Hey guys, again, sorry for the wait but this was a bit of a tricky chapter for me. My friend who's been following this and proof reading (you may have noticed numerous shout outs to Anson, that's him...) mentioned he didn't realize there have been a couple time jumps. So if i wasn't clear, after Aang leaves Omashu he is gone for most of winter, and only arrives in Ba Sing Se in the last few weeks.

Now, there's been about a 6 month or so time skip from when Aang arrived at Toph's, as it's now Summer. SO THERE! If that's not clear enough, there's nothing i can do.

Also, you really should listen to the song I used the lyrics for and tried to describe. It's an awesome song by an awesome band, but they're not well known so the only way you can listen to it is to google the song and band name (search : Versus Deseret) and MP3 sites should come up. That, or search "The Stars Are Insane" in itunes store. You can either listen to 30 seconds of Deseret, buy the song for a buck, or get the album there.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the song choice, at least for the lyrics. I wanna see how many people listened to the song. A simple "listened, liked" message would suffice.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, and keep those reviews coming.


Katara walked into her room, dropped her bag on the floor, and flung her exhausted body on her bed. Summer finals were approaching, and days at school were filled with mock tests, while nights at home she spent cramming the year's curriculum into her head. Even though she didn't bother studying for her waterbending course, she had trouble with sciences and math since she lacked the base level education, and that kept her up late every night. She didn't mind though, as keeping busy had become a habit. At first it kept her mind off Aang, and eventually it just stuck.

Rolling on her back, the young woman let herself have a few moments of rest before breaking out her books. As usual, her thoughts drifted to Aang, but there was no unbearable sorrow. She had stopped crying a long time ago. After the months he'd been gone, all that was left was a deep ache calling out for forgiveness.

Katara sighed, then got up. There was nothing she could about this. She hadn't found any clues in his letter, and he hadn't contacted her, so he obviously didn't want to be found. Reaching for her bag, she shook the books out onto her desk, and grabbed her planner. Flipping to today's date, she realized all she had was a waterbending mock test tomorrow, and review in all her other classes. This meant she could take the night off, though the young woman knew she should stay on top of her work.

Changing out of her school uniform, she slipped into her water tribe clothes. She may get strange looks for wearing such old fashioned clothing, but she grew up in the water tribe, and always felt at home in her traditional outfit. Besides, Katara didn't really understand the "modern" world's obsession with fashion. And it wasn't like her clothes were ugly or anything.

Finally ready, she walked downstairs and grabbed a piece of paper and pen. Sokka was still at work, so she left him a note telling him where she was.

Sokka,

Went out to the river, don't have any studying to do tonight. I'll be home later

Love, Katara

Katara left the note on the fridge, which she knew would be Sokka's first stop when he got home, so he was sure to see it. Satisfied, she made sure she had her keys in her bag, then walked out the door, locking it behind her.

The river wasn't far outside Omashu's walls, and after hopping into a passing delivery cart, reached the city gates in a couple minutes. A brisk, 20-minute walk, and the sound of trickling water reached the waterbender's ears.

Katara eagerly increased her pace, almost jogging to the water. There were no large bodies of water in the city, so this was the only nearby place she could bend freely. Usually, she made it down here a couple times a week, but her studies had kept her away for almost a month now. As the river came into view, Katara sighed. It was a bit small, a stone's throw across and only slightly too deep to touch the bottom with your toes, but it was beautiful. The silvery water was pristine, and flowed calmly.

The waterbender put her bag on the ground, and started wading out into the water. It was just a little bit cool, which was perfect in the summer sun. When it reached her knees, she raised her hands, and pulled a glob of water the size of a watermelon into the air.

She began clearing her mind of all thoughts, letting the feel of the water rising and falling put her into a trance. Slowly, she moved the ball in a circular motion in front of her, moving it away, then bringing it closer to her.

As she increased the speed of the ball's revolutions, she bent it around her in an orbit, like the moon around the planet. The push and pull she felt from the sphere was mesmerizing, and soon her eyes were closed, everything but the water lost to her.

As she swayed her arms in front of her, pulling the ball around her, the river begged to be bent, calling out for her will to shape it. Complying, she pulled another stream of water and bent it into the already orbiting ball, creating an entire ring of water spinning around her.

Now she swung her entire upper body around her waist, leaning forward and back as she moved in a circle. As the amount of water around her increased, she felt the river lower to her shins, then her toes, until she stood on dry ground.

Fully entranced, she let her meditative state take the wheel of her thoughts. Images began flashing in her mind.

Her mother.

Her father.

A boat sailing away.

An iceberg.

Aang.

Her mind held the boy before her for a few moments. He appeared exactly as he had when she had first found him, young and innocent, eyes wide and grinning like a mad spirit. Before she could fully enjoy seeing her old friend happy again, another figure started appearing besides the young boy.

At first she thought it was Sokka, as the figure was tall and thin. But as his features gained more definition, it was clear it was not her brother. The young man's bald head and tattoo's gave him away.

Clearly, this was how Aang appeared today, or at least last time Katara had seen him. Standing next to his younger self, it was shocking how much he had grown. He now stood a little less than 6 feet tall, though he was almost as thin as he used to be. However, aside from their clothing and size, it was his face that had changed the most.

