Hey there fellow fanfictioners!(That's my word for you all! XD ) RunsWithScissors coming at you with the sixth installment for To The End!!

Thank you once again to everyone who reviews, adds me to their favorites, puts me on their alerts and/or just reads my story!! You guys keep me writing!!

So this is going to be the first "bump" in my story. (By "bump" I mean first big thing happening in my story) So get ready for some good chapters! (At least I hope so!!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. Only worship it as a Zutara and Taang fan

xXx Chapter Six xXx

Shadows

Aang and Toph were sitting around the campground silent and bored. Toph was leaning against a log, her legs stretched out in front of her. Her arms were crossed behind her head in a relaxed position.

Aang's back was against a tree opposite of Toph, his arms crossed and staring at her. They had been that way since Iroh and Sokka ran off into the forest towards Zuko and Katara.

"So……how do you like traveling with us?" Aang asked hopefully, hoping to strike up a conversation and break the unbearable silence.

"It's okay I guess," Toph said flatly. Aang frowned when she stopped talking.

'Okay let's try that again,' he thought thinking of another subject to talk about.

"Do you think we could improve on anything?"

"Katara's attitude maybe and Zuko helping out more, otherwise everything is fine."

Aang's shoulders sagged in defeat slightly. 'She is not that easy to talk to,' he thought, rubbing the back of his neck in slight frustration.

"So Toph! You look……um……nice today. That outfit really compliments your……um…skin!" Aang said smiling sheepishly.

Toph looked in Aang's direction, quirking an eyebrow. "I wear this outfit everyday Aang," she said her voice still monotone.

"Yes…well…you look really nice in it today!"

"Are you saying I didn't look nice before?" Toph said, shooting a light glare at Aang.

Aang shook his head but then realized Toph couldn't see his response. "No! You always look nice! I just never got to compliment you before, that's all," he said, mentally slapping himself.

Toph crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What stopped you before? I'm sure you had plenty of chances to tell me I look nice."

"I…well……I just…um…Sokka!" Aang exclaimed, smiling.

"Sokka?" Toph said, her look growing suspicious and confused.

"Yes! Sokka! He was always…ah…saying things to me so I could never compliment you!"

Toph's face once again appeared expressionless. "Well…thank you for the compliment."

Aang's face fell when he saw their conversation was over. He was going to try to start another one when Katara, Iroh, Zuko and Sokka returned.

"Hey guys! You're back!" Aang said, alerting Toph who all of the vibrations were coming from.

Toph stood up facing away from the group. "Hey Sokka?" She called out.

"Yeah?" he said, telling Toph exactly where he was standing. She stomped her foot on the ground, the ground shaking.

Sokka was then thrown into the air by a large rock jutting out of the ground. He landed in a large tree, his limbs tangled in the many branches.

"Toph! What the hell was that for?!" He yelled, trying to get down from the large tree but ended up getting more tangled.

She shrugged her shoulders but a small smirk was on her face. "I don't know, just thought it would be funny," she said walking away from them.

"Come on Katara let's get dinner ready," she called over he shoulder.

"Okay!" Katara said, glancing once more at her brother, a smile visible on her face. She ran until she was caught up with Toph who was unpacking things for dinner.

Zuko and Aang just stood there, watching Sokka try to get out the tree.

"What was that all about?" Zuko asked, laughing as he watched the warrior fall a couple of branches down, smacking his head.

"I have no idea," Aang said, glancing over to Toph and Katara. 'What was that about?'

Sokka glared down at them. "You guys going to help me get down from here?!"

Zuko and Aang just kept staring at him, crossing their arms.

"No."

Sokka glared at them and tried once again to climb down. "I hate all of you guys!!" He yelled from the tree, making everyone roll their eyes at him.

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888

"Dinner is ready gentlemen!" Katara called out to the camp, banging the wooden spoon on the

Cast-iron pot. Inside of the pot was a thick brown stew with orange vegetables floating in it.

Iroh and Aang stopped their firebending training and walked over to Katara who poured the thick stew into two bowls for them. "Thank you," they each said, sitting down on a nearby log.

Zuko walked over and grabbed a bowl. He mumbled a quick thank you before sitting down by Iroh.

Sokka stomped over to Katara, slight bruises all over him from the tree. He grabbed the bowl and plopped down by the fire. He quickly slurped some stew into his mouth.

Toph and Katara quirked an eyebrow at the warrior's eating habits. They shook their heads and grabbed their own bowls and sat together by the fire.

Once the stew met Sokka's taste buds, he quickly spit it out. He started gagging and everyone looked at him with surprise and confusion.

"What the hell is this?! Katara, I thought Gran-Gran taught you to cook better then this," Sokka said, wiping off his tongue.

Katara bit her bottom lip, looking over at Toph. Her face held my expression but sadness was in her eyes along with anger. "She wasn't the one who made it Sokka," she said, slurping her stew.

"I did."

Sokka looked over at Toph, fear written all over his face. 'I swear, I'm just asking for a death wish,' he thought, mentally beating himself up.

"Yeah, well at least when she cooks, her food is edible," Aang said, jumping to Toph's defense. He glared at Sokka as Aang slurped his stew. "And it is very tasty if you ask me."

"Yes I agree, yeah me too, it's okay," Katara, Iroh and Zuko said agreeing with Aang.

A happy smirk appeared on her face when she heard Aang. "Thank you. The stew is a specialty in the Earth Kingdom. It's chicken-duck stew with orange radishes. The flavor is little off but it's not too bad if I do say so myself."

"It's excellent Miss Toph," Iroh said eating more of his stew with a smile on. "A nice cup of strong Ginger Tea would go excellent with this." Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle and ate more of the hot stew.

"Yeah plus it's not like Sokka's octo-squid soup," Katara said, wiping her mouth off. "Remember the one that gave everyone a rash?"

Toph and Aang chuckled at the memory. Sokka just sat there, his face flushed with embarrassment. He eye twitched when he remembered the "soup".

"So I didn't follow the directions exactly…"

"That's for damn sure," Toph mumbled, finishing her stew. Everyone was soon quickly down with theirs, even Sokka who forced it down his throat even though there was much protest from his taste buds.

"I'll clean the dishes," Aang said volunteering and grabbing everyone's bowl. When he was grabbing Toph's bowl out of her hands, she held it there forcing him to stop and look at her.

"Thanks Aang, for sticking up for me," she mumbled, the slightest shade of pink appearing on her cheeks. Aang's face also became flushed and quickly grabbed the bowl out of her hands.

"Oh…um you're welcome," he mumbled, his face red. He quickly ran over to the tub of water they kept around camp and vigorously began to wash the dishes.

Katara quirked an eyebrow at their interaction. 'What is going between those two?' She thought, watching them. Realization hit her and she smiled softly.

'Aw! They like each other! That is so cute!!'

"Hey Peasant, set up your tent for the night," Zuko said to Sokka, breaking Katara's thoughts.

"What do you mean peasant?!" Sokka yelled, stomping over to the Fire Prince, his blade out and ready.

Katara and everyone shook their heads and quickly moved to stop the fight before anything happened. 'Will they ever stop?' They all thought, dragging the two apart.

'I'm going to kill him one of these days,' Sokka and Zuko thought, glaring at the other as they were dragged apart.

8888888888888888888888888888888

"Goodnight everybody!" Katara called out into the camp. She was greeted with a bunch of moans and groans telling her everyone was already half asleep. She quickly bended some water to put out the fire and crawled into her tent she shared with Toph.

She laid down next to the earthbender, who she thought was fast asleep. "Goodnight Toph," she whispered, hoping not to wake her. She quickly shut her blue eyes and fell asleep under the thick covers.

Toph was actually very wide-awake, staring at the side of the tent. She wasn't collecting her thoughts from the day or anything or trying to figure out how she could get Sokka back.

No she was awake for a different reason.

"There is something in the trees," she whispered, still staring at the side of the tent and listening for any movement.

A shadow in the trees watched as everyone slowly crawled into their tents, not realizing a certain earthbender was still awake. The shadow surveyed the camp, soaking up every detail about it that he could remember.

He slowly jumped out the tree, landing softly on the ground. The moonlight hit his Fire Nation armor giving it a red glow. It then quickly turned away from the camp and disappeared in the darkness of the forest.

88888888888888888888888888888888888

The shadow arrived at a small nearby town settled by the river. It was past midnight so the town was practically cloaked in darkness except for a few dim torches outside of various stores and teashops. Even the nearby dock was vacant of life, just a few fishing boats and a large Fire Nation ship floating in it

The shadow ran into a small hut towards the docks. He walked quickly into the back where a single man sat behind a deck.

Dimly lit torches were on the walls giving the room a soft glow. A single window was in the room facing the forest. The moon shone inside of it giving it an extra amount of light.

The man behind the desk looked at the shadow when he burst into the room. He slowly stood up and looked at the shadow.

"Well Captain?" He asked, folding his hands behind his back. "What did you find out?"

888888888888888888888888888888888888

"So Zuko and the Avatar have teamed up?" The man asked the captain that was spying on Aang and everyone else.

"Yes Master. It seems like General Iroh… "Ex-General," the man snapped correcting him.

"My apologies. Ex-General Iroh seems to be teaching the Avatar firebending."

"Interesting. Well that will be taken care of soon enough. Are all of the plans ready for tomorrow?" The man asked, looking down at his desk and shuffling through a couple of papers.

"Yes Master. The troops are ready at your command."

"Excellent," the man said, smirking with evil written all over it. "Tell the troops to be ready tomorrow night. We will grab Prince Zuko and the Avatar and then quickly head to the Fire Nation. You are dismissed," the man said, lazily waving his hand at the shadow.

He bowed walked towards the door.

"One more thing Captain! Is the ship ready?"

"Yes Master Zhao, your ship is ready to sail," the shadow said, walking out of the room.

Zhao walked over to the window and looked out it, staring at the nearby forest

"Excellent," he said, looking at the forest with a smile on.

'I will get the Avatar and Zuko and we will finally win this war!' He thought victoriously.

'Then everyone will bow to the Fire Nation!' Zhao smiled and walked to the docks where his ship was stationed. He went below deck to his room and fell asleep, dreams of complete victory in his head.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Toph was still awake even after the shadow left. When he hit the ground, she was quickly jarred and hadn't been able to shut her eyes since. 'What was that?' She thought, curling under her blanket.

She sighed and closed her eyes. 'It was probably just a bat-squirrel or something.'

'Well, I hope it was.'

Woohoo! Slight Taang moment!! Aw Toph blushed!! How cute: )

Don't worry there will a Zutara moment soon! I promise!!! And if I'm lying then...well…I don't know but I'll think of some punishment!!

Once again people, I have finals and new classes this week so you probably won't get an update until this upcoming weekend. Sorry folks but I got to study:(

I promise the next chapter will be very exciting though! The "bump" will be starting! And I'm sorry if I'm using the same plot a lot of people use but it will be a little different besides, this "bump" starts off another bigger "bump"!

Look for Chapter 7 soon!

Wish VisMorgana and I luck on my finals: )

Love & Peace

RunsWithScissors

P.S. In case anyone has been wondering, Vis and I are best friends! (Well, I consider her a best friend) We go to the same school and stuff and we are HUGE Zutara fans!!