Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the last Airbender. I do however own this story and everything in it that isn't what I don't own. Wait… yeah... that's it.

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Rated M: Mature Content. Blood. Guts. Sex. Drugs. All the good stuff.

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Author: Okay, so now that I am not being crucified…

Aang: I don't think they meant what they said.

Toph: Yes we did. I don't want him gripping me, thank you.

Author: I didn't mean it like that!

Katara: Oh really?

Author: Ugh. Never mind.

Sokka: So, what is the deal with that big guy?

Suki: Besides the fact that he's huge.

Ty-Lee: I think it Kang. He was probably sent here.

Author: Hey! You're not supposed to know that!

Ty-Lee: You mean I am right!?

Author: I didn't say that. Just… ugh!

Hakoda: Anyway, how about we get to the story?

Bato: Seriously. I'm getting bored.

Author: Alright, fine. But I am so not done with this!

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Chapter 26: Island Getaway

Sokka, Suki and Ty-Lee worked out the finer details of his plan and then emerged from the lake and dried off.

"Okay, you know what to do. Wait for your time and be careful. Don't take on more than you can handle. If anything goes wrong, get clear and head back to the tomb." Sokka told them in parting.

Suki and Ty-Lee nodded and ran off in different directions, disappearing into the trees and quickly fading into the shadows. Sokka watched them head on their way before heading in his own direction, straight towards the encampment.

The plan was simple: Each of them would take turns showing movement on the outer rim of the encampment where the townsfolk were being held prisoner. When the soldiers gave chase, they would be lured into the woods and removed from the big picture. Sokka made his way over to the edge of the woods as quietly as he could. He may not have been the silent stalker the girls were, but he could get by.

Once he reached the rim, he scouted out the situation. Within easy distance of him were about six soldiers. If he were to show himself, those six would likely chase after him. Sokka could see the townsfolk huddled together in the center of the large circle. In the moonlight, it was easy to see how the soldiers could maintain a constant guard, even with some of the soldiers leaving the perimeter.

Sokka waited a few minutes to be sure the others were in place. He gazed up at the moon and his thoughts wandered to his last moments with Yue; he wondered how she was doing. Finally pulling his gaze back to the task at hand, Sokka closed his eyes and let them get used to the dark once more. He had been careless to stare at the moon like that.

Finally, he felt it was time to move. He threw a rock near one of the soldiers and started to shake one of the bushes.

"What was that?" One of the guards asked his fellow.

"Not sure. Let's check it out." the reply came. Two other guards came with them.

Only four were following him. Sokka swore under his breath and stepped into the moonlight for just a moment.

"You there; stop!" one of them shouted. Sokka turned and bolted into the woods. A quick glance behind him showed that he had actually nabbed ten of them. It was a bit more than he had expected; maybe more than he could handle. Sokka ducked out of sight behind a tree while his pursuers closed in. He made note of every tree and branch and rock. He needed to use surprise to his advantage. It also helped that his sight was adjusted to the darker shadows under the trees. The soldiers would be night blind for a moment or two.

As the guards past, Sokka clung to the back of the tree he was hiding behind. As the last two soldiers passed, he jumped out and tackled them both, throwing them to the ground. Their own momentum and the sudden change in direction caused them to go head first into a tree. They both lay still. Sokka stood and quickly gave each a rap on the head with his boomerang to make sure they'd be out for a while, and headed to follow his remaining pursuers.

Now there were eight; still more than would be safe to take on. Still, he didn't have much choice. His advantage wouldn't last much longer. Sokka dashed forward, deciding on surprise more than stealth at this point. His pursuers were spread about a clearing ahead searching the brush for him. Sokka dashed up from behind and before anyone even saw him had two more on the ground unconscious. One cried out as he fell, and the remaining six turned to face their prey. Weapons raised, they came at him.

Sokka whipped his wrist and launched his boomerang in the air, then drew his sword. The first man to approach him was holding a spear. Sokka sidestepped at the last second and brought his sword down, snapping the weapon in two before jutting forward and plunging his shoulder into the man's gut. He fell with a grunt and Sokka rolled to the right, just barely being missed by a sword.

Righting himself, Sokka brought his sword up and parried the next swipe and the one afterward. About to make a move of himself, Sokka ducked and rolled backward, barely evading a second blade from behind. With five opponents, this would not be easy. If only he were a bender… Sokka lunged forward and threw his sword between both enemy blades, blocking both. A firebender stood in front of him, between both enemy swordsmen. He was just about to let loose a fire blast and end Sokka's resistance. It was then that his boomerang returned and slammed into the back of the firebenders head, throwing him forward as it knocked him out. He was thrown onto the two swordsmen and distracted them for a second. Sokka used this lucky turn of events to release his sword and take out both of the swordsmen.

