A/N: This is an AU where Aang and Korra are both Avatar at the same time due to Aang dying for a few minutes when Azula hit him with lightning. You will learn more details throughout the story.
"Come on Korra! You can do it!" The twelve year old girl opened her eyes, sighing at yet another interruption.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to go into the Spirit World with you all watching me." She frowned, looking at the faces of her four young friends, only they shared the secret of Korra being the new Avatar. The young waterbender was too afraid to share the information with anyone else.
It's because Bolin keeps bothering, you isn't it?" Mako glared at his brother. Korra shook her head, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. Asami nodded in understanding.
"Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?" Opal asked with a smile.
"No. I just need to do this by myself." The young Avatar got up, leaving her friends behind to find a quieter place to meditate. It was another attempt at trying to connect to the Spirit World and she didn't know what to do, she hadn't figured out how to get there yet. There were no airbenders around to give her guidance on the ancient ways of spirituality. After a few hours of sitting quietly and focusing on her breathing, Korra managed to find her way into the other world.
…
Keep it up!" Zuko cheered, rooting for Aang who was sparring blindfolded against Toph in an earthbending match. Sokka had bet that Toph could still take the fully realized Avatar even after twelve years of traveling together. Zuko thought age brought more finesse to Aang's fighting techniques. The two twenty-four year olds had gladly agreed to a friendly fight to see who was right.
Looks like you're going to be in charge of doing the dishes for the rest of the week, Zuko! Sokka jumped up and down in anticipation as Toph got in a few good hits.
"Oh leave him alone Sokka." Katara wrapped her arms around Zuko's waist, kissing his cheek as she watched the little match. The waterbending master and the new Fire Lord had been a couple ever since the Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula over a decade before.
When Zuko had been hit with the lightning, Katara had realized she was more upset at the thought of losing Zuko than she had ever been about losing Aang. When she was kneeling beside Zuko trying to heal him, Katara had felt like lightning had hit her own heart. Deep down she knew that she loved the firebender, it had taken almost losing him to make her see it. Adolescent Aang had been crushed when they told him, but respected Katara enough to let her find her own happiness. Aang was happy enough just to be Katara's best friend.
"Yeah, leave me alone Sokka." Zuko laughed, then turned back to the match. Aang was getting increasingly slower and slower until he passed out altogether.
"Aang!"The friends on the sidelines ran over to where Toph was crouched over the airbender.
...
"What's going on?" Aang asked out loud to nobody in particular. "Am I in the Spirit World? I don't remember meditating..." As if the Spirit World itself were trying to answer the question, the ground began to shake under Aang's feet. Trees and shrubs whizzed past him as he was transported by the world around him, finally coming to a stop in a little meadow. Aang looked around trying to get his bearings, something seemed different about the Spirit World today, but what could it be?
"Who are you?" Young Korra asked, coming up behind Aang. That was what was different. How could another person be in the Spirit World?
"I'm Aang…" The airbender smiled, crouching down so he was closer to Korra's height. "Who are you?" He asked, being friendly as always.
"I'm Korra." She replied, still wondering about the man in front of her. "How are you here?"
"Well that's easy! I'm the Avatar, I'm the bridge between the Spirit World and the Physical World. A better question is how are you here? I've never seen another person in the Spirit World." Aang watched as Korra's face fell and she took a few steps back.
"No! You're lying!" She turned and ran from him, not believing the story about him being the Avatar since that's who she was herself.
"Wait! Come back Korra! I'm not lying!" Aang being twice Korra's age caught up to her quickly, placing both of his hands on her shoulders to stop her.
"You're lying! You aren't the Avatar!" Korra's eyes filled with tears, she was afraid and very confused. "Only one person can be the Avatar!" Korra buried her face in her hands, terrified but at the same time compelled to confess her identity to Aang. "I'm the Avatar."
"What?" Aang held his head in his hand, confused himself. "There's always only ever been one Avatar. It has been like that since the beginning. Are you sure you're the Avatar?"
"I'm sure." Korra nodded, trying to produce a flame in her hand to prove to Aang that she was telling the truth. Her eyes grew large when nothing happened, she tried a few more times before Aang spoke up.
"It's okay, bending doesn't work in the Spirit World." He sighed, sitting down in the lotus position before her. "Sit. I want to figure this out with you." Korra obliged, sitting cross-legged in the soft grass, something about Aang made Korra feel like she could trust him.
"How are we going to figure this out?" She sighed, picking at a few blades of grass. Aang sighed, realizing he was doing the same thing.
"Okay, so let's start here. I'm an Air Nomad, which means the next Avatar should be a member of the Water Tribe." He looked her over, noticing her bright blue eyes and her traditional Water Tribe clothes. Korra laughed.
"Yes. I come from the Southern Water Tribe."
