Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or anything related to that.
Fury.
Grief.
Insanity.
Devastating emotions rolled off of Aang in waves. The waves overlapped each other in their haste, swallowing the others. It made Toph even more miserable, sitting there literally feeling what Aang was going through and not being able to do anything. She was just glad she couldn't read minds as well.
Sokka was taking things differently. When the news penetrated the confines of his mind, he stopped feeling. No emotion came from him. He simply lay on his side on the cold Earth. He looked like he was listening to the ground. Neither male had uttered a word or noise or anything after the telling of the grim tale.
Aang couldn't help replaying the incident in his mind over and over, torturing himself. At first, the pain and sadness was so intense he felt like crying until he no longer could. But before the tears could fall the anger gripped him. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, flexed his hands, squeezed shut his eyes. And of course, the extremes of the emotions brought about a period of madness. He felt a sudden urge to jump up and run until he came upon the Fire Lord himself.
Aang couldn't help admiring the way the sun made Katara's tan skin look. It made her shine, and when she smiled, the shine grew in strength, nearly blinding him with beauty. She splashed water at him to get his attention.
"Are you even listening to me?" She asked in a sweet voice.
"Uh-huh," he replied unconvincingly. Katara laughed and the sound made him nearly faint. Why was she doing this to him?
Someone burst through the trees surrounding their secluded pond hidden in the outskirts of the Fire Nation. Many someones burst through the trees. None of them were welcome.
"Get out of here Katara!" Aang shouted, turning into a defensive position to face the new coming soldiers.
"When are you going to learn? We're in this mess together Aang," Katara growled in response. Despite the situation, the last sentence made Aang's chest hurt as his heart pounded against its confining cage, trying to get to its love.
"Come with us and no one has to be hurt," a soldier at the front said in an official voice.
"You're right. No one has to be hurt. But they have been, are being, and will be hurt anyway." It was the soldier's only warning before Aang sent out the first furious attack.
The fight was brutal but short-lived. At one point someone noticed how Aang went out of his way to protect Katara when he could. They found a weakness. A soldier grabbed Katara and held her tightly. Her screams nearly drew out the sound of his deep laughter at his triumph. All fighting ceased when the sound reached the ears of the warriors. The other soldiers smiled at their comrade's wisdom.
"Let her go." The words were low but fierce.
"I don't think so. Maybe if you come with us we'll make sure your little bitch here doesn't get hurt…much." Laughter again.
"No, Aang!" his captive gasped.
"Shut it, you," he squeezed her tighter. She choked. Aang was on his knees now, begging.
Before any of the Fire Nation soldiers could grab hold of Aang, sounds of more people approaching caught everyone's attention. Clearly not wanting another fight, the force retreated. The soldier holding onto Katara pressed a cloth to her face. Her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in his arms.
Aang watched helplessly as the dragged her away.
The urge to run to the Fire Lord was strong.
Very strong.
"Excuse me," Aang whispered, standing and trying to calmly walk away. The others knew what he was going to do, but no one could stop him and they knew it.
"COME OUT OF THEIR YOU COWARD!" Aang shouted at the top of his lungs. He was banging on the gate of the palace, begging for a fight. "COME FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"
Guards and soldiers watched him with mild amusement. Aang figured they must've been under orders not to attack. But he didn't care much. The gates were opening.
"Where is she?" Aang demanded as the Fire Lord came into sight with guards on either side of him. He felt no fear at the sight.
"She is inside, being…entertained by one of my men. I believe you met him. At the pond." Ozai smiled.
Aang lost control and launched his attach, yelling out as he rushed the Fire Lord. His guards began to step up but Ozai ordered them down.
"This is between him and me," he said.
Both fought well, but Aang had something extra on his side: passion. He felt no pain, only a will, a desire, need to win. To save her.
The two fighters were beginning to tire when Aang's big chance came. The Fir Lord was cocky and limited to one element. He froze a second to catch his breath, allowing a shield of fire to protect him. Aang readied his right hand with his attack and with his left he skillfully bended away some of the fire, allowing an opening. Before the Fire Lord could attend to the weak spot, Aang sent the earth attack at him. Ozai fell, caught off guard. Aang jumped with the skill of an airbender, landing upon the evil man and pinning him to the ground.
"Fuck you." Aang whispered. A stone knife was held firmly in his hand. He raised it high and heated it with his firebending. He got the satisfaction of seeing the fear and defeat in the Fire Lord's eyes before the knife went through his excuse of a heart and his life ended.
The palace was big but it took no longer than 5 minutes to find Katara. Her screams could be heard from anywhere in the building.
Knocking the thick metal door clean off its hinges, Aang saw a sight that made him physically sick. Recovering himself, he pulled the monster off of her, giving him a well deserved punch in the face. Aang temporarily forgot the beast, rushing to Katara's aid instead. She was crying harder than Aang imagined anyone ever could. When Aang broke the chains restraining her to the walls of her prison, all she did was curl into a ball and cry harder.
Aang's own eyes now freely spilled tears and his chest was pounding again, in pain this time. He tried to wrap his arms around her, to comfort her, but Katara shied away from his touch. She flinched. It hurt him more than his many battle scars.
Nothing was ever the same again.
Author's Note: I know this is really dark and depressing, but I'm really, really tired and that tend to make me cranky, and so we get an angry one-shot. Sorry. Please review!