A/N: so there's not much i want to say other then i'd like to answer a question one of you guys had, and also that i didn't really have any good name ideas for this chapter so it's called "The Key" so i apologize for the lack of creativity on the name, but other then that i hope you enjoy this chapter!
Ashley Barbosa: okay so that's a good question, and the reason why (i'll explain a bit more in this chapter) is because this sandbender isn't the smartest i guess you could say, again i'll explain more in this chapter, but that's all i'll say for now so i don't spoil anything
disclaimer: i do not own ATLA or the characters (Lin, Bai and Cheng, however, are OCs)
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Sokka and Toph had calmed down and helped Aang from his crying state on the floor, and then decided to pack their things and start trying to find Katara, before they left on Appa though they informed the inn keeper on what happened to which she gratefully thanked them for telling her, along with apologizing for what had happened, after that they got on Appa and left. Sokka and Toph were sitting on Appa's saddle while Aang was sitting on Appa's head guiding him, they had found what looked like tracks of a sand sailer leading away from the inn, using the tracks Aang guided Appa in that direction.
Sokka was trying to come up with a plan while Toph was trying to take a nap, they had both calmed down from the incident from the previous night while someone was still upset about it. Aang's sadness hadn't really left, but was mostly turned into anger as Aang was furious about what had happened the previous night, but it made him even more furious that the people that had taken Katara were sandbenders, most likely the same sandbenders who had stolen Appa in the past.
"whoever took Katara is dead" Aang thought aloud, he didn't really mean the part about them dying, but he did know he would at least beat them up a bit even though he wouldn't normally want too. Sokka had overheard Aang from his spot on Appa's saddle, and got worried about what might happen. Sokka saw, or at least was told what happened when Appa was taken and that it hadn't been pretty. however though, that was Appa, and even though Aang loved Appa a lot, everyone knew he loved Katara more then anything in the world. this fact made Sokka nervous for possibly having to deal with an angry Aang, and even worse, an angry Avatar.
"Aang, you alright?" Sokka asked the younger airbender, his eyes filled with concern. "yeah Sokka, i'm fine." Aang replied in a numb tone, making Sokka raise a brow at the airbender. Toph had woken up from the two boys talking, although she wasn't able to sleep much so she got the idea of what they were talking about. "you sure?" the water tribe warrior asked, his tone clearly showing more worry than the first time. "yeah Sokka, just please leave me alone right now unless you have a plan on how to find Katara." Aang replied, still numbness and emptiness in his voice. Toph knew her boyfriend would be questioning Aang's tone and answers, and decided to help him out a bit.
the young earth bender moved herself closer to her boyfriend and started speaking "remember what Katara told you about what happened when Appa was taken?" Toph asked the older boy, he nodded but then remembered she couldn't see so he quickly replied "yeah, what about it?" he asked her curiously, still not sure of what she meant. "when Appa was stolen Aang kind of went through stages of emotions" Toph paused thinking before she continued, "so that's kind of whats going on right now, first he was upset and crying, then he was furious about how the sandbenders took Appa, and then he went numb, just hiding his emotions pretty much. he's going through the same thing right now but with Katara, which hurts twice as much for him since he loves Katara more then anything." Toph finished explaining, leaving Sokka somewhat shocked that Toph had pretty much just explained all of Aang's visible emotions, even though she was blind.
"well, is there anything we can do to help?" Sokka asked, as he remembered how long Aang was emotionally numb when Appa was taken and knew it wouldn't help their situation. "as far as I know, Sugar Queen was the only one who talked some sense into Aang and it actually worked." Toph replied, feeling bad for Aang knowing that he had to deal with someone he loved being taken all over again. Sokka didn't reply as the silence grew more awkward, before someone finally spoke up
"guys! guys! I see something!" Aang exclaimed in excitement, breaking the silence.
Sokka looked to where Aang was looking as saw what looked like a little hut in the distance, making him also get excited that they may have found Katara. Toph, however, couldn't see anything therefore having no clue what they were looking at, "hellooooo, still blind" Toph said in an annoyed tone, gaining Sokka's attention. "oh right, sorry, Aang found what looks like a little hut in the distance. Katara might be there" Sokka quickly explained to the blind earth bender, which made Toph excited to possibly find her friend. "well what are we waiting for? lets go!" Toph exclaimed as they all started heading towards the little hut.
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"what the hell were you thinking?!" Lin yelled, she was extremely mad that her inn was damaged. "hey i didn't do it! I sent Bai to do it!" the sandbender tried to explain, but Lin wasn't having any of it. "when we made our deal you said my inn wouldn't be damaged, yet it was still damaged! i gave you a key for a reason!" Lin continued yelling at the man, seeing as he flinched when she yelled. "i told Bai to use the key you gave me! i don't know why he went in through the window!" the sandbender exclaimed, hoping Lin wouldn't take out all of her rage on him. "oh really Cheng? where's the key?" she asked, clearly knowing what his answer would be, "Bai has it! see it's not even in my pocket-" Cheng stopped speaking once he'd reached in his pocket and grabbed something, making his eyes filled with fear. "you never gave him the key, did you." Lin said with annoyance showing in her voice, "i didn't.." Cheng said with defeat, disappointed in himself. "I thought i gave him the key, he must've broken the window since he had no other way to get it. i'm sorry." Cheng explained then apologized to Lin, but she was still upset about the broken window. "well sorry isn't going to fix my window, so either you give me the money to fix it along with the money we agreed on or I tell the authorities about your little kidnapping plan." Lin harshly said to the sandbender, making him once again flinch in fear. "so i just have to give you the money?" he asked.
"just the money." she reassured him, "we got ourselves a deal?" she said with question in her tone. "deal."
to be continued...