Disclaimer: We do not own anything except the original plot lines... and my penguin... alright I'll say it... we own Richards monkey to... so -without permission- no touchy!


AN: Well, sorry this chapter took a little longer then usual but as you can see its a little longer then the last few. The reason is I got a big plot turn coming in my next chapter and I wanted to finish this stuff up. So anyway lets get on with some fights and fluff.

-The Man in The Jade Armor

P.S. I am still trying to figure out how to add mods to the forums... any help?

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NEW THING: I shall be dividing the story up into saga's as well now... for a definition on saga's read the note after the chapter.

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Curtain Up!


Sokka; Master of The Black Sword

By: Jade Knight

Beta and creative consultant: Richard Caine


-Tournament Saga-

Chapter 8

(Just to clear this up now, this is(under the saga name) is the counter for the total chapters. The Counter under 'Story of Sokka' is the number of sokka chapters we have had so far.)

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The Story of Sokka

Chapter 6: A Warrior's Instincts

-

When I'd awakened the next morning, earlier than the others like I did every morning; I spend several long and very apprehensive minutes deciding if I wanted to go through with my morning ritual of meditation. What if I dropped in on creepy kitty or that Mouretsu guy again? The cat spirit was annoying as hell, almost burnt me to a crisp and then showed me a vision of myself looking death himself. Mouretsu at least had talked to me like a normal person, even though he obviously wasn't normal. What was with him? Was he some great leader of 'our' people? And what people was he talking about? I sighed, my mind was a raging ocean of doubts and fears.

In the end I charged right in and was met with the usual relaxation of peaceful quite as I listened to the distant morning song of the birds. I admit I was really worried there for a bit. What if the furry mongrel was there or someone worse?

After I had calmed my mind and quelled my fears I started to think about what I was going to tell the gang. Could I tell them that I had spoken to a fleabag who said I was the Avatars opposite? Yeah, that didn't sound insane in the slightest. I'll just wake them up and regale the tales of my excursion into the spirit world. Sure, they won't think me mad.

What was I going to do? Was I going insane? Does a crazy man know he's crazy?

I don't think I'm crazy, but that didn't mean I wasn't. I hope I wasn't, but I thought that what I had seen and heard while in the 'Spirit World' would sound insane. If someone told me the same story I'd alert the men in white coats. What if it all was just something my mind had come up with? Really, a being that stood as the Avatar's equal? I didn't think it was just a dream or a hallucination, but how could I be sure? I silently resolved not to tell the others until I absolutely needed to; whether it was real or a product of my mind, they would worry too much.

That decided I spent the rest of my time contemplating what the nature of insanity was, until I had to get up and help make breakfast. I yawned loudly and Toph threw out her normal nickname of 'Snoozles' and I grinned.

-

I smiled at Salazar beneath my mask. The light wind we were having today ruffled my gray robe lightly; probably looked pretty cool. The sun was high and the fans were pumped up for the first semi-final match of the Soudatsu, starring me! I threw a cocky little salute in Salazar's direction and smirked when his shoulders jerked in a silent laugh of amusement. The crowd was screaming like a hurricane as the spectral hero; Ghost faced off against his newest foe. I had become quite famous in the last week.

Seven fights.

Seven fantastic and flawless victories.

Whistles, screams and thunderous chants reverberated around the large arena. I raised my black sword and they screamed so loud it sounded like a bomb went off. A woman cried as she threw a red rose onto the packed dirt that made up the floor of the arena.

Oh boy, now I had a stalker. Well, maybe not, but it's still a little creepy.

I went through a few fast and flashy battle sequences for the fans. My blade whisked around my robed body, cutting the air with a shrieking howl. I kicked off of the ground did a tight somersault, banishing my blade in a fancy flourish before I dropped back to the ground perfectly. The roar of a thousand voices rolled over me and I laughed raising my sword in triumph once again.

Yeah, I was acting a little over confident, but I had not forgotten Toph's words of wisdom. I was just having a little fun. I knew that the second I believed I was great I was finished. So with that sobering thought I wandered over to stand a foot or so from Salazar.

"Did you have fun?" asked Salazar, still wearing his black and orange fox mask. His claymore hung loosely from his hip, still sheathed, so in the name of fair game I slid my own black blade back into its scabbard. Once that was done I must have stunned a few people in the stands by offering Salazar my hand, but he still took it without a second thought and shook it firmly; his chain mail shirt rattling with his movements.

"The fun's just about to start." I said letting my smirk come through in my voice. I received another laugh as the ref needlessly went over the rules.

"Well look who came." said Salazar looking to the left. Following his gaze I was lost for a moment before I ran across those familiar misty eyes. I chuckled again. Toph had gotten front row seats. My match had been the first of the day and I had 'gone to get an autograph' while Toph had gotten the seats. To her right Katara was trying her hardest to seem like she thought this tournament was 'barbaric' and just and 'outlet for male's hormones' even though she was watching every move Salazar and I made.

Suddenly a gasp from Salazar caught my attention. I looked over to him wondering what was up, but I couldn't make out anything because of his mask. Following his eyes back to the rest of the gang I was completely baffled.

"Salazar, something wrong?" I asked slightly concerned.

For a short while longer he just started off at something then he turned back to me. I frowned behind my own mask; he was holding himself differently now. A minute ago we had been two friends facing off to have a good time. We both wanted to win, sure, but we were still friends. Now he was looking at me like he was seeing me for the first time; like I was an enemy. Blast that damned mask of his, I couldn't make out anymore of what he was thinking. What cause that sudden shift in body language?

"Salazar?" I asked again concerned.

For a long moment he started at me, drilling into my head. I was starting to get a little worried. What was wrong? Then he shook his head as though trying to dislodge a stubborn thought. "Don't worry about it Brenton."

"But-"

"I'll explain later." He said cryptically. I wasn't completely satisfied with that answer, but I trusted that he'd be more forthcoming once the fight was over.

"Alright." I agreed simply, if be it unsure. "Are we still good?"

Again it took him a long time to answer, and he looked back at the others once more. "Yes." He said. His voice was once again sure and strong.

Trusting that he was okay, at least for now I dropped into my Scorpion stance and waited. Across from me Salazar drew his huge claymore and took a basic Fire-Nation combat stance. Immediately I switched into warrior mode and started to analyze his stance and tried to come up with a counter. Clever bastard, I had studied his battle forms up until now carefully and in picking such a basic stance he was hoping to keep his strategy secret up until the last second.

With my head completely in the game I almost forgot the slight altercation we had just had when the ref called 'Fight!'.

I raced forward as fast as I could and just when I was about to enter Salazar's strike zone I pivoted on my right foot, dropped, and swung out with my left leg in a tight tripping swipe. My attack had been immediate and the people in the crowd were stunned silent for a millisecond before the booming cheer at the start of the match rolled over me.

