//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 part 1 // Story: Field trip... // by More Dakka //------------------------------// … “But I swear, Captain! They were right here!” Private Golden Shower couldn’t help but shrink under the eyes of his fellow guard, his commander, and both of his princesses. No more than five minutes ago he’d felt so tall, so proud. He’d been sent ahead to scout ahead of the group and had spotted the creatures peering at him from behind a boulder, and on his first past too, and at the time it seemed like such an easy task to just rush back lead the princesses and his fellow guard back to the boulder, and a hero’s congratulations… It’s just a shame the creatures didn’t seem to be feeling very cooperative today, because when he returned to the spot with his princesses and fellow guard fast on his heels all he had to show them was a large boulder and some strange sweet taste that tainted the air and agitated his tongue- well, that and the show he was providing the other guard as they exchanged bit’s on whether or not he would crack under the annoyed glares of the three ponies a guard should never find themselves on the wrong side off. He didn’t even dare try and meet the eyes of the princesses, which only made the cold unyielding glare of his commanding officer seem all the heavier, and the weight of it didn’t lift from him even when the captain’s gaze was cast around in a slow, sarcastic glance towards the horizon, “So.” Captain Shining armor said with a slow, condescending tone “They just…flew away, Private?” his tone made the question seem more like a statement as his voice dripped with a dangerous edge that made Golden shower suddenly become aware of a drop of sweat snaking its way down his neck just before it caught on the rim of his helmet with a sharp twinge. Mustering every ounce of force he could, Golden shower looked the captain in the eye and gave him an answer. “I… don’t know Captain Armor, b-but I SAW the creature right there, behind that rock.” The captain’s eyes followed to where the private’s hoof was pointing and Golden shower let out a silent sigh of relief as the suffocating glare finally lifted away from him, but the relief only lasted a moment and he steadied himself as Shining armor sucked in a harsh breath. “Perhaps the private is correct, Captain…” a sudden voice interrupted. Golden shower sucked in a breath of his own as the briefest flash of anger crossed the Captain’s face, a look that was crushed as soon as he saw who it was that spoke to him. The private would be lying if he said that his savior wasn’t the last pony he’d expected to defend his assertion, and the shock made sure a moment was lost trying to blink what he thought must have been an obvious illusion from his eye, but the image of Princess Luna defiantly remained there all the same. The princess was facing away from the both of them, staring at the exact spot he’d pointed to earlier. Golden shower knew he was staring as well, but it was all he could think to do. He just hoped his expression didn’t look as dumb as the captain’s as the alicorn turned to face them both. “I happen to know that some of these creatures may be… adept diggers” Luna said with a slow and methodical inflation “and it would not surprise me to learn that the hole right there was not present when the private saw the two creatures… is that correct, private?” With those last words the princess attention had focused solely on him and golden shower felt himself drawing in another nervous breath before he could speak, “N-no princess” The alicorn gave a smile at his word, one that looked a lot colder and sly then the soft smile Princess Celestia always gave, but despite feeling off, the gesture Golden shower felt a well of relief wash over him. At least until another voice jolted him from it. “Not to be disrespectful princess,” Shining armor cut in, matching the princesses tone, “-but that hole seems almost completely spherical. I don’t see how it could have been dug by something.” Golden shower could not help but feel a chill as he forced his body to not flinch when his princess shot shining armor a venomous glare, a glare he swore she attempted to conceal “And that makes you think it to be natural?” she asked with a voice as cold as her stare “I do believe I did used the word adept, captain Armor.” Golden shower felt another chill as the princess’s gaze once more fell over him, and the stallion had to struggle to hold back another nervous flinch, but after a second he realized the glare wasn’t directed at him but rather the pony standing behind him as the princess continued. “I would have briefed you and your guard on the creatures if my sister had seen it fit for me to do so. And frankly I am most disappointed to find my sister praise of you seems unfounded. When you arrived you did not ready any form of detection spell, nor did you make any effort to search for the creatures in any way, instead you simply dismissed your guard’s claims off hoof... If I did not know better captain, I’d assume that you expected our quarry to just throw themselves in front of your muzzle.” The princess finished her speech with