Chapter 42: Smaerdyad dna Seramthgin

The better part of two weeks passed by, plenty of time for Appa to reach the final stop before the invasion. A lonely island was surrounded by water to every horizon, and that island's shores were all sheer cliffs of volcanic rock. The island had a small cove that would make a good harbor, were it not for the jagged rocks that surrounded the entrance, a problem easily solved by a master earthbender. As the island was difficult for ships to dock at, and that there was lack of resources inland, the Fire Nation left it uninhabited.

It was just after sunset when Appa reached the island, and once the sky bison was on solid ground everyone climbed off and looked around. The only creatures around were the koala-sheep, and the herds paid them no mind, as they had no fear of predators on the tiny island. The group set up camp shortly after arriving, as they had been flying all day and needed a good night's rest. In the starlight Sokka checked a map to be certain that this was the right island, and as he rolled up the map he had a big grin on his face.

"This is the right place," Sokka said. "The official rendezvous point for the invasion."

"We're still four days ahead of schedule," Katara added.

Aang's eyes went wide. "Wait! Four days! The invasion's in four days!"

"Plenty of time," Taiyo said. He threw down a couple of sleeping bags, but there weren't enough for all of them to use. "All that's left to do now is get some rest."

"I guess," Aang muttered. He laid down on the grass, having lost his sleeping bag somewhere on the way here. "Well… goodnight.

With Momo beside him, Aang slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next day was little different from the last, save for Aang having trouble dealing with a nightmare involving missing pants. Actually having spare time to think about what he was expected to do was starting to get to him, and those thoughts kept him from resting properly. There were still three more days left before the solar eclipse, plenty of time for him to worry about the responsibilities he had to live up to. Fortunately, it was also plenty of time for Katara and Sokka to help Aang get over his fears of fighting the Fire Lord, doing what they could to make sure Aang got plenty of rest.

During that day, Taiyo left the island and ran to the Earth Kingdom, planning to spend his time causing trouble for the Fire Nation army and helping out the locals. There was a small farming town about to be seized by a military convoy, complete with several tanks rolling in to support the troops. It was a simple matter for Taiyo to run past one of the tanks at high speed, grab hold of the treads on one side, and rip them off in the blink of an eye. One by one Taiyo damaged the tanks and halted their movement, stopping them from reaching the farming town and delaying the occupation.

When he was finished, Taiyo stopped and stood on a hill overlooking the town, watching Fire Nation troops gather around the disabled tanks and setting up camp. "That'll keep them for a couple days."

Taiyo was just about to move on when he noticed the strangest thing, something that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. There was a very little man walking towards the disabled tanks, a little man with a head nearly as big as the rest of his body. This little man was wearing a formal purple suit with a small purple hat, though the fashion was nothing like anything Taiyo had ever seen before. The little man seemed to be looking around for something important, seemingly unaware of the danger he was walking towards.

"Hey McGurk!"

That voice was irritating even from a distance, and nearly impossible for him to ignore. Still, Taiyo felt that he had to do something before the little man could walk right into a bunch of angry Fire Nation troops. In a second, he got in front of the little man, where he had no choice but to look down to see him. Somehow the little man didn't notice Taiyo's sudden appearance and simply walked around him, a behavior that left him quite perplexed. Taiyo turned to face the little man again, wondering what his deal was.

"Excuse me?" Taiyo said.

That finally got the little man's attention. "Have you seen McGurk? I've been looking everywhere."

"Can't say I have," Taiyo answered. "What does he look like?"

"Eh, you'd know it if you saw him," the little man described. With that said, he went back to walking towards the Fire Nation troops. "McGurk! I don't have all day!"

In an instant Taiyo was ahead of the little man again. "You shouldn't go that way. Those guys wouldn't hesitate to burn you right now."

Yet again, the little man ignored him. He went around Taiyo, walked a short distance forward, and his face seemed to light up in joy. "There you are McGurk."

