Part three, posted at 10:56 pm in my timezone... 😅 This is the last part of the fic's first chapter! Next will be Aang's POV! Once again, criticism is appreciated, no hate please, and please help me come up with a name for the fic!
You see, when I calmed down from my fit of despair, the avatars of the past reached out to me.
They told me that in time the other avatar, the one who had disappeared a hundred years ago, would return, and that I must be ready to do what I need to in order to right the wrongs of the world.
So I've been searching, far and wide, for the other avatar.
Over the course of these past three years, I've opened myself up to the spirit world, trying to connect more with my destiny.
During the later half of the first year of my journey, I began to be able to feel the other avatar's presence, and I eventually found where he was.
For the past hundred years he was frozen in an iceberg in the middle of the south pole.
The ice he was surrounded by preserved his body and stopped his heart, which was what caused the avatar cycle to continue.
Despite this, he's not dead.
The ice froze his heart, sure, but as soon as it melts, thaws, or breaks, the avatar will awaken, and I will have both an airbending teacher and an ally in the coming fight.
When I originally found the avatar, I was going to melt the ice and free him, as well as the giant creature frozen with him (that hopefully super dangerous), but my consciousness was launched into the spirit realm, where I was told by past avatar Roku, avatar Kyoshi, and avatar Szeto, that it was not time for him to awaken yet.
I agreed to not let him out, and with that, I was shoved back into my body.
When I was, the presence that radiated from the avatar felt different than it had before. The presence was filled with a feeling, the feeling of curiosity.
I was overwhelmed with confusion at the sudden shift.
As if sensing my extreme confusion, the presence became calming, as if trying to help me chill out. (Ha ha, south pole, iceberg, “chill” out, ha ha… I know, that was awful… I'll see myself out! 😅 I, the author, apologize on my behalf! 🥲)
It honestly did help me calm down, and the presence seemed to sense that too, filling with happiness a couple seconds after I was fully calm.
Unfortunately, I had to leave right after, but when I came back the next time, I decided to test something.
When I came back, I decided to try talking to the avatar, to see if he could possibly hear me from inside the iceberg.
The presence filled with hope.
The avatar was probably hoping that my hello was directed towards him, since he most likely hasn't been able to talk with anyone in a hundred years.
Luckily for him, I was talking to him, so I continued speaking.
“My name is Zuko, and I wanted to talk to you, avatar.”
The presence radiated more excitement than a group of toddlers playing forest fire at the avatar's realization that I was indeed talking to him!
“Can I stay here with you for a bit?” I asked.
I wanted to get to know my future ally the best I could before he was freed from the iceberg, so that we would already be acquainted when we meet face to face for the first time.
The presence was pulsing overwhelmingly with approval, and it made my head hurt.
The avatar noticed and instantly toned it down, the presence shifting from approval to guilt.
“It's alright!” I said, not wanting him to feel bad.
The presence brightened again, but it was noticeably less strong, which was appreciated.
After that, we continued to “talk” for the next hour or two, until I could hear my uncle calling for me in the distance.
“I must leave now!” I said to him, but after sensing his sadness I quickly told him that, “I promise I'll be back!”
With that, I left feeling the joy the avatar felt over my promise, which I intended on keeping.
For the next year and a half, I continued to journey all around the world, my crew and uncle still believing that I was looking for the avatar, while in reality, I was finding whatever scrolls I could on water bending and earth bending at each stop we made.
I also stopped at each of the air temples to search for information on air bending.
Every other month, I would travel south, so that I could visit the iceberg in which the avatar was trapped in, checking to see if he was still stuck, and talking to him.
This leads me to my current situation.Three years after my banishment and here I am, checking on the avatar once again.
(I don't like just calling him “the avatar” since I'm the avatar too, but I don't know his name, so I have nothing else I could call him. I'll have to find out once he wakes up.)
My ship sails forward as I stand at the highest deck, my hands at my sides, staring out at the open sea.
My uncle stands behind me, his clothes casual and not meant for the cold even though we are in one of the poles.
“I'm going to bed now!” he says, yawning and stretching his hands over his head after he does so.
“Yep,” he quips, “a man needs his rest!”
He pauses before speaking to me, softening his voice.
“Prince Zuko, You need some sleep.”
I don't respond, and he sighs before continuing.
“Even if you're right, and the avatar is still alive, you won't find him. Your Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather all tried and failed.”
My breath hitches slightly, not because he's right, but because he doesn't know just how wrong he is.
It makes me feel guilty for dragging him and my crew all around the world in “search” for the avatar, all while knowing exactly where he is, and while knowing that another one exists and is leading said “search”.
Once this is all over, I promise myself that I will find a way to send my entire crew on the most expensive and extravagant vacations ever.
(I'll also help my uncle fulfill his dream of opening a tea shop, no matter what.)
I respond to his words with the same type of answer I always give, the one that always makes him drop the topic.
“Because their honor didn't hinge on the avatar's capture, mine does! This coward's hundred years in hiding are over!”
My uncle sighs once again, leaving me to stare out at the ocean once more.
I grab the rails of the deck, and await my chance to speak with the avatar once more.
