6th chapter finally here! sorry it took so long, i wasn't able to log in for a day, and then i couldn't publish anything.

Anyways, finally wrote a long chapter like some of you were requesting, and i hope you like it. I know have the genres down as hurt/comfort and romance, but this is crucial to the plot, so i hope you don't mind an action oriented chapter. Another big thank you to my friend Anson for staying up with me and proof reading this at one in the morning (TWICE!) and helping me write the second half.

Hope you all enjoy, R&R, and i'll have the next chapter up soon enough.

also, i know i said i'd post some drawings (i have done one) but my friend's scanner was busted so it'll come later. also, does anyone know how to upload images to your profile or something like that?


His feet pounding underneath him, Aang took in a deep breath as his sprint brought him closer to the city wall. Once he was close enough, he slid into a crouch and punched two streams of air into the ground, sending him soaring over the obstacle. As he cleared the wall, he was greeted by a view of chaos. Anti-aircraft fire cut through the night sky, signal flares created temporary daylight, tracer rounds could be seen flying around the city, and fires burned uncontrollably. It all combined into a disorganized fireworks display over the desert city.

Aang brought his attention back to the ground screaming up to him, and hit the ground rolling, transferring the momentum back into a mad sprint for the closest building. Before his dash was complete, an unseen soldier began firing at him, and dust exploded from the ground next to the airbender. Not wanting to take any chances, Aang smashed his fist into the ground, raising a wall of earth between him and the direction of fire. He could still hear rounds smashing into the rock barrier.

Finally reaching the building, the young soldier took a minute to catch his breath. Checking his watch, he realized he only had 3 more minutes to reach the rendez-vous. He readied himself, spun around the corner of the building and began another sprint down the street. Only random pot shots bothered him until halfway down the street, when a squad of fire nation rebels walked around a corner into the street Aang was running down.

Before they were able to attack, Aang reacted. He immediately slid into an airbending stance, and shot his left palm out and spun it in a circle, creating a vortex in front of him. As the rebels fired their first shots and fireballs, the attacks were pulled away from Aang by the current of air. Again, not giving them a chance to get their bearings, Aang punched his right fist through the vortex, sending the wind tunnel spiraling towards the rebels. Before they could get out of the way, the rebels were slammed into the building behind them.

Confident that they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, Aang resumed his trek towards the end of the street. After another tense minute, he reached the building where he was supposed to meet the rest of his unit. He stomped his foot on the ground, bringing a section of the earth kingdom building down, to find four rifles pointed at him. He immediately raised his arms, yelling "It's me, don't shoot!"

One soldier, clearly the one in charge, lowered his rifle. "Stand down, men. It's only the Avatar," he said with a grin. As his men followed suit, they let Aang enter the room, and reseal the wall behind him. "Good to see you too, Commander. Sorry about that, should've let you guys know it was me first," the young man said. The older man just slapped him across the back and led him to the other side of the building.

Once they reached the the other side, Aang could see the rest of the soldiers in the unit around the room. Men were bandaging wounds; others were passing around ammo and water canteens, while a few kept watch out the windows. The men looked up when they realized the Avatar was in the room with them. They all stopped what they were doing, and just stared at him. The weary look in their eyes made Aang shudder. He could tell they all just wanted this over with, and they expected him to do it. Not sure what to do, the young man gave the commander a helpless look. The old man just looked back. "What can I say, Aang? You give them hope." He'd heard that before.

Instead of fretting over his uncertainty of how to inspire the men, he went straight to the point. "What's the situation, Commander?" The older man walked over to the doorway and crouched down beside it, checking his rifle's ammunition. "We're being pinned down by Yu Yan Snipers, and I need you to feel them out with your earth bending. We'll take them out, and then we can advance further into the city. After the city, we'll make our way into the heart of the desert, where intel suggests the rebellion is making its last stand." Aang just gave him another helpless look.

The commander understood what it meant. "Look, Aang, I'm sorry I have to ask this of you, but all our earth benders have been killed or wounded. You're our last option. I'll do what I can to take them alive, but you know how it is." Aang sighed in defeat, nodding to let the commander know he'd do it.

Standing up, he dropped into an earthbending stance, and closing his eyes, slammed his foot into the ground. He felt the vibrations travel out across the city square the building faced, "saw" where the adjacent buildings were, where the bodies littered the street. As the wave of "sight" spread out, Aang could feel a lone rebel lying out in the street. He was obviously slightly wounded, and playing dead to avoid being captured. The monk decided not to tell the commander about him, as he had heard of the inhumane things that happened in the P.O.W camps. The vibrations finally reached the furthest buildings in the square, one that was across from their current location and about 500 meters away. He could "see" them moving around the buildings across from their current location.

He opened his eyes, and got a visual look of the square, though the dark made it impossible to see the snipers. "They're in the furthest building, mostly in the top floors. It's far, so you'd better make your way through the buildings to the sides and flank them." The commander nodded his approval of the plan, and addressed his men. "You heard the Avatar, men. We're going to move in two groups. I'll take Alpha to the left, and Sergeant, you take Bravo to the right. Charlie, you cover us from here, alright? Aang, you be ready to help whoever runs into too much trouble. Everyone, check your weapons, and grab some ammo. Stack up on me when you're ready, got it?" The nods that went around the room were all he needed to know he had his men's support.

