Note: This is an OC fic. However, characters from ATLA and LOK will be referenced later on.

Full summary:

Air…

Earth…

Water…

Fire…

It's been three turns since Aang on the Avatar Cycle, and the world isn't how he left it. It is torn, as a disease that threatens not the body, but the soul, sows war and chaos among Fire, Water, Earth and Air… a disease that, troubling as it is, may come from the world he lives in now: the Spirit World. Meanwhile, a young boy named Shin is named the new Avatar. In this world where everything has been taken from him, Shin must give everything if he chooses to save it- which may mean destroying Aang's.

Daisies. White, red, yellow, sometimes purple daisies, their stalks climbing over each other's leaves, glowing with sun- the bright flowers surrounded a fourteen-year-old boy and his seven-year-old sister, similar dark eyes and hair alight with their colors. They were playing a difficult game of Hide and Seek, with the Hider trying to cling to what little shade he could find in the area; his Seeker, trying not to be too good, as their Fire Nation black-and-white coloring stood out starkly in the foliage... Or rather, when that had proven futile, the Hider used it as an excuse to get out of the sun; his sister took to Seeking purple daisies instead early on.

"... Six... seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... aaand one hundred!" Eri counted quickly, not bothering to cover her eyes as she cheated, looking around. "Ready or not, here I come!" She then yelled, standing, but did not make a single move to find her older brother. She just stayed where she was, instead looking for a flash of purple among the dancing daisies. Shin was watching under a tree a ways behind her, as she whispered to her beloved flowers, asking if the rarer Purple family was anywhere to be found and if they could pretty please tell her where...

We should go now, he was thinking. It was mid-afternoon, and Shin was positive their parents were getting concerned with their absence- but whenever he got nervous and made to leave, the sight of her laughing with her daisies would make him pause. She'd caress a yellow daisy and he'd relax, assured he'd come up with a good excuse why they'd been gone so long while she played some more... In reality, the good excuses disappeared the longer they stayed out, but no threat of later tanning could make him say it wasn't worth his time (and hide) to make Eri the happiest she's ever been.

His sister singled out a red daisy, pouting, "why won't your siblings reply to me?" when they proved no help. And because she had her brother wrapped around her little finger, Shin then revealed himself to wrap his hands around the flower, thinking he had just the way to make her feel better. "W- what are you doing?" Eri asked in confusion, but Shin just grinned mischievously at her. "You'll see," He said excitedly, before leaning down to whisper something to the flower himself. She furrowed her eyebrow at his action, curious why he was playing along with them, before gasping when the plant sprouted another flower. It was an elusive purple, and she watched joyfully as both red and purple daisies then intertwined around her fingers...

"What did you say to it?" She asked with wonder, unable to tear her gaze away to address her brother.

"I asked why she wouldn't tell you what you wanted to know," Shin said warmly, pleased at her expression of wonder. "And it said to me..."

"...RISE AND SHINE, little Avatar! Rise and SHINgetyourassdownhere!" A voice crooned in what it might've believed was a soothing melody, but was really a squawk that sent Shin careening unpleasantly back to reality. "Haha- get it? Rise and Shin, get your ass down here?" The voice continued as the now nineteen-year-old raven cringed, looking at the door as it was slammed open. "I'm so funny, not that I want to repeat myself a third time if you don't get it..." His friend, Li, hollered brightly as he burst into view, dyed blonde hair brighter than anything in the broody Avatar's room- and thus making Shin want to burn it into a pile of ashes on his head. He gave the boy a scowl so fierce the boy was lucky he was Shin's best friend, because any other would really have to look forward to a pile of ashes on their head.

"Oh, you're awake!" Li noticed, giving his shirtless form a grimacing once-over. "And yet, you've made no move to get ready for our Council meeting, I see..." When Li proved impervious to Shin's withering glare, the Avatar groaned half-sufferingly at the reminder and half- what Li could only ambiguously translate as a 'fuck you'. "Thanks, good morning to you to then." He mumbled, later adding a quiet "sourpuss" under his breath.

As the raven then rolled over to burrow his head into his pillow and away from the sight of Li's face, Li busily rummaged through his closet, tsking at the lack of color- before throwing a black shirt and a pair of jeans at the drama queen- "Hmph!" Shin saluted a rude finger at the blonde's general direction.

"Get ready in five minutes," Li only sternly replied to the gesture. "Oh, and we're taking my bike to get to the palace." Shin was up and about the moment he finished speaking.

"Wait- your bike? You're kidding, right?"

