Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Water, earth, fire, air... Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But, when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed and the new Avatar, an air bender named Aang, was discovered. Now traveling by his side are Katara and Sokka of the southern water tribe, and Ashlynn: an ex-member of the fire nation, and Prince Zuko's lifelong companion...
"What happened to Appa?" Aang shouted at Toph. Toph's cheeks were stained with tears, and Ashlynn wished Aang wouldn't scream at her. Yet, there was no stopping him- he'd lost his longest friend, and hadn't the slightest idea where he went to.
"Those sand benders came and stole him," Toph responded.
"How could you let them take Appa?" Aang screamed even louder. His face was turning red with anger, but there was nothing anyone could do to soften his verbal blows to Toph.
"The library was sinking! It was all I could do just to keep it up- you guys were still inside! If I had let it go you all would've been trapped down there with no way to get out!" Toph fought back. Ashlynn felt momentary gratitude towards Toph for helping them survive, although she still felt sorrow for Appa's loss.
"Well why didn't you come and get us? I could've saved him!" Aang screamed, and took another step towards Toph.
"I can't feel a thing out here! They snuck up on me, Aang. There wouldn't have been time to---"
"You just didn't care! You've never cared about Appa- you wanted him gone!" Aang spat in Toph's face.
"Aang! Stop it," Katara said finally, and firmly grasped Aang's shoulders in an attempt to cool him off. "I know you know Toph did all she could- she saved our lives! We wouldn't be here right now if not for her."
"Who's going to save our lives now? We're stranded in the middle of this desert! Appa's not around to fly us back out of here," Sokka said, causing everyone aside Aang to gaze around them and take in the seriousness of their dire situation. He was right- there was nothing but desert sand for miles around.
"All of you only care about yourselves. You don't care if Appa is okay or not!" Aang shouted, and stomped away from the group, hands balled into fists.
"We're all very concerned about Appa, Aang, but we can't afford to be fighting any sand benders or going out of our way to go looking for him. He could be anywhere! We don't know our ways around this desert, and we hardly have any food or water left," Katara pleaded, hoping Aang would stop accusing the group of lacking a heart for their furry friend.
"Fine, I'm going after Appa then," Aang declared, and before anyone could protest he opened his glider and took off away from the group, flying up and towards the sun. Ashlynn sighed, knowing she could skim the desert with him, but she had no desire to be yelled at anymore.
Katara sighed and said, "We better start walking. We may be the only people that know about the solar eclipse. It's important that we get that information to Ba Sing Se." On that final note, Katara began to pace across the sand in the direction she believed Ba Sing Se was. Sokka, Toph, and Ashlynn exchanged anxious glances, and then followed Katara.
Ashlynn felt ready to collapse. Sweat was pouring from all over her body, and her skin was beginning to sting. The sun did not get along well with the fairness of her skin. The sun beat down on the entire group, and everyone was beginning to falter. They had little food and water in their stomachs, and wanted nothing more than to lie down in shade.
"Katara, can I have some more water?" Toph asked as she and Sokka came to a halt. Ashlynn stopped beside them, and sat down on the hot sand. Her ankles were sore, and her moccasins were beginning to tear at the seams. She grasped one ankle and began to massage it.
"Alright, but we need to try and conserve it," Katara said, and she opened her pouch of bending water. She bended a small bubble of water to each individual's mouth, in which everyone drank gratefully.
"We're drinking your bending water? Wait… Didn't you use it on that swamp guy?" Sokka cried out in horror and disgust. Once Sokka had mentioned it, Ashlynn could notice that the taste of the water was rather swamp-like, and her stomach churned at the thought. Toph and even Momo protested at the taste.
"It's all we have guys, I'm sorry," Katara sighed.
"Not anymore- Look!" Sokka said, and pointed at a nearby cactus. Without another word he approached the plant and sliced off a chunk off the top with his machete. Since there was water trapped inside the cactus, Sokka drank every drop of the slice he had, and then discarded the empty piece.
"Sokka, wait! We shouldn't be eating strange plants," Katara pleaded.
"Suit yourself. It's very thirst quenching though!" Sokka said, and a large grin spread across his face. After a moment his pupils doubled in size. He begin to chuckle to himself, and more sweat began to pour down from his forehead.
"Come on Sokka… I'm pretty sure you've had enough," Katara said, and began to continue walking away from the water-filled plant.