Taiyo looked in the same direction, and his eyes widened. "What the…"

One of the tanks had stood up.

The metal in the tank had unfolded into the basic shape of a person, although the proportions were a little distorted and a bit lopsided, but still it was a walking tank. It even had a complete head and face made out of metal, which had eyes that looked at the little man and seemed to recognize him. The upright tank took some long steps towards the little man, leaving behind very startled and confused troops behind. When the two met the upright tank bent down onto one knee, and they bumped their fists against each other.

After needing a moment to comprehend the sight, Taiyo crossed his arms. "Explain."

Now the little man was a little annoyed, and he snapped his little fingers. "McGurk, deal with this guy."

"My pleasure," McGurk said, standing up tall and cracking metal knuckles.

McGurk threw a metal fist and hit Taiyo's jaw, and it actually made him stumble back a few feet. Another punch followed but this time Taiyo caught the fist in one hand, then yanked on the metal arm to pull McGurk down. Then Taiyo threw an uppercut into McGurk's jaw, which not only knocked him back but also shattered his entire head. The rest of McGurk fell on the ground, which Taiyo stared at in shock. Then he remembered that McGurk had been a Fire Nation tank, not an actual person that he broke into pieces.

But then there was a flash and a popping sound, and reality itself snapped back to normal. Both the little man and McGurk had vanished, and one of the disabled tanks was slightly more wrecked than the others. Stranger yet, none of the Fire Nation soldiers seemed to question this, as if it had never happened in the first place. They just went about their business making repairs and setting up camp, unaware of anything else going wrong. Taiyo was left standing there wondering what was going on, and he really had no idea.

"Maybe this is all a dream?" Taiyo muttered.

The next day started out just like the last one, with Aang waking up screaming from a really bad nightmare. After everyone was awake Aang babbled on about not being ready for a math test, which had Katara becoming more concerned about his wellbeing. Even worse was when he started babbling about various ways things could go wrong in the invasion, overblowing minor problems into enormous catastrophes, all from his nightmares about the invasion. Something had to be done to make Aang relax, or else his insomnia would get them all killed in the real invasion.

Katara brought Aang to the side of a tall hill, where they could go through some physical stretches. "These yoga stretches can really work wonders if you do them in extreme heat. Reach up."

Despite the heat of Fire Nation summer, Aang did as instructed, reaching up toward the midday sun that was bearing down on them. They went through the exercises one at a time, reaching this way and that, hoping to push the stress out of Aang by wearing him out. It lasted until they reached a particular pose, where both of them had bent over far enough to put their heads on the ground, holding onto their legs for stability. In that pose Katara looked at Aang, and he seemed to be doing better, at least for the moment.

"Now close your eyes," Katara instructed. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel… really warm," Aang answered.

"Good," Katara said. "Go on."

"Like there's this warm feeling all around me," Aang said. His eyes opened, darting back and forth. "This heat… like I'm in the Fire Lord's palace and he's shooting a bunch of fireballs at me! And the whole world is being engulfed by flames!"

Katara saw him fall over onto his back, all their progress evaporated in an instant. "Maybe your stress is the kind you need to talk out?"

From there Katara handed Aang over to Sokka, who had gotten dressed up for the occasion. He was in his Fire Nation disguise, with a fake beard hanging from his chin, and held a clipboard of green light in one arm. Sokka had his ring conjure a comfy couch for Aang to lay down on, and in spite of the green glow it was helpful to rest on it. He was sitting down on a glowing green chair, legs crossed and leaning forward toward Aang. For a while Sokka simply let Aang stare up at the clear blue sky, while he got into the proper mood.

After clearing his throat, Sokka made his voice go as deep as he could. "Why don't you get right down to business and tell me what's been bothering you."

"You know what's bothering me," Aang answered. "I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days."

Sokka nodded. "Why are you so afraid of him?"

"He's the baddest man on the planet!" Aang yelled. "I'm supposed to defeat him and save the world!"

