On with the longer chapters. Here's, uh, chapter twelve.
I don't own Avatar. Got it?
"So, does this look right?" Aang asked. He extended his right arm forward and shot his left out very fast.
"Aang," Toph groaned, "I can't watch you. Duh…"
"Oh, right. Sorry," Aang replied.
He had been practicing with firebending for an hour at least. He had been drilling several firebending sequences several times.
Toph had just sat there, bored out of her mind. She had tried earthbending but didn't feel like doing it. She had tried "watching" Aang and now she had felt as if she would die of boredom.
"Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.
"Yes?" Aang replied.
"I'm going to find a lake or something."
"Why?"
"Practice swimming."
Aang's face scrunched up in confusion. But then he shrugged and watched as the blind girl walked away.
Toph brushed the tree branches away from her face as she walked. With her all hearing ears Toph heard the rustling of a creek nearby.
She walked toward the noise. Patchy sunlight came through the treetops. The plants were wet from the early morning dew and they were tall from the hot, summer weather.
She reached the creek and sat down at the edge. She would never tell Katara this: but she liked the water. She liked the coolness of the liquid between her toes.
Toph also liked it, because of its noise. Even though the earth was the most familiar thing to the Blind Bandit, the water had life, a spirit. It was calm and beautiful while the earth was…just earth. There wasn't anything special about it. Well, except the fact that it could be bent.
She sat there awhile thinking of anything that could pass the time away. Twinkle Toes was supposed to practice two hours, on firebending, earthbending, and waterbending.
They had practiced earthbending first. And then he practiced waterbending. And finally, thank the spirits that he was almost through, he was practicing firebending.
All while, they were trying to fly to the city where they had held Aang's Avatar Day. It was a lot for Toph to do, let alone Aang. She didn't have to master two other elements, while trying to learn a brand new one.
Just then, Toph's ears perked up. There was something or someone in the bushes not far from the river that Toph was sitting at.
She pulled up her feet to "see" who it was.
But she never had a chance. The thing or person slipped what seemed to be a canvas bag over her head. She struggled to make them let go but, what seemed to be a man, was to strong.
He picked her up and slung the blind girl over his right shoulder. And then he continued on, walking to a nearby town where the girl would face the consequences of trespassing on his land.
Aang hadn't seen Toph in a long time. She had gone to the nearby river and hadn't returned.
Aang had finished firebending, and was now eating lunch: some of the nuts out of a small bag that he had brought.
And she hadn't returned for lunch. That was strange, seeing that she had picked up Sokka's job of eating and complaining the last few days.
He decided to go look for her.
It wasn't like her to not come back.
He walked through the forest, not really worried. She probably just fell asleep. They had been traveling until very late. And then she woke him up every day at dawn to practice. She was probably exhausted.
But his worries soared when he reached the clearing. Toph wasn't there. She was no where to be seen. Okay, he thought to himself, just go a little further in the woods and try to find her.
Appa was back at the sight. If Aang needed him, he would just blow on his whistle and get him. So, he would find Toph, blow on the whistle, and then they would continue to the next town.
He ran into the woods.
The branches scratched the sides of his arms and his torso as he ran. He pushed the branches out of his way and continued his frantic search.
He came to the edge of the woods and saw a town in the distance. The buildings were mostly white and tall. There were people cheering in that town.
Aang remembered something about cheering. When he came, he remembered that he had been blamed for something and people were cheering because he was going to be…going to be…going to be boiled in oil!
It was punishment!
Oh no, he thought, if Toph was being accused for something. That cheering could only mean that…that…
Toph was in huge trouble.
The bottom of the huge cauldron Toph was standing in was cold and empty. The man that had carried her to town had accused her of trespassing and said that she had to face the consequences.
The leader of the town, supposedly, walked over to her, stuck his finger in her face and said. "Then suffer the consequences, she shall."
And so, she stood there, her arms crossed, her feet firmly planted on the inside of the metal cauldron.
