A/N: As promised, here's your chapter! I just got back today, so I just couldn't bring myself to proofread well. Sorry for any mistakes - I can barely keep my eyes open. This chapter is mostly character development and a bridge between main chapters, so yeah. Feel free to point out errors if you see them, so I can get on with the fixing.

The copius amounts of fan fiction I expected to make over vacation was oddly disappointing, though I did write out a six-age oneshot that I still need to type and post in "Onehshot Shorts".

I also read Deathly Hallows yesterday, but this is not the place to discuss it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Three – Into the Void

"…And that's it?"

The Blind Bandit's head was pointed slightly down so that her unseeing eyes stared into the ground between Sokka and Aang's hospital chairs. She seemed completely unmoved by the story that Aang had just told her, unmoved by the idea of venturing into the Spirit World.

Sokka and Aang shared a somewhat confused look before Aang slowly turned back to Toph. "Well, yeah. That's pretty much it."

At this, Toph shrugged and stood up. "Well, we'd better get moving. I assume the Spirit World has a night time, and I don't want to have to guide you two through the dark right away."

At this comment, Aang's eyebrows rose. "Uh, Toph…?" He shot Sokka a look.

"Toph, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but…" Sokka trailed off. He didn't particularly want to be the subject of the woman's anger, especially since they'd just re-met after a long break. "There's no Bending in the Spirit World."

The look of mingled surprise and fear flitted across Toph's face for the first time. "What do you mean 'there's no Bending in the Spirit World'?"

"I mean exactly what I said. No Bending." When Toph did nothing, he took a few steps to close off the distance between them and gingerly rested a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Toph, I can understand if you don't want to come with us –"

"No." Toph batted his hand out of the way with a sharp slap. He grimaced and rubbed his hand where she had come in contact with it. "I'm going with you."

At this, Aang felt that it was time for him to speak up. Silently scolding himself for not having mentioned the rather important fact to Toph before, he opened his mouth, mulled over his words for a moment, and said, "Are you sure? I mean, we'd love to have you with us, but if you can't see –"

She silenced him with a deadly glare that was focused just over his left shoulder. "Yes," she said firmly. "I don't care of one of you has to carry me on your back. Katara's my friend too."

A pregnant silence ensued. Finally, Aang nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "But let's get going, then. We don't have much time."

Aang turned and walked to his unconscious wife's side. He placed the backs of his fingertips on the side of her cheek; her skin was losing some of its color and warmth, as if her very life was draining from her body. Not caring that Sokka was watching, for the warrior had gotten more or less used to it over the years, Aang leaned over and placed the lightest of kisses on Katara's lips. His heart cried out in his chest.

"I love you, Katara," he breathed, running a hand over her forehead and pushing back her messy hair. He kissed her forehead and straightened up. "I'll see you soon. I promise."

When he turned around to face his friends, jaw set, Sokka clapped his hands together.

"Well guys, it looks like we're going on another crazy quest!" he said. Only this time, he was a more-than-willing to participant. "So Aang, let's make with the glowing and get us to the Spirit World, before my positive attitude dies." He waited from a response from Aang. Aang shifted where he stood and took a deep breath. Sokka raised his eyebrows. "…You don't know how to get us there, do you?"

Aang shuffled one foot and scratched his head. "Well, I know how to get myself there, but I've never tried taking anybody else there with me."

"What, not even Katara?" Sokka rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "You've never gone on a nice picnic in the Spirit World, Aang?"

"It's not exactly a romantic place, Sokka."

"Great, Aang. That's just great," Sokka deadpanned.

"Couldn't you two have thought of this before?" snapped Toph, who was still fuming about her forthcoming blindness.

"Sorry, but I was a little preoccupied with my dying wife!" Aang defended himself with equal venom. He paused then, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and took a deep breath. They weren't getting to the Spirit World any faster this way. He looked at his two unhappy friends, and then within himself. The three of them were feeling the same pain – perhaps pain in different forms, and for different reasons – but the same pain. "Look, let's not fight; it's not getting us anywhere. I'm sure I can figure it out. We'll just go back to my place and set things straight from there. Agreed?"

Toph gave a noncommittal shrug. Sokka nodded.

"Okay then. Let's go."

-

Evidently the crowd had figured out who was underneath the dark cape, and that it meant that the legendary group of four was back together again, because when Aang opened the door to the waiting room he found a mass of gossipers standing there. Some held writing utensils and scrolls, and others merely stood there with large grins on their faces. One man, a burly fellow in his early thirties, stepped forward with scroll at the ready.

