The Trip to Gaoling

Day 4- Katara (part 2)

AANG'S POV:

"WHAT?!" I said, turning around. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" I asked. Zuko put his hands in front of his face, as if to protect himself. 

"No, Aang-" 

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME. NO ONE TOOK KATARA AND NO ONE TOOK APPA AND THIS IS ALL JUST A PRANK," I screamed, falling down to the floor, bursting in tears. 

"Aang, it's not a prank. We wish it was, but-"

"NO!" I screamed, interrupting Tylee. Mai sat up and walked over to me as she grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes. 

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" she screamed. "Yes, Katara might be in trouble and pain. Yes, we may be locked in the house. Yes, we can kick the door down but no, we can't escape because yes, Appa is missing," she said. I widened my eyes. No one's ever this blunt with me. 

"She'll die!" I said. "And what about Appa? Do you all remember what happened last time we lost him?" I said. "Yeah! We were stuck in the dessert and then we stayed in Ba Sing Se for a month, where, oh yeah, I died!" I yelped. 

Suki widened her eyes, but when I turned to look at her, she shot her head down. "What?" I asked her. "What do you know?!" 

"Well, when you guys lost Appa, a few days after The Serpent's Pass, the Kyoshi Warriors found him. He was dirty, and there was a lot of needles in him, and his feet, all 6, were cuffed together," she admitted. I swear it took everything in me not to glow. 

"Needles?!" I asked. She nodded glumly. "We cleaned him up and everything, but Mai, Tylee, and Azula attacked us and he flew off." I turned to Mai, then Tylee, and they both nodded. 

"Yeah," Tylee said. "Aang, don't glow. He was fine," Suki assured me. "Ok. But this time he might not be. He, me, and Momo are the only Air-Element related things in this universe and the next!" I barked. Suki winced, and Sokka protected her for some reason. 

"Aang, stop yelling! She'll be ok for one day," he said. I shook my head. "She's BLEEDING, Sokka! Her hands are tied to FUCKING CUFFS!" I shouted. He was crying again, now. 

"It's only 5:00 am. We can get some sleep and look for her at noon," Toph said. "And calm your balls, Twinkletoes. She'll be fine." 

"DOES ANYONE CARE ABOUT HER OR APPA?!" I screamed, voice echoing. "Of course we do, Aang. She's my  sister," Sokka replied. 

"She's my  girlfriend, and I don't even know if I can say that anymore because I  did this to her!" I shouted, breaking out into tears. 

"Ok, Aang, she loves you to the Spirit World and back. But you need to chill out, because if you're stressed, we won't get any work done," Zuko said calmly. 

He's right. I'm being so rude to everyone. This isn't who I am. And I know that Yue's watching over her. Wait, Yue. Yue. Yue! 

I ran to the window, searching for the moon. Since the sun still wasn't fully up yet, I had the slightest sight of the Princess watching over me. "Yue, please. Let her survive one day," I said. Sokka turned around and followed my gaze. 

"Yu- Yue..." he said, lost in his thoughts. "Please, Yue, protect her like our life depends on it." I nodded, then looked at him. "Sokka," I said. 

"What?" 

"She already died!" I screamed. Sokka looked at me blankly, and everyone else laughed for a second, before it became quiet and we were all looking at the Princess again. 

"Please, Yue. I know she can take care of herself, but I can't live without her. Please, just make sure she's ok," I said as I watched her set. Sliver by sliver she went down, until she was completely gone.