Okay, so. I love everyone who reviewed! :D And I'm crazy sorry I didn't update this weekend. Busy, busy, busy. So it was my dad's birthday on Saturday! *Blows horn* woo hoo! Happy about that. Though he did drag me to a steakhouse... *shudder* for those of you who don't know (which is all) I'm a vegetarian, so he better know I love him because of that. Haha. Anyway. Sorry about the late update. I have the flu. :'[ Sad. So while I'm out of school, I figured I'd write chapter three! Mistake. 4 hours later I have a LONG chapter since it was based extremely close on the third episode of the series (I'll be doing this a lot). This chapter is 2,748 words long. Review or I will shoot myself. Lol. Hard work people! Love y'all. Oh, and I might start a new story soon. :{D Yay for me... I'm a bamf! Try and read it and... yeah! Might not get a chapter out this weekend. Hope this makes up for it and... Yeah.
~SNGL~
"Katara, I know you're curious, but please wait until we reach the Southern Air Temple." Bella said in a tired voice, "I have to steer Tah-Li. Once we're at the temple, you can fire off questions as much as you like. Plus, I'm sure Aang will need to answer some that I can't and Sokka will want to ask me certain questions too."
Katara sighed in frustration, "Fine... But Bella, why are we going to the Southern Air Temple?"
Bella paused, unsure of how to put it, "Aang... He wants to look for other Airbenders..."
"Oh. But-" Bella cut Katara off.
"I know, Katara. Sokka filled me in," the tears in her voice were obvious, "I don't want to hear it again though. And I know that Aang won't listen to anyone when he's excited about something... So I have to just go with it and let him see for himself that the Airbenders are all gone." One of her hands let go of the reins to wipe away tears on her pink cheeks.
"Oh, Bella! I'm sorry I brought that up. I didn't mean to upset you. I forgot that you lost them too." Katara leaned forward on the saddle and reached down and patted Bella's back.
"Thank you for your apology." Bella spoke, sadly. She looked up. "Oh! We're almost there." She turned back to Katara, "Go sit down. The first time you land while on a flying bison can be a tad scary."
Katara obeyed and Bella swooped down to the front of the temple. She walked to one of the areas where you tie Bison up. Bella turned to Tah-Li and petted her big, wet nose. She placed a soft kiss on her bison's muzzle before Bella turned to help Katara down. Bella held out her hand for Katara to take. Looking nervous, Katara took the outstretched hand and screamed as Bella jumped in the air, lifting Katara with her. Bella moved her unused hand, and put it palm down, sending a blast of air to cushion their landing. Katara was very frazzled as their feet touched the ground. Bella let go of Katara's hand and began laughing in a tinkling voice, that sounded like bells to the boys. If anyone had been watching, they would have saw Aang smack Sokka on the back of the head for drooling over his Guardian.
Katara glared. "Oh hush. I'm not an Airbender, so excuse me if I'm a little nervous being pulled fifty feet in the air by a fifteen year old girl!"
Aang chose that moment to chime in, "Come on guys, relax. Me and Bella will give you a tour of our home!" He was beaming at the girls by the end of the sentence.
Bella's heart broke for her best friend, but she spoke in a cheerful voice. "Yeah! Come on it'll be fun!" She used her right hand to grab Katara's left and began running at a pace that matched Katara's up a hill.
Katara couldn't help, but think that her friend was an amazing actress, with the way she hid her pain. Katara then looked back, and mimicking Bella, she yelled happily, "Yeah guys! Try and keep up!"
After a minute of light running, they all stood at a look out spot. "That's where me, Bella, and our friends would play AirBall!" He pointed straight at a field full of different sized poles that stuck up from the ground and two goals, before pointing slightly to the right of the field to a cliff full of large caves. "And that's where the flying bison would sleep!" He sighed.
"What's wrong?" Bella and Katara chimed at the same time.
"This place used to be so full of monks, and lemurs, and bison... Now there's just a bunch of weeds..." He said in a much more sad voice. "I can't believe how much things have changed..."
Sokka spoke up. "So, uh, this Airball game. How do you play?"
Bella and Aang shared a wicked grin. "Wanna play?" Bella said mischievously.
Sokka paled, regretting had asked.
Aang kicked the ball at Sokka and the ball was reinforced by Airbending. For the 7th time in a row, Sokka was knocked off of his pole. Bella and Katara giggled at Sokka's annoyed face. They walked together over to where he stood. Bella was confused to see him looking horrified. She followed his line of vision and saw an old Fire Nation war helmet. 'No.' she thought, brokenly. Katara patted Bella's shoulder, pitying her, yet prideful that her friend was so strong.
"We should tell him." Sokka spoke seriously.
Katara turned to Aang. "Aang, there's something you need to see..."
"Okay!" A cheerful voice said, as Aang ran over.
