Ch 3 the Sahara

Olivier quickly wrote the Avatar off as KIA. Dead. Six feet under.

"We need to move. We're the only ones who know about the solar eclipse." Katara said.

"I'll take point." Olivier said, walking in front of them.

Sokka then made a stupid comment.

"You think we dig out the owl he'll give us a ride?"

"You want to wait here, be my guest." Olivier said.

"No. Roasting in the desert is fine by me." Sokka said.

It was apparent who was the brains and mature one. After an hour of walking in the desert, the group was at the ends of their endurance. Sokka used the lemur as a makeshift umbrella, when Toph bumped into him.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" Sokka asked.

"No. I can't." Toph said.

"Oh. Right." Sokka said, realizing Toph was blind.

"Come on guys. We have to stick together." Katara said.

"If I sweat any more, that won't be a problem." Sokka said, trying to separate himself from Toph. Toph gave Sokka hard shove, separating the two of them.

"Katara, can I have some water?" Toph asked.

"Okay, but we have to conserve it." Katara said.

Katara made 2 blobs of water and put it in their mouths.

"We're drinking your bending water?" Sokka asked, then tasted it. "You used this one the swamp guys."

"It does taste a bit swampy." Toph nonchalantly said.

"It's all we have." Katara said.

"I have 2 more water bottles, but it's not enough." Olivier said. She then pulled out a compass and stared intently at it.

"Damn it." She growled, putting it away.

"I need a map." Olivier said.

Katara gave Olivier a map, and watched her look over it. Despite the situation they were in, Katara couldn't help but slightly admire Olivier, as she focused on survival. Olivier shook her head and looked at the sky.

"We'll be dead long before we reach the border. Not in conditions like this." Olivier said.

"You have any ideas?" Katara asked.

"Only one. Sleep during the day, travel at night. Conserve water as best as we can. Even with that, we might not make it." Olivier said.

"Look!" Sokka said, pointing to a cactus.

If Olivier knew how odd Sokka really was, this was proving ground.

"Sokka, you shouldn't eat strange plants." Katara warned, but it fell on deaf ears, as Sokka and Momo drank the liquid in the cactus.

"It's got water inside." Sokka said, drinking it.

"I don't think so." Katara said.

"Suit yourself. Its quench thirsting." Sokka said.

Sokka's pupil's dialated. Olivier saw this, and knew that Sokka drank some sort of hallucinogen. Sokka then spoke and moved in a manner that suggest they film the scene in the desert.

"Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya. Nothing's quenchier."

Sokka quickly crawled on the ground like a caterpillar, than stood up with the same creepy smile he had earlier.

"It's the quenchiest!" he declared.

"I think you've had enough." Katara said, taking the cactus, and dumping the remains on the ground.

"Can I have some?" Toph asked.

"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked, oblivious to the situation on hand.

Olivier slammed a hand to her face. This was getting more frustrating by the second.

"How did we out here in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked, still having a full acid trip.

Katara groaned in annoyance. Olivier grabbed Sokka and pulled him along. As they continued walking thru the desert, a loud noise was heard. Olivier turned around, and saw a giant mushroom. Then a blast of sand from the mushroom hit them.

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"What, what is what?" Toph asked.

"It's a giant mushroom. Maybe it's friendly!" Sokka said, hands in the air.

"Lets keep moving." Katara said, grabbing Toph.

"Friendly mushroom! Mush giant friend!" Sokka said, waving his arms like a moron.

"This acid trip he's on better end real soon, or I'll stab him to death." Olivier said.

Hours passed, and the group already drank some water, depleting their already strained supply. Olivier was impressed by Katara. She took charge and kept everyone alive this far. She'd do well at Briggs fortress. A shadow appeared, and Aang came back, still having the sour look he had at the start.

"I'm sorry, Aang." Katara said, trying to comfort her friend. "I know it's hard, but we need to focus on getting out of here."

Olivier watched as Aang coldly pulled away from her. What a brat!

"We won't survive without Appa. We know it." Aang said, in a despondent voice.

Now that wasn't good. Aang was now the weakest link in the chain. If he kept this up, Olivier figured he'd be left behind to die. This desert had the same rules as the Briggs Mountain. Only the strong survive.

