Hello, guys, long time no see.. so i have decided to post a new chapter, that isn't this interesting but also isn't pointless, it's to get you caught up on what's going on with Sokka and Hakoda, and also to develop Azula's story as i have something really good up my sleeve for her character arc, so enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for what's coming. :)
Sokka
It's been a long and boring sailing to the base of The Southern Watertribe soldiers, but finally after more than a month of doing nothing in a ship, he arrived.
Sokka made his way out of the ship with his luggage on his back but not before saluting the captain tastelessly, Sokka despised the old bastard, he begged him to allow him at the wheel but the captain refused, Sokka believed he deserved to be at the wheel, after all he knew a thing or two about captaining a ship, his whole nation depended on cruise ships that he guided bringing them food from the ocean, and supplies through the ocean, and Sokka was obsessed with guiding ships, to the point he almost he crashed his father's ship coming back from the earth kingdom after a peace summit, he smiled at the memory as he remembered how his father laughed and patted him on the back and told him that it was alright, he needn't be afraid of the consequences as he was still learning, his father was so supportive.
but then Sokka frowned at the memory as he remembered his father's fate, it was cruel and abominable what The Firenation did to such a good man, his mother as well and all the other good people that died that day, it made him so livid to think about it, and he wanted nothing but revenge with the same cruelty to land on the firenation, but he needn't worry about that right now as he walked through the bay he just landed on..
When Sokka came to the docks and told The Captain that he wanted a ship to Chameleon Bay, all the people there thought he was a mad man, what would make you sail to such abandoned place? not to mention that it was the first time someone asked them to sail them to that place, but Sokka was sure this place wasn't abandoned, now he is not so sure..
I can't even hear a sound.. Sokka thought as he kept walking, he thought the bay would be crowded with soldiers, it's just an empty place, he kept walking until he found a hill, Sokka then got an idea to climb the hill to have a better look of the bay, and he started climbing, it was a tough climbing due to the luggage he was carrying, but he always had in mind that he is a man of the southern watertribe, nothing could withstand us.. But of course he fell off a couple of times..
He finally made it to the top of the hill and stood on the top panting heavily, as soon as he regained control over his body and breath, he started scanning the fields, that is the highest hill on the bay, of course he saw everything, he kept looking and looking but he found nothing, until something came from the far end of the sea..
A group of ships sailing back to the bay, at first Sokka thought they were firenation and he crouched on the ground so they won't see him, they were too far and the view was hazy as the bay was foggy, Sokka kept trying to identify the ships hoping to be the ships he is looking for, and if they weren't what he was looking for, he hoped they never saw the earth kingdom ship that he sailed to the bay on, otherwise his position is exposed, and the crew of the ship are already dead, Sokka's worries kept going wild until he finally saw a beacon of hope, The first ship that was sailing came to view and it had blue cloths on its masts.. Watertribe ships.
Sokka was overwhelmed with joy as he finally found the people he was looking for, and they were a lot, Sokka saw a lot of ships coming to the bay, they will definitely help in the upcoming war.. if Sokka was overwhelmed with joy two minutes ago, now he is not too sure, as he saw a firenation ship sailing back to the bay with the watertribe ones, The Warrior kept looking at the ship and had the worst of thoughts in his mind, what if they are firenation and they captured watertribe ships, but then again he thought that it couldn't be, how could one firenation ship capture this many watertribe ships, there were almost twenty watertribe ships and just one firenation ship, it's just impossible, but again he thought it best to be careful and never do anything rash, so he kept in place watching the ships as they were close to docking.
Finally the ships docked, and out came people with blue warrior attires, Sokka was relieved that his worst thoughts weren't true, so he stood up and made his way to the docks, he was again overwhelmed with joy that he is going to meet his tribesmen again, some of them were close friends of his during his childhoods, and of course Bato, his family's long time friend..
