Journey of the Warrior

This takes place after the Boiling Rock parts one and two

New story! hope you guys like! and it's a little gory and sad, so warning you now...

Sokka shivered and wrapped the small blanket tighter around his strong frame as he looked out to the view ahead of him at the western air temple. They had just gotten back from the Boiling Rock, and now, as everything calmed down, he took the time to enjoy the scenery. The sun had just dipped below the horizon an hour ago, the stars were too numerous to count, and the air was fresh and clean. His family and his friends were all relaxed and looked like they were actually enjoying themselves for once. He smiled, trying to block the unknown pain that had become steadily worse, deep in the pit of his stomach, received to him when Azula had tried to hit Zuko with her hand on the gondola at The Boiling Rock. She managed to hit the Water Tribe Warrior instead, right in his middle. Sokka had cried out in surprise, not pain, dismissed it, and kept fighting, but now he wished that he had noticed it sooner, as there was definitely something wrong, up to this point. Still, he had tried to enjoy the night, as his father was back and it felt like family again.

Well, almost whole family, he thought, staring at the necklace around his baby sister's neck. He sighed and winced as another soft yet firm wave of pain came over him. He stretched and wrapped the blanket even tighter. He had done nothing but shiver since he came home.

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, and turned his head. The young man put a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Hey Sokka, dinner's almost ready. I'm starting to worry about you tonight, usually since you're bouncing with joy like a cow-pig near your sister about now," Zuko laughed jokingly, coming to stand next to him.

Sokka smiled tiredly. "Well, I just thought I'd enjoy the view," he said quietly, a little too quietly enough for the prince to look at him questioningly. Sokka cocked his head to Zuko and smiled. "That," he nodded with his head to everyone around the campsite. "We're all happy and content for right now. No war, no suffering, just love and peace. It's amazing."

He turned to look and Zuko did as well. Indeed, the whole group was content. Aang was relaxing on Appa's head, resting, Toph was sitting and bending small rocks out of the earth, and Momo was trying to catch each one as it came, Suki was brushing her hair, humming, Teo, Haru, and the Duke were trying to make a map of the secret rooms they found, and Chit Sang was snoring away. Then the boys' attention turned to Hakoda and Katara making dinner, where suddenly Hakoda grabbed his daughter in a tight, loving hug, and she returned it, smiling so wide that she couldn't smile any wider. Her face was turned towards the two as her head rested against her father's chest, and as she opened her eyes and focused on the two young men who risked their lives trying to bring Hakoda back, she smiled towards them, a smile filled with happiness and love, and forgiveness towards Zuko, for the moment. There were tears in her eyes as she smiled. They both smiled back at her.

"Sokka, I've never seen your sister so happy. I'm actually proud of what I did, helping you. And it makes me feel indescribable inside when she smiles at me. She's happy again."

"That's nothing. You should've seen her when mom--"

Zuko looked at Sokka sadly. He knew why the boy had broken off. "I'm sorry, Sokka. I can tell Katara's close to her mother, but I didn't know you were as well."

"It's okay," the young man replied, staring towards the prince. "She's a memory. I miss her, but I try not to think about it too much. But if Katara's happy, then I am."

They both stared back out towards the group.

But their concentration wasn't to last. Sokka then shifted uneasily, rubbing his abdomen underneath the blanket, trying to take away the pain that steadily got worse. Suddenly he hit a sensitive spot, and he barely managed to catch a groan that escaped from his lips.

Zuko looked at him questioningly, showing an obvious worry etched across his face. "You alright?" he asked, looking intently at the young man.

Sokka immediately stood up straight. "What? Yeah! I'm fine! W--why would you think I'm not alright? I'm fine! Yep! No big deal! Heh, heh, heh…"

Zuko raised an eyebrow towards him, but Sokka put his hand on his new friend's shoulder. "Relax. I'm just a little run down from today."

"But you don't look too good either," Zuko added, studying the worn out look in his face. "You're pale, your eyes are red, you're sweating, and you look exhausted. Why don't you go lay down? I'll bring you some food later."

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"Wow. Sokka, the meat guy I've heard about so much? Sokka, who makes the group run out of food every day? Sokka, who takes 4 helpings--"

"Enough," the Water Tribe Warrior said, smiling. "I get it. But where did you hear so much?"

"Toph," Zuko said proudly.

"Of course," he answered, rolling his eyes. They both laughed, until the pain made him stop. "you're right," Sokka said, grimacing. "I think I'm gonna go to bed early. Tell everyone I said goodnight," he said as he turned away from the prince.

"Hey Sokka."

He turned around to stare at Zuko. "Hmm?"

The prince held out his arm toward the young man. "We had a pretty nice adventure, didn't we?"

