Chapter XII
By the time that they had finally reached camp night had fallen. They had spent the rest of the day exploring the caverns inside the mountain, the shining crystals radiating in different hues, vibrating slightly. They had eaten in a wide cavern with blue and silver crystals, munching and talking excitedly about what these crystals were and where they had come from. Azula had been the only one to remain silent, an inquisitive look across her face the entire time. Whenever he had asked her what it was she found so interesting she remained silent, so he finally gave up. Now, back at camp, their adventurous afternoon continued with a new development.
"He did what?!" Exclaimed Zuko, not believing his ears. Katara stood before them, dinner brewing over the campfire a little further behind them.
"I told you; he bent the water back at me!" She said. "We had gotten into a fight, then he pulled his boomerang on me. I was trying to restrain him, but when I shot the column of water at him he bent it and threw it back at me, knocking me into the lake." Zuko shook his head. There was no way.
"You had to be mistaken Katara." Said Mai. Toph merely snorted.
"Great, that's just what he needs at the moment. Being able to bend." Zuko looked around the camp, noticing Jack and Ty-Lee talking over by the lake. Aang was over with Appa, laughing and doing some weird airbending trick. Sokka was nowhere in sight.
He turned back to Katara, looking at her sincere expression. "If he did bend, then where is he? I'd like to see this." He said. Katara's eyes fell, putting her hands together.
"He ran off." She said. Toph grunted.
"Ain't that convenient?" Said the grouchy earthbender. "You know I bet you're making this up just because he beat you with his boomerang. Again!" Katara scowled at her.
"He didn't beat me with his boomerang, Toph! I have it right here." She said, shoving it in Toph's face. Toph smacked it away, pushing Katara back with her palm.
"Watch it Sugar-Queen." Katara's face turned bright red, her mouth flying up for a response.
Zuko took the opportunity to step in between the two. "Knock it off, both of you!" He barked. "Toph, why don't you go see what Jack and Ty-Lee are doing, hmm?" Toph blew some black hair away from her eyes, storming off through the sand and over to where the others were at. Katara watched her as she went, sticking her tongue out.
"Katara." Said Zuko. She turned back to him.
"Sorry." She mumbled. Mai and Azula stood by his side, watching him. He could feel their eyes burning into his back, making him uncomfortable. He tried to talk to Katara, but he just felt too uneasy.
He turned around, looking at them. "Uhh, can you girls leave us alone?" He asked. Azula shrugged her shoulders, walking away towards the lake, whistling, her hands behind her back. Mai grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, turning and walking off after Azula.
Zuko turned back around to Katara, motioning ahead of them towards the campfire. "Shall we?" He asked. Katara nodded.
They walked over to the fire, the soup boiling in the pot. A sweet, meaty, aroma rose up to greet him, making his stomach growl. Somewhere off in the forest a twig snapped, night creatures crawling about.
Katara picked up a spoon, mixing the boiling ingredients. "I'm not lying." She started. "He really did bend at me. Don't bother asking me how." She said, catching him before he could ask. "But he did. Got a couple of bruises to prove it."
Zuko walked over, leaning over the pot and taking in a deep breath. "Alright, he bent at you. Why were you fighting in the first place?" He asked. Katara began taking out bowls, ladling the soup in. She handed one of them to Zuko.
"I wanted to talk to him about all the stuff he's gotten into in Ba Sin Sey." She said. "I'm worried about him." Zuko sat down cross-legged in the dirt, holding his bowl and blowing on it. He waited until Katara walked off and handed out the rest of the bowls, sipping at the sweet brew until she came beside him.
"It's a bit sweet." She said after she had tried it. "I don't remember adding this much sugar-cane." Zuko took another sip, his fingertips beginning to buzz.
"I think it's fine." He said, the tingling sensation spreading to his feet. "Now tell me, what has Sokka been getting up to these past few months?" Katara sighed, setting her glass bowl down in the dirt.
"What hasn't he done?" She began. "I can't tell you how many different women he's been with. He gets drunk every night, and then he swears at me and Aang whenever we come over for a visit." Zuko sighed, closing his eyes.
"I had heard rumors from my advisors, but I always thought they were just slander against him. He's not exactly popular in my court." He said. It was hard for his nobles to accept a water-tribe emissary, especially one so young. However, Sokka was so fluent in tongue and confident in his plans that he won many over, though there was still a contingent that held out against him. Zuko had always hoped that the rumors were just grumblings from the holdouts. Apparently not.
"When did this start?" He asked. Katara shook her head, sipping at her bowl of soup.
"I don't know. Toph was the one with him when they went on their climb, and he won't talk about his time in the tunnel, so I don't even know what's causing it!" She said, her voice filled with emotion. "I don't know whether it's Suki's death, or the tunnel, or something totally different! And since he won't talk, and Toph won't talk, I can't figure anything out! And he just keeps getting worse." Katara brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them. She stared into the fire, her eyes reflecting the crackling tongues.
Zuko set his blue bowl down, stretching his legs out. "Toph and he had a falling out of sorts, but she won't tell me. Do you have any idea what happened?" He asked. Katara shook her head, her brown hair sitting on her shoulders.
"All I know is that the day he woke up he demanded that Aang take him to Ba Sin Sey. I just thought that he wanted to dive into his work to forget Suki, but as he started all his partying and sleeping around I began to worry more. Now I'm starting to think he might have gone over to Ba Sin Sey too get away from Toph." Finished Katara. Zuko looked back over at the lake, its black waves lapping against the shore. The others sat chatting, Jack falling over and the others all laughing. He turned back to Katara.
