Chapter 4 incoming!

Enjoy!

It is actually turning out to be a beautiful day outside. The sun is high overhead and the sky is almost completely devoid of clouds. The air isn't too cold nor is it too hot for comfort. It feels just right. And, despite the carriage's wheels hitting the occasional hole in the road, I find myself drifting off to sleep. I can hear Suki and Noriko chattering about something up in the front, but at this point I am too lazy to listen in on their conversation. Amaya and her daughter Izumi are sitting beside me in complete silence. I guess they are enjoying the scenery or something.

We have been on the road for a good two hours now, and we passed into a rather large forest that I had no idea still existed in the outer ring. It is a nice change of pace from the constant rolling farmlands that stretch on almost as far as the eye can see. The new environment also comes with the sounds of birds chirping in the trees over our heads. There must be hundreds of them by the sound of it.

My boomerang is digging into my back again, forcing me to readjust myself in the seat. While doing so, I let out a yawn that is a little bit louder than I intended it to be. It caught Suki's attention and she looks back at me with a beaming smile.

"Sleep well?"

"I'll go with yes," I reply. My legs are starting to fall asleep so I sit up and try to stretch my legs out as best as I can without standing up. I also notice that I am feeling a bit groggy. Maybe taking a nap wasn't such a good idea.

"Are we there yet?" I ask a joking manner.

"No, not yet."

Great.

My stomach growls a bit, signaling that it's hungry. I could really go for a fried sea slug right about now, I think to myself. Haven't had one of those in awhile. It will just have to wait until I get back. In the meantime, I reach into my coat pocket and pull out my good old friend Mr. Bottle. Amaya and Izumi both notice this. They both look on as I unscrewed the lid and took a shot.

"Suki, you told me this guy was gonna be smooth," Izumi said. "He's just a drunk."

"What?" I reply. "Come on now. No need for such harsh language."

Not that I am offended or anything. It's just strange receiving insults from a little girl. Then it occurrs to me that I don't even know how old she is.

"You should have seen him back in the old days," Suki says with her never faltering smile "He was a real activist."

"What are you talking about Suki," I jump in. "I can still be pretty smooth when the occasion calls for it."

She chuckles, "I think you need to work on your skills Sokka. They seem pretty rusty."

That manages to bring a laugh out of Izumi. So, she has a sense of humor after all? That's definitely good to see.

Her mother on the other hand seems only slightly amused, and Noriko? Well that is an entirely different story. At least my sarcasm is still just as strong as ever.

I glance over to Noriko to see her just sitting in the driver seat, eyes straight ahead and focused on the road. She's holding the reigns to the ostrich horse that is leading the way.

"You good up there?" I ask trying to sound as polite as possible. "You could take a break. I could switch with you if you like."

She spoke without even bothering to look back, "No… but thanks for the offer. Just go back to sleep… or something."

"Suit yourself," I shrug and relax back into my seat.

For some reason, she struck me as nervous, but I can't put my finger on exactly why she would be. Is she picking up on a vibe that I'm not getting? Maybe we are being watched. Slowly I sit up and gaze at the woods around us. If someone is spying on us then it would be almost impossible to spot them due to all the dense brush. It's in that very moment that I notice the forest is suddenly eerily quiet. The birds are no longer chirping.

"So Amaya," I ask trying to calm my suddenly anxious nerves. "Are you a fire bender?"

The woman seems surprised by my sudden question. She stutters a bit before speaking. "Well no. but my daughter is."

I look past her at Izumi who is giving me the arched eyebrow look. The girl seems suspicious of me for some reason.

"Well that's pretty cool," I say to her but not really meaning it.

I suppose it goes without saying that I'm not exactly the biggest fan of fire benders. After all, it's their fault we are in this shit hole of a mess to begin with. They had a hand in the destruction of nearly every single nation and the subsequent loss of balance in the world. It's only fitting that their homeland had practically disintegrated from the inside. They had it coming if you ask me. Of course, I don't dare voice these opinions out loud for fear of being tossed out of the carriage.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I do need the money that they are promising me. I need to stay on their good sides for as long as possible.

