There was almost no time to react as a wooden sword came whistling toward Sokka's head, and only his instinct to duck spared him a nasty blow. His yelp of alarm could be heard even over the tumult of the other duels going on around him. He'd no sooner spun out of harm's way than the sword came hurtling at him again, but this time he managed to use his own to block it.
With reflexes born of dodging fire blasts and jabbing fingers, he evaded two more strikes before finally launching one of his own. It was more of a panicked swing than a precise attack, but the desperate bid worked, and Sokka was able to force his opponent back a step in order to parry. But another lunge later had the water tribe warrior once more letting out a startled cry as he swerved to avoid being hit.
Taking a lesson from the Kyoshi Warriors, he quickly used the force of the other boy's advance to circle around and get behind him, trying for another assault before his enemy recovered. It almost worked, and had Sokka been any less light on his feet, they'd have been swiped out from under him when his opponent merely continued his momentum and spun completely around, sword leading.
In the other sparring rings, most of the fighting had already ceased, the new recruits having been defeated by their more skilled opponents in a matter of moments. But Sokka and his adversary persisted, drawing the attention of Sergeant Kang and his aide who walked over to watch more closely.
The crack and thwack of wood smacking against wood echoed across the camp as the two boys continued their match, both now breathing hard with exertion. Kang crossed his arms and glanced at the junior officer beside him with one eyebrow raised appraisingly.
"Well, he's certainly quick," offered the corporal.
"Tenacious too," mused Kang.
"Not much skill with a blade though," observed the younger man.
Kang nodded, "That can be learned."
By now, all of the other recruits and soldiers had gathered around to watch the last two remaining combatants. Sokka, however, was oblivious to his audience; he was far too focused on avoiding and blocking the whirlwind of wood that kept pressing down on him. It wasn't until he heard a booming voice that his concentration was broken.
"That will do!"
Startled by the sound, Sokka turned just as the other boy finished a swing that he couldn't retract and, as a result, the water tribe boy was caught neatly behind the ankle. Sokka landed on his back with a thud.
"…ow."
A second later, there was hand hovering above him, and Sokka looked up into the smirking face of the same soldier who'd spoken to him in the breakfast line and who broke up the fight the day before. His hair clung in sweaty clumps to his forehead, and his sparring helmet was cradled in the crook of his other arm.
"You're a nimble little spit," the teen chuckled as he hauled Sokka to his feet.
"Uh…thanks?" was all Sokka could say before Sergeant Kang intervened.
The other boy snapped to attention with a crisp salute as the sergeant approached, looking at both of them critically.
"It seems you've found yourself a worthy opponent," Kang remarked to Sokka's adversary.
"Yes, Sir!" agreed the boy.
Then coming to stand before Sokka, Kang addressed him gruffly, "What's your name, Private?"
"It's S-, uh, Li…" Sokka stuttered, before adding hastily, "Um…sir!"
Kang merely nodded, apparently heedless of the near slip, and then turned once more to the other teen.
"Renzu!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Take Private Li back to the barracks to collect his gear. He'll be joining your unit."
"Yes, Sir!" Renzu replied with a bow.
Spinning on his heel to face the gathered recruits still gawking at the spectacle they'd just witnessed, Kang barked so suddenly and loudly that they all visibly jumped.
"As for the rest of you babies, you're about to learn the hard way what Fire Lord Ozai expects from his soldiers! Fifty push-ups, NOW!"
Bodies clattered to the ground, groaning under the weight of their padded armor as they began their exercise. Renzu quietly tapped Sokka on the arm.
"Let's go."
Completely at a loss as to what was going on, Sokka spared one last glance at his fellow recruits, then followed after Renzu. Somehow, he had a feeling that that 'blending in' and 'being inconspicuous' just got a lot harder.
Zuko pulled halfheartedly on the door handle of the dilapidated manor house, not expecting anything to happen. And, just as he figured, the place was locked tight. Glancing along the weed infested porch, he noticed that all the windows were boarded shut, but that one of them looked to have been compromised.
