A/N: Hello, me again! This is the sequel to "Memories Painted Black," AND BEFORE YOU PRESS THE BACK BUTTON YOU HAVE TO HERE ME OUT! Okay, I know sequels usually get boring after a while, and it’s a huge pain having to read the first part, so I understand why you would want to leave, but plz just listen for a sec, and then you can decide if you want to read or not. Yes, this is a sequel, but I’m not asking anybody to read the first part, okay? Basically, the point that I got across from the one-shot was that Aang was killed in the final battle and Katara is...scarred I guess(scarred, not scared). So you can not have read the one-shot and still read this, it doesn’t matter, but you can still read the first part, hint hint. It would make more sense to, but again, you don’t have to.

There will be an OC (despite the fact that I honestly hate OC’s), so sorry. I personally think he sucks, but I'll let you guys be the judge. Yeah, I'm a real motivator, I know.

Disclaimer: Do you really think the creators would kill Aang? Obviously not, and since I did, you know I don’t own the show.

"Second Chances"

Chapter 1

She had almost forgotten about it...

Her fingers were groping for the wooden fishing pole hidden underneath her cot when her hand suddenly hit something hard and unfamiliar. Her palm pressed on the object's flat surface, she slowly pulled the thing out for her to see. Her mind went numb when she saw what it was.

She examined the box she held, tried to decipher the dusty surface, the familiarity of the shape, remembering how she had stared at it for so long before finally depositing her treasure inside on that day. She carefully swept the dust off the top, gingerly stroking the surface as if it were made of the world's most fragile glass. Carefully opening the lid, she found the ghost of a reflection pitifully gazing back at her behind the pale mirror of her mother's necklace. Gently lifting it out of the box, she fingered it in her hands, enjoying the smooth texture.

She grew pensive as she held the necklace, reflecting back on thoughts that had been plowed through so thoroughly, she was sick of thinking them. It glistened up at her, bright streaks dancing across the surface, as if it were trying to softly tell its story to her. A heavy sigh passed the waterbender's lips.

A figment of sound suddenly reached her ears, pulling her away from her thoughts. She turned towards it, realizing for the first time that there was an alien commotion outside her tent. She slowly rose, pulling her hood over her head as a blast of icy arctic wind rushed up to greet her.

The villagers had assembled themselves by the front gate, staring restlessly out at the horizon; a broad expanse of blue sky that held only one blemish at the moment, a dark dot. She joined the group, waiting a moment before realizing what it was that her tribe was making such a fuss over.

Frightened children had now managed to sneak away from their clingy mothers to join the anxious group of villagers watch the mysterious object draw closer to their harbor.

The pointed, arched tip of a large metal boat suddenly reached out of the fog. The ominous shape drew closer towards them, followed by two more ships which followed behind.

The ground shook beneath them as their anchors dropped into the icy waters, the waves crashing angrily on the shoreline. The villagers began to scatter, careful to stay in clumps of groups as they watched the ships come to an abrupt stop, its brake's sending shrill screeches into the air. They waited until the ship’s front had detached itself and descend to ground level before they completely broke apart, trying their best to ignore the groups of firebender soldiers now filtering out of the insides of the ship.

Katara looked up, her eyes locking onto a nearby soldier as a younger villager scurried inside the safety of their tent. She scowled to herself, looking away before he saw her staring.

The captain, a tall, sour man, ignored the anxious people around him and strode straight towards the open gate, looking out over them all. One of the braver women forced a polite smile and lowered her head. Katara watched his head turn to glare at her, and even through the mask of hate, Katara could sense a hint of surrender in his eyes. They were as sick of doing this as they were.

"Well? You know the drill. Anything out of the ordinary this time?"the captain asked tiredly, slurring his vowels together.

The more willing shook their heads in response.

The soldier hesitated,his eyes following down each and every frightened face disbelievingly. With a small notion of his hand, the army of soldiers filed into the waiting village, the firebender’s lip’s set into a tight scowl as he passed by them.

This had been going on for three years. Fire nation groups would make a monthly trip to the north and south poles, thoroughly checking the area for any sign of the return of the avatar. Because the next avatar after Aang was supposed to be born into a water tribe, the fire nation had ordered fleets to be sent to make a search of both ends until the baby was found and killed. But so far, no sign of Aang’s incarnation had been discovered. Rumor had it that they were hoping to catch the avatar, pre-mature and in the avatar state, in hopes of destroying the avatar cycle for good.

Katara watched the soldiers scatter themselves over the village, casting quick glances at small children being cradled in protective mother’s arms and frightened toddlers staring at the soldiers as if they were afraid they would attack them any minute.

She glanced back at the dark ships, her gaze hovering on it, watching the calm waves crash against its side for a moment before taking a step closer to it.

