Chapter 8
Sokka crawled his way onto his lizard snake. He groaned, and kicked the animal in a bunch of different places in attempt not to fall off, which made it hiss.
"Sokka, you're going to make it bite you." Suki warned as she quickly leaped onto hers.
He groaned with irritation,"I'm trying not to, but it's hard. I don't think my leg is fully recovered." Sokka rubbed his leg, as if he was trying to comfort it. Suki rolled her eyes and waved goodbye to her old friends, when she noticed somebody was missing.
"Wait, where is Ty Lee?" Suki asked, scanning the crowd incase she had missed her.
Sokka shook his head,"It doesn't matter. We have to-" He stopped when he saw that familiar over-cheerful smile on that familiar over-cheerful face.
"Guys, wait!" Ty Lee yelled as she stumbled in front of the two,"I want to come with you. I want to help Mai." Her expression was suddenly concerned.
Both Suki and Sokka sighed, then they turned to each other and nodded.
"If you want to come, you have to either ride with Suki, or get your own lizard snake... thing.. Cuz I ain't sharin'. " Sokka explained, while using the reins to turn the giant animal.
"Oh, I'll get my own." Ty Lee turned around, to see if she could spot one.
Suki chuckled,"No, it's okay. You can share with me. That way if one of us gets tired, we can switch who steers us. That way we can both get plenty of rest." She said this, shooting a playful look at Sokka.
He snorted,"Strong men like me don't need rest. Now, let's get going." Sokka whipped the reins which made the animal jump, then start running towards the sea. Ty Lee jumped behind Suki, and then Suki imitated Sokka. The animals swam across the water quickly and easily, and before they knew it the group had reached a mining village Sokka recognized.
"Hey, I've been here before." Sokka said smiling widely.
"That's great Sokka, but we need some more water. Hurry up, we don't want to be in the middle of the ocean at night." Suki waved her hand in dismissal.
Sokka nodded, and limped his way to the closest market.
"Welcome to-" The store clerk greeted, but Sokka quickly interrupted.
"Yeah yeah, good to see ya. All I need is water, and I need it fast." He shot the man a serious look, and the clerk poured his water pouch all the way to the top.
Sokka gave him a smile,"Thanks." He set the money on the table and hurried back to the shore, where Suki and Ty Lee waited. They had traded positions, so now Ty Lee was commanding the lizard snake. Suki gave him a worried look,"Sokka, I don't think it would be very smart to leave right now. The suns setting and-"
"Suki we have to. I promised Zuko we would get there as soon as we can, which means we have to leave." Sokka crawled back onto his animal, and took the reins.
"But Sokka, your leg needs rest. The position you've been sitting in is irritating it, that's why it's hurting you." Suki explained.
"My leg doesn't matter. I know if I lost you, I would want as much help finding you as I could get." Sokka turned to give her an apologetic smile, that made Suki feel if she were standing her knees would go weak. Sokka immediately charged back into the water, causing the entire village to stare. Ty Lee turned around and blushed. She was used to getting attention, but usually people just acted intimidated around her. But these people smiled and looked up to her. It made her feel guilty, knowing she was once against them all. Suki charged after him, and Ty Lee almost flipped off the back end. They traveled for another hour, and the sun began to set.
"Sokka.." Suki sounded worried.
"I know. We're almost there." Sokka shot her a look of determination, then leaned forward into his seat, which caused the animal to move faster through the current of the water. Another few minutes passed, and Ty Lee and Suki's heads shot up. Sokka looked puzzled,"What is it?" He asked.
They stared at him and spoke in unison,"We just felt a bump."
Sokka was now starting to get worried, and part of him wished he would of stayed at the mining village for the night.
"We are going pretty fast, it was probably just a wave." He said, trying to keep things positive. But Ty Lee shrieked when she felt it again.
"There's something under us!" She screamed and hid her face in her hands.
Suki shot him a terrified look. They were stranded. There was nothing they could do if anything decided to attack them, at least not in water. Sokka hoped Ty Lee knew how to swim. He turned his head towards the horizon,"Just lean forward. It will make him go faster. Just a little bit father." Sokka could see the Fire Nation in clear view. Suki obediently leaned forward, and to her surprise the animal took full charge ahead, almost passing Sokka. Ty Lee held onto Suki in security, making sure she didn't fall off. Suki yelled when something caught her eye," There, I see an island. Let's stay there until whatever that thing is leaves." She said, already turning her animal around.
Sokka didn't want to argue, and followed her. The closer they got to the shore, the more the thing chasing them revealed itself.
"What is that?!" Ty Lee yelled when she saw different colors showing themselves directly behind the group.
Sokka noticed it looked strangely alike to the Unagi.
"It must be a sea monster of some kind." Suki said, feeling somewhat relived that they were getting so close to land.
"A sea monster?!?!" Ty Lee screamed and hid her face again.
