"What happens next? I suppose only you know." Oh really? Let's correct that problem shall we… Right after this small blurb!

Everyone knows I put quotes in for my chapters of my story. Well, let's get a quote from a fan! First, review this chapter as you guys usually do, and then after the review, come up with a quote that you think has to do with Broken Hearts. Submit it with the review, and the best quote will be in 2 chapters from now, (because by the time you read this, I'm already half way through planning the next chapter, plus I want to give a good amount of time for everyone to submit). Sound fun? Well, read the chapter first, then review, then make quote! Enjoy!

Shards of War (Part 1 of 2)

Written by TheHiddenWriter

Based off ATLA, created by Nick and Viacom

For my fans

Quote: "Can angels live on earth? To anyone who's been in love, you'll know the answer."

All Toph heard was bubbles. She didn't know where she was, or if she was alive. She felt an unknown force lift her.

'Am I… dead?'

Suddenly, she felt herself rising out of the water. What was going on? How was she floating?

"W-Wha?"

"Don't worry, your safe now."

It was Haru. He swam her over towards the shore, where she coughed up the water in her lungs. For the first time in hours, she could see again. The Duke and Teo were also on the shore.

"You ok Toph?" Asked Teo.

Toph nodded. "I-I'm fine. Where are t-those j-j-erks?"

Toph was still shivering from being in the water for so long. The Duke and Teo shrugged.

"What are you talking about? We were walking around Ba Sing Se, when suddenly we saw you drowning in the water." Said The Duke.

Toph started to breathe normal again.

"The rest of the gang is in trouble. There are a bunch of guys wanting to kill all of us. They threw me into the lake to drown!" Said Toph.

Haru, Teo, and Duke were shocked. They thought the violence was over, but they were wrong, it had only just begun.

"We have to go after them, but be careful. One of them is an earth bender as powerful as me, and I don't have a clue who the other guy is, but he sounded tough." Said Toph.

The guys nodded, and the foursome started to run back into the town, looking for any signs of the two-cloaked men. They kept on running until they reached the center of town, where the brown cloaked, bald man was standing.

"So, I see you survived, little girl…" Said the man.

"Yeah, and when I'm done with you, your going to wish you were drowning!" Yelled Toph.

"Who are you anyway?" Asked Haru.

The man chuckled.

"My name is Gang, the elected Supreme Chancellor of the Star Nation, a nation of fools. They never could find a perfect leader, and they were always in civil war. But under my dictatorship, things have never been better. Now, you kids are protecting the only thing that can stop my rule. You must be dealt with… now."

Gang took a fighting stance and motioned one of the four to fight him.

"Haru, I'm going to need your help to take this guy. Duke and Teo, you guys get out of here. You shouldn't be near here when rocks start flying." Said Toph.

The Duke and Teo nodded. They ran off, looking for cover. Haru and Toph took a fighting stance, preparing for the battle with the master earthbender of Yuan's loyalists. Teo and Duke kept running away from the battle, but they ran into a man in a gray cloak. He spoke in an elder voice.

"Hello there… children. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Zuko and Mai continued to fight Qiang, who was starting to win. His fire blasts were now getting so powerful, that Zuko had to use all of his energy to block them. Every time Mai tried to fire daggers at him, Qiang just kept dodging them. Eventually, Mai came up with an idea. She quietly whispered to Zuko what she was about to do, and waited for Qiang's next fire blast. The next shot he fired, Zuko took a minute to block, allowing Mai to jump up on Zuko's shoulders without Qiang noticing, because the blast was so big. When the fire vanished, Mai fired a ton of daggers in all directions towards Qiang. He created a fire shield to block them; giving Zuko the time to fire multiple fire blasts at Qiang. Mai leaped off his shoulders, and moved near the side of the inferno. Mai and Zuko were now attacking from two sides of the inferno. However, Qiang, was blocking them easily, and returning fire, but both Mai and Zuko were dodging the shots easily. Now, both sides were even in power. The battle was now about to get intense.

Koh kept ramming towards Sokka and Kuruk, and every time, they blocked it with their sword and spear. Koh hoped that eventually they would get tired of holding him back, which would leave them vulnerable… as well as their faces. Koh kept tormenting Sokka and Kuruk with the faces of their lovers.

"Oh Sokka… won't you save me?" Koh said with Suki's face.

Sokka growled. He wanted to slay Koh so badly. Iroh kept trying to break the machine Yue was chained to. It was human made, which meant this wasn't Koh's master plan to take over the spirit world. As Iroh kept trying to break the machine, he thought back to the time after his son died, when he went into the spirit world…

Iroh made it to his destination in the spirit world. A wise old spirit was standing on the top of a giant mountain in the spirit world. He was looking out at the horizon, wondering what would come next. Iroh approached him and bowed to him.

"Oh wise spirit, I come to you asking for help."

The spirit looked at him, slightly surprised.

"Humans don't normally come here." Said the spirit.

"I know. I came here for help. My son was killed in a battle, and I traveled because… I wanted to tell him I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I got him involved in this war. Please… I need… I need closure…" Said Iroh.

The spirit sighed.

"I am sorry for your lose, and you truly look like you are sorry. But I can't help you. Those who died are in a realm far from both our reaches. Not even wise spirits such as myself can perform the request you ask."