"Wait, I want some of that cactus juice," Toph requested. Ashlynn pondered asking for some for herself, but after another glance at Sokka, she decided against it. Now, Sokka stood hunched over with his gaze pointed straight upward, and his jaw hung open. Ashlynn wondered for a moment if the cactus juice was even water- since it was causing Sokka to behave so strangely.
Katara sighed and grasped Sokka's wrist, dragging him onward. Ashlynn grasped Toph's hand, and helped guide her behind Sokka and Ashlynn. Ashlynn groaned when her ankles protested more walking; yet- she continued on.
"What is that?" Katara asked, and pointed on the horizon. A gust of wind rolled by the group, and Ashlynn brought an arm up to her face to protect her eyes from the sand. When the wind died down, she lowered her arm to survey what Katara had pointed out.
In the distance appeared to be a pillar of smoke, or dust, stretching high up to the sky. Ashlynn wondered for a moment if maybe it was Aang. If not- then it had to be something less friendly to them. Thus, Ashlynn hoped it stayed far away from them.
"Looks like a pillar of smoke, or dust," Ashlynn said in response to Katara's question.
"No. It's a giant mushroom!" Sokka said with glee, and outstretched his arms in a hugging fashion towards the cloud of dust. He grew an enormous smile across his face and gazed longingly at the pillar of dust.
Katara sighed and grasped Toph's hand before saying, "Come on, and let's keep going."
"I hope Aang's okay," Ashlynn muttered to herself, and grasped Sokka's hand. Still grinning, he happily followed behind her, his hand barely grasping hers as he dragged his feet across the sand, kicking up dust behind them.
The sun was beginning to dip behind the mountains before Aang returned to the group- without Appa. There wasn't much anyone could say, since they knew his search had been in vain. Katara halted the group, and Ashlynn helped Sokka sit down properly on the sandy floor.
"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara murmured. "I know this is hard for you- but we need to focus on getting out of here." Katara placed a friendly hand on Aang's shoulder, but he shied away from her, still angry as ever.
"What's the point? We won't survive without Appa- we all know it," Aang said in a barely audible voice.
"Aang, don't say that! We can get through this if we work together, right?" Katara said optimistically and turned back to look at her companions for support.
Ashlynn glanced at Sokka, who was still dazed and beside himself. Ashlynn sighed, and shrugged at Katara, doubtful.
"I can't see anything- I don't know Katara," Toph replied, also doubtful.
Katara looked back at Aang, whom hadn't so much as turned his head to look at his friends. He remained silent, ignoring Katara's pleas and attempts to keep the group strong. After another quick glance at every group member, Katara groaned and said, "We're going to get out of here- and we're going to do it together. Come everyone, hold hands, and let's go. We can do this." Katara grasped Aang's hand firmly.
Aang lightly gripped Toph's hand next, whom took hold of Ashlynn's hand. Finally, Ashlynn tightened her free hand around Sokka's, and dragged him along with the remainder of the group. Sokka dragged Momo along with them by his tail, giggling all the while.
After several more hours Katara finally suggested that the group rest for the remainder of the evening. It was at the darkest point of the night, now, and the stars shone brightly through the sky. Everyone collapsed on the floor, aside Katara. Ashlynn hissed at the burning sensation in her skin, and the soreness in her feet. She placed a hand upon her arm and nearly shouted out as the stinging pain grew worse momentarily. She dragged her hand from her arm and grasped her foot, massaging it.
"Can I have some more water?" Toph requested. Katara sighed, and said, "Sure… But this is the last of it." She opened her pouch and bended what was left of it evenly between everyone in the group. Ashlynn drank it thankfully, ignoring the swamp taste that lingered on her tongue.
"Ashlynn, would you hand me the scrolls Sokka got from the library?" Katara asked. Ashlynn nodded, and attempted to pry Sokka's bag from his fingers. He protested at first, muttering repeatedly that he hadn't stolen anything. Yet, after a few tries, he released his grip on the bag, and Ashlynn handed it to Katara. She nodded her thanks.
"It doesn't even matter Katara- nothing in there will tell us where Appa is," Aang muttered sorrowfully.
"No- but they can tell us which way Ba Sing Se is. There's a map of the stars in here! We can use them to guide us to the city. That way we can travel at night and sleep during the day when it's hot," Katara exclaimed as she unrolled a scroll with the constellations on them. She looked back at the group, and sighed; everyone had begun to fall asleep.
