Aang's POV (Night of the forest fire)

"AANG! KATARA!"

The sound of Zuko yelling snapped Aang out of his sleep.

"WHAT!?" He yelled out as he shot to a sitting position. He looked to his right and saw his wife in the same position. Looking over at Zuko he saw him throwing his belongings into his bag, as he was doing this Zuko pointed behind himself. Then Aang noticed it. The forest below them was ablaze, the sky was black as smoke filled the air from the dying trees. His eyes widened in shock. Getting onto his feet he began to get dressed.

The next night

*CLICK*

"HAAAA~"

Shutting the door behind him Aang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Something the matter?" Zuko asked, looking up from his scroll.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired is all." Aang said, taking a seat on a couch on the side of the past few days have been catching up to him. Azula being released, Sokka taking responsibility for her, the forest fire. Looking to the ceiling he had begun to trace the outline of the decorations of the room with his eyes. He never paid much attention to how elegantly decorated the rooms of the palace were (even if they were a little self centered on the fire nation.) His eyes fell to Zuko who was still hunched over the scroll.

"Say.." Aang began, this sudden word caused Zuko to look up from the piece of paper in front of him to his friend.

"Do you ever wonder why we are born?" He continued.

The look on Zuko's face was one of confusion and contemplation.

"Well...I like to believe we all have a purpose. Whether or not that purpose is as grand as saving the world from a war." Zuko said smiling at his friend, Aang gave a small grin in response. "Or something as simple as being a cabbage farmer. We all have our own purpose to fulfill and destiny to follow. Why do you ask?"

"It's just that lately my entire world has been threatened. My wife has been hurting, my brother in law has been getting injured, and the girl who has almost killed me a few times has been released and is expected to become a normal functioning member of society. I just don't know what to do...and I'm wondering if maybe it's my destiny or if something else is at play." Aang said worry in his eyes.

Zuko went silent. He looked over at Aang for a moment and hoped to see a sign of this being a joke or something of the like. But he knew Aang would never joke about anything this serious. Getting up from his chair he walked over to the couch and sat next to Aang.

"Listen Aang there has been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. It's about Sokka, you see the thi-" Just then Zuko was cut off by a scream echoing through the palace. Looking over at Aang for reassurance. He saw just by looking at his face they had come to the same conclusion. It was Sokka calling out his sister's name. Zuko then jumped to his feet and grabbed the dual blades that hung on his wall behind him. Bursting into the hallway he rushed towards the room where he had put Sokka to rest, Aang followed just a few steps behind him.

In a few moments Aang had a rough idea of what was going on. Katara was beating Azula senseless and Sokka was paralyzed on the floor calling his sister's name. Looking from his wife to his brother-in-law Aang opened his mouth to speak but Sokka called to him to heal Azula. Rushing to the princess's side Aang grabbed his water pouch and began to bend the water over her face. As he was healing he was forced to come closer to her face. She had a broken nose he could tell, as he looked over her wounds more and more his stomach churned and his eyes widened in horror. How? Just then Katara let out a scream that pierced the air. Looking over at his wife Aang got his answer. As his eyes adjusted to the candle lit room he saw his wife's bloodied hands. The sight almost made him throw up. As he finished healing Azula she gasped for air, but he wasn't worried about her. Rushing to his wife's side he kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder. She only looked at him, her eyes wide. He could see the fear in her eyes. She threw herself into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"AANG!" Sokka suddenly called to him. As Aang looked over to him he saw that Zuko was now supporting him.

"Get Katara and go to Ba Sing Se! Have Toph prepare a room for you two and I'll send a messenger hawk when it's okay to return!" Sokka yelled not taking his eyes off Azula. Aang looked down to Katara who was still bawling into his chest and decided that Sokka was right. He didn't know why his wife did what she did but that was something he could ask her about later. Right now he needed to get her to safety.

"Okay! But what about you? She'll kill me if something happens to you!" Aang yelled scooping up his wife princess style and making a run for the door.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Sokka began to talk to Zuko but Aang couldn't hear anything as he rushed out of the room and to the pen where Appa was being kept. As he ran through the palace the only thing he could think of was the image of Azula's face. The blood. The gurgling of her trying to breathe through it. He knew it would be an image that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. As he got to the pen he yelled for his friend to wake up.

"APPA GET UP BUDDY WE NEED TO GO." He yelled running up the Sky Bison's tail and into the saddle. He set Katara down who was now passed out on the side as he set out a few of the blankets they kept for emergencies. Laying her down he made sure she was safe and comfortable. Once he was satisfied with it he ran to Appa's head and grabbed the reins.