Walking over to it, he peered into the small gap where one of the boards was missing. As much as he didn't want to vandalize the place, he still wanted to take a look around inside, and this seemed to be the most promising way in. He took a step back, still contemplating his next move when Momo jumped off his shoulder and darted through the hole into the house.
"Momo!" called Zuko in a harsh whisper, "What are you doing?! Get back here!"
He paused, pressing his face against the small opening trying to catch sight of his small companion in the dusty gloom, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did you go?"
With a growl of frustration, the prince stepped back and took a stance, meaning to bust through the boards. But a click and a loud creak off to his left stopped him in mid-kick.
Smoothly redirecting his aim to face toward the noise, he halted his attack when he saw that one of the double doors to the house was now ajar. Momo's head popped out from between them, the creature chattering triumphantly. The fire bender sighed as he dropped from his stance and crossed his arms.
"You know, we really need to find a way to communicate better," Zuko grumbled, walking toward the door.
Unaffected by his companion's ire, the lemur merely purred as he took his customary place on Zuko's shoulder. Shaking his head slightly, the prince stepped into the forsaken home.
Everything inside was draped in a thick, gray blanket of dust, and cobwebs trailed across the rafters and from the tops of the covered chairs and tables down to the leaf-strewn floor. Here and there, a vine poked up through the floorboards and twisted its way around the room. Sunlight filtered dimly through cracks in the shuttered windows, casting everything in a pale luminescence and shimmering through the dust drifting through the air.
It was plainly obvious that no one had been here in decades.
With a defeated sigh, Zuko was about to turn and leave when he noticed something unusual on the floor. There seemed to be a pathway through the dust and debris, as if a swath of fabric had been dragged across the floor starting at the front door and meandering around the room until it disappeared into the shadows near a fight of stairs leading up.
Someone had been here…and from the looks of it, it wasn't too long ago.
Three youths sat despondently around their small camp, trying to keep themselves occupied with mindless distractions. Toph picked diligently at the clumps of dirt and mud stuck between her toes while Aang busied himself by repeatedly lighting a tiny flame in the palm of one hand, opening his hand to ignite it, and then extinguishing it by closing his fist again.
Only Katara sat idle, staring numbly at the cold remains of last night's fire. No one had complained when she didn't cook that morning, and even though it was nearing noon, neither Aang nor Toph was about to suggest she fix lunch.
Suddenly, Toph stopped her toe picking and sat up straight.
"He's back."
All three of them jumped to their feet as Iroh crested the rise of the hill. As he neared, they saw that his face looked weary and the lines that creased his brow seemed deeper than when he'd left that morning. It was a clear sign that he did not bring good news.
He said nothing as he sat down and shot a quick burst of flame at the campfire then set the teakettle on its cradle to warm. He waved a hand indicating they should sit, and he waited until they did so before he spoke.
"Short of Sokka missing a limb, there is nothing that will get him discharged from the army," he stated sadly. "But!" he added pulling out his bag of tea laves and sifting through them, "All hope is not lost. The regiment he's in is apparently bound for the capital, and they will be at Port Shukumei in a week to finish their training."
"Port Shukumei?" interrupted Aang optimistically, "but that's where we're supposed to meet up with Zian to get Appa back!"
"Yes," confirmed Iroh, "with any luck we'll be able to get both Appa and Sokka back at the same time."
While Aang and Toph smiled in hopeful relief at the news, Katara merely hugged her knees to her chest. Seeing the doubt and despair in her face, Iroh laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said consolingly, "we have a week to work on a plan. And I promise we'll come up with one even your brother would be proud of."
A weak smile in response was the best she could manage.
Not a word was spoken between the two boys as they went to collect Sokka's things from the main barracks. The misplaced water tribesman gathered his meager belongings in silence, wondering what sort of protocol there might be for asking questions about what the heck was going on.
It wasn't until they left the large tent that Sokka finally got up the courage to speak.
"So uh…where am I going exactly?"
"You'll be training with the same unit I'm in," explained Renzu with a shrug, "and we're on the other side of the camp."
"Oh."
"You should be proud of yourself, Li," Renzu continued amicably. "Getting picked from the first round of skill assessments is pretty rare. Where'd you learn to fight like that anyway?"
