Where was he? Sokka wondered as he peered out into the thick fog that seemed to obscure everything around him. He couldn't even see the sky, but there was a dim even light that seemed to come from everywhere and it made Sokka very uneasy. He breathed in the misty air and found it was wet and cool but he was warm and his bloody clothes stuck to his body with sweat. My leg! he thought before looking down to see it was unmarked. What? he thought but his mind was fuzzy. His pant leg was ripped and soaked with his dark red blood but his flesh was unharmed. He couldn't think straight but the idea that something very wrong shouted up and down in his mind. His hands felt the red earth beneath him, it was brittle and cracked like dry clay despite the moisture in the air.
Where am I? the question returned to him. He called out but the fog seemed to swallow up his words as they left his throat. The tried to stand and found that he could get up easily, his body was completely injured. He heard something in the distance through the fog that sounded to him like a woman's voice.
"Sokka?" the voice, it was a voice Sokka decided, called to him again from somewhere in the fog. It was familiar to him but he hadn't heard it in so long he couldn't be sure from where. He called out towards the voice but his own words didn't travel through the fog and he could barely hear himself.
"Sokka?" the voice asked again.
He took a cautious step forward, he had to stay in one spot he thought. Why was that? he wondered. So they could find him when they came searching, he reminded himself. That was a trick his father, Hakoda, had taught him when they had gone hunting on the ice when he was young. Stay where they lost you, he intoned, that way they would know where to find you again. That made sense, Sokka thought hazily.
"Sokka?"
He wanted to move toward the sound but he couldn't pinpoint a direction in the thick fog. He tried to call out to it again but once again nothing came out. He took a step forward now. That was bad, he told himself, he had to stay where they lost him. Who were they? he wondered idly as he took another step toward the sound of the voice.
"Sokka?" the voice called again and with a sudden revelation he knew who it was. Yue, he thought, or was she Tui now? He stopped abruptly. Yue was dead, he told himself. He tried to remember how he had gotten here. Was he dead? He had been fighting Zhao and someone that wasn't Zhao had said something to him and then he was here. That didn't make any sense, Sokka thought, seeing as here was definitely not Ba Sing Se and Zhao hadn't take him anywhere.
"Sokka? Where are you?" the voice was clearer now, closer. Sokka took another step forward. Not-Zhao had said something about Tui and the Spirit World but none of it had made any sense to Sokka. Was Tui here to help him? he wondered as he tried to call out again. This time he heard himself speak.
"Yue?" he asked into the fog, his voice not carrying very far. There was no reply and he tried, "Tui?" there was a soft hum from somewhere to his right and he followed the sound. He saw a shape take form in the fog before him, it was a woman. She was about as tall as he was, with tan watertribe skin and white hair that was down in long braids that hung down over her shoulders. It was Yue. She was here, Sokka thought and suddenly he found it very hard to breathe.
"Sokka?" she looked up at him expectantly. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know," he said, stopped a few steps in front of her. "I think Zhao did something to me." Yue flinched at the mention of Zhao's name and Sokka felt his heart break as he considered the implications of what was going on around him. He felt a lump in his throat that kept him from speaking but Yue just watched him, waiting for him to say something. Her eyes looked lost and hurt, and it hurt Sokka to see her like that. Finally he said, "where are we?"
"I don't know," Yue told him, averting her eyes. "I've been here for so long," Yue said, blinding away tears. She was trying to be brave for Sokka but it only make Sokka feel worse. Had she been in this place since she had given up her life to revive Tui and save them all? The guilt was overwhelming and Sokka's knees felt weak. He took a step closer, he wanted desperately to comfort her but he stopped himself. What could he do? What could he say?
"Yue," he said, his voice coming out weakly, "have you been here since…" he couldn't bring himself to say the word.
"I think so," she told him earnestly.
"So you haven't been…" he looked for the right words, "watching over me?" it sounded so ridiculous when he said it aloud. Of course she hadn't, he chided himself, she was dead and she had died to save him and he had repaid her by being disloyal.
"No," she murmured, confused. She looked up at him with red eyes, the tone of her voice holding a question. He had to tell her, his heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn't breathe.
"Yue, I…" he paused, suddenly he couldn't find the courage to speak. She watched him with her light blue eyes and Sokka swallowed. Instead he said, "I'm going to get you out of here."
"Sokka, I can't…" she began but he stopped her. He reached out a hand and took one of hers in his. It felt cold. Too cold. He let it go, his breathing becoming shallower.
"What are you talking about?" he managed to say but it came out weak and uneven.
"I can't," she looked down again and Sokka looked to see that her feet were rooted to the ground with some kind of earthen shackles. Sokka bent down to one knee before her and he reached out to touch the shackles around her legs. They looked like the same dry red clay as the ground beneath them but they felt like iron under his probing fingers.
"I'll get you out of these," he said but his voice came out unsure. He reached for his sword reflexively but stopped as he realised that none of his weapons were with him here. His eyes darted around but he saw nothing around them on the red clay that he could use to smash the shackles with.
"No," Yue said and her voice came out cold, "you won't."
"Yue, don't say that!" Sokka stood taking her hands in his. He shivered at how cold they felt but he held them tight. "I will save you, I promise." She wouldn't look him in the eyes and that sent another shiver up his back.
"You found someone," Yue said, not looking up. Her voice was weak, "didn't you?"
"What?" Sokka was taken aback by the question. His breath caught and his knees threatened to fall out from under him.
"Someone else," she said, it came out as a whisper, "to be with."
"Yue, I…" he began but he couldn't find the words to continue. His chest felt tight and his head was swimming. What was happening to him? he wondered.
"I understand," she said, "how could you still love me? I'm dead," she looked up and her face contorted into a gruesome mask. Sokka pulled his hands away forcefully as her face twisted into that of an old woman, rough and haggard. Sokka thought his heart would stop, he was so afraid.
"Yue, I…" he spat out as he fell backwards onto his butt. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face so his eyes rested on her midsection.
"Sokka?" her voice was quiet but it sounded so sweet that he looked up, summoning all his courage. Her face was normal again and she looked at him quizzically. "What's wrong?" He tried to speak but nothing came out.
"Sokka?" another voice in the fog. It was Suki, Sokka thought, she was looking for him. He tried to call out but his voice had left him again. He stood up on shaky legs and tried and tried to call out but each time the fog would swallow his voice before it left him. "Where are you?" Suki called again. She was so close. He took a step toward her.
"No!" the terror in Yue's voice stopped Sokka cold, "if you go you'll never find me again. Please." Sokka froze.
"Sokka? Where are you?" Suki's voice was growing fainter. She was going in the wrong direction, Sokka thought. He turned back to Yue, her eyes watching him, pleading with him, not to go. Then Sokka heard something else. It was a woman's scream, Suki's. That was it. He took off toward the voice at a run, Yue's sobs chasing him into the fog.
He ran blindly towards the direction he had heard Suki but after a few moments he realised that he must have gone the wrong way. If she was in this direction, he thought, he would have reached her already. He turned around but he had no idea where to go. He tried to call out but his voice failed him again. He took a few hesitant steps in a random direction. Yue! he thought, but by now it was too late. He wouldn't be able to find his way back to her without the sound of her voice to guide him. He was alone again. How could he have abandoned Yue again? he cursed himself. He blinked away tears and he coughed to keep himself from sobbing. He had found her and he had run out on her again! his sadness was turning into frustration and his fists clenched and he screamed into the fog. His voice came then and his scream carried out to be swallowed up by the thick mist that surrounded him.
"Sokka?" it was Suki, she must have heard him. Sokka ran towards the voice and he came upon her in the fog. She was hurt, lying on her side. He rushed to kneel next to her.
"What happened?" Sokka said, panic coloring his voice. Suki tried to speak but her voice was gone like Sokka's had been. "Can you walk?" he asked and she shook her head slowly. "How did you get here?" his voice was rising with the panic he felt. She just looked up at him, the fear and sadness evident on her face. Sokka wiped the tears from his eyes and stifled a sob. He had to be strong for her, he told himself. He reached down to help her up but he found he couldn't move her. She felt like she weighed a ton and as hard as he tried he couldn't even shift her. What was going on here? he wondered vaguely beneath his overwhelming fear.
"Sokka?" this voice sent a chill through his whole body. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It was Toph. Somehow she was here too, he thought. He tried to yell out to her but his voice was gone again. Agh! he screamed in his head, why was this happening? What was going on? "Sokka, help!" there was desperation in Toph's voice and Sokka's heart beat even faster, threatening to burst out of his chest. She was so close, he thought, he could reach her and find his way back to Suki! He turned to go but a whimper stopped him dead. He turned back to look at Suki. She had tears in her eyes and she looked up at Sokka helplessly. He felt a pit form in his stomach and the weight of it nearly brought him to his knees. He gave Suki one last look, his eyes promising that he would return, and he set off into the fog once more.
"Sokka," Toph's voice was getting closer, "I can't feel anything. My earthbending isn't working," her voice was rising in pitch with fear, "I can't see!" Sokka nearly crashed into her as he came charging through the fog. He grabbed her in a fierce hug and she pushed and kicked at him for a moment before realising who was holding her. "Sokka," her voice was so relieved and she fell slack in his arms.
"I've got you," he assured her, lowering them both to the ground. She sat in his lap, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her hands in her lap.
"I can't see," she said, "I can't see anything."
"It's going to be okay," Sokka said, his head resting against her bun of hair. "We're going to be okay."
"I'm so scared," Toph's voice was low. A screamed pierced the fog and Sokka turned his head toward it. Yue! he thought and moved to get up. "No," Toph said, squeezing his hands tightly in her own. "Please, don't leave me." Sokka's heart was breaking and tears poured down his cheeks to fall on Toph's slender shoulder.
"I will never leave you," he told her firmly. "I promise."
"Sokka!" it was Suki again, calling out for him. He felt a pang of regret but he didn't move.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into Toph's ear, "but I'm not going anywhere." His voice became stronger. "I love you and I am never leaving," he was shouting out into the fog now, "never!"
Then everything went silent. One moment he was holding Toph in his hands and the next he wasn't. She had disappeared completely and Sokka sat by himself on the dry red clay in the fog. No one called out to him and his voice had left him again. Agh! he thought, what is going on here?
"I am impressed," a voice said from behind and Sokka froze. It was the voice that had spoken through Zhao back on the tower. Sokka rose to his feet despite the growing fear he felt that made him want to run away. He turned to see an old man, his features so unremarkable that it wa difficult to focus on his face.
"Who are you?" Sokka asked, surprised to find his voice had returned. "Where are we?"
"Me?" the fog man said, "who I am isn't important, Sokka."
"How do you know my name?" the sweat running down Sokka's back was ice cold.
"This is the Fog of Lost Souls," the fog man gestured around. Sokka struggled to watch the man's face but Sokka swore that it had changed slightly since the last time he had looked. "Do you know what that is?"
"No," Sokka said defiantly despite the fear that was growing inside him. "Where are my friends?"
"Far from here," the fog man said, his voice sounded like laughter but he didn't laugh. "Here, you are all alone."
"Why?" Sokka asked, "how did I get here?"
"You are here because I brought you here," the fog man said and Sokka could have sworn his face had changed slightly again when Sokka blinked. "You are here to settle a very old feud."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sokka's head was spinning and his mind was having trouble connecting anything the strange man said to any meaning.
"Because you passed the test," the fog man said, his voice crying but he wasn't crying. "Your greatest fear was...underwhelming. Now comes the part where the fog clears and you get to go free…" the fog man's face had changed again. His voice was now screaming but he wasn't screaming, "except, Sokka, you aren't going anywhere."
