Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Avatar: The Last Airbender and franchise is the creation of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and product of Nicktoons Network (Nickelodeon/Viacom). I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters. This story is a unique fictional derivative of the original work, written (not for profit) by an Avatar enthusiast.

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Rated: K

Avatar Journeys

Chapter 8: Kyunno Tunya

Mana, Yani, Karru, Puyal, Nilal, Katara and Zuko were up and ready by dawn. Mana said they were taking a couple of sand skiffs. Zuko looked at the long and narrow vessel with pointed ends, each of which had a sail. He wondered how they were supposed to get anywhere with them. "Sandbending," Katara explained. They would create little tornadoes to move them. They were split so that each skiff would be physically manageable. He took the boat with the twins Karru and Puyal. Katara took the boat with Mana and the others and they took off. The skiffs were quick and the twins had no issue with bounding over troughs. Zuko learned that the pointed ends were for climbing up the dunes. He looked around at the racing dunes. He felt cold standing up and so sat and started exhaling smoke to warm himself. He noticed the north horizon looked fuzzy.

"What is that?" Zuko said to Karru.

"Sandstorm," Puyal answered leaning on the front tip, "Very dangerous. If you not secured," he said holding up a roll of rope to Zuko, "You're buried alive or you freeze to death."

Zuko looked back at the storm. "I thought we need one to open the cache?"

"We'll try to open it ourselves and hope we don't need the storm. If not, we face the cache and the storm. In the next village we will get more supplies."

He sat quietly in the skiff thinking. The risk of this trip was high. They had lost time just getting here and now the stakes were raised with freezing sandstorms. They needed firebending to open it but his fire was shaky though he was in the light of sun, the desert was cold and it was throwing him off. We don't even know what's in the cache. They sailed into the late evening. They used the skiffs and skins to make a large tent for everyone and slept. They woke up the next morning and set out again. They stopped in a village in the afternoon for water and more supplies and set off again, reaching the cache that evening according to Mana's projection. Zuko sat in the skiff watching the desert quietly pass and the haze of storm on the horizon.

They arrived to the ruins of the cache in the early evening and since they all agreed it was too cold and windy to take Zuko and Katara to the cache they set up camp and went over the plan for tomorrow. As soon as everyone was done with the finishing touches of the camp, they all picked a spot around the fire and lay down to sleep. The crackling fire and low howls of the wind lulled them to sleep.

Zuko woke up earlier than everyone else. He rolled away from Katara, stepped over the others and quietly slipped out between the skiffs, careful to lay the flap silently over the opening. It was the dark but the sun wasn't far behind. The moon was low over the west horizon and the stars and night sky were in sharp contrast with the gold sands and the wind howled deep. He walked around the cache. Broken columns, slabs of walls, chunks of mortar, split foundations and tumbling stairs were scattered over the area. There was more to this cache than the others, he thought. The others were simple structures but this one was more elaborate from what he could see. He finally chanced on an unbroken piece of foundation. He walked over the edge and began exercising. He limbered up, controlled his breath and focused on his core. He went over all the forms from basic to advanced, building up heat and energy. Once he actually began to firebend he felt it: the shortness in his fire but he didn't stop. The sun rose and he improved. His fire was stronger but there was something funny. He stopped for a moment and looked down at his clenched fist. Something was happening inside. I swear I heard it just now in that flame throw, but he couldn't make out what it was. He inhaled deeply, curled back both his arms and threw them in front of him. He listened to the fire his hands expelled trying to hear it again but he didn't. He let it go and exercised his breath again.

"Zuko!" He looked over his shoulder. Katara and Nilal were standing between some broken columns. "We're ready!"

Zuko ran over to Katara and Nilal and went back to the tent where the others were waiting. They walked toward the rising sun to the part of the cache that was a bit more intact since most of the columns were taller or completely intact and the ground was only broken or missing in a few places. It looked like it was formerly a hall. They followed it. It led to a very high dune of sand. And once there the sandbenders stepped forward while Zuko and Katara stepped to the side.

