Avatar: Rites of Passage

by Canada Cowboy

Each character grows up with a set of experiences unique to themselves. Watch each person describe what went through their minds and how they changed as they reacted to the world. These are their stories, these are their rites of passage.

21. Sokka, Part 3

Believe it or not, nobody reviewed the last chapter. The only reviewer was Caro N, who finished reading Toph's chapters, but nobody left any comments on Sokka's last part. I know most reviewers are in school and writing exams at this time, but come on guys! You want me to get better, you better start coming in with more suggestions. I got a bunch of people putting this thing on their favourites list, but none of them bothered to review. Is it that hard to say something contrsuctive?

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own Avatar.

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Sokka's POV

"After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety," I described to Aang, who was conscious for the first time since his injury. After the Dai Li turned the Earth Kingdom capital upside-down, all our plans had to be scuttled, given we no longer had a standing army to rely on. With the Fire Nation on the attack and Aang out of commission, there was nothing more we could do other than return to Chameleon Bay, where my father's fleet was, and regrouped from there.

"We captured a single Fire Nation ship, and made it our disguise," I continued, hinting at all the Fire Nation uniforms we all had on. While my eyes glanced around for emphasis, I couldn't help by tilt them back at Aang. His body was wrapped with thick, white bandages, and he could barely walk without using as glider staff as a crutch. But most oddly, he now had a hairy head covering most of his arrow, save for the pointed tip jutting out on his forehead. It was definitely different and awkward, but it was something we had to get used to for now, given the grave situation.

Aang barely got a bite of food in, with heavy bags under his eyes and his body frail beyond belief. Either way, we thought it was only right that he knew a bit about our new invasion plan. "We're planning a smaller invasion, just a ragtag team of our friends and allies around the Earth Kingdom," I explained, "we already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke," I gestured to my right, showing Aang the two former Freedom Fighters. No point in staging the invasion with people who were around the same size, so why not bring in a giant and a shorty just to mix things up a bit?

Turning back to Aang, I announced the best news yet. "The eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage. We have a secret: you," I ended with a whisper. Believe it or not, the whole world believed Aang was shot dead by Princess Azula in the catacombs. What they didn't know was that Katara used the spirit water to heal up Aang. But if we all kept it a secret, then nobody would know about Aang. Just think what would happen on the day of the eclipse, when Aang marched into the Fire Lord's palace alive and well?

However, Aang didn't take it that well, claiming it was bad news that the whole world thought he was dead. I didn't understand why he felt that way, as we all believed that this would take the Fire Nation's attention off of us, and wouldn't be hunting us all the time. Why couldn't he see things from a more practical perspective and just went with a sneak attack? But then again, given he just awoke from a coma, maybe his brain wasn't at full speed yet. I wondered how well Katara's healing water worked on Aang's head.

Apparently, I spoke too soon, as a real Fire Nation ship approached and signaled us to stop. Trying to avoid them spotting Aang, I pulled him into a storage slot on the ship's deck. Toph and Katara followed us in while Pipsqueak and The Duke draped a large tarp over Appa. With Dad and Bato handling the talking, all we could do was stay down and remained silent. My heart pounded as the captain of the other ship boarded ours, staring Dad down and interrogating him like a criminal. Oh, just you wait, captain. When the eclipse came, it wouldn't be you who would be talking tough!

Just as the discussion ended, Toph jumped out from her hiding spot. "They know!" She yelled, slamming her hand down onto the deck and crumpling the metallic boarding ramp. The Fire Nation captain and his two crew members were on the ramp at the time, and fell straight into the water. "They figured out that we're a captured ship, and they're going to sink us!" Toph reported, her tone frantic and angry at the same time.

Katara hurried out from the hiding spot and created a huge wave, sending the two ships apart and giving us enough room to go full-steam ahead. While the others used all means possible to stave off the Fire Nation ship, I pulled Aang into the interior of the boat, making sure he didn't show himself. My now hairy friend was no doubt frustrated, but I had to keep his emotions in check. When I first returned to Chameleon Bay after the Ba Sing Se defeat, my heart was heavy with emotion too. I felt I was somewhat guilty for letting the Earth King down, but also letting Aang down. I promised to protect him, but he ended up getting shot. Luckily, Katara healed him up, or I might descend into another guilt-ridden period like the Yue incident.

Nonetheless, I promised to redeem myself here by making the invasion during the eclipse as successful as possible. As I tried to grab hold of Aang, making sure he stayed secret, another flaming projectile was launched at our ship, this time hitting the engine. "Things couldn't get much worse," I muttered, analyzing the damage as Katara doused water on it. With our speed waning, the last thing we wanted was more obstacles.

But the universe loved proving me wrong, as the serpent from the Serpent's Pass, the same one we ran into when we first entered Ba Sing Se, appeared from the water. As it hissed menacingly at us, we wondered how we could handle two attackers. Let this thing eat us alive, or let the Fire Nation sink our ship and let this thing eat us while we were drowning. Why not have a vote on the boat and see which one was preferable?

Fortunately, a third option appeared, and that was from an errant shot by the Fire Nation ship. The projectile sailed above our heads and slammed into the serpent's face, turning its angry face at the ship behind us. As it slithered its body around their boat, I could only breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank, universe," I quietly murmured.

By the time we docked, our ship was in tatters. Along with getting supplies from this port town, we had to stock up on food and other equipment. Naturally, I asked Aang if he wanted us to get him anything, but it was evident that Aang didn't want to leave the boat. I wanted him to tie a ribbon around his head to cover his arrow, but he flatly refused to hide his most important mark. With the argument going nowhere, Katara suggested that Toph and I left the boat while she tended to Aang. I might not be a healer, but I believed Aang's heart was what required healing the most.

By the time Toph and I returned, it was night-time. As we rushed through the rain and back onto the ship, Katara returned to us, upset and agitated. "Aang disappeared," she reported, trying to keep her tone calm, "he claimed he wanted to save the world alone and didn't want us to tag along. We have to find him before he gets hurt."

Hearing that, Toph and I dropped our stuff off and hopped onto Appa. With the large Sky Bison still with us, it meant Aang only left on his glider, making things that much more dangerous. With this type of weather and his weak physical condition, there was no doubt in my mind he could be seriously hurt. And with such a large ocean filled with Fire Nation patrol teams around us, it would only make our search riskier.

After a sleepless night of searching, in which fatigue fell upon us all, including Appa, we finally found Aang lying on the waterfront on Crescent Island, the same place where Avatar Roku's former temple stood. Even though he was beaten and battered by the violent storm last night, he was alright. I did recall seeing something strange with the moon, almost like Yue was reaching out to us, but I didn't think too much more about that. With Aang's safety assured, we decided to rejoin the invasion team on the day of the eclipse, opting to lay low and mingle in the Fire Nation for now.

But before we could move, Aang stepped up to the molten lava flowing from the island's volcano. "It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive," he declared, and in one smooth motion, slammed his staff into the lava. As the piece of wood lit on fire, Aang returned to our group, boarding Appa before taking off.

For whatever reason, it only fuelled my own flame to see Aang through. It was difficult for Aang to come to terms with his defeat, just like it was difficult for me. That was why, from this day on, the stakes would be even higher. Failure was no longer an option for us, as we must do everything we could to ensure the invasion succeeded.

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Sokka's POV

The wide hallways and vast chambers of this huge mansion astounded me, even more so than the Northern Water Tribe. After wandering almost aimlessly for the last few weeks in the Fire Nation, we weren't exactly welcome in large mansions. The first part of our journey forced us to spend a few days in a cave, where Aang befriended a bunch of Fire Nation school kids. This was followed by camping out at a highly polluted river near a large government-run factory, where Katara impersonated a water spirit to fight the Fire Nation's pollution. And through it all, I got very little peace of mind, as even within the Fire Nation, my friends were doing all these amazing things, while I barely did anything.

But this time, I was taking the initiative, and seeking out a master of the sword. When we were at a weapons shop earlier, I ran across the most beautiful sword I had ever seen. The shopkeeper told me that it belonged to Piandao, the greatest swordsman in Fire Nation history. Given that he lived just up the hill from the town, I decided to pay him a visit. I did admit that I didn't exactly come prepared, as I wasn't sure what customs the Fire Nation had in visiting a grand master. With the butler already making a downward-gazing face at me as he greeted me, I knew things were only about to get harder.

