A/N: To apologize, would seem an insult for the delay in this update. I'll say that I had a lot of job-related issues to deal with and keep you no longer.

Foreshadowing Nigh

Before anyone could say "Avatar State", Aang had already started diving through the cloud after his earthbending master.

'Just a little bit closer.' Aang thought determinedly; one hand reaching to grab Toph's fluttering clothing, the other tightly gripping his staff and prepared to release his glider the instant he got a good grip.

Toph faintly felt four thin fingers grab her shirt before they shifted for a tighter grip on her belt. Though the wind seemed to be pushing her up gently to slow her fall, further details were lost along with her consciousness.

Aang extended the glider and managed to even the angle to a safer degree with the help of a little airbending power, of course. Katara breathed a sigh of relief as she guided Appa down after them, laying all six of his feet on the ground mere moments after Aang laid Toph on the ground. Katara jumped down from Appa's head and sprinted towards them, not even noticing Sokka's self-hindered steps. Aang took a step back to allow Katara more room to inspect Toph, taking assurance in the glowing water around her right hand as proof that their friend was in good care.

"Her face is flushed." Katara observed. She moved her water-coated hand to the small girl's forehead, slightly surprised that the water hadn't turned to steam.

"She's burning up! Aang, I'm going to need some water from our gear!" Aang nodded, running back past the slowly approaching Sokka. "Sokka, go grab one of our—oof." Katara rubbed the back of her head where the object in question had struck her.

"You were going to say, sleeping bag, right?" Sokka asked with a small smile, but his voice was devoid of humor despite his best efforts.

Katara shot her brother a dirty look before she began unfastening the ties to the sleeping bag. She laid it flat on the ground next to Toph before placing her arm underneath the sick girl and picked her up. Upon laying her down, Katara noticed the bloody, makeshift bandage Toph had wrapped around her own hand. Curiously, she slowly undid the knot, wincing emphatically upon sight of the wound present. Though the bleeding had slowed substantially, it had already stained the inside of the handkerchief a deep red.

"So that's what was under there."

Katara's heart nearly shot out of her mouth, and she found herself in a rare moment of wishing that Aang's footsteps weren't so soft. "Did this happen during your training?" She asked, trying to remember if the injury was present before yesterday evening.

Aang shook his head. "I only noticed it this morning."

Both Katara and Aang turned towards Sokka with questioning stares. The water tribe warrior looked up from his feet but kept his eyes from their gazes.

"How would I know?"

"You were out pretty late. Are you sure didn't see anything?" Katara reiterated.

Sokka stared deep into his sister's eyes and found that he couldn't resist his brotherly instincts that were telling him to be honest with her. "Last night, I was at the big tree in the middle of the woods. I figured that if I stayed out there, sooner or later Toph would come out and look for me."

"How'd you know it would be Toph?" Aang wondered.

"She and I usually talk some before we go to bed, and you two would be training by daybreak. I'd already set up a bucket trap, but I hadn't expected her to be so soon, or so determined to find me," Sokka added. "Anyway, to turn a brilliant idea into a short recap, I caught her by surprise, she got soaked and tripped."

"So she hurt herself when she fell?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah. She said she landed on something furry, but since we were next to the water I assumed she had cut her hand on a moss-covered rock."

Katara didn't answer. Fearing the worst, she made a closer inspection of Toph's hand and felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Aang knelt down by her side and put a hand upon her shoulder.

What's wrong, Katara?"

Katara turned back to Sokka with a tearful gaze so fierce that he visibly flinched.

"You idiot! She's been poisoned!"

The color drained from Sokka's face until he could rival Toph's usual complexion. "Can't you just heal her with your waterbending? You healed her leg last time!"

"It wasn't that bad and it just so happens that you're not a complete moron and did a good job setting the bones. All I had to do was speed up the process by triggering the right chi points." Katara clarified. "I've only had one class with Yugoda before I started training with Master Pakku! I'm sorry if a full-body detoxification is a little beyond me right now!"

"Everybody calm down." He turned to Katara. "Are you sure she's been poisoned?" He asked calmly. Katara took a deep breath and nodded, pointing to wound.

Aang knelt down and turned his focus to Toph's hand, and sure enough, the area around the mouth of the wound was stained a dull purple by the toxins. He stood up straight and picked up is staff, tapping it against the ground and spinning it twice to deploy his glider.

"I'm going for help!" He declared.

"Wouldn't it be faster to take, Appa?" Katara pointed out.

