Chapter 6: Enter the Foreshadowing
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?"-
Edgar Allan Poe
Strange images can come to someone during their unconscious sleep. Sokka was now encountering this as he slept on the floor of the mysterious sanctuary. He was able to receive visions that may save the world, or bring it closer to destruction. Of course, dreams often become entwined with these foresights, making the task of interpreting their meanings dramatically difficult. Sokka needed to understand the information he was receiving, even though reality blended in with fantasy. The fate of the world relied on the unconscious mind of a boy…
Sokka stood on a long and winding road, which was entirely surrounded by grass. Fields and fields of grass.
"What the hell am I doing here!? I have to save Toph!" Sokka screamed. His voice echoed throughout the land. He ran forward, but he seemed to reach nowhere. Suddenly, a roaring boom shot across the sky. Sokka looked up and gasped.
Some sort of….. metal bird was flying through the air. Flames streamed out from behind the creature. Sokka was amazed and frightened at the same time. He had never seen anything like it before. As the figure flew away, Sokka took notice of large structures in the distance. Smoke rose above whatever they were.
Upon closer inspection, the water-tribe warrior discovered that these structures were really part of a large city. They were destroyed buildings that looked all too familiar. What Sokka was standing on were the ruins of Ba Sing Se.
"Holy crap. Did….did those zombies do this?" He asked himself. His heart began to ache, and he screamed out Toph's name. No response came. Instead, a building nearby crumbled down. A warm gust of wind blew rubble into Sokka's eyes, but he didn't notice. The sky had turned a bleak red, and every building in the whole city was completely decimated. It was amazing that some remained standing.
Sokka swore that he could hear Toph laughing amidst the rubble, but he couldn't be sure. A glimpse of sunlight gleamed down, and the boy noticed something sparkling in the distance. He rushed over to it, and picked up a peculiar object: an axe.
Sure, axes weren't strange in any way, but this weapon was emitting some strange energy. Sokka felt the familiar pain in his stomach as he held it. He thought once again of the girl in his dreams. Her face was still clouded.
A whistling sounded in Sokka's ear, and he saw someone standing in the distance. He ran towards them…….
Suddenly, Sokka was lying on the edge of a giant blimp. His hand grasped onto a much smaller and more delicate hand. He had held onto it too much times before to not know who it belonged to.
It belonged to his love, Toph.
She was dangling off of the blimp, and if it wasn't for his hand, she would've already fallen to her death.
People in guard outfits surrounded them. Sensing danger, something in his mind told him to reach for his back. Soon enough, he found a boomerang he never remembered having. He threw it with his free hand, but nothing major happened. They were dead meat.
He spoke to Toph, but he could not hear what either of them was saying. Just as Toph's hand was about to let go, another blimp flew their way. Sokka looked at the figure on top of the blimp. Closer, closer, closer….
Sokka sat up in a snow-covered land. Snowflakes fell at a peaceful pace, and he thought about Toph once more. Where did she go?
A large rumble shook the ground Sokka stood on. He looked up and saw snow rushing down a mountain. He was caught in the middle of an avalanche. He tried to run, but nothing happened. He looked at his legs and screamed.
Sokka's legs were terribly fractured. They all were twisted beyond repair. Sokka felt a sickening feeling rise in his stomach. Somehow, he had broken his legs, and now he was going to die. After a minute, though, he found that the avalanche had completely avoided him. Screams came from under the snow. It seemed that other people weren't so lucky.
Sokka looked around and glimpsed a round object with a tattoo of an arrow. It had to be Aang! He looked around some more and discovered hair that looked suspiciously like Ty Lee's and Smellerbee's.
Sokka looked at his doomed friends and started laughing maniacally. He lost all sense of awareness and sanity. He reached down to his forever crippled legs and twisted them some more. Cracks sounded in his ears, but he didn't care. Eventually, the legs were ripped from his body. Crawling on his arms, Sokka walked over to where Aang was trapped. He pulled the bald monk out.
