When Aang woke the next morning the first thing he did was take off to try and find Xing Ying, his mind still shook from the encounter with the mysterious spirit the night before. Any plans he had previously made to take off for the Air Temples that day were forgotten, instead both excited and anxious over what the spirit could possibly be trying to tell him, he deliberated to find out why the spirit had sought both himself and Xing Ying out. The snow outside was still falling, the windows opening up to a forever shifting miasma of oppressive white and sickly greys. Aang had certainly experienced some impressive snow falls in his brief time in the South Pole, but never had he seen snow so depressing, so vulgar to look at. It was like there was something wrong, something sick and diseased about the stuff. The weight of the flakes seemed to be bearing down on the Palace, and even inside their influence was clear to all, settling a damp blanket of hopelessness over all of them. But this spirit could mean a change to that. The spirit brought along a small spark of hope with her and, if Aang were to get so lucky, answers.

Xing Ying and Yee Li shared a room across the opposite side of the chambers from himself and Katara, and though it wasn't far to walk it certainly did remind Aang of the sheer scale of the Palace. When he finally reached their door, he found himself hesitant to knock. He wasn't sure whether or not Xing Ying had chosen to share her vision of this spirit to her fellow student, and if it was wise to include Yee Li in the matter. If not, then he would have to find a way to draw Xing Ying away without rousing Yee Li's suspicion, something that he knew wouldn't be easy. For what she lacked in spirituality, the girl made up in wit and cunning, and she was not easy to deceive. But, the vision of the dark figure in his room still haunted him and, after a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

Yee Li was the one to open it, her eyes widening with surprise and delight when she saw him in the doorway.

"Avatar Aang!" She cried happily. "Has the snow stopped? Are we going to the Temples?"

"I'm afraid not," Aang sighed in response. "Can I come in?"

Yee Li held out a finger and smiled sweetly, before ducking her head back round the door and shutting it sharply behind her. Aang felt mildly surprised at this action, before realising quite how early it must have been. He tugged his sleeves lower down his wrist, looking up and down the hallway as he bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. After a few moments, Yee Li opened the door, this time wide enough to allow him to enter.

He walked into the unfamiliar room, noting initially the pile of clothes thrown haphazardly beside what must have been Yee Li's bed, and the neat stack beside Xing Ying. The later, pulling her robe tighter across her waist, bowed her head hurriedly. "Avatar Aang." She still seemed unable to let up around him, and he wish he knew how he could help her to calm down a little.

"You don't need to keep bowing, Xing Ying," he said jokingly, "and at this point Aang is fine, don't you think?"

"Sorry," she said hurriedly, straightening back up.

"It's ok," Aang assured, holding his palms out. "I just meant, well, I don't really like people bowing to me, that's all."

"Relax, Xi," Yee Li giggles, slumping back into her bed, somehow making Xing Ying's face burn even more.

"Xing Ying, I need to speak with you," Aang said, trying to smooth over her obvious embarrassment. Yee Li raised an eyebrow curiously, looking between the pair, before a grin spread across her face and she jumped back to her feet.

"Ok, well, I'll leave you guys to it, then," she said, without hint that she was annoyed at being left out of the conversation. Aang could have sworn he saw a smirk cross her face.

"Right, just so you can go find Lieutenant Dekho," Xing Ying quipped. But Yee Li was not fazed, simply winking at her friend before leaving the room. Aang waited until the door was shut, before turning back to Xing Ying.

"Xing Ying, I need to speak to you about this spirit. Have you seen it again since we last discussed?" The Acolyte seemed to instantly brighten.

"No," she shook her head, yet seemed encouraged by the question. "But you have?"

He nodded, seating himself on Yee Li's now vacant bed. She, however, remained standing.

"Last night," he confirmed. "When I opened my door she was just standing there ... I couldn't make out much, just a dark figure, and as soon as I lit the lamps she vanished. But she was there. For certain."

"That sounds a little creepy," Xing Ying noted with a shudder. Aang surprised himself with a laugh.

"It kinda was," he admitted.

