Chapter 1: Sozin's Comet
AN: Hey all, Vapor here! Finally ready to start another story, and this one is going to be a MASSIVE project. Welcome to Book 1 of a 3 Book Series. This is an AU retelling of ATLA, so I hope you enjoy! A couple of notes:
For those of you who were fans of The Aftermath, this is going to be a much darker story. While there will be some elements of fluff, the characters will be much more mature and the violence will be a lot more graphic. This is depicting a war, and unfortunately war is an extremely brutal thing. Because of this, the story will be rated T.
Yes, I know that Katara's family didn't exist during this time, but I researched and researched and I couldn't find any canon Water Tribe character from Aang's former past, so I decided to write her in. If people use their noggins, I'm sure they can figure out who Aang's teachers will be in this series :) Plus, as a fellow Kataang writer, how could I ever pass up on that opportunity!
Lastly, I plan on responding to all reviews in this story (which is different from the past!) So If you want to leave a review or a question, please feel free to write it down and I'll respond in the next chapter!
I hope you enjoy this story! We're about to embark on a grand adventure! Thank you to my friend BrisaLad for the story title!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
"One. Two. Three! Throw!"
Two fruit pies went sailing through the air, in a perfect trajectory at the group of head monks. With an emphatic splat, the pies hit their target, landing on Monk Tashi and Monk Pasang. The gooey innards of the fruit pies slowly made their way down the Monks faces, being highlighted by their dramatic frowns. Their displeasure was heavily drowned out by the shared laughter of a young boy and another Elder Monk.
"Good throw, Aang!" The Older Monk laughed out lightheartedly. The young boy responded with an emphatic high-five, his joyous laughter continuing to fill the air of the Southern Air Temple. The two then hopped off the ledge from the high ground, slowly floating down to the ground using their airbending, and they made their way over to the group of Head Monks, all of them glaring at the mischievous pair.
Dramatically wiping off the filling of the pie from his face, Monk Pasang scowled at the Older Monk that was with the younger boy. "Monk Gyatso, I thought we had made our intentions clear. You and the Avatar are to be separated, you serve as too much of a distraction to his training." Monk Pasang then turned to the young boy, and began to scorn him as well. "You, Avatar Aang, should know better as well. You have responsibilities and a duty now. If you wish to properly serve your role as the Avatar, then you must not constantly fool around. The world is depending on you."
The young boy stared at the ground in shame as his face flushed with embarrassment. With a sulking bow, the young Avatar softly responded, "My apologies, Monk Pasang, it won't happen again."
Gyatso, however, was not as convinced. "Monk Pasang, Monk Tashi, please! Give the boy a break! It's the day of the Great Comet after all, this will be the only time in our entire lives that we get to experience this supernatural moment! Avatar Aang will continue his training tomorrow, but for now, let him enjoy the festival with all the other airbenders!" A sparkle formed in the Older Monk's eye as he kept his calm disposition.
The Council of Elders exchanged a long look with each other, before Monk Tashi let out a long sigh, relenting. "Very well, Monk Gyatso. As long as you both remember that Avatar Aang has his training tomorrow, he is free to enjoy the Festival with the rest of the airbenders."
Avatar Aang once again bowed to the Elders. "Thank you Monk Tashi, I promise you I will be on my best behavior tonight." With that, he turned and slowly trudged away, and he could hear the light footsteps of his mentor behind him. Once they were a large enough distance away from the Council of Elders, Aang finally turned around and faced his mentor, unafraid to let out his frustrations.
"Why do we need to be separated from each other? It's totally unfair! They don't understand me like you do, Gyatso!" Aang stammered, throwing his hands up in frustration.
His mentor placed a soft hand on the young airbender's shoulder. "Aang, we've been over this. They think that there is going to be a war starting soon. If that happens, they want you to be as prepared as possible. The world is going to need the Avatar in a time of trouble, and though it is highly unfair for us to ask you to meet these expectations, we can't change the present."
"But I never asked to be the Avatar! I don't want this responsibility! Besides, I'm just a kid. I won't be able to do anything if a war breaks out!" Aang shouted, turning around and moving to the edge of the cliff overlooking the Patola Mountain Range. Gyatso slowly made his way beside him, gently placing his arm around his shoulder.
"You underestimate your abilities, Aang. You should take pride in the fact that you are the youngest airbending master that the Air Nomads have ever seen. If there is anyone that can take on this huge responsibility it is you! Besides, who said that you have to take on this responsibility alone? Like I told you when you thought of running away two days ago, no matter what the Council of Elders does, they will never separate us. I will always be by your side, Aang."
The young Avatar looked back up at his mentor with big beady gray eyes. "Why do they want to separate us, Gyatso? I learn so much better from you than I do the other monks! You're the only one that allows me to be a kid!" Sitting down at the edge of the cliff, Aang let out a soft sigh. "Ever since I found out that I was the Avatar, everything has changed. No one sees me as Aang anymore."
The Older Monk's face dropped as he sadly looked out into the Patola Mountains. "That is my biggest regret of deciding to tell you, Aang. For that, I am so sorry. I understand why you wanted to run away. But, we must continue to look brightly at the future and hope that things will get better. Over time, more and more people will get used to you being the Avatar, just as you will get used to your role. Right now, you just need to focus on being Aang, and the rest of the world will take care of itself like it's supposed to."
Aang looked up and gazed at the now-changing sky. A red hue was starting to overtake the Mountain Range, marking the beginning stages of the Great Comet. Releasing a deep breath to center himself, he got back up with a newfound confidence. "You're right, Gyatso. I'm going to go check-in with my friends and see if they want to watch the Comet from the airball field!"
His mentor let out a wide smile in return. "Very well, Aang. I'll see you soon." He watched as his pupil took out his glider, prepared to take off in flight. Before he took off, Aang quickly turned around and rushed into the arms of Gyatso, enveloping him in a hug. Just as quickly as the hug started, it finished, and the young Avatar was off in the air, searching for his friends.
Aang found the rest of the children at the airball field already. An intense game was currently going on, the ball zooming between pegs and gusts of wind filling the arena. Groups of children were cheering loudly on the sidelines, with winged lemurs scoping the area for fresh fruit. A couple of sky bison also were resting here, looking at the onslaught of entertainment with a tired disposition.
The young Avatar excitedly landed into the crowd and began to eagerly watch the ensuing match. He hooted and cheered along with the rest of his friends as goals were scored, and as the game ended, he was one of the first ones to go congratulate the winners. Another game was beginning to organize, and Aang was excited to join. He started to move to his normal position as the goalie, when one of the children stopped him.
"Aang, what are you doing?" The child inquisitively asked. Aang turned towards him with a confused expression on his face.
"Oh, hey Hatsu! I'm going to play goalie, unless you want to play goalie this time? That's okay too!" Aang continued to walk towards the airball field when he felt Hatsu's hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Hatsu frowning at him.
"Actually . . . the rest of us were talking, and we feel like there is an unfair advantage to whatever team that you're on." Hatsu slowly drew out, refusing to make eye contact. "You know . . . because you're the Avatar and all . . ."
Dumbfounded, Aang tried to plead his case. "Hatsu, I'm the same Aang that I was before! Just because I found out that I'm the Avatar doesn't mean that I'm any different! I haven't learned anything new, I promise!" Though he tried to stay even-keeled, his voice still betrayed how hurt he felt.
Hatsu continued to stare at the ground, and he slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aang. We just think that it would be unfair if you continued to play with us. I hope you understand." Without waiting for an answer, Hatsu ran off towards the air field, leaving Aang to sit there staring at the group of children. The young Avatar felt overwhelmed with so many emotions at that moment, and without another word he took his glider and flew into the air.
In his natural element, Aang allowed himself to relax as he pondered his emotions. Ever since he had found out that he was the Avatar a week ago, his life had forever changed. He was no longer treated like the kid that he wanted to be. His friends turned on him and excluded him. The Monks that used to treat him as an equal now gave him favorable treatment and had much higher expectations for him.
The Monks had told Aang that there could potentially be a war on the horizon. The Council of Elders had a mistrust of the Fire Nation and their actions lately, and they weren't sure if Fire Lord Sozin would remain peaceful for much longer. The Air Nomads had always taken pride in bringing peace to the rest of the world, but the situation seemed to be such a threat that even the Council of Elders were growing worried.
Aang couldn't understand how they thought a war could possibly be starting. The Fire Nation was one of his favorite places to visit, and when Gyatso would allow him to go on trips there, he would always be excited. One of his best friends, Kuzon, also lived there. They would always mess around together and get into precarious situations while the Monks would meet with the Fire Lord and his Council. As he landed at the Sky Bison pen, he wondered if Kuzon would even still be his friend if he found out that he was the Avatar.
The ground around him began to shake as a certain Sky Bison came tumbling forward at full speed towards Aang, tackling him down to the ground. Pinning the young airbender, the Sky Bison began to lick the young child as he once again let out his mirthful laughter. "It's good to see you, Appa!" Aang laughed out, reaching up to tenderly scratch his fur. The airbender considered himself lucky to have his own Sky Bison, and Appa had become one of his best friends ever since he had gotten them.
The airbender excitedly airbent his way up to the saddle of Appa, and climbed on down to take the reins of his friend. "Yip yip!" Together, they went soaring into the air, towards Aang's favorite lookout. Appa flew to the top of the Patola Mountain range, where they found a nice landing spot for the two of them to rest. From here, Aang could oversee the entire Southern Air Temple, and it looked absolutely beautiful under the sky's red hue.
The Great Comet was just beginning, and it was absolutely beautiful. As the airbender sat against his Sky Bison, he watched the sky as the Great Comet slowly began to make its way through the horizon. Just over a week ago, he was making plans with his friends on the different celebratory activities that they would be doing during the Great Comet Festival. They had made plans for different games, to participate in a big feast, and had planned some pranks to pull on the Head Monks. Now, he found himself alone. Left out, forgotten, and an afterthought by the rest of his friends.
He thought that his fate of being the Avatar was entirely unfair. He was just about to take on the task of mastering the 36th level of airbending, finally marking himself as a true master of the bending discipline. Those plans had changed entirely however when he found out his new role. They had plans of shipping him off to the South Pole so he could start his training immediately. Aang's life was changing entirely, and he wasn't sure how to handle all of his new responsibilities.
A couple of days ago, he pondered running away from the Southern Air Temple and the rest of his responsibilities. The Council of Elders had met and decided that his mentor, Gyatso, was serving as too much of a distraction from his training, and they were planning on separating him and Aang. Unbeknownst to the Head Monks, Aang was secretly listening in on this meeting, and he didn't like this news one bit. He had planned on running away that night, even writing a letter to Gyatso, but had second thoughts when there was a huge storm raging outside.
As he sat in his room pondering if he should go anyways, Gyatso came bursting through the door, reassuring the young airbender that he was not going to let their separation happen. It was enough to keep Aang at the Southern Air Temple for the moment, but even now, Aang still had his doubts on whether his mentor could actually live up to his promises. He still had thoughts of running away, but he decided that until he could come up with a plan on where he was going to go, he might as well stay at the Southern Air Temple.
Aang's attention returned to the Southern Air Temple when something had seemed to catch his eye. At the base of the entrance to the Temple, he thought he saw . . . fire? He was too far away to see what was going on, but he couldn't imagine why there would be any firebending going on. As far as he knew, there weren't going to be any Fire Nation visitors for the Great Comet. "Let's go see what this is all about, Appa." Aang spoke to his companion as he boarded him. "Yip yip!"
The two took off together towards the Southern Air Temple, and as Aang got closer, things got more and more confusing. Making their way up the mountain was a whole battalion of firebenders from the Fire Nation, and they were dressed up in their armor as if they were going into battle. As he flew overhead, one of the firebenders saw him and shot a blast of fire at him and Appa. His Bison was able to narrowly avoid it, but Aang sat there in shock and awe. He had sparred plenty of times with Kuzon, and the fire that was just produced was the greatest power he had ever seen from any firebender.
Landing at the entrance of the Southern Air Temple, Aang quickly got off and began running to the Council of Elders that were approaching him. Monk Tashi was the first one to reach him. "Aang, what are you doing? Why aren't you with the other children?"
Aang was keeled over, catching his breath, still trying to get over the fact that one of the firebenders had shot directly at him. "There's a whole army of firebenders coming up the mountain. One of them shot a stream of fire at me and it was the most powerful attack I've ever seen!" Aang looked up to see complete horror cross the other Monks faces.
Monk Pasang quickly turned to Monk Tashi, "Quickly evacuate everyone into their proper dormitories. We need all of the Head Monks out here to help protect the Southern Air Temple. We need to get moving NOW." With that, Monk Tashi quickly nodded his head before rushing off.
"What's going on?" Aang worriedly asked Gyatso. His mentor turned to him with a furrowed brow, a sad look taking over his expression. His reply was simple, but poignant.
"We're being attacked."
"What! Why? We haven't done anything to anyone!"
"I'm not sure, Aang, but you need to go. I want to make sure you're safe."
"No way, Gyatso! I thought it was my duty as the Avatar to help with this type of stuff. I'm not leaving you out here by yourself!" For the first time, Aang directly defied his mentor. The two of them stared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. After a few moments, Gyatso relented with a deep sigh.
"Okay, Aang. But promise me you'll be safe. I want you to stick by me at all times. I don't know what I would do without you." The pair didn't have the opportunity to say another word to each other, as the Fire Nation crossed the entrance to the Southern Air Temple. Immediately, jet after jet of fire came exploding from the front lines. Aang could feel the immense heat of the fire take over the area, the hairs on his body immediately standing up in response. The airbenders worked together to blast out the fire with a gust of air, but they were pushed back. They were extremely outmatched.
"BROTHERS, WE'RE UNDER ATTACK." Monk Pasang shouted. From there, it was complete chaos.
The firebenders broke their line and began to rush out individually, causing the airbenders to disperse from their group. Aang wasn't able to pay attention to the front lines as 2 firebenders immediately came after him and Gyatso. The two firebenders sent a large blast of fire towards the two airbenders, and Gyatso used an air shield to block the damage, once again causing him to slide back from the sheer force of the fire. Aang used the momentary break to rush forward with the wind behind him, sending it at full force towards his opponents, knocking them down to the ground.
The firebenders quickly got up, once again sending a series of strong blasts at Gyatso and Aang, causing them to have to roll to the right and left, separating them in battle. Aang took out his staff and began to run in circles quickly, running faster and faster, confusing his attacker. Before the firebender could realize what was happening, Aang had formed an air tornado, and sent it spiraling at his opponent. The attack connected, and the firebender was sent flying back into a tree, unconscious.
Aang quickly turned to see that Gyatso had won his battle against the firebender he was up against, and took the opportunity to survey the area. Firebenders were everywhere, and the fire was quickly spreading. Trees were on fire, and the building behind him was also beginning to burn. Aang turned his head to another Head Monk, Monk Tolen, who was surrounded by three firebenders. Monk Tolen lost his footing, and the three firebenders quickly took advantage of the situation. Three jets of fire immediately encapsulated the area surrounding his body.
All Aang heard was a quick scream, followed by silence. Once some of the smoke had cleared, the remains of Monk Tolen were left. His flesh burned away and full of scars, his face barely recognizable. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air, and the environment around him began to smell like death. Aang could only freeze in place as he tried to mentally process what had happened.
Suddenly, Aang was tackled by another Monk. Taken out of his delirious state, Aang recognized it was Monk Pasang that had tackled him. Turning back around, he saw a group of 4 firebenders closing in on them. More streams of fire were sent Aang's way, and he quickly used his airbending to create an air slice, sending out a current in front of him that took out 2 of the streams of fire. The other two blasts of fire came to the left and the right of him, and he heard a yell come from behind him.
Aang turned around to see Monk Pasang's face half burned off, his skin almost melting under the fiery heat of the blast. Life slowly left the Elder Monk's eyes as he dropped forward onto the ground, his burnt clothing and flesh immediately clouding Aang's senses. "MONK PASANG!" Aang cried out before having to duck under another stream of fire that was sent his way. The young Avatar quickly jumped up into the air, gathering as much air as he could around him before forcefully slamming into the ground, sending a shockwave of air at his two opponents. The firebenders were knocked to the ground, and Aang used this opportunity to take his glider and flee towards the dormitories.
As he flew into the air, he felt two streams of fire narrowly miss him. The extreme heat caused the airbender to begin sweating as he continued his journey to the dormitories. Finally, he reached his destination, and saw Monk Tashi still ushering in children. Landing next to the Monk in a panic, Aang frantically tried to explain what was going on. "The Fire Nation is attacking. Monk Pasang and Monk Tolen are dead. You have to get as many children on sky bison as you can and send them away from here. They're attacking everybody!"
Monk Tashi's face completely fell as Aang broke the news to him. Tears began to stream from his eyes, and he looked at the Avatar with a hopeless expression. "Very well, Aang. You go in there with them and start preparing them to go. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
The young Avatar just shook his head in return, his own tears falling from the clear trauma that he had just witnessed. "No way! Gyatso's still out there! I can't leave him to die!"
The older Monk silently shook his head. "Aang, if Monk Tolen and Monk Pasang fell, I'm not sure if there's much of a chance for anyone here, including Monk Gyatso. He would want you to be safe. Please, come in with the rest of the children."
Aang stood there in silence as he contemplated what his next step should be. Then, he made his decision. Shaking his head, he took his glider and held it next to him. "I'm sorry, Monk Tashi. I can't just leave Monk Gyatso out there knowing that he's going to die. Please. Get out of here as fast as you can." The young airbender didn't even wait for a response. He took off in the air once again, searching desperately for his mentor.
The airbender flew and searched the area where the battle began, but found that everyone had already left. Rows and rows of bodies lay there on the ground, mostly Air Nomads, all of them severely burned. The smell of flesh and death filled the air and Aang instantly grew nauseous, but he knew he had to keep moving. He couldn't recognize his mentor's body in his quick fly through of the entrance, and he heard sounds of fighting down the mountain, towards the Altar of Remembrance. Aang knew that this was Gyatso's favorite place to meditate, and his intuition told him immediately that he was down there.
As Aang flew down the mountain towards the battle, he recognized a group of six firebenders seemingly chasing a lone Monk. Aang recognized the Monk as his mentor, and instantly his heart filled with fear. Using as much air as he could, he went nose diving straight towards the group of firebenders, landing right in the middle of them. As he landed, he exerted the air that he had brought with him, releasing a large gust of wind in all directions.
Two firebenders went flying into the wall next to them and were instantly incapacitated, two other firebenders went flying off the side of the mountain and hit the ground about 6 feet below. The last two firebenders went flying towards Gyatso, who used an air swipe to knock them into the wall next to him, rendering them unconscious. For just a moment, the battle had stopped, and Aang and Gyatso were left staring at each other.
Aang began sprinting into Gyatso's arms, who had gingerly extended his arms open wide. Tears started to flow down Aang's cheeks as he began to openly sob at all of the trauma that he had witnessed. He could feel tears dropping from Gyatso's cheeks and onto his head, but he didn't care at all. Right now, both of them were safe, and that's all that each of them cared about. Aang was about to speak when they heard shouting from above.
"DOWN THERE!" A Fire Nation Commander had shouted, and instantly a group of 10 firebenders started to run around the mountain. They would most likely be arriving in less than 2 minutes to face Aang and Gyatso. Aang turned to see his mentor blow hard into a bison whistle.
"Gyatso, that's a great idea! We can both use your sky bison to escape!" Aang exclaimed messily through his tears. His glimmer of hope soon disappeared when his mentor responded by shaking his head.
"I just called Appa, Aang. You need to get out of here while you still have a chance. The world is going to need you, you're the Avatar." Gyatso said gently, trying to muster as much courage as he could into the young Avatar.
Aang's face quickly fell. Gyatso was his world. His mentor. He had just made the promise two days ago that he would always be by his side. "Gyatso . . ." Aang croaked out as his voice broke. "Please . . . come with me . . . I need you."
They could hear the footsteps of the incoming Fire Nation soldiers, and they both knew that their time was running out. "I can't do that, Aang. My responsibility lies within this temple. You have made me so proud. You will continue to make me proud. I'm doing this because I love you. Now, it's time for you to go." Monk Gyatso quickly exclaimed before placing something in Aang's hand, and then he shoved him off of the cliff using his airbending.
Aang began to freely fall before landing in Appa's saddle, who flew by just in time to catch him. "NOO! GYATSOOO!" Aang desperately cried out as Appa began to fly away from the Southern Air Temple. Appa was flying faster than Aang had ever seen the Sky Bison go before, so he could barely make out the view of what was going on, but the last thing he saw of the Southern Air Temple was Monk Gyatso slowly backing into the Altar of Remembrance, with a group of firebenders following behind.
"APPA! PLEASE! TURN AROUND! I NEED TO HELP HIM!" Aang desperately cried to his companion, but Appa answered with his own groan of a sorrowful refusal. Here Aang was, supposedly the most powerful being in the world, lying in his Sky Bison's saddle, powerless. He didn't even pay attention to where the Sky Bison was possibly heading. All Aang could do was curl up into a ball and cry. The bison whistle that Gyatso had placed into his hand slowly fell out onto the saddle as Aang held himself, sobbing.
The young Avatar had felt alone ever since he found out his new status, but now there was a real possibility that he was alone. He only hoped that Monk Tashi was able to get the other children out of there. But the only person he had ever looked up to, Monk Gyatso, was gone. The one person who had ever looked out for him. The only person that ever treated him as Aang since he found out he was the Avatar. Now he was gone . . . as was the rest of the Head Monks. Images of the dead Monks began to flash in his mind, the smell of burnt flesh still ingrained in his memory. All Aang could do was cry.
He didn't realize that he had been crying for hours, that the climate around him had gotten much colder, or that he was in an entirely different environment. But when Appa landed in the South Pole, Aang remained in the same position as he was when he first left the Southern Air Temple. He was in the middle of Appa's saddle, curled up in a ball with his eyes closed, crying his heart out as if it could change what he had just gone through.
A crowd began to form around Appa as they all wondered why a Sky Bison was arriving in the middle of the night. Appa guarded Aang closely, weary to let anyone get close to Aang. Eventually, Appa figured out that these people were safe, and he gently lowered himself to the ground. "There's a boy in the saddle!" Someone from the crowd gasped out.
Aang slowly began to come to his senses as he realized he was around people again. Yet, he didn't want to face anyone. He just stayed in the position he was, and continued to cry, not caring how he looked to anyone at the moment. Suddenly, he heard a male voice cry out, "Katara what are you doing?" Moments later, he felt someone climb into the saddle, and a pair of arms were wrapped around him.
The young airbender opened his eyes to reveal a girl that couldn't have been much older than he was, with chocolate brown skin and bright blue eyes. Her hair was barely sticking out of her Parka, but it was formed into uniquely shaped hair loopies. He could immediately sense compassion from her gaze as she brought him in for a hug.
"What's wrong?" The girl asked.
What's wrong? Everything was wrong. Everything in Aang's life had now changed within a week, and now everyone from his home was potentially dead. He wasn't exactly comforted either by the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place with a bunch of people staring at him. But, the only thing that was constantly replaying in his head was the trauma that he had faced.
"They're dead. THEY'RE ALL DEAD!" The young airbender cried out, before passing out in the girl's arms from pure exhaustion.