Sokka could see that something was wrong with Aang. He had never seen him so angry. Aang's eyes were red with tears and irritation from the dust and smoke. He was shaking all over and breathing heavily. When he breathed, Sokka could hear Aang wheezing. Dust and ashes in the lung, my guy. This however, didn't stop Aang from speaking. His voice came out as a strangled and raspy squeal, both pathetic and menacing.
"ALL I WANTED WAS FOR US TO BE HAPPY! TO BE A FAMILY! WE WERE HAPPY, BEFORE THE NEW ONES CAME! WHEN IT WAS JUST ME, AND YOU, AND KATARA, AND TOPH, AND ZUKO! THEN YOU ALL SHOWED YOUR TRUE COLORS, AND THAT YOU DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ME AT ALL!" Aang was breathing heavily, partly because of the ashy air, partly because of his near-sobs. Sokka felt pity in his heart for the pathetic Aang. He didn't want to fight him.
"Aang, come back to us! We do care about you! I do, Katara does, Zuko does, Toph…. Where did she go, anyways? But not only us, the new people care about you too! Kakyoin, Joseph, Jotaro! They all care about you! We can still be a family, Aang. Families change, and you just have to accept that! If you make an effort to get along with Jotaro, it can work! Believe it or not, the rest of us go through life pretty easily without brutalising people all the time!" Sokka reached out his hand towards Aang, but Aang turned away. His face was now in shadow. He spat into the lava angrily.
"I don't want to hear any more about Jotaro. Sokka, this is the only way I can save my family! I have to get rid of the new ones! Don't get in my way!"
"I can't let you do that, Aang. My loyalty is to the Republic of our group; to democracy!" Sokka's face became more serious. His resolve was unshakable.
"I will do what I must, Aang. I'm sorry." With that, he leapt towards Aang, across the lava, brandishing his boomerang, which now glowed with holy light. Aang raised his staff like a tranquilized buffalo, blocking Sokka's strike. The very air reverbated with the force of the blow, but neither fighter fell. They only half fell. They locked eyes, and now began to fight in earnest. The speed of their blows was unparalleled and unquenchable, both of their weapons becoming a cute blur. Both struggled to knock the other off the rock into the lava, but they were too evenly matched. Realizing this, Aang jumped backwards in a backflip into a close-by island of dark rock. The rock was rough beneath his feet, he could feel the heat coming off it. Sokka leapt after him, landing not entirely steadily. Another happy landing, he thought to himself.
Sokka ran towards Aang, but Aang didn't meet him head-on. Rather, he dodged behind one of the large rocks that were scattered across the burning landscape. He then dashed into a part of the island that was full of huge boulders, large enough for a droid to hide behind. Sokka cautiously approached, knowing that Aang could be hiding behind any one of them. He couldn't see the landscape very well, the rocks were only lit dimly by the lava. Sokka sneaked through the rocks, like a centipede drinking red bull. Aang could jump out at any moment, he thought to himself. As Sokka reluctantly hunted for the Avatar, Robert watched, considering his next move.
The thrice-accursed sponge knew that he could strike now, while they were both distracted, but he allowed himself to merely watch. The mortals entertained him, like colorful bugs, or small dogs, or fighting rabbits, or someone trying to untangle a knot.
Meanwhile, Sokka crept silently through the boulders, straining to hear any noise that might be out of place. He was as tense as a jellyfish, but he wasn't the only one.
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch (the main room of Robert's fortress) Jotaro, Zuko and Kakyoin huddled around Katara's unconscious body. None of them could fully comprehend what just happened. Damn that Aang for hurting Katara! Zuko thought angrily to himself. Damn that Jotaro for getting to her first! Damn it all to hell!
Kakyoin thought to himself, I knew that Aang was crazy, but I never thought it would go this far! I though it would stop at murder, like most things do!
