Burn My Dread FES
By Iain R. Lewis
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Persona 3 and Persona 4, property of ATLUS games.
"Too smooth to see that I sting like a bee, like Muhammed Ali. Champion of champions will not defeat. Came up to beat the enemy at large, but tonight let us take a break back to kids in go-carts."
- Mass Destruction - Reincarnation-
Lotus Juice
Chapter 13: Child's Play
"It said quack," Katara repeated for them.
"Yes, it most certainly did," Azula agreed. "It looks like a giant turtle duck."
Sokka added, "A rubber turtle ducky."
And indeed it was. In fact, it was a giant, yellow, rubber turtle duck. "Well, I never," Katara said, "This is certainly unsual."
"Well, at least it's just a rubber turtle ducky," Azula said, "Zuzu used to have one to play in the tub when he was younger."
"Hey!" Zuko shouted, "What's the big idea, Azula?"
"Aw, little Zuzu with a rubber turtle ducky," Katara cooed, between fits of laughter, "Dat's adowable!"
"Can we focus on the giant rubber thing slowly bobbing towards us, please?" Zuko said, before sinking beneath the water to hide the blush on his face.
"Oh, what's the worst it can do?" Azula asked as the explosions went off behind her, somehow killing the mood with comedic timing. The pool became a tempest of confusion, explosions pushing up waves, waves hurtling everyone around the pool, the tides pulling them under.
Azula could hardly see underneath the water, even as her eyes adjusted.
Something round, brightly colored, like a beach ball, floated up towards her, brushing against her shoulder. Cold, plastic and smooth, it hovered for a second. It expanded, violently, like someone trying to claw their way free from inside, until it burst.
There was no explosion, no shrapnel lodging in her skin, but the pressure of the explosion forced her deeper. It seemed almost tame, her imagination swirling with ideas, seeing vividly the horrors that could have been.
But now, slowly stopping beneath the waves, things came into focus.
There, out of the corner of her eye, another one of those things, and another below her and above her. She floated in the midst of a minefield.
The bottom of her foot brushed against another floating mine. There was another explosion of air and she was thrown further into the minefield. She couldn't figure which way was up, she was disoriented, and too frightened to move.
And she was starting to feel a desperate need to breathe.
The others weren't faring much better. Sokka climbed desperately to the surface and emerged, staring the turtle ducky right in its plastic breast. The low rumbling, "Quack," shook the water, and it bobbed up and down, pushing the water out around it.
Torpedoes, depth charges, Sokka didn't know which it launched, but the water burst up in another set of large explosions. The rest of the surface seemed devoid of life, it was only him and the duck.
"Great," he muttered, knowing full well no one could hear him. He took a deep breath and dove underwater.
He could barely see, but there was Yue and Zuko, with Yue desperately helping him up to the surface, moving as best as she could restricted by her flowing attire. He couldn't see Azula, or Katara.
He wasn't letting them die on him.
He rushed over to Yue, taking Zuko's other arm and pulling him and her up to the surface. Zuko seemed to devour the oxygen when he came up. Yue, trying to maintain her dignity, barely witheld from doing the same thing. "What happened?"
"Mines," Zuko grunted. "Something like it. The place is littered with them."
"Quack."
"And that thing's about to do something again, wonderful," Sokka shouted. "Can't we ever meet something helpful? You know, 'Hi, I see you're looking for the exit. Follow me!' and then we go to the exit and leave. That would be my ideal maze."
"Tell me about it," Zuko grumbled.
More explosions followed, and the giant Turtle Ducky moved slowly forward. "Can't even get close to it," Sokka continued, "And I don't see Katara or Azula anywhere."
"Katara was going the other way," Yue answered, "She's looking for Azula."
"Where is Azula?"
She looked down at the water.
"How deep?" Sokka needled, looking anxious.
"Very deep."
"How deep is very deep?" he asked. He was fully aware that the answer wouldn't be good.
"Thirty-five feet, and getting deeper," she answered, "And Katara was swimming right into the minefield after her."
"We got to go after them," he said.
"I know how you feel," Zuko retorted, a scowl on hsi face, "But we don't need to risk anyone else. Katara can handle it, we'd only get in her way."
Sokka clenched his hands tightly into a fist.
"We need to trust Katara," Yue said, reaching for his hand, "Right now, we should try and stop that, that dreadfully testing thing."
