-Booouuung- The chime of a gong signaled to the duelists to take their positions.
"Oh dear... I hope Zuko won't get another scar," Ursa worried.
She couldn't help it. While knowing Zuko was close to becoming a man, for her he would always be her son first. Right now her mother-senses were on high alarm due to the very real prospect of Zuko getting seriously hurt. He already had one really bad scar, he didn't need another one.
"Oh, don't worry. You did watch him train, don't you? I for one know that Zhao still thinks Zuko is as horrible at firebending as he'd been years ago. His ego won't allow him to come to any other conclusion," Mai calmly told Ursa.
"I can't help it. Once you become a mother, you will understand," Ursa tried to explain, then saw Mai looking very interested when Zuko dropped the ceremonial cloak. "You enjoy seeing him bare-chested, don't you?"
Mai knew she could not lie to Ursa. "Yes... and... I'm actually dreaming to see... much more." Gods, Mai hated it when she became flustered.
Ursa knew both teenagers by now were almost exploding with sexual tension. It wouldn't be long now, before they would do this final step. As much as Mai denied it, Ursa knew the girl was scared of crossing this point of no return, where her relationship to Zuko would come to full blossom. She then returned her attention to the arena.
In the arena, both men waited for the other to make the first move.
"Afraid? You should be. I was instructed by the great Jeong Jeong, before he went traitor. With all he taught me, I am your superior. You won't be able to beat me," Zhao boasted.
Zuko knew however to not lose his cool. "Really, then let's see if you are hot flame, or hot air," Zuko taunted him.
Zhao seemed to take that as an insult and attacked. "Yaaaagh!"
On first glace, Zhao quickly seemed to have pushed Zuko into a bad defense with an onslaught of fireballs and flame streams. However, nothing could have been further from the truth. His uncle had told him that those giving in to their anger were prone to very sloppy fighting. Zuko had no big problem defending himself, deflecting or dissolving Zhao's attacks. Zhao was strong - no doubt about that - but his anger made him far less effective than he could have been with his skill level.
He's favoring brute force and his arms. That means he's very vulnerable to floor attacks to the lower body, Zuko observed.
If Zhao had expected a quick victory, he was in for a disappointment. This Agni Kai already went longer than most, due to Zuko just defending himself against Zhao's attacks and standing his ground. His inability to quickly overwhelm Zuko made Zhao incredibly frustrated.
"Why can't you finally go down?" Zhao growled, impatient and insulted that Zuko was still standing and defending himself rather well.
Zuko gave Zhao a cold look. "Oh, I was just busy watching your style. Now let's return the favor!"
What in all names! Zhao gasped, when Zuko started to go onto the attack, using his arms to block Zhao's attacks while he also attacked with flames from his feet that swept over the ground, forcing Zhao to back away further and further.
"YAH!" A sudden arc of fire from Zuko's foot made Zhao trip and he fell, Zuko standing over him, pointing his fists at him.
"Do it!" Zhao taunted him, trying to not show any fear. "Prove that you are not a weakling!"
Zuko hesitated for a moment, than... "HAH!" Zhao had expected his face to get disfigured. Instead, the fireball had just impacted on the ground close to his head, causing no injury. "You don't know me well, Zhao. I have nothing to gain by disfiguring you and I won't sink to my father's level. You lost."
Zhao was angry at this humiliation. Denying the injury actually meant Zuko wasn't taking him serious. Zuko had turned around, starting to walk away. Decision made, Zhao got up and charged Zuko, in order to hurt him with burning hands. He however never made it, since Iroh stopped his attack cold before blasting him some distance away.
"Coward!" Zuko openly declared, while boos and jeers erupted from Zuko's crew at Zhao's dishonorable behavior.
"So, this is how the great Zhao reacts when he's defeated. How shameful. Even in exile, my nephew holds far more honor than you," Iroh told Zhao in great disappointment. "We will take our leave now, but thanks for the tea. That actually was good."
While they walked away, Zuko's crew gave their prince thundering applause for winning the duel, while Zhao's crew was silent, not having expected their commander to lose. Zhao watched with growing anger how Zuko was hugged by his mother, before Mai gave him a victor's kiss (regardless how stupid she felt duels are, she knew Zuko deserved a reward).
Just wait for it... You have made yourself a powerful enemy. I swear I will destroy everything that's dear to you, Zhao thought darkly, feeling nothing but hatred for the teenager who had humiliated him in front of his crew.
...two days later...
"Well, according to the map Zuko gave us, we should now be close to Kyoshi Island..." Sokka looked up from the map. "Where did I hear this name before?"
"Oh, Kyoshi was the Avatar before Roku. You probably heard her name in passing. I heard of the island; they have giant elephant koi. I really can't wait to show them to you," Aang told him enthusiastically, before looking to Katara, who was busy with sewing together what looked like a shirt. "Hey, Katara, want to see a good trick?"
"Maybe later, Aang. I have to fix my shirt first," she told him without looking up from her work.
