Elements:
Huey: Earth
Jazmine: Water
Riley: Fire
Cindy: Water
Traban: Air
Ming: Earth
Chapter 4: Journey Across the Sands, Descend Into Sorrow
As the sun finally set over the horizon of the desert, a chilling wind swept across the desert floor causing the five girls, and Sokka to shiver. Huey raised a brow at the sudden change in the temperature, but shrugged it off since he knew about the climate changes of deserts.
"If I'm reading these stars right on this map, then we should be…" Traban said, trailing off as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Lost?" Toph offered as Traban shot a look at her.
"No! I-It's just been a while since I've had to read constellations to find my way around…" Traban said as Katara looked over his shoulder.
"You're holding the map sideways." Katara commented as Traban sputtered out nonsense while turning the map in his hands.
"Umm… okay… So, let's rest, shall us? Nearly all of us must have been up all day, so let's just stop for a moment and rest. That is now the best course of action, especially with the sudden climate change." Traban said as he rolled the map up and stuffed it in his pack. Huey and the others only gave his back glares while Huey began giving out the sleeping bags.
"I wonder why you guys had extra?" Sokka commented as he unrolled his sleeping bag.
"My friend must have known we'd be traveling alongside you all to civilization, so he prepared. He's very knowledgeable like that." Traban said in praise as Katara and Sokka gave him a look.
"That reminds me, who's this friend of yours? You never did tell us." Sokka said as Traban raised a brow aloofly.
"I believe I said that it was none of your concern, but if you must know, my friend is Wan Shi Tong, the knowledge spirit." Traban said, surprising the Avatar gang.
"What? You mean that demented owl that tried to kill us?" Sokka shouted out as he clutched at his head comically.
"That demented owl happens to be one of my former students. Besides, he was only doing what he saw was fit to protect his library." Traban defended as Sokka stood up to him.
"Yeah, and kill us! All we wanted was an advantage against the Fire Nation, but he had to go and get steamed!" Sokka shouted as Traban stood up and glared at him.
"It's not his concern what humans do in their pitiful wars. He has a library that he and I spent centuries working on and the Fire Nation comes in… and burns an entire tower worth of collective knowledge! I don't agree with him trying to kill you, but you will respect his choice to protect what he loves!" Traban snapped back harshly, breaking from his normal calm and easy-going attitude as he glared at a silenced Sokka. Sokka rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away from Traban. The guy was right, but he had been a little angry over the bird trying to kill them.
"You're… you're right… He was only trying to protect his books. Heck, if I were a thousand year-old owl librarian, I'd sink my library into the spirit world to get it away from the Fire Nation and other bad guys, too." Sokka admitted as Traban's glare faded with a sigh.
"Listen… I'm sorry about snapping about that. It's just… he was never really one to be sociable with our others, ya know. When we first started the library, he had been so happy to have a sanctuary. He was a real and true bookworm. Then when we brought the library to the Human world, he was even happier to have others that would enjoy his library… to have friends. I'm guessing that what the Fire Nation did… It must have hit him… pretty… pretty hard." Traban said as it grew quiet for a moment. Then, Sokka stuck out his hand, and Traban grasped it, shaking to fresh starts with both smiling slightly as they did.
"Wait a second. Just how old are you?" Aang asked as the guy looked far too young to be any normal spirit. Roku and other spirits had appeared the way they were before death, so just how old could this Traban guy be?
"To be honest, I really stopped counting my true age a long time ago." Traban said before he started tapping at his chin in mock-thought, "So, I'm… sixteen right now." Traban finished with mirth in his tone as he grinned at them. Aang and the others looked to Huey for a straight answer, but all they got from him was a shrug as even he didn't know.
Deciding it was best to simply not rest, opting to cover more ground, they were all back to navigating the stars to find their way out of the desert. Though this time, Huey had the map while Katara and Ming helped him. Huey raised a brow though, as he found that the Katara girl would almost constantly glance back at young Avatar Aang, who seemed to be feeling more crestfallen about not being able to find his Appa than last night. Though Huey could tell that the boy was trying to hold it together while they were in the desert, having to stay focused on making it out alive, and then finding Appa (who Huey remembered was a giant Sky bison).
Katara glanced back at Aang from the map, and saw that while he kept a good face, he was more downcast than he wanted to show. She couldn't explain why, but she could see the vulnerability and depression setting into Aang with every step of their journey. She looked up at Huey and saw that the afro-headed guy was giving her a pointed look, which seemed to convey more than mere words. She nodded to Huey before she allowed the others to pass her as she waited for Aang. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze while he looked up. She hoped her small smile conveyed all the right emotions she was trying to display to her friend.
"Don't worry, Aang, we'll get him back." Katara whispered to Aang. He nodded shyly as they both smiled at each other. Katara always did have a way of cheering him up…
Huey shook his head with a roll of his eyes as he watched Aang and Katara out of the corner of his eye with a ghost of a smile on his face. He checked the map they were using, looking up into the sky to trace the stars to be sure they were still on the right path. When he was sure, Huey rolled the map and continued walking in the general direction the map said would lead them to civilization.
"We're making good time since we decided not to sleep." Huey commented to Traban, who had moved beside him while Ming was at his other side.
"Yes, but was that a good decision to make? Most of us haven't slept, and you are looking pretty haggard, Freeman." Ming said as Huey shrugged, keeping his eyes on the desert sands before him.
"Would you rather walk through the desert heat all day long?" Huey proposed as Traban blinked, but then threw his hands up in mock joy while Ming huffed and crossed her arms.
"Let's press on through the night! Come on, people! Let's a' keep on a' truckin'!" Traban shouted joyously as he quickened his pace.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Huey said with a smirk before he suddenly looked up into the night-time sky with Traban stopping his antics and Ming narrowing her eyes.
"What was that?" Ming asked as Huey put a finger to his lips, signaling for the others to be quiet.
It wasn't long before they all heard a buzzing noise coming from the skies above. Huey narrowed his eyes as he spotted about five large wasp-like creatures coming toward them. They looked to be mixed with vultures, what with the way their necks and heads were shaped.
"What are those things?" Huey asked as he pointed up at the beasts, which were by then circling over them just like vultures would.
"Buzzard-Wasps. They live in the deserts of the world while scavenging off the dead things that fall in the wastelands they inhabit." Aang said as he and the others watched the pattern of the circling buzzard-wasps.
Sokka, since getting over his drunken behavior earlier, was looking for something to cool his headache. He reached into the bag Toph had given him, and took out an unlabelled bottle. He licked his lips as he thought of the kinds of juice that could be in it. Traban looked back at the others as he was going to make a comment about the creatures of prey, but shouted as he saw Sokka shrug and drink from the unlabeled bottle.
"What the hell? What are you doing? Don't drink that!" Traban shouted as everyone looked back while Sokka spit out the juice and flailed his tongue.