Salazar didn't jump or try to dodge in any way. Instead he squared his stance a little more and let my ankle slam painfully to a stop on his boot. Oh crap. I barely had time to register the pain of impact before the shadow of his Claymore descended upon me. I twisted to the side as fast as I could, and felt a pang of fear as the enormous sword followed suit. In the end I managed to get my right arm beneath my chest and was able to put enough distance between myself and the ground to execute a tight roll.

I quickly bounced to my feet as the ring of steel biting earth hit in my ears. I knew this fight would be tough, but never like this. Salazar was the worst opponent I could get, someone who was fast and was able to switch between pure power and a style much like my own; someone who understood my style. If I gave even the slightest indication of how or where I was going to attack he would know exactly how to move to cancel out my power-reversal techniques.

I shivered with excitement; this was going to be a close fight.

"Almost got you," He said coyly as he turned to me, resting his huge and now dirty blade on his shoulder.

"I let you; get you over confident and all that."

"Right," He drawled. "Ready to try again?"

"Damn straight." I said firmly through a huge grin, once again taking my stance. This time it was Salazar that attacked first, coming forward unnaturally fast for his larger frame. I tightened my grip on my blade and picked my target carefully. Salazar's claymore descended fast and heavy; I had no chance of taking the full brunt of the blow, so the best I could do was a deflection. The metallic ringing of steel on steel filled the wide battle pit as I was pushed into the first real sword fight since Piando-sense.

I fought back with everything I had, deflection strike after bone rattling strike, but I couldn't keep this up forever. I was the weaker opponent here and I couldn't get any of my good moves in. I was pushed back step by step across the ring, always on the defensive, always retreating. Salazar started to attack much more viciously, every blow harder and more precise than the last. I couldn't keep this up much longer, I needed to try something new, this was going nowhere but my defeat.

Switching to the Fire-Style I stepped into a combat sequence, letting my instincts guide my hands as I kept to the absolute basics of the style, the kind they teach you on the first day. Salazar was suitably surprised at the change, and I took my chance right then. With a battle cry I lunged at him in a sharp thrust. He dodged the initial attack like I knew he would, but I was already moving into the secondary swing. I hear a quick intake of breath before Salazar managed to bring the guard of his claymore up in a clumsy maneuver just high enough to stop the strike. Leaving him with a numb wrist I continued by. The second I hit the ground I stumbled a little from the unorthodox attack, and out of the corner of my eye I just saw Salazar risk a quick glance over to where the gang stood, cheering me on the with rest of the crowd.

In the middle of a fight he had taken the time to look into the crowd for a specific group of people? I almost cackled like a maniac. Piando-sense had once told me that everyone had a weak spot; a way to be defeated, all I needed was to find it. There was my way to win this match.

But what was he looking for? I shook that thought off for the moment, I needed to be in the now, looking too far ahead is an endgame for a swordsman. I needed foresight without blindness in the moment.

I recovered from my stumble a little slower then I normally would and ran right back into the fray. Our blades crossed again and again, for several tense and long minutes I fought slowly and methodically; making it look like I was being thrown off balance every once in a while, and taking just a little long to recover each time. Finally I felt the time was right and went for it.

I deflected the final herculean blow and threw myself to the right in a controlled fall. I watched Salazar out of the corner of my eye and when he shifted his focus back to the gang just slightly I went into action.

Immediately and with perfect timing I twisted just enough to get one of my knees below me and I flipped back onto my feet, reestablished my balance, and charged. He never saw me coming. I came at him fast, hard and silent except for the sound of my feet pounding the hot, packed earth. I raised my blade and brought it down in a fast chopping motion hitting his Claymore and knocking it from his grip. Salazar turned back to me, no doubt with a confused expression on under his mask. I grinned behind my own mask as I watched his eyes go wide through the eye-slits on the grinning fox. We were standing mere inches apart, so close that I could hear him swallow hard He looked down and saw the tip of my black blade pressed to his throat and his claymore on the ground.

"Booyah," I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. Behind me the crowd detonated. Once again they started to chant, scream and generally just make noise. I took a step back and let Salazar catch up with what was happening while I grabbed his claymore up. I handed the blade back to him, hilt first and couldn't help but grin an unseen grin. He looked me over for a moment before he took the sword back and re-sheathed it on his hip.

"Awesome fight," I said. "No hard feelings?" And then I offered him my hand once more. He looked down at it for several seconds while the announcer called out fight time and other what not. I almost started to think something was up before he clasped my hand in a firm shake.

"Good fight," he agreed, although his voice was much more somber then before.

"Something up?" I asked, a little concerned.

"No," he said. "But after the championship fight tomorrow let's get together for a drink at the Herring Bar. We've got a few things to discuss." I shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing bad," he said with a small chuckle, a bounce back in his voice. "Just a few things I have to tell you."

-

The sun had set an hour ago and I was dead tired, these fights really take it out of me. I stared into the crackling fire and thought about how I was going to defeat my final opponent. He was fast; impossibly fast. He seemed to even dodge attacks completely out of his line of sight, how that was possible I have no idea, but it worried me. I was a pretty good swordsman and I had managed to emerge victorious in the last eight fights, but this last one concerned me.

I had almost been swept up in the thrill of the fight and forgotten the reason I had entered this tournament until I had stood on the precipice of defeat while facing Salazar earlier today. I needed to win for the wellbeing of the others; my sister, Aang and Toph. They were the reason I fought, they were the reason I needed that money. We were nearly broke and unless I got the winnings we would be in very deep trouble at the end of two weeks when our rations ran out.

Katara may be the lioness of our group, viciously protecting the gang against any who wish us physical harm, but I was something else entirely. I was the one behind the scenes, the one standing in the wings not having the power to take center stage, unable to contend with the power of the benders. I was the intelligent defender, the one who drew on every resources and every sliver of clever trickery and planning to make sure my family was safe and secure.

Whether it was a physical attack, starvation, demoralization, or infighting that threatened my small and broken family, I was there to stand in its path and battle it back. I was their absolute line of defense. Not a thing will harm any of them as long as I draw breath. I have lost enough friends, family, allies and others who meant everything to me, but never again. I would use every strength and power at my disposal to defend them, fight with every ounce of energy, plan with every thought until my head hurt. I was the line, the one defense that will never stand aside and never fall.

It was right then that I knew in my bones that something was going to happen, that there was something to what Mouretsu and the cat had said. I felt the black thunderhead of danger rolling in on the horizon threatening my family, and I felt no fear. I was the line that would never fall, never step aside and never abandon them. I don't know exactly what is coming but I will be ready, by the blood in my beating heart I will be ready.

Suddenly something very warm and soft dropped against my shoulder. Looking down I smile warmly when I met the closed eyes a slumbering Toph. She had fallen asleep with a cup of tea in her hands, and although the tea cup had fallen to the ground she had unconsciously leaned into me. I just watched her for a while, watched the light of the dying fire dance across her lax features, watched her brow crinkle for a moment before she burrowed a little deeper into my side and drifted deeper into sleep. All of the worries of the moment slipped from my mind in a moment.

