Note: Yes, I know its super long (12 pages on Microsoft word). I'm sorry for the delay, but I had to do a lot of thinking for this one. Its kind of confusing, and a bit depressing, so I really need you to tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: Mike and Brian own the Avatar. (Why not me!!!)
A cool breeze passed through the cart as it whizzed by the country side. After a long trek through Serpent's Pass, the gaang was on their way to Ba Sing Se to deliver news of the eclipse to the Earth King, and (hopefully) to find Appa.
Aang heaved a long sigh. They were arriving at their destination, he should be happy like the others, right?
Wrong.
His best friend was missing. His only connection to his memories of the past, the only one who had spent 100 years with him stuck in a big block of ice. If he couldn't find Appa, Aang knew he would never forgive himself.
"Don't worry, Aang" Katara send him a soft smile "We'll find Appa."
Katara was always trying her best to cheer him up, and normally it worked, but this time Aang was too depressed. He couldn't bear to look her in the eye, because he knew how much his sadness hurt her. Instead he contented himself with staring at the floor of the train.
"It's such a big city."
Aang instantly regretted saying anything when Sokka stood up from his seat. This was not a subject he wanted to talk about.
"He's a giant bison, were could they possibly hide him?"
With that the earth train passed through the outer wall, revealing the largest city the three travelers had ever seen. How were they supposed to find the people that took Appa if they had no idea who they were, and in a city this big?!?
"Oh"
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Looking for something I've never seen
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'Thrump Thrump'
Aang bounced up in down as the carriage rolled down the stone path. He glanced around the small interior of the cart. Although he had his friends at his side, Aang felt utterly alone without Appa.
Ju Dee, their host, began to talk about the inner walls, the ones that separated the people of Ba Sing Se. Katara was the first to speak up.
"Why to they have all these poor people blocked off…"
She had a point, compared to the way the monks had raised him, it just didn't seem right.
"That's why I never came here before. It was so different from the way the monks taught us to live…" Aang let himself drift off, and hoped no one would ask him to elaborate. Talking about the monks reminded him to much of Appa. It was just too painful.
Ju Dee continued the tour around Ba Sing Se, with Sokka pestering her about the meeting with the Earth King all the while. When she finally got out to show them town hall, Sokka turned to the rest of the group.
"Is that woman deaf!?! She only seems to hear every other word I say!"
He looked at them expectantly, awaiting an answer when Toph, who had been quietly sitting in a huff ever since they entered Ba Sing Se, finally decided to say something.
"It's called being handled, get used to it."
It seemed that so far Ba Sing Se could be explained in one word.
Disappointing.
Usually visiting a somewhere new was exciting, but this place was terrible. They were being "handled" by their host, and the city showed no major clues to where Appa was being held.
And perhaps the most disappointing of all, Ba Sing Se hadn't changed. Somewhere deep inside him, Aang had hoped that the city had taken down its inner walls, and no longer separated their people. It was a silly wish, but 100 years was a long time, and hadn't Katara always told him to always keep hoping, even when it hurts?
And seeing these people living their lives in a way that went against everything he had ever loved, well that definitely hurt.
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Alone and I'm in between
The place that I'm from and
The place that I'm in
A city I've never been.
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Jet.
If someone had said that name only a few moments before, Aang would have instantly been filled with feelings of hatred, distrust, and even a little betrayal. Funny how now the boy was his only chance at finding Appa.
Katara had run into him while they were putting up posters for the lost bison. He told them he could help. Normally Aang would have sided with Katara, and left the boy there, pinned up against the wall until the ice melted, but… he missed Appa so much. The poor monk was so desperate that he was about ready to trust anyone.
So he accepted help. From Jet. If it was their only chance at finding Appa, then as far as Aang was concerned, it was worth it. They would use him to find Appa, much like he used them to flood that Earth Kingdom village all those moths ago.
It was a risk to trust him, but it turned out he had information they needed. It turned out that people do change, even people like Jet. But it also turned out that a little something called karma has its way of finding people, and right before Aang's very eyes Jet was struck down.
Instantly in that moment, whatever hatred Aang harbored for the boy dissolved. He no longer felt that wave of jealousy, or the sting of betrayal. Now all he felt was sorrow.
