Chapter 12: Mending Our Broken Hearts (Part 1)

"Aang w-why are you…" He was cut off when the master bender impaled him with an icicle. It protruded out of his left shoulder, the ice blue a chilling contrast against the blood red streaming down his chest and face.

"We were f-friends…" He was cut off again as a sharp spike arose from the ground below him, thus impaling his thigh which in turn denied him from crawling away like he had been before.

"Please, t-there's still t-time," Zuko coughed out a ghastly amount of blood as he spoke, the horrific red painting the misty grounds – evidence of his final moments – pleading with his once known 'friend' to steer away from this destructive path he had set himself on. "We can h-help y-you… you just," he coughed again, his body shaking erratically while he stared up at the airbender, pleading. "You j-just have to l-let us."

I watched as the master bender just smiled at him; a pale, ghostly white face, dark, lifeless eyes, and a lava-red, sinister smile staring right back at the Fire Lord with mirth, truly enjoying the pain and destruction he had reaped upon his victim.

"This…" he coughed again, "this isn't you."

The ghastly figured seemed to have noticed me as his black eyes were solely focused on me now. Staring back at him over his shoulder, I felt the beginning of a black hole swallowing me completely; the inevitability of my demise by my very own hands – it kept me from taking action as I felt imprisoned in my current position. Taking advantage, the grinning phantom metalbended chains around me; they had suddenly appeared through the mist. Swiping his hand, the clown-like menace dragged me across the rough grounds; my body scraped against what felt like hard rock. Soon enough, I was kneeling beside a sprawled out older Zuko, probably around 21 or so, covered in red – the remnants of his fleeting life smeared across my face, chest and brown pants.

"What – What's going on?! What do you want?!" I tried to pry some answers out of him, uncertain of whether I was in the spirit world or just dreaming. It felt real. Too real, almost.

"Aang?" Zuko called out to me weakly, seemingly confused as to why two different 'Aangs' were in his presence – one trying to kill him, and the other just as confused as he. "Who… what're you – "

"Give me an 'Oh'!" The clown screeched, his voice high and contrastingly low at the same time.

When neither of us adhered to his demand, he growled and created two icicles out of thin air, shooting one into Zuko's mid-section and shooting the other into my left shoulder.

"HA HA HA HA HA AHAA HA HAHAHAHAA…"

The clown laughed while we screamed in agony, drawing pleasure from the fact we were both in pain. Once we settled down, his voice turned grim and serious as he walked towards Zuko.

"I said, give me an 'Oh'."

Weakly nodding at each other, Zuko and I both complied, "Oh", "Oh".

The ghostly clown grinned wide, "Give me an 'N'," he kneeled beside Zuko while we both stared at him.

"N", "N", we both said at the same time – Zuko's voice tired and afraid while mine was apprehensive.

"Give me another 'O'", the clown cheered, smiling at us as he picked up a bucket containing an unidentifiable liquid while he rounded Zuko and I.

"O", "O", Zuko and I complied again, though, Zuko's eyes widened when my older counterpart tilted the bucket slightly and the liquid was spilt over us. It smelt weird, an unpleasant sensation unlike anything in my reality, but Zuko probably identified it. And judging by the way his eyes widened like flying saucers and mouth hung open, grimacing as if Sokka had just mooned him, I could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"What does that – he hehe haha he HAHAH AHAH AHAHA…" he cleared his throat to stifle the beginnings of his sinister laughter. Thankfully, it worked – though, the pain that I felt later on made me rethink my judgment. "What does that spell?" The clown paused while Zuko coughed out some of the liquid that I was currently being doused with. We both sat there, wet from an unknown substance while the ghostly clown created a flame in his hand and grinned at us as he answered his own question with mirth. "Oh… no."

…

"HA HAH HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA HAHHA HAHAH AHAHA…" His laughter cut off Zuko's screams; the master firebender was completely engulfed by his own element, helpless and in complete agony.

