While Atlas and Hermione were lying on the ground watching the Avatar series, Atlas noticed that Hermione all of a sudden began to shudder and sob. Atlas carefully paused the series and hugged her from behind. He had already noticed that Hermione hadn’t been focused since the last episode, but he decided it was more sensible to pretend he didn’t notice it. But now that she was sobbing like that, he felt it was better to just let her feel that he was there for her.
Hermione’s sobbing was contagious in a way that Atlas had to suppress sobbing too. He didn’t want to show Hermione just how much he was blaming himself and how close he was to breaking. He wanted to be there for her so that she could have someone to lean on in the situation he had dragged her into. He wished he could talk to his father, as he always found the right words, but that wish only made him feel even more guilty.
As he could only helplessly watch her sob, he fell into a downward spiral too. He wanted to do more, but he didn’t know what, so he just continued to hug her in the hope it would comfort her in any way, but this inactivity left him caged in his own thoughts too. The people he had lost came to his mind, but the most dominant thought was the fear of doing something like that tens or even hundreds of times. Would he always have to kill off the parents and friends he would have in any world? Would he even be able to make any new friends if he only feared that he would be the reason they would die? Then there was Ron’s murder. Would he continue to do something similar to save just one more person? He tried to reason that even personally killing every single person in a universe was worth it if one could survive, as they were all doomed anyway, but he knows just how difficult it was for him to kill even a single person with his own hands.
“I’m sorry, it's just too much.” Apologized Hermione after she had collected herself again and turned around to face Atlas.
“It's fine, Mione. It's not your fault. Its my fa…” Before Atlas could finish the sentence, his lips were sealed by hers.
“I don’t blame you, Atlas. Not anymore. At least not in the way I thought I would. While seeing these videos, and I began to think about what I would need to do in case one of them was the hero. I realized that you too must have thought the same about my world when you entered it. Thought of us as just characters in a story. Characters that are meant to be used to find and kill the hero. And then I asked myself, how I would have handled the situation in your case, and do you know what I realized?” said Hermione with a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I would have done much worse. I would have treated it like a task in school that I would need to solve as efficiently as possible. I would never have gotten any real friends; I would have never given you a chance, and what is even worse is that I would probably still have failed. And even if not, I would have never thought about creating a horcrux to save you. I would have failed in everything you somehow managed to do. And now I fear that behaving like that would still be the best way to “solve” these tasks, and I feel bad for thinking like that. And while that doesn’t change the fact that I will never forget that you knowingly destroyed everything, I at least understand it and will also not forget that you did save me.”
“Thank you, Mione, it means much to me.” said Atlas, and he felt like some weight was lifted from his shoulders. “But you don’t need to feel bad for thinking that way. And it's really not as easy as you think to stay rational in all this. You are right that I thought about it like you described, but that changed the moment I saw how happy my parents were after my birth because of me. You just can’t ignore something like that. And you are definitely not as cold as the person you just made yourself out to be. I honestly can’t tell you if it would have been better or worse if I acted like that, but I can tell you that it is fine if you find something in the world that you enjoy. Be it studying with a beautiful smart witch even though the subjects you study are not important for your mission, or spending Christmas with your family. You know, the only reason I managed to finish the mission was that Ethan thought I was his friend. Had he not trusted me and fled after Dumbledore arrived to battle Voldemort, then he wouldn’t have died. And I don’t think he would have trusted me like that if I had acted like a robot. And besides all that, we have one important advantage this time. We are together. And no matter what decision you make, you will always be the girl I love.”
Hermione’s expression softened a little after listening to Atlas' explanation. Especially his last sentence gave her comfort. The two of them chatted for a little longer, and Hermione asked him why he did some things and how he felt while doing all this. It was obviously that she felt fear of needing to change into someone she was not and that this would not only make her unhappy but also might cause him to dislike him. Atlas wasn’t sure if the advices he gave her were actually good. Sure, he had managed to finish his mission, but some things just worked because Ethan was a naive teenager and not because his plan was so ingenious. If his plan had worked, Dumbledore and Professor Ward would never have appeared, and Ethan would have been unable to even attempt to escape. And just because it ended in his favor doesn’t mean he could be confident in achieving the same again. The guilt he felt also made him doubt that he was the best to give any advice on how to handle the emotional aspect without causing some kind of trauma, but it felt better to tell her how he felt and what he thought than leave her alone with it. After they finished their discussion, they continued to watch Avatar, but this time they talked about what they thought about different characters or the bending aspect of the universe. They even began to plan how they would train each element as quickly as possible. Atlas even suggested that they should use the occlumency technique of encapsulating memories to remember every bending movement of every element that was shown.