"What was that? It tasted like oil from a Beaver-Fish." Sokka said as Traban snatched the bottle away from him, shaking it to feeling that only a swig of it was left.
"That was my sake… That was my liquor and you drunk it! This was near-pure alcohol! It's not easy to come by! Why would you drink this? It could have been poison!" Traban shouted as Sokka was about to retort, but then his eyes dilated and he fell over onto his back. The others looked worried, but not for long as Sokka started making snow-angels in the sand.
"He just stopped being loopy… and now he's back to it." Katara said in frustration as she crossed her arms over her developing chest. Sokka didn't seem to care about his sister's comment or her annoyance as he pointed up at the sky with a goofy smile on his face.
"The circle birds look like they want to play!" Sokka exclaimed in his drunken stupor. Riley scoffed alongside Ming while Toph was pulling the drunken boy along to walk.
"None of us are dead… yet! He's just out of his mind… again!" Traban yelled at the birds above before muttering so only Cindy (who had moved next to him) could hear, "… Though from what I've seen of him and his intelligence so far, that wasn't a long trip for his sanity to go." Traban grumbled as Cindy giggled at him while moving back to Riley.
As they continued walking through the endless sands, the moon had finally and fully risen into the middle of the sky. Traban gazed up at it with a peaceful expression as he noted that tonight was a full moon. Huey noted, however, that there was hardly even a cloud in the sky while Jazmine and the others observed the way the moon gave almost as much light as the sun did in the middle of the cloudless desert.
The two groups traveling as one trudged onward as they got over yet another sand dune. Almost as soon as they had, Katara and Toph had yawned… long and loud. Traban turned to Huey with a raised brow as Huey scowled back at him. He had realized that the Avatar's gang were getting tired, but he also wanted to make it to at least halfway through the desert before the end nightfall. Huey sighed as he saw his own younger brother Riley stretch with a covered yawn while walking alongside Cindy.
"We'll rest here for a while." Huey said as he stopped the others before looking to Traban, "What do you think; an hour should be enough, right?"
"An hour? One lousy hour? Are you kidding me?" Toph complained as Traban ignored her and nodded.
"Yeah, that'll be good." Traban said as Toph looked at him in betrayal.
"Dude, that's hardly any time to get some sleep." Toph said as Traban shrugged.
"We are on a time-table now; meaning that we have to go with the night in order to move at maximum efficiency. We can get a full night of sleep during the day, but for now a short nap will help us keep going." Ming explained with a stifled yawn as Huey nodded in agreement. Toph only grunted in acceptance, but still looked appalled at the idea of only an hour of sleep.
Sokka ran in circles until Toph stuck out her fist, knocking the novice warrior out while the others were getting their sleeping bags ready. Toph and Ming quickly fell asleep with little trouble while Jazmine and Cindy watched in amusement as Momo (a Lemur-monkey apparently…) began to bury him the sand. Huey busied himself with gazing over the Earthbending scrolls they had acquired from the Library while Riley was fast asleep beside him. Traban seemed to put himself in carefully timed sleep, or meditation as he looked rather stiff inside his sleeping bag; like some dead person in their coffin, Jazmine whispered to Cindy as they both giggled. Katara slept as Aang was faced away from everyone else, sleeping as he shivered with his nightmares. Soon after, Huey was lying himself down as he glanced at Jazmine, who was sitting on her bag.
"No sleep?" Huey said as Jazmine shook her head.
"I think Cindy and I have had enough sleep for the time. We'll keep watch while you guys sleep." Jazmine said as Huey raised a brow.
"Jazmine, we're in the middle of a desert. What would you watch for?" Huey asked as Jazmine gave him a look.
"Terrorists." Jazmine answered back hotly as Huey groaned and hid his face in his hands.
"I'm gonna kill your dad when we get back…" Huey said with a deep sigh as he turned over and went to sleep.
"Hey, Cindy." Jazmine called as she looked at the only other person that seemed to still be awake.
"Yeah?" Cindy said as she sat on her own sleeping bag.
"What do you remember about the show about this place?" Jazmine said as Cindy sighed while she flopped back on her bag. That was a tough one as she didn't remember too many details…
"Not much since Nickelodeon took it off about three years ago. I didn't even see all the episodes, but I know the bald kid wins in the end." Cindy said as Jazmine nodded, pleased with the answer.
"Do you think he'll still win with us here?" Jazmine asked as Cindy smiled at her.
"I'm sure of it." Cindy said as Jazmine smiled back at her with a giggle, "What? Was it too cheesy?"
"Yeah, a little." Jazmine said while she smiled at Cindy before looking up into the stars, "Traban was right about the whole nighttime sky-watching thing, huh. The sky really is beautiful at night, ya know?" Jazmine said suddenly as Cindy sighed peaceful and looked up as well.
"Yeah… I know…" Cindy said back as she and Jazmine gazed up at the stars.
Aang awoke with a start as he looked around, hoping his nightmare about Appa wasn't true. When he couldn't find Appa anywhere within his sight, Aang simply curled up and began to mope over the lost of his sky bison. A full hour had passed when Traban seemed to arise like the living dead, stretching and yawning while he looked about.
"We moving out there, partner?" Cindy said in a mock-Western tone as Traban chuckled at her.
"Not just yet. Huey and the others deserve some more rest, so I'll give them another thirty minutes." Traban said as he cast a look over at Aang.
"We should be moving again as quickly as possible. There's no time for rest." Aang said somberly as Traban smiled a little.
"I know, but when you haven't rested properly, you'll be of no use trying to track down anything, or fight off anyone." Traban said as Aang seemed to ignore him and continue moping. Traban only shook his head with a sigh as he laid back atop his sleeping bag and stared up at the sky.
"Pssh… Traban." Cindy called as he rolled onto his side to look at her and Jazmine.
"Yeah?"
"Is he gonna be okay?" Jazmine whispered as Traban shrugged.
"He's lost someone very important to him… that is, as far as I can tell. Plus there's the fact he's like 12 years-old, so… I don't know if he will or not. That's for time to decide." Traban said as Jazmine and Cindy exchanged looks before watching as Aang curled into himself and sobbed quietly.
After a while, Traban got up and packed away Cindy, Jazmine, and his sleeping bags while Cindy and Jazmine were waking the others.
"Come on, sleepyhead, get up." Jazmine said as she gently shook Huey awake.
"Hey…" Huey yawned out as he got up, stretching, "We ready?"
"Not just yet." Jazmine replied as she pointed over at Cindy, who was kicking Riley awake.
"Get yo ass up, Reezy."
"Muthafucka, stop tripping! Five mo minutes!" Riley said, trying to evade the kicks while also trying to get back to sleep.
"They need counseling… bad." Huey deadpanned as Jazmine giggled at him.
"Ming, we have to go." Traban said, not even touching the Asian girl, who slowly rose from her sleeping bag.
"I know, let's get…" Ming paused in her words as she let out a yawn, "… moving."
