Author's Note: There are not that many, but some stories out there, theorizing what could've happened to Lu Ten, I mean, instead of just dying. So, basically, here is my second attempt to it, also the first that is not a crossover, but one that could have happened in the universe of ATLA. It will alternate the original storyline quite a bit though, so be prepared for that. Also, a quick warning, injuries, grave injuries, death and so on are going to be mentioned, so it is rated M for a reason. Also, Lu Ten is quite a bit depressed in the first chapter, will get better with the ongoing of the story, I promise. Without further ado, let's start with "After the long dark", I hope you enjoy it, please review.

Ba Sing Se, Dai Li headquarter below Lake Laogai

Aang was led down into the prison tract of the Dai Li headquarter. He couldn't believe he really tapped into Long Feng's trap, but here he was, handcuffed on his way to a particular deep cell. They had given him some kind of drug, so he would not be able to transform into the avatar state. Hopefully at least his friends were safe.

He passed several cells, before the Dai Li agents stopped in front of an even more massively built iron door. Creaking it opened. Behind it were only a few cells, maybe three, it was very dark, so Aang could not make them out clearly. He was shoved into one, and they closed the door behind him. Then the heavy door closed as well. Aang just laid there for a moment, breathing and thinking.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a raspy, whispering voice, "Hello? Is someone there?", that made him jump. It obviously came from one of the other cells. He didn't think that there was somebody else down here.

Slowly he sat up, "Uhm, yeah, I'm here. My name is Aang, what about you?"

The raspy voice chuckled, "Aang? That is an unusual name, sounds almost like Air Nomad to me.", Aang was shocked at this, whoever this was, how could he know? "My name is Lu Ten, nice to meet you, Aang. Nice to finally have someone to talk to.", he coughed a few times, but continued in a friendly voice, "What brings you down here, friend?"

Aang hesitated for a moment, the name was not familiar to him, could he be trusted? Lu Ten then continued, "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Down here, we are free to talk about whatever we want, nobody hears us. But I have one question, and I would ask you to answer it truthfully. I've been down here for quite a while, and somehow lost track of time. It has been so long since I've seen the sun.", he sighed, "Could you tell me which year we have?".

Aang flinched at the thought how long this guy must've been imprisoned here to ask something like that. "We have the 100th year after Sozin's comet, why?"

He just heard Lu Ten take a sharp breath and the man suddenly went totally silent. After a while the avatar became worried about his neighbor and asked, "Lu Ten, are you okay?"

With a calm, almost grave tone Lu Ten answered, "Yes, sorry. I, it is just, I knew that I've been here for quite a while, but I never thought that it was this long."

Now Aang was curious, "What do you mean, how long have you been here?"

"If you told me the truth, Aang, I've been here for almost seven years now.", this also shocked Aang. What could Lu Ten have done to deserve this?

So, he asked exactly that, "What have you done that led you here, Lu Ten?"

This time the older man actually laughed, but it was free from any joy, "I'm a leftover from this damned war, this stupid siege. Essentially, I'm a prisoner of war. I think, that is the most fitting description. But right now, I'm just a shadow, a thin man with way too much hair and crippled hands. They've already told me that everyone thinks I'm dead, and who knows, rather sooner than later this could become the truth."

Aang shivered at this. A prisoner of war, slowly dying under Lake Laogai. "But you've survived this long, you can survive longer.", Aang tried to lighten the mood, only to earn another humorless laughter.

"Even if I am freed now by some miracle, what do you think my life would be like? I'm not the man I used to be, by far not. Gosh, I bet not even my father would recognize me, and still if he would, like I said, my hands are crippled. I cannot bend anymore, I would debate if I could even eat with chopsticks.", Aang was horrified by the man's analysis of his situation. Not being able to bend, for someone who grew up with it, did it his whole life, was a nightmare scenario, let alone not being able to do something with your hands.

The young avatar desperately wanted the man out of his hopelessness, "You mentioned your father, I don't think that the people who loved you would not care about you anymore.", this time the reaction was a long silence.

"No, Aang, I know it sounds crazy, but I hope they moved on. Although, my father probably did not, as far as I know him, he'll still mourn. You must know, I was an only child, my mother died in childbirth and my father raised me more or less alone. I just hope that my wife has moved on. We were so young when we married, she was only sixteen, I was nineteen. She did not deserve to be a widow at such a young age. And the child… I'm sorry Aang, I'm only talking about myself a whole lot. You must have a lot on your shoulders as well. Your voice tells me you're pretty young, how did you end up here?"

By now, Aang had taken pity in this man in the cell next to him. He decided to be honest with him, "The Dai Li captured my sky bison. They made me an offer to have Appa back, but it was all a trap. I was then drugged and brought here. I just hope my friends are safe.", he said sadly.

"Sky bison? So, I guess you are the avatar, huh? This explains why they don't want you in the city. There is no war in Ba Sing Se after all.", Aang was surprised again, though this man had spent so much time in this prison, his mind was still sharp.

"Well, Avatar Aang, it is an honor to meet you, though I wish the situation would be different.", Lu Ten said, causing Aang to chuckle.

