I Don't Own Avatar or Miraculous.

Chapter Twenty-Four. The Desert.

Rin was not doing well. Toph, being almost completely blind in the constantly shifting sand, had not seen exactly what had happened to the Miraculous wielder. The sandbenders had been fast. Rin barely had time to say 'Spots' before she had let out a cry and fell silent. Guessing from what Toph had heard, the sandbenders had noticed her preparing to attack and had decided to knock her out before she had time to do anything. Toph, being busy holding the stupid library up, was no threat to the sandbenders. Rin had been. Aang began to yell at her, loudly for letting Appa get taken and allowing Rin to get hurt. As much as she did blame herself for what had happened, she couldn't have changed anything. If she had dropped the library, Rin would not only be hurt and Appa gone, but they would have all died. Katara, for once, agreed with her. Aang, angry and irrational, left to look for the long gone sky bison anyways. Katara watched him go before sighing.

"We better start walking. We're the only one people who know about the solar eclipse. We have got to get Rin and that information to Ba Sing Se." Katara said, immediately taking charge. For once, Toph decided to let her. This desert was to shifty and fuzzy for her to actually get a good look at. A normal seeing person was far better suited to lead them out.

"You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?" Sokka asked from the left of her. Katara grunted.

"Not now Sokka, help me with Rin…" Katara grumbled. Toph heard shifting as Katara attempted to wake the unconscious girl.

"Hmm? Mama? My head hurts…" Rin grumbled. Seriously, what was with Rin automatically assuming her mom was waking her up? Apparently she'd been close to her parents, because she was always talking about her mama or papa.

"Come on Rin. I know your head hurts but you've got to stay awake. For Cat Noir and Adrien's sake." And who the heck was Adrien?

"Adrien..?" She muttered.

"Yes, Rin, Adrien. Now, get up." There was more shuffling as Katara helped Rin up.

"She seems to have a pretty severe concussion. I'd use my bending on it, but we only have some much water and we are stranded in the desert. We need to get her out of the desert before we can do anything." Katara said, "We need to go now." Toph felt Katara grab her hand and begin to lead her off towards who knows where. Toph was seriously starting to hate sand, which shifted too much for her to actually sense vibrations on. Now she was being led by Katara like a helpless blind child, and she was not helpless. The all walked in silence for a few hours. Toph heard no signs of Aang coming back. Her lips were getting dry, and they hadn't even been in the desert for an entire day. She ran into Sokka a few times, irritating the watertribe boy.

"Come on guys, we've got to stick together" Katara encouraged.

"If I sweat anymore, I don't think sticking together will be the problem." Sokka groaned.

"Alya, I'm thirsty. I need water, and my head really hurts." Rin complained. For some reason Rin had begun calling Katara, Alya, calling Sokka, Cat, and calling, her Alix. She had no idea why she'd been calling them that, but it was weird. Katara theorized that those were some of her friends back in Paris, and the team just reminded her of them.

"Okay, but we've got try to conserve it." Katara replied. Toph heard Katara bending and opened her mouth. Water hit it like sweet, sweet rain.

"We're drinking you bending water? You used this on the swamp guy!" Huh. Explains the taste.

"It does taste swampy." Toph said. Not that she cared. Water was water. If it helped them survive, she was fine with drinking it.

"I'm sorry, it's all we have." Katara said.

"Not anymore! Look!" Toph spun around towards where she'd heard Sokka. He saw water? Where?

"Toph, calm down. It's just a cactus." Tikki said helpfully. The little Kwami had settled on Toph's shoulder and was describe in full detail the scene unfolding in front of her. Sokka and Katara argued on whether or not to drink the water inside the cactus. Suddenly Katara pushed Toph back a little as Sokka irrationally offered some to her and his sister.

What Toph heard next was one she decided she would forever hold as blackmail against the water tribes man.

"Drink cactus juice! It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier. It's the quenchiest." Sokka said in a goofy voice.

"Okay, I think you've had enough."

"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked. Toph wasn't sure what the heck happened to Sokka, but hearing Katara pour out the cactus juice made her suddenly very thirsty again.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" She asked hopefully.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Come on, we need to find Aang." Katara replied.

"How'd we get out in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked.

"No, it's not the ocean, Cat, it's the desert, get it straight, now we have to hurry, the Akuma's going to catch us if we don't escape the desert." Rin replied.

"No, you're a cat." Sokka replied. Toph was officially confused now. Sokka sounded like he was crazy, and Rin sounded like she was stuck in memory lane because of her concussion. Poor Katara. Welp. Better her than Toph she supposed, though she would have to probably thank the waterbender once they got out of the desert… probably. They kept walking.

"Hey what's that?" Katara suddenly asked.

"What? What is what?" Toph asked frantically.

