Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for two that will come in during the next chapter.
This takes place after the fall of Ba Sing Se and the 'death' of Aang.
Please let me know if I have misspelled any characters or if you think I have not done justice to the characters
Chapter 1
Aang sat on the edge of a cliff over looking the earth kingdom's vast land, his eyes glued to the clouds that drifted by. The weather was warm, with a cool breeze that wrapped around his body as thoughts of what happened in the past year whirled in his head. It had been one of the most trying years of his life, he was starting to master Earth, a difficult element for him to master, and he had a new enemy. Although Zuko was banished, he still hunted Aang, but he wasn't alone in this anymore, now Aang was being hunted by Zuko's sister, Azula. One of the most vicious fire benders Aang had ever met. For a long while, it seemed that the task of defeating the Fire Nation would never happen, they were just too powerful for one, lone air bender to take on, but what other choice did he have? He was the Avatar, and he was meant to bring peace to the world. A heavy burden for someone only 13 years old to carry around on his shoulders. But he had no choice, Aang was born the Avatar and it was his job... until now. He had failed. Aang was killed while fighting Azula and Zuko, well, only temporary. Katara had saved his life by using the water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole, but he had still died. The Avatar line was now over because Aang wasn't strong enough to fight Azula. Now it was about survival as the Fire Nation began to engulf the other nations.
The wind blew violently, blowing Aang's clothes around his body, but he never moved, he sat perfectly still. His eyes merely traveled around his surroundings, in front of him was nothing but blue skies, with a few clouds, below him were trees as far as the eye could see, but behind him, where the trail to the cliff went down, Aang could see Katara. She was practicing her water bending, because she feared Azula and Zuko would come back to make sure Aang was dead, which was not likely. It had been almost a year since Aang fought the siblings and they still had not come for him, why would they? Azula knew that her lightening bolt had struck Aang through the heart. How could they have known that there was a way to save him? The water splashed behind him and Aang could feel his heart sink. Katara spent all her time practicing her bending, Toph would eventually join her with her earth bending, but normally it was Katara. Aang hadn't tried bending since the accident. He couldn't bare the though of not being able to air bend, it was what he was born with, but now it was gone, without a doubt. Aang took in a deep breath and fought back some tears. It was hard enough knowing that Aang had failed the world, it was actually unbearable to know such a thing, but it hurt even more to know that he failed his friends and the memory of the air benders. Aang ran a hand over his smooth, bald head and thought that it was only a matter of time until Toph, Sokka, and Katara left him and at that though, despite the warm weather, Aang felt cold.
"Aang! Sokka and Toph are back with news about the Fire nation." Katara's voice was so full of life, excitement, something Aang had lost. She must have felt good about her training session and the idea of catching the fire nation thrilled her. Katara looked off, with Sokka and Toph behind her, toward Aang, whose eyes were still glued to the sunset as he pushed himself off the ground.
"He still hasn't tried to air bend?" Sokka leaned close to Katara and whispered into her ear. Toph turned her head in their direction, though she couldn't see them, she knew where they stood from their vibrations on the earth and their words. Katara hung her head in defeat.
"No.. I don't understand why." Katara turned her head to look over where Appa, Aang's large flying bison, and MoMo, a flying lemur, sat by the fire. Appa looked over to Katara after watching MoMo throw sticks into the fire and he let out a friendly roar. Katara smiled weakly at him as Toph kicked a pebble away from her feet.
"He probably thinks that his air bending abilities came from his Avatar powers. Maybe he can't air bend anymore. Toph's clouded blue eyes followed where the pebble landed and she stomped her foot to knock it off the ground. She then stopped the pebble and turned her head slightly from where Aang was walking. "He's not walking the same anymore, no more twinkle toes. Now he's walking heavy, like he's got a boulder on his shoulders... He's ashamed." Toph slowly made her way to where the fire was, stopping a few feet from it when she could feel the heat on her hands. Sokka examined Aang as he made his way down to where the group was. His head hung low, as did the rest of his body as if it were tired. Sokka only scratched his ear and shrugged.
"Hey Aang." Sokka attempted to sound as though he were calm, but his voice cracked at the end of his greeting, at the beginning of Aang's name. Aang's grey eyes barely looked up to see who had greeted him and he did not return the gesture, he merely kept walking with a bland expression across his face. Sokka's eyes turned to Katara in concern, who sighed heavily.
"Aang, Sokka and Toph have some information on the fire nation's next move.." Katara's voice was as gentle as ever as she placed a hand lovingly on Aang's shoulder. He could feel the warm sensation running through his body, normally this touch would redden his cheeks, but now, it only made him feel ashamed. He doomed the world, despite the fact that it was his job to save it. Aang nodded to Katara and sat down at Appa's feet. Katara sat herself down by her tent as her eyes followed Sokka and Toph as they took a seat next to one another on the ground. Sokka cleared his throat and picked up a stick from the ground and started drawing Xs into the ground.
"Okay, since Azula and Zuko took over Ba Sing Se the Fire Nation has relaxed a little, because there's nothing else to attack. The North Water Tribe is virtually safe from attack because of it's location, Zhao was the only fire bender crazy enough to do it." Sokka drew a representation of Ba Sing Se, by drawing circled within circles to show the walls of the it. Then, high above the representation of Ba Sing Se, Sokka drew walls with waves below them, the Northern Water Tribe.
"But there's something going on in the fire nation. We managed to over hear a conversation between Azula and Zuko.. Or at least I was, Sokka was too busy being a baby." Sokka's eyes narrowed at Toph, who continued to look straight ahead of her, unaware of Sokka's eyes.
"I was hungry!" Sokka voice whined in defense to Toph's comment. Katara's eyes then landed on Sokka, just as Toph had turned her head in his direction. Sokka looked at the annoyance in Katara's eyes and decided it keep his mouth shut, Toph merely smirked.
"Anyways.." Toph turned her head straight again and wiped the smirk off her face. She then took a deep breath, stomped her foot, and flattened her hand to bend the earth beneath her to make a seat. She then sat down and reached her hands out to the warmth of the flames. "They mentioned something about an assassin hunting someone." Aang's held tilted up to look at Toph then to Katara.
"What else did they say?" Katara's eyes broke from Aang's gaze to question Toph, who only shrugged her shoulders.
"They were talking a lot of nonsense.. But I heard them say something about the assassin going after the last of a dying people.." Toph's grey-green eyes landed on Aang, despite the fact that she couldn't see. "Guess that's you Twinkle Toes." Toph kicked back in her seat and closed her eyes, her arms folded behind her head for a pillow. Katara shook her head.
"That can't be it..." Katara looked down thoughtfully, she knew something wasn't right and Aang trusted her instincts, but he was the last airbender, which Sokka again pointed out.
"Katara, it has to be Aang.. It's the only thing that makes sense." Sokka pulled off his left boot and began shaking dirt and rock from it, his eyes staring down to the sole of the shoe to be certain that all the dirt was out. "Aang is the last airbender. Last of a dying people..." As Sokka finished his sentence, he placed his face directly under the shoe just in time for a small rock to come tumbling out and hit him in the head. Sokka jumped back in pain, but Katara ignored this is continued.
"But they already think Aang is dead. Azula and Zuko didn't follow us to see me heal him.. There is no way that they're hunting Aang." Katara paused for a minute with a loom of resolve spreading across her face. Aang knew this look, he had known it ever since they went into hiding and Katara became more determined to fight the Fire Nation. Katara was planning an attack right now. "Which works to our advantage." Aang looked up.
"How is that?" Aang finally spoke, his words were almost a whisper but Katara and the others reacted as if he had yelled the words directly in their ears. His grey eyes stared at the ground blankly then traveled to Katara's warm, round face. For a minute, his heart swelled at the sight of her, but he quickly looked away, killing the joy in his heart. Katara looked to Aang intently then back to the ground, her eyes side glancing to Aang.