Aang awoke Katara, who in turn went to get her brother up as she put her hands on top of the sand that was covering Sokka and she gently shook him. Sokka yawned and groaned as he sat up, knocking the sand off of him. His head twisted to the right, a strange expression plastered on his face. Toph, who was next to him, got up from her own sand-bed as she sat up, smacking her lips.
"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud, now it just tastes like sand…" Toph stated as everyone gave her odd looks, "I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much." Toph finished as Riley leaned over to Cindy and whispered something, only to be smacked in the back of his head for whatever he had said. Katara shook her head at Toph's strange antics while carefully tossing the younger girl a water flask, which landed in her lap.
"Thanks Katara." Toph said as she took a small swig of the water.
"Man, this shit ain't cool. Got our asses sleeping on sand, and shit! Niggas wasn't made for this shit, Huey." Riley complained as Huey raised a brow at him.
"Well excuse the hell outta me if there are no five-star hotels in sight. I'll make a mental note of this the next time we end up in a desert." Huey bit back sarcastically with a roll of his eyes while Traban and Ming were packing everything away.
Katara sighed to herself as she walked over to Aang, who was once again curled up on his side, but this time not atop a sleeping bag, but in the sand. Just as she was about to touch him and gently shake him awake, Aang spoke up, making her freeze in place, her hand hovering over his shoulder.
"I'm awake." Aang said as he continued to look away, "I couldn't sleep."
"Well, we have to get moving if we want to get out of this place." Katara said gently as Aang's eyes shifted toward the staring night sky before sitting up. Aang squinted his eyes hard, staring into the sky as the others began to gather around him while he seemed transfixed on what he was looking up at.
"Hmm… you see something, Aang?" Katara asked as she and the others looked to where Aang was.
There! It was a floating blob above them, that seemed to fly as high as a cloud.
Whatever it was it made Aang's eyes light up, as though Christmas had come early as he jumped up from the sands to stand on his feet.
"Appa!" Aang cried on joyously as Huey raised a brow, while Ming and Traban looked up from where they were packing.
"Where?" Traban asked, standing to full height as he looked up into the sky.
"Appa? Now why would Princess Yue need him?" Sokka ranted drunkenly as he grabbed Momo's tail and began rubbing it against his face affection ally, "She's the moon, she flies by herself!"
Aang, however, ignored his tipsy friend in place of squinting to get a better look, but to his disappointment, the blob he saw in the light of the full moon wasn't his sky-bison… Aang's face fell, his eyes downcast to the sand in sorrow as Katara sighed.
"…It's… It's just a cloud." Katara said with disappointment in her voice, "…Wait, it's a cloud!"
"What's so special about that?" Cindy asked as Katara turned to her.
"Well, if a Waterbender or Airbender is powerful enough, they can bend the water out of the clouds, or separate the air from the concentrated water of the cloud." Katara said before turning to Aang, "Aang can fly up there and bend the water from the cloud into my pouch."
"Why? We have another two flasks." Jazmine said as Huey shook his head.
"Yeah, but we have no clue just how long that'll last while we're here in the desert. That's a good idea, girl… I mean, Katara." Huey said as Katara smiled from the praise while it only seemed to irk Aang's mood further.
"Please, Aang, just so we have enough water." Katara said, holding out her water pouch for the young Avatar to take, "Here, just fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."
Aang gave the sand at his feet a glare of annoyance as he snatched the pouch from Katara, giving her a angry look as he put it over his shoulder and grabbed his staff.
"Fine." Aang grounded out as he opened the wings on his staff and took off into the sky.
Katara and the others watched him go up as the young Water-tribe female glanced away, thinking over the look he had given her. She understood how hard it must have been for Aang to have lost Appa, but when they were in a desert trying to survive Aang didn't need to focus on the negative.
"Aang… what's happen to you? Where's the cheerful, optimistic ball of energy I love to see. Ever since Appa disappeared, your mood has only gotten worst and you're falling into a deep depression." Katara thought as she glanced over at Huey and Traban, Huey shaking his head at Aang's attitude and actions while Traban could only sigh.
"The boy is too emotional." Traban whispered as Katara secretly listened, "He must learn to let go of his negative emotions if he ever wishes to enter… that state properly…"
"He's not even trying…" Huey grunted out as his eyes narrowed, focusing on Aang in agitation, "Just look at him."
Katara turned to look up at the sky, just in time to see Aang soar through the one and only cloud in the sky twice, flying through it each time and erasing it from the skyline. She glanced back to see Huey's fist clench in suppressed anger, his annoyance with the young Avatar quickly rising. Traban had placed a hand on Huey's shoulder in a subtle act to calm his friend when Aang swooped down, tossing Katara back her flask flippantly and landing to the ground, kicking up dust as the wings of the staff retracted back into their places. Katara shook the pouch a few times, feeling how much water was in it when she sighed.
There was very little indeed…
"…Wow, there's hardly any water in here…" Katara muttered to herself aloud as she looked into her flask. Aang's irritation seemed to come to a boiling point as he snapped his attention toward Katara, a look of unrepressed anger etched into his features.
"Look, I'm sorry okay? It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?" Aang snapped, pointing his staff at Katara as the girl flinched back from his tone. Huey stepped in front of the young Waterbender, smacking the staff aside as he growled.
"We are trying to survive." Huey retorted as he and Aang glared at each other, "You didn't even try to bend water out of that cloud. Grow the hell up!"
"Huey, wait, listen Aang's just-" Katara tried to stop the coming conflict, but Ming stopped her, eyes narrowed at Aang.
"No, Huey is right." Ming said as she stepped forward, "In order to survive in this environment, we need to work together and put aside our petty feelings. We need to work together as a team. Not only to survive this, but if we hope to help the Avatar here recover his missing Appa. But… we can only do that if he decides to grow up and stop this."
"Enough of this!" Traban shouted, quieting everyone as they looked at him. Traban sighed as he sat atop their bags and ran a hand through his hair, "Aang, we understand to some degree how you feel. Losing a friend is never easy, but Huey and Ming are right; we're trying to get out of this dustbowl so you can find whoever took your Appa and get it back. However, if you persist to allow your emotions to get in the way and fly off the handle, then… You're a danger to both yourself and all of us here. If push comes to shove… we will leave you behind to fend on your own."
"No." Katara said, looking quite startled by Traban's proclamation, as did Toph and Aang, "You can't!"
"We can, and we will!" Huey declared as he glanced back at Aang, "Katara, you've been trying to keep him together, keep all of your group together, but he needs to grow up. Nothing gets done with his bitching and childish tantrums. Whining about things doesn't make them go away, and neither does copping an attitude at those that are trying to help you."
Aang looked around in disbelief as the new additions to his group all began looking away from him. Even Toph and Momo seemed ashamed of him. Aang felt his blood boil. They were taking Huey's side over his! They didn't understand what Appa meant to him! The only thing, the only friend he had left from over hundred years ago! The only buddy from his wiped-out people! They just didn't get it! Aang felt his body shaking in rage, he was so angry. But then…
… then he saw the look on Katara's face… and his anger ebbed away as he saw unshed tears welding up in her eyes.
