A/N: Hi guys, thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows! Sorry it took so long to get this out, but you know it's the end of term and that means deadlines and exams… I hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think of it! Also, do you guys like the long chapters or are they a bit too much for one chapter?

Aang's POV:

'You're a failure…careless… useless!

You can't do anything right.

All you're good at is being a coward.

You abandon everyone.

You couldn't even protect your own, how can you protect the world?'

I cover my ears, in an attempt to block out the deep taunting voice; it sounds familiar yet foreign at the same time. But try as I might the biting words still echo in my ears.

'You're weak. You'll never save anyone.

Where were you when the world needed you most?'

I shake my head vigorously trying to block out the sound.

'WHERE WERE YOU?!'

I drop to one knee, the conflict within myself getting so strong that I can't even stand on my own two feet.

'You're useless. You'll never amount to anything, but failure!'

I grit my teeth hard and begin to fight the tormenting thoughts. 'I've saved the world before!' At my response a deep laughter rings in my ears echoing throughout the whole room.

'At what cost? Where is your monk Gyatso? Oh that's right, he's DEAD!' An image of Gyatso's skeleton scattered amongst other Airbenders flashes before my mind's eye. I can't take it anymore and I cry out in anguish. The laughter dies down and the only sound present is my broken screams.

I feel someone shaking my shoulder hard, startling me out of the realm of unconsciousness.

"Aang." Hearing my name being voiced out I snap my eyes open, only to view a blurry mess. I blink a few times and the blurriness edges away, leaving me staring up at the concerned faces of my old friends. I groan and try to speak up, but all that comes out is a strangled sound. Before I know it I'm overcome with a coughing fit. When it dies down I take a proper look at who's surrounding me, finding it to be Sokka and Toph at my right, Zuko at the foot of the bed and my eyes rest surprisingly on Katara hidden slightly behind Sokka. I look away and glance down to the bed sheets.

"What happened?" I manage to croak out, the words thankfully come out clearly. I look back up to see Sokka step closer to the bed's edge, his eyes soft.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I frown at the question, then close my eyes tightly, racking my brain for the last thing I remember, before I know it a series of images flash before my eyes so quickly that I gasp aloud.

"Aang?" The soft question voiced by Sokka makes me snap my eyes open again.

"The assassins, the arrow! I've got to go!" I say in a jumbled huff and ready myself to jump out of the bed, but as I try to push myself up a pain like no other shoots through all my limbs, making me clench my jaws together in an effort to stop myself from crying out. Two pairs of hands push me back down on the bed, one being Sokka and the other being Katara who's sporting a frown. 'She's changed so much.' No longer is she the young girl with the childish face and innocent eyes. Now her face has matured, her eyes has lost that innocence and within them I see a similar pain that's always reflected in Sokka's eyes, perhaps even similar to my own.' I flicker my eyes away, unable to keep looking at her.

"Aang, you need to rest. That poison really did a number on you." At Zuko's voice I turn my attention to him, taking in his ragged appearance and his face taut with worry. I shake my head, but stop as it brings on a pounding headache.

"What happened after I passed out? Were you guys alright?" Toph snorts at my questions and I look at her in confusion 'what's so amusing about what I said?'

"Typical Twinkletoes, always thinking about others and forgetting about himself." I bite the inside of my cheek, the recent nightmare still fresh in my mind's eye, 'she couldn't be more wrong.'

"What happened?" I repeat, not in the mood to be patient. Toph shakes her head, but Zuko jumps in and responds to my question.

"After you passed out, Toph made us an exit to get to Appa, we flew you here, Kyoshi Island, where Katara healed you." At the mention of her name my eyes flicker to Katara, who's looking everywhere but at me. I swallow and blink my eyes rapidly to get rid of the burning sensation of tears. 'Spirits she can't even look me in the eyes, it must have pained her to be forced to heal someone you hate.' I shake my head, 'how many more times will Katara need to save me before one day she can't or... won't and I just die, where will the world be then? In a bigger mess than it already is in? Or will it better off for a new Avatar to take over, they can't screw up more than I have.' I think bitterly. A hand on my arm brings me out of my dark thoughts; looking up I find it to belong to Toph who's surprisingly gentle.