"Oh, well, I've...uh…traveled around a lot and um…I sort of picked a few things up here and there," answered Sokka uncomfortably. A skeptical glance from the other boy prompted Sokka to add hurriedly, "I'm from the colonies."
"Aah, a colonial! Which one you from?"
"Um…Bìmíng."
"Oooh," Renzu cringed, making a face as though having just witnessed someone taking a nasty hit. Then he laughed, "No wonder you move so fast. I hear that's one rough town."
"Yeah, well, you uh…get used it," the warrior replied rubbing the back of his neck, wondering just how much he would be able to build on this lie. Hoping to avert any more personal questions, Sokka ventured one of his own.
"So…this unit; this is like some special combat force or something?"
"The special combat force," Renzu informed him with a note of pride, "hand picked from the ranks for the most important task the military has to offer. You've heard of the Rough Rhino's."
"Naturally!" Sokka confirmed nervously.
He decided not to mention the fact that he'd more than just heard of them, he'd actually met them…in a manner of speaking. But he wasn't sure he could weave a convincing tale of the encounter that didn't divulge the fact that he was fighting against them at the time.
"Well, that's pretty much what we will be, a highly skilled unit of unique weapon specialists, but we will be the first such unit without a fire bender."
"And why is that?"
"Because for the mission we're getting, one won't help us."
By now, they'd reached a large enclosure within the camp, were several rows of mid-sized tents were pitched. Renzu held open the flap of one and motioned Sokka inside.
"What do you mean?" wondered Sokka as he began stowing his gear in an empty chest at the foot of one of the cots.
"Well, this isn't public knowledge but you'll find out soon enough anyway. The Fire Lord found out that there's going to be an eclipse in two weeks."
Sokka nearly dropped everything he was holding, but he managed to keep hold of it as he listened with growing dread.
"That's why they've gathered up so many new recruits," Renzu continued. "Everyone in this camp is being assigned to protect the capital, because we can't afford to pull troops from the colonies. They've been busy handling all those recent attacks over there."
"Yeah, I uh...heard about that," Sokka remarked uneasily, keeping his eyes focused on the gear he was putting away.
"Anyway, if the Avatar can't be captured before then, it's likely he'll be attacking on the Day of Black Sun, and that's where we come in."
Sokka gulped. "….We?"
"Yep, while all the fire benders are out of commission during the eclipse, we'll be springing a trap." Renzu clapped a hand companionably onto Sokka's shoulder, making the warrior jump slightly in alarm.
"So congratulations, Li! You're on the team that's going to take down the Avatar!"
Commercial Break
Author's note: I know many of you were a little disappointed with the lack of the Zuko and Gaang in the last chapter. But you have to understand that this 'episode' is really Sokka's tale, and that the others only have minor parts in it. It's very difficult as a writer decide what to focus on for the sake of the plot, and in order to keep things moving, I sometimes have to sacrifice interesting (but ultimately needless) scenes.
So I'm sorry that not everyone gets equal 'air time', but that's really just the way it goes.
Anyway! It's story time! It's been far too long since I've done this, and for that, I apologize. So, here are a couple of good fics I'm currently following that you guys might want to read:
Rising Phoenixby HyacinthMacaw - WARNING! You may not want to read this if you haven't seen 'The Western Air Temple,' for it is set after that episode. But it's a beautifully written speculation and is definitely worth checking out if you don't mind a tiny spoiler here and there.
Clasp by MacFie - This sequel to 'Parts of a Whole' is a wonderfully crafted, almost mystery-suspense type story featuring all your favorite characters from the first story and a few great new ones as well! If you haven't read 'Parts', then check it out before following it up with this!
AND! AND! AND!
I GOT NEW FAN-ART! YAY!
Go to http:// red-bird. deviantart. com/ art/ Meet-Junjie-D-73917586 (remove all spaces in the url) or look for the link on my bio page to see it!
Also, if anyone else feels inspired to draw something up and wants to send me the link, please remember that FanFiction auto deletes any and all URL links in both reviews and PM's. So be sure to add spaces after dots and slashes so that I can copy/paste the full link into my browser to take a look.