As I reached the top floor, the butler led me into a large, brightly-lit room. Just before the open balcony sat a man scribbling powerfully but peacefully with a brush, his hand weaving the light onto his page as the butler asked me to introduce myself. Taking a deep breath, I put on my best convincing face and approached him. "Master, my name is Sokka, and I wish to be instructed in the way of the sword." I eked out.

My stomach rumbled and twisted, even though I came with a full belly, as the master addressed me. "Let me guess, you've come hundreds of miles from your village, where you're the best swordsman in town, and you think you deserve to learn from a master," he stated nonchalantly, his back never turning around. With the light shining around him and onto me, I felt like being put on the spot.

I looked around, trying to find some way to make me hide. If Piandao's mission was to make me feel insignificant, then I certainly believed he succeeded. At this rate, I should introduce Piandao to Suki, and put them in a competition for who could make Sokka feel lowest the quickest. "I've been all over the world," I tried to continue, each swish of the master's brush on the paper sounding more like a slice into my heart, "and I know one thing for sure: I have a lot to learn."

As if they grew a mind of their own, my knees buckled and sent me kneeling onto the ground. As the master finally made one peek over his shoulder, I realized this was the only way to convince him that I was worthy. "Your butler told me that when I met you I would have to prove my worth," I described, "but I don't know if I am worthy."

In many ways, this was true. Last night, our group was merely enjoying the night sky when a meteor slammed into the forests just outside the town. With a huge fire threatening to burn down everything, Aang, Katara, and Toph hurried their way to the trouble spots, dousing water and throwing dirt onto the flames. It took quite some time, but in the end they stopped a disaster from reaching the town. But while they did all they could with their bending arts, I was left standing there guarding Momo. I never felt so helpless in my entire life, almost reminding me that despite my invasion strategy, I was nothing more than a bystander when it came to actually contributing to the group.

Then, to my surprise, the master picked up the sword and escorted me outside. "Let's find out together how worthy you are," he suggested as we went to the courtyard. For Piandao, he told me he wasn't interested in hearing how certain individuals won so many championships in swordfight, nor did he want to hear about how someone was an expert in so many styles of fighting and wanted to learn one more. In his mind, Piandao believed it was more important to have a humble but positive attitude, a willingness to admit to one's mistakes and taking responsibility for one's shortcomings. Somehow, this was a strange irony, as I was the one who used to hide in my own little world in the Southern Water Tribe and pretended to be a leader. Well, at least my experience outside of the tribe put me on the right path. Let's see if Piandao could do the same.

As we entered the courtyard, Piandao demonstrated how the sword, even as a simple weapon, could be one of the most versatile and deadly tools when placed in the hands of a skilled fighter. Claiming that the sword was an extension of the body, the master wanted me to use the imagination to envision what possibilities the sword might bring to a fighter. For me, this brought back memories of the Kyoshi Warriors, where Suki mentioned how her fans were an extension of herself. Perhaps there were a lot of similarities between fighting styles, and I merely neglected to take note?

Either way, training would get more difficult from that moment on. Master Piandao had me switch into a different set of clothes that was more suitable for a future swordsman. When we first tried blending in, we merely grabbed random items off a clothesline, meaning it was a total stroke of luck that anything remotely matched. With a new, robe-like tunic and actual shoes instead of sandals, the master led me back into his study and taught me the first skill of swordsmanship. "The warrior practices a variety of arts to keep his mind sharp and fluid," Piandao explained, rolling out a large sheet of paper on his desk. Insisting that we began with calligraphy, he ordered me to write my name, which was supposed to let me stamp the page with my identity.

I tilted the brush back and forth, not knowing what to think. It wasn't exactly the most dynamic way to present who I was, so perhaps there was a better way? With the bristles inches from my nose, I suddenly had an idea. Except for Toph, almost everyone identified others with their faces, so why not give a face stamp for Piandao? Turning the brush at my own head, I completely coloured my face with the sticky ink and faced the page. I winked at the master, who merely cocked an eyebrow at me, as I slammed my head onto the paper, twisting and turning furiously as I made my mark.

By the time I felt most of the ink either dry off or was pasted onto the page, I finally lifted my head. I knew my face was probably horrendous, with black smudges all over my cheeks, I knew the job was done. Lifting the page up, I proudly showed Master Piandao the picture, which was as close to a face portrait as I could make it. I wondered what he would think of this. It was his idea to stamp an identity, so he'd accept it, right?

But the master could only close his eyes, either out of embarrassment due to the strange picture or in complete disgust. I wasn't sure which one was more prevalent, and I wasn't keen on staying around to find out. Suggesting we moved on to the next activity, he put a blindfold on my face and led me out of his castle. "In battle, you only have an instant to take everything in," he described, leading me through the rocky and uneven ground. That was why he wanted me to practice landscape painting, to show him how well I could observe and analyze a scene before me.

As the blindfold was torn off, I saw the most magnificent scene before me. A huge waterfall roared through a canyon, with nothing but blue sky above and the sounds of water swirling below. The mist splashed onto my face, chilling me from the heat of this summer day, but not enough to wet the tunic Piandao gave me. It showed me that, even in enemy territory, there was beauty to be seen, especially in these natural scenes.

But I didn't get too much more opportunity to soak in the sights, as Piandao placed a firm hand on my head and twisted it around, pointing at an already prepared drawing palate at my feet. "Now paint it," he ordered, "and no peeking." With the master standing solid before the falls, I realized I was really in for it now. I had to admit that I did do some observations, and my quick thinking did save my team several times, but it was usually during the fight that I had time to think about it. Never in my life had I been asked to come up with something on the spot. Could I pass this challenge?

With only pieces of the waterfall still fresh in my mind, I had to do the best I could from scratch. The formation was kind of mountainous, so perhaps I should add in a couple of hills. Was there grass underneath the waterfall, or at least around the river that flowed at the bottom of the canyon? Maybe I should add that in as well. And the sky, it was so memorable, with how blue it was! Let's add in a rainbow, just so we could spruce things up. Yeah, this one was in the bag! "I'm finished!" I called to the master.

I pulled out my drawing in a flourish, showing it off to Piandao. But just as I thought my masterpiece was completed, the swordsman could only sigh. "You've added a rainbow," he pointed out, the only comment he had the entire time. Come on, it wasn't that bad, right? At least the rainbow added colour, that counted too, right?

After a quick lunch, Piandao brought me to his garden to teach me the art of rock gardening, which was supposed to evaluate how well a warrior could manipulate his surroundings. Surveying the scene, perhaps there was some way to, as the master phrased it, make this place work to my advantage. A garden was meant for relaxing, right? So why not create a relaxation area with the elements already present? There was a huge rock to my right, and some grassy patches around it, so let's bring those to the shade on the left, cover the rock with the grass, and presto!

But I barely got a second to lie down on the rock before I heard a loud shriek coming from Piandao's direction. From the steps overlooking the garden, the butler returned, and seemed horrified by my work. Cocking an eyebrow at him, I wondered what was so bad about it. It felt comfortable enough, so why the huge fuss? "Would you mind grabbing a cold drink for me?" I called to the heavyset man.

By the end of the day, things were finally looking up. Between each activity the master had me do, I took in minimal sparring with the butler, and each time I ended up getting slaughtered. The most humiliating time was during the middle of the match, I heard Piandao call me, which made me shift my gaze towards him. It was then that the butler slammed me straight to the ground, with the master commenting that I ought to focus on the battlefield more. He even went as far as saying not let anyone distract me, even if it were him doing the distracting. Could the torture ever end?

Yet this time, I felt more confident than ever, as I matched the butler swing for swing. With each thrust and parry, I could feel the sword doing exactly what I wanted it to do. Before long, the butler was disarmed, and I had the blade, albeit a wooden one, pointed right at his face. Well, it was one small victory in a day filled with bloopers and mistakes, right? I could at least go back to my group and tell them I wasn't a total failure.

