History of Sokka (100 AG - 102 AG)

Following the end of the Hundred Year War, Sokka and his allies set about restoring peace to the world.
== Helping to train Team Beifong ==
Subsequently to the Hundred Year War, Sokka joined Katara and Aang in the "Harmony Restoration Movement" to disassemble the Fire Nation colonies in service of Earth King Kuei.
When Sokka was heading to Ba Sing Se with Team Avatar to inform Earth King Kuei about the situation in Yu Dao, he decided to leave with Toph to her metalbending academy in order to avoid his "oogies" at Aang and Katara's relationship. The earthbender grabbed Sokka and jumped from Appa as they both made their way to the academy. Sokka inquired Toph about her initiative to start the school, getting a response he identified as a lie, and proceeded to guess her real motive. When they caught the metalbending students leaving the academy, Toph stopped them and introduced them to Sokka. The students informed their sifu that they had been kicked out of the school by Kunyo, whom Toph went to face and demand her school back. However, Sokka interrupted before they could fight, stating that it would be a better idea to give the place to the most effective school, thus letting the students fight. He made everyone agree to a "match to the sit", which consisted of the win of the team who could force the other one to sit down first and start it in three days.
When Sokka noticed Toph's students still were unable to metalbend, he offered to help them by being a "motivational bender". He began giving them a speech about metal and trying to make them bend metal coins, but unsuccessfully. After another disastrous attempt to inspire the three pupils by making them get emotional and scaring them with a metal monster Sokka made Toph bend, the earthbending instructor told her friend about her feeling of failure as she was expecting her students to become something they were not. On the day of the battle, Sokka observed how Toph was surrendering at Kunyo and his students' arrival but was stopped by Ho Tun, Penga, and The Dark One, who demonstrated their ability to metalbend and defeated the firebending team with metal coins thrown by the Water Tribe warrior. Impressed, he congratulated the team for their successful result that led to their final consolidation as metalbending students.
== Battle for Yu Dao ==
Sokka stayed with Toph at the metalbending academy until the day of the battle for Yu Dao, when Suki arrived in a hot air balloon. She greeted Toph and Sokka, telling them that she had found them through a complaint from Kunyo about a "dirt girl" and a "snow savage" taking over his school. Suki climbed back into her balloon, explaining that she needed their help with preventing Fire Lord Zuko from starting another war. Landing the balloon near the Fire Nation battle procession, Sokka began to formulate their plan of action. On his command, Toph earthbent a tunnel that led to one of the tundra tanks. With the aid of the girl's metalbending abilities, the trio hijacked one of the tanks. Inside, Sokka decided upon their next move. He ordered Suki to pull up alongside as many tanks as she could, so Toph could loosen the screws on the tank's wheels with metalbending. When the Fire Nation Army reached Yu Dao, Suki drove their tundra tank to Aang and Katara, who were standing with the Avatar's Yu Dao fan club members outside the walls. Aang and his fans prepared to attack the tank but stopped when Toph and Sokka clambered out of the machine. Sokka expressed his frustration at Katara and Aang for not coming back to get him as they had promised, and Toph explained that they had been trying to slow the Fire Nation Army down. When Katara questioned this, as the army had still reached Yu Dao, Sokka commanded Toph to put the next phase of their plan into action. The earthbender struck the ground, creating tremors that rendered the tundra tanks useless by causing the screws in the wheels to pop out. While the tanks had been disabled, Zuko ordered the rest of his soldiers to attack General How's. Aang and Katara retreated to the top of the wall, and Toph, Suki, and Sokka followed suit with the aid of Toph's bending, where they decided to split up. Sokka agreed to deal with Smellerbee and the rest of the protesters. After the battle was over, he was seen running back to Aang and Katara, rejoining Team Avatar.
== Searching for Ursa ==
Sometime after the battle for Yu Dao, Sokka attended a meeting together with his friends and several government officials at the home of the governor of Yu Dao to discuss the future of the city. A professor gave a lecture on ancient Earth Kingdom philosophies regarding the four nations, though it was of little interest to him. Sokka was complaining about it to Aang, who also could not be captivated by the professor. The two friends were soon shushed by Katara, who did want to pay attention. Sokka retorted, however, that he was not surprised that his "boring sister" liked "boring lecture guy", earning him a waterbending-generated snowball to the face from Katara. Meanwhile, Zuko had snapped back to attention when the professor had made a comparison between how one treats their family and how one rules. He took the comment seriously. Thus, Sokka tried to lighten his mood by stating that the professor was a "blowhard" who was only liked by people like Katara, earning himself another snowball to the face.