Every one has weaknesses, and most people try to hide them. Aang knew that Jet could never be his friend, because it would add just another weakness to his already long list. So he vowed never to show it, but in that last moment when they all rushed out, leaving behind a dying Jet, Aang felt the familiar stirring of grieve within him.
The grief of loss.
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I found a friend or should I say a foe
Said just a few things you should know
We don't want you see
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Just like that everything changed.
Things actually started to look up. The Di Lee had been defeated, and plans for the invasion of the Fire Nation were in progress.
Sure everyone had to split up, but they would all be together soon, and everything will be ready for the Day of Black Sun.
As they cruised away on Appa Aang couldn't help but smile at Sokka's last comment.
'Things are gonna work out, from now on and forever'
If only it were true. As much as Aang wanted to trust his companion, he knew it was silly to believe such things. He was the Avatar, and things were never that simple.
They were off again, flying on Appa, just like before. But this time, it seemed different. It was just him and Sokka, and that was about to change as soon as he dropped him off with his dad. Soon it would just be him on his way to the Eastern Air Temple to master the Avatar state.
Because being the Avatar came with many duties, and most involved traveling. Always moving from one place to another, only to end up packing up and leaving all over again. Being the Avatar was an honor, but no one said it was easy.
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We come and we go
Here today, gone tomorrow
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The Avatar protects the world. He has to deal with everything a normal person does. They lose their pets, get disrespected, and have to deal with the loss of people they care about. The only difference is that, while all of this is going on, they also have to deal with the world's problems, making the load they carry almost unbearable.
The world dumps their problems on a single person, who is forced to deal with them, as well as their own. It just doesn't seem fair.
Aang had to deal with the weight of the world's problems before most even found out they were the Avatar, and he has to end the Century War! Aang should know most of all, just how much of a burden being the Avatar, protector of the world, really is.
No one ever said being the Avatar was easy, but then again, no one said you had to do it alone.
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We're only taking turns
Holding this world
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand.
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Roku sat among the other spirits, watching their meeting progress. It was unbearably boring, and he found it hard to believe these people had actually been his former lives. The only one that he really seemed to get along with was Kyoshi, and that may have been because she was his mentor.
Ah, the role of a mentor. Every Avatar had to do the job sometime. The Avatar that comes right after you in the cycle, well, you basically have to help them, and explain a lot of the complications of being the protector of the world. Normally, it wasn't so bad because the newest reincarnation was 16 years of age, and ready to start working. But in this case, Aang was only 12, still a child, and to Roku it seemed more like babysitting then spiritually guiding.
It wasn't that Roku disliked Aang; in fact, he had grown rather fond of the boy. On many an occasion he would see himself in the lanky, fun-loving 12 year old. Roku seemed to have more in common with this simple boy than any of his other past lives, and wanted only what was best for him.
Unfortunately, what was best for Aang didn't work well with the others' plans for the young monk. Roku had seen the way he looked at the water bender he travels with, and hoped the other spirits hadn't noticed. It seemed in his 100 years in the ice, Aang had forgotten the oath he had taken as a monk. The one where he promised never to love.
But Roku couldn't blame him. He remembered being that age, remembered his first love, and he remembered what happened to her. Being in love with the Avatar was dangerous, and the spirits didn't approve. The Avatar had enough on his plate, and the spirits believed that he shouldn't love one person more than another because it could lead to irrational decisions. And they were right.
But even the spirits couldn't interfere with true love. They could disapprove all they wanted, but they couldn't control how someone feels. No one could.
Roku sighed, looking around the meeting once again. It was impossible to tell where the line of Avatars ended, and because of their large numbers, only the most important reincarnations sat in the center.
Reincarnations like Roku.
Much to the man's dismay, he was forced to sit in the center of the meeting, because as Aang's mentor he held a very important role in the outcome of the war.
'Oh sure. Like I'm going to affect the outcome of this war! I already had the whole world depending on me once, roughly 112 years ago. Now it's all Aang.'
It was true. Roku could warn him about Sozin's Comet, and help him out every once in a while with the Avatar State, but when you got right down to it, Aang held the future of the world in the palm of his hand. Aang was growing stronger, and he needed guidance from Roku less and less.