I start to ask Amaya how her and her daughter ended up in Ba Sing Se when Suki interrupts my thought process.

"Sokka, there is something I want to tell you, it's about your sister."

"What?" I ask completely taken aback. The look in her eyes shows that she is being very serious.

"She's not dead. She's alive and you are taking Izumi to her outside of the city. That's why I really wanted you to come."

I am completely floored by this revelation. A part of me wants to jump up and shout for joy, and the other half wants to scoff at the idea of my sister faking her death. Clearly, it was an attempt to get the whatever enemies she has out there off her back. I inwardly shudder at the idea of what kind of people she must be facing outside the city walls that would lead her to such extreme measures.

A pang of guilt swells up within me. Here I am wallowing in self-pity and drinking reality away with sake while my sister is fighting to stay alive every day. What kind of lousy brother am I? It's not like there's anything I can do about it though. If leaving this city was even possible, then I would have done it a long time ago.

A loud and sudden gasp from Amaya pulls me from my thoughts. I look to see her panic-stricken face.

"Look out!" she yells while pointing frantically into the sky.

I follow her gaze to see a flaming fire ball falling downwards towards the road just in front of us.

"Oh shit," I hear Noriko say.

"Go! We can make it!" Suki starts to raise her voice, but Noriko disagrees.

"No we won't! It's coming down too fast!" she pulls tightly on the reigns to slow the ostrich horse down.

I watch as the fire ball makes contact with the road directly in front of us. Flames explode in all directions. At the same time, I hear the shouts of what must have be a hundred of people. I turn to see them storming out of the woods from every angle with a wide assortment of weapons and their faces hidden behind different colored oni masks. They are heading straight for us with their weapons raised. Amaya cries out in panic and moves to cover her daughter.

"Noriko! Turn around and get us out of here!" Suki shouts.

Noriko gruntes in frustration as she pulls on the rains but the bird is too frightened to move.

"Come on dammit!" she exclaims.

I reach behind me and unsheath my boomerang. My heart is pounding in my throat and threatening to burst free. I am definitely not prepared for this kind of shit today.

In the next moment, a wave of people collides with our carriage, causing it to tip over. I land face first into the dirt and hear my boomerang clattering to the ground beside me. I look up to see Suki jump out with her sword at ready. She immediately thrusts it into one of the assailant's chest. A breath of pain erupts from the mask. Suki pulls her sword free, blood trailing all over the ground and dripping from her sword. She then spins on her heels and sprints towards me.

"Come on get up!" she yells while holding her hand out to me. I grab on and she pulls me to my feet. "Get to the carriage!"

She then spins back around and begins to slice away at another attacker. Without another moment's hesitation, I reach down, scoop up my boomerang, and run towards the overturned carriage.

I notice Noriko, Amaya, and Izumi moving to flip it right side up. The ostrich horse is jumping up and down, flapping its small wings in panic. I run over with the intent of helping them.

"Haaa!"

I spin to see a woman in an orange mask swinging a sword in my direction.

"Ahh!" I yell, barley dodging the attack.

She stumbles past me and I kick her in the back, knocking her to the ground.

I quickly turn around to see that the girls have finally righted the carriage and are beginning to pile in.

Then I see movement to my left. The women I had just knocked over had jumped back to her feet and now has her sword raised at me. I take a step back, boomerang raised.

Before I could do anything, a sword bursts through her chest. I look to see Suki grimacing as she pulls her sword free before throwing the woman's body to the ground.

"Go now!" She yells to me.

In no mood to argue, I turn around and jump into the back of the carriage. Noriko hops back up front and grabs onto the reigns.

"Move!" she shouts to the bird.

We speed of fast. Suki jumps onto the side of the carriage, trying to pull herself over the edge of it. I move to help her.

"Go faster!" she yells looking behind us.

I follow her gaze to see a black ostrich horse with two riders bearing down on us. The one riding in back is holding a bow.

"Noriko make the bird go faster!" I shout.

"It won't go any faster! I think it hurt its leg."

"Well, shit!"

