The red mist still swirled about them as they fell into an exhausted silence.

Where as the body of the past Avatar, Avatar Sansetsu, had disappeared into the ether, to become one with the energy of the spirit world, the body of Tonrar still lay on the marked stone, still and quiet and macabre. Even Innua had now run out of words to say, her swearing and screeching having died down and replaced by deep hicupping breaths as she crouched on the stone, remaining working palm flat upon the rough surface and staring out into nothing.

There could be no celebration, not even now. Tonrar was gone, but there was no satisfaction to be had from his death, not after all that they had learned, after all that they had seen, and the danger still ahead of them. Aang felt, in both equal parts, the villain and the victim of this whole sorry tale. He had been the target of Tonrar's wrath, forced to pay for something that he hadn't even had part in, but the Avatar Spirit had been the cause and it was hard to feel anything other than self loathing as his silver eyes looked down at those empty red ones. Tonrar was dead because of the Avatar Spirit, because of him, because of all that he was and all that the world demanded he be. Tonrar had been forced into a role he hadn't wanted, he had been forced to torture and consume the souls of hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe even more than that ... and it had driven him mad. No, this wasn't a victory. Not to him.

"Aang."

Katara's soft voice called to him, her breath stolen on the breeze, and slowly he turned his face to hers. The look she gave him was painful to behold ... there was an urgency there, he knew that she was worried most keenly of all for her friends and family now, but there was a sadness that shook him, and weakly he reached out, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently.

"For better of worse, it is done."

Koh's hoarse voice came now, the spirit having stayed silent until Innua's curses had stopped, and Aang felt the tight constriction in his chest as he now looked towards the spirit, faceless and weak. Truthfully, he wasn't sure whether Koh was a threat to them in this moment. After all, the spirit had agreed that that Avatar should be killed, just not now. If he allowed Koh to walk away now then would he be condemning an Avatar of the future to death? Would he be shifting his responsibilities to someone else, just as Roku had done with Sozin? He swallowed, his hands gripping into fists automatically. And yet, he knew that Koh was the only one who could fix the tear, who could save his friends, his family, and the rest of the human race. Enemy or no, they needed Koh.

He got to his feet, facing the spirit with all the strength he had remaining to him.

"So, what now?"

The question hung in the air, and all those there knew that he wasn't just referring to the tear. Koh was silent for a moment, his body hunched and turned away from him, before he finally spoke.

"Now, we fix the tear between our two worlds and we continue going about our separate ways," he responded. "You could kill me, of course, I imagine you're considering it. In my weakened state that would be easy for you, and with Tonrar now gone perhaps the future of the Avatar could be secured, but ..." Koh sighed, a sound so terrible coming from the gaping hole that was his face. "Well, that's for you to decide."

"I-I don't know what's for the best any more," Aang replied, his voice weak and shaking at his own honesty. "I don't know what the right thing to do is. I have so many questions, I need answers for once. But, they'll have to wait."

"Yes, they will."

Koh started to drag himself forward, his taloned limbs shaking beneath him as he moved, his body so obviously spent. Innua didn't move, and truthfully Aang didn't know what to do with her. Should they take her back with them? After all, she should answer for all that she had done to them back in their world, for helping to almost bring about the end of the entire human race, but was it safe to do so? Would it be safe to let her live?

"I can fix the tear," Koh continued, stopping just beside Innua, who roughly flinched when she realised that he was so close by, her hand gripping to her broken arm before she curled in on herself. "But to do so requires a huge amount of energy."

"That's fine," Aang said immediately, stepping forwards. "I can do that."

"No, I don't think that you can. Not in the way that you think. The spiritual energy even here is not enough for this. Without knowing the precise location of the original tear, I will need to form another for you to pass through, before placing the spiritual barrier back between both of our worlds. And even then ... this barrier will be weak. It will not take much for it to be broken again in the future."

Aang felt his stomach lurch again at this. The future. It didn't take a genius to realise that Koh was talking about the spirit held within the tree, the future that was to come when it broke free ...

"Then what will it take?"

