Burn My Dread Complete
By Iain R. Lewis
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Atlus's Persona 3 and 4.
"Signs of love, overshadowed by dreams. Baby don't worry 'cause you ain't alone."
-- Signs of Love
Month 3: The Lovers
A Deep Mentality
"Hey, Suki, did you hear?"
"That boy in my class, he asked me out!"
"He did not!"
"Did too! We're going to the dance!"
"Suki, did you ask Sokka yet? I know you too are practically married!"
"What?" Suki said, shook out of her revelry, "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening." The girls sighed, and shook their heads. "What? What's wrong?"
"The School's hosting a dance. It's coming up, and you haven't even asked you-know-who, have you?"
"Hey! We're just really good friends, okay?"
"Oh, sure, really good friends.I bet that's why he's always so tired in the morning. I mean, you're really good friends, right?"
"Huh? Hey! What are you implying!" Suki yelled, outraged.
"Nothing, nothing!"
"Hey, Suki, that guy asked me out!"
"Stop spreading lies like that!"
Suki stood up, "Girls, really sorry," she said, "But I need to go home. I'm feeling sick, or, something. Don't give me that look!"
"Say Hi to Sokka for us!"
"I'm not going to Sokka's!" she yelled, as she walked away. The group of girls she always spent time with were getting on her nerves today. The Dance was advertised all over the campus, but she hadn't really put much thought into it.
The last dance they went to, Sokka was her 'date' in name only. Most of the evening, they spent arguing over girls playing baseball. He was so dated, in so many ways, but he did admit by the end of the night that she could beat him at the batting cages where they ended up, looking ridiculous.
Still, sighing, she sometimes wish he'd treat her just a little smidge different.
Shrugging, she walked home, unaware of the lurking shadows that came out when the sun went down.
Sokka yawned.
They were trudging through the Spirit World, and away from the usual destination. "Hey, Yue, what's the deal? We're supposed to be exploring that tower, right?"
"Yes," Yue answered, "But there's something I think we need to investigate right away." She lead them up a small hillside, and pointed to the valley below. "I saw the first the last time you came to explore, but ever since then, I've been seeing more and more."
"Oh wow," Katara breathed, "What's causing them?"
"I don't know."
The valley was quite peaceful, with a faint blue hue to the grass blowing in the wind. But in that valley, there were holes, great, massive gaping spots dug into the hills and into the valley, like someone had decided to drill deep into the ground.
"I'm glad you told us of this," Azula said. "This may be connected to that Spirit you'd heard. Perhaps we'll be able to ascertain what kind of Spirit it is if we investigate, yes?" She smiled and looked to Aang.
Aang looked at the tunnels. He recognized them, somehow, but he couldn't quite place why. "Hey, Toph?" The girl looked over in his vague direction, blindfold over her eyes, "Can you sense anything moving underground?"
"Don't feel anything. And if Snowflake hasn't felt anything, then I really don't think I'm going to find something she missed."
"Oh, don't worry on my account," Yue said, "I'm not very good at sensing things underground. Moonlight has a harder time reaching down there."
"Still," she said, "Empty. We going in?"
"Sure," Aang said. "Let's see where these tunnels go." The approached the nearest hole, apprehensively, and began to walk down its winding passage. The incline was steep, and Toph put her hand out.
"We can't go any further," she warned, "Not if we want to turn back. What's your call, Fearless Leader?" Aang looked back at the others. "I'm all for diving in if you are."
"I think we'd best see where this tunnel leads," Azula said, "However, it is your call, in the end."
Aang nodded, and looked to Katara and Sokka, "I'm not going if you guys don't want to."
"We should explore," Katara said, "But Toph, how far does this tunnel go?" Toph kicked the ground, and waited for a second. "Well?"
"Shh," she said. "Couple of miles. It comes up on a steady incline after a bit."
"Okay," Sokka said, "We're ready."
Aang nodded, and the group jumped down.