a low shake of her head as Golden shower, and pretty much all the guard worked to lift their jaws off the floor. The captain however looked just like he might have if the Princess had just raised a hoof and slapped it across his face. But If the Alicorn took any joy in their expressions, she didn’t show it; instead she took another breath, “Fortunately for you, however, their method of escape may help us locate them in a more… expedient fashion- So long as there are no more mistakes to cost us any more valuable time.” “And when we do find them” Celestia’s voice cut in for the first time, reminding every pony of her presence “I trust you will remember the discussion we had?” Though she wore her usual smile, golden shower couldn’t help but notice that Celestia’s face held none of its usual warmth. “I do recall,” Luna replied with a curt nod towards her older sister. “No, sister” Celestia said again with a firmness seldom heard by most ponies “I need you to promise me; promise me now that you will allow me and my guard to handle this.” The younger princess’s face shed all its emotion and her head gave a curt nod “You wish this to be on your shoulders alone, so be it.” She said with a dismissive tone, and when the word left the alicorn’s mouth, Golden shower swore he could see the faintest crack spread over the older Alicorns royal vistage. “We have been over this, Luna.” Celestia began, and Golden shower could swear he could detect the crack seeping into her voice “I do not wish to bear it alone, I merely want to know I can rely on you in this matter, you are a Sovereign of Equestria and I more than respect your input, but you are the first to forget that I know you, sister. Please, can I rely on you in this?” Luna didn’t answer at first; instead she seemed to be pondering something- but after a moment the thoughtful expression fell away from her face and she turned to look her older sister in the eye, “As much as I can rely on your experience, sister” And with that said, the Alicorn turned on her hooves and began to make her way back towards her own guards, leaving Golden shower to dare a glance at his superior. They both let out a breath. … … Once again, Zuko found himself questioning the last hour of his life, and as he blindly stumbled in pursuit of the sightless Earth-bender into yet another pitch black void he couldn’t help but ponder the same thing he’d spent his every quiet moment pondering since the day of his banishment… There was a time he thought a person’s destiny was set, that a person could only follow a path that was already paved for them at the day of their birth. His uncle had changed that belief, he’d given him hope that a person can choose their own path, but every blind step he took in this void made him question that hope. If he could choose his own path then how did his choices lead him here, blindly following a path someone else, a blind girl was carving for him? And if he was free to choose then what did it matter in the end if the choices of another could destroy his own efforts so easily? But even though the question gnawed at Zuko, he knew that he had to keep moving, and that, for now at least, would have to be enough. Once again there was a crash as a swing of Toph’s arm extended the dark tunnel a few feet further into the void, and as another mouthful of dust tried to catch in his lungs Zuko felt a sharp moment of panic that he had to crush. He almost felt the need to chastise himself for not expecting the stupid creatures to have wings, and with how his luck had been going they were probably just waiting for them to poke their head out of the ground… Unfortunately for Zuko, a wandering mind was never the best thing to have while walking blindly in the dark, and it served another lesson as he pulled his face out of the dirt with a pained wheeze. “Watch your step back there” Toph‘s chiding voice called through the blackness, just before another thunderous crack sent more dust into his face, With a hiss the last of Zuko patience waned and he pushed himself up and shouted in the darkness “How do you even know where you’re going? For all I know we could have been going in circles for the last hour…” Strangely, Instead of the response he was expecting, Zuko heard Toph give off a soft Chuckle “Because the earth isn’t as empty as your head … I can see everything in the ground, and on it. They don’t call me the greatest earth bender for nothing” Despite the darkness, Zuko could still see the smug grin on Toph’s face, but the will to fight the point had long passed so Zuko just let some more air pass between his teeth, and with that the silence crept through the tunnel again, leaving only the musty air and rhythm crash of stone giving way to distract Zuko from the other questions buzzing in his head. The loudest of them was ‘What on earth were those creatures’ and ‘where on earth could they be’. But more so Zuko couldn't help but question again just how he ended up in this dank pit. Sure, the tunnel had been a quick, and much needed getaway, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy as his sight was smothered by the musky black air, and worse the nagging question of