Katara and Toph led the two men on the outer rim of the city, not wanting to draw any Dai Li to their presence. Katara knew spies would be out hunting for them, since Long Fe would feel the foreigners presence would be a threat to his control over Ba Sing Se. Katara had Toph keep an eye out for her back as she scoured the front as they quickly hurried through, passing poor peasants who paid no attention to them, despite how odd the men looked trailing behind the small girls.
"How well do you know your way around this city?" Col. Sheppard asked the girls.
"Toph knows it better then I do, she's been exploring the city with my brother posting flyers for our lost Bison." Katara explained.
"You guys own a bison?" Ronon asked, Katara was surprised, she didn't think he spoke.
"Yup. A big fat old flying bison, bigger than those shacks over there," Toph pointed to the old decaying shacks huddled in a corner off to the side of the street.
Ronon looked surprised at Sheppard, who shrugged.
"It's an alien planet, there should be some strange creatures, shouldn't there?" he said and Ronon shrugged.
"What, you're guys bison don't fly?" Toph asked, grinning slightly. Sheppard shook his head and the grin faded. "Weird!" she said, then she stopped dead, Ronon bumping into her. Toph turned and shoved them all into a dark alley, pressing them all against a wall.
The sound of clattering bowls cascading to the floor and poor peasants shrieking and fleeing was echoed loudly in the alley. Toph placed a finger to her lips to the others, so they wouldn't make a sound. She then scuffed her foot hard against the ground and brought her hands up, as if she were trying to raise the earth— and that's just what happened.
The ground rose to form a wall and there was a sound of light, agile feet beating across the ground past the wall. Everyone held their breathes, waiting for the sound to fade, then Toph stepped away from the wall, and turned to the dead end of the alley way. She walked up to the wall, pressed her hands against it, and let out a silent sound of triumph.
"Guys, a secret passage!" she said excitedly. They all gathered around her as she stared at the wall of bricks. Then she pressed a number of bricks in a certain sequence, and the wall crumbled. Toph let out a cry and shot backwards into Ronan, who took a quick step back.
"What?" Sheppard asked, alarmed. Toph pointed a shaking finger into the black abyss of the passage way.
"Toph, what did you sense?" Katara asked and Toph took a quick breath, and stared into the tunnel.
"It's gone." she blinked, perplexed.
"What was it?" Sheppard demanded. Toph looked towards him.
"A large figure. It had a human shape, but it was not human. It…it had the most horrible feeling I've ever experienced, so much hatred—" Toph shuddered. Sheppard and Ronan exchanged grim looks.
Katara gave Toph a quick hug. "You said it's gone now, we should be okay. We need to move on, the Dai Li will have heard you shout and the wall crumbling," Katara said and Toph nodded.
They entered into the dark abyss, and Toph resealed the entrance. "Oh, this isn't good, there're no lanterns," Katara whimpered.
"It's fine, I can still sense where we're going," Toph assured her.
"How about," Sheppard said, holding up his P90. "we try this," he flipped on his little flashlight on the top of the gun, and Katara jumped once it flickered on.
"What is that?" Katara said in wonder, blinking at the brightness of the flashlight.
"What's what?" Toph asked. Sheppard looked at her for a moment, then remembered she couldn't really tell the difference between dark and light.
"Electricity. Very handy, and nonflammable….mostly." Sheppard shrugged. Katara was still staring at it in awe when Toph said, annoyed, "Look, it must look very fascinating, but we do have a deadline,"
Katara snapped out of her reverie. "Right. Lead the way, Toph."
"Like I wasn't before," she mumbled.
They spent a good fifteen minutes what felt like wandering around a maze of passage ways, but Toph seemed to know exactly where she was going, so nobody questioned her.
Toph stopped at a fork, gritting her teeth in frustration. "You're right, Katara. They know we used the secret passage way and are trying to block us off." Toph said.
"Where are the fewest Dai Li?" Sheppard asked. Toph pointed down the right fork. "Great, we can take on a few Dai Li, can't we? Now we know what they're capable of." Sheppard said. Toph looked at him skeptically.
"Yeah, the fewest of the Dai Li are about twenty. More are coming in, now it's twenty-five." Toph said. Sheppard shrugged.
"You can take them can't you? About fifty or sixty were there at the square and you managed to free us." Ronan said. Toph blushed and Katara looked at her in shock.
"Are you blushing, Toph?" Katara asked in disbelief. Toph shot her a glare.
"Shut up, I am not, it's just the glow of the light." Toph snapped.
"No—" Katara began, but Toph cut her off.
