PROLOGUE PART 02

SOKKA

Suki, and Toph ran quickly alongside him up the mountainside, which overlooked a clearing. They both caught their breath, while Sokka surveyed the dozen or so Firenation airships were already lined in formation. Their design had been altered heavily yet still resembled the prototype models the mechanist created. However, these were colder, menacing and their sheer size was imposing. Each of the vessels were supported by giant fans mounted at their sides, which spun so quickly that it was hard to notice the cog wheels and smaller moving parts behind the blur of the blades. The noise they emitted was almost like a battle cry, and it echoed loudly in the air with hollow-metallic sound. Even worse, was despite traveling on that eel-hound, they were still too slow to reach the vessels before they could take off. The ships rapidly ascended into the air, with one ship bearing a golden dragon at the helm leading the charge. Sokka instinctively knew that was the Firelord's attack ship, and it was escaping them fast. Their timing couldn't have been worse.

"We're too late! The fleet's already taking off!" Sokka proclaimed. He knew he hadn't wasted any time. Their trip lasted a whole day, and nobody had gotten off. How could they have still come up short?

"Where's the closest airship?" Toph asked from behind him. Sokka continued to look straight ahead at the metal monsters rising more toward the sky and further away from them. He focused his attention on the airship, which was already above them, but nearest to their mountain.

"It's right t—" was all he managed to say, before Toph cut him off with an answer of her own. Sokka felt the rocky terrain beneath them shoot them forward into the air. They were all floating few feet away from the closest war machine. As they began to descend back toward the ground, Toph pushed them all forward onto the deck of the vessel. Suki was swift in catching her footing as soon as she hit the deck, as so did he. His training with her had added to his already sharpened reflexes and agility. They both noticed Toph about to crash onto the floor but caught her easily and helped her stick the landing as well.

"Okay, what's the plan here exactly, Sokka?" Suki asked him as they slowly walked around the hull of the ship careful to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention.

"We've got to get to the bridge. From there, we can take control of the ship and break their line. I'm not sure how much time we'll have, but it doesn't matter. We just need to hold them off long enough for Aang to do his part, while we do ours". Sokka answered.

"Not a problem". Toph grinned and lurched out her left leg and contacted the floor beneath her. "That way" She pointed toward the right down a long hall that seemed to go on forever. Sokka had seen her do that before and knew she had used her seismic sense to picture a layout of the ship.

"Nice!" Suki exclaimed with a look of excitement. She rolled up her fists in victory and smiled. He nodded back at Suki and then smiled at Toph. She must have known somehow because she shot him a smile back.

They continued down the hall taking several turns, before finally reaching what he was sure was the bridge which lay just beyond this sealed metal door. Sokka pressed his back toward the left side of the door while Suki took the right. Like it was nothing, Toph kicked down the door and then used it to cover herself entirely.

As Toph hilariously pummeled the crew inside, he and Suki shared a laugh together before some man was sent flying out the entrance where the door once stood. The room was clear.

He signaled to Suki the room was clear and they entered in together. He thought he had heard her silently say "Wow..." as they saw half a dozen men knocked unconscious laying all over the place. Toph metal bent the armor off her body and placed her arms at her sides.

"That's how it's done."

She really is amazing. He heard himself say. Toph was his best friend. He felt like she was the only person who he could relate to (aside from Suki of course!). He wasn't the avatar, he wasn't the last waterbender of the southern water tribe, he wasn't special, he was just Sokka. Despite making it known, this bothered him, it cut deep that if push came to shove, his friends had to protect him; it could never be the other way around. Toph was the world's greatest earthbender, but she was also blind. She turned what could have been her biggest weakness into her strength. Sokka loved that about her. He loved a lot of things about her.

Taking control of the ship after they had secured the bridge was nothing but easy, however that was far from the main problem here. The ship was moving at full-speed, but just couldn't compare to the velocity the Firelord's ship. It was getting smaller and smaller in the distance. It's engines far more powerful than the rest of the fleet that trailed behind it. Not Good.

"We're not going to catch up to him in time!" He yelled out.

"No..." The words escaping Suki like a whisper in the wind. She sounded so defeated.

Sokka peered on ahead at the lead ship, the color of the sky surrounding them some sort of copper and red that only made him feel more on edge. There was a pause in the air and then it came.

His eyes widened with absolute horror. Hellfire burst forth from the massive airship barely on the horizon and a sea of flames consumed everything before it. The heat was so intense he could feel it from where they stood.

Suki let out a high pitched gasp and covered her mouth completely and utterly in disbelief.

"What now!" Toph yelled out hoping to hear something reassuring. Sokka's mind zigzagged as he tried to think of something to tell his best friend. He was sure he could come up with a plan B if it came down to it.

He peaked into the telescope again and saw black smoke coming from the airship followed by a few small explosions. The flames then suddenly stopped, and the airship began to stagger sideways before it was sent crashing into the rocky formations below. It had been hit by a massive burst of flame. Something that powerful could only be one thing.

"It's Aang!" Sokka cried out tossing up his arms into the air. "He's back!" That last part coming out as a laugh of renewed hope that filled the room.

"Let me see!" Suki shouted as they took the telescope from him smiling, her spirits lifted and hope back in her voice. He glanced over at Toph who just stood beside his girlfiend calmly. He knew her well enough to know she was jumping for joy in her own way.

"Welcome back twinkletoes" she said with a softness in her face that made his heart race for some reason.

"Shouldn't we be helping him?" Suki suggested. Sokka snapped out of what he attributed was due to a lack of sleep along with adrenaline. As much as he wanted to join his friend the avatar in taking out the "melon" lord, they'd just be getting in the way.

"The Firelord is Aang's fight. We need to stay focused on stopping this fleet from burning down the Earth kingdom." Sokka said as he studied the formation, direction and positioning of all the other flying machines.

"And how do we do that Captain Boomerang?" Toph called out to him.

That's it! It took him just a few seconds, but he came up with a plan so ingenious that he would've patted himself on the back if he could; something so simple yet –genius.

"Airship slice!"

To Be Continued...

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Avatar The Last Airbender nor the characters depicted. Avatar was created by Michael Dante Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko. All characters and settings are based off their world and is purely fan fiction made simply to entertain people as passionate about what they have created as I am.