Author's Notes: Since Microsoft Word is acting up again, I was forced to write this chapter directly on this website, under the Edit/Preview option for documents. Because of this, I have no idea how many pages this chapter is, and I don't have the aid of spellcheck. So, I apologize if the chapter length is radically different than normal or if there are quite a few typos that I missed.
This dream takes place directly after one that was a few chapters ago - when Zuko kissed Katara and he and Aang fought over her.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.
Book 2: Earth
Chapter 8: Bitter Truth
"Katara... I love you."
It took everything he had to say those four simple words as the two stood together in the moonlit glade. Aang's anger for Zuko had not yet abated, but when Katara ran off after the two fought, he followed her.
She averted her eyes, almost in sadness. "I know, Aang," she said softly.
This was not what he expected at all. He wanted her to say more. He wanted her to do more, besides hold her arms and lower her head.
"So why can't we be together?" he asked.
"Because... I'm confused."
"Confused?" He became angry again. "Is it Zuko?"
"I don't know, Aang." His eyes darkened. "I do care for you - a lot - but I don't know if we could do this. We're in the middle of a war, Aang."
"So? Sokka and Suki are together!" he protested, and he hated how childish he sounded. "It's because of the way you found out, isn't it? Because Zuko told you?"
"No, that's not it. I knew how you felt about me long before," she admitted. "Do you remember when you were with the Guru, and you were trying to unlock your final chakra?" Aang's eyes widened, and she continued. "You saw me. I was chained and imprisoned by Azula. You came to my rescue." She smiled.
"How do you know that I saw you?" he asked in surprise.
"Because I saw you, too."
"What? How?"
"We were connected, Aang, in that one moment. You had all the energy in the universe, and you thought of me. You saw me and I saw you. I felt everything you felt for me, and I just knew."
"What did you know?" Aang asked, his voice full of need.
"I knew we couldn't be together."
He felt his world falling apart, crumbling into little tiny pieces, so much that he barely heard her next words.
"You need to let me go..."
Aang opened his eyes.
He hoped feebly that it was all a dream - not just his encounter with this world's Katara, but this distorted reality as a whole - because he wanted to go home now more than ever. He missed Katara's comforting touch, Toph's stability, Sokka's easygoing humor, Zuko's -
"You're awake." Aang jumped at the sound of the voice, getting whiplash from turning his head so fast to see the person. "You look like a wreck." Azula.
"I didn't know I fell asleep," he answered quietly, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"You didn't just fall asleep. You cried yourself to sleep," she said disdainfully. "What happened back there?"
"How long was I out? How much time passed?" The sun was still high in the sky, and they hadn't moved from the side of the river.
"Just an hour or two," she replied. Aang looked over to the riverbank, watching Kanna kneeled on the ground in front of Piandao, healing the wound he received from Katara. He suddenly felt dizzy again.
"Where are Zuko and Toph?" he asked.
"Zuzu went to look for firewood. He seemed distracted. Bandit is over by Appa." Aang looked at his bison, who was taking his long-awaited rest. Toph leaned against his furry flank, a twig in her mouth, while Sabishi noticed her airbender friend and lightly flew over to him. He petted her absently. Azula glared at him. "What happened to you? Why did you suddenly break down in the middle of the fight? You're lucky Kanna was here to heal you in your sleep... You could've been killed."
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"Would you tell me what happened?" Azula demanded. Toph pushed herself off of Appa and stomped over to him.
"I wanna know too! Since when were you so weak and flimsy like that?"
"I also want to know," said Zuko, emerging from the trees with his arms full of dry, brittle wood.
"Do you know Katara?" Toph asked. "Tell me the truth, 'cause I'll know if you're lying!"
"Katara was her name?" Zuko asked. "So, the three girls chasing us were Katara, Suki, and Yue."
Aang clutched his head and groaned. Why were they all standing up around him, making him feel so small?
He was saved by the stirring of Piandao.
Zuko immediately left Aang's side and went over to his Master and Kanna. Reluctantly, Aang followed.
"How is he?" Aang asked the old woman in tattered Earth Kingdom clothing. The warrior sat up and groaned.
"Alive," he responded. "Thank you, Kanna."
"Of course," the old woman replied with a gentle smile. "Your arm was wounded. You will not be able to wield a weapon for quite a while," she said, beginning to wrap a sling around his wounded arm. "Most of the wound was centered around your shoulder. Not only did the shard of ice manage to damage your muscle, joint, and tendons, but part of it melted inside of you. I suspect that Katara used a very precise branch of waterbending to deal some more internal damage down your arm."
