Hello Yellow Jello,

Just when you think it's safe and your out, he pulls you back into this fanfic and tries to get you hooked again!

Well first off to set things right, I would like to apologize for my long ass absence, because ever since I started school again, everything went hectic! They got me writing a billion thesis' a day for my IB (International Baccalaureate) diploma and its eating me alive. Also got my higher level subjects to take again which make me get back home everyday around seven pm and I've been extra busy with Theory of Knowledge expositions about themes that are practically impossible to defend (the morality of killing someone, how can someone rape their wife and so on)

But I'm back and at full power and things are starting to slow down, so back I decided to pay the site a visit and let the world know that this light bender will not fade out silently, be forgotten and leave his project in hiatus. Just not who I am to leave things unfinished, so for the sake of responsibility and work ethic and since I missed doing this, writing for my own pleasure and not for the corrupt system of a damn diploma (even though it wickedly opens a lot of window opportunities) I'm here to present to you the long awaited chapter 11 and its part one, meaning that soon enough to make up for my absence will be part two being just as long as this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA nor I ever will period

Ch 11: Change part one

Time went on. Days became weeks; weeks became months; and it all added up to seven long months of training for the Avatar and his Sifu. But it wasn't only Zuko and his student that grew: each of the gang's members changed in their own personal ways.

Aang learned through Zuko's tough training sessions the determination of a true Firebending master. Never settling for the mere acceptable as his maximum, he would always strive for more…even if it went against his Sifu's recommendations. Aang learnt the techniques faster than anyone had anticipated, leading to the mastering of Fire ahead of schedule.

And today was the day that marked Aang's final training. They had two months before Sozin's comet would appear, and now it was time to put Aang's abilities to the final test.

"Aang, after seven months of training you and passing down to you each and every single drop of knowledge I know, the time to prove to me and the rest of the world that you are a Firebending master has come! I am truly astonished of what you have been able to achieve in these last few months and this makes me proud to be called your teacher! You are now a legit Firebender; use the most powerful element's strength wisely!"

"Woo-hoo!" Aang jumped into the air, straddling a swirling ball of wind and circling Zuko at a dizzying pace, until his mentor spoke again, distracting Aang and leading him to run into a tree.

Ooofff!

"As I was saying, you are now a legit Firebender… But before we celebrate, it's time to put those teachings into practice with the most fun part of the training plan." Zuko grinned brashly at his student. His student smiled back to him the same cocky smile, knowing exactly what he had in mind.

"What do you mean the past few months haven't been fun? I had a blast!"

"All full of ourselves I see, but let's see just how long you can keep up?"

Zuko shifted into his traditional fighting stance. His left hand was extended before him in the form of a blade, anticipating and deconstructing Aang's defenses mentally to prepare for his strikes. Preparing for a fierce Firebending battle, Aang shifted into a different stance: his had no defenses whatsoever.

Zuko's pupil only smiled at him, daring him to make the first move, but he knew better.

Aang was an Airbender, raised to see all possible angles and outcomes of any predicament. Employing Airbender wit and Firebending techniques could prove to be quite (and quickly) fatal. He took a step closer preparing to attack, but before he could begin to deliver his blow, Aang suddenly jetted himself toward Zuko, two fireballs lit in the palms of his hand.

Zuko was able to avoid both of the projectiles by dodging from one side to another, shortly coming face-to-face with his Firebending apprentice to begin hand-to-hand combat. Aang started using the double flare techniques that Zuko had shown him, time after time trying to break his Sifu's rock-solid stance. Zuko, however, had only to engulf those fireballs and break them into their two main components like his uncle trained him, sending them back to Aang with double the power.

But Aang effortlessly broke the stream of fire in two with his fists, only to find after the embers in his eyes were gone that Zuko had already come close enough to him to deliver his preferred techniques: kicks that burst with fire. Zuko found his attempts to shake the Avatar's balance to be failures, thanks to his student's extensive traning with Toph. Still, Zuko was able to land a few on Aang's weakly-defended sides, though he was careful not to hurt him too much.

"Aang, you have to show that you want to beat me. My father won't be as kind to you as I am: he'll find any moment of weakness and break you in that instant. Now take your act up a notch or we'll just have to go surrender ourselves because at this pace, all the training was for nothing and we're better off dead!" Zuko scowled to his student, trying to make stimulate his student's desire to achieve.

