Chapter Text
Cold stabbed through you in sharp waves.
Not just cold—glacial. The kind that sank into your bones and made them chatter.
You coughed as your head broke the surface again, lungs burning as you gasped for air that felt like it was cutting you from the inside out. Ice water slapped against your face every time the waves rolled. Your fingers scraped against something solid.
Ice.
A jagged slab drifting in the middle of an endless frozen ocean. You didn’t think—your body just reacted.
You dragged yourself onto it, coughing violently, limbs shaking so hard you almost slipped back into the water twice before you managed to cling to the edge.
For a moment, all you could do was breathe.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Your heart hammered like it was trying to escape your chest. Then reality started to settle in. Endless arctic. Floating ice stretching in every direction. Gray sky frowning down on the world.
No land.
No ships.
No sound except the water moving under you.
“…What is this place?” you rasped. Your voice was hoarse, barely there. You pressed your forehead against the ice, shivering so violently your teeth clicked.
Think. You had to think.
You remembered things—home, people, life—but nothing that explained this. No plane crash. No fall. No boat. Nothing.
Just the ocean.
Then, like it was destiny, a shape moved in the distance. You lifted your head slowly. At first, you thought it was a trick of the cold.
But no.
Something was gliding in the air over the water. A massive creature navigating through the ice fields with effortless speed, its body furry and impossibly large.
Your breath caught. Then you saw them. Three figures riding it. One taller, dressed in fur-lined blue clothing. Another in similar cloth, but more feminine. The final smaller, more animated, leaning forward as if searching the horizon.
You felt both relief and fear. People, real people, on a giant creature.
“Hey—!” You tried to shout, but your voice cracked into the wind. It came out weak. Lost instantly in the open air.
The creature kept moving closer. Your grip tightened on the ice as panic crept back in. If you missed them, you didn’t know if you’d survive much longer out here. So you forced yourself upright, ignoring the pain in your freezing hands, and shouted again.
“HEY!” This time, it carried.
The smaller figure on the creature’s head snapped their head toward you. They pointed to you. The larger boy turned immediately. All eyes locked onto you.
The creature dipped suddenly, its massive body moving slowly towards you. You could feel the wind as it flowed through your hair. Up close, it was even bigger than you thought. White fur rippled along its body and a wide, flat tail steered it through the air.
“Hang on!” On of them shouted, but you were so focused you almost missed it.
You shifted, steadying yourself as your platform rocked with the wind. It was far too small for them to land on, so the girl offered you her hand. You gladly took it, hoisting yourself up into the large saddle with her help.
”Katara! Aang! I told you not to pick up the potential fire nation spy,” The boy in blue reprimanded as he gave you the stink eye.
”She was stranded and freezing.” The girl, Katara, draped a fur coat over you, which you thanked her for. “We couldn’t just leave her there.”
”Speaking of, how did you get there?” The boy piloting the bison, Aang, asked.
”I… I don’t know.” You snuggled into the fur, finally warming up.
Now that you were in a better state of mind, you recognized these people. You recognized the bison you were riding. It couldn’t be, could it?
”Well that’s not suspicious at all,” Sokka said sarcastically, crossing his arms.
"Can you not do this right now?" Katara glared at him. "She was freezing to death. Give her a second."
"That's just what she wants you to think." Sokka didn't back down. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing at you like he was trying to read your intentions.
"I'm serious, I have no idea how I got here," you replied, a defensive feeling washing over you.
"It's okay," Aang spoke, looking toward you. "You don't have to remember right away."
"Or." He clearly wasn't convinced, nor was he going to let this go anytime soon. "You do remember and you're just not telling us."
"Sokka..." Katara groaned.
"What? We're in the middle of a war! People lie!"
You swallowed down your thoughts, fingers tightening slightly in the fur draped around you. You really wanted to speak your mind, but you knew they wouldn't believe you, nor would it turn out well.
"But I'm not," you finally spoke. "Look, I know you have no reason to trust me. A random person showing up in the arctic; no explanation on how they got there? I would be suspicious too."
Sokka opened his mouth again, presumably to argue, but Aang spoke first.
"We're helping her." He shot Sokka a look. "That's final."
The time that passed after that was silent; the tension in the air could be cut with a water whip. The conversation before had been so distracting that you hadn't noticed you all were flying. Now that you had, you could take in the clouds and blue sky. At what point in the timeline was this, you wondered.
"Where are we going?" You asked, breaking the silence.
"We're heading to the southern air temple!" Aang exclaimed excitedly.
The Southern Air Temple. So it was early, very early. Aang hadn't even fully confronted what had happened to the air nomads. He knew, but he didn't—couldn't believe it. Your stomach twisted in sorrow.
"Cool," You said, forcing your voice to sound lighter. Then you looked at Sokka and sarcastically said, "am I allowed to ask why, great warrior?"
Katara snickered as Sokka grimaced.
"It's my home," Aang said simply. "Where I grew up."
His voice sounded lighter, almost nostalgic, like he was reminiscing the past.
"I haven't been there in a hundred years," he added, almost like an afterthought. "I wanna show them that I'm okay."
Your chest tightened at that. If only he knew.
"That, and," Katara started, her eyes communicating something unspoken. "We're trying to help Aang learn more about being the avatar."
