Wow...this is turning into more of a movie than anything. But there are so many ideas in my head, it's just taking a while to get them all out!
Spirit Aang walked paces around Zuko, looking at his Life Spirit and thinking. The others had been silent after Aang left so all that could be heard was Toph's breathing, which had been growing more ragged and deeper. Aang looked back to Toph and he could see that ominous black spirit next to her again. Although he couldn't see it's face, he knew that it was watching him….waiting for his move.
Aang turned back to Zuko. The faint glowing outline around the Prince was pulsating, as though it were trying to speak to him. He thought back to how he communicated with Roku's dragon and Hei Bai. He could communicate through touch. Taking a deep breath, Aang looked back towards the Rugaru, and then stepped forward to take Zuko's hand. As Aang started to make contact with Zuko, the Rugaru made a horrible, unearthly noise and lurched forward to strike Aang. Aang let out a yelp and ducked when there was suddenly another spirit standing between him and the Rugaru. It let out a wave of light, and the Rugaru screeched and floated back to sit next to Toph where it hung, watching Aang and the new spirit.
"Thank you…uh….spirit," Aang said.
It turned to look at Aang. It was a male, and had blonde hair that hung down to his shoulders. It was dressed in a long shirt and pants made of some sort of animal skin with a bow on its back. A band of blue ribbon was wrapped around his head that held a pendent hanging onto his forehead, just above his ocean deep eyes. The pendant was in the shape of a sun with a half moon in the center.
"You are welcome, Avatar Aang," he answered in a smooth voice. "I am Dylan Ui Dan, a Spirit of Life and War. I was attached to the Fire Nation Prince when he was born as a payment of debt to the Dragon of the West."
Behind Dylan Ui Dan, the Rugaru let out a low hiss, "Moinmeanma de cogadh chuirfidh is go leor, Spiorad Naomh. Cuid mhór bhí racht, gan mhoill dócha rómall!" A petty spirit of war will not be enough, Avatar. A great power has been unleashed, soon it will be too late! The Rugaru growled out a harsh laugh and vanished into Toph's body again. Dylan Ui Dan looked at Aang.
"We do not have much time, Avatar Aang. Prepare yourself."
In the real world, the others had been silent, unaware of what Aang was doing, when suddenly Zuko gasped in pain and fell to the ground. Katara ran over to him.
"Zuko!" She shouted as she shook him. She pulled out her water and ran it over his chest. "I…I have no idea what I'm feeling," she said to Sokka. He walked over too and knelt down, thinking about what Aang must be doing in the Spirit World.
"I wonder if Aang didn't get his Life Spirit somehow…what you might be feeling is half a human…half of him is missing," Sokka said.
Katara quickly pulled her hands away, as though Zuko was infected with an unwanted disease. She exclaimed in disgust, "He's…half a human??"
Sokka was about to answer when behind them, Toph let out another gasp of pain. They turned around to see her sitting up with her eyes wide open. She was panting heavily with her mouth agape and she was looking around, her darting eyes clearly showing that she had sight.
Sokka and Katara looked at each other, and Sokka asked, "Toph…Toph, are you there?"
At the familiar sound of Sokka's voice, Toph's eyes locked onto his, startling him. She stood up, and in a jerky, shaking motion, walked towards the brother and sister. It was clear that there was something happening inside her body, and she was giving all her strength to not give into the Rugaru. When she reached Sokka, she fell to her knees and clawed at his leg. They could faintly hear her saying something, continuing to gasp for air.
Sokka gave Katara a look of terror and then knelt down to Toph's level. "What are you trying to say?" Toph grabbed his shirt collar and pulled his face to hers, her dark green eyes drilling into his dark blue.
"Run!" she whispered, and with that she fell all the way to the ground, shrieking in pain.
Aang and Dylan Ui Dan had followed Toph's body to where she lay, and they could tell that the Rugaru was preparing to finish her off and use her life to tap into that force of evil. Dylan Ui Dan quickly walked over to Zuko and touched his forehead.
"The Fire Nation Prince will send a message to your friends as what to do with the girl's body. We need to pull the Rugaru out, for if he is not touching her, the process will be stopped."
Aang looked down at Toph. "How are we going to get it out? And then what will we do with him?"
Dylan Ui Dan thought for a moment. "We must send him back to Bile. It is a place of abode where the spirits that have fallen from light reside." He frowned. "There is a way…a spirit of light could sacrifice itself to send the spirit of dark back to Bile, where the spirit of light would then have to work to find his way back to the Spirit World…" he trailed off.
Aang's mouth dropped. "So…that means one of us has to sacrifice ourselves?" They both knew that this was a problem. Aang couldn't go because he was the current Avatar, and who knew how long it would take him to return from Bile. But if Dylan Ui Dan went, it wasn't certain if Zuko would live.
Katara was trying to revive Zuko while Sokka kept an eye on Toph.
"C'mon…just give his heart an extra boost or something," Sokka said. Katara shot him a look.
"He's not dead…he's just not…here." She was about to take Sokka's advice anyway when Zuko's eyes flew open. Katara let out a yelp of surprise, and then knelt down next to his face.
"Zuko, are you ok? Can you hear me?"
Zuko nodded and struggled to sit up. "We…we need to help. Aang…getting ready to fight it." He wheezed as he tried to get out the message. "Sokka…tie her down. Katara, be ready to regulate her body….if she gets a fever, bring it down. If she gets cold, warm her up. Place something in her mouth so she won't bite her tongue or break her jaw…" He coughed, but kept talking. "She may vomit…don't let her choke. Watch her tongue…it is going to do anything it can to kill her."
Sokka was already rolling Toph onto her back and binding her hands and legs. Katara helped Zuko sit by Appa. "But what about you? What happened?"
Zuko shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't know…I feel weak…but I will be fine. Pay attention to her first."
"But…" Katara didn't know what she was protesting, but something tore inside her at the thought of Zuko in pain. Zuko took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.
"Please…Katara, I'll be fine. Go."
Katara looked back into his eyes and nodded. She allowed herself a moment, and leaned in to give him a hug. Zuko hugged her back for a moment, and remembered, for the second time that night, that Aang was watching. He didn't want an angry Avatar Spirit to be after him once Toph was taken care of, so he pushed her away. Hurt, Katara stood up in a huff. She walked over to Toph, whom Sokka had finished wrapping up, and pulled out her bending water to be ready.