DISCLAIMER: The Characters of Avatar the Last Airbender do not belong to me and are the creative musings of Michael Dante Di Martino and Bryan Konietzko

A.N.-Sorry its been a while since I last updated. Life has a way of creeping up on you in ways you don't expect

I also kinda discovered 'Embers' by Vathara and realised I needed to make my 'villans/antiheros' more human so I had to make the story a little more AU than I originally thought

not to worry though, the plot is essentially still the same

Plus I couldn't find a way to write this chapter without making it like 10000 plus words, so I split it

enjoy

ILLUMINATED PERCEPTION

Aang's mind was bordering on catatonic. Scenes of his life before the iceberg were dancing before of his eyes, even when he had seen this temple devoid of life less than a year ago. There was a plethora of emotions running through his head. Joy, confusion, sadness, and nostalgia; each emotion making everything more confusing to him. 'Didn't Avatar Yangchen say the answers to my problems would be here? Did she mean that I would find surviving airbenders? Ugh this is so confusing!' He turned back to the group and noticed that they were still silent, and Toph was firing off questions to break their stupor.

"Hello? Are you all sleeping or something? Cause I don't think that it works that way." Aang tried to respond, but was still wrapping his head around the stunning revelation. "You know not everyone can SEE when we're up in the air ya know!" exclaimed the flustered earthbender.

"Toph, um...well..." stammered Sokka.

"There are living breathing airbenders flying around the Southern Air Temple," stated Zuko flatly, making a great effort to keep his voice even. A round of hearty laughter from the girl only greeted his response. It took about a minute for her to calm down.

"Oh, you guys are good, but I'm sure you're trying too hard." Whatever words Toph had left to say, a young monk who had flown up and landed on the bison silenced them.

"Aang, what are you doing here? The caravan left like, right after sunrise," exclaimed the young airbender. Aang recognised him instantly. Sonam. He blanched at the sight of a face he knew died when the Fire Nation attacked. His mind was racing, unable to grasp what was happening. "Um, when's the funeral?" poked Sonam jokingly, glancing at the dumbstruck passengers. "You know Aang, I'm not sure Gyatso will like the last minute warning about the foreigners in the temple. Uh, hello? Earth to Aang?" Aang was cracking inside. First Sonam, now Gyatso, it could not be a coincidence. Yet he had to see this with his own eyes to believe it.

"Sonam," began Aang.

"WOAH, when'd your voice break? I mean you've been gone for like a few hours?" The airbender's humorous demeanour had lessened, and now edged on concern.

"Doesn't matter," replied Aang, clearly disturbed. "Go find Gyatso, and tell him that to meet me in the elders' garden." The other airbender nodded, completely confused by the order, but followed it anyway. Unfurling his glider, he took off toward the temple in a hurry.

"So what the hell is going on here?" asked an even more confused Toph. The others were finally beginning to break out of the silence that hung since the caravan sighting.

"I can honestly say, I have no idea," stated Suki. A few small words of agreement confirmed this was the consensus amongst the group.

"Where, did they come from?" pondered Zuko. Katara shot him an incredulous look, leaving him stammering to correct himself. "NO! I mean, not that way, 'cause I know that airbenders are born and such, but I meant what are they doing here?"

"Zuko," deadpanned Katara.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Now now," offered Suki, sensing the rising tension, "He is pointing out the questions that are on everyone's mind right now, no need to for you to get all hissy. Next person to act like that's gonna get it from me." Her tone clearly silenced any dissention from Katara, and an awkward smile of gratitude from the Fire Nation Prince. Aang was half listening as he steered the bison towards the desired landing site, being careful after nearly everyone bar Sokka was disturbed by the steep vertical climb up towards the temple.

"So Aang," ventured Sokka.

"Yeah?"

"How did that airbender recognize you?" suspicion all over his face. Aang breathed a heavy sigh.

"He was one of my friends from the temple before I left." The shock uneasily returned, but only momentarily, as it was immediately replaced by a cacophony of confusion. Everyone was trying to make sense of the airbender's statement. In the midst of the jabbering, a short earthbender took in as much air as the high altitude would allow her and boomed, "QUIET!" Silence came instantly.

"Look. If we seem to be stuck somewhere that Aang's familiar with, he should be the one doin' the talking." The others glanced around and seemed to agree with the girl's words.

"But, we need to be ready to face whatever these jokers are up to. So, Aang lead the way!" The boy gave a stiff nod of agreement, and finally took the bison down to land in the garden he had asked for a meeting.

