Hardened Winds

Prologue

Summary: Two years ago, Aang was betrayed by Katara, who fell for Zuko and ultimately led to the avatar's failure to defeat Ozai before summer's end. Hardened, the young airbender is now back with a full army and is on the verge of defeating the Fire Nation once in for all. Yet despite his belief of being in full control, nightmares of the past still haunt him. What will happen when Katara returns and a series of misunderstandings and more betrayals unveil? Will Aang be able to handle it all?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The aurora borealis up there was absolutely breathtaking.

The colors in the sky twirled and intertwined with one another in a mesmerizing dance, cerulean blue, nostalgic rose, and ocean green all blending into an incomparable masterpiece. The usual monotonous black of midnight was chased away by these blithe illusions, and heaven seemed to sparkle from above, beckoning those on earth to soar high and reach its glorious gates. Never seeming to stay in one place, the colors floated from here to there, gracefully moving in the freezing, arctic skies, and down below, a little, forsaken twelve-year-old sighed and huddled closer to himself, trying desperately to chase away the cold that threatened to dominate him from the outside and from the inside.

Just then, the ice seemed to crack somewhat from behind him, and alarmed, the child swiftly turned his head. Yet just as quickly, he let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, because the sound had only been caused by a friend. Tall and lean, an older adolescent now stood before the younger one, and unlike the latter, he was smart enough to be attired in a thick, winter coat. The teenager smiled half-heartedly when he saw his smaller companion.

"It's been a long time since we were here, right, Aang?" he asked, hoping to keep his tone light as he looked up to the northern lights. "Wow. The aurora borealis is even more beautiful than I remembered."

"Yeah."

Aang kept his head down, his mouth set in a grim line, and began tracing on the ice. Soon enough, his hands became blue and pale, but he liked how the cold pierced through his skin. It was a nice distraction, after all.

"Don't do that, Aang," his friend finally chastised him after a moment, lifting the avatar's hand away from the ice. "And didn't I tell you to wear warmer clothes? Aren't you freezing here?"

"Okay, Sokka," Aang said, his voice deadpan. "Yes and no."

"Come on, Aang," Sokka said gently, "cheer up. You can't stay grumpy like this forever. You can't-…."

"How…" the airbender abruptly interrupted him, his small frame beginning to shake, "… how can I cheer up? How can I be happy when I failed as the avatar? When the Fire Lord has already controlled the comet and has already taken the Earth Nation's capital? How can I be cheerful… when it's already too late?"

The twelve-year-old was now shaking more than ever, his gray eyes tightly closed as images of his fatal failure flashed through his mind again and again. It was so hard to believe that after all his long, intensive training, the Fire Nation had at last won over him. After all, he thought despondently as he held up a hand and lit up a small fireball, after all these harsh, unforgiving months, he had done what Avatar Roku had instructed him. He had accomplished the impossible. He had mastered all four elements before summer's end.

And that's why, a little voice in his head murmured, it's not your fault. At least not completely. It was-… But Aang shut his mind to the sinister voice, screaming inside until it finally quieted down. Because it was better to believe that it was entirely his fault. It was easier to believe that it was only because of him that Ozai had won. And not because…

"Aang."

Sokka had put his hands firmly on his shoulders, and somehow the child's shaking stopped, subdued to slight shivers.

"Aang," the fifteen-year-old repeated again, and this time his voice was carved into a soothing tone. "It's not your fault that all this happened. You know you could have defeated Ozai by yourself before the comet arrived. It's because of that blasted Zuko that it didn't happen…" And gradually, Sokka's tone became harsh with hatred, "… it's because of Zuko you were captured right before the comet arrived. And it's not only because of him…. I mean, you could've easily escaped from the stupid firebender… it was because… it was because of her, too."

A silence followed his passionate speech, and although only a few seconds passed, it seemed as the air became suddenly much colder to Aang after Sokka once again forced him to accept the sneering truth. And when the avatar spoke up, his voice was unsteady and fragile.

"Why…" he whispered, his innocent, uncomprehending facade breaking, "why would Katara do that?"

Silently, the arrow on his forehead began slowly pulsing a vibrating blue.

