Hi, oh dear readers! 'Tis the next chapter of The Avatar Rebels. Are you guys ready?
KingRock980: Thanks for the compliments! :) I'm glad you are enjoying the story, and about Aang and Zuko's complicated relationship, the fact that he hates Zuko and the rest of the Gaang will definitely complicate things in later chapters. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!
prettyshon10: Yup, that was the two-parter! I wasn't planning on making it a two-parter, but I kind of got tired of waiting to write Azula's plot. So, you got a longer chapter. The reason I updated soon is because I have been off on a week-long break. If I'm not done with this during summer break, you'll continue to get fast updates. Lastly, I shall tell you my AMV task. Would you like to make a trailer for this story? Let me know! :)
Mz topsy turvy: Awesome, you reviewed again! It's a good thing you can make it through cliffhangers, 'cause I love writing them. Also, I'm really glad you liked the fight scene. I honestly find it hard to write them, so the fact that you thought it was awesome made my night. Thanks for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own A: TLA. Seriously, nothing has changed since last week.
Now, on with the show, er, story.
His breaking point was coming. Aang knew that while he still had some of his sanity in tact, he wouldn't hold out. Aang was slipping, and it was only a matter of time before he fell.
How long had the boy been here? Not even he was sure. He didn't even know where "here" was. All he knew was that for an amount of time, he'd been here in his cell, rotting away. It wasn't his body that was rotting away, though. It was his mind.
The visions were almost constant. Even when Aang wasn't having visions, there was still a distant throbbing in the back of his head. It was only rare moments like these where he could sit and reflect, but then the more painful throbbing and the visions would take over once more. The pauses between visions were the only thing keeping him sane.
However, the pauses between visions were becoming less and less frequent, and a lot shorter. With every mere second that passed the gap was growing smaller. Aang's fear of losing the breaks between visions only made them go away faster. If only Aang knew that, maybe he would've tried to calm down. Then again, even if he knew, he probably couldn't have calmed himself.
Even though deep down he knew it was unreasonable, Aang was becoming extremely paranoid. It wasn't too bad, but while the breaks between visions were becoming less frequent, Aang's paranoid thoughts were becoming more frequent. It was almost impossible to calm down when he was paranoid all the time.
Yes, Aang reflected as he stood chained between two pillars, I really am going mad. In his slightly unstable mind, Aang's situation seemed quite funny.
And so, mad cackles filled the air, but this time, they weren't Azula's.
A forlorn Team Avatar was currently residing at Zuko's palace. It had been a long, tiring journey, but they had finally made it, and were greeted by Uncle Iroh with open arms. Mai was happy to see them too, of course, but she kept her excitement on the inside, as was usual.
Toph was lying idly on the couch, while Zuko and Iroh played a game of pai-sho, Sokka and Mai watching. Katara had tried to watch the two play, but she couldn't seem to make herself focus on the game. She was still trying to process what had happened to her over the past few weeks. The whole thing had been overwhelming her.
Yes, a bleak, gloomy silence had fallen over the group. Aside from a cordial "hello," scarcely a word was said. Everyone found it hard to speak and interrupt the silence. It was like they didn't want to be happy. They just wanted to sit and process all that had happened.
Aang, Katara thought miserably, he's gone.
Mai and Iroh had known something was wrong almost as soon as the Gaang had gotten back the day before. However, when Team Avatar didn't speak a word of the events that occurred, they didn't press. They did know it had something to do with Aang. Why else would the airbender not have returned?
Now, Mai and Iroh had a choice. They could either ask what had happened, or let Team Avatar sit and brood in silence. With a look at Iroh, Mai knew what the plan was.
"You know, guys, you haven't told us what happened yet. How did it go?" Mai began.
"Well, we found-" Sokka cut himself off. It was like saying Aang's name would set off a bomb.
"-the Rebel base," Sokka finished awkwardly.
"Did you, now? And did you manage to find Aang?" Iroh was quick to get to the point.
"Yeah, we did," Zuko responded, sounding just as awkward as Sokka.
"I see, and how was he?"
"Uncle," Zuko sighed, "can we talk about this later?"
"No," was Mai's flat reply. Zuko was about to retort that he wasn't talking to her, but one look at his girlfriend's annoyed expression advised him otherwise.