Sokka took a step forward but the fog man was gone. Frustrated, Sokka punched out into the fog but his fist swung through the wet air harmlessly. He was alone. The words filled his head and he felt weak. Alone. He had lost Yue, he had lost Suki, and now he had lost Toph too. His eyes were full of tears and they streaked down his cheeks to mingle with the damp air that clung to his skin. He sat back down on the dry red clay and brought his knees up to his chest. Alone, the word was there again. Alone. He let himself cry now and he sobbed into his arms, folded across his knees. He didn't cry for himself but for the women that he had abandoned. He had left them alone, he thought, he had failed each one in turn.
No, he breathed deeply of the foggy air. No! this time the voice in his head was a shout, he would not abandon Toph. He blinked the tears from his eyes and he snorted loudly to clear his nose. He would not give up. With long calming breaths, Sokka stood up in the lonely fog. He would find a way out of this place, he told himself adamantly, because Toph needed him.
The unnaturally even lighting had changed, Sokka noticed. It was as if everything had gotten a little dimmer and the light that seemed to come from everywhere was cooler now. He looked down at the cracked earth beneath his feet to find the faintest shadow. A shadow, he stared at it in puzzlement, he hadn't seen any shadows in the Fog. The shadow grew in sharpness and Sokka realised that some light source must have been shining down on him from above. He craned his neck upward and beyond the thick fog that hung over his head endlessly, he saw a light. The light was faint at first but it grew in strength with each passing second. The light was bright and purest white. The moon, Sokka felt new tears well up in his eyes. This time they were tears of joy, tears of amazement, as he regarded the miraculous sight before him.
The moonlight broke through the fog and the thickness of it that had seemed so impermeable and solid began to come apart. It was slow at first, Sokka noticed. First he could barely see his hands at arm's length in front of him. Then the ground became a solid colour that stretched out farther and farther before him.
"This is quite the development," the fog man said and Sokka spun around to face him. "Tui has always been so arrogant, but I never imagined she would come here," the fog man was holding something and Sokka's blood froze. It was a long plain knife but it filled Sokka with dread. There was something unrecognizable, something terrible, about it. Sokka took a step back involuntarily.
"What do you want?" Sokka's voice came out broken and unconfident. The fog man sighed, taking a step toward Sokka. Sokka watched the long plain knife hang lazily in the fog man's hands and when he chanced a glance back to the fog man's unremarkable face, Sokka noticed that it had changed again. Without the dense fog, Sokka found he could think clearer. Be ready, Master Piandao's voice told him, you only have one chance to get that knife. Sokka swallowed, the lump in his throat felt like he had swallowed a rock the size of his fist.
"We are opposites, her and I," the fog man's voice was crying but he didn't cry. He took another casual step toward Sokka. "Clarity and obscurity," his voice was terrible and it made Sokka flinch, "one to light the way and one to shroud it in darkness." Sokka was breathing hard now, his heart pounding in his chest. Sokka tried to clear his throat.
"You freed Zhao," Sokka said, it wasn't a question.
"Yes," the fog man's voice was giddy but he didn't laugh. He took another step toward Sokka. Sokka stood his ground despite the fear building in his body. His arms and legs ached now, they shivered and wobbled and protested in every way that he needed to run. He needed to escape. There's only one way to escape, Sokka told himself, steeling himself for what he would have to do. "His obsession," the fog man said, "who would have guessed that a mere mortal could have nearly succeeded where I had failed for so long?"
"Zhao only wants his stupid legend," Sokka said, his voice wavering but he tried to keep a brave tone, "he's trying to destroy Ba Sing Se, not kill Tui."
