Team Avatar camped for the night near another village. The three kids were lying on the ground, watching a meteor shower in the sky.
"Wow," Katara said to herself, "This is amazing to watch."
"Makes you realize how small we are," Aang noted.
Toph shrugged."Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times..."
They lay there in silence.
Watching the sky made Katara chuckle."You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?" Aang asked.
"Last spring," she said, "we were on our way back to Omashu; we were all about to fall asleep like any other night. And then you just had to ask that silly question..."
The Avatar giggled."Yeah, I remember."
"I don't remember," Toph noted.
"This was before we met you, Toph," Katara explained."It was just me, Aang, and Sokka. Aang was staring at the sky and suddenly asked us if there could be another world beyond the stars."
At this, Toph snickered."You don't say? Lemme check," she inhaled,"HEY VEGETA AND/OR TARLBE!"
"What is it!?" politely answered the voice of Tarble from within the literal spaceship behind them.
Toph raised a thumbs up."Theory confirmed."
The kids laughed.
"Oh my god..." Katara sighed."Wasn't everything so much simpler back then? All we needed to do was help Aang find an earthbending teacher. All we had to worry about was the Fire Nation. No secret base on the moon, no ghostly possession, no Perfect Cell..."
"And no Vegeta," Toph finished."I wasn't even there, but I know what you mean. Before you guys came into my life, wasn't nobody badder than the Blind Bandit. I never got to fight The Boulder."
"Heh, remember when I was the most powerful person on the planet?" Aang reminded.
"Nope," Toph replied.
"No, really! You, the most powerful!?" Katara glared at Aang in fake surprise.
"I know, what a surprise!" Aang joked.
The kids laughed some more.
"There was no 'whole universe' to us back then," Katara said,"It was just the one world, with the sun, moon, and stars flying above us."
"I mean, there was still the Spirit World," Aang raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, sure," Katara shrugged."But that's not really a 'world' though, right? I mean the Earth; just this one planet, and the stars, and that was all. To us, that was the whole 'universe'".
"I know what you mean," Aang nodded.
"I still can't wrap my head around the whole 'round earth' thing," Toph lamented."how does everything stay on the bottom? How does the South Pole even exist?"
"The bottom is just an abstract concept, Toph," Aang explains."The planet is held together by gravity."
"Fake news," Toph scoffed, which rhymes.
Katara giggled."Now I'm just picturing you and Sokka arguing over whether or not the earth is round."
Aang giggled as well."Yeah, Sokka would say something like 'Look at the way the stars rotate around us, Toph!" Aang mocked Sokka's voice." 'that proves the Earth is a spinning sphere!' "
"Oh, you're right, Sokka!" the blind girl joked joked, pointing to the sky."I can totally see them rotating right now!"
" You see?" Katara did her best Sokka impression, getting up and leering at Toph."Was that so hard to admit...Hey! Wait a minute!"
The kids burst into laughter.
Katara fell on her back and exhaled."classic Sokka..."
They lay there smiling, but eventually, the reality of their situation wiped the smiles off their faces. Their peace was decayed by their collective anxiety.
"You think he's okay?" Katara asked.
"I dunno," Toph answered, trying to deflect her concern with apathy." That Zuko guy didn't seem so affected by it. Maybe he and Vegeta's dad are friends by now."
Aang shut his eyes in grief." I can't believe we saw what Cell did to Sokka and just ignored it."
"If it makes you feel better, I didn't see it," Toph tried to joke.
"It's not funny, Toph!" Aang glared."The spirit of the man who almost destroyed the world took Sokka's body for himself! I had to watch him looking down at me with Sokka's eyes, talk to me with Sokka's mouth, and break my hand with his! And then he hurt Iroh, I dunno if he's even still alive! This isn't fair, I...!" the airbender shot up to his feet. His scrunched eyes scanned the ground as he tried to put his frustration into words."Why are we here!?"
Katara and Toph looked at/listened to Aang in confusion.
Toph shrugged."Just to suffer?"
"No, I mean...!" Aang tried to elaborate but felt his head as he tried to convey his built-up feelings,"...Ugh!" he grunted as he gave up," Look, I need to go talk to Vegeta..." He said as he got up.
Toph crossed her arms and glared her blind eyes."Hey, if you're gonna go talk to Vegeta about saving Sokka again, I should remind you how much he doesn't wanna talk about it."
"I didn't say I wanted to do that," Aang rationed," I just wanna talk."
The Bland bandit tapped her head."...Dude, I'm a living lie detector, remember? That's exactly what you wanna talk to him about."
Katara sighed while covering her eyes."uhhhhh, I'm sorry, this is my fault for mentioning Sokka; we shouldn't be bringing him up at all."
Aang spun around in irritation."Why don't you wanna talk about saving Sokka!? He's your brother!"
At this, Katara glared in offense."That's exactly why I don't want to. For a moment there, I forgot what happened to him; and now, I'm just going to stress myself out how we can't do anything about it."
"Then why did you ask if he was okay!?" Aang demanded.
"I was thinking out loud, goddammit!" Katara snapped back.
Toph whistled."Look at the dirty mouth on Suger Queen; it sounds like Vegeta sensei is rubbing off on you..."
"And why don't YOU care!?" Katara demanded, "At least Aang SOUND and I are concerned for him!"
Toph sighed and crawled back into her sleeping bag."Cause it's my nature - Earthbenders are supposed to stay strong and never look weak, so that's what I'm doing."
"Don't you hide behind that excuse!" Katara complained."You just stopped caring about him, period!"
This forced Toph to shoot out of her bed in outrage."HEY, #% YOU, KATARA! I was just trying to stop the whole team from fallin' into a whole pissy pants mood that'd interfere with our training! Is that what I get for trying to do something for you!?"
"All you did was show us what a heartless piece of shit you can be!" Katara fired back.
Toph instantly zipping into the waterbender's face."Okay, bitch, you wanna go!?
"Oh, I wanna go, bitch!" Katara met her eyes (figuratively).
"Bitch, I will F# $ you up!" Toph barked.
"You think you can f%$ with me, bitch!?" Katara responded.
"I will f$% your bitch-ass up so hard-!"
"SHUT UP!" exploded Vegeta upon shoving the door open, "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"
Katara quickly bowed."Sorry, Vegeta sensei."
"Kissass..." Toph grumbled.
"What were you even talking about?" Tarble wondered aloud.
Toph ahem'd."We were having a perfectly peaceful conversation about what life was like before we met you when Katara decided to bring up Sokka even thought you explicitly told us never to talk about Sokka!"
"Hey!" Katara barked.
"Dammit, Katara!" yelled Vegeta."You know the rules! That's an extra 10,000 pushups for you tomorrow morning!" he flung his finger in the girl's direction.
"But I-!"
"No excuses!"
"bitch..." Katara hissed at the smirking Toph.
"It wasn't Katara; it was me," Aang said, if only to place Vegeta's attention on himself.
"Well, Aang, I respect you for your honesty," Vegeta acknowledged, "But I hope you understand that the 10,000 extra pushups now apply to you instead."
Aang sighed, "Yeah, sure, whatever. But that's not the point, Vegeta. I was talking about Sokka because I actually want to talk to you about saving Sokka-"
"You just did," Vegeta cut him off, "Good night..." He backed into the ship while pulling the door closed.
"WAIT!" Aang had to grab the door to stop him."I'm serious! I want us to make a plan to save Sokka!"
"Keep talking like that, and I'll upgrade your penalty to a personal sparring match," Vegeta threatened.
"I don't care," Aang grunted," You can't just not talk about Sokka ever again."
"Of course I can, like so..." Vegeta retorted as he yanked the door from Aang's grip and slammed it shut.
The blindsided Aang blinked at the door." VEGETA!" he cried in annoyance as he banged his fist against said door.
"Go to bed, Aang," Vegeta's voice grunted.
"Tarble!" Aang tried again.
"Please refer to the previous reply!"
"You can't stay in there forever!" Aang yelled.
"But I can and will stay until your training arc is over!"
"Training...what?" hissed the Avatar in confusion."We have to talk about this!"
"No, we do not."
"I refuse to ignore Sokka just because you want to!"
"Your wishful thinking is futile."
"I'm sick of this, Vegeta!" The prince in question heard Aang crying at the door."I'm tired of preparing to fight some evil guy who doesn't matter just to fulfill a destiny that doesn't mean anything! "
"It does matter," Vegeta replied."It matters to you, your friends, your family, and your entire race. And, somehow, it matters to me as well. "
"No it doesn't!" Aang barked."You just think that if you entertain my stupid adventure to master all four elements - thanks for teaching me how to firebend by the way." he jabbed sarcastically," that the universe will just hand you your full power back so can leave my stupid planet and do whatever!"
"I didn't say that; don't put words in my mouth!"
"YES YOU DID!" Aang continued, "You said it over and over again all the way up until we made it to Ba Sing Se! You said the only reason you didn't kill us when we first met was because you COULDN'T even when you wanted to, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't a joke or venting or whatever the heck I told myself it was! And every time you said my adventure was stupid, it hurt my feelings, but I never said it out loud and pretended not to hear you like the stupid kid you think I am! I'm stupid, Katara's stupid, Toph's stupid, and Sokka's stupid!"
"Finally, we agree on something!"
"You wanna know who else is stupid, Vegeta!?" Aang entertained."Kakarot is stupid! And all the other humans on that other earth you met are stupid! And Raditz and Nappa, and Qui, and all those other weird names you mentioned! Everybody's stupid but you!"
"You're just trying to piss me off, so I'll open the door," Vegeta guessed."It's not working, Aang, go to bed."
"I don't even care anymore! You wanna know why!? Because...because...!" Aang thrashed in anger. He started breathing loudly, thinking of what else to say...but his tantrum was losing steam, losing the desire to rant. His breathing slowed down, as did his mood, as he turned around and sat against the door, arms crossed around his knees."Because...I'm starting to think you're right..."
"What?" Katara questioned.
"My adventure is stupid. It doesn't matter if the Fire Nation rules the world, not when Cooler rules the whole solar system. And what about the rest of the universe? It's not their problem. When I think about all those other worlds and how they're more advanced and have much bigger problems than mine, the more I can see how stupid this adventure really is."
"So what, Aang?" Toph interjected."You think your own planet doesn't matter anymore? What're you gonna do, leave?"
"No, I..."
"Then what, Twinkle Toes? You wanna surrender? Because if you do, I swear I will never forgive...!"
"I want you guys to leave!" Aang admitted.
This answer stunned all within earshot. That included the two adult Saiyans.
"You, you want...me and Toph...to leave the solar system?"
"Not just you," Aang said, "Vegeta and Tarble too. I'm the reason they're in this mess; it's because of the seal, and you two are only with me to teach me how to bend. But the thing is, you've done all that. Not only can I waterbend and earthbend, but Vegeta made me stronger than, well, stronger than I ever deserved to be. I could fly to the Fire Nation right now and beat the Fire Lord, and then..."
"And then Cooler effeing kills you, remember?" Toph reminded.
"But he won't kill you guys. He only has to kill me in order to win. And I know what you're thinking: the comet. But when you think about it, Vegeta is only endangering himself by staying here; it'd be much safer for him to leave and take you guys to another planet or whatever, then come back when the comet arrives and then beat Cooler and Cell."
"Aang..." Katara trembled, "You're talking about dying..."
"I'm the Avatar! I'll reincarnate!" He said of himself."But you guys won't. And it's not like Cooler would kill me in the Avatar State, because that would destroy the Avatar permanently, and he technically needs the Avatar to still exist because I'm like a walking anti-stronger person thing that stops anyone stronger than Cooler invades the planet. So, really, nobody dies! It's a win-win!"
"I don't care about the Avatar; I care about you!" Katara said. putting her hands on Aang's shoulder."You, Aang, will die; we'll have to go on without you, and the Air Nomads will be gone forever."
"They're already gone," Aang replied painfully," and I'm gonna die eventually, so I might as well die knowing that my family is safe and that the balance is restored. That's my destiny, isn't it?"
"No! NO!" Katara spat at the idea."You are NOT gonna throw your life away for me, you understand!? I don't care if it works or not; I can't imagine my world without you!"
"Don't you get it!? I ruined your life! I ruined all your lives!" Aang proclaimed. I'm the reason you left home and might never see Gran Gran again; I'm the reason Toph left her home and can never join an Earthbending Tournament again; I'm why Sokka is possessed, cause you know that was meant for me! I mean, I'm the reason Cooler wants to rule this planet, or how Vegeta is stranded here, and also Tarble, and I don't even know WHERE the hell Momo is! Your lives are better without me; Vegeta is the only one willing to say it out loud!"
"That's a lie!" Katara protested.
"Give me one reason, Katara!" Aang demanded flatly."Gimme one reason you should spend one second with me and risk getting blown to bits just by standing next to me!"
"Because...!" Katara, even in the moment, hesitated."Because I...I..." she swallowed all her concern in preparation for this."Because I lo-"
"Because of Sokka!" Vegeta interjected, finally opening the door, completely oblivious to Katara's hasty intent.
The Gaang trio were silent, especially Katara...
"...YES! Because of Sokka! Because of Sokka is DEFINITELY what I about to say, hehehhh..." she chuckled, rubbing her arm.
"Why Sokka?" Toph asked.
"Sokka is the only outlier in the bald child's ridiculous deathwish," he explained."Not only would we never see him again, but your next life will certainly not extend the same graciousness with wanting to spare his life, which, if we're being rational, he himself would want to be extinguished at this point. You cannot possibly be expected to finish your adventure without him, and frankly, I would love to listen to his shrill cackle of a voice shew you out on what an utterly brain-dead idea you just had. So how about this: We go to the North Pole right damn now, kill Cell, and not leave until we've freed his mind and laid my father to rest; then he can join your stupid friends on their exodus while you go out in a blaze of glory? Do we have an accord?"
A subtle "uuuuuuuuuh..." escaped from Aang's throat."...yes?"
"Then why in Beerus' name are we still standing here? Let's go save Sokka!" he said before abruptly blasting off into the night sky.
The group looked up in awe at the Saiyan Prince's almost hypocritical actions, as did Tarble as he peeped through the open door. "erm...what he said!"
With that, the whole Gaang flew off into the sky for the Northern Water Tribe, unknowingly ending the reign of Sokka Khan once and for all.