"Aang! ON YOUR LEFT!"

It took Aang a moment too long to understand Toph's warning. He was so tired, drained from yesterday's battle with the New Ozai Society. Five years after ending the War, Ozai loyalists continue to create chaos and disrupt the balance of the world. When Aang came to know of their existence, they weren't as bold as they were now. Petty theft, bullying, and spreading propaganda to existing Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom kept them busy, but Team Avatar was quick to snuff it out.

Aang, always the pacifist, tried reasoning with the organization that peace and stability were underway. That it will take time and great effort but possible if they would just cooperate. Fortunately for him, they listened. Unfortunately for the world, they grew tired of waiting.

Now, with three giant metal drills, a dozen tanks, and a small army of battle hungry firebenders hammering down the walls of Ba Sing Se, Aang's getting tired of dealing with them the nice way.

With barely a day passed from apprehending most of their members near Omashu, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, her Kyoshi Warriors and a small group of earthbenders sent by King Bumi are all nearing a burnout. Lack of sleep from night patrols and being on constant alert for fear of ambushes left them vulnerable to the onslaught of attacks from the New Ozai Society.

And in that moment of vulnerability, Aang—exhausted from airbending a barrage of bombs away from the walls—didn't see the giant fireball coming straight towards him.

Everything happened in slow motion. One moment, he was staring at the blazing fire, terror washing over him as he realized that the fireball was coming too fast to evade and counter. Next, a body made of hard rock appeared to cover his own and saved him from what would probably be his untimely demise.

But even the hardened earth crumbled when the fireball hit. An agonized scream tore through the battlefield, and Toph Beifong—the Greatest Earthbender in the world—fell to her knees, the sound reverberating around them.

Those two, painful sounds he thought he would never hear from her shook Aang to the core.

And then he unleashed himself.

It has been two years since he called on the Avatar state. Only when he needed it most desperately did he depend on the power of his past lives. It wasn't something he enjoyed being in to. He still lacked control and that scared him. More than anything else, unintentionally hurting someone will cause him so much grief that he would likely swear off going under its influence if only he could protect the world and those he loved from himself.

But Toph's scream broke through his control. Her burned, ravaged back forever etched in his mind made him see red. Rage, burning rage flooded through him and he unleashed it upon the people who dare hurt his beloved friend.

A sphere of air cocooned Aang and he lifted himself above the ground. He called on the other three elements, fire, water, and earth swirling around his body in rings. He raised both of his hands and bent spikes of earth underneath the drills, piercing through metal. He closed his right hand in a fist and the land beneath the tanks turned into mud, trapping them. Aang let out a roar of fire and coated his arms in hardened ice swords.

He dove straight towards the tanks. He swung and sliced until they are all left in ribbons.

Toph.

Toph.

Toph.

Her scream, her back, the pure terror in her voice when she shouted her warning was all he could think of. He was losing every control he established within himself. The building rage was so alien to him. It left him blind to all reasoning, paralyzed in shame of not being able to protect her.

Toph.

The loyalists were screaming to retreat, but most were too stunned to move. Except one.

Feeling his vibrations, Aang felt the firebender take on an offensive stance. He slowly turned his head and stared directly at the loyalist with glowing eyes.

The firebender didn't stand down. He didn't cower and only stood firmer, meeting the stare of the Avatar, the strongest person, and bender alive in the world.

Aang slowly walked toward him, the earth beneath his feet rumbling slightly, the air becoming more suffocating and stifling from the heat of his fire.

The loyalist sent a kick of fire. Aang waved it off with only a flick of his hand. The firebender was sweating now, but he didn't back down and continued sending bursts of fire towards the Avatar.

Aang deflected all his attacks with half a thought all the while continuing his slow advance. He then noticed the absence of the other loyalists around the area and saw them bolting away from the wall.

Aang stomped his foot on the ground and a giant wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking their escape. He created a dome of earth around the loyalists, entrapping them inside. His left hand—still coated in sharp, hardened ice—Aang closed the distance between him and the firebender who stumbled on his feet and fell on his back.

"P-please! M-mercy!" the firebender's only response was Aang grabbing the front of his tunic, his ice sword inches away from his throat.

A thousand voices speaking all at once, Aang uttered the words Avatar Kyoshi once said to him before, "Only justice will bring peace." And drew back his arm.

"AANG! STOP!"

Katara.

Aang managed to stop his arm from finishing the deadly blow. The tip of his ice sword nicked the firebender's neck and the sight of blood made Aang stagger back, the Avatar state receding its control of him.

The moment Aang broke contact the firebender scurried off. Breaking through the haze of rage and shock, Aang encased the firebender's legs in an earthen grip, cutting off his escape.

