Sokka awoke to Suki doing as she always did when he would wake up; stroking his hair. He rather enjoyed it, and would sometimes fake sleep so she would continue. But not today. He kissed her good morning and forced himself upright, shaking his head to clear his mind from sleep. He flicked his masterfully crafted sword up with is foot and caught it in his left hand by the hilt. He whipped the scabbard off with a simple flick of his wrist and held the blade up to his inspection. As always, it threw off a red glow seemingly coming from the middle of the hollow blade. The sword was perfectly balanced; Sokka began a complicated practice routine in which he balanced on one foot and moved the sword in perfect arcs, gradually getting faster and more intense, eventually leaping from place to place on the one foot. However, his concentration was broken when Suki started clapping slowly. He turned to see her fully dressed, grinning her cheeky grin.
"Ever since you've been able to beat me, you just can't help rubbing it in, can you, Mr. naked guy?"
Sokka looked down and remembered that he did in fact have no clothes on. He matched her grin with an equally silly one of his own, stuck his sword in the ground and walked over to her.
"Well, maybe I feel like taking on the Fire Nation in the buff today."
"Oh? I think a lot of female soldiers would be too distracted to fight... good for us!" she said, tracing his chest with one of her hands.
"As long as you aren't distracted, which you no doubt will be!" he said snidely, flexing his biceps. She rolled her eyes but decided to indulge his ego and pulled him close in a hug.
"Well… I am sure distracted right now." She whispered sensually in his ear, reaching down to a certain part of his body. He grinned from cheek to cheek, although she couldn't see his face. Then, he spanked her.
"Sokka!" she growled, pushing him away. He fell over laughing. She crossed her arms at him, trying to keep a straight face.
"Sorry, babe," he began once he stood up, "but there's just no time for it right now. We should clear the area, maybe go into town." He began to get dressed, back to being serious, changed Sokka. She nodded, letting herself slip into a similar state of mind. He slung his scabbard over his shoulder and then went to pick up his sword. The familiar red glow shone dully in the morning sun. He was reminded of the first time he ever set eyes upon the wondrous blade…
An eighteen year old Sokka bowed before his master. The morning sun shone as they faced each other in a clearing of an Earth Kingdom forest.
"Sokka, you have returned to the Earth Kingdom," began Master Piandao, after Sokka stood again. "You have been gone for nearly three years, my boy; where have you been?"
"It is a long story, Master; I have seen the world and studied various fighting techniques under skilled masters. I've been preparing myself…"
Piandao cut him off. "I can see that, Sokka; I can see it in your face. These past two years have been hard for you. But they have been also hard for us. Did you ever stop to think of what your self imposed exile would do to your friends?"
Sokka bowed his head. "Yes. But it was necessary if I am to kill the Fire Lady."
Piandao's eyes widened upon hearing this. He quickly found his voice.
"You have made slaying Azula your task? Then, I am glad I have found you before you have tried."
"Why, master?" Sokka began angrily. "So you could restrain me from a foolish task which will most likely be suicide?Well… I deserve to die, Master! I let Aang and Katara and… everybody down! Killing Azula, whether I die or not, is the only way I can make it up to them. It's the only way I can restore my honor."
Piandao sighed. "No, Sokka, it is not to restrain you. I can tell by your appearance and the way you move that I would no longer be able to defeat you as I once could. You are my equal now, or perhaps my superior. I am happy that I have found you so that I could give you… this."
He pulled out the sword from his scabbard. Sokka gasped as he looked upon it. It was about the same length as his own new sword, a replacement after he had lost his space rock sword on the day of Sozin's Comet. But this sword glowed with a red hue. Its crossguard was carved with intricate little details; a rising sun, and erupting volcano, all surrounded by flames. He took it in his hands from his master. It was warm to the touch; he could feel a strange connection with this beautiful and deadly sword.
"This… is a…"
"Magma sword," finished Piandao. He nodded. "You have heard of them?"
"They're blades designed to combat firebending. They can redirect flame. But… I thought they had all been destroyed?"
"They are relics from a time when the art of swordfighting was as respected as the art of firebending. The secrets of their creation have been lost to time; it is said that it requires spirit magic and the breath of a dragon to create. They are very rare; General Iroh gave this to me when I was young in recognition of my skills. It is my most treasured possession. I am giving it to you, Sokka, because you can better put it to use."
Sokka looked at the sword. He took out his replacement, which he had never quite bonded with as he had his space sword, and handed it to his Master. Then he sheathed the magma sword and bowed.
"Sokka, before you embark on your mission, I think it would be wise to seek out a companion. A young woman has often asked me about you whenever she has been in Ba Sing Se, one who used to travel with you and the Avatar. Suki is her name. You remember her?"
Sokka nodded yes, trying not to say anything aloud lest his voice fail him. She has been asking about me… will she forgive me?
Also, I would advise you to seek out General Iroh. He is one of the few who has survived an encounter with Azula. You need to know more about her if you are to defeat her."
"Where is he? He's not with the rest of the Order of the White Lotus in Ba Sing Se?"