Sokka took one look at what she was doing, before returning his attention to the map. "Man, I'm just glad you're good with that stuff. There are some things men simply aren't made for."
Katara looked up, slightly annoyed. "You just say that because when they tried to teach you, you struck yourself with the needle enough times to declare you a lost cause."
"Eh..." Sokka tried hard to ignore his sister, but failed. "I'm better with a spear anyway."
"Not by much, considering your performance a few days ago," Katara said, reminding him of his confrontation with Zuko in the village.
"Are you always sniping at each other? I've never had any siblings, but I thought you would be close," Aang wondered.
Katara sighed. "Oh, we are close, but that doesn't mean we get along all the time. Just because we are related does not mean we automatically have the same opinion."
Sokka let out a short laugh. "Aang... If we would get along perfectly, you would still be in that iceberg. You only got out of there because I pissed off Katara enough that her water-vohoodo went bonkers." This earned him a hard look from Katara, which he promptly ignored.
Aang gave Katara another look and sighed, before returning his attention to where Appa was flying to. Sokka had noticed it, raising an eyebrow but staying silent otherwise, deciding he'd confront Aang later. Despite what others might assume, he was not nearly as oblivious as he sometimes seemed and did care a lot about Katara's well-being. He wondered what Aang was doing that he gave her these strange looks.
It was several more minutes of silence, before the clouds parted and Aang got an excited look when seeing an island far below them.
"There it is, Kyoshi Island!" Aang told them excitedly.
Sokka and Katara shared a look.
"Why do I have the feeling he's about to do something stupid?" Sokka asked his sister.
Katara shook her head. "How should I know? I'm a girl and can't fathom what boys think, even after living with you for all my life."
On the island meanwhile, Suki was leading a few of her warriors on one of the usual patrols of the island.
It normally would have been very boring everyday work, since beside watching out for possible intruders, the Kyoshi Warriors were also responsible for police work on the island. However, Suki was glad to be out of the village right now. Ever since the eyes of Kyoshi's statue had glowed and announced the retrun of the Avatar, people had become strangely excited, cleaning up the village, painting and polishing the statue. As Oyaji told her, people were fully expecting the Avatar to visit the resting place of one of his predecessors.
She just found it annyoing, as it severely disrupted her routine.
Life on Kyoshi Island normally was utterly predictable. Since the Fire Nation held no interest in it as it was far away from everything, there was no looming danger. The Fire Nation obviously didn't want to waste resources on them. Suki on one hand appreciated it, but on the other hand it also meant life was rather boring, as nothing ever happened. It was the same old thing: train, maintain the peace - which at worst were some arguments or a drunk who became rowdy - and listen to Oyaji that she should get a life outside of being a Kyoshi Warrior, even though he understood that this mostly was her life.
Having lost her parents early in her life, she'd been a ward of the village and had practically grown up with the warriors. The big trouble was that she now had difficulties to actually gain anything outside of it. She'd tried hobbies, but that hadn't been very successful, since the island simply didn't give her many opportunities. Not to speak of a boyfriend. Her very image as a tough warrior wasn't helping her at all in that regard. That, or she was too picky.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when one of her girls called to her "Suki, look up there!"
She did and was surprised to see a big... something... land on the beach and three teenagers then climb off the saddle on its back. They quickly hid themselves in the vegetation - easier said than done in winter - waiting for Suki to make a decision what to do next.
"So, what should we do?" another girl asked her, unsure how to act.
Normally, they would arrest them rather rudely and then question them why they hadn't used the docks to announce their arrival to the island as it was custom, some empty threats of feeding them to the Unagi to scare them included (they wanted to protect their home, they weren't barbarians). However, Suki knew that there was something more going on, never before having seen such a big animal. That it could fly was simply unbelievable and she felt they shouldn't show themselves yet.
"Let's observe them first," she decided.
They did watch and it would almost have been comical to see how the bald boy with the tattoos was trying to impress the girl by riding the elephant koi - which she felt was stupid as he clearly was suffering from the cold water. However, things got dead serious when the Unagi - the big serpent-eel living around the island - turned up and and started eating some of the koi. The boy almost seemed to run across the water to get to safety. Suki let out a small breath in relief that no one got hurt and yet shook her head at how stupid some people could be.
"Ok, girls. Let's move in and tell them to come with us. Let's not appear hostile," Suki then decided, seeing how the bald boy was done dressing himself after that stupid stunt.
"Halt!" Suki called, while they emerged from the woods to the beach. "You have entered Kyoshi Island without seeking permission first. Come with us into the village peacefully and there won't be any trouble."
"Is this supposed to be a joke? Oh, please, you and what army?" Sokka said, obviously not taking the idea of female warriors very serious. The very concept was alien to him.
"Sokka..." Katara was a about to tell him stop acting the macho when Suki beat her to it.
"Why do I always get the smart-asses?" Suki wondered aloud. She wouldn't hurt him, but a small demonstration would be in order. "So, Mr. Big-Shot. You certainly need a little convincing to come along peacefully."
