Author's Note: Sorry, I really don't have an excuse for the long update gap. Well, here you go—the next chapter. I have to say, I'm not too excited about it and there are not really a lot of big changes I can do. But there is one change here, but I don't know if you'll all be mildly surprised or angry...
There are some spoilers here for the Western Air Temple- particularly the way it was built. I doubt this is enough to bother anyone, so I'm just going through with it.
Anonymous Review Response:
Mitsuki: Everyone will appear in this story, so don't worry :) Sorry about the swear words, but there really isn't much. I don't tend to write them often, and nothing very bad. Sorry if it bothers you.
Sedna: Inuit Goddess of the Sea.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.
Book 1: Fire
Chapter 3: The Western Air Temple
"So remind me again where we're going?" Zuko muttered to Aang, arms folded as he stared up into the sky.
"The Western Air Temple," he responded, staring straight ahead. He had no time for this slightly more immature Zuko that he wasn't really used to yet. In his 'dimension,' Zuko was broody and silent, but a stable support for the group. He was strong and reliable.
Here, he was almost like the Sokka that he knew.
Thinking of one of his best friends, his brother, brought more pain unto the young Avatar. He quickly dismissed the depressing thoughts.
This Zuko was more prone to complaining than the one he knew. He was usually the victim of Azula's teasing and tricks. His younger sister was a bit mean to him sometimes, singeing some of his clothing when she was bored. She didn't normally mess with Aang, and that was perfectly fine with him. She seemed to look at him as something she couldn't understand, and acknowledged him as much stronger than her. The only interaction they had was falsely polite conversation and quiet laughter at Zuko's misfortune. He did not want to acquaint with her, he decided, because she was very real and was plausible to attack him when his guard was down. Whenever he looked at her, he couldn't help but see someone different, something that could have been. He saw the malicious glint in her eyes and the evil smile on her flawless face, even when there was no such thing to indicate her ruthlessness. He was determined not to trust her.
Appa groaned with a semblance of relief when they flew arrived at the canyon. The familiar heat of the Fire Nation was existent here, as always, a small fact which oddly comforted Aang. The barren land below him was surely burning with heat.
"We're here," Aang announced to the other two, looking back. The two Fire siblings sat up and leaned forward with interest.
"I don't see it," Azula said, her golden eyes squinting.
"He's seeing things now," Zuko pointed out.
"Well, this one's a bit different from the other Air Temples," Aang said. "While the others shoot up into the sky..." He flew Appa down into the canyon, where the two siblings gasped. "... this one is hanging under a cliff."
Indeed it was. The Temple was unchanged and undamaged from when he last saw it. The leveled buildings hung upside-down, each underside of the pagodas holding trees and wild grass. He directed his bison to land in the main square of the temple, where the fountain was still running. There was plenty of space to land. Aang gracefully hopped off Appa's head, while Azula landed cat-like on the ground. Zuko was about to copy her when Appa shook and he stumbled into the ground.
"Was this place run by women?" Azula asked, looking around at all of the statues of the airbender nuns.
"Yes," Aang replied, looking up at one of the tall statues. On her shaved forehead was her arrow. If this Temple was the same as the one he used to visit back at home, then there was really no hope for...
"Whoa," Zuko said, interrupting his thoughts. The swordsman opened up one of the thicker doors, and he looked down a dark hallway. "There's a ton of statues in here." Aang and Azula walked over, and the Avatar was pleased to see the Hall of Statues. They were all lined up evenly and sloping downwards. If he remembered correctly, this was the same hallway that Teo, the Mechanist's son, crashed when his brakes weren't working. These statues were just slightly taller than the three of them, all depicting Air Nomad women, all of the nuns in the history of the Temple. "They're all... women."
"There's not much variety here," Azula said indifferently.
"The Southern Air Temple, the place where I was raised, had statues of all of the past Avatars," Aang told them. "It's very interesting. It shows every Avatar in the order we were born in."
"What, you mean like 'water, earth, fire, air?'" Zuko asked him, snickering. Aang stared at him blankly. "Alright, alright, nevermind."
"I only said that... because... my brain was still all fuddled... from the iceberg," Aang said, attempting to cover up his past mistake.
"Iceberg?" Azula asked, crossing her arms and staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Aang's eyes widened as he realized another big slip-up.
"Er... I meant volcano," he quickly saved himself. They seemed to buy this, but Azula and Zuko looked to each other and shrugged. "Like I said, it addled my brains!" he grinned feebly.