"Rumor has it that you, young lady, are the legendary Blind Bandit, Earthbender extraordinaire and hero of the war!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, rounding on a cloaked Toph. "Can you confirm or deny this rumor?"

Instead of replying, Toph pointed two fingers at the ground and drew her hand in a horizontal line in front of her, effectively parting the surprised crowd. A small smirk was barely visible beneath her hood; Aang almost grinned as well. Toph gestured to Aang and Sokka, and together the three of them rushed past the man ("I can't believe it! The Blind Bandit moved me with her awesome Earthbending skills!"), through the parted crowd, and out the door.

Once the front doors of Ba Sing Se Hospital burst open, the three friends broke into a run. Aang, having always been naturally fast, was in the lead with Sokka and Toph close behind.

For the last six years, Aang had been overwhelmed with the post-war effort. Only very recently, with the help of Katara, had he finally managed to reinstate the Fire Nation's fair government under Fire Lord Zuko. Since that benchmark, along with a nice treaty that bonded the nations in peace, Aang had finally been able to settle down and set his focus on his wife instead of solely on his job as Avatar.

When the treaty had finally been signed by the leads of the nations, Katara had been just as relieved as Aang. Although the pair had been engaged as soon as Aang had turned sixteen, they had had to wait for another year before being wed. Katara had never allowed the wait to bother her, however; even though they had not been officially married until just over a year ago, they had acted as though they had been a couple for all of their lives.

This mindset had bothered Sokka only a little during times of travel, for he had often stumbled upon the pair while out hunting or looking for firewood. The Warrior, after finding that his various methods of scolding and threatening the Waterbender and the Avatar were less than effective, merely took to loudly announcing himself whenever coming across a clearing or the campsite. In the past year, Sokka had also settled down in Ba Sing Se and found a job as a manufacturer of Water Tribe tools. The shop he owned and ran with a handful of employees and metalworkers flourished in a short amount of time, as Water Tribe tools were both inexpensive and effective for everyday use. In fact, he had been working in the shop when a messenger had burst in, yelling about the late Ozai's loyalists.

Sokka spoke up after a few minutes running. "Wouldn't it be faster if you flew us?" he asked, pointing to the staff in Aang's hand.

"No," Aang replied. "We're all a lot bigger than we were six years ago. And besides, we're almost there."

"Where are we going, exactly?" Toph asked, loudly enough so that Aang could hear her from where he ran up ahead. Her hood had blown off at some point, revealing a haphazard bun that bounced as she ran.

Aang didn't glance back. "My house," he shouted. "It's just at the bottom of this hill, by the river. Ah, there!"

Aang reached the crest of the hill first, and stopped in his tracks so that Toph and Sokka could catch up. At the bottom of the hill, nestled between one of Ba Sing Se's small rivers and a jumble of other houses, was the house he had shared with Katara for the past year. It was a small house – just the right size for the pair of them and Sokka, if he stopped by.

Sokka stopped abruptly, nearly crashing into Aang in the process. Toph stopped beside them a split second later, and the three of them took off again down the hill towards the house.

At the bottom of the hill, Sokka upped his pace in an attempt to catch up to Aang. The Avatar, though, had already reached the foot of his house, leapt up the steps, and stopped at the front door. Sokka and Toph took an extra few seconds to catch up, and when they did, Aang pulled a small key out of his pocket and began fiddling with the door handle. Sokka, meanwhile, turned his back on Aang and scanned the area. His heart beat rapidly in his chest from the run from the hospital.

Beside him, Toph faced the wall, seemingly unbothered by the run nor the circumstances. However, both Aang and Sokka knew better than to trust Toph's seeming indifference; during the war, she had become so apathetic towards even her friends that it clouded their minds even in battle, when concentration was key.

"What are you doing, Sokka?" she asked, not sounding particularly curious.

Sokka raised one hand to shield the sun from his eyes and peered around through narrowed eyes. "I'm making sure that nobody followed us."

"Nobody did."

He turned to her just as Aang unlocked the door and pushed it open. "How do you…? Oh, right. I guess it's been a while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah." She began to follow Aang into the house. "It has."

Sokka paused before he followed her through the doorway, unsure of what her tone of voice had conveyed. Hesitant but not put out, he tore his eyes from Toph, who stood about a head shorter than he, and looked around the main room.

The house was as small on this inside as it appeared on the outside, with only five and a half rooms to it. A sort of open room took up the vast majority of the house. Near the far side was a small kitchen, and three doors lead to two bedrooms and a small bathroom. Sokka had helped Aang and Katara move into the house, and at the time they had owned little more than a bag of belongings each; they had, after all, been traveling for the last five years. Now the house had a homey feel to it, with different relics from all over the world scattered around.

