I'm sooo happy that I have a Beta…yay! And she's awesome. Thank you KrystalFruit22 for all your help.

I don't own Avatar…ahhh, but if I did.

Pain

The pain screamed through Aang's body, but he could not let Yakone the satisfaction of knowing he was hurt. He stood straight and spoke strongly although his body was in agony. The gang leader had not only blood bent him and threw him around, he'd cracked quite a few bones in the process.

"My grandmother should've killed you and the councilman when she had the chance!" Yakone spat as the metal bending police took him into custody for the second time.

"Wait a minute." the Avatar said to the cops when they began to load the criminal into a buggy, "What do you mean by that?"

"You fool," Yakone said with a smug look on his face, " she escaped when she was still a young woman, do you really think she spent all those years alone?"

Aang's eyes narrowed, "Hama." he said, the name tasting bitter in his mouth.

Yakone smiled, "Yes. Grandmother Hama. I was taught by the best, just like your wife."

"Get that scum out of here!" Toph ordered from behind Aang. He didn't realize that she, Sokka and a few others had caught up to him. She stepped close enough so only he could hear her, "Aang, you need to let a healer see you, you're more banged up than anyone else." She advised. When she realized that he was about to protest she said, "I know you're in pain. At least go home and let Katara take care of it. You've taken his power, he can't hurt us anymore."

He took his old friend's advice and made his way to Appa's stable in the city. He tried not to make it obvious that he was using air bending to cushion his steps and move him along. When Aang got to Appa he slumped into the bison's fur. Appa let out a groan of concern. "I'm okay Buddy," Aang said, "I just need to go home."

.~.

Katara was on the beach showing Tenzin water bending stances when she saw Appa come up over the horizon. She noticed that Aang was slumped over Appa's head and she knew that something was wrong.

"Mother, Father's home early. The trial must of went well." Tenzin said, having read all about the upcoming trial in the newspaper.

"Yes Tenzin." she said, making sure not to let her son see her worry, "Hey, didn't you promise to help Mushi make some fruit pies, I'm sure our dad would love to have one for desert tonight. He can't make them right unless he has an air bender's help."

Tenzin gave a small bow, "Yes Mother. Don't tell, I want it to be a surprise."

She smiled, "I won't." and she waved as he went off to find Mushi. Once he was out of sight, she ran up the hill to where Appa was landing. "Aang! Aang, are you okay?"

"Not really," he grunted, trying not to let on how much he was hurting as he slid down off Appa. He was weak, but he used what strength he had left to cushion his landing. Katara reached him right as his feet touched the ground and scooped in under him, "Oof. I really could use a healing session right now." he remembered his son and looked around, "Where's Tenzin?" He asked.

"I saw you coming and I sent him to help Mushi."

"Good."

She helped him into the house and into their bedroom. She ran into the bathroom and got a basin of water. When she came back he was trying to take his shirt off. Katara pulled it off for him and threw it to the floor before she pulled the water over her hands and began to glide them across his body.

"What in the world happened?", she asked as she read the cracked bones and pulled muscles all over his body, "Who did all of this?"

"Yakone," he said weakly, "He blood bent me…and everyone else."

Katara flinched, "How? How could he blood bend everyone? It's not even a full moon."

Aang didn't want to tell Katara the next thing, but it was sure to be in the newspaper, so he did, "He's Hama's grandson. He's probably been blood bending all his life."

At the mention of the papermaker's name Katara gasped and lost her concentration, dropping the water across Aang's back. He hissed at the shock, "Did you say Hama's grandson?" she asked, drawing the water back over her hands and working on repairing her husband's damaged bones.

"That's what he said. He said that she should've killed me and Sokka when she had the chance."

The mention of her brother's name made her remember about him and his love, "Toph and Sokka, are they okay?"

"They're fine. I got the worse of it, but he didn't get away… Katara, I had to take his bending away."

Katara knew that he hated having to take a person's bending away, "It was for the best, now he can't hurt innocent people anymore."

Aang gritted his teeth as his bones moved into place, "I suppose so. I just hate having to reach into someone's soul to pluck something out."

"You did what had to do." she said bluntly, starting to tend to her husband's pulled muscles. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, so much better." he said, stretching and twisting his body around, "Thank you Sweetie. I can always count on you."

"And don't you forget it." she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek.