Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfictions.

As you might have noticed, I am changing up some things. That is on purpose. Remember that even the smallest of ripples can give rise to a huge tsunami. In fact, I think the occurances of my little AU are extremely conservative. For example, one person deciding to call off a date could be the difference between a future utopia or a brutal dictatorship.

Without further ado, I present to you this chapter. Enjoy.

P.S. They're starting to get longer.

It was a bright morning. The sun was shining, and no clouds were in sight. Unfortunately, it did mean that the sky was blue and the ocean was blue, and so by noontime the crew was sick of the color. Aang, on the other hand, was reminded of the eyes of a certain girl in the South Pole, and so he was content to stare at the deep expanse of blue before him. Then he saw something looming in the distance.

"Hey, yo, Jee, what's that?" Aang shouted to the lieutenant.

Jee squinted. "Looks like some sort of dock with three ships surrounding it. Definitely Fire Nation ones. They don't look like they're attacking each other."

"So what would a Fire Nation dock be doing so far into the Earth Kingdom?" Aang asked.

Jee's eyes widened. "It wouldn't be. This isn't a dock. It's a place for war prisoners."


They arrived at the prison.

A man walked up to them, flanked by two guards on either side of him. "Why, hello there, good sirs. I am the warden of this humble prison. Of what service may I be for you?" the warden said with a disarming smile.

"May we stay here for the night? My crew is weary, and we are short on fuel. Unfortunately, we are carrying the banished prince - " the warden gasped, and his eyes narrowed. "-who is currently very ill. It was not his choice to dock here. Do not punish another man for the misfortune I brought to him."

The warden stroked his beard. "Very well. So long as you cause no trouble to this humble rig, you may stay as long as you please."

Aang and Sokka hid in the crow's nest, behind the helmsman. They wore Fire Nation uniforms. The chances that the crow's nest would be scrutinized was very low, let alone the fact that there wasn't anything suspicious to see. Still, they were relieved when the warden walked off the ship without so much as a glance in their direction.

The warden suddenly turned around and looked up at the crow's nest. "Hey..." the warden said. The crew was silent, and the two boys in hiding started shaking in their armor.

"If the prince is here... his esteemed uncle must be as well. Do you mind if I borrow him for a few minutes?"

An inaudible sigh sounded throughout the deck, although it was imperceptible if one was not listening for it.

Jee smiled. "Very well, sir. Just make sure you don't make him talk too much about his tea. Eventually your head will explode." The warden smiled thinly and nodded, and the lieutenant and the warden bowed to each other.

Once out of sight, Aang and Sokka collapsed on top of the poor helmsman. "Hey! I get that you're relieved, but can you guys not lie on top of me? From your weight, I'm starting to think we spoil you with your rations!" complained the helmsman.

Sokka and Aang extracted themselves, and apologized. The helmsman muttered about ungrateful non-Fire Nation kids, and Sokka, for one small moment, wished he had some magic-water mumbo jumbo to toss snowballs into other peoples' faces.

"So this is a prison, huh..." Aang said. "Do you think we should do something? You know, like free the prisoners?"

Sokka shook his head. "We can't. We have no way to free them, and what would happen after that? They'd probably go back to their homes and get captured all over again. We can't do it. I'm sorry."

Aang looked crestfallen, then recomposed his face into one of determination. "All the more reason to end this war as soon as possible."

They did not stay long. There was not much for them to do, and after replenishing their stock of coal, and dragging a reluctant Iroh from the warden's clutches, they were on their way North.

"I only had three cups of tea with that nice man!" Iroh protested.

"I'm sorry, Iroh, but we gotta leave. Your nephew's still banished, and sick or not, it's illegal for the warden to be welcoming you in the first place!" Sokka said.

Iroh sighed. "I guess you are right. I just wish I could spend more time with a fellow tea lover, one who is near my age."

Aang and Sokka snickered. "Are you sure it's over tea, or is it because you're a famous General and Former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation?" Sokka chortled.

"Hey! I know a fellow tea lover when I see one!" Iroh said indignantly. But their banter was lighthearted, and they retired to the bunkers happily.

Except for Aang, who fingered the necklace of Katara, wondering what she would've done in their place.