"Yeah, I suppose we could take them on. You going to kill them?" Toph asked the two men. Sheppard looked at Ronan, his face impassive.
"We'll wound them at best. But if it comes down to it, and they try to hurt us or you, we will do what we have to." Sheppard said and Toph nodded.
"Lets hope we don't come to that," Katara said, her face plainly showing she thought that was a very bad idea.
"Lets go," Sheppard said and Toph took off down the right fork, surprisingly fast for such a tiny little girl.
Toph made it to the end of the right fork and turned to the rest of the group. "You ready? They'll begin attacking as soon as the wall comes down. I'll try to block them from taking your guns, but there's only so much I can do at once," Toph said and Ronan and Sheppard nodded.
"Ready, set, and—" Toph punched through the wall and Katara and Sheppard flinched as the light pierced through the hole. "GO!" Toph shouted and she and Ronan bolted out of the hole, leaving Katara and Sheppard in the dust.
Katara was choking on dust, and she could hardly see anything, but she felt Sheppard's hand clamped on her wrist, dragging her through the hole.
The Dai Li were already attempting to dispose of the guns, but Toph was quick. She pinned several Dai Li to the ground with a single jerk of her arm. Sheppard was shooting his gun, and Katara recoiled at the loud sharp noise of the gun and screamed. She looked at Sheppard to see who he was shooting at, but he didn't seem to be shooting at anybody.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked. Sheppard didn't answer. Katara spotted a Dai Li soldier sneaking up behind Sheppard. "John, down!" she shouted at him. His eyes flickered towards her, perplexed, but he did as ordered. She summoned the water from her pouch and shot ice daggers at the Dai Li, throwing him backwards onto the ground.
Sheppard looked at the fallen Dai Li, then to Katara and he grinned. "Thanks," he said and Katara smiled, blushing slightly.
"Hey! Enough with the chatter, you've got company right behind you!" Toph shouted, snapping them both to attention. John swiveled and punched a Dai Li right in the jaw.
Katara looked around and saw the remaining Dai Li had fled, and Katara expected it was the gun. Toph and Ronan were standing in the middle of unconscious bodies of the Dai Li, both looking pleased with themselves.
"We need to get a move on," Sheppard said and Toph nodded in agreement.
They headed towards the exit of the city, where they spotted Aang, Teyla, Sokka, and Rodney. Teyla and Aang were sitting against the wall, looking weary and annoyed, whereas Sokka and Rodney were bickering loudly.
"…didn't think to tell us that you need to earthbend to get out of here?" Rodney demanded.
"Rodney, we knew that from the beginning, we just forgot, alright? Slight mistake on our part," Teyla said wearily. Rodney scowled.
"We might be swarmed by Dai Li any minute, it's a miracle we haven't yet." Rodney went on, Sokka rolled his eyes.
"Katara!" Aang shouted in relief. He ran over to them, happy to get away from the bickering two.
"Thank goodness, you guys finally made it. Took you long enough," Rodney said shooting Sheppard an irritated look. Sheppard brushed him off.
"We got held up by Dai Li. You guys didn't have any problems getting here?" Sheppard asked Teyla. She shook her head.
"None. We disguised ourselves and acted like village peasants, the Dai Li seemed to believe it." she said and Sheppard nodded.
"Okay, Toph, I need you up here," Sheppard ordered and Toph marched up next to Sheppard. She looked at the large wall.
"Big wall. Very, big wall. About five or ten Dai Li are needed to open it at once. I am a small blind girl. No problem," Toph said and Sheppard looked down at her.
"You can open this, right?" Rodney asked. Toph shot him a glower.
"What, you don't think I can do it?" Toph demanded. Rodney opened his mouth, but Sheppard cut him off.
"Not now, Rodney. Go, Toph, now!" he demanded and Toph nodded an inhaled deeply. She dug her feet tight into the ground and gripped at the cracks in the wall. She then began to push as hard as she could, sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then the walls started to shake.
"Might wanna hurry up," Ronan muttered, aiming his gun behind Sheppard. They all turned around, except for Toph who began making an opening in the gate.
Dai Li were approaching fast— Katara and Aang readied themselves and John and Teyla raised their guns.
Katara whipped out a wave of water and it knocked five of the Dai Li off their feet, and Katara froze them. Aang used the same technique, but smashed them fifty feet away from the gate using airbending.
Sheppard shot at the Dai Li's feet, and they leapt away agilely,
"Why do you keep doing that?" Katara shrieked. Sheppard looked at her.
"To scare them away," he answered simply. Katara considered this. It made sense.
