Hey, guys; sorry about the long wait! This is a sequel to The Moments Ahead. Hope you like it!
It was a cool night just outside of Ba Sing Se. Aang and his friends were camping outside the walls, under the stars.
"Ahh!" Aang let out a short scream as he shot up from his sleeping bag.
"Aang...nightmare...Katara...fix it..." Sokka murmured sleepily from his tent.
Katara sat up and sighed. "I'm going..." She and Aang weren't in tents; they insisted they sleep outside.
Katara walked over to Aang. She knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"
"N-no," he whimpered, still scared. "But I will be...go back to sleep--I'll be fine."
"Aang, you need me; I'm not leaving you," Katara insisted. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Yes..." he said quietly. "I-I was in a room...it was pitch black...but I saw you. You told me to leave...to run, but I wanted to stay...I was still curious. You turned gray and I tried to touch your shoulder but my hand passed through it. You vanished, and I fell through the floor. I saw images of Ozai...killing off everybody, and I...I couldn't move."
"Oh..." Katara touched her friend's shoulder. She felt him shivering.
"I...am I acting like...a little kid to you?" Aang asked. "Am I...immature?"
"Of course not," she told him. "You have every reason to be frightened. But I'll always be here for you; you know that."
He felt better. His thoughts shifted. He suddenly felt the urge to just tell his friend how he felt about her, to just pour his heart out to her. He started hesitantly.
"Do you think it's weird for me to want..." he started. He gulped and his cheeks turned rosemary.
"To want what?" Katara asked.
"A...girlfriend?" he asked, his cheeks turning pink.
"Well, no...you're at...that age," she told him. "Who did you have in mind?"
"Uh..." He gulped. "You," he uttered. His cheeks turned fuschia.
"Me?" Katara asked. Her heart raced. What could she say?
Aang looked to the ground and kicked his feet in the dirt. "Yeah..." he said. His face turned scarlet.
"I, um...wow, Aang...I don't know," she said nervously. She blushed a bit.
"Oh, I...I see," he said, disappointed. His face turned bright red as he started to walk away.
"No, Aang...wait!" Katara cried.
It was too late. Aang ran into the woods.
"Come back..." she said softly.
Aang walked through the woods dejectedly. "I shouldn't have said that," he muttered to himself. "Oh, I'm such an idiot! What's wrong with me?"
Suddenly, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation swooped down from the treetops. "Oh, many things. But mainly because you're mine," she said evilly. She shot fire at him. He turned to run, but Azula's blue fire hit his scar. "AAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed. Pain shot through every square inch of his body. "HELP...ME!" He fell to the ground.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
A scream echoed through the sky.
"HELP...ME!"
Everyone instantly woke up.
"Aang!" Katara cried out. "No!"
"What happened?" Sokka asked, racing to his sister.
"Aang's in trouble. We have to find him!" Katara said, panicked.
Suki gasped. Toph gulped. Zuko and Mai exchanged horrified glances. Ty Lee bit her lip.
Katara started to run towards Appa.
Sokka grabbed her arm. "Katara, wait," he said firmly.
"But...but, Aang needs us! We have to go find him!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"He could be anywhere," Sokka said. "First, we need to consider what happened before he needed help.
"Well, he and I were talking," Katara said, "and...he got upset, so he ran off into the woods!"
"You upset him?" he asked.
"I...I didn't mean to!" she insisted.
"I know you didn't," Sokka said sympathetically. "Now, who could have...?"
"Azula..." they all said together.
"Does she never quit?" Sokka asked.
"Not until she gets what she wants," Zuko said.
"Where could she have taken him?" Suki asked.
"The Boiling Rock," Zuko said solemnly.
"Aw, not that place again!" Sokka said.
"Yeah, that was awful!" Suki complained.
"What's the Boiling Rock?" Toph asked.
"It sounds scary..." Katara said.
"Oh, it's plenty scary," Zuko said. "It's a prison in the middle of a boiling lake. Sokka and I freed Suki and your dad from that horrible place."
"Oh, no..." Katara said, scared for her friend. "We have to save him!"
"Appa! Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" Sokka said frantically as everyone got onto the bison. Zuko took the reins and guided Appa to the prison.
"You like him," Sokka said along the way.
"Aang? I do not!" Katara lied, looking away.
"Yeah, you do," Sokka said. "Look, I'm not mad at you, all right? Tell him."
"Really?" she asked. "But I...I've never liked anyone...the way I like him, before."
"Well, just tell him and go on from there," he told her.
"Okay..." she said, uneasy.
The next morning, the crew arrived at the Boiling Rock.
"Aang's here?" Katara asked, looking at the big, scary prison.
"I'd put my money on it," Zuko replied.
"I'm going to find him," Katara said.
"I'm coming with you," Zuko said.
"Anyone else?" Katara asked.
Sokka shook his head. "Not happening," he answered.
"Huh-uh!" Toph said.
"No way!" Suki said hastily.
"No, thank you!" Ty Lee exclaimed.
Zuko and Katara went into the prison.
"You search west, I'll go east!" Zuko said.
"Uh...which way is west?" Katara asked.
"I don't know," Zuko admitted. "Uh...I'll go this way, you go that way!"
Katara peered into cell doors. She searched for half an hour until she finally heard a pained moan.
She looked into a door. There was Aang, battered with wounds and lying on the floor, against the wall.
She found the key hanging to the left of the door. She unlocked the cell door.
"Azula, please! Have mercy!" he cried, rolling over and putting his hands in front of his face. "Wait..." He lowered his hands. "K-Katara?"
"Oh, my gosh!" Katara exclaimed. "Aang!" She knelt and gave him a gentle hug.
"You...you came for me," Aang said weakly.
"Of course I did," she told him. "I...I love you, Aang."
"You...really?" he asked.
"Yes, really," Katara said. "To pieces. Honest." She leaned in.
"Wait..." Aang said, using a great deal of strength to sit up. "I...I've never kissed a girl before. I just don't know if I can..." He blushed.
She blushed, too. "I've never kissed a boy before, either, but...do you want to try?" she asked.
"I...sure," he said nervously. They leaned in for what seemed like forever until...
Azula barged in. "Aww, the Avatar's little girlfriend has come to save him!" she teased. "Poor things. I guess I'll have to do away with you both!"
"Leave him alone," Katara hissed, getting in front of Aang. "He's mine, and you know it!"
"Yeah, back off!" Aang said from behind her, standing up.
"You...you..." she stammered.
"Believe me, it hurts, but I know what must be done," Aang said. He took a wobbly step. "Ooh, that stings..." He mustered up enoug strength to form a fireball and shot it at Azula.
"Oh, the little weakling is trying to fight back," Azula taunted. The fireball hit her. "Ouch! Why, you..." She shot lightning at Aang.
"No, not again!" Katara cried, whipping the lightning. She froze Azula's hands to the cell wall.
"Okay, come on, Aang!" Katara said. "I'll help you."
It was a cool night just outside of Ba Sing Se. Aang and his friends were camping outside the walls, under the stars.
"Ahh!" Aang let out a short scream as he shot up from his sleeping bag.
"Aang...nightmare...Katara...fix it..." Sokka murmured sleepily from his tent.
Katara sat up and sighed. "I'm going..." She and Aang weren't in tents; they insisted they sleep outside.
Katara walked over to Aang. She knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"
"N-no," he whimpered, still scared. "But I will be...go back to sleep--I'll be fine."
"Aang, you need me; I'm not leaving you," Katara insisted. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Yes..." he said quietly. "I-I was in a room...it was pitch black...but I saw you. You told me to leave...to run, but I wanted to stay...I was still curious. You turned gray and I tried to touch your shoulder but my hand passed through it. You vanished, and I fell through the floor. I saw images of Ozai...killing off everybody, and I...I couldn't move."
"Oh..." Katara touched her friend's shoulder. She felt him shivering.
"I...am I acting like...a little kid to you?" Aang asked. "Am I...immature?"
"Of course not," she told him. "You have every reason to be frightened. But I'll always be here for you; you know that."
He felt better. His thoughts shifted. He suddenly felt the urge to just tell his friend how he felt about her, to just pour his heart out to her. He started hesitantly.
"Do you think it's weird for me to want..." he started. He gulped and his cheeks turned rosemary.
"To want what?" Katara asked.
"A...girlfriend?" he asked, his cheeks turning pink.
"Well, no...you're at...that age," she told him. "Who did you have in mind?"
"Uh..." He gulped. "You," he uttered. His cheeks turned fuschia.
"Me?" Katara asked. Her heart raced. What could she say?
Aang looked to the ground and kicked his feet in the dirt. "Yeah..." he said. His face turned scarlet.
"I, um...wow, Aang...I don't know," she said nervously. She blushed a bit.
"Oh, I...I see," he said, disappointed. His face turned bright red as he started to walk away.
"No, Aang...wait!" Katara cried.
It was too late. Aang ran into the woods.
"Come back..." she said softly.
Aang walked through the woods dejectedly. "I shouldn't have said that," he muttered to himself. "Oh, I'm such an idiot! What's wrong with me?"
