Hey everyone! This story is moving along very nicely. I hope you guys like this! I'll continue the author note at the end so that I won't hog your time...

Disclaimer: Okay, I'll be honest. I don't own anything except for Shen and the LL Phoenix guys. I'm getting pretty tired of saying this...

Recovering and The Rising threats

Sometimes when you wake up you get the sense that everything you've ever done was for nothing. That life just isn't worth it, as if the world is lying on your shoulders forcing you to give up…

This is how Aang felt as he continued to stare at the ceiling. Of course, this isn't what he was going to do. He was definitely not going to abandon his responsibilities just because life had kicked him in the butt. Feeling something and acting on those feelings were two different things entirely.

But, obviously, as of this moment Aang felt like crap. He didn't know how long he had been out or how long it was going to take his body to recover from his new wounds. Right now he was just content with staring into the ceiling.

To some people, Aang's behavior might have seemed childish, but if they were in the young avatar's position they would probably do the same. Stare stubbornly into the distance.

His body felt strange to him. He could tell that he had gotten himself in pretty bad shape. There were new bruises located all over his back and his stomach. A bandage was tightly wrapped around Aang's forehead. And his wrists had been wrapped along with his fingers, letting no skin show giving him the appearance of a mummy.

But all that was nothing compared to how Aang felt now. He didn't feel any pain what so ever. None. Instead he felt hot inside as the scorching power of the dragon ran through his veins. He was aware of it now, almost like he could feel the others with his feet in the fire nation palace with earthbending if he wanted to. Aang didn't really have enough energy to yell at his friends for coming to the fire nation against his wishes. No, he was too occupied with the roof over his head at the moment.

It was shocking to Aang that he had never noticed the dragon's power until Roku pointed it out for him. It explained so much; why Aang's temper had increased, the firebending training...

The young avatar sighed as his eyes remained glued to the ceiling. What was he supposed to do with all this power coursing through his body? It was like his body was urging him to do something: to fight, to firebend, to eat, to yell, to run…to do something!

It must be because I'm trying to hold all the power in, Aang thought to himself as his body shivered uncontrollably.

The young airbender closed his eyes as he felt his muscles pop with the stress of trying to force the dragon within him away.

I have to figure out what to do fast, before this gets out of hand...

oooOOOooOOoooo

Katara entered Aang's room slowly, trying her best not to disturb the airbender's sleep.

It had taken a while for him to calm him down to the point where he could rest. During the first week, all Aang did was scream for them to go away or firebend until they were forced to leave while Zuko calmed down the fires. It was very surreal because Aang never remembered the fights or the encounters the next day but his reactions remained the same. It had made it almost impossible to heal his wounds, so the gang just settled for letting him have his privacy. They would leave his food by the door and try to stay clear when he came down to use the bathroom. No one had talked to him for six days and no one dared to enter his room anymore unless he was asleep.

Katara took a deep breath as she took a couple of steps closer to Aang's bed. Out of all of them, Aang seemed to become the most upset when Katara was near him. His eyes would flash, grey and gold specks sparkling, as he would struggle to get away from her. One time he locked himself in his own closet until they had assured him that Katara had left the room.

It was completely terrifying and painful for Katara to experience. But she wasn't giving up on Aang yet. She was going to stay by his side no matter what until he was properly healed.

"Aang?"

Katara gasped in shock when she realized that the airbender was awake. He didn't talk or acknowledge that she was present, but the waterbender could see the boy's body shivering as his hands clenched into fists. But he didn't run away. He still hadn't kicked her out. Yet.

"Aang, it's me. I...I hope you're feeling better. Would you mind if I tried to do something about your back?"

The boy could only nod as he continued to stare at the ceiling. Katara sighed as she saw all the bandages and scars on the airbender's body. He must barely be able to move, the waterbender thought as she sat on the Aang's bed gently beside him causing another round of trembles.

Katara took another deep breath as she took out some of the water in her pouch.

"Look, I'm just going to turn you over so I can work on your back, alright? I'm not going to hurt you."

