1. Chapter 1

_At last, I'm back. Just so you know, if you've read what I had before, I've done many changes and edits, most notably merging chapters 2 and 3. Also, you can probably assume that I have no ownership over Avatar or Wow. _

_Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe, Aang can save the world..._

_And I was right..._

_The three of us set out on an adventure that would span the globe. We made friends and enemies, learned amazing new things, and went through a lot of laughter, heartbreak, anger, and terror. At the end of that summer, Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai and stripped him of his power over his element and his nation, putting an end to the Hundred Year War. With the aid of his successor and our ally, Prince Zuko, we created a place where benders and non-benders from all over the world could coexist in peace and harmony, a beacon of hope known as Republic City. _

_That was thirty years ago, and much has changed, for good and for bad. _

_With the Fire Nation sharing their industrial achievements with the rest of the world, the nations have undergone an incredible technological revolution. My home, the Southern Water Tribe, has been completely transformed with the aid of the northern tribe, turning it into a city rivaling the great capital of the North Pole. Perhaps the greatest of all however, is hope for a new future for the air nomads. With the birth of my youngest son, Tenzin, Aang is no longer the last of his kind._

_Unfortunately, at times it seems that this world will never truly be at peace._

_Republic City is plagued by vicious bending gangs and hundreds of people are forgetting the old, traditional art of our gift. Worse, tensions are once again rising between the three remaining nations; war once again seems to be inevitable. We press on, hoping that such conflicts can be resolved without bloodshed, without further suffering. Even when my husband placed the most notorious criminal behind bars and several peace conferences seemed to put an end to the hostility, our lives were once again plunged into chaos._

_It all began after our family took a long-deserved vacation..._

...

Dark mists and scalding fumes filled the stale atmosphere of the cavern; the echoing sounds of clanging metal pierced the air. Through the mists walked a humongous humanoid shape, striding calmly though a labyrinth of forges, tents, and piles of stone and metal. Hundreds of people worked among these facilities, stopping their work and bowing as the enormous figure passed by. Earthbenders selected stones from the stockpiles and loaded them onto forges; firebenders ignited the rocks to the point of glowing orange. Dozens of people wielding hammers shaped the ore into flat surfaces. Eventually he came up to a woman standing before a titanic pool of lava. She wore thick, dark armor and a mask in the shape of a dragon's head concealing her face.

She kneeled as the form approached, "Twilight lord, you honor us with your presence."

"Report (Is it done? Is it done?) How close are you? (The master wants, the master needs!)"

"I am proud to report that the first phase of our project is nearly complete, and we have begun progress on phase two." Beyond them, a complex network of scaffolding encompassed the lake. Resting in the lava beneath them, an enormous, dark shape shifted within. Men and women walked along the scaffolding, operating cranes and mechanisms. One such device began to lower a metal plate still glowing with heat with four long spikes on the bottom.

"However, the master isn't making this easy…" As the plate came in contact with the dark mass, it groaned. Seconds later, the crane pushed harder, driving the spikes into the beast's skin. Its roar of agony shook the cavern as a serpentine shape erupted from the water and struck one of the scaffolds, instantly splintering it. The structure buckled and collapsed, sending several screaming workers into the lava, the woman winced, "I've lost nearly three dozen workers now, and we're only half completed. If this continues…"

The tall humanoid lifted his hand, "This matters not, for their lives are meaningless. (Insignificant! Unworthy!) If we halt now, their sacrifices will have been in vain. (Their deaths feeds his hunger!)" The figure returned his attention to the woman, "How long until he is ready?"

"At this rate, he'll be done by the end of the week and-"

"No! (Too long! Too long!)" He barked, the woman recoiled in terror, "Tomorrow is the solstice, the deadline set by the old one (Now is the time!) We lose our chance now, and all is lost…and you'll be the one to blame. (Failure means punishment!)"

The woman gulped, doing her best to hold back a scream, knowing full well what "punishment" meant.

"Work them all night if you have too, we've all waited long enough. (Now, now, the time is now!)"

She silently nodded and turned to the pool, another earth shaking bellow escaped the creature as another plate was driven into its back. An enormous, bat-like wing surfaced from the pool, one flap was enough to send another dozen workers to their doom.

...

"Are we there yet?!"

Aang's eyes shot open, had he not been holding on to Appa's reins, he would have flown off of the bison right then and there. Having been awake for nearly twenty hours straight the night prior combined with a lazy summer day of travel must have finally caught up with him. Aang looked back to see his oldest son wearing a gray, Earth Kingdom style tunic and sporting curly brown hair.

"Bumi, I've told you before," he yawned, "when we get there, you'll see it long before any of us probably will."

It was then that Aang noticed another boy sitting beside him, garbed in airbender clothes and a shaved head. The boy sat meditating; at least that was what it looked like. Aang distinctly heard soft snoring from his younger son, and after nudging him awake, he stretched. "Enjoy your little nap?"

"Actually, yes." Tenzin yawned, several silent minutes passed before speaking again, "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Can I handle the reins for a while?" Aang doubtfully glanced at his him. Tenzin quickly replied, "I've been practicing all day for the past week, I'm ready!" Aang still wasn't convinced, but he found it hard to resist the look on his face and slowly handed him the ropes.

Without warning, Bumi thrust his head between them, "Now hold on, how come he gets to drive the bison?!"

"Because I'm the airbender here, genius." 

"Really? Funny, I remember all those stories about mom, uncle Sokka, even Zuko getting to drive Appa, airhead."

From behind, a levitating globe of water struck Bumi in the back of the head, completely dousing him. It took Aang immense willpower not to laugh. From behind, a gentle voice came, "Bumi, be nice."

"Yes _mom._" He groaned in reply.

Aang glanced behind; Katara sat behind them stroking Momo in her lap. Next to her, their daughter Kya juggled a globe of water in her hands; both Aang and Katara knew that Kya was a born prodigy, arguably more so than Katara herself though she didn't exactly like to admit it. The two of them nearly drowned the day she was born.

After handing the reins to Tenzin, Aang moved over and allowed his son to take the center of the neck. Tenzin nervously clutched the reins before yanking to right and shouting, "Yip-yip!" Appa immediately followed directions and lurched to the right, violently so. Tenzin, in an attempt to stop it, yanked to the left, but once again did it too hard. Rather than simply turning left, Appa did a complete barrel roll. Only Aang's instinctive reflexes kept him from flying off as he grabbed onto Appa's fur.

"Don't worry, I can fix it!" Tenzin screamed, he yanked again and once again only made it worse. Appa rolled and jerked in every which way but upright. Aang struggled to reach for his son, finally managing to reach the reins. Aang yanked the ropes upright, and Appa stopped immediately.

Aang steadied himself before looking to Tenzin, his youngest had his face in his hands, Aang touched his son's shoulder, "Don't worry Tenzin, you'll get it eventually." Tenzin looked up hopefully and opened his mouth as if to speak, but was interrupted by a Katara's voice behind. "Uh, Aang?"

Aang looked back to Appa's saddle; he saw that Katara was still clutching Kya in her arms and had her other hand locked onto a handle of the saddle, a terrified look was present in both faces. Momo clung to Katara's head, every hair on his body strung up. Katara and Momo weren't stranger to such rides, but it had been long since they have had one. After a moment however, Aang felt that something else was off, "Wait, where's…" Aang darted to edge of the bison and looked down just in time to see a small human shape disappear into the clouds below. "Bumi!"

Without thinking, Aang leapt from Appa's massive head and dove into the clouds. Bringing both of his arms against his torso, he soared through the air like a missile. Eventually, he spotted Bumi flailing helplessly as the ground beneath them raced toward them. Extending his arms, Aang tackled his son midair, "Don't worry buddy, I've got you."

"Um…dad?"

"Yes?"

"Where's your glider?"

_Uh oh _was Aang's only response, in panic he had forgotten to pick it up.

In desperation, Aang threw torrents of wind beneath him in an attempt to slow their descent, unfortunately it was not enough to make their landing a "gentle" one. He concentrated, trying to call the aid of the all Avatar spirits, to give him the ability to save himself and his son. Nothing happened. He tried again, still nothing. Just as Aang and his son were about to become pancakes, a gigantic furry mass darted from the side, intercepting their fall. He felt the familiar touch of Appa's saddle and sighed with relief, "That was excellent, Tenzin. I'm so…"

Aang fell silent when he saw Katara holding Appa's reins; Tenzin sat next to her with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Are you both all right?" she said, dropping the reins and rushing over. Aang himself nodded, but he looked to his son with doubt. Bumi rolled over on his back, like he was about to make a snow angel.

"That…was…AWESOME!" He shouted with glee, he leapt to his feet this time, "Let's go again!" Laughter escaped from everyone, even Momo seemed amused. They were laughing so hard, the barely heard Kya's joyful shout, "We're here!"

Everyone gazed over the size of the saddle, watching the endless expanse of Ba Sing Se beneath them.


	2. Chapter 2

After sailing over the maze-like houses and districts of Ba Sing Se for what seemed like hours, Appa finally found their designated landing site. A building stood at the northern side of a small courtyard, twin dragon statues snaked around the roof. A wooden sign suspended by chains hung from their mouths that read:_ The Jasmine Dragon._ Appa landed with a sharp thud, people scattered at the sight of the bison. All around Aang could hear people eying him, cheering that the Avatar has come to their city. More specifically, chosen to land in their part of town.

Katara motioned for Kya and Bumi to follow her off of Appa and into the tea shop. Aang looked to Tenzin, who held his head down guiltily. Aang placed his hand on his son's shoulder, "Don't worry Tenzin, Bumi will be fine." Tenzin's eyes perked up for a moment, but quickly died down again. Aang leaned in closer, "Listen: between you and me, I fell off the cliff eleven times while _I_ was learning to fly a bison." That did the trick; Tenzin laughed but at the same time stared with disbelief. Aang scooped up his son and carried him inside.

Not a second before entering, they were greeted by a gruff yet friendly voice, "Ah ha, why this is quite a surprise!" An old man walked from behind the counter, wearing an emerald robe and carrying a tray with over a dozen tea cups. Aang and Katara bowed before Iroh in greetings, Tenzin mimicked his father while Kya and Bumi simply walked up, each hugging a different leg.

Iroh laughed with is signature friendly chuckled before prying the children off of his legs, "Now that you're all here, simply take your seats and I'll take your orders."

"Five cups of Jade Tea will suffice." Katara claimed, suddenly Momo leapt onto her shoulder and screeched defiantly, "I'm sorry, make that six."

Iroh chuckled once again before directing them to a table before rushing back into the kitchen. Aang's family made their way to the table, but no sooner after sitting down, the ground began to shake violently. With shock and panic, many people ducked under the tables and those standing rushed for the exit. All around, Aang heard the tea shop groan and cracks forming on the ceiling. Aang leapt onto the table, thrusting his arms outward, commanding the stones and rocks all around him to remain stable, becoming increasingly harder as the quake intensified. That was not all however, as the earthquake went on an agonizing headache crossed Aang's mind.

_Not again_, he mumbled. His headache nearly forced him to loose grip on the tea shop and double over.

Eventually, the quake died down and Aang was able to let go. Katara climbed out from beneath the table, all three kids huddling in fear beneath it. Iroh appeared from the kitchen, tea splattered all over his outfit, "It's all right everyone, just another quake."

"Wait a minute," said Katara, "You mean Ba Sing Se is having them too? I thought only Republic City was having any earthquake problems."

"There are quakes _everywhere_, Katara, not just the Earth Kingdom either." Iroh said grimly, "my nephew sent me a message that a big one nearly toppled his palace last week." The terrified faces of patrons filled the shop, among them Aang and his family. "Oh I'm sure it will pass in time, the good thing is that no one was hurt." Iroh brushed himself off, "Now…back to those orders."

After disappearing into the kitchen, Katara managed to coax the children out from under the table. Bumi and Kya were quick to forget the quake and instantly returned to one of their many arguments. Aang sat alongside them, cradling his forehead. "It's back again, isn't it?" said Katara.

Aang nodded. Ever since the severe outbreak in earthquakes, Aang had been victim to dozens of horrible headaches. They had been growing worse along with the quakes, even with Katara's healing hands, they would simply return time and time again.

After dinner, due to a convincing argument from Kya, the family took an aerial tour of Ba Sing Se. Appa carried them over the king's palace, Lake Loagai, and even the remains of the drill imbedded in the southern outer wall. Two hours into the tour, Aang landed Appa for a break beside the park. Kya, Bumi, and Momo children leapt from the saddle and scurried into the sanctuary. Tenzin stayed behind, meditating on Appa's forehead. "Tenzin, it's a lovely evening, why don't you go play the others?" Tenzin shook his head, "No mom, must concentrate and focus, then I'll be able to ride a bison properly." Katara turned to her husband, "Hard to believe you two are related." She whispered, Aang laughed under his breath.

Aang and Katara strolled through the park, the gleeful squeals of their children off in the distance. They came to a stop at a bench and rested in one another's arms, they gazed up at the sky silently. Aang took a deep breath; even Air Temple Isle could not rival a cool, quiet evening in Ba Sing Se. Just as it seemed that he would doze off, a booming voice shattered the silence, "Change is coming!" Aang nearly rocketed skyward, when he settled down; he looked off to his right in the direction of the voice. Once again it blared, most likely amplified by a megaphone, "The war may be over, but our troubles are not!"

Curious, Aang started for the direction of the voice, motioning for Katara to follow. After walking for .shouting out to his audience, the man wore a strange dark-violet robe with a hood and two shoulder pads that spike upward, the shadow of his hood concealing his face like a mask. Behind him, a banner hung from a pole and a symbol embodied in the center. The symbol was of a silver war-hammer with an elongated handle, a ring of thorns and spikes encircled the head.

"We are at a time of peace," the man said, "but how long will it last? Poverty and suffering dictate the lives of the poor, vile criminals prey on us and pick clean what little we have. War may be over but for how long? Though its most infamous, the Hundred Year War is far from the first great conflict, and most certainly won't be the last." Many spectators nodded approval, their remarks meant that they agreed with where the announcer is coming from.

"The Avatar cannot preserve peace and balance forever, even he has his limits." Some patrons seemed appalled at this, but most stayed regardless. "Fortunately, we can help. Join the Twilight's Hammer; we can bring peace to everyone, _eternal peace._ With your support, we can bring this glorious vision to pass.

It was at this point that Aang decided to speak up, "And how exactly is this supposed to bring peace?" Everyone turned to Aang in astonishment, the announcer seemed to have least expected the Avatar to his rally. "The war is over, Republic City was built for peace between the nations, how is this flawed?"

"Ah, but you and your friends receive the heroes treatment in the city." He scoffed, "But us? We're the backbone of this nation, the workers , farmers, and merchants. How are we rewarded? Crushing taxes and criminals taking what little there is to take from us. If the Avatar cannot see this with his own eyes, than he is blinder than that metalbending friend of his."

Aang was not offended at this. He had spent nine months of his childhood on the receiving end of Fire Nation propaganda and had grown use to far worse. Katara on the other hand, looked furious. Though before she could reply, or rather blast him off his stage, Aang felt someone nudged him from behind. It was Bumi

"Not now Bumi, we're busy-"

"But Kya fell out of a tree in the park!"

Katara rushed toward him, "Oh my, is she hurt?"

"No but she landed on Momo…"

_Again? _Aang said to himself, he picked up is son and headed towards the park. Behind the man shouted, "You hear me Avatar? Change is coming, you either adapt or you are replaced. Make your choice!" His threat sounded idle, but the reaction of the crowd was what unnerved him. They all seemed to understand and sympathize with the speaker. Aang walked away, unable to shake the feeling that this wasn't the last that he would here of this.

...

