Katara read the title and the summary of the story she'd discovered. "The Origins of Pro-Bending. On how Pro-Bending was first created, by our well known characters from A:TLA while they deal with other personal issues as well. Sokkla, Kataang, Maiko, Harulee. Takes place after The Search. Sequel to "The Reason". Not an AU." She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, did anyone understand any part of that?"
"At least it doesn't sound like other weird story with Aang and Zuko falling in love with each other," Sokka piped up, and both the Avatar and the Fire Lord nodded their heads fervently, not wishing to relive the experience.
"I know it's about bending, and it's a sequel of some sort, and you guys are going to have personal issues," Toph analyzed.
"Hey, why don't you have personal issues?" Sokka asked.
"Because I'm too awesome to have them. Okay then, let's begin." And with that, Katara started on the first chapter of the story.
Zuko wasn't particularly excited while he walked all the way to the chamber he'd been summoned to. He was Fire Lord Zuko, and he did not appreciate his sister requesting his presence as if she were the sovereign of the Fire Nation. At times he wondered if letting her out of the Mental Hospital was a bad idea, but after traveling throughout the entire world while searching for their mother, she'd regained a great deal of her usual self, which was a good omen, since it meant she was getting healthier, but all the usual bossy attitude came back all the same as her sanity, despite Zuko's wishes. As he approached the room he sighed slightly, wondering what to expect when he entered… she wouldn't try to overthrow him now, would she?
Aang gaped at Zuko. "You let Azula out of the asylum?"
The scarred teen raised his hands in defense. "Hey, that's just something the me in the story did. It doesn't mean I'll do it in real life."
"Good, because I have a feeling that if you did, this will be the last time we're going to sit together in peace while reading crazy stories about us," Sokka said.
Katara frowned at the page. "From what's in here, I think you released Azula in the story so you two could search for your mother. And it seems she's regained her health and sanity as well."
"Not like that would be a good thing though," Toph spoke up. "A healthy Azula is a dangerous Azula, and didn't that last line hint at her trying to overthrow her brother?"
"Let's just continue the story first," Aang concluded, and the others nodded in agreement.
He was pleasantly surprised at seeing most of his friends inside the room, it probably meant there wasn't much danger to expect from Azula on this occasion. Aang sat next to Katara on a very comfortable couch, Ty Lee was lying across a red divan and Mai was standing next to her. Toph immediately stopped leaning against the left wall of the room at the instant he arrived and greeted him by holding her hand up. Zuko nodded at her and stared directly at the woman who sat comfortably on a throne-like seat, opposite to the door. To his slight disgust, Sokka was smiling stupidly at Azula, who smirked when she finally caught sight of her brother.
Sokka's eyebrows knitted together in a tight knot. "Okay, why am I smiling stupidly at Azula?"
"Yeah, you usually do that to Suki, not Azula," Toph added. Suddenly her sightless eyes widened. "You don't think that Sokka's in love with Azula in this story, right?"
"It could be possible," Katara thought aloud. "That poll we read about before -" but she was cut off by her brother's retching sounds as he seemed to be struggling for air. Finally, after Toph had 'patted' him on the back (albeit with a lot more force) he recovered and sat up on his couch while rubbing his sore spine.
"Let's get a few things straight people: one, I am NOT in love with Azula, and two, I do NOT require your assistance when I'm gagging, Toph."
"Oh yes, I can feel your sincere gratitude," Toph replied drily.
"I'll just, um, get on with the story now, shall I?" Katara said nervously before turning back to the book, while her two friends were holding a glaring contest (one side sightless, but still glaring) in front of her.
"Well, it was about time you showed up. Being so late to an appointment does not speak highly of your performance as Fire Lord, Zuzu" she mocked him, in the same way she always did, the way that made him lose his nerve at her.
"I got here as soon as I could. Besides, it's not as if you could just get away with summoning me anywhere just because you want to"
"You say that, yet you're here. It seems I got away with it alright"
"Azula…" grunted Zuko, snarling at his sister
"This author's writing is certainly realistic. Too realistic, in fact," Zuko grumbled.