Toph let out a triumphant shout and Ronon yelled, "Go!" Katara and Aang disbanded their attempts to stop the Dai Li and took off after Rodney and Sokka while Toph struggled to keep the heavy gates open. John and Teyla hurried through next and Ronan backed up next to Toph.
"When I say go, release the gate." he instructed her. Toph flashed him a strained grin.
"Whatever you say, Muscles." she her voice taut. Ronan jumped through the crack, and watched for the Dai Li who were advancing closer. He waited a few more seconds, then he shouted "go" and leapt out of the way, waiting for Toph to jump after him.
He turned, expecting to see her right behind him, but she was still there. "Toph!" he growled. Toph jerked her head up, her black bangs dangling in her face, over her unseeing eyes. She let go of the gate, and it began to snap shut— Ronan was sure she would be crushed. He let out a shout and reached forward, when she slid down into the ground, the dirt sucking her in as though she were in quicksand.
The gate slammed shut and Toph was nowhere to be seen. "Ronan!" Sheppard called to him, and he turned. He beckoned him over and Ronan came reluctantly, glancing back at the spot where Toph had vanished.
They made it well out of the city boundaries, and Ronan stopped walking. Katara bumped into him along with Aang. Rodney and Sheppard stopped up ahead, looking back. Teyla was right behind Aang.
"Where is she?" Ronan demanded. John looked at him, perplexed.
"Who?"
"The girl," Ronan said furiously.
"Oh, Toph? She should be here by now…" Katara looked around. Ronan watched her, but then he felt a rumbling right behind him. He looked down at his feet and yelped. The ground was bursting right underneath him, he jumped out of the way.
Toph emerged, dirt coating her body, looking like a small dirt creature. Her eyes blinked open, revealing a pale blue. She grinned, her teeth stunningly white compared to the brownish black dirt. "Missed me?"
Ronan looked at her, shocked. Toph laughed. She spun around, the dirt flying off her body, she caught the dirt before it splattered everybody, and shot it back into the ground.
"Well, we appreciate your help, you guys can head back now." Rodney said to them.
"Now wait a minute, Rodney, they can't go back," Sheppard said and everyone looked at him questionably.
"Why not?" Sokka asked, looking perplexed.
"The Dai Li aren't going to let you back in, will they? They'll put you in jail for helping us escape," Sheppard said.
Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Toph all exchanged looks.
"Actually, he's right." Sokka said looking surprised he hadn't thought of that. "We can't go back." Katara looked fretful.
"But then—our stuff, that was all of our supplies!" Katara said.
"We can get you more later, for your services," Sheppard added when Rodney raised his eyebrows. "Come on, lets get back to the puddle-jumper." He said and began walking off. Rodney stuttered after him, Teyla and Ronan sighed and followed him.
"We're just going to leave? Just like that?" Toph asked. Sokka looked at her.
"What other option do we have? The Dai Li will not allow us back in," Sokka said. Aang looked back at the large city.
"We still haven't found Appa." he said quietly. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, maybe we'll find him on the way there." Katara reassured him. Aang stared up at her.
"Yeah. Lets go," Aang said and he followed the team up ahead.
It took a couple of minutes to find the mysterious flying device the foreign people claimed they had. Toph could've told them exactly where it was, but why show off? The others drudged behind Toph and the team.
Teyla looked around and stopped walking. "John, are you sure you parked it over here? I thought it was over there," Teyla pointed over by some large group of trees.
"No, I remember— it was right here." John said shaking his head.
Toph decided she should say something. "Pregnant lady was closer, it's over here." Toph headed off over by the trees, but more to the right. Sheppard looked at Teyla, bemused.
Teyla looked at Sheppard, then she followed Toph.
"She can't possibly know where it is," Rodney scoffed. Sheppard shrugged and followed Ronan and Teyla, and everyone else trailed behind them.
Toph was standing next to a large rectangular ship that looked more advanced then anything Katara or any of them had seen.
"What is that?" Aang asked, jumping over to the machine and examining it.
"Our little spaceship. This is how we'll get to the North Pole." John said.
"You guys built this thing?" Sokka asked, walking around the spaceship. It had a large window on the front where you could see inside.
"No, we didn't build it. The Ancients build it, we just are using it," Sheppard said.
Katara stopped examining the ship and looked at the four of them lined up. "You guys stole this ship?"
They all looked alarmed, except for Ronan, who merely just sat there. "No, we didn't. The Ancients haven't been around in a long time, we found their city and have been using it's resources to defeat the Wraith." Rodney explained.