That night Aang dreamt that he was a boy again, the twelve-year-old boy that came freshly from the iceberg. He soared on his glider, circling high above Appa in the springtime sky. All of his friends were children as well, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and even Zuko. Aang performed aerial tricks such as flips and twirls, his friends cheered him on. The sky was a flawless blue, the sun beating down. Aang felt the happiest he could be.

Suddenly, the sunny sky turned dark. Massive storm clouds consumed the atmosphere, lighting arced across the sky. Panicked, Aang dashed for Appa's saddle. Before he could reach it, something lunged from the clouds beneath him. Shadowy tendrils made from the clouds lashed out, attempting to grab him. Aang dodged the tentacles with ease; Appa however, was not as maneuverable. The tentacles wrapped themselves around the bison, Appa struggled to free himself but was met with failure. Everyone on the saddle tried to free Appa of their grasp, no sooner did they try the tentacles moved on to entrapping them.

Aang soared to Appa, desperate to reach his friends. Caught off guard, a thick tentacle grabbed his foot, it yanked him down to the cloud cover beneath within the reach of more tentacles. He tried to struggle, but only more of them moved in to restrain him. Aang thrashed frantically, attempting to free himself, but was stopped when a monstrous voice echoed across the sky.

"Avatar…"

Aang yelped, the voice rattled his skull and the tentacles prevented him from covering his ears.

"The time has finally come…"

Up above, Aang could just make out a shape forming in the clouds, a triangular shape emerged, two orange globes gave off as what seemed to be eyes. An orange crevice appeared horizontally from the shape, bordered by sharp edges that resembled teeth. After taking vivid shape, the mass of clouds leaned forward…toward Appa

"No!" Aang screamed, he drew up his strength and finally was able to airbend his way through his captors. He landed on Appa's head and raised his staff ready to fight. Aang swung his staff, creating an airborne shockwave that sailed toward the clouds. When his attack hit the clouds however, it ricocheted off as if it hit solid rock. The voice let loose terrible laughter.

"It's no use…all is lost."

The head in the clouds opened its maw, revealing a red, fiery chasm within. Aang frantically attacked, using every element he could think of, any style he could think of but did nothing to stop it. He glanced back at his friends, hoping for their support. All of them stood frozen with fear, even Toph knew that the situation was dire. Aang could only look helplessly on as the clouds descended upon them, eventually enveloping him and his friends in a fiery inferno.

…

Aang sat bolt upright, sweating profusely. He glanced around to see that he was in the bedroom, in the house he had stayed at during his first visit to the city. He only calmed down after assuring himself that he was safe. Next to him, half asleep, Katara asked, "Aang? What is it?"

"Nothing…" He replied, "Just-just a nightmare."

Even in her state, Katara looked at him suspiciously. She knew very well that the Avatar doesn't simply have "nightmares"_, _though she was tired and decided against pushing the matter and fell asleep. Aang did the same, but only after another hour. He could still faintly hear it, the voice in the clouds echoing in his mind. Such malice and hatred in its tone, not even Ozai could compare with it. Eventually he went to sleep, hoping more than anyone that it was only just a nightmare.

Several hours later, the family made their way to the train station in the middle of town. The entire trip, Momo sat nestled in Aang's lap, hissing whenever Kya got near. "Come on Momo, I'm sorry!" She yelled, Momo merely hid from view from her. Aang chuckled, "Don't worry Kya, Momo forgave uncle Sokka for trying to eat him, sooner or later he'll forgive you."

After arriving at the station, they could see a monorail arriving as well. Aang and Katara walked up to the reception area just as the train reached a halt. The doors opened and many patrons emptied out, after fifteen minutes had passed, Aang did not see anyone whom they were expecting, the one they were looking for. His children seemed disappointed, "Maybe they'll come on the next train?" Katara assured them.

"Who'll come on the next train?" said a voice from behind. Aang and Katara turned to see Sokka, his usual sarcastic grin stretching across his face. The three friends embraced and exchanged various hellos, Katara glanced around, "Is Suki here too?"

Sokka searched the crowd for his wife, once spotting her he waved his arm signaling her. Suki emerged from the crowd, a ten year old boy holding onto her right arm. Her free hand rested over her rounded stomach.

"Hao!" shouted Bumi. Sokka and Suki's son left her mother's side and group hugged Aang's three children, lifting all three off the ground if as if they were light as feathers. After more hugs were exchanged, Aang felt tensed for a moment. He could feel a small spark come from within Suki, he smiled, "Feels like your next kid has some real potential, Sokka." His brother-in-law gave him a confused look, Aang gestured to himself, "Avatar." He turned back to Suki, "I sense fresh bender in the family."

"Hey, no fair!" said Hao, "Why him and not me?"

Sokka placed his hand on his son's head, "Now, now Hao, I was in your position for all my life. Look how I turned out." Sokka held out his hands, his son did not look at all convinced.

A few moments later, the ground beneath them began to shake, "Another earthquake?" said Katara. Aang felt it for a moment, this was different, it wasn't as intense as before. "No, just an old friend."

A hole in the ground beside them burst open, a woman wearing an Earth Kingdom green robe and a yellow tiara with two cotton balls at the ears leapt from within. "Greetings, surface dwellers!"

"Toph!" said Katara, moving forward for another group hug, but she raised her hand to stop them. "Wait, no hug until after Lin gets here."

Suki looked around, "But why wouldn't she be with?-"

A second hole opened beside the first, a little girl jumped from the hole, panting like a polar bear dog. "Right here, mom." She fell over, almost unconscious. Her mother leaned over her, "She'll live."

After picking herself up, Lin moved to the other children. Kya and Bumi rushed forward, but Aang and Katara both noticed that Tenzin was absent. Aang looked behind him to see that Tenzin stood cowering behind his father's robe, a bashful look on his face. Aang smirked, he's seen that looked before, he had worn it many time when thinking of Katara.

"So," said Katara, "How's police business going, chief?"

"Believe me, I would love to share all the details," replied Toph, "but not on an empty stomach. What say we discuss it over lunch?"

"Ooh!" said Sokka, "I know this great rice place in the agricultural section of Ba Sing Se, take only fifteen minutes."

"What's it called?" said Suki.

"_Rice Place._" Everyone stared at him silently, "Hey, I didn't name it this time. Now let's go!" Sokka sped over and leapt onto Appa.


	3. Chapter 3

After Appa soared over the first great wall, the stories began to fly as well. Many things have changed ever since the end of the war, the art of storytelling however, was not one of them. Then again, the stories seemed to partake in a war of their own.

"Hey mom," said Lin, "next tell us the story of how you single-handedly caught an entire earthbending gang!"

"No!" screamed Hao, "Not until after dad's story about how he got his space sword back."

Kya leapt to her feet between them, "What about when my dad found the sky bison heard?"

"Oh please!" Lin spat, "Those two don't have any excitement. Besides, mom's stories are always the best!"

"Hey, as the Avatar's daughter, I say what we listen to first!"

"No fair!"

Aang and his friends exchanged glances; they knew that there was no way any story would be chosen by the time they made it to the village, which spared them the trouble of keeping their children entertained. For miles around, lush fields of crops blanketed the lands, the walls resting on the horizon. Farmers and children below shouted and waved at Appa before quickly returning to work.

"There it is!" yelled Sokka, everyone (minus Toph) glanced over the side of Appa's saddle. A small village, but a speck upon the endless grasslands, fast approached. "I tell you," continued Sokka, "one bite of rice here, and you'll feel like you're in heaven.

Aang chuckled, it was renewing to here that even after all of these years, Sokka was the same fun-and-food loving guy he knew as a kid. He could feel his own stomach growl profusely, eager to have a taste of what Sokka once proclaimed to be the "best rice in the Earth Kingdom." However, as they descended towards the town, Aang felt that something was…off.

Aang couldn't see anyone, not a single man, woman, or child occupied the streets. Aang had Appa land just outside of the entrance to town and climbed off his head. Still no one came out to greet them, odd since Aang had grown used to a daily routine of being a walking attraction, much to his dislike. Katara leapt from the saddle, "Where is everyone?"

