Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Plans ❯ In The South ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three: In the South

 

Aang had been sleeping peacefully, cuddled up against Appa, when the smell of food cooking wafted by. He sat up lazily and stretched his arms high above his head as he yawned. Then he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the heel of his hands. In a half awake daze; he thought he saw Katara crouching down by the fire. He blinked a few times and his eyes focused, and he realized that it wasn't Katara, but Toph stirring the contents of a small pot with a wooden spoon.

 

“About time you woke up.” Toph said, banging the spoon against the pot and resting it on a flat rock at her side.

 

“You're cooking?” Aang said in an astonished voice. “I didn't realize that you could cook.”

 

“Well, you learn something new everyday, don't you?” she told him. “Besides, I don't see Miyu staying with me forever, and it was obvious I needed other useful skills than just earthbending in order to survive. She was the one who taught me.”

 

“So, what exactly are you making anyway.” he asked, leaning over and examining the contents of the pot. It looked like porridge and had a sweet smell to it. It seemed tasty, which surprised him. He glanced up and noticed that she had stood and stretched, and was now fishing through their supplies, sniffing different containers in order to determine their content. Carefully, he twisted some of the food up out of the pot with waterbending while using airbending to cool it down. He was just about to put it in his mouth when something hard smacked him on the back of the head. He lost his concentration and the food plopped down onto his pant leg. He looked up to see Toph towering over him with the wooden spoon in hand. “What was that for?!”

 

“Wait until it's done before you start stuffing your face.” she scolded and then sighed. “It's sweet congee by the way. Same stuff Sugar Queen used to make, except there's cinnamon and honey in it. Now why don't you make yourself useful and go find some water for the tea. We don't have anymore fresh water and the only water that's close is the mucky stuff from the swamp.”

 

“You're more bossy than I remember you being.” Aang complained as he got up and rubbed the lump at the back of his head. “And meaner too.”

 

“When you have to teach earthbending to twenty-some stuck up noble girls with a better-than-thou complex, bossy is about the only thing that gets through to them.” Toph responded, waving the spoon around as she spoke. “Or it makes them cry. The point is, eventually they listen.”

 

Aang just shook his head and wandered into the swamp a bit, finding the closest pond of water and used his bending to pull it out without the muck. When he got back, Toph was spooning the congee into a couple of bowls and sprinkling some nuts on top. He bent the water into a waiting teapot and she handed him his bowl. Breakfast was eaten in silence until the teapot whistled. He made the tea and they finished off the pot before packing up.

 

Then they were off again and while Toph still got a little queasy from the ride, but she managed not to get sick that time. Which Aang appreciated, since giving Appa a bath was never the easiest task. The young woman sighed and rubbed her temples for a bit. “I wonder how Miyu is doing. And Miss Yu Lin and Mrs. Ling.”

 

“If they're friends with you, then I'm sure they're managing just fine.” Aang assured her and then chuckled to himself. “Though I bet they'd get a kick out of you being air sick.”

 

Toph gave a half-hearted laugh and laid down on her back, propping her hands under her head. “Leave the humor to the professionals. Anywho, I'm going to take a nap, wake me when we get there. How much farther is it anyway?”

 

“Not far.” he answered, gazing off into the distance. “A couple hours maybe.”

 

She was already asleep before he finished, he could tell, from the snores he heard behind him. He just shook his head and closed his eyes. In his mind he imagined the temple rising up through the clouds in front of him, the blue spires shining in the sunlight, flanked on all sides by the majestic Patola mountain range. And then he opened them and all there was there was a cloudy, open sky for miles ahead of him. He missed his home. He missed it dearly. He hadn't been back there since he had first been freed from the iceberg, when it was just Katara, Sokka, and himself.

 

I wonder if it's still covered in snow. He pondered thoughtfully to himself. Has it changed? He wondered if maybe someone else had found it. Granted, it was almost impossible to get to without a flying bison, but since the war the air balloons invented by the Mechanist had become a popular new form of transportation across the world. Maybe it had been discovered and converted, just like the Northern Air Temple. He hoped not. That was his home, his last place of refuge and the last memory of his life before he learned he was the Avatar and life as he knew it changed forever.

