A/N. We are getting into the end part! I have it all planned out now (finally lol). I'm trying to get more chapters out, and get to my previous level of updates, but I had much to do, and still have a month full of work in front of me. But I think I'll manage!

I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.

He didn't want to eat lunch. Lunch meant that he would have to talk with the other about what Zuko had told him. Lunch meant telling Katara they needed to stop Ozai before the Comet. But of course, the firebender put a halt to their training when the sun was high in the sky.

"That was not bad at all." The prince wiped sweat from his forehead as he came to stand in front of him. Aang nodded, acknowledging that from Zuko, that was high praise indeed. In the words of the firebender, not bad at all meant something like Wow, that was awesome. Grabbing his tunic that he had lain over the low wall of the courtyard, the airbender saw realized that Suki and Sokka were sitting a bit further down on the wall, watching them. He had been so concentrated on his lessons that he had not even realized it.

"Finally!" The water tribe boy stood up, stretching his long arms and legs. Aang rolled his eyes, smiling softly. It was not like Sokka had actually done something this morning, but he guessed that staying up late to do… activities… Was arduous.

Looking past the couple, Aang's gaze swept past the open doors, from which he could hear the soft voices of Katara and Toph. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he knew. Toph knew what he had asked of Katara. The blind girl didn't know what had happened in their bedroom, but she knew that Katara had kept the necklace.

"Lunch. After that, I'll show you some techniques Uncle taught me." Zuko gestured him to follow him towards the door.

"After?" Aang asked, lifting an eyebrow. After lunch, he was supposed to do earthbending.

"You are a master waterbender and earthbender Aang. If we have to fight Ozai before, you'll have lessons with me from dawn till dusk." Was the only explanation the firebender gave.

"Have you discussed this with Toph and Katara?" Spirits, he had been looking forward to spending some time with Katara, alone… Without everyone around. Zuko didn't answer, just walked past him, entering the house. Casting a look at the others, he saw Sokka frown at him, while Suki… Suki looked sad. As if she knew something but didn't want to say it.

"What did he mean with… Before the comet? I know that was the plan... But he does realize that is not even an option, right?" His friend whispered as he joined him.

Aang just sighed. Sokka was right, of course… But he didn't have the information that Zuko had told him this morning. That was why the airbender was dreading what was to come. Lunch. Their plan to fight Ozai before the Comet… Well, after the invasion, they had kept that idea. But it hadn't been realistic, and they all knew it. Although they had kept saying they would fight the Fire Lord before the end of the summer, they had all known it to be impossible.

And then, he just had to learn about what Ozai planned. Zuko just had to tell him.

As Avatar, it was his duty to stop tyrants from rising up… And he had failed. It was his duty to stop wars, justified or not. And he had failed. If Aang let this happen… He would fail, not just as Avatar, but also in his own eyes. He had not known what would happen when he fled the Air Temple, a century ago…

But now, the airbender knew. How could he abandon the world, once more, knowing what would happen? Katara always said that the Air Nomad… genocide… wasn't his fault, for how could he have known?

But this time, Aang knew what was going to happen. The destruction of half of the Earth Kingdom, millions of people… How could he let that happen?

And then another thing… He had promised Katara to end the war.

And he meant to keep that promise.

"I tell you over lunch." Aang nodded, dreading that moment. He would have to tell his friends that they would have to fight... and maybe die... in just a few days. Pulling on the tunic, he still had in his hands, the airbender began to walk, ever so slowly, towards the doors. He did not want to talk to his friends about death and tyranny… He wanted to laugh and joke with them, in a world that didn't want to see them dead.

Behind him, Aang heard the soft whispers of Suki and Sokka, following him. As he stepped inside, he could smell the fresh food that was being prepared inside the kitchen, just behind the common room. If his nose didn't play any tricks on him, he could swear that it was five flavour soup, a personal favourite of Katara. And there was also something like… Burned bread? Definitely Toph. She would sometimes try to help with the cooking, only to burn the simplest of dishes…

Stepping inside the kitchen, he saw Katara in her Fire Nation disguise, bend over a pot. The blind earthbender was nowhere to be seen, so Aang chose to steal away this little moment… Before he had to tell the waterbender what was going to happen.

