Okay, I know I'm supposed to be updating the Good Times, but it's Halloween and I'm a sucker for holiday fics. Anywho, there were a couple mix ups with the last chap, but I'll smooth them out sometime today. Happy Halloween!
Spirit Day
Aang shivered against the biting cold in the barn where Appa was housed. His furry friend groaned as the wind whistled through the cracks of the splintered wood. Aang tightened his tunic and pulled the sleeves down to cover the arrows on his hands.
"Winter may come early this year, huh Appa?" he asked the flying bison, though he knew Appa wouldn't respond. Aang bended another pile of hay in front of his oldest friend and patted the thick fur on his head. "I'll be back soon."
Aang left the barn, lighting closing the door to shield Appa from the icy wind and started down the dirt road that lead to the town square. Everyone had already left for the spirit festival, but Aang stayed behind to make sure Appa was taken care of. He could see the sun beginning to set against the horizon and smiled at the tranquility of the fall scene. The wind blew again, ruffling his tunic and making him increase his step. As much as Aang loved the fall, he didn't want to spend any more time than necessary outdoors. But the colors of the leaves and golden tint of the sunset slowed him again, making him appreciate the beauty of Gaoling. Fall was his favorite time of year. It was the season most airbenders were born, including himself who had turned nineteen a few weeks before.
Aang could already begin to hear the horns and drums of the festival as he walked along, growing more and more excited the closer he went. It was as if he was twelve again, looking for any excuse to goof off. He reached the massive crowd, thankful for the heat of the stoves in the carts and multiple bodies that wandered through the crowded streets. Shop merchants were yelling, advertising their food or trinkets to be taken home. There were masks and dolls on display with blank, empty expressions on their colorful faces. Aang shied away from those. The dark circles around the eyes and red mouths reminded him to much of Koh. He kept his face passive and tightened the grip on his staff out of habit.
There was a small crowd of children sitting, legs crossed, waiting anxiously in front of a wooden miniature playhouse. The small curtains appeared and the kids yelled in excitement. The story began of an old man who was very lonely.
"He had no friends or family," the voice narrated. There was a decrepit old puppet that appeared, hunched over and wobbling on a twig for a cane. The narrator continued. "But he loved dolls. Oh, how he'd collect them and polish them. He'd travel miles and miles just to see more them. One day, a little girl knocked on his door and asked to see his dolls.
"Now, this old man was very proud. He gladly took her around his house to marvel at his dolls that he spent hours, even days mending and perfecting. When the little girl asked for one, the most beautiful doll he'd ever owned, the old man laughed and said no. His dolls were his family, and he couldn't bear to part with any of them, especially his favorite one. The little girl asked again, growing angry. Afraid he was dealing with a spirit there to test him, he quickly gave the little girl his very first doll. It was the doll he'd received as a joke, thrown at him by a neighbor to remind him of his dead mother. The doll had withered with age, and whenever the old man tried to clean it, it only got worse.
"He loved that doll as though it were his real mother, so he let the child have it. Angry, the little girl threw it back at the old man and ran home. Crying about not getting what she wanted, she told anyone who'd listen about how the old man had given her the ugly old doll. Some town crooks had been eyeing the old man's collection and decided to steal it. In the middle of the night, they broke into his house and beat the old man. They laughed as he tried to save his collection. They smashed the porcelain ones, ripped the canvas ones, and took the most valuable looking ones for himself. The leader saw the old man clutching the oldest doll to his chest, and ripped it to shreds, leaving the head to stare blankly at him. They left the old man weak and dying on the floor. He cried out to the spirits for help, not wanting to die with his life's work ruined. So the spirits answered.
"The very next night was the spirit festival. The crooks sold the remaining dolls to the highest bidder and openly bragged about besting the old man. The festival ended and they walked home one by one. The leader took a turn down an alley, not afraid of any thugs or criminals. He heard a noise behind him, the sound of something rattling, like old bones. The thief kept walking, ignoring the ominous sound. Suddenly, he heard the sound again, only closer. The thief looked back and saw nothing, but when he turned around, there was nothing but darkness ahead. The alley seemed to grow longer with every step he took. It was as though it never ended, as if he was in the same place having never walked at all. The thief became frightened and wondered if the spirits were joking with him. Still foolishly, he continued on. The sound of rattling became louder, right behind him. The thief realized it wasn't old bones rattling, but rather something crawling.
"He began to run, the exit to the alley farther and farther as he panicked. He threw the money to the ground, getting rid of as much weight as possible to move faster. He screamed as the pointed legs of some large beast touched down on his shoulders, making him fall to the ground.
"Let me look at you, the voice said. The man struggled as the beast turned him on his back. It was the face of the oldest doll. You'll be the first of my collection.
