Four times a mysterious spirit helped Lance ...

I

After Rebecca's death, Lance couldn't sleep. He had nightmares of ashes raining from the sky and of his sister smiling at him before being burned alive.

Lance was seven, but it was clear to him too that the bad men had come for him, not Rebecca.

If he weren't special, Rebecca would still be alive, and dad and the others wouldn't have to leave.

It's all my fault. If I wasn't different, the men in red wouldn't have come to the village.

It wasn't a rational thought, but Lance was traumatized and frightened. Veronica tried to help him, but there was little she could do, especially now that the responsibilities of leading the tribe will fall on her.

The war had no mercy on anyone, not even the children.

Lance would have another sleepless night, and he was almost resigned. Then he heard the song.

It was a low, sweet melody, a lullaby from his tribe.

Rebecca used to sing it to him when he was younger and throw a tantrum.

But his sister had never had such a beautiful voice.

Beside his bed, there were many small lights, like stars. He should be afraid. It was just him and Veronica, anything could happen.

But instead, he was calm, lulled by the sweet notes of the lullaby. He wasn't afraid, the spirit, because he was sure that it was that (as in the stories of his sister of him), it wouldn't hurt him.

Lance fell asleep, and for the first time, he had no nightmares.

II

In less than twenty-four hours the village was attacked by the Fire Nation navy, Lance and Veronica rescued an airbender and hid in a ghostly temple.

Oh, and he had flown in a flying bison. That was probably one of the few good things that had happened to him that day.

They had ended up in a mess.

The worst? Veronica and Allura didn't get along.

They had been arguing ever since they arrived at the temple, their arguments would have made him deaf.

They were both too similar to get along. Ah, and to say that everyone thought airbenders were pacifists by nature.

"You don't even have a plan!" Veronica yelled at Allura.

"Of course I have it. I have to find the Avatar." "The Avatar is dead."

Allura said firmly, "The Avatar is alive."

"How do you know it? "

"The cycle didn't stop. "

"So you know what he looks like?"

Allura bit her lip, embarrassed, "He or she is definitely in the Earth Kingdom."

"But do you know who he is?" Veronica asked her again.

Allura's hesitation was a sufficient response.

Veronica's reaction was explosive. Hell, Lance expected some ghost to wake up and ask for silence.

Something woke up, but it wasn't a ghost: a strong blue light passed the girls, and stopped at the entrance to a corridor.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Allura said.

"Oh, it'll make it easier for us to fall into a trap."

"If the spirit had wanted us dead, it would have killed us already!"

Lance groaned. Not another discussion! In order not to hear them, he followed the spirit. It was better a trap than listen to them!

He went down to the basement of the temple, to a circular room where he could not see an inch from his nose. The spirit was in front of him, illuminating the faces of some statues.

" What place is this?"

"Here the monks have recorded every incarnation of the Avatar since his second incarnation."

Lance nearly had a heart attack. He stammered, "Do you speak?!"

The spirit replied amused, "Are you surprised? So many times I sang for you before you fall asleep. "

"Mhm..."

"Don't worry if you don't remember me. You were very young. "

"Why did you do that?" he asked her. He didn't think spirits were usually concerned with putting human children to sleep.

The spirit didn't answer him: instead, she flew next to the statue of a little girl, where there was an empty seat.

Lance ignored the tightness in his chest at the sight of the statue, and asked, "The statue of the new Avatar is missing. Does that mean he's still alive? "

Please say yes.

The world couldn't wait another thirty years before the Avatar was ready to fight Zarkon.

"He is, but his life is in danger. Haggar has locked him up in Pohuai Stronghold, and if you don't free him, he will die. And there may not be another Avatar after him. "

"Why?"

The spirit explained, "Haggar is close to finding out how to break the cycle of the Avatar. She is close to discovering it. For this, you must hurry. "

In practice, the fate of the world was on their shoulders. Wow, and to say that Lance thought taking care of the village children was a grueling task.

" Who is he?" he asked, not wanting to risk saving a random guy as the Avatar died in the next cell.

"His name is ... Takashi Shirogane."

