A/N: After last weekend's hellish conglomeration of two tests, a bloody difficult lab report, and a dissection practical, I had an easy week. Lots of writing was accomplished, and so another chapter is due.

Wow. 125 people read the last chapter. That's crazy! Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited, and subscribed. Your support means the world to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do own Mira and some original concepts.

And without any further adieu…

Chapter Ten

Dazed and Confused

The very first thing Mira did was to kneel at Toph's side and wrap her arms around her. She wasn't one for physical affection, but she knew Toph needed this right now. She needed to know that someone was on her side. That someone knew what she was going through. Because Mira did know.

It started with that dread, the horrible rock-solid pit in the middle of your stomach. You knew what had happened, but every part of your brain was screaming that no, there had to be some mistake. You were dreaming, or hallucinating. But at the same time, you knew you weren't. And every part of you was trying to keep you from realizing that, but you knew it was inevitable.

Next came the guilt. The hot, trickling poison that infected every vein in your body. That knowing, that terrible knowing that what you'd done was your fault. That wondering if you could have done something—anything—different, if you could have done anything to stop it from happening.

Lastly was that horrible sense of isolation, of feeling that no one would ever trust you again. How could they, knowing what you'd done? Toph needed to know that someone was in her corner. So Mira sat next to her and held her as Toph shook with silent sobs.

Finally, the trembling started to cease. Mira pulled her arms back and stood up before taking a few steps back. Someone like Toph didn't like to admit they needed help. Giving her space seemed like the best option right now. So she turned away and peered at the horizon, looking for anything that could point to a way out. The others followed her lead, but Mira could see Aang was distracted. The normally calm boy was seething inside. He'd just lost his best friend, and he was looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately, Toph fit the bill exactly. Mira could see it was only a matter of time before he exploded.

Moments later, he did. "How could you let them take Appa? Why didn't you stop them?!"

"I couldn't!" Toph explained desperately. "The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and—"

Aang steamrolled right over her. "You could have come to get us! I could have saved him!"

And then you would be dead, and then where would we be?

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here," Toph insisted. "The sandbenders snuck upon me and there wasn't time for—"

Aang seemed incapable of letting her finish a sentence. "You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"

Mira marched up to him angrily and jabbed a finger into his chest. "You need to shut the hell up," she hissed, eyes narrowed into slits. She understood Aang's fury (she was concerned about Appa as well), but that gave him no right to accuse Toph. Not when she was feeling like this.

"Aang, stop it," Katara chimed in. "You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives." Mira was grateful for Katara's support. She didn't want to be the only one on Toph's side.

"Who's going to save our lives now?" Sokka decided to be pessimistic, as always. "We'll never make it out of here."

Mira turned her finger to him. "You also need to shut up."

"That's all any of you guys care about: yourselves!" Aang raged. "You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!"

"Why doesn't everybody just shut up?" Mira muttered.

Katara, ever the voice of reason, intervened. "We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now."

Aang's ears must have been plugged with cotton, the way he was disregarding everyone. "I'm going after Appa," he announced stonily.

"Fine," Mira mumbled darkly. "Leave us all here to die, why don't you?"

"Aang, wait!" Katara called, but he paid her no heed as he flew off into the sky. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, then turned back to the group, a calm expression on her face. "We'd better start walking. We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se." She picked a direction and started walking, leaving the others with no choice but to follow.

They'd traveled only a few yards when Sokka spoke up. "You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?"

"Depends," Mira said with a mock thoughtfulness. "Do you enjoy having a face?"

Sokka gulped noisily. "I think I'll take the hiking."

"I thought so."

Minutes of hiking turned into hours. Mira had long ago ripped off the bottom of her cloak and had fashioned crude turbans to protect the heads of the others. She kept her own hood for shade, but she could tell that her face was flushed with the heat. She may have dealt with it better than the others, but even she wasn't immune to the desert. Her tongue was bone-dry and her lips cracked from dehydration. But she kept her mouth shut. Complaining would only cause tempers to flare, and the last thing they needed was to be fighting like they had been only a few weeks ago.