"Did you hear me?" Embarrassed, I'm about to shake my head, before quickly deciding against it in case it worsens my headache.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" She sighs but nods.

"How are you feeling?" I frown, taking in the sharp pains all over my body and the pounding headache.

"I'm...fine." I observe as they all share a glance before focusing on me again. I bite my tongue, 'great, they know I'm lying.' Deciding to change the topic I clear my throat.

"What happened with the assassins? Did they escape?" Zuko sighs at my question, again they all glance with one another. I bite my cheek hard, getting annoyed with all these secret eye gestures and I pierce my eyes on him, silently pleading with him to respond to my queries.

"They're still there, they've been trying to take control of the throne, but the Army has thankfully kept them at bay. All we know so far is that they are in hiding but are planning something big, we just don't know what." I gulp but nod in understanding.

"Aang do you know what they want or why? We can't do much without more information." I frown and think hard, trying to recover every bit of information to the forefront of my mind. I chew on my lip when I remember a certain bit of information that I've been withholding. 'They're going to be so mad at me for not telling them this sooner. Who am I kidding? They're already angry at me.' I sigh and glance at everyone, trying to decide who would be the easiest to break the bad news to. After deliberating for a minute I finally let my eyes wander to a blank wall beside Zuko.

"I didn't know much of their plans to begin with. Whenever they came after me they were silent when they fought and then retreated when they gave up. I stopped questioning their motives after a while. But recently, when I stopped by the police station to drop off those two benders with Toph." My eyes slide to Toph's face, her expression blank making it impossible to know what she's thinking. Just as I'm about to continue speaking, Sokka tilts his head to the side.

"Wait, you said two benders, but only one of them can bend." I sigh, not really wanting to answer his implied question, but I go ahead and do, 'they already know my deepest secret, there's no point trying to avoid their minor questions.'

"I took the other guy's bending away." I watch as Katara widens her eyes in shock, but everyone else remains relatively unsurprised.

"We found that out after questioning him, what element did he bend?" I raise an eyebrow in surprise. 'They've been trying to do their own digging. I hope they didn't get far, there's still things I don't want them to know.'

"He is...was an Earthbender." I find myself saying yet pausing when I realise he'll never be able to bend again...like Ozai.

"I thought so." The quiet mumble from Toph makes me nod, 'it makes sense she'll be able to tell who's an Earthbender just from their stance, she is a master after all.'

"Wow, I guess I just can't believe that the two nations are working together. It's bizarre; I mean if it wasn't a 'let's take over the world' sort of thing then I'd be happy to see them getting along so well." I murmur in agreement to Sokka's words, 'such a shame they couldn't put aside their differences when it really matters.'

"Going back to the point; what's the significance with those two?" My eyes rest on Zuko, his eyes hard but filled with anxiety at the same time. 'It must have killed him to wait to find out any information, he's so passionate about his nation.'

"They were different. More difficult to beat, but that could've been because..." I stop myself from talking and frown, 'no need to tell them how exhausted I've been…how hurt I was.' I observe as their faces reflect the same frown I wear, but thankfully they don't comment. "Anyway, they also talked to me. To put it simply they said they're a rebel group comprised of Earthbenders and Firebenders called the Snipers. They...want to get rid of me because I'm the Avatar." I say vaguely at which they all tense up with Sokka and Toph clenching their fists tightly, while the colour seems to drain from Zuko and Katara's faces. I decide to continue on before they ask more questions. "They said that...that...well they implied that they want to bring Azula to power..."

I cringe at their shouted, "WHAT?!" In less than a millisecond Zuko is by my side, pushing Sokka and Toph out of the way, with his hand roughly clamped on my collar and his eyes ablaze with rage.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!" I flinch at his holler and his hand subconsciously tightens around my throat. "You've known this for how long? A week! And you didn't tell anyone. They could be breaking her out of jail right now or she could already be out of jail for all I know. Where did your head go?! You know I could've changed her location or put more guards or something! Are you that careless, that irresponsible?!" I draw into myself, my heart dropping at the familiar words from my nightmare, my recurring nightmares. I find myself shaking so hard unable to stop it no matter how hard I try. Before I know it I find Toph and Katara holding Zuko back and Sokka grasping my shoulders, repeatedly calling my name. Suddenly I find myself enveloped into a tight hug. Eventually my shakes die down and Sokka pulls back, though one hand remains lightly on my shoulder.