Katara looked between Sokka, Bella, and Aang. Before turning back to the area next to Sokka's head. She Waterbended the snow on top of Sokka.
"What is it?"
"Uh, just a new Waterbending move I learned!"
Aang looked at Sokka, chuckled, looked at Katara and said, "Nice one. But enough practicing! We have a whole temple to see!" He walked away chuckling.
Bella walked up behind Katara and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder, "You know you can't protect him forever, right, Katara?"
Katara's shoulders slumped, "Yes. I do."
"Katara, Firebenders were here! You can't pretend they weren't!" Sokka said to his sister.
"I can for Aang's sake."
"Katara, I agree with Sokka. He needs to be told." Katara looked at Bella, who had spoken in a quiet voice.
"I can't believe you. I can understand Sokka wanting to tell him, because he doesn't know Aang that well. But you are his Guardian, you're supposed to want to protect him! How can you call yourself a Guardian if you don't want to keep this from him?" Katara yelled angrily at Bella, knowing Aang was out of earshot.
Bella's eyes flashed dangerously, "Katara, you're my friend, so I won't hurt you, but you need to know this," Bella stood and got in Katara's face. Being so tall, Bella towered over her. "I have known Aang for 15 years. I know what's best for him. Ignorance is not protection. He needs to know. And soon. If we don't tell him, he'll find out on his own, and that will not be something you want to see."
Sokka stared at Bella, a normally sweet and kind girl, in shock. Her voice was calm and steady but held an underlying note of a threat. Her eyes that normally looked like melted, swirling, dark chocolate, were like black ice. The air around them, however, was thick with heat. Bella obviously favored learning Firebending when she was done mastering Airbending. He knew that if his sister didn't keep her mouth shut, and didn't quit offending the Avatar's Guardian, this would not be good.
Katara surprisingly backed off, sighing. "Yes, I know. I just don't want him to know about what happened..."
Bella's black-brown eyes softened and melted, much to Sokka's relief, and she spoke in a voice like a lullaby, "I know you don't. But trust me, he needs to know what happened." She turned and led them down a corner where Aang was standing smiling at a statue of Giatso. Bella's heart squeezed painfully when she saw her father figure's warm smile.
"Hey guys! I want Sokka and Katara to meet somebody!"
"Who's that?" Sokka said, curiously.
Bella looked at Sokka and smiled a sweet smile, "Monk Giatso. The greatest Airbender in the world! He taught me and Aang everything we know." Bella stood beside Aang and they bowed to their mentor together.
Katara, still apologetic to Bella, put her hands on their shoulders and said sadly, "You must miss him, huh?"
"Yeah..." Aang said, an unreadable expression on his face. He began walking up the steps infront of them.
"The Airbending sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."
They all stood in the sanctuary, looking at the statues. Aang had just said the statue in front of him was called Roku when they heard a loud noise behind them. They hid behind two statues. Katara and Aang and Sokka and Bella.
Sokka whispered to them "Firebender. Nobody make a sound."
"You're making a sound!" Katara said to Sokka, annoyed.
Sokka, Bella, and Aang shushed Katara.
"That Firebender won't know what hit him!" Sokka turned around, his club ready to swing. There wasn't a Firebender there, though. Yet, there were two white lemurs with long tails, giant green eyes, and huge ears.
"Lemurs!" Aang yelled out.
"Dinner." Sokka said, drooling.
"Don't listen to him! You're gonna be mine and Bella's new pets."
"Not if I get them first!" Sokka yelled out, about to jump at the lemurs.
Bella grabbed Sokka's parka by the hood, halting his jump mid air. "Oh no you do not! If you hurt either one of those lemurs, I will take your own club and smack you with it!"
"I don't care! I'll take the pain! I'm too hungry right now!" He broke her grip on him and ran, at the same time as Aang, at the lemurs. "AHHH!"
The lemurs arched their backs in fear, turned tail and ran. "Wait, come back!" Aang yelled.
Bella walked over to Katara and pulled her outside. "Come on! Watch Aang catch our new pets." She smiled hugely.
Katara ran outside with her in time to see Aang jump off a railing after the lemurs. Her eyes widened in horror and she turned to Bella, who was completely at ease. Katara decided that Aang was in no danger and he was having a good time chasing the lemurs.
Bella smiled at Katara and explained why she didn't jump after Aang, as they leaned against the railing. "Ever since we were little, me and Aang loved keeping pets. But when I was younger, I was extremely clumsy, and would fall down and hurt myself chasing after the pet. So, Aang decided that he would do all the chasing, while I sat back and watched, waiting for him to bring me my new pet. Its something that we've always done, even after I grew out of my klutz faze. He never let me run after them. I know it sounds weird of him to do that, but I learned a long time ago not to question him."Katara was a little shocked that Aang was nice enough to do that for Bella, but she hid it well and turned back to watch Aang and Sokka.