And Roku was aware that if Aang wasn't able to beat Ozi, the spirits wouldn't blame the boy, but his mentor.
In all truth, Roku needed Aang more than the kid needed him.
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If I say who I know it just goes to show
You need me less than I need you
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Roku wouldn't lie. He was scared, but no for the reasons most would think. He wasn't fearful for his well being, but for that of the boy's.
The spirits are unforgiving. If Roku failed his job as mentor, he would be punished, though he wasn't told how. The spirits wished to leave that part to the imagination. It also didn't help that Roku wasn't exactly the best Avatar of his time either. When he was the Avatar, those many years ago, he had done what the spirits prayed he wouldn't.
He had fallen in love.
As one of the only reincarnations to do this, he knew the symptoms. And man, did Aang have it bad. Though loving someone more than the rest of the world but him on thin ice with the rest of the spirits, if he had the choice he would do it again. It was the best feeling in the world, and Roku thought everyone should be allowed to love.
Even Fire Nation. Even Monks.
Even the Avatar.
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Take it from me we
don't give sympathy
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"We have to interfere! His enemies are already using his friends against him, and as their bonds grow bigger so will the danger!"
"I agree, by allowing him to travel with these children, we are not only putting their life in danger, but the fate of the world in danger!"
Not again.
It didn't seem to matter how many times Roku told them otherwise; the other Avatars wanted Katara, Sokka, and Toph out of the picture. It may be true that they were put in danger, but they chose to travel with Aang, and were very capable of taking care of themselves. In his many times watching the four, Roku noted that even the non-bender was quite skilled when it came to fighting.
He knew it was useless to fight with the spirits. They had this meeting several times before, and every one Roku had voiced his opion, but none of the other reincarnations had taken notice. They forced him to sit in the middle of their meetings, but no one could care less what he had to say because they were too busy listening to the 'important' spirits. The ones that had done good in their mortal lives.
The ones who had enough sense of duty not to go fall in love.
"I'm not so sure, if we take away the boy's support system, then how is he supposed to go on with the amount of stress in his life? He's got it hardenough as it is."
Roku sent a look of gratitude in Kyoshi's direction. Leave it to her to actually listen to what he had to say. Maybe, because Kyoshi had said it, the others would agree not to take Aang's friends away.
"Well, I agree with Kyoshi. Take away everything the boy holds dear to him and what does he have left to fight for? Besides, the poor thing already lost everything he knew after he left the temple, and he is finally re-adjusting. We should really just let them be."
Roku sighed. The others would never buy it. They had no sympathy for Aang, or his feelings. It seemed this meeting was far from over.
Just then, one of the older reincarnations said the very thing Roku feared they knew all along.
"I personally believe the sooner we get those three children out of his life, the better. Especially the water bending girl, I'm afraid if we keep her there any longer, well he might…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but they all knew what he was going to say.
He might fall in love.
Just the thought of it made many of the spirits look down at the floor, while others disdainfully shook their heads. Some even had enough courage to shoot Roku angry looks, as if it was his fault, and Aang was somehow following in his footsteps.
This was the first time the possibility was brought up in one of their meetings, and it seemed to make many nervous, but Roku couldn't tell if they had made their decision. Many of the 'important' reincarnations grouped together, and it seemed they were discussing the outcome of the meeting.
Never before had Roku been so nervous to find out what they had decided. Every time he had known what they were going to say, but now that the possibility of love had been brought into the picture, he wasn't so sure. Prayer would be useless at a time like this, because the very Agni he prayed to was deciding whether or not Aang would keep his friends.
Roku hid his hand under his cloak as he ignited a small flame and focused on his breathing. To pass the time he examined the group of spirits that would be deciding, and guessed their votes.
Going purely on common sense he guessed that Agni would vote to take the friends away, because he it was dishonorable to love when you were the Avatar, and as the Fire Spirit, honor was his main priority. The group of 'important' reincarnations, well, Roku knew that they could go either way.
It seemed that the only one who was definitely going to vote for Aang to keep his friends was Yue, the moon spirit, because she once was mortal, and knew what it felt like to love someone. That someone also happened to be Sokka, one of the kids who traveled with Avatar Aang, and she trusted him to help save the world. Because his counterpart felt so strongly, Roku thought that La, the ocean spirit would also vote for the friends to stay.
