Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For the first time in a hundred years, there was peace in the world.

The war had ended 3 months ago, with Firelord Zuko finally calling an end to the senseless violence that had ravaged countless lives. The world celebrated for weeks on end, with Caldera hosting the biggest festivities of them all. The air smelled so strongly of festival food for weeks in the Fire Nation city that eventually, everyone felt sick of them. However, it seemed that nothing could take away the joy of the people. The Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation were finally able to live in peace together. The world was finally starting to heal its wounds from war, albeit slowly.

The Gaang decided to stick around the Fire Nation to help the people get back on their feet after a lifetime of a brutal militaristic regime. However, each of them eventually had their own duties to attend to. Both Katara and Sokka decided that it would be best to help reparations to the Southern Tribe. Katara was itching to bring back waterbending to the Southern Tribe, while Sokka was interested in working in the more political aspects of running the tribe with his dad. Toph decided to follow in Katara’s footsteps (although she would loathe to admit it) and bring metal bending into the Earth Kingdom. After three 3 months of rebuilding and celebrating, both the siblings and Toph decided it was finally time to start helping their homelands.

Aang sniffed, looking at Katara with big round eyes, pleading for her to stay a little longer. “Come on Katara, I finally get to explore the Fire Nation after all these years, and now you want to leave?”

Katara raised an eyebrow. “You can do that without me though?”

“It’s not the same! We’re finally together! Like, romantically together!” Sokka interrupted his spiel, gagging and complaining about ‘oogies’. Katara rolled her eyes and shoved him to the side, before motioning Aang to continue. “ I just want to spend every second I have with you Katara, but now you have to go back to the Southern Water Tribe!” 

Katara looked away, with a clear blush on her cheeks. “I’ll write to you every day Aang, and I’ll visit once a month, don’t worry. We won’t be apart for long.”

Aang grinned at that, then turned to Toph, “Are you sure you can’t stay any longer? I might need some more training.”

Toph punched Aang in the shoulder. “I think defeating the Firelord makes you a master in your own right, Twinkletoes. You won’t ever be as good as me, but you don’t need any more training. However, those wimps in the Earth Kingdom definitely need some guidance from the greatest earthbender on the planet.”

Aang nodded, but sighed, before finally turning to Sokka, “Are you sure you have to leave too? I heard Zuko needs some new ambassadors, and you’d be the perfect fit! You gotta stay in the Fire Nation with me Sokka!”

“And here I thought you forgot little old me. But that’s exactly why I’m going back home to the tribe. Dad said he’d teach me more about being an actual political leader, so hopefully I can come back and work here soon as an ambassador if Zuko lets me.”

Katara gave Sokka a flat look. “He’ll 100% let you, Mister certified genius.” 

Aang sighed, even deeper than the last time, bringing attention to him once again. “I get it, we all have important things to do. Katara and Sokka with the Southern Water Tribe, Toph with metalbending, and Me, Suki, and Zuko working to fix the Fire Nation. It just sucks that we have to all stay apart now.”

“It’s just temporary,” Katara reassures.

“Speaking of Zuko, where is he? He said he cleared his schedule and that he’d be able to spend the entire day with us.” Sokka frowned.

Toph simply pointed to the heavy doors that led to the banquet hall, just in time for Suki and Zuko to burst in.

Zuko huffed, “I’m so sorry I’m late. Some noble was trying to convince me that he should still be allowed to not pay his taxes.” At hearing this, Aang managed to wilt even further, reminded he was now spending his time doing bureaucratic work. Sokka ignored Zuko, in favor of peppering Suki with kisses. 

“Is it bad to say that I miss fighting the Fire Nation?”

“Not at all, Toph. Not at all.” Sokka shook his head, arm wrapped around Suki, and even Katara seemed to agree with the sentiment.

Suddenly, Aang froze.

“Aang? What’s wrong?” Katara rushed to him, while the rest of the Gaang stood on high alert.

Aang frowned, “I’m not exactly sure,” He hesitated, seemingly rolling the words on his tongue before finally deciding to spit it out. “It's just- this room feels oddly spiritual now. Like the barrier between the spirit realm and the physical world just weakened.”

Hearing that, Sokka threw his hands up and groaned.“You’re kidding. We just defeated the Fire Lord and now we have to deal with the Spirit World? Again?”  

However, as soon as Aang mentioned it, the air in the banquet hall did seem far more oppressive. The air seemed heavier and almost seemed to hum with energy. Faint sounds of water and wind whistled through doors. If someone looked closely, they could notice a faint white fog slowly start to creep from the walls themselves.

“It does feel like the Spirit Oasis,” Katara worried her lip, before deciding on something. She clasped the lid of her water pouch and shifted her feet into a waterbending stance. “Let’s stand our ground. We haven’t done anything to upset any spirits. In fact, we’ve been mending our relations with them the entire time we traveled the world! Whatever spirit it is, we can face it head-on.”

“But why here? If we were in the Fire Temple, it would make sense. But the Palace has been the least spiritual part of the country, since… well since a hundred years ago.”

Toph started to wobble, and Sokka quickly grabbed her arm to steady her. “None of that matters! Whatever spiritual mumbo jumbo it is is here now ! The floors don’t even feel like earth anymore. It feels like Appa’s fur! ” The rest of the Gaang looked at each other bewildered, before quickly looking down. That's when they noticed the floor being replaced with a thick white fog, one that was slowly wrapping around their feet.

Sokka stuck his hand right into the fog. “Toph’s right! The floor just vanished!” Katara swiped her hands, attempting to bend the fog away, but the fog continued to wrap around each person, tightening around their ankles. Zuko then tried to send a burst of flame at the mist, but his hand simply sputtered, only leaving a trail of smoke.

“If bending doesn’t work, that means we aren’t even in the physical world anymore!”

Suki then gasped, diverting the Gaang’s attention from the quickly encroaching mist. “The walls! They’re breaking apart!”

The walls of the banquet hall began to break off into cubes, revealing a dim sun and an eternally cloudy sky. A faint whisper began to speak, though it felt more like it was almost singing, and the whistle of the wind in the trees was its instrument. The voice seemed to guide trees and vines, causing them to rapidly burst from the carpet of fog, narrowly avoiding the Gaang, tearing up the rest of the hall instead. The mist then took the vague shape of a person while whispering even louder, its unintelligible words feeling like agony itself. The fog continued to coil around the Gaang, restricting their movements like a python-cat ready to swallow them whole. The Gaang's cries were muffled as they tried to fight against the relentless onslaught of fog, but one by one, they were pulled under the fog, surrendering to the overwhelming power of the spirit.

Aang looked the spirit in the eyes (or where he assumed the eyes were) as the fog began to pull everyone under. “What do you want with my friends? What do you want with me? Let them go and I’ll do what you want! Please !”

The spirit laughed, “I just want to show you how far you’ve come.”

