A/N: Sooo I'm back! I've finished 4 out of my 5 tests and the last one isn't until 2 weeks, so thought I could spare some time. You'll be happy to know that I haven't failed any haha…yet. This chapter is pretty short but hope it somehow makes up for the longish absence. I've started reading more fanfics and I'm starting to remember how annoying it is to wait for the next chapter heh, so sorry?

I've used a few quotes from the show, so disclaimer – none of that is mine! I just felt like it fitted well in the chapter.

Aang's POV:

Darkness. A flash of blinding light. Another flash. Then pain. White hot pain. I twist and I turn but the pain follows me everywhere I go for seemingly hours and hours. Then all feeling ceases and I float in this dark empty void. Another flash follows and in its centre is Azula, her fingers pointed straight at me. I scream and she vanishes. But another figure replaces her. Ozai.

"You're weak! You don't deserve to live in this world." I shiver and put my hands under my armpits as I try to keep myself together. I squint and see Roku in the distance but he's quickly fading away. I run after him, hoping to catch him, hoping that he can explain what's going on.

"Roku!" I shout but it only comes out as a silent squeak as he disappears into a puff of smoke. A Dai Lee agent drops in front of me, I turn my head and another drops and another and another until I'm surrounded. I hold my stomach, the urge to vomit becoming more and more prominent. I push past them and run. Run into the blackness and unknown but every time I try to escape another old foe reappears with their snide and evil gleam. Zhao as he makes a grab for me with his two arms.

"What's it like being the last Airbender? Do you miss your people?" The prickling question causes my running feet to trip up and I tumble to the ground. A pair of feet appear into my line of sight. I pull my head up to stare into Yon Yu's unforgiving eyes. He pulls me up by the neck of my collar.

"There's no need of you. There never was." I struggle against his grasp, trying to scratch at his hands but his unfeelingness appears to spread to his exterior as he holds me tight without so much as a flinch. Then suddenly he drops me but instead of falling to the ground as I expect I end up falling into a never ending pit.

"If you leave now, you won't be able to enter the Avatar State at all!" Pathik's face floats in front of me.

"You turned your back on the world." Then the Fisherman.

"You ran away." Katara's disappointed gaze.

"My people needed me and I wasn't there. The world needed me and I wasn't there!" My self-blame. I plug my fingers into my ears trying to block it all out but my past mistakes keep battering at me.

"If you dunderheads want to throw away everything we've worked for then go ahead and glow it up!"

"You burned my sister!"

"You had it the whole time?!"

"You just didn't care!"

"Aang, you can't keep running away from this!" I shake my head vigorously. 'Please make it stop.' Suddenly I near the ground. I look down and see one of my most cherished memories.

"You've still got a family. Sokka and I, we're you're family now."

"We won't let anything happen to you." I pass through the image just as it fades out to hit the unforgiving ground with a bone shattering thud.

Reality:

"AHHHHHHH!" I scream out as I fight against the tangles and hands holding my down.

"Aang! AANG! It's alright." A familiar voice echoes back at me, but I tremble hard, trying to get away from all the grabs and touches.

"Give him some room! He's disorientated." Suddenly all the hands are retracted leaving me to only focus on the searing pain of my back. Another shrill rips through me.

"It's his back. Roll him over to his side!" The urgent voice penetrates my thoughts as the pain ebbs away slightly. Finally, conscious thought takes over, or at least enough for me to open my tightly closed eyes to come face to face with Kyla and Katara. The world starts to spin.

"He needs to see just one of us. Katara." The next time I open my eyes, Katara is the only one in my line of sight. I frown, trying to focus on her and push the blurry edges away.

"Ka...ta..ra?" I croak out. A hand grasps my own.

"I'm here. You're ok." She comforts, but I see the glazed look in her eyes and I can only imagine how much worrying she's been doing by the shaky exhale that escapes from her lips when she stops talking.

"What…happened?" I ask haltingly as I try to take deep breaths into my air starved lungs. I feel her hand tighten against my own.

"A lot of things. But long story short you and Toph were captured and we rescued you." I frown at the brief account.

"That's one... seriously... shortened...version." I gasp out as pain needles into my back sharply. "And...why's my back...aurgh... killing me?" I flinch strongly when I sense something nearing it.

"We're working on that, but you were hurt pretty badly." My eyes flutter to a close, 'seems like all I ever do is get hurt or hurt other people.' I feel a hand on my forehead. "You need to rest. Sleep." As much as I try to fight the command I find myself nodding off and I can only hope that no terrifying nightmares will greet me again.

1 hr Later

Kyla's POV:

I close the door to Aang's room softly and release a deep breath. I turn to Katara beside me whose expression is far-away as she hugs her arms to her chest.

"He'll be alright." I say encouragingly, despite having the same fears myself. Katara stiffens at my response and nods. I sigh heavily and lean against the wall.

"Alright, out with it." I demand abruptly. This time I have Katara's full attention as her eyes swivel to meet mine as she pulls one of her sleeves down subconsciously.

"What do you mean?" The Waterbender answers uncomfortably. I roll my eyes at her feigned ignorance.

"You know what I mean. You've been avoiding me since Aang's been in hospital." I retort bluntly.

"I..." The Master Waterbender starts but trails off and shifts her gaze away from mine. I sigh again and push myself off the wall.

"It's the bloodbending isn't it?" I supply. She looks at me with a mixture of shock and discomfort.

"How did...?" She trails off again and the corners of my lips turn up slightly.

"I remember Aang mentioned your dislike of the ability in passing. Plus, you were very stiff when I ran past you that day." I watch as her eyes drops to the ground in embarrassment and I take a step towards her. "I don't like it either. I only use it sparingly...when it can save someone's life." I explain, hoping that I can soothe her anxiety over it. She lifts her head back up to meet my eyes, her eyes resolute.

"I know. If it wasn't for you...I don't even want to imagine what would've happened to Zuko. But I had a bad experience with the whole thing. Hama gave me no choice. She forced me into learning that...ability when she threatened to..." She breaks off, her gaze firmly planted to the ground. I frown, 'Aang never did went into the details of why Katara hated it so much, but it seems personal. Although I can gather what Hama might have done. She's a twisted lady who I couldn't help but sympathise.' I take a couple more steps towards Katara until only a few centimetres separate us. She sighs and lifts her head back up. "I shouldn't judge you and I'm sorry for avoiding you. I just...I did something I'm not proud of and I worry that anyone with that ability can take things too far without realising. That much power in someone's hands can change a person and I believe it shouldn't exist. It's even scarier that the possibility of doing it without a full moon is now a reality." I raise an eyebrow at Katara's strong view on the topic, curious to know exactly what she did, but I decide it's not my place to ask.

"Apology accepted. But bloodbending doesn't have to be all bad, it can save lives...lives like my mother and brother." I reply quietly and glance away as Katara's eyebrows furrow in sympathy. "They were killed in front of me while I hid away from the attacker's line of sight. I was a coward, I didn't do anything. If I just knew how to bloodbend I could've stopped him. I could've still had my family. My dad killed himself when he came back home from work when he found out what happened. It seems I wasn't enough of a reason for him to continue living. I lost my whole family that night because I was too weak, because I failed to do something." I explain haltingly as my throat constricts. I turn my head away in an attempt to hide the tears that threaten to fall, but no sooner do I do that I'm enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Trust me, I understand that feeling of uselessness. I felt the same way with my mum." My eyes widen slightly at Katara's confession. 'That's right. I forgot that she's also lost people close to her.' I push her back and rub at my eyes.

"Sorry. I forgot you've been through the same sort of thing." I apologise with downcast eyes but I look up when she places a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't apologise. Everyone's lost someone and we all deal it with it differently. As much as I hate to admit it, we can't do anything to change the past; we can only better ourselves to prepare for the future. Still, I believe there is always a better method other than bloodbending. Hama created that technique out of her desire for a revenge. From the start it held negative intentions." I exhale deeply, 'I'm starting to understand why Aang and Katara butted heads a lot; they're both so darn stubborn!'

"I guess we'll always have a different view on that then. But I promise I'll think about what you've said. Friends?" I ask as I give her my hand. One beat of hesitation later, she takes my hand in both of hers and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"Definitely." She states with a smile before it drops as a look of concern washes over her again. I immediately pick up on the reason of her sudden mood change.

"Aang will be ok. He's been through a lot of tough situations and he'll pull through, like he always does." I insist earnestly, although part of me thinks it's also to convince myself.

"I know but, I've never seen him so shaken up before. The stuff he was muttering...I mean it was worse than the day before the invasion and I thought that was the worst I've ever seen him. Was...was he like this after that attempt?" Katara asks unsurely and I don't need to ask which attempt because there's only one that I ever had to interfere in.

"No. He was pretty much silent, save for a few incoherent mutterings. He was unconscious for such a long time that when he did finally wake up the wound was well on the road to recovery. So I've never heard him scream that badly before." I wince when his screaming replays in my mind. "It sounds like he was having a really bad nightmare before he woke up." I suggest.

"Yeah. Maybe I should check on him again." The Waterbender states as her eyes wander to the closed door. I sigh and sling my arm around her shoulders.

"It's Sokka's and Toph's turn to watch him, remember? You'll run yourself haggard if you keep stressing. I'm being a hypocrite because I'm still stressing, but that's beside the point. Why don't we go to the lounge and talk for a bit. I could tell you how I met Hama if you want?" I spill out. Katara must have taken notice of my clenched jaws of anxiety as she pulls closer to me.

"That's a good idea." She answers warmly and we make our way to the living room.

A/N: So yep. That was a tad bit depressing. I thought it was about time to put in Kyla's full backstory. And hopefully that will put your fears at rest on the type of person Kyla is, maybe? I'm planning on going back to weekly updates as my timetable is pretty empty for the next couple of weeks and then I have my Easter holidays after that which is great! Fingers crossed I might actually get this whole story finished in the holidays! Think you guys have been patient enough ha. Hope you all are keeping well! Until next week!