 

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It was almost dusk when Appa reached the familiar peaks of the Patola mountain range. The bison grunted in excitement and weaved around the mountains without needing Aang's direction. This was his home too and the path to it was second nature even after all of the years that had gone by. Aang patted the animal's head and spoke to him. “This is it boy, we're finally back home.”

 

And when he looked back up, it was even more beautiful than he had imagined. The blue spires of the temple seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun, which painted the walls in brilliant hues. It took his breath away and he could feel his heart beating faster and faster as they approached. It was still covered with snow, but the light hit it just right and made it seem as if the ground were made of precious gems of all colors. Appa grunted again and landed in an open area right above where the bison once stayed.

 

“Good boy Appa.” Aang said as he jumped down off of his companion. Appa snorted in response and licked Aang happily. The young man laughed and rubbed the bison's nose. “You stay here and I'll be right back.”

 

With that, he disappeared down a path that lead up into one of the taller parts of the temple, completely forgetting his sleeping companion curled up on Appa's saddle.

 

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Toph had rolled over in her sleep and nearly crushed Momo in the process. The lemur had been curled up against her, sound asleep as well, but started a fit of chittering after being laid on. The young woman grumbled for him to be quiet, but he only got more noisy and refused to let her sleep any further. It was then that she noticed how cold it had gotten and that they were no longer flying. She grumbled again, and spoke loudly. “Thanks for waking me Aang.”

 

She waited a moment, but he gave no response. She sighed and climbed down from Appa's saddle and jumped back a bit when her bare feet touched something cold. Cautiously, she put her feet down again and felt the vibrations of the earth beneath the cold. She could tell right away that they were at the air temple. Then she bent down and scooped up some of the chilly stuff she had stepped in. When it quickly began to melt she was able to identify it. “So this is the snow stuff Katara would talk about?”

 

Toph dropped it and wiped her hands off on her pants and was instantly glad that she had opted for a long-sleeved shirt. Momo chattered from up in Appa's saddle before bounding down onto her shoulder. Toph scratched his ears and talked to him. “So, where did Twinkletoes run off to? Can you show me?”

 

Momo shrugged his shoulders and hopped back onto Appa. The young woman crossed her arms and began walking away from the animals. “Lotta help you are! I'll just go find him myself then.”

 

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Aang had wandered for a bit through the temple, revisiting the places he hadn't had the chance to when Katara, Sokka, and he had been here. He had gone to his room, Monk Gyatso's room, and the room where the elder monks held their meetings. It was all empty now, just like it had been before. And it was barren and dark, and reminded Aang so much of his own life at the moment. He sighed and thought of Katara. How is she? Did I hurt her when I left? Why did I even leave in the first place? He rubbed his temples and chastised himself. He had left out of anger and petty jealousy, and had probably driven the love of his life even further away from him.

 

And then he found himself standing in front of the door to the sanctuary, with its winding pipes that kept it locked. Even at his darkest moments back in Ba Sing Se, there was always the one place where he could find solace: amongst his past lives. With a swift motion he was bending the air around him and into the pipes. It twisted through and flipped each spiral symbol with a resounding note before groaning open. He stepped inside and bowed to the past Avatar's in reverence. Then in a fluid motion he was sitting on the floor with his head low and his eyes closed, trying to connect with them. “Please give me your guidance. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I wasn't prepared for this role when it was first thrust upon me, and I'm still not sure that I will be able to guide the world for the rest of my life. I keep running away from my problems and it only causes more turmoil. Please, tell me what I should do.”

 

The statues never judged and often talking about his worries out loud to them helped him see those worries for what they really were, and helped him see how he could solve them. He hadn't truly spoken to his former lives since he found himself on the back of the giant lion turtle right before the arrival of Sozin's Comet. Now he sat bearing all of his burdens to the statues made in their likeness.

 

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Toph was grumbling as she wandered through the halls of the Southern Air Temple in search of Aang. So far, she didn't have a very high opinion of the place. It was drafty and the floors felt like ice beneath her feet. She stopped and leaned against a wall before pulling a foot off of the floor and rubbing it so it warmed. Then she did the other one. As she did, she found herself having a conversation with herself. “Stupid snow. Stupid Air Temple. I liked the western one better. Was warm there.”