"Thanks Sokka. Hey, what's wrong with…… WHERE ARE YOUR LEGS?" Aang shouted. Sokka grinned insanely and bit the boys head. Aang screamed as blood trickled downward. No matter what, Sokka kept on biting deeper and harder. The boy's skull cracked, and the screaming disappeared. The water-tribe boy looked at the dead monk and slowly lowered his face to the cracked head. This was going to be a mighty fine dinner. He started licking up the blood…
Sokka screamed as he awoke in a dark room. He was sweating profusely. What was wrong with him? Did he really dream about cracking Aang's skull with his teeth?
The boy stood up, feeling woozy. He slowly walked towards the exit. Walking up some stairs, he found himself on a boat. Several people were talking to a figure controlling the ship. Sokka walked forward, broke through the crowd, and spotted a strange looking individual.
One of their eyes was scarred, possibly from a terrible burn. Sokka would've assumed it was Zuko, except for one thing: he wore Toph's hair bun. For some reason, the water-tribe boy became filled with rage and jealousy towards this being. Without even saying a word to this figure, he came to the conclusion that he hated whatever it was. Still, he needed to ask it one thing.
"Uh, excuse me. Do you have any idea where I am?" Sokka asked. The figure looked at him and spoke in a voice that reminded him of two of his friends.
"You are onboard the grand ship of Toko/Zoph! I am Captain Zoph! Today is our finest hour. We will destroy every ship that stands in our way. The hour of canonicity is nigh!" the being said.
A bunch of giggling girls and strange-looking boys cheered as they all raised their swords in the air. Sokka walked away slowly and looked out to the sea. Numerous other boats were moving along at a steady pace. All of them had cannons, and each had a flag with a word on it.
Closest to the Toko boat was one with the name Kataang. Across the ocean, Sokka glimpsed boats with the names Zutara and Taang. It was then that he glimpsed a boat with the name Tokka. His heart fluttered, although he was unsure why.
He snapped out of his trance as cannon balls bombarded the Tokka ship. A boat, with the name Sukka, had fired at it. Zoph, the captain of the Toko boat, immediately sprang into action.
"One ship has launched an assault! Get ready, crew! Anyone may lay fire on us at any moment now…"
Another cannon ball shot, but not at the Toko ship. Kataang had scored a direct hit on Zutara. The crew abandoned the sinking ship and took control of the life boats. They rowed towards the Kataang ship.
"Welcome to Canon. You're about to begin the greatest moment of your life. The Kataang shippers have lost hundreds of tanks and war balloons. Kataang's brutalized supporters are now advancing towards Canonicity over mountains of their own dead bodies. Our Zutarian party, our nation, our country, has given us the task not to let the enemy reach the path to becoming canon and to defend all of the Fanfiction world. Forward against the enemy!" shouted a figure that strangely looked like a cross between Katara and Zuko. Sokka cringed upon seeing them. It was too scary to think about…
The Kataang ship shot cannons and machine gun bullets at the Zutara life boat. The boat shook, but was generally unharmed.
"Up into the unremitting battle, comrades, for canonicity; for our great country!" Zutara shouted. More bullets sprayed over the boat, and two supporters died.
"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted two shippers dressed up like Katara. They jumped out of the boat and started to swim away.
"Not one step back! Cowards and traitors will be shot!" Zutara shouted as they shot the two fleeing shippers.
"Do not count days, do not count miles, count only the number of Kataangers you have killed. Kill the Kataangers - this is your mother's prayer. Kill the Kataangers – this is the cry of your Zutarian earth. Do not waver! Do not let up! Kill! Death to the Kataang invader!" Zutara shouted. The boat finally reached the Kataang ship, and they began the assault.
Sokka watched as Kataang shippers and Zutara shippers began to fight. Suddenly, the boat rocked as a cannon ball struck the side of the ship. Behind the Toko ship, another ship had arrived. Its army used large ropes to swing onto the Toko boat.
