Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and the The Lord of the Rings or anything related to either of them. I'm a mere fan of both of them, trying to write a cross-over story between the two.

Summary: Aang discovers that he is connected to multiple dimensions of the earth and envisions the war of the Ring in Middle-Earth. He and his team travel to Middle-Earth to join the Fellowship in their quest. After having ended the war in his own world, it is now Aang's destiny to also help and restore the balance of Middle-Earth.

Fiction Rated: T - This story only includes action and language the way we know it from the original series of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Team Avatar in the Quest for the Ring

A Balanced World

"We're almost there," Aang said as he and his Lemur friend Momo were flying on Appa. Momo sat up straight in the saddle on Appa's back, examining the view below them.

It had been several months since Aang had ended the war by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. They had recently finished helping restore most of the physical damage that the Fire Nation had caused to the world during the war. He and his friends had to face the necessary difficulties during that process, even though the war itself had already ended. But thankfully, everything had turned out okay. Now that his burden of ending the war and restoring balance to the world was lifted off his shoulders, he thought back of the time before he had disappeared. The time he had spent home.

Even though he had a new family now, knowing that he was the only Airbender left, he still felt an emptiness within him that he couldn't get rid off. He had felt it earlier when he had just found out that the Air Nomads were extinct, but as he focused on his mission and with the company of his friends, it was easier to not think about it back then. Now that everything was over, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to spend some time in the Southern Air Temple to taste a little bit of his old home, and to be able to say good bye and completely let go of his past before moving on.

Appa flew over the rocky outcropping and treetops, revealing the tall spires of the Southern Air Temple behind them, before landing in the temple. Aang jumped off and patted Appa's head.

"You must be tired. Get some rest, buddy. I'll get you some hay in a little while." Appa licked Aang's face, causing the young Airbender to laugh.

Momo flew towards Aang and sat on his shoulder. They went for a small walk in the deserted temple, checking out the place. It hadn't changed a bit since they were there the last time.

Noticing the spot where Aang used to play Airball with his friends, and then the statue of monk Gyatso, Aang couldn't help but feel lonely. He let out a sigh. "Let's get to what I came here for." With that, Aang sat down in his meditating position.

ooooo

"Katara! Hey, down here! Open the gate!" Sokka waved to his sister as he stood in his boat in front of the great wall of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Impatient, much?" Katara asked from up above the icy fortress.

"Hurry up, I'm soaked and cold!" he yelled.

"Alright, alright." Katara used her Waterbending to create an opening in the wall made of ice that was now surrounding their village. Sokka entered with his boat, and clumsily got out of it.

Katara approached her brother, giggling as she noticed that his fishing trip hadn't really been successful. "Did your boomerang fail on you again during your fishing trip?"

"Boomerang never fails on me! I just went fishing for myself and only caught what I needed," Sokka said bravely.

"Right," Katara let out in disbelief. "Maybe you should join the other fishers next time. That way you also don't have to disturb me or one of the other Benders to come and open the gate just for you. Dad and Bato are going in a little while. You could join them," she suggested.

"No way, I'll come and go whenever I feel like!" Sokka announced. "Since the other Waterbenders got here and you got better at Bending, almost nothing can be done here without any Bender's help. I liked things better the way they were before everything got Waterbent around here."

"You mean, back when you were in charge?" Katara teased.

Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but found nothing to say.

"You actually think that your little watchtower made out of snow that collapsed almost every two hours beats our new walls made of ice?" Katara mused. "Or that you're a better leader than Pakku is?"

"No, but…" Sokka started. "Oh, never mind."

"It hasn't been long since we came back to a normal living at our own home without the constant travelling, Sokka. You just need to get used to everything the other Benders who got here from the North Pole have been working on while we were gone," she assured her brother.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sokka gave in. "I do like how we have this beautiful palace here now where everyone from our village has their own room. It's not as big as the palace of the North Pole, but it sure beats the way our village looked like before," Sokka said, admiring their palace before he went in.

Katara stood still at how Sokka just gave in. "Wauw.. Your positive attitude kicked in really fast this time," she mumbled to herself. She followed her brother inside.

"You know, this might sound weird coming from me, but I really miss Aang and the others," Sokka then said, unpacking his stuff.

"Me too," Katara said, thinking about her boyfriend and their other friends. "We've become so used to being together all the time that it feels kind of odd now that we're separated."

"I get that Toph and Zuko have their own homes that they needed to get back to like we did, and that Suki had to take care of a few things at Kyoshi Island before moving in with us, but why did Aang have to go to the Southern Air Temple? It's not like anyone's waiting for him there and he usually does his meditating wherever he is. He could have done it here."

"I guess that since everyone was talking about going home, Aang was missing his own. It's not like he's had a real home since he got out of the iceberg. And in a way, the Southern Air Temple still is his home. Maybe he just needed to spend some time there," she said. "But he'll be here in about a month. So will the others for our next meet up."

