A Mysterious Illusion- Similar, but FMA is much more dark. I knew using the similarity would get Sokka and Ed to get along.
AkumanoshippoNiamh- Oh, sorry. I like to make my readers freak out. :P Since you threatened to hunt me down, I'll be watching you….from the shadows…
Again, thanks for all those who review! They fuel me...
It pained me so much to make Sokka a jerk, considering he's my favorite character from ATLA. Yes, he reminds me so much of Ling. Well, here is your update, guys. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry in advance for the feels.
Campfire Stories
"I don't understand why we can't use a car to get around." Ed clung for dear life like he always did to the saddle while they were in flight. He received a mix of strange and confused looks from the group.
"What's a 'car'?" Sokka spoke the word like he had never heard it in his life.
"Yeah, are you going insane again? 'Cause I can beat you until you're normal…" Toph grinned and rubbed her hands together.
"It's a machine that is used for transportation. Four wheels. Smelly." He was met with peculiar glances. "…You really don't know…Sokka, do have a map?" Ed did his best with the pronunciation and scratched his head with a finger, then rested his head against his cool hand.
"Psh. Do I have a map?" Sokka excitedly grabbed several scrolls of paper out of his bag and shoved the right one into Ed's free hand. "All ready for the invasion!" Sokka announced proudly. Ed held the map steady, so it didn't blow away. As far as he could tell, none of the landscapes on the map looked familiar.
"Is this map complete? Where's the rest of the world?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"That's it. Are you sure you're well?" Sokka could see some of the color from Ed's face fade away.
"Alright." Toph cracked her knuckles deviously. "I'll make Crazy feel better." Ed held up his hands in protest and gazed at her for giving him the new nickname, forgetting Toph couldn't see the gestures.
"No! I'm fine." Ed looked at the strange map again. Where the hell was he? There were no books for him to look at research, as the wanted group constantly traveled. Even if he did find a library, he couldn't read the damned writing anyways. He was going to go home, and at any cost. Al probably had a hoard of cats at his disposal by now.
Ed was relieved when Appa finally landed in a field of red flowers. Before the sun set, he started a fire, like he did every night. It sort of became his job, since he could start a fire quicker than anyone else in the group. Once Katara finished cooking the food, everyone ate to their heart's content. Sokka and Ed were engaged in a very serious belching battle. After several minutes of obnoxious, but impressive burps, they silently agreed the battle to be a draw.
Katara rolled her eyes at the boys. "I know, let's tell scary stories."
"Let's not." Ed interjected.
"Why? Scared you'll have nightmares?" Sokka laughed kindly and patted Ed's back. Little did Sokka know, he was exactly right, but Ed couldn't let anyone know that.
"Fine, we'll tell stories, but I'm going first." They all moved closer to the fire and watched as the fire lit up Ed's face in a perfectly good creepy way.
"This story is a true story that comes from my homeland. I must warn you, because you might piss your pants by the end." Ed's words seemed to have little effect, so he began with his story. As he told it, the words echoed through his head, and caused him to sweat lightly.
"There once was a happy little family; a mother and her two sons. They lived in a quaint little town that had been nearly demolished by a terrible civil war. The town was small and boring; there wasn't even a library there! On occasion, a wrench monster would go around and hit innocent people for no reason." Ed glanced at the group's faces. Sokka had his arms crossed, as did Toph. So far, Ed was not being a very impressionable story teller.
"One day, plague struck the countryside. Many people fell sick and died from the disease. One day, after school, the brothers came home to a quiet house, and the smell of freshly cooked food lingered in the air. The boys walked in and found their mother laying on the floor, motionless.
They yelled and cried for their mother. A few days later, the kind woman passed away-"
"When is the scary part coming?" Sokka interrupted. Oh, it was coming, Ed thought to himself.
"Shut up an listen. The brothers sat next to the grave for hours, despite the cold air and their empty bellies. All seemed to be lost, and the young ones had no idea what to do. Then the elder one stood up, who happened to be very smart and good looking, and thought of something brilliant. They would see their mother again. They would bring her back through alchemy."