Karru, Puyal, Yani and Nilal moved in a series of quick waves, kicks and punches of their arms and legs on either side of Mana. He stood in the middle repeating the same move. As the sand began hiss with movement, Zuko realized that Mana was splitting the sand, digging into it and the others were moving it aside. They moved forward, keeping their patter and form while crossing paths without incident. They rolled the sand aside, partly displacing the dune and a shape began to emerge. A circle, he thought straining his eyes. The sand slid away and revealed a large door slanting away from them. It had a symbol on it. It was the same symbol they had seen back in Mana's village. The Fire Nation insignia. Only it was blocky, sharp and archaic, as if designed by some primitive tribe. The door had a hole, the size of a hand in the center of it. The sandbenders stopped catching their breath.

"Here it is," said Mana between breaths.

"It's huge," said Katara stepping forward.

"Looks heavy," said Zuko walking forward as well, "Are you sure you all can bend it open?"

"We'll see," said Mana smiling, "Line up!"

The others lined up with Nilal in the center and took their position, squatted wide, arms curled at their sides. Simultaneously they stomped forward and threw their fists parallel to the door. The door rumbled but didn't move. They tried again with a different form. They brought their feet back and stood straight up, then waved their arms around sliding the opposite foot behind them and threw their fists again.

RRRRRG.

"Again!" shouted Mana. They took form again. It rumbled. They tried again and the rumble changed into a screech.

"It's giving!" shouted Katara.

They redoubled, swinging their arms and stomping. The screech grew louder and consistent and the sandbenders slowly advanced on it. The door was slowly easing out, inch by inch. The crevice between the doors grew to about six inches before the sandbenders were worn out. Yani funneled sand inside to keep it open. They rested. Everyone came together to brainstorm another way to open the door Yani proposed flooding the inside with sand to help force it open while everyone tried to bend it open. They agreed and got up to try again. Yani funneled the sand inside while the others were bending. It worked faster but not fast. The door screeched open on and off during their attempts. They were all bent over, panting after opening one half of the door. Zuko stepped forward to see the lock he would have to work with as Yani and the others funnled sands aside. There were a large metal spheres with holes in the middle of a large and elaborate web of metal channels. They weaved and intertwined into smaller metal spheres at the four points of the circle.

"So," said Katara walking up behind him.

"It's large," he said touching the metal, "the metal while amplify my fire but right now it's freezing. It's going to take time heat up. I'm guessing a certain temperature has to be reached to justify this kind of lock."

"Can you do it?" she asked.

"Yeah but I may need those supplies in the end," he said.

"Alright!" called Mana in the back, "The other half!"

Zuko and Katara decided to pack up the camp and bring nearer to the Kyunno given the rate of progress. Katara passed out food and water to the sandbenders in between helping Zuko setting up the camp anew. They set up down the stairs of hall with the column to their back. Katara fixed a soup and Zuko went back to the hall to warm-up. He ran through forms and jogged relentlessly. He listened to his fire and felt little a tingling he couldn't place. It was the mid afternoon and he was good form. Great actually but still, he thought. He decided to let it go since stressing over whatever the desert was doing to him wasn't going help.

The sandbenders had finally gotten the other half open and bended blocks in front of it. It was late afternoon.

"It is large," panted Nilal, "what's that behind it?"

"A part of the lock," said Yani raggedly.

"You sure?" said Katara.

"Well this is as far as we got last time so we'll find out," said Yani between breaths, he turned to Zuko, "You ready Fire Lord?"

Zuko nodded eyes locked on the device. Everyone cleared away as Zuko stepped back preparing his assault. His first attempts were simple with one intention: heat up the device. His primary tools in this were fireballs and flame-throwing. But he had to keep the mechanism hot and the wind was counterproductive. He asked Karru to bring the oil, coals and burning ropes. They prepped the supplies and placed them where they could in the lock and Zuko began again. The afternoon ticked coals and the oil kept the lock warm and it began to issue steam into the air. The metal began change colors from grey to yellow but only in certain places. Zuko eyed the device following the web to the four points. All the spheres had to be the same temperature. He told the others and they planted the remaining coals, ropes and oil in the four spheres. The center sphere was bigger and resistant. Zuko needed more fire power, but I need a way to get more air, he thought between barrages and breaks to breathe. He looked around and his eyes fell on a column to his left. It was high and above the lock.

