The Avatar Returns

"Roku!" I screamed, but it was too late. By the time I had finished the word, the world had changed. Gone were the flames, the erupting volcano, the screams of the Fire Nation villagers below. They were instead replaced by a flat, white landscape. I sank to my knees and held myself, shuddering from the drastic change of intense heat to icy winter. Glancing around, I saw a small village over in the distance. To the left of it, a giant metal ship was approaching.

I wiped away the tears that I wasn't aware that I had made, already frozen to my cheeks. I hated this transition, ripping me away from anyone I had grown to care about and throwing me into a new place, a new conflict. My entire life was just conflict; I despised my own gift that has grown into a curse.

Stumbling forward, I started towards the village. I wasn't able to reach it before the monstrous ship did, though. I heard the gasps in fear as the drawbridge slammed down into the middle of the outpost, and soldiers in red disembarked. I frowned; red was the color of the Fire Nation, which I normally liked. I wondered what this could be about.

Climbing the smooth ice wall proved to be too much of a challenge, so I bended the snow on the ground to form a small ramp. I crept up the improvised bridge and surveyed the scene below. A young boy, dressed in orange and yellow, was twirling his staff and defending against blast upon blast of fire from one of the soldiers, who had a burn mark on his left eye. Suddenly, the fighting stopped, and the younger boy, with blue arrows on his head and hands, shouted out, "If I go with you, will you leave these people alone?"

I frowned. The next Avatar would be an Airbender, and I was always put near the next Avatar with each transition. My duty spurred me on, and I leapt down, forming the air currents to give me a lighter and slightly more dramatic entrance. "Stop!" I shouted, standing between the soldier and the boy. "Don't take him, take me instead."

The soldier, who I could now see was about my own age, growled. "I need the Avatar, now get out of my way!"

I glanced back at the Avatar, then pulled my most desperate card. "He's not the Avatar. I am!" I snapped and a whirl of flame sparked out from my left hand; with my right I reached down under the snow and brought forth a fountain of ice-cold water. "Now leave him in peace!"

The Fire Nation teenager froze. His eyes widened and he grinned. "Now this is fantastic….The Avatar, and one final Airbender! Take them both away!"

"What? No-" I started to shout, but was cut off by a jet of flame that burst into my chest and threw me backwards. I crashed into the Avatar and we both tumbled into an ice wall. The snow slammed down on me and I blacked out.

When I woke up again, I was in shackles. The thump of the engine told me that I was in the Fire Nation ship, most likely headed back to the islands that I was just recently on. Of course, judging by the Avatar that I had seen, it was more like ten or fifteen years since I had been on those islands. I had hoped that nothing would change, but recent events begged to differ.

I glanced around and saw that the Avatar was with me, unconscious, but with only a light rope tying his hands together. I guess they thought I was a bigger threat. I smirked at that; I may be able to control all four elements, but only the Avatar could master them, and become a true balance of nature. I was merely his protector, his guardian, his shadow.

I spoke up, trying to wake the Avatar. "Hey, kid! Hey!"

He groaned and stirred, blinking himself awake. "W-Where am I?" he asked.

"From the looks of things, I would say inside the Fire Nation ship. You alright, Avatar?"

The boy nodded, then looked at me. "You…you bended the elements. How did you do that?"

I sighed. "It's a long story, and one I've told previous Avatars many times. I'm not the Avatar, obviously, but I can bend all four elements. Let's just leave it at that, for now. Also.." I took in a deep breath, then let out a small spurt, sending a shot of fire straight through the rope binding the boy's hands. "Get out of here. If you're quiet, you can sneak away without raising the alarm. I'll keep them believing I'm the Avatar for as long as I can, though eventually they'll figure it out. I can't go into the Avatar State, and they'll find that out soon enough."

The boy nodded and rubbed his wrists. "Thanks…um…I'm Aang."

"I'm Sutol. Now go!" I hissed, sending a small spurt of air at him, sliding him back a few feet. Aang stood and opened the door, but looked back guiltily. "I…I can't leave you here."

I sighed. "It's fine, I can take care of myself. Just leave before they come!" With another breath of air, I sent him into the hallway and shut the door behind him. I heard his footsteps retreat and leaned back, relieved. I had done all I could to keep him safe.

I tugged on my chains, but they were fastened tightly to the wall on both sides of me. At least they gave me enough slack to stand or lay down, though my hands were attached to each other as well as to the wall. I would only be able to do very small bending, not enough to engineer an escape. And if I knew the Fire Nation, these manacles would be impervious to rust or Firebending. The only thing I could do was wait.

About ten minutes later, I felt a huge crash against the ship, and the entire room tilted to one side. I struggled to my feet, and soon the floor leveled out. I couldn't hear much outside of my prison cell and the hallway outside of it, but soon enough there came footsteps, followed by the door bursting open.

The teenager that I had spoken with before glared at me as he entered, his face a mask of fury. "You are NOT the Avatar! Now tell us what you know!"

I blinked, confused. From what I had seen, Aang could only Airbend so far; unless he had gone into the Avatar State, they would have no idea of his power. I froze; that loud crash could only have been made by someone with incredible power, which, given the current situation, meant that Aang had entered the Avatar State. I sighed and sat down, looking up at the angry Fire Nation boy. "You're right, I'm not the Avatar. I can just bend all four elements. It's taken many years, but I learned. As for what I know about that boy, I met him the same time you did. I just knew I had to protect him, and even that failed. But, if I'm correct, he's probably long gone by now, right?"

The boy growled and shot a bolt of flame at me, narrowly missing my head. "You are now my prisoner! And you WILL tell us everything you know, one way or the other!"

An older man with a kindly face put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Prince Zuko, you should calm yourself. He won't answer anything, not now. Let us focus on capturing the Avatar, and leave him be for the time being."

I raised an eyebrow, interested by the turn of events. I hadn't realized that I was talking to royalty.

"But Uncle Iroh…" Zuko started to whine, but the man cut him off. "No! No more complaints. We shall head for where that boy was flying to, now off to bed, Zuko."

Zuko glared at him, but turned and stalked out. I glanced up at Iroh, who was the last to leave. There was something familiar in his face, but I couldn't place it. He smiled at me and, looking behind him to make sure the guards had gone, he walked over and knelt down next to me. "I apologize for my nephew's actions. He can get angry at times. We can't return you to the South Pole now, but I promise to make sure your journey with us is in comfort."

A small smile appeared on my lips at his words. "Thank you, Iroh…by the way, I'm Sutol."

Iroh chuckled and stood up. "Oh, I know, young one. Don't worry, you're in good hands." He turned and left, leaving me to ponder his words. I had no idea who he was, but I liked him. He was obviously very kind, and seemed to possess a lot of wisdom as well. I could feel the power of his Firebending in the way he moved and spoke, too. As to how he knew my name, I couldn't guess just yet, but I had a strong suspicion that I had more of an ally than I thought in him.