Sokka was about to say something, when suddenly Suki pulled out a battle fan and in a lightning move opened it up and swept away Sokka's feet, causing him to fall hard on the ground. Before he could even react, Suki had flipped him over and took hold of his wrists while one foot was pressed against his spine, effectively rendering him helpless.
"Well?" Suki asked sweetly, one look from her stopping the other girls from giggling, feeling that he did not deserve any further humiliation.
"Eh... Peace?" Sokka asked, feeling incredibly humiliated.
Katara and Aang facepalmed at this. Leave it to Sokka to make a great first impression to these people. They felt even Momo would have probably made less of a blunder. At least these girls seemed to take it with humor.
A short time later, they were brought before the village leader Oyaji.
"Our warriors have told me how you have entered our island without getting permission first. Tell me one good reason why we shouldn't make you leave right away, since you seem to disregard our laws. And no, your mode of transportation is not a good reason." He said the last thing while waving in Appa's direction, the huge sky bison being the center of attention of the village's children.
"Would it help that Aang here is the Avatar and just wants to visit where one of the previous Avatars had lived?" Katara offered when seeing how Aang seemed intimidated and Sokka was still sulking..
The people started whispering and Oyaji raised an eyebrow. "That's a very bold statement, claiming that this boy is the Avatar. Although he indeed looks a lot like the old pictures of airbenders, your word alone is not enough. Better show us some proof, or for the very attempt at such a lie we will feed you to the Unagi."
"Will airbending be proof enough?" Katara asked.
"Of course, since the airbenders are extinct. Only an Avatar would now know it," Oyaji said, then waited for whatever these teenagers would show him.
"Aang, do some airbending and we'll be fine," Katara gently told Aang, who seemed a little uncomfortable with being the center of attention.
"Oh... all right." He didn't have any wish to meet a nasty fate, meeting the Unagi once had been bad enough, so he did create an air scooter. Sitting on it, he hovered some meters above the ground.
Everyone looked astounded at this development, before the crowd broke out into very excited cheering, as if they had waited for him a very long time. It was a complete contrast to how they had been looked at when being first escorted into the village, since it seemed strangers were not very welcome. Aang however gulped, hoping they wouldn't start praying to him as well.
...the next day...
"Don't even think about it, Momo," Katara warned the lemur, who was watching everything from her shoulder.
The lemur did give her an innocent look, as if to ask: 'Who? Me?'
Katara really wondered what had happened to this lemur that he could obviously understand what she was saying and give her a silent reply. "You get something later, these are for the journey, so control yourself."
Momo let his ears hang, knowing he would not win this argument.
Momo's antics were not helping her mood, as she already was quite grumpy while she was browsing the selection of the grocery to fill up their stocks for the journey. At least the shopkeepers had accepted her insistence that she would still pay for their services, as she would not accept freebies from them just because Aang was the Avatar.
Thinking of Aang, her irritation rose. The younger girls of Kyoshi Island seemed to have made it their hobby to stalk Aang and compete for his attention. Aang didn't seem to appreciate it however, since she'd last seen him running away from a mob of prepubescent girls trying to rope him into getting their portrait done with him at his side. Aang had not made it a secret to them that he hated being famous just because he was the Avatar.
Not that it helped with the fangirls. These girls were hero-worshipping him and for some reason, them competing for his attention disturbed her. Part of her really disliked him getting so much attention from these young girls.
"Hey, Katara, where's our big hero?"
Looking up, she saw her brother approaching her. He looked every bit as grumpy as she did, but at least his reason was far more obvious. He was still pissed at how easily that girl had defeated him the previous day. After growing up with the idea that being a warrior should be left to the men - while their grandmother did tell them female waterbenders did pull their weight they never went into direct armed battle - it had been a deep shock to him to see a girl fight this well and easily defeat him. While he had seen that Mai girl train with her knives, it was a different thing to experience defeat.
"Oh, he's around here somewhere, running away from his fangirls," Katara almost growled. Despite only knowing Aang for a little time, she felt unusually protective of him.
Sokka might not be that good at understanding girls, but he did know his sister and even in his current mood he sensed that her annoyance level was high. "Yeah... You sure don't sound happy about it."
"I'm not! You know how much he dislikes fame just because he's the Avatar! You've heard how that got him nothing but problems in the past. These girls are so disrespectful of him and the way they try to monopolize him is just disgraceful. I didn't get even one moment to talk with him today," Katara finally complained.
Sokka really wasn't that good with the emotional stuff, but that seemed to be a clear case. "You're jealous."
Katara almost dropped a pot filled with vegetables, her eyes wide open in shock at her brother's sudden declaration. "WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I'm really shitty with all this stuff, but even I can see it. You can't stand that these girls are taking away all the time you could spend with Aang," Sokka explained his reasoning.
"That's... that's..." Katara tried to refute it, starting to blush heavily from the emotions raging within her. She had not even noticed how protective she'd become of Aang in such a short time.
Well, I better leave you be," Sokka then said, seeing his sister would not be in the mood for any further conversation.
