Book II: Earth
Chapter II: Legacy of the Air Nomads
Part III: Relics and History
Sorry for the long wait!
Life got busy!
A FEW DAYS LATER-HIDDEN AIR TEMPLE
As it turns out, Monk Fushi wasn't the only airbending Monk who had fled the Temples.
A number of other monks from the Eastern, Western and Northern temples had managed to flee their temples before Sozin destroyed them.
Apparently, Gyatso's warning had reached them in time.
Aang was the happiest he's ever been in the longest time.
He had spent the days embracing the culture he thought he'd never see again.
He was currently spending his time teaching the younglings how to create an air scooter outside near the entrance.
He began waving his arms from side to side and performing a number of airbending motions.
The air scooter puffed from under him.
The young Nomads stared at him in awe.
Aang began riding his scooter around them.
He then came to a complete stop.
He turned around to them.
"That's how you do it kids!"
One of the young ones eagerly raised his hands.
"I want to go!"
Another one raised their hand.
"Me too!"
Soon, the entire room of kids were all scooting around on their scooters.
Katara and Sokka were watching them all from afar.
The sight of Aang enjoying the company of his people made Katara's heart flutter.
She knows it couldn't have been easy to wake up a hundred years after the attempted Genocide of his own people.
Seeing his people still prospering has probably helped his mood.
It is good to see that goofy smile on his face again.
Seeing him lose his temper like that was frightening.
The Air Nomad culture was completely foreign to her.
She and Sokka had spent most of their lives in the cold and frigid climate of the Southern Water Tribe.
In the Tribe, you hunted for food in the oceans and wore parkas to protect yourself from the cold.
You also made your homes out of snow and ice.
It was all there was in the Southern Water Tribe.
At the Hidden Air Temple, however, the Nomads were all one big family.
They were all vegetarian.
And they were truly the peaceful monk types that Aang said they were.
Also, plants grew here by the handful.
Air Nation cuisine, despite its lack of meat, was both tasteful and flavorful in its own right.
Katara's thoughts drifted to last night's meal.
Seasoned tofu.
Her stomach rumbled at the mere mention of it.
"Hey Katara!"
She looked to the left and saw Aang run towards her.
She sent him a quizzing look.
"What's up Aang?"
"I was wondering if you and Sokka wanted to see some Air Nation artifacts."
"Monk Fushi offered to show me when I got done teaching the younglings."
"He's with Kuzon right now!"
"We can meet up with them near the temple center!"
Katara felt her heart swell with excitement.
I would like to see more of the temple's artifacts.
Sokka merely shrugged.
He gave his sister an uninterested nod
"Sure!"
"I've got nothing better to do!"
Katara sent her brother an annoyed look.
Does he not understand how rare of an opportunity this is?
She looked back at Aang and smiled graciously.
"We'd love to come with you Aang!"
"Perfect!"
Aang grinned at them.
He then ran off with a huge airbending blast.
"The temple center is this way!"
Sokka let out a loud groan.
"Would it kill that kid to not go running off like that all the time?"
"We don't know if there are Fire Nation spies around this place."
Katara shook her head with a small smile.
She gave her brother a warm smile.
"C'mon Sokka!"
"We are in an Air Nation temple!"
"What place could be safer?"
She then started following Aang.
Sokka sighed angrily.
Nowhere is safe from the Fire Nation.
We can't afford to be so naive.
He merely huffed and followed his sister.
FIRE NATION PALACE CITY
Zuko had been helping his sister recover from the injuries she sustained in their fight with the Avatar and his airbending friend.
She had taken some time to recover from her injuries.
Once she was properly healed, the Princess of the Fire Nation demanded to be put back on duty.
The siblings quickly packed their things and began gathering supplies for their ship.
He was patrolling around the deck of their ship.
The fact that he had to ask Father for permission to leave the palace city was infuriating to him.
I spent years honing myself into the perfect son.
Especially after my banishment.
And still no mercy or respect from him.
To say that Zuko was infuriated by his father's treatment of him would be an understatement.