He relaxed his fists, and turned his attention completely to the Rubber Turtle Ducky Warship, or whatever he would call it when he decided on a name. "You're right. But we need a plan. We can't attack it head on without getting blown up."
"Then we flank it," Zuko answered. "Between the two of us, one of us should be able to get through."
"Good luck, Sokka. Be careful, Zuko," Yue bowed her head, "I wish I could do more."
"Keep an eye on Katara," Sokka answered, "If something happens, we have to act fast. I'm not letting anyone else --"
He couldn't finish his thought, but Zuko knew exactly what he meant. "Let's go."
Throwing themselves at the creature, the two swam forward before splitting up, one flanking its right and the other its left, and the creature slowly craned its head around in a circle on the point where its head was attached to its neck.
The chaotic waves picked up, and explosions shook the surface of the waves, cascading water across the walls and platforms hanging above. Sokka refused to be pushed back, diving through the waves, his focus entirely on the bright yellow form in front of him.
The ominous, "Quack," resounded again and yet, no explosions, no giant waves, the rubber warship-slash-turtle ducky seemed surprisingly still.
That was, until the mines popped up. Like laid eggs, they emerged from beneath the plastic construct, floating to the surface and being carried on the tumultuous waters forward. "What the -- what are those?"
He started at them, as they carried on the crest of a wave and bounded against him. They exploded as they bounced off, throwing him back and launching him against the wall of the basin.
"Ow."
He rubbed his head. The blast left him so dizzy, so disoriented. He was pushed with enough force that it seemed like he sailed atop the water rather than through it, though the water in his ear kind of protested that as a matter of perception.
Still.
He watched one float close to him, and looked at the rubber turtle ducky.
This idea could work.
Below them, the waters seemed so much calmer, the mines floated peacefully in the depths, undisturbed and standing as a splash of color in the otherwise drab depths. Azula counted them, because to focus on the increasingly short breath in her lungs would cause panic.
She wouldn't panic. It wasn't befitting of her.
They were moving now. It was kind of pretty, the way they blurred with the blackened waters as they were pushed aside by a wave. She reasoned she must be about to lose consciousness, but refused to let that register panic.
Panic would move her a bit too close to that other mine that bobbed a few feet from her head.
She was amazed it hadn't gone off when she stopped. Still, it became her reluctant companion in the depths. All she could do was try and stop from sinking further into the minefield, and try not to move too close.
Not that it mattered, any second now, she'd sink deeper and find herself at the bottom with the last of her air evaporating. She'd been holding her breath for maybe four, five minutes now? It was a little much.
She looked to the mine next to her again, as it was thrown clear into the distance, disappearing behind the murk. Instead, a radiant blue sweater atop a Phoenix school uniform greeted her. She felt the last of her air vanishing as the girl pulled her up towards the distant surface.
The surface though was a tempest of activity. The ominous quack, the mines appearing, Zuko didn't know exactly what was worse. He could hear Sokka shouting something, apparently he'd just discovered those mines for the first time.
As funny as it would be to see him thrown about, Zuko couldn't afford distractions. He propelled himself forward as fast as he could. Dodging around the mines was easy enough, but they were thickest around the turtle duck's side.
"Wonderful," he muttered, crossly.
Then, he had an idea. He dove underneath the surface, and looked around. The mines hovered overhead, but the creature's underbelly seemed completely defenseless -- or at least relatively so. With no other options apparent, he propelled himself straight at it.
And with a gasp, Azula came to the surface, her lungs physically in pain. She still felt the dizziness, the lightness of her head. She looked for Katara, and found the waterbender floating on the surface, equally tired. "Why --"
Katara looked at her, eyebrow cocked upwards, and through a gasping breath, said, "What do you mean, why?"
"Why did you save me?" she continued, "It was stupid. You could have died yourself."
"And just let you drown?" Katara screamed, her voice riddled with indignation. "What sort of question is that?"
She didn't have any further response. Not that she found herself with time to ask anything. The explosions tore across the waves, pushing and pulling them every which way they could, leaving them more disoriented than before, and the ducky cried out an angry, bitter, "Quack."
"Focus on that for now," Katara said. "We'll have time to talk later."
The walls undewent a great shuddering as the floodgates again opened, water spilling ouf the main pool slowly. The current sped up the bobbing of the rubber turtle ducky warship, which continued its barrage undeterred by the change.