Letting his hands sneak around her waist, he put his chin on her shoulder, smiling. Why couldn't it just be like this all the time, without all those duties?

"Hey…" Should he dare call her wife? No, that was too… possessive, "Tara."

"Hey…" Her voice sounded stressed, as if she had been overthinking something.

Spirits, she had been rethinking what they had done the night before, right? She wasn't someone who just did something. Suki had been right, when Katara had gone to find her mother's killer, the Kyoshi Warrior had explained that the waterbender was someone who would study a problem from every possible angle, before making a choice…

"Everything alright?" He whispered in her ear, concerned.

"Yeah…" It didn't sound too convinced. Spirits, he had screwed up, asking her, hadn't he?

"Is this about… You know… yesterday?" Aang whispered, glancing over his own shoulder to make sure that no one was standing behind them, overhearing their conversation.

"No! No, not at all!" Katara voiced, surprised, "I have been thinking Aang… About fighting Ozai.". The airbender felt her turn in his arms, and as he looked down, he saw that she was now facing him. Her ocean blue eyes were wide, and in them, he could see only conviction and determination.

"Oh please, are you two going to act like an old married couple?" A voice suddenly interrupted the small moment. Aang saw the determination make place for annoyance, and as he turned his head, he understood why. Toph was standing at the door, leaning against it with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"I mean, I get it, but some of us are hungry." And gone was the blind girl.

Old married couple? That was way too specific…

"Oh yes… Toph knows." Katara spoke, slightly embarrassed. Facing her once more, Aang saw that the waterbender was blushing ever so slightly.

"She… knows that we…" He began. He needed to be certain.

"Yes." The waterbender answered, smiling at him. Spirits, he would give anything to see that smile on her face, every day, for years…

"Well, better go feed her then. Imagine she tells the others…" He shuddered at the idea of Sokka knowing he had married Katara, or Zuko being annoyed that he wasn't concentrated for one hundred percent on defeating the Fire Lord. Releasing Katara from his arms, he grabbed the pot and lifted it from the fire, which he extinguished with a small move of his hand. It felt good to be able to stop fires, instead of starting them… And he was rather good at that part of firebending.

Offensive firebending, however, could still use some training…

Katara opened the door for him, and Aang stepped out of the kitchen, walking towards the table where the others were already waiting. Spirits, Sokka looked at him all funny, while Zuko was just moping on his chair. Choosing to not to say anything, Aang quickly put down the pot in the middle of the table and sat down at his own spot, next to where Katara was also sitting down.

"What was it?" Sokka immediately asked, as soon as Aang sat down. Closing his eyes, the airbender knew what his friend was asking. What had Zuko meant by saying that they had to fight the Fire Lord before the comet.

"What was what?" Toph asked, putting her elbows on the table and letting her chin rest on her fists.

Aang didn't answer. How could he explain to everyone what Ozai was planning? The words would be vile, and the actions they implied even viler.

"Zuko said that he would be training Aang this afternoon. That he didn't need to train with you and Katara anymore." Sokka spoke, looking at the firebender.

"What? Spirits no!" The airbender heard from his left, from where Katara was sitting. Casting a glance towards her, he saw that she had her eyes trained on Zuko, with quite an angry look in them. Spirits… He would want to be on the receiving end of that glare…

"What, spirits, no? He doesn't need training with you two, he is better at bending than most masters!" Zuko objected, not flinching a moment under Katara's glare, something that Aang could only admire. And he felt the slight pang of pride when he heard the rare compliment coming from the prince's lips.

"And he needs to stay that way. By training." The waterbender answered shortly, but Aang saw the small shrug coming from Toph.

