Ziggy's Corner: Okay, chapter six, here we go!
Aang looked at Sokka and blinked, "Good grief, it's been like five days and you haven't said a word! You talked about me taking a long time," he said with a chuckle.
"Aang we've only been sitting here for a little while," Katara giggled, nudging the avatar. "So, anyway, what did happen the next day Sokka?"
"Well. . .,"
KYKYKY
Sokka found their room that very night and dropped to his mat, ignoring questionable looks from tired Katara and Aang. His heart was still racing and he could hardly imagine trying to sleep, though he tried frantically to do so. In his mind he could still see Elrich dropping over the edge of the bridge, the slash of water as his body hit it, and their search for his corpse.
Finally with no luck, the two of them bid each other adieu, and walked back to the village. An hour past, and then another. Sokka finally managed to fall to sleep, but when Katara woke him up, he find he had only gotten two hours. How he wanted to push her away as he had done in the past, just slip back under the covers, and pretend the last few hours did not matter, but he knew that there was still something wrong, and he didn't believe they would be staying here that much later. Try as he might, Aang seemed not to notice the girls' fascination with him was slowly waning.
Hey, that's not nice!
But it's true, Aang.
Sokka began walking around the village, listening closely to people talking. A few times he had heard someone mention Elrich's name, and he tensed his eyes growing, until there was no more sounds made. The water warrior decided the best way to figure out what had happened was to ask questions, as dangerous as that might be.
And so he went from person to person, asking them what they knew of the large teen. Most of them had nothing good to say, a drop out from his studies, a violent boy who at times emulated the Fire Lord, and then later cursed him to an early grave. There were a few good things that he heard, but from what he gathered, after he and his family left to travel the world and when he returned, he was oddly different, he had both parents with him, his possessions, everything he had taken with him, he had brought back … at least it appeared that way.
But after he came back, he was anxious, aggressive, and a lot more interested into bringing Kyoshi into world politics. His father had been a member of the island's council, and Elrich had tried to use that position to catapult himself into politics, at the tender age of twelve, ignoring his studies at martial arts and mathematics. The villagers would not have someone so young telling them what to do and that seemed to enrage him more and more. Though he lived just a few houses away from Suki, he eventually left after an argument with his parents. Some said he lived in a cave just a few miles outside the village, with a very small group of cronies that he had managed to brainwash into his crusade of violence.
What could have driven him made like that? What had he seen or been through that mad him lose his mind? Sokka kept pondering these thoughts, and accidentally wondered outside of the village on the east side, heading for some hills. He continued to walk, occasionally taking in the sights, and though he was concerned about being so far away from his sister and Aang, the thought of that hulk of mass dropping into the water the night before drove him forward.
Eventually he found himself resting next to a medium sized hill, covered with grass and a few golden brown rocks sticking out here and there. It was noon, or perhaps a little passed noon, and he was tired and hungry.
Using the skill he had been taught in his own village, Sokka caught a couple of fish, and built a small fire, cooking his lunch. He ate it quickly and noisily, but not too noisily as to attract predators or competition for his hard earned food. After lunch, and a little business with some bushes, he rested in the grass, and yet again fell asleep.
You do that a lot in this story.
Do you want me to continue or not? And Aang, stop giggling.
He didn't sleep as long as he did the last time. Maybe just two or three hours, but it was still bright enough, and warm enough, that he knew he hadn't been out for that long. He rose to his feet, and squinting his eyes he tensed as a spear pressed against his back.
"I was going to go looking for you squirt, but you've saved me the trial of dealing with my old villagers' wrath. Thank you so very much." The voice was hard, and on edge, with sick humor running all through it. Sokka knew better than to turn around.
"So, you survived," he said, his own voice hard, but calm.
"Thought you had killed me? Too bad, you didn't get the job done. Disappointed?"
"That I'm not a murderer? No thank you, I've relieved, but how did. . .," Sokka said, slowly trying to look from the corner of his eyes.