"You wanna know what I've been doing…?" Katara asked quietly as she tried not to cry, "Sokka is drunk, Toph is nearly completely blind now, and you're a self-destructive mess right now with Appa being stolen. You wanna know what I've been doing? I've been trying to keep us all together…" Katara finished quietly, a stray tear dropping out of her eye as she turned away from him. Aang watched as the tear hit the sand floor, staring after Katara as Huey sighed heavily, handing Katara the map.
"Let's… Let's just keep moving…" Katara said as she began walking away, leading the group, "We need to go in this direction."
They continued walking, Aang at the back of the group looking downward as he felt like the sand beneath his feet for having snapped at Katara. Katara and Huey were still leading, with Ming and Jazmine right behind them. Traban and Toph were dragging Sokka while Momo was on Cindy's shoulder as she walked alongside Riley with Aang straggling behind them.
"Watch out for that thing in the ground." Jazmine said as she went around the object sticking up from the sand.
"Watch out for wha-? Ugh." Toph said, but she had already tripped and fell on her face into the sand, kicking up dust as she did. Everyone stopped, looking to the blind girl as she sat atop the sands rubbing at her now throbbing toes.
"Lady Toph, are you alright?" Traban asked as he and Jazmine moved to help her, only for Toph to groan as she kept rubbing her foot in pain.
"Dammit! I'm so sick of not being able to feel where I'm going!" Toph yelled as she continued to rub her foot, even while Jazmine and Traban were checking it, "And what bozo buries a boat in the middle of a damn desert anyway?"
"… What did you say?" Huey asked, exchanging looks with Traban Jazmine as both were wide-eyed with surprise and shock.
"Did you say a boat?" Katara asked as she ran over to the protruding object.
"I said a boat, and believe me; I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph replied as she finished rubbing her foot sourly while Sokka stumbled to face them.
"This could be useful if it's still intact." Ming commented as Katara started to wipe the dust off the protruding bow of the boat.
"Please allow me." Traban said as he walked over.
"I'll help, too." Aang said quietly, hoping to regain some hope with Katara and apologize as he walked over and raised his staff.
Katara stepped out the way as Traban took a deep breath with his arms raised high and Aang prepared to swing his staff. Traban's arms dropped in unison with Aang's staff as the others felt a mighty gust of air come from above them and slam into the desert floor, uncovering the entire vessel like a perfectly preserved fossil. Huey and the others moved closer to the small ship, climbing onto it's small bridge as Katara felt her hopes rise.
"This is a boat just like the gliders of those Sandbenders! We saw them before, and they used bending to move their boats along the sands for quick travel!" Katara exclaimed, explaining the reason for her excitement as she looked over the boat.
Ming stood at a small wooden pedestal in the middle of the small bridge, tapping at something, "As I suspected. It's just like what those dirty sand thieves in the dry parts of China had done in the times of the Ming Dynasty. They sailed along the deserts using the near endless wind currents to ride along to whatever they'd raid and plunder next. This compass here only helps to prove it."
"Compass? But pointing north in a desert is basically useless." Huey muttered as he and the others moved to see the compass.
"Nice job, Toph, you discovered a way for us to survive and get out of here." Katara congratulated the blind Earthbending Master, who grinned cockily.
"Oh, then it was completely intentional that I kicked this stupid thing." Toph said with her wide grin, as Traban and Cindy helped her onto the sand-glider.
"Of course, it was." Riley muttered with a grin as he folded his arms.
Katara tapped the glass over the needle on the compass, making the needle pulse, swinging a tiny bit from where it pointed.
"Is it pointing north?" Jazmine asked as she tapped at her chin, "Because from what Huey's showed me, last night the guiding northern star was pointing in another direction than this needle is."
"So then it's not pointing north." Huey said as Katara looked to Aang, who sat glumly at the edge of the boat.
"Aang, you and Traban can bend a breeze so we can sail it! We're going to make it!" Katara said joyously.
"Umm, what do we do about him?" Cindy asked as she pointed to Sokka, who was laughing and grinning stupidly as he buried a sleeping Momo in the sand.
"… We'll think of something…" Katara said with a deadpan expression.
Sokka just grinned stupidly, giving the blond Cindy and his sister Katara each a thumbs-up as the flying lemur-monkey stirred sleepily beneath the sand.
After a few minutes of getting the glider ready to sail, Riley had the honors of opening the sail as Traban and Aang, standing parallel each other, bent the air around them, throwing gusts of wind into the sail until the sand-glider jerked forward and began to propel forward.
The small sand-glider sped over the sands of the desert with great haste thanks to the two master Airbenders working together. Every few seconds they moved as if one, pulling the air around them into their hands and crafting gusts of wind into the sail to propel the skiff forward at top speed. Speeding off into the direction in which the compass was pointing, it was becoming increasingly clear to all that their suspicions were confirmed; they definitely weren't heading north.
"I don't get it though. The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts. Where could it be pointing?" Katara said aloud to everyone as she looked over a star chart with Huey and Traban.
"Take it easy little lady." Sokka said lazily as he dangled his legs off the back of the small bridge, holding onto Momo's tail firmly, "I'm sure the sand folk who built this baby know how to get around these parts."
"Then where are we going?" Cindy asked, her cerulean-blue eyes looking over the dunes as they passed them by.
"If ya ask me, I say that damn compass is busted." Riley said as he lounged next to Cindy while Ming, leaning against the frame of the boat, scoffed.
"It's most likely pointing to something with a strong magnetic pull." Ming said confidently as Traban glanced up at her from his focus on his bending.
"That's right. But something that powerful would have to be large as well. I'm thing it's from where the formation of this desert started. Most likely a land formation at the center of the desert." Traban said, and after a quick glance at Aang, who nodded indifferently, moved from the sail as he went over to Ming, "Do you concur?"
"Yes. That is plausible as rocks are well known to have a magnetic polarity drift to take compass points from pointing north. If these sand people are known to inhabit the area, then they'd have been aware of this and act accordingly." Ming said as she and Traban thought hard, hands on hips and chins while Huey looked up from the star map as well.
"But what would be according to these people?" Huey asked as Ming turned to him.
"They'd mostly have something at this magnetic interference to help guide them back to civilization." Ming said, looking slightly conflicted over her answer.
"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Traban said, going back to help Aang at the sail.
As they continued to glide over the sands, Katara and the others began to see a large, dark object looming in the distance over the horizon.
"You guys were right! That's what the compass is pointing to; that giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert." Katara said as Toph, who had been nodding off, jerked at the mention of solid terra-firma.
"A rock? Yes! Let's go!" Toph cheered as she pumped her fist.
"Maybe we'll be able to find some water there, too!" Katara added hopefully as Aang flinched slightly, the act not going unnoticed by Traban.
