Sokka pushed Aang away and began wiping his mouth furiously.
"What is it Katara?" Aang asked.
"I'm not a girl!" Sokka exclaimed between wipes.
"What?" Aang backed away slightly, taken aback.
"I'm not a girl, Aang! I'm a man!"
"Oh!" Aang covered his mouth, disturbed, "Wow, that's a shock, Katara."
Sokka looked at him and began to shake his head.
"Can I ask you something?" Aang scratched his head awkwardly, "Did you get implants or do you just stuff?"
"No!" Sokka shrieked, "I'm not Katara! I'm Sokka!"
"Sokka?" Aang repeated in awe, "Interesting. Do you always dress like your sister?"
"No!" Sokka slapped his forehead, "I'm in her body and she's in mine!"
Aang stared at him in silence for a moment before cracking up.
"What's so funny?"
"It's ironic."
"Then, you believe me?" Sokka asked, amazed.
"Sure," Aang stood, "after all, if you were really Katara you wouldn't have acted that way."
"Katara wouldn't have acted what way?" Katara asked, pushing aside brambles.
"Aang knows," Sokka said, "He tried to-" he stopped speaking at the look on Aang's face, "I just, uh, figured you were right about us telling him."
Katara crossed her arms, "Of course I was. Anyway," she turned to Aang, "what should we do?"
"I guess I'll go into town and check to see if anyone there knows how to reverse it, whatever 'it' is. I thought I heard someone say something about a potion shop, they might have an antidote."
"Okay, but you're not forcing strange potions down my throat until you test them out on Katara first."
"Hey!" Katara flicked Sokka, then passed Aang his staff, "You might as well fly. It'll be quicker."
"Okay, wish me luck."
"Good luck," Sokka replied as Aang pushed off and soared away.
"We might as well tell Toph now," Katara offered.
"Or," Sokka began, "We could just wait for Aang to return with the cure, switch us back, and she'll never have to know."
Katara placed her hands on her hips, "I thought this couldn't be cured."
Sokka stared at her, "Don't get all sarcastic on me."
"Hey Katara!" Toph called. Katara and Sokka turned around to witness Toph push aside a few bushes and approach them.
"What is it Toph?" Sokka asked.
Toph smiled, "You have got to feel the water in the stream. The sun is hitting it and warming it up to the perfect temperature!" she grabbed Sokka's wrist, "Come on Katara! Let's take a bath!"
"What!?" Sokka strained against Toph's grip, "No! Let go!"
"Don't be such a baby! You need to relax!"
"Um, Toph," Katara stepped forward, blocking their way, "Nows not really a good time."
Toph bent the earth beneath Katara's feet, moving her aside.
"No, wait!" Katara called as Toph dragged Sokka off.
"Sorry Sokka," Toph continued dragging him along, "but it's girls only."
"But I am a girl!" Katara shouted.
Toph leaned in to Sokka, "Talk about low self-esteem," she whispered.
Aang touched down and dismounted his glider. He looked around him, trying to spot the shop he had heard about.
"Can I help you?" a young lady asked.
"Yes please," replied Aang with a nod, "Do you know anyone who would have antidotes or cures for, uh, strange occurrences?"
"Madame Morbida should," the lady replied, "she's the herbalist here, but she also brews strange potions which no one dares to buy."
"Great," Aang smiled, "Where can I find her?"
The lady pointed to her left, "Just a few blocks down. You'll be able to tell which shop is hers, don't worry."
"Thank you," Aang said with a bow. The lady smiled back at him, then turned and continued on her way.
Aang made his way through town quickly, stopping once and a while to make sure he didn't pass the shop. The lady said he'd know which one it was when he saw it, and she was right. He looked the small building over before approaching the door. It was worn out and rotting, a musky fragrance permeated out of the small wholes in the walls. Taking a deep breath of fresh air he grasped the door handle, and pushed it open.
The inside was dark and decrepit, rows of dusty untouched shelves with strange jars lined the walls. Old animal skins coated the floor where more rows of shelves stood.
"Hello?" Aang spoke softly, his voice echoing emptily around the room, "Madame Morbida? Anybody here? I need a cure for my friends." After a moment he figured the place was empty and turned to leave.
"Your friends have yet to learn their lessons," a deep voice spoke up from behind Aang. He started, then turned to face the person. As she stepped into the light recognition struck him.
"You're the fruit vendor," Aang said, noticing her silver hair.
She smiled, "Yes, I serve fruit as well as herbs," she pulled out a small vile filled with violet liquid, "Is this what you need?"
"How would you know what I'm here for?"
"Because it was I who cursed your friends," she waved the vile before his eyes, "they needed to learn their lesson."
"What lesson?" Aang asked angrily.
"Oh, don't worry," she smiled, "they'll be fine, as long as you switch them back within forty-eight hours since they were cursed."
"How do I switch them back?"
