Enjoy Chapter 3!
"You are now under the jurisdiction of the Kyoshi Initiative. The Kyoshi Initiative states that we are at war with the with the unlawfully established government of Ba Sing Se until it recognizes equal rights for every refugee in the city."
There is a slight pause in words but the voice is obviously that of a woman's, the same woman's voice that put a sword to my neck and presumably knocked me out cold. And based on the incredibly noble speech that is coming from her mouth, I would say that she is a member of the Kyoshi Warriors.
Perfect.
When I came to, the black bag was still over my head and I think I was still in the moving vehicle. But eventually, we stopped and I was led to some unknown location and forced to sit in a chair with my arms tied up behind me.
Another voice chimes in, also that of a woman's. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk. But don't do anything stupid."
Well I'm not sure how I can do anything stupid considering that I am tied to a damn chair. There is also the fact that I have a massive headache, whether it's from being knocked out or from my still ringing ears I can't tell.
"Will you just uncover him?" That voice sounds strikingly familiar, but I don't feel like putting two and two together. My head is hurting too badly and my wrists are stinging from the rope currently binding them tightly together.
"No, it's not safe."
"Just do it."
After another pause, a knife cuts through the rope on my wrists and a hand pulls the bag away from my head. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. All I see is a small and dimly lit room with about three dark forms standing about. One of them is casually leaning against the wall on the far side which is only about five feet away. I try to squint to get a better view of their faces but it's too dark.
"Hello Sokka."
The sound of that voice literally catches me off guard. More so than anything else that has happened in the past couple of days. I don't bother answering back at that point due to the shock.
"It's me Sokka. It's Suki."
I swear if my jaw wasn't physically held in place by bone and muscle tissue, it would have dropped to the floor, possibly leaving a crater. The voice came from the one leaning against the wall. It sounds like her but it just couldn't be. The hair is too long. I am frozen in my seat, unable to do or say anything.
"Noriko, get the lights," she says.
A moment later and a couple of candles are lit, casting a haunting glow around the tiny room. I can see her face now, absent of the typical Kyoshi Warrior face paint. Her hair has indeed grown longer, just a little bit past her shoulders. But other than that, she looks the same as before. She hasn't aged a bit it seems.
"You scared the shit out of me," I finally say. My words came out exasperated and breathy.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about all the theatrics but we didn't really have a choice. The Dai Li have been a serious pain lately."
I just nod unsure of what to say. But my mind is going about a hundred miles an hour trying piece together why she would come after me after such a long period of time.
"How have you been?" she asks. Based on her tone of voice, she almost sounds genuinely concerned about my wellbeing. I really don't believe that. Not after everything that happened between us.
"Fantastic," I reply in the most sarcastic tone I can summon. "I've never been better."
A small smile appears on her face, but a moment later, it vanishes. I'll admit this situation is very, very awkward and she must be thinking the same because for about a minute, no one speaks. The other warriors in the room shuffle their feet nervously, clearly picking up on the same vibes. The silence quickly becomes unbearable for me and I decide to say something.
"The Dai Li keep using that old picture of you for the wanted posters. I got to say, it really doesn't do you justice."
"What do the Dai Li know about justice?"
I can't argue with that. Her smile returns again and I can tell I had amused her at least slightly with that statement but it doesn't diminish my nervousness. To be honest, it's not just Suki that I'm warry of, but all of these women in general. Especially given their recent reputation. I suddenly realize that there is a chance I might not make it out of this meeting alive.
"So… what exactly do you girls do again?" I ask in an attempt to clarify what's going on.
Before Suki has a chance to respond, the girl standing next to her speaks. "We are the Kyoshi Warriors and we have enacted an initiative to fight for equal rights for every refugee in Ba Sing Se."
"Calm down Noriko," Suki says. "He knows exactly what we do."
"Oh yeah," I jump in against my better judgement. "I know you almost damn near blew me up in a tea shop yesterday. My ears are still ringing."
That woman Noriko looks genuinely angered by that comment. She marches over to me and practically yells into my ear causing me to flinch.
"We don't bomb. It was the government. It's what they do to spread the fear."
