Ch 1. Zuko
Zuko's feet crashed into the hot sand as the tower behind him disappeared into the ground, leaving behind nothing but a circular indentation in the desert. He rolled on the ground panting from his fight with the winged spirit and the race out of the sinking library. The others had gathered around Appa who was growling in distress but Zuko had noticed immediately something was wrong: she was missing. His eyes darted around the desert, "Where's Katara?" he demanded.
Sokka's head shot up, "wha-", but Zuko had pushed passed him, his eyes locked on something glimmering in the sand and ignoring everyone's confusion he snatched it from the desert, his knees sinking to the ground.
A familiar engraved blue stone sat now in his palms threaded through a thick black thread with frayed edges, as if it had been torn off the owners neck; "No. No, no, no…." Inexplicable amounts of panic and raged settle within him and he whipped around, suddenly on his feet, still clutching the necklace in his fist. His eyes locked on Appa, "Where is she!" He didn't care that he was talking to a flying bison, he didn't care what the others were thinking about him, all he knew was that did care about his...friend? Whatever he and Katara were, it wasn't important.
"I'm asking you, stupid bison where is she!", blood was beginning to boil within him. Appa roared, a sound of distraught and immeasurable anguish. Aang's eyes flashed angrily at the insult but before he could open his mouth Sokka's voice cut through.
He was facing away from them pointing, "There. Sand-sailer tracks." He turned to face them, "Sand benders were here. They took her." The tracks stretched a few hundred feet before they had vanished, a result of the desert winds.
Aang looked at them sadly, absent-mindedly stroking the anguished bisons head; "We need to go," he turned to Appa, "It wasn't your fault buddy. We can get her back, but we need to leave, and keep flying." He made to mount Appa but Zuko interjected.
His voice was unrestrained, tumultuous and so very angry, "You all don't even care do you! She's gone! She could be dead, or tortured, or left abandoned in the desert but you're all still worried about Appa and the stupid Earth King's army" His rage exploded and he yelled. No he screamed, dropping to his knees, as a surge of his own fire shot up around him melting the sand grains into sharp glass. He hung his head panting, fists clenched as the ring of fire diminished leaving a circle of glimmering shards around him. None of them cared as much as he did, and the tears that were slowly dropping from his eyes were surprising, he wasn't even sure why he cared this much. Why he felt like some large part of him was missing, replaced with nothing but a blue necklace.
"Zuko-" Sokka had taken a hesitant step toward him, but his voice was clear and strong "She's my sister, I care about her too." He made to touch his shoulder but decided against it, his fist clenched and unclenched as his arm dropped to his side. "But we need to tell the Earth King about what we learned, about the eclipse-"
"So what we're just going to forget about her?"
"No Zuko…", this time it was Toph who spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically soft, "We need to return to the Oasis first anyway, to regroup and get a map to Ba Sing Se, we'll see if we can find out what the sand-benders may have done." She did put her hand on his shoulder, stepping over the deadly glass shards surrounding him, "Come on Zuko….let's go."
He stood up, his anger replaced with a hollow feeling. Aang was already perched on Appa, his head hung low. Silently, Sokka and Toph boarded the saddle and as Zuko made to follow, the necklace still in his fist, he couldn't help but feel like they were leaving something important behind. He settled himself at the very back, far away from the others, his golden eyes still on the sands below, his nerves frayed and his whole body a mass of emptiness, as if Katara's disappearance had sucked the life out of him leaving behind a firebender shaped husk. As Aang murmured "yip yip" and the bison took the the sky with a growl, a gust of wind wiped away the remained sand-sailer tracks, and now, the only clue of what had ever happened on the surface of the desert and what lay beneath the sand were two circles; a large one where the tower once stood, and small glimmering circle, rimmed with shards of glass, flashing like the fire that created them.