Sokka looked at the outstretched hand of the man who, a few days ago, had been his enemy. Now, he was his friend. He immediately understood the Water Tribe gesture Zuko was trying to make, and taking his hand from its place on his abdomen, instinctively grabbed wrists with him, which symbolized welcome and acceptance. They both smiled at each other, and Sokka was the first to let go. "Yeah, we did."

He turned from Zuko and began to walk slowly away, putting the hand that he shook Zuko's with back under the blanket, the pain now welling up inside him more than ever.

Toph was playing with Momo when she immediately felt one of the group members' heart rates speed up increasingly fast. She stopped the game, realizing it wasn't natural, and she knew from his original position, that it was Sokka, and that something was seriously wrong.

She focused her energy, trying to figure out why. "Sokka," she whispered.

Zuko stared after the warrior, who walked slowly away, but suddenly felt something warm on the hand that he shook with his friend. He immediately brought up his hand, and his heart nearly stopped at what he saw, much less whisper under his breath.

"Blood…"

He suddenly looked up towards his friend.

"Sokka?"

Toph suddenly felt Sokka's heart rate drop instantly for a second, as though he had been punched in the gut. She flew to her feet.

The pain hit Sokka suddenly, like a punch, and he couldn't take it. He cried out and doubled over, groaning and clutching his stomach.

Zuko saw him fall forward to his knees, and immediately his mouth dropped as he rushed forward.

"Sokka!!!"

Toph felt him fall painfully hard to his knees with a thud, and her heart stopped. She started to run.

"Sokka!!!" she screamed.

All the others turned at their cries, and their eyes widened in shock.

The pain rushed over Sokka like a sheet, over and over in waves. His face turned inward in agony, sweat covering him. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, every inch of him on fire, the pain in his stomach like someone had stabbed him with a white-hot dagger. He coughed and curled inward, as if that would stop the pain, pain that he had never felt like this. He shook uncontrollably as he cried out again, this time falling to his side on the ground.

Zuko slid to his side, his mind numb. What had happened to his best friend? He turned him over, pulling him up onto his lap as he tried to figure out what to do. The expression on the young man's face made Zuko want to die. His eyes were tightly closed and his teeth were clenched, and he cried out in pain, groaning and writhing, and shaking. Zuko had never known that people could shake that much.

He was helpless. And all he could do was whisper.

"Stay with me, buddy. It'll be alright."

Then those blue eyes slightly opened, staring into the prince's, begging for help. Zuko had never seen that much pain mirrored in a person's eyes before. He cringed, but Sokka shut his eyes tightly again once more.

He looked up as Toph slid to her knees as well. Her eyes were full of tears. She felt his chest with a shaky hand. "His--heartbeat…" she panted, looking into space, though Zuko knew she knew the situation. He looked up, crying for the one person who Sokka needed the most.

"Katara!" he cried out, looking towards the running waterbender screaming her brother's name, as well as her father, running to help his son.

Katara immediately shoved Zuko out of the way, her tears falling as she held her brother in her arms. She was breathing quickly, but it was nothing compared his breathing, which sounded like he had just sprinted a long distance. He began to shake in his breathing as well, as he cried out and squeezed his eyes shut, groaning to the point of screaming.

"Sokka," she whispered in short breaths. "Sokka, Sokka, please. Look at me."

Hakoda made it to his son's side. "Sokka…" he whispered, taking his cold shaking hand in his own, trying to warm it. He squeezed it. "Stay with us, son. Please," he begged, his crystal blue eyes now wracked with tears. He looked up. "What's wrong with him? What happened?"

But no one from the whole group now gathered around him knew. Nor did they have time, as Sokka lifted his head and cried out, then his head fell back, his face still contorted in pain, his groans increasing.

"Katara, you need to heal him," Zuko said, kneeling next to Katara, both of them breathing quickly, while Sokka cried out again. They locked gazes, but at the warrior's scream, they both looked down to him.

"Dad," she whispered looking up. "We need to get him near the fire. Hurry!"

Hakoda nodded with tears in his eyes as he gently picked up his son, but every move to Sokka's body made him give out blood curdling groans. He cried out as Hakoda rushed over to the fire and placed him on the pile of blankets and sleeping bags next to it. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out, as he shook harder. His teeth now chattered, but as Katara kneeled next to her brother's side, she felt his head, and he was unbelievably hot. She touched his cheek, but he cried out, and now opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing came except his ragged breaths. His lips shook as he opened his mouth and clenched his teeth, and now his own tears came, the pain from within him now unbearable. It still came in waves, as the group could now see, with every breath that stopped short from his lips and every time he pressed himself deeper into the makeshift bed.