"Suki never told you that I was such a good swimmer, did she?" He chuckled, and motioned for his goons to drag out the girl, tied in ropes. He spun Sokka around and smirked as he kneed him in the groin.
"Elrich, I'm begging you to stop!" the girl cried. She was wearing her war paint again, and was dressed in her ceremonial battle dress. She looked as beautiful as ever, and though Sokka felt the waves of flames running all over his body, he could only smile at her.
"That isn't the only thing that you're going to be begging me to stop by the time this day ends," the giant monster cackled. He looked at her and rolled his massive eyes. "Oh don't worry, I don't want you anymore. I've come to realize that you are really not my type."
"So, what," the other boy groaned. "You prefer something of your own species? A troll maybe?" Elrich twisted and slammed his boot into Sokka's jaw, followed by a few of his buddies imitating their dark lord.
"A real warrior doesn't rely on the strength of others, you disappoint me, Elrich," Suki snapped.
"Oh, but as we both know, a warrior does rely on the strength of his comrades," Elrich growled. "The strength of one is the strength of all. But I wouldn't expect you to understand that, my former star. I've found someone else who will make my dreams come true. True for me, true for my men, true for our island, our world, yes, even true for you, dear Suki."
He motioned and a skinny woman, perhaps a year older than Suki walked through the grass, holding twin blade fans, and smiled at her. "Her name is Kassha. You wouldn't know her, because she lives on an island just a little ways from Kyoshi. But let me assure you, my fire is the same as hers. And together we will wed, and merge the islands together as the beginning base of a new, glorious empire."
"Lord Elrich," a tall stumpy boy said, approaching him with a bow. "I finished delivering the message, just as you instructed."
Suki blinked and turned to her former friend. "What message?"
"You will find out," Elrich said with an odd smile. "Let's just leave it to say, that come tomorrow, the flames of a new empire will begin to be forged."
"My lord, what shall we do with these two?" another asked.
Elrich looked at the two of them and his eyes shone with demonic light. "Cut their hands off, and let them go."
"Sir?" the other asked confused.
"They're both warriors, correct? Then cut of their hands, so they can no longer fight."
"You are insane," Sokka snapped.
"Because I only want your hands? I think its poetic justice," he said. His features were twisted, as a long scar stretched from his forehead down to his jaw. "Admiring your boomerang's work? I think you should get on your knees and kiss my feet for just taking losing your hands. I had to struggle with the desire to kill you in cold blood."
"That's what you plan on doing anyway. Without a doctor we would bleed to death before we reached the village."
Elrich laughed. "Of course, we can't have you warn those old geezers, now can we?" He bent down and narrowed his eyes. "But at least this way, you have a sporting chance."
"You want to give me a sporting chance? Then face me one on one, no goons, no help, no weapons. Let's just see how good you really fight."
"Sokka, no, he'll kill you," she cried. Kassha kicked her in her ribs and dropped the girl like a sack of potatoes.
"He'll kill us anyway," the boy snapped. "So what do you say? One on one, prove to your followers just how good a fighter you really are!"
"No weapons? Hand to hand combat," Elrich chuckled. "That hardly seems fair; you'd never reach my face as tiny as you are." His men laughed at their boss' statement, but it didn't deter Sokka. Elrich sighed tiredly and shrugged. "If that' how you want to meat your end, then so beat it. Rather admirable to be honest." He nodded to his men, who cautiously backed away from both of them, made a combat ring of sweat and flesh.
Sokka slowly rose to his feet, his body sore from the beating he had received today, and from last night. But there was everything to lose if he did not stand up. She wavered a little and swallowed, backing up as Elrich took a false step toward him, which made his men laugh.