The girl stood lonely by the tea shop. The waiter served her, and looked at her. He frowned, and, with his rough voice, said, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yes," she said, "Could you bring another cup? He should be here soon."
Zuko nodded, "Sure." He walked back to the kitchen, and picked up an extra cup. He walked back to the table and frowned. "You've been here for quite a while. Are you sure he's coming?" She nodded. "All right. Well, you should think about going home. It's not safe on the streets at this time of night."
"Thanks for your concern," she said, her eyes were looking out into the street. The streetlights were flickering. The moon looked lonesome up in the sky, with the clouds overhead blotting out her companion stars.
Zuko sighed. The shop was closing down. He'd cleared off the other tables, and already the place was ready to close for the night. But he didn't want to force her out into the night. And yet, and yet, he couldn't help but wonder who would stand her up like that.
Sometimes his mind went to force far too quickly, but he wanted to teach whoever did this some respect.
"Look, Miss," he said, "We're supposed to close soon."
"I'll leave when you have to close," she said, "But I want to wait a little longer."
Zuko grumbled something, then said, quietly, "May I join you until he shows up?" She nodded, surprised, and he sat down. "Is this boy your boyfriend?" she nodded. "How long have you been seeing each other?"
"A couple months."
He frowned, "I really hate to say it, but I think he stood you up."
"He wouldn't He just forgot," she fished in her bag for her cell phone, "I've left a hundred messages, but he isn't answering. I hope he's all right."
Zuko sat at the table, quietly, as the minutes ticked past. Closing time was fast approaching, but there was no signs of the boy in the darkened street. "Come on," he said, "I'll walk you home." He took off his apron. "It isn't safe out there."
She sighed, sadly, and nodded.
"I'm sure something came up," Zuko said, quietly. He didn't want to hurt the girl, but something in the back of his mind nagged at him. "Maybe he came down with a bug."
"He was at school today, though," she said. "You don't think it's that Apathy Syndrome? I heard it's been going around a lot lately."
Zuko sighed, "No, it probably isn't."
"Isn't is scary? Someone you care about could just stop being themselves, just like that," she said. He nodded. Of course, it wasn't 'just like that' but he didn't want to scare the girl anymore than necessary.
"People recover," he said.
"I know, I just hope he's all right." Zuko frowned. The streets seemed empty, but still, he kept his eye out. Most of the gangs in that area had given up after he showed up, and he wasn't about to let them harass customers. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh?"
"You seem a little on-edge, I guess," she said. "Is this part of town really that bad? I thought that guy, that Prince of Delinquents scared everyone else out. You think we'd run into him?"
"No," Zuko said.
She smiled, "Thanks, I hope my boyfriend calls me back." She left another message with him, and sighed. "Well, I think I can manage from the tram, thanks." He nodded, and looked back.
"Just helping out a customer," he said. "Get on home."
She nodded, and he turned and walked away. As he walked down the street, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like a large pale animal, but when he turned to get a better look, all he saw was a person walking down into an alley.
He rubbed his eyes, and blinked. "It's late," he muttered, "I should just get some sleep."
"We've been in here for like an hour!" Sokka yelled. "How much further does this go on?"
"I don't know," Toph said. "We should have been out of here by now. What is with this tunnel? It just keeps going."
"The Spirit World does have a tendency to play tricks on us," Katara said. "Remember the first time we came here, and we were attacked by that vine monster?"
"Oh man, that thing nearly finished us off!" Sokka said. "I don't want to meet that thing ever, ever again. Toph, you should have seen it. Every time Katara did something to it, it'd get bigger and stronger."
"Hey! Not like you had any better ideas, Boomerang Boy."
"Boomerang and I at least did some damage to it!" He took out his boomerang and petted it along the blunt edge, "There, there, Boomerang, the mean lady didn't mean anything by it."
"Okay, you're weird, Snoozles. There!" She moved and pushed the wall of the tunnel away, "We can get out through here! Hurry, before this crazy place traps us in here again!" Aang jumped up and helped the others climb up the hole. They landed in moist ground.