I look into her eyes, their hazel color judging every inch of my being. My mind lights up in recognition at her face. She was one of the original Kyoshi Warriors I had met all those years ago when I first set foot on their island with my sister and Aang. Though I remember her being much less… militant back in those days. I feel a sudden burst of anger rise up within me.
"Yeah? Well what about Ba Sing Se University?" I say vaguely remembering something about a terrorist act pinned on these same girls. It was unconfirmed of course but the government always tried to convince everyone otherwise.
"After the University we stopped bombing," Suki says in a matter of fact voice. "We started speaking to the people."
I scoff at Suki's words, partially because she openly admitted to the bombing, but also because of her assumption that their new direction suddenly excuses them of all their past decisions.
"They're joining us Sokka, even some of the old Fire Nation Soldiers."
I look up at her trying to figure out where she is going with this. "Are you trying to recruit? Because public speaking isn't exactly my best skill."
"You used to fight for freedom Sokka," she says, completely ignoring my comment.
"That was ten years ago. I'm a lot more successful now."
Now no one was amused by that comment. Suki just shakes her head in annoyance. She walks up to me, grabs my arm and hoists me up to my feet. I briefly stumble as I try to regain my bearings after suddenly being pulled forward. It never fails to surprise me how physically strong she actually is. As much as I didn't want to admit, a small part of me is glad to see her again. Though I would prefer it if the wanted terrorists she calls friends weren't also present here.
"Walk with me," she says before sliding the door open and stepping out of the room.
I follow her without question. We walk into what appeared to be a large building of some sort. It's completely empty except for the occasional piece of trash that litters the floor. It is also dimly lit, much to my discomfort. I glance back and notice that we had previously been in a small room that was tucked into the corner. The other two Kyoshi girls, Noriko included, follow us out watching my every move.
I reach into my secret coat pocket and notice that my bottle is still there. A bit of pride briefly comes over me knowing that not even the "esteemed" the Kyoshi Warriors were able to notice my secret sake pocket. Without hesitating, I take the bottle out, unscrewing the lid, and take a swig. Suki notices and the look on her face shows mixture of shock and displeasure.
"I didn't know you drink," she says. The disappointment in her voice is quite obvious.
"Yeah," I answered back. "It's not working. And don't pretend like you're some kind of a saint. At least I'm not a terrorist."
She sighs and glances down to the floor. I apprehensively look back at that Noriko woman to see her eying me fiercely and her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. The implication is that she will kill me if a make a wrong move. I don't doubt it. Her stare, coupled with the prolonged silence is starting to make things awkward again.
"So…" I say trying to ignore the woman staring knives into my back side. "Why exactly did you bring me here?"
Suki hesitates a moment before speaking. "It's about this little girl."
"A what?" I look at her surprised. "What about this girl?"
"We need to get her out of the city past all of the security checkpoints. And I need you to get the transit scrolls for it."
I am taking another shot of the drink when she says that, causing me to choke. Some of it manages to escape my mouth and onto the floor. It takes me nearly a minute to recover from the coughing fit.
"Seriously?" I ask, completely stunned. Transit scrolls? How in the spirits am I supposed to get ahold of transit scrolls?
Suki just looks at me, pleading me with those soft brown eyes. For some reason, even after everything, I still find them irresistible. She really is beautiful.
"Okay," I say shaking those thoughts from my head. "How do you expect me to do that? I work in the post office not the transit authority."
"I know you have connections with a man who monitors the transit officials, and he works under the table with the refugees."
"Who? Jet?" I look at her incredulously. Does she mean that deranged, brainwashed psychopath who tried to kill me on multiple occasions in the past? Surely, she doesn't mean him. But she nods indicating that I had guessed right.
"Um… connections?" I say. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I haven't talked to him in years. Besides, the last time I checked, the Dai Li still has that crazy guy on a leash."
It's true. All those years ago when Aang was still with us, we left Jet under the caverns of Lake Loagi with his friends. According to my understanding, the Dai Li recaptured him and somehow managed to heal his wounds. Now he is basically a brainwashed drone of the state. Why would Suki assume that he was working with the refugees? Was he able to break free of his reprograming? That would be news to me.
"Maybe he is crazy," Suki says. "But it's a risk we have to take."
