AANG

He was panicking.

Toph was brutally dragging him from the collar of his robe out from the shadows of the cave towards the exit. She was determined to get him outdoors, but he certainly didnʼt want to. Going out from a shelter to another shelter was different from going out straight into the unknown. He had barely survived the transfer. He was certain he wouldnʼt survive the wild. Not anymore. However, Toph was a mile stronger than him, and that was without using earthbending yet. He couldnʼt stop her.

The exit from the secret route they were taking was now so close, only a few steps left. His heart was pounding in his chest. He started begging as he tried pulling back, "Toph, please, donʼt do this. I canʼt go outside. I CANʼT!" He resisted with all his might, his stretched robe started making a tearing sound.

Toph grunted loudly, incredulous at his desperation, and finally released his collar. He landed on his butt ungracefully in the after effect.

"Feathers, Avatar!" she cursed sharply. "Donʼt you want to see Sweetness again?"

"I want to, but —"

She cut him midsentence with a firm order, "Stand up!" He didnʼt. He refused to. He rather stay on the ground. She warned, "Donʼt make me earthbend you outta here!"

That scared him, really. He wouldnʼt have a chance to resist. "No,Toph —" But, she was already stretching for an earthbending move. "Stop now, Toph. I wonʼt!" The ground shook beneath him. "TOPH!"

And then, much to his relief, she stopped all of a sudden. Her raised hands dropped down to her sides and then she turned to the opening. Curious, he turned to look at it too.

Outside, there was a new batch of rebel troops appearing from the forest side of the mountain. Leading them were two familiar figures. One was a man walking at a steady military pace. Long black hair and a green band on his forehead. Aang recognized him as Haru. He noticed he got rid of his facial hair. The other one was a woman. Her long braided brown hair was flailing behind her as she sprinted towards the opening main gate, tremendous worry plastered on her face. Perched on her shoulder was what it seemed like a flying lemur. Was that Momo? But, he might be only imagining things.

He recognized she was the acrobat woman who could block chis and paralyze people, and who was also friends with Azula back then. He couldnʼt remember her name but he knew she was definitely Fire Nation. However, Toph wasnʼt threatened a bit. If anything, she was calm. She was even relieved at their arrival.

The acrobat woman was the first one to enter the gates, and then the troops in two carriages. Haru, however, stopped at the opening of the secret passageway they were in.

"Toph," he greeted. He paused at the sight of Aang, and silently questioned why he was on the ground. It seemed like he had failed to recognize the Avatar as well with his blue arrow being covered with a band once again.

Toph smirked, "Glad to know you survived again, Pringles."

Aang watched the long haired earthbender make a face at the nickname.

"What?" Toph cocked her head and then, she snickered, "Ah, I forgot. You like manly things like Snoozles. Okay, Pringlytache then."

Haru winced at that even more, "The mustacheʼs gone for years now, Toph. I just…" He exasperated, "Can it not be Pringles?"

"Nope," she scoffed lightly. "Canʼt it. Once it is, it always will be. But, you know, thereʼs always the other one."

"I dislike that one even more."

"Good. Then, Pringles it is."

Haru heavily sighed but resigned. There was silence for a few seconds and then, he spoke again, tone a lot heavier than the former, "We were informed of the recent news on the way. About Uncle. About Iman. About the Avatar."

Aang went stiff on the floor at the mention of his title. Haru was looking away at the moment, deeply thinking with his eyes at the grayish dawn ahead. Toph was steady. He told her, "We need to talk."

Understanding, Toph responded with a nod, "Hmm." She addressed Aang afterwards, "Seems like we have to move our plan for an hour."

He learned a lot of things at the meeting, not intentionally, but the information went with their talks, he had no choice but to catch some. One, he learned that the White Lotus, the underground society that Iroh had been a member of, had fallen years ago. Two, the rebel troops in the mountain called themselves the New Lotus Order. Three, it was founded by Iroh and five young officers, namely Sokka, Suki, Toph, Haru, and Ty Lee (he learned her name as well), who were all presently sitting around the long table with him. Four, their current major goal was to recruit rebels in the Earth Kingdom and form enough forces to prevent the impending Siege of the North, which would be held four moons from the current day, at the next lunar eclipse.