"Guys!" He raised his voice slightly to be overheard above the angry words. Aang saw four pairs of eyes flick towards him, excluding Toph who didn't seem to care, keeping her face turned towards the food.

"Zuko is right." It hurt him to say it, because he loved training with Katara, and he… well, he didn't hate earthbending training. But this was important.

"I still need to learn much of the firebending forms… And we don't have much time." He admitted, turning his own gaze towards his plate. He couldn't stand the looks from his friends, full of questions and fears…

"I wanted to ask yo-" Katara began, but Suki cut her off.

"Why don't we have time?"

Aang looked up, seeking the Kyoshi Warrior. He wasn't used to her cutting off other people's sentences, and it had sounded very hasty, as if she didn't want Katara asking… whatever she had wanted to ask. Frowning at the girl, he sighed.

"Zuko… Zuko told me something. About Ozai." Hoping that the firebender would take over, the airbender stopped, but no one spoke. Spirits…

"Ozai… he is planning on using the comet."

Silence fell. They had known that the Fire Lord would, of course, use it. But now they had confirmation. And Aang hated that it was him who needed to tell the others. Why not Zuko? Why let him tell the others of the demise of millions? Had… Had he not said, time and again, that he hated that the world had turned to… What it was now?

"To kill you?" If he had not seen Katara's lips move, Aang would never have guessed it had been her speaking. It had sounded so… So sad. So defeated and angry. So… Well, she had sounded like this the days after Hama's revelation of bloodbending.

"If only." Zuko spoke up. Finally!

"Only? Only? Killing Aang would be the good option?" Katara's voice changed once more, in something Aang recognized more easily. Anger and resentment.

"I didn't say that. Ozai is going to use the comet, but not to kill Aang."

If he hadn't sat next to Katara, the airbender doubted he would have heard the little sigh of relief. But he did. And spirits, how he dreaded the next few sentences.

"Ozai is going to burn the Earth Kingdom. From the Wulong Forest, past the coast of the Mo Ce Sea and then, over the Great Divide, the Western Lake… And finally, Ba Sing Se. Around half of the Earth Kingdom population. He is leaving the two other big cities, Omashu and Gao Ling. But the destruction of such a large part of the occupied territories will leave much of the army to quell any revolts in the parts that are left."

Once more, silence fell on their little group, sitting around the table with their lunch growing colder by the minute. And to be honest, Aang didn't feel very hungry after Zuko matter-of-fact description of Ozai's plans. He had known them for several hours, when the firebender had explained them to him in the courtyard early this morning.

But to hear them repeated, in the presence of everyone… It made it real. Ozai was really going to burn millions of men, women and children. Thousands of miles of burned, scorched earth came into his vision, deep from within a very twisted imagination the airbender had not even realized he had. It seemed that in his head, he could already hear the cries of pain and despair… Spirits, how were they supposed to end that?

"Ozai… Ozai will really do that?" Suki was the first to find her voice.

"He is Sozin's grandson. He wouldn't be the first." Zuko answered through gritted teeth. The sounds of cries echoing in Aang's ears sounded rather familiar now, but he shook it off, trying to ignore his imagination. It would not serve any purpose other than torturing himself with what may have happened…

"But I… I thought he wanted the Avatar dead! That was the whole reason for the play, right?" Katara spoke, her voice slightly raised.

"He wants Aang dead, yes. But the comet will make sure that the Fire Nation has a hold on the continent like no one has ever had. It is easier to control half the population. And it leaves a part of the army free… To search for us. He doesn't need to fight Aang during the comet. He can do that, with the backing of an army, after the comet." Zuko sighed.

If the Fire Lord lives after the comet, and isn't stopped, not even the Avatar can restore balance to this fractured world.

Roku's words resonated through his mind, and Aang could only agree. This was what the previous Avatar had meant. He had not said it in so many words, but the world and the people living in it would never be able to get back up from such a disaster. Already, one of the four nations was all but gone. Another was on the brink of extinction, and now, Ozai was planning on making sure that the Fire Nation would be the dominant power in the world. Making everything his own, instead of having the balance that the world so desperately needed…

"That means that to stop Ozai, Aang will need to fight him in less than seven days." Sokka spoke up for the first time since asking his question, and the airbender knew that it was true. Sure, they had always known that he needed to fight the Fire Lord, and they had always said before the comet. But after the invasion, no one really had believed it possible.