Aang gave her another nod as he slowly turned himself onto his back.

Okay, this is definitely progress...Katara thought as she remembered the airbender's behavior from before.

Katara slowly began to loosen up Aang's shirt and take it off. Then she started stripping off the bandages until they were gone as the deep scars on Aang's back were shown. Katara drenched her hands with water and slowly ran them down the airbender's back, the water glowing like moonlight. The water was soaking into Aang's skin and the scars started to slowly fade into red rather than the dark, bloody color it was before. Katara heard a low moan coming from the airbender's throat.

"Is everything all right? If this is too fast for you, let me know."

Aang shook his head as he spoke slowly. "No...just...please don't stop."

Katara nodded as she continued healing his back. She could feel Aang's muscles relax beneath her hands as the young boy leaned into her hands more, breathing heavily.

Katara was almost done when Aang turned around suddenly causing the waterbender to fall into his chest. Katara gasped as she realized the position she was in. The waterbender tried in vain to control her breathing as she inhaled Aang's scent.

"Aang...I wasn't finished..."

Aang shook his head as he gripped Katara's shoulders tightly. "You should go now. I'm...that's okay for now."

Katara looked into Aang's eyes and saw that they were yellow. Not completely yellow, there were still specks of grey in them. But Katara decided it was time to give Aang some space as she quickly got off of Aang's bed.

"Alright. I'll check on you later..."

Aang nodded as Katara walked out and closed the door.

oooOOoooOooo

Aang sighed as Katara left the room. Then he took a deep breath. He could feel his eyes glaze over as his muscles nearly burst from the strain. Katara's back rub had made it even harder to hold back all of the power. He couldn't have her in his room while he exploded.

The airbender swiftly jumped out of his bed while fire shot out of his fingers. He could feel his feet getting warmer and could tell that fire was starting to pour out of his toes as well. Aang quickly started pumping his fists out letting the fire consume everything in his room: The shelves, his desks, random books, and a mirror. All of this was incinerated in about five seconds.

Aang was surprised to see that his bed wasn't damaged. He stopped firebending and stared at it for a moment. Then he started stomping on his bed with his feet, just using raw muscle. His feet ached and protested in pain, but Aang couldn't really feel it so he kept pounding obliviously.

Once his bed was broken beyond repair Aang looked around his room. It was still on fire in some areas, spreading like wildfire towards the door. Aang sucked in another deep breath as he gathered all the fire in his room around him. Soon there was a ring of fire surrounding him, and Aang felt the urge to shoot it somewhere. He couldn't hold it in for too long.

Aang glanced around his room anxiously, looking for somewhere to get rid of the inferno. He sighed with relief when he spotted his window across from him. Aang quickly gathered all the force of the fire into his hands. He could feel the heat nearly burning his fingers from the close contact. With a huge gust of air, Aang pushed his hands towards the window.

The fire shot out like a bullet, piercing the window like a knife through a piece of wood. The glass shattered almost instantly, allowing the fire to soar into the sky out the window. Smoke spread throughout Aang's room making it almost impossible to breathe. Aang held his breath until the last of the fire was out.

Panting, the airbender let out a shaky breath before sitting on the ground. There was soot everywhere and smoke was still coming out of the walls. The temperature was scorching causing sweat to run down Aang's back. Some of his wounds had opened up with the movements he had unleashed earlier, but Aang still couldn't feel a thing. It was like his body was completely numb.

Aang continued to pant softly as he curled himself into a ball in the middle of his room.

oooOOoooOoooo

Zuko was really trying not to lose his temper, he really was.

But today was just not his day. As was most of the entire week.

Zuko huffed impatiently while Sokka chattered away.

"So all I'm saying is that if your guards try to attack me one more time, they are going to have to face the power of the BOOMERANG!"

Zuko placed his hands over his ears at the comment while Sokka pulled out his boomerang dramatically, daring someone to challenge him.

"Sokka, I'm trying to think over here!"

The warrior huffed impatiently. "Relax Zuko. It's not like a bomb is going to blow up here or something. You need to chill."