Jotaro was feeling more than he had ever felt in his entire life. He had never expected this, but when he looked into Katara's vivacious, lugubrious, quid, sanguine, shallow, threadlike face, he realized that he cared very much about her. No matter how annoying or selfish she is, I won't let her die! After all this time, I've come to care about her. Not in a romantic way, but as a friend. I know that she's a good person under all that narcissism, just like my dear Papa. He was also a good friend.
Their thoughts were interrupted by Kakyoin's urgent and worried voice.
"I know we're all having really deep thoughts right now, but Katara is our priority. Does anyone know First Aid? I don't, I was kicked out of the course for trying to steal the CPR dummies. All I learned was that we've got these wacky things in our chests called ribs! How funky is that, guys? The instructor also told me that our lungs are in our legs, and brains are in the feet. Skulls are actually empty! I wonder why people always say protect your head when there's nothing in there…" Jotaro stared at Kakyoin with pity. This stunted slime doesn't know basic biology or anatomy...
"Kakyoin, none of that is true. Ribs are in your chest, not your legs. And brains are in your skull."
"LIAR!" Kakyoin was devastated by this news, momentarily forgetting about Katara. This was ok, because at that moment, Katara woke up. She sat up with the speed of Barry Allen, screaming, "I HATE GEMINIS-" at the top of her lungs. She then looked around at the concerned faces of her friends and ex-husband. Tucking her hair behind her ear, batting her eyelashes and biting her lip, she asked in the breathiest possible voice,
"Oh, I'm awake? Who do I owe my life to? Did someone give me mouth-to-mouth, very heroically?" She said all this while looking directly at Jotaro.
"Wow Jotaro, I knew you still cared about me. This is so typical of an Aquarius. You're really-" Jotaro shook his head. Katara looked incredibly disappointed. She looked hopefully at Kakyoin.
"I mean, you're not Jotaro, but you're ok, Kakyoin. It was you, right?" Kakyoin laughed.
"HA! As if I'd touch you, Katara! Not because you're repulsive like him-" here he pointed at Zuko, who didn't notice. Kakyoin continued.
"I didn't give you mouth to mouth because I have Auto-Brewery syndrome, Typhoid, and a mild cold." Zuko snickered.
"Haha, do you have COVID, Kakyoin?" Zuko laughed tastelessly. He looked at Jotaro, for a supporter in his joke. Jotaro just looked confused. Kakyoin wasn't amused either.
"Zuko, you piece of actual, literal garbage. That's not funny at all. Not only is it really insensitive to those who have been affected by this pandemic, but it shows you have a general lack of compassion and care for your fellow human beings. You are really irrissponsible and you need to grow up. Zuko, your sense of humour sucks ass. Just shut the hell up." Kakyoin didn't say this angrily, he said it entirely calmly, without breaking eye contact with Katara, as if Kakyoin was an ant under his boot, unworthy of attention. Zuko felt the shadow of ZINKO grow larger in his heart. Katara did not help with what she said next:
"Ugh, was it Zuko who gave me mouth to mouth?" she shuddered. Zuko felt tears welling up in his eyes. He knew that he maybe wasn't the smartest, but he had thought he was funny at least. He spoke in a quiet voice to Katara.
"First off, the joke is funnier when Uncle tells it. Secondly, I didn't give you mouth to mouth, Katara. You were breathing already, you didn't need it. But if you ever did need it, I'd be the first in line!" Zuko smiled hopefully at Katara. Kakyoin laughed cruelly.
"Yeah, and you'd be the only one in line, except maybe Aang." He seemed to think he was insulting Zuko, but Katara was the only one who was a bit offended, and only for a second.
"Silly Kakyoin, I know you all want to kiss me. I'm the hottest one here by far, you guys don't even KNOW. I've got boyfriends all OVER the world. I can get any rebound man I WANT." She then looked irritated as she remembered,
"Anyways, the fact that none of you gave me mouth-to-mouth is really telling of your character. But I could've predicted that with your Zodiac signs anyways, you filthy Capricorns."
Jotaro adjusted his hat resentfully.
"Guys, what's even happening with Aang, Sokka, and Robert? We should probably go help them…"