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Chapter 3

The next day came quickly. Sokka was sound asleep when a splash of cold water sent him flying from his bed. Katara looked down at him with her usual irritated look. Sokka started to get dressed and ready. Normally he would have tried to get a little bit more sleep in but Katara had another glob of water suspended over his head.

Once everyone was ready, they all hurried out to meet the royal carriages. Iroh and Mai were standing ready to board a carriage. Aang looked around for Zuko. Perhaps Zuko was going to see them off but there seemed to be no sign of him.

"Is Zuko not coming?" Aang asked Mai.

Mai shook her head. "He's not strong enough to go. Jeong Jeong is keeping guard now."

Aang and Sokka exchanged looks but boarded an empty carriage with Toph and Katara. Sokka glanced around wondering if Captain Inara had already left for her ship and was trying to escape without him. It would seem like something she would do. He and Aang had already made plans in case she did. They would catch up on Appa and Sokka would just drop in.

However, it seemed that Inara had spent the night at the palace. She descended the steps like she owned the place with two guards following her. She looked rather bored and ready to leave. She did not glance over at the Avatar's carriage though. Instead, she walked straight up to Mai and Iroh and climbed into a carriage with them.

"Well, she doesn't seem too friendly today," Katara muttered.

"Not everyone is sugar and spice like you are," Toph said.

Katara frowned at Toph as the carriages started to pull away.

"I will try to send messages as we go," Sokka said as they swayed side to side in the carriage. "I'll send them here to you two since you're not going anywhere."

"I will do the same," Aang said. "Hopefully our messages won't be intercepted."

"You two just be careful," Katara urged them.

"Yeah," Toph agreed. "Sweetness and I won't be around to get you two out of trouble."

"Azula knows too much," Katara continued. "She's been almost everywhere we have been. I doubt she will go to the Northern Water Tribe but she could be anywhere else."

"I'll have the Earth King search Old Ba Sing Se," Aang said to appease Katara's concern.

"Unfortunately she already has a good head start," Toph pointed out to them.

"Aang, do you think it might be best to send warnings to everyone who crossed Azula in the past?" Katara asked. "Ty Lee is at Kyoshi Island."

Sokka suddenly went pale. "Aang, go to Kyoshi Island first and take Suki and Ty Lee to the Southern Tribe."

Aang hesitated and thought at first that he couldn't. But he looked at the panic in Sokka's eyes and so he said, "I will."

This seemed to calm Sokka for a moment. Everyone looked at Sokka. He had checked his impulsiveness with his obligation. When the entire invasion force was at stake, he wasted precious time to interrogate Azula on Suki's whereabouts.

"Sokka, are you sure you're ready for this?" Katara asked.

Sokka then turned narrowed eyes to his sister. "Yes," he pronounced clearly.

Katara withdrew anymore questions she may have had at his seriousness. The carriage grew quiet then. They could hear muffled conversations from the carriage ahead of them. Toph listened intently to distinguish relevant conversation from noise.

"What do you hear?" Sokka asked.

"Not much," Toph answered. "They're keeping their voices low and there is too much noise. I'm hearing someone's favorite recipe for noodles mainly."

Everyone groaned in despair. The ride to the harbor was not much longer. They passed it with Katara and Sokka's continual bickering on how prepared he actually was for the trip. Toph and Aang discussed possible places in the Earth Kingdom where Azula might attack too. Their individual purposes were becoming more and more defined. While Katara and Toph protected Zuko in his weakened state, Aang was going out to warn the world and to try to prevent more mayhem. Sokka was to focus on hunting and chasing her down.

The carriage came to a jolting stop. Sokka opened the door and help Katara out. Toph jumped down causing a rather large thud that startled several guards nearby. Sokka could not wait for Aang. Mai and Inara were standing at the gangplank of a ship. He hurried over leaving Aang to stumble out of the carriage on his own.

Aang's eyes followed Sokka as he deliberately marched towards Mai and Inara. He took in a ship that was docked. It looked like a smaller version of Zuko's ship. The wheel house was not stories above the deck. Instead of what resembled a large horn that was at the bow, there was a figurehead of a dragon with flecks of gold paint clinging to it. There was smoke already billowing up from the smoke stacks and he could hear the shouting of a small crew already on board.

Aang hurried to catch up with Sokka. Katara and Toph were right behind him. They approached Mai and the captain. The only part of their conversation they caught was Mai saying, "You have your orders."

Inara then turned to them with a small smile. "Master Sokka, are you ready?"

"Master?" Katara muttered under her breath.

Sokka rolled his eyes at the mockery and Katara's response. "Yes, I'm ready."

Inara gave everyone a short nod and then walked up the gangplank. Sokka followed her up with his bag and weapons. When he reached the deck, all he saw were two young men. One was bald with a beard playing at the chin. The other had longer, messier hair and he had the faint resemblance of what Iroh may have looked like as a young man. He even had similar facial hair.

"Captain, who's he?" the bald one asked.

"He's the newest member to our crew," Inara answered.

