"Water. Earth. Fire Air."

"Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony."

"But 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 have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war."

"Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe."

"Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air nomads, and that the cycle is broken."

"But I haven't lost hope."

"I haven't lost determination."

"I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world."

"Katara, pipe it down, will ya!?"

"Huh? What?"

"Quit monologuing! I'm trying to catch fish!"

"I wasn't monologuing," Katara blushed. "I was just…. Rehearsing."

Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe looked back over his shoulder at his sister with raised eyebrows. "Rehearsing? For what? Your future love?"

"No, you weirdo! For… my grandchildren."

"Grandchildren? In case you hadn't noticed Katara, we may not live to our twenties. Let's not think ahead so far."

"But, it helps to think ahead. To prepare for the future. After the war, you know?"

"You really think the war will end? You're weirdly optimistic."

"You're calling me weird?" Katara smirked. "At least I don't check out my reflection flexing in the mirror."

Sokka who was at that very moment checking himself out in the reflection of the water, immediately pulled back embarrassed.

"Hey! Katara, quit water bending!"

"I'm not! The waves just picked up! Hang on!"

And so, they held on with all their determination. As the boat was tossed to and fro, they clung for their lives not to fall into the death-bringing icy water.

They weren't particularly worried, as this sort of thing had happened before. Just another risk of hunting in the South Pole. But this time, they were not fated to make it home in one piece.

"Left!" Katara cried out. "Left damn it, left!"

"I'm trying! You wanna take over? Look out!"

Their boat crashed up against one of the blocks of ice and sent the two siblings launching out of the boat and landing on another ice patch.

"You call that left?" Katara spat angrily.

"If you don't like my steering, maybe you should've water bended us out of the ice!"

"So, it's my fault? Typical Sokka, blaming everyone but yourself!"

"I knew I should've left you home. Leave it to a girl to mess things up!"

As any socially conscious person knows, it's one thing to criticize someone for their actions. It's quite another to attack them on the basis of their gender and race. It is unfortunately a technique often used for personal gain at someone else's expense. It is an atrocious act that far too many people do sadly. Particularly those in politics. However, it comes with some risks. As Sokka was about to learn the hard way.

"You," Katara shouted in rage. "You are the most sexist, immature nutbrained…. I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"

In her anger, Katara did not notice the movement of her hands were causing fissures in a nearby ice shelf. Sokka however did notice and tried to warn her.

"Uh, Katara?"

"Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier!"

"Katara…"

"I even wash all your clothes! Have you ever smelt your dirty socks? Not fun!"

"Damn it Katara, settle down!"

"No! I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your own!"

And with that Katara caused the shelf to burst completely, causing a tidal wave that knocked their bit of ice out towards sea.

"Ok. You've gone from weird to freakish Katara."

"You mean I did that?" Her anger was now replaced with wonder.

"Yep. Congratulations. Now we're stranded and floating out to sea. So much for a life after the war!"

"Well this only happened because of your stupid comment! Calling me useless because I'm a girl! The nerve of you!"

"Well I was partially right, wasn't I? Our boat is gone and we can't get home again!"

"We'll get home! Someone will realize we're gone and come for us. I know it!"

"Hmm. Well keep staying determined. It's sure done us favors thus far."

"Determination is what keeps us alive when all else has failed. Without determination, I wouldn't have made it all these years. So maybe it's naïve, but I'm going to continue to hope anyway!"

"Yeah, you keep doing that little sister. Who knows? Maybe the Avatar himself will save us!"

Katara looked away from him in anger out towards the sea. She clutched her necklace. The source of her indomitable courage and strength since that terrible day.

Laugh all you want Sokka, she thought to herself. The Avatar is out there somewhere and he will return someday. I believe it.

…

"I don't believe it."

Aang should have been overjoyed at the sight of home. Even if to him he had merely left a few days ago.

