Sea and Sky

Chapter 33: Sleep

Sea and Sky
Chapter 33: Sleep

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He could hear the clatter of steel and chaos outside of the room, but his body refused to respond. Feeling as if he was trapped with himself, Aang's consciousness waned and ebbed, mind urging him to move but body unresponsive to his silent despair. The silence around him was deafening, and the maddening frenzy of activity deep inside the house filled him with terror and dread.

Mind awash with cosmic energy, he mentally willed himself to wake up. 'Please, please, let me wake up. Something is wrong, I can feel it. Hear it.'

The pull of celestial influence nudged at his spirit, yanking him upwards and out of his body. Drifting through the aether and into the cosmos, Aang founded himself materializing within the spirit realm. Beside him, Yue stood, a grim look of her face as she floated near him.

'Aang, you've finally returned.'

'I was poisoned, it messed with my chakras. I remember Katara, she'd healed me, somehow...'

'Yes, it was the influence of Iris that allowed her to do so. Rana Bai-Sha's poison did a number on you.' Yue offered, moving to stand in front of him.

Placing her hands on his bare shoulders, Yue bowed her head, unable to look at the Avatar, adding to her previous words. 'You are needed within the mortal realm, your beloved has fallen.'

Yue's words punched through him with a force that left him breathless. Eyes widening, he took a step back, pulling away from the moon spirit. 'What are you talking about? Where's Katara?'

Shaking her head, Yue looked away from Aang. If the moon spirit could cry, she would have at that moment. 'We've all been reaching out to you, Aang. The disturbance caused by the spirit Aki has disrupted the balance of this world and your own. When your connection to us was severed, there was nothing we could do.'

'What about Katara? She's pregnant, I need to go back!'

Turning from him, Yue drew her hands upwards, summoning a sphere of moonlight. Within the glowing orb, the faint image of the destroyed kitchen illuminated, burning into his mind as he watched. The glow flickered, images of Sokka pressing a man into the burning wood stove. Directly below Sokka, Katara's body lay sprawled, face down on the clay tile flooring. Around her, deep red spilled onto the tiles, the life force leaving her body.

'Send me back, now!'

'Time cannot be reversed, Aang. What has come to pass cannot be changed. Her spirit dwells within this realm now, I'm so sorry.'

Lunging towards the moon spirit, Aang fell through the faintness of her form, Yue's presence dissolving into a fog. The spirit faded out for a moment, only to reappear behind him. In the eye of his mind, the image of Katara face down on the floor cut through him.

'Help me, please. Yue, she's pregnant... the child. My child.' Desperation seeped through his words, making him sound hollow.

Sadness radiated from the spirit as she moved to stand next to him. With a low tone, she spoke. 'There is a solution, but you must understand the consequences. Mana for mana, life for life. Do you understand?'

Drawing his eyes up to the spirit, he studied her face. Her long silver hair billowed around her form, bright eyes the color of moonlight studied him, darkened with despair. He knew the hidden meaning within her words. It was a trade - life for life, death for death. For the world to remain in balance, equal exchange must be made. One could not pull life from thin air, nor could it be restored from nothing.