"Perfect," Piandao grumbled. "In such a short time? She must be very skilled."
"She is," said Kanna. "I was the person to train her, after all."
"Who is she?" Azula asked, her lips pinched. "I didn't get a chance to fight her, but she seemed strong."
"She's the Princess," Toph muttered. "And I'm gonna assume you're pretty high up on the social ladder in the Water Tribe," she said to Kanna.
"I'm her grandmother," Kanna admitted.
"So... She was Sokka's sister...?" Zuko asked with wide eyes. The old woman nodded and turned to Aang.
"So, Avatar, do you see what you have done?" she asked him, her blue gaze harsh. "It is your fault that Sokka betrayed you all today." Aang lowered his eyes, accepting the blame, kicking himself mentally for not listening to her when she wanted her grandson back. Why was he so persistent to take Sokka with him in the first place? It was Sokka's choice, not his...
"Don't blame Aang, you old cow," Azula seethed, standing up for Aang, despite what he'd done, what lies he told her. Backing him like she always did. "It's Sokka's fault for betraying us, not his. How was Aang supposed to know what would happen? He trusted that fool!" Every one of her words hurt him just a little bit more, pounding the fact into his head that Aang really was to blame. Why did she continue to stick up for him? He didn't deserve this...
"Why did Aang trust him in the first place? I knew that waterbender was no good!" Toph threw in. "Do you see that now, Twinkletoes? It was stupid to trust him!"
"Is that why you couldn't fight? Because you couldn't take Sokka's betrayal?" Zuko asked, his eyes narrowed. Being near Piandao seemed to bring out his old anger for stealing the meteorite sword.
No. Aang couldn't take Katara's betrayal.
Azula crossed her arms and stood up tall to him, glaring at the Avatar with her fiercely amber eyes. "Why couldn't you fight? Why did you take all of her hits?"
"I felt your heart rate. You were going wild, but you weren't moving! Did you have some kind of mental breakdown or something?"
"Who is Katara to you?"
This argument was jumping everywhere, he couldn't keep track anymore, he couldn't, he couldn't... He grasped his head and cowered, feeling small and like a child, so vulnerable and weak. How could Katara do that? And why was this hurting him so much?
Because I love her. I still love her and nothing has changed.
He thought he was hardened from the war and all the pain he suffered, but he wasn't. She was the chink in his armor, and now it all fell away.
"It's time for you to spill your secrets, Aang," Azula declared, her voice hard.
His voice shook. "Fine. I'll tell you everything."
"You two really lost your fight? I thought you were better than that," Katara said to her underlings disapprovingly, crossing her arms. Suki had her hands on her hips, but Yue was bowed low in apology. "It's because of you that the Avatar's two friends were able to join the fight. It's your fault that I lost."
"Big deal," Suki said, rolling her eyes. "You were so outnumbered anyway. You're just mad 'cause that kid hit you in the face with a fireball."
Katara turned away from her friend, boiling in anger. "I didn't know he was a firebender." There was a small burn scar on her face, just under her eye, in the shape of a crescent moon on its side. "He is dead the next time we meet."
"I've never seen Princess Katara this angry before," Yue said worriedly to Suki, once she stormed away. "Usually she's so calm and hopeful."
"Heh. I'm surprised she didn't hit me," Suki admitted, grinning.
"It's because her brother is back," Yue said quietly, glancing at Sokka on the other side of the ship. Katara had walked over to him. "She's happier."
Suki frowned. "Sokka doesn't look happy, though."
Yue grasped her friend's arm. "Come on. Let's leave them alone and go get something to eat," she said, pulling the Kyoshi Warrior inside.
Katara approached her brother, but he seemed strangely distant. "What's wrong? Shouldn't you be happy to be back? We can go home now."
"I don't want to go home," Sokka grumbled. "I can't - not without the Avatar. I need him to prove to father and our people that I'm not useless."
"Who cares what the people think? You're a Prince!" she said, standing behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders, trying to glorify the position as much as she could. "You can do whatever you want and say whatever you want, and they'll listen."
"You're so naïve. Nothing is ever like that."
"I'm naïve? I can't believe you! You really think anyone would care if you brought the Avatar to them? They're just regular people. They don't care about the war. They don't care about the Avatar."
"Father does."