"But, once people are dead…they're dead." Katara added quietly. Ed frowned and gripped his automail arm.
"I know, but this is just a story. The brothers studied alchemy everyday and completely ignored their schooling. They even found a terrifying woman who taught them more about alchemy. She was so talented, that she could perform alchemy by simply clapping her hands."
"Wait, you can do that too." Aang cocked his head.
"I'm a gifted person, now stop interrupting the story. She left them on an island for a whole month with nothing but a knife, and they were forbidden to use alchemy. Once the dreaded month passed, the boys understood the meaning of 'one is all, all is one'."
"Everything is connected." Aang stated simply.
"Right. Once they went back with their teacher, she taught them how to be strong and how to be better alchemists. Their training was complete within six months, so the brothers returned to their quiet hometown.
Despite knowing about life and death, the foolish brothers decided to ignore their teacher and went along with bringing their mother back. They carefully drew a circle and runes on the ground, and gathered all of the elements that made up the human body."
"If they knew about life and death, why did they decide to bring her back?" Toph asked as she moved closer to the fire.
"They were young idiots who just wanted to see their mother smile again. They offered a blood sacrifice and touched the circle. The array glowed blue, and filled the room with light. The brothers smiled, thinking that their human transmutation was working, until the room turned purple. Out of nowhere, millions of little black hands sucked both brothers separately into a blank white place. The elder brother was pulled into a large door, with knowledge of everything being imploded into his head.
The pain was tremendous, but it was over before he knew it. His theory about human transmutation had been so close, but it had been missing something. Truth demanded a toll for the boy's acquired knowledge."
"Who's Truth?" Sokka asked.
"A terrifying thing. The boy awoke with a flash, only to discover his leg was gone. The puddle of blood beneath him was almost too much to handle; he needed someone there to comfort him. He looked at the thing he created, which was supposed to be his mother. The thing waved one of its many ghastly arms in the air, and it breathed a breath of air between its yellow teeth. The ribs moved up and down once, and its organs squished around, but the thing quickly died.
The elder brother panicked when his younger brother was not there. He knocked over a suit of armor and drew a blood seal on it."
"What's a blood seal?" Katara asked.
"The blood seal allowed the older brother to tie his younger brother's soul to the armor, but at a price. He lost his arm in the process."
"That's not right." Sokka stared viciously into the fire.
"It was the price for their sins. To this day, the brothers search for a legendary stone that may be able to restore their bodies back to normal, although, they may never find it." Ed was sweating profusely and shivered, then decided to add, "the end."
The four kids stared at Ed with their mouths slightly agape. "So, what do I win for scaring you all?" Ed crossed his arms, and stared with dead eyes at the kids.
"…That wasn't scary, it was more…" Aang started.
"Depressing." Katara said.
"Miserable." Toph added.
"Gloomy." Sokka looked down.
"…Sad." Aang finished.
"Fine. If it wasn't scary, I'd like to see you try and tell a better one." Ed backed away from the fire while Sokka told a story about a haunted sword. Why did he just tell them his story? Sure, they thought it was an Amestrian tale, but they couldn't be that dense. The older brother in the story lost an arm and a leg, had no parents, had only a little brother, and could clap to transmute things. Well, the clapping part wasn't in the story, but these kids should be able to put two and two together.
Ed took off his headband and wiped away the globs of sweat that had accumulated there. He quickly regretted telling the story, because his mind soon filled with terrible images. His mother walked toward him kindly, and she was spurting out blood. 'Why couldn't you make me better?' Ed's eyes widened, and his body trembled. He was vaguely aware of Katara telling a ghost story.
There was a large white dog with long flowing locks of black hair down its back. It turned slowly and grinned at Ed. 'Wanna play?' The chimera, who had once been a kind girl and her dog, attacked Ed with bared teeth.
"No!" Ed yelled and crossed his arms in front of him to shield his face.
"Hey, now, it wasn't that scary." Who the hell was that?! Who was there?! Then Ed remembered where he was. It was only Sokka who had spoken. He tried his best to regain his composure.
"I know. I was just adding to the story."
