I woke up from a rough jostle, it was morning out, and from the looks of it, we landed on some sort of mountain. Annabeth was curled up next to me, using my shoulder as her pillow, a thin silky string of drool stretched from her mouth, onto my hand. Which had been drenched in slippery drool for long enough to make my fingers prune.
"Annabeth," I shook her leg. "Annabeth...hey." I shook her harder, she snorted and mumbled something incoherent. She adjusted, turning her head to press her nose into my shoulder, making her do an involuntary pig face. I laughed, and the shaking from my laughter woke her up.
"Why are you laughing?" she smacked her lips a few times before stretching. She froze all of a sudden, and sniffed at the crispy air. It felt thinner, and without a doubt was the best air I ever inhaled.
She jumped up, disappearing from her spot, leaving my jacket to gently float down over my head. "You drool in your sleep by the way!" I shouted to nothing but thin air. "Annabeth?"
I got off the flying bear fish, and landed on a dusty over grown courtyard ground. Bricks were splayed out in what looked to be in some sort of decoration. But now, they are covered in over grown grass and weeds, sprouting from every crack in the bricks they could find. The bricks not covered by grass or weeds was covered in thick dust and dirt. The art piece in the bricks had long since faded, leaving just darkly colored bricks in their place.
Wall to clay bricked buildings surrounded the courtyard. It was obviously by the decorations, and randoms things scatter about, that this courtyard was once bustling with people. Now, by my guess, Annabeth and I were the first people here in a long time. "Annabeth where are you?!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the abandoned buildings.
Still no sign of her anywhere, I signed and went off to explore. Keeping my waterskin open, just incase this intense eerie feeling I have taking over my body has a reason to be tense. I came up onto what looked to be like some sort of bakery. A faded sign, that had crumpled to the ground had a painting of a fated loaf of bread on it. The door was nothing but a tattered moth eaten gray cloth. My hand touched the cloth, and it practically fell apart in my palms.
Inside was empty and dark, I could hear my beating heart right in my ears, my breath heavy. The room was empty, but had looked to be absolutely ransacked. Upturned tables, a blackened oven that had made coutless loafs of bread or pasties was now in ruins and useless. Further in, I found a hidden door, behind an over turned bookshelve. The door had been busted down, and inside made my stomach sink.
Three skeletons were curled up in the back of the small hidden room. Nothing on them, and nothing but blackened scorch marks surrounded them, plastered on the walls. It looked like two children, in the arms of a woman trying to protect them.
I swallowed, and backed out of the room. I tripped over an upturned stool that I hadn't noticed in my hasty reverse. I hit the dusty ground, and when I opened my eyes again, another skeleton was staring me right in the eyes. Empty charcoal black slots where the eyes where, an open maw frozen mid scream. The floor and bones scorched black from fire. A small dusty round object sat in the blackened open palm. Hesitantly I reached for it, as my fingers touched the small circular object, the blacken skeleton faded to a black dust in a fine pile of powder. The circular object was an Air Nation coin. And it sank in. The pirate captain was right. This is Annabeth's home, and everyone was slaughtered in the Fire Nation's attempt to find her.
I jumped up, and ran outside of the bakery. "Annabeth!" I shouted. I needed to find her, she needed help. I ran around building to building, screaming her name, until my throat started to burn with every breath. "Annabeth!" I froze.
Feint sniffs, coming from a half destroyed building. I hurried over, and saw Annabeth kneeling down in the center of a massive grave. Dozens of Fire Nation soldiers sat dead and scattered. Frozen in place as they feared for their lives in the final seconds. Some of the perched up against the wall, boned fingers splintered from scrapping at the brick walls, for a desperate attempt to dig their way out.
Annabeth sat softly sobbing, looking to one Air Nation skeleton. They were not scorched, or burned in anyway. But they were still dead, long dead. Nothing but bones, and moth eaten Air Nation robes. "Annabeth..." I whispered, slowly reaching out my hand to her shoulder.
"It's true..." Annabeth said, as I gently grabbed her shoulder. "The Fire Nation...killed...slaughtered everyone in my home...just to look for me..."
"T-there's another Air Temple right? In the north—"
"They are dead too!" She shouted. "All dead, slaughtered like animals just because I am the Avatar!"
A wind in the room started to swirl, knocking over some of the skeletons that were propped up. A bright blue glow started to fill the room, emanating from...Annabeth? She slowly started to rise into the air, as the wind became so strong the walls started to crumble down, and I started to slide across the dusty floors. Annabeth's tattoos were glowing such a bright blue, I had to shield my eyes. Nothing but raw power was seeping out of her, and if I didn't stop her, she could take down this whole mountain.