"THIS…IS…..MAIKO!" shouted the leader of the bunch. They looked like a mixture of Zuko and Mai. How odd…
Sokka fled below deck as Maiko shippers assaulted Toko shippers. It didn't take long for the ship to catch on fire. The water-tribe boy's heart sank as the flames reached the boiler room. A large explosion was imminent…
"Our ship has sailed!" laughed Maiko as they fled back to their own boat. Sokka gulped as the flames burned closer to the boiler. Closer, closer, closer…
Sokka gasped as he awoke in a dark house. Rain was pouring down outside. Lightning flashed, and a somewhat-quiet rumble loomed overhead.
"Hey, guys. He's awake!" called a familiar voice. Sokka turned around and saw Aang grinning creepily. His head did not get Sokka hungry, much to his relief.
"How… how did I get here?" Sokka asked.
"Well, some familiar guy carried you in here. You were out cold; he said a Blue Spirit attacked you. Anyways, he dropped you off. Upon seeing Zuko, though, he left." Aang explained.
"Wait… Zuko came back?"
"Yeah. He brought back some machine. How did you guys get separated?"
"That's not important now. How's Toph doing?"
"Oh, she's actually…. doing pretty fine. The machine seemed to disintegrate the bullet wounds. She's sleeping right now…" At that moment, Zuko walked into the room. He gasped when he saw Sokka, and he ran over as quickly as he could.
"Oh my God! You're awake! I thought we lost you." Zuko said with relief.
"Yeah, so did I…. Hey, Zuko, where's that elf who said he would help us?"
"Uh, well, he stayed behind. He complained that he felt too hot. I found that strange, considering it's the first of January and it's pouring outside. But yeah, he told me to go on as he cooled down…"
A yawn was heard in the other room, and Katara shrieked with joy. Zuko ran in as fast as possible, and Sokka followed. Toph had woken up, and she moved her head around the room. With her feet promptly planted on the ground, she looked all over.
"Are you feeling okay?" Zuko asked gently. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead. Toph looked up at him and….blushed.
"Yeah….. now that you're here." She said softly. She placed her right hand on Zuko's face and……leaned into a kiss. Zuko looked surprised for the moment, but he soon closed his eyes and leaned in as well. Sokka's heart sank deeper than it ever had before. Zuko was kissing the love of his life. He slowly reached down to his belt, and grabbed, amazingly, the axe he had found in a previous dream.
Not thinking straight, Sokka prepared to kill Zuko. He dashed forward and swung. He missed Zuko, but found another target. Ty Lee fell to the ground; or at least, her body did. Her head flew across the room and out a window Sokka never noticed before. No one seemed to see the event.
Zuko and Toph leaned out of the kiss.
"Zuko, I love you." She said affectionately. Zuko blushed, and responded by kissing her more firmly than before.
"Aren't they cute?" Smellerbee asked while nudging Katara. She smiled, but looked away when Aang glanced at her.
"What's going on?" Sokka asked. He couldn't move. He was seemingly chained to the ground. An hour passed quickly, and everyone left Toph and Zuko, her new love, alone. They wrapped their arms around each other and cuddled together. Sokka saw Toph's shirt fly out from under the blankets, and he screamed out loud.
"TOPH! NO!" he cried. No matter what he did, though, they didn't hear him. They were locked in their own little world now, and Sokka was stuck right in front of the action. Zuko kissed Toph's neck, who shivered and held the boy closer. His head moved lower…
"PLEASE TOPH! I LOVE YOU!" Sokka shouted. But it was no use.
"How do you like it?" asked a figure wearing a black jumpsuit. Sokka found the ability to move his head, and he turned it as far as it could go.
"Who are you?" Sokka gasped. Tears streamed down his eyes.
"I thought you liked me!?" cried the figure in a mocking voice. It had to be a girl. "If you want to know, read the letter Katara got from that useless dead guy."
