Disclaimer: I do not own: Avatar the Last Airbender
Location: The Lion turtle
The room was dark. Katara and Sokka were moving back to back, Katara had her water gauntlets, Sokka had his sword out, whilst unbeknownst to them an evil spirit was crawling on the roof hidden in the darkness. A wicked grin was plastered on his face as he circled the area, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Sokka's grip on his sword was tight, his lips were set in a grim line, eyes sharp and focused were darting around the room. Katara's hands were shaking slightly but her face was set in determination. Both were anticipating an attack. Suddenly before Sokka could react a hand covered his mouth. The Spirit touched Sokka's forehead making him pass out instantly.
Katara not having heard anything and her being unaware of her brother's condition kept looking around, a firebender managed to light up the room, revealing half of the council laying on the ground bloodied and motionless. The color drained from the waterbender's face and she froze, giving The Spirit the perfect opportunity to attack and knock her out.
Suddenly the scene switched out to a large hill, on top of it stood Avatar Roku, his elegant robes billowing in the wind.
"It's not too late to save them Aang" The Avatar stated, face serious.
"Your friends need you now more than ever, Young Avatar, you must hurry and go to them immediately before its too late, and face this threat" Roku continued, voice urgent.
Aang's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, gasping for air, covered in sweat. His heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.
"What the..." He mumbled, one hand rubbing his forehead in an attempt to soothe the growing headache.
Running a hand through his sweaty locks, he tried to figure out what that was. A nightmare? No. It felt too real for it to be a nightmare. What was it then? A vision?
His mouth went dry at that thought. Are his friends really in danger? Katara and Sokka. Are they alright? What happened to them? And what about the others, Toph, Zuko, Suki are they safe?
All these questions were running through his head as he got up and started pacing. What if he was overreacting and it was just a nightmare? He's had plenty of those in the past few years. So why would this one be any different.
It felt much more real though.
Aang groaned and rubbed his temples fiercely. There is no way he could just ignore this. It felt way too real and he's had visions before, like that one time long ago during the war when Katara was captured in Ba Sing Se. No he is definitely not brushing this off, his friends might be in danger and there's no way he is going to just sit here and let some lunatic hurt his friends.
He pulled out his bison whistle from his back pocket and called Appa. He has been staying on the Lion turtle for the past three years. He grew out his hair, it was long enough to cover the tattoo on his forehead and he started wearing long-sleeve shirts and robes to hide his arrows since he doesn't feel worthy of them.
These past three years have been very difficult for Aang but he feels like he has learned a lot. He has slowly accepted the fact that he is not a monk nor just an Airbender but the Avatar first and foremost and he has tried to appreciate, learn and focus on all four cultures the same, and not just centre his attention to one, like he did before.
Aang has tried his best to turn into a proper Avatar, The Avatar the world needs, instead of just being an airbender. He stopped focusing on his element and culture and he no longer prioritizes it over the other elements and cultures as he did before.
He also feels stronger than ever before, not having any limitations or expectations has made him feel a lot stronger both mentally and physically. He can be more aggressive and he doesn't have to worry about the consequences anymore.
He is not an Air Nomad anymore. He is the Avatar and he needs to start acting like one.
The Sky bison landed in front of him, Aang smiled, something he rarely does nowadays and hugged his bison.
"Alright, Appa my friends might be in danger and they need my help at the Southern Water tribe, you up for a trip buddy?" He murmured, raking his fingers through Appa's fur.
Appa growled and licked Aang in an enthusiastic manner.
Aang's lips twitched upwards again in an affectionate smile, grabbing his staff and a duffel bag that held his belongings including some warmer clothing. He jumped on Appa and took the reins, the small smile on his face disappearing and turning into a more serious one as he did.
"Yip yip, buddy"
Appa lifted off the ground and started flying to the sky towards the Southern Water tribe at high speeds, sensing his Master's unease and the seriousness of the situation. Aang sat on Appa's head gazing at the ocean. The lapping waves entranced him, the humming of the waves were comforting. It reminded him of a certain someone.
Katara.
Even after three years, he still misses the waterbender greatly. Ever since he left the Fire Nation, he kept beating himself up over leaving things so badly with her.
A shiver ran down his spine as the images of his dream came back to him, he hoped more than anything that the bad dream he had was just that, a bad dream. However as more time passed and the images were still stuck on his mind as clear as day, he began to get more worried.
Every single nightmare he has ever had never lingered on his mind for very long, he usually forgot most of the nightmare hours later, but the one he had today, not only did it feel very real, he still remembers it perfectly in great detail, which truly scared him because that would mean that it was much more likely a vision than just a bad dream..
Breath quickening, Aang took a deep breath, shoving his hair back away from his face and closed his eyes in an attempt to calm down and not worry himself into a panic attack. He can't panic, not now. The Southern Water tribe needs him, his friends need him, but most importantly Katara needs him. They need The Avatar, he can't afford to panic now. Aang took in a few deep breaths and opened his eyes.
"I'm coming Katara" He whispered, his grip on his wooden staff tightening and his eyes filled with determination.
Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter out, I'll try to get the next chapter done faster.
Anyways,
Thank you for reading and reviewing!
-ATLATO