"Ah well, you're used to squabbling with Azula anyway." Sokka grinned casually at the Fire Lord. "Just sit back and enjoy the show, yeah?"
"I like you better when you're glaring at Toph."
"Thanks, Zuko."
"Keep your peace, will you?" said Mai, walking towards him "You've been controlling your temper very well lately, haven't you? Don't get carried away by everything she says, please"
Azula wasn't pleased to hear Mai speaking of her as if she were nothing but a misbehaved child. After her betrayal, it'd been especially hard to forgive her; it hadn't been so difficult with Ty Lee, they were definitely best friends and she'd genuinely been sorry to see how everything had fallen apart between the three of them. Mai, on the other hand, would hardly ever talk to Azula directly and never professed any particular regret at the way their friendship had been strained. Azula knew she wasn't to expect an apology from Mai, but somehow she wouldn't be able to say sorry herself; she knew her temper and angst had gotten the best of her when she'd thrown her friends in jail, but her pride was still strong and she'd never bow down to anyone, especially while knowing that apologizing to Mai would hold no meaning, since the girl clearly didn't care for their friendship anymore. Still, to summon Zuko anywhere meant she'd come too, so Azula had simply sent her a note about the meeting, with the simple purpose of avoiding any extra issues with her if she dared walk in uninvited.
"By 'extra issues' I think she means a few well-aimed flying daggers," Zuko said.
"Yup, your girlfriend's really terrifying," Sokka grinned.
"You're one to talk; your girlfriend once got you into women's clothes and beat you in a fight, remember?" Katara pointed out.
"Sure, and Aang's dating you, the scary waterbender who breaks whole icebergs apart when she loses her temper. I get it, we all have terrifying girlfriends."
"Fine" grunted Zuko, while Mai took hold of his hand "Well, why did you call us all here? Do you have anything important to say?"
"Indeed" muttered Azula "I believe there are some issues we need to tend to. I was recently reading some scrolls related to the Avatar cycle and all its customs… and I was wondering, did you know the Avatar is supposed to pass a test of mastery of each element?"
"Why would Azula be reading scrolls related to the Avatar cycle in the first place?" Aang wondered aloud.
"Maybe that's how she regained her sanity," Toph suggested. "You know, reading all those boring old parchments that washed away all fancies she had of regaining the throne with their dullness."
"I didn't know the Avatar had to pass a test of mastery of each element," Katara said as she looked towards her boyfriend, who shrugged.
"The monks never told me anything about it."
"I think she's just making it up to cause more trouble," Sokka decided. "It would be just the sort of thing she'd do."
"Yeah, except you in the story wouldn't be pointing that out because you're too busy smiling stupidly at Azula."
"Shut up, Toph."
All of the occupants of the room stared at her, dumbfounded.
"W-why are you bringing this up right now?" asked Aang, surprised
"Because I'm not entirely sure if you're actually a master of all elements, little Avatar" replied Azula, smirking at him
"Hey! I beat down Firelord Ozai!" exclaimed Aang "Why would you need further proof of my skills?"
"It's merely for the purpose of making everything official, little Avatar" said Azula "I'd rather you play by the rules than by saying you're a full-fledged Avatar only because you defeated my father"
"Am I the only one who's thinking she'll try to fit in Aang's murder somewhere in the process of 'making everything official'?" Sokka asked.
"Nope, you ain't the only one," Toph replied. "That crazy princess has definitely got something up her sleeve."
"I'm starting to wonder why any of us actually came to meet her in the first place," Zuko said.
"Well, we haven't always been doing things that make sense in these stories," Katara pointed out. "This isn't anything new."
"But he did beat him" said Katara, staring at her with outraged eyes "And while Sozin's Comet was carrying out its effects, which made your father much stronger; Aang defeated him while using the four elements, and also energybending. What else could you possibly ask for? What exactly are you plotting this time, Azula?"
"All of what you said is true" admitted Azula "But there's a small detail you seem to have missed: he performed all of that while in the Avatar State, did he not?"
The whole group fell into silence once more, most of them wondering what Azula was getting at, but Aang frowned slightly. He hadn't known much about the Avatar customs, but he was fully aware that his skills were supposed to be tested by a master bender of each element by the time he was considered strong enough to stand a fight against the most talented benders. He also understood that he wasn't supposed to recur to the Avatar State unless it was absolutely necessary, and total mastery of the elements was a must for the Avatar.
"I dunno," Katara said. "The Avatar's job is to maintain peace and harmony in the world, and you don't have to completely master all the elements to do that, right?"
"It's still important for the Avatar to master all forms of bending though," Aang spoke. "It does make the job of maintaining peace and harmony easier."
"Yeah, because then you can kick the bad guys' butt without sweating it out," Toph grinned.
"Still…" muttered Aang "What exactly am I supposed to do? I'm pretty good already, aren't I? Do you think my bending still need much more work?"
"As I've said, your earthbending isn't at its best just yet" said Toph, shrugging "But I don't understand why are you bringing this up now, Azula. What are you after?"
"I merely wished to convey this issue to the little Avatar" said Azula "And recommend you to take a test against the greatest masters of all elements as soon as possible. That was all I had in mind"
Zuko stared at her in disbelief. He knew his sister much better than that, she had to hold an ulterior motive to suggesting something like this.
"And what's your idea?" asked Zuko "You want him to fight masters of all elements, is that all there is to it?"
"What else could there be?" wondered Azula, staring at him with slight irritation "Your distrust of me is getting annoying, if you want me to be frank. Even when I try to help your gang you treat me as if I were a criminal. What could I possibly gain by having the Avatar fighting bending masters?"
"If you were one of the said 'bending masters', you could easily finish Aang off then," Sokka stated while the others nodded in agreement.
"Maybe you're trying to get him killed" accused Katara without any sugarcoating.
"Go Sugar Queen!" Toph cheered.
"Hey!" exclaimed Sokka, who had remained silent during the whole meeting "Don't say something like that without any proof at all!"
"Alright, that's it – Snoozles is definitely in love with Her Crazy Highness," Toph deadpanned.
Sokka groaned. "I sound like a total lovesick idiot in here!"
"Well, you're always like that around Suki," Aang pointed out.
"And you're still an idiot most of the time," Katara added while smirking.
"Thanks, guys. Can we just get back to the story now?"
"You want proof? She's been after Aang for all this time, and she probably wants to execute revenge on him after losing everything because of him" grunted Katara
"Funny you say that, Water Tribe brat" answered Azula "If I were to take revenge on anyone, it'd be on you. You were the one to freeze me and chain me, or is your memory failing you already at such young age?"
"She does have a point," Toph admitted.
"But given what she's like, if she wanted to kill people she might as well start with Aang," Sokka pointed out. "She did try to kill him before."
"And almost succeeded as well," Katara added, remembering the time how Aang had been shot by Azula's lightning in Ba Sing Se.
"Let's just leave the topic of who Azula should kill first and get back to the story," Aang suggested, and everybody agreed.
Katara couldn't help clenching her fists. She knew Azula wasn't the same as back during the times of Fire Lord Ozai, but she probably annoyed her even more nowadays.
"I am not attempting to hurt the Avatar" said Azula, sighing dramatically "I merely want to help. I know how unbelievable it is for most of you, since I know most of you despise me and believe I'm absolutely unchanged. Maybe you're not entirely wrong, but a part of me has changed. The Avatar helped me and Zuko figure out the truth about Mother, you could see my actions as a way to thank him for what he did"
"Does this mean that Zuko did find his mother?" Aang asked.
"Maybe," Katara answered as she looked towards Zuko. "You've tried searching for your mother before, haven't you?"
"I did, but I never succeeded. Father refused to tell me anything about her whereabouts." A thought stirred in Zuko's mind. "Unless… Azula might be able to get him to talk. She was his favorite child, after all."
"Oh no, the story's giving you ideas!" Sokka waved his arms above his head frantically. "Don't do it Zuko, otherwise this story might come true and she'd try to kill Aang, and all of us while she's at it!"
