TEN: Breathe again.

Make sure to check the author's note at the bottom.

SPOILERS FOR SOZIN'S COMET… though if you haven't seen it, yet – you call yourself a fan?

A bard that Sokka had once met on his journeys had once compared a battle to a beautiful, epic song. The brown-haired man had just laughed and shrugged, saying he didn't understand how a battle could be either beautiful or musical. But now, twelve years after Sozin's Comet, he could understand.

The wind that blew through the tall and ancient Earth Kingdom trees mixed in with the rustling of the leaves. Far off in the distance, a wood frog croaked, it's voice low and bass. Sokka's blue eyes slid shut as he crouched on a thick and proud tree branch. It really was like music. The footfalls of the approaching Fire Nation renegade thieves provided a strong and steady rhythm.

The renegade thieves were a small group of ex-soldiers who hadn't been happy when Zuko had taken the throne. They had sworn that they would try and keep the Fire Nation's sense of superiority alive. They had been getting their commands from someone who knew how to bend lightning and had passed on the skill. Speculation was that it was Azula, but no messages had been in and out of her jail cell so there was no evidence.

Whoever is behind this – they'll soon find themselves without pawns, Sokka promised, looking through the branches of the trees and towards the sky. Katara, Aang, and Toph were all piled onto Appa, waiting for Sokka's signal for them to ambush the deadly soldiers. He felt a swell of a mixture of pride and worry flood through him as he saw Toph's shiny black hair. He had told her it was too dangerous for her (he wouldn't loose her like he had lost Yue) but she hadn't listened and had promptly climbed aboard Appa.

'Promise you'll be careful,' he had demanded, sweeping his fingers across her cheek.

She had made a face, though it was easily smoothed as he gently pressed his mouth against hers. When he pulled away she had shrugged and had started to get onto Appa.

'Toph,' he had called, catching a handful of the fabric of her clothes in his fist. 'Promise me.'

'I promise, Snoozles,' she had told him, giving him a reckless grin as she tugged herself free. She took Katara's hand as it was extended towards her and climbed into Appa's saddle.

Now, he wasn't so sure if he should have let her go at all. But it was too late to cancel, now. His warrior paint was on his face, though it was starting to run down his face as a gentle patter of rain started to fall. The rain added a gentle pitter-patter to the music of the foreboding battle song.

The plan was that the group of benders on Appa would distract the men. Then Sokka, with his newly found sword (it had been returned to him by an Earth Kingdom man who recognized it as Piandao's work) would jump down and… well, slash them to pieces. He'd been instructed to leave at least one of them alive, though it wasn't guaranteed since they were dangerous men. Lightning was unforgiving.

Go. He held up a hand, his index and middle finger motioning towards the small band of Fire Nation men. This was the signal that meant that they were supposed to move in and start attacking.

Appa swooped down from the tree, rearing and growling as the tops of the trees snapped off and rained down on the unsuspecting men. Sokka had to force himself to wait as he watched the men blast hot jets of fire at his friends. No, not only his friends. The Avatar, his little sister, and his girlfriend. Plus, a big furry bison that meant the world to Aang.

Suddenly, the fire wasn't fire anymore. It wasn't orange and yellow and red. It changed, turning bright blue and crackling.

Everything happened in slow motion. Katara ducked as two piping hot bolts of lightning were bended their way. Aang redirected one of the bolts harmlessly away into the sky. Sokka thought the other bolt had missed its target, but soon it became clear that it hadn't. Aang, Katara, and Appa were all still apparently okay, but Sokka immediately noticed that a head of black hair was missing from view.

Toph.

The world stopped. Sokka jumped from his spot in the tree, hitting the ground and rolling into a crouch. His meteorite sword cut cleanly through one man after another, until they were all lying facedown with blood leaking onto the damp leaves that were littered on the ground.

Appa landed in a clearing about a hundred feet away from where Sokka was standing. Immediately Aang gathered Toph's limp body in his arms, jumping down from Appa and laying her on the ground. Katara jumped out next, uncorking her water skins and coating Toph's upper torso in glowing blue water.

Sokka ran as fast as he could, jumping over fallen hollow trees and roots that broke through the damp earth. "Toph!" he yelled, skidding onto his knees next to her body. He touched her cold cheek, though his blue eyes were pulled to the charred hole in her shirt and the exposed flesh beneath it.

Someone was pulling at his shoulders, though he couldn't see who it was through his damp eyes. "Katara!" he yelled desperately, his voice strangled. "Fix it! Fix her!" The blue-eyed boy demanded as Aang dragged him away from the scene.

"Sokka, calm down," Aang pleaded, forcing Sokka to look into his gray eyes. "Let Katara work. It'll be okay."

He could tell Aang was lying. "No, no, it won't be okay," Sokka muttered, shoving past Aang and back to Toph's side. He picked up her lifeless hand and held it in his dark one. "Why isn't she awake yet?"

Katara motioned the water back into the skins, crying now. "Sokka…"

"No!" He wouldn't accept it. He hugged Toph to him, shaking his head. "I won't loose her! You brought Aang back when Azula shot him! You can save her! Save her, please, Katara! Please…"

"Th-that was different…" Katara murmured, clasping her hands together and closing her teary eyes. "I had water from the Spirit Oasis…"

"No, fix her…" he pleaded, sounding like ten-year-old Sokka again. "You have to…"

"Sokka… her heart has stopped… I can't…" Katara cried into Aang's shirt as he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair.

'… heart has stopped. His heart has stopped, get him out of the boat!' Sokka remembered his father yelling orders as a Water Tribe warrior was pulled onto the snow. He had fallen into the ice cold water during ice dodging. Somehow he had managed to wiggle out of his clothes that had been weighing him down, though it had made the cold affect him even more.

His dad had pumped his fists on the man's chest, blowing air into his mouth. Again. And again. Then again. Finally the man had shivered awake gasping, his heart restarted by Hakoda.

Sokka laid Toph flat on the ground, his fingers knitting together and pressing down on Toph's chest. After a couple compressions, he lowered his mouth to her lips, transferring air from his mouth to hers.

Breathe… breathe again… he begged mentally, removing his lips to do more compressions.

I won't loose you… I lost Yue when she became the moon… I lost Suki when she started dating another man after we broke up… I won't loose you, too… You're the best thing that's ever happened to me… Breathe, Toph!

There was a small gasping sound as Toph took in a breath. Sokka could feel her heart slowly beat underneath his palm.

"Katara!" Sokka called, hugging Toph to his chest. Katara slowly opened her teary eyes, before gazing down at Toph.

"What? She's – "

"She started to breathe again," Aang said, his eyes wide.

"Here, let me…" Katara pulled Toph from Sokka's arms, laying her down onto the ground. The water was pulled again from her water skins as she started to heal the hole in Toph's skin. "She'll be out for a while, Sokka…"

"I don't care," he said immediately, content to hold her hand for a moment. "As long as she's alive… as long as she's okay…"

Author's Note:

I'd like to dedicate these first ten stories to all the people who have reviewed this collection more than once. This includes: Caramel Crazy, number1waterbender, Evo422, Demonking101, da archer, Harlequin Jade, and imagine everything.