She watched the back of Sokka's head (since Toph, who was directly in front of Mira, was too short to really look at) as they trudged over sand dune after sand dune. Momo was curled up in the swatch of Mira's cloak that covered his head. The little lemur's eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell in heavy pants. Mira had never felt particularly close to Momo, but her heart went out to the poor creature. She could live with the heat, sure, but seeing an animal struggling in this weather saddened her.

Sokka began to slow as they continued to walk, causing Toph to bump into him. He snapped at her irritably. "Can't you watch where you're—"

"No."

"Right. Sorry."

Katara turned from her position in the lead. "Come on guys, we've got to stick together."

"If I sweat any more, I don't think sticking together will be a problem," Sokka said, his nose wrinkling in disgust. He was still standing right next to Toph, and it was looking like their sweaty clothes were reluctant to part. He attempted to gently disentangle them, but Toph wouldn't have any of it. She shoved him away, knocking him to the ground in the process.

"Katara, can I have some water?" Toph asked, oblivious to the stink eye Sokka was sending her.

"Okay," Katara said a little reluctantly. "But we've got to try to conserve it." She bended some water out from her water pouch and directed it first to Toph's mouth, then to Sokka's. She sent some water Mira's way, but she just shook her head. "You need water too," Katara insisted. "You haven't had anything to drink since we left the tower."

"Neither have you," Mira pointed out.

"If I drink, will you?"

Mira nodded. Katara bended the water in front of Mira into her own mouth and swallowed. "Happy?" she asked, even though she clearly wasn't.

Mira nodded and allowed Katara to bend a small amount of water into her mouth. It was only enough to wet her tongue and lips, and even then it was only a temporary satisfaction. And the water left her mouth tasting like muddy plants. She made a face.

"We're drinking your bending water?" Sokka said, looking perturbed. "You used this on the swamp guy!" Mira had to suppress the urge to gag.

"It does taste swampy," Toph remarked, smacking her lips.

"I'm sorry," Katara said helplessly. "It's all we have."

Sokka surveyed the landscape critically. "Not anymore!" he crowed as his eyes lit up. "Look!" He was pointing to strangely distended cactus that was covered in brightly colored flower blossoms. He ran over to it and hacked off part of one lobe and began to gulp down the contents. Momo joined him as he continue to lop off parts of the cactus.

"Sokka, wait!" Katara said cautiously, running to his side. "You shouldn't be eating strange plants!" Mira took Toph's arm and guided her over to the others.

"There's water trapped inside these!" Sokka said, shoving the cactus bowl toward her face.

Katara backed up, doubt drawing her eyebrows together. "I don't know…"

"Suit yourself," Sokka said, shrugging. "It's very thirst-quenching, though." His face suddenly slackened, and he shook his head like a wet dog. "Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya!" he said with an over-the-top enthusiasm. "Nothing's quenchier. It's the quenchiest!" By this point, his face was shoved much too close toward his sister's, and a maniacal grin was plastered across his face.

"Okay," Katara said slowly, taking the bowl he was offering and pouring it out, "I think you've had enough."

"Who lit Toph on fire?" he asked, suddenly, tilting his head to the side and scrutinizing her carefully. Mira reached out and flicked his ear. He yelped in pain and jerked back, squinting at Mira as he rubbed his ear. "And who turned Mira into a tree? No!" he shrieked suddenly, jerking back. "You can't survive out here! It's too cold!" Mira decided the flicking wasn't working. She reached out and slapped Sokka across the face in an attempt to snap him back into his senses. He yelped like a girl, but his pupils were still dilated and he was still babbling nonsense.

And it seemed that he wasn't the only one affected by the cactus juice. Momo spun in circles above the group before slowing and falling out of the sky and collapsing on the sand. Katara picked him up and cradled the lemur in her arms.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked, grinning as she listened to Sokka's antics.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Come on, we need to find Aang," Katara said, trying to steer them back on track.

"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka wondered vaguely as he trudged along.

"And Mira?" Katara called back.

"Hmm?"

"Keep flicking him."

"With pleasure," she smirked. "Maybe I can train him," she said to no one in particular. "Like a sparrow-cat."

