A/N: PLEASE READ. I decided to change how long Danny has been with Roku. It's been nine months instead of three, or six, or however long I originally said. And just to specify, Danny has NOT mastered firebending. Normally I don't like putting author's notes before the chapter, but I felt this was necessary.

A Choice

Danny flew over the ocean, hoping he was at least going in the right direction. He thought he remembered the angle from which he and Roku came at the island on Fang, but he could be mistaken. Hell, the angle they arrived at the island could have nothing to do with what direction he had to go to get to the Southern Air Temple.

He'd just have to keep flying, and hope to find land.

Danny looked down at the inky water, his black and white form reflecting thanks to his glowing aura. He'd forgotten how this felt. Back on Roku's island, he was so caught up in the adrenaline, he didn't even notice it. The iciness, chilling to his bones, the cold feel of death-

The power.

God, he missed this.

Danny closed his eyes and enjoyed the old feeling of wind flowing over his body as he sped through the night sky.

Yet, a feeling of guilt began to creep over him.

Almost two years ago, he told himself he would never become Phantom again. Now, he had broken that vow.

And he was enjoying it.

But what choice did he have? Ming was going to die-

Ming.

Joy spread through him as he thought back to that kiss; he flew higher and faster as he basked in that memory. But then he stopped as a feeling dread washed over him. He looked back to the glowing outline of the volcanic island in the distance, smoke billowing from the island and disappearing into the night sky.

Would he ever see her again?

Danny began slowly floating back towards the island, contemplating what to do. Should he go back? Follow the boats; make sure they get to safety? He shook his head, and shot back into the direction he was going at top speed. Roku told him to go to the Southern Air Temple, so that's what he was going to do. Besides, Danny knew he would see her again. After all, she went with Ta Min, so when Roku goes to find her, Danny would go with him and find Ming.

But first he had to get to the Southern Air Temple.

.

.

.

Hours past, and Danny could finally see land in the distance.

Thank God.

Danny was exhausted from flying so far and for so long; not to mention he only got a few hours sleep before being woken up in the middle of the night by a volcano. His flight path was swaying up and down as he went.

His ghost powers also seemed to be sputtering at the over exertion. Danny's powers were like a muscle, and they hadn't been exercised in over a year and a half -and he was beginning to strain himself. After a couple of hours of flying, the white ring formed around his torso, and began spreading before Danny looked down, and willed it to stop. Later, his eyes drooping, the white rings came over him, and he plunged into the cold water.

This woke him up immediately and he went ghost and shot out of the water. He was worried that he wasn't going to make it.

But there was an land up ahead; he didn't have to worry anymore.

Danny approached the beach, about twenty feet up in the air- drifting more than flying- and looked around as he continued to float forwards.

Was he near the Southern Air Temple? There should be mountains ahead if he was.

Danny felt a familiar tingle around his waist. He looked down to see the white halo begin to travel upwards.

"No! No, not now!" He ring went over his head, and he began to fall. "No!" He shouted. Danny flailed his arms wildly, and everything seemed to happen in slow-motion as he fell. He concentrated on turning into his alter ego, even yelling his old trigger phrase,

"I'm going ghost!" But he knew it was of no use as he turned his head down to the ground, allowing his to watch it as it rushed up to hit him.

.

. . .

.

Everything was black.

Danny sat up in the dark, and tried to make sense of his surroundings. But he could see nothing.

He looked down and saw that he was in his ghost form; his glow only lit his own body up, and nothing else. Danny tried to think back to what happened to him, how he could have gotten here.

He was flying towards land, looking for the Southern Air Temple, and then… He couldn't remember.

"Danny." A voice echoed in the darkness. Danny jumped to his feet and looked around for the source.

"Clockwork?" Danny yelled, recognizing the time-master's voice.

"Yes." Clockwork, as a middle aged man, faded into existence in front of him.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"You are dreaming, Danny." He became old. Danny looked around him again. This wasn't like one of his usual dreams. It didn't even feel like a dream at all.

"You fell near a small village on Whale Tale Island. The fall knocked you unconscious."

"Whale Tale Island… How far is that from the Southern Air Temple?" Danny asked.

"Not far. Slightly North East." Clockwork told him. "There will be someone in the village you crashed who can give you proper directions."

"Good. Thanks-" As Danny spoke, he thought of a question he had hoped to ask Clockwork for the past few months. "-Clockwork, do you know why my firebending is so weak?"

Clockwork sighed.

"Yes, Danny. I know exactly why."

"What is it? Is something wrong with me? Can it be fixed?" Danny barraged Clockwork with questions as the ghost became a small child.

"The problem isn't with you, it's with your world." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"To be honest, Danny, I wasn't sure if you would even be able to bend in this world-"

"Wait, What?" Danny snapped. "I thought you knew everything! You 'See all'."

"Exactly. I see everything. Every alternate decisions, every turn of events, change of fates. There are many alternate routes; where you choose to stay behind, where you become a fully realized Avatar, where you can't bend at all; I've seen one or two who are even wizards. Not everything in time is fixed and not everything is certain." Clockwork shifted into a middle-aged man.

"Now, what I was telling you was that due to your world -and thus your people's- weak connection to the spirit world, it was uncertain if you would be able to bend even one element. The weakness of your firebending is likely due to the weak connection and spiritual energy in your world. There was an equal chance that you would or wouldn't be able to bend.

"I didn't tell you this because you would not have put the effort you did in the beginning to start things off. If you had known that there was even the slightest chance you couldn't succeed, then you might not have succeeded at all."

"Okay, that's understandable." Danny said. "But, does this mean that my bending won't get any stronger? That this is as strong as it gets?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Not only that, but it is unlikely- but not impossible- that you will be able to learn more than one bending technique." Clockwork said.

"Oh." Danny sighed and looked to the floor.

"But perhaps only in your human form."

Danny looked up at him.

"Danny, while you are in your ghost form, have you ever felt more connected to the world around you? I know, of course, that you can fly and so you already have a special connection to the air that flows around you, but when you are on the ground, firmly planted to the earth, have you felt every vibration coming at you? Have you ever felt strangely stronger as you bask in the light of the full moon?"

Danny thought back, and when he thought of it, yes he did. He nodded and Clockwork continued.

"That is because, while you are in your ghost form, you are more connected to spiritual energy than anyone in this world has ever been. In your ghost form, you could be more powerful than the Avatar could ever be outside the Avatar state."

"Woah…" Danny said, satisfied and amazed with Clockwork's answer. He paused for a minute before realizing that everything they've talked about was something he wanted to know.

"So why are you here?"

"I've come to you with a choice." Clockwork said as be became an old man. "Now that you know there is little chance of learning any other element, you can either continue to try and learn the elements- with little hope of success- or move on to help the next Avatar win the war."

"What!" Danny yelled, eyes flashing a brighter green as green flames sprouted in the darkness around them, angry that Clockwork would ask him to leave. "I'm staying here! Why is this even in question?" He couldn't leave this time period, he liked it here. He knew people here. Roku was here, Ming was here…

"I'm not even sure if I want to move on at all, Clockwork. This- what you've given me here- is great. I haven't felt this way since- well since the Nasty Burger-"

"You agreed to help the people of this world. By coming with me, and by being put into another world, you put me in charge of your fate. Whether or not you help the next Avatar is not in question. The question is when.

"If you do choose to stay, you will only stay until you either master all the elements, or until you learn you cannot."

"And I can't go now! Roku hasn't even finished teaching me firebending."

The old ghost closed his eyes.

"Roku can no longer train you."

"What!" Danny shouted again, flames growing larger. "You can't do that Clockwork! You can't- "

"Avatar Roku is dead." Clockwork said, becoming a small child again. All the flames extinguished and Danny stumbled backwards.

"W-what… No, he can't be." Danny held back tears.

"The eruption was too much. Firelord Sozin came to help, but ended up betraying him. He allowed Roku to suffocated and be buried in ash."

"No… You're wrong! He's the Avatar! He can handle a volcano!" Danny closed his eyes and clenched his fist.

"Danny, he's gone."

He almost turned around. He almost went back.

"I could have helped him. I could have saved him." Danny fell to his knees and a tear streamed down his cheek. "I'm as much to blame as Sozin."

"No, Danny. You are not. You can't think like that." Clockwork said; and he was right of course. But Danny couldn't hear him over the rage that began to build up inside of him.

Flames began to rise around them again.

Danny opened his furious eyes and looked up to Clockwork.

"You did it again." He got up to his feet. "You did this to me again!" Danny lunged at Clockwork, who disappeared just as Danny reached him.

Danny fell to the ground, and pounded the floor.

"Choose, Danny." Clockwork's body-less voice echoed through Danny's dream.

Danny's answer seemed obvious.

"I choose to stay!" Danny shouted into the Abyss.

.

. . .

.

"I choose to stay!" Danny yelled as he woke, sitting up in a bed, covered in cold sweat.

Danny was panting as he looked around him. He was in a wooden room, the bed he was in next to a window that showed a small town. He could see the sun was beginning to lower in the sky.

A balding man in green robes peaked his head into the room.

"Hello!" He said, startling Danny.

"I, uh, found you passed out on the side of the road this morning. None of us here recognized you, so we thought you must be a traveler, and we decided to give you some hospitality."

Danny wiped his forehead with his arm.

"Thank you."

"No problem. I heard a shout, are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Just a bad dream?"

"Yeah," Danny said, putting his face in his hands; feeling that his cheeks were wet from tears. "A really bad dream."

A/N: Next chapter should be going up soon.

But if you review, it will go up even faster!

So, I've got a new title. "Not the End of Me." You like it? Based it off the song in the Pan trailer. "This is not the end of me, this is the beginning." Damn that's a catchy song. Great, now it's stuck in my head. Go check out the Pan trailer if you don't know what I'm talking about.

By the way, should I be putting a disclaimer? I used to for all my stories, but I really don't think it's that necessary. Isn't it kind of obvious I don't own DP or ATLA? And I'm not making any money off this. *shrugs*