"So ... what do you think this means?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small puff of air. Truthfully he had no clear idea of what it meant, but he knew what it could all mean. He knew it was possible that the spirit was trying to contact him to tell him about Koh. Perhaps to tell him where he could actually find the spirit. Maybe the spirit was here to tell him more about Innua, to explain what significance she really had in all this. Or maybe it had something to do with the dark presence growing stronger inside of himself the more time went on ... the Avatar Spirit that seemed to have been warped to darkness since Tonrar's attacks. He had never encountered a spirit in this way before, and the possibilities were almost too much to think about.

"Avatar Aang?"

He stirred, realising that he had been staring off into the distance, lost in his thoughts. "As much as I hate to say this, I don't know what it all means. Exactly. I have a few ideas, a few hopes perhaps, but until I make contact with the spirit I can't know for sure. I need to try and speak with her."

"Would going into the spirit world help?"

"I'm not sure," Aang admitted again. "But, it's the next thing to try." He looked up at her. "I'll need you there, Xing Ying. Something tells me that even if I can't make contact in the spirit world, me traveling there will be enough to draw her out."

Xing Ying's eyes widened. "But what am I supposed to do? I can't fight off a spirit!"

"You won't need to," Aang explained. "I think she will try and speak to you." Xing Ying still looked pale and panicked, her brown eyes blinking back at him. "You're a lot more like the air nomads than you realise, Xing Ying. It's clear that you're naturally spiritual, and I'm certain the spirit will pick up on that."

Xing YIng blushed, and one of the first real smiles he had yet seen on her lit her features. It was then that Aang realised, perhaps the first time he had consciously done so, that she was actually quite pretty. He smile lit her entire face, and her eyes seemed to dance in the low candlelight. He blinked. He'd not even considered another woman pretty in all the time he'd been with Katara, and all the time after, and though they were no longer together, he still felt decidedly angry with himself. He looked down quickly, feeling his own cheeks start to warm.

"Ok, I imagine there will be lots for me to do today with the snow, so we can try this tonight. How does that sound?"

She nodded at him, and he stood up.

"Right, I'm going to get some breakfast. You coming?"

She nodded, still smiling brightly.

Together the pair made their way to the throne room where breakfast would hopefully already be sat waiting for them. Zuko had taken to giving everyone instructions each morning, which often meant that Aang was having to spend longer and longer in Katara's company, something that caused him increasing amounts of pain. Sure enough, she and everyone else were already seated at the table with Aang and his Acolyte joined them, with the exception of the Firelord himself. Toph sat opposite Sokka, morosely pushing her food about her plate, though she looked up sharply when Aang and Xing Ying entered. Aang felt Katara's eyes linger on the pair of them for a moment, her cheeks flushing pink, and her gaze dropping quickly to her plate as his swept over her.

"No Zuko?" He asked, as he took his seat opposite Toph, Xing Ying joining him on his other side.

"Not yet," Sokka replied. He sounded and looked rather glum, and Aang looked across at Toph again for confirmation, forgetting not for the first time that she would not catch his gaze.

He poured himself some tea, unsure as to whether he should pursue the reason for Sokka's low mood, as he then leaned across to fill Xing Ying's mug. He heard a strange hum from Toph's direction, noting the smallest scowl on her face before she quickly recovered her indifferent facade, shoving a forkful of shredded meat into her mouth.

"The snow hasn't let up at all," Sokka mumbled. "How soon 'til it stops?"

Aang looked up, realising that he had been the one addressed, the entire table now watching him.

"I don't know," he said defensively. "Why would I know that?"

"Well, unnatural blizzards across across the entire world does kinda fall into your realm, Avatar Aang," Sokka said, with a derisive snort. Aang frowned, taken back by his friends sudden attitude towards him.

"How'd you figure that?" He responded coldly. "I'm the Avatar, not the weatherman."

"Well," Sokka continued, his steady gaze now meeting his, "given you're all about balance and spirit crap, and this has clearly got something to do with that, I'd expect you to be all over it."

Aang felt an uncomfortable jolt in his stomach as he heard Sokka relate the blizzard to matters of the spirit world, and quickly fought for cover. "It's just bad weather, Sokka," he replied firmly, going to fill up his plate. "It'll stop soon."

"And how do you know that?" Sokka demanded. "I've not seen you do a damn thing about it."