Now down to two, Sokka faced off against another spearman and another firebender. The firebender began hurling fireballs his way and Sokka had to keep moving to evade them. He did not find himself able to get close to the bender with the spearman in his way, nor could he handle the spearman with the fireballs constantly being thrown at him. Sokka took a split second to get his bearings and then ran at the spearman. The man gave him a menacing grin as he brought the pointed weapon to bear, assuming Sokka would skewer himself on his steel tip. At the last second, Sokka jumped into the air and grabbed on to a low hanging branch and swung over the spearman and landed on the firebender. Unable to bend, Sokka quickly knocked the man out with the hilt of his blade before rolling to his feet.

Now, with a single spearman as his opponent, Sokka made quick work of him. "Well, that was easy." He said to himself. Gathering the men all together, Sokka went around and made sure to not only break their weapons, he broke the wrists of the firebenders to keep them from causing any more damage. After a quick rap on the head to each to keep them unconscious, Sokka headed back to the camp. He only hoped the girls were alright.

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Suki had already dispatched the five soldiers that had come after here with relative ease. She was back in position and looking to grab a few more. A quick show at the edge of the trees and another six soldiers headed at her in a charge. These men must be pretty stupid not to realize what was going on.

Suki ran back into the woods a ways and then set herself. She was in her Kyoshi warrior uniform and the soldiers must have assumed she was simply an escaped prisoner. There mistake. Suki whipped out her fan and took the first opponent, a spearman, out by the simple expedient of catching his shaft in her fan and twisting. Disarmed, she dashed forward and dispatched him. The remaining four approached more cautiously. Sensing a threat, they decided to try and surround her. Suki was too smart for that of course and charge a swordsman, blocking his clumsy swipe with her fan and thrusting her palm into his gut where there was no armor. The man fell.

Another tried to attack her but Suki threw her fan into his face and then using his own momentum, threw him over her shoulder and face first into a tree. The remaining two looked at each other, and one turned and fled back to the main camp. Suki had not expected that. Reinforcements or even a general alert and the plan would be ruined. Suki dashed for the fleeing man and the remaining one made a grab for her. Suki slid under his grasp on the dry leaves that blanketed the ground and sprung up without missing a beat. She managed to reach the fleeing soldier and trip him up with her sword before he reached the edge of the trees. He'd shouted, but Suki quickly silenced him, and then turned to face the remaining guard. He was yelling at the top of his lungs. Suki ran at him and performed a throw Ty-Lee had shown her, twisting her legs in a way that brought him down on his head. She quickly began dragging the bodies away, hoping that she was not discovered.

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Ty-Lee had already taken out seven soldiers without even going into the woods. Once Sokka and Suki had pulled their targets away, she had decided to improvise on Sokka's plan. If she took out even half of the remaining guards, the remaining Kyoshi warriors could finish the job. Ty-Lee had led a group into the woods and dispatched them quickly, but decided to speed things up. She charged into the encampment and began laying waste to the soldiers there. Unarmed, Ty-Lee was a living weapon who did not need to rely on bending to get the job done. One after another she used her knowledge of the human body to remove the bending and/or incapacitate soldiers.

The Kyoshi warriors defended the remaining townsfolk when the remaining soldiers decided to use them as hostages. Soon, all the shouting died out and the last of the fire nation was taken care of. Sokka returned to the clearing with a big smile on his face. Suki arrived shortly after.

"What happened to following the plan?" Sokka asked Ty-Lee sarcastically.

"There weren't that many left. I figured no more would try to follow me, so I decided to just finish it. I hope that's okay." Ty-Lee replied innocently.

"Suki! We are so glad to see you!" one of the Kyoshi warriors embraced her in a familiar hug.

"I am glad to see you too!" Suki told her friend. "What happened here, Aila?"

"It seems that the fire nation found the hidden gap in the northern ridge and came ashore there. They took us totally by surprise, and threatened to kill our families if we put up any kind of fight." Aila told her.

"How many of them were there? And who's their leader?" Sokka asked her.

Aila frowned. "I have counted about sixty of them total, but I do not know the name of the leader. He simply stands silent watch over the men. A captain has been commanding the troops. He is really scary though, the silent one."

"In what way is he scary?" Suki asked her.

"He stands over 6'5" and is the size of an ox-bison. He has metal limbs and a strange eye." Aila told them.

Sokka had gone deathly pale. "He never talks, he's huge, he has a third eye and metal limbs… the scorch marks… oh no… it couldn't be…"

"Sokka, what's the matter?" Suki asked him, worried suddenly.

"It's… Combustion Man."

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"But we defeated him! There's no way he could have survived!" Sokka said to himself.

