My first story, my first attempt at writing, and it's potentially a long one. That being said, I have no idea where this is headed. I haven't planned ahead, I don't know how I'm going to write it. I wanted to write something where Aang was a little more mature in the series, but that would've felt too OOC, so I ended up writing this lengthy prologue to justify that (I hope it does a good job). Unfortunately now that I've written it, I feel like it wouldn't be fair not to make this a multi-chaptered story. Be sure to drop a review!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar.

It had been four years. Four long, unbearable years- no doubt the worst four years of his life so far. Aang trudged up to his current training area (an unusual sight for airbenders, who are naturally very light on their feet), a special place where he trained with his mentor Gyatso. Four years ago, the training session would end with Gyatso cheering Aang up with aiming practice from his balcony- most often fruit pie would be used as their ammunition, and meditating, unsuspecting elder monks would be used as targets. Prior to that, he had never trained personally with Gyatso at his balcony, he would have been training with all of his other friends. Well, you could call it training…or you could call it mucking around.

Aang sighed. He hardly had any 'fun' nowadays. He wondered for the umpteenth time what the wisdom behind the elder monks revealing his identity was. They had said that they sensed a near danger, and that he was therefore expected to assume his role as the Avatar earlier than normal. As for what the 'near danger' was, it was never specified. And so far there had been no news of any danger from the outside world. Aang wondered, not for the first time, whether they had only revealed his identity to make him feel miserable. He wondered if perhaps the 'vision' which they had received was merely a hallucination or a nightmare.

As he entered the dojo, he was rather surprised to find it empty. It was unlike Gyatso to leave Aang without at least notifying him first.

After his identity was revealed as the Avatar, all of Aang's friends had deserted him. Where he once felt as though he belonged, he now felt like a foreigner, almost like an outcast. He could sometimes feel resentment and envy in the tones of the people he would have once called friends. Now he wasn't so sure if he was still considered a friend by any of them. He didn't have such uncertainty with Gyatso though. Throughout this tough period, Gyatso had been the one person whose attitude towards Aang had not changed. If anything, it had become more compassionate. But even that wasn't out of pity, it was out of love.

After scanning the room and his surroundings once more, Aang sighed and headed back towards his dorm. He wasn't in the mood for training anyway. He rarely ever was these days, but at least this time he had an excuse for not coming. Granted, being with Gyatso usually did improve his mood, but for some reason Aang was feeling a little more tired and sullen on that particular day. Gyatso had remarked on more than one occasion lately that his 'moody teenager' self was beginning to manifest itself more often.

After collapsing onto his bed in his dorm room, Aang muted out the sounds of laughter and shouts of glee from the children playing airball outside. He had gotten pretty good at doing that. After all, he had four years of practice. And during those four years, Aang found himself sulking on his bed very often. When he thought about it, he was only either doing that, catching up with Gyatso or spending time with Appa. After releasing a longsuffering groan, and without bothering to change his clothes, Aang shut his eyes and fell asleep.

Aang woke to Gyatso's nudging hands.

"Aang, wake up" he whispered, his voice oddly conveying a sense of urgency.

Noticing this, Aang quickly rubbed his eyes off and sat up.

"What is it Gyatso?" he asked as his drowsiness disappeared from him.

Gyatso's eyes were a shadow. In the back of his mind, Aang vaguely registered the early light of dawn creeping through his window. It was rather early for Gyatso to come to Aang's room to wake him up. In fact, it was unlike Gyatso to come to Aang's room to wake him up at all.

When Gyatso didn't reply, Aang realised why Gyatso was probably there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Gyatso, I didn't mean to sleep this long. I came to the dojo yesterday but you weren't there."

"Oh…that. Don't worry about that. I need you to come with me right now."

Aang raised his eyebrows in question. "Where?"

Gyatso reached out his hand and helped Aang up from his bed. It was then that Aang realised the grave expression on Gyatso's face.

Gyatso simply motioned Aang to follow him. With a gulp, Aang tidied himself and followed him.

As they made their way to the elder monks' temple, Aang was thinking of everything and anything he could have possibly done to get himself in trouble. Not that that happened very often anymore. It's hard to get into trouble when one keeps to himself all day. Aang considered asking Gyatso why he was taking him to see the elder monks, but could tell from the look on his face that he would have to find out once he was there.