Aang's gaze flashed back upward, feeling heckled and irritated. Everyone else on the table sat in dead silence, watching them apprehensively. Sokka got to his feet, piling more food onto a clean plate before making to leave. For a moment, Aang wasn't sure how to react to this unprecedented attack from Sokka, and he fought to keep the boiling lake of anger in his stomach from rising.

"Sokka, what's the deal?" He blurted out, unable to let the warrior leave none-the-less. Sokka stopped in his tracks.

"What's my deal?" Sokka said, his voice now low as he turned to face him. "My deal? My deal is that Suki is still sick! My deal is that she was doing better and now this damn storm has arrived and we're struggling to get her medicine in! My deal is some crazy shit is going down and all you've been doing lately is moping around!"

Aang's felt his eyelid begin to twitch. Sokka had a right to be angry, of course, with Suki still so unwell. But his last accusation caused his blood to boil. He had done anything but mope the last few months. None of them had any idea the amount of sleepless nights he had put into trying to save them, how sick he was making himself in the process, how exhausted and worried he was. He got sharply to his feet, his mouth opening in almost a snarl as he readied himself to fight back. Sokka, no doubt ready for a fight himself by the point, dropped the plate onto the table, stepping forwards. Katara looked between them in panic, but just as the drama started to unfold, Toph reached out and roughly grabbed the hem of Aang's robe with unabashed urgency.

"Wait! Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Aang snapped, trying to pull his robes from Toph's hand.

"Shh!" Toph hissed, concentration clouding her features. In spite of himself he felt his anger fade in favour of curiosity. Sokka, too, lowered his fists.

"What now?" He snapped. However, he was swiftly shut down by Toph and Aang hushing him, the latter now pressing his feet firmly to the ground as he struggled to catch onto what Toph was hearing. As Sokka crossed his arms angrily across his chest, Aang could then feel what Toph had already sensed. A slight vibration, growing stronger, traveling up his legs and causing his teeth to tingle.

"Toph, what on earth is that?" He said, before Toph's eyes widened with realisation.

"Sokka, time to get Suki!" She cried, letting go of Aang and standing. "Katara, go find Zuko, tell him we need to get everyone out of here right away. You- err-" she gestured to Xing Ying, clearly having forgotten her name, "-Acolyte, you grab everyone you can then help Sokka get Suki out of here!"

Sokka did not need telling twice. Even before Toph had finished barking instructions he had taken off, shoving his way through the large doors with a bemused Xing Ying following at his heels.

"What's going on?" Katara demanded, taking in the expression on Aang and Toph's face.

"No time to explain," Aang replied, "go and get Zuko."

"Get everyone out!" Toph confirmed, before the pair of them began to sprint from the room.

"Toph, what is actually happening?" Aang asked, feeling the vibrations buzz stronger up his limbs.

"Earthquake, the volcano, something is happening, and we have to get out of the Palace before it hits the foundations. We have to stop it."

Aang continued to run beside her as they skidded their way round corners, charging towards the outer courtyard. He felt panicked, on edge, knowing that it was likely that whatever was happening here was linked to the slow decomposition of both this world and the spirit world. If people were hurt, would it be his fault? His fault again? He was aggressively tugged from his perturbations by Toph grabbing his sleeve, roughly dragging him outside of the Palace. The vibrations were stronger now, the ground unsteady, impossible even for a non-earthbender to miss. However, being outside now made things difficult for both of them, impossible to pinpoint a source; Aang because he couldn't see through the heavy flurry, Toph because her own 'sight' was inhibited by the blurred and softened outlines of the blanket of ice and snow below them.

"I can't see anything!" Aang yelled through the storm, raising his arm to shield his eyes. "Toph?"

"It's an earthquake alright!" She howled back, even her loud voice scarcely carrying in the wind. "But I can't tell through all this damn snow if the volcano is about to give!" Aang felt a horrible sinking feeling at this. The Palace and the Capital had been built on the head of a large volcano that had been deemed extinct centuries ago. If they were wrong, if it were about to blow, countless hundreds of lives would be lost. Despite losing his connection to Roku, he could still envisage the panic that the old Avatar had gone through when trying to defend his own home from a blowing volcano, and he had perished doing so. If the volcano blew ... he would have to go into the Avatar State. And he didn't know what would happen then. Suddenly, a large jolt caused both Aang and Toph to slip and fall hard to the ground, and they watched in horror as the large mass of the Palace before them started to moan, the top starting to sway in the wind.

