A/N: I am so sorry this took so long! The last few weeks of school, were absolutely insane. Plus, in that time, I also took a trip to Disney World so I was just incredibly busy even though that is really no excuse. I hope you enjoy this chapter though, I am actually quite happy with it! God bless!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or its characters.

"So," Katara drawled, looking to her right where Aang dutifully trudged along beside her, "What do we do now?"

"I don't really know."

Stormy eyes looked down at the ash covered stone sadly, "Well, what is the Avatar supposed to do?"

Aang paused when she asked that question, hands meeting behind his back as he turned once more to look back upon the scene she had just rescued him from moments before. Bones and remains were scattered everywhere due to his loss of power, the cave walls completely gone now and instead replaced with open space. He shivered, the amount of things he could do, caused him to recoil with fear.

"I don't know, Katara," His words were quiet as they turned their backs on the meditation space left in shambles, both reciting parting prayers within their minds as they forged distance between the makeshift grave and themselves, "I've only known for a short while that this is who I am, I don't really have a clue on what I am supposed to do."

Katara nodded sympathetically before turning her gaze to the corridor in front of them.

"The monks told me about the room of statues though," He looked at her sideways, silver eyes turning hopeful, "Did you find anything in there that could be helpful after I left?"

The young airbender sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry. All that I found was statues."

Aang released a frustrated sigh, "Figures. Even the monks had no idea what the path of the Avatar should be."

"Hey," Katara reminded him softly, wrapping a hand around his elbow and stopping him momentarily, "Don't speak of them that way. They just paid a price that wasn't their's to pay."

Her words quieted him, the weight of them laying heavily across his shoulders as he looked down at her with an apologetic gaze, "I know. I'm just frustrated. I have never felt so lost and confused in my life."

Katara gave the young man a small smile, "That makes two of us."

Before Aang could begin walking again though, Katara held him back once more, the pale moonlight gracing across her curious features, "Aang, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The young man looked down at her with regret, knowing that she was going to ask that question at some point given the past occurence she had witnessed.
She had every right to ask. Here he was, at fault for the death of her people, and he didn't even have the courage to tell her of his identity until it was absolutely necessary. What he had done wasn't fair to her. It was as if she was traveling with some random stranger whom she didn't even know the story behind.

"I was scared," He admitted softly, his gaze escaping her own and looking pointedly at the ground. His feet shifted nervously after silence followed his confession, their quiet breathing being the only sound that could be heard within the walls of the temple. A few moments later though, came her gentle reply.

"Why?" The question was bathed in genuine curiosity, her tone completely void of the anger he was expecting.

"It was all my fault."

Katara scoffed at his answer, arms crossing over her chest as she gave him a dubious glance, "Aang, you had plenty of time before the comet occurred to tell me. That's why I'm asking."

The Avatar slowly lifted his gaze, regret evident on his features along with hesitance, "I just didn't want you to treat me any differently."

"What? Why would I do that?" Katara asked quietly, taken a back by the palpable fear within his words, "Aang, Avatar or not, you're still Aang. Surely you know that. You have been the Avatar your entire life, just because you know of your power now doesn't make you a completely different person."

"That's not how they saw it over here," Aang admitted, glancing out the window that lay on the wall beside them, his eyes drifting upwards to the moon as the pain and isolation he had felt a mere week before surfaced once again, "They all acted so strange. No one would talk to me anymore. I couldn't figure out if it was out of respect or fear."

Katara's heart clenched when she recognized the actual hurt within Aang's words. He genuinely thought that she was going to react in the same fashion. Though she felt as though she should be offended that he would write her off as no better than his general group of friends, she resisted the urge to lash out at him. That was the last thing either of them needed.

"Aang," She called him out of his reverie gently, her words quiet yet truthful, "You and I have been friends for years. I consider you to be my best friend, one as close as family. Please, don't ever be scared to tell me something, especially something as big as this. It's you and I now, and in order to make this work, we need to be completely honest with each other. No secrets."

The Avatar smiled softly at her passionate insistence, "Alright, no more secrets."

"Good."

It was Aang's turn to stop her as she began to walk down the hall again, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Thank you, Katara."

The girl smiled as she looked up at him, "You don't really have anything to thank me for. It was because of you that we escaped the attack on the Western Air Temple."

A cloud of regret covered Aang's face once again, but Katara was quick to reassure him, "The attacks that had absolutely nothing to do with you."

