"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no! I am not going in that death trap!" I shrieked. Appa groaned in agreement.

Sokka growled, "Beth, everyone else is already inside. It's either this, or the Fire Nation." He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me inside the cave.

I dug my heels into the ground. "I'd rather take my chances with the human flamethrowers!" I was panting; the thought of being trapped in the labyrinth, combined with the nomads' music, set me over the edge.

Maybe Sokka could sense my fear, because his eyes softened, and he said, "It'll be okay. We'll be in and out. Just calm down." I took a deep breath and nodded. He led me and Appa into the cave.

A few moments later, an avalanche of boulders closed off the entrance.

"No! No, no, no ... " I ran to the entrance and started digging at the rocks. "I have to get out, I can't stay in here!" I whispered. Appa pawed at the tunnel walls. Maybe he's claustrophobic too. Katara stroked his shoulder.

"It's okay, buddy." She turned to me as I joined her. "You alright?"

I shook my head, "Not in the least bit."

Chong held up a torch. "These'll last around two hours each."

Lily started lighting the rest of the torches. "So that's ten hours!" Sokka grabbed them and stomped the fire out.

"Not if you light them all at once!" I yelled. She gave a sheepish smile.

Sokka pulled out a piece of paper and some sort of pen. "I'm making a map."

Katara and Aang shared an unsure look. I couldn't help but agree.

I'm a claustrophobic, trapped underground, with a claustrophobic flying bison, two optimists, a pessimist, and a bunch of idiots.

I'm going to die in here.

Aang placed a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?" I just shook my head.

We'd been in the tunnels for what felt like hours, and Sokka kept leading us to dead ends. I felt lightheaded from hyperventilating.

Sokka stopped again. "I don't get it. We've already been here."

Chong strummed his lute. "No maps. We just need love. Isn't that right, Arrowhead?"

Aang looked up, "Maybe, but I'd still like a map."

Sokka turned around slowly. "Guys, you're going to think I'm crazy, but ... I think the tunnels are changing."

Just then, the walls shook around us. Dust fell and settled on our heads and shoulders. My knees buckled, and I slid down the wall. "When I said I wanted to know how Percy felt in the Labyrinth, this is not what I meant."

Chong spun around. "Oh, no! I knew it, this was a bad idea! We should never have come!"

"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Sokka muttered.

Katara held up a hand. "Shh. Do you guys hear that?" A snarl reverberated through the tunnels. Momo jumped off of Sokka's shoulder and into my arms. Sokka slowly lifted his torch.

Suddenly, this thing shot out of the darkness. It had the body of a wolf, the snout of a hog, and ... bat wings?

"What is that?!" I screamed, ducking as it flew overhead.

"Wolfbat!" Moku bellowed. The "wolfbat" flew toward Sokka. Panicked, he swung his torch at it. It worked, partially; the wolfbat disappeared, but cinders landed on Appa, causing him to run into the walls. Rocks rained down from the ceiling.

I was thrown back, as were Sokka and the nomads. Aang turned around and pushed Katara. Then my view of them was blocked by the rocks.

"No!" Sokka sprung forward and tried to dig through the barrier. "Katara! Aang!"

I clutched my head. This was all too much. I could feel the walls closing in on me, the suffocating feeling of being trapped. I couldn't breathe.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Chong said, looking at me. "You have us, right?"

I started sobbing.

Chong and the nomads were singing. Again. Sokka walked next to me, patting my back as I hiccupped. I clutched Momo like a teddy bear.

"Claustrophobia?" he guessed. I nodded. "We'll be out of here soon."

I swallowed, "I've never reacted like this before. Usually it's just fear and hyperventilation. But this, hysteria and difficulty breathing? This is new."

Sokka glowered at his map. "I'll get us out. But we just hit another dead end."

Moku threw up his hands. "Great job, Sokka!" Sokka clenched his jaw.

I glared at Moku. "It's not his fault. This labyrinth is so confusing ..."