"It's going to tear it apart!" Aang grabbed Toph by the collar of her robes, pulling her back to her feet. "The Palace and everything else!"

"Dammit, where are those water babies?" Toph yelled.

Part of the Palace began to shake, the vibrations almost knocking them to the ground once more. Toph grabbed hard to Aang's wrist, pulling his ear close to her face.

"We have to hold it!"

"Right!"

Swirling the snow and wind beneath him Aang took to the sky. Despite his mastery of the elements that brewed around him he held up poorly against the constant battering and beating of the sharp, ice cold bite of the storm. He grit his teeth, letting himself rock and sway with the wind rather than fight against it. Without the Avatar State, he knew that would be a losing battle. He looked back down, just making out Toph digging her hands into the lower front wall of the Palace, her brow furrowed as she fought to stop it's collapse. Aang landed with little grace on one of the outer balconies, digging his own palms into the stone, feeling immediately the unimaginable power of the quake below them, the foundations of the Palace screaming at him. Though he was no stranger to the raw power of the elements, he had rarely been so humbled as he was now, so aware of the pure destructive force of the wind and earth that could so easily crush him if he let it. The plates beneath the surface of the earth swell and rocked, threatening to drag the entire building down with it. He grit his teeth, limbs shaking as he tried desperately to ease the stones.

Through the flurry of the ice he saw his friends finally escaping the Palace, a whole string of people following in their wake. Sokka and Zuko carried Suki between them, Katara standing still close to the doorway as she yelled for people to hurry. Toph stood close by, and her heard her voice yelling to them, to get back, that she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold it.

As if on queue, another shudder ran through the building, and one of the large and beautiful spires crumbled from its perch. Aang looked up just as it broke free, tumbling down towards them, and he was forced to relinquish his hold on the Palace, sweeping the storm below him as, with a yell, he threw a large funnel of air to knock the spire off course. The Palace seemed to scream, his hold desperately desired once more. He plunged his hands back into the stone, groaning against the ache in his shoulders. It was no good, he hadn't the power alone to stop the Palace from shaking itself to pieces, from being swallowed into the ground below. He and Toph were not enough.

"Aang!" He looked down to see Toph yelling at him, desperate. "Aang I can't hold it!"

Panting he looked back down at his hands dug into the stone. He knew he had little choice. He had to go into the Avatar State. But he knew she was there ... under the surface ... the spirit that had waited so patiently for blood and revenge. He had no idea if he could come back from it. If he would even have control.

"Aang!" Toph sounded even more desperate now, crying out as the Palace shook violently once more, almost dislodging her from her place on the ground. With a loud yell he dropped all his barriers, everything that he had built up over the months to keep the Avatar State at bay, and he felt that familiar burst of power explode from within him, the sensation tingling through his limbs, the whole world burning blue.

"You need to listen to me!" Aang growled, as he felt her strike forward with triumph. "I am in control! Not you! So help me!" He could almost feel her considering, his own consciousness slipping for the briefest of moments before, with a gasp, he burst forward. The glow died down, and all that was left was the clear clarity that came with the Avatar State. He was not strictly himself in these moments, he could feel the collective consciousness of hundreds of others within him, but he was focused and he knew what he needed to do.

The snow and wind swirled beneath him again as he eased himself back to the ground, landing beside Toph, who still had her hands pressed deep into the rock. Dropping low to the ground, he dug deep beneath the snow, his senses touching on the rock trapped below. He rose his fists, and with each punch columns of earth burst from beneath the snow, colliding with the Palace and cinching it into place.

"Toph!"