But somehow, the master felt differently, as we gathered in the courtyard to summarize what we learned on my first day. The sun was nearing the western horizon, its rays seeking past the master and casting them straight at me. "You messed things up, but in a very special way," Piandao explained, his voice neither angry nor frustrated despite my unfortunate training incidents, "you are ready for a real sword."

My mind raced hard upon hearing Piandao's announcement. Would he give me one of his swords? It would be so great to wield a sword designed by a master! However, my bubble was burst instantly when Piandao refused. "Your sword is an extension of yourself, so tomorrow you will make your own sword," he insisted.

A flurry of emotions rushed through my head. On one hand, I was excited about this opportunity. Getting recognized by a master was definitely a blessing, even though I probably ticked him off quite a bit at the beginning. But on the other hand, I had zero experience whatsoever in the process of sword-making, so to create one out of scratch was truly alien to me. I had never really been a creative type; heck, even when Appa's life was on the line after being captured by Long Feng, I couldn't even draw a picture of him properly. So wouldn't it mean creating such an intricate weapon out of nothing be a bit much for me? Did Piandao wanted a crooked or curved sword or something like that?

But either way, I was determined not to let him down. For a Fire Nation master, Piandao had been nothing but kind to me, and the least I could do to repay his efforts in introducing me to this art was to try my best. I might distrust the Fire Nation in general, but for one day, I felt I truly bonded with this person. From my journey, I had thoughts about the need to bond with those outside my boundaries, including those in enemy land. Today, I managed to take the first step in meeting Piandao. Now, the only thing I dreaded was to reveal that, on the Day of Black Sun, we would have to fight on opposite sides.

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Katara's POV

We gathered nervously at the main hall of this large, palace-like mansion, where the most famous swordsman of the Fire Nation, Piandao, was about to make a speech. A few days ago, when Sokka claimed he wasn't pulling his weight within the group, it was our idea to let him seek out a master of a certain set of arts. We hoped that by having him learn this technique, he could better help us in the war effort.

But we were so surprised at the news Sokka announced when he returned to us. I had to admit that we were bored to tears without Sokka's usually enthusiastic yet slightly sarcastic attitude, so to see him back was truly a breath of fresh air. However, our happy reunion was short-lived, as Sokka requested our help. Master Piandao was apparently very pleased with Sokka's training, and wanted to grant Sokka his first sword. The catch was Sokka had to make it by himself, and Sokka wanted to use the most unusual element he could get his hands on: the meteorite that nearly hit the town.

And as we all sat behind Sokka, who knelt before the master, we heard the tall and poised swordsman speak. "Sokka, when you first arrived, you were so unsure, and you even seemed down on yourself," he began. Personally, it couldn't be more accurate. My brother went through a ton of obstacles, each one challenging him physically and psychologically. All Sokka wanted was a chance to prove himself, so hopefully, with this event, he could finally feel worthy, not just within our group, but to the world.

Turning back to Piandao, I looked on as he described his observations of Sokka during the training period. "But I saw a heart as strong as a Lion Turtle and twice as big. And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me," he continued, grabbing the sword Sokka made from the meteorite. When Sokka insisted that it was the right element to use, we had to help him haul it to Piandao's mansion. Given this was the Fire Nation, we had to keep any earth bending to a minimum. That meant Aang pushed the rock along with Sokka and I, while Toph did small stomps to ease it along. With all the exhausting effort it took to get this here, I really wondered what the resulting blade would look like.

"No, it certainly wasn't your skill," the master's words snapped me back to reality as he held the scabbard horizontally and across his face. Piandao and his butler were kind enough to allow Aang, Toph and I to stay overnight at his mansion while Sokka dealt with his sword. Even though we tried not to bother Sokka, Aang and I managed to get a peek into the workshop. Sokka was a bust of concentration, chipping off pieces and placing them in a fire for moulding. I never envisioned Sokka to be creative or artistic, but today he totally surprised me. "I saw creativity, versatility, intelligence," Piandao listed the traits off one by one, "these are the traits that define a great swordsman, and these are the traits that define you." With that, he handed off the unusual sword to Sokka.

I could only beam in pride as Sokka bowed his head, most likely in gratitude as Piandao concluded his assessment. "You told me you didn't know if you'd be worthy, but I believe you are more worthy than any man I've ever trained!" As he finished, I tried so hard to resist standing up and applauding. With the long way my brother came, I truly believed he deserved every bit of praise Piandao heaped onto him.

But then, Sokka's abrupt about-face on this issue nearly had me banging my head on the floor. For whatever reason, Sokka returned his fancy black sword to the master and revealed his true identity. "I'm from the Southern Water Tribe," he stated, his tone muted and flat, "I lied so I could learn swordsmanship from you. I'm sorry." Sokka, are you stupid? Why did you do that? Had you kept your mouth shut, we would be gone by now! What if Piandao went to the authorities with this information?

Then matters took a turn for the worse when Piandao unleashed his own sword on Sokka. Sensing danger, all three of us sprang into action. This old man might have been Sokka's teacher, but anyone who harmed a member of our team had to deal with all of us. I was about to find the closest water source when Sokka made his second dumb mistake. "No, this is my fight, alone," he stated, waving us off. Biting my lower lip, I wondered why Sokka was obsessed with going at it alone. He was barking at Aang earlier when Aang isolated himself from us after he snapped out of his coma, why the change now?

As we entered the open courtyard, we saw Piandao and Sokka on opposite sides, staring each other down, framing the sun perfectly between them. I looked on nervously, watching Sokka point his sword determinedly at the master. Growing up with Sokka all these years meant I knew he was going to stay stubborn and bullheaded about this, and would want to continue challenging Piandao even though Piandao was superior to him in every aspect of swordsmanship. Could he even get out of this in one piece?

Before long, the battle was on. Sokka went on the offensive, swinging his blade furiously at his older opponent. However, Piandao was much calmer, blocking each hit effortlessly, almost like he was brushing Sokka aside. Even as Sokka used all sorts of obstacles and terrain, including climbing onto railings, rushing through forests, kicking off a wall, Piandao seemed to be ready for him. It almost felt like the master read Sokka's mind entirely. But then again, given Piandao trained Sokka, should it be surprising that he knew Sokka's moves and tendencies? Now I was the one with a brain freeze here!

By the time Sokka returned from his mad romp through the woods, it was clear that he wasn't even facing Piandao; rather, he was running for his life. From the corner of my eye, Piandao took a shortcut out of Sokka's sight and was about to blindside him. You better watch out, Sokka! He's about to swing that sword at you again. My body was tense as Sokka slid under Piandao's sword, barely missing having his nose sliced off. As Sokka's body rebalanced itself, Sokka slammed his blade into the ground and threw up a huge cloud of dust, covering Piandao's face. Maybe this was Sokka's chance to escape!

Then, in true Sokka fashion, he tiptoed himself right into a stray tree branch, making a cracking sound, which alerted Piandao's ever attentive senses. Pointing his blade right at my brother, he lodged it right into the hilt of Sokka's sword, swishing and swinging it until the black space sword was no longer in Sokka's hands. With Sokka totally disarmed, Piandao knocked Sokka down and pointed his sword at him. From our position, it looked like it was the end of the battle for my brother.

Immediately, Aang, Toph and I leaped from our positions, ready to take on the Fire Nation swordsman. He might be a great fighter in his art, but I was pretty sure that he never had to deal with three master benders simultaneously before. Just as I thought about how to attack his weak points, Piandao raised a hand and halted us. "I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar," he declared, easing his stance.

We could only look on as Piandao explained that he knew Sokka wasn't from the Fire Nation since the beginning, claiming that Sokka ought to have given himself a more common name, like Lee. Yet the most surprising thing was Piandao's true objective in teaching an outsider, someone not from the Fire Nation, swordsmanship. "The way of the sword doesn't belong to one nation," he described, "knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." That was when I realized that Piandao wasn't the stereotypical Fire Nation man that we often envisioned. Rather than being angry, hot-headed, and only concerned with fighting, he was open, tolerant, and knowledgeable. The astute observations he made of Sokka and sagely ways in which he taught my brother showed how truly enlightened he was. Maybe it was too early to call him an ally, but perhaps if the Fire Nation was defeated, he was one person we could turn to in rebuilding the world.