how much air was down here with them kept snuffing the flame instinct lit in his hand. And worse of all he could almost swear the tunnels were getting narrower “How much longer is this going to take?” he asked when his cracked lips couldn’t hold the question back anymore…But he only found another laugh as a response. “As long as it takes for you stop being a wimp, Zuko” Well, at least one of the questions in Zuko’s mind was answered. She was probably making the tunnel smaller to mess with him...another thing he didn’t need right now. “How am I being a wimp” He shot back hoarsely “I can’t see a thing down here.” “Yea, that sounds like a real nightmare…” The way she said that made Zuko pause for just a moment, and for just one single moment he felt an odd pang of clarity, “Yea I guess it would be…” But almost as soon as the thought came to him it was smothered by the musty air and thick dust and was shaken from his mind. “Can we at least get some air down here?” he asked again with another pained hiss. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were scared, Zuko…” the girl teased again with her usual sly tone; one that made Zuko grit his teeth. Scared wasn’t the right word, but breathing shallow air while blindly stumbling through a blackened tunnel felt all too similar to when he was in the North Pole, and the flash memories of nearly drowning in frigid water wasn’t doing anything to help Zuko’s mood. But still he couldn’t admit any of that so he just bit his tongue and tried to ignore it… “There’s a space over here, we can stop if you have too” Toph said suddenly with a tone he’d rarely heard her use, - It was almost too subtle to notice, but something about Toph’s disposition had changed as if a candle had been snuffed out. It was enough to let him risk the bait, so after taking a steady breath he just let a simple question pass. “Is it clear up there?” Zuko asked “There’s none of them on the ground I can see, but they can fly, so I don’t really know.” Toph replied and Zuko sucked another deep breath through his teeth, the clammy air caught in his throat, but again he ignored it, ‘We can’t risk it…’ Zuko decided “But we’ll have to go up there soon, the air is running out… but I still say you’re a wimp.” Toph interrupted and Zuko just let out droning huff. “Why, because I don’t like suffocating?” “No,” she replied with a deadpan tone, “because you dragged us both into this hole instead of doing what we should have done in the first place.” Once again the long suffering sigh escaped Zuko’s teeth, almost every moment for the past hour his own thoughts hadn’t been hounding him, and Toph had made her mission to spend every other moment showing him the ‘light’ about how big of a wimp he was for running away, and it looked like his moment of peace had come to an abrupt end. “We’ve been through this” Zuko said with a tired voice, “We don’t know anything about them except that there are more of them then there are of us, and I’m not getting killed just because one of them hit you with a pie.” “Look,” the girl replied with a firm but even tone, “I bet even you know we can’t run forever Zuko, and at this rate by the time they do run us down we’ll be too tired to do anything” her tone dropped to a low hiss “just like when your sister tried to hunt down Aang. Back then I said ‘we’ could have taken her and I’m saying we can take them now.” The conviction in her voice seemed strong, but it didn’t do anything to persuade zuko, it just made sure the palm of his right hand found its ways over his face “You don’t know that…” he said matching her hiss as he rubbed his now chafed, temples “If we fight them they’d just have more reason to chase us” “They’re already chasing us,” Toph scoffed with a stamp of her foot that sent a rain of dirt from the cave roof, “and I doubt they’ll stop just because we jumped down a hole. I’m not stupid Zuko, and you can’t be so dumb that you don’t realize that we will have to fight back next time or they will just run us down.” Toph let out a huff of air and Zuko felt a push at his arm with another soft call of ‘wimp’ as she walked ahead, and as Zuko followed he found himself pondering what she had said. He wasn’t oblivious to her point, she’d made sure enough of that, and even though he’d long ago admitted to himself that running wasn’t something he wanted to do. He was doing it because he thought it was something his uncle would say they should do. ‘Maybe you just didn’t know him as well as you though you did’ Zuko said with a defeated sigh before his voice picked up “ Ok, we fight them, and then what do we do?” he asked as he followed her, “We can’t fight them all either and if we try how do we know they won’t just come at us harder next time?” With another defeated sigh, Zuko put his hand to his face and talked through his palm, “Were stuck here, and we’re going at this blind…” He paused for a moment, wondering if he’d said the wrong thing “We can’t talk to them, we can’t run for much longer and we can’t fight them all…” His fingers clenched around his temples “and every moment we waste talking about it they could be getting closer.” His hand fall away and just stared into