"Cool. I come from the Southern Air Temple." Aang smiled, watching Korra light up at the similarity of southern roots. "What have your masters told you about your bending?"
"I…" Korra bit her lip, dreading this part of the conversation. "I don't have any masters."
"What do you mean?" Aang looked puzzled, even though he'd gone about training with masters in a round about sort of way, he'd still had masters to teach him.
"I mean I don't have any masters!" Korra crossed her arms, looking away from Aang.
"But if you're the Avatar then wouldn't someone have told you and started training you?"
"Nobody ever came and told me. I figured it out on my own when I learned that I could waterbend, earthbend, and firebend. I'm still working on airbending but I haven't been able to do it yet."
"Wait a second! You mean to tell me that nobody know's you're the Avatar?" Aang stared at the girl before him.
"Well only four people know besides us. I'm too scared to tell anyone." Korra picked at more grass. "Does that make me bad?" She looked up at Aang, her blue eyes shining. Aang sighed, remembering the time that he hadn't wanted anyone to know he was the Avatar either.
"No, that doesn't make you bad. You need to embrace your life as the Avatar though. You need to learn." Aang passed on the wisdom Katara and Sokka had taught him in hopes of saving Korra the trouble of figuring it out on her own. "We're getting off topic. We need to sort this out."
"You're right." Korra let herself fall back into the grass. Aang sighed, thinking for a while.
"How old are you?" Aang asked suddenly getting an idea.
"What?" Korra propped herself up on her elbows, wondering why Aang had asked that specific question.
"Korra are you twelve?!" Aang grinned, hoping he'd figured out what had gotten them into this mess.
"Yes…" Korra sat up. "What does that have to do with anything?" She was looking at the airbender like he'd grown a second head. Aang jumped up.
"I think I know what happened! According to the monks, the Avatar Spirit moves on to the next element in the cycle when the acting Avatar dies. I died when I was twelve years old, I'm twenty-four now so that means you were born when I was twelve!"
"I didn't ask for a math lesson Aang." Korra rolled her eyes, then the meaning of what Aang had said really sunk in. "What do you mean, died?!"
"I was in a fight against the Fire Princess and my friend Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs-" Korra cut him off.
"You were fighting against your friend?" She raised an eyebrow looking at Aang skeptically, he laughed.
"Zuko is the Fire Lord now. He used to be bad, but now he's good, it's a long story. Anyway, his sister Azula shot me with some lightning and I ended up dying." Aang frowned, thinking back to that day and how Katara had saved his life. "My best friend Katara saved me, but I'd been dead for a few minutes before she revived me."
"Wow." Korra stood up, looking at him in awe. She didn't know what else there really was to say.
"The Avatar Spirit must have been split when it was leaving me to go to you… Maybe that's how I got here without meditating."
"Well, this is my first time in the Spirit World." Korra reminded him, smiling when she realized that she'd accomplished something that was a big deal for an Avatar all without training.
"Our paths are intertwined now Korra." Aang smiled down at his new friend. "You're the Avatar just as much as I am."
"So we're both the Avatar." Korra smiled. "Does that mean we're like brother and sister?" Her youth shown through in the question, but Aang welcomed the idea.
"Yeah." Aang smiled. "In a way we are like brother and sister."
"I don't know what we're going to do now." Korra sighed. "It was easy for me to trust you once I realized you weren't lying. I wish you could help me become a better Avatar."
"Maybe I can, Korra. We should meet up again." He told her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder.
"But I don't know how I even got here in the first place. I don't think I can do it whenever I want, I've been trying to do this for a few months now." Korra looked at the ground, but Aang tilted her head up so she was looking again.
"Don't be sad." Aang sighed, thinking of possible solutions. "I got it! I'll meet you in the Physical World. Maybe I can take you with me to meet my friends. Between the six of us in my group we have a master of every element and two of the worlds best hand to hand fighters." Aang clapped his hands together. "It's perfect! What do you think?"
"It might be okay." Korra's mood brightened at the idea. "What will you tell my parents?"
"What do you mean?" Aang hadn't thought of the idea that Korra might have parents who wouldn't approve of this plan on account of him not having an authority figure when he was twelve.
"My parents don't know I'm the Avatar." Korra looked away from Aang, ashamed. "Do you think you could just show up and I could pretend I didn't know?" Korra's eyes shone with unshed tears, but Aang knew he couldn't lie.
"How about we come up with that plan when the time comes?"
"Okay, Aang." Korra smiled half-heartedly. "I'm going to miss you big brother." Aang stooped to her level, hugging her gently, he was already rather fond of sharing the Avatar Spirit with her.
"You'll see me in a few days little sister. Where do you live?"
"I live in Republic City."
A/N: More explaining will happen as the fic develops, I promise.
Also, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all my friends from the forums who are reading for helping me out with this when I needed it! Biggest thank you goes to elations, who I've PMed countless times about this AU.