"Life does feel that way sometimes, doesn't it?" Sokka asked, getting a little more into the role than he should. "Like we're all trying to save the world from evil."

"Okay. But what can I do to feel better?" Aang asked.

A pillow of green light appeared. "Want to try screaming into this pillow?"

Aang did as he was instructed, though it didn't do much to help, even with Sokka insisting that it should have worked. Eventually he simply gave up on the counseling, and handed Aang over to the next person. Fortunately, Toph had been preparing something during all the pointless chatter, and now it was her turn to try and help Aang. A bed of small stone pillars was ready, and Toph had Aang lie down on the hard rocks. It was far from comfortable, and it left Aang apprehensive about what Toph was planning to do.

"Alright," Toph said, once Aang was in position. "What you need is a good old-fashioned back pounding to relieve your stress."

"Pound away," Aang said. He instantly regretted it when the pillars moved and pounded into his back, inflicting a fair amount of pain. "Ow! Toph… I… think… this… is… bruising… me!"

Toph stopped her earthbending, realizing that she had overdone it. "Sorry. I forgot you had baby skin."

Meanwhile Taiyo went back to the Earth Kingdom for another day of distracting Fire Nation forces, though at this point it was just something to pass the time until the invasion. Though he couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was going to happen, just like it did yesterday. Every time he turned his head it seemed like something vanished just in time, as though he was being watched. It didn't matter how far he traveled or how quickly, the unseen watcher was always there, apparently waiting for the right moment.

Outside a remote Fire Nation colony, a signpost caught Taiyo's eye, one that the army had placed several wanted posters on for travelers to see. Taiyo stopped in front of the signpost and stared at one poster, which was different from all the others. Drawn on the poster was the little man from yesterday, but in such miraculous detail that it could have been a flattened version of the real thing. Taiyo removed the poster and read the name written on it, but had some trouble pronouncing it no matter how he tried reading it.

"Mister… Mix-Zip-Tik?"

Suddenly the poster was animated, and the little man literally jumped out of the page. "NO!"

"What in the world?" Taiyo blurted out.

The little man hovered at Taiyo's chest height. "Why does everyone always get my name wrong?"

Taiyo took a step back and tilted his head. "Then how is it pronounced?"

For illustrative assistance, the little man suddenly changed into a mixing bowl. "Mix…"

Then the little man became a tiny purple dinosaur. "Yes…"

After that the little man reverted to normal and spat in Taiyo's face. "Spit…"

And he finished by becoming a brown dog, and licked him with a long tongue. "Lick…"

Finished, the little man reverted to his normal appearance. "Mister Mxyzptlk, at your service."

"I take it you're not from around here," Taiyo assumed.

"Yup," Mxyzptlk answered. He started floating around Taiyo in a repeating circle. "I'm from what you would call the fifth dimension."

"There's a fifth dimension?" Taiyo asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah," Mxyzptlk said. "Here you've got the boring old four, forward and back, left and right, up and down, and time. Reality gets more interesting with a fifth dimension."

"So all that stuff you've been doing…" Taiyo said.

"All from moving in five dimensions," Mxyzptlk explained. "Just think, if life were stuck on a flat sheet of paper, going up or down would seem like magic. It's the same concept only far more complex."

"I'll take your word for it," Taiyo said. "Now why are you here?"

"Laughs," Mxyzptlk answered. "I have a lot of free time on my hands. Messing around with people is a pretty good hobby. And I think you are going to be pretty entertaining."

"I'll pass," Taiyo said, and started walking away.

Mxyzptlk disappeared and then reappeared in front of Taiyo. "It's not that simple. You can't just leave."

"Watch me," Taiyo said, and then he disappeared in a blur.

In moments he reached the ocean and was running across the water towards the Fire Nation, heading back to the island where he left the others. But when he was halfway across, the water's surface froze into a flat sheet of ice, which Taiyo immediately slipped on and fell on his back at high speed. He slid over half a mile before coming to a stop, and then he carefully got back on his feet. But then the ice suddenly reverted back into water and Taiyo plunged into the ocean, and so he ended up swimming the rest of the way back to the Fire Nation.