 

She sighed and started walking again, and hoped that she would find Aang soon. Otherwise she was going to start knocking in some walls or, at the very least, make her way back to Appa and eat dinner without him. As she rounded a corner, she heard his voice nearby. Following it led her down a long corridor and to a large open doorway. Aang was sitting there on the floor, talking to hundreds of statues. He hadn't even noticed her walking up. So, to get his attention, she coughed loudly.

 

He jumped to his feet and sent a whip of air whirling back behind him in surprise. She barely avoided being blasted backwards down the hallway. However, in order to do that she had to do a duck and roll right into a heap of snow, leaving her covered from head to toe. When he realized that it was Toph and not some intruder, he rushed over, apologizing furiously, to which she responded by knocking him off of his feet and storming off. He followed after her, repeating over and over again. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!”

 

After a few minutes of that she stopped, turned on her heels and put her face in his face, which was no easy task considering that she was at least a head shorter than him. “Who else would it have been? Appa?! It's a freaking temple on top of a mountain surrounded by practically identical mountains. Who else but you, Sugar Queen, and Snoozles even know that this is here?”

 

“The Fire Nation! They've found it before.” he said in a blustered voice, his face turning red.

 

Toph scoffed and gave him a shove back. “Yes, because Zuko is going to send someone to attack you.”

 

“Well, maybe not them, but a lot of people have airships now. It's possible.” Aang replied, his defense slowly crumbling.

 

“Yea, that makes sense since this place is just so easy to find.” She said sarcastically. “And of course these people would know that you were here even though nobody, not even the uptights in Ba Sing Se have a clue where you're at. Plus, only a complete idiot would think of messing with you, The Avatar, after you pulled that trick and took Ozai's bending away. I mean seriously…”

 

“Stop it!” Aang shouted, stepping in front of her and glaring at her. “What is wrong with you? You act like you're so damn high and mighty. I think you just need to be knocked off your pedestal and see that you're no better than me!”

 

“Hello!” Toph shouted back, reaching up and knocking on his head. “At least I use my mind. You were given a brain for more reasons than to just fill the space between your ears you know.”

 

“Says the person who makes bets over how badly she's going to beat a guy.” he said as he pushed her hands away.

 

“If I'm going to be miserable, I might as well make a profit from it.” She growled and shoved her way past him.

 

“Hey, Toph, wait.” he said, catching up to her and trying to stop her again. She kept weaving away from him, trying to get away. Every time he'd get in front of her she'd step to the other side. Frustrated, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrists. “Wait a minute. What did you mean by miserable?”

 

“Let me go, Aang.” she hissed and pulled away from him.

 

He gripped her a little tighter and spoke firmly. “Not until you tell me what you meant when you said you were miserable.”

 

“LET. ME. GO.” Toph said, and the mere tone of the way she spoke made him loosen his grip. She pulled free from him and gave him a hard shove into the wall. He stood there and watched as she disappeared around a corner.

 

What the heck was that about? He thought to himself for a moment after she was gone. Was her life back home really that bad after everything happened? What did happen all those years anyway? Now he felt really guilty about the whole thing, even worse than he had when the argument had started. Sure, he had heard Toph get mad before. She had a half-angry, half-joking tone, like how most of the argument was. It wasn't until he grabbed a hold of her like he had that she took on a venomous undertone, like she actually thought that he was going to hurt her. Something bad has happened to her, and I'm going to find out what.

 

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“Goddamnedidiotjerkasshole…bastard…jerk.” Toph complained to herself, her anger waning the further she got away from him. Eventually she sighed and leaned against a wall. “I don't know why I even bothered to come on this stupid little adventure of his.”

 

After a moment she started walking again, retracing her steps back to where Appa and Momo were. She shivered a bit. She was cold and slightly damp from falling in the snow. She tapped her foot against the ground and made sure that she and the animals were the only ones around before she changed out of her wet things and into some that were quite a bit warmer. She smiled to herself and made herself a cozy spot next to the bison.

