AN: I miss Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is the greatest story ever made. And as you can see, I have officially become addicted to writing things in Katara's point of view. More inspiring italicized quotes that I've learned from Avatar are here too. Also, this story started out simpler than this, but now it has a life of its own. On another note, I have completely strayed from chapter stories because I never finish them and the suck usually coming from me. So I have decided to make really, really long oneshots. Also, there are minor references to "Innocence."Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created this wonderful story, not me. I'm most definitely not that creative.
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The Secret Part 1: Friendship

Friendship is a different entity entirely. Its colors are so bright and beautiful that they are capable of surpassing the sun. It has a sense of togetherness and a bond so strong that is it almost close to unavoidable. It is one that overflows in mystery and is determined to encompass everything in its path.

You must let yourself feel friendship before letting others feel it from you.

I am Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. It has been exactly twelve years since the final ending of the infamous Century War. The people of the world had thrived in darkness and war for one-hundred years, and it was only twelve years ago that the Avatar had finally defeated the ruthless Firelord Ozai. He refused to kill, even if he seemingly had no choice, but the Avatar always found another way. By being true to himself, Avatar Aang was able to do the impossible: defeat the Firelord without the horrible venom of hate. He did not take his life, and thus Ozai's existence was spared.

Now, Aang is known all over the world as one of the most powerful Avatars to ever have lived. Although, after living for so long in warfare, the world is still going to take some time to heal itself, and of course, with the help of the master of all four elements. Some political squabbles and minor revolts spring up now and then in some parts of the earth, but all in all, the world now lives in a great era of peace and kindness.

-

Our daughter, Kya, never really understood why her father had to leave the South Pole in a cloak that covered most of him, and wearing a pair of gloves. She was an avid airbender, just learning to harness her skills, but was a curious spirit that always asked her parents unanswerable questions.

"Ma?" I nodded my head in acknowledgement as I heard Kya's footsteps enter the bedroom. "Did daddy leave again? Why does he always have to leave?"

She was five years in age, and I had to admit that she was such an inquiring person, but I knew that at this moment I could not answer any of her questions. Now was not the correct time for that. Aang and I had decided from the beginning that when we had Kya, she would not know that he was the Avatar until the time was right; not until she was sixteen. Just because the war was over, didn't mean it was safe.

She mustn't know the truth until that time; otherwise she may face more danger than what we could ask for. It was incredibly dangerous for Kya to know that Aang was the Avatar. We both figured that she also 

wouldn't be ready for the stress and risks that her father had to face. We wanted our child to grow up normally until that time came, and everyone else agreed, because at the time it was the right decision to be made.

"He has some business to attend to Kya. Your father is a hardworking man." That was always the answer I gave my daughter, vague, but true and to the point. We never lied to her. It was terrible to lie to someone you deeply cared about and loved. Aang and I always found a way to either get around the issue, or make a true statement that never really gave the full response.

I was waterbending the dirty clothes around in an enormous wooden bowl on the floor, mixed with a jasmine-scented soap. I looked up to see her reaction, but all I saw was a nod and then her small figure turning around in the doorway of the icy structure, "Probably going outside," I thought.

The scent of the soap only grew stronger as I added some more inside the swirling water, bending the substance from a small canteen on the left of my crossed legs. The bowl was in my front and I swirled the water steadily, never taking my eyes off of it.

It was abruptly interrupted when I heard an annoying bang on my front door.

Assuming the worst, I irritably left what I was doing to be sprawled and not neat on the icy floor. I stood up and quickly started the pace of walking to the door. When I waterbended the archway open, I raised my eyebrow. I was right. It was my beloved brother, Sokka.

"You know, I get so annoyed with all of these doors around here that I can't open just because I'm a non-bender," Sokka said, folding his arms across his chest and looking upward to see the top of the arch.

My brother was just one to stray from the matter at hand. "What's your point, big brother?"

He sighed, obviously aware that I wasn't in the greatest of moods at the moment. "Well, my point is, little sister, all the non-benders get wooden doors or animal pelt curtains as doors. I just think that it would be fairer if, you know, everyone had the same type of door so that everyone could have the same amount of protection and everything and-"

I slapped my forehead. "ALRIGHT! I get it." He looked at me with a little bit of a fearful expression, but I ignored it completely. "Look, if you're just going to babble about how the doors are unfair, then you can just leave."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I gave him no more time to make a come-back. "Or you could tell me the real reason why you came here."

"I try to set out a friendly conversation and you just-"

I was about to slam the door in his face, but decided that if Sokka had a real reason to come here, it would be pretty important. I just guessed that this was one of his off days. I was getting pretty irritated with him though, to the point where I yelled at him.

"SOKKA!"

He stopped, mid-sentence with his mouth still hanging half open and his right hand was pointing its forefinger to the sky as if attempting to make an unseen point. He closed his mouth and dropped his hand to his side, his face became serious and I knew that he finally had come to his senses.

"Well," he said, "I just came here to tell you that Aang's back. He arrived around five to ten minutes ago. Oh, and he's out there with the Fire Nation traders again on the docks."

Now we were getting somewhere. "That's great! Kya's going to be so happy to see him after two days!" This time, it was I who folded my arms across my chest, staring out to look at my brother. "And so am I." I smiled, and I saw that he did too.

"Well that's good." He patted me on my shoulder before saying something more. "But just to tell you, he might need a little help. You know how he always has to supervise trades with the Southern Water Tribe and the other nations when they come around here," he stopped and looked at me. "The traders aren't so happy though. He kind of might need us there if it gets out of hand. There was some sort of argument with the port here and the foreign traders because of prices or something. I suggest you seriously come along."

This wasn't good. "What?"

Sometimes I couldn't believe how stupid some of these people were. I mean, Aang already tries so hard to maintain balance after one-hundred years of fighting, and yet everyone seems to ignorantly ignore all he has been doing! This must be so awful for him. He has to be under a lot of pressure and is the one that almost the whole world turns to every single time there's a problem. I had to go help him.

"Kya," I yelled with my hand on the side of my lips for emphasis, "I'm going out! Stay inside!"

I heard a brief response of, "Yes," before I ran off, closing the door behind me with my brother at my side. It was at times like these that I was grateful for not needing my water pouch. I was in a place surrounded by water that I could control at my own command and I didn't have to search frantically for a source when I thought that I might desperately need one.

My breathing started to get heavy as I ran as fast as I could to the docks. I could just barely make out the tips of the Fire Nation red flags above all the icy buildings. I was glad that the South Pole was now back to its former glory, thanks to my old waterbending master and my grandfather, Pakku. But now wasn't the time to think of things like that.

Sokka and I were in our traditional Water Tribe attire and our coats were flowing behind us. I hear my brother take out his club, which my father had made newly for him twelve years ago, and I made sure that I was ready to fight just in case.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, both of us reached the harbor. We saw the massive Fire Nation trade ships, made of metal and extremely streamline. They had small, triangular crimson flags with the black emblem of the Fire Nation inked onto them. The helm was tall, and the trap door to the cargo area was big enough for one Shirshu to escape from. The Fire Nation sure knew how to trade well.

At the base of the ship, and on the man-made icy dock, there were about eight men dressed in simple Fire Nation clothing with a dark red sash from one shoulder to the other. They had black gloves on and pointed shoes. They were properly dressed for entering an area of the world with colder weather than their own home, and I knew that for a fact. Also on the dock and to the front of them, there was the Avatar in his Air Nomad clothing that stood out from anyone else's. His arms were moving back and forward, obviously getting frustrated and trying to explain a point.

I heard him from the few yards away I was.

"I know the prices have increased for blubbered seal jerky, but you have to realize that this isn't the season for seals. They usually come out in the winter and spring, and it's fall right now. The prices will decrease when there are more seals!"

I shook my head. "Yes," I thought, "These people are pretty stupid for trying to argue about something like this."

I heard him speak again. "I am aware that you have lowered the price for metal because you knew the Water Tribes would like it, but maybe you should wait until they are ready to give you something in return. They have to hunt for these animals and cook them properly, but it not being the right season for them only makes it harder."

One man spoke to him, but his words were so soft that I presumed that he might have been a little intimidated by the Avatar. Then Aang spoke again, "Yes I know that the Fire Nation is abundant in metal. Trust me, I know."

From the corner of my eye I saw Sokka smile a little. Even through all of this, Aang still made his inside jokes on his disguised experience in the Fire Nation. It was great to know that he remembered all of these little things from our not-so-distant past.

"Good," I heard him respond again, slowly beginning to turn his back on them, "Alright."

But as soon as he was only a few feet away, his back was fully turned on them and Sokka and I were still firmly in place. Suddenly, a horrifying sight caught me eye. One of the men was moving around as if to prepare for a blow, then fire burst out from his fist, headed straight toward Aang.

My eyes widened and I started to sprint forward with all of my might, but I was astonished to see Aang make a swift turn around and quickly create a strong root to the ground and separate his fists in a fierce motion, blatantly blocking the fire.

I was still on the ground, as if stuck to my one place, shocked and absurdly relieved when I heard my brother shout in fury.

"Assassin!"

It was then that I heard him scream out his trademark war cry, the flinging of his club clearly rang throughout the air as he ran, and I soon followed, pulling out a good amount of water from the bay with me. The village warriors heard the cry, running from their houses in a desperate gallop.

Shouts were heard all around us, and more of those atrocious men came out of the two other "trade" boats. I couldn't wait for Zuko to hear about this. But right now, I just was overjoyed that Kya was the type of child who always obeyed orders and stayed inside and that Aang was able to fend off the shot before it hit him.

By now it seemed that everyone was surrounded by at least close to a hundred people who had attempted to assassinate the Avatar. Well, obviously, their "master plan" on that argument was a pretty badly thought out one, but still, they posed some kind of threat and they needed to be stopped.

I thrust the water under my control in order to smack some of the "tradesmen" out of our way, forcibly shoving them off to the side or into the water's edge. My brother was hitting a few at a time, swinging his weapon from side to side. Eventually, the clearing was made so that we could get to Aang.

He was already fighting off some of the firebenders, stopping every move they tried on him and occasionally airbending one off to the side. He was on the defensive and I knew that he definitely did not want to start throwing blows at the people he was trying to keep at peace. I also saw the warriors around me, punching a man unconscious, or a waterbender from the North hurling an icicle.

This needed to be stopped; now. I took as much water as I dared and threw it up into the air and crossed my arms in order to separate it. I knew Aang would catch on and I saw him glide one part into his grasp as I did the same.

Both of us were a team as we carefully water-whipped one man, and then another, so that all of them got the idea of going back on board their metal ships.

Basically, all the warriors and benders on our side were just standing there staring at us. It was our battle now.