"Yuck," Azula said, distastefully.
"Where are we?" Katara said, bending the water out of her clothes and depositing it back on the ground.
They looked around, and saw the Tower nearby. The tunnel seemed to weave around the building, forming a massive ridge about it. "Do you think whatever it is -- whatever dug all those holes -- do you think it's trying to stop us from reaching the tower?" Yue asked. She looked back around the ridges.
"Whatever did that didn't just dig," Toph said, "They were Earthbending."
"How can you tell?"
"It's way too neat. There weren't any bits of rock on the ground, it was like whatever it was just pushed the ground forward as it went."
"Perhaps," Azula said. She thought, "Size may not be so easy to determine, then. Yue, are you sure you don't sense any large spirits active?"
"Positive," she said.
Azula frowned. "Well, we're near the tower. We may as well explore a little in there, if no one has any objections."
There was a chorus of muttering, but no one made any outright objections, and so Azula began to walk towards the tower. They ground around them shifted and moved, wiry vines wrapping and forming into a large shape behind them, and it watched them, and lurked -- waiting.
Inside, the Tower seemed unchanging, a strange bastion of permanence in a spiritual world.
Toph looked around, removing her blindfold and observing the structure of the lobby. She frowned, and scratched her head, "So, really, what is this place? It looks like something out of a bad sci-fi movie or something." She tapped her feet on the ground, and frowned, "There's earth everywhere, but I can't see it. Weird."
"We don't know," Sokka said, opening the gate to the elevator, "We're trying to figure that out ourselves. The Spirits in here seem stronger than the ones outside, though."
"There are a lot of unanswered questions," Azula said, darkly. "Some questions we may not want answers to. But there's one undeniable truth, and it must be here, somewhere."
"Right," Toph said, replacing her blindfold, and grinning, "Just point me at what you need beat up, and I'll beat it up, okay?"
Azula smiled, "Very well," she said. "Aang, let's proceed quickly. Yue, do you sense another floor with a strong presence on it?"
Yue nodded, "Ten floors up. The way's clear," she said.
"Ten floors? That's not even a challenge," Sokka said. "Let's make this interesting. Whoever takes out the most Spirits wins."
"You're on!" Toph said.
"Oh no," Katara said, shaking her head, "We're not doing that."
When they first started climbing the tower, they moved slowly, their exhaustion wearing them thin very quickly, but now, ten floors seemed to go by in a flash. Katara sighed, healing another wound on Toph's shoulder, "You should have been more careful!"
"So what? I got it, didn't I?"
"That's not the point. The point is, I can't keep this up forever. It's draining enough fighting, never mind healing your scratches."
"Yeah, yeah, complain all you want, Sugar Queen. At least I get results." Katara glared at Toph, who stuck her tongue out back at her. "Hey, Aang, slow down!" Aang walked down the corridor in front of them, touching the walls delicately. "What is it?"
"This floor is different than the last few," he said.
Azula looked around, nodding, "Definitely a different atmosphere. The Tower seems to have been shaped by objects and places from our world. It almost looks like a school building, actually," she said.
Though there were bits of lab equipment thrust into the walls, the doors all seemed to be familiar. "This does look like school," Sokka said. "Our school, even."
"That's odd," Azula said, "The Phoenix School is nearer to the outskirts, and well out of range of the explosion from ten years ago. Though --" she shrugged, "No point discussing architecture, right? Let's just move forward. We still have floors to cover and not much time to do it in."
The group continued down the hallways but Azula dragged behind, looking at the walls. A thought played in her mind, and she recalled Xin Fu and the faceless students. Something drew them here, and Yue spoke of some great sentience the Tower possessed.
Still, she thought, grinning, it wasn't necessarily a trap they were walking into.
The last flight of stairs came up to a grand barricade of school desks and chairs, stacked up in front of a gateway. Aang approached it, "Do you think we can break this down?"
"I don't think that's going to be necessary," Sokka said, "Look!" A chair was moving up into the air, as if by magic, turning rightside up and placing itself neatly aside. Then, with greater frequency, the rest of the barricade followed. "That was handy."