"The next town shouldn't be too far away from here. You guys will need Appa here in case something or someone makes an unwanted appearance." Katara sighed in agreement, knowing all to well how likely that situation could come about. "Take good care of, Toph!" Aang called back before he leaping into the sky.

"Be careful, Aang!" Katara called out before he disappeared from sight. She looked at the mess Aang and Sokka had made in search of the water and sleeping bag. "Guess I'd better set up our temporary camp."

"What can I help with?"

Katara turned to see Sokka's apologetic face, but faced with what he had done, she could not show him forgiveness at the moment. "I think you've done enough for now," she growled. She said no more as she began cleaning Toph's wound, while Sokka found a clear spot a few yards to the side and sat out of the way…

Aang soared through the air, completely focused on finding a healer for Toph, not to mention a way to alleviate the irritating sensation of a runny nose. He sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve.

'At least that's one problem taken care of.'

Out of the corner of his eye, Aang noticed billowing smoke rising from the trees. With no time to lose, he guided himself in the direction of the forest fire and cut the air pressure around him to speed his descent.

Aang touched down on the dirt and found himself being attacked by a swarm of mosquito-flies. He looked to where the smoke was supposed to be coming from and saw someone holding a ball of fire. He instinctively slipped into a ready position.

"St-St-Stay away from me!"

Aang dropped his stance and took a closer look at the person standing in front of him. Instead of a firebender ready to attack him, he had a found a young girl holding a small branch on fire. Her brown eyes were fear-filled, and Aang only just realized that maybe she wasn't used to people dropping out of the sky without warning.

"Please don't be afraid."

The girl stared at him as though the very idea of not being afraid of him made less sense than people falling out of the sky. "W-Who're you?"

"My name is Aang, and I'm the Avatar," Aang revealed, figuring that it would help keep the explanation short. "My friend is really sick and I need to find a healer right away."

The girl looked closely at his features and saw worry present in his eyes.

"Follow me," She said simply, and started walking off.

Aang smiled brightly, thanking the spirits that he didn't have to wander through the woods alone…

Katara submerged one of their hand towels into the bucket of water next to her, ringing it out before she placed it back on Toph's forehead. Katara looked at Toph's chest rise and fall with each labored breath of air and frowned.

'I wish there was something more that I could do for her; I just hope that she can sleep through this until Aang comes back with medicine.' Her eyes drifted to the bandage she had tied around Toph's hand. It probably wouldn't be too long before she saw the toxins creep further up her arm as the effects of the poison grew more potent.

On a lighter note, Katara thought back to the time that she and Sokka had been caught a terrible cold after storm. Well, Sokka was the one who had actually caught the cold, but in true sibling fashion had passed it on to her. Aang had left to get medicine, and wound up giving them frogs to suck on.

They worked like a charm, but Katara still shudders and gags every time she hears a frog croaking.

"Hey, Sokka, how do you think Toph would like the taste of frog?" She waited, but no response came. Guilt began to weigh on her conscience, and Katara found herself wishing that she could take back her words from earlier. The sound of Toph's labored breathing in the background didn't exactly alleviate the awkward silence.

"Okay, Sokka, I'm sorry that I snapped at you, but you have to understand that your immaturity put Toph's life in danger!" She paused, figuring that it was only right to give Sokka a chance to respond. When no response came, Katara grew more irritated.

"I already apologized, so quit acting like a brat so we can plan our next move!" She turned around in obvious rage, but quickly forgot her anger once she saw that her brother wasn't anywhere in sight.

"I think I just made the situation worse." Katara sighed.

Appa grunted, in what Katara interpreted to be an agreeing tone…

The leaves rustled as Sokka made his way through the underbrush. His face scrunched up in disgust as he picked at the cobwebs that had become entangled in his hair. Momo cocked his head and stared at Sokka blankly, spider remains leftover from his snack clasped in his tiny paws.

"Don't look at me like that. I already told you that we're here to find any medicinal herbs that might counteract the poison. Aang's always going on about the delicate balance of the world and I'm willing to wager my appreciation for meat that a forest full of poisonous creatures is bound to have the antidote nearby."

"Hurry up and cage it you fool! One slash and your as good as dead!"

Sokka stopped dead in his tracks. He looked left and right for the sources of the voices in this supposed barren area before diving into a nearby bush, pulling Momo in after him by the tail.

Sokka pushed a branch aside just in time to see two Fire Nation soldiers pop out of the brush, trailing behind what Sokka would describe as the nastiest creature on the face of the earth—next to Han and Zuko.