He was livid.
He had been livid ever since his Agni Kai duel with his dear Father.
The anger and resentment burned within him.
Azula was also livid with their father.
But that was for different reasons.
He heard footsteps behind him.
It was Azula. He gave her a warm smile.
It fills me with pride to see her at one hundred percent again.
I was worried sick.
Azula smirked at her dear brother.
"It is good to see you Zuzu!"
"You as well Azula!"
The two siblings embraced one another in a warm hug.
Neither Zuko or Azula had a penchant for being the most warm or compassionate of people.
Besides Mai and Ty Lee, they didn't have much in the way of friends.
Their conflicted upbringing led them to become guarded introverts in a way.
They cared deeply for one another however. Their love for each other and their country bound them together in a way.
Azula broke the hug. "So any news from Father?" "Are we allowed to leave?"
Zuko detected the hint of frustration in her voice. He grunted, "No." "Father is still insisting on making us wait."
Azula began squeezing her knuckles in frustration.
Fool.
The more time we aren't chasing the Avatar.
The more chances he and his friends have of getting away from our grasp.
"Prince Zuko!"
"Princess Azula!"
The two of them turned towards their left.
A man was running to them.
He was dressed in traditional Fire Nation garb.
The man stopped in front of them.
He grabbed at his knees.
His breaths were short and heavy.
He looked at them with fear in his eyes.
The two siblings were giving ferocious glares at the man.
"I-I have a message from the Fire Lord."
"You are both allowed to leave port!"
Zuko let out a relieved sigh.
Finally.
We've wasted enough time here as it is!
Azula then walked up to the man.
"That will be all mess-"
The older man shakily raised a hand.
"Wait!"
"There is something else!"
The two royals stared him down again.
The man let out a nervous gulp.
"Fire Nation spies have tracked the Avatar near the Earth Kingdom village of Bogdu."
Zuko and Azula both stared at one another.
Zuko thought to himself.
It seems my plan to alert the Earth Kingdom colonies served us well.
Azula gave her brother a devious smile.
"Well dear brother, it seems we are going to the Earth Kingdom!"
Zuko gave her a nonchalant look. "So it seems!"
Azula then bowed before him. "I will take my leave and alert the captain!"
Zuko gave her a knowing nod.
TEMPLE CENTER-HIDDEN AIR TEMPLE-EARTH KINGDOM
Kuzon, Aang, Sokka and Katara and Monk Fushi all met up in the Temple Center.
Some of the younglings joined them as well.
Katara was the first to speak.
She shot Aang a curious look
"So where are these relics you talked about?"
Aang gave her a foxy grin.
"You'll see!"
"They are fascinating things!"
Kuzon let out a chuckle.
"Yea I still remember the first time I tried to use an air flute!"
He put a hand to his forehead.
"That was so embarrassing!"
He felt two hands on his shoulders.
Fushi was the first to speak.
"You may have been born of fire, but you have the heart of a Nomad."
"We never thought of you differently."
"You are as much my child as Aang is."
Kuzon brightened up at his words.
Aang then spoke next.
"Fushi is right!"
"You are and always will be one of us!"
Kuzon grinned at him.
"Thanks Aang!"
Maybe I deserve to be here after all.
Monk Fushi suddenly spoke up. "We are here!"
HIDDEN AIR TEMPLE-RELIC ROOM
Kuzon and the gang awed at the size of the relic room.
It was huge.
The same goes for the younglings.
One of them picked up a bison whistle and looked at it in awe.
"What is this?"
Aang felt a warm sensation in his chest.
Seeing future airbenders embrace their culture really makes me happy.
He wiped the tears from his eyes.
He kneeled to the boy.
"What's your name young one?"
The boy piped up, "My name is Tai!"
Aang ruffled the boy's bald head.
He picked up the bison whistle and spoke. "This is a bison whistle." "Long ago, our people used to call their bison using these."
The boy's eyes lit up. "Wow!" Cool!"
Aang smiled at the kid.
"Are there any bison left?"
