Nightmares
Attention please! I don't want anyone to get confused ;-) I'm changing the point of view into Aang's for this chapter and maybe more… Enjoy!
He was lying on his bed, arms over his head and still with his clothes on. He hadn't had any sleep at all that night; he didn't know what to do. He sighed out as he turned around to stare into his wall. Why did that happen? It was supposed to be so perfect and now? What is she thinking? He felt his muscles flex; he wasn't used to lying so still for so long. He felt his energy twirl around inside of him but he didn't want to get up; he didn't want to face anyone right now. Especially not Kiri. The picture of her sitting so still on the floor last night, bathed in moonlight and darkness at the same time and with a terrified look on her face, flashed through his mind once more. He shrugged. He'd only seen her face like that one time before… That night at the Firenation. He felt his eyes shot slowly and he finally slumbered into a restless sleep.
… A long dark hall. He pushes his legs forward but they can't really cooperate. He wants to get to the end faster. He looks over his shoulder in panic; the red monstrous eyes are still there; creeping up on him. Why can't he run? He hears her scream and it hurts his ears so bad. The scream is filled with longing and pain. He sees her now too; so far away, at the end of the long hall. He yells for her but she doesn't seem to listen. "Run Kiri". Whatever fills her heart with fear, she needs to get out of there. He feels his leg starting to awake; he finally feels that he gets closer to her. To his love. "Kiri… Run!" What is she doing? Why isn't she running? Get out of here! He feels so powerless. He reaches her but the red eyes are still behind him; getting closer and closer. She turns her head to finally look at him. But it's not her. "Katara?"
They start falling. She grasps him and holds him close. "Don't. Please don't…" They are twirling in a tornado of fire. Katara's hair blinds him but he can hear her; Kiri. "Aang help me!" Why is he with Katara and not her? Small gaps of the fire tornado allow him to get glimpses of her; she is so beautiful. Her innocent face and big round dark eyes of blue framed by her long blonde hair. But she is too shrouded in flames, licking her soft skin and blue arrows in their snake style manner. He can't get out of Katara's arms; they hold him so tight. "Please, let me go!" With his hands he forces her face to look at him. But it's not Katara anymore. The face of old Firelord Ozai is inches from his; the blackness of his evil eyes tears open his chest. The fire gets closer and closer to him; he can't get away. This time, Ozai will win. "Even though you locked me up, I still haunt you, Avatar!" His evil laughs pound at his ears. "I will defeat all of you! Weak peasants!" Aang feels the cold stone floor before he hears his legs break. Pain numbs his body. Again he hears her screams. "Aang, please! Do something!" But he can't. He can see her at the center of the room, surrounded by Ozai's rebels. They will kill her. Just like they will kill me, he thinks to himself. Despair. "Somebody… Please help me." He feels so alone as he lays there; staring at the horrible scene of his girlfriend's assassination. Why won't anyone do something?! Her screams start to drown in the noise of the flames burning her. "Aang… Aang please help me. "Aang!" "Kiri… Don't take her…" "Aang, don't let them do this!" "Aang, wake up!" "No, don't take her! She is my hope!" "AANG!" A hard slap on his cheek finally made him fall out of his nightmare. Only to be met by another... Zuko was standing over him; a horrified look on his face. "Aang, come on, we need to get to the city!" Confusion filled his mind as he finally realized he'd been dreaming. "W-wh-what?" He could fill a sharp tension in the air; something was most certainly not as it should be. "What is going on?" Zuko grabbed him and pulled him up to stand on his feet. "I… I don't understand, but… Someone must have spread the news that I was going here, I mean… I tried to keep it secret…" The firelord mumbled to himself. Aang's eyebrows furrowed deeply as he tried to figure out what his friend was saying. He laid his hand on Zuko's shoulder: "Zuko, tell me, aren't we safe here?" Zuko nodded quickly and pointed to the window. Aang rushed over, only to be met by a disturbing sight; Republic City was under attack.
He was on his way to the city – their city – as he finally got a hold on how bad the situation was. Several airborne ships tagged with the Phoenix King symbol hang randomly over the tall buildings and many columns of smoke was raising towards the grey and clouded sky. Appa growled as they came closer; he could feel as well as the rest of them that this wasn't good. He looked at his friends; Zuko, Katara and Toph. They all had determined, yet worried looks on their faces. He could feel a rage starting to bubble in the pit of his stomach. This has to end now! They can't just come here and attack this city; the city of peace and justice! Ozai and his followers need to know that they're defeated! I won't allow them to still cause damage to this world! He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Toph. She nudged him. "Twinkles, calm down. I can feel your heartbeat all the way over here. We're gonna take these guys, you can bet your ass on that!" She shot a hard glance towards Republic City while mumbling. "Stupid… Burning down my buildings… No sir, no…" Aang didn't respond to her words of encouragement. Never in his life had he imagined that a war – big or small – would come to Republic City. How dare they?