Author's Note: Really? So many visitors and hits and not a single review! Well, regardless, here is the next chapter. I've enabled guest reviews, so no excuses! Please review, whether you like the story or not...I love feedback! As always, read, review, and enjoy! :)
Chapter Six
"So, what do we do?" Katara asked, handing Sokka a bowl of soup. She sat down in the circle and began eating her own bowl. "We can't just sit here and wait for the Fire Nation to wear us down."
"What do you want us to do, Katara?" Sokka snapped, picking at his bowl. "We don't have enough people to take on the Fire Nation, and there's no way we could stop Ozai. If Aang couldn't stop him, we can't."
"But we can at least try something, can't we?" Suki said, looking to the others for some sort of idea. "I mean, we might have ruled out going after Zuko, but what about the rest of the Fire Nation?"
"Master Paku said that he and the rest of the Order are heading to the North Pole first thing in the morning," Katara said.
"Do they really think that they'll stop Ozai's forces?"Suki asked.
"Like he said, the least they can do is give an effort," she replied. "He said he's optimistic, though. So far it seems like the forces have been managing."
"What about us?" Toph asked. "No way am I going there. It's all ice and water." The four fell silent.
"Then what should we do?" Katara asked, breaking the tension that filled the room. Silence fell between them, tense and thick like a muggy afternoon. "Sokka?"
"What do you want me to say, Katara?" he retorted sharply, standing to gaze out the window that had been carved into the stone. "You keep expecting me to come up with some kind of plan or something. How am I supposed to know what we should do? We don't stand a chance against the Fire Nation, and even if we did, what's the point? Aang is gone, Katara – the Avatar is dead. No amount of optimistic hope is gonna change it." Silence draped the group again, and Sokka sighed. "I'm sorry…I just…I don't know what we should do."
"It's okay, Sokka," Katara said softly, crossing the room with quiet footsteps. She stood beside her brother, hands embracing him comfortingly. "I miss him, too." The others watched the pair, bright beams of sunlight dancing on tanned skin. After a moment, Toph stood.
"Where're you going?" Katara asked suddenly. She'd hoped to remain unnoticed.
"What're you, my mom?" Toph replied with a lighthearted tone of sarcasm. "I'll be back. I just…want to go for a walk. To clear my head."
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Toph," Katara said. "Zuko could still be on the island."
"Trust me," Toph replied casually, turning to the door. "If he is, I'll know. I could feel him from farther away than you could see him."
"Well…" She knew she had lost the argument. With Toph, it had always been a losing game. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Always, Katara," she smiled. Toph left the stuffy stone building and headed down the main road of the small village. The trail narrowed as it led into the woods and curved down the smooth hill to the beach where she had gone that morning. She hesitated; if he had left, they would know. There were watch-towers around the edges of the island. But then, he'd managed to come ashore with no trouble eluding the watch before…why would leaving be any different. Toph turned and headed back towards the thick brush that Zuko had disappeared through earlier.
It was right there in front of her. Nightfall. He would have slipped in under the cover of night – why not leave under that same cover? Katara had been right – he was still on the island. The question was where he was hiding. She trekked through the tangles of briars and vines, crunching painful pinecones and twigs beneath bare feet. Twisting through trees and making her way to the other side of the island, Toph ignored that pain.
She wanted answers.
The trees thinned and cleared as the terrain changed to a soft and dry sand, warmed by the heat of the sun overhead. Waves sloshed and slurred as they swept across the shoreline, and Toph stepped onto the squishy ground where the tips of those waves could wash over her feet. His boat wouldn't be here; she didn't have to see to know that. Plain sight. He would have never made it past the early morning twilight. There had to be a hiding place – a cove or cave or something. Lost in thought she walked the shore, trying to sense the landscape before her in the sand. She'd been practicing sand-bending, but still wasn't very good at it. As she approached, she could feel the outline of a tall ledge, waves crashing against its rocky edge. A hand extended, and she felt for the solid wall as she neared. And suddenly, it was there before her, warm and dry beneath her palm. Fingers clenched into a fist and she pounded the rock. Vibrations showed her the image: a tall cliff that wrapped around the end of the shore, creating a cove shielded by its walls.
It was perfect. She was hesitant to wade into the waves, not knowing how deep the water was. Don't mistake, Toph didn't fear water; however, being blind in a large pit of water was not her favorite of ideas. The breath drew in, salty and fresh from the ocean spray, and Toph exhaled, earthbending as she did. A narrow path split from the wall, and Toph stepped upon it, back flat against the hot stone. She followed the path as it curved inward, becoming suddenly cool as it sank beneath the shadow of the ledge. It was perfect. She tapped the wall again to gain a better view. Where her path ended, water sloshed against a rocky shoreline. Toph jumped from the ledge and landed in the shallow pool, walking back to the shore.
Well, she had found where his boat was likely hidden. Now came the issue of actually finding the boat, which was a challenge since it would be floating in the water. Toph sat on the shore, contemplating the new-found difficulty. How in the world was she supposed to see the thing? Her thoughts swirled with the sloshing waves. The clicking of rocks as they shifted beneath the moving water reached her ears, and Toph sighed. She lifted a smoothed rock from the sandy surface and tossed it into the water with a plunk.