"Where is he now?" Katara shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. He ran off into the forest and hasn't come back since."
"Didn't you look for him?" Katara nodded her head.
"I searched through the forest, but I couldn't find him. And after Aang found out what he did to me he refused to take Appa up to search for him." Zuko shook his head.
"So he's been gone all afternoon?"
"Yup." Zuko stood up.
"We have to go find him. We can't leave him out there."
"Why not?"
Zuko whirled around seeing Toph walking up to them with her green bowl in hand. She tossed it down in the sand. "If that jerk wants to go running around in the woods why should we care? Leave him." She said, turning and walking away.
Katara looked at Zuko. "We need her to talk." She whispered. Zuko nodded his head.
He looked after Toph, summoning the courage to speak up.
"Toph!" He called. The girl stopped, turning her head ever so slightly.
"Ya?" Zuko walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, hoping that she wouldn't snap at him.
"Can you come here, for a moment?" He asked. Toph turned to him, crossing her arms, a scowl sitting across her face.
"What do you want?" Zuko returned the scowl, refusing to budge.
"We need you to tell us what happened between you and Sokka." He said. Katara came up beside him, standing firm.
"What business is it of yours, huh, Sparky? What happened between me and that dirtbag should stay that way." She said. Zuko continued to stare at her.
"Toph, we need to know." Toph turned her head, a tear trailing down her cheek. She looked down, letting her hair cover her face.
She started, her tone low and soft. "Remember that time when you took me to Gaoling, to visit my parents? And you told me to keep holding onto that hope because someday it might come true?" Zuko nodded his head, the uncomfortable memory playing in his head.
"Well, I kept it, at least for a while longer. And for a moment, for one sweet moment, I thought it was going to be fulfilled." She said, her voice pained. Zuko stood still, the tears in her voice stabbing him in the heart.
"But then we were awakened, and the dream ended." She said, running the back of her hand over her nose.
"So, in answer to your question, no. Do I want to dredge up my single most painful time in my life just so you can try and fix that meathead? No, absolutely not. If you want to know what happened, go find that scumbag, make him tell you, because I'm sure as hell aren't." Toph finished her speech with a spit, turning and walking away back to the edge of the lake.
Zuko and Katara watched the little earthbender march back to the water where she sat down, away from the others. Zuko could feel his throat choking as he thought of Toph's heartbreak, and the role that he had played in it. Had he known what was in store for his little friend he would have never encouraged her to keep thinking that she could be with Sokka. He had never imagined though that Sokka would turn like this, so impatient and rude. He had genuinely thought that Toph had stood a chance. Apparently he had been wrong.
"Well, that was useless." Said Katara, turning back around. Zuko turned and followed her, walking over to the fire.
He stared at it for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Where do you think he got off to?" He asked. Katara shrugged her shoulders, yawning.
"I don't know. He just ran into the forest, away from me. Just like he's been doing to everyone lately." She said, rubbing her arm. "I don't think I'll ever get him back."
Zuko looked at the waterbender, pity welling up inside of him. He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get him back." He said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Why don't you get some rest? We'll look for him in the morning. There's nothing we can do right now." Katara nodded her head, her eyes weary. She trudged off to her tent, leaving Zuko to yawn at the fire. A wave of sleep began to overtake him, the tingling feeling spreading throughout his whole body.
Looking out at the others he noticed that Jack and Azula were asleep, Azula's head tucked on Jack's shoulder, his head laying against hers. Mai was stumbling off to her tent, Ty-Lee already sprawled out asleep on the sand.
He blinked, his vision blurring. It looked like Toph had fallen asleep as well, her form rising and falling steadily on the beach. Even Aang was asleep, lying down on Appa's tale, a boyish grin on his face.
Zuko shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. He held out his hands, staring at his wobbling fingers. Something was wrong.
The thought sent a wave of adrenaline through his system. Someone had done something to them, they shouldn't be sleeping now, it was barely dark!
He began to fight off the drowsiness, stumbling over towards the lake, its black waters lapping up against the shore, sinister and lurking. He stopped a moment, the water terrifying him. It did not look natural.
He shook himself, stumbling forward. He had to get himself wet, he needed to keep himself awake.
Mai collapsed over to his left, passed out from whatever it was that was taking hold of them. He tried to speak, to call out to the others, but his tongue slurred in his mouth, making strange gurgling noises. His foot slipped on a pebble, sending him sprawling into the sand. His eyes began to cross, his whole sight blurring. The last thing playing through his head was the thought that Joshua was somehow behind this. Then he passed out.
Sokka stumbled through the brush, pushing his way past the branches. He stumbled over a rock, falling flat on the ground, his right hand trapped against his side. He grunted, pushing himself up with his left hand, tripping once more as he got too his feet.
Taking a second, he breathed in deep, trying to steady his breath. He pulled his right hand from his jacket, looking at the crimson that stained it. Blood dripped from his fingertips, fresh and warm.
Looking down he winced, a large gash in his side, the flesh torn away. It wasn't too bad, but he had had it for so long now that the blood-loss was getting to him. He needed to patch it up, and quick.
He forced himself to his feet once more, marching on through the forest. The morning air stung his lungs with every breath, the darkness slowly fading to the milky light of dawn. By the time he reached the lake the sun was cresting the mountains, its yellow rays sparkling against the black waters.