"We should all be getting to bed," said Katara from the other side of the fire where she was sitting on one of the logs we used as benches. To my left, also looking about ready to drop was Aang. Katara got up and threw a little water into the fire pit, drowning the last embers before she poked Aang toward his usual sleeping place atop Appa.

"You'll have to carry her."

"What?" I asked confused.

"I'm not strong enough and unless you want to deal with a vengeful and drowsy Toph you'll have to put her into her tent," my sister explained. Looking down at Toph I really didn't want to wake her up. But what if she woke up while I was carrying her? She hated anyone treating her like a kid, or like she was weak. I think I had just started to make a little progress in getting her to open up to me. I didn't want to ruin it. I decided to just deal with her and wake her up, but found I couldn't bring myself to disturb her. I looked up at Katara for help with a pleading expression on my face, but she only gestured to Toph again. I sighed; fine, but this had better not come back to bite me.

I moved as quietly as I could without bumping Toph who was still sleeping against my side and managed to get my arms around her. Then I lifted and was amazed at how light she was. Again I was reminded that even though she was tough as nails, she was still just a girl. I dared not tell her that for fear of smashing, size or no she was still a tough little cookie. She mumbled something in her sleep and squirmed around a bit. I had no problem holding onto her, but what if she woke up! She stopped moving, nuzzled into my chest a little more and with a sigh that prickled all the way up my spine drifted off again.

After she settled again I moved from the mouth of the cave toward where we had set up the tents, and made my way over to her stone crafted one. Falling to my knees as smoothly as possible, I crawled into the stony room and laid her gently on her tussled sleeping back. I took of the sole-less shoes she wore and put them to the side, closely followed by the bronze tiara that had been in her hair. After I made sure she was comfortable I draped her blanket over her and was just about to leave when I was stopped.

"Sokka?" asked Toph in a sleep slurred voice, squinting at me. I felt a cold wash cover me.

"Yes?" I asked hoping that she wouldn't be to mad. She looked around, seeing that she was in her tent and no doubt remembering that she fell asleep by the fire.

"Did you carry me in here?"

I swallowed hard, Please don't be mad. "Yes, I did."

"Oh," she said, and then she let her head fall back onto the pillow. "Okay."

I stayed an instant longer, just watching her slip back into a peaceful sleep. A ghost of a smile graced her face right before I left.

I slowly walked back to the mouth of the cave to make sure the fire was completely out and ended up staring up at the moon afterwards. The stars twinkled up there in the wide expanse of the sky, little points of light valiantly fighting the darkness. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and let it out in a hiss before I turned back and made my way back to my tent. The stars winked back at me, their light a reminder that tickled the back of my mind. My thoughts turned back to earlier, and really, only a single thought remained.

I am the line.

-

"Know what you're going to do?" asked Salazar just behind me. I was facing the heavy wooden door that lead out into the arena, back in my gray robe, and I had no idea what I was going to do.

"Win," I said as firmly as I could in a shaky voice. I had no idea of how to beat this guy. He was good; too good. He moved like a hurricane and cut in the space between seconds. I had always gone in with something; a battle plan, strategies. Hell, I may not have known exactly how to beat Salazar until the last minute but I had studied him and understood my own inferiority. This guy; this 'Senchi' was of a skill level so far above me that I couldn't even begin to stand a chance. I was going to lose.

Fear coiled in my stomach, but it was not the fear of a lost battle; it was the fear of months of watching the others hurting because I wasn't strong enough to protect them. I clenched my fists tight trying to easy the cold pain settling in my gut. I needed to concentrate. I would give everything I had in here, I will win. There simply wasn't any other possible outcome.

"You don't have to do this." Salazar said. He had shown up a few minutes before to wish me luck in the match. The finals were all or nothing.

"Yes, I do." I said, my voice as hard as stone as the uniformed Soudatsu official next to me told me to go. I pushed open the doors and the applause that had become the usual rolled over me. This time I didn't fool around and I didn't show off, I just walked, face hard and emotions controlled into the center of the arena and waited.

I looked into the crowd searching for the gang; for those misty eyes. Since it was the final match of the Soudatsu I was the main event. I had never seen the arena this full before, it seemed like the entire village had turned out. Thousands of faces stared and screamed and cheered, but I was searching for one.

A bit of a ruckus dragged my attention to the left. Looking over I saw a huge man, looked like Kujo's son actually; all hairy muscles and what not. And shouting at him for all she was worth was little Toph. She was tiny compared to him, but she bellowed horrible insults and jabbed her finger into his gut until he looked about ready to kill. A couple of his buddies came up behind mini-Kujo and tried to look dangerous. Toph had had enough; she kicked the poor mountain in the grits and continued to scream down at him while he held himself writhing on the ground. Kujo Junior's friends started forward and in an instant they joined their friend in similar pain. It wasn't the most dignified victory, but since Toph couldn't Earthbend here in the full sight of five thousand Fire-Benders it was the most pain she could give them while still maintaining our cover.

Toph spit down at them, scream once more and then tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before turning to the battle pit. Behind her Katara looked down her nose at the men on the ground, and Aang looked like he almost wanted to make sure they were okay. I smiled at the scene along with a number of other people. It was being taken as a pre-game show and I'm pretty sure not all of the cheering right now was for me.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the finals of the Ninth annual Homarnu Soudatsu." The announcer paused for a few moments to let the crowd scream a bit. "In the gray robes, wearing a white mask, is the rookie sensation that's tearing up this year's competition; the man without a name, the ghoul of the battle pit. Let's have a round for the Ghost!" I silently raised my black sword in acknowledgment and then re-sheathed it soon after.

After the cheering wound down far enough for the announcer to be heard again he continued. "And in the other corner, another rising champion, undefeated nine flawless victories in a row is your hero and mine; Senchi Maraw."

Across from me, the huge wooden door creaked open and my opponent walked calmly toward me at a steady pace. Completely unfazed by the crowd and the noise around us he focused completely upon me, his dark eyes drilling into mine even though it was impossible with my mask on. His hands were clasped loosely at his back like a soldier's would be; he even held himself like a military man. But he would look really out of place in a barracks. His face was pale and sharp, all angles and thin lines. His mouth was a perfectly flat line and not a crease marked his brow. His face was so emotionless yet perfect it was unsettling.

He wore a robe, but unlike mine his was obviously expensive and tailored. The shiny ruby red fabric, trimmed in a deep, almost black blue showed not a sigh of dirt or even use for that matter. It might really have never been used before today, every time I had seen him up until now he had been wearing different -albeit just as costly- garb. At his hips, in -also custom- gold plated sheathes were two wickedly curved scimitars.