It cried out a pained, "Quack!" and a figure bounded, seemingly flying across the water, sword held high and ready to strike.
"Is that -- that's Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, "What's he trying to do?"
"Not!" he screamed, "My!" he bounced on another mine, but the momentum just pushed him back into a third, which pushed him forward, "Best idea!" He reached for his sword as he approached, lifting it high and ready to slice.
It wasn't as elegant as he'd planned it, but it worked.
He swung! His sword sliced into the turtle ducky's side, leaving a large gash. Underneath, long, shadowy fingers held the plastic 'skin' together, The fingers criss-crossed, stitching the two pieces together. It continued to cry out, its pain-wracked, "Quack!" echoing through-out the waterways.
On the other side of the turtle ducky,Zuko climbed out of the water, his swords dug deep into the plastic. He used them to create footholds on the smooth surface, the inky shadow dripping from them as he climbed. He looked exhausted, breathing in quick, gasping breaths as he reached the top.
The blades cut through the plastic, exposing the writhing blackness, the turtle ducky's head falling into the water as the twin Dao blades sliced through. The creature slowly stopped, the waves died down, the shadowy stitching started to recede.
"What was that?" Katara breathed, swimming closer to the creature.
When he saw them, Sokka shouted in relief, "Katara! Azula! You guys made it!" He swam over to meet them. "That was pretty rough. Zuko! Great thinking!"
Zuko shook his head, grunting, and leaping off the inert plastic corpse. "Let's get out of here before something else happens."
Yue's frantic gesturing was noticed just a few seconds too late.
It didn't say, "Quack" this time. It just roared.
The fragments of the turtle ducky wrapped around the shadows tightly, the creature, still vaguely in the form of a turtle duck, seemed made of many writhing tendrils, a mismatched mask placed awkwardly over a large bill-like appendage on its face.
It roared again, throwing tendrils into the water.
"This is bad," Sokka observed, yet he did not appear remotely panicked.
Zuko glowered, "Great. Like we didn't have other things to do."
Azula's eyes were focused on the mask on its 'head', "I know that mask from somewhere," she muttered, but no one else heard her. The tendrils came down hard, splashing the water everywhere and digging deep through to the bottom.
"What is it doing?"
The creature pulled itself under the water, disappearing into the murky darkness. It moved, that was certain, the undercurrent picked up as it did, tugging at their toes like an undertow. "Katara, can't you magic water something up?" Sokka pleaded, desperation in his voice.
"I can try," she answered. Concentrating as hard as she could, a chill pervaded the water in front of her, crystallizing the surface into a small platform of ice. "Get on."
"Well, okay," Sokka answered, pulling himself up and offering a hand to Azula. "Come on."
She looked at it, but, reluctantly, she took it and he pulled her up. She turned and did the same for Yue as he helped Zuko climb up. "What are you planning, Katara?" Azula asked as Katara finally pulled herself up.
"We need to stop," she said, "And wait."
"What does that mean?"
"Toph said Aang used it to describe how she earthbended. Neutral Jing, or something," she waved her hands, "Not that it matters what it's called. I need to concentrate."
Stop, she said. Wait, she said, Azula couldn't figure out what she meant
But Katara listened. She closed her eyes and listened, the echoes making it difficult to sense where anything was coming, but in the silence, an echo would make any noise sound louder. Yue, a hushed whisper in the emptiness, quietly murmured, "It's coming."
Katara's fists tightened. Anticipation overwhelming, she could almost hear it, a phantom noise in her eardrums. When it came, she would be ready.
And the echoes were quiet.
And when the sound came, it was like a drop of water in the ocean.
It was like nothing at all, and yet it was everything she needed. Her eyes snapped open. Her hands unclenched. She raised them high. Her eyes darted from side to side. She saw it. She struck.
The waves pushed out at the massive shape that emerged. Its mutated wings rose high, covered in torn yellow plastic. Water splashed everywhere as the waves descended sharply around it, and then, like a flower bloomed, the waves around it pushed up and outwards.
"Direct hit!" Sokka cheered.
"Not over yet," Katara grunted, throwing her hands out. "I need to hold onto it, first."
The torrents froze into large chains of ice, tying down the massive shadows that squirmed in putrid, maggot-like ways about the creature's body. Katara fought back as they tried to expand. She could feel her fingers slipping.
