Chapter seven of Revelations! I'm not sure when the next chapter will come, but I'll try to not take too long to post it; it's just that I like to have a little stash. But the reviews sure do motivate me and make me smile, honestly! n_n

Major thanks to the amazing FullMetalPrincess for being my beta! c:

Thanks to everybody who left a review behind on the last chapter(s)! Now this is a long enough intro, I'd say;

Enjoy! c:


Katara felt guilty, she wasn't exactly sure why, but she couldn't shake the feeling off of her. She was hoping that Toph wouldn't be mad at her and really was okay like she'd claimed to be. Katara was confused, it felt as if it was all a blur; a dream that was going on and on and she wasn't waking up from it. She looked up and blinked, hoping to be able to keep back tears. Then she saw that the sun was starting to go under, which alarmed her. "Aang and Sokka!" her thoughts shouted in her mind and Katara stood up very suddenly, causing the waterbender to get a dizzy feeling and nearly falling down, not yet steady on her feet.

"Toph!" she shouted, voice hoarse. Katara hoped that the earthbender would be able to hear her. She put her clothes back on and fast-walked towards the direction Toph had gone to. It took her a while before she got Appa and the earthbender in sight. "Toph!" she shouted again and fell down after stumbling over a rock she didn't see. The waterbender grunted and sighed, trying to get up again.

Toph heard Katara yell her name, at first she didn't want to answer, but she couldn't ignore the panic in the Southern watertriber's voice. Then she heard Katara falling and grunting, Toph couldn't help it, she stood up and rushed towards the waterbender using her earthbending. When she felt that she was close to Katara she stopped and helped her friend up.

"What is it?" she asked and heard Katara sucking in a breath.

"Sokka and Aang… The sun's setting and they're still not back…" Katara answered in a whisper. Toph sighed and shook her head, this couldn't be very good.

"Should we go look for them?" the earthbender asked, already determined to go look for the guys no matter what Katara's answer would be.

"Yes, I think we should...I'm just worried. What if something bad happened to them, Toph?" Worry sounded clearly in Katara's voice, she truly was the mother of the group.

"Listen Sugar Queen, Twinkle Toes and Meathead might be two goofballs, but they know how to fight. I'm sure they can handle it, whatever it is. And you know them too; you know that they'll be okay even if they're in trouble." Katara looked at her friend and sighed again, but then a smile appeared on her face; Toph was right. Sokka was amazing with his boomerang and Aang had mastered three of the four elements by now, so he'd be able to defend the two of them as well.

"You're right, but still I think we should go look for them," Katara replied and Toph nodded.

"Do you know how to ride Appa?" Toph asked, although it was more a statement than a question. Katara shrugged and gulped.

"I think so…" she said and walked toward the gigantic Sky Bison together with Toph and helped the Earthbender up into the saddle; Katara herself positioned herself on Appa's shoulders, taking the reins that were fastened around Appa's horns. Katara took a deep breath and slumped her shoulders, hoping she'd do this right.

"Yip yip, Appa," she said and the Sky Bison took off, into the air.

"There's the village," Katara shouted over her shoulder and directed Appa towards it, hoping for a safe landing. "Hold on!" she said and leaned a bit back to keep balance. Luckily Appa landed very carefully and lowered himself so Katara and Toph could get off more easily, a roar escaping its big jowls.

"Thank Spirits; I was afraid you wanted to look for Twinkle Toes and Snoozles riding Appa. At least now I've got my sight back," Toph said, relieved.

"At first, that was my plan, but I figured that if something happened you might not be able to help us with Earthbending." Toph raised one eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh, that's the only reason? How nice," the earthbender growled, slightly offended. Katara turned to face Toph in surprise, that wasn't what she meant.

"No, that's not the only reason, Toph. But it's part of the reason, because if you can't earthbend, you could get hurt and I don't want to risk that…" Katara mumbled the last part of the sentence, fiddling with a strand of her hair that was partly loose. 'Oh…' Toph thought, embarrassed at how quickly she assumed things that weren't completely true.

"Th—thank you…?" Toph's voice was higher than it normally was; she cleared her throat and straightened her stance. "But enough time wasted, let's go find those two so we can continue our trip towards Ba Sing Se," Toph said and started walking. Katara was slightly surprised by Toph's sudden change of stance and shook her head, she wasn't sure if she was just imagining it again or not.

"Er, Toph? The village is this way," Katara said, making clear that Toph was walking into the wrong direction. Toph turned around, fists placed on her sides.

"Are you sure, Sugar Queen? I've got my sight back, you know. I can feel the streets and all right there," she responded, pointing into the opposite direction where Katara just pointed; where Toph was heading towards. Katara followed Toph's index finger and the only thing she could see was grass and a forest farther away, whatever Toph thought she was seeing, it surely wasn't the village. Katara looked towards the other direction, where she did see the village; lots of little streets, stalls, tiny houses and little stores, but very few people walking in the streets; which seemed odd to the waterbender.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure, Toph. That's why I don't understand… Can you try to describe what exactly you see?" Katara asked and Toph sighed, but nodded.

"There's a village, alright. Lots of houses, streets that are kinda narrow and people all over the place. But there's something weird about it…" Katara gulped and Toph looked up, but before she could ask anything, the waterbender already started to explain herself.