"Come on, Aang. We can survive if we work together. Right Toph?" Katara asked.

"As far as I can tell, we're in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothing." Toph said.

"Sokka, any ideas?" Katara asked.

"Why don't we look at the circle birds?" Sokka asked, pointing to the sky.

Everyone looked, and Olivier pulled out her sword. Four Buzzard wasps flew over them, waiting for them to die. And given the conditions of the group, it wouldn't be long before everyone succumbed to sun fatigue and death.

Katara sighed and griped her head.

"We're getting out of this desert! Everyone, hold hands. Aang, get up. We can do this. We have to."

"About time someone grew a pair of balls." Olivier said.

Nighttime.

"I think we should stop for the night." Katara said.

Everyone collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

"Katara, any more water?" Toph asked.

"Last one." Olivier said, handing Katara her last full canteen. They had already drank Katara's water flask and Olivier's first canteen.

Momo dove into the water, and Sokka flipped out.

"Momo! You've killed us all!" Sokka shouted, hysterical.

"No he hasn't." Katara said, bending the water into the canteen.

"Oh. Bending." Sokka said.

Katara went over the star charts Sokka took from the library, and Olivier looked with her.

"My compass doesn't work in this desert. Anything useful?" Olivier asked.

"I only got these charts. But it's better than nothing." Katara said.

"It doesn't matter." Aang dejectedly said. "None of those will help us find Appa."

Olivier rolled her eyes in disgust. Aang was completely missing the point on hand. They had to get out of the desert and soon. Instead, he was whining about Appa being missing. Tough shit. They couldn't do anything about it.

"No, but we can find out which way it is to Ba Sing Se. Travel at night, sleep in the day." Katara said.

Everyone slept as Katara poured over the maps, trying to figure out a direction. Hours passed, and Katara woke everyone up.

"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud. Now it taste likes sand. Never thought I'd miss the taste of mud." Toph said.

Katara went to Aang, but Aang was awake.

"I couldn't sleep." Aang said.

Aang and Katara noticed something in the sky. A large cloud hanging in the foreground of the bright moon.

"Appa!" Aang said. But the cloud didn't respond.

"I'm sorry Aang. It's just a cloud." Katara said. She than quickly got an idea.

"Wait. You can bend the water from the cloud into my pouch."

Aang gave Katara an angry glare, then flew into the cloud. After some passes, he came back and handed the pouch to Katara.

"Wow. There's nothing in here." She said.

Aang lashed out again.

"I'm sorry alright! It's a desert cloud. I all I could! What's anyone else doing?" Aang then turned on Katara. "What are you doing?"

The sound of a blade being unsheathed was heard, and Olivier walked toward Aang, anger written all over her. She grabbed his neck and lifted him up, putting the sword to his neck as well.

"I could ask you the same thing! You left everyone hanging! You're being so fucking irresponsible right now, that you can't be trusted to do anything, let alone handle the duties of being the Avatar! And we're in a fucking world war! Unless you grow a pair of balls like Katara, you will not live to see the end of the war! I suggest you settle down, because the world doesn't revolve around you, you ungrateful fuck!" Olivier yelled.

"We need to keep moving!" Olivier gestured with her sword, then started walking.

They walking thru the desert, until Toph tripped on a protruding object in the sand.

"I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going! And who's the asshole who decided to leave a boat in the middle of the desert?" She asked.

"A boat?" Katara asked.

"Believe me, I felt plenty of vibrations when I hit it." Toph said.

Aang blew the sand away, and revealed a perfectly made boat used by the sand benders.

"It's one of the gliders the sand benders use!" Katara exclaimed. "It's got a compass. Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're gonna make it!"

As everyone climbed on the boat, Olivier noticed Sokka burying Momo in the sand, laughing like an idiot.

"Jesus Christ." Olivier muttered. She grabbed Sokka, and with one arm, threw him on the boat, along with Momo.

As they sailed thru the desert, Olivier looked at the compass, and then her own compass.

"It doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts." Katara said.

"There's something in the desert attracting the magnetic pull of the compasses. And I'm guessing it's huge." Olivier said.

What came into view, was a large rock structure standing in the middle of nowhere.

"That giant rock. It's the magnetic center of the desert." Katara said.

"A rock, yes! Lets go!" Toph said.