Of course! Toph stood and took in a breath, bending the earth with her hand. A large portion of rock lifted from the ledge and then dropped into the water. A wave formed in its wake, the vibration flowing through the water. In a moment it bounced back, the wave breaking across the boat that drifted nearby. It was closer than she had thought. Just to make sure, she threw a rock in the direction, and sure enough the dull thud of the rock resonated in the cove.
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Surrounded by the small cove, the boat drifted in the cool shade. Zuko lay on the deck, staring at the sky barely visible over the ledge. He had decided against returning to the awaiting fleet, knowing that Azula would not accept his failure and neither would the crew. Eyes closed and Zuko did as his uncle had taught him long ago. Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…breathe in… He wished Uncle Iroh was here – that somehow he could help him, teach him. He wished that he would have starved to death, skin hanging from his bones, too weak to even shift in that musty cell.
…Breathe out…breathe in…breathe out….breathe in…He had wanted to. Wanted to break that glass pane, letting shards of blood-trimmed glass fall. Wanted to block the savage whip that stripped away skin and left blistered whelps. Wanted to take Aang's place as the hum of lightning screeched through the air, and fell across bare flesh, licking and stinging scars as it ripped through his body.
Breathe in….breathe out…breathe in…breathe out… But they were right. He had betrayed them, and there was no taking that back. If only he could have stopped Azula…saved Aang…saved them. No. He couldn't change what had happened, and he certainly couldn't expect forgiveness. After all…it was his fault…
…Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…
The boat shuddered and rocked in the waves, and Zuko opened his eyes again. Even through everything that had happened after his decision in Ba Sing Se…he had never been so confused in his life. He wanted to believe that he was innocent, that he hadn't betrayed the friends that had accepted him after all he had done. He wanted to think that it could all be explained away.
But when it came down to it…
A sudden thud broke the silence, and Zuko bolted upright as the sound resonated through the cove. He stood and eyes scanned the area, the nearby shore and the path along the rocky wall. Silence fell again, only broken by the shifting waves. Suddenly, footsteps landed on the deck behind him, and Zuko whirled around as a rain of pointed rocks fell around him. He let out a yell and stumbled backwards, the array stopping just near him. Toph stood before him, tattered from briars and tree limbs, face determined and fierce.
"I want answers," she said sternly. "And no lies. I'll know if you're lying." She hesitated a moment, feeling his reaction. "What happened?" she asked bluntly. Zuko didn't answer, still shocked from the sudden ambush. His heart raced beneath his chest and his hands shook as they supported his weight. "I asked you a question!" she yelled.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he finally said, still shrinking against the looming attack. Sensing his panic, she let the rocks fall away, splashing into the water below. Still a little nervous, Zuko tried to relax and sat up from the deck.
"Yes, you do," she said. "In the prison. I want to know the truth."
He looked away from her. "You've heard the truth haven't you? They told you. Why do you need me to repeat it?" His voice was quiet, strained, painful.
"They have," she said. "But you haven't."
"Why does it matter what I say then?!" he replied angrily. "You know what happened – you don't need me to explain it to you."
"I want your side of the story," she said. Zuko was quiet, eyes staring into hers. They were glazed, but soulful and emotional. Unwavering. "I know what they told me. And it hurts to think about it. But…I have to know."
"I…betrayed them," he said softly, unable to look at her. He stood from the deck and walked to the bough. A breeze blew in, whisking his hair across his face as he stared at the open waters. She studied him, his heart beat as it echoed beneath his chest, his unsure footsteps as he walked away, his hesitance as he tried to convince himself of what he said.
"Is that really how you feel?" she asked sternly. He didn't answer, didn't turn, didn't want to look into her face. She felt the uncertainty in those steps, light and hesitant against the deck. Quietly she took a couple of steps towards him, and her voice softened. "You don't know, do you?"
"I…" he sighed. She was right – he didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to believe. That it was his fault. That he was a traitor. His knees felt weak and he sat on the cool deck, and held his face in his hands. "I never meant for any of it to happen, I never…I never wanted any of this to happen…" he finally said. Again, Toph studied him, his heartbeat, and the slight tremors that shook his body. Sincerity. She sighed and sat down beside him.
"I can't tell if you really believe you betrayed them or not," she admitted honestly, "because you don't know whether you did or not. But I can tell one thing. You're telling the truth…about not wanting for it to happen. You do regret it."
"But regret doesn't mean anything," he said hoarsely, his gaze drifting to the distant sunset. "It isn't going to change anything. It won't bring him back, it won't save Uncle…it won't change any of it. I did just sit there and watch…the door was open…and I did nothing." Silence fell over them, the only sound being the shifting waves against the rocks.
"That doesn't mean it's your fault," Toph replied softly.
"How can you say that?!" he snapped. "Don't you get it?"
