Book Two: Earth
Chapter Twelve: The Desert
"How could you let them take Appa!?" Aang pulled away from Xena, shouting at Toph. "Why didn't you stop them!?"
"I couldn't!" Toph exclaimed her head bowed with guilt. "The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and-"
"You could've come to get us," Aang cut her off furiously; "I could've saved him!"
"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here," Toph explained. "The sandbenders snuck up on me and there wasn't time for-"
"You just didn't care!" Aang cut her off again. "You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"
"Enough," Xena barked, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around to face her. "Toph did all she could. She had to choose between saving Appa or saving us. If she saved Appa we would have died, if she saved us there would be a chance that we could go and save Appa. She did the right thing by saving us."
"Who's gonna save our lives now?" Sokka asked pessimistically. "We'll never make it out of here."
Aang glared at him.
"That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves!" He shouted at them,."You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!"
Xena slapped him.
"Xena," Katara gasped in surprise while Aang held his cheek.
"How dare you suggest that we don't care about Appa!" She shouted and then clenched her hands by my side. "Especially to me. I left everything to protect you Aang; I left my fiancé and my friends. Appa and you are the only ones I have left and then you excuse me of not caring about him."
"Xena, I'm sorry," He said weakly.
She shakes her head and turn away.
"Aang, we're all concerned about Appa. But we need to get out of this desert before we can do anything.
"I can't leave without Appa," He said, shaking his head slightly."I'm going after him."
Aang snapped his glider open then jumped into the air. Xena made no move to stop him.
"Aang, wait!" Katara called out, but it was too late.
"We better start walking," The master waterbender said with a sigh. "We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se."
Katara started walking in the direction Aang had gone with the others trailing behind.
"Do you think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?" Sokka asked.
Xena sighed quietly; this was going to be a long walk. After several minutes of walking, Sokka glances back at her.
"I didn't know you had a fiancé."
"I don't want to talk about it," She says harshly and he flinches while Katara gives her an admonishing look.
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Zuko and Iroh rode together on the stolen ostrich-horse. Iroh moaned in pain behind him and when Zuko turned to look his expression was pained.
"Maybe we should make camp," Zuko suggested worriedly.
"No please, don't stop just for me!" Iroh said.
He then moaned several more times after his nephew turned back around causing Zuko to yank on the reins in annoyance. They dismounted and Iroh settled on a flat rock. The ostrich-horse let out an alarmed noise suddenly. Zuko spun around and shifted into a firebending stance.
"What now?" Iroh muttered, standing up.
Suddenly five men on rhinos surrounded them.
"Colonel Mongke!" Iroh exclaimed cheerfully as he put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "What a pleasant surprise!"
"If you're surprised we're here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps," Mongke stated coldly.
"You know these guys?" Zuko asked in surprise.
"Sure," Iroh said. "Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different weapon specialists…They are also a very capable singing group."
"We're not here to give a concert," Mongke snapped. "We're here to apprehend fugitives!"
"Would you like some tea first?" Iroh questioned as he rubbed his shoulder. "I'd love some. How about you, Kahchi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?"
"Enough stalling!" Mongke snarled. "Round 'em up!"
Iroh quickly disabled two of the Rough Rhinos. Zuko heard the soft whistling of an arrow and twisted around, knocking it to the side with his forearm. He shot a concentrated blast of fire at the archer, cutting the bow string.
Mongke began shooting fireballs at Iroh, who deflected them with easy. Zuko ran forward and jumped onto the rhino's back. Mongke turned around, but Zuko kicked him out of the saddle. Iroh quickly jumped onto the ostrich-horse and rode it to Zuko's side. He jumped onto the ostrich-horse behind his uncle, the last Rough Rhino following in pursuit. A small grenade exploded in front of them but they just rode through the smoke.
"It's nice to see old friends," Iroh said happily.
"Too bad you don't have any old friends that don't want to attack you," Zuko commented, glancing over his shoulder at the smoke cloud.
"Hmm…" Iroh mused. "Old friends that don't want to attack me…"
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Katara was in front of Xena, Sokka behind with Momo on his shoulder, and Toph behind him. Sokka stopped briefly and put Momo on his head trying to create some shade. Toph walked into him unable to tell that he'd stopped.
"Can't you watch where you're…?" Sokka snapped in annoyance, but stopped realizing who he was talking to.
"No," Toph retorted drily.
"Right," Sokka said and rubbed at his neck sheepishly. "Sorry."
Katara and Xena stopped walking and glanced back at them. "C'mon guys, we've got to stick together," Katara encouraged.
"If I sweat anymore, I don't think sticking together will be a problem," Sokka said sarcastically trying to unstick himself from Toph.
Toph put her hand on Sokka's face and pushed him to the ground, in irritation.
"Katara, can I have some water?" The blind girl asked meekly.
"Okay," Katara agreed. "But we've got to try to conserve it."
Toph nodded tiredly as Katara bended three small globules of water from her pouch and into Sokka's, Toph's, and Momo's mouths.
"We're drinking your bending water," The Water Tribe boy stated pointing to his mouth in disgust. "You used this on the swamp guy! Ach!"
"It does taste swampy…" Toph commented.
"I'm sorry," Katara apologized. "It's all we have."
"Not anymore!" Sokka suddenly exclaimed, excitedly pointing behind us, "Look!" Xena frowned when Sokka rushed forward to a cactus and cut off a piece with his machete.
"Sokka, wait!" Katara protested as her brother and Momo drank from it. "You shouldn't be eating strange plants!"
She grabbed Toph's arm and dragged her forward. Sokka cut open another part of the cactus and excitedly offered it to his sister.
"There's water trapped inside these!"
"I don't know…" Katara said unsurely as she backed away.
"Suit yourself." Sokka replied with a shrug. "It's very thirst quenching though." Suddenly he began to freak out.
"Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier!" He stated as he gestured towards the piece of cactus in his hand before he started crawling across the ground like a caterpillar. He jumped up and pushed his face towards his sister with the cheesiest grin Xena had ever seen, "It's the quenchiest!"
Katara leaned away from her brother and grabbed the cactus piece from his hand, pouring the juice on the ground.
"Okay…" She stated as she tossed the piece of cactus to the side. "I think you've had enough."
Sokka ignored her looking at Toph confusedly. "Xena did you light Toph on fire?"
The guardian didn't reply, looking up at Momo, who was flying around in circles above her head. The lemur suddenly plummeted head-first into the ground. Sighing, she picked up the lemur.
"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked in bemusement.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Katara replied motherly. "Come on, we need to find Aang."
She grabbed her brother's arm and began pulling him along when he continued to stare blankly at the sky
"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked in awe.
Xena frowned and glanced at him worriedly before noticing Toph stumble. Knowing that the blind earthbender wouldn't want her to help, Xena stepped closer till her arm periodically brushed against Toph's.
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"I can't stand it anymore," Xena suddenly growled, stopping and pulling off her sword harness to remove her black vest. "It's too hot to be wearing black."
She unwinds the black bandages from around her forearms, too hot to care that she's revealing her scars. She dropped her vest into the sand on top of her swords and began to wind the bandages around the picture album she removed from her satchel. Katara watches her curiously, as she slides it and the vest back into the satchel. Her hand bumping against her empty water skin briefly. She then alters the backs straps to her swords so that they can hand on either side of her hips. With that done she looks over her shoulder and frowns, noticing a large mushroom like cloud.
"What is that?" She asks, causing Katara to turn around.
"What?" Toph asked in confusion. "What is what?"
"It's a giant mushroom!" Sokka exclaimed excitedly as he gestured with his arms. "Maybe it's friendly!"
"Let's just keep moving," Katara said then grabbed Toph's wrist and pulled her along. "I hope Aang's okay." As Katara led Toph away, Sokka started to worship the mushroom cloud, waving his arms up and down and side-to-side.
