Alright ya bloody savages, here she blows! I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out. One extra week turned into a month and a half. It was so horrid. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Sokka owns Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the creators know it.

The clouds zipped by above as Appa soared through the sky, his tail making wide sweeps of the air. Aang rested his chin on the saddle's large pummel, watching the ground. His mind had been racing for the first few hours of the journey, worrying about Zuko, about the other kingdoms. Chaos around the world would be devastating, especially so soon after the Fire Nation's reign. Aang had cursed himself for not catching this sooner, reassured himself that he couldn't have seen it coming, and then felt guilty all the same. Now he was simply tired. He tried to keep his eyes open so he could watch for Kyoshi Island. Appa knew the way, but Aang wanted to be awake when they arrived.

The sun began to scrape the horizon above, indicating that they'd been travelling most of the day. Aang felt a pang of guilt for forcing Appa to travel so much in the past few days. He feared this was only the beginning, though. Another threat to the three kingdoms meant Aang would be busy for awhile. If he could do anything with that blasted collar around his neck, that was.

"Hum," Aang sighed, pulling himself back into a proper sitting position. His neck was sore, and his leg was numb from sitting on it the wrong way. Absently, he fingered the metal collar, slipping his fingers underneath to try and give the skin some air. It was growing physically uncomfortable, as though the emotional discomfort it brought wasn't enough.

Momo glided over to him, alighting on his shoulder. He chattered in Aang's ear for a second, then nosed the collar suspiciously. His chatters sounded concerned.

"I know, buddy," Aang said, attempting to sound reassuring, and patted the winged-lemur on the head. "It'll come off soon." Hopefully, Aang added to himself. They had determined that their best bet at getting the collar off was to capture a Bloodsworn and get them to remove it, but Aang didn't see how that was possible when they could died before you could even talk to them. As for Ty Lee's suggestion of Azula, Aang doubted very strongly that she would be willing to remove it, if she was even involved in the cult in the first place. Not to mention he needed to find her first. Though with the collar, Aang wasn't sure he wanted to find her. It wouldn't be a very productive meeting on his part, he was sure.

Appa let out a loud groan and began to descend. Aang straightened, causing Momo to hop onto the saddle. In the distance the ocean could be seen under a dark cloud cover. Kyoshi Island was obscured by the clouds, but Aang knew that was where it would lay.

As they drew closer, a strong stench of wood smoke began to fill Aang's nostrils. He sniffed the air, confused. The smoke from the other day should have dissipated long ago. He glanced at the clouds again, noticing for the first time the thick stream that connected it to the ocean. No, to an island just barely visible through the haze.

"Appa, go!" Aang urged. Appa pushed himself forward. Wind whipped at Aang's shirt, made his eyes water, but he ignored it. Squinting, he tried to penetrate the smoke to see what was happening.

They entered the smoke, and a minute later Appa landed hard in one of the village's streets. Fires burned all around them, billowing up to create the twisting storm of haze above. Aang took one sweeping glance of the village and fell to his knees. Despair racked him. Bodies littered the streets. The smooth dirt paths were covered in blood-soaked ash. Children lay mutilated in ditches, the elderly sprawled against burning decks. The few houses that weren't caught on fire had been twisted and melted on their frames. It was familiar. It was carnage.

It was the Bloodsworn.

Aang let out a bellowing scream, the sound causing his own ears to ring. He let out all his frustration - guilt at not being there to help the people, rage at the Bloodsworn for being so callous with the lives of others. An entire village full of people, gone. Hundreds of innocents, civilians, children, elderly...

Sokka and Suki. The thought made his heart drop into his stomach. With another yell he punched the ground. Pain shot through his arm, but he ignored that too, letting the sobs take over. His body shook, tears splashing to the ground to mix with the ash. How could this have happened? How?

The smoke stung Aang's nostrils, the smell of blood and fire and death choking him, but he sat and wept, unable to do anything else. Appa shuffled over, nuzzling him comfortingly with his nose. Aang wrapped his fingers up in Appa's fur, crying into the soft white hair.

Full darkness fell before Aang was finally able to pick himself up off the road. From there he began wandering the streets aimlessly, glancing into houses, looking for any survivors. The heat dried his tears, his eyes too drained to replace them. He felt numb as he searched, calling out lamely for anyone around. No one answered.

