Zayatlafan: Glad you liked the 'break' in the action. Despite the movie being lots of action, they do a good job incorporating good scenes with lots of dialogue and fun moments, so I tried to incorporate that here. Glad you're still enjoying this!
Wil02: Glad you liked the break. I think it's good to get a mix of calm and action. So glad you're still enjoying this!
TheQuietReader23: Aang is definitely in a tough spot, and it's going to be interesting how Sokka changes based on what happened. Katara putting Jet in his place is always a good time. His anger feeds my smile. Glad you're still enjoying this!
Naravilhosa: So glad you liked the Toph bit. She needed some introduction, and I think that fits her very well. Glad you're still enjoying this!
PhieillyDinyia: Phi, your reviews always crack me up. It makes me happy to know my story can have that effect on someone :). Glad you're still enjoying this!
Jonners2314: So glad you're still enjoying this! Also, go check out his fics! He is almost finished with 'Collision of Fate', which is phenomenal. He also started a new modern HS fic, and oh boy, is it fantastic! Go read them after reading this, or Jet will try to steal your girl (o.0) .
Clichekataang: I'm glad you liked the character interactions. I think the break in the action was a necessary addition, and it makes me happy you liked the idea as well. Glad you're still enjoying this!
A quick note before you read: Lube oil - oil used to make bolts looser and easier to take off, Fence - is a fancy name for a middle man.
"Sokka?" Aang gasped, half-conscious.
Jet hit him again across his back with the butt of the shotgun. Aang recoiled and screamed out in pain.
"He even moans like a cop," Jet growled.
He went to hit him again before Sokka stopped him. "That's enough, Jet," he muttered. He turned back to Aang, who was down on the ground. "Aang, this is one of those times you need to be very clear about what you say. Nod if you understand me."
Aang had trouble taking in Sokka's words as his head was spinning with pain and his ears were ringing. "Nod!" he shouted. Aang, finally coming to his senses, nodded without hesitation. "Now, sit up and tell me what the hell you're doing down here."
Aang had to come up with a pretty believable lie, or else he wasn't sure he would get out of there alive.
"I was here b-because of Race Wars," Aang stuttered out. "When I was in there, I saw three Mustangs with Winsor V8 engines, the ones from the Cobra R's. And on top of that, Rulan just came into Pasang's, and he ordered three Vortech superchargers, with NOS, and FlowMaster cat-back exhausts."
Sokka put on a puzzled look. "So, what are you saying? Are you going to check everybody's shit out, one garage after another?" he questioned, almost dumbfoundedly.
All Aang could do was shrug his shoulders. "Yeah. Because, Sokka, you know I can't lose again. We need to know what we're up against so we stand a chance at winning."
Jet became furious. He knew Aang was lying. "He's a cop, Sokka. He's a cop!" he growled.
Sokka gave Jet a 'shut the fuck up' stare and looked back at Aang. "Well? Are you a cop?"
Aang shook his head as soon as the question came out of Sokka's mouth. Sokka gave him a smirk. "Come on, let's go for a little ride," he said, motioning Aang to follow him.
Toph gave Sokka, Aang, and Jet a ride over to Eyak's Food and Market. Why did Sokka want to take me here? Aang thought to himself.
Since Toph's truck only had one row of seating, Sokka and Jet sat in the bed while Aang sat in the cab. Sokka doubted Aang and Jet could last the ride together in the back, although he wouldn't mind seeing them toss it out.
They arrived at one of Hahn's garages. Sokka turned to Toph as they got out. "Okay. You stand watch," he said. Toph nodded and began to look out for any signs of trouble.
They hopped over the gate to get into the lot of Hahn's garage. They climbed a ladder up to the roof, where Sokka opened the skylight. They climbed down into the pitch-black garage and immediately began inspecting. Aang and Jet found multiple cars with no engines in them.
"Yo, Sokka," Jet called out. "There's no engines...in any of the cars."
Sokka chuckled. "What are they planning on racing with? Hopes and dreams?"
"I don't know, but they're sneaky as shit," Jet said. "And they've got enough money to buy anything."
While Sokka and Jet were talking, Aang saw a few boxes with pictures of DVD players on the side of them. He then saw similar boxes with digital cameras on the side. Wait a second, Aang thought. The boss was talking about these. Is Hahn running them for cash?