A week later, Sokka traveled to the Fire Nation Royal Palace together with Aang and Katara upon Zuko's inquiry. Upon arrival, they were delightfully surprised when they discovered Iroh there as well. Zuko explained that Iroh was there to act as interim Fire Lord while he would be gone, looking for Ursa, a journey on which he invited them all to accompany him. However, the amicable atmosphere quickly changed when Azula emerged from behind Zuko. Katara attacked the princess, with Aang and Sokka preparing to do the same. While Aang warned Azula to stay back as he did not want to hurt her, Sokka made it clear that he did not share the same sentiment, though his threat was met with laughter, as Azula did not perceive his boomerang as a danger. Before the conflict could escalate any further, they were halted by Suki and Ty Lee, who implored them to let Zuko explain the situation. While the Fire Lord did so, Sokka passionately reunited with Suki. As Zuko mentioned, however, that Azula was to come with them, Sokka called him out to be a "bad decision lord", though later complied regardless.
The following day, Sokka readily volunteered to take the first watch over Azula, much to Zuko's worry. He confidently walked over to the Fire Nation princess and threatened her again with his boomerang, though Azula shot the weapon out of his hands with a small lightning bolt, knocking him on his behind. As the princess was quickly overpowered by his friends and tensions calmed down again, he casually stated that it was perhaps better that someone else took the first watch instead of him.
Airborne, Sokka commented how the adventure felt like "old times", though much to his annoyance, Aang stated that it was better than old times since he could now kiss Katara whenever something he deftly demonstrated. Aang suddenly had a gruesome expression on his face, caused by the presence of a spirit, causing Sokka to exclaim that it was already by enough that they had one passenger who stared "with crazy eyes" at them, referring to Azula, who had a minor psychotic breakdown moments before. The Water Tribe warrior continued to mock the Avatar's expression, only to be stopped when Katara waterbent a snowball to his face. Their playful antics suddenly became serious when Azula dived off Appa and set fire to Aang's glider, who had swooped down to save her from plummeting to her death, subsequently sending him crashing down on the ground. As they landed, Sokka and Katara quickly jumped off to tend to the downed airbender, while Zuko went after his sister.
Sokka, Katara, and Aang caught up with the two firebenders at a nearby river, right when they were about to fight one another. Katara cut the battle short, encasing Azula in ice. The princess subsequently insulted Katara, though froze in horror mid-sentence as the wolf spirit appeared behind an unknowing Sokka, as he thought Azula's fearful look was caused by his boomerang. Sokka nearly evaded getting his head bitten off by the spirit, and ran to safety. When the spirit snapped at Aang, who was trying to reason with it, Sokka threw his boomerang at the creature, though the full hit on its head did not even faze it. He was taken aback by the spirit's ability to swallow Zuko's fire blast, burp, and eventually throw up moth wasps, deeming the creature to be the "grossest spirit ever". The spirit insects attacked the group, covering Sokka's arm in such density that he could not even see it anymore. They were eventually saved when Azula shot a lightning bolt away from them all, drawing the moths and the wolf spirit with it.
At nightfall, the team had set up camp, and Sokka was sitting around the campfire together with Zuko, while Azula slept uneasily away from the group, Aang meditated, and Katara slept next to Appa and Momo. He questioned why Zuko let Azula sleep with her hands unbound, to which he received the response that he was giving her a chance since she did save them all from the moth wasps. When Zuko asked why Sokka was still up, the Water Tribe warrior comically mentioned that he had bladder issues since he drank too much water to get rid of the moth wasps' taste. He looked over his shoulder at his sleeping sister and commented on the cold temperature before getting up and lovingly covering Katara with a blanket. When a surprised Zuko asked why he would still care for Katara after she had thrown so many snowballs at his face, Sokka answered that he threw witticisms at her instead, stating that when it came to Katara, he did not mind getting the short end of the deal. He gave Zuko a blanket as well when the firebender requested one before taking his leave to the forest in order to empty his bladder.
The next day he had to help his sister put out fires started by Azula before heading into town. After watching a performance of Love amongst the Dragons, the group was invited back to the director Noren's home for lunch. Sokka pretended they were a theater history group to help uncover more information about Ursa. Eventually, questioning led the group to the Forgetful Valley.
Upon arriving in the Forgotten Valley, Sokka noticed that there were faces on everything in the valley. When the group came under attack, he did his best to defend his friends with his boomerang. Eventually, their attackers were revealed to be Rafa and Misu, siblings from the Northern Water Tribe. After listening to their story, he shared a moment with his sister. When Aang went off to convince the wolf spirit to the pool, he helped Katara and Zuko subdue Azula after she suffered another psychosis.
After the arrival of the Mother of Faces, he tried to prevent Azula's escape after she learned about her mother's new identity. He went after her, along with Zuko, taking a shortcut back to Noren's home. While Zuko went inside, he stayed outside to defend the home. Eventually, he ended up crashing through the roof of the home while battling Azula. After the battle, he reunited with Katara and Aang, questioning Azula's motives for leaving the letter behind.
