Double Bender

Part 15

Once again, I gotta tell you, flying is amazing, but flying at top speeds is terrifying. Every time I asked Aang to slow down, it seemed he only told Appa to go faster. "Why do we have to go so fast?!" I asked. "Are you trying to kill us?" "Just wait," Aang said. Oh joy, I thought sarcastically. By the time we finally landed, in an open field by the way, we were all clinging to each other in fear, Aang was dusting himself off, and poor Appa was completely out of breath. "Okay," Said Geo. "Now will you tell us why you dragged us out into the middle of nowhere?" "Not quite yet," Said Aang grinning.
We waited for a while in that field. Sokka tried to entertain us with really annoying jokes. "Okay," He said as a last resort. "What does a dead guy take when he has a cold?" "That doesn't even make sense!" I said. "A coffin-drop!" He said. "You see, it's like cough drop but it's-" "Not funny," Said me and Geo at the same time. It was nearly midnight when Aang said, "Look," We all turned around and saw streaks of beautiful light dance across the sky. They shimmered down and faded and then more shimmered down. A meteor shower. We all settled down on the hill and watched the show (boy did I feel sorry for Toph). "It's beautiful," I whispered. "Bet you're glad I didn't spoil it," Said Aang cockily. I nodded, my eyes still glued to the illuminated sky. "Kind of makes you realize how insignificant we really are," Sokka said. It was so beautiful it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Unfortunately, Toph didn't feel the same way. "Eh, if you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times," she said. "Oh man," Sokka said. "You've never not-seen anything like this,"
Suddenly, a meteorite flew over our heads and crashed nearby. "The fire is gonna destroy that town!" Katara said. Figures, I thought sourly. Just like fire to destroy everything it loves, even its own kind. I paused for a moment before thinking, Woah. What's wrong with me? Why am I thinking that? Okay, stop. Just calm down. There's a fire that needs to be put out. I pushed the thought out of my mind as I joined the rest of the gang where the meteorite was. "There's a creek over there!"said Katara. "I'll bend the water over here. Tatiana, you bend the water over the fire when I get the water to you. Got it?" I nodded. Katara got onto Appa, whipped the reins and flew off. "Toph," Aang instructed. "You, Geo, Tatiana, and I will make a trench," "Got it, Twinkletoes. Double!" she called to me."You and G start on the other side of the rock. Aang and I have got it over here," "Right," I said. "What should I do?" Sokka asked. I looked over my shoulder and awkwardly said, "Watch Momo," As if on cue, Momo flew onto Sokka's head. "So I'm a lemur-sitter now?" he asked, obviously annoyed. Momo chittered and Sokka said, "There there. Feel better?" with very little emotion.
Katara came back with the water flying behind her. I bended some of the water over the rock but it only made smoke and hot cinders fly everywhere. "Watch out, Sokka!" I yelled. "Right," said Sokka disappointedly. "Standing clear," Katara and Aang and I pulled an orb of water over the rock and concentrated with all our might as the cloud exploded into a light snow shower that covered the rock and put out the fire. "Good work, guys," Aang said.
The next morning, we arrived in the small Fire-Nation town of Shu Jing and went to a small restaurant for breakfast. Sokka oddly enough didn't sit with us. Instead he sat down at the top of a stone staircase about a yard or so from the table. "It's so weird how these people don't know that they were close to getting toasted last night,"said Aang. Toph had other thoughts."Yeah," she said. "The worst thing about being in disguise is that we don't get any of the hero-worship. I miss the love." "Boo-hoo," Said Sokka sarcastically. "Poor heroes." "What's your problem?" asked Katara. "You haven't even touched your smoked sea-slug," "I'll eat it!" said Geo. "It's just..." said Sokka. "All you guys have your awesome bending and you can put out forest fires, fly around, make other stuff fly around, heck! Some of you can even bend more than one element!" Aang and I looked at each other awkwardly. "I can't fly around, okay?" He looked at the ground sadly. "I can't do anything." "That's not true," said Katara. "No one can't read a map like you." "I can't read at all," Toph said. "Yeah," said Aang. "And who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments. Like Katara's hair. I mean, look at. What's up with that?" "What's wrong with my hair?" Katara said, flushing with embarrassment. "Nothing, nothing," said Aang apologetically. Yeah, I thought. Those two are meant for each other. "Look," said Sokka. "I appreciate the effort. But the fact is, each one of you is so amazing and so special. And me... I'm just the guy in the group who's... regular." Katara sat down next to her brother and said, "I'm sorry you're feeling down. But I hope you know that none of us see you that way." She paused for a moment and then saw that her brother was still in the pits. "I know something that's gonna make you feel better." "You do?" said Sokka. Before you could say "here we go again," we were standing in front of a weapon's store. "Shopping!" Sokka squealed like a little girl. I shook my head and went inside.