"It's just a giant dust cloud, Toph, don't worry about it." Tikki assured her. She hated not being able to 'see'.

"It's a giant mushroom!" Sokka said, "Maybe it's friendly!"

"No, it's not friendly, Cat! That's the Akuma coming!" Rin growled, "We need to move, now. No more breaks, we need to conserve water, come on!" She heard Sokka yelp. According to Tikki, Rin had pushed away from Katara and was now leading Sokka by the arm further ahead. The world had gone mad, and Toph wasn't able to watch in pleasure. Great...

They continued walking, trying to keep up with the frantic Rin who was still completely convinced they were being chased by something called an Akuma. The temperature in the desert was slowly dropping. Toph guessed the sun was setting. She then heard something land in front of them and then heard Katara and Aang talking lowly. At least twinkle toes had come back. Now they could get out of there and…

"Come on Aang! We can do this if we work together right Toph?" And… Katara was giving Aang a pep talk. They were pretty much doomed.

"As far as I can feel, we are trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I've got nothing." Toph said.

"Sokka? Any ideas on how to find Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked.

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka asked.

"No! Cat! We have to keep moving. Alya, Nino, and Alix are in danger here. The birds can wait! Now get out of the sand! I don't care if my head hurts and I feel dizzy and nauseous, we have to keep moving! We promised to keep the Miraculouses safe from Hawkmoth. He will win if we stay here! You know that!"

"Sure thing Lady Rin!" Sokka said, "Let's go!"

"Ugh! We're are getting out of this desert, and we are doing it together! Aang, get up! Everybody hold hands. We can do this. We have to do this." She felt Aang grab her hand firmly. Sokka got her other hand. They kept on walking, but this time in silence and without interruption. The air grew colder and colder until Toph was more than certain nighttime had finally reached them. Even so, Katara made them all march on. Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking in the cold desert night, Katara stopped.

"I think we should stop for the night." Katara said. Everyone collapsed.

"Alya… I'm really thirsty and my head still hurts. I think we lost them, but I don't know if I can keep up anymore." Rin said softly. Toph turned towards Rin in concern. She sounded really sick. Toph knew that the confusion, nausea, and dizziness was just a side effect of the concussion, but it was probably not the best idea to have her trek across the hot desert with the head injury. It was probably still unsafe for her to go to sleep until they double checked her injury. Once more, Toph felt guilty that she hadn't been able to stop the sandbenders. This was partially her fault after all. Of course, she would never tell them she felt that way. She was no wimp.

"We can all have some water, but this is the last of it. Everyone can have a little drink." Katara said. She began to pull water out of her flask when Toph heard the sounds of Momo leaping and a terrible splash.

"No! Momo! You've killed us all!" Sokka yelled.

"No he hasn't, Cat. Ayla can bend water." Rin grumbled. Huh… aside from the names, Rin had actually said something reasonable. Maybe Rin was coming out of the confusion part. Katara shuffled a little as she handed the flask around for everyone to drink out of.

"Sokka, let me see the things you and Aang got from the library." Katara asked. Sokka sat up suddenly.

"What! I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?!" Sokka cried, "It was you! You ratted me out!" Toph wasn't sure who Sokka was pointing at, but she smiled in amusement at Sokka's reaction.

"Sokka, I was there."

"It doesn't matter. None of those can tell us were Appa is."

"No, but we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is. We can use the stars to guide us. That way we can travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day. Just try and get some sleep. We'll start again in a few hours."

"Wait! What are these!?" Rin asked. Toph heard the shuffling of paper.

"I found that in the library. Can't read it though, but it's useless to us here." Aang muttered.

"No way! I thought Gabriel Agreste was the only one with a copy of the Miraculous book! You have one too Nino? You aren't Hawkmoth, are you? No. You can't be. You got turned into the Bubbler. But these other two? They are the memoirs of many Ladybug's before me, as translated by Joan of Arc herself! The other one is in egyptian! They could help us escape this desert! They have lots of secrets about my powers and how to use them written in here. Master Fu has been teaching me how to read the Miraculous book. I bet I could figure out a way out with these. I already have the Magicaroons. All I need to do is figure out the right one. Why didn't someone tell me we had this earlier?" They all stared at her in surprise.

"Seriously?" Katara asked.

"Of course! I've used this to learn how to breathe underwater and travel quickly over ice. It's all a matter of using the right power up! Of course, it may take a few hours to translate, but I can do it!" Rin said happily.

"Are you sure you should be reading a book when you have a concussion?" Toph asked. Rin went silent. It was obvious she hadn't considered that.

"Couldn't Tikki read it?" Aang asked.

"No. Tikki isn't allowed to lean the magic behind the power ups. If the wrong person got ahold of my Miraculous and Tikki, they could force her to tell them how to make Tikki's powers stronger, then use them for the wrong reasons. Tikki can't read this." Rin explained.