"How will that help?" Sokka asked. The figure, who was incredibly familiar, ran towards Sokka….
"Tuesday...January 1st.
Ba Sing Se High School
01337.
Dear Mr. Bumi...We accept
the fact that we had to sacrifice a
whole holiday in detention for
whatever it was that we did wrong.
What we did WAS wrong. But we think
you're crazy to make us write this
essay telling you who we think we
are; what do you care? You see us
as you want to see us...in the
simplest terms and the most
convenient definitions. You see us
as a warrior, an emo kid, a blind bandit, a princess and a fool.
Correct? That's the way we saw each
other at seven o'clock this morning.
We were brainwashed…"
Sokka awoke in a classroom comprised of four other people: Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Aang. They were moping around the desks, doing nothing but being lazy.
Sokka noticed that he had written something on a piece of paper. He read a part highlighted in bold:
Meanwhile, Sokka was in his bedroom, contemplating over which girl he should date. He figured that Azula would be too rough, and Katara would be too nagging. He thought about every girl in the house; everyone except Toph. When he finally came to a decision, he jumped off the bed and ran out the door, colliding into Suki.
"Watch where you're going!" yelled Suki.
"I thought you liked me!?" cried Sokka.
"Why the hell would I like you?"
Sokka tried to come up with a good answer, but remembered that this was an alternate universe. He was lucky that he knew Suki, for that matter.
That event had happened right before Santa Claus had attacked and murdered his friends. He turned through all of the pages and found a complete description of everything that had happened to him in the last few days; from the Santa Claus invasion to the point where he was assaulted by a Blue Spirit. Did he really make up all of those events? Had he really been…. dreaming of acting out those plots he had written down?
Maybe he really was just a high school student...
He glanced at Toph, who sat in back of him. She picked her nose, sniffed it, and ate it. He still had feelings for her. Maybe he had written the story to display his true feelings for Toph.
He wanted to prove that he would do anything for her.
"Hi, Toph." He said with a blush. The blind girl looked up and smirked.
"Hey, snoozles. You looking for another beating?" she laughed.
"Ha ha… what?" Sokka asked out loud. Toph sprang forward and punched him out of his chair. He launched through the wall and flew over an empty football stadium. Meanwhile, on that same stadium, Iroh walked down the field. Back in Season 2 days, everyone assumed that Iroh would die by the end of the series. But they were all wrong. He had survived, and he even got his tea shop back. He was the happiest man in the world…
Iroh, walking along, thrusts his arm into the air in a silent cheer, and freezes dramatically.
Sokka screamed as he woke up in a dimly lit room. So, that had been just another dream as well. He turned around and nearly jumped when he saw Toph's sleeping face in front of his. He glanced around the room. They were in a nice looking house, with green carpeting and blue-painted walls.
He looked back at Toph and blushed. Both of them were completely naked. Toph's arm wrapped around his waist softly but firmly. What day was it? Where was he?
Sokka didn't know what to think. He worried about his past "dreams," but he couldn't say that he disapproved of lying next to a naked Toph. Eventually, he snuggled back against her, wrapping both his arms around her form. He kissed her cheek, and Toph smiled and brushed closer to him. Sokka blushed, but he didn't mind.
An hour later, Sokka woke up alone. He heard something boiling in the next room. He found a towel, wrapped it around his waist, and left the bedroom. In the kitchen, he saw Toph, still naked, cooking breakfast. She turned around and smiled warmly.
"Hey, snoozles. I hope you're hungry. I'm cooking Turtle-duck eggs today."
"Toph….. you're……..naked…" Sokka said, embarrassed. Though he felt uncomfortable looking at her "features," he had to admit that she had a beautiful body.
"Yeah, I am. But I hoped you wouldn't mind. Besides, we have nowhere to go for the next two hours. Aang and Katara are expecting us at the ceremony for the new Earth King. Anyways…" Toph paused as she blushed at Sokka, "I thought that, maybe, we could have a 'quickie' in the bath house. I rented a private booth."