"Way to go Sparky." The hushed growl from Toph makes me feel guilty and I shake my head slowly in response.

"No, it's not his fault. I shouldn't have just kept this to myself. I should've said something."

"Then why didn't you?" Katara speaks up, who having been quiet for so long I guess it was expected, but that doesn't stop the feeling of nervousness piling within me, especially at her semi-accusatory tone. I drop my head seeing only the white sheet covering me.

"If I said, you guys would want to know how I knew this. That means I would have to tell you... what's been happening for more than three years...and I didn't want to."

"But why couldn't you come to us about it?" Katara's broken whisper makes me clench my jaws hard. 'I hate this guilt she's forcing on me' and so silence ensues for what feels like an age but I just continue staring down stubbornly, not wanting to answer her question…their question.

"Aang." I look up abruptly at Zuko's voice. His tone portrays his expression, a weird calm. No longer is his eyes filled with anger, instead it's filled with an apology and a trace of worry. "I'm sorry. I've been so stressed and I just had a go on you when..." I choose that moment to interrupt him, not wanting him to continue in the wrongness of his thinking.

"No, you're right. I was selfish. I didn't think of the consequences of my actions. I'm so sorry. But I promise I'll do everything I can to make things right."

"Aang..."

"Please." He sighs but nods. "What are you doing now about it?" I ask, shifting the direction of the conversation again.

"I'm going to send word now to transfer Azula somewhere more secure if she hasn't already been freed yet."

"And if she has?" I question, mildly concerned that the lady who had almost killed me might be roaming free.

"If she has I'm going to send word to the other nations to ask to form a united army that can take down the rebel group and restrain my sister. I do need to know something else...do you know how many there are?" I think for a moment, being unsure myself of how many there are.

"More than you think. Every attack consisted of different people each time..." I cut myself off, unsure on how to continue.

"How many assassination attempts were there?" I wince at Sokka's question, 'that sounds so much worse when it's worded like that, especially having been the one to have gone through it.' I rummage my brain for an appropriate answer, before finally deciding on the vague truth.

"I don't know..." At my response, Sokka's face becomes laced with pain and shame.

"But...?" I shake my head slowly, mindful of my headache.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sokka's face drops, causing me to bite my lip so hard that I draw blood, 'I don't want to hurt him! This is exactly why I distanced myself from them, so that they can be safe! I failed so miserably.'

"Ok...so a lot. How many were there in each attempt?" I hold back a sigh at Sokka's pushiness.

"Never less than 2 and never more than 10. But mainly it was 3 or 4. They attacked...often." I break off and begin fiddling with the corner of the bedsheet. 'I was about to say daily but I didn't want them to be more worried than they already are.' Quiet ascends on the group, obviously they picked up on my hesitation.

"So we're talking a lot then, like hundreds?" Sokka finally responds. I bite my lip then nod slowly.

"Hundreds...or thousands. I think we're leaning more on the thousand side." Everyone mumbles 'spirits' under their breath. After a moment of silence I choose to ask the most important question in my mind. "So when are we going to strike? We need to do it soon before they carry out their plan. From what I can gather they've been planning this for a long time." Annoyingly everyone glances at each other, as if they're silently arguing about something. The longer it takes for them to reply the more my frown deepens and my frustration begins to grow. "Did you guys hear me?" I watch as Zuko elbows Sokka in the side.

"You tell him." The Firelord whispers. The Watertribe warrior looks at him crazily.

"Why me?" His hushed response, crystal clear to my ears. Again silence falls as Zuko just stares at Sokka. I clench my fist slightly, 'what aren't they telling me?'

"What's wrong?!" I say, raising my voice in a manner that demands an answer. Sokka then shoots an angry glare at the Firelord before sighing and turning his attention back to me.

