Chapter 8: The Machine

Hakumi stumbled down the corridor. The pain from the burns on her arm and leg was searing, but she pushed through it. She had to. In the distance, she heard the all too familiar screech of the undead. They were following her.

They'd get her soon. It was only a matter of time. And then they'd tear her to pieces. The way they had Captain Daris. Tears welled up in Hakumi's eyes as she saw his terrible fate flash before her eyes. He'd saved her…and that had been his reward.

How could this world be so cruel? She thought. Oh spirits, where are you? Save me from this terrible fate!

But there was no reply to her prayers. Nothing, but the cold and the dark and the damp of the station.

Hakumi pressed on. Limping through the darkness until she found a small stairwell and followed it downward. She descended the never-ending steps, stopping occasionally to catch her breath and rest her wounded leg. In the darkness and her panic, Hakumi soon lost count of how many floors she had descended. The cries of the undead gradually grew distant and by the time she reached the end of the stairwell, she no longer heard them at all.

Everything was silent now, except for the the occasionally metallic groaning of the station shifting in the tides.

Safe at last, Hakumi thought with a sigh of relief. But for how long? She turned her head, gazing into the oppressive darkness that enclosed her. Fear creeping back into her veins. She knew they would find her eventually. There was no escaping this nightmare. They'd find her and tear her to pieces. Those horrible teeth. Gnawing on her very bones—

Hakumi shook her head, pushing the thoughts violently into the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to panic now.

Taking a deep breath, she bent down and examined the wound on her leg. The burn was red and blistered, but not too bad. Hakumi pulled out the flask of water on her belt and uncorked it, pulling the clear water onto her hand. It began to glow and she pressed against her wound. She felt the sudden jolt of cold and then the pain began to recede. Slowly, the burning faded away and when she pulled back her hand, the burn was barely visible. Now for the arm, she thought.

Hakumi pulled back the charred sleeve of her tunic and instantly bit her lip to stop the scream. The pain was unbearable. It felt as though every nerve in her arm was on fire, sending burning daggers through her skin and into her muscle. Hakumi fought back the tears, bit her lip even harder until a trickle of blood fell from her mouth.

She had to move fast. With a shaky breath, Hakumi managed to fight through the pain and bend what remained of her water flask onto her free hand. Pressing it onto the burn, a fresh wave of pain shot through her. But this time she was ready for it. Slowly, the pain began to recede. The charred red skin on her arm grew lighter, until it was mostly healed. The pain subsided at last.

Hakumi breathed a sigh of relief and leaned weakly against the wall. She remained like that for a few minutes, trying to regain her strength. And in her mind wondering, where could she go from here?

Despite her years in the arctic, the darkness was still impenetrable. She didn't know the layout of this station and the few signs she could make out gave her no idea of where exactly she was. Or where to go.

What should I do? Hakumi wondered. I have to find the others. That's the only way to make it out of this. But…who's to say they're still alive? What if they're dead? Or worse.

A faint screeching echoed down the stairwell and Hakumi instantly froze. She tilted her head in the direction of the sound. It was above her and…moving away. Her heartrate began to slow. And she let out another sigh of relief.

I have to keep moving, Hakumi decided. Where to, though? Where's safe? She glanced at the signs on the wall and then a thought struck her. Surely a military station as large as this had to have some sortof safe or strongroom. Some fortified place where she could, perhaps, wait out a potential rescue.

It's not much, she thought, but it's an idea. She pushed off the wall and began to wander down the corridor. The signs she passed—the ones she could actually read—were by and large unhelpful. Crew passage. Storage unit. Maintenance shaft. Storage unit again. And then just a series of numbered and lettered rooms that held no meaning for her.

This is hopeless, Hakumi thought. What am I even doing? She paused at a fork at the end of the corridor. Both ways were dark and damp. The signs above them were worn out to the point of being illegible.

Great, she thought. Which way? Right or Left?

Hakumi turned her head one way and then the other. Then, suddenly, she felt something pull her towards the right corridor.

Was it her imagination? Hakumi wondered as she stumbled down the pathway. But there was nothing imaginary about it. Almost against her will, her feet kept moving and before she knew it, she was already halfway down the corridor and picking up speed.

How is this possible? She thought frantically. What's going on?

Hakumi.

The sound of her own name sent a chill down her spine. Hakumi glanced frantically around her, looking for the source of the voice. There was none. Only darkness. Hakumi struggled in vain to stop, but her feet refused to obey. They carried her onward and onward until stopping abruptly outside a large metal door. The sign above it was still legible and it read: Laboratory 8-Top Secret.

