4860/Southern Hospitality Part 3

Southern Hospitality Part 3
Date of Scene:	10 December 2016
Location:	Avatar World <AW>
Synopsis:	As the mission nears its conclusion Toph, Sokka and Sarah work on getting the Fire Nation ship out of the ice. Except things don't work out as planned, of course.
Cast of Characters:	1076, 20, 796, 301, 204

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Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka hummed softly as he knelt down by the makeshift grill they had. The smell of barbaqued fish filled the air and... well... it actually smelled good. "Hey, Toph, wanna play with fire?" he had joked but, sure enough, he'd let her help him grill up some fish!

And, of course, when the first was done... "Say ah~" and even fed her. He had to know, right? He was as protective as ever on top of it, keeping her near and making sure she didn't hurt herself no matter what. Such as being behind her, his hands gently holding hers as he helped her flip the fist in the way one might see in a sappy romantic comedy...

The girl truly was doomed. Poor sarah had likely discovered by now that gran gran was a task master and just because sokka and toph were back didn't mean she got to slack off. She asked to be put to work and hse was gonna WORK.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Playing with fire isn't new, she does that with Tony lots of the time when they prepare the grill outside in Malibu. But grilling fish over a fire is something she hasn't done since back when they were travelling together to help Aang.

    It does smell good though, and Toph reaches out to take the stick from the fish where it has been stuck down in the snow... but then Sokka is already handling it, and... is he /feeding/ her? The blind girl blinks, and she lets out a sigh. "Sokka, I know how to eat!" she protests. At least he can't see her blushing if he's behind her.

    Just how much work has poor Sarah been put to do today as well? The girl is strong, but even she needs a break, doesn't she? Not that she's complaining about getting to spend some more time with Sokka, but...

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka chuckled softly. "I don't know. I've seen the way you eat sometimes and I swear you get more on your chin than in your mouth." HE WAS CALLING HER A MESSY EATER? Pot, kettle, black! Either way, he was having a bit of fun tormenting her.

"You know, Sarah really should have known better than to offer to help gran gran," he said with a shake of his head. "We may never see her again," he joked. "So, once I finish grilling up some of these fish for our trip, how about you and I head to the ship? I can show you my newest invention. The sledder!" he said proudly. "It'll make moving the metal back here a breeze."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "What? You're worse than me! It's a good thing you don't have a beard, otherwise you would be saving it crumbs and stuff in it and save it for later eating!" Toph snorts, still trying to get the fish o the stick. It's nice though, sitting close to him like this and getting some food. Now let her eat on her own!

    "It's... kinda handy though, having her around. She /can/ carry a lot more than most people can, and with her flying and all..." they will see her once they're done at the ship for today, won't they? Gran Gran won't make her work during the night. Right? And perhaps today she can finish off bending the ship out of the ice. The first day she did get all of the traps out, yesterday most of the interior... and today she intends to finish the job. Three days down in this icy tundra should be enough. Even if she gets to spend more time with Sokka here...

    "So... what /is/ the sledder?" Toph inquires curiously, turning her head slightly towards Sokka.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka gasped. "You're right! I need to get a beard." Then grinned. "I AM pretty awesome as... Wang Fire, after all." He nodded. "Or maybe something like your dad's. It was pretty cool." And he kept feeding her! Why? Because for once she couldn't pound him for it!

"Oh, yeah. she's pretty amazing, cute, too," he said distantly, before giving a sigh. "Though... I think she's kind of... losti nterest in me, huh?" he asked softly. "I can't help but notice she's being a bit distant..." Well, at least Sokka was still pampering the crud out of Toph. Nightly foot massages, keeping her warm with his body heat... Drooling slightly on her face half the time and once actually biting her ear. He'd had a dream about meat. At least he hadn't bit hard. Granted... maybe it would have been better if she had.

Finally, however, once dinner was done. "Allow me to show you! i got the idea from the penquin sledding! You see, we have polar dogs pull some of our vehicles, but honestly we mostly use boats. But when traveling on the ice, what if we had something that didn't gather up snow? Revealing... the sledder!" Took off the blanket!

It was a sled. He'd made a gosh darn sled. With three prongs. But a freaking sled. Would she tell him?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Oh man, why did she mention beards...? "You're going to grow a beard now?" Toph asks, arching an eyebrow. "Are you /able/ to grow a beard like that though? Wang Fire had... well, all that fur we glued to your face isn't something I think most people would be able to grow..." When Sokka considers growing facial hair like Tony's though, that makes Toph snort. "You don't need to copy him, though." At least Tony's beard isn't too bad, even if it's a bit scratchy for hugging.

    Even if Sokka is still feeding her, Toph does her best to try and grab the fish for herself.

    So Sokka thinks Sarah is cute... Not to mention nice, figuring out that Toph likes Sokka in that way and then immediately backing off and even trying to help her. She's indeed a truly nice person. "W-well," Toph begins, trying to figure out what to say without hurting his feelings or making it seem like Sarah thinks lowly of him. "Maybe she's not wanting to be with a guy...?" She coughs a bit. "I mean, if girls like you they do try to make you notice that..." It's hard though, trying to make it obvious but not making it /too/ obvious! It was a bit intimidating however, especially with how close Sokka was at times. Massaging her sensitive feet, snuggling up next to her sleeping bag, drooling on her and all that.

    With dinner over with Toph follows Sokka, a bit curious about just what the sledder is. Did he come up with some new brilliant idea? A plan to utilise penguin power? When the sledder is revealed however, Toph blinks, walking over to touch it. And then she shakes her head, smiling a bit to herself. "You've truly outdone yourself, meat brain." Seriously. He reinvented the sled.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka chuckled and eventually let her have the fish. "I don't know. Tell you what, if I grow a beard, I'll let you see it first and judge if I should keep it or not." ... Of course. Was he joking?

