"The Kyoshi Warriors... I had to see it for myself." The smooth voice of a man wondered out loud behind them.
... and of course, it had to be on this day that the world decided to throw a Kyoshi-damned boomerang to hit them right on their rears.
Blood feeling like it had been turned to ice, Suki and her sisters turned around to be greeted by the largest man they've ever seen- towering over them in sturdy Fire Nation armour, the iconic skull-faced Firebender helmet that haunted the dreams of hundreds of thousands of people over his head, and a meteor hammer hanging on his hip. Of course, they already knew who it was. Suki herself could feel it all the way to the deepest part of her gut.
"KHAN!" Suki shouted, and she and her sisters immediately drew their weapons. Lustrous war fans unfolded and katanas unsheathed with the keen of dangerously sharpened metal as the Kyoshi Warriors faced the man who had been plaguing the southwest of Earth Kingdom for weeks with his Horde. Speaking of which... Suki's painted eyes darted around- looking for the ambushers that no doubt had been laying in wait for them.
"It's just me." Khan assured her with a small chuckle as if he had heard her thoughts. "I thought we'd have a little chat in private. After all, it was interesting hearing all your plans to try and assassinate me straight from your mouths."
"How did you know we were here?!" Suki growled- her grip on her War fans tightening. But rather than feeling even the tiniest bit threatened, Khan instead laughed heartily.
"Oh, I learned from my mistakes the second time the Earth Kingdom sent a special Earthbender strikeforce! It was both incredible and infuriating that my scouts didn't see them coming until they were already at my doorstep. Sneaky Earthbenders... one would think they'd be noisier when they march."
He shook his head.
"So naturally, I sent out spies." He told them, "Just one loyal plainclothes Fire Nation soldier to hang around in every village- blowing the division's discretionary fund on wine and on women of the perfectly respectable profession of sword-swallowing. The entire division almost tore at each other volunteering for the jobs, so I held a singing contest to determine who got the jobs. Oh, that was quite the night.... *Ahem* Anyway, they were to stay in their respective villages until the day when they spotted or heard of Earth Kingdom forces in the area. At which point, they'd report back to me post-haste."
That jogged something in Suki's memory...
"That red-haired man from last night! He left as soon as we arrived!" She muttered in the terrible realisation that they had been basking too much in their pride at the time to see the red flags. Meanwhile, Khan's booming laughter once again echoed through the forest path.
"Yes, Corporal Yusoo is the division's best baritone!" the giant mirthfully confirmed- still chuckling, "Oh, you should have heard his rendition of 'Leaves from the Vine' which won him his posting here. It was very moving. You also left quite the impression on him as well. 'Earth Kingdom Elites' he described you- having never seen or heard of the Kyoshi Warriors before."
"And you have?!" Suki growled pointedly.
"Of course." He shrugged, "You see. I need you for something. Something only a fabled Kyoshi Warrior can offer me. Oh, how Fortune smiles on me this day for giving me not one, but six Kyoshi Warriors."
The realities of war were never so kind, and Suki saw her sisters stiffen at that reminder. But not her, she only felt pure rage. Like hot magma bubbling through her veins, it filled her with power she never knew she had in her. Her grip on her war fans tightened even further.
"To be fair, it's not what you think." He chuckled, "But I do like that look of fear in your eyes."
"You should come with us to Ba Sing Se to see the Earth king." She offered with a sweet smile dripping with venom, "That way, you can save us the trouble of carrying your head around in a box! Kyoshi Warriors, focus together!"
"AS ONE!"
As one, they have lived; and if need be, as one, they would die.
Suki watched as Khan moved with arrogant casualness as he uncoiled his meteor hammer from his hip- clearly underestimating her and her sisters. That was fine with her. It'll only make it easier to take his head.
She already thought about this encounter in those sleepless hours last night. Tossing and turning with nothing to do but steep in her own thoughts and daydreams... and today, one of those daydreams will be of great use. Khan's advantage: his strength and his reach. Their advantage: their numbers and their coordination. They only need to nullify his advantages while preserving theirs, and they would triumph against him. Suki already knew of the plan where her sisters could take him down. In fact, they had already done a variation of it.
Now to check if they remembered....
"Sisters, gut him like that unagi last winter!" Suki shouted, and a look of realisation came to their eyes as well as an eager grins all around. Yeah, they remember, alright.
The six of them proceeded to surround Khan at a respectable distance, about five paces away from Khan's massive frame- dodging the dangerous swings of his meteor hammer.
Unagis were massive sea serpents that would coil themselves around ships and elephant koi. A serious concern for both merchant ships and Kyoshi Island inhabitants alike. So, Suki and her sisters had found that the best way to deal with it was to divide its attention and take turns attacking- never letting it regain its balance. The timing of the attacks was very precise, but the Kyoshi Warrior's coordination was legendary for a reason. The unagi's ponderous size only made it easier, just like Khan- almost exactly like Khan. Even down to the way he would slam down his meteor hammer at the ground like an unagi would slam their tails at the water.
It was here that the Kyoshi Warriors were truly in their element: hunting big, stupid game.
"You're supposed to be the big bad guy?"
"Hah! So much for Ozai's elites, right sisters?"
"Where's your chauvinistic tough guy macho bluster now, huh?!"
"The flying fishopotamus at home is scarier than you!"
"Give us a challenge, O' scary Fire Nation Giant! This fight is almost boring!"
"It's six against one, Khan!" Suki victoriously taunted as well, just as her turn to strike at him came. She charged forward as he was distracted by one of her sisters. Meanwhile, the sharpened edge of Suki's war fan was aimed for the joints where Fire Nation armour was weakest... Unfortunately, her strike glanced off and she had to keep her distance as another of her sisters' turn to attack him came up.
Next time. Suki clicked her tongue. Next time, she'll definitely penetrate the metal.
"An interesting strategy. Well done, Suki." Khan's smooth voice calmly complimented her as if they were playing Pai Sho, "And it would have worked too if I didn't have more Dexterity than you."
She almost froze. Wait... how did he know her name? However, the answer didn't come to her because something else happened immediately after Khan spoke...
... he moved.
Not like a statue come to life, not like a giant from the tales, not slow at all. No, Khan moved with all the speed and grace as they did, if not faster. One moment, Suki's sister-in-arms was lunging with her katana; and the next, she was sailing through the air from Khan's vicious armoured backhand before landing in a groaning, unmoving heap on the ground. But by the time that she did land, Khan's massive footfalls were already stomping audibly as he dashed over her and towards the next closest target with all the speed of a sprinting ostrich-horse.
Still surprised and off balance from having their coordination broken, Khan's next victim found an enormous hand yanking her katana from her hands before the other equally-enormous hand grasped her face... and violently slammed her down to the ground in a plume of dust.
"Suki! What do we do- AARGH!"
Another Kyoshi Warrior fell as Khan whipped the chain of his meteor hammer low- hitting her shins with a sickening crack of bone. She fell grunting from pain and clutching her broken legs... and just like that, there were only three Kyoshi Warriors left. Unfortunately, Suki's mind was still reeling from what was happening. Khan wasn't like a giant, giants weren't supposed to move this fast!
"SUKI, WATCH OUT!"
However, before Suki could react, she found a cold metal chain lock around her ankle; and with a powerful yank from Khan, she found herself launched into the air in a great arc- so high that she could almost reach the top of the treeline... The view of the northern horizon was beautiful... but fleeting; because a fraction of a heartbeat later, she was violently pulled down to the earth.
The last thing that Suki saw was the dirt ground speeding towards her face at immense speeds before... blackness.
(Later that Night) [The 41st Division Encampment]
An ostrich-horse pulled the wagon that Suki and her sisters were on. A metal cage on wheels, really.
They... they had lost. Grossly underestimated their opponent who was much, much more powerful than they had given him credit for. And now, they paid the price for their folly- consigned to be prisoners of war for a brutish and violent giant of a man whose intentions could not be any clearer. It was the absolute worst nightmare for her, who was a Kyoshi Warrior proud of her heritage. Still, it was a miracle that none of them were killed in that engagement. And although an incomplete disaster was a poor miracle to be grateful for, Suki was still thankful for it nonetheless.
She looked to her sisters. At least... they had all been allowed to keep their dignity and were left in the green kimono of their Kyoshi Warrior uniforms rather than prisoner rags which were the norm. Not that it lifted their spirits any more, because no one had spoken a single word since waking up here. Just dejected expressions of the defeated all around.
"I'm sorry." Suki began. "I'm sorry for insisting we leave the island to help with the war effort. I'm sorry for dragging you all with me. I'm sorry for being so pushy about it. I'm sorry for being so selfish!"
Her sisters glanced at each other before nodding. Suddenly, Suki felt herself swept up in a warm embrace.
"There, there. It's not your fault, Suki."
"And we wanted to help the Earth Kingdom too."
"Yeah, not your fault."
"We'll get through this together. Like we always do."
"Sisters Forever, right?"
It took everything in her to not burst into tears over knowing that her sisters didn't blame her for this failure, for their current predicament. But even in that, she failed because the tears just kept flowing.
"We're... we're going to make it out of this alive." Suki sobbed into their arms. "I'll do everything I can to make this right! I promise. I promise!"