Well here it is, the final chapter.

Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: Zuko is the one with the most determination. He almost got himself killed multiple times in his pursuit of the Avatar.

Matheus Bezerra de Lima: Cheers! Thanks for all the good reviews and corrections to this story!

Also, by the request of Matheus, here's a PSA: In its infinite wisdom, FF. Net will apparently turn off your E-mail notifications every 90 days. Make sure you check the setting and turn it back on again manually!

As always, Please Review, and we pick up our story six weeks later...

Cranefish Town Jail

Sarnai sighed as she manipulated tiny particles of dust, which swirled around her hand idly. She lay reclined against the end of her bed, and stared up out of a barred window set high above her. Moonlight streamed in, illuminating her cell in a soft light.

She considered what her guard had told her the previous day again.

Her cell was set into a large wooden tower that rose high above the streets of Cranefish Town. It was wooden to prevent her earthbending it out and it was high up to stop her bending the surrounding earth. Unfortunately for the guards though, they had never been very good at keeping the cell clean, and every time they came in to feed her they tramped a small amount of dust in. Sarnai had been zealously saving every particle she could get her hands on, discreetly whipping it out from under her captor's feet and into her hand. She gave a small ironic grin to herself. How apt that her captors should deliver her means of escape.

She suddenly stood up, and stretched. The dust settled in one of her palms for a moment, and then she thrust her arm forward. The particles rushed forwards, between the bars in her door, and into the corridor outside. She then pulled her hand back, and the dust changed direction, straight into the keyhole.

With a click, the door swung open. Sarnai pulled the dust back to her, in case she needed it again.


Kyoshi Island

The harbour of Kyoshi Island was crammed full of wooden ships flying the ensign of the Southern Water Tribe, and the town was crawling with people from all the nations. A Fire Nation Airship was moored to a specially built wooden tower at the edge of town. The world had come to Kyoshi Island, it seemed.

Above them, on a rocky outcrop that overlooked the village, Aang sat with Katara. Appa lazed behind them.

"Any sign of her?" Katara asked. Aang shook his head.

"She's sneaker than that. She'll have come in disguise."

It had been six weeks since Aang had got his bending back, courtesy of the Lion Turtle. The sudden reappearance of the Avatar and a short demonstration of his and Zuko's renewed abilities had been enough to convince the malcontents still within the city to go home, and the political situation in the Fire Nation had swiftly returned to normal.

All across the world, those who had sought to take advantage of the Avatar's weakness were scurrying back into the shadows.

However, it hadn't all been good news. Azula was still on the loose, and just recently they had received word from Cranefish Town that Sarnai, the sandbender, had escaped from her prison cell. It had naturally been assumed that she was coming for Aang again.

"maybe she won't have come at all," Katara replied hopefully.

"I hope so, but she may not believe that my bending is back." Aang pointed out.

The sandbender Sarnai had vanished from her jail cell in Cranefish Town, fuelling fears that she was coming for Team Avatar once again, but she had so far not made a move.

"we should go," Aang said eventually. "They'll be wondering where we are."

"Surely Appa gives that away?" Katara asked playfully, but followed him as they boarded the sky-bison and flew down towards the town. As they soared overhead, people looked up and waved at them. Appa groaned in response. Touching down in front of the town hall, they were met by Zuko.

"Sokka's nervous", said the Firelord.

"Where is he?" Aang asked. Zuko pointed inside the building.

"He's in there. Toph is with him."

Sure enough, they found Sokka and Hakoda fiddling around with a set of ornate blue robes and thick white furs. Toph was sat in a nearby chair.

"It'll be fine!" She was telling him.

"yeah, it'll be fine," Aang barged into the conversation. Sokka looked up at him.

"Logically, I know you're right," he said. "But emotionally I'm panicking."

"what for? You're getting married, not fighting a bad guy," Zuko pointed out.

"I know!" Sokka defended himself. "Like I said, I know it's not logical."

"Take it from someone who knows," Hakoda told him. "This is nothing to be worried about. It's the beginning of the happiest time in your life with someone who loves you. That's all."

Sokka seemed to relax. "Thanks dad."

Toph tilted her head slightly, and then held her hand up for quiet. "Can you hear that?"

Aang stopped, confused, along with everybody else, and listened. At first he heard nothing.