the black; No matter what he did this was going to end badly… He really, really wished his uncle was here…if only so he could hear Iroh say he’s being an idiot. “Do you know how much air we have left?” He finally asked, as he shook the thought away and Zuko felt what he thought was Toph shrug. “Don’t know, but there’s a stream up there…” Toph replied Zuko paused. That would be two out of three, but there is something else… “And there’s nothing up there?” he asked. “Nothing I can see, but they can fly, remember?” Zuko shot the girl a deadpan look, and the fact he couldn’t see her face only made him his again at the effort wasted on the futile gesture “Can you just make a hole big enough for me to poke my head through?” As soon as he said that Zuko let out a hiss as a string of light all but cut through his eye, and with another pained his, and feeling of relief, he pushed himself up to the light. “Urgh…You know I could have just made you something to stand on.” Toph’s voice called out from under him as she adjusted to his weight “you’re really heavy for a wimp… and I love dirt as much as the next girl but you really should think about a bath…” Despite the volume, Zuko was too enthralled with the hole to pay Toph any mind and as his head broke through it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did all he found was just more empty ground. “Well that’s a load of my shoulders” Zuko murmured… before he found himself lying on his back with a thud. “And that’s a load off mine” Toph said offhandedly and with that three pillars of stone sprung up from the ground, forming a set of makeshift stairs. She gave a quick “After me…” as she set off towards them. What Zuko found when he reached the sunlight was all but an oasis to his weary eyes. The sound of running water could be heard bubbling from the center of a shallow crater in the ground. Zuko had to fight to keep himself being pulled towards the lure of fresh water. Now that he could see the sun again his eyes his eyes were all but fixed on the horizon as a part of him just knew that the second he let them fall away would be the second the creatures would leap out at him so Zuko just stood at the crater’s edge and scanned the barren expanse with a cold distrustful eye. When he glanced around for the second time, Zuko almost had to stop himself from falling down the incline. Off in the distance a lone cloud hovered into his sight just floating in an endless see of bright blue. Zuko blinked. He could have sworn that wasn’t there a second ago… The presence of the cloud wasn’t what drew the reaction in his admittedly paranoid mind, and on second glance Zuko couldn’t even feel angry with himself for almost falling flat on his back because of a cloud, but still he kept staring, unable to shake the feeling that the cloud just felt… off. For starters it looked far too fluffy to be a normal desert cloud, and second he could swear it was only floating a hundred feet from the ground. On the other hand, while Zuko didn’t know what else those strange creatures could do he doubted they could make clouds just for the sake of following him. But, the fear of attracting the creatures kept him from simply putting a fireball through the cloud anyway- instead he bit down on his tongue and just stood there glaring at it. A sudden round of footsteps pulled his eyes away and a tug at his sleeve almost pulled him into the crater, and when his startled eye turned it found an excited looking Toph. “Zuko! Get your butt down here I think there’s fish in this pond!” She said, punctuating the order with a harsher tug on his sleeve. Zuko pulled away to glare at the could again, but paused when his stomach gave a groan, reminding him on how hungry he was, and with one last glare he gave up and let himself be pulled into the crater. … Atop a lone white cloud a dark form shifted with an air of discomfort as pair of deep blue eyes peered down at the dry earth below and fixed on the two strange creatures walking towards the water’s edge. This was it; her quarry was right in her sight and Princess Luna could help but feel elation well up inside her as she lay atop the perfect spot to plan her final course of action… ‘I almost cannot believe my sister agreed to my request to move ahead’ She thought ‘it seemed the fear of losing our quarry was greater than my sister’s mistrust. Luna shifted her perch and flinched slightly as her flank felt the twinge of cold metal on her fur. Her guard was at her side, a condition of the agreement, and just like her the watching ponies couldn't help but shift uncomfortably as sweat ran down the back of their necks and pooled along the rim of their armour. But unlike their ruler, the guards were whispering between themselves, and not at how right their princess must have been, but rather they were sharing whispering words of disappointment as they took in the sight of their quarry. ‘Undisciplined foals’… -Luna scoffed as another deep sense of distaste washed over her unlike them she knew what those creatures down there were capable of; in fact she had spent the whole day worrying about it. But at the same time she had to admit, at least to herself, actually laying her eyes on the creatures confused her. ‘I know what you can do’ she thought to herself as the guard’s whispers passed by her ears again ‘If you had wished it that lowly town would not still be standing… yet you fled when you met its inhabitants…why? And now that I finally track you down, what do I find? You stand splashing around in the water like a foal….’ A scowl spread across Luna’s face; one that silenced the guards as it did, and her own mental voice grew sharper. ‘There you are almost taunting me to put this too and end… It pains me to even consider this… but my sister may be right- There are just too many unknowns, and that is a problem we are unable to correct’ Then, like a flash of lightning an idea struck, and a hair like smile pulled at Luna’s muzzle, ‘No, that is a problem I can quite easily correct- I merely require the proper…excuse’ Being sure to let the smile fade away, Luna turned her head towards Shining Armor; the captain was also holding the creatures under a scrutinizing eye and a contemplative frown was present on his face, one Luna could tell shared the same hint of disappointment that the other guards held. But she ignored its presence and mustered her best impression of her sister royal tone. “There they are captain.” Shining Armor gave a small confirming nod as he slowly broke his gaze and looked towards the princess with a raised eyebrow, “…They… don’t look like much, princess.” He said with a cautious air, and Luna saw her own night captain pass him an agreeing nod, The lackluster response made Luna scoff, but she made sure to hide it, and as she turned to them both she tried to keep her voice even, “And a tarantula appears cute- until you try and pet it and it bites you, captain.” She scolded, not paying mind to the weird looks the surrounding ponies gave her, “I have seen what these creatures can do and you would do well to heed my warning. They are not to be underestimated.” Turning her eye, and mind, back to the two beings, Luna let her shoulders shift under the weight of her necklace. She was all but itching to just go down there put her idea into effect, and put an end to this problem. But at the same time she knew Shining armor’s presence would mean him tattling to her sister if she did. So for now at least she would have to settle for waiting, ‘But…’ Luna thought as the hair thin smile returned ‘if they were to attempt to leave, I would have all the excuse I needed…’ … “Hurry up with the fish will you, I’m starving!” Zuko felt hiss of smoke pass his teeth as he swam along, as Toph’s shrill voice reached his ear, and he sent another annoyed glance to the shoreline. After the fourth time he’d gone under the water and found nothing he was convinced there wasn’t anything to find, not that Toph would accept that, but that more than suited him and he kept looking anyway because the cool, crystalline waters helped to numb him to the twinge of the sunlight and bite of the sand. Taking in a quick breath Zuko let himself fall under the water again and as they washed over his head. It even numbed his mind of the worries that weighed on it. But, like most things, the relief couldn’t last forever and after Zuko decided he’d dragged this out long enough he started back towards the river bank- and up the sandy incline where Toph sat… a non-insignificant distance from the water, he couldn’t help but notice. As he approached, Zuko could only make out Toph’s feet as they hung over the edge of the chair and rested on the ground. The rest of her was obscured under a tent made of stone, “Let me guess, “Zuko heard her murmur, “you caught a really big, really tasty fish and I won’t have to listen to my stomach anymore?” Instead of answering Zuko just let himself just fall backwards onto the ground, his clothes giving a soft squish as all the water leaked into the dry cracked earth. “Well?” Toph repeated and Zuko just let himself mutter, “I keep telling you there’s no fish in there…” “And I keep telling you I can hear them, you’re just being Lazy!” Toph shot back in a droning tone, one he noticed was devoid of any real conviction. But despite that, Zuko felt the need to scoff as his eyes fell on the make shift lounge chair the girl had crafted. Her legs dangled over the side and they hit the rim every so often and a large triangle tent made of stone was perched above her, obscuring the girl from view, but the sound of her sniffing sharply made him question the real reason it was there. But it seemed Zuko’s question was answered and he looked over as the ‘tent’ sank into the earth and a hand fell away from Toph’s eye and she stood up and softly walked passed him and softly muttered, “Come on then we better get going...” Zuko paused for just a moment before following. … The longer Sun Beam watched the two… ‘Visitors’ below her, the more her conviction grew that these couldn’t possibly be the creatures that had the princess so worried. For one, they looked nothing like what she or any of the other guards had talked about when they passed on the princess’s description. There were no jagged claws hanging menacingly from cloven limbs. No blade like fangs and no snake headed