-Maya's Point of View-

The rain started to pour as soon as I left the port, and it got heavier as I was searching by the cliffside. I just really hope Katara and Sokka are fine out there in the sea. 

And I hope Aang is also okay. He couldn't have gone far with these strong winds. He must've searched for a shelter somewhere.

I kept flying around searching for a possible place to hide hoping that Aang would be there, when suddenly, I saw a cave by the cliffside. I hurriedly flew to that place to check and see if there would be someone—and there was.

I saw Aang all curled up sitting on the floor. I was all wet and drenched by the rain but I didn't mind. What was important for me during that time was that I was with him—by his side; to comfort him and let him know that he was not alone.

I wasn't saying anything nor was I making a move cause I was cautious at how he would react, but then he suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry for running away," he sadly said. 

"It's okay. That fisherman was way out of line," I replied. 

"Actually, he wasn't," Aang disagreed. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. He slowly looked back at me and then he looked away. 

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied.

"It has something to do with your dream, doesn't it?" I asked as I walked towards him and then I knelt down and softly caressed his back. "Talk to me..." I said to him softly.

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." Aang started but he was interrupted when Appa let out a loud growl as he was entering the cave. He leaned his nose onto his owner as if he was showing that he wanted to comfort him as well. Aang hugged him back and while they were all snuggling together, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. 

"I'm gonna try to start a fire to warm us up," I said and then I went down a bit deeper into the cave and searched for some twigs and stones. 

Once I was able to put up a small campfire, I gathered Aang, Momo, and Appa around it. 

"So, how about now?" I asked—waiting for Aang to finally start explaining. He stared blankly at the fire before finally speaking up. 

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me that I was the Avatar," he started. "I was playing with the other kids just outside the south wall. I was teaching them the new airbending trick I created which I called the 'air scooter'. It was a funny airbending trick I came up with to increase my speed as I chased down the—" he suddenly stopped his narration as he looked at me.

I was looking at him with a big smile and then I gave him a confused look when he stopped. "Why'd you stop? Go on!" I exclaimed. 

He cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, that's unrelated to the story but, while I was teaching my friends the air scooter trick, the head monks suddenly interrupted saying that they needed to speak with me about something. I thought it was just some kind of reprimanding due to my past childish acts. Who would have ever thought that that day would be the day that will change my life forever."

His enthusiasm faded and then he suddenly became all gloomy. 

"They told me that I was the Avatar and they based it off with the toys that I chose when I was little. They said that those toys used to be owned by the past avatars as well, and it was because of that connection with my past lives that's why I chose them. Hence, why I'm the 'Avatar'. Not so much of a reliable basis if you ask me!" he continued with a sort of irritated tone this time.

"So you were upset that you were the Avatar? I would've been thrilled to know if it was me," I asked. 

"Well, I didn't really know what to feel about it. All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing," he answered sadly as he tightly tucked his knees in his arms.

"My friends suddenly stopped playing with me, saying that it was unfair to them since I'm the Avatar. And I can't blame them because it is somehow true, considering that I was also already an airbending master during that time. Hence why I got the arrow tattoos." Aang explained.

"The only one that kept me from dying out of boredom during those times was Monk Gyatso. Every single day in between trainings I would play Pai Sho with him, and although it was getting kind of routinary, I still did enjoy his company. He was the only monk that went easy on me," he continued.

"Everything seemed fine and bearable when he was around—but they just had to ruin it," his eyes suddenly changed like he was suddenly filled with rage and despair.

"Just when I was starting to feel better and start accepting that I was the avatar, something worse happened. They wanted me separated from Monk Gyatso and they planned on sending me away to the eastern air temple to complete my airbending training," he continued with even more sadness in his words.

"That was really awful of them..." I said with great empathy.

"How could they do this to me?! They wanted to take everything I knew and everyone I love!" Aang suddenly shouted as he stood up and flared his airbending inside the cave. 

"Whoa! Hot cinders!" I shouted to make Aang stop his airbending rage because it was sending off cinders from the campfire in front of me.

His tattoo also glowed when he was raging for a bit. I was afraid I was gonna have to deal with the same thing that happened at the Southern Air Temple.

"I'm sorry I got so mad," Aang said as he calmed down and sat beside me. 

"It's okay! You have all the right to be angry. After they sent you away like that? I would've been furious as well," I affirmed to him. 

"Well, that's not exactly what happened," he contradicted. "I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do. I was only a twelve-year-old boy a few weeks before that and then I suddenly became something I didn't want to become. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but being the Avatar does not guarantee you that kind of life. So I..." Aang answered but then he stopped mid-way.

