Author's Note: This one is slightly AU. Katara wasn't captured when Aang went to see the guru. Instead, she, Toph, and Sokka merely waited for him in some close-by place while he opened his chakras. They haven't arrived at Ba Sing Se yet, nor has Azula, Mai, and Tai Lee infiltrated the Dai Lee. Some other events might be out of place, so be warned!

"You must get rid of all that ties you to this world."

Aang gritted his teeth. "But I don't—"

The guru's kind eyes were sad, but firm. "You must if you want to complete this journey, young Avatar." Rising, he took a few steps back. "I will leave you to contemplate your decision."

As the dark man disappeared silently into the caverns behind him, Aang felt his stomach clench. Too much Onion-Banana juice.

He closed his eyes, once again returning to that place of meditation. Give up Katara? That wouldn't mean he'd lose her completely, right? He'd just be making her less important in his life—a small price to pay in exchange for the power the Avatar State would grant him.

He didn't expect it to hurt so much—but when it was done, he felt lighter, stronger. Harder.

Katara realizes there's something different right away, and she's not sure she likes it. He still smiles at her, jokes around with Sokka, and winces when Toph smacks him for lazing around, but there's a distance between them that she doesn't like. And as the days go by, she realizes that not only can she not breach it, he doesn't want her to.

It scares her to see how far he is from her—Aang, the boy she'd basically raised after he'd emerged from the iceberg, the boy she'd freed, and might have loved.

If it was just a shift in attitude towards her, though, Katara would have cried and moved on. But Aang wasn't just treating her more casually, he was treating life more casually. While he'd been hesitant whenever talk came up about the Firelord, he now spoke with a simple, even, "I'll have to kill him."

He didn't fight it, nor did he seem troubled. In fact, he barely seemed to realize the importance of what he was saying. "It's the only way," he said when Katara finally snapped and yelled at him for being so—apathetic. He looked surprise at her fury. "It's for the good of the world," he said simply.

She didn't want to believe he would actually do it—didn't believe it until she saw the body of the Firelord, his head severed neatly from his body. There was no blood. Aang's hands were clean—theoretically, but Katara knew things would never be the same again.

The next few months were relatively stable, but then, Aang wasn't in complete power then. By the time half-a-year had passed, he was in full control over both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The first thing he did was to execute all of the royal Firenation family.

Katara watched him behead the Firelord's brother, and then his two children. Zuko hadn't screamed, hadn't flinched as the sword came down. Instead, he'd looked straight ahead and the look Katara had seen in his eyes had scared her far more than any cries would have. It was a look of hatred, but peace as well. It said, I was right to pursue the Avatar. I was right to try to catch him and kill him, for look at the monster he has become.

Azula breaks down crying, and the executor has to drag her bodily to the stone block. She tries to fire-bend, but the chains binding her hands to her body prevent her from moving. Katara closes her eyes as the princess' head is forced onto the block and the sword chops down.

Aang is watching the clouds when she looks up again, a perturbed look on his face. He can't even be bothered to watch the people he's killing, Katara thought bitterly, and as the next prisoner came forward—the former King of Ba Sing Se and Aang's childhood friend—she clenched her hands into fists, but doesn't do anything. He's the Avatar, she thought furiously, He must be doing the right thing.

Five years and thousands of executions later, she no longer believes this. Now, she hides in dark shadows with black bandanas over the lower half of her face and nothing but her water-bending to save her if she failed. A child stood on the execution block, eyes wide in terror. An innocent heir of a rebellious noble who'd mounted a coup a couple months back. The little girl had traitor blood, and for Aang, that meant death. What was one small life compared to the safety of his world, anyway? His world. Aang smiled. He liked that.

Katara held the spear carefully, remembering hours of training her body until she was as proficient as any male warrior. She'd have to aim this perfectly, or the child would die, Aang would be alert, and the whole plan would fail.

The Avatar stood up. "The time has come for another execution," he said majestically, and Katara's stomach twisted. "The death of traitors are glorious and honorable!" he called, and she spat.

No more, Aang. She vowed. I won't let you kill anymore.

And when the Avatar finally turned around, she threw the spear, going straight through the executioner and impaling Aang in the shoulder. The boy only had time to look surprised until he lost his balance and fell. By then, the child was gone, and only a misty vapor remained.

I won't let you kill anymore.