Appa swung his tail and swept half a dozen enemies into the water as Suki and Sokka leaped off to join the battle. Suki swept in, following her most recent training, hitting pressure points along the arms of attackers and stopping their movement. Wow, that was really useful. The sky became dark for a moment, looking up a large fireball was falling towards them. Suddenly it exploded in place, ashes sprinkling down upon them, Zuko and Iroh had their back. As another ship went to dock ice spikes rose up from the depths, lifting the ships straight up. Katara and Pakku had returned.

"We can't stop them all, we will join the fight here." Pakku said as the slid across the snow.

"We will not fall!" Hakoda yelled out triumphantly as they ran forward to meet the oncoming troops from the now stranded ship.

Aang threw his hands out to his side making the water burst from it's whip state into pure water, but the water benders had control, turning it to ice and shooting darts at him. Aang blew some off course and dodged the fireballs that other crew members sent at him. This was bad, he could take out the fire benders, but the water benders were different, he had never fought one like this before, let alone ten. He only had one choice. He was quickly being surrounded.

"Goodbye Avatar." The leader said.

Aang's eyes and tattoo's glowed, the fireballs and ice spikes that were about to fall on his head didn't matter, a blast of air surrounded his, blasting it away from him. He started spinning the arms fast. He lifted up first, a tornado beneath him, knocking everyone off balance, he moved his arms faster and the ship started lifting beneath them, a tornado enveloping them. "I told you to leave in peace." He said. "Now you have no choice but to leave." He said, continuing to lift them up. The water benders shot water at him from all angles, but the Avatar was ready, whipping an arm out and turning it to vapor with a blast of heat. They lifted further and further into the sky, the water not following. He pushed the ship away from the south pole, the freighter beginning to spin slowly in the windstorm. He leaned forward, keeping them airborne, launching them away from the south pole.

On the shore the battle came to a halt as more and more people saw the giant ship floating into the air. Swords were drawn and ships were slowing. The main ship was down, the rest were retreating or surrendering. A cheer of victory escaped the water tribe, but one was not cheering. Katara's eyes watched the ship spiraling out of sight. She would have to face him again now. She pulled out the medallion, which had a new weight to it, possibly tied to her heart. Tears slowly fell down her eyes. She still didn't have an answer, what was she going to do.

Aang kept them spiraling towards the shore, he knew where to put them. He lifted them up higher, spinning over land, a forest below them, being blown by the intense wind storm. He found a mountain, pushing them higher and higher until he found a chasm big enough. He released the ship, and watched as it fell into the chasm. He landed on a rock and looked down, magnifying his voice when he spoke.

"I never want to see you near the Fire Nation or the South Pole again!" He said, opening his glider and taking off into the air. Now the journey back home. Home…did he even have one? He felt tears sliding down his face. He couldn't see Katara right now, not if she was just going to give him an I don't know. There was nothing more he could do at the South Pole, he needed to find his place somewhere else.

A banquet was being thrown for excitement, the only thing missing was Aang, the feast had already started though, Sokka being starved. "Anyone seen Aang?" He asked with a mouthful. Toph laughed. "I've never seen him." Everyone else followed with a laugh. It was almost nightfall now, and he still hadn't been seen, no one knew how far he went, must have had something to do though. Sokka walked over to Appa, who was laying down looking at the stack of vegetables he hadn't eaten.

"Hey boy, wanna go back to your igloo?" Sokka asked, finishing the biscuit he was eating. The bison roared with approval as the young water tribesman started walking with the air bender's partner.

Bedisa slowly looked over the crowd, finding the newly crowned Fire Lord sitting at a table aside from the rest, he was looking out into the distance. His uncle was a good ways away from him, chatting with Kanna. She took a deep breath and walked over. She was trembling, she couldn't do this…he must hate her. She took a long breath and started forward again, the blue of the dress still feeling weird. She was closer now, but he wasn't looking. Maybe that is what helped her, another few feet, that's all it was. She took a few more steps. She was in speaking range now.

"Zuko…" She said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She had to try again, she had to know. She stepped forward a few feet, she was close now. "Zuko." She said. The young fire bender turned to look at her and his mouth fell open, his eyes widening.

"Mom?"

Aang put his glider away, wiping his eyes, this would be the last time he would see the South Pole, for who knew how long. He had used cloud cover to slip in unnoticed. He had written a letter to Katara, planning on leaving it in Appa's igloo so that it could be found and given to her. This plan went awry when he saw Sokka with his bison. "Aang, what's going on?" Sokka said running over, looking worried. "Where've you been, we've been worried sick?" He said. Aang had a flat expression on his face, and the bison walked over to him. "Since you're here Sokka, give this to your sister." Aang said, handing him the letter and mounting the bison. He was about to take off when Sokka grabbed him. "You're leaving? We just got here!" He said aggressively. "You don't understand, don't try too, I'm just leaving." He said. Sokka grabbed him more firmly. "No, you aren't." Aang twisted his hand and blasted the water tribesman off the buffalo. "Goodbye Sokka." He said, before commanding the bison into the night sky.

Zuko stared at his mother, unable to move. She was here…at the South Pole. That couldn't…that wasn't…no.

"I know you may not want to see me…but I had to tell you I was here. Alive, and I had to know that you were alive." He leapt up and embraced her, tears falling down his cheeks. "Mom. I've missed you. So much." He said as his mother held him in return. "What's going on? Why are you here?" He asked her, pulling away reluctantly to look at her. She took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I was living in an Earth Kingdom town when the fire nation attacked ironically. I met a water tribesman named Bato and he said there was safety in the South Pole so I came with him. They accepted me here, and even though it's cold…it's pleasant." He hugged her again, more tears falling down his face, and more from hers.

"You can come home mom, with me, or whenever you want. I've missed you."

Katara was sitting with her family, all except Sokka who hadn't returned yet. She was smiling, her father telling the story of how he'd met their mother, noting the spot on the back of his head that still had a lump because of Bato. Her grandmother's kind smile was the light of the table. She had missed her grandmother so much, this was wonderful. The woman's face fell when she looked away from the group in the fire light. Katara turned to find why her grandmother was no longer amused. Sokka was walking towards them, snow on his shoulders and some on his head, a heavy look on his face. Katara walked over and he held out the letter. "It's from Aang." He told her. "He's gone."

Silence engulfed them all, Katara was shaking as she took the letter from him. He was…gone. She took a deep breath, sorrow filling her, showing as rage. "Why didn't you stop him?" She said, leaping up and walking towards Sokka heavily. He caught her hands when she raised them. "Katara, I tried! He blew clean off of Appa." He said, his voice getting quiet as he let go of her hands, looking down. "I'm sorry Katara, I tried." He said. She walked away from the group, unable to speak, unrolling the parchment. His handwriting was sloppy, the page marked by tear stains.

Katara

I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I understand that you need time to accept and think over things. I will give you that time, but I can't be here while you look over at me in confusion and wonder what will happen. It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision. I may be back, but I don't know, for now, I have to say goodbye.

Aang

More tears slid down her face, heavier and faster then before. She fell onto her knees, dropping the letter and wrapping her arms around her chest. She couldn't control the sobs escaping her. He was gone, after everything they had fought for, everything they had been through, he was gone, and no one knew where he was. She closed her eyes and willed it all to go away as she cried in the snow, under the moonless night.