"Sparrow-cat?! Where?!"

Flick.

"Ow! Hey…who turned out the lights? It's so dark out here!"

Flick.

"Stop it!"

Flick.

His only reply was a strangled growl.

Ten minutes later, they stopped on top of a large sand dune to rest. Mira searched the skies in the hope of spotting Aang, but only saw a large, strangely shaped dust cloud. She tugged on Katara's sleeve and pointed. Just as she turned around, a small breeze full of dust passed over them. Mira threw her hands up to shield her face, a scowl of despair on her face. A sandstorm was just what they needed. But it was over almost as soon as it began. Mira cautiously lowered her hands, and Katara got a good look at the dust cloud. "What is that?"

"What?" Toph asked. "What is what?"

"It's a strange-looking dust cloud," Mira murmured in her ear.

"It's a giant mushroom!" Sokka cried shrilly. "Maybe it's friendly!"

"Let's just keep moving," Katara said, guiding Toph away. "I hope Aang's okay..." she muttered under her breath.

"Friendly mushroom!" Sokka yelled, waving frantically at the dust cloud. "Mushy giant friend!"

Mira was sorely, sorely tempted to just leave him behind. But she knew Katara would never forgive her (and, though she'd never admit it, she was a bit fond of the idiot), so she turned back to retrieve him. She pinched his ear and dragged him along behind her, ignoring his protests that the dust mushroom had agreed to give them a ride out of the desert aboard his giant turtle-duck.

Spirits, I should be getting paid for this…

Mira soon abandoned Sokka to his own devices and increased her pace until she was level with Katara. The two walked in relative silence until Katara asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I know you don't want to hear this…" Mira began.

"No, I don't," Katara snapped, her voice steely. "I know you're supposed to be the voice of reason and all that, but spirits, I don't need that right now. Just—keep it to yourself, alright? I don't want to cross that bridge until we come to it."

Mira nodded and drifted back until she was once again behind Sokka. Normally, she might have pushed a little more for Katara to consider the possibility that they wouldn't find a way out, but the look in her eye (along with the relatively mild cursing she'd just done) told Mira to leave it alone. She'd take this possibility and deal with it, so Katara wouldn't have to.

Night began to fall in the desert, and with it came a welcome respite from the heat. Mira pulled her hood off and shook out her sweat-soaked hair as the others pulled the cloth from their heads as well. The sand below their feet no longer radiated heat, something Toph found relieving. They were just trekking across yet another sand dune when the sound of rushing air met their ears, and Aang landed on the sand behind them. Mira felt a swooping surge of relief. The desert was a hostile place, and even though Aang had the ability to fly, Mira was worried that he wouldn't be able to find his way back to them.

Katara slowly walked over to Aang's side as he kneeled on the sand. "I'm sorry, Aang," she said quietly. "I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here."

"What's the difference?" Aang moaned hopelessly. "We won't survive without Appa. We all know it," he added bitterly.

We definitely won't if you keep talking like that.

"Come on, Aang!" Katara urged, pumping some fake enthusiasm into her voice. "We can do this if we work together. Right, Toph?"

Toph shrugged. "As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothin'."

"Mira?" Katara asked, a silent pleading in her eyes.

"You'll be the first to know if I think of something," she said quietly. She'd never been in a situation as quite as hopeless as this one was, and frankly, it was a bit disconcerting. She wasn't a hopeful person to begin with, so asking her about their chances wasn't the best move on Katara's part.

"Sokka? Any ideas how to find Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked in desperation.

The four of them looked over to find Sokka sprawled out on the sand, staring up into the sky with a dazed, stupid look on his face. "You did not just ask him for help," Mira muttered disbelievingly.

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" he replied dreamily, pointing up at the empty desert sky.

"What's wrong with Sokka?" Aang asked, watching Sokka with a disconcerted expression.

"He drank cactus juice and has been hallucinating all day," Mira explained in a lowered voice.

"Ah," he said, still looking a little disturbed.

"Ugh..." Katara mumbled, digging her palms into her temples. She took a deep breath, then raised her head. "We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up," she snapped. Aang was so startled at her tone that he shot up to his feet. "Everybody hold hands. We can do this. We have to," she added in a nearly inaudible whisper.

