[Author's Note 12/6/15]: Title of the chapter is based on the song "Into the Nothing" by Breaking Benjamin. You might notice some lyrics thrown in too.

Chapter Eleven: Into the Nothing

*Nick*

"Wait, what's going on?" Zuko screamed over the roar of the falling ceiling and walls around us. We all ran together through the palace, trying to escape in time. As we all ran, we had to jump over fallen rocks, run around collapsed walls, and pull each other to safety.

"The volcano that your genius family built inside of," I started. Then, a piece of the ceiling came hurdling at me. I didn't have time to think, because just then, Cody jumped at me and sent me hurdling backwards. The ceiling piece collapsed in the place I was standing just moments ago. I sat up and pulled him to his feet, and we sprinted to catch up to Zuko. "it's erupting! Volcanoes erupt lava! And if we're going to survive, we have to get out of here!"

"Who the hell's genius idea was it to put this place in a volcano anyway?" Ray asked. "You guys are freaking idiots! Screw them! I say let them die of stupidity!"

"Ray..." Chad said slowly. "If we let them die, then we die too!"

"This is so not the time for this..." Mei said, shaking her head.

"Brie, look out!" Mike shouted. Just then, a chunk of the ceiling fell and went through the floor, right in front of her. She slipped and fell in but caught onto the edge just in time. Below her, we saw orange, white-hot lava. "Take my hand!" he shouted at her.

"I can't!" she screamed. She started breathing heavy, losing her self-control. But thankfully, Mike leaned down and grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her up. Then, Mike almost fell in, but I grabbed him from behind. I pulled as hard as I could, and then Zuko grabbed me around the waist, and we all helped each other up. But just then, a huge rock came hurdling at us, and Zuko threw the three of us out of the way. Though Zuko was nowhere in sight.

"ZUKO!" Mei and I screamed. Then we saw his head pop up from under the rubble and he punched the rock out of the way with some firebending.

"Come on! MOVE!" he screamed. We all ran again as more rock fell on the place we just were.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Chad called to me.

"We're on the second floor!" Zuko called. "Which means that there's one floor above us and one below! So either way, we can get killed by the falling rocks or falling in!"

"Thanks for the positive attitude!" Mike called to him.

Another chunk of rock fell and landed just a few feet in front of me. It was way too big to go around, so all of us jumped over it one by one. It was one thing after another, after another for what seemed to be forever. Not once did I even consider getting tired.

Just then, we heard a loud roar below us. We kept running and picked up the pace, trying to avoid whatever trouble was coming next.

In a flash, all of us fell one story below in a heap. Rubble was everywhere, and debris smothered our breathing. I looked around for an exit with Cody's arm around my shoulders. He was slumped onto me as I tried my best to support our combined weight. The sounds from above us were quieter now.

"Zuko, where the hell is the exit?"

"I... This is my old bedroom." I looked around and registered the fact that there indeed was a bed and wardrobe still standing. The rubble must have missed both. "The door was over there, but there's just rocks everywhere."

I looked around with Cody for an opening and found nothing. Every entrance was blocked in one way or another. Then I realized all of the guards that were with us were missing.

"Where are they all?" Katara asked.

"They're gone," Toph said, solemnly. "They were all crushed and killed, or fell into the lava. There was nothing we could do."

All of us looked around and gave each other a once-over. Everyone had bruises and cuts, blood everywhere, ashes and smoke staining our skin. Cody had a cut over his left eye and I had gashes in my knees and on my right shoulder. Everyone else had gashes everywhere as well.

But our break ended when we heard a roar unlike any other from deep within the ground. All of us looked up, alert and started panicking to find a way out.

Just then, it started to get really hot. No one else noticed, as they were all searching for a way out. Then I looked to where the door used to be.

There was an orange glow.

"Zuko!" I pointed to the crack in the place where the door was, and Zuko's eyes widened.

"Guys, help me lift the wardrobe!" he called. Aang, Katara, Toph, Ty Lee, Mei, Matt, and I all lifted it together. "Throw it on the bed!" We did so, and it made the bed four times higher.

I climbed up, clumsily, and managed to get on top. "Everyone up!"

"Zuko, go up to the ceiling and help everyone get out," I instructed. I looked back to the doorway and saw that the lava was starting to burn through. "Now!"

He swiftly hopped up and lifted Mei up and out of the hole in the ceiling where we'd fallen in. He swung himself up and readied for the next person.

One by one, we all got on top of the wardrobe and got out. As we did so, however, I stayed at the bottom to make sure everyone else got out safely. I had to fight Cody to get him to move.

"Just go already! I'm fine! You need to get out!"