"You're sweating like a hog-monkey." Katara observed. And what the hell is a hog-monkey? He learned it was best not to ask about the strange animals of this land.
"The fire's hot." Ed paused and thought of the perfect way to draw the unwanted attention away. He spoke with a cold, dead voice. "I know, I've got another true story. There once was a girl named Nina, and she had a dog, Alex-" Ed cut himself off when he heard something in the forest. He unwrapped his headband and tied the bandana around his hair. It was probably only a traveler; he couldn't always assume the worst, but just in case, he had his hands ready to clap.
"Hello, children." Everyone, including Ed, screamed and jumped. "Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama. You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night." Who was she calling a child? Ed knew he could take care of himself and his companions. "I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?" Every instinct in Ed's body screamed no. Don't trust the creepy woman, run away, now!
"Yes, please." Sokka said nervously. Ed remained seated while the others stood up and followed the elderly woman. "Ed! Are you coming?" It was the first time that Sokka had addressed his name properly. Ed didn't respond and stared blankly into the fire. Al wouldn't have been able to feel the warmth coming from the fire. He couldn't even feel the kittens' fur from the cats he had to be collecting by now.
He rolled up his sleeve and looked at his automail, which was dimly lit from the fire light. It was covered with small dents and scratches. Winry wasn't here to yell at him about taking better care of her brilliant creation. He returned the sleeve to normal, and thought about his time in this land. It had been almost three weeks. It was strange, not filing any reports to Mustang. That part, at least, had been fine with him.
Sokka suddenly grabbed Ed's left arm and pulled him up, then wiped the sweat off of his hands.
"Ew! Come on, you look like you've seen a ghost." Ed blindly followed Sokka and the others, who were tailing the old hag into a town. Every reflex and instinct in Ed's body was hollering at him; Get out of here! You'll never see Al again if you don't run!
They were led into a quaint inn, and were shown the way to dining hall. Ed slumped down onto a firm chair, and tried to pay attention to the group's conversation. He zoned out, giving in to his mind's pleas. Run! This place is dangerous! You are going to die!
A clammy hand rested on Ed's left shoulder, and he recoiled immediately from the voices yelling louder from the contact.
"Aren't you just adorable? You must come from a noble family of fire benders, with golden eyes like those." Hearing the woman speak made him cringe. There was something terribly off about her. It reminded Ed of the same feeling Tucker had given off when he destroyed Nina's life.
The tea and morsels of food in front of Ed remained untouched. He pushed it away, and the food was quickly devoured by Sokka. The lemur (Momo, Ed remembered) jumped into Ed's lap and fell asleep. Ed petted the lemur's soft fur, and couldn't help but think about what Al would say if he saw such a cute furry creature.
Flee! Murderer! She's going to kill you! Ed pounded his fists on the table with anger, and stood up. There was a large dent in the wood, but Ed didn't care. He left the room and found a bed, hoping the voices would stop bugging him. We wasn't going insane. This sensation felt different; adrenaline pumped through his veins and his head felt very clear.
Somehow, he managed to fall asleep, but his mind was being viciously attacked by dreams and voices. The old woman kept morphing into Tucker. She was an awful person. He had to escape! But there was no alchemy here, so it's not like the woman was creating human chimeras. This bending thing had to have some sort of taboo. Run. Run! RUN!
Ed frantically woke up in a cold sweat. Sunlight peaked through the window, illuminating the gloomy room. His ports were throbbing, but he could deal with the small amount of pain. The voices kept screeching at him to get the hell out of there. Ed heard a knock at the door and he mumbled, "Come in."
"Is everything alright? You stormed off last night without eating." It was Katara. She made the crazy go away once, maybe she could again. No, he was already too far in their debt. He would've died if she hadn't decided to save him. He didn't need to worry her or anyone else.
"I'm fine. I guess those scary stories had me on edge." Ed stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm ready. Let's get out of here-"
"Actually, Hama's taking us shopping."
"Oh." Don't go with her! Run! Murderer! "I think I'll stay here." Katara shrugged, and he watched as the group left with the woman. Instantly, his reflexives stopped yelling at him to run. He was safe, since that Tucker-like woman was gone now.
