Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years had passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills were great, he had a lot to learn before he was ready to save anyone.

But I believed Aang could save the world. And he did.

Avatar

The Five Nations

Chapter 1: The Boy on the Mount

Calm and enter the void... let go of your earthly tether.

On the peak of Gao Luse Mountain, Avatar Aang meditated. His fist clenched onto his staff despite his efforts to soothe his mind. His grip eased as he paced his breathing. All was calm. All was well.

His Air Acolytes, Yee-Li, Xing Ying, and Jingbo, were in the villages retrieving supplies for the long journey back to the Fire Nation. They were eager to meditate alongside Aang, but he simply refused. He needed to meditate alone.

Peace... the only way is to let go.

Aang sighed blissfully as his heart slowed down. Happiness and sadness. Peace and war. Nations and the world. Heart and body. Peoples of the West and tribes of the East. They were all one. All was-

Thunder crashed as lightning lit up the sky. Aang's back tingled. The scar on his back started to throb. His heart jumped, nearly missing a few beats. He clenched his glider staff a bit tighter. Even after three long years, he was still somewhat traumatized by his near-death experience with Azula in the old catacombs.

He breathed more and more heavily. He felt anxiety leaking into the reservoir of emotions swimming in his heart, mixing and churning from within.

A bright light illuminated the sky. More thunder. More sound.

Meaningless. Meaningless. Utterly meaningless... Aang repeated chantingly in his head.

He felt his scar starting to tingle again. Cold, prickly needles pierced the burnt skin of his back.

It began to rain. Wet drops from the sky doused his skin.

Not... yet... not...

CRACK-kaka-BOOOOOOOM!

A huge bolt of Lightning painted the sky. Thunder screeched and tore through the silence of Aang's mind.

His mind flashed from different moments in time. He was flying Appa away from the Southern Air Temple. He had to get away. He had to escape. They were going to take him away. He had to-

CRACK...

The lightning struck him. He caught a glance of the cackling maniac behind him. It was Azula, Zuko's sister. With a twisted and demented grin molded on her face, she was firing a bolt of lightning from her two fingertips.

...kaka...

He sunk into the deep sea of the abyss. He plunged into the darkness. As he fell, he saw images of him and Zuko fighting at Yu Dao, Fire Lord Ozai pounding on a sphere of rocks and minerals with great streams of fire, and a man in Fire Nation armor approaching Aang and his friends sadistically. He did not recognize the man from any battle he had experienced.

Who was he?!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Aang's eyes shot open. He was still on the peak. His robes and staff were drenched in rain. He twirled his glider in his hand and pushed himself from the rocky peak. He soared in the air, elegantly navigating through the twisted natural structures and caverns within the Air Nomad mountain.

His back burned as if lightning had struck it yet again. He winced in pain.

As he flew across the mountains of the Earth Kingdom, he noticed a boy about his age looking at him from one of the stable edges. The boy immediately ran away upon realizing he had been spotted.

Aang made a sharp turn and landed gently onto the edge. He ran after the boy. Being the last of the Airbenders, Aang used his bending abilities to push himself forward. He avoided the rocky obstacles and dangerous terrain of the mountainside. The boy hopped over the rocks and slid underneath the debris with ease.

Finally, Aang noticed a giant rock obscuring his path. He lept into the air and formed a sphere of air, floating on it. He sped over the boulder with relative ease.

The boy had stopped at the edge of a cliff. Aang jumped off his sphere of wind and ran to catch up with the runner. He noticed a shoulder pad on his jacket with a bloody pentagon marking on it. The boy was carrying a staff similar to Aang's and had an expression of absolute terror painted on his face.

"Stop!" Aang called out. "Don't-!"

The boy slipped over the edge and disappeared as he fell into the fog.

Aang stood there in horror at what had just transpired. Panic and uncertainty gnawed at the edges of his soul. Did the boy just fall over the edge to escape him? Was he afraid of being captured? What was that symbol on his shoulder?

Surely he had a glider! Surely he was not-!

An agile furry beast lept onto Aang's head. Aang burst forth laughing uncontrollably. The winged lemur purred in confusion and excitement.