"Not without you, I'm not."

"Guys, you're the last ones," Matt called down to me. I looked to the doorway and realized that the lava was inches from our feet. I pushed Cody onto the bed and we climbed on top of the wardrobe together.

"Will you go now?" I yelled at him.

"You first!"

I jumped as high as I could, and Zuko caught my wrists and pulled me up with Mei holding him. When I got up, I spun around in time to see that the lava was quickly deteriorating the bed.

"CODY! HURRY!" I yelled. I knew that Cody wouldn't be able to jump from the pain he was in before.

In a flash, Matt looked at me for one instant, and then looked away. He jumped down onto the wardrobe and he grabbed Cody and held him up to Zuko.

I ran over and helped Cody up over the edge. He breathed heavily and laid down, trying to control his breathing.

"Come on! You have to try!" Zuko shouted. I picked my head up and realized that Matt was still down there. I ran over and called to him.

"Matt, come on, JUMP!" I yelled. But he looked up at me, solemnly.

"It's too late now," he said. The lava was coming up on the wardrobe fast, and it set on fire.

"No it's not! It's never too late! JUMP!" I yelled. But just then, a piece of the floor fell through and collapsed into the lava below. Cody pulled me back just before I fell.

I coughed on the debris, and shook my head. "No! MATT!"

"Come on!" Cody yelled at me. Another rock came hurdling down at us, and Cody pushed us both out of the way. We both rolled around and finally fell onto our backs. I opened my eyes and sat bolt upright. Then I saw that rocks had fallen everywhere and left us separated from the others.

"No... No... NO!" I yelled. Tears started to fall down my face and wash some of the dirt away. "It... It can't be..."

Cody sat up and put his arms around me. "I know that this is hard for you right now. But you have to listen to me." I looked him in the eyes and he looked at me, hard. "You have to stay strong. We need to focus on what we're doing and get out of here. It's the only way we're going to make it out alive."

I nodded, feeling numb.

"I trust you, Nick. Now you have to trust me." He stood up and held his hand out to me. "We're getting out of here alive."

I wiped the tears away and shook my head of all its thoughts other than survival. I put on a determined demeanor and took his hand.

"I trust you." I knew… somehow… that we had make it out alive.

*Zuko*

"Why couldn't I have just reached a little further and saved him? WHY?" I screamed. Everyone backed up from me, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of my rage.

"Zuko, it's not your fault," Mei told me. "He's an idiot that wanted to save someone. You have to understand that. That was his dream."

"But he'd still be alive if I caught him!" I yelled. Mei winced at the sound. I softened my expression and shook my head in defeat. "I'm sorry..." I said quieter. Mei walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek.

"It's alright," she said, tears in her eyes. "But now we have to get out of here."

I stood up and pulled Mei up with me.

I lead all of us through the rest of hallway. When we made the next turn, I realized that we were at the edge of the palace.

"Everybody out!" I called. All of us filed out the main doors and sprinted through the court yard. When we left the palace gates, we saw hundreds of people running toward the main entry to the inner city. It was the edge of the volcano, and everyone made it to the outside. When I looked back, everything was completely engulfed in lava. Then, we saw an eruption from the bottom of the volcano spew out more lava high into the air.

Mei pushed me to leave, and all of us ran down the winding road that would lead us to the shore of the Fire Nation. We all ran as fast as we could, but the lava was gaining on us, fast.

Next to me, I saw Aang pull out his bison whistle and blow, hard. In an instant, Appa flew toward us from Roku knows where.

As if matters needed to get worse, Mei slipped from the path as we ran. She started sliding down the mountain and I jumped down after her. My weight being more than hers, I caught up to her and grabbed her in my arms, tumbling on the way down to break her fall. But as we approached the bottom, the wind was knocked out of me as I felt something catch me in my back.

"KATARA!" Mei's voice rang in my ears. She leaned over me and took my shirt off of me as gently as she could. She used it to put pressure on my wound, but the blood only poured through. There was a tree branch sticking out of my torso.

"I'm here, it's alright," Katara said, trying to sooth Mei. "You have to pull it out with me." I could hear the panic in Mei's voice, but I continued to groan in agony. "If you don't help me, he'll die." Slowly, they pulled on the branch together as I screamed louder than I'd ever have. Her tears poured down her face. "I'm going to try to heal him." Katara said. She bent down and poured water on the wound. She then bent it around her hand and pressed down on my chest.

"Zuko, can you hear me?" Mei said. I couldn't move or speak, but instead I blinked my eyes as hard as I could manage, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "He's okay."

"This is not going to be easy for me to fix alone," Katara said. "I need Nick's help."