Before Aang could get any answers, he too was pulled under.

***

Zuko groaned, waking up to a splitting headache. He stumbled into a sitting position, trying to catch his breath. The room spun, and black spots danced in the corners of his eyes. Once the pain dissipated, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying to right his vision. Even though he had just woken up, exhaustion settled over Zuko. He slowed down his breathing, ready to relax and hopefully fall back asleep when he remembered just what happened. Zuko stood with a jolt and dug his nails into what seemed to be a couch. He frantically ran his eyes over the room, before locking eyes with Suki’s prone body.

“Suki!” He began to shake her, and Suki woke with a start, fist inches away from Zuko’s eyes.

“Zuko! You’re alright!” Suki shook her hand before settling it down. “Didn’t mean to almost punch you, Fire Lord.” Suki bowed her head and placed her hand on her heart, before shooting a smile at Zuko.

Zuko shook his head and laughed. “I should have known better than to catch a Kiyoshi Warrior off guard.” Suki snorted, covering her mouth with her hands. “But if you’re here, that means that everyone else should be here too.”

Suki straightened and began to search the room for anyone else. She came across Katara, her brows furrowed as though she was having a nightmare. Suki gently tapped Katara’s shoulder, causing her eyelids to flutter open and her hand to shoot straight to her water pouch. Zuko quickly found Toph, and was in the middle of waking her, when Sokka rose from behind the couch, clearly caught off guard.

“I just had an absolutely insane dream that some weird spirit person trapped us with some weird spirit fog.” 

Zuko looked pensive off to the side, “It was no dream. It trapped us here in this room.”

Katara frowned, “But this room looks so normal! This place looks like the Earth Kingdom house we stayed at in Ba Sing Se!” She waved her hand to try to bend her water, but the water gave a small wobble before falling back to the jug. “I guess it still is the Spirit World…”

Toph wobbled, gripping the couch to get her bearings. “It's made of earth too! I can finally see again!” Toph threw up her hands in celebration. “But this place is huge. There’s a dining area, as well as bedrooms and bathrooms.”

“I don’t see any doors though. Are you sure it's that big?” Suki tilted her head.

“When have my senses ever been wrong? But speaking of my senses, I don’t see Aang anywhere.”

As soon as she said that, Aang dropped in from the ceiling, directly on the couch. Katara rushed toward him, shaking him awake.

“My head…” Aang put a hand to his forehead, slowly getting up. “What- What happened? Did that spirit get us?” Katara nodded.

It looks like everyone is here. Good. A voice seemed to come out from all sides of the room.

The Gaang immediately changed their stance, tense and in their respective fighting stance.

Aang spoke first. “Who are you? What do you want with us?”

I mean no harm.

Toph scoffed. “It sure looked like it when you dragged us to your creepy room with creepy fog singing with your creepy voice!”

You yourself saw that this room had nothing dangerous, Toph. This room is filled with everything a human requires. Aang looked at Toph to confirm, and she reluctantly nodded. As for the fog and my voice… I’m afraid I simply have a knack for dramatics. Forgive me, but it gets awfully boring waiting for the Avatar.

But as for who I am, I am a spirit of time. I cannot reverse it, as I’m sure many of you hoped. However, I have the ability to make it so people can review their past. Raava, the Avatar Spirit, made me her servant, deeming that the ability to review one’s past is beneficial for the Avatar. While I normally do this once the Avatar has died, I made a special exception for you, Avatar Aang.

“So, I’m not dead, or going to die anytime soon right? And what do you mean Raava’s the Avatar Spirit?”

The spirit laughed. No, you will not. I decided to make this exception for my own personal amusement I’m afraid. I found you and your friends' adventure quite thrilling, and wish for you all to see how far you have come. Not many have had growth quite profound as you all in this short of a time. As for Raava… she is not someone you will need to know in this lifetime Aang. 

“You’ve seen the Avatar after me?” Aang clasped his hands in excitement, while the rest of the Gaang cringed at the implications.

Indeed. If you wish to see your next life, I will show you, but we shall discuss this after you have viewed your own story. This opportunity to witness your past will help guide you in any future endeavors you and your friends will partake in the future. However, since this isn’t your time to review your past, or that your friends shouldn’t really be here, if you wish to leave, I will allow it.

“How much of our past are you exactly showing? We spent a year fighting the Fire Nation alone, but would you also show each of our childhoods? Are you going to show the three months we spent after?” Katara frowned. “We could be stuck here forever!”

Smart girl. I’ll be showing your time fighting the Fire Nation, with snippets from your past If deemed fit. I’ll also be cutting any of the mundane, or unnecessary bits from your past. Overall it should take 1403 minutes, or about a day, if you take no breaks. However, this area is in fact, designed for you all to take breaks. Doors appeared in the walls of the room. There are bedrooms, bathrooms, as well as a dining room, where I’ll provide whatever food you wish for. While you don’t need to eat, drink, use the bathroom, or sleep in my domain, I find that humans appreciate a routine. Time also won’t pass in the physical world for as long as you are here, so you may take your time watching your past. 

“Oh! What about bending? Is there a way to bend again?” Katara jumped, excited at the prospect of being able to use waterbending again.

You’re still in the spirit world, so I’m not able to give your bending back. The benders of the team wilted. However, this domain is much closer to the physical world, making it so that you’re able to bend minuscule amounts. It’s why you were able to slightly move the water in your pouch, and why Toph is able to use seismic sense. Zuko should be able to produce a slight amount of heat from his person, as well as make a small amount of smoke. As for the non-benders, you have your weapons, but they’ve been significantly dulled.

Zuko attempted to do both and nodded once he verified the spirit's claims. Sokka tried slicing the couch with his new boomerang, but it bounced off, not causing a scratch.

“Well, how am I supposed to see it?” Toph waved her hands in her face.

Don’t worry, I had many a visitor here, and you are not the only one with a disability that caused me to think outside the box. I made it so that the screen will simulate the earth, so you’ll be able to use seismic sense to see. In the part where you all were in the North and South poles, I’ve made it so it appears as earth for you, instead of ice. You still won’t be able to see anything in the air or water, but it’s better than nothing.

“Sweet.”

Any more questions?

Everyone shook their heads.

Good. I shall allow you all to decide whether you wish to continue. You may explore this area in the meantime. If you have any more questions, feel free to call out.

The presence seemed to fade from the room, leaving the Gaang by themselves.

“Well? What do you all think? For me, it shouldn’t be too big of a deal, but I know that this war could bring some bad memories for you all.” Sokka looked wildly at Suki, knowing that she stayed at the hands of the Fire Nation for months.

“Same here, the only personal problems I had were with my parents, and most of you already know what happened with that.” Toph shrugged. “I don’t mind if Sparky and Honey over here see what happened either.”

“Toph, are you sure? You don’t have to put on a tough front you know.” 

