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[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Sokka has gotten used to many things in his admittedly short life. He's gotten used to the fact that his sister can play with magic water, and also likely kill him with it should she so desire. He's gotten used to the fact that a bouncy twelve year old has more power than he can imagine and is meant to save the world he was born on. He's gotten used to the idea that nothing is as it seems and scrawny, nothing children should be looked at with as much suspicion as great hulking men with guns. Sokka has gotten used to the idea of space travel and grav thrusters and slipstream, he's gotten used to speaking the same language as everybody else but not being able to write the same one, he's gotten used to writing all of his work notes out in Chinese because pretty much everything in the last year was written in it and you couldn't depend on people to be around to take care of you. Sokka has gotten used to having a Firebender in his family, and a tiny young woman who is freakishly strong and twice as scary when she wants to be. He's gotten used to taking care of and absolutely adoring two tiny half-Fire Nation girls.

Who are, respectively, strapped to his chest and back by a cloth sling as he wanders down the Street of Eden toward his designated workshop-building, where most people assume he is hard at work trying to find a way out but he is, in actuality, carving loads of tiny toy animals for his nieces.

Sokka has also gotten used to the idea that while he isn't useless, there is a point where he has to recognize that he just doesn't know how to fix something, and needs to give it a rest for a while.

So with Hana and Loo babbling in his ears in their Baby Language, with an occasional Mama or Dada or Unca thrown in that he can actually understand, he walks on.



When the flash comes, Sokka ducks and curls his arms over the heads of the girls, because he's gotten used to sudden attacks. And when no explosion or other noise follows, he gets to his feet quickly, with a club in one hand and a boomerang in another, because Sokka's gotten used to being lulled into false security.

But when Sokka looks around and realizes he's left the Street of Eden and is in a place that isn't the Street, isn't Apocalyptica, isn't the Earth Kingdom, isn't anywhere in any of those places, he stares. Because despite doing it twice before, Sokka has not gotten used to this.

"No."

His reaction is, possibly, quite surprising.

"No! No, god damn it, no!" Glaring hatefully up at the sky, Sokka holds tight to the girls in the sling-- and then sits down abruptly, cross-legged, in the middle of a ruined road.

"I am going to sit here until you put us back! You can throw me to any world you want, but you can't make me get up!"

Comments

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

It is quite some time later that the loud noise and flash of light is repeated. Unfortunately, when his eyes clear from that flash ... it's still not Eden.

Instead, there's another boy standing in the street with his back to him, dressed in the reds and golds of the Fire Nation.

"How are we supposed to fight a guy who blows things up with his mind?"

Beat.

"... and ... this ... isn't ... where we camped last night."

Sokka is Not Impressed.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Scowling at the red and gold back he is now facing, and then scowling at the sky because it has failed to return him to Eden, Sokka is not only Not Impressed, he's still Quite Pissed Off.

Not sure how to greet, or even if he wants to greet, the newcomer who might not even be Fire Nation at all, Sokka hesitates in greeting him.

"AH BABABABA EEEEEAIAIIIIIEEEE!"

Loo, however, does not.

"PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTH!"

Hana follows suit.

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

"YAAAAGH!"

This, Sokka feels, is an entirely reasonable response. There were no babies here a second ago. Who had babies? Did they kidnap a baby? Why are there ---

"YAAAAAAAGH!"

Guess who just got a look at the baby's -- father - parent - thing?

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

The babies' father-parent-thing's reaction is slightly calmer.



But only slightly.

Hana and Loo, however, think that this is the most fascinating development of their entire lives, laughing and clapping their hands. "Unca!" Hana exclaims, tiny hands reaching for the younger boy with the Fire Nation knot.

"Unca!" Loo echoes, throwing her arms around the older boy with the scars' neck.

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

"Takeitofftakeitofftakeitoff!"

Sokka flails wildly.

"That's MY face!"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Oh, great, thinks the more logical portion of Sokka's brain. First we have family members coming in remembering past and future versions of myself. And now there's an actual, alternate me RIGHT HERE. That's just great, universe, you jerk.

The less logical portion of Sokka's brain is telling him to ignore that promise he made to not get up, jump to his feet, and take several steps back with his club out and his free hand protecting Hana at his chest.

"It's mine, too! I mean, first! I had it first!"

Hana giggles and reaches for the boy in red again, earning a very soft glare from her uncle. Stop loving the imposter!

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

"You're too old to be me!" This Sokka not only has a Fire Nation emblem keeping his topknot up, but he also has a fantastic black shiny sword.

Which he is really not going to use on someone (or some THING maybe it's KOH) who's holding two babies, especially if the babies show such good taste. The one that's reaching for him gets given a bug-eyed stare for a moment before he returns his horrified gaze to the other boy's face.

"...and you messed it up! That's my face and you damaged it! What did you do?"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"I messed it up?!"

Oh, Other-Sokka, the trouble you get into with your mouth.

