The war was over. Finally, there was the peace in the world that everyone longed for. Aang however, felt like he wasn't done his job as avatar. He wanted to go see the world again. Spread the word that the fire nation has been defeated and that their deadly threat was no longer among them. This was a new beginning, the start of a new life. This was a second chance.
Katara was now one of the greatest waterbenders that ever existed; Aang mastered all four elements and knew his place in the world. Toph was legendary back in the earth kingdom due to her being blind, and still one of the greatest earthbenders in the earth kingdom. Sokka and Suki were complete masters when it came to swordsmanship and warrior fighting. Zuko was now the fire lord. He knew his duty was to stay in the fire nation and guide his people into being a peaceful nation it once was. Everything was right in the world. Everything felt balanced and felt free. The world was now how it should've been. Everything was right.
"So where do you want to go first Aang?" Katara asked, tying her hair into a ponytail. She and Aang have gotten closer since the ex fire lord was defeated. They were now a couple, as well as Sokka and Suki.
"Eh, I don't know. I was thinking maybe we can go back to the North Pole. We haven't been there in forever." Aang answered her, lying down on the hard ground next to Appa.
That sentence felt like a stab in the heart for Sokka. To the group, the North Pole is a beautiful, legendary place. But for the southern water tribe boy, it was nothing but a painful memory he's been trying to avoid. "I don't know Aang, the North Pole is…um...a little cold, and Suki and Toph don't have the proper clothing to go there." He spoke out, not wanting to make it obvious he didn't want to go.
"Hey, we're good. Suki and I aren't little babies. We can handle a bit of cold. Plus, Katara has extra coats, we'll be fine." Toph explained as Suki nodded in agreement.
"I still think it's a bad idea. We should take it easy for a few days. We need rest. We can't just start something new right away." Sokka snapped at them, sounding defensive.
"What's with you?" Suki asked her boyfriend as she walked to him, hugging him from behind, trying to comfort him.
"Nothing." Sokka nudged away from her embrace and walked away slowly, leaving Suki and the others with confused looks on their faces.
"He's lying…" Toph said softly.
Yue…Yue wake up.
"Hmm…?" The tribal princess awoke, to be greeted by Tui, the original moon spirit. They were somewhere Yue has never seen before. They were surrounded by pure darkness. The only light that shone was Tui's white glow. She, however, didn't shine like she used to.
"You're free Yue. The fire nation has been defeated, and I have regained my original power. You are no longer needed to restore the balance in this world. You can be mortal again, if you desire." Tui explained with a slight smile.
Yue paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to respond. "I…" The princess began, but couldn't even finish her sentence as the feeling of being overwhelmed filled her as tears built up in her eyes. They were happy tears. She could finally go back to the life she had before her sacrifice. She could be able to be seen again, see the people she loved again... see Sokka again.
"I'll take that as a yes." Tui responded. "Princess Yue, thank you for your sacrifice. We will meet again." Tui spoke for a final time, before slowly beginning to vanish.
"Wait! How do I-"But it was too late, Tui was gone. "Get back…?"She sat in deep thought. Now what? What do I do? Where do I go? How do I get out of here?
But out of nowhere, the princess felt a sort of pain she's never felt before. She felt like something was getting pulled out of her. Like something was fighting to be let out. Her head became light, as the pressure built up. She then passed out.
The Gaang was now flying on Appa. They ignored Sokka's request to not go to the North Pole. They took a vote, and went with the majority.
"How long have we been flying, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked, extending her feet in the air to stretch them out.
"Two days. But don't worry, we'll be there soon. We're really close." Aang smiled at her. "But Toph, won't you be blind? The whole place is ice. You won't be able to see at all." Aang added, sounding concerned about the blind earth bender.
"Way ahead of you. I have this!" Toph said, pulling out a medium sized boulder from her bag she had lying next to her with a huge grin on her face. "It's the meteor Sokka gave me when he was making his sword back in the fire nation. I'll just bend this wherever I walk." She began as she bended the rock into various shapes "It's simple. I'll just keep steping on this and that'll be enough. Plus, this space earth works wonders. It's so much easier to see with this. It's like magic!" Toph giggled while putting the rock back in her bag, then looked in the direction of Sokka and smiled. "Thanks for giving it to me."
"Yup. You're welcome." Sokka said, turning his head away from the group. He felt hurt, angry and frustrated. Not only did the group completely ignore Sokka's request to rest a few days so easily, but going back to the North Pole was something Sokka never wanted to do after he lost the woman he loved. The group thought he forgot about her by now, but he didn't. He knew he could never forget her, he knew he would always love her no matter what. That was one of the burdens Sokka carried with him every day. He knew he should only be in love with Suki, Yue's dead. But it didn't change anything. He stilled loved Yue. The hole that was ripped out of his heart the day she died was still there. He longed to see her again, to hold her again, and to feel her lips on his again.
"We're here!" Katara squealed from excitement as Appa flew over the protective ice gate and landed on the cold icy floor. "Urgh, it's beautiful! It hasn't changed a bit."
She was right, Sokka thought, it hasn't changed at all. It looked the exact same as it did before the siege of the north happened.
"What are we standing here for? Let's go look around." Suki said, getting off Appa and pulling Sokka down with her. Toph already was down; testing the meteor Sokka gave her and walked on it. Suki could tell she could see just fine with it and saw the expression of happiness and shock on her face when she felt how big and beautiful it was.
"Let's go guys!" Aang called out, as the group began to walk and roam the city, leaving Appa at the gate where northern water tribe children started playing with him.
