A/N: Sorry about that last chapter. There weren't any page breaks. If anyone knows how to put in a page break, please let me know! Then, sit back and enjoy chapter 2! Oh, BTW, this story takes place after eppie 16. I know it's kinda old, but I started writing this back in August!

Chapter 2: Pain Beyond Pain

"You fools! The girl could've discovered us!" Admiral Zhao yelled at his men.

Zhao and about fifty of his soldiers were stationed in a clearing in a forest, about two miles away from the campsite where they had captured the Avatar.

"It – it wasn't our fault, sir!" began one of the (silently) cowering soldiers. "The boy was fidgeting… and kicking us –!"

"I don't need to hear your lousy excuses!" the angry Admiral bellowed. The soldier immediately fell silent, and lowered his gaze.

Zhao, still fuming, turned his head to glance at the young Avatar. He was bound from his shoulders to his ankles by ropes to a large tree. Over his mouth was a thick piece of cloth, which served to keep him quiet.

Zhao smirked; his plan was completely flawless. The Avatar's friends (being the idiots they were) would assume that he was imprisoned on a Fire Navy ship, headed for the Fire Nation. They would stumble right into the ingenious trap he had set up.

Then, he would take the Avatar to the Fire Lord (he'd most likely dispose of the two Water Tribe peasants). He would be honored, and Zuko would be banished for good (although Zhao knew he would be anyway). It was perfect.

That is, if the masked warrior didn't return and save the Avatar again, like he had about a week ago. That had been one of the most humiliating moments in Zhao's career in the Fire Navy. Through teamwork and skill, both the Avatar and the warrior had escaped.

But Zhao was going to make sure it didn't happen again. He was going to temporarily prevent the Avatar from using the majority of his bending abilities.

Normal people would not do what Zhao was about to do to a 12-year-old boy. No, they would think it was too cruel (A/N: but Zhao's not exactly what you'd call "normal"… don't tell him I said that). But Zhao always did what was necessary, and furthermore, he enjoyed harming the people he hated.

"Men, untie the Avatar from the tree. It's time."

The soldiers, nodding their heads, complied with the Admiral's command. As they did, Zhao walked over to one particular soldier, who was sitting down on a log with his head in his hands, obviously deep in thought.

"You know what to do, Jiro."

The soldier, recognizing his superior's voice, immediately stood up and saluted. "Y-yes, sir."

Zhao happened to know that this particular soldier was a bit soft. "Just like Zuko" was his personal way of describing it. The soldier, Jiro, would need toughening up if he wanted to remain a soldier.

"Your swords, Jiro," the Admiral commanded the soldier with a slight hint of impatience in his voice.

Jiro unsheathed a pair of finely crafted Fire Nation swords, and walked hesitantly to the center of the clearing. The Avatar was there, being held in place by two soldiers, still gagged, with his ankles and wrists bound.

At the sight of the sharp weapons, a look of terror crossed his face. As Jiro raised the swords, the young Airbender squeezed his eyes shut.

Then, there was a soft whoosh. A yell escaped from between the boy's lips before he passed out from the extreme pain.

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Katara was the first up. She woke up just as the sun was rising, as she always did. But something seemed different that morning. It was... quiet, and tranquil. There was some lack of excitement, something missing...

"Sokka, where's Aang?" she exclaimed in realization to her brother, who was just waking up. At first, he didn't quite process the question properly.

"Huh? What?" he replied sleepily, stifling a yawn.

"I said: WHERE IS AANG!"

"Oh, uhh... I'm not sure," Sokka said, sounding more alert.

"Oh no! Aang! Aang, where are you?" Katara cried out, but to no avail (A/N: duh.)

"We'd better go look for him. Quick, let's pack up camp," said Sokka with a slight hint of panic in his voice as he immediatly sat up, miraculously relieved of his sleepiness. "He's probably headed for the Fire Nation right now."

As Katara rushed around, packing things into bags, she couldn't help but think, Aang, please be okay!

How very wrong she was.

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Aang awoke, again bound to the tree, in immense pain. It was pain like he had never experienced before. It hurt so much that he could only barely figure out that it was coming from his arms. They were throbbing painfully, and he could feel that he was weaker than usual. He knew he'd probably lost quite a bit of blood.

He tried to distract himself by thinking about how he could escape from Zhao.

Okay, I'm tied to a tree, I can't move, I'm gagged, and I'm injured; by the feel of it, I'm -oww- seriously injured. And Katara and Sokka most likely don't know where I am. What can I do that doesn't require me to physically do anything? Hmmm...

Aang thought and thought. He came up with many ideas, but rejected them all as impossible in his current state.

I've got nothing. If only I could go to the Spirit World and ask Avatar Roku what to -- hold on! That's it! In the Spirit World, I only need my spirit, not my body! And when I get into the Spirit World, I can go find our campsite! (Hopefully, Sokka and Katara haven't left yet...) The only thing I have to do is figure out how to get into... the Spirit World... yeah... How am I gonna do that? Last time, I only got in accidentally. Maybe, if I just concentrate really hard...

And so he did. Aang concentrated with all his might on entering the Spirit World. (A/N: For the sake of this story, let's assume that Aang will remain in the real world, but as a spirit, instead of going into that weird other world like in the season finale.) And suddenly, a strange tingling shot through his body, and he felt a sudden burst of unfathomable insight. (A/N: Got a dictionary on ya? lol!)

And it only got stranger from there. He wasn't conscious when he had traveled to the Spirit World before, so he didn't know what it felt like. It was a very alien sensation indeed; the feeling of his spirit separating from his body; immortal separating from mortal. It was as if Aang's spirit was pouring out of him.

When his spirit was completely separated from his body, Aang noticed that his arms no longer hurt, and for that he was grateful. He wasted no time, however. He quickly sped off in the direction that the soldiers' footprints came from, knowing that they would lead him to the campsite.

(Normal/Omniscient POV)

When the Avatar's eyes and tattooes began glowing, the vast majority of Zhao's soldiers began panicking. They had never seen him like that before. But Zhao didn't worry. As long as the Avatar was not escaping, he couldn't care less about what he looked like.

Little did the Admiral know that Aang's spirit was speeding through the forest, going to seek help from his friends.