"I wonder," Azula said. "Carefully, everyone."
Aang took the lead, staff at the ready as they entered the gate. The room they approached was almost like an auditorium, tall and voices carried, and voices could be heard, echoing from long ago. Aang lowered his staff as he saw the ghostly apparitions.
"Hello, Kya," Jeong Jeong said, cordially, "You look in good spirits."
"Shouldn't I be?" she said. "Mr. Houou is very excited about today's test."
"I see," Jeong Jeong answered, shrugging. He looked her over, and nodded, "Still, it's a little odd to see you here. I expected a lab assistant to be running the diagnostics. That is what you're doing, yes?"
"Oh, me? No," she laughed, "I'm just double-checking that the numbers are just right. Lab Two and Three are both perfect, and how are yours?"
"My numbers are fine," Jeong Jeong snorted, angrily, "But if you're going to see Mr. Houou again, I again repeat my objections to this experiment. It's far too early and the risks are far too great."
"Mr. Zhao disagrees, sir," Kya said, smiling in the fashion of a person accidentally caught in a large-scale argument. "But I'll let Mr. Houou know, again."
"Zhao is an administrative lackey and an idiot," he grunted. "But Iroh is no fool. I trust he'll listen to reason."
"Of course. If you excuse me, Lab Four still hasn't reported, yet," she said, smiling. The woman turned to leave, but stopped.
"Is something the matter?"
"I thought I heard something," she said. "It must be my imagination. Never mind."
"What's happening?" Toph asked. "Sounds like people are talking about stuff." She removed her blindfold and looked. "Ghosts!"
"No," Azula said, "Memories. The truth I was talking about. You remember the accident ten years ago, right?"
"Not really," Toph responded, scratching her head.
"I suppose I should explain that in more detail," Azula said. "I'm sorry, Yue, I'd forgotten that we had members of this group not personally affected by it. I'm surprised you didn't ask about it."
"It seemed a painful memory for everyone," Yue said, shifting slightly, fidgeting under the attention, "I didn't want to unearth any bad memories."
"No," Katara siad, shaking her head, "You should probably tell them, Azula. It's important that they understand exactly what happened."
"As far as we know, anyhow," Azula said, "The accident ten years ago was the culmination of a year of research by my Uncle, Iroh Houou. He was an ingenius man, a legendary military man and a shrewd businessman. When he died, the Phoenix Group did two things. They heralded his legendary status to the world at large, and made it known that it was a tragic accident that took his life, along with countless others."
Her expression grew darker, and she took a breath to brace her nerves, "Internally, however, there was a different opinion. Iroh Houou had doomed us all. Whatever madness seized him, whatever reason he had, he'd delved into a dangerous field of research. He wanted to find a way to harness the Spirit World for our benefit. In the end, the experiment failed, and the situation we've inherited has asserted itself."
"Okay," Toph said, "But how is this personal? I mean, it's Azula's Uncle, fine, but how do you guys fit into it, anyway?"
"That woman just now was our mother," Katara said. "She died in the accident."
"And so did my parents, even though they weren't involved," Aang said. "Just two of a whole lot of innocent bystanders."
"And this is my family's mess, and I've inherited the responsibility of cleaning it up," she said. "Naturally, I intend to do this quickly and professionally."
Toph looked sheepish, and sighed, growing very quiet and hanging closer to Yue. She whispered, quietly, "Did you know?" Yue nodded slowly. "Oh, great, now I feel like a real big jerk."
"I think that's enough exploring for tonight," Aang said. "Let's go home. We have a lot to think about."
"Yeah," Sokka said, stretching. "I'm feeling pretty good, but we have to pace ourselves. Come on, let's get that elevator working." Sokka walked down the room towards the corridor, and Toph and Yue slowly moved after him.
Katara looked at Azula, and sighed, "Azula, can I -- can I ask you something?" The other girl looked over, her sharp eyes focused on Katara. She nodded, slowly, and Katara hesitantly continued, "You really believe you're responsible for this?"