It wasn't until they summoned a tidal wave that the fires on the ship were finally quenched. Then, the ship nearly sunk, and all of the waterbenders had to use all of their power to keep it afloat. The ship was battered and in disrepair, and Prince Sokka was more infuriated than ever. He needed to capture the Avatar! His own public honor and status as a waterbender and eldest son of the Water Emperor depended on it! The ancient Fire Nation was more of a race of honor and pride, but everyone had their dignity. He needed his own to be restored.
"You could help us, you know," the old woman said to him, dousing herself with water to block the heat. "The men all look up to you and are loyal. You can at least extend the hand of friendship."
"I don't have any friends!" he yelled to her. I don't need any! Ever since his self-imposed exile, his grandmother had always preached to him the ways of friendship and love. She claimed that the ancient Water Tribes practically bathed in it. He needed not such womanly wishes. The Water Tribes were such a primitive race, with primordial titles. He much preferred to be called the Water Nation. They still had a slightly primitive army, but their Grand Navy was unmatched. His own ship was wooden and weak, but some of the more majestic ones were sleek and silver.
When the ship finally dragged itself to a port controlled by the Water Nation, his grandmother had to go into his quarters and pull him from his maps. He was trying to track the Avatar's course! She tried to coax him into going into the town and go on a walk with her. Who was she to think that she, a woman, could order him, the Prince of the Water Nation around?
"I have no time for that," Sokka growled, quickly dismissing her. "I have to stay according to schedule."
"Oh well, I guess you can't come with me and buy all of the seal jerky we've been missing," she said offhandedly, starting to walk off. He halted in his work. Damn her. She knew his weaknesses.
After showing his acquaintances the Hall of Statues, the Avatar led them to the All-Day Echo Chamber. It was large and dome-shaped, with many stone mechanisms inside to encourage the nearly endless echoes. It was one of the unique and entertaining traits of the Western Air Temple, built solely for that reason, but it was well known by the other Air Nomads. When Aang pushed open the heavy stone door, the grinding of stone against stone reverberated throughout the chamber, nearly deafening at first until falling into a steady rhythm until he closed it gently. Light filtered in through a hole large enough for a person in the ceiling.
"What's this?" Azula asked. What's this... What's this... What's this...
"The All-Day Echo Chamber," Aang explained. Echo Chamber, Echo Chamber, Echo Chamber. The two voices mixed with the grinding sound, bouncing off of the walls of the chamber. "It's famous." Famous, famous, famous...
"It's obnoxious," Zuko said. Obnoxious, obnoxious, obnoxious. "Okay, this is already getting annoying," annoying, annoying... Azula laughed at him, and the teasing sound echoed endlessly, infuriating him further. The numerous sounds were mixing, getting louder and louder as they meshed and were enhanced by the apparatus in the center of the room. They were soon covering their ears as they rose in crescendo.
"Let's get out of here!" Aang shouted, which was also added to the noise. They pulled open the doors again, slamming them as they all exited.
"I don't see a point to that," Zuko said, rubbing his head. "I have a headache now." He seemed broody again, kind of like what Aang recognized. Even though he knew Zuko back at home, he didn't really know him. He came to them nearly begging for forgiveness, but other than the loss of his beloved Uncle, they did not know his reasons for joining them and wanting to defeat his father. He and his sister shared a mutual, deep hatred in that world, which he would have never pictured if he met this Zuko and Azula before.
"Let's keep looking around," Aang said to them. He still did not know what he was looking for, only what he wanted. He needed guidance. Answers. A way to get back home.
The moment Kanna and Sokka stepped off of the ruined ship, the Water Prince immediately felt a chill go up his spine. Only three people he knew could do that to him—two of which he highly doubted would be in such a small port, in one of the Outer Islands of the Fire continent.
"I can't believe you're making me come here," Sokka said to his grandmother angrily. "I can't lose his trail!"
"The Avatar's, right?" she asked him absentmindedly, looking at a shopping list. He was about to respond and tell her to shut her mouth about his name, but the person he hated most walked up to them at that moment.
"Prince Sokka, Lady Kanna, how pleasant it is to see you here," Captain Bato of the Water Nation said, stepping up behind them. He was flanked by two marines, as always.
"I wish I could say the same," Sokka muttered to himself. Kanna discretely nudged him with her elbow.
"Captain Bato," she greeted, "What brings you here today?"
"I'm a Commander now," he said, sounding slightly insulted at what she said to him but boastful of his title. "Anyway, I can ask the same of you," Bato said, turning around to look at Sokka's ship, or what was left of it. "Seems you have run into some trouble. Pirates, perhaps? Or something... else?" He stared Sokka in the eye, both of their blue gazes having a battle of wills.
