Chapter 318: Absolute Trust by Urbanator93
One of the very best Avatar Fanfics out there this is a must read
Words: 400k+
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13960154/1/
(After an apartment fire leaves him stranded in the world of Avatar, Alec must decide what to do with his knowledge of this world. Will the changes he makes help, or will they cause even more problems? Follows canon story for the most part, with all canon pairings. )
Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.
Chapter 1:
Fire and Snow
The smell of smoke woke me up. I saw an orange glow from outside my bedroom door.
"Shit! The apartment's on fire!" I thought frantically. "I have to get out of here!"
I threw open my door and was greeted with the sight of orange flames consuming the hallway between my room and the front door.
"This is bad. This is very, VERY BAD!"
I went back in my room and put on my shoes. I was hoping that the floor wouldn't collapse before I made it outside. I took a deep breath, opened the door and ran for it. I made it about halfway to the front door before the floor gave out.
Suddenly I was falling into fire. I was horrified that my life was about to end like this. I saw the fire getting closer to my falling body, I closed my eyes, waiting for the end to come. I hoped the fall would break my neck and kill me. It would be better than burning to death.
I landed on something soft and cold. Something like...snow? That didn't make any sense. I slowly opened my eyes.
"What...the...fuck?!"
I was outside, and there was snow as far as the eye could see. Also, it looked like it was the middle of the day. I suddenly realized how cold I was. I was just wearing sweatpants, a hoodie and tennis shoes. Not exactly ideal winter gear.
"How the fuck did I get here?" I thought frantically. "Where even IS here?! Focus, Alec. Survival now, questions later."
I turned around in a complete circle, looking desperately for signs of life. I had almost made a complete 360 when I saw what looked like smoke in the distance. I started trudging towards it, already feeling like every inch of exposed skin was being stabbed with pins and needles. I could just about make out a group of tents and one massive igloo in the distance near where the smoke was coming from. A village! That was great! If I could make it I could survive. I was already feeling tired from the cold and whatever smoke I had inhaled from my burning apartment. I don't know how long I spent walking, wrapping my arms around myself in a desperate bid to keep warm. It could have been minutes but it felt like hours or even days. I was beginning to lose hope that I would make it.
"Hey, do you need help?"
I turned my head to see the source of the voice. It was a boy, about my height. He was wearing furs, which were blue, oddly enough. His face was covered by some kind of scarf, and he was wearing a hood, so his deep blue eyes were the only part of his face that I could see. He was carrying a spear tipped with something that looked like bone, but I couldn't be sure. He was also dragging a sled behind him big enough to hold three people.
"Y-y-yes p-p-please." I managed to get out through my chattering teeth.
"Spirits, you're freezing to death!" he exclaimed. "Hop on my sled, I'll get you to the village and help you warm up."
"T-t-thank y-y-you." I stuttered.
"You can thank me if you live, now get on!" he yelled.
I didn't so much get on the sled as fall on it. The boy turned it towards his village and pushed off. By the time we reached the tents I was fading in and out of consciousness. I was only able to hear snippets of conversations going on around me.
"...kka, who is he?" I heard a girl's voice ask with urgency.
"I don't know...ra. Found him...side vill...freezing...death." I heard the boy respond.
"Get him...igloo...fire...soup!" I heard the girl yell.
"Way ahead...you!" the boy said.
I passed out.
I was vaguely aware of my clothes being cut off with some kind of knife, and having hot soup poured down my throat at regular intervals. I was so out of it that time passed like a blur.
Some Time Later
I woke up with a start. I immediately tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. My head was spinning.
"Take it easy, child. Don't get up so quickly. You're lucky to be alive. Don't tempt fate right now."
I turned my head. I was looking at an old woman. She had a kind face, dark brown skin, the same blue eyes as the boy who saved me, and two bangs of her gray hair were attached to a braid that ran down her back. She was wearing a blue dress with white fur trimming. Even though I was certain that I had never met this woman in my life, she looked very familiar.