"You don't understand the grief my family has gone through because of this 'accident' my uncle caused. My father only barely managed to hold onto the Phoenix Group, and even then, his powers were diminished greatly. My grandfather resigned in disgrace, and died shortly after, and my mother left us. I know you've suffered," she said, "But this has been my cross to bear as well. And no one can take this task from me."
"Azula," Aang said, quetly.
"So let's keep moving forward together," Azula said. "All right?"
"Guys!"
"Sokka?" Katara said, head whipping over in the direction of his scream.
"We have a problem!" Sokka's voice was cut off as he grunted, and slammed against the wall. Around the corner, a shadow danced, with many tendrils and a massive shape. "It's that thing -- that thing is back."
Toph shouted, rocks being tossed at the creature. "Let her go!" she shouted, and slid a rockalanche and the Spirit lurched forward.
"It's also grabbed Yue," he said.
"That's a problem," Azula said. The Vine Spirit slammed Toph backwards and charged after Sokka. The Water Tribe boy ducked, and slammed the creature's leg with hsi club.
"Why don't these things have bones?" Sokka bemoaned, as the club seemed utterly useless against the mass of vines. "Azula, think you can do something?"
"No," Azula said, "I could hurt Yue if I did. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"Aang?" Sokka said, "A little help?"
"Oh, sure!" Aang said, He created some slicing air blades and spun them out at the vine creature. The spirit moved back trying to duck out of the way. The vine carrying Yue whipped out of the way, avoiding it cleanly.
"Urp," Yue said, "Everyone, please, hurry! This is making me feel ill."
"Don't worry, Yue," Katara said. "Well, guys, do something!" Sokka's boomerang spun through the air, but the vine moved out of the way.
"That thing knows we can't burn it to cinders while it has Yue," Azula commented, "So we need to find a way to distract it."
"I can do that," Toph said. "Hey! Ugly!" The creature turned to look at Toph, and received a faceful of dirt in its face for its trouble. The creature for its part didn't seem at all perturbed by it. Toph frowned, and kicked up a big stone to hit it clean between the eyes of the mask. The Spirit lurched backwards and Yue teetered back and forth with it.
"Help!" she said. Sokka's arms wrapped around her and held her. Their eyes met and her face gew hot, "Sokka!"
"I've got you," he said, cutting the vine with the boomerang. "Azula!"
"Yes, I see," she said. She kicked her feet, blue sparking flames dancing through the air and hitting the Spirit straight in the face. It desperately tried to snuff out the flames, but they burnt through its arms and spread wildly.
"Now!" Azula said, "Finish it. Let no Spirit survive!"
Aang led the charge. The creature writhed and with each blow it seemed to stretch and bend and move. The vines tore, its form collapsed, and fell to the ground like discarded clothes. Sokka approached it warily, hovering protectively in front of Yue. "Is it dead?" he said, poking it.
"I don't know," Toph said, "Why don't you just keep poking it with your club until you figure it out."
"I don't think that was even alive," Yue said. "I can sense the Spirit, a floor above us. During the confusion it must have escaped. It was using these plants like some kind of armor."
"Can people bend plants?" Katara asked.
"Maybe," Azula said. "We should pursue it. Aang, let's continue."
"No," Aang said, "It's beaten, and we already decided to call it a day."
"That was before we were attacked," Azula said. "That thing is a Spirit, and it's our job to defeat them wherever they are before they hurt people in our world. If you're not going after it, then I am, alone if I have to."
"Azula," Katara said, "We beat it. Let it go We have to pace ourselves. Yue, how much further to the next memory?"
Yue focused, and after a minute, said, "About twenty floors up," and she frowned, "More. it's going to be some walk."
"See, Azula? Aang's right."
Azula frowned, and looked at Aang. He kept eyecontact, never wavering. "If that Spirit comes back to haunt us, I'll hold you accountable, Aang."