Ashlynn had curled up beside Sokka, who had spread his arms and legs; his tongue was hanging from his mouth. Already he was snoring, having already fallen into a deep slumber. Ashlynn groaned, and closed her eyes, unable to resist the urge to sleep any longer.
"Ashlynn, wake up! Help me get everyone else up." Ashlynn stirred as Katara whispered to her, and she opened her eyes slowly. It was still evening, and she felt like she'd only been asleep for several minutes. Aang was curled up away from the group, and Toph was sprawled out across the sand, fast asleep. Sokka was snoring loudly, giggling in his sleep every so often, and Momo was making Sokka a blanket out of sand. Ashlynn watched Katara approach Aang.
Ashlynn sat up, stretched, and rubbed her eyes. She could feel grains of sand fall from her face as she rubbed her hands in her eyes and across her cheeks. She glanced over at Sokka and nudged his arm with one hand in a feeble attempt to awake him. Toph sat up to the sound of Katara's voice speaking to Aang, and yawned.
"Sokka, we need to go," Ashlynn murmured quietly to her friend. Sokka sat up, still drowsy, and still not all himself yet. He grinned at Ashlynn, but kept his eyes closed momentarily. Ashlynn grasped his hand and helped him stand up. She stood up slowly, but kept his back hunched over.
"Appa!" Aang cried out suddenly. Ashlynn turned around fast to see where Aang was pointing at. He had his finger pointed straight up to the sky, towards the moon. Ashlynn frowned as she realized it was only a cloud.
"It's just a cloud Aang. Wait… A cloud! Aang, fly up to that cloud and bend the water from it into my pouch," Katara exclaimed, and hurriedly tossed Aang her water pouch. He caught it, shot Katara an angry glance, and flew up towards the cloud. Ashlynn watched Aang's silhouette zip through the cloud until it had completely dispersed. Moments later Aang landed beside Katara and shoved her water pouch back into her hands.
"There's hardly any in here…" Katara frowned as she gazed down into the pouch. Ashlynn frowned, knowing that they desperately needed water.
"It's a desert cloud, okay? I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?" Aang shouted and pointed the end of his glider at Katara. Ashlynn saw Katara's muscles tighten as she grew the urge to shout back, but they loosened as she said, "Trying to keep everyone together and safe. Let's keep moving, we need to head this direction."
Katara unrolled the map of the constellations and began to walk in what she believed to be the correct direction. Ashlynn urged Sokka onward as she grasped Toph's hand to guide her. Aang trailed behind them.
As tired as Ashlynn was of walking, she was grateful that she was walking at nighttime while it was cool. Her arms and neck still burned from the sun beating down on them, but the cool night air felt refreshing each time it rolled by.
After a half an hour of walking Toph suddenly tripped and fell onto the sand below, yanking her hand free of Ashlynn's. "I am so sick of being unable to see where I'm going!" she screamed out in rage as she sat up. "What idiot buries a boat in the middle of the desert anyways?" Toph fumed as she stood back up next to Ashlynn.
"A boat?" Katara questioned, confused. Aang urged everyone to take a step back, and so they did. He held his glider out in front of him, and bended a gust of wind through the sand below, sweeping it off the boat beneath them that Toph had tripped over.
"Oh! It's one of those vehicles the sand benders use to travel around the desert," Katara exclaimed as she climbed up onto the sand glider. Katara followed her and examined the ship.
"Look, it has a compass on it," Ashlynn pointed out, looking down at a small compass that stood atop a wooden pedestal at the head of the ship.
"I bet it can point us out of here!" Katara gasped as she examined the compass.
"We're going to make it!" Ashlynn cheered, and smiled at Katara. Katara returned the smile, and turned to the rest of the group.
"Aang, you can bend air between the glider and the sand to keep us moving along the desert. Aang nodded, but said nothing as he clambered onto the ship and took a spot at the end of it. Ashlynn offered a hand to Toph and helped her climb up, and then Sokka.
"Here, Aang, I'll help," Ashlynn said. Aang nodded, and together they began to bend a breeze behind the glider, causing it to start sailing across the sand, with Katara as their guide.
"According to my charts, this compass isn't pointing north. It must be pointing towards something else," Katara frowned after some time of travel. Ashlynn sighed; if they got lost now there was no way to tell which way Ba Sing Se really was. Yet, she continued to help Aang guide the glider in the direction Katara told them to go.
Katara gasped a moment later and said, "That's what the compass is pointing to- that giant rock!" Ashlynn looked around for a moment to view the rock Katara had pointed out. Indeed, it was a giant rock, like a plateau, in the middle of nowhere within the vast desert. Ashlynn raised an eyebrow in confusion and curiosity.
"It's probably the magnetic center of the desert," Ashlynn shouted to Katara over the roaring winds that she and Aang were creating.
"A rock? Let's go!" Toph shouted excitedly, more than eager to be able to see with her feet again.
"Do you think we could find some water there?" Ashlynn questioned, and Katara nodded hopefully in response.
"I bet we could find some sand benders," Aang hissed angrily, desperate to avenge his lost companion.
The sun began to peek up from behind the rock when they began to close in on it. Ashlynn limbs were aching from keeping a wind soaring behind the glider. She began to ponder what was going to happen by the time they did reach the rock. Would they find water, or sand benders? If they did, what happened next?
Sokka had begun to phase into his usual self again. He talked normally, and his pupils weren't so large. In addition, he'd stopped his wide and unusual grin.
Ashlynn and Aang slowed the glider down and brought it to a halt next to the rock moments later.
"So, should we climb it?" Ashlynn questioned. Katara nodded and said, "Yes- for all we know there could be something worthwhile at the top. Maybe we'll be able to see for miles around up there. There's even a pathway leading up to the top- I bet it was built by earth benders." Agreeing, Ashlynn began to hike up the trail. Her arms were sore, but she'd gained regular feeling in her legs again. So- the hike upwards wasn't so bad.
Sokka trailed behind her, still attached to Momo. Katara followed Sokka, and Toph followed Katara. Toph was more than glad to be able to feel her way up the rock, rather than need someone to hold her hand and guide her to the right spot. Aang took the rear.
Once they were at the top, Ashlynn frowned, for there was nothing but a nest of tunnels perched near the furthest ledge from them. Toph, however, was gleeful, and she fell upon the solid earth, using her bending to create a 'rock angel'.
"Maybe there's something in those tunnels?" Ashlynn suggested. Katara shrugged, and walked towards the tunnels. Her companions followed behind her, desperate for water, or food.
"I think my head is finally clearing out that cactus juice," Sokka said finally, his tone of voice no less than normal. "Hey, look!" he shouted eagerly. Ashlynn looked towards him just in time to see him swipe a gooey substance off the side of the cave and force a large portion of it into his mouth. Ashlynn wondered if he was just curious as to how it tasted, or if he was so hungry he'd eat anything.
Sokka spat the substance back out immediately and cried, "It tastes like rotten penguin meat!"
"Sokka- you finally begin to recover from being dazed all day by cactus juice… And then you just up and eat something you find stuck to the wall of a cave? You don't even know what it is!" Ashlynn raged at him in disbelief, both disgusted and annoyed. Sokka shrugged at her, and opened his mouth to respond, but Toph spoke first.
"I don't think this is your every-day normal cave. It was carved by something. There's… something buzzing in here… And it's coming for us!" Toph cried out suddenly, and darted back towards the entrance of the rocky tunnel. Quick to react, everyone did as she did, and ran back out to the flat and open part of the plateau.
Moments later, oversize bees with the heads of vultures swarmed out of the tunnels, angry and defensive of their home. They screamed at the group, enraged; their stingers were poised, prepared to attack with them if necessary. Ashlynn brought her glider in front of her and held it out before her like a sword. Sokka brought forth his machete, and Toph began to bend rocks in the direction she heard the enemy coming from. Aang did as Ashlynn did.
"We need to get out of here; I have no water to bend, I'm completely useless!" Katara exclaimed as she narrowly dodged one of the vulture-bees. Ashlynn swung her staff in an arc before her, sending a gust of wind at the same creature, sending it away from Katara. Katara nodded her thanks, and began to take off down the ramp.
Just then, one of the creatures swooped down and grasped Momo, taking it away from the group. "Momo!" Aang cried out, and opened his glider, and took off after Momo.
"Come on you guys, let's go!" Ashlynn shouted at Toph and Sokka, and took off after Katara. Toph dropped the rock she had suspended in mid-air, and followed Ashlynn. Sokka trailed after Toph, attempting to hit anything that came near him with his own weapon.