He stopped a few feet from me and seemed to examine me, his long sandy hair dancing in the mild breeze. It was very unsettling, I felt like I was begin taken apart bit by bit and stored as a column of numbers for future reference. He never looked away from my eyes, keeping constant contact, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to blink. For several stressful and calculating moments we just stood starting at one another, we didn't even hear the ref start the fight.

Both of our blades were untouched, my arms were crossed and his still held at his back but we didn't make any move while we faced off. He looked curious, like a child presented with an unknown device. All of this I gathered from his dark eyes since his face still held no expression.

"You shook your last opponent's hand; why?" Senchi asked. His voice was carefree and light.

"He and I are friends. It was our way of saying that there would be no hard feelings no matter the outcome of that match." I replied, never taking my eyes off of him.

"When you defeated him, did he have hard feelings?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

I felt my expression darken, what was he getting at? "I'm sure. He was in the fighters' area with me moments before, wishing me luck now."

By now the crowd was getting antsy, wondering why we weren't fighting. But a slap of a surprise hit me when Senchi held his own hand out to me.

"No hard feelings, no matter the outcome." He said, his face still betraying nothing. I was stunned, but quickly recovered.

"Why?" I asked, letting my gaze drop to his hand for a second.

"You have fought with honor and courage thus far, making every effort to defeat your opponents with the minimal pain inflicted. I find these a rare and admirable qualities and I am happy to say I look forward to testing myself against such a worthy opponent. So, I wish no 'hard feelings' to come of this match."

I was a little taken back by his explanation, but I detected no deception in his words. I looked down at his hand once more as angry shouts and 'boos' started to come from the impatient people watching. Gingerly I reached out and took his hand hard in mine. The shake only lasted for an instant, but there was something very odd about this man. His hand was not clammy or sweaty, it wasn't warm or cold, it just was. I can't explain it. It was exactly what a hand should seem like, but too perfect to be normal. But that's crazy talk. Shoving it from my mind I put my head back in the game.

"Ready?" Senchi asked in his maddeningly calm voice, placing both of his hands on the hilts of his blades. "Attack when you will."

I slowly drew by black blade, much to the excitement of those watching. Senchi matched me move for move perfectly, drawing both of his blades in perfect sync with my own black sword. I slid slowly into my scorpion stance and Senchi followed me, dropping into a low-slung very artistic battle stance. One blade held high and just behind his head, and the other's deadly tip was pointed right at my left eye.

I moved in a flash, so fast that I felt the stress of acceleration on my ankles. I came as fast as I possibly could, but he never blinked or even flinched. I knocked away the tip of the blade pointed at my eye and stepped into his guard, hoping that I had the element of surprise. The air shrieked above me and I was just able to bring my blade up to deflect the slicing blow from his second scimitar. Almost immediately the blade I had knocked away initially reversed and came back at me.

It went like this for several psychotic seconds. I stayed in as close as I could, trying to unsettle him into making a mistake; but his attacks were perfect. Many times I would go in for an offensive and could have sworn that he set up a counter even before I started. Our steel crossed again and again, the tinny clang of metals was nearly deafening. But no matter how hard I tried to land a blow one of his scimitars was always right there, with the second already descending upon me.

We broke apart several times, only to slam back together like two battling titans. He moved like a fury, blades everywhere at once; a hurricane of unbreachable steel. And then I started to lose ground.

I felt the edge of one of his razor sharp blades nick my left shoulder an instant before I could move. The following cut split my robe from wrist to elbow on my right arm, a hairs width above my skin. I gasped in surprise of the pain of first blood, but I never broke stride. We clashed again, my warrior's instincts leading my hands and body. I managed to twist out of the way of his steel several more times before we locked into a vicious parry that sent both of us in opposite directions.

The next time we came together I was fighting my fears and trying desperately to hold onto the peace of mind I usually had during a fight. This time it was him that launched the offensive. I turned around and the flash of metal was coming right for me, his face still the immaculate uncaring mask even in the heat of battle, almost like a statue. I deflected the first dozen savage trusts aimed at my gut and managed to twist away from the next one, but the last attack pierced my defenses and struck my mask. I heard a loud grinding sound as the cold steel carved a long scar from just over the right eye all the way down to the chin where the tip of the blade slipped off of the dried clay and inflicted another wound this time on my chest.

My left hand left the hilt of my sword and went to my face in an instant. I ran my palm over the mask, relived to find it whole. But my greatest mistake had already been made; I had taken my hand off of my blade when my opponent was right in front of me.I saw the sun glint off of the side of Senchi's scimitar as it was thrust violently at my face. I brought my blade up, but it was too late, all I could do was try to dodge. I managed to move to the left, out of the direct path of the thin blade, but I still felt the sting of the metal cutting into the tip of my ear. Then I felt a tug at the straps holding my mask on.

Gods no!

I had moved, but not enough. The blade that had cut my ear hooked onto the strap holding my mask to my face and sliced through the fabric. I had been moving as fast as I could, trying to pull away from the strike that would reveal my identity. I had built up way too much momentum. I tried to get my feet beneath me, but I was so thrown off that I stumbled. My vision went black for a moment as my white mask flew from its place on my face and skittered across the ground, coming to rest against the wall separating the first row of spectators from the battle pit; too far for me to reach it without presenting my face to everyone. I completely lost my balance and fell to the ground, grinding to a painful stop on my knees, so close to the wall that separated the first row from the battle pit that I could pick out the grains in the wood. Mere inches between me and whoever was on the other side, and knowing my luck...

My heart pounded as I kept my face down and tried to close the mouth of the hood around my face with my free hand. I couldn't let the gang find out what I had done like this. I was defeated royally, on my knees, cut and bloody and only seconds from losing my only chance to protect them.

I was weak, Katara was right.

I listened behind me and was confuse to find that Senchi had not moved from the place he had stood when putting me into this situation. Why wasn't he coming over to claim his victory? Damn it, did he want to make it worse for me by making me give up?

The buzzing of whispers and questions filled the air. The audience was wondering what had happened. One of the thousands of voices came from in front of me, and when I heard it my insides grew cold and painful.

"Is he alright?" asked Aang. Of course, what was a great defeat if your friends and family weren't right there to witness it?

"I think so. It didn't look like he got hit to hard," said my sister, only feet in front of me.

"Get your ass up and show him what you're made of," shouted a small but powerful voice. I frowned, Toph? A moment later a delicate hand entered my eyesight from the top and held my fire-nation hair clip out to me.

"Kick his ass, Snoozles," Toph said fiercely, and I heard a gasp from my sister. I sighed, my head still down. There was nothing I could do now. I didn't blame Toph in the slightest. I would have had to explain my injuries eventually. Fine, let's get this over with. I slowly got to one knee, and then I hesitantly rose to my full height and pulled back my hood. The buzzing of the crowd became the roar of an angry hornets' nest, but I only cared about the reaction of three people. I looked up as fast as I dared and met Toph's eyes first. She was smiling that wicked confident grin that made me feel apprehensive and high as the clouds all at once. I took my hair clip from her carefully.