I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I was in an igloo, with a fire pit in the middle of the room. There were furs lining the floor and hanging on the walls, along with a few spears similar to what the boy had been carrying earlier.
I looked down, and realized I was wearing new clothes. I had on a thick light blue shirt, with some dark blue pants. Both were trimmed with white fur. I was also wearing some brown boots that felt kind of like leather, but different from any leather I remembered. I also realized I was wearing new underwear, that did not feel like boxers in any way, shape or form.
That meant that these people had undressed me and seen me completely naked!
Oh no.
A flash of amusement crossed the woman's face. "Typical boys, so concerned about who sees you naked even when you're freezing to death. You don't need to worry. The only people who helped dress you were myself and my grandson. Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before."
"Well, that's not so bad. At least I'm alive." I chuckled. "Thank you so much for helping me. What happened to my old clothes?"
"They were frozen and stuck to your body, we had to cut them off and burn them." she replied. "One of the children used your footwear to make a set of ears for a snowman, so they're ruined too. I'm sorry, child."
"It's no big deal. I'm just happy to be alive and healthy." I said. Suddenly I realized that I didn't even know this kind woman's name. "Please forgive my manners, I just realized that I haven't introduced myself. My name's Alec."
"My name is Kanna, but everyone calls me Gran Gran. Welcome to the Southern Water Tribe."
I nearly fell over. It shouldn't be possible. It couldn't be. No way.
"My grandchildren will want to meet you. I'll go get them."
I just nodded with a blank expression on my face. It couldn't be. It defied all logic. It was impossible. I sat down on the bed, trying to process everything. The curtain in front of the igloo opened and Gran Gran walked back in with two new people. People that I recognized from my childhood. People that, even though they didn't really exist, I knew quite well.
Oh...FUCK!
"Alec, these are my grandchildren, Sokka and Katara. Sokka was the one who found you outside the village."
Sokka gave me a friendly wave and said "I'm glad to see you survived."
"I hope you're feeling okay." Katara said with a warm smile.
I was floored. Somehow I had ended up literally falling into the world of my favorite story growing up. What was I going to do? Should I join the plot? Should I avoid the plot? Could I help? Would I only make things worse?
"You okay there?" Sokka asked with a concerned look on his face.
I realized I was just staring at them like an idiot. I had to say something.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm still getting my bearings." I said while rubbing the back of my head nervously. "Could you give me an hour or two to finish waking up? I'll be happy to talk to you then."
"That's okay. We'll be waiting for you outside. Come find us when you're ready to talk."
"I will. Thank you for saving my life."
Now I was alone in the tent. Now I could start to make sense of this situation.
"How did I get here?" No idea.
"Why am I here?" Same answer.
"Should I try to go back?" I don't even know if I could. Also, I don't have anything to go back to. My parents are dead, and I'm an only child. I didn't have a girlfriend. I was just some nobody paper-pusher working at a desk.
"Should I join them on their quest?" It would probably be a good idea. At least I wouldn't be bored and stuck in the South Pole while the Gaang saved the world.
"How do I prepare to join their quest?" I'll think of something. Hopefully I'll have a few weeks before Aang shows up.
"Do I tell them the truth?" I think I should wait until Aang shows up, and I'll think of something then.
"What do I tell them until then?" I'll improvise.
"Well," I muttered to myself, "At least I'm not in the Shyamalan movie."
"If I were in that Spirits-forsaken film, I'd probably steal Sokka's boomerang and cut my own throat."
I stood up, and walked over to the doorway. I opened the flap, and I was surprised to see that Katara and Sokka were still standing there, waiting for me. It was surreal seeing two cartoon people look like real people. They were still easily recognizable, they just looked like real-life versions of themselves.
I raised an eyebrow. "Were you waiting for me this whole time?" I asked.
"There's not much to do around this village. You showing up half dead is the most exciting thing that's happened in years." Sokka replied.
Katara smacked him upside the head. "Sokka! Don't be rude."
"What? It's true." He whined.
