Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations used in this story. The following is a non-profit work of fictions.

So instead of a few weeks you get a few months. Surprised? I thought not.

I had most of this done some time ago, but didn't feel satisfied with my explanation of things. I'm still not, but it's either this or nothing.

And don't worry. I'll do my best to keep this from going into a "We Grail war now". Only difference in the world is Archer instead of Aang. Nothing else changes

Note: English is still not my first language. It may very well be my third.

Well that's that.

Story start

'How far did these kids actually sail out?' Archer was getting impatient. They were sailing for a good few hours now. It had gotten dark already. Well... As dark as it's probably gonna get, considering they're apparently in this worlds equivalent of either the north or south pole during summer. They had given him the general direction of their settlement and nothing else, saying things like "you can't miss it, it's the only place with people around." It was hard not to question their definition of "around". He wasn't sure how long the bison can keep this up, before succumbing to exhaustion. The beast didn't seem too bothered swimming through the freezing waters at least, but being frozen solid is bound to have at least some side effects. He just hopes that they get to their destination soon enough. The newly resurrected hero would not turn down some rest himself. It's been a long day after all.

Ending up in a new body, that was frozen in ice for who knows how long and waking up in a completely unfamiliar world would wear anybody out. Especially considering that his new body, though agile, has apparently gone through very little training. In his old body he could go days without rest, before starting to feel the strain of it. He'll have to remedy that when he gets a chance.

His source of information on the new world has been less than helpful. The information has been dripping into his mind during the time they were traveling and had stopped only about half an hour ago, apparently done with the explanation on the new land. He would not call the knowledge he was given very useful. Sure there were the occasional technique on this "airbending" that he apparently was supposed to know and a few other things that he may find use for in the future(if the information wasn't outdated that is), but overall it wasn't things he considered noteworthy. He doubted he'll find time to ride some weir breed of llamas, surf on overgrown koi fish, or play some weird airbender knock off of football(AN this is soccer for those of you in the US). He would have much preferred details on all the limitations on this bending, potential threats. Maybe some rundown on what is considered common knowledge and what sort of things are frowned upon. Not games and cake baking.

Okay he's not too proud to admit that he might have been a bit interested at last part, but that's not the point. The point is that if he doesn't get some some solid facts about what to expect and how to act in public, he is likely to stand out. He learned long ago that that is never a good thing.

The two kids were of little help. Going by what they said, it is reasonable to assume, that they don't have much contact with people outside their own small settlement, so they ran out of conversation material soon enough, having little in common and not knowing each other well enough to ask more personal subjects. The two siblings decided to take the silence that settled around them as a chance to sleep, saying that they have been out hunting for some time and that rest would do them good.

'I should probably stop referring to them as kids.' He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water a couple times earlier, and noted that his fears were true. His new body was that of a child. Maybe twelve years of age, if that. So technically his two companions were, at least body wise, older than him. He took a glance at the two, taking note that the older of the pair, Sokka, was sleeping in the back of the saddle, while his sister, was lying in the middle, not completely asleep, but not awake either.

Archer had half a mind to join them, seeing as the bison was smart enough to swim forward without needing to be steered, but decided to use the chance to inspect his circuits. He had already delayed that for too long.

Closing his eyes he focused. His circuits were different. That much was obvious. There was also more of them. Many more.

"But are these even circuits?" They weren't a part of his spirit like circuits should, but a part of his body. He has never even HEARD of something like that. The energy was actually flowing through his body like blood would, even if in such small quantities that you would need a microscope to see. These... new circuits... they were all over his body. Some smaller, some larger and some already active. He could focus on them and make them more or less active. The moment he made a few a bit more active he felt the air around him move even more, while deactivating them calmed the air.

It didn't take too long, but longer than he would have liked to locate his old circuits. His twenty seven circuits were there alright. The reason it took longer than it should have to find them, was because they were... not exactly different, but somehow weaker. They were still a part of his spirit, rather than his body and attuned the same way they were before, so for better of worse, he couldn't use them for much more than making swords, reinforcement and structural analysis. Not much difference there. Yes, they were weaker, but he will deal with that.