"Fine," he said.
"Whoa," Sokka said, "Azula, calm down."
"I am perfectly calm," she said. "Well, let's go." Azula turned and walked down the corridor. The others followed her shortly, while Aang stared at the pile of whithering vines on the ground. He was startled when he heard Katara's voice.
"Aang? Are you all right?"
"Did I really make the right call?" he asked. "What if it does come back."
"We'll beat it then, too, obviously," she said. "So, don't worry about it, okay? It'll all turn out all right. Believe me."
"Okay," Aang said, not entirely convinced. She smiled, tapping him on the shoulder, and turning to join the others.
"Don't worry so much. Let's get going." Aang nodded, and turned back to the pile of vines. He raised his head towards the stairwell down the other end of the corridor. And he frowned .
The school bell echoed through the emptying courtyard of the Phoenix School. Students had begun to change into the summer clothes, and Sokka was no exception, enjoying the coolness the light white shirt offered. He came into class yawning. "Sokka!" Suki said, "What are you doing that makes you so sleepy?"
"Huh? Oh, practice with Aang," he said. "Why?"
"You're giving me a reputation, that's why," she said, angrily. "Could you get some more sleep instead of reading comic books and playing video games until who knows when?"
"I'm not playing video games," Sokka said. "And how am I giving you a reputation?"
"Never mind," Suki said, flushing red, "You just wouldn't understand."
"Sorry," he said, slamming his head into his desk. "Suki, did you hear that?" She looked at him, surprised and embarrassed, "That was my skull cracking, I think." She looked at him, once over, and pressed her hand to the large bruise on the center of his forehead. "Ow!"
"You're fine."
Piandao looked over at the two of them, and shook his head, "Class, I have several announcements. Xin Fu has been formally removed from the faculty at our school. I can't say why, exactly, but I can tell you I will be taking over on a permanent basis. So, let me formally introduce myself as your homeroom teacher."
The class burst into gossip.
"This is so much better than Xin Fu," one boy said.
"I don't know," his friend answered, "I've heard Piandao can be really weird. I mean, he's taught caligraphy during PE before."
"Ugh," one of the girls said, "That Xin Fu was so creepy. I heard he ran from the police because he'd been smuggling drugs or something."
"That's not what I heard, what I heard was--"
"Quiet," Piandao said, "I'm not finished. I'd also like to introduce -- reintroduce, I suppose -- one of your classmates who has decided to come back after an extended absence. Please come in, Mr. Houou."
Sokka looked up.
Zuko was standing there, in his very-not-regulation school uniform. He nodded to the class. "Nice to be here," he said, and looked at Piandao, "Can't I just take my seat."
"Everyone, this is Zuko Houou," Piandao said, regardless, "Zuko, will you say a few words to the class to introduce yourself?"
"You know me," he said, "I know most of you. Let's just get through the year, okay?"
"Very good. Your seat is --"
"I know my seat," Zuko said.
Sokka's eyes widened, and he whispered to Suki, "He's coming this way!"
"Yeah, so?" Suki asked. "I thought you and Zuko were friends?"
"Friends is an exaggeration," Sokka said, "Acquaintances, maybe. I kind of gave him a lot of flack over being friends with my sister, actually, and you know, now that I think about it, he could probably break me over his knee without breaking a sweat."
Zuko took the seat next to Sokka, and looked over at him, "You're in this class?"
"I could say the same for you. I thought you were busy being the Delinquent Prince or whatever it was."
"Don't call me that," Zuko said. "I've got my reasons, okay? Just lay off and let's get through this school year."
"Finals for this semester are fast approaching," Piandao said, "I know most of you saw your test scores the day it was posted, but for those who have forgotten, they're still up, and they're still important. If you placed in the bottom twenty-five percent, I want you to take after school remedial studying classes. Zuko, I'd like you to attend those as well, to catch up with the rest of the class."
"Fine," Zuko said, "I got work, you know."