She heard a clicking noise. The man beside her had spun something called, "The Wheel of Punishment."
The stopper must be that clicking noise. When it stopped, Toph heard the crowd roar with delight. "Mmm," the man beside her said, "it seems that you receive the same punishment that the Avatar should have received when he stopped by here."
Toph's eyes widened. "The Avatar?" she asked. "He was here? Oh is the Avatar day town?"
The man chuckled. "As a matter of fact, it is, little girl," he replied. "Why does it matter to you?"
"BECAUSE!" A voice called in the distance. The town, along with the man's and Toph's head turned the voice. "She's traveling with me."
Toph smiled.
It was Twinkle Toes.
"The Avatar," the man beside her gasp. He ran over to Aang. "Oh, Avatar," he said. "What brings you to my town again?"
"My companion and I," he replied, crossing his arms, acting as if he knew everyone and who this man even were, "need to see the statue of Chen the Great. We have business to attend to. So if you would please get her out of that pot"—
"Oh, I'm sorry, Avatar," the man replied. "But you should know by now, that I can't let anyone get away with a crime unless they get community service. And this girl broke the law."
"WHAT!!" they heard Toph scream.
The man smiled again.
"Listen to me," Aang said, bending down close. "That girl over there may seem weak, but she's the strongest person I know. She is the greatest earthbender in the world and she can bend metal."
"Ha," the man replied. "No one can bend metal."
"She can."
"Prove it."
"I don't have to," Aang replied. "Turn around."
The man turned around to find the cauldron that he had placed the girl in stretched out and as sharp as a dagger. It was two inches from his nose.
"O—Okay," the man replied. "Um—she's set free. By mercy of the court."
Toph dropped the metal so it turned it in a metallic liquid on the ground. She walked over to Aang and stood next to him.
"Nice timing," she mumbled into his ear before turning back to the leader of the town.
"So," the man said, "do you need help with anything?"
"Well," Aang replied. Toph nudged him. "Ow," he mumbled. "Actually, if you could point us in the direction of the statue of Chen the Great, we'll take it from there."
The man nodded and pointed behind him and to the west. "It's right over there," he said. "Anything else?"
"No, that'll do," Toph replied, grabbing Twinkle Toes by his shirt collar. She dragged him across the stadium of people.
"I agree with Sokka," Toph said.
"What? Why?" Aang asked.
"This is, by far, the worst town that we've ever been to."
They reached the statue of Chen the Great only seconds later. "Mmm," Toph said, looking at the statue with utmost anticipation. "What is it?" she asked.
"It's a man." Aang cocked his head slightly. "It looks like Chen the Great."
Toph rolled her eyes. "The letter, Twinkle Toes," Toph replied. "The letter."
"Oh," Aang replied. "Here it is." He found a letter posted at the bottom of the statue. Aang picked it up and read:
Dear Aang,
It seems that you only have two more puzzles to find before I can teach you again. You and your partner are doing well. I hope you've learned from this experience.
The next riddle:
Parents can often be overprotective, overbearing.
Now, go back and your conflict should be settled.
From,
The Guru
"Mmm," Aang said. "I wonder where that could be."
He glanced over to Toph how's head was down and her hands were clenched together. "Toph, what's"—
"My parents," Toph replied. "We have to go back to my home and settle the conflict with my parents. Ugh, this is not going to be fun."
…………
Haru's town approached like sunlight on a cloudy day. For the past three days, it had rained, and then poured. It was horrible walking to say the least.
"Iroh," Katara said, as the town approached into view, "I know that you're good and helping me and everything, but I want you to not to draw attention to yourself. The people in this town were taken captive by the Fire Nation."
"Okay," Iroh said, slipping his hands into the sleeves of his robes.
They walked for a while until the small houses and a marketplace from a town appeared into place.
The waterbender and the firebender reached a very busy street full of people walking around with baskets budging with food. The people there were dressed in cream colored pants and green tops. There weren't any Fire Nation soldiers here.