Before he could ponder any further, Sokka's phone began to ring; it was Toph. "We got the crotch rocket gang incoming. It's Hahn, and he's coming your way fast," she said with seriousness.
"Shit! All right, we got company," Sokka shouted in a low voice. He saw Aang was over in the corner. "Aang! Come on. Move!"
Aang was able to sneak by behind a car before getting spotted as the lights turned on. Sokka pulled out a Smith and Wesson pistol and put his finger up to his lips to tell Aang and Jet not to make a peep.
Hahn, Hasook, and the rest of the crew arrived into the garage. Hahn got out of his car, a beautiful, modified Honda S2000. He took off his jacket and placed it on the hood of his car. Hasook grabbed a man from another car and pointed a gun at him. "Move! Over there!" he shouted at the man. As he stepped in front of Hahn, Hahn grabbed his shirt and threw him on the car next to him. "Do you see anything wrong here, Paoli? Hmm?" Hahn asked. The man didn't answer and kept his head down. "Answer me! Do. You. See. Anything. Wrong?" he continued. Paoli shook his head.
Hahn let go of him and walked over to an oil pump. "A couple of Nissan SR20 motors will pull a premium one week before Race Wars, huh?" Hahn asked Paoli.
"Y-yes, I assume they would," Paoli replied nervously.
Hahn chuckled. An evil smirk donned his face. "You're a smart man, Paoli, maybe even too smart," he said. Then he turned his attention to Hasook. "What do you think, Hasook? 40-weight or 50-weight?"
Hasook kept his gun pointed at Paoli and gave him a cold stare. "40-weight sounds nice," he said with an evil smile as well.
Hahn quickly turned around, grabbed Paoli, threw him to the ground, and got on top of him. His knee to Paoli's chest to keep him pinned down. Hasook handed Hahn a pump filled with lube oil, and he stuck it in Paoli's mouth, essentially waterboarding him, but instead with lube oil. "Where are they, Paoli? Where are they?" he shouted. Paoli squirmed like a fish out of water. Aang wanted to throw up. He couldn't believe someone could do that to someone and keep a straight face. Sokka noticed and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Sokka had a frown on his face as well, but he knew there was nothing they could do right now.
"WHERE ARE MY ENGINES, PAOLI!" Hahn continued to shout. Somehow, Paoli was able to get words out. "A warehouse! They're in a warehouse across town!" Paoli cried. Hahn got off of him and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands clean. Paoli was covered head to toe in oil, some dripping from his hair and face. "Paoli, kiss my shoes," Hahn said casually. Paoli thought he was crazy but realized he wasn't after Hasook shoved his gun in his face, motioning him to do it. He crawled over to Hahn, but Hahn just kicked him in the gut, and Paoli keeled over on his side in pain. Hahn threw his rag on Paoli and turned to get into his car. "Alright guys, let's go get our engines," Hahn said as his crew got on their vehicles and drove off.
Aang was back in the house-turned-headquarters to report his findings and what he witnessed in the past few days to the boss and Sarge. Another officer joined them in the meeting room as well. Josu was his name.
"My superiors are flying in from Kuzita in two days. I want something to show them," the Boss started. "We've got a fence with a lube hose in his mouth, automatic weapons, priors on every one of these biker gang punks, a garage full of DVD players, and generally psychotic behavior. Give me a reason why we shouldn't move on Eyak now and figure it out later?"
Aang knew they couldn't go and bust Hahn right now. He would be in and out of jail on the same day. "All we have right now is behavior. Let me get hard evidence, because what we have now is just-" he said before being cut off by the Boss.
"What we have, Aang, is probable cause. And truckers arming themselves for some good old-fashioned vigilante mayhem," the Boss finished.
Sarge decided to put an end to the back and forth between Aang and the Boss and stepped in. "Tell us about Rulan, Aang," he said.
Aang knew he couldn't outright sell out Rulan. Sure everything seemed to be adding up, but he had no concrete proof, similar to Hahn's situation. "I can't confirm Rulan and his buddies are the ones hijacking the trucks. He bought all the parts for those cars used in the hijacking, but he could just be a fence," he told Sarge.
