Accidental Avatar

Back to Mogui...

That night, Sokka and I slept with our backs to the wall, our packs used as pillows.
The sound of rustling and hushed whispers woke us both, and after a shared look, we nodded and got to our feet quietly.
"Let's get 'em!" Someone whispered just outside our hut. Sokka opened the flap, revealing the Freedom Fighters using those rope things to get down to the ground. We immediately moved to shadow them, spotting a wagon filled with blasting jelly barrels.
"What the..." I whispered softly, my brow furrowed. Sokka shared my sentiment, his own face confused and suspicious. "What are they trying to do?"
Sokka shrugged, and we returned to shadowing the guys, moving stealthily through the brush, the heavy wheels hiding the sounds we made as we moved. Eventually, we came to a cliff, and Jet addressed his followers.

"Now listen." He said that annoying mumbling thing he did because of the grass in his mouth starting to annoy me. "You are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive."
The Duke jumped off the cart, his small voice carrying. "But what about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out too?"
Jet approached the small boy, towering over him. He put a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder, in a manner meant to be like a big brother explaining something but coming off as slightly threatening. "Look, Duke." He said, leaning down slightly, so he was still looking down on Duke but somewhat at the same level. "That's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation. Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal." The last part was aimed at Longshot, who nodded but said nothing. It was now my lifelong desire to make him talk, no matter what.

Sokka and I were shocked. I mean, we knew there was something wrong about Jet, that he was bonkers...but this...this was a whole new brand of crazy. And not the good kind. We prepared to head back, to warn the other two about their supposed 'friend' when big hands caught us both by our hair.
"Where do you think you're going, Ponytail?" Smellerbee questioned, holding a knife to Sokka's neck. Pipsqueak had a huge handful of my hair, and it hurt so bad I couldn't move, so all I did was make noises, like Sokka, as we were dragged before Jet.
"Sokka, Mogui! I'm glad you decided to join us." We were both thrown down at Jet's feet, and I glared up at the kid. I really wanted to punch his face in.
"We heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town!" Sokka accused, holding one of his arms gingerly.

I stood and got the attention of Jet. "I'm pretty sure that village in the valley is full of civilians. People who don't deserve to die. Do you want their blood on your head?"
"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation." Jet said, shrugging off my comment.
"People are living there, Jet!" Sokka protested. "Mothers and fathers and children!"
"We can't win without making some sacrifices!" Jet responded, his temper obviously beginning to fray.
"You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!" Sokka pressed, getting more and more irritated.
"Because they don't understand the demands of war." Jet gave us one of his smooth grins, trying to win us over still. "Not like we do."

"I do understand." Sokka snapped. "I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."
"What's the point of ridding the valley of the Fire Nation if there is no valley left once they are gone?!" I all but yelled at him.
Jet's expression twisted slightly like he realised that we were a lost cause. "I was hoping you'd have an open mind. But, I can see you've made your choice."

Smellerbee and Pipsqueak closed in on us, and we tensed to fight. Jet caught my hand with the hooks on his blades and stopped me from fighting back. "I can't have you warn Katara and Aang."
The other two grabbed and tied us up. "Take them for a walk. A long walk."
"You can't do this!" Sokka protested.
"Cheer up, Sokka. We're going to win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."
"Alright, that's it! Dishonour! Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your group! Dishonour on the cause you believe you are fighting for!" I yelled as I was dragged away. "AND DISHONOR ON THAT STUPID TWIG IN YOUR MOUTH!"

♍

After walking for some time, Smellerbee shoved Sokka, who stumbled slightly beside me. "Come on! move along!" He...or she? Idunno... IT ordered. Sokka glared back at he/she/it.
"How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" Sokka demanded.
"Hey, listen, Sokka." Pipsqueak snapped. "Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay."