“Quit nagging Sugar Queen. I mean, I know you mean well, but trust me, it's ok. Frankly, you guys should be asking yourselves if you’re cool with it.”

Sokka looked over to Katara, watching her fiddle with her necklace. He got up and sat next to her, watching the warring emotions of hope and anguish cross her face. “Sokka… what should we do?” 

“The spirit did say that they’d show snippets of our past… It could include Mom.” Katara sniffed. “Our local spirit guy also seems to trust them, so they probably aren’t lying.” Sokka jabbed a thumb in Aang's direction, where he was sitting cross-legged, looking contemplative into his hands. “It's up to you.”

“I think… After the war ended I’m a bit more at peace. Plus after my ‘field trip’ with Zuko and all…” Katara trailed off, trying to decide what she was going to say next. “ I guess what I’m trying to say is that if we do see it happen, It’ll still hurt, but I’ve finally begun to slowly move on. Plus, I trust everyone here. They can all see. But what about you Sokka? She was your mom too.”

Sokka looked taken aback and took a moment to orient himself before responding. “Honestly, I want to see Mom, no matter the situation.” Katara grimly nodded. “Are you sure you’ll be ok, Katara?” 

“I will. And even if I’m not, I’ll have you Sokka.” Sokka beamed. “But what about… about Yue? ” Katara whispered.

Sokka took a deep breath and leaned on Katara’s shoulder. “Same thing you said. It’ll hurt, but I have my little sister with me. I’ll be fine.” 

***

Zuko leaned against the wall, debating whether or not he should go through with it. Everyone else seemed to move into their own spaces - Sokka and Katara still on the couch, Aang by the dining table, and Suki in the bathroom. It’s not that he didn’t trust everyone here, they were basically his family! They’ve seen him at his worst, back when he was stuck on that metal trash bucket full of anger and despair, desperately trying to win back his father’s approval. However, he has yet to tell them how exactly he got his scar, and frankly, was keen on avoiding that conversation as long as possible. They’re all aware that his father is the absolute worst, but they still don’t know how far his abuse went. Don’t get Zuko wrong, he would’ve told them eventually, and he wanted to tell them before anyone else did, but this spirit was going to show what happened. And seeing your friend’s face burned off is extremely different than just hearing about it. They would hear his agonized screams, and if the spirit was especially cruel, smell his burning flesh. Zuko slid down the wall and buried his head in his hands, feeling bile crawl up his throat at the thought. He was so distracted that he barely noticed Toph plop down right next to him.

“Worried Sparky?”

Zuko chuckled, “Understatement of the century. I'm terrified.”

“About seeing your dad?” Zuko hummed noncommittally.

“We’ve all heard bits and pieces about what happened to your scar if that's what you’re really worried about. No one told us anything definite, but we all know it was really rough, and that it wasn’t a training accident.”

“How, exactly, is that supposed to make me feel better?” 

“Uh, because…” For the first time since Zuko knew her, Toph sounded unsure. “We won’t be too freaked out?”

“But hearing is different from seeing Toph. I don’t want any of you to actually see what happened. Frankly, I didn’t want you to hear how I got my scar either.” 

“I’m sure seeing is different from hearing, Zuko.” Zuko swiveled to level a flat look at Toph, before realizing she didn’t even see it. “And I told you, we all don’t know the whole story. We just heard it from palace gossip. Also, this whole ‘watching our past thing’ isn’t exactly supposed to be comfortable anyway. It’s supposed to shove your problems in your face. But now you have your friends here, who really want to help you, Zuko. We can all work out your problems, and you’ll help us with ours. Plus, you can’t deprive me of seeing ‘Angry Ponytail Freak’.”

Zuko groaned and slammed his head against the wall. “You made me not want to see it even more.”

“Come on! You have to! You don’t want to let the poor blind girl have any fun?”

“You’re evil, Toph.”

Toph snorted. “Think about what I said, Sparky. We’re all here for you.”

“When did you get so wise?”

“Hey, hanging out with your old man does pay off.”

 Zuko smiled at the mention of Iroh. “You really want me to see this, huh?” Toph nodded. 

“If anything, you gotta see me learn to metalbend.”

“I'll think about it.” Toph seemed ready to argue, wanting to push Zuko even more, before deciding to drop it. 

“Make sure you think real hard, Sparky.” She walked off, deciding to check out the bedrooms, picking her nose all the while.

***

Aang stared into his hands, tossing around the idea of viewing his past in his head. He seriously does want to see how much he and his friends have grown. Seeing Katara barely able to bend a puddle, Sokka trying to command a bunch of 7-year-olds, and Zuko’s dumb ponytail would be amazing. However… the spirit mentioning that their pasts would be shown rang in his head. It’s already painful reliving his memories of his people in his head, but now he would actually see them? See Gyatso? Alive? It’s too much. He’d see his people suffer, all because he wasn’t there.

I see you’re having some trouble deciding. Do you have anything that you want clarified?

“Will I see my people again?”

I already mentioned that you will see snippets of your past, Aang. That includes seeing the Air Nomads. However, I assume there’s more to that question that you’re not telling me.

Aang's hand trembled, and his eyes were filled with unshed tears. His voice was wet, and he spoke with a hushed tone, afraid that someone would hear him. “Will I have to see them suffer?”

Aang… The voice sounded almost motherly, speaking with a tone of warmth instead of their usual emotionless cadence. You are young. Your friends are young. I won’t show you something that horrible. I won’t show any of you any extreme acts of violence. You may tell your friends that as well, as I’m sure they share your worry. As I said before, this experience is simply meant to show your growth, not to cause you further harm.

Aang sniffed. “Thank you.” He opened his mouth to talk with the spirit more, but it vanished before he could say anything. 

The door to the dining room opened slightly, and Katara’s head poked through. Aang gave a wobbly smile and patted at the chair next to him.

Katara clasped her hand around Aangs, and stared deeply into his eyes, looking for something. They stayed like that for 5 minutes before she spoke.

“What do you think Aang?”

He sighed, clenching his free hand into a fist. “I really do think this would be a nice experience for everyone, me included. But seeing all my people again… I know I would’ve died at the Southern Air Temple, and that it really was fate that we met, but I still can’t help thinking of the what ifs.” 

“All of us can’t help but wonder about what ifs, Aang. I’ve always wondered, if I was a better waterbender, a stronger waterbender, I would’ve probably been able to save my mother.” Out of habit, her hand rubbed her betrothal necklace pendant.

“Katara, you were already at the best of your abilities at the time, with no Southern waterbenders there to train you. You were already strong, but you were just a kid! There’s no way you could’ve stopped the Fire Nation.”

Katara's eyes shined with warmth, and she smiled knowingly. Aang’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape, realizing her point.

He chuckled. “I see your point. It’ll still be painful seeing everyone, but who knows? I could see good moments too.” Aang steeled himself. “ I want to see it, Katara. I want to see our past.”