"No, it was just a kitchen fire," Sokka said lowly to him. "It got out of control."
"Figures. Your royal clumsiness and food hog was never a good cook," Bato said wryly to him.
"You are far too bold, Commander," Kanna said to him, slight aggressiveness in her eyes. "You are out of line. He is your Prince. Show him the proper respect." Bato just grinned and bowed to him, while Sokka, on the other hand, was boiling with fury. He was mocking him.
"I apologize," Bato said, obviously not caring. "I would like to invite such esteemed members of the royal family to some tea and cookies. This is my naval base now. I have plenty to offer," he said. Sokka was about to blurt out that he could shove his tea and cookies in his own face, and that they were leaving immediately, but his grandmother spoke up first.
"We'd love to," she answered, shooting Sokka a furtive glare.
While a good portion of the Western Temple was unscathed, the bison grounds and entrance to the Temple were in ruins. He knew this was where the battle had taken place, an effort to protect the Temple. Many Water Tribe soldiers probably lost their lives falling from the cliffs, because there were no signs of any bodies. He wandered around silently, stepping through the rubble with the grace and finesse only an airbender could possess. He had seen much death in his short life. As morbid as it sounded, he was used to it, but seeing the destruction of his own people still chilled him. He felt the remnants of it, almost as if he was there. But even in this world, he couldn't be there to help them. He had still failed the world.
And that hurt more than anything.
Zuko and Azula followed him as he searched the remains, keeping respectfully silent as he mourned the loss of his people. They knew what it was like to lose loved ones. They eventually came to the most dilapidated building of them all, which Aang vaguely recognized as the remains of the bison stables. The door was blocked by fallen wood and stone and other debris, so he simply pulled his fist back and punched the weak remains of the wall through. It easily crumbled under his strength, which he realized was drastically weaker than he remembered having before entering this disturbing world.
Once the dust cleared, the first things he saw were the dry blue leather armor of the Water Tribe soldiers, their bone spears and other weapons sticking out of the ground all around them. But in the center of the room were the skeletal remains of one of the Air Nomads, a nun by the looks of her clothing. He was almost expecting to find Gyatso, but it still felt like a dull blow to his gut. He put his head down in sadness, and respect for her as well as the soldiers whose descendants he had once befriended. This woman had probably fought against the soldiers as she gave everyone else a chance to flee on the bison. It was a futile effort. Most of the ones that had left were hunted down, or gone. Even in his own previous life he accepted the fact that they were all gone. He turned away.
He did not know why he almost expected to see Gyatso, his friend, his mentor, his father. He simply needed guidance, but he knew that the dead could not provide it to him. He shouldn't have come here. He looked into the sad eyes of both Zuko and Azula, both unfamiliar looks on their faces, and thought that it was a waste of time bringing them here. He did not even know why he let them leave their village. He still did not trust Azula, and this Zuko was much different than his own. He was still an amateur with his dao broadswords, and it would have been much safer for them to stay away from his travels and his business. They would just be a burden. He preferred to travel on his own. He would have brought them back, but he knew well of Zuko's fierce dedication (but he wasn't sure if this Zuko had any) and this Azula's stubbornness and fiery temper. They would absolutely refuse to turn down an adventure such as his. They were Fire Nation. They were passionate.
A sudden jolt went through his spine when a thought entered his head. Crescent Island. He forgot all about it. For whatever reason he thought of it, he knew he had to go there. He almost hit himself for forgetting. Avatar Roku's temple was there, and if he had any spiritual troubles, he was the best bet. He figured he wasn't there yet to witness the eruption of the volcano, so the temple was still hopefully standing. It flooded him with hope again, one of the few things he had left to rely on. That was the only thing that drove him and his friends in the past.
They decided to spend the night there. They had a long journey ahead of them, and Appa needed a rest anyway. Aang spurned him on as much as he could to get to the Western Air Temple. They had set up camp exactly where Aang and his friends used to those three nights. It was another strange comfort for him.
The cool night breeze ruffled his clothing as he tended to the fire. He looked to the faces of his companions—they were both asleep. They were still new to this, he reminded himself. They needed to rest. His own younger body was getting tired fairly easily. He still could not get over the changes of getting younger again. He was shorter, bald, and his voice was still annoyingly high. He would have to go through puberty again. Fortunately, he discovered before, the huge disfigurement on his back was gone. That was why he was able to enter the Avatar State back near Zuko and Azula's village. It was sort of ironic that the person who caused the gaping scar on his back was sleeping right in front of him, with no memories of ever doing it to him. The Avatar leaned against the wall, tucking his knees up to his chin and resting his head there. His eyelids drooped. His vision became blurry. For a moment, he thought he saw Momo dancing in front of the flames before darkness obscured his sight.