After a few minutes of muffled screaming from the attempted murderers, they all eventually fled back on their boats, but the man that I supposed was their leader challenged to step out on his own. He flung a lightning bolt toward Aang and he easily redirected it. "This must be one of the few Fire Nation people that can bend lightning," I thought. Aang placed his left hand in the air to signal me to step away from the scene. I did not want to, and almost refused, but Aang just shook his head, and from that point on I knew that there was nothing I could do.

Now it was all up to him and all I could do was watch.

"I am Admiral Chan, Avatar. I can see that you still hold no regret in defeating the true Firelord."

"This man was the one on leave on Ember Island," I said to myself, remembering what the Fire Nation soldier said all those years ago when my father and the rest of us pretended to be a ship from the Eastern Fleet.

Admiral Chan lowered his hands slightly and seemed to be trying to test the Avatar in battle, but I knew how this would end.

Aang responded to the brutal looking man with an angry glint in his eyes. "I think I could care less who you are. Leave the South Pole immediately before I'm forced to do something that you might regret."

The admiral laughed, sounding horrific and evil. I couldn't help but think that this man must be out of his mind. In all of the twelve years of peace from the Century War, nothing like this had happened before. This was by far the most insane situations all of us have been put through since the war was still going on.

I looked to Aang, and saw that he was completely serious. Then, I looked to the man, who again shot a lightning bolt at Aang, who directed it to a block of ice somewhere in the distant water.

"That's enough, Admiral," Aang said to the man, "I think you should return to the Fire Nation. I will report this to Firelord Zuko. If I hear anything else about you and your men trying to attack, I will personally make sure that you join Ozai in a heavily guarded prison cell. No firebending."

At this, the people behind me gave a short gasp. It was a legendary story, really. The story of how Avatar Aang had defeated Firelord or Phoenix King Ozai was a great one. He was the only Avatar ever to be enlightened by this tremendous power, and no one dared to challenge him. He was the most powerful being in the world and mastered all four elements in one year. But, most of the people of the planet also 

knew him as the kindest person alive. He was gentle, and was kind enough to spare lives that probably were better off not spared at all.

Admiral Chan's eyes were wide at this comment, but then soon they were back to their normal state, brute insanity encompassing his whole being.

Then, he went and did such a terrible thing. Chan blasted fire in a circle, trying to scar the villagers and everyone around him. He was trying to catch Aang off guard. Of course, Aang came to the rescue, turning around again and spreading out the flames till they dissipated, but this only gave Chan more time.

His fingertips exploded with lightning yet again, but when Aang turned around he still was able to redirect it on time, just barely, into the sky. The lightning graciously missed his chest, but what really made my heart sink was the fact that he was clutching his right shoulder so tightly afterward.

My eyes welled up with tears. "Aang! Please!" I was desperate and worried.

"No Katara," he cried back to me, "Stay back." He was leaning forward slightly, the air seemed so still. No one moved an inch from their spots and stayed exactly in the same positions as they were originally.

"Protecting a woman I see. This should get interesting once I kill you."

I could almost feel Sokka tense a few feet away from me. I could understand why, though. He just witnessed his best friend get hit with a blow. I tilted my head to look at him from the corner of my eye, but my basic vision never leaving the sight of my husband before me. He tightened his grip on his club, furious.

"Get out of here, Admiral. You don't want to harm these people." Even when he was hit, Aang was still as determined as ever. His gaze at his opponent never wavered for a mere second and was as intense as the deepest black. "Leave this place and never come back."

The evil man just laughed maniacally and said through his breaths, "Why should I, Avatar? You obviously are no match for me and these villagers are too preoccupied with protecting you that they could care less if they perished on the spot."

What a mistake. Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow; his arm that was clutching his injury dropped to his side, then slowly rose up with his other, creating an enormously powerful shield of air around him, his Air Nomad clothing ruffling lividly around his body. He did not lift into the air and was in complete control of his actions in the Avatar State. His arms were brought to a halt in front of him and created a giant wave of water that was behind the admiral and enclosed him within a wedge of hard ice, only his head stuck out. Then Aang pushed his arms forward and one of his legs followed suit. The man was propelled onto his own ship, residing behind him while he was still captured in the ice.

Aang walked up a few steps then stopped at the ship's entrance. The voices of his and many of the past Avatars were booming from him, ferocity in each syllable.

"Leave this place and never come back," the Avatar said, and the crazed firebender nodded fearfully to the helmsmen, all three faux trade ships leaving at the same time.

Once the Fire Nation flags disappeared from the horizon, Aang's shield dissolved and his eyes and arrows ceased glowing. He just stood there, staring out to the scene before him for a few seconds before finally falling on one knee and anxiously seizing his shoulder once again. His eyes were tightly sealed and his eyebrows furrowed in pain.

The crowd of warriors and benders began to step forward in an effort to try and help him, but Sokka and I were out there first.

My feet skidded on the dock that the battle took place on. My knees slid on the floor when I came to his side at last. Sokka partially kneeled next to me and patted Aang's back gently.

"You okay buddy?" Sokka smiled at his best friend when Aang opened his eyes. He returned the gesture weakly.

"I've been better." He gave a feeble chuckle and this only made my brother grin wider. It was great to know that they both got along so well. I still couldn't believe that Sokka didn't like Aang when they first met, but now they were the closest best friends that one could ever imagine.

Aang gingerly pushed himself up with one arm, leaving his right arm dangling helplessly by his side. I helped him up by supporting his left, and Sokka keeping a steady hold on his friend's back, careful not to touch the wounded shoulder.

We looked down from the dock, only to see the eyes of warriors, benders, and a few villagers staring up at us. One woman who I didn't know decided to speak up.

"Thank you, Avatar. We are so much in your debt."

All around us, people were bowing toward him respectfully. The woman smiled and opened her palm and stepped to the side so that the three of us could get through. Aang, Sokka, and I walked through the throng in silence. We made our way to my house and I was able to waterbend the door open while reluctantly letting go of my husband briefly.

I made sure that my brother and Aang were sitting comfortably on some chairs while I went back to seal the door shut. As I came back, I saw him wincing in pain again, still holding onto his arm while Sokka leaned back and watched him with concern.

"Please, Aang. Stop doing that," I said as caring as possible. "Let me help you." More tears began to form. I hated to see him like this more than anything. The tears only came down slowly, in such small proportions that I barely even noticed them at all. But of course he and my brother noticed them.

"Katara, you really don't have to do that. It's fine, really." He was looking at me with anxiety as he saw the tears roll down my cheeks. His voice was so calm.

"It's alright Aang. My sister was just really worried about you when she saw what Chan did," Sokka said, looking at me with a hint of curiosity. "Am I right?"

I only nodded my head in response, my hands getting ready to gather up the water I needed to help Aang's injury heal. But I couldn't help myself. I pulled Aang close and hugged him tight, silently sobbing into his chest. He embraced me back with his good arm.

"Well, here goes the love," Sokka said and he stood up. "I'm going to get out of here before it gets too weird for 'the older brother.' And Aang, make sure to get better okay?"

It was quiet as Sokka left the room, but then I heard a cry. "Katara! I need to get out! Remember? No waterbending?"

I sniffed and with a flick of my arm from far away I heard the door open, and then I let it close as soon as I heard my brother's footsteps exit the premises. I was still within Aang's embrace, and I turned into him to cry a little more.

"Aang, I was so afraid that you would get hurt."

He held me closer to him, burying his face in my hair. "It's alright. I'm here. I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about, Katara."

Everything seemed to be spoken in whispers as I pulled away from him and actually started to soothe his wound. Because of the fact that the wound wasn't as fresh when I starting healing it, I could only do so much. I felt horrible and lost. I wished that I could do so much more for him.

"Here. Let me wrap these bandages around your shoulder."

I heard tiny feet coming our way, and sooner than later Kya appeared before us, smiling brightly and looking a little more than excited.

"Daddy! You're home! I can't wait to-" She stopped, staring at me while I was wrapping a bandage around his injured shoulder. I didn't even realize that she was there, and I guess neither did Aang. We were all there and quiet, no one saying a word to the other until Kya asked, "Ma? What happened?"

I finally realized that our five year old daughter was in our presence, looking up to her father's eyes with care, her eyebrows raised a little. "Did you get hurt?"

I let Aang separate from me a little, but wincing as he did so. He lifted his left arm, the one that wasn't damaged, and patted the top of Kya's head tenderly while saying, "I just got into a small accident. That's all."

"That's an understatement," I thought while keeping myself busy with his bandages. Lightning was so dangerous and one of the worst ways that I could think of to get injured. First, it was underneath Ba Sing Se, and then Zuko got hit, and then this again. I didn't want to believe that the Fire Nation was a group of people who were cruel, but I guess that after what some of these people have done, it was hard to simply forgive and forget.

"There," I said, making the finishing touches to the wrappings and placing a tiny knot to keep it together, "That's done. Aang, do you know what the hawk is? I think I need to contact the Firelord right away."

I saw Kya back up a little and she stood there with her deep blue eyes staring at both of us with extreme curiosity.

Aang was able to stand up on his own from the wooden chair that he sat on. I followed suit and waited patiently for his response to my question while silently placing the water back in its bowl. He observed me and said, "I think Sokka might have him. Suki said that he did love that bird and that it was almost always in the house." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "What are you going to write to him?"

"What do you think? I'm going to tell Zuko exactly what happened here. He needs to know and he needs to try and control it. This is getting out of hand. If anyone else hears about them, they really do need to be stopped. These people are going to try and avenge Ozai by doing a whole lot of damage. " I looked down to see the icy flooring. "I don't want this to happen again, especially not this." My hand slightly gestured to his bindings.

He smiled sadly at me and turned to Kya, "It's getting late." The sun was already past set and the room was getting pretty dark. "Kya, why don't you go to bed now? I'll make sure to spend time with you tomorrow. I'm sorry." It broke my heart to actually see in his gray eyes that he was truly sorry.

Kya responded, sounding completely understanding. "It's alright. I'll go to sleep now. Night Ma, night Dad." And with that, she swiveled around in the archway, hushed and walking in the direction of her room.

"C'mon Katara. We should talk about this in the room."

I followed his retreating figure to our bedroom doorframe. He entered the place, and picked up the laundry bowl I was working on earlier, but not without a short grunt of pain. I rushed to his side and took it from his hands, placing the container on the bedside table along with the bottle of jasmine-scented soap. I waterbended all of the dirty water out and waved it out the window at the far side of the room, quickly making sure to hang the newly cleaned attire on the window sill temporarily before I hung them outside in the morning properly.