When Taiyo made it to shore, he saw Mxyzptlk appear. "That wasn't funny."

"It was to me," Mxyzptlk said, having a wide smile. "We're going to have many merry games together."

"A game has rules," Taiyo pointed out.

"You want rules?" Mxyzptlk asked. "Okay, here's a rule. You make me say, spell, or otherwise reveal my name backwards, and I'll be out of your hair."

"I can't even say your name forward, how am I supposed to say it backward," Taiyo said.

"No you idiot, you don't have to say it," Mxyzptlk said, starting to get a little frustrated. "You have to get me to say it."

"Say what?" Taiyo asked.

"Oh I'm not falling for that trick this time," Mxyzptlk said. "You'll have to be clever to get me to say it."

"How am I supposed to make you say kit-piz-zim?" Taiyo asked.

"It's pronounced Kill-Tip-Zey-Sim!" Mxyzptlk corrected. But then he realized something. "Aw nuts…"

Mxyzptlk popped out of existence, and he did not reappear.

"Huh…" Taiyo said. He waited for a short time, until he was mostly certain Mxyzptlk would not be coming back. "He was being honest about that…"

On the next day, the last day before the eclipse, Aang woke up screaming from an even worse nightmare. This one involved all of his friends dying in various and terrible ways, as well as the entire world being set ablaze by Sozin's Comet. This nightmare convinced Aang that he simply could not sleep while the world needed saving, no matter how much his friends tried to convince him otherwise. So on this day Taiyo stayed on the island to help, if only to make sure that Aang got some sleep before the big day.

"Invasion… All aboard for the invasion…"

They weren't doing very well, if Aang's behavior was proof enough of that. Aang was pacing near the shore during the morning, wandering back and forth while muttering to himself incoherently. Everyone else was nearby and watching him, all of them getting more worried with each passing moment. It looked like Aang could collapse at the smallest thing, and yet he was still forcing himself to stay awake despite his exhaustion. It was clear that he couldn't go on like this, and something had to be done about it.

"So what have you guys tried?" Taiyo asked, standing beside the others watching Aang.

"I tried using the hot spring on this island," Katara answered. "But that just made him worse."

"Therapy didn't work either," Sokka added.

"He hated the back pounding I gave him," Toph said.

Taiyo put one hand on his chin and thought about what else they could try. "How about this…"

A few minutes later, Toph made several stone walls rise up from the ground around Aang, followed by a slab of rock forming a roof on this stone shack and blocking out the sun. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Sorry Aang," Taiyo said, his voice barely getting through the stone.

Toph opened a small doorway to let Katara and Sokka through, and she closed it once they were inside. "This is for your own good."

Sokka aimed his ring at the ground, projecting green light and making a small bed. Sure the green light of the bed filled the stone shack with its glow, but it was still darker than outside. "Climb in."

"I told you, I can't sleep," Aang said.

"I wasn't asking," Sokka insisted.

Getting the point, Aang climbed into the green bed. It felt strange lying down on something made out of solid light, as if he was simply floating on nothing. "Okay, it's comfortable, but I'm still not sleeping."

Katara walked around to the head of the bed, where she could lean forward and over Aang. She bent some water around her hands and placed them on the sides of Aang's head, and the water glowed blue with the healing ability. "Just relax."

Although there weren't any physical wounds to heal, Katara hoped that it would help anyway. The waterbending provided a soothing feeling to his head, something he found quite pleasurable. Aang closed his eyes and let his senses focus on the soothing feeling, and all his other thoughts faded away. All the stress of being the Avatar faded away, and Aang finally felt comfortable enough to drift off into sleep. He looked quite peaceful there in the green bed, though none of them were sure how long it was going to last.