"He will," the fog man said, "his pride will carry him on wings to the North Pole!" The fog man's voice was booming and terrible but he didn't shout. Then he struck. The knife was up before Sokka knew it and it plunged toward his heart. Sokka dodged back, his feet spreading out reflexively like Suki had taught him. The knife cut into Sokka's tunic and the tip of the blade slid into his skin, tapping hard against one of his ribs. Ah! he screamed in his head, that hurt! His hands darted up and his palms clasped the fog man's knife hand. The impact had surprised the fog man and Sokka saw an expression of surprise on his face for just a split second. The fog around them was getting lighter and lighter and Sokka could see further around in his peripheral vision. He could see the fog man clearly now, his face settling into a single persistent face that was completely unremarkable.
"What -" the word came out of the fog man's mouth as he tried to sink back into his protective fog but found that he couldn't. Sokka swept low and the flat side of his foot connected with the fog man's knee. Sokka jerked the knife up and away and it came freely out the fog man's hand as Sokka stomped down and crushed his lead foot. "Tui!" the fog man shouted now and it boomed throughout the whole valley.
Sokka came up, driving his elbow into the fog man's face and before he could fall backwards, Sokka twisted so that he caught the fog man by the throat. The unremarkable face was a mask of fear now.
"Send me back," Sokka said, turning the knife to hold it threateningly against the fog man's throat. "And don't make me come back here and finish what you started."
Sokka's body was full of pain, he was dizzy and he had to blink away the white flecks that covered his vision like a blizzard. His head felt like it would pop and his eyes bulged painfully in his head. There was a hand around his throat and it was squeezing painfully down on him. Zhao! Sokka thought immediately, he didn't have a second to lose. Zhao was looking at down on the young water tribesman with astonishment.
"How-" Zhao began but he was cut off as Sokka's hand, flattened and with fingers extended, struck him in the throat. Zhao's grip loosened for a split second as Sokka dug his thumb into the soft groove where Zhao's throat met his collar. His other hand grabbed Zhao's wrist and Sokka launched himself backward and to the side. Just like Suki taught you, he told himself, turn your opponent's strength against him.
Sokka howled his loudest, fiercest warrior wolf howl as he filled his lungs with the cold night air. Zhao's eyes went wide as his face smashed painfully into the rain slick stones of the tower top. Zhao felt his bony nose crack painfully as he hit the ground and his teeth sink into his lips as his chin was smashed against the unyielding stone. He kicked backward, a gout of fire swept out forcing Sokka to his feet.
Sokka stood ready as Zhao returned to his feet. The madman was smiling, blood pouring from his broken nose and mangled lips in thick syrupy rivulets that turned his teeth bright red.
"I met your friend," Sokka panted, his face returning to its normal color as his blood flowed freely back to his body. His leg was unsteady and he became acutely aware of his injury. Back in the real world, he thought, his body had had just about all it could take. He coughed and it was painful but he managed to keep his voice even as he confronted Zhao, "and I showed him what messing with Sokka get's you!"
"Liar," Zhao's voice was booming, "nobody can escape that fog," his eyes darted about nervously as he mentioned the fog.
"Your friend's not that tough," Sokka said, giving Zhao his best cocky smirk. The moon was shining down on them now, Sokka noted, and the storm clouds were breaking apart in the night sky. "It's over, Zhao."
"No," Zhao said, the fury evident in his voice, "no, no." Zhao took an angry step toward Sokka. Sokka tried to back up but his injured leg caused him to fall backwards so that he was sprawled helplessly on the ground. Zhao came at him faster now.
"Not so fast!" a voice caught Zhao's attention. It was Suki, Sokka realised, they had come back to help him.
"Yeah! Nobody touches my boyfriend," Toph said as she drew up two hefty rocks in preparation to attack. The mention of boyfriend drew a funny look from Iroh and Mei who were flanked by the soldiers of Eel-Hound Company.
"No," Zhao turned on them, frenzied, "you can't beat me. Nobody can! I am the greatest admiral of the Fire Nation! The greatest admiral the world has ever seen! You are nothing beneath me!" He sank into a low stance, ready to strike.
"No, Zhao," Aang's voice rang out as Appa descended from the night sky. He and Katara hopped down onto the tower top. Katara looked at Sokka with horror, examining his injuries. How could he still be alive? she thought with amazement, how is he still fighting? Tears came to her eyes and she blinked them away furiously. He was going to be alright, she told herself firmly, as soon as she could get to him.
Aang rose to hover a few feet off the ground and his eyes and airbending tattoos began to take on an eerie blue glow. When he spoke his voice was joined by the voices of a thousand others in a mad cacophony. They were all full of anger.
"You are nothing, Zhao," the Avatar told him, spreading out his hands. The wind whipped furiously around the tower top and the rain that fell coalesced into a whirlpool that swept widely around them all. The crenelations of the tower, thick heavy stones, broke off and flew into the maelstrom that raged around them. Lightning struck and it too was added to the elements at the Avatar's command. "I have faced a thousand thousand men, in a thousand lifetimes," Aang looked menacingly at Zhao at Sokka could hardly believe that the boy before them was the same goofy kid that was his friend, "and each of them has been forgotten."
"No," Zhao's voice was weak, barely audible over the raging sky.
"And you too, Zhao," the voice boomed over the deafening din with the conviction and the anger of all Aang's past lives, "will be forgotten!"
Zhao's eyes were wide and tears streamed down his face as he turned to run. Aang shot out, flying across the tower top and grabbing Zhao by his neck. Aang lifted him effortlessly into the air and his free hand rested on Zhao's forehead. There was a blinding flash of light and when it was over Zhao and Aang were on solid ground. Aang let him go and Zhao fell into a blubbering heap on the wet stone ground. The wind died down and the rain fell back into its natural pattern. The stoneworks returned to their places on the ledge around the tower and fused back onto the stone. The lightning died in the sky and the storm clouds cleared. Aang's eyes and airbender tattoos returned to their normal state and he turned to Sokka.
"Wow," Sokka breathed, it was just a whisper.
"Oh," Aang said with a nervous laugh, "thanks!" He rubbed his neck with embarrassment. He turned to the others around the tower. Katara was already running toward her brother to tend to his injuries. Toph was helping Suki across the tower top to Sokka as well. Iroh, Mei, and the soldiers of Eel-Hound company just looked on with shocked amazement. Sergeant He fell to his knees, speechless at the display of the Avatar's power.
"Sokka!" Katara knelt by her brother's side, grabbing him in a fierce hug that sent fiery bolts of pain down his arm and leg. "Are you alright?"
"Obviously not," Sokka said through gritted teeth. Katara released her death grip on him, a shy look coming over her.
"Oh, sorry," she said.
"Healing," Sokka breathed, he felt like he would pass out any second, "please." Katara jumped into action, drawing her emergency vial of water from around her neck and set about bending the water over his burnt arm and sliced leg. Sokka leaned back, "Aang…" He turned to face the Avatar. "Is…" he wasn't sure how to ask his question, his head felt light from all the blood loss and the pain.
"What is it Sokka?" Aang asked, coming to crouch beside his wounded friend.
"Is Yue..." Sokka began, fresh tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision, "up there?" he gestured with his uninjured arm at the moon that filled the clear night sky with its brilliance.
"Of course," Aang said, puzzled. "She's the moon spirit after all."
"So," Sokka blinked to clear the tears from his eyes, "is she watching us right now?" Aang turned to look up at the sky and Sokka saw Aang's tattoos light up for just a moment before he turned back to face Sokka.
"She's up there," Aang said happily, "and she says she's proud of you. She said she couldn't have stopped him without your help," Aang finished with confusion.
"Tell her…" Sokka paused to think of what he wanted to say, "that I couldn't have done anything without her." Aang began to turn away but Sokka stopped him, "Not just fog man," Sokka said, his voice quiet. Aang gave him a quizzical look, who was fog man? "Tell her that she taught me how to love someone," Sokka said, fresh tears running down his face. Katara looked away with embarrassment, her cheeks flush. "And tell her that I love someone new and that she'll always have a place in my heart." Sokka's heart felt lighter, he breathed a deep breath of cold night air and it came out hot and laboured. He felt the fear and the uneasiness flow out into the air and away from him. Aang turned back to the sky and Sokka watched as his tattoos glowed brightly for a moment before returning to normal.
"She knows," Aang told Sokka, his voice strained, "she's glad you're happy. She…" Aang coughed to clear his throat, "she says that love is meant to share."
Sokka closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He rested his weary head against the cold wet stone beneath him. It felt so good to know that she was watching over him, that she had seen him grow, and seen him go on to love first Suki and then Toph. He had changed so much from whom he had been at the North Pole. He had grown and his love for her had grown with him. He loved Toph now but Yue would always hold a special place in his heart and he was finally at peace with that. He sighed.
"Hey!" Toph's voice broke into his thoughts, "I know you aren't dead," she said kneeling beside him, "I can feel your heart beating." Sokka smiled and opened one eye to look up at Toph's face hovering above his.
"Are you sure?" he said with all the sarcasm he could muster under the circumstances, "my body might disagree with you."
"That?" Toph said, her voice full of derision, "that's nothing! You're barely even hurt," the confidence in her voice was uplifting.
"Right," he managed to say, "I'm fine. How could I have not realised?"
"Well, you are kind of an idiot," she took one of his hands in hers and he gave it a loving squeeze. She was looking right at him, her green-grey eyes staring right into his. She was smiling sappily and Sokka knew that if she realised how relieved she looked right then that she would probably have punched him for seeing it.
"Sokka," another voice spoke from behind Toph.
"Suki?" Sokka turned to look up at the Kyoshi Warrior. She was injured, that much was obvious, but her eyes burned with a fierce determination that told him that she would be alright.
"I just had to know you were okay," Suki said, her voice thick and syrupy, "I'll go now."
"Wait," Sokka stopped her before she could turn away. "You saved my life," he began but he didn't know how to explain what had happened to him. While he was in the Spirit World? he thought, that sounded insane. While he was fighting the evil spirit of the fog? That was worse. "What you taught me about fighting with my hands," he finally decided on, "it saved my life tonight." Suki choked back a sob, she locked eyes with the water tribesman.
"I'm glad I could help," Suki said softly, her voice full of hurt. Then she walked away. Sokka hurt now too, more than the sum of his injuries. His heart ached.
"Sokka?" Toph's voice was hesitant. She was still holding his hand and she could feel the pace of his heart and his breathing change when Suki walked away.
"Hm?" he asked, turning to look at her pretty face again. She didn't say anything.
Toph cleared her throat, she was so relieved and yet she was still so scared. Had she called him her boyfriend? she thought with shocked embarrassment. Well he was her friend and he was a boy, a voice in her head rationalized. Gah! she thought, they had all heard that too. How was she ever going to live that down?
"Do you," she paused at the absurdity of what she was saying, "want to go out?"
"Well, I'm kind of busy at the moment," Sokka gave a weak laugh as Katara continued her healing on his scorched arm. Toph punched him in his uninjured shoulder.
"You know what I meant," she told him testily, "Do you want to go out with me?"
"Of course," Sokka said and Toph felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. She gave Sokka's hand another squeeze. It felt good to hold his hand, she admitted, and she had no intention of stopping any time soon. "Toph," Sokka said, sitting up with her held, "will you be my girlfriend?" his voice was colored with embarrassment and Katara held her breath for just long enough for Toph to notice through her earthbending.
"I guess I have no choice," she told him, her smile growing wider still. "How else would I be able to keep doing this?" she leaned down and kissed him firmly on the cheek. His cheek was warm and she felt it heat up under her lips. She pulled away when Katara gave an awkward cough.
"Well," Sokka said, his voice shallow, "when you put it that way…"
"Seriously guys?" Katara chided as she finished her healing work on Sokka's wounds. His arm would need bandaging but his leg had knit back together easier than she would have thought. She was relieved and it showed in her tone.
