Thank you for all the reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter
"Sakura what are you doing?" Katara yelled getting everyone's attention including Zuko who saw his sister coming from behind where the avatar was.
Zuko remembered that he had blocked her chakra; she wouldn't stand a chance against his sister the way she was.
"I'm not letting you do that!" Sakura screamed heading towards Azula
Azula was about to aim her flames at Sakura when the pinkette was knocked to the side; her body smashing into the rocks and rolling; the right side of the upper half of her back from her shoulder blade and a part of her neck was burned.
By Zuko's flames.
Zuko looked on wide eyed and gaping as he glanced down at his own hands wondering what exactly he just did.
Zuko shot out of bed; sweat dripping down his face as he panted heavily trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. That dream...that dream of the worst memory ever. Even after all this time he still had it every night. He remembered everything; every vivid detail of what he had done. Sakura's wails and screams filled his ears as he saw her on the ground.
He brought his hand up to the scarred side of his face, the rough skin. He knew the excruciating pain of getting burned and he had done it to someone else; he caused someone else to feel his pain.
Zuko shook his head reminding himself of what Azula might've done if Sakura had faced her given the condition she was in. He knew how to block her chakra because he remembered when he went in to see her at the medical centre and she explained to him the exact positions to hit in order to block the flow of energy.
He looked around; metal walls with red interior of the Fire Nation decorating the room. Then he remembered exactly where he was. He was on a ship; heading back home after conquering Ba Sing Se. He was going home after so long at last...home to see his father; the man who he so desperately wanted to approve of him and the man who scarred him for life.
Flames
That's all she could see.
Flames forming around her; no way out; there was nothing she could do to escape them. It was becoming difficult to breath. She put her hand over her mouth and coughed. Nothing but pure darkness and the flame dancing around it; she felt as though the air was being sucked out of her. She looked for a way to escape but there was none.
The flames were getting closer to her; caging her in. There was no escape.
"HELP" she screamed "Someone help me!"
She couldn't run.
They were coming closer.
Feeling warmer
They were going to scorch her entire body!
"PLEASE SOMEONE"
Then she saw him.
A figure breaking through the flames; she stared in relief at the sight.
Jet black hair; dark eyes; stoic expression.
"Sasuke!" she cried in relief running towards him; her arms wrapping around him tightly.
"Sakura..."
"Sasuke!" she cried out "I knew it; I knew you'd come back! I-
She screamed when she felt a pain running along her shoulder; she pulled away and saw that Sasuke's form began to morph into someone else. His jet black hair grew and became lighter; his eyes changed to gold and the side of his face became scarred. Her eyes widened as terror gripped her being as she attempted to pull away before it was too late.
However it already was.
He wrapped his hands around her neck blocking off her air; she was unable to breath. She struggled but it was useless; she couldn't move.
'NOOOOO'
"NOOOOOOO" Sakura screamed shooting up from under the red covers of her bed; her screaming caught the attention of Katara who came rushing into the room quickly with a worried expression.
"Sakura calm down it was just a dream!" the waterbender tried to sooth her quickly; after all the last time the pinkette had gone into such hysterics she nearly punched a hole in the side of the ship-luckily it wasn't the outside or they would've sunk.
"You're okay." Katara said wrapping her arms around Sakura; it usually took her a bit before she came to her senses.
Sakura blinked several times as she panted heavily "K-Katara?"
"I'm here"
The pinkette gripped Katara tightly, not strong enough to hurt but enough to make someone understand that she was terrified.
"The same nightmare?" Katara asked gently soothing her hair
Sakura nodded, feeling her mouth run dry as she attempted to calm her breathing. Katara offered Sakura a glass of water that was always left at her bedside (after all the screaming she usually did; she needed it)
"I'm sorry." Sakura muttered rubbing her eyes and sniffing softly
"Stop apologising." Katara said frowning "You're always apologising to us."