Reality finally smacked Aang in the face hard when he heard those words. The Fire Lord would be more than willing to kill him: he knew it better than anyone. Shoved out of his stance and a few feet away by the thus-far triumphant Zuko, Aang quickly scrambled to his feet and took a new stance. His fingers traveled through the air, small yellow sparks manifesting themselves on the tips of his fingers.

"That's much better," Zuko complimented as he too got into the same stance as Aang and copied his movements instantly, though from his fingertips jumped red sparks. They crossed and cut through the air many times each time making the lengths of the heat streaming from their fingers grow longer and longer, tension building in the air.

The battle's heavy atmosphere was finally cut when Aang released his yellow lighting towards Zuko, who counterattacked with his own blood red lightening. The two forces clashed, fighting each other. They danced and tangled each other, like two serpents trying to choke the other off, until they finally became one and an orange blast of light was seen followed by a quick growing cloud of dust and dirt.

"What's that?" cried the Water Tribe warrior over the loud explosion, his eyes shielded by his left hand.

The ground underneath the camp shook from the unexpected explosion. Appa groaned and stomped around while a panicky Momo jumped up and down on his back. Toph took her usual stance, trying to decipher the strong vibrations coming from the training ground where Aang was. She felt a soft clap on the shoulder. Katara stood beside her, starring at the cloud of dust that rose into the sky. She looked back, locking her eyes with Iroh who was smiling cheerfully at her while sipping his morning tea.

"Don't worry about it, child…that boom was the birth of success! He did it!"

Katara turned to behold the giant cloud once more, stunned at to how much commotion their practice caused. "If this is practice, then what will the final battle be like!" she thought as the bright flash started to dim, and she slowly took down her hand from shielding her eyes.

Back in the battle, the two benders were too blinded by the light, but each did their best to not take their sights off the other. When the cloud dust finally dispersed and the light had completely died, the two sparring partners eyed each other warily with their challenging smiles.

"That'll do Aang, that'll do," was all that his Sifu could say as he stood normally. Aang took a low bow and thanked him, Zuko responding in kind.

As Aang and Zuko straightened from their bows, the two benders heard sharp echoing sounds. They were the sounds of claps: monotonous and weak at first, their strength grew and soon enough the figure of what seemed to be Iroh made his way to be the first to congratulate them.

"I've said this very few times in my life, but this moment really does deserve these words. Never have I seen the spirit of Agni burn so strongly in two benders such as yourselves, and I have to admit, I'm truly impressed with both of you! I'm sure that now you're both ready to take my accursed brother down!"

Aang couldn't help but turn to a light shade of crimson, but it quickly went away as soon as Toph ran up to Aang's face. She inspected him ever so closely; he could feel the warmth of her breathe as she came in really close to Aang's face, taking hold of his head gently turning it from side to side, as though trying to find that spark that made him different from those last few months.

Aang, even though he was used to being manipulated by her when they were alone, was surprised at her actions, even though they had "gone public" two months ago. It was obvious that Toph no longer felt embarrassed by being with him in front of everyone.

The day it all happened was still very clear in his mind. Aang smiled as he remembered…

The young Avatar couldn't sleep that night. Something was bothering him, and he knew what it was, but didn't know how to confront it. Quietly getting out of his sleeping bag, he crept over the dormant corpses of his friends to make his way to his Earthbending Sifu's rock-tent. He silently airbended the flap of her tent open, and carefully popped his head inside.

Usually, she would be angry with him for barging in on unannounced, but since she had also failed to fall asleep, she let it slide. She stood to face him. "What do you want now, Twinkle Toes? It's really late."

He didn't say anything for a moment, only starring at her. She couldn't move a muscle; although she couldn't see his eyes, she felt as if something were pinning her to that spot.

"I just wanted to talk, if you're not busy or anything like that" His voice had no tone whatsoever: it wasn't serious, but it wasn't lighthearted either. It was too calm, even for someone who was a legit, pacifistic monk like him. She nodded slowly, bringing down the two flaps of her tent as she followed him to a river not far from camp.

