It seemed fitting to post this chapter on Halloween.

I am purposefully making it unclear when exactly this story takes place within the Avatar timeline. I feel it is unimportant to the story. But I do want to establish that this takes years after the comics and the events in the show.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Aang's eyes attempted to pierce the darkness, though it was in vain. He was barely breathing, his heart pounding inside his chest as he stood motionless. The silence pressed upon his ears, as his senses struggled to pick up any indication of where he was.

Something skittered behind him. Aang whirled around, trying to keep the fright from numbing his senses as the sound sent a familiar shudder down his spine. The darkness was just as impenetrable this direction, and he swallowed the urge to call out. Whatever was out there, he didn't want to make his presence known.

His attempts at keeping a level head were failing. The sound came again, thousands of sharp, clicking feet creeping around him. The sound made his skin crawl, as an all too familiar chuckle greeted his ears.

"I knew we would meet again." The voice resonated against the stone walls, as the thick mass moved and uncoiled from around the entrance of the cave, brightening the room. The walls appeared to be moving, and Aang's gaze darted around searching for what he knew was coming. It was difficult to keep his face neutral, the absolute terror building in his chest too much to contain. He was unable to speak.

"I'd ask what brought you here. But it wasn't really a choice, was it." The creature spoke, his face still hidden. The tapping of his feet was growing louder, oppressing all other thoughts in Aang's mind. "It's fate that we meet again. You were lucky to escape me last time. But it won't happen again."

Aang took a deep breath, knowing the creature was coming, but he still flinched physically when the painted face drifted down from above him, the movement lazy in its swaying. The chuckle resonated through the cave again, just as the thousands of feet came to an abrupt stop.

The master of faces stared at him, the slight smirk of the pink lips contrasting sharply against the white face. "You don't remember why you are here, do you." The smirk deepened. "It should be easy to figure out. After all…" His face blinked into another, long hair cascading out of the folds, framing a tanned face and shimmering eyes. The sight of it made Aang's breath freeze. His limbs became jelly as he stared into this new face. "Love makes people do… dangerous things." The face demon turned away, the clicking of his spiked feet resuming on the stone walls.

"Katara." Aang breathed, his neutral expression wavering.

"Don't worry. I made sure it was quick and painless. I didn't leave her alive to suffer as I have done with other Water Tribes. Of course, that does mean she is a faceless spirit now. Come to think of it, I'm actually not sure which is worse. Hmm." Koh mused to himself.

Aang's hands clenched into fists. "You… you monster."

"You might want to be careful Avatar. You should know better than anyone what happens when one enters my home."

Aang reclaimed his neutral expression just as the beast turned around, wearing the face of a young Fire Nation soldier. "Others had to learn that lesson the hard way." The face gave a cheeky grin, before slowly blinking again into another woman's face, this one pale and wrinkled. "Do you know what my favorite part is?" He chuckled, the wizened face grinning maliciously. "It's when they realize what's about to happen. That look of horror that descends upon their face." He demonstrated, the woman's face twisting in horror, a silent scream in the open mouth.

He flipped to another face, a young man, also twisted in horror. A deep chuckle started from the demon, as his face flipped to an old man. Aang tried to keep his wits about him as the face blinked again, a lemur, the chuckle growing louder as he quickly flashed into the next one. The blinking quickened each face a picture of silent terror, as Koh seemed to flip through all the faces in his arsenal, each one reflecting the terror Aang felt building up in his chest as the sinister laughter filled his ears.

The switching finally halted, the face Aang was dreading staring him in the face, fear apparent in the clear blue eyes and marring the otherwise beautiful features. Aang couldn't take it anymore. His face broke, tears starting to stream down his face as he glared at the abomination with as much hate as he could muster. "Give her back!" Aang shouted.

Katara's face twisted into an evil grin, before the face blinked. An unsettling cold spread over Aang, as he quickly tried to wipe his face clean of emotion. He was unable to see Katara's face anymore, unable to see anything. He struggled to open his mouth, finding his breath difficult to catch.

"Very few Airbenders are brave enough to face me. And I've never gotten one to break before, something about detaching themselves from worldly concerns. I thank you for your contribution, Avatar." The voice was muffled, and Aang's hands instantly went to his ears. His fingers met smooth flesh instead.

The eruption of fear dropped Aang to his knees. His trembling hands ran up the sides of his head, finding where the stubble of his hair ended, the semicircle indicating where his ears should have been. Bile rose in his throat as his fingers followed the arch of his cheekbones, following them to the front of his face. It was all smooth, no indication of any features. He opened his mouth to scream, searing pain from the ripping of flesh that finally allowed air into his lungs as his scream echoed through the cave, mingling with the harsh laughter of the Face Stealer.

/ / /

Iroh was in the midst of one of those unfortunate dreams, one which you know you are dreaming but you are unable to wake up or manage the dream.

"I got you dad!" The young boy's voice echoed across the field. This wasn't right. Iroh should have caught up to the child by now. But there was no tree, no hill, no child.

"Where are you my son?" Iroh called out into the sunlight, but there was no answer. "Lu Ten?" Panic gripped the man's heart as he spun in circles, searching for a sign of… anything, beyond this endless green plain.

The cry echoing from the distance sent chills through Iroh's blood. "Father? Where are you?" This was not the cry of his playful little boy, but the shout of the young man he grew to be.

Iroh started running, his robes flapping about him as he made his way blindly. In the distance, he could see the top of a tree, the branches bare. At first glance, he believed it to be the tree from long ago, but as he approached, it became apparent it was not. This tree was gnarled, the bark twisting up and around the massive trunk, its roots exposed and as bare and jagged as the branches above. His steps slowed, his legs turning wooden and slowly he sank to his knees. Unable to bring himself any closer, he despaired at the sight of the distant tree. A scream, echoing to him from across the distance, was finally enough to wake Iroh up.

/ / /

Aang shot up in bed, his shouting driving him awake. "Aang!" Katara's voice rang out, as his eyes settled on their bedroom. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, one hand soothingly stroking his back. "It's ok Aang, its just a nightmare." Her silky voice setting his heart at ease. He twisted sideways towards her, his hand landing on her knee and following her leg up her body, tracing along her hips and grazing across her breast, resting on her shoulder before fingers tracing up her neck and finding her ear. His other arm snaked around her waist as he traced her cheekbones and ghosting over her eye, feeling the eyebrow and eyelashes tickling his fingertips.

"Aang what are you-" She was cut off by his mouth mashing into hers, as he cupped her face, thumb tracing the edge of her mouth and nose. Katara was resistant at first, surprised by his passion and intensity. But she soon acquiesced to her husband, allowing him to seek comfort in his own fervent way.

Once the panic had subsided, and his kisses turned from desperate to gentle, Katara finally, gently pushed Aang back. He knew the question was coming, and found the answer coming from his mouth before she could speak.

"Something's wrong with Iroh."

Next chapter will be up on Friday. Please let me know what you think!