Chronicles of Multiverse

Darkness. Cold metal against my wrists. The rhythmic rocking of a ship. I woke up with a splitting headache, my body aching from the long fight against Azula, Zuko, and Iroh. My wrists were bound in heavy iron shackles, laced with what I assumed was a damping mechanism for firebenders. I must admit that was very arrogant of me, I thought since I have authority over all fire, I could easily kill them off, but to my surprise, it turns out my jurisdiction is not high enough not to get hurt by fire, nor can I take away firebending. The battle lasted for a while, with Zuko and Azula almost near their ends, while Iroh was just chilling.

Eventually, I was beaten and taken as a captive. "System, Fuck you!!" I said in a low voice.

[Wh-what did I do?]

"You should have told me that authority has some leveling bullshit," I said.

[Skill issue]

"Fuck you" I said and opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. I was inside a dimly lit metal cell, the air thick with the scent of saltwater and rust. The walls were reinforced steel, and the only exit was a heavily locked door with a small barred window. The faint hum of the ship's engine vibrated beneath me. I wasn't alone.

Across from me, leaning against the wall with an ever-present smirk, was Azula. She looked completely composed, as if our three-hour fight had been nothing more than a warm-up exercise for her. "Awake already?" she mused, tilting her head. "I was expecting you to be out for a few more hours. Do you know that you tend to talk in your sleep?"

"What can I say? I do have great endurance and recovery. As for sleep-talking, I hope I didn't say too much on the avatar, did I?" I said. She probably took me talking to the system as me sleep-talking.

She stood up gracefully, arms crossed as she studied me. "You put up a good fight. I'll admit, I didn't expect you to last that long. But in the end, raw talent only gets you so far."

I tested the shackles around my wrists. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you're here to give me a long-winded speech about how I should've known better."

She smirked. "Not quite. I already won. I don't need to gloat." She stepped closer, peering down at me with curiosity. "What I do want to know is… that rainbow fire of yours. Where did you learn it?"

I gave her a lazy grin. "Trade secret."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're holding back answers. But don't worry, we have plenty of time to get to know each other." Before I could respond, the door creaked open, and Iroh entered, his expression unreadable. He glanced at me, then at Azula.

"That's enough, Azula," he said calmly. "He's our prisoner, not your entertainment."

"Nah, it's alright. I was having fun with our conversation anyway. Do you wanna have some tea? I can't offer it to you, but I can give you company," I said with a smile. Azula looked at me and then looked at Iroh; she rolled her eyes but stepped back. 

"Fine, Uncle. But don't expect him to stay quiet forever." With that, she turned and strolled out of the room. Iroh watched her go before turning his attention to me. He studied me for a long moment before sighing.

"You fought well," he said at last. "Few can beat Azula like that. If I wasn't there, you would have won."

His gaze softened. "Tell me… why did you send the Avatar away?"

I frowned. "Destiny, Fate, there are many names, but I like to call it duty and responsibility. It's the avatar's responsibility or duty to protect the world and mine to protect and guide him."

Iroh nodded, stroking his beard. "A noble sentiment. And yet, you risked your life."

I leaned my head back against the wall. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

He chuckled. "Good. Then, let's hope you are as resilient as you claim. You are heading to the Fire Nation, where Ozai will decide your fate." I swallowed hard. So, I was being taken straight into the lion's den. Fantastic. Iroh stood, his expression unreadable once more. "Rest while you can," he advised. "You will need your strength."

"What? No tea," I said, whining about tea again. I was a coffee and tea fiend in my previous life, and I would like some in this life, too. As for how I remember this, well, I simply remember it being a major part of my life since the movement. I woke up, and my thought was Time to make coffee or tea.

"I will tell someone to bring it here later," Iroh said with a laugh. And with that, he left, the heavy door locking behind him.

{Aang pov}

The gentle waves lapped against the shore, but I felt no peace. The moonlight reflected off the water, shimmering like it always did, but tonight, it felt different. We had escaped. But he hadn't. I stood at the edge of the beach, my toes digging into the cool sand as I stared out at the open sea. Somewhere out there, he was being taken away. Somewhere out there, he was alone. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Katara and Sokka sat a few feet away, their voices hushed, but I knew what they were talking about.

"What do we do now?" Katara asked, her voice heavy with worry.

"We can't just go after them," Sokka muttered. "We don't even know where they're taking him."

"Where else?" I finally spoke, my voice sharper than I intended. "They're taking him straight to the Fire Nation." The words felt bitter in my mouth. He had fought so hard—longer than I even thought possible. Even against Azula, against Zuko, against Iroh… he didn't give up. And what did I do? I ran away, just like that time. If I hadn't run every time and fulfilled my duty as the avatar, all of this wouldn't have happened, but I kept running like some fugitive. I clenched my fists, frustration burning inside me. "We have to go after him."

Katara stood up, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Aang… I want to save him too, but we need to be smart about this."

Sokka exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Look, I'm the last guy to suggest storming into Fire Nation waters, but even I know that's a death wish. If we're going to save him, we need to do it right."

I turned back toward the ocean. "Then what do we do?" 

Silence. For a moment, none of us had an answer. Then, Sokka spoke up. "We need more help. More information. But most importantly, we need to get you ready to fight against the Fire Nation. Remember what he said: go to the Northern Water Nation, and they will teach you water bending. Meanwhile, Katara can teach you the basics."

Katara and I looked at Sokka in silence as he stared at us. "What?" He said.

"Nothing," I quickly replied.

"You just thought of something rude, didn't you?" Sokka said with a hurt voice while Momo chipped on his shoulder as he patted Sokka's head. Sokka hugged Momo and said something about 'you being the only person who trusted him.' Appa roared with the other air bison as we all just laughed at the scene. 

"That is a good plan and the only one that works right now. Thank you, Sokka. No matter how much time it takes." I said, and we went to talk to Suki and the kyoshi warriors.