Katara flashed a smile so blinding, Aang felt that he had to shield his eyes. She stood up, hand still in Aang’s, and tugged him to the door. “Let's talk it over with everyone then.”

***

Katara and Aang joined the rest of the Gaang in the living room, interrupting the casual conversation. Everyone glanced at each other, knowing that it was finally time to decide whether or not they’d go through with watching their past.

Aang cleared his throat, before looking determinedly at everyone else. “I’m ready to see it. I want to. But if anyone here decides they don’t want to see their past, then we can all leave.” 

“Well, I already told you all my choice. You all already heard all of my problems already. Plus you have to see me create metalbending.” Toph crossed her arms.

“I’m good with it too. I’m really curious about what happened to you all after you left Kyoshi Island. That play we saw made me curious,” The Gaang groaned at the mention of the play, while Suki and Toph laughed. “And I don’t mind if they show me at Boiling Rock anyways, I wasn’t tortured or anything.” Suki put her hand on Sokka’s arm to provide him some reassurance. He still couldn’t help but look at her with worry, but decided to stay quiet.

Aang’s eyes widened at hearing that, suddenly remembering what the spirit told him. “The spirit told me that no unnecessary or extreme violence would be shown, in case that was anyone’s worry.” Several sighs of relief sounded out as soon as he said that.

“Me and Sokka also agreed to see it. We both wanted to see how far we’ve come,”. Katara fiddled with her necklace before continuing. “And if we get the chance to see Mom again then…”. She stopped, and Aang rubbed her shoulder blade in an attempt to comfort her.

“It’ll be a good chance to see people we’ve lost. For everyone. At least that's what me and Katara think. What about you Zuko?” Sokka turned to Zuko, and Zuko couldn't help but look away, feeling that his soul was being pried into by everyone.

“I also… I also want to see it. Toph told me that facing our past wouldn’t be easy, and she’s right. But I have you all to help me, and I’ll be here to help all of you.” The smiles Zuko got in return rivaled the sun, and he couldn’t help but smile back. Toph gave him a soft punch on the shoulder, before smiling at him.

“Glad you took my advice Sparky.”

Aang yelled out into the living room. “Spirit person! Thing? Whatever! We have our answer!”

What a rude way of referring to an all-knowing spirit.

“You never told us your name though.”

… I see. You may refer to me as… Hm. Just refer to me as a spirit person, I suppose.

“You seriously don’t have a name?” Aang frowned.

Names are unimportant to someone like me. But you were saying you-

“I got one! Wooshy Fog Spirit!” Sokka wiped his nose, impressed with his natural talent for coming up with names.

“I like that one! Wooshy Fog Spirit!” Aang cheered.

I… No matter. Call me what you wish, Avatar. Their tone, however, conveys immense distaste. You were saying you made a decision? 

Aang straightened up, remembering why he called on the spirit in the first place.“I want to see our past. All of us do.”

Wonderful. Then we shall get started.

Chapter Text

Fog rushed into the room, leaving behind a thick sheet of fabric. Behind the circular couch, a mechanism whirred to life, flashing green before aiming a bright light at the fabric, displaying the words AVATAR in bold. Above it, Earth Kingdom characters were displayed, and below it, stated THE LAST AIRBENDER.  

“Can you please warn a guy before you do all your creepy spirit stuff, Wooshy Fog Spirit?” Sokka bemoaned, before quickly switching his attention to the mechanism that projected the light. “What’s this thing?”

Are you all seriously going to continue calling me that?  Everyone nodded.  Ah, the troubles of children. Perhaps it was unwise of me to bring you all here so young… I was too impatient.  The spirit tsked while the Gaang snickered.  To answer your question, Sokka, it's a projector. It's from a time in the future, and I found the technology so fascinating I brought it here.  If you wish,  I'll make a spare for you to play with.   Sokka pumped his fist.  Are we ready to start?

“Wait! Wooshy Fog Spirit, could you  please  bring Appa and Momo in here? They’re part of our gang as much as anyone else here. They  have  to see our past.” Aang’s lip wobbled and he glanced at the ceiling, attempting to convince the spirit with his puppy eyes.

… I suppose.

The room suddenly expanded, with a large plush carpet filling up the extra space. Two barn doors were placed on the wall behind the couch, and the inside was covered in bales of hay. The ceiling opened, and the spirit placed Appa on the carpet while allowing Momo to crash into Aang’s arms. Aang then ran up to Appa and buried himself in his fur.

Are you all ready now?

Aang cast a quick glance at everyone, and everyone gave the same determined look he wore on his face. “We’re ready.”

Wonderful. Take a seat, everyone. 

Everyone sat down, with Katara and Aang in the middle. Sokka sat next to Katara, and Suki took the last seat on the left side of the couch. Zuko and Toph mirrored them, with Zuko next to Aang and Toph taking the last seat on the right of the circular couch. Multiple pillows cushioned their backs, and the spirit made several blankets appear on their laps. A black rectangle with two buttons appeared on the table in front of them.

That black rectangle is called a remote. There are two buttons. One is the shape of a sideways triangle. That’s the ‘play’ button. This makes it so your past plays on the screen  in front of  you. The other button, the one with two vertical lines, is the ‘pause’ button. This stops your past from playing temporarily. Understood? Everyone nodded.

Alright, then give it a try. Once you press that play button, your past will start playing. If you ever need me, then give me a call.  The spirit’s presence  vanished,  before promptly returning.  The first part you’ll see isn’t  anything any of  you did or said, but I created it for some dramatism. Consider it an introduction.  The spirit then actually vanished.

“Wooshy Fog Spirit sure has a knack for dramatics huh…” Suki quirked her eyebrow, clearly amused. The Gaang burst into laughter.

Aang sucked in a deep breath, causing the room to feel tense once more. “I guess it's finally time. Let’s see our past.” He clicked play.

Music began to play, and Pakku, albeit covered in shadows, began to bend water before shooting it off to the side. 

“Water.”

Katara gasped. “That’s me!”

“Who would’ve guessed.” Toph rolled her eyes. Several people snickered, failing to smother their laughter with the blankets and pillows.

Katara scowled at Toph, clenching her blanket in frustration. “No need to be jealous that it wasn’t you.”

“Hey, this whole past thing is going to be a snooze fest until I show up.”

Katara scoffed, but decided not to continue arguing, eager to see what else she could say.

An earthbender stomped the ground, before kicking the boulder on the right corner of the screen. 

“Earth."

“Hey, if this thing is going by masters, then I should be there, not that random nobody!” Toph huffed. Katara turned her face away from Toph, attempting to hide her laughter from her. “Cut it out, Sugar Queen.”

Before they could continue arguing, Aang piped up. “It is weird that I have no idea who that earthbender is. I mean sorta looks like the Boulder? If I have to guess? I thought for the introduction, it should be pretty important benders. At least Bumi should be there.”