I sat down on the bed and took out a scroll that was unwritten on from underneath the bed and grabbed a bottle of ink and a brush. Aang sat next to me.

"Alright," I stated, a little bit distant and thinking about what I was going to write to the Firelord, "How should I start it?"

I unrolled the paper to sit on top of my lap and placed the bottle of ink on the side table, which was very near to me. I dipped my brush in and waited tolerantly for Aang's reply.

"To the Firelord, Zuko," he stated in his official tone as I scribbled his words. "Admiral Chan, a loyalist of your father has attacked the Southern Water Tribe along with a group of his men. They were impersonating Fire Nation tradesmen and he continued to try and attack innocent people. "

I nodded my head and said in my own serious tone, "Please see to it that you try and resolve this matter at hand before the assaults become a major issue." I made the brush strokes on the paper before stating lastly, "Signed: The Avatar and Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe." I smiled at Aang before carefully rolling up the parchment and placing the brush on the side table.

I asked Aang another question in order to confirm my needed answer. "It's black ribbon right?"

He nodded his head 'yes' and said, "That's what the Fire Nation uses if the news is urgent and needs to go to the Firelord." He reached down with his left hand to grab a box from under the bed. He pulled it out and opened the top lid, revealing rolls of different colored ribbons, the black ones sitting in the far back of the box. I handed him the rolled up scroll and he gingerly tied the black ribbon tightly around it. He handed it back to me.

"Should we send this tonight?"

I nodded my head to answer. Still holding the scroll in my hands, I stood up and walked to the bedroom exit. I turned around to see his soft gray eyes staring back at me. "You need some rest. I'll deliver this to Sokka and Suki's house and they'll send it on the hawk." I smiled at him. "I'll make sure to try and sew up that hole in your clothes tomorrow morning."

He and I laughed together, sounding musical with happiness. I turned around and left him to get ready to rest while I made my way to my brother's and his wife's home.

When I knocked on their wooden door, it was Toph who answered. She was visiting us for a couple of months and decided to stay with my brother and Suki this time because Aang and I had to put up with her the last time she visited. She had on her traditional Earth Kingdom attire, complete with gloves and earthen shoes that were made especially for her every time she visited here so that she could still feel the vibrations in the ground even though it was all ice and snow and so that her feet wouldn't freeze to death. He long sleeves stuck to her shoulders and she placed both fists on her hips.

"Well, look who's here," she said to me, "Sugar Queen."

I chuckled at her comment as she said something again, "So I heard what happened. It sounds pretty serious. Is Twinkle Toes alright?"

"Yes," I said in response, not forgetting that she was blind and couldn't see me if I nodded my head at her face. "He's getting better. I just hope things don't go too overboard, you know?"

"Yea," she said. "Well, I can only assume that you came here for Hawky? You know, to give Zuzu a little notice on this crazy admiral?" She smirked. "Sokka's been dreading that fact ever since he came back from his little excursion. He knew that you'd want to contact the Firelord, and don't get me wrong, he wants to too, but I guess he grew a little too attached to that animal."

I giggled at the thought. My brother was definitely the one who would go into a state of brief depression when his favorite bird left for a week-long trip.

"Well?" She was tapping her foot on the ground with a little of impatience. "Are you coming in or what?"

I just decided to step inside as she left some room for me to enter, following my steps and slamming the door behind us.

"Hey it's my little sister!" I rolled my eyes as Sokka came crashing into the entrance room, with his wife, Suki laughing behind him.

"Came here for Hawky?" Suki inquired me and I responded with a nod. "I heard it was pretty bad from Sokka over here. Aang's okay?"

I nodded again before handing the letter to my brother who frowned a little. "Aw man. I was just getting used to feeding that hawk again. Oh well, I guess Zuko should really know about this." He lifted the scroll to his eyelevel so he could observe it briefly. "Ah, black ribbon. I guess this is an urgent one."

I rolled my eyes again. "No kidding, Sokka. Just send the scroll, okay? I need to get back home."

As I walked passed the door, I couldn't help but think that it was awfully convenient for my older brother to live right across from me. "Well," I considered, "At least Kya still doesn't know Aang is the Avatar."

The Secret Part 2: Urgency

Hope fulfills the providence in which you desire, but can deeply affect your beliefs. It thrives within a person who chooses to believe and has an enormous being in which holds a fate bigger than what one can grasp.

In the darkest of times, hope is something you give yourself.

It has been one whole week, finally. Now it was only a matter of time before Sokka's hawk would return from the Fire Nation with Firelord Zuko's reply.

I was walking through the street of the South Pole, admiring the icy structures from my left and from my right. I was on a journey to go meet up with Master Pakku, or my grandfather to inquire about my job at his waterbending school. I taught every now and then, but I was at home a lot because of Kya and because Aang was under a lot of stress supervising our home and the rest of the world.

I arrived at the ice block of a door that served as the entrance to my Gran Gran's and Pakku's home. I knocked, and soon the ice was unnaturally pushed down by Master Pakku's waterbending.

"Well if it isn't my granddaughter, Katara! Come in, come in," he said with a joy that filled his tone, "What brings you here?" I walked inside and the door slid shut behind me.

I pulled some of my hair behind my ear. "Oh, well, I just wanted to know if you needed any help with the school, Gramp Gramp?" We both cracked a smile at Sokka's nickname for him. It was still hard to believe that this man once refused to teach me waterbending in the Northern Water Tribe, and then married my grandmother. Now we were close.

"We could need you soon to teach some advanced moves to the older students. Like, maybe the Octopus Form or something. I know that the Avatar is very busy, but I was just thinking that it could be an honor for him to make a demonstration along with you. These few students are almost on their way to becoming masters themselves, and it would help if they learned from the best. After all, you taught the Avatar all he knows and he obviously is a powerful bender."

I smiled at my old master and bowed in respect. "It would be my honor to teach." I looked up to him, and he just laughed. It was our ongoing inside joke to bow. "But I have to ask Aang first. Things have been pretty hard on him since that trouble on the dock. Just be sure to tell everyone to not refer to him as, 'the Avatar.' You know, just in case Kya comes along."

"I completely understand. Come to the school by noon if you can teach with him. If not, we'll already know."

I hugged him and turned to leave. The door slid open as I forced my hands to point to the ground and I left, Pakku standing there in my wake.

When I returned home, I found the Avatar writing numerous letters all over his desk. His hand was to his head and he looked extremely tired.

I heard him mumbling things like, "So this one's to Bumi and here's the one that's the letter to fund that. That one is a letter about the breakouts in the Fire Nation…"

I sighed. He was at it again. Why couldn't these uncaring people understand that the Avatar has to deal with all of them? Every trouble, every fund, every single criminal that threatens to upset the balance in some way would all come back to him. It was times like these that I wished that I could do so much more to help.

"Maybe now isn't the right time to ask if he wants to come and help with waterbending training," I pondered to myself as I watched his back and his brush move up and down in his grasp. He wasn't aware that I was here, or so I thought.

Suddenly, he sat up straight and spoke, "Katara?" It amazed me to no extent at how he always managed to do that. He turned his head to gaze at my standing form, soft gray eyes and all.

"Did they call for a waterbending demonstration or something?"

I could only nod in response. "Well," he said, "I guess we'll have to take Kya with us. She's been begging me all day to watch some waterbending. I mean, even if she is an airbender, she can't help but be fascinated with other types of bending."

Kya always thought that her father was just a waterbender, and nothing else. After all, she had already grown up with all of the stories of the adventures of the Avatar. That was something that we both knew that we couldn't avoid. She was only five, so she didn't really understand why she was an airbender. We just told her that it was a coincidence. That wasn't a total lie.

Aang had to teach her some airbending though, so that she would at least have some control with her bending before she turned to be sixteen. All he said was that it was similar to waterbending, and that wasn't a lie either. The morals of the two bending arts were the same: use your opponent's strength against them.

I beamed him and he did so too. He always found a way to do something for his family. He was such a loving person.

"Okay then," I said and turned around, "I'll go and get her."

It was a few minutes before I returned to Aang's doorway where his desk and heaps of parchment were. He was still scribbling frantically, but as soon as I walked in with Kya at my side, he dropped everything he was doing and stood up from his chair.

I heard Kya giggle at his movement and Aang smiled. "Yes, so let's be on our way," he said and brought his hand to my shoulder and stood in the middle of the two of us. He other hand was lingering in the grasp of our daughter.

We made our way through the crowds of people on the street, as it was rapidly approaching noon time and everyone was one their way to get lunch. All of us made sure to eat fast before we left though, and we needed to get to the school at least a few minutes before noon.

Bursting through the hallways and breathing hard, the three of us finally made it to the large icy room for the advanced benders, Master Pakku standing next to the entrance. He winked at me and I knew that he told the class to not call Aang, "the Avatar."

Kya made her way to the side of the room, setting herself to sit next to a block of ice that was a pillar close to the left front corner of the room.

I whispered to Aang as quietly as possible, "Don't worry. They won't call you by that." I knew that he knew what I meant and he grinned, obviously a little on the relieved side.

I heard my grandfather speak loudly and demandingly, "Greet your masters."

The small group of advanced benders comprised of about six students stood up from their sitting position and bowed respectfully to us. They said in unison, "Master Katara, Master Aang." Then they stood there, looking at the both of us like they were waiting for us to do something.

I tilted my head to look at Aang and he nodded. It was time.

"Today," I said, serious and official, "We are going to demonstrate extremely advanced forms of waterbending. First, we are going to show you the Water Whip, then the Octopus Form, and lastly you are going to spar with one another."

"This is going to be a long class," I said to myself as I started to show them, step by step, on how to make a whip.

After some time, the exciting part finally came: sparring. Aang and I paired each person up with a partner, careful to separate each grouping accordingly because we knew that a waterbending battle can take up a lot of room.

"Begin," Aang said as the class nodded their heads. A whip went flying through the air, an attempted Octopus, and a few flying shards of ice came crashing onto the floor. We supervised, walking along the parings and making sure that they actually didn't hurt the other.

At the end of the session, there were three left and we told them to spar each other. In the end, a girl named, "Kanna" won the tournament.

The class went silent and everyone stood up to face her, bowing in respect. I didn't know how serious Master Pakku had made them. "They could've clapped."

But just as I was about to open my mouth to say that the assembly was over, Kanna said, "Why can't you demonstrate a sparring battle, Masters Katara and Aang?" The class's eyes widened at the prospect and nodded their heads interestedly. I think I even saw Kya become tense and excited.

Master Pakku was still peering past the entrance and said, "I think that is a great idea. Master Katara, Master Aang, would you care to demonstrate?"

"I-" My head began to shake as if to refuse.