'Lets try something else.' He opened his eyes and attempted one of the simpler airbending techniques that were brought to his attention by resident in his head earlier. He activated a few circuits around the area of his hand, flexed a few muscles there the way he apparently should and a small tornado appeared in his hand. No aria was needed, no complex rituals or anything. It was like his will and a few hand gestures were enough to do it. He closed his eyes again to examine the process behind everything that he just did.

After a bit more experimentation Archer came to a theory. The bending in this world was nothing like the magic in his. Instead of an aria to hypnotize yourself, it used a set of body movements. Flexing one muscle means that the pathways of that energy is cut off and that actually redirect the flow of this energy that his new circuits put out through another part of his body witch also leaves a different affect on the world. So the more of your body you put into it, the more powerful the affects.

It also seems that this body has some training in that area, because some pathways seem more used than others, and the energy apparently works in a way that if you use one pathway for the energy to flow more, it becomes easier to flow through later. If used enough, it becomes easier for the energy to flow through there than through the original path, so it becomes enough to simply activate these circuits and a small shift of the body to open up those pathways to force the desired affect on the world.

It also seemed like this world version of Gaia encourages the use of bending instead of trying to stop it, so that explains why he was subconsciously using his circuits. It might also explain why, despite everyone in the world knowing about it, and a huge portion of the population using bending, it doesn't seem to be weaker. Or maybe it was and if no one knew about it, it would be that much more powerful for anyone who figured it out. That was something he had no method of testing.

The last thing he took note about his circuits, was that they were attuned to a very specific purpose. Even more so than his own. So far it looks like the circuits he used to manipulate the air were the only a part of the new ones he has and that was the only thing they were good for. Manipulating the air. The other ones he wasn't sure because despite everything, he simply could not use them. It was a bit annoying really. It was impossible to know why he even HAD the rest of them. If the childish voice of what he guessed to be the remnants of the previous owner of the body, were to be believed, everyone who could bend could only bend one element. But it was pointless to think on that with only himself to test on.

He moved on to experimenting with reinforcing his body, seeing how much prana he could pour into his limbs before they gave out. He was moving on from his left arm to his right leg, very upset that even such a simple thing was putting a noticeable strain on his old circuits, witch he was now sure were being suppressed by this worlds Gaia. It was at that moment that he noticed the girl siting up slowly move over towards him.

"Hey." She greeted simply.

"Something on your mind?" Archer asked taking note of the girls troubled expression.

"Well I guess I was just wondering. Since you're an airbender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?" At the last words he started feeling nervous for some reason. No. It wasn't him that was nervous. It was the remnant of the boy whose body he now inhabited.

"Sorry. I don't know anything about that." He decided to try and end the conversation as fast as possible.

"Okay. Just curious. G'night." She seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Good night." Archer answered.

'Anything else you'd like to tell me?' Archer had a feeling that there was a larger part of the boy left than he at first thought. After not getting any answer he continued. 'I don't know what happened before, but this is my body now and if you withhold information from me, you will regret it. The fact that you died doesn't mean i can't make you regret your actions. Spill it.' It seems that that was enough to get more information leaking in. The remnant seemed self conscious. Though not enough to hold an actual conversation with. It's probably for the best. Sharing the same head with someone else is bound to lead to a lot of awkward situations. Root knows he'll get enough of those even without having someone share his head, if his prior existence was any indication.

So apparently he was the avatar, supposed master of all four elements. That explains the rest of the circuits at least. And apparently when the boy was told that he was the avatar, all the other kids didn't want to play with him anymore and the elder expected more of him, so he started regretting being the avatar and ran away. To archer it seemed a bit childish, but then again this was a child so it's natural.

But this opened a whole new can of worms. It would make his life a lot easier, or a lot harder. Considering his luck it's most likely the later. He was too exhausted to think on it now. Plans made with a tired head have a tendency to have too many flaws. The bison seemed reliable enough to swim on without supervision. It didn't seem like the two other passengers are planing anything behind his back either. He could let himself rest for a bit.