An hour later, darkness had completely enveloped the desert, and even Mira was having trouble seeing in front of her. As they approached the top of a large sand dune, Katara stopped and turned back to address the others. "I think we should stop for the night."

Sighs of relief echoed through the still desert air, and everyone fell to the ground in a tired heap. "Is there any more water?" Toph asked eagerly.

"This is the last of it. Everyone can have a little drink." Katara pulled the remaining water from her water pouch. Momo, who was also still under the influence of cactus juice, leaped at the liquid and sent it splashing onto the sand below.

"Momo, no! You've killed us all!" Sokka shrieked dramatically as he scrabbled at the wet spot in the sand.

"No, he hasn't," Katara replied angrily. She set her hand above the damp patch of sand and drew the water up and out.

Sokka blinked stupidly. "Oh, right. Bending."

Katara stowed the water back into her pouch for distribution later. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she turned to her brother. "Sokka, let me see the things you got from the library."

Sokka jerked back, clutching his bag like it was the only life raft in an endless sea. "What? I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?!" he shouted. His eyes widened, the narrowed as he whipped his head around to stare at Momo. He jabbed his finger toward the lemur. "It was you!" he cried dramatically. "You ratted me out!"

"We all saw you take them," Mira said, rolling her eyes. "Now hand it over." She snatched up his bag before Sokka could protest and handed it to Katara, who began digging around in it.

"It doesn't matter. None of those will tell us where Appa is," Aang complained gloomily.

"Would you stop the pity party for five minutes?" Mira snapped. "Pouting isn't going to help you find Appa." Aang opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Finally, he shut his mouth and opted to sit in stony silence.

"Erm…I was just thinking we could use these to find out which way Ba Sing Se is," Katara said, unrolling a star chart she'd pulled from Sokka's bag. "We can use the stars to guide us. That way we can travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Just try to get some sleep. We'll start again in a few hours."

It's a funny thing, how a few hours can feel so much like a few minutes. It seemed that way to Mira when Katara shook her awake later that night. She stretched her sore, tired muscles, and tried in vain to moisten her cracked lips and dry tongue. Sand trickled from her shirt and cloak as she sat up, and Mira wriggled around to try and dislodge the tiny, irritating particles. She stood up and brushed off the sand that had somehow ended up clinging to every surface on her body.

"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud," Toph said, licking her lips. "Now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much."

"We need to get moving if we want to get out of this sand pit," Katara said grimly, and after everyone was up (and relatively awake), they set out across the vast ocean of sand.

"Appa!" The joyful cry was torn from Aang's throat and echoed out across the desert. Mira snapped her head up to scan the sky. Her eyes landed on a blotted shape highlighted by the light of the moon.

"Appa? But why would Princess Yue need him? She's the moon! She flies by herself!" Sokka babbled nonsensically. Mira reached out absently and flicked his ear.

"It's just a cloud," Katara said sadly, and upon closer inspection, Mira realized she was right. But as soon as she'd said it, an idea struck Katara. "Wait! A cloud!" She turned to Aang and handed him her water bag. "Here, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch."

Aang glared at her belligerently before taking off. The desert cloud was thin and relatively insubstantial, so it only took Aang two passes with his glider to collect the moisture. He threw down the water pouch to Katara and landed gently on the sand.

Katara picked up the pouch and peered inside. "Wow…" she said softly. Mira attempted to tell her to shut up via silent gestures, but the waterbender remained oblivious. "There's hardly any in here."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Aang retorted, a deep scowl etched on his face. "It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?"

"Trying to keep everyone together," Katara replied evenly as she masked the wounded look on her face. "Let's just get moving. We need to head in this direction." She consulted the star chart and pressed on, leaving everyone to follow.