Li was not kidding. As Shin resisted his need to throw up, imagining sicking all over Li's stupid colored hair, he got off the motorcycle on shaky legs.

He threw his helmet at Li, causing him to grunt as he caught it with his chest, and the pale passenger gave the bad driver a look.

"Hey." Li spoke up, clearly sensing the Avatar's anger. "I wasn't that bad, right?"

Shin only sharpened his glare, his piercing onyx eyes giving Li his answer.

Nervously, and still holding up the helmet, Li put his hands up in self-defense. "'Jeez, Shinny. There's no need to act like a dick."

Sighing and refraining from punching Li for the nickname, Shin decided there was just no winning here. He turned away, proceeding to head inside the Fire Lord's quarters, with Li's footsteps soon quickly catching up after his own.

The two ended up entering a small room, with each royal guard they passed by making way for them. At the center of the enclosure was a brunette boy around their age, framed spectacles set over his hazel eyes. A stack of documents were neatly placed on his right, with a smaller pile on his left.

"Yo, Ming!" Li greeted the boy, who was obviously irritated by the sound of his voice.

Ming gently placed his calligraphy brush down, before rounding on them and sternly crossing his arms. "You're late."

He lightly tapped his fingers on his arm continuously, indicating he wanted an answer for the reason of their tardiness. When none of them replied, he fiddled with his glasses and purposely gave out a loud ahem.

"Aw man… just you today? Where's Ijen when you need him?" Li pouted, having missed the brunette's silent cue.

Ming's eyebrows furrowed reproachfully at the lack of formality. "The Fire Lord is currently participating in another session. He cannot be acquainted with you today. Anyway, as for why you are here…"

"You are summoned here today," Ming began, "to initiate the project to start the training for Shin's waterbending."

"Objection!" Li banged his hands on the desk, causing Ming's documents to fly off the table in a mess. A look of frustration and disapproval crossed Ming's face before he bent down, muttering several profanities while quickly picking up the papers. He huffed, before sitting down elegantly and asking Li why.

"Pfft… those waterbenders are assholes. Can't say they'd be willing to cooperate with us." Li retorted, slightly irked by the thought. He scratched his head, ruffling his blond hair messily. "Not just assholes, but cowards too. What type of people would just isolate themselves from the world like that?! Jeez… We could have used their help too with their healers and stuff…"

Ming coughed in reply, with Shin having no remark. "And…" the secretary started once again, partially agreeing to the blond's point. "These 'assholes' can help Shin with his training. What's an Avatar that can only bend fire and air?"

"But…" Li stood up quickly, about to counter Ming, but the bespectacled boy continued his ranting further. "The Disease, Mr. Li. It can be a factor in anything."

"I-I knew that!" the blond mumbled, giving in to the secretary's sermon and slumped to his seat. Ming tsked at this, thinking that Li needed to have his memory checked, and decided to give him a review.

"If you remember anything with that small brain of yours, Mr. Li, you would recall that more important than any grudges is stopping the Disease. The Disease that's taken lives from every bender, be it fire or water or air... or earth." A regretful expression overtook the blonde's face, Li suitably cowed at the reminder of the fate befallen on the Earth Kingdom.

Beside him, Shin shifted, and both Ming and Li turned to find Shin staring angrily at the carpet. It wasn't a secret that the Avatar, destined to save the world, hated what was destroying it the most. They quickly moved on from the topic.

Clearing his throat, Ming resumed his lecture.

"Anyway, your mission is to look for a waterbender who can help you with your training. We can provide you transportation, but you two are alone once you reach the North Pole." Ming stated bluntly, showing them a file with the Fire Lord's seal imprinted at the bottom right corner.

"Whoa. Wait just a second…" Li quickly grabbed the document, and crumpling it, much to the secretary's dismay. "I'M part of this?!" the blond shouted, surprised.

"You are the only one available right now to have previously visited the North Pole, and more importantly the first one whom the Avatar trusts." Ming pointed out, clearly showing skepticism at Shin's judgment in the process. Shin only shrugged in reply. "I wouldn't exactly say trust…" He said, his glance moving slowly towards Li with the same skepticism. Li wasn't exactly…disciplined.

"Hehe…yeah…" Li chuckled it off nervously, as the other boys smirked to each other. "Leaving a guy like me with such an important task…What the hell is Ijen thinking?" Ming just walked away from his desk, moving to exit the room. "You leave tomorrow. Dismissed."

The door slammed shut, leaving the pair of friends alone in the room. And little did they understand that tomorrow would be the start of a new adventure, the story of a soon-to-be legend… the Legend of Shin.