After Ozai: Book One (Kataang FanFic)

Chapter 23: Playtime's Over

"I mean if it was a choice between kissing you and dying..." Katara laughed, mocking Aang on his previous flirting skills. Aang laughed along with her; the two had really come a long way since that day. Both of them had continued their discussions about their past the previous night which acted as a nice way for both of them to look back and not only be proud of what they had accomplished but also look back at fond memories. They had woken up early in order to test Aang's bending abilities and try to estimate when he would be able to fully function again. To their joy, they were treated with a beautiful, brisk morning. The red and orange colored leaves fell gracefully into the ocean, carried by the gentle winds that breezed through the treetops, plummeting down into the cold, dark abyss that was home to thousands of different oceanic creatures. Aang looked around, taking in the scenery. Truly, the location that they were in was something to behold. The sky looked as if it had been painted by the most creative artists, popping with different blues, purples, and oranges. It gave him memories of home, up in the mountains. At one point this used to be a constant sight that he had once taken for granted, not anymore. Even when he and his friends were constantly traveling from nation to nation, he never once laid back in Appa's saddle and take in the scenery around them. His mind had always been filled with constant worries on their flights, whether it be dodging an army of fire naval ships that were firing at them, or just planning with Sokka on their next move in order to complete the overall plan of mastering the four elements and taking down Ozai. Ozai.

                Katara brought the avatar back from his panicked mindset by drenching his torso with the orb of water that she held carefully above his head. He would always fall into this trap. Thankfully, Sokka wasn't a waterbender, otherwise, he'd be dealing with both of them on a constant basis. Aang for a split second shot her a smile to derail any worry that she may have had for him, however, his mind still remained in a constant spin cycle of worry and panic. He sadly was never able to break this dreaded cycle; meditation was difficult for him to come by nowadays with Katara attached to him. Of course, Aang never wanted to push Katara away, but every once in awhile, everyone needs a bit of alone time... even the avatar. She slowly approached him, this time not in a playful way but in a way with a more serious tone. She watched him intently, watching the water slowly trickle throughout his hair and down his torso before entering back into the ocean. He was clearly still in deep thought about something that Katara didn't know nor did she feel that it was necessary for her to try and ask. If he needed or even wanted to tell her he would, she knew that. Gradually, she made her way up to him and hugged him tightly, burying her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in the fragrant aroma that remained on him regardless of the water trickling the scent off of his body. Hints of lavender and jasmine filled her nostrils. He had gotten the fragrance from the nice ladies back from when he had first met Bato almost a full year ago. Sure, it may have been a bit more on the feminine side when it comes to scents, but it was twenty times better than the musky scent that Sokka possessed. Besides, Katara found him even more intoxicating when he had this on, to her, he was damn near irresistible. However, Katara's body against his wasn't even enough to derail the dark thoughts in his head. He hadn't seen Ozai at all ever since he escaped. He hadn't seen Long Feng since the battle at the Southern Water Tribe, a battle that most likely wasn't fatal for the leader of the Dai Li. He hadn't seen Azula since Omashu and finally Zhao was back according to Katara. All of these powerful benders in their own right would be a frightening sight for Aang, let alone them becoming leaders and leading multiple different uprisings across the globe. As he continued to think long and hard about the dangerous foes that he would have to face once again. After what seemed like an eternity Katara was finally able to bring him back down to earth by whispering in his ear. 

                "Aang, everything okay," she asked, gently rubbing his arm in an attempt to comfort him. He was visibly battling something, but she didn't want to push deep. Aang sighed and threw an arm around Katara's shoulder, pulling her closer to his chest, if that was even possible. He was clearly battling something now Katara was sure of it. He had a firm grasp of her in a protective way as if he was telling the whole world to 'back off'.

                "Of course, sweetie, I just constantly worry. I swear I get it from you," he joked trying to cut the tension between the two. Katara gave him a subtle smile before releasing her grip around him and standing back to get a better look of his face.

                "So, what's up then," she asked. Her curiosity was killing her. Sokka had always complained on her nosiness but luckily for her it was a quality that Aang enjoyed about her. He felt that someone always cared and that's what mattered. Aang sighed, clearly still upset with everything that was going on. His mind was consumed by these uprisings. Why were people trying to go against world peace, what good would that do for anyone? Lose lives? Lose homes? Lose peace... all of it would come tumbling down and go right back to where they had started a year ago.

                "I'm tired of all of these uprisings Katara. Even people that aren't even a part of the uprisings constantly talk about how I'm not good enough. How I haven't been enough to bring back peace to the world. Even after ridding Ozai of his powers and locking up Azula I wasn't good enough. People think that I'm getting rid of these people for my own personal needs, but can't these people see that I've sacrificed everything! My whole life, my people... gone." Finally, it clicked. Sure, the uprisings were starting to become a serious problem but for the most part the world was at total peace, however, nothing could bring back the air nation. Aang was truly the last airbender, and with these battles going on and these dangerous thugs constantly roaming the earth who knew if he'd be able to pass his genes towards the next generation. Would Aang truly be the last airbender, no one knew, but as long as he was here the air nation still had a chance at survival. He had never forgiven himself of the guilt he felt when he left. Sure, he was twelve years old and most likely would've been apart of the death total that came along with the massacre of the air nomads, but he still felt like it was all on him to save them then and he couldn't.

                "I couldn't save them then Katara, but I need to save them now. It goes against everything I was taught by the monks but maybe Avatar Kyoshi was right... maybe I should've ended Ozai." Katara took ahold of his shoulder, causing him to look back into her eyes, the ones that he would constantly find himself lost in.

                "You did what you thought was right. Even after the extinction of the air nomads you showed the fire nation mercy when most wouldn't. If anything, that is something to counteract the self-centered rumors. Besides, people that have personally met you or interacted with you in any way know that this isn't you. They know you as a kindhearted and gentle avatar." Aang sighed once more and was about to respond to Katara's kind words before he felt the earth shake beneath him. He lifted her onto his back, hooking his arms through her legs in order to support her before taking off through the water and back towards the island. Once he put her down, he turned back to see earth spearing upwards through the water right where they were once standing. Aang closed his eyes and remembered his training from Toph. He thumped his heel on the ground in an attempt to find any soundwaves near him that would be abnormal. Clearly, those rocks didn't come up on their own, it was unnatural for any kind of rock to do that on its own. Without warning two Dai Li agents came up from beneath them and struggled to take Katara away from Aang. Angered, Aang sprinted towards the two agents, disregarding the multitude of rock cuffs that were sent flying his way. He dispatched of them quickly, blowing up the rock with his staff before throwing his staff like a spear towards one of the agents, knocking him down in the process allowing for Katara to escape the other's grasp with some clever waterbending techniques.

                "Appa," Aang yelled as he collected Katara from her spot and back onto his back. The two quickly leaped onto Appa and escaped the island. Once in the air, Aang looked back down towards the island, finally realizing all that had been coming towards them. Multiple Earth Kingdom ships closed in on the island, however, the ships weren't flying the ordinary earth kingdom logo, they were flying old retro fire nation insignias. He looked towards Katara who was in the midst of trying to calm her nerves from the previous ordeal.

                "Long Feng... he's back."