"He will be most vulnerable when he leaves the Palace. Inside it, he can't be touched. But outside, as he travels to the Earth Kingdom to lead the attack…" Zuko suggested, before being interrupted by an angry shout.

"No! I'll be damned before Aang goes to fight Ozai during the comet!"

Quickly closing his fingers around the waterbender's hand underneath the table, he pressed Katara's hand gently, yet firmly. They had always known that there was a risk fighting the Fire Lord, and he had always known, deep down, that Katara would object the loudest at him being in danger.

"So, do you have a better suggesting that will keep millions alive, all the while killing that bastard?" Zuko words were harsh… but true.

"Killing him isn't the answer." Aang interrupted the discussion, looking up. Enough. Enough of the self-pity, of the worry, of the endless preparing.

"Excuse me?" The firebender good eye went wide, and Aang could see the slight worry and hurt inside those ember eyes.

"I won't kill him. Air Nomads didn't kill. Only to defend themselves, and even then, only they would be cast out, hated for their actions, however, justified. I won't kill Ozai. I'll fight him, before the comet, or during. But I'll make sure he won't burn the Earth Kingdom."

It sounded harsh, certainly after how he had felt during the beginning of their discussion. Before, he had wanted to avoid the subject altogether, but now? Now he had enough. Zuko wanted to avoid murder by murder.

"And how exactly do you suggest doing that, without killing him?" The firebender stood up, throwing his hands in the air.

"There are other ways of winning a fight then outright killing your opponent Zuko." Aang answered, as calmly as possible. It surprised him that none of the others had spoken up when he had refused to kill anyone. Then again… Sokka, Katara and Toph knew how he felt about that.

Katara's hand, the one he was still holding, slipped out of his grasp, and the movement made him look sideways. The waterbender looked troubled, biting her lip and rolling it the way she always did when she was anxious…

"Aang…" Sokka's voice sounded tired, so very tired, "I know you hate it… But there is no alternative. Zuko is right. He needs to be defeated. And we don't have the time to find another way if all this is true…"

Ah… So, there it was. Zuko and Sokka, wanting to kill the Fire Lord. And the others were undecided or kept their opinions to themselves.

"Can't Twinkletoes just knock him out, and then one of us kills him?" Toph asked.

"No." Aang sighed, "I would still be responsible for his death. And there has been enough of that. No more."

With that, he took the ladle and began to put soup into his plate. The silence around him was deafening, but he tried to ignore it. As much as he loved his friends, all his friends, even Zuko, they didn't understand.

Not that he blamed them. They had all grown up in a time of war and despair, of famine and crime. All of that was his fault, even if it had happened unwillingly. It was still his fault. And to deny that would be shameful. No, he would rather face that truth, like an earthbender, head on. And his friends had never lived at a time when conflicts were often resolved around a negotiations table instead of on a battlefield…

Then again, most of the time, it had been the Air Nomads who had presided over those talks, because they had been known to be impartial… And without them, the world had apparently forgotten how to resolve conflicts without smashing each other's head in.

As he was eating, he could hear the soft murmurs from the other side of the table, from the corner where Sokka and Suki sat. Aang didn't look up from his meal, eating it without another single word. If Zuko wanted to train the whole day, so be it. But he was going to do some waterbending with Katara, even if Zuko would protest. Maybe this evening… And then, they could maybe continue what had been so rudely interrupted the night before.

As he finished the meal, Aang stood up. He knew it was bad manners, and that the others had done nothing wrong… But he needed to have a moment for himself. A moment left in peace, without other people telling him what needed to be done. Of course, his friends meant well… But he couldn't help it but feel trapped by it.