They did it, Katara thought looking around at the town formally filled with Fire Nation soldiers.
Where could he be?
"So," Iroh said, following Katara's motion searching for the boy that he had not met nor knew what he looked like. "What does this Haru look like?"
"Well," Katara replied. "He's kinda tall, with long brown hair, and a top knot…and he's right there! Oh Iroh! He's there!"
Katara took a hold of the old man's arm and drug him over to a boy that looked just as she described him. He was standing by a stand full of green and bright red apples.
They approached him and Katara gave him a huge hug before she even announced her presence.
Haru turned around, a grip on Katara's arms. He squinted a second before he recognized her. "Katara?" he asked, releasing his grip on her arms. "Katara, is that…it that you?"
She nodded. "Haru, it's me."
He smiled widely. "Wha—what are you doing here?" he asked, still shocked that she was even here.
"I need your help," she said, "if you and your rebels are up to it."
"Rebels? Katara what are you planning? And where are Aang and Sokka? And who is that?" he asked pointing to Haru.
"Let me explain," she said. "First of all, this is Iroh. He's teaching Aang firebending. And he's good." She waited for Haru's reaction. He seemed to be taking it pretty good. "Aang and his earthbending teacher, Toph, are traveling to find a Guru so he can master his Avatar State. Sokka, our friend Suki, and the Earth King are all traveling to two towns on the other side of Ba Sing Se, trying to find rebels. And Iroh and I are doing to same."
"Why would you need rebels?" Haru asked.
Katara's head dropped a little. "Ba Sing Se has been taken over," she said quietly. "And we need to take it back.
"In a very short amount of time a solar eclipse is coming and on that day, Aang, myself, and the rest of the group are planning to invade the Fire Nation and defeat the Fire Lord.
"But we need your help. I know that last time we were here, you rebelled against the Fire Nation in your city, and we were hoping that you would travel with us to the Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation and help stop this war."
"That's a mouth full," Haru chuckled. "It sounds like a lot when you bunch it all into one conversation."
Katara smiled. "We need your help. Do you and your father think you'll be up to it?"
Haru smiled. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "Let me ask my father. I'm sure this town isn't ready to stop fighting for our freedom."
"Thanks, Haru," Katara said.
……
Later on that night, Katara walked in the woods behind Haru's house. She ran her fingers along the tree bark of a specific tree that had caught her eye. It was smaller than the other trees, a little gloomier, but it had more berries on it than any of the other ones.
It reminded her of so many people. Toph, for one. The tree seemed less wonderful, weak, since it was so small but yet it was the most fruitful tree there.
She also thought it was like Aang. So small and vulnerable and yet so powerful and strong.
She walked over to it and sat down, the soft grass at her sides. She sat there a while before hearing a rustle from the trees. Someone sat down beside her.
Katara looked over to the person and saw the familiar mask of the Blue Spirit. She picked up a stick and wrote:
Ar eyo ufoll owingm e?
Are you following me?
She could almost hear him smirk as he wrote:
Wh osaidI wasfoll owingyo u?
Who said I was following you?
For a while they sat there talking. Katara talked about her plan dealing with the Fire Nation and how they were planning to beat them. She told him a little about herself, when he asked, and how much she had changed in the last year.
And he sat there, listening to her story. He seemed so familiar, like she had met him before, only he had been a different person.
……
The Blue Spirit watched as the girl beside him, wrote with much delicacy in the dirt. Her brush strokes were brisk and well-written. He eyed her, a couple of times while she wrote in their code.
It was odd, how different the Blue Spirit felt, now that he had began to know and understand the real workings of the Avatar's group. The real thought and effort that the other side of the world operated.
They were a kind and forgiving. They were smart all the way from which friends to choose all the way to deciding how to save the world. It was a group that the Blue Spirit's true self missed out on being apart of.
The girl sitting next to him was also very different than what he expected. He figured she would be the kind of girl you would have to save and she would cry at least twice a day.
But she was very different. She was strong, brave, and pretty much the mother of her group.