== Visiting San's House of Seashells ==
Sometime later, Sokka and Suki visited Seashell San's House of Shells in a Fire Nation marketplace, telling Suki that he had wanted to collect seashells since he was a little boy. He compared the sounds in the shells to a "teeny-tiny" Aang airbending and asked San how much they were worth. Being told they were worth fifteen ban for one but at a special of two for thirty, he grew excited but quickly realized what the vendor was doing and grew annoyed. Suki called the warrior a goof, but he asked if she meant "handsome warrior with formidable biceps". After a girl, Giya, entered the store and San discouraged her from buying shells because she appeared to be a fake collector, Suki confronted him and his assistant, Jojan. Sokka tried to warn the men not to put their hands on her, unfazed by the vendor's order for the couple to leave. As Suki began taking down the men, Sokka asked if she needed help; he was told sweetly she did not though was thanked for the offer and kissed on the cheek. After the men were defeated, the couple left, with Sokka warning them their shells had been set on fire by San's firebending because of the lacquer that was on them.
As the two exited, Sokka remarked that the store was not the coolest place ever. They caught up with Giya; after Suki introduced them to her, he added that she was a Kyoshi Warrior, confirming their status as the Fire Lord's elite guard. He told the worried girl that Suki could teach her self-defense techniques in the event that they were confronted again. After Suki told Giya the story of the Kyoshi Warriors' founding, Sokka told the seemingly unsure young woman not to underestimate herself. After being told that Giya would rather have some of her friends with her because she was too shy to train alone, the warrior smiled at his girlfriend. He later stood in with Giya and her friends as Suki began instructing them in the Kyoshi Warriors' ways.
== Reviving Yangchen's Festival ==
When the peace talks in Yu Dao came to an end, Sokka and the rest of Team Avatar returned there to witness the introduction of the city's new coalition government. Although having witnessed a historic moment, he was more excited about the subsequent celebration banquet, during which he raved about the turtle duck dish, trying to get the vegetarian Yee-Li to try it too. When Toph informed everyone that her metalbending academy was doing so well that she was in need of expansion but lacked the necessary funds, Sokka suggested charging her students tuition, figuring that she would end up being richer than the Earth King, though she rejected the idea. When Aang joined their table and announced that they were all going on a field trip the following day, Sokka was not immediately fond of the idea as he had hoped to peruse the local markets for a new bag.
Nevertheless, he accompanied Aang, Toph, Katara, and three Air Acolytes, Xing Ying, Yee-Li, and Jingbo, toward a cliff overlooking the ocean where they would commence the celebration of Yangchen's Festival by bowing to a stone statue. Upon arrival, he was surprised to learn that it was not a statue of Yangchen as he had been expecting. When he asked Aang about the identity of the woman, the young Avatar had to admit that he was not sure who it was, but subsequently waved Sokka's skepticism about bowing to an unknown lady's statue away by stating that it was just how it was done.
After the bowing ceremony, the group set out toward the sacred meadow where they would enjoy a ceremonial Air Nomad meal, which was not something Sokka was anxiously awaiting due to the fact that Air Nomads are vegetarians. However, they soon discovered that a town had been built in the meadow, and he and Toph set out to find a decent meal of meat. They later found the rest of the group on the grounds of the Earthen Fire Refinery, and after the factory's interim boss, Satoru became starstruck by Toph and invited her for a tour of the refinery, Sokka and the others tagged along as Toph's guests. Sokka was amazed by the amount of machinery, as he had never seen so many before. When the tour led them back outside, Sokka's interest was piqued upon seeing a forklift, and he insisted on trying it out for himself, though ended up breaking it. When Toph managed to fix the vehicle in mere moments, earning herself the praise of Satoru, Sokka commented with disgust that seeing Toph's softer side gave him the "oogies".
When Aang eventually managed to strike up a conversation with Satoru about the refinery's location and accused the factory of having defiled the sacred land, Sokka backed him up, stating that nature could never have polluted a river to the point the river near the factory had been defiled. However, when Toph corroborated Satoru's claim that the factory was not to blame for that, Sokka instantly changed his opinion, backing the earthbender up instead. When Toph subsequently got into an argument with Aang, the ground shook, and Sokka urged the two earthbenders to remain calm, assuming they were responsible for it. When a second, bigger quake occurred, Satoru asked them all to leave, but before they could heed the engineer's request, they heard a factory worker call for help; the earthquakes had left him trapped under a haywire machine. Sokka instantly helped usher the factory workers to safety under cover from Katara, who used her waterbending to pulverize incoming rocks, while Aang and Toph moved in to save the trapped man. After the crisis was averted, Sokka was shocked to learn that Loban's business partner and co-owner of the refinery was Lao Beifong, Toph's father, and accused him of being a liar when he declared Toph to be a confused girl, rather than his daughter.
