The Girl in the Iceberg
A Tale by Angel Novella

Prologue: The Sudden Sea

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Wish I did, since I'd be megas rich, except I wouldn't do the Scrooge McDuck money diving thing because that would be an awful idea. As it is, it's Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Dark Horse Comics that are reaping the money from this property. So yeah, I don't any of the characters or the world they live in.

So, to answer the first question on everyone's mind, yes, this is an SI. Everyone starts out with one, but I HOPE that mine doesn't suck toooooooo badly. I'm not gonna take TOO many liberties with the franchise just yet, but there is a plan to all the madness and I hope y'all enjoy the ride, or at least enjoy it enough not to use advanced firebending on my poor inbox.

Her eyes opened in a daze, and then a panic. Suddenly finding yourself underwater and drowning will do that to a person. Her thoughts were jumbled, there wasn't any reason to anything she was thinking except possibly her thought of, "WHAT THE HELL..." and really, even then, that's pretty scrambled. She had absolutely idea of where she was and how she gotten in this position. But, wherever she was at the time, it was cold, and she was underwater, which is not a naturally tenable position for someone who is used to a mild climate and dry land.

The girl's mind was singled-minded and determined as she started swimming for what she hoped she was the surface. She felt the sort of tug that was buoyancy pulling her up and went with it. She needed to get out of the water quickly, as the temperature of the water combined with the flimsy white gi she was wearing made for, once again, a very, very cold redhead.

Her muscles were aching, her lungs were almost out of air, and she felt like she was going to turn into an ice-cube, but the girl kept pushing herself to the surface, because she had no desire to die, much less die when she had questions about where she was and how the hell she got to be in that position, questions that continued to be bubbling under the surface of her survival instinct.

With a last, frantic push, the girl finally broke the surface of the water. She was bombarded with powerful rain from the minute her firey hair hit the surface. The gale force winds pushed massive waves her way that nearly filled her lungs with water instead of the much needed oxygen that she was barely able to take in.

Using almost all of her energy just to keep herself afloat, the girl looked up at the nearly black skies and tears started to form in her striking golden eyes... She was going to die. All that work, just making it to the surface of the water, and it was all for nothing. There was, in her mind, no conceivable way that she could live while surrounded by these freezing waters and stormy weather. Even for her... It was impossible...

The impossible was on it's way, also trapped in the bleak storm, but before that hit the surface of the water, the girl had a few things to say, in between deep breaths and attempts to keep herself on the surface of the water... "ImgonnadieImgonnadie... Okokokokokokok... Get a hold of yourself... Maybe help will come... No, of course nobody's not gonna come, look at this..." As she rambled, her thoughts flashed to her experiences traveling the countryside... to her father, as much as she might have had... disagreements with him and his parenting style, and her brother, as cocky as he may be. Tears started to fall from her eyes as all of this hit her.

People really never understand what it's like to die until it actually happens. Her father had beaten into her head, in some respects, quite literally, that death could come suddenly, but the concept of dying had never really crossed into her mind. Her ego, slightly tempered in comparison to the rest of her family, would not let it.. She had never thought she would die so young, or die drowning at sea... As she cried, barely able to keep herself afloat with the massive waves battering into her, no words were really able to break through her emotions.

It was at this point that the girl looked up to see a young boy in orange robes riding some sort of furry, flying beast. Well, flying wouldn't be the right word. Perhaps... crashing would be more appropriate. The girl had just a brief moment to take in some air before the boy and the beast crashed into the surface of the water, sending a huge wave her way. She quickly went under the surface of the water to avoid it... And at a distance, saw the boy as he sunk deeper into the abyss.

"A duty of a martial artist is to protect the weak."

That phrase, in the gruff voice of her father, suddenly shot through her system as she started to swim for the boy. She didn't know why she thought it, all she knew is that this boy was going to die and that perhaps she could at least save him for the help that they both so desperately needed. She pushed through the water, ignoring as best she could, the effects of the frigid water on her body and her aching muscles, until she got to the boy.

As she was about to get to him, she was surprised when suddenly, his eyes opened, glowing a very bright white... And she was further surprised when the arrow tattoos on his body started to glow as well... She had seen this before, she knew of it, but still... in person, seeing the Avatar State for the very first time was quite the astonishing thing to see.

Especially since, in some corner of the girl's mind, she knew it shouldn't exist.

However all the renewed thoughts in her head didn't matter much as the boy suddenly formed a sphere of air that encompassed him, the strange animal, and herself. She had no time to even attempt to escape before the iceberg froze over, trapping them in there for what she knew would be a very long stay. As the cold hit her full force, right before her system could shut down... she felt a touch, something in her soul, that put her to sleep...

Not to awaken for 100 years.

Somewhere, in the sea of time, space, and eternity... She smiled. The time had come.