I followed the trail of liquid as the fire chased it down, and as soon as the flame touched me and I screamed, I was –

Awoken from my slumber. I woke up sweaty and panting, my eyes searching and analysing my surroundings as I lit a flame in my palm to get a sense of where I was. As my eyes settled and my breathing became steady, I realised that I was in fact on Appa, in the skies.

We were travelling towards the Southern Water Tribe so Katara and Sokka could meet their family and I could help with internal political affairs between the South and the North – Suki wanted to tag along as she and Sokka were trying to mend their relationship and she didn't want to leave me alone… I know she means well; due to my unpredictable mood and temper, I can be quite testy, but I don't need a babysitter. Plus, I'm trying to be better – it won't happen overnight, but I'm trying, nonetheless. Anyways, we had been travelling for a day but had decided to take a pitstop at Kyoshi Island. I hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before and, since the pair were still conversing, Suki noticed my exhaustion and offered to steer Appa for me. Naturally, Sokka joined her while I retreated back into the saddle awkwardly; being the airbender I am, I hadn't yet confronted Sokka. Though, surprisingly, neither had he. But knowing Suki's impatience and temper, the both of us knew she'd rip us a new one if didn't talk it out soon. Plus, we were running on borrowed time anyways. As I settled into my sleeping bag, I took a moment to glance at Katara for a second –

'Really, loverboy? Just a second?'

She was sound asleep beside me. She wore her natural light blue battle robes, though, from what I could see, her white hand wraps seemed to be on quite tight.

'Oh, so you're gonna ignore me now? Wow! After all I've done for you!'

I knew I probably shouldn't, but I recognised the red lines forming around the edges of the wraps – they were on really tight. It must be irritating her. So, hoping I wouldn't wake her – as a Katara who's woken from her sleep can be scarier than me in the Avatar State – I slid her hand into my own and began undoing the white wrappings slowly and cautiously. It took me a while due to my steady pace, but once I was done, I traced the red outlines around her knuckles soothingly, trying to smooth the ghastly redness away so her glowing mocha skin could shine. Glancing at her again, I noticed a small smile tugging at her lips – I couldn't for the life of me remember if it was there before, so I just shrugged it off. I placed her hand back onto the pillow and settled down. She slept on her side while I slept on my back. It took me while, but I eventually dosed off.

'And when he did, he didn't notice the waterbender sitting up to place a kiss on his cheek, and draping her spare blanket over him, before returning to her side of the saddle to watch him sleep with her smile widening. She fell back asleep soon after though – but he doesn't need to know that. Let him go through the cliché phase where he has nightmares regarding the alternate evil 'him', which will eventually lead him to come to his senses and – wait… did I just spoil the rest of the book? Damn! Well, I guess you'll never know until you do. Which, now you may, yet I could be lying. Also, you do realise that this is basically the writer just tryna fuck with your heads, right? The whole Timebender, Unstoppable, Speed Dating parallels – those are just the tip of the iceberg (no-pun-intended). As soon as he gets off his lazy ass and actually starts writing, you're gonna be in for one hell of a ride. And – oh wait… the sleeping, moody, Zuko wannabe is waking up now.'

So, there I was, panting and shaking my head, trying to make sense of my vision while my friends stared at me, concerned.

"Aang? Are you okay?" Katara was the first one to reach out for me as she placed a hand on my shoulder while I regained my breathing.

"Yeah…" I trailed off unconvincingly.

"You don't seem like it," Suki stated from Appa's head, her eyes worried.

"Aang," I turned my head back towards the waterbender, finding solace in the bright blue eyes that were now shimmering with concern for me. It warmed my heart. It made me want to forget waiting and to just accept her in that exact moment. But I knew I couldn't. As much as I want to, I know how fucked my head is at the moment. And though I may still have feelings for her… minimal, platonic, unimportant ones –

'Sure. You're totally not lying.'

I still can't open up completely and let her in. I'm afraid of being hurt again, but I'm more afraid of hurting her though my own brokenness.