"So, what d'you wanna talk about, Twinkles?" Toph bended a pebble to shoot out of her hand and across the river.

Watching the pebble skip on the water, Aang suddenly stopped it and bended it back into his hand. He played with the pebble, fidgeting around with it, examining it closely until he could find the words he wanted to say.

"Toph, have you noticed something weird about Katara and Zuko, like how they act and stuff?" He asked because he wasn't sure if she had found out yet.

"Oh, you mean that Sugar Queen and Price Temper are together? Yeah, me and his uncle have known about that ever since the guy woke up from his fight with his psycho sister… When did you find out?"

"Not too long ago, and thank God that Sokka doesn't know! But that's not what I wanted to talk about. When I think about them, I kinda feel sad for them that they can't show it to the world because no one would understand or even accept the fact that they're involved, especially since he's from an enemy nation."

Restless, Toph played with the earth around her. Small rocks hovered and circled around her palm,as she feigned disinterest in what the young Avatar had to say.

"Um, where is it that you're going with this? I know that it's sad and all, but for your own good, I hope you didn't get me out of my tent just to state the obvious!"

Aang looked across the river. The smoothly flowing water resembled a black silk sheet since the clouds had taken over the skies, blocking the moon. He took a deep breath, steeled his face, and decided to take the plunge.

"I'm a monk, and I don't like living a life of lies, even if they're small like this. What I mean is that they have a reason not to show it to the world… while we can but we don't!"

Wide-eyed and suddenly pale, Toph's concentration totally disappeared when the Avatar expressed his feelings so vehemently, the pebbles scattering across the ground at the edge of the river.

"You mean… that you… want us… to go……public!" she stuttered out.

"Why shouldn't we? I mean, I like you and you like me, and no one would have a problem with that!"

"Aang, it's easy for you to open up to other people, but for me it's different. To show how I really feel isn't my thing." She found she couldn't explain any more to him. It wasn't that emotions themselves made her feel weak, but everyone knowing about them made her feel vulnerable. She was afraid that if their relationship were to become common knowledge, everyone would think that she had gone soft.

Face falling, Aang's shoulders slumped as he turned to walk back to the camp, leaving the Earthbender behind. He felt so stupid. The person he liked considered him weak, and he only felt worse for having filled himself with hopes that he could change that.

Toph, on the other hand, felt lower than the rocks she usually bended. Again, she couldn't move from where she was, feeling an immobilizing presence piercing her soul. Although she had never seen his eyes, or any physical characteristic of his, as a matter of fact, in her mind's eye she could see the emptiest and most dark pools of grey ever to exist.

She felt ashamed and selfish. Her face twisted in disappointment and disgust as that thought crossed her mind: having been blind, she had always been proud that she could help others as much as they could help her, that she didn't take more than she could give. When she found the strength within herself, she stalked back to the camp, hoping that the Airbender would be in a better mood by the time she got there. Unfortunately, though, he was already back in his sleeping bag with Momo covering his bald head.

She didn't have the courage to go wake him up, so she surrendered, bending her tent up and sealing herself off from the outside world. As she laid still listening to the Earth, she couldn't shake off the empty grey eyes that bored through her mind, until she finally gave in to the exhaustion of her psychological battle and fell asleep.

The next day was a complete surprise to Aang. As he sleepily opened his eyes, he saw a very familiar figure blocking the rays of the sun from his face.

"Toph? Isn't it a little early to be up?" he asked groggily, still tucked into his sleeping bag.

Toph stomped her feet, sending strong quakes that shoot everyone up into the air in their sleeping bags. As everyone dropped back and were rudely awakened by the forces of gravity, Toph could only smile while Aang slowly sat himself up.

"What the hell is wrong with you Toph?" screamed out Katara accompanied by an angry stare courtesy of her older brother. Zuko ran as fast as he could back to the camp, thinking that it was under attack, only to find Iroh groaning on the floor like a helpless turtle unable to get up by himself.

Toph's smile grew as she stomped the ground under her feet sending a rush of earth under Aang just strong enough to jolt him up to his feet. She placed her hands on her hips and hollered to everyone.

"Everybody listen up! I'm only going to say this once! I like Aang and he likes me back, so if anybody has a problem with that, tough!"