After a minute, the men were in position, awaiting their commander's signal. They were obviously nervous. Aang could see the uncertainty in their eyes. Aang couldn't see anymore than they could in the dark, but he could feel where everything was. The men could only trust him, a 17-year-old boy. Looking down the line of men, seeing they were ready, the commander spoke. "Ok. On three, I'll open the door and run for the building to our left. After that, we'll switch between Alpha and Bravo moving. Charlie, keep the pressure on them." Another round of silent nods spread through the room, and Aang readied himself.

The commander placed his hand on the knob, and began counting. "One……two…" A rustle spread through the room as Charlie squad shouldered their weapons. "Three!" As the old man threw the door open, Aang felt the soldier playing dead in the square begin to move. The young man's heart stopped, and time seemed to freeze. Finally reacting, Aang reached for the commander, as the older man stepped into the open doorway. "No Wait!" Aang yelled, moving to stop the commander.

Aang froze in horror as the commander's blood sprayed across his face.

As the next man in line dragged the wounded soldier behind cover, something in Aang snapped. A primal rage spread through him, something he'd never felt before. It was so powerful it was like Aang couldn't see or think anymore.

Without thinking, he snatched up the commander's fallen rifle, and stormed through the doorway. The soldier on the ground was busy reloading when Aang advanced upon him, pumping round after round into the rebel's helpless body. Everything disappeared from Aang's world. It was only him, and the man Aang was bearing down on.

Even though Aang had felt the rebel's heart stop, he kept firing until the rifle clicked empty. He stood panting over the mangled body, blood dripping from the awful wounds he had inflicted upon it.

Aang recalled a night, years ago, when he had sat around a campfire with the other soldiers in his unit. He remembered asking them what was the first thing you felt when you killed someone. They had all laughed and responded in unison "the recoil of your rifle". The laughter had died quickly though, and the men just looked down into the fire in solemn silence before leaving for their respective tents.

Here, standing above the first man Aang had killed of his own will, Aang felt only a sickening satisfaction as the pool of blood spread across the ground.

Suddenly, a crack rang through the night as a sniper round grazed Aang's arm. Rage pumped through him again, as the rebels attempted to interrupt his triumph. Aang discarded the empty rifle, and fell into an earthbending stance. Raising his fists above his head, he dropped into a crouch as he slammed his elbows into the ground. The buildings across the street immediately began collapsing as Aang destroyed their foundations.

The snipers neutralized, Aang returned through the doorway. The scene that greeted him was grim. He could feel his stomach churn as a parade of horrors met his eyes. Several medics were screaming orders, trying to patch up their commander's wounds, as others watched in silent horror. Aang crouched beside the commander, who was now shaking on the ground, trying hard not to scream as the medics tried to stop the bleeding. He didn't want to look, but Aang couldn't tear his eyes off the horrible wounds spilling the commander's life away. The young airbender looked helplessly at the medic next to him. The medic just shook his head.

With obvious effort, the dying man opened his mouth and spoke. "Aang….c-come closer…" Aang leaned in next to his face, and shuddered as the man breathed his last words into his ear. Leaning back, he could see the medics had given up. Aang just focused all his attention on the shuddering vibrations coming through the floor, drinking in the feeling of the commander's last heartbeats. Dreadfully they slowed, until, to Aang's horror, they stopped completely.

Aang stayed crouching there, fists balled, as the gravity of what had just happened hit him. He couldn't tell if his mind was racing or if he wasn't thinking at all. Finally, the young man broke the grim silence in the room.

"Get out." He muttered, still crouching on the ground. A few soldiers muttered confused remarks, and the medic next to him looked down at Aang. "Avatar, what do you mean?" As Aang's tattoos began their characteristic glow, Aang spoke with the authority of a thousand Avatars before him. "Leave the city. Now." The surreal sound of his voice stunned the men in the room.

The sergeant in charge shook himself out of it, and then reached for his radio. "Uh… this is Baker platoon… Advising all units to get the fuck out of here ASAFP! Nomad is about to lose it, and he doesn't want any friendly casualties. I repeat, Loose Cannon! Immediate evacuation imperative!" He dropped the radio from his shaking hands and stood up. "You heard me, run for the wall!" The men exploded into action, hastened by the urgency in their new commanding officer's voice. They all knew what "loose cannon" meant.

As the men funneled out of the building, Aang dove deep inside himself. He felt the power, the knowledge, and the energy that was the Avatar spirit. As the Avatar stood up, he drew the spirit out from inside himself, and felt it swell within him like never before. Aang walked out into the courtyard in a strange daze. All his senses were overwhelmed in a state of hyper-awareness as a thousand minds worked with the will of one.

He approached the buildings he had collapsed, and became aware of several beating hearts deep inside. Aang was becoming more and more lost to his primal feelings, and to the enraged spirit that was swirling though his consciousness. He leveled his palms above the wreckage, and with not one thought but a thousand, engulfed it in a sickening inferno. The blaze crackled as screams pierced the night, and everything began to blur to Aang. He was losing more and more pieces of himself to his rage. Before he knew it, Aang was almost completely lost to the spirit, his mastery of the Avatar state leaving him.

The last thing Aang remembered, before relinquishing himself to the spirit, was a loathsome pleasure derived from the horrifying screams coming from the rubble.

As consciousness left him, Aang finally awoke from his nightmare.