"I know but ever since I woke up I've been having these troublesome nightmares."
"It's not your fault; you don't have to be sorry."
Sakura had been out cold for a solid week, during that time they had come across Katara and Sokka's father as well as the other water tribe men at Chameleon Bay; it wasn't long before they ran into Fire Nation ships that were obviously heading to Ba Sing Se; the earth king had left them wanting to travel the world, so he'd set off with his pet bear. They had captured a single ship and made it their disguise; they had also run into a couple of their allies on the way back, like two members of the Freedom Fighters that Long Shot and Smellerbee was a part of lead by Jet. When Sakura woke up she was a little more than surprised when she saw all of the Fire Nation insignias decorating the walls. Luckily her friends were there to clear up the situation for her.
"But I am sorry." Sakura said softly, her hair falling over her shoulder having grown quite a bit, she hadn't bothered to cut it. "So, so sorry."
"Sakura..."
What Katara didn't know was that Sakura wasn't just apologising for keeping her friends up some nights when she had these night terrors, she was apologising for not telling them about Zuko (despite not knowing his identity); for giving Aang that advice to let go and open the seventh chakra gate, for not making it to him in time and saving him and worst of all, for not changing the future of this world. Despite everything Chronos had told her, she was still unable to change anything. She felt like she was just speeding up the destruction to this world! She felt so ashamed.
The only right thing she was able to do at the time was manage to save Aang from the afterlife, but he had been unconscious for weeks now and that worried her. She and Katara did what they could to make sure Aang was out of any danger during his healing processes but it was still heart breaking to see him like that.
'Compared to his condition I'm...'
"I'm okay now Katara," Sakura said pulling away and heading towards the wash room. She heard Katara's footsteps leave the room.
Sakura entered the wash room; she went to the sink and splashed her face a couple of times to wake herself up because there was no way she was falling asleep again. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and winced, her skin was paler than usual, her eyes had bags under them, her lips were cracked, her clothes were in tatters.
Her hand gently reached for the side of her neck before running down her shoulder to the side of her arm where her top exposed her skin, there her skin felt rough, bumpy and hard like sandpaper; it was a horrible red colour tinge with brown and pink. Sakura had passed out before she could heal herself and Katara wasn't able to heal her in time to prevent the scar.
It hurt to look at it every time, she hadn't allowed anyone to touch her there-Sokka and Toph have tried at least once. This scar reminded her of her failure-of her mistake. It would forever be there as a reminder of that day. She had tried to go against fate and failed. She would fix it though, she promised she would.
'Even if it means...
CRASH
Sakura jumped when she heard a loud bang coming outside the room. She rushed out of the bathroom; grabbed a cloak to cover her before exiting her room. She heard some voices yelling 'stop' and ran up to the top of the deck where everyone else was gathered around a certain figure that Katara was hugging
"AANG." Sakura gasped rushing over to the young monk, she gave him a quick embrace though was still mindful of his injuries. Looking at Aang now his body wrapped up in the bandages she had replaced on him two days ago and he had a thin patch of hair on his head.
"Sakura?" Aang asked unsurely, having just woken up he sounded a bit groggy and out of it. He must've had a bad reaction to waking up on a Fire Nation ship and assumed the worst. Of course she didn't think he would consider his friends being disguised as Fire Nation.
'It's amazing he hasn't passed out again though...'
Instead of saying that though she simply smiled with relief on her face "You're finally awake."
Sokka came up to him in Fire Nation armour "Aang good to see you back with the living buddy."
Aang rubbed his eyes "Sokka?"
They watched as the airbender started swaying before Toph yelled for someone to catch him as he passed out. Luckily both Katara and Sakura were there to break his fall.
"Figures." Sakura muttered softly
Slipping on his clothes knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night Zuko went out onto the deck. He looked up at the sky but saw no starts only the full moon surrounded by darkness.
"Looking up at the stars always help clear my mind because it makes realise how insignificant our problems really are and allows us to face them."