She understood, and immediately began to follow his lead, stamping on the ground and pulling up rock to steady the Palace. With Toph on the case, Aang was able to pull his entire focus on the plates of earth deep below the crust, the groaning slabs colliding and causing the tremors to rise to the surface. The little he knew about earthquakes was still enough for him to be aware that he was going to attempt bending more powerful than he had ever done so before. He was going to need to fight against the very earth herself, to coax the quakes to a stop, to prevent the bubbling heat had begun to sense below from rising and ravaging the entire Capital. With his arms he heat the air around him, flames sparking around his heels as he melt a huge chunk of the snow below him, allowing him to drop down directly onto the earth below. He took a deep breath, centering himself before slamming his heel down hard into the rock, cracking the surface as he sent shock waves down deep, close to the very core. He shut his eyes, blocking out every other sound and sensation around him, focusing entirely on the earth below before finding, some some relief, the place where rock that had come millions of years before him fought. He had no time to contemplate the enormity of his task, instead using all of his willpower to stop the earth from shaking, to stop the plates from crashing together. He had dropped to his knees, his palms pressed to the ground, and those close enough to see could see the effort on his face, his teeth bared as sweat dripped down his forehead, arms shaking. He feared he hadn't the strength, that even with the combined effort of all his lives before him he could not stop the ground for shaking, but the Avatar Spirit pushed forward, his eyes and tattoos glowing vivid blue once more as the full power of the Avatar, her past lives, her spirit, came to blows with the very earth itself. The high pitched sound of steam filled the air, the earth beneath the snow heating to levels that left it hot to the touch, yet Aang couldn't feel his fingertips burn. The ground shuddered and screamed once more, the Palace leaning precariously once more before, with an almighty groan, everything stood still.

Aang relinquished his grasp on the Avatar State, too exhausted to even notice with relief the spirit herself quietly oblige, and he stumbled as he got back to his feet. He saw Toph approach the edge of the deep crater he had created in the snow, but before he could say a single word, he saw a large section of snow break free from one of the upmost spires of the castle, plummeting towards where Toph was standing.

"Toph!"

She raised her hands as if in exasperation, to make it clear that she had no idea what he was yelling about, unable to see the danger falling towards her. With a burst of air Aang jumped from the crater, the snow spiraling behind him as he shot towards her, arms outstretched. He grabbed her, curling his body around her as he brought up a dome of swirling air over their heads, causing the avalanche to bounce of, falling harmlessly into the crater.

"What the hell?" Was all Toph could yell, as they lay panting for a moment. He rolled off her, lifting her shoulder to check that she was alright.

"Are you ok?" She nodded, rubbing her head.

"Please, Twinkletoes, as if a bit of ice is gonna take me down."

In his relief, he actually laughed, before climbing back to his feet, looking at the Palace and around at the City, inspecting for damage. Columns pierced into the walls, and damage had definitely been caused, but the Palace still stood standing. He could not imagine how many would have been hurt, could have died, if he had not been able to stop the quaking. He realised he was still panting, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he spot Zuko and the others running to he and Toph.

"Oh, by the way," Toph said suddenly, coming to stand beside him. "Xing Ying totally has the hots for you."

Aang blinked, looking down at her sharply. "Wh- really? You telling me this right now?" He blabbered in disbelief.

Toph just shrugged.

***

What once stood so proud, so regal, and so beautiful, now hung slumped and defeated. The front hall was covered in rubble, the drapes and tapestries torn and slashed, the once imposing doors battered and bent. The Firelord stood in the center of the hall, looking up at the home he had grown up in, a building that he housed his family for centuries, the expression on his face blank and unreadable. Around him his friends stood, inspecting the damage, both to the Palace, and to the Firelord himself.

Most of the guards were already at work, checking on civilians, and it was only Zuko and his closest that he been allowed entry back into the Palace. Kiyi stood close to her mother, gripping her hand tight, Ikem with his arm around Ursa's shoulder. Ursa looked at her son with clear pain in her eyes.

"Zuko?"

The Firelord's shoulders slumped, his gaze dropping from the destroyed stonework above, as his eyes met with the Avatar's. Zuko's lips thinned, his nostrils flaring as his expression seemed to be that of mingled desperation and, to their horror, pleading. Aang looked back at his friend, recognising the call for help, his heart hammering as he found himself falling further into the pit of guilt.

Suddenly he saw Sokka break free from the group, Suki awake and leaning on Katara, and the warrior marched towards him. Too tired to defend himself, Aang felt Sokka grab him by the throat of his robes, pushing him back with his shoulder and slamming him against the wall.

"Sokka!" Katara gasped, as Suki let out a surprised cry. "What are you doing?"

Sokka glared into Aang's eyes, his face so close to his that he could make out every crease as his face twisted in rage, bright blue eyes reflecting the fire that lit the hall. Aang's face remained impassive, making no effort to fight his friend off him, his anger for once all burned out, taking a step back and allowing him to submit himself to his contrition, his fault, and his shame.

