A/N: Oh, wow! I can't believe I finally get to post this chapter. I'll be honest, The Desert episode has been on my mind since even before I started writing this story. This is another long one, but it's definitely worth it because I love this episode so much :) I also realized that I messed up last chapter. I forgot to edit the final scene, so I'll go back and fix that at some point.
Response from chapter 28
Vapor23: Hello, friend! Thank you for your review! I loved the last chapter of your story, it was truly so beautiful in ways I cannot explain. I'm glad that you're liking the way I write Toph, she's my second favorite after Aang, so I hope I'm doing her well. I also think Aang interrupting Sokka's monolouge was super funny. I'm glad that you like the nickname Toph has for Akira, I feel like "Precious" fits her a lot. Be terrified no longer, the main climax of Book Two is here and I hope you'll enjoy it!
We were in a canyon, waiting for Aang to show us a cool trick he knew. I already knew what it was, since we had come to this same canyon with Gyatso when I was seven. Our group was taking turns picking mini-vacations, and since his was the closest, Aang got first pick.
"What's out here?" Sokka asked.
"A lot, actually," Toph responded, putting her hand to the ground below, "There's hundreds of little-"
"Shh!" Aang interrupted, "I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise,"
He then turned back around.
"Just watch,"
My brother proceeded to blow into the woodwind he was holding, causing a groundhog to pop up from a hole in the earth, singing as it did. Aang laughed, looking into the hole the tiny creature had came through seconds before.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed before blowing into the woodwind once more.
A groundhog emerged yet again, singing once more.
"I'm putting an orchestra together!" Aang exclaimed joyfully, raising his arms in the air.
"Orchestra, huh?" Sokka remarked sarcastically, "Well, La-Di-Da,"
More groundhogs came from the holes, repeating Sokka's singing. Momo leaped into one of the holes, searching for the groundhog inside. When the lemur emerged again, his head was sticking out of another hole. Aang blew into the woodwind, causing what had happened prior to happen again. He continued to do this, and I watched as Momo frantically chased after every groundhog. Sokka raced over to Aang, an annoyed look etched on his features. He stuck his finger into the other side of the woodwind, making Aang's cheeks puff up.
"This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about?" He asked, taking his finger out of the hole, "We should be making plans,"
"We did make plans," Toph stated, "We're all picking mini-vacations,"
Apparently, Sokka hadn't been told about our plan, because he immediately argued, his tone defensive.
"There's no time for vacations,"
"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can," Aang stated, "I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara, I've been training my arrow off,"
"Yeah, what's wrong with having a little fun sometimes?" I asked, "It's not every day we get time to just relax,"
"Besides, there's months until the comet, and Aang still has to master all the elements,"
"Even if he does master all of the elements, then what?" Sokka responded, "It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation,"
"Should we just head West until we reach the Fire Lord's house?" He continued sarcastically, "Knock-knock! Hello, Fire Lord? Anybody home?"
"I don't think so. We're gonna need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war,"
Aang responded by playing the woodwind, causing a groundhog to come up by Sokka's feet. Katara and I lightly chuckled.
"Alright, we'll finish our vacations, and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence," Katara said, causing Aang and I to laugh.
My brother grabbed the map from Appa's saddle, standing in front of Katara and opening it.
"Your turn, Katara," He said, "Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"
Katara examined the map, her eyes skimming over the parchment.
"How about the Misty Palms Oasis?" She asked, pointing to the spot on the page, "That sounds refreshing,"
"Oh, yeah, I went there with Kiri a year-" Aang started before stopping himself, seemingly forgetting the 100 years we spent in the iceberg, "101 years ago,"
"It's a pristine natural ice ground," He explained, "And I usually don't use the word pristine,"
"They've got this great fruit drink place there, too," I chimed in, "When we went, Aang and I tried all the flavors, my favorite was watermelon,"
"You're gonna love it,"
When we got to the Misty Palms Oasis, it was nothing like what I had remembered. In the place where a once beautiful, amazing, awe-striking ice ground had been, there was now just a block of ice. The place looked run-down, leaving me with a sense of sadness and longing for the past.
"Must've changed ownership since we were here," Aang stated with a nervous chuckle as he walked forward.
We all followed him, the hanging sign falling behind us. As we walked, I saw that the drink place was still around, and my excitement raised.
"Hey, the drink place is still here," I remarked in happiness and amazement, "It may be run down, but it's still here,"
I noticed that there were four menacing looking sandbenders standing near the door. The last time I had been there, I had seen sandbenders. They traveled on sand sailers in tribes, using their bending to get them around the Si Wong Desert. They were known for being traders. I never remembered them looking like they had ill intentions, but I figured it was just those guys and moved on. We walked into the drink place, my excitement wavering as I saw the place was definitely not how it had been before. Back in the day, it was bustling, with each table filled and people ordering at the bar, friendly conversations ringing through the air. Now, it was dull, with nothing but a few sleeping drunks at the tables and one guy ordering at the bar.
"One mango, please," He said.
The bartender grabbed an ice cup with his swords before chopping up mangoes and putting them in it. He then grabbed a pitcher of liquid with his swords, pouring it into the cup. He placed the cup on the table, putting a straw and little umbrella in it. The guy dropped a gold piece on the table, paying for the drink. I knew that the place had served drinks with alcohol before. At our time prior, Aang had accidentally gotten one and got sick after chugging the whole thing. But it seemed like that's all they had now, from the looks of the place and the people inside.