Toph was assigned to the east with the new officer Iman, where she had accidentally found the Avatar, and where said new officer had tragically died. Iroh and Suki were assigned to the greater central. These left with Haru and Ty Lee being assigned to the west. Sokka, however, was assigned to the base and the main strategist of the group.

"Is that really you, Aang?" Haru was, of course, surprised to learn that the silly looking man on the ground earlier was in fact the Avatar.

The airbender ignored the question thrown at him. His focus was on the lemur that was perched on Ty Leeʼs shoulder which was equally eyeing him with uncertainty.

Aang found his voice and pointed at the animal across the table, "Is that Momo?"

"Yes?" Ty Lee answered, rather unsure.

At the confirmation, Aang felt sudden joy bursting in his chest. He hadnʼt felt the emotion in years. He almost winced at its strangeness. But, he shook himself off the negativities, and let himself go for a moment. This was Momo after all, and he wouldnʼt judge him like the rest had at his reappearance.

Aang jumped off from his chair and yanked the band from his forehead, revealing the tattoo to the five people in the private war room, especially to the lemur. He announced, "Momo, itʼs me! Aang!"

The flying lemurʼs eyes widened in recognition of the arrow. The next second, Momo leaped off from Ty Leeʼs shoulder and flew towards Aang. The airbender welcomed the lemur in his arms, held him tightly, and spun around while laughing in happiness. Oh, laugh. He hadnʼt done it for

years. The bubbling feeling from doing so felt so foreign now. For so long, he had been denying himself of the act since heʼd been feeling like he was undeserving to be happy at all.

Well, are you now? The voice in his little head echoed.

Guilt and shame rushed back to him. He stopped on his heels instantly. Momo flinched in his arms. He looked at the people in the room. They were wearing neutral faces except Sokka who was expressing mild amusement.

"Great," Haru broke the silence with a sarcastic tone, his eyes darkening his way.

Right, they were in a critical situation, namely tragic burns, death, and impending siege, and there he was on his happy wheels. It was indeed out of place, and rude, to be cheerful.

At that, Aangʼs shoulders dropped low as did his head in shame. He mumbled, "Sorry."

From her chair, Suki heavily sighed, "Letʼs just move on to the news, Haru." Her injured arm was in a sling, cleanly bandaged and treated well. It seemed like the burns she got werenʼt that much severe than they had initially appeared, which was a relief, really.

Haru nodded and went on with his reporting tone, "As planned, we went to the site to gather the reported recruits. However, when we got there, we spotted none of them. We discovered that they were taken. All of them."

"Dammit," Suki cursed at the side. "Fire Nationʼs getting good at —"

Haru cut in, "I donʼt think it was Fire Nation, but another rebel group."

"What do you mean?"

The earthbender took a blue ragged piece of cloth from his pocket. Seeing the color, Sokkaʼs eyes widened. He immediately took the cloth from Haru and inspected it closely.

"It is what they left," Haru added. "The color means Water Tribe, right?"

"You mean the North?" Suki was as confused as the others, "You think theyʼre building resistance outside their walls now?"

"Maybe."

"I donʼt think this is the North," Sokka countered, eyes on the cloth, particularly on the embroidered insignia in the middle. "This is a snowdrop. Iʼve seen all the varieties in the North. None of those are like this. This only grows in the South. This is our only flower."

"Are you saying that that is Southern Water Tribeʼs?" Haruʼs brows furrowed and then arched as he realized the possible implication, "Katara?"

But, Sokka was unsure, his tone melancholic, "I donʼt know. Maybe, this is her or just another group with a sick concept of commemorating the annihilated tribe with their insignia."

