Chapter Seven: Hope

Aang and Katara returned with Sokka and the fisherman, and the rest of the night remained tense. Aang wouldn't look me in the eye while Katara wouldn't stop giving me dirty looks. Knowing any further dialogue would result in another disagreement, I kept silent, served dinner, and retired to bed.

The next morning we awoke to Sokka coughing a fit. It appeared the only thing he caught with the fisherman was a terrible fever, and we decided to find better shelter than a damp cave. We came across the Ruins of Taku and took refuge in one of the abandoned temples.

Sokka was bundled in his sleeping-sack and was placed against Appa. Katara was tending to him while Aang had been sent out to find some ginger root. I was preparing some soup, and once it went into the simmer phase, I wandered off to the edge of the temple to meditate.

I sat cross-legged at the edge of the stone floor and looked out at our surroundings. Now that the worst of the storm had passed, I couldn't help but find the atmosphere relaxing. The air was much clearer after it rained.

"Tashi, is the soup ready yet?" Katara said.

I glanced back at her. "It should be a few more minutes, but you can test it to be sure."

She ladled a spoonful into one of our bowls and drank it. I saw her eyes widen, and she smacked her lips in displeasure.

"Wow, that's… strong." She grimaced.

I laughed. "I added peppermint leaves. It'll help with Sokka's fever. Although, if it's still that bitter, you should let it sit for a little while longer."

"It seems like it should." She set the bowl down and continued wiping her brother's forehead with a rag.

I closed my eyes and practiced my deep breathing. After a few minutes, I was about to get into my zone as I like to call it when I heard footsteps next to me. I peered one eye open and saw Katara.

She sat down beside me. "Tashi, we need to talk."

"If this is about Aang, I'm not taking back what I said." I closed my eye and exhaled.

"What you said wasn't fair. Or nice." She narrowed her eyes. "You really had no right to blame him."

"Life isn't fair or nice." I took a deep breath. "And my grandparents didn't raise me to dance around the truth and sugarcoat things."

"He suddenly had this huge burden placed on his shoulders, and I can't imagine how overwhelming it was. It was a difficult situation," Katara said.

I exhaled. "Difficult or not, choices have consequences, and what did Aang accomplish by running away? He still has to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, except the situation's been made worse. He's on a time limit, and you three have almost gotten yourselves killed just for him to learn basic abilities. You can't run from who you are."

She huffed. "And what gives you the right to judge?"

"Because before Aang returned, I was the last air-bender in the whole world, and even with him here, there's still only two of us." Opening my eyes, I removed my left glove and held up my hand. "And I'm reminded of it every day."

Her eyes widened. "You're burned."

"My hands only suffered minor abrasions. The rest of me is worse." I stared at the feathered scars that ran along my skin. "I didn't choose to be an air-bender, but I accepted the responsibility of my existence. I've done whatever it takes to survive, so the line doesn't end with me. Aang, on the other hand–"

"What happened in the past can't be changed." She sighed. "But he can make a difference now."

"And has he learned his lesson?" I put my glove back on. "Or will he keep making the same mistakes? He's still only twelve."

She smiled. "I believe he will."

I chuckled. "Hope is a good thing to have. I admit that when I first heard rumors of Aang's return, I was hopeful. In fact, if you three hadn't showed up, I don't think I would've developed the courage to leave Jet."

"When we visited the Southern Air Temple, I'll never forget how much rage and pain Aang suffered through when he learned the Nomads were really gone." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't forget that you give him hope too."

I nodded. "I know I do."

Sokka sneezed and started laughing. "Appa, you crack me up."

Katara stood. "I should get back to him."

"The soup should be ready. Give him a small amount to see how he reacts." I was about to continue my meditation when I saw Aang return.

Aang walked over to Katara. "How's Sokka doing?"

"Not good." She ladled some soup into the bowl. "Hopefully, this'll help a little."

"I wasn't able to find any ginger root for the tea." He pulled out a scroll and opened. "But I found this. There's an herbal institute at the top of the hill. Maybe I can find some medicine."

"There's no need. I'm sure Sokka will be better by tomorrow." Katara set the bowl down and started coughing.

"Oh no," Aang said.

"I'm fine. I–" Her coughs continued and became more congested.

"That's how Sokka started yesterday." He furrowed his brow. "And now he thinks he's an earth-bender."