When they reached the bottom the vulture-bees still hadn't stopped swarming upon them. Katara cowered behind Toph, guiding her in the direction of the creatures, so that she could bend rocks at them, forcing them away. Ashlynn stood in front of Sokka with her staff held out before her, blowing away any enemy that came close to them. Yet, it was not enough- without Katara's water bending, they were far outnumbered.
Then, suddenly, the sand around them began to shoot up, striking every vulture-bee, forcing them upwards towards the sky. Once every one of them had been struck, they retreated reluctantly back into their home. Before them now stood several sand gliders and a few sand benders. Aang swooped down and stood in front of his companions defensively, with Momo at his side.
"What are you doing in our land with a sand bender sailor? From the looks of it, I'd say you all stole it!" declared the man at the head of the team. His voice was rugged and deep, and the creases in his forehead indicated his frustration and anger.
"We found it abandoned in the desert. We're travelling with the Avatar," Katara explained, and motioned towards Aang to point out exactly who the Avatar was.
"Our sky bison was stolen, and we need to get to Ba Sing Se," Ashlynn continued for Katara.
"You dare accuse our people of theft while you scum travel around on a stolen sand sailor?" shouted a younger man that stood at the leader's right. He took a step forward and raised a fist towards Aang and his companions, angered. Ashlynn frowned, knowing she hadn't accused them of anything.
"Quiet! They didn't accuse us of anything- don't be so hasty. If what they say is true, they need our hospitality!" the older man shouted back.
"Sorry, father," said the younger one, and lowered his fist. He took a step back to give his father more room.
"I recognize the son's voice," Toph whispered to the group, and then said, "He's the one that stole Appa."
"Are you sure?" Katara asked, less than willing to truly accuse the sand benders of something they may not have done. Toph nodded, and declared that she never forgets a voice once she's heard it. Then, Aang took a step forward, with his staff held out before him aggressively.
"You stole Appa? Where is he? What'd you do with him?" Aang shouted at the son, directing all his rage in the man's direction. The son began to sweat, and turned to his father, desperate for him to believe his son and not the Avatar.
"They're lying, father! They're the thieves!" the son accused. The accusation, however, only angered Aang more. Thus, he sent a gust of wind soaring at the sand gliders, breaking them into a hundred wooden bits, cutting off the benders means of transportation.
"Where is my bison?" Aang demanded.
"What did you do?" the father asked angrily at his son. Aang's upfront anger had persuaded the father to believe his son had been lying to everyone the entire time.
"It wasn't me!" the son cried out in hesitation, desperate for Aang to not hurt him.
"Yet you're the one that said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph shouted back. Aang began to fume, and shouted, "You muzzled Appa?"
The comment had sent Aang overboard, and his eyes and tattoos began to glow, showing everyone around him that he'd entered the Avatar state. Ashlynn knew Aang couldn't control himself, now, and so she grabbed Toph and Sokka's hand, and ran away from Aang as fast as she could. "Get out of here! Go!" Ashlynn cried to the sand benders. Frightened, they scattered away from Aang, desperate to get away. Katara stayed behind, however, in hopes of calming Aang down.
"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang screamed at the son as he ran away. The voices of all of Aang's past lives sounded through him, echoing his own words. The father stopped his son, and demanded he tell Aang where his stolen sky-bison was.
"I traded him to some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now; they were going to sell him there. Please, don't hurt us! I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar! We'll escort you out of the desert- we'll help however we can! Just please, don't hurt us!" the son pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
A gust of wind and sand began to swarm around Aang as he grew angrier. "Run!" Sokka screamed at the son and his father. Unable to stand before Aang any longer, they took off after Ashlynn, Sokka, and Toph. When they were far enough away, they stopped to survey the scene, hoping Katara could bring Aang out of the Avatar state.
The ground began to shake, and Sokka grabbed Ashlynn and pulled her close to him. He pulled her face into his chest to shield her eyes from the sand, and then he, too, curled himself into her to shield his eyes as well. Ashlynn held on tightly to Toph's hand and kept her close to them, and waited for the shaking and the storming to come to a stop.
When it was over, Sokka released his hold on Ashlynn. Ashlynn looked up, and saw Katara holding Aang close. Ashlynn looked up at Sokka, who gave her a half-smile in an attempt to reassure her. He grasped her hand lightly, and began to walk her back over to Katara and Aang.
Aang had begun to cry, losing all hope that they'd ever see Appa again.