Avatar is not owned by me

This is a shorter chapter so now you don't have to strain your eyes! Please tell me what you think! If you hate it, tell me! If you love it, tell me! Thanks "Leiyn" for reviewing!

Chapter 4: The Trip

The sun was shining brightly as Aang made his way over to Sokka who was stretching; "Wow!" Sokka said, "I haven't felt this good in a long time! All the injuries those rebels inflicted are gone!"

"Yeah," said Aang, "Toph woke me up this morning and she was all healed too; she looks beau- uh, great!" he said catching himself.

Sokka raised an eyebrow but dismissed it, "I think we should get moving;" he said, "I'm surprised that those thugs didn't attack us during the night since we all fell asleep."

"They tried to," Mai said walking over from the ring of trees with Zuko, "but they didn't get far," she said lobbing a large round object to Sokka.

"What is it?" asked Aang.

"It's a hailstone the size of a grapefruit said Sokka wide eyed, "But what do you mean they tried?"

"There's a whole bunch of unconscious rebels lying in the forest, and the ground outside our clearing is littered with those things," Zuko said nodding at the hailstone.

"Wow," said Sokka, "Katara really is looking out for us!"

"Oh yeah!" said Toph walking up with Suki, "You promised to tell us more about that,"

So Sokka told them the entire story form the time he left the Water Tribe up to the point he got captured.

"Wow," said Suki, "That's incredible! And it explains all the rain."

"It is nice to know that Katara's still out there," said Zuko, "But I think we have another problem…"

"Oh?" asked Sokka, "What's that?"

"We have to get back to the Fire Nation as soon as possible," Zuko said, "Since I got kidnapped, it's safe to assume that the rebels have put one of their own into power. We need to take back the government so another war doesn't get started."

"Ok," said Sokka after some thought, "That's as good a plan as any; I had no idea where we were going to go from here anyway. Let's go talk to the rest of the people and see what they think."

So the group went back to where the Kyoshi girls and Toph's students were sitting and explained the situation to them. Both groups decided to go back to their homes, citing the fact that they hadn't been home in two months. Suki wanted to stay with Sokka and the rest, but Sokka made her go with the others. "It's for the baby." he said kissing her goodbye.

"I know…" she sighed and went to join the other Kyoshi warriors. Mai decided to stay with Zuko since they were going to the Fire Nation anyway. So "Team Avatar" walked to the nearest village to get supplies. Unfortunately they had no money; so, even though he didn't really want to do it, Aang pulled rank as the Avatar and the town's people were more than happy to give them supplies. Also, with the exception of Aang, the group's clothes were pretty shredded so they had to buy new outfits. Sokka just went with a standard tunic and pants, he liked to keep it simple; Zuko, being royalty, went with a slightly more elaborate; Mai got an outfit that was easy to fight in; but to everyone's surprise, Toph actually picked out an actual dress, but had it altered so she could still fight. After changing, she stepped out of the back room of the store and asked "Well?"

The three guys turned to look and their eyebrows shot up in surprise; Aang was so busy blushing that the only thing that came out of his mouth was "Um, er, ah…"; Zuko just stood there looking stunned; and Sokka said "Who are you and what have you done with Toph?"

"Oh come on!" She said, "I can be girly some times…"

"Well yeah," said Aang recovering, "It's just that we see it so rarely it… takes us by surprise. I mean, don't get me wrong you look great, but I, er, uh…I'll just stop talking now…"

Toph laughed, amused by his awkwardness, "And what are you two looking at?" she asked Zuko and Sokka, "You two are married!"

"Yes, you are…" said Mai suddenly appearing behind Zuko and giving him a death glare; Zuko blushed and grinned sheepishly.

"Anyhoo," said Sokka quickly changing the subject, "we should get going."

They thanked the shopkeepers for their generosity and promised to pay them back later. They grabbed their bags and headed for the seashore.

They traveled quickly, knowing that Zhao and the rebel group would be looking to recapture them; so they all wore hats that hid their faces so they wouldn't be recognized. They arrived in a port town and immediately started looking for transportation to the Fire Nation. They skipped over the public ferries, dismissing them as too public; but they were able to find a private boat that they chartered for free using the Avatar status. "Man!" Sokka said to Aang as the boat got underway, "I'm glad I found you again; not only are you handy at saving our butts, but now we get everything free!"

Playing along Aang said "So that's all I am to you guys? A meal ticket? Thanks guys, you make me feel wanted…"

"You're welcome Twinkle Toes," Said Toph coming up from behind and giving Aang a hug.

Sokka just rolled his eyes when Aang started blushing.

After a while, Toph decided to go below deck for a nap; and Zuko and Mai went up to the bow to talk. Aang was helping Sokka sharpen his weapons at the stern of the boat; as Aang ran the whet stone along the edge of Sokka's boomerang, he asked "Hey Sokka, I need some advice."

"Ok, shoot." Sokka said having a pretty good idea what Aang was going to ask.

"Well I'm kinda conflicted about something… Ever since I rescued you guys I've been noticing Toph more and more," Aang said blushing, "I mean she's changed a lot; I'd even say she's beautiful…"

"Well, yeah," Sokka said, "She is 18 now, but what's the problem?"

"Well, I'm still in love with Katara! I shouldn't fall in love with anyone else!"

"Why not?"

"Well, it just feels like I'm cheating on her, ugh I'm so confused…"

"Aang," Sokka said leaning forward, "All Katara wanted, and still wants, is for you to be happy; if being with Toph is what makes you happy I don't think she would mind. Besides, even if she did have a problem, she'd probably pelt you with grapefruit hail or something…"

Thinking, Aang walked over to the rail; a small wave hit the boat splashing him with warm water. He smiled "I think you're right Sokka," he said and was about to ask something else but Zuko called from the bow, "Hey guys! Were here! The gates of Azulon are straight ahead!" and the question was instantly forgotten.

Next time: More Action!

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