"The Avatar's Love"... Yeah, I've never been good at titles.

A (not at all) Brief Note from the Author: So, four things before you begin:

1. YOU MAY WANT TO START AT CHAPTER 5 IF YOU AREN'T YET SURE YOU WANT TO READ THE WHOLE STORY... because this is quite a complex monster of a story. It's gotten much larger than I ever imagined it would be when I started - to the point where I forget that it's just a fanfic sometimes. So, if you are an impatient reader like me, then I might recommend skipping ahead to Ch. 5, "Katara, Alone" just to see if you'll get into it or not. That's where the plot and stuff really starts; everything before that is just build-up... Though the buildup IS there for a reason, so if you do get into the story, I hope you'll go back and start from the beginning. ^_^

2. CAUTION SHIPPERS: I GOT SOME ZUTARA IN MY KATAANG. Yeah, I've never gotten into the "shipping wars" thing (it frightens me), but Aang & Katara fill my heart with happiness. And so does Zuko. Therefore, this story is about Aang & Katara... & Zuko. If Kataang is not your thing, or you get pissed at even the smallest hint of Zutara, then be warned: this story is stuffed full of sweet Kataang goodness, with lots of Zutara elements just to make things complicated.

3. THIS STORY STICKS VERY HARD TO THE ORIGINAL SERIES' CONTINUITY, BUT NOT SO MUCH TO THE COMICS OR KORRA. I'm pretty much a canon loyalist, and try my hardest to keep the characters acting like themselves and not contradict anything considered canon. However, I started this story WAY before Legend of Korra debuted, and way before "The Promise" and "The Search" too. And since this story got so elaborate, it's pretty much impossible for me to change certain details that may not totally fit with later canon. Mostly there are 3 things: 1. One character (so far) whose role in this story contradicts a certain detail in Korra (you'll know it when you get there), 2. A couple of character backstories and/or post-war stories that don't match up with some events in the comics, and 3. Some of the rules about how the Spirit World works that are slightly off from what's been shown in Korra Book 2 (and "The Search" as well). Personally, I don't think any of these discrepancies are a HUGE deal, but I just wanted to warn you, dear reader, in case that sort of thing bothers you. :)

4. YOU WILL NOT BE LEFT HANGING... NOT FOREVER, AT LEAST. Although I ought to be focusing on writing stuff I could ACTUALLY publish, this story is going to haunt me until I finish it. So, never fear, Dear Readers: it WILL be finished eventually. I give you my solemn Avatar Promise.

A (much) Briefer Disclaimer: Much to my ongoing dismay, I find I don't own anything at all related to "Avatar: the Last Airbender," except for the collection of DVDs on my shelf. Definitely not making any profit from this... unless you count happiness as a profit.

OK, enough of that nonsense! On with the story! Tally-ho! :D

PROLOGUE

UMMI

It was her eighteenth birthday today.

Her name was Ummi, and she was getting married.

Her parents had – oh, how would you say? – revolted. It's too soon, they said. You only met him four months ago! According to them, it wasn't nearly enough time to be sure you really knew someone, that you were compatible enough to spend the rest of your lives together. But they just didn't understand. They didn't understand that Ummi and Kuruk had known from the very first moment. This had nothing to do with time, or compatibility, or practicality. This was Destiny – and it was a powerful thing.

Perhaps her father merely felt a little uneasy about the fact that his baby girl was about to marry the Avatar. Her parents were so terribly ordinary. It must have been surreal for them. They had probably imagined their entire lives that she would find some nice, common fisherman of the Southern Water Tribe, her home tribe; marry him after a customary year-long engagement; have about five children (at least one boy); and grow old as a normal, unadventurous, unremarkable, traditional Water Tribe woman.

They didn't understand her, either. She had never wanted to be normal. She wanted to be remembered, in some way. She wanted to be someone.

