Tophites rejoice! I think that this chapter actually shows a different side of Toph, as well as the side of Sokka that will eventually cause problems. Yes, I am aware of the fact that all sides of Sokka eventually cause problems, but this is the side that will cause the problem that the entire Trilogy revolves around. For those of you that are blind earthbenders at heart, this chapter is being told from the POV of your idol.
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"Aang!" I yelled happily. It was then that I realized that what had been a long trip on the panda's back was, in fact, only a few minutes by foot with Roku. I ran up to him, and we walked back to the place where we had come in.

"Who were you talking to?" Aang asked.

"No one." I answered. "Myself."

Chapter 6: Toph

Nika explained everything to us. She explained Sokka's vision, her trip to the spirit world, and her duty as the Ko Na. But the creepiest thing about her was the story about her scars. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing! Nika had scars all over her body? That was just weird! But I guess she really couldn't control what had happened to her, which was kinda sad.

Okay, so I guess you could say that I liked her. She had grown on me, just like Twinkletoes. I mean, sure, I had just thought her annoying when we had first met, but she was kinda cute now. Always having problems and stuff. She was like a lost puppy. Now, I actually listened to her. And Sokka did, too. Very unhappily. He was slumping more than usual. It became especially bad when Nika began to describe the whole "guarantee that the Avatar finds love" thing.

"So… you're saying that you have to unite spirits with Aang?" Katara asked, just to clarify. Nika nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." she answered.

"How on earth do we do that?" Aang asked. His freaked-out tone made me laugh.

"That's not funny!" he said.

I shrugged. "Sorry, Twinkletoes."

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you are. All that Roku said was that we had to find a way to do that before I learn airbending, even though I don't know why." Nika replied.

"I know why." Sokka said, rather glumly. "I'm guessing that because you're the 'other half', as you say, you have to learn everything in reverse order. The Avatar has to master first Air, then Water, then Earth, and then Fire. Aang already knew how to airbend. You already know how to firebend, so the only logical thing to conclude would be that you have to learn first Fire, then Earth, then Water, and finally, Air!"

"That does sound pretty logical." Katara agreed. "But if that were the case, wouldn't Aang have to… uh… unlearn firebending?"

"Not necessarily." I pointed out. "Isn't the purpose of the Avatar to learn all four Elements?"

"That and bring balance to the world." Zuko commented.

"Of course, you would be the leading expert, wouldn't you?" Katara teased. Zuko glared at her.

"Anyways, like I said. If the point of the Avatar is to master all four elements, which, in my opinion, is a pretty hard thing to do in three months, wouldn't the Ko Na person be something like a quick fix?" I continued.

"Well, I don't like to think of myself as a quick fix, but –"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever honey." I interrupted. "All I mean is that if two people are doing a different half of the same job, and then they put both halves of the job together, wouldn't that finish the job? And it all has to do with the amount of time available to do the job. Aang doesn't really have the time to master firebending, while Nika doesn't really have the time to master airbending. I think that want Roku meant was that if Nika were to master airbending, it would take too long. By 'before you master airbending', he probably meant 'before the comet arrives'."

"Gee, thanks." Nika mumbled.

"You're welcome." I answered. No sound. I groaned.

"Look." I said. "All I'm saying is that since Nika already mastered firebending and Aang needs to learn firebending, and since Nika doesn't need to learn airbending because Aang already mastered airbending for her, put them together and you've got yourself a real Avatar. And since they're both learning earth- and waterbending, they'll be twice as good when they're combined. Got it?"

Silence.

"So… you're saying that they balance each other out?" Katara asked.

"That would be a much simpler way to put it." Aang agreed.

"More like add to one another, right?" Nika added. I nodded.

"I guess."

More silence.

"Okay!" Nika said, breaking the uncomfortable pause. "Who wants to chuck rocks around?"

"I do!" Aang and I called in unison. I jumped up, happy to finally get some action. We walked off.

"This is so weird." I heard Katara say to her brother. He didn't respond.

"Sokka? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he grunted, and walked away.

-

The storm clouds began to move in as I was teaching Nika how to move a rock. It was a lot easier than teaching Aang how to. Nika didn't have that block, which was good for me, but bad for Katara, since she would have to teach Nika waterbending. We ran over to the campsite. It wasn't going to rain for a while, so it gave me plenty of time to talk to Sokka about the conversation that we had earlier, and why he wasn't so happy about it.

"I told you we should have put up the tarp!" Katara yelled at Aang as I approached Sokka.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." he grumbled.

"What was going on with you earlier?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" he muttered.

"Well, you weren't exactly the happiest dumpling in the bowl, and, as I see it, the honey still hasn't drizzled over you." I replied.

"I'm just… having a bad day." he said, and turned to walk away. I blocked his path.

"But it's more than that, isn't it?" I pressed.

"I… I just can't bear the thought of losing someone again, that's all." he said. I let him go.

Sokka

Nika and I were the last ones to go to sleep. We sat around the bonfire, all alone. Usually, I left with the others. I could tell that Nika wanted to be alone, if just for a few moments, before she went to sleep. I would let her, but not before talking to her first.

"Nika?" I asked. She looked up from the fire that was slowly beginning to die down.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm going to miss you. When you leave." I said.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because…" I paused. "Because… I love you. That's why."

She looked at me in silence. I didn't know why I said it. Maybe it was because I was so alone. Suki was back on Kyoshi Island, and I didn't know what to do without her. I was hurt and sad when she returned home, but she had promised me that she would never love another. But there may have been another reason I might have said what I did to Nika. I might have said it because it was the truth. I promised Suki the same she did to me, and here I was, breaking that promise. So, in falling for Nika, I was only hurting myself more. You see, I was still in love with Suki.

"Sokka?" Nika asked, her voice quiet. I knew that voice. It was the guilt voice.

"Yes?" I asked, preparing myself for the blow.

"I'm going to miss you, too."

Ouch.

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Alright, so the only thing that Nika means when she says that she's gonna miss Sokka is that she loves him too. Not that painful, huh? So why is Sokka in pain? Because... read the last kinda longish paragraph!
Am I being too childish in saying that Sokka is in love with Nika?

*SWEEPstakes*

Answer this question, and if you get it right, I'll send you my idea for the ending. The answer is somewhere in this chapter.

What popular Asian food does Toph refer to when she describes the way that Sokka was acting earlier in the day?

You can answer, but if you don't want me to spoil it for you, you have to say is:

"Dear Sweep,
I would not like to know your idea for the ending of the (second, third) book. The answer to your SWEEPstakes question is insert answer here.
Thank you,
Insert Penname here"

Either that, or you could just say this:

Dear Sweep,
I would like to know your idea for the ending of the (second, third) book. The answer to your SWEEPstakes question is insert answer here.
Thank you,
Insert Penname here"

Ofcourse, the only way to enter the SWEEPstakes is to, yup...

REVIEW!!!!

Oh, and I updated my profile. All of the rules and stuff that belong to the SWEEPstakes are there, if you wnat to check it out. Well... you kinda have to if you wanna enter. Tee hee hee... Yes, I am a shameless self-promoter.

~Sweep~