Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Silent Sky

He was breathless. He was distressed. He was being toyed around by fate. More specifically, he was being chased through an unidentified realm. The atmosphere wasn't necessarily something he would classify as the spirit world, despite how everything seemed secluded away from him. But what mattered now was that he was running for something….for someone.

His heartbeat leaped violently as he dodged his way faster through the broken pathway, stepping onto a nearby ring unusually similar to those of the earthbending tournaments. He could hear Katara's voice not so far away, her tone dwindling and rising, all the while striving to call out his name.

"Aang!"

Wait a minute. Something about Katara's tone was so familiar. As if everything felt like déjà vu.

"Katara! Where are you?!"

Suddenly, he a shadow of someone through a blinding haze. There it was, standing right in the middle of the tournament ring. Its deep, masculine voice laughed sinisterly at him. But who was it? And where was Katara?

The other earthbenders waited for the man's orders, ready to strike the airbender in their stances. The man's eyes squinted as his roaring voice boomed throughout the arena.

"Men! Attack the Avatar!"

Aang's eyes widened. It was General Fong. And he was back.

"Avatar Aang?"

Aang flashed his eyes open abruptly, only to be gawked at by one of the servants of the Fire Nation royal palace.

'Good…it was just a dream…' Aang thought in relief as he turned away from his silk bolster.

"Are you alright?" came the servant's voice.

The young monk sat up and nodded, wiping the sleep away from his eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, thank you."

"The royal banquet will be starting soon." The servant said in his humble tone. He set a teacup on his bedside table. "The Firelord is waiting for your assistance. Your friends are to depart to Ba Sing Se within two hours as per the Earth King's request."

Great. Another banquet. Why not?

As the servant waited, Aang's eyes darted to the portrait of Katara that stood next to the tea set on his bedside table. He thought long and hard about his nightmare, imagining Katara's smiling face. And with a sigh, he whispered. "Tell them I will be there soon, please."

...

"It's Team Avatar!"

"Oh my!"

"It's so good to see them all here!"

"Aren't they amazing?!"

"Wait! Where's Avatar Aang?!"

The crowd suddenly went wild as they saw Katara of the Southern Water Tribe making her way to the center of the pandemonium with a huge, but nervous smile. Closely following her was none other than the beloved Water Tribe warrior, Sokka. Although he lacked the sword and boomerang from the battle, he never ceased showing off his skills with one crutch in hand. Toph, on the other hand, wasn't too amused with the overwhelming crowd, but even she couldn't help flashing a victorious smile every now and then.

The villagers from all four nations charged towards the Earth Kingdom palace in efforts to catch a glimpse of the Avatar and his comrades. It had only been a few days since the war was completely obliterated by Aang's great victory. Then again, not all kingdoms were given the opportunity to receive the grace of spotting him and expressing their delights.

In honor of that, it wasn't a surprise that the Earth King decided to arrange yet another banquet. This time, it wasn't just fancy robes and rich visitors anymore…it was to be everyone (who remembered to bring an invitation of course.) Hence, the entire palace was filled with all kinds of randomness and festivity. So unappealing it was at some extents that it was a mere surprise to see Firelord Zuko's temper miraculously making way for them all. But the problem…Aang wasn't here yet.

"This is going to be so great! Isn't it, Mai?" chimed in a nearby Ty Lee's optimistic voice. "It's my first banquet as a Kyoshi warrior."

The Firelord's girlfriend replied with a sigh. "It's nice to see you're enjoying yourself." She stated to her friend bluntly. "But it's not so surprising to see you pose with that make-up.

"It will be nice, Mai." Said Suki as she entered the banquet hall. "You should join us."

"Oh, come on! Do you want me to get Zuko again?" Ty Lee asked.

A familiar growl interrupted the trio's musings as Ty Lee's face brightened. "Hey, Basco!"

The Earth King's bear nuzzled her cheek, expecting another acrobatic lesson as Mai backed away in disgust.

"And how do you know him?" Suki asked incredulously.

"Trust me, that's a long story." Mai said, facing her childhood friend next. "Are you seriously going to cuddle with that thing, Ty Lee?"

"But he's cute, Mai! Basco, lift your front paws up! No, not like that." Ty Lee demonstrated a simple move as the bear imitated it with very little difficulty. "Good boy!"

"I'll be next to the food section if you guys need me." Mai escaped, leaving the two behind.

...

Not far away was the Earth King himself, rushing towards Sokka and Toph with outstretched arms. "It is an honor to see you both here." he said, embracing him. "I thought we were doomed after the Invasion!"