"Well, I must insist." He smirked. I really hoped that he didn't have this all planned out from the beginning. But I guessed that I had no choice. Aang and I faced each other worriedly, but we both knew that we had to do it.

"You attack first," I said to Aang, a little reluctant. But of course he refused too and said that I should. It was really hard to be forced to spar someone you deeply care about. Who did Gramp Gramp think he was, forcing us to battle against each other?

"Oh for goodness sake!" I heard a splash, and then a wave instantly came at me. Pakku had made the decision for us and attacked me.

I forced my arms apart, causing the wave to disappear and turned to Pakku. "Are you crazy? I'm not going to attack him!"

He raised his eyebrows, still smirking. "You said you'd give a demonstration Master Katara." He gazed at me but I guessed that he saw that I still refused to do so. "Well then, I guess I have no choice. I'll have to attack both of you."

My eyes widened as a new, larger wave came crashing towards both of us, and I heard stifled "oos" and "ahs" from the class and from Kya.

I was about to separate the wave on my own, but I was too slow. Aang already did it for me. I caught on and both of us created an ice slide out of the wave, coming towards Pakku, but he already saw it coming because he rose up an icy barrier. We were about to crash hard into the structure, but I was able to make it liquid just in time.

Both of us flew right through it and Aang jumped off his slide, lifting the liquid barrier with him. I was already off my slide when he froze the substance and formed it into a larger solid ball. He then thrust it forward to Pakku, shards flying over to him. To add more power, I slid my arms across the blow, making it move faster as the icicles came to hit him.

He made a soft grunting noise when two of the shards caught his clothing and pinned him onto the floor.

This time, it was my turn to smirk. "You attack both of us, and you get iced."

"Oh really," he said as he skillfully was able to waterbend the shards off of him, allowing himself to stand up. He was about to attack until a villager came shouting, "Master Pakku! Master Pakku! Urgent news! Send for Master Katara immediately!"

Master Pakku stood all the way up as a man came in the room. "What is it Hahn?"

The man was breathing hard from running so much but was able to reply. "Urgent news from the Earth King and the Firelord for the Av- I mean Masters Katara and Aang."

Well that was a close call.

Aang and I nodded to each other and followed the man called, "Hahn" outside of the school building. Kya followed.

When we were finally in the quiet of the school courtyard, no one was around except the four of us. The man sounded urgent when he spoke to us. "Sir," he bowed to the Avatar, "The Firelord says that he cannot control Admiral Chan and his men. They need your help. There are outbreaks on the edge of the Earth Kingdom. The Earth King of Ba Sing Se has sent his men to the edge, but it is doing little to help. But you must bring your family with you. There are rumors of the Admiral that state that he might attempt to attack here once again. In order to keep them all safe, the Firelord suggests that you take them, including your daughter."

The Secret Part 3: Sky

A destiny is undetermined and undermining at times. It is like a river that flows multiple ways, always running, but unsure of where to end.

You can never predict the time a star shoots across the blackened sky.

It was nighttime. Kya was already asleep, but not without asking numerous questions about what Hahn said first. We answered them like, "We're going to a trip," or, "Your dad is needed."

I knew that if Zuko wasn't able to do something about the admiral, he could cause a menacing threat on the balance of the world. I knew that neither he, nor the Avatar could afford another war. This was definitely out of hand and needed to be stopped before it gets worse.

Right now, Aang was furious at himself.

"I just…I just don't understand why after all of this time, these people decide to come out and try to attack the rest of the world again." He plopped himself onto the bed, one hand rubbing his temples in order to 

soothe his anxiety. "Why can't they understand, for once in their lives that there is supposed to be no more war?"

I sat next to him, concerned for his welfare.

"It just makes it seem like all that we've ever worked for is just for nothing, that you teaching me waterbending, Toph and her earthbending, Zuko with his firebending, and even Sokka with his sword and boomerang, were all for nothing." He kept rubbing the sides of his head, clearly frustrated. "It seems sometimes that even I sparing Ozai's life was for nothing." At this point, his whole face was buried in his hands.

I hugged him gently for a short-lived moment and said quietly, "It wasn't for nothing, Aang. What you did saved the world from an even greater turmoil."

Aang sat there still, his face in his hands and then he lifted his head to look up to me. Then he said, voice gentle and loving, "But I'm just glad that meeting you wasn't for nothing." I smiled at him and I hugged him again, tighter.

"It's just that even as hard as I try to keep the balance of the world; no one seems to get the point," he said with a muffled sigh when his head returned to the palms of his hands. "What do you think we should do, Katara? Should we leave the South Pole temporarily while I take care of this guy?"

My hands were still embracing his upper arms as I responded as gently as possible. "I don't think we have a choice, Aang. As much as I hate to admit it, Zuko's right. We need to get out of here, all of us."

He nodded at me, his eyes looking a little downcast. "You're right," he said, his fingertips softly brushing across one of my hands, "The reason why Admiral Chan came here was to try and kill me. He will follow me wherever I go, and now that there's a chance that he knows my family, I have to take you with me." He grabbed my hand and held it tight. "I need to protect you."

"Aang," I stated, squeezing his hand in return, "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

His demeanor was so full of concern that I couldn't bear it any longer. I felt as if I would burst from all the helplessness and hurt he was in. The world was too cruel, too hateful to its hero and protector. I knew that he did not deserve this.

It was a few more moments before he replied again. He seemed so determined to do this right that it was hard for me to try and argue, so I didn't. I cared about him too much.

"You don't understand Katara. He could be trying to use you, hurt you. By knowing that I left the South Pole, Chan could easily travel back here and make sure to find both of you, luring me to come back and killing all of us. If I take you back with me to the Earth Kingdom, like Zuko suggested, Chan will have no choice. If he truly wants to end me he'll have to face me no matter what. And by having you with me, I'll be able to protect you without being left off guard while we're both separated and on different sides of the world at the time he makes his move."

Now that was definitely something that was challenging to protest to. I knew I couldn't. Aang had a point and so did Zuko. And if Chan's plans could turn as elaborate as Zuko thought they could turn out to be, I had no choice but to trust his judgment. If there was anything that I couldn't stand for, it would be the fact that this man was trying to use the Avatar's family to try and lure him to him. He wanted to murder the Avatar at whatever cost, even risking innocent people. By capturing me and Kya, Chan would be at the advantage and would eventually send out the word to the Avatar, and Aang would be the one to come 

back to the rescue. But by falling for that, Chan and his men would be able to ambush him and take his life on the spot. I could only assume that he could do that to the rest of us as well, being the cruel man he was. But even though there was a chance that this unkind person could attack me any time soon, I knew that I could take care of myself. Aang knew that, but this wasn't just about me, it also had a lot to do with Kya. I couldn't take that chance and he couldn't take the chance of leaving both of us behind with impending danger. He loved his family too much and I appreciated that more than anyone would know.

"Well then," I said before inching a little closer to Aang, "I guess we have to leave as soon as possible? Maybe around dawn?"

Aang looked at me awkwardly and responded, "None of that. We don't want Sokka's 'master schedule' rubbing off on you too!" I giggled inwardly at his attempt at humor to lift these serious moments.

"I was thinking more around dusk. Dawn is way too early; besides, I'm guessing that it's only three hours or so until dawn arrives. We won't have enough sleep. As long as we leave tomorrow and no one except your brother, Suki, and Toph know we left, I'm fine."

I nodded. "Why don't we get some sleep?"

-

By the next day, Aang and I had awoken at about the same time. The sun was bright and shining through our window and I stood up to walk over to the clothes still on the window sill. I decided not to hang them anymore because they were already dry enough. I then proceeded to fold them.

Aang had made his way to my side and I gratefully accepted as he wrapped his arms behind me, cuddling my torso.

"So Katara," I could hear the smirk in his tone, "Shall we get ready for our trip? We'll have to tell Kya you know."

I brought my hands to hold his. "How could these people be so evil?" I contemplated my thoughts as he let go of me, turning his back to exit through the doorway. I silently trailed him out the door, thinking and unsure of the events to behold us. Little did I know that Aang was in more trouble and frustration than I thought.

As I started to make my way along our modest home's hallways, I met up with Aang in the entrance to our daughter's room. He stood there and seemed to hesitate a little when he leaned on the wall. I saw him stand taller when he sauntered to the sleeping form of Kya on her bed. I stayed in my place underneath the doorframe.

"Kya," he whispered, shaking her shoulders with little force at all, "Wake up."

She groaned when she flipped over in her mattress, azure eyes staring up to sliver. I smiled as I crossed my arms and watched the fatherly bond. He was such a great father to her, even if he couldn't always be there to help. He understood her and loved her, and even though he was away for quite a time, she never stopped loving him back.

"Daddy?" Kya's voice was a little groggy from just waking up, but I could feel the surprise that she gave out when Aang had decided to be the one to wake her. "What is it?" She never seemed to stop asking questions.

Aang had lifted her up to sit on her bed by the hand. "Kya, we need to leave the South Pole for a while." He sighed and sat next to her, trying to be as tranquil as possible. "I'm sorry you have to find this out so suddenly, but some people in the Earth Kingdom need help and I have to go there."

She just peered up to him, a hint of confusion in her expression.

He continued after a moment. "You and your mother have to come with me. It's like a family trip." He stopped when he saw her smile lightly. "But it's going to be a long one."

Kya nodded and seemed to understand the situation well enough. "When are we leaving?" It was yet another question in her many lists of them. But this time it was one that might've been a bit difficult to answer.

"Tonight."

One word was enough to make her jump. Even though I knew that we absolutely had to leave today, I couldn't help but feel sorry for both of them. Kya was obviously taken by surprise, and Aang was forced to do something that was hard for all of us, and he knew that. I knew that.

"How many days should I pack for?" She seemed so innocent and never stopped asking her web of questions. They seemed never ending. Kya was a smart five year old.

He said to pack for about a week or two, just in case. I assumed that Aang still had no idea how long this excursion was going to take. He still faced the prospect of getting to this man on time before he did anything too drastic to the Earth Kingdom and its people. It was a small skirmish compared to the battle with Ozai and the whole entire Fire Nation against you. In fact, it shouldn't be all too hard to finish off. But after twelve years of minor fights, this seemed like a whole new idea.

Sure, many men have tried their luck on the demise of the Avatar, much to my dismay, but no one since the war had ended had gone to these types of lengths.

I saw Kya nod her head in response to what Aang had told her and I saw him swiftly grab a nearby animal skin bag that was ceremoniously leaning in the corner of the wall.

"Alright," he said. "We'll be preparing breakfast and packing ourselves. We'll get Appa from the shed a little before dusk. Just make sure you don't tell anyone we're leaving, okay?"