Kuruk, on the other hand…

No matter what her parents said, Ummi understood him perfectly. The Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, the keeper of balance, the great bridge between the physical and spiritual realms. But he was so lazy. So different from herself, the fun-loving Waterbender probably would have been absolutely content with a life of total mediocrity. Of course, being the Avatar, that would never happen for him. Nevertheless, he had done his best to be the most normal and unremarkable Avatar anyone had ever imagined. Ummi held a firm conviction that, had he lived during a time of war or disaster, he might have been a legendary hero, a figure of surpassing strength, courage, and persistence. He just needed proper motivation – but in those peaceful times, there was none. It was nice, of course, to live in a time of peace; but it did nothing for his natural idleness.

Before Ummi and Kuruk met at that celebration in the North Pole, Kuruk had already grown infamous for his creative ability to use his great Avatar powers in completely pointless ways. He was known for his fighting prowess (though he usually just fought anyone, whether or not it was a fair match), his conquests with the ladies, and his irrepressible ego.

Needless to say, Ummi had quickly broken him of most of that.

And – most surprisingly to himself – he hadn't seemed to mind. In fact, she knew he'd never been happier.

He still indulged in some of his Avatar-inspired exploits now and then, and Ummi generally liked joining him. And he'd even begun to teach her Waterbending, something she'd always dreamed of. It was a secret that both of them had to keep very carefully from their elders and peers. Her parents would have been scandalized and furious – they would have forbidden the marriage altogether.

But they didn't know. As it was, the best protest they could come up with was, it's too soon! It's too soon!

"Time is an illusion – and doubly so when you're in love," Kuruk's grandmother had told her once. All of Kuruk's family loved Ummi. They seemed to think she would finally balance out their wild young Avatar. If only her own family could have been so accepting.

It doesn't matter, Ummi told herself today. All that matters is me and Kuruk. Kuruk's sisters were currently in the process of preparing her for the wedding. She wore the traditional Northern Water Tribe-style wedding gown, with a fur cap and white flowers woven throughout her long, brown hair.

"You look so beautiful, Ummi," his sister Kaila smiled at her.

"I know we've said this before," his other sister, Korra, grinned. "But you are much too good for our brother."

"Yes, I know," Ummi laughed. "I remind him of it fairly often."

"Good," Kaila chuckled.

Suddenly, Ummi grimaced and clutched at her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Korra asked with mild alarm.

"Oh, it's nothing," Ummi smiled quickly at them. "My stomach is just a little off today. I woke up with this nauseous feeling this morning, and it just hasn't quite gone away."

"Maybe it's just nerves," Kaila suggested.

"Yes, you're probably right," Ummi nodded, though she had her doubts. She didn't feel nervous – she couldn't imagine a reason why she would be nervous. She'd been waiting for this, after all. It was Destiny. Nothing to be nervous about. But this feeling had been lurking inside her since early that morning, when she'd woken from a frightening nightmare that she could not recall. It clutched at her stomach: a sort of palpable, rotten dread. But she wouldn't tell Kaila and Korra that. They would worry for no reason, and this was a happy occasion. Ummi herself had done her best to simply ignore it. It was probably nothing, or nothing more than something bad she'd eaten the night before.

This was her wedding day, and nothing would spoil it. Nothing.

Kuruk and Ummi had decided early on that they would be married in the North Pole's spirit oasis, the most mystical and sacred location in all the Water Tribe realms. While the rest of the world around it was frozen with perpetual cold, the spirit oasis in the heart of the citadel was full of a constant, inexplicable warmth. On a small island in the middle of an icy pool, lush grass and flowers grew. And in the tiny pond on that island, forever circling one another, were the black and white Koi fish, Tui and La. The Moon and the Ocean spirits. Push and Pull. Yin and Yang. They had always been there, and would remain there until the end of time, always circling one another, maintaining the delicate balance that the world – and particularly the Water Tribes – relied upon.

The priest was awaiting them at the oasis, as were the members of Kuruk's family. Ummi's family, of course, had not come. But Ummi wouldn't let that bother her now – this day wasn't about them. It was about her and Kuruk, and the love they shared, pushing and pulling them constantly together. Like the Moon and Ocean spirits, they were two; but in essence, one. One force, one spirit, one energy. Forever.

