Book Four: Air

IC: Toph

She drank the water gratefully. It felt as if she had not had anything to drink for days, and the cool water tasted wonderful. It eased the soreness of her dry lips and throat. She barely listened to Azon.

That is, until he said something about her friends.

"What? Where are they?" she demanded, struggling to move and failing. Her chains still held. "We have to get them out of here!"

Toph felt badly for getting them into this mess. They had come after her, after all, and now they were all in trouble. She wanted to help them.

She thought she heard Sokka, but when silence followed it, she was not so sure.

***

IC: Chan

He frowned.

"I am a soldier. Or at least a former one. I do not lie." But he took up a readied stance, all the same. It was best to be prepared against the unknown, and he had no idea how to read this barbarian. "Surely you do not want me to give you proof."

Sokka knocked on the wall again, "Come on. I heard someone." He paused for a moment before banging on the wall louder, "Toph? Is that you?"

IC: Toph

Now she was sure she had heard Sokka! His voice was badly muffled, but Toph knew him too well to not know Sokka when he called out. It sounded as if he was behind her, or, rather, through the wall.

He had to be in a cell, then, and not too far from where her captors had stowed her away.

"Yeah, it's me!" she said, half-shouting. She didn't want any of the mercs to hear her.

IC: Azon

"The Fool is still a Fool," said Azon, "the Mercenaries will hear his banging."

"Lady Toph," he said, "I have no intention of releasing you or your friends. You can barely see upon this ship, let alone fight. You may be safe from execution, both your friends are not. If you attempt an escape, it is likely they will be killed. Besides, they have no way of escape now that Appa has been driven off."

Azon put a hand upon the compartment door.

"Furthermore, it is the fault of your friends for being caught. I suggest you do as your Earthbending teaches, wait and listen for the right moment to strike. You realize I will have to re-gag you, and reseal the compartment door."

"It's good hear you!" Sokka shouted with a smile, "I was so worried." He had his ear against the wall, waiting for her reply.

IC: Toph

She did not have a chance to answer Sokka. She heard Azon first.

"W-What?"

Now that had shocked Toph. She thought she was being rescued. Sure, her friends were in a tight jam, but with Azon's help, she knew they could handle it.

And now he was telling her he wasn't even going to do that? That he was just going to leave her in this tight, little box, bound and gagged and waiting for who knows what?

Toph scowled up at Azon's voice.

"You can't just... just leave me in here!" she said.

She hated enclosed spaces. It had not been a long-time phobia, either, but had come about when she was kidnapped in Ba Sing Se.

Stupid Xin Fu and Master Yu.

IC: Samanya

A slim smile spread across Samanya's face, looking more like a animal baring it's fangs than a man showing amusement. "Try, but I doubt a coward would." His body didn't move an inch, save for the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the hammering of his heart in his ears.

Silence ruled between them, as the warrior stared down the soldier.

IC: Chan

The stare was unsettling, but Chan was well trained and did not back down. He clenched his weapon and stood firm, waiting for the least possible movement that he could react to. As far as he knew, this was the last of the group that needed taking, and he would do it.

IC: Azon

Azon tilted his head.

"You are afraid."

He reached up and tied the gag loosely around her chin, making it appear as if it had fallen loose. He then placed a finger upon her forehead.

"Listen to me. We all have the ability to see beyond; for some it is easier than others. It was your energy that saved Sokka, just as it was your energy that allowed you to see. I merely hold your eyes open for you; what you must do is try to keep them open yourself when I do."

Toph's sight came alive in a blinding light of color and life; far beyond a normal person. Azon's voice was like a far off noise.

"Turn your head."

She was able to see through the wood and fiber of the ship, and into Sokka's cell. His features were so clear and visible it was if he were right beside her. Every paniced look upon his face as he searched the wood for Toph's voice.

"We all have something that keeps are eyes open. What you must do, Toph, is hold tightly onto yours."

Azon gently removed his finger, and her sight buckled, fazing between her normal sight and the wonderous one she was experimenting. Without Azon, it was as if something were pushing heavily upon her, forcing with all its might to shut her eyes into blindness once more.

"Hold on tightly!" ordered Azon.

"For as long as you can."

He shut the compartment door and struck the wood wall with his knuckles, speaking to Sokka through the wall.

"Sokka, speak further down and to the left, I think you'll find you can hear her much better that way."

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IC: Ozai

"Kill you?" repeated Ozai.

"No, I'm going to make you watch, Mai. I'm going to make you watch as everything you and my son have is stripped from you as it was from me. I'm going to make you watch as my son is executed for his treason, for his dishonor; along with your family...and your friends."

IC: Samanya

How a man could remain so still was hard to fathom, but Samanya was more like a statue than a human at the moment. His arms did not grow tired from the position, his legs did not ache from the stance. The stare hardened on Chan, as the warrior raised a single foot, and crashed it down onto the deck, the resounding thud causing the water's beside the boat to tempraily rise up, before falling back into their patterns.

It was a wordless challenge, calling to the soldier's pride like a siren. His foot crashed down again, reinforcing the challenge with a surge of water.

IC: Toph

She almost panicked when she heard the door shut. The small space seemed to close in all around her, pressing in on her, suffocating her. Toph hated how it made her feel--weak, helpless, stupid--but she would not deny the fear that now threatened to overwhelm her.

It was worse than water, worse than being in the air... She could barely breathe...

Azon's words returned and touched her. Her sight, or whatever it was, swirled all around her. Toph focused, concentrated, didn't want to let go of it. And, unlike before, what she saw, what she felt... It didn't go away.