Izumi tries to look up to get a better view but her mother pushes her back down. I watch in shock as the rider draws an arrow, pulls back on the bow string, and aims it directly at us.

Oh no…

"He's firing!" Suki yells as she pulls herself over the edge of the carriage. "Cover Izumi!"

A split second later and the arrow is fired. But her target isn't the girl. Instead it hits Suki. I watched in horror as it pierces straight through her chest before she can even react. Her blood splatters onto me before she collapses into a heap in my lap.

"Holy shit!" I cry out. "No!"

I reach down and put a hand over the hole in her chest to try and stop the bleeding. But the blood was coming out too fast.

"Put pressure on the wound!" Amaya yells out to me. She reaches over and pushes down on my hands with surprising force. But I can tell she has already lost too much blood.

"Who was hit?" Noriko cries out in panic.

But I ignore her, instead focusing on the girl sputtering and coughing in my lap. I can see the life draining from her eyes. And I am vaguely aware that the riders were still after us. They pull up beside me and then the one in back draws another arrow.

"No," I whispered.

My mind is flooded with that same word over and over again. No! No! No! , was all I could think. The woman aims her arrow at me. At that very moment, something inside of me snaps. I blinding rage explodes from withen me and taking control of my very actions.

"No!" I scream at the top of my lungs and snatch up my boomerang. Using all the strength I can possibly muster, I throw my weapon. It makes contact with the ostrich horse's head causing it to stumble forward. The two riders flip over it and roll for a good two hundred feet. My boomerang falls to the ground beside them.

All the other people behind us seem to give up the chase. After a few seconds of guiding us down the road, I see Noriko turning her head back to look.

"Oh no…" is all I hear her say.

I glance back down at Suki. Her clothes are drenched in blood as well as my own pants and coat. I look into her eyes again to see that they are completely lifeless.

"Shit!" Noriko yells out.

Izumi places a hand over her mouth and I can see the tears forming in her eyes.

"No, don't look," her mother says before forcing her to look the their way. The adrenaline is still pumping in my veins and causing my mind to frantically swirl around. I simply can't fully process what just happened.

That was when I notice a large caravan heading in our direction. A Dai Li caravan like the one I had seen a few days ago. We are still moving at top speed when they pass us by. Everybody freezes in their seats.

"Are they turning around?" Noriko asks. I look at the woman to see genuine fear on her face. "Are they coming back!?"

"I don't know, just go faster!" Amaya shrieks.

I turn around to look, and sure enough, one of the Dai Li carriages broke formation and begins to barrel after us.

"They're coming back," I said.

Amaya gasps in terror. Tears of fright begin streaming down her face again. Izumi just sits there with a look of pure shock. Noriko turns to look behind us and I notice that her face looks extra panicky. Quite frankly, I am feeling the same way at this point.

"I can't outrun them," she says. "I can't. I have to stop."

One of the Dai Li agents stands up from the carriage and shouts, "Pull over now!"

"No! Keep going!" Amaya is freaking out. But I suppose I don't really blame her. I am still on the verge of exploding.

"No! Slow down," I yell with the thought that we should be reasonable here. Maybe they won't actually arrest us if we can explain the situation?

"Okay I'm stopping," Noriko says. She pulls on the reigns and eases the ostrich horse to a stop. "Sokka pull out your transit scrolls. Everyone stay calm."

I reach into my other coat pocket with trembling, blood soaked hands and pulled out the scrolls. The Dai Li stop behind us and two agents jump out. Slowly and cautiously, they approach Noriko's side and assume fighting stances.

"We're Ba Sing Se citizens!" Amaya stammers.

"Calm down!" the first agent says. "Tell us what happened."

I can't find my voice. My mind is going about ten different directions at once. Try as I might, I just can't get my bearings on the situation. The agents are starting to get frustrated, as is Noriko. She is trying to make excuses but they won't hear of it.

"Okay, hold on. We are going to call for assistance." The first agent says. He turns to his comrade and says, "Go get the others and bring them here." He bows in agreement, but before he can go anywhere, Noriko moves first.