"I'm fine, Katara," I sadly smiled at her, my voice raw and hoarse. When I noticed her mouth opening to inquire further, I cut her off – "Just a bad nightmare. Nothing to worry about." I lied; it could've been a harmless dream, but I've visited the spirit world in my sleep before. Or, rather, I've been dragged there by Roku or some vengeful spirit. Though, I don't think I was in the spirit world this time. It all felt real… almost too real. Surreal even. Maybe this was just my subconscious revealing to me what I'd turn into if I didn't heed Roku's advice.

But… this Aang: the clown, he's real. He's not a figment of my imagination. He's actually real. And Roku did say that there was a slight possibility of me becoming hi – No! I cannot allow that! I won't! I'm… I'm not a murderer. I wouldn't hurt anyone, least of all the people I care about.

'You sure about that buddy?'

"Aang? I love you…"

"I know…"

"Aang… please… I – I need to hear you say it…"

…

"Don't you love me?"

"I…. Of course, I do."

"T-Then why won't you say it?"

I looked away, Jin started crying.

"You don't love me, do you."

"I – I do…"

"Then why won't you look me in the eyes and say it?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

'Remember that Mr.I-wouldn't-hurt-anyone?'

That… that wasn't… I was upset. Okay? I didn't mean to hurt her. And you were fucking with my head at the time so you're also at fault. I would not intentionally try to hurt someone.

'Really?'

"So, you're still in love with Katara?"

I gritted my teeth.

"This has nothing to do with her."

"You just said that – "

"I know what I fucking said!"

"Aang, look I know – "

"You know nothing!"

I held her wrists in my grasp when she tried to reach out.

"You know nothing of what happened. You have no idea how I feel. And this conversation is over. This… this is over."

"Aang wait – "

"What?! What do you want?!"

"I want you to give this… give us a chance. I'm not Katara, I –"

Ty Lee jumped when I shouted.

"This has nothing to do with her!"

"It does! You're clearly – "

"I am not in love with her! I do not love her! Everything I said about her was in the heat of the moment and I – I wasn't thinking. I'll say it one more time, so you can understand: I don't love her anymore! And I don't love you! Get it through your thick head! I don't love you!"

'Ring any bells airhead?'

I – I… I'm not… I wouldn't do that again. That was just in the heat of the moment. I'm not vile.

"I haven't been honest with you, you're right. So, here's the truth: I love you."

"Oh really?"

Katara nodded shyly.

"I love you, Aang."

"Well, that's great then… all is forgiven."

I smiled. It was fake.

"Really?"

I was cold.

"Fuck no!"

She was devastated.

"What? You think that by just saying 'I love you' everything will be alright?!"

I'm – I'm not… I'm not vicious.

"And what about Haru? I believe you mentioned that he was 'pretty cute' when you first met him, right? What happened? Were you not able to win him over either? To be honest, he should consider himself lucky; tell me, is there a boy you've touched who hasn't either died, left you, or been heartbroken?"

I… I'm not cold hearted.

"I – I'm s-s-sorry."

She cried.

"So am I…"

…

"I hate you, Katara."

I single tear escaped my eye as I laid back down, unaware of the fact that Katara was cradling my head in her lap and shushing me to sleep, trying to contain her tears as she noticed my eyes were overflowing with my own now.

I'm… I'm not a monster, right?

1 Day Later

I sighed as I let out a final flame; it extended from my feet as I performed a backflip and landed on my feet, the bladed-fire projectile crashed against the waves of the beach, dissolving into nothingness as I attempted to control my breathing. Standing bare foot on the rocky pier, I could sense footsteps approaching. And I grew somewhat anxious when I recognised the owner of said footsteps as he closed in on me. Through my seismic sense, I could tell that he had stopped a few metres short, seemingly hesitant or unsure. However, because I knew that we couldn't avoid this, I turned around and regarded him.

"What's up, Sokka?"

The warrior glanced at me awkwardly as he shifted nervously, "I just… ummm -" he hesitated, "Katara's got dinner ready. She wanted me to come get you."

"Oh… okay," I stood there for a moment, staring at the chasm between us – physical and mental – we hadn't interacted since our verbal spar. And now, I'm standing here wondering how on earth we were going to dissolve the tension and awkwardness if neither of us were willing to take the first step.