"It's a risk you can't afford."
"Listen Sokka." She moves to stand mere inches from my face. I take a step back, the close proximity making me anxious. She takes another step forward. "We have money. I know you need it."
"What are you talking about? I don't need your stupid money."
Her reaction to that isn't anything like I was expecting. Maybe some kind of a reprimand, a cold stare, or a long exasperated sigh is what I am anticipating. Instead she decides to lean forward and kiss me. I was caught entirely off guard. I then find myself surprised that I don't immediately break away. I notice Noriko and the other girls off to the side tense up. Clearly they weren't expecting this either. Suki finally pulls back and ran a hand nervously through her hair. I notice her cheeks were slightly red, and I imagine mine were too based on how warm my face feels. In all honesty, I think I kind of enjoyed that.
"Wow, uh… that was -" is all I am able to say.
"I'll give you two days," Suki says. "I hope you make the right choice."
Needless to say, I am pretty much convinced.
Later…
About thirty minutes later I am back in the carriage thing with a black sack over my head… again. Noriko and another girl are sitting on either side of me. The former of which is spouting all of this crap into my ear.
"This never happened," She says in a menacing tone. "You best watch your back because we will be watching it."
I sighed inwardly. This girl is incredibly skilled at pulling on my strings and I am about fed up with it. I decide not to say anything though in the event that she finds my opinion of her unsatisfactory and gives me another blow to the head.
"When you go to work, when you go to sleep, when you take a piss we will be watching."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll enjoy that show," I say, my instincts getting the better of me.
The girl on the other side of me starts to laugh out loud but she is cut short by what I assume to be Noriko's death glare.
"It was Suki's idea to bring him here," I hear another voice speak up. "She is putting us at great risk."
"Enough Eshima," Noriko responds. "I've known her a long time. We need to trust in her leadership."
That exchange piques my interest. It sounds like there is some doubts amongst the ranks of the warriors. I don't get a chance to ponder this further when Noriko's voice speaks up again.
"So, you know about the money we can offer you," she says. "If you change your mind, then pins this leaflet to the notice board at the Firelight Fountains and we will do the rest."
I feel her slipping a sheet of folded paper into my hands. The texture felt rough and weathered on my fingertips.
Eventually we stop and I am thrown out of the carriage thing and onto the wet ground. The black sack is removed from my head and I come face to face with Noriko. To my surprise, her expression seems to be much more neutral than usual, but it quickly vanishes in an instant.
"Don't do anything stupid," she says sternly before getting back into the carriage. The Kyoshi girl up front pulls on the reigns and they speed away, leaving me alone in what appears to be the lower ring of the city.
And it was raining.
I look down and unfold the paper in my hands to see a picture of an armadillo-dog. Below it are characters that say "Lost. If found, please return."
I let out a sigh before folding the paper into my pocket.
The Next Day…
I waste no time making arrangements to meet with Jet. It isn't really that difficult considering that we had known each other in the past. In the days of the resistance, he was instrumental in getting the movement off its feet by supplying us with intelligence from the government. Of course, everything turned sour when it was discovered he was a double agent that would alert the government to our activities. That, along with several major losses on other fronts, propelled the resistance to radicalize its ideology before splitting into many different factions and leading them to fight amongst themselves. Jet received a promotion after that.
In the years following my drop out from the resistance, Jet and I had fairly hostile relations, at least from my end. He still wanted to keep things cordial between us, but I made an effort to avoid him at all costs. Now, I am willingly throwing myself back into the fire thanks to my crazy ex-girlfriend.
Before I know it, I have a meeting set up with Jet that very afternoon.
I manage to get myself out of work again today so I can make my way over to the Office of Transit Affairs. This time, I make sure to take my boomerang with me in the event I get ambushed again. The streets are filled with the usual trash heaps and gloomy pedestrians but today has something new. As I stroll down the sidewalk, I notice a significantly large group of ex-Fire Nation soldiers have formed together in the streets as some sort of a repentance thing. Many hold up posters with characters that read "The Plague Is Our Fault!" while a man, who I assumed is their leader, is standing on a makeshift stage ranting on about how they have sinned and the spirit of Agni is punishing them. It takes me nearly an hour to work my way through the crowds. It's a good thing I decided to leave my apartment earlier than usual.
