Aang looked at Katara and sighed. She was trying to leave with Zuko to find the man who killed her mother, for petty revenge. He understood, he really did, but somehow they refused to see where he was coming from. It had him on edge. Her anger wasn't blinding, like it had been with the sandbenders and Aang. Katara's anger was focused, and poised to kill. Aang knew if she went through with it, she would never be the same. He was trying to calm her down best he knew how, saying,

"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two- headed rat-viper; while you watch your enemy go down, you get poisoned yourself."

Zuko scoffed at that.

"That's cute, but this isn't air temple preschool. It's the real world. She needs this closure."

They refused to understand. No, they chose not to listen. Air temple preschool. That crossed a line Aang didn't know he had. Aang felt something deep within him, dark and ugly, snap. His voice went colder then he knew it could go.

"Yeah, of course it isn't air temple pre-school. Because your people wiped them all out."

Zuko looked taken aback, while Katara and Sokka looked at him in surprise. Zuko opened his mouth, probably to defend himself, but Aang had had enough of all of them. It was too much; he had thought he had let go of his grief when he unlocked his chakras, but that was all surface energy, surface sorrow; his resolve to remain peaceful was unwavering, but his pain had stayed. This hurt was something more raw then that. Deeper. Aang spoke, his voice low and venomous.

"You don't think I know what loss is, Katara? You lost what, a mother? A few village people, perhaps?"

Katara looked enraged at that, but Aang cut her off. Some part of him knew what he was saying was wrong, unnecesarilly mean. But he didn't want to care.

"I lost everyone I ever knew. My old friends. My people. My culture. My home. Appa and Momo are all I have left of something that has been gone for 100 years because some assholes in power couldn't control their greed. I lost the first 12 years of my life. I lost what little childhood I managed to squeeze out of years and years of training to become an airbending master. I lost everyone and everything because I was a coward, ran away from my responisbility, and now Appa and I are the last, weak connection to whatever the Air Nomads may have been and could be."

Aang's breath started coming out in short, quick pants. The wind around him started whiping and gusting, swirling around him, his tatoos flickering blue-white, on and off like a candle in the wind. He curled his hands into fists. The blue flashes of his avatar state looked like lightening cracking across his grey eyes, which were dark grey and stormy.

"You don't think I was angry? That I wanted to wipe the sandbenders that stole Appa and those spirits- damned firebenders out? But I held myself back, because I knew more loss would solve nothing. Because I couldn't bear to give someone else the same grief. Because I couldn't let the last of what the Air Nomads believed in die out. Because I'm the fucking avatar and have a responsibility to all nations. Because I have to somehow get rid of a motherfucking tyrant subjugating the entire world and end a war that's been raging FOR THE LAST 100 YEARS!"

Sokka, Katara, and Zuko stared at him with disbelief and a little fear. The happy-go-lucky monk could be pretentious with his peacefulness sometimes, but none of them considered why that could be. Sokka, wanting to calm Aang down, held his hands up, stepping forward.

"Aang, I'm sure Katara and Zuko didn't mean-"

"NO!" Aang screamed, a raw, painful sound that made everyone wince. The gusts of wind grew even stronger, and the ground he stood on cracked and contorted, little stones lifting themselves and floating in air. His feet lifted off the ground, his face twisted with pain and rage, even as it glowed blue. He went into the avatar state.

Aang's rage consumed him beyond anything he'd felt before. He started to feel this anger wasn't just his; he could feel his past lives bristleing, churning with thousands of diffrent feelings and judgements but one emotion soldifying it all; anguish. Anguish for the world and what it had become. Anguish for the Air Nomads. Anguish for every person never saved and every villian never defeated. When Aang spoke, it wasn't just Aang's pain, Aang's anger. It was all of them.

"Eons."

Katara was too in shock to go calm Aang as she normally did. She knew, somehow, what she was faced with was far more then the immensly powerful 12-year old they knew and loved.

"We have existed for centuries, loved thousands of mothers, fathers, siblings, lovers and children. We have lost them all. We have died, over and over again, only to be reborn while our soul remembers it all. This vessal's mind may not remember, but his soul does. Raava does. We are weary. But we must not only face our own torment, but shoulder the suffering of the entire world. We must greive, for we are human, but we then let go and forgive you all, for our duty goes above us, above him. This vessal is worldly. This spirit is Aang's. But our responsibility to balance is eternal. You all are children of war. I mourn your sacrifice. But you all must try to forgive, both for your own sake, and for our world."

They were no longer adressing Katara, Sokka, or Zuko. They were speaking to the world, for what they needed it to do for peace, but were acutley aware that only the people in front of them could hear. But deep down, they felt these children could be a start. The Avatar's duty was always a lonely one. They knew no one could understand. But maybe, just maybe, they could try. They mourned and grieved and burned with rightous fury. But now, it was directed with their young vessel's purpose.

Aang felt himself almost return in control, with Roku and Kyoshi's spiritual hands on his shoulders and Kuruk's hand on his back. Yangchen came in front of him. She smiled gently at him, cupped his cheeks, and said "It'll be alright, young one." Aang felt tears come into his eyes, streaming down his cheeks. Aang's glow did not fade, but his face softened, as he finally understood himself as his past lives muted themselves, fading back to just the people behind him. He could not let go of his unwillingness to kill. He had already forgiven the fire nation. But balance was his duty. And he would fufill it.

With a deep breath, he came back, and his blue-white glow was gone. The stones that were floating in the air dropped, and the wind went back to the gentle breeze it was before. He stumbled a little as he felt his feet on the ground, but then stood up striaght. He looked at Sokka, Zuko, and Katara, who looked a little bit awed by what happened. Zuko spoke.

"Uh.. so.. does this always happen when you get angry, Aang? I'm sorry for what I said before; I wasn't thinking."

Aang chuckled wetly, tears still streaming down his face.

"No, this was a new thing. Promise it won't happen again though.. I'm sorry for yelling at you guys."

Sokka looked incredelous at that.

"Yelling? You were about to blow us all off this cliff, spoke with the voices of probably thousands of avatars, and were directing this anger at us? Dude, I don't think yelling cuts the half of it."

Aang's face crumpled with guilt at that, but Sokka shot a teasing smirk at him, though it was a little shaky. Aang smiled back. Aang noticed Katara had yet to say anything.

"Katara? Katara, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Katara looked at him. She went and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder. Aang felt a blush creep up his neck, but wrapped his arms around her anyway. She mumbled into his ear.

"No, Aang, I'm sorry. I was angry and dismissed all of you.. I just thought if I avenged my mother, maybe things wouldn't hurt so badly. Please, Aang. I won't go too far. I just.. I need to see him. I'm... not at peace."

Aang looked dissapointed, but knew that if his little temper tantrum did nothing to soften Katara's resolve, she wouldn't stop until she saw this man. He turned to Zuko.

"Please don't let her go too far, Zuko. You guys can take Appa."

Zuko nodded, his face serious. Aang looked at them sadly, and handed over Appa's reins.

"Be careful, the both of you."

Sokka and Aang watched as they took off. Sokka bumped Aang's shoulder, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"So, O great and mystical Avatar, we gonna clean this mess or what?"

Aang looked at their camp, which looked like a tornado went through it.

"Yeah, let's go."