By the time we were finished, Piandao returned the black sword to Sokka, telling him to train on his own. As we left the mansion, Piandao offered up his encouragement, "If you stay on this path, I know that one day, you will become an even greater master than I am." With that, the two bowed at each other, before the butler escorted us out. As we stepped through the main gate, the large man handed a Pai Sho tile with a white lotus on it, claiming it was a souvenir to let Sokka remember Piandao. I wasn't sure why he chose a Pai Sho tile, but I was certain they would cross paths again in the future.

Whatever the case, I was very proud of my brother. Not only did he enrich his own background, he made a new friend and ally, one that he could look up to for the rest of his life. While it was true that Sokka looked up to Dad a lot, I felt it might have limited his vision, to the point where Dad became the sole source he relied upon to succeed. With Piandao now inspiring him, hopefully Sokka could find his own way and carved his own path. With one more new skill at his arsenal, who knew how talented he might become?

---

Sokka's POV

"I'll lead the invasion force," I decided, placing my helmet squarely on my head. The invasion was downright hellish as we approached the Fire Nation shore with only our ragtag team of Earth Kingdom allies and limited weapons. It was agreed upon by all that it would be the invasion team that took on the Fire Nation frontline defenders, giving Aang enough time to fly into the palace where he would face a powerless Fire Lord. With the eclipse lasting eight minutes, we figured Aang would have enough time. As long as we stood our ground, nothing could go wrong, right?

But apparently, even with an eclipse on the way, the Fire Nation fought on with unbelievable ferocity. Even when Dad, Katara, and I going up to the cliffs on Appa to take out sentinel towers, the Fire Nation troops there managed to do a number of Dad. With him injured and Katara tending to the wounds, the invasion force was without a leader. Given that I was the one in charge of making the plans, it was only right that the success of this invasion be placed solely on my shoulders. Besides, time was running out, and we could only hold the Fire Nation soldiers off for so long. "The eclipse is about to start and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does," I insisted.

With Dad's permission and encouragement, I climbed back on Appa, leaving Dad in Katara's care. All my life I trusted Katara, and relied on her in times of need. Today, my trust in her was greater than it had ever been. Even in the face of all the hardship, and to an extent disagreements within our group (some of which I instigated), she had been steady as a rock, not willing to break or bend to any challenge. Toph might be the tough earth bender, but Katara had the iron will. As I surveyed the messy scene before me, with our team scattered all about, I realized I had to make it work. If it wasn't for the Earth Kingdom and the two water tribes, then at least it was for Dad and Katara. Gripping the reins in my hands, I had Appa fly right into the fray and addressed everyone.

The sounds of fiery projectiles and boulders being launched rang through my ears, with the heat penetrating through my armour and making me sweat through my clothing. Nonetheless, I climbed onto the top of the saddle and shouted at the team in disarray. "I want the tanks in wedge formation," I yelled, lifting my arms above my head and forming a wide stretch with my hands, "warriors and benders in the middle." Hopefully, with that move, we could prevent our foot soldiers from being hurt by Fire Nation shots.

The tanks snaked around and formed the wedge, keeping the foot soldiers in the middle while equipment vehicles lined up behind them. With my troops in place, I was ready to take up the battle up the volcano and into the royal palace. Adrenaline coursed through me as I pulled out my sword, ready to lead the way. Never in my life had I been given such a big mission, and now it was time to put everything I knew to the test. So many visions of Dad, Katara, Piandao, and other important figures raced through my head and I vowed not to let them down. With full energy, I called, "Charge!"

Before long, momentum was on our side as we pressed the Fire Nation troops past their final watch tower and up the mountain. Things were going as planned as I had the tanks realigned to form a semi-circle around the gates that we just passed, putting all our strategic planners in the middle. I was hoping to go through a few more things before we made our final assault up the mountain. Luckily, Katara managed to pull Dad up here on time, and the eclipse hadn't even started yet. Things couldn't be better now, right?

But for some reason, I saw Katara stroll off, followed closely by Toph, who was by my side earlier. Their eyes were fixed to the skies as a glider came swooping down on us. My mouth locked in place as Aang landed, his face filled with disappointment and worry. "He wasn't home," Aang murmured, referring to the Fire Lord, "no one was. The entire palace city is abandoned. It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long gone."

Suddenly, I felt sick to the stomach, my body wanting to regurgitate all the food I ate in the past few days. How could they possibly know we were coming? Did we do all this for nothing? As Aang fretted about where the Fire Lord could have gone, I realized we were in dire straits. But even with the Fire Lord in hiding, I figured he wouldn't have gone far, as he should still be close enough to lead the defensive forces. Pulling out a timing device, I told my team we had only ten minutes before the eclipse began. "Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord," I informed Aang, "what do you think?"

At this time, both Katara and Dad raised valid points. While Katara suggested we took the time to evacuate before the fire benders regained power, thereby cutting our losses so we could invade another time, my father believed we should carry on, as all our fighters came here ready to risk everything. Looking at Aang, I saw his head dip, with the lives of all these people in his hands. Given the dilemma he had, the only thing I could assure him was that I would support whatever decision he would make.

The sounds of projectiles and machine movements grew deathly silent as Aang got up. Glaring at the volcano where the capital city was, he insisted that we should still give it a try. Nodding, I brought Toph with me onto Appa, while handing the commands to the invasion force back to Dad. Even though he couldn't battle, Dad was still healthy enough to give commands, so he and Katara would be in charge of things on the ground while we scoured the area for the Fire Lord. As we landed about halfway up the volcano, Toph disembarked and pressed her hands to the ground. "There are natural tunnels crisscrossing inside the volcano," she described, "and there's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

Bending into the bedrock, Toph created a tunnel for us to get in. Even though the underground lair had no sunlight, it was much hotter than the exterior, with lava pools and random eruptions around us. For one part, Aang even had to fly us across a river of flowing magma with his glider. But by the time we reached the metallic door, we could finally get into the bunker, thanks to Toph's metal bending technique. Seriously, I was so grateful to have her around. Whatever choice she made in joining our group, it was good.

After forcing some information out of a military official we ran across down here, we finally reached our destination. But when Aang blasted the doors open with his staff, it was not the Fire Lord we were facing. "I've known about the invasion for months," the oh-so-familiar face of Princess Azula sneered at us. How did they outsmart us this time?

But the humiliation didn't end there, as Azula showed us how dangerous she was even without fire. Snapping her fingers, two Dai Li agents dropped down from the rocky ceiling and faced off against us. With Azula taking nothing but evasive manoeuvre and the Dai Li agents causing just enough distraction to throw us off, we realized our time was running short. As Azula ran out of her chamber and into the passageways, I called to Aang and Toph. "Stop attacking," I shouted, explaining to them that we weren't getting anywhere with Azula, "we don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow." With that, I grabbed Aang and Toph, turning around to leave. Azula could taunt us all she wanted, but we weren't going to address her.

But things took a turn for the worse, as Azula addressed me directly. "Sokka's your name, right? My favourite prisoner used to mention you all the time," her arrogant voice echoed through the walls, making sure every word reached my ears, "she was convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came, and she gave up on you!" Those last words bounced off the rocks, and slammed me right in the face.

My body lost all control as I charged at Azula, pinning her to the wall. She had that disgusting smirk on her face that I would love to carve off with my bladed club, and I would love to see her pay for hurting the one I cared about the most. "Where is Suki?" I demanded, my breath hissing through clenched teeth. How sadistic could Azula get?

To no one's surprise, Azula refused to answer, only flashing her grin that made me want to rip apart her face even more. The Fire Nation, if it were to be ruled by this woman, would turn into the cruellest empire in the history of the world. How could anyone imagine what would happen had she gotten power, or at least enough influence to the next Fire Lord, presumably Zuko? "Where is Suki? Answer me!" I demanded again, my cheeks squeezed to the point of soreness, "Where are you keeping her?" Even with Aang and Toph begging me to stop, I couldn't let it go. Azula, you just keep grinning, because once I was through with you, you wouldn't be smiling ever again.