She jumps clear of the carriage and the next thing I hear is the sound of the earth rumbling beneath us. In the next instant, two rocks were flung towards each of the agents, impaling both of them in the chest. Amaya and Izumi both flinch in terror and duck down in their seats. A surge of panic rushes through me and I jump out of my seat and onto the ground. I watch with horror as Noriko summons a massive rock and crushes both the agents with a single blow.

She can earth bend? And what in the name of the damned spirits is she doing?

I stagger around the carriage, shuddering but trying to remain composed, and slowly walk up to her.

"What are you doing!?" I shout to her.

"Get back in the carriage," she says rather forcefully. But I don't listen to her. Killing these agents is an incredibly stupid move on her part, especially when they were just about to offer their assistance. Now there will a government investigation.

"Why did you do that!?" I shout again.

Noriko stomps on the ground, calls forth a spike made of rock, and aims it directly at my chest.

"Get back in the fucking carriage!"

One of the most pissed off looks I had ever seen appears on her face. Her eyes are burning with an intensity I have yet to see from her. I hesitate for the briefest of moments. I want nothing more than to fight this woman, but it would be unwise without any weapons.

"Sokka! We have to get out of her," I hear Amaya's trembling voice come from the carriage. "We need to get off the road."

Begrudgingly, I get back into the carriage beside Amaya. Noriko releases her hold on the rock spike and lets it fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Thankfully, Amaya had thought to move Suki's body back into the front, but the seat is still drenched in blood. I can hear Izumi's quiet sobs while her mother attempts to comfort her. Noriko gets back into the front and pulls the reigns. We speed away, leaving the two agents dead bodies in the distance.

One Hour Later…

I haven't felt this horrible in a long time. Nearly ten years to be exact. That was when I saw Aang die in my sister's arms after his fight with Princess Azula. This time though, it hits much closer to home. The woman that it turned out I still might have feelings for had just died in my arms. It's one of the most unbearable thing I have ever experienced.

I'm standing before her body as Amaya and Izumi prepare a rudimentary funeral pyre for her. While it is true that Suki isn't a Fire Nation citizen, the two are honoring her passing in the only way they know how. It doesn't bother me one bit.

Better this way than no way at all.

Noriko had gone off to find another ostrich horse for us since the carriage was too badly damaged to carry us any further. Whether she intended to borrow one or steal one didn't matter to me, but when she left, she left us here in the woods with Suki. I looked to see Izumi making the pyre with sticks that she had found in the woods while her mother is singing tune I don't recognize. I don't have any clue what the song means and I don't care to ask.

"Shit," I mumble under my breath. I can't take the sight of this anymore so I turn and walk away, heading deeper into the woods. All the emotions and memories of my time together with Suki are crashing down on top of me like a massive boulder that had just rolled off a giant canyon wall. I try as hard as I can to rid my mind of these thoughts but it's impossible. Instead, I just reach into my coat pocket and pull out the half empty bottle of sake. That's when my eyes catch sight of the blood. It's smeared all over the bottle, including the lid.

Her blood.

That is the breaking point. All the feelings that I'm keeping hidden inside of me suddenly explodes and I break down. Tears manage to escape and they flow freely down my face. I don't even bother wiping them away. Instead, I use whatever ounce of anger I have left and throw the bottle into a nearby tree. It shatters into a million pieces, the drink itself leaving a stain on the bark.

Stupid juice doesn't work anyway.

I take a deep breath and lean forward, placing my hands on my knees to will myself into calming down before Izumi and Amaya get a chance to see me. The last thing I need right now is their sympathy.

As I am recovering from my sudden meltdown, I notice Noriko appear from the trees. She is riding our ostrich horse and has another one towing behind her. Two of us per bird I guess.

"Sokka! Let's go!" she calls out to me.

As I trudge towards them, I see Amaya and Izumi mounting the second bird meaning I would have to get behind Noriko.

Wonderful.

We quickly mount the birds and then set off deeper into the woods. I take a parting glance back to the funeral pyre and see the flames slowly disappearing behind all the foliage. Eventually, it was completely out of sight.

Well, there you go. Crazy and unexpected twist number 1 is out of the way.