Not this time though.
His mind was plagued with worry, after he and his sister conquered Ba Sing Se, Zuko didn't feel much for celebrating. He had betrayed his uncle but Azula corrected him in saying that it was the other way around-yet he still felt shame. He would have to face his father soon; every time he thought about it caused a sickening twist in his gut like he was going to be sick. This was a man who disregarded his very existence. He thought everything would be settled for him once he turned his back on those trying to lead him on another path that would take him far from home but now he wasn't so sure what he had done was the right decision.
Right now for Zuko he'd rather be up there than down here forced to deal with his problems and face them. He rubbed his eyes...there had to be something-anything that would make this aching feeling stop.
"Aren't you cold?" he heard Mai's voice and turned around to see the girl walking towards him
"I've got a lot of my mind." He said "It's been so long; over three years since I was home; I wonder what's changed; I wonder how I've changed."
Mai yawned "I just asked if you were cold; I didn't ask for your whole life story."
Sakura would never make that kind of statement like Mai, she would never act like she didn't care, she wouldn't have ignored his problems, when she saw that something was bothering him, she'd always have him confess what it was (even when he didn't want to) that was just the kind of person she was. At times it irritated him but now that he didn't have that anymore...
He turned away from her but felt a hand on his cheek as Mai turned him around.
"Stop worrying."
She kissed him.
And in for that short moment; he forgot about everything; about his worries; his troubles; his actions; he forgot her...
Nothing mattered.
When Aang woke up again he was eager to have the many questions swimming around in his head answered. He asked, why they were on a Fire Nation ship, why everyone was dressed in red and why he was the only one who had no idea what was going on.
"Aang relax." Sakura said
"She's right, you need to take it easy, you got hurt pretty bad." Katara then smield at him "I like you hair."
"I HAVE HAIR?"
Aang felt the top of his head "How long was I out?"
"A few weeks." Sakura responded
Then Katara and Sakura's father Hakoda appeared; he was a middle aged man with the same dark skin as his children, he had blue eyes and dark brown hair.
"Everything okay?"
Katara frowned and turned away from her father "We're fine dad."
He held out his hand to Aang "I'm Hakoda, Katara and Sokka's father."
Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder and spoke in a hostile tone "He knows who you are, I just called you dad didn't I?"
"I guess you're right..." Hakoda replied
Sakura and Aang could sense the tension here but despite that Aang held out his hand for the water tribe man "Nice to officially meet you chief Hakoda."
"It's an honour to meet you." He said taking Aang's hand
"Great, great now you two have met so would you mind giving us some privacy?" Katara snapped
"Of course." Hakoda said before moving over to Appa
"Are you mad at your dad or something?" Aang asked
Katara looked at him confused "What? No, why would you think that?"
'Oh I don't know, just hunch?' Sakura thought, she had noticed that Katara's behaviour towards her father had been somewhat hostile and not all that welcoming. She had been so excited when she found out they would be able to see him but now she was acting like...that.
Aang groaned gripping his torso
"Come on, you need a healing session." Katara instructed helping Aang up before turning to the pinkette "You wanna come with Sakura?"
She nodded softly.
Sakura watched while Katara healed Aang, she had done most of the healing yesterday, the girls decided to work together in shifts to heal him faster. There was a visible burn wound on his back that had been very troubling for them to heal; it had been where Azula's lightning made direct contact. Katara told Aang to inform her where his pain felt most intense; she said she could feel a lot of twisted up energy in that part; when Katara attempted to draw out that energy Aang seemed to come to a sudden realisation.
"I didn't just get hurt did I?" he asked holding his head "It was worse than that, I was gone but...you two brought me back."
Katara shrugged "I just used the spirit water from the north pole and Sakura used her healing; I'm not sure what we did."
"You saved me." Aang turned to them
Sakura let out a breath feeling forehead drip down her head, the room they were in was rather heated.