Sarge nodded. "Okay, that's good. We have some ground to work with. Now, tell me about Aluutiq."
Aang shared his honest thoughts. "I told you, I think he's too controlled for this. Going suicidal on semi-trucks? It doesn't seem like something he'd do. Maybe Jet. But to be real, he's too dumb to do it."
Before anyone said anything else, Josu spoke up. "I think Aluutiq's sister is blurring your vision."
Aang felt anger grow inside him. "What did you say?" he snarled at Josu.
He continued with a smirk. "I don't blame you. I'd get off on her surveillance photos, too."
At that comment, Aang grabbed Josu's shirt and threw him to the ground. Sarge grabbed Aang back before he did any more damage, knowing what he could get like if he wasn't under control.
"Knock it off!" Sarge yelled. "What? Are you going native on me, Aang?" he turned to the desk and grabbed a file envelope. "Have you read Toretto's file lately?" he asked Aang.
Aang nodded. "Yeah. I memorized the entire file," he said.
Sarge continued. "Well, reread it. No. Better yet, take a look at these," he said. He opened the file envelope and pulled out photos of a man's mugshot. His left eye was completely sealed shut and stitched all over. "Remember I told you about the guy he nearly beat to death? Aluutiq did this with a three-quarter-inch torque wrench. He's a model of self-control," he said sarcastically with a chuckle.
Aang tried to figure out where he was going to go from here. He needed to be alone and away from everything to collect his thoughts. He turned to Sarge. "I need a few more days," he said. Then on his way out, he stopped by the Boss. "I need a few more days."
The gang was back in Sokka's Garage later that day. Toph, Zuko, and Suki worked on the R34 Skyline motor while Sokka and Aang worked on the intercooler.
"Got a TR7 here, with a ball-bearing upgrade," Toph said. "What it's going to do is, it's going to spool up really quick." Suki nodded. "I got this set up for 24 psi," she said. "Got it," Toph replied.
Meanwhile, Aang and Sokka were discussing plans for the evening. "You got big plans tonight?" Sokka asked Aang.
Aang blushed and smiled. "Yeah. We're going out to dinner."
Sokka was happy that his new friend and sister got along so well, but his 'overprotective brother' side would always be there to wreak havoc. "You break her heart, I'll break your neck," he said with a serious tone.
"That's not gonna happen," Aang said back, a smile on his face.
Sokka smiled back. He had wanted to show Aang a significant part of him ever since he and Aang had gotten close. "I want to show you something. Let's take my car back to the house."
They walked over to Sokka's Viper. Every time Aang saw Sokka's car, he would get all jittery with excitement. "Damn, bro, I can't get over how cool your car is. How did you end up choosing this over every other car?" Aang asked enthusiastically.
Sokka smiled at the memories flashing back in his head. "Well, I've always been a muscle car guy… my dad and I. The Viper always caught my eye. When I went to tell Katara about the car, she immediately shut me down. I was surprised to find out she knew as much about the car as I did. Anyways, she told me the car was too bare-bones and dangerous. I told her I could handle it and that she had nothing to worry about. So I got the car just to piss her off. She can be so annoying at times, but she is still my sister, and I love her very much. I've always appreciated how she always looked out for me. Take care of her, Aang," he said as he looked over to Aang with a smile. "Anyways, fast forward to now, and I've pretty much tamed this snake. Plus, with no roof, I get to feel cool breezes all day, every day. It was the best choice I could've made."
Aang felt so happy after hearing Sokka's story. It seemed at first Sokka was a very secluded person, a mystery to all except in his inner circle. But, for him to open up and tell Aang his memories, he felt grateful. "Don't worry, Sokka. I will always take care of her and more. Thanks for telling me this."
Aang and Sokka arrived at the house fifteen minutes later. They walked up towards the garage, something that had been off-limits since Aang had become part of the group. Before they got to it, they passed Aang's car. "You know, even though I'm a muscle car guy, I can respect this car. You really know how to make an impressive machine, Aang," Sokka complimented. Aang smiled. The hard work he put into his car seemed to be paying off. He knew his car was a monster and looked badass, but it was another thing to get compliments from other people.