Kill Ozai before the comet.

Fight the Fire Lord before he kills millions.

After the war, we need to do…

It was all too much. He was just one person. Why had the Avatar Spirit chosen him, and not someone else? He could have lived his life in peace and happiness…

As he walked away, towards the courtyard, the airbender knew it was foolish to wish for something that wasn't within his power to get, and that he shouldn't be envious of other people. If he hadn't been the Avatar, he would have been killed with the other Air Nomads… If he wasn't the Avatar, he would never have met his friends…

Or Katara.

The fact that he had met all his friends was the only reason he was grateful to be the Avatar. And he would drop down on his knees and thank the spirits at any given moment for letting him meet Katara.

As he entered the courtyard, with the great golden dragons staring at him from the tiled mosaic on the ground, he heard footsteps behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Katara march towards him, with a strange look on her face.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was anger.

Spirits above and below, help him.

"Are you actually insane?" She whispered, although it sounded more like yelling.

"What do you mean?" He answered, in a small voice, for he wasn't used to be on the receiving end of her yelling.

"I will fight him before the comet, or during? Are you crazy? How is that a plan?" She came to stand in front of him, hands on her hips and that angry glare in her beautiful blue eyes.

"Tara…"

"No Tara me! Fuck the world, right? That is what we thought yesterday! Fuck the Fire Nation and the threat they pose!" Her voice rose now to a shout, and Aang sincerely hoped that none of their friends was listening.

"Katara… We can't ignore this threat." How could they?

"I know! And it is killing me!" Her fist hit his chest. Then the other fist did the same, on the other side, "I know we can't abandon them! But I don't want you fighting that bastard during the comet! He'll kill you! But we can't let him do this!"

She had just summed up the dilemma he had been feeling raging in his heart and mind. Spirits, he knew he couldn't fight Ozai… That his firebending wasn't strong enough yet. But if he didn't, he would kill millions.

"I could at least delay him." The pounding on his chest stopped, and the two fists stayed there, and Aang looked down to Katara. Her eyes were alight with a rageful fire that he had not seen often from her.

"Oh no. Don't you dare."

He didn't dare say another word. That idea had been hovering in the back of his mind ever since Zuko had explained his father's plan this morning. Aang knew he didn't stand a chance, without control over the Avatar State and without more training… But at least, he could do this right… Right?

"If you do that, I make another promise. I'll drag your ass out of the hells of Tui if you do that. Don't you dare suggest sacrificing yourself for the greater good! What would your death do? You may save a few thousands during the comet by delaying Ozai. But the time it takes for the next Avatar to be of age and trained, he'll have killed millions more. No. This stops in the coming days! This war will end! And you'll live, because I promise that. I promise you will survive this war." Katara voice had dropped down to a whisper, and Aang felt the fist over his heart open and her palm lying flat on his chest.

Lifting his arms, he took her face between his hands. Nudging her face up, gently and slowly, he saw the streaks of tears on her cheeks. Using his thumbs to wipe them away, the airbender couldn't help but smile.

"Trust me… I never want to leave. Even if having my ass dragged out by you sounds tempting." He smiled tentatively, hearing the watery chuckle from Katara, "I just don't know what to do…"

"Aang… No on alive knows what to do. That doesn't mean that there isn't an answer somewhere." Katara sighed.

No one alive…

Aang felt his breath stop dead in its tracks in his throat, something he wasn't used to. No one alive… But maybe some dead people had the answer. The answer to his problems. And it just so happened that he was the only person able to contact a small select group of dead people who may have had to deal with the same kinds of dilemmas…

Answers:

Jjsmith103: God, that sounds so awkward lol! And of course, this was also a good moment for Sokka and Suki, even if it was ill timed. They didn't know what was happening in the room next to theirs. Toph is always going to be the one who I'll use to break the tensing, even though I'm planning a small storyline for her in the sequel.

Kalaong: I have to admit, Ploughing Kyoshi Island may be my favourite metaphor about this subject lol!