But he and his silent companion had just lost maybe the only other remaining Airbender in the world. He didn't see Toriel die with his own eyes. But the explosion that claimed the cave after they had flown into the air had left them shaken to their core. As they took off into the sky, he noticed Frisk shaking, tears running down her face. But no words expressed.

So, they were already in pretty bad spirits upon reaching the location Frisk had pointed out wordlessly. But Aang still remained determined that the sight of the temple he had spent half of his life in to this point would raise his spirits.

It did the opposite.

He gazed with shock upon the once grand levitating structure, now a decrepit ruin half submerged in the ocean, floating meaninglessly. A brutal stab in an already heavy heart for the young Airbender.

"I... how? How did this happen? I left a few days ago!"

That was a lie, he knew. It had been a century. A century of war. A century of suffering.

He docked Appa down on the landing pad and leaped off. Frisk followed after, slower as she still had tears over Toriel.

"This is…. Was my home. But it was in the sky. Far from the problems of the world. In an ocean of clouds…"

He walked about in a daze, looking at all the buildings. Memories coming back.

"I hate it here."

"I know it's different. But this is a good place with good people. A place of healing and..."

"Blah, blah blah. Seems like a hive of cowards. Who hides up in the clouds from all their problems?"

"We don't hide from our problems Aang. We find different means to approach them. Nonviolent ways."

"Nonviolent? Doesn't sound very useful then."

"Now Aang. Violence is never the answer to anything."

"Really? It worked for me."

Aang gripped his forehead with shame. That was his first memory of this place. Not exactly a pleasant one.

Frisk placed her hand on his shoulder. She couldn't voice her concern, but it showed on her face.

"I'm fine. Just remembering the past."

He was far from fine actually, but he didn't want to worry her when he knew she had her own burdens.

They pressed on, taking in all the sights of his abandoned home. He hated the quiet. This place was always full of energy and life. Not like this….

"The air temples were held aloft by special stones, said to be a gift from the spirits. They were meant to help us achieve enlightenment. If the city fell, they must have been destroyed…."

He trailed off again as he found where he had been wandering.

"This… this was the training court. I remember when Gyatso brought me here…"

Frisk seemed confused so Aang clarified.

"He was my teacher. My mentor. The only… the only real father I ever had."

"Come on Aang, go say hi."

"Why should I? How do I know I can trust them?"

"You can trust everyone here Aang, if you give them a chance."

"I don't like them. Look at them, running around without a care in the world. Safe on their little island in the sky. Their smiles are so fake, it sickens me."

"I know it looks that way to you given your upbringing. But they're your family Aang. And they're going to love you. I know it."

"I already had a family. Look how well that turned out."

Gyatso's face was heart wrenching, but Aang didn't care. Did they really expect him to just make buddy buds with these brats? Just put it all behind him and happily trade his old family for a new one?

How he wished he could do that. How he wished. But there was no going back. Even he being what he was couldn't do that.

"There's… somewhere we need to go. A certain room. They told me I couldn't go in until I was ready. I don't know if I am but…. Who needs rules right?"

He smiled a little at that, trying to lighten the tension. Frisk smiled in response but it was clearly forced. He led her out of the courtyard and up a flight of stairs. It was time to get answers.

…

"What do you think you're doing? Slacking off? We have a mission to fulfill! Get back to work!"

"But sir, we've been at it all day. We need a break!"

"I don't want to hear it! The honor of the Fire Nation is on the line! I won't have you dishonor it with laziness! Now hop to it!"

The young man watched in anger as his crewmen hurried off. They had no honor, the lazy bums! It made him sick to his stomach.

"Prince Zuko, don't you think that was a little harsh?"

"Not harsh enough, apparently! This is the third time today! How did we wind up with the worst crewmen in the Fire Nation for such a serious journey?"

"They are still human. They can only work so hard. Beat them too much and they'll have no strength left."

Prince Zuko turned frustrated to his uncle. General Iroh of the Fire Nation was a living legend. A war hero. Or so he kept hearing. If he hadn't heard it time and time again from his crewmates, he never would've believed that the obese, kooky man before him was capable of such feats.