"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka remarked before pushing past Aang and Toph, running toward the bartender.
As we walked to find a table, Aang, seemingly not looking at where he was going, bumped into the guy who had been ordering earlier.
"No worries," My brother said, "I clean up easily," He then pushed his fists together, drying himself with airbending.
"You're a living relic," The man remarked.
"Thanks, I try," Aang responded simply.
"Two Air Nomads right in front of me," The man said, "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University,"
He then bowed, which Aang and I did back.
"Tell me," Zei began, grabbing us each by an arm, "Which of the Air Temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple," Aang responded.
"And you, little lady?" Zei asked, turning to me.
"Same," I said.
"Hmm…interesting," Zei remarked as he evaluated Aang's tattoos, "I thought that the temples were separated by gender?"
"We're siblings," Aang explained.
"Oh, splendid!" Zei exclaimed, pulling out some weird object to measure my head, "Now, tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"
"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?" I asked, confusion in my tone and expression.
"Oh, truly fascinating!" Zei said, "That's one for the journal,"
"So, Professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy," Sokka said, "Do you have a more current map?"
"Ours seems to be a little dated,"
"Certainly," Zei responded.
We positioned ourselves at a table, unfurling the map. Sokka evaluated it, an annoyed look coming to his face once his eyes had darted over the entire map.
"What? No Fire Nation?" He groaned, "Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?"
"You've made a lot of trips into the desert," Katara remarked.
I looked over to Aang, who was sipping on a fruity drink. My eyebrows furrowed in worry as images of him barfing on my shoes played through my mind.
"Aang, are you sure that drink doesn't have alcohol?" I asked, keeping my voice low as Zei was speaking.
Aang looked to me, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.
"Kiri, I think I'd know if the drink had alcohol," My brother said, annoyance creeping into his tone.
I looked down at my own drink, which I hadn't touched yet due to my fears. I picked it up and took the straw to my lips, then sipped. It tasted like watermelon, nothing else.
"You've spent years walking through the desert to find some guys library?" Toph asked, making me turn my attention back to the conversation.
"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady," Zei responded, "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge,"
"And knowledge…is priceless," He finished dramatically.
"Mm, sounds like good times," Toph deadpanned.
"Oh, it is," Zei said, not noticing her sarcasm, "According to legend, it was built by the great knowledge spirit Wan-Shi Tong with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers,"
"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?" Sokka remarked, causing Aang and I to give each other side eyes.
"I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka," Katara said, pushing her brother's head.
"You're both right," Zei stated, "Handsome little creatures,"
"Wan-Shi-Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world and put them on display for mankind to read so that we might better ourselves," He explained, unfurling a map of a large building and putting it on the table.
"If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked, "A map maybe?"
Aang and I had silently started a sipping competition, quickly drinking our fruit beverages as we looked at the map.
"I wouldn't know," Zei admitted, "But if such a thing exists, it's in Wan-Shi Tong's library,"
"Then it's settled," Sokka said, "Aang, I do believe it's my turn,"
"I'd like to spend my vacation at the library!"
"What about me?" Toph asked, lifting her finger in the air, "When do I get to pick?"
"You've gotta work here a little longer before you're qualified for vacation time," Sokka responded.
Toph grumbled, slamming her drink on the table and crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Of course, there's the matter of finding it," Zei stated, "I've made several trips into the Si Wong desert, and almost died each time,"
"Well that doesn't sound dangerous at all," I thought sarcastically.
"I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross," Zei sighed, his tone carrying crestfallenness.
Aang and Sokka looked at each other.
"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka asked.
"A sky bison?" Zei repeated in disbelief, "You actually have one?!"
When we got outside, we were met with the sight of Appa being approached by the menacing looking sandbenders I had seen earlier. The bison let out a low growl, sensing the danger of the people.
"Sandbenders, shoo!" Zei commanded, running up to them, "Away from the bison!"
The sandbenders quickly got onto their sailers and left, leaving me with a sense of unease for the journey ahead.
We flew across the desert on Appa's back, the hot sun beating on our faces. Aang was sitting on Appa's head with Zei, while the rest of us were in the saddle. Sokka had taken off his shirt and tied it to his head, and was looking at the vast landscape through a telescope. Toph was clinging to the side of the saddle, a blank expression on her face. Katara was looking out into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. I was putting my hair, which had been sticking to the back of my neck, into a ponytail. I had noticed it had been getting longer as of late, due to not cutting it for the past four months. Aang had been looking at the map for a while. Nobody had spoken, the boredom almost palpable in the hot desert air. Well, save Zei. He was ecstatic, frequently speaking to Appa and petting his fur.
"Tell me, sky bison, are you the last of your breed?" He asked eagerly after crawling down to meet Appa's face.
The bison let out a low groan in response.
"Oh, delightful!" Zei exclaimed, "I only wish I spoke his tongue,"
He then began to pet Appa, rubbing circles on the bison's fur.
"Oh, the stories this beast could tell," He sighed quietly.
Momo came over to him, chattering in his face.
"Shush, chatty monkey," Zei said.
"Wow," Aang remarked, breaking the silence that had been shared between our group, "It shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here,"
I looked over from the saddle, seeing the illustration of the large library on the parchment.
