Reborn In Water || ATLA

Carry On Wayward Son

"Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season. And if I claim to be a wise man well it surely means that I don't know. On a stormy sea of moving emotion Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean. I set a course for winds of fortune but I hear the voices say 'Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more.'" - Kansas

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"This place is coming down fast." Aang urged his friends as the temple floor continued to crack. "We have to go now!"

Neither Katara nor Sokka understood what was going on. Looking at one another they assumed the only reason Aang was insisting on bringing the firebender was his gentle nature. They'd drop her on an island somewhere before she had a chance to hurt anyone. With a nod, they took off in the direction where the steps once lay but found the path blocked by lava.

"This way!" Called Aang, running off in the opposite direction. They were stopped by a massive hole in the wall, eerily peering out to the jagged rocks that lay below.

"Where are we supposed to go from here?" Aelita questioned. Was he trying to get them killed already? The Avatar looked out the gaping hole and smiled.

"That's where!" He pointed outside. "Appa!"Flying towards the temple was the Avatar's bison. When the massive beast came up to the building, the older boy urged his sister to jump.

"Hurry, we have to move!" Sokka was right, the temple would be overrun by molten rock any moment now. Katara took his word and pushed off the ledge as hard as her legs would move, landing in Appa's saddle with a thud. Her brother was right behind her.

Aelita clutched onto the side of the building for dear. This was insane.

"Aelita," Aang said in a calm voice. "You have to trust me. I won't let anything happen to you. We have to go."

Aelita stared at the boy's outstretched hand for a moment. Trust? She hadn't trusted anyone other than Zuko since her father died. The temple shook hard as it began to slide off its foundation. There was no more time to think. The Akira took the hand of the Avatar and together they jumped.

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"Prince Zuko!" His soldier pleaded. "We have to go now!"

"Not yet!" I barked, his eyes locked on the crumbling temple. "Aelita has to be somewhere! I won't leave her here to die, I have to go back!" The Prince swung a leg over the boat determined to find his muse but his crew held him back.

"Are you crazy?" Another soldier argued not caring if the kid got mad. "You go in there and you'll die!"

"I'm not leaving without her!" Zuko struggled against their hold.

"What if she was captured by Zhao in the pandemonium? His ships have already sailed." The Prince quit thrashing at the idea. "You'll do her no good if you're dead."

"Alright..." Zuko sighed after a minute's deliberation. He could be right. Zhao loathed Aelita's very existence. She would've been vastly outnumbered if she made it out of the temple and the Commander would've happily taken advantage of the situation. "Kick off the Island and head course for the ship. I need to talk to my Uncle." Zuko needed help to think this through. If Zhao laid a single hand on Aelita he didn't know if he could hold back again. Zuko watched the temple continue to disappear into the molten rock and ocean as they sailed, his mind replaying just how wrong this had gone. Not only had he lost the Avatar, but he also lost his only friend too. He slumped to the floor of the boat in disgust.

"Prince Zuko!" A soldier shouted as he pointed back towards the temple. Zuko jumped to his feet and lifted his binoculars to his eyes. The sky bison was flying at top speed towards the temple, stopping just beside it as the building shook. Through the glass piece, Zuko stared as the waterbending girl jumped out a hole in the siding and into the beast's saddle. The warrior peasant followed. Zuko's gaze shifted from the bison back to the opening in the temple. Standing hand in hand was the Avatar and a grey-haired angel. When the building jolted forward towards the rock below they jumped. Zuko swore time stopped turning until he saw her body hit the beast's back.