"Friendly mushroom!" He shouted happily while Momo clung to his back. "Mushy giant friend!"
Xena grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him along, his feet leaving trenches in the sand as he continues to worship the cloud.
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Zuko followed his uncle towards the seedy looking tavern, noticing two men staring at them from beside a notice board.
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The sun was starting to set when they saw Aang again. He landed in front of them, kicking up a small amount of sand. Xena frowns slightly as he remains kneeling on the ground, but otherwise ignores him, still upset about earlier..
"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara said quietly as she put a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here."
"What's the difference?" Aang muttered hopelessly as he pulled away. "We won't survive without Appa. We all know it."
"Come on, Aang." Katara replied encouraging. "We can do this if we work together. Right, Toph?"
"As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding," Toph replied blandly, shrugging. "I've got nothin'."
"Sokka?" Katara questioned her brother hopefully. "Any ideas how to find Ba Sing Se?"
Sokka smiled from where he was laying with Momo. "Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka suggested as he pointed up at the sky.
Xena looked up and frowned spotting the four buzzard-wasps.
"Ugh!" Katara suddenly exploded. "We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together. Aang, get up! Everybody, hold hands. We can do this. We have too."
Katara pull Aang to his feet and began pulling him by the staff. Xena caught his hand grudgingly before grabbing Toph's hand. Her eyes softened when he glanced back at her. Toph grabbed Sokka's hand, who was pulling Momo along by his tail while the lemur was lazily trying to fly the other way. Aang noticed the lack of her vest and bandages and glanced down at her arm and the scars. Xena couldn't bring herself to care that he was seeing them for the first time.
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"I think we should stop for the night," Katara stated a few minutes after nightfall.
It was noticeably cooler on the verge of freezing, a relief after walking under the sun for so long. Xena could feel her skin beginning to blister to form the sunburns that most likely they all had. She rested on her stomach in the sand, her back covered in an angry bruise as she had earlier predicted. Katara had offered to heal her earlier, but Xena had shook her off, telling her not to waste the water.
"Is there any more water?" Toph asked hopefully as she flopped to the ground.
"This is the last of it," She said as she opened her pouch. "Everyone can have a little drink." Momo suddenly jumped forward and hit the bubble of water.
"Momo, no!" Sokka exclaimed as he grabbed his head in despair. "'You've killed us all!"
"No, he hasn't," Katara sighed and waterbended the water back into her pouch before handing it to Toph.
"Oh, right…" Sokka said in relief. "Bending."
Katara shook her head slightly then addressed her brother, "Sokka, let me see the things you got from the library."
"What?! I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?" Sokka demanded backing away defensively. He grabbed his bag full of scrolls then pointed accusingly at Momo. "It was you! You ratted me out!"
Momo pinned his ears back and covered his eyes with his paws, appearing to almost be crying.
"Sokka, I was there," Katara muttered in exasperation as she took her brother's bag and started looking through the scrolls.
"It doesn't matter," Aang stated sadly as he glanced over his shoulder, "None of those will tell us where Appa is…"
"No," Katara agreed with a soft sigh. "But we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is. We can use the stars to guide us. That way we can travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day."
"And we're not out of water yet," Xena says, opening the hilt of one of her swords when Katara glances at her in confusion. She nods once in understanding then spread a map of the stars out.
"Just try to get some sleep," Katara said rerolling the map when she notices everyone else - except for Xena - lying on their backs. "We'll start again in a few hours."
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"No one here is going to help us," Zuko growled in annoyance. "These people just look like filthy wanderers."
"So do we," Iroh replied then pointed over Zuko's shoulder. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I found our friend."
Zuko turned around to see what Iroh was pointing at. He groaned quietly when he saw the old man sitting at a Pai Sho table.
"You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?" Zuko demanded in disbelief.
"I don't think this is a gamble," Iroh responded before walking towards the Pai Sho table with Zuko trailing behind.
"May I have this game?" Iroh asked.
"The guest has the first move," The man said, gesturing for Iroh to take a seat.
