Chapter 4: His Promise
Aang's showdown with Ozai was just as dangerous as his nightmares had predicted. The Fire Lord did indeed prove to be formidable with his ferocious firebending attacks and strength. Aang had dreaded losing to him more than anything. But a miraculous thing happened that day—Aang had defeated Ozai! Three days earlier, his friends were telling him that he would have to kill the Fire Lord since he was such a corrupt, dangerous man. Instead, Aang had found a far more peaceful solution to take his enemy down. And he had learned it from the least likely of all sources—a giant lion turtle. Shortly after his victory, Sokka, Suki, and Toph arrived in an airship they had stolen from the Fire Navy. They were all very proud of Aang and even more impressed at how he had managed to subdue the man who had been planning to destroy their world. Scarred, burned, a little bruised, but still very, very much at peace, Aang joined his friends on the airship, taking the now powerless Ozai with them. They were heading toward the Fire Nation.
Aang rested in one of the airship's chambers, meditating again. This time, however, the fears, angst, uncertainty and insecurity he had felt several days earlier were all gone. Now he was at ease… except for one thing: Katara. He had remembered how he had agreed to give her time to sort out how she felt. Secretly, however, he was still convinced that she only thought of him as a brother. During his fight, Aang had cleared his thoughts of romantic confusion and focused primarily on taking Ozai down. It had worked. But something was obviously missing. Either way, though, he wanted what was best for Katara and if it meant accepting that she needed someone better than him to find true happiness, then of course he would do that. The pain in his heart from the night at Ember Island had turned into one of acceptance and resignation. He would not bring up anything about how he felt about Katara when he saw her again. He would only treat her as the best friend he was to her. That was all he wanted.
During the long voyage, Aang had another dream. This time, he was face to face with the wise, benevolent Avatar Roku. The bearded former Firebender smiled proudly at the boy.
"Well done, Aang," said Roku in his deep, rich voice.
"Thank you, Roku," answered Aang.
"You have faced many, many difficult obstacles on your journey, but now the war is over. Fire Lord Ozai has been defeated, and our world is safe forevermore."
"Yeah. I'm proud about that," answered Aang. But it was a matter of convincing himself more than anything else. He still seemed a bit solemn.
"What's wrong?" Roku asked. "Is something troubling you?"
"Oh… no, it's nothing," Aang lied.
But Roku wasn't convinced. "It's about the girl you love, isn't it?"
Aang opened his mouth to speak, but Roku cut him off again.
"She really means a lot to you, doesn't she?"
Aang shook his head. "It's no use. I just don't have any chance with her. But I don't care about that anymore. I'm completely over it."
Roku's face looked surprised.
"She needs someone better than me," Aang went on. "I promised myself I would never ask her about how she feels about me again. I'm just a brother to her. If that's all I am, then I accept that. I would rather be her friend anyway."
Roku could tell Aang was only saying that to protect himself from potential heartbreak.
"Aang," he said after a moment, "It's very noble of you to take such an approach. Selflessness is an excellent virtue. However, I don't think it would be wise for you to give up altogether either."
"Please, don't get my hopes up," Aang protested. "I don't wanna be disappointed… again."
"I appreciate that, but there is one piece of wisdom I must impart on you. True love is something that overcomes all hardships, and shines brightest at the end of the dark tunnel. Never forget that, Aang."
Aang appreciated Roku's advice, but still, he stuck to his principles. This time, he was prepared for rejection. But either way, he was looking forward to seeing Katara again.
"No matter what happens," Roku said before disappearing, "I am very proud of you."
At the Fire Nation's Royal Palace, Katara was tending to Zuko. The prince had been badly injured during his Agni Kai with Azula, just like Aang had once been. She didn't have the water from the Spirit Oasis this time, but she was still able to heal him considerably.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
Zuko groaned for a moment, then sighed, "Much better, thank you."
"That's a relief," Katara sighed. "I have to say this, you're quite resilient. Aang took a much longer time to heal…"
All at once, Katara stopped. She turned her head toward the sky. It was dimming from orange to blue, for Sozin's comet had passed, and soon a new day would begin. But something was missing that was very important to her. No, not something. Someone.
Zuko could sense it, too. "You're thinking of him, aren't you?" he asked.
Katara sighed. "Yeah."
Zuko understood. But also, seeing this, he also thought back to the talk he had with Aang about putting aside his feelings for Katara. He almost considered telling her about it… but decided not to. It was probably for the better. He did not wish to interfere in their affairs.