Huey and Jazmine stood together as they looked out at the rock.
"It might provide some form of shelter as well. We can't have Traban wasting his stuff to help build shelter anymore. Plus… I might be able to start on my own training." Huey said impassively, though when Jazmine glanced up at his, she saw the small grin he had on and the excitement dancing in his eyes at the thoughts of being able to bend the earth element to his will.
"Maybe we can find some Sandbenders…" Aang muttered darkly, pushing more air into the sail as he threw his and Traban's rhythm off in his urgency.
"Avatar Aang, I ask that you don't do anything… stupid. Okay?" Traban said carefully as Aang looked over to him, only grunting as he went back to glaring at the large boulder in the distance.
Minutes ticked away as they drew closer and closer to the massive boulder, which was more like a mountain sticking out of a sea of sand. The enormous rock completely and utterly dwarfed the sand-glider.
"Whoa…" Katara breathed out as she gazed up at the rock while Riley and Cindy stood up from their lounging.
"It would take us 'til dawn to climb this damn thing." Cindy said as Ming nodded in agreement while Riley looked around wildly.
"Climb? Who said we climbing that shit?" Riley asked aloud as Aang and Traban joined the others at the bow of the boat.
"We'll have to in order to see if our coming here had any merit." Huey said as he and Jazmine came from the rear of the skiff to join everyone else.
"He's right, ya know." Katara said with a sigh.
"Fine by me!" Toph said, jumping off the sand-glider and running to the massive rock. As soon as she reached it, she hugged the thing as though it were the Tree of Life.
"She's a bit… strange." Jazmine whispered to Cindy, who shrugged.
"Well, Avatar Aang and I can reach the top of the rock first to be sure it's safe. We'll fly up there and scout out anything that could help us." Traban said as he to dropped from the bow of the sand-glider. Taking in a deep breath, Traban jumped lightly, but with a single kick toward the ground, had launched himself twenty feet into the air before spinning, carrying himself toward the top of the bulky boulder in a small tornado.
"See you at the top…" Aang offered to Katara, who seemed nervous to give a reply in light of the young Avatar's previous moods.
"Yeah, see ya…" Katara replied as Aang looked away in shame for his earlier behavior before he unleashed the wings of his glider-staff and flew off toward the mountain top.
"Well, we had best get- The fuckery!" Riley said as he pointed to the base of the enormous rock where Toph seemed to create a lift out of the side of the mountain.
"Anyone need a lift? Get it! Ha!" Toph said as she waved them all over.
"I can't wait to be able to do this." Huey said quietly aloud to Jazmine as they and the others (all aside from Aang and Traban) stood atop the rising platform of rock which seemed to meld its way up the side of the mountain.
"I'm sure you can't." Jazmine replied as Huey allowed a small smile to grace his face.
When they reached the top, they all saw Traban standing at the edge of the rock, watching as the sun rose over the desert horizon while Aang sat mulling at the opposite edge. Katara stepped off the earthen-lift as Toph allowed everyone off before allowing the earth to fall away in the wake of her steps.
"That's such a beautiful sight…" Jazmine breathed as she and the others watched the sun rise.
"It really is. Its breath-taking! Aang, you gotta come see this!" Katara chirped happily, waving over to the young Airbender as Aang stiffened. He glancing over his shoulder where he sat on the dark half of the rock which hadn't yet been illuminated by the light of day.
"I'm fine over here." Aang said softly, though loud enough for the others to hear as Katara's smile faltered.
"Oh, yeah… finally!" Toph sighed out in content as she free-fell back, slamming into the rock like a… well, rock. She then proceeded to make a sno- umm… rock angel in the topsoil as she allowed a tranquil smile to take over her features, "Mhmm… Solid ground…"
"I'd hate to see what you're like when we reach Ba Sing Se, Lady Toph." Traban said as Toph looked over in his general direction with her blind eyes. Slamming her hand to the ground, the rock shook lightly before Toph's vacant stare seemed to focus intensely upon Traban's person, as though she were staring at his soul.
"Wow, you're kinda… average." Toph said as Traban blinked.
"Huh?" was Traban's intelligent reply.
"Well, I "see" through vibrations, and can get a pretty good profile of people through those vibrations." Toph said as Traban nodded.
"Ahh… Seismic Sense. I've never heard of a human using the ability though." Traban said as it was Toph's turn to blink her blind eyes.
"Huh?" was her only reply.
"Yeah, what?" Huey asked as he turned to the pair. He wanted to know as much as he could about Earthbending, and Traban seemed to know much more than he did.
"The ability you use is known as Seismic Sense. It was first developed by the badger-moles. Basically it's a sub-skill that Earthbenders can learn to constitute for physical sense; the ability to see through eyes naturally. Using Seismic Sense, the badger-moles, and essentially Earthbenders, can detect vibrations in the ground to perceive objects, people, and other aspects of their environment.
"So it's like sonar, but through the ground." Cindy said as Traban nodded.
"Yeah, that's the basic idea. Though Lady Toph here is the first ever human I've heard of using the ability." Traban said as Toph got up from her rock angel, not bothering to dust herself off.
"Well, I did learn bending from the badger-moles when I was a kid." Toph said as Katara tilted her head.
"Toph, you're only 14 years-old." Katara deadpanned as Riley raised a brow at her.
"And how old is you?" Riley asked as he looked Katara up and down.
"I'm 15 years-old, and Sokka is 16 years-old. Aang over there is the same age as Toph." Katara replied as she jabbed her thumb in Sokka and Aang's directions.
"Cool. I'm 15 and so is Cindy, Ming, and Jazmine. Huey and Traban asses 16 years-old." Riley said as Katara smiled. She had to admit that she was glad they were in their age group. For some reason, it just made her feel more at ease.
"Anyways, Seismic Sense can also be used at long distance, and for lie detection. Though, it like all abilities, is not without its limitations." Traban said, a small frown marring his face as he crossed his arms, "It can only detect things on solid ground, and while not on solid ground is less likely to be accurate."
"So… it doesn't work in water or air?" Huey asked, his own scowl forming on his lips when Traban shook his head.
"Nope." Toph replied, "Also, shoes mess ya up, and sand isn't firm enough for good sight. It makes my vision all fuzzy."
"Umm… guys, come check this out." Cindy shouted as everyone turned to see her and Jazmine poking around the caves at the far side of the mountain-like rock.
"Avatar Aang and I weren't sure what resided in those, so be careful. We didn't even care to find out." Traban said as Riley shrugged.
"Nigga, them sand people y'all was talkin' about earlier might have a secret base or something in there." Riley said as Traban looked doubtful.
"I don't know. Even so-" but Traban never finished what he was saying when he spotted Aang from the corner of his eyes standing up abruptly and marching over to the caves.
"Let's check it out." Aang said, fire burning in his eyes as Huey rolled his eyes.