Sokka's face turned a deep crimson. "I don't mind, Toph. And, yeah, I would love to have a……. "quickie" with… you."
Toph walked closer. "That's good, Sokka. I would love to, as well." She whispered seductively. She smacked his behind, and he blushed even harder. When the food was ready, they both sat down at the breakfast table. It was hard to concentrate on the food, though, as Toph repeatedly kissed Sokka's neck.
The water-tribe boy thought of all the past events. If this was reality, well……… he could live with it. In fact, he prayed that this was not fiction.
After breakfast, Toph and Sokka put on brief layers of clothes, as they wouldn't need them for too long. The couple walked, hand in hand, down to the bathhouse. On the way, though, a familiar person blocked their path.
"Toph! What are you doing with this imbecile! I thought what we had was special!" Zuko cried. Toph's face grew serious.
"I gave you a chance, Zuko, but you failed. You never really cared for me. You always looked at and dreamed about that other girl."
"I gave you my virginity!"
"All we did that night was play chess while watching 'Gone With the Wind!'"
"But we did that together!"
"I don't love you! Sokka has always been there for me, but you only wanted to use me to get her! I guess you liked her makeup more than you liked me…"
"That's not true. I've only ever loved you!" Zuko slowly walked closer to Toph.
"Get away, Zuko. If you don't, Sokka's gonna' hurt you."
"I'd like to see him try..." Zuko lunged for Sokka, knocking him to the ground. Toph tried to stop them, but Zuko unknowingly kicked her to the ground. The enraged boy started choking Sokka, who was helpless. Zuko finally let go, but he started punching the water-tribe boy's head. Blood squirted out, but Sokka felt no pain. His eyes opened wide.
He felt no pain. As far as Sokka could remember, he always felt pain whenever he got something as small as a little prick on his finger. Now, as his head was pummeled in, nothing hurt. This was all a dream…
Eventually, Zuko was pulled away by guards who happened to be walking down the street. Toph rushed to Sokka, tears running down her face.
"Sokka! Everything's going to be okay!" She cried. Sokka smiled. She was lying. This was all a dream. He would now wake up in the real world, and he would be no closer to winning her over. He still had to save her life, and even then, who's to say she would love him the way he loved her. Only then would everything be okay...
"Toph, I want you to know that I love you with all of my heart, but I also want you to know that this is a dream. We aren't really together."
"I know, but why can't we? Why does it have to be a dream? When we wake up, why can't we just…. declare our love? It's something I wanted to do for a long time…"
Suddenly, something struck Sokka. Toph didn't seem like a mere dream here. She seemed……like a real person. It was as if…..he was the dream. But that was impossible. He knew for a fact that he was a real human being. Sokka thought about Toph in the real world, who was, hopefully, still alive. What if she was sharing this dream with him? What if Dream Toph was actually…. Toph? Confusing himself, he did the only thing he could.
He reached as far as he could and kissed her. She immediately leaned into the kiss, and the world suddenly got blurry. Sokka fell deeper into darkness.
Falling, falling……into darkness…..
"So, sir, what do you plan to do now?" asked the figure in the black jumpsuit.
"Well, let's allow our monsters to do more damage. We need to make more of a statement; get more people aware of these happenings. Thanks to the zombies, I managed to find the weapons vault. In about an hour, we shall depart from this city and release this newly produced A-bomb. This city will crumble, and the whole world will know of my power!"
"Excellent. Well, I'll see you then. I have to tie up some loose ends with my "friends."
"Very well, then…."
Sokka woke up in a cold storage room. A boy, the same one who had rescued him, watched from overhead. The water-tribe boy suddenly felt inclined to make a wish. Something told him that it would come true. In his mind, he saw only Toph. He made the only wish he could...
Sokka didn't need to worry about dreams anymore, but he still needed to worry about nightmares. He was back in the real world, but the terror was far from over…