It was silent trek as everyone tried to face with the issue of being trapped in the middle of the desert. Aang was alternating between sadness and anger as he dealt with the reality of losing his oldest friend. Katara was only trying to hold everyone together as she was forced into a leadership position she hadn't asked for. Sokka was merely attempting to walk in a straight line as the cactus juice forced him to see things that weren't even there. Toph seemed to be fine, but who knew what was really going on in her mind? She wasn't one to wear her heart on her sleeve, so guessing what she was thinking could be a challenge. And Mira…she really wasn't sure how she was doing. Every time the harsh reality of dying in the desert start to encroach on her consciousness, she shoved it aside. She'd survived years of hell, all for what? To waste away in the desert, with no one to miss her? She wouldn't go out like this. She refused to accept the possibility. So she pushed on, one foot in front of the other, determined to keep the group going, even if Katara failed to. She wouldn't let them die out here.

Her morbid thoughts were (thankfully) curbed when Toph stumbled on something. "Ow! Crud! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going!" she seethed. "And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!"

"Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me that you did not sneak a sip of cactus juice," Mira pleaded wearily. She could keep Sokka in line, but Toph? There was every possibility that if Mira tried to flick Toph, she'd get a punch in the face for her trouble.

"No, I didn't," Toph snapped irritably. "I kicked it hard enough to plenty of vibrations. It's a boat."

Aang stepped forward and swung his glider hard, sending a burst of air out to clear the sand away from the boat. What they were left staring at, though, was most certainly not a boat.

"It's one of the gliders the sandbenders use!" Katara cried, her face lighting up. "And look!" She pointed. "It's got some kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here!" She turned to Aang, nearly bouncing with excitement. "Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!"

Mira felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders, and she could feel the corners of her mouth inch upward the in the smallest of smiles. They were saved.

They all quickly piled onto the sandglider, and Aang summoned a blast of air to propel the glider forward. The breeze stirred Mira's hair and dried the sweat clinging to her forehead and upper lip. She sighed and leaned back, content to let the glider steer them out of the desert.

"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north, according to my charts," Katara remarked with a frown as she squinted at the scroll in her hands. Mira's heart nearly skipped a beat. If it wasn't pointing north, how would they find their way out? Mira clenched her teeth and blew an angry breath out through her nose. Maybe they wouldn't be getting out of the desert so soon.

"Take it easy, little lady," Sokka drawled lazily. "I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here." At least there was some comfort in knowing that Sokka seemed to be starting his cactus juice recovery.

Mira took the time to glance around the landscape in the hopes of spotting something that would point the way out. A dark splotch on the horizon caught her attention, and she sat up and shielded her eyes for a better look. The splotch was a large, dark rock that appeared to have been stuck in the sand. "Look at that," she called, drawing the other's attention over to it.

Katara looked down at the compass, then back up at the rock. "That's what the compass is pointing to! That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert."

"Great," Mira whispered in an undertone. "Now we're in the center of the hostile desert."

"A rock?" Toph asked, ears pricked. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Maybe we can find some water there," Katara said hopefully.

"Maybe we can find some sandbenders," Aang muttered darkly. Mira eyed him warily from the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything.

It was nearing dawn when the glider finally came to a stop at the foot of the rock. The group climbed up onto the somewhat flat, domed surface, and Toph fell to the ground in relief. "Ahhh... Finally! Solid ground!" She laughed and began to sweep her arms and legs together as she created an earthen snow angel.

Mira studied the rock's surface. It was riddled with several caves, and a quick glance down one told her that they extended for quite a ways. She beckoned the others over. "I say we explore one of these tunnels," she suggested. "Maybe it leads somewhere with water. Or something useful. At the very least, we'll be out of the sun for a bit."

Katara nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense," she agreed. "Aang? What do you think?"

He merely shrugged his shoulders non-committedly. "Whatever you think is best."

Katara's jaw tightened, but she said nothing. She turned back to Mira and waved her on to lead the group down. "If you don't mind, I'd just as soon take the rear," Mira declined.

"I'll go first, then," Katara shrugged. She disappeared down the tunnel hole, and the others followed.

The tunnel was dark and dank. A musty smell permeated the insides, and the walls were coated with a sickly yellow slime. Mira made sure to stay toward the middle, and every so often she turned around to check behind them. She didn't expect anyone to be following them, but the last thing she wanted was to be surprised in a dark cave in the middle of the desert.