Katara nodded, looking relieved. Aang hopped on top of the ship.
"This thing can fly? That's so — "
"Unbelievable," Sokka and Katara said in unison. Katara said it in breathless wonder, Sokka however said it skeptically. Katara turned to him.
"What, you don't think this thing can fly? Come on, Sokka, they're from another world!" Katara exclaimed. Sokka didn't say anything.
"Eh, he won't believe it until he sees it. Come on, are we going or what?" Toph asked impatiently. Katara was surprised, Toph usually disliked traveling by air, it made her uncomfortable if she couldn't sense anything around her.
Sheppard opened the ship and the back lowered down into a ramp. Rodney, Sheppard, and Teyla all walked in, Rodney sitting down with Sheppard at the control system. Ronan stayed outside by the entrance, watching them start the ship up.
Aang and his friends all poked their heads around to see inside, their eyes filled with wonder.
"This is amazing!" Katara breathed. Sheppard placed his hands on the control panel and it lit up a light blue. Katara, Sokka, and Aang's eyes practically bulged when they saw the light.
Rodney wasn't paying any attention to the teens, he was looking at the screen where readings were appearing in bright yellow in ancient.
"Uh-oh. Slight problem," Rodney began to adjust things on the control panel.
"What uh-oh?" Sheppard asked sharply. Rodney was looking perplexed, never a good sign.
"Wait a minute, these readings aren't making sense…" Rodney worked a little bit more, Sheppard waited anxiously. If they couldn't make it to the North Pole, this mission would have been a total waste, and they would lose a puddle jumper, not to mention take a huge journey back to the gate.
"McKay," Ronon called, standing outside of the jumper, near the rear. Rodney turned his head. "Over here," he beckoned them over with a jerk of his head.
Rodney and Sheppard got up to see what Ronon was pointing at, Teyla followed behind them.
Rodney stepped out of the ship. He looked down near the entry doors and groaned.
"This the problem?" Ronon asked. There was a giant hole in the side of the ship, as if someone had blasted it away.
"That was our main power source. I'm surprised it even turned on," Rodney examined the damage.
"But you can fix it," Sheppard said and Rodney stared at him.
"You think I'm some kind of superman, don't you?" he retorted. Sheppard rolled his eyes.
"Rodney, can you fix it or not?" Sheppard asked impatiently.
The teens and Ronon and Teyla looked at Rodney expectantly. Rodney sighed.
"If we were on a planet with actual power sources, then maybe. I might be able to reroute some of the little power that remains but it wouldn't get us to the gate, let alone the North Pole." He went back into the ship and began working.
"So we're not going?" Aang asked.
"We risked getting caught by the Dai Li for nothing?" Sokka exclaimed angrily. "Oh this is great, just great—"
"Sokka, calm down. I'm sure they can fix it somehow," Katara said, looking towards Sheppard. "How else would they get home?"
Sheppard sighed. "Next check-in with Atlantis we can radio in and ask for another puddle jumper, and maybe bring something to fix this." he said. Katara smiled at Sokka.
"See? We just need to be patient." Katara went outside and sat down by a large boulder and began playing around with the water stored in her water skin.
Toph groaned. "I hate waiting around." Toph jumped on top of the boulder and sat down, resting her chin on her fist.
"When's the next check in?" Sokka asked Sheppard.
"Three hours," he said, checking his watch. Toph and Sokka moaned loudly.
"We have to wait that long? What are we going to do?" Toph asked.
"Why don't we try and learn more about each other. You tell us about where you're from," Teyla suggested.
Katara nodded. "Okay. Well, Sokka and I are siblings, and we came from the Southern Water Tribe. Toph is from Ba Sing Se, and Aang is from the Air Temple."
"How did you all get in Ba Sing Se?" Sheppard asked.
"Well my brother and I were out canoeing—" Katara began.
"You're really going to tell them the whole story from the very beginning?" Sokka asked, an eyebrow raised. "It's a long story," he said, sitting down next to the ship.
"Well, we've got three hours, is that long enough?" Sheppard asked. Sokka sighed. Katara looked at him.
"Oh, fine. Go ahead," Sokka said.
"Alright. So anyway, we were out canoeing, and we got trapped in a fast current that almost made us crash into several or more large floating ice blocks. Our canoe was destroyed and we were stranded on an ice block. Sokka was being a jerk, and he made me angry. I accidentally cracked open a large iceberg behind me. We then discovered a dome shaped iceberg that had begun to glow.