Before Sokka could get the sentence out, the two men shook when they heard the sound of furniture being trashed and the sound of fire cackling from upstairs.

"Aw, is he at it again? That's the third time this week!"

Zuko sighed with frustration. "We're just going to have to hope that Judis will be here soon. I can't believe he decided to go on vacation during a time like this!"

Sokka shrugged. "Well, we took a vacation. What were you expecting?"

Zuko snarled. "It was not a vacation. It was a formal event!"

"Yeah, but you weren't in your office, so you took a break. Not that it did you any good. It seemed like you got even more stressed by the time we left the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko glared at Sokka. "I have a right to be. My sister, Azula, has escaped."

Sokka jumped. "Wait WHAT? I thought she was at the boiling rock!"

Zuko shook his head. "I was a fool and let one of my top wardens place her in a mental prison. They were trying to give her medical treatments to help with the...insanity issues."

Sokka smirked at that. "Well, I guess it didn't work."

"No you don't get it. No one knew about this except for me and some of the warden's assistants. The only way she could have gotten out was if someone from the inside alerted others in the city..."

Sokka lifted an eyebrow. "So, you're saying one of the prison guards was a traitor?"

Zuko nodded. "It looks that way..."

Sokka stood back against the wall, trying to take in all the information.

"Wow, I do not envy your position."

Zuko simply grunted as he stood up. "Yeah, no one really understands how hard this job is."

Katara walked into the living room. "Hey guys. Do you mind if I check up on Aang?"

Zuko sighed. "You just did, didn't you? Is that why he's destroying his room?"

Katara frowned. "It wasn't me. He started doing that after I left."

Sokka looked at Katara with sympathy. "I think we should just give him more space. It's going to take a while before he's comfortable with seeing us again."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. Aang didn't attack you?"

Katara shook her head furiously. "Of course not! He actually let me heal up some of his wounds this time."

Sokka jumped again. "YOU DID WHAT?"

The Katara couldn't help rolling her eyes at Sokka's reaction. "I healed his back, okay."

"Katara, you know it's dangerous to touch him right now! He could barely keep from clawing us to shreds when we carried him to his room! You have to be more careful."

The waterbender glared at her brother. "This is Aang we're talking about! He wouldn't hurt me!"

"He's a DRAGON, Katara, a fire breathing, havoc making, freaking animal of nature! What if he transforms again?"

Katara shrugged. "Then I'll calm him down."

Sokka spluttered in shock while Zuko patted his shoulder.

"Give it a rest Sokka. I have to tell Aang something."

Sokka stared at Zuko wide eyed. "You're telling him now?"

The older firebender sighed. "I can't keep these types of things from him anymore. If he can handle seeing me, then I'm ready to talk."

Sokka shrugged. "It's you're funeral."

Katara shook her head. "I cannot believe you're married."

Zuko chuckled at the comment before heading up the stairs.

Zuko sighed as his serious expression went back on his face. He had been really worried about the airbender. Zuko felt like most of this had been his fault. He just wanted Aang to get well. He definitely didn't want to tell him anymore bad news. But that was one of the perks to being the fire lord.

Hurray for me, Zuko thought bitterly.

The stressed out firebender entered Aang's room warily, then froze at the sight.

The room was so battered that Zuko would have thought a tornado had run through the place. There was soot all over the walls and the floor. Many of the furniture had been broken into small pieces of wood and there were small specks of fire on the rugs and tattered bedspreads. What shocked Zuko the most was the small airbender huddled in the middle. His body was covered in soot and there were new scratches and cuts all over his back.

Zuko flinched involuntarily as Aang slowly lifted his head up. His eyes were gold again, and it was hard for Zuko to fathom but from this distance they appeared to be glowing.

"Ah...are you okay, Aang?"

Aang flinched at the sound of Zuko's voice, even though the firebender hadn't spoken that loudly.

"I...I...feel...weird."

Zuko sighed. "Yeah, you've been having a rough week, huh. I didn't think I would be able to talk to you like this...so..."

The firebender paused as he thought of the right way to tell Aang the news.

"I'll pay...for the room I mean."

Zuko gasped as Aang stood up slowly. "No, you don't have too. I...it's just...you should take it easy alright. You've already opened up your wounds from last time. Rest some more."

Zuko felt guilty about holding of the news about Azula, but he wasn't sure if Aang could handle it right now.

Aang squared his shoulders while he tilted his neck. "How long have I been out?"

Zuko stuttered. "What do you mean? You've been awake for it least a week and a half. Oh, that's right. You don't remember do you?"

Aang shrugged while he raised his hands to rub his eyes. He stopped when he noticed the burns on them. "No, not really."

Zuko huffed out another sigh. "Okay, well...um...are you hungry?"

"I'm starving!" Aang said this louder then he meant to, causing Zuko to flinch again.

Aang saw Zuko's expression and gave him a sad smile. "Sorry, I'm just...really hungry."

Zuko nodded. "Right."

In his mind Zuko was chanting, you will tell him during dinner, you will tell him during dinner, you will tell him during dinner.

Zuko nodded. "Alright, so...I'll help you down the stairs."

Aang smiled more brightly. "It's okay. I can do it."

Zuko looked at the airbender's scars and bruises more closely. "You sure about that?"

Aang smiled again but to Zuko it looked sort of desperate. "Yeah, it's nothing really."

The firebender just shrugged as the two headed down the stairs.

oooOOOooOOooo

Shen smiled as his crew entered the new ship he had bought for them.

"Hello, everyone. I see you guys have caught some well needed rest, yes?"

Jack and most of the group nodded while some just shrugged.

Shen smiled at them. "I'm here to tell you that we have a new member on the team. I'm sure you know this person well. She's been in the papers quite a lot actually..."

Azula stepped out on the deck. Some of the men gasped while others cowered before her. Jack himself thought he was going to wet himself. Many of the men were starting to give Shen, 'Are you crazy!' faces along with, 'We're in trouble' faces.

"That's right, men. Here we have the rightful fire lord, princess Azula. Just don't call her that. It's for introductions only. She will help us return the Phoenix King back to his throne while we also eliminate the avatar and the current fire lord. Are we clear on that?"

Everyone nodded immediately.

"Good. Also, Azula's going to be in charge of the 'disciplinary' aspects of our training. Anyone who questions me shall answer to her, and anyone who questions her...well I'm sure you already know what happens when you question the fire lord. Right boys?"

Another fast nod.

"Excellent. Then I'll let you see just one demonstration just so that we all understand each other."

People were starting to shake now and some of the men were starting to inch over towards the end of the ship's deck.

Shen smiled at the fear he was producing. Oh, they don't know the half of it.

"Jonathon, come here."

A slightly lean, skinny soldier appeared before Shen. His legs were shaking badly.

"Yes...sir..."

Shen gave John a mockingly low bow. "You have the honor of dueling fire lord, Azula."

John literally wet his pants right on the spot. "Uh...I...I will happily accept...the...honor...of which...you..."

Shen cut him off and spoke to Azula. "Finish him."

The man started pleading for mercy but Azula pounced on him like a tiger does with its prey. The battle lasted for only about thirty seconds. The men outside the fight couldn't look away, their eyes bugging out due to terror. Some of the men jumped overboard and started swimming away.

Azula stepped back from John in triumph. John was trembling from head to toe now with bruises all over along with a burned leg and arm.

Shen smiled at John and pushed him back towards the group. "So as you can see, I really mean business. This isn't elementary school. This is the real world, and we're not going to beat the avatar when we can barely withstand a simple firebending brawl."

Azula laughed manically as if to further drive in Shen's point. Many of the men flinched at the sound of her voice while others simply glanced at the ocean, seeing if they could make a run for it.

Shen smirked. "There are definitely going to be some changes around here. You can be sure of that..."

Shen smiled as he turned to look at the fire nation royal palace from a distance. Now, if only we could do something about those annoying guards...

oooOOOOoOooo

Aang tried to relax at the dinner table, but his body didn't seem to be listening. His fit in the room did nothing to quiet the energy inside him. In fact, it just made him want to do more then what he had done earlier. And that wasn't good.

Sokka coughed abruptly. "So, Zuko, you had something important you wanted to tell us?"

Zuko stuttered. "Oh, yeah. That's right. I do have something to say."

Toph smirked. "Well we're not getting any younger. Don't hold back on us like you did last time."

Suki and Katara nodded in agreement while Aang just stared at Zuko.

Zuko nodded as he felt sweat coming down his forehead. "Yeah, so...Azula's escaped from prison."

The gasps were heard all around the table as Toph spat out the juice she had began drinking.

"Wow that is big news. And here I thought it was just some boring war meeting."

Zuko shrugged. "Well, there's that to."

Suki sighed. "Well, it least Ty Lee and Mai are on our side this time around. Can you imagine how hard it would be if we had to fight them all together?"

Sokka smiled at his wife. "I don't think that makes the situation any better."

Suki growled as Sokka started gulping down his food again.

Katara rested her head against the palm of her hands.

"So, we just find her and send her back to prison. Doesn't seem too hard."

Zuko stared at Katara incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"We've beaten her before, Zuko. If we can do it, all of our forces combined will surely stop her."

Aang nodded in agreement. He didn't feel like speaking at the moment. He was to focused on trying to keep his power bottled up inside.

Zuko saw Aang's expression and tried to ease the airbender's pain.

"Don't worry, Aang. Judis should be here soon. I'm sure he'll be very happy to help you with this 'dragon' situation."

Aang just nodded again as he clenched his hands against the table.

Zuko sighed as he continued to look at Aang. Normally saying something like that would cause Aang to have a hissy fit considering his feelings for the doctor. Getting silence instead was slightly unnerving.

"So, do you think you're up for another meeting with General Shino?"

Katara scowled at Zuko. "He just wakes up and that's all you have to say to him? To get ready for a meeting?"

Zuko glared at Katara. "Well what else am I supposed to do? This all happened because I was dumb enough to hide this kind of stuff from him, and now you're telling me to go easy on him? How am I supposed to do my job if I can't tell him anything?"

Katara glared back at him. "I'm saying as a friend you should show some more concern for him, not go all 'fire lord' and yell at him!"

Zuko struck the table in frustration. "Do you know how hard it is to worry about fifteen things at the same time? You naive little..."

"It least I have better control over my temper, you overbearing, controlling..."

"Could you both just SHUT UP?"

Katara and Zuko gasped at the sound of Aang's voice. Sokka couldn't help but laugh while Suki stared at Aang strangely. Toph smirked.

Aang growled. "What's so funny? Seriously guys, can't we all just eat in peace?"

Katara looked at Aang then coughed abruptly. "Wow, you...your...voice changed."

Aang gawked at Katara. "My voice did what now?"

Sokka broke out into loud chuckles while Suki smiled at Aang sympathetically. Toph was still smirking.

Zuko stated the obvious. "You're voice got a whole lot deeper."

Aang opened his mouth in shock. "It...it is? You really think so?"

Sokka gulped down his food then laughed loudly. "Ha ha, our Aang is going through puberty, Ha ha ha!"

Toph shrugged. "Or the dragon inside him could be messing with his vocal chords."

Aang shook his head disbelievingly. "I'd rather go with the puberty theory..."

Sokka gave Aang an air high five. "It's about time!"

Zuko smiled. "Man, you're really getting old."

Aang glared at Zuko. "Yeah, that's not funny..."

Katara smiled at him sweetly. "I'm glad to see that you're growing. Maybe soon you'll be taller than me."

Aang stared into Katara's deep eyes. He smiled back lightly. "Yeah..."

Sokka smiled at his sister and Aang. "Well, now that that's settled, let's finish eating before we get to the serious stuff."

Everyone agreed with this and started digging back into their food.

Alright! This took me longer than usual. But I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I was so excited when I wrote this chapter! XD

Last Edit: June 30 2012

I hope you guys enjoyed this! Let me know what you think about Aang's voice change!

Later! :)