An action he soon regretted, Sokka focused more intently on the figures approaching, only to add to his suffering today when he discovered that they were a few leaves away from being in the buff. They both looked to be not much older than himself, leading Sokka to believe that there might be a training camp somewhere in the surrounding area.

It was a bit comical to see the more portly of the two taking orders from the walking toothpick. The portly one, unsurprisingly, wasn't very graceful, but his long limbs allowed him to reach further with the claw apparatus than his partner could have hoped to. He leaped out at the creature, hoping to spread out and cut of its escape path, but he failed miserably. The creature darted around it pursuer and dashed back towards the youth who had been attempting to keep his distance.

"Ouch," The boy exclaimed when it nicked him on the leg. His expression darkened before he started shooting small bursts of fire in its direction.

'He doesn't seem to have much power, but his aim seems to compensate nicely.' Sokka observed. He watched as the small flares guided the creature back towards his partner who now had a cage ready as well. In one swift motion, the creature had been scooped up with the claw and deposited in the cage.

Sokka held his breath and clamped a hand over Momo's mouth, because the boy had decided that to place the cage in front of the bush they were hiding in. It was the closest Sokka had ever been to what was unmistakably a Scorpion Squirrel.

It had shaggy brown fur along most of its body, save where there was what could be some kind of exoskeleton in the form of pinchers and a tail. The tail was the most menacing thing of all; a large bulb of toxins ready to be injected by means of the sharp point.

It was hard to imagine that such a small creature could give someone like Toph such problems, but the current state of affairs only confirmed the truth; Toph's life was in danger, and it was all the fault of this flea-ridden, miniature monstrosity.

'Its not the only one to blame though, is it?'

Sokka pushed that troubling thought to the back of his mind and refocused his attention back on the cadets. Both boys were now mouthing off about whatever it was that brought them out here.

"I'm not sure which is more of a pest: this furry one, or the group of jerks who told us about a swimming hole they found, before taking our clothes and releasing this thing."

"Speaking of which," his companion interjected, "We should go back to camp for some antitoxin before I have to carry your dead body back."

The young firebender looked down at the blood trickling down his leg and groaned. "Yeah, so c'mon already," he barked back irritably. His partner sighed and stooped down to pick up the cage before running to catch up.

Once they were out of hearing range, Sokka emerged from his hiding place.

'Looks like I've found a cure,' Sokka thought triumphantly. 'And maybe I'll get Katara off my back if I shop around for supplies. Plus, chances are good that I'll get to knock a few Fire Nation soldiers around. Throw in the possibility of finding some impressionable youth to teach Aang some firebending, and this could be a day of fun for the entire family!'

Sokka silently ran after them, relieved that for once, the universe couldn't spoil this for him…

"Are we getting closer?"

The girl stopped walking and turned to face Aang's question. With an empty stare a curt nod, she turned back towards her footing so she could continue leading the Avatar down to her village.

Judging by the lack of interaction, Aang figured that the girl was still wary of him. He sighed, wishing there was some way he could convince her that he wasn't anything more than someone trying to help out a friend. His distraction led to him step in something wet that the girl had been trying to bring to his attention earlier.

"I don't even want to know what it is I just stepped in," Aang assured himself with a look of disgust. He stopped and began rubbing his soggy foot in the bushes next to him in a futile attempt to dry it off.

Wide-eyed, the girl turned back slowly. A low rumble grew steadily until a rather large sized Platypus Bear was staring at them with vehemence. Without warning, it charged towards Aang. Aang used a gust of air to propel himself out of the creature's path, but hadn't been expecting an attack from its beaver like tail. Before either Aang or the Platypus Bear had time to react, the girl had already tackled him to the ground and out of harms way. The monster-sized animal reared up on its hind legs and charged again.

This time, Aang was ready for the combo and propelled the girl and himself into the air with the Platypus Bear zooming past. It crashed into a large rock, obviously dazed, before sauntering back to wherever it had come from. Aang landed with the girl in his arms, who was still breathing hard when he set her on her feet.

"You handed that well for a first time flier," Aang assured with a sheepish grin. She looked at him as though he were spouting some nonsense - like he was awakened from the past to quell the war of the present.

The sound of rock cracking brought their attention back to the rock the Platypus Bear had run into, which had caused a small fissure in the rock formation that was steadily growing. Before Aang could even consider trying to repair it, a large chunk was already barreling towards them.

Aang slid into the earthbending stance he'd practiced under Toph's instruction, and without a moment's hesitation, drove his fist into the boulder to shatter it. Before he could pat himself on the back, however, a second rock slightly smaller in size caught him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The girl cried out in alarm as Aang was sent rolling down the mountain, before she found her own footsteps knocked off kilter by the rolling stones, sending her tumbling after…

Sokka came running back to camp with a proud look on his face, shouting excitedly.