Sokka punched at the air and slurred, "Take that, you rock."

Exhaling, I stood and walked over to Aang. "Come on. Let's get to this herbalist before we all start hallucinating."

Aang turned and deflected his gaze. "Well, uh…."

"What?" I picked up the map and examined it.

"Nothing." He opened his staff into a glider. "Just hold onto my legs."

Lightning flashed outside.

I cringed. "How about not?"

"Yeah…." He closed his glider and sat it down. "You should stay behind, Tashi. It'll be faster if I run."

"That'll be no problem." Grinning, I sped off ahead of him.

It had been a while since I stretched my legs out like this. The wind blowing all around me, the sight of the buildings and trees whizzing by, I couldn't get enough of it. It was exhilarating. I heard footsteps speeding after me, and soon Aang was running beside me.

"Hey, you could've waited for me," he said.

"Time is of the essence, Avatar." I picked up my pace. "Beat you there."

I heard him laugh, and the game was on. We raced through the countryside, not caring who could be watching, and made our way up the stairs to the herbalist residence. We passed through the arch gateway neck in neck and stopped in front of the greenhouse.

"Ha!" I pumped my fists in the air. "I win."

"You?" He folded his arms. "I was faster."

"Yeah, but my legs are longer, so I can cover more ground, shorty." I laughed.

He frowned before sighing and twiddling his fingers. "Listen, Tashi, about what happened in the cave…. You were right. I was selfish, and the whole world paid the price. But I won't make that mistake again. I'll fix this for everyone."

"That's good to hear," I said.

"And for you. I'm sorry for everything that happened to you in my absence, but I promise I won't let the Fire Nation to take you away like they did the rest of our people." He bowed. "As the last two air-benders, we have to survive this."

I smiled and bowed. "Thank you."

We entered the green house and found the herbalist. It was an old woman, who lived alone with her cat, and after what felt like forever, she told us the cure for Sokka and Katara's illness. We rushed back outside and made our way down to the valley swamp.

"Are you sure we can trust her?" I gagged. "I mean, sucking on frozen frogs, really?"

"It's not like we have much of a choice." Aang shrugged.

Two arrows landed at his feet. He tried to move, but his shoes were pinned down.

I gasped. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine." He pulled the arrows out. "They didn't hit my feet."

"Who did…?" Taking out my whips, I turned around and saw more arrows heading our way.

"Stay behind me!" Aang rushed in front of me and bended an orb of air around us that deflected the arrows.

I narrowed my eyes toward the forest. "There's a bunch of archers in the trees. I think they're Fire Nation."

More arrows came at us, and we did our best to dodge them. Aang was having better luck than me, and one of the arrows grazed my arm. What kind of archers were these? Their precision was so good that it was impossible for me to find an opening to retaliate.

Aang grabbed my hand. "Come on. We have to get out of here."

"No arguments from me." I followed him to the edge of the cliff.

We leapt off the cliff, but the onslaught of arrows continued. I glanced back and saw that the archers had jumped right after us. The trees of the forest below grew closer, and latching my whip onto one of the branches, I made my way from tree to tree. Aang jumped and flipped his way through like a skilled acrobat, but I couldn't keep up with him.

"Aang, wait!" I jumped to the next branch and screamed when an arrow hit my shoulder.

I lost my balance and fell backwards. One of the archers jumped down toward me, and I punched a gust of air at him. He was knocked back into one of the trees and dropped to the ground. I tried to spin around to catch my fall, but my head collided with one of the branches. I hit the ground with a rough thud, and everything around me was blurry.

"Tashi! No!"

"Aang?" I mumbled out before I lost consciousness.

….

When I came to, it was the first time I felt true terror in four years. Metal walls surrounded me, and my hands and feet were in cuffs. The Fire Nation had captured me.

"Aang?" Tears formed in my eyes. "Aang!"

I hoped that he hadn't been captured too, but a nagging voice in the back of my head argued otherwise. He wouldn't have left me behind, and those archers had been relentless. I turned onto my back and cringed. The arrow had been removed, but my whole body was screaming from my fall.

I have to get out of here. I tried lifting myself onto my knees, as painful as it was, but I fell back against the wall behind me. "Aang, where are you?"

The latch to the steel door unlocked, and it creaked open, revealing….

My eyes widened. "No."