"I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice," Sokka said happily. "And look!" Before she could stop him, Sokka reached out and scraped a handful of yellow slime off the cave walls, and slurped it up. Almost immediately he began gagging and retching.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mira cried, watching him in disgust.

"This tastes like rotten penguin meat!" he choked, his tongue flopping out of his mouth in disgust. Suddenly, he started to wobble and his face turned a sickly shade of green. "Ooooh…I feel woozy," he mumbled, eyelids drooping.

"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave?!" Katara yelled, having turned around to investigate the source of all the noise.

Sokka shrugged, his face still a light green color. "I have a natural curiosity."

"That's not natural," Mira contradicted. "Wondering what's at the end of this tunnel is natural. Licking cave walls is not."

"Speaking of natural," Toph spoke up, "I don't think this is a natural cave. Something carved it."

"Yeah…" Aang said slowly. "Look at the shape."

"There's something buzzing in here," Toph remarked, her head tilted to better listen. Mira followed her lead, head cocked and eyes closed. There was, in fact, a low buzzing noise that was echoing from farther down the cave. The longer Mira listened, the louder the buzzing seemed. " Something that's coming for us!" Toph said suddenly, and Mira's eyes popped open instantly. She scanned the tunnel ahead of them, and her eyes landed on a carved, hive-shaped object hanging from the tunnel roof. The hive was belching out swarms of buzzard-wasps. Angry buzzard-wasps. Their black, beady eyes locked onto the group.

"Not good!" Mira yelped. "It's a hive. Run!" And she tore down the tunnel, checking behind every so often to make sure everyone was still following. They burst from the cave into the open, sunny air of the desert, but the light and heat didn't seem to bother the insects at all. In fact, it only seemed to make them angrier.

Mira pulled a heavy dagger and a throwing knife from her belt as she turned to face the buzzard-wasps. She could see the others warding off the bugs as they swarmed. Toph was having an especially difficult time targeting the airborne creatures, and Mira made a mental note to keep an eye out for flying rocks. She, of course, wouldn't have that problem. This was where she excelled.

A loud buzzing drew her attention to the right. She slashed out with her throwing knife as she whirled around, and her blade caught a buzzard-wasp by surprise. The knife sliced through the insect's wings, and it fell to the earth with a muted thump. Mira followed through by slicing it clean in two with her dagger. She couldn't afford to forget that the buzzard-wasps had legs too. It would be just her luck to be fighting a mob of bugs in the air, only to be stung by one on the ground.

She spun around quickly to check her surroundings and came face-to-face with a buzzard-wasp. She stabbed it in its swollen abdomen, ignoring the indignant squawk that issued from its beak as it fell to the ground. As her field of vision opened up, she spotted Sokka wildly waving his machete at thin air. "The hell are you doing, Meathead?" she yelled. She spotted a buzzard-wasp whizzing toward his back. She drew back her left hand and let the throwing knife fly. It caught the insect in its midsection and sent it flying through the air to be pinned to the stone ground twenty feet away. "Stop hallucinating and start helping!"

"Oh yeah, I'll just turn them off," Sokka snapped. "'Cause that's exactly how it works."

"I'm not saving your ass every time," she yelled back as she sliced a wasp in two. She pulled a second throwing knife out, and with a quick flick of her wrists, a buzzard-wasp's head and body were severed.

A loud screech startled her, and she looked around to find an insect mere inches from her back. It was frozen in flight, its eyes glassy and glazed over. A shiny glint of metal poked through the hard shell of its abdomen, and Sokka's head emerged from behind the buzzard-wasp. "You were saying?" he said cheerfully.

Mira was left at a loss for words. She huffed in frustration and turned away, knowing that she would get an earful about it later. She poked one insect rather hard through the eye, and sent another one flying through the air on the end of her knife. When she turned back around to Sokka, he was once again battling an invisible buzzard-wasp. "And you're still hallucinating!" she cried out in disbelief. "How is that even possible?"