"It's nice to meet you too, Lu Ten. It's been a while since I was able to have a relaxed talk with someone from the Fire Nation.", Aang replied. This time, Lu Ten chuckled. "You know, when my friends come to bust me out, I hope we can get you out too. I could still use a firebending teacher after all."

Lu Ten's voice went serious from one moment to the other, "I told you Aang, I cannot firebend anymore. When I was imprisoned, they literally crushed my hands. And without a healer they did heal somewhat but stayed crippled. It is impossible for me to bend with these, I would risk great injuries doing so."

"I'm sorry, I did not think about that. But you could at least get back to your family. I guess your wife would be more than happy, no matter how your hands look. And that child you mentioned, what's up with that? You just stopped there.", Aang said curiously.

Lu Ten sighed, "No, like I said, I hope she moved on by now. What use would I have, I can't even work, I would just be dead weight to her, if she has not remarried by now that is. I hope she did though, I hope she found somebody nice to care for her and our child. The reason I stopped there was, well, Lian told me she was pregnant the day before I went into war again. I had promised her to return safely. Now, if nothing happened to both of them, my child is now six years old, and has never met its father. Should I really return to them, crippled as I am? Would you do that, Avatar? Maybe it is better that I am dead to them."

Aang felt incredibly sorry for this man. He was right in some points. If his hands were really that damaged, he probably would not be able to do much with them. Then an idea shot through the Avatar's head, "But bending is more than just your hands, am I right? If you're careful not to let the energy flow through your hands, maybe you can bend some fire with your mouth and feet? Also, I have a good friend, Katara. She is a waterbender and a healer. Maybe she can heal your hands."

Lu Ten was surprised by this, "Y-You think she would try? I'm a firebender after all."

"I think she would, at least, after I talk to her. You'll see, she's great.", Lu Ten smiled at the enthusiasm the young avatar had about this girl. He was so very obviously smitten by her. It reminded him of when he was a few years younger and praised the many qualities of the woman he wanted to marry to his father and grandfather. Only to be turned down by both, a voice in his head said.

They then spent the next few hours talking. It was mainly Lu Ten asking Aang about everything that happened since his imprisonment. He was not surprised about the siege being called off, but he was taken aback by the sudden death of his grandfather and his uncle taking power, everything so quickly after one another, starting off with his own supposed death.

He remembered their attack that morning, they were fighting on the first inner wall. They faced the Earth Kingdom army, but also Dai Li agents. Along his side fought his best friend Zhang. Suddenly an explosion. Everything went black. When he finally managed to open his eyes again, the first thing he saw was Zhang laying next to him. A deep hole in his armor, blood everywhere. He noticed that his friend's hand was missing. But Zhang did not move. He was not sure if he breathed. Lu Ten forced himself up on all fours, his head was still ringing. For a moment Lian's face appeared before his vision and he thought of their baby. He had to survive, he just had to. And he would not let Zhang here as well. Still shaking on his legs, he walked up to his friend and pulled him out of the rubble he was laying halfway buried under. Then he shoved him up on his shoulders and began searching for the next healer. It was then that he noticed they were on the other side of the wall. The Earth Kingdom side. They were approached quickly by Dai Li agents. He knelt down before them, "Please, my friend, he needs a healer, please…", he began begging, pleading for them to somehow save his friend. But it was to no avail. Today he thought, most likely Zhang had by then already been dead. He did not know which one of them was the luckier one though.

He was kicked out of his thoughts when heavy door came crushing in. Dim light from the torches outside shone into the cells. It almost blinded Lu Ten. Aang beamed in excitement. He knew, who kicked in that door. "Hey there, twinkletoes!"

After they got Aang out of his cell, the Gaang wanted to disappear quickly, they had not been noticed by now, and maybe they could just sneak out again. But Aang stopped them quickly. "We need to open that cell too. In there is a man called Lu Ten. We need to help him, I'll explain later."

They all shot Aang a doubtful glance but did as he requested. When the cell door opened, the dim light fell on a fragile figure, crawled up in one of the corners of the cell. He was tall, but very skinny. His skin had always been pale, but now it looked almost grey. His hair was black, but dirty and came down past his shoulders and a scruffy beard fell on his chest. His eyes were amber of color, but tired and weary. On his left cheek was a scar, not from fire, but from a knife or something, starting from between eye and cheekbone, going down almost to the corner of his mouth. When they helped him up, they noticed his hands. They did by no means look natural, rather as if every single bone in them had been broken, and never did somebody care to fix that.

Lu Ten stood up shakingly. It had been a long time since he was out of that cell. The water tribe siblings and the avatar stared at him for a moment. Even though they had traveled the world and seen a lot of the war, seeing someone in such a state shook them to the core. Sokka quickly put one of Lu Ten's arms around his shoulders, supporting him, so he could somewhat keep up the group's pace.

They began sneaking out of the Dai Li headquarters quietly. Aang would never say it out loud but carrying Lu Ten with them slowed them down considerably. At one point the firebender stopped, lifted his arm from Sokka's shoulders and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Trying to catch his breath he gestured to them to just go, "I'm slowing you down. You have to go, get out of here. If they catch you all hope for the world is lost. Don't worry about me, I'll manage.".