She didn't want it to go away.

Toph looked, really and truly looked, at Sokka. She knew that a wall was between them, but it was as if he were there beside her. Toph took in his face, for the first time, and choked.

"Sokka... Don't go away..."

***

IC: Chan

"Impressive. But I do not fear you," said Chan. "Come and face me, if that is what you wish, or stand down. No more yelling like a fool."

IC: Samanya

His foot crashed down one final time, far harder than any of the others before it. Water surged up from the sea, and crashed down onto the deck like hail. As the water surged towards them, Samanya loosed a primal roar, before charging towards Chan with his sheild raised and club prepped.

The water raced after him, seemingly obeying the primal command of the tribesman, and began to violently lash out at Chan like a serpent.

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IC: Drakon

"Gursh?" The armoured man looked between Ozai and Mai, before his gaze finally came to rest on Mai, and he seemed to be contemplating how hard it would be to simply crush her and end her apparant insolence.

"Gursh." The monotone voice seemed to break for a moment, as Drakon sounded disappointed that he could do as he intended, remebering Ozai's command.

IC: Chan

The soldier frowned, recognizing the power behind the blows. The best course for now, it seemed, was to dodge and evade the attacks.

So that is what he did.

Chan managed to stay one step ahead of the rampaging warrior. He did not have a chance to attack himself, but so far Samanya had yet to hit him.

"I won't," Sokka promised, finding the air vent that Azon pointed out to him. He spoke quickly in excitement, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Was that Azon with you? What's he going to do to help us?"

IC: Toph

A sigh of relief escaped her. For a moment, in the approaching hysteria, she had been afraid she had only imagined him. But he had answered her. A frail sort of calmness, the start of something better, washed over her.

"I'm... fine." It was a lie, but Toph wouldn't be herself if she acknowledged she was afraid and hurting. "And it was him, but he won't do anything right now." She didn't know how else to put it, though she felt she should be somewhat grateful towards the strange man. "How 'bout you? They haven't done anything, have they?"

"Jerk. I wouldn't have brought him with the rescue team if I knew he wouldn't be doing any rescuing," he complained, but smiled just a little at the fact that he was having a conversation with his best friend. He continued, "They haven't don anything to me yet."
He sighed and said, mostly to lighten the mood, "I wonder if they'll feed us..."

Mai felt chills go up her spine as she heard the Fire Lords plans. She had never met the man before this occasion herself, and from the ways that Zuko, Iroh, and even Toph had described him only made Mai picture some sadistic fool who loved burning things down and had a ridiculous sense of fashion. But now she knew that he wasn't a fool, he was actually smart enough to come with a plan to break her and his spiteful sadism was backed by a plan that secretly terrified the girl.

"But why you Mai? I never personally overthrew him or betrayed him, heck we didn't even truly know each other. I haven't even directly stolen the throne, just married the man that did." Mai pointed out as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Is this what he would've done to Ursa? ...Or maybe he knows that he's already broken his two children, so now he has to try and destroy the new child just to see if he can do it in record time...." She pondered for a second as she held her breath for a few seconds before looking up into Ozai's eyes as she exhaled lightly.

"It's certainly an interesting plan. But I have to know, what did I ever do to earn this special sort of wrath from you?" She asked as the apathy left her voice, now replaced with a wary curiosity.

Toph couldn't help it. She laughed. It hurt a little to laugh, because of the chains, but she was glad she did. It helped her feel better.

"You idiot. Is food the only thing you ever have on your mind?" she asked.

IC: Ozai

"Because my son and the Avatar are weak," replied Ozai.

"They will not do anything to endanger you, and I need them out of the way. But most of all, you took from me the last part of my family that still brought me honor, that made me proud."

His orange eyes held a strange, eery look.

"You took my daughter from me. I have nothing left. So I will take what you have instead."

Mai stared back into Ozai's eyes as she held her ground. She may have been terrified of the man at the moment, but she certainly wasn't going to show it. "Well it's not like I knew that I was keeping Azula from going insane, I generally thought that she would most likely torture me and Ty lee until she got over us and we were killed. No one could have predicted just how much Azula needed people in the end." Mai explained after sighing as she felt annoyed with and yet understood Ozai's explanation at the same time.

The Fire Lady sat still in silence as she lost eye contact from Ozai for a while, but then then Mai cleared her throat before speaking again. "You know since no one else will ever find out, what ever happened to your wife Ozai?" Mai asked carefully.

Jerrel climbed onto the ship he hid behind a few crates and barrels. "Now, I know something is really wrong. The sky bison has left and the ones riding it are no to be seen." Jerrel whispered to himself. "Now all I need to do is find Toph, and I'll be on my way."

Sokka grinned, but tried to sound indignant, "No! For your information, I didn't think of food once while I was trying to save you."

Jerrel managed to make it to the door leading below deck, without being noticed, his trainning was beginng to show off.

IC: Samanya

The warrior smashed his club down onto Chan's hammer, it's teethed edge grabbing the shaft of the hammer, and pulling it down with it along it's path. With the hammer out of the way, Samanya smashed his shield across the soldier's face, his cold war cry tearin across the air and echoing through the ship.

He pressed his assault, having no intention of giving Chan any chance to recover.

Jerrel frozed at the sounds of a war cry ringing in his ears. Jerrel looked around, he soon found the source of the loud war cry. A large man was engaged in battle with another man. "Holy...."