"There it is," Sokka announced, pointing as Kyoshi Island loomed before them. "Oh, no..."
Even in the dark, they could see the devastation Azula had inflicted upon the tiny island. The town was a burned-out cinder. Many of the trees had been cut down and the land stripped. One section of forest was still smoldering, a cloud of smoke massing upwards like a black hand that blocked out the stars. In the center of what had been the village, a hastily-built Fire Nation fort had arisen, their flame insignia banner hung as a warning for all to see.
"That's probably where they'll have Suki and the others," Katara surmised, "that is, if -"
"Don't say that!" Sokka cut in discordantly. "Suki's fine. They're all fine. We're going to find them. Come on."
Using the smoke as a cover, Appa landed them on the far side of the island, then went to hide in what was left of the trees. Sokka led the way as he, Katara and Toph trekked toward the Fire Nation fortress. The three crawled to the top of a hill just behind it and spied out the danger from the bushes. Auspiciously, there were only two guards on duty at the back gate, locked into an argument that could easily be overheard.
"I'm telling you, the Fire Lord's days are numbered," one was saying.
"Oh, come on. Now that Ba Sing Se is ours, the Avatar has nowhere to run. He can't possibly defeat the Fire Lord."
"Not the Avatar. Princess Azula. You should hear the reports coming from the men she's brought in there to occupy the city."
"What are they saying?"
"That she's really taking charge. You'd think she didn't take Ba Sing Se for the Fire Lord, but for herself instead."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Sokka muttered darkly. "It's just one big royal family of betrayers and villains."
Katara glanced over at Sokka, feeling oddly wounded by his cutting remark, then foolish for having defended Zuko in her mind. She might have dismissed it, however, had not Toph chosen that moment for a spectacularly livid outburst.
"That's not true!" Toph hissed furiously. "Iroh isn't like that! He saved Aang and Katara. He risked his life for us, and we left him in trouble so we could come here and save your girlfriend, so don't you dare talk to me about betrayal!"
Sokka looked as though he'd been slapped. "Is that what you think?"
Toph gritted her teeth. "It's what I know."
The young warrior's fists clenched. "Suki saved your life, Toph. Remember that?"
"Of course I remember. Can you think of any other reason I would have come when I have another friend who's still in danger? One you seem to have conveniently forgotten about?"
"Have you forgotten Aang almost died?"
"Have you forgotten if Iroh hadn't saved him he would have died?"
"If Suki hadn't saved you from drowning, you wouldn't be here to complain about it!"
"If I hadn't saved you from getting smashed by a rockalanche, neither would you!"
"Enough!" Katara finally said, coming between them with a palm against each of their chests to hold them back. "If you two get any louder, we won't have to worry about breaking into the prison, because those guards will be all too happy to drag us in there!"
"Sokka started it."
"Did not!"
"Did too."
"Did not!"
Katara sighed, her fingers curling into fists. It was just like in the desert, when she'd had to calm Aang down and keep him from blaming Toph about Appa. Tensions were high, and once again it was up to her, the gentle peacemaker, to resolve them.
Soothingly, she reached to touch Toph on the shoulder. She knew the earthbender was prone to fits over things she believed to be unfair, but she had never seen her like this. Toph's teeth were bared, her breath shallow, and the ground under their feet was faintly rumbling.
"Toph, listen to me. Sokka says the wrong thing sometimes, but we're all trying to do the right thing. Aang and I - all of us - owe Iroh our lives. If there's ever a chance for us to help him, you know we will. But right now he's in a place where we can't help him, at a time when we're well under our full strength and Aang is barely hanging on. There's nothing more we can do for Iroh right now. We just have to hope he'll be okay." Katara looked pointedly at Sokka, thankful her hint would go unnoticed by Toph's blind eyes. "Tell her, Sokka."
Sokka stared at Toph, a little afraid of her. It was only now that he saw and appreciated how terrifying it would be to have her for an enemy. "You know I didn't mean it like that, Toph. I admit, I didn't trust Iroh at first. But after what he did for Aang and Katara, I'll never think anything bad about him again. If we ever get a chance to help him, I promise, I'll do whatever it takes."
Toph relaxed, though tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Okay. Thanks, Sokka."
"Sure," he exhaled in relief, glad she wasn't going to spring a rockalanche on him or crush him with a giant boulder, "don't mention it."
"But I'm holding you to your promise," Toph finished with authority, "as soon as we get the chance, we go save Iroh."
Sokka shrugged. There was no arguing with Toph and winning. "You got it."
"I think those are the only two guards," Katara reported, glancing between the trees at the fortress.
Sokka nodded, patting his boomerang with a cocky grin. "We can take 'em."
"There's a better way," Toph told him, wiping her face dry. "Follow me." She slammed a foot down, opening up a hollow tunnel beneath them.