She wrapped her tiny hands around Aang's right arm as a gesture of a hug. "Okay."

He beamed at her before lifting himself off of her bed and making sure that the bag did not slide of its edge. He walked toward the room's entrance, seeing me standing there with my arms crossed over my chest. Aang placed a hand behind the top of my back and lead me out, now changing his expression from proud to worry.

As we made our way back to our room I could help but stare back to see his face. His eyebrows were raised with sadness but his eyes showed it all. He was scared, angry, and worried. It broke my heart to a million pieces to see him this way. Not only was he forced to do something that he didn't want to do, but he felt that he was putting his family through danger.

I didn't want this for him, but as much as I would like to protest for his sake, we both knew that this had to be done. Most of all, I didn't want him to get hurt through this process. He was already putting himself through this to protect what he loved most and I didn't want it to backfire on him as well.

It was a slow pace to get back to the room, but when we finally did, he shut the door quietly and turned to face me. Aang fell to the floor on one knee. His hands went straight to his face, one covering one side and the other allowed space so I could see his expression. His eyes closed and then reopened with a look of fear and frustration.

"This is bad," he said, his voice leaking so much emotion. "This is really, really bad." He lifted his head to look at me again. "I'm so sorry Katara. I shouldn't have allowed this to happen to the Earth Kingdom. I shouldn't have to put you through this. It's my entire fault. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Hearing him like this, practically pounding himself and thoroughly angry with whatever it was he'd done was so heartbreaking. I couldn't take it anymore. I strode the few steps it took to make it to the spot where he was on one knee and lifted him up so that was standing upright again. Then I embraced him violently, my eyebrows furrowed and my eyes tightly shut.

"No Aang," I responded to an unasked question, "Please don't do this to yourself. There was never a need to be sorry, to me or to Kya. This isn't your fault. It never was. And I never want to see you unhappy."

He held me close as he answered. "I just feel like I should have done better. I should've known how to protect you." I only squeezed him more firmly. "C'mon. We have to get ready."

With that we moved away from each other and began walking around our bedroom, looking for supplies and clothing articles.

I proceeded to retrieving my Water Tribe travelling sack from underneath my bed and Aang did the same from the other side of the room. Since he travelled a lot, all of his items were always mostly ready for him to take whenever he needed them, piled up in boxes and packages on one corner of the room. I saw him grab a hold of a large and pale green Earth Kingdom bag. He started to stuff scrolls and few clothes to fill it up, along with his bison whistle. I also saw him fold his travel cloak and gloves on the bed and left it there to prepare for leaving.

I was packing my waterbending pouch after I filled it up with a good amount of water. I placed a robe or two inside my sack, and when I knew we were both finished, I stood up straight. Both of us nodded to the other and we made our way to our traditional Water Tribe kitchen.

Our kitchen was mostly a typical one; anyone that didn't know the Avatar wouldn't suspect that this was his main home. They would expect some kind of elaborate painting on the wall or something foolish to that extent. Aang was no where near like that though.

The kitchen had a giant pot in the middle of it, always ready for cooking when we wanted to fill it with the right ingredients. All we needed to do was set a fire under it and Aang gladly supplied it by firebending when he was present at home. But during the duration of time that he wasn't there, I always either grabbed some coal and asked my brother to help out, or rubbed wood together.

There were also a couple of cushions around the pot, serving also as a dining table. It truly represented a traditional room of the Water Tribe.

"So what food do you want me to bring along?" I asked Aang who was standing near me. "Meat for me and Kya and some vegetables?"

"Yup. I'll help out," he said to me as he spotted leather wrappings and ribbons to save the food in.

I grabbed some slices of Arctic Hen and left over blubbered seal jerky. Then I took a sack of Tundra Broccoli from another corner of the room. Aang lifted a large pack of rice that we had bought from Earth Kingdom trading ships and placed the heavy grains right next to the pot in the middle of the room.

By now, I was already wrapping the Arctic Hen and jerky in the leather wrappings that Aang had found nearby, and let him take the bag of broccoli to be set out next to the rice. I also saw him snatch a couple of Moon Peaches from the side and Lychee Nuts that we were also able to receive from traders. When we were done, all of the food was piled up against the pot.

"Do you think that's enough for at least a week?" Aang turned to look at me and I nodded.

"I think it's fine," I said, "You have some Earth Kingdom money right?" He responded by saying, "yes" as he looked over his shoulder to observe our newly gathered supplies.

"I may have five gold pieces I think."

I looked over our food too, getting the idea. I made sure everything was not rotten and could last us long enough. If we had the money just to make sure, we would be all right when it comes down to our supply of food.

"Then we'll be fine, Aang."

-

It was almost dusk, finally. The twilight sun was seeping through the clouds of the Southern Water Tribe as Kya, Aang, and I walked to Sokka's house right across from our own. We needed to tell him that we were leaving.

Aang knocked on the door's wooden frame and just as he was going in for a third knock, I found my brother frantically swinging it open. He looked like he knew something that we didn't but I guessed he chose to let one of us speak before he opened his big mouth to interrupt the silence. He raised his eyebrows and observed all three of us, slightly frowning.

"We're leaving, Sokka," Aang said right away. He sounded extremely official and stern. This was something that he wasn't going to linger on. We had no time and needed to get to the point.

Sokka opened his mouth a crack, but then looked like he hesitated before speaking. He closed it and looked him directly in the eye. "Aang," he alleged, "Good. You should leave, now. Word just came from Zuko. He said that the problems in the Earth Kingdom are getting worse," he glanced at Kya as in order to make sure he didn't say something wrong. "He can't control them and the Earth King can't either. This is out of their hands. You guys have to get there as soon as possible. He said to bring Katara and Kya. He also confirmed that Chan will not stop unless you come. This man is persistent, Aang. He means every word he utters. He is trying to get to you. I want you to especially be careful. You're the one he's after."

My eyes widened. This couldn't be good.

"Katara," Sokka said facing me, "Do whatever it takes. Whatever you do, make sure make sure that this man is stopped. Innocent people may be in trouble. And I want you to be careful too." I nodded, completely understanding where this was coming from. "I'm sorry that Toph, Suki, and I can't accompany you. We would, but Zuko said it was best that we stayed behind. Chan might be planning another trip to the Southern Tribe." He glanced at Kya again, making sure he chose his words with extra care.

"Kya," he observed her small face, a twinkle of love in his eyes. "Stay safe."

Sokka leaned over and embraced her for a couple of seconds before proceeding to hug me and giving a "man hug" to Aang.

"Careful, buddy," he whispered hoarsely to Aang as he stepped aside and back into the door's arch. "I know that this is your job and I know you can do it. Come back, okay?"

I saw them nod to each other, determination and the admiration of friendship in their glimpses. It was a wonder to see such brotherly care in the both of them. It was like they knew each other for a lifetime. They seemed to know every aspect about the other, and Firelord Zuko was no exception.

"Make your way to the Wulong Forest on the western edge of the Earth Kingdom, you know, where that battle twelve years ago took place." I remembered my brother saying something about that a while back. I was just glad that he took into consideration that Kya was around. "From there you should know where to go. Zuko said he most likely is going to be there to meet up with you. Most of the villages that Chan's…liberating are around that area. He'll be waiting." I saw him glance to our daughter again.

Aang looked up to the sky. Twilight was almost over.

"Okay," Sokka said again, "Time for you to go. Good luck."

After a second, I found the wooden door being closed in our faces, my brother disappearing behind it. It was time to leave. Aang had already placed all out supplies and baggage on Appa, so all we needed to do was leave before everyone else in the village knew that we were going.

We were already running through the streets in order to make it to Appa's shed behind the waterbending school of Mast Pakku. The roads were empty because dusk was the time in the Southern Tribe when everyone went it for dinner, that's why this was the second best time to leave.

As I vaguely saw Aang opening the shed door, Appa made a murmured roar. All the supplies were already on his back. He walked out onto the snow, making large tracks as indents and stopped right as his tail made it out of the shed. Appa plopped down on the ground and all three of us gently made our way up his tail, Aang going to the front to steer. His cloak was on along with his gloves, covering most of his body.

The Secret Part 4: Truth

Secrets are dangerous tools. They can go so far as to control your life or hold the words you want to reveal deep inside of you, waiting to be found.

Three days of straight flying can seriously get to you, but Aang and I both knew that we couldn't stop, not with this treacherous man on the loose and unleashing his wrath on innocent families. We had already eaten our fair share of lunch. We ate some rice that I was able to cook in our portable pot, and when Kya wasn't looking, Aang lit a fire underneath it with the extra wood we brought along. I had waterbended some moisture out of thin air, a trait that was one of the only ones that I was grateful to learn from Hama, and in a few moments we dug in.

"What's the Wulong Forest?" I sighed when I heard Kya ask yet another one of her master questions. Sometimes I wondered if that was all she said, questions galore. "Isn't that where the Avatar battled the Firelord?"

Like I said, Aang and I knew that we couldn't avoid Kya being exposed to "the Avatar and his adventures" stories. But, yet, we still made sure she didn't know our family secret, not until she was sixteen. It was too dangerous.

"Yes," I said to her, "That's the place."

She squealed with excitement as I said it, jumping up and down a couple of times before finally deciding to settle down on Appa's saddle and just grin widely.

"Wow! So we can actually see where the final battle was? I always heard it was amazing from all the village storytellers. They say that the Avatar fought Firelord Ozai and won by taking away his bending!"

I glanced around to see Aang hunch a little. "This should be interesting," I thought to myself as I nodded my head in mock excitement to Kya, my eyebrows raised slightly.

"They say that the Avatar is the most powerful being in the whole world! I wish I could meet him one day. Do you think he'll be there, Ma?"

I nervously chuckled under my breath when I saw Aang hunch unintentionally, even lower. "This is a little too interesting," I said in my head when I turned back to face Kya and attempt to answer her overly excited question.

I lifted my head to look at her at a better eyelevel, in attempt to keep the answer I was about to give as convincing as possible. "Uh, you see Kya; the Avatar is a busy man." It wasn't a lie, it was the truth. I completely steered clear of the whole answer like I always did whenever she brought up something about the Avatar by answering in such a way that didn't lie, but didn't tell everything.

She looked a little disappointed, but I knew it was for the best. It was better for her to not know, not yet.

"Oh, okay."

Kya had only been to the Earth Kingdom once in her life, one year ago when she was four. We were visiting Toph over in Gaoling. The memory was still fresh in her head, so she wasn't surprised to see trees and land with no snow when we soared over to the Wulong Forest.