It had been a while since he had gone to see the elder monks directly in their temple. One of the last times he had been there was four years ago, when they revealed to him that he was the Avatar. They had told him that they sensed a looming threat, that the world may need the next Avatar very soon, and that Aang would therefore have to be prepared to take that role. For Aang, the months that followed the revelation were, to put it plainly, hell. He had never felt more alone in his life. And when it was suggested a while later that Aang relocate to resume his training without Gyatso, Aang had lost it. Aang still remembered the events of that day with vivid clarity…

"It just isn't fair!" Aang had cried to Gyatso later that day. "How could they take away the one thing that keeps me from going insane?" he whimpered.

"All of my friends treat me as if I'm this all-powerful god, and then you have these monks treating me as if I'm a petulant child who needs to be taught a lesson! Why can't I belong anywhere? Why can't things be normal for me anymore? Is that too much to ask?" Aang broke into sobs.

Gyatso pulled him into an embrace as Aang's tears stained his beloved monk's robes.

"I don't want to leave you Gyatso," Aang choked through his sobs.

Gyatso's heart broke. He loved the boy. He cared for him deeply. To see him so lost and broken and miserable was such a tragic sight.

"I don't want to leave you either Aang," he whispered soothingly. Aang sniffled and wiped his tears using Gyatso's robes.

"Then don't. Tell them to make me stay," Aang whispered into his robes after a while.

Gyatso closed his eyes and swallowed. "It's not my position to do so Aang."

To be honest, Gyatso could never see the wisdom behind sending Aang off. He knew it was a bad decision and that it would only cripple his already precarious emotional state. Unfortunately, his thoughts on that matter had been accused of being "clouded by his love for the boy".

Later that night, Aang lay alone with his thoughts. He was due to leave the Southern Air Temple the following day. Naturally, Aang felt a strong urge to run away and hide. To cast himself away from this whole mess. To just take Appa and follow the wind. To go anywhere, do anything, but stay away from the air temple. And he almost did. In fact, he would have. Had this happened right after his identity was revealed to him, he would have been too overwhelmed and scared, and he would have run off. But instead, he had just felt so broken, so paralysed. He had been using his natural airbender inclination to hide from his friends to avoid having to deal with their rejection for so long now. But that didn't keep him from feeling so miserable. In his state of paralysis, Aang realised that running wouldn't do him any good this time either. But he certainly couldn't allow them to separate him from Gyatso either. And so he lay there for the rest of the night, wondering what options he had left.

By the next morning, Aang was supposed to have packed and been ready to get going. But instead, he found himself standing face to face with the elder monks in their temple.

"No," was the single word he uttered. It reverberated resonantly throughout the stone walls of the hall until it was replaced with a long, dead silence.

The elders looked at him quizzically, clearly wondering whether the boy had been possessed by a rogue spirit.

"What do you mean, no?"

Aang raised his chin. "No, I won't do it. I won't let you send me off."

The elders were taken aback. This was the last thing they expected. They had woken up expecting to pry a weeping Aang from Gyatso's embrace. But instead, they found a confident young Avatar standing staunchly before them, daring them to stop him.

"And what makes you think you can stop it from happening?" one of the monks challenged haughtily after a while.

Aang checked his temper before uttering his next words, careful not to let his anger show in his expression. "You told me that I needed to be ready to fill in my role as Avatar. Well, this is it. I accept my identity. And as the Avatar, I am ordering you to stand down. You no longer make my decisions. From now on, I shall do what I think is best not just for me, but for the whole world that needs a responsible, accountable Avatar- not a tamed circus lemur. And I think that I should stay here and continue training with Gyatso, so that's what is going to happen."

The monks were left speechless. Aang looked across at each of them square in the eye before finally speaking. "It's final, then. I sincerely hope that this topic is never raised again. I'll let Gyatso know that I won't be leaving. Good day."

Aang bowed and left the hall as the elders looked on, mouths still agape in shock.

Aang hadn't talked much to the elders since then. Gyatso would convey messages between the two parties, but that rarely ever needed to be done. The only thing Aang would question them about was the 'danger' which the elders claimed to have foreseen. And their reply to that would be that they did not know what exactly it was and when it would come, but that they should all remain vigilant nonetheless.

And so Aang had resumed training with Gyatso. Though he had already mastered airbending, he was understandably not too keen on travelling to one of the poles to get started on his waterbending training. Surprisingly, the elders agreed with him on this matter, though not for the same reasons. They believed that by sending Aang away to the poles to start his Avatar journey, they would make his identity known to the entire world, and this would only make him more vulnerable. And with the advent of a major, unknown catastrophe, the elders agreed that it was probably best for Aang to stay at the air temple, at least until he was more mature and prepared to begin his journey, or until they had a better idea of what the forthcoming danger was. Even their annual excursions were put on hold, essentially depriving them from their nomadic existence.

