Avatar: The Last Airbender: Reawakening

21

"Ryu change our course to the Southern Air Temple now!"

Ryu turned around from the airships pilot seat with a questioning look and saw Tau walking back into the control room, "The Southern Air Temple? Why?"

"I'll explain later," Tau answered, walking over to take a seat next to Sorin, who had been sitting a few feet away from Ryu.

"Is that what the Avatar found out?" The Firebender asked.

Tau nodded, "He said that the spirits we are looking for are called the Yanari and they are to be found at the Southern Air Temple. Like I said, I will explain in more detail later."

"They're called the Yanari?" Ryu questioned, "Well at least we have a name for the things now instead of just using 'those spirits' all the time."

Tau just snorted in response when Sorin began to gaze at him curiously.

"So where's the Avatar?" he asked.

"He and the Waterbender are taken care of," Tau answered, "There is a reason why I wanted Ryu to fly us over Si Wong Desert."

"Did we dump them off there or something?" Ryu guessed, smirking.

Tau smiled and leaned back in his seat, "Pretty much, and since we took his staff and his bison whistle...I'm assuming that they won't be able to survive very easily down there. They can't fly out and they can't call for help. With any luck, the desert will kill them."

Aang and Katara stood up side by side, looking around at the all too familiar sand dunes that surrounded them.

"Well, this can't possibly be as bad as last time," Katara said optimistically, despite still being a little shaken up, "Just call Appa and we're home free."

Aang glanced at her with a regretful look on his face, "Actually I don't have the bison whistle with me...I think Tau took it while I was in the Spirit World...my glider to."

"Oh," Katara hung her head briefly before looking up into the night sky, "Well at least its night. We better start walking because if there was anything we learned from the last time we were here it's that it's better to move at night and rest during the day."

"I hope we're not that far into the desert or else I don't think walking is going to be enough to get out," Aang stated, looking around as if trying to figure out something else to do. It was a desert though. From what he could see there was nothing but sand, followed by some more sand, and then some sand after that.

"Don't think like that Aang," Katara chided, "We'll find a way out...I don't really think we have much of a choice."

"Yeah, you're right," Aang nodded taking her hand in his and the two of them began their walk through the desert, "We need to get back to Ba Sing Se to warn everyone what Tau is trying to do."

"Is it a big problem?" Katara asked, "He didn't tell me anything about what he was planning. What'd he tell you?"

Aang shook his head, "I'll explain everything later...I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of it."

Katara nodded understandably and the two kept quiet after, just focusing on walking over the sandy dunes that the desert held. It was tougher then they would have originally thought. The sand wasn't solid and they would slip many times along the way. They would have fallen down dozens of times if they hadn't had each other to hold themselves up.

The silence that hung between them as they were walking allowed them to drift off into their thoughts.

Despite everything that told him he did the right thing by saving Katara, Aang felt guilty. He had just essentially helped the enemy get what he wanted. And...he had done it willingly. Tau had given him a choice and Aang had chosen to help him. He could have said no but then again, Katara wouldn't be next to him right now if he did. Maybe that was part of Tau's strategy. Maybe Tau wanted him to feel guilty and that was why he had given him the choice. Even after he had revealed everything to Tau, the Waterbender had allowed him one more chance to put a stop to his plans.