Me: Howdy Peeps! I decided to continue the story! Woo! I have the rest of the story planned out so I am finishing up the next chapter right now but I won't have it up until lots of reviews come in for this one.

Katara: Still haven't worked on your Kingdom Hearts story?

Me: I have I just…haven't typed up the next chapter!

Aang: Sure…whatever you say.

Me: I did! Seriously!

Sokka: (snore)

Zuko: (pokes him with a stick)

DISCLAMIER: Must I say it? (sigh) I don't own anything but my Crunch Stic and the idea.

ENJOY!

"Katara." A soft voice whispered in her head. "Katara, wake up." Came the hesitant voice again. A gentle nudge to her side instantly woke her. On her back she was staring up into a pair of soft gray eyes. Katara smiled and stifled yawn, sitting up and stretching instead. Aang didn't smile back, his eyes grinned at her but he wouldn't let the smile cover his face.

"Good morning." Katara yawned, unable to stifle it any longer.

"Morning. Hurry up and get ready. We are going to get to Ba Sing Se today." Aang almost smiled, joy was present in his voice but his face remained hard and cold. There was no way he could disguise the joy in his eyes though. They seemed to be dancing with happiness and Katara caught a glimpse of the old Aang in his eyes before she lowered her head and began running her fingers through her hair, trying to comb it.

"Really?" She hit a knot in her hair. "What I wouldn't give for a comb." She grumbled.

"Well, when we get to Ba Sing Se, you can buy yourself a comb."

"A toothbrush would be nice too." She said running her tongue over her teeth as she started to braid her hair.

Again, Aang almost smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice too. We have to go through a canyon called Snake Pass."

"That doesn't sound very inviting." She replied as she finished off the last of her braid.

"It sounds worse than what it really is, just a few prickly snakes hanging around. No big deal."

Katara moaned. "I hate snakes!" She shivered. "It's so weird how they can move with out any legs."

Aang shrugged. "I'll protect you. Just stay away from them and you'll be fine."

She smiled again. "I guess but…" She shivered again. "Bleh, I hate snakes."

"We should probably wake the others." He suggested. Katara nodded and walked over to Sokka.

"WAKE UP SOKKA!" She yelled in his ear. He gave a slight twitch then resumed his snoring. She uncorked her water pouch and bent the water into a large ball then dropped it on Sokka's face.

He shot up sputtering. "What did you do that for?" He questioned, shaking the water from his hair.

Katara gave a sly grin. "If you'd just wake up when I yelled, I wouldn't have to do that."

"But still do you have to do that?" He emphasized 'that'.

"Would you rather me do it, Sleeping Beauty?" Toph shouted from about ten feet away. Sokka grumbled something inaudible and started to roll up his sleeping bag. Katara went and rolled her own then helped Toph roll hers.

"It's nice we got these from the sand benders." Toph commented.

"Yeah, it was pretty chilly last night. Probably because we are getting farther and farther from the desert."

"Yeah." Toph agreed. They finished rolling the bag and Katara helped Toph slip it onto her back. "Where's Aang?"

She shrugged. "Probably in the latrine." She suggested, jerking a thumb over her shoulder towards four large slabs of rock in the forest. The trees were sparsely placed but they provided much needed shade for humans and animals. Katara tipped her canteen to her mouth but no water came out. "Out of water again. There has got to be some water somewhere."

"There's probably a small pool of water somewhere ahead."

"How do you know that?" Katara asked amazed.

Toph placed a hand on the ground. " There's an underground spring about three feet wide, five feet under."

Katara sighed. "There's no way I can bend the water through that much rock and earth."

Aang arrived back. "Can't you earth bend the rock out of the way and make a hole to get the water?" He asked Toph.

She nodded. "Yes, but I thought I'd let you do it." She got in the horse stance. "Get into your horse stance." He did so. "Now, the idea is to bend the earth up in a column and move it out of the way, creating a hole." She demonstrated by bringing her elbows to her knees then pulling her arms together at her center. Wrists and elbows were touching but her hands were spread palm up with the fingers slightly bent inward. Then she brought her arms upward above her head then kicking out to move the large column of rock before her. "Got it?"

"Got it." Aang confirmed gruffly. He went through the same steps and produced a large column of rock and earth then sent it shooting forward into a clump of trees.

"Great job Aang!" Katara praised.

Aang turned and grinned at her then bent the water up into his canteen. He then went and sat under a bunch of trees and watched as Katara bent the water up into everybody's canteens. He almost laughed when she slopped water all over Sokka. Momo sidled up to him and chortled. He patted the lemur's head and then leaned back against his pack.

Excitement rushed over him when he though about getting Appa back. Then he frowned when he thought of when he lost himself to the Avatar state. He could have killed someone. He could have hurt Toph seriously; because she is blind and they were in the sand she couldn't see what was going on. He forgot she was blind sometimes. Because she could see with earth bending so well she almost didn't need eyes. He felt bad for being angry with her about Appa. An apology was in order. Still he could never forgive himself for losing himself to the Avatar state again. This was what, the third time? It was out of control. He was out of control and the only one who could calm him was Katara. He remembered the pleading look in her eyes the last time he went into the Avatar State.

He has to put it behind him. There is no way he can continue unless he puts it behind him. He shook his head and rubbed a hand over his head. Footsteps coming towards him caused him to raise his head. It was Toph. She sat down beside him without a word. Did she even know he was there?

"Nice job, Twinkle Toes." She joked a few moments later.

"Thanks." He mumbled. "Toph, I'm…sorry for…being so angry…and…." He fumbled with the words.

She held up a hand to silence him. "You don't have to say it."

He shook his head. "Yes I do. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk and getting so angry at you." He sighed. " I know you did the best you could to save him. Just, sometimes I forget that you're…you're…"

"Blind?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She sighed. "It's alright. At least you treat me like a human being and not a child." She smiled at him. "I forgive you for yelling at me. I know how it must feel."

He looked away. "No you don't."

"Aang, you have closed up to all of us. It's weird seeing you like this. Well, I can't really see you but you know what I mean. Appa will be fine, Aang. I know he will."

"You really think so?" Hope filled his voice and his eyes softened.

"Of course." She smiled again then stood. "C'mon, lets get going before Sokka and Katara kill each other." She pointed to the brother and sister yelling at each other and they both jogged over.

They managed to calm them both down and started the mile to Snake Pass. Anticipation was heavy on everybody's mind. They were all in high spirits knowing that Appa was only a few hours away. Aang now had new hope thanks to Toph. Now thinking back to his anger, he smiled at his idiocy. These people loved him and understood what he was going through. What was the point of closing up to them like he did? With a new outlook on the situation, he headed down the path.

Me: Well there was chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't…I don't care. I had a lot of fun with this chapter. Don't worry my Zuko fangirls! He will be in the next chapter. Promise!

Zuko: (stops poking) I have fan girls?

Katara: What did she just say?

Zuko: (grin)

Me: (rolls eyes) REVIEW PLEASE!