Then, I saw it. "There!" I pointed my finger to the familiar sight. I had seen it once when I was searching for Aang after the final battle with Zuko. I was so worried then that there was this chance that Aang didn't make it. "The Wulong Forest."

We had finally made it here, and in record time. I could see Fire Nation air ships all over the place, some in ruins from years ago, and some that were still in use. The Fire Nation didn't use this invention for war any longer. They used it for travel usually, and it was a spectacular ride. I saw the insignia of the Firelord on the largest ship, its golden and intricate statues lining its three stories and balconies.

This particular ship was a gift from the people, with the help of the Avatar and Iroh. It was to show gratitude to the new Firelord when the war was over, as a way of saying, "Thanks for the end of the Century War." It was also a symbol that the four or I should say, three nations now lived together in harmony once again and people could travel safely.

The Wulong Forest was a famous site in the Earth Kingdom. Located on the western edge, it is not only known for its unique rock structures with trees growing on their sides, but mostly for the fact that this place was the scene of the greatest battle in all of history.

Just thinking about it made me proud. Aang was the one that put the Firelord in his place, and yet he spared his life. Ozai now resided in a Fire Nation prison in the Capital City. He was now in his early fifties, but was still heavily guarded even though he has lost the gift of firebending. His daughter, former Princess Azula, was placed in a mental health facility on a distant island of the Fire Nation. I had to admit that I kind of felt bad for her. When we first met, she was this seemingly perfect woman that didn't hesitate to terminate all of the enemies in her path. I had soon found out that she had snapped because she thought her mother didn't love her and her "friends" had betrayed her. "I'm sure her mother wasn't that cruel," I thought. Firelord Zuko met up with his sister every now and then, as she was probably even more heavily guarded than Ozai.

"Wow, so this is it, isn't it?" Kya had spoken. "And look!" She pointed her finger to the tremendous airship. "Wait, is that the Firelord?"

And so, the Firelord stepped out onto the top balcony, wearing his traditional and elegant red Firelord cloak. His hair was still in a top knot, like it had been for years, with the shining flame-shaped crown stuck into it. His golden eyes turned upward to face the flying beast that was Appa.

Kya seemed so amazed. She had never met the Firelord, but Zuko knew very well about her.

His ship was already landed on one of the humungous pillars of earth in the forest. When he saw us, he quickly disappeared from the balcony and after a few moments, landed on the outside of the ship, standing there majestically. Appa had landed nearby and Aang had dismounted.

Since Zuko knew that Kya didn't know her father was the Avatar, he greeted us without calling him by his formal title.

"Aang! It is so good to see you!"

The Avatar and the Firelord embraced in a brotherly fashion as Kya and I climbed off of Appa. I then grabbed a hold of Kya's tiny hand, keeping it in my grasp as we both strode over to the two reunited men.

"I haven't seen you in only a couple of months, but it's just really great to see an old friend. It gets pretty lonely in the palace, even though I have Mai. There needs to be more men around in the Fire Nation, you know?"

Aang laughed his deep and musical laugh as he patted Zuko on the back and grinned.

"Ah, I see that you've brought Katara and young Kya," he looked over to our daughter with an admiring eye. "Just like I instructed."

Kya's eyes were wide at this comment, obviously shocked that the Firelord knew her family, and most of all, herself.

"You know each other, all of you? Mister Firelord, sir, you know my daddy?"

This time, it was Zuko's turn to laugh. His back was turned on us, but he slowly revealed his face to Kya and me. I could almost swear that I heard a hushed gasp come from her mouth when his scar showed. "Yes, Kya," he said, "I know your father and I also know your mother." He held out his hand for her to shake. She did as he continued, "By the way, you can just call me 'Zuko.'"

Kya was in awe. "Wow. So you're the former Firelord's son? You were Prince Zuko, the one who was sent to capture the Avatar and then betrayed the Fire Nation to help the Avatar? I've heard all about you in stories!"

I raised my eyebrows. I wasn't sure if Zuko was the type to get annoyed over this sort of thing, but when I looked over to observe his reaction, his face did not change and his smile was never wiped off his face, although it was a little bit creepy. It seemed that the Firelord was just as amused as Aang.

"People even say that there are rumors that you were related to an Avatar!"

I was about to slap my forehead at this point. She was a non-stop talking machine, but I still loved her with all of my heart.

"And there's another rumor that you got that scar from your crazy dad!"

That was crossing the line. "Kya, dear," I said as plainly as possible, "I think that just might be enough."

Firelord Zuko chuckled along with the Avatar; both were clearly intrigued by this whole situation. I pouted when I saw that she was about to make another comment for Zuko's approval. When I saw that she smiled nervously after seeing my expression and turned to completely face the front of her without asking anything else, I was content.

I then heard Zuko say, "Well it's good to see you too, Master Katara."

Aang, Zuko, and I all laughed at his formality. Zuko was a fun spirit, although he most definitely was not when we first met him twelve years ago when he was still chasing us and bent on capturing the world's last hope for peace.

"Let's go inside, shall we?"

The three of us followed the Firelord into his royal airship. The excitement was willing to fill me to the brim when I entered those heavily decorated doors. The Fire Nation always kept its royalty under great eccentricities and beauties.

As we stepped inside, the doors were ordered to close shut, Appa staying outside because we all knew that he preferred it out in the open better.

He swiftly turned to face Aang and I. "Okay, we need to get down to business. Here's the status report…" A man with a simple red cloak came by as quick as an eel hound to deliver something to the Firelord's hands, and then he sauntered away. The delivery was a scroll. Zuko unrolled it and held it up with one hand on top and the other clasping the bottom portion. "Admiral Chan is in the Earth Kingdom. A few days ago he said, and I quote, 'would not stop unless you come.' Well, when I say 'you', I think both of you know what I mean. Aang, he's after you and you alone. He will not stop unless he comes face-to-face with you." He paused to glance up to Aang. "Part two of the status report says that he has already come so far as to attack the nearby coastal cities of the Earth Kingdom on the western end, otherwise known as a few miles from here."

This was official and to the point. There was no turning back now.

I saw Aang nod, a serious expression strewn across his face. He was about to pursue his job to determine the fate of the Earth Kingdom, even though Kya didn't know it.

-

I was asleep in my bed, with Aang silently sleeping at my side. Kya had her own small bed over in the corner of the room. We had received a guest room on the top floor of the royal airship from the Firelord. I felt like everything was getting uncomfortably warmer under the blanket, so I flung if off me. I felt myself sweating even though I was fast asleep, still almost completely unconscious.

Slowly, I vaguely felt small beads of sweat rolling down my forehead, and soon, I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my eyes.

I gasped at the sight before me. I swiftly sat my body up on the mattress, turning my head to look out of the round window to my right. There was fire everywhere. It looked like it was engulfing everything in its path, unstoppable and menacing. There was fire set to the little amount of trees on most of the pillars of the Wulong Forest; it was like the final battle all over again.

Panic overtaking me, I shook Aang's shoulders. He groaned when his eyes opened to slits.

"Get up!" I was shaking him even more than before, getting frantic as trees began toppling and ashes blanketed the air. Smoke was soon coming to block the vision of the entire forest, showing no signs of ceasing its widespread tyranny.

Out of sheer terror, I saw the exhaustion leave Aang when he shot up. His silver orbs widened when he saw the fire outside, gasping as he did so. Then, he jumped off the bed and ran to Kya's side.

Just then, I heard a desperate and pounding knock.

"Get out of there!" The voice sounded deep and muffled. "Hurry!"

I, too, leaped off of the mattress and proceeded to flinging open the metal door. The man was a guard, sweating and distressed, his helmet was on but you could still see his face. "Firelord Zuko is outside already," he huffed, "He wants you to leave the airship immediately."

I nodded gravely. "We're on our way."

The man bowed and headed out of my way. By the time I swiveled around in my place, Aang already was carrying Kya in his arms and escorting me out hurriedly. He had our small bags of supplies strapped to his shoulder.

We dashed through the metal hallways, thrashing past the metal stair cases, and bursting out through the doors. Pure adrenaline filled out bodies when we felt that we were escaping for our lives. I saw the guard again at the bottom floor entrance, his arm flailing around him in wild circles. "This way," he called.

I looked at Aang and Kya. Our daughter's eyes were filled with terrified tears. She was scared, but I knew that there was only so much that I could do. Aang looked fiercely determined. He was clutching Kya so tightly that it probably was more secure than the ropes that were attached to Appa's horns.

Almost tasting freedom, the guard, Aang with Kya, and I all raced out of the door. What a lucky shot that was, for right as we left, it was blocked by a flame that had just spread completely around the airship.

Giving out a breath that seemed to be held in, the Firelord came toward us, his golden eyes staring at each of our faces. "This is the work of Admiral Chan," he stated as a crash occurred behind us. He swirled around to observe where it had occurred and then turned back to us. "He's planned everything out 

perfectly. I wouldn't be surprised if Azula helped him; the only problem is she's insane. He destroyed our only means of travel besides Appa, and I obviously can't just firebend everything out of the way. The fire is too big now and it would be no use. The ships are already gone. At least Appa was able to avoid the fire."

I was curious. I stepped forward to ask him my question. "What do you mean by, 'He's planned everything out perfectly'?" I raised my eyebrows, awaiting his answer.

"Well, obviously we can't get out of here that easily. He knew we were here, and decided to strike first. I was only able to bring two airships. It was hard enough to leave my country with their protection going with me. I had to leave some guards behind to protect the people. We only have about a hundred and fifty men with us. Who knows how many Chan has gathered?"

More destruction could be seen as the only two airships were smoldering. Embers were flying everywhere and little fires burst out into existence on distant parts of the Wulong Forest. This was terrible.

"Zuko," the Avatar had said as he placed Kya back on the ground. "I want Katara and Kya to escape on Appa. You have to go with them. Protect them for me when I leave to face Chan once and for all." I was about to retort when he saw me and looked at me. "Katara, I know you can take care of yourself. I just want you to get out of here."

I just nodded at his response. This was something he wanted from me, desperately, and I wasn't about to refuse in a position like this.

It was then the Firelord's turn to answer his request. "Alright. I will place my men under your command. I understand that this is your job and you need to do this. I will protect these two with my life." He bowed respectfully.

The guard that went up to our room to warn us severely shook his head at his Firelord. "Forgive me, your highness, but why must you take orders from this man?"

At this, Zuko seemed all the more furious. His facial expression contorted to a look of annoyance and back to calm before he responded. "This man is more important than you know. In fact, everyone should be able to handle a few orders from him. I will protect them and you will obey his orders. This is more his job than mine. Understood?" Then he turned to face the Avatar. "Aang," he said finally, "I will be there at your side once I make sure they're close to out of danger's way."