"Well, we might as well…" Huey muttered as they all made their way over to Cindy and Jazmine, who were standing next to Sokka. The Water Tribe's young warrior was lounging at one of the cave entrances, looking worst for wear.
As they walked in, Sokka breathed out just as they passed him, clutching his head, "Ugh… I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice… and look!" Sokka jumped up and raced over to a cave wall, where he swiped his hand to take what looked like honey off the wall. The others couldn't find their voices in time as Sokka put the substance to his mouth, but thankfully he immediately spat it out with a disgusted look, "Yuck! Tastes like rotten penguin meat! Uhh, I feel woozy…"
Katara's fists clenched as her left eye twitched. She marched up to Sokka and smacked him hard in the back of the head while Huey and Ming sent her approving looks for her "tough love" on her brother, "You idiot! You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day, and then you just lick something you find stuck to a wall in a cave? What is wrong with you?" Katara asked her brother hotly in utter disbelief and annoyance.
"Is there something wrong with my having a natural curiosity?" Sokka asked as he looked up from his slouched position on the ground where his sister smacked him to.
"Yes!" Katara yelled as Aang and Toph seemed perfectly capable to ignore the banter as though it were an everyday occurrence between the siblings.
"Just like Huey and Riley…" Jazmine and Cindy thought as they looked to their boyfriends.
Huey glanced off to Toph, about to ask if Sokka was a real idiot or just competing to be one when he saw that Toph was touching the wall behind them.
"She must be using that Seismic Sense Traban just got finished telling us about." Huey thought as he saw her.
Confusion flashed across Toph's face before she gained a look of concentration, her body picking up vibrations.
"I don't think this is any normal ol' cave… this was carved by… s-something." Toph said as the others began looking around.
"Yeah, just look at the shape…" Aang said quietly as he looked around the cave.
"And the walls are far to smooth…" Traban said, trailing off as he went from touching the walls to wiping a finger against the strange honey-like substance. He sniffed it a few times before raising a brow.
"Do you thing the sand people made this place?" Huey asked as Ming shrugged when he looked to her.
"I don't know. Maybe…" Ming said as she looked to Traban.
"No, animals did." Traban said as he sniffed the substance a few times more before his eyes widened, "And I think I know just what ones did…! This stuff isn't honey! It's wax!"
Toph began picking up even more vibrations through her Seismic Sense, and her eyes widening as she did, "There's something coming toward us from further inside the cave!" Toph informed as Traban looked to Huey.
"It's the buzzard-wasps! This isn't a cave! It's a hive!" Traban finished as he turned toward where they could hear a faint buzzing from, deep inside the bowels of the cave.
"Cheese it!" Riley yelled as he began to run, leaving the others with only a moment to act on instinct and follow his example.
"Reezy, you bitch; you left me!" Cindy yelled to Riley, who had a good lead on them.
"Muthafucka, everybody fo they-damn-self! Riley yelled back as he didn't even bother to slow down or turn around.
As they all ran out, Traban and Aang brought up the rear as they threw gusts, blasts, and slashes of air at the buzzard-wasps that gave pursuit to them. Several of the creatures buzzard wasps flew out through other passages, surrounding them. Toph nearly fell over as she was made to stop abruptly while Momo, now off his own drunken-high, flew above the vulture-like insects.
"Toph, start chucking rock at any of 'em you can sense!" Traban said as Toph nodded, leaping up as rocks flowed her while she kicked and punched them toward the buzzard-wasps.
"Avatar!" Huey yelled as Aang was already jumping into action with Traban not far behind.
"We're on it!"
Huey, Ming, and Riley, who was stopped only a bit further ahead, were made to themselves while Jazmine and Cindy fought alongside Katara, and Sokka, who was still feeling woozy.
Aang moved like a raging typhoon, taking out his frustrations on the buzzard-wasps. He spun his staff swiftly, lashing out wind-slices as he cut down two of the insects, though still not killing them as he slashed off their wings and legs. Pulling his staff back, Aang brought three more forward before he pushed his staff forward, hitting the creatures with the air equivalent of a brick wall . Flipping into the air, Aang spun his staff around him as he began beating any buzzard-wasps near him with the blunt of his staff before beating them away with wind.
Traban wasn't a slouch himself as he systematically disabled any of the vulture-like insects near him, moving the air patterns of the cave around his hands as he spun, ducked, and weaved around stingers and beaks to break legs and slash wings.
Huey back-handed a buzzard-wasp before lifting Ming into the air, where she spun at the incoming creatures and kicked down three of them to Riley, who curb-stomped them into writhing submission with a smirk and many profanities.
One buzzard-wasp swooped down at Katara, only to be caught completely unawares by a water-whip from her pouch as she moved into a defensive Waterbending stance. Another of the large insects rushed her from behind, only to be met by Cindy's fist. The buzzard-wasps was sent on a one-way coalition-course with the nearby wall, sliding down the stone as it was knocked unconscious.
"I got yo back." Cindy said, sending the Water Tribe maiden a smile. Though Katara smiled back, it didn't last long as she saw a buzzard-wasp flying speedily toward Cindy's back.
"Look out!" Katara tried to warn, but when Cindy's eyes widened and she spun around, it seemed to late until a foot slammed itself into the skull of the bird-like pest, smashing it into the ground and creating cracks in the stone beneath the buzzard-wasps. Both Cindy and Katara looked up to see Jazmine send them a warm smile, rising her fist back as she back-handed another of the vulture-like wasps.
"I got your back, Cin." Jazmine said as Katara continued to gawk at the kind-hearted and soft-spoken girl's strength.
Jazmine flipped away as several of the buzzard wasps tried to get revenge for their brethren. They began to swarm at her while she shifted into a relaxed stance.
"Bring it." Jazmine said as the buzzard-wasps seemed to understand, the oversized insects charging at her immediately after her command. She through out her hands, knocked them away and kicking them away. Pushing one downward, thanks to the way it had charged her, she used it and others as a stepping stone, while she began beating the creatures out of the air. All the wasps around continued to diving for her, hoping to get in a lucky mark as she flipped and spun through the air, fighting as though she were merely giving them slaps on the wrist. Kicking another down, she back-flipped over one and slammed her feet down on another, bringing her back to the ground where she quickly regrouped with Cindy and Katara to fight as a trio.
Sokka, using his short machete, managed to keep up fairly well opposed to the others, batting away any that came near him. Sokka spun on heel, cutting down another wasp as he spun again to use the blunt side to knock another away.
"How the hell is you able to hit any damn thing with that short-as-"
"Riley! Language!" Huey scolded as punched another wasp.
"- little thing?" Riley finished as he began stomping yet another buzzard-wasp.
"Hey! My machete is not "dinky"! it's a sign of my being a man!" Sokka shot back as Katara rolled her eyes.
"Oh please! You took that thing from Dad's stuff!" Katara revealed as Toph sensed one of the wasps landing to try to sneak up on her.