"Sakura, you can take off the cloak you know...
Katara stopped when she saw the expression on the pinkette's face and her smile dropped.
"What is it?" Aang asked when he noticed Sakura take a few steps back from them.
Sakura sighed and looked at Katara who stared at her with sympathetic eyes. Looking at Aang Sakura sighed and slowly opened the part of her robe to show him the scar. Aang's eyes widened when he saw it.
"How did this happen?" Aang asked standing up
"When we were fighting." explained Katara looking at Sakura "She tried to stop Azula from hitting you-
"So she did this?" he asked clenching his fists angrily
"No" Sakura said lowering her head
"It was Zuko."
Aang's face turned red when he thought about the Fire Nation prince.
"This is all my fault..."
Sakura glared up at Aang "No it isn't. I was the one who wasn't paying attention to things and I paid the price. I was the one who didn't stop Azula from hurting you."
She knew Aang wouldn't understand why she was saying these things, but she knew, she was warned about the future and yet when she discovered Zuko's identity she had assumed that he wasn't going to follow down the path to that set destiny. She made that mistake, no one else. Though this was also a really loud wakeup call for her, she promised to no longer become sidetracked.
Another thing she realised was this, Aang had died; he had been killed in the avatar state meaning-
'I can't go home anymore'
"If I'm killed in the avatar state, I won't be brought back. Avatars have a reincarnation cycle; it goes water, earth, fire, air and then repeats itself."
Yes, she realised it, Aang had been killed in the avatar state and because of that he wouldn't be able to send her home anymore but that was the least of her problems. She knew she was focused on getting home because of that she allowed herself to think she was changing fate; she thought Zuko was an ally, she thought she could save Aang, she thought she was fixing things but she wasn't. She was too blind to see that it was going to take a lot more to change everything. Chronos had warned her that she was either going to stop the destruction of this world or speed it up. While she yearned to see home again now more than ever given everything that happened, she knew she had created circumstances that she had to solve.
'I'll do whatever it takes to save this world.' Sakura promised herself
Aang went over to her and Katara and the three shared a hug for comfort before pulling back.
"It's over now; the best thing to do is figure out what's next." Aang said
"Actually we've already got that covered." Katara said smiling "But we'll talk more about it tomorrow; you need to go rest."
Aang said goodnight to Sakura before Katara helped him out.
The next morning at breakfast Sokka told Aang what had been going on for the past few weeks while he was out cold. He explained to him that they had flown back to Chameleon Bay after Ba Sing Se was conquered and ran into Katara and Sokka's father and the other water tribe men. The earth king had gone on his own with his bear to travel the world. He then told Aang about how they had captured a Fire Nation ship and made it their disguise when they were swarming towards the city.
Sokka showed him a map "Since then we've been travelling west; we crossed through the serpents pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships but none of bothered us."
Aang looked away from the bowl of food in his hand "So what now?"
"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakoda said
"It's Sokka's invasion plan." Katara snapped at her father before taking a bite out of her food.
Sakura look at Katara softly; Sakura tried confronting Katara about it she just brushed it off saying that the pinkette was just imagining things. But those glares were no one's imagination.
"Yes Sokka's plan...We won't be able to mount a full scale invasion without the earth kings armies but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."
Sokka then told Aang that they were planning a smaller invasion with just a group of their friends and allies around the earth kingdom.
"And the best part is the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage." Sokka said with a grin before whispering to him "We have a secret...you"
"Me?" Aang asked in confusion
"Yep; the whole world thinks you're dead." Sokka said with a big smile "Isn't that great?"
Sakura face palmed and shook her head; Sokka may be a great strategist-he reminded her of Shikamaru in a way only Shikamaru didn't have the bad sense of humour and sarcasm.
"Sokka you should really learn to get to the punch line before you celebrate." Sakura said
Aang stood up "The world thinks I'm dead? How is that great news? That's terrible"
"No it's great." Sokka said walking over to Aang "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore and it also means they won't be expecting you on the day of black sun."
