Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
In the Arms of an Angel
Aang glared commandingly into the eyes of the sandbenders. Within him, a powerful rage seemed to corrupt, replacing his usual patience. For that particular moment, he felt as if he was someone very different...
"I recognize the son's voice." Toph whispered, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Her tone transformed from helplessness to sudden realization. "He's the one that stole Appa."
Aang's gaze darted towards Gashuin, his eyes piercing at him with anger as if they were daggers. An immediate hatred formed inside of him, aching for the moment to see his dear sky bison again. His only concern now was to find his lifelong companion. And no one was going to stop him now.
"Are you sure?" Katara asked as she focused her gaze worriedly upon Aang.
"I never forget a voice." Toph replied confidently. This only enraged the airbender more. With clenched fists, he raised his staff defiantly.
"You stole Appa!" Aang beckoned. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"
Gashuin clunged to his father, accusing the enraged Avatar instead. "They're lying! They're the thieves!" he pleaded, his eyes widening with boundless fear.
But this only made things worse. How dare they accuse them of theft? How could the desperate airbender be willing to steal anything in such a crisis? With a grunt of frustration, Aang swung his staff, sending an airbending blast towards a nearby sand sailer. The vicious gust of wind tore through its wooden texture, obliterating it into millions of tiny pieces.
Katara could only feel the thumping of her increasing heartbeat. The devoted waterbender knew that this was not the time to be arguing with the sandbenders. The gang is lost in the middle of a hundred mile desert, and they desperately needed only thing on their minds was getting to Ba Sing Se at any cost. But whatever was about to happen in the next few moments, she knew that they couldn't afford to lose Aang, either. Protecting Aang was the only mission she intended to do at the moment. She may have travelled long hours in the blazing desert, trying to console a helpless Toph and her whoozy brother, but she was willing to fight for the Avatar at any situation.
"Where is my bison?!" Aang retorted, his patience decreasing by the second. "Tell me where he is!"
By this time, a few other sand sailers have faced the wrath of Aang's blows. And Katara could be seen, her pained expression never leaving her face. Her first instinct was to try and stop him. But now, it was different. Everything was different. And with every passing moment, Gashuin remained frozen with astonishment.
"What did you do?" Gashuin's father demanded the young sandbender.
"It wasn't me!" Gashuin answered, stuttering."You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph remarked angrily.
At this point, Aang couldn't take it anymore. First Toph. Then Sokka. Even Katara couldn't understand him. His best buddy, the only other airbender in the entire universe and the most noble of all proud breeds, was muzzled by a sandbender?! The creature whom he loved so dearly was now treated with brutality?
"You muzzled Appa?!" he roared.
Instantly, there was a sudden intensity taking over his body. He couldn't feel anything...anything but enraging ferocity. He felt as if he was going to explode in this rage, unable to feel his own senses.
Within the blink of an eye, he felt his vision suddenly started enhancing. Then and there, his eyes and tattoos radiated in vibrance, glowing brighter than the blistering sunlight that blanketed over the dry desert. Huge gusts of powerful winds encircled around him, forming a sphere of sand and air.
The sandbenders knew that they were in no condition to face the Avatar at his most powerful state.
"I'm sorry!" Gashuin finally admitted. "I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!"
"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang, or should I say the mystical voice of all the previous Avatars combined, roared.
"I..I traded him!" Gashuin answered, frightened. "To some merchants! They're probably in Ba Sing Se by now. They were going to sell him there!"
And Aang had heard enough. In fact, he wasn't even Aang anymore. The fire of intensity was flaming deeply inside of him. He needed Appa next to him. He couldn't bear to imagine his buddy being traded for the meat...for the meat!
The mere thought of it took over his body, a dangerously penetrating ferocity lighting up inside of him. He felt...trapped. The inner Aang inside of him struggled to break free as he noticed Sokka grabbing Toph's hand and jerking her out of the way. He could see himself swinging his staff into the air, destroying the last of the sand sailers. He could see the sandbenders fleeing from him as if their lives depended on it. And apparently, they did.
Before he knew it, he had created a mini tornado around himself as he lifted upwards into the sky. He felt him about to exit his body, almost entering a state of unbearable extremity. Sand flew everywhere, carried away by the harsh, bitter breeze of Aang's wrath and burying the remains of what was supposed to be the railing of the corrupted sand sailers.
Katara remained right where she was, not even paying any attention to her brother's warning looks. Right now, Aang needed someone. And she was not going to let him drift off in endless pain. She raced forward, battling throught the chilling breezes. She held her head low, dodging the aims of sand among her face.
Suddenly, Aang felt a strange calmness overcoming him. He could feel something ...something unusual, but heavenly nevertheless. It felt so soothing and pleasant and...peaceful...
With a glare, he glanced underneath him through the pandemonium of the desert. Through the swirling of winds and the million chaotic grains of sand whooshing by, he could see Katara glancing hopefully and knowingly at him. She reached out towards him and grabbed his glowing, tattooed arm, pulling him close to her onto the cushions of sand dunes. Commanding herself to never let go of the airbender no matter what awaited her next, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a tight hug.
Aang's eyes were still glowing with unlimited anger, his mind remaining numb from the sensation overcoming him. But despite of what he had become all at once, he could tell that she never showed any trace of fear or hesitation against him. Unlike the others, there was a warmth of compassion and understanding in her embrance. She was the only one next to him in the midst of this crisis, simply holding her arms protectively around him and letting him know that she was there for him with her unspoken at once, Aang felt himself slipping. His body returned to its normal state, able to reunite with its senses. The winds had finally ceased as the sand died down onto the burning ground. He felt his eyes softening and his spirit returning to Earth, stepping back into reality.
The glows gradually faded away, accompanied by an overwhelming gratitude. Katara had done something far beyond what anyone has ever done for him. More than what words could ever describe. At that moment, he felt as if in the arms of an angel. His rage was washed away, his stormy, smoke colored eyes glimmering from moisture.
And among those arms of the waterbending angel, he sighed with a heavy heart, as he never before did in his life. He felt the need to pour everything bottled up in his heart out to her. She was not like anyone else, but was unique for her bravery and motherly instinct to pull him out of that dangerous trance. Yes, Appa was special. But he realized that she was his family, too...that she was his entire world. How could he have been so ignorant of the fact?
He wrapped his arms firmly and reluctantly around her waist, returning her embrance and regret blanketing him. For the first time in front of the girl he loved, he collapsed onto the ground, never drifting away from her arms. Finally, he let the tears fall.
Even the Avatar, the most powerful of all human beings, needed someone. In Aang's situation, it was obvious that Katara was there for him. She had proven to him that she shares his pain for Appa. And that was all he needed to start healing.
He was not afraid to cry.