tails to be found anywhere on the two- Just two small forms, with scraggly limbs hanging lamely over a scrawny barrel. From the look on shining Armor’s face, Sun Beam could tell the other guard captain was struck with a similar impression. But on the other hoof, one look at that horn on his head made her remember her own little brother, a unicorn like Shining Armour, a cute little bean of pony who forced them all to move house one day when an innocent sneeze caused a rather… bad magical backlash. The princess herself had said looks can be deceiving when Captain Armor vocalized what all the guards were thinking… also the princess thinks spiders are cute…. Suddenly, the creatures started walking away from the crater and Sun Beam turned to the Alicorn next to her. “Princess, they’re doing something” The princess’s focus didn’t even twitch at the announcement, her eyes were already fixed on the creatures and she stared at them as if she were a dragon watching over its horde. Sun Beam though she was ignored until the princess gave a cold “I can see that Captain” in response, then she could have sworn a smirk of all things spread across one side of the princess’s mouth… ‘What could that mean?’ Sun Beam wondered as she shot the other captain another glance, hoping he could give her the answer. Shining Armor looked back with his own questioning gaze. … Luna continued to watch, with a cold and steady eye as the two creatures got up from where they were sat and started walking out of the crater… and straight towards the hole… This was it, this was it, this was it, she chanted in her head as her eyes flicked around to Shining Armour. “Captain how good is that shield spell of yours?” she asks with the best neutral sounding tone she could. The stallion recoiled slightly, and met her eye with a curious look “At full power it’s enough to hold the entire changeling army back princess” he said with a matching neutral tone. Then Luna saw the captain’s expression harden “But I thought we were here to observe them until the other guard arrived… Or the elements if need be.” Luna noticed the stallion muttered that part and she almost couldn’t hold back her smile this time as she saw her way in. “They’re heading towards the hole, captain” Luna said with a scolding tone, one with a silent scoff behind it-‘If it was my sister asking jump his only response would be ‘how high’ she thought. But Luna let the thought slide and tempered her voice for what she said next; while being sure to choose her words carefully “If we miss this opportunity then we will have to wait until my sister arrives before pursuing them and may lose them.” she let her tone harden “We have an opportunity to confront this now and we would be fools to let it pass” she made sure to look the stallion in the eye “You have the opportunity to stop this now captain, and we both are left with a choice; take this opportunity or risk your sister having to do it in your stead.” Luna could almost see the gears turning in the stallion’s head as soon as those last few words left her muzzle, and she knew it would take only a second for him to take the bait. The captain didn’t disappoint, and with one last glance at the two creatures he put on the same neutral expression “You said you know what these creatures can do?” “That I did” Luna smiled “And I know what you need to do. I need a shield spell cast around them both, and it needs to be a complete sphere, otherwise they will simply tunnel away under it.” Shining armour nodded, “That’s easy enough princes. But a casting one that strong through the ground requires a considerable amount of energy, so if you require any spells after it-” “That’s fine,” Luna interrupted “I only require the one shield spell, and it need only last until I have cast a spell of my own.” Luna believed she’d said that evenly enough. But despite this conviction she didn’t much care for the following look that spread across the captain’s face…“If you don’t mind me asking, Princess. What spell would that be?” “A very simple spell” she answered “One that I know very well Captain... One that will show me the truth of this matter” She took one last glance out at the two creatures, which were now much closer to the hole and rolled her shoulders to feel the satisfying cracks. “Captain, ready your spell. Make it invisible if you can, and at least until it is discovered, but more so give me as much time as you are able- The rest of you to me!” … Something was watching them, Zuko was sure of it… From the first step he’d taken away from the crater, he knew something felt, off. And even though he tried to dismiss it as the same tired paranoia, by the time the hole was in sight again he could almost feel the weight of something’s eyes resting on his skin. But even worse than its prescience alone, the strange feeling almost had a sense of familiarity about it... one rooted within a very vivid memory. The same ‘itch’ had shot over his skin a moment before he held lightning in his hand for the first time- back at the day of the eclipse, and now, just like then, the air around him felt like it vibrated with a dull hum. Zuko wasn’t certain about it at first and then his eyes had wandered over to Toph and found a deep air of discomfort hanging around the earth bender, just like the dull hum surrounding him. ‘It can’t just be in my head…’ he droned as his eyes once again drifted around each, almost mockingly empty horizon, Toph doesn’t just go quiet for no reason’ That was something Zuko had become more than painfully aware of in his short time after joining Aang, he didn’t really know much about the girl Aang had taken as his earth-bending teacher; and frankly he would be the first to admit he didn’t really care too. But one thing he did know was that her blindness mean that she never spoke when she was feeling nervous. And she hadn’t said a word since the first second the itch had started crawling over his skin…. Zuko shot another uneasy eye towards the girl before he cast it back out to the horizon. But again all it found was the same stretch of blank, dry earth and empty blue sky, ‘Wait…’ His eyes strained to focus on a faint black shape obscuring the wash of sunlight pouring onto them, but after a moment the sting died down and the orbs widened when they adjusted and found that same, lone cloud idly floating against the sea of blue. Zuko seethed as a hand went to his swords. But after the metal was held in his idle hand, the rush of adrenaline died away all he found was the same, still, puff of white floating in the air. ‘Get a hold of yourself’ Zuko scowled as let the swords fall away and a hand lifted to his eyes in the hope of rubbing the tired ache away, but the ache stubbornly lingered and left him staring at the overly puffy cloud with clenched teeth. If it wasn’t for the risk of the stupid creatures finding him, Zuko wouldn’t be working so hard to fight the urge to just cut the stupid thing in half with a fireball and be done with it; it even looked low enough to try. Suddenly, Zuko felt the hairs on his neck rise on end and a shudder shot through his bones as a thousand tiny needles seemed to push through his skin. But not a second later, the feeling just died leaving nothing but a phantom tingle and same dull buzz in his ears. For a second the stillness almost seemed worse than the itch itself and Zuko couldn’t help but cast a panicked eye as far as it would go. And when it fell over Toph and the obvious impulse to say something burned at him. But, just like the itch, the question died when he actually saw the girl… The air of discomfort that surrounded the earth bender was gone. Now there wasn’t anything around her but stillness. The sound of her toes digging into the soil being the only thing to dispel the illusion, and despite all but knowing the action was fruitless instinct pulled Zuko by the nose and around to look at her face… Earlier, Zuko wondered how someone born blind could know how to smile, but now he all but had had to wonder how a look of complete shock could be sitting across her face. With one eye still flicking to the cloud, Zuko took a step closer and his nerves even pushed him to tempt laying a hand on the girls shoulder. But she didn’t react, not even when he tried to pull her back… he just saw an airless whisper pass her lips… “Toph?” Zuko hissed as he pushed her again with a palm, but Toph just let out the same words, barely above a whisper, “It’s… gone…” “Toph?” he tried again, but the girl just shuddered under his palm and murmured again… “What? “He dared ask with a whisper of his own “What’s gone?” She didn’t answer right away, instead the girl just sucked in a shallow breath and then Zuko felt her shudder under his palm, “… I… I can’t see” The words barely carried the force of a whisper, but that time they were as clear as water, and Zuko could only stand there for a moment, in silent wonder as to how Toph could joke, now of all time as she started shaking. But just when he took a breath to yell at her, Zuko noticed Toph wasn’t shaking with laughter like he’d first thought she was. Instead the girl was just shaking as she repeated the same airless mantra. Then the memory of the cloud flashed in Zuko’s mind and he grabbed hold of the girl’s wrist and pulled her after him with a warning scoff. “Come on we don’t have time for this we…” The next word faltered and Zuko felt his teeth rattle in his mouth like he’d just walked straight into a stone wall. But as he looked up and blinked a tear out of his eye, all he saw was the same distant horizon. He stared for another moment, then without even thinking, Zuko brought a hand out in front of him expecting to find a handful of empty air… But as he pushed his hand forward the ‘empty air’ pushed back. ‘This must be what Toph felt’ Zuko snapped as he pushed against the air again with another snarl. Then what he said clicked and his eyes shot around to find the Earth-bender with her own hand pushing against the ‘empty’ space as well and slid it around for a second before pulling her hand back and knocking on it like a door, scrunching her face into a frown. “I think it goes all the way underground…” she muttered in a low voice, and Zuko could only offer the words a vacant ‘eh’. “I said I think it goes all the way underground… “She replied sharply before her tone lost its force