Iroh smiled as he sat down and placed the lotus tile in the center of the board.
"I see you favor the white lotus gambit," The man commented. "Not many cling to the ancient ways." The man bowed to Iroh.
"Those who do can always find a friend," Iroh said wisely, bowing as well.
"Then let us play," The man said and then placed a tile.
Zuko watched in surprise and amazement as the two began putting tiles down one right after the other. He sat down on another stool to watch.
The two men place their last tiles on the board simultaneously, finishing the lotus flower made out of tiles
"Welcome, brother," The old man said to Iroh. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."
Zuko scowled. "What are you old gasbags talking about?"
"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game," Iroh said rolling a Pai Sho tile between his fingers.
"I'm not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping!" One of the men that Zuko noticed earlier shouted before stomping over to them. "It's over! You two fugitives are coming with me!"
The old man suddenly jumped up and placed himself in front of Iroh and Zuko.
"I knew it!" The old man exclaimed loudly. "You two are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!"
"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko hissed at his uncle.
Iroh placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "He is. Just watch."
"You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?" The old man demanded loudly, catching the attention of every shady person in the tavern.
"Gold?" One man asked, standing up with several others, pulling out weapons.
"Uh…" Yu whispered. "Maybe we shouldn't…"
The old man led Iroh and Zuko out of the bar as the people in the tavern began to fight.
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"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud" Toph said sitting up and smacking her lips. "Now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much."
"I'm thinking it'll be best to save the last of the water until we really need it," Xena says, pushing herself up with a groan.
"I'm awake. I couldn't sleep," Aang says when Katara reaches out to wake him up.
"Well, we need to get moving if we want to get out of this sand pit," Katara said quietly.
Xena helps Toph to her feet and reaches out to pull Sokka up when Aang shouts.
"Appa!"
"Appa? But why would Princess Yue need him? She's the moon!" Sokka said randomly,."She flies by herself!"
"It's just a cloud," Katara sighed sadly then brightened suddenly. "Wait! A cloud!"
She offered her water pouch to Aang. "Here, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."
Aang glared at her angrily before snatching the water pouch and jumping into the air. It only took two passes to collect all the water.
"Wow…" Katara said in disappointment as she peered inside. "There's hardly any in here."
"I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud! I did all I could! What's anyone else doing?!"" Aang snapped then pointed at her with his staff. "What are you doing?!"
"Trying to keep everyone together," Katara replied sadly.
"Aang," Xena said in warning.
Katara looks at the star map. "Let's just get moving. We need to head in this direction."
They start walking again and Xena automatically starts walking in the back of the group to make sure no one (Sokka) falls behind. Surprisingly Toph was the one most likely to fall behind. She walked slowly with her head down and Xena knew it wasn't just from being blind or exhausted. She felt guilty that Appa had been taken. Toph suddenly tripped and fell. Aang and Katara turn around while she crouch down beside her.
"Ow! Crud! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going!" Toph cried out in annoyance before pointing at something buried in the sand. "And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!"
"A boat?" Katara asked skeptically.
"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations," Toph stated in annoyance.
Aang quickly cleared the sand away with airbending.
"It's a sand glider," Xena says, touching the smooth wood.
"It's got some kind of compass on it!" Katara said after jumping aboard. "I bet it can point us out of here! Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!"
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The old man led them to a flower shop, peering out the door cautiously before shutting it. He turned to Iroh, folding his sleeves in his hands.
"It is an honor to welcome such high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus," The man bowed to Iroh again. "Being a Grand Master; you must know so many secrets."
"Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club going to offer some real help?" Zuko demanded in annoyance.
"You must forgive my nephew," Iroh stated, giving Zuko a stern look. "He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."
The man nodded in understanding before leading Iroh towards the back of the store and a door with a peephole. He knocked twice and the peephole was slid open, another man peering out cautiously.
"Who knocks at the guard gate?" The second man asked cryptically.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh replied, smiling as the door slid open. Zuko attempted to follow them, but the door was slammed shut in his face. Iroh opened the peephole.