And it began. The monster rushed at the boy, roaring inhumanly and tossed a log of an arm in his direction. Sokka managed to dodge it, and rolled over his back, spinning around in time to get a big boot to his face, with enough force that it nearly snapped his neck. The water warrior dropped to the ground, and spun and rolled as Elrich time and time again crashed down on each spot where he had just been with a massive foot. Sokka dodged him a few more times, and managed to get pinned next to a tree, each time dodging a fist of a foot, before he got tired of that and rolled under the creep's legs.
Sokka countered with a whirlwind twist of his legs, and was back on his feet, his hands and arms in a defensive position and he waited for this Goliath of a man to come at him. He swallowed again, and ducked under Elrich's arm, as the monster tried to clothes line him, and spun in the air and cracked the other boy's uninjured area of his jaw with his own foot.
Blood spilled from Elrich's mouth, which enraged him, and yet seemed to entertain the fiend as well. He took a few seconds to appreciate the situation, and snatched Sokka's foot out of the air as the boy tried the same stunt twice.
"Not much of a fighter, are we?" Elrich cackled. "What kind of a warrior goes to the pot twice in the same few seconds?" Sokka struggled to free himself, but he held on tighter. "Now how far would you make it to the village with cut off hands and a broken leg?"
"For a 'warrior' you talk too much," Sokka snapped. He launched his other leg, but again, Elrich caught it, and now held both of them, one in each hand. His men cheered for their boss, and his new squeeze kicked Suki in the back of her legs, dropping her yet again in celebration.
"For a 'warrior' you don't do much fighting," Elrich growled. The giant held fast his legs, and maneuvered him onto his stomach, resting on his back, as he yanked the legs upward. Sokka's scream echoed through the forest, and his eyes nearly burst from the pressure as he could feel bones groan with strain. "This ends now."
"If you insist," Sokka cried. He picked up a stone and twisting to his side, ignoring the white hot pain tossed it forward. Elrich scowled, and dodged it, as his men hooted and howled in displeasure."
"What happened to no weapons, Sokka? That wasn't very honorable," he said with a dark grin.
"It wouldn't have been, had I been aiming for you," Sokka said, his face twisting between pain and an odd smile.
Elrich mouthed the word 'what', but never got a chance to use it. The tree in front of him groan and moaned, and finally rolled from its trunk, crashing toward the two boys.
Both women called out to their own male companion, their eyes wide with horror. Elrich's men dashed for shelter as it tumbled toward them. Elrich released his grip on Sokka, and the boy used what strength he had left to move out of the way, warning the other boy to get out of the way, but the giant clutched the tree and forced it back as hard as he could. The next sound the forest heard was loud piercing pops and snaps, and the cry of a behemoth.
Elrich sat there, his arms laying useless, his face pushed into the ground as splinters dug deeper into his eyes. His woman rushed to his aide, and Suki crawled to Sokka.
"What happened?" she asked in a hush whisper.
"I used his strength against him," Sokka replied sadly.
"You knew about the tree all along," Elrich cried, looking around for the other boy, but seeing only midnight. "That's why you were dancing along it like a drunken fool! You baited me into punching and kick at it, to weaken it, until you could pull your little stunt! That's admirable! That's honorable!"
"I warned you to get out of the way," Sokka snapped. "You were the one who tried to prove his strength when no one ever doubted it."
"Kill them," Elrich commanded. "Kill them both now."
"You're men are gone, and I don't think they're coming back anytime soon, the cowards they were," Suki said. "And as for Kassha," she stood up and held four fan blades, her own two, as well as her rival's, in a very defensive position. "She's welcome to try and take her blades, but I do not think she will succeed." She looked down at her old friend and sighed sadly. "You've been beaten Elrich, blind and crimpled. You will never fight again, and that means there will be no revolution; at least not by your hands." She nodded to the cave and felt tears run down her cheeks. "Take him," she said to Kassha, "take him there, and see to him. Or take him to your own island and see to him."
"You would let us live?" she asked softly.
"We aren't murderers," Sokka said with a shake of his head. "Just leave now." The two of them turned and walked away, the cries of Elrich's pain and frustration filling the forest for a long time.