"So you ran away..." I said, continuing the sentence for him. 

"I never saw Gyatso and the others ever since then. It was also a stormy day just like this one when I left the temple. The strong winds and the big waves were hard enough for Appa and me to handle, and that's why we crashed into the ocean. I don't know what happened after that but the next thing I knew, I was waking up in Katara's arms after you guys found me in the iceberg..." Aang continued. 

"Your avatar spirit must've acted up to protect you," I said. 

"Yeah, but I failed to protect everyone else!" Aang said filled with rage once more. 

"Aang, don't be too hard on yourself. You were only just a twelve-year-old boy at that time. Of course, you would've been confused. You only did what you knew was right," I comforted him.

"They said that they weren't supposed to tell me that I was the Avatar—not until I was sixteen," Aang said. 

"Why did they tell you earlier?" I asked. 

"Because they saw troubling signs—some storm clouds forming. They have foreseen a war that was upon us all. They knew what was about to happen! They had already warned me and I didn't listen! The Fire Nation attacked our temples and I wasn't there! My people needed me and I wasn't there to help!" he answered. 

"You don't even know what would've happened if you stayed—" I tried to comfort him but I got interrupted. 

"The whole world needed me and I wasn't there to help!" Aang shouted. 

"Aang..." I tried to console him but he kept on persisting. 

"The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world!" he declared as he looked away. 

"You don't have to blame yourself for everything that has happened. I think you running away was meant to be. If you had stayed, then you would have been killed along with the other airbenders," I comforted. 

"You don't know that," he argued.

"I know it's meant to be this way," I said as I held onto his hand. "The world needs you now, and you are still the avatar, right? Just by coming back from the iceberg alone, you have already given people hope. So don't give up on yourself, 'cause I will never give up on you." I said as I looked deeply into his eyes.

"Thank you, Maya... From the very beginning, I have always relied on your support. I know this must be also probably hard on you, considering that it is your kind that we are fighting up against. But I just want you to know, if ever there is also something that's bothering you, I'm here to listen..." Aang said as he hugged me.

I broke away from the hug as I slowly uttered these words... "Actually, there is something I've been meaning to—"

"HELP! OH PLEASE HELP!"

I was interrupted by the wife of the fisherman when she yelled for help from the cave's entrance. I hurriedly went towards her to help her in. 

"It's okay! You're safe in here," I said as I led her inside the cave. 

"But my husband isn't!" she exclaimed. 

"What do you mean? Where are they? Where's Sokka and Katara?" I asked worriedly. 

"They haven't returned! They should've been back by now! And the storm is becoming a typhoon! They're caught out at sea!" the old lady explained in a state of panic.

"I'm going to find them," Aang declared. 

"I'm going with you!" I said to him. 

"I'm staying here!" the old woman said as she sat down on the ground. 

We prepared ourselves for the possibility of great waves and strong winds, and after that, we went to the cave's entrance—ready for takeoff. "Momo, it's best if you stay here and guard the old lady. We will be back soon, I promise." Aang said and then together with Appa, the three of us flew towards the raging sea.

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-Zuko's Point of View-

I hate it when my uncle is always right because this just adds up to my humiliation of being wrong. Who would've guessed that there was going to be a storm today? There wasn't even a cloud in sight just a few hours ago!

But anyway, we still went on with the course and we didn't stop even though the waves started getting bigger and crazier. 

All of a sudden I heard a loud crashing sound mixed with the sound of thunder. I hurriedly went to the ship's deck to see what was going on and turns out that we were hit by a lightning strike.

It was hard to see because the heavy grey clouds were blocking the sun, but it was clear enough to see that the damage was on the ship's bridge where the helmsman was hanging on for his dear life. 

"The helmsman!" I shouted so that everyone would notice him, who was hanging by a broken steel railing. I hurriedly ran towards the ladder that was leading to the ship's bridge. The ship's captain followed close by. 

I was just a few meters closer to the helmsman when he suddenly slipped and fell. Good thing I was able to catch him on time before passing him to the ship captain who helped get him down safely. 

As soon as I got down on the ship's deck, I suddenly saw the Avatar riding his bison with my half-sister, Maya, on its saddle.

"The Avatar!" I shouted. 

"What do you wanna do sir?" the captain asked. 

I stared furiously at him before realizing the dangers that this storm could bring upon us all. As much as I would like to capture the Avatar dead or alive, I still can't risk involving other people's lives in the matter like my crew, my uncle, and that Maya girl over there.