There were so many amazing weapons that I was pretty close to screaming myself. There were so many swords and whips and knives. I browsed up and down the aisle and stopped at a pair of brown leather gloves. "I can see you're a girl who knows her merchandise," I turned around and saw the shopkeeper, a nice-looking man with a short grey beard. He reminded me of Uncle. "These gloves will protect your hands in battle and are very stylish, might I add?" I slipped one onto my hand. It fit perfectly. I was sold. "How much?" I asked. "You know what?" he said. "I like you, you seem like a nice kid. So I'm gonna lower the price to one copper piece. And, as a special offer to you and your friends, if you buy one item, get a second for free," I picked out a long, black, snakelike whip, paid my one copper piece, slipped on the gloves, and stuck the whip onto my belt next to my dagger. It was odd, seeing how in Ba Sing Se when someone said those exact same words to me, I gave them a cold stare and walked away. But here, it was because the clerk said it a different way. The guy in Ba Sing Se said it like I could barely afford anything in life, but this guy was different. He actually sounded like a nice guy. Maybe not all Fire-Nation people were jerks. Sokka was having the time of his life too. He had tried all kids of swords, chains, and even nunchakus. But none of them suited him (by that I mean every time he tried one, one of us got whacked). Then, he stopped dead in his tracks by a beautiful sword in a glass case with a dragon engraved on the scabbard. "You have a good eye," Said the shopkeeper to Sokka as he did to me. Everyone gathered around the sword. "That's an original from Piandao, the greatest sword master and sword maker in Fire-Nation history. He lives in a big castle up the road from here," With that, he walked away. Aang thought for a moment before saying, "That's it! That's what you need, Sokka!" "A sword?" Sokka guessed. "No," said Aang. "A master. We've all had masters to help us get better. You should study with Piandao," "That's a great idea!" said Katara. "I never would've gotten where I am now without master Pakku. Everyone needs a teacher." "I learned earth-bending from the badger-moles," Toph said. "They can't talk but they're still great teachers," "I wouldn't be able to heal anyone properly without Katara," I said. "And I couldn't even dream about metal-bending without Toph." "I didn't have a master and I'm still awesome," said Geo. Sokka ignored Geo's comment and said, "It would be nice to be a master sword fighter. Alright, I'll talk to him,"
In less than no time, we were back at our small campsite, hoping Sokka would have success. Geo, Toph, and Aang were all lying around, Katara was practicing her water-bending, and I was still trying to get the hang of my whip. I pulled my arm back and thrust it foreword again. To my shock, it wasn't in my hand. "OUCH!" Geo yelled. She got up and angrily handed me my whip. "This better not whack me anymore," she said. "Sorry," I muttered.
It took about an hour before I completely got the hang of it. After that, I was a pro. I could throw my dagger at a tree and with a flick of the wrist (with a whip in hand of course) I would have my dagger back without even moving. Another trick I learned was to fling the whip to grab onto a tree branch on the other side of a cliff or something and swing across. Katara said I would kill myself with that move but it wouldn't be my fault if I escaped from Fire-Nation soldiers by swinging to safety during the invasion. The rest of the day was very boring and sluggish. In fact, it seemed to be really, really dull without Sokka around. "So what should we do today?" Asked Katara as we all lay in a circle. "I'm all tapped out," Said Toph. "I already picked my toes today. Twice," "Twice?" Asked Aang. "The first time was for cleaning. The second time was just for the sweet picking sensation," "Gross," I said. "I got nothing too. I already perfected my dagger-throwing and I've mastered my whip," "Sokka's been in charge of the schedule. I'm not sure what we should be doing," Katara said. "Plus it's so hot today," Toph complained. "How hot is it?" Aang joked. "Uh, really hot, I guess," said Toph. Katara tried to lighten the mood. "It's so hot...it's uh, it's so hot...that Momo is shedding like Appa," She patted Momo and then rubbed the bits of fur from her hand. "Huh? Huh?" she said. "Guess comedy doesn't run in the family," Aang said. "Oh, everyone's a critic," Katara snapped.
It seemed like hours. Then, Katara brought over a map. "How's a map supposed to help us pass the time?" I asked. "It's not," said Katara. "I'm just thinking ahead. Okay, so where are we going next?" She pointed to a spot on the map and said, "I think we're starting from here-" "No no," Aang cut her off. He pointed to a different place and said, "We start here on this island." "You noodle brains don't know what you're doing," said Toph. "I miss Sokka," "If you miss him so much," said Katara, "why don't you marry him?" I face palmed.
That night, Sokka came back very late, and he left very early the next morning. So naturally, with nothing to do, we just sat around like dopes until noon when Toph yelled, "Sokka's coming!" We were all so bored that "Sokka's coming" was the best news we'd heard all day. We all ran to Sokka and gave him a group hug, much to his dismay (which, of course, made it more fun). "Thanks," he said, pushing us all away. "Listen, I need some help." "Help with what?" I asked.
He dragged us all the way out to the field where the last of the meteorite was. Then, we dragged it all the way to Pinadao's castle. Sokka ran up to the door and banged on both knockers frantically. A tall man with dark grey hair and a dark grey goatee answered. "Who's this?" he asked. "Piandao," said Sokka, "These are my friends. Just other good Fire-Nation folk," Piandao bowed to us. "Do you think we could make a sword out of this meteorite?" Sokka asked. Piandao looked the rock over and said, "We'll make a sword unlike any other!"
The next hour consisted of Sokka making his sword. We sat outside the hot forge while Sokka made his sword on the inside. We didn't see very much but we did hear quite a bit of clanking and clanging and smoke. Then, when the sword was done, Piandao called us all into the main hall. There, we sat on the sides while Sokka knelt nervously in front of his master. "Sokka," he said. "When you first came here, you were unsure of yourself. You even seemed down on yourself. But I saw something in you. I saw a heart as strong as a lion-turtle and twice as big. As we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me. No it wasn't your skills at all," Sokka lowered his head in shame. Piandao's butler knelt beside him and handed him the sword. Piandao continued. "You showed me something beyond that..." Piandao unsheathed the sword to reveal it's ebony black blade. "Creativity. Versatility. Intelligence. These are the traits that define a great swordsman. And these are the traits that define you," He sheathed the sword. "You told me," Piandao continued, "that you didn't know if you were worthy. But I believe you are more worthy than anyone I've ever trained." He gave the sword to Sokka, but Sokka hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, master," Sokka said. "You're wrong. I'm not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not even from the Fire-Nation," "What is he doing?" I whispered to Katara. Katara simply shrugged, to shocked to say anything. "I'm from the Southern Water-Tribe. I lied so I could learn swordsmanship from you. I'm sorry." Piandao turned away and said, "I'm sorry too," Piandao quickly turned around and raised his sword against Sokka's. We all ran up to help him. "No," he said. "This is my fight alone,"
The two moved outside and then there was dead silence. They squared off in the fighting ring, waiting for the other to attack. Sokka made the first move. Piandao dodged and made a jab at Sokka's head. Sokka dodged. It was a lot more of that. Jab, dodge, clang! Jab, dodge, clang! Piandao made a jab at Sokka's legs but Sokka jumped just in time and made a hard jab at Piandao. "Excellent," Said Piandao. "Using your superior agility against an older opponent...smart," Piandao charged at Sokka again, pushing him up against a stone staircase. Sokka rolled out of the way and scaled the staircase, climbing to the top. "Good use of terrain...fighting from the high ground," It didn't make sense. Why was Piandao complementing Sokka while he was trying to kill him? Sokka ran out of the way just before Piandao could stab him. Sokka suddenly tripped and banged up against a thicket of bamboo. Piandao sliced and Sokka dodged. Thinking of a good battle strategy, Sokka ran into the thicket, trying to lose his pursuer. "What's happening?" Katara said frantically. "I don't know!" I said. "I can't see them," Suddenly, several stalks of bamboo fell and we heard Piandao say, "Yes! Use your surroundings. Make them fight for you," Suddenly, Sokka ran out of the thicket and back into the ring with Piandao not far behind. Sokka ran but then Piandao swerved to the side and jumped out in front of Sokka and held his sword out in front of him, hoping Sokka would run into it. Luckily, Sokka leaned back just in time. Sokka stumbled foreword but used his sword to stop his fall. Coming up with another idea, Sokka used his sword to fling dust and dirt into his master's face, temporarily blinding him. "Very resourceful," Piandao said. Sokka tried to sneak away, hoping his now blind master wouldn't hear him. Suddenly, we heard a small snap. Sokka looked behind him and saw that he had stepped on a twig. Piandao spun around and lunged at Sokka again. Sokka parried the attack but Piandao caught Sokka's blade with his own. In two swirls, Sokka's sword had flown out of his hand. Piandao lunged at Sokka and used his elbow to knock Sokka to the ground. Sokka looked up at his master with a panic-stricken look as Piandao pointed his sword at Sokka's head. We had seen enough. We jumped from where we were watching and ran to Sokka but Piandao swung his sword out to block us. "Excellent work, Sokka," Piandao said. He made another move and we thought he was going to kill Sokka but he merely said, "I think I'm a little too old to be fighting the Avatar," Aang looked confused and panicked at the same time. "How did you-" Piandao cut him off. "Oh, I've been around a while. You pick things up," He wiped the dirt off his face and continued. "Of course, I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water-Tribe. Try thinking of a better Fire-Nation cover next time. Try 'Lee'. There's a million 'Lee's'." I hung my head and thought of Zuko how his disguise was Lee and how Geo used to call me "Mrs. Lee" while we were under cover. "But why would you agree to train someone from the Water-Tribe?" Katara asked. "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation. Knowledge of the arts belong to us all," He turned to Sokka and said, "Sokka, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path, I know that one day, you'll be a greater master than I am."
As we started to leave, the butler stopped us and said, "Sokka, the master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by," With that, he closed the door. Sokka looked at the tiny, round thing in his hand. "It's a Pai Sho tile," Geo observed. She obviously knew from playing Pai Sho with Uncle so many times. "The white lotus tile," said Aang. "What does it mean?" asked Katara. "I have no idea," said Sokka. "Oh, that reminds me." He pulled out three chunks of black rock (leftover pieces of meteorite) and handed a piece to me, Geo, and Toph. "I thought you guys might like this, considering you've never had the chance to bend space earth before." "Sweet!" said Toph. "Check this out," She started bending her chunk into various shapes like a swirl, a star and even an abstract splatter. I simply bended mine into a circle, stuck it on my upper arm, and tightened it so it wouldn't fall off. This would come in handy. "You know," said Katara. "I don't think there is such a thing as 'space earth'. If it's from space then it's not really earth." "Must you ruin everything?" said Sokka. "I can't believe I missed you," Katara groaned.


I haven't updated in a long time. Sorry. Let me know what you think. Also, I hit a hundred reads! Wahoo! Thanks for reading :)