With that he closed his eyes and welcomed the embrace of slumber.

A low growl woke him up from his nightmares. He dreamt of his death and his later role as a Counter Guardian. The dream did not affect him too much, but he still would have rather dreamt of something else.

His two companions were still asleep, and it did not look like they woke up at any time. Up ahead, not too far in the distance he saw a small settlement, if you could call it that. It looked more like an overgrown snow fort. It would almost blend in and be unnoticeable in the snowy tundra if not for the yellow tents. Is this the place these kids live in? It looks more like a camping site than a permanent living place.

"Wake up." He said turning his head to the siblings.

"Just five more minutes Gran Gran..." Even if the girl doesn't seem too eager to wake up it's still better than her brother, who didn't react at all. Sounds like this Gran Gran is her guardian.

" Wake up Katara. Don't keep Gran Gran waiting, or no breakfast for you." He gave his best grandmother impression.

It seems that got the attention of Sokka as well as Katara, thought, for different reasons. The girl sat upright at the sound of my voice instantly, while her brother seemed more interested to mumble about breakfast in his sleep.

"Umm.. Sorry about that..." A faint blush on the girls face.

"Is that your settlement?" Better to ask than to wander into an enemy territory.

"Umm.. Y..Yea. That's the one." Seems like she isn't used to people being so blunt and straightforward.

"I was expecting something bigger when you said 'can't miss it'." Archer meant the remark as lighthearted, to ease the girl, but it didn't seem to help.

"Oh.. Umm.. Well you can't end up swimming anywhere else, because it's all frozen up. It becomes impossible to sail through if you go farther to either side." At this point it seems her brother started waking up from the noise our conversation was giving off.

"Yawn... She's right. We wouldn't just tell you a general direction and go to sleep if there was a chance we would get lost. You worry too much." Seems like Sokka had more sense than he shows.

"Coming from the guy who thought that a kid frozen in a lump of ice in the middle of the South pole was a fire nation spy." Seems like at least teasing her brother cheered the girl up a bit.

"Hey I was suspicious alright? And he didn't dump us in the water while we slept, so I guess he's alright." Seems like a nap put any worry the teen may have had to rest.

The fact that Archer would have suffocated them both before throwing them into the water if he had desire to kill them, since throwing one out would cause a splash that would wake the second, he'll keep to himself.

Now that they were closer, Archer had a better look at the settlement. It was small. Barely 15 tents and a large igloo. A small wall around the settlement that was made of snow and offered little no no protection, seeing as it was barely half a meter at some places.

"Lets go. I'll introduce you to the village." Seems like the girl was back in high spirits at the sight of her home.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Archer became cautious again. If the two teens were playing him, then he would end up surrounded and at a distinct disadvantage the moment he entered the settlement.

"What, you nervous? Don't worry. If you weren't nervous around Katara, then I doubt you'll find anyone else to be nervous around in the village." Perhaps Archer overestimated the teen earlier if he confuses the former Counter Guardians obvious caution for shyness.

"Sokka!" His sister doesn't seem too amused by his idea of a joke either.

"Relax. I'm kidding. C'mon, Archer. I'm sure the village will like you. And if it turns out to be too boring you can be on your merry way whenever you want."

After a bit of consideration our hero decided that it's his best option at this point. It's a small settlement so he should be able to fight his way out if worst comes to worst and he has no idea witch way to go to reach any other points of civilization. His knowledge is not only lacing, but most likely stale as well so getting a bit of a feel for the culture and habits of the people of this world is necessary and it's best to get that in small settlements first, before moving on to bigger ones.

"Fine." He barely finished his agreement when the girl started basically dragging him behind her. He saw that his giant bison had already started to draw a crowd and for a moment he started questioning his decision, until he noticed something.

The village was populated by women and children. Not a single man was in sight.

'Perhaps they're laying in ambush?' Was his first thought, but it would make no sense. They would at least leave some older men out to make him feel at ease.