"Yeah," I agreed, "It's giant,"
It had been a little over an hour, Aang and I had stood corrected. This place was impossible to find. I was beginning to question its existence.
"Does this place even exist?" Toph groaned, seemingly reading my thoughts.
"Some say it doesn't," Zei responded.
"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" Toph asked, annoyance in her tone.
She groaned, flopping onto her back.
Later, we had still yet to find the elusive library. I had decided to scoot up next to Aang on Appa's head, since the saddle had gotten crowded with Zei joining us back there. He was taking notes, his excitement never wavering.
"There it is!" Toph exclaimed, making us turn our heads in the direction she was pointing.
Where I was expecting to see a library was just more vast desert land. We all looked over to her, annoyance evident in our expressions.
"That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it," She stated before waving a hand over her face.
"It can't be this hard to spot a giant ornate building from the air," Katara said.
"Down there," Sokka called, "What's that?"
Aang, who had been spacing out, jumped in surprise. I looked down to see a high tower in the middle of the desert. When we got down to the tower, Katara pulled out the map, looking at it and then the tower in front of us.
"Forget it," She sighed, "It's obviously not what we're looking for,"
"The building in this drawing is enormous,"
I watched as an animal emerged from the sands, carrying a scroll in its mouth.
"What kind of an animal is that?" I wondered out loud.
The animal then crawled up the wall of the tower, entering through one of the windows.
"I think that's one of the knowledge seekers," Zei stated, his tone full of amusement, "Oh, we must be close to the library,"
Sokka walked over to look at the drawing of the library, his eyes darting from the page to the tower.
"No," He said, "This is the library,"
"Look!"
He pointed to the top of the tower, tracing his hand down to the top of the page.
"It's completely buried," Sokka stated, disappointment in his tone.
"The library is buried?!" Zei shouted, disbelief and despair heavy in his voice, "My life's ambition is now full of sand,"
He dropped to his knees, pulling out a small shovel from his pocket.
"Well, time to start excavating,"
Toph walked over to the tower, slamming her hand on the brick wall.
"Actually, that wont be necessary," She said, "The inside seems to be completely intact,"
"And it's huge," She added.
"That fox thingy went in through a window," Sokka stated, "I say we climb up there and give it a look,"
"I say you guys go ahead without me," Toph replied.
"You've got something against libraries?" Katara asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"I've held books before," Toph said, "And, I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me,"
"Oh, right," Katara replied in embarrassment, seemingly forgetting about Toph's blindness, "Sorry"
"Let me know if they have something you can listen to," Toph said.
Sokka strung his boomerang to a rope, throwing it over the window. He began to climb up, Zei and Katara going after him.
"Don't worry, buddy," Aang said to Appa as he pet him, "I'm not making you go underground ever again,"
"You can stay here with Toph,"
I gave Appa a pet goodbye and began walking behind him.
I watched as my brother climbed up the rope, worry seeping into my mind. What if the sandbenders came back for Appa? What if Toph couldn't stop them?
"Uh, Aang?" I asked, causing my brother to turn his head.
"Yeah?" He responded, a confused look on his face.
"Is it okay if I stay out here with Toph and Appa?" I asked, "I just feel a little uneasy leaving them with those sandbenders around,"
"Sure," Aang replied, his words lifting my unease, if only a little.
I nodded with a grateful smile, and made my way back to Toph and Appa.
"What's up?" Toph asked, "You've got something against libraries, too?"
"No," I responded simply, "But I do have something against sandbenders taking Appa,"
"Precious, if anyone were trying to attack us, I'd be able to pound them before they could make the first move," Toph replied, slight annoyance in her tone.
"Well, it just makes me feel a little more at ease to be here," I said.
Toph nodded and sat down, to which I followed suit.
I was mindlessly playing in the sand, the minutes that ticked by seeming like hours. Neither of us had said a word. Toph suddenly broke the thick silence.
"So, you and Twinkle Toes have been here before?" She asked, "What was that like?"
"Well, it was pretty fun," I responded, "Until the end,"
"What happened?" Toph questioned, curiosity in her tone.
"Okay, so you remember that fruit drink place we were at?" I began. Toph nodded in response.
"Well, they sell drinks with alcohol there," I said, "When Aang and I ordered our last drink, his got mixed up with someone's who ordered the same thing, but with alcohol,"
"Was he like-drunk or something?" Toph asked, my words pushing her curiosity further.
"Wasted," I replied, the memory playing through my head, "He was acting so weird, and he actually ended up throwing up on my shoes!"
"He had a really bad headache, too," I continued, "The next day, he had to stay home from a festival he was really excited about because he was still so sick,"
"How much did he have?" Toph asked, cocking an eybrow.
"The whole thing,"
Toph broke out into a fit of laughter, and so did I, our joy sparking a conversation of many topics.
It had been a while since the rest of our group had gone into the library. Toph and I were still talking, the time seeming to pass faster as we did. Suddenly, Appa, who we were sitting up against, stood, causing us to fall backward. When I picked up my head, I saw that the library seemed to be going underground, fear began to spiral in my head.
"Library's sinking, library's sinking!" I exclaimed, my tone full of fear.
