Katara, Sokka, and Aya were still in the tunnels, trying to find the exit. Sokka was making marks on every corner and Katara was practicing her waterbending. Aya watched her sister, smiling, yet feeling envious.

"You're getting better." Aya smiled at her

"Practice and some good instruction." Katara smiled and Aya nodded.

"Yeah? From the scroll." Sokka questioned.

"Yeah!" Katara grinned as she put the water away in the canister. "And Jet, he helped me through some things."

Aya and Katara gave their sister a look. Katara raised her eyebrows. "He lost family, just like us." Sokka rolled his eyes as he continued walking with Aya. "He knows those memories can hold you back. He got me to see that I'd only been thinking about how Mom died and not how she lived." Sokka didn't respond and Aya glanced at her, listening. "Jet might have gone down the wrong path, but he was pushed that way. Just like Sai was."

Sokka stopped and turned to Katara and Aya. "You know, Sai told me I should be an engineer. That was my true calling."

"You're good at it." Aya smiled up at him, nudging him gently. "You believe that?"

"I don't know." Sokka shrugged as they continued walking. "But it was nice to hear someone tell me I had something to offer the world. Besides my superior fighting skills."

Aya chuckled as Sokka grinned. Aya's smile faded when she started to think about her true calling and what it was. She fears she has no true purpose and is just here.

"Sokka," Aya held her brother back. "I'm sorry for that outburst earlier. About dad..."

"It's fine. You had every reason to shout at me." Sokka told her and Aya grinned softly. "Forget it." Sokka dismissed and continued ahead, but Aya grabbed his arm.

"You led the tribe and protected us with nobody to help you." Aya remarked. "Dad never had to bear that kind of burden alone."

"You had it harder than him," Katara added in, putting a hand on Aya's shoulder. Aya hugged Sokka after a few moments, smiling against his chest and he chuckled softly, hugging her back.

Aya pulled away and the three continued forward, but Sokka stopped when they were met with a wall.

"That's not right," Sokka said.

"The crystals were just crystals like Aya said," Katara said and Sokka scoffed, walking in the other direction. The sisters followed him down the tunnel and turned a corner to find an unusual wall where they just were.

"This shouldn't be here. We were here before, but this wall wasn't." Sokka gestured to the wall.

"How is that possible?" Katara asked and Aya remembered what she said earlier about the walls changing.

"It's not," Sokka remarked.

"I was right," Aya told her brother and Sokka nodded as the three continued to look at the wall. Fear entered her body, now expecting the worst. They may never leave these haunted tunnels

"The tunnels are changing." The three said together.

——

"This is crazy! How can the tunnels be changing?" Aya asked as the siblings rushed through the tunnels.

"I knew the crystals were wrong!" Katara objected.

"Can we do I-told-you-so later?" Sokka asked her.

Ahead of them, they heard growling and Aya froze in fear, feeling the hairs on her body stick up. The three looked at one another with uneasiness.

"Any chance I imagined that?" Sokka asked.

"I heard it too," Aya said and the rumbling got closer and closer, which made Aya huddle closer to Sokka.

Suddenly, a giant badgermole burst through the wall and Aya yelled, grabbing her brother. The badgermole growled at them. "Badgermole!"

The badgermole let out a giant roar and Aya was first to run away with her siblings following.

——

The siblings ran through the cave with the badgermole hot on their tails. Aya tripped and she yelled in fear. "Sokka! Katara!"

Aya turned and the badgermole was right at her feet, growling. "Ahhh!"

Katara quickly used her water whip and attacked the badgermole, distracting it. Sokka rushed to Aya, helping her up. "Thank you!"

Sokka pulled Aya around the corner with Katara as the badgermole growled in the distance. The trio hit a dead end and Aya panicked. "Dead end!"

They turned to find the badgermole, cornering them and Aya grabbed Sokka's arm, hiding behind him. The creature got closer to them, sniffing them out and Aya noticed its odd movements. Aya noticed the eyes of the badgermole, they were cloudy. The creature was blind.

"Katara, Aya, I'm sorry." Sokka apologized.

"I'm sorry too." Katara apologized and she grabbed Aya's hand as Sokka grabbed her other one. Aya let go of them and stepped forward, putting her hand up near the badgermole's nose. The two siblings didn't notice Aya and shielded themselves as the badgermole growled, but he stopped when he smelled Aya's hand. Aya felt him sniff her palm and she smiled.

"Are we dead?" Sokka asked and Aya shook her head.

"No," Aya said and looked back at them to find two shocked siblings. "Love is brightest in the dark. It wasn't about the crystals." Sokka and Katara shared a look as Aya spoke. "That's not what guided Oma and Shu through the mountain."

