Ch.14 Battle of 2 Lovers:Sokka vs. Suki
Sokka ignored the pain in his shoulder as he struggled to evade Suki's attacks. Long Feng was truly cruel. He had to know that it would be difficult, if not impossible for Sokka to bring himself to hurt Suki, even to stop her. He viewed the proceedings with a twisted grin on his face. Suki took Sokka down with a foot sweep, and moved to press her advantage. He was just barely able to roll out of the way as she attempted to jump knees-first on his sternum. "What is the point of this?" he angrily demanded of Feng. Feng laughed. "It's simple. I want control back," he explained. He raised his hand, causing Suki to temporarily cease her attacks. "Since you won't be leaving here alive, I don't see any harm in telling you the plot," he said. Sokka just glared at him.
"You want control of Ba Sing Se," Sokka replied, trying to catch his breath. Feng shook his head. "No, dear boy. Do you think I would go to this trouble if all I wanted was Ba Sing Se?" He laughed at the confused look on Sokka's face. "I want the whole world under my grasp." Sokka quickly came to a frightening realization. "You're controlling the council. You set up this marriage law," he accused. He wanted to rush the chair Long Feng was sitting in, but he was sure Suki would intervene. "You're not as dumb as you look," Feng said with a laugh.
Katara knew that there was only one way she could hope to win this battle. There was only one technique in her possession, a technique she'd only used twice before, and had promised herself she would never use again. And it could only be used on a night like tonight, when the moon was full and a water bender was at their most powerful. Bloodbending. She hated to use it. She didn't even want to know it. But the situation was desperate. All she could hope to accomplish without it would be to hold off her opponent's attacks. She was outnumbered, and she didn't know how long she'd last before being overwhelmed.
She focused her energy. Two of the Dai Li agents suddenly found themselves unable to move, the rocks they were attempting to bend falling at their feet. They didn't even have time to look frightened before Katara forced them to run into trees, knocking them unconscious. The third tried to run, but didn't make it more than two steps before Katara had him in her grasp. "What have you done to me?" he asked. It was clear that he was in a lot of pain. "It's called bloodbending," Katara answered grimly. She turned him around to face her. "Now, you are going to take me to Long Feng's hideout. Any tricks, and I will kill you." She released her hold, and he was able to move his own body again. She formed an ice dagger and pressed it to his back. "Lead the way," she ordered.
Aang was deep in thought as he flew. He hated what he'd done today. He never wanted to strip Toph of her bending, but there was no choice. As he tried to clear his head, the sounds of a fight rang in his ears. By the sounds of it, someone was an earth bender. He could barely see in the darkness, but he turned toward the sound anyway. As he got closer, Katara's voice rang out. "Dammit Sokka, just go!" he heard her yell. His eyes began to glow. Katara was in danger.
He landed his glider to see two unconscious Dai Li agents. He frantically looked around, and was just able to see Katara leading a third away from the scene. He ran to catch up. "KATARA!" he yelled. Upon hearing his voice, she spun around. "Aang?" she asked. A thousand questions ran through her mind. As soon as he was at her side, she began interrogating him. "Aang, what did the council want? Do you know they have Toph? Is she okay?" Aang shakily put a hand on her shoulder. "I know they captured Toph," he said. Katara knew there was something wrong by the tone in his voice. "Where is she? We can rescue her right?" Aang shook his head in response.
In the time it took Katara to get very worried, Aang explained what happened. "We can't rescue Toph, she's not even in the city right now." A look of fearful realization crept across Katara's face. "You didn't," she said slowly. "I had to," he replied. His voice was on the verge of breaking. He turned his attention to Katara's prisoner. His eyes began to glow as he let anger take over. "Where is Long Feng?" he angrily demanded. Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. He was just taking me to Long Feng's hideout." Aang slowly relaxed, and the glowing ceased. "I'm going with you," he said softly. The defenseless agent led the way, not wanting to anger his captors further.
"You're a monster," Sokka said angrily. Long Feng smiled, taking the remark as a compliment. "I already have enough of the council under my thumb," Feng replied. "This was just meant to draw my enemies out, so that I could crush them." Sokka attempted to digest what he was hearing. It was true. The only people in the world capable of stopping Long Feng were Team Avatar. "Once you are all out of my way, the world will be mine." Sokka let go of the anger he was feeling. He let a feeling of determination replace it. "You'll never get away with this," he replied. "We will stop you."