III

The spirit world was shrouded in a fog in which it was difficult to walk in. Lance had been there for hours - hours? He wasn't sure. Maybe days had passed, and heaven forbid, months. - and he always went back to where he started.

He wanted to scream in anger.

He had been kidnapped by the spirit that was haunting the village as he tried to flirt with a girl.

For once he wanted to do something normal, and this is what happened to him!

Ridiculous. Keith won't stop teasing him. And this time he would also be right. Not that Lance will ever admit it.

The ape spirit, or whatever animal it represented, never showed up again. Maybe it wanted to give him a false sense of security before attacking him, or perhaps it had no interest in the weak waterbender of the group.

He didn't know which of the two options was better.

"Hey! I'm not the Avatar or an airbender master, but I deserve a little respect too! "

There was no reaction. Lance bit his lip. And so was the second option. Great, really great.

He had been caught by mistake and abandoned. Ah, what a joke!

He hoped that Shiro would be able to overcome his aversion to the Avatar State and come get him. He didn't want to spend his whole life here.

"I know I'm not the first choice for a kidnapping, and that you would have preferred someone stronger, but you have me, so how about you come and talk or, what do I know ... try to solve the matter without making too much trouble?"

"You aren't weak."

The voice almost made him jump. Above him, there was the spirit of a woman wrapped in a blue light. It was the only light that illuminated the fog in which he was wrapped.

She was very beautiful, and she felt her heart squeeze as she watched her. She looked like Rebecca.

"You're lost," she told him, and it was hard not to answer her with a sarcastic do you think it, lady?

"Blue Spirit!"

The spirit smiled at him, "Is this the name you gave me?"

"Is there another way I can call you?"

"Not yet, Lance."

There was a roar, a sign that his captor was nearby and he was very angry. Shit, what had his friends been up to to make it angrier?

The woman held out her hand to him, "I'll lead you out of here. Your destiny is with the Avatar. "

Lance pursed his lips in a thin line, "With the Avatar?

After that, I'll be lucky if Shiro still wants me in his group. I'm weak, I can't fight and all I can do is get in trouble. "

It wasn't even the first time: first the pirates, then Jet, and now this. If it wasn't a sign, he didn't know what else he was.

The woman looked at him with blue eyes so similar to hers, "The Avatar would be a fool not to want you next to him. You are destined for greatness, Lance.

"

"Me? It's a joke?"

The spirit gave him a caress, a sweetness in the gesture that seemed almost maternal, "Remember, water is the element of change. Of the four elements, it is the one that adapts most easily. You are like your element. You'll find your way with your strength. "

"I..."

"We don't have any more time. The spirit world isn't for mortals, even if they are spiritually gifted like you. I'll take you to safety."

She swept him away in a whirlwind. He closed his eyes. When Lance opened them again, he was in Keith's arms.

Apparently, for Blue Spirit the safest place for Lance was with Keith.

IV

Hunk had insisted on the shortcut. He had forgotten that with the luck they all had, there was a risk of falling into a trap, meeting Fire Nation soldiers, or getting lost.

Getting into a cursed tunnel and losing the rest of the group was the least that could happen.

At least Lance was with Keith: the firebender had lit a flame to make them orient, and for some time now they had been looking for the others.

Keith coughed, "Did you hear the legend?"

"Legend?"

"The musicians we met earlier sang a version of it ..."

Ah. That explains why Lance didn't remember: those guys got on his nerves and they were just lucky there wasn't a river nearby, otherwise he would have drowned them in it.

"The legend of Oma and Shu. It is said that they were the first earthbenders and that they created these tunnels for their encounters ... "

"Let me guess: he died."

"Yeah, but instead of taking revenge, she put an end to the war. According to their song ...love is brightest in the dark ... "

Before Lance asked what he was talking about, a blue light appeared before them.

Lance smiled.

The Blue Spirit had come to help them.

Lance cheered, "Well, now we have a guide. It's not Oma or Shu, but I'm sure she knows the way. "

"Yeah... good..." Keith said, looking disappointed. What did he expect, a kiss?