Unfortunately, no drinks are allowed inside of the building and they manage to find my secret bottle and my boomerang when they pat me down. As a result, I am forced to leave my items at the security desk. I make my way up to the second story of the building and find the door with title plastered onto it reading "Manager of Transit Affairs."
After releasing a nervous sigh, I knock on the door.
After a few brief seconds, it slides open and I am greeted by Jet's face. A smile appears on his face, causing a chill to run own my spine.
"It's good to see you Sokka. Long time no see," he says.
"Good to see you too," I say lying through my teeth at him.
He walks to his desk and takes a seat before motioning for me to sit across from him. I oblige, well aware of the uncomfortable silence between us.
"So what brings you to my office?" he asks inquisitively after a few seconds. He seems as though he is scanning my whole body just looking for something suspicious or out of place. I reach into my thoughts, going over the story I have fabricated in my head on the way over here.
"Well the thing is, I met this girl," I say.
"Cute?"
"Yes."
"Is it serious?"
"Very."
He leans forward in his seat, his eyes boring into my own eye sockets. I know he is analyzing my every word, trying to find anything that seems out of place.
"That's great and all," he says. "But I don't think you came all the way over here to discuss your personal life with me."
He is being rather forceful. But then again, brainwashed government officials aren't exactly known for their patience. Unfortunately, there is no turning back at this point, so I power through.
"She has a brother," I say doing my best to mask my nervousness. "He lives in a village next to the city wall and she hasn't seen him for about a year. He's very sick now. I don't think he is going to make it."
"That's a bummer. Does he have the plague?"
"I don't know."
Jet shakes his head before seeming to lose himself in thought. I continue to speak unabated.
"I was wondering if I could get her transit scrolls to the outer wall."
"Transit scrolls? Wow that's quite a favor." He stifles a laugh but his stare continues to pierce right through me. He doesn't seem like he's buying it. I knew this was too much of a risk but I have no choice but to keep going.
"It will be the only thing I will ever ask of you."
A long minute of silence passes as Jet is contemplating his options. At least I assumed that's what he is doing. He is sitting there like a mindless statue still looking right at me and it is really starting to creep me out. I begin to glance around the room to find all the possible exit points. I may need to make a quick escape.
"I'll see what I can do," Jet says suddenly.
"Oh, okay," I reply. I know I should probably be feeling a flood of relief coming over me right about no, but it isn't happening. Jet is no doubt suspicious. "Thanks man."
"Maybe after all this, you can finally forgive me," he says with a smile. I resist the urge to scoff at the idea of giving this guy such a wish.
A couple of hours later and I am still having trouble believing what had gone down in that office. Why was Jet so willing to give me transit scrolls? Is he still in the double agent business? Or does he really just want to clear the air between us? Though I suppose it doesn't really matter. Either way I've managed to get myself involved in illegal activities just like the good old days of harassing the Fire Nation in every way possible. Only this situation is different and potentially much more dangerous.
Once I finally got a hold of the transit scrolls the next day, I make my way over to the old Firelight fountain and pin the lost animal poster to the notice board. After that I briefly glance around the fountain square to see if anybody is obviously watching me, but there are too many crowds of people. Several minutes pass before I shrug casually to myself and then make my way to work.
Later…
"You know it's past the curfew, right?" Noriko's voice startles me as I slide my apartment door closed.
I nearly jump out of my skin and whirl around to assume a crude fighting stance. She is propping herself up against my far wall near the window. The light from my lamp illuminating her in an eerie fashion. I silently curse myself for not noticing the light through cracks in my door. She merely shakes her head in disbelief.
"What are you doing in here?" I say unwilling to back down.
"I'm waiting here so that you can give me what we asked of you," she replies. "I've been waiting for hours, and hours, and hours..."
"I was at the bar," I say. I must admit that I am slightly amused that I have apparently kept her waiting. I lower my stance before making my way over the desk and setting down my personal items while making sure to keep a wary eye on her.
"Why didn't you just meet me there?" I ask her.
"That's a public place. You really expect me too… ahhh!" She lets out a frustrated huff and pushes herself off the wall. "Just give me the damn scrolls."