Sokka made a subtle motion that I noticed, and he signalled some traps up ahead. I gave a subtle nod, picking up on his hints. I had been subtly burning away at my ropes this whole time, careful not to give away what I was doing, and Sokka had managed to loosen his. Time to get loose.
"If that's how Jet leads..." He looked back and signalled. "THEN HE'S GOT A LOT TO LEARN!" Sokka bolted towards the traps, and I followed, keeping pace easily since I was taller. I avoided the traps nimbly while still making sure to not give them away.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum ran straight into the trap and were pulled up into the trees. "While you two are up there, you might want to practice your knotwork." Sokka held up a limp piece of rope, and I grinned up at them from the trees. "Later suckas," I shouted, giving a mock salute as I ran after Sokka.
"Right, what now?" I questioned as I followed him.
"Uh.." He paused, looking slightly sheepish. "My uh...instincts say we should head to town..."
"Then let's get moving," I responded.
"Wait, you trust my instincts?" Sokka was completely surprised.
"Do you?"
"Uh...well... yeah.. but..."

I grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Trust your instincts; intuition doesn't lie. But don't forget caution. You're the boss here. What you say goes. So what do you say?"
Sokka's shoulders straightened up, and his face became determined. "We gotta warn the townsfolk." I nodded, and together we set off to warn the townspeople.

♍

We got to the village and immediately set about to convince the townsfolk that they needed to get out. Still, of course, the soldiers thought we were spies. I was all set and ready to use my firebending as a way to convince them when the old man Jet had mugged vouched for us.
"Thank you, sir," I said, smiling gratefully at the old man.
He winked at me and responded with, "It was the least I could do."

Sokka and I found Appa and quickly went to find Aang and Katara, determined to leave once and for all. The dam was destroyed, and the water demolished houses, stalls and wagons. But no one was harmed, thanks to Sokka's quick thinking and the help of the old man.

♍

We arrived in time to hear more of Jet's deranged ranting. "The Fire Nation is gone, and this valley will be safe!"
"It will be safe!" Oh Sokka, my young grasshopper, you have learnt the ways of dramatic entry well. "Without you!" We rode in atop Appa, looking absolutely glorious.
"Sokka! Mogui!" Katara looked happy to see us, for the first time since I'd met her, and to be honest, it wasn't really that great.
"We warned the villagers of your plan," I said, stretching lazily up in Appa's saddle.
"Just in time," Sokka said, smiling in a companion-like manner to me.
"WHAT!?" Jet yelled. This was when I noticed he was kinda frozen to a tree. This set me off sniggering.
"Not so intimidating now, are ya?" I questioned, still sniggering at him.
"At first, they didn't believe us," Sokka explained. "The Fire Nation soldiers assumed we were spies, but one man vouched for us."
"The guy you robbed," I added. "He urged everyone to listen to us, and we managed to get everyone out."
"Sokka! Mogui! You fools!" Jet started another rant.
"Says the human popsicle frozen to a tree," I responded, reclining back in Appa's saddle.
"We could've freed this valley!"
"Who would be free?" Sokka demanded as Aang and Katara climbed into the saddle. "Everyone would be dead!"
"You traitor!" Jet sneered.
"No Jet," Sokka said calmly. "You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."

I held my hand out to Katara to help her up onto Appa.
"Katara!" Jet's voice switched from raving lunatic to pleading lover. "Please...help me..."
Katara's eyes watered slightly before she bowed her head.

"Goodbye, Jet." She said firmly, taking my hand so I could pull her up.

"Yip yip." Sokka said, cracking Appa's reins.

♍

"We thought you were going to the dam," Aang said, leaning on the edge of the saddle and watching Sokka and me. "How come you guys went to the town instead?"
"Let me guess," Katara said, smiling slightly. "Instinct?"
Sokka shrugged. "Hey, sometimes they're right."
"Um...Sokka, you do realise we're going the wrong way, right?" Aang questioned, smiling slightly at Sokka.
Sokka blinked, realising that we were indeed going the wrong way. "And sometimes they're wrong."
"Hey, at least you acknowledge it." I grinned, making myself comfortable for a nap. Everyone laughed, and we flew off into the sunset.