That turned out to be the biggest miscalculation on my part, as Azula lifted a foot and kicked her deadly blue fire at me. I felt a tackle from behind, shoving me out of the way as Azula broke free. Turning around, she tauntingly told us of her father's location, claiming he would be more than willing to see us. As her footsteps and shadow faded away, I knew I made a huge mistake: I just cost us the invasion. "I fell for it. I used up all our time," I cried out in worry and shame, "and now it's too late."

As we trudged out from the underground, we saw the seriousness of the situation. A fleet of gigantic airships took off into the skies, heading straight for the capital. We got onto Appa and flew as quickly as we could, warning the others to retreat immediately. "If we can make it to the submarines, then maybe we can get away safely." I suggested.

Aang and Katara volunteered to take Appa to slow down the attackers while we raced down the volcano. Throughout my mind, I thought about what went wrong. It was a nearly foolproof plan, but it all fell apart because Azula somehow found out. And even if she was stalling, I allowed my emotions to get in the way. Even though I knew letting my emotions be involved would cloud my judgment, I couldn't help but think about Suki, who we hadn't seen since Ba Sing Se. Somehow, just when I thought the issue would not re-emerge, it was brought back to the foreground, at the most inconvenient time.

As bombs rained down on us, shaking the foundation of the bedrock, I could only imagine the strength of our foes. Not only was the Fire Lord the main culprit, apparently Azula was also a force to be reckoned with. She had a way to deal with people, using what they were weakest against on them in order to control their minds. With everyone all flustered, it exposed their weak points to her, in which she could take full advantage of and swooped in for the kill. If we included Zuko into the picture, assuming he was on their side, then there was very little we could do other than run.

Then, as suddenly as the rumbling began, it halted, leaving an eerie silence as the steady hum of the airships' engines passed above us. Heading straight for the beach, we realized their goal: the submarines. The Fire Nation not only wanted us defeated, but to the point where we couldn't escape. With nothing left, I insisted that we stood our ground and fought to the very end. "We have the Avatar. We could still win."

But then, my father limped to the foreground and made a startling decision. "You kids have to leave," he instructed us, "you have to escape on Appa together. You're our only chance in the long run." My stomach sank once more as I realized what that meant: the adults would stay behind and surrender to the Fire Nation. With the Fire Lord and Azula around, could they even be safe after this? What if anyone got hurt, or killed?

Explosions at the submarines soon wiped out whatever doubts I still had. With the subs nothing but burning wreckage, we brought Appa to the front and allowed any young ones to board. Teo, the paraplegic son of the Mechanist (who helped me design all these inventions), Haru, who was imprisoned with Katara earlier in our journey, and The Duke, the youngest Freedom Fighter, boarded the bison. As Toph and Aang got on as well, Dad approached Katara and me. "We've lost today, but we've never been this close," he told us, tears threatening to spill out, "we tasted victory, and that counts for something."

There was not a dry eye as Katara and I boarded Appa. Aang turned to the group and thanked everyone for their strength and courage, and promised to make it up to them all. Even though he did the speaking, I realized it was something that applied for me as well. I was the head planner of the invasion, so the responsibility of its success was solely on my shoulders. For this to fail, I must take the blame, and the only way I could rectify this mistake was to ensure this sacrifice was not in vain. For the pain my father and all the other fighters must go through in the near future, I vowed to help end this war. It wouldn't be easy, with Azula standing in the way, but for everyone's sakes, it must work.

---

Sokka's POV

"Line the prisoners up for the warden!" A guard barked loudly as I hustled up to the gondola station. The strangest twist of events got me here, in the highest security prison in the Fire Nation, the Boiling Rock. After our defeat on the Day of Black Sun, we fled to the Western Air Temple, which was carved into the cliff side of a huge canyon. Aang was intent on going back to the original plan of learning fire bending, but we had no one to teach him. Then, from out of nowhere, Zuko popped up and offered to teach Aang. I admitted that, just like Aang and Katara, I didn't trust Zuko, given his past history with us. What if his offering was another trap to catch Aang? He already got Katara in Ba Sing Se, so what guaranteed he wouldn't repeat himself here?

Then the strangest thing was, the Combustion Man came back. Zuko kind of revealed that the mercenary was his idea to capture Aang, but now he somehow had a change of heart. Even though we were bombarded by Combustion Man's mind fire blasts, I did catch a glimpse of Zuko helping us. When the battle was over, Aang was convinced to accept Zuko, and brought him into our group. I told Aang that no matter what decision he made, I would support him, hence I allowed Zuko in too. At first, it was quite awkward having this former enemy around. I doubted we trusted each other that much, but soon enough we got used to each other. Heck, Aang even went on a trip with only Zuko to learn fire bending, and that ended up well. So why not keep Zuko?

But with Zuko around, that brought up another painful memory: the failure on the Day of Black Sun. I wasn't sure if Zuko was involved in the battle, but all I knew was that many of our fighters were taken prisoner by the Fire Nation. I had always said that the responsibility of this failure rested solely on my shoulders, and with Zuko around, I could get more information on where they could be held, and how I could free them. But instead of letting me go alone, Zuko offered to come with me. It was a shocking sight, but Zuko was upset that I wasn't thinking things through. Hey, things went poorly during the invasion, even when I plotted out every detail. So why not change things up?

"Welcome to the Boiling Rock," the cruel and arrogant voice of the warden snapping me back to attention, "I'm sure you've all heard the rumours about our little island. But I just want to tell you, that they don't have to be true, as long as you do everything I say." Originally, our plan to smuggle into the prison using their staff's uniforms worked, and we actually found one person I hadn't seen in a while: Suki. Originally, we had an escape plan, hatched with the help of a prisoner. But when I heard new prisoners were arriving, I opted to stay, even when Zuko's disguise was now busted and there would be extra security around him and Suki.

And indeed, in this new line of prisoners, standing at the very last position, was a tall, blue-eyed man with familiar water tribe braids. Even though he was in prisoner garbs and his hands were shackled, I could still see the pride of the Southern Water Tribe in his body. My gut instinct paid off again, as staying here meant I truly got a chance to see my father. Even as the bitter old warden was teeing off on him, mainly by yanking Dad down to the ground via the handcuffs, Dad still managed to pull a reversal on him by using the hand chain to trip up the warden. I tried so hard not to split my sides as the angry warden barked at the prisoners to go off while rubbing his body in pain. It was a message to the Fire Nation that even when they won this round, there was still a long battle to go.

I followed the guards as they led Dad through the dim hallways of this vast prison. This castle-like structure had guards on every floor, high-security shut-down procedures at every cell, and watchtowers at almost every corner, leaving very little room for blind spots. With the smouldering hot water around the island, there was no way anyone could get out without getting spotted or killed. If I wanted to break Dad, Suki, and Zuko out of here, I better come up with something good. Maybe if I got a chance to speak to Dad, we could figure something out?

But Dad was more than alright, as he almost gave me a beating when I entered his cell still in costume. After I revealed my identity and why I was here, we began plotting our escape. I found out that even though the invasion failed, most of the combatants were alright, as they were held in a separate prison in the Fire Nation capital. My father was only sent here because the Fire Nation authorities singled him out as the ringleader of the group. He told me that the Kyoshi Warriors were alright as well, meaning so far none of the lives that were at stake were harmed yet. With that, it was time to plot.

"Well, Suki is here with us, and Prince Zuko came with me here to help out," I explained. My father was stunned that I managed to get the son of the Fire Lord on our side, but really I was grateful for Zuko's help more than anything. To me, he made a full redemption for himself, even in the face of all the internal turmoil. Not only was he now a fugitive, he also left behind two people he truly cared about: his girlfriend Mai, and his uncle Iroh. He told me he originally wanted to free Iroh from prison before coming, but by the time he got there, Iroh was already gone. Without his uncle's guidance, and only a war balloon to follow us, Zuko was really on his own. But with how dedicated he was to restoring both his own honour and the honour of his family and nation, I was truly moved by that. Now, if only I could restore my honour by breaking Suki and Dad out.

