Rush [Sokka - Book Three]

⚝Chapter Eighteen⚝

"There they are," Bato said, his eye pressed against the telescope. "The Great Gates of Azulon."

Konno squinted her eyes, trying to peer through the dense fog. It was so dense that she couldn't even see the water around them. Katara stood next to her, also trying to see through the thick fog. She must've been struggling, too, because she said, "I don't see any gates."

"Katara, you and the swampbenders need to whip up a fog cover around us," Hakoda said behind them. 

"We'll sneak by the statues just like we sneaked by that Fire Navy blockade," Tho said, a grin working its way onto his face.

Konno backed up slightly as Katara and the swampbenders jumped into position. They spread their hands apart, and fog rose up above them. This fog was a little different than the fog that shrouded the gates; it was manmade and was only made for one reason, to protect them from being seen by the Fire Nation. 

"Keep it up," Hakoda said approvingly. "We're almost through."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded around them. Smoke emitted from the statue in front of them, rising above the fog. Konno's eyes widened when she saw a net being engulfed in flames. The net slowly rose out of the water, the fire spreading through it. Their boat had to stop quickly in front of the nets before they got set on fire. Fire Nation jet skis were raining down on them from each side.

"Everyone, below deck," Hakoda said, ushering the force below. Sokka grabbed onto Konno's hand and pulled her down below. "Let's hope your invention works."

Sokka pulled Konno toward the control panel, where the Mechanist was already sitting. Hakoda, Bato, and Pipsqueak followed them. 

"What's your invention?" Konno asked him. 

"Just you wait." Sokka couldn't keep the grin from off of his face as he said, "Mechanist, hit it."

The Mechanist slammed his hand down on the red button that shone against his face. He had a gleam in his eyes as the boat shuddered underneath them. The water that was about level with the middle of the boat suddenly rose above them. 

"You really outdone yourself this time, son," Hakoda said proudly.

"Yeah. Congratulations, Sokka," Toph said from behind them. Konno glanced at her to see a look of discomfort on her face. A hint of green crept up her cheeks. "You managed to invent a worst way of travel than flying."

Toph started to gag. The green in her cheeks had gotten darker. "Helmet?" the Duke asked her. Toph accepted it gratefully before vomiting.

Konno looked away from Toph before she ended up vomiting herself. Just the sound could make Konno blow. She focused on the feeling of Sokka's hand in hers, trying to ignore Toph. It wouldn't be that hard; she had been doing that for the past few days. They hadn't really said a word to each other after they argued together. 

"Well, I just came up with the idea, but the Mechanist did all the work," Sokka said sheepishly. 

"Don't sell yourself short, my boy. It was your idea to use waterbending to make the subs sink and float," the Mechanist said.

"Then, why did he press the button if Katara and the others are doing this?" Konno whispered to Sokka. 

"It looks way cooler like that," Sokka whispered back to her. 

"Of course it does."

"Brilliant, though your original designs were a bit difficult to decipher," the Mechanist continued. "Unfortunately, there is one problem I couldn't fix. The subs have a limited air supply. Before we land on the beaches, we'll need to resurface."