Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

Edit: This is one of the first Fanfiction that I have ever written, before I really knew what Fanfiction even was. Recently, there has been a spree of Fanfiction being stolen and posted illegally to other sites. I do not give permission for this to be copied and put up on any site other than . If you find it anywhere other than it wasn't me. If the owners of Avatar: The Last Airbender want me to take this story down from this site I will gladly do so, but I can't claim anything for stolen content. I have done some research, and it is notoriously hard to get it taken down since the author themselves didn't post it.

If you see this on any other site, it wasn't me.

I hope that everyone can be courteous and understanding of the situation.

Chapter 24

Broken

"Aang? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Aang startled from where he was gathering his things, turning to his old friend in surprise. His two traveling companions were already waiting outside with Appa so he was alone in the room.

Bumi had changed a lot since Aang had last seen him almost a hundred years ago. Yes, he still had plenty of missing teeth and wild hair, but there was a sense of wisdom around him now that was very different from the Bumi that he had known.

"Yah," Aang said, jumping back slightly and letting the air cushion him as he settled down on the sleeping mat, "What is it?"

The grim, even slightly nervous look in Bumi's eyes made Aang fidget slightly, wondering what the elder (and wasn't that weird to realize) was going to say.

With a sigh, uncharacteristic of Bumi, the king sat down next to Aang, his eyes sorrowful.

"Do you remember your Fire Nation friend?" Bumi questioned softly, cringing slightly as he said so.

Aang's eyes widened. "Kuzon? Is he alive too?!"

Practically bouncing in his seat Aang felt as if his heart was going to explode from his chest it was beating so hard. Kuzon had been one of his best friends, even closer to him than Bumi. If he had survived all these years, would he help Aang?

"I'm sorry, Aang," Bumi said softly, drooping slightly in defeat, the sorrow in his eyes only deepening.

Aang stopped bouncing ever so slowly, his smile dimming, "Bumi? He – he, please, tell me he's ok."

"Aang," Bumi closed his eyes in sorrow, "Kuzon went after you when you went into that storm."

It was as if his heart had turned to stone and sunk into his stomach.

"No . . ."

"There was nothing that we could do. I'm sorry Aang but . . . he never came back."

"No!"

"NO!" Aang shot up and coughed violently, something wet hitting his lips, "No, it's not true . . . not true . . ."

"Aang, you must lay down!" warm arms wrapped around his thin frame and Aang resisted, muttering feverously. "You're going to aggravate your ribs again!"

"I . . . I couldn't . . . t's m' fault . . ." Aang let out several hiccupping sobs but the arms only pulled him closer. One hand started to rub down his back as his face pressed into something soft that felt like fur and cloth. The person holding him started to make hushing sounds.

Aang struggled for a few more seconds before collapsing against the sort surface, sobbing freely until his face dripped with tears. Several minutes later he fell silent, his tears slowing to a stop as he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Katara sighed, continuing to rub Aang's back, deep in thought.

"How is he doing?" Sokka asked softly from the other side of the camp site, his tired eyes gazing over at her.

"Still hallucinating, and his fever is still too high," Katara muttered back, laying the young boy back into his sleeping bag and grabbing a wet cloth to put on his head. She smoothed in over the sweet coated sin with a sigh, looking down into the pain filled face. He was so young, and yet so, so old. "I just . . . I wish I knew what was going on. Sokka."

Sokka snorted and slid his blade along a rock to sharpen in, "You and me both, Katara."

"It's not just the Darkness, either, Sokka," Katara continued, "These nightmares worry me. They've been getting worse and worse. I don't know how to help him. I don't know what is wrong . . ."

The sound of Sokka sharpening his blade stopped and Katara looked up at her brother. Sokka's gaze was locked on Aang's still form, his eyes thoughtful.

"Something happened to him Katara."

Katara blinked in confusion, "What?"

Sokka sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Look, I know I can be stupid sometimes," her glare made him pause, "Well, most of the time, but that's not the point! The point is, Aang has been having these nightmares for a long time. Don't look at me like that! I know because, on the rare occasions that I am up early, he's always been up too."