He nodded. "That is true. I mean, if a girl was at all interested in me, I'm sure I'd notice. After all, you know my instincts are top notch and my attention to detail is impecable. There's no way I'd miss something like that." REALLY?! Just, REALLY? "Though I guess sometimes I might miss it. So you think she likes girls?" Pause. "You think she likes you?" Andddd there was a line of thoughts for Toph.

He grinned and nodded. "Of course! Now, I think if we can catch a few polar bear dogs like the old days, we can use them to pull it. But for now, this should make it a lot easier. Best part?" He started pulling it. "It's not like wheels. They don't get stuck in the snow!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Sokka, this might come as a surprise to you... but the only way facial hair is noticeable by me is if I'm all up in your face," she blind girl points out. "And dad's beard can get pretty scratchy." Just... how would Sokka be with a beard?

    ... is he freaking serious? The blind girl rises from her feet from inspecting the sledder. It seems like he hasn't noticed any of the signs yet... but then again, she's been punching him for years. He's the one she usually holds onto when they walk in places where she can't see. Does this mean she needs to think of different tactics to make him realise? If so, then what? It's not like she can just outright tell him! That... would be too hard.

    That train of thought is interrupted when Sokka comes to a wrong conclusion, and Toph gives a deadpan look in his direction. "I'm pretty sure she only thinks of me as a friend, and the feeling is mutual."

    "So... do we just sit on this thing then?" Toph asks about the sledder. In what direction is the ship again?

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka snickered. "Oh, right. Well, you can touch my face then! I promise not to have food in it at the time!" he said with a laugh.

H whistled as he got to work. "I also borrowed some ideas from the sand benders. They had something similar to this, though I've been trying a few different things. There's were thicker, but with the snow I find a more narrow blade works and..." he was just going on with all these weird little design ideas, before nodding.

"Yup! You'll travel in style. I think if I hook up a sail we can eventually get it to move with the winds. Haven't been able to get it to work yet, though." He led her on it, then started pulling it. "Just relax, it's not far.' It was to the east! About a thirty minute walk or so. He seemed to have no idea at how how she felt.

"Really, Toph? You sure? I mean, she might just be good at hiding her feelings." Smirked. "If you DO like girls, well, there's nothing wrong with that. I know you've never really shown any interest in guys and, well, you're awesome. You should be with whoever makes you happy. Boy or girl." Oh gosh JUST the conversation she wanted to have.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    So... the sledder doesn't sound /too/ bad, really. They'll still be on the ice and not on the water, and... we'll, she'll be sitting close to him. So that's good!

    Toph moves to sit down on the sledder, gripping the edges with both hands and pressing her knees in against its sides. Okay, hopefully this won't be too bad...

    And then Sokka begins down a path that is oh so wrong. The blind teenager tenses up, her eyes going wide... and then she leans forward, guessing at where he is and /punches/ out. "I don't like girls like that, you dunderhead! I like /boys/, and I'm as sure of that as I am that I'm the greatest earthbender of all time!" Sure, there's nothing wrong with people liking the same gender. Dorian likes other men, and he's a nice person, so she's not going to bother him for it. Except if he's being oogie in public. Then again, she gets the same reaction when Tony and Pepper are oogie in front of her too.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka cringed, then grinned. It wasn't so bad. Then he chuckled. "Really? Is there a young man in your life then? I don't think I've ever actually seen you crush on any guy." He paused. "Though, Toph, if you ever need any advice on the rules of love, feel free to ask me. You know how talented I am in that department," he said with a big grin. "And who knows? Maybe you and I can go on a double date, once we find the right person for ourselves."

He then pointed. "There it is, Toph. You see it? Almost there!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I..." Toph begins, her cheeks flaring up. What should she say here? "T-there..." It's too hard to get the words out, so Toph just nods. He /has/ seen her crush on a guy however, though he's too /dense/ to get it. When he offers his advice though, Toph hesitates for a moment before she speaks up. "Just... how do you make it clear to somebody that you like them...?" Okay, let's see if she can learn something just how Sokka thinks. Maybe that would make it easier to make him realise it instead of her actually having to tell him! And sure, he does seem to have a lot of girls who like him. Even if he's a dork...

    Onwards to the ship they go, and Toph narrows her eyes when Sokka asks whether she can see the ship or not. "No, I /can't/, genius. Not close enough for me to sense it..."

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka hummed, cocking his head to the side. "Well... honestly? Just make it obvious. Tell them. I mean, I'm sure you can just dance around the subject. But you do that, you risk them finding someone else and never having any idea. Besides, you're amazing. If you like someone, just tell them, Toph. They'd have to be stupid to turn you down," he said with a snort. He then paused. "Trust me, you DON'T wanna be the person who waits until they're already dating someone and then tell them. Any guy who'd leave his girlfriend just because a new girl showed interest doesn't deserve you."

Once they were closer, he would, once again, haul her up it and followed with her. It rumbled a bit, making him sigh. "Oh, knock it off, you're not going anywhere. You know, when we were younger, Katara tried to sink this thing, once. No one would have guessed that little puddle pusher would become one of te world's greatest."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Isn't it already obvious? Maybe not to him. And here people are calling /her/ blind? Seriously, he makes it seem so simple. Usually Toph is pretty forward about things, so... why can't she be forward about this? Do it like a real earthbender? It should be easy, all it takes is just saying a few words, and here he gives her the perfect opportunity to do so...!

