Within the Face Stealer's Grasp

Sequel to "The Ties that Bind" - Toph and Aang are about to discover whether history truly repeats itself. Will past events lay claim to their lives or will they find a way to escape from the inescapable?

A/N: My apologies for my very late sequel to "The Ties that Bind." I literally had writer's block for weeks! In that time, I managed to make two Taang music videos as a way to inspire me and the inspiration finally kicked in last night. And without any further ado, I give you the first chapter of the sequel, "Within the Face Stealer's Grasp." Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review, they make me happy!

Chapter One: Omen

Toph ran down the dark cavern, her earthbending useless, but her sudden ability to see helped her escape the clutches of the creature that ran after her. She turned the corner and hid within a small crevice. She regretted it the moment the walls started to close around her and suddenly the scenery dramatically changed.

She now stood in front of two mirrors, being able to see herself for the first time. In the left-hand mirror she saw her flowing dark hair held back by an elaborately decorated green and gold diadem; her tresses draped over a beautiful pastel green gown…but her eyes traveled back to her neck, where an elegant betrothal necklace hung against her porcelain skin.

Her eyes were torn from the mirror when her head was involuntarily pushed to view the right-hand mirror. She screamed when she looked upon the faceless figure in front of her. The mirror cracked and so did the earth from under her. She looked down and suddenly plunged into water; darkness consumed her from all around as she thrashed against the water.

Aang awoke to the abrupt rumble beneath him and the screams that soon followed. As he sat up, he saw the earth bending and cracking all around him. He saw Toph, only a few feet away from him, thrash against the floor. He rushed over to her and managed to catch her wrists as she flailed them in the air.

"Toph!" his groggy yet worried voice called out for her to stop, but she continued to struggle against him, "Sweetie wake up!" he insisted as a sharp earth spike came up from his side. Another earth spike shot up from the ground and caught his sleeve, ripping it open. He had to get her away from the ground before she did something she would regret later on.

He slipped one arm under her neck and the other beneath her legs and lifted her up from the ground. The quake stopped the moment she was in the air, but she still continued to struggle against him.

"Toph, please wake up!" he repeated and quickly walked over to the edge of the small spring a few feet away from their camp. He bended a string of water and lightly splashed it on her face. She gasped at the cold water and finally opened her eyes, her movements slowed as she became aware of her surroundings.

"Aang?" she whispered timidly. He hugged her closer to him and walked her back to their camp.

"I'm right here Toph, shh, I'm right here," he whispered to her in a protective tone as he sat down by the dying fire and held her on his lap. Aang grabbed both of her hands and held them against his face to let her know that it was truly him. He let go momentarily to bend some more fire and quickly turned his attention back to Toph.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked as he hugged her closer and he bended some heat to warm her frigid fingers.

"You had a really bad nightmare," he answered as he brushed his lips across her forehead and rested his head on hers, "…bad enough to earthbend," he added and pulled back to see her. Aang saw as an apologetic expression grew on her face and quickly added, "But I'm okay."

Her features calmed a bit as one of her hands roamed to the back of his neck where her fingers played with his short hair. Toph twisted his hairs about her fingers and he closed his eyes at the loving gesture. She picked up the habit of twisting his hair when she was nervous; it was a mechanism that helped her calm down and eased the anxiety. It also helped her to go to sleep on restless nights; and this solely prevents him from shaving his hair completely.

Aang leaned forward and gently nudged her nose with his and placed a chaste kiss upon her lips, "The last time something like this happened was a couple of nights before I fought Ozai."

Toph nodded at the fact as she remembered the night herself; but, she suddenly chuckled when the memory of Sokka fighting the sharp earth spikes struck her mind. He was still half asleep and he thought he was fighting off a hoard of zombies.

"Sokka?" Aang inquired lightheartedly as he knew exactly what was on her mind. She laughed a bit more and Aang joined in.

"Zombies," he let out in a sigh at the end of his laughter. The fire crackled beside them while Appa and Momo's snoring continued to play in the background.

Aang grasped one of her hands, not noticing that the one he grabbed was the same one he was physically glued to four years ago. He laced her fingers with hers and although he enjoyed the reverie they were in, he had to touch on what had happened earlier, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he brought her hand up and kissed it.

Flashes of her running, the two mirrors, and her faceless body plagued her mind. Shivers ran down her spine and Aang noticed, "Toph, please—"

"It's nothing," she abruptly cut him off and threw in a rather reckless excuse, "I'm just nervous about seeing my parents tomorrow, that's all." She kept her heartbeat at a steady rhythm, since for the past couple of years Aang too had picked up on the subtle vibrations of deception.

Aang eyed her for a moment before she gently rested her head on the crook of his neck, "Why would you be nervous?" he asked as he ran his fingers through her long hair, "I thought we settled everything with your parents after the war. Your parents love me now," he added in jest.

"I know, but," she hated herself as she told off another lie, "I dreamt I had gone back to a prison rather than a home." A small tear rolled down the side of her face since the last thing she ever wanted to do was to deceive him.

He gently pushed her back and held her face in his hands, "You know that I would never let that happen to you…I would never let anything bad happen to you. You know that, right?" She bit her bottom lip and nodded in response.

No matter how many times he saw it, every time she bit her lower lip, he would fall in love with her all over again. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She gave into his kiss, a weakness she couldn't overcome. As she returned the kiss her nightmare and worries were pushed away and security settled in.

Although he was reluctant to stop, Aang gradually ended the kiss. He directed his lips towards her ear, "Everything good?" he whispered as he soothingly nibbled her ear; a spot, he discovered years ago, that made her moan in the most irresistible way. When he heard the audible sigh, he smiled against her skin and placed one last kiss on her neck.

"Let's go to sleep, tomorrow's a big day," he said as he lay back against the floor and brought her down with him. He adjusted her so that she rested in his embrace, their legs tangled together by the fire.

"Hmph, what's so great about tomorrow?" she lightheartedly complained and subsequently received a tickle on her side for being smart with him.

"You only celebrate your sixteenth birthday once, you know," he stated matter-of-factly and pushed her hair back from her face, "And I intend on making it one of the best days of your life."

"Oh really?" she teased him as she slipped one of her hands beneath his shirt and gently massaged his back muscles.

"Mhmm," he murmured in comfort. Till this day her touch continued to send sparks throughout his body. He yawned and soon she heard his breathing slow into a normal sleep pattern.

"Then I'm looking forward to tomorrow," she whispered as sleep took over and the images of her nightmare were left in the dark.

A/N: How's that for the first chapter? Let me know what you guys think! Hope you liked it! I plan to put up the next chapter by the end of the week. Until then, take care!