"I can't afford to be soft uncle! Or show weakness of any kind! I did that once and look what it cost me!" He pointed to the left side of his face which bore a rather extreme mass of scar tissue.

His uncle sighed. "To some people, empathy may be seen as weakness. But those people tend to be very weak themselves and hide it behind an apathetic exterior."

"I don't need empathy! I have the greatest power of all! Determination! No matter how long it takes, I will find the Avatar! I will find him and I will haul him back before my father! I will find him, if I have to search every brothel, every house in the Earth Kingdom, or even every iceberg in this sea!"

Iroh frowned looking around the cold desolate waters they found themselves in.

"Prince Zuko. We have searched every viable location for the Avatar. I doubt we are going to find him this far south. Every Firebender for 100 years has searched and failed to find him. I don't wish to crush your hopes, but I doubt we will fare better."

"Their honor wasn't on the line. And they didn't have my determination. I will find him no matter what, and father will welcome me back!"

"Prince Zuko, I think you're overworking yourself as well. Perhaps some calming tea would help?"

"I don't need any calming tea! I have to capture the Avatar!"

Iroh looked on with pity at his nephew but accepted that he wasn't moving on this issue and returned to his chair at the front of the ship they had sailed on for two years in pursuit of an unattainable goal.

He knew in his heart Zuko had very little chance to find the Avatar. Three generations of Fire lords had tried and failed, so it was unlikely they would fare any better. He had tried to convince Zuko of this folly, but the young man would have none of it. And so, for two years, they had sailed from one location to another with no luck. No sighting of the Avatar or any other Airbenders. Nothing.

But Zuko refused to give up. Even after all this time. Whatever else his nephew's flaws, he was right about one thing. He did have lots of determination. Iroh worried it would get him killed.

Zuko thought something different as stared off into the distance, watching the ice floating on the water and remaining defiant despite the frigid weather.

"I'll find him. I swear it. I'll show them all. I'll show Azula. I can't wait to see the look on her face."

…

The look on Aang's face was one of awe. The door in front of him was large and wooden and led to the Air Temple Sanctuary. It seemed simple enough. But Aang received a major chill simply from standing so close.

Frisk was wandering around nearby. She too was awed by the empty but still impressive city and its many statues and buildings. Aang gave a morbid grin. If only she could have seen it with life. Oh, what a sight! He only wished he had taken more time to appreciate it.

"Frisk! Frisk on over here, won't you?"

She rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt at humor but frisk over, she did.

"This door…. Gyatso said I would be let in once I was ready. But I never… got the chance."

Frisk looked at him for an explanation.

"I don't know when I would be ready. But I doubt it matters now. If no one else is here, I really don't have a choice. They said there was someone inside I was supposed to meet. But after a hundred years…."

He shrugged. "Well, nothing else for it. Stand back."

He summoned up a ball of wind and blew it into the locking mechanism that adorned the door, causing it to swing wide open.

The children walked in to a room full of hundreds of statues. All of them resembling people he had never met. Some of them however he recognized.

"That's…. that's Avatar Yangchen!"

Frisk looked at him again confused.

"She was the last Avatar of the Air Nation before me!"

Frisk made a number of symbols with her fingers which Aang could not make out.

"I'm sorry. What did you just do?"

She made the symbols again. Still no luck understanding.

"Oh, that's right, you can't speak, can you? You're trying to communicate using the language you used to talk with Toriel."

She nodded.

"That's too bad. I wish I had time to learn it, if only Toriel…" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Frisk's eyes again showing despair. He quickly tried to bring attention away.

"Anyway… as I was saying. You know about the Avatar, right? The one human who can master all four elements, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air?" Frisk nodded.

"Well, it is said that the soul of the Avatar reincarnates after the last Avatar dies. It moves on to the next nation in the cycle. So, here we have Avatar Yangchen. The last Avatar of the Air Nation."