    So even as they reach the ship and Sokka helps her up on the ship, talking about how Katara had tried to deal with the ship back then, the blind girl turns her head a bit after building up all of her courage, the bravado that allowed her to yell out trash talk to her opponents, to topple mountains and face deadly danger.

    "I... like- aaah!" Maybe she would have been more eloquent if the deck hadn't been so slippery from some of the snow that had fallen earlier that day.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka fortunately, after years of being the guy who had to grab toph, duck her head down or drag her out of danger of things she couldn't see(looking at you, slimy river guy with your fancy stick), he grabbed her almost instantly, holding her to his chest.

"You okay, Toph?" he asked, smiling down at her. "You need to be careful, I don't want to see you get hurt. And I won't always be here to catch you." Of course he would. He'd never let her fall.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    Sarah comes walking up to the ship rather slowly. She looks rather tired, but at least she managed to get some lunch in after Gran Gran finally let her go. "Should've pretended to be weaker.." She murmurs, "But.. I wanted to be useful."

    She stops suddenly when she hears Toph say "I like-" and then slip. Damn, did she get here too soon!? "Is everything okay up there!?" She calls worriedly.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    At least she didn't hit her head... but she still looks a bit surprised. At the question she sighs and nods. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Except she didn't get to say what she wanted, and her heart is beating way too much for her to build up the courage to say it again.

    "I can handle it, I... just didn't expect there to be snow there, is all...!" She firmly pushes herself upright and away from Sokka. Let's get started on the last part of getting this boat out of the ice already!

    Upon hearing Sarah down by the ship, the blind girl yells back. "I'm fine, Babycap! Just... slipped! I'm going to head inside, maybe you could help on the outside when I bend stuff out?" She should be able to grab it easily enough, after all.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka nodded. "Of course. Let's get to it," he said firmly. "Hey, Sarah. I'm going to head inside and give Toph a hand, okay?" He jsut wanted to make sure she didn't fall again. No traps this time. Besides, if it got to be too much, too cold for her feet to handle, well... he wanted to be there for her. Because he was her friend.

Down below the ice, all the heavy movement slowly weakened ice that had long ago been damaged. Making it come so close to finally caving in and finishing the work young katara had tried so long ago...

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    "Sure, no sweat!" Sarah says eagerly. At least Toph and Sokka will be mostly alone inside, as it should be, "Just nothing *too* big, I'm still kinda sore." She admits, then takes to the air and starts slowly circling the ship, "What direction should I expect peices to be cominng from?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Perhaps it's a good thing that Sokka comes along with her inside the ship if it's slippery. Hitting her head in such a place would not be good, especially in the middle of bending.

    After taking off her boots and socks and letting out a loud comment about just how cold the deck is, Toph shudders and begins making her way inside the ship. "What?" Toph calls back to Sarah over the radio, amusement in her voice. "Here I thought you Rogerses were able to handle being a bit sorry. Did that old grandma drive you /that/ hard?" Oh yes, of course she will joke with her friend. "Anyway, I'll start on the front of the ship and toss it out on the left side. Get ready in a minute or two!"

    The blind girl leads the way down the stairways. "Lessie, I'll start with this wall here... if I bend these parts, then I can dissassemble ship from the outside when we're done, and then the village has more metal to work with," Toph says, thinking it prudent to share her plan with Sokka. And so she gets into a stance, and begins bending. The walls of the interior are quickly torn away, and the side of the ship opens up to allow her to bend parts of the wall out in large sheets, hopefully Sarah will catch them okay!

    Luckily for Sokka Toph seems to handle herself fine, though she does shudder and step quickly in place at times, as if trying to get more warmth into her feet. "Okay, I think I just need to get some of the heavy machinery out, and then we're done inside. Maybe you could fix it up and you could use it as a generator or something," Toph suggests, turning to the stairs leading to the lowest deck of the ship.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka nodded, following behind her. He'd help her as best he could, warning her if she passed any non-metal things. But, for the most part, he was just supervising. "That sounds great, Toph." The ship would jostle a bit from all the heavy movement, rocking a bit from side to side. But all in all, it felt fine.

As they made their way down to the lowest deck, the engine was in horrible set. Parts had been damaged over the years, but it might still be usable. That was... until she tossed it out. Once the large engine was flung out, the ship would suddenly veer heavily to the opposite side from where the weight had been. Sokka managed to barely catch Toph in time, though they would both be slammed against the wall. Cracks formed in the ice from the sudden weight... but then it settled. "Ow. Guess all that--" A loud crack filled the air and then -THOOM-. The ship dropped. There was a splash as the ship hit the water, followed y crashes as ice from up above collapsed in on it. Sokka held onto Toph, his eyes going wide. Then a loud screeching filled the air, and the ship turned on its side, so the hole the engine had come through was in the air, the ship fully on its side now. Ice began to spill through and Sokka twisted with Toph, barely managing to fall into the hallway before the ice could come down and crush them, snagging a foot on one of the doors and, with difficulty, slamming into the room, landing on top of poor Toph. "H-hey. Kiddo, you okay?" He tried to shield her as best he could with his arms, but they were likely both still bruised after that.

Another grinding sound, followed by a splash. The sound of running water. His eyes widened. "Toph you need to seal the door!" he yelled, turning towards it and rolling off, trying to help her to her feet.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    "Yes, she did work me that hard!" Sarah quips back over the comms as she heads to the left side of the ship, ready to play catcher. "And the plural of Rogers is still Rogers!" She chides.

