Helios

A tale of discovery, of failure, of despair, and of learning to live again.

Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, Aang, but I agree with them."

Aang sighed. He couldn't go against his friends and the Earth King.

"All right. It seems the best way to free Ba Sing Se is to defeat the Fire Lord."

Katara finished packing the few things they had left and handed the bag to Sokka before refilling her water bag at the well. The village had wanted to give them more but none of them could bring themselves to take from those that had so little to begin with.

"We found Jeong Jeong by accident the first time. What makes you think we can find him now?"

"Look on the bright side, Twinkle Toes," Toph smiled.

Aang looked away from the village, away from them all, to the undetermined horizon. How could there be a bright side among all this destruction?

Katara turned her gaze back to the Earth Kingdom stronghold, now so far in the distance. Her hand strayed to her mother's necklace and she remembered the words that had made her believe, if only for an instant, that maybe, he wasn't as bad as the others.

"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me."

"We have that in common."

Her eyes hardened. "We're going to have to be tougher than ever before. We can't trust anyone but each other. After today, we'll be deep in Fire Nation country."

They all looked up and met her gaze before nodding. This would be the most dangerous stretch of their journey.

The air was choking, the wood wet from the previous night's rain causing the walls to splinter and fill the wind with smoke, ash, and deadly fragments of the forest. He pushed himself on through the bracken debris to where he knew the fire had started.

A dying branch fell on his cloak, snatching him back and setting the Earth Kingdom fabric on fire. He tore out of the cloth before it stopped him and raced on, branches scratching at his face and bare arms,

Something behind him exploded. He twisted even as it forced him into the air, bending the fire as it engulfed him and landing on his feet in the clearing marred only by a burning shack. Here was the center of the fire, where its torment had begun.

The door was barred but weakened by the flames. Rushing, it wouldn't give way immediately to his barrage but a second good kick sent the door crushing in upon itself, giving him a small but workable entrance.

He leapt in, sending a scorching cloud of ash and debris up, an involuntary breath filling his lungs with the poison and by an unlucky chance it filled his eyes as well. Coughing and unable to see, he couldn't gather his voice to call to the one he knew was here. Finally, his throat seared and eyes burning, a sound made its way above the crackle of the fire.

"Uncle!"

Pushing through another pile of debris, furiously blinking to clear his sight, he called again and this time heard an answer to his right. His world was a blur but he looked for that blur of green that told him he had reached his goal.

He felt his uncle's hand on his shoulder, heard sketchy words that told him he shouldn't be there. The clink of chains filled his head and he felt for them with shaking hands.

"You were right, Uncle. Now let's go."

Channeling heat through his hands, he pulled through the chains, ignoring the now liquid metal burning into his flesh. His uncle pushed him forward, keeping a hand on his shoulder as they struggled to find a way out.

The beams gave way and burning wood and flooring came down just to the left of them, blocking the way he'd came in. He was pushed to the floor and into what seemed like a tunnel, barely big enough for him to crawl.

"Go! Go now!" his uncle shouted.

He tried to turn but was unable in the small space.

"What about you?"

"GO!"

Only once had he heard his uncle use that tone and that was addressing Zhao at the North Pole. He turned and began working his way out.

It seemed like hours but he could finally feel the brush of cool wind outside the forest. His hand crushed on unhurt grass and he pulled himself out into the night. All was a blur and the smell of fire was close at hand and he turned to off his uncle a hand out of the crawlspace when a large explosion forced him back off his feet.

He flew through the air, crashing backwards into a tree, spasms rolling through his spine and he fell to the earth, his head cracking against what might've been a rock, what might've been a tree root, but didn't matter as the last thoughts that flew through his head were of his uncle as the darkness fully overtook him.