He then walked over to the next in line. A man with the hood of a wolf over his head.

"After she died, the Avatar Spirit was reincarnated as this guy: Avatar Kuruk of the Water Tribe. After he died, the Avatar was born as this big lady with the fans: Avatar Kyoshi of the Earth Kingdom. And then after him, Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation. My predecessor."

He stopped to stare at all the statues there were sure a lot of them. More than he ever imagined.

"To think I might have been placed up here someday. I... never realized there were so many. I…. guess I never realized what I…..."

Aang quickly stopped himself before he went any further. He couldn't tell Frisk. Not now. He wasn't ready.

Fortunately, Frisk wasn't listening to him right now. She was wandering over to the far side of the room. She saw something on an altar near the back next to what was presumably the first Avatar. The inscription at the base read "Avatar Wan," but she was more intrigued with this strange artifact.

She would have had a closer look but just as she reached out to touch it a dog (YES, A DOG. I AM NOT MAKING THIS SH*T UP) leaped out of nowhere and seemingly absorbed it.

Frisk remained stunned as the dog begun to float up into the air. The dog itself looked stunned and began yelping in dismay, floating in circles and back towards the entrance to the room, clearly out of its element.

Aang was still watching the statue of his predecessor Roku as a dog went soaring past him and out the door. Aang quickly snapped his attention away in response.

"Did… did a dog just fly past me?"

To answer his question. Yes. Yes, it had.

"Doggy!" Aang shouted in delight.

Thief, thought Frisk.

…

"99 bottles of cactus juice on the wall. 99 bottles of cactus juice…"

"Please stop…"

"You take one down, throw it at your annoying sister who got you stranded. 98 bottles…"

"You jerk! Be quiet!"

"Or what? You'll cause another tidal wave?"

"I did not cause that tidal wave!"

"Oh yes you did! It was your hands that caused those fissures in the ice! That's what released the water from the ice isn't it!?"

"Well that's only because of what you said about bringing a girl!"

"Fine! Maybe that was uncalled for! What does it matter? We're stuck out here and no one is coming to find us."

"So, what are you going to do? Give up? Our village needs us!"

"I didn't say give up! I just can't think of a solution right now!"

Katara gripped her head in frustration, looking to find any hope of salvation but could find none... wait…

"Look again! Over there! A ship! Over here! Hey!"

In their desperation to get in from the cold, the two water Tribe Siblings weren't really taking note of the size of the ship. Not that they could see in the dark. However, as it came within reach, their relief quickly turned to horror.

"It's the symbol, Katara…. Look at the flag…"

She did look and despair. The flag resembled the exact same flag that haunted her dreams. The flag aboard the grounded ship that always stood as a reminder of their suffering, their horror. Now though, this flag and its ship were not stationary, but very much moving. And with the monsters who took everything from them.

One such monster stood on the bow. A monster she would know for the rest of her days by the scar on his face. As he stared upon them with shock then a grin, she felt her determination leave her and with it her hope.

…

"Come back doggy! Good doggy! I don't want to hurt you! I'm a vegetarian!"

The dog did not appear to be listening. Or it just couldn't control its newfound flight. It continued looping in circles and floating in the air away from the children in pursuit. Aang in pursuit because he was so eager to find another living soul in his home. Frisk because she wanted her damn artifact!

If only they had known how quickly this exciting moment would turn into a frightening realization.

The two pursued the out of control dog into another courtyard behind a curtain.

"Come on doggy," Aang cooed while pulling back the curtain. "I promise we won't hurt…... won't hurt…."

I might, thought Frisk. But at that moment, the dog became the last thing on her mind as she surveyed the skeletons strewn across the courtyard. She recognized the armor.

"Firebenders… So, they were here." Aang looked about in a daze, clearly shaken. But not yet crying. Until he saw the other skeletons at the other end.

"Airbender robes. No… They wouldn't… How could they…. They were innocent!"