Toph quickly stood, shoving her fists into the brick of the tower. She began to sink along with the tower, forming a whirl of sand under her feet to keep herself from being swallowed. I quickly acted on instinct, forming an air bubble around us and the base of the tower, hoping it would do something. Suddenly, Appa growled, causing me to turn my head.
"What is it now?" Toph asked, her voice strained due to her holding up the library.
I saw sand sailers in the distance, fear and anger settling inside of me.
"The sandbenders," I said, "They're back,"
"You deal with them, while I keep this thing from sinking," Toph said.
I quickly nodded, dissipating my air bubble and running toward them.
"Hey!" I shouted, my voice harsh and commanding, "Stay away from him!"
The sandbenders payed me no mind, simply attempting to blow me away with sand. I used airbending to push the sand away, gritting my teeth in anger. As I was trying to fight off the sandbenders that were advancing toward Appa, more began to make their way to me. I fought frantically, my movements uncontrollable and sloppy due to my rage.
"Get! Away! From! My! Bison!" I yelled as I sent air blasts at each sandbender, to which most of them dodged.
Eventually, my strength began to waver, giving the sandbenders the perfect opportunity to attack. One of them shot a net at me, which I sliced apart with airbending, while another cracked a whip at my leg, causing me to fall over as a wave of pain shot through my body. I held my bleeding leg, a cry of pain escaping my lips as a net trapped me. I opened my eyes, seeing the sandbenders put a muzzle on Appa. My Appa. The one who I didn't go into the library to protect, and had still failed. Enraged tears filled my eyes as I sliced the net, a wave of anger-driven adrenaline kept me going. I grabbed a sandebender by his leg and dragged him down, causing the rest of them to look back in surprise. I quickly began hobbling toward the sand sailer, my leg screaming in pain with each step I made. With all of the sandbenders in front of me, I sent a powerful blast of air, its force sending me flying back as well as them flying forward. I crashed against the library, Toph still holding it up beside me. I felt numb, like all of my senses had been ripped away from me. My leg throbbed in pain, but it didn't matter to me. My eyes stung with hot tears, but that mattered even less. What mattered was Appa. I was trusted to protect him, and I failed miserably, allowing the sandbenders to leave with one of Aang and I's last connections to home.
"I'm sorry, Appa," I muttered quietly, tears filling my eyes.
"What happened?!" Toph asked loudly.
"They took Appa," I said, my voice desperate and broken, "And I couldn't stop them,"
A nauseating sense of worry filled my mind as I imagined what would happen once everyone else would come back. Just then, my worries became reality, as Katara, Sokka, and Aang emerged from the library, finally allowing Toph to let it sink.
"We got it," Sokka said happily, "There's a solar eclipse coming,"
"The Fire Nation's in trouble now,"
Aang walked up to us, a confused look on his face.
"Where's Appa?" He asked, his tone quiet and soft.
"He's gone," I responded, my voice trembling with quiet despair, "The sandbenders took him,"
Aang's eyes filled with tears, and I had to look away, tears stinging my own eyes as well.
"How could I let this happen?" I thought, "How could I be so useless when Appa needed me?"
"How could you let them take Appa?" Aang asked, his past sadness turning into anger, "Why didn't you stop them?"
My tears stopped, my heart pounding in my chest.
"What do you mean I 'let them' take Appa?!" I thought, my teeth gritting in anger.
"I tried, they whipped my leg and captured me in one of their nets, so I couldn't do-"
"I was talking to Toph," Aang snapped before turning to Toph, "What's your excuse?"
"I couldn't either," Toph responded urgently, "The library was sinking, you guys were still inside, and-"
"You could've come to get us," Aang interrupted, stomping up to her, "I could've saved him!"
"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here," Toph said, "The sandbenders snuck up on us, I thought Akira could get them but-"
"You just didn't care!" Aang yelled accusingly, causing my anger to spike, "You never liked Appa, you wanted him gone!"
"What?!" I asked loudly, my eyebrows furrowing, "Toph just saved your life, and you don't even have the decency to thank her?!"
"And what were you doing?!" My brother responded, his words hateful and full of rage, "If you insisted to stay back to protect Appa when we went in the library, then why didn't you protect him?!"
My eyes flashed to hurt, if only for a second, before settling on anger. I wanted to stand up and punch him, rage bubbling inside of my chest. But, with my leg still throbbing in pain, I couldn't do anything.
"Aang, stop it," Katara said, her tone calm but stern as she grabbed him by his shoulder, "You know Toph and Akira did all they could,"
"They saved our lives," She stated.
"Who's gonna save our lives now?" Sokka asked, looking off into the distance, "We'll never make it out of here,"
"That's all any of you guys ever care about, yourselves," Aang said, "You don't care whether Appa is okay or not,"
My eyes widened in irate shock.
"Do you see this gash on my leg?!" I asked, pointing to the still bleeding injury I had obtained from the sandbender's whip, "I GOT THAT FROM SAVING APPA!"
"Akira, just stop," Katara said, putting her hand in front of me, "We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now,"
"I'm going after Appa," Aang stated coldly.
"I'm coming with you," I said, standing up despite the shock of pain it sent throughout my body.
"No, you're not," Aang said, the harshness in his tone unwavering.
"Yes, I am," I corrected, my voice shaking with the rage that was threatening to spill over.
"Fine," Aang grumbled, unfurling his glider.