Sokka fell once more, landing on his shoulder in the sand. He worked his way to the water, coming into it and sitting himself up on his knees. Reaching down a hand he called the water to him, the liquid turning pitch black as he thought of healing himself. It swirled with yellow energy, menacing and sinister. Was that how it was supposed to look like?
The dark nature of the water made him second guess himself, thinking perhaps that he was calling an infectious bending of sorts instead of a healing one. A sharp pain in his side made him wince, his vision blurring a second. He had to try.
Placing his hand on his side, he thought about happy things, pleasant healing images. Puppies, meat, his boomerang. However, when he placed his palm to his side a sharp stab of pain began searing into his flesh, the positive thoughts doing nothing. He cried out in pain, gritting his teeth and yanking his hand away, flinging the water back into the lake. It turned into ice shards, cutting through the water and melting inside the lakes depths.
He sat back on his haunches, taking in a few deep breaths and calming himself. Appa had supplies, bandages and things of the sort, he could just go over and grab those, use them to patch himself up.
Turning around, he was just about to stumble off to Appa, when suddenly he realized that he wasn't alone. Toph stood in front of him, staring at him, her hair dripping. Apparently she had just woken up and dunked her head, probably to get rid of the drowsiness.
Sokka smiled, happy to see his little friend. Things had been pretty rough between them recently, mostly because of him. Alright, all because of him, but at the moment he really wanted to make up for it.
He watched her as she took a step closer, her eyes staring into his. "Hey Toph." He managed, panting. She didn't react, which he didn't know to take as a good or bad sign.
"How you doing?" He asked. Toph reached out a hand, running her wet fingers along the curves of his grimy face. Suddenly she stepped back, blinking.
"Sokka?" She said, her voice uncertain. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"Uhm, ya, I think so?" He said, hoping that he still looked like himself. Then he realized that he was talking to Toph, it wouldn't matter.
The girl continued to stare at him, blinking. After a few more moments the earthbender threw her hands down by her side, clenched in fists. She opened her mouth, letting out a high pitched wail that sent him sprawling back on the ground. Birds flew away from their perch as Toph screamed up into the sky, awakening everyone from their slumber.
Sokka watched as they all stumbled towards them, blinking. They all kinda looked like they had hangovers.
Toph continued to scream in front of him, her cheeks turning red, her eyes shut tight. She just kept on screaming, eventually coming to the point that Sokka thought she was going to pass out, but she stopped, gasping for air. She looked at him, blinking, then turned around, running off.
Sokka watched as everyone gathered around Toph, bombarding the girl with questions. Eventually Katara noticed that he was sitting over in the sand, and she peeled off, running up to him and sliding on her knees.
"Sokka, are you okay?" She asked, her voice filled with concern. Sokka smiled, giving her a reassuring grin.
"Fine sis, just a bit banged up. Think you can take a look?" He asked. Katara looked at his side, noticing the red stain on his jacket. Her eyes widened, a hand brushing up against the wet blood.
"Take off your jacket." She ordered.
Sokka obliged, taking off his jacket with a wince, letting Katara poke around at his wound. She ran a hand over it, feeling the tears in his flesh, the blood trickling out and down her hands. She pulled back, reaching her hands towards the river.
"Don't worry big brother, I'll have you fixed up in no time." She said. Sokka watched his sister as she waited a moment, her hand outstretched. A frown crossed her face, her head turning to the lake and staring at the water as it lapped against the shore.
Sokka watched as she jabbed her hand out again, using both of them. "Something up?" He asked, the pain in his side making him wince. Katara shook her head, laughing nervously.
"No, nothing's wrong." She said, gritting her teeth and sticking her hand out again. She swore.
"There must be something up with the lake water." She said. Sokka reached out his hand, willing the water to his hand. It swirled up, turning black in his palm.
"Nothing's wrong with it." He said, flicking the water out of his grasp and back into the lake. Katara shook her head, a scowl on her face.
"Well, I don't know. Apparently my body doesn't feel like bending at the moment." She said, flipping the lid off if her water skin. She brushed her fingers against the mouth of the skin, drawing her fingers up to bend the water out. It didn't move.
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Having trouble sis?" Katara shook her head, trying again.
"I'm not having trouble! The water's just being stubborn." She muttered, turning the skin upside down and pouring the water into her hands. It slipped through her fingers, spilling into the sand. Katara swore again.
"What in the world! Why can't I bend?" Zuko walked up to them, looking back to where the others stood.
"Katara, there's something you need to take a look at. It's Toph." Started Zuko. Katara shook her head.
"Can't you see I'm trying to heal my brother right now?" She said, jabbing a finger at Sokka. He brushed the finger away.
"Look sis, you're not exactly top notch at the moment. Why don't you let Zuko go get me some bandages and we'll patch me up the old fashioned way." Katara glared at him for a moment, then stood up, stalking off to Toph. Zuko looked down at him, raising an eyebrow.
"What was that about?" Sokka watched the commotion spread as Katara joined the group.
"She can't bend at the moment." He replied, reaching up and grabbing Zuko's outstretched hand. Zuko pulled him up.
"Her too?" Zuko placed himself underneath Sokka's arm, helping him over towards Appa. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean her too?" He asked. Zuko looked back at the other group.
"Toph can't bend either." Sokka stole a glance back, Toph pushing away Katara's prying hands. He shook his head.
"What's going on around here?" Zuko shrugged his shoulders, setting him down beside Appa.
"I don't know, but I'm hoping to find out." Zuko walked over to Appa's saddle, routing through to find the bandages, giving Sokka a chance to lean his head back into the warm, shaggy, fur behind him. He tried to reach back into the night before and remember what had happened.