"And Sokka will fall in love with her, which I'm sure is a fate worse than death," Toph smirked.
"Yeah, and that too. But seriously Zuko -"
"Okay, okay, no need to get so worked up." Zuko raised up his hands in self-defense. "I promise I won't release Azula without a good reason, okay? Now let's just get on with the story."
"All that's fine, Azula" said Ty Lee, while lifting her legs above her head in one of her usual stretch out routines "But who will test Aang? And how, exactly?"
"That's the reason you're all here. I figured you'd all want to help the Little Avatar out to find out how to reaffirm in a more official manner his status as a master of all four elements"
"I still don't think it's needed, and I still think Azula's got something planned, something that can't be good." Katara stared warily at the book as if she could see Azula's sneering face on the pages.
"So do we all, but we won't know for sure unless we finish the story. No more interruptions now, okay?" The others agreed with Toph's words, and everyone waited for Katara to proceed with the story.
The entire group fell silent for a moment, but Sokka interrupted it after a while
"All he needs is to battle out and beat the masters of all four elements, right?" he asked "Well, it's pretty simple! Have him fight the best benders of each type and that's it!"
Azula frowned.
"I don't believe that's all there is to it, Sokka" she muttered "If he were faced by a very powerful firebender, for instance, he might go into the Avatar State"
"Well, I can avoid doing that" said Aang
"I doubt it" replied Azula "If he fights with all his will and you find yourself cornered, you'd fight back with anything you've got, and that means Avatar State. You're supposed to be in complete control of yourself while undergoing these tests, or so I believe, and you must only use the same element the master's proficient at"
"Actually, I've already mastered the Avatar State, so I really am able of avoiding going into it if it isn't necessary," Aang said.
"Yeah, but Azula's trying to kill you, so it doesn't matter," Sokka answered. "All this nonsense about 'reaffirming your status in a more official manner' – she's just trying to snuff you out!"
"True, but in here you're too stupidly lovesick to point that out," Toph smirked.
"Just shut up, Toph."
"But that's no fun" commented Toph "I'd best Twinkle Toes in a heartbeat if he can't use his airbending"
"Actually, there's another problem with that" added Zuko "He could be tested by masters on Waterbending, Earthbending and Firebending, but there are no Airbending masters left"
"Well, technically I wouldn't need one" admitted Aang, with a crooked smile "My tattoos are proof of my mastery on Airbending, so I don't have to fight anyone to prove I'm a master Airbender. In fact, I'm the youngest person ever to master it. Cool, huh?"
"No need to brag, Little Avatar" said Azula "Well, that's one element down, then. How about the other three?"
"Why not pull off one test with all the three elements?" asked Ty Lee out of the blue, surprising the others.
"What?" said Azula, staring at her in confusion "How exactly…?"
"It's not a bad idea, actually" said Sokka, smiling slightly "It could work out wonders! That way Aang could prove his mastery on the three remaining elements while fighting only using those! Airbending would be ruled out, sure, but he'd still have the chance to fight off with the other three"
"I'm a little lost here, guys…" admitted Aang
"So am I, actually," stated the real Aang.
"This author sure knows you well, Twinkletoes," Toph grinned.
"Don't worry, I'll deal with this myself! I've got a great idea coming up!" exclaimed Sokka, with a broad smile.
"Oh no, run for the hills, Sokka's got an idea!" Toph threw her hands up into the air in mock horror.
"Ha ha," Sokka said drily.
Azula stared at him with some distrust at first, but she shrugged afterwards.
"Do as you wish. But make sure to tell me whatever you're plotting first, alright?"
Aang's eyes widened. "Wow. Azula must be really in love with you or something if she trusts you that much, Sokka."
"Yeah, she usually never trusts anyone, much less you." Zuko frowned at the book held up by Katara, who sat across from him on the other side of the low table. "You know, the idea of you and my sister in love with each other is starting to make me feel slightly uncomfortable."
"Don't remind me," Sokka groaned.
"What about telling ME?" asked Aang, a little worried "It won't be a pop quiz of some sort, or will it?"
"Pop quiz?" Katara raised an eyebrow as four heads turned towards Aang.
The airbender shrugged. "What? I don't like pop quizzes."
"The great Avatar Aang is afraid of pop quizzes. That'll be something to tell the grandkids," Toph smirked.
"What, are you planning to have grandkids Toph?" Sokka teased.
"Not with any of you, that's for sure," Toph said, pointing to each of the three boys present in turn. "Besides, a pop quiz isn't the way to prove your bending skills. You need to be out there on the field to really show what you can do."
"I dunno," Sokka said. "I can quiz Aang on bending forms if I feel like it, eh Aang?" he said to Aang, who shook his head fervently.
"You don't know a thing about bending Snoozles," Toph countered, "and Aang doesn't need to learn the twenty different ways of conking one's own head when using a boomerang, thanks."
"I'll just continue with the story now, alright?" Katara interjected hastily, trying to prevent an all-out squabble between her brother and the blind earthbender.
"Of course not" denied Sokka "Don't worry; I'll brief you all before we go for it! But first… no matter what we do, you need three masters of each art, don't you? Who'll be the ones testing you?"
Azula frowned and stared at Katara at first.
"I believe we can trust little Miss Water Tribe to be the Waterbending Master, but she'd better give this her all; any hesitation could ruin the whole test, since the idea is the make sure the Little Avatar has what's required. If she promises she won't let her feelings get in the way, I'd say she's the best choice for that role"
"Well?" asked Sokka "Are you going to go all sweet and loving on him, or will you fight like a man?"
Katara stared at her brother without attempting to hide the contempt on her face. He was a great brother alright, but he got on her nerves with so much ease that it made her want to freeze him for a day or two to make sure he'd quit being such a jerk.
"Touché," Katara smirked.
"Well, it's nice to know you hate me so much," Sokka muttered.
"Don't be so depressed Snoozles, we all hate you as well," Toph grinned.
"Gee, thanks for telling me."
"I'll fight like a Waterbending Master, thank you very much" she muttered, teeth clenched "And I'd better not fight like a man, because every time you say something of the sort you get beaten down in seconds, don't you?"
"Touché again."
"Would you please stop saying that, Katara? It's starting to get on my nerves." Sokka sent an irritated look at his sister. "And what does 'touché' mean anyway?"
Katara paused. "I don't know," she said finally. "It just popped into my mind out of nowhere."
"That's weird," Aang commented.
Sokka shrugged. "Hey, weird stuff always happens to us. It's part of life as a member of Team Avatar."
Sokka felt a twinge of irritation, but he sighed and stared at Azula, trying not to let his sister's words get to him.
"Well, she's all in for it"
"The Earthbending Master should be the Blind Bandit, I believe we all agree to that. She surely wouldn't go easy on the Little Avatar" said Azula, staring at Toph, who smiled at her words.
"Oh, yeah! I'll make sure he gets the Earthbending showdown of his life!"
Aang swallowed. He knew Toph really well by now, but he was sure she would do everything in her power to trash him with her amazing skills; she was the greatest earthbender of the world, no doubt about that.
"Don't forget greatest earthbending teacher," Toph grinned.
Sokka sighed. "Okay, okay, we get it, you're awesome. Happy now, bighead?"
"Definitely."
"And who'd be the Firebending Master…?" asked Sokka, staring at Azula with interest.
Naturally, everyone in the room expected her to smirk and claim herself the most adequate person to take upon testing the Avatar. And indeed, she smirked.
"Oh, I believe a very powerful and strong firebender has to take such important honor… And since he still must be at odds about his old lost honor, why not you, Zuzu?"
"W-what?!" said Zuko, absolutely surprised "W-wait a minute, why me? Why not you?"
"Yeah, why not her?" Sokka asked. "She can't murder Aang if she lets Zuko take the place of the firebending master."
"Maybe she's not trying to murder me?" Aang suggested hopefully.
"I say we leave that until we get on with the story, okay?" Toph said. "Katara, please continue."
"I'd rather have you do it" said Azula "I have no idea of what Sokka's plotting, but I rather doubt those two girls would want me on their team. You three have worked together before, you can do it again, or can't you?"
Zuko eyed his sister with distrust. He knew she'd changed, but to give up an opportunity to prove her first-rate skills as a firebender, not to mention a chance to beat up Aang, was something extremely rare. Was she really after something, or had she actually become someone different in the inside?
"If she's changed, I'm a 400 foot-tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings," Toph deadpanned.
Sokka grinned approvingly. "Nice one, Toph."
"Glad you liked it. And that's right Azula, Sugar Queen and I definitely don't want you on our team," Toph grinned while Katara nodded in agreement.
"Why, though…? I don't get it" claimed Zuko and Azula rolled her eyes.
"You're so dumb. How hard is it to believe I have no other ulterior motive?"
"Very hard, given that you've lied about pretty much everything else in the eleven years we've been living together," Zuko muttered.
"Well, you're not exactly known to be the most honest person out there" said Katara "People even call you Master of Lies"
"Master of Flies?" asked Ty Lee, confused
"She said Lies, not Flies" grunted Mai, staring at her friend with slight irritation
"Is Ty Lee really such an airhead?" Sokka asked. He used to think the acrobat was cute, but he wasn't a fan of simple-mindedness.
Zuko shrugged. "She's fine, really. At least she won't try to kill Aang."
"Although she could easily block his chi," Katara said, remembering the times she had been defeated whenever she tried to attack Ty Lee.
"Which means she's just another of the dangerous ladies I know," Sokka concluded.
"I'm not hiding anything this time, honestly" said Azula "You could even say I've undergone a 'change of heart' or something along those lines"
"Well, I believe her" said Toph, shrugging "It sure doesn't seem like she's lying to me. Besides, what exactly would she gain from this? Not to mention, Sokka's the one who'll be doing the plans, not her"
"She could have had some influence on him by now, for all we know" muttered Katara bitterly
"C'mon, Katara" said Sokka, crossing his arms "You really think I'll let a girl change me that easily? I'm the one who'd be changing them instead!"
Toph looked towards Sokka. "One word, Snoozles: Suki."
"Not true," Sokka protested.
"Hey, she actually put you in girl's clothes. If that's not changing you, I don't know what is."
"All she needs to do is convince you to become a vegetarian and she'll have you completely wrapped around her finger," Katara added as her brother huffed indignantly and ignored the two of them.
"Or so I'd have you believe" claimed Azula, smirking cruelly
"W-what?! Hey! Don't make my argument invalid! You should be siding with me here, I'm trying to defend you!"
"And betraying friends and family in the process." Toph took on a mock horrified tone. "Oh Sokka, how could you? How could you abandon the ones who cared for you, the people who stuck by your side through good times and bad, for her?!"
"Just shut up, Toph," Sokka muttered as the others broke out into laughter.
"I doubt it's really necessary" said Azula "Your sister has a very bad image of me, and I doubt your words will be able to change that. Rather, you're actually making it look as if I'd brainwashed you somehow"
"You haven't brainwashed me, darn it!" exclaimed Sokka, losing his patience "Urgh, I'll just go make my plans, you all can stay here and bad-mouth me for all I care! And to think I'm trying to help you all…"
With that claim he exited the room while walking in his usual exaggerated style, and Azula shook her head, but couldn't refrain from smiling slightly.
"Now that is freakish," Zuko said.
"I second that," Toph agreed. "Azula smiling because of Sokka is seriously creepy."
"Hey, it proves I've changed her! See, I do change girls with my influence!" Sokka stated smugly.
"Oh, so you admit you love her now?" Toph said coyly.
"No, of course I…! I mean…! Ugh!" Sokka crossed his arms and refused to look at anyone, clearly in one of his moods again.
"Well, I believe there's not much more to deal with for now. If we need anything else, I'll send you all another message" she said, standing up in a signal of dismissing the group "But I do suggest you get some training done, Little Avatar; there's no way to know what sort of demented idea is in Sokka's head by now"
Aang nodded and stood up as well, leaving the room with Katara right after the rest of the group had left, who didn't seem at all convinced after all the discussion they'd just undergone.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" asked Aang, a little worried.
"I am, but… are you sure she's not lying yet again? I can't trust her, no matter what you all say…"
"You managed to forgive Zuko, didn't you?" asked Aang "Why is it so hard to forgive her too?"
"I don't know, Aang… I just can't forget about all the things she did to us back then. Zuko did seem like he'd changed, but she still feels the same to me…"
"But Sokka's absolutely sure she's changed" said Aang "Why don't you believe him instead?"
"Sokka's been totally blinded by love, Aang" muttered Katara "Well, if that's actually love. It seems more like a one-sided obsession or something"
"Maybe Azula managed to recover the Dai Li's brainwashing equipment and used them on Sokka to make him fall head over heels for her," Toph suggested.
"Yes, thank you Toph! Finally you're starting to make sense!" Sokka sighed in relief.
"I was just joking, Snoozles."
"Oh. I take back what I said, then."
"Are you guys talking about me?" asked Toph, staring at them from ahead
"What gave you that idea?" said Aang, smiling
"You said someone's blind" grunted Toph
"No, no, it's a different kind of blindness" said Katara "It's Sokka's, actually"
"Why do you think he's blind? Is it because he's with Azula?" asked Toph "I think he's really in love with her… actually, she seems to rather like him too. Whenever he spoke I could feel her pulse accelerating"
"This I'd like to see," Zuko said, a rare smirk crossing his face.
"That's it, I demand an explanation of how Azula and I are suddenly in love, author!" Sokka roared at the book.
"Take it easy, Sokka, the summary did say this was a sequel to an earlier story," Katara pointed out.
"Whatever," Sokka huffed.
"W-woah… really?!" asked Aang
"But she doesn't even seem to treat him like anything other than another peasant or whatever it is she always says others are…" said Katara, absolutely surprised after Toph's comment.
"You're not the only one who's surprised, Katara," Toph said. "Seriously, if I didn't know better I'd say my feet picked up the wrong info."
"Well, everybody has to make mistakes sometimes," Sokka shrugged.
"Not these feet, Snoozles. If they say you're in love with Azula, then you're in love with Azula."
"Then send my sincere hate to your feet, Toph."
"With pleasure."
"Maybe that's the way it seems on the outside" said Toph, smiling "Behind the curtains she might actually be a different person"
"Well, as Sokka himself said back when we didn't want Zuko in… I'd rather wait until she's a different person outside as well" grunted Katara, crossing her arms.
Aang sighed and shrugged. He knew better than to argue with the girl, she was pretty stubborn when it came down to anything concerning Azula. Maybe in time she'd be able to accept the Fire Princess… but then again, there were other things to be worried about. What exactly could Sokka have come up with? Would it be a really hard test? He didn't know the answer to those questions at the moment, and there was only one thing he could do for now: train with all his might until the day of the infamous test came knocking on his door.
"Okay, that's the end of the chapter." Katara closed the book and looked around at the others. "Wow, this has been a pretty long chapter."
"Although Sokka and Azula in love give me the creeps, I'd love to see what kind of test Snoozles comes up with," Toph grinned. "Specifically how much I kicked Aang's butt at earthbending."
"Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter then. In the meantime…" Sokka snatched the book from his sister, who gave a shout of protest.
"Oh come on Katara, you've read enough stories anyway. Now it's my turn." And with that, Sokka began flipping through the pages of the Companion.
Many thanks to Ms. Elegance for suggesting this story, and to Seyary-Minamoto for allowing her work to appear in the Companion! If you think today's chapter is a bit long (I'll admit, it is indeed probably the longest chapter in the Companion so far, and that includes Sir Sokka) please tell me, and I'll try to cut the following chapters in parts so they'd be more enjoyable. There's such a thing as having too much of a good thing, after all. Till the next time, folks!