They didn’t know exactly how long it took for them to finish the whole series, but based on the episode length, the few breaks they took, and the fact that after Avatar the last Airbender, there was the second series, “Avatar Legend of Korra” they had to watch, they assumed that almost three days had gone by.
The moment they finished the last episode, Adam reappeared near them. They weren’t particularly surprised about it, as they had already expected it, but they were still a little angry that Adam had ignored all their questions or attempts to summon him.
“Sorry for not answering your questions until now. I thought it was more efficient to answer all questions at once. Especially considering that some of your questions were answered by the story itself.” said Adam with artificial guilt in his voice. “So, now ask your questions.”
Atlas and Hermione stared at each other before Atlas asked the first question.
“The last time you were able to guarantee that I would become a wizard. Can you guarantee that we become benders?”
“Yes, I can, but like last time, I can’t directly influence the exact location or family you are born into. Which naturally means that I can’t predict what kind of bending you will be capable of.”
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“Does that mean that we won't necessarily be near each other or have the same bending?” asked Hermione immediately, a little panic in her voice.
"Yes, that’s what it means. It also means that you most likely won’t become airbenders, as Avatar Aang is indeed the last airbender in the timeline you will be reborn in.”
The answer hit both of them hard. They didn’t care about the air bending but more about the separation they would have to endure. The hope that they would be able to work together and give each other support when needed was crushed in that instant.
“What timeline are we going into?” asked Atlas in defeat.
“21 years before the end of the 100-year war. Or six years before Price Zuko is born, seven years before Sokka is born, or eight years before Katarra is born. I’m sorry that I don’t really have any other reliable sources of the universe, but apparently the multiverse realized after some testing that the events you have seen in the version I have given you led to the most efficient harvest of soul energy, and the observers of that universe only focused on the key players. I spent the last two days getting into contact with these guys, but apparently he almost overslept even the main events, and the two that observed the universes before told me stories about a thirty and fifty-year war. So in the end, I don’t really have any useful information regarding the timeline.”
“So we go in even blinder than I did the last time?” asked Atlas, a little angry. “Is there no other universe, one with more information?”
"Oh, there are. Thousands, in fact. But the problem is that the heroes in these universes reincarnated at least ten years ago. Some even earlier. Do you think you can bridge the gap with this kind of headstart? I mean, in one, I could even tell you who the hero is, as he already founded his own kingdom and became the most famous person in his world.”
“Okey, I get it. Even with less information, the Avatar universe is not too bad.”
“You still didn’t tell us what we needed to do to save the universe,” changed Hermione the topic.
“Oh that. It’s simple. Just make the hero into the avatar and then kill him. His soul won’t dissipate and will attach to the next Avatar. Sure, the Avatar would become more powerful, but the influence is not so great that it would damage other universes. Making him the Dark Avatar would work the same, but then, just to be sure, you would still need to permanently kill the normal Avatar, as he would otherwise fight it out with the Dark Avatar at any opportunity, and there is a chance that he will actually succeed in killing the Dark Avatar and killing the hero permanently with it. But I guess that would be a risk I would be willing to take.” explained Adam as if talking about the weather.
“Making him the avatar? Are you serious? But the avatar is the best tool we have against the hero. Wouldn’t that essentially make the hero even more dangerous?” asked Atlas, shocked.
“Yep. If you made him the Avatar and then failed to kill him, you would have only worsened the problem. And just to be clear, if that happens, I will not even bother bringing you back here. If your judgment is so bad that you would do something so stupid for a little idealism, I wouldn’t risk sending you to another world.” Said Adam and made clear that he was serious.
