Just A Piece Of Your Puzzle
Summary: AU Sokka was born an Earth Bender, and was adopted by the Water Tribe when they found him abandoned as a baby. Now some Earth Benders are back, looking for him... To fulfill a prophecy.
A sigh escaped his slightly parted lips as he glanced over at his sister and the Avatar. He, Sokka, was the odd one. Aang was the Avatar and could, so far, bend Air, Water, and was now working on Earth. Katara was a Water Bender, even if she was just in her beginning steps. And what was he? The outsider. The so-called warrior that was raised by Water Benders but couldn't bend Water to save his life. And what good would that do to the small little group?
The other two considered Sokka to be smart. Sure, at times he did admit to himself that he could be smart, but that was never good enough for him. Aang could be smart. Katara could be smart. They all seemed to 'take turns' saving the day, but it was usually Aang's or Katara's turns. Why? Because they were not only smart but they could fight. Sure, he had a boomerang that he could use occasionally, but he was seen more as the scared, stubborn, sometimes stupid, weak one of the group that wanted things to go his way. But that wasn't all he was.
He hated this, having to hide who he really was. He hated having to make them feel like they really knew him, but having them be so clueless to who he really was. Maybe had they never met the Avatar, had they never met Aang, Katara could know. Maybe Gran would have told her, that way he wouldn't have to worry anymore. That way he wouldn't have to wait for the right time.
It seemed to Sokka that there really wasn't a right time. Either he told them or he didn't. And for now, he didn't want to tell them. He was scared. He was scared, just like he was known for. 'Jeez, Sokka, you have to toughen up and stop being a baby,' he thought, his hands curling into fists so hard that his knuckles turned white and his hands shook slightly.
These thoughts all brought him back to when he was only seven years old...
"Sokka," Gran had called. "Will you come in here with me?" The young boy had agreed and entered his grandmother's small house, even if it were more like a tent. "I have something to tell you, something very important..." she had started when he was situated on the ground.
"What is it, Gran?" Sokka had probed.
"Have you ever found that when you get really angry the ground starts to move? Whether it be the entire ground beneath your feet or a rock, or even just some sand shoots up near you?"
"Yes, Gran, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Your sister, Katara, is not your real sister," she had said slowly to the young boy. "We -- as in, the tribe -- found you as a tiny baby and took you in. Attached to your neck was a note that read, 'Please, someone, take this poor Earth Bender baby. We cannot raise him, we wouldn't be good parents.' And so, we took you in -- we couldn't leave you out there to die."
"So... I - I'm not a Water Bender?" he asked, his voice cracking as tears flowed down his cheeks.
"No, honey... You're an Earth Bender."
Sokka gulped, letting his hands relax as he notice that, in his anger, a few rocks had lifted themselves from the ground. He could control his powers, and was now a skilled Earth Bender (he trained at night, when Katara and Aang were asleep), but sometimes when his anger got out of control, his bending powers would kick in, whether he wanted them to or not.
The rocks hit the ground with great strength, sending puffs of dirt in every direction, the noise causing Aang and Katara to turn around. "There must be an Earth Bender around here somewhere!" Aang exclaimed, and Katara smiled. "Maybe he could teach me to be an Eath Bender."
'Oh, I could teach you alright,' Sokka thought, sighing, as Katara replied, "Well, let's go look. You coming, Sokka?"
Sokka looked up, his sister's voice piercing through his thoughts. "Oh... Uh, y - yeah, sure, I suppose so."
"Well, you could stay here and protect camp, and see if the Earth Bender comes by," Aang suggested. 'I am the Earth Bender,' Sokka thought, but he just nodded, forcing a smile onto his face. Aang and Katara disappeared behind a corner, and Sokka sighed a sigh of slight relief. He sat on the ground and shut his eyes, opening them after a couple of seconds after he knew that Aang and Katara were gone.
He stood, taking a deep breath. He put his arms at his side, eyes locked on a large boulder that weighed about as much as an elephant. He then closed his eyes for a moment, thinking how he was going to do this. As he opened his eyes, his arms moved quickly and the boulder floated upwards, staying there for a minute before Sokka stomped his foot down and the boulder went flying in the direction of the small stream nearby, a few smaller pebbles flying that way with the force of the stomp as well.
Aang and Katara must have heard the flying boulder land in the stream because they came running as fast as they could in Sokka's direction. "Sokka, Sokka!" Aang cried, panting. "Did you see him? Did you see the Earth Bender?"
"No," Sokka replied simply, closing his eyes for another short second before turning around and walking into the tent that they had put up. "Aang knows that Katara is a Water Bender," Sokka muttered bitterly. "We know that Aang is the Avatar. But what am I? To them, nothing. Only Gran and the Water Tribe elders know who I really am."
"Sokka?" Katara said, entering the tent. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... Just tired is all," Sokka lied, forcing a small smile.
"Oh, okay.." Katara looked towards the ground. "We saw some travelers passing by, they're a part of the Earth Tribe and they're going to take us there tomorrow, so that Aang can learn how to be an Earth Bender too. They said that they're some of the strongest warriors in the Earth Tribe but they're looking for some prophecy kid. We told them that Aang, the Avatar, was here and if they were looking for him, but they said that they were looking for someone that was born an Earth Bender but that was given up at birth so that he wouldn't be killed." She shrugged, then laid down beside Sokka. "Well... Goodnight."
Sokka paled, figuring that they meant him. "G - good night," he stammered, rolling onto his side and shutting his eyes tightly.
A/N: Short, I know, but it's just getting started. I hope to make the future chapters longer. Please read and review, this is my first Avatar fanfic!