Summary: Aang was born 97 years late, and as a result the Fire Nation has managed to conquer Ba Sing Se, Omashu, and the Northern Water Tribe. The Southern Water Tribe was abandoned to avoid being completely wiped out.
Aang's parents were killed shortly after he was born, so the Spirits took over raising him. His childhood has been split between the Spirit World, and the Natural World. After meeting Haru, the Spirit currently raising him says it's time to prepare for his destiny, to restore balance to the world. It tells him to form an Army, starting with Tyro and Haru, so that he has a fighting chance against the Fire Emperor.
Aang learns Air, Water, and Earth bending from three of his past lives.
A/N: Tyro is not a bender in this. Aang and Toph are nine, Katara and Haru are eleven, Sokka is twelve, and Zuko is thirteen. Sozin's Comet is six years away, and Zuko has his scar but is still in the Fire Nation.
94 ASC
Tyro stared at the nine year old boy in front of him in dismay. His son had told him that he'd found the Avatar. That he'd witnessed him bending Air, Water, and Earth. Tyro had been expecting an adult. Or at least a teenager. Not a chubby cheeked child with sad grey eyes.
When Ba Sing Se had fallen fifteen years earlier, Tyro and his wife had barely escaped with their lives. The Northern Water Tribe had fallen five years later. Five years after that, his wife had been killed trying to buy Haru time to escape, to hide. When Ba Sing Se had fallen, the Fire Lord-or Fire Emperor as he was now called-had forbidden bending. Only attractive benders-and firebenders, of course-were permitted to bend, and non-firebenders could do so only for the pleasure and entertainment of the Fire Empire. His wife had sacrificed herself to save their son from that fate.
Tyro sighed. He could hardly believe that he was actually considering the insane, suicidal plan his son and the Avatar had come up with.
"You want to form an army to try and take down the Fire Emperor."
"Yes."
"A nine year old and an eleven year old want to take on the most powerful empire in history."
"It's my destiny. And it'll be years before I'm ready to face him, anyway. I have to finish mastering the elements first." Tyro mulled the boy's words. If he had to choose, he would rather die alongside the Avatar, fighting for what he believed in, then spend the rest of his life running and hiding.
Tyro knelt in front of the boy and placed his hand over his heart. "I swear, Avatar Aang, that I will serve you in taking down Fire Emperor Ozai until my dying breath. I have experience in the Earth King's Army. I can help you form an army, and help you lead your army."
"Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm going to need all the help I can get. And just call me Aang, please."
The Avatar-Aang, Tyro reminded himself, woke him early the next morning. "We have to get to the shore." The shore was several hours on foot from their current location.
"Why?"
"The spirits sent me a dream. They said there will be Warriors from the Southern Water Tribe landing there around midday. Those are our first recruits." The Southern Water Tribe was legendary for its warriors, although the Fire Empire had come down hard on the nation. It was the only nation to not have fallen to the Fire Empire, and it was because of its warriors. If they were leaving, it was not a good sign. Still, trained warriors would a valuable addition to their fledgling army.
Tyro, Haru, and Aang crouched in the underbrush, up a small hill from the bay. They could see that the Water Tribe ships were almost to shore. Aang's spirits had been right. The ships would make landfall right around midday.
"Alright, Aang, here's the plan. When those ships land, you and Haru stay hidden in the underbrush. I'll approach them, and when I'm sure that they're really Water Tribe, I'll signal you so that you can prove to them that you're really the Avatar. Caution is of utmost importance here. If they're Fire Empire soldiers in disguise and they capture you, the world is pretty much doomed."
"The spirits already assured me that they're Water Tribe, and that they would be loyal to our cause." As soon as he'd finished speaking, Aang bounded clear of the underbrush and rushed down to the beach where the ships were being grounded.
"What part of 'caution is of utmost importance' didn't that boy understand?," Tyro muttered under his breath. The warriors looked startled to see him. Aang was apparently trying to convince them he was the Avatar because he caused the leaders hair to be blown about by a mini gale, then bended a little water into the palm of his hand. As soon as he did that, an excited squeal erupted from one of the boats and a girl hurtled out and ran up to Aang. Their leader seemed to be trying to get her to go back to the boat when a slightly larger boy followed her. The leader seemed to give up at this point, and some of the other warriors were laughing. Tyro decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to make his presence known. "Stay here, Haru." He slipped out of the underbrush and down the hill. The girl was speaking to the leader when Tyro reached them.
"Dad, he can teach me Waterbending! This way you don't have to send me and Sokka back." He wasn't sure if Aang had told them about his plan to form an army or not. The leader noticed him at this point and shushed the girl. Tyro introduced himself.
"My name is Tyro. I was a soldier in Ba Sing Se when it fell to the Fire Empire. My wife and I barely escaped, along with a handful of other soldiers. We managed to smuggle the Earth King out, although he was later captured and executed." The memory still made Tyro's heart sink with guilt. Even though it wasn't his fault the Dai Li had turned traitor and handed the Earth King to the Fire Empire soldiers. He had still been one of his personal guards. He should have been able to protect him. "My son met the Avatar a few days ago and introduced us." Tyro gestured at Aang, who smiled broadly at the Tribesmen. "He told me he plans to form an army to defeat Fire Emperor Ozai. I believe that he can succeed, but that he'll need help." Tyro was starting to wish that he had rehearsed what he would say when it came time to recruit new soldiers. He simply hadn't expected to be recruiting so soon.
"What Tyro's trying to ask is, will you join our army to defeat the Fire Emperor? We could use trained soldiers like you, especially since most of our recruits will be untrained civilians." The Avatar smiled broadly at them, then smiled crookedly at Tyro. "You need to work on your recruitment speech," he whispered loudly. Two of the Tribesmen snickered, as did the kids.
"I am Chief Hakoda. These are my children, Sokka and Katara, and my second in command, Batu." Aang squawked, drawing everyone's attention. The girl, Katara, had Aang's chin in a firm grasp and was scrubbing his face determinedly. Aang's left eye was squeezed shut, and he was squirming.
"Well the kids seem to be getting along," Tyro chuckled.
"That's true," Batu agreed. "So how many soldiers are in this army of yours anyways?" Tyro did a quick head count of the warriors gathered.
"Without you? Three. If you join, eighteen. We're just getting started."
"Three? If one of them is the Avatar, where's the other one?"
"My son is in the underbrush up there. I had him wait up there while I talked to you."
Tyro had been traveling with the Avatar for three months now. The sadness that had been in Aang's eyes when they first met was almost completely gone now. Haru was lonely, too. Now that he was traveling with Aang, it was like he had two sons, instead of just one.
Aang was learning Air, Water, and Earth bending from three of his past lives, Avatars Yangchen, Kuruk, and Kyoshi. He was passing on his Earthbending to Haru, and his Waterbending knowledge to Katara. Katara, meanwhile, had established herself as the mother figure of the kids. Especially Aang.
Their numbers had swelled dramatically. Some were escapees from the camps where benders were kept when not performing for the Fire Empire. Others were civilians who were tired of the Fire Empire and its army. Still others were soldiers from before their nations had fallen. The soldiers helped train everyone, while Aang trained all the benders. It would be years before they were anywhere near ready to take on the Fire Empire, but it was a damn good start.