He took a deep breath and continued, "The thing in, Katara, I think that something triggered them during that last battle, and now he's reliving them, only this time he can't hide it from us. Not like before."

"Hiding them?" Katara questioned, a frown forming on her lips.

Sokka snorted, "You didn't notice? Every time we asked him if he was ok when we saw the dark circles around his eyes and he made up some story about something waking him up? The aversion to certain topics? The North Pole?"

Katara let out a small "Oh," and looked back down at the boy in front of her, then bit her lip. "But, what do we do about it?"

Sokka shrugged, his face troubled, "All we can do right now, Katara, is wait for him to wake up. After that? Well, at some point he's going to have to tell us." Sokka's eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling that whatever he saw in that battle is connected, in some way, to his past, and that's why the nightmares are so bad."

Katara's eyes saddened. "We make him tell us?"

Sokka was silent for several moments before he nodded, "Yes. This is too big to be kept a secret. Not anymore."

The campsite trailed off into silence as they both fell into their thoughts, silently wondering just how much trouble they had gotten themselves into. Above them the moon flickered in and out of sight for a brief as a dark form passed in front of it, unseen against the black sky.

0~o~0

Wind whistled as it blew through the sandstone caves, creating a haunting melody only broken by the whispers of cloth on stone and sand. Shadows danced along the walls, cast by lit torches carried in clothed hands. At the entrance to one of these caves, two men stood guard, going nearly unseen against the sand in their light brown clothing. Their wrappings even covered their faces, shielding them from the deadly sand, and bone spears rested at their sides, ready for use.

Shadowed from the sun by the cave, the two men watched the shifting sand for intruders or desert beasts that would harm them shifted slightly.

"Do you think that anything is going to happen today?" one guard asked casually, his voice rasping from lack of water. Even as he spoke it was hard to distinguish it from the sound of the sand blowing by.

"A hunting party left earlier," the other grunted, his eyes not leaving the horizon, "They should be back by nightfall."

"They went while the sun's still up?" the first said in surprise, "Nothing worth eating ventures out during the day."

A shrug answered him, "They also mentioned something about one of the edge outposts. Said that they were ordered to check it out and see if anything new had come in."

"Oh . . ." that made sense. Their base acted as the center of the entire organization, but it could be a little hard to get to at times. Most of their members operated outside of the base, in the Outskirts, where they received and sent information easier. It also meant that they were the only ones who could get information to those deeper in the desert, but it was a good day and a half's travel there and back on a sand-speeder. "Do you think that they're bringing in any letters?"

Yellow eyes glinted as they flicked in his direction, "You waiting to hear from someone special?"

"W-what? No! What gave you that idea?" the other sputtered, his wrappings whipping back and forth in his denial.

"Really? No one? Last I heard weren't you writing to a M-"

"Don't say it!" The younger, for he diffidently sounded younger now that his wrappings had loosened slightly, "I got enough teasing last time. I am not writing to anyone!"

"Karisk . . ."

"Maritha and I stopped talking a while ago. It wouldn't have worked out anyway. She's from one of the cost bases, and I-"

"Karisk!"

The younger closed his mouth with a click as he saw the tense posture of his companion. "What?"

"Does that look like a Sand-Speeder to you?"

It was too soon to be back for the one that left earlier, unless something had happened to make them hurry . . . Karisk turned his attention back to the desert and the wavering dunes. A figure caught his eyes and he sucked in a deep breath.

"That's a Sand-Speeder, alright . . . and it's waving a blue flag."

Blue, a hard color to come by in this harsh wilderness, yet every Speeder went out equip with one . . . just in case.

"Go back into the caves," the elder stood stiffly as he watched the Speeder approach, his yellow eyes wide with disbelief. "Tell the Captain . . . they've found him."

Karisk's breath hitched.

We've found him.

0~o~0

The white sand sank slightly as she stepped from the metal boat and took in a deep breath of the fresh air. A slow smile spread over her lips and she bend down to press her hand against the warm sand. The crew couldn't see what she was looking at, but her eyes saw all.