"I'm aware," Piandao said, "If anyone else has other responsibilities. Baseball club, for example," Sokka winced, and saw Piandao looking right at him. He didn't see his scores posted, but he had a sinking feeling that was aimed at him, Piandao cleared his throat and continued, "Let me know in advance, we'll be offering several opportunities."
Piandao droned on about the school announcements, and Sokka looked over to see Zuko glaring at him. "What?" Sokka hissed.
"Nothing, just wondering why you're failing your exams, that's all," Zuko said.
"I've been busy, okay? Really busy," Sokka said. "You'd know that if you didn't decide you didn't want to help us out, too."
Zuko grumbled irately. "Not my business," he said, somewhere amongst the unintelligible complaints. Sokka sighed, and looked at Suki.
"What?" he asked, noting her expression.
"Quiet, so I can listen. You two boys can go beat each other with testosterone after class is done, okay?" She looked over at Zuko, and gave him the same glowering expression, "That goes for you, too, 'Prince' Zuko."
"Er," Zuko looked at her, and blinked, twice. "Yes, ma'am." He whispered aside to Sokka, "She's kind of scary."
"Tell me about it. All the women in my life are."
"Hey, Zuko!"
"Zuko, welcome to our class!"
"Zuko, are you going to the school dance?"
"Zuko! Zuko! Is it true you once beat up a guy for sneezing while your favorite song was playing on the radio?"
Zuko was being swamped by girls, as he tried to get his way out of the class. Sokka laughed, shaking his head, "I say he's getting what he deserves for acting so cool about everything." Suki ribbed him, "What?"
"Let's go help him out, okay?" Suki said. "Hey, Zuko! Come on, we're going to be late!"
Zuko looked confused for a second, and then his eyes widened in understanding. He gruffly excused himself, and pushed through the throng of his classmates who'd surrounded him. There were even some boys near the back looking to befriend the mythic Delinquent Prince.
"Thanks," he said, when he finally left the mob behind. "I wasn't expecting that."
"It's always this way," Suki said. "We've had a couple transfers this year, but none who stuck. I'd heard Yue went back to the Northern Tribe. Did you know that, Sokka?"
"Oh, uh, hadn't heard," he said.
"I thought you and her were close," Suki said, teasingly, "Did you two have a lover's tiff?"
"What?" No!"
Zuko smirked. "Anyway, I got to get going or I'm going to be late for work. See you tomorrow, I guess. If I have time," Zuko said and pushed his way out the door, knocking someone down on the way.
"Weird guy," Suki said. "I didn't figure him for a part-time job, either."
"Suki, I know that look," Sokka said, "You get that look whenever you start digging up dirt on someone. Well, not today. Because I actually know where he works!"
"You do?" Suki said. "Impressive. Where did you find out?"
"Well, I don't know where, exactly, but I know someone who does," Sokka said. "My sister. She's been following him around for a while now. I've been keeping an eye on her, but Zuko's pretty reliable, so I don't see the problem."
"Katara? Really?"
"His sister probably knows, too, but I don't keep tabs on her," Sokka said, coughing.
"Azula, too," Suki said, thinking, "I'll be right back. I just remembered I had to go do something."
"Something on the second floor, right?" Sokka said, cocking an eyebrow while keeping his voice cool, "Right. I'll be right here waiting if you want to go do something after school. Maybe?" he added the last part with a small, hopeful voice.
"I'll think about it," Suki said.
Sokka shrugged, and tried to remain composed. When she'd left, he looked around, and rested against the shoeboxes. He spotted Toph heading his way. He waved, and then, slapping his forehead, said, "Hi, Toph."
"Oh, hey, didn't see you there," she said.
"Yeah, I was just being incognito -- hey!" He looked flustered, "What's up?"
"I heard a rumor," she said, "That Zuko was in school. You see him?"
"Sure did," Sokka groaned, "All day I had ole scarface next to me glaring daggers at everyone. And would you believe it? He gets swarmed by girls wanting to go to the dance with him. Some guys have all the luck."