Her question never received an answer. At that moment, several sand tornadoes erupted from the ground, scattering the swarm of buzzard-wasps. Mira took the opportunity to retrieve the knives she'd thrown, then looked up to find several sandbenders surrounding them. She tensed once more and hid a throwing knife behind her back. She had the horrible feeling they'd just traded an easy fight for a much harder one.

One man stepped forward. He exuded authority, and his posture clearly marked him as the leader. "What are you doing in our land with a sandbender sailer?" he questioned sharply. "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe."

"We found the sailer abandoned in the desert," Katara answered calmly, her hands up in a gesture of peace. "We're traveling with the Avatar. Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se."

A younger sandbender stepped forward, his fists clenched and his voice raised. "You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer?"

And yet, Katara failed to include any reference to sandbenders. Sounds like someone's got a guilty conscience…

"Quiet, Gashuin," the leader ordered. "No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality."

"Sorry, father," Gashuin muttered, his eyes downcast.

"I recognize the son's voice," Toph spoke up suddenly. "He's the one that stole Appa."

Called it.

"Are you sure?" Katara asked.

"I never forget a voice," Toph said confidently, eyes narrowed.

Aang approached the sandbenders, his staff raised threateningly. "You stole Appa! Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"They're lying!" Gashuin cried desperately. "They're the thieves!" He pointed wildly to the group, and his finger happened to land on Mira.

"Hey, I may be a thief," she muttered under her breath, "but I didn't steal that."

Aang slammed his glider down and reduced a sand sailer to splinters. "Where is my bison?!" he thundered. "You tell me where he is now!" A second swing of the glider, a second sailer destroyed.

"What did you do?" the lead sandbender asked his son, horror growing in his voice.

"I—It wasn't me!" Gashuin denied weakly.

"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph added. Mira wasn't quite sure whether she realized that she was merely adding fuel to the inferno.

"You muzzled Appa?!" Aang roared in outrage. The strangest thing occurred just then. Aang's eyes disappeared behind a pure blue glow, and the arrows covering his hands, feet and forehead followed. The person standing before Mira was no longer Aang, the innocent twelve-year-old who enjoyed playing games and could barely go five minutes without smiling. This was the Avatar. And it wasn't until then that Mira truly appreciated how much power he held within his hands.

Gashuin, horrified at the sight of Aang, broke down and confessed. "I'm sorry! I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!"

"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang yelled, his voice echoing in an unearthly pitch.

"I traded him! To some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now!" Gashuin babbled. "They were going to sell him there! Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!" he pleaded.

Aang didn't seem to hear. His only response was to increase the winds as the gusts bore him up high into the air.

"Just get out of here!" Sokka ordered, his head finally clear. "Run!" The sandbenders were all too happy to oblige. They fled, and within seconds the only sailer that remained was the one that they'd found. Mira grabbed Toph's elbow and guided her away from the distraught airbender. She grimaced at the sight. How on earth were they going to calm him down from that supernatural rage?

But as the others fled to a safe distance, Katara stubbornly stayed put. She put a hand up over her face and walked slowly toward Aang, braving the winds and sand to approach him. Finally, she stood at his side. She reached up and locked her fingers around Aang's wrist. He looked down, his glowing blue eyes filled with pure anger and hatred. But as soon as he met her gaze, the winds started to die down. The anger was replaced with sadness and pain, and Aang slipped through the air to land by Katara's side. She wrapped him in a hug, and the air finally stilled. Aang closed his eyes and rested his head against Katara's shoulder, tears streaming freely down his cheeks.

Mira's heart twisted painfully at the sight. No one should ever have to feel the pain Aang was in at that moment. The sadness, the utter defeat…Mira shook her head. This would change him.

She walked over to his side and knelt on the ground. Aang shifted to look at her, and she gave him the smallest of smiles. "C'mon. We need to get to Ba Sing Se. Appa's not going to rescue himself."

Aang attempted a smile, but could only manage a grimace of sorts. "Thank you," he said weakly.

"Always."

A/N: Just now realized how short this chapter is. So sorry. There's only so much, "And they walked some more in the desert" that I can do.

Just as a heads up: I'm planning on changing my pen name soon. I'm torn between two choices, so I'll let you know next chapter what I decide.

Please leave a review on your way out!