"We'll be fine. As long as we make it all the way to the shore, it should give up." Sokka said, leaning forward as far as he could to keep up with them.
They sped their animals up as much as they could, until they eventually reached the shore. They jumped from their lizard snakes and ran up the beach, until they new it was impossible for the monster to reach them. Ty Lee hid behind a tree just incase. Suki and Sokka watched the water attentively, so they could at least get a glimpse of the sea animal. A few minutes passed, and they gave up. At least they knew its colors. Sokka immediately started to gather sticks for a fire, and Suki stared up at the trees for fruit. If she spotted anything, she would ask Ty Lee to climb the trunk to get it for her. Her Kyoshi uniform strictly disallowed climbing. As soon as they had shelter and food, they began talking about where Mai might be.
Sokka stroked his imaginary beard,"She might be at the Boiling Rock." He doubted it himself, but he had to put it out there.
Suki shook her head,"Not likely. If Azula is the one behind this, she wouldn't choose a place we know inside and out. And since Zuko is fire lord, rescuing Mai from there would be no problem." She looked towards the sky, lost in thought.
Eventually, all stares ended on Ty Lee.
"What?" She chirped. They waited for her to say something. Ty Lee sighed,"There is only one place Azula would ever hold somebody captive, if she is. There are small districts that align the Fire Nation. They actually create a perimeter around the entire country, but the districts are so spread out you can't tell, plus, they're small. Smaller islands than Kyoshi, in fact. But, Azula hadn't had contact with any of the islands since we were somewhat friends. At least, I don't think she has." Ty Lee trailed off, staring into the fire.
"I don't think that is likely, either. Azula is completely locked up, from what I know. How would she be able to kidnap somebody in the middle of the Fire Nation, take them to a Fire Nation district, lock Mai up in some kind of prison, and go back to her institution with out anybody turning her in?" Suki challenged.
Ty Lee bit her lip,"Well, you see... Azula's institution is actually on an island. In fact, it's on the same island one of the districts is located. Zuko especially chose that institution since it's the one farthest from his nation, but close enough to visit if he needed to." She explained.
Sokka reached up to stroke at his imaginary beard again, but he snapped his fingers in realization instead,"So if it was Azula, which I would bet all of my money on, by the way.. She must of somehow snuck out, which is believable, since Aang didn't remove her bending.. Then, managed to sneak her way through the city, and taken Mai by surprise..?" He wanted to somewhat sound confused, incase he ended up way off.
"That does sound like something Azula would do..." Suki agreed.
Ty Lee sighed," Poor Zuko." She whispered, though Suki and Sokka heard.
Suki frowned, and Sokka once again tried to keep them positive,"We'll find her. There's no doubt about it." He then tried to change the subject," And since we are all guessing Azula is behind this, I guess this means she's back to her normal self.."
Ty Lee nodded,"I guess so. I knew she would be back to normal in no time. As soon as she thinks of a plan, for revenge, or any other reason, no matter what condition she was in before just doesn't matter. She was always so positive, and always had a trick up her sleeve..." She trailed off again.
"I wish she was still crazy. If she was off balance it would be way easier to defeat her." Sokka complained.
Suki shot him a look to quiet him down, she didn't want to offend Ty Lee, she knew she still felt for Azula. Sokka looked to the side awkwardly,"So who will break the news to Zuko." He asked.
They both glared at him, but only Suki spoke up,"Well, since you're both such great buddies how about you?" She teased.
Sokka sighed,"Fine. But the next time something horrible happens that Zuko needs to know about, I'm not saying anything."
Suki and Ty Lee giggled.
A few hours later they were all fast asleep, all except Suki. She watched the water, and once the only movement was the waves, she threw a small rock into the sea to make sure the monster wasn't just hiding. The water remained still. Her eyes widened, and she gently shook Ty Lee and Sokka's shoulders.
"Guys, I think the monster is gone. Want to keep going? We shouldn't run into too much trouble, a town with a hotel is just over that way." She explained pointing in the direction of the town. Sokka yawned, and nodded. He lifted himself up and started towards where the lizard snakes fell asleep. Ty Lee lifted herself up and wiped her eye.
Suki noticed this, and figured she must have been crying,"What's wrong."
Once Ty Lee noticed Suki saw her, tears started streaming from her face,"I feel so bad!" She threw her face in her hands. "My best friend in the entire world besides you is missing. And I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to her when I left to Kyoshi." She coughed back tears and covered her face with her knees. Suki patted her back, trying to comfort her. And once she felt well enough to stand up, she lead them both to the lizard snakes. They both jumped onto the one next to Sokka, and they all quietly entered the sea.
"Took you two long enough." Sokka whispered.
Suki shot him another look, which once again shut him up.
They continued to the town, and once they reached it, it was already the next morning.
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thanks for reading ^^ I had a few ideas
on how to end this chapt. but I just
decided to go with this one x]
Please give reviews ^^