Flying was, by no means, a new sensation to Aang. He'd been soaring through the air almost since he could walk. However, the thrill had never faded. Knowing that there was nothing between him and what could be miles of open sky still made his heart race. It was that mixed feeling of excitement, freedom and just a little bit of danger that made Aang glad he'd been born an airbender.

He let out a joyful cry as he let his glider drop into a dive, and then brought it up into a wide arc. He circled through the air a few times, before finally coming to rest on the temple's landing platform.

The large sky bison Appa was lying not far from where Aang landed. The young nomad closed up his glider and ran towards his companion. He leapt onto Appa's head and stroked the fur along his 'arrow'.

"Come on, Appa. How about we race around the temple? I'll give you a head start."

Appa's reply was to let out a rumbling yawn and turn onto his side. Aang had to grab hold of one of his horns, to keep from falling off.

"You're getting really lazy." He reprimanded the bison. Appa just closed his eyes and let out a sleepy grunt.

"Hey Aang, I might take you up on that race."

Aang looked up to see Teo wheeling his way over to them. He had some staves laid across his lap.

"Yesterday I was thinking; if airbenders lived here, then they must've had a place to keep their gliders, just like in the Northern Air Temple." He picked up one of the staves and held it out to Aang. "I went exploring, and look what I found."

Aang expertly twirled the staff and two sets of orange 'wings' sprang out of the wooden rod.

"They still work, even after all this time. You airbenders sure were great craftsmen." Teo looked at the tool admirably. "I just have to construct a glider that can carry both me and my chair. Of course, it's going to be harder without my dad's equipment. If I'd known I was going to be staying at another Air Temple, I'd have brought my glider from home."

Aang closed up the glider again and handed it back to Teo.

"How is everyone at the Northern Air Temple?" He asked.

"They're all fine. A lot of them wanted to come with us, but Dad said they should stay and watch over the temple, in case the Fire Nation attacked again." Teo looked to the north, as if he'd be able to see his home. "Also, I think Dad still felt guilty about all those weapons he built for the Fire Nation. I think he felt he had to put things right; that he had to do it personally."

Aang nodded in understanding.

"He wanted to regain his honor."

He sat down at the edge of the platform, letting his legs hang freely over the edge.

"Not long now." He said quietly. "By the end of summer, this'll all be over."

Teo wheeled himself closer to Aang.

"Are you nervous?" About facing the Fire Lord, I mean."

"I was." Aang replied with a nod. He then gave a chuckle. "You should've seen me in the few days before the invasion. I was so stressed, I couldn't sleep. And when I did sleep, I'd dream that I showed up to fight the Fire Lord without any pants!"

Teo let out a loud laugh.

"Oh boy! That's worse than dreaming that you've got a test and didn't study."

"I had that one too." Aang replied with a grin. He then returned his gaze to the horizon and let out a sigh. "But when I arrived in the Fire Lord's chamber, and he wasn't there; I was so angry. I knew that I was ready to fight him, and I didn't even get to lay eyes on him."

"Well, next time it'll be different." Said Teo. "Before, he was expecting you. When we go back to the Fire Nation, we'll make sure to take him by surprise."

"That won't be easy." Said Aang. "He's bound to know that I need to defeat him before Sozin's Comet arrives. Until then, he's going to be on his guard."

Teo looked dejected, but only for a second.

"Well, then that's where having Zuko on our side will come in handy." He said brightly. "He's bound to know some secret passage, or something, that can get you close to the Fire Lord."

Aang smiled at the bushy-haired boy.

"You always look on the bright side of things don't you?"

Teo gave a small shrug.

"It's the simple law of karma. Every time something bad happens, something good comes out of it. Like when that flood destroyed my home town. Afterwards, we found the Northern Air Temple and that gave us a new home." He then tapped his lame legs. "Even these turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I may not be able to walk but, thanks to my Dad and the ancient airbenders, I can fly. And I wouldn't give that up for anything."

Aang grinned and tapped his staff on the ground.

"Yeah; me neither." He laid his staff across his lap and looked down into the swirling mists that filled the wide crevice below them.

"Y'know, after I was freed from that iceberg and learned about what'd happened to the air nomads, I couldn't stop blaming myself. I kept thinking that, if I'd only been there, I could've saved them."

"You don't know that for certain." Teo offered.

Aang gave a nod.

"Katara said that too. She said that she believed that I was meant to be frozen in that iceberg. I figured that she was just trying to cheer me up but, the more I thought about it, the more I think she might've been right."

He laid a hand on the stone ground next to him. It looked to Teo like an act of affection toward one of the homes of his people.

"Avatar Roku told me that the comet made the firebenders as powerful as a fully realized avatar. I was nowhere near that strong when I was frozen. I hadn't even begun to learn about water, earth or fire. If I had been there…" He let out a sad sigh. "I probably wouldn't have made a difference."

The two of them sat in silence for a while, before Teo spoke up.

"I read in some history books that Fire Lord Sozin focused a lot of his army's resources on finding the avatar, because he was sure that you'd survived the attack on the Air Temples. Because of that, the other nations got the chance to rally their forces and mount a defense." He reached over and put a hand on Aang's shoulder. "What happened to the air nomads was terrible. But it's because of you surviving, that the Fire Nation hasn't won the war yet."

Aang stood up, holding his staff by his side.

"And they're not going to." He said firmly. "I'm going to see to it that my people's sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Aang turned to face Teo and, for a moment, Teo thought he saw a much older man standing in his place. His amber eyes seemed to burn with an unbreakable resolve.

"You said you wanted to take me up on that race, Teo?"

He blinked and there was Aang again. His usual carefree smile had returned to his face. Teo grinned and laid the staves, he'd been holding, down on the floor.

"Yeah. I bet I can get to the dining chamber on my chair, before you can make it there with your glider."

Aang opened up his glider and took hold of its' handles.

"Okay, I'm game. But are you sure; after what happened last time?"

"Don't worry, Aang. I've learnt my lesson. I've gotta turn with the spin; not against it."

After a count of three, the two boys took off laughing. Left behind were some air nomad staves and one sleeping sky bison.