"I really thought… I can't imagine… she was supposed to be on our side!" Aang burst out, and his ferocious, mixed feelings thrashed inside him, threatening to overcome him like all those other times when his avatar spirit had nearly controlled him. "All those months, when she was captured by Zuko, all I could think was whether she was okay, whether he was hurting her… and when I was training, I always thought that I was doing it for her, that I was becoming more powerful so that one day, I would be strong enough to break into Zuko's fortress (wherever that is) to rescue her and everything would be back to normal. Because she never seemed to be on his ship, and I thought all this time, Katara wanted the same thing –to be free and with us. And-… and-… I don't know what happened! How could she….?"

Clutching his head in agony, his eyes opened to reveal an endless ghostly blue and enraged winds abruptly swirled around him, almost knocking Sokka down. A look of panic flashed on the older adolescent's face before he went into action, holding Aang down with his hands on the airbender's shoulders. The winds whipping around the two were bitter, howling with hurt and anger, and for a moment, they only seemed to be gaining more momentum. All Sokka could do was hold his friend down, lest Aang levitated and created even more damage with his full potential presently within his grasp.

And when Sokka heard a loud, ominous crack in the ice, he forcefully gripped the avatar's shoulders and shouted:

"Aang! That's enough!"

Almost instantly, the avatar spirit receded, leaving a shaking and heaving boy who was now grasping his arms tightly while tears trickled down his face, sobs escaping his lips every now and then. The airbender knew he shouldn't have done that, that he should've kept control. He was shivering wildly from the biting cold now, tired and weak from his unwanted outburst, and he could feel his face literally freezing from his unneeded tears. Of course, the discomfort he felt outside was nothing compared to the twisting, excruciating hollow he felt inside. Because ever since he had seen her serene, smiling face proudly proclaiming her alliance to the Fire Nation, everything he had believed in had evaporated, leaving a hollow, disconsolate shell in its place. And we were supposed to be a family.

The child looked up to Sokka, who still had one hand on his shoulder, and he knew nothing would ever be the same. Yes, Aang could see his older friend was doing everything he could to try to make him feel better, but judging by the flicker of panic in his cerulean eyes, the avatar knew that Sokka just wasn't able to do that. He didn't have his sister's openness and warmth; he just couldn't hug him and make him believe that everything would be all right in the same appeasing voice as Katara's…

At least he didn't betray you, a biting voice abruptly piped up, and the young monk could only agree reluctantly, shivering and freezing.

And the lovely scenery of hostile, jagged ice all around him only encouraged his poignant mood.

"You know what?" Sokka suddenly asked, his voice lively and jovial again. "I just came up with an idea."

Sighing, Aang didn't bother to say anything.

"Okay then…" the twelve-year-old could just feel Sokka scowl at his back before the latter continued: "Three days ago, you were captured by Zuko and Katara and they held you in their ship until the comet arrived. The Fire Lord managed to control the comet and destroy the Earth Nation Capital with it. And then, since Zuko knew that even the avatar couldn't defeat the Fire Nation after that, he just let you go, and the first place you wanted to go once you were free was the South Pole."

"And now here we are. Thank you, Sokka, for the recap of the events," Aang muttered, scowling in turn.

"No, no. I have more. You're brooding here, thinking you can't do anything, and now I –Sokka- obviously come to your aid and bring light back into your life with this awesome idea. Okay, Avatar Roku said that if you don't defeat Ozai by this summer's end, even the avatar himself couldn't win over the Fire Nation, right?"

The airbender only nodded dejectedly.

"But here's the thing," Sokka began, and it almost seemed as if his normal, happy attitude was coming back after all these days. "He said even the avatar himself. Now what does this tell you?"

"That I completely failed him?"

"Aang! Don't beat yourself up! It means, you idiot, that you still have a chance. I mean, all this time, we always thought that you were supposed to handle everything all by yourself… which is quite a stupid concept, leaving the world to a twelve-year-old, once you think about it. Aang, what you need to do is get more people on your side. Build… I don't know… a resistance…. an army against the Fire Lord. You may not be able to win by facing Ozai alone, but if there's people behind you, the Fire Nation has no chance. So what if the other nations are on the brink of destruction? There are still loads of people out there –broken up maybe- but somehow they're still together because they all hate the Fire Nation. And didn't you make tons of friends the past year? Come on, Aang, you have to admit that I'm genius here."

A lingering moment of silence followed before Aang replied quietly:

"I don't think I can do that, Sokka."

