Author's Note: I'm sooo sorry this took forever. I gave up the computer on weekdays for Lent so you can imagine how hard that's been. Haha But lately, whenever I feel like writing, it's been my original stories. Because, gasp, guess what? I've actually started writing original stories! I have, like, six that I'm writing all at once, plus my sister is trying to get me to read more, plus I've been focusing on school so much, so it's been really hard for me to get to this. Plus, it's really boring to write from a script. -.- But, I have it now, and even though nobody probably wants to read something they can just watch on TV, I doubt there will be that many readers, but whatever, I HAD to end this, and I did!

Thank you so much to everyone who read this, I appreciate your dedication!

The morning had come more quickly than Katara had expected, and she soon found herself waking Aang up and guiding him to the deck, where Sokka had gathered everyone on the ship for an official "meeting".

"After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety," Sokka explained to Aang as everyone was gathered around him, eating noodles. "We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone…"

Sokka put his finger to his chin for a moment, thinking, and then smiled. "Well, not completely alone."

Katara glanced over at Aang, who gave Sokka a critical gaze. He had not understood what he had meant by that, but there could be an explanation later. Right now, Sokka needed to continue the recap.

"Soon, the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise."

Katara's mind replayed that night's events. All her fears, thoughts, concerns, they all seemed like part of a distant past now. Her heart ached as she remembered her hopeless and sorrowful feelings.

Sokka pulled out a map and placed his finger on a point, dragging it across the paper.

"Since then, we've been traveling west. We crossed through Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

Katara was surprised at how composed Sokka was while repeating such morbid events.

Aang averted his eyes, "So, what now?"

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan," Hakoda responded.

Anger flared inside of Katara. He's speaking of it like it's HIS plan!

"It's Sokka's invasion plan," she corrected him.

Hakoda eyed her curiously, "Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"Sp we're planning a smaller invasion," Sokka cut in. "Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and the Duke."

Sokka waved his hand over to the two eating noodles, The Duke was sitting on Pipsqueak's shoulder.

"Good to see you again, Aang," Pipsqueak greeted.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage," Sokka continued. Then, he leaned closer to Aang and whispered, "We have a secret," he looks to his left and right, as if searching for intruders, "You!"

Aang gaped, "Me?"

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead!" Sokka stood up, raising his arms excitedly, "Isn't that great!?"

Aang's face looked completely shocked, and Katara mentally slapped herself on Sokka's behalf. What was he thinking? The poor kid just woke up, has almost no clue about what's going on, and you tell him that he is supposedly dead to the rest of the world?

Aang stood up and staggered over to the side of the ship, gripping the handles.

"The world thinks I'm dead? How is that good news? That's terrible!" Aang sounded so distressed that Katara could barely hold herself from running over to him. He had just recuperated and she was blessed once again with the chance to hear his voice, see his eyes, and feel his touch. However, his voice was panicked, eyes were worried, and his touch was timid and tense. It was definitely not the Aang she remembered.

"No, it's great," Sokka reassured Aang. "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore. And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun."

"No, no, no, no, no," Aang repeated, gripping his hair. "You have no idea… this is so messed up!"

The horn of a ship blared from behind them, and everyone looked towards the source. Katara's heart dropped when she caught sight of a Fire Nation ship coming closer, beckoning them to stop.

"I'll handle this," Aang said determinedly, grabbing is glider. "The Avatar is back!"

He slammed his glider to the ground, and its wings open. However, the action caused Aang to flinch, sweat forming on his forehead and he gripped his side in pain, grunting. Trying to bear through it, Aang grabbed the tops of his glider, preparing for takeoff.

Katara's heart melted, and she advanced towards him.

"Aang, wait. Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation." Just please think before you do anything stupid.

Aang looked up at her with determination and anger in his eyes. Sweating heavily, he gave in and reluctantly folded his glider up. His face was downcast.

Hakoda walked up to them, "Everyone just stay calm. Bato and I will take care of this."

The two men placed their helmets over their heads, disguising their Water Tribe traditional hair styles.

Pipsqueak and The Duke worked on throwing a tarp over Appa, who was sitting in a cargo pit. Momo jumped in with him. Katara led Toph and Aang into a stairway leading below deck. They went only as far enough so that their heads still peeked through to allow them to witness the events taking place above.

"I hate not being able to do anything," Aang grumbled.

"Hopefully, you won't need to," Toph whispered in reply.

The group watched on as a metal bridge landed between the two ships. Three men in uniform walked across it confidently; two of their faces hidden behind Fire-Nation masks and the one in front looked determined and aggravated.

"Commander, why are you off course?" the man asked in frustration. "All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward Ba Sing Se to support the occupation."

Katara's heart sped. She hoped that her father and Bato could think up a good excuse, and fast.

"Actually, we're from the Eastern Fleet," her father replied, hardly wavering. "We have orders to deliver some cargo."

Katara mentally sighed in relief. Hopefully the three soldiers would buy it.

"Ah, Eastern Fleet," the man said to himself. "Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships out way."

"I am sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, sir," Bato assured him, using his own words against him.

Katara smiled at the wit of the two men. If her dad was anything, it was a fast thinker; Bato, too.

"I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?" the man seemed friendlier to the two now that he believed they were safe.

"Next time, we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message," Hakoda promised.

The men exchanged bows before Hakoda and Bato walked away.

Hook, line, and sinker, Katara thought to herself.

The soldiers stood in their place and began whispering to each other. Katara couldn't hear what they were saying but she noticed Toph scoot a little closer to the edge of the stairs to listen in better. Her eyes were squinted in concentration.

Katara gave the rest of the group the signal to be quiet. She knew that it was a good idea for Toph to eavesdrop; it could tell them something important.

Toph eyes widened and without warning she stepped out from their hiding spot and pointed accusingly at the retreating figures.

"They know!" she shouted.

No sooner had she said this before her hand dug into the metal floor of the ship. She twisted it and the fissure of metal led all the way up to the bridge. The bridge buckled and sent the three men falling into the ocean below them. In a flash Katara was up and over by the spot where the bridge was previously occupying. In a rush of adrenaline, she bended a mountain of water between the two ships, then spun around and thrusted her arms forward. The water slammed into the parallel ship and caused it to fall back a couple of yards. In no time Bato had taken control of the gears and began moving the ship forward.

Katara knew there wasn't much time. A rope ladder was being tossed over the side of the boat, and the three soldiers were re-boarding. She had to quickly think of ways to get away from the opposing ship. In the back of her mind, she was thankful for all of Toph's grueling metal-bending practices, for they have indeed paid off. Mentally reminding herself to thank the brilliant bender later, Katara rushed towards Sokka and Aang. Sokka was trying to convince Aang to put his glider down, but the stubborn air bender was just not listening. Katara sighed and advanced towards them.

Aang really has been changed by this experience.

"Sokka, Aang! Please stop, Aang, please stop," Katara pleaded.

Aang glared at her with intensity, but upon seeing her face his eyes softened.

"I just need to do something," his voice cracked.

Katara placed her hand on his cheek. "I know, and you will… just not now. You need to rest or you won't be able to do anything."

Aang looked at the floor, and then bowed his head in surrender.

Katara looked up to Sokka. "Sokka, take him somewhere where he'll be safe until this ends."

Sokka nodded then placed his hand on Aang's back and led him somewhere else. Aang clutched at his glider nervously.

When the figures of her friends disappeared, Katara turned around to look at the sky. Her eyes widened as flaming rocks were hurtled at their ship. She ran and ducked right as a boulder hit where she was just standing. Another hit the side of the ship and the whole ship swayed as everyone struggled to keep their balance. She looked on in surprise and gazed around the ship. It looked like nobody had gotten hit and that was good. Pipsqueak and The Duke seemed to have located some boulders and were now working on creating piles.

Toph stepped up confidently to them and got into stance.

"Load the Toph!" she ordered.

Pipsqueak took a large stone from the top of one of his pyramid formations and lifted it over his head. He then set the stone disc right in front of Toph.

Toph took two steps forward, and then slammed her left foot into the metal floor. The boulder rose into the air. Then she turned and shoved the stone disc with her palms. The large rock flew forward and hit one of the trebuchets of the other ship, demolishing it.

Katara looked on as another flaming boulder was fired. Toph retaliated with another stone and the two collided in the center and crumbled into the ocean. Another boulder was fired from the opposing ship, but it missed and splashed into the water. Then the Fire Nation fired a ballista towards the lower end of the ship. Rumbling was heard and Katara rushed towards the edge of the ship to a portion that was not blocked off by the railing. She noticed water rushing into the lower half of the ship. She lifted her arms upwards and then pushed her palms down, exhaling. Freezing mist appeared from her mouth and started growing on the edge of the ship. It extended underwater where it healed the gap in the hull.

Katara knew that they were going to need to get out of sight to give them some time.

She turned to the other members of the ship and yelled out, "I'm gonna give us some cover!"

She pressed her hands down and the water between the two ships began to form a whirlpool. As she lifted her arms in the air, a huge cloud of mist rose up and enveloped both ships. Katara looked towards Toph, The Duke, Bato and Hakoda on the deck in a group. A fireball suddenly pierced through the mist and headed straight towards them. The four jumped out of the way just in time.

Katara bit her lip. Maybe they can't see us, but we can't see them either.

Katara noticed Aang running in the distance, but Sokka caught up to him and stopped him. She decided to leave that business to them and walked back to her post, noticing the mist was seceding.
Katara felt another explosion behind her as a cloud of smoke rushed through the entirety of the ship. She shielded herself from the attack before noticing that the engine was ablaze. She bended some water from the ocean in a stream and extinguished it.

Toph ran up behind the group.

"How we doing?" she yelled.

"Things couldn't get much worse," Sokka assured her.
Suddenly, a giant serpent bursted from the water; Sokka turned around and pouted when he saw it.

"The Universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" he asked rhetorically.

"You make it so easy!" Toph shouted from behind him, deepening his pout.

Katara gazed up at the serpent in horror. It looked exactly like the serpent she and Aang fought back at Serpent's Pass. Her heart twisted at the memory. It could be the very one they fought, they were right by the area.

A fireball struck the side of the serpent's head, narrowly missing its eye. It hissed and dived into the water. It attacked the Fire-Nation Ship that had fired at it, wrapping its great body around it. They were free to make their escape.

Everyone stared in awe at the sight, and then Sokka turned around and threw his hands in the air.

"Thank you, The Universe!" he cried, clapping his hands together right under his chin.

Katara smiled at her brother. They all hugged each other in relief before Katara set out looking for Aang. Sokka grabbed her shoulder.

"He's in his room," he told her. "I saw him walk down there while we were being attacked. He's gone through a lot, Katara, and he's confused. He's not himself right now, no matter how much we wish for the old Aang. He's grown from his experience. Just give him some time to cool off, to think. We'll get him when it's time for dinner."

Katara looked at her brother solemnly. Sometimes, it was hard to believe he was that goofy, meat-eating, sarcastic, immature, and annoying older sibling. She nodded in understanding and walked towards the side of the ship, watching the sky for the night to come.

A few hours later Katara found herself walking down to Aang's bedroom, followed by Sokka and Toph. They had just docked on a pier and decided to eat out that evening. They all agreed they were sick of noodles and wanted to give Aang a good meal for his first conscious dinner in three weeks.

Katara walked into the bedroom. Aang was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Aang, we're going into town to find some dinner," Toph was the one to speak.

Aang sat up and clutched his stomach as it growled in response to the word.

"Well, I am pretty hungry. Maybe dinner's a good idea," he decided.

Sokka walked up to him with a red headband in his hands.

"Here, tie this around your head. It'll cover your arrow."

Aang looked down at the fabric with disgust.

"I'm not going out if I can't wear my arrow proudly," Aang told him.

Sokka scowled. "Aang, be practical."

Katara grabbed her brother's shoulder before he lost the rest of his patience.

"You guys go ahead without us. We'll catch up with you."

Sokka nodded at her, and with one last fleeting glance at Aang, he and Toph left the room.

When Katara heard the door clang behind her, she advanced towards Aang, who was lying on his bed with his back facing her, tapping his finger against the red silk sheets.
"I think I understand why being a secret bothers you so much," she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You don't want people to think you failed."

"You're right," Aang replied coldly. "I don't. But the problem is—I did fail."

Katara frowned. "Aang, that's not true."

"It is true," he insisted. "I was in Ba Sing Se. I was there, but I lost. And now, the Earth Kingdom has fallen for good."

He got up, clutching his abdomen and faced the floor.

Katara's heart melted at Aang's hopelessness. "Remember, there's still an invasion plan."

Aang turned around suddenly. "And I hate the invasion plan, too! I don't want you or anyone else risking your lives to fix my mistakes!"

He grabbed the tapestry above his bed and ripped it off its hanger; he threw it to the floor, knocking over his staff.

Aang calmed down and bowed his head, his back once again facing Katara.

"I've always known I would have to face the Fire Lord, but now, I know I need to do it alone."

"Aang," Katara said softly. You're never alone.

"Katara, please, just go, please," Aang begged.

Katara bowed her head sadly and made her way to the door. It hurt that Aang was losing hope in his bond with his friends. He had gone through so much and was now finding it so hard to trust anybody.

"Is there anything you need?" Katara asked halfway out the door.

"I need to redeem myself," was the response. "I need my honor back."
Katara nodded solemnly and left, closing the door behind her. She wasn't able to bring that back after dinner, but hopefully someday he will be able to give that back to himself. She knew that what he was seeking only he could give to himself. Katara walked to the rendezvous point that the gaang had planned to meet up at if anyone got lost. She had a feeling that Toph and Sokka would be waiting there for her and Aang. She was right.

"Where's Aang?" Sokka asked when he realized Katara had come alone.

"He didn't feel too well," Katara lied. "I told him I'd bring him back some food."

Sokka nodded and the three began walking. It felt strange to Katara that the missing presence of their fourth friend didn't seem strange anymore. It almost felt like it was always just the three of them. A foursome might have even felt strange to them, especially now that Aang has changed.

"I guess that makes sense," Toph spoke up. "I mean, he got hit with lightening, I doubt he feels good. I was surprised that he only seemed to be in a little pain when he woke up. Sugar Queen must've done a real good job on him."

"Yeah, that was my goal. No pain when he woke up. But he seemed really hungry—looks like Sokka didn't try as hard as I did." Katara smirked.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled. "I did my best! It's not exactly an easy job feeding an unconscious kid!"

Katara laughed. "I'm just joking, Sokka."

Her brother huffed and the three stayed quiet for the rest of their walk. They finally reached their destination—a quaint little Fire-Nation restaurant. They all hoped that the food there was good.

Sokka munched on the last of his meal. Katara looked on in disgust—more food was on in face than what went into his stomach. He licked it all off and sighed in contentment. Katara fiddled with the food on her dish. Toph was eating in satisfaction, oblivious to the others. Once everyone finished their last morsel, Katara took the tray of food they had ordered for Aang and scooted off her seat. The other two followed and, after leaving some Fire-Nation money they found on their captured ship, the three left the building.

Once they reached the ship, Katara parted ways with the other two and entered Aang's room with his tray.

"I brought you some food," she said brightly.

Silence followed, and Katara glanced all around Aang's room. He wasn't there—and neither was his glider.

Katara's eyes widened, "Oh no!"

The tray crashed to the ground. The food spilled and the bowls and plates cracked and broke. No sooner had it hit the floor than Katara had bolted out of the room.

Tears poured from her eyes, as much as she bid them not to. She didn't know who to turn to. She didn't know where Sokka and Toph had run off to. She caught the figures of Bato and Hakoda conversing on top of the bridge tower.

No! Not him, not Dad,Katara told herself, but she soon found herself approaching the two.

She looked up at the two men in utter desperation, the tears flowing faster than before.

"I'll leave you two alone," Bato suggested, walking off. Hakoda had just been talking to him about his trouble with Katara lately. He figured that maybe this would break the ice.

"What's wrong, Katara?" Hakoda asked once Bato had gone.

"He left," Katara told him vaguely, still untrusting to her father.

"What?" Hakoda still seemed to understand. His facial features indicated that.

"Aang—he just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone. That it's all his responsibility." Katara sounded angry, but for the first time it wasn't all directed at her father. It was also directed at Aang. She had helped him, suffered for him, cried for him, gave her own needs up for him for three weeks straight—and now he's this angsty, frustrating kid that runs away from his problems. It's not the Aang Katara had remembered.

"Maybe that's his way of being brave," Hakoda suggested warmly.

"It's not brave!" Katara snapped. "It's selfish and stupid. We could be helping him, and I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How could he just leave us behind?"

Katara's voice cracked as desperation sounded from it. She had this feeling in her chest that the conversation wasn't about Aang anymore.

"You're talking about me too, aren't you?" Hakoda asked quietly.

Suddenly, Katara's tough shell that she had created to hide from her father suddenly melted, and she finally had the urge to spill out everything.

Katara cried harder. "How could you leave us, Dad? I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but… but we were just so lost without you."

Katara turned away and sobbed. She wasn't exactly sure why she was breaking down now, and here, but it actually felt sort of good to get this out.

Katara felt a hand on her shoulder—her father's hand.

"I'm so sorry, Katara," Hakoda said sympathetically.

She couldn't take it anymore. Katara turned and hugged her father, crying into his chest. Hakoda wrapped his arms around his only daughter.

"I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way?" Katara asked rhetorically, tears streaming down her face. "I was so sad and angry, and hurt."

Katara dug her face deeper into her father's chest.

"I love you more than anything," her father responded. "You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day I was gone, and every night when I went to sleep. I would lay awake missing you so much, it would ache."

Katara didn't respond—she just let the words sink in. Her father, who had missed the chance to see his girl grow out of her childhood and into her teenage years, had missed her just as much as she missed him. She was so afraid that he had forgotten about them… that he had moved on. She didn't want to be near him long enough to realize that he has changed—just like Aang. But right now she realized he hadn't changed.
The two stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was probably only a few minutes. They separated.

"Katara, I think I know where Sokka and Toph are. You should all go look for Aang. This storm is getting to be too much for an injured boy to handle. Go on Appa and go get him. Get Sokka over here before you leave and we'll figure out a time and place to meet up before the invasion."

Katara gaped at her father. "Are you saying…?"

Hakoda nodded. "Katara, Appa can only hold so many people. This ship needs me and Bato right now, we can't come with you."

"But, but I just started to talk to you again!" Katara pleaded. "This whole time I've been ignoring you, and now I'm too late to spend time with you again?"

Hakoda frowned. "I'm sorry, Katara. Toph and Sokka are in the lower left wing. Go get them, and don't forget to tell Sokka I need to talk to him."

Katara stared in disbelief at her father, but then took off to search for her two friends, knowing full well that it'd be a long time before she and her father would meet up again.

Sokka and Toph looked stunned at what Katara had told them.

Sokka quickly stood up and ran to the door, stopping only to say a quick word.

"I'm going to Dad, you guys get Appa ready. Who knows how much time we have."

Then he ran out the door.

Katara and Toph followed Sokka's orders with haste, and they met him out on the upper deck.

"Hop on!" Katara ordered, and Sokka crawled onto Appa's new saddle that the group had obtained during the past three weeks.

"Yip Yip!" Katara cried, and Appa groaned as he took to the skies.

The threesome kept an eye out for Aang the whole time. Well, Sokka and Katara looked; Toph just sulked in a corner asking if they found him yet every two minutes.

The sun had risen and the three were losing hope. They were just passing the Crescent Moon Island when Katara noticed a little black dot on the shore. She squinted and noticed the familiar clothing on what appeared to be a young boy washed ashore. Panic filled her mind.

"He's over there!" she shouted, quickly drawing the attention of the other two.

Sokka looked over the edge in excitement, which quickly dissipated into fear.

"Where is he?" Toph asked excitedly. "Is he okay?"

Sokka gulped. "I think he's—dead."

Sokka confirmed Katara's fear, and Toph suddenly became stone still, a morbid look on her face.

The gaang landed a few feet away from the prone figure. Everyone hopped off and Momo darted right over to him.

As the three ran over Momo licked the boy's face.

"Guys!" Toph yelled from behind. "I feel a heartbeat!"

Katara never felt as excited in her life as the boy opened his eyes. Momo jumped off of his chest and danced all around him. Aang groaned and sat up.

"You're okay!" Katara shouted joyfully, sliding to her knees and embracing Aang's head.

Sokka, Toph, Appa, and Momo followed suit and they all formed a group hug.

Katara felt Aang break away, but this time he was smiling. Katara smiled back.

Aang's smile disappeared. "I have so much to do," he remembered.

"I know," Katara told him. "But you'll have our help."

"You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?" Toph asked.

Aang smiled again. "What about the invasion?"

"We'll join up with my dad and the invasion force on the day of the eclipse," Sokka explained.

Toph's face suddenly contorted into confusion. "Hey, what's…?"

She grabbed an object that's vibrations she felt from behind her.

"Oh…" she suddenly sounded monotonous. "It's your glider."

As Toph handed Aang his broken, burnt, and torn glider, Katara saw the pain in his eyes intensify.

"That's okay," Aang forced himself to hide his pain. "If someone saw it, it would give away my identity. It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."
Katara silently cheered Aang for his bravery. His lone possession from his past had just been destroyed. All he had left were his arrows, his pets, and his memories.

Aang turned around and, using his air bending, jumped onto a mound that was trickling out lava from the volcano above. He stared down at it solemnly. Then making up his mind, he lifted his glider up in the air, spun it for the final time, and then slammed it into the lava. He jumped away, back with the rest of the group. The foursome looked on silently as the ancient relic ignited and was consumed by flames.

END.

Author's Note: Yup, it's finished. For real, now. I hope you all liked it! (For those who have actually read this far.) This is the first story I've EVER finished, and I'm so stoked to put the COMPLETE thing on this! By the way, there is a poll in my profile, PLEASE vote on it. The faster you do, the faster I'll have my next fanfiction posted!

Thank you everyone for reading! Until my next story....