Kanna shoved the sugar cookie into her mouth, savoring the flavor. It was not Water Nation style, but it was still delicious. Bato stared at her with a look of distaste while Sokka looked slightly embarrassed. But for the most part, they ignored her as they talked.
"So have you had any news of the Avatar?" Bato asked, taking a sip of his tea. The whole time, the Commander was wearing an unnerving smirk that suggested that he knew something Sokka didn't.
"Nothing," the fallen Prince muttered, taking his own sip of tea. The Water Tribesman let out a low, bellowing, almost boastful laugh. The other two, plus the two guards stationed at the entrance of the tent, looked up at him.
"Figures you wouldn't find anything. Unless you're lying about something?" he asked, once his laughter subsided.
"No," Sokka nearly growled in response.
"Well that's too bad then. Some of my own men are out searching for him now, following your own mapped routes," Bato said offhandedly. Sokka stood up angrily.
"You won't lay a hand on him," he threatened, holding his club out.
"Is that a challenge?" Bato asked him, his brow furrowed.
"Yes. I challenge you to a Sedna Kai!"
When Aang awoke the next morning, he found himself in the same exact position he was the night before. The other two were already awake. Azula was practicing with the fire left over from their camp, making it dance through the air not far from him. Zuko was sitting in front of the remains, sullenly eating a cold breakfast.
Aang watched Azula bend the fire through the air, working on her control over the flames. It was so odd to see her so inexperienced with her bending. She was far from the cruel, vicious, master firebender he knew. Sweat formed on her brow as she moved through the motions, not even noticing as the Avatar was watching her. When she did finally turn around to see him, she abruptly separated the flames and let them dissipate into nothing.
"There's somewhere else we still need to go next," Aang told them. "We're leaving soon." The two looked a little miffed to be told something like that, but neither of them did anything.
"Well, I might as well tell you that we've had a little spy while we were here," Azula said to him, a hand on her hip. Aang froze. Who was following them? Was it an enemy? He was immediately on guard. Azula pointed up at one of the rafters. Aang followed her finger, and up above he saw a tiny white head flinch back into hiding. His mouth dropped open. He propelled himself up there with a burst of air to get a better look. The creature, alarmed, dropped off of its solid beam and then flew down to their camp. It glided right above a startled Zuko, and then it swooped up, flapping its leathery wings to get away from the one chasing it.
"Hey, wait a minute, little lemur!" Aang called out, overjoyed. A friend! A friend was here! He would be able to see Momo again! "We won't hurt you! Zuko, toss me some food!" The Fire Nation boy fumbled, but quickly threw a small peach to the airborne Aang. He deftly caught it. "Come here, little lemur. I have some food for you!" He quickly cornered the slightly slower creature, and then offered the fruit in his hand. The creature was afraid. He gently placed the peach down and rolled it to the flying lemur. It folded its ears back, shy and afraid, but warily crept up to the food, and took a bite. It seemed to enjoy it. Aang grinned. Lemurs were easy to win over, if you had a little food for it.
As he watched it happily nibble on the fruit, his spirits dropped abruptly. This wasn't Momo. The ears were shorter, he noticed. Some of its patches of fur were darker. The tail was longer. The lemur itself was smaller than Momo. With a start, he realized it was a lemur of the female variety. They were shyer and much more timid. If he remembered correctly, they even possessed limited airbending abilities. He knelt down next to it. "Hey, little girl," he cooed softly, and sadly, to her. It focused its big, round eyes on him inquisitively, and then scampered up onto his shoulder. She must have been alone, he thought. The females never came out of hiding unless there was nothing left for it. She was desperate for companionship. "I'll name you Sabishi," he decided. "You're just like me," he added quietly. She purred softly.
"What, you're keeping it?" Zuko asked him, surprised. "Whatever. I'm not cleaning up after it." Aang rolled his eyes at him while Azula laughed.
Sokka stared at his opponent on the other side of the river. Bato confidently smirked at him. They were silent, neither of them moving. The city they were in lacked any formal Sedna Kai arenas, so the two combatants had to adapt to the situation and fight next to the closest river. Sokka's grandmother and some of Bato's men watched.