I knew that face. The face that had haunted me for four years. It was the fire-bender who attacked my village. He was dressed more official than I remember, and glancing over his shoulder, I didn't see anyone else behind him. Was this guy really that cocky to not have any assistance?

"Well, well, if it isn't the second air-bender," the man said.

I glared at him. "And who are you, sideburns?"

"I am Admiral Zhao." His tone lowered as he gave me a stern look. "And it would be in your best interests to temper your tongue."

"Zhao, huh?" I steadied my breathing, trying to keep calm. "At least now I have a name to put to the monster."

"Me? A monster? How can you say that with your pathetic form of bending? Your people deserved to die for their weakness." Stepping closer, he shut the door behind him. "You should consider yourself lucky that you survived our last encounter."

"Luck?" I scoffed. "I'm alive because I'm strong, and no matter what you do to me, I'll always survive."

He grasped my chin, his fingers digging into my cheeks. "Is that a challenge?"

Zhao glanced me over, his gaze becoming hooded and lustful. He smirked and ran a calloused finger over my lips.

"To answer your question from four years ago." He ran a hand through my hair and chuckled. "No, you don't look like a hundred-year-old woman. But you have grown into a fine, young woman."

"Too young for you." I recoiled from him but held my glare. "Don't touch me."

"Why not? It's not like I haven't marked you already." He pulled back my collar and ran his fingers over the scars on my neck.

I cringed before spitting in his face. "I said don't touch me!"

A second later, Zhao's hand smacked me across my face, and I collapsed on the hard metal. My cheek stung, making me want to cry, but I had to keep a level head. I would not show weakness to him.

"You're my prisoner, and I can do whatever I want with you!" He stood and glared at me. "And once I've had my fill, I'll slaughter you in front of the Avatar, so he can watch the very last hope for his people die."

So Aang was captured. Oh no. I scowled at him. "You won't win."

"I already have." He smirked and made his way to the door.

I waited for Zhao to open it before taking a deep breath and knocking him into the wall across the hall. Rolling on my back, I raised my feet and propelled myself out of the cell. I collided into him before he could recover, and he was smashed into the wall again.

He was stunned but not unconscious, and I took what little time I bought to propel myself down the hall. I thanked the spirits I was fully clothed because having my skin rub against the metal floor at such a high speed wouldn't have been pleasant. I tried not to scream as I ended up sending myself down a flight of stairs. If I lived through this, I was definitely retaining some bruises.

I held my hands out in front of me and released a gust of air to catch my fall. I still thought it was strange that there were no guards nearby, but Zhao probably thought a weak girl like me wasn't worth the trouble in comparison to Aang.

Bad judgement call there. Then again, they were also stupid enough to cuff my hands in front of me. I searched the area. There has to be somewhere I can hide.

I spotted the grating to a vent in the wall and smiled. I worm-crawled my way over to it and pulled on the bars. It was too secure, and without free movement, I couldn't gain enough leverage. Getting a firm grip on the bars, I took a deep breath and pushed myself backwards into the wall behind me. The force caused the grating to snap off.

"The air-bender girl has escaped! Find her!"

Crap. I propelled myself back toward the open vent.

I slid in feet first, and I was able to pull the grating back in place behind me. Hearing footsteps approach, I let go of the bars and slid back out of view.

"Are you sure she went this way, sir?" a random soldier said.

I saw a pair of feet stand in front of the gate, and I scooted back even further into the shadow of the vent.

Zhao screamed in frustration. "Forget her for now. There's no way out of this fortress, and as long as we have the Avatar, that's all that matters."

I kept retreating back, not realizing the vent was leading to a drop, and I fell a few feet into what seemed to be an underground sewer line. I landed in a pool of shallow water, and I groaned as my shoulder collided with the metal floor underneath. After this was over, I was going to be more in need of an herbalist than Sokka and Katara.

My eyes widened while I shifted myself upright into a sitting position. They don't know Aang and I are captured, and if they don't get some medicine….

I heard cheering and stomping from above me. It sounded like soldiers, a lot of them, and looking ahead, I could see moonlight shining through a grating above.

I must be outside of the fortress, or at least the main part of it. I sighed. But what can I do? I can't fight that many soldiers by myself, let alone when I'm tied up. And Aang is still in there.

Hearing the sound of metal clanging, I froze. Quick yet cautious footsteps approached, and I gasped when my eyes fell upon a cloaked figure wearing a blue mask.