"Well, we know how to get into Ba Sing Se.. And if we know Zuko, he'll feel the need to hunt whatever this assassin is chasing, for honor if it's a threat against the fire nation." Sokka looked over at Katara, his oval face confused looking. Katara sighed. "Zuko never caught the Avatar, the one thing that he hunted for two years."
"But he captured Ba Sing Se.." Toph kicked her foot against the ground and then pushed her foot down gently, to feel the vibrations before they went away. Her eyes turned to the forest then looked away again.
"Well, technically, not. Azula had captured the city, Zuko was just there to help her fight us in the end." Katara folded her arms across her chest as a strange wind blew past them and back into the forest. Aang closed his eyes and took in the wind. "Of course, Azula will go with Zuko to hunt this, to make sure he doesn't fail again and make her look bad.." Aang again spoke, his voice still gentle.
"How are we going to get in?" Aang looked over to Toph and only Toph, because, though she could see through earth bending, her eyes couldn't see the pain in his like the others could. Toph turned her head to the sound of his voice then nodded.
"With earth bending.." Aang raised his head to see Sokka nodding and Katara raising an eyebrow.
"But the Dai Li?" Katara spoke, but as the word a came from his mouth a sarcastic smirk spread across Toph's expression.
"We know, Princess." Toph folded her hands together, then stretched them out far in front of her until her knuckles cracked, then she laid back again in her earth made seat. "Not all the Dai Li are happy with being Fire Nation lackeys. So a lot of them have agreed to help us break through the walls and sneak back into the city two weeks from now. After sun set." Toph reached next to her and picked up a bag full of berries. Slowly, she began popping them into her mouth until MoMo came over and began sniffing around her hands. She then began handing them to MoMo. Katara's jaw clenched into a tight smile at the idea of this. Sokka took out some of his blubber seal jerky and began stuffing his face.
"Yeah. Omashu has already overthrown the fire nation, I guess king Bumi had planned it all out. The Fire Nation was kicked out almost a month ago, but Ozai doesn't know yet, because Bumi had all communications cut. No way to get a message out." Sokka watched as Katara clasped her hands together. Sokka nodded then made his way over to his sleeping bag, still chomping on the seal jerky he yawned. "We have to wait for Omashu to send us word, to let us know if they're helping or not." Sokka climbed into his sleeping bag, and for a brief second let go of his food, which was long enough for MoMo to come and take it. "Good night." Within seconds, Sokka was snoring.
"We might as well get comfortable.." Toph stomped her feet on the ground and raised her arm diagonally in the air to make an earth tent. She yawned and made her way into it. "And try to keep it down out there. I don't want to start hearing mushy talk while I'm trying to sleep." Toph then walked into the tent and stomped her foot again to make a door, leaving Aang and Katara alone.
"Aang.." Katara reached over to touch Aang's shoulder but he had already made a motion to sleep, he rolled over on his side and tucked his hands under his head for a pillow.
"Good night, Katara." His words were so empty, without feeling that Katara felt a sting in her heart. It hurt to see Aang in so much pain, but he wouldn't talk to her and as she reached her hand out to touch him, his body only curled into a tighter ball, as if afraid of her touch. Katara pulled her hand back and rolled into her sleeping bag.
"Good night, Aang. Sweet dreams." Katara was asleep within moments. Aang could hear the snoring coming from Sokka and Toph, then the light breathing from Katara, and for once he didn't feel comforted. He felt trapped. What were they doing, planning on fighting the fire nation? Aang was no longer the Avatar, he was just the last airbender, if he could even airbend that was. He shouldn't have to worry about saving the world now, it should be left up to someone else, someone who could handle the responsibility. He was only 13 years old now. This was too touch, he couldn't handle it, now alone. If only he could talk to Avatar Roku once more..