"That – that isn't all I wanted… to say to you," Sokka piped up, glancing around nervously while I tried to peek into his blue irises. They used to be so familiar; a pair I could gaze into comfortably without fearing for my heart – now those same irises were estranged. And I didn't want it to remain that way. "Look… I just ughh…. About the other day – "

"Sokka, stop," I cut him off as I sighed – it was pointless dancing around it, and at this point, I'm sure the both of us were just sick of the formalities and just wanted to go back to being brothers again. So, I decided to just address the main issue at hand. "You don't have to say anything. Tensions were high. I was acting like a jerk, and I lost my cool. I'm sorry for snapping at you the way I did."

His anxious expression softened slightly as he sadly smiled at me before frowning, "I was acting like a jerk too, Aang. You and Suki were just talking, and I just came in and assumed the worst and snapped at the both of you – neither of you deserved it."

"Well, I did hurt your sister by saying some awful, completely untrue things, so I guess I kinda deserved it," I commented, knowing full well I had to start accepting responsibility for my actions and shortcomings.

"True," he partially agreed, "but I shouldn't have accused you and Suki of… well," he rubbed the back of his head; a nervous habit he may have adopted from years of travelling with me. "Anyways, I'm sorry for the things I said. And for snapping at you. And for calling you all those names. And for – "

"Sokka," I chuckled, "It's okay."

He smiled at me while offering his hand, "We cool?"

I nodded as I shook his hand WaterTribe style. We both nodded at each other, and silently and mutually agreed to walk back to the hut were sharing for the time being on Kyoshi Island. We walked off the rocky pier and silently shuffled across the beach, though, I couldn't help but notice Sokka's expression growing nervous again.

"Sokka?" He seemed deep in thought, so I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly, thus catching his attention as he glanced at me. "Are you okay? You seem… I don't know… anxious?" When he simply glanced away to hide how his eyebrows furrowed and lips had sealed tight, I knew he had something else on his mind that was eating at him. And heeding Roku's advice, instead of leaving it be and pushing him away, I tried to inquire further to see if I could help. "Sokka, if there's something on your mind, you can tell me about it. You can trust me; no judgments."

"Really?" He regarded me nervously as we shuffled further across the beach. "I don't want to be a bother."

"You're no bother at all," I nodded while pointing to the arrow on my head goofily, trying to lighten the mood. "I'll keep it between us, Avatar Promise." He chuckled at my playful gesture, so I guess I succeeded somewhat. "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Well," he held his left forearm as he glanced away again, a nervous habit I recognised belonged to Katara; I guess it runs in the family. "Its kinda about… the fight we had the other day…" he trailed off, awaiting my response while I simply nodded at him, gesturing him to continue. "Its not that I don't trust you… o-or that I doubt Suki… its just – I haven't been around her for months. And when I came home, I find you two hugging and talking closely and… I don't know… you seemed so intimate. So, I just jumped to conclusions and – well, you saw what happened."

I took a moment to think about my response, knowing that I could come off as antagonising if I said the wrong thing in the wrong way. "Okay, I get that. I'm sure if you explained that to Suki, she would understand too. She wouldn't be happy about it, but I'm sure she would've forgiven you." I grinned at him cheekily, "And judging by the way I had to sleep outside due to the sounds you two were making the other night, I'm certain you more than made up for it."

The tanned warrior blushed beet red as he shoved me away while I laughed, the both of us chuckling as we exited the beach and approached the path that led to the huts we were staying in, the rocky street bathed in the sunset.

"Yeah, she did forgive me but… I still feel…" he hesitated for a moment as he looked into my eyes, "insecure."

"Insecure?" He nodded, "Why?"

"Well, you know how I haven't spent that much time with Suki, right?" He asked, smiling at me nervously while I nodded, somewhat confused. "And… I know that you've… umm… how do I say this… I've like… spoken to Toph and Ty Lee and Jin briefly and… they've always like… uhhhh… complimented you." I raised my eyebrow, now completely unsure as to what he was insinuating – why was he bringing up my previous flings/girlfriends? And why is he so nervous about it? "And umm… I guess… objectively, I can say that… you're… you know… good looking – or whatever, I guess."