At one of the houses Aang stopped, staring up at the twisted framework. Like a few of the houses back where Aang had landed, this one hadn't caught fire, but been melted. Like the flesh of Ba Sing Se's King, the wood had congealed, dripping along the sides and collapsing in the middle, then solidified again. It looked like melted icing. So the Bloodsworn had been here. He was sure of it.

If they had been here before, they weren't here now. The village was completely deserted. Aang leaned back against Appa, staring at the melted house. Questions attacked his mind. How could people preform such a slaughter? Why would the Bloodsworn so adamantly attack Kyoshi Island, of all places? Surely not just to get at Aang. How would he even have known, with no survivors left to bring him news? No, this wasn't a trap; it was too violent, too little chance of drawing him in. And they would have grabbed him whole he wept. He wasn't exactly hidden.

With a heavy sigh, Aang set the questions aside, clearing his mind. He pulled himself up into Appa's saddle. He was tired, his head pounded from the sobbing, and he was dreadfully thirsty. Fire and tears had sapped all the water out of him. He wanted to do a pass over the surrounding forest, though. If he'd survived such a massacre, he'd have done it by fleeing the village. Chances were that was where any survivors were hiding.

Taking to the air, he continued to call out, searching the trees for people. He saw none. He circled the island a half-dozen times, flying low, but still nothing. The ground was scorched, and most of the forest had been burned, many of the trees still smouldering lightly, illuminating the area in the dark. Aang started to doubt his chances of finding anyone, though. A burning forest wouldn't have seemed the best place to go, even amongst the fighting.

Aang made Appa take one final pass, then resigned himself to the inevitable. There were no survivors. No Sokka popping out to explain what had happened, no Suki to smile and try and comfort him. Their bodies were most likely lost in the streets, unrecognizable. He allowed himself to collapse in the saddle, the exhaustion of the day overwhelming him. As he fell asleep, he felt Appa make a wide turn south, and could only hope that Katara hadn't met with the same fate.

"Hello!"

Sokka groaned, shifting against the hard bed. He moved his hand to his face, trying to cover it, mumbling to himself. Why did people have to be so loud?

"Is anyone there?"

A warm body rubbed against Sokka's arm, and he smiled. He rolled, wrapping an arm around it, embracing the heat. It felt oddly cold this morning. He nuzzled his nose in Suki's hair, and she giggled softly against his chest. His body was stiff and sore, and he felt like he was sitting, but that didn't matter. He just wanted to go back to sleep. The sound of the water was so calming. Was that the tide?

"Sokka! Suki! Anyone!"

Sokka finally cracked an eye open at the sound of his name, glancing around the room. It was dark - he couldn't see much at all. That was odd, shouldn't it be morn-

Realization hit him like a slap to the face, and he jolted upright. Suki sat up beside him, startled by the sudden movement.

"What is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. She let out a deep yawn, stretching as she awoke.

"It's Aang, I thought I heard him," Sokka said, motioning Suki to be quiet. He stared at a hole in the cave's roof, where a thin shaft of moonlight came through. He held his breath, waiting. If it had been Aang...

"Anyone! Can you hear me?" a faint shout echoed through the cavern. Sokka jumped to his feet, letting out a loud whoop of joy. This saved the trouble of finding the Avatar.

"Come on," Sokka urged to a still sleepy Suki. "We have to get outside and let Aang know we're here." He pulled Suki to the water and let her go first - she knew the way better than he. She stepped into the water, gave a slight shake at the cold, and plunged in. Sokka followed close behind, the icy water sapping away any last vestiges of sleepiness he had left.

He broke the surface a moment later. Moonlight shimmered on the black waters as they lazily bobbed up and down, Yue's spirit peeking between the smoke and the horizon. Splashes nearby signalled Suki moving toward the shore. Sokka followed, crawling up onto the rocks and giving himself a shake.

Without hesitation Sokka tilted his head back and bellowed, "Aang!" Suki covered an ear as she watched the skies, looking for any sign of the Avatar's trademark Sky Bison.

Silence fell, the waves lapping against the rocks the only sound. They waited for a reply shout, for Appa, for anything. Nothing came.

Sokka cupped his hands around his mouth and took a deep breath. "Aang!" The sound reverberated around them, making his ears ring. Only the light breeze replied.

"No!" Sokka shouted, cursing. He punched the face of the cliff and immediately regretted it. Rubbing his hand, he sighed and sat down next to Suki. "Where did he go?"

"He must have left," Suki replied, resting a hand on Sokka's arm and squeezing comfortingly. "It's dark."