"Akira, wait," Katara said, grabbing me by my arm, "You're hurt, let me heal you,"
"I'm fine, Katara," I responded, my tone harsh and bitter as I yanked my arm away from her, "I don't need healing,"
I unfurled my glider, each step I took sending pain spiraling through my leg. I continued on, biting back the pain and taking off.
When I flew near Aang, I saw my brother's face, his rage radiating off of his body, his expression that of a glare.
"We should split up," He said, his tone distant and cold.
I nodded, my expression lacking emotion as I began to fly the opposite way.
"Appa!" I called out, my voice hoarse and raspy due to my repeated yelling.
It had been a while since Aang and I had split up, and Appa still hadn't been found. The smoldering sun beat heavily on my body, causing me to sweat, my cheeks burning hot. My wound was no longer bleeding, but still hurt profusely. Suddenly, I felt my strain and exhaustion take over, and I began gliding toward the ground at an alarming speed. I gasped sharply, turning my glider into a staff and blasting air at the ground, causing the sand to come up and cushion my fall. When I landed, I let out a deep sigh, lying flat on my back in pure exhaustion.
"I failed," I thought, tears forming in my eyes, "I failed Appa, I failed Aang, I failed everyone,"
I lie there, quiet sobs escaping my lips as the heat of the sun beat on my face and self-loathing thoughts swirled through my mind. I slowly sat up, my leg screaming in pain. Figuring I shouldn't glide, I began to walk in the direction my brother had gone, each step sending a stinging pain through my injured leg.
When I came upon Aang, he was on his knees, the slight shaking of his shoulders showing that he was crying.
"Aang?" I asked, causing him to turn his head, his pink cheeks stained with tears, "I think we should meet back up with the others,"
"No," My brother responded, his tone bitter and thick with emotion, "I'm not stopping until I find Appa,"
"Neither of us have found him, and-" I began.
"And whose fault is it that he's even lost in the first place?!" Aang snapped, standing up.
My eyes narrowed in anger.
"I tried my hardest!" I shouted, my rage spilling over, "There were too many of them! They surrounded me, and I couldn't-"
"If you were really trying your hardest, then you wouldn't -" Aang began to interrupt.
"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" I screamed, "YOU SAID THAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS SELFISH, WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN LET ANYONE TALK!"
"I TRIED SO HARD TO PROTECT APPA, I DID, BUT THE SANDBENDERS SURROUNDED AND INJURED ME!" I continued, my words intense and angry.
Aang's eyes narrowed, his body almost shaking with rage.
"YOU WANNA KNOW WHY I THINK YOU COULDN'T PROTECT APPA?!" He asked irately, "I THINK YOU COULDN'T SAVE HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE USELESS!"
My rage immediately disappeared, turning into a deep sadness.
"YOU'RE USELESS, AKIRA!"
I looked away, my eyes blinking back tears as I spoke, my tone a mix of quiet rage and despair.
"I hate you,"
I turned away, unfurling my glider to start going after the others. As I flew away, tears began rolling down my cheeks, despite my efforts to keep them away.
I finally made my way over to the rest of the group, tears dropping down my cheeks as my argument with Aang played through my head.
"What's that flying thing?" Sokka asked dazedly.
His pupils were dilated, and so were Momo's. Katara turned around, fatigue evident in her expression. Her eyes widened upon seeing me.
"Akira!" She gasped, her tone a mixture of surprise and relief.
I dropped down, my leg giving out as I crumpled to the ground.
"Where's Aang?" Katara asked, worry etched on her features.
My eyes hardened at the mention of my brother's name, anger radiating through my body as our argument replayed again.
"I don't know, and I don't care," I grumbled, my tone harsh and bitter.
Katara's face turned to shock, before settling on empathy.
"Here, let me heal you," She said, her voice soft and gentle.
I nodded distantly, holding out my injured leg. Katara pulled water from her pouch, her expression attentive and caring as she worked on my injury. When she was done, the once deep gash was replaced by a scar going across my leg.
"It's probably going to be sore, just don't put too much pressure on it," Katara said, "I wish I could do more,"
I nodded before standing, the usual pain dulled.
Later, we were still trudging through the desert. Aang had yet to come back. The hot sun beat on us less intensely due to its setting, but I could still feel sweat dripping down the back of my neck. Suddenly, I heard a whoosh above me, and turned to see my brother on the ground. Katara walked up to him, her steps slow and steady.
"I'm sorry, Aang," She said, her apology soft and kind, "I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here,"
"What's the difference?" Aang asked, his tone lacking any sense of hope, "We won't survive without Appa, we all know it,"
"Come on, Aang," Katara said, "We can do this if we work together, right, Akira?"
She then turned around to face me.
"We're in an endless desert with no mode of transportation," I said distantly, my voice baring a bitter edge, "It doesn't matter if we work together, it'll be a miracle if we even make it two miles,"
Katara's eyes then shifted to Toph.
"Toph, what do you think?" She asked.
"I got nothin'" Toph responded, kicking the sand near her.
"Sokka, any ideas on how to find Ba Sing Se?" Katara continued, turning to Sokka.
He was lying on the ground, looking up at the sky above aimlessly with a dreamy look on his face.
"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" He asked, pointing upward.
I looked up to see buzzard wasps circling above our heads, and knew that Sokka had no ideas. I sat down, wanting to give my sore leg a break. Katara's expression filled with concern as her blue eyes scanned every one of us. She groaned, putting her hands to her head.