A few nights had passed, and the crew was hard-pressed to find a place to get more food.

If they thought Appa was bad when it came to food, then Sokka was an absolute nightmare. More so because he was a fellow human being. Granted, Appa was the king of the munchers - and cute at that - but Sokka as the resident snow savage had an appetite rivaling any five men on the ship. When confronted over his appetite, Sokka shrugged. "I'm a growing boy!" he said.

"Zuko never ate this much." Jee replied.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "You're talking about a boy who was obsessed with finding the Avatar. Not to mention you guys don't know what it's like living in the South. It's super cold, and you have to eat a lot to stay warm. You guys probably live near heat and stuff so you wouldn't have to eat as much. Maybe after a while my diet will adjust."

Jee thought for a moment and then reluctantly nodded. "Makes sense. Although we're going to have to cut your rations, like the helmsman complained about." He saw Sokka's pout and said, "If it makes you feel better, Aang's rations are also going to be cut. We've been spoiling you two boys far too long."

Suddenly, Aang burst in. "Guys. We need to travel through that river."

Jee raised an eyebrow. He didn't need to explain why. The Avatar's requests to change course were always... nonconstructive.

"This is serious. I had a vision of this river, and a voice telling me to follow it until I reached the first village. It's gotta be Avatar stuff."

By this point - despite his immaturity - the crew trusted the Avatar with their lives. Jee nodded. "Helmsman! Change course! We're heading for that river!" he shouted. The boat slowly turned and entered the mouth of the river.

They did not travel for long before they understood at least one of the reasons of the vision Aang had.

After passing a grove of trees, they were confronted by a sea of gray, a dark desolate landscape of burnt trees and destroyed earth. It didn't take even a math-illiterate Momo to put two and two together.

"Fire Nation," Jee spat, and everyone was surprised to see that they all harbored the same resentment for the Fire Nation, even those who were the most patriotic. "Let's get off here and see what our honorable countrymen have done," Jee sneered, spitting out the word "honorable" as if it were a badge of shame.


Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

That was what they saw that was salvageable, that was worth living for. If any of the crew had misgivings about betraying their nation, they now were irrevocably convinced that following their Fire Lord was sheer madness. They enlisted in the army for glory and honor, not for... low blows like this.

But none were affected as Aang was. He took a few tottering steps to what looked like a shrine dedicated to a spirit that looked like a panda bear, then sat down, crossed his legs, and bowed his head in anguish.

Sokka walked up to him. "Aang, I know this is bad, but -"

"I should've been here to stop it! I'm supposed to be the bridge, the peacemaker, the protector, and look at what's happened here!" Aang cried. "I wasn't here to protect this forest! I wasn't here to protect the world," he added in a whisper. "And the world is paying for my mistakes." He bit back a sob. "I never wanted this! The responsibility! The weight! The obligations! The sacrifices..." he instantly saw Katara in his head, her laugh, her smile, the kiss she gave him... all gone because he was the Avatar. He clenched his fists, feeling the blood gush from his hands but welcoming the pain, pain that felt numb compared to the aching loss he felt for all the sorrow he endured.

"Aang, it's not your fault. It wasn't your fault you were stuck in an iceberg for a hundred years. I'm not sure if you deserved to be stuck in the iceberg in the first place," Sokka said to Aang's look of protest. "But an entire century of being stuck is definitely not your fault. And we gotta move on. Stop this craziness. So no one else has to endure what we endured."

Aang nodded. "The sins of the father are not the son's to bear," he said, sounding eerily like an echo from his people. He shook his head. "At least, they shouldn't be. And I won't be the one to pass them on to posterity. And we haven't gotten to the village yet. Let's go and see what's happening."


They were dropped off some distance away from the village. "Probably best if the Fire Nation doesn't poke its head into an Earth Kingdom town," Jee repeated for the umpteenth time since Aang had come aboard the ship. "Sokka, stick with Aang. Two travelers are better than one in almost every way."

After some time, the boys reached the village gates, and their jaws dropped.

Clearly, something bad had happened to the village. Houses smashed, streets in shambles - a sizable fraction of the village was destroyed. An old man came up to them.