Sokka looked incredulity at Aang. “For your information, the Boulder is a very important person! And two, that is not the Boulder. He has way more muscles!”

“Don’t tell me I have to compete with the Boulder and the moon for your love?” Suki teased. 

Sokka just waved her off. “Sorry, but if the Boulder asked me out on a date, I’m legally required to say yes.”

Toph’s face soured, her nose scrunched in distaste. “Yuck.”

Azula punched a red flame into the ground, then launched herself into the air. She ended her bending showcase by kicking a burst of flame into the ground.

“Fire.”

Zuko cringed at seeing Azula. Even though he couldn’t see her face, he could tell she looked much better than when he saw her last. 

Aang dropped in from top of the screen, before bending a vortex at the audience.

“Air.”

Aang cheered. “It's me!”

A map of the four nations appeared. The camera tilted, zooming into some Earth Kingdom mountains. 

“My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads.”

After the last mountain, a huge fleet of Fire Nation soldiers was waiting. They jumped, shooting flames into the audience.

“But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.”

Sokka whistled at the sight. “Don’t miss seeing that armor.”

Roku was standing on a pillar of earth. He began to bend water, earth, and fire. He shot a wheel of air at the audience, and when it dissipated, he vanished.

“Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.”

Aang cringed. 

“Oh Aang, I don’t mean that. I never even said any of these things!”

“I know but…” Aang’s brows furrowed, and he clenched his fist.

“Hey, you’re here now, and you stopped my Father from ruling the world. That's what matters.”

Aang gave a half-hearted smile. “You’re right, Zuko.”

Everyone looked at Aang worriedly, before looking at Katara. She looked concerned but struggled to find anything that would cheer him up.

“I know I’m meant to be in this time now, but it’ll still take some time for me to accept that. Thanks for trying anyway.” Aang looked downward. Katara just rubbed his back, unsure of what to do. 

A burning town littered with arrows appeared. 

“A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the War.”

“We’re really lucky you showed up when you did,” Suki said offhandedly. “Katara was right, the Fire Nation was insanely close to winning. Even our Chief leader began to worry that we would be under Fire Nation occupation soon. But you swooped in and diverted the Fire Nation’s attention from us. We all owe you our thanks.”

Aang perked up a little at that.

The scene switched from the burning village to the icy glaciers of the South. 4 Water Tribe boats were seen leaving.

“A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the War. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation…”

It panned to a younger-looking Katara and Sokka. Sokka held a lantern, looking forlorn, while Katara huddled into Sokka’s side, immense sorrow filling her eyes.

“... leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.”

Sokka squeezed Katara’s hand. 

“You two really were running your village alone when I saw you? A 14 and 15-year-old were running an entire village for 2 years?” Zuko looked a mix between horrified and impressed. “I thought the Southern Water Tribe left 1 or 2 men to look after the tribe, and that I was lucky enough to come to your tribe when they were out on a hunt.”

Katara shook her head.“Gran Gran helped with some things, but it was up to me and Sokka to hunt and help look after the children. I helped some with cooking and sewing, and Sokka… well you saw it yourself. He was defending.” Sokka groaned, remembering his pathetic attempt at stopping Zuko.

“The fact that you were able to hold me off for so long without any men there to teach you is really impressive, Sokka.”

Sokka shrugged. “Not really.”

“You got back at me for beating you too. Remember when you shoved me off my ship?”

Toph gasped. “What? Snoozles did that? This I gotta see.”

“Can you really see in the snow now? What’s it like?” Aang tilted his head, seemingly recovered.

Toph shrugged. “Just like earth.”

It zoomed in on Katara and Sokka.

“Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken. But I haven't lost hope.”

It zoomed into Katara’s eyes.

"I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world."

Aang’s eyes shimmered. “You always had that much faith in me?”

Katara smiled back. “Of course, Aang.”

It focused on an empty cliff, before turning to the sky. The music crescendoed. The words AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER appeared.

Everyone cheered except Zuko, who was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.

A white screen appeared. The words BOOK 1: WATER were shown, and under it was CHAPTER 1: BOY IN THE ICEBERG.

Zuko read the words out loud.“Book 1? Chapter 1? That sounds like part of a play.” He turned to clarify for everyone else. “For longer plays, they would separate parts into books, which all had an overarching plotline. The book was then separated into chapters, with the chapters each having a smaller plotline of its own. The theater would show a chapter of the play at a time.”

“Look at you Sparky! Our local theater nerd.” Zuko blushed and glared at Toph at the same time.

As the title card fades, the scene opens with a shot of an icy sea before panning slowly to the left, revealing more towering icebergs drifting in the water as the shot rotates, moving over a large snow-covered area where the untouched blanket of snow is broken by two tracks of footsteps. The shot fades to another shot of the sea and of icebergs in blue water contrasted by the paleness of the sky beyond. As the shot once again pans to the left and rotates likewise, a small canoe comes into view, its motion through the water indicated by the wake left behind it. The shot zooms slightly on the canoe before cutting down to it, providing a side angle of the canoe and  of the walls of ice rising on either side of the vessel. Sokka, a teenage boy, and his younger sister, Katara, a teenage girl, are sitting in the boat; Sokka holds a spear at the ready, while Katara simply  stares into the water on the other side of the  boat . The shot cuts to an overhead view, revealing that a fish is swimming close to the surface right in front of Sokka, who is focused on it, following its every movement. Cut to a frontal view of him.

“Sokka! Look! It's us! And this is just before we find Aang!”

“Oh yeah!” Sokka’s eyes were laser-focused on the screen, his excitement palpable. He then remembers exactly how he acted a year ago, and all the excitement he felt dissipated. “Oh yeah.”

Suki cooed, pinching Sokka’s cheek. “You both look so little!”

Toph frowned. “What's going on? I can’t see jack.”

“Sokka and Katara are in a canoe, and Sokka’s trying to fish.” Zuko leaned over.

“It's not getting away from me this time.” [Close-up of Sokka as he grins confidently over his shoulder in the direction of Katara.] “Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish.”

Sokka massaged his temple, trying to assuage his oncoming headache. He forgot what a pompous  jerk  he was.

The shot pans quickly from Sokka to Katara, who seems indifferent to his claim and turns back to her side of the boat again. Her expression changes to surprise; she’s looking down into the water over her  shoulder, when another fish quickly swims by her, close to where she sits. She  shoots a quick glance  toward her brother, removing the glove from her left hand. She stretches her arm out in the direction of  the fish, taking a deep breath. Her look is a mixture of concentration and apprehension as she starts making a wavy motion with her wrist, moving her hand up and down.

“Why’d you look at Sokka?” Suki’s brow was raised. “You never seemed to care what he thought about waterbending before?”

“I mean, he was  technically  in charge, and Dad and Gran Gran made it clear that I wasn’t to waterbend anywhere but inside the tribe’s walls, so I was  technically  breaking the rules. Plus  Sokka   hated  when I waterbended, because -”

“I would always get wet! Was it that unreasonable to ask her not to do waterbend when I’m in a confined space with her?”

