Rated T, you'll find out why
Don't own
Cease Fire
Toph had always desired being independent: living without the assistance of others, despite her sightlessness. Alone, free of bothersome parents.
Now the earthbender has finally acquired what she wanted. And she didn't like it, not one bit.
The girl cried out, as she accidentally leant on her broken leg. The sound of breath leaving her lips was loud as a detonation in the midst of the silent world. She struggled to balance herself with a long metal stick, which she had found amid the ruins of the Fire Nation Qin.
After the airship crash landed, Toph has been knocked out for a while. She was incognizant of the time she had spent lying unconscious, but something told her it must've been at least hours.
"Sokka!" she yelled desperately again, being sure now, however, that her efforts were useless. "Suki! Where are you, stupid paramorons?"
Toph has been calling their names for half an hour, after she had somewhat regained her sentience. She could've thought merely of two possible explanations, why they hadn't replied yet. The first one required them being blacked out as well.
The other option was something Toph refused to think about.
The girl felt completely worn out by all the walking and shouting, so she sat down onto a small rock. But even while she rested, she kept listening to the heart beating faintly a few hundred feet from her: the only sign of life in her surroundings.
The earthbender really hoped that the survivor remains a survivor for a few more minutes, if he or she could make it until now. Moreover, she hoped that she was catching the sound of Sokka's heart.
Yeah, or Suki's…, the blind girl thought quickly, unwilling to admit that if she had to choose which one of them she would save, she'd pick Sokka without a second thought.
And this mere thought made her feel guilty. Suki was also a friend, and a good person, not to mention the Kyoshi warrior had saved her life once! But Sokka… he felt more like one of Toph's family than her own parents!
Moreover… Toph knew Katara would never speak to her again, if she'd let anything happen to her brother. Well, actually that was only important if she and Zuko…
Stop that! Why do you always have to think of the worst possibility? the girl thought, and tried to resist bursting into tears. Zuko and Katara are fine! And Sokka… he'd better be fine, otherwise I'll kill him!
Thus Toph forced herself to stand up once again and continued walking towards her goal, as fast as her injured leg allowed her. It must have been Sokka… he might have gone to find help, but he had become tired, and stopped to rest. Yes, it was possible, but somehow she didn't find these thoughts reassuring at all.
Suddenly, the girl came to a halt, and the piece of metal has fallen out of her trembling hand. She collapsed on the rocky, dusty ground alongside with the tatters of her precious composure.
Aang… it's Aang! realized Toph, struggling back on her feet, and pushing her unhurt foot against the stony surface. The earthbender jerked forward, as if she was ice-skating on a frozen pond; with the difference she was using only one leg. And that she was not skating at all, of course.
Toph recognized the heartbeat of her friend. The pulsation of Aang's heart was unlike any other human being's: it was like the small organ was pumping air instead of heavy drops of blood all around the monk's circulation.
She nearly put her weight onto her broken leg several times. But still, she didn't slow down.
Toph needed a friend more than ever. A friend, who could see...
Once again they kissed, only this time they were relieved, not bound by the burden of salvaging the whole world. There was no more responsibility. There was nothing — neither the millions of citizens crowding the metropolis below, nor their beloved friends inside the Jasmine Dragon —, but them.
Nothing, but… oddly, in the midst of all that affectionateness, Aang could no longer sense even Katara, not to mention the rest of existence. Only some imperishable tranquility, like an interminable ride in the saddle of Appa…
But then the safe haven around him began to shatter, and the calm ocean he was floating in started to evaporate tardily. The unwanted vagary started to get more and more rapid, and at the end the environment was morphing so sickeningly speedily as if he was thrown in the middle of a wild typhoon.
Aang opened his eyes, in order to make the colorful whirlpool go away, and stare into the stunning orbs of Katara instead. He was most surprised that he could see nothing, only darkness. He had to blink a few times, to make sure his eyes were really open.
They were. But it was not a pleasant realization, after all: he was forced to look at disgusting, dark grey skies, littered with a thick mush of clouds. And just then, the unfriendly background became partly concealed by the face of a girl.
"Katara!" said Aang, recognizing the girl.
The Avatar noticed strange alteration in Katara's usual appearance. He couldn't tell it precisely, given the semidarkness around (he didn't even see the beautiful color of Katara's eyes, the first thing he had faced after waking up from his hundred-year slumber inside the iceberg), but her expression seemed to be shocked and terrified… And her skin looked way too fair to be Katara's, even with the layer of dirt on her face…
"Aang! Please, try to pull yourself together, and come with me!"