Katara ran towards Aang and puts her arms around his waist. Shaking in disbelief on what he had done, he tentatively wrapped one arm around her shoulders, holding her close. She was shaking. The front of his robe where her cheek is resting is slightly damp and then he realized—she was crying.

"Shh, shh, it's okay now. I'm back. I'm back." He repeated the words as gently as he could. Katara raised her head and stared at him with so much sadness that made him want to run far, far away.

"Aang... you were... I've never seen you like that before." She was still shaking in his arms. She stepped back and held him at arms' length with a wary eye.

"Katara..." Why is she staring at him like that, like he was a stranger? Like she was staring at someone she can't trust? He tried to pull her back into his embrace but she stepped back.

As if she didn't want him close.

"Katara, I-I lost control. When I saw what happened to Toph—" he stopped mid-sentence. Remembering his friend, he ran back to where he last saw the earthbender leaving Katara behind.

I'll explain later. Katara will understand. She always does. Aang thought hopefully.

Right now, he needed to see Toph.

The earthbender was lying face down on the ground, unconscious. Sokka and Suki were kneeling down beside her, clothes torn and eyes heavy with exhaustion but otherwise fine. Suki gave Aang a small smile that looked more like a grimace.

Sokka, on the other hand, stared at him with narrowed eyes. He moved closer to Toph.

As if he's putting himself between them. As if he needed to protect her from the Avatar, her best friend.

Aang didn't let the hurt show on his face and instead knelt down on Toph other's side.

What he saw made him struggle to control the Avatar state from resurging once more.

A huge hole from the clothing on her back—starting from her shoulder blades down to the bottom of her spine—was burned away. On the middle was a huge burst of singed skin. The damage done to her was big enough to tell Aang how much pain she must have suffered. That fireball wasn't as strong as Zuko's, but big and hot enough to do some serious damage without some defenses. Toph should have been able to withstand that kind of attack with her rock armor.

Unless she wasn't able to bend more earth around her in her haste to protect him and save his life.

Aang was feeling a lot of things too much too quickly. But most of all, he felt like a complete failure. He's failing in establishing balance in the world. He's failing the people he loved.

He failed Toph.

He doesn't know which one is worse: that he unleashed the Avatar state and nearly killed someone or seeing Toph shield him from a fate he wasn't yet ready to face.

"I healed her as much as I could with the water I have left. We have to get her back to camp so I can do a full healing session," said Katara. Aang didn't notice her come up behind him. He nodded absentmindedly.

Being the Avatar, Aang symbolized strength, peace, and balance. At the age of 12, he was powerful enough to defeat Ozai and end the Hundred Year War. He is power. But there, kneeling beside Toph, injured and battered, he had never felt so weak. Being the Avatar did nothing to save her or him from what happened. He hung his head low.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Sokka and Suki staring at the direction of the trapped loyalists. They exchanged a look. Sokka turned to Katara and gave her a hard nod.

"Aang. I'll take care of Toph. You and Sokka should stay here and deal with the loyalists. We still need to... fix this mess." There it is again. That wariness in her tone proved what she felt for Aang earlier. She was wary of him.

Aang was too tired to reassure her that she has nothing to fear. Katara should've known by now that he would never, ever let anyone or anything hurt her.

But why did it feel like it wasn't true anymore?

"Katara's right. Toph needs some serious healing right now and we still have these Fire Nation psychos to deal with." Sokka moved, shifting his arms to try and carry Toph but Aang beat him to it.

"I'll do it. I'll meet you back here after I put her on Appa." Just as he was about to lift her, Sokka grabbed his arm. There was an intense feeling of protectiveness in that grip that unnerved Aang. He gave the Water Tribe warrior a long, tired stare.

"I won't hurt her, Sokka…" Something in his tone made Sokka drop his hand as quick as it came. He scratched the back of his head and refused to meet Aang's eyes.

"I know, I know, just… be careful with her. She's been through enough."

What? "What do you mean?" Did something happen to Toph? What is Sokka not telling him?

The warrior just shook his head and stood up. "Right now, we need those loyalists out of here and into Fire Nation territory. Zuko will handle the rest." He eyed the domed earth and the trapped firebender attempting to free himself. "Let's just hope this is the last time we get to see these idiots." He offered Aang a small smile.

"I hope so too, Sokka." Katara was already on Appa, hands on the reins. Aang tightened his hold around Toph, careful not to touch her marred back. "For all our sakes."

A/N: This story will have canon retellings in flashbacks. Our Gaang's five years older, and the world needs more Taang. Review/favorite/follow!