Aang deeply frowned at it. He had a feeling, a strange one. However, he preferred not to tell, afraid of the spotlight. Instead, he cooed Momo in his arms to distract himself in silence. But, Toph ruined it for him, of course.

"You have a say, Avatar?"

All heads turned to him. Oh, the spotlight. It was making him want to bolt out of the room. Unfortunately, the door was earthbent shut. He had no choice but to respond. He swallowed hard and said, "I donʼt think thatʼs Katara."

Haru threw him a skeptical look from the other side of the table, "How are you sure?"

"I just…" Aang sweat dropped, "...know. I have a strong feeling about it."

"So, itʼs just your gut feeling then?" Haru scoffed, "Nice." The animosity was seeping. It was official, Haru hated him to the core.

Thankfully, there was Toph to save the airbender. Well, not really. She made it worse for him, rather, "Actually, weʼre planning to search for Sugar Queen after this dudeʼs gut feeling."

"What?!" Haru was flabbergasted. "Why?"

Toph simply shrugged, "We need Sweetness to heal Pops. And, he is the Avatar. You know, all spirits and stuff? His gut must mean something."

His face deadpanned, "Thatʼs not very convincing at all, Toph."

She snorted, "Oh, quit it, Bitter Gourd!" Aang watched Haru wince at the nickname, much worse than the first. Toph blew her bangs for emphasis, "Iʼm going, and thatʼs it."

Haru retorted with a vengeance, "Isnʼt that being thoughtless and irrational?"

There, Toph stood up, offended, "What did you say?!"

Haru stood up as well, and damn, he was tall, "You canʼt just go your way and leave us and Uncle because of a gut feeling of someone —" he pointed a firm finger at the Avatar "— who turned his back on us for years!"

"Spirits! This is not about him!" Toph pointed at Aang too and missed him half a meter. "This is about Pops!"

"Uncle will look for you in his —"

"Heʼs not going to die and Iʼll make sure of it!"

"Like you made sure Iman wouldnʼt die?"

There was a short pause. Then, Sokka, Suki, and Ty Lee warned altogether, sensing the regular banter between two stubborn earthbenders was escalating into a real fight, "HEY!"

"TAKE IT BACK!" Toph spat, ignoring the three and glaring at Haruʼs direction with her sightless eyes. The ground started shaking with her anger, sending a warning signal to everyone in the room.

Panic setting in, Ty Lee tried tugging Haru back on his chair. But, he was equally persistent. He held his ground and remained standing, "I told you he was too young to sign up as an officer —"

"SO ARE WE, DUMBO!" She summoned her stance as the other did as well.

Just before they started throwing rocks at each other, Sokka yelled out, punching the table hard, "STOP NOW, BOTH OF YOU!" This made the two rockheads withdraw their stances.

Silence ruled over the crampy war room. Toph huffed and blew her bangs out of her face once more. Haru gave in to Ty Leeʼs tugging and finally sat back on his chair. He looked away.

After a minute, Sokka spoke once again, "You know Toph wonʼt change her mind, Haru, so drop it. After all, it is only for two weeks. Let her try this for Uncle." Haru remained quiet but there was resignation in his presence.

Sokka went on, reverting them back to their main agenda, "I want information about this rebel group. I want to know their intentions. If they align with ours, they are allies. If not, they are competitors. We must not let them take our potential recruits."

This time, Haru spoke, "I understand."

"What is it?" Toph asked, feeling him fidgeting, after the people in the war room dispersed into their respective posts and duties. They stayed inside.

He shook his head dismissively, "Nothing."

"Spill it."

"Just," he sighed, "I havenʼt seen Haru that…"

"Bitter? Grumpy? Angry?" Toph enumerated. He nodded. She told him, arms crossed, "A lot of things happened in your absence, Avatar. Enough to make Pringles turn into Bitter Gourd from time to time."

He opened his mouth to comment, but a person emerged from the side of the door and called, interrupting him, "Hey, Toph."

"Hey," Toph said back, turning to the Fire Nation girl.

"Is he," she pointed at him and at the lemur perched on his shoulder, "taking Momo now? I mean, I know heʼs originally his but heʼs been with me for years —"

"I will cut you there, Cinnamon," Toph raised a hand. She walked closer to the door, towards Ty Lee, and gestured for her to lean her ear. The girl complied and waited.

"The guy over there is a little fragile and wimpy right now," Toph started explaining in a whispery manner as if Aang wouldnʼt hear her. Well, they were in a small echoey room. He was hearing her fine. "But, I need him to be steady on this journey for Pops. Heʼs gonna need all the support he can get, and that includes Momo. Can you let him borrow him this time?"

Ty Lee was quiet, frowning at the idea, but considering. Aang, on the other hand, was somewhat nervous, holding the lemur possessively. He didnʼt exactly want to surrender Momo.

"I will look after him for you, Cinammon," Toph tried again. "Can you do it? For Pops?"

Ty Lee bit her lip, her eyes transferring from Toph to Momo, and back again. After a few seconds, she sighed, "Okay."

Toph grinned triumphantly, "OKAY!"

But, Ty Lee went on, glancing at the Avatar across the room behind Toph, "Do you really believe in him?" She talked as if he wasnʼt there, "Haruʼs not wrong though. Him saying this and that is not really convincing. His aura is all scared and gloomy. Not really Avatarish."

"I know," Tophʼs voice was uncharacteristically low. "But, someone has to take this shot for Pops."

Ty Lee nodded, "Well, good luck then."

"This…" The crack in his voice revealed the overwhelming emotions he was feeling from being able to hold his long lost glider in his hands again. Ever since that fateful day, he had thought he would never be able to.

His eyes watered. The next instance, he was crying. It was after all a gift from Monk Gyatso, an item from his cherished people, a part of his vanished world. Being able to hold it again felt like a piece of himself was returning and, yes, slowly mending.

"Figured you wanna have that," Toph sniffed. "Pops found it in the battle site when he was looking for you."

She waited until his tears settled, until he was done wiping his eyes off with his brown sleeve. Then, she started again, "You know, Pops was one of the few people who persistently searched for you despite his crumbling network. He believed in you, and I think until now, he still does."

Her voice turned distant and dreamy, like she was telling him about a memory, something personal, "We lost a lot in this war. You know how much we did. But, he took us in and took care of us. He is…" she paused, head low. She told him, "He is family. Iʼm saying this so you know the kind of person we are trying to save here. He is a good one."

He blinked once. Twice. He figured it was Tophʼs way of asking him a favor. The old man must be really important to her, maybe more than what he had assumed, that she was ever willing to ask him, of all people, for his sake. Indeed, a lot of things had happened in his absence. He had missed aplenty about his friends and their growths.

His gaze softened, "I know." He remembered the old general, and his odd protagonistic energy. "Iʼve met him too."

"Good," Toph lifted her head up. "I hope I wonʼt be needing to drag you out this time."

She turned on her heels and walked through the same secret passageway they had used an hour ago, leaving and letting him decide on his own.

For long, he stayed where he was, the glider in his hand and the chattering lemur on his shoulder, and watched Tophʼs retreating figure get completely swallowed by the darkness of the tunnel.

The dilemma was excruciating.

It took him nearly half an hour to drag his feet out of the passage. The dawn had way passed. There were brighter lights in the sky, welcoming the day anew.

Toph was standing at the edge of the forest, hands on her hips, a wide grin on her face. Seeing her proud and victorious expression, somehow, he felt like he had been bribed and manipulated into doing things. In his years of absence, it appeared she had learned and smoothly mastered essential techniques to win herself particular battles.

"Alright!" she expressed gleefully. She was happy. She was hopeful. Her energy was contagious, that he found himself helplessly smiling too. Oh, what a strange feeling.

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"Letʼs go, Avatar!"