Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own any of the characters used in this story.
I'm really happy with the progress of the story, and was inspired to continue with the next chapter. This chapter will explain a few things and have some more action in it as well. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Chapter 9
The forest was quiet and a gentle breeze passed by, which awoke Katara who was just trying to remember what had happened to her. As she recovered from her daze, Katara rubbed her eyes and heard a friend's voice speak to her.
"Hey, long time no see Sugar Queen. You've been out it for quite a while." Toph said.
"Sugar Queen...Toph, is that you?" Katara asked as she finished wiping her face.
"Oh good, you can still HEAR properly. That's a good sign." Toph said as she handed Katara a cup of jasmine tea.
"Where did you get this tea? Did YOU make it, because it's really good." Katara asked Toph as she sipped some of her tea.
"It's like I told Sokka a while back. My friend the old man came by and made this tea, right before he left to find his nephew was training by himself." Toph explained.
"Wait a minute...where is Sokka...and Aang?" Katara asked with concern.
"Well, the bad news is that those Fire Nation girls that ambushed us took Aang while we were passed out. But the good news is that Sokka went off a while ago to try to delay them until we could go after him." Toph said.
"Sokka ran off after those girls ALONE?!" Katara asked nervously.
"Yeah, okay so maybe the "good" news wasn't so good after all." Toph said.
"I can't believe he would do something so reckless!" Katara screamed.
"Yeah, well you know what they say, boys will be boys." Toph said.
"Let's go Toph! He can't do this by himself!" Katara said frantically.
"I'd love to Katara, but my foot's been really hurting." Toph said as she showed Katara her injury.
"That scratch on your ankle looks pretty bad. You must have got it when we fought Azula and her friends." Katara said as she used some of her remaining water in her canteen to heal Toph's injury.
"Hey thanks, that feels a LOT better. Sokka was right, you make a pretty good doctor Katara." Toph said as she stood up.
"You're welcome Toph. Now which way did Sokka go?" Katara asked.
"He left about an hour ago, and said that he was going to follow some footprints on the ground." Toph answered.
Katara looked at the ground, and saw the faint remains of several pairs of footprints running in one direction. She knew that one of those pairs had to be Sokka's, and started following them as fast as she could.
"Hey, wait up!" Toph cried out.
The two girls ran as fast as they could, follow the impressions of the footprints that Katara saw. Toph followed behind her since she was unable to see the footprints, and they were determined to save their friends at all costs. Eventually they reached the Fire Nation camp that Sokka had ran into earlier, but unlike before when it was deserted, there were soldiers all over the area. Katara and Toph quickly took cover behind a couple of bushes.
"This isn't good Toph. From what I can see, there are about twelve soldiers." Katara said as she poked her head through a nearby bush.
"Twelve soldiers against us? That's so unfair...for THEM!" Toph shouted causing some soldiers to look in their direction causing the two girls to duck back into the bushes.
"Toph, be quiet. We don't want them to see us." Katara whispered to Toph.
"Oh, come on Katara, I can take these guys out by myself!" Toph said confidently.
"I'm sure you could Toph, but we don't have time for that right now. We have to hurry and save the others." Katara said.
As much as Toph wanted to fight the Fire Nation soldiers head on, she knew that Katara was right, and also knew that Katara wouldn't let her change her mind about the subject. Toph didn't feel like arguing right now, so she just went along with Katara's plan.
"Fine Katara, we'll do it your way this time." Toph replied.
"We'll have to sneak around this campsite, and make sure that we're not seen." Katara said.
"No wait, I have a better idea. Close your eyes." Toph said as she felt a breeze.
Katara closed her eyes and Toph used her earthbending to quickly move a large quantity of dirt into the breeze and spread dust throughout the Fire Nation campsite, causing the soldiers to spread out of the area temporarily.
"Katara, keep your eyes closed and take my hand." Toph said.
"Okay." Katara said as she reached for Toph.
Toph lead Katara through the Fire Nation campsite as the soldiers were still coughing and wiping their eyes. The two girls made it through the dust storm, and were able to find their way to the clearing where Azula's ship was at the tip of the ocean.
"Alright Katara, you can open your eyes now." Toph told her.
Katara opened her eyes, and saw the massive Fire Navy ship before her. She was able to piece everything together and knew that her friends were in dire need of assistance.
"Oh no, I was right! Sokka and Aang ARE in trouble!" Katara cried out.
"And they're not the only ones." Toph said as she looked behind her, and noticed that the Fire Nation soldiers from the campsite had recovered from the dust storm and were chasing them.
"This isn't good, we don't have time for this!" Katara exclaimed as she prepared a battle stance.
"You're right. WE don't have time for this." Toph told her.
"Toph, what are you saying?" Katara asked.
"It looks like I get to take these guys down after all. You go on. I can handle myself." Toph said proudly.
"No, Toph. You can't do this alone. Let me help you." Katara said sympathetically.
"Look Katara, we don't have time to argue. YOU have to go on that ship and find the others while I stay here and hold these guys off. Remember, it's a metal ship, so I can't bend on that thing." Toph explained.
"Alright, I'll go. Just remember, metal is just a refined form of earth, so you don't need to feel too uncomfortable." Katara said.
"That's true. I always wondered why I couldn't bend metal since it is part of earth. You just watch, one day, I'll figure out the secret, and bend both earth AND metal. After all, I'm the world's GREATEST earthbender!" Toph shouted as she shook the earth beneath the soldiers feet causing them to fall over.
"I'll be back as fast as I can." Katara said as she ran up the gangplank.
"Take your time. I'm in no hurry." Toph said with a smile.
The soldiers stood up and prepared a counter attack, but Toph wasn't afraid and boldly stood her ground.
"Alright guys, who's ready for round two?" Toph said as her smile turned into a smirk.
Katara ran up the gangplank and saw that the ship's deck had a few Fire Nation soldiers patrolling the area. She carefully maneuvered around the ship, being very careful not to be seen by anyone. Katara eventually found the entrance to the lower deck that Sokka had tried to access before his encounter with Azula and her friends.
"I hope that I can find the others quick. Every second I stay on this ship, I run the risk of being caught by the soldiers, or worse." Katara said as she remembered her battle in the forest.
Katara thought back to how she was unable to stop Azula, Mai and Ty Lee from overwhelming her when they captured Aang. She particularly remembered how Ty Lee was able to stop her from waterbending again, and that thought infuriated her the most.
"I can't believe I let her do that to me AGAIN! What was Sokka thinking just letting Ty Lee go when we first found her?! I guess Toph was right, boys WILL be boys!" Katara thought to herself.
Katara was eventually able to make her way to a corridor that led her down a narrow hall and when she reached the end she saw several Fire Nation soldiers guarding a room in the distance. Just as she was planning her next move, she turned around and saw some more soldiers at the end of the hall heading her way.
"This isn't good. I'm sure they're keeping Aang in that room, but I don't know how to reach him without being seen." Katara thought to herself as she hid behind a crevasse in the wall.
Katara knew she would have to think fast if she was going to save Aang and Sokka, but she would have to think even faster if she was going to save herself.
That's the end of chapter 9. I hope that this explains a few things. I wanted to focus on the other characters as well. I'll update as fast as I can.