“Yes! It’s -”

“Apart of you, I know. Tui knows how many times you’ve told me that back in the tribe.” 

The shot widens out ; Sokka, still focused wholly on the fish in front of him, is completely unaware of what is happening behind his back. As Katara continues to move her hand, the water in front of Katara, just in front of the shot, starts to ripple. Suddenly, a bubble of water rises up from the ocean containing the newly trapped fish.

Katara cooed watching her younger self try to bend. “I forgot how awful I was at bending. It’s honestly insane how far I’ve come in a year.” She turned to Aang. “It’s partly thanks to you. If we never found you, I’d probably be too scared to go to the North on my own.”

Aang waved it off. “You’d probably get fed up on not knowing how to bend and go to the North, with or without me.”

“Still. Thanks Aang.”

“I forgot that you could barely bend when we first met. Compared to you now…” Zuko shuddered the memory of Katara bloodbending the Southern Raider still fresh in his mind.

“I have to give it to you Katara, that's pretty impressive. I never knew that you were  this  bad when we met. You became a master pretty fast then.” Toph whistled.

“Did you even see her bending?” 

“I’m assuming it's god awful based on how you’re all describing it.”

[Happily surprised. ] “Sokka, look!”

[Close-up of  Sokka; whispering. ] “Sshh! Katara, you're going to scare it away.” [A look of bliss adorns his face. He licks his lips and wiggles his fingers, not taking his eyes off the fish. ] “Mmmm ... I can already smell it cookin'.”

Sokka’s stomach grumbled at the thought of grilled fish.

Suki sputtered in disbelief. “Seriously, how are you hungry all the time? Do you have 2 stomachs?”

“I’m a man! A man needs as much meat as possible!”

Behind Sokka, Katara is still making circular movements with both her arms, suspending the bubble of water that holds the fish in the air and moving back and forth. The camera cuts to her face, contorted slightly by the focus it takes to control the water.

Aang burst into laughter, causing Katara to shoot him a glare. “No, no, I didn't mean anything bad by it! It’s just wild seeing you focus that hard on something so simple. You could probably do that in your sleep now.”

 Katara hummed in agreement.  It is  really strange  seeing myself struggle so much. It’s still hard to conceptualize how much I’ve really grown.

[Struggling with the water that passes right in front of her. ] "But, Sokka! I caught one!"

The bubble containing her fish slowly drifts around her to hang over Sokka, who is still oblivious. As the bubble hovers over his head, Sokka raises his spear to strike the fish he was following. He bursts the bubble of water with the blunt end of his weapon, causing Katara to lose control of the water; it rains down on Sokka, soaking him.

“See! I got soaked! Like always back then! At least now whenever I get wet, it’s on purpose.” A chill passed through Sokka, almost like he was back in the Southern Water Tribe. “Let me tell you, waddling around in a half-frozen parka trying to build a snow fort is not pleasant.” Zuko winced, knowing exactly how it felt.

“It was your fault you got wet to begin with!”

[Katara exclaims indignantly. ] “Hey!”

As Sokka lets out a gasp of discomfort, the fish tumbles through the air and Katara follows its arc with her eyes as it flies over her head and splashes back into the sea. Sokka rounds on his sister, placing his spear perpendicular to the rim of the boat as he yells irately. The shot cuts to a close-up of him.

“Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?” Sokka clenches his fists and a few drops of water fall from his soaked gloves.

[Cut to her face; Katara sighs lightly before answering in slight annoyance. ] “It's not 'magic’, it's waterbending! And it's …”

[Cutting her off. ] "Yeah, yeah, 'an ancient art unique to our culture ', blah, blah, blah. Look, I'm just saying," [Grabbing his warrior's wolf knot with his left hand as he turns away from her, wringing the water out of it. Meanwhile, Katara has crossed her arms. ] "that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

The benders all raised their eyebrows. Sokka raised his hands in defense, trying to placate them. “Listen. We were all really isolated down there! I’ve never really seen a bender besides Katara. The only ones I’ve seen besides her were well… firebenders. You could probably see where my opinion came from.”

Zuko shrugged. “Fair.”

[Cut to her face as she raises an eyebrow skeptically, arms still crossed. ] You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water!

Near the end of her response, Katara smiles smugly at her brother; as the shot cuts to him, he is flexing at his reflection in the water and grinning confidently.  

Suki started cackling at the sight, laughing so hard she fell off the couch. “They’re so- so- so puny!” 

Sokka’s wails of agony could be heard throughout the entire space. “Stop this torture!” Momo appeared to feel some pity for him and sat right on his head.

Toph groaned, hitting her head. “Get out of that stupid boat already! I want to see!”

His happy look vanishes upon hearing his sister's remark and he turns around slowly, meaning to face her. Before he can say anything, however, the canoe suddenly shudders. As they both try to keep from falling over, Sokka whirls around toward his end of the canoe, a frantic look on his face.

The camera cuts to a far view of the canoe, which pans up as the boat moves away  from it. The boat is caught in a rapid current, which is pulling it swiftly toward a jumble of large icebergs that block the end of the narrow passage formed by the towering walls of ice. Sokka paddles the boat in an attempt to stay clear of any floating chunks of ice. He manages to gain just enough speed to keep the boat from being crushed by two icebergs which slam together behind the boat. A series of shots follow: the canoe moving through the water as Sokka rows furiously; a close-up of Sokka's head; and a frontal shot of the canoe as it is nearly pinned by several smaller chunks of ice. Cut to Katara's face, both her face and voice full of panic as she yells commands to Sokka.

“Oh oh oh! This is when you guys find me! Isn’t it?” 

“Honestly, I thought we were going to die because of Sokka’s awful steering, but instead it led us to the savior of the world.”

“Hey, can we get that written in a history book? Sokka saves the world through his amazing steering!” His arms spread out wide, envisioning the grandeur of his fantasy history book.

“It’s like you only listen to half the things I say.”

“Watch out! Go left! Go left!”

The shot shows an overview of the ice floes moving closer together in front of the boat, narrowing their path. The boat manages to stay clear of some of the icebergs, but it veers to the right with the current and becomes pinned by three large chunks of ice. As the canoe is completely crushed by the ice, Katara and Sokka throw themselves from the canoe and onto one of the floes; Katara nearly slides off the other side into the water, but comes to a halt at the floe's very edge. As she raises her head, looking around, the shot zooms out to reveal the siblings are floating on one floe among dozens.

Katara, shuffling on her hands and knees, moves away from the rim toward the middle of the floe, sitting next to her brother. His spear is embedded point-first in the ice just behind him.

[ A touch of bitterness in Katara’s voice. ] “You call that  left?”