This left Sokka bored.
Aimlessly wandering around the island, Sokka finally spied a big building on a small hill. Looking in through the open doors, he blinked. It were the girls who had arrested them the previous day - and in his case humiliated him - only this time they seemed to do... something with their fans. They didn't seem to notice or ignored him while they went through the movements with grace, opening and closing their fans, striking out with them on occasion.
Sokka tried hard to hide how nervous he was. These were the first girls of his age group he'd ever met - Katara didn't count since she was his sister. At the South Pole it was either little girls or grown-up women. That alone made it difficult for him to know how he was supposed to act around them. He was even more unsure due to them obviously being warriors - a concept totally unfamiliar to him, since women were not supposed to fight, right?
Sokka finally couldn't hold back any longer, hiding his insecurity behind a front of the tough guy. "What is this supposed to be? Some kind of ceremonial dance?"
Training ended and Suki rolled her eyes. It seemed this boy was out to annoy her whenever possible. While some could be chalked up to simple ignorance of their customs, another part reeked of a strange image he had about girls. With a simple hand sign she told her girls to leave Sokka alone, despite him having insulted Kyoshi's legacy.
"Well, if this isn't Mr. Tough-Guy. And yes, it is a dance. With this dance we can seriously maim someone if we desire to do so." To underline it, a hard strike with her closed fan broke off the arm of a training dummy. "Don't be fooled by these fans, they are deadly weapons."
"Yeah, I get that, but what is it with this make-up and dresses? Looks seriously impractical to me," Sokka then said, eying the alien uniforms.
"It's not a dress! It's a warriors uniform in the same style Avatar Kyoshi wore! Wearing it is a great honor!" one of the girls finally exploded, feeling insulted.
"And what you call make-up is our greatest honor: to wear the colors of Kyoshi!" another girl added, looking harshly to Sokka.
Sokka didn't seem intimidated. "Don't you think you take this a little too far? Maybe she was a cool gal, but it's honestly a little scary that you try to imitate her so much."
Suki held up a hand to tell her girls to back off. "Honestly, do you have such a problem with the idea that a girl can be a warrior?"
"Yes," Sokka said with his face straight. "In the Water Tribe the women by agreement were not frontline warriors."
At least she now knew where that was coming from. "So, Mr. Warrior, how about a little match to see how well you do against me? See for yourself if we're frail flowers."
Sokka was tempted, especially because of his wounded pride, but a lesson his father had given him days before leaving to fight in the war came back to him. He the sighed, his facade crumbling. "I can't... My father and the other men left to fight in the war before they could teach me much. Almost anyone could defeat me without breaking a sweat."
Right now Suki felt like she'd kicked a puppy, as Sokka now looked depressed. She also felt kind of guilty now. "Girls, leave the two of us alone." The other warriors didn't question her order and left. Suki then locked the door. "Now be honest. You hate being weak, don't you?"
Soka looked like he was ready to deny it, but then sighed. "It was all so clear for me. Father and the men would train me to become a good warrior... Then they left for the war and never fulfilled their promise. It's unfair."
"Hm..." Suki walked around Sokka, inspecting him. "Quite athletic. Not much strength, but that can be changed..." She was struggling with herself for a moment, but then, Kyoshi had never said her art could not be taught to men as well. "What would you give to become better?"
Sokka threw up his hands. "Well almost everything! My sister has this mystical water-crap and while she isn't good at it yet, it makes me feel like she's about to become more useful than I am! I would even cut off my ear for a chance to finally get some real skill..."
"Oh dear, let's hope it doesn't come to that!" Suki gasped when seeing how serious Sokka was about it. "Would you even accept a girl teaching you?"
Sokka needed a moment to see where this was leading to. "You mean... you?"
"You see anyone else in here?" Suki asked sarcastically.
Sokka was conflicted. He really wanted to learn some warrior stuff, but a part of him still couldn't believe that a girl could be an actual warrior. In the end however, his desire won out. "I would do it... I would even wear one of these things... as long as you allow me to keep my pants on under it. Just don't expect me to paint my face. I've sworn to only wear the warpaint of the Water Tribe."
"Then let's see how serious you are about this," Suki warned him, then gave him a look. "And let me help you get into one of my spare uniforms. No arguments!"
After all, no need to have him wonder how he was supposed to wear it.
...on Zhao's flagship...
Little did they know that news would travel fast. Some girls blabbed the news of Aang's arrival to a fisherman, who in return told it to the merchant whom he supplied with fresh fish, who in return sold the fish on the market of the village Chin. Ever since the days of Avatar Kyoshi, who had killed the man who gave the village it's name, its inhabitants were violently hostile to the Avatar. They felt nothing wrong with giving these news to the Fire Nation officers, who in return would report to the next high-ranking officer in the area.
Meanwhile, Commander Zhao was looking over the sea, thinking about the last few days.
His defeat at the hands of Prince Zuko had shaken his authority and it had taken quite some effort to restore it. Two officers had been bold enough to openly challenge him to a duel, thinking he would be a pushover. One of them was dead now, while the other was still suffering from the third-degree burns he'd given to him. Not to speak of the insolence of some parts of the crew. It had taken picking out the ringleaders and punishing them severely to restore order.
His wrist was still stiff, as he'd mercilessly beaten up these men with a wooden stick, always calling "Another one!", when the stick in question got broken due to overuse and he needed a new one to continue the beatings. These men were now recovering in the brig and he was recovering from a stiff wrist after all the beatings he'd dished out. However, it was worth it, as no one would question him again. This was for sure.
"Sir, there a priority message for you waiting in your inbox!" a soldier reported.
"Let's see what this is about." Quickly walking to the command center of his ship, he took the scroll from his inbox and read it. His mood brightened significantly. "Well, well, well. It seems the day has improved significantly. Captain!"
The captain of his flagship approached. "Yes, commander?"
"Signal to the other ships that we change course towards Kyoshi Island. The Avatar has been sighted. All troops are to prepare for a landing on arrival," Zhao ordered.
"Yes, Sir!" The Captain saluted and left.
Zhao had not expected an opportunity to present itself this early. Sure, his fleet had moved significantly to the east already, but they should manage to reach the island in a few days if they maintained maximum speed. It was smart of the Avatar to first go to an island where no one normally would look, as it was utterly uninteresting and insignificant. That was why the Fire Nation had not assumed control of it yet.
Well, Zhao decided that while he was at it, he could kill two birds with one stone and claim another territory for the Fire Nation as well.
...on Kyoshi Island, three days later...
"Good, good! Now try again to the left!" The strike narrowly missed her. "I'm impressed! It's mere days and you can already almost hit me."
Suki was indeed impressed how far Sokka managed to come in mere days. She now knew she had been wrong about him. He wasn't a hopeless case as a warrior. Sure, Sokka at first had been a bit embarrassed about wearing one of her spare uniforms, but she had avoided even mentioning it. However, once they got to the actual training, Sokka showed an almost child-like enthusiasm about learning from her, not caring at all that he was learning from a girl. His desire to finally learn how to actually fight had to be really big.
Suki now also had a good idea why he was absorbing her lessons this fast. Sokka might look like a goof at first, but that was deceptive. His mindset was perfect for a warrior's needs and she couldn't help but to notice that he was way brighter than he appeared to be. Clearly, living in an icy land with little outside stimulus had prevented him from discovering his gift.
She had also misjudged him on a personal level. Once the outer layers were peeled away, it was clear that Sokka actually was rather insecure and passive, unsure what his place in the world should be. It was something he didn't want to show to anyone. He had not once shown any arrogance once she'd started to show him the ropes. He actually was quite pleasant to be around now.
"I'm trying to, but you're really fast!" Sokka replied, still trying to hit her with the wooden training fan.
"I don't expect you to. I've got years of training. That you force me to actually dodge already is a great improvement.," she said honestly.
Many people knew that they were training most of the day, but didn't say anything. Sokka however had refused to leave the training hall while wearing Suki's spare uniform, feeling that there were some things where he drew the line. Sokka didn't mind the whispers, but Suki was very aware about the gossip that was circulating. Since Sokka was the first boy she did take seriously, the villagers were now speculating that there could be more to it.
Well, this is perfectly ridiculous. I'm just showing him the ropes, nothing more, Suki thought, although she had to admit she really liked teaching him, at first not even having noticed how much time had passed.
"I have to apologize. I first thought of you as a girl, but I was wrong. You are a warrior," Sokka told her, while blocking her strikes.
"Stupid Sokka..." she told him a little playful. "Just because I'm a warrior doesn't mean I can't a be a girl at the same time. I do have the same desires as many other girls have."
"Yah!" Sokka made an unexpected move and Suki lost her balance. She fell into Sokka, who lost his balance as well and they both ended up in a heap on the floor.
It seemed that karma right then decided to play a prank on them.
"Suki, have you seen..." One of the Kyoshi Warriors had opened the door right then. She stopped when seeing Suki and Sokka on the floor, Suki lying on Sokka, their faces only inches apart. "Goodness, Suki! Do you really have to do this in our training hall?"
"This is not what it looks like!" Suki defended herself, too embarrassed to move.
"Oh, of course. In this case I won't disturb you two any longer." That said, she quickly left, obviously to spread the gossip.
"Uhm, not that I complain, but maybe you could get off me?" Sokka then suggested when Suki made no move to get off him.
"Oh dear!" Suki gasped, trying to get off Sokka as quick as possible. At least her facepaint was hiding her blush. "Oh, that's great. Now the entire village will think we were making out."
Sokka was blushing, his awkwardness around girls shining through. "You know... You lying on me... I kind of liked it."
If he had expected Suki to scold him, he was wrong. Instead, she did look a little nervous. "It was kind of new to me as well... You're the first boy that came this close to me."
Sokka couldn't help but to wonder what she actually looked like under her facepaint. He had no idea where the thought came from, it just happened. Her uniform was covering up most of her curves and her breastplate disguised her breast size... Sokka shook his head. Where were these thoughts coming from? He'd never before felt this strange need to take a closer look.
"Time-out before the next lesson?" Suki asked, herself trying hard not to take a closer look at Sokka.
"Good idea." Sokka knew he otherwise would never be able to concentrate on the lesson.
She's a warrior and definitely a girl, Sokka thought, putting an emphasis on the 'girl' part.
Ohhhh, I think the 'girl' part just returned with a vengeance, Suki thought, still surprised at how flustered she'd been. This had never before happened to her.
o
"Come on... come on..." Katara impatiently said, while waving her hand over the nearby waters.
She'd had enough of staying cooped up in the village and being forced to watch Aang getting stalked and decided to concentrate on training her waterbending. There was little else to de, since her brother was away for most of the day and she didn't even want to know what he was up to this time, although the goofy grin he was sporting in the evenings at least hinted that he seemed to be in a good mood.
Training to manipulate water in a bowl only got her so far, so she had walked down to the beach - a beach far away from the village - to see if she could make the water move even a little. Waterbending after all was like a muscle; training it would result in better results. For the moment however, the sea seemed to be mocking her.
Why doesn't it work? I just want to create some ripples, nothing more. Her thoughts then wandered. Damn Sokka, telling me I'm jealous of these little girls! I'm not jealous that Aang gets all their attention! I'm not.
Katara stopped when noticing that her waterbending had reacted to her drifting thoughts and she saw a crude but still recognizable copy of Aang's face, which had formed on the surface of the sea, giving her a smile. She gasped in surprise and the face fell apart.
Katara felt like her powers were making fun of her. "Oh, that's great... Just admit it. I am jealous."
Katara sighed, before sitting down and looking over the sea. In less than a week, things had changed so much. Having grown up with no other boy of her age-group than her brother - who thus didn't count - she was pretty clueless about the interaction between sexes. The only hints she'd gotten was from observing the adults before the men had left for the war. At least she was sure that Sokka wasn't much better in that regard.
She was very unsure how to act around Aang. There also was the problem that both of them were rather young. Oh, sure, she already had started her way on becoming a woman and she could see that Aang was also just starting the fun that was puberty. Yet, she wondered if he was ready for that kind of emotion, or if he just saw her as a big sister and nothing else.
"Katara?"
Hearing Aang's voice, she looked to her left and saw him walking onto the beach, looking really jumpy. Momo was sitting on his shoulder, acting as a lookout for any trouble. "Aang... Finally escaped your fan club?"
Aang sighed, before sitting down beside her. "Why do they like me for what I am, not who I am? I never did anything worthy of note, I just got born with these powers. Being the Avatar really sucks, it brought me nothing be trouble."
Katara knew where this came from, since he'd lost everything just because he was the Avatar. "Well, I do care. I do care for Aang the person. That you are the Avatar is just an extra."
For the first time in days, Aang felt his spirits lifted and he gave Katara a little smile. "You know, when I grew up there weren't any girls around. It was a purely male temple. Even when I visited other cities, I only saw them from afar. For some reason I didn't want to approach them."
I guess he's already over his 'girls-have-cooties' phase then, Katara thought in relief.
She didn't want to imagine how Aang would have been if still in that phase. She knew from experience. While Sokka was her brother, he too had went trough it and she had been the only target, causing her lots of annoyance and several screaming matches, which generally resulted in their Gran-Gran tanning both their backsides good to show them that this was no good behavior.
Aang looked a bit dreamy, while he continued. "You were the very first girl I ever talked to. At first I thought all girls would be as nice as you are, but after the last few days, I guess I was wrong."
Had Aang just given her a compliment? "You know, you are actually quite a nice guy, but I still don't know you that well. How was it growing up in a temple, being a monk and... with no girls around?"
"Oh, there are stories I could tell you..." Aang then stopped when Momo hissed. "Momo, what's wrong?" He kept forgetting how much better the lemur's hearing was, thanks to his big ears. "There's something at sea? Too bad I forgot my glider, but maybe my airscooter... Give me some room, Katara."
Creating an airscooter, Aang used it to ascend higher than the trees to have a good look on the sea. What he saw however, made him stop. "Uh oh!" He quickly returned to the ground. "Trouble, trouble, Katara! Fire Nation ships, and they are coming here!"
Katara paled a little. "Oh no! We have to warn the village!"
As quick as they could they ran towards the village, hoping they would reach it before the troops would land on the island.
o
"Sir, we are ready for the landing. All troops are prepared for invading the island as soon as you give the signal," an officer reported to Zhao, who was looking at the island from the command tower of his ship.
"Good. As soon as we have secured our bridgehead, I will lead them personally. I do not want the Avatar to escape," Zhao said, knowing that his personal battle armor was ready and he just had to put it on.
"Yes, Sir!"
Arriving in the village meanwhile, Aang and Katara saw that the news seemed to have already arrived.