Aang shook his head "No; you have no idea. This is so messed up."
Then they heard the sound of another Fire Nation ship that was heading their way. Aang got out his glider.
"I'll handle this; the avatar is back"
However due to his injuries Aang couldn't contain his grunt of pain he felt on his side. Katara was the one to remind him that they didn't know the group wasn't Fire nation.
"Everyone just stay calm; Bato and I will handle this." Said Hakoda
Everyone else started to make the ship look a little less like it was carrying imposters; by hiding Appa and ducking down below deck to make sure they weren't spotted.
The ship stopped and soon three real Fire Nation troops walked on board.
"Commander why are you off course? All Western ships are supposed to be heading towards Ba Sing Se to secure the occupation."
"Actually we're from the Eastern fleet; we have orders to deliver some cargo." Lied Hakoda
"Well nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way."
"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect" said Bato
"I mean how hard is it to send a messenger hawk?"
"Next time we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message."
But then one of the two guards with the commander whispered to him "Sir Admiral Chan has been on leave for two weeks on Ember island."
"What why doesn't anyone tell me these things? Something's not right. I think this is a captured ship...we'll wait till we're safely on board and then we'll sink it."
Luckily thanks to Toph's sharp hearing she was able to warn the rest of them "THEY KNOW"
Toph sent the three Fire Nation troops over the ramp into the water and Katara split the two ships up so that they could make their escape.
After three long years Zuko had finally been able to return home; he was in the palace now. After it was announced to the entire nation that he had returned having helped Azula secure Ba Sing Se. He was now considered a hero amongst them. Yet; he still had to face his father and he was anxious.
He was sitting in the large garden of the palace near the water hole; this was where his mother would take him to feed the turtle ducks before she vanished. After that he had stopped coming to this part of the palace for the memory; he had stopped feeding the turtle ducks.
'Until...'
Sakura smiled at Zuko placing a piece of bread in his hands "Okay this time, don't chuck it please?"
With a soft sigh he broke off a few pieces and threw them into the water "I take it I'm also not supposed to yell at you right?"
Sakura laughed softly sitting down beside him at the water's edge, the first time she brought him here he had been in a really bad mood-more than usual and had completely lost his temper with her, turned out though that's what Sakura wanted him to do, let out his frustrations even if it meant on her.
"Depends; how are you feeling?"
He grunted in response before tossing another piece of bread in the water watching as the turtle ducks ate them.
Sakura placed her head on his shoulder before throwing a piece of her bread into the water; she smiled as she watched the ducks gather around, two adults and some babies.
"Same huh?" she said gently caressing his hand "It must be difficult to handle yourself."
"What I'd like to know is how you can handle me." Zuko said without really thinking; though he was curious about it, she was able to handle him to an extent only his uncle had been able to. At some point even he couldn't take it.
"It's easy actually, to handle yourself use your head, to handle others use your heart. I only learned that after a I lost someone important to me" Sakura told him; her eyes seemed unfocused and she appeared to drift somewhere else before coming back
"What I would like to know though is why you're always pulling a face whenever we come here. It's away from the city but you seem to get extra 'angsty'."
"It's nothing." Zuko muttered
"That's a lie." Sakura stated back clearing her hands of bread crumbs "You get triggered whenever we come here, does this remind you of something you'd rather forget?"
Zuko ran a hand through his hair "If I say yes will you stop interrogating me?"
Sakura nodded.
He took a breath "My mother...she use to take me to feed the turtle ducks."
Emerald green eyes softened "Your mom's gone...isn't she?"
Zuko kept his head down; he felt arms wrap around his shoulders a familiar warmth filled him. "I don't need your pity."
"It's not pity." Sakura stated hugging him still "It's called empathy. Your past is a touchy subject, I get that but don't let it steal your present or future..."