And then he heard a thousand tiny impacts against the structure of the building.

"That's odd," Sokka remarked. "It wasn't hailing a...minute... ago?"

He stopped as he realised the significance of those words.

"It's her, isn't it?"


They found Sarnai leaning against a tree outside, controlling a spinning circular wall of sand that blocked all the exits to the courtyard.

"Hello Avatar. Long time," she said.

"Not you again," Aang said in an unfriendly tone.

Sarnai shrugged. "If I hadn't come here to kill you, I'd be offended."

Katara laughed. "Didn't you hear?" She asked mockingly. "Aang found the Lion Turtle. He has his bending back. We all do. Your mission is even more stupid than it was already!"

There was a crash as the door to another building on the other side of the courtyard crashed open. Suki rushed out, accompanied by Mai, Ty Lee and several other Kyoshi Warriors. They stopped short when they saw Sarnai and scowled.

"Really? Today?" Suki groaned.

Sarnai snorted. "Why do you expect me to believe you?" She asked. "Of course you're going to say whatever you think will get me to leave you alone, so how do I know you're not lying?"

Aang exchanged a glance with Katara, and then thrust one arm towards Sarnai. The sandbender was knocked off her feet by a powerful blast of wind that threw her backwards and sent her skidding on her back through the dust. She came to a rest at the feet of the Kyoshi Warriors.

"is that enough proof for you?" Sokka asked.

Sarnai sat up, and laughed.

"I didn't believe it when I heard," she said. "I thought you were lying, you were too weak to get it back. To be honest, I didn't even know it was possible."

"You have no idea what's possible," Toph said.

"perhaps not," Sarnai conceded. "Tell you what, I am a woman of principle, not a mindless killer. So long as you do not lose your bending again, I will leave you alone. I will go home and consider my job done. You have my word."

Hang on," Katara said. "You're talking as if we're just going to let you go. You tried to kill us at least twice and you were directly responsible for Toph losing her bending! We can't just let you get away!"

"Can't you?" Sarnai raised one eyebrow. Then she pulled her arms in towards herself and she was engulfed in sand. Several Kyoshi Warriors backed away coughing with their hands over their face.

"After her!" Katara lifted a stream of water out of a nearby fountain and launched it straight at the cloud of sand. It passed through it harmlessly and got the hem of Suki's dress wet, but Sarnai was not there.

"Toph! Where did she go?" Katara whirled on the Earthbender, who concentrated and then pointed.

"That way! But her footsteps are very faint!"

"Already?" Katara was already halfway down the steps, but Sokka held his arm out. "Let her go," he said.

"What?" Katara spun on him.

"She promised to leave us alone," Sokka explained. "And it's our wedding day! Let's not spend it chasing shadows."

Katara looked like she wanted to argue, and then stopped. "Fine," she said. "But I'm going after her soon."

"Then so shall we all," Sokka promised.

"She won't get away that easily," Suki added coming up to them. Sokka glanced at her and at once Sarnai was forgotten. The Kyoshi warrior was wearing flowing robes of green and blue, with the half-finished betrothal necklace around her neck.

"Hi," he managed.

"Shall we get going then?" Suki offered him her hand. "They'll be wondering where we are."

"Wasn't the sandstorm a giveaway?"

Sokka gratefully took it and together they processed down the steps and away across the courtyard, stepping gingerly over the furrow that Sarnai's body had created in the ground.

Aang held back and watched his friends go for a second. Sokka had forgotten his worrying and the soon-to-be-weds were both grinning like idiots while Toph, Zuko and the others followed them, chatting animatedly. He felt a tap on his shoulder and found Katara there looking at him. She smiled at him, and they kissed. Then she too offered him her hand, and they set off after the others.

Author's Note: It's done! Crisis of Faith has been ongoing for God knows how long, but it's done. That leaves three stories I have ongoing, but in the future beyond those I have some ideas for stories. Would you be more interested in:

A: An Avatar AU where different Early modern European inspired sailors and traders from the other side of the Avatar world enter the story and interact with the characters?

B: A Song of Ice and Fire AU where the Dance of the Dragons never happened so Dragons are still alive and well?

Obviously I wouldn't actually start either until at least one more of my current stories is finished, but I'd like to test the waters now.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this story, as much as I enjoyed writing it.