(Note: Apologies for the late upload)
While the four of us stood atop one of the many hills surrounding Jathr, Korra and I looked upon the deserted wasteland of the outside world with a familiar gaze, but for Kyoshi and Roku, it was their first time seeing how truly lifeless this world was outside the influence of Jathr.
"I understand why you two reeked when you returned from your expedition." "Tch, we didn't even smell that bad." Placing her hands on her hips, Korra shot the awed Roku an annoyed glare, though he wasn't in the mood to banter with her. "There is nothing?" Glancing at Kyoshi, I promptly nodded to her question. "Except for corrupted spirits that want us dead."
As we silently observe the lifeless world before our eyes, the silence is suddenly broken by a fifth person. "U-Um, must I go, Avatars?" Shifting our attention to the nervous Fan, I nodded, causing him to shift his focus to the three others, though they also nodded, denying him whatever little hope he had. "Haa, what luck."
Fan was absolutely required during our expedition. According to Jathr, this world was just as big as any other world, meaning that if Father Glowworm attacks Jathr every week, it will be impossible to find him; three days to search, and then three days to return. Given the short time frame, we could only search the surroundings, so to counter this, we needed Fan.
Fan was the only spirit, besides Father Glowworm, capable of crossing between worlds. If he could travel between different worlds, why couldn't he do the same with the same one?
My plan is to take Fan with us during the six-day expedition, and when we need to return, he'll create a permanent portal to return to Jathr, which we'll hide. Once we protect Jathr, we'll then return to where we left off and continue to explore the devastated world in search of Father Glowworm; it would be a slow process, one that everyone was hesitant about. That was at least until Jathr informed us of a vital piece of info.
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A Week Ago
"... And that is why we need you to accompany us, Fan." Having just finished explaining my plan to the five of them, Fan and Jathr remained silent, calmly mulling over the details of the plan, though Roku, Kyoshi, and Korra weren't nearly as calm.
"That's a good plan, Aang, but there's one little problem. How long will it take us to search this world for Father Glowworm, who is most definitely hiding? How many years? A decade perhaps?" Roku's words were incredibly valid, as that was the only problem I found with my own plan, and I had no way to refute him.
"Yeah, I mean, I like hanging out with you guys, it feels nice being with people who know what it means to be the Avatar, but I don't want to return to my world nearly 30. How am I supposed to date the boy I have a crush on when I'm 30 and he's 18?" Although it was a bit surprising that Korra and Roku, who usually bantered, took the same side, I wisely chose to ignore the final sentence she said.
Kyoshi didn't really say much and merely frowned, which wasn't surprising to me; from her appearance alone, she was in her mid-thirties, but I knew of her secret; she was without a doubt older than all of our ages combined. To her, time was the one resource she had an abundance of.
"If I may, Avatars?" As we shifted our collective focus to Jathr, she continued to speak. "You four were born within time and space, but currently you exist outside of such things… You four do not age. Even if 10,000 years were to pass, not a single hair of yours would turn gray."
As those words left Jathr's mouth, all of us, including Kyoshi, silently stared at her in disbelief for at least a minute before I finally broke the silence. "The plan, Roku, Korra, is it acceptable?" With the biggest problem, age, no longer a problem, neither Roku nor Korra argued against my plan.
"Haa, if it's to save reality, I can afford to live a few decades here." With Korra's sigh and slight annoyance, my plan would go into effect next week.
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Present
While it would be slow with the four of us, no stone would be left unturned. "Is everyone ready?" Glancing at the four, Korra gave a thumbs up, Roku and Kyoshi nodded, and Fan sighed in defeat before also nodding.
Taking the lead, I led us down the hill, stepping into the desolate world, and it wasn't long before nearby corrupted spirits attacked us; of course, the density of the corrupted spirits couldn't compare to the attacks every seven days, but each spirit was significantly stronger. "These corrupted spirits are decently strong. They can actually be treated as a warm-up."
The four of us formed a cardinal formation around Fan, who stood in the center, as he was the most vital during this operation; without him, we wouldn't be able to return to Jathr in time. "These are merely the most common spirits we'll come across during this trip; there are a few that even you would have some trouble facing, Roku." Thrusting my palm, I forced a large lizard spirit backwards and then glanced at Roku, who was facing a bird spirit.
"Yeah, so don't all arrogant old men, I don't want to see an old man getting his ass beaten." Forming the water into a sharp blade, Korra cut the leg off a fox spirit while smirking at Roku, whose expression twitched. "Don't worry, that'll never happen, just worry about yourself; if you're ever enduring a difficult battle, if you call me Master Roku, perhaps I'll be gracious enough to lend a hand." "Ptui, in your dreams."
Faintly chuckling at their lighthearted banter, we expertly dealt with the small group of spirits before continuing deeper across the deserted ground; along the way, we did encounter several other small groups of spirits, but nothing we couldn't handle. After a few hours, we eventually decided to take a moment to rest, eating a food pill to replenish our energy and satiate our hunger, and for water, Korra had been carrying a water backpack.
"This world really is dead. It's quite depressing." As Roku looked all around us, spotting nothing but deep-rooted death, I nodded in agreement. "This is what we're trying to stop. If Father Glowworm takes down Jathr, all of our worlds will likely end up like this, if not even worse." "Even if it takes 1,000 years, we will stop Father Glowworm…" Raising our heads, we glanced at Kyoshi, who shifted her solemn gaze to us. "... For that is our duty as the Avatar."
"Wow, what a way to motivate us, Kyoshi." Faintly smirking at Korra's sarcastic voice, earning her a glare from Kyoshi, I lightly yawned and stood up. "Even if I weren't the Avatar, I'd do what I must… Come, let us continue, we've still got a long way ahead of us."
Exiting from the hill Kyoshi had made, we continued, heading deeper, and while it was a slow, boring process, with nothing else to do, we spent most of it talking; even the usually quiet Kyoshi engaged in conversation. We were growing closer, albeit at a slow pace, but time was something we had plenty of.
Six Days Later
"Alright, I've finished the portal. However, I've inscribed the language onto these rocks; if they're damaged or destroyed, the portal becomes unusable, so we must hide it." Wiping his brow, Fan lowers his hands and turns around, eyeing us, causing me to nod at Kyoshi, who spreads her two fans before lowering her arms.
Instantly, the ground around us is lowered deeply into the ground, at least a hundred feet, then with a few more movements, Kyoshi covers the top, completely sealing the portal underneath, prompting Roku to illuminate the small cavern with his flames. "This should be plenty hidden enough. Let us return." "Haa, finally, I need a bath and a proper bed to sleep in." "Ho, so you do admit you stink?" "You're just asking for a beating, you know that!"
Ignoring Korra, the four of us followed behind Fan as we stepped through the portal, appearing within Jathr. "Perfect." Glancing at the portal we'd just stepped out of, we all quickly headed to the branches, where we bathed, Roku and I enjoying a comfortable hot spring, ridding our bodies of all the stress and exhaustion we'd accumulated over the past six days.
After bathing, we washed our clothes, dried off, and returned to the trunk to eat something other than those tasteless food pills before retiring to our rooms to sleep, preparing for tomorrow's attack. However, I didn't immediately go to sleep as I stared at the ceiling. 'It's been roughly four months in this world, yet it only now feels like we've taken the first step to defeat Father Glowworm.'
Knowing we still had a long way to go, I yawned, rolled onto my side, and closed my eyes, quickly drifting to sleep.