again, “For a second I thought….” She stopped and let out a shudder and her voice gained an edge. “What is it?” Zuko sucked in a breath to answer, but he really didn’t have one, only the impulse that brought up a hand and a stream of flame followed and shot out in front of him. Only for it to twist and ride along the invisible wall spewing heat and smoke back into their faces. “Argh, stop, you’re not helping!” Toph screeched and coughed through the smoke. Zuko just grit his teeth and readied another ball of fire, but a pull on his arm stopped him and he turned to face Toph who had her arms crossed over her chest. “Yea and fire isn’t doing much to help so save it” she said in a deadpan tone and Zuko let his hand fall away. “Well what do you say we do?” he shot back Without even a pause, Zuko felt the earthquake beneath his feet, and as he pulled a shaky foot away a slab of earth jutted out from under him and then a cloud of dust filled the air. “Urgh, thanks for the warning!” he coughed as he twisted his eyes away from the sharp dust and when he opened them again Zuko found Toph clutching her head. After a second she rose back to her feet with a hiss, “Argh what’s this thing made off?” “I don’t know” Zuko admitted ideally before he let his tone harden, “but I think it’s safe to say those things have found us…” “If this is because of them then why haven’t they jumped us yet?” Toph asked in a mirror of his previous thoughts, and just like then, Zuko didn’t answer. Instead his eyes fell back on the ‘empty air’, only this time it wasn’t empty. This time there was a tiny pinkish ‘crack’ of light just hanging in mid-air, and after a taking a moment to try and blink the sight from his eyes. Zuko took a step forward and pulled a sword loose from its sheath. First he gave it a poke and his eyes scanned around nervously again, but when he found the same stillness he swung it, and the metal shuddered and let off a sharp clang as Zuko felt the bones in his hand sing with the same painful tune. ‘Not the best idea’ he thought with a snarl as Zuko tried to shake the dull ache loose from his hand, and when it dimmed he turned towards Toph. “They probably think we won’t be able to get through it. But if it is them, then they…” Zuko almost jumped back as Toph snatched the sword from his hand and swung it with a growl, Clang! “Then!” Clang! “They’re!” Clang! “Cheating!” Zuko felt a cringe shoot through his bones every time the metal of his sword chimed against the ‘empty air’ and they rang with the same painful memory. Then with a final defending clang and sound of shattering glass, the ‘air’ seemed to split as purple flakes fell to the earth like water droplets, before soaking into the dry earth, and as the final ring died away the air grew thick with a calm, uneasy stillness. He watched with a numb eye as Toph lowered the sword and dragged her foot around the dry earth. Then, just as a word itched on the end of Zuko’s tongue, the earth bender let out a deep, contented sigh, and held the sword up under his nose. “Thanks, I needed that….” She said Zuko flinched away as the blade passed in front of his eye, and much to his wonder the metal didn’t seem to be marred by even a single scratch, and with a dumb nod and uneasy hand, he reached out and took it from the earth bender all the while staring at the smug grin sitting on her face. Just then, a clap of thunder shattered the silence and a flash of light pulled Zuko’s eye away from Toph. He watched as the, small, lone cloud churned and writhed, folds snaked out before drawing back on themselves making the mass grow as they did, and mass of cloud churned and grew until it smothered the baking sun, making it shine with a deep red before swallowing the light entirely. Then, out of the darkened sky a lone black chariot began a steady descent in front of him, the shining black form surrounded by a following mass of the similar winged creatures. But unlike the golden one before each of these were donned in dark blue armor, and stared at him with the same huge but slit eyes like a serpent. The chariot touched down as the creatures spread out around them both. But just as Zuko felt the urge to reach for a sword another creatures followed and stepped from the large black chariot. This one was much larger than the others, and stood tall enough to almost meet Zuko’s eye. It hair sparkled and swayed as if pulled by some strange unseen breeze and It fixed him under a cold, scrutinizing glare. Then, with steady purpose, it lifted itself from the carriage as the other creatures parted and began walking towards him, wearing a cold, confident visage that reminded Zuko of his younger sister. Zuko saw the creature’s expression crack slightly as he met its gaze with a more guarded stance, but it kept walking until it was no more than twenty paces away from him and just stood there, watching them with that same cold, analyzing gaze and he flicked a steady eye to each of the watching creatures before meeting the eye of the tallest one. Two dark blue orbs stared back at him with the same cold scrutiny and a final deep breath raked at Zuko's throat before it hummed under his skin as fire… … ...