This. Everything. The situation. It was so unreal. A dream, almost.

In fact, most of my life had felt like a dream. I was a waterbender. Bending was my favorite thing in the world to do. Every time the water moved at my will, I felt magical. I practiced everyday. I would wake up with the sun and practice and practice, learning new tricks and moves and sometimes I would even create my own. I learned I could waterbend at a young age, and the people in my village helped me learn.

And then, when I turned 16, I learned I was the new avatar.

At first I was panicked. The village elders had kept this bit of information to themselves. But when my family found out, well, I heard my mom talking to some of my relatives about my dad.

I didn't think much of it at first. Actually I didn't think about my dad for a long time. Because it wasn't too long after my birthday that she showed up. She stormed into the village, angry flames flying in every direction.

I, along with several other waterbenders, attempted to take her down, to keep the other villagers safe. I stood on the front lines, throwing everything I had, every bit of waterbending talent at the forefront of my mind, but she still got by me. All it took was a comment.

"Where is he?" she had shouted hysterically. "Where is the avatar?"

Taken by surprise, she kicked me out of the way and I had crashed through a pillar of ice and snow.

"He's not here," a voice had said angrily, but firmly. The voice belonged to my mother.

"Mom," I grunted, trying to stand up. "She's—"

"I know who she is, Kaya," she had said softly, despite the angry look on her face.

"Where is he?" the woman snapped, getting into an unfamiliar stance. I had glanced at a few different forms of bending from the other nations, but this wasn't one I recognized.

That's when the warriors showed up. But several of my people got hurt. Hurt because of me. Because I was the avatar.

"Everyone makes mistakes," a wise voice murmured soothingly.

I opened my eyes in surprise. There I was, sitting in my tent just thinking, and the next thing I new, a young man was sitting in front of me.

"Who are you?" I asked. Simultaneously, I inspected him and knew who he was milliseconds after I asked.

"I am Aang, the avatar before you," he smiled kindly. "And if there's one thing I know about, it's making mistakes."

"So I've heard," I muttered. Aang laughed. "But still. I let my mother get hurt. People in my village are suffering because of me."

"In my lifetime, as short as it was, I learned that being the avatar was both a blessing and a curse. Your mother will heal, Kaya."

"I should have stopped her," I ground out, clutching my legs to my chest and burying my face in my knees.

"But you didn't run away."

"Oh, sure!" I snapped. "That's great! I may be weak, but at least I didn't run away!"

Aang sighed. "I found out I was the avatar when I was twelve. They were going to send me away from the only family I had. I ran away. I ran away right when the world needed me most. My entire race died because I ran"

"And you disappeared for a hundred years."

"If you don't want to see your family get hurt, then get stronger."

"What?" I looked up at Aang, surprised.

"Master the four elements and protect everything that's precious to you," Aang advised.

I contemplated this. I could do it. I knew I could. It was there, something in the back of my mind. A nagging feeling; some familiar déjà vu of sorts. Of course. I'd done it before. I could do it again. And then I could protect my mom and my village. Maybe even the world.

"How?" I asked, rolling forward onto my knees, a determined grin playing on my lips.

"First you must master earth, then fire, then air. You've already mastered water." I nodded, and then my smile fell.

"But wait, how am I going to learn air if there are no air benders left?"

"That's actually a good question," Aang laughed and I sighed and shook my head.

"Seek out a good bending masters. Toph Be Fong taught me earthbending. Find her. Ask her to do me one last favor."

I laughed in surprise. "I know Toph! I haven't seen her since I was a little kid!"

"And firebending…" Aang scratched his head in thought. "I guess his title would be Fire Lord Zuko now. He taught me firebending."

My jaw dropped. "Fire Lord Zuko taught you?"

"Yup!"

I ran a hand through my hair. Wow.

"Kaya," Aang said, serious now. "As the avatar, it's your duty to keep the four nations in balance. No one nation can contain more power than another. The girl that attacked is a dangerous bender."

"How do you know?" I asked quietly, feeling the weight of his words.

"Her name is Azula. She's Zuko's sister. Back when I was avatar, her father, Fire Lord Ozai, tried to take control of the entire world. He was carrying on the plans made by Fire Lord Sozin back during the time of the avatar before me, Avatar Roku."

"So what does all that have to do with me? What am I supposed to do?" Was so much really expected of a 16-year-old girl? Was I really supposed to babysit the world and keep peace?

"I defeated Fire Lord Ozai. Together with the new Fire Lord, Zuko, we started to rebuild what was lost and returned peace to the nations. I cannot tell you what your destiny is. That's something you have to discover on your own."

I leaned back and crossed my arms. "And what if I can't do it? What if I fail?"

Images of fiery skylines and destroyed villages, lifeless bodies and bloodied soldiers passed through her mind's eye. What if she could live up to the high expectations set by her past lives?

"I know you'll succeed. People make mistakes. You can't do it alone." I frowned at that. "But the people who love you, your friends and family, will always be there to help."

I sighed. "Yeah, you say all that, but how do you know?"

He grinned. "Because you are my daughter."