"It's poison. It's gotta be," Aang whispered helplessly as his best friend thrashed.

Katara immediately took the knife from her pouch and holding it in her teeth, removed the blanket from around him, that he had kept locked to his side the minute they got back. Underneath was the warrior's regular shirt that he wore, but there was a small slit in the middle, and his blood, fresh and dried, was soaked into the fabric.

Aang and Suki gasped, as well as the others. But Katara was silent as she took the knife in her hand and cut Sokka's shirt right down the middle. And when she opened it up to expose his chest, her hand flew to her mouth in shock. Everyone else gasped. Hakoda closed his eyes and bowed his head, not wanting to see the sight in front of him. Even the strong young prince had to look away.

Right above Sokka's navel was a deep slit into his front, about 6 inches long and a ½ inch wide. At least a few inches around the whole wound, his skin was a blue-green black, from bruising. The wound itself was swollen and red, and it blistered and gaped open. Blood pulsed out like his ragged breaths, and blue veins showed up clearly around it. A yellow-green substance surrounded the wound, and a metal shard protruded from it.

Katara placed a cool hand on her brother's burning skin, on his stomach next to the cut, and he screamed in pain. She immediately took her hand off, but bent water onto it and breathed in, placing her hand back on him, but this time on the wound. Everyone gasped suddenly as Sokka stopped his groaning and writhing and suddenly relaxed, all except for his face and his breathing.

Everyone was still and quiet as Katara and Hakoda stared into Sokka's face, caressing his forehead, whispering to him.

Katara finally stopped, bowed her head, closed her eyes, and then reopened them as she looked back up at her brother.

"Sokka, please," she whispered. His breathing was labored, but his eyelids twitched.

"Sokka, son," Hakoda breathed, his heart racing for his son's life.

But their tears came once more as Sokka was hit with another wave of the agonizing pain, which made him wheeze and groan and cry out once more. His face shook but he managed to swallow once, and he painfully opened his eyes halfway. He looked for his sister's face.

He shook uncontrollably, but Katara saw it. The blue of his eyes. "Sokka, can you hear me?" she pleaded, stroking his cheek as she kept the healing glove on his wound with the other hand. "Please Sokka, wake up," she cried out, staring at him.

His eyes opened a little more, and he searched for her. Only her. Just to see her face would give him peace.

At last, his eyes found hers. He closed them abruptly again as a wave washed over him, and the sweat dripped down his face, and he moaned slightly. But he opened his eyes, and Katara saw only pain, and fear. She became scared, for she had never known her brother to have either of those things.

He opened his mouth, his breathing still raspy, his lips shaking, and he tried to say her name.

"Ka--ka--k--k--Katar--a," he finally managed to whisper in a barely acknowledgeable voice.

He began to breathe heavily again and moaned as Katara's healing glove made no difference. She looked down and concentrated on her hand. "He's fading," she whispered, "It's like he's filled with knots. I've never felt anything like this. Everything's at war inside him. I don't think I can help him…" she trailed off. She took the water glove and bent it back into her pouch.

Sokka groaned again, and it managed to mix into a scream of agony and pain, and his face became contorted once more, his teeth clenched, every muscle in him tense and twitching. And suddenly, as if it couldn't get any worse, the pain did. Sokka groaned and writhed and moaned and screamed, his entire body filling with fire. His mind went dark, but he then saw a light in his line of vision.

Looking down on him, the group, especially Katara and Hakoda, watched as the young man thrashed and screamed, but then he lay still even though he still shook.

His eyes began to glaze over, and he became more still with each passing second. Toph felt his heartbeat. "No!" she cried, suddenly scaring the group. "He's leaving us!"

Katara grabbed her brother's face with both hands. "Sokka, don't do this to us!!!! Please! Don't leave us! We need you!" she shook him, but it did no good. He kept shaking, but the next word that came out of his mouth scared those who knew.

"Mom," he whispered through shaking lips. Katara's heart stopped as she looked up to her father, and Hakoda's tears fell. Sokka's face turned then up in pain once more, but he still whispered it. "Mom….mom…"

"He can see her…" Hakoda whispered. "He's crossing over…"

"No no no no no no no!!!! SOKKA!!!" Katara screamed as her brother became limp in her arms, his grip on his father's hand fell, and his breathing shallowed and stopped.

His world became dark, as the last thing he heard were his sister and father crying out his name, and his friends above him crying.

Toph stared into space, her face completely in pain from her broken heart. She fell to her hands as well as her knees. She felt no vibration from his body.

"He's…gone…" she whispered.

And yet, in his darkness, he saw light.

Tell me what you guys think! do you like it? And I Killed SOKKA???!!! ooh, bad me...

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