Once Aang was truly asleep Toph made a hole in a wall to let Katara out. "Good work, Sugarqueen."

"He's finally asleep," Katara said, emerging into daylight while Sokka stayed inside. "Hopefully he'll stay asleep this time."

"I doubt it toots."

The unfamiliar and annoying voice grabbed Katara's attention, and she turned towards it to see an annoying big-headed imp hovering nearby. "Uh… who are you?"

Toph felt for anything in the direction that Katara was staring, but she didn't notice anyone there. "Katara, who are you talking to?"

Taiyo also looked in that direction, but the space was empty. "Why am I getting a bad feeling?"

"No, you're not going crazy," Mxyzptlk said to Katara. "I just like being visible to only one person at a time. It really drives people nuts."

"Uh-huh…" Katara muttered. Then she turned back to Taiyo and Toph. "Have either of you ever seen a floating imp before?"

"Oh boy," Taiyo said, planting his face in his hand. "I thought I got rid of that guy."

"Nope," Mxyzptlk said. Then he started drifting around Katara in a circle. "Sure I can't prank him for about three months or so, but that won't stop me from messing with everyone around him."

Katara looked at Taiyo and pointed her thumb where Mxyzptlk was hovering. "So how do you get this guy to leave?"

"You have to…"

Sudden deafness cut off Taiyo's voice, though at first it seemed like only Katara noticed. But then Katara reached for her ears, and found something hard covering her ears. Her hair had become a single solid chunk, as though it were made of stone, which completely blocked all sound from getting to her. Katara saw surprised looks from everyone else, which confirmed that she wasn't imagining this. She pulled on what had become of her hair, only for it to hurt on her scalp, stubbornly refusing to come free from her ears.

"Oh come on," Katara complained.

Despite the world being put on mute, Mxyzptlk's annoying voice still got through. "Now we can't have him spoiling the game."

"You did this?" Katara asked.

"Yup," Mxyzptlk answered. "And the game is just starting."

Meanwhile, Taiyo was scribbling something onto a note, and folded it up before passing it to Katara.

"Thanks," Katara said, taking the folded note.

Suddenly, the note disappeared, and it reappeared in Mxyzptlk's hand.

"Let's see what's on this little cheat sheet," Mxyzptlk said. He unfolded the note and revealed what was written on it. "Aw nuts…"

Mxyzptlk popped out of existence, Katara's hair reverted to normal, and she picked up the note to read the single word written on it.

Kltpzyxm

"How did this work?" Katara asked.

"He revealed his name backwards," Taiyo answered. "And it seems to be a pretty flexible rule."

"And it sucks!"

"Crap," Toph said, hearing the annoying voice. "I guess it's my turn."

"Yes it is," Mxyzptlk said, having reappeared but with only Toph hearing him. He was also standing on the ground, allowing Toph to see him. "And I'm not going to fall for that cheat again."

"How about this?" Toph asked. She swung her arm up and several slanted slabs of stone slid up from the ground, creating several sharp points that almost touched Mxyzptlk's neck. "I don't know what it takes to crush imps, but I wouldn't mind trying."

Mxyzptlk's eyes went wide. "Kltpzyxm! Kltpzyxm!"

When Mxyzptlk disappeared, Toph smiled. "Well that's three of us down, two to go."

"We'd better warn Sokka," Taiyo suggested.

Still inside the stone shack, Sokka was maintaining the green bed that Aang was sleeping in, already getting bored with the tedious mental effort. He didn't like the idea of having to stay awake while Aang slept, though he had to admit that Aang needed it more than him. To pass the time Sokka held up his free hand and had some green light within his grasp, having it take different shapes to match his wandering thoughts. However, when Sokka had that light take the shape of a banana, it suddenly turned into an actual yellow banana.

"What the?" Sokka said.

"Huh?" Mxyzptlk said. "I could have sworn you'd have a weakness to yellow."

"Why would you think that?" Sokka asked, throwing the banana away. Then he noticed Mxyzptlk's appearance. "Also, who are you? And what are you?"

