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Distraught over losing Appa, Aang had flown off with his glider to conduct his own search, hoping he could catch up to the sandbenders who stole his beloved companion.
Meanwhile, with the merciless sun of the Si Wong Desert beating down on them, Katara, Sokka, and Toph faced an endless expanse of scorching white sand that stretched for miles in every direction.
After walking for what felt like hours with only Katara’s swamp water to sustain them, Sokka found salvation in the form of a spiny cactus dotted with pink blossoms, the only sign of greenery as far as the eye could see.
“There’s water trapped inside these!” he exclaimed, hacking off a chunk of the cactus with his blade.
Ignoring Katara’s protests about eating strange plants, Sokka drank with glee, the cool liquid soothing his parched throat.
He stood up and sighed with relief, his thirst quenched. Then, suddenly…
The sky was purple. Insects that scuttled past were the size of otter-penguins. He flopped around in the sand, proselytizing the wonders of cactus juice. Toph was on fire.
He felt light and free, like he could fly all the way to Ba Sing Se. Or maybe he could swim there instead. The sand had turned into crystalline blue waves.
In the distance, there was a tremendous boom that shook the ground below his feet.
A thick column of dust and sand shot into the air, fanning out into the shape of a mushroom.
Sokka took a step back, breath shuddering.
The mushroom cloud wasn’t friendly, that much he could tell. No. It was grotesque; a cursed apparition; an evil menace sent to destroy all that he loved.
“Katara, stay back!”
Hands trembling, Sokka reached into satchel and pulled out a gun. He held it out in front of him, finger firmly on the trigger.
“Tell me the name of God, you fungal piece of shit!” he yelled, his voice wavering.
The mushroom cloud darkened at the edges as it rumbled with derisive laughter, mocking him.
”Can you feel your heart burning? Can you feel the struggle within? The fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. You cannot kill me in a way that matters.”
Sokka felt the air leave his lungs in a rush. Tears now streaming his face, he cocked the gun, ready to take on the abomination.
“I’m not fucking scared of you!”
Just over his shoulder, Sokka heard the horrified cry of his sister.
”Sokka, how the FUCK did you get that gun?!”
Unbeknownst to the group, the great owl spirit, Wan Shi Tong, had left the safety of his library to ensure that the meddlesome and dishonest humans had taken their leave.
Then he saw the chaotic scene before him: the thieving boy screaming into the wind and the girl standing just a few feet away, holding the hand of another child he didn’t recognize, trying to calm him down.
Sitting beside him was the flying lemur they inexplicably kept as a pet. Momo chattered wildly at the giant bird, his large eyes wide with fear.
Translation: “Hey, what the fuck does this mean?”
Poor, simple creature. Able to decipher all forms of language, Wan Shi Tong leaned over. “Decay exists as an extant form of life,” he said simply.
Momo’s ears flattened and he chirruped softly, wrapping his tail around himself.
Translation: That’s a terrifying answer. Have a nice day.