"Hello, strange travelers. As you can see, we are unable to provide hospitality for -" the man stopped and looked at Aang more closely. "My my... the markings of an airbender... you must be the Avatar!"

Aang rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah... I am. Do you need any help with whatever's causing this?"

The man frantically nodded. "But first, let me bring you to our village leader."

They navigated through the ruins of the village, to the central building.

A man with an air of authority around him - likely the village leader - came out. "What are you doing out here so late! You know what happens every night -" he stopped upon seeing the two young boys.

"The Avatar is here! He can help us!" the elder cried.

Aang was scratching his head. "So what's the problem?"

"For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and white spirit," the old man said.

"Why is he attacking you guys?" Sokka asked. His eyes widened in comprehension. "Does it have to do with what we saw downriver?" he asked.

The village leader nodded. "We have tried to communicate with him, but to no avail. And each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near," he finished with a pale face.

"What's so important about the winter solstice?" Aang asked.

The old man answered. "As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely. Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there's no telling what will happen."

Aang shifted uncomfortably. "So, what do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit World than the Avatar himself?" said the old man. "You are the great bridge between man and spirits. If anyone can communicate with Hei Bai and resolve this conflict peacefully, it is you, Avatar."

"Right... me," Aang said reluctantly.

This caught the attention of Sokka, who immediately pulled Aang aside. "You guys don't mind if I have a private talk with the Avatar, do you?" he asked.

The leader and the elder looked at each other and shook their heads. "So long as the Avatar is fine with it."

Sokka walked Aang some distance away from the men, and turned to him. "Okay, buddy. Why the long face? Does it have to do with what you said before in the forest?"

Aang nodded. "But it's one thing to not want to do Avatar stuff. It's another thing entirely to not be able to do it in the first place. What if I fail?"

Sokka shrugged. "Don't worry, man. You'll figure something out. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure your spirit would've died a long time ago."

Aang smiled. "That's one way to put it, I guess. Thanks for talking to me. It makes me feel better."


Aang was back to biting his nails.

"Hello?" he called out into the darkness. Silence was king, and the cold night its trusty advisor. Aang felt goosebumps on his shoulders, and he was pretty sure it wasn't only from the cold. He gripped his glider-staff tightly. "Mister Spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try to help... um... stuff."

Sokka squirmed from his position near the window of the building, nervous for his young buddy. "I don't feel good. Are you sure he'll be alright?" Sokka asked anxiously.

"If anyone can endure this, it is the Avatar. Also, I'm not so sure he would appreciate us distracting him," the village leader said. Sokka abated, but crossed his arms in impatience and watched the young airbender.

"So, uh... spirit. I order you to... uh... leave this village in peace. As bridge between the worlds, I ask that you trouble these people no more." Silence. Aang scratched his head. "Well... I guess that's settled then." He walked back to the building.

Suddenly, his hairs stood on end. He slowly turned around to face a strange, fearsome-looking black and white creature.

"Heya. You must be Hei Bai -" the creature roared at him and leapt over him, breathing a strange light and destroying everything it touched. "The name's Aang! I'm the Avatar! Nice to meet ya!" Aang shouted after Hei Bai. He sighed and opened his glider. "This is gonna be one long night."

Sokka had enough. He yanked himself from the arms of the villagers, busted down the doors of the building, and ran after Aang. He took out his boomerang, threw it, and tried to hit Hei Bai with it. Of course the boomerang passed through it. His luck for living in a crazy world of mumbo-jumbo and spirits. "Mister Hei Bai! Over here!" Both Aang and Hei Bai turned to face him, and both their nostrils flared.

Aang shouted angrily, "What are you doing Sokka? Get back into the building!"

"No. I'm helping you fight him," said Sokka.

Aang's eyes widened. "Why? That's the worst thing you could do -"

Hei Bai made its move. It pounced on Sokka, grabbed him with one of its four arms, and fled through the village gates. "Sokka!" Aang yelled. I gotta save Katara's brother, he thought. It's the least I can do for her after we left her behind. After I left her behind.

Aang hopped on his glider and flew after Sokka. They wove through trees, through hills, through open plain, and Aang gradually gained enough ground to reach out for Sokka. "Grab my hand!" said Aang. Sokka reached out his own hand, safety almost within reach. But just before their hands touched, Sokka and Hei Bai vanished, and Aang found himself grabbing at empty air.