"My brother and I watched as it burst open and a figure was standing at the top of the cracked iceberg. The figure fell, and slid down the slope. was a small boy, barely twelve years old. It was Aang." Katara paused and Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon all jerked their heads around at Aang who was standing next to the rock.
"He had been trapped in their for more then 100 years. He didn't tell us at first, but he was the Avatar." Katara said and they heard a snort from the front of the ship.
"Not possible," Rodney said. "No one could survive 100 years in an iceberg, they would die of hypothermia,"
"No single person, Dr. McKay. An ordinary person would die. But Aang is the Avatar," Katara said with a satisfied look, as if that explained everything.
"Please, explain what an Avatar is." Teyla asked kindly.
"The Avatar has the power to bend all elements: water, earth, fire, and air. They are basically the mediators between all Nations. Especially the Fire Nation," Sokka said darkly.
"What happened with the Fire Nation?" Sheppard asked curiously. It sounded like a bizarre movie.
"They believed themselves to be the dominant nation," Sokka said.
"Not necessarily everyone, Sokka. It's just Fire lord Sozan believed it, and made sure that mostly everyone he ruled over thought so too. He made it mandatory to teach it in schools, drill it into the children's heads." Katara explained.
"They began a war with basically the rest of the three nations. They attacked Ba Sing Se, but they were defeated. they couldn't get to the Water Tribes, except for the Southern tribe. It was only because we were already small in numbers to begin with. We broke off our sister tribe, because their traditions were ridiculous, and we wanted to be separated. But the Fire Nation slaughtered all of the Southern tribes water benders, to weaken us considerably." Sokka said. Katara nodded solemnly.
"Our mother was killed in the last raid of the Firebenders," Katara said quietly. Teyla looked up sharply.
"I am so sorry, Katara." she said and she hugged Katara, who was surprised. "The Wraith took my father, as well. It never seems fair, does it?" Teyla said and Katara shook her head.
"So… they couldn't get the earth benders, or the water benders, why not the water benders?" Sheppard asked. Teyla looked at him sharply, but he only shrugged.
Katara didn't seem to mind. "The Northern Water Tribe is very well fortified with a wall of ice surrounding the city. They also have many skilled water benders to fend off any enemy ships." Katara said, watching Sheppard's face calculate all of this information.
"What about the Air Nation?" Ronon asked. Katara jumped again, forgetting he did indeed know how to speak. She blushed at her jumpiness.
"Oh…well, they didn't exactly…" Katara stammered, glancing at Aang.
Aang closed his eyes. "They wiped out our whole temple. Every single man, woman, child, were murdered. The Fire Nation have no mercy."
Teyla let out a small gasp. "You're family was killed?" she asked.
"I was raised by monks. But they were like my family, so yes." Aang said.
"This is sounding a little familiar," Sheppard commented. Teyla looked at him questionably.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"The very same thing has happened on earth, although it was worse. There was a dictator that thought that he was part of the dominant race, and that everyone beneath that race had no right to live." Sheppard said.
Katara's eyes widened. "What happened?" she asked. Sheppard hesitated. He didn't want to scar any of these young kids minds with horrible images, so he decided to give a short, vague summary.
"He massacred billions of people and forced them out of their homes, had his followers beat them to death— it was horrible." Sheppard said, that was as far in detail as he would go.
Katara looked stricken. "Billions? How many people are on your planet?"
Sheppard smiled slightly. "A lot. So, this Avatar job, how does it work?"
"The Avatar is reincarnated into the next element after he or she dies. The last element was fire, so it was a fire bender. Now it is an Airbender. They are usually told when they turn sixteen, when they are of age, and begin training." Sokka said.
"Aang, however, was told when he was twelve because of the impending war. They were going to send him away to be trained, and Aang was scared." Katara said. Aang shifted uncomfortably.
"Fate of the world in a twelve-year-old hands, I think any twelve year old would freak out. How did you survive when they attacked?" Sheppard asked. Aang looked away, ashamed.
"I never got a chance to actually fight. I ran away before they could send me off away from my closest friend, Monk Giotsu. I didn't want to be the Avatar, I had no idea what I was doing, or how I was going to save the world. So I hopped on Appa and we left. But a storm had blown in, the winds were so bad, we crashed into the ocean. The only thing that saved me was the Avatar State." Aang said, and he turned away. "I left my people to die by the hands of the Fire Nation. I should have died along with them."
Sheppard looked at him thoroughly. "Hey, kid. If you had stayed there and died, what would the world do now? They would be without a leader, wouldn't they?"
"But the Avatar would've been reborn," Aang mumbled.