 

“It looks like there's going to be a bad storm tonight. It's real dark and cloudy to the west. There are rooms inside that will keep you from becoming a Toph-sicle.” Aang joked when showed up a little while later. He smiled broadly and waited for her to say something, but she simply got up and walked into the bowels of the temple with her blankets draped over her shoulders. She found the spot inside where he had cleared away the snow and debris, and had made a fire to stay warm. He showed up there, after having settle Appa into a safe spot for the night. Momo chittered on his shoulder, but leapt away when he saw the young woman. She simply scratched his ears and stared off into the distance, not even acknowledging his arrival.

 

“The silent treatment eh? C'mon, forgive me? You know you'll have to sooner or later. Trust me; Momo isn't very good at keeping a conversation.” He told her, flopping to the floor next to her. She continued ignoring him and warmed her hands by the fire before burying all but her head beneath her blankets. “Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did or said to make you mad. When we leave here, I'll find some guys for you to beat up.”

 

When she refused to acknowledge him once again he sighed and gave up. She just sat there like a rock. He went about getting out things for supper. Granted, he couldn't really cook, but it seemed she was too disinterested to bother, and he was hungry. He poured some rice into a pot and then bent some of the snow from one of the corridors nearby and carefully got it into the pot before setting it onto the fire. Then he went and rummaged through their food for things to add to it. Everything seemed to be going just fine, until the rice boiled over, which made him cut himself while dicing some vegetables, and when he went to pull the rice pot from the fire he burned his fingers on the pot. The pot dropped back down and the boiling water sloshed out and extinguished the fire.

 

If that wasn't bad enough, Momo had found a wayward piece of fruit that had rolled away from the supplies when Aang went digging through them. And with all the commotion being made, he assumed Aang was playing around, and the lemur tossed the fruit, nailing him in the back of the head with it. Toph, who had been sitting idly by as the whole fiasco unfurled burst out in laughter as the piece of fruit squished, covering his neck with juice, before it slid down his neck and into his robes. This made him start hopping around in an attempt to un-wedge it from where it was stuck where the cloth of his robe was bound up by his belt. And as hard as he tried, his arms could not reach down far enough for him to get it. She laughed so hard it put her to tears, that she lost her balance and fell over, and only laughed harder. Poor Aang who had been victim to it all suddenly stopped and stared at her with wide owl eyes.

 

“You make it way too hard to ignore you.” she said, still chuckling as she unfurled herself from her blanket cocoon and helped him fish the wayward fruit out of his clothes, tossing it near Momo, who gladly took it back and nibbled on the sweet flesh. “Just go restart the fire. I can't believe you can't even boil some rice. What were they teaching you in Ba Sing Se?”

 

“Politics.” he answered sarcastically as he sucked on the finger he had cut. It wasn't deep, but it still hurt. Then he pulled the water from the wet wood and cast it aside before directing a flame on the now dry wood.

 

“Feh, I hate politics.” she said, plopping some snow she had scooped up into the pot to replace the water that had splashed out when Aang had dropped it. “What you did wrong was you had a full flame fire going. When you cook, you want to cook it over low flames. Otherwise you get the disaster you just experienced.”

 

“You could have said something before I started.” He said, scooting closer so he could coax the flames to dwindle and so he could watch what she was doing.

 

“Well, I assumed that you actually knew something about cooking. Especially after all that time you spent with Katara.” Toph said as she set the pot onto the fire for a second time that night. Aang smiled a bit. The anger and venomous bite from earlier was gone, and this was the girl he remembered. She let the pot slowly stew for a bit and reburied herself in her blankets, blowing on her hands and rubbing them together. “I hate the south. It's too cold. I'd rather boil in the Fire Nation than freeze to death down here.”

“It's not so bad once you get used to it. Besides, the Southern Air Temple wasn't always like this.” Aang told her, fiddling with his wooden necklace. “When the monks and I lived here we used airbending to keep it warm. It was really nice. There were ornate tapestries on the walls, people everywhere. The sky filled with bison and people on gliders. I wish you could have seen it like I have.”

 

“Yea, you remember I'm blind right?” she said, reaching over and punching him gently in the arm. “I can only see what's happening on the solid ground.”