"I'm afraid it's members only," Iroh said. "Wait out here."
Zuko sighed and leaned against the wall and curiously sniffed a flower next to him.
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Katara navigated the sand glider through the desert while Aang used airbending to keep it moving. Toph, Sokka, and Xena sat on the same platform as Katara.
"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts," Katara commented as she placed the star charts over the compass.
"Take it easy, little lady," Sokka said dreamily. "I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here."
"You sound like those singing nomads," Xena commented and Katara mumbles in agreement.
Xena grabbed Momo as he tried to jump off the sand glider.
"That's what the compass is pointing to!" Katara exclaimed suddenly and she looked up to see a large rock in the distance. "That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert!"
"A rock?!" Toph asked joyfully. "Yes! Let's go!"
"Maybe we can find some water there!" Katara said hopefully since they had used up the water in her swords some time ago.
"Maybe we can find some sandbenders…" Aang muttered darkly.
Xena frowned slightly at his back, but choose not to say anything.
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They reached the top of the rock just as the sun began to rise.
"Ahhh…" Toph sighed contentedly. "Finally! Solid ground!"
The earthbender happily let herself drop flat on her back and began making a rock angel. Aang, Katara, and Sokka head to one of the cave entrances. Xena followed them, noticing a yellow gooey substance coating the walls.
"I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice. And look!" Sokka said, dipping his hand into the goo and tasting it.
Xena scrunch up my nose in disgust as he starts gagging.
"Tastes like rotten penguin meat!" Sokka exclaimed in disgust then groaned. "Awww, I feel woozy…"
"You been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave!?" Katara snapped.
Sokka shrugged. "I have a natural curiosity."
"You mean a natural stupidity," Xena correct and he glares at her.
"I don't think this is a normal cave," Toph said, joining them and touching the wall. "This was carved by something."
"Yeah…" Aang agreed as he looked around. "Look at the shape."
"There's something buzzing in here," Toph said shifting slightly. "Something that's coming for us!"
"Something's always coming for us," Xena complained as they run from the caves.
Buzzard-wasps come pouring out of the caves after them. She ducked down to avoid one and rolled sideways to pull out her swords, forgetting for a moment that they're empty and lighter. Her left hand sword flies out of her hand and skids across the ground over the edge.
"Great," She shouts before shooting a ball of fire at a buzzard-wasp as it flies at her.
She spins around and notice Toph shooting a rock at a buzzard-wasp between her and Sokka only to miss and almost hit Sokka.
"What are you doing?" Sokka demanded. "That rock almost crushed me!"
"Sorry, I can't tell where they are in the air!" Toph retorted.
"I got this one," Sokka called out suddenly and began swing his machete at nothing.
"Sokka, there's nothing there!" Katara shouted.
"I guess my head's not as clear as I thought," He muttered sheepishly.
"We have to get out of here," Katara said.
"I agree a hundred percent," Xema shouted, moving so she's back to back with her.
Momo suddenly screeched and Xena twists just in time to see a buzzard-wasp grab him and fly off.
"Momo!" Aang shouted. "I'm not losing anyone else out here!"
"Come on, we're going down," Katara stated as she grabbed Toph's hand and began to lead us down the ledge that they used to climb up.
Katara suddenly stopped and spun Toph in the direction of an incoming buzzard-wasp.
"Toph, shoot a rock right there," Katara instructed then waited a moment before shouting. "Fire!"
Toph bended a rock at it hitting its head.
"Yeah! You got it!" Sokka cheered and swung his machete in the air. "She got it, right?"
"Yes," Katara replied and began tugging Toph down again. "Now let's move."
They reached the bottom of the rock only to have a swarm of buzzard-wasps appear in front of them. They stood behind Toph with Katara acting as her eyes while the buzzard-wasps continued to circle around them.
"On your left!" Katara called out and Toph reacted immediately, shooting a rock to her left.