His voice rose in anger. He began hyperventilating, old feelings he thought he had buried starting to come back. Feelings of helplessness and rage. He walked amongst the dead, surveying the genocide, his control slowly slipping until he completely lost it at the sight of one particular skeleton in very familiar robes.

"Gyatso…. They killed Gyatso…. No…. no…. they didn't…. they didn't! Those bastards! Those murderous bastards! I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!"

Frisk blown off her feet and back against the wall. She found herself being assaulted by a mega wind unlike anything she had ever felt. She had seen many things in her short life, but nothing like seeing her companion rising into the air and the tattoos along his back glowing brightly. She gasped a silent gasp. This power…. she had read of such power. That meant only one thing….

"The Avatar." She mouthed the title, forgetting she couldn't speak.

…

Far away up north in the temple of the Northern Water Tribe, similar statues of the past lives of the Avatar began to glow. A young girl with white hair kneeling in prayer fell back on her rear in shock.

"Lady Yue! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm all right," the girl assured her guard. "But what does this mean?"

…

"This means only one thing."

"What King Bumi?"

The king grinned.

"It's Flopsie's feeding time!"

The mage shook his head and turned towards the glowing statues in the Earth Kingdom temple. He had never seen anything like this. It meant something important.

…

"This means only one thing."

The leader of the fire mages in the Fire Nation temple turned to the rest of the mages watching in awe.

"Inform the Fire Lord immediately! The Avatar has returned!"

…

In another temple, deep within the Earth Kingdom, hidden from sight, a tall knight in armor watched as the statues glowed.

"He's back. But why now? Why after a whole century? What's he been waiting for?"

"Undyne! Are you sure? Has the Avatar really returned?"

"No doubt. Come Alphys. We must inform King Asgore. Our liberation is at hand!"

…

In the spirit world, disconnected from the human world, a very different entity stirred. Her eyes opened, and she awoke from her sleep as the entire spirit world shook with a curious resonance. A great power that put all the spirits on edge.

For most spirits, it was a power they were accustomed to. Granted it had been a surprisingly long time since they had felt it. A hundred human years in fact. But for her it meant something else. She herself had experienced it very little, given her limited time in the Spirit world. But it meant something to her. It meant something much more personal.

She smiled. A genuine smile. Her eyes widened. She would appear to the untrained eye a normal girl with rosy cheeks, brown hair and a green shirt. But to those who knew better, behind that smile lay something much worse. Something no longer human.

"Welcome back Aang. We've got some business to settle."

…

Frisk by contrast was not smiling. She didn't have time to process the fact that the boy she had dragged out of the ice was the all-powerful entity who had abandoned the world to war. If she didn't do something to calm him down, she was going to be blown into the ocean.

It appeared the time to hide her gift was over. Aang's anguish over the loss of his mentors was tied directly to his loneliness. His belief that the death of his community and the death of Toriel rendered him the sole Airbender in the world. It was time to prove him wrong.

Frisk was not an expert in the art. She had not received a teacher like Aang. But she had learned a few things from Toriel.

"Be like the leaf." She could hear her mother figure speaking even from beyond the grave. Rather than fight against the gusts holding her back, she let it take her.

The hurricane spun her around and around, nearly making her lose her lunch. But she kept her hands out, waiting until she was close enough. Taking the opportunity, she used the air from her legs to launch herself at the physical god.

She closed her hands around him, causing his eyes to widen in shock and slowly settle down to the ground below. His eyes and tattoos stopped their glowing and the hurricane ceased.

He looked at her with tears in his eyes. Thinking, she used the air to knock down a pot of sand and used it to create words in the sand as it lay strewn across the ground.

"You are not the last Airbender."

He gave a grief-filled smile as he lay his head against her chest. They remained that way for a bit before she made more words in the sand.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He looked at her hard.

"Because all this… is my fault. Everything that's happened to you and our people. It's all my fault."

She decided not to press him more at the moment, and simply held him amidst the bones of his dead family.

Aang had arrived full of determination. Now he had none.