Monster! She's going to hurt your friends. "They're not my friends." Ed stated nervously, out loud. Then what are they? They saved your life. "So did Mustang when Scar attacked me. Mustang sure as hell isn't my friend." They accept you as one of them. Even the oldest one, the idiot, likes you now. "Don't call him an idiot." Oh, what's this? You're defending him? Tell me, what are these people to you? "Shut up." Tut, tut, such short temper. "I AM NOT SHORT!" …She's going to kill your friends. "That woman…is going to hurt my…friends?" Murder. Blood. Control. "She will not touch any of my friends!" Ed yelled and kicked the door open. He stomped his feet heavily while he walked down the street. Luckily, his friends were heading back to the inn when Ed went looking for them.
"Ed," Katara spoke softly when they finally approached. It seemed like her voice was filled with sympathy. The others held their heads down low. "we were talking earlier. We remembered the story you told us." Ed could see the creepy old lady coming toward them. "Well, the story is about you, isn't it?" Run! Ed obeyed the voice and clapped his hands. He created a large rock wall and ran as fast as he could to the forest. He didn't stop running until he tripped over a tree root and went skidding across the forest floor.
Once he stood up, he brushed the dirt off of himself and climbed up a tree. Toph wouldn't be able to echolocate him if he was off the ground. Coward! Ed ignored his inner turmoil and slept through the morning and afternoon.
Weakling! Back-stabber! Traitor! Your friends are sure to die. She's gonna kill them. "Shut up." Murderer. It will be your fault they were killed. Nina. Hughes. You don't need more death on your hands. "They can take care of themselves." This woman is evil. Killer. You will be the death of them all. "Be quiet, or I'll slug you in the face." But, I am you. You're arguing with yourself. "No I'm not." Yes, you are. "I'm not going crazy." I never said you were, but it takes one to know one. "It wasn't my fault I went into shock, and you know it." There was no answer. Ed put his hand up to his forehead and groaned. He indeed, was talking to himself.
The sky was starting to turn orange as the sun started to set. The full moon peeked over the horizon and took the sun's place in the night sky. Below him, Ed could hear two people walking and talking. Suddenly, the talking turned into violent yelling. All Ed could hear was something about blood bending. Run. "No. My friends are in danger." Ed jumped out of the tree and ran toward the woman and Katara. Aang and Sokka were standing defensively near the hag, ready to strike.
"No, you've outnumbered yourselves!" The creepy old lady yelled. That didn't even make sense. Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his arm into a blade, and prepared to attack. You will kill the boys. Okay. Ed's body was being taken over, and he could no longer control his movements. He unwillingly charged at Sokka, who was about to become a shish-kabob.
"Sokka! Move!" Sokka jumped out of the way just in time, but he too, was under control. He drew his sword, and all three boys charged at each other. They were going to be killed. Merely inches before Ed impaled Aang, the sensation of being violated and controlled ceased. Ed fell forward to the ground and breathed deeply.
Katara was controlling that monster with her bending. It wasn't like Isaac McDougal's form of controlling blood, she was actually manipulating the blood flow inside the woman. It was now on Ed's top ten list of terrifying things he had witnessed. It was unnatural, and Ed could see the pain in Katara's eyes as she maneuvered the woman to the ground.
A whole bunch of guards came and took the woman away. "Congratulations, Katara. You're a blood bender." The woman cackled, and Katara fell to her knees. She began to cry, and the other three went around her for comfort. Ed didn't know what to do, he hated it when girls cried. Tears of joy would be nice, for once.
Ed knew he could've prevented the anguish Katara was feeling now. If he just had listened to his instincts and confronted the woman earlier, they wouldn't have been in this mess. He was a terrible person, and they knew about his human transmutation. They had to think he was a monster.
None of them noticed when Ed slipped through the trees and ran far away, since they were busy comforting Katara. It was for the best he never saw any of them again. All he ever brought when he got to know someone was pain and suffering. He'd have to find a way home without harming any of the people here. He was never going to hurt anyone ever again.
Valiant coward.