"So you guys originally came with a war balloon, but was destroyed when you crashed it into the water," Dad began, listing off the possibilities. I also told him of an escape plan hatched with a prisoner named Chit Sang, which involved using a cooler, a chilled chamber for punishing unruly prisoners, as a boat to sail out of here. But when the new prisoners (the batch that included Dad) arrived, we abandoned the plan. "Well, other than the gondola in which I came in, I can't think of any other method to get out."

I cupped my chin as thoughts raced through my head. The gondola was certainly an option, but with the boarding tower being the highest point in the prison, not only was it difficult to get to, it would be a perfect place for the guards to attack us. "How about we use the gondola, but take a staff member hostage?" I suggested.

"Not just any staff member," Dad chimed in, "but the warden himself." I could see his logic here, as capturing the prison leader would make things a big mess. With no one giving orders, there was no way they could prevent us from escaping. "But we must have a distraction, just so we can catch the warden off guard," Dad added.

I thought back to the last plan involving the cooler. Zuko was the one who was placed inside that thing, just so he could undo all the connections. The only reason he was thrown in there was because he started a prison fight, so maybe another brawl would do the trick? "How about a large-scale prison riot," I proposed, "if it involved enough people and pulled in enough guards, maybe nobody would pay attention to the warden?"

Dad thought about it for a while, and nodded his head. I was more relieved than anything else when he approved, given my last failure. Personally, even I had little faith in myself after botching the invasion. If anything happened to the invasion team, it would be their blood on my hands. But for Dad to give me his vote of confidence even after this mess, I was really touched. "I'll have to gather Suki and Zuko, but I'll try and get all the people out into the courtyard. We'll keep in touch there." With that, I placed my helmet back onto my head and slipped out of Dad's cell.

It took me a while to get through to Suki and Zuko, plus an unwanted distraction where Chit Sang was forced by the warden to identify the guard that helped him escape. Luckily, Chit Sang didn't squeal on me, instead pointing to another guard. With that out of the way, I promptly went to the control room and convinced them to open the doors. They didn't need to know anything, other than warden's orders. With that sadistic old man in a bad enough mood after a near escape, did anyone dare to question him? Or should I say, did anyone dare to question me "quoting" the warden?

As people gathered in the courtyard, we tried everything to start a riot. Dad even resorted to shoving prisoners around, but to no avail. It wasn't until the arrival of Chit Sang, who again got involved in our escape plans, did things start to go our way. By the time Zuko showed up, we were ready for action. "All we need to do is grab the warden and head to the gondola," I informed him, pointing up several floors on the tower.

That's when I realized the big mistake, as I had no idea how to get to the warden, who was at the tower on the other side of the riot! "I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through!" I hissed, trying to defend myself from Zuko's criticism. First he told me I over-planned, and now he slammed me for not planning? Gee, Zuko, when would you learn to make up your mind?

But before anyone could say anything else, Suki got to work. In the most amazing display of agility and acrobatics, she raced through the pit on top of prisoners' heads, scaled the floors via pipes and railings, and disabled the guards surrounding the warden. By the time we reached the gondola, nobody was bothering us. Zuko even disabled the switch after setting the cab in motion, just so the staff couldn't stop us. Boy, the former Fire Nation heir to the throne was really stealing my limelight, wasn't he? Maybe I ought to do something on his biggest moment, like his coronation, just to get it back!

But there was no preparation for the next move, as two girls that Zuko identified as Ty Lee, the chi-blocking acrobat, and Zuko's own sister Azula, shot their way up the cable and onto our cab. Luckily, I brought my fancy space sword with me, meaning I could help Suki and Zuko out when they battled. With Suki insisting that she took on Ty Lee alone, I turned my eyes to Azula, who stared down Zuko with that arrogant gaze. I was bested by Azula's stalling tactics and mind games back in the underground chamber, but it wouldn't work here. With advanced sword techniques under my belt and Zuko supposedly getting inspired by some funky dance learned from the dragons, I figured us two would be an unbeatable team. Go ahead, Azula, give us your best shot!

Before long, a jet of blue flame shot from Azula's feet, sweeping a wide curve to us as we leaped out of the way. But even with the stronger firepower, Zuko was not at all worried. He blocked shot after shot, and even returned fire to Azula. Trying to match the timing Zuko set, I advanced with my sword during the times Zuko reloaded, giving Azula a double dose of attacks. To our surprise, the Fire Nation princess that escaped the grasps of three people on the Day of Black Sun was now on the defensive, even nearly falling off the gondola once! Maybe, if we kept it up, we could be home free!

But I celebrated too soon, as the gondola screeched to a halt. There was a deathly silence, with the heat from the lava pools underneath us smothering our bodies. It wasn't until a scream from Ty Lee stating that the prison guards were cutting the line that things became hectic. There was no escape from here, and unless the cable kept moving, we were about to take a really hot swim. Now I knew what the ingredients to a pot stew must have felt when they were being boiled. I wondered who would eat me, and how I tasted.

Then the most shocking news came when the gondola suddenly moved again. Zuko had to squint through his good eye, but told us it was his girlfriend Mai who fought off all the guards. I had no idea why she would do that, but it was a pure stroke of luck. I knew this meant a lot for Zuko, as he had a messy break-up with her after he left the capital on the Day of Black Sun. But for her to still do this, most likely for his sake, then I knew there was another good heart in the Fire Nation. Perhaps, if we did win the war, we ought to get Mai on our side as well, just to be more inclusive in the new world.

As the gondola reached its destination, we raced off the cab, with my father throwing the tied-up warden back. The bitter old man claimed he never had an escape during his whole career here, right? Well, his record was broken now! But he should consider himself lucky, since he lost a battle to two Southern Water Tribe geniuses. You didn't get too much opportunity to witness that, so soak it in, would you?

---

Piandao's POV

"Hello, Sokka," I greeted my former student here at the now broken outer wall of Ba Sing Se. Never had I expected Sokka to appear here, in the middle of the night. But I knew he was always special, and always had a chance to make his mark on history. That was why, even though his visit was unexpected, he was welcome.

Looking around him, I could see several others with him, including his travel mates; his sister Katara, and their blind but skilled earth bender Toph. But there were two new members as well; the Fire Prince Zuko, and a female dressed in summer style Fire Nation clothing. "That's Suki," Sokka introduced me to her, "she's someone I met early on in my journey, and Zuko and I recently broke her out of the Boiling Rock."

I cocked an eyebrow, not realizing how great a feat that was. The Boiling Rock was the highest security prison in the Fire Nation, and escape was virtually impossible. But for Sokka to not only penetrate in, but freed a prisoner was unbelievable. Well, I always knew Sokka had a unique way of thinking. Even when his plans were random or his execution was flawed, he managed to do so in a way that still got him to his goals. So, with his group intact, perhaps he was now turning to the bigger goal of uniting the world.

As we marched back into the makeshift campsite, I explained to Suki how I, along with all these masters of the ancient arts, gathered together. "We're all part of the same ancient secret society, a group that transcends the division of the four nations," I showed her the three others with me, which included the renegade fire bending master Jeong Jeong, the Northern Water Tribe's esteemed water bending instructor Pakku, and the king of the semi-autonomous region of Omashu Bumi. For us, the world was never about wars or fighting, and there was never such a thing as automatic superiority over someone else. To us, life had always been about philosophy, knowledge, and the pursuit of wisdom. That was why, with the senseless destruction the Fire Nation was about to cause, just as Sozin's Comet arrived, we had to take action.

Luckily, the kids were also looking for the same man who summoned us, the Grand Lotus, or the leader of the Order of the White Lotus, Iroh of the Fire Nation. After a quirky question from Bumi, ever the crazy one, to Sokka, the beginning-to-be-crazy one, on the whereabouts of their lemur Momo, to which Sokka replied he was with Aang, we headed off. Even though Bumi raised a seemingly irrelevant point, it did get me quite concerned to hear that the Avatar wasn't with them. With time running out for him to stop the Fire Lord, and the Order of the White Lotus focusing solely on Ba Sing Se, we had to find another way to deal with the overall problem.