The answer would surprise them both.

... and the time he finally found out who she was.

The spirit of the moon was dead, and the world had lost its color. Lance fell to his knees, supported by Keith and Veronica. He felt weak, his body a boulder.

Waterbenders were the first to feel the effects of the Moon's death. Then all the others will come. Did Zhao think he could win a war when he had just upset the balance of the world? He was crazier than Lance thought.

"Zhao ran away ..." he said to Keith, almost in a gasp. Someone had to take him and make him pay.

There wasn't much they could do for the Moon, but at least they could avenge her.

That's what the spirit of the ocean was doing at that moment, and it will take all of Shiro's diplomacy to stop him from blaming the tribe as well.

Keith pursed his lips, "You need me."

"I'll protect him," Veronica said, but it was clear from the trembling of her hands that she too was feeling the death of the spirit.

Keith grimaced, "With all due respect, soon you won't even be able to stand up again. If more soldiers come, you will be in trouble. "

"I can still fight. Someone has to kill Zhao and appease the spirit of the ocean. "

"It won't bring the moon back," Keith said, and spirits, he hated that he was right. Of all the times he was the voice of reason, he had to do it now.

There was a siege, they could not afford to be morally superior. Zhao had to die. And if he could, Lance would kill him with his own hands.

"Since when is burning everything no longer your first option?"

"Since you can't even get up. I won't leave you behind. You are too important to die here. "

How could Tui and La say certain things with such a serious face? Damn Keith.

"Lance ..."

He looked up at the sound of that voice. The light shone before their eyes, bringing color back to the world. The woman who had saved him materialized, calm expression and sad eyes.

"It can't be..."

Lance looked confused at his sister, "What are you talking about?"

"Lance ... do you know who she is?" "She is Blue Spirit."

" Blue Spirit?"

Veronica looked at her with a complicated expression as the woman apologized, "I'm sorry I didn't reveal myself earlier, my child. But it was never the right time. "

"All this time, it was you ... mom."

Lance opened his mouth but closed it again. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to say.

Dad always said mom was with Tui and La. He never understood how literal it was though.

The spirit smiled, "You were so young when I died. I didn't think you still remember me. "

"I could never forget you," Veronica said, touching her necklace. It was Rebecca's, before her. She had taken it after her death.

No one had ever told him that the first owner was their mother.

"You've grown so much ... I'm sorry I wasn't with you when you needed it ..."

She tried to caress their heads, but it was as if cold air passed over them.

Her lip quivered, "I'm proud of both of you. Even without me, you have done great things. And you will do more. "

"How? The moon is dead. The world has lost its balance, "Veronica said, her voice broken with emotion.

"All is not lost. It is time for me to give back what I was given. "

She turned to the koi fish's corpse, "I survived thanks to the Moon. I became a spirit thanks to her power. The time has come for me to fulfill my destiny and take her place. "

"But then you will disappear."

And we won't be able to see you again, Lance added mentally.

What a twist of fate: Lance had always wanted to know more about the woman who had given him life, and he had had her next to him without knowing it.

And now she will disappear forever.

Mom turned to them, "I'm not going to disappear.

For me a new cycle will begin, I will have a different shape. But I will always be with you, even if you don't see me. "

Veronica was to hold back the tears. Lance couldn't do the same. He felt Keith's warm hand on his shoulder, an awkward attempt to offer him support.

"I wish I had more time with you," he told her. "When you feel lost, look at the sky. I will be there." It wasn't the same, though.

He felt selfish to complain: the spirit of the moon would be reborn and the world would return to equilibrium.

His mother's place would become sky, and she would no longer have time to worry about humble mortals on Earth. Even if they were her children.

They heard loud explosions coming from behind them. The spirit of the ocean was wreaking havoc.

There was no more time.

Mom gave him and Veronica a misty kiss, and before giving herself to the Moon, she said, "Take care of him."

Lance thought she was telling Veronica. He didn't realize she was looking at Keith.

It was the last thing she said. Then she touched the fish and the world exploded in a kaleidoscope of color.

The Moon spirit now had a new name.