Good ol' Momo. Even in the worst of times, he managed to bring some level of joy and comfort to Aang's life.

"Hahaha! Okay, Momo, you got me! I surrender!" Aang cried out. He fell to the rocky floor. "I surrender!"

"Don't give up without a fight, Twinkletoes!" a familiar voice announced. "Your fighting days are far from over!"

Aang sat up, rubbing Momo behind the ears. Appa, Aang's flying bison landed. Appa's tongue shot out, licking Aang gently as if he were cleaning him. The bison groaned in happiness, delighted to be reunited with his master.

Aang stood up and saw two of his closest friends, Toph Beifong and Sokka, riding Appa. They were wearing their traditional attire but with several fancy and elegant features. They looked as if they were preparing for an important ceremony.

Toph bounced off the bison and hugged Aang tightly. He felt as if his bone were going to break.

"Toph-!" Aang choked, dying for breath. "Air Nomads need air too!"

Toph quietly let go. After a long silence, she punched him in the arm.

"Fancy dancer," she said, smiling mischievously.

Sokka slid down Appa's furry tail, walking proudly. He saw the robes Aang was wearing, and his jaw dropped.

"Wha-? You mean-! YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PREPARING?" Sokka shouted.

"For what?" Aang asked with a slight grin tugging at the edge of his lips. "You literally make plans for everything, Sokka!"

"You know..." Sokka winced, looking from side to side. "The day?"

Aang remained silent. He could almost hear a cricket-hopper hiss.

"What day?" he asked in confusion.

"Y'know... THE day? The day we've been preparing for the past TWO WEEKS for?" Sokka whimpered annoyingly. His hands shot out in bewilderment. His eyes bulged out.

He ripped out a schedule from his pockets tapped it. Dozens of yards of paper rolled out in front of Aang. Sokka immediately pointed at the day that was circled in red and had a note in golden lettering that said, "THE DAY. DO NOT FORGET!"

Aang noticed a drawing of someone that looked like a kid with an icicle.

"Did you draw this, Sokka?"

He smiled, "Yep! My masterpiece!"

Aang shook his head, "No. Not exactly."

Sokka, assuming he was talking about the schedule, screeched, "THE DAY! You don't remember? The day we kicked the Jerk-Lord's butt? The day angsty jerk number two was made king of the hill?"

Aang suddenly remembered. Today was THE day.

"The anniversary of Zuko's coronation!"

"Congratulations!" Sokka said sarcastically. "You successfully guessed twenty minutes before the event begins! Let's not make it nineteen!"

Sokka hopped into the bison's saddle. Toph carefully followed him. Her feet carefully sensed the vibrations in the ground. Aang was not moving at all.

Toph shouted back to her friend as she grasped Appa's long, shabby coat of fur, "Coming, Aang?"

Appa moaned in anticipation for Aang to join them. Aang said nothing. He stared at the place the kid fell from the edge.

Empty and become like wind...

Hitomi flew with his glider into the void. He remembered what his teacher had taught him concerning the ancient texts of the Air Nomads. He had read the passages of Monk Gyatso, Guru Laghima, and Elder Daivika, his personal favorite. His training had served him well. His teachers would be pleased.

He landed on the ground. In front of him stood a lieutenant of the navy. He had a mask and metal armor. He stood tall and strong with a chained dagger in his hand. Metallic spikes protruded from his entire body.

"Lieutenant Jinshu," Hitomi said timidly, bowing in humble admiration, "The Avatar has been spotted."

"Good..." Jinshu whispered, his voice deep and raspy. "It is time..."

Hitomi cringed and dropped his head even lower upon hearing his superior's voice. A mixed array of emotions, including fear, loyalty, disgust, and hatred, swarmed his mind.

He raised his hand and made a visibly harsh gesture. Another soldier in black robes and a silver mask came forth from the endless void that was the fog. He creepily turned toward his subordinate.

"Ready the armada. Tell the master: the Fifth Nation shall have its revenge..."

This is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender FanFiction! I hope you guys enjoy it! I want to be faithful to the characters and portray a story that honors the comics. This is my own continuation of the series.

I hope you guys leave a review! I would be grateful!