"Dad won't care if you bring home the Avatar, and you know that. Your anger with him has nothing to do with the Avatar, and you both know that. It won't make him accept you with open arms. Nothing would. You're being stupid." Her voice was cold, but it spoke the truth. And he was wrong to make her angry - she hated to be called naïve.
"Why are you helping me anyway?" he shot at her. "You have nothing to gain from this. I didn't need your help. I was perfectly fine without you." He would have been mad that a girl was helping him, especially if that girl happened to be his little sister, but recent experiences with girls - namely, Azula and Toph - told him that girls could be quite strong.
"I just wanted to bring our family back together!" she yelled. "You need to take your place on the throne, or else some other clan would come to snatch it right away! Our culture wouldn't let me rise to power, so you have to!"
"So that's it - you just want to rule through me, don't you?" he snarled. "I knew you had an ulterior motive. You're so predictable."
She was boiling in anger on the inside, but she was completely still, her next words perfectly even. "Fine. You want to know what I really want to do? I don't need the Avatar. He's weak. All I need to do is conquer the Earth Kingdom in the name of Emperor Hakoda." Sokka's eye widened. "I need your help to do it. Only then will father accept a girl and a daughter as something worthwhile." She was quiet for a moment, letting him absorb her words. "So will you help me?"
"Whatever," he said. "Fine." She smiled and patted him on the shoulder as she walked away, leaving him to his brooding. He knew perfectly well that she was just using him and was going to take all of the credit. Katara loved attention. But despite the way she was acting, did she really want him there? He remembered Aang, who truly seemed to want him as a friend. He remembered Azula, who he viewed as an equal. And he remembered Zuko, who shared a lot in common with him.
Surprisingly, Kanna moved to leave, and she seemed as if she was going to bring Piandao with her. Aang looked up at them.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I thought this was something you'd only want to share with your friends," the old woman said. "I was respecting your privacy. I know you regret your mistakes."
"No, I want you to hear this, too." She nodded and sat back down at Piandao's side. "You're all involved."
"So tell us," Azula said eagerly, her golden eyes gleaming.
Aang steeled himself for what he was about to say. "Everything I'm about to tell you guys is extremely important. No one else can know. I can trust you all with my life." Kanna, Piandao, and Toph seemed mildly surprised by this, but he continued. "And, please understand. I did everything for your own good, to keep you all safe. I lied," he said to Azula. "I cheated, and I stole," he said, glancing at Piandao. "All for you. So, if you all hate me once I tell you the truth, I would understand. I will make this journey alone if I have to."
"Okay, spit it out already!" Toph hurried him.
"Alright," he said, lowering his head. And then he stared straight at Zuko. "Imagine a world where the Fire Nation is at the height of their power, their dominion of the world a harsh one, where they'd do anything for power - including wipe out the Air Nomads in the greatest genocide the world has ever seen." Zuko's eyes were wide. "Aang, the Avatar, managed to escape the destruction of his people by running away, getting caught in a storm where he froze himself and drifted off to southern waters, where he was inside of an iceberg for one hundred years."
"But, the volcano," said Azula. "You were in a volcano in this world." Aang nodded, knowing that she'd pick up on his strange problem first.
"The iceberg was found by two siblings living in a tiny village in the Southern Water Tribe. Their names were Sokka and Katara." His voice shook again here as he noted all of their reactions. They would hate him for this, or not believe him at all, and this was nothing compared to the things that would happen later. "Katara, Sokka, and I traveled to the North Pole to learn waterbending together, chased down by a banished Prince Zuko, who was trying to capture me to restore his honor. A man named Admiral Zhao was also after us."
Zuko groaned and put his head in his hands.
"So that's why you hated him," Azula pointed out, quite calmly. Perceptive as always, Azula. "So you learned waterbending first?" Aang chuckled grimly. Trust Azula to drag out all the little details from him.
"Yes. The Avatar cycle and the cycle of seasons was reversed," he said. "Katara mastered waterbending first and became my teacher. And then we traveled to the Earth Kingdom to find an earthbending master. I found one in a blind, but immensely powerful girl from a rich family who competed secretly in underground tournaments."
"Oh yeah!" Toph shouted, pumping a fist into the air. "So that's why you were so determined for me to teach you."
Aang nodded. "But by this time, someone new had joined the race to capture me. Her name was Princess Azula, prodigious firebender and younger sister of Prince Zuko, who she was better than in every way. His firebending was weaker than hers, but he became as determined as ever."
"As I expected," Azula said, but she seemed to realize something.