    Sarah looks more and more worried as the sounds coming from the ship just keep getting worse. "You guys sure everything's okay in there!?" She frets, and then there's the groaning-cracking sound that can only be the ice giving way. "Holy Fu--udge." That's her father correcting her in her head. "It's listing!" She shrieks, diving into the side of the bridge and desperately trying to right the vessel. Unfortunately the weight of the entire ship is way beyond her capacity even on the best of days.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The blind metalbender lets out a soft 'hmmm' as she runs her bare hand over the engine, inspecting it. "Maybe.... yeah, I think this can be repaired." Just bring an engineer, and they would be able to fix it. So Toph takes a deep breath, widens her stance and then bends the ceiling above them open. And then she grits her teeth, moves her arms upwards, causing the engine to tear up from the floor as it flies up and to the side, crashing into the snow not too far away from where Sarah should expect it.

    The moment the ship veers however Toph can't help but let out a yelp of surprise as she loses her balance, and then cry out in pain as she slams against the wall along with Sokka. "Ugh... what the crud?" she mutters, rubbing at her side as she pushes away from the wall. Why did the ship do that? If it was resting securely in the ice then it shouldn't have moved from that shift of weight, now should it?

    The sudden drop is entirely unexpected, and Toph's eyes widen as she feels the entire ship roll over and further down into the ice... and into the water. "S-Sokka?!" she asks, panic in her voice. It's hard to tell what's going on until she can touch the wall, or is that the floor now? Is she okay? The blind girl nods her head a bit. She's got a few cuts, not to mention a few bruises. Nothing she can't handle though. What's worse is the panic that settles in as she hears the sound of running water... and it's further amplified when she touches the metal and gets the whole picture of their current situation. Despite the hopeless situation she does get to her feet however, and she pries her fingers into the wall by the door, bending the metal together with a mighty creak. After that she slams her hands into the wall. Whatever the cost she has to make sure to keep this ship balanced so it doesn't sink further down! It won't be easy with all that water rushing in, but...!

    "SARAH! CALL FOR HELP!" she calls over the radio. Right now she can't afford to take her hands off of the wall to change the frequency.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka stared at her, then reached to his computer but... he tapped it a few times. There was no sign of response, though. Cold plus all the strikes knocked it out for the time being. Cause plot.

Toph's bending would work... slowly. The ship was sinking... slowly... into the water. And ice was falling on top of it, burying the vessel. Water was filling it and then she'd feel it as they sank just a little more and... then the entire vessel was submerged.

They were completely under the water. With ice on top of them, pounding them in. Even if they could get through the icy water, they'd still freeze or be crushed.

Worse, they were still, slowly, sinking. The ice under the water grasping at them. However, after a few feet the vessel stopped. It jammed on the right ice and... stopped. Holding them up.

Sokka was quiet for a few moments before looking up. "Did... it stop?" he asked softly. She could probably feel it. Water filled the ship. If she tried to open a way out, they'd freeze. But if they started sinking again...

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    Sarah quickly tunes into the frequency Tony gave her a long time ago. "Hello!? Jarvis!? Mr. Stark!? Help! We're at the south pole in Toph's world. The ice gave way! Toph and Sokka are going down in the ship!" She tries to explain.

    She's still struggling futilely to get the ship upright again, but maybe working with Toph they can at least slow it down. "Toph, c'mon, Together we've gotta be able to move this thing a little! Sokka, can you find a rope!? Tie it to something strong and throw me the other end, I have a really bad idea!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    There's no missing what's going on in the ship, considering it's all metal. The way the metal digs into the ice after her bending, how it will slip if she doesn't work on it... there's no way she can bend it up on her own. They need help, somebody else to help get the ice away, to perhaps help pull the ship up. Then maybe she could focus on bending the water away so they can get back up. Sarah is strong, but this requires more force than one Elite can provide on their own.

    The metalbenders says none of these things as Sokka inquires about their situation. "I..." She shakes her head. No, it hasn't stopped, not in a good way. "The room above us is getting flooded," she says, clenching her teeth together where she stands. "I... I have to keep on bending."

    Sarah's voice on the radio crackles a bit, and Toph winces. "I had to bend the door shut, we... we can't open it until the water's been cleared out or we'll drown," she explains, trying to keep herself calm. Drowning... No, this is /not/ how it's supposed to end! Perhaps Sokka will notice it, how Toph's hands shake a bit.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka blinked, nodding. He couldn't deny it, he was scared. They were trapped, there was a good chance they could and would die. That...

Then his eyes fell on her hands. He slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around her stomach and held her. "Toph. We're going to get out of this." He said firmly. "You are the greatest metal bender in the history of the world. There's absolutely no way it ends like this." His grip tightened slightly. "I promise. We'll find a way out of this. Besides. We've been through way worse, okay? Remember the air ships? There were a ton of them. But the three of us took them down. And Sarah is out there. She'll find a way. So... just keep doing what you're doing. We will be fine."

A slow, lingering pause. Then without a doubt in his voice. "I promise."

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Tony Stark, meanwhile, is just about to put the cherry on top of a generous pile of whipped cream on top of a bowl of butter almond and chocolate ice cream -- Pepper was very specific as to what flavor she was craving -- when his CODEC implant suddenly buzzes to life in his ear.

His almost comical look of lip-biting concentration twists, momentarily, into bemusement at Sarah's choice of wording, but then as he realizes what she means, it slackens instantly to one of grave focus. "Ice cream's on the counter!" he blurts out at Pepper on the couch, as he sprints through the living room toward the workshop. He'll explain more once he's in the air.

Less than a minute later, Iron Man explodes out of the garage entrance and the crack of a sonic boom ripples through the air over the Pacific as he rockets toward the nearest warp gate at all possible speed.

Trailing behind him, another humanoid-shaped projectile does its best to keep up, skipping along in his wake for every draft boost Jarvis can calculate.