"Wha-what is this?" She asked aloud. Then, to her horror, the door began to creak open.

Hakumi felt her heart pounding hard against her chest. Fear gripping every fiber of her being. She struggled desperately to turn back around. But it was no use. The door opened all the way up. And she stepped into the darkness.

Where is this damn Laboratory 8? Rui cursed. He'd been wandering around for at least an hour now. Evading scores of undead creatures the whole time.

According to the file he found, Laboratory 8 was where the most important experiments on Silent Wave were conducted. But where in the name of Sozin was it? The few signs he could read, pointed him to this part of the station. But that was it. No other map or schematic.

Rui scratched his head in irritation. All the rooms looked the same. Broken glass, dented doors, gutted ceilings with long pipes protruding through them, like the bones of a ribcage. There were at least a hundred rooms scattered across a dozen or so floors in this wing. He could be searching all day and still not find it.

He swore under his breath and walked on. It was quiet now. No screeching or hurried footsteps. The only persistent sound was a mechanical humming in the air, but he paid it no mind. It was probably some old machinery that was still running.

Rui rounded a corner and saw a floor chart on the wall. Coming closer, he held up the flame in his hand to illuminate it and scowled. The chart was too damp to be legible.

Why was it always like this, he wondered. Just when things were on the cusp of success, some unforeseen problem would derail his plans. Like that fateful day in the Earth Kingdom. The one that ultimately landed him in this mess.

It had been a routine mission, no different than the dozens of others he had carried out as an intelligence agent. A simple abduction. He'd stalked his prey for several days, memorizing their routine, the security, and formulating his plan. The target was a young kid, son to an important trading family in the former Fire Nation colonies. With him as hostage, it would be only too easy to bend his father to the their will. He would do whatever they asked, provide intelligence, smuggle supplies or agents, the usual. That was the official plan anyway. Rui had always sensed that there was more to it than that, perhaps it was tied to the new Republic City that was being built, but he never asked. In his line of work, asking unnecessary questions was never wise.

His plan had gone so well at first. He and four of his men struck while the boy and his chaperone were on their way to bending practice. The chaperone was quickly incapacitated and the boy snatched up into a carriage and sent straight to the docks. They'd gagged him to stop him crying out for help. The boy struggled and bawled for a while, fighting desperately against the gag. But soon his crying died down and he gave in to his inevitable fate. Their way to the docks was unimpeded. Another routine success.

It was only when they'd reach the boat that Rui realized what had happened. The boy was dead. Choked to death on his own vomit with the gag muffling his cries for help.

But it wasn't my fault! Rui raged. He turned away from the chart and walked down a random corridor.

He'd done everything the same as his previous missions. All those other successful missions. But his superiors didn't see it that way. They saw only his abysmal botching of a simple assignment. And so, his once promising career had come to an end and he'd been relegated to serving that pompous ambassador. And now he was stuck here.

Did he regret the boy's death? Sure. A death like that was so unprofessional. So unnecessary. But then, there was so many other unnecessary deaths in the world. What did one more life really matter in the grand scheme of things? Did death need a reason?

He almost scoffed. Reason. Innocent people round this damned world died for reasons both great and stupid. There was no point in dwelling on one death. Not point at all. He killed that boy, but he'd kill others still. The way he'd killed that marine. He'd do whatever it takes to carry out his mission. And he wouldn't let anyone get in his way.

Rui rounded the corner of the dark passageway and for a brief instant he thought he saw something move in the distance. Instantly he froze, eyes sharp, probing the darkness. Nothing. Then, he saw motion again. His eyes strained to make it out. For a moment he thought it was a rodent or some piece of debris and then his heart leapt into his chest when it finally came into view.

It was a little boy. And he was staring at him.

No, he thought, this isn't…it can't be. But it was. The figure walked towards him, slowly edging out of the shadows but stopping just short of leaving the darkness fully. The boy stared at him again. Then, Rui heard a child's laughter flood the corridor. The sound ringing in his ears. Louder and louder until he felt his eyes squint from the pain. When Rui opened them again, the boy was gone and only darkness remained.

Rui took a step forward and the corridor began to shake. Long cracks snaked their way through the walls and the ceiling and Rui felt the ground begin to shift beneath him as well. Before he could react, a huge portion of the ceiling and floor gave way. Rui managed to just barely stumble back from the edge as the floor panels and piping came crashing down into the chasm below.