"Well you came back at least, that has to count for something," Sheppard reasoned.
"Yes, you could have not returned at all and still refused to be the Avatar, but you didn't. You have a good heart," Teyla said sincerely. Aang smiled slightly.
"What's the Avatar State?" Rodney asked from the front. Sheppard glanced back at him.
"You still listening Rodney? I thought you didn't believe any of this,"
"That doesn't mean I can't hear what they have to say, and yes, I do believe some of it. I just have no idea how it's possible," Rodney said in a colorless tone.
Sheppard shrugged. "So, what is it?"
"A state where the Avatar is most powerful, it calls upon all the past Avatars before them and they are able to do astounding things." Katara said.
Rodney stepped out of the ship. "Not much more I can do. I've given us shield power if the Dai Li do come back, I don't know how affective that would be."
"What I wanna know," Ronon said suddenly. "Is who would have that technology to blow up the side of the ship,"
Everyone looked at Ronon. Sheppard looked at the hole in the ship. "That," Sheppard said turning back around. "is a very good question, Ronon. Either someone on this planet is more advanced then others, or we have a stowaway."
"Lets track 'em down," Ronon said pulling out his gun. Sheppard studied Ronon.
"It could have been blasted by a fire bender," Sokka suggested. Sheppard looked at him.
"Are you sure?" he asked him. Sokka shrugged.
"Like you said, who else could've done it? Besides a stowaway," Sokka said. Sheppard looked at him thoughtfully.
"True. Okay so is it possible to track down this fire bender?" Sheppard asked. Ronon shrugged.
"There hasn't been a thing I couldn't track," Ronon said. Katara spoke up.
"Yes, that's good, but it might be Zuko." Katara said tentatively.
"And?" Ronon asked.
Katara swallowed.
"He's been after Aang ever since Aang got out of the ice. He was a former prince of the Fire Nation," Sokka explained.
"If we bring him in, what will we do with him?" Katara asked quickly.
"Shoot him," Ronon said simply. Katara's eyes widened in shock and Sheppard laughed uneasily.
"He's kidding," Sheppard said hastily, shooting Ronon a stern look. Ronon smirked a bit.
"We'll just question him, see if he really did damage our ship. If not, and if we know he's telling the truth" — Sokka snorted — "then we know that there was a stowaway." Sheppard said gently.
"Not a solid plan, but I'll go with it." Sokka said sitting up from his slump next to the rock.
"So Ronon, you going by yourself?" Toph asked, hopping off the rock. Ronon looked at her.
"That was my plan," Ronon said, cocking his head at the small blind girl. "Why?"
"You don't have to," she said eagerly. "I can sense the earth around me, so I basically have eyes everywhere on ground. I can tell if an attack is coming or if there is an ambush," there was a slight pleading in her voice. Ronon considered this.
"Take her, Ronon." Sheppard said and Ronon stared at Sheppard, then nodded.
"Come on," he jerked his head away towards the trees and he headed off, and Toph bounded after him.
"Stay in radio contact, Ronon." Sheppard shouted after him. Ronon gave a brief nod and he was gone.
"What are we going to do?" Aang asked, looking up at Sheppard. He was now sitting on top of the rock, where Toph had previously been occupying.
"Teach you how to shoot a gun," Sheppard replied and received five startled looks.
Katara exchanged curious looks with Aang. "But we don't need to learn. We can bend," she said with Aang nodding in agreement.
Sheppard turned to Sokka. His eyes widened.
"Really? You're — you're serious?" Sokka stammered. Sheppard nodded.
"It's more effective then that stick you have," Sheppard said, pointing to Sokka's boomerang. Sokka made a hurt face and cradled his boomerang.
"What! He didn't mean that, Boomerang, he's just a mean old man," Sokka muttered to the boomerang and Katara rolled her eyes. Aang slapped his hand to his head. Sheppard raised an eyebrow.
"Old?" he said and Katara coughed loudly.
"He's just being dorky. Sokka, just do it. But he's not learning this so he can just kill any fire bender, right?" Katara said sternly.
"Of course not, you really think we would give him a gun and just let him loose?" Rodney said, incredulous. Katara shrugged.
"You're alien. How am I supposed to know?" Katara asked.
"She's got a point," Sheppard said to Rodney. He only shook his head.
"Whatever, just get on with the lesson." Rodney said waving a hand. Sheppard nodded and beckoned Sokka to come follow him. Sokka reluctantly followed, glancing back at Aang and Katara.
