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Kallak is awesome. I just find her irresistibly adorable and charming. With this minute yet crucial divergence from canon, how will this differ for our plucky young heroine?"
"We're the denied," the teenager declares proudly.
Boy, how the tables have turned, thought Aang as he easily bobbed and weaved out of range of her attacks. Still, he was doing mildly better than a certain hotheaded prince had once upon a time—if he did say so himself.
"JUST KILL HIM ALREADY!"
Aang barely registered the shout before a flame-lit arrow was loosed in his direction. Except it wasn't aimed at him.
His legs were already moving before his mind fully processed the situation. Arms spread wide, he attempted to tackle the now-petrified kid out of the arrow’s path. As his arms encircled her surprisingly thin waist, a piercing cry tore through the air. The girl suddenly grew limp in his grasp.
Trying to shield her from any further impact, Aang cradled her as close as he could. He twisted around as they fell so that he would take the brunt of the landing. With a grunt, they both crashed to the temple floor.
"H-hurts…" the Master of the Elements heard—just above a whimper—as he quickly checked the teen for further injuries.
"I know, little one, but I’m gonna get you help. You’ll see. Just hang on a little longer," Aang said, passing her what he hoped was a comforting smile, though it was tinged with worry.
"Ka—" the leader of the rogue group started, but the words died in her throat. She backed away silently. They had what they needed; who cared about some kid? Clutching the map close, she hopped aboard the stolen airship and gave the command to go.
Setting the limp girl down on a rock so he could examine her at least a little, Aang was immediately startled by the deafening crack of the temple base as it broke free of its foundation.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he muttered quickly. He secured the girl where he knew she wouldn’t be squashed, and not a second later propelled himself outside. Simultaneously, he erected two earth pillars and used airbending to try to push the steeple back up. Firmly rooting himself in the earth, he took a deep breath. Knowing time was of the essence, he entered the Avatar State, increasing his bending a hundredfold. With an extra grunt of force, he blasted the steeple upright, using air to hold and slide it back into place.
His job done, he raced back inside. Using air to gently carry the now severely injured girl toward Appa, he propelled her up as gently but as quickly as he thought safe. Within a minute—or a minute and a half—they were in the air, flying at breakneck speed toward the one person he trusted more than anything to see this young one through.
(Aang had situated his temporary charge inside a tiny, open-air earth cocoon so she wouldn’t jostle around too much.)