Sokka had nothing but memories and flashbacks scream through his mind. He remembered walking in the area the group was standing on trying to ask Yue to 'do an activity' with him, then falling into the water. He still felt the butterflied he had when she agreed to go out with him.
"This place is beautiful." Suki said, gripping Sokka's hand.
"Yeah...she is…" Sokka whispered to himself as he remembered what he said when he saw Yue for the first time. He was trying to keep it together. He hated being in the North Pole. All he wanted to do was run away from it as fast as he could. He felt so much pain in his heart. They've only been there for five minutes and already he thought he just couldn't handle it. He felt lost. His emotions were scattered. Not only did he already feel terrible because he felt like he was betraying Suki for loving another, but also betraying Yue for being with someone else.
The Gaang continued to walk the path. But didn't notice Sokka's silent, single tear roll down his cheek as he stared at the ice floor.
"Urgh…" Yue woke up. She felt dizzy, like she was hit in the head a million times. "Where...where am I?" She raised her hand in front of her face.
Yue then realized where she was. She was at the spirit oasis in the North Pole. A smile came across her face as she felt the best she's ever felt in a long time. She no longer glowed, floated or was transparent. She was human again. The dizziness she felt wasn't important anymore. All she felt was pure happiness and joy like she didn't care what else was in her way.
She stood up on her feet and stumbled a bit due to this being her first time on solid ground in a while, but eventually getting her balance back. Her white hair hung down her chest and was still in her usual braids and loopie at the top of her head. She noticed she was dressed in her royal water tribe coat. The one she died in. She wanted to go see her father, but knew if she went out in public, she would scare her people by her being back from the spirit world. She died. She was still dead to her tribe. She touched her fur coat and new she couldn't go out with this. Her people would notice her. They knew how she dressed, and how her hair was. She had to do some fixing.
After a while, Yue looked at herself in the pond. Tui and La were still circling each other in an eternal dance. She smiled and looked at her reflection in the water. She removed her hair ties she had and stuffed her loose hair in the back of her dress, trying to hide the white color. She managed to completely transform her coat into a light dress. The fur was now thinly around the hood of the dress and going down her chest, hugging her body and showing off a small amount of curves she had. The dress remained long and the original purple-blue color. She put the hood on, completely covering her forehead, making sure no hair showed, and only exposing her deep blue eyes.
She glanced at herself one last time, making sure no one would recognise. "Okay…" she confirmed her disguise was decent enough, then looked down at the grass at her feet. She felt nervous; she hasn't seen her dad in what seemed like forever. She needed to leave now and get to her home as fast as possible.
Yue left the spirit oasis and was now roaming the ice streets. She saw the gondola she once road on before she died. She saw the bridge she once went to, to look at the moon. That was the bridge Sokka and herself had their first kiss with each other. She felt like a dagger went straight through her chest and her eyes filled with tears, remembering the memory of the boy she still loved. She couldn't even see properly. Her vision was now extremely blurred due to the amount of tears she tried to keep from falling, but she continued walking anyway. She saw figures walking in her direction. She yanked on her hood and pulled it down harder; making sure nothing was shown to reveal her identity. She counted the amount of figures she saw. Five people and they were completely blocking the pathway she needed to go through, but decided to just try and squeeze by them, as she approached, she harshly wiped her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears she had. She wasn't going to let her people see her cry. When her eyes recovered from the pressure, the five people were making her way around her.
Is that….Katara? She thought to herself as she passed a water tribe girl. No. No it can't be her. Avatar Aang is in the fire nation. They just won the war. What could they be doing in the North Pole? They can't be here. Use your common sense. She brushed the thought off her mind and continued walking, trying to get passed the others.
"Ouch…" She whispered as she was nudged by a boy. Clearly not watching where he was going.
"Sorry, I-" The boy spoke, looking at her, then stopping as if he got the wind knocked out of him.
She too looked up to see what he had to say. Then she saw him. She knew that face better than she knew her own. She felt her heart sink into her stomach as her body became tense. She ran away.
He didn't even bother to look up. What was the point? All he would see were memories and heartbreak. All he could think about was her. The North Pole was like a black hole to him. He saw no point in being here.
He walked behind everyone else, while they admired the city he once thought was beautiful.
He noticed Suki, who was closest to him, move toward the side of the path. Not thinking about why she could be doing so, Sokka kept his way and didn't move an inch.
Then he felt a small, yet firm nudge on his shoulder. He knew he hit someone.
"Sorry, I-"Then he froze.
His eyes narrowed. His heart rose to his throat, his head became dazed as the woman's eyes looked back to his. He knew her.
The girl ran off, Sokka still stood there watching her. He felt like he couldn't move, like he was frozen there for eternity. His eyes became heavy as they filled with water. No, Sokka. Not here. Not now. Not in front of your friends. Keep it together. He told himself the same thing over and over. He refused to let the tears fall.
"Sokka, why'd you stop? Did that lady hurt you or something?" Toph asked as she felt the vibration of Sokka stop in its tracks, causing the Gaang to put their attention on him. Still, his eyes remained still at the path the girl took.
"Sokka? Sokka!" Aang asked as he waved his hands in front of his friends face.
"Sokka, what's wrong? What happened?" Katara asked her brother.
The group formed a circle around him, still curious and worried about what he was experiencing.
"You look like you've seen a ghost or something…" Suki added.
"She…" Sokka whispered, and hung his head low, looking back at the floor, causing the group to lean in closer to him.
"She had her eyes."