"I am a friend of Aang's as well, so I believe I have the right to know whether he is safe or not, and if he isn't, what happened to him," said Iroh.
"It's a long story…" Zuko trailed off.
"It was a long wait for you to return," Iroh responded.
"It's difficult for us to talk about," Sokka tried to come up with another excuse.
"It's difficult for us to not know what happened," Mai replied.
"Oh, let's just get this over with and tell them already!" Toph interrupted the four.
Feng had heard the boy's cackling, and he was yet again overcome with the strong desire to bash himself on the head over and over again. This is all my fault, Feng couldn't let the thought go, and the guilt that accompanied the thought caused many nightmares to haunt the hypnotist throughout his sleeping hours.
Aang rarely ever spoke to Feng anymore, or anyone for that matter. All he ever uttered to anyone was, "Go...away…" Other than this small statement, Aang merely gave any people who visited him mistrustful looks. Sometimes, these looks were hateful glares, but other times, the looks Feng and others received were looks of pure, terrified fear.
At least the boy was still sane. Sure, he was letting out mad laughter now, but having dealt with people who had gone insane from hypnotism before, Feng could tell that Aang was still very much a rational thinker, even if he'd lost a little of his sanity. Feng could still see logic and reasoning within the looks that Aang sent him. The boy was not too far gone.
So, why was Aang currently locked up at the moment? Azula had given up hope of controlling the Avatar as soon as she discovered that he was going mad. However, the damage had already been done. Aang already had fake beliefs about being Azula's slave for life, and those beliefs were at conflict with the other two sets of beliefs that Aang had. The result was a boy being slowly driven mad. This was why the boy was now trapped in a cell. Azula was happy anyway, as she'd at least gotten revenge on the Avatar. She now forced the rest of the Dai Li to stay with her as she tried to conspire another plan to get revenge on the Rebels, namely Admiral Khon.
Feng decided to go check up on the Avatar. As he walked to the airbender's cell, a feeling of dread overtook him. He hated seeing Aang like this. The boy used to be so bright and full of life, but now he seemed so...lost. Feng hesitantly opened the door to the room, wincing at the sight before him.
Aang was bald again. Before she'd given up on him, Azula had wanted the boy's head shaved. This was to be sure that everyone knew the Avatar was finally under her control. There were burn marks all over the boy's back, and an old wound in his back seemed to have been reopened. The scars were marks of the torturing Azula now put Aang through on an almost daily basis. The boy was frail, as skinny as a toothpick. Blood surrounded the boy's thin figure, more marks of Azula's torturing.
When Aang noticed that he was no longer alone, he muttered the same statement that he'd found himself saying a lot lately, "Go…'way…" Aang didn't even look up to see who it was.
"I only came to see how you were doing," Feng told the boy. All the hypnotist received in response was a glare.
"Please, Aang, I'm a friend," Feng pressed. He desperately wanted Aang to trust him again. The monk could not continue to have the paranoid thoughts that Feng knew he was having, and in order to get rid of them, Aang would have to trust someone. It was probably most beneficial for him to trust Feng, as the hypnotist would be able to help him through his paranoid thoughts and painful visions more than anyone else could.
"Away…" Aang persisted.
"Aang, all I want to do is help you," Feng assured the boy, but it did no good.
He just wants me to trust him, and then...BAM! He'll stab me in the back, Aang found it hard to trust anyone at the moment, especially Feng, the man who had betrayed him.
"Please, Aang, let me help you," Feng would not give up on Aang.
"GO AWAY!" Aang finally snapped. Feng took a step back in shock. Sighing, he cast one last glance at Aang before slowly exiting the cell.
Iroh and Mai now knew why Team Avatar found it so hard to speak. They themselves could hardly speak a word after only hearing the news. They couldn't imagine how hard it must be for the people who had actually experienced the events.
"So now you know," Zuko sighed, leaning back in his chair. It had been an exhausting, horrible journey, and merely talking about it tired the firelord.
"I-I'm so sorry. How are you?" Iroh asked, directing his question to Katara. He knew that Katara must be taking this harder than the rest of them combined. Not only that, but the waterbender hadn't made a sound since arriving at the palace.
"I'm fine," Katara said quietly, still not in the mood to talk.
"I know this must be hard," Iroh sympathized gently.