Toph was next to jump, after hitting the ground, she suddenly went rigid. She tapped her foot once more before saying, "Aang, keep the kids on the saddle." She sounded nervous.

"Why?"

She grabbed the collar and tugged him forward, "Don't ask, just do it."

Rather than angry, Aang could hear a bit of unease in her voice, maybe even dread. Deciding not to push it, Aang nodded and turned to Sokka and Suki, "You two stay with the kids, the three of us are going in." Suki looked puzzled, while Sokka seemed disappointed, he had been through enough to know that something wasn't right and he was being left out.

He then turned his attention back to the children, "All right then, who finally wants to hear those stories?" Everyone on the saddle cheered, and moments later the fighting over which story to tell first resumed, the look on Sokka's face made it apparent that he regretted bringing up the subject. Before they could be roped into that mess, Aang, Katara, and Toph hightailed it into the village.

Aang's hope that nothing was amiss began to decline with any step. Not a living soul was anywhere to be seen, not in the houses, not in the markets, and certainly not in the streets. Katara nudged Toph, "Feel anything?"

Toph tapped her foot once more before answering softly, "Yes, just ahead of us infact."

For a moment, Aang felt relief, but it was shattered upon seeing what lay ahead of him. Several people lay sprawled across the street, none of them moving. Katara ran to the nearest one and placed her hand over his throat feeling for a pulse.

"He's…dead, isn't he?" said Aang, Katara looked up and nodded. Next to him Toph responded, "They all are."

"Quickly, look around for any survivors!" Katara leapt to her feet and sped off into the street, searching every window and door along the way. Aang and Toph exchanged glances. Well, only Aang. He felt that they all knew that they weren't likely to find anyone, even if Katara refused to admit it. For her sake, they both began searching as well.

Sadly, after searching shops, houses, and more of the street, they all turned up with more victims, all dead. Men, women, and horrifically, children lie dead everywhere. While searching an old shop, he could saintly here Katara sobbing outside.

Although Aang has never witnessed much of the aftermath of battles in the war, something unnerved him about the bodies they found. Nearly all of them were completely intact and it relatively good shape, no burns, cuts, or crushed bones which seemed to exclude benders. Upon exiting the shop, Aang noticed another body pressed up against the wall, a woman still cradling a bowl of rice in her left arm. What caught his attention however, was the smell. Not of the body, but from her bowl.

After freeing it from her arm, Aang held it up to his nose and sniffed. He gagged and reeled back, the smell was absolutely terrible. Aang guessed that this wasn't the rice Sokka was talking about, at least he hoped not since he couldn't eat it without vomiting. Unexpectedly, Toph strode over and snatched the bowl from Aang's hand, giving it a whiff.

"Brown rice…" she sniffed again, "seasoned with Ivy-Lotus, extremely poisonous."

"How did you know that?" asked Katara.

"When I was little, my parents made me memorize the scent of poisonous plants if I ever got lost in the woods or something." She chuckled, "Glad it wasn't a _complete_ waste."

"So someone tainted the food, and probably the water too," said Aang, "we need to get word out to the rest of the city, and find out who did this." He was about to sprint back to Appa, but was stopped by Toph.

"Wait, there's still someone over in the town square," she pointed to the street leading down into the village, "and he's still alive. Come on!" All three of them rushed down the street as if their lives depended on it, though come to think of it, someone's life _could_ depend on it.

"Don't eat anything!" "Poisoned! Everything is poisoned!" "Don't drink the water!" they all screamed in desperation to keep the last soul in this village alive. There was no response, which only motivated them to scream even louder. However, upon entering the town square, it was they who fell dead silent.

A large, black stone slab stood in the town's center, like a stage. Oddly shaped rocks littered the dirt surrounding the slab, two metal poles stood at opposite ends of the stone, both holding tattered banners. The banner's themselves had a dark, blood-like red and bore an ominously familiar insignia of a hammer bearing a ring of thorns. A hooded figure stood alone on the stage, glaring at the three as if expecting them, the same hooded man Aang and Katara met met the evening prior.

"At last," the figure rasped, "the Avatar has come to me."

Aang stood silent; there was something unnerving in the man's voice, enough to keep him from approaching any further. Toph walked past him and shouted, "Sir, you haven't eaten anything from around town recently have you?"

"Why no, of course not." he replied.

"Good," said Toph, "now if you don't mind, I ask you to leave to leave the premises while we-"

"You want me to leave?" he said, "After at that trouble I went through to get some peace and quiet around here?" he opened is palm and a small amount of seeds and leaf debris sprinkled onto the ground. Toph fell silent, whispering, "That's ground up Ivy-Lotus…"

Katara stared appalled, "Wait. You…you did this?!"

"Very observant." He chided, as if her shock amused him. Aang spawned a ball of fire in his palm, Toph ripped a circular chunk of rock from the ground, and Katara emptied all water from her pouch. They all stood ready to fire, but the man did not even seemed phased by this, "…had a feeling it would come to this." He murmured.

Toph lunged forward and brought her fist up; the soil beneath the man reached up past the stage and enveloped him, solidifying around him up to his shoulders. "Under my authority as chief of Republic City police force, you are under arrest."

The man sighed, almost as if disappointed, "A shame…we had hoped to conceal ourselves for a little while longer."

"Who is 'we'?" said Aang.

"You'll learn soon enough!" he screamed, he threw back his head, removing his hood to reveal his face. Aang yelped as he saw that there was actually no face, just a black head with no eyes, nose, or mouth. At this moment, the earth shook again, this time small cracks formed around the stage with dark mists seeping from within, forming into dark clouds. Each cloud began to circle the entrapped man; strange hissing noises came from them, sounding like whispers. The smoke then began to enlarge and encircle the man's entire form, completely obscuring him from view. Aang blew a strong puff of air to try and clear the gas, but it resisted. Whenever blown away, the smoke would simply return in greater force and size. Not long after, a loud roar came from within and fragments of stone and rock were blown away in all directions. Toph and Aang both willed for the stones to keep away, shielding them all from shrapnel.

Eventually the smoke began to recede and draw inward to the man within, but when the smoke was gone completely, there was no man there. A ten-foot tall, roughly humanoid figure stood where the man was before. The creature had a thick torso yet stubby legs and a pair of arms with one large and more deformed than the other. Its right arm was bulging and thick with muscle, but ended in three tendril-like fingers, while its left arm was a simple snake-like tentacle. The creature was completely naked except for a belt and loincloth that almost seemed to be made of metal. It most hideous feature however was its face…or rather what was in place of its face.

Where the head should have been, there was nothing but a writhing mass of tentacles that gave the impression of a beard that reached down its chest with no eyes, nose, or mouth to be seen. Unexpectedly, the creature began to babble, spitting out words that made no sense, "Shrg l'anar, ak kilgr ty'zga!"

All three benders recoiled, for at the moment the monster spoke, a voice in clear English emptied into their heads, "Behold now, the wrath of Twilight!" They barely had enough time to recover from the pain the beast leapt into the air and crashed into the ground beside them. Before any of them could counterstrike, the creature swung its right arm and snatched Aang from the ground. He screamed as the three long fingers, ensnared him, their touch burned his skin and he began to feel his clothes singe. His captor began to gurgle in a fashion that sounded like laughter. Aang's pain was so intense; he felt that he would black out. Before that though, a thin wall of water jetted from the side and sliced clean through the beast's arm. Its fingers went limp and Aang freed himself as the severed hand hit the ground.

The beast bellowed in pain as it backed away and cradled its right arm the best it could with its other limb, oily, black liquid gushed from the open wound, presumably blood. It then turned its attention to Katara and charged, lashing out with its left arm like a whip, but she was quick to dodge.