He quickly lost his balance, and crashed to the ground. He didn't feel like getting up.

Because he had failed.

Again.


When he finally brought his face off the ground, he saw that he was back at the destroyed forest again. He sighed. He couldn't escape this forest, just like he couldn't escape his mistakes.

So many sorrows, all of them his fault. Running away... leaving his people to die... leaving the world to burn... leaving her.

Funny how the people he loved were the only ones he couldn't protect. He spun his glider-staff and snapped the wings closed. He was in no mood to fly, feeling spiritually tethered to the earth.

He began the long walk back to the village.


When he got there, the people were talking. "Where did the Avatar and his friend go?" asked one woman.

The village elder shrugged. "Maybe they're resolving everything right now. We don't know anything about the dealings of the spirit world. It's not our place to meddle in otherworldly affairs."

"Guys... I'm back," Aang said. This provoked no reaction. He spoke a little louder. "Um... guys... I'm back. Without my friend." Still no one even looked at him. He got frustrated and walked up to the crowd. "DID YOU GUYS HEAR ME? I'M BACK" Aang screamed, practically spitting at the people he had failed.

"I hope they come back soon," said the leader. "It's been many hours since they left."

Aang blinked. Did these guys really not see him?

To test his theory, he airbent a wind to blow the people over. Or at least, he tried to. He stared at his hands in confusion. What's going on? He thought.

Something alerted him to a growing presence at his back. He turned around and widened his eyes in fear.

Something was flying at him. Something big. Something angry. Something dangerous.

Aang opened his glider-staff and tried to fly, but ended up on the ground. "W-what's happening?" Aang cried. His eyes widened in realization. "I'm in the Spirit World," he whispered. "And I can't bend."

I can't bend.

As the spirit got closer and closer, Aang became more and more certain that he was going to become breakfast. He cringed, awaiting his end, but when he didn't feel anything, he slowly opened his eyes to see the creature - a dragon, he realized - standing in front of him.

"Who are you? What's going on?" Aang asked. The dragon studied the Avatar impassively, then touched a whisker to his forehead.

A wise, powerful old man robed in Fire Nation garb, riding the dragon... Fang...

Aang came back to his senses. "You're Avatar Roku's spirit guide! Like Appa is to me!" he exclaimed excitedly. He frowned. "How am I supposed to contact Roku?" he asked. The dragon curled around him, and he stares blankly before realizing what he's supposed to do. "You want me... to get on?" Aang asked. The dragon snorted. "I'll take that as a yes," Aang said, climbing on the dragon's neck. They took to the skies, flying west.

Towards the Fire Nation.


Iroh was calmly sipping tea, ever watchful over his nephew, when he saw a flash of blue in the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw the Avatar riding a dragon -

No. Not just any dragon. Fang. Roku's dragon. Which meant... the Avatar was in the Spirit World.

"General Iroh, sir, is everything alright?" Lieutenant Jee asked. Of course, he couldn't see the Avatar or the dragon.

Iroh shook his head, bringing himself back to the present and Zuko. "Yes. Everything's alright," Iroh said hastily. "I think Zuko's doing better, but he still has a fever."

Jee nodded, and stepped away. Iroh let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.


They arrived at Crescent Island, and Fang flew into a temple.

"What's going on?" said Aang. His eyes widened as Fang suddenly tilted upwards towards the roof. "Hey! What are you doing?" asked Aang frantically. He screamed as the roof came closer and closer. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed, wishing that he could just be a regular kid, not an Avatar pancake.

He slammed his eyes shut once again, but when he opened them, they had passed through the roof and entered a strange room, with a statue of Avatar Roku and a celestial calendar on the floor. "I don't understand, this is just a statue of Roku," Aang said in his confusion. Fang pressed one of his feelers to Aang's forehead.

A comet shooting across the sky...

"Is that what Roku wants to talk to me about? A... comet?" Fang snorted. "When can I talk to him?" Aang asked, mind filled to the brim with questions. Fang touched Aang again.

A light beam to the right of Roku's statue... Fang lifted his whiskers, and pressed them on the Avatar's forehead once more.