Aang wanted to debate him on that, but he saw the determination on the older man's face, so he eventually turned around. Suddenly the ground was shaking and holes in the wall revealed Dai Li Agents, Long Feng among them. The Gaang fought them off until only Long Feng remained.

"You will not escape this place, Avatar.", he snarled at the kid.

Lu Ten froze in shock. So far, the none of the agents or Long Feng were aware of him as he stood back in the tunnel. He saw a glimmer in Long Feng's eyes and knew the earthbender would immediately strike, strike to kill. He had seen that expression enough in battle himself. The avatar and his friends did not seem to notice it. Though they had traveled the world, and seen a lot of the war, they rarely encountered such situations. Remembering what the avatar said about bending, he inhaled deeply, remembered to keep the energy away from his arms, and jumped at Long Feng's position. He spun his leg around, ending in a flaming kick towards the backside of the earthbender. The fire was not big, not as powerful as it had been before his imprisonment, but it managed to burn into Long Feng's robes, catching the Dai Li leader by surprise. With a loud scream he retreated bending a column from under him towards an opening in the ceiling.

The Gaang stared at Lu Ten for a moment. Then Aang cheered, "I knew you could do it!".

Sokka turned to his friend, "Couldn't you have told us before that he's a FIREBENDER?"

Aang looked down, then at Lu Ten's tired expression, "But he's friendly. He could teach me firebending if we manage to heal his hands."

Sokka was not buying it, "He was friendly to you as long as you both were behind bars. There's no guarantee that he won't deliver you straight to the Fire Lord once we're out of here."

Lu Ten's raspy voice interrupted them, "He's right, Aang. Go, get out of here. You'll find a better teacher, I'm sure.", he trailed off as everything around him started to turn around. Lu Ten then crashed against the nearest wall, collapsing at the ground.

Toph had been silent the whole time, now she spoke up, "As much as I love you two bickering, we should really get out of here.", with that she walked over to Lu Ten's unconscious form and began dragging him along on his collar. Everyone just stared at her for a moment, then they hurried behind her.

Once they reached the surface Toph laid Lu Ten down on the grass. Katara knelt next to him, studying his body. "He's very thin, probably starved for a longer time period. Also, his hands are going to be a lot of work, if I can fix them at all. I think, I'll have to break all the bones again to get them straight again, reattach the muscles to where they should be. This kind of punishment is really cruel. But we shouldn't do that here. For now, I'll just make him wake up again, so he can walk.", with that she laid both of her hands on his body, water flowing around them and a blue light emerged.

Groaning Lu Ten opened his eyes again, surprised to be on the surface and the Gaang looking down on him. Carefully he got up on into a sitting position, his voice was barely a whisper, "What happened?"

Aang knelt down on his side, "We're out of that prison. But we're not safe just now. Come on, I'll help you up, we've got quite a way ahead of us.", with that he stretched his hand out to Lu Ten and stood up himself. Pulling him up, he couldn't help but notice how lightweight the firebender was and sorrow washed over him.

Curiously Lu Ten asked, "Where are we going?", silently he wondered that not only the avatar was at such a young age, but his friends were none but children.

Katara turned to him and smiled, "We were given a house for out stay in Ba Sing Se, there I can have a closer look at your hands."

This surprised Lu Ten again, that this girl would without hesitation heal a man she did not know, and who should by all means, be viewed by her as an enemy.

Suddenly the earth shook again, and they were from one moment to the other, surrounded by Dai Li Agents, Long Feng among them, "I told you, avatar. You'll not get out of here alive.", he said, before he was interrupted by a deep groan. A white-furred, giant beast appeared behind him, crashing some agents it came to a halt next to Long Feng and bit him in his leg, throwing him away. The rest of the Dai Li agents flew. The Gaang beamed, "Appa!", they called out in unisono. Aang immediately ran up to the giant animal, hugging his head, or at least trying. Lu Ten smiled, so this was a Sky Bison. He must admit, it was truly giant, but also had an aura of majesty around him.

As he approached the beast, that was now cuddled from all sides, Aang sprung onto the bison's head, took the reigns and waved him over, "Lu Ten! Come on, our trip will be far easier now."

To his embarrassment, he needed help to climb up into Appa's saddle. But once he was in, he found himself enjoying the ride. They all flew in silence for a few hours, all being thankful for the big furry animal. At the sight of the inner ring a thought shot through Lu Ten's head, "Before I forget it,", he began, "I think it would be better if you don't mention my name around anyone but yourselves.", and as all looked at him questioningly, he added, "It could cause unwanted attention. Officially, Lu Ten is dead. And for now, that's probably a good thing.", the Gaang still looked at him confused, so he explained further, "Ah, you're a bit too young to know. I have to admit, I'm sorry Aang, but I left something out in our little talk before. I am, or rather, I was Prince Lu Ten of the Fire Nation, son of Iroh, Dragon of the West. This is why I had to join the siege. I didn't want to tell you earlier; I wasn't sure if it would've been a good thing. And I don't think my name causes a lot of popularity in this city. So, why don't you all just refer to me as Lee when strangers are around?"