"Hey, Karru! Puyal!" he panted. They nodded at him. "Can you bend that column down?"

They ran up to it and brought it down. Zuko leapt on top of it, he kneeled and grabbed the edges. He nodded at the twins and they raised it back up. Zuko looked down at the lock. The Four corners were burning white at this point. He inhaled deeply and exhaled fumes into the cold air, pumping his arms down for fortitude. He turned his back to lock, kneeled on the corner of the column, inhaled and exhaled again and flipped off the column. The desert and sky swam around each other slowly. He tucked his legs under him and stretched his arms out. The lock got closer with every turn. He straightened his right leg. He uncurled himself, inhaled swung all the momentum and force of his leg over his head into a blast of fire.

"HAAAAAAAA!"

The flame from his foot roared loudly in his ears as it pushed him back engulfing the lock. He slowly released his breath into the blast stretching it until he nearly suffocated. The blast grew narrow and flickered in way he never seen. Startled, he released the flame, flipped over and landed on his hands feet behind the others.

The center sphere turned burned white and ran through the web of the lock. The sand danced and the ground beneath their quivered and dust fell from the columns. Everyone eased closer together. A sound began grew in their ears. It was deep as if the earth was grunting at the disturbance. The metal lock clicked and screeched as it separated, opening before them. They covered their ears watched the device achingly slide away piece by piece. The ground was still and the columns stood straight and it was quiet again in the desert save for the low howl of the wind.

Everyone was still. Mana stepped forward first and memory of a trick floor littered with spikes and an airbender's narrow escape flashed in Zuko's mind.

"Careful, Mana," said Zuko walking up behind him, "There's a reason for that lock. They walked forward and the others joined them and looked down. It was a wide tunnel that ran down into darkness. Zuko looked up over his shoulder. Dusk was falling.

"I say we go in," he proposed, "just to see how deep. We'll investigate tomorrow." He looked around. Katara was looking down the tunnel with a frown on her face. Karru and Puyal looked at each other and shrugged. Mana, Yani and Nilal were looking at each other. "Not all of us need to go. Especially since there maybe booby traps. I volunteer. I have dealt with this sort of thing before," he said leaning over the tunnel. "Whoever else is coming needs to be quick and on their toes the entire time."

"We'll go down," said Yani. Zuko looked back. Yani was looking at Nilal and she nodded in affirmation, "We're the lightest, fastest best with structuring and I may be able to read anything if there's a need." Zuko nodded at them.

"Me, too," said Katara.

"Alright," said Zuko, "I don't know what keeps the lock open. Mana, can you work on that?"

"No problem," he said.

"Alright," he said turning back to tunnel, "Let's go." Yani lead bending a path of stairs down the tunnel, followed by Katara, then Zuko then Nilal.

They descended the stairs slowly, releasing puffs air and keeping their eyes on the curved walls around them while Yani bended more stairs. The light slowly faded the deeper they went. Zuko breathed and lit the tunnel.

"Zuko," said Katara her voice echoing quietly through the tunnel. She stopped suddenly, Zuko bumped into her causing her to bump into Yani sending all of them sliding down the tunnel. They reacted coolly. Nilal bent a ledge beneath Zuko and Katara and Yani ground his feet into the tunnel leaving grooves behind him. They were a few feet beneath Nilal but she was closing on them. Zuko lit up the tunnel again.

"Everyone okay?" Nilal asked looking down at Yani.

"Yeah," said Zuko and Katara together

"Yeah," called Yani below them.

"Okay," said Nilal. She started to off but she stopped looking at the wall. "What's that?" she said apprehensively.

Zuko looked up from his wife and at the wall Nilal was looking at. There were ragged scratches, some deep, some shallow,going down the tunnel wall. He followed them and saw more in the distance ahead and behind. Katara mounted the stairs, then Zuko. Yani began to emerge from below and joined them staring at the wall.

