Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar or Korra characters created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon. All OCs, however, are all mine.

Chapter XII

Aang felt a great sense of tranquility, the warm fire in front of him, the cup of tea in his hand, and his beautiful wife leaning against him. He'd loved Katara for so long, and he knew she was the one the second he met her. She was beautiful inside and out. He wanted her to be safe and happy. How lucky was he that he was what made her happy.

It was a perfect moment, but he couldn't remember how he got here. Last thing he remembered was… their room, the passion, the ecstasy, and each other… on a ship, not in the woods. When did they go camping?

"It is funny how when dreams begin in the middle of something, or maybe that's just the first part of a dream one remembers; not the beginning, but the middle," a calm and soothing, yet old voice commented in the distance, beyond the light of the campfire.

Aang knew he should feel caution, but he felt none. A tall figure dressed in formal robes approached from out of the darkness and sat down across from them by the fire. He was very tall, even taller than Leo. The man actually looked a lot like Leo, except he was blue, had a full beard, and had long hair down to his shoulders. He was Draconian.

Katara didn't seem to stir.

"Don't worry. Your wife is fine," he assured Aang, "That's just an image of her projected by your subconscious."

"Who are you?" Aang asked.

"Ah, if only more people asked that question," the man said, then answered, "You do not know me, but I know you Aang Tiankong. I know you wife is Katara Kuse, daughter of Hakoda, retainer of Chief Tonraq. I know how much you love her and want nothing but her happiness and safety."

Aang was stunned by how much this stranger knew about him, how he knew something so personal and recent as if it were common knowledge. Suddenly, the fire was gone, along with the forest, darkness, and Katara, all of it gone. Instead, Aang now stood in the middle of a blank white plain of nothingness; nothing and no one, but him and the mysterious stranger. Aang became frantic as his wife vanished.

"Your wife is fine. She's sleeping next to you on the ship," the man reminded him, "It was a projection by your subconscious, remember?"

Aang looked around then back to the man, "This is a dream?"

"It is," he nodded, "It's how I've delivered many messages in the past. I've visited many people through their dreams."

"Okay, but still," Aang relaxed, but persisted, "who are you?"

The man smiled warmly at Aang and finally answered, "My name is Solomon Ben-Graethos."

"How do you know so much about me?" Aang inquired.

"I see all; through walls and doors and into the hearts and minds of men," Solomon answered.

"Are you a spirit?"

"Oh, I'm much more than a spirit," Solomon said, "But time is of the essence, young man, for I bring you a warning and counsel."

"About what?" Aang asked.

"Of the violence that is to come," Solomon's voice became serious, "War is on the horizon, and it comes in the form of serpents. You are not prepared for it as you are. Unless you act and do what you must to save your people, your home, and your wife, history will repeat itself and the Airbenders will be gone; this time for good."

Aang now found himself standing in the courtyard on Air Temple Island, Master Tenzin and the other airbenders training and practicing. Solomon appeared next to Aang, "The Airbenders emphasize passiveness and its importance for people to flourish in life. They understand how an act of random kindness helps heal the world and brings hope to people's lives."

A smile came upon Aang's face. Suddenly, they were sucked to somewhere else. Aang saw nothing but ruins around him. He recognized these streets. This was Republic City. There were fires all around, still blazing, and rubble everywhere.

"But the world does not need passive monks. The time has come where the world needs warriors to fight the good fight. There is a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace," Solomon grabbed Aang by the shoulders, "Now is the time for war. Now is the time to hate. Maintain balance within yourself. Remember the ways of peace the Air Nomads have taught you, but if you see a threat to yourself or others, extinguish it."

"How can that bring peace?" Aang questioned.

"There can be no permanent peace in this mortal realm. One must accept the possibility of war if one is to survive it. Do what must be done, and do not hesitate."

Aang awoke to a loud knocking coming from the door. Aang saw Katara was also awakened by the noise, followed by Leo's voice, full of urgency, "Aang, Katara, get up now! We gotta go!"

The ship started to move with a jolt, as if it were being put into overdrive. Aang rubbed the sleep from his eyes and put on some pants. Katara disappeared into the bathroom with a change of clothes as Aang opened the door, "What's going on?"

"Pack what you can and get moving, now!" Leo ordered, fear on his face.

"Leo, what's happening?" Katara called from the bathroom.

"There's no time. Hurry!" Leo rush down the hall and vanished.

Aang and Katara got dressed and packed as fast as they could. They found everyone else in just as much of a rush on deck.

"What's going on?" Katara demanded.

"Them!" Sokka burst from the bridge pointing towards another ship that was gaining on them.

"Damn assholes are coming right at us," Toph climbed up Appa's tail with the bag of money.

"And saving the money is you main concern?" Katara interrogated.

"Yes," Sokka shouted in panic, "We might need it."

"They're right," Leo agreed, "It's a resource we can't afford to lose. Now come on!"

Everyone rushed onto Appa. There was banging in the distance. Something whizzed right above them and the bridge exploded instantly.

"Holy shirt," Sokka screamed, freaked out of his mind. Aang gripped the reigns and commanded, "Appa, yip yip!"