"Wow! You're good!" Sokka praised.
"There was a cave underneath us, Snoozles," Toph demurred. "We'll tunnel our way up from there. That way we can avoid as many guards as possible. Stay close to me."
Following her into the dark, Sokka and Katara echoed her footsteps forward until she called them to a halt. There was a loud crunch of earth grinding against earth, and suddenly they were above ground, standing in a long, low room with only the slightest firelight to see by. At the end of the room, a figure dressed in rags was tied to a chair, her head hanging limply against her chest.
"Suki!" Sokka gulped, racing towards her. Kneeling down, he took out his machete and began cutting her loose from her bonds. "Suki, it's me, Sokka. Katara, why won't she wake up?"
Katara reached for the flask at her side, streaming the water and running her hands just above Suki's form. "They've beaten her pretty hard, Sokka. She has a lot of internal damage. It's going to take some time to repair." She moved her hands back and forth, the water glowing weakly against the dark prison cell. Sokka watched, his face twisted with anxiety.
Slowly, with Katara's ministrations, Suki's eyes fluttered open. "Sokka? What are you doing here?"
A lump caught in his throat as he gave a muffled cry of relief. "Rescuing you, that's what," Sokka assured her, cupping her face with one hand. "Come on, we have to get you out of here."
"No," Suki argued feebly, "not without the others."
"Where are they?" Toph wanted to know. "Oh, wait, nevermind. I can feel them stirring around. Kyoshi warriors move a certain way, you know? Different from earthbenders. That's how I knew it wasn't really them in Ba Sing Se." Whipping out her arms and locking her stance, she blasted a hole in the dividing wall to the right.
The makeshift aperture revealed another room which contained the rest of the Kyoshi warriors, similarly stripped of their uniforms and hairpieces. The five girls looked up, frightened, but at the sight of their leader they gathered round.
"Is she all right?" one of them asked, her eyes full of concern.
"She's been hurt pretty badly," Katara grimly informed her. "Sokka, even if we break her out of here, you'll have to carry her. You won't be able to fight if we run into trouble."
"Don't worry. You don't have to fight. We will," another Kyoshi warrior promised, slamming a fist into her palm. "We'll make those Fire Nation hogmonkeys sorry they ever set foot on our shores." The others nodded in agreement.
"No," Sokka disputed firmly. "Even if you took back Kyoshi, it's too close to the Earth Kingdom; Azula would have enough men here in a week to take it right back. You have to keep living and keep fighting. For now, let's just get out of here."
"How are we getting out?" Katara wondered.
"I vote we go the same way we came in," Toph replied, stamping down and opening the cave to them again. "Hurry, the guards are coming."
The Kyoshi warriors grabbed the torches from the wall and descended into the shadowy escape route, followed by Sokka, carrying a limp Suki in his arms. Katara walked alongside him while Toph brought up the rear, sealing up the roof of the cavern behind them.
"Appa… is he safe?" Suki asked breathlessly, hanging from Sokka's arms like a rag doll. "Azula… she said she…Earth King…"
"Shh," Katara hushed her, "don't talk just now. Everything will be all right. Just rest."
In the flickering torchlight, she saw her brother's fretful face. She knew he was reliving that tortured moment when he'd been unable to protect Princess Yue. If they lost Suki now, Katara didn't even want to think about what that would do to Sokka.
"Toph, where does this cave actually lead?" Katara asked to break the stiff silence.
The blind earthbender lifted a foot and stamped it into the earth, feeling the vibrations. "It's almost a straight shot to the other side of the island," she reported. "But where will we go once we get there? Appa can't carry all of us."
Suki stirred in Sokka's arms. "Boat… secret. Go there..."
"Where?" he wondered softly, not taking his eyes off of her.
"There's a hidden inlet on the far side of the island," one of the warriors informed him. "If the Fire Nation hasn't found it, there's a boat that will hold all of us. We kept it there in case there was ever the need to evacuate."
Sokka kissed Suki's forehead gratefully, then looked up. "Our tribe's warriors are sailing south right now with my father. If we do find the boat, I want you to take it southwest to meet them. We can regroup at the South Pole."
"Won't the Earth King give us sanctuary in Ba Sing Se?" one of the girls asked.
Sokka shook his head gravely. "He can't. He's going into exile. The Fire Nation has taken over the city."
The warriors glanced at each other nervously. "Then with you is where our help is needed most," the oldest among them said firmly, holding the torch aloft as she took the lead. "Come on, ladies."
Katara expected Sokka to object at being 'one of the ladies' again, but he seemed too distracted by Suki's poor condition to care. "What's your name?" she asked the warrior, catching up to her as they set off.
"I'm Mariko," the girl replied. "The others are Sayori, Yui, Taiko, and Tenshi." She nodded to each of them in turn. "I'm sorry we didn't get to meet the last time you came to Kyoshi. Of course, I know you were very busy then."
"She probably had her hands full trying to pry the Avatar away from our little sisters," Yui teased. Despite the seriousness of their situation, a couple of the younger girls giggled at that.
The waterbender made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't be offended," Tenshi said sweetly from behind her. "On Kyoshi, it's customary for girls to choose suitors older than themselves. Yui thought it was funny that you would be jealous over the Avatar, when he's just a little boy."
"Oh, it's nothing like that. Aang and I are just friends," Katara explained, relaxing. "I was just worried that if we stayed too long, he'd get distracted from his mission."
"I thought it must be something like that," Tenshi nodded.
"Where is the Avatar now? Why isn't he here with you?" Taiko wondered.
Katara hung her head. "Aang is wounded. I'm not sure if he's going to make it. He's on my father's ship, headed for the South Pole with the others."
A dreadful hush fell over the Kyoshi warriors. Tenshi put a comforting hand on Katara's back. Mariko turned and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
They walked a long stretch in troubled silence. Finally Toph made her way to the front. "Excuse me! Coming through!"
"What's the matter?" Katara wondered.
"I couldn't feel it from further away, but the other end of the cave drops off the edge of a cliff. I'll have to make us another way out." She cracked her knuckles and thrust her palms outward. As she did, a large wall of rock was sent crashing backwards.
They filed out of the cave and into the night, examining their surroundings. Mariko went to the top of the slope and smiled down at them. "We're in luck! The Fire Nation hasn't found this place yet. Look." The others joined her and she pointed down and to the left. A narrow channel hid behind a shoulder of mountain, and in it floated a sleek, if older, merchant clipper that reminded Katara a little of the pirates' ship.
Hurriedly, they made their way down the steep embankment and through the dense trees surrounding the inlet. Toph agreed to stand watch at the shore while the Kyoshi warriors waded out and climbed up the built-in ladder up the side of the boat. As they made ready the sails, Sokka carefully made his way up with Suki, followed by Katara. The two of them followed Taiko and Yui down the wooden steps that led into the hold. Yui got onto her knees and removed a cleverly hidden panel in the floor. "Thank goodness! It's all still here."
"What's in there?" Katara wondered.
"The necessities," the Kyoshi warrior replied, grinning. "Food, water, blankets, and of course, these." She held up a war fan, snapping it open with a deadly click.
"Are you sure we shouldn't take Suki with us?" Sokka wanted to know, gently laying the warrior leader's limp body down.
"She can't hold onto Appa. She's still too weak," Katara pointed out. "I told you it would take time to heal her. That's why I'm not going with you."
"But - Katara -"
"It's all right, Sokka. You and Toph go ahead on Appa and let Dad know we're coming. We'll be right behind you." She hugged her brother tight. "Don't worry about Suki. I'll take care of her. Just go."
Sokka climbed the steps, but he couldn't help looking back down into the dark galley. "What if you guys get into trouble?"
"You keep forgetting I'm a master waterbender. I'll handle it. I promise, we'll get there as fast as we can. Take care of yourself."
"You too." Sighing anxiously, Sokka left the ship and headed back to where Toph was waiting on the shore.
"Where's Sweetness?" the earthbender wondered as he waded towards her.
"She's not coming." Sokka gazed longingly back at the ship in the starlight, then turned with determination. "Let's get going. We need to find Appa before daylight."
As Sokka swung his machete in front of them and they crunched through the remaining woodland, Toph could feel the Water Tribe warrior's heartbeat racing. His breath came in ragged spurts. As angry as she'd been at him when she thought he'd insulted Iroh, Toph couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"What do you think?" Sokka snapped, shoving a branch out of his way. "Katara was trying to spare my feelings, but I know Suki may not make it. Even if she gets to the South Pole, Suki may die anyway because of the Fire Nation! And if I hadn't been so stupid, assuming it was her with the Earth King and not seeing it with my own eyes -"
"You had no way of knowing they weren't the real Kyoshi warriors. It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself."
"But it is my fault! I'm supposed to protect the people I love, and I can't do that. I can never do that!" Angry tears streamed down his cheeks that he was glad she couldn't see.
"You have been protecting them," Toph reasoned, "we all have. You just can't protect everybody all the time. No one can do that, not even the Avatar. How can you possibly expect that of yourself?"
Sokka didn't reply. They walked the rest of the way in silence, until Appa greeted them with his low rumble, "Hhhhddddrrmmmm."
Sokka helped Toph climb up, but this time he didn't let her hold his arm. Instead he let her find Appa's hair and make a griphold for herself.
"All right, Appa, time to go find Dad. Yip yip."