The ship was enormous, always bigger than she remembered it. Standing at the foot of the mouth, she peered in to its hollow chamber, momentarily engrossed with faint ideas of messing with their stuff. She had done this a few times before, when she was sure they were completely focused on something else. Being able to steal their food and break a few weapons was the only way she could really connect herself with the old Katara. Some months she had the pleasure of experiences this infrequent adrenaline rush. Other months she would get suspicious stares from a soldier and have to wait until their next visit.

She could see that the soldiers were obviously occupied with their search. Casting one last glance behind her to make sure that nobody was watching, she stepped onto the ramp, hesitating once more before she put both feet down, slowly taking a step forward, pausing for a moment to check behind her before making the rest of her way up the ramp. At the top lay the first cavity of the hull, a simple dark room filled with differently marked barrels, no doubt supplies or trading goods.

She crossed over to the other side of the room, noticing a wooden door hidden behind a stack of wooden boxes. She didn’t dare open it though; this seemed to be the main storage room anyway. She turned back to the room, opening a crate next to her and peering inside. Gunpowder. Checking over her shoulder once more, she emptied the flask of water around her waste and cut the crates surrounding her cleanly in half, then dumped the water over the black mess. The shells clanked to the ground, filling the room with a noise that sounded like raining metal.

She meandered around the room for a while, quietly opening crates and finding spears and swords and other useless junk she could do little to break. Discontent with her work, she eventually gave up, casting the door one last glance before turning towards the exit, ready to leave. Then suddenly a voice tore her away from the entryway, forcing her eyes back into the room.

"Hello?"it called. She looked around, at first panicked in fear that it was a fire nation guard who had caught her spying, but when she looked back she saw nothing.

"Is somebody there?" The voice was calm, not the barking tone of a soldier.

"Where are you?"she answered back.

The voice hesitated for a moment, then called, "Here. Can you help me?"

"What? I can’t see you,"she said, looking around the room for any sign of the invisible person.

"I’m behind the stack next to you,"he replied. She turned toward the crates the voice had mentioned. There lay a few rows of barrels arrayed in a half circle against the wall. She knelt down to the nearest crate, finding a gap that she could look into. She found a boy about her age, maybe younger, sitting in the middle of the surrounding crates.

"Would you mind telling me how far it is to the South Pole?"he asked quietly when he noticed her peeping eye. His voice was husky, as if it hadn’t been used for quite some time.

"This is the South Pole,"she said unsurely.

"It is?"he exclaimed, the rusted sound clinging to the back of his throat as he said it. He made a difficult attempt to stand up, pushing against a barrel but finding that it was nearly impossible.

"...Are you a stole way?"she asked, unsure whether to help him move the barrel before she knew for sure if he was a criminal begging to escape or not.

"Well...kind of. I’m just trying to get away from the fire nation like everybody else,"he replied, then stopped, looking back at the gap, "You’re not with the fire nation, are you?"

"Of course not!"she exclaimed. The vibrations her voice produced echoed all across the room, possible even reaching the ears of some soldiers down below. She put a hand over her mouth, casting an anxious look at the door.

"No, I didn't think so. I heard someone waterbending, I figured it was you,"he said quietly, then seeing that his methods of moving the barrels out of the way were failing, asked, "Can you help me out?"

Without comment she reached out to pull off the top crate, careful to set it down gently so its echo wouldn't attract the soldiers. He quickly used the decreased height to easily climb over the top, clumsily jumping down to the other side.

She took a moment to look the boy over. He had a lanky figure, and his long, messed up blond hair and shabby Earth Kingdom clothes easily gave the impression that he had been traveling for a few weeks, maybe even months. His eyes were a deep blue, much like hers, though she could faintly see something darker and discomfiting about them then she felt comfortable sensing. A large pack was slung across his shoulder, his food supply, she guessed.

"Thanks,"he said, smiling weakly.

"How long were you hiding in there?"

"Dunno. A month or two, maybe,"he replied, shrugging his shoulders, “I kind of lost track.”

"That's awful. I'll bet the villagers would love to have you,though,"she said, “We've never had anybody stole away on this ship before.”

"That's really nice of you, thanks,"he replied bashfully, shrinking back slightly as if ashamed of himself for wanting her help, “But I don't think I should.” He made a move toward the front door, but Katara quickly stopped him.

“You'll get caught if you go that way, follow me.” She motioned for him to follow, making sure no one was watching before she hurried him back down the ramp and to the side of the village gate.

"We can’t be here right now,"she whispered as the shadow of a fire nation guard passed over them. She quickly grabbed his wrist, pulling him out plain sight They took off to the nearest iceberg, both straining their ears for any sign of an approaching witness. When none came, the boy sank to the ground, heaving a sigh of relief. She followed him, leaning her head back against the ice until her breath regulated again.

"Thank you, again,"he panted.

"Why on earth would you sneak on a Fire Nation ship? Aren't there Earth Kingdom ships along here?"she asked, turning back towards the stranger. He seemed surprised hearing her question. His expression melted from surprised to frustrated, as if the mere subject was enough to make him furious.

"No, the Fire Nation won’t let Earth Kingdom ships get past them anymore,"he answered in an angry mutter. This news came as a shock to Katara. Sokka was still in the Earth Kingdom. How would he get home if the fire nation refused to let ships go out?

"Why didn’t you just go to Ba Sing Sei? It’s safer there than anywhere else,"she replied.

"Too populated,"he said, "Besides, I wanted to come here. I’m looking for someone to teach me water bending,"he said.

"You're an Earth Kingdom waterbender?"

His expression dropped at her confirmation. "No, I was born in the Northern Tribe. I lived in the earth kingdom for a while though. Then I had to go into hiding for a while because the fire nation was after me."

"Why did they want you?"

"...No idea,"he finally replied after a moment’s period of thought.

"You must have some idea,"she insisted, growing uneasy. He looked up, reading her expression and slowly lowering his head.

"They...just...felt as if I were a threat to them,"he said quietly, avoiding her eyes.

"But if you can't waterbend yet, then how could you be a threat to them?"she asked.

"I don't know,”he replied flatly, “They think everyone's a threat. They're paranoid.”

"But you do know why." It wasn't a question.

“I suppose.”

“Well?”

"Look, I'm sorry. I can't give away unneeded information. I just can’t trust anybody right now."

When she didn't reply, he stood up, brushing the snow off of his clothes and turning to her.

"It was nice meeting you. I should probably start looking for another village then,"he said.

"...You should know, there's not another village anywhere around here,"she said slowly. He returned her warning with a light sigh.

"Well then, I guess I should find somewhere to hide. But if it doesn't turn out, could I maybe come back?" Hesitating, she slowly nodded her head to the potential threat, uneasiness creeping over her.

"Thank you,"he added quickly, flashing a weak smile. He suddenly took her hand and shook it, catching her by surprise.

"I didn’t catch your name."

"Um...Katara,"she said a bit unsurely.

"Terrance,"he replied, bowing slightly, "Thanks again." She said nothing, watching him walk away in a cynical state of mind, unsure whether to call him back or let him leave.

At last she turned around, ready to head back with her haunting conscious. She had warned him, and he had refused. Still, for some reason she felt guilty for not having stopped him from leaving.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of voices, and when she looked up she realized she was near the side entrance of the village gate. Two fire nation soldiers were standing near it, conversing with each other at the edge. Not wanting to walk past them, she waited next to the wall until they were done talking. Here and there she caught a few pieces of their conversation:

"Firelord...-disappointed...,"she caught, and she leaned closer to hear more. This helped a great deal, and this time she was able to catch their full conversation.

"No, we can’t take any chances. If we stop now he’ll slip through our fingers again. - mutter mutter - He nearly killed us all last time, imagine what would happen if he found a waterbending teacher."

"He’s not that smart. Just a boy probably. - more muttering - I caught a glimpse of him, he didn’t look more than sixteen. "-

"-I just don't get it. He was supposed to have been born into the cycle, but I guess the spirits decided to make an exception."

Katara felt her breath hitch in her throat. The avatar was alive? After three years, the fire nation had found him?

"Blast it all. The spirits act as if they're taking sides." They were loud enough now that Katara didn't have to lean closer to listen.

"What do the spirits matter anyways? - muttering - witnessed his escape, and those few people refuse to talk. -muttering-We did get a name though. A gullible blacksmith leaked it, too stupid for his own good."

"Ah, name's aren't important,"one of the guards said, then looked up, continuing in a softer tone, "Wish word would spread. It's so much easier to scare people when they know we mean business."

"It's easy enough as it is."

"The captain says he was heading somewhere south. Rumor has it he’s even planning to sneak on a fire navy ship to do it, so we’re already having every boat’s security being tightened. Without the public's knowing, of course."

"I was wondering why they wanted to check everyone’s cargo so thoroughly when we left Kii."

"Honestly, the war could just as well be over in another month."

She pulled herself away from the wall, unable to listen any longer. Her eyes followed the direction Terrence had set out on, her guilt nearly doubling inside her when the hard truth of their conversation finally sunk in. A young boy, an earthbender trying to learn waterbender, heading South.

Now she knew what a mistake she had made.

A/N: Oh boy, I'm so glad I edited this. Be warned readers, this author does not update often.