"Sokka, I like you man but… Suki would kill me if I stole you away from her," I cut him off, backing away slightly while he stared at me with his mouth open. "Plus, I don't swing that way, if you catch my drift."

His eyes shot open so wide I thought they would pop out of his eye sockets. "Aang! That's not – I didn't mean that!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around while I rubbed the back of my head and blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. Go on."

"Anyways, as I was saying, I – Look… I know that you're not a kid anymore. And Toph, Suki and even Katara see that too. So, I guess I just… I got kinda insecure about myself when I saw how close you and Suki were getting. That turned into jealousy and… well, you know the rest," Sokka admitted, seemingly embarrassed as he wouldn't meet my eyes when I called out for him.

So, knowing I couldn't allow him to continue thinking like that, I stopped in the middle of the street and forced him to stop as well. "Sokka, there's no need to be embarrassed. Acknowledging the things you just admitted to takes a lot of courage, and I commend you for that. But, as I said before, there's no need to feel insecure or be jealous. Suki's like an older sister to me, I've never seen her as anything more or less. She loves you and not even your stupid assumptions that really pissed her off could change that," I joked, lightening the mood further as we both chuckled.

"Thanks, Aang." He smiled, a completely sincere smile, for the first time since we started talking again. "And by the way, I don't know what my sister said that made you snap at her, but she really cares for you. I know it may not seem like it – with everything that happened during and after the war between you, her and Zuko – but I don't think I've ever seen her fuss over someone the way she fusses over you. Like, its cute, but completely lunatic at the same time."

I chuckled at his little joke as we began walking again, now nearing the hut bathing in the sunset. "I know Sokka. Its not that I don't trust her, its just gonna take time for me to…" I trailed off, unsure if I should be talking to Sokka of all people about the complexities between Katara and I. "And thanks for not bringing everything up when it happened. I know you all knew how I felt about it, and I appreciate you not trying to crowd me or trying to convince me it was all going to be okay."

"Don't mention it buddy," he patted me on the back as we entered the hut, "you didn't bother me about Yue when I lost her, so just think of it as me returning the favour."

Immediately, as soon as he entered, it was as if he could physically visualise the aroma escaping from the food Katara had made as he chased it like an entranced cartoon character. I laughed at him as I followed behind, my own senses spiking when I recognised a distinct sensation, one that I hadn't sensed in a hundred years.

As we entered the living room, my eyes immediately latched onto the steamed vegetable dumplings, fried rice, sweet buns and fruit pies laying there helpless, entirely mine to feast on while Sokka was preoccupied eyeing the steamed sea prunes, seal jerky, meat kababs, and egg custard as if they were the physical representation of Suki waiting for him… naked. When I saw him drooling, I immediately cringed at the thought.

"Oh hey! You guys are back," cheered Katara as she brought over four glasses of water with Suki in tow, Momo rested on her shoulder as they both took a seat. Suki took a seat next to her boyfriend who was already preparing his plate while Katara regarded me shyly as I analysed the distinct dishes from a lost nation.

"I haven't seen food like this in a hundred years," I cooed – the spoon that was about to enter Sokka's mouth halted at my comment while Suki and Katara stared at me endearingly. "Every Sunday, after we'd complete our morning mediations, the monks would round us up in the lunch halls and we'd line up to grab a portion from each of these four dishes," I stated while gesturing towards the vegetable dumplings, fried rice, sweet buns and fruit pies. "As soon as we had satisfied our hunger, all it took was one wrong move to start a food fight." I chuckled at the memory while Sokka, Suki and Katara grinned, probably joyful at seeing me reminiscing instead of crying about the past. "Before I knew it, I'd have various apple and peach pies flying at my face. And before they knew it, I'd have already flung my own school of pies at them."

"Is that an invitation?" Suki teased, raising an eyebrow while I shook my head and laughed.

I ignored her comment and instead turned completely towards Katara, smiling contently at her while she shyly glanced at me, gratefulness evident in my gaze. "You made these, didn't you?"