"Don't you remember how your last duel ended?" Bato asked, eager to egg him on. "What a horrible day that was. It seems you still have a token of the occasion."
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Sokka growled at him, his vertical scar twitching.
"Bring it on," Bato smirked cruelly.
"Remember what I have taught you, Prince Sokka," Kanna whispered to herself. Water rose with Sokka's hands, which he brought together and held at his side. He thrust them both forward, turning the water into ice spikes in the air as they flew at his opponent. With a flick of his hand, Bato brought up a small wall of water to absorb the blow. Sokka's whips lashed out at him, but Bato deflected the attacks with swift movements, exerting little energy. Sokka scowled, abruptly stopping the whole flow of the river with his hand, sending geysers up into the air. He sent it all in one concentrated mass at Bato, moving across the riverbed as he did.
The older, master waterbender stood, a look of anger on his face now. The puddles of water at his side rose to his command, immediately freezing and used as weapons against his Prince. Javelins of ice soared toward him, and most were deflected. Others were dodged or blocked completely by water. Sokka was moving closer to him as he rolled and jumped. He rolled to his feet, lashing out at the Commander with water. He ducked under it, then swept out with his own sword of ice. The gash cut across Sokka's stomach. He winced, feeling blood flow, but it was shallow. He stepped back slightly. Bato took this chance to hurl another ice javelin at him, which grazed his right shoulder. He grunted in pain.
He's winning, Sokka thought angrily. I need to come back! I need a chance to defeat him! Kanna warned him after he declared his challenge. Sokka was well below the status of a master. But he had to try. Water dripped from Bato's soaking wet form as he was grinning in triumph, as if he already won. Hastily coming up with an idea, Sokka blew icy breath at him. Bato's clothes frosted over. His hair became coated in icicles. He tried moving, but cracking sounds came from his arms and legs. Bato growled, his thin eyes turning to slits. He shot his hand forward, slamming Sokka in the face with a sphere of water. While the Water Prince was down, the water melted off of Bato's body. He stood victoriously over Sokka, poised to kill him. Sokka glared at him, daring him to do it. He wanted his shame to end...
"You're finished," Bato declared. "But I won't kill you yet. I enjoyed humiliating you. I want to do it further." He turned and began to walk away.
"Kill me, you coward!" Sokka shouted at him. Bato's triumphant face turned to one of rage, and he turned around furiously. Water blinked through the air, slashing at the place where Sokka was... but nothing was there. He saw watery arms pull the Prince into the water, and then shoot him out on the other side of the river, into his grandmother's arms.
"Need your grandmother to protect you?" Bato taunted cruelly. "You are a weakling. Not even worth my time. Farewell, Lady Kanna." He and his men walked away.
Sokka glared up at his grandmother. "Why did you do that?" he yelled at her. "You interfered!"
"I saved you. You are too young to throw your life away," she said to him. "Besides, do you want to die at the hands of a man as low as he?" Sokka nodded his head in shame. He was defeated by him. But what else should he have expected? Bato was a waterbending master. He was not. It was as simple as that. "But I am still proud of you. I enjoyed watching your fight. You did wonderful, far better than I would have expected. It was very clever to freeze his limbs."
Sokka barely listened to her as he stared into the raging river, continuing its flow now as it was unimpeded by Sokka. He had only one thought on his mind—he needed to get stronger. He would have to put all of his time in effort into gaining strength, to one day be strong enough to defeat Bato and the Avatar. Now, it seemed, he had competition for his prize.
Aang leaned back against Appa as they flew through the noonday sky, his new friend Sabishi clinging to his shoulders. They were leaving the Western Air Temple behind them. On the horizon was more adventure, more days to be spent with his enemy. But he was prepared, and determined to get home, back to his own world, where things were right.
Their next destination was Crescent Island, home of the Temple of Roku.
Author's Notes: Hope I did better on this chapter. There are some deviations from the episode, which you've all probably noticed. Both are fairly important. This one wasn't one of my favorites overall (it isn't in the show, either) and it was a chore to write, so I'm sorry it came out so late. Most of you were probably expecting Zhao to be replaced with Bato, but not Momo to be replaced with the girl lemur! Some of you may be upset, but I guess I'll tell you now that Momo will come into the picture later.
The All-Day Echo Chamber is real, and mentioned in the Western Air Temple episode, as well as the Hall of Statues, and Teo's accident. Also, notice Sokka's sexism in this chapter. Yup, sexism still exists in the Water Nation.
Tell me what you all think in a review!