The badgermole's nose made contact with Aya and she softly petted his nose.  Katara stepped forward and waved her hand, waving it.

"It's blind," Katara said, Aya lowered her hand and got out her book of animals, flipping through the pages.

"Yes, they are blind." Aya showed her siblings her book. "Badgermoles are also the first Earthbenders. They use their blindness to guide them through the caves."

"So, they don't navigate by sight, but by feeling," Katara added and Aya nodded, closing her book. "They sense feelings and react to them. Anger, fear, but mostly love."

"Any kind of love." Aya smiled and grabbed her siblings' hands. "Love is brightest in the dark. They let love guide the way."

"So, they respond to love?" Sokka asked. "How do you think they do with verbal commands?" Sokka waved to the badgermole. "Uh, excuse me, Mr. Badgermole. We'd really appreciate it if you could show us the way to the palace. Please?"

The badgermole backed up, growling, and dug a hole in the wall next to them, before crawling inside.

"Yes!" Aya chuckled and rushed after the badgermole with her siblings following.

——

Sokka, Aya, and Katara eventually made it to the palace. Aya hugged the badgermole, petting his fur gently.

"Thank you!" Aya smiled and the badgermole growled softly in return, before Aya rushed off to catch up to her siblings.

The trio entered a giant arena to find Aang battling the King. King Bumi. Aya gasped when she saw Aang holding up two giant boulders with his airbending, clearly struggling.

"Aang!" Aya yelled in a panic. and sprinted over to him with her siblings.

"Sokka! Get the king!" Katara yelled as she got out her water whip and threw it to the ground, freezing it and Sokka slide across it. Bumi looked over and frowned.

"Huh?" He asked as Sokka tackled him to the ground.

"Aang, now!" Aya cried out. Aang threw the boulders down and he fell to his knees as Aya rushed over to him. She knelt down, putting her arm around him. "You okay?"

She helped Aang to his feet and once his eyes met her brown ones, he gave her a wearily smile. Seeing Aya's sweet smile always made him feel better.

"Well, kid, you sure know how to bring the house down." Sokka huffed as he joined the girls and Aang.

Bumi Earthbended the rock he was behind to the side, grunting. Aang instinctively put himself in front of Aya, putting his arm up and Aya stepped back cautiously.

"Chester! You cheated!" Bumi accused, storming forward. "You didn't do it on your own, so you didn't learn anything at all."

"You were wrong," Aang objected, lowering his arm and approaching Bumi. "You can rely on your friends and that's the only way I'm gonna save the world. With my friends." Aya smiled sweetly at him.

Bumi scolded. "You think like a child."

Aang frowned. "Is that really so bad?" Aang dug into his shirt and pulled out his Appa whistle. "Remember this?" Bumi shrugged. "I use it to call a friend." Aang took of the whistle and handed it to Bumi. "That's what I'm gonna do now. Call on an old friend."

Bumi took the whistle with confusion, frowning at the Avatar. Bumi's frown vanished when he realized what the whistle was. It was the whistle he had Earthbended for Aang when he was a kid.

"You were right. I wasn't here for the world. Or for you." Aang continued and Bumi smiled at the whistle. "But I'm here now." Bumi slowly nodded at Aang with a small grin.

——

Later, Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Bumi walked out on the balcony the viewed the enter city and the lands outside the city. It was a gorgeous view.

"Your highness," One of the guards rushed over to Bumi. "We've called up the reinforcements."

"And...and... you doubled the guards on the walls?" Bumi asked.

"Yes, your Highness." The guard bowed his head.

"Good. Tell them I'll be there soon." Bumi informed the guard and he walked away.

"Wait, what's going on?" Aang asked.

"Fire Nation forces are on the move. They'll be here by dawn." Bumi explained.

"You're under attack?" Aang frowned.

"We will be, but we will be ready." Bumi remarked. "Fortunately, a source tipped us off."

Sai appeared next to Sokka and bowed his head.

"Sai?" Sokka grinned.

"The mechanist alerted the generals to a network of spies in the city. Helped us round them up." Bumi explained and the four smiled at Sai. "Now, all of you get out of here. The Avatar has places he has to be. We can take care of ourselves. It's time Omashu rejoined the wars." Bumi pointed at Aang. "But, I did have one more challenge for you."

Aang's eyes widened in horror, fearing the worst.

——

Turns out, the challenge was Bumi and Aang riding on the delivery system, crashing them and being a menace around the city. They happen to run into the cabbage man.

"My cabbages!"

——

Up Next: Spirited Away

These next two chapters will reveal some stuff about Aya.