She nodded shyly as she smiled, "I had a lot of free time in the Fire Nation when I wasn't busy micromanaging in meetings or drafting useless legislation. So, I spent most of my time in the library learning about other nations. I read about these dishes being traditional and regulars during feasts on holy days for Air Nomads, so I learnt how to make them. I wanted to gift them to you on your birthday, but you never celebrated it. And I didn't want to wait another 8 months, so I thought I'd make you something that would remind you of home. I'm sorry if it doesn't taste like how you remember and I'm sorry if you don't like it – "

I cut off her rambling as I leaned in and embraced her, my arms holding her tightly as I lifted her up. She gasped and tensed at the sudden action, but soon eased into me as she embraced me back, her slender arms rounding my torso while she dug her face into the nape of my neck.

"I'm sure they taste great," I cooed by her ear, sighing into her hair while she dug herself deeper into my embrace. "Thank you, Katara. I really appreciate it." I sniffed away a few tears as I added, "I appreciate you."

She shook her head, "Don't thank me, Aang." Her hot breath landed on my neck, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. "You deserve it."

I'm unsure for how long we remained liked that, wrapped in each other's arms, but it took Sokka clearing his throat twice for us to come back to reality and disengage hesitantly.

"You two can hug and tell each other how much you love each other later, but I suggest you dig in before the food gets cold."

"Or before Sokka eats your portions," Suki teased, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek to pacify him when he pouted at her while Katara and I just laughed and took our seats, the blushes on our faces refusing to fade away until we began eating.

Later That Night

I panted as I continued running, using my airbending to run at insane high speeds. Unfortunately for me, the phantom chasing me was a much more powerful airbender as he'd race from my left to my right, to being directly behind me within a second – taunting me.

"You can't escape me boy," screeched a voice from my left. I glanced in its direction only to have it echo from my right now, "Its only a matter of time before I'm born." I made a cut to my left and changed directions, hopelessly running through the mist only to meet nothing but endless ground and fog. "And once I'm done with you, I'll kill the rest of em'."

"Why?!" I shouted, scanning the fog surrounding me, catching glimpses of a hooded figure with a black cloak from time to time. "What do you want from me? From my friends?"

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAH AHHAAH HAHA…" in came that sinister laugh as the figure cut me off from my path and tripped me over, thus causing me to tumble across the rocky grounds harshly as I groaned in pain. "Roku thought he could stop me by saving you, but I know you Aang." The figure now circled me as I crouched on one knee, panting while analysing my surroundings. Oddly enough, I could bend here, so I used my seismic sense to determine his positioning to no avail; he was probably using his airbending to hover above the ground or something. "You're just a scared little boy, hiding behind the persona of a man, of the Avatar – all because you don't want to face the truth."

I growled when a dash of black crosses my field of vision and I recklessly firebended; extending my arm and shooting a massive flame that was simply lost in the vortex surrounding me. "You know nothing about me," I gritted out, standing up into a variation of a defensive and offensive waterbending stance.

"I know that you tell yourself you're a good person when really, you're not," commented the high-pitched voice as it came into my vision once again, now standing tall in front of me. That white face, black eyes and sinister red smile taunting me.

Without hesitation, I swung my arms and created a slicing projectile using my airbending and sent it right at him. He, in return, stomped on the ground and created an earthwall to block the attack. Once the slice was defended, he kicked the earthwall and sent it flying towards me. I rolled out of the way just in time and created a fire whip. Once in position, I swung the whip at him, aiming to wrap it around his leg. Somehow, he bended water seemingly out of nowhere and met my firewhip with his waterwhip. My fire dissolved and the waterwhip was now wrapped around my left arm. He also encased my right leg with water and used it to lift me high before slamming me onto the ground harshly.

"I know that you tell yourself your actions are justified," the clown stated mockingly, circling me while I tried to get back on my feet. "I know how you hide behind your heartbreak," he claimed, laughing while I stomped on the ground and tried to catch him off guard by trapping his feet. He simply airbended himself away and created an airscooter only to shoot the ball of vortexed air directly at me. I attempted to catch the airscooter attack and send it right back through a waterbending stance, but his attacks were significantly more powerful than mine. So, I miscalculated and instead ended up having the airscooter explode in my face, which repulsed me closer to him.