"Nice place you got here," Toph observed. "Smells like lunch is ready."

"Yeah…"

Aang wiped his face and mouth with one hand and looked around the room like a lost man. Katara's eminent death seemed so surreal to him, even after he had held her cold hand just minutes previous. Had she really stood in that small kitchen less than two hours ago, making lunch for the pair of them? Had he really promised her that very morning that he would come home early for lunch so they could have a bite to eat and maybe take a ride on Appa before he had to return to the city's government establishment? Had she not, that very morning, agreed that it was a great idea and, giggling as he continued to put well-placed kisses on her neck, pushed him good-naturedly off the bed? Aang shook his head to bring himself back to the present. He had to get three people to the Spirit World, and while he assumed it would not be that difficult, he knew that it would still require his undivided attention.

He turned around and wiped his hands nervously on his tunic.

"First, we need to get some food together. Grab whatever you think we'll need and put it in the knapsacks," said Aang, pointing to a small closet door. "I've got to talk to Appa, and then we'll figure out what to do from there."

Sokka nodded and ran off towards the closet while Toph made for the kitchen. Aang watched his friends for only a moment before running towards the back door, through which Appa and Momo were undoubtedly sleeping.

-

Getting to the Spirit World turned out to be rather simple. Aang had been there enough times of his own to know roughly what he had to do. The others would be brought just by the touch of his hand, as long as he had contact with him when he crossed over. It was only a matter of getting both Toph and Sokka in a meditative state, which took a good hour and a lot of incense, and then getting himself into the Spirit World. The real problem was that once they got there, they were more or less lost.

The Spirit World seemed little more than a strangely colored swamp with the occasional strange animal to Sokka, who had been expecting some strange anti-gravity world; he was rather disappointed, and stated as much.

"I don't know why you're complaining," Toph said from where she stood, and had been standing, rooted, since they arrived there a few minutes beforehand. "I'm glad it's nothing special. Less for me to not see and feel."

Sokka shrugged. "I'm not complaining. I just thought it would be, I don't know, weirder." He paused and looked around. A shudder coursed down his back. "Not that it's not really weird, but still…"

Keen on changing the subject, Sokka tore his eyes from the dark trees and set them on Aang, who seemed somewhat confused. Aang glanced at Sokka, saw that the warrior was watching him, and turned away.

"I'm looking for some sort of direction to the End," announced Aang loudly, as if speaking not only to Sokka and Toph but to the entire forest. "If any of you past Avatars are listening, a little help would be greatly appreciated!"

"What, are you expecting Roku to pop in and hand out road maps?" Sokka asked, exasperated and sarcastic. "Hey, maybe Kyoshi will come and hammer a sign to a tree for us. And while they're at it, I could go for a Spirit World sandwich or something because—"

"I think what Sokka is trying to say, Aang, is are you really expecting a map to just pop out of the ground or something?"

As if her words had sparked it, an array of twisting vines rose up from the ground, writhing like dark snakes. Sokka yelled out in surprise and, thinking that some Spirit World monster was ambushing them, pulled out his machete to chop the vines, but Aang flung out his arm and Sokka stopped in his tracks with his machete still held high.

"Just watch."

The vines rose up, twisting around each other until they formed a pole-like structure standing three feet tall from the ground. Then, the vines moved to the left with a strange slithering sound until they formed an arrow atop the vine pole, an arrow pointing to the left.

Sokka's jaw dropped. "But—but…!"

Toph looked almost panicked, and very defenseless. And bent her knees in her Horse Stance and braced herself. "What, what is it?" She asked, the quaver in her voice unmistakable. "What's going on?"

Aang, on the contrary, looked quite pleased. He scooped up his knapsack off the ground and shouldered it, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Ask, and you shall receive. Let's go, guys. It looks like we've finally got the right directions."

"I don't know, Aang. It could be someone—or something—trying to trick us—" Sokka began, but Aang had already begun to trek through the woods. Sighing uneasily, he turned to the Blind Bandit. "Come on, Toph."

Toph stood, unmoving, as if she had not heard him. "I can't Earthbend, Sokka," she muttered. "I'm really and truly blind."

Sokka paused thoughtfully, then walked over to his friend. He slipped his hand into hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Come on, Toph. Let's go save Katara."

At first, Toph did nothing. Then, after a moment, she returned his hand squeeze and allowed him to guide her towards Aang, into the unknown boundaries of the Spirit World's forest.

-

A/N: It's good to be back, guys. Mmm... sleepytime. Next chapter up hopefully soon, and maybe some other stuff as well.