"Who is this combustion man?" Suki asked.

"I think I know." Ty-Lee murmured. "He is the best assassin in the fire nation; a mercenary for hire. He has such great control over his chi that he can not only firebend, he can create explosive blasts. We learned all about him in the academy. He had his own set of lessons; everyone was shown his works to be used as an example."

"Is he really that bad?" Suki asked, astonished at both Ty-Lee and Sokka's sudden expressions.

"You have no idea." Sokka replied. "Every time we fought him before the war ended, we barely managed to get away; we didn't stand a chance. The last time we fought him, we managed to get him to blow himself up. He killed himself! How is he still alive?" Sokka began to mutter to himself under his breath.

"JET!" Ty-Lee exclaimed.

"Now isn't the best time for that, Ty-Lee." Suki admonished her.

"No, I mean that Jet may be the answer. Jet was sent back here from the spirit world. If they could do that for Jet, why couldn't they do that for the assassin too?"

"You may be right. We need to be careful. Even without the rest of the soldiers, just by himself we may be no match for him." Sokka said

"Well, we have to do something!" Suki exclaimed.

"Even with the Avatar, a master waterbender, a master earthbender and I, we couldn't take him out. We were lucky the last time." Sokka told her.

"Maybe that was the problem." Ty-Lee said simply.

"What was?"

"You were relying on benders. The assassin relies on his strength and agility, that's true. But his main weapon is his fire blast. If you want to beat him, you have to get close so he can't use it." Ty-Lee told him.

"They taught you that in the academy too?" Sokka asked rhetorically.

"Actually, yes they did; how better to show strength than to show how to expose and take advantage of weakness?" Ty-Lee said truthfully.

"You know, she does have a point." Suki said.

"I know she does. That doesn't mean I have to like it." Sokka said irritably. "Alright, so we need to get close and fight the guy. Even if we could manage that and get past the guards, how could we actually beat him? I don't think you can disable him since he's so well armored. Besides, he's pretty fast for a big guy." Sokka observed.

"I can lead the Kyoshi warriors against the soldiers. You and Ty-Lee can get him all to yourselves." Suki told him.

"With both of us, we may stand a chance." Ty-Lee admitted. "What do you say, handsome? Up for a dance with me?" she teased.

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Sokka and Ty-Lee circled around the side of the village and snuck up close to the main hall. Ty-Lee had assumed that the leader would be there since when she scouted, it was the only place with lights.

While they moved into position, Sokka recalled what Suki had said before they set out. Suki took Sokka's arm and pulled him aside. Sokka had been telling the villagers where he had stashed the soldiers so they could round up the bodies and keep them out of mischief. The Kyoshi warriors were now armed and ready for combat.

"Sokka, please be careful. If this guy is as bad as you say he is…" Suki began. Sokka leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. She tasted sweet to his liking. They stayed that way for a moment or two before Sokka broke the lip lock.

"Don't worry Suki. We're going to get through this, just like we got through everything else. Just watch your own back. I expect to see you when this is all over. You can teach me a few more moves." Sokka assured her. He tried making it seem as if this was just another day on the job.

"Sokka…" Suki began. Sokka turned away and motioned for Ty-Lee to get going. He started after her. "Sokka! I love you!" Suki whispered fiercely. She hadn't known he'd heard her.

Sokka was jolted back to the present by Ty-Lee's hand on his shoulder. "That's the building there. When the Kyoshi Warriors attack, it will be from that direction. When the soldiers go to respond, that's when we make our move." She told him.

Sokka only nodded in reply. A few minutes passed and the dawn was approaching. Part of Sokka's plan was to face combustion man in the darkness. The sun would only enhance his already overwhelming powers. Shouts broke out as the Kyoshi Warriors began dropping fire nation soldiers. The men in front of the big building ran off with the rest. Then, from inside a huge thudding bespoke the presence of their target. The doors opened with a slam and combustion man walked out into the open. Even in the pre-dawn light, Sokka could see the pure whites of his eyes. Ty-Lee had been right.

"Ready?" Ty-Lee whispered. Sokka nodded. Ty-Lee climbed up the side of the building and headed over to intercept the assassin. Sokka circled around behind him on the ground. Ty-Lee waited for him to pass by her position and then she leapt down onto him. Somehow he had seen her coming, and managed to grab her in the air and hurled her into the wall of the building. Sokka shook the shock of it from him and charged at the combustion man, sword raised. He whipped around and slammed his metal arm into the blade, deflecting it, and then slapped Sokka hard with his other arm, hurling him against the far wall.