"Archer, this is the entire village. Entire village, this is Archer." During the introduction women started to hold their children closer to them. They were obviously frightened.

"ENTIRE village? Where are the men?" He hoped he was not pressing his luck with his question. He was an outsider so their caution was well founded, but the answer to his question would decide if he will run or stay.

"They left to go fight in the war. And forgive our fear of you, but no one has seen an airbender for a hundred years. We thought they were extinct. Until my granddaughter and grandson found you." It was an old woman that stepped forward and spoke. She was by far the oldest person in the entire village.

'War huh? Why am I not surprised that this is the first I hear of it. Not only that, but extinct? Either this body has been on ice for longer than I thought, or I will be hunted down by these airbenders for revealing their existence.' Archers thoughts were unheard by the people around him as Katara continued her introduction of him.

"Archer, this is my grandmother." Katara said, oblivious to Archers concerns.

"Call me Gran Gran." Came the old womens own introduction.

"Already introducing me to your family? Aren't you rushing things a bit?" Archer said with a smirk. That got a deep blush on Katara. It also seemed to put some of the people a bit more at ease, even getting a few chuckles on Kataras expense. Of course you wouldn't hear those over the loud open laughter of Sokka, who was laughing holding his stomach and was a lot closer than he was before.

"Aaaa... Good one buddy." Seems a bad joke is all it takes to get on Sokkas good side.

"It wasn't that funny." Archer said a bit uncomfortable with the familiarity the teen had used. Honestly. Were these people really that trusting?

"Ya, you're right. My jokes are still better." Sokka boasted with a puffed chest.

"For once I almost agree." Seems his sister was still blushing, though she was smiling a bit so she was probably just pretending to be annoyed at this point.

"Alright enough bantering. Come on Katara. You have chores." The old woman said taking Kataras hand and walking away.

They walked a bit away and started talking again. Archer still had a bit concern about being here so he reinforced his ears as much as he dared at this point. It wasn't much, but they weren't very far away so it didn't matter.

"Isn't it amazing Gran Gran? I finally found a bender to teach me."

"Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy. Even if you did see him bend, witch I didn't, he is an airbender, not a waterbender. And even if he was I don't think he'd jump at the chance to teach you."

"But there's something special about him. I feel it. He may not have been very open to everyone, but I think that he has great wisdom and kindness in him."

'So the girl wants me to teach her? Too bad for her. Even if I wanted to I barely know anything about airbending, let alone waterbending.' Archer was still trying to overhear if they said anything else important, so he was unable to sense Sokka sneak up to him.

"So are you really an airbender? Apart from sneezing and jumping I haven't seen anything very bendy about you." Sokka said and Archer nearly jumped at the surprise. He managed to keep his cool, but barely.

'How did I let him sneak up on me like that? I swear I was keeping an eye on my surroundings. I should watch out for this guy. He has more steel in him than first meets the eye.' He was occupied so much by his thoughts that he almost forgot that he was being talked to.

"No show without a ticket." Archer was still not too eager to openly show his capabilities in front of everyone he meats. More so because he only knew about his new powers in theorie. He had yet to practice with them.

"Aw come on. The kids are curious. They never seen a bender other than Katara and, to be honest, she's not that good." Said kids were standing a bits away, still not comfortable coming too near, but looking at him expectantly. "At least tell me what's up with the staff? Doesn't look like a weapon."

The staff he was talking about was one he found in the saddle of the bison when he and the two teens first got in in and made way towards the village. It was apparently supposed to be important to him, and structural analyses showed him that, though it has a contraption inside that lets it fold and unfold into a glider, it's still sturdy enough to take a few blows, so he took it with him into the village, deciding it was better than nothing. Tracing was not something he tries in open battle before in safety when in a new world.

"It's just a staff." He felt like he should trust these people, but he doesn't like the idea of trusting people he met less than 12 hours ago.

"Oh come on." Sokka started whining. "Oh! How about a trade? You give the kids a show and we treat you to a nice warm meal?" The teen said snapping his fingers.