"Well here goes nothing," murmured Aang under his breath

A few hours had passed since Aang left with the delegation to Omashu. Other than their departure, the morning had gone as it usually would. Morning prayers, meditation, lessons to the younger benders and finally had Gyatso allowed himself to enjoy his light breakfast in the peace of his chambers. 'The younger monks can handle the Acolytes,' thought the elder monk to himself as he savoured a piece of fruit pie. A slammed door and a panting young airbender, looking extremely bewildered, quickly shattered his moment of bliss.

"Oh well," sighed Gyatso, "I suppose breakfast will have to wait. Young Sonam, is there something so urgent that must be addressed to me personally?"

"Yes," replied Sonam, finally catching his breath. "Aangcamebackoverthemountainrange, but he looked different and weird, like he wasn't wearing the same clothes as this morning, and he had a different staff, OH! And his voice sounded funn-"

"Calm down Sonam, you seemed to be distressed. You may be an airbender, but you need to breathe if you want me to understand," counselled the Elder. After a few deep breaths, filling his taxed lungs with a healthy dose of air, he began speaking once more.

"Aang came back to the temple accompanied by a bunch of outsiders, and he wants to meet you in the elder's garden." It was a dire announcement indeed. To ask for a meeting in the elder's garden meant that private urgent discussion was requested. Yet the first part of the announcement concerned Gyatso more so. He had never warned Aang to bring foreigners back to the temple, as he had never thought he never needed to. If anyone else found out of this broken taboo, it could be disastrous for the boy. The last outsider they let visit the temple was Roku and that had been a mistake Gyatso wished he-

'Now was not the time to think about the past,' he mentally reprimanded. Rising from his seat, he turned to the youth and smiled.

"Thank you Sonam, I shall be on my way. I'm sure you don't want to miss anymore of your day off do you?" The boy shook his head. "I thought so. Go on with your friends, and seize the day. You know what the zabda says."

"If you can do something today, then make sure it is done," he recited.

"Good," answered Gyatso, quite amused. "Now, go." The boy needed no words of encouragement to follow the last command, as he bolted for the courtyard in no time at all. Gyatso's thoughts then turned back to the matter at hand. Aang. What could the boy be up to if he needed to see him so urgently and in private? He continued down the corridor until he reached a bright doorway, revealing the clandestine alcove.

It was a garden maintained by the eldest monks, meticulously cared for, and truly a work of calm serenity. A shadow began to creep over some of the upper trees, and soon enough a massive sky bison descended out of the sky, atop which sat six youth, one carrying the cerulean tattoos of a master airbender. Something was definitely off thought the monk, as the boy before him appeared to be Aang, but he was not the happy carefree boy he had seen this morning. Here was a boy who was a little taller, leaner, and definitely not wearing the traditional saffron and yellow kavi of an acolyte. Even with all these differences, the boy's eyes shocked him most. They were stormy, as if they had seen much pain, sorrow, guilt, and held a sense of responsibility for some tragedy that he had not stopped.

This was not Aang, this was Avatar Aang.

The silence held for several moments as the bison's passengers dismounted, bewildered and weary of their surroundings, none more so than the Fire Nation youth with an enormous scar, and the girl with cropped hair in brown rags. Gyatso was at a loss for words at the scene.

"Well, looks like there's another twinkletoes." All heads turned to the small girl, who seemed to be blind. The younger airbender's face was one of horror at the comment directed toward him.

"G-Gyatso?" the boy ventured. The question made Gyatso hold his breath. "Is that really you? I'm not dreaming?" 'What happened to this boy?' thought Gyatso worryingly.

"Yes, I am Gyatso, unless you know of another. I believe that if this were a dream, I would not have remembered eating fruit pie for breakfast." These words caused the boy to tear up. Without any hesitation, the boy took a massive leap propelling himself straight into the Monk! It took all his strength and some airbending to keep Gyatso from falling over as Aang (or the boy he believed was Aang), began sobbing into his chest. This caught Gyatso off guard, but it did confirm his suspicions. No other child would have reacted that way to his presence.

Looking up from the sobbing child, he noticed the expressions of Aang's companions. Horror, confusion, dread, sadness, and shock seemed to mix as they let their own guard down. The monk cleared his throat, resulting in Aang snapping his head up at his teacher.

"Aang," reprimanded Gyatso gently, "You know very well that foreigners must be approved of beforehand. Why would you bring them now? Where did you even find them? I didn't think you could gather a crowd such as this in the few hours since you left for Omashu."