He made it to the docks, and he found soldiers swarming out of the ships, he then decided it best to make his presence known to the warriors as they wouldn't appreciate it if they found him just lurking there.. "Hello, Watertribe Warriors!" Sokka yelled at them, and all the soldiers froze in place, some of them picking up their weapons thinking it was a threat, Sokka was overcome with fear and he rose both his hands, "At ease, Fellas.. This is Sokka son of Hakoda." The Soldiers immediately dropped their weapons as they did recognize him and they bowed their heads to him, some of them muttering apologies to him, Sokka lowered his hands and felt a load of pride and safety overcoming his emotions he almost had tears in his eyes, it's been a long time since he felt at home, "No need to apologize, Soldiers.. i wouldn't have recognized myself either." Sokka joked.
"Sokka! Is that really you?!" A male voice said as a tall middle-aged man came through the soldiers, Sokka recognized him immediately and ran to him to hug him fiercely, the man hugged back, it was Bato.
"Oh, Bato.. how i've missed feeling at home." Sokka said as he finally broke the hug and took a good look at Bato who had tears in his eyes.
"I can't believe it's really you, we thought you were... H-How?" Bato stuttered as he tried to gather his thoughts but Sokka cut him off.
"We ran away, me and Katara, Katara is fine as well, Bato.. We saved The Avatar." Sokka said but he couldn't find his voice again as he looked past Bato to see the people who came out of the ship Bato just came out of.. Sokka couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was a very familiar female warrior in green attire and makeup was looking at him with tears in her eyes, and another middle aged man standing beside her, the best middle aged man in Sokka's life, with tears in his eyes he finally found his voice but he only muttered one word..
"Dad..?"
Azula
It's this chill, the chill that runs down your spine when you feel the presence of someone important, when you counter a frightening object.. or when you are just plain cold. A cold night in the firenation rarely happens, Azula remembered the days of her childhood, whenever a cold night passed by the atmosphere of the firenation, her, Mai and Ty Lee used to do a sleepover in Azula's room, covering themselves in blankets while playing games or chatting, Azula smiled at the memory, rememebering how she used to frighten Mai and Ty Lee with stories about monsters that come out of the closet during cold nights, Ty Lee would plainly freak out and sometimes scream, Mai would act nonchalant but Azula knew deep inside she was quivering with fear,, that used to make her laugh a lot that the mere thought of it made her happy through this cold night in the prison cell.
It's been more than a month now inside the cell, and approximately two weeks since General Shinu came to her cell and confronted her, her plan for now was to convince Zhao to get her out of the prison and perhaps in the future she might take him down, but for now she decided to stick to the plan, Shinu told her that he will bring Zhao to her prison cell to confront her but he told her that it will take time, Mai and Ty Lee payed frequent visits to Azula, bringing her food and supplies, she wasn't as tormented as the other prisoners but it was still a prison, and it's not right to put a Princess in prison. Azula was thankful that Mai, Ty Lee and now Shinu are on her side, otherwise she might have lost her sanity, and she would rather die than see the day where the right-minded and calculative Princess turns into a psycho, she shivered at the thought of that actually happening, so for now she waited for Zhao to come and negotiate with her.
She finally heard the familiar footsteps of General Shinu clinking as he was walking on the steel floor of the firenation prison and it appears to be he is not alone, someone is walking beside him and Azula was certain she knows who the person is.
"Open the door." The familiar voice of Zhao ordered the officer standing in front of Azula's cell and the door was immediately opened, Zhao walked in with Shinu in toe, they walked over to Azula's cell and finally they settled their eyes on her, with Zhao's usual smirk appearing on his face as soon as he saw Azula in chains and sitting on the cold steel of the cell, "Well, Well.. if it isn't our beloved Princess." Zhao greeted mockingly.
"It's good to see you again, Princess." came the warm greeting of General Shinu for which Azula was thankful, Zhao's greeting settled an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
"It's good to see you as well, Gentlemen.." Azula started, she turned her sight to Zhao, "I suppose you are familiar with the reason behind your visit here, Head Counselor?" Azula asked strictly heading to business.
"No, i don't think so." Zhao replied, his smirk still apparent, Azula knew exactly what was happening here, he knew everything but he just wanted to hear it coming out of her mouth, What a pitiful person.