He was really eager to see Archers bending. Almost suspiciously so. It may just be curiosity of young people, but suspicion is something that came naturally after centuries of being a witness to the chaos humanity can bring upon itself with lies and deceit. Then again. He was starving. The body obviously hadn't had a meal in a long while. The practice with his new bodies capabilities earlier didn't help either. So, against his better judgment, he caved in.

"Fine. Better be some good food though." With that said he opened the glider like his inherited memories showed he should, activated some of his new circuits and hoped the air will do the rest.

As he took off he saw the look of awe in the faces of those who were still outside. Handling the glider was easier than he thought it would be. The air seemed to do most of the work for him. He took this opportunity to get a birds view of his surroundings and saw a peculiar site not too far from the village. He decided to check it out later. After a minute or so he landed and was greeted with everyone in the village looking at him like he had... well.. like he had been flying, witch he had. Katara, who had apparently saw his performance as well was jogging towards him, while the children started cheering for him with the occasional remark on how it was magic.

"That was amazing!" The girl was standing near him again. She had her sleeves up, so she was probably in the middle of one of her chores that her grandmother dragged her off to.

Sokka on the other hand was still staring at the sky where he had been flying, like he had seen... well like he had seen someone flying. Witch he had.

"You were flying..." The voice that came from Sokka belonged not to a 16 year old teen, but to a man with a broken mind, who had seen to much in his life. For a moment Archer was concerned if he may have mentally damaged the teen. That is, of course, until he started sniffing the air "Do I smell sea prunes?"

"Ya. I was helping Gran Gran make lunch." Katara answered her brother.

"Well you're in luck Archer. You are about to be treated to the best food the South pole has to offer!" His broken mind forgotten, Sokka made way towards the promise of food.

"Come on Archer! It's not ready yet, but you can come along and help me keep Sokka from ruining everything until it is." And with that the former Counter Guardian was draged off to a tent where he would have his first taste of this new worlds cuisine.

It has been a few hours now since lunch. Everyone was dong their own thing now. Witch left Archer alone with his thoughts for the time being.

Lunch had been... interesting. When he first walked in he first saw the old woman preparing some sort of stew. Katara wasted no time in joining her. Sokka kept bugging them about whether the food was ready between making small talk. Archer himself refrained from answering questions and instead dodged them with sarcastic remarks, shrugs, and the occasional question about the meal that was being prepared. Cooking was the first real skill he learned after all. It was going relatively normal.

And then the stew was finished. It smelled good enough. Strange. But a good strange. At first he was nervous about poison, but after he was Sokka dig in with gusto and the others at a more reasonable pace, he decided to try it himself. Appa was eating some tundra grass so there was no worry there.

He still isn't sure how he managed to down that stuff without puking, even if his stomach was completely empty. Only years of hardened battle and common courtesy made him finish what he had in his plate, witch was thankfully not much. Any more and he was sure he would have passed out. Right now if he was offered a choice between another bowl, or returning to be a Counter Guardian... well let's just say it would be a hard decision to make. If that is the best the South pole has to offer, he fears what the worst could be.

Right now he needed to think about something else. Namely like the thing he saw in the distance when he was flying. He tried asking about it through subtle hints. Apparently it was forbidden for anyone going there for some reason.

All the more reason to check it out. He decided to sneak out when no one was watching. It shouldn't take more than an hour. He will leave Appa here. It would be hard to sneak around with a 10 ton mountain of wool behind you. The people here are obviously without ill intentions, so the beast should be safe.

It wasn't far off. A light jog with the help of the air and he was there in 8 minutes. It was metal ship on top of a mountain of ice. The ice didn't seem naturally formed though. Perhaps the work of some bender of this world? But the power needed to lift something of this size would be enormous. Just how powerful are these benders?

He spent a few minutes looking at the outside of the ship. This world is a bit more modern than he at first thought if it's anything to go by. While the people at the village seemed to use bone and seal skin, this ship is not only metal, but seems to be driven by at least a steam engine if the turbines are anything to go by. He'd be surprised if it was turned by man power.