"Hey! Besides, my club was on Appa's saddle!" Sokka yelled just as Toph raised a foot.
Stomping it to the ground like an elephant about to charge, the young blind Earthbender she raised her hands as if carrying a weight, making a pillar of rock shoot out of the ground swiftly, sending the wasp into the air as it collided with the insect's underside. Felling the vibrations of another's buzzing around Sokka, Toph lifted a rock from the ground under her foot and tossed it, missing the wasp by a few meters. The rocked over Sokka's head as he ducked under it, crashing to the ground mere feet behind him. Sokka's head shot back up indignantly as he glared at Toph.
"What was that? That rock almost crushed me!" Sokka yelled as he raised his hands, gesturing to the crumbled heap of stone behind him.
"Sorry! I can't really tell where they are in the air!" Toph apologized as she stomped her foot again, looking around, and the same wasp buzzed away in fear of actually being hit.
"I got this one! No one gets away from Team Avatar!" Sokka said as he raised his weapon above his head and charged after the wasp. Jumping through the air, Sokka brought his machete down in a vertical slice… hitting nothing but air.
"What is you doing?" Riley yelled as Katara shook her head.
"There's nothing there!" Katara told her brother as she used her water-whip to knock away more buzzard-wasps. In her moment's distraction, her whip of water slammed into Ming's high-jump kick, bursting apart from the kickball player's near inhuman leg-strength.
"Whoa…" Katara breathed in awe as Ming sent her an annoyed looked before reaching the ground and jumping high into the air again.
"I guess my head isn't as clear as I thought…" Sokka told everyone as he held the small weapon at the ready for another vertical attack, though his eyes kept wondering to Ming, who Sokka was reminding himself to never piss-off.
"W-We… We have to get… o-out of here." Traban said through deep breathes before he took in a last and blew it out, forcing the buzzard-wasps in front of him to be blown back into the deep caverns of the cave, "We'll be burned out long before these beasts run out of numbers. We're in their hive; their turf with a lot more players from the home team."
"He's right! Let's cut a groove!" Huey yelled as he punched the lights out on another of the enormous insects.
But before any of them could turn toward the way out, Jazmine and Katara gasped aloud as one of the buzzard-wasps swooped down and grabbed Momo before flying off toward the exit.
"Monkey thing!" Cindy yelled.
"Momo!" Jazmine and Katara yelled in horror as they finished off their own opponents to give chase to the snatcher.
"I am not losing anyone else out here!" Aang said with burning determination, and with a flick of his staff to open the wings, Aang flew off after the wasp to regain his pet/friend.
"Come on, we're getting out of here." Katara told the others as they all nodded.
A few moments later, the group (minus Aang and Momo) could be seen running from the cavern entrance, screaming with their hands thrown up over their heads as they fled the buzzard-wasp hive in terror of the overwhelming numbers of the very creatures they were fighting so bravely not minutes earlier.
"What do we do?" Cindy asked as she and the others stopped at the edge of the rock.
"I say we jump." Traban replied as the others glared at him, "Oh wait… I'm the only one who can fly, aren't I?"
The resounding smack to the back of his head curtsey of Huey Freeman was his only answer.
"We'll just have to climb down." Ming concluded as Katara nodded.
"But how?" Riley asked as Jazmine jabbed a thumb toward a passage way down the enormous rock.
"We'll just follow the yellow-brick road." Jazmine said as Riley shrugged, all of them rushing down the path of the massive rock.
Traban jumped off the path and flipped forward, kicking one buzzard-wasp's beak and sending an Airbending-slice at another, cutting its wings.
"Toph, shoot a rock right there!" Katara said as a wasp approached them on their descend down the path.
"Got'cha!" Toph confirmed as she stomped her petite foot, lifting a heavy set of rocks from out of the ground before she blasted them toward the incoming wasp. The buzzard-wasp's body was crushed by the attack, sent hurling down to the ground far below as Katara's water-whip hit another one that was flying at Sokka.
"Yeah, you got it!" Sokka cheered before he looked toward his sister, "She got it… right?"
"Yeah, now let's move." Katara said as pushed Toph along the path.
"I'm starting to get tired of this." Huey said as he tossed Cindy a rock, the blonde-bomber beaming it right between the eyes of a buzzard-wasp.
Traban faltered in the air, flipping over just in time to save himself from the sting of a buzzard wasp as he gazed out at the deserts in the distance.
"The air current… That was a clean slice horizontal… That means Avatar Aang… Oh my…" Traban muttered to himself as he guessed what the young Avatar had done to get back his friend, "But shall he kill again to get back this Appa of his.That is the real question…?"
Nearing the bottom of the rock, and everyone was getting exhausted from the constant fight down. Katara's stamina was giving out on her as she used what little she had left to keep on her feet. Even Huey and Ming were beginning to tire as their attacks became less precise and more sluggish like those of Cindy and Riley. Jazmine conserved her energy to help anyone who would fall behind while Traban flew down to the ground, dropping to a knee as he took in oxygen, desperate for it as he breathed heavily and deeply.
As the sheer numbers of wasps began to converge on them, Huey and the others still on the path grouped together for one last stand. Thankfully, massive pillars of sand shot out of the desert, engulfing the wasps numbers and burying them under tons of sand, saving the group from near certain defeat. The remaining wasps seemed to get the message as they flew back up to their hive, cutting their loses and swearing vengeance. Traban rose to both his feet from his haggard spot while Huey and the others relaxed for a moment at seeing the wasps retreating.
"Now that was some cool shit!" Riley commented loudly as the sand fell down to settle once again.
"I actually agree with you, Riley." Huey said, his eyes wide with shocked that he and Riley could agree on something.
The group covered their eyes as the dust began to settle, and when they opened them again, they saw a tribe of Sandbenders standing out on the sands before them. Three sand-gliders were converged around the rock near the one they had found buried. The Sandbenders were covered from head to ankle in wrappings and robes.
Just as Huey was about to address them, Aang landed on the sand in front of them all, looking at the Sandbenders with anger and grief in his eyes. One of the Sandbenders unveiled his face, showing himself to be an older man in his forties with a brown beard and spiky hair.
"What are you doing in our lands with a Sandbender sailer?" the man asked, glancing over at the glider they had found, "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hummi Tribe."
The young man standing beside the man looked down to the ground for some reason, and Huey raised a brow at the action. Giving a glance to Jazmine and Ming, the two girls nodded back as they and Traban noticed the action as well.
"We found the sailer abandoned in the desert, we're traveling with the Avatar." Katara replied to his questions, motioning back to Aang, "Our sky-bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se."
The bearded man, possibly the chief of the tribe, found his jaw lower slightly in a masked gaping as he looked upon Aang. The young man standing next to the leader, however, didn't notice the Avatar being mentioned.
"You accuse our people of theft while you ride on a stolen sand-sailer?" the boy accused pointedly as the chief glanced at him. Toph carefully listened to his voice, her blind eyes narrowing.