Long Feng rose from his chair and laughed. "I already have. Not even the Avatar can stop me now. Well, I think I've said enough. We won't meet again." He directed his attention to his "wife". "Kill him," he ordered coldly. She didn't look back. "Yes, master," she replied before she resumed her attack. Her first blow caught Sokka by surprise. She delivered a blow to his midsection that caused him to collapse. He was just barely able to see the passageway that Long Feng ducked into.
As the stone door closed behind him, he gave instructions to the two Dai Li agents behind it. "Wait until she kills Sokka, then kill her," he ordered. The agents nodded in response.
Suki began raining blows down on Sokka. He tried to block as many as he could, but it was increasingly difficult. "Suki!" he yelled. "You love me. You need to snap out of it." To his disappointment, she said nothing in reply. She merely stepped up her attacks. She finally connected with a powerful side kick that broke effortlessly through Sokka's guard and sent him back a few feet. She drew a sword, and began swinging. Having no choice, Sokka drew his own sword just to parry her blows.
The Dai Li agent eventually led Katara and Aang to the very same passage that Sokka had followed Long Feng into. "Open it," Katara ordered. He hesitantly complied. As the stone door opened, Katara released him. "Thanks for the help," she said as she froze him from his feet to his chest. As she entered, the door began to close. "Aang, hurry," she said. Aang slid under just as the door slammed shut. "I can't see a thing," Katara said. Aang smiled. "I've got it covered. He cupped his hands, and a small flame emerged. There wasn't much light, but there was just enough. He spotted an unlit torch on the wall. "Would you mind?" he asked. Katara quickly retrieved it, and Aang lit it.
Now able to see, they began their trek further inside. In a matter of minutes they came to the same spiral staircase that Sokka had been led to. The sounds of a battle could be heard from where they stood. "Suki, stop this!" Sokka was heard yelling. Katara shot Aang a knowing look, then ran down the stairs. Aang saved time and simply jumped down the middle. He used the air scooter to slow his descent. "Show off," Katara said with a grin.
"Come on Suki," Sokka begged. Their blades were locked in a struggle, and Sokka was slowly losing. Suki put as much of her weight down as possible, and finally swept both legs out from under him. She knocked his sword out of his hand, and as it slid out of reach, she held the point of her sword to his throat. Sokka had tried everything he could. "A Kyoshi Warrior would never let herself be controlled like this," he said accusingly, and that seemed have an effect on her. She dropped the sword and fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain.
"Sokka!" She cried. She finally recognized him. "You have to do it," she said," tears flowing down her face. "You have to finish me before I lose control again," she begged. Sokka shook his head. "I won't," he replied. Katara saw what was happening and rushed into the room. "Sokka!" she screamed. He didn't look back. "You have to!" Suki said, her voice breaking as she did so. It was clear she was in a great deal of pain. It was just like Lake Laogai, when Jet was under Long Feng's control. Sokka was determined that the ending would be different this time. As long as he had a say in the matter, Suki would not die because of Long Feng.
Katara rushed to her brother's side. "Maybe I can help," she said softly. She drew water from her pouch, and attempted to heal Suki. As she was doing so, Aang saw what she did not. The passage behind the chair opened, and two Dai Li agents rushed into the room. Their intent was clear. "Katara, watch out!" he yelled as he bent the ground in front of her. It formed a shield that destroyed the rock-cuffs that were seconds from hitting her. He wasted no time going into the Avatar state. The two agents had no chance, and within seconds both were frozen to walls, unable to move.
"Is that better?" Katara asked. Suki nodded her head. "A little," she replied. It still hurt, but not as much. She looked at the sword as the realization of what she was about to do sunk in. As Sokka embraced her, the tears flowed freely, smudging her facepaint further. "Oh, Sokka, I'm so sorry!" she said. "It was like I was watching someone else in my body. I couldn't say no, I couldn't stop!" Sokka looked directly into her eyes. "It's ok," he said, tears streaming down his face as well. "I'm here now."
Toph sat in the corner of the cell she'd been deposited in. Never in a million years did she ever think Aang would strip her of her bending. She refused to cry. The guards had taunted her the entire walk to the boat. She refused to give them the satisfaction. She would be like rock. She would not break. She smiled to herself. If only they knew what she had planned.