Ummi approached the oasis from the eastern bridge, with Kaila and Korra carrying the hem of her gown. Kuruk approached from the western bridge, and his eyes shone brighter than the moon itself when they fell upon her. Ummi blushed slightly, beaming back at him.

He arrived at the edge of the pond before her, and stood waiting.

The crunching dread in her stomach squeezed. Ummi winced.

So sorry, my dear, a dark voice – a wickedly soothing male voice – suddenly seemed to crawl through her mind. Don't take this personally, but the Avatar must be punished for his idle ways. And you do have such a very lovely face.

"Kuruk," Ummi gasped, halting for a moment, doubling over, and searching frantically around for the source of the voice. Her heart screamed; the painful dread seemed to push her insides outward. She remembered – the nightmare –

A dark cave full of endless tunnels – a dark creature lurking inside it – an enormous centipede, hundreds of talons clawing at the walls – and its face – nothing but a white mask –

Everyone was rushing to her side. The sky was bending over backward.

"Ummi!" Kuruk cried, clearly alarmed.

"Did you hear - ?" she began, but she was never able to complete the question. For the next moment, though she was unaware how it had happened, she was no longer standing on the bank of the spirit pond. She was in the water. She was being pulled – down, down, deeper. The light of the spirit oasis was rapidly fading away above her head to a pale circle. She caught a last glimpse of Kuruk, diving into the water after her. But in a moment, even that was gone. She was in darkness, surrounded by a living silence, gasping for breath.

"WELCOME!" said the dark voice, and out of the shadows there burst the hideous face of a screeching bluenose monkey, suspended on the body of a giant centipede. Ummi screamed with surprise and terror.

She couldn't have known the danger of such a natural reaction.

But Koh the Face-Stealer expected she wouldn't know. The moment her scream erupted, he chuckled with greedy delight, and set his claws upon her.

"Such a lovely face," he simpered hungrily. Ummi's scream faded before it had even begun.

TA MIN

Ta Min could only watch the scene in horror.

She could see nothing from her vantage point in the boat, rocking anxiously in the unhappy waves, though she strained her aged eyes as hard as she could. The erupting volcano painted its bloody light over every surface of the visible world – beautiful, but utterly terrifying.

Just one glimpse. If she could just catch one sight of the small speck that was her husband… But all she could see was that bleary crimson wave, pouring down the mountain as if from a gaping wound. Washing everything away. All those houses that had stood on this island for generations – her own home, and those of all her friends and neighbors – all gone. Only an hour ago, she and Roku had been sleeping peacefully, just as they'd done every night for the past sixty years.

How could it have changed so suddenly?

And now she was in a boat, rocking, surrounded by the other horrified evacuees, and the only signs she could see of Roku were the cracks that burst from the stones, the rising waves of lava that curled back on currents of air, the bubbles of ice that formed like blisters in his various attempts to halt or somehow contain the destructive flow.

Somewhere underneath all her terror and anxiety, there lurked a subtle amazement, even admiration, that she was not consciously aware of. In sixty years, she'd never really gotten used to being married to the Avatar. Not entirely. She'd accepted by now that perhaps it was simply something one did not get used to.

She had known Roku nearly her whole life – since they were little more than children. Just young teenagers, full of energy, sure that they had the whole world figured out, never suspecting what a complicated place it really was. Roku had been in love with her nearly from the day they'd first met, at the fourteenth birthday celebration of himself and his ex-best friend Sozin (back when Sozin was only a fun-loving and carefree Fire Prince, not an avaricious and shameless Firelord). Ta Min had rather liked Roku as well, but he had been so young – so gangly and gawky – always stumbling over himself and tripping on his words. In a way, of course, it was endearing. But she had waited; waited, because one day she knew he would grow into himself. Then, she would see.

But the day came when the Fire Sages appeared in the palace, on Sozin and Roku's sixteenth birthday, bearing the news that would change everything. They had identified the new Avatar.

Ta Min still could recall that moment. The entire courtyard, even Prince Sozin, had bowed solemnly to the young Firebender Roku, who had looked as if he thought some horrible joke was being played on him. At the time, Ta Min also had felt rather incredulous. Roku? The Avatar? But he was so… ordinary.

