Hi, readers! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Sorry for the later than normal updates. I'm so lazy! Don't worry, I won't ever give up on this child (yes, this is like a child) of mine! By the way, AN AVATAR CHRISTMAS CAROL IS NOT ABANDONED! IT'S JUST ON HIATUS UNTIL I FINISH THIS STORY! I just want to focus on this right now.
KingKey980: Good, I'm not loopy. I thought I might've overdosed on fandoms again. *sighs in relief* Anyhow, thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
Mz topsy turvy: YES! I CAME UP WITH THE WORD! HOORAY! Okay, deep breaths. Yes, I do know what I'm doing. Who says Aang'll be okay? He might be...or will he? *evil laughter* Thanks for reviewing!
Jokermask: Thanks! Your stories are pretty good too!
Avatarlover123: Thanks! I was trying to give off the feeling of unease in the last chapter. Tell me what you think of this one, because I'm not really sure about it. Bye!
kira97: You've been sitting in a corner for three weeks? Must've been feels. You poor thing, you. *pats your back sympathetically* Thanks!
squek squek: Glad I didn't kill you with another cliffie! :) Well, thanks for the compliments. I worry sometimes about writing scenes where not much happens, and your compliment makes me feel better. Bye!
Danyella413: Awe...THANKS! You seriously have made me so happy right now. I can't believe you like this that much. Yes, my spelling needs some work, but I'm glad you're enjoying this! See ya!
Avatarelements03: S-sorry for the cliffie. :) I can't help it. That's just how I end things. Thanks, and as for other A:TLA stories, that depends on if I get inspired. What's a good story without inspiration? If you have a request for a story, let me know! Bye!
prettyshon10: I thought it was about time to explain things in the story, so I'm glad I managed to clear a few things up! Just to let you know, this story is slowly but surely coming to the end (I've finally got it all planned out!), and because of that, I'm slowly building up towards the climax. That will hopefully make things more interesting. Bye! :)
Disclaimer: Hold on...let me check…nope! Still don't own A:TLA! :( WHY?
Katara gulped as she stood before the door to Aang's room. This was it. Now that Aang was finally back where he belonged, it was time to help him. All Katara was supposed to do at the moment was talk to Aang and gain his trust. It couldn't be that hard...could it?
She hadn't been nervous earlier, but now that the time had come, she couldn't help but be a little on edge. She didn't know how exactly Aang had changed. He could be a completely new person, for all she knew. He might be exactly the opposite of what he once was. Katara was afraid that she might not be able to treat Aang the same. After all, he'd changed. How was she supposed to act around him now?
But, Katara wasn't considered a "preachy crybaby who gave over emotional speeches about hope all the time" for nothing. The Water Tribe girl was full of hope, and she had enough of it to spare. This, perhaps, was what drew Aang to her in the first place.
Now full of resolve, Katara opened the wooden door, breathing deeply.
The room was relatively peaceful. It had a bed in the corner, with a wooden drawer at its side and a candle perched on top of it. It was about the size of an average room, and held no identifying characteristics. The only thing that made it stand out was, actually, not a thing, but a boy. A boy with gray eyes, no hair, and a blue arrow on his head. The boy that was currently wide awake and staring at Katara with piercing eyes, in fact. It was Aang.
The waterbender gulped, "Er, hello."
Aang didn't even blink.
Katara bit her lip, "Can you tell me your name?" This was a test to see how much Aang would tell Katara.
Aang stared at her for what seemed like hours, before finally saying, "You know my name."
Katara wasn't sure if this was a good sign or a bad sign. Tentatively, she asked, "Oh...so you know who I am?"
Aang frowned slightly and said, "Maybe."
"What do you mean, 'maybe'?"
Aang opened his mouth, as if to say something, before promptly closing again. He was carefully appraising Katara, noting everything she did, and Katara almost felt as though he was reading her thoughts. It was quite eerie. She'd never seen Aang like this before. Even at the Rebel Camp, there'd been, dare she say the overused term, a spark in his eyes. He had a spark of curiosity, a spark of life and happiness. It was a spark of childlike innocence. That spark was completely missing now, and his eyes were orbs of gray dullness.
"Maybe - it means possibly, might, perhaps…" Aang finally said, rather dryly. Katara raised an eyebrow. Aang was hilarious, no doubt, but sarcasm was not at all in his vocabulary. At least, he used to not be that way.
"I know what the word means," said Katara, and if it had anyone else, she would've rolled her eyes, "but I want to know how you might know me. You either know who I am, or you don't...right?"
"Normally, that would be true."
"But it isn't true now. Explain."
Aang still refused to answer the question, choosing instead to stare at the flickering candle on the drawer.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me now," Katara finally gave up, "but is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
Aang stared at her once more, and yet again she felt as if he could tell exactly what she was thinking. At last, he said something she wasn't expecting at all, "I'm hungry."
"O-okay," stuttered a very baffled Katara, "I'll go ask one of the servants to make you something. Bye."
