Hey all, thanks again to those of you that read and reviewed last time, I really appreciate it! =)

This was my first attempt at something angsty (you've been warned) so let me know what you think. I like how it turned out though so hopefully you do too.

I don't own A:TLA

Flame

Sokka wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to do something—anything—to forget what had just happened.

Violently, he tried to rip his arm out of Aang's comforting grasp, only to be restrained by Zuko's hand as well. He lashed out again, his arm slipping free for a brief moment.

Spinning, he tried to sprint forward toward the nightmare, as if confronting it was the only way to make it go away. But again he was stopped as he found his feet encased in Aang's earthbending.

He turned, his eyes lit by the scene in front of him, flickering with a look of frightened betrayal.

Sokka's feelings quickly turned to anger, his hand hardening into a fist as he wheeled, slamming his hand into Aang's nose, feeling the bones give way, knocking him to the ground as blood streamed from the wound.

He watched in perverse, satisfied silence—as if Aang's pain could somehow bring her back.

He saw Zuko approaching slowly out of the corner of his eye, but he refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his existence, instead turning to glance at what was in front him, almost wishing he hadn't.

Before his eyes was a scene that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life—and quite possibly long after that as well.

Even from fifty yards, he could still feel the heat, the heat from the burning building, the heat from her blasts, the heat from her body pressed up against him as she shoved him away.

He shook his head, trying to clear the haze that threatened to overtake his mind, all the while allowing his sudden rage to find a new target,

"You!" he yelled, finally twisting to face Zuko, "this is your fault! If you hadn't suggested this crazy scheme, this never would have happened!"

Sokka struggled against his bonds, but only succeeded in losing his balance and falling over onto his hands. Grinding his palms into the ground, he crushed the earth between his fingers, feeling the tiny grains slip through his fingertips—just as her hand had slipped through his.

His eyes peered up to gaze accusingly into Zuko's soft, apologetic stare, boring a hole straight through him as if he wasn't even there—almost daring him to speak.

He held this pose for another moment until he collapsed into another wail, the earth between his fingers a subtle reminder of her—a reminder of everything he had lost.

"Sokka…" Zuko trailed off.

"No!" he bit off, gnashing his teeth as his scowl deepened, "if you hadn't suggested that we go and find your crazy sister, I wouldn't be here and she," he motioned to the still burning building behind him, "wouldn't be in there."

"Sok—"

"No! Damn you Zuko! Don't try to tell me what you feel! Don't even try!" He spat, throwing what little earth was still in his hand in the direction of the Fire Lord. After a moment, his voice suddenly dropped in remembrance of what had just occurred, "You don't know…"

Tentatively bending down, Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder, wary of his friend's outbursts but concerned by the sudden change in his voice, "What don't I know Sokka?"

"She…She pushed me away." He mumbled between tears, "She told me to go, to save myself…"

"Sokka," Zuko soothed, "she pushed you away because she wanted you to live."

"But I could have saved her!" Sokka shouted, his body wracked again by sobs, "she wouldn't let me go back."

"Go back to do what Sokka?" Zuko asked slowly.

Sokka paused a moment to compose himself before answering, "She wouldn't let me go back to save her. She said that Azula had brought the whole building down on top of both them and that she was trapped. She said she wouldn't let me die needlessly."

Zuko didn't say anything but merely squeezed his friends shoulder, allowing silent tears to drip from his eyes as well, slowly welling up, staining his uniform below.

"She..she said, 'Don't be a Meathead for once in your life! Go! Save yourself!' I—I told her I wasn't leaving without her. I was coming back to get her when the building started to collapse…

I can still see the flames flickering in her eyes…the sparks and embers that dotted her hair. She was afraid, but defiant. And just as the roof was beginning to cave—just as I was about to reach her—she turned to me one last time and gave me one of her big, Toph smiles.

Then she hollered something that I didn't catch, but I could tell from the look of relief on her face that it was something she had wanted to say for a long time, and, still smiling she earthbended me from of the building. The last thing I saw was eyes somehow meeting mine as the roof caved in."

"Sokka," Aang said, finally approaching after he had found something for his nose, "you couldn't have done anything else, you barely escaped with your life."

Sokka looked up, meeting Aang's caring gray orbs slowly,

"Sorry about your nose," he mumbled.

A wry chuckle escaped his lips, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure Katara can heal it."

For once Sokka didn't even have a retort for Aang about his relationship with his sister.

Finally feeling strong enough, Sokka stood up, his back complaining and his shoulders straightening as Aang allowed his bindings to fall. He stood in silence for a moment, staring at Toph's funeral pyre, her last stand in a harsh, defiant world.

He thought of all she had been—all they had done together, their narrow escapes and easy friendship that, if Sokka was completely honest with himself, might have grown into something more given time.

He had admired her for who she was, the young woman who, when he had first met, had used sarcasm and wit to cover her insecurities. But now, in the past few months, she had grown more confident with who she had been, she had embraced her life as her own—not some creation of her parents.

And now, as Sokka gazed at the slowly fading flames, he thought it was apt that Toph, whose connection to the Earth was undeniable, would, in the end, return to it. And perhaps, one day, her legacy would be reborn through Sokka's life itself.

Hope your Tokka weeks are all going well, please review! (oh, and any thoughts on what Toph said? I had something in mind but thought it better to leave it ambiguous)