I smiled and curtly nodded to her once before I pulled my hair back and tied it into its usual wolf tail. Once I looked like myself again -at least from the neck up- I let my eyes move to the others.

Katara still looked like she was conflicted between feeling amazed, angry, frustrated and proud all at once. Aang just looked like someone had walked up and slapped him one good.

"Guess the secret's out, huh?" I asked still trying to hold a grin and failing miserably, my senses still locked on Senchi behind me. "Please say something."

The buzzing built and the hatred toward my own weakness boiled up inside me. I was weak, and I had failed. The crowd and the Soudatsu officials didn't know it yet, but both Senchi and I knew I was done for. That's probably why he wasn't attacking me right now; he was letting me have a few seconds of being a hero to the ones that meant something to me.

It burnt inside me. This was my only chance to be their hero, to be their strength. I was no great and powerful line of defense; I was a weak and scared little boy who couldn't even protect the ones I cared for. I was going to fail here just like I failed at everything else. My father had been forced to fight a war, and I wasn't old enough or strong enough to fight by his side. My mother they died because I wasn't strong enough to protect her. Suki is gods know where because I had been a weak, stupid boy. Yue had died because I wasn't strong enough. I was never strong enough, never smart enough, I always failed and other people always paid for my mistakes.

I could not watch the last three people that I cared about starve and possibly die because I was too weak; not again. I wanted to fight and get the means to secure the coming months. But when you are as powerless as I am you must give everything to gain even the smallest amount of ground, and even that was no guarantee that you'd get anywhere.

No, I growled to myself. I am weak and I am useless, but I will get the money for them if it's the last thing I do. It might not have been an entirely sane line of thought, but I felt my mind and perception lock into place like a perfectly crafted machine, clear and calm for the first time since I entered the ring. I am Sokka, and no force on this world will hurt anyone else I care for as long as I draw breath.

I was so caught up in my dark thoughts I barely noticed that my breath was misting before my face like it would on a crisp and cold night. It was impossible, the sun was high and the air was stiflingly hot, the sweat trickling down my back was tribute to that. Yet my clearing perception wasn't lying; my breath was still visible.

"Sokka, are you okay? You look really angry," said Katara when she finally got over the initial shock of seeing me in this costume.

"Sokka?" asked Aang looking a little worried.

"I'm too weak," I said in a shaking voice. But it wasn't exactly my voice, and it did not shake because I was scared, but because of something else I couldn't describe. It felt like my voice was shaking because there were countless other voices trapped inside my throat trying to be heard, a thousand whispers trying to speak.

"I'm too weak to protect you, to provide for you. I entered this tournament to get the money and now I am going to fail and your all going to pay for it."

"Sokka, we'll get by." My sister said in her motherly voice, her face now calm, controlled and ... forgiving. "Just concede the match before you get hurt."

She was forgiving me, forgiving me for not being strong enough to protect them. "I took half our money to enter this tournament. I can't lose." I said, trying to make her see that I wasn't worthy of forgiveness. Especially since I hadn't, and couldn't, forgive myself.

Her face fell a little bit in surprise, but she quickly recovered. "It's okay, you did your best. Now please come out, we're worried about you." I looked over to Aang and saw the same forgiveness in his face. I tracked over to Toph's beautiful misty eyes and got a shrug of indifference. Not a shrug on whether or not she forgave me; the shrug said that I should keep on fighting if I wanted to. I could see in her face that she had long ago forgiven me for taking the money and lying to them.

They forgave me now, but what about a month down the line when we were all hungry and there was nothing to eat. Would they still forgive me then?

Yes, they would, we were family.

That admission hurt more than any angry words they could shout at me right now. They would always forgive me without a seconds thought, because they would always believe I did everything in my power to protect and forgive them. I felt the hot sting of unshed tears of pain, but I refused to be weak anymore. I brushed them away, never caring that they froze on my finger tips.

When you're weak, you must give everything to gain a little ground.

I gripped my black sword hard in my hands, not caring as spider frost crept down the blade. I looked into each of their eyes, drawing strength. I looked at Toph last, letting the last of my self-doubt ebb away.

"I am the line." I whispered, countless voices echoing in my head. I turned my away from my family and faced Senchi once more.

His face was still emotionless, but now it looked different. It was like I was looking at a painting of a person. It was as if I were staring at a demon with the transparent film of a human draped over it. I pause for an instant, just staring at him. Since I had been a little boy I had always had these little feeling in fights telling me to duck or dodge, to move in certain ways. When I got into a great spar it was almost as if they guided my hands at times. I had always called it my warrior's instinct; at least that was what my father had said I was probably feeling. But now, they were stronger then they had ever been before.

It was as if they were waking up.

I heard the gang call from behind me. I heard them with crystal clarity and they were telling me to forfeit; but I didn't listen. I valued their opinions above all else, but I couldn't quit now. I would apologize later, but right now I had a championship to win.

I bolted at Senchi, my feet sinking into the hard earth with each step. His eyes went wide with fear for a spit second before I was right in his face. I dropped in under his first strike and managed to put a small cut on his shoulder to match mine.

His attacks seemed slower than last time, a lot slower. I deflected several of his thrusts before kicking his legs out from beneath him. I brought my blade down in a blow that would have stopped an inch from his throat just before he managed to twist away in a way that was impossible. My racing mind cataloged his movement with precision. If you knew anything about the human spine, he should have just paralyzed himself. Some detached part of my mind idly wondered what the hell was going on here. I followed him and was there waiting for him when he rose back up, using his momentum gained to bring one of his scimitars slashing at my hands.

I pulled back and let him get to his feet before coming in fast again. My arms shook with the shocks of a dozen fail thrusts and blows, but every strike was now being delivered by me. Poor little Senchi was barely able to keep up let alone put up an offense. And then he surprised me by bending his elbow backwards to try to slash at my left wrist. I dodged of course, but the strange maneuver on both of our parts ended up with me having my back to him.

I was facing the gang again, and felt a little flash of pride at the looks I was getting. It wasn't fear; it was wonder and amazement, the looks of a proud family. Suddenly I remembered that I had my back to Senchi, but all was still good, I had only spent a fraction of a second looking and Senchi was still lining up his next slow strike. My mind got back into the fight and I didn't have time to turn around to face my opponent before both of his blades started chopping at me like a mad lumberjack.

I was facing away from my opponent, not able to see him at all. But I heard the shriek of metal through the air, and the grunts of exertion from him and it was little effort to know the positions of his blades.