"We're getting out of this desert, and we're gonna do it together," She said, her tone full of determination, "Aang, get up,"
"Everybody, hold hands,"
She held onto Aang's staff, which he was also holding, along with Toph's hand. I was holding Toph's other hand, and also Sokka's, who was holding onto Momo.
"We can do this," Katara stated, "We have to,"
The sun was even lower in the sky. Exhaustion pulled at my already aching legs, causing me to stumble as I walked.
"I think we should stop for the night," Katara said, causing us all to let go of our leg muscles and drop to the ground.
"Is there any more water?" Toph asked weakly.
"This is the last of it," Katara responded, walking up to her, "Everyone can have a little drink,"
As she bent the water from her pouch, Momo ran through it, causing it to splash on the ground.
"Momo, no, you've killed us all!" Sokka screamed in anguish.
"No, he hasn't," Katara said, pulling up the water with her bending.
"Oh, right, bending," Sokka remarked dazedly.
Katara then handed the pouch to Toph before kneeling down to him.
"Sokka, let me see the things you got from the library," She said, reaching towards his bag.
"What?" He asked quickly, defensively yanking the bag away from her, "I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?"
Momo then hopped over, causing Sokka's eyes to widen in shock.
"It was you!" He shouted, pointing at the lemur, "You ratted me out!"
"Sokka, I was there," Katara said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
She then took the bag from him and sat down.
"It doesn't matter," Aang mumbled dejectedly, "None of those will tell us where Appa is,"
"No, but we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is," Katara replied, "We can use the stars to guide us,"
"That way, we can travel at night when it's cool, and rest during the day,"
I lie down, the last day playing through my head on repeat. I went to grab bun-bun out of my bag, when I realized it wasn't there.
"Where's my bag?" I asked, picking up my head.
"The last time I saw you with it was on Appa's saddle before we went to the library," Katara responded.
"No," I gasped quietly, realization hitting me, "No, no…"
"It's okay, we can always get you a new bag," Katara said reassuringly, "I mean, all you had in there were some sticks, flowers, and…"
"Oh,"
My eyes became glassy. It felt like every connection I had to my life before the war had been stripped away from me over the span of the past day. I bit back the tears that were threatening to roll down my cheeks, not wanting to show vulnerability, not wanting to show uselessness.
Suddenly, I felt a hand rubbing soothing circles on my back, and heard Katara's soft, gentle voice.
"I'm sorry about bun-bun, I know how special she is to you," She said, "Get some sleep, when we find Appa, bun-bun will be there, ready for you to hold her tight again,"
"Thank you," I responded gratefully, lying my head back down.
"Of course," Katara said, "I'll be here if you need me,"
With that, I fell asleep, a looming dread settling in my mind.
I was fighting the sandbenders again, just like I had hours before. I fought stronger, sending them all flying back into the vast desert sands. Just as I was about to make my way over to Appa, something suddenly began pulling me back, as if gravity itself didn't want me to reach him. I strained, trying as hard as I could to get to Appa, but nothing worked. I watched as the sandbenders muzzled him, whisking him away on their sailers. I had done everything right, I fought as hard as I ever had, but I still failed to save him. I watched as a sandbender walked up to me, bun-bun in his hand. My eyes widened in shock as I watched him twist her head until it fell off. I tried to scream, I tried to fight, but I couldn't do anything. I was useless. Just then, my friends came out of the library. I wanted to tell them what happened, how Appa had once again gotten kidnapped, no matter how hard I tried, and how bun-bun's head had been ripped off. But I couldn't. Suddenly, a dark shadow came and scooped them up, one by one. First Toph, then Sokka, then Katara, and finally…Aang. The darkness obscured my vision, and all I saw was darkness. Then, a voice began to speak, one that was so familiar, but so unfamiliar at the same time. Its words were hateful, its bitter, harsh tone piercing through me like a blade.
"You couldn't save Appa,"
"You couldn't save bun-bun,"
"Aang hates you now,"
"You're worthless,"
"You're useless,"
"Do you hear me?"
"You are nothing, Akira,"
"YOU ARE A WORTHLESS NOTHING,"
"YOU ARE USELESS, THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU,"
I woke up in a hot sweat, my breathing irregular and ragged. I quickly sprung up, a sharp gasp escaping my lips. Katara sat up, worry evident in her expression.
"What's wrong?" She asked gently.
Katara had been helping us all so much, I didn't want to add another weight for her to hold.
"It was nothing, just a bad dream," I responded, "You can go back to sleep,"
A look of recognition came to her face, like she had heard it all before. She looked up to the sky. The sun was completely gone, the intense heat leaving alongside it.
"I'm gonna wake the others up," Katara stated, "We need to get moving if we're gonna get out of here,"
She then moved over to Sokka, who was being buried in sand by Momo.
"Come on, get up, we need to go," She said, lightly shaking his shoulders.
Sokka opened his eyes and flopped up, the sand falling off of his body. Toph got up as well, weariness in her expression. She smacked her lips before speaking, her tone deadpan.
"Yesterday, my mouth tasted like mud," She stated, "Now, it just tastes like sand,"
"I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much,"
Katara then turned over to Aang. Just as she was about to tap on his shoulder, he spoke, stopping her.