You nodded, not knowing what else to say.
The sun was getting really low, so Aang guided Appa to land. There was a secluded island that would be safe for the night. It was covered in nature, untouched by humans.
"Lets set up camp here for the night," Aang said as you landed in a small clearing in the middle of the island's forest.
After sliding off Appa's back, you took a moment to take in your surroundings. You could actually see the stars clearly. The air felt clean. This place wasn't tainted with pollution, allowing you too truly admire the beauty of nature. Though, the animals weren't like the ones where you came from.
"Hey, uhh—" Katara got you out of your trance. You gave her your name. "Can you help us set up camp?"
The next day, everyone set off again. You found it surprisingly peaceful so high up. There were more that a few times you caught yourself gazing out at the landscape.
"Who ate my blubbered seal jerky?" Sokka pointed at you, "did you steal it? I knew you couldn't be trusted!"
"Oh, that was food?" Aang spoke up, "I used it to start the fire last night. Sorry."
You giggled at Sokka's disappointment as he was proven wrong.
"The Potola mountain range!" Aang said excitedly. "We're almost there!"
"Aang, before we get to the temple," Katara said solemnly, "I want to talk to you about the airbenders."
"What about 'em?"
You tuned out the rest of their conversation; you knew how it went. All you wanted to do right now was watch the scenery go by as if you were a passenger were looking out of a car window. So that's exactly what you did until you arrived at the Southern Air temple.
"Wow, Aang," Katara said, amazed. "It's amazing!"
"Amaze amaze amaze!" You said as you took in the temple. She was right, It was amazing. A screen didn't do this place any justice.
It was as if it was out of a fantasy novel, which you supposed it technically was. Up above the clouds was a vast mountain range that would stump even the most skilled climbers. When Aang said it was only accessible by flying bison, he wasn't kidding. The temple really reflected the air nomad philosophy through tall, spiraling towers and large, open spaces. The buildings weren't truly closed off from the outside world, allowing them to feel airy and free. The walk to the temple really let you appreciate the architecture.
You could only imagine how lively it must've been when the air nomads were still here. Sure, it was still breathtaking, but it was also desolate. It felt abandoned.
"This is where my friends and I would play Airball," Aang pointed to an airball field, then to a bison stable, "and over there is where the bison would sleep and..." He sighed.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked.
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds." Aang's dejection did nothing to quell your own. "I can't believe how much things have changed."
"How do you play Airball?" You asked offhandedly. Katara, Sokka, and you looked at each other knowingly.
That's how you found yourself on top of a wooden post in the Airball field. Sokka had tried playing before you, but you said that you wanted to give it a try.
You took a deep breath, focusing on the ball as it headed for you. Holding up your hands, you caught it! But you weren't holding it. The ball was hovering over your hand.
You were airbending!
"You're an airbender!" Aang shouted, ecstatic at the revelation. Sokka and Katara stared at you in awe, their attention causing you to drop the ball.
"I didn't know I could do that." You stared at your hands as if they weren't your own.
"Do you guys know what this means?" Katara said, "Aang isn't the last airbender!"
Aang didn't hesitate jumping over to you. He was clearly very happy to not be the last airbender.
"Wow! Maybe they survived!" He thought aloud, "maybe they just found another place to hide."
"I don't know, Aang," you really did not want to get his hopes up for nothing. "I've never even met another airbender, besides you."
"That both is and is not hard to believe." Sokka hummed suspiciously.
"Yeah, if you've never met any, then where did you come from?" Aang asked. It's something that you knew they had been dying to know.
You thought about telling them the truth, but it would be too complicated to tell. Would they understand modern things? Could they? That is if they even believed you. But if you didn't tell them, then you would have to lie. You would have to create a convoluted story just to keep them satisfied. They were all smart and capable people, they would surely find out sooner or later.
You took a deep breath.
"I'm not from this world," you stated truthfully. "And I truly don't know how I got here."
"What do you mean by that?" Katara asked.
At this point, you and Aang were on the ground, off of the wooden posts that made the Airball field. It was easier when everyone was on the same level.
"Where I'm from, the world isn't like this," you started. "We don't have bending or flying bison. Humans are more technologically advanced, and you guys are just characters in a TV show."
"What's a "TV show"," Sokka questioned.
"It's like a play, only recorded, like a moving painting." You explained it as best you could. "And if everything here is the same as what I saw at home, then..." You didn't want to say it out loud. You couldn't.
They all looked at you like you were crazy. At this point, you were convinced you were. This could've been a dream, but the pain of the cold from earlier told a different story.
"That's it." Sokka stressed. "Either she's mad or she's a witch. Or both!"
"I know it sounds crazy, but that's the only explanation I have." You shrugged.
"She's telling the truth," Aang said.
"How do you know?" Katara asked.
"I just feel it."
"Oh great!" Sokka started again, "lets trust the mad witch!"
"If Aang believes her, then I do too." Katara stood beside Aang and you.
"Fine!" Sokka gave in. "But if she does anything, I get to say I told you so."
"Thank you for believing me." A moment of awkward silence followed.
"Come on!" Aang broke the silence. "We still have a whole temple to explore! And you gotta explain what a TV show is."