"Maybe because the village isn't above the ground…" Katara said in a whisper with wide eyes. That could be the only explanation; the village had to be under the ground… Toph put her right foot down on the earth with force and Katara jumped a little, she hadn't noticed Toph had moved, so it surprised her. She saw now that Toph had closed her eyes and stood in a strong and steady stance, her fists in front of her. Suddenly Toph's eyes looked up in Katara's direction, shock clearly visible in them.

"Y-you're right…" the earthbender whispered and blinked a few times. "There's a whole village under the ground, just a few feet from where we're standing now. It's so… weird…"

"Do you think the boys will be there?" Katara asked, wondering. But Toph shook her head in answer.

"Guess not, I mean, it'd be more logical for them to go towards the village you were talking about."

"Hmm, I don't know, Toph… Something tells me that they're probably in the village underground, the one you 'saw'," Katara mumbled, luckily Toph's ears were sensitive, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to hear it. "I think we should go there and look for the guys," the waterbender said, now more clearly.

"Well, if you really think so, I'll go with you, but… What do we do if it's… A trap?" Somehow Toph didn't have a very good feeling about this place, it didn't feel right. "I have an idea!" she said and started running back towards Appa, making a hand gesture towards Katara to come with her. Katara hesitated, but decided to go with the earthbender.

"Appa, we have to find Twinkle Toes and Meathead. But the village we think they are, is underground," Toph started to explain to the Sky Bison, who roared and stepped a few steps backwards. "I know, I know, you don't like underground. That's why you must stay here and wait for us to get back, okay? If we aren't back when it's fully dark, please find help," Toph continued and Appa groaned. He didn't seem to like the idea, but there really wasn't any other choice. Toph put her arms around Appa's neck, as far as her arms could reach and turned around. Katara petted the Sky Bison's cheek and whispered a soft goodbye, then turned around as well and followed the earthbender. Appa walked towards a big bush and hid himself behind it, as far as it allowed him to, destined to wait for the group and his master to come back.

"Okay, let's see… There's a staircase that leads down towards the village!" Toph said as she sensed the earth to look for a way to get to the village. Katara nodded and took a few steps back, giving Toph the space she needed; the earthbender raised her arms up in front of her, then moved both her arms to her sides. The earth in front of her split and showed an earthbent staircase that, indeed, lead them down. It was pitch dark and Katara hated to admit to herself that to her it was scary to her. There was no light at all. All she could see when looking down was blackness.

"There aren't any lights, nothing, it's pitch black…" Katara gasped and Toph turned her head towards the Southern Watertriber. To her it didn't matter, of course, but something inside her twisted, she felt bad for Katara. She wasn't used to having no sight, like Toph.

"Well, welcome to my world Sweetness," she said, but then sighed. "I'll help you, don't worry. We'll switch places and I'll be the guide this time," Toph told Katara and held out her hand to Katara. "Come on, let's find those two problem magnets." Katara smiled and then chuckled at Toph's new nickname for the boys.

"Okay, let's go. And oh, Toph…? Thanks," Katara replied as she took Toph's hand and followed the blind girl into the darkness.

It really was pitch black; it was frightening to Katara how much she suddenly could hear now that her eyes were in extreme disadvantage. Her breathing was rapid and her body momentarily froze at every tiny little sound she heard; she jumped when Toph suddenly jerked her hand away.

"Listen Sugar Queen, I really want to help and guide, but it's kinda hard when you practically jump at every tiny little crunch or squeak. It's making me nervous for nothing, and it's not helping me with trying to sense what's underneath or in front of us; please trust me and try to calm a bit down," Toph hissed and Katara noticed how she'd been keeping her breath all the while Toph spoke to her.

"I-I'm sorry T-Toph…" Katara stuttered, ashamed. Toph sighed, she felt slightly guilty; even though there was absolutely no reason for her to. She grabbed Katara's hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze with her own, trying to soothe the waterbender a little.

"Just try, okay?" Toph asked in a whisper and when she heard Katara nod, she started walking again. Suddenly she stopped and Katara bumped into her, almost making Toph lose her balance.

"What is it?"

"It's getting really steep from here on… Maybe I should carry you—"

"I can walk myself pretty fine, Toph—" Toph sighed.

"I know that, Katara, but I'm not joking; it's really steep. If I don't watch out, I'd fall over myself," Toph interrupted the waterbender who now gulped. Toph sensed that Katara now realized she wasn't exaggerating. This time it was Katara who sighed and she let Toph's hand go.

"Okay… I guess there isn't really any other way…" Katara said in a whisper, instantly nervous again. She'd be on Toph back, for Spirits knew how long. And there was no escaping from Toph sensing her heartbeat going crazy, which was probably the worst. "Just think about stupid things; like Sokka's dirty socks or Aang's silly faces." Katara exhaled and reached out her hands and arms carefully. "Are you sure you can carry me? I'm not that light you kno—"

"Oh please, Sweetness. I can carry you, easily," Toph laughed and took Katara on her back. "Now just hold on tight, okay?" Toph said and hopped down the stairs with caution. This was much easier than having to go step for step at extremely slow pace, she didn't blame Katara; not at all. But this was just easier for the earthbender, they were much faster too.