Suddenly, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation swooped down from the treetops. "Oh, many things. But mainly because you're mine," she said evilly. She shot fire at him. He turned to run, but Azula's blue fire hit his scar. "AAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed. Pain shot through every square inch of his body. "HELP...ME!" He fell to the ground.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
A scream echoed through the sky.
"HELP...ME!"
Everyone instantly woke up.
"Aang!" Katara cried out. "No!"
"What happened?" Sokka asked, racing to his sister.
"Aang's in trouble. We have to find him!" Katara said, panicked.
Suki gasped. Toph gulped. Zuko and Mai exchanged horrified glances. Ty Lee bit her lip.
Katara started to run towards Appa.
Sokka grabbed her arm. "Katara, wait," he said firmly.
"But...but, Aang needs us! We have to go find him!" she said, tears forming in her eyes.
"He could be anywhere," Sokka said. "First, we need to consider what happened before he needed help.
"Well, he and I were talking," Katara said, "and...he got upset, so he ran off into the woods!"
"You upset him?" he asked.
"I...I didn't mean to!" she insisted.
"I know you didn't," Sokka said sympathetically. "Now, who could have...?"
"Azula..." they all said together.
"Does she never quit?" Sokka asked.
"Not until she gets what she wants," Zuko said.
"Where could she have taken him?" Suki asked.
"The Boiling Rock," Zuko said solemnly.
"Aw, not that place again!" Sokka said.
"Yeah, that was awful!" Suki complained.
"What's the Boiling Rock?" Toph asked.
"It sounds scary..." Katara said.
"Oh, it's plenty scary," Zuko said. "It's a prison in the middle of a boiling lake. Sokka and I freed Suki and your dad from that horrible place."
"Oh, no..." Katara said, scared for her friend. "We have to save him!"
"Appa! Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" Sokka said frantically as everyone got onto the bison. Zuko took the reins and guided Appa to the prison.
"You like him," Sokka said along the way.
"Aang? I do not!" Katara lied, looking away.
"Yeah, you do," Sokka said. "Look, I'm not mad at you, all right? Tell him."
"Really?" she asked. "But I...I've never liked anyone...the way I like him, before."
"Well, just tell him and go on from there," he told her.
"Okay..." she said, uneasy.
The next morning, the crew arrived at the Boiling Rock.
"Aang's here?" Katara asked, looking at the big, scary prison.
"I'd put my money on it," Zuko replied.
"I'm going to find him," Katara said.
"I'm coming with you," Zuko said.
"Anyone else?" Katara asked.
Sokka shook his head. "Not happening," he answered.
"Huh-uh!" Toph said.
"No way!" Suki said hastily.
"No, thank you!" Ty Lee exclaimed.
Zuko and Katara went into the prison.
"You search west, I'll go east!" Zuko said.
"Uh...which way is west?" Katara asked.
"I don't know," Zuko admitted. "Uh...I'll go this way, you go that way!"
Katara peered into cell doors. She searched for half an hour until she finally heard a pained moan.
She looked into a door. There was Aang, battered with wounds and lying on the floor, against the wall.
She found the key hanging to the left of the door. She unlocked the cell door.
"Azula, please! Have mercy!" he cried, rolling over and putting his hands in front of his face. "Wait..." He lowered his hands. "K-Katara?"
"Oh, my gosh!" Katara exclaimed. "Aang!" She knelt and gave him a gentle hug.
"You...you came for me," Aang said weakly.
"Of course I did," she told him. "I...I love you, Aang."
"You...really?" he asked.
"Yes, really," Katara said. "To pieces. Honest." She leaned in.
"Wait..." Aang said, using a great deal of strength to sit up. "I...I've never kissed a girl before. I just don't know if I can..." He blushed.
She blushed, too. "I've never kissed a boy before, either, but...do you want to try?" she asked.
"I...sure," he said nervously. They leaned in for what seemed like forever until...
Azula barged in. "Aww, the Avatar's little girlfriend has come to save him!" she teased. "Poor things. I guess I'll have to do away with you both!"
"Leave him alone," Katara hissed, getting in front of Aang. "He's mine, and you know it!"
"Yeah, back off!" Aang said from behind her, standing up.
"You...you..." she stammered.
"Believe me, it hurts, but I know what must be done," Aang said. He took a wobbly step. "Ooh, that stings..." He mustered up enoug strength to form a fireball and shot it at Azula.
"Oh, the little weakling is trying to fight back," Azula taunted. The fireball hit her. "Ouch! Why, you..." She shot lightning at Aang.
"No, not again!" Katara cried, whipping the lightning. She froze Azula's hands to the cell wall.
"Okay, come on, Aang!" Katara said. "I'll help you."