"Let them go. We need to get this ship to safety," I commanded. 

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm!" Uncle gave out orders and then the crew prepared for a change in course.

I'm letting you go this time because I can't capture you with this raging sea. You just got lucky Avatar. I will still get you someday.

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-Maya's Point of View-

"There's the boat!" Aang shouted as soon as he saw the fishing boat of the old man. It took us a few minutes and a few huge waves before we could find where they were.

I saw Katara trying to keep the water from damaging the boat while Sokka and the old man were clinging to the boat's sail for their dear life.

"Aang we need to help them fast!" I shouted. 

"I know!" he shouted back. We hurriedly flew towards them and as soon as we got close, Aang went to the boat to fetch the three of them. Katara was able to move and escape so I hurriedly reached out for her hand to get her on top of Appa.

Aang was about to fetch Sokka and the old man, when a lightning stroke down on the ship's sail, and broke it. It was about to crush Sokka and the old man but luckily Aang was able to slice it in half with his waterbending skills.

After that, Aang grabbed a rope and he told Sokka to tie themselves together. "Hang on to the rope!" Aang said as he took the other end and flew back on top of Appa. 

Once he was seated, he hurled the rope into a swirl tossing the old man and Sokka from the boat onto Appa's saddle. They looked like two fishes who got caught.

Just when we thought things were over, a huge wave suddenly appeared out of nowhere and it ate all of us up.

We were all submerged underwater. The pressure that hit us made me a bit dizzy and I couldn't move a muscle. But I tried clinging on to Appa's saddle with the best that I could and so did everyone else. 

I thought that we were done for, but suddenly Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed. And then he used his airbending to create a force shield that enabled us to breathe underwater while also using his waterbending skills to navigate Appa underwater.

"Aang! We need to get to the eye of the storm!" I shouted and then he led Appa towards the direction where the eye of the storm could possibly be. After a few minutes of swimming, we arrived at the storm's center.

"The waters seem calm in this area. This must be it," Sokka said.

Aang then led Appa to swim up on the water surface and as soon as we got out of the water, we were greeted by Zuko's fire navy ship. It seems like they were also caught by surprise because they didn't know what to do. I saw him staring straight into us—particularly towards Aang. 

I was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was my half-brother. I suddenly felt sad as if my heart sank. I don't know what to feel and what to do. 

We lost sight of them once we got out of the storm clouds. We hovered over the storm on the way back to the cave where the fisherman's wife was waiting. It was a calm and peaceful flight.

"Oh you're alive!" the old woman shouted as she greeted her husband and hugged her. "You owe this boy an apology!" she shouted at her husband as soon as she broke off from the hug. 

"He doesn't have to apologize," Aang said to the old lady. 

"Hmm... What if instead of an apology, I give him a free fish and we call it even?" the old man negotiated. 

"Actually, I don't eat meat," Aang refused. 

"Fish ain't meat?" the old man said to Aang.

Suddenly Sokka walked closer to the old man as he laid out his hand. "Seriously, you're still gonna pay me right?" he asked. The old man didn't reply to Sokka's question, instead, he reached out to one of his bags and took out a fish to place on Sokka's palm.

"Maya, I think you were right before," Aang suddenly said as he walked towards me. 

"Right about what Aang?" I asked. 

"I'm done dwelling on the past," he answered. I let out a soft smile on my face as I heard what he had to say. "I can't make guesses about how things would've turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it!" he cheerfully exclaimed. 

"I'm just happy you were able to find peace after all that inner storm. I don't think you will be having those nightmares anymore," I said to him as I gave him a tight hug.

"Well if you weren't here now... Well, I guess I wouldn't be either! Thank you for saving my life Avatar," the old man suddenly said as he walked towards the two of us. We both smiled at him afterward. 

"I'm glad that everything's been cleared out now. And just in time with the weather too! The skies have started to clear out also!" Katara said as she pointed outside. 

We all went out of the cave to witness the slow revealing of the sun as the storm clouds faded away. The loud and raging waves have disappeared and the waters have become quiet and steady. Strokes of sunlight were also piercing through clouds.

We all just stood there as we watched the weather become sunny again and it was the most satisfying thing ever.

I looked at Aang and then I placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at me and then he placed a hand on my back. 

If only I was able to say to him the things that were also bothering me. Then I think I would've also been able to release this storm forming inside my chest, but I don't think I will be able to do that now. I guess I will just have to live with this storm until the time comes when it's ready to pour.