Katara got to her feet beside him, her breathing somewhat unsteady and Aang shared her exasperation. Why did the spirit need to be so cryptic? Could be seal the tear or not?"

"I'll do it," Katara said, her voice quiet. Aang started, looking back at her and blinking in confusion.

"Do what? What are you talking about?"

"Are you sure?" Koh asked, his vacant face twisting to the side. "It would make much more sense for the Avatar to do it, don't you think? She'll be reborn, after all."

"No," Katara shook her head, her eyes glistening as she stood firm. "The world needs Aang, now more than ever. He can't ..." he words caught in her throat. "He can't die here."

"Die?" The word fell from Aang's mouth, his panic rising as he looked between the two of them. "Katara, what's going on?"

"It's ok, Aang," she said, her blue eyes settling on his as she forced a smile to her face. That only seemed to panic him more, and he grabbed her arms urgently. "I've known for a while that this is what it was going to take. I've accepted it."

"Well, I haven't," Aang snapped back, feeling angry now, and glaring over at Koh. "What are you talking about?"

"The most powerful source of energy in both worlds is life," Koh replied. "Do you remember when you first defeated Tonrar in the South Pole? Twelve spirits. Or one human. That is the price."

The ringing started in his ears, and for a moment he was unable to move, just staring dumbly back at Koh completely unable to comprehend what he was hearing. He did remember. And he remembered Sunny's tale, the very end of it, when Tonrar had tried to use him to create a tear even then using Gotami and the others he had taken. He remembered. He felt the arms in his hands shift, until finger tips were pressed against his cheek, and weakly he looked round. Katara's eyes were wide and swimming with tears, and yet her expression was determined, her lips fixed into a firm line.

"Aang, I saw this already ... back in the Spirit of Fortune. If this is the price of saving our friends, Sokka, my dad, you, then I'm ready to pay it. Please, just, let me be the one to sacrifice something this time. It can't be you, not again."

"No," Aang replied weakly, shaking his head, feeling the tears already burning in his eyes. "No, this can't- there's got to be another way-"

"There isn't," Koh replied coolly.

"No." His voice was firmer this time. "No, Katara, I won't." He pulled away from her, his body shaking. She wanted to save her friends, he knew that, he understood that, but he couldn't let it happen. He couldn't let her be taken from this world ... the world needed the Avatar, but he needed her. His friends needed her far more than they needed him. He stood before Koh, his hands shaking as they curled into fists.

"Believe it or not, I have already given this thought," he said, his voice firm despite how much he shook with both anger and fear. "You intend to kill the Avatar, right? I guess you always have done. I can't let that be a problem for a future Avatar to face, I couldn't live with myself. Not after all I've had to face from the mistakes of my own past lives."

"Aang, don't do this," Katara whimpered.

"So, this works well for everyone, right?" he continued, not allowing himself to look back at her, knowing he was only a single glance away from breaking down. "Use me. My world can survive, Katara can survive, and you get to kill the Avatar-"

"I get to kill you, not the Avatar Spirit," Koh replied mildly. "Unless you die in the Avatar State she'll be reincarnated into the next human in the cycle. But, I won't lie, I would definitely get some satisfaction from killing you."

"No!" Katara yelled now, and Aang couldn't hold himself from looking to her, and his heart shattered. Her expression was wild and furious, desperate. "Koh, don't you fucking dare ... I swear I'll- I've made up my mind on this! You both need to stop being so selfish! The world needs it's Avatar, and it needs it now! It doesn't need me!"

"But I need you!" Aang yelled, his voice breaking. "Katara, you can't-"

"And what good does that do me if you're dead?" she hissed back. It hurt, it hurt so bad to see her looking at him this way, angry and heartbroken, her eyes pleading with him. "We're wasting time, our friends could be dying right now, Aang. I'm doing this. It's going to be me."

"Katara-" Aang's weak plea was interrupted by sudden laughter, and the both of them turned to see the body of Koh curled inwards on himself, the laughter high and painful sounding, the sound sending shivers down their spines.

