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Nisha buried her head deep into Ruhi's fur and sobbed as her animal companion curled up under a partially fallen pillar. The cat-monkey let out a whimpered 'mew' sound as he wrapped his paws around her, shielding her from the harsh winds that were blowing the nearby sand around. The two of them were in the Harshlands — hiding in the abandoned ruins where Pavi had mentioned she had saved Jae.
The last time Nisha was here, everything had been going so well. She had captured the woman who was supposedly the leader of the faceless. She'd been helping the world just like an avatar was supposed to do.
But now everything was ruined.
The whole world knew she was the avatar and everything was ruined.
Was this where she and Ruhi lived now?
They couldn't exactly go back to Ellora now that everyone knew who she truly was and hated her for it. Her home was no longer safe for her.
But… why didn't anyone understand?
Nisha was just trying to help them against the true leader of the Faceless. She was trying to prevent Agam from taking away all of Ellora's benders, without whom Ellora would be completely defenceless against the uncontrollable storms and no one would survive. They all saw her trying to help.
But it hadn't mattered. They hadn't realised she was a nice, good avatar like Aang and Kyoshi, not a bad, mean avatar like Korra. They had attacked her. They had attacked Karthik and Hamka and Shilpa. There had been too many benders, and Karthik had done all he could to get her to safety when it was clear the battle was lost.
It wasn't meant to go like that. She'd thought they'd be grateful she'd been trying to help Ellora survive and that they'd know she wasn't going to bring about another cataclysm. She never thought Kayoko and the entire Bending Brigade would turn on her like that. It wasn't even something she'd considered.
Nisha let out another sob, gasping for air between siffles as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Were Karthik and the others okay? Nisha could only hope that they'd gotten away… and if they hadn't she could only hope that they'd been captured and not… something worse. She didn't want to even consider that possibility.
What was she supposed to do now?
If she stayed put would the White Lotus come and find her? Or would she be an easy target for the Bending Brigade to track down? Should she try to fight through the Harsh lands to get to another haven? Would she be in just as much danger there as she was in Ellora? Should she go back and try to rescue Karthik and the others?
She was an avatar. She was meant to know the right thing to do. But all she had was questions.
Taking a shaky deep breath, Nisha sat up. She couldn't just lie with Ruhi and cry. She needed to prove she was a good avatar now more than ever. She had to prove that those nasty benders who said she wasn't ready were wrong.
Karthik wouldn't want her to go back for them and put herself in danger, that she was sure of. The other Havens would be just as dangerous, and there was no way she could survive the journey there with just her and Ruhi and no supplies. If the Bending Brigade hadn't found the dozens of the Faceless who were living in the old ruins, they probably wouldn't find her either. She should stay put, stay hidden.
Just her and Ruhi. All alone. No allies. No friends.
No sister.
That one hurt most of all. She'd just found out she had a sister not that long ago and it had been the best day of Nisha's life. She'd finally had a real family. She'd finally had someone just like her. And now she might never see her again. She missed Pavi so badly right now.
Nisha gasped as she heard a sudden rumbling sound from under the earth. She jumped up to her feet, curling her hands up into fists and taking a defensive stance. A blur of blue, brown, green, and pink erupted from the earth a mere meter away from Nisha, and Nisha punched forward, sending a blast of air towards the assailant, knocking them backwards.
"Heyyyyyyyyy," the figure whined from where they now lay on their back against the ground. "You have got to start warning me before we play element tag."
"Pavi?" Nisha said as she realised who it was.
Geet jumped out of the hole in the ground Pavi had created, making his way over to curl up with Ruhi. As Pavi started to sit up, Nisha ran forward, tackling her sister right back down into a hug.
"Pavi, I ruined everything," she cried. "And… wait, how did you even find me?"
Nisha was meant to be keeping herself hidden, so the fact she was immediately located was definitely a large concern, even if it had been by the one person in the world she wanted to see the most.
"The ground let me know," Pavi explained, pressing a hand against it. "Thank you, Everywhere Friend! And you haven't ruined everything! Because of you, less of the Bending Brigade benders deserted Ellora, and so everyone should still be safe from the storms. You were very brave, Nisha."
"But everyone knows I'm an avatar now," Nisha sighed. "Are they… out to get me?"
Pavi bit her lip and hesitantly nodded. "But we can prove to them that you're a good avatar"—Pavi took Nisha's hand into her own—"and we can get through this together."
"Right," Nisha agreed, her tears slowing as a small smile found its way onto her face. "Together."
She may have revealed herself to be the avatar. The Faceless may have gotten away. There may have been another anomaly attack. The White Lotus may have been defeated. The whole world may be out to get her.
But not everything was ruined.
Because she still had her sister by her side. And together, they could face anything.