He felt his heart begin to beat faster; this girl was really something out of this world.
Zuko lightly tossed the bread into the pond watching as they ate it before swimming away as Azula appeared.
"You seem so downcast; has Maigotten to you already?" the Fire nation princess asked her brother before smirking "Though actually Maihas been in a strangely good mood lately."
"I haven't seen dad yet; I haven't seen him since I was banished." Zuko said frowning
"So?"
Zuko frowned at his sister's carless attitude; he'd thought she would at least understand his worry "So I didn't capture the avatar."
"What does it matter; the avatar is dead." Azula said but then she caught sight of something in Zuko's face and being a woman who has always trusted her intuition she was certain something was wrong "Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived?"
Zuko recalled what Katara had said to him back in Ba Sing Se when they were both captured and imprisoned together. At first; all the water tribe girl could do was scowl and scream at him for all his past actions he had been willing to finally leave behind but then they had a moment of empathy when the topic of losing their mother's the Fire Nation came up. Things had settled between the two after that and then Katara mentioned the spirit water from the North Pole. She had intended to use it to attempt to heal his scar but that's when Aang, his uncle and Sakura appeared. He wondered if it was possible that she...
"No; there's no way he could've survived."
The siblings stared at one another for a few seconds that seemed longer before Azula pulled back.
"Well then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."
He wasn't so sure anymore.
Flaming rocks came at the ship as they tried to get away; Toph was earth bending rocks that Sakura loaded in front of her at the ship trying to get them to stop their attacks while Katara prevented the ship from sinking by using her water bending to seal any holes the other ship would cause.
"I'm gonna give us some cover!" Katara yelled before water bending some mist around them; but the ship continued its attacks even while blind and it was having some good luck hitting their ammo.
"I can't just stand by and do nothing." Aang said running outside.
"Aang no" Sokka said running up to him and grabbing his staff "You're still hurt and you have to stay a secret; just let us handle this."
"Fine" Aang said upset as he stomped off
The mist cleared and the two ships were still neck in neck with each other; they suffered another hit on the ship starting a fire that Katara luckily put out.
"How are we doing?" asked Toph holding onto the edge of the boat.
"Things couldn't get much worse" Sokka commented
Just after he said that the sea serpent the gaang had come across on their way to Ba Sing Se submerged from the water right behind Sokka.
"The universe just loves proving me wrong doesn't it?"
"You make it too easy." Sakura commented back glaring at the sea monster; she bet Chronos was laughing behind that mask of his watching their misfortune.
The sea serpent was hit by their enemy ship and in retaliation went for the other ship and attacked it, giving them a chance to escape.
"Thank you the universe." Sokka said
"Yes thank you." Sakura sighed in relief.
Later that night the ship was docked Sakura; Katara; Toph and Sokka went out into town to go and get dinner; they had tried coaxing Aang to come along but when they said he had to cover his forehead so no one would see his arrow he said he didn't want to go. Then Katara stayed to chat with him and told Sakura that Aang was really upset about this whole 'being dead' thing. Now they were back on the ship carrying their food and Aang's.
"He said that he always knew he would have to face the Fire Lord but that he had to do it on his own." Katara said sadly
"You have to try to understand this is difficult for him to deal with." Sakura said softly "He probably feels like he let the world down again by making them believe his dead AGAIN. He saw how he had become the hope of so many people and now that was being taken away from them. He can't help it if he is upset over this. He probably feels guilty more than anything else. Just give him some time. He'll come to realise he isn't alone."
"You know Sakura you give a lot of good advice." Katara said smiling
Too bad she couldn't take her own.
Sakura shrugged "Well you learn from experience...I use to be one who was filled with nothing but empty words though. Speaking of advice Katara what's been going on with you and your dad?"