Something had happened, that much he knew for sure, he just couldn't remember what. There had been a lot of screaming and shouting, along with a familiar voice. Then there was pain in his side and more shouting. He remembered crashing through the forest, barely making it away from…someone.
He sighed, leaning further back into Appa's warm mass, the musty smell of the beast reassuring him of safety. It was just black. Somehow, he had forgotten what he had done last night, which meant that something dreadfully important had occurred. That also meant that there was danger about.
Zuko returned with the bandages, helping wrap his side wound. Sokka grunted as the firebender pulled the cloth tight, the pain becoming a thud in his side. At least he wasn't going to bleed to death now.
Once that was done Zuko sat down beside him, holding out a canteen of water. Sokka reached out his hand to take the canteen, but Zuko pulled it away out of his reach.
"Bend it." Said the firebender, staring at him. Sokka frowned, a flash of red crossing his vision, but he obliged Zuko anyways. He flicked his wrist, the water coming out and slithering into his mouth. He drank it with a slurp, looking at Zuko's stern face.
"So it is true." Said Zuko, setting the canteen down. Sokka grunted.
"Yup, the dumb one can finally bend." He said, spite sinking into his voice. Zuko sighed next to him.
"Sokka, you know that's not how we think of you." Sokka held up a hand, cutting the firebender off.
"Look, I've been the butt end of too many jokes. I don't want to hear how you guys actually respected me all the while. If you really did, you would have said something earlier." Zuko held up his hands.
"Alright, alright. I won't say anything about it." Sokka touched his side gently, pain flaring up into his head and clearing it of the red.
Zuko watched him for a moment.
"Sokka, where were you last night?" Sokka opened his mouth to respond, then remembered that he didn't remember.
"I don't know, it's all a blur." He said. Zuko grunted.
"Sounds like my night." Sokka noticed something sitting over on a tree.
He stood up, his eyes fixed on the piece of fluttering brown. "Really? What, you guys find my stash of alcohol?" He asked, starting off to the tree. Zuko chuckled slightly, the laugh dying in his throat.
"You brought a stash of alcohol?" Sokka stumbled, taking a moment to regain his footing. Zuko came up behind him.
"Ya, I stowed it in a hallowed out tree trunk about a hundred yards from camp. Been getting drunk every night after you guys leave me alone. Surprised you haven't noticed yet." He said, shame creeping into his voice. "Can't say that I'm proud of it." He continued, walking ahead.
The piece of parchment fluttered softly in the breeze, a knife stuck through it into the tree. Sokka reached out, grabbing the golden hilt with his grimy fingers. The black leather around the handle was cold, two black diamonds shining in the golden quillons. He gave the blade a tug, grabbing the parchment as it fluttered down.
Zuko stood behind him. "Seriously Sokka, we need to have a talk." Sokka nodded his head.
"Sure thing Zuko, whatever you say." He said, reading over the blue calligraphy.
Respite is over
Time to play once more my friend
Catch me if you can
A knot rose in Sokka's throat as he read the note. He reached his hand out back to Zuko, handing him the parchment. His mind began to reel as he thought once more about the lunatic that had killed Suki. The urge for vengeance once again rose up inside of him, his hands shaking as he thought of killing the man who had taken Suki from him.
The sound of Zuko growling made him turn, watching as the young firebender shook, the note in his grasp. Zuko held it out at arm's length, staring at it as if he could make it explode. The parchment just sat there in his hand, crinkled, but undamaged.
Sokka watched as a confused look came over Zuko's face. Once again the firebender reached out his hand, grunting this time. Nothing happened. Sokka raised an eyebrow. Either this guy was trying to throw the piece of paper and it had bonded with his hand or else Zuko couldn't firebend.
Zuko began to get violent, thrusting and raging about, throwing his arms around. Sokka took a couple of shaky steps back, not wanting to get smacked by one of Zuko's pin wheeling arms. He stood there and watched until Zuko stopped, breathing heavy, his hands still bereft of flame.
"What's wrong with me?" Asked Zuko, looking at his hands with a perplexed stare.
Sokka chuckled, an amused smile spreading across his face. "It looks like it's contagious. First my sister, then Toph, now you. I wonder who else can't bend." He said. Zuko turned to him, a wild look in his eye.
"That's it, isn't it?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"What's it?" Zuko ignored him, turning around and running to the others. Sokka started to limp his way over, the pain in his side keeping his mind clear of red.
He watched as first Jack, then Aang stomp on the ground, confused looks coming across their faces. They made a few other motions, swinging their arms about, but nothing happened, much to Sokka's amusement. He stood back a little ways, watching as a wave of voices rose up, everyone chattering at once, talking to one another.
Toph, on the fringe of the group, just stood there, her eyes roving about. She turned her head to him, her eyes actually lighting up. A debate seemed to rage in her mind for a moment, but a second later she started walking over to him, her small frame moving steadily over the ground.
He looked at her eyes, marveling at how beautiful they were this morning. They sparkled in the sunrise, like glass emeralds, clear, and pristine. Wells of beauty flowing out to him. He paused, blinking.
Wait, were her eyes clear? That couldn't be right. Toph had milky green eyes, he was sure of it. He had dreamed of those eyes many a night in Ba Sin Sey, waking up in a sweat next to another strange woman he hardly knew.
Toph came up to him, staring at him in the face.
"You okay?" She asked, lifting up a hand. She hesitated next to his face, taking her hand back.