Sokka had had a proud smile on his face, but when his friend had uttered those words, the grin immediately slid off his face.

"What? Why not?"

"People everywhere have no hope now that the Earth Nation practically lost the war already," the avatar pointed out forlornly.

"So what? All they need is a little pep talk. They need us to give them hope."

"Except… I don't see how I can give hope to others when I don't have any myself."

What Sokka was suggesting was an impossible concept, Aang mused wryly. After all, he still needed a lot of time to heal himself. He just couldn't jump up and save the world, not in his current condition. What was Sokka thinking really? He couldn't help wonder this without a hint of anger. Yet the avatar had to admit that there were so many other times when he had felt despair dawn on him, only for him to conquer it and come out of it as cheerful as could be. This was different though. First off, he had failed Avatar Roku. He had failed everybody. And the other times when he had felt disconsolate, he always had had two great people to help him up. Now, it was only reduced to one, and Aang somehow felt handicapped, only being able to reach out to one friend who couldn't help being distant… at least compared to the other one.

But I should've been able to break out of Zuko's ship! Aang thought fiercely. I knew all four bending skills… how couldn't I…? The answer was obvious, really. When he had learned that Katara had purposely lured him here, only to deceive him, he had gone in shock. For the mind of an innocent twelve-year-old, these things just couldn't happen. People you have learned to love deeply don't simply lie to you with a bright smile and then feel absolutely no remorse for their actions. And all that time when he had been captive, he had shouted and begged at Katara, sometimes asking whether this was all a joke –a dream- and sometimes demanding for her to let him go. But he hadn't been that stupid. He had tried to escape. However, Katara had been his guard though, and even then, he hadn't been able to hurt her. Because it hadn't been as if the girl had suddenly turned dreadful and terrible. In a way, she had still been Katara –generous, gentle, and smiling. Except now… in love with his nemesis' son and sworn on the side of the Fire Lord.

And the fact that he had had a crush on her just made the pain worse.

"Come on, Aang," Sokka gently shook him, interrupting his train of melancholy thoughts. "You can't let the past drag you down like that. You can't let her do that to you. In these kinds of times, you have to get back control."

Control. The word resonated in the young monk's head until he finally stood up, his semi-closed eyes staring into the depth of the beautiful northern lights that still floated ahead.

"You know what, Sokka? You're right," he whispered slowly, letting the hopeful words tumble uncomfortably from his mouth. "I can't give up now. And I guess I can maybe defeat Fire Lord Ozai if I have people behind me. An army…" he looked down, a fleeting ghost of his usual, childish smile on his face, "… that would be nice."

"That's the spirit!" the fifteen-year-old cried enthusiastically. "And what do you mean, 'I guess?' Of course you can do it! You-…"

But Aang had long shut off his mind from his friend. Power. Control. That was what he needed now. Power to just draw away from the haunting memories that cast a shadow of doubt to everything he knew. And control of his skills, his life… everything. He would once again take on the world…

So that my world won't crumble again.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: Wow… after more than a year away from I have gloriously returned with this amazing story! Okay, okay –most likely this story isn't that amazing (or good, for that matter) and it's also my first fanfiction concerning Avatar: The Last Airbender. But the show rocked so much that I just had to subconsciously make my own story for it, despite my previous belief that I was totally over making my own fanfics. Yes, yes, the first chapter (the prologue, to be accurate) is rather boring, and many Katara-lovers are probably saying, 'Idiot! You made Katara way too OOC! She would never betray Aang and Sokka!' right this minute. And I agree with you guys: I did make Katara rather OOC, but I need her to be like that for my story. Besides, I have rather good reasons (or excuses):

You guys have to admit that Katara does get blinded (at least a little) when she falls for people (and usually the wrong people). Ahem… Jet episode… ahem. Yeah, maybe not the best example, but I really don't get how Katara could have fallen for Jet in the first place –I mean…. Look at his looks! Aren't they at least a tad bit suspicious? And in the end of the episode, when it becomes obvious that Jet is planning to blow up the dam, she keeps saying to Aang, 'Jet wouldn't do that!' until the guy comes in and tries to kill our beloved avatar. If that isn't blind… I don't know what is. Going on….

Yeah, that's it for now. I'll try to organize my thoughts for this story and hopefully Chapter 1 (remember, this is the prologue only) will be posted soon.

Review if you're nice.