Chapter Twenty-One

Aang flew for miles, soaring in the clouds where he could, and flying high above the birds when he couldn't. If there had ever been a time for stealth, this was it.

He couldn't fly forever, of course. After two sleepless nights, he'd landed on an island caked with plants. Dizzy with hunger as he'd been, it had been a miracle to find a cache of Leechi nuts before he'd curled up to sleep for the night.

He'd woken to the sound of voices and soared into the sky again without waiting to discover who inhabited that island.

At first, his only destination had been away from the Fire Nation. Any of the other nations would shelter him, if he could only make it out of Fire Nation territory. But after coming down from the sky to rest on the third day, he'd begun to wonder if that still held true. After all, he'd disappeared for months. Ba Sing Se was under Fire Nation control, just like Omashu. Sozin's Comet was only a few weeks away.

He had failed the world once, when he'd disappeared for a hundred years. Had he failed it again by disappearing for just a few months?

Since stealth was critical in avoiding capture, Aang only descended at nightfall. As the third day settled into dusk, he made camp and contemplated what that woman had said before she'd set him free. She said that kindness and hope had become foreign concepts in this land, he thought, leaning his new glider against a tree so he could gather berries from a nearby bush. He left the wings open, since the weather was clear. If he had to make a quick escape, the extra second it would take to unfold the delicate golden wings would only imperil him.

What did she mean by that? he wondered, swallowing a handful of berries. Though he didn't know the name for them, he recognized the distinct purple color of them; he'd eaten such berries before. That even the Fire Nation has no hope of surviving this war? But they're winning. Why would she think that? How bad are things in the Fire Nation that she couldn't abide another year of war after it's gone on so long already? Is it the comet?

Aang sighed and shook his head, gathering more berries and eating them as he went. His stomach was still shrunken from the meager prison rations, but he could already tell the luxury of daily meals was restoring him to health. His flesh did not stretch so tightly over his bones, and his sallow skin was regaining some of its natural pallor. After hours of flying, his muscles were becoming toned again. He wasn't healthy exactly, but he was much better than he had been. The only persisting problem were the dark bags under his eyes, and those would clear up once he found a safe place to sleep. If there's any safe place left for me . . .

He returned to his glider and took shelter under the boughs of a gnarled tree. There he sat, the night deepening around him. He didn't trust this land enough to let his guard down, but a few minutes of meditation would revive him somewhat. If he was lucky, he could steal a few hours of sleep after he relaxed.

As he sunk into a light trance, his weary mind freed itself to greater concerns. For months, his only worries had been that the guards would forget to feed him, or that someone would force him from his cell so he could be executed. He had been a prisoner in mind as well as in body. But now, in the open air, with the cacophony of nocturnal creatures all around him, his mind stretched out and reached for some familiar presence.

Before he realized it, Aang had left his body behind and was watching himself sit against the tree from afar. He hesitated, unsure if he should return to his body. He'd gone to the Spirit World before, but to abandon his body in the thick of Fire Nation territory, knowing people were hunting him down, seemed suicidal.

No, he thought. That's wrong. If I'm in the Spirit World, there must be a reason for it. He turned and started toward the edge of the island, wishing the Spirit World did not strip away his bending.

He took a deep breath, feeling the air move in and out of his lungs without gaining any real relief from it. The sensations of the living world were not always the same as those in the Spirit World, and though the lack of relief was unnerving, it was not painful. "Just relax," he murmured to himself. "You've done this before."

After another minute, he reached the edge of the island. There, he waited for some sense of purpose to come to him. He had to do something to get out of this predicament. Maybe get directions to the Earth Kingdom? he thought hopefully, looking out to sea. The waves shimmered under the glowing moon, their surfaces turning reflective, like mirrors. Far in the distance, another speck of light appeared. It resembled a star, despite the pale blue coloring. Aang's eyebrows came together as he stared. It seemed like the longer he looked, the brighter the spot of light glowed.

What is that? he wondered, taking another step onto the beach. The water lapped up against his toes, a strange sensation when he had no physical body. The point of light spread out further, now appearing almost half the size of the moon. As Aang looked closer, he could see shapes, lining up together in strange ways. Something shifted—either the light, or his own perception—and the features resolved into the head of a dragon.

"Fang!" he yelled, jumping up and down as he recognized Avatar Roku's animal guide. The dragon streaked through the air, staying close to the water as it approached. At the last moment, it rose up and twisted through the air, coming to a graceful stop on the edge of the beach. A low grumble rose from its throat, and Aang leapt forward. "You have no idea how happy I am to see a familiar face."

The dragon growled again, a sound similar to the contented grumble Appa often gave. Appa . . . "Do you know where I can find Appa?" he asked. "Or the rest of my friends?"

Fang lowered his scaly head. His whiskers snaked out and touched Aang's forehead. At once, he was assaulted with a flood of images, some nonsensical, others clear. He saw a needle-like structure looming high above the tree line, and an island half-submerged in a boiling lake. Hundreds of trees blended together in a flurry of green and brown, losing their shape and definition as their uniform features became meaningless. Animals half-seen, some fluffy, some scaly, and some cloaked only with thick skins . . . A final image flickered to life, more vibrant than all the rest.

Aang looked down at the Fire Nation capital, flinching away from the image. Though he'd spent little time actually looking down at the city, the knowledge that he'd spent the majority of his brutal imprisonment there made the image hard to stomach.

But Fang didn't release him from the vision. So Aang watched as he spiraled down toward the island. The view shifted jarringly, and suddenly he was on the ground. Feet away, a dozen soldiers tried to bind Appa with ropes and chains. "Appa!" Aang yelled. His voice was lost to the dissonance of the Spirit World.

It didn't matter. A moment later, one of the ropes snapped, and Appa slipped free of his restraints, rising high into the air. More ropes shot out from below, falling short as the flying bison took off. One nearly caught Momo as he followed, but the flying lemur managed to dodge the coil of ropes and latch onto Appa's tail.

The scene blurred, following the flying bison through the sky. Time ceased to flow at its normal speed, instead moving much faster. Day turned to night, then to day again, in just a few seconds. Aang watched this cycle repeat several times until the scene began moving at a normal pace once more. Appa was elsewhere now, having landed on a strangely familiar section of rock. Aang stared at it for a long moment before he recognized it. "That's the Eastern Air Temple," he said, almost laughing in his shock.

The vision wavered, and suddenly, Aang was back on the beach, standing face to face with Avatar Roku's dragon. Fang withdrew his whiskers and leaned back, extending his wings as if to fly. Aang bowed deeply as the dragon rose into the sky. "Thank you."

Fang departed just as quickly as he'd arrived, flying at impossible speeds toward the east. Aang ran back to his body, feeling refreshed despite not having actually slept. As he merged once again with his body, he took a deep breath, relishing in the sensation.

He gathered a few more berries from the bush he'd found, picked up his glider, and headed for the Eastern Air Temple.