"Oh I'm just Mxyzptlk," he said. But then he noticed movement outside the stone shack, and Mxyzptlk snapped his fingers. "Now let's have some fun elsewhere."

In an instant both Mxyzptlk and Sokka disappeared, just a second before Toph could make an entrance to the stone shack. Once the entrance was made, Katara and Taiyo saw the green bed disappear, dropping Aang onto the hard ground. Aang immediately woke up screaming, but from pain instead of a nightmare this time. Now wide awake Aang rubbed sore spots on his back and head, feeling slightly rested but still stressed. All of his worries were coming back, all while he had nowhere near enough sleep.

On a different island, Mxyzptlk and Sokka reappeared, where it would be just the two of them. "Did you just teleport us?"

"Yes I did," Mxyzptlk answered. "I won't have those spoil sports ruin my fun this time."

"Really?" Sokka asked. "How'd they do that?"

"I'm not telling," Mxyzptlk said.

"Why not?" Sokka asked.

"Because I won't be tricked this time," Mxyzptlk answered.

"So there's a trick," Sokka said. "Wait, is the trick a magic word?"

"You're not going to get me to say it!" Mxyzptlk yelled.

"Say what?" Sokka asked.

"IT!" Mxyzptlk yelled.

"What's it?" Sokka asked.

"That word I won't be saying!" Mxyzptlk answered.

"Which is?" Sokka asked.

"Stop asking!" Mxyzptlk demanded.

"Make me," Sokka dared.

"I will!" Mxyzptlk yelled. With a snap of his fingers a yellow gag appeared in Sokka's mouth, silencing him. "Ha! Now you can't get me to say Kltpzyxm."

Sokka raised one eyebrow.

"Aw nuts…" Mxyzptlk said, and he popped out of existence.

In an instant Sokka disappeared and reappeared back in the stone shack, where most of his friends were waiting. The yellow gag was gone as well, a welcome relief. "Well that was easy."

"Where did that guy take you?" Katara asked.

"Some other island," Sokka answered. He looked around and noticed that someone was missing. "Hey, where's Aang?"

Having only slept for about fifteen minutes, Aang was still as sleep deprived as ever. Now he was roaming around the island all alone, wandering in the middle of a herd of koala-sheep. To pass the time and keep focused Aang practiced fighting against imaginary foes, using a log with a face made of noodles to represent the Fire Lord. But as he practiced he could swear that he was hearing the koala-sheep talk, some being encouraging while others were throwing insults. He ignored them of course, not letting the voices distract him.

After throwing some clumsy air around and missing his target Aang started muttering to himself. "Ozai's defense is impeccable. I'll have to try a different approach."

"Hit him harder!"

"He's mocking you!"

"One more try!"

"You suck!"

Aang ignored the koala-sheep commentary and tried again. He threw some more air at the target, but his sloppy bending completely missed. "You think you're untouchable, don't you Mr. Fire Lord?"

"Hit him from the left!"

"No, go from the right!"

"Up!"

"Down!"

"Shut up!" Aang yelled.

"Man you are having a major trip."

The annoying voice drew Aang's attention to Mxyzptlk. "Okay, now I know I'm hallucinating."

"Hey I'm real," Mxyzptlk said. Just then a bag of popcorn appeared and he starting munching some of it. "But that won't stop me from watching the show."

Aang blinked twice. "Yeah… I'm just going to ignore the talking vision in my head."

That was when Aang heard another voice. "Boy, you are really starting to lose it."

Aang turned around, and saw the flying lemur looking at him. "Momo? Did you hear something?"

"No, but I said something," Momo said, to Aang's disbelief. "You, my friend, are just a few plums short of a fruit pie."

Mxyzptlk snickered at that remark. "Even your imagination knows you're going bananas."

"Quiet you!" Momo yelled.

Suddenly, Appa was there, and standing on just his back two feet. "You've got to take care of yourself. You can't go on like this."