"Omashu?" asked the boy, "Is it High Spring, Gyatso?"

"Yes Aang, why would you ask that?" the elder monk's brow furling.

"Master Gyatso, sir?" He turned his head to see the girl dressed in rich blue, carrying a water pouch at her side. Southern Water Tribe he thought.

"Your name child?" he said, patiently.

"Katara, sir."

"Katara. What does Aang mean by asking if it is high spring?"

"Well sir," she began, "We left the Western Air Temple during what the murals called 'Summer Descendant,' sir." This comment weighed heavier on the airbender than Katara had realised. Aang has been with him the whole time, occasionally heading to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, and not to mention the one time he went to get Appa at the Eastern Air Temple. However, Gyatso was certain Aang had not been to the Western Air Temple since the time he was an infant and was brought over to the South. This girl implied they left during Summer Descendant, the last month before the Holy Month of the Autumn Sky. That would have been over nine months ago. Something did not add up.

"So you have travelled for nine months?" he asked.

"From the Western Air Temple? No, we left the Western Air Temple a week ago," she answered with no hint of deception in her voice. Turning to the dark skinned boy she asked, "Sokka how long has it been since we left the South Pole?" The pale boy with the large scar finally spoke up.

"Nine months," he said flatly. She whipped her head back toward the boy shouting, "Who asked you?"

"I was there when you guys first found Aang." That statement was equally confusing to Gyatso. When had Aang been to the South Pole? How had they met the boy if he never remembered letting Aang venture too far.

"Ok so now that we know we're not on cactus juice, is someone going to break the news?" The boy with the wolf tail he supposed was Sokka finally stated.

"Well, don't you think that he'll take it pretty badly?" asked the girl dressed in prisoner's clothing.

"Ok then if everyone's to chicken to tell master twinkletoes here, I'll say it. A hundred years ago, Aang ran away from home, ran into a storm, went all glowy and got locked up in an iceberg. Fast forward and according to sweetness and boomerang over here, they accidentally found said iceberg and Aang. So they bring him back to their village and Sparky over here," pointing to Zuko, "chases them down demanding they hand over the Avatar, and the rest is pretty much a Wild Goose Chase to the North Pole then to Ba Sing Se, and all the way over to the Western Air Temple. In the mean time they pick me up, Sparky apologizes, and we rescue Sokka's girlfriend from a Fire Nation Prison." Gyatso looked extremely perplexed but allowed her to continue.

"So then Sparky's crazy sister, who's the Fire Lord's daughter, attacked us and we had to escape and we ran into another storm, almost died, Aang went golden and we landed on a lion turtle. Aang had some vision and now were here." The monk was extremely confused since Aang had not run away from the temple, but could what she was saying even be true?

"Prove that you're from the future," he stated barely batting an eyelash. They hesitated until the girl in brown rags' eyes lit up.

"Aang, use your bending! No not your airbending," she continued after the avatar shot her a confused look.

"Remember that's how you proved you were the avatar on Kyoshi Island? Do that with your other skills now!"

Giving her a curt nod, he took a step back from Gyatso. Then he jumped into a kata that was definitely not airbending. Sure enough, a ribbon of water surfaced out of a small pool in the corner and was drawn towards Aang before he brought it and shot it straight into the ground. Gyatso was wide-eyed, staring at his pupil as he shifted into an earthbender's stance. A round boulder rose from where the water had dropped, and was joined by others. He directed them a different spots in the courtyard, before drawing them back into the ground. He finally pulled himself into a series of movements as fluid as a dragon in flight, flames dancing around the boy before vanishing.

Gyatso was left completely aghast. The Aang he knew left this morning as a carefree airbender. This boy was nearly a fully realised Avatar! He could not have learned that in mere hours. Even nine months seemed impossibly short, but it fit more with what he saw before his eyes.

"Aren't you people also forgetting something? Something kind of IMPORTANT?" mentioned Katara.

"Like what?" said Toph, appearing oblivious to what the girl meant.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe the fact that SOZIN USED THE COMET TO MURDER EVERY AIRBENDER UNDER THE GREAT BLUE SKY AND DECLARED A HUNDRED YEAR WAR ON THE REST OF THE WORLD!" she realised what she said and covered her mouth out of shock. Those words hung in the air for a moment before Aang finally spoke again.