Aang nodded sternly and said, "Thank you Zuko." They both bowed to each other as I saw Aang pull out his bison whistle and blow on it to call his flying friend. Soon after, Appa came crashing down on the large stone pillar which we stood atop of.

I grabbed Kya's hand and dragged her with me onto Appa's back. I heard Aang call out to me. "Katara! Wait!" He came over to me and embraced me and Kya. Then he took the three supply bags of ours and threw them on Appa's back, but not before taking out my waterbending pouch. He handed it to me saying, "You might need it."

We took one last look at each other before lifting off, Zuko at the reins. We seemed a whole world away. I felt slightly empty inside, my stomach feeling like it was about to flip. The last time I was separated from Aang, I was worried he wouldn't make it. He turned out to be hurt anyway, even if all he did was pass out. And underneath Ba Sing Se was different. We were separated and then reunited with a bolt of lightning. I couldn't bear for that to happen again. Not now.

Kya was trembling in my grasp, looking extremely terrified. She had never been in this kind of thing before in her life. My arms wrapped around her gently, as if trying to shield her from the rest of the world. I glanced at Zuko's back. "Wait," I thought, "Where is he taking us anyway?"

As if he could read my mind, the Firelord said, "I'm taking you two to land on one of those distant pillars. You will stay there while I go and help Aang."

This was ridiculous. "I need to help him too, Zuko."

He stayed still, never turning he gaze away from the fiery lands before him. He flicked his wrists a little, willing for the flying beast to glide at a faster pace. "No. You cannot leave your daughter."

He sounded like he had completely made up his mind. I knew he was right though. I wouldn't leave Kya and I did not want to. She shouldn't be left alone. She needed my protection.

Suddenly, a burst of fire came straight at us. Kya's eyes widened in fear. I took out a large amount of water from my pouch, deflecting it, but still more were shot at us and we had no where to run. At last, Zuko stood up and balanced on the bison's head. Appa made a low groaning noise.

He waved away all five fireballs that were coming toward us. They kept coming, and Appa kept maneuvering.

Appa made an abrupt halt in the middle of the sky. He was hit. Hideous blue-gray smoke started to rise from his fur. He moaned out in fatigue. We were falling.

"Ah!" I was screaming along with the other two passengers onboard. I briefly caught a glimpse of Zuko grasping the reins for dear life, and I was holding onto Appa's saddle edge with Kya in my left arm. Appa was falling, belly first into the coast. My face was turned downward and I realized that we were going to fall straight into the ocean.

As we splashed into the water, I heard the gurgle of attempted breaths. But this was my terrain. "I am a waterbending master."

With that, I gripped one of Kya's tiny hands and guided it to hold onto the saddle edge. Her eyes were shut, but she seemed to get the idea, because she did as I silently instructed her.

I let go of her and I fell on my own accord. She seemed to be alarmed for a moment.

Quickly and gracefully I swam around in a circle, currents of the water following my every motion when I held my breath. I formed a water bubble around Appa and the other two. We could breathe again. I fell back to the top of Appa, as I had guided myself to the top. Kya was looking at me in wonder and Zuko seemed relieved.

I pushed my hands in a flowing motion, mimicking the flow of the water. I spread out my arms, legs in a horse stance, and forced them up to the surface. Bubbles made a wide trail on the bottom of the bubble as we kept sailing up. Finally, we were floating near the beach.

I had skillfully created an ice raft below us because Appa was still recovering from the fall. We did not want to sink again. Making more complicated motions with my hands, I made the raft take us to the shore where we stopped. All three of us climbed off the injured beast and I made sure that the raft slid onto land so Appa could rest.

"Well, that was obviously a failure," Zuko said as he turned to me. "C'mon. We need to get out of here." But it was already too late.

I heard a laugh from nearby, not sounding friendly whatsoever. "Well, well, well," a profound voice said. "Firelord Zuko and two Water Tribe scum. Trying to escape, now are we? Let me tell you something then." The same men from the false trade ships surrounded us, wearing dark red robes and sashes. The voice continued, "That's not going to happen."

We were trapped. This whole time, Chan was planning to destroy every single means of travelling we had. He knew that we would try to escape.

I heard some shuffling above me. I looked toward the cliffs right near the beach. Dai Li agents were standing there, ready to fight. After all of this time they were still loyal to the Fire Nation that waged war, and basked in it. But I knew the truth. They wanted power. They yearned for the power that you forced people out of.

Out of the crowd, walked Admiral Chan. His mustache was the most prominent feature on this face, besides the evil smirk he had placed on.

"You're going to stay here and you will do whatever I tell you to, Master Katara and Firelord Zuko. Then everyone will be happy."

Kya made a brave step forward from her spot hiding behind me. "Go away!"

I gasped as I forcefully pulled her back behind me, holding her tighter than ever before in my hands. My eyes were wide with anticipation.

"Oh? What do we have here? Courage? It's a shame that you have to perish so easily!" With a gust of flames from his fist, Admiral Chan blasted fire headed at the three of us, but Zuko redirected it to the side of the cliffs.

"You will not harm them, Admiral," Zuko assumed as he stood protectively in front of us with his arms spread out.

Chan just snickered menacingly. "Your highness," he growled, "I wouldn't think that the ruler of the Fire Nation should act so rashly. What would the people think if you were to die, right now, on the spot because you were protecting a mere woman and a child?"

"This is none of your business!" Zuko had retorted in such an angry manner, that I could've sworn that I spotted a small flame quickly escape from one of his fists.

Chan raised his eyebrows at his comeback. Then, he raised his right hand as if to signal something. "Dai Li," he said.

Three Dai Li men in green jumped off the cliff and slid down, forcing their earthen gloves to capture Zuko's hands behind his back. He could not avoid it. They were too fast. Then two of them ran out onto the sand and punched one of their fists forward, causing the earth of the cliff to incase the Firelord multiple times. He definitely couldn't escape now.

He was moving around frantically, trying to find a way out, but it was no use. Now, it was just me and Kya.

My eyebrows knitted, making my expression extremely angered. "Kya," I whispered to her, "Hide behind a boulder." I saw her nod and follow my demands.

I heard Chan laughing again, but I couldn't stand this madness any longer. I whipped out a thick sliver of water from the nearby shoreline and surrounded myself with it, causing some of the men to back away. I had created the Octopus Form.

I started to force the men out by taking a hold of their ankles and flailing them all over the place. Some landed harshly on the sand, hit the cliff walls, or even splattered into the ocean. Before the Dai Li did anything to attack, I made sure to freeze the three already on the beach to the cliff walls.

Finally, I had created a large ice spike out of all the water I had in my control. Everyone started to run out of its way. I had pushed the projectile toward Admiral Chan. But right before it hit him, he had already made a circular motion. Lightning flashed from his two pointed fingers and made a clean cut through the icicle, headed straight for my heart.

I had no time to move. "This is it," I considered. Then, I heard it.

"NO!"

A familiar voice rang through the air, piercing even the electricity. I thought that I was gone. I thought that I wouldn't make it. My eyes were closed and I was scared.

I heard heavy breathing. I then opened my eyes to see him standing defensively before me. He had redirected the lightning away from my chest. Zuko's men were surrounding Chan's men now. There was no where to run.

"Katara," Aang said, "Hide."

"No, Aang I-"

"Go!" He shouted at me desperately. I knew he wanted me to join Kya, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.

I shook my head. "Please."

He shook his head at me and told me to hide again. This time, I did so, obeying his orders. I wanted so much to help him, so much to do more for him, but I knew that I could not. As I ran around and found Kya behind a large boulder, I peered around the edge, closely holding Kya at my side. Now it was up to the Avatar to end this battle once and for all.

The admiral laughed for the umpteenth time. "So this is what the Avatar has to steep to." I heard Kya gasp at the exact moment he said, "The Avatar." This couldn't be good. "Protecting a shameful Firelord and pitiless women? Disgraceful. I should've killed you while I could."

"Daddy?" I heard Kya whisper in my ear.

"It's a splendid thought to think that all I had to do was burn down a couple of Earth Kingdom towns to get you to follow me. But don't worry; now that I have you, I have no need to do so anymore."

Aang went into a defensive stance, his hands now balled into fists. "Go back to the Fire Nation, Chan."

Fire busted everywhere, enclosing the two men, but Aang had waterbended from the ocean in order to wipe it out. Then, Chan leaped into the air and landed with one of his legs on the ground, a fierce slice of flame heading for Aang, but he was able to blast it away with airbending just in time.

At this, Kya gasped a little louder.

He then created a whirlwind of air into a sideways tornado and forced it to the admiral, blasting him far on his back. Chan pushed himself up with one arm though, and sent lightning in a deadly blue-green stream. Aang bended an incredibly large stone from the side of the cliff and made it into a shield. All the lightning did was blow it to pieces, not leaving a single scratch on him.

"Give it up, Avatar," Admiral Chan snarled, "You can't fight me forever." He then ran forward and punched a huge fireball at Aang, who rooted to his place and separated the flames.

"I can for the sake of the people I love!"

Chan sneered as he punched blaze after blaze to Aang. One by one, they were all easily avoided.

Suddenly, I saw Chan smirk as if he knew something we didn't. He briefly nodded and I felt myself being grabbed by rough hands and Kya being pulled away from me, Zuko still trapped within the confines of his earthen barrier. I was now inside my own prison of earth, and I glanced around to see that Kya was too. My hands were bound so I could not reach my waterbending pouch. I gasped.

Men all around us made vicious strikes come at the three of us, Zuko also being a target. A terrible mixture of fire and earth came. I screamed, attempting to shield my eyes.

"RA!"

I heard a shout and I still wasn't hit. Instead, when I opened my eyes, I could see the Avatar on the ground in front of us, smoke coming off of his clothes. He had blocked it, for I saw numerous rock particles surrounding the area, but my heart pounded when I saw that he didn't move. I glanced at Kya. She was crying.

I willed myself not to weep, even though I was more worried than I could imagine. I had to try and be strong.

Admiral Chan walked over to Aang's lying form and kicked him hard in the gut, producing a grunt of agony to come from him. I was furious. Not able to stop myself, I yelled, "Get away from him!" My captured hands clenched into angry fists.

The senseless man completely ignored me, kicking him one more time with the tip of his pointed shoe. "You're pathetic, Avatar. This is your weakness, your pointless friends and family? I would've thought that since you had defeated the man that was once the most powerful firebender in the world, that you would be more of a challenge. You're not strong. You're weak."

A heartbreaking shriek shattered the silence, piercing the air in such a way that any living being was capable of halting in their place. "Daddy!" Kya was thrashing around in her bounds, trying to escape. Her eyes watered and fresh tears dripped off her chin.