He began to pick himself up when he heard it. Not a screech. But a snarl. And it was coming from directly above him.

Rui lifted his gaze up and to his horror he saw a monstrous shape peering down at him. It was shriveled and mangled, bone and skin mashed together into a twisted abomination. Too large fangs protruded from its mouth, with dark blood oozing from the corners. The stench of decay that filled the air was stifling and Rui covered his mouth in disgust.

The creature lowered itself slowly into his corridor, hanging from the ceiling with two arms while two more tore into the panels below. Rui counted six arms in total, with four fingers and razor-sharp claws. The creature's body was made up of bits and pieces of corpses, fused together into a writhing mass of undead terror.

This isn't Silent Wave, Rui thought. This is something else entirely.

The creature raised itself to its full height and let out another menacing snarl. It began to raise its arms to strike but Rui hit it first. Leaping to his feet, he and fired off a blast, hitting the creature square in the face. Bits of flesh blackened and fell away, but the creature merely shrugged it off.

Now what? Rui thought grimly.

The creature charged at him and slashed with two of its clawed appendages. Rui deftly evaded and fired off multiple short bursts at the creature's torso. Smoke and the smell of burning flesh filled the room, but the creature did not stop. It didn't even slow down. Rearing up on its hind legs, it twisted violently around and slashed at Rui with four arms from different directions.

The firebender managed to slide under its legs just as the arms came crashing down around him and blasted the creature full in the back. The angle and force of the flames caused the monster to stagger backward towards the hole in the floor, stopping just short of falling.

Rui seized upon the opportunity and with all his remaining strength, he unleashed a volley of fire blasts directly at its face, momentarily blinding it. The creature slashed and flailed around blindly. Once Rui saw an opening he ran at the creature at full speed and kicked it square in the chest with all of his might. With a terrible screech, the monster tumbled backwards and fell down into the hole, breaking through the floor below it, and disappearing down into the chasm.

Rui didn't stick around to see if it was dead. He immediately ran back down the corridor he came from and up the first stairwell he aw. Rui considered running all the way to the surface, before his rational mind took over and stopped him. He knew he couldn't leave. Not yet. Not until he'd uncovered the secrets of this place.

What he'd faced just now…that was far more than anything he'd read about Silent Wave. His mind began to race with the possibilities. Surely such creatures would be invaluable in the service of the Fire Nation. The reward Rui expected, doubled in his mind.

He had to find Laboratory 8 and learn just how these creatures were made.

Sokka opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. He couldn't believe it. He was…home. Or atleast, it looked like home.

The walls were made of ice and adorned with tribal art, animal pelts and braided rugs covered the floor, and a fireplace burned in the center with a small cauldron bubbling over it, bringing the fragrant aroma of stewed sea prunes to his nostrils.

But how was this possible? Sokka wondered. Walking towards the fireplace, he held his hand close to the flame and pulled it back. It was hot. Was this a dream? Or…had he finally awoken from the dream.

Sokka walked around the room, trying to make sense of it all. He then headed for the doorway. If this was truly real then he had to see the rest of the village.

"Sokka."

That voice. He turned around and to his shock he saw Yue standing there. Only it wasn't the horrible monster of his nightmares. It was the Yue of his past. The woman he loved. Alive and whole again.

"Yue…" He said, his voice barely a whisper. She smiled in reply. Sokka ran over and embraced her tightly, his heart swelling with joy and relief. "I've missed you so much."

"What's gotten into you, Sokka?" She asked in surprise.

"I've…I had a terrible nightmare. But it's finally over now. It's over."

Yue returned his embrace, running her fingers through his hair. Soothing him, "It's alright. Everything's going to be alright, Sokka."

Sokka. Sokka. Sokka!

Toph struggled against the slabs of metal restraining her and shouted out Sokka's name again. She couldn't see him through her bending anymore. One moment he was standing next to the machine and the next he was gone without a trace.

Dozens of the undead creatures leered at Toph from all sides. Snarling and chomping their teeth in anticipation, but stopping just short of attacking. As if they were waiting for something.

She's responsible for this, isn't she. Toph thought bitterly. Yue. Her and that blasted machine. They were behind it all.

Once more, Toph struggled against her restraints, trying to bend them apart, but the Earthbender creatures saw her movements and slammed her back down to the ground with their bending. It was no use.

"Sokka! Sokka!" Toph shouted. Through her bending she could feel the echoes of her voice reverberate around the room before being consumed by the all-encompassing hum of the machine.

Sokka!