"Gyatso shortly after I got back from Omashu, the monks wanted to take me away from you so I left. I got lost in a storm and ended up frozen for a hundred years. Everything my friends said is true." Aang was only ever somber when a hard truth smacked him in the face. It was this final statement that confirmed everything to Gyatso, and so he pulled the boy tightly for another hug, allowing himself to shed tears over the grave news. Before he realised what had happened, Aang's companions surrounded him in a warm embrace, some shedding tears of their own. Gyatso eventually pulled from the group and composed himself.

"Come to my quarters. I cannot let too many people see you here." Most nodded in agreement and he assumed the shrug from the blind girl meant she concurred. Whisking them through the hallway, he could only wonder what other news would be dropped on him today.

Uttara could not keep herself under control. After hearing the most bald-faced lie on earth, who would? Even she, who lived under a rock, knew that Firelord Sozin had only one son.

AZULON. Emphasis on the 'on'.

This girl claimed to be the firelord's daughter. What a joke! Yet the expression on her face was not. She went from surprise to violent anger, sending a blast of blue flame in Uttara's direction. Fortunately for her, she managed to duck out of the way before the flames burnt any part of her body. She kept her Kali sticks pointed at the girl as a safety measure.

"What bit you? You're the one sprouting lies," spat Uttara, frustration showing.

"LIES!?" The girl looked incredulous. "I AM THE HEIR OF FIRELORD OZAI OF THE FIRE NATION! WHO ARE YOU, PEASANT, TO SAY OTHERWISE?"

"Peasant?" she asked. "One, I am not Fire Nation so I am not a 'peasant'. Two, everyone knows that there is no Firelord Ozai. Firelord SOZIN rules the Fire Nation, and I don't think that you are crown prince Azulon, since he can barely even walk yet." It was 'Azula's' turn to laugh.

"When you said you live under a rock," she cackled, "you really must've meant it. Sozin's been dead for eighty years!" The airbender was even more confused by the girl. Was she hallucinating? Did we need to get the healer's to follow the air currents in her mind to see what on earth was happening? Her thinking had not let her notice that the other girl's face form into a malicious grin.

"How about you do me a favour?" she asked, a glint in her eye.

"What would that be?"

"You've lived here, locked away from the rest of the world, but I'm guessing you're not happy about it, are you?" Her true emotion leaked through for just a second, but it was enough for the other girl to take it. "Ah, I thought so. You see I need to get back to the Fire Nation Capital, and since I seem to have lost all means of transport, I was wondering if you could get me a way out of this place." Her silky voice hit its target head on. Uttara was dying to leave the Air Temple and see the world, but how could she? She may have had a bison, but she had not ridden her for very long.

"You seem very conflicted about it," said Azula offhandedly.

"I am," she admitted.

"I am patient. Give it a few days to think it over. I'll be waiting for a response." The firebender sat back down on the bed, seemingly tired.

"Oh, I also ask you not reveal this to anyone else, or I might as well announce that you carry Kali Sticks in your robes, which I believe is forbidden?" That last threat caused Uttara's heart to race as she forced her weapons back up her sleeves. 'This girl knew how to mess with your mind' she thought, finally looking at the desecrated contents of the tray she brought in. She reached over to collect it glancing over to the 'princess' who had made herself comfortable in bed.

"Oh, don't mind me. Just carry on as you normally would," she smiled, sounding almost innocent.

"I need to go get some food for you, so I'll be right back." Uttara was still nervous and wanted an excuse to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"Certainly. If you have any fire flakes, I want a large bowl of them." The airbender nodded, and she quickly shut the door, releasing a breath she did not know was there. Standing there to let her heart calm down, she wondered who the girl was and more importantly, whether she was human or not. She began walking down the hallway when Mother Dawa turned the corner and was coming down the hall in her direction. Uttara quickened her pace, hoping the other nun would not notice her, but this proved fruitless when she received an acknowledging glance.

"Uttara, I trust the patient is doing well?"

"Yes, she's finally woken up. She's a real fighter if you know what I mean," she muttered, hoping the double entendre would not fall on deaf ears.

"She must be indeed, given that she seems to have eaten most of her food and medicine," mentioned the elder nun as she gestured toward the tray Uttara held.

"Yes, I'm off to get some more. She seemed completely unsatisfied with her current condition and hungered for more."

"Well, you know where the kitchen is. See that she gets some," replied Mother Dawa.

"Yes Mother Dawa," she muttered, giving her elder a slight bow before continuing.

"Well, at least the spirits haven't messed with me," she whispered treasonously, hoping she had not just condemned herself with her own words.