"That's okay, Sokka, I know you've been having a hard time, but yes, yes I will go to the dance with you." She waited for him to compose something resembling words before she couldn't hold her laughter in any longer.
"Hey! That wasn't funny! I've been thinking of asking Suki, since Yue is, you know," he sighed. "SHe can only leave the Spirit World on the Full Moon."
"Uh-huh," Toph said. "Okay, I know I can't read, but from what everyone's been saying, isn't this dance going to be held on a Full Moon?"
"Uh," Sokka said, "It is?"
"That's why it's called the Full Moon Ball, isn't it?"
"I guess that makes sense, so if I wanted to, I could ask Yue to -- wait! No, no! Bad Sokka, think for a minute. That means something big, bad, and ugly are going to go wild on Ba Sing Se."
"Not if we stop it first," Toph said, smashing her fist into her palm. "Now that I'm on this team, we're going proactive. Stop the Spirits before they stop us."
"Hm, you've got a point," Sokka said, "But now I don't know what to do!"
"Eh, you'll figure it out. Twinkle Toes is who I'm worried about. Everytime anyone says Full Moon Ball, he gets really mopey. You notice that?"
"No," Sokka said, "But I have to try it out sometime."
"Yeah, don't go overboard, though."
"Me? Go overboard? Please, I'm the paragon of restraint," Sokka said. "Is Suki back yet? Man, I hope she'll go out with me. Wait, but Yue and I -- what are we, anyway? I hate girls sometimes, so much!"
"Yeah, we're a pain," Toph said. "Well, Snoozles, see you 'round." Sokka waved her off, then stopped himself, realizing how stupid he looked. Sighing, he continued to wait. It only took three more minutes for him to get tired of waiting and he decided to head upstairs.
In the hall, he saw Katara, Suki, and Azula talking. They seemed to be talking about something very intently, and he could see Aang to the side, ducked into the neighboring class room, looking suspicious.
"Hey," he said. The Airbender nearly jumped ten feet in the air if not for the doorframe. "Ow, that looked painful. Hey, what's the idea, Aang? You look like you're eavesdropping."
"No! No I'm not. I'm just waiting for them to finish so I can--"
"Well, let me tell you something about eavesdropping. You have to be quiet when you're eavestropping, or it doesn't work. See, we can't even hear them now. But if we get quiet."
"... I still say you're pulling my leg."
"No, it's true. He works at a tea shop."
"He was always Uncle's favorite. And Uncle loved his tea something fierce."
"No, really. A tea shop. I thought he took a flamethrower to the face. What's he doing there? Shouldn't he be at, I don't know, an underground fight circuit?"
"My brother's ways are mysterious, even to me."
"I can't believe he came to school."
"Me either. This merits investigation. Suki, would you like to join us for some tea?"
"I don't know. Sokka said he wanted to do something."
"Ah, yes, indeed. Speaking of Sokka, has he asked you yet?"
"Not yet, Azula."
"My brother is just being slow on the uptake. Give him a few hints, and I"m sure he'll ask."
"I say it's best to play hard to get, but that's just my opinion."
"Your fanclub eats it up, huh, Azula."
"Quiet. Like you don't have one."
"Huh," Sokka said. "Interesting."
"Did you hear something?"
"What is it, Suki?"
"Nothing. Actually, tea sounds good right about now. I'm sure Sokka can reschedule."
"I'll make sure he does," Azula's voice was drawing nearer. "And besides, my brother isn't good at many things, but serving tea is one of the few talents I think he should continue to work on." She laughed, and Katara and Suki joined in a second later.
Their voices passed, echoing as they went down the staircase, and Sokka peeked his head out. "Well, Aang, looks like the girls are going out for tea. Should we follow them?"
"I don't know--"
"Come on! It'll be fun. And you'll learn something," Sokka said.
"I really don't know about this," Aang protested, but it was too late. Sokka was already off. "Sokka, wait a minute, Sokka!" The warm, just-breaking summer sun sparkled and the afternoon slowly began to unfold.
To be continued.