This isn't happening. It can't be. If this is reality, and not some horrible nightmare come to haunt my sleep, then I am shattered.
Seconds earlier, the relief was flooding through me. Seconds earlier, I felt the pang of joy and pride I so often feel when things go right. Seconds earlier, he was alive.
But right now, in this moment of complete terror, I am broken. I watch his body writhe and contort as the lightning courses through his every vein. Then he falls...down, down, down.
My own body reacts purely out of instinct. I have to catch him. I summon a wave, larger than any other I have made on my own, to carry me to him. I don't care who I sink, who I drown in my path. All I know is that I need to catch him.
I get to him moments before he makes a headfirst impact with the stone ground. I hold him in my arms. I look at his face and know that this is my worst nightmare become reality. There's just...nothing. His face is stone, frozen...dead.
He is heavy in my arms. I had always imagined him to be as light as the air he so effortlessly controls. But in this moment, he is heavy and cold.
Even through the blurred vision of my tear stricken eyes, I am able to see the Fire Prince and Princess, along with dozens of Dai Lee agents, begin to converge on me. I am defenseless. With Aang in my arms, there is nothing I can do but await the burning impact that is sure to mean my end.
Suddenly, a wave of fire erupts in front of me, cutting me off from the approaching enemies. I see what I have gathered to be Zuko's uncle jump out in front of me...but he isn't facing me. It looks as if he is standing to defend Aang and I!
"You've got to get out of here!" he yells to me. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"
There is no time to ask questions or thank the man for his rescue. I put Aang's arm around my shoulder and half carry, half drag him to the nearby waterfall. I make my element encircle us and lift us out of the underground cave.
The slightest hint of relief hits me when I see Appa flying just overhead, close enough for me to land on his head.
Sokka is sitting at the reins when I land, with Toph, Momo, the Earth King, and Bosco on Appa's back. Sokka takes one look at Aang and I watch a myriad of emotions cloud his face. I see shock, horror, pain...and sadness. I see the kind of sadness I haven't seen on his face since our mother died. I imagine my face mirrors his.
"Katara, is there anything you can do?" he asks me.
"I don't know."
There has to be something...anything. I have to save him. I can't lose him, not now, not ever. Suddenly, an idea hits me.
"Sokka, give me some space." I tell him. He quickly moves onto Appa's back with the others.
As gently as I can, I lean Aang against the front of Appa's back. Please let this work, I pray to the spirits. I remove the vile of spirit water that Master Pakku gave me from around my neck. I'm not exactly sure what to do, so I guess.
I bend the water from the vile and make it whirl around in a small circle just above my hand. The water begins to glow and eerie white, and I hope to the spirits that that means it's working.
I lean Aang forward so that his head rests just beside my shoulder in order for me to see his wound. It is the most horrible sight I have ever seen. Raw flesh torn open, leaving a gaping hole in his back where the lightning entered. The light from the water only acts to sharpen the details of the wound. I know in this moment that it will scar, no matter the amount of healing water used on it. I may not be able to heal the superficial damage, but maybe I can still save what is left below the surface.
I will the water onto the wound and focus every biting ounce of strength in me to heal him. I now Sokka and the Earth Kind are watching my every move and that Toph is no doubt listening intently for any signs of success, but right now, in this moment, it is just me, and Aang.
The water makes one final lustrous glow on the fallen Avatar's back before fading away entirely. The wound is still there. He is still dead. I failed.
I hold him close as I begin to cry. This can't be happening. This isn't happening! Aang can't be dead...he just...can't. All the things I left unsaid, all the things we have yet to accomplish, all the moments, memories, stories, laughs, adventures...never to be.
All of these crippling thoughts rush through my mind as I hold him. The world will mourn the fallen Avatar, but I will mourn Aang, the sweet, goofy, but wise monk with stormy grey eyes and a laugh that could bring light to anyone's darkest days.
Suddenly, a great light illuminates the tattoos that line his body. It happens so fast that I almost miss it. Then he lets out a groan. That hoarse, painful groan must be the best sound that I have ever heard.
I pull his face from my shoulder. When I see those stormy grey orbs looking back at me, I'm taken back to the moment I first discovered them, back to the first time I was fascinated by this incredible person before me, back to the very beginning.
A smile comes to his face, and in this moment, I know he will be ok. I pull him into a hug and close my eyes, never intending to let go. Aang is alive. He's here, he's breathing, and he's alive. I know that the events that happened tonight...they will leave more than just a physical scar. He will be broken, he will be shattered... but he will be alive.