"Ya, just a bit banged up, that's all." He said, matching her stare. "How about you?" Toph shrugged her shoulders, kicking at the sand.
"Can't complain too much." She said. Sokka chuckled.
"What was with that scream earlier? I thought you were going to burst my eardrums." Toph laughed nervously.
"Ohh, ya, sorry about that. I was just surprised to see you." She said.
Sokka stepped forward, wanting to reach out a hand, but Toph drew back. He lowered his hand. "Surprised to see me huh? What happened to the Blind Bandit who sensed all?" He asked. Toph swallowed.
"That just the thing, I'm not sensing at the moment." She said.
Sokka bit his tongue, remembering that she couldn't bend at the moment. How could he be so cold?
"Oh, Toph, I'm so sorry." Started Sokka, pausing a moment later. His countenance dropped, a confused look crossing his face. "Wait, if you can't bend, how did you know I'm here?" He asked, looking at her. She looked up at him with her emerald eyes, the green sparkling like glass in the sunrise.
"I can see you." She said simply, brushing back a strand of hair. Sokka stood stunned for a moment, trying to grasp that statement. She could see him? Her, Toph, the blind one, she could see him? That didn't make sense. He opened his mouth to object, but Toph held up a hand.
"You're wearing a blue jacket with a blood stain on your right side, white hand wraps, a white bandage around your waist and brown hair drawn back in a ponytail." Sokka frowned.
"It's a warrior's wolf-tail." He said, freezing a moment later as he realized that Toph could actually see him. He looked down at her stupidly, his mouth hanging open slightly.
Noises began to come out of his mouth. "Ho…Wha….huh?!" Toph smiled at him.
"I don't know. All I do know was that I went to sleep blind and bending and woke up seeing and not-bending." She said. Sokka could still not believe it, raising up a hand with fingers outstretched. Toph snorted.
"You meathead, I could tell you how many fingers you had up even if I was blind, remember?" Sokka lowered his hand. That was right, the whole vibrations traveling up his body thing.
(Let us leave them alone to sort things out for a moment so that I, the author, my explain to you, my most intelligent and lovely reader, what it is that is going on, as it won't be explained in the story. Bending, as you no doubt know due to your large intellect, is caused by open nervous systems within the subject that allows them to send out electric impulses that operate at a certain frequency that resonates with certain elements, thus allowing them to manipulate them. Normal people do not have open nervous systems and thus cannot bend the elements. Toph, however, is something special. Her system was genetically designed to be closed, but instead of closing off her other nervous endings her body closed off her eyes, the one that was supposed to be open. Thus, as Joshua made a drug that closed their nerve endings, Toph's nervous system refocused itself on her eyes and reopened them, thus allowing her to see but not able to bend. However, Sokka won't ever figure that out, so now it's your little secret, so don't tell him. Stay beautiful my most talented readers)
Sokka stood amongst all the others, a raging debate ensuing in their midst. Zuko had informed all the others of Joshua's little message, thus sparking a landslide of different questions and demands. The others had all tried to bend, but failed, leaving Sokka, the new guy, as the only bender in the group.
At the moment he was sitting on a log, listening to his friends argue and debate as to what to do. Toph sat next to him, looking around at the new world about her, marveling at all the sights.
"You know." She said. "I would really like to go back to the mountains now and go see those crystals. The others said they changed colors." Sokka's eye twitched, red fighting at the edge of his vision.
"What crystals?" He asked, suppressing the rising desire to smack Toph.
"Yesterday, when we went to the mountains, I found these vibrating crystals and winding tunnels. It was pretty cool." A horrendous image flashed through his mind, making him fall back with a start. Toph reached out and grabbed him.
"Whoa, you alright there Snoozles?" She asked. Sokka smacked her hand away, picking himself up.
"Don't touch me mutt!" He snapped. Toph drew back, pain washing across her face. She scowled at him, a deep frown on her lips.
"I was just trying to help you meathead!" She retorted. Sokka felt the rage building up inside him once more, but he fought it off, taking in a deep breath. He had to remain calm, losing his cool wasn't going to do anything for him.
He held up his hands. "Sorry Toph, I'm just a little short at the moment." He started. Toph stood up, glaring at him.
"You know what, no, I'm not doing this." She said. "You know, for a moment there I almost fell for it, you pretending you were hurt and everything. But no, I'm not getting suckered in!" She jabbed a finger at him.
"You can go be a sleaze-bag with some whore, but not me! You just stay away from me!" She called, marching away. Sokka felt his hand shaking as he watched her storm off.
He called after her. "I was just trying to APOLOGIZE! Ungrateful tramp!" Toph waved him off, storming away from him back to the camp. The others continued to argue, not noticing the exchange between the two.
Sokka sat down, shaking his head. How in the world had that escalated so quickly? One moment they were their old selves, enjoying each other's company, the next he was back to insulting her and hurting her feelings. What was wrong with him? Why had he done that? He sighed.
He didn't have an answer for that. All he knew was that every time it seemed like things were going well he opened his mouth and inserted his foot.
Somehow mister smooth just couldn't cut it with his friends. Want a court of politicians wooed into submission? He was your guy. Want the prettiest woman at the ball in your bed? He was your man. Want your best friend the beautiful Blind Bandit to like you? Well, might as well go get a stick, it would have a better chance than him.
He looked up at his other friends, watching as they were arguing, pointing around at the mountains and into the forest. Eventually Jack froze, looking around at them. The man yelled, silencing everyone.
"Where's Azula?!" Sokka looked around, realizing that Azula was nowhere to be seen. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen her at all since he had stumbled back here.
