Ablaze || Aang x Reader

2: The Awakening

I stood in a shallow pond. It split into smaller streams that lead to other ponds. Small land hills broke the surface of the water, coated in faded green grass. Thin sheets of fog wafted lazily above the water.

Droopy, ancient trees grew out of the pond, some others with roots in the land hills. Thick, green-almost-brown vines hung off the trees, twisting and weaving between branches.

I didn't know how I got there. I was just there, as if I had lost my train of thought. I kept looking around myself and spotted a humanoid monkey. He seemed to be meditating but I could have also just chugged some cactus juice from Kuzon. It could be a hallucination.

I trudged through the pond, its crystal-clear water adding little resistance.

"Hey Mr. Monkey? Do you know where I am?" I asked.

"Ohm..." he chanted, either ignoring me or not noticing me in the first place.

"Sir?"

"Ohm..."

"Excuse me? Sir?"

"Ohm..!" His voice raised.

"Hey! I'm trying to talk-"

"OHMMM!!"

"SIR! I JUST WANNA KNOW WHERE I AM!"

"Aish! Just follow that thing, it'll probably lead you somewhere." He shooed me away, pointing at a light ball that was floating around aimlessly.

I chose to do what the monkey said, so I chased the light ball. It floated away from me as I got closer. It eventually led me up a tree and then crashing head-first into yet another shallow pond. I cringed as I got back up, rubbing my head.

I decided to just take a small break so I sat at the border of land before the pond, dangling my legs into the crystal clear water.

I stared solemnly at my reflection in the pond. I noticed that I was a mess. Most of the injuries I had sustained in the ambush had healed, but my entire left arm had a healed burn. There were also several blade scars littering my skin, including one lining my right cheekbone.

I continued to stare. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know how I got here. I vaguely remembered the ambush, but it hadn't really sunk in

I nearly zoned out when I noticed that my reflection began shifting. Slowly, it morphed into an old man, seemingly from the Fire Nation.

"Ah, Y/n. Good to finally meet you." He greeted me.

"Ew, how do you know my name?" I asked.

"I am Avatar Roku, the Avatar before you."

"Oh. Aren't you dead though?"

"In the mortal world, yes. But not here in the spirit world."

"Woah, I know that- this place! Monk Gyatso told me about it!"

I looked around myself in wonder. Now that I knew that this was the spirit world, I took the time to take in all the details and features. Looking back, the spirit world has a whimsical air to it.

I looked back to Roku.

"Why am I here, though? Last I remember I was... fighting the Fire Nation and... " it just dawned on me what my situation was, "Aang left me to fight the Fire Nation alone, and I'm the only survivor."

"You are not the last airbender, Y/n." Roku said.

"What?"

"Aang ran away, but he still survived. He was caught in a storm with his animal guide and subconsciously used the Avatar State to save himself. Your spirits, though separate, are connected through the Avatar Spirit. When he entered the Avatar State, you came with him. But because you didn't need the Avatar State at the time, you just entered the spirit world."

"So how do I get out of here, and also how long have I been here?"

Roku sighed, "Y/n, your body has been in the Air Temple Sanctuary for one hundred years."

"... What?"

I was shaken to my core. One hundred years. I had missed out on one hundred years of my life. The world has gone one hundred years with no Avatar to maintain peace. What state is the world in now? War? Chaos? General calamity?

"By body do you mean corpse or shrivelled wrinkled one-hundred-and-twelve-years-old-and-somehow-still-alive body?" I asked.

"No, nothing ages in the Air Temple Sanctuary. You're one hundred years older than you appear."

I moved aside so I could see my reflection in the water. I didn't look a hundred and twelve, just as if I had been through more than what someone my age should have.

"So... what's the world like now?" I asked solemnly.

"The attack on your people was just the beginning. The Fire Nation has initiated a war lasting one hundred years. They've taken control of almost the entire world. The world needs you and Aang to come together and end the war, or it may end altogether."

"Shit." I muttered underneath my breath, "So how do I get out of here?"

Roku reached his hand out to me.

"I'll guide you, but only this once." He said.

I reached my hand towards the water. The moment the tip of my finger created a ripple, I saw a bright white light. I was back in the darkness before I could process anything.