"So… the book is useless until you get better." Aang summed up.

"...Sorry…" Rin said softly, "I was so certain… I'm sorry Nino… er… Aang."

"Why do you keep calling us the wrong names anyways?" Toph blurted. Rin sighed.

"Sorry, I'm just… having trouble focusing… and you remind me of my friends in Paris. Cat, Ayla, Nino, and Alix. I'm trying. I really am. I just hope Hawkmoth doesn't find us before we can escape." She said sadly.

"Hawkmoth isn't here, Rin. That was in Paris. This isn't Paris." Katara assured Rin.

"Maybe… but I always have this feeling he's out there… watching." Rin shivered. The team sat in silence after that. Like Katara had recommended, Toph got a little sleep in. Closing her eyes to even more darkness than when she'd had them open. Eventually, while it was still cold from the night, Katara and Aang got water from a cloud (Which apparently looked like Appa) and resupplied on water while she'd been 'dreaming.'

"We are going to try and keep moving, Toph. I think I've figured out a general direction. Rin had a fever, but it's died down in the last few hours, so we can go… though Sokka has yet to recover from the cactus incident. Toph growled incoherently, but got up anyways. Apparently Rin had been recovering slowly from the head injury thing, only to have gotten heat stroke at some point, but getting cool again and drinking some water had helped. Seriously, for a girl who has apparently fought anything and everything and won, Rin was not cut out for surviving in a serario like the one they were in. Toph hadn't realised how much Rin had come to rely on her Miraculous, which explained why she'd been asking everyone in the group for fighting lessons only a few days prior. Suddenly Toph tripped on something… a boat? And face planted in the sand.

"Ow! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going, and what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!" She growled loudly.

"A boat?" Katara asked.

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph complained. There was the sound of Aang airbending.

"It's one of the gliders the sandbenders use! And look! It's got a kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here! Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!"

"Yay!' Rin said excitedly, "You hear that Nino, er, Aang. We are going to make it!" Aang only grumbled under his breath before climbing onto the boat with everyone and bending. They headed toward the compass for a little bit before Katara noticed something.

"The compass doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts." She said in a worried tone.

"Compasses are magnetic. Is there anything metal interfering with the direction the compass is pointing?" Rin asked.

"No… I don't oh! Look!" Smooth Katara. Real smooth, "That's what the compass is pointing to! That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert!" Toph perked up at rock. She was a simple girl who loved simple things. Rocks, dirt, and mud. Sandy deserts? No thank you.

"A rock? Yes! Lets go!"

"Maybe we can find some water there." Katara cheered.

"Maybe we can find some sandbenders." Aang growled.

"Aang, you need to get ahold of your emotions, or Hawkmoth will Akumatize you." Rin scolded.

"I don't even know what that means Rin!" Aang snapped. Rin went silent. They landed on the rock… thing… and Toph could finally 'see' everything again. She was so happy, she made a earth angel, which Rin giggled at.

"Oh," Sokka moaned, "I think my head is starting to clear out from the cactus juice. And look!" He paused, before gagging and spitting out whatever it was he'd eaten off the wall, "This tastes like rotten penguin meat! Aww… I feel… woozy."

"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave?!" Katara roared.

"I have a natural curiosity." Toph would have laughed, but she felt something odd about the cave. It felt more like a labyrinth. Complex and carved.

"I don't think this is a normal cave. This was carved by something."

"Yeah…" Aang agreed, "Look at the shape."

"There's something buzzing in there. Something that's coming for us!"

"Tikki! Spots on!" Rin yelled, tackling Toph before moaning and rubbing her head. Toph immediately started to shoot rocks at the wasps in the air, nearly crushing Sokka in the process due to not actually seeing in the air.

"We've gotta get out of here! I'm completely out of water to bend and Rin shouldn't be fighting with a concussion!" Suddenly there was a gasp. To Toph's surprise, she felt a person land next to her. The person was a man dressed in odd clothes, he was much taller than her and wore a full face mask of sorts.

"An Akuma!" Rin cried. She charged the man, yo-yo ready.

"Ladybug wait! I'm here to help!" The man said, raising his arms in surrender, "I wouldn't have driven away those pests if I wasn't! Hawkmoth said you were in danger and that it was crucial you reunited with Cat Noir! I agreed to help him! I'm Protector."

"Likely story! Hawkmoth is probably overjoyed Cat and I are separated! It makes it easier for him to capture our Miraculous! But he won't win! I made a promise to protect my Miraculous, and I sure plan on keeping that promise!" Ladybug yelled. Protector grunted, grabbing the not quite clear headed Rin and pressing his palm on her forehead. Toph sensed all of Rin's injuries vanish. Protector let go as Rin stumbled back in surprise.

"Y-you helped me?" She whispered.

"Hawkmoth sends his regrets, and would like to confirm Cat Noir is in fact in Ba Sing Se. The bison is on it's way there too. But both are in grave danger. Cat Noir is in hiding. An evil man is after him. The bison is going to be sold and brought to that same man. If Cat Noir is captured by that man, both you and Hawkmoth will be in terrible danger. Cat knows the secrets of the Miraculous. He knows how they work and how to power the up. Cat is a skilled hider, but he is also blond in a world were that doesn't exist, which means he can only hide for so long before someone notices. He is out number and out matched. Especially alone. He knows it too. The only reason he stays there is because he thinks he can find you there. He is also still injured in his civilian form. If he has to detransform, he won't be able to run away. You have to get to Ba Sing Se, and fast. He is running out of time." Protector warned.

"Ah, so that's why your are helping me. You don't want someone else to get his Miraculous before you do. Cat will fight you, this man might not care if you tear up Ba Sing Se like Cat does."

"This man wants to use the Miraculous to kill his enemies, Ladybug. Hawkmoth has never killed. That wasn't his goal. He wanted to do good once too. He never imagined a man more capable of misusing a miraculous than him could exist. But there are three people out there who would jump at the chance to use your powers. Azula, Ozai, and Long Feng. No one must know the Miraculous is the source of your powers. These kids knowing is dangerous as it is. Make the world believe the spirits blessed you. They don't know you actually have physical object that allows you to use a spirit's powers without hurting yourself. They don't know a human, with the exception of the Avatar, can't have spirit powers without a physical connection. If they did, they would be a lot more dangerous and aggressive towards you than Hawkmoth ever was. It is vital that you understand this." Rin relaxed.

"Fine. That's not bad advice anyways. Now what exactly was your master's plan for getting the team out of the desert?" She grumbled.

"Sandbenders are coming this direction. They are looking for the missing glider. Get a ride from them. They are actually from my clan. I led them here to help bring you back to the Oasis. Get to Ba Sing Se, as fast as you possibly can." Protector said before collapsing as his clothes returned to the normal clothing for sandbenders. Rin caught him. Team Avatar stared at the sandbender in terror.

"Hawkmoth is here." Rin said softly.

"Ugh. What happened?" The sandbender moaned.

"You were Akumatized. Tell me, what were you angry about? Maybe I can help?"

"Angry? I wasn't upset about anything. I was just getting my glider ready to go out into the desert when a purple butterfly landed next to me and I heard a voice in my head."

"He… Akumatized you without using negative emotions? How?" Rin said in surprise. Before the bender could reply a bunch of sandbenders arrived with sailers.

"What are we doing in our land with a sandbender sailer? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe." The leader grunted.

"Sha-Mo! Wait! The people aren't bad. I don't know how I know, but I woke up here and this firebender girl helped me."

"Woah… I'm not Fire Nation, this is just a costume. I'm supposed to be a Ladybug." Rin objected, "And we found the sailer abandoned in the desert. We are traveling with the Avatar and looking for our flying bison. He was stolen while we were out in the desert and we need to get to Ba Sing Se, it's urgent." One of the sandbenders stepped forwards.

"You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride on a stolen sandbender in Fire Nation clothes?"

"Quiet Gashuin, no one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality." Gashuin wilted at his father's words.

"Sorry father." Toph gasped. She knew the boy's voice. He was the one who stole Appa.

"I recognize the son's voice. He's the one who hurt Rin and stole Appa!"

"Are you sure?" Katara asked.

"I never forget a voice." Toph said with certainty.

"You stole Appa!" Aang roared, "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"They're lying! They're lying! They are the thieves!" Toph heard Aang airbending and a loud crash.

"Tell me where he is right now!" Sha-Mo turned to his son.

"What did you do?!" He cried.

"It wasn't me!" Gashuin lied.

"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph continued.

"You muzzled Appa!?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it belong to the Avatar!" Gashuin said with a whimper.

"Tell me were Appa is!" Aang roared in a thousand voices. He was no longer touching the ground, so Toph couldn't sense him. He sounded like he was everywhere.

"I traded him to some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now! They were going to sell him there! Please! We'll escort you out the desert! We'll help however we can!" Aang didn't reply. The winds were blowing hard now.

"Just get out of here! Run!" Sokka yelled. Toph didn't have to be told twice. Moments later the winds died. She felt Aang embracing Katara. All she could hear was the soft sobs of an Avatar who'd lost everything he had left of his people.

This chapter was borderline fun and tedious to write at the same time. Sokka is so funny in this episode, despite the seriousness of the situation they are in. Also, it was interesting to try any reframe from using sight to describe events that were happening. Though I do feel pretty bad for Aang. Anyway! I hope you liked this chapter. Review and critique.