"Team Avatar has its strategies, if I do say so myself." Sokka boasted. "But really, it was all Aang."

"Ba Sing Se has never been happier!" said a nearby general.

"Looks like you did need the Avatar's help after all." Sokka remarked, highly entertained as he recognized the general from their drill adventure.

"And it's not like we did it only for Ba Sing Se." Toph interjected, crossing her arms in memory of her hatred for the city's rules. "Loser Lord really deserved some pounding."

The Earth King raised his eyebrows. "Say who now?"

"Anyway, no problem." Sokka said, breaking the awkward silence. "As long as your little 'Na Sing Se' is safe."

"Well…" the general said sheepishly.

"We would like to discuss the further attributions of the Ba Sing Se military forces-" the Earth King began.

"Sorry, but usually Twinkletoes deals with all that." Toph said, getting impatient. She blew her bangs out of the way as Sokka cast a tired side glance towards her.

"Please, just hear us out." The king protested.

The general unfolded a scroll from his pocket and started to read in his monotone voice. "The army's division has been complaining recently about our-"

"Oh boy…" Sokka said, not surprised as he found Toph snoring on his shoulder a second later.

...

Katara was lost in her own world, leaning against the royal Earth Kingdom tapestries. She flashed familiar friends a small smile every now and then, but only the spirits themselves could read the longing on her face. The hours were painfully long and perpetual; she having to stand nonchalantly through all the million greetings and tackles just to hide the wish that Aang would be here. Some moments were pleasant, as she was used to being alone after the meetings hit hard on Team Avatar.

Her attire consisted of a beautiful, silk dress the hue of lotus blossoms, wavering down to the floor with grace and ease. A splash of pearls encircled the rim at the very bottom, accompanying the other patterns of beads that encased the Water Tribe beauty. Her hair was down, falling like a dangling, midnight waterfall behind her. Her earrings swayed to the gentle music that the famous musicians of Ba Sing Se conducted in the opposite corner of the palace. And even though her feet tapped lightly to the music, a disheartened sigh escaped her lips.

A figure in a long cloak walked hastily towards her, his face darkened by the cloak's hood. Katara pretended not to notice him, as she was tired of her fake optimism for the visitors. She suddenly jumped as he whispered quickly.

"Excuse me, Miss Katara?"

"Yes?" she turned to face the owner of the voice. Her eyes widened as she was pulled aside, but she managed a wide smile as the owner of the cloak revealed himself. "Aang?"

The airbender's fun-loving storm eyes sparkled as he grinned and gave her a swift peck on the cheeks. "At your service, Sifu Katara."

"What took you so long?" she asked, somewhat surprised at his disguise. "And what's with the…sudden transformation?"

Aang answered her with a shrug as he tried not to think about his dream. "Sorry, I had to sneak past Koko and the others."

"Oh." Katara said, nudging him and holding back her laughter. "Like that was a surprise."

"Hey, it's not like I'm wearing a beard like Sokka did back at the dance party." He defended playfully. "And trust me, as much as I like the marble trick, I don't want to spend an entire day doing that any time soon."

Katara giggled. "Is that so?"

"Frankly, I could use a break from the generals' preaches as well."

As soon as he said that, a group of nervous soldiers rushed towards the couple, exchanging tensed glances. They gripped onto their blades as they neared the fairly surprised Avatar, bowing deeply. "It is an honor to see you, Avatar Aang."

"Good to see you, too." Aang answered with slight cheerfulness. "Please enjoy the banquet. I would hate to stress you out with requesting to keep your eyes on the alert. I assure you there's nothing to be afraid of."

"That is simply your kindness, Avatar." said one soldier. "But we have orders from the higher authority to provide you and Master Katara with tight security."

Katara seemed a little startled, but Aang wasn't perturbed in the least. "I assure you the Ba Sing Se palace is heavily guarded at the moment." He assured in his good natured way.

"I suppose you're right." Another soldier gave in, but was nudged by another.

"Yes. But we have also received word that General Fong will be present here."

Aang and Katara exchanged stunned expressions even though this shouldn't really have been a surprise.

"This should be interesting." Katara said, trying to be casual.

"I guess so." Aang answered firmly, the cheerfulness vanishing for a brief moment

A lone shadow walked up to the two of them barely a moment after the Avatar spoke those words. It remained unnoticed, shaped in the silhouette of yet another general as it slowly took small steps in reaching the couple through the engulfing crowd. A billowing cape extended from the shadow's shoulders, brushing the ground behind him and perfectly complimenting the darkness in his eyes. And it was no ordinary darkness…one that sparked in the presence of the victorious attribute and humbled when in the feel of the wounded tiger.