The two men glanced at each other. Inara did not pay much heed to them. She walked up to the wheel house and opened the front windows. She leaned out and ordered, "Raise the anchor."

The two men started to move to the stern. They saw that Sokka was not moving. The bald one grabbed Sokka by the arm and shoved him forward.

"You heard the captain," he said.

Sokka followed them. He saw where the anchor would raise along with a lever. The bald one squeezed the handle and pulled back. The gears started to turn and the chain was wound around a large wheel with spokes around it. He then released it and everything stopped.

"Don't raise it too fast or it will jam," he instructed Sokka. "Yell if it jams and yell when it's locked."

Both of the crewmen then moved away to tend to something else. Sokka did as he was told. He slowly raised the anchor with the lethargy of Appa when he's full. He ticked away the time with each click of the chain and tap of the foot. Finally, after what felt like a month, the chain was locked.

"It's locked!" he yelled.

"It's locked!" the younger version of Iroh yelled.

The bald one came over to the anchor then. He checked the lever to make sure it was properly locked into place. The ship then jolted as it started to move. There was a loud rumble from below and Sokka could hear the water churning below. He looked and saw the Fire Nation become smaller as the ship backed away.

"You're good!" the bald one yelled. "Keep going. Ok, you can turn."

Slowly, the ship started to circle around. Sokka got a view of half of the Fire Nation's port. After a moment, he was no looking back at his sister and friends. They waved enthusiastically back at him like he was on some sort of maiden voyage.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It was obvious that this ship had seen its share of battles. As a merchant ship, it looked like it had been an easy target. He could see where the ship had been patched together. When he first saw the ship he noted a few dents on the hull. The captain's words began to make a bit more sense on her enjoyment of peace.

"Alright, we're out of here," the other man said to the bald man.

The ship chugged along. Sokka really didn't have much to do. The captain was in the wheel house and her two crew members tended to ignore him. He stood at the bow and watched as they passed the Gates of Azulon. He then saw the Black Cliffs and open water.

A door opened and two people came up from below deck. One was a young man who seemed younger than the other two. He wore a dirty, black apron with goggles on top of his head. His hair stuck up in all directions around the goggles. The second was a young woman. She wore the pinker shades of the traditional Fire Nation wardrobe. She had thick bangs with a dark braid falling down her back. They all looked inquisitively at Sokka and he looked back at them. Inara then came down from the wheel house. Her crew lined up in front of Sokka.

"Sokka, let me introduce everyone to you," she said. "The one with the shiny head is my lieutenant, Kerak."

"Hi," Kerak grunted.

"The one with the mess of fur on his face and head is Taizo."

"Hey there."

"The one with the goggles is Genji, my engineer."

"Welcome aboard."

"And the pretty one of the group is Nayen but we tend to call her Doc."

"Nice to meet you."

"Everyone, this is Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. He's son of Chief Hakoda and he will be making this little journey with us," Inara said.

"Uh…hi," Sokka guessed was the proper reply.

"It is a small crew but we are very efficient," she boasted and then turned to her crew. "I hope you managed to receive my message from the palace."

Sokka immediately saw a bit of confusion on each of her crew member's faces.

"Kind of," Genji replied.

"You were a little sketchy on the details," Kerak said.

"Yeah, scribbles concerning an escaped convict and a world tour don't explain a lot," Taizo added.

Nayen then held up a piece of parchment that looked like it had black ink splattered on it. "How do you even call this a written language?" she demanded.

"I couldn't be too detailed in case the message was intercepted and risk everything being revealed," Inara explained. "And my handwriting is perfectly fine."

Her crew rolled their eyes at her.

"So, what are we up to now?" Kerak asked.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors of Princess Azula's escape," Inara began.

"Oh no, not this time," Taizo immediately cut in. "I'm a merchant, not a bounty hunter."

"You are whatever I say you are," Inara responded.

"This is suicide," Taizo continued. "She is probably the most powerful Firebender of our generation and she's not all completely there if you know what I mean," he said while pointing to his head. "Tell me, do you truthfully want to stand in her way?"

Inara put her hands on her hips and stared at her mutinous crewmember. "What do you suggest?"

"I say we let Scar Face deal with his own family," he replied.

Inara threw up her hands in exasperation. "Well, we can't. We have the contract and the bounty at the end of this."

"Really," Taizo said suddenly changing his mood at the mention of an income. "What kind of bounty is it?"

"I thought you said you weren't a bounty hunter," Inara commented with that coy smile of hers.

Taizo shrugged. "I am whatever you say I am."

"The Fire Lord is paying us," Inara reminded him. "Let your imagination run wild with it."

"Oh I do intend to," Taizo remarked.

"Are there any more objections?" Inara asked her crew.

Nayen and Genji shook their heads but Kerak has a concerned look on his face.

"The bounty is fine and all," he half-heartedly agreed. "But we're all making a slight oversight of an important detail."

Everyone turned their attention to him with what Sokka thought was annoyance.

"Not this again," Inara groaned.

