Authors note: Thanks to Raine1902's review I will write the next chapter as promised. Raine is a brilliant author and their story is well worth the read.

I'm thinking about following the series but altering it in a way that allows my story to flow more smoothly, tell me what you think of this in a side note of your review. Oh and to avoid any legal issues time for a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA if I did my OC would be a real character and I would be Rich. I do however own my OC Quan. If you wish to use him in a story of your own contact me first.

A hundred years had past. But this did nothing to deter Aang's faith, faith that somehow, someway his people had survived the genocide. As he had told his new companions, his voice full of confidence "The only way to the air temples is on a sky bison and I doubt the fire nation have any." So far he had shown Katara and Sokka the sky bison pens, once full of bison resting and grazing. Now however they were empty, this emptiness alarmed Aang. He had shown them the gardens where everyone meditated. It was once a place of great beauty, lush with flowers and cherry blossom trees. Now desolate, save for a snow covered tree stump. His feeling of alarm escalated at seeing the gardens in this state, the monks would never have allowed this to have happened. But it had, this he could not deny.

"Over there's where me and my friends would play air ball." Aang's shoulders sunk as he said this. "Aang what's wrong?" Katara asked her voice filled with concern.

" It' just that this place used to be filled with monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds. I can't believe how much it's changed." Sokka, in a bid to cheer up his air bending friend cautiously asked, " So er this air ball game. How do you play ?" Aang grinned as he turned to face Sokka. Sokka was quite disturbed by the menacing smile directed directly at him.

Aang stood upon a wooden pillar the ball floating gently in his right hand, he swung it around his body building up momentum. He fired the ball at the goal, which Sokka was unfortunate enough to be stood in front of. The ball struck him with the power of a rampaging platypus bear. He and the ball flew through the goal and crashed painfully to the ground. Katara guiltily giggled at her brothers suffering. " Making him fell better is putting me in a world of hurt." Sokka grumbled as he lifted himself from the snow blanketed floor. He could faintly hear Aang gloating over the drastic difference in their scores. So okay he was being beaten seven to zero but he wasn't an air bender and that made it near impossible for the water tribe boy to play. It was called air ball for spirits sake, that pretty much told you that only air benders could play it with any hopes of success.

His eyes were drawn to the faded red of a badly damaged fire nation helmet, which stood out from the otherwise mono coloured background like the sun in the sky. "Katara…check this out." His sister picked up on his tone and her eyes were drawn to the helmet too. "Fire nation." She spat bitterly "We have to show him this." Sokka's voice rung with authority. She shouted out, "Aang there's something you need to see." Aang still brimming with excitement from his crushing defeat of the water tribe boy jogged towards Katara. Looking at the innocence and hope in the monks eyes she realized she couldn't do it, she just couldn't.

So with a swift sweeping motion she extended her will into the snow on the ledge above the helmet. The snow fell and buried the evidence…and to a lesser extent, Sokka. "What did you want to show me Katara?" his eyes gazed into hers questioningly. " Oh…erm… just a new water bending move I learned." She felt guilty for lying to the boy but surely it was better than saying, 'hey Aang the fire nation murdered all your people, look this fire bender helmet proves it.' "Nice one but enough practising, we've got an entire temple to see." He said joyfully as he strolled off. Sokka wiped the snow from his body as he told Katara, "You know you can't protect him forever." She said nothing, she knew he was right. A shout disrupted them, " Hey guys I want you to meet somebody." "Who's that?" Sokka asked gesturing towards the statue. "That's monk Gyatso. The greatest air bender to ever live. He taught me everything I know." His voice was full of pride and love as he told his friends of his mentor, his father figure. Aang was lost in memories of his mentor but shook them off in time to answer Katara's question with a sorrowful, "yeah." "Hey where are you going?" Aang halted and his head turned enough so he could see Katara's face, "The air temple sanctuary, theirs someone I'm ready to meet." With that he walked through the threshold and into the air temple.

Within minutes they had arrived at a large intricate wooden door. "But Aang no one could have survived in there for a hundred years." Katara said softly. Aang, his voice of optimism simply replied with, " It's not impossible, I survived in the iceberg for that long." "Good point." "Katara whoever is in there might help me figure out this avatar thing." "And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats." Sokka said as he drooled at his tasty fantasy. He ran at the doors in hopes of opening them only to slam into the unrelenting wooden barrier. "I don't suppose you have a key?" He asked hopefully. "The key Sokka…"Aang began, "is air bending." He took a comfortable stance and inhaled deeply. He thrust his hands forward and air flew into a special receptor, which channelled the air through tubes. The door now unlocked swung open revealing nought but row upon row of exquisitely carved statues.

"Statues!" Sokka yelled in disappointment, " That's it! Where's the meat?" He sulked. Katara however was awed by all the statues, " Who are all these people?" "I'm not sure. But I feel like I know them somehow. Hey look that ones an air bender." " And that ones a water bender. Hey, their arranged in an order air, water, earth and fire." " That's the avatar cycle" Aang said in realisation. All these statues where him, each one represented a past life, a past avatar. An eerie screech drew their attention to the door way in which an equally eerie shadow stood. They all jumped behind the nearest avatar statue and gazed at the entry way. The shadow was getting larger which meant whoever was casting it was getting closer.

Well I'm going to end the chapter there. Feel free to leave a review, tell me what I'm doing well, what I could improve on etc etc. Or just leave one that says you like it. But please leave on, please. A single review is all it takes to assure the survival of this story.