Calculations ran through my head faster than I would have ever thought possible, but I understood everything and responded in kind. My single, larger bladed sword whirled around my body in a tornado of blindingly impossibly speed, deflecting every strike Senchi executed with his twin blade. I could feel the smallest variations in the air currents when Senchi tried to send a thrust at my unprotected back, but I did something even I didn't know I could. I dislocated my shoulder and let my warrior instincts take over and made the parry before the distant pop of my shoulder going back in signaled my chance to turn back to face my opponent.

I felt my unnatural calm deepen, my mind so much clearer than I had ever felt before, and I stared unflinching and unsurprised into the cross shaped pupils of blood red eyes as he stumbled back from the force of my last parry. I came in fast once more, my eyes not leaving his face even when the writhing tendrils of what was once his hair appeared to my eyes. I knew in some deep part of me that only I could see this side of Senchi, the rest of the audience was still blinded by his seeming. The foolish child should know better than to operate in the open like this. He would no doubt compromise himself if we allowed this to continue.

I planted my sword between his legs and reached out with my bare hands. I gripped the hilts of his scimitars and tore them both from his hands and planted them blade first in the dirt before kicking out both of his knees. My uninjured arm shot out and I grabbed him by his medusa-hair and jerked straight down. I held his neck against the grounded blade of my black sword and I smiled. The sun seemed so distant at that moment, the world gray and clouded. Only he and I stood there, and I felt a profound sense of between. We were between heartbeats, between earth and sky, sun and moon. I looked at Senchi and I felt very tired and old, much older than I'd ever felt before in my life.

"You've overstepped yourself child," I whispered. Spidery frost clung to his neck where my fingers dug into the far too hard skin. For the first time his face broke into a true expression; one of awed terror.

To me it was an eternity before the world caught up to us in a screaming shockwave of sound and color. With the fight over my warriors instinct started to pull back and the demon under my blade returned to being the sharp faced man I had meet minutes beforehand. I was aware of the announcer declaring me the new Soudatsu champion, but everything was starting to spin around my clouded head and already what I had seen was fading from my mind. I desperately tried to keep everything straight, but I was so tired and it seemed so distant.

I released Senchi's hair and pulled my blade from the ground and away from my opponent's neck and tried to help him up, but I was having trouble feeling my fingers. I wasn't like they were numb, it was more like when you're falling asleep and all of the aches and pains of the day retreated to the back of your mind.

I looked over to where the gang had been standing and saw that they had jumped the barrier and were running at me, actually most of the first few rows of fans had jumped the barrier and were running toward me and Senchi, screaming and cheering.

Speaking of Senchi, I turned back to him with the intentions of shaking his hand in the spirit of good sportsmanship. But I couldn't seem to get my mouth to work and the edges of my vision started to darken. Senchi stood in front of me looking terrified, visibly shaking. He said something I couldn't make out and took a step back from me before tripping over his oven feet and falling onto his back. I asked him if he was okay and was about to help him up when something caught my eye.

On the other side of the arena two figures sat just in front of the barrier and watched me. One was that stupid, creepy kitty that kept trying to burn me or scare me into a grave, and she looked sad or upset about something. How a cat can look upset I have no idea, but she did. Next to her, towering over her tiny grayness was a huge white wolf, smiling at me with a slightly demonic doggie grin.

I turned away from them, my foggy mind hoping that I could outrun them until I saw the man standing as far away from the two hairy monsters as he could but still be in the ring. It was Mouretsu, and he looked happy as he said something to me, but I couldn't make it out. I was so tired, and the world wouldn't stop moving around. I stumbled, trying to get the ground to stay in one place. I saw the gang rushing toward me, red faced and screaming something right before the ground came at me very fast.

-

"Sokka."

Katara?

"Sokka, wake up."

Was that Aang?

"Snoozles get up!"

"Bloody hell," I cried as I sat upright, trying to figure out what was going on.

I was lying in a bed, a bed that smelled like sterilizing cleaners and medicine. I looked around the small room. There were four beds positioned in each of the four corners of what I now saw was a white tent. There were several carts of various needles, little jars of vaccines and medications as well as loads of bandages. On one wall -obviously, put there to also be seen from outside- was a large red cross.

Was I in a hospital tent, how did I get here?

It was then that I realized I wasn't alone. A grandmotherly looking lady, easily in her fifties gently turned my head to her and shined a flare of white hot light from her hands in both of my pupils. The light was a little painful, and as I still had no idea as to why I was in here, I was a little scared.

"Sokka, it's okay. She's here to help you." Following the voice I met Katara's soft and worried eyes. I let the old lady pull my head back to her when she tried again a moment later. Soon after she finished with my eyes she checked my ears.

"He doesn't appear to have a concussion," She said. Then she felt around my left shoulder, the one I had popped out during the fight. "His shoulder was dislocated recently."

Is he okay?" asked Toph. I noticed even she looked a little worried, and considering her 'I'm not weak' attitude she usually had I must have worried them quite a bit. Next to her Aang looked about ready to explode. Yeah, I must have gotten them pretty worried.

"He'll be fine, deary," said the doctor, not seeing Toph's look of annoyance at the name. I hardly even noticed when the doctor rotated my arm forward and pulled, but I sure as flaming hell noticed when a loud crack made me gasp in pain. "It's alright now young man, your arm was still a little out of place."

I nodded and tried to look like it didn't affect me, but it had hurt, I don't remember it hurting when I had popped it in and out during the match. The next thing I knew Katara was trying to strangle me. Not literally, though she seemed close.

"Sokka, you idiot! Why did you keep on fighting when we told you to stop!? You could have been hurt a lot worse!"

"I know, I'm sorry," I said rubbing her back and silently asking Aang for help. He came over and pulled Katara back into her chair.

"You really scared us when you passed out after the fight," she continued. I knew it was futile but I just kept telling her I was sorry and that I'm fine now. After about ten minutes of this she seemed to start to get it; and by then the doctor had said I was fine to leave granted that I keep my arm in a sling for a few days to keep the strain off of the shoulder and let it rest.

"I know how tournaments work," Toph said after the doctor was done with her work, and had wandered out. "We're gonna have a damn screaming mob on our hands. Could you two go on ahead and see if you could scout us a path of least resistance through the fangirls?"

Aang grinned a little, but there was something nervous in his expression as he looked at me. "Alright. We'll take a look."

He grabbed Katara's arm and she reluctantly walked out. Toph let her wry expression lapse into one of concern. Her unseeing eyes stared at where they had walked. "That was something else, Snoozles. I've never 'seen' anything like that before. I could only track you half of the time. It was almost like Twinkletoes; like half the time you weren't even touching the ground."

I felt a strange sense of fear at her intense expression and soft words. "But it was different, you know. With Twinkletoes it's more of a feeling of springiness, I guess. You… were something else. It was almost like you were there one moment, and not the next. I've never seen anything like that before in my entire life, and I've 'seen' a lot."

The suspicion in her voice was unlike anything that I had heard from her before. "That wasn't the strangest thing though. Right before you turned away, you said something to us. Something in a language I'd never heard before. It was so quiet that I barely heard it, but it was there. What the hell is going on with you Snoozles?"