The villagers were busy with barricading themselves into their homes, while others for some reason were moving away the statue of Kyoshi, probably since they feared it otherwise would get destroyed. The Kyoshi Warriors had gathered in the village center and they were then joined by their leader Suki and...
"Sokka? What in the name of the spirits are you wearing?" Katara asked, shocked that her brother would wear something like that.
"Hey, calm down, I'm still wearing my pants." Just to show he meant it, Sokka lifted the hem of the skirt to show his pants.
Katara was stopped from any snarky comment when Suki spoke up. "All right, listen up and listen good! The Fire Nation is about to land on the island. We have to fend them off before they can reach the village. We can't fight them on the beach, as the ships would cut us to ribbons."
"Are you really sure? It's awful lot of ships," Aang voiced his concern, having the sinking feeling that he was the true target of this invasion.
Suki knew they probably would die trying. "We have to try at least."
On the beach meanwhile the Fire Nation troops had created a command post, while even more soldiers landed, bringing weapons and equipment with them. They had trained landing operations countless times, so it was all going well without any problem. That was also the situation when Zhao arrived, riding on a komodo rhino.
"Captain, you and your men are to secure the surrounding countryside. We will take the village we have spotted. All right. Let's move in," he called.
They quickly marched towards the village. What they encountered was strange. No one was seen, the streets were empty and all houses closed up. The village seemed to be deserted, but due to their training they were expecting an ambush and they were completely right in that regard.
"Yaaahaa!"
The soldiers were surprised when they got ambushed from several sides, their attackers striking and then retreating quickly. They could barely see who was attacking them and felt hurt in their pride that a bunch of girls with painted faces had already killed several of them in this ambush.
Zhao however stayed cool and looked indifferent. "Don't let this get to you. Fight back!"
While their attackers had had the element of surprise, this was gone now as the soldiers' training kicked in. Swords and lances drawn, they went to the counterattack, not caring who exactly their enemies were. It went south quickly for the Kyoshi Warriors. While in theory they were trained to fight in big battles, they'd never had any practical experience against enemies who truly wanted their death. So while they certainly were good against enemies in low numbers, they were very inefficient against a whole army which could wear them down.
The confidence of the Kyoshi Warriors from after their surprise attack quickly turned into horror when one after the other suffered bad injuries, until Suki knew that this wasn't working and ordered a retreat. With bleeding wounds and burns from the enemy's firebenders, they were forced to retreat into the woods.
"Oh crap..." Sokka cursed, watching the whole thing from their hidden shelter.
Part of him wanted to fight, but Suki had made it clear he would get himself killed right at the moment. It seemed like she cared about keeping him whole. Instead, he was told to watch out for Aang, while Katara and some others were hastily preparing Appa for leaving, as it would be stupid to risk Aang's safety.
Part of him felt guilty for feeling relief that Suki had remained uninjured, while the other girls had suffered injury.
Aang himself had watched the whole thing in horror and then...
"Aang...? Oh great, what is he doing?!" Sokka cursed. He'd been told to watch out for Aang by Katara, and the young airbender was again doing something stupid.
"Stop, leave them alone!"
Zhao smirked, when seeing the lone figure who was standing on the street before them. "Well, well, well. If this isn't the Avatar himself. Prince Zuko must be even more of a weakling than I first thought if you gave him that much trouble when he attempted your capture."
Aang hid his surprise at Zuko's name being mentioned. "Big words! As if you can do better!" Aang challenged him, wondering what the hell he was doing.
Zhao wondered how stupid this kid could be. "You must be far more stupid than I anticipated. Just that staff you are holding won't cut it. I'm Commander Zhao. Remember this name, for it will haunt you for the rest of your life."
"You want me. Leave these people out of it!" Aang tried to bargain.
Zhao laughed. "Oh my, how naive. These people gave you shelter. That alone is reason enough to make sure this island will never again cause any trouble. They will learn to accept the new reality of the Fire Lord as their master Get him!."
Aang right then finally knew that he'd screwed up royally by running onto the streets like that. Mere seconds before he got tackled by a dozen soldiers, he jumped up and opened his glider to escape. As much as he didn't want to leave, he knew he couldn't fight an entire army and that the villagers wouldn't want him to get captured.
"Shoot him down!" Zhao cursed. On his orders, fireballs streaked through the air, forcing Aang to do neck-breaking maneuvers to not get shot down.
"Sokka, we're ready..." Katara stopped when seeing what was going on. "Sokka, what is Aang doing! I thought I told you to watch out for him!"
"He slipped away! Let's pick him up in the air, come on!" Sokka left no room for argument when he took Katara's hand hand pulled her to where Appa was waiting.
Suki was there when they arrived, arguing with Oyaji.
"But... I want to help! The girls are preparing to dress like simple villagers and I want to help the village prepare for the day when we throw these soldiers out," Suki argued.
"No, Suki. You have a bigger responsibility. I trust you that you help keep the Avatar safe. He is young and inexperienced. And no offense, but his companions right now don't strike me as capable of protecting him," Oyaji told her, seeing that they'd gotten an audience.
