Koete ↠ Sokka

Chapter 6: The Fire Sages - Part 2

Aang gasped, performing a quick windmill-like action with his arms which dispersed the flames around them. "I'll hold them off, run!" he ordered in a loud, panicked voice over his shoulder before starting another attack.

Without hesitation, Charlie turned on her heel and took off at a dead sprint into the maze of hallways, making sure the siblings weren't too far behind. She took sharp breaths in and out, feeling her heart pump the adrenaline through her body. Before she could reach the end of the hall, Aang slid out in front of her from a doorway to the left.

"Aang? How the hell'd you get in front of us?" Charlie asked breathlessly, clutching at her heart.

"Just follow me!" he said, sliding around a corner.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka called out.

"Does it matter?" Charlie interjected loudly. "I'd rather focus on not getting caught right now!"

Moments later, Aang came back around the corner, grabbing Sokka and Katara's wrists, half-pulling them in the other direction. "Wrong way!"

Charlie ran after them but paused to spare a glance behind her. One of the Fire Sages slid to a stop around the corner, calling out "Wait! Come back!"

"Oh, hang on a minute," Charlie muttered in realisation, coming to face the one Fire Sage who was supposed to help Aang. His name started with M—Muji? Or maybe it was Mushu.

She didn't have time to mull it over before Sokka was back at her side, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and tugging her so strongly she almost tripped over her feet. He pulled her into a run, twisting around another corner. It was almost comical how much running she was being forced into, leaving her a wheezing mess.

"Sokka, wait!" she tried shouting breathlessly, legs feeling heavy underneath her. The force of their speed almost flung her into the wall when they were confronted with a dead end. Charlie doubled over at the waist, sucking deep breaths in to force as much oxygen as possible down her throat. "G—guys, would you—" They didn't hear her though, getting into a fighting stance. She took in a deep breath, shouting, "Could you guys just slow down for one second, please?!"

All eyes turned to look at Charlie as she slumped her back against the wall. Karata peered over at her, asking, "Are you okay?"

Charlie waved her off with a limp hand before twisting to look at Mushu. "He's trying to help us, he's on our side," she explained quickly, swallowing a gulp of air. Her frizzy hair stuck to the side of her face, now coated in a light sheen of sweat.

"Well, that would have been nice to know earlier," Sokka commented, standing up straighter.

"If you gave me more than two seconds, I could have told you." Charlie readjusted herself on the wall when she started to slip, pushing her fringe back through her hair. "I had a vision," she lied easily. "We can trust him."

Aang gave her a slow nod of gratitude. "If Charlie trusts you, then so do I," he said, dropping his arms and giving Mushu a small bow.

In response, he got on his hands and knees into a formal bow. "I know why you're here, Avatar. You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

When he stood back up, Aang stared at him with a look of slight disbelief. "How?" he asked.

Mushu reached out to his left, grabbing the imperialistic red wall lamp and shifting it to the side. He placed his palm over a hole it exposed, pumping a shot of fire into it. The heat of the flames travelled into the wall next to it, causing a hidden metal door to slide open on its own. It revealed a tunnel carved into the stone, paved by polished sapphire stairs leading downwards.