"I could firebend in that world?" Zuko asked in shock, staring down at his hands. "But..."
"It was shortly after this that a friend was slain by the hands of Long Feng. Jet, a Freedom Fighter who had betrayed Katara, Sokka, and I a few months before, was dead."
"What?" Toph asked, and there was so much pain in her voice that it made Aang wince. "Jet...?"
"Long Feng. I remember him," Azula said, clenching her fists. Kanna and Piandao glanced at each other.
"Shortly after this, Princess Azula conquered Ba Sing Se with only the help of her two friends and her brother. She... She killed me when I tried to access the Avatar State," Aang choked out.
Azula's eyes widened in true shock, and she seemed absolutely horrified. Aang continued on. "But Katara brought me back to life with her healing abilities. And then, sticking by me as always, Katara, Sokka, and Toph joined me as I infiltrated the Fire Nation. We gathered an invasion force to lay siege on the Capitol City, but we failed. All of the adults were taken prisoner, and Princess Azula had them killed."
Toph noticed a sudden change in Azula's heartbeat - it was usually so eerily rhythmic, but now it was so irregular that it was a wonder that no one else could feel it.
"Why didn't you use the Avatar State? You could have won..." Zuko said quietly.
"Azula locked it when she killed me, but I was also unable to use it because I failed to unlock all of my chakras. I had to let go of someone I loved, but I couldn't, and the Avatar State became locked to me forever," Aang admitted guiltily.
"Katara," Kanna suddenly said. Aang looked up at her. "You loved Katara."
Aang sagged his shoulders, but he smiled wearily. "Always."
Azula wrapped her arms around her knees.
"There were so many more losses in the war, but Zuko eventually joined us and taught me firebending. It helped a little, but so many people died that it was really only the five of us left by the end. Princess Azula and Fire Lord Ozai were my ultimate enemies - defeating them would end this war, but just standing up from each consecutive defeat made everything so much harder. Eventually, I knew that I needed the Avatar State to win, so I journeyed into the Spirit World. Once I was there, my past lives, instead of just restoring our Spirit, decided to send me here."
"So you were a master bender all along?" Toph asked, crinkling her nose.
"No. I forgot everything," he answered. "I don't know why." He stared around at them all - Kanna and Piandao with contemplative expressions, Zuko staring at him in wonder, Toph deep in thought, and an expression he couldn't recognize on Azula. "You can ask me whatever you want. I have nothing to hide from you anymore. But... I just want to know if you believe me." He gulped. "I want to know if you hate me or not for manipulating you and lying to you all like this. I'm so, so sorry." His eyes were wet as he bowed low in his seated position, prostrating himself to them on the ground. His voice cracked.
Azula stood. "I need to think," she said quietly, walking off into the forest. Zuko followed after her. Aang glanced at Toph.
"What about you?" he asked her.
"I dunno... It's so weird and I kind of don't believe it - I don't want to believe it - but you're telling the truth." She grinned at him. "But it's kinda cool that you're doing this for them - it's your second chance to save all your friends, isn't it?"
"I guess so," Aang said.
"It's kind of sweet," she said with a true smile. "I guess the other me is lucky to have a friend like you."
He smiled back at her with immense relief. "I'm glad that you think that, Toph."
"I guess that's how you know my name, isn't it?" she asked, and he nodded. Then he looked to Kanna.
"It is definitely an unbelievable story," the old woman said specutatively. "But now I understand your motives. Sokka was one of your best friends, wasn't he?"
Aang nodded. "More than that. It kills me to fight against him." He set his jaw. "I'm fighting for him, and Katara, Toph, and Zuko."
"Then I'll fight for you," said Kanna.
Piandao sat up again, eliciting another grunt of pain. "How do I fit into it?" he asked the Avatar.
"You were Sokka's teacher, like you are mine and Zuko's," Aang told him. He unsheathed the meteorite sword. "This blade belonged to Sokka in my world - he had forged it himself. I hope to one day give it back to Sokka."
"An admirable intention," Piandao told him. "But it is still my sword."
"I'm sorry, Master," Aang said, bowing his head. "But..."
"I'll fight you for it, one last time," said the old master.
Azula stumbled into the thick forest, so many thoughts running through her mind that she couldn't grasp them fully. Aang's story - it was so bizarre, so unreasonable, so frightening, yet it explained so much. She couldn't deny it to herself. She knew it was true, and now she knew the true identity of the horrible presence that lived right inside of her - Princess Azula. The hateful being was laughing, the terrible noise ringing throughout her mind and all her thoughts and feelings, louder than her usual whispers in the night. The Princess was repeating four words to her.