Kerak crossed his arms in a display of his annoyance at everyone's intentional oversight of what Sokka imagined to be of vast importance. "The Three Dragons will find out about this," he said.

"They won't care," Genji grumbled.

"They will care," Kerak insisted cautiously. "This is beyond the usual confides of our profession. We are now wading into the murky political pools…"

"I've already signed the contract and he even sent his lackey to keep an eye on us," Inara said pointedly and gestured at Sokka.

"I am not Zuko's lackey," Sokka argued. "And what are the Three Dragons?"

Genji then threw up his hands and walked a few paces away from the group. Taizo seemed to be quite amused by the Water Tribesman's ignorance.

"They're myth," Taizo said.

"They're real," Kerak stated and then turned to Sokka. "After the war was over, there was a vacuum of power in the guild. The Fire Nation navy was no long patrolling the waters. This allowed three powerful merchants to rise to power and created a union or collusion. No one acts without them knowing. There have been instances of swift retribution for any grievance or action taken against the guild by one of its own."

"And you think that they won't be too happy with you working for Zuko," Sokka guessed in a tone of disbelief. "Yeah, and how would they even know what we are doing."

"They know all," Genji said in a mocking tone that garnered the laughs of Nayen and Taizo.

Inara did not seem too amused by this sudden loss of concentration. She cleared her throat loudly to gain everyone's attention. "No one knows who the Three Dragons are and so that eliminates the option of consulting them. However, there is one person that I know we should consult. Everyone, back to your stations," she ordered. "Sokka, in the wheel house."

Genji and Nayen went back down below. Sokka did not wait around to see what Kerak and Taizo were going to do. He promptly followed Inara into the wheel house. She loudly closed the door behind him and resumed her place at the wheel.

"What do you hope to accomplish while with us?" she asked.

The abruptness of the question threw Sokka off balance for a moment. His thoughts were scattered and he could only let his mouth hang opened and slowly shake his head side to side.

"What, have you forgotten how to speak?" she pestered him.

"No," Sokka finally intoned. "I'm here to help. Azula is an enemy and I cannot stand to have her wreaking havoc on the world."

"Mmm," Inara hummed thoughtfully. "Now, tell me why you are really here."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

Inara lightly drummed her fingers on the controls of the ship. They made soft music with the rhythmic thuds. "Nothing," she replied with a smile. "I just wanted to know why you were on my ship."

"I thought that was already made clear or am I speaking an entirely different language?"

"So there is no need to find glory in this trip?" she asked. "There is no young maiden that you are trying to impress. You have no need to make a name for yourself off of Azula."

"Let's skip the circuitous route and let's just get down to whatever you're playing at. The scenery is starting to bore me."

Inara turned a humorless smile in his direction. "It can't be easy being you," she said in a fast pace. "You are friends with the Avatar and the Fire Lord. Your sister is one of the most powerful Waterbenders in the world and your friend Toph is probably the most powerful Earthbender as well as a very rich heiress. Tell me, when people realize who you are, do they ask you if you are Sokka of the Water Tribe, heir to Chief Hakoda, or are you the Avatar's friend?"

Sokka automatically set his jaw at her stinging words to keep from saying something he would regret. "Yes, I admit it," he said sarcastically. "I am deathly jealous of Zuko having to worry about being killed in his sleep or Aang's constant guilt of being the last Air Nomad. That is exactly what I need in my life besides a girlfriend who refuses to move to the Southern Tribe, more fear and guilt. Oh, I'm just curious; do you have your fair share of fear and guilt?"

"I'm fine thank you," she replied lightly.

"Just listen very closely to me because I don't want anymore misunderstandings between us. I have no use for glory and I have a name of my own," Sokka carefully stated. "I also have honor and my pride. Do you know anything of honor?"

"Yes," she said in a low grumble. "I have known many men to sacrifice everything for their honor and their pride. But I have both and I keep them close."

"And you're not doing this for glory and pride?" Sokka questioned.

"It's a duty and obligation to my country," she answered. "Many young men died for the false war propaganda of the past Fire Lords and my duty is to keep the idea of world conquest from coming back."

"Me too," Sokka said.

Inara then fell silent. She looked out over the vast water. The islands of the Fire Nation could be seen to the south. They were the islands that bore her to life but she did not see them. She looked out at the water, her opposing force.

"You truly appreciate this don't you?" she asked suddenly changing her mood.

"Truly appreciate what?"

"This, the vastness, the silence, you can lose yourself out here."

Sokka then looked with her. "Yes, I do appreciate it."

"You're no bender but I can tell you have the spirit of the ocean in you," Inara commented. "Waterbenders can feel at one with the moon but souls like you and I can feel at home with the ocean."

"They push and pull it," Sokka said nearly mesmerized. "They seek to control it while we ride it."

Inara's crooked smile broke Sokka's sojourn from the world. He narrowed his eyes at her. She had taken him to a peaceful place and then pulled him out just as quickly as she had invited him in.

"You're an enigma to me," Sokka revealed.

"I am," she agreed. "And I am having trouble figuring you out. Perhaps by the end of the journey we will understand each other."

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