"Yeah! At least I'm trying to come up with a way to get us out!" Sokka yelled.

Chong stepped between them. "Guys, I have an idea?"

"What?"

He smiled and strummed his lute. "I think we have to play a love song!" He sang, and Sokka smacked his forehead. I patted his shoulder.

"So ... I've got a question," I began.

"Ask away," he groaned.

"What did Aang mean by 'I don't look like a normal person'?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's pretty obvious. I mean, look at you!"

I blinked, "Excuse me?" Sokka stepped back.

"No, I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's just, well, your clothes are weird, you've got Fire Nation skin and Water Tribe eyes, and I've never seen hair that color," he finished.

I gaped at him. "Wow. Just ... wow." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, thank you for being honest with me."

"Now it's my turn. How did you know about Aang needing to learn earthbending?"

I fiddled with Momo's ears. "That's a long and rather complicated story that you might not want to hear ..." Before he could reply, I held up a finger. "Quiet. I can hear something." Low growls filled the tunnel. Not again!

Wolfbats raced toward us, beating their wings at a frantic pace. Sokka waved his hands around and shouted. The wolfbats shot past him.

"You did it!" Chong praised.

Sokka frowned, "I don't think so. There's something else ..."

"What?" I whispered. A rumble drowned out my voice. A crack ran up the wall. "Oh, no."

The wall busted open, two giant creatures crashing into the room. "What're those?!" I shouted. Sokka grabbed my elbow and pulled me out of the way.

"Badgermoles!" One of the creatures clapped its paws together, and a wall of rock shot up to the ceiling, closing the tunnel. The other slammed its paws into the ground, making more rock rise and block the other exits. "We're trapped!"

"No duh, Sokka!" I rolled out of the way as the badgermole swung its paw at me. The other stomped its foot. The ground cracked open, separating me and Sokka from the nomads.

A badgermole swung at Sokka, tossing him back. "Sokka!" It stepped toward him, and he reached back, accidentally strumming Chong's lute. He had taken it from Chong a while ago.

The badgermole tilted it's head. Sokka strummed the lute again, causing the creatures to quiet down.

"Music. They like music," I whispered. "Sokka, play some more!" He plucked the strings.

"A little help, you guys?" he whimpered.

"Um ... Please don't eat Sokka! Majestic, earthbending badgermole, listen to his music," I sang, making frantic gestures. Chong caught on.

"Yeah, pretty badgermoles, please be nice!" he sang. Sokka slowly moved to the side of a badgermole and climbed on top of it. Sokka, you might actually be smarter than you look!

"Aang! Katara!" I yelled, a goofy smile on my face. Sokka had music-hypnotized the badgermoles. Then we climbed onto them and rode them to the exit.

Katara ran up to us. Sokka dismounted, then helped me down. "Are you okay? How'd you get out?" I asked.

Aang, with a sheepish smile, replied, "Love."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Oh. We had badgermoles." He turned and waved to the receding badgermoles, who trudged back into the cave and earthbent a wall, sealing the cave.

I left Sokka with Katara and walked over to the nomads with Aang. "You guys coming with us?" He asked. Moku shook his head. "Okay. Thanks." They walked away, and we joined Sokka and Katara. Chong gave Sokka a flower necklace and hugged him, then walked away singing about love. Aang looked at Katara. Sokka crossed his arms, and Katara blushed. I giggled.

Something happened between those two in the tunnels. I smirked at Katara as I climbed onto Appa's saddle.

We walked up the mountainside. Aang had told me that Omashu was on the other side.

"I gotta say, being in that labyrinth did absolutely nothing to help with my phobia. I never want to go underground again." I declared.

Aang shuddered, "Yeah, me too. At least the nomads were nice."

I scowled, "We wouldn't have been trapped in those tunnels if we'd never met them."

"She's got a point," Sokka agreed. He stepped over the ridge. "Finally! Welcome to Oma-"

"Oh, no," I murmured, staring at the city before me, at the entrance with a Fire Nation flag.

Omashu had been captured by our enemies.