For Round 6 of the Pro Bender Circuit

Prompts:

Sokka

Crying

Cat

Word Count: 975

Enjoy!

What the Future Holds

Sokka got into his sleeping bag, infuriated. Sometimes his sister could just be so aggravating! She always had to be so prissy and stiff about things, making sure all the rules were followed and everything was done absolutely right. Katara was a do-gooder through and through, always had to be right. Yes, Sokka could see the advantages of that, it made sure she was cautious and careful with just about everything. But it was just so annoying and unnecessary. Why did Sokka have to set up a tarp? There was no way it was going to rain tonight, and it made an incredible blanket. But if Katara says it has to happen then it has to happen. Sokka couldn't even get any support from Aang on this. The kid always wanted to avoid fights, even just arguments. But it did kind of make Sokka feel alone on things like this. No one was in his camp on things but himself, and he had to live with that.

He sighed. Better to sleep it off and hope for a less irritating day in the morning. Sokka drifted off to sleep quickly after that, as he usually did.

He woke up to a lot of noise. Weird. Hadn't it just been Katara, Aang, and himself there? Maybe the canyon guide had shown up, or perhaps some other people looking to get across. But it sounded like a bit more than a few refugees.

He opened his eyes. All around him were people, just an incredible amount of people. Up above was a massive mountain, with another right next to it. No, he realized. They were buildings. Buildings that reached up into the sky. Dozens of them, touching the clouds all around him.

One person kicked Sokka in the side. "Get off the ground, will ya?" Sokka scrambled out of his sleeping bag, clutching his now bruised ribs. What was going on? Where was he? He looked around.

"Aang?" He asked. "Katara?" realizing he was alone in this sea of people, he called out, "Guys? Where are you?"

They were gone.

Sokka was getting scared. These people all walked by, like armies marching past in opposite directions. It was very crowded, with more people than Sokka had ever seen before. They wore strange clothes, that were both similar to what he knew but also very different. One person walked by that had a bunch of words written on his shirt. Even the small children had similar clothes, Sokka noted as he noticed a small boy crying to his mother.

"It must have taken forever to stitch that." Sokka said out loud to himself. He was awoken from his thoughts by a loud beeping noise, coming from across this river of bodies. There was some kind of….. contraption there. Sokka didn't know how to describe it. It was made of a large hunk of metal, rolling around on wheels like an ostrich horse chariot. But strangely there was no ostrich horse pulling it. It moved on its own, and even stopped as well. It moved like it had a mind of its own, and stayed in line with similar objects. There was an army of them, all moving in line.

Sokka couldn't take it. He started breathing heavily, backing up into a wall. What was this place? Why wasn't he still at the Great Divide? Where were Katara and Aang? He had committed himself to protecting his sister, and he had already lost her. "What's going on?" he asked repeatedly. "What's going on? What's going on? What's going-"

He was interrupted by a tap on his arm. Sokka turned to see a girl around his age looking at him worriedly. She was kind of pretty, with brown hair pinned up in a bun and a kind face. She was holding a grey cat that peered at him as if he were an unusually sour smell. He had never been on good terms with cats. Or most animals for that matter.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. "You don't look very well."

"I-I…." Sokka started. "My sister…"

She looked around, trying to find another girl. "I don't see anyone. Did you two get separated? Here, I'll help you look." She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street, making their way in between several passersby.

"Thank you." he said, still numb from the shock of all of this. "Where am I?"

"This is the North side of Meng Street. Do you know where you might want to go? I could probably lead you there."

"Uh, have you seen the Great Divide by chance?" Sokka asked. But he already knew it wasn't here. There were several buildings where the canyon would be.

"The Great Divide? Do you mean the Tea Shop or the canyon system that used to be here?"

"Used to be here?" He asked, again feeling a wave of uneasiness. What was this place and where had the canyon gone?

"Yeah, they filled it in a couple of centuries ago and then built this place on top of it. Ryu City is famous for that. You know, they say that the canyon was a pretty well-traveled place a long time ago. I've heard that Avatar Aang and his friends came through three hundred years ago."

Sokka almost fell over. Avatar Aang? Three hundred years? Could that be true?

"Are you ok?" she asked, trying to help him stay up.

"No." he answered, breathing hard.

"Do you have a phone? Maybe we could call your sister."

He shrugged. "I have a boomerang." For some reason this made her laugh.

"Well, Mr. Boomerang Guy, do you have a name?"

"Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe." He told her.

"Well I am Meihui, of… here… I guess. Sokka, I'm going to help you find your sister. Ok?"

When I stared this one, I intended for it to be a lot more comical and lighthearted, about Sokka's reactions to finding himself in our modern world. But by the end it had become about Sokka losing everything he cared about, something I had not intended to do going in but I think isn't necessarily a bad thing. This story, I think, could go on for another few chapters if you guys want. Let me know in the reviews. Thanks for reading!