Sokka nodded. They sat there for a few moments, then wordlessly began to make their way toward the village. Fires still smoldered, sending up a thick stream of smoke. It made Sokka's eyes water.

The scene around them was one of sheer horror. By the light of the flickering flames, Sokka could see bodies littering the streets. Slowly he stumbled up to the nearest one. Blank eyes stared up at him, a scream still frozen on his face. Tenris.

He moved to the next, and the next, recognizing faces as he moved. Some were mangled beyond comprehension, other burned. He mourned them, known or not. Tears were springing into his eyes. He passed over men, women, children. One girl nearly made him collapse with grief. Martha. Four years old, her face contorted in terror and pain. Her eyes dead in her pale head.

Suki moved to his side as he turned away from the girl. Tears shimmered in her eyes as well. She shook her head, and they began to move up the road, toward the forest. Away from the village. Away from the pain.

As they reached the outskirts, Sokka nearly tripped over a body sprawled in the ash. Despite himself, he glanced down at it. Saila's white hair was stained black, and the lower half of her face scorched a deep, festering pink. She lay on her side, staring at nothing, only a look of resignation and sadness touching her aged face.

"No..." Sokka breathed. Suki tugged at his arm insistently, and he allowed himself to be dragged along. Saila couldn't be dead. She had been so kind to Sokka, had reminded him so strongly of his own grandmother. She couldn't be gone. She couldn't.

Charred grass crunched under their boots as they entered the forest. Around them black trees stood like mourners in the night, glowing in the light of the fire. They stopped only a few feet in and collapsed to the ground to let the sadness wrack them for a time. Tears tumbled down both their faces, and Suki was overcome by a fit of sobs once more.

Knowing he needed to be strong - for Suki, and for himself - and knowing that they had to find Aang, Sokka stood up a few minutes after falling, staring out over the burning buildings. He watched the smoke swirl and tumble about itself, black, white, and red intermingling in a sort of dance. It filled the sky, obscuring view of the mainland to the north. In the distance the moon broke through, twinkling on the dark waters below.

Sokka sighed, clearing his mind of the horrors of the night and trying to focus on what was ahead. They had to find Aang, that was for certain. But he had no idea how he was going to do that. The few boats the island carried were burned, and even if they could reach the mainland... Aang could be anywhere. And then, assuming he could find Aang, what next? They had no idea who these terrorists were, what their motives were. As far as he knew, Aang was still collared, his avatar powers useless for the time being. Even if the nations declared war with these men in black, the location of their base was unknown. Sokka glanced absently at one of the melted houses. Their firebending was unprecedented. Sokka had never seen anything like it.

Sokka felt a hand gently brush his shoulder, and he gave a start. Suki gave him a weak smile, standing behind him and staring up at the dancing colours above. "Iroh," she whispered, her voice still horse from crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, but tears no longer splashed across her face. She must have wept herself dry while Sokka was thinking. "We should go to Iroh..."

Nodding, Sokka replied, "Aang was heading that way before he left. Maybe he went back there. Or maybe Iroh knows where Aang was headed next." It was a good idea. Sokka was surprised he didn't think of it himself. "And when Hawky returns-"

"We can send him a message," Suki finished his sentence for him. A light seemed to shine in her eye, a small spark of determination. With a plan to set into motion, she was ready for action. She could put aside the night's events from her mind. For a time.

Sokka set out, setting a quick pace for the village's docks. He went around the town, not wanting to relive the horror. He doubted he could ignore it, even if he steeled himself for what he already knew would be there. The village was small, and even going around it they reached the other side in no time at all.

The docks were, as Sokka had predicted, thoroughly burned. Bits of driftwood floated amongst the one short docking bridge, the bridge's planks scarred and shattered. The dock's storehouse, a small shed set beside the road leading into the village, was miraculously intact. They crossed the distance to the building, Suki giving him a curious look.

They had to get themselves to the mainland if they wanted to track down Iroh. With the boats gone, that wouldn't be an easy task. Luckily, Sokka had reviewed a number of schematics for large ferrying rafts, back when he and the "GAang" were helping Zuko stabilize the Fire Nation. They'd been used to quickly ferry people across larger rivers, and were a bit more complicated than what Sokka could make on the spot, but with the right tools and a bit of time, Sokka thought he could construct a working replica that could get them across the ocean and onto the mainland.

