And The Tide Turns
The fire was consuming me, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.
All of my world was red and burning right now.
I couldn't see. I didn't dare open my eyes, for fear of getting them burnt out, or being blinded by the fierce light.
I could only hold out my hands in a futile effort to delay the inevitable.
The blazing walls were closing in. Right now I was more terrified than I had ever been anywhere else in my life.
Soon, I'd be trapped against the cliff wall, and the flames would bring about my doom.
I had to fight back. Or escape. I couldn't die like this. I had friends to go back to – a new family to go home to – I couldn't leave my life in this way!
But it wasn't working. Ozai was right. I was too weak for this world…
I couldn't do it. I couldn't win. I couldn't enter the Avatar State. I couldn't be brave enough.
I couldn't let go…
I couldn't let go of my new family. My beliefs. My fears. And my failures.
And now, at the worst possible time, every mistake I made would come back crashing down on me.
Pain burst in my mind when something sharp punctured my back, and for a few moments I blacked out.
"Aang…"
That voice…
"Aang…"
I knew that voice.
It was the voice of the girl I loved. The girl that I would do anything for. The girl that I would hold close and dear to my heart and never let go. After all, isn't that what I told Guru Pathik?
"Aang, please…" another voice called to me in the darkness. It sounded like Sokka.
Slowly, I forced my eyes open. What I first noticed was the purple aural vision of myself in the Avatar State, against the stars of the night sky.
The spiritual chi path was open again. For some reason, I had another shot at entering the Avatar State. I had to take it this time.
As I started running, another of my friends' voices called out to me, and I stopped to turn around.
There they were, all together behind me. Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Toph, and Katara.
Suki had been the one to call out my name this time.
"What is it?" I asked my friends, suddenly feeling apprehensive inside, "Did we fail? Are we all… dead?"
"No," Suki spoke up again.
"But we were summoned here by the spirits of our ancestors to help you in your most dire time of need," Zuko said, stepping forward.
"Ozai's about to fry you, Aang," Toph stated simply. I was stunned, about how straightforward she was about my situation, and how close to death I must now be for her to directly address me by name rather than pet name.
Toph continued, "You've been given a second chance to unlock the Avatar State. At least, that's what Kyoshi told the rest of us back there before we met up with you."
"But you need to be decisive, Aang," Sokka interjected.
"You have to do your duty. To save us, and the world, you have to kill Ozai," Katara finally spoke to me, reaching out a hand to me, "You can end the war, Aang. Once you take his life, it will be all over. Peace will come, and this time it will last."
"But peace can never truly last, not in this world of mortals," I replied, looking unbelievingly at my friends, "There will always be someone else who wants all the power in the world. And after Ozai, what then? If some other tyrant comes along, will you all demand that I kill him too? Everyone deserves a second chance. There is something in everybody that is worth saving. I WILL end this war. But not by killing Ozai."
"Damn it, Aang!" snapped Sokka.
"Are you an idiot?" yelled Toph.
"No," Suki said sadly, "He's insane."
"He's childish and incompetent," Zuko remarked bitterly, "The world is doomed."
Katara stepped forward, her hands clasped against her chest, right over her heart.
"Please do it, Aang. Kill Ozai and bring balance back to the world, "Do it for everyone."
Katara gestured to the entire Earth that was floating behind them. Then she gestured to the rest of the group.
"Do it for us."
Katara took several more steps forward, closing the gap between us. She took my hands in hers.
"Do it for me."
I couldn't believe my ears. I yanked my hands away.
"Are you even listening to yourselves, you guys?! If there is a way to show mercy and compassion, even to the most hated people in the world, then a good person should take it!" I screamed at my friends, who slowly started backing away in fear. I wasn't finished, though.
"What good is it that I have a responsibility to keep the peace, if every solution is to kill off the monster, huh? That ISN'T peace. That's forcing me to choose between us or them. But you know what? I have a choice this time! I have a chance to make things right for both sides! And I'm gonna take it!"
One by one, my friends closed their eyes in bitter grief and disappointment, and started fading away to nothingness.
First Zuko. Then Toph. Then Sokka. Then Suki.
And finally, Katara started fading away too.
"Aang, please… I love you… Don't you love me?" she asked, her voice pleading and painfully timid.
"I'm sorry, Katara," I replied, my heart stricken with grief, "I do love you. But this time, I'm gonna do what's right."
And she too, closed her eyes in helpless resignation just as the darkness claimed her as well.
I turned away as the tears came flowing down my eyes.
Water. Like a river. Like an ocean. Magnificently beautiful, yet terrifyingly powerful all the same.
She taught me so well, and she loved me so much.
But this time, I would be facing my destiny alone.
I had to.
So I let go.
I let my fears go.
I let my people go.
I let my family go.
I let my dreams go.
I let them all go.
And so too, do I let her go.
A blinding light came over me, and somehow, I knew it was time to return to the fight.
It was time for me to win.
I saw my past lives.
I saw my lineage.
My chi paths started freely flowing with energy as I returned to the world of the living.
I had mastered my vices, my thoughts, and my emotions.
Mastery couldn't have come at a better time.
The Avatar State was mine, and so was the battle.
The tide had turned.
To this day, the Avatar fanbase still argues about how Aang was able to unlock the Avatar State completely in the finale.
I will put forward my own views on the matter.
Aang was able to let go of Katara in The Crossroads of Destiny. He unlocked his Avatar State, and it was simply because he was injured that it was locked for a time.
By choosing to take a moral high ground by trying to spare Ozai, Aang was seeking enlightenment, and his persistence was rewarded in the culmination of his Avatar State being returned to him.
Oh, and let's not forget that every one of Aang's friends was telling him to kill Ozai – including Katara. By saying "NO" to them and sticking to his guns, Aang showed that he was willing to let go of them to do what was right – hence why he was able to master the Avatar State for good this time.
Anyhow, I hope my interpretations shed a new light on things.
Also I hope that you've all enjoyed my first Avatar story!
Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a review.