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Pepper glances up from where she was surrounded by paperwork, fabric swatches and a paused video of cats in ballet tutus as she straightens, watching Tony bolt across the room, giving a wince and holding at her lower back as she rises to a stand -- "I can see that but what are y--"

    BOOM. The windows, the plates, the ice cream bowl and spoon all rattle as Pepper glances up, and then she looks at the ice cream, looks back at the shrinking glow of Iron Man, and then she exhales, glances towards the kitchen, and begins to (slowly) make her way in.

    "Jarvis. Bypass any protocols that Tony's put in place for my /health/ and tell me what is going on."

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    "Damn.." Sarah mutters, "Okay just stay safe in there, it probably wouldn't have worked anyway! The good news is I'm pretty sure I just heard repulsor thrusters over the radio.. and a big boom! He's coming!"

    She struggles with trying to will the ship into a safer position, getting more and more frustrated as the seconds pass, "I'm not having much of an effect here.. I'm sorry!" She sounds like she's on the verge of tears. "Where are the water benders? Maybe the best thing I can do is go find one?"

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Sorry honey," It's Tony's voice that gasps from the speaker instead of Jarvis. "Toph's in trouble. Apparently she's trapped in that ship she was bending out of the ice. Not sure how fast it's sinking, but I'm taking Hammerhead down there with me." A brief pause. "--I /will/ get her out of there, Pepper, don't worry."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's easy to hear the fear in Sokka's heartbeat. And this is hardly a situation that brings out a flush to Toph's cheeks as Sokka hugs her from behind. Right now she's not really sure if he truly means what he says or if he's saying it to keep her courage up. "I'm the only metalbender who can do it properly, meat brain," Toph jokes weakly. They... they really have been through worse, huh. Like when she thought they were going to fall down from the airship. She nods her head slightly. "Sarah... she'll call for help," she agrees.

    There's no way she needs to be told to keep up her bending in order to balance the ship and prevent it from sinking further. The top part of the ship is already bended to the sides, digging into the top of the ice. It does help to know that help is coming, and that Sarah thought to call Tony. Few people are as quick as he is, and flying super armour might be the best way out of this save for a Deus Ex Machina if there were one. "C-can you get the ice away?" Toph suggests.

    "Just... stop me from getting too cold," Toph asks. This is less scary with Sokka here at least. Though this is hardly how she wanted to spend time alone with him, now is it?

Pepper Potts (204) has posed:
    Pepper's heart gives a lurch, and her stomach gives a cramp.

    "I'm not worried, Tony. I know you'll get her out of there."

    She puts her hands on her stomach then, and looks down at the round belly.

    "Don't you worry either, mister, You stay right where you are."

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Fortunately, there wasn't any ice in the room. Atleast not--

There was another rumble from above. Sarah would feel the ice shift. Followed by another boom. More ice crashed into the ship and... well, Toph didn't have to worry about them sinking anymore. Because they were now wedged in between the ice. And slowly being compressed. Not very quickly... but a few holes were forming in the walls, cracks as well. Water was beginning to, slowly, fall into the room.

Sokka held onto her through it all, barely managing to keep his heart steady. "We're going to be okay, Toph. I promise. I swear. Help is on the way." He was quiet for a moment. "And... and I'll think of something," he whispered. "I promise." Come on, come on! He was the idea guy! He had to think of something. But... nothing came to mind. They were stuck underwater, slowly being crushed and drowned, freezing. And he couldn't do a dang thing about it aside from watch his best friend struggle to keep them from dying. So instead he just held her, trying to give her the only thing he had to give. Comfort and warmth.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    "Sokka can you hear me!? Water Benders! Are there any nearby!?" She shouts in frustration.

    More horrible cracking sounds. Oh Yay. Now the ice is starting to crush the ship. Can this day get any worse? Sarah gives up on trying to right the ship at this point and dashes to the spot closest to where she thinks Toph and Sokka are trapped. She uses her shield to start carving out pieces of ice where it's pressing against the hull, hoping to give them a few more minutes of not being crushed until help arrives.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Unfortunately, even at super sonic speeds it still takes a while to traverse the warp gate network and then fly all the way to the South Pole from the nearest multiversal entry point. So Toph and Sokka are going to be cuddling in the dark for a while.

Some twenty minutes later, a speck of shining red-gold finally breaks through the cloud cover in the distance, and it's a matter of moments from then until Mark 42 slams to a three point landing on the solid ice shelf near the ship. "What happened?" Tony's voice barks out tinnily from within the helmet, as the suit rises and looks quickly toward Sarah before turning to initiate a full spectrum scan of the area clearly just violated by the sudden slide of the ship into the water.

"Come on..." he can be heard muttering under his breath, as he glances back to the sky the way he came. Mark 37 is way better suited for this type of work, but it just doesn't have the speed behind it.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Another shift in the ice, and Toph holds her breath as she feels the pressure adding to both sides of the ship. "It's not sinking... now the ice is crushing the ship...!" This is bad. Very very bad! Just what can they do from where they are? "I... I wish Katara was here," she whispers. If she had been there, the two of them could have handled this easily. A master waterbender and a master metalbender could handle this situation without any problems. It starts to get even colder as the water slowly drips down into the room, and her already cold feet don't feel better. So Toph closes her eyes, just letting Sokka hold her. Sarah's question on the radio does make her turn her head slightly to Sokka. "/Are/ there any waterbenders in the village?" If he speaks up Sarah should be able to hear it. Even if they aren't masters, any waterbending could be helpful here!

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka shook her head. "There's no water benders. At least, none who could get her fast enough to... help," he mumbled. They were running out of time. They needed to do something. Anything. Help was on the way, but what did it matter if they were crushed?