"We are here to negotiate my surrender, i won't fight you, Zhao, just break me out of prison and i will be on my way." Azula said her sight fixated on the ground, she felt so uncomfortable saying so but if it is for the greater good might as well be done with it.
"Even if i don't break you out of prison, you still won't be able to fight me, so enlighten me, Princess.. what's really in it for me after breaking you out of prison because i really don't see the catch?" Zhao said, Azula couldn't find it in herself to propose anything, and it moreover Zhao added more salt to the wound by saying, "Your father loved you, you know.. the only person in the world he truly loved.. and you betrayed his trust for Zuko.. turns out you are as much of a failure as he is." Zhao finished, and Azula felt herself exploding inside, she wanted so bad to gouge his eyes out, but in the meantime she couldn't help but think he is right, her father did love her, and that made her sad for betraying him, she turned to look at General Shinu for help, and indeed he helped.
"Head Counselor, may i make a proposition?" Shinu asked.
"Of course, General." Zhao said not even looking at him and still staring down Azula with a smirk on his face.
"Princess Azula is willing to lay down everything at your feet for her immediate break out, so i suggest you ask her to do something in your favor, something that might help you greatly becoming the new Firelord.. a public pledge of fealty perhaps?" Shinu concluded and Azula's eyes went as large as plates.. that wasn't part of the plan.. Azula thought, her rage building up again, she thought General Shinu was on her side, now he wants her to pledge fealty to Zhao? The rightful heir to The Firenation throne pledging fealty to someone? that would make him the firelord right away, Zhao was drawn in thought and Shinu took the chance to spare a look at Azula who stared back with rage, but Shinu only nodded and smiled at her, as if telling her he knows exactly what he is doing, Azula only closed her mouth and never spoke a word.
"Why are you so silent, Princess? May i be aware of your take on this?" Zhao asked all of a sudden, and Azula turned to look at Shinu who has grown fearful, Azula knew just then that Shinu does have a solid plan and Azula's approval is the first step towards that plan, she had no other choice but to follow Shinu's plan, the throne wasn't hers to begin with, it was Zuko's, and even if the plan fails, it's still better than staying in a dark, cold prison cell.
"If it means breaking me out of prison, then i will pledge fealty to you, Head Counselor Zhao.. Or should i say Firelord Zhao?" Azula said and finally Shinu breathed a sigh of relief, Zhao laughed slightly at Azula's remark.
"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Zhao said still chuckling a bit and Azula forced herself to smile with him, if this is the first step to getting rid of Zhao and his company, then it's a step Azula must take, and she knew General Shinu, Mai and Ty Lee will be helping her every step of the way.
Sokka
"So let me get this straight.. you, mom, Suki and this guy Petu made it out alive, you landed on Kyoshi Island and put mom there to recover from her injuries and decided to come to Chameleon bay seeking soldiers to raid Firenation Ships in the ocean, cutting off the supplies going to the firenation colonies in the earth kingdom and also attacking any firenation vessels on sight with the help of Suki, Petu while Bato is guiding the ships, and now you have Long Feng's nephew who you found on one of the ships you raided and you have him as a prisoner?" Sokka asked.
"Yeah, pretty much." His father replied, and Suki nodded, Sokka looked at her disapporvingly.
"You had all this fun without me, next thing you are going to say is you are grooming Suki to be Chieftess of the southern watertribe instead of me, right?" Sokka asked playfully, and The chief laughed while Suki just stuck her tongue at him.