It was the matter of fact question and tone that made me feel the worst. The two of us sat in a muffling silence.

"I don't know," I whispered finally. "I just did what I had to do."

I was very surprised when she smirked. "At least you ain't a liar. Okay, but there are two things. One, your sister and Twinkletoes are suspicious too, so watch out. Second, you know when you want to talk, I'll be around."

"Thanks," I said as I sat up. "When I know what to tell you you'll be the first to know."

"I'll accept that," she said, offering a hand and hauling me to my feet with surprising force. We walked back out into the daylight a short while later, my right arm in a white sling and their seemed to be no shortage of people wanting to shake my hand or get an autograph. I signed and shook as much as I could left handed while Katara and Toph growled at anyone who came to close or got too friendly, and there were a few of both. I was both flattered and a little scared at the number of cute girls introducing themselves. I shrugged it off as an after effect of my fifteen minutes of fame brought on by the championship. So I was as polite as I could be while Toph and my sister helped the fame seekers find their way to other places, sometimes with a little more venom then was needed.

Aang seemed to be having a little too much fun as he watched me battle through the crowd of adoring fans who had never met me but wanted to touch me for some unknown creepy reason. I guess this is what Aang went through a lot of the time when people knew he was the avatar. I could see how it could be a little bothersome, but he was enjoying this way toomuch.

Finally we had pretty much shaken the worst of the followers, although a few still trailed at a safe enough distance, mostly in fear of the two protective women. It is times like this -and I'm sure Aang feels this way too- that a guy just feels emasculated. I needed to do manly things again. I wondered if Aang wanted to arm wrestle and talk about sports?

"Good to see you're up and around, Rin and Shoji were very worried about you." I turned and saw Yoten in front of his little cart of cloths. The match had ended an hour before and he had obviously been attending, but here he was back trying to make enough money to make sure his little girls could get by. I smiled at him. I never realized we were so alike.

"Nice to see you again. Honestly, how did I look in there?" Almost out of my eyesight Katara gave Aang a questioning nod toward Yoten, Aang just shrugged also confused.

"I think Shoji is still talking about how fast you were, even Rin seemed to really get into it," he said. The he looked pointedly at my sling. "Are you okay, you went down pretty hard at the end there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. I guess I just got too much adrenalin pumping."

Yoten grunted a response and nodded, clearly thinking that there was more to the story than what I was telling him; but being kind enough to not pursue it any further. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Not too sure yet," I said honestly. "You?"

"Well, assuming that I can make enough gold by the end of summer, I was thinking about taking the girls and moving out to a Fire-Nation colony. You know like Ba Sing Se, or somewhere like that." He said all of this was a sly smirk, making me grin and Toph snort. Of course Aang and Katara were still completely out of the loop. Then an idea struck me. We needed almost all of the gold that I had won, but I think I knew a way for Yoten to make some money and for me to get a few of these fame seeking flies off of my back.

"Anyways, Yoten. I was thinking that this mask would just get in the way when traveling. Don't get me wrong, it's finely crafted and still functional, I just don't have the room," I said loud enough for the creeping horde at my back to hear.

Yoten looked a little confused for a moment, until he took a long look at the rabid pack of 'people' approaching interestedly. "You sure you want me to sell it to them?" he asked hushed.

"Yep, and you get everything- "

"I can't," Yoten said quickly, although still quiet enough for the mob not to hear.. "I may have made the mask, but you made it famous."

"I got a five hundred gold piece first prize; this one's yours my friend. Just promise me you will use it your get your family out of this place," I replied, grinning.

Yoten smiled widely at me, and nodded gratefully. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright, how much would you like for it," he asked, loud enough for the mob to hear. By now they were uncomfortably close and I could have sworn Toph was growling at them.

"Three copper," I declared digging the scarred mask from the inside of my tattered gray robes. We exchanged coppers and before I had even placed the few coins in my pocket the first bids were going in for the mask. Within a matter of a few moments the bidding had reached forty gold and rose quickly. Not too soon after that the enforcers appeared to keep the mob under control the bid passed two hundred gold.

Feeling like I should take my leave, I gave one last friendly nod to Yoten who graciously returned it before I turned and followed Katara back to our camp.

-

"Do you trust this man?" asked Katara as we walked through the town just before sundown, to go and meet with Salazar. I had told her the truth about everything, even my admission of being a Watertribesman to Yoten -she had flipped at that- and she had insisted that all four of us go to meet Salazar to see what he wanted.

"Yes, I wouldn't tell him anything that would jeopardize Aang; but I think he is a good man."

"Katara stop worrying, I met him and he was fine," said Toph, walking just to my right. My stomach jumped when her hand unexpectedly brushed mine, but I don't think I gave it away

The Herring bar came into view and my sister was still worrying about nothing, at least I thought it was nothing until I noticed the half dozen Fire-Nation soldiers milling around outside the bar. I shifted my shoulders slightly, making it look like I had been hurt in the tournament worse then I really was, weaker and less of a threat.

I must admit Katara was good, she continued to rant on about me being an idiot while her hands inconspicuously popped open the top of the small water skin she had attached to the shoulder bag she carried. I think she had brought some food in it, not sure on the reliability of the cuisine in this bar. Aang stopped talking and pretended to focus on what Katara was saying even though I could tell his full attention was on the soldiers. Next to me Toph straightened up a little and started to walk a little stronger. We all shifted into battle readiness smoothly without tipping off the soldiers; hopefully.

I could see no other threats in the immediate area, they couldn't really think that six soldiers could take up down. As we drew closer all of the soldiers snapped salutes and stood at attention. I froze and my surprise was evident on my face. I glanced at the others and found similar confusion. I looked back when I heard the crunching of dirt under boots and found that one of the solders had approached to a respectful distance.

"Mister Brenton, Captain Salazar is expecting the four of you."

You could have heard a pin drop right then. Almost as one we moved back to back, a four way defense of total destruction. He had said four, the only one I had introduced him to was Toph. He shouldn't know that there were four of us. I glared hard at the soldier, wondering what was going on.

"There is one person in the bar, and aside from the six goons right here there is no one near," whispered Toph from behind me. What were they playing at?

"Mister Brenton, Captain Salazar wishes you no ill-intentions. He is waiting inside and alone to speak with you on a very delicate matter. We do not mean you any harm." The soldier insisted, as I watched him with a critical eye. I could pick up none of the signs of lying, but I wasn't too good at it yet. He was telling the truth, or at least he believed he was.

I looked over to Katara standing on my left and Aang with his back to her, "Well?"

"We can crush them if they try anything." Top growled in her usually fashion and it took a lot of my will power not to smile.

"I agree," my sister mumbled, her eyes still locked on those on front of us. "We go in carefully."