"Well there goes the element of surprise." Sokka muttered to himself. Combustion man was facing him and breathing in. Sokka knew what that meant. He rolled to his feet and sprung away just as the telltale sound announced the blast. The explosion missed him but it flung him off to the side with a large amount of force. Ty-Lee got up and began pelting him with her fists, but he wasn't even showing that he felt them. A quick kick from him and Ty-Lee went flying again. Her type of fighting would not affect this monster of metal and muscle. Sokka needed to come up with something fast!

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Suki led her warriors into battle and it felt like old times. The fire nation never saw them coming. Her warriors were quick and silent, taking them by surprise. Nearly half were taken down without even an alarm being raised. The fire nation soldiers were brought down in only a few short minutes. Suki just hoped that she was in time.

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Combustion man once again began to fire up his cannon, only this time it was aimed at the unconscious Ty-Lee. Sokka grabbed his boomerang and hurled it right into the back of the head of the assassin and he looked away when the blast went off. Ty-Lee was spared, but a home was destroyed. The sun was rising, and the blast was enough to decimate the whole building. Sokka thought back to what his master had taught him. Surprise your opponent; use the surroundings against him…

Sokka saw that the combustion man was facing him and getting ready to fire once more. Sokka sprung forward, getting as close as he could without coming within reach of those huge arms. The metal giant stopped his blast and moved forward to grab at him, but Sokka evaded the grapple and rolled under the giant's legs, slashing out with his sword as he came up. Before the giant could even feel the pain, Sokka was just out of reach once more. As the giant turned to face him, his leg buckled and he fell to one knee. Sokka has effectively hamstrung him.

Quickly, Sokka moved in and jumped to the side over his shoulder, slashing the shoulder as he passed. This time the assassin managed to reach out and hit him. Sokka felt the pain as the metal limb slammed into his side. He felt his ribs crack as he flew through the air. Sokka landed with a heavy slam into the ground. The wind flew from his lungs and refused to come back to him. He gasped for air, trying with all his might to feel normal again.

The assassin was unable to move from where he was. He was too far to reach Sokka, and too close to blast him. With his now useless arm hanging at his side, combustion man used his good arms to try and drag himself towards Sokka. It was this sight that Ty-Lee awoke to. Her head pounding and her body not much better off, Ty-Lee got up and moved to intercept the assassin. Sokka lay on the ground unable to move and Ty-Lee saw what would happen if she didn't act. She limped forward and rolled into the assassin's good arm, causing him to fall over.

Righting herself, she went over to Sokka and propped him up. She saw the blood coming from all over him. She tried to prop him up and help him get away, but the combustion man grabbed her leg and threw her against a bunch of crates. The last thing she could remember was seeing Sokka's limp form struggling to rise as she flew through the air.

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Sokka was trying his best to rise. The combustion man was almost in reach of him. Ty-Lee was lying motionless on his other side. Combustion man was about to fire a blast over his head right at her. Sokka was screaming in his own mind, trying to make himself move. It was all happening in slow motion. Ty-Lee was going to be blown to bits and it was all his fault. The blast was about to come out when Sokka felt himself grab something with his right hand. With all his remaining strength and the last breath he would remember taking, he brought his boomerang up and slammed it into the face of combustion man. The blast went off, and all faded to black.

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Sokka: You blew me up!

Suki: Oh my… SOKKA!

Ty-Lee: He saved my life!

Author: Okay drama queens… stop worrying so much.

Aang: I can't believe you brought back combustion man!

Katara: That cannot be a good thing. That guys a monster!

Toph: Ah stop your complaining. At least you get to fight a bad guy. I haven't been seen in chapters!

Jet: Me either. But that's fine. Just adds suspense.

Author: That's a good way to look at it.

Jet: I am going to see my freedom fighters again right?

Author: It's a possibility, but don't assume so. Longshot, Smellerbe, Pipsqueak and the Duke right? I might be able to do something, but no promises.

Zuko: And us? We going to finally face off against my father?

Author: Its coming, no worries.

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Author's Corner:

This one is a little shorter but a lot more dense. A mostly action chapter it is. So, raise your hand if you had a clue about Combustion Man being the villain here? Don't be shy now. No one had a clue? Good; that means I did my job.

So apparently someone thinks that I am all filler and no plotline. I really hope that isn't the case. To be honest, I am not a filler fan. Watching good TV shows, I dislike the filler episodes most of the time. I watch Supernatural for example, and the episodes when they are solving a black and white mystery, or just reliving the same day… they are good for the TV series, but not for a continuous scenario. Maybe a bad example, but I am not gunning for length. I am trying to tell a story from all the angles and with all the questions answered. I am sorry if anyone feels I am doing anything to the contrary.

I appreciate all the wonderful reviews, and even the bad one. It's a learning process after all. Keep it up!