Rush [Sokka - Book Three]

⚝Chapter Nineteen⚝

Konno let out a breath of relief as Hakoda finally stood up. He leaned against Katara for support, so Konno stepped under his other arm to help as well. Her eyes flicked over at the battle, trying to find Sokka in the fray. Even though she was worried about Hakoda, she was more worried about Sokka. She wouldn't know what to do if he didn't make it. That would probably be the thing that killed her. Thinking about him dying made tears prick her eyes. She couldn't imagine a life without him now.

"We can't move any faster, Dad," Katara said. "Stop trying to push yourself."

"I'm fine," Hakoda said. He winced in pain, and the three of them had to stop walking. Earlier, Konno suggested that they should get back to the main battalion so they wouldn't be sitting ducks. 

"You're not fine," Konno told him. "You have to take it easy right now. You're not fully healed."

Hakoda sighed. He hung his head and said, "I do not like this at all. I'm normally the one who helps others, not the one being helped."

"Life is full of new things," Konno said. She thought about all that had happened in her life - all the good and bad things. They made her who she was, even if they nearly destroyed her in the end. Yet she survived everything that was thrown at her. She would continue to survive until she could take matters into her own hands. "Whether you like it or not, you have to live with the changes."

Katara looked over at Konno with a proud look on her face. "Trust her on that, Dad."

"I feel like I'm missing something," he said, chuckling, "but okay."

The three of them walked slowly toward where she thought their mission base was. She wasn't really sure, but Hakoda seemed to know where he was guiding them. She trusted him. As hard as it was for her to trust before, she didn't have any trouble trusting him. Maybe it was because the Girl was falling faster than it had before. When she let go of most of her fears, the Girl started crumbling at a quicker rate than what it was doing before. Konno wasn't going to protect herself from these people who would never purposefully hurt her. She didn't need to. 

"Dad!" Sokka yelled once they made it through the plaza's large doorways. Toph and Sokka ran toward them as Katara and Konno helped Hakoda sit down. "You're on your feet again."

"Thanks to your sister," Hakoda said with a nod. "I'm in no shape to fight but maybe there is someway I could help."

Konno stood by Sokka's side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer just so he could press a quick kiss to the top of her head. Relief spread through her chest at the sight of him without a single scratch on him. He was okay. Of course he was. Yue wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"Everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet," Sokka said. He sounded hopeful that things were finally going to go right. She hoped he was right.

"Let's hope our luck holds out," Hakoda said, mirroring her very own thoughts. His eyes focused on Katara who had a confused look on her face as she stared out into the distance. She took a few steps forward. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," Katara said. Her voice seemed distant, like she was thinking about something else. "Is that . . . is that Aang?"

"What?" Sokka asked. 

Both him and Konno took a step forward. She squinted at the bright sky and saw Aang gliding toward them. He kept dodging numerous fireballs. A quick blast of air hit them as he landed in front of them. There was something in eyes gray eyes that didn't sit well with Konno. She knew something was wrong.

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp," Sokka said hopefully, "and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down?"