When Lao subsequently ordered the Rough Rhinos to escort Team Avatar off the refinery's premises, Sokka was skeptical of the intention of the others to fight all the guards, noting that they all looked like strong men. He did not hesitate to help out, though, and used his machete to take a swing at Colonel Mongke. After the firebender deflected his blow on his chest plate and tried to blast him with fire, Sokka switched tactics and ran away. He dragged Katara, who was fighting two Rough Rhinos herself, along with him, prompting the three men to chase them. By dodging the charge at the last minute, Sokka had lured the guards to run down the fence and take to fight to the riverside, where he pointed Katara to the closeness of the water, which she used to quickly encase the Rough Rhinos in ice. Sokka approached Yeh-Lu, who was holding a burning grenade and started to taunt him, taking his time to get rid of the explosive. He failed to extinguish the wick, however, leaving him to toss the explosive away. As it detonated near the river, Sokka angrily turned to Yeh-Lu, outing his disbelief over the destructive power of the explosive and that it had been intended to be used against him.
After Katara pointed Sokka's attention to the passageway the explosive had revealed, the siblings promptly checked it out. Using glowing crystals, they illuminated their path and eventually arrived at an iron ore mine, which was also the cause of the river's pollution. When they were discovered by Kahchi and Vachir, Sokka readied his machete and took out Kahchi. He had more trouble with Vachir, however, and the skirmish between them led to the weakening of one of the mine's support beams, as the ex-Yuyan Archer's arrows lodged itself deep in the wood, tearing it. After Katara pointed out the hazardous situation they were in, Sokka tried to urge every worker to evacuate, though without success. They were approached by Nutha and Niyok, who explained that everyone down there needed the job to survive, so no one dared to leave without their boss's orders. In order to get everyone out, Sokka ran back toward the refinery to find Lao Beifong and get him to order everyone to excavate the mine. He barged into his office and explained the situation, though was met with disbelief, as Lao was not aware that the refinery was also excavating the iron ore. Sokka convinced Lao to follow him to the mine, where Lao gave the evacuation order. When Loban appeared and contradicted that order, Sokka was once more attacked by Kahchi. Although he was able to dodge the weapon thrown at him, the blade shattered one of the support beams, causing the mine to cave in. Being close to an exit, Sokka managed to exit the mine in time, supporting Niyok, who had broken her arm in the process. Outside, he found Aang and quickly explained the situation to him. Sokka was relieved to hear Katara call to them after Aang reduced the amount of earth that separated them from the trapped people.
Arriving at the Beifong Metalbending Academy, Sokka quickly pulled Penga, Ho Tun, and The Dark One out of class, saying that it was a serious situation that he would explain more about en route, only noting at that point that Toph needed their help. After reaching the town, Sokka listened as the students told Aang about the situation being the reverse of an exercise surrounding iron plates and, hearing The Dark One use terminology such as "messed up" and "stomped", he asked what had happened to his poetry. The warrior watched as the metalbenders removed the ground above those trapped; while Aang and Katara kissed, Sokka told Momo, perched on his shoulder, that the oogies were well-deserved before happily reuniting with his sister.
After Aang returned from a short meditation session, and explained that the town needed to be returned to its natural state, prompting Sokka to ask if that included the destruction of the refinery. With the iron mask the metalbender students had dug up being taken to the beaches by Loban and the Rough Rhinos, Sokka decided to join Satoru on his forklift to retrieve it at Aang's urging; he asked if he could drive but was rebuffed by the scientist.
Upon arrival at the beach, Sokka threw his boomerang at the rope the Rough Rhinos were using to drag the mask away, saying the Avatar needed it returned while preparing for an attack by Loban's lackeys. He used the weapon to stop an attack from Vachir before giving Satoru his battle club, telling him just to outthink his opponents. After deploying his boomerang to knock the bow and arrow out of Vachir's hands, he attempted to intimidate him by mocking his hand-to-hand fighting abilities. When the archer attempted to throw a punch, the warrior grabbed his wrist and flipped him to the ground. After noticing Satoru hit the forklift's engine to create a backblast and thus throw Kahchi back, Sokka commented that it was the proper way to outthink his foe. When Satoru asked if it worked on bigger opponents, Sokka's attention was called to the rising spirit, General Old Iron. As the spirit grabbed the mask with Loban by its ropes, Sokka and Satoru latched on and were dragged with him.
As the spirit marched to the town, Sokka, Satoru, and Loban were saved by Katara, who bent a water vortex that allowed them to slide safely to the ground. Despite being rescued, Sokka only remarked that he did not like water slides any more than dirt slides.
Following Aang's victory over General Old Iron, Sokka was running away from Momo, trying to keep some food he had been given. Three months later, during the new Spirits' Friendship Festival, Sokka set up a meat stand, selling items such as meat kebabs, which he described as a shish kebab, but without the stuff, consumers did not like.