As Bumi lowered a slab of rock, revealing our camp to the kids, I could tell Prince Zuko was very uncomfortable. Even in the darkness of the night, I could see him fidget and glance around nervously. "Where is he?" he murmured, more to himself than to me.

I led him to the large tent at the end of the formation. "Your uncle is in there, Prince Zuko," I informed him, leading him to the tent. I could sense how helpless Zuko was at this moment, with nothing more than emptiness inside him. I knew how he felt right now, given that I was an orphan as well, but I realized that to conquer one's fear, one had to face it head-on, sometimes alone. So for Zuko, I would give him the same advice I gave Sokka: he must continue this journey alone, as only then would he reach the highest level of accomplishment in whatever he chose to pursue.

Speaking of Sokka, I hadn't gotten too much of a chance to catch up with him. I heard from my butler Fat and the other Lotus members about some things they had in mind for defeating the Fire Lord, only to be devastated on the Day of Black Sun, when it was revealed that the Fire Lord had already known about the plan. I knew this would really hit Sokka hard, as I doubted he ever had to shoulder this large a load before. With the fate of the world in his hands, it must have been hard for Sokka to bear.

But at the same time, I knew Sokka was a survivor, and had the skills to pull through this tough journey. He didn't travel all the way from the isolated Southern Water Tribe to the Fire Nation for nothing. Even with the threat of being discovered by the Fire Nation authorities, he chose to pursue knowledge, and learned the art of the sword rather than ran in fear. To me, this was the ways of a true nobleman, and this was the ways of a true warrior. I was proud of my former student, my best student, in trying to make a difference in the world. I hoped to hear some stories from him in the morning, and maybe gave him some pointers on how to proceed. But for me, just fighting alongside him was a big honour itself, regardless of whether he wanted my help or not.

Yet the next morning brought more hectic activity than I imagined, leaving me no time to speak with Sokka. A huge planning session went on throughout breakfast, with Bumi and Pakku deliberating with me over how to re-capture Ba Sing Se during the time Sozin's Comet was closest to our world. With fire benders at a maximum, they would be very difficult to defeat. We had to plan for every contingency measure possible, including using our own fire benders in Iroh and Jeong Jeong to counter them. But for me, we were pulled on more than one front, with news coming from Sokka's group that a fleet of Fire Nation airships set to scorch the land ready to take off anytime today. And given there might also be a challenge at the capital city, the team would be stretched to the limit. I wasn't sure what the plan might be, but I hoped we could figure this out soon.

By the time I got to speak with Sokka, the plan was decided. The Order of the White Lotus would proceed to Ba Sing Se as planned, but Prince Zuko would go to the Fire Nation capital with Katara to face Azula, Zuko's sister who probably had control of domestic affairs. By sending Zuko there, Iroh gave his nephew a vote of confidence, in that Zuko would take over the throne when the Fire Lord was defeated. As for Sokka, Toph, and Suki, they would be in charge of stopping the airship fleet led by the Fire Lord. After charting out the distance between Ba Sing Se and the airship base, I had just the plan for Sokka. "Nothing runs faster on land or swims quicker than a giant Eel Hound," I showed Sokka the slim, streamline creature he would use to reach the airship base.

As Suki boarded, and helped Toph climb up along the way, I unrolled a map for Sokka. I knew from talking to Iroh that Sokka was a map expert, so I guessed this should be an easy task for him to figure out where it was. "You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey," I explained. I was brimming with pride as I sent Sokka off again, this time knowing he was a mature fighter with courage and honour. Somehow, I knew he would succeed in the task, and the world would be at peace after this battle.

We bowed to each other, ready to head our separate ways, but not before Sokka pulled me into a tight hug. Somehow, I found myself returning the gesture, knowing that it might be the last time I saw my special student. No matter what happened, I would be proud that I met Sokka, and I saw it as an honour to have taught him my skills. With his thinking and determination, I knew he would reach greatness one day. Perhaps today was that day, as Sokka mounted onto the Eel Hound, ready to depart. As Iroh told us all, destiny was our friend today, and we could only stand tall and faced it head-on.

---

Sokka's POV

The airship shot up into the sky, taking us higher in altitude at an alarming rate as I concentrated on the scene before me. We barely made it onto the base on time, with the airships taking off just as we got onto shore. Had it not been for Toph's newly developed earth bending skills, sending us sailing onto the nearest airship with a catapulting piece of rock, we wouldn't have boarded at all. And once we boarded, Toph kept stealing the show by using metal bending to disable the crew, throwing them out of the cockpit and into the ocean below. But I couldn't let Toph hog the spotlight, as I ended with a trick of my own, telling members outside the cockpit that we were throwing a special party for someone on board, before letting them all take a dip. Pretty neat, huh?

But things were far from over, and the situation was about to get a lot worse, thanks to the Fire Lord starting his razing of the land in his lead ship. We were far behind him in the formation, and even going at full speed he was still too far away. The only saving grace was that Aang mysteriously returned, stalling the Fire Lord just enough for us to take action. Inspired by an air slice from Aang, I thought up of a move called the "airship slice" that could let us disable the entire fleet. So, taking the controls from Suki, I focused hard on the difficult manoeuvre and aimed for the airship formation.

Once I judged that we got enough altitude, it was time to pull off the final part of this move. Pushing the engines to the limit, I took a deep breath, and made a hard left turn on the wheel. The momentum threatened to throw all three of us out the windows, but at least it got us into position. With the fleet in sight and right underneath us, I told Toph and Suki to get to the top immediately. I grabbed Toph by the wrist and led her out, while Suki followed closely behind. "Watch each other's backs," I reminded them as we scaled the ladder. Any moment now, there would be a series of violent collisions.

Before I could say anything, a series of loud crashes jolted the entire airship, causing me to nearly fall off before reaching the top. As I strained to hold onto the now broken ladder, I did everything I could to pull myself up to the top. With my arms all sore and tight, I yanked through the makeshift hole Toph created and immediately grabbed her arm. Waving to Suki, we raced across the top of the airship, hoping to reach the front, where we could leap off once the hits were over. It was an understatement to say it was a bumpy ride, and I was truly surprised that we could still run in these conditions.

But then, the stress on our airship was too much, splitting the body into two. And unfortunately for us, the crack occurred right between Suki, and where Toph and I were. I looked on in horror as Suki fell out of view from us, with only her voice telling us to finish the mission echoing through the sky. My heart sank as she disappeared from view. Was this yet another sacrifice of a loved one that I had to go through? I saw Yue die in my arms back at the North Pole, and now the same happened with Suki? How many more people close to me must die before my job was done?

Then another huge jolt snapped my attention back, as the front piece of the now shattered airship Toph and I were on slammed into another one, sending us flying off into the air before crash-landing hard on the ship below us. As we rolled several times, my only thought was to protect Toph, not just because she was truly blind due to the lack of earth around, but because I didn't want another death. There was enough blood on my hands, and those who perished certainly didn't deserve that fate. There was a whole new world to be created after this was over, and anyone who put effort into making that new world a reality ought to be there to savour the fruits of their labour. As I held Toph tight, preventing the debris from falling on her, I desperately thought of an escape route.

Glancing around, I realized that even with that large crash, things were far from done. With still several airships raining fire below us, we had to account for them first. Once things weren't so bumpy, I grabbed Toph's hand again and raced for the rudder of this current airship. "Metal bend the rudder so it's jammed in the turning position," I instructed Toph, ""the ship will spiral and slam into the others."

With determination, Toph marched up to the rudder and pushed her palms onto the large metallic piece. I watched on nervously as the rudder tilted little by little, proud of Toph for thinking up of such an interesting technique but also worried about time. It wouldn't be long before the airship fleet's crews figured out what was going on, and that would mean a firestorm coming down on us. Could we save the barbecued meat for later?

And indeed, as the airship fishtailed and slammed into those around it, some crew members did pop their heads up. Sensing the danger, I grabbed Toph again, pushing her out of the way just as two fire jets roared in our direction. Right now, there was nowhere to go but down, and the only thing I could hope for was a softer fall. Taking a deep breath and pulling out my sword, I took Toph and leaped from the top of the airship, imbedding my blade onto the side of the hull and skidded downward. I had no idea where we would land, but hopefully it wouldn't be a long fall.