 

“Oh yea, sorry.” He chuckled. It was quiet for a while after that. Toph had gone around fixing his messes from dinner and turned it into something that actually looked edible. He watched her as she worked. She was still the same tough girl he had always known, but she had grown up. He would never have imagined her ever cooking or doing anything much but bending the earth and sharing smart mouthed remarks. Her face was aglow in the light of the fire. She furrowed her brows a bit as she worked and somehow she seemed very Katara-like in that moment. Had she noticed such changes in him?

 

When it was done, they ate while sharing jokes and favorite stories from recent years. They could hear the wind whipping just on the other side of the walls and Toph told him how she could feel it moving the temple just slightly. Afterwards, he cleaned up their dinner mess, something he could do, and returned to the fireside. She was sitting close, her elbows propped on her knees and her head in her hands while her dirty feet peeked out from beneath a blanket. In the silence, he remembered what he wanted to ask her.

 

“Hey Toph.” he began, turning to face her.

 

“Hm?” she asked with a yawn and then stretched.

 

“What did you mean earlier when you said that you might as well make money for being miserable? Did something happen to you? Something bad?” Aang spoke in a soft tone. She blinked a few times and her mouth formed a silent oh.

 

“It was never anything bad.” she began, lying down on her stomach. “When I came back home, I expected to get different treatment from my parents. Which I got, but not the way that I wanted. Instead of trying to lock me away, they paraded me around like I was some sort of prize. I was something that was a part of a story they could tell to people to impress them. I mean, I know that they didn't think I was just some trophy, that they loved me, but I never got to be me. I never got to share my voice. I was just their china doll daughter who had to have constant supervision. I never got to do things on my own either. Someone was always there. Then when I moved away, they sent Miyu with me to “take care of me.” And for a while she did, but then she saw I was more than capable to do the things she did for me. Then the suitors started showing up. I was fourteen years old, and they were trying to marry me off. A lot of them were men twice my age with less than honorable intentions. They all told me I was so pretty and innocent. I always managed to chase them away, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me if I wasn't as strong as I am. I don't think my parents wanted men like that to marry me, but I think they were a little too distracted in finding someone to take care of me for the rest of my life to notice that part about them. I just wanted to run away from it all. I mean, can you imagine having someone trying to plan every aspect of your life for you? Who wants to live a life like that? All I wanted was to grow up normal.”

 

“Is that why you acted the way I did, when I grabbed you earlier?” He was yawning now and slowly slumping towards the floor. It had been a long day.

 

“I suppose.” she answered in a sleepy voice.

 

“I understand, a little bit, about how you feel though.” Aang began. “Every day since Ozai's defeat, I've been ushered around like a puppet. I never asked to be the Avatar, but I am. And now I have be a figurehead for all the nations. I'm supposed to solve all their troubles. That's not what I want. I didn't get what I wanted. That's why I went away. I needed to do what I wanted and be who I wanted, even if it was for just a while.”

 

“I guess that's the same reason that I decided to invite myself along on your little adventure. Sometimes everyday life gets to be too much and you just have to go away. And you know, it's not like Katara said she would never marry you. She just didn't want to now. You still have a chance. I don't see why that was the clincher for you to leave.” Toph was now propped a bit, trying not to fall asleep on him.

 

“She changed. More than I had thought. I guess it wasn't really that she turned me down, but her reasons for turning me down. The Katara I fell in love with had always put me first, put those she loved first. But this time, she chose to be one of those politically ruthless people I've come to dislike so much.” He rubbed his temples with both hands and continued. “I guess that I just hoped that it would be like when we were kids. That we could be carefree and not worry.”

 

“Things have to change. It's a part of life. If all you worry about is what has already been and gone, then how do you ever expect to prepare for the future? And while you're doing that, you miss out on everything that's happening right here and right now. And then that will pass too and you'll end up regretting it.” she explained, rolling over onto her back.

 

“Ah, you mean: `Don't live in yesterday but do what you have to do for tomorrow.' Right? That's what you told me before.” Aang said, trying his best Iroh impression.

