Chapter Text
The Gaang minus Toph ran down the corridors of Wan Shi Tong's library, following the Knowledge Seeker. The red fox like spirit turned sharply around a corner as it led them. Sokka stopped mid run as something caught his eye. Aang and Katara ran into him, nearly causing a pile up. The fox stopped ahead of them, sitting down to wait for them.
"Sokka, why'd we stop?"
"I saw. . . something over in the other section."
Katara looked back over her shoulder, but couldn't see anything.
"What was it?"
"I'm not sure. . . here take this. Follow the fox guy, I'm gonna go check it out."
Sokka handed the Fire Nation parchment to Aang. He jogged back the way they came.
"Be careful!"
"Relax, Katara! It's a library."
Katara and Aang continued on, following the fox spirit.
Sokka slowed to a walk as he turned the corner. He then saw what had caught his eye, and froze in amazement. Sitting on a pedestal was a golden ball, slightly smaller than the leather balls used in soccer. Sokka walked closer until he was standing right in front of it. The sphere was pure gold with dark lines etched into it. The thing seemed to pulse with energy, calling out to the young water tribesmen. Sokka wondered if was as warm as the power it radiated. He reached for it slowly as the dark lines started to glow gold.
"Quite stunning, isn't it?"
Sokka spun around, wrenching his arm away from the artifact. Wan Shi Tong stood behind him, looking down at the human. Sokka tried to calm down as he turned back to the pedestal.
"What is it?"
The owl spirit walked forward so that he stood next to Sokka.
"An apple."
"Ha! I've never seen an apple like this before!"
Wan Shi Tong gave Sokka the closest an owl could to a deadpan look.
"It is not an apple that you eat. It is The Apple of Eden. It is a powerful link between this world and another."
"What, you mean the spirit world?"
"There are more worlds than just this one and the spirit world."
Sokka felt a slight tug on himself. Not physically, but almost mentally.
"It calls to you, doesn't it?"
"I- yes. Why?"
"It has chosen you."
Sokka placed his hand on the apple. The etched in lines glowed a bright gold as he picked it up. It was not as heavy as he thought it would have been. Now that he held it, Sokka could tell that it was not actually made out of gold but something much harder. It was warm in his hands and Sokka could feel the energy seep over- through- him. It felt like he was about to come apart at the seams. It was beautiful and powerful, harsh but still humane. And it wanted him, it was calling to him.
"Sokka, we figured it out-"
Katara and Aang came around the corner and stopped at seeing Wan Shi Tong. Aang was the first to notice the Apple of Eden.
"Uh, Sokka? What is that?"
Sokka drew the golden orb closer to himself. Katara frowned and stepped forward.
"Sokka, put that down. It could be dangerous."
Sokka felt a jolt of panic and backed up. They could not take the apple. It needed him and he needed it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had nothing to fear. It was Katara, his little sister and Aang, the dorky lovable kid. Katara must have seen something on his face because she stopped and slowly crept forward.
"Sokka? Sokka, you need to put that down. It's time to leave the library."
She talked softly to him like he was an easily spooked buffalo-yak. Aang turned to Wan Shi Tong.
"What happened? What is that?"
The owl spirit shuffled his wings as he spoke.
"It is the Apple and it has chosen him."
The Apple grew from warm to burning hot in Sokka's hands. The young man cried out and dropped the Apple, but it did not fall. It rose into the air and started to glow brighter. The three humans shielded their eyes as everything became a curtain of gold. The sound of an explosion drowned out anything they tried to say. Suddenly the gold drew back into the Apple and it fell to the floor, no longer glowing at all. Katara and Aang blinked a couple time to regain their vision. They looked to where Sokka was, or had been.
"Sokka!"
Sokka was not standing there. He didn't seem to be anywhere. Sokka was gone.