They lifted off the ship as it kept its course. More bangs and more projectiles whizzed past as they flew into the sky. As they flew over, they got a better look at the ship that was chasing them. It was a small battleship with lots of cylinders that were slowly turning towards them. Many on the ship had long poles and took aim. Several more bangs ensued, and everyone onboard Appa retreated farther into the saddle or on the bison's head. Momo cling to Katara and shivered in fear and confusion. Appa abruptly faltered in the air, throwing everyone around in the saddle. Aang was able to keep his place with airbending. Leo was sure some of the shots had hit Appa and he was hurt pretty bad.

Katara looked over the edge of the saddle to see if they were out of range or lost their pursuers, but what she saw made her stomach sink. The ship had turned around and was still chasing them, but that wasn't what made her concerned; the men on the ship had raised a giant crossbow to the deck, with a giant harpoon to match.

"Aang," Katara called her husband steering the bison, "we need to go faster!" panic in her voice now too.

"We can't. Appa's givin' it all he's got!" Aang called back.

"Then head towards land. They can't follow us there." With that, Aang steered Appa towards the coast.

"What is it?" Sokka then looked for himself, "Oh no, we're so FUCKED!"

"What is it, now?" Toph demanded, as if their situation couldn't possibly get any worse. Just as they flew right over the beach, Appa shook, almost throwing everyone from the saddle, and started to fall. Aang looked back, his eyes wide in horror, to see the harpoon had skewered the bison. He was speechless.

Leo and Katara grabbed Aang from Appa's head into the saddle as Appa began to fall limp out of the sky.

"Hang on!" Leo ordered as he brought everyone together in a tight embrace as they braced for impact. For one single moment, as they fell, clinging to each other, everything froze and everything sank in; they lost the ship, they lost Appa, and now they were prey.

They landed with a thud and splat. There was a lot of blood, and nothing to be done about Appa. Aang still tried his best to save his bison, regardless, tears streaming, "Come on, buddy. Don't leave me yet, okay. Come on, you're gonna be alright. We're gonna get that thing removed and patch you up and you're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Aang, come on. He's gone," Katara urged him desperately. A loud bang drew his attention to the ship still after them, and bullets just barely missing him. Aang looked at his wife, grabbed her hand, and ran. All of them ran as fast as they could, as far as they could before their pursuers reached the shore.

The group ran until they came to a small valley, out of breath. There was a decent-sized creek that wound its way through like a serpent.

Leo waited in the shadows, silent. He waited for their pursuers to pass him by, not even aware that their prey was right under their noses. Leo had kept the sword from the ninja, and he had it at his waist, ready to free it from its scabbard. It wasn't his style, but it would make do for now. He'd managed to collect enough sap from pine trees to cover his scent. The first goons passed him and he unsheathed his blade.

The soldiers had their guns ready, looking for him, smelling for him. Leo could sense twenty-one tangos, their eyes peeled, their fingers on the triggers, and their swords on their hips. They hid among the shadows just as Leo did, trying to stay hidden from their prey. What they didn't know was that their prey was already hunting them.

Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph hid in a tunnel Toph had formed for them to hide while Leo dealt with their pursuers. Toph could sense everything on the surface, Leo's swift steps, their racing heartbeats in fear and confusion. They tried to keep up with him, but he was too fast. He didn't need the light to see like they did, and he could sense their movements beforehand, like she could with earthbending, except he didn't need the earth… he didn't need anything. The vibrations he made were soft and subtle, yet swift and all over the place.

Aang was crouched down in the corner hugging his knees in shock and grief. He'd lost Appa. The two had formed a strong bond, as all air nomads do with their bisons, over the past three years. Aang had always been great with animals, and Appa was a great source of comfort after he'd lost Gyatso. Along with Katara's visits, it seemed like the universe was giving Aang support in every part of his life. The bond between an air nomad and a sky bison was a companionship for life, almost like a marriage. He felt as if a piece of his heart had been torn out of his chest.

Katara knelt down next to Aang, arms around his shoulders as he grieved. Appa had been dear to all of them, but she couldn't imagine how hard he was taking it. She just wanted Aang to be alright.

Sokka sat across from Toph just waiting, not able to see or hear anything. Slung over his shoulder was the bag of money, which did seem ridiculous given their circumstances. But now the five of them had to find another way to get to Ba Sing Se, since both Appa and the ship were gone and the money was their only resource.

"What's goin' on up there?" Sokka broke the silence, asking Toph.

Toph narrowed her eyes at him, "Ya really wanna know?"

"Actually, yes I would, given our lives are in danger because we happen to be aware of the existence of a race of monsters from the sky who wanna take over the world and are hunting us so that we don't tell anyone and ruin their plans," Sokka went on, sarcastic at first then just ranting as he met the earthbender's challenge.

Toph scowled at him as he scowled back, then answered plainly, "He's killing them all. That's what's going on. It's like he knows what they're gonna do before they do it."

They waited a few more minutes until Toph sensed three stomps, then two, then one, the signal that it was okay to come up. Toph bent an opening and they crawled out. When the gang saw the bodies littered here and there, they couldn't look for very long. But Aang just stared at them, almost devoid of feeling. Katara notice and turned his face to her, bringing him back.

"When these guys don't report back, their superiors will assume the worst and send more goons after us," Leo said as he wiped the blood off his blade, "Sokka, where's the closest town?"

Sokka took out a map, "It looks like the closest town is about five miles northwest of this valley. There's a port right next to it, as luck would have it."

Without another word, Leo sheathed his weapon and motioned for Sokka to lead the way.