 

“It goes: `Stop living for what you've already done and live for what you've yet to do.' Yu Lin told me that years ago when I was missing you guys.” Toph corrected him. “I have to give her credit. She's a pretty smart lady.”

 

“Didn't you ever get letters from anyone?” he asked her, adjusting a pillow under his chin.

 

“Only from Katara. I used to get letters twice a week from her the first year. Then it was once a week, then every other week, to once a month, to every three or four months, that lasted about a year. Then they just stopped. The next time I heard from here was when she was sending the invitations for Sokka's wedding.” She sighed and curled up into a ball. “As for the others, I just assumed that you were all too busy with things. After all, you became the leader of the free world, Sparky is the Fire Lord, and Snoozles and Suki were rebuilding her village. Plus, why send letters to a blind girl anyway?”

 

“I'm sorry Toph. I should have written you or visited. I'm a bad friend.” he apologized.

 

She chuckled quietly. “Don't worry about it. You're stuck with me now and you'll want me gone sooner or later.”

 

Aang yawned again and his eyes were slowly fluttering closed. They popped open one last time to see Toph already asleep before he disappeared into his own dreams.

 

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Aang woke to complete silence the next morning, aside from a few quiet snores. As he looked around he noticed that the fire had burnt itself out in the night and that Toph was still sound asleep, bundled up in her blankets on the floor. He quietly stood up and stretched out, feeling his back crack in a few places. He wandered out to see how Appa had faired during the storm, and what he saw when he stepped outside was amazing. The entire temple was covered with freshly fallen blanket of snow and it looked like the entire place had been made of ice and snow. He could see his breath as he stepped out in it, the snow crunching beneath his shoes. “Wow.”

 

When he reached Appa, he looked back and could see his trail of footprints behind him. The bison grunted and gave him a wet kiss. Aang patted him and led him out of the shelter. As he looked up, he could see that the sky was a brilliant blue. Appa nuzzled him, as if knowing exactly what the young man was thinking. Aang turned to him and saddled him up before climbing on him. “Yip Yip. Let's hit the skies.”

 

With a giant leap they were airborne and Aang felt exhilarated. It was a perfect day for flying. When he had gotten to the temple, it was dusk and the sky was full of ominous clouds, but now that the storm had past, there wasn't a single cloud in sight. He was enjoying his little romp through the skies, weaving through the mountains and out over the sea. He was sure Toph would be mad that he had gone and left her alone in the temple, but the familiar skies were welcoming and he felt more peaceful now than he had in a long time.

 

He had Appa fly low so he could skim the water with his fingertips and relish the deep blue water that was the same shade as Katara's eyes. He smiled a bit and the two gained altitude again. He decided that it was best for him to head back to the temple for some breakfast, and then maybe go out again. He might even go gliding for a bit. However as Appa made a round turn back towards the mountains, he heard shouting on the horizon. He squinted to see a ship far off in the distance being pursued by another ship larger than it. Aang quickly instructed Appa back towards the commotion in time to see the ship careen to the left, trying to get away from its pursuer.

 

“That looks like a Water Tribe ship. It's…it's being attacked by a Fire Nation vessel!” Aang said to himself, closing in on the endangered ship. Men on the ship made excited noise as they saw him pass them quickly. He could hear angry shouting from the Fire Nation ship as he leapt off the back of Appa and onto their deck.

 

“Fellas! We got trouble!” shouted a grimy man dressed in the ragged clothes of a Fire Nation soldier. Soon Aang was surrounded by a mass of men who either drew their weapons or took an attacking stance around him. He stared at them. They didn't look like men from Zuko's navy. They were dirty, malnourished, and scraggly. Some of them who approached recognized who he was and backed away considerably, with fear in their eyes. Their hesitance to attack game him the chance to inspect them further. On the right upper arm of each man was a tied up black band of cloth. And they didn't fly a Fire Nation flag either. It was a completely black banner with a slithering snake emblazoned on it.

 

“Who are you and why are you violating the terms of the piece treaty among the three nations?” He said in a commanding voice, using his airbending to lift him up so he towered over the heads of the men.

 

“Blimey! It's the freaking Avatar!” cried an older man who scrambled for the back of the ship. “Run for your lives! Save yourselves!”

