Learning to Hide

Summary: The world had changed, and to fit in, he couldn't be himself. AU
Category: Avatar: Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure/Mystery
Rating: T
Characters: Aang

Notes: You know all those 'what if' AU's where Aang wakes up later than in the series? Well, this is one where he wakes up earlier than before.
Notes2: I have edited this and added an extra line based on advice in a review.

...This was a bad idea...

Dark clouds covered the skies, blocking out any light source other than the occasional lightning flashes. Winds he normally would have flowed with worked against him, throwing the boy off his path – not that he ever really had one to begin with. It had been a mindless decision; fight or flight... he should have stayed...

Too late now.

The ocean below him roared, crashing madly. Waves rose and fell in an uneven pattern, tips spraying him when Appa flew too low. He pulled the reigns, but the water was faster, pulling the other way, dragging them down...

It's cold...

Water swirled around him and the bison, numbing and piercing and soft all at once. He tried to hold his breath as they plunged under, but it was too much, and the air escaped him, his own element betraying him. Appa stopped struggling, simply sinking since it was no use trying to get back to the air.

The reigns slipped from his fingers and he couldn't breathe; he couldn't think–

Blue light surrounded him, melding the water and changing it to ice and encircling both the bison and the boy, whose hands were clenched, pressed to together at the knuckles...

Blue faded and the world dimmed.

Sinking... all he could do was sink...

Where... am I?

He lay sprawled on a rock, eerie mist swirling around him. The air was humid, and warm, so unlike it had been just five minutes ago. Was it five minutes ago? Or longer? The boy shook his head, struggling to sit up. It didn't matter. Does it matter?

The forest was weird. Thick trees with hues of green and blue, all dulled, surrounded him, but none were close enough to lean against while he tried to regain his footing. Water flowed around the rock, greenish and weird, but clear enough that he could see the ground underneath it. The wooden structure – what an odd thing in the middle of a forest – supported Aang as he stood, and he stayed close to it as his knees buckled, almost dropping him back down.

After a few minutes, and with a dizzy memory that told him nothing, he looked around, hoping to find a way out or maybe someone who could help.

There was no one. A frog croaked somewhere in the distance.

Aang sighed, deciding the best thing he could do was walk around and maybe find something. Taking a few steps, with his feet now ankle deep in the water, he squinted down at it.

And nearly jumped ten feet high when his reflection changed.

"Calm yourself, young Avatar," the reflection said, which didn't help at all, thank you very much. The man rose from the water, standing in front of Aang with the eerie mist swirling around them both. "I am Avatar Roku, the Avatar before you."

"A-Aang," he stuttered back. And now that introductions were done, can you tell me just what the monkey feathers is going on?!

"Where am I?" thankfully, his voice was level and didn't squeak or crack when he spoke this time. The spirit chuckled softly, swirling his hand to clear some of the mist. Aang hadn't even noticed when it thickened.

"This is the Spirit World. How you arrived here is a little unsettling, but you should know that."

Memory became clearer, and Aang cringed.

"Yes, that was a very dangerous move. Be glad you are still alive, young one," the man criticized, wagging a finger in a way that almost looked like Gyatso. Aang looked down so hopefully the spirit couldn't see his blush.

"But that is not why you are here. We have much to go over before you have to go back."

Aang's head shot up, face pinched, "Go back? Why? The monks are just going to send me away! I can't go back!"

"Aang, you must calm down. Calm your mind; your soul. Otherwise, what I must tell you, you will not hear," the man gently gripped his shoulders, holding him still. Aang didn't want to be calm – not when he was something he never wanted to be. But the man didn't loosen his grip, so really, he had no choice in the matter. Like I ever have a choice in anything...

Letting out a breath, he tried to meditate like Gyatso had taught him. How long ago was that? Two years? Less? ...More? He pushed the thoughts away, staring up at the spirit – Roku. He said his name was Roku – with a neutral face. Roku nodded, but didn't let go.

"You will not want to hear or like what I tell you, but much has changed. We do not have the time to try and make you comfortable with this," he sounded mournful, but Aang didn't know why. What had happened? He'd only been gone for a few days – right?

"The Fire Lord, just three days after your departure, hunted down your people on the day of the comet," Aang felt like his heart had stopped. Spirit World. Wasn't really beating here to begin with. He swallowed, eyes widening. It just... it couldn't be true. The Air Nomads were peaceful; they'd never do anything to make the Fire Nation do something like that.

But the way Roku's fingers dug into his shoulders when he tried to struggle out of his grasp told him that they had. And told him just how much he'd failed his people – failed the whole world – by letting Fire do that. He was the Avatar; he was supposed to stop things like this from happening! Not run away from them!

He felt like he was in an earthquake, which was pretty much the only thing that stopped his self-loathing thoughts. He blinked, saw that Roku was shaking him, and frowned. The man stopped, sighed, but still didn't let go of him.

"There was nothing you could have done, even if you had stayed at the Temple. You are young – and you have only mastered Air, and none of the other three elements. The comet increases the power of Fire – all of those who stood in its path that day were turned to ash. If you were still there, Sozin's goal would have been realized, and the Avatar would have been reborn as Water, and without Air the cycle would have been broken. There would be no hope for the other nations, and Sozin would have won the war before it even began."

"War?" Aang squeaked, eyes widening again. Roku sighed, pulling free one hand when the boy didn't move against him to wave through the mist, swirling it into a kind of window.

"Yes. War. Sozin would not stop at just conquering the Air Nomads – he wanted the entire world. And now he and his descendants battle against Water and Earth, and are so close to defeating them, that the two nations are just barely holding onto themselves. Water in the south is almost gone; Water in the north has closed itself off from the world. Earth is being crumbled slowly by relentless attacks – and the only thing stopping it from breaking completely is Earths perseverance."

The swirling mist steadied, looking clear, but not showing the dull glowing green and blue of the spirit world – instead it showed what looked like a birds eye view of the ocean, with small icebergs littering the somewhat fast moving water.

"I can show you how the world is now, but you must be calm," he stressed the word in such a way and with the look that Gyatso used to use, that Aang felt guilty. He nodded, hoping he wasn't shaking so he looked calm. He was really trying to be, which was all Roku could really ask for, but with everything that he'd been told so far, it was nearly impossible to be calm. Roku seemed to know this, Aang realized by his sigh, but he didn't ask for anything more.

"The world is a mess," he started, the image in the mist changing to show the empty, moss covered temples. Aang waited with a held breath, waited to see the nomads flying around, or the baby bison. But there were none. It was empty, and the way the clouds avoided it was eerie and he didn't want to see it anymore. He turned away, and Roku took that as the cue to switch pictures. With his one hand that still gripping the boy, he nudged him slightly to make him look back. "But some places still live."

The picture now showed men – no, just mere boys – running through the snow, playing some sort of game with each other. Off to the side some few dozen feet, stood a wall of ice and snow. Nothing too specially made, and probably not by any bender, but it stood solid in a way that might protect the village from animal threats and maybe some human ones. Nothing could stop a Fire Navy ship, but it'd been so long since one of those were there that they didn't think they'd need to try.

"The Southern Water Tribe is almost empty of benders, but the men do not let that put a damper on their mood. They can still hunt, and the icebergs do not move more than a few inches when they go fishing, so they are never in any real danger on the water. Sozin wished to crush them by taking away their bending, but he just made them stronger. The fool."

The bitterness in the man's voice made Aang turn towards him, staring in a way that made it known he wanted the details. But Roku just sighed and shook his head, "Sozin was just someone I knew, back when I was still alive. He is probably long dead by now, too, so I cannot hold many grudges against him." Aang nodded, but it didn't really answer his question. He was thinking Roku knew Sozin better than he let on, but didn't press him. The picture changed.

Fire balls flew through the air, angled at the giant stone wall the surrounded lush fields, while the ground on the other side was riddled with craters and was sandy red in color, little to no plants in sight. Metal tanks and komodo rhinos advanced towards the city, the flaming rocks always flying.

Aang almost felt sick.

"Ba Sing Se is strong. Even after continuous attacks like this, the city refuses to fall. The Fire Nation still tries, but they will never gain control of this stronghold," now the man sounded smug, and it only slightly confused Aang. This man was the previous Avatar, yes, but he'd been born in the Fire Nation. Shouldn't he want them to win? Just a little bit? Roku shook his head as if he'd heard the boy, "This whole war is wrong. Fire is not any greater than Earth or Water – or even Air. Without the other elements, Fire will die out. Sozin and Azulon, who leads now, did not seem to think of this. I am... almost ashamed to have been part of that nation."

The picture changed again, but this time, Aang didn't know what he was supposed to be seeing. The water was still, and the only thing near it was an island that looked deserted, with a tall rock face all around it. Beside one of the rock walls, the water rippled with what looked like a slight glow if Aang squinted enough.

"This is where your body is now. You may have saved yourself from that storm by freezing the two of you in an iceberg, but now you have to return to this world. However, the world must not know you live. You have to hide, and to do that, this island is the best place," the man pointed at the glowing water, and Aang remembered that night, and shivered. It was the only thing he could think to do at the time. But hiding away... he didn't think he could to that. "You must," Roku stressed.

"You must to hide the fact that you are an airbender. This island here is close to Kyoshi, but there are few people living here. They will help you hide. And to do that, you must have hair to cover your tattoo," he added with a note of amusement.

Aang made a sound of protest – he couldn't do that! – but Roku would have none of it. He squeezed the shoulder he still held, giving the boy a warning glare, "I know you do not like this – but it must be done! The world needs a hero, but you are not yet ready to take that role. Wait, and learn, and then you can try to help!" his words were sharp like ice and Aang cringed, but still calmed down. There was no use fighting – especially when Roku was right. But one thing still bugged him...

"Roku... how long was I asleep for?"

Roku looked like he wasn't going to answer, then sighed and did.

"You have been trapped in the iceberg for close to seventy years," he held up at hand, to try and stop Aang from reacting, continuing to talk even though Aang wanted to faint, "In thirty years, the comet with come again. You must learn all the elements by then, and stop this war. I am sure you will have plenty of time if you do not stress yourself. Seven years for each element is overkill, so you will make it. Just remember – you have to hide. When going to learn a new element, change your identity. Those on the island will help you prepare.

"Likewise, if my presence is ever needed," Roku gave him a small smile even as the window before them dissolved, "you need only meditate on yourself. The past Avatars are always with you."

With the hand still on his arm, the man moved so Aang was stumbling forward – back to the rock where he first sat when he got here. "Now go!"

And he was stumbling, and light blinded him.

He was cold, his vision limited to darkness, then warm hands helped him up and out of ice and carried him away, warm cloth covering him, the iceberg pulled behind the group. Land was under him and more cloth – blankets – covered him. Darkness still surrounded him, but now it was because of the shelter he was in, not some blindness.

Soothing words that he couldn't hear floated around him, a warm hand on his forehead.

And he slept for what felt like the first time in decades.