"Everyone knows that you haven't lived a particularly happy life…" the clown stated while I laid beside him, his figure casting a shadow as he towered above me. "And you know it too. So, you use it all as an excuse to do and say whatever you want."

"That's – that's not true!" I protested, standing to my feet so I could swing at him only to have him duck and kick me to the ground.

"You hurt whoever you want, even the people closest to you, and you don't care for the damage you wreak in the process," he laughed at my attempt to get back up as he immediately kicked me down again.

"I do care!"

"You say things you know are untrue, and you say them because you know they'll hurt someone else," he stated, crouching down to my level as I kneeled on all fours, panting, panicking. "You do things an Air Nomad never should, yet have the gall to call yourself a monk," he gripped onto my neck and laughed, slightly choking me while I gasped for air. "You lie relentlessly. Hurt mercilessly. All to protect yourself – how can you not see it?" Slowly, he placed his thumb on my forehead and both our eyes began glowing. Soon, as the energy surging between us intensified and began entwining, my own vision was blurred with his own. And not long after, our vision was identical.

"You're just like me," he stated through me.

I stood there, on a hill of skeletons – my hands bloody, and the bodies of a lifeless Zuko, Toph, Sokka, Suki and Katara scattered everywhere – the elements swirled around me, earth tainted by the blood of my friends, water blood red, fire searing skin, and air carrying bodiless heads and limbs.

I felt a hand grasping onto my leg. My glowing eyes dipped to see a barely alive waterbender tugging at my black boots. "K-Katara?"

"She's dead," the high-pitched voice sneered from within me, his laughter echoing in my ears as I watched the blood trail beginning from the open cut on Katara's forehead all the way down her neck. The flesh around the cut had swollen, and the contents inside were visible to anyone who looked close enough. "Or almost. You did this. You killed her."

"A-Aang…"

"K-Katara… wh-what… what have I done?"

I tried to kneel to reach her, but she dissolved into the element she bended as soon as my fingertips made contact with the now not-so-soft skin of her cheek. Katara, the girl I loved, no nothing but a water stain on the bloodied, misty grounds.

"You're a monster, Aang," the clown's voice echoed from within me, and before I knew it, I was on my knees by a pond, staring at my own reflection. Except, my face was white; scarred – my hair was red; burning – my eyes were black; empty – and my lips were bloodied; ragged. And I was laughing. "You're a monster. Just like m– "

"Aang! Aang, wake up!" I was pulled from my nightmare, panting, sweat trailing down my naked upper body as I searched my surroundings only to find a distraught and worried Katara shaking me awake. "Aang?! What's going on?! Are you okay?!" She continued shaking me, prying for answers – I had none. I simply gripped onto her midriff and cried, clutching her close and tight. She seemed somewhat taken back, but hastily embraced me in no time; rubbing my back and my scalp while trying to calm me down.

"Its alright. Everything's fine, Aang. You're here," she cooed into my ear, clutching onto me just as tightly as I was her. "You're with me."

"I – I – I'm…." I tried to get a word out, but I continued to choke on my own tears.

"Shhhhh… its okay, Aang. You're safe."

"I'm not… I-I'm not a m-monster, Katara… right?"

She halted at my question, probably baffled at why I would ask her such a thing since she thought the world of me – she really shouldn't.

I sat up and stared into her eyes pleadingly, silently begging her to tell me what I needed to hear. She must've got the memo as she pulled my face into her embrace and rubbed the back of my head soothingly. I cried onto her neck while she held me close.

"No. Of course not."

"Say it," I demanded. "Please, Katara. I – I need to hear you s-say it."

I felt a single tear role down my back – no doubt it belonged to her.

"You're not a monster, Aang." She continued to hold me close, rocking me back and forth until we both fell asleep in each other's arms restlessly. "You're not a monster."