==== Visiting the Beifong Metalbending Academy ====
A few months later, Sokka and Suki visited Toph's larger and more expansive Beifong Metalbending Academy. Sokka was impressed that she had been able to make many renovations thanks to her sponsorship from Earthen Fire Industries, such as dormitories for the students. However, after Toph sarcastically declared everything was great, the couple looked to each other confused, asking the earthbender what the problem was. Toph explained that she was bored of the monotonous routine of teaching metalbending every day, and Suki told her that they were taking her to a concert to shake up her routine. Sokka explained that he, Aang, and Katara met the musicians before Toph joined Team Avatar. Sokka told Toph that it was not his idea to come, but that Suki was crazy about their music, and that she knew all their songs by heart. Toph expressed her lack of enthusiasm as the concert began to start, and Sokka discreetly agreed with her. Sokka looked embarassed as the concert began to start, and was tired when it was still going on three hours later. Toph got up to leave and Sokka begged her not to leave him in the concert hall.
Some days later, Sokka and Suki were glad to find Toph, as they had not been able to find her. She explained that Sun and his friends would be joining her academy. That afternoon, Chong, Lily, and Moku left the city, with Chong explaining that they would play for their love of music instead of money. Sokka sarcastically expressed his enthusiasm for more of their music. He waved off the nomads in the new luxury wagon they had purchased with their earnings in Yu Dao, hoping to never meet the nomads again, which Suki lightly scolded him for.
== Return to the South ==
Soon after their time in the Yu Dao area, Team Avatar traveled to Ba Sing Se. While Sokka and Katara prepared to return to the South Pole for the first time since the end of the Hundred Year War, Aang received a summons from Zuko, who requested his aid against supposed dark spirit attacks in the Fire Nation. Sokka and Katara agreed to meet up with Aang later, and took a ship back home to the South.
When their ship finally arrived at the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka woke Katara from a bittersweet dream. Upon disembarking the vessel, they spotted several children sliding down a slope on otter penguins. Katara and Sokka reminisced about their first time meeting Aang, and how Sokka once thought he had been a Fire Nation spy. They soon decided to go penguin sledding themselves, only to slide right into a construction site. After conversing with a group of children who snowballed Sokka in the face, they were accosted by three construction workers, who admonished the kids for trespassing. The two waterbender construction workers refused Katara's suggestion of peacefully resolving the situation, and Sokka looked on amused as his sister defeated the two men with her superior bending.
Sokka and Katara soon arrived home, and were shocked to see that Wolf Cove had been transformed from a diminished village to a bustling city. Sokka and his sister were greeted by Auntie Ashuna, and got to taste her seal jerky for the first time in years, before the siblings were being hailed as heroes by the entire tribe. Soon after, Kanna appeared in town, and the siblings embraced their grandmother, before learning that she and Pakku had already married. When he learned that Pakku had established a school for waterbenders, Sokka offered to provide his so-called "motivational bending".
The siblings discussed their father Hakoda with their grandparents, and were surprised to learn that he had been elected Head Chieftain of the entire Southern Water Tribe. Sokka and Katara were pointed to his office, and were happily reunited with Hakoda. They were also introduced to Malina and Maliq, two Northerners who were behind the Southern Reconstruction Project. The two Northerners admired the siblings for saving Tui and La, and Malina showed them their plans to construct a palace for the Head Chieftain. Sokka suggested they put a slide in the middle of the palace, but Malina assumed that he was making a joke, and offered to make him a consultant on the project.
Sokka, Katara, Malina, Maliq, and Hakoda dined together at Two Fishes Northern Cuisine, a new restaurant in the city. Sokka was delighted to enjoy the food, until two young waiters stole Maliq's briefcase and fled on a snowmobile. Sokka and Katara pursued the thieves on an ice sled and followed their footprints all the way to the Fire Nation shipwreck, where Sokka reminisced about accusing Aang of being a spy.
As they ventured into the wreck, Sokka's focus on finding where the footprints went led to his throat hitting a dangling tripwire, sending him through a trapdoor. When Katara followed him down, they encountered Gilak in the cavern beneath: a comrade of Hakoda from the war, who praised them as heroes of the tribe. Gilak explained to Sokka and Katara about how he thought the Southern Water Tribe had weakened, and insulted Hakoda while doing so. Sokka took offense at the man's blatant disrespect toward their father, as well as their sister tribe.
Gilak explained that he believed all foreigners ought to be banished from the South, especially the Northerners, while Sokka defended Malina and Maliq. This only enraged the Southern veteran, and Sokka whispered to Katara that they should leave, realizing that the man was unhinged. The siblings agreed to wait for the right moment to depart, while Gilak demanded that they join his army and convince their father of the "truth". Sokka flat out rejected Gilak, firmly stating that Hakoda already saw what the truth was. Disappointed in Sokka, Gilak grabbed him and held a knife to his throat, demanding that the siblings change their decision, but Katara disarmed him by covering Gilak's right hand in ice, with Sokka elbowing him in the ribs. The siblings had the opportunity to flee, and exited the way they came. As they left, they were pursued by a pair of riders on snow leopard caribou, but Sokka distracted the animals by throwing Ashuna's seal jerky.