After climbing to the top of the driveway, they got to the garage. Sokka opened a door and invited Aang in. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he feasted his eyes onto a beautiful muscle car. Sokka chuckled at Aang's wide eyes and dropped jaw. "My dad and I built her—nine hundred horses of Tachazi muscle.
Aang was at a loss for words, this car must've been at least 50 years old, yet it was in immaculate condition. "It's a beast," he said with awe.
"You know what her fastest time is?" Sokka asked Aang, ready for his eyes to pop out of his head.
Aang waited for the answer eagerly. "No. What?"
"Nine seconds flat," he said proudly.
As if on command, Aang's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "God. That's crazy. Have you done any other builds with him?" he asked.
Sokka's smile fell at the memory that flooded his head. The worst day in his life. The day his mother was taken from him. "No, just this one. He loved this car so much, but after my mom died, he never wanted to be near a race car ever again."
Aang didn't know how to respond. He felt immense sorrow for his friend. He walked over to him and gave him a firm hug. "I'm sorry, man," he said lightly.
Sokka decided that Aang should know the whole story, so he told him everything. "When I was sixteen, Katara and I went to one of my father's races. He was amazing; I wanted to be just like him. My dad always asked my mom to come with him on his warm-up laps, but she insisted that all she would do is distract him. Something he said that day must've changed her mind because she went with him on that warm-up lap."
Sokka began to stutter his words and sounded angry. "As they were driving, a guy named Yon Rha thought it would be funny to bump my dad's car. He kept bumping it, but at the last turn, the car flipped over countless times until it slammed into the wall. My dad survived the crash with a couple of broken bones, but my mom…" he broke down in tears. "...s-she sat frail in the car, w-with her neck broken in ways I-I never thought p-possible."
Aang never thought Sokka could be this vulnerable, and he knew that most people probably thought the same. He felt happy that Sokka trusted him with a sensitive topic like this, but he couldn't help but shed a tear for him. He gave him another hug as Sokka finished up the flashback.
"After I saw she was dead, I walked over to Yon Rha's pit and beat him senseless with a torque wrench. Never in my life had I felt so much anger. I could've killed him, Aang, not that he deserved to live. But luckily, I was able to stop myself before it got out of hand," Sokka said.
Aang felt nervous but asking, but his curiosity got the best of him. "So, what happened with your dad?"
"After everything happened, he blamed himself for begging my mom to come with him. He said that had he listened to her and went by himself, that she'd be alive today," Sokka said sadly.
Aang couldn't help but try to help, even if it wasn't his place. "There was no way to know. If he went by himself, he could've been the one who died," he said to Sokka, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"He knows, but he regrets the decision to make her come. It has haunted him since then. It haunts me too. After that, he swore he would never race again. He moved down south to a city called Muloniq once Katara and I lived on our own. It's basically is winter all year long, and he's always liked the cold," Sokka chuckled.
"Do you and Katara see him often?" Aang asked.
Sokka was glad to see that Aang hadn't seen him differently and was eager to answer any questions he had. He felt it was fair after he dumped all this onto him. "We see him twice a year usually. We always go to him because this place brings back too many bad memories."
Aang nodded. "That makes sense, but how come you and Katara are still here then?"
Sokka smiled. Despite his bad memories in New Caldera, he still enjoys it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. "I feel drawn to this place. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's like I don't want to be anywhere else. Sure, the worst day of my life happened in this city, but I can't see myself anywhere but here."
They walked out of the garage and went toward their respective cars. Before they drove off, Sokka spoke. "Thanks for letting me vent to you, Aang. As you can probably tell, I don't get to do this as much as I should. It feels nice to get this stuff off your chest."
"Anytime, man, I'm here for you every step of the way," he said with a smile.
Aang backed out and drove away, getting ready for his date with Katara later that night. Sokka went back to the garage to finish up there with everyone else.
Both of them smiled, glad to have found a new friend in each other, and wouldn't change a thing.
A/N: Wow, that was a lot at the end. I hope it wasn't too much. I knew that this final scene was important, but I kind of got carried away with it. Let me know what you thought. The next chapter is going to start off hot with our favorite soon-to-be couple. As I said before, as we reach the end of the movie, I'm adding a few extras that aren't in the film into the fic. I think it'll spice things up and make it more interesting, so I can't wait! Anyways that's all I got. Adios amigos! :)