The sun setting and rising with increasing speed, and the light slowly converging on Roku's eyes... the shortest day of the year...

"It's a calendar... and... the light will reach Roku on the solstice! So... that's when I'll be able to speak to Roku?" The dragon snorted. "But I can't wait that long!" Aang cried. "And I can't leave so soon! I need to save Sokka now! My... my... my love's..." he stopped, shocked at his blatant confession. "...my love's brother," he choked out.

Fang regarded him with a gaze not lacking sympathy, and coiled around him to mount the dragon's back once more. Aang and Fang left the temple, and rapidly returned to the destroyed forest. Fang picked up speed as they neared Aang's physical body - which he noticed was meditating on top of the statue of the spirit - and Aang prepared himself for the sudden impact.

He opened his eyes with a gasp, then sadly surveyed the scene around him. He tested his airbending, and a gust of wind burst forth. Aang sighed, and trudged back to the village. He kicked an acorn to alleviate his frustration at the desolation around him as well as all the grief he had caused in his long and short lifetime.

An acorn.

He doubled back and looked at it more closely. Yep. An acorn. A seed. That would grow into a tree. And there were hundreds of them, littered all over the ground.

Maybe this forest wasn't as gone as he thought. Just like Sokka wasn't necessarily gone forever. He knew he was alive, and he would rescue the watertribe boy. He had to. If only for Katara...

Before he returned to the village, he picked up the acorn, opened the glider, took to the air, and whistled the way back.


He arrived at the village at nightfall.

It was the night before the Winter Solstice, and Hei Bai had just come to wreak his final acts of havoc and destruction against the village. He destroyed everything around him, slowly advancing towards the central building where the village cowered, hope that the Avatar would come to save them fading with the light of day.

Suddenly, when Hei Bai began to walk straight towards the center building, Aang leapt over the spirit and touched its forehead.

Panda bear...

And an image of the shrine flashed before him. He knew everything.

"You're the spirit of the forest! Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned, I was sad and upset, but then I realized something." He took out the acorn he had and handed it to Hei Bai. "You see? Someday this acorn will grow to be a tall tree, and there are many of them! Your forest will grow back, good spirit." Hei Bai gingerly picked up the acorn, and slowly faded back into a panda. The spirit peacefully walked out of the village gates, and bamboo began shooting out of the village gates.

A quartet of people emerged from the thicket.

"Sokka!" Aang cried. "How are you? You just spent a couple of days in the Spirit World!"

Sokka rubbed his stomach. "Like I really need some meat." Aang blanched.

"Never mind," the airbender said. The village leader and elder came up to him.

"Thank you, Avatar," the leader said. "If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"We need some supplies and food. And some money." Aang nodded in agreement with Sokka's requests. "We need them for our journey. To stop this violent madness that's been raging for a century."

"It would be an honor to assist the Avatar in any way we can," the village leader said. He walked away to begin preparations for the Avatar.

Sokka beamed at Aang. "Nice job, Aang. Before, I thought we were all going to be eaten by a spirit monster. But... you did great. I'm proud of you buddy."

"Thanks Sokka. That means a lot to me. And I actually learned a few things from this experience. I learned that maybe sometimes we need to let go of our pasts and embrace the future. And that maybe the sorrows of the past can be filled by the wonders of the future. I think I truly understand what everybody's been telling me after I was broken out of the iceberg," Aang said with a smile. "And by the way... I know a way to talk to Roku's spirit."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Creepy. And great! So, what's the plan?"

"We make a beeline for the Fire Nation."

Sokka stared at Aang. "Are you CRAZY?" Sokka screamed, attracting the glare of all the villagers.

Aang shook his head. "Nope. Crescent Island. Roku's temple. On the Winter Solstice. Today."

Sokka's eyes widened. "Great! We have a little over sixteen hours to make it to the ship and to this Crescent Island you're raving about, all the while sneaking past a Fire Nation blockade and a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers. Yup, this is going to work out juuust perfectly!" Sokka said sarcastically. He then smiled. "And I'm going to be there with ya, buddy."

Aang grinned, and once they got the supplies, they took off, focused on one thing.

Avatar Roku.

I wonder how many of you saw this change coming...

Please Review.