𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 | prince zuko

²⁰

CHAPTER TWENTY

     BY THE TIME MORNING CAME, the team was already packing everything on Appa's back to head to the Fire Nation for their final battle. Yan helped everyone pack and they were done within a few minutes, all changed into their original clothes and ready to get off Ember Island. "Okay, that's everything," Sokka said when he finished putting the last parcel on top of Appa's saddle while the sky bison ate a stack of hay.

"No, it's not. Where's Aang?" Toph asked as she sat on the edge of a fountain. Everyone turned to her when she asked about Aang's whereabouts, their eyes growing wide when they realized they hadn't seen him since yesterday night. Without hesitating for another second, the group began searching the house, including all the rooms and the different levels. They split up to cover more ground, Sokka finding Aang's forgotten glider, which was very odd considering he went everywhere with it. When they checked the beach, they found footprints that led to the shore but they vanished at the water's edge.

"So, he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki asked as the group stood at the end of the trail on the beach. Sokka dismissed his sister's suggestion of Aang getting captured, stating there was no struggle evident in the sand.

"He couldn't have run away, he left behind his glider and Appa." Sokka brushed off Toph's suggestion, standing and crossing his arms. "It's pretty obvious: Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle. He's definitely on a Spirit World journey."

"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko asked, remembering the times when Aang would meditate and enter the Spirit World and his body would still be outside in the material world.

"He can't be missing now. Not today out of all days; he has to still be on Ember Island. I think we should split up and keep looking for him." Yan suggested, the group nodding at her idea. Sokka and Suki went off on Appa, Toph and Zuko paired up, and Katara and Yan went to the nearby town for any hints. Although they had found a group chanting Aang's name, they only found the theater company that did the awful play about Team Avatar.

The group returned to the vacation home with dead ends; although they had split up to cover more ground, they could not find Aang. As they thought everything over, they realized that Momo hadn't been seen either, giving them the idea that Momo was with Aang whenever Aang vanished. "We have a real problem here, guys. Aang hasn't been found and the comet is only two days away." Yan sighed to the group, ignoring Sokka's comment about Momo being eaten by Appa. They then turned to Zuko.

"Why are you all looking at me?" he demanded when he noticed everyone's eyes were on him.

"Well, you are kind of an expert on tracking Aang. If anyone has experience on hunting the Avatar, it's you." Katara answered, Zuko sighing and nodding in agreement.

By sunset, the group headed off of Ember Island, beginning their journey to the Earth Kingdom. They traveled for hours until they stopped in a dense forest where they continued to travel on foot. After a half hour of walking, the group stopped at a tavern where commotion could be heard from the outside. "And the reason you brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" Katara asked, having to shout over the loud noise when they entered the chaotic tavern, people running around and fighting.

"June," Zuko answered, pointing to a woman who sat at a table, fighting off a man who came at her all while drinking her tea.

"Oh, yeah, that weird bounty hunter with a giant mole creature she rides around on," Sokka confirmed, he, Katara, and Aang having met the woman in the past.

"You mean a shirshu? I have my own, and they are great trackers; they can track any scent in the world, regardless of how far the person is. If anyone can find Aang, it's a shirshu." Yan confirmed to the other confused members of the group.