"Oh lighten up, buttercup," Toph gave Katara a wicked grin and Katara folded her arms over her chest in protest. "Like you and Aang haven't been up to worse," Katara tensed visibly at that jab and Toph's grin grew into a wicked smile. Sokka raised an eyebrow at his sister who avoided his gaze.
"Right," Katara said, "I'll give you two some privacy then." She stood and walked back over to Aang who was talking animately with the soldiers of Eel-Hound Company.
"What did we miss?" Zuko asked as he and Mai came running up the stone steps to the tower top. He stopped at the sight of his uncle. "Uncle!" it came out a halfway between a shout and a cheer and Iroh turned to greet his nephew warmly.
"Hello Zuko," Iroh said holding his arms open. Zuko came running up and took his uncle in a loving embrace.
"Are you alright?" Zuko asked, "when you were taken I feared the worst." Iroh held him nephew at arm's length.
"I'm fine," Iroh told Zuko assuringly, "the worst I suffered was a little hurt pride."
"Good to see you," Mai said coming to stand beside Zuko. Iroh nodded warmly to his nephew's girlfriend. Though she wouldn't admit it her face showed that she was relieved to see him as well. "There's just one thing," Iroh said wistfully, "I am starving!" he patted his empty belly for emphasis.
"Let's hand these guys over to the palace guards and then we can head back home for something to eat?" Aang offered.
Toph helped Sokka to his feet and he sagged against her for support as they followed the Gaang down from the tower top. She held him around his firm waist and her other hand was around his as he draped an arm over her shoulder.
"So about this 'going out,'" Sokka began, "I was thinking, what do you think of a shadow puppet show?" Toph laughed at that.
"What do you think about the fact that I could easily drop you down those stairs?" she asked him casually and he groaned.
"Duly noted," he laughed and it came out stronger than he had expected.
"Well there is Katara's surprise birthday tomorrow," Toph told him. Sokka froze in his tracks, slapping himself on the forehead.
"Ah! I totally forgot!" Sokka said, then his voice dropped down to a conspiratorial whisper, "we need to get her presents still." He called up to the rest of the Gaang who walked on ahead of them, "Hey guys! We'll meet you back at home, we have something we need to do."
"Subtle," Toph admonished him as the Gaang gave them suspicious glances. "Well, come on." Once they were out of the palace the duo walked off from the rest of the Gaang and the soldiers who returned back to their park. They had still had some unfinished business to attend to.
To be concluded…
Author's Notes:
Wow. Almost done. One chapter left to go. Thanks for sticking with the story so far and I hope you're enjoying it. Next chapter will be fluff, since this is a Tokka fic after all, the real finale will be between them.
I hope the Spirit World came off nightmarish enough and that Sokka overcoming his fears about abandonment came across well. The Fog makes its prisoners relive their worst memories and fears and I figured that Sokka's would involve all the guilt that he always felt for the women in his life.
This chapter was a shorter by a bit than usual but I wanted to have Sokka's final battle with Zhao and the fog man be one chapter by itself.
To Free-Spirited Dreamer: I hope the Fog of Lost Souls lived up to your expectations :) and I hope you can forgive me for the cliffhanger yesterday.
To zulfi: Thank you so much! I'm glad the combat came out so well :) I usually worry about writing fight scenes just because there's a certain skill to choosing what details to tell and which others not to to keep the action moving but with enough detail, that's pretty tough.
To Tonitokkian: Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed the action so much and I'm glad that Sokka losing the fight against Zhao was believable ;) sorry about the cliffhanger but it had to be done! I hope this chapter makes up for it.
hunter111: Yeah, Zhao was an awesome villain and I think that he was the one that Sokka should have to face again, since he hurt Sokka so personally. I had a lot of fun bringing him back! Thank you for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed the action! It took a long time to write it so I hope the care I put into it shows.