Momo turned around and pointed at Appa. "Leave the kid alone!"

Appa pointed back. "Hey, who asked you?"

An oversized, sugary drink appeared next to Mxyzptlk. "Alright, now this is getting good."

The argument between the lemur and the bison quickly escalated, though only Aang and Mxyzptlk could see it. Aang glanced away for only a second, but it was enough time for Momo and Appa to change. Momo was larger, nearly as tall as Aang, and wore a purple robe with a sword at the hip. Appa was clad in the dark-red armor that Sokka purchased for him, and he was holding three swords. The two of them charged at each other, the clash of steel rang loud, swords swinging over and over again. Somehow Momo was holding his own, despite Appa being several times bigger and tri-wielding swords.

As the koala-sheep cheered on both combatants, Aang tried to get them to stop. "Come on, guys. We're all on the same side."

Momo was not backing down, and went on a rant while parrying Appa's swords. "I am sick and tired of being ignored all the time! Just because I don't fight much, it doesn't mean I'm not an essential member of this team!"

Appa wasn't buying it, and his three swords caught Momo's sword in between them. "You're the comic relief, and not very good comic relief. The one time you contributed anything relevant, it was kidnapping a toddler by accident!"

Mxyzptlk gulped down much of his drink, and then made more snacks appear for him to enjoy. "Encore! Encore!"

That's when things started getting weird.

First, the log representing the Fire Lord started moving, and it did a little dance using its branches for arms and legs. Then two dozen koala-sheep ganged up on the log and piled on top of it, completely burying it under a mass of white fur. Meanwhile dozens of stones started moving in lines all around Aang, moving in beat with a strange tune that seemed to come from everywhere. And then the pile of koala-sheep exploded, to reveal the dancing log holding a pair of pom-poms, and the koala-sheep all started singing that strange tune.

Out of nowhere Guru Pathik showed up, sitting on a moving cloud and having six arms, singing his own little song. "Chakras, chakras, everybody loves chakras. Chakras, chakras, chakras sandwich tastes good. Yum!"

"Sounds yummy," Mxyzptlk said. He made a sandwich appear and took a bite. "Hmm, it's not bad."

"I think I'm having a freak out," Aang said.

"And for once it's not my handiwork," Mxyzptlk said.

Aang glanced at Mxyzptlk. "And why is this hallucination just watching the other hallucination?"

"I'm not a hallucination," Mxyzptlk said.

"Right…" Aang muttered. He turned away from all the chaos and started walking away from Mxyzptlk. "I think I need to find a cold waterfall."

"As you wish," Mxyzptlk said, and with a snap of his fingers a torrent of water fell on top of Aang.

Now soaked Aang wiped some of the water off his face. "Thanks Katara, I needed that."

"I did that one!" Mxyzptlk corrected.

"Sure you did…" Aang said. He looked away and shook his head. "I can't believe my imagination is arguing with me."

"You really think I'm not real," Mxyzptlk said. He put a hand on his chin and thought about it. "That really sucks the fun out of this. Where's the humor if the pranked doesn't know he's been pranked?"

Aang shrugged. "You tell me."

Mxyzptlk sighed and held up his hands. "You know what? I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to get you out of this sleep deprived funk. Just so you can get a grip on reality before I break it myself in about three months."

"What?" Aang asked.

With a snap of his fingers, Mxyzptlk made a grand four poster bed appear, complete with a roof and shades to keep out the sunlight. With another snap of his fingers, Mxyzptlk teleported Aang into the bed and put him underneath the sheets, where it was insanely comfortable for him to lay in. There Aang couldn't help but doze off into sleep, which let him start dreaming once again. But this time Aang stayed asleep for the rest of the day and throughout the following night, enjoying dreams of defeating and humiliating the Fire Lord.

However, when morning came Aang had a rude awakening. For when a certain word was spoken the bed disappeared.

"Kltpzyxm."