"You knew this was coming," Sokka snarled at him. "All this time you've been hiding something from us. You knew this was coming!"

"Stop it!" Xing Ying screamed, making to step forward, pull Sokka from Aang if she needed, but Toph grabbed her shoulder, holding her back.

"Admit it," Sokka continued, his noses inches from Aang's. "How long have you known about this? How long have you been keeping the truth from us? And why? Because you're better than us?"

"No," Aang replied immediately, the shake in his voice betraying his emotions though his face remained as still as if he had been facing the Face Stealer himself.

"We trusted you, Aang," Sokka continued, his own voice beginning to shake. "I have Suki to care for ... Katara ... and I trusted you." His upper lip now curled, and he yelled into Aang's face. "Did that even matter to you?"

"I just wanted to keep you all safe," Aang replied, with effort. With a sudden snarl Sokka pulled back his left arm, his hand curling into a fist, ready to smash it against Aang's face. Aang didn't wince.

"Do it if it makes you feel better," he said. "I won't stop you."

He watched as the warriors eyes daring across his face, his eyes shaking. Then, with a growl, he dropped his fist, pushing Aang roughly against the wall once more before letting go of his robes. He turned away from the airbender, shoulders slumped.

"Keep us safe from what?"

Aang looked round to see Katara watching him, beseeching him to finally tell the truth. He hesitated, a lump rising to his throat, when he saw that distrust, too, was mingled into her expression.

"Forget it, Katara," Sokka muttered. "He won't tell us. Not even now."

For a second, he wanted to confess all. The nightmares, Koh's disappearance, his visions of Innua and the spirit that haunted him. He wanted to tell them of the future that he had seen, the blood on his hands, the constant fear that he could not control the darkness within him. But how could they ever be ready to hear of the end of the world? How could he possibly tell them all of that and, when they asked what he could so, respond with nothing?

"Aang," Zuko stood straight now, walking back towards them. "I think it's time you told them everything."

They all looked sharply in Zuko's direction, Sokka's exasperation that Zuko, too, had known clear on his face, before he turned back to Aang.

"You better, because if you put my family in danger once more I swear I'll kill you myself," he growled.

Aang winced visibly at Sokka words as they sliced through him like a dagger. He felt his hands begin to shake, and his body compressed beneath him, sliding down the wall to the ground. He closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead, and sighed.

"Ok."

Sokka settled back in surprise.

The Avatar took a deep breath, crossing his legs and letting his hands drop to his lap. His eyes focused loosely on the ground before him, where a lone scrap of tapestry lay, fluttering morosely in the bitter cold breeze. His desire to be diplomatic as he had with Zuko, to break the news gently, was gone. He was tired, so very tired, and if it had to be said, then it was to be said plainly.

"Unless I can find a way to stop it, our world is going to be destroyed."

The ringing silence that followed his words was palpable, tense, some sure that Aang was joking, others knowing enough to feel fearful. Zuko had shut his eyes, knowing the facts. Sokka had a queer smile on his lips, like he was waiting for the punch line, Katara and Suki too seemed to be waiting for a 'but'. Toph, on the other hand, felt the sureness in Aang's words. She knew there was no lie, no 'but', no joke to come, and her head lowered.

"The last eight months I have read every book I can get my hands on, I've communed with every spirit I can reach, I've traveled half the length of the spirit world, all on a failing search to find a way to stop this from happening. Until recently, I had little to no information to share, nothing beyond telling you it was hopeless, and even now the little I have learned can only help so much. I've kept you all in the dark because I did not see the sense in worrying you all about something that you have no power to control."

Kiyi and her parents were still in the room, he realised, as he picked up the scrap of fabric on the ground, twisting it between his fingers. But she too remained silent, he was certain her eyes would either be wide with fear or looking up at her mother with confusion. He grit his teeth.

"The night we returned to the Fire Nation, I was pulled into the spirit world by Roku and a spirit by the name of Koh. They told me, in no uncertain words, that the tether between our world and the spirit world had been torn, and that as a result both worlds would start to break down."

"How?" Katara breathed, her hand gripping Suki's shoulder tight. Suki, though weak, listened too with intensity.