"I'm awake," He stated, his tone devoid of emotion, "I couldn't sleep,"
"Well, we need to go," Katara said.
Suddenly, Aang picked up his head, causing me to look up as well. In the light of the moon, I could see a figure that looked exactly like Appa. Joy surged through me. Appa was safe, he was okay. I was so excited to see him again, I could barely contain myself. I was going to give him the biggest apology when he got down to us, and never let him go again.
"Appa!" Aang gasped happily.
"Appa?" Sokka repeated, "But why would Princess Yue need him? She's the moon, she flies by herself,"
As the figure flew closer into the light of the moon, I could see it was not in fact Appa, but instead a stupid cloud. My excitement disappeared as soon as it came. My expression hardened, the pain of losing Appa striking me once again.
"It's just a cloud," I grumbled bitterly.
"Wait, a cloud!" Katara exclaimed. She turned to Aang, "Here, fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch,"
Aang's expression was that of deep annoyance as he looked her up and down. He then snatched the pouch and snapped open his glider before taking off. I watched as the cloud moved with each time he bent water from it. Aang then came back down, tossing the pouch to Katara. She opened it, looking inside.
"Wow, there's hardly any in here," She remarked.
"I'm sorry, okay?!" Aang shouted, "It was a desert cloud, I did all I could!"
"What's anyone else doing?!" He asked before pointing his staff at Katara, "What are you doing?!"
Katara opened her mouth to respond, but I was quicker, my words haughty.
"Oh, here you go again!" I yelled, "Katara's been doing everything around here! If it wasn't for her, we probably would've all been dead!"
Just as Aang was about to retort, Katara spoke, stopping him.
"That's enough, guys," She said, "Let's just keep going, we need to head this direction,"
We continued our venture, swirling thoughts about the past day in my mind. Suddenly, my thoughts were stopped by Toph's yelp. When I turned around, I saw that she had tripped over some wooden thing.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, "Crud, I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going,"
"And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?" She added, the annoyance in her tone heavy.
"A boat?" Katara asked, running up to her.
"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations," Toph grumbled.
Katara then kneeled down and began brushing sand off of the boat. Aang walked over to her, placing his staff on the boat. She got up, allowing him to brush away the sand with airbending. When the dust cleared, a sandbender sand sailer was revealed, bringing back bad memories and leaving boiling anger in my gut.
"It's one of the gliders the sandbenders use," Katara stated, her tone that of awe, "And look, it's got some kind of compass on it,"
"I bet it can point us out of here," She said, "Aang, Akira, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it,"
"We're gonna make it!"
We were all on the sand sailer. Aang and I were blowing air into the sail, while the others were all sitting in the sailer. Katara had been reading the star chart carefully, following the compass needle as she did
"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing North, according to my charts," She said.
"Take it easy, little lady," Sokka said dreamily, "I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here,"
Suddenly, Katara gasped.
"That's what the compass is pointing to," She stated, "That giant rock,"
"It must be the magnetic center of the desert,"
"A rock?" Toph asked in excitement, "Yes, let's go!"
"Maybe we can find some water there," Katara said.
"Maybe we can find some sandbenders," Aang added, his tone cold and harsh.
Later, we had all finally made our way up the rock. The sun was rising, its beautiful yellows and oranges casting over our faces. Normally, the beauty of the morning would bring me a sense of peace, but now, it only left me with dread as the hours Appa had been missing for stacked.
"Ah, finally," Toph sighed, flopping onto the ground, "Solid ground,"
Behind us was some sort of weird cave with a bunch of holes. As we walked inside of one, Sokka began to breathe deeply.
"I think my head is starting to clear put the cactus juice," He stated, "And look!"
He then picked up this yellow, sticky substance and licked it before immediately spitting it out.
"Tastes like rotten penguin meat," He said, "Oh, I feel woozy,"
"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 asked angrily, storming up to him.
"I have a natural curiosity," Sokka responded.
"I don't think this is a normal cave," Toph stated, "This was carved by something,"
"Yeah, look at the shape," Aang added.
The carvings were shaped in intricate circles, seemingly precisely created by some sort of creature.
"There's something buzzing in here," Toph said, "Something that's coming for us!"
We quickly began running out of the cave, my heart beating fast as the fear of the unknown settled into it. Suddenly, buzzard wasps came flying out from the caves. When one came close to me, I quickly blasted it away with airbending. One came near Toph, who sent up a rock from the ground below it. Aang also blasted away a a wasp when it came near him. Another began flying near Sokka, which Toph tried to attack, but ended up almost hitting him.
"What are you doing?" Sokka asked, "That rock almost crushed me,"
"Sorry, I can't tell where they are in the air," Toph responded.
Just then, a wasp flew by.
"I got this one," Sokka stated, chasing after it. He then proceeded to swing his machete back at forth at the air, screaming as he did.
"Sokka, there's nothing there," I said.
"Huh?" He asked, looking around to see there was no buzzard wasp around him, "I guess my head's not as clear as I thought,"
"We have to get out of here," Katara said, worry evident in her tone, "I'm completely out of water to bend,"
Suddenly, a buzzard wasp behind us snatched up Momo.
"Momo!" Aang gasped, "I'm not losing anyone else out here,"
He then took off on his glider after the wasp, and I knew Momo was going to be okay
"Come on, we're going down," Katara said.