"At least I'm not boring." I said with a smirk. "Come on in. Make yourselves at home. Then again, this is already your home."
"I like this guy." Sokka laughed. "Of course you do." Katara said with a roll of her eyes.
"So, I bet you two have a lot of questions for me. Go ahead and ask."
"How old are you?" Katara asked.
"I'm twe-"
"You're fifteen" a voice spoke in my head, cutting me off.
"What?" I thought to myself.
"When I brought you to this world, I reduced your age to fifteen. Don't you feel a little smaller than you used too?" the voice responded.
I thought about it. I did feel shorter, and younger. And I had more energy than I remembered having.
"Who are you?" I thought.
"All will be revealed in time. For now, don't be rude to your hosts." the voice answered.
"Alec, are you okay?" Katara said with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine." I said "I just lost my thoughts there for a second. What was the question?"
"How old are you?" she said.
"I'm fifteen." I said.
"Cool, we're the same age!" Sokka said with a grin. "Now it's my turn. Where are you from and how did you get here?"
I didn't want to lie to them, but I couldn't make them believe the truth yet. I had to play this carefully. "I'm sorry. I don't really know where I'm from." I said, doing my best to look apologetic. "I never saw a map growing up, and I never really left my house. As for how I got here, I remember that there was a fire, and the next thing I knew, I was in the South Pole."
Katara looked horrified "I'm so sorry you don't know. Do you have any family?"
"No." I quickly replied. "I don't have any siblings, and my parents have been dead for years."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to them?" Katara asked. "Did the Fire Nation kill them?"
As much as I didn't like the Ozai-run Fire Nation, I didn't want to blame them for something they didn't do. "No, there was an accident." I said. "They went to the market in a nearby village and got hit by a runaway carriage. Something spooked the ostrich horse or something." It wasn't a total lie. My parents went to the farmer's market and got hit by a car.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Katara said with a sympathetic look on her face. "The Fire Nation killed our mother several years ago in a raid. Our Dad took all the village's men with him to fight them in the war."
I knew all about Kya's sacrifice. That was one of the saddest moments in the show for me. "I'm sorry about your mom." I said with complete sincerity.
"Thank you for your sympathy." Katara said. "Are you a bender?"
"Not that I know of." I said. I honestly wasn't sure. I mean, I fell through a burning floor into the world of my favorite TV show. I also somehow went from being twenty-eight years old to being fifteen again. To top it all off, I was hearing a voice in my head. It wouldn't be that outrageous if I spontaneously started bending. "I never showed any signs of it growing up, and I've never tried to bend anything."
"What do you want to do now?" Sokka asked.
"Well, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to stay here and contribute to the village." I said. "You saved my life, and I'd like to pay you back any way that I can. I don't know how to hunt or fish, but I'm willing to learn anything to help out."
"Okay, I'll give you some scrolls about hunting and fishing that my dad left me." Sokka said with a friendly smile. "You can read those, and then I can give you some lessons."
That would be a problem. The spoken language of this world is English, but the written language is Chinese. I was effectively illiterate. I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.
"There's a problem with that. I can't read or write." I said looking down at the floor.
"WHAT?!" Sokka yelled with a shocked look on his face. Ah yes, the soul of tact. I forgot that when Sokka opened his mouth, he often stuck his foot in it.
"SOKKA!" Katara admonished her brother before smacking him on the head. "Can't you see he's embarrassed about it?" She turned and looked at me with pity in her eyes. "Don't worry about it. I can teach you to read and write. Sokka can teach you to hunt and fish."
"Thank you both so much." I said with relief. "I want to ask you for one more thing, if it's okay?"
"Sure, what is it?" Sokka asked.
"Could you teach me how to fight? I don't want to be useless if the Fire Nation shows up." I also didn't want to be dead weight on their journey.
Suddenly their faces were serious. "I'll teach you." Sokka said solemnly, "But just a heads up, I won't go easy on you. The Fire Nation could show up at any time, so we need you to be ready as soon as possible."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" I asked eagerly. "Let's get started."