All the baby fat had left his face, leaving him with a defined jaw line and a thin face. He was no longer beaming, either. Instead, his eyes were half lidded and downcast, his lips pulled into a thin line. It was his eyes that disturbed her the most.

No longer did they contain that youthful gleam, full of curiosity and life. No, his eyes looked like they came from someone else. Underneath his gray orbs, dark circles gathered, and the muscles were slightly pinched, as if he was disappointed in something. Someone?

Standing side by side, the two Aang's were eerily similar, and yet so different. It was almost heartbreaking how fragile the little boy looked next to his older self. Even though it was hard seeing how much Aang changed, it was nice just to see him again. Before Katara could continue to drink in his features, the Aangs faded away, almost as quickly as they had appeared.

Slowly her mind pulled her back into her body, and Katara became aware of her surroundings. Though it seemed like she had spent a long time in meditation, she was sure it had only been half a minute at most. Her body was only just starting to get sore from bending the river around her.

The waterbender began easing the water back into the river, making sure not to create a massive wave by letting it all go at once. Once the river had been returned to its usual state, Katara picked up her bag and slowly made her way home.

Deciding to take a more scenic route, the young woman began to mull over her visions. Strangely, seeing Aang, especially in such a stark contrast to his younger self, didn't upset her. She missed him more than usual, but there wasn't any sharp pain in her chest.

More than anything, she wanted to give her friend a hug, to make him feel better.

Finally, she got to her street and turned onto her block. Sokka's car was in the driveway, so he must've gotten back from work. As she pushed the front door in, she could hear music being blasted. Peering into the doorway, she could see Sokka slouching at the computer, his head bobbing up and down slightly with the beat of the music. She knocked on the doorframe, and Sokka jumped a little in his chair before turning around. He paused the music and motioned for her to come in.

"Hey, Katara, check this out," he said as he tossed her a CD from the desk. Written on the blank disc in thick black felt were the words "Blind Element."

Katara threw her brother a questioning glance, prompting him to explain.

"It's Toph's band, stupid. She finally got it started late last year, and recorded them playing some stuff. She says they don't have any original material yet, but they play a lot of covers. Here, listen." He opened up the music player program, and scrolled through the list of songs. She could see on the monitor it was called "Deseret", by Versus, but she'd never heard of the band before.

The music rose in slowly, a driving rock beat accompanied by a catchy guitar riff and punchy bass line. Just as the volume reached its peak, the distortion cut out, and the riff changed into a calmer note progression. The result was a slightly anti-climactic feel, leaving you craving more of the energetic guitar. After a couple more bars, the vocals came in, sung by a young man, in a strangely familiar voice.

The desert sun will take my body,

Cleanse me of the dirt that covers me

So I can breathe all right,

All right?

If you leave today,

Will you take care of my things; send 'em to me,

Just put 'em on a plane to Deseret,

All right?

The desperate tone of the man's voice sent chills up Katara's spine, but she still couldn't figure out where she'd heard the voice before. Before she could figure it out, the chorus broke in, this time clearly accompanied by Toph's voice.

Deseret…

Deseret…

Deseret…

Deseret…

The distortion kicked back in, the song's intensity returned, and the two vocalists belted out a couple more "Deseret" before the volume began to drop and the song ended. Hearing the man yell like that, Katara immediately realized where she'd heard the man's voice before. Eyes wide with realization, she ran upstairs into her room, threw some clothes into her travel bag, then ran back into the office.

Sokka was still sitting in the chair, but was now staring at Katara, obviously wondering what possessed her. Before he could ask, Katara lunged for the keys Sokka left on the desk, grabbed the CD Toph had sent them, then dashed out of the room.

"Katara! What are you doing?" He called after her, stumbling out of his chair as he tried to follow.

"I'm taking the car; I'll be back in a few days!" She yelled back as she pulled her shoes on.

"You have school!" She could hear him untangling himself from the chair, so she hurried up before he could stop her.

"Call and say I'm sick then!" Quickly she ran out the door and slammed it behind her. She jumped into the driver's seat, locked the doors, and adjusted the chair so she was more comfortable. She had gotten her driver's license a few years ago, but Sokka used the car a lot more than she did.

As she put the key into the ignition, Sokka came bursting out of the house and ran up to the car door, trying to pull it open. Katara unrolled the window a crack so she could hear him better.

"Katara, get the hell out of my car now! I have a date with Yue tomorrow!" Katara just smiled back at him, started the engine, and put the car into reverse.

Conceding defeat, Sokka stopped struggling with the door and hung his head.

"At least tell me where you're going?" He said in a defeated tone.

"I'm going to visit Toph. Tell Yue I'm sorry about your date!" She backed the car out of the driveway, and started down the road.

"You know I'm going to get you back for this, right?" Sokka called after her as she drove down the road. Grinning, Katara popped the CD into the car's CD player, and started to listen.

As she turned onto the highway, Katara gunned the car down the road. Although she was alone, she quietly muttered to herself.

"I've finally found you."


A/N: I know it's a pretty weak way of revealing the information like this (with Sokka just stating he has a date with her), but Yue hasn't died like in the show. It IS an AU. Don't expect everything to be the same from the series. My motives for there are yet to be disclosed.