Everyone didn't say a word for a minute.

"And if we don't find her?" Aang asked.

"I... don't know," Katara stated.

"Come on, let's get him on Appa at least. We have to get out of here," Aang said. All of us then piled into the saddle and Mei and Aang lifted me on as Katara continued to heal me.

"Wait!" I heard a voice call from behind us. I tried to focus and saw Moku running toward us.

"Moku..." I said weakly. He climbed up and kneeled at my side.

"I needed to tell you something..." he panted, "about... Ursa..."

I sat up and winced in pain. Mei tried to push me back down, but I shook her off.

"She's alive. After the raid on the palace, I took her and Uncle Iroh to the Northern Water Tribe. You can still find her."

My eyes softened. "She's alive..." I held out my hand. "Thank you, Moku."

"Anything for you, Zuko," he replied, taking my hand. "I have to head back. I'm leading the fleets out of here. We're heading east to the Earth Kingdom. We're going to make amends and stay there."

"Glad to hear it. Goodbye, Moku."

"Goodbye, Zuko."

Then, he took off in a sprint down to the harbor.

"Come on!" Aang called. "We have to find Cody and Nick!" Then, he steered Appa into the sky.

*Nick*

"Take my hand!" Cody called down to me. I was a few feet below, and about to fall into the lava. I reached up and almost fell, but he caught me just in time. He pulled as hard as he could and we fell back onto the edge of the volcano. And just then, the volcano erupted.

"RUN!" I yelled. Both of us ran down the side of the volcano, eventually tripping and sliding down, side by side. We tossed and turned, banging against rocks and surely breaking something along the way.

Finally, we were thrown down to the shore and we both flopped on our stomachs on the sand.

I couldn't move. I was in pure agony. I opened my eyes and looked around. Then I saw Cody, panting to my right, and he was wincing in pain.

Tears started rushing down my face. I was so relieved that we were safe.

"We're alive," he finally said, taking everything in. But then he gasped, and I saw what was wrong as soon as he did. He gripped his right side, which was facing me and was now covered in blood. I sat up quickly and crawled over to him, and ripped his shirt, tying it around his stomach.

Then, I ran down to the water and dipped my hands in. I cupped some in my hands and ran it back over to him to wash the blood off. I took the shirt off and put my hands on the gaping wound. I pressed down, and my hands started to glow blue.

A few winces, 'It's gonna be okay's' and minutes later, the wound was closed. I kissed his cheek, and prayed to my dad.

"Please... let help come soon..."

Stay with me.

You're all I have left.

And a white cloud seemed to come down a little too low in the sky.

"Nick!" It was Chad calling to me from Appa, soaring down to the beach. Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at Cody, laying in my arms.

"We're gonna be okay!" He smiled at me and nodded, slowly.

But when they landed and Katara jumped out, running over to us, I knew something else was wrong.

I looked up and saw Mei's face as she looked down at something in the saddle. Her eyes were puffed up, and they were tear-stained as she sat there, expressionless and staring. Katara finally reached me and gave Cody a once-over.

"He looks alright to me. Nice job, Nick," she complimented. "But Zuko isn't doing so well. He and Mei fell down the side of the volcano and a branch went into his chest." I looked over at the unconscious Zuko, and with a heart-wrenching realization, I knew that he truly needed me now more than ever. But then I heard a rumbling behind us and saw lava flowing down the cliff straight for the beach.

"Go! NOW!" Katara and I supported Cody as we walked over to Appa, and put him in the saddle.

I looked down at Zuko and my breath caught. He was out-cold, and his chest was gashed so deep, that I could see an artery or two pumping his blood.

"Ok, let's do this!" I said, lifting my hands, hovering them over Zuko. Katara bend the water out of her pouch and bent it around her hands. Then I put hands over hers and some of the water leapt onto me as if I were a magnet.

We both lowered our hands onto his chest. On contact, his internal body temperature warmed my hands, and both Katara and I had to press onto the inner parts of his chest to heal him, beyond his rib cage.

The feeling of the blood indirectly on my hands and touching his veins and arteries was something I'm sure was never meant to happen. Katara and I felt our way around, covering every open part of his chest, making our way outwards as the wound started to close up as we flew. We worked for over an hour before the wound finally closed. By that time, we'd both run out of water, and our hands were covered in blood, though Zuko had yet to wake up.

"It's closed," I sighed, collapsing onto the saddle floor. The blood on my hands was dried and crusted onto my skin, so I put my hand over the side of the saddle and let it flake off as we flew further.

"Thank you," Mei said, hugging me.

"Great job, guys," Brie said to Katara and I. I waved my hand at her, too tired to move. Katara just smiled.