At that exact moment, Aang shifted. He stood up straight and tall. He was glowing. The Avatar State had overtaken him and he was in complete control.

I heard a surprised intake of breath come from Zuko to the right of me. His experiences with the Avatar State had not always been good ones. In fact, I didn't think that he had seen this happen since the battle of Ba Sing Se, only reminding me of those terrible memories.

I saw Aang blast Chan with airbending into the side of the rock cliff, slightly sagging to the side.

He then made a complex movement with his hands, earthbending cuffs onto the man's wrists and legs. He could not escape.

Aang's body decided to exit the Avatar State, seeing as his job was done. But just when his eyes and tattoos stopped glowing, the Dai Li came and freed Admiral Chan. Aang was already releasing Kya, Zuko, and I from our trap, not noticing what was going on behind him.

Just then, an earthen glove came crashing onto my throat and pushing me against the ground. I couldn't breathe and I was choking. "How many times will these men attack me?"

This time, though, my hands were free and I was able to begin to waterbend the contents of my pouch to save my life, but just as I was retrieving a good amount, both my hands were clasped violently by more raw earth to attach themselves onto the sandy ground. I couldn't move, and my breaths were becoming harder as the glove only squeezed tighter. They were egging Aang on.

"Aang," I breathed with much effort.

I vaguely heard a furious scream and a shout of my name.

My throat began to ache and I struggled for air. My head was turning from side to side and I heard loud bangs and smashes distantly in my eardrums. No air was coming inside me. I was going to suffocate. I was going to die.

Another yell, and then I felt the gloves come off of me. I was gasping for air when I opened my eyes.

"Attack him!" That had to be Chan.

I struggled yet again when the glove returned to its hold on my throat, along with the ones caught on my wrists.

A terrifying yell exploded, causing my bounds to be destroyed once and for all and a holler of fear. I heard something slam into something else. I also felt an intensifying heat, heard yet another cry of pain, and then silence.

My eyes were shut the whole time, but I finally let them open again. Feeling a little dizzy, I stood up, but then I saw two people in a circle, their heads bowed and crouched over. It looked like Kya and Zuko.

I ran to their side to see what was going on. As I came, I glanced around. Chan was completely encased in a cocoon of rock that attached itself onto the solid cliff side. Another layer of and ice encased him around it, along with a wall of fire surrounding the area. He was unconscious, only his head stuck out.

Most of the enemy soldiers seemed to be unconscious or too tired out to keep going.

I stooped over to peer over Kya and Zuko's heads, but what met my gaze was something that will always be in my memory forever.

Aang was sprawled out on the sand, eyes only half open, a severe burn on his chest, and a hand resting on his stomach. He was barely breathing. I saw his silver orbs lovingly glance up to meet mine. He shuddered a little and seemed like he was having trouble breathing. My heart stopped.

I shook my head, completely taken aback and in denial. I found my way by his side, taking a hold of one of his pale hands. "Aang." This time, I didn't hold back. Hot and angry tears slid down my cheeks. I tightened my grip on his hand. "No."

Acting quickly, I waterbended liquid from my pouch onto my hands and they started to glow. I gently placed them on this burned chest. He took a sharp intake of breath. I gingerly helped him turn to his side to check if there was more. Additional tears left my eyes when I saw an even greater burn mark on his back. I tried to heal both of them, but they were too deep. Those horrid people had taken him by surprise while he was trying to rescue me. They surrounded him and shot powerful fire to both is chest and his back, making sure that the Avatar would get hurt.

"This is all my fault," I whispered as my face only grew moister.

I saw Aang look at me through his half opened eyes in a sympathetic manner. Then he spoke, voice sounding extremely feeble. "No. It never was." He coughed and gagged a little. Then he addressed our daughter. "Kya," he said with difficultly, "You shouldn't have found out that I was the Avatar this way. You deserve so much better. I'm sorry."

"No Aang! Please!" I was getting desperate to keep him alive. I constantly kept on trying to heal his wounds, but the process was just too slow.

"Zuko," he said as the Firelord turned to him with pure sadness glinting in his eyes. "Take Chan and bind him. Make sure he doesn't hurt-" Aang gasped for air, then continued, "h-hurt anyone else."

Zuko nodded gravely at his best friend's request, his eyes never turning away from Aang's placid expression.

The Avatar breathed hard, his breaths only growing lesser by the second. Finally, his soft gray eyes turned to my face. "K-Katara," he said, "I want you to leave with Kya to the South-" he gasped again, "P-Pole."

"No, this isn't goodbye!" I cried out to him, more tears coming down.

"I-" Aang coughed, a tiny speck of blood on the corner of his mouth. I proceeded to wipe it off gently. I could never take my eyes off him. "I'm sorry, Katara. I should've n-never…" his voice trailed off slightly, and then he regained his composure. "I should've never left your side. I should've protected y-you. It's too late."

His eyes began to droop, but I unconsciously grabbed his whole face in my hands. "No! Please! Aang, stay with me! Stay!"

He stopped breathing and after a long moment, started up again. His coughs grew more common, and his gasps more desperate. He was hanging on to a thread by now.

He spoke once again, but his tone was hoarser than before. "I'm sorry for not always being there when you needed me. I probably made a terrible father." I was holding his hand again, but his grip on mine was weakening. Panic was filling me.

"You are a brave father, Aang. You are always there for us." His fingers started to slip away. Then I added, "I love you."

He smiled at me sadly before responding, his voice now barely above a whisper. "I love you more than you'll ever know."

He clutched his chest with his other hand in pain. Then, his hand that held his wound sagged on its grip and eventually stopped moving. His hand that was holding mine fell to the sand, pale and still. Finally, he looked to me with all the love he could muster and his beautiful silver eyes glazed over, lifeless, and slowly slid all the way shut. His mouth was slightly agape, and his chest abruptly stopped rising after he shuddered on a breath for a second, then let out his final breath.

He wasn't breathing, He was still and unmoving. His eyes never opened and his lips never spoke. Avatar Aang was gone.

I fell on Aang's chest, sobbing. "How could you just leave?" I hugged his body tightly. I heard Kya cry too. She was saying things like, "Daddy!" I heard muffled sobs from the background. It was Zuko. He was mourning the loss of his great friend. The world had just lost their Avatar, all because of me.

I indistinctly heard a laugh in the back of me. It was Chan, who was only half awake, but could not escape. He sounded mentally unsure. "So I killed the Avatar after all?"

I felt enemy soldiers starting to encompass us. They were trying to kill us too. More angry and devastated than I could ever remember being in my life, I angrily stood up and did something that I thought I would never do again. It was the dark of night, and I felt the full potential of the full moon coursing through my veins.

They were mocking me. One said, "So your little love-Avatar is dead?" Another said, "Did we kill him well?" I turned swiftly on that particular man and bloodbended him. His arms flailed wildly all over the air and I threw him with a mean force into the ocean. I bended every enemy man that came within two feet of Aang's body. Whoever burned him and hurt him in any way, deserved to pay the price he did.

As I ran throughout the beach, not clearly thinking, I felt fresh tears soaking my face. They flew off into the cool nighttime air and blurred my vision slightly. Every man who was Aang's enemy was now mine ten-fold. I threw men to the top of cliffs, slammed them on the sand and swiped them away.

When I was sure everyone was out of the way, I couldn't take it anymore. I rushed back to Aang's side and fell on my knees. I sobbed into both of my hands, non-stop.

He did so much for me. I didn't deserve him. He deserved so much better. Aang was the greatest husband one could ask for, a wonderful father and the most powerful and kind Avatar the world has ever known. How could I possibly ask for more? The people of the world needed to understand that he was just trying to protect them, and he paid the ultimate price. I saw him die right in front of my eyes.

Just then, I heard a deep and eerie voice. Yet, it was magnificent to hear.

"The one who can feel the passion of love for another is able to touch even the hearts of those who seem lost. Death is an illusion. Only life can exist."

I felt a warm presence on the tips of my fingers. I opened my tear filled eyes and saw a brilliant violet blue-hue glow on my hands, the tears that I had left on them forming into a thin layer in my palms. I looked up to the full moon. Nothing was there.

The strange words were ringing through my head. "Death is an illusion. Only life can exist."

Was I preparing to heal? Was there a chance that the glow on my hands meant I could do something? I had to try it out, no matter what.

Eyes widening as I placed my hands on Aang's unmoving chest, Zuko started to question what I was doing, but I ignored him and concentrated harder than ever before. I wanted Aang back. I wanted him to be here, smiling with me, loving me like I knew he did and no longer in pain.

A few minutes passed and the light finally began to sink it. Nothing happened.

I tried, and I failed. There was nothing I could do to bring back the person I loved with all of my heart back. He was gone forever.

Suddenly, I saw a white light. Aang's arrows began to glow, and his slightly agape mouth formed an agonized and pained groan. Everyone gasped.

Aang opened his silver eyes. "Katara? I thought I was-"

I cut him off, gingerly lifting his head on my lap and leaning over to kiss him. I heard Zuko say to Kya to look away. I was still kissing him innocently, but lovingly. He tried his hardest to kiss back, especially in the state he was in. He managed to tilt his head a little. I broke apart from him, looking him squarely in the eyes.

Then he said weakly, "I really do love you more than you ever know."

He coughed and groaned. Soon after, he was asleep on my lap, in pain and injured, but alive again.

-

Five days had passed and all four of us finally arrived at the South Pole. My brother, Sokka came to greet us and acknowledged Firelord Zuko.

He then spoke to me. "Katara, the whole world heard about Aang. Is he okay?"

"I'm fine-" Aang stumbled in the snow and I caught him. "Sokka." He gasped for air and leaned on my shoulder, his chest and back heavily wrapped in bandages.

"The important thing is that Admiral Chan is in his place."

We made our way though the snowy streets of the Southern Water Tribe, people staring at the injured Avatar and the Firelord at his side. People were bowing with deep respect and smiling and nodding at everyone else as if confirming another thing.

"So," I heard Kya say, "Daddy's the Avatar, right?"

The truth can be a beautiful thing when it is unleashed from its cold lock and key. The right path always lights up in the rays of truth, not hiding in plain sight.

-
Avatar: The Last Airbender

February 21, 2005-July 19, 2008

That was long. I hope you liked it. Also, the "eerie" voice was supposed to be the lion turtle. I figured that if death is an illusion, which in real life it is, than that would kind of be like bending energy. I know that only Aang can do energy bending, but I figure that this is a little different. Katara's a healer.
Lastly, the Wulong Forest is where the final battle really took place. If you take a look on , it is confirmed.