More buzzard-wasps hovered in the air around us when gigantic pillars of sand suddenly rose from the ground and scared the swarm off.
'Maybe we can find some sandbenders..."
Aang suddenly landed in front of them a moment later and Xena swallowed hard when she felt his anger through the bond.
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Zuko was leaning against the table, fast asleep, when the backdoor in the shop suddenly opened with a squeak, waking him up. He took on a defensive stance before relaxing when he saw it was just his uncle.
"What's going on? Is the club meeting over?"
"Everything is taken care of," Iroh replied serenely. "We're heading to Ba Sing Se."
"Ba Sing Se? Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?" Zuko asked in confusion.
"The city is filled with refugees," The old man explained calmly. "No one will notice three more."
"We can hide in plain sight there. And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation," Iroh added then shrugged. "Even I couldn't break through to the city."
The three were distracted when the sound of a bell signaled someone entering the shop and a young man entered, a couple papers in his hands.
"I have the passports for the guests," The man said then he gestured towards the door. "But there are two men out on the street looking for them."
Iroh and Zuko looked out the window and saw the two men from earlier. One held up a wanted poster to a man walking by. They exchanged quick glances.
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"What are you doing in our land with a sandbender sailor?" The leader of the sandbenders demanded. "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe."
"We found the sailor abandoned in the desert," Katara replied calmly then she gestured towards Aang. "We're traveling with the Avatar. Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se."
A young man to the leader's right stepped forward and aggressively addressed Katara. "You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stole sand-sailor?"
"We didn't accuse you of stealing Appa," Xena said, stepping forward suspiciously.
The blind earthbender suddenly shouted, "He's the one that stole Appa."
"Now we have," Xena says sheepishly with an undertone of anger.
"Are you sure?" Katara asks, ignoring her.
"I never forget a voice," Toph replied with conviction.
Aang suddenly ran forward, pointing his staff at the young sandbender.
"You stole Appa!" Aang shouted furiously. "Where is he? What did you do to him!?"
"They're lying!" He cowered back. "They're the thieves!"
Aang growled angrily and spun around, slamming his staff on the ground and destroying one of the sailors with a powerful blade of air.
"Where is my bison?" Aang roared.
Xena could feel the Avatar State beginning to take control. She had no doubt that this was going to end badly.
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Zuko crouches in the floor pot and cautiously lifts the lid to look around, noticing his uncle doing the same in the other pot. He sank back into the pot and shifted uncomfortably.
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"You tell me where he is now!" Aang ordered, destroying another glider.
"What did you do?" The leader demanded, looking at the sandbender that was obviously his son.
"I-it wasn't me!" He stuttered, holding up his hands.
"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph shouted back, unknowingly angering Aang further.
"You muzzled Appa?!" Aang roared furiously, triggering the Avatar State.
He destroyed the last glider before turning to the sandbenders.
"I'm sorry!" The sandbender cried out in terror. "I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!"
"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang screamed.
"I traded him! To some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now! They were going to sell him there!" He pleaded. "Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help you however we can!"
The wind around Aang began to swirl around him violently. Sokka grabbed Toph and Momo, pulling them after him as he ran.
"Just get out of here!" Sokka shouted at the terrified sandbenders. "Run!"
Aang's staff fell to the ground and the wind around him formed a fast moving sphere that kicked up sand high into the air. Xena shifted in front of Katara and caught her hand. She nodded her head and they began moving towards Aang the wind parting around them. Katara grabbed his right arm when they were close enough, preventing him from rising into the air any further. Aang looked down at them his face contorted in anger and his eyes glowing. Katara pulled him to the ground and they two girls both hugged him. The wind slowly died down around them and the sand fell back to the ground like rain. Aang's tattoos stopped glowing as he began to cry for his lost friend.
"It's okay," Xena mumbled. "We'll find him Aang. I promise."
She could feel the wetness on her cheeks as Katara stepped back. One of the rare times she has ever cried.
If you want to ask me any questions to do with this story or my characters you may. R&R.
-Wolf