"He was here . . . recently."

0~o~0

Dark hair flowed past her pale face as she leaned against the railing outside her room. Her arms rested on the perfectly carved stone, long sleeves draping elegantly over smooth rock, even as her mind protested.

This isn't yours. It was never yours. You shouldn't be here.

Five months ago Mai wanted to leave the Fire Nation, Azula, everyone, and never look back. Five months ago was just a dream, now.

As a child Mai's parents expected her to be a promising candidate for the Fire Academy in the Capital. Her father and mother both burned brightly with the gift of Fire and Nobility, the perfect couple. Their children were guaranteed that same spark of life that glowed in their breasts . . . and then Mai was born cold.

Cold, cold, cold, too cold. No life. No Spark. Cold.

She never managed to produce a flame, no matter how hard she tried. She simply couldn't find the warmth that everyone else had.

She also never told her parents about the voices.

At first they'd simply warn her about little things; like not taking the wrong step and falling down the stairs, or avoiding a certain alleyway because the shadows concealed danger. Slowly, though, they became louder. The first time that she consciously realized that they spoke only to her happened when he met Azula for the first time.

They said danger, shadow, hard path, and loudest of all Dragon.

The other girl walked right up to her and grinned with all too sharp teeth. For the first time in years, the voices went silent.

"Hi, I'm Azula, Daughter of Prince Ozai, and you are?" she said imperiously to the dark haired girl, her golden eyes glinting.

Even though Mai wanted to run she stayed rooted in the spot. "M-Mai."

"Hello . . . Mai. Do you want to play with me?"

". . . ok."

The voices didn't tell her what to do. It was only after Azula left that they came back and whispered softly, sadly, the words that would chill her for the rest of her life.

Trapped. Caged. Pretty little Fire Stone all dressed up.

At the time, they made no sense. They still don't, but she's starting to understand a little.

Azula picked up gems of potential. She saw it in people who you'd never expect, even two little Fire-less girls. She polished those gems until they gleamed. And when they stopped gleaming, no matter how much polish? Well, who knows where they go?

The voices knew this would happen. They always knew.

But she had to make her own decisions too, sometimes.

Mai sighed, leaning a little heavier on the stonework and looking out over the city. Soldier's marched through the streets, the shadows of scared civilians avoiding them diligently, out of fear. In the distance the city dropped off abruptly, ending in a wall that blocked off the sight of the steep cliff that rimmed the entire place. A natural defense, or maybe not so natural. They were, after all, in the Earth Kingdom.

Four months ago her father got the call to occupy this city.

Four months ago her voices told her that things were changing.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm scared."

The Shadow approaches. Death wears the mask of peace.

Be careful who you trust.

0~o~0

Review? (Important notice at the bottom.)

Ok, first and foremost, I am going to address questions and concerns from the previous chapter.

123 –

You mentioned that I might be making Zuko too powerful/immortal . . . I just want to bring in some of my reasoning. For one, Zuko doesn't even know the half of what he does or how to control it. Two, he may not be able to die as a mortal, but is that a good thing? Think about it. Zuko's world revolves around Aang, but Aang is going to die eventually just as all Avatars. He's just one person in a whole cycle. Zuko . . . he's stuck. It hasn't quite settled in what that means yet, I don't think.

And if you think that by being immortal he will become too strong later . . . well, I'm not really going to go beyond the series, so I have to idea where he will end up, but he won't be all powerful. Not by a long shot.

Thank you for your review, by the way. It had a lot of good advice that I will try to implement.

Wineybrat –

How skilled is Zuko with bending? I'm going to go with how the series does it. He knows just enough to be good at it, but not enough to be considered a master. He can get the basics down, but anything else is hard for him unless he really, really works on it . . . or he's in the Avatar state, which doesn't count.

As for the other thing you asked . . . this is just for you.