Aang narrowly missed nabbing the lemurs before they ducked into a place covered by cloth. He laughed as he went inside.
"Come on out little lemurs! That hungry guy won't bother you anymore." He pulled back another curtain of cloth and looked around a small room. To his horror, he discovered it was filled with around fifty Firebenders'
corpses. And in the center of the room a corpse in yellow and orange robes sat. Aang realized with a sickening feeling in his stomach, that the necklace around the corpse's neck was the same necklace Monk Giatso wore.
He fell to his knees, crying. Sokka chose that moment to duck into the room followed closely by Bella. "Hey, Aang! You find my dinner yet?" Sokka said as he walked more into the room, oblivious to the carnage around him. "I wasn't really gonna eat the lemurs." He finally noticed the horrors around him and the familiar monk at the front of the room. "Oh, man... Come on, Aang. Everything will be alright." He laid his gloved hand on Aang's shoulder. "Let's get out of here."
Aang's tattoos suddenly began to glow a white-blue. Sokka jerked his hand back, startled. He looked back at Bella to see her eyes wide in horror, before they were completely encased in a snow white glow. Bella ran over and pulled Sokka away.
"Find Katara and find shelter! Quickly!" She said in a voice much different from Aang's when he spoke in his Avatar voice. Her's was not a million different voices to make a frightening sound, but a million voices sounding together beautifully. Sokka had no time to admire it though as he ran to find his sister.
Bella sped as fast as she could to Aang. She grabbed onto him and as he rose into the air, he took her with him, 120 mile an hour winds surrounding them. She grabbed his shoulders and their eyes met. Tears were on both of their faces. Her hair whipped around them in what looked like of it's own accord. To any on-lookers that didn't know what was going on, they would not have realized it was two powerful Airbenders. They would have thought it was two deities going back to Heaven.
Sokka and Katara were hiding behind one of the broken remains of the building. "What happened?" Katara yelled over the wind.
"He found out Firebenders killed Giatso!"
"Oh, no! It's his Avatar spirit. He must have triggered it. Bella must have known this would happen... I'm going to try and calm him down."
"Well, hurry! Before he blows us off the mountain." Sokka said hanging on for dear life.
Katara struggled forward to try and reach Aang and Bella. Bella saw that Katara wanted to talk to Aang and began pulling him down to her. Once he was about five feet above the ground, Bella couldn't bring him down anymore. So Katara began speaking to him.
"Aang, I know you're upset. And I know how hard it is to lose the people you love! I went through the same thing when I lost my Mom. Monk Giatso and the other Airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Bella, Sokka, and I, we're you're family now."
Aang began to slowly decend, bringing Bella with him. His feet touched the ground and Bella held onto him tight. "We aren't gonna let anything happen to you. Promise." Sokka said smiling at Aang.
Katara grabbed Aang's hand and the glow he and Bella shared faded. "I'm sorry." He said, slightly ashamed.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."
"But they found this temple. If they found this one, it means they found the others, too." He grabbed Bella's hand and looked at her sad.
"We really are the last Airbenders." Katara and Sokka, not knowing what else to do, held Bella and Aang in an embrace, letting them know they weren't alone.
Aang stood in the Airbending sanctuary, looking at Roku. Sokka was off to the side waiting for Aang to get done thinking. Katara and Bella came in behind him. "Me and Bella got everything packed. You ready to go?"
He ignored her question. "How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?" He turned to look down at Katara. He stood about four inches above her.
"Maybe you'll find a way." Katara said.
Bella heard a noise and whipped around causing the other two to turn around too. One of the lemurs stood in the doorway with arms full of fruit, the other lemur ran to Bella and hopped onto her small shoulders. The other lemur laid the food down infront of Sokka, then ran to Aang. Sokka fell to the floor and began to devour the food, happily.
"Looks like you made a new friend Sokka!" Aang said.
"Can't talk. Must eat." Sokka said around a mouthful of fruit.
The lemur ran up Aang's body and curled it's tail around his neck while perching on his shoulder. "Hey, little guy." Aang said to the lemur.
Aang, Bella, Tah-Li, Appa, and the two lemurs stood on a cliff adjacent to the temple, looking at the magnificent building. Aang looked at them all, then back to the structure. "It's just us now. We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together." He turned to Katara and Sokka. "Katara, Sokka, say hello to the newest members of our family." He motioned to the lemurs perched upon his and Bella's shoulders.
"What are you gonna, name them?" Katara questioned.
Aang's lemur jumped to Sokka, stole the peach he was about to eat, jumped back to Aang and began to eat it. Aang laughed, "Momo."
Bella thought for a second while she looked at her female lemur eating a cherry. Bella smiled. "Sacuda."