"With this," she pocketed the vile, "it's how I switched them in the first place. I made it for bickering brothers and sisters. This town had a big sibling problem before I came here. But don't worry, everyone was always switched back in time, well, except for one family," she laughed, her silver hair bouncing on her shoulders.
"Give me the antidote!" Aang threatened, "Now!"
The old lady shrugged, "Suit yourself. But something will interfere with switching them back. Something will prevent it. See, you can only switch them back once they've learned their lesson."
"Give it to me!"
The lady passed it to Aang with a sly smile, "Just dab some on their eyelids and the potion will do the rest."
"Wait," Aang studied the deep violet liquid, "how do I know I can trust you?"
"I guess you can't know for sure."
"Isn't the water nice and warm?" Toph asked reaching out to pat Sokka's shoulder. As she touched the side of his head she could feel his hands covering his eyes.
"Uh-huh," Sokka answered nervously.
"Why are your eyes closed?" Toph asked curiously.
"I feel violated."
"What?" Toph crossed her arms, "Why are you being so weird? You're acting like Sokka."
"Hey!" Sokka said, still covering his eyes, "Are you saying Sokka's weird?"
"You think so too?"
Aang took off on his glider, soaring through the air back to camp with the vile. When he arrived he was just in time to hear someone shrieking. Running towards the noise he pushed through the brambles to see Sokka and Toph wrapped in towels, and Katara standing there completely disgusted.
"What is it? What's going on?" he asked.
"I don't know!" Toph yelled.
"What happened?" Aang repeated.
"I saw my sister naked!" Sokka yelled, clutching at his eyes.
"My brother saw me naked!" Katara shrieked.
"How?" Aang asked. He turned to Toph.
"I told Katara to take a bath with me!" Toph replied, pointing at Sokka.
Aang laughed, "That's not Katara, that's Sokka!"
"What?" Toph said unbelievingly, "No way."
"It's true."
"Oh man!" Toph said as she put her head in her hands, "Now my feet are going blind?"
"No, they switched bodies."
"What?"
"We did," Sokka chimed in.
"But, how?" Toph asked.
"We'll figure all the details out later," Aang said, pulling out the vile, "Right now, let's get you guys back in the bodies you belong."
"Good idea," Sokka said.
Aang uncorked the vile and poured a few drops on his finger, wiping it on Sokka's eyelids. He did the same for Katara.
"Well?"
"I don't feel any different," Katara said, "And I'm still Sokka."
"Uh-oh."
"Uh-oh what, Aang?" Sokka asked.
"Madame Morbida, the lady who cursed you two, said we wouldn't be able to reverse it until you two learn your lessons."
"What lessons?"
"I don't know," Aang replied, studying the vile.
"Well, what do we do now?" Katara asked.
"Now," someone replied from behind them, "now, you either surrender, or be defeated."
Aang moved out of the way just in time, the ground where he had been standing exploded in blue flame.
"Azula!"
"Oh man!" Sokka complained, "Not now."
"I'll handle it!" Toph shouted as she earthbent a rock towards Azula. She dodged the rock, then ducked under Aang's air attack.
Katara ran forward, pulling out Sokka's boomerang, "Take this!" she yelled as she flung it. It soared through the air, missed Azula, and hit Toph.
"Ow! Hey!"
"Oops," Katara said sheepishly, "sorry Toph."
Sokka ran forward, towards Azula and Aang, "Okay, how did Katara do it?" he asked himself. He moved his hands, bending the water from the stream around him, then stepped forward, "Hi-ya!" he shouted as he flung his hands at Azula. There was a cracking sound from behind him, then Toph's voice.
"Why is it always me?"
Sokka turned to see Toph encased in ice, "Sorry Toph," he said.
Azula jumped and kicked fire at Aang, but he nimbly dodged the attack and struck back, still clutching the vile.
"Get me out of here!" Toph shouted. Katara began hacking at the ice around her with Sokka's boomerang.
"Let me try bending you out!" Sokka offered.
"No!" Toph shouted, "You'll just make it worse."
Suddenly Zuko was there, tackling Aang to the ground. The vile cracked and flew into the air, sending its contents falling from the sky, and dousing Azula and Zuko.
There was a cry of rage from Azula at the same time Toph was freed from her prison, then a gasp from Azula. Her voice cracking, she exclaimed; "Oh man! I'm a still a girl!"She felt her chest, "These aren't mine!"
"Sokka?" Zuko's body asked him.
Azula's body nodded in reply, "Yeah."
"Hey! That's my body!" Sokka's form shouted, pointing at Zuko, then he gasped, "That's not my voice!" He clutched at his throat, looking around wildly.
Sokka stared at his body, then at Zuko's body, "Katara?" he asked it.
Zuko's form nodded in reply, "Hi," Katara answered awkwardly. Sokka looked at his body again, then to Katara's form.
"You have got to be kidding me," she spoke up, "I'm the waterbender?"