Sokka turned his head in the direction of the voice. Just now he thought he heard someone cry out his name in the distance. It sounded almost like—

"More sea prunes?" Yue asked, filling up a bowl from the cauldron.

"Yes, thank you. I haven't had sea prunes in forever."

Yue looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean? We had them yesterday, remember?"

"I…uh…" Sokka rubbed his temples wearily. "I'm sorry, I'm…I'm just confused. I think I need some air."

He began to get up and walk towards the door, but Yue took him by the hand she pulled him back.

"You can't go out right now. It's dark out. Come back to the fire where it's warm."

"I'll only be a minute." Sokka said reassuringly. He tried to go to the door again, but she wouldn't let go.

"What are you—"

"Why do you always have to leave me?" Yue asked, the smiled faded from her face and rage began to take its place.

"Yue, I just–"

Sokka!

He heard the voice cry out his name again and this time he was sure it was Toph's. Sokka looked at Yue once more, but this time all his joy was gone.

"This…this isn't real is it? I wasn't dreaming. I'm still at the station." Sokka wrenched his arm free and backed away from her. "Where is Toph?" He demanded.

"I knew it." Yue cursed. "You betrayed me."

"Where is she?" Sokka repeated.

"I guess, I have no other choice." Yue's voice darkened and the tranquil surroundings began to crumble and fade into dust. Suddenly everything turned to darkness. Then, a bright light flashed before Sokka's eyes, forcing him to flinch.

When he opened his eyes again, he was on his back. Metal restraints pinned him down to a large metal grate, preventing any movement. Above him were dozens of pipes and wires, all lit up by a strange purple-white glow. The all too familiar mechanical humming flooded into his ears, the force of the sound shaking his very bones. Sokka winced from the pain and when looked up, he saw the skeletal aberration of Yue.

"You failed me, Sokka." She raged. "So now you'll join me in death."

Suddenly, the purple-white glow began to intensify and Sokka felt a jolt of electricity hit his body. The current shot through him, causing his muscles to violently contract. He felt his teeth gnash together as wave after wave of pain burned through him.

Sokka cried out, but the sounds of the machine drowned out he scream. Yue warped and twisted in his fading vision. One moment a rotting corpse, the next the beautiful woman he had loved.

"Soon." She croaked out. "We'll be together again. And this time. You won't leave me. Never. Never!"

Never!

Toph heard the voice and instantly felt a chill run down her spine. It was the same voice from her vision. Toph struggled against her restraints, but the creatures kept her pinned down. She had to do something. But what? She couldn't move. Every part of his body was pinned down. Except for…

Toph smirked. She took a deep breath and craned her neck, then, without warning, slammed her chin against the ground. The shockwave sent all the creatures around her tumbling down. And in the few seconds they were distracted, she pried away the slabs of metal holding from her body and stood to her full height. Cracking her knuckles, Toph spat on the ground. Oh, they were going to get it now.

She bended the slabs around her and sent them hurtling towards the creatures, slicing apart those too slow to react and pushing back the rest. The Earthbender creatures quickly recovered and repaid her in kind, sending hundreds of shards of debris, followed up by volleys from the Firebenders.

Toph blocked and evaded them all, delivering several devastating counterattacks that flattened a good chunk of her attackers. But more quickly came to replace them. And they attacked again.

Toph panted, the exertion of the fight draining her already weakened body. She knew she had to end this quickly, or she would be overwhelmed. Another volley of firebending shot at her from three directions and Toph bended up the rubble around her into a cocoon, absorbing the blast.

The Earthbender creatures didn't let her have her sanctuary for long. They tore it apart with their bending and sent her tumbling back down onto the damp floor.

Toph jumped back up, blowing a strand of hair out of her face in exasperation. Those bastards just wouldn't make it easy on her, huh. She knew, as long as she was facing those Earthbenders, who knew her every move, there was no beating this horde.

Damnit, there had to be some way of beating them, Toph thought. Something they didn't know how to counter. But what?

The horde sent a fresh wave of razor sharp debris hurtling towards her and Toph only narrowly managed to deflect it upward. As she sidestepped, one of the Earthbenders manipulated the floor panels and tripped her up, sending her splashing back down into the muck.

Ugh. She wiped the dirt off her face. And just as she did, an idea popped into her mind. Mudbending. She'd used it back at the siege of Ba Sing Se against the drill. With all the debris and concrete mixed into the water here, there had to be enough to bend it, right?

More shards and fireblasts hurtled towards her and Toph rolled aside to avoid them.