As we went down the rock, Katara gave Toph instructions on where to shoot rocks.
"Toph, shoot a rock right there," She said.
Toph pulled up a boulder from the ground below.
"Fire!"
Toph then shot the boulder at a buzzard wasp, knocking it down.
"Yeah, you got it!" Sokka rejoiced before turning to Katara, "She got it, right?"
"Yes," Katara replied, "Now, let's move,"
As we got closer to the bottom, more wasps surrounded us, and with Toph and I's combined efforts, we knocked most of them down. Suddenly, the ground below rose extremely high, scaring away the remaining wasps. When the dust cleared, I opened my eyes to see the very people that had stolen one of my last connections to my childhood, who had injured and nearly captured me, who had turned my own brother against me.
The sandbenders.
Rage bubbled inside of me, threatening to spill over with each second I spent looking at them. Just then, Aang dropped down.
"What are you doing in our land with a sandbender's sailer?" One of them asked, "From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe,"
"We found the sailer abandoned in the desert," Katara explained before gesturing to Aang, "We're traveling with the Avatar,"
"Our bison was stolen," I added, my voice low and harsh, "Big, fluffy, with horns? Ever seen one?"
"We need him to get to Ba Sing Se,"
"You dare accuse our people of theft, while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer?" A younger sandbender asked, harshness in his tone.
"Quiet, Ghashiun!" The older man snapped, "No one accused our people of anything,"
"If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality," He said.
"Sorry, Father," Ghashiun mumbled in reply.
My eyes narrowed. They weren't confessing, and from the looks of it, they might not have even been the sandbenders who took Appa. Suddenly, Toph's eyes widened in shock, her voice quiet but full of assurance as she spoke.
"I recognize that son's voice," She stated, "He's the one that stole Appa,"
"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice hard and sturdy as I turned to her.
"I never forget a voice," Toph responded.
That was all I needed to know.
"You lied about never seeing a bison," I stated, my voice shaking with rage.
"Where's Appa?! What did you do to him?!" Aang asked, his tone filled with anger as he stepped up to the sandbenders.
"They're lying," Ghashiun said, "They're the thieves,"
I grunted in anger, slamming my staff on the ground and causing a whirl of sand to break one of their sand sailers in half.
"Where is my bison?" Aang asked coldly, coming even closer to the sandbenders.
"Tell us where he is now," I said, "Or else more than just that sand sailer will be broken,"
"What did you do?" The father asked, turning to his son.
"It wasn't me!" Ghashiun exclaimed defensively.
"Liar!" I shouted, "I watched you put a muzzle on him!"
"You muzzled Appa?!" Aang asked, his rage turning over and causing him to enter the Avatar State.
The fear that I usually felt when my brother's eyes grew white hot was no longer there, replaced by a sense of justice. This is exactly what they had coming, and exactly what they deserved. Aang slammed his staff on the ground, breaking another sand sailer.
"I'm sorry!" Ghashiun exclaimed, fear evident in his shaky voice, "I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!"
"Tell me where Appa is," Aang, alongside a mixture of many voices commanded, its chilling tone shaking the sandbenders to their cores.
"I traded him to some merchants," Ghashiun explained frantically, "He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now,"
"They were gonna sell him there,"
"And what were you planning on doing with me?" I asked, my tone filled with enraged demand.
"In all honesty, we were planning to just kill you," Ghashiun admitted, his tone becoming smaller and more fearful as he spoke, "But, after you injured so many of us, were not going to now,"
"You were planning to kill Akira?" Aang's voice, still mixed with the others asked.
"Not anymore!" Ghashiun exclaimed fearfully, "Please, we'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!"
"Whatever he does to you, you deserve it," I said, my voice devoid of any empathy as I walked back toward the group.
Suddenly, the wind around Aang began to pick up.
"Just get out of here, run!" Sokka exclaimed, pushing Toph and I along.
"Sokka, no!" I protested, "I wanna see those sandbenders get crushed, they deserve it for taking Appa!"
"Akira, please," Sokka said with pleading eyes, "Neither you or Aang are in the right mind right now, the last thing either of you need is revenge,"
My eyes filled with tears, my anger breaking under the weight of Sokka's words. I broke down, my sobs coming out slow and full of anguish. As I looked up, I saw that Aang had been pulled out of the Avatar State by Katara, who was holding him tight. I watched as my brother cried in her arms, which broke me further.
"Go," Sokka said, his voice kind and gentle, "He needs you now,"
I ran over to them, crashing into my brother's arms with a sob of despair. As we sat there, pouring out all of our troubles without words, it seemed like nothing else was there.
"I'm sorry for losing Appa," I whispered through a hitched sob, my despair evident in my tone.
"It wasn't your fault," Aang replied, his voice thick with emotion, "I'm sorry for blaming you,"
"Come on, guys," Katara said, her tone soft, "We're getting to Ba Sing Se,"
I nodded and we both stood. I held Aang's hand tightly as we walked to the sand sailer.
"Thank you for your help, Ghashiun," Katara said.
"It's the least we can do," The sandbender replied.
The entire rest of way out of the desert, not a single word was spoken by anyone in our group, the silence almost palpable. Still, Aang and I sat next to each other, our hands interlocked in trust of one another. We were going to find Appa, no matter how long it would take. And although no words were spoken, in a way, we both knew the other was thinking it.