Four Months Later
Even though I was working harder than I had ever worked in my life, four months seemed to fly by. Because of all the chores and training, I was in the best shape of my life. I put on a few pounds of muscle. I wasn't huge or anything, but I was strong, and solidly built. I even had abs for the first time in my life.
When I wasn't hunting, fishing, or sparring with Sokka, Katara was teaching me to read and write. Whatever free time I had I spent thinking about the best way to use my knowledge of the future to help the Gaang on our journey. I had also tried to contact the voice in my head, but to no avail. I had a few ideas about what it was, but I wouldn't know for sure until it decided to tell me who or what it was.
I picked up reading fairly quickly, but my writing made a doctor's look downright legible by comparison. Hunting came easier than writing. It took me a little bit of time to get over my hangup about taking a life. I actually cried when I killed my first tiger seal, but Sokka was surprisingly sensitive about it.
"The reason you struggle with it is because you're a good person." He told me. He put his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. "We don't kill unless we have to, and we don't waste any part of the animal. By doing this, we honor their sacrifice so we can live."
That made me feel a lot better.
Fishing took time, but I eventually was able to surpass Sokka in spear-fishing. Sokka was still better at fishing with a rod, though. He had a level of patience that I could never match.
Fighting was where I really excelled. I learned how to use clubs and spears fairly well, and my gift with spear-fishing enabled me to hit a man-sized target at thirty paces most of the time. The one weapon I could never get the hang of was the boomerang, no matter how hard I tried. I eventually gave up.
"Come on, you can get it." Sokka said encouragingly.
"I don't think I can, Sokka." I said. "I don't really need it, anyway. I can always throw my spear. Besides, the boomerang is kind of your thing. I don't want to steal your thunder."
"You have a point. You and I are pretty evenly matched now. And we've come up some sweet moves to double-team soldiers." Sokka admitted.
"So anything happening tomorrow?" I asked.
"We're close to running out of fish. Katara and I are going to go get some tomorrow. Wanna tag along?"
That was significant. Katara never went fishing. She had plenty of chores around the village to keep her busy. It seems like the time had come.
"I'd love to. Don't leave without me." I said.
"See you tomorrow, brother!" Sokka said excitedly.
That had been a surprising development. Two months after I arrived, Sokka and Katara had approached me asking if I wanted to officially join their family.
Flashback, Two Months Ago
"What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Marriage?"
Katara's face turned red. Sokka looked terrified.
"NO!" Sokka yelled. "I mean we already think of you as a brother, so we just want to adopt you into the family as a brother to Katara and me."
"Is there a catch?" I asked.
"If you're adopted, you become our brother, and we will never abandon you, no matter what." Sokka said. "You won't be allowed to marry Katara, because in our eyes you'll be her brother."
Katara's face turned even redder.
"That's fine. I already see you as a sister, anyway, Katara." I said. "Also, I don't want to get in Aang's way." I thought to myself. "If I tried to marry you, I would feel weird." I said.
Katara calmed down after hearing that. Sokka looked relieved.
I gave Sokka a look. "Be honest." I said to him. "Part of the reason you're doing this is so I don't marry your sister, isn't it."
"Yes." Sokka said bluntly. Katara smacked him upside the head. This was starting to become a theme.
"If I swore to you on my parent's grave that I would never try to date or marry your sister, would you still offer to adopt me?" I asked.
"Of course." He said. "You're like the brother I never had, and we have the same sense of humor."
"My jokes are funnier."
"That's debatable."
"Anyway," I said with an eye roll. "I accept. I'd be honored to be your brother."
Sokka and Katara threw their arms around me in a big group hug.
"Welcome to the family!" they said together.
I started tearing up. I had a family again, and it felt great!
End Flashback
So, the fateful fishing trip is tomorrow. Our lives are about to change, and our journey is about to begin.
"This should be interesting."
AN: This is my first fanfic. Please read/review. I welcome constructive criticism.
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