A/N: This is my first try at a fanfiction. Don’t click the back button in panic thinking this is a piece of crap! I do write like a mad woman all the time (drools and holds up pen like knife) but they’re usually my own creations so it’s no like I’m inexperienced.

This is the result of ATLAWS (Avatar: the Last Airbender Withdrawal Syndrome). I miss those little animated cartoon characters like toilet paper after I use the bathroom and realize there’s no more left. By the way this is set after season two, but Aang still hasn’t defeated the fire lord.

I can see you all at midnight in front of your computers. “Not another ‘Zuko’s redemption’ fic!” Deal with it. Angst is what we writers do, why do you think we like Zuko so much?

AND IT’S NOT ZUTARA, the finesse of thawing out Zuko’s character without making him seem too soft or bipolar is more than I care to handle. This is KATAANG! Nice, easy, simple to read, good old(literally), Aang.

Now, to the fic mobile, AWAY! (straps on mask and jumps off building ‘crap I don’t have ninja training! splat)

Disclaimer: Oh, and the creators of Avatar stole the idea from me while I was bread aisle and defenseless (Ya, I wish!)

Chapter 1: Reckless Destiny

It had been years since they had failed.

The great chance, the eclipse, had come and gone, a brief haze of light like hope, like the sunset, and then it was gone, leaving night.

Even when Aang had recovered from the lightening attack there was no one else left to turn to. Ba Sing Se had already fallen.

Of course Aang was the all-powerful avatar, but even he needed help sometimes, he was still just one person, where was the army he was supposed to lead?

The Northern Water Tribe was too weakened by Zhao’s attack to pose an inkling of a threat. Their canoes would have been driftwood by the time they finished paddling anywhere near the Fire Nation capital.

And without it’s heart, Ba Sing Se, the earth kingdom was slowly knawed away by the Fire Nation.

At the moment destiny seemed to be ignoring the fine print. All’s well that ends well. This wasn’t even close to well, and the group had been patiently waiting for this policy to be reinstated as they continued to travel together, now four years since Sozin’s comet.

“I really miss fruit pies,” Aang sighed as Sokka handed him a “sugarplum” for breakfast that was trying to roll out of his hands. It was hard finding what to eat now that they were back to roaming the forests of the Earth Kingdom.

“You can have the fruit I picked before we left on Appa yesterday, Aang. I can go fishing for Sokka and I,” said Katara-the-mother-hen. It was becoming second nature.

Sokka assumed his best indignant face. “There’s nothing wrong with the fruit I picked.” he muttered almost under his breath and crossing his arms. He was nineteen years old now but he hadn’t matured a day.

“Except that you hunted it,” Aang stated, staring wide-eyed after his sugarplum as it climbed over a rock and made a getaway.

Momo quickly left the spot where he had been curled up on Aang’s head to chase the purple fiend.

Almost within the same eyeblink he came rushing back from the forest into which he had momentarily disappeared chattering madly and made a dive for Sokka’s Earth Kingdom bag, now frayed and worn.

“What’s up with Momo?” Toph asked. They all looked over to see her earth tent had slid back into the ground revealing a very tired earthbender with a bedhead and sleep in her eyes.

Then all their heads snapped back the other way as the sound of footsteps could be heard thrashing through the forest breaking twigs and upsetting the layer of leaves on the floor.

Soon a figure could be seen on the verge of breaking through the clearing. Silently Sokka unsheathed his boomerang, Katara took the lid off her water pouch and Toph bent into a fighting stance. Aang gave the shadowy figure his widest grin.

Meanwhile a middle-aged man came into the clearing, stepping into the light. He was dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes and had a bag slung over his shoulder which meant he was traveling.

He took in the group of people who seemed ready to slap him on a piece of bread for lunch and turned around and began walking the other way again without a word.

“Wait!” Aang called after him, pulling up his lanky body to chase after the man on long legs. “Where are you coming from?” he asked as he easily caught up with him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

As the man turned around all the guilt and remorse that had been plaguing Aang’s heart shone through on his face.

“Were you forced out of your village by the Fire Nation too?” he asked, his worry twanging on his voice.

“I had to leave my home village of Guang,” the man told Aang, he continued in a murmur, “It just wasn’t worth staying there anymore . . .”

The man’s sentence trailed off and he looked at Aang with a deepening frown.

Aang could see what was coming and hung his head, preparing to be reminded of his failure.

“Where were you?” the man asked, now having turned to face Aang. “You’re the hope that so many people have, why did you abandon them?”

The man sounded so much like the dreams Aang had been having that he wanted to pinch himself and make sure this wasn’t another one.

“Please I could help you-“

“You silly little child I’m fine, why don’t you help those people over there?” The man pointed the way that he had come.

“What people?” Aang asked straining to see into the forest past where the foliage made a long dark drape.

“Aiya! Why don’t you used your head!?!” the man asked exasperatedly knocking on it a few times, “The Fire Nation is burning down a village a few miles from here and you’re doing nothing but scaring off old men with your friends!” he exclaimed gesticulating wildly as though trying to describe the path of a deflating balloon.

With a gust of air Aang had leapt gracefully into the trees. Sticking his head out of canopy first he was blinded by the sun but shielding his grey eyes he could soon see the curling rope of smoke but the village was too far away to see. The smoke seemed to come from over a hill as far as he could see.

Muttering four letter words to himself for trying to see something miles away he led the old man back to his camp where again his friends looked more like a bunch of bandits than saviors of the world.

“Guys really,” Aang said to them stepping in front of the old man and waving down their weapons.

Katara sighed as she watched him take up his superhero stance.

“We need to help this elderly man,” Aang said.

Toph groaned and threw herself backward onto the floor, she could feel once of his ‘save the world’ speeches coming on. Even though his intentions were usually pure gold it got a little annoying at times.

“The village of Guang is under attack right now.” Aang stopped a moment, his eyes beginning to water, “I’m not sure how much is left,” he whispered.

Then shaking off his doubt he leapt on top of Appa in one swift leap.

After a few moments he looked down at them all expectantly.

“What are you all waiting for?” he shouted and with a sweep of his staff and few yells they were all on top of Appa. All except for the old man.

“I’m sorry,” Aang said, “But we can’t fight the Fire Nation and protect you too, you’ll have to wait here until we save the village.”

Throwing a bag of supplies to the old man Aang shouted “Yip-yip,” and the friends flew into the air.

“Now that’s good thinking,” the old man said as he sat against a log looking through the sack of goodies he’d been given.