"When do I get one?"
Aang gave the boy a sad smile. "Unfortunately no."
The boy gave him a confused look. "But we have bison here!"
Aang's eyes widened at the boy's statement.
He stared at Monk Fushi.
"Is this true!"
The elder monk gave him a smiling nod. "Yes Aang!" "We took a number of air bison along with their young with us to preserve the air bison species."
Aang's eyes lit up.
He turned back to Kai.
"Well then I guess you will get your own bison someday!"
Kuzon's attention was drawn to another artifact however.
"No this can't be!"
"Is it?"
Aang and the group turned their eyes to him.
Katara spoke up, her tone concerned, "What is it Kuzon?"
She turned his way and saw what he was looking at.
"Is that a Fire Nation helmet?"
Kuzon let out a deep sigh.
"Yes it is!"
His eyes were glued to the ground.
By now, Aang and Sokka were staring at the strange helmet as well.
Sokka had a confused look on his face.
"That isn't like any Fire Nation helmet I remember."
The helmet was of similar design to the ones he saw when the Fire Nation invaded their village weeks ago.
However, there seemed to be a black mask covering the face part.
Kuzon took a deep breath.
He turned to face the group.
There was a serious look on his face.
"That is because it is my grandfather's."
Katara and Sokka's eyes widened in shock.
Aang merely gave his friend a sympathetic look.
I can't imagine how hard this is for him.
He remembers how Kuzon's grandfather valiantly offered to defend the Southern Temple a century ago.
Katara's eyes were full of sorrow.
Oh Kuzon.
I remember he mentioned him a couple times.
Whatever happened to his grandfather couldn't have been good!
Sokka put a hand on Kuzon's shoulder. "Kuzon, I know this is hard for you right now!" "You don't have to talk about it!"
Kuzon smiled faintly at his warrior friend and shook his head. "No Sokka!" "It's ok!" "I've had time to deal with it!"
He took another deep breath and then spoke.
Here we go.
"My grandfather was Mokabi Sho."
"He was a former soldier in the Fire Army"
"I had to leave my parents from an early age."
"Because of that, he kept watch over me while I lived in the Southern Temple a century ago."
"I took refuge there because Fire Lord Sozin had ordered my death in the Fire Nation."
"Eventually, he found out where I was and planned to kill me and raze the Temple to the ground."
"Aang and I were forced to leave for our safety."
Kuzon began wiping tears from his eyes.
This is much harder than I thought.
"Grandfather Mokabi and the Masters of the Southern Temple volunteered to defend the Temple so that Aang and I could escape."
"The last time I saw him was when he was preparing to defend the Temple!"
There was silence in the room.
Monk Fushi gave the boy a solemn nod.
He stared at the ground dejectedly.
My brothers. I miss you all.
Aang shook his head and threw Kuzon into a hug.
The firebender began sobbing in his arms.
The firebender hugged back.
Gyatso. I miss you.
Katara and Sokka joined in thereafter.
They broke the hug.
Sokka asked, his voice low, "So your grandfather was different from Ozai?"
Kuzon gave his warrior friend a solemn nod.
He gave him a determined look. "My grandfather believed in peace between nations!" "He believed in honor and family!" "Not conquest!" "He opposed the policies of Sozin!" "If he were to stand alive today, I'm sure he'd stand against Ozai today!"
Kuzon then reached into his pocket.
He pulled out the red and black Pai Sho tile his grandfather has given him.
He held it up for all to see.
"This Pai Sho tile is all I have left of him!"
He slammed his hand in his fist.
"That is why I accept my destiny as the Avatar!"
"So that no one else has to lose their family to the Fire Nation like I did!"
Aang nodded.
That's right.
Same goes for me.
Katara gave Kuzon a sympathetic look.
Kuzon...
Sokka placed a hand on his Avatar friend's shoulder.
"And we'll help either way we can!"
He looked back at Katara.
She nodded dutifully.
"That's right!"
"We're with you."
Kuzon smiled warmly at them.
"Thank you both!"
Read and review please!