I was met with a stinging sensation throughout my body, the pain more intense than anything I had ever experienced before. With my body near paralysis and a dangling Toph holding onto my arm with nothing but air underneath her, it was very precarious. My sword implanted itself just before me, stabbing into the ground right between my two feet as two fire benders appeared from my either side. Looking around nervously, there was virtually no option for me, other than to try knocking them both out at the same time. As the fire benders prepared their flames in their hands, I reached to my back and fetched my boomerang. This item had been in my arsenal even before I left the Southern Water Tribe, and now I could only hope it would be reliable one last time. As I took aim, my foot edged closer to the sword, which I hoped to use on the other fire bender. There was only enough time for one shot, and I had to make it count.

I flicked my wrist to fire the boomerang at the soldier on the platform to the right of me at the same time I kicked the sword out of the ground. I didn't even bother seeing where the boomerang went, with only a pained grunt from the Fire Nation soldier telling me that it hit its target. Catching the sword by the hilt, I tomahawked it at the solider on the platform to my left, slicing the standing room off completely and leaving that person hanging off the airship by the rope on his back. With my objective complete, I could only lament the loss of my two most trustworthy and powerful weapons. "Goodbye, space sword," I mourned, watching the shiny black blade fall into the water below.

And just when I thought things couldn't go worse, a line of Fire Nation troops gathered at the deck of the ship, watching Toph and I hang helplessly off the platform. With all my weapons gone, I realized our fates were pretty much sealed. As I felt Toph's fingers starting to slide from my hand, I was ready to bid farewell. "It looks like this is the end," I sighed in defeat. I guessed no matter how many times I escaped death, my luck was bound to run out. Maybe Yue and Suki could save a spot for me in the Spirit World when Toph and I entered. After all, I had been there before, so maybe the spirits would welcome me back? As long as Hei Bai didn't keep me from using the bathroom while I was there, I wouldn't think it was so bad.

With one final jolt, my body dropped overboard, sending Toph and I both into freefall. But instead of a painless death, my fall was cut short by an impossible slam into another metallic piece. This time, my left leg took the brunt of the hit, and I lost all ability to move. As I howled in pain while searching for Toph, I was in awe of what happened. This was another Fire Nation airship, but it seemed completely intact. "What happened?" I heard Toph's voice demand from somewhere behind me.

I looked up and there was Suki, standing at the rudder of the airship looking triumphant. I didn't know how she did it, but not only did she survive the fall, but she took over a second ship and used that to find us! Maybe our luck wasn't running out after all! Hopping down from her position, she helped me to my feet. "Are you guys alright?" she asked, pulling my arm over her shoulder while grabbing Toph with her other hand.

I looked on as Suki guided us down to the deck, hoping Aang was holding his own against the Fire Lord. Our goal of disabling the fleet was complete, and now Aang had to do his job. My injury, the lack of weapons for Suki, and Toph probably not lasting long against a comet-enhanced fire bending Fire Lord, didn't put us in the best position to help him. But knowing Aang, and how much he went through, I knew he would succeed. Even though he had qualms about killing the Fire Lord's life, I believed Aang had what it took to defeat him. With one last attempt to locate Aang failing, I limped into the airship.

---

Sokka's POV

"Today, this war is finally over!" Zuko's clear voice boomed across the wide courtyard of the Fire Nation palace. I couldn't help but beam with pride as my former enemy, the same one who humiliated me by invading my village and kicking me aside, addressed the entire world. Now that I thought about it, this was truly a strange twist of fate, as it would be this former enemy who changed his ways and opted to join us in defeating his father and restored balance to the world. I finally caught a glimpse of Aang at the final battle, with him somehow removing Ozai's bending without killing him. Now that the "Loser Lord" was no longer a threat, it paved the way for better things to come.

As the cheers died down, my attention returned to Zuko, who promised to restore the honour of the Fire Nation, both for his uncle Iroh and for all people of the world. "The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided," Zuko continued, making me realize how much I had changed too. When Zuko mentioned division, I realized my own short-sightedness and tunnel vision also contributed to it. For example, before my journey, I wouldn't accept women being in combat roles, let alone those with disabilities such as blindness. Also, anyone belonging to or allied with the Fire Nation were enemies to be treated with full suspicion.

But now, I found myself opening up, being much more receptive to things around the world, rather than rejecting them completely. Katara, Suki, Yue, Toph, even Zuko's girlfriend Mai, all showed me how females could dominate in battle. Heck, one female, the acrobat Ty Lee, who stalked us with Princess Azula, joined the Kyoshi Warriors, with Suki and her group welcoming her unconditionally. If Suki could accept a Fire National into her team, then it was only right I did the same. Master Piandao was the first person got me bonding with fire benders, followed by seeing Zuko and his uncle reconcile. I always had a hunch that they would be who I must rely on to reconcile with the world. So if Suki could do it, then I must try as well. I couldn't let her show me up again, right?

Zuko seemed to have read my mind, as he declared his role in making sure the world was balanced again. "But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love, peace, and hope." With that, Zuko got onto his knees and allowed the Fire Sage to place the ceremonial headpiece onto his head. We cheered as now Fire Lord Zuko brought Aang, who was with him on stage the entire time, into the courtyard to intermingle with the people. From what I heard, this was the first ever Fire Lord coronation that involved anyone other than fire benders. Zuko also wanted to hold a reunion party at Ba Sing Se, where Iroh reopened his new tea house after reclaiming the city for the Earth Kingdom. Zuko wanted to meet with the now-repatriated Earth King, which would be the first bilateral talks between the two heads of state in over a century.

And that was where I found myself, sitting in Iroh's tea shop doing a traditional Earth Kingdom style painting. Utilizing art techniques Piandao taught me, I tried to capture the moment of everyone relaxing peacefully, while adding in some events that we went through together. "Zuko, stop moving," I scolded the new Fire Lord busy serving tea to our group, "I wanted to do this painting so we'd always remember the good times we had together." After this party, we were about to go our own ways. Zuko and Mai had to meet with the Earth King, while Suki would return to Kyoshi Island to train Ty Lee. Toph planned to go back to her parents later, but for now she was content with just traveling around places in the Earth Kingdom that she hadn't been to before. She even claimed she might return to the Wulong Forest and searched for my sword. How neat would that be? If she succeeded, I would promise a huge party at the South Pole for her.

But for Aang and Katara, they planned to restart water bending at the South Pole. I knew Master Pakku was already there, after having found Gran Gran again after sixty years. They settled their differences and married each other, meaning Pakku was now my new grandfather. I didn't understand why he wasn't please with the term "Gramp Gramp" or "Grampakku" but I was glad he found happiness after all. Pakku told me there were already tribe members, male and female, who were willing to train, even though they had no bending experience before. One individual was a girl around Katara's age called Wave. Katara and I met her several times in the past, but for some reason we never called her by her real name. In fact, I didn't even recall why she went by this nickname. Maybe it was her dark brown wavy hair, or maybe it was her proficiency in the water, especially during times with stormy waves. Somehow, her all-mighty far-seeing blue eyes with the strange piercing glance could let her navigate through the roughest waters with little help.

"Why did you give me Momo's ears?" Katara's unimpressed tone snapped me back to realty. Before long, everyone took shots at my drawing, claiming I portrayed them unrealistically. Even as I tried defending my art, I found myself enjoying their good-natured ribs, realizing that this was what friendship was all about. This small talk was the first step in worldwide reconciliation, and only by communicating and enjoying each other's company would we ever achieve that. As the jokes mounted on, there was only one thought left in my mind…

My name is Sokka. That was my story. Those were my rites of passage.

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I want to make an extra shout-out to Wavebreeze, who is celebrating a birthday this week. My present for her is that little cameo at the end, where she appears as one of the future water benders at the South Pole. Oddly enough, Wave being born in June would actually make her most suitable to be a Southern water bender. June is winter in the southern hemisphere, and water benders are mostly born in winter. Moreover, Wave says her own personality fits that of a water bender, so I thought this was the best way. Happy birthday to you, and hope the rest of you reviewers will be a bit more cooperative and leave me something. Thank you for reading.