After arriving back home, Sokka told Katara that they needed to tell Hakoda about what Gilak was doing and put a stop to it. However, he was disappointed to learn that Katara partially agreed with Gilak's opposition to aspects of modernization, and that their home was becoming a cheap imitation of the North. Sokka firmly disagreed, responding that they were seeing the effects of progress.
Maliq was waiting in front of Kanna's hut, and the siblings told him that they could not recover his briefcase. As they spoke to him, Sokka was embarassed to find that Malina and Maliq were brother and sister, rather than husband and wife as he assumed. This made things awkward with Katara and Maliq, and Sokka went into the tent, only to stand speechless with Katara when they found their father kissing Malina.
The next morning, Sokka and Katara accompanied Malina and Maliq to the site of their new factory. While Maliq was talking about his reasons for coming to the South, Sokka noticed that Katara seemed distracted. She confessed to being disturbed from seeing their father kissing Malina, believing her to be not good enough for their father, but Sokka countered that only Hakoda would know who was best for him. When Maliq's attention returned to them, Sokka asked him to repeat what he had said, and the Northerner explained his plan to harvest oil from the South and modernize it along with Earthen Fire Industries, sparking Sokka's interest upon mentioning a forklift. Sokka and Katara subsequently happily reunited with Toph, who had been sent to the South as the representative of Earthen Fire Industries. Upon hearing that he and Katara were to be the guests of honor at a festival later tonight to celebrate the partnership with Earthen Fire Industries, Sokka was thrilled about the prospect of music, games, and food.
Later at the festival, Sokka, along with Toph, immediately went to play games, winning a number of stuffed animals. Aang later rejoined their company and competed with him in a beanbag toss game. When Gilak later emerged and interrupted the festivities, Sokka was shocked to learn that Malina and Maliq had indeed intended to control the South to favor the North, although Malina insisted she had long forsaken that plan. Though Malina tried to appease Gilak by promising to leave the South peacefully, Gilak refused her compromise and ordered his warriors to attack, forcing Team Avatar to intervene and defend Malina and Maliq; Sokka faced off against two warriors armed with boomerangs, who insisted he side with Gilak against the Northerners, but he refused once more and demonstrated his superior boomerang skills.
Sokka later went to Kanna's hut, where Hakoda was recuperating after Gilak's failed attempt to kill him and was relieved to see him regain consciousness. After Kanna noted the discord in the South to be due to misguided beliefs and stated that someone must revise their beliefs, Sokka announces that Gilak should be the one to do so, clashing with Katara in the process, who retorted that his statement should apply to Malina and Maliq for attempting to dig oil out of the ground. However, he continued to uphold that the Southern Reconstruction Project was beneficial for their home and that she should adapt to the post-war era.
As they later discussed the ongoing construction in the South, Sokka was certain that the gathering protesters would relent when they saw the perks of the tribes' partnership. Upon the arrival of Earth King Kuei and Fire Lord Zuko in the South, Sokka greeted them warmly, unfazed by the continuous presence of protesters and hecklers surrounding the site of arrival.
When Earth King Kuei was later abducted by Gilak's forces and supposed to be traded for Hakoda, Sokka made clever use of chain-mail armor to thwart Gilak's chi-blockers during the exchange at the Bridge of No Return. Before it started, he proposed to Katara that because none of them knew the pre-war South, her idealistic vision of it never existed. Sokka later comforted her at Kya's grave, and both seemed to have softened in their views. Back at Kanna's hut, Team Avatar, and Sokka in particular, enjoyed a multicultural meal.
== Return to Cranefish Town ==
After his visit to the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka traveled back to Yu Dao with Aang, Katara, and Toph to visit Suki. Sokka complained about the slow trip and suggested that Aang got some sort of propellant system for Appa. Toph interrupted their conversation, saying that she wanted to stop by her dad's factory in Cranefish Town to check up on some things. Sokka was annoyed at both the detour and the name "Cranefish Town" and came up with "Forklift Town" as an alternative.
Upon landing in the middle of town, Sokka was disappointed that there was no welcoming committee for them. When the townspeople seemed cold and uninterested in Team Avatar's arrival, Sokka whispered to Aang to do "the bending thing" that made people foam at the mouth and accept them as one of their own, referring to Aang's marble spin trick. The group was approached by Lao, who told them that Cranefish Town was in need of the Avatar's guidance and wisdom, as the settlement had grown immensely, prompting Sokka to comment that you could fit ten Yu Daos into it. When Aang agreed to stay and attend a business council meeting that afternoon, Sokka was frustrated that he would have to wait even longer to see Suki.
Spotting a stand nearby, with the person in charge selling a Water Tribe helmet with a design unfamiliar to him, Sokka believed that he was born to wear the helmet and called Aang over to give him his opinion on it. Aang said it was the best helmet he had seen Sokka wear and encouraged him to buy it. Suddenly, the stand owner yanked the helmet off his head and told them that they were closed, as a fight between earthbenders and firebenders began to break out.