She was different when she wasn't attacking him. She was calmer and more relaxed. She was…
Stop. Don't say it.
Why not?
Because she is my enemy. I can take the information she just gave to me and give it to Azula. I can say that I had a hint on where the Avatar was and I wanted to see if I could catch them.
But you don't want to.
I have to! It's my home on the line! I don't care about this waterbender at all! It's my job to give the information I've obtained to my sister, my father.
But you aren't Prince Zuko. You're the Blue Spirit. You kept this mask for a reason. You want to know what it would feel like if you chose your uncle. Why would you run away from your own ship? Curiosity killed the cat, you know.
Yeah I know.
Two sharp taps, on the ground, brought him back to reality to the girl sitting next to him. She motioned to the words she had written.
Wha tabouty ou?
What about you?
He pushed his thoughts aside, and the Blue Spirit took the stick from the girl's hand, and started to write about the small Earth Kingdom City he used to live in.
……
The next day, Haru led Katara to the center of town with Iroh, Haru's father and mother, and several other people.
"Just like last time," he whispered in her ear before pushing her in front of a store full of books and other merchandise.
Suddenly, Katara had stage fright.
Around her, hundreds of people stood, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, a man came out in front of her.
Iroh.
"Good people," he said, his arms inside his sleeves. "I have a request for you. Recently in your town, I've heard that you took down a small Fire Nation army?" The people nodded, responding that they had.
"That's great, really great," he continued. "Now I want to ask you something very important and it could change the rest of the world:
"The Avatar along, with myself, Katara, and several other people are going to infiltrate the wall of Ba Singe Se. It's been taken over by the Fire Nation princess, Azula. And we want to take it back. It's the home for refugees and we don't want the Fire Nation to become any more powerful as Sozen's comet arrives.
"We want you to travel with us to Ba Sing Se, and later the Fire Nation to help stop the hundred year long war."
He looked around at the people. "Please, the Avatar needs your help. We all need you. It's time to rebel against the Fire Nation. Will you travel with us?"
At first it was silent. Not even the wind was blowing. Time stood still.
"Please," Katara whispered.
Haru nodded.
And then his father nodded.
And so did the other men and woman of the town. "Good," Iroh said, squinting his eyes a bit. "You'll be much help to us. Thank you."
………
He was there again tonight. He was watching her again tonight.
Suki watched from a bush behind the young warrior and his princess. How many times will he watch her this week? She thought. Last week Sokka had watched her three times. This week he had watched her everyday.
She heard Sokka sigh and get up. He walked through the woods and back to the camp. But Suki stayed put.
Slowly, she came out of her hiding spot and walked over to the cliff's edge. She sat down cross legged and looked up at the moon.
The young Kyoshi girl closed her eyes and concentrated.
He still loves you.
Yes.
It was Yue, she was talking to Suki again. Good, she had something to tell her.
I need to talk to you.
What about?
I think, I'm going to tell Sokka that we should just be friends.
Tension.
Why?
Because he still loves you. Why should I get in the way of that? Besides we're practically just friends anyway. I just…have to do this. I want the best for Sokka and if he wants some girl like you, then I don't want to be in the way.
But he doesn't want another girl like me. He really likes you, Suki. He talks about you almost every night. He's trying, really.
Well, I just want to give him time to think, that's all. Okay?
Silence.
I can't do anything for you, Suki. Do what you wish. But tell me something: Are you really doing this for Sokka. Are you?
…I just—I want him to be happy. And I'm…I'm…
Scared.
No! Just nervous. I don't know. I just don't want to have to live up to someone as wonderful as you. I—I don't want…to do that.
Okay, Suki. Do what you want. I'll be sure to talk to Sokka about it.
No!
Just go. You need your rest. Like I can't tell you what to do, you can't control me. Just go, Suki. I won't talk. Go and sleep. Sleep on your decision.
Suki nodded and got up. And then she walked back to camp.
……
Suki watched from a distance that night. He was looking at her again. He was studying that moon like he had just discovered the best thing in the world.