"The water!" she hollered, "Aang, help me!" Aang immediately understood, and began bending his wife's water supply that lay on the ground, lifting into one gigantic bubble. Katara sprinted to keep ahead of the creature, though just when it seemed that it would reach her, it fell to the ground. Both of its feet were submerged in the soil, obviously Toph's doing. Katara was then able to assist Aang and the two of them manipulated the water into surrounding the creature, eventually closing in and encasing it in a tomb of moving water. Muffled moans came from within the bubble, Katara did not relent, Aang on the other hand…

From with the bubble Aang could see the creature flailing around, desperately trying to breathe and portions of its own blood beginning to fog up the water. Even for something like this, he still felt pity, drowning was a horrible way to die. Aang lowered his hands, forcing Katara to bear the entire burden of keeping the water straight.

"What are you doing?!" She screamed, "I can't-"

At that moment, the bubble burst. Water and black blood splashed everywhere. Aang leapt between the creature and Katara, just as he suspected, the creatures blood burned just like its grip, Aang kneeled to the ground and cringed, but did not scream, Katara was safe and that was all that mattered.

Behind him, Aang could see the creature lit itself off the ground. It coughed and sputtered before speaking, "M'yri sharla yra, llri qo ff'ya!"

Its words translated into Aang's mind, "Master was wrong about you, you _are _weak!" It began to slowly approach him, blood still dripping from its right limb.

"Hold it!" Came Toph's voice to the right, it was enough to get the beast attention and turned. Standing not far from them, Toph stood holding her right arm up and twirling her fingers, one of the flagpoles with the hammer insignia levitating over her head and a smug look on her face. The beast stepped back, it likely knew what was about to happen next. Before it could move any further, Toph hurled the pole like a javelin, a sharp _shlock!_ Came when it ran right through the creature's heart, it uttered one final gurgle before falling to the ground. After a moment of silence to ensure that it was dead, Aang stood up, "Thank's Toph."

"Don't mention it." Aang waited, he expected to hear some sort of sarcastic remark or boasting from her, but it did not come. The tree of them gathered around the beast's corpse, still weary that it would lash out at them.

"What the hell is this thing?" blurted Toph, "and how did that guy-"

"I don't know." interrupted Aang; he spoke as if though the question was directed solely at him. Katara did not respond, instead she kneeled down and observed the creature's 'face' intently.

Aang leaned down as well, "Something wrong?"

Katara looked at him, "Not at all but…" she paused for a minute or two before continuing, "I can't shake the feeling that I've seen this bef-"

She was cut short when the earth began to shake once again, but this time in greater force. Both Aang and Toph lost balance and fell to the ground. "Not _another_ quake!" Katara roared over the rumble of the earth beneath them. Suddenly, the creature's left limb lashed out and wrapped around Katara's waist, she screamed and tried to free herself but could not. It was nearly impossible to do with the shaky ground, but Aang struggled to reach his wife and try to free her of the tentacle, though it would not release its grip, even when Toph joined in. Though harder to hear over the roar of the land, the creature spoke yet again in its alien language, which transferred into all three of their minds saying, "At long last he has come! At long last the Destroyer returns!"

Aang produced a ball of fire and seared the tentacle; it too went limp after being severed. Aang then lifted his near unconscious wife onto his shoulder and screamed to Toph, "We have to get back to Appa!"

"This way!" she hollered back before scurrying into the street, the bitter laughter of the beast dying behind them. As they made their way down the street, the quake only worsened. Often it was so intense that Aang and Toph needed earthbending just to stay upright. At one point, Aang looked up to the sky seeing that the once lovely blue sky was now covered in dark storm clouds, every flicker of lightning and crash of thunder seeming to increase the strength of the quake. It took nearly forever for them to exit the street to find Appa outside of town, grunting and roaring in panic and confusion.

Sokka sat atop the bison's head gazing out at them, "Aang! What happened to you guys?!"

"No time!" Aang roared back, "Just get Appa ready to fly and…" He paused when everyone on the bison; Sokka, Suki, and all of the children looked to the skies beyond them with looks of pure horror. Aang slowed down to a crawl before slowly following their gaze. In the skies behind the outer wall, a blinding light burned through the cloud cover. So large and so bright, most would fool it for the sun, but that wasn't right. It too early to be sunset and only after more careful inspection did Aang realized that it was a titanic ball of fire.

At first, Aang though it could only be Sozin's Comet, but that's couldn't be right either. The comet was not due for another seventy years and its appearance meant that it was far closer than the comet had ever been previously. Additionally, the atmosphere around them seemed to heat up, to the point that it felt like a scorching summer day even without direct sunlight. Only far too late did Aang finally realize that the fireball was headed towards them. He wanted to move, he wanted to try to stop it, but a part of him knew that it would be hopeless.

All he could do was watch helplessly as the comet crashed into the inner wall of Ba Sing Se.


	4. Chapter 4

After the fireball struck the wall, the shockwaves from the blast were enough to toss everyone, even Appa, back several feet. Aang's vision was clouded, and his ears could pick up no sound. As he struggled to regain his footing, Aang's vision began to clear. Miles head of them, a massive crater split the wall, stones around it continued to collapse. Smoke billowed into the atmosphere in a massive column that further darkened the skies. Even from so far away, Aang could still hear the screams of what sounded like dozens of people on the opposite side of the wall. He picked up Katara and sprinted back to Appa.

"Come on buddy," he pleaded to the fallen bison, "we have to help them."

Appa seemed to understand the situation and struggled to regain his footing. Though everyone on his back was shaken up, no one on the saddle was injured, particularly not Suki or her unborn child. After everyone was safely on his back once more, Appa leapt into the air and sailed over the wall, giving everyone (again, minus Toph) a clear view of the damage.

Buildings and markets were crushed by boulders flung outward from the explosion, fires were wide spread, and people scurried through the streets like terrified insects. Aang directed Appa to land in a street clear of the fires. He, Katara, Toph, and Sokka jumped from his saddle, "Suki, take Appa and the kids somewhere safe. We can handle this." Suki nodded before yanking on Appa's reins and directing him towards the heart of the city. Aang turned to his three friends, "All right. Sokka, I need you to guide any and all survivors out of here. Katara, extinguish any fires you can. Toph, create barriers to keep the fire from spreading."

As Toph and Katara ran off to tend to the fires, Sokka said, "What about you?"

"I'm gonna fly up and see if there's anything I can do about the meteor in the wall, it might give way any second." Aang deployed his glider and flew upward. After climbing hundreds of feet, he finally made it level with the crater. He sheathed his staff in a back fold of his cloak and created an air scooter beneath him, keeping him perfectly suspended in midair. Below him he could see his three friends all performing nicely with their respective duties. Nearly all the fires had been extinguished and all the civilians evacuated.

He returned his attention to the crater, calling on the Avatar spirit to fill him with the strength and knowledge he needed to save Ba Sing Se. He commanded every fragment of the wall below to return to their rightful place in the wall, to cover up the flames before the smoke consumed the air around them. One by one beneath him, he could feel the stones being lifted from the houses and the streets, flying through the air to rejoin the wall. Though just before any of the stones made contact with the wall, they went rigid, and stopped obeying his command. Aang willed even harder for them to move, yet they did not. Before he could try again, Aang heard it, an unearthly sounding coming from within the smoke-enveloped crater. A sound as loud as thunder, yet with an unmistakable uniqueness to it…the unmistakable sound of growling.

From that moment, Aang could see the smoke beginning to part around one particular spot near the edge of the crater. A shadowy figure walked out of the smoke, possibly a guard or worker that miraculously survived the blast, he held his forehead as if the meteor strike had given him a small headache, nothing more. Aang did not know how someone could have survived such a violent impact, but he decided to ask questions later. He jumped onto his glider and swooped down to talk to him, but upon getting a closer look, instantly saw that it was no resident of Ba Sing Se.

Inches from the edge of the crater, stood a tall, muscular man. Save for his head, he was completely covered by armor that looked to be made of solid stone, and yet at the same time, shimmered and gleamed like metal. Two pauldrons adorned with curving black spikes rested on his soldiers and his gauntlets and boots both seemed to sport talons. A glowing line the color of magma was strewn across his chest, and stretched across and around his body. Though above all else, his face was by far his most terrifying feature. His entire face above his upper lip was pale gray and his eyes glow an eerie orange without pupils, a mane of black hair stretched down his head and onto his back. Below all of that was a black strip of metal that covered his cheek, chin, and lower lip, tipped with a serrated row of teeth.