As Aang entered the hall where the elder monks were seated at the front, it occurred to him that maybe they thought it was time for him to begin his waterbending training. On his part, he considered that he did act more mature ever since he accepted his role as the Avatar. He trained diligently, showed up to all of his classes, and did all that was expected from him. In the process though, he had lost his carefree, spirited nature. But that was what it took to stay with Gyatso, and in his mind, he thought it was worth it. Gyatso had helped Aang cope with his new life tremendously.

Avatar Aang presented himself to the three elders. This time, he definitely looked the part. He had become much taller, his shoulders had broadened and his jaws had chiselled. His tattoo curved around the back of his head elegantly to its tip on his forehead, and cast a glow on his face that emanated qualities of maturity and wisdom.

"Avatar Aang," started one of the elders.

Aang noticed how they included his title when mentioning his name as he bowed to them.

"You turned sixteen a few days ago, yes?"

Aang nodded slowly.

"We believe the time has come for you to get started on your Avatar journey. We think you should leave for the South Pole tonight to get started on your waterbending training."

Aang blinked. He didn't imagine they would break the news to him so bluntly.

"Umm…okay," he said lamely.

"Good, then. You may want to get started on your packing. You will leave by dusk."

Aang's mind reeled. He wasn't expecting this to be so sudden. "You want me to leave at night? Shouldn't I be travelling while it's daytime?" Aang asked quizzically.

The elder fidgeted and nervously looked across at the others. Behind him, he felt Gyatso shifting uncomfortably too.

"Well…umm. You see…" the elder stammered, covering his trepidation with a cough.

"If you travel through the night, you'll arrive at the South Pole in the daytime. You don't want to arrive while the whole village is asleep now do you?" said another elder.

"Okay," Aang drawled. "You pulled me here at this time to tell me this? It's barely dawn yet."

Again, the monks shifted uncomfortably.

"Well we thought you might need time to pack, and to think things through," one of them said finally.

"Right," Aang said, sounding a little unconvinced. "Is something wrong? You guys are acting a little, I don't know, strange?" Aang asked, dropping all formality.

The elders' eyes widened. "N-no, of course not Avatar," they denied.

Aang looked across at each of them before deciding to drop it. "If you say so."

Aang figured that the reason for their nervousness was that they were scared of Aang's rebuke for ordering him to do something which they feared may be against his will. He felt slightly guilty that his actions had caused them to become so scared of him.

Unfortunately for Aang, that wasn't the reason for their nervousness at all. Monk Choden, the head elder, came to Gyatso's side as they watched Aang leave the hall to get started on his packing. Sensing his presence, Gyatso spoke.

"I don't like lying to the boy," he said with a sorrowful, guilt-ridden tone.

"It wasn't exactly lying. We were just hiding the truth," Choden replied.

"It still counts as lying."

"Might I remind you, this was your idea Gyatso."

Gyatso closed his eyes and hung his head low in shame. "It was necessary. He wouldn't have left if he knew what was coming to us. The idea of leaving us on our own to defend ourselves would have been preposterous to him."

"But you know that this is for the best."

Gyatso sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes, it is."

Dusk was approaching. Aang had loaded Appa's saddle with his belongings, which were very few anyway. As he stood there in the stables, feeding Appa to energise him for the journey, Aang thought about his journey. He wasn't sure what to feel, honestly. He knew that he should feel excited. He knew that he needed this change of scenery. He was still a little reluctant to leave his home, to leave Gyatso. It seemed that all he did four years ago was delay the inevitable. But at least this time, he didn't feel broken. He didn't feel overwhelmed. This time, he had plenty of time to think about himself and accept his responsibility. And he had a loving mentor who had provided him much support and wisdom to help him come to terms with it. He had been preparing for this day for so long, and it was finally here.

He thought he was ready for it, but now that it was here, he couldn't help but think of the many unknowns in his journey. Frankly, the prospect was quite daunting.

The time came to finally depart. To Aang's surprise, it was Gyatso rather than himself who was weeping uncontrollably.

"Wow Gyatso. All that time you spent preparing me to get ready for this day, and here you are, not even ready for it yourself," Aang joked while he was in Gyatso's embrace.

In spite of himself, Gyatso chuckled.

"I'll miss you Aang."

"I'll miss you too Gyatso," Aang said tearily as he pulled back from the hug.

Gyatso watched as Aang mounted Appa.

"Goodbye, Gyatso."

Gyatso smiled weakly and waved.

With a cry of "yip yip", Appa was off. As he took to the skies, Aang called out.

"Don't worry Gyatso, we'll see each other soon."

Gyatso whimpered. As he stared forlornly into the horizon into which Appa disappeared, he wished very dearly that they would.