 

“We don't fear you!” A voice rang out from the crowd. A man in dark armor stepped out from the men and stood face to face with Aang. He raised a hand to hold the men back, who were beginning to get antsy. “We don't follow a nation anymore. We are our own nation now. And you are in our way. Men, obliterate him.”

 

The man dropped his hand and Aang was swarmed by the men. Twirling his glider around he was able to repel several of the men who carried swords and daggers, but those who could bend did not back down. The young man had to leap up over the crowd to avoid blasts of fire from all sides. The leader of the pack then got up behind him and knocked him off of his feet. Aang quickly recovered, but not before being cornered by the group of firebenders.

 

“Who are you?!” Aang demanded to know. The leader laughed and stepped forward. “Why are you attacking the innocent and destroying the peace between the people?”

 

“I am, rather, was, and Admiral in the Fire Nation navy, before you and your group of friends ruined the takeover of the Earth Kingdom.” The man said, pacing in front of him. Aang watched him, but kept looking for an opening to break free. He was sure he could deflect most of their attacks, but he didn't want to risk injuring himself. The admiral stopped pacing and stood in front of him. “I am Tso Len, and this is my crew. We take what we want when we want it, and not even you are going to stop us.”

 

“We're coming Aang!” a voice shouted from behind him. He whipped his head around to see the Water Tribe craft sailing up beside him. Tso Len was distracted long enough for Aang to shove him back into the crowd of men and bound away towards the bow of the ship. He didn't want to hurt or kill anyone. It was now apparent that these men were pirates, and piracy was a crime. He wanted them to receive a fitting punishment and a sentencing by a judge.

 

Tso Len growled as waterbenders from the ship froze men to the deck or knocked them overboard. He turned to his crew of benders and barked orders. “BURN THEIR SHIP AND SEND IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN!”

 

Hearing the man's command, the captain of the Water Tribe ship shouted orders to pull away, but it was too late. Fire lashed at the hull of the ship, burning its way through. Aang could see that without help, they were going to sink to the bottom of the sea. He leapt overboard and onto the Water Tribe vessel. He turned back to see the pirates already on the run, deciding to go after an easier target. Aang was pissed that they were getting away, but it was better he save these men from drowning at sea than try and stop some pirates.

 

Running for the gaping hole, he and the few waterbenders aboard pulled the sea water up and over the flames. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the craft was still taking on water and a dangerous rate. Up behind him he felt someone clap a hand on his back. Looking back he saw Sokka gazing over the side of the ship at the damage. “I'd say I was glad to see you and whatnot, but I think we got bigger problems at the moment.”

 

“Sokka!” Aang exclaimed. “Any ideas?”

 

“Kaien! Wu! Chen! Below decks and try to push the water back!” Sokka instructed the waterbenders who had helped put out the fire. Then he turned back to Aang as he rushed for the sail and quickly adjusted them, making the ship veer and turn for a speck of land that was off in the distance. “Let's hope they can keep the water at bay long enough to make an emergency stop to do repairs. Anything you can do Aang?”

 

“I could help them push back the water, but I don't think the four of us will be enough. Wait, where's Appa?” Aang whipped around and looked up in the skies. The bison was nowhere to be seen. He pulled the bison call from inside his shirt and blew on it. A moment later, he came circling down from the sky and up beside the ship. “We can stow your heavy supplies and whatever crew isn't needed onto Appa and he can take them to where you're going. That should lighten the load of the ship and keep it from sinking as fast. I think that will buy us enough time.”

 

“Okay, do it.” Sokka told him with a nod. Aang ran as fast as he could through the ship, telling everyone he saw to move the supplies to Appa and to fly off with him if they weren't able to help. Quickly, the crew assembled on the deck and the weighty cargo was piled onto the bison's saddle. The extra men aboard also boarded Appa and the bison flew off ahead of the ship. Aang was already down in the cargo hold with the other waterbenders, pushing back the water that was gushing in. They were already waist deep in the icy water, and even with their best efforts, it kept on coming.

 

“This isn't helping.” Aang said to himself as he ran back to the deck.

 

“Aang, what's wrong?” asked Sokka, trying to extend the sails as far to catch the wind. “Damn, it's too calm today.”

