Disclaimer: I own nothing! Also I just wanted to say this chapter and the next one will mostly be about the chat-room and about Sokka and Zuko connecting. After that we get to the really action, so please just bare with me.
…
For the next week Sokka and Zuko have been meeting each other in the online chat room just about everyday. It seemed weird that they were like complete opposites, but got along fine. The two teens talked about many things, but never anything too personal. Just things like: summer, TV shows, movies, video games, etc. They hadn't even shared their names, not that either boy cared about such trivial things. The chat site was world wide; the chances of knowing each other were slim to none.
Sokka turned off the TV and walked to his computer, it was 4:30; the usual time him and Prince logged on. Sokka signed in, expecting to see his friend on, but there was no sign of him. He frowned and decided to wait, the other boy was probably just busy. Sokka idly drummed his fingers across the wooden desk as time seemed to crawl by. He sighed, now bored he turned on his bulky 13" TV and watched silently as some repeat of an old show appeared.
After it was over he looked back at his screen with concern. It was 5:50 pm and Prince-Arson had yet to show up. Sokka wondered what could be keeping his friend, the boy was never that late. Sokka pursed his lips and decided to just come back a little later. He clicked the screen off and decided to help his sister with the chores.
After a delicious prune stew dinner, Sokka came back to his room and checked if Prince was there. He glanced at the time history and saw that his friend had yet to log on. "That's okay, I'm sure he's just having a bad day or something," Sokka muttered, trying to convince himself, but there was a nagging feeling in his gut. Something was definitely wrong and Sokka hated to admit it, but he was worried. What was worse was that Sokka was helpless. He didn't know where the boy lived, his number, or even his name. There was no way to check if Prince was okay.
Sokka mentally slapped himself for being such a girl. He turned off the monitor and decided to read some comics in hopes that that would take his mind off the boy.
Sokka had been reading for hours and he could read no longer, his eyes hurt and a headache was approaching. Glancing at the clock, Sokka discovered that it was 12:30am. He closed the comic and tossed it back into the growing pile of papers next to his bed. He strolled over to the computer, hoping something would show, but nothing. Feeling a small sliver of hope vanish, Sokka decided to got to bed. He once again clicked the little power button on the bottom of the screen; deciding not to completely shut it down. Sokka would just get on tomorrow and ask then what had happened. Still, the thought hadn't kept awful 'what if's' from entering his mind. Sokka did his best to ignore them, he needed sleep and couldn't remember the last time he was this tired.
…
It was a sunny afternoon and all seemed good. In the distance there was a cheerful family: a strong dad, a beautiful and caring mother, a goofy little boy with bright blue eyes who held onto his father's hand, and a small girl with the same eyes who was being held by her mother. The family was happy, but something was strange about them. The parent's faces were missing. No eyes, no smiles, but there was a sense that they were happy.
Suddenly everything turned black and it began to get hotter. Men in red suits appeared with fire all around them. The children were pushed behind the faceless parents for protection. They seized the parents, but the father was strong. He was out of their clutches and fought to get to his beloved wife. He was too late though, a men struck the wife's head and she fell to the ground, a pool of blood formed around her. Suddenly there was an entire wave of red liquid that consumed everything. The only thing visible was the blood.
The crimson wave passed through, but left no residue. It seemed the blood had washed away the body and red men. They were both gone. It began to get quiet, but the silence wasn't natural. It was as if the dream had been submerged into water; any sound was distant and askew. The children and father were the only ones left. The boy got up and ran to his father. He was scared. But no matter how close the boy got the father was farther. Slowly the dad was consumed with darkness and nothing was left. The little boy was alone, even his sister was gone.
BING
"Ahh," Sokka screamed and shot up from his bed. He frowned, he had been having the same nightmare for a few weeks now. Sokka rubbed his eyes, trying to clear away the drowsiness. What had woken him up? Sokka pondered a bit, but in his tired state his brain wasn't functioning correctly. He decided to shrug it off and go to bed, but as he lied down Sokka was able to see an orange blinking light on his monitor. His computer was still on? Suddenly an idea struck him. Sokka stumbled out of bed, but with his blue blanket twisted around his legs he didn't get far. Sokka flailed his arms as he fell to the ground with a hard thump. Sokka immediately kicked off the thick blanket and crawled to his computer. He didn't know why, but even if there was a chance, any chance that Prince-Arson was online and okay Sokka wanted to know.
Sokka turned the screen on and sure enough there he was.
…
Prince-Arson logged on
Prince-Arson:
You there? Sorry I wasn't on earlier.
Blue-Warrior logged on
Blue-Warrior:
I'm here, what happened to you?
Prince-Arson:
Sorry, there was a family thing I couldn't get out of.
Blue-Warrior:
That's all? What was it about?
Prince-Arson:
"That's all?" What are you, disappointed?
Blue-Warrior:
No, that's not that I meant!
Prince-Arson:
Then what did you mean?
Blue-Warrior:
Idk, it's just that I had a bad feeling. Like something was really wrong, I was worried about you.
Prince-Arson:
Look, I just wanted to apologize. It's late, I'm going.
Prince-Arson logged off
…
Sokka looked at the computer in confusion. He thought it was weird the boy would just apologize and then leave, it didn't seem like him. In the short time they knew each other Prince-Arson didn't seem the type to apologize in general. Sokka frowned, maybe it was something he said. But as Sokka thought back he hadn't really said anything. Sokka shook his head and shut his computer off completely. At least he knew the guy was still alive.
…
Zuko nervously logged off of the chat room, but stared at the words posted on the screen. It'd been a long time since anyone besides Uncle cared about him. Zuko honestly didn't know how to react. A part of him wanted to tell Blue-Warrior the truth, but Zuko didn't know if he could trust him. The last time he was able to get that close to someone it didn't turn out well.
Zuko pulled out an old photo from the top drawer of his desk. He rubbed his thumb over the glossy paper. Two young boys, one smiling while the other scowled, stared back at him. It seemed like a distant dream now.
Slowly the sound of footsteps echoed through the air. Zuko quickly turned the screen on his computer off, blanketing the room in darkness. His breathing hitched and there was total silence.
The footsteps were so loud, Zuko was sure the one causing the noise, his father, was right outside his door. There was a pause and his father stood in front of Zuko's room. The footsteps started again, but the sound was carried away. Zuko let out a shaky breath, after this morning's punishment he didn't want to take his chances. Zuko gingerly put the photo down and tip toed to his bed. He lied down and let the soft covers consume him.