When they finally reached the village, Sokka turned and looked at the girl. "What were you doing up there?"
"I was following you," she said. "I wanted to warn you not to go up there, but you couldn't seem to hear my cries, and when I left the village after you, his goons attacked." They stared at each other for a long time and turned away. "You are such a stubborn goat, you know that? You could have gotten us killed. You could have gotten killed by yourself! What were you thinking?"
"Hey look, I'm sorry, so I didn't think, but I just couldn't live with being a murderer, okay? Or is that just another weak thing about me?" Sokka turned to face her, opening his mouth to say something else, but was broken off as she grasped him and kissed him full on the lips.
For a moment he wasn't sure what to do, and then he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her back. It wasn't until they could hear the sounds of children giggling as they watched the two of them that they broke away, blushing and averting their eyes from each other.
After that they said their good byes for the day, and Sokka was really glad they had.
KYKYKY
"There was no time to say good bye the next day," Sokka said, looking at Katara and Aang.
"Zuko," Katara said.
"Elrich's message to the Fire Nation, that Aang was there at Kyoshi," the boy said with a nod. "I think he planned on letting them catch Aang and then ambush them and fight them off."
"But they wouldn't have been a match for Zuko," Katara said.
"Like I told you, Elrich was insane. He is insane. I doubt he though he could actually lose. Maybe he thought the people would rise up with him, and together they would push them back." He sighed and averted his gaze from them. "Its just kind of sad."
"Yeah, it really is," Aang said. They sat there for a long time, and then the boy smiled. "But we're kind of getting off track. It's Katara's turn now."
Sokka blinked and looked at his sister. "Yeah, so just who was it that put his lips on my little sister? Besides that lunatic Jet, I mean."
Katara blinked her eyes and gasped a little bit, blushing with a giggle. "Well…,"
Okay, so what does everyone think of Sokka's story? Once again I know it was shorter than Aang's but again, I did not want a P.O.V. fiction here. Besides that, if it was POV then we would have had a really short two chapters. I like it this way better.
Time for the rest of my reader reviews! I have 42 reviews now!
Mexman1993: You know I'm not sure if I've designated anyone the number one fan of Kiss and Tell, if I have, then I can't remember. So I guess Mexman1993 you will do! And if I did designate some to number one fan, then I here by proclaim for the first time ever for one of my fics, I have 2 number one fans! Hey, I'm the author I get to do that LOL, and Mexman1993 has earned the title by being the only one among you to email me about when the new chapters will come in. Now that's what I call DEVOTION! Of course my ultimate number one fan is still and always will be TheSheolessOne, as she discovered me first!
Anyway thanks for the compliments, and sorry I was so mean. I hope you like these new chapters just as well. When I write a story, I try and live and eat the world of that story, so I know it well. I 'interview' characters, and 'take pictures' of the world, so I can best give them to my fans. So your praise is much appreciated. It means I did my work right.
Purple MoonShine: Cool name! Yep as you can see, I used my own version of the Suki kiss! It'll be interesting to see who this white haired water bender woman from the north pole is, that he likes in the episode airing tomorrow! My gut kinda says she's bad news, but who knows. As you are now reading, I have indeed continued!
sokka is my homeboy: you are the second of my fans to switch names on me! Oh well. Yeah, 10 and 11 are a little young to have a real kiss, but since I'm 30 I kinda think that so is 12 and 13 and 14, and 15, and maybe even 16. 17 seems about right, but then again what do I KNOW! I'm 30 and I've NEVER been kissed by a girl before. And finally; YES, YES, YES ALREADY ITS SUKI! Damn dude, dudette I've never seen anybody that exciteable about a character! Maybe one day I might write a fiction called SUKI-NATION or something, with just her in it, with Sokka coming in at times! LOL.
Sabrina: Once more, thank you I guess you really must like this fic if you submit twice in the same chapter!
Anyway that's all there is for that! On to chapter 7!