The menacing figure peered down over the edge of the crater, scouring the endless mass of houses below. Aang could just make out a glimmer of satisfaction in the man's face, almost as if the destruction wrought upon the houses below amused him. Aang swooped in for a closer look before speaking up, "Excuse me, sir?" The moment the man glanced at him, Aang flinched. It was involuntary, but seemed to be caused not by the man's appearance; it was almost as if the man…_radiated_ a sense of dread from within him.

"This is…Ba Sing Se, am I correct?" he roared, or rather simply spoke. He didn't speak as if shouting, but his voice echoed throughout the sky. If the meteor strike wasn't enough to wake the entire city up, his voice certainly was.

"Um…it is." said Aang weakly.

"My, it _has _been a long time." He continued, "Probably took centuries to build."

"Millennia, actually." Aang corrected.

"Fascinating," he replied. Suddenly he thrust out his palm and a formed a ball of fire, "and I imagine it would only take mere minutes to tear it down…"

Aang realized too late what was about to happen, "No! Wait!"

To his horror he saw that as it made its way to the opposing wall, it slowly grew in size until it resembled the first projectile. Yet another deafening explosion came from the opposite side of the city, the atmosphere was once again filled with smoke, flames, and the screams of the panicked. Without thinking, Aang swirled around and leapt from his air scooter, landing in front of the mysterious man. Up close, he stood nearly seven feet tall and radiated intense heat, Aang felt as if though her were standing next to a furnace but did not even flinch.

"As my duty as Avatar," Aang blared, "and as duty as protector of-"

"Oh, shut up!" the man roared, this time for real, "I didn't come all this way to be lectured by you, _least of all you."_ Aang had no idea what that meant, but he didn't care.

"Fine then, you leave me no alternative." Aang summoned dozens of excess rubble around him to his right hand, creating a large boxing glove made of rock. He reeled back and struck the man in the center of his chest, but the moment it made contact with his skin, the glove shattered. Aang screamed in pain as his own, flesh and bone fist struck the man's chest, and felt like he had imbedded it in solid brick. Aang cradled his hand, with so much pain, it simply had to have been broken

"Hmm, seems you are not a durable as people make you out to be."

Aang bit his lip and mumbled through the pain, "Who are you, and how did you…"

"Oh yes, introductions." Chuckled the man, "But please forgive me, allow me to introduce myself in my true form." Before Aang could question what that meant, the man outstretched his arms and gazed at the sky. Smoke around them enveloped him and his form seemed to melt within, Aang could not bear the smoke and leapt from the wall once again on a scooter. As he did so, an enormous, dark mass shifted throughout the smoke. Suddenly, two orange, glowing orbs became visible through it, as well as a crevice running down what looked like the beast's neck and belly. Two bat-like wings then burst forth from the smoke column, wings so enormous that Aang estimated that the complete wingspan had to be at least several hundred, if not a thousand feet.

Shortly after, two muscular arms stretched out from the smoke and latched onto the sides of the wall with three talon-like fingers per arm. Aang watched in amazement as the bricks around the claws began to crumble and melt, glowing red hot. All seemed bad enough, until the beast lifted its head out of the dark mass. Aang nearly screamed, it was everything that he had seen in his dream. Only now it was flesh and metal, not cloud.

Its head was that of a dragon's, black as coal and textured like a rocky cliff. A single horn jutted up from the top of his snout. A cluster of horns at the back of its skull curved backwards, the two largest resembling a bull's horns that stretched backwards down its neck almost to its shoulders. The left one however, was broken and was only half as large as its twin. Just like the man Aang saw only moments ago, the dragon possessed a triangular jaw tipped with nasty teeth that gave the monster an incredibly large and lethal underbite. As the titanic creature craned its head, a booming voice escaped from its ferocious jaws.

"Hear me now and despair, mortals. For I am DEATHWING! The Destroyer, the World Breaker, the Aspect of Death!" At that moment the dragon reared back, both front limbs lifted from the wall and all of the beast's weight placed on the rest of its body concealed behind the smoke. "Make peace with your end, for now…begins…THE CATACLYSM!" Upon speaking that final word, a thunderous roar came from his mouth. A roar that was so loud, Aang was sure could be heard around the world. Aang covered his ears, and for a moment feared that he had become deaf, in doing so he nearly broke concentration in keeping himself aloft.

Suddenly, Deathwing lunged forward from the hole in the great wall, extending both is wings and taking flight, something that didn't seem even physically _possible_. The dragon flew higher, each wing flap like a crash of thunder. Upon reaching considerable height in the sky, Deathwing roared again, but this time along with it, unleashed a hellish firestorm from his mouth. Buildings were utterly vaporized under the inferno; more screaming was drowned out only by the roar of the flames.

Aang once again abandoned his air scooter and mounted his glider, upon gripping the handle he remembered his broken right hand. He simply positioned his wrist onto the handle the best way he could and gave chase to the great dragon. For several minutes straight, Deathwing continued his relentless attack on the city, his burning breath not holding back in the slightest. As Aang got closer, he realized only then what he was getting himself into. Even the largest creatures Aang had encountered, like the Unagi serpent off Kyoshi island were dwarfed in size compared to this monstrosity. With more of his body visible Aang could see that a straight line of metal plates ran down the dragon's spine that ended in a huge blade on the tip of his tail.

Unexpectedly, the dragon folded its wings and gravity instantly took effect. Deathwing freefell before extending his legs and landing with cat-like grace onto a small park area, he roared again, nearly toppling all houses before him. The dragon lowered its lead and walked forward, bulldozing and chomping his way through the foundation of every building in his path. Any houses or people lucky enough to escape his jaws were trampled by his four enormous feet, and anything that could survive that was obliterated by one swing of the monster's tail.

Hanging back from a safe distance, Aang repeatedly flung fireballs and gusts of air from his palm as well as forcing the stones and rubble around them to hinder the dragon. All proved as effective as attacking hitting a stone wall with a stick. Suddenly, the dragon extended its wings and began to flap them, each one packing the force of a tornado in hundreds of feet of radius around him. Aang was nearly blown across the city before manipulating the currents around him to bypass and leave him alone. Not long after, Deathwing emitted another piercing roar before leaping into the air and extending his wings.

Aang once again resumed his futile assault on the dragon, any attack harmlessly bouncing off of the creature's hide. However, if anything this only succeeded in ticking the dragon off. He twisted his head back to get a view of Aang, turning back with a look of disgust. At that moment, Deathwing began to sweep his tail from side-to-side. Aang tried to outmaneuver, but his broken hand could not enable him such movement.

Several hundred tons of rock-hard scales plowed into the airbender, Aang felt several sharp crunches around him as he was launched into the opposing direction. His vision instantly became muffled and fuzzy, he tried to airbend in order to slow his fall, but his body would not listen and his mind lacked the strength. He could only plummet as limp as a ragdoll toward the ground before slowly blacking out, the only sound he heard before losing consciousness was the thunderous laughter coming from Deathwing as he continued to torch the city.

...

When Aang opened his eyes, he was treated to truly horrific images. His surroundings kept shifting, all changing between various places he recognized from his adventures as a child. Places such as the North Pole, the Foggy Swamp, the freedom fighters' forest, even the Fire Nation capital, as well as dozens of other nameless villages. As they shifted, they all shared one thing in common.

All were burning, all had civilians and soldiers alike scurrying for their lives, and all had monsters identical to the one he fought in that small village only an hour prior. Aang wanted to help, he wanted to save them, but his legs were frozen. Try as he might, he could not move. All the while, Deathwing's laughter persisted in the background, making Aang's inaction far worse.

"All will burn Avatar, all will be reduced to ash."

Suddenly, the images disappeared and were replaced by an endless void. All was silent, Aang could no longer hear Deathwing or anyone. He did however see small shapeless…_things_ moving around in the shadows surrounding him. Eventually they began to close in, enveloping every part of his being. He still could not move no matter how hard he tried. He screamed, for that was all that he could do.