"But... I failed. I swore to protect our home and I couldn't do it."
"I think even Kyoshi would have forgiven you, seeing as you could hardly be expected to fight an entire army. Now go, time is short!" Oyaji ordered, leaving no room for argument.
Aang meanwhile was feeling his arms getting stiff from the many evasive maneuvers he was doing. He breathed in relief when he saw Appa finally arriving to pick him up. Landing on Appa's head, he didn't even ask why they'd picked up one extra, feeling too much inner conflict. He felt horrible that his mere presence had brought this over the village, even though they'd chosen to shelter him on their own.
Katara saw the emotion warring within him. She knew she would have to console him as soon as they had landed.
On the ground, Zhao watched the sky bison fly away, annoyed.
So close, and he slipped away! he cursed, barely holding back from cursing aloud. Well, enjoy your freedom while it lasts, Avatar. I will make sure these peasants won't have any.
"Get the whole island under control! Bring in the materials to erect an outpost. These peasants can't be allowed to have any chance to ever rebel!" he ordered, deciding to vent his frustration on the island.
...an hour later, somewhere on the mainland...
Suki sighed when she looked at her reflection on the surface of the small pond. Small ripples went over her image when tears escaped her eyes. She no longer cared how it looked, she had just experienced the worst day of her life. Her home invaded, forced into exile. She felt she was unworthy to any longer wear Kyoshi's colors. Carefully removing her headpiece, she started to wash off her facepaint.
The water became a little milky when the white and red paint joined it and Suki felt like she was washing away a part of her life that now was over. She'd finally scrubbed it all off and then looked at her image again. There no longer was a Kyoshi Warrior looking back. Instead, looking back at her was plain old Suki, someone she'd only seen seldom over the years.
Just look at me. Once a proud Kyoshi Warrior, now an exile, Suki thought, her heart heavy.
"Suki?"
Suki at first didn't want Sokka to see her like this, but then she reasoned he would do so anyway sooner or later. He'd first met her when she felt really secure about her life and now nothing was sure for her any longer. She wondered what he would now say, while turning around to face him.
Sokka for his part had not failed to notice that Suki was depressed which was little wonder after seeing her home getting invaded by the Fire Nation and herself getting forced into exile. Now looking at her however, these depressing thoughts were not important for the moment, since this was the first time he saw Suki's face without any paint on it.
She was beautiful.
However, he quickly controlled himself. Depite what Katara might say, he was capable of understanding what others felt. At least sometimes. "Suki? How... how are you holding up?"
Suki wanted to laugh at this stupid question, but she couldn't, since Sokka seemed genuinely concerned for her. "I feel like crap. I lost my home and the one thing I lived for."
Sokka knew, there weren't words that could cheer her up. "So, what do you do now?"
Suki looked up. "I will do as Oyaji told me. I will come with you and protect the Avatar on his journey, regardless how long it takes. I swear I will only wear the colors of Kyoshi again once this stupid war is finally over!"
Sokka knew he shouldn't be happy that Suki would travel with them, but he couldn't help it. He was also relieved that Suki instead of getting depressed was trying to find a new purpose. "Eh...? You feel better now?"
"Better? Not really. But having something important to do helps not getting depressed. I'll get better once I got some time to digest this day," Suki admitted, knowing it wasn't that easy to go on after such a horrible day.
"You know, there's something else you can do to distract yourself," Sokka suggested.
Suki had no idea what that could be. "What would that be?"
"Get some new clothes. Can't be comfortable to wear this all the time," he said, pointing out at her uniform.
Suki knew he was right, but that didn't mean she would get rid of her uniform (well, two uniforms, since Sokka had worn one and returned it to her after their escape), as it would still be useful in battle. However, she really didn't want to wear it all the time. Hopefully, they could get some new clothes in the next town.
"I guess you're right. Where are we heading to?" she wondered.
Sokka scratched his chin. "Well, Aang said something about a city called Omashu."
to be continued...
Next Episode: "New Friends"
Notes:
Now, since I'm writing a fanfic anyway, I decided to really mess around with the canon by letting Suki joing the gang right away. I did this for several reasons. Due to Zhao instead of Zuko attacking Kyoshi Island, leaving her there would have been a dick move. Also, the romance of Sokka and Suki was a bit fast in canon, here they have time to develop it. Sokka thus also gets the time and help to become a good warrior in a far more belivable way.
Now, as you can already guess from the title of the next chapter, Toph will join in as well, since I decided to put the gang together right away, as I saw no reason to leave her out since they are close to Gaoling anyway. I want the main characters together as fast as possible, as unlike canon, I'm not bound by production processes.
The canon episode always rubbed me the wrong way. Sokka was far too much of a sexist jerk and Aang actually enjoying all the attention went against him being not ethusiastic about being the Avatar, since it had cost him too much. It was clear they hadn't fully developed the characters yet. I tried to fix both problems here. Sorry also if Sokka's a bit too serious here, but I simply couldn't find a way to insert humor, apart from some sarcasm.