Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar or Korra characters created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon. All OCs, however, are all mine.

Chapter VIII

Sokka, Toph, and Leo woke up in their hotel room, but there was no sign of Aang or Katara. They were having a hard time remembering the events that unfolded the night before. They decided to walk back to the Omashu Chapter of the Order of the White Lotus. These very circumstances reminded Leo of a movie back on Terra. Toph just hoped she hadn't slept with Sokka again, and Sokka hoped that they would find Katara and Aang at the chapter building.

The three managed to find their way back to the White Lotus building. The group was met by the same man they met on the roof the night before, Tsao Pong. He looked both concerned and relieved to see them, "Oh Spirits, where have you been all night?"

"Uh… um, well, it's a long story," was all Sokka could come up with. "Maybe one my sister and her boyfriend can fill you in on?" Sokka hopefully asked.

"Are they with you?" Pong asked.

"No. Why? Are they not here?" Sokka questioned, growing concerned and scared.

"No, they're not. We thought you were all together the whole night," Pong told them.

"Oh fuckin' spirits, this cannot be happening right now," Sokka groaned under his breath, his paranoia growing with each second. His breathing increased as he gripped his head and rubbed his neck in anxiety. He paced around mumbling to himself as Toph stepped up and asked Pong, "Do you have any idea where they might be, or where they went? When was the last time you saw them?"

Pong scratched his chin in thought, "The last I saw them was when the five of you were returning your satomobile. There were lots of supplies in both the trunk and on the roof. Honestly, I could tell that you were a bit… off."

"What do you mean 'off'?" Leo asked.

"Well, you were all acting a little strange. It seemed as if you were either drunk or high, which could get you in serious trouble with the Order of the White Lotus," Pong described to them, ending with a warning.

Sokka was already a nervous wreck, and now he was becoming an even bigger one. He began to pace faster and his breathing became more rapid. Sokka's heartbeat was getting annoying to both Toph and Leo. Toph stomped her foot and he sunk into the ground up to his knees, bringing him to a halt.

"Thank you," Leo extended his gratitude to the earthbender with a smile on his face.

"You're welcome," Toph accepted, a smile on her face as well.

Leo turned back to Pong to explain, "Now sir, if the drugs were given to them without their knowledge, they can't possibly be held accountable for something like that, right?"

"Hm, I suppose not," Pong seemed to see Leo's logic, "But the disappearance of an Air Nomad and a White Lotus apprentice does merit concern."

"Listen, you don't have to worry about that, okay? Because wherever they are, we'll find them," Leo assured him, returning to the topic at hand. "Now after we arrived here last night with the car, what did you see happen next?"

"Well, you were all talking about getting drinks at some fancy bar."

"Cool, did we happen to mention which bar we were going to?" Toph took a turn with the questions.

"I think it was… um…" Pong struggled trying to remember, then he snapped his fingers, "Ah, the Misty Palms Oasis."

"WHAT? That's on the edge of the Si Wong desert. How did we make it there and back to Omashu in one night?" Sokka questioned loudly from his spot.

"No, that's a bar here in the city. It was named after the very place Avatar Yangchen visited before she and her friends got stranded in the desert," Pong explained to them, giving Sokka some much needed relief.

"Great. Could you tell us where that is, exactly?" Toph asked.

"Of course. It's downtown, the fourth place to the right on Bumi Boulevard. Just take the central street and turn left," Pong directed them.

"Thank you, sir" Leo extended.

"But before you go," Pong stopped them before they left, "If you three are going to look for them on your own, I must notify you that it's protocol that if the missing persons are not found within forty eight hours, the Order is required to conduct an official search."

"Okay, thank you very much. Like I said, don't worry, we'll find them in no time," Leo turned and walked off into the city. Toph stomped her foot again and Sokka went flying out of the hole, landing on his face with his feet above his head. She yanked him to his feet and caught up with Leo.

They made their way back downtown and found the 'Misty Palms Oasis'. The bartender told them that after a few drinks, they'd gone to a tattoo parlor a little farther down the street. The tattoo artist was giving some big guy a sleeve with waves as he told the three, "All I know is that there were five of you, some of you wanted tattoos, some wanted piercings, and some wanted both."

"I'm just curious: what all did we get?" Toph asked.

"Well, let me think," the artist scratched his head, then his eyes popped, "Oh yeah, the airhead got a yang symbol on his right shoulder and a Water Tribe insignia over his heart. His hot girlfriend got a yin symbol on her left shoulder, an air nomad insignia in the middle her upper back; sensual, but not too risqué, and a belly button piercing. Now this girl was smoking hot, I mean down right gorgeous. That airbender guy is a very lucky dude to be dating a beauty like that. And oh yeah, I forgot; she's your sister," he snapped his fingers and pointed to Sokka, who just grunted in response, scowl on his face.

The tattoo artist continued, starting with Sokka, "You didn't get any tatts, but you did, for some weird reason, want your nips pierced. We've done it for guys before, but I just still think it's odd. Now a chick with pierced tits, that's sexy," Toph cleared her throat and he carried on, "Anyway, the small earthbender got herself a nose ring, no tatts either. The big guy just got his ears pierced, but a very interesting tattoo: a dragon with its head on his chest, going over the right shoulder, and ending with the tail along the upper back."

"Well now I want a tattoo," Toph blurted.

"Did we say anything about where we were going before we left?" Sokka asked.

"Actually, yeah. You guys said you were going to a temple," the artist said, then asked, "Do you seriously not remember any of this?"

"Nope, nothing. I guess we got a little more messed up later on," Leo said.

"Can we please focus?" Sokka redirected them, "Why would we go to a temple?"

"The airbender got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. Gave her an old-fashioned betrothal necklace. She said yes and June over there," he pointed to another artist working on a girl's lower back, who waved in response, "told them about the temple just down the street. Where are those two, anyway? Having some time alone, perhaps? Ya know, sealing the deal?"

Sokka went over to the waiting area and hunched over, hands covering his face, quietly muttering to himself. At this point, he was on the edge of freaking out.

"Okay, we get the idea. Thank you very much," Leo extended gratitude and left. Toph followed, dragging Sokka out of his seat and out the door.

They found the temple just around the corner. It was rather plain and simple; nothing too extravagant, but definitive and to the point. The owner of the place caught sight of them in the foyer and gave a very warm welcome, "Hey, hey, hey. It's good to see you guys again. Come here," he hugged each person at a time, each just standing there in confusion, "What's the matter, y'all? No love for Chong? You don't hug me?" disappointed when no one hugged him back.

"Uuuum… hello," Sokka uttered, still struck with confusion. Toph just waved awkwardly.

"Uh- Hello, Chong. It's good to see you, too… I guess. But listen, we're in a bit of a pickle and we're having trouble remembering, so maybe you can help us with that?" Leo began, trying to get straight to business.

"Sure, man. Had too much drink at the reception?" Chong laughed as he nudge Leo with his elbow.

"Yeah, I guess so," that sounded about right to Leo as he nodded.

"Haha, you guys already seemed a bit tipsy when you came in," Chong continued.

Sokka couldn't take it anymore and cut in, "Alright, we get it: we were all drunk. But right now, we're looking for my sister and her boyfriend. So please tell us what happened here last night."

"Yeah, we heard from a tattoo parlor that Twinkle Toes popped the question to Sugarqueen and they came here for their wedding. Did they get married last night? And for the sake of this guy's sanity," she pointed to Sokka, "please say no."

"Okay. No," Chong answered plainly.

But after a moment of awkward silence, Sokka leaned in and nervously asked, "But… did they really?"

"Oh yeah, sure did," Chong said honestly this time. Sokka heaved over and gripped his head as if he were afraid it might fall off. Toph rubbed his back in an effort to calm him. Leo couldn't help but laugh his head off at Sokka's reaction.

"Woah, man, are you okay? You seemed so happy about this last night and now you're freaking out about it? What's the problem?" Chong asked in concern.

"Overprotective brother instincts. Plus the two lovebirds are kinda missing, so he's more worried than the rest of us," Toph explained.

"Why don't you just call the cops?" the woman fixing an arrangement of flowers in the sanctuary cut in.

"Oh yeah. Thanks, Lily," Chong called back to her.

Toph sighed and said, "One: the cops can't look for any missing persons unless they've been missing for forty eight hours, and two: we wanna keep this on the down low. Don't wanna draw any attention to ourselves."

"Hm. Well, okay. Good luck," Chong wished them luck then turned to Sokka, "Do you at least wanna see the photos from last night?"

"Sure. But first, can you tell us if anything happened during the reception, or after?" Leo asked, hoping for some new bits of information.

"Oh yeah, Sokka here made a wonderful speech and when everyone started dancing, he and the little earthbender started kissing," Chong told them.

"WHAT?!" Sokka and Toph exclaimed in unison. Leo once again burst into a fit of laughter at their combined reaction.

"Yeah, and then you guys announced that you were dating," Chong added again.

At that point, Sokka and Toph didn't want to know any more than that. Chong gave them a complete album filled with photographs, and they thanked him for his help as they went on their way. On their way out, Toph gave Sokka a hard jab to the shoulder, and it wasn't one of her affectionate ones; this one was angry and threatening. She then growled, "Just so we're clear, we are not dating."

Sokka rubbed his shoulder, "Agreed."

"Hey, guys," they heard from a ways off behind them. The three turned around and Sokka saw none other than Prince Wu of the Earth Kingdom. He came right up to them and brought them all into one big awkward group hug. Toph just narrowed her eyes and delivered a weak jab to Wu's stomach. Wu stepped back and heeled over, grasping his gut, coughing and trying to regain his breath, "What the- okay, I remember now: boundaries. Sorry."

"I'm guessing you two know this guy?" Leo asked Sokka and Toph.

"Not really. No," Sokka answered bluntly.

"What are you guys talking about? We hung out a ton last night; had a big-ass party," Wu told them as he recovered his breath, "Don't you remember?"

"No, we don't. Why would we say otherwise?" Toph firmly expressed.

"Oh, let me guess: you guys probably drank more than you should, right?" Wu realized.

"Obviously," Sokka said.

"Wow, this is awesome. You guys don't even remember the crazy shit that went down last night, do you?" Wu kept on in astonishment.

"I think that's been made abundantly clear. So please just tell us what happened last night," Leo strongly insisted, growing rather impatient.

Wu took them to an outdoor café and explained everything he could.