Little Katara raced into the hut, pushing aside the curtain, to reveal her worst nightmare.
Her mother was kneeling before the tall, imposing Fire Nation soldier, Yon-Rha. Upon seeing her daughter, Kya's expression took on a frightened look. Katara looked back up at the vicious man, who glanced coldly at the child.
"Just let her go and I'll give you the information you want." her mother suddenly begged the man.
"You heard your mother," Yon Rha rasped with little patience "get out of here!"
Katara began to cry, as she had so many times before. She couldn't leave. She couldn't abandon her mother. How could she run and save herself, knowing her mother would die?
She raced forward and threw herself into her mother's arms. "No, Mom! I won't leave you!"
"Katara, no!" Kya shouted in a panic and tried to grab the girl's shoulders and get her attention. "Please, Katara, you must go!"
"No!" Katara screamed desperately, clinging to her mother's coat. She had already learned this lesson: To never, EVER, abandon people who needed her.
Kya tearfully looked up to see the soldier's disgusted sneer. He had lost control of the situation, and now he had lost his patience. He was wasting time here. Best to get going the most efficient way possible.
"Ugh, enough with this." he muttered and raised a fist, a flame bursting around it. He brought it down like a bolt of lightning.
"No!" Kya cried as she threw herself over Katara as best she could...
But the searing blow never came. The woman and the young girl cautiously looked up to see Yon-Rha's shocked face... staring into the eyes of the angry young teenage monk who had caught his fist in his hand and put out the flame. Far too confident for someone his age, he looked so strangely out of place in an arctic village. Dressed in heavy boots and pants, but with light yellow and orange fabric draped over one shoulder. A bold blue arrow on his bald head, along his arms, and down his spine.
Katara's face broke into a broad smile of hope through her tears.
"Who do you..." Yon-Rha began to ask, but never got the chance to finish. Because the young man threw his other hand toward the soldier's chest, and a gust of wind hurtled him airborne, tearing right through the fabric wall of the hut.
He crashed through the snow on the ground, coughing as he tried to catch his breath and stand. But two boots landed out of the sky before him. And as Katara and Kya looked out from the hut, they now saw the soldier was the one kneeling helpless at another's mercy.
The Air Nomad glared at him. "You are never going to threaten this family again." It clearly was more than just a statement, because he swept his arms back and then upward, forcing a column of ice to rise underneath Yon-Rha so suddenly that it tossed him screaming like a little girl into the sky. High enough that the man cleared the wall of the village and landed somewhere out of sight on the other side. The ships were soon pulling away.
With the threat gone, little Katara began laughing with happiness as she ran toward her hero. Aang smiled at her and kneeled to greet her with arms open wide. She flung her arms around his neck and he lifted her into his arms as he stood.
He held her tight and was grateful that the one he loved was safe and happy, and the nightmare was over. Then he looked up at the woman he'd never met. Katara's mother approached them, looking a little shocked, but mostly grateful.
Katara beamed at her excitedly. "Mom, this is Aang! He's the Avatar! And I'm gonna marry him someday!" she said all too easily, as she contentedly snuggled up against him once more.
He blushed, grinning awkwardly and wondering how her mother would take that.
But she seemed to already understand. She gave him a smile so gentle and warm and full of meaning, and there were tears filling her eyes. Tears of happiness this time. "Thank you so much." was all she could say.
"Kya!" a desperate man's voice shouted, followed by a boy calling "Mom!" Hakoda ran through the gates of the village, but stopped short in relief when he saw her, with young Sokka not far off his heels. She laughed and started toward them, but both men bolted and covered the distance immediately. Hakoda gathered the love of his life into his arms and treasured her as Sokka clung to her waist.
Katara practically jumped out of Aang's arms, stumbled a bit, and ran to join the group hug. "Mom, are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes." Kya answered, looking up at her husband, and down at her children. "I'm okay now."
Aang was forgotten, but content to watch the picture unfold before him of a family that had been incomplete for far too long. They didn't notice as he bowed his head, turned, and walked away.
Opening his eyes and taking a deep breath, Aang removed the thumb from Katara's third eye chakra. Where he had awoke and found her whimpering and fearful in her sleep, she was now smiling and still, laying against him and Appa. He didn't dare wake her from her dreams now.