Aang turned to Katara. "What if our bending can't help us?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"What if something happened and our bending wasn't of any use? Wouldn't it be better if we had another weapon to defend ourselves?" Aang said. Katara bit her lip, thinking hard.
"Yes," she said finally. "But I hate those things. They scare me, and they actually really wound you, not like what our bending does."
"We'll only use the guns when necessary, and we'll aim at the feet, like Colonel Sheppard does." Aang reasoned. Katara looked at Aang for a second, then nodded.
Sokka and Sheppard were already heading over away from the puddle jumper, over to some nearby trees for target practice — Aang and Katara quickly followed them.
Sheppard noticed them when they stood a couple of feet away, watching Sokka pick up the gun. "Hey — put that down, I haven't shown you how to hold it yet," Sheppard said sharply. Sokka quickly dropped the gun on the ground and jumping back a few steps.
"So you've decided to learn? Or you've just come to watch?" Sheppard asked.
"Both," Aang answered and Sheppard nodded with a satisfied look on his face.
"Colonel!" a voice cried from behind them, and Aang and Katara turned. Teyla was approaching with Rodney. Sheppard cocked his head at her.
"Yes, Teyla?"
"May I have a word?" Teyla asked sharply. Sheppard looked at Sokka, then the gun.
"Don't touch that until I say so," he told Sokka who nodded fervently. "That goes for both of you too," Sheppard pointed at Aang and Katara who nodded. Sheppard walked over to Teyla and said to Rodney as he passed, "Watch them, will you?"
Rodney looked indignant. "Babysitting duty? You've got to be joking — "
"Rodney!" Sheppard said.
"Fine," Rodney mumbled. He glowered at Aang, Katara, and Sokka who averted their eyes away from Rodney.
Teyla and John Sheppard got a good distance away from Rodney and the kids, when Teyla stopped and faced Sheppard.
"Something you wanted to say?" John asked her. Teyla nodded looking at him.
"Yes, Colonel. Teaching them how to shoot guns? They are only children!" Teyla exclaimed. John sighed.
"Listen, I'm only doing this for their safety — " John began but Teyla cut him off furiously.
"The bald boy — "
"Aang," John said automatically.
"Aang, then, is only twelve. The girl is fourteen, as for her brother I do not know — "
"Oh come on, Teyla! Sokka is about fifteen, I guessed, and Aang is technically twelve hundred years old!" John said. Teyla shot him a look.
"Okay, look, I'm doing this for their safety, I'm not kidding. What if what we're up against is not a fire bender, but a Wraith?" John asked. The fire in Teyla's eyes faltered, but for only a second.
"But they are the creation of the Ancients! They would be able to handle themselves, John!" Teyla said.
"And what if their experiment goes wrong? Don't tell me you're not expecting this one to go down the drain just like the others have — the replicators, all of those other bright ideas have just sunk trying to stop the Wraith. I'm doing this just in case there is the tiniest chance it doesn't work, now is that so wrong?" John demanded.
Teyla looked at him silently. "No," she said finally. "I am sorry. I do not know why I shouted like that. Many of our children have been challenged to shoot with a bow and arrow. I guess Aang and them look so innocent, it seemed wrong handing them a gun." Teyla said looking away, her voice subdued.
John put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I understand. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have even thought of it. But I like these kids, and I don't want some Wraith sucking the life out of them." He patted her shoulder and began to walk back to the group. "Come on," he said and Teyla nodded and followed him.
The others hadn't moved when they returned, but awkwardness was definitely in the air. "Everything alright?" Sokka asked and Teyla and Sheppard nodded.
"Are you teaching them or what?" Rodney demanded, obviously he didn't consider that they were handing guns to teens.
"Yes we are. Sokka, you ready?" Sheppard asked and Sokka nodded reluctantly.
Sheppard picked up the gun and began to show him how to hold it.
Toph and Ronon carefully treaded through the foliage, Ronon studying the ground as he walked. Toph was following diligently behind Ronon, making sure she would not be left behind.
"I'm not sensing anybody," she reported to him and he grunted. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Ronon sighed. "Not really." He said. Toph nodded.
"I see. Why not?" Toph persisted.
"We're tracking. We'll give away our cover if we talk." He said simply.
"I mean in general," Toph said and she could see Ronon was getting annoyed.
"Why does it matter?"
"Because I want to know."
"What if I don't want to tell you?"
"Fine with me. That won't stop me from asking questions all the way," Toph said and Ronon glowered at her.
"I don't talk because I don't have anything to say. Anything else?"
Toph shrugged. "Depends. Do you want to talk or would you rather track in silence?"