"Katara - "

"No," She pulled herself from his arms and gave him a stern look, silver eyes glaring directly at him, "If we are going to continue on, you have to make me another promise."

Aang sighed, "Alright, what would that be?"

"You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened."

"But - "

"No."

The young man released another sigh of resignation, "Alright, no more." Though he had said the words, Aang knew the feeling within him would never fully go away, but seeing the satisfied grin on Katara's face made it worth pretending as though a little of his guilt had fled from him in that moment.

They walked back to the room of statues in silence, both shivering as the cold night air seeped its way into the stone structure. Without even thinking, Aang wrapped a warm arm around Katara and pulled her to his side to protect her from the chill. A grateful smile was his reward in return.

When they reentered the room, they were met with a most unusual sight. A lemur among a large pile of fruit.

"Momo?"

The little creature looked up at the sound of his new name escaping the lips of the Avatar, an excited chirp bubbling its way from its throat as it showed off the large pile of fruit it had brought the young airbenders.

Aang laughed at the sight, realizing that after his bought of rage, Momo must have ran off to find something to offer to him to quell his anger.

Katara looked up at Aang curiously, "You two know each other?"

Momo rushed up to the Avatar and excitedly raced up to perch itself on his shoulder, causing Katara to take a hurried step back, "Yeah, we kind of met before you came and found me."

The girl hesitantly gazed at the large eyed lemur before gently reaching up to scratch its ears, "Well he's definitely a hyper, little thing."

"They all are," Aang remarked before his features darkened, eyes gazing sadly at the creature currently purring on his shoulders, "Or more like they all were."

Katara looked up at Aang with hurt in her eyes, "You mean he's the only one left?"

The Avatar could only nod.

They sat down and passed around the fruit for awhile, neither of them really knowing what to say over the loud chattering of Momo as he fluttered between the two airbenders, distributing the food.

"I hope you don't mind another traveler coming along with us."

Katara giggled quietly as she reached over to scratch the lemur on the head once again, "Of course not. The more the merrier."

Aang smiled as he watched her gently handle the animal, getting him to finally settle down within the confines of her lap.

"I'm thinking we should probably look for some extra robes around here before we head out again."

The girl looked up at his words, brows furrowing, "Where are we going from here?"

"I don't know."

"Well then don't you think we should avoid Air Nomad clothes that are going to give away our identity?"

Aang opened his mouth to argue, but in all honesty, she was right, "That probably would be best."

"Alright then," Katara looked at him pensively, "So where do we go from here?"

The Avatar sighed heavily, looking up at the statues that surrounded them. He guessed he knew exactly what he needed to do from here, but the real question was, could he do it.

"The legend says that the Avatar must master all four elements," He remarked meaningfully, gazing up into the cold, stone eyes of Roku.

"And you have already mastered air," Katara smiled as the moon grazed over the top of the boy's powder blue tattoos, "So that leaves you with water, earth, and fire."

"Then what?"

"Then I guess you are a fully realized Avatar."

Aang shook his head, "No, I know that," His gaze returned to her own, a deep curiosity finding its way into his silver stare, "I just mean, what am I working towards. Why become a fully realized Avatar when we could just run forever?"

"That's not how it's supposed to be, Aang."

"I know," The boy admitted, gazing down at his lap, "I just think what you are implying is a bit impossible."

"What am I implying?"

"That I become a fully realized Avatar," Aang mumbled, "Then go on to defeat the Fire Nation."

Katara's brows furrowed even deeper at his words, "I never implied that. But that is what people would expect the Avatar to do."

"People think the Avatar is dead," Aang reasoned with her, "What difference would it make if I just disappeared?"

"Can you really do that after what the Fire Nation did to our people?"

Her question wasn't demanding, or stern, it was filled with genuine curiosity and maybe even a bit of hurt. Here he was, the most powerful being in the world supposedly, and he was too chicken to go up against a nation that had destroyed everything he had ever known and everyone he had ever loved.

Almost everyone, he reminded himself while glancing up at Katara who was expectantly awaiting his answer. No, he couldn't just run away from this. He owed this to her. He owed this to the world. He couldn't just sit around while more people fell victim to the horribly, tyrannical Fire Nation. He had to do something. And he could do something.

"No," Aang answered her, a new fire awaking within his eyes, a new found destiny instilling its way into his mind, "I couldn't do that."

"So then, where do we go from here?"

Standing from his sitting position on the ground, the young man reached out a hand to help his companion up.

"To the South Pole."