He was watching her with so much loss, so much admiration, it only made Suki guilty about being there, being here with him. Being here with him, everyday, every minute. It was so unfair for her.
Her. That is what Suki called Yue. She never thought her name. It was just her. Not a bad her. But not the best friend her either. Suki was caught between love, guilt, and pure, pure confusion. She was caught between Sokka and her.
It was so unfair for her. She had given up her life to save the world, leaving him, to go somewhere where she did not want to be. And not three months later, Suki had taken the job as "Sokka's number one fan girl." That was a good name for it. A fan girl. That's all Suki was.
He didn't love her, not the slightest bit. The kiss that they had shared in the desert was no more than a way to keep her quiet. To stop her rambling. Sokka understood that she liked him. But that didn't mean that he had to like her back.
He didn't like her back.
He was still in love with the moon. He was still in love with her. He was still utterly, and hopelessly in love with Yue. Princess Yue, the moon.
How could she lose him to the moon?
How could she not even have a running chance with this girl that she didn't even know? How could she want to win so badly? Why was she even trying to compete with someone who had already won his heart over such a long time ago?
Suki hated feeling like the jealous friend.
She hated feeling like she was the other girl. The one that he had taken because she was there, not because he loved her, or wanted to be with her. Nothing was as good as the real thing.
Yue.
She walked out from her hiding spot in the bushes. She walked over to where he was sitting, on a rock, at the edge of a cliff, staring up at the moon.
She sat down in the grass beside the boulder that he was sitting at and said quietly, "It's a beautiful moon."
Sokka looked down at her, a little surprised. "Yeah, it really is," he replied, trying to smile, even if it was very, very small.
They sat awhile in silence. Suki looked down at the ground, thinking over how she was going to say her next words. It would be the hardest thing she would ever have to do. And for Suki, that was pretty hard.
"Sokka," she said carefully. He looked over to her, listening. "I want you and Kuei to go ahead of me tomorrow. I've got all these rebels to train and I was going to hold my first lesson tomorrow and I know how eager you are to get to the next town…"
Sokka laughed.
Sokka laughed.
She looked up at him in confusion. He said, "I hope you don't expect me to believe that. You're like me in many ways"—(I'm not in love with the moon, Suki thought bitterly)—"and I know that you're just as eager to get to the next town as I am. Don't give me that excuse."
He bent down. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied, standing up from the ground, almost hitting Sokka's nose. "I just want to help train these people."
She clutched her fists together before releasing her grasp. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm done, Sokka."
He stood up also, and he crossed his arms. "I knew there was something else," he said playfully, "You're done with what?"
"With your game," she replied bitterly.
"What game?" he said, uncrossing his arms. She was serious after all.
"I don't know," she replied. "But I'm done trying to compete with her." She pointed to the moon. "I know that you come out here every night and just stare at her. For hours, some times even all night.
"It's not fair. I can't try and pretend that it doesn't happen. Because it does. I just want you to be happy. You're the person who changed my dreams. You helped me. And now I want to help you.
"And if this is how I have to do it then I will. I'm sorry Sokka but I don't wanna be the girl you end up with because you feel sorry for her."
"Suki, that's not"—
"And I want you to find someone just as good as Princess Yue," Suki continued like she had never heard him, "and I know that I'm no where close.
"Go ahead of me tomorrow, Sokka."
"Suki, we have to talk about this," Sokka protested.
"The subject is not open for discussion," she said, raising her hand to his lips. "Goodbye."
And she walked away, back into the woods and to their camp.
Sokka turned around, back to the moon. And his eyes were downcast, averting his beloved Princess's view.
………
Toph jumped off the Appa with no enthusiasm what so ever. She felt the familiar town of her home. It sucked that the Guru brought them back here.
Those two men didn't have to go chasing after her. She would just end up here eventually. Ugh. Groan. Why me?
That's what Toph thought as they headed to a large house, not far from where they were standing.