Oh well, she thought, might as well give it a try. As another torrent of fire headed her way, Toph focused her senses on the puddle she was standing in. Feeling out the bits of earth with her bending. Binding it. Manipulating it. Moving it!

And then, a spout of muck shot up in front of her and doused the flames mid-air.

"Alright, you bastards." She said aloud. "Not it's my turn." The undead growled and hissed at her in reply.

Toph planted her feet firmly on the wet floor and before the creatures had a chance to attack again, she thrust her arms up with her palms outstretched. The muck in the chamber rushed upwards, wrapping itself around all the limbs of creatures. Toph then slammed her arms downward, bringing all of the undead to their knees and pinning them helplessly to the ground.

Keeping them there with one hand, Toph reached out with her other hand and began to gather up the metal panels off the floor. Warping them until they resembled a huge scythe.

The creatures struggle and shrieked against her grasp, but there was no escape.

Toph smirked once more, "Time to send you back to your graves."

With one smooth motion she cute through them all with the scythe, dismembering them with deadly precision. Then, turning the scythe back around, Toph cut through them again. And again. And once more for good measure.

The horded of undead was now little more than a broken shrieking heap of bones. She watched through her earthbending for any signs of movement and cut down any remaining survivors. Satisfied with her handiwork, Toph let the scythe fall to the ground with a crash.

"That was… easy…" Toph muttered, before falling to her knees. She let out an exhausted sigh. Then she remembered Sokka.

Toph turned her attention to the machine, examining it with her bending. She knew she couldn't just blindly tear it open with Sokka still inside. But, despite her best efforts, something was blocking her from seeing inside the machine.

Well, if that's the way she wants to play it, Toph thought. She slammed her foot on the ground, watching the vibrations spread out until she saw a weakpoint in the machine wall. With a sharp exhalation, she sent a piece of metal debris hurtling towards the gap.

Sokka heard a thud behind him and for a moment the pain in his body receded. Then another thud. And another. Then, the wall behind him shattered and he heard someone shouting his name.

"Toph?" He shouted back. But instead, it was Yue who answered.

"You can't leave." She shrieked and the current shot through Sokka's body again. "I won't let you. You're mine. Forever!"

Sokka saw her rotting face hovering over him. Teeth gritted. Eyes so full of hatred. But this wasn't her. This wasn't the woman he'd loved. It was aberration. Formed from his guilt and sorrow. A painful memory that he'd clung to all these years. Concealing the truth.

"I didn't fail you, Yue." Sokka said at last. "I wanted to keep you safe. But…it was you that made the sacrifice."

Yue's eyes widened.

"I wanted to spend my life with you. I would've given my life for you. But now, that dream is over. You're gone. And I have to live with that. You'll always be in my memories." Then his face grew stern. "But I'm done feeling guilty. I won't keep suffering for the past."

Yue lunged at him, but in that instant, Sokka felt the ground shift beneath him and the next thing he knew, he was outside the machine and hovering through the air.

"There you are." Said an all too familiar voice. And Sokka landed on the ground.

"Toph?" He asked.

"The one and only."

Toph bended apart the metal restraints around his body and helped him to his feet.

"You saved me." Sokka said, to which Toph gave a playful shrug.

"Now we're even."

Before he could respond, she threw her arms around him and held him tightly. Tears streaming down her face. "I was so worried. I thought I'd lost you."

Sokka felt himself smiling. "I'm not going anywhere."

Toph suddenly broke the embrace. "Hold that thought, cause we gotta get out of here. Now."

A bloodcurdling screech pierced the air. Followed by countless more.

"How many?" Sokka asked, straining to make out anything in the darkness.

"Fifty. No, Sixty." She sighed. "Look, I'm too tired to count. Let's just run." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in the direction of the doorway. They'd almost made it out, when Toph stopped suddenly and turned back towards the machine.

"What're you doing?" Sokka asked.

"Just giving that bitch some payback." Toph traced her foot along the ground and then slammed it down hard. A massive fissure snaked out towards the machine and hit it. Instantly the machine it exploded, sending pipes and pieces of metal, flying through the air. The power of the explosion also tore open a hole in the station's hull and the chamber began to flood.

"That'll teach her to put her hands on my man." Toph smirked. "Now I feel much better."

"Really?" Sokka asked and Toph took his hand once more.

"Really. Now let's get the hell out of here before we drown." The room shook violently as more water began to pour in. "Now!"

Toph pulled Sokka towards the door and they made their way to the stairs.