"Tonrar," Aang found himself snarling in distaste. "In sending Tonrar back to the spirit world I managed to start a chain of events that would eventually lead towards the destruction of both our worlds."

"But ... how does that work?" Toph asked now.

"When Tonrar was sent back into the spirit world it was left to Koh to punish him. Koh doesn't have a prison to throw spirits into like Tonrar did, the only thing Koh could do was to take his face." He heard Kiyi squeak at this, and he grimaced. "But in taking his face the balance of the spirit world was upturned and the result is, well, this." He raised a hand, gesturing to the crumbling building in which they stood. "Koh disappeared soon after he and Roku told me this, and since then I have heard nothing from him. He is gone, there's a chance that he's gone for good, and without his help I don't know how I can stop any of this from happening." He laughed coldly, taking himself by surprise. "So, yeh, the world is going to end, and I haven't a single damn thing to go on." A bubbling rage rose in his chest yet again, the Avatar Spirit seemingly sensing his distress, and the flimsy fabric in his fingers burnt into a bright flame before falling from his hand, charred pieces crackling on the ground.

A deathly silence filled the room at his words. He dared not look up at his friends, to see their reactions to his words, or to risk baiting the growling beast in his chest. No, he could not bear to see a single sign of helplessness, a plea for him to find an answer, their accusations or their weakness. For the longest time, no one spoke. No one even seemed to breathe, and part of him desired to stand and walk away just so that he would never have to face then and witness their response.

"So, what're you gonna do?"

Aang looked up to see Toph, hands on hips, head cocked towards him, a single accusatory eyebrow raised.

"Haven't you been listening to a word I said?" He replied, perplexed. "I've told you, I don't know how to stop this."

"I'm not talking about that, Airhead," Toph snapped in response. "That's a shit situation, and ain't no one here going to argue with that. But what are going to do now? About what's happening right here? Are you going to cut and run or are you going to face this?"

He blinked at her, a frown etching across his forehead, unable to comprehend what she meant. Then Toph walked towards him, holding out her hand to him. He looked up at his friendly blankly before her confidence and strength seemed to inspire him to reach out, daring to hope.

"Toph?"

"Just take my damn hand," she demanded, waving it impatiently. After another moments hesitation, he reached out and grabbed it, and her strong arm pulled him forward and upward from the floor. He had expected her to drop his hand at this point, but she only seemed to hold on tighter, facing him resolutely.

"I get you don't have all the answers right now," she said, "but we're going to beat this, Twinkletoes. The same way we've beat everything else. Together."

She turned back to their friends, and Aang clearly saw the smile curling on Suki's pale face. She pushed away from Katara, wincing slightly as she went, walking towards them. Sokka stepped forward to support her, worry on his face, but before he could reach her she held out her own hand, grabbing Toph's extended free one.

"Anyone else?" Toph demanded, a defiant grin on her lips. Aang watched in disbelief as Sokka walked forwards, taking Suki's hand, and nodding his head at the man he had been so close to punching just minutes before. After looking at one another for confirmation, Xing Ying and Yee Li were next, interlocking hands and smiling at him. Next came Zuko, taking Yee Li's hand and, too, bowing his head to Aang. Then Aang felt emotion welling in his chest, his heart hammering the beat it sung just for her, as Katara walked forwards, her eyes locked onto his as she took Zuko's hand, and let her other interlock with him. He felt a spark of electricity run up his fingers, her confidence in him warming him more than anything else could. Regretfully he pulled his gaze from hers to look around at his circle of friends. Ursa and Ikem watched up, Kiyi between them, all beaming at the group stood with interlocked fingers, each of them wearing the same determined expression on their faces. Before he knew it, he felt tears start to well up in his eyes, his relief almost too much for him to handle.

"Rule number two, Twinkletoes, no crying," Toph announced, before pulling her hand free from his and punching him on the arm. As one, the group laughed.

A/N: So, the eagle eyed among you will have noticed that I decided to remove the older versions of books 1, 2, and 3 from the site. As a sort of peace offering I decided to upload the next chapter a few days earlier than I originally planned ... hope that makes up for it ;)

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on the matter! Also, can I just say, I am *so* happy I've finally gotten round to this chapter. The next will contain one of my favourite scenes from the original, with some tweaks of course.