I silently reach into my coat pocket and pull out the transit scrolls. She snatches them from my hand and reads them over. I shuffle my feet anxiously in the silence. It feels kind of weird being alone in my room with this woman. If she has the same feelings, then she is doing a fantastic job of not showing it. After a moment, she speaks.
"These are joint transit scroll."
"I know. It's all he would give to me."
The joint scroll basically means I will have to escort this girl to the outer wall myself. I don't exactly care too much for that idea. The trip will take at least another day and I can't afford to skip out on work again.
"Will you do it?" she asks.
I think about this some more. Maybe I can use this to my advantage?
"Only if you're willing to pay me a little extra," I say.
She nods her head in agreement before putting the scrolls away.
"Meet me at the southern tram station tomorrow morning when the sun first appears over the city walls."
It is my turn to nod. Noriko turns and starts to walk away but she stops just before reaching my door.
"Suki thinks very highly of you by the way."
"Does she now?"
Noriko shrugs and opens my door, and then steps out of my apartment. Another moment later and she shuts the door behind her.
So, it's all set now. In just a couple of hours I will be off on an entirely unexpected adventure to the outer wall of Ba Sing Se and back again.
Later…
The next morning starts off the same way as every other morning. It consists of waking up and crawling out of bed with a serious hangover. I get myself dressed in the same way as every morning prior, put on my dark green Earth Kingdom coat, and put my hair in the good old-fashioned wolf tail. When I leave my apartment building I flip the bird at the same old homeless man who always sits in the same spot on the side walk and who always feels the need to flip the bird at me first. Just routine.
I almost walk into a tea shop for some headache relief but I quickly decide that was a bad idea. Instead I just make my way to the southern tram platform and wait. It's still a little dark outside and the air is chilly enough to make my nose sting every time I breathe in. It's nowhere near as cold as the South Pole obviously, but it is just enough to hit my level of discomfort. The mixed smell of trash and smoke from the tram isn't doing much to improve the atmosphere.
Soon the sun is rising up over the inner wall and there is still no sign of Noriko anywhere. For brief minute, I entertained the idea that this whole thing was a setup or some kind of elaborate practical joke. I quickly disregard the notion and decide to hang out in the station for a little bit longer
"Good, you're here." Noriko's voice appears from behind me. I spin to see her already walking towards a newly arrived tram. "We better get going now," she says.
"You really enjoy sneaking on me don't you," I hurry after her.
A brief flash of a smile appears on her face before disappearing in the next instant. She turns away from me clearly trying to hide her expression. I can't help but feel a bit of pride at her reaction but I don't let it show.
"We are meeting Suki at the inner wall station," she says, after composing herself. "She is waiting outside the station with the girl and the girl's mother."
"Sounds like a plan," I say nervously.
I'll admit I am a little anxious about this. After all it has been awhile since I've been involved in illegal activities. As we board the tram, we both make sure to sit on opposite sides as to not draw any attention to ourselves. After waiting for the remaining people to get on board, we depart from the station.
Later…
"Hey Sokka." A surprisingly bright smile appears on the not so surprisingly beautiful face on the woman in front of me. She is leaning against a wall a couple of meters away with her arms folded casually across her chest. Her long hair, which I still haven't grown accustomed to yet, is lightly draped over and around her shoulders. The Kyoshi makeup and outfit are absent just as before. Noriko had gone ahead of us to meet with the girl and her mother, I'm guessing to prepare them for departure.
"How's it going Suki?" is all I wanted to say at the moment. Even with her stunning looks, I'm still having a hard time separating the woman from her past actions. I don't exactly desire having a friendly conversation with her at the moment. Instead, I'm on a quest for answers that is much more pressing.
She pushes off the wall and makes her way towards me, the smile still lighting up her face. "Not too bad considering the dangerous nature of the situation."
When I don't return a smile, Suki furrows her brow and turns to head in the same direction Noriko had gone before I have a chance to say anything else.
"Wait Suki, hold up a sec," I say, stopping her in her tracks. "I don't even know what's going on here."
She hesitates and lets out a frustrated sigh.
"I'll explain it to you later."