"You want to keep going?" Yani asked following the scratches up the wall.

"Yeah. Let's just be more careful," Zuko said. Yani took the lead again and they kept going down the tunnel. Zuko looked back. The door was a small circle of light behind them and a pit of darkness before them. In the tunnel he couldn't help but miss Toph. A stale musk began layer the air. He looked back at Nilal and touched his nose. She nodded and he turned his attention forward. The tunnel took a sharper incline. They descended anew. The door to disappeared and Zuko's fire was the only light they had. He had been trying to keep the time: they had been decending for a while. And the darkness they were walking into seemed to go on forever. Then finally he felt it: openness and the cold like a weight. There was a splash and Yani stopped.

"What is it?" asked Zuko. His voice carried in the dark.

Katara bent over. "It's not water," she said. She smelled it and drew her face back, "it's the smell." Yani walked further in while Zuko walked forward to investigate the liquid, Nilal walked past them. It's thicker than water, he thought feeling it between his fingers. It looked like a bunch of shattered crystals in ooze. He let drip from his fingers and it rolled down into a glob and fell.

"You're right," said Zuko, "this is the smell." He felt the ground shutter and shot up on his feet. He could make out Nilal and Yani stomping ahead of them. They stomped several times before walking back toward them.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked.

"We're trying to earthsense," said Yani walking past him, "But this liquid is interfering." They watched walk to the wall next them and kick it. They waited.

"It's big," he said looking up into the darkness, "I think it has compartments but something on the walls is throwing off my sensing."

Yani walked back to them. Katara stood up and put an arm around Zuko. He looked at their shadowed faces then up and around at the darkness.

"Let's go," Zuko said exhaling smoke, "we're done for today."

They nodded and Nilal lead them back up the tunnel. They reached the top. Zuko was grateful but bitten by the cold. He looked around. The wind had picked up and the air was hazy. The sun was a red and low over the horizon and the sandstorm to the north was closer. He pulled his shawl over his face, hopped out and helped Yani.

"Will it hit?" Zuko yelled over the wind.

"Not sure! The winds from the east may push it away. We're getting ready for it, though," Mana yelled nodding toward the camp. Karru and Puyal were bending walls around the camp. Yani and Nilal took off to help. Katara wrapped her face and inserted herself under his arm. He was sorry that he didn't have much heat. After Mana fortified the columns around the doors with sand they all trotted back to camp.

"What did you find down there?" he yelled.

"Nothing." said Zuko, "just scratches on the wall and some liquid on the floor."

"Water?" asked Mana.

"No," he said turning his face from a sandy gust, "something else." Mana nodded, covered his face and began helping the others with the camp. Zuko and Katara went inside the tent. He kneeled over the fire and began rubbing his core and breathing smoke.

"I wish there was water," said Katara going through the supplies, "I wouldn't feel so useless. The air is so dry I can barely pull anything from it." She walked over and threw a wool blanket over Zuko and headed outside.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I left the food outside," She said angrily and ducked out through the flap and into the shrieking wind. Zuko sat in the middle of the tent in front of a pile of wood, rubbing and exhaling smoke and shooting fire from his fingers. He was warming up slowly. He could feel it in stomach slowly easing up to his chest. He concentrated on the fire shooting out his fingers, willing the heat move through his shoulder and down his arm. But his mind wandered between blasts. He thought of the moment when foot came down over the lock. He put everything he had into that blast, everything. His mind was clear and just as he thought of nothing he remembered. The flash, he thought. His fire flickered to another color. It was brief but there. Popping sound pulled Zuko out of his thoughts. Some of the branches caught fire. He stood up and blasted the heap. It cracked and popped. He heard the flap of the tent. Everyone walked in. Katara and Nilal went to the other side to prepare the food, the other were dusting sand off.

"How does it look?" Zuko asked the others.

"We won't get the full brunt of the storm," said Mana removing his head wrap and wiping his eyes, "but there will be a lot sand in the air and it will be very cold."

"Will we still be able to go into to the cache?" asked Katara from the other side.

"Yeah," said Mana with his signature smile and wink, "We should go early when the winds die down. So we should turn in early."

Everyone uttered their agreement and sat in front of the fire. The food had gotten frozen outside so Zuko focused on heating up the bean paste and bread. They ate their meal silently, too tired or too cold to talk. The remainder of the food was set near the fire for breakfast. They gathered all the available skins and clothes and piled up around the fire.

"Zuko," she said rocking him, "Wake up."

He opened his eyes to a low fire, sat up and began his routine breathing puffs of smoke. Everyone was getting up, stretching their necks and scratching their bodies. Yani was the early bird, fully dressed and head wrapped he passed out a breakfast of crispy bread and warm bean and fruit paste. Zuko bit into the bread and paste thankful that there were only so many more days of this food and this living. They got dressed, donned some of the skins and blankets and went outside. The sun was peaking in the east; the storm hovered in the north with the night; the low howl returned. They all stretched, bended, grabbed their water skins, rope, weapons, and headed toward the cache. They tied the rope over themselves and left some free in hand. Zuko lit the pieces of rope on fire and split up. Zuko, Katara, Nilal went with Karru. They were instructed to line up one in front of the other on the stairs, sit and relax. If Zuko had been thinking he would have warned Katara about the wiliness of twins but he was caught up in preparing himself for whatever inspired the evil grin on Karru face. As soon as they sat down handles, low back supports and foot rests appeared due to a few movements from Nilal.

"I suggest you hang on," he said with a manic grin. Nilal scooted down and grabbed the sides. Zuko did the same and watched Katara turn around with an unsettled look in her eyes. Karru issued a shrill cry and they shot down the tunnel screaming: Zuko in shock, Katara in fear, Karru and Nilal in delight. Karru drove their little sled up the sides and over, spiraling and zigzagging down the darkness. They hit a deep gash in the wall. The little vessel was the verge of toppling over but Nilal stomped and righted the vessel. Before they knew it they were catching air as the tunnel hit its incline. They were all screaming.

"LEAN FORWARD!" shouted Nilal. They did, barely missing the roof of the tunnel. For a few moments they shot down into the darkness. Karru raised an incline; Nilal stomped and flattened their angle. They slid up the incline into the cache and landed solidly on a platform Nilal raised. Nilal and Karru laughed and whooped around leaping off the sled into the liquid. Zuko leapt out the sled grateful that he survived another shenanigan. Katara's hair was all over the place. She sat on the platform then hopped into Zuko's arms.

"You okay?" asked Zuko pulling down his shawl.

"Yeah, just not expecting that," Katara answered pulling hers.

Shouting echoed down the tunnel. Karru suggested they move aside. They obliged and Nilal bended the sled away. The yelling peaked and moments later a second sled full of laughter came up the incline and landed on the platform. They leapt down from the sled and sloshed over the rest of the group with wide grins. Once Mana was satisfied that it wasn't water they were sloshing in, he charged the twins with mapping the cache. They split up, whooping excitedly up into the darkness. Their burning rope danced in and out of view. Yelling, rumbling and crashing echoed in the dark.

They investigated the immediate area. They broke up taking a direction to find the diameter. Zuko sloshed through the darkness until a wall appeared in front of him. It looks shiny and angled away, he touched it. It was cold, hard and sticky. Like a frozen coating of whatever is on the floor, he thought looking down. He looked up at the wall and hit it with his fist. There was solid layer of it on the wall. He turned around. He made out a light and a figure in the growing fog about fourteen yards away, the lights on both sides of him were about ten yards.

"You see this?" shouted Yani over the din. Zuko looked to his left.

"Yeah!" said Zuko.

"It's the same as the floor!" shouted Nilal. There was a splashing sound and a light came bouncing toward him. Katara appeared. They walked back to center. Yani, Nilal and Mana joined them.