Now the conversation turned to Azula. Do you think she was taken? Perhaps she and Joshua were actually working together? Had she taken away their bending? On and on the conversations went, Katara and Aang voicing the opinion that their recent loss of their bending was her fault, whereas Jack and Zuko argued against them. Mai and Ty-Lee merely stood to the side, adding a comment every now and again that kept the argument going.
Eventually Zuko silenced the group, stopping them to think for a moment. Sokka watched as the firebender began to stroke his chin, pacing around.
Standing up with a grunt, Sokka made his way over to the group. His sister stood with her arms crossed, staring at Jack with the most hostile glare she could muster. Sokka knew that she still hadn't forgiven Jack for lying to them all. The man's current support of Azula wasn't buying him any points with her as well and to be honest with himself, Sokka didn't like him that much either. Then again, at the moment, he couldn't really say whether or not he liked anybody, not even himself. At least it made it easier; everyone hated him, he hated everyone. It was a good relationship.
Zuko turned to him as he approached.
"Sokka, do you remember anything from last night?" He shook his head.
"Look, if I did remember anything I would have told you."
"Where did you go?" Asked Katara.
Sokka groaned. "Katara, what part of 'I don't remember anything' do you not understand?" He said. Katara frowned.
"I was just wondering." She muttered. Sokka sighed, trying to control his tongue.
"All I remember is going out to the east, towards the mountains. Then there was…something." The others stared at him.
"What something?" Asked Katara.
"How the hell should I know?! All I do know was that I stumbled back here to camp with a giant gash in my side and all you yahoos complaining that you lost your bending!" Sokka threw his arms up, bringing them back down with a grimace as the pain in his side flared up once again. It coursed through his body, clearing up his mind once more. He took a deep breath, a tear trailing down his cheek.
"Look, I don't know if Azula's up to something again, if it's really Joshua, or the two have been working together all along. Honestly they all seem plausible, so I wouldn't rule out anything quite yet. What I do know, however, is that there's something over in those mountains." He said, pointing out east. "And we need to find out what." Zuko sighed, nodding his head.
"Sokka's right." Said Jack. "We need to set aside this argument for the moment and focus on the problem. Our bending is gone, Joshua is back, and there's something in the mountains. We'll have to go off of that." The others nodded their heads in agreement.
The group moved out from there, gathering different items and supplies for their journey to the mountains. It was decided that Katara and Aang would go on Appa. Zuko would lead a group with Mai and Toph, while Jack led the other group with Ty-Lee and Sokka. If Aang found anything at the mountain or spotted anything on the ground he would come back and notify everyone else. It seemed like a solid enough plan, but there was a hitch. When Aang tried to fly off with Appa the beast would not leave the ground.
Aang tugged and tugged at the reins, begging Appa to leave the ground, but the beast merely growled, refusing to budge an inch. Eventually Aang got the beast to swing its tail, but nothing happened, no soaring, no flying up into the sky, just a shudder on the ground as the massive tail landed.
"Great, even Appa can't bend." Said Zuko. Sokka shrugged his shoulders.
"Guess we'll all have to walk." He said. Zuko nodded his head.
"Right, Sokka, you lead Aang and Katara's group." Aang frowned, looking over at Sokka. Katara seemed unsure, but not too upset with the development. Sokka, however, did not like the idea at all.
He turned to Zuko, a frown on his face. "Why do I have to babysit them? I've done it for years now, can't I go with someone else?" Katara snorted behind him.
"Sokka, don't be stubborn. Just go with them, alright?" Said Zuko. Sokka sighed, the pain in his side keeping his head clear.
"Alright, alright, I'll take them." He said. He turned around to Katara, walking over and snatching her water skin from her grasp.
"I'll be needing that, thank you very much." Katara glared at him but did not move to retrieve the skin.
"Alright everybody, stay sharp, and remember, Joshua still has his bending, we don't. If you find him don't engage, just follow him and send one of the group back to get the others. We'll proceed forward from there." Said Zuko, his swords strapped to his back. The others all nodded their heads in agreement, Mai and Ty-Lee not too bothered by the situation.
From there they spread out through the forest, combing the area and moving towards the mountain. Sokka led Aang and Katara down the path that he had walked, retracing his steps as best he could. They traveled in silence, the only noise that of the trees rustling in the breeze.
It was difficult at first finding his trail, as everything around in the immediate forest was broken and bent, boot prints staggering all around. If he remembered correctly they were all his tracks, his staggering about from his midnight carouses. He was such a pleasant guy.
Eventually, though, they stumbled across what seemed to be the path that he had taken earlier, drops of blood on the ground. They followed it wearily, not knowing what lay on the path before them.
A twig snapped behind him, making him spin with the water whipped out, turned into an ice shard. The tip of the shard rested on Aang's throat, the boy grinning embarrassed as he lifted his foot off of a twig. Sokka let out a breath.
"Dang it Aang, you need to be more careful than that! What if Joshua was around, huh? You would have alerted him to our presence." Aang smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, my bad." Sokka shook his head, rolling his eyes.
"Just be more careful." He grumbled, continuing on. Katara remained quiet for the exchange, looking past him into the forest. She came up beside him, walking carefully in his footprints.
"You're learning fast." She whispered. Sokka looked at her.
"What?" He asked, confused. Katara lifted a low lying branch out of his way, letting him duck underneath.
"Waterbending, you're picking it up pretty quick." Sokka held the branch up for his sister, letting it fall down on Aang. The airbender gave a little yelp.
