~~~~~~~~~~~~~*`~~: Chapter Eighteen: ~~`*~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was silent, everyone was shocked. Foxy's eyes round and fearful, Ally looked down at the sword that was embed in the left side of her stomach, red liquid life slowly oozed from her wound, trickling down the blade and seeping through the costume. Tig let out roar and attacked Foxy, who withdrew her sword from Ally, who cried out and fell to her knees. Spike attacked Fang with a snarl on his features.
Snow-fire howled in rage and flipped through the air, the heavy load fell towards the large river as did Fang. Spike, Tig and Foxy had just managed to hold onto something, Ally had used natural air bending
Snow-fire hit the ground hard and the saddles occupants went flying off. Ally gritted her teeth as she forcefully spun her body, using the costumes wings to soften her fall, Tig and Spike landed next to her, Ally painfully stood up.
Snow-fire was already attacking Foxy; there was nothing Ally could have done once Snow-fire had the Fox Antelope clad girl in her attack range; Foxy's screams pierced the forest calm – then everything went silent.
The forest swirled around her confusingly and sickeningly; Snow-fire broke her fall with her wolfish head. Tig groaned and Snow-fire growled at him threateningly.
"No, Snow-fire!" Snow-fire snarled, but shot upwards, taking Ally with her.
Everything went dark, the markings of the Air Spirit started to glow faintly.
Stormy blue eyes looked up at the bright blue sky, her head pounded sharply and she winced. "Ally!" a voice shouted and held her tightly in a warm hug.
"Aang?" Ally whispered groggily, she felt so weak.
She tried to sit up, but Katara held her down, "There was poison in the stab wound, so don't move too much, I managed to counteract it, but it'll take time for the poison to be gone."
"What happened?" Sokka asked. "When we found you, you're birdy tattoos were glowing, and you were covered in blood." Ally looked down; she was back in her orange and yellow robes. The thunder bird holding the air emblem on each arrow was now black instead of bright blue.
Ally grimaced and looked down; she told them about what happened when she and the Spirit Team saw the destroyed village. Aang was furious, Katara looked just as angry, Sokka, well Sokka looked down right scary, but then he said that, with a little hint of smugness, the villagers hadn't been harmed.
Ally was relived to hear that.
"I guess the Air Spirit healed you." Katara said thoughtfully as Ally inspected the long angry red scar where Foxy had stabbed her; it was the same as on her back, the sword had gone right through.
Ally sighed nodding, "When I was out of it, I re-entered the spirit world."
Aang blinked, "What happened?" He asked curiously.
"The Elemental Spirits told me that the Air Spirit healed me with his own energy, but because of this he can no longer assist me if I'm in trouble because he needs to restore his energy, until he heals… The Air Spirit told me that my chi will be unpredictable for a while because I was touched by 'pure cosmic energy,' so I could heal, he said that only the Avatar's body can take such a pure amount of energy without mutating their chi. I have no idea what that means."
She suddenly belched loudly; self-appalled Ally excused her rudeness profoundly while Sokka and Aang laughed.
Katara smiled, "The poisons out of your body, - the poison in the sword Foxy - the burp means the poison is gone. You're lucky I found your healers book while I was searching for something to help you." She explained. Ally smiled; she had the best of friends. "Oh, and I mended that outfit of yours, it's in your bag."
She nodded, she loved the costume but it came from Jet. Suddenly Tig and Spike came to her mind;
Tig put his clawed, gloved hands up in a sign of peaceful surrender, "Relax Ally, you look good, scary but attractive. You look like a vengeance spirit for the Air Nomads."
"N'Gale? Short for Nightingale?" said a boy dressed like a Boar-q-pine, he was the shortest out of the group and looked to be nine years old; same age as Tig. "Yo' sweet stuff, I'm Spike."
Spirit's she hoped they were alright.
Ally looked up at Aang, "How long was I out of it?"
"About half a week," Aang said. "You really had us worried."
Ally grimaced, "Sorry, Aang. I shouldn't have been so foolish, I thought Foxy was my friend, I underestimated her and Fang. I hope Tig and Spike are okay." Ally stood up gingerly, careful not to jolt the healing wound. "It looks like we'll have smooth flying." She said; looking up at the cloudless sky.
"We're out of food," Katara said, "We need to restock before we fly anywhere."
"There's a market near here." Aang said pointing at a spot on the laid out map.
"Guys, wait, this was in my dream, and we shouldn't go to the market." Sokka said. Ally looked at him in interest; Sokka didn't have visions, did he?
Katara looked at him, "What happened in your dream?"
"Food eats people!" Ally rolled her eyes in amusement and poked a sleeping Neo and Nyx; they woke up and practically pounced on her in their excitement. Momo joined the fray and licked her cheek, Ally tickled the little guys chin. "Also Momo can talk!" Sokka said, pointing at Momo who was on Ally's shoulder, "You said some very unkind things. And you!" he said pointing to Ally, "You turned into a gigantic black bird spirit."
Ally laughed then sobered, thinking of the Spirit Team break up… all because of her. Snow-fire awoke as Ally rubbed the Ermine-wolf behind the ears, a large tongue licked her and Snow-fire rubbed her head against Ally. "Thanks girl." Ally murmured. "I missed you too."
When the group was at the village Ally looked at the emergency money, "Uh oh," She mumbled worriedly.
"Ally, what's wrong?" Katara asked.
Ally tossed the emergency money bag at Katara, "We're out of money."
Katara caught it and looked at the single small copper piece; she took it out of the bag.
Sokka looked absolutely depressed; he kicked a stone as he walked. "Out of food and out of money, now what are we supposed to do?"
"You could get a job." Katara said.
Ally rolled her eyes as Sokka took that literally and got a job, as a fisherman if you believe it, and he was proving stubborn. "Sokka look at the horizon!" Ally said frustrated at his stubbornness. The horizon was lined up with sinister dark gray clouds; she could hear thunder in the distance. "You go out there and you'll be sucked right into a typhoon!"
"Sokka this isn't a good idea." Aang said.
"Look guys I appreciate your concern, but I said I was gonna do this job. I can't back out just because of some bad weather." Sokka said lifting up a rolled up net.
Ally groaned in frustration. "Just some bad weather? This isn't a light drizzle Sokka it's a full out storm!"
"The children with the tattoos have some sense. You should listen to them!" said the old women to the old man who was the fisherman.
The old fisherman paused and looked up, "Air bender tattoos!" he said in wonder, his eyes darting between Ally and Aang; Ally's hands twitched for her fans in case of danger. "Well I'll be a hog monkey's uncle! One of ya's is the Avatar, aren't ya?"
Ally stepped back and smiled then placed a hand on Aang's shoulder, Katara placed her hands on her hips, an identical smile on her face; she stepped forward. "That's right."
"Well don't be so smiley about it," Said the old man, stepping forward and jabbed Aang's chest with his forefinger. "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years. You turned your back on the world!"
Ally slapped his hand away, almost tempted to snap the finger off in the process. She glowered at him, "Don't you dare yell at my friend." She said through gritted teeth.
"Aang would never turn his back on anyone!" Katara said stepping up next to Ally, shielding Aang.
"Oh? He wouldn't, uh?" said the fisherman, Ally bared her teeth. "Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering."
Ally's eyes looked back quickly, she knew Aang for most part of her life; Aang looked devastatingly guilty, it tore her world apart to see her best friend in obvious emotional pain; emotional was so much worst then physical. She could barely hear Katara explode into an argument with the man. Aang backed away and jumped on his glider.
This time Ally followed him, kicking off the ground she snapped her staff into glider mode. She was actually struggling to keep up as Aang tore through the air and towards the cliffs at the speed of a shooting star.
Ally was awed by the speed; she pushed harder as Aang disappeared around a bend in a cliff, but the wound on her stomach was torture; but she had endured a fight with Sozin beaten and bruised during the comet so she could endure this. Suddenly lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled above her. The sudden wind and rain took her off guard and blasted her into the cliff face. Her tender scar ripped open and she gasped. She fell toward ocean as the rain pelted down at her. Ally managed to create an air sphere around her just before she hit the water.
She saw Katara on Appa with Snow-fire flying above her; they hadn't seen her, then they were out of sight before she could call out to them. Ally tightened her muscles as the water splashed out against her protective spinning orb of air, her open wound stung as a bucket amount of salt water managed to break through the spinning sphere.
Ally gritted her teeth in determination as she saw a huge wave about to come down on her through a flash of lightning. The impact was tremendous, submerging her under with the force of a hundred giant Koi fish, knocking her into the cliffs rocky wall, that was gonna be some wicked bruise with scratches, but she didn't let up her only protection. Her sphere was reduced in size as the waters currents twirled conflictingly around her, her outstretched hands almost touching the wall of water.
Ally closed her eyes as her sphere came up to the waters surface, she expand the sphere just as another wave crashed down on her.
She didn't know which way was up or down anymore, all she knew was that she had too keep the shield up or she'd be swallowed by the ocean.
She would never see Aang, Katara or Sokka again; she'd never laugh with them again... She'd never see her fellow Air Nomads she's had sworn to protect with her life... She would never fly with Snow-fire again, or laugh at Nyx and Neo's antics.
Not unless she could hold this damned shield! Ally bowed her head, her arms shaking with fatigue. The shield in question was starting to break up, it broke the surface and Ally pushed it outwards again; renewing its strength.
Again and again and again; the waves crashed on top of her, each with enough force to crush her had it not been for the air shield.
What seemed like an eternity it started to calm, she released the air globe and broke the oceans surface, her own blood surrounded her in the water; her reopened wound was stinging like a Spider Snake had bitten her. She lay on her back; floating in the water, unchecked tears falling because of the pain; she shivered and looked up at the sky, it was drizzling but she could see the blue of the sky.
She was in the centre of the storm. Ally let out a shaky sigh and a hysterical laugh, knew she was in trouble even if she survived another round of being the storms playing ball, she would still be cold from being in the water, in pain from her bleeding wound, exhausted from holding the air sphere for so long, dehydrated from being in the salty ocean and hungry; she hadn't eaten for more then half a week.
And she didn't like to think about what ocean predators her blood might attract; too late…