"And this stuff," said Mana squatting over the liquid, "Is all over the walls," he said looking up at them. The burning end of his rope dangled over the liquid. "What is it?" he asked. Yani began to answer but as Mana turned to look at him, the rope touched the liquid. Sparks danced over the floor and in the air, startling everyone. The sandbenders quickly raised the ground beneath their feet. The sparks ran up the wall engulfing the cache in flashes and shadows. They looked down and saw the liquid slowly begin to glow. It spread slowly over the floor then eased up the walls in strings. The chamber they were in came to light before them. The walls bent away from and several levels of with holes in them panned the walls. Further up the holes turned into rows.

"Kyunno Tunya," said Mana smiling.

"The Way to Power," said Zuko. Their eyes were locked in awe. He squinted at the rows. They were broken and large but there something familiar about them.

"Who turned on the lights?" echoed a voice.

"Whoa!" called another.

"Zuko," said Katara lowly, "do you see those rows?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Don't those look like-,"

"Yeah."

"But they're-,"

"Huge," he smiled. He looked at her. Her eyes were as wide and blue as they sky.

"Are they-,"

"I don't know," he said excitedly. He looked up, "We need a closer look."

They were up in the upper chamber in a flash of eye. Once they were up close to the remains they no longer they had no doubt that they were seeing what they saw. They all glanced at one another with understanding and silently split up. Zuko headed to the very back of the row they were on. Sidestepping and kicking the debris floating in the light. Under the low the ceiling his eyes passed over the grayed and broken remains for his query. He didn't notice the obstacle in front of his feet and tripped over it falling head first in the luminous liquid. He snatched his head and turned to his ankle. It was caught in a cage of bones. He pulled it out and wiped his face. He looked up. They were calling out to each other.

"What?" Zuko yelled. He listened.

The sound was bouncing all over the place. He could only make out one word: burn.

"What's burning?" he shouted looking around. He stopped. There was something in wall behind a pile of debris. It looks like chalk drawings. He squinted and alarm drove to his feet. He stood in full view of it: a circle of teeth buried in the wall.

"Zuko!" Katara's voice echoed. He turned. Katara was emerging from the opposite side rubbing her eyes. "Ah! Zuko, we found some! We found some!"

"Katara!" he yelled, making his way to the front, "Everyone! Be careful! There was something in he-,"

A sound reached his ears. He glanced over his shoulder.

"You hear that?" he shouted. She was still rubbing her eyes.

"Hear what?" she called.

"Something's burning our eyes!" shouted a far way voice. Moments later the twins leapt from a higher row crash landing beneath Zuko. They began rubbing their eyes. What's wrong with them? The sound pulled him from the thought.

Zuko walked slowly back over the wall. It sounded like rain falling on the chamber. There's nothing out there but sand. He put his ear to wall and listened. It was a running sound that was moving just outside the walls, moving down and getting deeper. He stepped back staring at the wall. Something is out there. He looked over at Katara. She was using water on her eyes. Mana emerged with a bunched up face and dropped some water in his eyes.

"There's something out there!" he shouted running back to front, "We gotta get outta-,"

The chamber began to shake.

"Yani! Nilal!" called Mana. Yani emerged with Nilal in arm on a promontory.

"What's going on?" he asked throwing water in his face. Nilal did the same.

"We need to get out! Take whatever we're going to take and leave!" shouted Zuko.

"Karru! Puyal!" shouted Mana, "The sleds! Yani! Nilal! Get down here!" A grinding, crunching sound grew in the din. Zuko began running to the others. A clear and definitive crunch stopped him in his tracks. He looked down. Karru and Puyal had stopped as well. They were looking up the hole nearest them. The grinding and crunching was getting loud. Zuko could barely hear himself.

"KARRU! PUYAL! MOVE!"

The wall began to fall in on multiple sides of the sandbenders. Something wriggled about but the dust was the dousing the light below. Zuko leapt off the side fire daggers in hand toward din of yelling and grinding.

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A/N: This segment is supposed to feature action and my action writing skills. Let me know how it works. Any concrit is welcome.

Next: Chapter 9: Po-Kim

Thank you to the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender for creating a world I never dreamed of.

Thank you for reading

Uitori.