Aang couldn't feel anymore embarrassed than he was in that moment, but it was a good embarrassed, because he was getting what he wanted, or so he thought…

Aang's mind snapped back to reality from his reminiscence. The worst part of everything was that, even though he liked it being all out in the open, he the brunt of the others' stares when they were together, and the feeling of being spied when being with your girlfriend was definitely not a pleasant one. He felt her hands leave his face as she took a step back to take a better look at the whole of him.

"You've got the tricky brains of an Airbender, the serenity of a Waterbender, the aggressiveness of an Earthbender, and you've achieved the determination of a Firebender. It's official that you are the Avatar: well, a complete one, anyway!"

"It's true you know. You really are the Avatar now," added Zuko as he walked up behind him.

"Aang, that was incredible! You've actually mastered Firebending now," wailed Katara as she made it up to them second-to-last followed by the grumbling Sokka.

"That's great and everything… but that means that we have to go beat up your father now, am I right?" the Water Tribe warrior (and mood-killer extraordinaire) stated matter-of-factly, starring at the Firebender. Sokka noticed it too, of course (he wasn't completely thick), but he knew that someone had to be the voice of reason around here.

"Sokka, try to lighten up!" replied his sister "There are still two months left, and we can easily make the trip there in less than one, so what's the hurry? No one is going to attack us. No bounty hunter knows where we are, or have even gotten close to us for months, and Azula was totally fried after Zuko fought her."

"Yeah, but the fact is, that he never finished her off in the first place! If those two have anything in common it's that they're really driven like crazy, and worst of all, she's vengeful. Aang, it's your battle, what should we do?

Aang thought for a while, scratching his imaginary, itchy beard. He was really tired from the constant training… But then again, people were dying every day, and the sooner the war could be stopped the better. He just wanted a few days off to recharge himself, but didn't want to disappoint his friends or toss aside his duties as the Avatar.

He found that there was no choice but to go and find a way to the Fire Nation to end the war, but before he could speak Zuko stepped in front of him and told the belligerent Water Tribe warrior his plan.

"Aang's been working on Firebending for a really long time now, and that's cost him a lot of work and energy. I think he should take a break for a month to review the other elements and to recharge. It's not a long way to the Fire Nation from here, and he's not going to be of any good to anyone if he goes to the Fire Lord already half dead!"

"That's very true nephew. Besides Sokka, you have also been training a lot for the upcoming battle, and you're also very tired so why not enjoy the present a little bit, and worry only when you really have to? Actually, that gives me an idea… Aang, Zuko, I think that to celebrate your achievement we should put on a Firebending show!"

"You mean like the ones they have in the Fire Festival?"

"Exactly like those, but how do you know about that?"

"Well you see, before I met Jeong Jeong, I snuck into the Fire Nation to get a personal view of Firebending. It was also during that time that I promised myself I would never Firebend, because it only hurt those around me." The Avatar turned his sight away from Iroh, a little bit ashamed of past events.

But Iroh placed a cheery clap on Aang's shoulder/ "You don't have to worry about that happening anymore… You're a master approved by me and my nephew. Plus, if we get into any trouble, I believe that we have a more-than-qualified healer amongst us," he said slyly as his head tilted towards the Waterbending master.

"It's ok, Aang. Iroh's right, Miss Sugar Queen over there will have us covered, so go on and have fun with making a show for everyone… But it better be a good one!" Toph ended with a somewhat mirthful yet still menacing tone, the way she always talked to him when they fooled around.

Aang became ecstatic, running off with the two Firebenders to go make up a show for everyone for that night.

Again I want to take the time to apologize for my long absence, but trying to get your ass graduated isn-t exactly a walk around the park so I guess I really can-t make many promises at this point, seeing that I feel that I-m boring you with them.

Anyway the second part will be up shortly, I got it written just need to take the time to beta read it and soon you'll be graced in reading the continuation of this fic and maybe even read the ending.

Other than that please review it would help to know that there are people out there who are still tuned to this fic even though I probably don't deserve it, as being the irresponsible author that I am --, but I NEVER leave things in hiatus so just bear with me, the plot will continue.

Again don't forget to review it be nice to hear what other people think about this rigfht about now.

Cheerios