She needed to hold, and she refused to lose. "Azula, please," she said, "Help."
"Me?" Azula tried to hide her surprise. Katara nodded, "What do I need to do."
"Follow my form," she said, "And try and focus on leading the water to become rigid."
"I see," she said, though she really didn't. She was a fast learner, though she wasn't sure this was exactly what she had in mind when she learned she needed waterbending lessons. On-the-job training didn't wait for anyone, though.
First, she pushed. The water followed her lead, joining in a dance.
Was it dancing?
It was the closest comparison she could think of for anything. Not that she danced much. Even the school dance was destroyed by rampaging spirits, and she never had the chance to dance with him there, either -- she caught herself as she became distracted, and turned her focus back to the simple moves of the dance.
Dip your partner, Azula thought with a grin, and bring them up into the air. Let them twirl around and then, hold.
A simple change in perspective and she was starting to understand the almost alien forms of waterbending much better. She wondered if Katara ever came to that conclusion. Looking at the form of her ice chains, Katara was still far more elegant, but these rickety chains she made would serve their purpose.
"Knew you could do it," Katara said.
The creature protested against these new chains with even greater sound and fury. Azula found herself surprised by the sheer amount of feedback she received. She could actually feel the ice begin to bend as a thrashing tendril from the creature's maw pulled at a loose fragment of ice.
It was a desperate struggle, the creature sounded like a cornered beast.
"We can't hold this forever."
"I know," Katara answered. She dropped her hands, and moved to another form, "But if you can hold it for just a minute longer."
"What?" Azula nearly snapped.
"If you don't think you can --"
"I can do this, I was just not prepared for you to do that," Azula coughed. No need to let on taht she was absolutely sure she couldn't do this, she reasoned.
Already her thinner chains were starting to crumble into nothing.
"All right," Katara doesn't even protest, just bringing the water up from the pool and forming it into one long lance of ice. "Let's see if this works."
"Katara," Azula grunted, "Aim between the eyes."
"Well, as close to eyes as this thing has," Sokka added.
"All right, I will." She steadied the icicle lance and delicately aimed.
"Any second now," Azula groaned.
Katara's motions were as fluid as water, hands moving back, then pushing forward, providing the momentum and arc the lance needed. The creature's roars were fierce and fearful, and it moved its head around desperately. Azula growled, tightening her grip and raising her hands up. The ice tightened around its neck, holding the creature still.
The lance seemed so much faster a second ago, and they watched it as it fell from its apex, downwards towards the creature's head.
It slid through the mask, and jutted out the backside of the neck, shimmering in the blue light that cast through the mist. For a moment, things seemed still. The creatures writhing ceased, and the only sound was a faint crack.
The mask split in twain and fell down, resting on the surface of the water.
Sokka was the first to speak, "What happened?"
Azula tensed further, "I do not know."
The beak-like maw opened again, and fell limp, fragments of the inky black substance falling into the water and dissolving. The roar of water draining further into the waterways echoed loud, competing as best as it could with the splashes as more and more fragments fell like raindrops, leaving only an inky black ripple in the water below.
"We got it," Zuko grinned.
Yue nodded in agreement. "But what did we get?"
"No! No! No! Rubber Turtle Ducky!"
As the last fragments bent back and left a black, inky stain on a raised platform the water had just revealed, the voice carried across them from an echo. "Her again?" Azula wondered, her patience slowly thinning, "What do you want now?"
"You broke my rubber turtle ducky. Now who'll make bathtime so much fun?"
"I don't have time for this. Stop playing games." She shook ehr head, "Ignore her. We need to find the real Toph."
"You're such a sour-puss!" the voice shouted angrily, "Well, fine, then I won't tell you where we are."
Zuko spoke up, "We? Who's we?" Even as he asked that, it was clear he knew full well her answer.
"Me and my other half, that's who!" she giggled madly, "And since you broke one of my toys, I'll break one of yours. Unless you wanna play a game!"
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Zuko grunted.
"Of course we do," Azula answered, "We can simply not play and move on."
"Azula! How could you?" Katara shouted. "I, I can't believe you'd just --"
"Cranky Dolly plays hard ball, it's so cute!" the other Toph's voice echoed, and they could hear her clapping excitedly, "But you don't have a choice. Wanna know a secret?" The group looked amongst themselves, as if wondering who would speak up first. "You can't get out of here without my permission. So to get it, you have to play. It's win win!"
"Fine," Azula groaned, "We'll 'play.' What is this game anyway?"
"Hide and seek! You've got to find me. If you do, I'll give you back the other Toph and show you how to get out of here. But I'm really good at this game, so you won't win."
"How hard can this be?" Sokka wondered aloud. "Oh -- oh wait, I didn't say 'How hard can this be' I said 'How blard can this be.' Blard meaning, uh, fun!"
"Nice try, Mr. Action Figure," the other Toph giggled, "But you just earned your team a time limit! You've got five minutes to find me."
"That doesn't seem fair," Azula answered, glaring directly at Sokka. "How about you give us a clue."
"Okay, okay," Toph's other side sighed, "I'm in that door."
The ice platform touched the bottom of the pool, and the group looked around the basin's floor. At the far end, a water-tight door covered up a passageway. They stared at it. "All right, that sounds fair. Start whenever you're ready."
"I did, like, ten seconds ago. Better get hurrying!" the voice giggled, vanishing into the echoes of the waterways.
"I hate these other sides," Katara muttered. "Azula, I can't believe you would just leave Toph like that."
"I was trying to bluff," Azula answered, nonplussed, "Come on. We have a door to open."
"This is a door, all right," Sokka observed.
It was quite large, water-tight, and somewhat more notably, locked. The door was long since eroded shut -- at least that's what it seemed like, and pulling at it seemed to be a pointless exercise.
"Anyone know how to work these things?" Sokka continued, "I think if we turn this thingie here, it may open, but it's really stuck there."
Azula craned her neck around, "Looks like it's rusted shut. Shoddy workmanship, typical Toph. I suppose the only course of action is for you big, strong men to do us ladies the favor of opening it."
"What?" Zuko bristled.
"Azula, this really isn't the time for being cute," Katara muttered. "Come on, I'll help." She rolled her eyes, "What is with her? One minute she seems to be improving, the next."
"Give her time," Sokka said, "She's just a little, well, she doesn't like to lose, does she?"
Katara shook her head, "Toph doesn't like to lose. Azula, on the other hand -- " she cast a glance at the girl, who seemed too busy looking around the bottom of the resevoir to pay attention, "Azula just doesn't like being wrong."
"I guess," Sokka shrugged, "Hey, Zuko, you take that end and push, Katara and I'll pull, see if we can't get this thing turning."
Zuko nodded and took position.
"What do you think, Zuko?" Katara asked.
"I don't know," Zuko muttered, "Right now I want to get out of here."
"But that's no excuse to leave Toph behind."
"I think she knows what she was doing," Zuko shook his head, "Doesn't mean she should just act like that."
"Thank you!"
"Ugh, this stupid -- on three, guys. One, two, three!" They heaved as hard as they could. The wheel would not budge.
Azula stared at them as they groaned and frowned. "Do you sense anything, Yue?" she asked for the third time since they started.
She shook her head, "I told you, anything I'm sensing is much too small."
"That worries me," she answered.
"You said," Yue hesitated, "Azula, do you think you could be a bit more concerned for Toph's safety?"
"Who says I'm not concerned?" Azula answered. "But she'll be fine. That was just an empty threat, anyway."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"They're parts of each other. At least, they are, for now. I don't imagine their future would be very secure if they went around trying to kill us."
"So, that's why they're trying to get us to reject them?"
"Presumably," Azula answered. She frowned, "What do you sense now?"
Yue sighed, "A bunch of small things are approaching us, but I don't think we have much to worry about."
"Ten hut! And march!"
"Oh, oh dear," Yue said, "That's a lot of small things."
Azula followed Yue's gaze to the line of small things she'd mentioned. They were tin soldiers, painted in Earth Kingdom greens, marching in a series of platoons, carrying on in an old-fashioned style.
"What the --"
"Aim!"
The sound of a hundred small guns loading is an intimidating noise. Azula narrowed her eyes. "I think I'll need to have a word with Toph about her subconscious and firearms."
"Fire!"
Azula did the only thing she could think of, pushing out a large gust of air to slow the bullets down. They were tiny, and though the gust slowed their momentum, they still hit, raining down like tiny hailstones. "Ow! What's going on?" Sokka turned around, his voice trailing as he saw the tin soldiers march. "That's not good."