As he was about to make his way inside he saw a blue figure running towards him from the direction of the village. So he was seen making his way here. Hopefully it won't lead to anything too violent. He decided to wait rather than flee. That would only lead to more trouble. After a minute or so the blue figure approached and it turned out to be none other than Katara.

"Archer! Stop! You can't go in there!" She started yelling as soon as Archer was within hearing range.

"Care to explain why that is? And how did you know I was here." Were these people some sort of technophobes? It is obvious that they salvaged nothing from this ship.

"I came looking for you in the village, but no one saw you. Then I saw something orange running in this direction so I followed. We're not allowed to go in there! It might be booby trapped." Well at least that explained their reluctance to loot the ship. But this is an old ship. Surely there won't be any laser detectors. It will be a trip wire or a pressure plate. You just have to keep your eyes pealed. Though to people who still use bones and seal skin for everything in their life, he can understand why they would be cautious. And apparently he really needs a new wardrobe. Yellow and orange DO tends to stand out a bit.

"And that's why I'm going in and not you." Archer was about to go inside but was grabbed by the arm. He took that as a sign of hostility was about to strike but stopped himself when he was the pleading look in the girls eyes.

"Please, Archer." The look in her eyes almost made him reconsider.

Almost.

He shook the hand off and went inside with a last warning to the girl.

"Do not follow me. I can't guarantee your safety if you do."

The inside of the ship was dark, but the holes that the elements created in the hull over the years gave enough light to see.

It was a ship of war. It was filed with weapons. They were no Noble Phantasms, but they were high quality, considering the were siting here for who knows how long. Every room was lined with metal. And just as he expected it had a steam engine. It seems that this world really is more advanced than he thought at first. It still had no electricity, but considering this ship has been here for years even that may have changed. Strangely there are no firearms. Or anything that would use gunpowder. He can't know what he is really up against until he starts to explore more of the world.

A low clanging of metal starts to echo from behind him.

'Damn that girl.' It seems she decided to follow after him.

"Archer! Are you ok? You've been in here really long!" Well if she thought he wasn't ok it would be all the more reason for her not to go in here. Honestly. What's wrong with this girl.

"Stay where you are. I'm coming out." Hopefully she doesn't trip something off.

"Archer!" She started running towards me as soon as she saw me.

"Stop!" To late. She already set off a trip wire. It looks like it activated some sort of Goldberg machine.

"Oh no! Archer, I'm sorry!"It seems she started panicking.

"Doesn't matter now. We need to leave." Before she could argue Archer grabbed her hand and started dragging her behind him, smashing down old doors that seemed to lock themselves after the wire was tripped. It didn't take a lot of effort since they were already rusted around the hinges, but it still left an ache in his shoulder.

They finally made it out and saw that apparently the ship launched a flare that was still in the air.

"Hope no one sees that." Looks like the girl still hadn't learned not to tempt the universe.

'Just my luck.' The moment Katara finished her words Archer saw a speck in the distance. It was dark and it was leaving black clouds behind. It was impossible to make out the size and speed from this distance, but it was obviously a ship. And knowing his luck it probably saw the flare and is going to come check it out.

'Hope this doesn't end in death. Mine or anyone else's.'

AN: I'm not sure how I will continue. It will either be I have Archer kill Zuko, leave Sokka and Katara behind and go save the world lone wolf style (witch I'm afraid of doing due to my lack of originality that will be needed in creating new characters and locations as well as events) or it will be Archer, for some reason decides that an attempt on his life and the lives of others doesn't deserve death and leaves Zuko alive, For some reason lets 2 kids risk their lives coming with him and try to follow the original story (witch I'm afraid of doing as it might turn out to be just the written version of the cartoon with a bit more sarcastic Aang). Please review. It's the rush I get from reviews that keeps me trying to write this. Maybe recommend some nicknames for Archer? Using his name in every other sentence does tend to get old. Till next time.