As Aang, Toph, and Katara jumped into action, Sokka stayed behind with Lao and a few security guards. Lao asked if he was going to help, and Sokka answered that he liked to let the benders duke it out in these situations. At that moment, an earthbender was thrown against the wall behind them, telling them to get out of the way and that this fight was not fit for them. Toph rushed toward them, bending a rock at the man, and realized the building was collapsing. Aang realized there was no hope for saving the building and flew in to grab Toph just as the building imploded. Sokka was protected behind Katara's ice wall.
Aang and Toph returned, and Katara reassured them that nobody was hurt. As she and Aang shared a romantic moment together, Sokka sarcastically told them that he was fine, if they cared, prompting Toph to say that she cared and punched his shoulder. Team Avatar looked upon the wreckage of the apartment complex, and Aang and Toph were rejected when they offered to help rebuild. This prompted Lao to inform them that he had a solution he wanted to talk about at the meeting later. Sokka decided to tag along, wanting to see how the business council works and suggest a better name for the government body.
At the business council, Sokka was quick to notice and point out to Aang the evident divisions between the bender and nonbender councilors, with both groups sitting apart and away from each other, and faulting one another for the rise in bender violence in the town. After Aang proposed the creation of a police force to deal with the conflict between the town's communities, one of the councilors, Liling, volunteered her personal security force to act as temporary peacekeepers, much to Sokka's approval. Realizing that dealing with problems in the town would take longer to deal with than a day, Sokka likened the impact of Cranefish Town's technological progress to trying to stop a lion turtle, to which Aang agreed. With the group staying at a residence near the refinery, Sokka left Aang to send a letter to Suki informing her of Team Avatar's location.
The next day, Sokka, Katara, and Toph were enlisted by Aang to help clean up one of the town's beaches early in the morning, much to the former three's annoyance. While Aang, Katara, and Toph used their respective bending to deal with the trash on the beach, Sokka physically lifted and collected items for disposal. After Aang attracted the attention and admiration of two young firebenders, Sokka pondered if the Avatar would be viewed as a hero by nonbender children. Though he agreed with Aang that he hoped that was the case, Sokka jokingly stated the reason he hanged out with Aang was to impress random strangers.
Later that evening, the Earthen Fire Industries refinery near Team Avatar's residence was sabotaged, suffering extensive damage from the resulting explosion. Having learned from one of the saboteurs that he was hired by two teenage girls, and that several other businesses were targeted at the same time, Team Avatar decided to investigate who was responsible for the coordinated attacks, with Sokka bringing out the hat he wore during his investigation for Aang's trial at Chin Village, much to Katara's disbelief.
Surveying the damage to the factories, Sokka determined that the businesses were all owned by nonbenders and that, given the manipulated earth used to destroy much of the factories' machinery, benders were the ones responsible. He further theorized that, given how industrial machines were replacing bending labor, some benders would feel threatened over losing their privileged place and status in society, enough so to motivate them to attack nonbender's factories.
Joining the rest of Team Avatar while they asked the town's bender-owned businesses to aid their nonbender counterparts, Sokka visited Liling's home, being simultaneously impressed by the businesswoman's fancy "non-palace" house, while also quietly pointing out her incorrect descriptions of her home as "humble". After Liling introduced her daughters Ru and Yaling to the group, Liling mentioned that Ru, as a nonbender, had other talents compared to her earthbending sibling, with Sokka enthusiastically bringing up his skills with a boomerang, a nonbending skill that his sibling could not achieve with just her waterbending.
Following Liling's promise to aid the affected businesses, and Toph agreeing to give Yaling metalbending lessons, the group left the house, upon which Toph revealed that the family was involved with the industrial sabotage, having recognized Ru and Yaling's footsteps at the scene of the crime. Realizing that Liling's daughters were the ones who hired the saboteurs and that Liling was being "too nice" as Sokka put it, Team Avatar decided to further investigate the family, with Toph using her metalbending lessons with Yaling to get more information on their plans. Arriving back at Earthen Fire Industries, Sokka found Suki, who had traveled from Yu Dao to Cranefish Town on an eel hound. Embracing each other, Suki informed Sokka that she headed out as soon as she got his message, borrowing her mount, who suddenly licked Sokka, with the Water Tribesman complimenting the eel hound for reuniting him with his girlfriend.
The next day, Toph returned to the group with information from Yaling on a secret bending supremacist rally being held in the town. Though Toph wanted to barge into the rally and forcefully get the information they needed, Sokka agreed with Katara that they needed a more surreptitious plan, suggesting the idea that Toph would attend the rally as herself while the rest of Team Avatar infiltrated the event in disguises. Though the rest of the group agreed to Sokka's plan, Katara once again questioned how many items from their prior travels Sokka had kept after he put on a thick beard from his Wang Fire disguise, with Sokka promising he had only kept a "dozen dozen" of them.