"She's cheating!" Katara shouted.
"You expected her to play fair? Really?" Azula retorted. "Keep getting that door open. We don't have time."
"You need help though --"
"Yue and I can handle it. Just keep opening that door."
"Okay, okay," Katara said, resigned. "Let's get this door open and fast."
"Okay, okay, you try helping Zuko on that end this time."
"I hope Toph's okay," she said, moving to her position. "This is definitely not what I expected from her."
They turned the wheel as hard as they could, and slowly, the thing budged. Flaking rust fell to the ground. "We got it!" Sokka said. "Okay, again!"
"Got them!" Azula grinned, a gust of wind tearing through the firing squad.
"Great!" Yue cheered.
"Bring in the heavy artillery!"
"They've got a tank? Well, that's a pleasant surprise!"
Katara winced as she heard Azula shouting behind her. "Let's hurry it up, guys."
"Okay, on one. One!" They heaved and she could feel it start to give. "Yeah! Again! One!"
"How long do we have?"
"You don't want to know," Zuko grunted.
"Look out, Azula, they're bringing in air support!"
"They're doing what?"
"Bombs away!"
"Oh, wonderful."
Katara winced again. "It's okay," Sokka said, "She's got it under control. She's got it under control, right, Zuko?"
"I'm not paying attention," he grunted. "We're almost there, Sokka, don't let up to chat."
"Okay, okay," Sokka answered. "Let's give it one good heave and go!"
The creaking of the rusted door like a groan, the pieces moving into place as the door swung slowly open, it sounded like music to their ears. "We got it! Come on Azula, let's go -- Azula?"
"Yes, Katara?"
The tiny infantry was scattered, their tanks were piles of scrap metal and their planes a smoldering wreck, and Azula stood in the middle, a grin on her face. The tin soldier's commander weakly raised his voice, calling for them to, "Sound the retreat." Her heel came down on him.
"Looks like you had fun."
She brushed the hair away from her face, "Of course. Good work on the door."
"Yeah, thanks," Katara shrugged. "Let's go. We need to hurry!"
"Be careful, we don't know what we're running into," Azula barked, following after Katara. Frenzied footsteps on the cold stone floor turned to splashing and the darkness around them grew even thicker.
"So, can anyone see?"
"No, Sokka," Yue said, patiently.
"Oh, good, because I was worried my eyeballs stopped working."
"How is that the first thing to come to your --" Azula cut off with the slamming of the door "Oh, it was a trap."
The echo sounded closer, a laugh, childlike and innocent, "Ha ha! You found me! Are you ready for your prize?"
"Where's Toph!" Sokka shouted. He paused, and from the sounds of his splashing footsteps, it was clear he was spinning around, "And where are you, for that matter."
"Aww, are you having trouble seeing?" the other Toph's voice cooed, "Well, let me get the lights for you big babies."
There was a sound, and a low electric hum started up, the lights flickering and casting reflections on the shallow water underfoot. Long, craggy stone walls, hewn like a natural cave, dripping with water around them, and in front of them, a very large, irate looking badger-mole with a tiny pair of aviator goggles balanced snarled.
The other Toph pushed it forward, "Pao Pao, come on! Get them!"
The lazy looking creature snarled angrily at the command, but moved to lumber forward, the large pack on its back expanding as it stood. Rows upon rows of ammunition emerging in belts as the harness extended outwards.
Expanding larger and larger until it jammed itself hard into the stony walls.
The badgermole made a confused coo as it started to scrape at the walls. "That was, uh," Yue politely bowed her head, "I'm sorry, I think that did not work quite the way you intended."
"Sic 'em, Pao Pao!"
It grumbled and turned its head with a snarl. It charged towards them, snapping wildly.
"Really, this isn't intimidating, it's just kind of sad," Katara said, unfazed by the creature swiping mere meters in front of her.
"Pao Pao! Why do you fail me!"
The animal's head sagged, and it moaned a lonesome moan. "Don't get angry at him," Katara huffed, "He's only stuck because of your little harness thing."
"But, but, but!" the other Toph stamped her feet angrily, "But that's not fair! That is so not fair!"
"Life's not fair," Zuko grumbled, "Now where's Toph?"