"I told you. I'm fine," Katara informed the Jasmine Dragon owner.
"No, you're not," Mai said bluntly.
Katara was about to protest, but all the hardships that she had faced were catching up to her, and the fact that all her energy seemed to be drained didn't help her hold back.
It started with a single tear, and then a waterfall was cascading down her cheeks, splashing against the floor. Sob after violent sob fought their way up her throat and out her eyes. Silently, the other occupants of the room moved to comfort the bawling girl. Even Toph was willing to place a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Told you," Mai offered Katara a small smile, hoping to lighten the mood, but Katara was still crying as much as before.
"Come on, Katara, please don't cry," Zuko begged. However, it is a little known fact that when you tell someone not to cry, it doesn't help at all. It actually helps to let it out. Iroh pointed this out to his nephew, and then there was no noise, as Zuko, Iroh, Mai, Toph, and Sokka all silently comforted the obviously hurting Watertribe girl.
Night had fallen, and everyone had gone to their rooms for the night, all except for Katara and Sokka. Sokka was watching Katara sadly as she gazed at the night sky in silence from the balcony of the palace. After her tearful outburst, she had gone up to the balcony and hadn't come down since. Everyone was worried about her, but they'd all agreed to leave the girl alone for now. She needed time to sort things out.
Sokka, however, knew that as much as his sister needed to sort things out, she also needed sleep. He had taken it upon himself to talk Katara in to going to bed.
"Katara, we're all going to bed now," said Sokka gently.
Katara sighed, "Sokka, I'd rather just stay out here for now."
"Look, you need your sleep."
"Aang Aang needs me!" Katara growled, but she instantly regretted it. Sokka had only been trying to help, afterall.
"Sorry, Sokka," Katara spoke softly, as if it had taken all her effort to say those few words.
"It's fine. I understand. I've been through a lot, too. I can't imagine how you must be feeling," Sokka felt so sorry for his sister. He hadn't seen her behave this way ever before. When their mother had died, she had stepped up and taken charge, but now it was like she couldn't find a reason to do anything.
"How are you feeling?" Sokka tried asking her.
"Like a part of me is missing," Katara replied bitterly. She tried to keep from exploding in emotion again, but it was hard. All of her feelings were bubbling up to the surface, ready to be let out.
"I miss Aang, too. He was like my brother, you know," Sokka sighed as he thought back to his adventures with the Avatar.
"Yeah, I know," Katara murmured, still gazing up at the night sky.
"Remember when it was just you, me, and him? We were practically raising that kid at the start of our journey!" Sokka smiled, reminiscing about those times.
Katara chuckled for the first time since they escaped the Rebels, "I remember. He was quite the childish goofball back then. In fact, I can still see some of his inner goofball shine through today."
"He's done some pretty silly things," Sokka agreed.
As if on cue, the two siblings yelled, "PENGUIN!" They burst out laughing.
"Yeah, Aang sure is something," Sokka said, wiping a laughter-induced tear from his eye.
"I just wish he still had all those memories," Katara said, turning to Sokka.
Sokka frowned. "Katara," he said, "we will get Aang back. You have to believe that."
"I don't know, Sokka. To think that after all the times I reassured Aang, it would be me who felt lost without him."
"And I'm sure Aang feels just as lost as you do." Katara sighed, still unsure.
"Look, Katara, I know it's hard, but you have to stay strong. Aang needs you, and we all hate seeing you like this. Also, I'm sure that if Aang saw you now, he'd probably blame himself for how upset you are and feel terrible. You need to stay strong, strong for you, strong for us, and strong for Aang."
Katara thought about what Sokka had said. What really struck her was the part about Aang seeing her so depressed. She remembered how hard it was for her to see him upset about his visions, and then realized that Aang would feel just the same way if he saw her now. Katara decided that for once in his life, Sokka was right.
"Okay, Sokka, I give in. I'll go get some sleep!" Katara groaned, pretending to pout. As she left, Katara sent Sokka a smirk, and the Water Tribe warrior knew that Katara was telling him in sibling language, "You're right, and thank you." Sokka smiled, knowing his sister would be okay.
Well, what do you think? Do you think I portrayed what Aang is going through, and what do you think of how I portrayed Katara and Sokka's sibling bond? Let me know in a review! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASE!