Dawn of a New Prince (Star Wars/Avatar Crossover)

Katara closed her eyes and fell into memory. It hurt, reliving them in this way. It was like a slap in the face, each and every time she saw the truth of what she had done to people she loved and cared for.

She could be so nasty when she was upset and afraid. She had yelled at Aang, when he had proved to be a far quicker learner when it came to waterbending. She had pushed and prodded Toph, only a few days ago, essentially telling the younger girl that no one really cared for her or wanted her around.

She claimed to be kind and generous to all those who needed her. And yet how could she stand by such a claim, when she was, in fact, something of a hypocrite?

Toph thought of her parents. They had to be worried about her, and despite all they--her father--had done to her over the years, she knew they had only done it to protect her. That they loved her so very much.

And she had flung that in their faces and run away to serve her own selfish desires.

She had not run away to help Aang and the others. She had done it so she could have freedom. She was self-serving and arrogant, rough and tough and sarcastic to the point of cruelty. She knew she had put down Sokka on more than one ocassion, and she cared for him more than anything in the world!

It was a wonder she had any friends at all, really.

Aang

Aang closed his eyes as the memory of leaving the Southern Air Temple returned to him. Faced with the possibility of being sent away from Gyatso, Aang had run away, had abandoned his people to fend for themselves against Sozin. He had failed his people...and the rest of the world, for disappearing when they needed him most.

"I failed to protect the people I care about," Sokka commented, grimacing as he thought about what had happened. He wasn't having intense visions like the others, but Pathik still managed to bring his past guilt to the surface.

The Guru nodded, sensing that they were close to opening the chakra. He addressed the group, particularly Aang as he had a feeling that Aang was remembering his running away from the Temple, "Accept the reality that these things happened, but do not let them cloud and poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence on the world, you need to forgive yourselves."

Sokka grimaced, thinking of Yue's last words and grudgingly admitting the Guru was right once again. He took a deep breath and tried to let go of his guilt, which was easier said than done.

Katara and Toph followed suit.

Toph remembered something someone had once told her, not too long ago. Sokka probably... That even if she had run away with bad intentions, she had stayed with them. Despite all the danger, she remained by their side, and would until it was all over, come hell or high water. Most likely she had hurt her parents, but deep down she knew that one day they would be proud of their daughter.

Katara hated the things she had done, but she also knew that she had been forgiven, that she had apologized. She was not perfect. She was allowed to make mistakes, so long as she learned from them. And, through it all, she had her family to help her once she fell.

The girls each drew in a breath and released it, trying to let go of their guilt at the same time.

Aang

Aang dimly nodded at Pathik and realized that Gyatso, or any of the other airbenders, would not want him to feel guilty over their deaths. Whether or not he had stayed, Sozin still would have attacked the Air Temples. He might have even died if he had stayed, too. And even if he hadn't been there for the people of the world before, he was here now, determined to stop the Fire Nation in their tracks.

Keeping that in mind Aang slowly drew and released a breath, attempting to let go of his guilt.

Zareal

The children had gone with the Guru to do some work in the Force, perhaps something like the Jedi Trials. Zareal was not sure if they would succeed in becoming more open, but he had little time to worry about it. There was still someone he needed to recruit if they were going to stand up to Vader.

He walked to Appa and placed a hand on the Bison. "My friend, I need a favor from you," he said, and closed his eyes. "The Princess can help us, I need to retrieve her from the city. Will you help me?"

"Good. You are all doing well," Pathik told them as he rose yet again and gestured for them to follow. As he followed the Guru, Sokka noticed that time had passed rather quickly. The Sun was already rising and he felt more tired than ever, yet, strangely energized. When Pathik stopped at a balcony at one of the highest points of the Temple, Pathik signaled them to sit with him.

"Any particular reason you're leading us around the Temple?" Sokka asked dryly, only for the Guru to chuckle.

"This place, as I've said before, is strong in the Force. Certain places at this Temple are make it easier for you to face the imbalances within and opening certain chakras. Anywhere else, and you'd be having a decidedly more difficult time," the Guru told him.

"Yeah. Great. Stupid mystic stuff..." Sokka muttered, conveniently forgetting how he should be more tired than he was.

"Moving on," Pathik said, ignoring Sokka once again, "Third is the Fire chakra, located in the stomach. This chakra deals with will power and is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?"

Sokka scowled. This sounded like the last one, but, once again, he felt a different memory at the back of his mind. He had lied to the Spirit in that library in the Desert, causing it to collapse the library. The Professor that went with them refused to leave and Appa was stolen, all thanks to him breaking a promise.

Toph and Katara concentrated once more.

Toph thought much like Sokka, that this was similar to the last question. And yet more memories pored through her. Most of it revolved around her parents. She desperately wished, sometimes, that she could be the daughter they wanted, and not the brash, blind earthbender she was and always would be. She wished she had left them something, so they would not worry over as much, to let them know that although she was angry with them...

She didn't hate them. She loved them.

Did they know that? That she fought so hard... for them?

Katara felt herself wishing she could do more for Aang than she had in the past. He had been hurt so many times, and no matter what she did, it always felt worthless. Not nearly enough...

Aang

As he closed his eyes, Aang remembered the first time he practiced with firebending. He had been foolish and arrogant, and had ended up burning Katara. Even if it had been an accident, it had been something the Avatar had never forgiven himself for. And then the battle of the previous day came to mind. Aang had failed to protect his friends, and because of him, Toph had lost part of her arm. If not by sheer luck, they all could have died there.

Appa

The giant bison eyed the Jedi before slowly nodding his gigantic head.

Zareal

"Thank you," Zareal said and jumped up, landing softly at the reigns. "What was that phrase Aang says," Zareal asked, scratching his head. "Zap zap? No. Whoopee? No, that's far too silly. Oh, now I remember. Yip yip."

"We all have disappointments within ourselves," Pathik told the teenagers calmly, having an inkling of their visions, "You must accept who and what you are. None of us are perfect. Let go of the shame and resolve to do better in the future."

Sokka nodded, breathing in and out once again. The Guru was right yet again. He was willing to do whatever it took to protect who he loved. He just needed to remind himself of the possible consequences of his actions.

Toph and Katara followed suit, each releasing a breath, and with it some of their shame. Their stances relaxed considerably, though Toph shivered once she had finished.

"Wow. This is all one big head-rush," she mumbled.

Pathik gave a light chuckle, "I did say this was an intense experiences. It's not everyday that you cram decades of training in such a short time."

"Yeah, yeah," Sokka told him dryly, "Just as long as we're able to beat Vader. My head's killing me."

At that, Sokka felt himself get hit on the head with Pathik's staff.

"Patience!" Pathik told him sternly before looking sheepish, "Forgive me. Master Yoda used to do that all the time. I believe this is called a learned behavior."

Sokka groaned, rubbing his head, "Why is it that I get hurt wherever we go?"

Pathik gave the boy a small smile before turning to Aang, "Calm yourself, Aang. You must forgive yourself."

Aang

Aang nodded at Pathik and slowly released another breath. After a moment he looked more peaceful.

Appa

With a loud rour the flying bison took off into the sky. It sped away from the Eastern Air Temple and started to head for Ba Sing Se.

"Good," the Guru said, smiling a bit, "Now, the fourth chakra is located in the heart. It deals with love, and is blocked by grief."

Sokka frowned, grimacing a bit as he remembered what it was like to lose his mom. The funeral afterwords was terrible, especially for Katara. Then there was Yue. Losing her just as he was beginning to love her broke his heart.

Sokka was correct in his guess as to what came to Katara's mind. She clearly remembered the day their mother had died. It had been awful, the days following Kya's murder. Their family had been broken.

She still cried, sometimes, wishing Kya was still with them.

Toph thought of her own parents, but it was a different sort of grief from Katara's or Sokka's. She had not lost loved ones, after all.

She remembered how hurt and betrayed she had felt, once her parents had decided that, despite what had happened in the ring, she was to be guarded all hours of the day.

It was as if... as if her father would never truly be proud of his daughter, no matter what she did. She would always be weak and helpless and fragile... She knew, of course, that no one knew she existed.

Were her parents ashamed of her?

And then, a different sort of feeling... The sorrow that the boy she liked would never look at her that way...

Aang

Aang thought of the Air Nomads, especially Gyatso, and their love for him. It was terrible, to know that he was the last living Air Nomad, the last of his kind. All of them, they were gone for good...

Appa

After several hours of traveling Appa came within range of the grand city of Ba Sing Se. It landed out of sight from any towers on the Outer Wall, but still within walking range to the wall.

Zareal

Zareal hopped off of Appa and put a hand on his side. "Thank you, stay here and rest. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, and pulled his hood up over his head. He walked toward the outer wall, and cast an aura of insignificance around him. No one would regard him as odd unless they were looking for him, or recognized him, or he stopped drawing on the force to power it. He came closer to the wall and a serious question dawned on him. "How am I supposed to get in now," he asked himself.

"You have all indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us," Pathik intoned, "Aang, the Air Nomads love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love. Katara, Sokka, your mother and Yue are one with the Force now and that is not such a bad thing. And Toph, there is love where you least expect it."

Sokka frowned, thinking on the Guru's words. He took a deep breath and gasped as he saw a brief image. An image of someone that he had been looking the same way until just recently.

"Toph?" he asked, shocked.

Toph started out of her reverie--one in which she acknowledged that she loved her parents, and despite their overprotectiveness they loved her too, no matter what--when she heard Sokka's voice.

"What?" she said.

Katara smiled at the idea of her mother as being one with the world, one with her. She had always felt that Kya was watching over them from somewhere, and that she was with her children even now. It was a comforting thought. To hear it aloud was even more wonderful.

And even more wonderful was the knowledge that she had found a new love in Aang.

Spirits, she wished Toph had not interrupted them!

Aang

Aang nodded at the Guru and smiled as the image of Katara came to his mind. It was a great feeling, knowing that Katara loved him. Aang opened one eye and looked to Toph and Sokka with some interest. What was going on between them, now?

Sokka felt himself blush as he tried to come up with an answer. To tell the truth, he thought she looked cute in the moonlight now that the Sun has set. He scratched the back of his head.

"Um," he intelligently said, his heart beating faster than ever, "You, um, have nice... hair?"

Pathik felt himself chuckle at the exchange, though it made opening the seventh chakra a sad necessity. He spoke, "Moving on, the fifth in the chain is the Sound chakra, located in the throat. It deals with truth, and is blocked by lies. The ones we tell ourselves."

My hair is nice? Toph offered a rare blink. What the heck is he talking about?

She did not have a chance to ask Sokka bout it. The guru had them move on to the next chakra. The thoughts flowed through her, just as they had before, and she drew in a breath.

She was always acting so tough and rough around the edges, independent and no nonsense. She did not need anyone or anything, despite being blind, and she was always going out of her way to prove she was not weak.

But was that the entire truth?

Aang

Aang closed his eyes again and began to think. What he had told Katara, upon her and Sokka first discovering he was the Avatar, came to his mind. He had never wanted to be the Avatar. He was just a kid, after all! How could he save the world when he was still just a child? How could they expect him to bring balance to the world, when he had run away from his destiny?

Sokka frowned, trying to think of any lies he had been telling himself. After a few moments, he remembered how he had dismissed anything spiritual in the world, from the Swamp with its visions to mysticism evolved with bending. Maybe he should accept there were some things the defied logic. It was a scary thought, not knowing, but it was better than being ignorant, right?

"You cannot lie about your own nature, Aang. You must accept that you are the Avatar," the Guru told the boy, as though reading his thoughts.