He held her even tighter and then... she could hear the sound in his voice. The... sorrow. "I'm sorry... Toph. This is all my fault. I never should have asked you to come here with me. I should be the one down here. Alone. Not you," he said softly, holding her as tight as he could. "I never... never should have involved you in any of this..." And there was that pessimistic side. Just like so many years ago, when she'd held her hand and struggled to not lose her. And there was no suki coming with an airship this time.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
     Sarah's been busy trying to widen the gasp between the ship and the ice, without causing it to start sinking again. It's slow going and every time she digs into the ice she's sure she's going to hear a *bad* crack again.

    Iron Man's approach is unmistakable. Sarah's outlook finally starts to brighten when she sees the red-gold armor approach. "Tony! Fina-- What do you mean what happened!? We were playing Don't Break The Ice and we lost!" She says incredulously. "Look, is there anywhere we can hit this thing that might have a positive effect??"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The sorrow is pretty hard to miss, and Toph feels her own heart beating rapidly. "No, it's not your fault!" she protests, shaking her head. "We... we were getting this ship out to help the village, right? We couldn't let them get hurt like that, so..." She shudders. "I... wouldn't want you alone like this, so don't talk like that!" What happened to getting out of this? "Dad's coming, he'll think of something...!" She hopes.

    "Sokka says there are no waterbenders at the village now," Toph manages to say over the radio, her voice a bit shaky. So she'll just focus on bending, though she feels her teeth chittering slightly as the water rises slowly inside the room, now covering their feet.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Thanks for that incredibly helpful and detailed analysis of exactly HOW the ship fell into the water, whether the hull was breached, how deep it slid before the ice caught it -- I really do appreciate that, very helpful, Rogers," Stark snaps back, harshly. Perhaps some irritation can be excused; it IS his daughter down there.

But then there's a hopeful moment: Tony's periodic glances skyward are suddenly revealed to be mistaken, as the water nearby illuminates from beneath, and with a whoosh of icy water, the Mark 37 Hammerhead suit emerges from the depths and boosts itself up onto solid ice, as Jarvis's voice rings out, "Apologies, sir. I determined that the last stage of the journey would be more quickly traversed under the water. Unfortunately it seems to have temporarily disrupted communications with my other selves. I did take the liberty of performing full infrared scans beneath the surface and I believe I have located Miss Beifong and her friend, with 97% certainty."

Even fully armor-clad, Tony's stance somehow seems to slump in relief. He turns back toward Sarah, seeming to forget he just snapped at her seconds ago. "We're not going to be able to get this thing up out of the water," he states definitively. "Top priority is getting those kids OUT. I can do that, but what I need from you is to gather as much fuel as possible and get a fire going. They're gonna get wet and we need to get them out of the hypothermic danger zone before we can fly them anywhere. Okay?"

As he says the last word, the suit ratchets open around him, allowing him to step out onto the snow. Whereupon he immediately declares, "Christ!" and wraps his arms around him as the shock of antarctic cold hits his skin. He was, after all, only dressed for winter in Malibu. He dashes over to the other suit, which obediently opens to receive him, and throws himself inside, cocooning himself once more in the artificial warmth.

"Fire," he repeats the command, pointing at Sarah with one the suit's heavily armored, stubby fingers, before he dives beneath the dark water.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka clutches her all the tighter and lays his head on her shoulder, little tears in his eyes. Not that he'd let them fall... okay, he would. "I should have been alone for this. Toph. I never... I never wanted you to..." He clutched her. "I never wanted to let you go. Not again. I never wanted to... to let you down. To lose another friend. I'm so sorry, Toph. I wish I could have... I wish I could have kept you safe for once... You deserved something far better than this. You are worth so much more than this. I should have been alone..."

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    Sarah looks a little ashamed.. but both she and Tony were kind of irritated after all. "Your scanners can tell way better than I ever could." She points out, "The Hull's breached but Toph's got it mostly stabilized."

    "Fire. I'm on it." She nods quick and takes to the air. Unfortunately there's no way to hide her flight abilities from the village anymore, but she heads straight for Gran Gran and explains the situation in her best Captain America Taking Command voice.

    About 10 minutes later she's back with several hide bags full of wood, blubber, and whatever spare burnable things the tribe would let her have, including some poor kid's sled. She makes a note to get whoever it belongs to a new one!

    She's has some practice laying out a bonfire before, and quickly assembles one on the solid ice as close to the ship as she dares.

    Lighting it's easy. She summons Mjolnir and hits the pile with a bolt of lighting!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Pressing her lips together to keep her teeth from chattering too much, Toph closes her eyes and tilts her head against Sokka's. "I don't want you in danger either, you dunderhead!" she half snaps, swallowing hard. "We'll... we'll make it through this, dad will be here soon, and we can get this ship up...!" Maybe the Iron Legion can do it. Maybe they /can/ throw a rope down, and she'll bend an opening so they can climb out...

    Her fingers are pale, turning a deeper shade of red from pressing them against the icy cold hull of the ship. Man, her feet are frozen...! How long have they been waiting? It feels like they have been down here for an hour... but it's probably been shorter. Just for how long will she be able to fortify and balance the ship like this? She's held up heavier things, but the cold is something new. Just what do you say in this kind of situation? "You're worth more than you think," she says. Stop putting yourself down! "I don't want to lose you either, you know..." His arms might be a tad tight around her, but it's preferable to not being held right now. And it helps her feel slightly less cold.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Now armed with a suit specifically designed for this task, Tony Stark is feeling a lot better about things as he propels himself downward, the Hammerhead's powerful light beams illuminating the outer hull as the infrared scanners pinpoint the location of the trapped kids. He switches to Toph's frequency, hoping the signal will penetrate the ship and that her radio hasn't been damaged in the accident. "Toph. I'm here." He bangs on the hull, midway up the wall in the engine room where they're huddled. "I'm about to cut through the hull. If you can bend the opening wider once I breach it, great. Otherwise just sit tight. Get up as high as you can in there. Any engine parts or shelves you can climb on -- there's about to be a lot of cold water coming in."