"Please… there must be something…"

"If you are truly sorry, then you must not look to the past for closure and forgiveness. Instead, look to the future, and correct the mistakes you have made."

Iroh sighed and bowed. "Thank you good spirit."

As Iroh walked away, the spirit called out to him.

"But if I am right… you will see him again someday…"

Iroh sighed. "I know."

He walked down the mountain, as the wise spirit looked to the horizon. He predicted that the future looked bleak.

Iroh sighed and looked around the cave slowly. He was unsure as to how much more Sokka and Kuruk could hold off Koh. Suddenly, he had an idea as to how to break the machine. He ran out of the chamber for a moment, calling out to Sokka that he would be back.

"Oh sure, take your time. We're not busy or anything." Said Sokka, as he held Koh away from his face with his sword.

The Duke and Teo looked at the bearded, gray-cloaked man. He seemed much older than Gang. The man smiled wickedly, and a shiver went down the spines of Teo and the Duke.

"W-Who are you?" Asked the Duke.

"I am Xiang, the Supreme Chancellor of the Comet Nation. The nation that lead the full rebellion against those truly fit to rule. Now, I rule them with an iron fist. Those who oppose me, lose their ability to breathe…"

The Duke was nervous, and backed behind Teo. Teo stared at him angrily.

"You're an airbender? But Aang's the last one left!" Said Teo.

Xiang chuckled.

"He's the last member of the Air Nation. After the air nomads died, I went to each of the four temples, studying everything I could on airbending. After a long period of training, I became a master airbender. Now, I can do the un-thinkable. I can kill people without leaving a mark on them. That, and that alone shows how powerful I am, but you…"

He walked towards Teo and the Duke. The duo slowly moved backwards with every step he took.

"You two are helping the kids trying to destroy our plans. That makes you unworthy to live… you must… suffocate…"

He prepared to use airbending, but was knocked back by someone. Teo and The Duke gasped.

"Chief Hakota?" Asked the Duke.

Hakota got up and protected Teo and the Duke.

"I may not be a bender, but I'm not going to let you do this. I'm taking you down." Said Hakota, as he took out his spear.

Xiang chuckled.

"So, a non-bender has challenged me to a fight?" Asked Xiang, mockingly.

"Make that two non-benders."

Master Piando appeared and took out his sword. The duke then took out his small spear and stood next to Hakota.

"Three." Said The Duke.

Teo rolled up his wheelchair and pressed a button. Two small harpoons that he hooked up not too long ago appeared.

"Four." Said Teo.

Xiang laughed.

"Well, let's see if the non-benders can truly beat the master bender."

"Do your worst." Said Hakota.

Xiang laughed and charged towards the foursome. The four guys got into battle stances, and shouted out war cries as they charged towards Xiang.

Meanwhile, Shen and Yuan continued to clash. Fists flew out at each other furiously. Every so often, one fired lighting at another, only to have the attack dodged. Yuan kept taunting Shen through out the battle.

"Your friends must be so comfortable right now. I hear red blood stains are all the rage in this land." Taunted Yuan.

Shen growled and fired a few lightning bolts at Yuan.

"Nice wise crack. Daddy would be so proud." Said Shen.

Yuan launched some lightning bolts at Shen, which he blocked using the lighting bolts as a shield.

"You know what else is a joke? Your girlfriend."

Shen launched a powerful bolt at Yuan, which knocked him over for a second. Yuan leaped back up on his feet. The two charged at each other once more, punching and kicking each other at every chance they got.

Meanwhile, Katara and Tao were locked in an epic waterbending duel. Both were firing large shards of ice at each other. Katara kept calling out to Aang, trying to see if he was still ok.

"Aang! Please talk to me! Tell me your ok!" Shouted Katara.

"Aang, please talk to me. Tell me your ok." Tao repeated in a mocking tone.

Katara growled and launched hundreds of ice shards at Tao. He melted the shards coming at him, and turned the other shards that missed back towards Katara. Katara dodged them and shouted to Aang once more.

"Please Aang! Hang on!"

Meanwhile, Aang was breathing slowly. His heartbeat was getting slower and slower. In his mind, mental pictures of Katara were flashing through his mind. They were slowly fading to black.

'K…K…atara…'

His heartbeat was getting slower.

'I…. I…. need… you…'

The pictures were getting blurrier. Suddenly, Aang began to remember back to when he first met Katara. When he opened his eyes, and the white light faded. He saw a beautiful angel, covered in blue. Her eyes mesmerized him, and he became lost in her beauty. Her hair moved with the wind.

'If… If…I go towards… the white light… would I… would I see her again? W-would she… she… she… be more… more… beau…ti..fulll….'

Aang's breaths began to become fainter. Katara was no longer hearing him breathing.

"AANG!"

She ran towards his body, knowing that if she wasted any more time, he would be dead. Tao saw the perfect opportunity to make a killing blow. He took some water near by, and turned it into a sharp ice arrow, he aimed it towards Katara's heart and fired it. It rapidly approached Katara. It was only inches from her heart…

TO BE CONTINUED

DUN DUN DUN. Cliffhanger. Don't you hate those? Thanks to those who read and reviewed my story, and thanks again to those who are getting alerts. As long as you guys keep reading, I'll keep on writing. Well, I'm off to go to brainstorm the next chapter, knowing well what happens next. Thanks for reading. Chapter 12 is coming. Hope you guys don't get too mad at me for the cliffhanger.