"What, you don't like the scars? Oh, but I thought they really brought out my eyes! SO I CARVED THEM INTO MY OWN SKULL, DO YOU LIKE THEM?!"



Panting heavily, Sokka looks down when a tiny hot hand curls in his hair and tugs, only to find Hana frowning at him and Loo on the verge of crying, pouting and starting to whine.

"...oh, crap." Sighing softly, he gives the younger boy another glare and makes sure to keep the club up between them.

While he pulls a tiny carved porcugopher from his pocket to dance in front of the girls' faces and make them smile.

"Quit making my nieces cry."

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

"I didn't make them cry! You made them cry!" Sokka yelps, and then his brain catches up with his ears and he stares at the tiny porcelain-pale babies.

"Those are not Katara's babies. Katara doesn't have babies. Katara better not have babies!"

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THIS SITUATION. Sokka's brain hurts!

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Uncle Sokka blinks as he looks up at the other one.

And grins.

Evilly.

"So what you're saying is, I'm Katara's brother."

HA-HA, CAUGHT YOU.

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

"NO!"

Beat. Suspicious, suspicious beat.

The sword gets put back in its sheath instead of pointing vaguely at the floor.

"...maybe.

"But I am more! And better!"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

That's you, the logical part of Sokka's brain informs him, sounding very much so like Zuko, especially with the smug tone. That's exactly what you used to sound and act like.

Sokka wrinkles his nose and lets Loo hold onto the porcugopher, even if all she does is start hitting him on the shoulder with it.

"Yeah, all right, whatever." He sighs and looks around them again, ruined buildings and mountains of rubble, light a more colorful version of Apocalyptica. At least there's a sky here. "Listen, you better start walking around, looking for people that've been here a while 'cause I have no idea where we are or how to get back where we were."

[lemur-sitter.livejournal.com]

The younger Sokka stares at him, raising one eyebrow so high it practically meets his hairline.

"What? Are you kidding? I'm not turning my back on you, face-stealer! Not until you get me back to Katara and the kids!"

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

It happened a bit like this: one second Jack's happily helping himself to the Captain's personal wine stock, the next he's in a strange road in who knows where.

And the nature of the truth changed on him, for the first time ever.

So instead of panicking, Jack draws his cutlass in one hand and a pistol in the other, and goes exploring.

"Ho!" he says, when he see the man and the babies. "Quite the incident, this."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Hana informs Sokka that someone is coming by way of screaming in his ear. Just in case he missed it, her considerate sister also informs him in a similar way.

After he's finished wincing, Sokka lifts a hand to acknowledge the other man. "Hey."

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

Jack draws back, assesses the situation, and places both weapons back safely, smiling all the time.

"Care to tell a fellow what this place is?"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"If I knew, I would gladly tell you," Sokka replies, smiling a little back, looking up to meet the man's gaze.

Oh, he's still not getting up off the road, no, sir.

"I don't know where this is, I only showed up a little bit before you."

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

Jack nods, and drops down instantly to sit cross-legged opposite Sokka. For a second, his eyes seem to glaze over as he turns his head to look around again, and he shakes his head.

"Chains and bondage," he mutters, making it sound like a curse. "I like this not at all."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"Welcome to the club," Sokka replies cheerfully, and the arm he puts up to curl around Hana at his chest looks more idle than protective-- or so he thinks. "We could make t-shirts, if I knew where to find them. Or a pen."

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

Jack raises an eyebrow, and his smile flickers back. A second later, he's leaning forward and offering a hand to shake.

"Jack Hollins is me. Free man of the sea."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Sokka arches a brow, but shakes Jack's hand friendly enough. "Sokka," he replies, and then pauses, thinking. "...nothing really rhymes with it."

But trading haikus is for Sokka Doubles less important than real introductions, which Sokka goes through by pointing to the twins in turn, "Hana and Loo. My nieces."

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

Jack barks out something that's not quite a laugh and touches a finger, should Uncle Sokka allow, to first Hana, then Loo's hands.

"Nieces explains why such lovely ladies are in the company of you."

Apparently there is no lower age limit to be the attention of Jack's charms.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Obviously. He has Hana in such delight of his manly ways that she can't help but kiss that finger.

It's really not her fault that she bites it, teething and all.

Sokka, however, just smirks, amused despite himself. "Yeah, that's pretty much how it goes. Women steer clear unless obligated by blood."

Not that he actually is of blood relation to the girls, but there's no real need to advertise that.

[ineveryport.livejournal.com]

It's OK. Jack knows it anyway.

"Ma and Pa are back whereever you consider home, if'n I guessing right?"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"For now," Sokka confirms, nodding and keeping his words light. For all intents and purposes, he doesn't look very concerned with the idea.

In another world, another time, he'd be incredibly proud to have gotten so good at lying when he wanted to.

"Where'd you saw you were from? An ocean?"