Aang had no argument, so as one -still watching our backs- we walked slowly toward the building. The soldiers parted and backed off to a safe distance. One of them seemed to start with sudden realization and took a few more steps back, eying Toph fearfully. I was getting both interested and scared. I opened the door and stepped into the room before the others, stopping right in the doorway so that they couldn't come in until I thought it was safe.

The bar was small and dark, the kind of place you'd expect to see a burnt out man with no future drinking away his remaining days. The walls were papered in bad woodland scenery that was peeling off in many places. The booths were grimy and the tables in the middle of the room looked like they had been used as weapons in bar fights one too many times. The floor looked like it hadn't seen water in years and the whole place smelled a little moldy. It was the kind of place you'd expect an important conversation to be carried out in secret, especially since the owners had obviously been shuffled out very quickly not an hour ago.

Salazar stood behind the bar, in front of the rows of dusty bottles and the cracked mirror pouring himself another shot. In front of him he had built a long wall of empty shot glasses going from the empty peanut bowl to the clumpy salt shaker. It looked safe enough, if a little seedy.

I said so to the rest of the gang and after getting the all clear from Toph we walked in and approached Salazar.

"Brenton my boy!" roared the obviously drunk man. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello Salazar, mind telling us what you wanted to talk about?"

Salazar downed his shot and poured another from a bottle with the label ripped off before answering. "It sure brings back memories, seeing you all ready for a fight. It was the first time I had ever seen you, did you know that Brenton? I could have sworn you looked familiar the first time I saw you without a mask on. But it was her that finally gave it away." He pointed a shaky finger at Toph. "I thought you looked familiar, but you were the thinker behind the lines weren't you, it was the other three doing the heavy lifting."

"What are you talking about?" I asked as my left hand inched to touch the hilt of my sword, I could feel the fear rising in my throat like bile as he talked.

"I was just a Sergeant back then, in command of a small security team when we got handed our worst defeat ever. Some of the men under my command now were from that first team, but only a few of them might recognize you." He drank the shot he had poured a moment before and fixed himself another. "You attacked so fast and hard most of them never got a look at you, but I did. Of course I had to lie; how would it look for the security chief of the Drill project to have been completely defeated by two Waterbenders and small Earthbender and the Ava-"

I never gave him the chance to finish. While Katara gasped when Salazar mentioned the two Waterbenders I hooked my right foot under the chair right in front of me. When Toph stiffened as Salazar spoke of a small Earthbender I kicked the chair at him as hard as I could. And before he could finish saying anything about the avatar I had drawn my black sword with my left hand and thrown myself over the bar in a shower of shattering glasses. I landed hard on Salazar, pushing the air from his lungs but didn't stop there. By the time he knew what was going on I had my sword pressed so tight against his neck it was drawing a few drops of blood.

I turned my head just enough so that I could keep most of my attention on Salazar while checking on the gang. Aang had gotten what seemed like a broom handle and was holding it like he did his staff, Toph facing the door like a crouching tiger and Katara was right beside me, all of the water in her skin held between her hands like a ball of struggling serpents.

And then he laughed drunkenly, the raspy sound echoing painfully in the silent room. "I see you all still got it. But please know that you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh and why is that?" spat Katara. I agreed with her, but my attention was ensnared for a tense moment. The few drops of blood that had been drawn out of Salazar vibrated in time with Katara's voice, and there was no way she could be close enough for that to happen naturally. Shaking it off I turned my full attention to Salazar who instead of answering reached -slowly, as to not agitate us- into his pocket and drew out a white lotus Pia Sho in answer.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked evenly.

"This means that I think the war is wrong, that all of the people being hurt and killed in it are being wronged. This tile means that I, and my men are glad to see that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated by the people who want to keep this war going," said Salazar nodding in Aang's direction.

"If you even try to hurt them I will teach you everything I know about pain," growled Katara in a voice I had never heard her use before. I risked a quick glance over to her and was fearful of the hate and cold that rested in her once loving eyes.

"I have no intention of hurting anyone or turning you in. I am here to help."

"And how are you going to do that?" hissed Katara leaning closer to Salazar who actually looked a little afraid.

"I am here to help all of the people that are going to die in Ba Sing Se because of Princess Azula." Katara looked like she still wanted to gut Salazar but I shot her a look that said to hold back.

"Let's hear what you have to say," I said to Salazar.

"My squad, as well as many others, is getting reassigned in the coming week to Ba Sing Se to try to do something about the resistance movement going on there right now. Princesses Azula has been informed of this and she is also going with a small army of her choosing. Once there she will take full control of all armed forces and try to gain control over the people over any means necessary."

"And what are you going to do about this?" I asked, watching his eyes for signs of deception.

"Including me there are seven members of the White Lotus Society in my squad. We plan on losing our maps and leading the others on a roundabout path in the woods, never reaching Ba Sing Se."

"What is this White Lotus Society you're talking about?"

"That I cannot tell you about, I am merely a low ranking member; a master or higher is needed to induct new members and only members can know the secrets. But I can say that the tile you got is one of ours, and that Piando is one of our high ranking members."

I wasn't sure if I believed all of what Salazar was saying, but if it was true and Piando-sensei was a member of this society then I might be willing to place my trust in them.

"What about this resistance, what do you know about it?"

"Not much, we have no idea who their leaders are or what their exact intentions are. All we know for sure is that they seem to have a nearly unstoppable soldier that calls himself the 'Iron Titan'. He is on most of their raids and always shows up when the resistance forces are losing a fight. He wears a full suit of the strangest armor that anyone has ever seen, fights like ten men and no man has ever been able to take him down."

"I see," I said quietly. I was going to have to mull this over. We all had to decide what to do now. If Salazar was lying this could all be a trap, but if he was telling the truth...

"Let's go," I said, taking my sword from Salazar's throat and re-sheathing it.

"We're leaving?" asked Toph. Many questions were in those two little words, but we were not prepared to deal with the fallout of any of them.

"Yes."

Then I silently led them out of the dank bar, leaving Salazar behind. Once we got outside the pale soldiers who were no doubt listening to what was going on inside, snapped quickly to attention and stood proudly until we passed.


Tournament Saga

End


No, it is not the end of the story; there are still many, many chapters to go before we even near that.... it is the end of the saga. For those of you who don't know what a saga is; it's like a Chapter for chapters... it allows me to group events that span several chapters or more together easily... think story arc.

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Knight: Bet I caused a few heart attacks with that... huh Richard?

Richard: Your a monster.

Knight: So are you.

Richard: (sighs) Yeah.

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I am compiling all of the Sokka Chapters together into a separate story called "The Story of Sokka: Uninterrupted". I will be asking Richard if he wants to do the same thing with his Mai chapters... if he agrees they will both be up shortly with links on my profile page.

This is being done for those people who might want to read one of the characters straight through.

What are your thoughts on this? please reply in a review.


The Jade Knight - Richard Caine

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