“Now to a few less depressing topics. I have a few pieces of advice for you. Don’t try to unlock your chakra points. If you open the last one and connect to the cosmic energy, the universe will take note of you and will probably eradicate you, and in most cases, it is better to work with all chakra points locked than create an imbalance unless you absolutely need a quick power boost for the final fight. But even then, the unfamiliarity with the change might become a disadvantage. Also, I don’t really think you would even get past the second chakra point, where you have to fight your guilt. And unlocking only one would be really stupid. Also, don’t forget what you learned in your previous world. While some laws of physics change, in most cases, you find many similarities between universes. That naturally also means that you shouldn’t let yourself be shackled down by what you learned in other universes. What might be impossible in one universe might be the easiest thing in the world in the next one. That applies to the major differences, like bending or magic, but also to some more mundane things. Also, and I can’t believe that I have to mention it, but our dear Atlas here showed me that it is necessary to mention it. The hero will always be older than you. Not necessarily just the difference of years between your and his reincarnation, as it is possible that he reincarnates into an adult body, but he will be older.” Said Adam and Atlas blushed a bit after being called out like that.
“So are there any more questions?”
“What about the avatar? Can he be the hero?” asked Hermione.
“Possible but unlikely. Last time I checked, he was still frozen.”
“Does the hero always have knowledge of the universe we are in?”
“Not necessarily. In most cases, yes, but there are always oddballs. Another question?”
“Where do the heroes come from?” asked Hermione.
“Other worlds. Did Atlas not tell you that? They could be anyone from a different world. Old people, young people, teenagers, men or women. The multiverse grabs their souls when they die in their universe and bloats up their souls to a ridiculous degree before seeding a world for them. But don’t ask me for the specifics. I’m still working on figuring that out. So far, there doesn’t even seem to be a pattern in how it chooses them. Sometimes it would be someone as unimportant as a normal muggle; sometimes it would be people like Harry Potter reincarnating into the Avatar world or Aang reincarnating into Harry Potter. It’s impossible to predict the multiverse. At least I’m unable to do it yet. Anyway, if you don’t have any more questions, I suggest you start to make a plan for when you reincarnate. And this time, I would suggest giving your all to growing stronger. If you have to pretend to get kidnapped to get away from your parents to grow stronger, I suggest you do it. You can tell me about how you plan to do it in a week, and I will give you some feedback.”
"Wait, one more question. Why can’t you reincarnate us into adult bodies instead? "Wouldn’t it be much better?” asked Hermione, and Atlas knew she would ask a thousand questions more, as the whole topic was still quite bizarre to them.
“Quite simple. I can’t reincarnate you into a body that already has a soul. I mean, I could reincarnate you into a dying body, but then you would die too. The moment I try to heal that body, the universe will probably target me and, in the worst case, you too. In some universes, it would be possible to put you in bodies of undeads, but normally this comes with its own set of problems. Now if you excuse me," answered Adam, and disappeared the next instant.
“He is quite weird, isn’t he?” asked Hermione.
"Well, it’s more help than I received last time. Maybe it was his first time too, and he is getting better at preparing us.” Speculated Atlas but wasn’t quite sure that it was like this.
“Do you think he will tell us more about the observers or immortals? I mean, with such a big library, one would expect there to be quite a lot. Do you think they were once normal people like we are? And what about the other people with souls like yours he mentioned?”
“Well, I think he will tell us just so much that we can fulfill our mission. But maybe he will surprise me. But I think we should begin with the planning. We have to prepare for quite a lot of scenarios now that we know that we will be benders and that we will most likely be separated.”
“Maybe we are lucky.” said Hermione, but even she doubted it.
“I mean, it could be worse. Imagine that he would reincarnate us into siblings. That would be weird. I mean, you would be the cutest little sister ever, but still.”
“Why would I be the younger one? I was older than you… if we don’t count your life before that. I would be an excellent older sister.” said Hermione, pouting a little and glaring at Atlas.
"Yes, you would be.” Said Atlas with a warm smile and gave Hermione a kiss, happy that they could have their first not-so-serious argument. “But we should really start planning now.”