A/N: Hello again, everyone! It's been awhile since I did a full length story, so here we go again. Unfortunately updates will not be as frequent as "Proud" because of school, but I will try my best to upload chapters as frequently as possible.

Important Background

Aang: Aang is 16 years old when he is told that he is the Avatar instead of him being 12. He was told the same way all the other Avatars were, but he is still reluctant to accept his duty to the world. This does effect the timeline slightly of the story, and of course some of the adventures will be different, but Aang is still Aang.

Katara: Katara is 17 years old and is part Air Nomad. Her mother was a nun who took care of a sick Water Tribe warrior and nursed him back to health after a Fire Nation raid in the Earth Kingdom had left him wounded. They had just been married in secrecy when he had left to continue to fight against the Fire Nation. A letter was sent back to the woman months after his departure stating he had been taken to prison due to his participation in rebelling against the Fire Lord. Katara is an airbender in this story.

*All the other characters will be appearing in this story, there are just some family ties that will be changed and some birth lines as well. Do not fear, they will all be here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters.

Prologue

Smoke filled the air as their lungs desperately struggled for air. They once used to say that it was the element of freedom, but in the midst of burning piles of rubble and tortured screams, the two coughing figures couldn't help but disagree.

How could air be the element of freedom, when it's people were no longer free?

"Aang," The girl gasped desperately as they ran down the length of the dark hall, not really sure where either of them were trying to go. They just knew they needed to put distance between themselves and the main courtyard.

"Come on, Katara," The lanky teen called back to his friend, panting as he paused for a moment and allowed her to catch up. When she reached the spot in which he was standing, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close, words quiet.

"We need to get out of here."

Tear-filled silver eyes looked back at him, worry and fear evident within them, "Aang, what about my mother?"

"She will be safe. I just need to make sure you are."

That day had started like any other day, and sadly the boy had no idea why it had to take such a formidable turn for the worse. But as they continued to run, Aang realized he could have stopped this horrible occurrence from happening. It was his duty. But sometimes one is not ready to accept their duty when the time calls for it.

They had known that the Fire Nation was planning something big. They had been for years and the Air Nomads had suspected it. The imperialistic nation was one that was hardly secretive when it came to what they wanted.

They wanted to control every nation, to share their prosperity and wealth with everyone else. But this was not what Aang had heard was actually happening in the places in which the Fire Nation was conquering.

The Fire Lord had oppressed benders of the other nations, arresting them and putting them into camps in which most got sick and died. The towns that were once Earth Kingdom markets or trade centers were now overrun villages with tyrannical Fire Nation soldiers.

Aang had never expected they would reach the Air Temples though. Especially the ones reserved for the women.

He had been at the Western Air Temple on a visit, a visit to ensure that his Sky Bison was still growing steadily along. It would only be a year before the giant furry creature would join Aang back on his journey home, but with the way things were looking at that moment, he doubted it would be that long before his friend would be flying with him.

He paused in his running, Katara nearly crashing into him as he came to an abrupt stop. The air was cleaner on this side of the Temple, though the smell of smoke still tickled at their noses. They had reached a large wooden closet, it's doors reaching all the way up to the finely painted ceiling. Opening the doors quickly, the young airbender pulled out two crafted gliders. One for him, and one for her.

"Take it," He thrust the object into her hand, not allowing her a moment of protest. Grabbing her arm once again, he began to pull her in the opposite direction, swerving to the right and making a beeline down the hall leading to the bison caves.

"Where are we going?" Her question was never answered, a flaming piece of wood falling directly into their path, causing the girl to jump in surprise. Aang wasted no time though and directed a sharp wave of air directly towards the flaming pieces. The crackling fire only grew.

"This way," Aang directed in a hurry, pulling Katara back the way they had came. Instead of taking a right they took a left at the fork in the hall and ran down the corridor back towards the courtyard. Stopping short, Aang paused to look out the window.

Smoke was everywhere, and the tint of red that seemed to veil over his vision nearly caused him to be sick. He could hear their agonized screams, but he forced himself to stay calm as he shifted Katara's body in front of his own, pushing her gently towards the window.

"We need to get to the bison caves," He instructed, trying to coax her to crawl through the opening, "We can escape on Appa."

"I don't want to leave my people."

Aang could sympathize with her words, "They are my people too. The last thing I want to do is abandon them. But in order to make sure you are safe, we need to get as far from here as possible."

"But why is it so important that I'm the only one who makes it? Why just rescue me, Aang? I don't want to live if everyone else dies. I don't want to be the last."

"You won't be, Katara," He gave her another nudge, urgency apparent in his tone.

Though unsatisfied, the girl crawled through the window, dropping to the stone flooring that lay below with a huff. Even the usually cool tile was currently burning with heat. Aang dropped down beside her.

Everything was happening in a blur, a horrifying, flame-filled blur. High-pitched screams rang through the air and Katara tried desperately to block that out and focus on her labored breathing. The expression on Aang's face was a sign he was slowly being tortured as well.

Katara doesn't remember how they got there, but they did. Appa had been in his stable, practically causing a riot as he stomped his large feet and bellowed worriedly. Aang barely had a moment to calm him before leading him out of the back of the cave, the young woman following closely behind. When they reached the exit, Aang gently gathered her in the cradle of his arms and set her in the saddle, her limbs temporarily paralyzed as she tried desperately to grasp what she was seeing.

Her last view of her home was that of it crumbling in flames, the last sounds heard being the screams of her people as they were tortured.

Ashamedly, she turned away.

They flew for hours and hours, neither speaking, neither one of them knowing where to go or what to say. Rain poured from the sky but they doubted it would do anything to help the burning Western Air Temple. The rain would merely fall over the sides of the cliff, never once touching the flaming stone hidden beneath it.

"Aang?"

The young man sitting at the head of the bison looked back, regarding her with sad, stormy eyes. His clothes were singed around the edges, the orange and yellow fabric forever blackened by the smoke and the flames.

"Yes?"

The troubled girl looked back at him, a tear escaping from one of her eyes as she asked quietly, "Why would they do such a thing?"

Aang's heart nearly stopped, the weight of guilt on his shoulders steadily becoming heavier as he held back the urge to cry. Turning from her, he sighed.

"They want the Avatar."

Katara's mouth was set in a thin line, her voice shaky, "I hope they don't find what they want."

The boy shook his head, eyes glued ahead of them as the rain continued to pour, running down the length of his distinct blue arrows, "Yeah, I hope they don't either."

Aang hadn't only been visiting to check on his bison, he had been forced to visit to tell the nuns at the Western Air Temple the good news.

He knew of his position as the next Avatar, and he was going to protect the people of the world from the Fire Nation's attacks.

What a horrible job he had done so far.