"How selfless you both are, huh?" he said, after a moment. "Both arguing over who gets to die where in a few minutes it may not even matter anyway. You humans gained the favour of our most powerful spirit, and yet look at you. You're pathetic. So preoccupied by your own self inflated self of importance that you haven't even realised there is another option here."

"What?"

It was then that Koh pulled one of his long talons back, and Innua shifted, her head thrown up and her eyes wide as she realised a heartbeat before Aang did what was about to happen.

"No, Koh don't!"

But, it was too late, there was nothing that could be done as the talon thrust forwards, Katara letting out a surprised cry as blood exploded onto the ground, the sound of Innua's gasping breath leaving her throat as her wide blue eyes connected with Aang's. The talon was pulled back from her body, the gaping hole in her chest bleeding out and Aang was at her side in a moment, shaking hands grabbing her as she collapsed forward, eyes still wide and shocked as she gurgled her last breath, blood spilling from her lips and onto his chest. Katara stood still behind them, her breathing erratic and turning to sobs.

"She was going to die anyway," Koh replied offhandedly, the blood dripping from his talon. "There was no way any spirit here would have let her live after what she's done. I'd say I did her a kindness, wouldn't you? The half-bred mutt was finally useful for something."

Anger spread through him as he gently lay Innua onto the ground, his hands and clothing almost soaked with her blood at this stage, and yet somehow more gut churning than that was the slither of relief that he felt. Relief that at least this way Katara would live. He growled in his throat, turning his burning silver eyes to Koh, but the spirit had already turned away, his figure starting to glow with a blue light.

"I can open a tear for you both to pass through," he replied, Innua already forgotten. "I can't promise any accuracy, but is there a location that you would prefer?"

Aang couldn't reply, his hands too busy shaking, but Katara was thankfully far more level headed than he, and she replied through her sobbing breaths.

"The Fire Nation. C-capital."

"You should be able to pass through this tear and back to your world," Koh continued, before letting out a pained hiss and groan, his body trembling as the glow grew. Innua's body started to glow at Aang's side, and he took a hasty step back. "After that, I will close it and repair the barrier between our worlds."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Aang demanded. He held his hand out towards Innua as if in explanation. "How do I know that you'll shut it behind us?"

"I guess you don't," Koh replied. "But I didn't kill you, did I? Either of you?"

"Aang." Katara's voice was small, he looked over to her, and his shoulders sagged.

The wind suddenly began to pick up, before red mist started to form in the air once more, a sight that left Aang feeling shaky and nauseous, as the air before that began to thicken and pulsate, darkened until a dark gaping space appeared on the ground.

"I cannot keep this open for long," Koh said, his talons trembling with the effort and his voice gasping. "Go, Avatar. We'll meet again."

Katara reached out, grabbing his hand, and with one last look back at the bodies of Tonrar and Innua, and the spirit that he knew would remain his enemy not just in this life but his future, the two of them stepped into the tear.

The first overwhelming sensation that they felt as they stepped out of the spirit world, and back into their own, was vertigo, before their stomachs seemed dropped to their feet and the rush of wind hit them hard in the chests. For a moment, Aang wasn't able to make sense of what was going on around him, there was orange above, orange below, the sound of the air soaring by and the weightlessness across his limbs countered by the very real sensation of nausea. He was no stranger to flying through the air, to allowing gravity to pull him downwards, but it was still a shock to find himself in mid-air, high up above the dark umber of the ocean beneath them. He reached a hand out, looking about him to locate Katara, before her scream alerted him to her location, and with a push of the air from his hands he grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her close to him.

"Crash landing," he managed over the wind rushing through their hair and eyes, and she managed to stop screaming long enough to nod, her hands gripping hold of his arms for dear life. He'd like to think that Koh hadn't done this intentionally, but at this stage there was no telling what the spirit was capable of, and all he could do now was prepare a way for them to land in the water safely. He had mastery of the elements, of the wind about him, but even he was limited as to what he could do in this situation, and regardless he knew that it was going to hurt.

"Hold on to me!" he yelled, before pulling up the air below them, trying to slow their fall, and ready to pull the ocean up towards them to soften the landing, but then a sound so wondrous met his ears, and he looked up with a gasp.