"Well, I do have a master waterbender for a sister; I know what most of the moves look like." He said, looking into the foliage ahead of them.
"That still doesn't add up. Aang is the most talented bender I've ever seen, yet even he didn't get ice shards down for a couple of months." Sokka waved a hand.
"That's because he's a sissy and doesn't like hurting people." Aang gave an indignant grunt from behind, but didn't say anything more.
"Sokka, this just isn't natural!" Hissed Katara. "You shouldn't be a bender!"
Sokka turned on her, red crossing over his face. "Why shouldn't I be a bender, huh? Because I might actually be able to do something? Because I might be better than you? Because I won't be the comedy relief anymore?" Katara's countenance fell, Sokka's anger deflating her. She relented, pulling back.
Sokka grunted, turning around and continuing on. He fumed for a while, wishing many unpleasant things upon his sister, but eventually it subsided, leaving him empty once more. He stole a glance back at his sister's saddened face, a tear dripping down her cheek. A pang of guilt shot through his heart as he realized that he had once again hurt someone close to him. What was wrong with him?
A noise from ahead distracted him from his sister. The group stopped, peering through the trees in front of them to a little clearing, two figures walking around talking to each other. Or, to be more specific, arguing with each other.
"Why are we doing this?!"
"Because he told us to! Isn't that enough?" Sokka waved the others own, crouching low and crawling through the underbrush on his belly. Katara and Aang followed up alongside him. He inched his way forward through the dirt, grim getting stuck underneath his fingertips. The voices continued to grow.
"Why kidnap another one? Why not just kill one? That makes more sense."
"Because he didn't tell us to do that, he told us to kidnap another one!" Sokka brushed aside a branch obscuring his view, allowing him to peek into the clearing. Two people stood in the middle of the clearing, yelling at one another with a babbling brook running at their feet.
"This is just ridiculous!" Called the one on the left, brown hair falling around his head. The boy threw up his hands, blue arrow tattoos running on his body. There was a sharp intake of breath as Aang noticed the tattoos, but the boy kept his mouth shut. The man on the right responded.
"What, what's so ridiculous?" This man also had blue tattoos, but these ones were different. They were in a darker blue ink, much more intricate and fearsome, running along all areas of exposed flesh, save his face, which remained untouched.
"This plan!" Yelled back the younger one. "It's absurd, it makes no sense. It's like we're in a book and the author's intentionally keeping them alive!" Sokka paused, raising an eyebrow. That was absurd, even by his standards. And he had done cactus juice before, and been drunk, and been drunk while doing cactus juice. Ya, not a good time. The other man seemed to agree.
"What? What in the whole wide world are you talking about? You know what, no, never mind, just shut up, I don't want to know."
"The plan sucks!" Replied the smaller boy, tapping at something strapped to his back. The larger one shook his head.
"That's only because we don't know all of it."
"Well the bit we do know sucks! It's like he's trying to keep them all alive! We could have killed them all when they were knocked out, no more problem!"
"Lee, just shut up, would you please just shut up!"
"You know what mom said about your temper." The larger boy glared at the smaller one, lightning sparking between their stare.
"Stop bringing mother into this." Growled the larger one. Sokka looked over at Katara.
"Brothers." He whispered. Katara nodded her head in agreement. Only people related to each other acted like this. Sokka turned back around to see the smaller one pacing around, a black sword in his hand. He gasped a moment later as he recognized the blade. It was his space sword!
The boy swung it through the air, the blade swishing and swirling. It flowed in the boy's grasp, swinging fluidly, cutting through all the maneuvers at lightning speed. Finally the boy flipped the sword, catching it by the tip of the blade with his fingers, balancing it by the point in the air.
"What good does this type of weapon do?" The larger boy looked over, shaking his head as he was raised from thought.
"Huh? Lee, what are you doing with that!?" The younger boy named Lee shrugged his shoulders, flipping the blade back around so that he was holding the hilt.
"Joshua told me to take it with. Said it might come in handy when we grabbed the other girl." The larger boy walked over to him, grabbing the sword from his little brother.
"You know what mother said about you and sharp objects." Lee raised an eyebrow.
"I think you're confused there bro, you were the one that wasn't allowed to have sharp objects." Said Lee. "You always poked me." The larger boy rolled his eyes, throwing the sword in the ground, then picking it up and swinging it around in his grasp.
"Why do you think Joshua gave it to me?" Asked Lee. The larger man paused, looking at the blade.
"He said that it was the man's blade before he lost it in battle. With his current state Joshua thought that it might be plausible to make a trade. The girl for his blade." Sokka raised an eyebrow. There was no way he would trade anybody in their party for his sword, even though he did really miss it. Except maybe Toph…and Ty-Lee….probably Mai…and to be honest with himself Katara too, just maybe, depends on how she was acting when the deal was offered.
Sokka shook his head, trying to focus on the situation. He could dream about bartering away her sister some other time, at the moment he needed to get the others.
Turning to Aang, he motioned him closer, leaning up and pressing his lips to the boy's ear. "Get the others, we'll spy them out." Aang nodded his head, slinking back stealthy. A few moments later his footsteps receded, leaving only Sokka and Katara behind to watch the two strange boys in blue. They were arguing again.
"Why are we sitting here? I thought we were supposed to be getting the girl." That was Lee. The larger man, whom Sokka had decided to call Tats, muttered something, looking around them at the trees.
"Are you lost?" Asked Lee. Tats shook his head.
"No! I'm not lost! Why do you think I'm lost?" Lee started laughing.