Then a voice came out of the blackness, but it was not that of the dragon's, in fact it was familiar and friendly.

"Aang? Aang!"

...

Aang's eyes shot open, revealing him to be in a room that looked like belonged to an infirmary. He lay in bed bare-chested, a series of bandages wrapped around his torso and his right arm. He looked up to see Katara sitting in a chair next to the bed, clutching his uninjured hand. As Aang opened his eyes, Katara lunged forward and hugged him.

"Ow."

Katara recoiled, "Oh, sorry. I'm just happy that you're finally awake."

"Finally? Wait," said Aang, "exactly how long have I been out? What happened?"

Katara paused for a moment before answering, something Aang felt uneasy about, "After you were knocked out of the sky, Appa caught you. Not long after that, the dragon flew around once more before flying over the wall and heading west."

"Appa? Wait," he sat upright, ignoring the pain in his chest, "what about the kids, Sokka, Toph-"

"Aang, settle down." She implored, "They're all fine."

Aang took a deep sigh of relief, "Good, continue."

"After the dragon left, Appa brought you to the infirmary. You had a broken hand, a few broken ribs, and even some internal bleeding. Luckily, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

Aang was impressed, over the years since the war was over, Katara has gradually improved her healing skills. She had singlehandedly moved from minor wounds and burns to _bones_.

Unexpectedly, a knock came from the doorway. They both glanced to see that a Ba Sing Se royal guard stood just outside, "Am I interrupting?"

Katara looked as though she wanted to answer "yes", but shook her head.

"The Earth King asks that you come to the palace once you are fit to leave, Avatar." said the guard before walking off.

"Think you'll be able to make it?" Katara implored.

Aang simply chuckled, "Katara, I've been shot to death by lightning when I was _twelve_. I think I can handle being swatted by a dragon at forty."

Katara however, didn't laugh. Instead she had a mournful expression on her face, "Aang, before we leave, there is one more thing you should know…"

"Yes?"

"After you were knocked out, the dragon, he…" Katara acted like every word was painful and almost looked like she was on the brink of tears. "Ba Sing Se is…"

Aang lifted himself up and grabbed her shoulders, "Katara, please, just tell me what it is."

Katara took one deep breath before whispering, "Aang, over half of Ba Sing Se is destroyed."


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, Aang wished that he could say it was only a nightmare, time and time again he pinched and even slapped himself in hopes that he would wake up. Deep down, he knew it was futile but did not want to admit it. As Appa flew across Ba Sing Se, he could see dozens of enormous, charred craters strewn across city. Hundreds of buildings were now reduced to piles of rubble and ash. People sifted through the remains of their homes, desperately searching for anything or any_one_ that could have survived. Much farther off, Aang could see the massive crater that the enormous dragon made its landing, a gaping hole that nearly stretched halfway down the wall.

Aang glanced back at Katara, "Did he target the farming district too?"

His wife silently shook her head, "Unfortunately yes, but most of the fields were evacuated at the time."

Before heading to the palace, Aang had Aapa fly over to the _Jasmine Dragon_ to at least ensure that there still was one. When they finally reached it, Aang was relieved to see it still standing, just barely so however. One of the many craters across the city stood only twenty or so feet from the tea shop, meaning that if Deathwing had aimed just a little to the left, the shop would be history.

As the palace neared, Aang saw a mass of people standing at the gates. All of them shouting protests and holding up sign bearing messages. Dozens of palace guards stood before the crowd, forcing any who attempted to go into the palace back.

Aang sighed, "Kids, cover your ears." All three did as they were told, blocking out all of the insults from the crowd directed at the Earth King. Appa soared over the crowd until landing at the top of the stairs and making their way inside. When finally coming to the throne room, Aang saw that Sokka, Toph, and Suki were all present and stood before Earth King Terra, son of the previous king, Kuei.

"Avatar, it's good to see that you're doing well!" Terra blared. After Aang and his family took their place next to the others, Terra continued, "If you don't mind, I think it would be best for your children to leave the room." Looking at his children, Aang could tell that they were all reluctant to go, but went without argument. A guard escorted them out and closed the door behind them.

"How many?" Aang inquired.

"I'm sorry?"

"When the dragon attacked, how many did he…how many people are…"

"Ten thousand…" Aang choked, soon begging for Terra to repeat to ensure that he heard correctly, "the death toll has been counted at around ten thousand." Aang fell silent as his knees buckled, _ten thousand?!_ It just didn't seem possible. Not even when the Fire Nation took over, not even when the White Lotus retook the city was a single drop of blood shed. What were the odds that a dragon simply appeared out of nowhere and managed to extinguish almost half of the city's population?

Only after regaining himself and standing back did the King go on, "We've already held a sermon for the deceased and have begun repairs on the city. Although I estimate that it will take several years, not to mention billions of gold pieces to mend the damage."

"Does anyone else know?"

"We've sent messages across the nation and onwards, warning everyone of the threat. In fact, the Fire Nation has written a reply and are sending a fleet with reinforcements should the dragon return."

"…And what of the dragon?"

"We're not sure," Terra said, mournfully, "After the attack, the dragon flew over the walls heading west, we've received several reported sightings of flying west before disappearing over the seas, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. " The king paused for a moment, "Thankfully, many of the villages in his path had better luck spotting him than us and most were able to evacuate."

After that the throne room fell silent, Aang the only one to break it. "So what do we do now?" He was met with more silence until Katara spoke.

"It's only a hunch, but we may have a lead. I think that Twilight's Hammer group we saw the day we arrived might me connected."

"How so?"

Toph was the one who answered him, "While you were out, I questioned several guards around the city, many said that they heard those protestors babbling about things such as 'dragons', 'destruction', and 'changing the world'. If and how they could have ordered a dragon of all things to do this, I don't know. Although they might know something about it we don't."

"Not to mention that one member transforming into that _thing_ just prior to the attack." Katara added.

"Well, how close are you?"

"Unfortunately, all known members of the group haven't been seen since the attack," the king answered, "although my guards are closing in on a few suspects, we just need them to collect enough evidence to justify arrest."

Suddenly, a messenger sped through the throne room and up to the king, whispering something into his ear. Terra instantly rose from his chair, "My apologies everyone, I have pressing matters to tend to." The king then left the room with an escort. After they were alone, all of Aang's friends turned to him, all with grim expressions.

"What?"

Sokka spoke next, "Well, we've got good news…and of course bad news."

"The good news is we might know where to find answers on all of this." Katara added. For a moment, Aang felt relieved. With them being completely lost, any form of direction will help. He backtracked however when he remembered that there was still bad news to be heard, experience had taught him all too well.

"The bad news is where we need to go to get it," Katara paused and took a deep breath before finishing, "sadly, our only option is…Wan Shi Tong's library."

…

Zuko paced impatiently along the platform surrounding the bridge of his ship, every now and then picking up a telescope resting on the railing and peering over the waters before him. He could just barely make out the jagged edges of the Serpent's Pass on the horizon. Surrounding him were a dozen Fire Nation ships, all filled with soldiers and machinery.

"Fire Lord?"

Zuko jumped, his telescope flying from his hands and sailing over the bridge and into the bay.

"What is it?!" he screamed in reply, the soldier recoiled in fear. Realizing his mistake, Zuko pulled back and promptly apologized.

"Sir, you've been pacing for hours. Maybe you should rest."

"I don't need rest, I need speed." He replied, "Can't the crewman make these ships go any faster?"

"We're going as fast as we can, at best, Ba Sing Se is still two hours away."

"Then come back when its one hour, now leave me be!" The soldier hurriedly ran back inside, it made Zuko feel terrible for yelling, but he remained where he was. When the message from the city reached the palace, hardly anyone believed that a dragon could have attacked the city, even now Zuko had doubts. However, dragon or not, he couldn't ignore a plea for help from the city, especially if his own friends were there.

Hours seemed to have gone by, but the Serpent's Pass remained a collection of specks on the horizon. Behind him, Zuko heard the door open and a soldier step out. "For the last time, I don't need any rest." He snarled.