"Don't have much of a choice, do I? You don't seem like the kind of girl to restrain herself," Ronon said and Toph grinned.
"You're clever. You're trying to get me to back off, insult me. But I know what you're doing. You don't think I can? I'll prove you right," Toph promised and Ronon suppressed a groan.
"Why did you want to come anyway?" he asked.
"You think I want to stay back there twiddling my thumbs? I rather be on the move then standing still," Toph answered.
"Something we have in common," Ronon commented and Toph looked up at the large, muscular man.
"Really? I never would've guessed it. I thought you were more of a laid back kind of person, a little too chatty in my opinion." Toph said and she caught a grin creeping at the corners of Ronon's lips.
Ronon was about to turn when he heard a scream.
"Ronon!" Toph shrieked as she was jerked into the air by her ankle— a rope had snagged around her ankle and she was being pulled up into the trees.
"Toph!" Ronon shouted. He looked around anxiously, and he jumped to the nearest tree and began to climb. He was up a good fourteen feet when he saw a older teenage boy wrestling with Toph.
"Ronon!" Toph shrieked again, punching the boy in the nose. The boy let out a cry of pain, and dropped Toph. She screamed as she tumbled to the earth.
Ronon acted on instinct and sprung off the tree branch, snatching Toph into his arms.
He landed with a hard crash on his back, gasping for air as the wind was knocked out of him. Toph let out a tiny breath and attempted to roll out of Ronon's arms, but he wouldn't let go. It took a few minutes, and then Ronon took a large inhale and he let go of Toph.
Toph jumped up. "Muscles! You alright?"
Ronon grunted and nodded, suppressing a moan. "Whatever! You are not!" but Toph didn't have any time to see if he was okay, the boy was jumping down from branch to branch.
Toph bended the earth upwards and knocked him off course. He recovered quickly and bounded away from them, off towards the puddle jumper.
"Get up, Muscles, we have to move!" Toph jerked on Ronon's arm and he slowly got up. He was moving at once.
They were running as fast as they could, and Toph was surprised that Ronon wasn't slowing them down after that hard fall.
They caught up with him. He was sneaking up behind Sheppard, Teyla, Rodney, and Aang, Sokka and Katara who looked like they had just finished the gun lesson. The teen did something incredible — he blasted fire out of his hands, making Sheppard shout a warning and everyone ducked out of the way. The teenage boy knocked Katara out cold, and dragged her into the trees, vanishing from sight.
"Katara!" Aang shouted, scrambling after them. Ronon and Toph took off, Sokka quickly following them.
But every direction they looked, they both seemed to have just vanished out of thin air. Aang sunk to his knees looking shocked. Sokka punched a tree in anger and Toph kicked a stone which turned out to be a boulder-sized basketball. Nevertheless, it went soaring above their heads.
"How did he move so fast?" Aang asked wonderingly. Sheppard, Teyla, and Rodney caught up.
"Who was that? Why did he take Katara?" Sheppard demanded.
"It was Zuko, the ex-Fire Prince." Sokka said darkly. Sheppard looked at Sokka sharply.
"What does he want with her?" Rodney asked and Sokka shrugged.
"Obviously he wants to bait us," Toph spat. Everyone looked at her. "What? He knows what Katara means to us, especially to Aang."
Aang flushed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he said, his voice rising. Toph rolled her eyes.
"Oh you know what I mean…sort of. Anyway, Zuko wants to trap you, he knows you will come after her."
"What else are we supposed to do?" Sokka demanded angrily. "He's got my sister — have you forgotten who we're talking about?"
"That's the point, Sokka! We're talking about the ex-Fire Prince, he will do anything to get to Aang! We can't just take off and head into something we have no idea what we're heading into!" Toph exclaimed. "Jeez, they take someone valuable to us and we all lose our heads."
There was a long pause. Then, Sheppard spoke up.
"Toph's right, we need a plan. We need to find out where Zuko has taken her and find out how we're going to get her back without risking Aang getting caught." He said reasonably.
"Well we have an hour and a half before Atlantis checks in," Rodney said.
"We'll fill them in, then we can travel faster if the puddle jumper is up and running." Sheppard said. "Is that good for now?" he asked Sokka and Aang. They nodded mutely, Sokka looking murderous and Aang looking sullen.
"What do we do now?" Aang asked, his voice soft.
"Now," Sheppard said, turning back to the shooting area. "we wait. Sokka, go get your gun, I want ten perfect shots in a row."
Sokka opened his mouth in protest.
"Go," Sheppard said forcefully and Sokka trudged off to get a gun.