He hesitates before he fires up the plasma cutter on the suit's forearm. "When I come in, I need you to come to me, hold on as tight as you can. Start hyperventilating now. Get as much oxygen in your lungs as you can. It's just a short trip to the surface. You hear me?"

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka nodded, holding onto her all the more. Well... they were going to die, possibly, anyway. So he kind of... lifted her up, into his arms. Holding her off the water and allowing her to put her hands to the wall.

"Heh, maybe you're right," he mumbled. "But it would have been better if I'd been the only one here. You're a thousand times more valuable than I'll ever be, Toph. I'm so sorry..." He could't even do this.

And then thumps. The ship rocked and then a thump. What the heck was going on? Of course, once he found out he'd be surprised but... would try to follow the orders as directed.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    With the fire lit Sarah flies back to the ship, using the glow from the plasma cutter to figure out where the action's going to be. But for now all she can do is look on nervously and wait in case Tony need help carrying one of the kids to the fire.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The moment that Tony's voice sounds over the radio Toph raises her head, alert as her heart skips a bit. He's /here/! "Dad!" Wait, he's already down in the ship? When he bangs on the hull further up on the wall however her face pales, and she doesn't feel better as he explains the plan. No, she does not like the sound of it. This is way different from the pool in Malibu, or just wading on the beach where she still has lots of sand underneath her! It probably wouldn't have been necessary to tell her to hyperventilate, as the thought of letting the ocean /in/ is enough to make Toph's breathing speed up. If anybody but Tony had asked her to do this, they would have gotten a firm no.

    But Toph nods, even if Tony isn't there to see it. "I... I can do that," she responds, unable to hide the fear in her voice. There's lots of metal here, but she recognizes the metal in the Iron Man suits anywhere. "Sokka, follow me and help me up! Grab onto him, he... he knows what he's doing!" she says, turning her head slightly to the watertribe boy, and she frantically turns her focus from bending the ship against the ice to bending the wall so they can climb further up towards where Tony is.

    Immediately the ship starts creaking more, and more water starts running from the next room. Man, this better work...! Right now Sokka should be able to tell that Toph is terrified, though pushing through her fear as best as she can.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Even with state of the art technology it still takes a minute for the plasma cutter to penetrate the thick armored hull of the ancient Fire Nation warship. They don't build them like they used to. Or hell, maybe they do, how the hell would Tony know. Soon, though, a section of the inner wall begins to glow with a bright blue line along the seam being cut from without. Toph may be able to speed the process at this point with some metalbending assistance, but in any case, it's not long from that point that the hull caves inward and the ocean begins to pour in through the huge hole.

Along with the dark water, though, comes the hulking form of the green and gold suit, and its bright lights sweeping through the room to pinpoint trapped survivors. Half in, half out of the gushing, churning water, Hammerhead forges its way to the two young people and Tony holds out an arm to each of them to grasp. "Hold on /tight/," he commands in a tone that brooks no questions. "Close your eyes and hold your breath. We're going out and up."

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka nodded, holding her tighter. "O-okay." And then there was water! So much water! It hit him like a wall of ice. He was tempted to just give in. Well, screw that. He grabbed the wall as best he could, his other arm wrapped tightly around Toph and refusing to let her fall into the drink as he slowly, step by step, made his way to the giant iron man, even as the freezing water drained his heat and slammed into him.

He wasn't a bender, but he knew he was physically stronger than toph(debatable) and better at dealing with the cold than she was(definitely.)

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    Sarah feels kind of helpless at this point, which is rare, but really what could she do in the delicate situation under the water that wouldn't just get in the way? "I'm standing by if you need help!" She reminds Tony, pacing back and forth in the air and waiting for people to start coming back up.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It takes nearly half a minute for Toph to bend the wall so they can climb up, her arms shaking badly as the water rises around them. "H-He's almost through the hull," Toph reassures Sokka, unable to keep her teeth from clattering. All in all the girl looks soaked, cold and scared, and it's only through practice that she manages to focus on what needs to be done. Rather than bending them right underneath the area where Tony is cutting through, Toph leads Sokka up to the side of it, close so Tony can see them but not underneath so they won't get pushed back by the water when the hull is eventually breached. Only once she's certain that both she and Sokka won't fall down the wall does she hesitantly slam her hand into the wall, helping Tony to open it up! Her other hand grabs onto Sokka's sleeve. Here goes nothing!

    She can't help but gasp however as the water rushing in, her phobia kicking in as she freezes in fear for several seconds, hyperventilating. No, this... It's only when Tony voices that command that the girl shakily nods her head, pulling Sokka with her as she quickly lets go of the wall... and grabs onto Hammerhead's arm, doing her best to wrap herself around it, as she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Sokka better do the same!

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
With the kids clamped onto his arms, Iron Man turns and forces his way back against the current. If the water weren't so frigid it'd be easier to wait for it to fill the chamber, and then exit the hole once the water pressure had equalized; but he hasn't got that kind of time to let Toph and Sokka soak. But that's why it's nice to be wearing power armor. The water behind the suit glows with a fierce orange light as the boot and back thrusters kick in and force them upstream -- and out into the depths beyond.