"Yeah. Then I at least won't have to depend on you Waterbenders for everything when I can just get everywhere on Appa."

Katara used her bending water and smacked her brother in his face at that.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Sokka yelled, rubbing his cheek where she had hit him.

"Good."

ooooo

"If you need anything while we're gone, don't hesitate to call any of the servants."

"Mooom," Toph whined. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need to be taken care of. It's okay. I will manage alone. You can go to the event with Dad now."

"I can't help being worried, dear," Toph's mother said in a slightly concerned tone.

"Don't be, Mom," Toph reassured her mother.

Her mother smiled. "Have I told you how happy your father and I are that you came back home?"

"A couple times since I got back, yes."

"I've missed you so," her mother said, hugging her.

"I missed you too, Mom," Toph said. "Just, try not to be as over-protective as before. I can take care of myself," she added to remind her mother.

"I know. I'll try," her mother said. "I'm proud of you, Toph. We both are."

Toph smiled. "Thanks, Mom. Now go before it gets late."

Her mother left with her father, leaving Toph alone at home. Toph had never been happier. Her parents had finally accepted her, the real Toph. They still had a hard time adjusting to her, but they were trying. And that meant a lot to the young Earthbender. She finally got to be herself at home.

At first she had been worried about going home, wondering how her parents would respond and whether they'd give her the freedom she deserved. But they did. Her father had even helped her start her own Earthbending School, where she could teach the art to other Earthbenders and be an official Earthbending Master. She was a very successful teacher and had quite a lot of students, or Lily Livers as she called them, since there were many Earthbenders who wanted to learn Metalbending from her. Her parents were more than proud that their daughter had played a major role in the Avatar's quest of ending the war and restoring balance. Ever since they had gotten the letter Toph had sent to them with Katara's help, they had been waiting anxiously for their daughter to return home.

"Now let's go have some fun," Toph said to herself. With that she used her Earthbending to go underground and to Earth Rumble Six. She was about to give an Earthbending demonstration with the badger moles, along with a nice chunk of metal. This seemed like a promising new attraction instead of the Earthbending contests she used to participate with before as the Blind Bandit.

ooooo

"Fire Lord Zuko, is there any chance we can interview the Avatar for accurate information on the Air Nomads? This is necessary as most of the written history on their civilization is lost," one of the writers asked during the meeting.

"Of course," Zuko answered. "I will see the Avatar again next month. After that I will set up a meeting with him where you will be able to interview him. The Avatar has started a project to create an Air Temple Island in order to preserve the culture and traditions of the Air Nomads, so maybe you will be able to work together."

The writer nodded. "Thank you."

"You're all dismissed," Zuko announced. At this, everyone in the meeting room got up, bowed to the Fire Lord and left the room. When everyone was gone, Zuko too got up and made his way towards his own room to get some rest.

It had been a long day for him. Even after most of the damage the war had caused had been restored, there was a lot that they still needed to take care of. He had just finished another meeting with some writers and school principles. He did this to make sure that history books were rewritten and education systems altered properly, so the next generation would be able to learn the actual truth about the war of the past century.

Zuko entered his room and took off his royal cloak and diadem before sitting down on his bed. He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his head. Then, all of a sudden he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed that someone had come in.

He looked up to see his mother standing next to him. "Mom?" he asked, standing up. "You could have called me if you needed me."

Ursa smiled at her son. "Is my son so busy that I can't come and visit him?"

"No, Mom, of course not. You can visit me anytime," he answered to his mother. She had been back home for a couple of months now. His father had been reluctant about telling him his mother's whereabouts for quite some time. Whenever Zuko went to talk to him, he played many tricks on his son. He tried to influence Zuko to get him on his side, to turn his son into the Fire Lord he once was himself to have another war started. But Zuko didn't fall for it. He kept looking for his mother and eventually found her with the help of his friends. His mother had been welcomed home after that. Zuko was more than happy to have her back. For so long had he thought that she had died, that he'd never see her again, but she was finally back.

"You seem tensed, Zuko. Are you alright?" Ursa asked with a slight tone of concern in her voice.

"Everything is fine, Mom. It's just that there is so much that still needs to be done. Sometimes I can't believe that the Fire Nation was able to cause this much damage to the world. Restoring it all has taken so long and it's been so difficult. Things will never be the same as they had been before the war."

"It's okay, Zuko. The war cannot be undone, but your deeds have cleared the name of the Fire Nation," his mother reassured him, at which Zuko smiled. "You have taken care of more things for your people than any other leader could have done in the past months. You should take some time off for yourself. You deserve it, Zuko," she then suggested.

"I will, Mom," Zuko said to his mother. "What do you think of the two of us going to Ba Sing Se to visit Uncle and his tea shop next week? Then you and Uncle can come with me to the South Pole for the meet up with my friends."

"That sounds great," Ursa said. She kissed Zuko on his forehead and left the room, leaving her son behind to get some rest.

ooooo

To be continued...