Of Nightmares and Daydreams: Toph
Disclaimer: I don't own the quotes.
"Dreams are the answers to questions that we haven't yet figured out how to ask."
--Fox Mulder
"Four days?! The invasion is in four days?" Aang asked, a look of panic on his face.
Sokka yawned. "Whatever. That's like, four days from now. Let's just calm down and—"
The boy fell down his sleeping bag and began to snore. Katara smiled briefly. "Sokka's got the right idea, Aang. We're here, we're ready. The best thing we can do now is get some rest."
"I guess." He said skeptically. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Azula still hadn't fixed her bedroll yet. "Aren't you going to sleep, Sifu Re—I mean, Sifu Azula?"
His teacher looked distract as ever. "Perhaps later."
Toph listened to them in silence. Closing her eyes, she focused her hearing on Azula. The young woman was breathing slowly as if trying to calm herself. Toph wanted to comfort her but lately…it felt like she was trying to distance herself from the rest of the group. She wasn't exactly planning to tell them about her real identity. Toph reminded herself.
The soft purr of the earth soothed her, easing her out of the gloom that had plagued her all day. Good night, Princess…
Toph found herself in front of two large metallic doors. She could only hear one thing: the faint heartbeat of a comrade. "Aang."
Before she could move further, a shrill voice suddenly filled the air. "I'm gonna be late! Ever so late!" The light footsteps were familiar. I didn't know Momo can talk. The winged-lemur suddenly skidded to a stop. "You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel."
Toph blinked. "I don't—"
"Late! Late! Late!" Momo said and dashed to the left, ignoring Toph.
Toph hesitated, debating on whether or not she should follow the lemur; Aang's heartbeat had gotten softer, worrying her. Should she go and check on him? Of course; Aang's life was more important than cryptic words after all. Having made her decision, she plunged her fists forward and sent the metal door flying. Quickly, she ran towards Aang's side and dropped to her knees.
"Aang? Is everything alright?" She asked.
The boy lifted his head weakly. "It's not alright, Toph. I'm dying and Fire Lord is still out there somewhere." He shuddered and touched the large wound across his chest. Yelling, his hands curled into fists as he twisted in agony, his body shaking.
Toph looked around. "Where's Katara? We have to bring her to you. Aang…she can heal you."
The airbender placed his hand on top of Toph's and said, "She isn't here, Toph; she's lost." He let go of her hand and grabbed the glider he had by his side. Struggling to a sitting position, he coughed and spat the blood out of his mouth. He touched Toph's hand once more and placed the glider on top of it. "Here, Toph. Have it. Carry on the legacy."
"What do you mean, Aang?"
"The Avatar cycle is broken and I'm trying to fix it." Aang answered grimly. "I want you to be the next Avatar."
"I-it's impossible!" Toph protested weakly. "This isn't right."
"Nothing's right anymore, Toph. Not unless we do something." Aang looked up at the ceiling, his eyes drooping. "Not unless you do something." He closed his eyes. "You will be the last Avatar, Toph. Please. This world needs you."
The blind earthbender opened her mouth and was about to reply when she felt her muscles burn and her bones ache. She wanted to scream but no sound came from her mouth. Falling to the ground, she writhed in pain; her hands clawed against the marble floor in desperation.
Suddenly, everything felt sharper somehow. The air seemed…livelier; the heat more unbearable; the sweat which slid down her throat colder.
Voices. They were all around her now, surrounding her. She clutched her head as the noise grew. No. This power was too much. She had to give it back. It wasn't hers. Never was.
She grabbed the raw power inside her and pushed it outwards. It didn't help; the power was greeted with more voices. Her hands made contact with Aang's glider. She closed her fingers around it and brought it up over her head. With a feral scream, she swung it downwards and—
Listen.
Her wrists ached. Tugging the chains that were enclosed around them, she pulled herself off the ground. Her hand touched the wall briefly, giving her an idea of where she was. "Seriously, who puts an earthbender inside a tower of stones?" Toph grumbled to herself. With one sharp jerk, the chains that once detained her came off the wall.
"Do not worry, fair maiden! The brave knight Sokka has come to rescue you at last."
Toph blinked. Fair maiden? "You're late," she said bluntly as the door slammed open.
Sokka looked around, startled at the statement. "Where are you, fair maiden?"
Toph was about to reply when a sudden thought made her grin. "She's already saved, brave knight."
"Who? Who saved her?" Sokka demanded, his face red.
Toph raised a hand. "I did."
Sokka turned to the blind earthbender. "But why, milady?"
"She was hot." Toph answered, pokerfaced. "I just had to save her."
The young man dressed in chain mail spluttered indignantly. "That cannot be! You-you—"
She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"You're a girl!"
"I'm aware of that."
Sokka fell to his knees. "But I was supposed to save the fair maiden and get myself a happily-ever-after!"
"You can save me."
"No thanks," he said, standing up. "You don't really look like the fair-maiden type."
Listen.
She stood in front of a desert. "Next time, you could at least let me kick his butt before bringing me somewhere else," she told the air. It didn't answer her back.
Sighing, she walked forward, listening to the faint vibrations the sand made. A vibration alerted her of someone nearby. Turning around, she moved into a fighting stance. "I know you're out there somewhere."
"Lady Toph," the rough voice greeted her. Her nose picked up the smell of something burnt. "Lady Azula waits for you."
The firebender gestured for her to follow before moving silently through the sand. Toph walked a meter away from him, listening for anything suspicious. Why is Azula here in the desert? She thought, a slight frown on her face.
"We are here, my lady," the firebender said and bowed. It seemed that he wanted her to go first.
Toph nodded and stepped down the cavern. A sandbender was there, watching her keenly. She ignored him and moved deeper into the cave. A loud rumble told her that the cave had closed.
"Auntie Toph!" A figure rammed herself against the blind earthbender, arms snaking around Toph's waist.
"Enough, Lian, you're making it hard for our earthbender to breath."
Toph stiffened, her eyes wide. "Azula?"
"Surprised to see me?" Azula asked. Laughing, she said, "Let me rephrase that: surprised to hear me?"
"I—your voice!" Toph said. "It sounds older somehow. Mine too…now that I think about it."
"I'm not exactly fourteen anymore, Toph. And you're not the twelve year-old enemy I once had."
She lifted her hands and stepped forward, touching Azula's face. It was the princess's face alright…although there were slight changes in her features.
"Did you really miss me that much?" The firebender teased. Dropping the smile she wore on her face, she looked at Toph seriously. "Just how much damage has Katara done this time?"
Toph's eyes snapped open. She rolled to her side and moved into a crouched position as if dodging something. She straightened and blinked. "What's going on?"
Katara turned and looked at her blind friend. "You're dreaming." She whispered softly. Her eyes flickered to the rest of the group. Aang was breathing hard; Sokka would jerk once in a while; Azula was curled in a fetal position, trembling. "We all are."
A/n: First of all, that first dream had nothing to do with the third one. I'm just clarifying because in both dreams, Aang is dead. More details of the third dream can be found in my LJ. (In the comments area…)
Momo makes an appearance again. (I'm sure you're seeing a pattern here.)
Next up: Sokka.
After the last two dream chapters, I'll be writing longer chapters. This is because I have to focus on what's happening. Just a warning because longer chapters usually means slower updates.