"No," I reach forward and put a hand on her shoulder. It was warm to the touch. A small and long forgotten feeling of tenderness rises up inside of me but I quickly suppress it. Old feelings don't go away easily, do they? This whole thing may have been a really bad idea. I sigh and turn her to face me.
"Just look at me Suki. You know I can't stand going into something dangerous without a plan. Tell me what's up."
She doesn't make eye contact with me. In fact, she isn't even looking in my direction. Something is seriously eating away at her from the inside and I have no idea why. She is hiding something.
"Why did you come to me for transit scrolls?" I ask her in a slightly tenser tone of voice. "You could have found another way to get them."
"Yeah probably, but I trust you." The smile returns on her face, though it wasn't as big as before. She turns and starts walking into a tunnel that I guess leads to our destination. I follow her through this dark and damp tunnel. Everything smells rotten down which didn't surprise me one bit.
"So what happens afterwards?" I ask trying to distract myself from the smell.
"We'll take the tram back. It will be safer."
"No, I mean what happens to us?" I am dying to know the answer to this question. Even with the things she has done, even with all the chaos and destruction that I have no doubt she played a part in over the years, our new encounters are bringing up too many old feelings in me. I don't know if I can bear the idea of her leaving my life again. We simply have too much history. Suki looks my way and stops again. She seems to be fumbling over the right words to say. I have a suspicion that she feels the same way about me.
"I don't know," is all she says.
Instead of continuing onward though she leans forward and gives me another kiss. Once again it catches me off guard, but I don't reject it. It doesn't make me feel any better though. If anything, it has only made me even more confused.
She soon pulls away from me with a light blush visible on her cheeks. She then awkwardly coughs into her hand before walking away. I stand there speechless for a moment before following her.
A couple of minutes later and we clear the tunnel, finally free of that toxic smell. Noriko is waiting just outside with a medium sized open-topped carriage and an impatient look on her face. She nods her head in acknowledgment of me though, which is probably the nicest thing she has done to me so far.
"So I assume we have a plan here?" I ask with little hope of getting an answer.
"Yes," Noriko replied. "We will take you as far as the Yang Xi checkpoint by the rice fields. After that you and the girl are on your own. Go to Kashi Village near the outer wall, we have people there who can smuggle her out."
Wow, today is certainly full of surprises. Someone actually gave me the gist of what was going on instead of dragging me around in the darkness like a blind lemur dog. Noriko makes her way around to the side of the carriage and opens the door for me to get in. I step into the vehicle and take a seat. Beside me is a woman slightly older than I am and on the other side of her is a young girl. She couldn't have been older than ten. What really stands out to me though is that they were both wearing Fire Nation clothing.
Suki climbs into the seat in front of me and Noriko sits beside her, taking hold of the reigns. Before setting off she turns to look at us in the back.
"Sokka that's the girl, her name is Izumi. And this is her mother Amaya."
"Hi how's going?" I try put on a friendly expression to greet Amaya but she only gives me a nervous nod. I nod back to her and then focus on Izumi.
"So what did you do? Rob a bank?" I joke.
"Shut up," she says to me with more venom than I expected. No one, not even Suki seemed to be amused by my comment. I slowly and awkwardly ease back into my seat. So, it turns out I'm traveling with people who lack sense of humor.
This is going to suck.
Noriko just rolls eyes and turns back to the front before pulling on the reigns. And with that we set off on our wonderful and completely humorless journey.
(2018 EDIT) I guess all the stuff i said below still stands. Boy, if I thought this chapter was difficult to write back in the day then I was in no way prepared to actually finish this story. I do want to point out the my character was named Izumi well before the Legend of Korra came out. She is in no way affiliated with Prince Zuko.
This was a very difficult chapter to write with so many different things going on but I hope I nailed it decent enough. As a little fun fact, I would like to point out that there were more words in this chapter than the first two combined.
This was inspired by The Serpents Pass episode and how the Kyoshi Warriors helped out the refugees with the absence of their uniforms and such.
I would seriously like some more reviews though. I don't care if it's positive or negative, I just want to know how I'm doing and how I can improve this story. Your opinion counts!
I would also like to warn everyone that things are going to get pretty crazy after this chapter. Just to let you know.