You are a monster.
That was how Aang saw her. She was nothing more to him than the slayer of his friends and everyone he cared about. She caused him pain and unbearable sadness.
You are a monster.
He would never love her...
You are a monster!
No... He loved Katara... She was nothing to Aang, not anymore. And it made so much sense! She now understood why Aang attacked her on their first meeting. How could he stand to be in her presence, after all she had done to him? When he looked at her, did he see Princess Azula instead?
You are a monster!
"Azula!"
She shuddered, bracing herself against a thick tree so she wouldn't fall to her knees in weakness, not in front of her brother. "What do you want, Zuzu?" She did not look in his direction - she didn't want him to see any possible tears on her face.
"Do you believe him?" he asked his sister.
"Yes," she answered, absolutely sure. "Yes. It's true. It has to be. Why else would he know so much?"
"I guess you're right. It's kind of weird, though, isn't it? I'm his firebending master in that other world," he said, glancing at his hands. "I have to go back. I have to ask Aang something."
"Then go," she said.
"I'm going to stay with him and see this through to the end," Zuko told her resolutely. "He needs our help now, more than ever." When she didn't answer, he edged closer to her. "Zula? Are you alright?"
Her hand clenched the tree bark. "No. I'm not," she managed to say. "How can he travel with us? Sleep near me? I'm the one who killed all his friends."
Zuko shook his head. "No, you're not. You're not the same person. You're from two totally different worlds. Don't let it bother you."
"You don't understand."
"Yes I do! I was his enemy in that other world, too!"
"But you eventually turned traitor and joined him," Azula said scathingly. Were those her words?
"Come on, Azula. Let's just go back," he said to her calmly. "We can get Aang to clear this whole thing up."
"No!" she yelled, turning to look at him fully. He drew back from the somewhat crazed look in her eyes. "You won't tell Aang anything!"
Zuko clenched his teeth. "Fine. Let's go."
"Piandao, you shouldn't be fighting yet," Kanna told her patient as he rose, his left arm in a sling and his blade in his right.
"It is a fight of honor," Piandao grunted. "I must."
"Are you sure?" Aang asked.
"Yes," the master said with a bow to his student, which Aang returned. "Now let us begin." Surprisingly for Aang, the old man went on the attack first, launching himself at the boy with a swing of his silver blade. The black sword blocked the attack solidly, and Aang stepped back to swing again. This time, Aang would not be bending at all - not even to evade. Both were fighting onehanded, but Aang was faster.
His footwork and his stances were perfect as he attacked, biting Piandao from all directions with his blade, ducking and weaving under most of the retaliations. Piandao was not entirely handicapped, either - his strikes were still strong despite only using one hand. But the quick movements were getting to him and agitating his wound. Aang could clearly see his teeth grit and sweat forming on his brow. When Aang attacked him with a powerful overhead chop, which he blocked, the ringing of the steel seemed to cause the old man intense pain. He clutched his wound and stumbled backward, and Aang lowered his sword in concern, stepping closer to Piandao.
"Master...?" he asked unsurely. He had to throw himself to the ground to avoid the lunging stab in his direction as Piandao went on the attack again.
"Never lower your guard, Aang!" Piandao reprimanded him. Aang nodded, smiling with a hint of relief, and continued the battle of swordplay.
Aang jumped to the side to avoid a vertical slice, and then was forced to duck to evade a horizontal one. He righted himself and blocked the silver sword on the return slash, riding his blade along his opponent's and then using the flat of his sword to block another attack. Aang was taken by surprise again when Piandao slammed his elbow into Aang's face, knocking him back. He nearly dropped his sword. Reaffirming his grip on the weapon, Aang clutched it with both hands and swung at Piandao again, but he deftly maneuvered Aang's weapon out of the way and hit him in the shoulder with his hilt. Aang grunted in pain.
"Come on, Aang! Beat his sorry butt!" Toph called to him.
Just focus...
Aang ducked into a low, one-handed stance again, running toward Piandao and coming down on him with the heavy blade, which he sidestepped and returned, but Aang was too quick for him. He brought the meteorite sword up and blocked Piandao's blade head-on, eliciting a high-pitched ringing noise. He circled his blade around Piandao's as the jolt was still ringing through his weapon and successfully knocked it out of his hands. Before he could even blink, Aang pointed his sword at Piandao's neck.