"Yeah, do you?" she asked smartly. "Maybe you did just sit there and watch. But you didn't hurt them. The blood isn't on your hands, Zuko. You weren't the one that did it. Maybe you didn't do anything to prevent it – whether you could or not. But you also didn't do it." She could feel Zuko's eyes studying her, his mind surely racing to understand her point. His heart beat quickened and a trembling came over him. "You didn't kill Aang, Zuko. Azula did." He stood, walking to the side of the boat and sighed.
After several moments of silence, he heard her sigh and her hands fell to her side. "That's the only thing I can tell you Zuko. Even if you aren't sure of what exactly you did, you know what you didn't do. And you shouldn't blame yourself for what you didn't do." She wanted him to say something – anything – to let her know that she'd gotten through to him, that she'd made a valid point. When no reply came, she frowned to herself. She knew better than to push a subject – especially with someone as mentally unstable as Zuko. Instead she thought a silent good-bye and earth-bent a rocky ledge to take her safely back to shore.
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Night had fallen and the village was fairly quiet. Most everyone had retired to their huts for late dinners or warm fires. A breeze rattled the limbs and carried the enticing scent of fish stew. Weary feet drug in the sandy path as Toph approached the hut where she could hear Katara and Sokka talking. She pushed back the worn cloth that covered the entrance and a hush fell over the group inside.
"Toph," Katara began, standing. "Where've you been? We've been worried about you."
"Like I said, I just went for a walk," she replied, grateful to sit next to the fire pit. Suki passed her a bowl of soup and she began wolfing down the meal. "So, do we know what we're doing yet?" she asked with a mouthful of fish.
"Well, we know what we need to do, and what we want to do," Suki said. "The trouble is figuring out where to even begin."
"Master Paku and the other Lotus members have left for the North Pole," Katara said. "They left under the cover of night because Dad spotted a Fire Nation ship in the northern distance. For now, most of the benders are waiting to see what the ship does."
"What'd'ya mean?" Toph asked. "I mean, do they think that it's an ambush?"
"We're not sure," Sokka replied. "It could be Zuko's fleet. They're probably waiting for him to return–"
"Which means he is still on the island," Katara confirmed smartly.
"If that's the case," Sokka continued, "We're thinking about doing a scouting mission tonight to find where he's hiding."
"Why?" Toph asked. "And what would you do – even if you did find him?"
"…I want to make him pay for what he did to Aang," Sokka replied coldly, blue eyes ablaze with the fire. "Not to mention what he did to us."
"Are you even going to give him a chance, Sokka?" she asked angrily.
"A chance to what, Toph?" he snapped. "Take us back to Azula or kill us himself?"
"Sokka–" Suki interrupted softly.
"To talk – or would you even listen?!" she shouted.
"Talk about what?!" he yelled, dropping his spoon into his bowl. "How he betrayed us? How we gave him another chance after all of the shit he had put us through and then he stabbed us in the back? How he just sat there and watched Aang die?"
"Sokka!" Katara scolded warningly.
"Or maybe his side of the story," Toph replied, slamming her bowl against the dirt floor. She stood as she continued. "You keep talking about what he did, but you won't even give him a chance to explain himself!"
"I don't need his explanation, Toph," he said firmly, standing to meet her. "I was there, I know what happened. I know you don't want to accept it, but you're just going to have to! Zuko is a traitor – a liar! He's not our friend and he doesn't deserve our sympathy." Behind them, Suki and Katara exchanged nervous glances, worried that the argument was getting too out of hand.
"What about his sister?" Jet said. The four turned, spotting him in the doorway. "She was the one that killed Aang, right? Take her out." He came in and joined there circle. "I know Zuko didn't do much to help, but why not take out the culprit?"
"…He's right," Suki said. "I know he betrayed us and all, but Azula should be the real target. She tortured all of us, and she is the one that killed him."
"Do you think we could take her?" Katara asked. "I mean, Zuko and I had trouble fighting her during Sozin's Comet, and she's only gotten stronger since then."
"Katara, there's four of us and one of her," Toph replied, slouching back to the ground. "I think we can handle her. I say let's do it." She sighed, grateful that they were at least not going after Zuko.
"Agreed," Suki said.
"Alright," Katara agreed unsurely. "Sokka?"
"…I'm in," he said quietly.
"If it's the Fire Nation you're going after, count me in, too," Jet said. "You'll need all the help you can get, right?"
"No, they need you here, Jet," Katara said. "We're still not sure what that Fire Nation ship is doing, but if they're planning an ambush… If worse comes to worst, they'll need you here."
"Fair enough," Jet reluctantly agreed, knowing the waterbender was right. "But won't you guys need some help too? Even if the four of you can take Azula, you also have to consider the palace will be heavily guarded.
"He does have a point," Suki replied thoughtfully.
"I'll go," Mai said from behind Jet, who turned quickly at the sudden voice. "I'd enjoy wiping the smirk off of Azula's face."
"I don't know," Sokka said with uncertainty. After all, it was now going to be him and four other girls fighting. He was starting to wish Katara had let Jet tag along – despite their history.
"I wasn't giving you an option," Mai scowled. "If you're going to take her down, I'm going with you."
"Alright," Katara said, despite Sokka's protest. "We'll pack Appa's saddle tonight and head out in the morning."
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