0~o~0

Jakka blinked at the wooden ceiling above him as he silently adjusted to the idea that he was rocking back and forth in a hammock, which means boat. A wooden boat . . .

He's eyes widened.

"Oh Agni!" He rolled to get off of the hammock only to end up on his knees, throwing up the contents of his stomach, what little there was still in there.

"Ocean not agreeing with you, boy?" a deep, rough voice asked and Jakka looked up at the source.

A hulking man stood in the doorway that led to his room, holding a plate of something in his hands.

"Um . . ."

"Your friend," the man jerked his head at Kaji, who Jakka just noticed was in another hammock in the corner, "Already spoke with the Captain. Your next, but they decided to take a lunch break first. This is yours."

He held out the plate and Jakka swallowed slightly, his hands shaky as he got up. "M-mine?"

The man nodded. "Your lunch."

Slowly Jakka took the plate and looked down at it in confusion. "What are they?"

The little round mounds of baked bread smelled slightly too sweet and had a light powdering of brown . . . something on the top.

The man glanced down at them, "Sea Biscuit Sugar Cookies."

"Sugar . . . Cookies?" Jakka drew the words out, unfamiliar with the term.

The man nodded and turned to leave. Just before he shut the bars he shouted, "Don't forget to leave some for your friend over there." Yellow eyes met yellow eyes and the huge man grinned maliciously, "And you will eat them. You need your strength for what is coming."

The man left with a laugh and Jakka gulped looking down at the cookies. That sounded ominous.

The boat rocked again.

His stomach grumbled.

A shaking hand raised one powdered cookie to his mouth, nibbling slightly.

Jakka's eyes widened and he growled, the taste finally hitting him. The surgery sweet goodness that he'd never tasted in the Fire Nation.

Kaji groaned, waking slowly.

"Mine!" Jakka shouted and knocked Kaji on the head with the plate, forcing him back into unconsciousness.

He backed into the corner and stuffed another cookie in his mouth . . .

"Mine . . ."

0~o~0

A little strange . . . but hey, it's cookies. In my house, either the cookies are hidden or carefully guarded. If they're not, well, they all seem to magically disappear . . . and I am not a big fan of cookies, not one bit . . . but I might . . . indulge . . . every once in a while . . .

HoldTightAndPretendItIsAPlan –

Can Azula become Zuko's Dragon?

. . . maybe. I'll think about it. She may be a dragon, but she's also his sister. A sister who really liked to torment him . . .

WolfGirl –

Will Zuko ever tell Aang that he's Kuzon? Yes, it's planned into the story, but it won't be until the end, or right before the end.

AUehara –

All those people you mentioned might be in the story at some point. But I write as I go, so who knows? As for Zutara . . . I don't write romance, so you're safe there.

0~o~0

If I missed anyone's questions, sorry. I'll try better next chapter.

On to the next item –

IMPORTANT – In about four months I will be moving on from Fanfiction. It has been a great few years and I will really miss writing for this site, but life moves on and it's time for a change. All of my stories that are not finished in four months will most likely be put up for adoption.All of my story ideas that I never got around to writing are up for adoption on my profile.If you wish to adopt a story idea please contact me through PM and I will gladly give you what I have as well as my notes.

Below is a list of story ideas up for adoption that are also on my profile for this specific Fandom –

Heroes – Summary: They have waited a hundred years and time is running out. Avatar or no Avatar, there will always be people willing to rise up and do what is necessary, no matter the cost. (Character Expansion/Background and Part of first Chapter included)

Potential – Summary: "He could see potential, yes, lots of it. The young man was a good fighter, an excellent planner, and had a sharp eye. Now, all he needed to do was curb that temper of his . . ." The Blue Spirit takes an apprentice. (Based in Ba Sing Se)

Mirror Image – Summary: Freshly scarred and banished, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation has just begun his quest for the Avatar. His fruitless search leaves him bitter and angry at everyone around him . . . and then the crew haul in a man found floating in the sea, a man with a scar identical to his own. (Part of First Chapter Included)

Thank you all for your time! I hope you liked the chapter!

Review?