"No. Iroh left on a journey much like your own. He told me it was to seek out his brother or something very strange like that. You know him, he is quite an eccentric old man…"
Sokka's eyebrows cranked up like a drawbridge. Iroh, seeking out Ozai? After he had been rendered powerless, Ozai had declared himself unfit to rule, handing over the crown to Azula. Then he had disappeared. While most speculated that Azula had killed him to remove him from the picture, there were rumors that Ozai had left to wander the world as a hermit. But why would Iroh want to find him?
Sokka's ponderings were cut short with the whoosh of a fire nation arrow. Seemingly out of nowhere it came, burying itself into Piandao's chest. Piandao stepped backwards with the force of the impact, grunting slightly. They both stared in shock at the arrow for a moment. Then
they whipped around to behold a lone Fire Nation archer standing at the edge of the clearing. Piandao began to bleed, but he showed no weakness as he and Sokka readied their weapons.
Suddenly Fire Nation troops began to pour out from the side of the clearing.
"They followed me!" gasped Sokka.
"They want you alive, Sokka, or else he'd have shot you too. Run! Find Suki and Iroh! The safety of the world depends on you now!"
With these words, he charged. Sokka watched him engage the enemy. He was impossibly quick , even for an aging man, cutting down seven of them within the first five seconds.
"RUN, SOKKA!"
Sokka turned and ran into the forest, but not before catching another glimpse of his master. Two more arrows, one in his back and one in his leg, plagued him, but he still fought on. Bodies began to pile up around the unstoppable cyclone that was Master Piandao.
Sokka later learned that after a sixth arrow pierced his heart, Piandao had sat in the cross-legged position he meditated in, and died surrounded by a circle of Fire Nation bodies. Piandao died a true Swordmaster's death.
Sokka ran until the walls of Ba Sing Se were in sight and then collapsed. He slept for a good four hours, and reached the walls by nightfall, somehow avoiding the Fire Nation patrols. Kyoshi Island was his next stop, but to get there he would have to enlist the help of an old friend.
It was interesting to see how far he'd come since that day… Not far at all.
Killing Azula was still his mission, but she had proved impossible to get to. So he'd taken a few detours along the way. They had spent a few months looking for Iroh, but it was clear he didn't want to be found. Eventually giving up on finding the old man, they had tried to infiltrate the palace twice, failing both times, and barely getting out alive. They had followed Azula when she had decided to partake on a raid to stomp out the Southern Water tribe. That had ended disastrously for Sokka and Suki. But in all the attempts, they had somehow managed to remain anonymous; never had their identities been revealed. As they had not been able to face her, she remained ignorant of their existence. Surprise was still on their side.
For all the good it did them.
Once dressed, the two lovers made their way into town, commanding Appa to stay hidden in the forest. He grunted and lumbered off to a nearby cave previously home to a platypus bear, until Appa had flung him away with one swipe of his tail. Suki clasped his hand when they entered the town, and they smiled at each other, looking for all the world like two innocent young people in love. It was a ruse that they used often. No one would take them for a threat when they employed this trick.
"Suki, let's split up," he whispered. "We need to do some serious sleuthing around. I'll take the town bar, and you hit the streets."
Suki nodded. That was what they always did when they entered a town. They had found that when Suki took the town watering hole, no one would take her seriously; the patrons, mostly males, would jeer at her and try to grab various parts of her body that were reserved for only Sokka's touch. What followed usually entailed a hasty retreat after throwing a couple of the more frisky patrons to the ground, unconscious. Sokka could fit in much more successfully, owing to the fact that he did not have boobs.
Suki started wandering listlessly around the town. She stopped at a cabbage stall to get the latest gossip, but it was nothing of interest, except for there were sightings of a gigantic "flying buffalo". Suki frowned when she heard this. We need to be more careful about flying on Appa. A couple of girls her age, or perhaps a little younger, walked by, giggling at a group of muscular young men boasting amongst themselves. Looking over at the girls, a particularly dumb one caught sight of Suki, a lone female, and an attractive one too. He grinned at his friends, whispered "watch this", and approached her. She looked at him with flirty eyes, blinking repeatedly and smiling her best smile; maybe this meathead knows something. He got the message and grinned widely.
"Hey there, beautiful," he said. Suki inwardly groaned, but on the outside she giggled. "My name's Hide. And you are… Ms. Gorgeous?"
It took the same effort as performing a back flip as it did to giggle stupidly after this remark. Even harder was responding, "You're kinda cute too… My name's… Ty Lee."
"Well, Ty Lee," he began (luckily not noticing her fist shaking with the effort not to punch him in the jaw), "I was wondering if maybe you'd come to Ember Island tomorrow with me. I happen to have snagged two tickets to an otherwise sold out play. Want to come... with me?" He grinned and winked and whipped two tickets out of his pocket. They read, "The Fire Lady: An Account of the Life and Trials of the Youngest Monarch in All of Fire Nation History, Fire Lady Azula. From the Critically Acclaimed Ember Island Players."