"Appa!"

The large bison was souring towards them, roaring loudly as he came, those brown eyes piercing and keen as he angled his body low to get below them before they got too close to the water, and with a hand outstretched Aang was able to grab hold of the long fur of Appa's side, letting out a laugh of relief as he pulled himself and Katara onto the bison's back, the both of them falling gratefully onto him, Katara burying her face into his fur and sobbing with relief.

"Good catch, buddy!"

Appa groaned loudly, turning on his spot in the air, his great tail wagging and flapping and spoiling the otherwise smooth surface of the water below. Checking that Katara was ok first, Aang hurried up to Appa's head, he hand reaching down and pressing against the bison's cheek as Appa purred.

"How did he know we were here?" Katara managed at last, her hands still holding tight to Appa's fur.

"Not a clue," Aang admitted, pressing himself close to his friend, enjoying his warmth and the musty smell of his fur, not realising quite how much he had missed him until he felt the dampness on his cheeks. "Thanks, buddy."

Appa groaned, before angling himself towards the Capital with a fresh urgency. Both he and Katara looked forwards, and the relieved smile was soon wiped from Aang's face when he could see, even from this distance, the smoke raising up into the darkening sky. The Fire Nation capital was already under attack ... they could be too late.

"Aang, we have to hurry!" Katara cried, and he nodded.

"Right, yip yip, Appa."

But even as Appa made to rise higher over the ocean, the surface of the water began to stir, a curious dark shadow red glow coming from beneath it, and Appa let out a nervous groan.

"What is that?"

Aang didn't have a chance to reply before the water level began to rise, the surface tension keeping the water fixed in a growing dome that rose before Appa, cutting off their access to the city. Aang didn't need to grab onto Appa's horns or fur, the bison was already twisting in place, rising high and further away from the great mass that was emerging from the ocean, until they found themselves staring at a pair of large glowing red eyes upon something that only vaguely resembled a head, a smooth darkness that was only broken by the wide mouth below those eyes, reaching out towards them. The spirit's had gotten through, alright, and if this massive beast was anything to go by, their friends were in far more trouble than they could have even imagined. His teeth grit as the huge spirit rose it's head from beneath the waves, glowing eyes fixed hungrily upon them, before a hand broke free and almost in slow motion it swung behind them, as if intended to shovel them straight into the gaping chasm that was it's mouth.

Aang did the only thing he could think of in that moment, pulling the water up sharply beneath them, the pressure of it hitting Appa's underside and throwing them out of the reach of the spirit, that hand missing them by mere inches.

"Sorry, Appa!" he managed, hand holding tight to the fur beneath him, Katara's grip on the back of his tunic.

"Aang! We need to take care of this thing!" Katara yelled, quickly getting to her feet, her hands spread ready to control her element. "What can we do?"

His mind raced, watching as the great shadow of a spirit began to reach for them again. He'd never seen anything quite like it, it's body must be tens of feet tall beneath the waves, how was he supposed to stop something like this? With a sharp intake of breath, his eyes widened. He wasn't in the Spirit World any more but, was there a way ... could he ... was it still possible?

"Katara, wrap as much water around this thing as you can!" he yelled, also getting to his feet.

"What are you going to do?" she called back, wasting no time in pulling the ocean around them, spinning it faster and faster.

"I'm going to try and calm it like I did the spirits in the Spirit World!"

"Do you think you can do that here?" Her voice broke with the effort, Appa needing to take another sharp turn to avoid the swiping hand of the great spirit in front of them.

"I can try!"

With Katara's help, he started to pull yet more water from the ocean, and together they began to spin it round and around the head of the spirit. The water began to glow, and Aang glanced sideways to see the sweat dripping down Katara's temple, her healing energy being channeled into her bending and he had to thank her for her quick thinking. He took a deep breath, allowing his energy to reach out just as he had in the Spirit World, probing for the huge spirit in front of them.