Cracking open the shed, Sokka glanced inside. It was dark, the door facing away from both the fires and the distant moonlight. Squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to adjust his sight quicker, he began to feel around the shed. He pricked his hand against something sharp, cursed, clutching his hand, and then stubbed his toe on something solid.

"For God's sake!" Sokka shouted, his eyes snapping open. He could barely make the outlines of the shed walls. "Now I know what Toph must feel like without her earthbending."

"What are you looking for?" Suki asked, poking her head in the shed.

"Rope," Sokka replied, cautiously extending his hand again. "Lots of it. And a wood axe." He hoped he found the handle of the axe before he found the head.

"Hold on," Suki said simply, and she disappeared. Sokka sighed, groping around gingerly. His hand passed over a bundle of cloth and a large, wooden contraption that he didn't recognize, but nothing overly interesting.

Suki returned a moment later, and light suddenly flickered in the shed. Sokka squinted at her, blinking through the seemingly blaring light. She held a small, hand sized board, a small fire eating at the end of it. An improvised torch. Smart.

"Hurry," Suki said, shifting the torch between hands. "This thing's hot, and I don't think it'll last long."

Nodding, Sokka returned to his search of the storehouse. It was small and cramped, things piling up along the walls. Sokka's eyes quickly picked out a couple large lengths of rope, however, and as he slid the loops onto his shoulder, Suki held up a large woodaxe, examining it curiously.

"That should work," Sokka said, setting the rope in place. He left the shed, Suki trailing behind. She dropped the torch in the dirt road as they made their way back into the forest.

Most of the forest was black, charred by the intense fires that had roared across the entire island. But a small portion of the forest, a clump of trees growing on the northern cliffs, were untouched. It was here that Sokka dropped the rope and took the woodaxe from Suki. He steadied himself in front of the nearest sizable tree. He'd never chopped down a tree before, but he'd seen people in the village do it. How hard could it be?

He swung, wielding the axe like his sword. The blade hit the tree and deflected sideways, sending a tremor up his arm and slamming into the ground at his feet. He jumped back in surprise.

"Nice," Suki commented. She leaned against a tree to the side, arms crossed and a hint of a smile on her face.

"I'd like to see you do better," Sokka replied, slightly indignant. He spread his legs, steadied himself, and swung again. This time it struck, making a small indent in the tree.

"Ha!" he said triumphantly. He pulled the axe out, and struck again. And again. The indent grew incrementally larger.

"Oh, give me that," Suki said, approaching as Sokka struggled to dislodge the axe after his most recent swing. She gently pushed him out of the way, taking his place in front of the axe. Gracefully she pulled the axe free, leaned back, and slammed it into the tree again in one sweeping motion. It dug deep, cutting into the tree farther than Sokka had done in four pitiful chops.

"Why are we-" Suki began, slamming the axe into the wood again, the echo punctuating her words, "chopping down - live trees? Wouldn't the burnt - do just as well?"

Sokka shook his head. "The burnt trees may still be strong, but I'd rather have the best when we go out onto the ocean. There's no telling how powerful the waves will be."

"I suppose that makes sense," Suki said. She made one final dent in the tree, and it began to crack. "Watch out!"

Suki quickly positioned herself beside the tree, watching as it shook, leaning ominously. It picked up speed as it began to fall, and crashed loudly, branches breaking as it struck the ground. She had expertly cut so as to make it fall away from the other healthy trees. Sokka was impressed.

They continued their work, felling tree after tree, the light of dieing fire in the clouds above giving them enough to work by. As Suki worked on the trunks of the tree, Sokka began to snap branches off, and cleared himself a large work area. Overhead the smoke began to clear a little, revealing the moon as it made its way across the sky. After felling two dozen trees, Suki began using the axe to chop the larger branches. They arranged the cleaned trunks in a row, Sokka sweating from the exertion. A couple hours of rope work later and the horizon began to glow with the light of dawn, illuminating the large raft on the ground before them. It was crude, but it would get the job done.

With an exhausted sigh, Sokka flopped down on the raft. He yelped as the stub of a branch dug into his back. Mumbling under his breath, he rubbed the bruise, ignoring Suki's chuckling.

"We should get some sleep before we sail out," Sokka said, settling himself on a slightly smoother part of the raft. "We'll need our full strength for the ride to the mainland."

Suki nodded in agreement, stretching out beside Sokka. He wrapped his arm around her stomach, and a moment later his exhaustion had washed over him, sending him into the dark recesses of slumber.

I hope you enjoyed that, and I hope to see you all again shortly. :D