"Oh, really?" said Suki, sounding intrigued because she was, in fact, intrigued; "Tell me more about this play."
Sokka spied the off duty soldiers immediately upon entering the bar, clumped together at a back table. As many empty mugs as full ones stood on the table. Sokka guessed they were roaring drunk. He sat down with his back to them at a nearby table, attempting to listen in to their talk. One of the guards was telling the others of a vulgar encounter he had with a female palace servant recently. They laughed at his story, horribly drunk, while Sokka tried to block it out. But he gleaned some things from it; namely, they were nearby the palace, and that there seemed to be a little distaste for Azula among the guards. This was eluded to several times, but no one stated it concretely. Then they switched to a new topic.
"So, fellas, did you hear about the play?" The one with the story about the servant girl started.
"The one about the Fire Lady? Yeah, I heard about it. It's by the same guys who did the one about the Avatar way back." Sokka perked up when he heard this.
"Hah, those guys, eh? That sure was a funny one. My favorite was that wimpy skinny guy, that Sukka fella. He sure was hilarious." Sokka was barely able to keep his temper in check upon hearing this, but also felt a little bit of pride; they thought his jokes were funny?
"Yeah, The Ember Island Players. Anyways, they're doing this one about the Fire Lady, right? And that palace girl, the one with the legs, she told me that the Fire Lady is ecstatic, she's loving the attention, although she won't admit it. She also told me she's going to the showing tomorrow night…"
Sokka leapt up in elation. This was it! This was their big chance to strike the blow that could end the war. Azula had no heir, and with her gone, Iroh could make an attempt on the crown as the last remaining member of the royal family. A plan was already coming together in his mind.
"What's with that guy?" asked one of the soldiers, watching Sokka's triumphant leap and exit.
"Beats me," said one, "He kinda looked like Sukka. Heh heh." He giggled and then fell over, stone drunk.
Sokka dashed out to find Suki conversing with a tall muscular Fire Nation boy with short brown hair. Anger flared in his chest for a moment, but it passed; he knew Suki, and he'd seen her work her feminine wiles on other guys before in order to extract information.
He was still jealous.
She spotted him and made gestures with her head. The gestures said, take care of him!
He nodded, saw the tickets in his hand, grinned at this impossible luck, and gave a gesture of his own.
Grab 'em and get out of there!
"Er.. are you okay?" asked Hide as Suki wiggled her head at the newly appeared Sokka. He got the message, grinned his wily Sokka grin, and signaled back. She understood.
"Uh… fine! Just a twich. Sorry." She smiled her best stupid girl smile, thinking to herself, Sokka had better beat this one up good. "sooo… let me see those tickets…"
She gingerly grasped them. He smiled stupidly at her, no doubt imagining what she would look like naked.
So he was left completely speechless when Suki took off in a run.
"Hey!" Sokka hollered to poor Hide, "Stay away from my girlfriend!" He bounded in front of the confused young man and drew out his sword. It made for an impressing and fearful sight, a furious six foot two man with fire in his eyes and a glowing sword in his left hand.
"But she has my…" Hide began.
"I said, STAY AWAY!" interrupted the seemingly furious warrior. He swung lazily with his sword. Hide screamed and threw himself backwards onto the ground.
"You have been warned," said Sokka smugly, and he turned and ran after Suki, leaving a frightened and confused Hide sitting on the ground, with no girl or no tickets.
Sokka caught up to Suki in the middle of the forest. She was standing, panting, holding the tickets. Sokka cheered and kissed her right on the mouth. After a minute they broke apart.
"uh… what was that for? Two lousy pieces of paper?" said Suki, smiling at her lover who, for all of his changed ways, still managed to be quite goofy.
"Suki, Azula is coming to that play! Do you realize what this means?"
Suki's eyes widened. "Really? She'll be…"
"She'll be ripe for the taking. Or, rather killing. Its perfect, Suki, perfect! Fate has delivered her into our hands!" he said triumphantly.
Suki frowned. "Perfect… maybe too perfect. It could be a trap. That's exactly something Azula would think of, Sokka."
Sokka nodded in acknowledgement, serious again. "You're right," he began, "but we have to try. A shot like this, even if it is a trap, won't come along like this. We'll spring this supposed trap, and then Azula will be dead, and Iroh can make a grab at the crown, and he can end this war. We need to do this, Suki!"
The former kyoshi warrior closed her eyes in thought. She was silent for a moment, then she cleared her throat.
"Well?" Sokka inquired.
Suki opened her eyes, her blue green orbs shining with fierce determination.
"Let's go bag ourselves a Fire Lady."
Sokka raised his fist in the air, letting out a long "yesssss!" then turned and faced her, smiling.
"But first… I believe a little celebration is in order?"
She stepped close to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Oh really?" she said huskily. "What did you have in mind?"
A/N: Just because its "dark" doesn't mean it can't have humor, people. But don't get used to it! I am considering upping the rating of this fic to allow me a little more freedom here. Is that a good move? As for the next update, I am about to go on vacation for two and a half weeks, where I will have no access to the internet, so don't expect it for the next two weeks or so.