A/N: I know it's an extremely late update; I had just moved on to a new job. My schedule should be a lot more flexible now, so hopefully I can update a little more frequently.
To the comment about Zuko, don't worry he's not going to be a carbon copy of Sokka. This version of Zuko is basically Season 3 Zuko after he already joined Team Avatar personality-wise, so he's not quite as angsty as Canon Zuko.
After the ordeal on the Water Clan ship, it felt good to be off the Water Prince's trail. Azula was more so relieved because Zuko could now stop acting at least a bit so overprotective and give her more "breathing room" so to speak. She glanced over at her brother, who was still focused on the swath of sky ahead of them. Occasionally, he would turn his head toward a passing cloud, admiring the view that their ride afforded them.
She wished he wasn't always like that though, the overprotectiveness. She thought back to when they first found Aang in the volcanic rock. It was just grating that Zuko had to treat her like some damsel in distress every time she even appeared to be in danger. It wasn't like she reminded him what exactly she thought of his overbearing behavior. And she was quite sure she was a slightly better Firebender...
Ever since their mother dissapeared... she couldn't finish the thought and Azula glared over at the empty sky, suddenly feeling...angry? Sad? She didn't know. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, resting her head on them. She shook her head while idly scratching where the widow's peak of her hair met her forehead.
The sun was high in the sky, and she felt rested and healthy, so there was no point in dwelling on the past. Their father would tell her to never show weakness. Enemies would take advantage of it.
She turned from her position on the saddle, glancing at Aang peripherally. He seemed to have recovered with no issues from his side injury and was flicking his finger, creating mini tornados the size of half his hand. He still looked a bit downcast, though, not having spoken since they departed the ship. He was still laying nearly flat on his back. He was struggling to hold his own attention with his idle bending.
Good that he recovered, she thought. Unnecessary pit stops would shorten the gap they had on the ponytailed warrior, assuming he was still following them.
Leaning back into the saddle, she folded her hands behind her head.
"So, are you really sure about stopping at the Western Air Temple first?" Azula asked, still looking forward. She could tell that Aang had stopped playing with the air at the sudden cease of the thwip sound and he hummed.
"Yeah," Aang confirmed, sitting up from where he sat. He had his hands resting in his lap. "It's the closest stop before getting to where the map says those fire warriors are." He pulled a map out of the folds of his tunic. Zuko managed to procure several copies, one of them from the village they'd left. The copy given by Iroh was the most detailed and annotated though. Aang unfolded the map, studying it.
Azula was staring openly at Aang at this point and Aang felt compelled to glance over at her.
"W-what?" Aang asked, a bit startled. "Everything okay?"
"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Azula said, closing her eyes before opening them to regard Aang. "There's a large chance that you're not going to like what you see."
Aang broke eye contact with her, staring at his map.
"History hasn't been kind to the Air Nomads; they were one of the first to be attacked." Azula glanced down at the saddle, watching Aang from the corner of her eyes for a reaction. She noticed Zuko glancing back in concern and Aang only sighed.
"I know, I-I get it," Aang's voice catching for just a moment. He looked miserable and Azula was beginning to wish she hadn't said anything, but she didn't want him having false hope only to be dissapointed.
"But there was someone I'm supposed to see after I was ready. Maybe there's still a way to talk to them."
Zuko did look back after hearing this. "After 100 years?" he blurted.
"Well, it was actually supposed to be that I meet them at the Southern Air Temple," Aang added, scratching his head.
Nothing was needed to be said. The Southern Air Temple was too close to the South Pole. They'd never get past the Southern Water Tribe presence in the water. Getting to the Air Temple would require travelling over the ocean, and at this point, it was a fool's errand.
"Who would you even be looking for?" Zuko questioned, returning his view to the front. The clouds continued to float past them from either side of the group.
"I don't know, but I have to see if there's a way," Aang answered. "Just in case." He refolded his map.
Aang breathed in then out, resting a hand on the healing bruise on his chest. While the worst of the pain was gone, it still tended to ache if he strained his torso with any sudden movements.
Azula sighed, settling back into her spot on the saddle.
"That was some impressive firebending," Azula spoke up, and Aang could tell her question was leading, as if she wanted to say more. He turned to face her with a small sigh, already able to guess. She took it as her cue to resume.
"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?"
Aang looked away, sitting up in his spot. "Because," he answered, weighing his reply. A gloomy expression washed over his face and Azula almost regretted asking. "I never wanted to be."
"But you have the potential as the most powerful bender alive," the princess replied, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. "Really, I wouldn't be surprised if you could turn the tide of the war single-handedly-"
Azula noticed Zuko from the corner of her eye. He was subtly shaking his head in disapproval, brows lowered pointedly.
Azula coughed, smoothing out her already done hair.
"I mean, that's why we're here to help. No time like the present," she shrugged.
Aang regarded her with an unsaid question before glancing over to Zuko, who was already facing the skyline ahead.
"Right..." Aang answered, unsure how to respond to Azula's tangent. His expression lightened considerably though as he observed where they were in the sky.
"There it is!" Aang cried, finger pointing just past Zuko's head. Appa also seemed to groan in agreement.
"Huh..." Zuko whistled. "That's interesting."
