Chapter Text
Aang-Chen sometimes wishes that he was born a non-bender.
"I mean what's the point anymore...who still bends air? Literally no one! People have planes and electric fans and air conditionings now for crying out loud!"
When his parents asked him at the beginning of his last semester in high school, if he would like to continue his traditional air bending studies in college, this was the answer he gave them.
Well, you see, the truth is, the necessities of air bending, or even bending in general in some cases, are long gone. It's been more than a century since the invention of Sato mobiles. Nowadays, everywhere you look at, modern non-bending technological inventions have advanced to a level where they can almost match the ability of elemental bending in every aspect of human society. Benders and non-benders are finally considered and treated as equal. And in the situation of Air Nation, because of the peace and harmony philosophy of the Air Nomad traditions and the spiritual enlightenment that simply comes with the Air Nomad culture, more and more air benders are joining air acolytes and embracing only the way of living as an air bender while drifting away from their actual air bending crafts.
And then of course there is the butt of the joke, the name itself: Aang-Chen.
Growing up in the Air Nation, whenever he introduces himself, doesn't matter if they are genuine or not, people would always just "simply have to" explain to Aang-Chen, as if no one has ever told him, the profound meaning of his full name—
"Oh what a blessing! You are named after the two most respected air avatars in history, Avatar Aang, and Avatar Yangchen."
Right. Avatars. An elite group of benders throughout the history who can control all four elements and are supposed to be the world's saviors and heroes. Awesome. Wow. Yay.
Who needs bending when anyone can essentially do what an avatar does but with accessible industrial science and revolutionary technology? Isn't the idea of having a superhero savior of the world against the very notion of modern democracy?
Anyways.
~~~
"Do you ever wonder how she dates or buys groceries? Like how does she even apply for jobs?" Aang-Chen leans back on the couch and stares at the ceiling. On the television, Avatar Zuri is just finishing up her speech in front of the newly built United Nations Headquarters at Republic City and is now answering questions from the reporters. The infamously controversial young fire avatar looks taller behind the white lotus crested short wooden podium in the press room.
"The avatar-hood is a job itself!" Layla says to Aang-Chen across the room without moving her eyes away from the screen of her laptop.
"It's basically like the royal family in the Fire Nation—a non-political monarchy that still represents histories and traditional cultures for some people. Ambassadors of peace. Messengers of inspiration and positivity. All that diplomatic crap."
Aang-Chen doesn't say anything and just laughs and opens another bottle of beer instead. Out of all the people he's met in Yu Dao these past few years, Layla's pretty much the only person who has the knowledge and patience to actually talk to him about the history and philosophy of the avatars and comments on all his jabs and shades. Incidentally, she's also the only person whom he doesn't feel the need to argue back with and rolls his eyes at.
"You mind if I change the channel?" Aang-Chen picks up the remote from the floor.
"Oh no go ahead. I'm still working on this paper. 20 minutes before midnight!" Layla nudges her glasses with the pen in her hand and goes back to typing.
"I can't believe you are graduating tomorrow and you still have a paper due!" Aang-Chen smiles sympathetically at Layla and takes another gulp.
"Oh dude don't even get me started! I'm so done with this bullshit..If I can pull this off, I swear I'll buy you a glass of dragonfruit wine when we go out after the party on Sunday."
For the last few years, these late night hangouts with Layla have always been his favorites. Growing up as a single child who went to traditional bending schools in Nomad West, a small Air Nation province established on the ancient site of the old Western Air Temple, Aang-Chen neither really had the chance to have a roommate, nor really craved for living with one. But ever since he left his home state where he spent the first 18 years of his life for a whole new continent and moved to Yu Dao, the third most developed earth city after Ba Sing Se and Zaofu, it's just been really wonderful to finally have a great friend like Layla always around again who can share his everyday ups and downs and be there for him when he feels alone or isolated in this large metropolis among all the crazy chaos.
Layla started the same year with Aang-Chen in Yu Dao University and the two have been great friends and roommates ever since. However, being a true Earth-Kingdom-descent-scholar, Layla is spending an extra year doing research to finish up with a second major in Archeology, in addition to her already prestigious Anthropology degree, hard earned from one of the best programs in the country.
Aang-Chen on the other hand, dived right into work last Fall, after graduating with a degree in Aerodynamics, one of the few majors he was eligible for as someone who never went to non-bending public schools until college. And the best thing is, he loved every minute of it.
In fact, now think of it, it's actually been almost 5 years since he last used his air bending ability. Sometimes Aang-Chen himself can't even remember all the details. It was back home on the last day of senior year, right before the prom. All he knows is that there were a lot of fireworks that night. And he got his blue arrow tattoo the next morning while still slightly hungover. And then he graduated from high school. And that was pretty much it.
Damn. Has it really been that long?
Aang-Chen stops at another news channel. With the anchors talking off screen, it's showing a team of rangers on a research ship in the middle of the eastern sea. The skyline of the famed ocean city Kyoshi Island can be seen vaguely amidst the fog in the background. One of the guys is lowering a long metal tube into the water. And then on the left side of the screen is now a view window of the camera that's attached to the tip of the tube. In the distance, among the chorals and reefs, on the sea floor, lies what seems to be a slim long sword of some kind. The body of the blade looks like it's made of some special material as it has a dark yet unyielding edge. The carvings on the hilt are barely visible.
"Hey Layla, you would love this—"
"Fucking hell!" Layla closes her laptop and moves it out of her way. Her eyes are fixed on the television screen. Aang-Chen can't really tell if the expression on her face is more from the surprise and the shock, or the pure wonderment of a history buff.
"Wait, did you finish your paper?" Aang-Chen raises one of his eye brows, looking mildly confused.
"What? Oh yeah it's done...dude I can't believe it! They actually found it!" Layla covers her mouth with both of her hands.
"A sword? What is that thing? What are we looking at?"
"You're kidding right?" Layla lowers her glasses and jokingly gives him a I'm judging you look, "It's been all over the news the past 2 months. A joined expedition between the Republic City and the Earth Kingdom. Probably the most anticipated archeological event of the century." Layla grabs the bag of chips from the empty seat on the couch next to Aang-Chen and opens it. "The Museum of Yu Dao is actually one of the sponsors. I mean, the son of the chairman is literally leading the expedition team."
"Ehh I may have read something about it a while ago." Aang-Chen pulls out his phone from his pocket and opens it with his thumb print.
"Aang-Chen, my friend, that's not just any sword, that is the meteorite sword that once belonged to Chief Sokka, Avatar Aang's brother-in-law. It's been missing ever since the end of the Hundred Year War, and now they bloody found it at the bottom of the ocean!"
Aang-Chen finds the article he mentioned on his phone and starts to remember vaguely reading about it, and how he eventually stopped reading about it because, well, it's avatar stuff.
"Knowing you, I'm gonna skip all the historical background stuff for now." Layla crunches the chips in her mouth. "But basically, that sword was made out of a giant meteorite fell right outside of the Fire Nation's borders toward the end of the Hundred Year War. At the time, Chief Sokka and Avatar Aang were all just kids and Sokka was studying the art of swordsmanship with Master Piandao from the ancient Order the White Lotus, the former body of what is United Nations today. And he helped Sokka use materials from that meteorite to make that sword! Unfortunately shortly after Sokka made it, he lost it during a sabotage mission when he and Grandmaster Toph Beifong from the then Earth Kingdom and General Suki of the Kyoshi Alliances, well, they were called the Kyoshi Warriors back then, anyway it was when they all boarded one of the airships, like the ones the Fire Nation used to attack the Earth Kingdom at the end of the war..."
"Ehh okay this is definitely making my brain hurt." Aang-Chen leans back and downs the rest of the beer in the bottle while pressing the joints of his fingers against his temples.
"Wait, I have an idea...Aang-Chen, what are you doing tomorrow?" Layla grabs her laptop again and opens it up and types in the search bar:
Museum of Yu Dao, Avatar Aang
"Well since we have your birthday party on Sunday, I was just going to stay in tomorrow and maybe do some laundry. Why?" Aang-Chen raises his head and sees the look in Layla's face, "Oh don't tell me we are going to the museum again? Really?"
"Okay first of all, it's not my party, it's a birthday party that my sister is hosting for me, despite the fact that she knows I hate parties...And secondly, I mean why not!? Look they're probably gonna ship the sword back to the city overnight tonight since geographically Yu Dao is the closest port to the Kyoshi Island. And I know for a fact they will store it in the museum temporarily, since, well, like I mentioned, Jin Jiang, the son of the museum's chairman, is literally leading that expedition! Besides, Museum of Yu Dao is probably one of the few facilities in the country that's advanced and equipped enough to receive a historical relic of that importance."
"Ahh, why do I have a bad feeling about this..."
"Okay mister my-best-friend-slash-roommate, I still have 2 favors left, remember?! And don't you want to go see in person? I mean they probably won't put it on display, but like, maybe we could, you know, do what we did last year, again?"
For Layla's birthday, Aang-Chen promised her that she can have 3 favors, sorta like birthday wishes, basically asking Aang-Chen to do anything, anything, before the year is over, and Aang-Chen has to do it, no matter what. So far Layla has already used the 1st one and asked Aang-Chen to go to a dreadful party Layla' older sister Uma is hosting to celebrate Layla's birthday and college graduation.
"Layla I don't know. Even if you are right, if they really are going to store the sword temporarily at the museum tomorrow like you said, you don't think they are going to triple the security for that thing? And what about the ceremony? I thought you already bought your cap and gowns and everything?"
"I mean I'll still go. But maybe just stay for the first half of it. There will be a lot of police at the ceremony tomorrow since Chairman Jiang himself is giving the speech this year, so maybe the museum he owns will be less guarded? I don't know. But it's worth a try!" Layla turned the laptop to Aang-Chen, on the screen is an old picture of Avatar Aang from the museum archive. Next to him stand his wife Katara, a legendary water bender and healer, and her brother, Chief Sokka, who at the time was also the head of the Republic City Council.
Aang-Chen moves closer to the laptop screen. Even though they spent a whole quarter semester on the water tribe's history back in high school, he doesn't really remember that much about Katara and Sokka, besides the fact that they were both companions of Avatar Aang, half of his namesake.
Aang-Chen and Layla turn their focus back to the tv screen again. The sword is now out of the water, laying on a piece of white linen fabric above the deck on the research ship. The blade of the sword is made of obsidian-like dark meteorite, unlike any other sword Aang-Chen has ever seen. The summer sun made the small water droplets coating the surface of the blade look like sparkling stars in a deep night sky. It's almost disorienting, since normally with the angle the sun beam touches the sword, it would produce a reflection of the light. But because of the color of the material, the sword on the screen now looks rather eerily dark, like a void, a deadly scar. You can almost hear the crisp sound it makes as it splits the fabric in half. It was undeniably a beautiful work of craft that simply cannot be replicated. A relic from a lost age, a whole different generation, full of power, determination, and strength.
Aang-Chen sighed and caved.
"Alright you convinced me. I will go with you. I mean it's not like I have a choice or anything. But, that is really something...". Aang-Chen's eyes still staring at tv screen, right before Layla jumps over with glee and hugs him onto the couch.
"Yay you are the best! Yes yes yes!" Seeing Layla being this excited and happy made the whole idea immediately a little more justifiable. Aang-Chen smiles and pushes Layla aside so he can sit up,
"Okay so that's two outta three now. You better think long and hard before asking for your last one!"
"Oh trust me, I will!" Layla winks at Aang-Chen before getting up and opening up a bottle of beer for herself.