Katara looked at her surprised "What are you talking about? Nothing-
"I can tell that's a lie even if you won't admit it." Sakura said cutting her off "You're snapping at him for no good reason or at least for a reason he doesn't know. You need to be honest and upfront with him if you expect anything to get better. You think bottling up your feelings will make everything alright? It won't. Trust me."
Katara looked down at the floor sadly "It's just I don't understand...I-I'm upset because he's here; after all this time when he left us. He just comes back like this. He just left us and...and-
Katara started crying; she crouched down putting the tray on the ground "What am I supposed to say to him Sakura? Why did you leave us dad? Why didn't you stay with us?"
Sakura put her hand on Katara's shoulder "That's exactly what you should say to him; Katara. If you want him to understand how you really feel."
They arrived at Aang's door, Sakura knocked on it but there was no reply; Katara went ahead and opened the door.
"Hey Aang we brought you some food."
But as they looked around they realised he wasn't there. Sakura and Katara began to panic when they saw his glider wasn't there either.
Aang was gone.
"Oh no!"
Katara went running out quickly while Sakura just stared at the empty room with a heavy heart "Oh Aang."
Sakura found Toph and Sokka and told them that Aang was missing, first thing that they did was check every room in the ship though Sakura was pretty sure Aang wasn't even on the ship anymore. After that they found Katara talking with her father (Sakura guessed that she took her advice and talked to him given the tears she wiped away) , she rushed over to them when they came out.
"We can't find him anywhere on the ship." Sokka said worriedly
Sakura frowned "He's probably heading to the Fire Nation."
"Why would you think that?" asked Toph "He has to stay a secret."
Katara explained to them that Aang had been really upset about the world thinking he was gone and about the invasion plan. She told them that he believed he had to face the Fire Lord alone, that he didn't want their help anymore.
"He's letting his feelings of guilt and shame cloud his judgement." Sakura stated crossing her arms over her chest
Hakoda came up to the gaang "We'll set a course for the Fire Nation-
"No" Sokka interjected "We've been here before, they have blockades and if they discover we're not Fire Nation it's over."
"Well that what do we do?" asked Toph
Sokka seemed to be thinking before he nodded to himself "We'll go, me, Katara, Sakura and Toph will go on Appa and find Aang. Dad, you and everyone else have to stick to the plan and find everyone around the earth kingdom for the invasion."
"Wait what?" asked Katara looking back and forth
"It's the only way," Sokka said "This way we won't fall behind; it's the only logical option."
Sakura nodded "I agree with you on that. We can meet up with everyone on the day of the eclipse."
Hakoda smiled "Sounds like a plan."
Sokka turned to everyone "Okay, you guys get ready to go on Appa; I'm going to go over some things with my dad before we head out."
They were setting off on Appa within the hour after Sokka finished giving his father further instructions on where to find their allies and some blue prints for designs he had come up with that were going to help them invade the Fire Nation; unfortunately the weather was not on their side a huge storm started just as they left, the wind blew the rain that beat against their skin heavily, lightning struck forcing them to stay just above sea level of course the waves weren't very generous either.
"I've never hated flying as much as I do right now!" Toph said holding her stomach "Sokka can't you make the ride a little less bumpy?"
"Oh would you like to take the wheel!?" Sokka yelled over the wind that carried most of his voice away
Katara frowned at them "Would you two stop; we need to find Aang!"
"I'm really worried, he's gotta be caught in this storm!" Sakura exclaimed
"All the more reason to hurry!" Toph yelled
"Katara what does the map say!?" Sokka yelled
"I'm not sure, I can't exactly see clearly in this weather!"
Sakura realised that even if they knew where Aang was headed, finding him wasn't going to be any easier. He couldn't have gotten very far with this weather but unless they knew his exact location...Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated, letting the world around her fade, the sounds of the storm and her friend's voices vanishing.
'Chronos'
When Sakura opened her eyes again, she found herself back at the place where she first met the spirit; she looked around and saw Chronos hovering near the tree of destiny. She calmly walked over to the spirit.