Just before she turned around to leave, however, she managed to spot a brief emotion flicker in his eyes, and a tensing of his body. She blinked, and it was gone. No matter, she'd still talk to him about it.
"Is something wrong?" she questioned.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Aang replied dismissively.
"You can tell me if anything's bothering you," Katara informed the young monk gently.
"Really, nothing's wrong. Actually, I'm not very hungry anymore," Aaing insisted.
"Come on, you were hungry two seconds ago. What happened?"
"I lost my appetite."
"No, I don't think you did. Just tell me what's wrong."
"It's fine. Nothing's wrong, so don't worry. You can go now," the finality in Aang's tone left no room for debate.
"Well, alright, but I'm still making you something to eat," it was Katara's turn to leave no room for debate.
"Okay...but just so you know, I'm a vegetarian."
I know, Katara thought miserably as she exited the room. She was supposed to be excited at the prospect of having Aang back, but she couldn't help but wonder...did they really have Aang back at all?
Despite how much he protested, Aang really did have a problem, not that he'd ever tell Yet-To-Determine-Her-Real-Name that.
So, what was his problem? Well, no matter where he was, Aang was extremely paranoid. He couldn't be entirely sure if someone was on his side or not. He couldn't be sure if someone was plotting to torture him or starve him or slash him with a burning hot whip….
Aang decided not to dwell on those memories. Still, the paranoia wouldn't go away, and Aang, no matter how silly it might've sounded to him in the past, wasn't sure that these people wouldn't poison his food. How could he trust them not to slip anything in it? You could never be too sure, after all. In Aang's somewhat damaged mind, it made perfect sense. Only a small part of him protested that this was highly illogical.
Azula never poisoned my food, and she hated me! Aang tried to assure himself.
But that doesn't mean these people won't decide to just finish you off already and get it over with, another part of his brain protested.
Aang gulped. That could be true...
Sweating nervously, Aang closed his eyes and lay back in his bed as he awaited his food, wondering what he could expect from these new people.
"How is he?" asked a very concerned Feng as he and Team Avatar gathered in Zuko's living quarters.
Katara sighed, "Different. Very different."
"How so?" Zuko demanded at once, the other members of the Gaang looking just as anxious. They were afraid of what exactly changed in their friend. Was he the same goofball they all knew and loved? Was he still in there?
"Well, for starters, he's extremely paranoid. When I brought him his fruit pie, I swear he thought we'd poisoned it or something! I wasn't even able to coax him into eating it. He had to convince himself. That's another change. He won't ever tell you what's going through his mind. He just ignores it if you ask him."
"The first one is to be expected," said Feng, "with three minds, it's hard to trust anyone. As for the second change, I'm not sure. That might be his Rebel side shining through, but I don't know. We'll have to learn more. Anything else?"
"Sorry, no, but that's because I didn't talk to him for very long."
Sokka frowned, "So how are we supposed to help him now?"
"Get him to trust me. If you can do that, I can heal him. Understood?"
"Hey! I wanna help out with healing Twinkletoes!" Toph protested indignantly.
"You don't have any experience in these matters," Feng told her calmly.
"So? That doesn't mean we can't help!" Toph wasn't about to back down from her argument. How could she stand by and do nothing, when one of her friends was suffering from something like this?! Could she really be expected to just sit around and not even attempt to help Aang? That just wasn't an option in Toph's book.
"What Toph means is," Katara stepped in hurriedly, "we're willing to get Aang to trust you, but we still want to help with the actual healing. There will have to be something we can do. Even if we don't have experience, you can tell us what to do."
"I'm still not quite sure," Feng muttered. Team Avatar might mess up the healing process.
"Come on, Aang's our friend, and we've waited long enough to help him!" Sokka announced, no trace of the usual comedy in his voice.
That statement really hit home with Feng. He looked around at the three people surrounding him. Their faces had a hard, resolute expression. In their eyes, Feng could make out determination, a willingness to do whatever it took, and above all, worry. Feng felt terrible. Aang was these people's closest friend, and he was Katara's boyfriend. Aang meant something to each of them. Seeing him go from remembering them, to thinking he was a Rebel, and now to - to this must have been hard for them. They'd watched him go through so much, and they'd been unable to do anything about it. Now, they finally had the chance to help Aang heal, and Feng was denying them that opportunity. Feng now saw the unfairness of it all. These people, Team Avatar, deserved to help Aang more than anyone else.
"Okay, okay. You can help, but first of all, you've got to get Aang on my side. Are we clear?"
All of Team Avatar nodded.
"How do we that?" asked Zuko.
"Gain his trust," Feng said simply, "When he comes to value your opinion, start to tell him he can trust me."
Again, Team Avatar nodded. They were tired of waiting. They wanted Aang back, and they wanted him back now.
Well? How was it? Sorry for the late updates, and for the filler. Bleh...I'm just lazy. Also, in case you missed it, An Avatar Christmas Carol is on hiatus until this story is finished. Bye! Review, please! :)