"Look Aang, whilst Katara did take the poison out and stopped the...life threatening effects." Sokka's eyes stray at the mention of my close brush with death, but he continues on. "It was in too long before we came here and it did affect some things." I narrow my eyes at his implication, though not completely grasping the full meaning.

"What are you saying? What did it do to me?" I drop my voice to a strangled whisper. Zuko steps closer and places a gentle hand on my shoulder giving it a brief squeeze. This time he decides to pick up from where Sokka left off at.

"Don't worry it's nothing permanent. But the poison was designed to waste away muscles, ending with the heart and effectively killing the person. Thankfully it didn't reach that far, but it did damage your muscles. You'll need physiotherapy and medications to get back to how you were before." I shake my head mutely, shocked at this outcome. My eyes sweep briefly to Sokka to see his eyes filled with guilt, making me feel guilty in return.

"How long for?" I ask as neutrally as possible, not wanting Sokka to feel worse.

"Katara says 3 to 4 weeks." I push myself up slightly, trying to conceal a wince. 'Well at least that explains why everything feels like it's on fire.'

"But we can't wait that long to strike!" This time Toph releases an overly exaggerated sigh and steps forward.

"Listen Twinkletoes and listen well! You are NOT joining us. We're going to do it by ourselves with whatever army we make." I shoot up from the bed in indignation, barely holding in a scream from the pain, but I force myself to think about Toph's words, getting irritated at her implication that I can't fight.

"WHAT?! You honestly expect me to just lay back while you go off and fight those guys?!" I holler, but immediately regret it as I'm wrecked with a head splitting pain. Sokka tries to push me back onto the bed but I resist, 'I'm not some frail person that needs rest. I'm the Avatar. I need to help the world!'

"Aang just lay back down!" At the Watertribe warrior's frustrated tone I push his hands away, albeit more weakly than I intended and I struggle to push myself up all the way, as I try though I'm hit with a wave of dizziness. I feel myself being gently pushed back down onto the bed and a cool comforting hand placed on my forehead. As the dizziness subsides I open my eyes to find Katara's soft ones looking at me in concern. I swallow and shut my eyes again.

"You guys shouldn't have to be doing my job. I should be fighting, I know them better than all of you. I can't just hide on an island and let you risk your lives for my mistakes!'

"Aang." Hearing Katara voice my name in the first times in years makes me snap my eyes open in surprise. "You're being too hard on yourself, you didn't do anything." My eyes harden and I chuckle bitterly causing Katara to repel her hand from my forehead.

"Exactly. I didn't do anything. Maybe if I tackled this problem head on I could've got rid of this rebel group before they got so large and organised. But I was a coward, I ran away from it and let them improve and get better before my very eyes. I need to fight. I need to redeem myself." I plead to her, to all of them with my eyes, begging them to not stop me from doing this.

"What's the point in coming to fight if you'll only slow us down? We'll be thinking about your safety and then we won't concentrate on our battles. You'll just make things worse." The cold bluntness of Toph's response hits me hard. 'They're not meant to care about me!' I internally scream.

"Why do you care?! All I've done is treated you like garbage, blocked you out, ignored you, abandoned you, lied to you. Just days ago you hated me, just months ago we hadn't spoken in ages! What's changed?!" I shout to the top of my lungs as they all flinch in unison. Zuko takes a hesitant step towards me.

"We don't hate you." I snort at the obvious lie.

"Speak for yourself Zuko. Look at everyone else. They can't even look at me in the eye!" At my words the other two snap their wandering eyes back to me guiltily, whilst Zuko bites his lip.

"Aang that's not true!" Sokka's argument makes me hit the bed beside me with my fist roughly. I twist my neck towards the one person I know gave me the most grief during these three years, Toph, and weakly grab her, tightening my grip around her wrist, as much as I can manage anyway.

"Toph can you honestly tell me you don't hate me for what I've done, for what I'm still doing?" I watch as a muscle in her jaw twitches, but otherwise she remains silent, her face neutral. I let go of her, bringing my hand back on my chest is an effort. "That's all the proof I need."

"Hating what you've done is different from hating you!" I sigh in frustration at Sokka's continual denial. "Aang...I can't say that we didn't hate you for what you did, but what I can say is that you hurt us, really deeply and more than you realise. I get it you've had it rough, but we haven't had it easy too." The Watertribe man's words causes two conflicting emotions to arise within me, half of me wants to scream that they had no idea what I've been through! Yet the other half wants to break down in tears at causing them unintentional pain, 'I didn't want to hurt them.' I let my eyes flutter to a close, not wanting to see their expressions of hurt and anger.

"That was never my intention." I breathe out so quietly that I hope they miss it. But Toph's unsmooth yet gentle hand rests lightly on my forearm.

"We've got an idea of what you were trying to do. We're against it of course, but what you did was in your nature. The most important question now is are you ready to let us back in, for us all to be friends again? Do you want that or would you rather we go back how we were last month?" I open my eyes in disbelief at Toph's question, 'do I want to rebuild the friendship that I tried so hard to break? Could I really do it, now that they know my biggest secret?'

I choose to gauge the reaction of every person in the room individually, starting with Toph whose eyes may be blind but always manages to depict strong emotions, right now pain is the most prominent, 'I wonder what is it that pains her so?' She wears a deep frown and I notice how many stress lines have appeared on her face, 'I wonder how many things she needed a friend in but I wasn't there. I've been so rotten.' From the slight tremors her fist is experiencing I can tell how anxiousness she is and I'm suddenly hit with how much she wants us to rebuild our friendship, yet I know she'll want to talk to me in depth of what's been happening since our fall out.

I slide my eyes over to Zuko whose eyes are soft and he gives me an encouraging smile, 'Zuko has always been the easiest to read, it has been obvious what he wants for years.' Next I look over to Sokka, who is not as easy to read as Zuko, but easier than Toph. He gives me an unsure smile as his hands fiddles with the handle of his sword. 'Sokka made it pretty clear what he wants this week.'

Finally, I force myself to allow my eyes to fall on Katara, who clutches her left elbow protectively with her right hand. Her eyes are initially downcast but flickers briefly to meet mine. In that moment when our eyes meet I see the obvious betrayal and pain yet anger stews strongly within them as well, it hits me so hard that I nearly gasp. 'What has hurt you so much that made you not leave the South Pole for so long?' I question within myself. 'I can't believe I haven't seen her for more than three years. We were so close. It's ironic how easy it is to destroy all that friendship in moments.' I breathe deeply and choose my words carefully.

"I'm not ready to let you back in." Their faces fall which tears at my broken heart further but I continue on speaking. "But I am ready to be...friends again. I want to rebuild what we had during and after the war, we were at our strongest then. In terms of opening up I can't do that right now, it's too much..." I trail off, unsure what to say. They all glance at one another before nodding and turning to face me again.

"Although not exactly what we want but it's a step forward in the right direction. I think later we'll talk properly, but for now you need to rest." I sigh in relief at Sokka's reasoning but then I remember that we never resolved an earlier issue.

"But what about the fight? I will not stand back while you guys go!" Silence ensues while Sokka scratches his head and everyone else crosses their arms in defiance.

"We aren't going to do anything for at least a week because getting word across and forming an army will take time. If you are able to walk on your feet fine and bend normally then you can come. If you can't then you have to stay here otherwise you'll just hinder us." I frown, not happy with this deal, 'I mean what if I'm not better by then? Staying here is not an option. I'll do more good on the field whether they believe it or not; they don't know what they're up against but I do. Anyway, who says I can't fake good health?' I let out an exaggerated sigh but nod regardless.

"Fine." At this everyone's shoulders relax and they uncross their arms, while Sokka claps his hands in accomplishment.

"Right, now that's settled, we'll leave you in peace. Get some rest." Sokka says quietly as everyone trickles out of the room.

"Ok." I sink further into the bed, suddenly realising how tired I am. I close my eyes and before I know it I'm out like a light.

A/N: And there we go the heart breaking reunion between the gang has finally arrived. The coming chapters will focus on Aang's dynamics between individual characters. There's still a long way to go for them to go and more secrets to be revealed. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and review! You know how much I like reviews (the longer the better, but I won't push my luck). Not sure when I'll next update, but probably after exams in June. Hope you all can wait till then. And thanks again for everyone that's reading this!

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