"YIP YIP!" He yelled, at which his friend rose into the air. Aang looked back to Katara. "Please be okay." He whispered as he faced the front, he watched the sky ahead of him as he thought of what and how he would ask her to talk about what he just saw.

Beifong residence (The next morning)

The sky was a beautiful shade of orange by the time Aang reached the Beifong home in Ba Sing Se. Landing in the courtyard he picked up Katara who was still asleep. Picking her up and walking down Appa's tail he was greeted at the bottom by Toph who was still in her pajamas. As he was about to talk she cut him off.

"Whatever it is, don't. If it has you this shaken up I don't even want to know." Toph turned around and began to walk back to the main house.

"Thank you Toph. It means a lot." He said, smiling slightly. Sure she acted like more of a boy than he did, and sure she was very impulsive. But she was his friend, no she was like a sister to him and he was glad they had met.

"There's a room down the hall and to the right. Set sugar queen down and join us for some tea. I'm sure you need it." She said, still walking forward.

"Tha- Wait "we"?" Aang said quizzically. Toph wasn't by any means ugly or unfriendly. It's just that Aang didn't know she had friends aside from him and his other friends.

"You'll see who I mean."

As Aang set down Katar in the bed he pulled the covers up and kissed her forehead. Staring down at her he looked over her face for the thousandth time since they had met. This woman had taught him the meaning of the word love. The meaning of standing for what you believed in no matter who thought otherwise. But most of all she taught him to stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. She was the strongest waterbender he had ever met, and she was the strongest person he had ever met. A will of iron and a burning passion hotter than any firebenders fire. He smiled and grabbed her hand. He had washed away the blood before setting her down, but as he held it the image of them bloodied and dripping with Azula's blood flashed in his mind. Letting go of her hand he went to leave the room. Turning to face her one more time he thought to himself to buy her some flowers for when she woke up. Entering the main room of the house Aang smelled the scent of hot tea. Not just any tea though, it was the tea of the famous tea master…

"GRANDMASTER IROH!?" He yelled in surprise.

"Ah Avatar Aang. It's so nice to see you. How've you been?" Iroh said smiling and taking a sip of his tea.

"I've been better…" Aang trailed off.

"And here I was going to say something about how you've forgotten about me." Bumi said with a laugh and snort.

"But it seems that you have a lot on your mind, young Avatar." Jeong Jeong continued.

"Take a seat young man, have a cup of tea and when we finish this game play a game of Pai Sho with us." Piando finished with a gesture to an open seat next to him.

Aang was flabbergasted to say the least. All of the leaders of the White Lotus were here...But why?

"Where are my manners!?" Aang exclaimed giving each of the masters a respectful bow before giving Bumi a hug.

"Oh please young Avatar, you can lose the formalities. We are all simple men now, the days of our grand fights are behind us." Iroh said with a chuckle.

"But-" Aang started but was cut off."

"No buts. From now on you will refer to me as-" Iroh was cut off as toph walked in.

"Uncle Iroh, did you make a move while I was gone?" Toph said, staring down the old man.

"I would never" Iroh said, sweat building on his forehead as he gave a toothy grin to hide his guilt.

"Fine, no more tea for you until you start to tell the truth." Toph said with a huff as she plopped down onto a seat across from him.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?" He yelled dramatically as he fell to the floor. The room erupted into laughter as he got back into his seat. Aang took a look at the scene before him and a smile worked its way onto his mouth. He had missed these days of laughter filled jokes and tea drinking. Moving from his place in the room to his seat he grabbed a cup and poured himself some tea. As the hot liquid flowed from the cup to his mouth and into his body it instantly made him relax. He had missed Iroh's tea. Looking back at the table he noticed all eyes were on him.

"What?" He said worried. He looked at everyone's face and anxiety began to creep up his spine giving him the chills.

"Is she okay?" Toph said, finally breaking the silence.

"Who?" Aang asked confused.

"Katara you dimwit, don't act like I couldn't tell something was up. Even if you were holding her it doesn't take a genius to hear her irregular breathing. What happened?" Toph demanded. Aang's eyes fell to the liquid in his cup. As he recounted the events of the past few days everyone at the table remained silent. As he finished telling the story he looked up from his lukewarm tea. Iroh spoke first.

"Well that certainly is a lot to take in.."

As Aang was about to speak again a messenger hawk flew into the room and dropped a letter on the table in front of him. Aang grabbed the letter and opened it. His face changed from one of confusion to one of horror. Hands shaking he passed the letter around the table for all to read. Each of their faces came to rest looking the same. Their eyes widened in horror and their mouths were opened slightly. At last it reached Iroh who held a cup of tea in one hand and the letter in the other. As his eyes moved across the page his eyes widened. The only sound to be heard was the crashing of glass as his cup hit the floor.