All in all, the odds were against them.
As if to confirm his fears, the small group separated, and announced that they had finally made their decision. Aang was no longer allowed to travel with his friends.
Roku knew something had to be done, he had to fix this, somehow persuade them to reconsider their decision, but they wouldn't listen to him. He looked to Kyoshi for help; they seemed to listen to what she had to say.
The elder spirit continued to speak, talking about how it was too risky to allow Aang to trust these kids with so much. He spoke of how Aang shouldn't trust anyone but the spirits, and if he needed help he should contact Roku instead of asking his friends. Through the whole speech, the elder spirit made sure to steer clear of the subject of love, even though Roku knew that was what changed their minds.
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You can trust me, trust nobody
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The Elder had spoken. There was nothing that could be done now.
Yue looked down to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. She blew it, let everyone down. As the moon spirit she was privileged enough to enter the meeting, and she wasn't able to alter the opinions of the other spirits.
Although the spirits had come to a conclusion, Yue was not satisfied. There was no way she was going to let this happen. Out of all the others there she was the only one who had actually met the kids, and befriended them. She also happened to fall in love with one of Aang's companions, Sokka, and there was no way she was going to let Aang loose him like she had too.
She never had a chance to tell Sokka how she felt about him, and she knew that it was much harder for men to talk about their feelings. If Katara, Toph, and Sokka had to leave, Yue had a good feeling that Aang would tell Katara of his feelings for her, and Toph already knew how influential Aang was on her life.
That left Sokka, and if Yue knew Sokka, he wasn't about to tell anyone how much he cares about them, especially another guy.
She didn't have the chance to tell Sokka how much she loved him, and she wasn't about to let that happen to anyone else. Yue raised her bowed head, an act of determination.
Back in the mortal world, Sokka noticed that the moon was shining especially bright tonight.
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But I said you and me
We don't have honesty
The things we don't want to speak
I'll try to get out but I never will
Traffic is perfectly still
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It was so hard. The job of the Avatar was the hardest there is, and someone always had to do it. They were of different nations, different genders, different families, yet all one spirit.
They created their own famiy, all the thousands of reincarnations, thousands of lives.
The Avatar is never alone.
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We're only taking turns
Holding this word
It's how it's always been
When you're older you will understand
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Did they really expect him to understand?
For some reason, did the spirits really think that Aang would appreciate them taking his friends away? Did they think he would still go to them and trust them, even after they took away the things he loved most?
It wasn't going to happen. Aang wouldn't forget, and definitely wouldn't forgive.
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And then again maybe you don't
And then again maybe you won't
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Sometimes there's nothing you can do. You've been born into something; your destiny has been set in stone.
Then again, sometimes something can be done. Being the Avatar is no walk through the park, I would know, but I think it's all worth it in the end.
I do it for the people I meet, the friends I make. No one can take those memories away from me. Like a wise bender once told me, it's always better to hope, even when it hurts.
My life, my destiny is a long journey, and that's okay. I'm still just a kid, and all this Spirit World mumbo jumbo can be pretty confusing, but I gonna figure it out as I go along with the help of some great friends.
My friends. Roku sent me a dream a few nights ago, and I think it might have been a vision. In the dream, I told Katara about my feelings for her. Then, one by one, everyone disappeared. That's another downside to this Avatar thing; I don't know half of the stuff that's going on.
Oh well, I'm not too worried about it, I know my friends would never leave me. There're here to stay, and help me figure out this confusing life of mine. So for now, I rest. I know that tomorrow I should try to contact the Spirit World about my strange dream, and find out what's going on, but not tonight.
This is much to complicated to solve all at once, not that I would want to. I'm going to take this one day at a time, and try to have fun. I may not know everything, but I have a feeling it will come as I go along.
When I'm older, I might understand.
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When you're older
you might understand
When you're older
you might understand
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Note: I'm so sorry it took me so long for the update! I thought this one would be easy, but apparently I was wrong. I know that I didn't bring up the fact that Aang was the last airbender, and needed to fall in love, but it didn't go with the storyline. Sorry! I'm not to particularly fond of this one, and it was a b to write, so tell me what you thought of it please!
Review!!!!