The other Toph grinned, "Past this hallway. But to get down there, you'll need to pass my ferocious Badgermole Pao Pao!"
"Aww! It likes the treats!" Sokka cooed, "He's kind of cute for a big guy."
"Yeah, he is!"
"Why are you two playing with it?" Zuko grumbled.
"Oh come on, Zuko," Katara answered, whirling about on him, "There's no reason to be mean."
Zuko stared at her for a second. Then, his shoulders sagged and he shrugged, "I guess not."
"Pao Pao! Traitor! You can earthbend your way out of there, you big dum-dum!"
The badgermole paused, then with an embarrassed growl slammed its claws into the wall and dug in, disappearing into the stone. The other Toph tittered in delight. "Now the fun starts!" she said, breaking itno a hurried dash down deeper into the cavern.
"Hey, after her!" Sokka shouted.
They broke into a dash, with Azula lingering for a moment. Something bugged her about this. Particularly, the noises that came from deep within that tunnel, sounds like rushing waters. She furrowed her brow, and broke into a dash after them.
Electrical lightning flickered as with a roar, the area was plunged once more into darkness, and a torrent of water burst out of the ground after the badgermole. "Run faster," Azula said, brushing against the wall.
The snarling breaths of the badgermole drew closer.
"How," Sokka gasped, "How did we become the ones being pursued?"
"Shut up and keep running!" Azula said, well aware there were worse things than being charged by a lazy badgermole.
"I see a light," Katara gasped. Indeed, a red light was cast and the cavern was growing warmer the closer they got to it.
"I don't like that light, it doesn't look friendly at all."
"Stop talking, Sokka, and focus on staying alive," Azula muttered. These people, always talking when their lives are on the lines, she would laugh if she wasn't so focused on staying alive.
"Almost there," Sokka continued to narrate.
She was certain he was doing this to annoy her. He was certain that it did. They ran into the light, their eyes struggling to adjust. A massive chasm, as deep as it was wide, lay before them, pipes descending seemingly forever.
The heat was coming from a large furnace that the pipes all jutted from. A narrow walkway, jittery and somewhat rusted, surrounded it, and the pipes that came down from higher levels of the cavern formed a low-hanging ceriling.
The rushing water was just behind them; the badgermole closer still. "Well, great," Zuko said, jumping onto the walkway. It shook as he did so. "Quick."
They scurried across, the rusted panels of the walkway shuddering as they did. The red light cast a sinister look onto the badgermole's features. "Pao Pao, please, don't do anything rash. I've got jerky sticks! Real seal jerky!"
Pao Pao paused briefly, his mood changing as Sokka pulled out the jerky.
"Good boy. That's it, don't maul us and you get the jerky."
Pao Pao tentatively stepped forward. The cavern rumbled and shuddered.
A wave of water, cast in red gushed forth like a geyser, throwing Pao Pao into the walkway with a thud. The walkway shuddered, as Pao Pao was forced against it, his massive frame forcing the rusted panels to creak in ways they'd never before.
It stumbled to its feet as the shuddering became more pronnounced, and the panels dropped off into the infinite abyss, carrying Pao Pao with them. "That was too close," Azula said. "We need to be more careful."
"Getting off this walkway would be a good step," Zuko concluded, and they started across the rickety platform.
"Guys?" Sokka said, suddenly, as they slowly walked past the furnace. Steam blasted in front of their faces, slowing them even further, "I think I saw a badgermole flying."
"You saw what?"
Sokka pointed, "Oh, there it is again."
On large wings propelled by a rocket pack, Pao Pao soared through the vast cavern. The belts of ammunition in its pack "Why is Toph's subconscious so, so," Sokka searched desperately for a word, "Weird?"
"I heard that!"
Sokka's eyes lit up, "Toph! Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me!"
The voice echoed through the cavern.
"Where are you?"
"Like I can see," she shouted back.
"Hey, no fair, stop ignoring me!"
"She's here with me, too," Toph added. "What's taking so long?"
"We've got a flying badgermole. Be a minute," Azula said, nonchalantly. She paused, "How do we deal with a flying badgermole?"
"I think, perhaps, we should figure that out," Yue said, stepping back, "Because it seems to be coming in to attack."
Azula stared, teeth clenched, watching as the badgermole swooped in close.
She narrowed her eyes, "I guess I'll have to improvise."
To be continued.