But Katara's mood had changed considerably. She had come to a different kind of realization. The last time she spoke with Aang after they both made their agreement, he had stormed off in frustration. All because she and everyone else were trying to persuade him to kill Fire Lord Ozai—something that he could not bring himself to do, because it did go against his own principles. She had never thought that his disappearance would cause her to be filled with so much regret. Yes, she had told herself that Aang would make it. But she also found herself wishing that she could have taken back her actions toward Aang sooner. Holding her feelings for Aang in just for his sake—just so that he could take down Ozai—now she regretted it immensely. If she never saw Aang again, he would never….
"Katara?"
Katara snapped out of her thoughts for a moment to face Zuko.
"I hope he comes back."
Katara didn't seem to cheer up that much from Zuko's words. While he had softened considerably, being warm and genuinely caring wasn't one of his specialties, even though he had improved on that.
"Me too. There are so many things I want to tell him. I wish I hadn't been so… insensitive to him. I know it's been hard, but Aang can only take so much. If only I could have been more understanding and comforting to him. I didn't think he'd…"
"You love him, don't you?" Zuko asked.
Katara blushed a bit. Up until now, she still would have chosen to keep it a secret… yet now she wished she hadn't. Besides, it was obvious to Zuko. She couldn't deny it anymore. "Yes," she admitted. "Yes, I do. Very much."
Zuko didn't say a word. But a soft smile crept his face.
Aang, he thought to himself, you've got nothing to worry about, buddy. She feels the same about you. Please hurry back.
Early the next morning, an airship lowered to the central plaza in the Fire Nation. Katara was the first to rush outside, for Zuko's girlfriend Mai, had returned to take over for her. She stepped forward tentatively, but hopefully.
The hatch opened, and a figure stepped out from the airship. Katara gasped. Stepping forward, with a sweet, genial smile was a familiar boy. He still had some scars on his torso. But he still had the same arrow tattoos Katara recognized. But something about him was different now. He was at ease. No longer plagued with doubt, confusion, or insecurity, but calm, confident, and very much relaxed.
"Hello, Katara."
Tears welled down Katara's face, and a big smile creased across her face.
"AANG!"
Without hesitation, she rushed toward him. Aang's steady walk increased, feeling her joy. At last, they both met in the center of the square, and Katara threw her arms around him, burying her face on his shoulder. Aang tenderly hugged her back.
Katara sobbed on his shoulder. Tears streamed down Aang's cheeks, too. He was so happy to finally be back with the person who meant so much to him. For a moment, it seemed as though all his fears were over. But he remembered that he had to be respectful to however she felt about him. He felt much more confident of that now.
After what seemed like a long time, Katara turned to face Aang with a sad smile. Tears were still coming down her face.
"You came back," she whispered softly. "You kept your promise!"
Aang smiled. "Yes, I did." But he didn't say anymore about it. He didn't have to.
"I missed you so much," wept Katara.
"I missed you, too, Katara," Aang said with just as much emotion.
Katara hugged him again. After a moment, her face turned into confusion. "But… the Fire Lord—Aang, did you really…?"
Aang shook his head. "No. I did something even better."
"What?"
"I took away his firebending," answered Aang.
Katara gasped. "You what?! But… how did you do that?"
"It was a trick I learned from a lion-turtle," explained Aang. "It's called energy-bending."
Katara was about to ask more about it when she heard her brother's voice.
"Katara, you should've seen it!"
"Sokka!" Katara shouted, relieved that her brother was safe, too.
Her brother's leg was wrapped in a cast. Suki and Toph both carried him off the ship.
"Aang was amazing!" Sokka went on. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"Yeah," Toph agreed with a chuckle. "Twinkletoes really kicked King of the Guys Who Don't Win's butt!"
Suki, on the other hand, wasn't quite in the same mood to gush about Aang's victory. "Katara, could you come over and help me? I can't carry Sokka forever."
Katara was torn. She wanted to help her brother, but she also wanted to talk with Aang. She had so much she wanted to say. Katara gazed at Aang longingly for a moment.
"Go ahead, Katara," answered Aang. "We can catch up later."
Katara hesitated for a moment, then finally answered. "Okay."
As Aang watched Katara tend to her brother, he smiled softly. Seeing her happy made him feel really good. Yes, he had brought peace to the world, but just as Roku had said, he had brought happiness to everyone as well. Especially Katara.
He had kept his promise. He had survived the fight with Ozai and returned safely. Katara had once told him that she would keep hers as well, but he wasn't worried about that, nor did he even care about that anymore. Seeing her again, and knowing that he had fulfilled his duty was more than enough.
