Freedom

Chapter 68: The Tiniest Win

Happy Thanksgiving for all the Americans! Slightly shorter chapter today but more to come soon.

All three of them were heaving as they climbed up the tall mountain, their lungs fighting to suck in air.

"Who thought it was a good idea to build a temple into a mountain?!" Suki complained, her legs feeling wobbly as the muscles twitched with exhaustion.

"To be fair, the airbenders could just fly up to the top and not have to climb" Zuko reasoned casually; while less winded than the others, he was still panting softly. He figured his explanation was fairly factual but he glanced over to see Suki shooting daggers his way.

"Right... shutting up now" Zuko muttered under his breath, immediately dialing back and desperately trying to avoid another argument with the girl.

At this rate, he was sure she'd put a knife in his side while he was sleeping if they didn't reach the temple soon.

And yet, as they climbed, the land began to plateau and flatten out. Just over their line of vision, they could make out the mountains edge, falling down into the ravine. It seemed all three of them took a sigh of relief as they saw the cliff's edge.

"This is it..." Hakoda spoke up, his voice quiet, hesitant yet relieved.

Zuko couldn't help the way his face lit up as he realized they were finally there... They had made it...

He eagerly took a step forward but Hakoda put a hand to the younger man's chest, "Wait... we don't know if they made it to the temple" he spoke reasonably, "We need to be cautious, we could be walking right into a trap..."

"HELLO?!?!?"

Zuko and Hakoda looked up, their eyes wide as they looked at Suki, leaning over the edge of the cliff and calling over the side.

"ANYBODY DOWN THERE?!?!?"

They practically ran over to her, ready to pull her back at the smallest sign of a fire ball barreling towards her head.

Katara, Sokka and Toph froze as the voice yelled from above them, slowly all lifting their heads towards the intricate ceiling.

The realization slowly hit Sokka, his brain taking a moment to catch up to his ears, "Suki..." he whispered, "SUKI!!!"

Suki let out a short laugh of relief as Zuko and Hakoda shared a look of disbelief.

"WE'RE UP HERE!!" Suki yelled back, "HELP US DOWN!!"

Sokka looked quickly between Toph and Katara as he fumbled over himself, running towards Appa.

Katara stood in shock before shaking herself alive again. Their father had searched and searched for the Kyoshi warriors but came up empty handed... but she was here now?

A thousand questions swirled through her brain. How did she find them? How did she know they were here?"

Katara stepped closer to the edge of the platform, looking up, "WHO IS WE?" She yelled up towards the ceiling.

Zuko let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding at her voice... She was alright...

"ME AND YOUR DAD ARE HERE TOO!" Zuko yelled back, relief in his tone even as he yelled as loud as he could. He couldn't control the way his voice cracked as he shouted, like a pre-pubescent boy speaking to his crush for the first time.

Katara practically stumbled at his voice. If she hadn't been holding onto the pillar for support, she surely would have fallen straight over the ravine, "Zuko..." she whispered, before the turning back to her brother and practically pushing him onto Appa's head.