Later that evening, Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Katara headed to the rally, with the former two flirtatiously complimenting each other's disguise. Entering the underground mine where the rally was being held, Sokka spotted several members of the business council among the attendees. After Liling revealed her intention to rid Cranefish Town of all nonbenders, and Toph blew her cover trying to arrest her, the rest of Team Avatar sprang into action, with Sokka using his boomerang against the assorted benders. During the fight, Sokka and Suki encountered Ru and Yaling, with Sokka questioning how Ru could support her mother's campaign against nonbenders like them, given that she was one as well. Before his words could take effect, Yaling earthbent a chunk of rock at him, which he was able to avoid. Though Suki quickly chi-blocked the earthbender, Liling was able to temporarily force back Sokka and the rest of Team Avatar, giving her daughters and supporters the opportunity to escape. Liling then attempted to collapse the ceiling of the underground area, though she was quickly stopped by Team Avatar, who then imprisoned her in a metal cage at Earthen Fire Industries.
Conversing with his friends about the true nature of the bending supremacist movement in Cranefish Town, Sokka was quick to disabuse Toph's notion that the problem began and ended with Liling and her daughters, mentioning the government leaders and everyday citizens he saw at the rally in support of them, and that Liling had only been exacerbating pre-existing tensions between benders and nonbenders. When Toph suggested that Aang simply remove Liling's influence over her movement by taking away her bending like he did Ozai's, Sokka noted that, unlike the Fire Lord, Liling was a civilian, and that punishing her in such a way might jeopardize the Avatar's relationship with the bending community.
The next morning, Aang, Katara, and Toph were drawn away from the Earthen Fire Industries factory after the business council building was set on fire, leaving Sokka and Suki behind at the refinery with a small security team hired by Lao Beifong. The arson would turn out to be a diversion, as Yaling and her allies attacked the factory in order to rescue Liling. Refusing to retreat, Sokka and Suki attempt to defend the factory, only to be imprisoned in Yaling's earth pillars, allowing the earthbender to rescue her mother.
Following the simultaneous attacks, Katara and Suki realized that they needed to improve their chances of victory by teaching Lao's security guards chi-blocking. Having explained their plan to the rest of the group, Sokka complimented his girlfriend for her ingenious, amazing plan. Later, while observing Suki training the guards with Aang, the two conversed about the bending supremacist movement, with Sokka questioning if Aang was going to take away the bending of everyone involved with Liling. While Aang said he would not, he agonized about how the conflict between benders and nonbenders would never have occurred without the machines upsetting the balance between them, just like how the Fire Nation would not have been able to wage war against the world without its mechanical arsenal. Though Sokka agreed with his friend that the industrial machines caused problems like pollution, he also pointed out how they improved the lives of nonbenders like Satoru, allowing them to achieve success normally reserved for benders, and that it was the supremacists' and Fire Nation's violence and ideology that was truly at fault. Mollified, Aang apologized to Sokka for his comparisons, and Sokka apologized in jest for always being right.
As Aang left to turn in for the night, Sokka stayed behind with Suki, with the two of them noticing that Ru was lurking near the factory. Realizing Ru wanted to talk, Sokka tried to welcome her, but the nonbender remained reluctant, agreeing with Sokka's opinion that her family's plans for nonbenders went too far, but not knowing how she could turn against them. Sokka, using Zuko's example of standing up to his own father, explained how Ru had a chance to do something good by helping them, convincing Ru to not waste her opportunity, informing him and Suki about Liling's plan to attack Earthen Fire Industries. Though Ru suggested the two of them leave Cranefish Town, Sokka and Suki refused.
The next morning, during the bending supremacists' attack, several of Liling's followers managed to break through the refinery's doors, encountering Sokka and Satoru inside. After one of the benders questioned if he was a chi-blocker, Sokka bluffed that he was a "chi-blocking machine", knocking out one of the enemy benders with his boomerang, and using that as evidence he could chi-block from a distance. As the rest of the benders rushed him and Satoru, Sokka was disappointed that his feats did not scare them off. A moment later, while Toph was battling Yaling, Sokka knocked out the girl with his boomerang, referring to it as the great equalizer. Helping Toph up, Sokka asked if she was alright, to which she affirmed while also thanking him, affectionately punching him after he said it was no problem.
After the battle had concluded and Liling and most of her supporters had been arrested, Aang and Sokka caught up within the ruins of the factory. As Aang bemoaned his inability to bridge the divides in Cranefish Town, first between humans and spirits, and then with benders and nonbenders, Sokka comforted his friend, reminding Aang that he had already bridged the latter divide in a small way when they became friends.
Three days later, Sokka walked through the docks of Cranefish Town with the rest of his friends. Having decided to stay in the town for the foreseeable future, Aang acknowledged the settlement needed a better name, and Katara promised to get Sokka on it.
== References ==
== See also ==
* History of Sokka (84 AG - 100 AG)
* History of Sokka (Spring 100 AG)
* History of Sokka (Summer 100 AG)
Category:A to Z
Category:Character histories
Category:Sokka