"Sounds like someone managed to go potty all by himself."

Sokka turned around to see Toph standing with one hand on her hip and a playful smirk on her face.

His jaw dropped. "Toph? But you got poisoned and…and…" Sokka sighed. "I went to all of that trouble to get you this."

He let the vial containing the antidote to the Scorpion Squirrels' venom fall to the ground and burst open, where it began bubbling at his feet.

"Cheer up, Snoozles, and let's just be thankful that when the chips are down, I don't have to rely on you!" She laughed as Sokka slumped over, obviously failing to find the humor in what she just said.

"Gee, thanks," Sokka replied with a voice empty of gratitude. "If you're that self-reliant, I guess I may as well go back."

Toph stopped smiling and looked at him clearly confused. "Go back where?"

Sokka instinctual jerked his thumb back in the direction he had come from. "I ran into some trouble a ways back and I'd probably better go back to deal with it."

"Want some help?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could. She faced away and began picking her nose with her pinkie to feign indifference. She didn't want him to get the crazy notion that she cared for his well being anymore than she felt obligated.

"Nah. It's just a few firebenders who weren't too happy with me stealing from them," Sokka replied, motioning towards the liquid on the ground that was bubbling more profusely than before.

This statement caught Toph's full attention, though whether it was surprise at what he had risked for her, or what he was planning on doing now was unbeknownst even to her. "Wait a minute, back up there." She made a motion as if calling for a timeout. "Are you actually going to stand there and think that I'm just going to wait right here while you go find some Fire Nation soldiers to beat around without me?" She whipped around and stomped over to him. She was almost eye-level before her face scrunched up with a look of confusion.

Sokka yawned. "Did you get taller, Toph?" He asked drowsily.

"Of course I haven't, you idiot," Toph shrieked. "You're sinking."

Sokka looked down to see that he was knee deep in a hole that seemed to have been caused by the antidote dissolving in the dirt. Before either of them could give the situation any more thought, the earth swallowed Sokka, giving Toph just enough time to dive in vain before the opening closed.

Without giving the cause any consideration, Toph slipped into a horse stance and focused on the spot Sokka had been only moments before. She brought her arms up expecting the ground to respond and bring Sokka back to the surface, but something proved to be wrong. Not willing to accept what her heart was telling her, she slammed her fist into the ground, intent on pulling him out by force if she had to.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but not from her now broken hand.

She couldn't bend anymore...

Her heart skipped a beat once the truth solidified in her mind. She swore under her breath and started digging relentlessly, ignoring the stinging of her hand and the rocks cutting into her fingers.

"SOKKA!"….

The next thing Toph Bei Fong was aware of was a pair firm hands secured to hers shoulders, shaking her fervently.

"Toph!" A voice called out to her. "Toph, wake up, you're having a nightmare!"

Toph's eyes shot open and she sat upright in an instant, which didn't do anything to alleviate the pounding.

"Katara, did Sokka come out of the hole yet?" She asked groggily.

Katara stared sympathetically, unsure of how to respond. 'Poor thing must be delirious from the fever. She doesn't realize that it was just part of her dream.'

"I don't know where Sokka, or Aang is right now, Toph," Katara admitted "They must have left around the same time, but its getting dark already."

"Twinkletoes is the toughest thing around here next to me, and I'm sure meathead is just lost. They'll be fine," Toph assured, though it may have been more for her peace of mind than Katara's. She eased herself back down and closed her eyes again.

Katara smiled at the sleeping girl before looking painfully at the moon.

"You'll watch over them, won't you Yue?"

It wasn't long before Katara drifted off to sleep as well…

Sokka looked up from his spot on the floor and saw the moonlight peeking through the door of his cell. He spat the copper tasting blood that was gathering from his busted lip, and desperately tried crawling towards the patch of soft illumination in his otherwise shadowed cell. He gave up once the ropes connecting his wrists to the wall refused to give anymore slack and resigned himself to trying to get some sleep.

'I may see you soon, Yue,' Sokka thought solemnly.

The Fire Nation camp was in a less than peaceful mood, seeing as how a clear night sky had given birth to rain.

If they didn't know better, they could swear the moon was crying…

A/N: I hope you enjoyed what I came up with for this chapter. I can't promise that the next update will be soon enough for you, but I can assure you that my mind is considering paths to take in the next portion of the story.