"Oh, Sokka.. how i missed your sense of humor." The chief responded, it hasn't been long since Sokka saw his dad land on the docks of chameleon bay, he took his precious time staring at his dad and Suki who were staring back with equal shock, until he lunged at them, engulfing both of them in a bear hug, it was a joyous moment indeed, and Sokka found out it was the same for them, as they thought he was dead too.. they finally came out of their daze, and they Sokka felt even more joyful when he found out his mother was still alive too, Hakoda felt the same when he found out Katara was still alive too.. and Everyone felt joyful when they found out The Avatar was still alive too, everyone felt hope and that they finally have an advantage in this war, but Something Chief Hakoda said that shocked Sokka to his core..
after they isolated themselves in a tent with Suki talking privately away from the soldiers, Chief Hakoda told Sokka that Firelord Ozai got killed.. It was so shocking and out of the blue, Sokka has been cut off the world for over a month in a ship sailing to Chameleon bay, and he just found out that Firelord Ozai died over a month ago, so they needed new plans..
also he found out that in his father's custody, Long Feng's nephew, it was too much information for him, he just came here looking for Bato only to find out all these fresh information, it was overwhelming that he needed some time to comprehend all this, but after that he kept chatting with father and Suki, and indeed they filled him in.
"Dad, I've been so caught up with what's going on here that i forgot the reason i came here in the first place.." Sokka said as he remembered the reason for sailing here in the first place, "Aang needs your help, we are going to free the world of the firenation tyranny, starting with the colonies, Aang is going to gather a group of warriors called The Freedom Fighters, Katara traveled to King Bumi to ask for his support, and Aang tasked me with the getting our armies together and helping him take back the colonies, The Firenation have the majority of their army there, but i am sure we can take them, and as soon as we take back the colonies, it's going to be smooth sailing to the firenation.. what do you say, Dad?" Of course Sokka knew he was a bit optimistic in his speech but he intended for it to be over-optimistic so his dad might agree, but it was to no avail.
"I'm sorry, Sokka.. but the reason i gathered all these soldiers wasn't to free the colonies, it was to free the southern watertribe." Hakoda said, and Sokka was confused as to what his father means.
"what are you talking about, Dad? The Southern Watertribe isn't occupied, they just have a Chief that isn't one of our family, and we will take it back as soon as this war is over, Voccak is nothing but a firenation puppet, as soon as we defeat The Firenation, he will have no chance." Sokka said.
"You see that's what he wants everyone to think, Sokka.. I've just received information that Voccak is planning independence from the firenation, he is taking the whole watertribe to himself and his goons, he even got Master Pakku to agree on his terms, the man is very cunning and elusive but we will defeat him and take back our tribe." Hakoda replied with determination.
"So what if Voccak takes over the southern watertribe? he is still one of us after all, give him the position for a while until this war is over, and then we will take it back after the war." Sokka said, and Hakoda frowned at him.
"What do you mean leave it to him for a while? this is our rightful position, the position of Chief has been running through our family for generation, it's mine, and it's going to be yours in a couple of years, and your children will take it after you, and you want me to leave it to Voccak? and wait until he gets the public approval and then no one will want us back." Hakoda said.
Sokka was shocked at what his father said, how much can a war change a man? he is not the father he is used to anymore, "What in Tui's name are you talking about, Dad? do you really find being chief more important than saving people's lives and doing what's right?" Sokka asked, visually traumatized by this version of his father.
"Who are you to say what's right and what is not? Voccak stole our position, he is going to bring our nation down, i am doing what is right, and i am saving people's lives, OUR people, Sokka.. OUR people, those are who matter the most, and if i would give my life saving them from Voccak, then that's what i would do." Hakoda said yelling at some parts, and Sokka was still shocked by his father behavior and new attitude, he turned his look to Suki who remained silent throughout the entire conversation, Suki just shrugged helplessly at him, as if telling him i am undecided.
Sokka narrowed his eyes, "I never wanted to tell you this to keep your hopes high, Dad.. but i am going to say it and please try to take it lightly.." Sokka took a deep breath and kept on, "The Dark Spirit has been unleashed." Sokka said.
"What?" Hakoda and Suki said in toe, and Sokka stopped himself from smiling as he remembered he had the same reaction when Aang told them the story.
"It's a long story.."
So there, this chapter was just to get you caught up on what is going on, and something to get you on the Azula bandwagon, it also felt nice to get back to doing Sokka POV, i enjoy writing about his character so much, i hope you enjoy reading it too. :)