"Maybe we can find some sand benders." Aang said, with malicious intent in his voice.

Dawn came, and the group approached the giant rock.

"Ah, land." Toph said. She fell on the ground, back first, and made rock angel. When she was done, the group investigated the cave systems on the top of the mesa.

"I think my head's starting to clear up." Sokka said. He noticed something gooey on the wall, and made a grab at it.

"Disgusting!" he shouted, spitting it out, after eating it. "It taste like rotten penguin meat!"

"You've been acid tripping on cactus juice the whole time, and now you decide to eat something off the wall? What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Katara asked.

Olivier wondered the same thing.

"I have a natural curiosity." Sokka said.

How do you know what rotten penguin meat taste like? Olivier thought.

"I don't think this is a natural cave. Something made this." Toph said.

"Yeah. Look at the shape." Aang said.

An angry buzzing noise was heard, and everyone ran outside. For a moment, Olivier wished that Roy Mustang, the flame alchemist was here. He'd take care of them.

Crap! I'm wishing fuhrer bastard was here! Damn this mission!

"We have to get out of here! I'm out of water!" Katara shouted, as the large wasps circled them, ready for the kill.

Sokka ran into one spot, and started swinging his machete wildly.

"Sokka, there's nothing there." Katara said.

"Oh. I guess my head is not as clear as I thought." Sokka said.

"Now you figure it out?" Olivier asked. She watched as a buzzard wasp grabbed Momo, and Aang gave chase. Everyone else ran down the mountain, as Toph took out some of the buzzard wasps, but many more closed in.

Just as death seemed inevitable, the sand began to erupt like geysers, knocking the buzzards away. The sand benders appeared and Aang faced them, ready for a fight.

"What are you doing in our land with a sand sailer? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe."

Olivier growled and pulled out her sword. The nerve of the bastard! They were on the verge of death, and these nomads dare insult them?

"We found it abandoned in the desert. We're traveling with the Avatar." Katara said, motioning to Aang. The leader's eyes widened in surprise. "Our Bison was stolen, and we have to get to Ba Sing Se."

A young man came up and addressed them in an aggressive tone, which made Olivier suspicious. Why would he get angry?

"You accuse our people of theft, while you ride in on a stolen sailer?"

"Quiet Ghasuin. They did not accuse us of anything. If what they said is true, we must give them hospitality." The leader said.

"Sorry, father." Ghansuin said. Toph's eyes narrowed.

"I know him. He's the one that took Appa." Toph said.

"You sure?" Katara asked.

"I'm sure. I never forget a voice." Toph said.

Aang walked forward, staff in a threatening positon.

"You stole Appa. Where is he?" he asked.

"They're lying. They're the thieves!" Ghasuin said.

Aang sent a sharp air blast and destroyed of the sailers.

"Where is my bison?" he demanded. "You tell me where he is, right now."

Aang then destroyed another sailer. The father looked at his son in worry.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"It wasn't me!" he stammered.

"You said to muzzle him!" Toph shouted.

"You muzzled Appa?" Aang growled. His tattoo's than glowed bright white, and his voice became very deep, and very threatening. He then destroyed the last sailer.

"Nice one, Aang. You just killed us all." Olivier said, amazed at the stupidity of the Avatar. They had no way of leaving the desert at this moment, unless they were at the end of desert itself, then it wouldn't be that much of a problem.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!" the son said, frightened.

"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang threatened.

"I traded him to some merchents! He's probably in Ba Sing Se right now. Please, we'll help you anyway we can!" Ghasuin said, almost begging for mercy.

But Aang wouldn't hear of it. Consumed by pain and anger, he rose up in a wind sphere, churning the dust around them.

"Just go! Run!" Sokka said, grabbing Toph and started to run. Olivier quickly ran as well. She read bits and pieces of the Avatar State, and wondered just how devastating such power could be.

"He's gonna get us all killed!" Olivier shouted.

"I know. Run!" Sokka reiterated.

Katara didn't run, but grabbed Aang. Aang's anger met a look of sad sympathy on Katara's face. After a few frightening minutes, the dust settled, and Aang calmed down. Olivier walked back, sword in hand, weary of the Avatar. When all seemed quiet, she exhaled.

"Glad that's over." She muttered.

"Indeed." Sokka said.