I heard a single person clapping slowly. I turned and saw Lily, rolling her eyes at me.

"That little bitch!" Brie yelled. She tried lunging at Lily, but Katara grabbed her and held her down. "She's done!"

"Would somebody please explain what's going on?" Toph yelled. "I don't think Sugar Queen can contain Curly Q much longer!"

I waved my hand, dismissively. "It's a long story."

"On a lighter note..." Mike started, "Where the hell are we going?"

"The Western Air Temple," Aang replied. "But Katara and I can't stay long. We have to be getting back soon."

"To the South Pole, right?" I asked.

"Yes, with Toph and Ty Lee as well," Katara added. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ray and Ty Lee look at each other.

"We're here," Aang said. He flew us down into the canyon and we saw the marvelous Air Temple structures build by the nomads centuries ago. You could see the waterfalls on the platforms build for meditation by the nomads as well as the inverted structure of the temple. There were tons of ramps and individual buildings everywhere.

"This is incredible..." I trailed off in awe.

"We'll show you guys around so you can pick a place to stay," Aang continued. He guided Appa down onto the main platform with the wall paintings from the show. I helped Cody off of Appa and walked him over to the water fountain and we sat down.

"This place is beautiful!" Ty Lee said. She stood next to Ray, with him having his arm around her waist.

"A little help, Mei," Aang groaned, trying to carry Zuko. She rushed over and held him under his arms while Aang got the legs. "I'll show you where his old room is. We'll set him down there and let him get some rest." She nodded.

"All the guys' rooms are this way too, so if you guys wanna follow me..." All of us followed them down a narrow hallway that led to a bunch of rooms, but it was very wide-spread inside.

"This one is Zuko's," he said, sliding the door open. Inside was a huge window at the back with a small twin bed and a window bench that had drawers for storage. "All the rooms are the same."

"Where's our rooms?" Aang and Mei set Zuko down. Everyone left the room, but I stayed behind for a minute watching them.

"You okay by yourself?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded, still not taking her eyes off Zuko.

"If you need anything, just yell, okay?"

"Yeah..." She barely mumbled. Then she turned to me. "Thanks."

I gave her a weak smile. "No problem." I walked out and slid the door behind me. I heard the rest of them a little further down the hall, but I saw that one room had the door open to my right. I peaked in a saw Chad by himself.

"So this is your room, huh?" I asked, jokingly. He was putting his bag down and hanging his tiger hook swords on the wall next to his bed.

"Yeah, guess so..." He barely looked up.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed. He was always quiet when something was up.

"Nuthin'... Just... thinking..."

"About...?"

"About... well... a lot of things."

"Like...?"

"Just... I don't know. I've been thinking, and... Maybe... Maybe I should just... stay here." He looked up at me, confused. "I want to change myself. I don't like who I am back home, and I want to have a clean slate... start a new life with a second chance... Am I crazy?"

I sighed before walking over. "No, not at all. I was contemplating it myself, actually. But I'm needed home with my family. I want to fix the mistakes I've made. But you already have, and you truly want to stay here..." I sighed again, "then... I think it would be good for you."

He shared a small smile with me. "I knew you'd say something like that. It just feels... right. I want that chance to have a fresh start, ya know?" He breathed deeply. "When our group started fighting, they were only maybe ten guys. But then Lily was hit, and a ton more showed up. She was screaming in pain, and we were completely outnumbered. But rather than killing us all off, the guards helped us probably out of pity. They are nice people, and I feel like this is my one chance to start again. Do you think this is what's best for me? I feel like this is risk I have to take."

"I know exactly what you mean. And right now... as much as I don't want to let one of my best friends go..." I trailed off looking away from him.

"Come here," he said. I turned toward him and saw that he was crying. And apparently I was too, for the fact that I could barely see him through the tears. He was holding out his arms for a hug, and I immediately hugged him back.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" I said. "Don't go around looking for trouble, and try not to hit on every girl you see."

He laughed at me with that small little chuckle of his. "I'll try not to look for trouble."

"How did I know you'd say that?" I said, laughing as well now. I wiped the tears off my face and hugged him harder. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too. Don't tell the others yet though. I don't want them to have to worry about me, too."

"But of course you put it all on me..." I said, stepping back. I folded my arms and glared at him jokingly.

"Of course..." I smirked and closed the door behind me. I walked down the hall looking for the others, but it was oddly quiet now. They must've been over by the girls' rooms already. I peeked into each of the guys' rooms as I walked past. Mike was putting his stuff around the room in a completely unorganized fashion. Ray just threw his stuff on his bed and left the room. I wondered where he was until I came to Cody's room.

The door was closed, so I knocked twice but got no answer. I slowly slid the door open.

"Cody...? You there...?" I looked around before seeing that he was sound asleep on his bed.

His torso was bare other than the bandages wrapped around his stomach area. He breathed deeply and slowly, each breath seemed to cause him a small fraction of pain, even in his sleep. I winced at the thought of not even getting true rest in your sleep before walking over to the end of the bed and sitting down. I sighed, wishing he wasn't in so much pain. I took out the water skin and poured water on his torso, healing him best I could. His breathing was a little more even when I finished, and I walked out of the room satisfied.

I walked down the hallway further, seeing Aang putting his stuff down in his room as well. I continued walking down the hall until I came to the door leading outside. I looked around on the platform but couldn't see anyone, anywhere.

"Guys...?" I looked around for the closest building, hoping to find the girls' rooms but couldn't see anything. "Hey guys!" I called out.

"Up here!" I looked directly above me to see that on the balcony were Brie, Katara, Ty Lee, Toph, and Ray.

"I'll be up in a second!" I ran over to the ramp and started climbing. I got exhausted pretty quicklu, from everything that went on today. When I got to the top, I dropped to my knees. "I think I need a little rest..." I sighed, breathing heavily. Brie ran over and sat next to me.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...exhausted," I breathed. The others came over too.

"Can you get up?" Brie asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright." I got on one foot and tried to stand. Brie grabbed my arm and helped pull me to my feet.

"Just so you know," Toph told me with a light punch on the shoulder, "I changed Zuko and Cody's nicknames to Fireflakes and Flameo."

"I'm sure they'll just love that..." I said, rolling my eyes.

I looked around and realized that Lily wasn't there at all. Then I saw her in the corner, looking out over the area.

"This way," Toph said, leading. We all followed except for Ty Lee and Ray. They stayed, looking over the balcony together with Ray holding Ty Lee around the waist and her resting her hand on his shoulder. I crept over to a nearby water fountain and listened in on their conversation.

"Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my life," Ray said. He breathed deeply as he looked out at the view. The wind was blowing and his long, brown hair blew around wildly. I raised my eyebrows about how much he really cared about Ty Lee. I'd never seen him act this serious before in my life.

"Me too..." Ray hugged Ty Lee harder and kissed her head.

"I don't want to let you go."

"Well, we might as well make the best of today, right?"

"Yeah..." But still, neither of them moved.

"I don't want to let you go!" Ty Lee suddenly yelled. She threw herself into Ray and cried into his chest. Ray hugged her back and laid his face on her head.

"I don't want to let you go either." He took her long braid in his hand and wrapped it around, feeling the touch of it for what little time he had left with her.

"Then... don't," I said. I walked over from where I was sitting and they both turned to look at me. "Stay here with her, Ray. You love her and she loves you. Don't just give up on her."

"But..." He looked to Ty Lee, and she smiled, wanting Ray to stay more than ever. "What about Mom and Dad?"

"I can tell them some story, and even though we'll all miss you... you'll be happy, right?" I said through tears. I was about to lose another person I've trusted and loved dearly. This was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

"No." Ray and I turned to Ty Lee. "I won't rip apart your family. I've never had a true family to love, but I can't ruin your relationship with yours. It's not right, and I won't stand for it!"

Ray and I looked at each other and back to Ty Lee.

"So..." he started, "you're gonna let me go...?"

"No way! You two are not being separated! This isn't fair!" I went into deep thought, thinking of a way for them to stay together. "I've got it! Ty Lee, come back home with us!"

"But where would I stay?" she asked.

"What about Mei?" Ray asked.

I shook my head. "Her parents are having enough problems as it is."

"What about Brie?" Ty Lee asked.

I shook my head again.

"What about one of the guys?" Ray asked. "What about Mike?"

"That's great!" Ty Lee squealed. "I'm gonna have a family now!" Ty Lee stepped away a little and walked on her hands, followed by a back-hand spring.

"Well, you'd have to share a room with his sister, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind."

"Do you have any idea how many of us were in one room in my old family?"

I smiled at them and let them enjoy their time together. I walked inside and peaked into each room, looking around for the others.

I found Katara in her room. "Hey," I said, walking in. She turned to me and smiled.

"Hey yourself," she said. "I'll show you to yours and Mei's room. Ty Lee's is right next to mine, so she can find it on her own."

"Yeah... she's a little busy at the moment anyway." I laughed and Katara was confused.

"Do I want to know?"

"It's about time Ray found someone decent. Ty Lee is going to come back with us when we go home."

"That's great!" Katara paused, in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"How are you guys going to get back?"