"I admire your devotion to your friends," Piandao said. "That is a great strength."
"Thank you, Master," Aang said, withdrawing his weapon and bowing reverently. Piandao bowed back.
"Excellent job. The sword is yours to return to your friend." Zuko and Azula emerged from the forest just in time to see the two bowing to each other.
"What's going on?" Zuko asked.
"Zuko, keep in mind that everything that Aang did, he did for you and all his other friends. His intentions are noble," Piandao said to his other student. "Also, I am glad to see that you've kept up your training with each other."
"So, did you two have enough time to think?" Aang asked hopefully.
"Yeah," said Zuko. "Aang, we're with you every step of the way."
Azula, who was extremely composed, nodded. "Thank you for telling us everything, Aang."
He smiled.
"Oh, Aang, I have a question for you," Zuko said to him, and he snapped his fingers, causing a small fire to appear above his hand. "Can your world explain that?"
"Well, Prince Zuko was a firebender," Aang said, immensely astounded. He looked closer at the flame. "Could this be what Roku meant? Is it because the worlds are merging?"
"Merging worlds?" Kanna asked suddenly.
"Yes, my past life told me that since I'm in the wrong world, they're beginning to merge together to bring me back into the right one... But if they get too close to each other, both worlds will be destroyed," he said, a little meekly.
"Sick," Toph said with a grin. "Higher stakes make it more exciting. How long do we have?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but Roku said it was just starting. Zuko being able to firebend now must be a result of it," Aang explained. "So that's what he meant." He briefly wondered if Prince Sokka would end up losing his waterbending. "Anyway, Zuko, we have to exploit that skill. I'm going to teach you how to firebend."
Zuko's eyes widened. "What? Really?"
"Yeah. We can't lose this war. We have to be as strong and prepared as possible," Aang said. "I don't want to lose any of you..."
"Hey, wait a minute," Toph stopped him. "I decided to teach you earthbending," she said to Aang. "So you won't have time for playing with fire. Make Azula do it."
Zuko looked at his sister fearfully, to which she smirked darkly.
Aang grinned at Toph. "Thanks, Toph."
Kanna clapped her hands together after looking over Piandao's injury again, gaining their attention. "Alright, now that we're all on the same side, we have to figure out what we are going to do. Is there any way you can go home, Aang?"
"I don't know. The spirits are trying to figure it out," Aang told her. "I don't want to go home, anyway. Not until it's over." Kanna nodded.
"First I gotta teach him earthbending," Toph supplied.
"And I need to learn firebending," Zuko added.
"It all depends on what Sokka and Katara are going to do," Aang said to the old woman. "Things have been proceeding really similarly to how they were in my world, so I think I have an idea... They might try to take over Ba Sing Se." He couldn't imagine his Katara doing that, but...
Piandao's eyes widened. "That would not be good."
"So we have to go and alert the Earth King," Aang told them.
"The Earth King stepped down from power a few years ago," Kanna informed him. "It is not known to the general public, but I have my sources."
Aang frowned. "That didn't happen in my world until after the takeover." And then he remembered something - something crucial. "Wait. We learned something that would help us in the war - a great secret of the Fire Nation culture. We made plans around it and it was our ultimate goal for months, but the plan failed."
"So? Are you suggesting we try to do something like that, and fail?" Toph asked sarcastically.
"There's always a chance that we might not fail this time," Aang said to her. "We have to try it."
"What is it?" Kanna asked.
"Back in my world, we learned of a solar eclipse," Aang said. "And if we find out the date of a lunar eclipse..."
Kanna's eyes widened in surprise. "There's some merit in that plan."
"What happens on an eclipse?" Azula asked, her voice subdued.
Aang smirked. "On a lunar eclipse, waterbenders lose their power."
Author's Notes: I'm rather proud of this chapter, and especially the title. It's a play on the episode, "Bitter Work." :)
Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter. I spent my whole day writing it and I like the way it turned out, and it's something we've all been waiting for. It's a bit short, but I think the content more than makes up for it.
To the anonymous reviewer "123" - I wanted to reply to your review, especially when you said: "Also, when will Aang reveal his secret ("in another world, you guys are all ev0l and Katara is mah one true luv...and Sabishi is a BOY OMG")?? Or will he reveal it AT ALL?"
I don't know why, but that was hysterical, so much that I briefly considered writing out the scene exactly like that! Haha, maybe not, but still. Thanks for a laugh xD
Please review!