Aang's eyes hardened as he saw the figure, the antagonist of his dream returning to reality. He gave Katara's hand a gentle squeeze as she, too, stood alert.

The general stood, defeated, before the Avatar and the master waterbender. He hesitated at first before he bowed and greeted, "Avatar Aang…it has been long since I've last seen you…."

Aang glanced down at the general before him with a grim expression. Not only did the general previously threaten Katara for the sake of forcing the avatar state on him, but he also pressured him into doing something that would have seemed completely impossible. He tried to awaken the inner monster inside of him through that unbelievable power.

Aang held back for a small moment. However, as the airbender met Katara's assuring orbs, he gave in. He dismissed the other soldiers with a look that meant "private" and bowed back to the general. "Welcome, General Fong. It's great to have you here-"

"Please….I know you must have mixed emotions seeing me now." The general admitted. "Such were my mistakes.

He knelt before the two and hung his head low, silence overcoming him. Aang was astonished by the gesture, but didn't feel the necessity to stop him. He patiently listened to the general's words. "I have come to repent for my actions."

Aang breathed a sigh. "General Fong, you were thinking for the good of the world." He said. "I know you did your best to persuade me in order to save your people. But the Avatar must be the master of all four elements in order to defeat evil. He can't depend on something as powerful as the avatar state."

"But unfortunately, it was something that could have caused lots of trouble." Katara finished softly.

"And I will admit that I am ashamed." Fong said regretfully. "Please…forgive me…. You have opened my eyes from your great victory."

Aang's eyes softened as the general's miserable look melted his hardened mind.

"I shouldn't have done what I did." Fong continued. "I was forcing something into you that you weren't ready for. I'm sorry."

Aang still held back as the dream still wavered before his eyes. But it suddenly felt so hard to hold back as Katara assured him to go on. He was the one who preached forgiveness. How could he forget now?

"Aang…." Katara whispered.

The airbender nodded. "I understand what you've been through for your actions." He said. He smiled in his cheerful way as he finally felt relaxed. "Let's put the past behind us."

The general smiled for the first time since they saw him. "I won't let you down, Avatar Aang. This is a promise."

...

"But please, Sokka! We need your assistance!" the Earth King said, following him with his long scroll.

"Who knew being a chief was so complicated?!" the warrior complained as he followed Toph through the crowd.

"At least I'm not the one who shows off with a ponytail all the time." Toph snickered.

The reunion sparked many newer friendships and revived older ones. Memories were shared, laughs were experienced, and heavier burdens were lifted from the shoulders of the young teens. The Earth King was lost in his own world in wandering after Toph and Sokka. Suki and Ty Lee were busy with their Kyoshi warrior skills. Mai and Zuko, of course, shared their own privacy apart from the rest of the world. And Aang and Katara? Well, they were just happy to be around each other. They was even dancing to the pleasant music, despite the fact that this was a banquet than a royal ball. Everyone was lively and pleasantly happy.

Until….

"AANGY!"

Aang and Katara shot their widening eyes towards the center of the crowd in surprise when Koko caught their sight.

Aang threw on his cloak as he grasped the waterbender's hand. Before long, Katara was whisked away from the banquet hall.

"Aang, where are you taking me?" she asked.

He just grinned, leading her through the incessant crowds and trying to act natural and not give himself away to the entire palace. "Trust me, Sifu Katara."

"But-"

"No buts."

They continued slipping with ease through the pillars. With a nod towards the other's direction, they slipped behind one of them, following the path of other columns until they reached a wall pushed against one of the darkest corners.

"Aang? What are you-?"

"Shhh…"

The airbender planted his feet firmly on the ground and thrust his hands forward in a swift, fluid motion. Suddenly, the walls gave way to the outside entrance. Instantly, the bright moonlight shone on their expressions. And out they escaped, hitting the ground hard with their feet as Aang bent the wall back into its previous place. He still didn't let go of her hand as he panted when they finally stopped.

"Let's go…" Aang said.

"What…is that….all about?" Katara whispered in between gasps. "We're away from them….aren't we…?"

"Yeah." He agreed. "But we need some time alone, too, right? A new beginning after the war….."

Katara smiled as he held out one of his hands and fiddled with his staff on the other. "And you know, my dear Katara…" he murmured lovingly, "The party doesn't have to end for us right now."

The waterbender willingly took his hand, planting a small kiss on his cheek that still made him blush. "I would love to."

And with a sudden leap, the two lovers soared off into the clouds as gracefully as the wind could carry them, both lost in their own rhythms of silence and love.

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