"Accused? I don't remember any of us accusing you of anything." Huey repeated with a raised brow, his own maroon-red eyes narrowing along with Ming's and Cindy's as Traban rolled his wrists with a sober expression.
"Quiet Ghashiun!" the leader scolded harshly, "No one accused our people of anything! If what they say is true, then we must show them the utmost hospitality!"
"Yeah, nigga! We ain't steal shit yet! Betta check yo-self, fool!" Riley yelled as Ghashiun glanced at the irate thug and the blonde cutie next to him.
"We didn't even accuse him, and he starts getting all defensive. He must have had a hand in this Appa's capture." Ming whispered to Huey, who nodded while the son, Ghashiun, bowed to his father.
"Sorry father… and travelers…" Ghashiun said reluctantly, and that was when Toph's eyes widened.
"I recognize the son's voice…" Toph gasped, speaking her thoughts aloud and telling everyone, "He's the one who stole Appa…"
"So it seems our suspensions are confirmed." Traban said, sharing a look with Huey before all of the group turned to glare at Ghashiun.
"You showed your own guilt by having gotten defensive." Ming said, stepping forward and leaping off the rock to stand next to Traban, "We hadn't even accused you of thievery, and yet you spoke up quickly to deny such nonexistent accusations. It is like Huey always says; a guilty mind always quacks."
"Speaks, Ming, speaks. A guilty mind always speaks." Huey corrected as Ming waved him off.
"Same difference." Ming replied as they all went back to staring the young man, Ghashiun, down.
Katara looked at Toph, Ghashiun, and Ming before returning her gaze to Toph, "Are you sure, Toph?"
"I never forget a voice." Toph confirmed firmly as Aang glared heatedly, the air around him beginning to pick up and swirl.
"You stole Appa!" Aang accused, advancing on Ghashiun. All of Aang's body and posture read nothing but his conformity to rage as he pointed his staff menacingly at the young Sandbender, "Where is he? What have you done to him?"
"We may have to restrain the young Avatar if he does what he did out in the desert back when we had shelter." Ming muttered to Traban, who glanced back to see Huey jump down to them.
"What did he do?" Huey asked as dropped next to Ming and Traban.
"He released energy equal the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima back in World War II." Traban said as Huey quirked an eyebrow, his mouth slightly agape before he returned to his impassive expression.
"Well, that's… interesting." Huey said slowly as he looked over to see the boy pleading with his father.
"They're lying father!" Ghashiun yelled in his defense, looking back and forth between the Avatar's group, Huey's group, and his own tribe, "They are the thieves!"
Aang advanced once again, some small part of him still holding back his rage. Aang slammed his staff down, sending a wave of wind that destroyed a nearby sand-glider as he glared at the young Sandbender, "Where is my bison?"
"Avatar Aang, please calm down." Jazmine pleaded quietly as Katara simply looked on blankly.
Aang ignored what the Jazmine was saying to him as he eyes began to glow an eerie white, "You tell me where he is now!"
"This is bad. If he goes into the Avatar-state, he could kill us all in his rage!" Traban thought as he watched Aang send another blast of wind, destroying yet another sand-sailer while the tribe chief looked at his son in disbelief and shock. The fear for the Avatar was evident in his eyes, as was the same fear in all the others.
"What did you do?" the chief yelled as Ghashiun threw his hands up.
"t wasn't me!"Ghashuin replied weakly as Toph pointed accusingly at him.
"You said to put a muzzle on him." Toph retorted, recalling the boy's voice issung the command to silence Appa while she held up the library yesterday.
"You muzzled Appa?" Aang asked in blind fury, and his eyes and now his arrowed tattoos glowing as his rage continued to build with the many images of Appa's pain and suffering flowing past his mind's eye. He flipped and threw another wave of air at the sand sailers, destroying another glider.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!" Ghashuin apologized, but it was no use.
"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang commanded as his entire body engulfed in the Avatar State as his very aura around him became visible, voice commanding like that of a thousand generals, and his gaze more menacing than any of those ever seen before him.
Huey had to admit that he was both slightly terrified and impressed…
"I-I traded him… t-to some merchant… h-he's probably in Ba Sing Se by now!" Ghashiun replied in earnest, and it only made Aang's eyes narrow.
"Avatar Aang, you must get a hold of yourself!" Traban yelled as he ran over to restrain the young Avatar. But as soon as he had made it within Aang's range, Traban was suddenly thrown back by a powerful blast of energy, dust picking up as he went flying backward and into the side of the enormous rock.
"T-They were going to sell him there!" Ghashiun confessed, raising his hands in surrender if only to save his own hide and that of his family. Looking into the forboading glare of the Avatar, all of the Sandbenders flinched back as they forsaw their own demises at the hands of young Aang, "Please, we'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help you anyway we can!"
The dust began to pick up and Sokka quickly recognized what was happening from where he was still on the rock, "Just get out of here!" Sokka yelled, pulling Toph along as he moved away from Aang.
"Traban just got his ass kicked and he ain't even get close! The fuck we do now?" Riley asked as he carried the unconscious Traban while Jazmine and Cindy bounded toward Huey and Ming in front of him.
"Ugh…" Traban moaned out as he awoke, "He's not going to listen… We need to knock him out, but catch him off-guard to do so. The Avatar-state is extremely powerful, and if we don't do something quick, this desert is gonna be wiped from existence and us along with it."
"I don't think we have to do anything, actually." Jazmine said as she pointed toward Katara, who was tiredly walking up to the raging Avatar. Her eyes seemed so heavy, her walk sluggish as she grabbed the ascending Aang's arm.
Aang looked down, his eyes still full of rage as Katara was still able to get through his air-current barrier. She pulled him down, and in one swift motion, she wrapped her arms around Aang's smaller frame and hugged him for all he was worth. Huey and Ming's eyes began to widen in disbelief as the raging winds began to calm, and the sand stopped swirling about as it setttled.
"W-What…? What just happened?" Traban asked as the Avatar began to calm down, "That girl… Katara is getting through to him?"
"Yeah." Jazmine said with a small smile, "He must really like her. She's probably the only one who can talk some sense into him… Just like I do with Huey."
"I have no idea what you're blabbering on about." Huey replied with crossed arms as his gaze never left the embracing friends. Jazmine only giggled at his reply.
"Sure you don't, Huey Freeman…"
"No, not a good thing… You all just don't understand how much worse this makes everything…" Traban muttered as he stood up from leaning on Riley.
They all watched as Aang began to cry while his rage calmed. Tears of pain and sorrow streaked down his face as Katara tightened her grip around his shoulders. The swirling wind dissipated and the dust settled. For as loudly as his rage in the Avatar-state began, the young Avatar began channeling the anger out of himself… leaving only a deep woe within himself.
"I think…" Huey started to the chief, trailing off as he glanced back at Aang, "I think we'll take you up on that offer of a ride out of the desert."