Aang frowned, hearing Katara's voice, which was nothing like what he had remembered, nevertheless he sat up. It appeared to him that among the two of them it was maybe Katara, who needed to pull herself together, but instead of wording this thought of his, he took a curious look around.
The young airbender could make out silhouettes of big pieces of stone nearby, but he couldn't really see anything else thanks to the dim light.
Boulders… would be great toys for Toph…
Like a strike of powerful lightning (he knew the force of lightning all too well), the realization hit him. Aang stared at the blind girl in front of him, who he mistook for Katara until now.
"Toph… Where did Ozai go, Toph?" the Avatar asked his friend, clutching at her collarbone, and he felt horror taking control of his mind.
"I'm afraid you… couldn't stop him. I'm so sorry, Aang!"
The arm of the bald monk fell, due to a sudden rush of weakness. He only realized now why there were so many stones around: he was practically buried under them, until Toph set him free. And that protective shell of earth might have been the only reason why he was still breathing.
All the distant memories… his victory over the Fire Lord… Zuko becoming Ozai's successor… Being together with Katara… all these have been a mere trick of his mind struggling for survival!
"So… It's all over. What we've been fighting for… everything is lost!" said the Avatar tonelessly.
"No, Aang, don't you dare fall apart! We don't have time for whining!" Now it was Toph who grabbed at Aang's shoulder, and she shook him violently, while fixing her blind gaze on his face. "You have to help me find Sokka… and Suki!"
It took them an hour to locate him. Sokka was trapped inside one of the destroyed Qin airships, in the midst of steel, which explained why Toph was incapable of finding him. The youth from the Water Tribe was stuck amid two weighty plates of metal.
As the Avatar drew nearer, his first reaction was shock. He recoiled in horror, and had to take a few deep breaths and rest his hands on the knees, to avoid throwing up.
What was even worse than nausea was the awareness that this ugly place would be the last thing his companion would see.
At second glance, Aang thought it didn't really matter now, since Sokka had most certainly closed his eyes for good already.
It would've been miracle if Sokka was still alive, given the horrible wound on his side, an injury not even Katara could cure. The razor sharp metal literally drilled a hole between his ribs, similar to those which one makes in bread with a finger; the only difference was all the blood soaking through the boy's normally blue tunic, and the unbearable pain he presumably had had to suffer.
"Sokka!" shouted Toph, and seated herself beside the boy, carefully extending her wounded leg. "He's alive, Aang! He's alive…"
Aang knew Toph meant to add "for now", and he couldn't blame her for changing her mind. He never thought that one day he'll envy Toph for her blindness, but now he did. He was sure the scene before him will haunt his dreams for some time…
Said young girl put her palm on Sokka's face gently. It was fascinating to see the blind girl running her fingers through Sokka's features. She was probably trying to imagine what his face was like. Aang smiled lightly at that, despite the situation, thinking how unlikely is for Toph to show actual tenderness.
Finally, the Avatar could take it no more, and decided to look around in this part of the airship, instead of staring directly at Sokka and the terror stricken girl clinging to him.
Aang was able to find Sokka's bag at the very moment when the boy let out a painful groan. Aang opened the bag, and picked Sokka's waterskin. He thought the boy might want a sip of water.
But as his eyes fell on Sokka, Aang's dropped his hand, nearly releasing the skin, and he lowered his head. Seeing Sokka's distorted features and deathly pale face, Aang thought he might not need to drink anymore.
"Toph…" said Sokka in a barely audible voice, but even this reduced talking died out with horrible guttural noise foreshadowing the approaching end. His words, however, were more or less recognizable: "Vic…try?"
"Yes!" said Toph in an unsteady tone, while stroking the tormented boy's forehead with her rough palm. "We won, Sokka!"
The inside of the ruined airship was poorly lit, so Aang couldn't tell it for sure, but it was like Sokka's face became a bit calmer, and a shadow of a smile might have appeared on his lips.
"Toph…" Sokka took a deep breath which sounded like he inhaled for the last time. "Kat…ra…"
With this unfinished sentence, Sokka's normally talkative tongue became powerless, and his train of thought has broken into two forever. His head lolled to the side, creating a faint, clunking noise as it impacted his metal prison, showing its profile to the girl who was unable to see his relaxed features.
"Sokka…? Sokka!"
Putting a trembling hand on the boy's chest, in search for the weak but steady beating which had been there before, Toph let out the most fearful scream of helplessness Aang had ever heard.
I took the liberty to name the Fire Nation airships after War Minister Qin, like Zeppelin airships were named after Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
So, this is half of the story... Second half will be up next week, I guess.
Yeah, I know that there are probably a thousand alternative ending stories, but seriously, how about this?