"Chronos," she greeted
"How unexpected of you to show up." he said "What could you possibly want?"
"I need to know where Aang is." Sakura said not bothering to beat around the bush "I need you to help me find him."
"I am not at liberty to do such-
"Just tell me if there's a way to find him." Sakura said cutting him off
Chronos was silent for a few minutes while Sakura continued to stare at him unwavering. "Well?"
"There is a way." Chronos concluded reaching a slender hand out for Sakura's but stopping a few millimetres away, the string of fate appeared. "If you tangle the strings of fate; the bond between you and the avatar will strengthened and you will be able to find him wherever he may be."
"Then do it." Sakura said
"It's not that simple." Chronos interjected gesturing to the branch where she and her friend's strings were tied. There were so many of them; all of the people that they had each met. The strings extended further through the tree to other strings.
"By doing this your neatly tied string of fate will become tangled with the people of this world."
Sakura rolled her eyes "I get it okay, just do it already!"
"While there are no consequences for those in this world, there will be for you." Chronos warned
Narrowing her eyes Sakura angrily stomped her foot on the ground; she was not going to let doubt cloud her mind right now. Not when her friend was at stake. With having her heart broken, being unable to stop a world fated to doom and unable to return to her world; she doubted she had anything else to lose.
"Whatever they are, I can deal with them later!" Sakura said strongly "I just want to find my friend!"
Chronos let out a small noise that sounded like a sigh of defeat "Very well..."
"Sakura!"
"Sakura wake up!"
The pinkette's eyes snapped open to see her friend looking at her with worried expressions; she moved closer to Appa's head and narrowed her eyes looking through the darkness of the stormy night.
"Not that way Sokka." She pointed straight and then a little to the side "Go that way."
"What?"
"Trust me." Sakura said, continuing to stare out into the distance. "He's there."
No one could really argue against Sakura because it wasn't as if they knew exactly where Aang would be. They flew through the night, following Sakura's directions without saying anything until finally the storm cleared, the sun rose and the Fire Nation was in clear sight. Getting through the blockade had been easy enough given that the storm provided cover. With her continued guidance, the group soon saw a black island shaped like a crescent coming into view with a volcano (rather fitting).
"I don't see anything" Katara said looking around
Sakura pointed down towards the shore "Over there."
Everyone gasped when they spotted Aang lying near the water unconscious; they were so engrossed with finding him that they didn't question how Sakura knew where he was.
Momo flew over to him and started licking his face which seemed to wake him up. After landing Appa in the water Katara ran up to him embracing him and the rest of the group joined in shortly after everyone filled with relief.
Aang smiled as he pulled away from them "I have so much to do."
"I know but you'll have our help." Katara said
"You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation did you?" asked Toph
"What about the invasion?"
"Well join up with my dad and the invasion force on the day of the eclipse." Sokka reassured him
Sakura smiled "We're all in this together right?"
Toph then felt something wash up on the beach and reached out for it "Hey what's..." she grabbed it and realised what it was "Oh it's your glider."
It had defiantly seen better days giving it was basically a stick now.
"It's okay." Aang said taking it from Toph "If someone saw this it would give away my identity, it's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."
"So you had to run away to realise that?" Sakura asked jokingly earning a light smack at the back of the head from Katara. Sakura was curious about exactly what had really enlightened Aang.
Aang jumped further up to the volcano and stuck the remaining staff into the ground before returning to his friends. They all washed as the volcano's lava caused it to set on fire and burst into flames.
Sakura took a breath; Aang had clearly found some resolve for that short time he was gone.
And was relieved because from this point on; none of them could afford to waver.
AND THAT'S THE END OF THAT. Fair warning it might be a while before I add another chapter because I have to start writing it. My university Orientation is this week and next week and then I'm only going to have one week free before I go which means; expect very few updates but still expect them.
Okay, bye for now everyone!
Don't forget to review-the more I read, the more I write, the sooner I update.