"Soon, every criminal, every greedy merchant, and especially every child that misbehaved would go missing. The only thing left in their place was a withered old doll. The end."
Some people clapped while others, like the children, quickly found their parents and left. Aang was chilled to the bone. A hand as cold as death gripped his wrist, and he turned, staring right into the face of Koh. Aang yelled, staggering back and fell to the ground. He composed his face as much as he could, but let it fall into confusion as the spirit burst into giggles.
"Oh, man," a familiar female voice said behind unmoving lips. "You are such a wimp. It's just a story, Twinkle Toes."
"Toph?" Aang asked, standing quickly, grabbing his staff and brushing the dust from his clothes. Toph pulled the mask from her face, grinning hard enough to split her cheeks.
Aang walked up to her, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. "You almost scared me to the next Avatar!" he said, shaking her.
Toph laughed again. "It's not my fault you're afraid of a kid's story. If you were born in the Earth Kingdom you'd know-"
"It's not just a story, Toph," Aang said in a warning tone. His hands relaxed their grip.
Toph glanced in his direction with confusion. "Sure it is. My parents used to tell it all the time to make me go to bed, or eat my vegetables."
"Koh is real," Aang said. He took the mask from her hands and stared at it. "And you're wearing his face. Everyone is wearing his face like it's some type of joke."
Toph rolled her pale eyes. She gestured for Aang to follow her. "Alright, if he's so real, how come kids and all the rich stuffy people haven't been kidnapped?"
Aang shrugged. "He doesn't kidnap people, Toph. He steals their faces and leaves you trapped in the spirit world."
Toph stopped. "Whoa, how the hell does he do that?"
"I don't know and I don't want to." The sun had set while Aang was wrapped in the story. "Where's everyone else?"
"We found a tea shop not too far from here. I ducked out when I sensed your girly vibrations," Toph joked, turning towards a break between two buildings. Aang followed close behind.
"Are you sure this is the only way?" he said, his voice echoing off the dank walls of the alley.
Toph smirked. "It's the quickest way. It's freezing out here. How about a little firebending action while you tell me about this Koh."
Aang breathed deeply, letting his inner fire warm himself and the air around Toph. "He's a very old, very crafty spirit. You're right about it being a kids story, but I think the version shared has been altered throughout time. Koh lives in an elder tree in the middle of a swamp in the spirit world. He's got the body of a primordial centipede and the face of, well, this." Aang lifted Toph's hand that held her mask.
"Katara's idea," Toph explained. "She thinks we need to be more festive. Keep talking."
Aang reheated them and continued. "The only way for Koh to steal your face is showing any type of emotion. I'm not sure how he does it, but he leaves your body faceless." Aang shivered at the wind that blew past them in a heavy gust, and warmed himself again.
"Could you aim towards my feet? My toes are freezing," Toph complained. Aang joked with her about footless shoes not being enough for winter when he noticed the cool mist that shielded their feet from view. It seemed to be growing taller with each passing second.
Suddenly, he felt very dizzy, stopping to press his hand to the wall to gain his composure. He felt the lifting sensation of his past lives run through him while he took deep breaths.
"Aang?" Toph called, alarmed.
"I…" Aang struggled for words. "I'm okay. Did I just go into the Avatar State for a second?"
Toph nodded from her spot directly across from him. "Yeah, you did."
Aang shook his head. "That was weird. That usually doesn't happen."
"It must be Spirit Day just messing with your-"
Toph let out a blood curdling scream, sinking to the ground and covering her eyes.
"What?" Aang said, alarmed.
"My feet!" Toph yelled. "They- I can't.. I-I'm-"
Aang frantically looked over her for any signs of damage when he noticed his hands were getting wet. In fact, he and Toph were kneeling in dark, murky water. He stood them up, arcing his hands to bend the stagnant water from their clothes when the element did not respond. He tried again, the only reaction a drip of water falling from her arm.
"Aang, my feet. I can't… I can't feel a thing," Toph whispered beside him.
Aang noticed the light of day returning, though they'd been walking only a few minutes. The sun set not to long ago, Aang thought. There was an orangish glow in the sky that gave light to the moss covered trees and ankle deep water that surrounded them.
"Toph, I think we're in the Spirit World."
She shrunk into him, shying away from the exotic birds that screeched above them, swooping down to catch a mouthful of water.
"I can see," she murmured.
Aang looked down at her, catching her face in his hands. "You what?" Her eyes had darkened some, the pupils were more defined against the pale green that contrasted from the milky color they'd been before.
"Your arrow," she said, reaching up tentatively to touch the blue point on his forehead. She puched him hard in the arm. "How the hell did you get us into this mess, you idiot?"
"How is this my fault?" Aang said, not moving his hands from her face.
"Well, I don't know, Avatar. Why don't you explain to me how someone just wanders into the Spirit World by mistake?"
Aang dropped his head and looked around him. He could vaguely recognize his surroundings, but one of his past lives surely ventured there before since the position of trees seemed familiar.
"I don't know…"
Toph slugged him again. "You've had how long to master the damn Avatar State and you still don't know how we got here?"
Aang shook his head, looking around as he began to recall the swamp like area around them. "It's not like I get a manual. I have to figure some things out on my own." Aang froze when he spotted a cavern that lead towards the roots of a tree.
"Toph…"
"What did you do? I can't bend here! I don't know how you seeing people do it. This sucks!"
"Toph."
"There's no way we ended up in the same magic alley where that guy from the story was. This Koh guy was there before the Avatar. The whole world must have been burned down and built back up again at least a hundred times before-"
"TOPH!" Aang said, slapping his hand over his mouth at the volume of his voice. "Look," he whispered.
She raised an eyebrow at the elder tree. "So what? It's just a secret hideout underneath a tree."
"Not just any hideout," a chilling voice called from that direction. The benders froze in place. "Come closer, Avatar. I'd like to see your famed teacher."
Neither of them moved.
"Or would you rather me visit you instead? I hear the physical world has changed so much since my days as a weak mortal."
Aang turned to Toph, grabbing her wrist when Roku's voice joined his in her ear. "Show no fear, show no emotion at all."
Toph nodded and took the first step forward. Aang let his hand slide down to grip hers as they stepped through the water to the tree where Koh was housed. It was as dark as ever inside, and Aang could feel Toph shivering. He tried not to squint as his eyes adjusted to the sporadic bursts of light that shone through the twisted branches inside the hollow tree. He helped her step over the roots that jutted beneath their feet, and tugged her hand to a stop as they stood at the edge of the circle of the hundreds of annual rings that covered the floor.
"Welcome back, Avatar. I knew you'd come again. Though, not without my calling." Koh crawled down the serpentine bark, twisting more than Aang remembered to frighten Toph. Aang felt her breathing stop at the creature's sight.
"And this must be the great Toph Bei Fong," Koh said. His red lips formed a smile. "I must say, it is an honor to have you in my home. Pardon the mess, I haven't had company in so long."
"You said you called me," Aang spoke, voice betraying no emotion. "Why?"
The face closed in on itself, opening back up to reveal Ummi's face. Aang felt a part of him soften for the girl he'd never met.
"Such a pretty face," Koh teased, "Though not as much as your earth benders. Tell me, Avatar, what would a spirit have to do to add someone so famous to my collection?"
"Why are we here, Koh?" Aang asked, looking forward.
"How would you feel if mortal children laughed at your sight? The almighty Avatar, reduced to a tale for misbehaving brats?"
Aang almost laughed. "Is that what this is about? I thought you'd be flattered."
It's face changed again, turning back into the white skin and dark circles."I've worked hard for my name," Koh said. "And it's being tainted by your kind." He moved closely to Toph, lining directly in her face. She squeezed Aang's hand hard.
"I want revenge."
"I'll stop the festival," Aang blurted, trying to get the spirit away from Toph. "I'll burn all the masks if I have to. I'll tell them the real story. This isn't worth your time, Koh."
Koh laughed, not moving from Toph's face. She stiffened. "Always the hero," he joked. "I'll let you in on a secret, Avatar. When you're immortal, all you have is time."
"You really need a hobby," Toph said for the first time. "Everyone's already afraid of you."
Koh laughed again, curling his body around the pair the twisting his back legs in between them, breaking their hands apart. "You're quite the spit fire. I had a feeling you would be. But you're too late. You see, planning is my hobby, and I've been planning for some time now. This was just a warning. I've already begun taking out my revenge, starting with the people mocking my own face."
He lifted his upper body, circling it around Toph and letting his legs separate them even more. She was trapped.
"Namely," Koh began while Aang stared above at the break in the trees where the most light shined through. "Starting with you!"
Toph flinched and cried out as Koh laughed. "What an expression," he teased, lunging for her face. Aang sprang upwards, grabbing Toph and throwing both of them to the ground as Koh collided into himself, knocking his long body off balance.
"Toph, run!" Aang yelled, pushing her towards the light as Koh untwisted himself and lunged again.
"I will have her, Avatar! In this life and the next!" Koh laughed maniacally as he threw himself above where Aang was waiting with his staff, and dove for Toph.
!_!_!_
Cliffie! What will happen? Will Toph survive? Next chapter soon!