“You don't like my steering? Well, maybe you should've,” [Sokka waves his hands, mockingly imitating waterbending.] “ waterbended us out of the ice.”

“You guys didn’t get along at all, huh?” Zuko asked.

“Eh, this is natural sibling banter, but I won’t lie, the stress of taking care of the tribe was taking a toll on both of us. Katara was working her ass off to help the women in the tribe  and  learn waterbending-”

“-And Sokka took care of most of the hunting by himself. I tried to help him sometimes but he was the trained hunter and I wasn’t. Going on our adventure with Aang helped out our bond a lot.”

Zuko gave them both a small smile. “I’m glad you’re both getting along now.” He would’ve been devastated for them if the Fire Nation destroyed their bond too.

“Honestly, I never knew it helped you guys that much,” Aang muttered.

“Like I said Aang, you came at the perfect time, for the world, and for us.”

[Indignantly. ] “So it's my fault?” says Katara.

[Sokka, annoyed. ] I knew  I should've left you home! [Cut to a close-up of the siblings; Katara is staring down at her brother in anger while he rants calmly.] "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!"

Silence. 

Zuko looked absolutely flabbergasted and horrified that Sokka would even  consider  uttering those words in front of  Katara  of all people. Suki and Katara were silently wheezing, with both of them biting their lips so hard to contain their laughter they almost bled. Aang looked embarrassed for Sokka, suddenly remembering how Sokka was at the very beginning of their journey. Sokka was mortified and looked like he was 10 seconds away from begging the spirit to make him drop dead.

And Toph…

Toph had her arms crossed. She looked vaguely confused like she was trying to understand if she heard it correctly.

All of a sudden, the remote in Aang’s hand changed. A new button was added, and this time, it was two overlapping triangles pointing to the left. Aang, afraid of incurring Toph’s wrath if he talked, looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

My apologies. I just realized that a ‘rewind’ button may be necessary. That new button  that I  added allows you to go back and watch part of your past again.

Upon hearing this, she got up and snatched the remote from Aang.

“Zuko, which one is rewind?” He wordlessly guided her finger to the button.

And Toph played that last moment 5 more times.

She then burst out laughing. Suki and Katara quickly followed suit, tears streaming down their faces. Aang gave a solemn pat on the back to Sokka, and Zuko still looked bewildered, confused as to why Sokka was still alive. 

“I want to strangle myself!” Sokka groaned, hitting his forehead with his hand so hard it left a mark.

“Snoozles, this is hilarious!”

“Suki, I am so glad you taught my idiot brother some sense.”

“Of course! I never leave a girl hanging.” Suki reached over Sokka’s hunched-over body to give Katara a high-five. “Plus, he’s too cute to be saying stupid things like that.” She winked and nudged him, but he was too embarrassed by his old actions to notice.

“Good thing you taught him, Suki. If he went to me spouting shit like that, his head would’ve been a different shape by the time I was done beating it out of him.”

Sokka sniffed, finally lifting his head. “I’m sorry, women! I’ve changed, I swear! Suki, thank you for bothering to correct me, and Katara, I’m sorry you had to deal with that for years,” Katara looked up as if debating whether or not to forgive him, before shooting Sokka a smile. “Toph, thank you for not bashing my head in with a rock.” He bowed in Toph’s direction, and she snorted before waving him off.

“You’re lucky Suki was kind enough to deal with you.”

“I really am!” Sokka peppered her with kisses, before making a dramatized smooch on the crown of her head. Suki giggled, swatting him while he kissed her.

“Frankly, I was always confused why the tribes had even developed the mindset that women were unequal to men, to begin with,” Aang said and Zuko nodded in agreement.

“Although we had no female Fire Lord, It was never really because we viewed women as inferior. I mean, look at Azula. She was respected by everyone, and my Father trusted her enough to be Fire Lord.” Everyone shuddered at the thought of Azula ruling the Fire Nation.

“I’ve never heard of a rule like that in the Earth Kingdom either. If anyone looked down on me it was because I was blind, not because I was a girl.”

Katara frowned. “The Southern Water Tribe wasn’t really sexist. And frankly, I only think Sokka picked up this idea because he was the only man in the tribe, and just over-did his ‘manliness’ to make up for everyone leaving. But what do I know?” She glanced at Sokka, hoping to get an answer out of him. Sokka shrugged helplessly in return.

“Let’s stop psychoanalyzing me and continue watching.  Please .”

Cut to a close-up of Katara's face as it contorts with fury. The shot cuts to a side view as Katara points accusingly at her brother, who makes no movement as she screams her disgust at him, the floe bobbing lightly up and down.

"You are the most sexist,"[ She brings her hands up to her head and swings them back down and behind her in her rage; the movement creates a small wave of water behind her. ] "immature," [ Hands raised back to her head. ] "nut brained ..."[ Swings her arms back down again, creating a slightly larger wave; she raises her hands back to her head during a brief loss for words. ] "I'm embarrassed," [ Throwing a hand upward, a short jet of water shoots upward as well. ] "to be related to you!"

Toph whistled. “Sokka, whenever we’re in a pinch, you should start spewing sexist stuff again, Katara is going cra-zy.” 

“Are you kidding? I’d probably die along with the poor soul Katara’s attacking!”

“Hey! I can do all that without Sokka saying all that stupid crap now!”

Toph shrugged. “He should still do it. It’s hilarious watching your panties get all in a twist.”

She swings both her hands back forcefully once again and her unconscious waterbending hurls a wave directly into the towering iceberg behind her; with a loud, splitting crack, a hooklike fissure arcs up its surface and out its side, leaving a spray of ice where it ends. Sokka, who wears a somewhat disinterested expression , glances briefly in his sister's direction and sees the iceberg; after a short moment, he does a double-take, his expression morphing into one of terror. The shot cuts to show Katara's outburst from behind Sokka; as she continues with her verbal outburst and arm movements, little chunks of ice from the iceberg splash into the water, unheard and unnoticed by Katara.

"Ever since mom died," [ Katara points to herself. ] "I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!"

Sokka’s face twisted in pain, and he felt like a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped on him. “I really let you down then, didn’t I Katara?”

“No! You did all the hunting and helped take care of the boys. I only really said that out of anger. I swear.”

Sokka shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re selling yourself short. You slaved away all day while I just paraded around the snow all day.” A determined look settled on Sokka’s face. “But don’t worry, I won’t let that ever happen again. I’ll be there whenever you need me.”

Katara gave Sokka a small smile, but at the same time, was still at a loss for what to do. She knew her brother, and she knew that he took every single mistake he made to heart, and well… Sokka a year ago wasn’t the paragon of a brother. She just hoped he would be able to recognize his growth, and not get bogged down by past mistakes. She glanced around at the other members of the group - namely Zuko and Aang and realized they’d have the same problem as her brother. 

She emphasizes the last words with a strong swing of her hand, waterbending and deepening the crack in the iceberg. Sokka's terror deepens.

