I coughed as the dust settled but refused to leave my lungs, and my head was throbbing. I was beginning to worry that I should have let when Katara heal me when she had tried to. I looked up to find yet another barricade in front of us. Sokka was furiously digging at the rocks. I looked around and finally understood why he was in such a frenzy: Katara and Aang were on the other side.
"Yeah, it's no use," Chung sighed. "We're separated."
"It'll be okay," I said as I stood onto my wobbly legs, walking like a newborn sabretooth moose lion to join Sokkka's side. I rested my hand on Sokka's shoulder, mostly to support and balance myself. "They're together. They'll protect each other and find a way out. We need to do the same."
"And, besides, you still have us!" Chung said gleefully.
Feeling Sokka cringe, I said quietly, "On the bright side, you still have me, so you don't have to suffer through them alone." He exhaled, placing his hand over mine and whispering, "Thank you."
We had only been walking for ten minutes when Chung and his gang decided that it was time to sing again:
"Oh! Don't let the cave-in get you down!
Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown.
Through the tunnels and it's dark,
That's when you need a clown, hey!"
Leaning over to his, Chung gave a toothy grin as he concluded his song. "Don't let the cave-in get you down, Sokka - and girl who's name I still don't know!"
Sokka's eyebrows furrowed across his forehead, his hand clenching tye torch. "If I have to hear one more song..." he muttered.
"Hey," I whispered back. "We'll get out of here soon enough. In the meantime, just focus on guiding and trying to find our exit." He nodded, and we trudged on.
Chung initiated an encore, but to no avail. Before he'd a chance to play more than one note, I snatched the instrument from his hands. "Hey!" he protested, reaching for it like a toddler.
I held the instrument up near the torch, not breaking eye contact. "There will be no more singing; There will be no more music. By the Spirits, you can either help us or find your own way out! Do I make myself clear?" When he nodded silently, I handed it back to him, and we continued our search.
About five minutes passed before we had reached yet another dead end, which Moku was not hesitant to complain about. "Oh, great! Your plans have led us to another dead end!" He whined.
"At least I'm coming up with ideas and trying to get us out of here, Moku," Sokka replied, exasperated.
"Wait a minute," Chung cut in. "We're coming up with ideas? I've had an idea for, like, an hour now."
Sokka threw his hands up in frustration, his voice rising to a prepubescent-like crack. "Yes!! We are all coming up with ideas!"
"Well, listen to this," Chung said. In that moment, I'd begun to think that this man may have been smarter than I gave him credit for. "If love is the key out of here, then all we need to do is play a love song!"
And just like that, he'd ruined the hope I'd had in him. I looked at Sokka, whose eye twitched slightly. I then wished that I had just burned the damned instrument when I had it in my hands. Sokka clearly thought the same thing as he slapped his palm against his forehead.
The singing group of nomads had already began their parade through the tunnels. As much as we wanted them to leave us, Sokka and I knew that we had to remain with them. Mainly because they were carrying the rest of the torches. Their music bounced off of the walls, Chung's voice echoing through the dark tunnels:
![Fire | Distorted Reality [ 1 ] | ATLA by hatsumix](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/234281762-80-k549612.jpg)
![༄𖦹𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐲𖦹༄ [𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏] by RoseCarnation1](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/388020925-80-k913165.jpg)
"Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love because it's in your heart."
I looked over at Sokka, who had slapped his forehead once again, and I laughed softly to myself. I was suddenly reminded of Zuko's constant resistance to Music Night on the ship. Oh, what I would give to have those days back.
Sokka's hand grazed my forearm. "Are you alright?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" He gave a concerned look, making me feel defeated. This time was as good as any to break the news of my departure. "Well, to be honest, I - "
A familiar hissing rendered our group into a silent halt. The hissing grew into a vicious screech, multiplying into a high-pitched roar. Lily held out the torch to light the area in front of, revealing a hoard of wolfbats stampeding in our direction. The wolfbats leaped into the air, passing us without giving a second thought. Sokka, of course, still flailed.
"Hah, hey, you saved us, Sokka!" Chung smiled.
Sokka shook his head. "No," he frowned. "They were trying to get away from something."
"From what?" Chung and I asked in unison.
On cue, there was another rumbling. As if there was going to be another cave-in. Was there? Were we going to havr yet another barricade to try to get around?
No, that wasn't the case. Though, I can't say whether or not we were fortunate that it wasn't.
Next to us, the tunnel wall exploded into dust and rock as a giant badgermole rammed its way through. I had only seen these creatures in paintings, depicting them as the first earthbenders. Never had I imagined that they would be the size of Appa. In came another badgermole, both of them on either side of us now. They stomped around, unhappy about a group of strangers. The impact knocked Sokka onto the ground. I was in no condition to try and run for him. I could barely keep my balance on the shaking ground.
Sokka yelped as one of them came closer to him, backing him against the tunnel wall, where his hand accidentally plucked a string on Chung's dropped instrument.
Suddenly, everything was at peace. The badgermoles look curiously at Sokka. They were intrigued by the strange sound.
"They're music lovers!" Chung beamed.
Sokka and I looked at each other. What do I do?, he mouthed.
Play the thing!, I mouth back, gesturing by playing an imaginary instrument. Play it!
He hesitantly picked it up and began playing, picking each string with a little more confidence as he continued. With another pubecent crack of his voice, he began singing. "Badgermoles coming towards me," he looked back at us. "Come on guys, help me out."
Needing no more explanation, Chung grabbed another instrument and began playing. "Badgermoles, who live in the tunnels...." I didn't hear much else of the song. I was too busy watching the effect it had on the badgermoles. They were utterly mesmerized by the music. Sokka took advantage of this opportunity, shouting for everyone to climb onto the animals' backs. The badgermoles marched through tunnels to the ballad that filled the air.
"Never would I have guessed that the most annoying thing would save us," I laughed.
"Yeah," Sokka shrugged. "I guess Chung isn't half bad."
"Oh, no, Sokka. I was talking about you."
"What?!" he squaked.
I laughed, nudging him. "I'm kidding!"
Moments later, the badgermoles dug through the walls, and the outside light spilled in. I winced and shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand. Looking up at us were two familiar faces, stricken with confusion and astonishment.
"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked as he slid down the side of our badgermole.
"Just like the legend says," Aang smiled and shrugged. "You let love lead the way."
"Really?" I asked, nearly falling as I slid not-so-gracefully down the badgermole.
"We let huge, ferocious beasts lead our way," Sokka commented. He turned and waved goodbye to the badgermoles, and everyone followed suit.
The three of them exchanged hugs, which I was more than happy to stay out of. I'd had my fair share of feeling closed in for one day. However, once Katara noticed that I was excluded, she grabbed my wrist and yanked me into the group hug. Once we dispersed, she looked at her older brother and asked, "Why is your forehead all red?"
Chung, who'd overheard, leaned over and said, "Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you, but I think that kid might be the Avatar." It didn't come to a shock that he was gesturing towards Sokka instead of Aang, but Sokka still slapped his palm against his forehead again.
What an interesting man, Chu