"Sir, that's not what I'm here for," the soldier replied, "we've just discovered a stowaway onboard."

"Well then get him a longboat and tell him to start rowing, I don't have time for this."

"There's a problem with that, Fire Lord." He paused, "Its Pyra, she's the one onboard."

Zuko was stunned, a puff of smoke was released from his nostrils. "Where is she?"

"Room 27, two floors down." Zuko pushed his way past the soldier and made his way through the bridge and down the stairwell until coming to the desired floor. As he got closer and closer to room 27, he heard loud banging and screaming, "Let me out you stupid guards! Do you have any idea who I am?! Wait until my father here's about-"

Cut short by Zuko opening the door, he found a twelve-year old girl in a guard outfit three times too big for her. Her face turned deathly white upon seeing Zuko, desperately trying to fix it with a grin, "Oh…uh, hey dad…"

Zuko stood arms crossed, his eyes boring into her.

"Look dad, I can explain…"

"For your sake I hope so," Zuko barked, "what were you thinking?! I told you before I left, this isn't a field trip, this is official and potentially dangerous business."

"A dragon attack, dad, seriously? Don't tell me you believe that too."

"That's not the point!" Zuko screamed, "The point is that Ba Sing Se needs help, you also may not remember me telling you to stay home. Your mother is probably worried sick!"

"Don't worry, I told mom where I was going before I left."

Baffled, it took Zuko a moment to reply, "Come again?"

"You heard me. She caught me trying to slip away, I told her everything, and she let me come."

"Mai," Zuko grumbled, "I'll have to have a word with her when we get back, but for now-"

Zuko was cut short when the ship lurched forward, nearly throwing him into his daughter. "What the heck was that?" She blarred. Not long after, Zuko heard explosions and screams coming from outside.

Zuko bit back swears for his daughter's sake, it felt like the engine had malfunctioned. He started for the staircase before remembering Pyra, "Stay down here."

"Aw, come on dad!"

Zuko leaned in and snarled, "Pyra, I want you to stay here, you'll be safe."

"But-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!" that was enough to send her back into the room and slam the door. As Zuko made his way to the stairs, he felt like a complete jerk for yelling, but hopefully his daughter would be safe. Upon finally making it to the bridge, Zuko found the captain and one of the mechanics cowering behind the wheel.

"Attention soldiers, what happened?"

Instead of replying, the captain slowly gestured to the observation platform outside, a small column of smoke rose from the ship ahead. Zuko followed and stepped outside, his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was in the air. Hovering several dozen feet above the ship was a dragon.

Rather than the long, serpentine creatures he had personally met before, this beast was large and bulky with a body like a bear's with jet black scales. Two enormous bat wings were attached to its shoulders and a long tail tipped with two rows of spikes. A vicious, reptilian head rested on the end of its neck, displaying sharp teeth and powerful jaws. A pair of curved horns jutted out from its cheeks.

Not long after, Zuko realized that his fleet was compromised. Dozens of dragons loomed over the ships, looking ready to strike at a moment's notice. All of them were similar to one another in body shape, but the others had longer snouts and thinner horns, as well as goatee-like beards on the edge of their heads. Even from a distance, Zuko could see the fear in his soldiers' eyes.

Without warning, the largest of the dragons, the one flying just over his ship, spoke, "Fire Lord…Zuko is it?"

"Yes," he growled, "and you must be the dragon who attacked Ba Sing Se."

"Flattering but no, I am not." The dragon chuckled, "My name is Nefarian." From the right, one of the dragons grunted in protest, "And all around are my various brothers and sisters, I would disclose names but I'm in sort of a hurry."

"Well run along then," Zuko snarled, "we have no quarrel with you, but we won't hesitate to fight should it come to that." All around, Zuko could see benders and warriors take stances ready to fight. This only seemed to amuse the dragon even further.

"Oh mortals, centuries go by and you haven't changed a bit." He chuckled, "I've simply come to give my father's regards and admittedly, business of a more…personal matter."

"Personal?"

"Do you not remember?" the dragon snarled, "Fire Lord Sonzin declared open war on the dragons, claiming our kind to be nothing more than sport, the madness of it all! And all for what? Conquering one to prove one's strength and power?" his voice lowered to a soft hiss, "You weaklings know nothing of power."

Nefarian opened his maw; a jet of flames burst forth and hammered the ship's deck. Zuko watched with horror as the soldiers below consumed by the fire were utterly vaporized. All of the surrounding dragons mimicked the assault on the remainder of the fleet; soldiers who managed to evade the fire saw their chance and abandoned ship. Zuko watched with both amazement and shock that the very decks of his ships were beginning to glow and actually melt. After first assault, many dragons halted their fire and landed on the ships' decks or towers, immediately ripping into their hulls with teeth and claws.

Those brave or foolish enough to fight back were obliterated. Most of Zuko's forces leapt into the bay to escape, cowardly perhaps but sensible.

Desperate to put a stop to this, Zuko focus all of his energy into his palms and blasted Nefarian with an inferno. Although it disrupted the dragon's breath, it only seemed as an inconvenience to it. Nefarain glared at the Fire Lord mercilessly, "You want to play with fire?! You don't know the half of it!" The dragon took in a deep breath before firing a large globe of flames at the platform. Time seemed to slow down as it approached, Zuko tried to act but felt himself frozen in place, he could only watch and wait for it to be over.

Unexpectedly, a small fireball soared over from behind him and collided with the orb head on, amazingly it was enough to set it off. The explosion blew Zuko off his feet and through the window into the pilot's room, several fragments of glass grazed his back. After recovering, he looked to the side to see his daughter with a puff of smoke emanating from her hands.

"Pyra?!" he groaned while picking himself up, "I told you to stay put!"

"And I disobeyed your orders, noticing a pattern yet?"

Before Zuko could respond, the ship rumbled violently. From outside he could hear the dragon's maniacal laughter, "Enjoy the swim, Fire Lord."

At that moment, the room began to sway; Zuko could feel moaning and creaking beneath them, far too late did he realize what it meant. The tower jolted and slowly began to lean left, pieces of glass and other loose objects began to slide. "Pyra, grab onto something!" Zuko screamed. For once, she listened and ran over to the helm and grasped onto the wheel. Zuko had just enough time to grab a metal pole before the tower jerked to the left and began to fall.

Every object not attached to the room was flung into the air, Zuko held on for as long as he could before the tower crashed into the water. Water immediately began to flood the room in force that ripped him from the pole, Zuko instinctively reached out for his daughter. Amazingly she had still managed to hold onto the helm. By the time he had reached her, the water had already consumed over half the room. He started for the only open window before Pyra screamed, "Dad wait, there are still men in here!"

Once again he withheld several curses, Zuko looked back seeing the mechanic but no captain. Zuko pushed his daughter away from him toward the window, "Pyra listen to me, get to the surface at all costs, do you understand me? Don't look back."

She nodded before submerging and making her way through the window. With the room almost flooded completely, Zuko had to take one last gulp of air before going after his captain. Zuko swam to the bottom of the room and found the captain, bloody and unconscious. He struggled to lift him, only succeeding after the mechanic dove as well to help out. All three of them made for the surface, only then realizing that the room was completely submerged. Looking outside, Zuko could see that the tower had sunk beneath the water's surface and continuing its descent. He tried with all his might to break the glass, even attempting firebending but it was not enough. Already he was dizzy and felt like his lungs would burst.

Though just before blacking out, Zuko noticed something move in the dark waters beyond the window. He looked closer to see a dark shape emerge from the murky waters, a serpentine shape swimming straight for them. As it got closer though, Zuko spotted what were distinctly human arms and torso, coupled with a draconic head. The strange creature gave them a toothy grin before thrusting his arms through the window and clamping them down on Zuko's neck. Zuko made the mistake of opening his mouth, allowing a torrent of water to unload into his throat. As he continued to struggle through the pain, his vision was clouding up until there was nothing but darkness.


End file.