Azula raised a brow, wondering if they were in on some inside joke. They had neared a massive cliffside, yes, but there were no structures of any kind to denote any settlement. It was just a large, cavernous cliff face. There were large swaths of grass that covered the ground and the mountain was simply massive.
"I don't see anything..." she said plainly, observing the landscape intently. "There's nothing there."
"That's because we're not going on top of the mountain," Aang said, suddenly standing and unfurling his glider. Azula suppressed the reflex to jump at the sudden motion. Aang steadied himself for only a moment before jumping off and descending down toward the rocky outcroppings.
Sliding over to the edge of the saddle where he'd leapt, Azula watched his descent.
"Oh," Azula said to herself.
It was quite obvious when she thought about it now. Airbenders were nomadic by nature, so they'd also be reclusive, if the other temples were anything to go by.
A flat plain would be too open and unsecure, so instead of building on top of that, the temple was instead built into it. There were dozens of plateaus and caverns, securely hidden by the overhanging stalagmites. She could see a tiled floor now, it's centerpiece a large fountain that even now still spewed out water in a graceful pattern as if someone were still maintaining it. To the left and right of the fountain were arched doorways, the lack of light refusing her visual entry from where they still hovered in the air.
Appa angled downwards, following after his airbending partner. With a muted thump, the Sky Bison landed right next to the fountain, immediately sticking his muzzle into the water.
"I hope that isn't the only water source," Zuko spoke up, following after Azula as they slid down Appa's furry flank.
Azula didn't answer as she slowly looked around, admiring her surroundings. The two hallways were a little more visible now and she could make out a long hallway in either one. A ledge overlooked this courtyard from a distance and Aang stood at the entrance to the rightmost hallway, his back turned to the siblings.
"What's wrong?" Azula asked as she came to a stop next to him, observing the hallway. The significance of the building was lost on her. She couldn't guess what was going on in his head.
The hallway was unchallenged in vertical craftsmanship, with towering arches that she couldn't hope to reach even if she had convinced Zuko to let her stand on his shoulders. The stone walls were of the same texture as the flooring; smooth to the touch and simplistically graceful. It was impressive, if not quaint.
Aang sighed, distributing some of his weight to his staff. "There's no one here." He ran a hand through his shaved head. Azula wisely chose not to comment.
"This place should be full of airbenders," he continued. He pointed to the courtyard behind her. Azula assumed Zuko had been following behind her, but he was instead keeping Appa company, his arms crossed. He seemed to be studying the cliffs opposite the ravine.
"This is a commons area; all of the temples have them," Aang explained, walking past Azula and back into the courtyard.
There was a long pause with Aang not saying anymore, and Azula placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't we see if we can find this person you were talking about?" Azula suggested, gently guiding him to face the hallway entrance.
Aang looked at her and smiled, although it was a bit forced. She's faked them enough to know when she saw one. "You're right," he answered, looking again at the arched hallways. To the Airbender, it was strange to see the place so empty. It really was a relic. He exhaled and began walking forward. Azula called out to her brother, and a moment later, he was following behind them.
To Azula's mild surprise, Zuko broke the silence as they headed down the hall.
"So, have you been to all the Air Temples?"
Aang's grin threatened to split his face in response, and Azula mentally gave Zuko a pat on the back.
"Well, this is the only Temple I hadn't seen all the rooms," the youngest of the three said, turning to walk backwards. "All I know is this is the Temple where all the girls were," he added. Azula suppressed an amused smile at his face.
They finally reached the end of the hall, which was occupied by a massive door. It was plain looking but looked almost as strong as any Fire Nation bunker door, with this being made of stone rather than iron.
"Don't suppose you have any trick to get through here?" Zuko asked, carefully observing the door. It looked to be at least several inches thick, and they didn't have an Earthbender in their little group. Unless...
"You don't know how to Earthbend yet, do you?"
Aang shrugged apologetically. "I only know airbending right now," he said, but he held out an appeasing hand. "But that won't be necessary! See those horns on the door?"
Zuko and Azula followed where his finger was pointing to whar they assumed was just decoration.
"Watch this!" Aang slid a foot backwards and lightly bent his front knee forward. He steadily and deeply inhaled while hovering his hands palm up near his stomach. Azula thought it almost looked like he was about to breath fire.
Instead, he blew outward as if blowing out a candle and thrust both palms outwards toward the door decoration. Three columns of wind funneled from his mouth and hands and into the horns, each one releasing a musical note that seemed to lower in bass with each sequence.
The horns rotated in a pattern, like a symbolic tornado. A large creak was heard and slowly, the doors opened, looking like giant slabs of stone that were set free, accompanied by loud echoing from the massive stone.
Aang was the first to step through. Zuko and Aang followed closely behind, and the both of them couldn't help but be awed by the sight.
There were statues everywhere. They dominated the room and were arranged in a large spiral. They not only occupied the floor they stood on, but there were multiple levels ascending seemingly endlessly toward the ceiling, every space occupied shoulder to shoulder by a figure, each one clothed vastly different from the figure standing next to them. It was an awning sight, each statue seemingly judging them for some crime they might even have been unaware of having committed.
"What is this place?" Zuko asked. Just the sheer amount of figures within the room was mind boggling.
"It's the Avatar Cycle..." the Airbender replied, looking just as amazed as the other two.