[Pointing to the iceberg behind her, his voice subdued by fright. ] "Uh ... Katara …"

[Close-up of a rage-fueled Katara as she continues her outburst, a finger pointed in Sokka's face. ] "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant!"

“You tell him, girl!” Suki and Katara laughed, while Sokka attempted to protest.

“Actually, Toph is on a whole nother level of gross. Washing her clothes was a nightmare.” Katara shuddered. “So glad I don’t have to do that anymore.”

“I need the grime! It connects me to the earth.”

“It’s nasty, Toph.”

As she yells out that last word, she unconsciously waterbends once again, causing two new splits in the chunk of ice.

[In a screeching voice, Sokka’s eyes open wide in fear.] "Katara, settle down!"

“NO! THAT’S IT!! I’m done helping you. From now on, you’re ON YOUR OWN!” Katara shrieks. 

“Seems like it didn’t go to plan, did it?” Zuko’s lips curled to one side.

Katara sighed, before shooting Zuko a playful glare. “No thanks to a certain Airbender and Fire Nation prince.” 

Her last movement is her most agitated and it creates a huge wave which, when it impacts the iceberg, sends several fissures to snake their way up the iceberg; one of them reaches the top of the iceberg, splitting it completely in half. Petrified, Sokka gasps for air, and it is only now that Katara turns to look behind her. She gasps and the shot cuts to the iceberg; the two halves begin to fall away from each other and the siblings can be seen through the widening space between them. The shot jumps to the siblings' backs as the two halves collapse into the water; a wave larger than any Katara cast at it radiates outward toward them and they are thrown to the ice as it pushes their floe backward.

As the waves subside, the shot cuts to a head-on close-up of the siblings, their heads slightly over the edge of the ice. Sokka, holding a protective arm over Katara, turns his head toward her.

Zuko smiled at the fact that the two siblings were fighting this entire time, they were still protective of each other. If only he and Azula could foster that sort of relationship.

“Okay, you've gone from 'weird’ to ‘freakish’,” [Sokka releases her. ] “Katara.”

[Katara, Astonished. ] "You mean I did that?"

“So you were a prodigy too, huh Katara?” Zuko spoke, a trace of bitterness in his voice. “It seems like most of the benders in our gang are prodigies at this rate.”

“No way, I struggled like hell without a master.”

Toph piped up. “You know, they aren’t mutually exclusive. My earthbending was powerful- but sucked without the badgermoles to guide me. However, I was able to hone in on my power and master it fast. That’s what you did. You had the power, and then with a master, you were able to control it to a finer degree at a fast pace.”

Katara shot Toph a bewildered look, forgetting she couldn’t see it. “How’d you get so good at the whole bending master talk?”

“When hundreds of people, including the Avatar, are begging you to teach them earthbending, you pick up a few things.”

“Hey Zuko, do you have room in your ‘My sister is a prodigy’ club?” 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “We could always use new members. I’d be glad to make you Vice President of the club, Sokka. ”

[Sarcastically, glancing at her and smirking.] "Yep." [Nudging her with his elbow.] "Congratulations."

Several small bubbles appear on the  surface of the water directly in front of them and a small spot of water begins to glow with a bright bluish hue. An overhead shot shows the spread of the brilliant glow and the bubbles within. Cut to the head-on close-up as the two siblings scramble back in renewed terror from the edge, just as a large, roughly spherical iceberg breaks the  surface of the water.

“It's my iceberg…” Aang looked at the glowing ice with a mixture of awe and remorse. Actually being able to see something that he created in the Avatar State, especially something that didn’t hurt people, was awe-inspiring. Sometimes, he found it hard to believe he held so much power, but the iceberg is proof in itself of how strong the Avatar state was. However, at the same time, he can’t help but remember that it was created in his act of cowardice. That this ball of ice would always serve as a reminder of his failure to his people.

Katara watched his warring emotions but decided to stay silent. Watching Aang try to hide some of his true feelings gave her an idea for a possible new rule, one that she’ll bring up with everyone else once this episode is over.

The shot jumps behind Katara and Sokka as an iceberg rises above the surface, revealing its massive form to be the source of the glow . Mesmerized by the iceberg, Katara strays closer and stares at the iceberg; behind her, Sokka halfheartedly stretches out his hand, as if to hold her back. A few cuts ensue: the iceberg from behind Sokka and Katara; Katara's face as she stares at the object; and a shot of the iceberg itself, revealing a human shape  within  below a larger, indistinguishable mass. The human figure, perched in lotus, has glowing arrows on its head and hands. Suddenly, the boy opens his eyes, the same brilliant light emanating from them, eliciting shocked gasps from both of the siblings.

“Wait a fucking minute. If Katara didn’t get angry, you guys would’ve never found Aang. And Katara only got mad because of Sokka’s sexism.” Zuko’s brows furrowed, a horrified expression dawning on his face as he came to a conclusion. “Did you guys only find the Avatar because Sokka was sexist?”

“Holy fucking shit.” Toph froze for a minute, before cackling.

Aang looked hopelessly earnest at Sokka. “Thank you for being sexist, Sokka! I would’ve never left that iceberg otherwise.” He then burst out laughing, ruining his previous image of innocence.

“We should add that to a history book, don’t you think Sokka?” Katara copied his previous movement, spreading her arms out. “Sokka saves the world by being sexist!”

Sokka groaned. “Can’t we talk about how sick Aang looks instead?”

“He's alive! We have to help!” shouts Katara.

Before Sokka can grab it, Katara grabs Sokka's club out of its sheath on his back and pulls her hood over her head, heading in the direction of the strange boy sealed in the iceberg. Sokka again reaches out his hand in an attempt to hold Katara back, though she is already running across the ice.

“Katara, get back here!” [He grabs his spear from the ice and runs after Katara, who is already at the ice's edge.] “We don't know what that thing is!”

Aang raised his brow. “Thing?”

Sokka shrugged in response.

Katara hops across the short distance between her floe and the iceberg on five tiny chinks of ice; Sokka, close behind her, does the same. Reaching the iceberg first, Katara repeatedly strikes the iceberg with Sokka's club. On her fifth strike, the club breaks through the surface  and a great gust of wind, which escapes from within the iceberg, throws her and her brother back from the side of the dome. Fissures quickly snake their way over the whole iceberg and, in a massive outward explosion, the entire orb of ice destroys itself. A beam of light bursts from the core of the iceberg and rockets into the sky. The camera shows the iceberg from the shallow sea bottom as it emits ripples of light. The scene switches to a group of tiger seals, who erect themselves to growl at the distant beam of light.

“Ah, the infamous beam of light that caused me to find you and chase you all around the world.”

Cut to a Fire Nation ship, where a boy in a Fire Nation military uniform stands on the deck, gazing at the light. His ponytail flutters in the wind.

Zuko looked at the screen in horror. “Oh fuck.”