It was far harder here in their world. The spiritual energy around them was finite, he had to search for it, in much the same way that he had search for the pieces of earth in rock, feeling his way through the air around them. The spiritual energy was not absent here, he could feel it, sense it, trying to find a way to connect himself to the spirit trying hard to grab them, to swallow them whole, and it was with a gasp that he finally found it, his head filling with heavy emotions ... with pain and grief and anger, just as it had done when he had tried to control Tonrar for the first time. He growled deep in his throat ... truthfully, he wasn't sure how many more times he could feel this connection with the spirits before it broke him. There was so much turmoil inside of them, inside of all of them, and it was only getting harder to counteract these feelings. With a deep breathe he eased the darkness, he injected whatever little calm and peace he had left inside of him, and slowly the beast began to slow. The glowing of it's eyes began to fade, and with a final gasp Aang let his hands drop. Katara was at his side in a heartbeat, supporting him as he felt his knees shake, the two of them watching as the spirit, now a pearly white, started to drop back into the ocean, the colourful sheen visible for just a few moments longer before it vanished into the deep.

"Are you ok?" Katara asked. He was exhausted, his legs were shaking from the effort, but they weren't done yet. He nodded.

"Let's go."

Appa didn't even need guiding, taking off at the sound of Aang's voice, his great tail beating and sending them soaring back over the ocean and towards the billowing smoke coming from the Fire Nation Capital. It was far worse than either of them could imagine.

They could easily see that lives had already been lost. There were bodies lying across the ground below them, both human and spirit, and Katara choked, her fingertips digging into Aang's forearm. The fight had already started, long before they had ever arrived here, and it only took a glance to see just how difficult a fight that had been. But what brought them the most horror, what left them both desperate and afraid, was seeing the pile of dark black spirits clambering over the top of one another, the smell of burning flesh and wood, the huge burst of flames that surrounded the entrance to the Capital's Palace.

"Zuko!" Katara cried, getting to her feet. Aang could see it, too. Zuko looked battered, exhausted, but he didn't let up, throwing flame after flame at the spirits. He wasn't the only one there ... other firebenders rallied around him, and it was only through their efforts that they were able to stop the mountain of spirits from breaking into the Palace.

"Katara, I'm not going to be able to calm all of them like this," he said, Appa souring high over the chaos ensuing below.

"I've got an idea," she said back. "Take us closer to the bay, we're going to need a lot of water."

He nodded, tapping Appa's left side, the bison veering off. He was doing his best not to panic, there'd be time for that later, right now his thoughts raced and the adrenaline buzzed, and he trust in Katara's ability to make the best call. With effort she began to raise water from the ocean again, and he stood at her side, the pair of them swaying as they built up a huge wave of sea water, the eerie glow casting shimmering shadows and lights upon the city and bodies below, the both of them trying hard not to notice.

"We'll freeze them," Katara grunted. "As many as we can."

"Got it."

It took all of their focus to keep huge weight of water suspended in the air. It was heavy, a great many tonnes, and should they slip the damage it could cause to the city below wouldn't be the worst of their troubles. But the sheer number of spirits that were threatening to break in, that Zuko was only just holding back, were beyond anything either of them could have imagined. It would take this ... it may take more ... to hold them back. And perhaps frozen, perhaps still, Aang would stand a chance at calming them all and sending the spirits away.

"You ready?" Aang yelled, and Katara nodded, as they swooped back by the Palace. Aang had time to see the way Zuko's flames had begun to fade, the Firelord's body starting to slump, before he saw wide amber eyes burn in his direction. Zuko's mouth fell open, his flames finally fading, as together Aang and Katara brought the water down and across, expertly controlling it's flow as it hit the spirits across the side. The sound of screeching was terrible, but their attack was quick and deadly, and the freezing wave crashed down upon them, sending cold clouds into the air.

After a moment, silence fell, as the screams stopped. It was a silence that was painful, the flickering of flames from the various fires lit across the city almost sickening. They had managed to freeze each of the spirits there, but Aang knew it was only a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds, before they started to break free, and he had to act quickly.

"I'll need to go into the Avatar State," he said. Katara's breath caught in her throat, but she nodded her head once, expression firm.

"I've got you."

He shut his eyes again, his hands outstretched, feeling out with his own spiritual energy again. Katara was at his side, he could sense her healing energy once more, could feel the glow coming from the mass beneath them against his eyelids. The pain the grief ... his eyes scrunched together, his chest aching so badly he was afraid it would burst. It was so much, so great. The souls beneath him were so tormented and so broken. It was never that he hadn't considered that the spirits were capable of as much emotion and turmoil as humans but, somehow, it had never occurred to him that maybe they needed help to. Maybe the spirits needed guidance just as much as humans did, as he did. The spirit world was broken, and it needed fixing, it needed time and patience, it needed him just as much as this world did, and the Avatar had neglected that fact for far too long. It seemed to be at this thought that the rush of energy passed between himself and the spirits, and he passed swiftly into the Avatar State, his tattoos glowing so vibrantly that Katara had to squint and shield her eyes beside him. After a moment, the ice began to melt, he could hear the panic coming from the people below him, but Katara was quick to call at, to tell them not to attack. It was immense, intense, his arms shook through the effort, but the calm began to spread, and the spirits began to slow. Their rich purple skin began to shimmer, the glowing in their eyes fading, until one by one they started to turn away.

When Appa touched down, it was with mixed relief and exhaustion that Aang finally stepped foot back on the earth of his world, stumbling slightly as Katara supported him from his side. His tired silver eyes looked up, and he met Zuko's gaze. The Firelord looked just as tired as he felt, but the pair of them both managed to stumble forwards, and in relief he and his friend embraced, the smell of blood and fire clinging to Zuko as he wrapped heavy arms around his shoulders.

"Cut it a little tight there, buddy," Zuko said, in a hoarse voice, before he pair broke apart.

"Yeh," Aang managed. "Sorry about that."

"Katara-" Zuko was interrupted by she wrapping her hands around him as well, Aang watching as her fingertips dug into the Firelord's shoulders, as if trying to convince herself that he was there, that all of this was real. That if she let go for even a second they would be dragged back into the hell they had spend the last several months living through.

"Are you ok?" she mumbled, her face pressed against his neck. "Is everyone ..." she pulled away, suddenly holding Zuko's at arms distance. Her expression was panicked, fearful. "Zuko, is everyone-"

"Katara!"

Both she and Aang looked up to see three figures rushing towards them.

"Dad!"

She sprinted past Zuko and Aang, throwing her arms around her father, tears falling swiftly down her cheeks, and Aang felt a lump forming in his throat. Suki stopped in front of them, but the look on her face froze him.

"Suki?" he questioned. "What ... what is it?"

"Katara," Hakoda said. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry ..."

"Sorry?" Katara stepped back, only now seeing Suki, and Aang watched as her face paled. "Sokka. Wait, where is he?"

No. Aang's heart stopped beating in that moment. No, he couldn't ... it can't be ...

"I can take you to him," came a third voice, one that Aang didn't recognise at first. "But we need to go quickly."

For a long moment, Aang didn't know who it was that he was looking at, taking in the sight of a strong jawline, a broken nose, and a mess of dreadlocks, but Katara's growl jostled his memory. She stormed forwards, the air around them growing cold as her teeth bared, her expression darker than he had ever seen it.

"You," she snarled, her hands gripping the front of the man's tunic. He was far bigger than her, and Aang was quick to light the flame on his palms as he swept forwards beside her, ready to back her up if she needed it. The man's eyes widened in shock, darting quickly between the hands fisted at his neck and the flame in the Avatar's hand. "What did you do to him?"

"Wh-whoa, wait, you got the wrong-"

"You better answer her," Aang snarled, his voice sounding very much unlike his own. This man ... this was the man that had helped Innua kidnap Katara. This was the man who had held a knife to her throat, who had cut her ... he wasn't sure what he was doing here, but he was not about to let him get away.

"Katara, Aang!" Hakoda spoke now, hurrying forwards. A large arm was thrust between the pair of them and Kanto. "It wasn't Kanto. I'll explain everything, I promise, but we don't have time!"

"Sokka, Toph, and Xing Ying are in a cave not far from here," Kanto said quickly. "Please, let me take you to him."

Aang's flame dropped, knowing that if Hakoda was willing to trust the man, to hold him back, then the situation was either far dire than he thought or ... maybe they had reason to trust this man. Katara's expression was torn, hatred dripping from her features as she looked up at the man who had kept her prisoner, who had cut her throat, had helped Innua humiliate her, but she needed to get to Sokka. She had seen it, had she not? In the Spirit of Fortune, she had seen Sokka's body. A dry sob broke her lips.

"Let's go."

Kanto was quick to jump up on Appa's head, Aang, Katara, Zuko, Hakoda and Suki following him, and Appa was off in an instant. It was perhaps telling of desperate a situation this was that Zuko wasted no time coming with them, leaving Mamoru in charge for the moment after the destruction of his city.

"What happened?" Katara asked, turning to her dad.

"He was hit by a spirit," Zuko said, bringing her attention to him. "I'm not ... I'm not going to lie to you, Katara, it's bad."

"How far away is this cave?" Suki asked, her voice shaking terribly as she tried to keep herself together.

"Not far," Kanto replied from Appa's head. "We're almost there."

Katara didn't even wait for Appa to land before she threw herself off the side of the bison, landing on the hard stone as the stopped before the cave. A fire was coming from inside, and Aang was next to the chase, his body suddenly no longer fatigued, intent only on being at Katara's side, on helping her however she needed, of seeing that his friend was ok. The sight that met him would be one that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Toph was sat on the ground, her body crouched over, her face pale as tears dripped down her face. Against her lap, his head rested against her legs, was the still and bloody body of Sokka. His eyes were shut, his face a ghostly white. There was dried blood around his lips, dripped down onto his chest, and the sound of his rattled, labored breathing was perhaps the most awful thing that Aang had ever heard in his life.

"K-Katara?" came the small, broken voice of Toph, her face angling upwards.

"It's me," Katara replied, hurrying to her side. It was perhaps testament to her strength, her resolve, her unwavering braveness, that Katara did not break down then and there.

"He-he won't wake up," Toph whimpered. "W-we tried to keep him awake but he ... he fell asleep, and h-he won't ... he won't ..."

Katara placed her hands on Sokka's forehead, and Aang couldn't help but admire how little they shook.

"Tell me what you need," he asked immediately.

"Water," she replied, and he got to his feet, pushing quickly past the group at the entrance. Hakoda and Suki were frozen in place, their expression's grief stricken, and it was probably only his desire to be as helpful as possible that kept him moving in that moment, dropping more causally into the Avatar State than he had done for a very long time as he brought sea water the huge distance below them, so that he could be back at her side in just a few moments.

"Does anyone know what happened? What happened exactly?" Katara demanded, taking the water from him before letting it cover Sokka's vital points, the glow wrapping across his chest and his head.

"A spirit," Zuko replied, his voice shaking. "A big one, it hit him in the chest and sent him back into a building. He, uh-" Zuko took a deep breath, as if trying to steady himself. "He said he took a hit to head before that and, uh, his ribs were probably broken, he said his shoulder hurt."

"H-how long ago was this?" Katara asked, keeping the glow across him. She had yet to touch him, inspect his wounds, no doubt just wanting to stabilise him as best she could, to get a better idea of what she could be dealing with.

"Fuck," Zuko said, swearing uncharacteristically as he reached up, running a hand through his hair. "I don't ... there's been so much going on, about an hour? Maybe less? I'm sorry, Katara ... I don't-" Zuko's voice broke, and Aang looked back to him. It had been such a long time she he had last seen Zuko in a state such as this.

"There's a deep wound in the right side of his chest," Kanto offered, the mans voice far calmer. Aang turned his focus to him now. He felt the hackles rising on the back of his neck, but the honesty in Kanto's face was obvious even at this stage. "I'm pretty sure the spirit punctured one of his lungs, his shoulder dislocated if not broken. He was still lucid and smart mouthing when I found him and sent him back here on Appa."

Aang's eyes immediately snapped back to Zuko at those words. Found him? Zuko visibly winced, his eyes now wet as he glanced over at Suki. Katara, however, chose to let those words pass her by for just a moment.

She reached forward, grabbing Sokka's tunic.

"Aang, could you?"

Aang reached to his back pocket, to where he had been habitually keeping the knife that Hakoda had given him before he realised with a jolt to the stomach that it was still back in the spirit world, still blood stained and lying on the stone.

"Here," Hakoda said, knowing what Katara was after and handing him his knife instead. Aang took it, leaning forwards to cut open the front of Sokka's shirt, revealing the huge black and purple bruise that spread across the entire of his chest, and the red and weeping wound where the spirit had caught him. Suki gasped and whimpered, and Aang immediately felt his hands start to shake at the sight of it, looking quickly up at Katara. Her eyes were wide, taking in the damage.

"That's ... spirits," she breathed, and he could see the panic start to take hold, start to take control. He reached out, grabbing her hand.

"Deep breath," he said. "You've got this."

She swallowed, her wide blue eyes drifting to the scar across his face for a moment, before she nodded. She reached up, brushing the tears angrily from her face, before letting the salt water coat her hands against, pressing her hand against the wound.

"It's a deep wound," she muttered, talking herself through the process to calm herself down. "All his ribs on this side are shattered ... there's one ... no, two tears in the lung. Spirits, I don't ... I can heal that, I think. But the broken bones? I can only do so much without ... shit, unless I can get in there I can't do anything other than guide the healing."

"The bleeding," Aang said, gesturing to Sokka's face. "Is that just from this?"

Katara shut her eyes, pressing further, reaching out across Sokka's body as she looked for more damage. "I think so," she said, with some relief. "I need to heal his lung now, he'll die if it's left any longer."

"I-is there anything we can do?" came a soft voice, and Aang glanced over to see that Xing Ying was also in the room.

"Not yet," Katara replied. "I just ... I need some time, some focus."

The room fell silent as Katara worked, Aang keeping his focus even spread between Sokka and Katara, keeping an eye on her as much as him. He knew how exhausted she already was, her healing took a lot out of her has it was, and this was not going to be an easy heal for her. He glanced up at the rest of the group. Hakoda had his arm around Suki, the two of them watching with red rimmed eyes, but it was Zuko that took his attention. The Firelord had taken himself off, sitting in the dark of the cave, his face in his hands.

Fifteen minutes later, Katara let out a relieved breath of air, leaning back.

"That's it," she said. "I've closed up the tears."

Aang offered her a comforting smile, reaching out and taking her bloody hand before squeezing it. She nodded. But then, things swiftly took a turn for the worse, Sokka's breathing growing that more labored, as he began to cough and choke. Katara darted up, eyes widening, panicked.

"Wh-what's happening?" Toph squeaked, her hands dropping to Sokka's shoulders, trying to steady him.

"I don't- I don't- the blood!" Katara cried. "Aang, help me roll him over."

Careful not to put any pressure on Sokka's right side, Aang gripped Sokka by the waist, leaning him to the side, and with notable relief Sokka began to gasp and choke less, coughing much easier. He tried not to look too hard at the blood coming from his mouth, and Sokka's face scrunched up, his legs kicking weakly for a moment before his arms leaned forward, one hand gripping hold of Aang's forearm with a strength that was altogether so comforting. Sokka continued to cough, until the blood seem to run dry, and instead a hoarse groan broke from his lips.

"Sokka!" Katara cried, her hand on his cheek. "Sokka, can you hear me?"

"K-Katara?" Sokka's eyes opened, slit and and shining blue. His breathing was still heavy, his inhales deep and ragged. He looked between Aang and Katara for a moment, steadying his breath.

"Y-you guys l-look terrible," he wheezed, and Aang couldn't stop the grin that came to his face, Katara letting out a relieved laugh.

A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates, everyone, I know that was a bad place to leave you all hanging! You know how life gets sometimes, and I've got a huge month ahead of me that's left so little time for writing.

We are almost at the end now, perhaps just a couple of chapters to finish everything up. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by all this time.