During the long period that Roku had been gone, traveling the world, mastering the four elements, Ta Min had become more and more certain that he had forgotten about her completely. She had regretted how distant she'd been with him; at times she had even felt tempted to simply leave the Fire Nation and scour the world until she found him. But her sister Sen had kept her grounded.

When love is real, it finds a way, she used to tell her.

Only a few months after Roku's return, he and Ta Min had married at last. Her sister had known all along. The time was finally right, as it would not have been at any moment earlier or later in their lives. Destiny knew its business.

For sixty years now, Ta Min had been the Avatar's wife. They had made a life together, here on this island. Except for Roku's conflict with Firelord Sozin years ago, nothing disastrous had ever occurred to ruin the serenity of their lives. Not until tonight.

"Where is he?" Ta Min whispered aloud to the night air. One of her neighbors – a pretty young woman, married only two months ago – lay a hand on her fragile shoulder.

"I'm sure he's got everything under control," she said, with as much comfort as she seemed capable of at the moment.

But only an instant later, there was a deep thunderous growl. Ta Min hid her eyes – she couldn't bear it. No, it couldn't be. It wasn't fair. Everyone in the boats around her gasped in horror.

A second peak had burst. While the first volcano had finally been succumbing to Roku's efforts, another to the west had awoken, and seemed to spew the terrible liquid and evil black smoke with a fury twice that of the first.

"No," Ta Min gasped, covering her mouth in dread. It was too much – Roku was too old for a battle like this. Even the Avatar was not all-powerful.

A slender red ribbon seemed to flutter between the plumes of black smoke: his dragon, Fang. The loyal dragon would never leave his master to face the catastrophe alone.

"What's that?" her young neighbor cried, pointing. There, gliding toward the disaster, was another slender ribbon – a blue one.

"Sozin?" Ta Min breathed, bewildered. The blue ribbon was Sozin's dragon. But the Firelord hadn't spoken to Roku for years, not since their dispute about Sozin's plan to expand the Fire Nation into an empire. He must have seen the eruption all the way from his palace on the mainland. Had he actually come to help? He and Roku had once been the closest of friends. Perhaps he was willing to put aside their disagreement.

Perhaps – perhaps there was hope.

But another half hour passed, and it seemed nothing was changing. The volcano was not to be subdued. Ta Min's eyes burned from the heat and the strain of scrutinizing the mountain. The black plumes enveloped everything, and the red glow smeared it all together.

"Just leave, Roku," she whispered, praying that her words might somehow reach him. "Just let it go."

Then, at last, she caught sight of a dragon gliding away from the volcano. For a moment she nearly wept with relief, thinking it was Fang carrying Roku to safety. But.

But – no.

It was the blue dragon. It was Sozin.

He had left Roku to die on the volcano.

"No!" Ta Min screamed, realizing that the Firelord had betrayed her husband yet again. "Roku!"

The volcano vomited – a whole new wave of unstoppable lava and boiling black smoke.

She caught one last glimpse of Fang, curling down to alight on the mountain's side, directly in the path of the flow. She knew Roku was there. She knew if Fang couldn't save Roku, then he would die with him.

"Roku! No! No!" she shrieked, frantically, tears blurring away the rest of the horrible scene.

That was it – he was gone. She would never see her husband again.

The Avatar was no more.

She crumpled into a weeping ball, and her young neighbor cradled her old body in her arms, and wept as well. In all the boats, as they drifted further from the island they had all called home, the evacuees all shed solemn tears and silently honored their beloved fallen Avatar.

And at that dark moment, somewhere in the world, a child was born. A boy of the Air Nomads, with bright grey eyes and a smile full of wonder. Where one Avatar ended, another – still yet to know his own Destiny – was beginning.

There's a lot more to go! And this prologue won't really get its full payoff for quite a while, lol... Anyway, onward to the actual story!

By the way, in case anyone cares, the title of this story comes from one of the Track Team's... uh, tracks. On the soundtrack. It's the track that plays during the big Kataang kiss at the end... Track Track Track.