 

“The water is rushing in too fast. We need to move faster!” the young man told his friend.

 

“Use your airbending to fill the sails!” Sokka told him, pointing at the billowing white fabric above them. Without another word Aang whipped the air around him and used it to propel the ship. It picked up speed faster and faster, and soon the coast was just within reach. The men around him cheered as the ship hit the beach, and the three benders pulled the last of the water from inside.

 

“Did everyone make it through okay?” Aang wondered, looking at the faces of the men who clapped him and Sokka proudly on the back. Meanwhile, those who had fled on Appa were already clearing the supplies and crates of things off of his saddle.

 

“Everything's good. We might lose a week of sail time in order to repair the ship, but we all lived and our cargo made it through. We owe you a great debt Aang.” Sokka told him, shaking his hand, and then pulling him into a strong hug. “You're staying for dinner. Besides, then you can tell me why you're this far south and not back in Ba Sing Se being head honcho and why you're not there wooing my baby sister.”

 

“It's a long story.” Aang told him as he caught his breath and slumped down into the sand on the beach. “I came this way to visit the Southern Air Temple and Toph…OH SHIT, Toph!”

 

“Toph?” Sokka asked, cocking his head to the side and furrowing his brows.

 

“Yea, Toph. She's going to be really pissed. I got to go back, realquicktheniwillbeback.” Aang said in a flurry, pulling the remaining crates of supplies off of Appa's saddle before taking off.

 

Sokka stood there watching him then scratched his head. “He's really hard to understand sometimes.

 

------­------------------------

 

Toph had scoured the temple, weaving her way through the whole thing while she tried to find where that knucklehead had gone too. She had woken up, completely alone, aside from the lemur that had fallen asleep on her head at some point. She had realized immediately that he wasn't in the room, and soon thereafter found he was nowhere inside the Southern Air Temple either. Pissed off, she found her way outside and right into an embankment of snow. What really set her off was the fact that not only had Twinkletoes disappeared, but so had his bison. She had started cussing him out and knocked down one of the outer walls.

 

Now she was sitting around by a warm fire, hoping that her toes weren't frostbitten, and was thinking up ways in which to hurt him if she ever met up with him again. As far as she knew, he had abandoned her on a mountaintop. Certainly, she could make her way down, but since they had flown in, she wasn't sure quite where she would end up. Grumbling she rubbed her feet and covered them with a blanket. Her temper had cooled a bit too and she realized that he had probably gone on some sort of joyride, and had not really abandoned her. If he had, he wouldn't have left Momo here too. Still, he could have let her know. It was already past noon, from what she could tell, and knowing him he'd been up since the crack of dawn.

 

Outside she heard the bison groan and sensed a rush of footsteps approaching. Aang dashed in, partially out of breath and started speaking nonsensically. “OhmygoshToph! Iamsosorry! I didn't mean tobegonesolong. Therewerepiratesandthefirenation, and then therewasthiswholecrazyfight and I ran into SOKKA!”

 

“Huh?” she said in a daze. “Slow down a second.”

 

He repeated himself more slowly and told her all the details. She sighed and shook her head. “And I thought messing with pirates was Sugar Queen's specialty. All right, since I'm sure he's as confused as I was; let's go pay Snoozles a nice visit.”

 

A little while later they were off again, back to the beach where Sokka and his crew were waiting. Sokka approached him and stopped when he saw Toph refusing to let Aang help her down off of Appa. “Wait, you mean Toph was really with you? Wait a minute! Why is Toph with you? What did you do to my baby sister?”

 

“Like I said, it's a long story.” Aang explained as Toph pushed her way past him. She gave Sokka a slug in the shoulder and smiled.

 

“Hey Toph, it's been a while.” He said, grabbing the short girl and giving her a noogie.

 

She pulled away from him and laughed. “It has been. You look good by the way.”

 

Sokka smiled broadly and stroked the whiskers on his chin. “Thanks, I've been trying to grow this nice goatee and…hey! That's still not funny.”

 

Toph laughed again a clapped him on the back. “Yes it is. Now I'm hungry, what've you got to eat?”