Now completely submerged, but no longer fighting against such a fierce pull, Stark re-orientates the suit and blasts upward, clearing the surface of the water in a matter of seconds. "Rogers!" he barks out, as he drags the freezing young people ashore, their weight and general unwieldiness now hampering him somewhat with the suit out of the water. "Nice fire," he still has time to remark, as he holds up the arm with Sokka clinging to it for her to relieve him of that half of his burden. "You're safe, we're gonna get you warmed up now," he keeps talking, trying to make his voice the lifeline in the dark and terror -- assuming they're still conscious to hear it.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    The Village had the foresight to provide fresh changes of clothes, coats, and blankets when Sarah was explaining the danger, they're already laid out on the former hide bags, now acting as hide mats in front of the fire.

    "Just as ordered sir!" Sarah replies matter of factly, hefting the damp Sokka out of Tony's arms then laying him down on a mat. If Sokka's awake, he might catch the half burned remnants of his Sledder slowly being consumed in the Bonfire.

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka grabbed onto the arm tightly, closing his eyes as the frigid waters enveloped them, swarming them with so much ice and cold. It was all he could do to stay conscious as they broke through the snow and ice. One arm held on, the other held tight around Toph. However, once they were out, he finally slowly began to let her go. Once there was solid under him, he let her and iron man go and collapsed against Sarah, letting him drag him off to the warmth of... well... a fire. He stared at it for a few moments, shivering and... "Wait... is... is that.... my sledder?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    As the Hammerhead bursts of the water Toph is barely holding onto the arm, coughing like mad and shivering. She's absolutely drenched, pale and hyperventilating, even as she coughs up some water. Unlike Sokka she's not used to the cold. No, she's not entirely unconscious, but she's clearly way too cold right now, shaking. Her breathing is shallow, and her grip is slipping as she finds no more strength in her arms.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
Relieved of one passenger, Tony is better able to shift his grip on Toph and carry her to the fire as well, the heavy suit kneeling with a *whump* in the snow as he transfers her to one of the mats. Then the suit opens up, allowing him to slide out and grab for the pile of blankets Sarah brought. While she tends to Sokka he begins to rigorously massage Toph's limbs with the blankets, discarding one for another when the first becomes too waterlogged. He keeps the both of them as close to the fire as he can bear, and hugs her tight against him with the blanket around them both to let her share the heat from his own shaking body.

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    Ironically it falls to Sarah to take care of Sokka now. She's already trying to massage heat back into his legs with one of the blankets, hanging damp ones on a line near the fire that the village set up as she works.

    "Oh.. that was your sled.. sledder?" she asks with a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry Sokka. it was perfect for kindling." She lowers her eyes for a moment, "I'll help you get a new one, what ever it takes, I promise!

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka laid there, giving her a smile. "So... is... Toph okay?" he asked softly. What? She was his best buddy! He gave a weak, raspy cough, some water coming up. He then gave her what he thought was a flirtatious grin.

"I guess... this... isn't so bad... I mean... if I'd known you were... going to take care of me... I... might have... jumped..." And... then he kind of passed out. Just a little bit.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It seems that Toph's hands and feet are red from the cold exposure she suffered while trying to keep the ship still. At least she's still breathing, and she's somewhat conscious, although her speech is slurred as she tries to sit up, obviously not entirely there due to the hypothermia. "... Sokka?" Her shaking prevents her from struggling though, as she's intitally a bit startled as she feels something massaging her limbs. But as it does help against that blasted cold, she does stop, closing her eyes. Though as Tony works her breathing grows more even, though she's still shaking. Faintly she is aware of familiar metal next to her, and she coughs a bit, resting her head against Tony's chest. All that wet hair won't make him feel any warmer, sadly. "I-is Sokka o-okay?" Damn, this is cold. But at least they're not in the water anymore, nor stuck in the ship. As she shivers she curls up a bit more against Tony.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"He's okay. He's fine," Tony replies softly, rubbing her Toph's back to keep the blood flowing, and reaching when he's able for yet another blanket to wrap around her hair. "You're both fine. Thanks to Sarah... and your incredibly awesome dad," he adds, knowing that laughter is the best medicine for emotional trauma even as the warmth and massage is best for the physical right now. "When you're feeling up to it we have some dry clothes for you here, too. Then we'll get you to the, uh... village?" he has to glance to Sarah for confirmation, as he doesn't really know the area. "And some hot food."

Sarah Rogers (796) has posed:
    "Sokka! No falling asleep in the cold!" At least Sarah has a good excuse to slap him now, which she does. She's probably been wanting to for a while. After that she pulls him close, and wraps an arm around him to help warm him back up. talk about mixed messages!

    "I think he's going to be alright," She tries to reassure Toph, "But this is Sokka we're talking about, when is he ever alright?" She adds with a small grin."

    "Village, yeah, just back that way." Sarah confirms as she starts work on rubbing heat back into Sokka's arms.

Tony Stark (301) has posed:
"Unfortunately," Tony chimes in, "he's still Sokka. I'm so sorry."

Sokka (1076) has posed:
Sokka groaned, whimpering. "Owwwww... Katara... stop hitting me..." he mumbled softly. Thaaaaat... was probably not a good sign. Still, he was kind of awake. If still a lot out of it, his eyes closing after a few. His body was cold to the touch, like ice. But he'd probably be fine.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Tony's comment does get a weak chuckle from the blind teenager as she shivers uncontrollably. Sokka is safe... She does offer a faint smile as best as she can. "I-I've never been this cold before," she slurrs, closing her eyes again. It's seldom she's feeling this tired. Dry clothes sound good though, as her current ones are wet and freezing. So Toph nods. "Thanks S-Sarah... thanks... dad..." Ugh, they should stop joking about Sokka like that. They're getting a punch later when she has the strength to do so.