It was a one level home with beautiful cream colored walls and several dark colored windows.
Toph took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A man in a servant's wardrobe opened the door. "Hello, welcome to—Toph!"
"Yeah, yeah," she said, brushing him away. She walked inside like she had only gone to the marketplace and not disappeared for over two months. Aang followed closely behind her.
She walked into what seemed to be a living room. There were a couple of chairs, some place mats, and a table with coffee cups on it. On the two chairs were sitting two people: a man and a woman.
When they saw Toph, they immediately got up, ran to their daughter, and embraced her in their arms. She rolled her eyes again and tried pushing her parents away.
Once they released her, the questions came. "Where have you been?" or "We've been worried sick!" or "Thank the spirits you're okay, Toph!"
It wasn't until they saw Aang that they questions stopped. Then they went over to him and yelled. "Where did you take my daughter?" her father roared.
Toph quickly walked in between them. "Dad," she said, "Aang didn't kidnap me. I ran away."
"Why would you do that?" her mother asked.
"Because," Toph replied, "I'm so tired of you controlling my life. I thought I showed you last time, Dad, that I'm a lot stronger than you give me credit for. I can take care of myself. You said I didn't have enough protection! I have plenty of protection! Too much protection!"
"But Toph," her father said, "it was for your own good. We only wanted you to be taken care of. You're blind, and tiny, and fragile…"
"That's not true!" Aang spoke up. "She's the strongest earthbender I know! She can take care of not only herself, but four kids!"
"WHAT!?" her parents said, flabbergasted.
"Never mind that," Toph said, glaring at Aang. "It's a long story and we don't have much time."
"What do you mean?" her mother asked.
"We have to get back to the wall of Ba Sing Se in about a week and we have to find the next clue in the Guru's message," she explained. "Look, there's no time to explain, but Mom"—Toph looked her mother straight in the eye, even though she couldn't see her—"please, please, let me go."
Her mother broke the eye contact. "Aang didn't kidnap me. I did it on my own. If you love me at all then you'll let me go. Let me go."
Her mother glanced at Aang and then Toph's father.
Then, "You have my permission."
Toph's eyes widened and brightened. "Thank you Mom," she said. "I promise you won't be sorry."
"I know."
"But"—her father finally spoke up.
"No buts," her mother said. "My daughter is old enough now to make her own decisions. And for this Guru man," she walked over to a small table and picked up a note, "this came in the mail this morning."
Her father seemed to be stunned. All he did was watch as his wife handed Toph the strange letter that they had received earlier that morning.
"What does it say?" she asked Aang.
He took the note and read:
Once more, good job Aang and Toph. You are doing extremely well now.
The next, and last, place that you have to go to is in the following riddle.
This place is one that you've been to before.
Where you fought old enemies, made new friends, and lost something precious to you, Aang.
Good luck on the last riddle. I will be waiting for you there.
The Guru
Toph put her finger to her chin. What could that place be?
"My memory," Aang said very quietly. "I lost my memory at the catacombs in Ba Sing Se. That must be the last place."
Toph looked over at Aang. "Okay, let's go," she said.
They were about at the door of Toph's parents home, when her father came up to her and said, "I'm sorry, Toph, that I didn't believe you. Please forgive me."
Toph smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
And for the first time, Toph hugged her father. The first time she ever embraced any one to be exact.
And then they were off to the catacombs of Ba Sing Se.
Toph's mother walked up behind her father and placed a delicate hand on the back of his neck. "You did the right thing," she said, stroking his hair.
"Yeah," he said. "I guess I did. There's only one thing that's bothering me."
"Oh," she replied, "and what is that?"
"Whatever happened to Xin Fu and Master Yu?"
Okay that's all for the first, very long chapter. I hate asking, because I feel like a person craving for attention, but can I try to get at least 6 reviews before I upload my next chapter. I know some people out there who've added this story to the favorites and/or alerts and I'd really like to know what you think.
If you could you'd just make my week.
Thanks, Bye!