"What's the matter Sangee, afraid to ask for directions?" Tats growled.
"There's no one to ask for directions."
"So you are lost!" Laughed Lee, making Tats's face glow red.
"Well how about instead of making fun of me you help me find out where the heck we are." Lee chuckled to himself.
"Don't worry big bro, I got you." Said the younger boy, making his way over to a tree. With surprising agility the boy scrambled up, reaching the top within a minute. Sokka craned his neck to see what was happening, a moment later the boy falling and landing softly on the ground.
"Camp's that way." Said Lee, pointing towards the lake. "Captain McLosty." Tats growled but stood up non-the-less, preparing to go off towards their camp.
Sokka watched them as they prepared to leave, a thought striking him. Why should he let them go? They had his space sword. Besides, he was getting pretty good at this bending thing, he could take them. After moment he decided. Ya, he was going to take them
Sokka turned to Katara, reaching down and pulling out his boomerang which he had liberated from her tent before coming on this endeavor. "Here." He whispered, pressing it into her hands. Katara looked at the boomerang in her hands, looking back up at him with a confused look.
"What do you want me to do with this?" She hissed. Sokka rolled his eyes.
"Throw it at them! You take the little one, I'll handle Tats." He said, getting ready to stand up. Katara reached up a hand on pulled him back down.
"We can't take those two!" She whispered.
"Why not?" He replied, watching as the two brothers prepared to go off once more.
"Because…because…I don't know! I just know we're supposed to wait for the others!" Sokka snorted.
"They got my sword, we're not waiting." And with that he leapt out of the foliage, flipping the lid off of his water skin. He whipped it out, throwing a wave of ice shards at Tats.
Lee cried out, bringing Tats attention to Sokka just in time to turn and spin himself in the air, a vortex of air developing around him and shattering the ice shards. The boy landed on his feet, slamming his fist into the ground, sending a wave of air and dirt flying at him.
Not used to being able to bend while fighting Sokka relied on his old style, diving to the side with a role, avoiding the attack and reaching up to his back, expecting to find his boomerang. That's when he remembered that he had just handed it to his sister, and that he could bend.
Coming back to his feet, he took water from the creek, gathering it in his hands like two whips, cracking them at the two brothers. Lee did a back flip and avoided the blow, Tats merely cutting his arms across the whip, sending a blast of air that shot the water away.
Sokka spun, reaching out a hand and catching the water, shooting it back in ice shards at the boys. Lee called to his brother, taking two steps towards him and placing his foot in his brother's intertwined hands. Tats heaved upwards, Lee shooting off the ground and high into the air, spinning and launching himself with a burst of air at Sokka. Tats proceeded to breath in, blowing out a might gust of wind that shattered the ice.
Looking up, Sokka watched as Lee sped at him, taking the split second he had left to take the water and make a shield of ice in front of him, rolling out of the way as the boy crashed through the wall, landing on his feet and jabbing two quick fingers at Sokka. They hit him in the arm, his arm tingling for a moment only to recoil and whip a column of water into Lee, sending him flying into the brook.
Lee crashed hard, skipping across the brook and landing on the other side. The boy hopped back up to his feet, shaking himself.
"Sangee, it didn't work!" Called the boy. Tats stared Sokka down, circling him.
"I know Lee." Sokka cracked his neck, wiggling his fingers. He watched Tats, waiting for him to make the first move. Right as he thought Tats was going to make a move something crashed into the side of his face, knocking him over. He fell to the ground with a thud, grunting as blood began to trickle down his brow. A piece of metal sat next to him.
"Ohh, sorry!" Sokka picked up the piece of metal, realizing that it was his boomerang. He rolled his eyes as he got back to his feet. He had been doing just fine until his sister had stepped in.
Getting back to his feet, he was just in time to get blasted by a wave of air, flying back and splashing into the brook. He got back to his feet and gathered the water around himself, creating a swirling vortex just waiting for direction. When he looked up, however, he saw Katara, a blade pressed against her throat.
For a moment he hesitated, the vortex dying around him, but he shook it off, keeping the water cycling. Tats held Sokka's sword, curling Katara's wrist up behind her back, making her grimace.
"Drop the water and we won't kill her." Called Tats. Sokka snorted, still bending. Lee came up next to his brother, a wide grin across his face.
"Hey, well that works. Good catch." Sokka watched the two brothers as they exchanged a quick look, turning their stare back at him.
"Drop the water." Growled the boy, but Sokka made no move to comply. Lee shrugged his shoulders.
"We got her, we don't need him too. Let's just get out of here." Tats looked behind at the forest, slowly walking back with Katara still in his hold. Lee followed, a wide grin on his face. The boy jabbed Katara with a series of punches, his hands moving so fast they were a blur. Katara went limp, her eyes rolling back in her head. Tats sheathed the sword and swung Katara over his shoulder, taking off through the forest, his brother close on his heels.
Sokka immediately dropped the water around him, bending down to scoop up his boomerang as he ran after them, having sense enough to whip some water into his skin before he left the brook.
Sprinting through the forest, he crashed through branches and bushes, the pines whipping out and scratching his face. His heart pounded in his chest as he tracked them down, catching brief glimpses of them as he kept after them, but eventually they began to pull ahead. They were too fast for him, and the pain in his side was growing. Soon his world began to spin, and the next thing he knew he was on his knees, panting for breath. All he could do was sit back and watch as the last traces of the brothers disappeared in the forest ahead of him, leaving him sucking for wind. He had lost them.