Dreamwalking Avatar

[Alex Mercer]

Waking up in a different place than you fell asleep should be a terrifying incident, but when you wake up to find yourself at the end of a long line of your past lives... Aang was not sure how anyone else but him would react.

His first reaction was to stand and bow to his predecessors. "No need to be so formal, young Avatar." Roku seemed to be the one who desired to speak. Stepping forward, Aang watches as the line of Avatars behind him slowly fades.

Though the previous avatar was Fire Nation by birth, he harbored a gentle spirit - like much of the Fire Nation before the war. "It would seem something has changed... I feel our connection is weak. Only through your dreams did I manage to reach you again."

Aang confirmed Roku's assumptions with a firm nod. "As you said, Master Roku. A lot has changed. We've been taken from Earth. We are now in a world called the... the Omniverse..." Roku's expression hardened. "We were brought here by this world's deity, a being named Omni. I've been reduced in power... I feel less than I did when I was twelve and trying to relearn all of the elements."

This only worsened Roku's complexion. "Have you forgotten how to bend? The Avatar state?"

"I... don't think so. I remember how, but I think some things are just different here. I have my bending, but it feels less than it did. My Airbending is strong, and I think I can manage some waterbending... but Earth and Fire feel distant again."

Roku took a deep breath. For a spirit, it seemed that even this act helped him regain his composure. "You have done much to bring balance back to the world. Maybe you are needed here?" Roku could see the doubt across the young Avatar's face. "You don't think so?"

"I..." Aang began, but hesitated. "Omni.... kind of implied... that I interested him... and that I'm here because he wanted me to be... There are a lot of people like me, Primes that is. I'm traveling with one now, ihs power is... so strange. It's as if Toph was using Metalbending with Master Kyoshi's Stone Glove." Roku's eye perked. "Like I said, this world is supposedly run by Primes... and I doubt they are all Benders. Maybe not no one is here..."

Roku mused on this for a moment. As the spirit considered the situation, Aang looked behind him. The line of Avatars he saw stretched seemingly into infinity. There were so many... "I..." He hesitated to speak.

"What's on your mind, Aang?" Roku's tone had returned to the warmth that common to the old Fire Nation.

"What... What are we Avatars of? Chakra is the Avatar of the Fist of God... or... something like that..." He could not quite remember the details, that Chakravartin was a very complicated fellow.

It was odd seeing Roku lost for answers. "I don't understand the question..."

With a slight sigh, Aand peered back at the line of his past lives. He could not see the end. He probably only made out about half of them before they vanished into the distance. "What... is at the beginning? Is this how we always were? What started the Avatar Cycle? Who or what are we the Avatar of?"

Again, the past Avatar was lost for thought. "I... I don't believe I have the answers you are looking for. That is a knowledge lost to time. I don't think I ever reached further than three cycles in my life time. They always had the answers I need."

"And I bet they only went back so far, and only to get what they needed... No one thought to write or at least remember what exactly makes us the Avatar." The young Avatar's tone was more than a little smug.

Roku reaches out to lay a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Don't worry, my boy. No Avatar is truly lost... maybe with time and patience, you can uncover our past. For all of us."

That was comforting.... "Thank you, Master Roku. I hope to see you again soon."

The past Firebender offered a wise old smile, then the dream slowly fades.